Five Towns Jewish Home 2.22.24 by Yitzy Halpern

February 22, 2024

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

Always Fresh. Always Gourmet. See page 7

Around the

Community 40 Yeshiva of Far Rockaway 55th Annual Dinner

56 Pong for Israel

57 500 Women Celebrate Siyum Nach Yomi PAGE 55

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Dear Readers,

abbi Doron Perez’s message is a powerful one. It is one of hope and gratitude, pain and heartache. It is, in a way, a microcosm of the Jewish nation’s existence and endurance throughout millennia. On October 7, Rabbi Perez was celebrating Simchas Torah at home with his family when they realized that something was very wrong. His son, Yonatan, a paratrooper, who was with them for yom tov, was told by his commander to return to base. His other son, Daniel, a tank commander, was guarding the Nachal Oz army base that fateful day. During the fighting, Yonatan was injured; Daniel, 22 years old, was taken hostage by Hamas. Rabbi Perez describes the terror and the pain that he and his family experienced when they first realized that Daniel was being held in Gaza. “It was a hard moment,” he expressed. But “hard” is such a little word for a such a horrifying realization – that his soldier son was being held by terrorists. The Perez family, while dealing with the frightful news, were also struggling with having to care for Yonatan, who suffered injuries in the fighting. And yet, Rabbi Perez describes that he managed to find a way to be grateful and see the goodness in Yonatan’s injuries – that others so close to him were killed that day but that he managed to walk away with his life. A dichotomy of emotions: pain, heartache, and fear – and gratitude and hope. At the time, Yonatan was engaged to be married. His wedding was set for October 17, ten days after the slaughter of hundreds of Jews.

Should they proceed with the wedding? Should the families be celebrating amidst the gaping hole of their loved one, who was missing? Under the chuppah, grasping the arm of his son Yonatan while yearning for the return of his other son Daniel, Rabbi Perez and his family were thrust into a maelstrom of emotions – elation in being able to bring their older son to this point; despair that their younger child was being held in enemy hands. But when listening to Rabbi Perez’s account, there are more emotions that he brings to the fore. He speaks of hope and of the future. He talks of advocating for the return of the hostages and for the destruction of Hamas. He yearns for a time when all families will be whole, when the Jewish nation will be reunited with their loved ones. When I read Rabbi Perez’s account, I thought about how his story is symbolic of how the Jewish nation has endured throughout the generations. We have suffered, we have felt loss, we have grieved. And yet, we have always looked towards the future; we have always attempted to rise above our despair, to hope for a better time, to understand that our redemption is near. And very soon, with G-d’s help, may we see the redemption of all our brothers and sisters, reunited with their families, with the Ultimate Redemption, soon in our days. Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka, EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor Rachel Bergida Shana Brecher Lani White Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classified Deadline: Monday 5:00PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003 PAYMENT VIA CREDIT CARD MUST BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH CLASSIFIED ADS The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

Shabbos Zemanim

Weekly Weather | February 23 – February 29

Friday, February 23 Parshas Tetzaveh

Rain

Mostly Sunny

Partly Cloudy

PM Showers

Showers

AM Showers

45° 28°

33° 24°

40° 37°

48° 38°

50° 46°

54° 47°

50° 33°

Candle Lighting: 5:20 pm Shabbos Ends: 6:22 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 6:53 pm

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

NEWS Global

National

That’s Odd

ISRAEL

Israel News

Let’s Make a Deal? by Marcia Stark Meth

Of Snow Days by Barbara Deutsch

Tears of Joy, Tears of Painby Rabbi Aron White

A Dramatic Rescue

What Americans Don’t Get About Israelis Fighting For Their Lives

112

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

Leaders and the Little People by Rav Moshe Weinberger

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Headlines and Halacha by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Something Fishy About Two Adars by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

Inspiration Nation

Daring Search and Rescues by Avi Heiligman

118

HEALTH & FITNESS Promoting Longevity by Aliza Beer, RD

102

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Turkey Salad

104

LIFESTYLES

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

Parenting Pearls

School of Thought

100

Mind Your Business

106

Your Money

126

Blessed to Travel by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

127

HUMOR Centerfold

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

108

China Airbrushed Away Its Foreign Minister. Why? by David Ignatius

114

Here’s a Deal That Could Get Aid to Ukraine by Marc A. Thiessen

116

In the Arms Race for Space Weaponry, Russia Fires a Shot Across the Bow by David Ignatius 117 CLASSIFIEDS

120

Dear Editor, Rabbi Dovid Hirsch wonderfully applied a Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch to explain a Chinuch (Mitzvah 196) that says one of the reasons not to remove the staves of the Aron is in order to have the image of them together in your mind. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch himself understands the message to be that Torah should be taken everywhere with you. Rabbi Dovid Hirsch explains that this could be the precise idea of the Chinuch. One must etch the image of the Aron with the holders in their mind to realize the Torah must be taken every place a person goes. The fact that we must bring Torah into every situation was cemented into this world by Yaakov, the “choicest” of the Avot. He was able to engage in Torah faithfully and apply all the Torah rules to perfection. Rambam calls him a tzaddik based on his scrupulous work ethic with Lavan. Yaakov never stole time from him. He raised everything physical into holy matter. This is our purpose. Use the Torah to make ourselves and everything else holy. By engraving the image of the Aron and its staves molded together in our minds, we can continually grow with the Torah wherever we are. The Torah is applicable to any situation, and we have the great blessing to apply it wholly. Steven Genack Dear Editor, Last Tuesday, it snowed 4-5 inches in the 5Towns/Far Rockaway area. Bus service was canceled Monday night. Some schools closed. Others stayed open. Why

was bus service canceled? Presumably because it was deemed too dangerous for the bus to drive and pick up kids. My kids go to schools that were open. I made a 2-hour round trip to the schools in the treacherous conditions, a ride that normally takes me around 35 minutes. Beach 9th Street and the surrounding streets were bumper to bumper and moving at a snail’s pace. On the way home, my car nearly skidded off the road when I hit a patch of ice. I appreciate the school’s efforts to keep schools open, especially for parents who have to work outside the home. My question is: If it’s too dangerous for the buses to make the trek, why do the schools think it’s safe for several thousand parents to all converge on the same streets at the same time in the middle of a snowstorm? Avi Goldberg Dear Editor, Fellow reader Jan Henock last week asked those of us proud Jewish Americans who identify as liberal to question President Joe Biden, a man who Israeli leaders have stated is the world’s most important Zionist (Haaretz, 10/19/23). I don’t need to question the man who quietly made an unannounced shiva call to remember a woman who donated $18 to his Senate campaign nor do I need to question the mensch who took his kids and grandkids to Dachau to teach them the real meaning of Never Again. President Biden, who has met every Israeli Prime Minister since Golda Meir, has Continued on page 10

How many dips do you generally have at your Shabbos table?

31 34 35 %

None

3-5

1-2

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Continued from page 10

spent innumerable hours trying to negotiate the release of the innocent Israeli hostages from 10/7. As the indispensable and undisputed leader of the free world, Joe has helped keep world leaders behind Israel and Ukraine. President Biden is the sole presidential candidate who has taken the time to travel to Israel to comfort the families and victims of the genocidal terrorist Hamas attack. He is the only U.S. President ever to fly into war zones that our military did not control when he bravely went to Jerusalem and Kyiv. On the other hand, Jan and fellow MAGA fans need to question her favorite insurrectionist (whose followers wore Camp Auschwitz shirts on January 6, 2021) Donald Trump, for sinking the most far-reaching border security deal in decades, as well as preventing aid to help the democratically elected Jewish President of Ukraine defend his citizens against Trump’s puppeteer, KGB agent Putin. In addition, Jan should question Trump and his MAGA House minions for impeaching Jewish Homeland Secretary Mayorkas without any legal reason. The overwhelming majority of American Jews will be voting to re-elect President Biden in November. I hope my fellow Jewish Home readers join me on the right side of history. David S Pecoraro Former Vice President Rosedale Jewish Center Dear Editor, There are many people in the United States who are concerned about voting in November for former President Donald Trump. I completely hear their concerns. Still, if the showdown in November is going to be Trump vs. Biden, I believe that people should stay home rather than vote for Joe Biden. President Biden, right after October 7, pretended to be on the side of Israel. He vocally supported the Jewish state in its fight against the Hamas terror organization. But Biden is fickle and spineless. Now, months later, the pro-Hamas protests are getting to him. In a desperate bid to win votes, he is throwing the only democracy in the Middle East under the bus, urging Israel to go for a ceasefire and promising Palestinians their own state after the war is over. Why? Why should they get a state? Because they slaughtered more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped babies and women? Do we reward terror? Is that how we deal with terrorists?

When you go to the polls in November, bear in mind that if Biden is willing to throw Israel under the bus for a few votes in Michigan, he certainly does not have democracy’s best interests in mind. He is OK with supporting terror, as long as it gets him the votes. Rena Auberach Dear Editor, I appreciate it is difficult for a President to balance America’s traditional support for Israel with the need to be an “honest broker” in the Middle East. However, given the pro-Hamas opinions of many people in his administration – as well as some Democratic members of Congress – maintaining that balance seems too great a challenge for President Biden. The most recent evidence is the leak that the USA is considering unilaterally recognizing an independent Palestinian state after the war. I’m certainly not arguing against contingency planning for the future, but this leak is a slap in the face to the men and women who are fighting a war against Hamas terrorists. Simultaneously, it effectively encourages Hamas’ bad actions. Why should they release hostages or give an inch if Israel’s most important ally is sending mixed signals? (Speaking of the hostages, as someone who is old enough to remember the Iran hostage crisis in 1979-1980, I’m shocked at how little we hear about the Americans being held today by Hamas.) Mollifying the leftists in the Democrat Party is clearly taking its toll. No one in the administration can get these employees to fall in line behind Biden’s stated policies. Senior leaders in Congress like Senator Schumer and Congressman Meeks make impressive statements of support, but I don’t see them standing up to their progressive wing either. In the end, the buck stops with the President. He needs to stop listening to diplomats who prioritize a reproachment with Iran. Stop listening to Congressmen who are willing to hold Israeli aid hostage to other priorities (Ukraine, Taiwan). Instead, America must do what is right. Stand firm against the evil of Iran and Hamas. Make sure our friends in Israel have what they need to survive in the face of this evil, lest evil wins and the whole world suffers. Paul King Candidate for Congress

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

The Week In News

51 Indicted in Haitian Pres. Assassination

Fifty-one people were indicted on Monday in connection to the killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021. One of those indicted was Moise’s widow. Martine Moise, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph, and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police Léon Charles

were the most notable of those charged with crimes, along with the mercenaries that went through with the attack and a number of the president’s closest aides. Moise was killed in a raid on his Port-au-Prince home in June 2021 by a group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians. Martine Moise was also shot during the attack but survived. The president’s bodyguards were unharmed, raising suspicions that they were in on the killing. The assassination sent Haiti into political turmoil. The indictments this week will undoubtably lead to more tension. The country is crumbling under surging gang violence and violent protests demanding the resignation of Moise’s eventual successor, Acting President and Prime Minister Ariel Henry. These indictments were a long way in coming. The 122-page report listing the charges is the product of five judges and years of investigation, with previous judges stepping down from the task citing intimidation and threats to their families. Charles faces the most serious charges: murder; attempted murder; possession and illegal carrying of weapons; conspiracy against the internal

security of the state; and criminal association. He is alleged to be one of the masterminds of the assassination. Martine Moise and Joseph were charged with complicity and criminal association – that they knew about the risk to the president before the assassination. Joseph has said that the investigation and charges are part of Henry’s efforts to centralize power in the Haitian government. “Henry … is weaponizing the Haitian justice system, prosecuting political opponents like me. It’s a classic coup d’état,” Joseph said. “They failed to kill me and Martine Moise on July 7, 2021. Now they are using the Haitian justice system to advance their Machiavellian agenda.” Two Americans were also among those charged in the assassination: Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American doctor and pastor living in Florida, was set to be Haiti’s next president in the scheme, and fellow Haitian-American Joseph Vincent. Sanon and Vincent are among 11 suspects previously extradited to the U.S. to face charges related to the assassination. Three have already been sentenced.

Ukraine: “Russia Using Starlink”

According to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian forces have been leveraging SpaceX’s satellite communications service Starlink in the occupied Donetsk region. In response to Ukraine’s claims, Starlink’s parent company, SpaceX, a spacecraft manufacturing company founded by Elon Musk, announced that it does not provide the satellite service to any parties in Russia, including the country’s government or military. “If SpaceX obtains knowledge that a Starlink terminal is being used by a sanctioned or unauthorized party, we investigate the claim and take actions to deactivate the terminal if confirmed,” stated SpaceX.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence announced that it intercepted communications between members of the Russian military’s 83rd Air Assault Brigade from within the Donetsk region – a discovery that strongly suggests that Ukraine’s enemy has access to Starlink at least from within areas occupied by Russia. SpaceX has not yet specified whether it has blocked access to the service from occupied areas. As a space-based internet service, Starlink has served as a key component of Ukraine’s defense against Russian attacks, providing the embattled country with the resources necessary to carry out military operations. Some assert that Kyiv has developed a dependence on the technology. Walter Isaacson, in the biography he wrote on Starlink’s founder and owner Elon Musk, alleged that last year, the billionaire deliberately and secretly foiled a Ukrainian military operation underway near the coast of Crimea. Ukraine, at the time, was in the middle of launching a surprise assault against Russian naval forces, when they suddenly “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” according to Isaacson. After the operation failed, Ukrainian military officials sent Musk an urgent request to restore power to the satellites. Allegedly, Musk

was prompted to intervene based on his concern that a successful Ukrainian assault on Crimea would trigger a nuclear response from Russia.

Venezuela Expels Human Rights Org.

A United Nations agency that monitors and defends human rights was ordered on Thursday to leave Venezuela by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, an extraordinary move that will further strip the country of foreign oversight at a time when its government stands accused of intensifying repression. The announcement, by Foreign Minister Yván Gil, comes just days after the detention and disappearance of Rocío San Miguel, a prominent security expert and human rights advocate.

Following her detention, several U.N. entities issued online statements expressing concern about the arrest, some calling it part of a pattern in which the government tries to silence critics through intimidation. Gil said he was giving the staff of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 72 hours to “abandon” the country. In a statement on national television, he accused the U.N. agency of becoming a tool for the “coup-plotters and terrorists” who he said have conspired against Maduro — and added that the agency had been questioning his government. “In no state is this tolerable,” Gil announced. He provided no evidence to support his claims. Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based Venezuela expert for International Crisis Group, said the expulsion of the human rights agency, combined with San Miguel’s arrest, “marks a drastic hardening” by Maduro’s government of its actions against political opponents and critics. The move also signals a dramatic turn in Venezuela, where just a few months ago Maduro was signing an accord with the country’s opposition and agreeing to work toward a free and fair presidential election. Relations with his main political adversary, the United States, were warming, if only slightly. In the October accord, signed in Barbados, Maduro said he would hold an election before the end of the year, and the United States in turn lifted some sanctions as a sign of goodwill. The temporary ease on oil and gas sector sanctions is set to expire in April, and the Biden administration can choose to reimpose them. But just days after the agreement, Maduro watched as an opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, won more than 90% of the vote in a primary election, emphasizing her popularity. His decision to expel the U.N. human rights agency is likely to anger many democratic governments, raising the question of whether he cares anymore about global recognition. If he does not, that puts Washington’s strategy in doubt. (© The New York Times)

Imran Khan’s Party Out Thursday’s election in Pakistan ended with each party failing to gain the number of seats in parliament required to form a majority government. The race’s major contenders were the Pakistan Muslim

League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), as well as independent parties connected to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a party founded by the country’s now-jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

In the days since the election, the PPP and PMLN, which won 54 and 73 seats respectively, and four other parties decided to join forces to form a coalition government, in effect ousting Khan’s party from power. Independent parties, the majority of which are affiliated with the PTI, won 102 seats. Khan, who was jailed early this year on corruption charges and was not eligible to run in the election, said that those representing his party would not join with the PPP or the PMLN to form a coalition, although the independent parties had joined with the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen party (MWM), a more obscure party which won only one parliamentary seat. The PTI party alleged that the election results were illegitimate, with Khan issuing a statement claiming that votes were stolen. “I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes. Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral,” said Khan. In explaining the thought process behind forming the coalition, former president and current PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said during a press conference on Tuesday, “Looking at everything, we have thought and decided to sit together. We have contested elections against each other but despite that, it is not necessary that [we fight] forever.” “Let’s move forward by eliminating mutual differences for the sake of the nation,” urged former Prime Minister and PMLN president Shahbaz Sharif, who will be his party’s pick for prime minister. On Tuesday, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the PPP, announced that his party would throw its support at whoever the PLMN chooses as candidate for prime minister. Within 21 days following an election, parliament, as per Pakistani law, must meet to elect a prime minister and swear in lawmakers.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

position being subjected to heavy bombardment. As the Russian army stormed into the city, injured soldiers had nowhere to go; their wounds rendered them effectively paralyzed and no method of evacuation was provided to them. Yuri Butusov, a Ukrainian who blogs about the military, purported that the Russian army “executed the helpless unarmed wounded, who were captured and unable to move.”

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Ukraine Retreats From Avdiivka With the sudden and devastating retreat from Avdiivka, a city that has been on the front lines of Moscow’s war on Kyiv, Ukraine suffered a major blow over the weekend, with Russia taking over the area. Major parts of the city have been un-

der the control of pro-Moscow separatists since 2014. Over the past decade, Avdiivka has witnessed severe combat and has become a heavily fortified area, with extensive fortifications and entrenchments having been constructed in the city over the past eight years. On Saturday, Ukrainian forces, who had insufficient ammunition and personnel to continue fighting, left the area amid intense airstrikes and attacks from Russia as Moscow’s ground offensive began to escalate.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the retreat was ordered to “save our soldiers’ lives.” However, six wounded soldiers were left at the abandoned military position and were subsequently killed once the Russian army arrived. The attacked army post, called Zenit, had been guarded by Ukrainian soldiers from the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Russia’s ground attack on Zenit escalated in intensity last week, with the

Although Russian forces allegedly agreed to hand over the injured soldiers in exchange for prisoners of war, the deaths of all six service members were later confirmed after the Russian army published footage of the deceased soldiers, thus prompting Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office to initiate an investigation into Russia’s alleged “violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.” Viktor Biliak, a Ukrainian soldier, painted a picture of the wounded soldiers’ desperation on social media. “There was zero visibility outside. It was just about survival. A kilometer across the field. A bunch of blind kittens guided by a drone. Enemy artillery. The road to Avdiivka is filled with Ukrainian corpses,” Biliak said, adding that a high-ranking military official had told him that the six soldiers couldn’t be rescued. “Their despair, their doom. It will always stay with us. The most courageous are the ones who die.” Junior Sgt. Ivan Zhytnyk, a thirtyyear-old combat medic from the region of Dnipropetrovsk, had been stationed in Avdiivka for two years. After the town’s abandonment, his severe wounds prevented him from fleeing. Before his death, he had contacted his family via video call and told them, “Everyone retreated. They told us that a car would pick us up. I have two broken legs; shrapnel in my back. I can’t do anything.” Zhytnyk’s sister later confirmed that she saw his body in a Russian blogger’s video, which was captioned with the text “only death is waiting for you at our land” and referred to the deceased soldiers as Nazis. Andrii Dubnytskyi was another wounded soldier deserted in Avdiivka. According to his wife, Liudmyla, the two “talked at 10 a.m. (on Thursday). He was

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

wounded… He was reeling, trying to joke, started crying. Then we texted… The last message was at 12:00 that he would be captured.” His death was later confirmed by his wife and by Bialik.

Navalny’s Mysterious Death

Following the mysterious death of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya has pledged to continue her husband’s mission in fighting Putin’s authoritarian rule in order to someday bring about “a free, peaceful, happy Russia, a beautiful Russia of the future, which my husband dreamed of so much.” Her announcement was posted as a video to YouTube, with Navalnaya pledging that she, with the help of Navalny’s

political team, would uncover the truth behind her 47-year-old husband’s suspicious death in the Arctic prison in which he was jailed. Navalnaya has claimed that Putin is behind her husband’s death and has condemned Russian officials for not releasing Navalny’s body to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya. “My husband could not be broken, and that’s exactly why Putin killed him, in the most cowardly way,” his widow asserted. “He did not have the courage to look him in the eye or even say his name. And now they are also cowardly, hiding his body, not showing him to his mother, not giving it to her.” Although Navalny’s family and team have called on officials to hand over his body, Russian authorities have thus far refused to comply, even going as far as to block Navalny’s mother from seeing his remains. Lyudmila Navalnaya has attempted to visit the morgues where her son’s body was reported to have been, but she has been denied entry every time. Later Monday, Russia’s Investigative Committee told Navalny’s mother that his body would be kept in their possession for two weeks or more; the committee, at first, said that the man died from “sudden death syndrome,” although fur-

ther statements contradicted that assertion. As long as Navalny’s body is in the possession of Russian officials, his cause of death will remain unknown. “They [Navalny’s mother and lawyers] were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out,” wrote Kira Yarmysh, the opposition leader’s press secretary. “When the staff was asked if Alexei’s body was there, they did not answer.” Navalny’s wife has pledged to uncover the truth behind who is responsible for his death. In a display of support for Navalny’s mourning wife, the European Union invited her to Brussels on Monday to speak in front of EU foreign ministers. “Vladimir Putin & his regime will be held accountable for the death of Alexei,” Josep Borrel, the foreign policy chief of the EU, wrote in a post on X. “As Yulia said, Putin is not Russia. Russia is not Putin.” Citizens of Russia who support Navalny’s anti-Kremlin stance publicly mourned the fallen leader’s death. On Monday, by 7:15 p.m., thirty-two people, throughout sixteen areas, were arrested for mourning Navalny’s death, while at least 400 others were arrested since Friday, according to OVD-info, a watchdog group. On Monday night, mourners were supervised by about a dozen police officials, as people laid down flowers upon the Solovetsky stone, a symbolic memorial dedicated to those who suffered in the Gulags, in honor of Navalny. Leaders from other countries have condemned Putin for his alleged role in Navalny’s death, with U.S. President Joe Biden asserting that Putin is responsible for the opposition leader’s demise. More than 56,000 Russians signed an OVD-info petition, demanding that the Investigative Committee immediately surrender Navalny’s body to his loved ones.

Putin Gifts Kim Jong Un a Car

Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted a car to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un, state media said this week, in another sign of warming

ties between the two countries that have raised concerns in the United States. The Russian-made car was delivered on Sunday by a Russian delegation. The car is an Aurus, the luxury automaker founded in 2018 to produce Russia’s official state cars. Kim’s sister – and senior Pyongyang official – Kim Yo Jong thanked Putin on her brother’s behalf and said, “The gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders of the (North Korea) and Russia,” according to KCNA. U.S. intelligence officials are increasingly concerned about the longterm implications of what appears to be a new level of strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia. Russia has repeatedly fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles at Ukrainian targets in recent weeks. Additionally, U.S. officials fear that North Korea may be able to use a tighter relationship with Russia to loosen China’s influence, potentially removing what some believe has been an important handbrake on Pyongyang’s nuclear testing program. In January, high-ranking North Korean and Russian diplomats met in Moscow in advance of what North Korean state media says is a forthcoming visit to Pyongyang by Putin — his first in more than 20 years. Kim visited Russia for a summit with Putin in September, where he endorsed the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and said, “I will always be standing with Russia.” Putin’s gift potentially violates United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea for its nuclear weapons program, though the ban on luxury goods sales to the country has not prevented Kim from appearing in a range of high-end vehicles over the years. The North Korean leader is often seen being chauffeured in what’s believed to be a Mercedes-Maybach Pullman Guard armored limousine, worth upwards of $1 million. In 2018, he arrived at a meeting with U.S. officials in a black Rolls-Royce. According to the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies, the center also reported that Pyongyang imported more than 800 luxury vehicles in the period from 2015 to 2017 alone – the majority originating from Russian companies.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Hezbollah Commander Killed

In response to a Hezbollah missile strike, which caused the death of an Israeli soldier and an additional eight injuries in northern Israel, the Jewish state launched a barrage of attacks against the Lebanese terror group last Wednesday. The following day, the Israel Defense Forces announced that, as part of its strikes, it hit a building in Nabatieh, with the strike killing Hezbollah commander Ali Muhammad al-Debes, his deputy Hassan Ibrahim Issa, and several others. Al-Debes was the commander of

Hezbollah’s top Radwan Force and was behind the terror group’s airstrike on Megiddo Junction in Israel, an attack that wounded one man, according to the IDF. Al-Debes was also responsible for several other Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Israel’s strike on Wednesday resulted in ten fatalities, three of whom were members of the Iran-backed terror group; the other seven were civilians, officials from Lebanon claimed. According to a security official from the Lebanese government, the three deceased Hezbollah officials were on the building’s ground floor when the structure was hit by Israeli fighter jets. The civilians, who were all part of one family, were on the floor above the terrorists. The other eliminated terrorist, 36-year-old Hussein Ahmad Aqeel, was named by Hezbollah as the third deceased terrorist killed in the Israeli operation. An anonymous security source from Lebanon reported that Al-Debes was injured in another Israeli strike targeting the Hezbollah commander just a week before his death. As a member of the terrorist organization, Al-Debes, according to the Lebanese media, was in charge of Palestinian matters. Reacting to Wednesday’s attacks, Hezbollah vowed that Israel would “pay

the price.” On Thursday, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continued, as the terror group launched twelve rockets and two anti-tank missiles at Kiryat Shmona, resulting only in property damage. Earlier that day, the terror group launched a rocket at Mount Dov and three anti-tank missiles at Shtula, although no one was injured as a result of the attacks, thank G-d. The IDF announced that it hit many Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including terror infrastructure such as buildings and rocket launching positions. Yoav Gallant, the defense minister of Israel, said that the IDF upped the intensity of their attacks on Hezbollah by “one level out of 10,” and said that “the IDF possess very significant further strength,” with “Air Force jets currently flying in the skies of Lebanon have heavier bombs for more distant targets.” Hezbollah’s attacks against the Jewish state have been motivated by the ongoing war in Gaza, which was triggered on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 others. The escalating tensions on Israel’s northern border have heightened fears of a broader conflict which may potentially lead to open warfare between Israel and the Lebanese militant group. “The State of Israel will not tolerate attacks on its citizens. We will ensure security and the safe return of our communities to the north and are prepared to do so via diplomatic or military means,” Gallant asserted.

More Heartbreak

On Monday night, IDF Staff Sgt. Maoz Morell, member of a Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, succumbed to wounds he sustained on February 15 while fighting in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. Morell, 22, from Talmon in the Binyamin region of Samaria, was the sixth combat soldier from the same high school yeshiva in Dimona to die in the Gaza war. Before an official announcement was

released of his death, Morell’s brother Dov posted to X: “My brother Maoz passed away tonight in the hospital. We had time to read vidui at his bedside, parents and siblings. “Maoz is the first brother whose birth I remember. I hope and pray very much that he is also the last brother to go in my lifetime. Friends—it is very important to me that you come to comfort us. We will sit shivah in Talmon.” Maoz’s funeral was held at noon on Tuesday on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. “We would be happy if you would come to pay him last respects,” his brother wrote. Rabbi Yaakov Dudi, head of the high school, the Tzvia Dimona Yeshivah, paid tribute to Morrell. “Maoz’s bravery and determination were manifested throughout his life’s journey, in his constant dealing with day-to-day challenges, in his diligence in the Torah and in his adherence to its teachings. The pleasantness of his ways, the charm of his face and his love for his family, his friends and everyone around him will remain engraved in our hearts and on the walls of our seminary,” the rabbi said. His friends said of him, “Maoz was marked by his vigor, kindness, smile, joy and music. He was a true friend and loved by all of us.” Two other paratroopers died in the same battle as Morrell, Staff Sgt. Rotem Sahar-Hadar, 20, and Sgt. Noam Haba, 21. Other soldiers were wounded. (JNS)

Report: Israel Behind Iran Gas Attack

According to The New York Times, Israel was behind a pair of attacks on major gas pipelines inside Iran last week, which disrupted the flow of gas to millions of people. The Times cited two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as its sources. If confirmed, the strike would amount to an escalation by Israel, which has been

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Hamas-led October 7 onslaught in which Palestinian terrorists killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 253 others hostage. Iranian leaders have denied Tehran was behind the Hamas attack. Still, it has praised Hamas for the massacre and has boasted of supporting the terror group and other proxy terror groups.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Families File ICC Complaints Against Hamas

linked to numerous strikes in Iran over the years, but primarily against the country’s nuclear program, as well as assassinations of senior figures. “The enemy’s plan was to completely disrupt the flow of gas in winter to several main cities and provinces in our country,” Iran’s oil minister, Javad Owji, told Iranian media in comments on the “sabotage and terrorist attacks.” He avoided publicly blaming Israel for the blasts, which he said were aimed

at damaging Iran’s energy infrastructure and stirring public upheaval. A Western official told New York Time that the strike was largely symbolic, causing minimal harm and being easy to repair, but sent a message that Israel can cause significant damage. The natural gas pipeline that was targeted runs from Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270-kilometer (790-mile) pipe-

line begins in Asaluyeh, a hub for Iran’s offshore South Pars gas field. The two Western officials said Israel was also behind another blast on Thursday inside a chemical factory on the outskirts of Tehran. However, local officials quoted by the Times said the explosion was due to an accident in the factory’s fuel tank. There has been no comment from Israel on the blasts, which came amid the ongoing war in Gaza triggered by the

Stories of the slaughter, assault, and unspeakable terror perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 continue to come to light more than 130 days after the massacre. More than 250 people were abducted from their homes on that day, with 134 of them remaining in Hamas captivity. Last Wednesday, relatives of those who remain in Gaza brought forth legal action against Hamas at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, with family members insisting that the terror group be held accountable for their heinous crimes. The group was made up of around one hundred family members, as well as dozens of lawyers who helped file the ICC complaint. The ICC differs from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its scope of jurisdiction; the ICC prosecutes individuals for crimes, whereas the ICJ, which recently saw Israel accused of genocide by South Africa, deals with legal disputes between nations. The ICJ is a part of the U.N., while the ICC is not, but was rather established under the Rome Statute, an international treaty that was ratified by around 120 countries — but not by Israel. “Criminals must be held criminally responsible for their atrocities. We rely on the ability of the International Criminal Court to bring justice to the hostages and their families,” said Dr. Shelly Aviv Yeini, the head of the group’s legal team. “This is part of the mechanism of exerting pressure to release the hostages and encouraging countries around the

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

world to take legal action against those responsible for these heinous acts. This represents international recognition that holding hostages is always illegal.” The families submitted 1,000 pages of evidence and testimony of Hamas’ October 7th war crimes, charging the terror group with “kidnapping, crimes of [assault], torture and other serious allegations.” Karim Kahn, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, announced that he had already initiated an investigation into the actions of Hamas on October 7. However, the families of hostages hope their legal action will encourage the prosecutor to escalate matters further by issuing arrest warrants for top Hamas officials and furthering the overall investigation. The distraught families made their way to the Hague by bus, with many holding flowers and pictures of their kidnapped family members. The group arrived and saw hundreds of supporters, who stood waiting at the site after enduring rain and strong winds. The supporters waved Israeli flags and proclaimed, “Bring them home, now!” After the legal complaint was filed with the ICC, the families led a rally, with relatives of those held hostage making speeches and pictures of the

slaughter being shown to those present on large screens. “Ohad, my husband, the love of my life, and the father of my girls, is still being held hostage in Gaza. I think about him every day and every night,” said Raz Ben Ami, a former hostage who was freed during a short-lived truce in November. She and her husband were kidnapped from their house in Kibbutz Be’eri. “The world must wake up. The world needs to open its eyes, to look us in the eyes, and begin acknowledging what we went through,” said Yamit Ashkenazi, the sister of hostage Doron Steinbrecher. “The world needs to know that my sister is in a tunnel somewhere, cold, hungry, without medication… for 131 days. “They took my sister from her bed, from the place that was supposed to be the safest place in the world for her.” Hours after the march, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his decision against sending a group of Israeli officials to Cairo, Egypt, to negotiate with Hamas over the hostage situation. The premier’s ruling, which was made without seeking advice from the forum generally responsible for making wartime decisions, purportedly irritated members of his cabinet, including Ben-

ny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot. Netanyahu asserted that no progress could be made on the hostage situation as long as Hamas insists on an unrealistic deal, which would include a permanent ceasefire and the freedom of 1,500 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, some of whom were found guilty of murder.

Brazilian Pres. Not Welcome in Israel

While in Ethiopia for the African Union summit, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide similar to the Holocaust against the people of Gaza. In response to Lula’s unfounded assertions, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, on Monday, declared the Brazilian president “persona non grata” – meaning he isn’t

welcome in Israel “until he retracts his statements.” Following Lula’s verbal attacks on the Jewish state, Katz met with Brazilian Ambassador Federico Mayer for a diplomatic reprimand at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. At the memorial, Katz, whose parents survived the Holocaust, told the ambassador that Israel “will not forget and we will not forgive.” Katz and Mayer then took a tour of the memorial, during which the foreign minister showed the Brazilian ambassador the Book of Names which has the names of Katz’s grandparents written in it. “I brought you to a place that testifies more than anything else to what the Nazis and Hitler did to the Jews, including members of my family,” Katz told the ambassador. “The comparison between Israel’s just war against Hamas and the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazis is a disgrace and a severe antisemitic attack.” Lula falsely stated, while in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, that “what’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide.” “It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” Lula said. “What is happening in the Gaza Strip

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

killing Palestinian civilians, a task which has proven extremely challenging due to the fact that the Hamas terror group is embedded in and underneath civilian infrastructure. The Jewish state has long insisted that the fighting could end immediately if Hamas unconditionally surrenders and returns the hostages. Lula isn’t the first to accuse Israel of such crimes. One month ago, South Africa initiated a legal battle against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing the Jewish state of intentionally perpetrating genocide, and asking the court to order an immediate ceasefire. Although the court case will likely continue for several years, the court dismissed the need to call for an immediate ceasefire but alleged that there was “plausibility” to South Africa’s accusations.

ICE Draft Plan To Release Thousands

with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history” besides “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” the Brazilian president asserted, continuing his string of verbal, slanderous attacks. Following his statement, Brazilian-Jewish organizations criticized Lula. Chairman of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan said that the Brazilian president’s statements were “an outrageous combination of hatred and ignorance” towards the

Jewish people, while many Israeli officials condemned Lula for his claims. “The words of the President of Brazil are shameful and alarming,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is a trivialization of the Holocaust and an attempt to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself. “Comparing a country fighting against a murderous terror organization to the actions of the Nazis in the Holocaust is worthy of all condemnation,” the premier

added. “It is sad that the president of Brazil has stooped to such a level of extreme distortion of the Holocaust.” The ongoing conflict in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ October 7th massacre, in which the terror group murdered more than 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 253 people, and maimed and displaced thousands more. Of those taken captive, 134 remain in Hamas captivity, although some are said to have perished while in Gaza. Israel takes every measure to avoid

With the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency suffering from underfunding, the group has recently created a plan that, if put into effect, would save money by releasing thousands of detained immigrants. The border crisis has taken a toll on the Department of Homeland Security, which has, over the last year, been struggling with unprecedented migration levels from the U.S.-Mexico border. The White House has requested $14 billion in funding for securing the border and a supplemental $7.6 billion going to ICE. “Giving up on real solutions right when they are needed most in order to play politics is not what the American people expect from their leaders. Congress needs to act to give me, Secretary Mayorkas, and my administration the tools and resources needed to address the situation at the border,” said President Joe Biden on Tuesday, criticizing the House for impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security. ICE currently faces a $700 million

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

deficit – meaning its expenses have significantly exceeded its funding, thus prompting the agency to come up with ways of saving money. Holding centers and deportations are some of ICE’s most expensive costs. Thus, if ICE is allowed to detain and deport fewer immigrants, the agency would likely save money. “The Administration has repeatedly requested additional resources for DHS’s vital missions on the southwest border and Congress has chronically underfunded them,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said. “Without adequate funding for CBP, ICE, and USCIS, the Department will have to reprogram or pull resources from other efforts.” Supplemental funds from the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and other non-related agencies have been provided to ICE in the past, and the agency has also redistributed its own funds. ICE holds immigrants who have a criminal record, as well as immigrants who are set for deportation or who must be detained for other reasons. According to data released by the federal government, the number of arrests at the border has decreased by 50% from December to January.

Last month, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered 124,220 immigrants coming through the U.S.-Mexico border. With the U.S. and Mexico resuming Venezuelan deportation flights, the border patrol has observed far fewer Venezuelans coming through the border – around 11,600 in January, as opposed to 57,851 from a month prior.

Trump Ordered to Pay $355M

A New York judge on Friday handed Donald Trump a crushing defeat in his civil fraud case, finding the former president liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and ordering him to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest that could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash.

The decision by Justice Arthur Engoron caps a chaotic, years-long case in which New York’s attorney general put Trump’s claims of wealth on trial. Engoron banned Trump for three years from serving in top roles at any New York company, including portions of his own Trump Organization. He also imposed a two-year ban on the former president’s adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., and ordered that they pay more than $4 million each. The judge also ordered that they pay substantial interest, pushing the penalty for the former president to $450 million, according to the attorney general, Letitia James. Trump will appeal the financial penalty but will have to either come up with the money or secure a bond within 30 days. The ruling will not render him bankrupt, because most of his wealth is in real estate, which altogether is worth far more than the penalty. Trump will also ask an appeals court to halt the restrictions on him and his sons from running the company while it considers the case. But there might be little Trump can do to thwart one of the judge’s most consequential punishments: extending for three years the appointment of an independent monitor who is the court’s eyes and ears at the Trump Organization. He also strengthened the monitor’s authority to watch for fraud and second-guess transactions that look suspicious. Trump’s lawyers have railed against the monitor, Barbara Jones, saying that her work had already cost the business more than $2.5 million. Even though lenders made money from Trump, they were the purported victims in the case, with James arguing that without his fraud, they could have made even more. The financial penalty reflects those lost profits, with nearly half of the $355 million — $168 million — representing the interest that Trump saved, and the remaining sum representing his profit on the recent sale of two properties, money that the judge has now clawed back from Trump and corporate entities he owns. (© The New York Times)

U.S. Constitution Vandalized Two men were arrested at The National Archives in Washington, D.C., last week after throwing red powder at the protective casing that holds the U.S. Constitution. The incident took place on Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m., prompting the museum’s closure for the remain-

der of the day. “The Constitution was unaffected in its encasement. No damage was done to the document itself,” the National Archives stated.

Footage published on the X social media platform shows two individuals standing before the vandalized display case proclaiming humanity’s entitlement to clean water and a habitable climate while dumping red powder all over the display. The two climate activists were then arrested by the Archives’ guards. “We take such vandalism very seriously and we will insist that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Colleen Shogan, a United States archivist. The museum reopened on Thursday, except for the National Archives Rotunda, which remained closed for cleaning purposes. This act of vandalism is not the first of its kind. In fact, there seems to be an emerging pattern of environmental advocates defacing cultural treasures and artworks in the name of their cause. In 2022, a protester at a London Gallery threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Goh’s “Sunflowers” painting. In 2023, a group of climate activists defaced French Impressionist Claude Monet’s “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny” with red paint before gluing their hands to the painting, which was on display at Stockholm’s National Museum. Many assert that demonstrations of this sort undermine the message of climate activism. The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights are “sealed in the most scientifically advanced housing that preservation technology can provide.” On most days, the documents are publicly viewable from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

NY Congressional Redistricting A bipartisan redistricting commission came to a consensus on Thursday, proposing slight alterations to three New York districts. The plan’s future is now in the hands of the Legislature, which is

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

York high court mandated the creation of a new map, giving lawmakers another opportunity to design the district boundaries. With the commission’s latest redistricting proposal, which offers more subtle changes to the map, it hopes to steer clear of further litigation.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Long Island districts, including the one once represented by disgraced former Congressman George Santos, would be mostly unaffected by the proposal. “It was important for us not to enter into the process of confusing people out there over where they were going to vote,” Charles Nesbitt, the vice chairperson of the commission, said. The Independent Redistricting Commission, consisting of the same number of Republicans and Democrats, was formed in 2014 following a constitutional amendment ratified by voters.

Filming Returns to NYC

currently controlled by Democrats; the timeline for such a legislative vote, which would either end with the plan approved or rejected, is uncertain at this time. Following a slew of losses for the Democrat Party in New York’s 2022 congressional elections, a race that played a key role in securing the Republican’s House majority, the Democrat Party moved forward with legal action to change the congressional map. The proposed redistricting plan may

pose a challenge to Republican Rep. Brandon Williams, Democrat Rep. Pat Ryan, and Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro, whose districts would be impacted. Under the new plan, Williams’ Syracuse-based district would come to include Auburn and Cortland, while Woodstock would be added to Ryan’s district, and Molinaro’s district would extend to encompass areas located to the east of Albany. Although New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission was expected

to come up with new redistricting plans in 2022, it was unable to agree on any given plan, and thus, the responsibility was handed over to state policymakers. Democrat legislators went on to design their own map, meant to take power away from Republicans, but the plans were stopped as a result of a lawsuit. An independent specialist then crafted a new map, under which Republicans scored many wins in the state, prompting Democrats to sue for a new map. In December, the New

At first glance, there was nothing unusual about the small park in Sunnyside, Queens. A kid sailed back and forth on a swing. Other children scampered over a jungle gym and played basketball. But upon closer inspection, the streetlamp lying on its side turned out to be a prop. So was the police car on the corner and the candlelit memorial at the playground entrance. The woman rushing up the steps crying “My baby!” was an actor. The cast and crew of the CBS police drama “Blue Bloods” had infiltrated the park on a recent afternoon and converted it into a film set. Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez, actors who star as New York City police detectives, stood at the ready. Authoritative voices were amplified over multiple walkie-talkies.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

“Quiet please. Rolling. Background. And … action.” After a pause during the coronavirus pandemic beginning in 2020 and disruptions caused by the writers and actors strikes last year, motion picture production has returned to New York City. Since the strikes ended, the number of permits issued by the city for projects being filmed on public property has quickly rebounded — doubling between November and December and continuing to increase since then. Last month, the city issued 389 permits for 88 projects. Across the city, several large-scale studios are under construction by developers hoping to attract a steady stream of film projects. Efforts to encourage movie and television productions to choose New York over other cities and states recently got a boost from a measure that expanded the state’s decades-old film tax credit, a program supported by the industry but panned by critics who argue that it is a bad deal for taxpayers. A new report, commissioned by the state government, found that the tax credit was “at best a break-even proposition and more likely a net cost to

the state.” Still, motion picture production in New York generates an estimated 185,000 jobs, $18 billion in wages and $81 billion in revenue, according to the city. And officials say the industry’s recuperation after a months-long work stoppage is an important part of New York City’s overall economic health. (© The New York Times)

Capital One Buying Discover

On Monday, Capital One announced that it’s acquiring Discover Financial Services for $35.3 billion in an all-stock deal, giving the bank a leg up in the competitive credit card market. If the deal is finalized, current

Capital One shareholders will own a 60% stake in the combined company, while Discover shareholders will own the remaining 40%. The deal is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. With a market valuation of almost $28 billion, Discover is considerably smaller than the other three major credit card networks in the U.S. — Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Acquiring Discover would give Capital One a leg up against competing credit card-issuing banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, which don’t process transactions themselves. Richard Fairbank, the founder and CEO of Capital One, said in the Monday announcement that the deal would “build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies.”

Pork Flavored Coffee

How about a little pig in your coffee to wake you up in the morning? Although we would all pass on this culinary creation, Starbucks is adding this drink to its lineup in China to mark the Lunar New Year in the country. Dubbed the “Abundant Year Savory Latte,” the brand describes it as having an “interesting” flavor. The drink combines Dongpo Braised Pork Flavor Sauce with espresso and steamed milk, with extra pork sauce and pork breast meat for garnish. Sounds…interesting. The price for this bizarre beverage is around $9.45. “Eating meat means prosperity in the coming year,” Starbucks wrote on Weibo on February 5, days before the Lunar New Year began. It added that the drink brings “traditional New Year customs into coffee” and creates “unexpected sa-

vory and sweet flavors.” The latte is available at Starbucks Reserve stores across the country. Lunar New Year is one of the biggest annual holidays in Asia. People across China travel back home during this period to celebrate with their families. Many people eat a variety of pork dishes during these celebrations. Starbucks also released other new flavors across China with a holiday theme in February, according to the Shanghai Reserve Roastery’s Weibo account, including a jujube macchiato inspired by new year’s rice cakes and an almond tofu macchiato. Why can’t they just stick to coffee?

Trump Sneakers

What do you do when you leave the Oval Office? Sell sneakers, of course. Former President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he is launching a sneaker line called “Trump Sneakers.” The over-the-top footwear is all gold and is called the “Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker.” It is selling for $399. But before you pull out your wallet, keep in mind that the sneaker is already sold out. There had been 1,000 sneakers available before customers nabbed the flashy shoes. “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s going to be a big success,” Trump said at Sneaker Con. According to the website, the products sold are “trademarks of CIC Ventures LLC. Trump Sneakers are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals. 45Footwear, LLC uses the Trump name, image and likeness under a license agreement.” The former president is also selling two versions of sneakers that have “T” and “45” on the sides for $199, according to the website. Cologne and perfume are also for sale at $99 each. He’s not sneaking around.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Honor Among Thieves

When the thieves broke into the country home of a renowned film director in southern India, taking gold, silver and cash, they made a clean getaway. But days later, a small plastic bag appeared outside the house’s gates, stitched shut with thin sticks and containing something wrapped in a white handkerchief. Inside was a medal for a prestigious national award that the director, M. Manikandan, had won in 2021 for one of his films. With it was a brief note handwritten in Tamil, a regional language. “Sir, please forgive us,” the note read. “Your hard work belongs to you alone.” The burglary and partial return, with its small-town intrigue and big-hearted absurdity, could have figured in the kind

of movies Manikandan and other filmmakers in India’s south make. Manikandan broke through with a film about two egg-stealing, slum-dwelling brothers with a single goal: to do whatever it took to taste pizza. The film for which he won the purloined medal, “Kadaisi Vivasayi,” or “The Last Farmer,” was a commentary on the difficulties of farming in India. Sathish Kumar, a head constable who is part of the intelligence-gathering team of the local police unit investigating, said the house, in the town of Usilampatti, was broken into via the front door last week. Taken was about $1,200 in local currency, 40 grams of gold chains and silver ornaments with a total weight of about 1 kilogram. It is a one-bedroom property, with an office and a garden. Manikandan is there only occasionally, living mostly in Chennai, the state capital, about 300 miles away. Thefts are frequent in the town, although most have been solved with the help of CCTV footage, Kumar said. But in the burglary at Manikandan’s place, there were no clues. When the film director’s manager found the plastic bag with the medal on the east side of the property four days af-

ter the burglary, he called police at once, according to Kumar. Kumar and his team took the bag and the medal into police custody, hoping they finally had a lead on the culprits. But the fingerprints collected have resulted in no matches. (© The New York Times)

A Long Story Short

Young Grandmaster

Ashwath Kaushik is just eight years old, but he is smashing records. He became the youngest player ever to beat a chess grandmaster in a classical tournament game. Kaushik was actually eights years, six months, and 11 days old on Sunday when he accomplished this feat. The youngster, who lives in Singapore, beat Poland’s Jacek Stopa, 37, in round four of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. The previous record was only just set last month by then eight-year-old Leonid Ivanovic – who became the first player under the age of nine to beat a grandmaster in a classical game – but Ashwath was five months younger than the Serbian when he beat Stopa, according to Chess. com. “It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point but managed to come back from that,” Kaushik said. Born in India in 2015, Ashwath has already made a name for himself after winning a number of youth tournaments around the world – notably becoming the World Under-8 Rapid champion in 2022. He finished 12th in this week’s tournament in Switzerland. Surprisingly, Kaushik’s father and mother do not play chess. The eight-yearold practices the “sport” around seven hours a day. Checkmate!

It was the world’s weirdest shidduch date. On Monday, the world’s tallest person and the world’s shortest person had breakfast together in California, reuniting six years after they first met for a photo shoot in Egypt. Sultan Kosen, from Turkey, towers above at 8 feet, 2 inches. Jyoti Amge, from India, is a mere 2 feet, 0.7 inches. Kosen is 41 years old; Amge is 30. They posed for a new set of photos when meeting this week. In one of the images, Amge is just a little taller than Kosen’s shoe, as she stands alongside it smiling ear to ear. The pair had traveled to the United States to meet with an American producer. The duo last met in 2018 when they visited Egypt, posing next to the Great Sphinx of Giza. The sphinx also holds a Guinness World Record – it is officially the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. Kose officially became the world’s tallest man living in 2009 and was, at the time, the first man to grow over 8 feet tall in over 20 years. He also holds the record for the world’s largest hand. His super size is the result of a medical condition called pituitary gigantism that causes his bones and body parts to grow at a much faster rate than in most people. He had been growing at an average rate until the age of 10, when a tumor led to this medical condition. Amge received the title of world’s shortest woman in 2011 after earlier holding the record of being the world’s shortest teenager. Her diminutive height is the result of a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. And that’s the long and the short of it.

Did you know? In warmer temperatures, the cables on the Brooklyn Bridge expand, which can make the bridge 3 inches taller.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the

Community Yeshiva of Far Rockaway 55th Annual Dinner Held on February 14, 6 Adar I, 5784 at the Sands of Atlantic Beach Photo By Yossi Kohn

Mr. Yochanan Gordon, Dinner Chairman; Rabbi Moshe Perr; Rabbi Simcha Kallus, Marbitz Torah Awardee; and Rabbi Mordechai Miller, Menahel

Mr. Yochanan Gordon, Dinner Chairman; Rabbi Moshe Perr; Mr. Yaakov Salamon, Amud Hachesed Awardee; and Rabbi Mordechai Miller, Menahel

Mr. Yochanan Gordon, Dinner Chairman; Rabbi Moshe Perr; Mr. Shlomo Wilamowsky, Guest of Honor; and Rabbi Mordechai Miller, Menahel

Dais: Mr. Shlomo Wilamowsky; Mr. Yochanan Gordon, Dinner Chairman; Rabbi Moshe Perr; Rabbi Daniel Nekritz; Rabbi Mordechai Miller; Rabbi Simcha Kallus; and Mr. Yaakov Salamon

Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Perr, speaking via video message

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

History Day at HALB

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Dayan Shmuel Fuerst of Chicago engaged in a lively and illuminating Q&A session on various halacha topics with the avreichim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Kollel Tirtza Devorah on Sunday morning

Health Week at HAFTR

ealth Week 2024 at HAFTR concluded with resounding success, leaving a lasting impact on students and faculty alike. The weeklong event featured a diverse range of enriching activities and discussions aimed at promoting holistic wellness. One highlight of the week was the generous donation of a delectable selection of healthy snacks by the PTA, emphasizing the importance of nutritious eating habits. Additionally, the PTA provided Fitbits to encourage continuous physical activity among students. Classrooms buzzed with thought-provoking discussions on physical and mental well-being, offering students valuable insights into holistic health. They also had the unique opportunity to learn

from parent professionals in the medical field, gaining firsthand experience and knowledge. Special events like Pink Night raised awareness for significant causes, fostering community unity and support. Moreover, dedicated hours of physical activities, ranging from Krav Maga sessions provided by Warren Levi to fun basketball games with peers, injected a sense of enjoyment into fitness routines, empowering individuals to prioritize their strength and endurance. Through its comprehensive programming, HAFTR demonstrated an unwavering commitment to promoting wellness across mind, body, and spirit, setting a commendable example for the wider community.

n Tuesday, February 7, the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach held its seventh annual HALB History Day as part of the larger National History Day Competition. The National History Day competition is an event in which more than a half a million students participate each year. The projects examine an event in history and how it relates to a national theme. For the past five months, under the guidance of their social studies teacher Ms. Kristen Waterman, the eighth grade students researched various events in history related to this year’s theme, Turning Points

in History. HALB students investigated time periods as far back as the American Industrial Revolution and as recent as the 1970s. They discovered how even the smallest action can have major effects on the course of history. Students were able to present their information as a documentary, website, or exhibit. Each project type allowed students to use real world skills to present their research in a fun and exciting way. The top three groups in each category will compete in March at Long Island History Day at Hofstra University!

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Shulamith ECC sent letters and cards to chayalim in Israel with Morah Gilat (kindergarten morah). Morah Gilat went to visit her son in the army.

Be My Guest: Invite Bracha to Your Home By Chaya Feldstein

e My Guest’s mission is to spread the warmth and invitation of the mitzvah of hachnosos orchim, the way it ought to be. It is being proactive and paying attention to the people who smile at you in shul or on your block; some may be living alone for whatever reason. It is extending an invitation by words of warmth in a phone call, the old-fashioned way. The initial event took place on December 19; a review was published in TJH on December 28. Rabbi Paysach Krohn explained how to perform this mitzvah the way it ought to be. A sign-up sheet for hosts and guests was posted.

To date, an email address has been set up to match hosts with guests. A cute ice breaker activity to make a more family friendly atmosphere so that people can get to know each other has been introduced to the monthly women’s Rosh Chodesh shiur by Rebbetzin Feiner. At the Shul Kiddush, hosts are working on making connections; a guest wants to feel welcomed and not cold called. Both the guest and the host have reported how much they are enjoying this setup. In truth, the guest gives the host so much more than the host gives him/her…Olam Haba, especially when he/she says the Birchas Ha’oreach. The awareness that Rabbi Krohn so beautifully engendered has caused tremendous inspiration, such as the follow-

ing vignette: It was on that memorable Simchas Torah night, October 7, that Cheryl* was in shul and, distraught as everyone else, she walked out with a few friends who were invited to the Katz* family. They lived around the corner from the Segals*, the family she was joining. Cheryl had also been invited there for that meal but let them know she wasn’t able to attend because she was invited first by the Segal family. Because she was walking with her friends, she decided to say hello to the Katzs. Mrs. Katz welcomed her and said, “You’re joining us, Cheryl?” Cheryl still went to the family she was invited to first, but nonetheless felt the warmth of those genuine words of care. While at the Katzs, she was introduced to their guests and just a week later, Mrs. Gerber* in-

vited Cheryl for a meal. Cheryl took the chance to join someone she didn’t know because the invitation seemed genuine. She took the leap...and today they are friends. The recording of the inaugural “Be My Guest” event with Rabbi Paysach Krohn can be found at https://www.torahanytime.com/#/ lectures?v=271912 or by phone, 718-2982077, press 9 followed by the class ID 271912 and then #. For more information and to sign up to be an ambassador in your shul, please email bemyguest@whiteshul.com. May Hashem reward our efforts!

A Special Visit

U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and Hempstead Town Councilwoman Melissa Miller congratulated Outgoing Chief Michael Weiss and 45-year member Ex-Chief Richard Jankosky at the Woodmere Fire Department’s 133rd Installation of Officers event on February 4, 2024 at the Seawane Club in Hewlett. Also attending were Fire Commissioner Leonard Cherson and Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro.

n honor of Parshas Tetzaveh, Rabbi Moshe HaKohen Zimberg visited Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Harriet Keilson Early

Childhood Center dressed as a kohen gadol and told the boys all about the bigdei kehunah. At right is Rabbi Benzion Appelbaum.

Around the Community

he month of February is one of positive awareness at Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central), a time in which health and safety – how we can care for our own, and that of our community – takes precedence. On Wednesday, February 14, Central infused the day with meaning participating in Sharsheret Pink Day, coordinated in part by Central’s Pink Club. Helmed by sophomore Ellie Gross and senior Gabi Zahavi, Pink Club is a beloved Central endeavor with a focus on breast cancer awareness and advocacy. While Central observes Pink Week every October during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this Pink Day was spearheaded by the nonprofit Sharsheret. “Sharsheret is a Jewish organization that provides resources to women with breast and ovarian cancer,” Gabi continued. On the 14th, Mrs. Shoshana Polakoff from Sharsheret spoke to Central students about the nonprofit’s work, stressing the organization’s core message to anyone affected by breast or ovarian cancer: “I am here, Sharsheret is here, your faculty is here. You are never alone.” “We also spent a couple of weeks collecting materials for care packages, and part of Pink Day was making the packages for distribution at local hospitals,” Gabi added. Gabi will also play a pivotal role in Go Purple Day, scheduled for Thursday, February 22. Along with seniors Bracha Frankel and Leora Strauss, Gabi serves as a leader of Central’s Shalom Task Force chapter, guiding this year’s group of Shalom Task Force Purple Fellows. One of the many leadership opportunities available to Central students, the Shalom Task Force Purple Fellowship is a national initiative that challenges students to strengthen their leadership skills by becoming domestic abuse education advocates. Purple Fellows have taken part in a nine-week curriculum hosted by the program’s parent organization, which offers education, a confidential hotline, and legal resources to the public. Class topics have included healthy relationships, boundaries, and the stigmas surrounding discussions of domestic abuse. Instruction also included training on event planning, advocacy,

and fundraising. The fellowship’s culminating event: coordinating this year’s Go Purple Day. In 2023, over 9,500 high school students participated in Go Purple Day nationwide. Gabi, who was recently awarded the Shalom Task Force Young Leadership Award, stressed the value of Shalom Task Force as part of her education at Central. “I wanted to get involved in order to help people,” she said. “Shalom Task Force was one of the awareness clubs I heard about first – I was so excited to sign up.” This year’s Purple Fellows are juniors Tali Amar, Reema Gampel, Amy Morris, and Miriam Siegman, who, along with the seniors, have planned a dynamic Go Purple Day featuring a guest speaker, workshops, raffles, and more. “This fellowship has been super important to all of us,” Amy said. “We believe it’s essential for people to learn about domestic abuse so that they can recognize it. We are so excited for people to learn about Shalom Task Force.”

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Sharsheret Pink Day and Go Purple Day at YUHSG

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

YOSS ECC Nursery boys worked together to build the Mishkan, the Menorah and a large Aron in honor of Parshas Terumah

SHS Wellness Week 2024

SKA Mission to Israel

T S

hulamith High School’s Wellness Week took place last week, an interdepartmental initiative educating students on the multiple components of healthy living. Centered around Sharsheret’s International Pink Day, this biennial program designates one day each towards physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellness, through a teen-centric lens. Through a series of speakers, debriefs, and hands-on activities, students were informed about precautions and risks related to the topic of the day,

and encouraged to ask any questions in a judgment free environment. Topics ranged from the science behind social media addiction to substance awareness to a Women’s Health Fair where professionals from various health-related industries were available to educate the girls on their unique field. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to serve as just the beginning of the conversation and to launch ongoing dialogue about these important topics between the students and trusted adults in their lives.

his past week, fifty SKA students and SKA staff were privileged to participate in a Chessed/Chizuk trip to Israel organized by the World Mizrachi Movement. The students picked oranges on a moshav near Petach Tikvah, organized activities for evacuated children and older adults in three hotels in Yerushalayim, bonded with and hosted a barbecue for chayalot at the Re’Im army base, and organized and hosted a bat mitzvah celebration for 12 girls and their families who had been displaced from their homes in southern Israel since October 7. They also spent time in Hostage Square and visited Har Herzl, Netiv Ha’Asrara ( one of the moshavim attacked on October 7), the Nova festival site, Tekuma, Sderot, and Ofakim.

At each stop, the girls heard the chilling stories of that day and were able to say Tehillim and offer comfort and chizuk to survivors and their families. Students had the opportunity to hear from real life heroes who have suffered loss but are resolute in their love for Eretz Yisrael and Hashem. A highlight of the trip was hearing the extreme emunah of Rav Doron Perez and crying with him over the kidnapping of his son. The Israelis were so appreciative of the girls’ efforts on their behalf and for their commitment to them and to Am Yisroel. The trip was truly an embodiment of the SKA’s values and the theme of Am Echad B’Lev Echad.

Around the Community

By Lilly Rotman

AFTR High School welcomed eighth grade students interested in joining the incoming freshman Class of 2028 with a day of exciting activities during its annual HAFTR Experience. This program, hosted on February 6, gave students a sneak peek into their exciting high school journey ahead. Throughout the morning, students had the opportunity to hear from current high school students, meet with

faculty, and get a glimpse of what HAFTR has to offer. The students listened to insightful speeches, participated in tours of the building and various classes and shiurim, engaged in interactive projects, and enjoyed delicious food and treats. After welcoming remarks from principals, students were divided into groups and began their day in the shoes of a HAFTR High School student. They traveled from class to class, getting a taste of the many courses they will be taking next year, including art, science, STEAM,

Limudei Kodesh, humanities, and more. In addition, students participated in a series of team-building exercises. Laughter and excitement echoed through the halls as students worked as a determined team to complete their mission. The program continued with a panel discussion featuring juniors Megan Scharf, Ness Salem, Alex Ernst, and sophomores Eric Garbulsky and Natalie Bellehsen, who shared highlights of their personal experiences at HAFTR High School. The speakers also offered

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

HAFTR High School Hosts HAFTR Experience

valuable advice for the journey that the eighth graders are about to begin. Toward the end of their HAFTR Experience, students gathered together for a delicious lunch and excitedly discussed their various experiences. As the eighth graders left the high school, not only did they get a sense of the courses they would be able to take next year, but also an idea of the welcoming community of teachers and peers who would be there to guide them along the way.

Around the Community

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

The Mann family of Bayswater and friends built an impressive igloo over the weekend

Talmidim and faculty of Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim volunteered in helping prepare packages for Israeli soldiers at the Israel Chesed Center

YCQ Girls Host Informative Shabbos Fair

he eighth grade girls at YCQ created an amazing display that highlighted the 39 melachot of Shabbat. Students of all ages had the opportunity to visit the fair and see firsthand how the different melachot are actually performed! They participated in a scavenger hunt and learned so much about the various melachot that were completed in the Mishkan and how to

properly observe Shabbat today. “I was extremely impressed by the beautiful boards the students created that truly brought to life the halachot of shabbat,” remarked Principal Rabbi Mark Landsman. “I’m so proud of all the research and effort our talmidot and Morah Auerbach put into making the Shabbat Fair so successful.” Learning Hilchot Shabbat is not an

easy task but the eighth grade girls mastered the material. They were able to clearly explain the different halachot to the younger students with ease. Everyone walked away with a sense of new understanding and appreciation for Shabbat Kodesh. Thank you to Morah Sarit Auerbach for organizing such a creative and educational initiative.

MTA Shines at YU Model UN

or many of the top students at yeshiva high schools all over the country, YU National Model United Nations (YUNMUN) is the climax of their year, a time to test their knowledge and skills against the best. Each school is assigned one or two countries, and its delegates are assigned each to one UN committee. The goal of the Model UN is to seriously address issues of concern in the world, work together with delegates from other countries, and pass resolutions designed to solve or at least mitigate the world’s problems. The MTA YUNMUN team spent months preparing for the conference, under the able leadership of Junior Amir Gross. Although the team had no seniors, and was further handicapped by the fact that seven of its twelve delegates had never before been to a Model UN, the students worked hard in their preparation and performed well. The preparations consisted of four parts: 1) Learning about their assigned country and its policies and goals at the United Nations (delegates are expected to be in

character throughout the event and truly represent their country); 2) learning about the UN itself and the role of their particular committee; 3) learning about the two issues their committee would be addressing; and 4) learning the rules of parliamentary procedure and how the UN actually works. All four of these were necessary for a delegate to be recognized by the conference’s leaders and judges, and indeed captain Amir Gross was so recognized by Committee on the Status of Women. In addition, two other MTA delegates were recognized for their contribution to the general morale of their committees, Amir Glaser of the Commission of Science and Development and Akiva Cohn for Counter Terrorism Committee. More important, however, was the experience gained by this very young and untested team, where all twelve delegates are now excited to redouble their efforts and win awards next year. Many of the Committee chairs reported that these younger students were able to improve their skills even over the course of these

two days. Even more important was the way the students demonstrated their identity as MTA students, prioritizing davening and learning above all else. MTA’s twelve delegates made sure that despite the pressure of the schedule and long days of work (the academic parts of the schedule had to be compressed because of the Super Bowl on Sunday evening), they attended all tefillos and were often called upon

to be the chazan. Similarly, on Monday night at the end of five exhausting committee sessions totaling more than eight hours of work, many team members had a night seder of learning that extended to almost 1:00 am. The MTA delegation both thoroughly enjoyed and academically gained from YUNMUN 2024 and is committed to representing themselves and their yeshiva even more strongly in 2025.

Around the Community

he Lechu V’nelcha Far Rockaway branch has had a great year so far! Each week, we have been having our weekly shiur for post-seminary girls. Lechu V’nelcha (LVN) spearheaded by Rebbetzin Dina Fink is a global program for post-seminary girls with branches worldwide. LVN has weekly shiurim for post-seminary girls in each local branch as well as joint Shabbatons, trips, and other events. This week’s shiur will take place on Motzei Shabbos February 24 at 8:45 PM.

We are excited and honored to be hearing from renowned speaker Rabbi Saadya Grama. The shiur will take place iyH in the Hershkovitz basement at 765 Caffery. Lchu V’nelcha is grateful to the Ostreicher and Hershkovitz families for graciously hosting our shiurim week after week. To stay informed about future shiurim and events or to sponsor a shiur, please email us at lvnfarrockaway5t@ gmail.com. Looking forward to greeting you!

Rav Asher Zelig Weiss, shlita, addressing YKLI talmidim during his recent visit to the community.

Pheffer Amato Takes on Protesters Rabbi Yaniv Meirov of Chazaq; Pesach Osina from City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams office; and Pinny Hikind, representing City Comptroller Brad Lander, at a Chazaq parlor meeting in North Woodmere

ew York State Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato introduced new legislation in response to the chaos and disruption that has skyrocketed during the recent wave of unauthorized protests throughout New York. The Assemblywoman’s bill, A.8951, would create a new section of law that when a person (or persons) deliberately blocks a bridge, tunnel or public road, they are engaging in an act of domestic terrorism, a Class D Felony. In recent months, irresponsible and often rambunctious protests have erupted throughout New York, seriously impacting the lives of residents. The recent examples include the protesters who descended onto the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, blocked the Holland Tunnel, clogged the road to JFK Airport, and other unauthorized pro-

tests. “This is a matter of public safety,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato. “I believe in the First Amendment, and while people have the right to protest, they do not have the right to cause fear, panic and put the lives of other people in danger. There are procedures for people to organize and protest, and I fully support someone getting a permit and making their voice heard. However, you cannot just unlawfully assemble in an area and hinder someone’s ability to get from Point A to Point B. What if an emergency vehicle needed to get through? This flippant disregard for others is not acceptable and there needs to be accountability for actions,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato. The bill is currently in the New York State Assembly Codes Committee.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Lechu V’nelcha

Around the Community

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Students in Mrs. Korman’s YOSS Mechina class learn how to balance force, gravity, and weight, as they build their own “safe bridges”

Rabbi Willner in a lively discussion applying the dinim learned in Masechta Sukkah with his 4th grade talmidim at YKLI

Pink Day at MTA

ink Day at MTA was a great day. A day of fundraising, fun swag, special snacks and awareness for the extremely impactful organization Sharsheret. The entire yeshiva felt the energy of the special day and participated in raising money for Sharsheret, which is dedicated to helping families

facing breast and ovarian cancer. MTA’s Pink Day festivities spanned two days and was capped off with a fundraising 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Over $1,300 was raised to support Sharsheret, and the talmidim had fun, while bringing awareness to this important organization.

JSL Winter: Week 6 Recap

he JSL by FM Home Loans enjoyed another exciting day of games. With only two games remaining in the regular season, the competition has heated up, with some incredible team performances and wild finishes. JSL Juniors K/P Hockey: John’s Automotive secured a 6-2 victory over Future Care Consultants. Despite holding a narrow 2-goal lead for most of the game, John’s offense broke through late with insurance goals, led by Game MVP Moshe Obadiah. Pip Printing battled against Town Appliance, ultimately prevailing 5-2 in a well-fought game. Both teams showcased strong defensive efforts, and Pip emerged victorious with great saves by their goalie. Graber Interior Design dominated with a 7-3 victory, fueled by Yakov Jeidel’s hat trick and goals from Yehuda Wielgus, Yoel Naglesberg, Jonah Zisser, and Shmuli Lazar. Meir Kopelowitz exhibited stellar goaltending. K/P Soccer: Simcha Day Camp took an early lead, but Island Roofing responded, securing a strong victory. Yehoshua Malek was named MVP for his

stellar performance. Football: PIP Printing emerged victorious in a great back-and-forth game, winning on a game-winning touchdown. Shlomo Ehrlich was awarded the Game MVP. Hockey 1st: Daniel Hammer showcased great defense, and Nissi Berman secured a hat trick, as I Am Your Chef and Bright Futures tied 3-3 in a great all-around game. 2nd/3rd: Eli Ruchelsman scored, and Asher Fogel’s outstanding play led Target Exterminating to a 6-2 victory. Pinny Bell contributed two goals for Marcianon in their 9-5 victory. Clever Bee Academy started off the game on fire, scoring 8 goals and looking to coast to an easy win over SDF. However, SDF did not give up, scoring 4 straight goals to tie the game and force a shootout. In shootouts, Eliyahu Ruzhorsky scored his 4th goal of the game, giving Clever Bee the incredible win. Akiva Greenspan’s two crucial goals down the stretch highlighted Built By Nate’s 5-2 triumph over Rosenblatt. 4th/5th: JNT’s offense opened strong with 5 consecutive goals, 4 from Abie Krieser, securing a 5-1 lead. However, Miller Realty responded with determina-

tion, scoring 6 in a row, seizing the lead through solid defense and breakaway offense. The game concluded with a victory, thanks to outstanding goaltending by MVP Yaakov Herzka. 6th/8th: Dovid Balter and Zevi Silverman played outstanding and Dovi Holzberg was lock down in net, leading Extreme Vent Cleaning to an 8-2 victory over Wieder Orthodontics. BayRock Insurance secured a 4-0 win, with YY Polansky delivering an outstanding performance in net. Basketball 3rd/4th: Yehuda Avigdor’s clutch free throws and strong play helped I Am Chef come back to tie the game 23-23 against Home and Stone in an exciting game. 5th-7th: Sruly Graber made the play of the day with a great bounce pass for an assist. TimePiece4Torah won 34-25 over Wieder, with Yeddidya Nathenson named Game MVP. Island Roofing secured a 4333 win, with David Cohen earning the MVP title. Game of the Week: In a highly anticipated 1st Grade Hockey matchup between two juggernaut coaches, 5TownsCentral faced off against PinIt Realty in a battle to claim the top spot in the division.

Despite missing both their starting and backup goalie, Ezra Gruen and Zev Jaroslawicz stepped up for 5TC. Pinit took an early 2-0 lead with swift wrister goals, but 5TC made the necessary adjustments and cut the deficit in half by end of the 2nd period 2-1. With one minute left in the game, Coach Jaroslawicz called timeout and drew up a masterful play, resulting in Ezra Gruen’s tying goal. Then, with just 4 seconds remaining, Shimmy Greenspan scored the winning goal, securing a thrilling 3-2 victory and the #1 seed in the division.

Around the Community

esivta Ateres Yaakov will celebrate its annual dinner on Wednesday, February 28 at The Sands of Atlantic Beach beginning at 7:30 PM. The entire community is encouraged to participate in this important annual event and pay tribute to the Mesivta, its hanhalla, rabbeim and faculty, as well its distinguished honorees. This year, the Mesivta is honoring Mr. Mark Gold as Guest of Honor, Mr. 10-yearYosef Katz as Parents of the Year, and Mr. Nate Rosenberg as Alumnus of the Year, and they will be celebrating the 10 year reunion of the graduating class of 2014. MAY’s reputation as a premier makom Torah in the Five Towns community is recognized throughout the greater Jewish community. MAY has perfected its signature blending of a serious, demanding Limudei Kodesh curriculum with a rigorous, challenging General Studies program, while enveloping students in a warm, caring environment year after year. Each talmid is embraced by the Mesivta from the moment he enters with a steadfast commitment to his personal growth, academic success and simchas hachaim. Every talmid becomes acutely aware of this relationship between him and his Mesivta and realizes that this relationship does not end after four years of high school. “Rabbeim for Life. Education for Life. Torah for Life.”

Guests of Honor: Mr. Mark Gold Mark Gold and his wife Debi have been involved with Mesivta Ateres Yaakov for many decades – three of their sons attended MAY, and he became a Trustee shortly after MAY and the Yeshiva of South Shore became independent institutions. Soon thereafter, Mark stepped up to be President along with his Co-President Robbie Schonfeld, a”h. Mark and Debi have six children who live locally and in Queens, with their many grandchildren, kein yirbu. They are very proud of all of their children and value the chinuch their sons received at MAY. Having moved to Far Rockaway as

a child, Mark has been able to witness the incredible evolution of this neighborhood over nearly 60 years and is very appreciative of the role MAY continues to play in this community’s chinuch. Mark is also very active in his shul, Shaaray Tefila, and has served Shaaray for nearly 40 years in many positions including Gabbai, Vice President, Trustee, and now Chairman of the Board. Debi is also known for her work seeking shidduchim for so many in our community, working with women across many neighborhood shuls to help singles find their zivugim. Mark is now retiring after fifteen years of leading the Mesivta together with Rabbi Yaffe, numerous active Trustees & officers, and an amazing Hanhala. Through turbulent financial times, his leadership secured the Mesivta’s stability, ensuring its continued success and bright future.

Parents of the Year: Mr. & Mrs. Yosef & Shana Katz Yossi Katz came to Far Rockaway as a bochur learning in Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv. He has carved a distinguished path in the world of real estate. A principal and founding partner at ARG, Atlas Realty Group, he embarked on his career in investment real estate sales in 2006. Yossi currently leads the day-to-day operations of the firm and oversees a team of junior brokers, exhibiting not only his business acumen but also his leadership skills. Meanwhile, Shana Katz, with a 20-year career as a registered dental hygienist, transitioned into a new chapter two years ago. She embarked on a passion project, transforming her home into the fitness studio, SWS. As a personal trainer, Shana is driven by a mission to make people feel as good on the inside as they do on the outside. Yossi and Shana are the proud parents of four remarkable children, each on their unique educational journey. Akiva is thriving in the 11th grade at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov, Ayala (14) is making her mark in Shulamith High School, Netanel

(9) is immersed in his studies at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, and Liya (8) is blossoming at Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam. The Katz family is not only dedicated to each other but also to the community around them. Actively involved in various chesed organizations, they contribute to causes close to their hearts. Their commitment to giving back extends beyond financial contributions, as they actively participate in community initiatives, creating a positive impact on the lives of those in need. Yossi is a proud board member not only at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov but at BYAM and Yeshiva Ateres Shimon as well. In celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Yossi Katz as Parents of the Year, MAY honors not just their individual achievements but the cohesive and compassionate unit they’ve built as a family. Their dedication to Torah, family and chesed is a shining example for all, making them truly deserving of this prestigious recognition.

Alumnus of the Year: Mr. Nate Rosenberg Nate and Shana Rosenberg, new residents of North Woodmere, have quickly become an integral part of the community, bringing with them a wealth of professional experience and a strong commitment to charitable endeavors. Prior to moving to North Woodmere, they resided in Cedarhurst for five years, further establishing their roots in the Five Towns community. Nate, a 2005 MAY graduate, earned himself a reputation of being a formidable force in shiur and an intimidating lawyer in court – while still in high school! He

now leads Rosenberg Law Group and serves as General Counsel to Battalion Lending and Chai Lifeline. The Rosenberg family actively engages in chesed activities for RCCS, and their narrative is one of professional success, active community engagement, and heartfelt commitment to the Mesivta and the broader Five Towns community. The Rosenberg family is a proud representation of the close-knit community, with their children actively engaged in local schools. Dassi, aged 12, attends Shulamith School for Girls, Tzvi, aged 9, is a student at Yeshiva of South Shore, and Emmie, aged 6, also attends Shulamith. The family welcomed their youngest member, Huvi, in September of 2023. Nate’s connection to Mesivta Ateres Yaakov has remained strong since his graduation in 2005. His ties to the Mesivta have endured, and he continues to contribute to its success. Nate’s humility is evident in his acceptance of the honor of Alumnus of the Year, a recognition richly deserved for his ongoing commitment and support to Mesivta Ateres Yaakov. Celebrating the Class of 2014 The graduating class of 2014 epitomizes the values and hashkafa of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov. A decade later, they are involved in successful careers in the professions of their choice. Doctors, lawyers, accountants and businessmen together with mechanchim and other klei kodesh round out the diversity of this particular class. Many are married and have started families. While some have moved to other communities, their feelings of closeness and connection to the Mesivta remain. The Mesivta takes pride in the successes of the class of 2014 and are honored to be celebrating their 10-year reunion at this year’s dinner. For more information, to make reservations or dedication opportunities, contact the Mesivta’s office at (516) 374-6465 or dinner@ateresyaakov.com.

Did you know? When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, it was the first steel-wire suspension bridge and the longest suspension bridge in the world.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov Annual Dinner

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

MAY Annual Winter Retreat

Expansive Sports Program Coming to Long Island This Summer: At Moshava Ba’ir

ast week, the entire student body of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov embarked on their annual mid-winter retreat. Organized by Student Activity Coordinators Rabbi Shlomo Drebin and Rabbi Avromi Meyer, talmidim had the choice of spending the day skiing or snowboarding at Mountain Creek Ski Resort or enjoying an afternoon at BounceTrampoline Park and Snowtubing at Campgaw. The day began with Shacharis and inspiring divrei Torah from 11th grade Rebbe, Rabbi Yehoshua Robinson. Rabbi Robinson discussed the personal connection of each and every Yid to Limud HaTorah. His divrei his’orirus resonated with the talmidim throughout the trip. Talmidim enjoyed skiing and snowboarding down the slopes throughout

the afternoon, breaking only for lunch, Mincha and learning. Many boys opted to utilize bus travel time to learn with a chavrusa, while others spent some lodgebreak time learning or schmoozing with their rabbeim. “The trip accomplishes three things,” commented Menahel, Rabbi Yossi Bennett. “It serves as a battery-recharge during a long winter z’man, an opportunity to concretize relationships with friends and rabbeim outside of the yeshiva’s walls, and a way to apply the growth and learning in which our talmidim engage on a daily basis in real-world situations.” The day’s events closed with the entire Mesivta joining together in Englewood, NJ, for a delicious dinner catered by Dougie’s.

his summer, children across Long Island and Queens will not only immerse themselves in arts, music and chinuch, they’ll be playing a wide range of sports, sharpening their skills, and developing a healthy sense of competition on the field. At Moshava Ba’ir Long Island, a Bnei Akiva day camp, variety is the name of the game, with plenty of physical activities and sports on offer. From the softball field to gaga pit, campers have their pick. A recently implemented “Ninja Warrior” obstacle course tests stamina, while basketball, football, and hockey hone technical skills and develop teamwork. Malka Fleishmann, the Director of Moshava Ba’ir Long Island, understands the importance of a good sports program. “Sports – and Color War, in particular – capture the educational power of camp’s dynamism. Classrooms don’t always allow children to explore the responsibilities inherent in teamwork and the full range of their talents, but camp affords them the opportunity to strengthen their commitment to community and find their voices and unique gifts across a multitude of creative and athletic offerings.” This appreciation for the importance of sports led to the second-time appointment of Rabbi Mordechai Harris as Moshava Ba’ir Sports Director. A lifelong sports lover who coaches middle school and high school hockey at HANC alongside his role as a teacher and rebbe, Rabbi Harris relishes the opportunity to create a sports curriculum that benefits every age group. “League” sports are competitive, while others, like kickball and softball, are non-competitive. Campers play both each day. While counselors coach competitive games, they play alongside the campers during non-competitive sports. Tailored To Developmental Stage and Ability The sports program isn’t designed to be one-size-fits-all. Younger children have a curriculum designed to promote sports exploration and skill-building, like learning to kick a ball into a goal or pass to a teammate. In five-to-sevenminute micro-games, they also get a slice of fun competition.

Older campers learn more advanced skills and play longer games. With standings calculated and statistics updated in real-time, parents can check in daily to see how their kids are performing. Regardless of age, students are exposed to a variety of sports, allowing them to grow their skills in multiple areas. Every child is encouraged to become an athlete to the best of his or her ability. Impressive trophies are displayed from the very first day of camp, giving kids a visible goal. Ultimately, all campers are recognized and appreciated for their contributions, with trophies for MVP, best athlete, most improved, and more. “When the kids work hard and see improvements, they feel good,” said Rabbi Harris. Developing a Connection to Israel At Moshava Ba’ir, every program is an opportunity to learn about Israel. In 2023, the “Chavaya Yisraeli” (Israeli experience) activity, run by a former Israeli soldier in uniform, was a camp highlight. Also last year, each sports league was named after a different Israeli army brigade. In 2024, Moshava Ba’ir looks forward to once again welcoming a contingent of Israeli staff. “Our Israeli staff is a big part of the heart and soul of our camp,” explains Malka. “Because of Israel’s collectivist culture, they are naturally imbued with so many of Bnei Akiva’s values.” Rabbi Harris agrees that the staff is one of the camp’s great differentiators. The staff dedicates themselves not only to developing athletic strengths in campers, but also to sports’ soft skills like learning and practicing middot. The staff serves as role models, demonstrating how to play appropriately, interact with teammates, and be kind and purposeful both on and off the field. “Camp is a dynamic place and within that dynamism, I want our campers to locate their voices, talents, and abilities,” says Malka. “Athletics are a big part of that, and help our campers learn good sportsmanship, how to be a teammate, and the importance of being part of something larger than yourself.”

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

“Out of the Box” at Gan Chamesh

Rav Yaakov Feitman spoke at the Mesivta of Long Beach Melaveh Malka last Motzei Shabbos

nspired by the the idea of taking care of Hashem’s beautiful world by recycling, Gan Chamesh embarked on an innovative unit, Box Week. The children’s imaginations soared as they played and experimented with all different kinds of boxes. There was much creativity and exploration. The possibilities were endless as children replaced toys in the classroom with boxes.

Pong for Israel

A HALB’s sixth graders started their unit on electricity in STEM class by playing with LEDs and making glow sticks with them

spirited ping pong tournament, “Pong for Israel,” held at HAFTR on Monday, rallied support for the ZAKA organization in Israel. The event occurred in the iconic HAWKS Nest, known for hosting thrilling basketball and hockey games, now adding table tennis to its repertoire. Competitors of all ages showcased their skills in a series of engaging matches. Among the highlights included HAFTR’s Emily Murdakhayev triumph over Abby Weiner in the middle school girls’ category, while Evan Ellenberg secured

victory against Benjamin Aminov in a closely contested final. Central’s Laura Nagler emerged as a standout, claiming first place after an impressive performance in her round-robin group, closely followed by HAFTR’s Esther Gaon. The Open Event drew much anticipation, with Yeshiva Far Rockaway’s Simi Felder emerging victorious over Darchei’s Dani Majeski in a thrilling final. The presence of table tennis champion, Olympian, and HAFTR Middle School Navi teacher Estee Ackerman

added excitement to the event. Ackerman shared tips and engaged in friendly matches, contributing to the lively atmosphere. Special thanks were extended to Joey Hoenig, the longtime athletic director, for arranging the venue and providing an ideal setting for the tournament. As the event concluded, participants were reminded of the importance of supporting such a worthy cause. Ackerman summed it perfectly, saying, “Today, you are all winners for playing.”

Learning New Writing Skills in BYAM’s Pre1A

Did you know? It took 14 years and $15 million to build the Brooklyn Bridge.

or the past few weeks, the girls in Pre-1A and first grade at Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam have benefitted from visits from veteran school based OT, Mrs. Shani Goodman. Drawing on her decades of experience, Mrs. Goodman utilized and taught tried and true strategies to the girls to help promote successful writing skills. The girls practiced “assuming the correct writing posi-

tion,” using the “A-OK” pencil grip, and being careful to make sure their letters “bump the line,” to name a few. In just one or two sessions, even the weakest students were able to make remarkable improvement and their writing became more legible! In her time at BYAM, Mrs. Goodman not only worked with the girls, but also spent time coaching and mentoring

the teachers. She explained the benefits of multi-sensory techniques, as well as made suggestions for center time and coloring activities to help the girls acquire greater readiness for writing. The girls are already putting their newfound abilities into practice – writing practice!

Around the Community

hen Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative Founding Director Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman initially envisioned an expanded version of the OU’s Nach Yomi program in 2020, she never conceived that it would become one of her department’s most popular programs. OU Women’s Initiative aims to create and promote programming centered on Torah study, community leadership, and spiritual, personal, and professional development for women of all ages. When Rebbetzin Shmidman launched the department in 2017, Nach Yomi had already been running successfully since 2008 under the leadership of OU Torah Content Editor Rabbi Jack Abramowitz. Then taught exclusively by men, OU Women’s Initiative re-launched the program in January 2020 under the Torat Imecha umbrella, with the goal of creating a space for women educators and learners to share insights on Nach. “Torat Imecha and our commitment to daily learning took us to a different space,” says Rebbetzin Shmidman, who timed the two-year Nach Yomi cycle’s start to coincide with the seven-and-ahalf year Daf Yomi cycle. “When I pitched the program, I was hoping that 300 women would sign up. Crossing the finish line and completing the entire cycle of 19 books and 742 perakim didn’t even enter my mind.” That first cycle, 6,500 women registered. About 10,000 participants signed up to learn the second cycle, and 500 women from 28 countries and 38 U.S. states, including Alaska, recently celebrated a Siyum of Nach at two in-person events in Jerusalem, and Teaneck, New Jersey. “The diversity in age, stage, background and hashkafa of our learners brings a richness to this largest Navi classroom in our history,” says Rebbetzin Shmidman. “Mothers and daughters,

mothers and daughters-in-law, aunts, grandmothers, nieces, and friends are all learning together. Knowing that there are women from across the world connecting daily to our holy texts brings me magnanimous joy.” The beauty of Nach Yomi is that it is accessible from anywhere and geared to learners of all levels. Each day at their convenience, Nach Yomi participants download an online shiur on the day’s perek, which is recorded by different female scholars. All shiurim are available via the Torat Imecha app on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and Spotify. “The program is so powerful because it gives us a window into words that are historic, but that also resonate so deeply today,” says Rebbetzin Shmidman. She notes that while participants may join the cycle at any time, there are two ideal jump-on points: “One is at the very beginning,” she says. “The content spreads very cleanly over a two-year period, which is fascinating; we begin with six months of Neviim Rishonim, then six months of Neviim Achronim. The next inflection point is Tehillim, at the beginning of Ketuvim. For many women, Nach Yomi is their daily anchor.” Tamar Sicklick of Woodmere, New York, recently completed her second Nach Yomi cycle along with her daughter Eliana, mother-in-law Fran, and sisterin-law Bonnie. Celebrating the Siyum as part of three generations was extremely meaningful to all of them. “There’s something so unique and special about having a common bond through the learning of Torah that will always bind and connect us to one another,” says Tamar. “It’s a huge accomplishment for each of us individually, but collectively even more so. I hope that we continue to learn like this for many years to come.” With about 60 female educators teaching Nach Yomi, Rebbetzin Shmid-

man views the program as an avenue to introduce more scholars to the community; something she says is an OU Women’s Initiative department objective. “Our educators are bright, accomplished women who model scholarship, comportment, and love for Hashem,” she says. They have moved the program forward in an exceptional way.” While Nach Yomi largely centers on independent study, there are Zoom Siyumim after each sefer, as well as virtual tours of Israeli sites connected to certain perakim. Several communities have also started local chapters and WhatsApp groups to support their learning. “Women ask each other questions, share content-related songs or poems, and get together on Shabbos to catch up and learn,” says Rebbetzin Shmidman. “We’re part of something bigger. I was on the subway and a woman said, ‘You’re Nach Yomi.’ We’re all talking the same language and learning our canon together. It’s extremely powerful.” Two years ago, OU Women’s Initiative introduced Nach Shabbat, an annual program where Nach Yomi educators visit various communities as scholars in resi-

dence, with the goal of fostering interest in Nach and encouraging women to join in the daily learning. Nach Yomi Instructor Michal Horowitz says Nach Yomi created a global virtual Beit Midrash. “Chaburah comes from the word chibur, connectivity, and it’s connecting us through our most powerful, beautiful, enlightening and impactful tool — the Torah,” she says. In January and earlier this month, 500 women celebrated the completion of the second Nach Yomi cycle in person at Siyumim in Israel and North America. Both included seudot mitzvot, dancing, remarks by Rebbetzin Shmidman and shiurim by Michal Horowitz. The third Nach Yomi cycle began on February 1, and 14,000 women have registered to date, something that continues to inspire Rebbetzin Shmidman. “For so many people who are doing it again and again, this is part of their lives. They’re committing 15 minutes to Torah every day.” To register for the third Nach Yomi cycle, visit www.ouwomen.org/nach.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Largest Nach Yomi Class in History Celebrates In-Person Siyum With 500 Women from 28 Countries

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

Bach Jewish Center of Long Beach: A Shul for All, Honoring Exceptional Community Members

his Motzei Shabbos, the Bach Jewish Center of Long Beach will take center stage as it pays tribute to their remarkable honorees at their Annual Dinner. This year’s dinner theme “Generations to Generations” highlights the participants of all ages who play vital roles in the shul. This year’s honorees, chosen for their selfless dedication and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact, symbolize the core values that the Bach Jewish Center holds dear.

Henryka Haberman Henryka Haberman, Guest of Honor, has been a cornerstone of the BACH for many years. She, along with her late husband Rabbi Dr. Jacob Haberman, a”h,, has always valued the warmth and welcoming nature of the BACH, especial-

ly its inclusion of people from all backgrounds. She has actively participated in its management and preservation, enhancing the beauty and improvement of both the building and its surrounding grounds. Henryka Haberman is a matriarch of the BACH and has a special relationship with every member both young and old, always greeting everyone with her beautiful smile and warmth. She takes immense pride in her children and grandchildren’s active and exemplary involvement in the BACH and is delighted that her children are carrying on her love, passion, and dedication for the shul.

deep impression on her. When she moved back to the area after she was married, she and her husband Jerry searched for a house near the shul. When one came on the market, they bought it immediately, excited to have their growing family immersed in the BACH…and immerse, they did! The Kleinman boys excelled in the many programs offered by the BACH – from teaching the boys how to participate in and lead the various aspects of davening to the BACH sports team. The Kleinmans also enjoyed many of their own simchas in the BACH including bar mitzvahs, aufrufs and sheva brachos. The wonder of growing up with the BACH was thus passed to the next generation. In their years at the BACH, the Kleinmans have done everything from lead Tehillim groups, give shiurim, and work on many fundraising opportunities for the shul, actually raising tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorships. Their active involvement over the years has been vital to the growth of the BACH and we are truly grateful they are part of our community.

Rabbi Jerry and Chedva Kleinman Kesser Shem Tov Awardees, Rabbi Jerry and Chedva Kleinman, have been members of the BACH for over 40 years – and Chedva for even longer. Chedva came to the BACH as a 12-year-old girl straight from Israel and the shul left a

In honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph, the talmidos of the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG were treated to a super exciting Wacky Science show by the always entertaining Dr. Shnitzel

Simcha and Rikki Buff Young, vibrant couples building their families and bringing young children into their first shul experiences are key to any thriving community. Our Community Service Awardees, Simcha and Rikki Buff, are perfect examples of this, with their beautiful children Eliana Eva and Orly Chana. The Buffs have been in Long Beach as a couple for many years now. However, Simcha himself has been involved in the shul for 24 years, since he participated in BACH youth programming as a child. The Buffs are always willing and ready to step in to help and take many aspects of the running of the shul upon themselves. They have also been instrumental in bringing kosher

food options to Long Beach, something that benefits the entire community. Long Beach and the BACH community are truly better off today because of the Buffs commitment and involvement in our shul.

Matthew Mizrahi Matthew Mizrachi, recipient of the Young Leadership Award, represents the youth of the BACH as the key to the future. Matthew not only epitomizes that element of the BACH youth, but he embodies the vision of what the BACH tries to be me’chanech in all of the youth: to be vibrant, active leaders in our community. Matthew grew up in Long Beach and became involved in the BACH as a young teen, explaining that he was drawn to the BACH because of its high energy and welcoming and positive atmosphere. Matthew values the exposure to all types of Jews and the opportunity to interact with all ages. He has found many positive role models at the BACH, to whom he remains close. Matthew regularly adds ruach to the BACH by davening Kabbalas Shabbos, actively participating in shalosh seudos, and learning Torah diligently. With the help of Hashem, Matthew has a bright future ahead of him, which mirrors the bright future envisioned for all the BACH youth. Please join us on this Motzei Shabbos, February 24, 7:30 pm at the Woodmere Country Club, 99 Meadow Dr., Woodmere, NY, as we pay tribute to these special members of the BACH community who truly embody everything the BACH stands for. To place an ad or make reservations, please visit our website at BACHDINNER.COM or email Bachdinner2024@gmail.com.

Around the Community

By Chaim Gold

“T

here has never been anything like this in South America! The size, the scope, and most importantly the excited anticipation for the first ever Amud HaYomi siyum on Masechta Brachos is just off the charts!” exclaimed Rabbi Daniel Cohen-Talgum, Dirshu’s South American Director. The excitement permeating Argentina, where the siyum will be held, as well as in Brazil, Panama and even Venezuela, is just amazing. The siyum on Masechta Brachos in Amud HaYomi and Masechta Bava Kama in the Daf HaYomi program to be held on 25 Adar 1/March 5 will be held at the Luna Park stadium, a stadium that holds more than 5,000 people, is the largest single Torah venue ever seen in South America. The fact that HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi, shlita, venerated Rosh Yeshiva at the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, will be travelling from Eretz Yisrael expressly to deliver the keynote address, and HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Rafael Abuchatzeirah, shlita, will give a main address, have filled South American Torah Jewry with a tremendous feeling of excitement and anticipation. The Demand is Exceeding Our Expectations! Rabbi Cohen-Talgum relates, “We recently started selling tickets and the demand has way exceeded our expectations! Requests have been pouring in, not only from the more than 1,000 people learning in Dirshu’s various programs, but also from a very wide range of people representing the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities along with Orthodox communities in shuls at various levels of observance. “It is clear to me,” Rabbi Cohen-Talgum continued, “that Dirshu’s efforts to enhance Torah learning and its various programs that appeal to Jews representing the entire cross-section of the South American community have struck a deep chord with South American Jewry. After all, where do you have an organization whose only goal is to help others learn Torah?! All Dirshu wants is to enhance the ruchniyus of every Jew in Klal Yisrael!

People in our community are responding to that altruism and want to be part of it.” The siyum in Argentina is not the only siyum being held for the Spanish speaking community. In addition to the 5,000 Jews who will gather in Argentina, there will also be a large siyum on Masechta Brachos in Amud HaYomi and Masechta Bava Kama in the Daf HaYomi, in Mexico, with an expected attendance of more than 1,000 people. That siyum, to be held on 23 Adar 1/March 3 at the Hotel Camino Real Polanco Hall, in Mexico City, will also be attended by Rav Ezrachi and Rav Abuchatzeira and the enthusiastic eagerness in Mexico in both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities is something to behold. Exponential Expansion Over the past decade, Dirshu’s activities in South America and Mexico have expanded tremendously. Aside from the test takers in Dirshu’s flagship Kinyan Torah Daf HaYomi program, there has been a massive increase in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners. With tens of shiurim throughout South America and Mexico, so many lives have been transformed through the daily learning of Halacha. Nevertheless, Rabbi Shlomo Rozenstein, a member of Dirshu’s Hanhalah who has been instrumental in facilitating and spreading Dirshu’s footprint in that region, relates, “As successful as we have been until now, nothing could have prepared us for the enthusiastic embrace of the Amud HaYomi program since its inception last October. Currently, there are more than ten shuirim in Buenos Aires alone! The shiurim are held at all times of the days starting from the prevasikin hours of the day, until late at night. “There is a thirst for learning and a geshmak in the slower pace of the Amud HaYomi that affords a bit more iyun. The Amud HaYomi has become so popular that we are opening new shiurim for the start of Masechta Shabbos later this month. We were completely taken by surprise by the many hundreds of test takers who have signed up and take tests. The tremendous investment of time that goes into learning and chazara in order to take the tests is a testament to the dedication that South American and Mexican Jewry displays for limud

HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi addressing a past Dirshu siyum, Argentina, 2016

haTorah.” From “No Time” to Learn to Earning High Scores Rav Cohen-Talgum gives an example of the Dirshu revolution in South America. “Several years ago, I met a frum real estate developer here in Buenos Aires. He was a proud Jew and a philanthropist, but Torah learning was not at the top of his agenda. I urged him to start learning the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. He reluctantly agreed. After the first month of learning, I encouraged him to take the test. He responded that he is embarrassed to take a test because he knows he will not do well, so ‘what’s the point…?’ But I didn’t give up. I told him, ‘Please take it! Even if you get a low mark, you will see it will be a catalyst for more growth in learning.’ He agreed and indeed, his marks were very low at the beginning, but with time, he began to score higher and higher marks. Now he doesn’t get below a ninety. “That is not the end of the story. When the Amud HaYomi began a few months ago, he decided to join. He became fully immersed in the Amud HaYomi and he now scores among our highest marks. This is from a man who told me that he was so busy that he didn’t even have enough time to learn an amud of Mishnah Berurah a day! Now, he utilizes every free second of his day to learn and chazer the Amud HaYomi. This is just one story of the transformative impact that Dirshu and especially the Amud HaYomi has had in our community,” concluded R’ Daniel. Sold on Dirshu! The siyum in Mexico will feature many highlights. Aside from the two visiting Gedolei Yisrael, Rav Ezrachi and

Rav Abuchatzeira, the siyum will be addressed by Dirshu’s Nasi, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Bezalel, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva Porat Yosef of Yerushalayim, and numerous local Rabbanim. The siyum in Argentina will also feature inspiring music from inspirational singers, R’ Shlomo Cohen and R’ Motty Steinmetz. The siyum in Mexico will feature R’ Baruch Levine and Rav Shlomo Cohen. Many Dirshu rabbanim and learners will be traveling from other countries in South America to join the siyum in Argentina. These will include delegations from both Brazil and Panama led by local rabbanim and maggidei shiur and many lomdei Dirshu. The rabbanim recognize the spiritual impact that Dirshu has made on their communities and feel a deep sense of hakaras hatov to Dirshu. Rav Cohen-Talgum relates, “This season in South America is one when many are on vacation. Initially, I was a bit worried about making the siyum to coincide with the end of Masechta Brachos because I knew that so many people would be away. Perhaps there would not be such a large turnout. Despite my worries, however, I am amazed! Why? Because despite everything, we can’t sell tickets fast enough! Shuls from all over the country are turning to us,” Rav Cohen-Talgum continues, awed, “even shuls whose members one would not automatically associate with intensive limud haTorah. I realize that when it comes to Torah, you don’t have to sell anything. Torah sells itself. “South America is sold on Dirshu!”

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi and HaGaon HaRav Rafael Abuchatzeira to Address Massive Amud HaYomi Siyumim in South America and Mexico

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

Yeshiva of Central Queens 83rd Annual Scholarship Dinner Honorees

n Sunday, February 25, the Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) will host its 83rd Annual Scholarship Dinner at Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation. This prestigious occasion seeks to pay tribute to individuals whose steadfast commitment and remarkable contributions have left a profound impact on both the Yeshiva and the wider community. This year, YCQ proudly recognizes these remarkable honorees: Guests of Honor, Zishy and Esther Rachel Barth; Distinguished Educator, Rabbi Ophie Nat; and Parents of the Year, Efrahem and Vered Basalel.

Zishy and Esther Rachel Barth Zishy and Esther Rachel Barth, this year’s esteemed Guests of Honor, epitomize unwavering dedication to our Yeshiva and community. Their steadfast support has been integral, shaping the very fabric of our institution. Zishy’s role as Treasurer of the Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) Board of Trustees exemplifies his selfless commitment to nurturing the Yeshiva’s growth, laying the foundation for its enduring success. His strategic financial stewardship has ensured stability and growth, enabling YCQ to thrive in its mission. Understanding the paramount importance of children’s education, Zishy and Esther Rachel advocate for involvement using personal strengths, resilience, and compassion, fostering a culture of support within our community. As lifelong members of the Kew Gardens Hills community, the Barths chose to raise their family within Kew Gardens Hills’ nurturing environment, prioritizing YCQ for their son Ezra’s education. Under the guidance of dedicated educators, Ezra flourished in a dynamic environment blending Judaic and general studies, preparing him for a successful future rooted in Torah values.

As Ezra graduates this year, Zishy and Esther Rachel reflect with pride on the love for Torah and learning instilled during his time at YCQ. Their enduring commitment to Jewish education and community service extends beyond their familial responsibilities. Throughout their twenty-five years of marriage, the Barths have balanced raising their five children with myriad community responsibilities, actively involved in Rabbi Arielli’s shul and Hasheyvenu. Zishy’s dedicated service in Hatzalah coupled with Esther Rachel’s supportive role in Queens Bikur Cholim, underscores their unwavering commitment to communal welfare. Their selfless acts of kindness and dedication to aiding others have left a lasting impact. Their concern for the community is a shining example of “k’ish echad b’lev echad.” At this year’s YCQ Annual Scholarship Dinner, we celebrate Zishy and Esther Rachel Barth, whose enduring dedication to family, education, community, Torah, and Eretz Yisrael serves as a beacon of inspiration for us all. Their legacy of kindness, generosity, and commitment to Jewish values will continue to inspire future generations to come.

Rabbi Ophie Nat We are delighted to be celebrating the remarkable achievements of Rabbi Ophie Nat, who has dedicated over two decades of chinuch and inspiration to our children. His unwavering commitment and positive impact on hundreds of students have left an indelible mark on our Yeshiva and community. This year, we proudly honor Rabbi Nat as the recipient of the Distinguished Educator’s Award, recognizing his profound dedication to education and Yiddishkeit. Rabbi Nat’s influence extends far beyond the classroom, reflecting the qualities of an exceptional educator and leader

in Torah values and middot. As an Honors Gemara teacher, Rabbi Nat’s teaching philosophy goes beyond mere instruction. He fosters a deep understanding of Torah concepts, celebrating each student’s “aha” moment when intricate ideas click into place. Through his guidance, students not only excel academically but also develop a profound connection to Torah and its application in their daily lives. Beyond his role in our YCQ community, Rabbi Nat wears many hats in the Kew Gardens Hills community. With over twenty-five years as a member of Hatzalah and director of Camp Chazak, he shares his beautiful voice, leading our boys’ choir and davening at special occasions like our Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration and hundreds of weddings over the years. Through his years in education, Rabbi Nat has emphasized the importance of children’s middot and safety, integrating ongoing structure into his classes with a blend of camp-style fun. Guided by the teachings of his grandfather, Rabbi Nat learned the importance of positivity and thanking Hashem even in situations of adversity. This strength of character is shared by his wife, children, and grandchildren. Rabbi Nat’s one piece of advice to his students now and in the future is to remain true to themselves and Hashem, praying that they always remain shomer Shabbat and shomer Torah u’mitzvot. Join us in honoring Rabbi Ophie Nat, a true leader and baal chesed, whose passion for Torah and teaching has guided students and instilled in them a lifelong love for learning Torah and its application to everyday life, ensuring their success in the future.

Efrahem and Vered Basalel Efrahem and Vered Basalel are honored recipients of the Parents of the Year Award, recognizing their exceptional commitment to their family and the Ye-

shiva of Central Queens (YCQ) community. Their journey with YCQ began eighteen years ago when their eldest son, Itamar, was enrolled, and since then, their dedication has left an indelible mark. Grateful for the support their family received from YCQ, the Basalels decided to give back by becoming actively involved in the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) and various schoolwide events. Vered, utilizing her talents as a merchandiser, eagerly volunteers for activities ranging from Chumash and Siddur plays to challah bakes and the Annual Scholarship Dinner Auctions. Their entire family readily volunteers whenever needed, contributing to the warmth and growth of the Yeshiva community. The Basalels’ quiet strength and selfless love have provided a solid foundation for their children, emphasizing the importance of parental involvement in academic and social aspects of education. Their children, who have excelled academically and socially at YCQ, have each surpassed expectation. Itamar (‘16) is completing Yeshiva University and applying to law school, Avital (‘17) is studying at Stern College to become a Judaic studies teacher while assisting at YCQ, Yoav (‘19) is studying at Yeshiva Torah Halacha before starting computer science at Yeshiva University, Hadar (‘23) is a freshman at Shulamit High School, Yoel (‘24) is graduating eighth grade after being actively involved in extracurricular activities, and Noa (‘25) is enjoying seventh grade, continuing the family tradition of forging connections with teachers and friends. The Basalels attribute their children’s success to the strong foundation they received at YCQ, where they developed a lifelong love for Torah learning and performing chesed and mitzvot. At the 83rd Annual Scholarship Dinner, we honor and express gratitude to Efrahem and Vered Basalel for their profound impact on YCQ over almost two decades, exemplifying humility and dedication to the Yeshiva’s mission. We eagerly anticipate your presence at the year’s Dinner. To place an ad in our journal, please visit YCQDinner.com or call the business office at 718-793-8500 ext. 300.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

Your Jewish Heritage at Your Fingertips Let My People Know™ — Discover Your Story with the Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal By Rosally Saltsman

hroughout the millennia, Jewish learning has always been valued and encouraged. The Torah is our lifeline and our way of life. In recent decades, enormous strides have been made in expanding Jewish scholarship by trying to make learning more accessible, understood and convenient. The Steinsaltz Center, which produced the well-known elucidated and translated English Talmud, has made all Jewish texts accessible in the most convenient format, which allows learning at your own pace, in your own time, and anywhere you want with its newly designed Daily Study App and Portal. “Together, we are making significant strides in democratizing access to Jewish knowledge and empowering individuals to explore and engage with the rich traditions and teachings of our heritage,” says Rabbi Meni Even-Israel of the Steinsaltz Center. Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, zt”l, although being a scion of the Slonimer rabbinic dynasty, did not receive a religious upbringing. His son, Rabbi Meni Even-Israel, points out that Torah learning was important to the family, nonetheless. Rabbi Steinsaltz became a Ba’al Teshuvah in his teens, and not only became a great Torah scholar but a conduit for thousands of others to embrace Jewish practice as well. Among his many pursuits, Rabbi

Steinsaltz went to help Jews in the Soviet Union, becoming the spiritual mentor of Russian Jewry, when Jews who were denied permission to emigrate to Israel suffered under Communist rule and were forced to learn Torah in secret. Later, he opened the first Yeshiva in post-Communist Russia. Rabbi Steinsaltz’s credo was, “Let My People Know.” His many commentaries and translations into English have made the treasury of the Jewish liturgy accessible to the modern era English speaker. He had a vision that every Jew, everywhere, would be able to learn about their heritage no matter how distant it seemed they were from it. Rabbi Steinsaltz’s efforts for the yet unlearned or unaffiliated have had amazing benefits for all Jews, regardless of their level of observance, especially through his translation of the Talmud. The Center has just gone further in bringing Rabbi Steinsaltz’s translations and elucidations on the ancient Jewish texts to everyone via the Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal with many options to study from – Amud Yomi, Daily Humash, Daily Mishnah, among a wealth of Jewish sources. You can literally tap into his legacy and enhance your Torah learning by using this App to study whenever, wherever and however you want. Torah study has never been easier or more accessible. You can watch classes, bookmark your studies, and track your progress and achievements as well.

The Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal bring the profound insights of Torah study to your fingertips, translated and explained in clear, modern English. Whether someone is investigating these teachings for the first time or seeking a deeper understanding of foundational Jewish texts, the App is designed for learners at all levels, of all Jewish backgrounds or none at all. For those even having only a few spare minutes to do some revision of a sugya, you literally have everything you need in your pocket. With this new and unique App, Rabbi Steinsaltz’s vision to infuse Torah knowledge with heart and soul, and make it accessible to Jews worldwide is now being realized. The Steinsaltz Center’s commitment to advancing Jewish learning and making the rich heritage of the Jewish people universally available, has now, with this App, put the entire spectrum of Jewish knowledge at your fingertips, giving everyone the opportunity to taste the sweetness of Torah, and to learn about their heritage in a comfortable and individualized, and dynamic way. There are also colorful illustrations to further clarify the text. In the 1700s, the Chassidic movement made the Torah and its commentaries available to the average person and demonstrated that you needn’t be a scholar to claim your Jewish heritage. Today, in the 21st century, the Steinsaltz Center has made inroads in learning the Torah and its commentaries by enabling

anyone with a digital device to explore, engage, and connect with the full spectrum of Jewish knowledge. It even makes learning b’chavruta easier; you can discretely learn together on your commute on the train. In a show of solidarity and to advance educational empowerment during these trying times of war, and as a zechut for our IDF soldiers who are risking their lives each day, the Steinsaltz Center is offering the App for free. Tens of thousands of people have already signed up and begun their studies. The Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal makes it possible to find time time to learn even with today’s frenetic pace and the relentless demands on our time. It’s never been easier to set times and find time for Torah learning. The beautiful illustrations are unique in Torah learning books and platforms. The App keeps track of your progress, so you never forget where you are – or where you’re going in your personalized learning journey. The launch of the Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal (available for both Android and Apple devices) marks a significant milestone in making Jewish knowledge universally available and accessible. Anyone interested in using The Steinsaltz Daily Study App and Portal can tap into eternal inspiration today by going to https://steinsaltz-center.org/

HANC’s “Super” Activities

n anticipation of the upcoming Super Bowl, the excitement was building in HANC’s Elementary School in West Hempstead. The students in Morah Betty Shusterman’s second grade classes spent the entire week utilizing their math skills in creative ways. The week began with a discussion about making predictions. Morah Betty asked the students to predict which team would be victorious in Sunday night’s Super Bowl. Each child colored a football and then placed it on a large pictorial bar graph. The results were surprising: in the morning class, only one child chose the Kansas City Chiefs, and the rest of the class selected the San Francisco 49ers. This led to a

discussion about making informed decisions and standing behind your decision, even if others do not agree. Some children did admit that they were influenced by which team other children were rooting for. In the afternoon class, the results were reversed: the entire class voted for the Kansas City Chiefs. The classes also created a tally graph as the voting took place to display multiple ways of graphing their predictions. In addition to voting for their favorite team, the children completed math worksheets that related to Super Bowl statistics, both before and after the game. They also had the opportunity to design and color their own football jerseys, and

the results were both colorful and creative. While the focus was initially on math, there were many layers of lessons learned in the course of the week leading up to the big game. “The prediction process turned into a lesson about making informed choices and to not be afraid to make your own

decisions,” explained Morah Betty. “You do not need to follow the crowd. Even if others disagree, your choice may be the right one. I told the children that when they get older, they should make their own informed choices and should not be afraid to express their opinions, even if they are not popular with others. This is an important life lesson for their future.” On Friday morning, the students and staff came to school wearing their favorite team’s jersey to get into the spirit of the Super Bowl weekend. For all of those children who predicted that the Chiefs would win, it was a great celebration. For those who voted for the 49ers, well, there is always next year.

Around the Community

Musical Fun at Lev Chana tudents at Plainview’s Mercaz animals and add textural enhancements. studies together into a beautiful and func-

Academy love inter-curricular projects, especially when they incorporate Torah studies and art! Fifth graders just completed a very ambitious, multifaceted art project that began with ceramic and ended with fiber arts, with a dose of Torah throughout. First, art teacher Mrs. Liz Danziger explained how weaving works, defining terms like “warp” and “weft” and showing them how a small and simple hand loom keeps the threads straight to enable threads to cross them accurately, creating fabric. Using ceramic clay, fifth graders were excited to make their own hand looms with slab construction and additive methods. To incorporate their artistic skills, the fifth graders chose to shape their looms into

After these were painted and fired, each student had his or her own hand loom, ready to weave a piece of fabric. This served as a springboard into a discussion of the acts to create fabric as prohibited on Shabbat, and the derivation of the 39 melachot from the activities necessary to set up and maintain the Mishkan. Last week’s parshat hashavua, Terumah, introduced the instructions for the Mishkan, and fifth grade Torah teacher Rabbi Avi Kramer worked with students as they set up their looms to demonstrate each step of the process of creating a fabric as a separate melachah. The fifth graders finished the project by weaving their own small piece of cloth, tying their religious studies and general

tional whole.

ev Chana students enjoyed a visit from the drum man who taught them about rhythm and beats. The children had a great time learning how to create music!

Rabbi Dovid Cohen to Address End-of-Life Issues and Halacha As He Delivers Touro University’s Third Annual Rabbi Zalman Levine Memorial Lecture

arav Dovid Cohen, shlita, will deliver a shiur on “End-of-Life Issues and Halacha” for medical professionals and pre-health students. Rabbi Cohen is the recipient of the Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award presented by Touro University. The shiur will take place at Touro’s Lander College for Women, 227 West 60th St, NYC on February 26, 2024 at 7 pm. Culled from the Rav’s real-life experience, the lecture will explore complex issues and questions that regularly arise, including: The controversy regarding brain death and halacha What are the criteria that define the obligation to keep a terminally ill person alive, and when do they no longer apply? A discussion of the laws of goses, including controversies regarding “pulling the plug,” To operate or not? Without an operation, the patient will survive for a limited period of time; whereas the operation may completely effect a cure or result in death. “Pikuach nefesh is one of the most basic issues in halacha. It even supersedes shemiras Shabbos. It is important to define what halachic death is all about. The question of whether or not brain death is

truly death has been an issue for many decades. We shall take a stand on these issues,” said Rav Cohen. Posek and Advocate Born in Brooklyn, Rav Cohen attended Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where he became a talmid of Rav Yitzchak Hutner, zt”l, and forged close ties with a roster of Torah giants. His position as Rav of Congregation Gvul Yaavetz in Brooklyn is the springboard from which he was launched to prominence as the eminence grise of contemporary American poskim. As the Mara D’asra of Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, Nefesh International, Hatzolah of Flatbush, Central Hatzolah, and Camp Munk, as well as Dean of the Long Island Commission of Rabbis, his fingerprint is apparent in many critical aspects of communal Jewish life. A fearless advocate for the underdog, Rav Cohen has championed the cause of agunos, and has been an outspoken defender of victims of abuse. His abiding ahavas Yisroel and profound understanding of the pain of mental illness have made him the address for those seeking nuanced and authoritative piskei halacha in this sensitive area. Author of over seventy sefarim on Gemara, Tefila, Nach, and Machshava, Rav Cohen is a widely sought-after speaker and scholar in residence. His effortless mastery over vast

areas of Torah and secular knowledge, combined with his deep comprehension of the interface of halacha and real life, have dazzled audiences worldwide. Prestigious Award Touro University’s Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award is generously endowed by Mr. Joel Margolis of Albany, New York, to honor individuals who have made exceptional contributions in the field of Torah Scholarship and dissemination. The first recipient of the award was HaRav Asher Weiss. “Rabbi Levine of blessed memory had enormous respect for those exceptional individuals who provide clear and decisive halachic guidance to our community. How very appropriate that this award, in his memory, goes to an extraordinary scholar who has provided lucid and timely guidance to so many people for so many decades,” said Mr. Joel Margolis. Zalman Levine, a musmach of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, and devoted student of Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, came to the United States in 1923. After a brief teaching career at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, he moved to Albany. Eschewing any rabbinic titles, he spent the next six decades deeply involved in

studying and teaching Torah, while supporting his family, first as an insurance salesman and then, for several decades, as a deeply respected staff member of the New York State Comptroller’s Office. When Rabbi Levine arrived in Albany, the concept of a Torah scholar serving as a lay communal leader was unheard of, and his pioneering role set an example for others. Not only was Zalman Levine a devoted communal lay leader and an accomplished Torah scholar, but he also enjoyed the deep friendship of several generations of North American Torah luminaries. For more information and to register, visit www.touro.edu/ravcohen.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Torah and Art at Mercaz Academy

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Around the Community

Living With Hashgachah Pratis Feeling the Divine Touch at Every Moment

e call it “hashgachah pratis”— the understanding that Hashem is continuously in our lives and not just in historic events and obvious miracles. Hashgachah pratis tells us that Hashem is with us in traffic jams, in hospital wards, and while we’re waiting for a delayed plane to take off. He is with us even in our times of suffering. Everything, but everything, reflects His Will and His goodness. And the more we are aware of the hashgachah pratis around us, the more we are able to see it clearly! Rabbi Heshy Kleinman, author of the classic Praying With Fire series, brings us a daily reader that shows us how to become aware of hashgachah pratis in our world, and how such a consciousness will ignite our emunah, enhance our gratitude, increase our merits, and lead us to a happier, more secure and meaningful life. We spoke to Rabbi Kleinman about his new book. We all have heard what are called

“hashgachah pratis stories” – like the man who went to minyan and missed the plane that crashed – but there’s so much more to it. Can you briefly tell us what hashgachah pratis is – and what it means to our lives? Rabbi Heshy Kleinman: Hashgachah pratis is our awareness of Hashem’s constant involvement in our world. What does it mean to our lives? Let’s look at a paraphrased quote from Living With Hashgachah Pratis: “When we internalize Hashem’s perpetual influence in our lives, it can reshape our perspective on life, turning every experience into a moment of gratitude, enabling gratitude to become second nature. Life – every breath, heartbeat, and fleeting moment -becomes a wondrous journey, enhanced by Hashem’s omnipresent care and love ... Even struggles and adversities are not mere hurdles; they are specifically designed challenges meant to mold us, enabling growth and resilience, making

us stronger and greater in the process ... When we feel Hashem’s hashgachah pratis in our daily struggles, it enables us to convert them into eternally rewarding spiritual growth.” The book contains more than 125 stories about hashgachah pratis in everyday life. How did you go about finding so many fascinating stories? RHK: I don’t mean to give a “cute” answer, but it was hashgachah pratis. I heard some stories, experienced some, “accidentally” came across some, read some, researched some. But the fact that they all wound up in this book is truly Hashem’s hashgachah pratis, to be mechazek us in Living with Hashgachah Pratis. Do you have any tips to help us strengthen our awareness of Hashem’s hashgachah pratis? RHK: It is important for people to be mechazek themselves by keeping a personal journal of their own hashgachah

pratis stories. Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rav Yechezkel Levenstein advocated for keeping a personal journal of hashgachah pratis stories in one’s daily life, as an effective means for personal chizuk. And readers can inspire others with their personal hashgachah pratis stories, by sending them to HPratisStories@ gmail.com, or by visiting https://vanitefillah.org , for inclusion in the next volume on Hashgachah Pratis. (Personal identifying information will be removed upon request.)

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Centerfold

Tootsie Roll Facts February 23rd is National Tootsie Roll Day. (I celebrate it every day!) Leo Hirschfield, who owned a candy store in Brooklyn, created the Tootsie Roll and named it after his daughter, whose nickname was Tootsie. (Leave it to a nice Christian man!) Since they don’t melt in hot weather, the U.S. Army gave out Tootsie Rolls with each ration during World War II. (What’s the big deal? I eat Tootsie Rolls with every meal, too!)

Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Michigan researched how many licks it takes to finish a Tootsie Roll. Purdue found that it takes 364; Michigan found that it takes 411. However, one child who did a self-study informed the company that it took him 5,800 licks! (One kid that definitely does not have ADHD!) 64 million Tootsie Rolls are made every day at company headquarters. (But, then again, who’s counting? Uh…me!) During the Korean War, “Tootsie Rolls” was the U.S. Army’s codename for mortar shells. (I’d jump too if someone said, “Incoming Tootsies!”)

Riddle me This A farmer is on his way back from the market. With him is a fox, a chicken, and some grain. When the farmer reaches a river crossing, he must use a small boat only big enough for him and one other item. Unfortunately, if the fox is left alone with the chicken, it will eat it, as will the chicken eat the grain. How does the farmer get everything across the river?

near side. At the near side, he deposits the chicken and collects the grain He drops off the fox (or grain) and picks up the chicken to return to the there. Then he returns in an empty boat and collects the fox or the grain. Answer: First the farmer takes the chicken to the far side and leaves him

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

TJH

(or fox). At the far side, he leaves the fox and grain together. He returns

1. *

with an empty boat and collects the chicken.

1. What is George Washington’s birthday? a. February 22, 1732 b. July 4, 1776 c. April 30, 1789 d. July 22, 1732 2. George Washington’s face is featured on which denomination of U.S. currency? a. $1 bill b. $5 bill c. $10 bill d. $20 bill 3. How old was Washington when he stopped going to school? a. 7 b. 15 c. 23 d. 37 4. What year was George Washington inaugurated as the first President of the United States? a. 1776 b. 1789

c. 1792 d. 1801

8. In what year did the George Washington Bridge open? a. 1912 b. 1936 c. 1947 d. 1953

5. What was the name of George Washington’s plantation home in Virginia? a. Mount Vernon b. Monticello c. Montpelier d. Montebello 6. How old was Washington when he became commander of the Continental Army? a. 27 b. 36 c. 43 d. 54 7. Who served as George Washington’s vice president during his first term in office? a. Thomas Jefferson b. Alexander Hamilton c. James Madison d. John Adams

You Gotta be Kidding Me!

Answers: 1-A 2-A 3-B 4-B 5-A 6-C 7-D 8-B Wisdom Key 7-8 correct: You are a true history buff— the type that dresses up as a Revolutionary soldier. 3-6 correct: You generally know your history, but ain’t exactly crossin’ the Delaware! 0-2 correct: Hey, look at the bright side— you don’t carry any singles!

“I hired a professional worrier, and I haven’t had a worry since,” replied Yankel.

Yankel had been a compulsive worrier for years, to the point that it was ruining his life. He saw a psychologist

“That must be really expensive,” Mendel replied.

who recommended that he hire a specialist who could

“He charges $3,000 a month,” Yankel said.

help him.

“$3,000! How in the world can you afford to pay him?”

His friend, Mendel, noticed the change and asked, “What happened? Nothing seems to worry you anymore.”

askedMendel. Yankel responded, “I don’t know. That’s his problem.”

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

George Washington Trivia

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Torah Thought

Parshas Tetzaveh By Rabbi Berel Wein

f clothes make the man, the garments of the ordinary priests and the High Priest of Israel certainly grant them the authority and holiness of their offices. One of the major disqualifications that affected the kohen’s ability to perform services in the Temple was that he lacked the proper clothing that characterized and identified him. We find generally in Jewish life that clothing plays an important societal and religious role. Modesty in dress, special clothing for the Sabbath and holidays, and accept-

able attire have always been the norms in Jewish society. The clothing of Jews was always affected by the influence of the countries and societies in which they lived. One need only look at the paintings of the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century, portraying the Jews and rabbis of Amsterdam at their synagogue services and homes, in order to realize how acculturated Jewish dress was, even amongst the most rigorously pious rabbis of the time. The Church sought to regulate the colors of dress that Jews would be al-

“Portrait of an Old Jew,” by Rembrandt

lowed to wear in the Middle Ages. It was the Church that made black the main color motif of Jewish dress. It seems that the Jews in Europe before the time of the Crusades wore brightly colored clothing as did their non-Jewish neighbors. It was only after the official medieval persecution of Ashkenazic Jews by the Church that restrictions were made on the color and type of clothing that could be worn by Jews. Jews were also forced to wear ludi-

deur, and power of leadership, the garments of the ordinary priests represented holiness and service. Not everyone could aspire to achieve majesty and grandeur – there was only one High Priest present at any one given time during the periods of the First and Second Temples. However, purity of life and devotion to service of G-d and of Israel was something that many could achieve. This truth was reflected in the different clothing of the High Priest and

It was the Church that made black the main color motif of Jewish dress.

crous-looking hats and badges of shame on their clothing. However, Jews made their forced shameful clothing items of Jewish pride, and long after the decline of the Church and the abolition of such degrees (though they were restored by the Germans in World War II), Jews continued to wear informal peasant dress, strange hats and caps, and mainly black clothing. The rule regarding all clothing was that it be modest and presentable. The garments of the High Priest of Israel were ornate, unique, and very luxurious in manufacture and appearance. In contrast, the garments of the ordinary priests of Israel were simple, sparse, and sparkling white. If the garments of the High Priest represented majesty, gran-

of his fellow, but ordinary, priests. It is to be noted that the High Priest himself also always wore the vestments of the ordinary priests. He had four additional garments that he wore that were of precious metal and fabric and unique to him. But before one could don the garments of majesty, power, grandeur and importance, one had to first learn the lessons of humility, holiness, purity and service to others and to G-d as represented by the clothing of the ordinary priests of Israel. Though we no longer have priestly vestments present in our Jewish society today, the lessons that they taught us should be remembered and followed. Shabbat shalom.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

From the Fire Parshas Tetzaveh

Leaders and the Little People By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

he Torah says the garments of the kohein gadol must be “for honor and glory” (Shemos 28:2). It also mandates that two of the eight garments must be attached to one another with rings and ropes. The Torah (ibid. at 28:28) says, “And the Choshen [breastplate] shall not loosen, yizach, from the Ephod [apron].” The Ramban, Rashi, and Onkolus give various explanations which indicate that yizach means that the Choshen may not become loose, detached, or disconnected from the Ephod. The Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos, Negative Commandment 87) counts this rule that the Choshen may not be separated from the Ephod as one of the 613 mitzvos. He further clarifies (Hilchos Klei Hamikdah 9:10) that “anyone who allows the Choshen to become loose from upon the Ephod and anyone who separates them destructively [not for the purpose of repairing them] receives lashes.” This is remarkable. The Rambam counts all of the many details and halachos of the garments of the kohanim as one mitzvah “to wear the kohein garments for the service” (introduction to Hilchos Klei Hamikdash). Yet for some reason, the Torah singles out just one of those many details of the garments of the kohanim – the requirement that the Choshen and Ephod be attached tightly to one another – as a completely separate mitzvah. What is so unique about this one detail that the Torah singles it out as an independent mitzvah? The Sefer Hachinuch (Negative Commandment 100) explains that this mitzvah is part of the general rule that the garments of the kohein gadol must be “for honor and

glory.” Because his garments must be in perfect order, he writes that “the Choshen may not move and sway on the tablet of [the kohein gadol’s] heart.” Yet his explanation is not entirely satisfying. We still do not understand why the Torah singled out this one detail of the hundreds of halachos relating to the garments of the kohanim as a separate mitzvah. Even the Sefer Hachinch is not satisfied with his own answer, as we see when he says, in very unusual form, “And until we hear a better explanation, we shall cling to this one.” Reb Chanan Porat, z”l, quotes other seforim which shed light on this mysterious mitzvah. He points out that it teaches us a fundamental principle of

personal and national decisions. The Gemara (Yuma 73b) explains that the names of the tribes contain all of the letters of the Aleph Beis except for Tzadik, Ches, Kuf, and Tes. The Gemara therefore explains that the Choshen also contained the phrases “Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov” and “Shivtei Yeshurun, Tribes of Yeshurun” in order to make up the missing letters. It is also remarkable because there were 72 total letters in the names of the tribes and these two phrases, the same number of letters as in Hashem’s “full” name (Rashi on Sukkah 45a). The pasuk (Shmos 28:29) says that “Aharon shall carry the names of the Jewish people on the Choshen of judgment on

His heart was engraved with the life of each and every Jew.

Jewish leadership and demonstrates one of the key qualifications of a true leader. There were twelve precious stones on the Choshen, each one containing the name of one of the tribes of the Jewish people. The stones were therefore called (Shemos 28:12) “stones of remembrance” because they recall the names of each of the tribes. While there are several explanations of the mechanics, the kohein gadol used the letters of the names of the Jewish people on the Choshen to give them guidance in their

his heart when he comes into the Holy as a remembrance before Hashem always.” The Torah says that kohein gadol must wear the Choshen, which represents the Jewish people, close to his heart during his service in the Beis Hamikdash. The Choshen must remain tightly in place so that the kohein gadol keeps the Jewish people close to his heart at all times. Normally, there is a tendency for anyone in a position of power or authority to detach himself from his “subjects” and become aloof. Whether one is

the ruler of an entire nation, a parent of children, a rebbe or morah, or anyone in between, this is a danger endemic to any position of power or authority. The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 2:6) teaches the proper attitude of a leader as follows: “Just like the pasuk apportioned him [the king] great honor and everyone is obligated to honor him, so, too, it commanded that his heart must be low and empty within him…and he may not conduct himself in an overly haughty manner with the Jewish people, as the pasuk (Devarim 17:20) says, ‘Lest his heart become haughty over his brothers.’ And he must be kind and merciful with the small and the great. And he should go and come for their desires and for their benefit. And he should concern himself with the honor of the smallest of the small among them.” The Ephod represents kingship (Ramban on Shmos 28:2) and authority. Very often, once a person becomes accustomed to a position of power, he begins to feel detached from the concerns of “regular people” and feel that he is different from and better than them. In order to counteract this, the kohein gadol must ensure that the Ephod, which represents authority and power, remain closely connected to the Choshen, which represents every single Jew. He must concern himself with even “the smallest of the small among them.” It is no coincidence that Aharon was the first kohein gadol to wear the Choshen and Ephod. He exemplified the leader who was exceedingly humble, always thinking of others before himself. The Mishna (Avos 1:12) says regarding Aharon that he “loves

before Elazar Hakohein and seek [advice from] him through the judgment of the Urim before Hashem. By his word shall they go and by his word they shall come, he and all of the Jewish people with him and the entire congregation.” The “Judgment of the Urim” means that a leader of the nation must guide his people based on a judgment of who they are and their own individual nature. For this type of personal leadership, in order to connect to the unique nature of each individual with whom he is charged, it is not enough for a leader to have a great intellect. He must have “the heart of Aharon.” He must carry every Jew’s name on his heart at all times. He must be a person who never lets his connection to even “the smallest of the small among them” waver or weaken in any way. This contrasts sharply with the concept of leadership outside the Jewish world. I remember once, in the early 1960s, I went with several friends to a Yankee game. One of my friends in particular was an autograph collector so we waited with him after the game to see the players as they left the stadium. It seems the players were involved in various water and wine libations, because we waited for over an hour and a half before they emerged. One of the pop-

ular players at that time was Joe Pepitone, and my friend very much wanted his autograph. He prepared a paper and pen for the big moment. When Joe finally left the stadium, there were only three or four people waiting for him – very little pressure or fanfare. Yet when my friend extended his paper and pen to obtain Joe’s autograph, he hurled an expletive at my friend and walked right past, leaving him completely deflated. While not every leader in the world at large is like our friend Joe, it suffices to say that the aspirations of leaders in the world at large are very far from the Jewish ideal. One leader of our people who represents the ideal of a Jewish leader who never allowed “the Choshen to loosen from upon the Ephod” was Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zt”l. I would like to share one small story that illustrates this beautifully from his Artscroll biography, “Rav Nosson Tzvi:” Rav Nosson Tzvi didn’t suffice with empathizing with orphans and widows. When a Mirrer talmid passed away, leaving behind a large family, Rav Nosson Tzvi called his widow and promised her that he was now her children’s “father.” He told the children that any time they had anything to discuss, they should write to him, and he

would write back. Sure enough, the children wrote letters to the Rosh Yeshiva, and he wrote back to them in longhand. After a few of the boys in the family received his letters, Rav Nosson Tzvi received a complaint from a 6-yearold girl in the family, who felt left out at not having received a letter. Rav Nosson Tzvi took a piece of paper and wrote her a short note, adding a picture of a heart to show that his heart was with the family. This girl, who is now married with a family of her own, still cherishes the note that carried her through so many a difficult moment. May Hashem grant us more leaders who we so sorely need like Aharon Hakohein and Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, who concern themselves with even the smallest of the small and not only the issues and people deemed “big” or “important.” With such leaders, may we soon see the arrival of Moshiach and the ultimate redemption soon in our days.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

peace, pursues peace, loves other people and draws them close to Torah.” And the Midrash (Shmos Raba 3:17) says, “The heart that rejoiced in the greatness of his brother will wear the Urim V’Tumim [contained within the Choshen].” Aharon led the Jewish people throughout their bitter slog through the slave pits of Egypt for many years. It would have been understandable if he felt some jealousy when Moshe swooped in at the end of the slave experience, becoming the leader immediately. Yet Aharon was such a great leader that he never thought of himself. He only thought of others. That is why he was rewarded with the Urim V’Tumim and Choshen. His heart was engraved with the life of each and every Jew. The kohein gadol’s leadership with Hashem’s guidance through the Choshen was not meant to serve as a source of legal or halachic authority. In fact, this is prohibited because “the Torah is not in Heaven” (Devarim 30:12; Bava Metzia 59b). Halachic leadership is the function of the Sanhedrin, poskim, and talmidei chachamim. Rather, the kohein gadol uses the Urim V’Tumim and Choshen to guide the Jewish people with major decisions on an individual and national level, as the pasuk (Bamidbar 27:21) says, “And he shall stand

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Delving into the Daf

Stolen Wedding Food By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

oruch: Mazal tov, Shimon! I’m so thrilled that I was able share in your daughter’s wedding! The food, by the way, was fantastic. Shimon: Thank you so much for coming; it means a lot to me! Here is my portable credit card machine. That will be $250! Boruch: What?! Shimon: It’s my minhag that all the participants pay for their own food at the wedding. This way, weddings are much more affordable for the parents. Boruch: But you never told me that I was expected to pay. The standard custom in our circles is that the parents pay for the wedding, not the guests. Shimon: In truth, you are right. What really happened was that the caterer had a medical emergency. I spent the day transporting food from the commissary to the wedding hall. However, I accidentally took the wrong food. That food was not meant for my wedding. The caterer is now asking me to pay $250 per portion! I was expecting to pay only $70. So now, I am asking all the guests upon their departure to pay for the stolen food. Boruch: I’m sorry for your loss. However, the Mishna says in Bava Kama (101b) that if a father stole food and his kids ate it, only the father has to pay and not the kids. The person who stole the food must pay for it, not the person who ate it. You stole the food, and you can’t expect the guests to pay. Shimon: Good point! But Rav Chisda clearly rules in the Gemara that if someone stole food and someone else ate it, the victim of the theft can collect from either party. So the caterer can collect from either me or you. I don’t have the money to pay, so I am collecting on behalf of the caterer from you. Boruch: But that is against the Mishna! Shimon: The Mishna must be discussing a situation where the owner of the stolen food items despaired of ever

getting them back. Subsequently, the food was eaten. Then, the owner may only collect from the thief. In our situation, the caterer didn’t find out that I had taken the wrong food until the wedding was over. He did not despair of

the stolen food. Therefore, the caterer may only collect restitution from you and not from the guests. Shimon: Good point. But Tosfos does not subscribe to your theory that feeding someone stolen food is tantamount

The person who stole the food must pay for it, not the person who ate it.

getting his food back until after you ate it. Therefore, you must pay restitution for consuming stolen food. Boruch: Not so fast. The Baal HaMaor says that feeding someone food is tantamount to consuming it. True, you didn’t actually eat the stolen food. But you had it served to all the guests at the wedding. Therefore, according to the eyes of halacha, you are the only one who is considered to have actually eaten

to consuming it. Therefore, according to Tosfos, the owner may collect from either me who stole it or you who ate it. Boruch: Let’s step back for a moment. The Shita Mekubetzes says that your whole reasoning is invalid. The only time that the victim may collect from either the thief or from the person who ate the stolen food is when both parties knew the food was stolen. I had no idea that you inadvertently stole the wedding food

when I ate it. Therefore, the Shita would say that I am not liable to pay for the stolen food even though I ate it. Shimon: True. But the Machne Efraim (Laws of Theft 6-7) disagrees. He says it is irrelevant if the person eating the food knows if it was stolen or not. Boruch: But even the Machne Efraim rules that the owner may only collect from the person who ate the stolen food if he intended to acquire the food. If he merely sat down to eat a portion of food, then he is free from paying restitution. I did not intend to formally acquire the food. I merely sat down to a nice dinner. Shimon: Well, even if you are right, you still cannot escape the fact that you benefited from the stolen food. Even if you are not liable to pay for the theft per se, you must pay for the benefit you attained. The halacha is that one must pay for the benefit he attained at someone else’s expense. You ate the food and therefore did not have to buy supper. Boruch: The benefit I experienced is worth much less than $250. I would never eat such expensive food even if it was offered at a discount. You did save me from spending $10 on dinner. Moreover, Rabbi Zilberstein in Chashukei Chemed argues that, in fact, in this situation there is no benefit at all. You invited me to this wedding to eat a portion of food. I actually gained no monetary benefit by consuming the stolen food over the food that you promised me. Therefore, I am exempt from paying even $10. I wish you much success in your business so that you can afford to repay your inadvertent theft.

Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@gmail.com.

Headlines

Halacha

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

he Chofetz Chaim wrote a number of famous works. He wrote the Mishnah Berurah commentary on the Orach Chaim section of Shulchan Aruch. He also wrote Sefer Chofetz Chaim on the laws of lashon hara. There is another book that he wrote which is not so famous. It is called Ahavas Chesed, and it deals with the obligation to perform chessed, acts of kindness. Every so often, such as this week, the weather forecasters tell us that the New York greater metropolitan area is in for a snowstorm. Shoveling the snow is often a time-consuming but necessary event. You are prepared for it because you have purchased a snowblower. Your neighbor, however, has not. But now your neighbor wishes to borrow your snowblower. What are your obligations in this regard? What mitzvos are involved? The Chofetz Chaim cites the mitzvah of ve’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha (Vayikra 19:18) and understands it to include the mitzvah of loaning one’s tools and items to another who requests it (see Ahavas Chesed, Part I, 1:2). True, it is a mitzvah. But is it obligatory? The Chofetz Chaim writes later on that if one is a tza’ar ayin (someone miserly in his or her conduct) and lies and says that he does not have the item, his punishment is that nega’im come to his home and he is forced to remove all the vessels in his house. If the reason why he is not lending the snowblower is that this neighbor had previously slighted him or simply because he cannot stand the neighbor, then there is an additional verse that he is violating: “Do not take revenge nor harbor a grudge” (also in the same verse in Vayikra). What if you are concerned that he will damage the snowblower? In such a case, it would seem that there is no obligation to loan the item. It should be no different than a loan where there is a significant concern that he will not pay back; in such a case, there is no obligation to make the loan (see Ahavas Chesed, Part I, 1:9). Can the neighbor who borrowed the snowblower lend it to someone else? Ab-

solutely not (ibid., Part II, Chapter 22). In fact, one may only use the tool for the normal purposes for which such a tool is used. Using it for any other purpose constitutes gezeilah, a violation of the prohibition of theft, a violation that disqualifies a person from serving as a witness (at a wedding, for

with a joy and excitement when we are given the opportunity to loan such an item, just as we should approach all of our mitzvos in the same manner. What if one makes one’s living renting snowblowers? Is there an obligation to rent it for free to someone who is in need of it?

If the reason why he is not lending the snowblower is that this neighbor had previously slighted him or simply because he cannot stand the neighbor, then there is an additional verse that he is violating.

example). For example, if one stores nails on top of the snowblower, this would constitute theft, because the snowblower was not meant to serve as a storage tray. If the neighbor borrowing the snowblower happens to be poor, then there is another mitzvah that is fulfilled as well: tzedakah. In conclusion, it seems that, according to the Chofetz Chaim, the obligation to loan tools and other items is a full obligation. We should therefore approach this mitzvah

Here, the answer may not be so simple. Clearly, one is not obligated to give up one’s livelihood to perform this mitzvah. The verse tells us, “Vechai achicha imach, and your brother shall live with you” to tell us of the obligation of loaning money and giving to charity. The emphasis, however, can be placed on the words “with you.” There is no need sacrifice one’s own living for this. If you may require this snowblower for your rental business, there is no need to loan it to the other.

What if it is clearly an extra one? Then, there is one more consideration: if word gets out that you loan the snowblowers for no charge, then your business may be adversely affected, and you would not be obligated to lend it. The exact parameters of the obligation depend upon whether the person is poor and whether it will, according to the derech ha’teva, the natural order of things, affect one’s parnasah adversely if word gets out that the item is often loaned for free. For some of us, our gut reaction is, “Get your own blower! Why don’t you ever prepare or act responsibly?” And we develop feelings of antipathy. There is no question that preparing is important, but harboring this feeling has a dangerous repercussion. Before we get to that repercussion, however, let us briefly review three kashrus terms: Treif – generally speaking, this refers to an animal that has one of the 18 injuries or malformities that will cause it to die within 12 months unless some medical intervention takes place. It is a lav in the Torah. Neveilah – this refers to an animal that is killed without the use of a halachically valid shechita. It is a lav in the Torah. Timtum Ha’Lev – loosely translated as a dumbing down of the heart. Let’s now get to one of the unfortunate repercussions of the antipathy mentioned above. That feeling is a violation of Torah law. In fact, the Chofetz Chaim writes in his Ahavas Chessed chapter four that violating the Torah prohibition of “Lo sisneh es achicha b’lvavecha” is a lav, no different than eating treif or eating neveilah. The Chofetz Chaim further writes that violating this Torah prohibition also causes timtum ha’lev. In this article, we used the example of a snowblower, but obviously, the idea applies equally with other tools or items. It would even apply, for example, to an extra car which might be in our possession.

This article should be viewed as a halachic discussion and not practical advice. The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@ gmail.com.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

May I Borrow Your Snowblower?

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Something Fishy About Two Adars The Mystical Secret of the Two Fish of Two Adars By RABBi DAniel GlATSTein

typical year in the Jewish calendar consists of twelve months. However, every few years, there is a leap year in which we add an additional month. In a leap year, we have two months of Adar. Of all the months of the year, why was Adar specifically chosen to be added? Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin introduces an idea that the twelve months of the year correspond to the twelve Shevatim. Each shevet, each tribe, is represented by a different month. Klal Yisrael is a single entity, and overall, we all possess the same general attributes. However, each of the twelve Shevatim has its own distinguishing set of abilities and strengths. Each one has qualities and a skillset that are specific to it. These distinctive qualities give each shevet its own identity. There is a concept known as ashan. This is an acronym for olam, world; shana, year; and nefesh, soul. Qualities that exist in specific people (souls) can also be identified as pertaining to corresponding places (world) and periods of time (year). Let us examine how this concept applies to the months of the year and the Shevatim, regardless of their place in the physical world. The twelve Shevatim each possessed unique characteristics, and these characteristics are also reflected throughout the twelve corresponding months of the year. The distinguishing quality of each shevet can be discerned in its representative month of the year. Thus, each shevet — nefesh — has a unique trait, ability, or talent that pertains to its members. These traits are also associated with the corresponding month of the year, shana. There are several different approaches as to which shevet corresponds to which month; Rav Tzadok takes an approach that he writes is the simplest and most straightforward. The Maharsha and Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev take the same approach. They all advance that the month of Adar corresponds to Shevet Yosef. The mazal, astrological sign, of Adar is dagim, fish. The bracha given to Yosef HaTzaddik was “Vayidgu la’rov b’kerev ha’aretz, And may they proliferate abundantly like fish within the land (Bereishis 48:16). Shevet Yosef’s quality is that of the dag, the fish,

and therefore his month is the month that has the same attribute — the mazal dagim. Shevet Yosef carries a unique feature — namely, that it can be subdivided into two Shevatim: Menashe and Ephraim. Therefore, when we must add a second month and divide the attributes of one month into two, it is most appropriate to do so with the month connected to Yosef, with one month corresponding to Menashe and the second to Ephraim. In a leap year, the second Adar is the more significant month. So too, Ephraim, the second of Yosef’s sons, the second of the two sub-Shevatim of Shevet Yosef, is the more significant. This is reflected in the source of Ephraim’s name, “Ki hifrani Elokim, G-d has made me fruitful (ibid. 41:52). This is representative of the koach of being fruitful and multiplying: piru u’rivu. This is also the bracha of the dag, which is the mazal of Adar. Since Ephraim’s name is directly connected to the bracha of the fish, the mazal of Adar, his is the more significant of the two months. Rav Tzadok adds that the month of Nissan is the month that corresponds to Yehudah. This is because Yehudah is the melech, and Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for melachim. Rav Tzadok HaKohen authored Kuntres Divrei Chalomos, in which he relates dreams he experienced, as well as chiddushei Torah that occurred to him in his dreams. In this sefer he once again presents the concept that each month corresponds to a different shevet and that Adar corresponds to Yosef HaTzaddik. He adds that this is the reason why Yosef is always matzliach, fortunate, in the month of Adar. Yehoshua bin Nun, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, ascended to leadership — becoming a melech of sorts — after the passing of Moshe Rabbeinu. He became the ruler of Klal Yisrael in the month of Adar. This contrasts with David HaMelech, a descendant of Yehudah, whose coronation was in Nissan, the month corresponding to Shevet Yehudah. This pattern will continue in the End of Days. Mashiach ben Yosef will be revealed in Adar, and Mashiach ben David will appear in the month of Nissan. Amalek will

have to be destroyed before the Third Beis HaMikdash will be built. Amalek, a descendant of Eisav, can only succumb to the efforts of a descendant of Yosef. Mashiach ben Yosef will come in Adar, the month of Purim and mechiyas Amalek, and eradicate every last vestige of Amalek. Once Amalek is destroyed, Mashiach ben David can be revealed in Nissan to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash. The Gemara teaches that we read the Megillah in Adar Sheini, the second Adar, in order to juxtapose one geulah to another geulah. We want to read about the redemption from Haman as close as possible to the redemption we experienced when we left Mitzrayim. The geulah of Purim should be read in close proximity to the geulah of Pesach. We can take this approach one step further and posit that by positioning Krias HaMegillah in the second Adar, we are also working to emulate the juxtaposition of the geulah of Mashiach ben Yosef to the geulah of Mashiach ben David. Mashiach ben Yosef will come in the second Adar, and he will be closely followed by Mashiach ben David in the very next month, Nissan. In Parashas Tetzaveh, the Torah teaches about the stones of the Choshen, upon which the names of the twelve Shevatim were engraved. Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev writes that, as mentioned, the twelve Shevatim correspond to the twelve months of the year. Adar is k’neged Yosef, and just as Shevet Yosef is doubled into Menashe and Ephraim, Adar is also sometimes doubled. The name Menashe connotes trials and tribulations. In naming his son Menashe, Yosef was thanking Hashem for enabling him to forget his troubles. Ephraim, on the other hand, is a name that refers to success, as Yosef acknowledged how Hashem had allowed him to proliferate and prosper. This is the story of Adar. Adar began like Menashe. It was a dark time, with Haman’s evil decrees looming over Klal Yisrael. When Hashem saved us, it transformed into a joyous and happy month, like the name Ephraim. Rav Levi Yitzchak then references the fact that the mazal of Adar is the dag. Maseches Shabbos teaches about the order of the aleph-beis and the symbolism of

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

each of its letters. Aleph, beis, gimmel, daled. The letters aleph and beis stand for aleph binah: One must first learn the wisdom of the Torah. The letters gimmel and daled stand for the phrase gemol dalim, donating to the poor by giving tzedakah. In this sense, the gimel refers to the wealthy philanthropist who is giving charity. The letter daled refers to the pauper, the person who needs help. The word dag, fish, is the opposite. Here, we begin with the pauper, with the dal. The month of Adar began with tzarah, with the severe anguish caused by Haman’s evil decrees, alluded to by the daled. The month eventually transitions to a month of happiness, of ashirus, when Hashem saved us from Haman. It ends with the gimmel. This is why the symbol of the month of Adar is the dag.

Do We Have to Be Happy in Adar I? We have discussed in the previous essays the memra of Rav Yehudah, the son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilas in the name of Rav, that one must increase his simcha when the month of Adar begins: Mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha. In a leap year, to which Adar does this memra apply? Is one supposed to increase his simcha in the first Adar, or is the simcha limited to the second Adar? We celebrate Purim in the second Adar, the month of Ephraim. It would appear that the obligation to rejoice applies only to that month. When the Gemara states, Mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha, Rashi comments that the reason to rejoice is because these are days of miracles for Klal Yisrael: Purim and Pesach. Rashi’s statement seems somewhat odd. The Gemara is advising us of a halachah that pertains to the month of Adar, so why does Rashi give an explanation that pertains to Nissan as well? Pesach is not in Adar, so why does Rashi mention it? Rav Yaakov Emden addresses this issue in the She’eilas Yaavetz and offers two reasons for Rashi’s apparent need to include Pesach. Rashi is bothered by a question. If Purim is a cause for increased joy in the month of Adar, then the same should hold true for Kislev and Nissan, too! There is cause for celebration in those months as well, and seemingly there should also be a stipulation to increase our simcha then. Rashi is telling us that one yom tov alone, one miraculous salvation, would not suffice to create an obligation to increase simcha. Only when there is a combination of two distinct miracles that happen one after the other would there be a halachic obligation to increase simcha. The celebration of the miracle of Purim combined with the celebration of the miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim in Nissan is what warrants the mandate to increase our simcha. In a similar vein, the Elyah Rabbah explains that Rashi is telling us the required duration of the increased level of simcha. The increased happiness and joy of Adar are to be sustained through the month of Nissan. In his second approach, Rav Yaakov Emden writes that Rashi is guiding us as to what is warranted in a leap year. The Adar that is closest to Pesach is the only month during which increased simcha is required. However, a teshuvah written by the Chasam Sofer is signed with the sentence, “Rosh Chodesh Adar I, in which

our simcha is increased.” The Chasam Sofer clearly disagrees with Rav Yaakov Emden and is of the opinion that the increased level of simcha begins in Adar Aleph.

The Levush: Why We Add Adar Specifically The Levush addresses the question of why in a leap year we add a second Adar, as opposed to any other month. The Megillah states that Adar must be the twelfth month of the year: “Then, in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar…” (Esther 9:1). If we were to add any other month to the calendar, Adar would be the thirteenth month — and that cannot be allowed to happen. Adar must be the twelfth month. The Levush then writes that this consideration is not the primary reason why Adar is the month chosen to be doubled. The Torah tells us that we must be vigilant to ensure that Nissan always takes place in the springtime: “You shall observe the month of springtime and perform the Pesach-offering to Hashem, your G-d” (Devarim 16:1). This would prove to be challenging, since the solar calendar is approximately eleven days longer than the lunar calendar. Therefore, any given lunar month would continually move earlier each subsequent solar calendar year. How can we then ensure that Chodesh Nissan will always start in the spring, and not eventually take place in the winter?

The purpose of the leap year is to make shalom, peace, between the sun and the moon. Adding another month prior to Nissan would postpone the month, and it would serve to maintain Nissan starting in the spring. Since the goal is to keep Nissan in the spring, it is only fitting to add the month immediately before Nissan. The Torah says “shamor, guard,” and guarding is best accomplished in close proximity, not from a distance. Thus, Adar, which immediately precedes Nissan, is the most appropriate month to add. The Levush then presents an original and unusual understanding of the leap month. When a second Adar is added, the first loses its status as an Adar. This is apparent from the fact that we do not celebrate Purim in this month. Additionally, Adar always has twenty-nine days. In a leap year, the second Adar, the main month, retains this quality, while the first Adar has thirty days, representative of its nature of not being an authentic form of Adar. We call the first month Adar Aleph, but in reality, it is merely a period of thirty days that serve as a placeholder to ensure that Nissan will be in the spring. The true Adar, the actual month of Adar, is the second Adar. The Levush adds that Mazal Adar dagim applies only to the second month; however, the first Adar is not represented by fish.

This view is apparently supported by the practice cited by the Munkaczer Rebbe in Nimukei Orach Chaim, who writes that none of the talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov celebrated Purim Kattan, indicating that the first Adar has no significance. The Levush states that the way we write the date in a shtar, a legal document, seems to attribute more importance to the first month of Adar. When a document is signed in Adar Aleph, the date is written as “Adar.” In Adar Beis, however, we write “Adar Sheini.” This seems to imply that the first Adar is the main month of Adar, and it is therefore simply called Adar. No number designation is needed, since it is the primary month. The second Adar seems to be secondary, hence the title “Adar Sheini.” According to the Levush’s opinion that the first Adar is only a placeholder and the second Adar is the real Adar, the signing of a shtar should reflect that. The first month should be signed “Adar Aleph,” and the second simply as Adar, since it is the real Adar. The Levush writes that there is a very specific reason for this anomaly. The manner in which we sign documents is different, and it does not convey that the first Adar is the real month. At the time that the Beis HaMikdash stood, the months were mekudash, sanctified, when there was a sighting of the new moon: al pi re’iyah. As the month of Adar progressed, they might not yet have decided to add a second Adar. “Adar Aleph” is a term that can be employed only after a second Adar has been decided upon. As long as there is no such decision, the assumption is that the Adar that is currently being experienced will be the only Adar that year. Every shtar, then, in that month, would have to be signed “Adar” since, as far as they knew, it would be the only one that year. An entity cannot be referred to as the “first” if it is the only one. Only when there is more than one can a designation of “first” or “second” be employed. Since they had to call the month “Adar” until it was ruled that the year would be a leap year, the first Adar is known simply as Adar, and the second earns the title “Adar Sheini.” When Mashiach comes, the Kiddush HaChodesh will once again be determined al pi re’iyah. As was the case in the past, we will not know beforehand whether or not a given year will be a leap year. Therefore, we maintain this convention: Adar Aleph is called Adar, and Adar Beis is called Adar Sheini. If someone needs to observe the yahrzeit of a loved one who passed away in a year that had only one Adar, during which Adar does he commemorate the yahrtzeit in a leap year? The Mechaber paskens that the main Adar is the month of Adar Beis. Therefore, the yahrzeit is observed in the second Adar. The Rema disagrees and writes that the main Adar is in fact the first Adar and concludes by writing, “V’chein nohagin.” Ashkenazim have the custom to observe the yahrzeit in Adar Aleph. Kaddish, however, is recited in Adar Beis as well. In contrast, if someone who was born in an ordinary year turns thirteen in a leap year, he celebrates his bar mitzvah in Adar Beis. The Levush explains that when we observe a yahrtzeit, the deceased’s neshama can have an aliyah and move higher in Olam Haba. This is a gift to the departed and we do not wish to delay it, so we mark the yahrtzeit as soon as possible. Ein maavirin al hamitz-

Yosef’s Month We have presented the view that Adar is the month that corresponds to Yosef HaTzaddik. The Kedushas Levi points out that Yosef was the bechor, the firstborn, of his mother Rachel. As the bechor, he receives pi shnayim, a double portion. This is why he receives two months: both Adar Rishon and Adar Sheini. It is also why he receives two chalakim, two portions, in Eretz Yisrael. Only a leap year demonstrates that Yosef is a bechor. In an ordinary year, Yosef has only one month, and his status as a bechor is not evident. The purpose of the leap year is to make shalom, peace, between the sun and the moon. Rav Isser Dov Kook writes that Yosef’s status of bechor is demonstrated by the reality that there are two Adars. The purpose of adding the second Adar is to reconcile the differences between the sun and the moon, between the solar calendar and the lunar calendar. In this way, the sun and the moon do Yosef’s bidding. This is a manifestation of the fruition of Yosef’s dream that the sun and the moon would bow down to him. The Maharsha disagrees with the Levush. He writes that Adar is Yosef’s month, and since he is divided into two Shevatim, it is his month that is divided into two separate months when there is a need for a leap year. Mazal Adar dagim, the mazal of Adar is dagim — multiple fish: one fish for Adar Aleph, and one for Adar Beis. The sefer Dvar Yom B’Yomo points out that almost all the mazalos of the year are singular. Taleh, sheep — not telaim, which is plural. Likewise, shor, only one ox; ari, a lion. These are all in the single form. The mazal of Elul is besulah; once again, in the singular. Akrav, keshes, g’di — all are in the singular form. Adar is alone in possessing a mazal that is in the plural: dagim. Fish — plural. Following the pattern of the other months, the mazal should have been dag, one single fish. Adar is plural because it encompasses both months: Adar Rishon and Adar Sheini.

Why Not D’liyim? The sefer Tzafnas Pane’ach raises a question on the view of the Levush. The Levush is of the opinion that

both Shevat and Adar Aleph have the same mazal, the d’li. Why, then, is that mazal not in the plural, d’liyim? Just as we understand the mazal of Adar to be the plural dagim because it applies to two months, so too, the d’li ought to be plural if it is the mazal of two different months. The Kedushas Levi in Parashas Shekalim and Rav Yaakov Emden both express the same idea as mentioned above, that the month of Adar corresponds to Yosef. Rav Levi Yitzchak adds that Yosef’s bracha was v’yidgu larov, that he should proliferate like fish, and thus Yosef was immune to ayin hara, just as fish are invulnerable to the evil eye. It is only fitting that fish are chosen as the mazal for the month that corresponds to Yosef. The mazal dagim is plural because it applies to both Adars. In his Yafeh LaLev, Rav Rachamim Nissim Yitzchak Palachi quotes and concurs with Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. The mazal of both months of Adar is the same: dagim.

Hashem saved us by orchestrating events and ensuring that Haman’s goral selected the one month that occurs every few years in which there is no mazal. There is a third opinion with regard to the mazal of the two months of Adar. Adar Aleph is dagim, its mazal is the fish. Adar Beis, however, has no mazal at all. The Chizkuni, Rabbeinu Ephraim, and Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz discuss how when Amalek came to fight Klal Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu instructed Yehoshua to choose men to fight; as the pasuk states, “Bechar lanu anashim” (Shemos 17:9). Using kishuf, witchcraft, the Amalekim were able to rule over the mazalos, astrological signs, and exert great power over their enemies in the twelve months that have their own mazal. Moshe Rabbeinu told Yehoshua to specifically choose people who were born in Adar Sheini, because anyone born in that month has no mazal at all and would not have to be concerned about sorcery or ayin hara from the Amalekim, since they are not included in any of the mazalos over which the Amalekim reigned. Rabbeinu Ephraim adds that this is hinted to in the pasuk. “Bechar” has the gematria of two hundred ten, which is the same as v’Adar, and Adar. (Note that v’Adar is actually two hundred eleven. However, it is an established principle that a gematria can differ by one number.) The Chida likewise writes in Devash L’fi that anyone born in Adar Sheini is not subject to kishuf and ayin hara. The Bnei Yissaschar quotes the Yerushalmi that maintains that the year the Purim miracle took place was

a leap year, and the events of the Purim story happened in Adar Sheini, the second Adar. The lottery directed Haman to the thirteenth day of Adar Sheini, and the Jews fought and emerged victorious on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar Sheini. The Bnei Yissaschar writes that Haman was a formidable mechashef who would have been able to wield great power over Klal Yisrael. Hashem saved us by orchestrating events and ensuring that Haman’s goral selected the one month that occurs every few years in which there is no mazal, and as a result, his kishuf would be ineffective against us. We now have three very different opinions. The Levush holds that in a leap year Adar Aleph is not even considered a month, and therefore it does not have its own mazal but shares the mazal of Shevat. The only real Adar is Adar Beis, which is the only month to have the mazal of dagim. The Maharsha, Rav Yaakov Emden, Rav Levi Yitzchak, and Rav Rachamim Nissim Yitzchak Palachi all share the same opinion, that both Adars share the mazal of dagim. The Chizkuni, Rabbeinu Ephraim, Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz, and the Bnei Yissaschar maintain that only the first Adar has the mazal of dagim and the second Adar has no mazal at all.1

Haman Was Happy to Select Adar Beis Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz writes that Haman spewed horrific lies about Klal Yisrael. He charged that much of what was accomplished by Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua bin Nun, and every Jewish leader throughout the generations was performed with kishuf, sorcery. This is precisely why Haman was happy when his goral landed in Adar Beis. He felt that he was able to defend himself against the Jews since they would not be able to use kishuf against him in the month of Adar Beis. The Jews’ efforts to thwart him would be in vain, because kishuf would not operate for them in that month. He found support to his flawed opinion that the Jews cannot do kishuf in Adar Beis in the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu was niftar in Adar Beis. Haman did not know that Hashem allows the years of tzaddikim to be complete and whole, and that is why Moshe passed away on his birth date in Adar Sheini.

What are the Dagim? When the Rishonim contend that Adar Sheini has no mazal, what do they mean? Are there no stars in the sky that form constellations during the second Adar? How can it be conceived that a month has no mazal? Furthermore, what is meant when we state “mazal Adar dagim”? What kind of fish is Adar’s mazal? At the beginning of Sefer Bereishis, the Torah tells us: “And G-d created the great sea-giants and every living being that creeps, with which the waters teemed after their kinds; and all winged fowl of every kind. And G-d saw that it was good” (Bereishis 1:21). Rashi explains that the taninim, sea-giants, were the largest fish in the sea, identifying them as the Livyasan and its mate. Hashem then killed the female Livyasan, salted it, and preserved it as a delicacy to be fed to the tzaddikim when Mashiach comes. Hashem had to do this because were the Livyasan to have had offspring, they would have destroyed the entire world. Maseches Bava Basra states that the Livyasan was

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

vos; we don’t procrastinate or postpone the performance of a mitzvah. Therefore, we would honor the memory of a loved one and observe the yahrteit in the first Adar. The Levush explains that a bar mitzvah is different. A boy’s becoming a bar mitzvah is a time for simcha, but simultaneously, it is also a time when the child will be held accountable for his actions. He becomes a bar onshin, an adult who can be punished for his aveiros. We delay in rendering him a bar mitzvah until the second Adar so that we can postpone his becoming a bar onshin. Additionally, the child who was born in Adar during a standard year, a shanah peshutah, was born under the mazal dagim. It would be fitting for his bar mitzvah to also take place in the month that has mazal dagim. Since the first Adar is merely a placeholder to keep Pesach in the spring, a way to reconcile the lunar calendar with the solar, it is only the second Adar that has the mazal of dagim. Therefore, the bar mitzvah is celebrated in Adar Beis. The Levush writes that the mazal for Adar Rishon is the same as for Shevat: a d’li, bucket.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

actually a nachash. The male was a straight snake, and the female was a curved snake. Were they to produce offspring, they would destroy the world. Incredibly, Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz writes that at the time of the Mabul, the mazal was dagim, a reference to the Livyasan, male and female, and that is why it was such an ominous time, and, in fact, the world was destroyed. After the Mabul, Hashem killed the female and castrated the male, making it incapable of producing offspring. As noted, after killing it, Hashem salted the female to preserve it as a delicacy to serve the tzaddikim when Mashiach comes. There is one meal that we partake in that is a resemblance of the seudah that we will enjoy l’asid lavo: seudas Purim. It is the only meal at which there is no zecher l’Churban and is reminiscent of the seudah of the future. It is a prelude to the seudas Livyasan. Rav Yitzchak Isaac Chaver, known as the “Peh Shelishi,” a talmid of a talmid of the Vilna Gaon, presents an incredible idea. There are two sources of evil in Shamayim: the nachash and its mate, the Samach Mem. They represent the forces of destruction. Kudsha Brich Hu and His Shechinah stand in opposition to them. When Klal Yisrael has achdus, unity, and coexist peacefully, Hashem and His Shechinah come together and drive the nachash away from the Samach Mem, which attain power only when there is division and discord. That causes a lack of yichud between Kudsha Brich Hu and His Shechinah. Machlokes fuels this evil pair — the nachash and the Samach Mem — while peace and harmony render them harmless. This is why the world was destroyed by the Mabul. Hashem brought the Mabul because of thievery. The people did not get along, took advantage of one another, and conducted themselves with deceit. The nachash and Samach Mem became powerful as a result, and with their newfound power they destroyed the world and almost everything in it. Incredibly, Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz reveals that the dagim, the fish, referred to with “mazal Adar dagim” are the two Livyasans, the straight snake and the crooked snake. These are not the pleasant fish that we commonly understand them to be. That is why Haman was excited that his lottery directed him to the month with the mazal of dagim. He deeply identified with the qualities of the snake. He was the embodiment of the nachash, and his confidence was bolstered when the month of snakes was selected. He interpreted this as a sign that he would be victorious over Klal Yisrael. The mazal of Adar is dagim — both snakes. Rav Yitzchak Isaac Chaver writes that this changes in a leap year. When there are two months of Adar, the dagim are separated. One is the mazal of Adar Aleph,

and one is for Adar Beis. Separated, they cannot wreak havoc in the world or destroy it. Having two Adars is protective because the Samach Mem is kept away from the nachash. Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz writes that in a leap year, Adar Aleph is the male snake, and Adar Beis is the female. Adar Aleph would have been a frightening time, since the male Livyasan was very powerful. However, since Hashem castrated him, his power dissipated, and he can no longer cause harm and destroy. Now we understand the tradition that Adar Sheini does not have a mazal: because that which would have been its mazal, the female Livyasan, was killed by the Ribbono Shel Olam. Its remains have been preserved and are being kept in reserve for the seudas Livyasan.2

The Month of the Future As we learn from the Bnei Yissaschar, every month is associated with one of the five senses. The month of Adar is associated with the sense of smell. This is because smell is the sense of the future, of l’asid lavo, when Mashiach will come. It is the one sense that was not sullied and impugned by the cheit of the Eitz HaDaas. Adam used his sense of hearing to listen to Chava as she convinced him to eat of the Eitz HaDaas, and they both saw, touched, and tasted the fruit, but they did not smell its aroma. Thus, the sense of smell was never polluted. Aroma, fragrance, is a spiritual essence. It is a sense that belongs to the neshama. The Gemara queries if we make a bracha when inhaling an aroma. The basis for the question is that we usually make a bracha on that which we enjoy because the bracha is able to select and purify the item from the spiritual impurities that were injected into it through the sin of Adam HaRishon. As the sense of smell was never impacted by evil, one might have thought that one would not need to make a bracha. Furthermore, Maseches Sanhedrin states that when the Redeemer reveals himself, we will be able to confidently know he is truly Mashiach when we see that he is capable of adjudicating based on his sense of smell. Hence, Adar is a month that retains an element of purity from before the sin of Adam HaRishon, and it is literally a period that has been transplanted from the Yemos HaMashiach. Adar, and specifically Adar Beis, is the month of the Livyasan, the fish that we will, in fact, eat at the seudah of l’asid lavo. Haman sought to use the two snakes of Mazal Adar dagim against us. But Hashem had already countered his efforts by killing the female and salting its flesh to be preserved for when Mashiach comes, and by castrating the male. Haman was therefore left with no viable weapon to use against Klal Yisrael. May we all be zocheh to the great yeshuah of Mashiach ben Yosef in Chodesh Adar and Mashiach ben David in Nissan, and have the merit to enjoy the seudah of the Livyasan, amein, kein yehi ratzon.

Earlier, we brought a machlokes as to when the mitzvah of increasing the simcha in Adar begins. We might be tempted to explain the different opinions about the obligation of simcha based on when the mazal of dagim is present. One may suggest that a month that has the mazal of dagim has the mitzvah of increased simcha. However, Rav Yaakov Emden, who maintains that there is no mitzvah to increase simcha in Adar Aleph, clearly states in his siddur that both Adars have the mazal of dagim. In addition, the Bnei Yissaschar, who holds that Adar Sheini has no mazal, still holds that there is a mitzvah of simcha in the second Adar. Thus, the differing opinions of when the mazal dagim is present would not seem to be the explanation behind the machlokes as to when mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha applies. 1

2 Rav Yonasan explains that there are two types of snakes. There are snakes that live on dry land, and there are those that take up residence in the water. Snakes that live on land are dangerous, as they can inject venom when they bite. However, one who is poisoned by a snake can overcome the effects of the poison, as advised by Rashi in Maseches Berachos. If the person bitten by the snake can reach a body of water before the snake does, then he will survive the venomous attack. If the snake gets to water first, then the poison will do its harm. Water keeps the nachash’s effects in abeyance. Water also keeps away the effects of kishuf. Snakes that live in the water, however, are very dangerous. Once a person is poisoned, there is no countermeasure that can be employed. There is no forestalling the death resulting from the poison. When Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu a snake, he was frightened and backed away. Moshe’s very name declared that he was a person who had been drawn from the water, and as such, he was fearful that the snake was a water-based reptile from whose bite there was no cure. Hashem advised him that the nachash before him was a land snake, and therefore he could safely grab the snake, which was unable to harm him. Hashem’s instruction, achoz biznavo, grab its tail, conveyed the message that the snake, which had been castrated, could not bear progeny or hurt him in any way. While she prepared to go to Achashveirosh uninvited, Esther davened, ‫( קֵ לִ י קֵ לִ י לָמָ ה ֲעז ְַבּתָ נִ י‬Tehillim 22:2). The Midrash explains why she called Hashem twice. ‫קֵ לִ י‬, You are my God on land, and ‫קֵ לִ י‬, You are my God in the water as well. This perek of Tehillim likens Esther to an ‫אַ ֶּילֶת הַ ַּׁשחַ ר‬, a gazelle, which the Midrash says has a very narrow womb. The narrow birth canal makes it hard for the gazelle to give birth. The Midrash tells us that when a gazelle is ready to have a baby, a snake bites it, and that enables it to give birth. Esther was the ayalah, the gazelle, and Haman the snake. What Esther didn’t know, though, was whether Haman was a land snake or a water snake. Haman’s lottery landed on Adar, which made him very happy. Moshe Rabbeinu had died in Adar, so the snake of Adar must be the water-based snake, Haman surmised, for Moshe would have survived the bite of a land snake. He was drawn from the water, and the water would have protected him from the poisonous effects of the land snake’s venom. Haman believed that his choosing Adar as his month rendered him into a water snake as well, and for this reason, the Jews would have no hope of defeating him. But Haman made a mistake. Moshe did not pass away in Adar Aleph but in Adar Beis, the month that has no mazal, as Hashem had already killed the female snake. Haman’s goral landed on a month that had no mazal at all, and there was no nachash whose poison he could use against the Jews.

This article was excerpted with permission from The Concealed and the Revealed by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, ArtScroll Publications. Rabbi Daniel Glatstein is the Mara D’asra of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai in Cedarhurst, NY, and author of numerous seforim in Lashon Hakodesh and in English for ArtScroll. He is an international lecturer and maggid shiur. His thousands of recorded shiurim are available on Torahanytime.com, podcast, his website rabbidg.com, and other venues.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Israel Today

Let’s Make a Deal? by Marcia Stark Meth

taking on some special mitzvah, as I’m sure so many people in Klal Yisroel are doing. This time, I’d STOP doing something. Still, what can it hurt? Okay, I’ll do it. Please Hashem, return the hostages to their families.

ackstroke is my favorite swim stroke. With all other strokes, the longer I swim, the more I feel the benefits: physical health, mental clarity, emotional well-being. But as soon as I flip onto my back, especially when outdoors, I feel something more profound – a connection to Hashem. I think of my mother, Rose Stark, a”h. Whenever she’d get ready for a day at the Yam Hamelech, picturing herself in the water surrounded by Israel’s majestic beauty, she’d declare, “Ich gay redden tzu G-t”—I’m going to talk to Hashem.

* * *

* * * February 11, 3 pm EST. I’m doing the backstroke in a Florida pool, looking up at the beautiful blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Surrounded by palm trees and greenery, I savor the beauty and the freedom to enjoy it all. Suddenly, I’m overcome by a deep sadness. And then guilt. As I swim, I have an internal dialogue: How can I enjoy all this beauty, all this freedom, when so many hostages are cooped up in tunnels and maybe even cages—when they’re sitting in darkness, denied any sunshine, denied their freedom? Come on, that makes no sense. How does it help them if I don’t enjoy this wonderful experience? I feel so powerless. There must be something I can do. As an exotic bird flies overhead, I remember something I’d heard about an American gadol hador. Throughout the Holocaust years, he didn’t sleep on a bed. Knowing what was going on in Europe, he decided to be “nosei b’ol”—share the burden. So… …what if I were to give up the backstroke for the rest of my “Florida snowbird season”? I would gladly make that teensy sacrifice. Maybe, in exchange, Hashem would arrange for even one of the hostages to be rescued or released. But then I remember something else our mother, a Holocaust survivor, once told us. When she first arrived in America—after losing her husband, baby, par-

ents, siblings, and siblings’ families in Auschwitz—someone remarked to her, “We suffered, too. We couldn’t get meat.” Oy. I feel ashamed. So much for my teensy sacrifice. But still… It’s not just a sacrifice, it’s “making a deal” with Hashem. But… Is deal-making with Hashem even allowed? I don’t know the answer to that. But I do remember two “deals” I made with Hashem in the past. The first was during the first Gulf War. Consumed with terror about Scud missiles being fired in Israel, visualizing my family, friends, and all my fellow Yidden sitting in bomb shelters, I tried to think of something to take upon myself. Something I could adhere to. I decided on Birkas Hamazon. From then on, I made a point of saying it more slowly, with extra kavanah, preferably from a bentcher. And baruch Hashem, that war ended well. (Years later, I discovered that my two sisters in Israel, unbeknownst to each other, took on the same “deal.”) My second “deal” with Hashem took place while I was in Israel to be with our mother, who was undergoing a relatively routine surgical procedure that went terribly awry when her colon was accidentally

perforated. To give her body a chance to heal, the doctors put her into a medically induced coma. It was touch-and-go for several weeks. One day, after staying with her in the ICU, I headed straight to the Kotel to daven for her. After pouring my heart out, I headed up the stairs to the Old City, where I stopped to use the restroom. Outside, as I was about to say Asher Yatzar, I had an epiphany: What better place than the Kotel to say that bracha of gratitude for our bodily functions! Would it be appropriate to say that particular bracha at our holiest place? I didn’t know, and I didn’t have anyone to ask. But I felt compelled to run back down the stairs, return to the Kotel, and recite that prayer with a fervor I’d never experienced before. There and then, I took it upon myself to say Asher Yatzar, from that day forward, with extra kavanah. (That was years before Jewish homes had Asher Yatzar posters hanging outside bathrooms!) And, Baruch Hashem, our mother recovered from that ordeal. These two memories flash by while I’m still backstroking. I continue talking to myself: Yes, that’s all well and good. But this “backstroke deal” feels different. It’s not

Later that day. At 6:49 pm EST, two of the hostages, Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har, are rescued during a daring IDF mission. I learn about it a few hours later and wonder: while I was making my “backstroke deal,” were the soldiers preparing their intricate plan? I also wonder: When those hostages were getting rescued, how many thousands of other Yidden around the world were davening, giving tzedakah, taking on special mitzvos, making small sacrifices, proposing “deals” with Hashem, and generally emoting with the hostages and their families? The next day, I watch a video that’s gone viral in the Jewish community. According to “Morah Tziri” of the InKredible Kids Tehillim Army (https://tehillimarmy.org/), at the precise moment when the two hostages were rescued (1:49 am Israel time), thousands of children who participate nightly in the organization’s zoom/livestream were shouting out the following Tehillim (Perek 20, Pasuk 8) at the top of their lungs: “Eileh b’rechev v’eileh ba’sushim va’anachnu b’shem Hashem Elokeinu nazkir, Some with chariots, some with horses, but we in the name of Hashem our Lord.” Wow. From now on, every time I omit the backstroke from my lap routine—even if I’m facing the bottom of the pool rather than Shamayim—I’ll feel part of a worldwide collective effort. Together, we’re forming a spiritual army—including an army of children—trying to support Israel’s army, trying to connect with Hashem. May He hear our cries to help the IDF wipe out our enemy and release every single hostage. Quickly.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

School of

Thought

Of Signed Forms and Snow Days By Barbara Deutsch

here is absolutely nothing better than a Snow Day! A well-known secret about Snow Days is that teachers get even more excited than the kids to see the snow piling up and burying the city in its soft coat. There is pure beauty in piles and piles of white snow. There is nothing more satisfying than sleeping in, staying warm and cozy while watching the soothing, falling snow. When we were ready, we joined our kids in building a gigantic snow-packed snowman. In our younger days, clearing the paths to the house and from the cars provided us with all the exercise we would need. When everyone got tired, we went inside, got out of the wet gear, and enjoyed a steaming hot cup of cocoa— the ultimate in winter joy. It was awesome. There is nothing better than having the freed up time provided by a Snow Day to catch up on life, especially true

when you are trying to make aliyah and you have piles of forms to fill out and file. What kinds of forms are there? A myriad of legal documents that include birth certificates, a marriage license, a divorce decree (when applicable and thankfully not us), letters from your rabbi, an interview with a representative from the Jewish Agency, some more random forms to fill out, and as a topper, getting FBI clearance. Every document needs an apostille; what is that? An apostille is a raised seal that verifies the information presented; each seal costs money. Once you have all of the documents needed with the apostilles affixed, like a stamp of approval, you need to upload them onto the Nefesh B’Nefesh website; you click upload and then hold your breath in the hope that the document passes muster and the entry is successful. In the event that the documents are

reviewed and are rejected for whatever reason, you may have to start all over again, get new documents, procure new apostilles for the rejected document, and file it all, again. Sometimes, there may be a lot of doovers until you get it right. As a newborn in a Displaced Persons Camp (DP Camp) after World War II, I was lucky that the country was Germany and that the Germans, despite so many shortcomings, are well-known for keeping careful records. We were counseled to hire a special lawyer whose specialty is to figure out these conundrums. Did you know that there even was this kind of specialty? Actually, this endeavor is a very lucrative enterprise. The lawyer got all of the paperwork that was needed filed; we had my birth certificate with the all-important apostille quickly. We were advised that an all new and apostilled marriage certificate had to be procured. Bob, born in the USA, needed

a new birth certificate. The glitch was, he also needed a letter of authentication, from the New York City Department of Health, that the person who signed his birth certificate needed to have authorization to sign for the new certificate. I don’t either understand. Our marriage certificate needed something, but it gets too confusing to explain; we got that, too. Everything came with a fee, but these costs were relatively minimal, and we did not need a special lawyer for filing. We then applied for FBI clearance – yes, the FBI. You need to get fingerprinted, fill out a form, declare that you have no secret criminal behavior, and then fill out some more redundant forms. You have to get the FBI report within six months of your planned move to Israel; the clearance for this expires as does the rabbi’s letter from a rabbi who needs to vouch for you that you are Jewish. Even rabbis who have written this

serious fee; her job was to send all of our personal documents to an office in New York City, and the FBI papers we would be getting that day, she would send to Washington The Nefesh B’Nefesh Fair turned out to be very helpful. For reasons unknown, I was un-

One has to wonder why so much paperwork and so many steps are required for Aliyah. Whoever I have asked had no reason they could provide, and everyone who goes through the process joins me in wondering why. We started the process last year. As of now, we are still waiting for some

One has to wonder why so much paperwork and so many steps are required for Aliyah.

comfortable with the whole FBI thing. We have nothing to hide and have led a straight and narrow life. We also have Global Entry, filled out those forms, and have been cleared to get on that special quick line when traveling. We also both had jobs working with minors that required background checks. So why the tension? No good answer for that.

pending apostilles, and we just recently uploaded the FBI paperwork. During the shutdowns mandated by Covid, school-age children tried to learn from home. This endeavor proved to be near impossible despite everyone getting a laptop, iPad or Chromebook. There is nothing that can compare to a classroom filled with children taught by an in-person teacher. Now, whenever there is a declared

Snow Day, schools usually declare a day of school at home, learning despite the lure and joy of the wonderful snow. The rule of thumb in most private or yeshiva schools is that the first day is a real, old-fashioned Snow Day; thereafter – we should get so lucky to have more snow – will be a Zoom School Day. When I shared my Snow Day saga with former New Yorkers now living in Israel, I reminded them of the joy felt when gifted with one; some remember those good times, and others don’t; there are almost never snow days in Israel. As we plow through the paperwork needed to make this move, I ask myself if it is worth giving up the joy of a Snow Day? I hope to find out.

Mrs. Barbara Deutsch is currently the associate principal at HANC 609 and a longtime reflective educator, parent, grandparent, and new great-grandparent. Even after all these years, she still loves what she does and looks forward to working with kids every single day.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

letter for countless members of their congregations must also get a letter from a rabbi if they make aliyah. This is tricky because if it takes a lot of time to get an apostille, it may take too much time to get back all the forms and the re-dos, and the FBI clearance can expire before you actually get to emigrate. Horrors. We got lucky. Nefesh B’Nefesh hosted a special Aliyah Fair at the Jewish Agency in the City. I am confident that you will never easily find the door of the Agency. There were lost applicants who wandered for over an hour looking for the entrance to the building. We were later told that, for safety reasons, the Jewish Agency is purposefully set up to not be easily accessible. Not surprisingly, the front door is not in front. When you finally find the Agency and are allowed in, you are scanned and patted down to ensure that you are not armed and dangerous. We passed that hurdle successfully. We brought all the new paperwork with us to the Fair. We met the apostille company representative, gave her all of our documents, and paid the company a

The Wandering

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 14, 2023

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

224

Jew

Croatia Part II: Dubrovnik By Hershel Lieber

View of Dubrovnik from atop of its walls

e left Split on Friday morning, October 7, 2016, at about 10 a.m. We traveled along the Dalmatian Coast under an overcast sky with periodic rain showers. Aside for a stop to buy tangerines at a roadside stall, we drove continuously for four hours. We reached Dubrovnik at two in the afternoon. We returned our car at the airport and took a taxi to the city gates. Dubrovnik is a walled city, and its

Lovrijenac Fortress on top of the 100 foot rock

main streets can be traversed by pedestrians only. From the main gateway, we had to schlep our luggage along the limestone-paved streets to our apartment whose entrance was within a cobblestoned alleyway just off the main road. There was only a short time before licht bentchen, so we unpacked and got dressed for Shabbos, and I ran out to get some fruits, vegetables and drinks. We warmed up the food and davened Min-

cha and kabbolas Shabbos. We had a lovely seudah but were quite tired and went to sleep before 9 p.m. A little history is in order. Dubrovnik’s origins date back to the seventh century when the town was known as Ragusa. It was subsequently under the protection of the Byzantine Empire and later under the sovereignty of the Republic of Venice, which was a tributary of the Ottoman Empire. Between the 14th and

Dubrovnik’s alleyways ascending to the upper city streets

Dubrovnik harbor

19th centuries, it was a free state, and later on, it was part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austrian Empire. More recently, it was part of greater Yugoslavia. Being a key port, the city prospered and became a major trading center. Dubrovnik has the distinction of being one of the very few remaining walled cities of Europe. The building styles range from Baroque and Gothic to Renaissance. The stone walls were built between the 11th and 13th centuries and have forts and bastions interspersed between the walkways. The Lovrijenac Fortress is nearby on a projecting 100-foot rock. The city, which is called “the Pearl of the Adriatic,” has a rich documented history that is nearly 1,500 years old. Now for a bit of Jewish history. Jews came to Dubrovnik in the 15th century and made important contributions to the city’s status as a trading center. They became traders in spices, silks, and fabrics. They also developed the crafts essential to a major seaport. They made cultural contributions to their traditions and the Hebrew language. After their expulsion from Spain and Portugal, Jews found refuge in Dubrovnik and their persecution was not as severe there. When the city’s prominence started to decline,

225

The Sephardic Synagogue dating back to 1546

Sunday was our final day in Dubrovnik, but the weather was not in our favor. There was a steady rain, not too

The city, which is called “the Pearl of the Adriatic,” has a rich documented history that is nearly 1,500 years old.

and the winding alleys connecting the major pathways. We sat on the fountain base and watched the passersby – both locals and visitors. We looked at the shop windows, which were mainly geared for tourists. The weather was not great, but we enjoyed our outing anyway.

heavy, but nevertheless, it threatened our main activity, which was to walk the entire route on top of the city walls. We headed first to the medieval synagogue and Jewish museum. We were overwhelmed and deeply inspired to stand in this five-hundred-year-old edifice. The

15th Century operating fountain

Looking down from the walls towards the main street Stradun

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

DECEMBER 14, 2023 | The Jewish Home

Jews were prohibited from engaging in commerce and were confined in a ghetto. They were not granted legal equality until the mid-nineteenth century. The Old Synagogue in Dubrovnik dates back to the year 1546 and is the oldest Sephardic synagogue still in use in the world. The main floor is used for davening, while the first floor serves as a Jewish museum. The Baroque-style inner sanctum dates back to 1652, and the Torah scrolls were brought by exiles from Spain. The Moorish carpet leading up to the Aron Hakodesh was a gift to a Jewish doctor from Queen Isabella of Spain. At present, the Jewish community numbers under thirty, and a rabbi comes in to lead the tefillos only during the Yomim Noroim. Being that the shul did not have a minyan, we davened in our apartment on Shabbos. We enjoyed our seudah there as well and took the traditional Shabbos nap. Then we went for the customary “shpatzier,” a walk, which lasted over two hours. We walked the main Stradun

226 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 14, 2023

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Dubrovnik rooftop scenes taken during our walk along the top of its wall

traditional decorations of the Aron Kodesh and the wood-carved Bimah were overhung by a candle-holding chandelier. All the other light fixtures were designed for use with candles as well. We said some Tehillim and went down to view the exhibits in the museum. The museum told the story of the Jewish community of Dubrovnik and the last active kehillah which perished during World War II. When we left the shul, a miracle seemed to happen. We walked out into a blue, cloudless sky with a warm, shining sun. We headed straight to the stone staircase which ascended to the city’s

walls and towers. The next two hours was paradise to us. The views from above were spectacular! We were able to see the streets below as well as the entire area that surrounded the city walls. The bright orange terracotta roof tiles and the clear blue ocean waters were a refreshing contrast to the sandy grey walls. The walk took over two hours, but we could have walked it over and over again. We were exhilarated by the panorama that we witnessed, and it made an indelible impression on us. After our walk, we went back to apartment for lunch and then walked around the Stradun and the adjoining

streets where we bought a few souvenirs and gifts for our children. Our trip to Croatia was relatively short. Our day in Plitvice, our evening in Split, and Sunday in Dubrovnik all

contributed to a meaningful and enjoyable trip. The next day, as we flew back to Warsaw for Yom Kippur, we had to change our mode to the seriousness of the upcoming Yom HaDin.

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

nspiration Nation

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Mendy Levy Surviving Lev Tahor By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

ld tents and worn-out shipping containers were scattered about on a small plot of land on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The mostly barren, muddy grounds, where mango trees once stood tall, were dotted with patches of grass; the ice-cold rivers were infested with snakes. This was a place – a community, you could say – surrounded by barbed wire fences; all too easy to get in, nearly impossible to get out. Everyone lived in makeshift houses, except for one individual: the revered founder and leader of the group. The lifestyle he led was quite different, in several ways, from that of his followers. They were helpless in the summer heat, while he enjoyed the luxury of air conditioning in his large, comfortable home. They went along each day, hungry and malnourished, while he was allowed to feast. But perhaps most disturb-

ingly of all, his followers were held to the highest of standards – punished severely for even the slightest “transgressions” – while his life of lies and acts of abuse were always excused under the pretense that he was a perfect man. This was a community – or more accurately, a cult – made up of three hundred Jews. But one day, the group suddenly vanished from the land they had occupied for several years. The tents, the shipping containers, the muddy grounds, and the ice-cold rivers – now deserted. The people were gone. This wasn’t the first time that the “Ultra-Orthodox” group, ironically named “Lev Tahor” (lit. pure heart), disappeared from their country of residence overnight. One might appropriately label the cult a globetrotting group, considering the number of countries they’ve lived in through-

In His Words… it took me time to process everything as i was hanging around with very loving people, and i started realizing there’s a different side to religion; i saw the beauty.

”

if you are alive, you’re absolutely going through a challenge. Everyone who’s alive has some challenges, but i would say the main thing is to focus on never giving up. There’s always space to grow and become better. you can’t give up.

”

They [lev Tahor] should know that what they’re doing is very wrong and that everything in life has a consequence… There’s a g-d, and he loves our brothers and sisters. you can’t hurt them like that.

”

out their 36-year history: Israel, the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, and other lands as well. They even tried and failed to move to Iran, whose supreme leader they pledged allegiance to, before settling down in certain European countries, such as Romania. While the leaders of the cult have attributed the group’s many escapes to religious persecution, the reality behind their departure is more likely rooted in deeply sinister motives. At a glance, he seems harmless. Shlomo Helbrans, the first “Rebbe” of Lev Tahor, had long, thick peyos, a gray beard, and a wide-brimmed black hat – dressing like many Ultra-Orthodox Jews. He was a middle-aged, charismatic man with an undeniable charm, revered by his followers as a semi-Messianic saint. But discounting the fact that he abused children, kidnapped a teenager, inflicted physical harm on his followers, caused a man to die, and formed a deadly, brainwashing, draconian cult through manipulative tactics – Mr. Helbrans, despite his pious appearance, never was a truly religious man. According to a Lev Tahor survivor who spent several days with Mr. Helbrans – from the earliest time of day to the latest time that one may put on tefillin – the cult leader consistently failed to don phylacteries. Another escapee pointed out the fact that cult members do not learn Gemara or any Jewish sefarim, except for Chumash and books authored by Mr. Helbrans. “When it comes to their leadership, to their decisions, there’s not even Shabbos anymore,” said Mendy Levy, a survivor of the cult, who escaped in 2018 at age fifteen. “In fact, one time, they decided that they wanted the whole community to move to

Mexico now, in the middle of Shabbos. Friday night, they took three buses, and the whole community moved to Mexico – on Shabbos. Where does religion come in here?” And yet, the cult leaders claim that Lev Tahor is the only authentic form of Judaism, even going so far as to assert that Mashiach will come exclusively for those in the group. Those who deviate from their norms are considered like Gentiles. Thus, we must avoid treating Lev Tahor as a Chassidish sect, for as popular cult buster and author Rabbi Shea Hecht explains, this group, like every other cult, is not about serving G-d; it’s about serving man. * * * It was the late 1980s. Mendy’s father, an eighteen-year-old secular Jew named Yehoshua Levy, had stumbled upon Lev Tahor when he was living in Israel. After mistakenly boarding the wrong bus, Yehoshua found himself sitting next to a man whose face would haunt him until his untimely death: Shlomo Helbrans. Yehoshua was struck by the rabbi’s warm smile and “nonjudgmental, kind nature.” Talking to Mr. Helbrans on the bus, the teenager felt an incredible sense of acceptance and belonging, one that he had been craving for so long. Yehoshua was hooked, and he soon found himself becoming a devoted follower of Shlomo Helbrans, attaching himself to the growing community that the cult leader was beginning to craft. Lev Tahor began in just that way: accepting, open, and warm. Just like most cults, this one was made to appeal to those in search of something more in life, namely

variety of punishments commonly administered in Lev Tahor. Children are punished physically for the slightest of “sins,” after which the child must say thank you and kiss the hand of the punisher. If someone violates a rule, they may be placed in chairem for a year or two, locked inside their homes, and banned from talking to anyone. And if the leaders decide that parents aren’t raising their kids well enough, they will not hesitate to take the children away and place them in other homes. Lev Tahor’s definition of “good parenting” is further evidence of the group’s draconian nature. Parents are banned from showing their children affection – such as hugs, kisses, and I love you’s – and furthermore, all parents are forced to hit their kids. The Levy family received all of the above mentioned punishments and more. As a young boy, Mendy’s older brother, Yoel, wanted glasses and he thus lied, telling his teachers that he couldn’t see clearly. After they found out that he was lying, he received malkus in front of the entire school. Yehoshua, a year or so before his death, told his family that he wanted to leave the cult; when the authorities heard of his desire to escape, they placed him and his family in chairem for a year. Most tragically, after Yehoshua died, the leaders determined that his widow wasn’t fit to raise her children. They split the family up, placing each child in different homes. “They were carrying my sister on the street, schlepping her to a different family. She was screaming on the street, and she was crying,” Mendy recalled. “The worst retzicha (abuse) you could think of, they were doing.” Shortly after the family’s tragic separation, the authorities forced Mendy’s mother to remarry, having her raise her new husband’s children. Not only were the children estranged from their mother, but they were banned from interacting with her at all. In one instance, Yoel Levy tried visiting his mother. As punishment, a member of the Hanhala suddenly grabbed a chair and broke it over the fourteen-year-old boy’s back. In the eyes of the “law,” she was no longer their mother. * * * Every day was the same. Everyone, the children included, would wake up early – oftentimes before sunrise – to daven a

three-hour-long Shacharis. “When you come to school, you have to bring a form that your mom has to fill out: did you say Krias Shema, did you say Hamapil, did you wash negel vasser, did you say a lie? All of these things, they would have to write and give it to the rebbi at cheder,” explained Mendy Levy. “If you did something wrong, he would punish you in front of all the kids. I remember there were boys who were so scared that they would erase things before coming. It’s not like giving a small smack – it was big malkus with a belt.” Later on, the children would have to go to the house of Shlomo Helbrans himself and personally testify to him whether they did anything wrong. The children would arrive at his home, petrified and anxious, and he would stare at them, insisting that he could tell that they were lying just by looking at their foreheads. Like most cult leaders, he could, at times, be electrically charismatic, and, at other times, frighteningly intimidating. In Lev Tahor, the children are brainwashed into conforming to the cult’s rules through the use of fear tactics. The teachers would spend time, describing Gehenom in great detail to eight-year-old kids, informing the children of the unspeakable “torture” they would endure if they dared deviate – even slightly – from the rules of Lev Tahor. While Mendy desperately wanted to leave the cult for a long while, he was seized by this unimaginable fear, for he believed that the threats of his teachers were the words of G-d. The mere thought of leaving the group caused him tremendous guilt; he was born into the cult, this was what he grew up with, this was all he knew. “In Shemoneh Esrei, there are two spots where you could pray to G-d and ask for things. They would give out papers on everyone’s siddurim, putting the names of the people who left [the cult], saying that you have to pray that they’re going to die with a meesa meschina [a horrible death],” Mendy said. A few months after Yehoshua Levy passed away in 2016, Shlomo Helbrans mysteriously drowned while immersing himself in the river. His successor was Nachman Helbrans, his son. After Shlomo Helbrans died, Mendy felt a sense of hope that the terrible situation would improve, but under the new reign of Nachman Helbrans, everything became

much, much worse. “He made new rules: You can’t eat fish, you can’t drink milk, you can’t eat sugar – unless you go to the honeybees – you can’t have coffee. It started becoming ridiculous; no protein, nothing,” he explained, adding that none of the restrictions applied to the leader himself. “Everyone is hungry over there because you can’t be full from just eating fruits and vegetables.” While Shlomo Helbrans, for instance, forced 15-year-old girls to get married to 31-year-old men, his successor made a new rule that was far more extreme, forcing everyone to get married on the day of their bar/bas Mitzvah. Thus, it was time for Mendy, who was already fifteen at the time of the decree, to get married. Soon after, Nachman Helbrans decided that Mendy was to marry his twelve-yearold first cousin. Although the boy was resistant to the idea of getting married, he had no choice in the matter; the leader was not taking no for an answer. Soon after, Mendy and his cousin were engaged – but he had other plans. * * * The forced engagement was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Mendy couldn’t take it anymore; he knew he had to escape. Mendy Levy is now twenty years old, free from the shackles of Lev Tahor. Despite his unspeakably traumatic upbringing, he insists on being a survivor, not a victim. Today, he is a talented photographer and musician, spending much of his time in Canada and New York. Although he no longer has long, thick peyos, he remains dedicated to enhancing his relationship with G-d, and he hopes to grow in his level of observance – out of love, not out of fear. Mendy tells his story with the hope that his mother, his siblings, and all of the victims of Lev Tahor will be freed someday from the clutches of its evil leaders. Although the cult still exists today, justice is catching up with its leaders. Nachman Helbrans is currently serving a twelveyear sentence for kidnapping two children, and several Hanhala members have been convicted and jailed or are awaiting trial or expedition over similar charges. “There’s a G-d, and He loves our brothers and sisters. You can’t hurt them like that,” maintains Mendy Levy. “I think G-d will take care of it.”

This article is based on a podcast, “Inspiration For the Nation,” hosted by Yaakov Langer. To catch more of this conversation, you can watch it on LivingLchaim. com or YouTube.com/LivingLchaim or listen wherever you listen to podcasts (just search for “Inspiration For The Nation”) or call our free hotline: 605-477-2100.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

community. But little by little, Shlomo Helbrans peeled away the cult’s illusory layers of acceptance and warmth, revealing Lev Tahor’s true nature, as he began subjecting his followers to more and more rules with each passing year. Soon after, Yehoshua, who, at the time, started wearing a black hat and growing long peyos, met the woman whom he was to marry. The girl wore a long black cloak, covering every part of her body except for her face. The unique-looking clothing, which to this day is worn by every female member of the cult starting at age three, eerily resembles the garments worn by Afghan women, thus earning Lev Tahor the nickname “the Jewish Taliban.” With his wife, Yehoshua had ten children, each of whom was born into the cult, including Mendy and Yoel Levy, who were fifteen and sixteen years old respectively when they escaped from Lev Tahor. Initially, the cult wasn’t isolated from the outside world. When the group existed in Israel, the United States, and even, to a degree, in Canada, members were allowed to live their own lives, go places, and do things that didn’t necessarily pertain to the cult. But eventually, Shlomo Helbrans stripped his followers of the ability to make choices for themselves. No longer could they work or do anything outside of the community; no longer could they even step foot out of the cult’s premises. Thirty years later, when the cult was based in Guatemala, Yehoshua suddenly became severely ill from a blood infection. The man’s family begged the Hanhala – the leader’s enforcers – to let him go to the hospital. And yet, the Hanhala denied their pleas, banning the man from seeking medical care outside the cult’s barbed wire fences. Only when Yehoshua was on the verge of death did they allow him to go to the hospital. But it was too late. A few hours later, he passed away. The hospital informed the family that if he had been admitted just one day sooner, he would have survived. Yehoshua was 46 years old. * * * According to Mendy, Canada was bad, but once the cult moved to Guatemala, where the government was weak, the group’s leaders suddenly began subjecting their followers to several new restrictions and consequences. There are a wide

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Tears of Joy, Tears of Pain BY RABBI ARON WHITe Rabbi Doron Perez’s son, Daniel, who is still being held hostage by Hamas

Rabbi Doron Perez has experienced the full gamut of emotions since the massacres of October 7. His two sons are IDF commanders; Yonatan was injured in the fighting, and Daniel was kidnapped and is still held in Gaza. Ten days after October 7, Yonatan was due to be married, and the family faced an agonizing decision whether or not to make the wedding. In spite of the tremendous challenges and emotional turbulence, Rabbi Perez has been an inspirational voice, moving thousands around the world with his faith and hope. Rav Doron, thank you for sharing your story with us. At the time of writing, your son Daniel is still being held in Gaza. Can you tell us about him? Daniel is 22 years old and is our second son. He is a real chevraman, with a ton of friends of all different types. In the past few weeks, we keep meeting new people who know him from South Africa, school, from the army, from so many places, and he is loved by so many people. He is a really active guy, always running, playing sports – he is incredibly strong willed. Daniel became a tank commander, and he was based on the Nachal Oz base right on the Gaza border on October 7. That base was overrun by Hamas terrorists, but Daniel and his team fought bravely for hours to hold off the invasion and save as many lives as possible. One member of his tank was tragically killed, and Daniel and the other two were taken captive to Gaza. A few weeks after the events, the army analysis came back showing that Daniel had been injured in the battle, but the amount of blood found did not thankfully imply a life-threatening injury. Since then, we have heard nothing. We don’t know where he is, in what state he is in, and obviously that aspect of not knowing his situation is an additional part that makes this incredibly difficult. You have been through an emotional rollercoaster in the last few weeks. Let’s go back to the morning of Shemini Atzeres. Where were you that day? We were home for yom tov in Yad Binyamin, and when the siren went off, we ran to our safe room. It did seem strange to us that the sirens kept on going – we were basically in and out of the safe room for an hour, which is unusual. Our oldest son Yonatan is a paratrooper commander, and he was with us for yom tov together with his then fiancé Galya. His phone started going off with urgent messages from his commanding officer: Anyone who can should come immediately come to Sderot. We now know what happened that day, but at that moment, no one knew what was going on. There were stories and information swirling around, but no one really had a clear picture. Yonatan left with only a handgun. (He had left his army rifle uncharacteristically at his army base when he came home as it was Simchat Torah and didn’t want to

carry it around for all the dancing.) Yonatan was determined to go, and he drove off into the unknown. At around four in the afternoon, our phone started ringing constantly from unknown numbers. It was Shabbat, but after consistent calls, we realized something was wrong and answered. “I’m OK, Dad,” said Yonatan at the other end of the line. Whenever you hear that as a parent, that’s when you really start to worry! He said that he had been shot in the leg, after he had been fighting terrorists for five hours around the Sderot and Shaar Hanegev junction area. He had ended up fighting on the Nachal Oz army base, to help retake it from the Nukhba forces, and it was there he had been shot. Only by grace of G-d he had “only” a moderate to light injury. The army base where Yonatan was shot was the same base that Daniel was based. We later pieced together that they both fought that day about a few hundred meters from each other. Yonatan said that he knew where Daniel’s tank was parked, and when he was on the base that afternoon, he hadn’t seen it there. We took that as a good sign. We assumed he was with it fighting somewhere, and naturally, he wouldn’t have his phone on him in that situation. Yonatan also told us that he had seen tens of dead soldiers on the base, so the fact Daniel was out fighting with his tank we assumed was a good thing. When Yom Tov was over, I drove to Soroka Hospital to visit Yonatan and bring him home to continue recuperating. I went around the hospital to see if Daniel had been brought in, as many other parents were doing, but did not find him there. By the next morning, when Daniel hadn’t called, that is when we really started to get worried. When did you find out that Daniel was kidnapped? The army officially came to tell us on Thursday, but already on October 8, we had heard unofficially through Yonatan speaking to friends that Daniel’s tank had been found and that he wasn’t there. We cried a lot, hugged each other, and it was a really hard moment. When the army came to officially tell us, they told us that there is an officer who is assigned to us who would be our official source of information. “There is going to be a lot of rumors and fake news swirling around,” they said, “so any time you have any

questions ask me and I will be your source of information.” His name is Yossi Shemesh, and he has been incredibly supportive to our family. As you were dealing with the news of Daniel being kidnapped, Yonatan was recovering from his injuries and was due to get married on October 17, only a few days later. How did you handle the decision of whether or not to go ahead with the wedding? Well, firstly, my wife and I were clear in our minds that it was Yonatan and Galya’s decision, not ours. “We will support whatever you want to do,” we told him. “But Dad, it is your decision. It’s your son who is kidnapped!” Yonatan responded. “It’s your brother,” I told him, “And Mum and I will support you and Galya in whatever you want to do.” A big moment for me processing the decision came a few days after Simchat Torah, when Yonatan’s commander came to visit him and to tell us the story of the battle that Yonatan had been injured in. As I sat listening to him, it started to dawn on me just how lucky we are that Yonatan was alive. He had been fighting on the Nachal Oz base that was swarming with Hamas commandos, and on that day, tens of Israeli soldiers were killed during the fighting on the way into the base – literally, soldiers to his right and his left had been killed or injured in more serious ways. Later on, when we started to go to more doctors, we began to realize the miracle of Yonatan’s injury – many of them literally didn’t understand or believe us when we said he had been shot in the thigh but it wasn’t serious – tremendously fortuitous ! A milliliter one way or the other, and his injury would have been more life threatening and with the bullets flying, he could easily have been killed, chas vshalom. I came out of that meeting with an immense sense of pride at what he had done, risking his life to defend our people and land, and with such a deep sense of hakarat hatov to Hashem that he was alive. Since then, and with all the emotions that we have felt, we have never stopped feeling that gratitude just to have Yonatan with us, alive and well. I have a colleague, Rav Shmuel Slotki, who lost two sons on October 7, fighting to defend Kibbutz Alumim, and with so many stories around of such loss and devas-

How did you deal with the emotions of marrying off your oldest son, while your second son Daniel was missing, held hostage in Gaza? I had been planning in my head that I needed to put Daniel mentally to the side, to be in the moment. It was very hard. After Yonatan hopped down the chuppah, limping from his injury, the first thing he said to me was, “Dad, I could never imagine a scenario that Daniel was not at my wedding.” The rabbi who was marrying them started speaking under the chuppah, and he said, “How can we not mention the person who isn’t here, Daniel?” We said a perek of Tehillim for Daniel, and I broke down – it was some of the hardest, most painful minutes of my life. But then, we wiped away the tears, and were truly in the moment for the simcha. In Kohelet, Shlomo HaMelech says, “La’kol zman va’eit,” there is a time for everything – for joy, for sadness, for war, for peace. What is remarkable is that sometimes totally conflicting emotions come at the same time. It was simultaneously a time of great pain, but also of great joy, and we were able to compartmentalize the emotions to truly be able to celebrate the building of a new bayit in the Jewish people. Somebody said to me that it was the holiest, saddest, happiest and most inspiring chuppah she has ever been at. It was mainly a happy one, and it is possible to hold all the emotions together at once. At 8 a.m. the day after the wedding, I was interviewed by the media for the first time. I couldn’t deal with any media in the days before the wedding, especially with the roller coaster we were on. I started, little by little, to share our story in the media, and then to solidarity missions that started to come to Israel. I began to realize that people draw strength and hope from sharing the story, so I have been doing that. In a time of unbelievable shock and sadness, our story was something that contained both sadness but also hope and the building of a new home and future while struggling with the contrasting emotions. We at World Mizrachi bring around five groups a week to Israel, and in general, it is simply incredible to see how many missions with Jews from all over the world continue coming to Israel to show support.

Yonatan and Galya under the chuppah

We also feel such incredible support, love and prayers from our family, our community, from our friends in South Africa and around the world. We are currently experiencing very stormy waters, and sometimes, the support from those places gives you the push you need to get through the next wave. Can you share anything about the efforts to return Daniel and all the hostages home? We are working with many different people around the world to try and bring Daniel and all our sons home.

“Since then, and with all the emotions that we have felt, we have never stopped feeling that gratitude just to have Yonatan with us, alive and well.”

We have formed a very close bond with the other hostage families, especially the soldiers. A few weeks ago, we had a Hachnasah Sefer Torah in Hostage Square, and many of the hostage families all wrote a letter, dedicating it to their loved ones, in the merit that they should return home. Often, when Israeli media speak to me, they ask me which box am I in: do I believe in fighting the war to return the hostages militarily or that we should make a hostage deal? Or to release the hostages at all costs or continue to defeat Hamas at all costs? I tell them that it is very complex. As a father, of course, I would do anything and everything for my son to return him, and there is no price which is too high! But I am not only a father; I am a member of Am Yisrael, too. How many

soldiers, Heaven forbid, need to die to release my son, and is that right? What if something that endangers Israel in the future is done to release my son and the other hostages – is that correct? Life is complex, and this situation is impossibly complex and painful without simple, elegant solutions. Sometimes, decisions in life are between bad and worse options and not between good and bad. Often, journalists, media pundits and activists wish to simplify complex issues and pit one side against the other. Instead of a monolithic “this or that” perspective, I feel we need a broader more integrated viewpoint. In the early weeks of the war, the parents of soldiers were less public and vocal due to all sorts of sensitivities. But now we are being more vocal. We are worried about a scenario where deals are done to release the hostages except for soldiers who Hamas want to leave to the end. If that happens, we are worried that once all “humanitarian” hostages are out – children, women, elderly – the U.S. Administration may pressurize Israel to end the war as soldiers are, Heaven forbid, “the price for doing war” – something which endangers our children. We therefore all believe very strongly as the soldier parents that any deal must include information about proof of life regarding our children and that the overall framework must include the release of soldiers who are the most exposed. We are doing everything to communicate this to politicians and diplomats around the world. How do you stay strong, even just staying functional, during such a challenging time? The human spirit is much more resilient than we often realize, and the Jewish spirit especially so. We are a nation who has been attacked, knocked down, more times than any nation in the world, but we are still here – not only surviving but thriving! It is deep in our DNA to be able to cry and feel the pain but never to lose our hope and to keep moving forward. Just think about the founding story of our people, Yetziat Mitzrayim. At the Seder night, we don’t just tell a story about exodus and freedom. We sit and eat marror, mentioning the bitterness of bitterness of slavery. But the yom tov is not called Chag HaMarror, but Chag HaMatzot. The marror is part of the story; Judaism has never denied that. But it is not the whole story. We are not defined or condemned by our suffering. We are never victims of bitter circumstances and always have a choice of how to respond. We keep going, fighting on rebuilding, and sowing seeds of hope. We have witnessed in the past months such gevurah from our soldiers, such achdut within Israel, and with Jews from all over the world. These are the things that give each of us strength. Our family would enormously appreciate it if people could please daven for our son, Daniel Shimon ben Sharon, for his physical and emotional health and immediate return for him as well as every one of the hostages. And may we merit very soon to celebrate the day of their return , the safety of all our soldiers, the healing of all our wounded, the removal of any threat of evil from our borders, and the return of all the displaced people back to their rebuilt homes and to thriving towns and villages in the north and the south. Light will triumph over darkness, truth over falsehood, morality over barbarity, and hope over despair!

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

tation, we have to be so appreciative of every soldier and civilian who survived the battles that day. When the commander was starting to leave, he said, “Yonatan, what’s going to be with your wedding?” “What do you think?” I asked the commander. He looked at Yonatan and said, “I think you should put on your uniform, go into your backyard with the chuppah, and get married tonight! Your dad is a rabbi; he knows what to do. Am Yisrael need smachot!” Hearing that from his commander was also an important moment for me – it almost validated those same feelings that I was having. I had been concerned that despite the personal pain of Daniel’s capture, continuing with wedding was perhaps insensitive or detached from the horror of what Am Yisrael is going through, especially in the incredibly difficult first few days. But the commander gave me a sense of validation that wanting to continue building is not crazy but is healthy. Yonatan and Galya came to the decision that we wanted to move forward with their wedding.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Commandos Recount the Rescue of Fernando Marman and Louis Har by Eyal lEvi and itsik saban

The helicopter that brought Fernando and Louis to safety

n Monday morning, a moment after they completed the rescue of Fernando Marman and Louis Har from Hamas captivity in the heart of Rafah, Supt. Y., the commander of the primary assault force for “Operation Yad Zahav,” sat in the vehicle on its way back to Israel and said to the fighters, who were regulating their breathing: “We won’t rest on our laurels for a moment, and we hope that we are only getting started.” There’s probably no better way to describe the heroic rescue operation that took place in the heart of en-

emy territory infested with terrorists. If a Hollywood scriptwriter had placed a script like that on a producer’s table, he would have been immediately asked to remove a few scenes to make the story more realistic. “Everything is possible,” explains Supt. Y, who met us this week at the Yamam—Israel Police Counter-Terrorism Unit base in central Israel. “Regarding our unit and our friends from the Israel Security Agency [Shin Bet] and from other Israel Defense Forces units that took part in the operation, even if the conditions right now don’t seem right for the rescue of more hostages, it doesn’t mean that we won’t do everything to keep trying, whether its intelligence or operations, and we’ll

take every risk on ourselves to carry out the next operation.” Supt. Y. met us together with three other Yamam officers, who on Monday morning were at the heart of the operation. Four men you may have met this week in the supermarket or asked about the time on the street, but only a few know about the dramatic event they participated in and how good it is that they are protecting us. Supt. Y., 35, married with one child, who serves as deputy squadron commander in Yamam, already knew about the operation a few weeks ago. Because of the secrecy, only he and the squadron commander

less, but we understand that we’re ready to be harmed for something bigger than a single person, that’s who we are.” Cmdr. D., 34, married with one child, said that the day before the operation he was mostly concerned for his family. “I took out life insurance. Seriously. I sorted it out the day before the operation,” he says. “Since Oct. 7 everything has become much more real, and one needs to be practical. We’ve lost friends. I’m responsible for my family.” Cmdr. A. said he thought the same thing. “I checked the insurance and I saw that I had left a decent sum. My wife would be sorted,” he jokes.

High-Risk, Low Pulse The day of the operation arrived. Alongside the excitement and the tension, there were also fears, affecting Cmdr. A. “On a personal level, there was fear. During the preparations and the battle procedure, I

“I dragged him toward me and said, ‘We’ve come to take you home.”’

We Know Every Window at the Target The operation was supposed to take place several times, but it was postponed because the conditions in the field weren’t yet ripe. At the start of the week, when the stars aligned and every force knew its mission—not only Yamam but also those supporting it, Shin Bet, Shayetet 13 navy commandos, and the Israeli Air Force—the go-ahead was given. This kind of operation involves hundreds of people. “The operation was planned to the level that each one of us knew exactly which window he was supposed to guard or which building threatened him during the operation,” says Supt. Y. “In breaking into the building, the soldiers knew how and when and which means they would use.” They are young men with families. I asked them if all this risk was worth the rescue of two people. Cmdr. D. doesn’t think for long and answers: “We don’t look at in terms of a person being worth the life of another, and if two soldiers die the operation is a failure. It’s not a zero-sum game. There is something here that’s far bigger. I won’t say that we in the unit are worth

had big butterflies in my stomach and thoughts about what might happen and how to respond during the operation. However, during the operation itself, my pulse was a steady 60. I can’t explain it.” Before departure, platoon commander Ch. Supt. A. came to speak with the men. Yamam has lost nine members since Oct. 7, and the unit commander, Dep. Supt. H., lost his son, who served in the Shin Bet and was killed at the Supernova music festival massacre. Even while he was sitting shivah, he continued managing Yamam operations. Yamam began the operation with the knowledge of past failings in hostage rescues. Thirty years ago, in October 1994, Sayeret Matkal (the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) failed to rescue Sgt. Nachson Wachsman, who was taken hostage by Hamas in northern Jerusalem. He was killed during the operation, as was Sgt. Nir Poraz. During the current Gaza war, three hostages—Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samar Talalka—were killed by IDF fire, even though they had succeeded in escaping from their captors.

Returning Fire Once at the target, the Yamam operatives knew exactly what to do, says Cmdr. A. “We place a munitions charge on the door and burst inside. I enter the room first and identify opposite me two terrorists. I deal with them both. I see Fernando and Louis on the floor. Y. got Fernando and succeeded in taking him to the balcony. I grabbed Louis, dragged him towards me, and said, ‘We’ve come to take you home.’” *

You weren’t afraid, when you killed the terrorists, that maybe you were mistakenly shooting at the hostages? “The faces of Louis and Fernando have already been in my head for a long time. They were engraved in my mind, and I knew that if I wasn’t sure then I wouldn’t shoot.”

Even at the price of the terrorists shooting at you? “I think we’ve all already made our peace with that.”

No longer an imaginary operation. Supt. Y. and Cmdr. A. took Fernando and Louis to the balcony and lay on top of them to protect them, since the munitions charge and the bursts of gunfire had woken up the street, and armed terrorists were leaving their homes. “Inside the house, there was massive fire through the walls and the windows,” says Supt. Y. “A terrorist or two threw grenades at us, so D. came with his team and killed them.” “Every terrorist who peeked took a bullet. The supporting forces were very strong and precise.” Says Cmdr. E., “At a certain point, we began to get supporting fire from the IAF—I don’t think they have ever fired from so close to our forces before. Just a few meters.” The force understood that they needed to complete the mission quickly as the area was becoming hotter by the moment. They removed Fernando and Louis by rappelling from the second floor of the building. “That was planned,” Supt. Y. says. “The preference was to remove them quickly and not to spend too much time dealing with the terrorists inside the home.” “Fernando and Louis were in shock because of the shooting and explosions, but they behaved excellently,” says Cmdr. A. “They seemed cool, sharp. They were incredibly disciplined; we didn’t think they would be like that. I told them: ‘Soon you’ll be home, and you can invite me for coffee.’” Yamam returned to Israeli territory crowned with glory. The fact that there were no injuries will long be taught in military schools. Supt. Y. says there weren’t special celebrations at the base. They cleaned the weapons, organized the special equipment, and are now waiting for the next operation.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

received the initial information about the possibility of rescuing hostages from the depths of Rafah. “There was great secrecy about the identity of the hostages we were going to rescue,” he says. “During the following weeks, we revealed the information to the unit captains, and only a week before the operation, at the end of the preparations, did the operational soldiers learn who the target was.” Every soldier who took part knew everything about Fernando Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were captured on Oct. 7 from their home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak near the Gaza Strip—their facial features, qualities and personalities. They also knew that the operation would be tough because it would take place in a Hamas stronghold that the IDF still hadn’t targeted, full of terrorists for whom Rafah is their last bastion. The unit trained non-stop during those weeks, with an emphasis on the fact that the difference between success and failure was measured in millimeters. “There’s an extremely extensive process of intelligence gathering for the event,” says Supt. Y. “We go down to fine details and there’s a long process of learning the territory, of understanding what the challenges are in planning.” Cmdr. A., 35, married with two children, is the only reservist among the four policemen we met. A veteran, experienced soldier who quickly understood that everything he had done in his military service thus far didn’t compare to what he was going to experience. With all the excitement, the policemen also understood the possibility that some of them wouldn’t return from the mission. The more intelligence that came in, the more they understood the complexity of the operation. “We don’t talk about risks, we do the best we can, and we’re always developing and sharpening the plans and how we act to increase the chances among the decision-makers,” Supt. Y. explains.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

I have been dating on and off for five years and have met some really cool people. I enjoy the dating process and am extroverted by nature, so dating comes naturally to me. (For reference, I’m 28 years old.) I read shidduch columns, and I don’t have the regular issues of not getting suggestions or guys not liking me. Most people I go out with want to continue, but

my issue is that I have never met anyone I want to continue with past a sixth date. Lots of times, I like these guys as I would like a friend, but I don’t feel anything more pushing me towards a longer term relationship. My parents have asked me what it is I am waiting to feel, and the only thing I can describe it as is a magnetic pull towards someone, kind of like an extremely strong chemistry. If I don’t feel that by a sixth date, it’s just not going to happen. I’ve started getting pickier about who I give a yes to because it gets draining to break up with guys when I know they like me. I have to be more particular now about who I will give my time to. My question is, although I feel very self-aware and know what I’m looking for, is there anything I could do differently to make dating more successful? Thank you, Ariella*

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

The Panel

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. ou are a social person, confident, and extroverted. I think some answers may emerge from a two-fold process. Look inwards and look outwards. Look inwards and think about your friendships, old and newer. What keeps those relationships going? What are the commonalities and differences? Do you see any patterns? Do your relationships sustain you or can you be on your own and enjoy your own company for some time? Dig deep to understand yourself and your tendencies up until now. You may want to go into short term therapy if it is a struggle to pose and answer questions about your nature and relationship patterns. Do make an effort to look outside yourself. Are you swayed by a romantic ideal such as portrayed in literature and entertainment? Are you expecting to be swept away by a Prince Charming who will fix all and give you a wonderful life? Think, grow, and date new kinds of guys beyond your checklist.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond hank you so much for sharing your question with us. You seem like a friendly, young woman who has a genuine interest in getting to know people. It is because of this that you often get stuck dating someone who’s wrong for you over a long period of time. You need to have a list of characteristics which are present in a potential suitor. When approaching a third date, look over your list. Keep your finger on the pulse. Is this person just a good person? Or is he good for YOU? Are you attracted to this person? Do you have respect for this person? While dating should be a natural progression, you might need to set seemingly unnatural benchmarks for yourself just to make sure you are going in the right direction. You are a natural connector and truly enjoy getting to know people – this is an unbelievable quality. You must recognize

this and work around it, making sure you are not dragging out relationships just for the sake of being friendly. Try setting the boundary of sharing a more personal story or fact about yourself on a fourth date. This way, you will know for sure that if you are not comfortable sharing it with this person, he is likely just someone you’re dating because you are enjoying the company, rather than feeling compatible with the actual person.

The Single Tzipora Grodko ear Ariella, Wow! I would be extremely drained if I gave each person suggested to me a six-date minimum. You must be a natural connecter, which might lead to spending more time with people (than you probably should). Chemistry is extremely important, and I believe comes with respect, appreciation, and of course physical attraction. Additionally, it comes from connecting to others on a deeper level, practicing vulnerability, and sharing personal experiences that lead to deeper connection. I understand that you’re extroverted by nature and “enjoy” the dating process. Is it possible that you are keeping the connections surface level, inhibiting you from deeper connection? I always encourage people to explore potential obstacles with a therapist because it’s always important to get a professional opinion to ensure nothing is interfering with the quality of our decisions. That being said, dating multiple people for a minimum of six dates is a bit unusual. I would encourage you to consider a professional opinion or dating coach to ensure you don’t burn out and can continue to date from a place of intention instead of simple social connection.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler et’s explore two very different poems about falling in love: Poem #1 - “In an instant, our souls in-

tertwined, sparks ignited, a love defined.” In other words, for some couples, it could be love at first sight, where the magnetism and chemistry seem instantaneous. Poem #2- “Through nights of laughter, days of care, slowly bloomed the love we share.” In other words, by contrast, for some other couples, love needs more time to develop, where feelings of romantic attachment grow gradually, over time, and only after many dates. So, Ariella, may I respectfully suggest that setting a strict limit of “six dates – love him or leave him” seems a bit arbitrary and capricious. The next time you meet a suitable guy, please consider dating him for much longer. By doing so, with sufficient time, you might begin to envision the potential of building a life with him. And, when that happens, perhaps then you might start to feel that “magnetic pull” and “strong chemistry.” I’m not smart enough to know why you

Are you expecting to be swept away by a Prince Charming who will fix all and give you a wonderful life? have not yet felt an attraction that makes you feel a yearning for a long-term relationship, but I will venture a prediction. I predict that you will experience those feelings, when, instead of wondering if a young man might be able to make you happy and enhance your life, you begin to dream how you might be able to make the young man happy and enhance his life. his shift in perspective, from self-centered to other-centered in relationships, might be a potential turning point in your dating experience. Good luck!

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

ear Ariella, Thank you for your email! Let us always acknowledge the possibility that it simply hasn’t been your time yet and that when Hashem decides it is, it just kind of happens. If you want to do a deep dive into whether there is anything you can be doing differently to make dating more successful, I suggest meeting with a coach and/or asking friends and family this question. Without knowing you, I really have no way

of responding to your question. We can guess until the cows come home, but I don’t know how helpful that would be to you. Six dates seems like a nice amount of time to give to a prospective guy. It’s very understandable that you are feeling drained! My suggestion is that you speak with someone to explore this in more depth. All the best, Jennifer

Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and certified trauma healing life coach, as well as a dating and relationship coach working with individuals, couples, and families in private practice at 123 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, NY. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email JenniferMannLCSW@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Rebbetzin

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Parenting Pearls

Playing to Learn By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

nce again, I found myself going through our games. Periodically, I update our game collection to reflect our family’s current needs. Children get older and outgrow the current items; toddlers become ready for interactive activities and their unique needs adjust. That’s in addition to the sad reality that game pieces get lost or damaged. We try to keep a variety of options available. Some are educational or build skills, others are cooperative, and yet others are played solo. Our family favors board games and puzzles, but there are many options that are more physically involved and get the kids moving. There are many games that are classics, and you can find three generations that all played the same game during their childhoods. These games are so good they stand up to decades of fun. Today, they are constantly putting out new games, and it can be hard to keep up with new editions. The kids come home talking about the latest game their friends have and everyone is playing. Your child’s age and temperament will all determine which games are worth buying and which are nice but are not worth it for your family. Some children prefer complicated games, while others want the rules to be quick to learn. It can

be a real challenge to decide which games will be a good fit. Games provide so many benefits for children (and adults) that it seemed like a good topic for discussion in this column. Old Fashioned Fun Technology has its place, and I’m a big fan of indoor electricity (indoor plumbing, too). Hashem has given us incredible technology that is used to better our lives in so many ways. Medical advancements give a lifeline to many individuals with a myriad of diagnoses. Communication has improved, allowing us to maintain a close kesher with our loved ones throughout the world. Even banking has gotten easier. With the good comes the challenges. Children feel ignored by adults that are focused on phones. Kids are glued to devices. The most disturbing of images are available from the comfort of our home. Social media brings others into the privacy of our homes and our private abodes into the wide world. In an ever increasingly technologically advanced world, there is something reassuring and soothing in the wholesomeness of family games. Board games, puzzles and more physically involved games all give families an opportunity to spend quality time together without

batteries or chargers. Kids can be occupied for hours with a good game. A large puzzle can take days of teamwork to complete. These activities are a productive way to stop the “I’m bored” phenomenon. As a bonus, most games can be played on Shabbos, chol hamoed or yom tov (ask your rav about puzzles and specific games). It’s often during those quieter days that children benefit most from a healthy way to be kept occupied. Games and puzzles encourage interpersonal interactions in a way that screens don’t. With video games, children both stare at a screen. With in-person games, they look at each other. This increases communication and helps with body language and other non-verbal cues.

A Fun Learning Solution We tend to underestimate the educational value of games. We all know how hard it is to concentrate when stressed or under pressure, but we may not appreciate how much the reverse is true. Children readily learn in a relaxed and fun environment. Many games are educational and can be used to gently supplement what a child is learning. You can find games that cover everything from the alphabet and math

to yomim tovim and gedolim facts. It’s sweetly entertaining to hear children yelling out the number of dapim in different masechtos, each hoping they have the longest one. There are an entire range of games that are not obviously educational but help children build important skills. It can be in this area that games are the most beneficial. Many of the daily tasks children are asked to do require underlying skills. Remembering their list of desired snacks for the family shopping list involves memory. Getting ready for a fun trip requires motor planning (setting up and performing steps in a logical sequence). Setting up their room necessitates spatial reasoning (understanding and working with objects in relation to each other). Many therapists use games in their work, especially with younger children. It not only motivates their students but also helps them improve. Many of these underlying skills can be improved through games. While it’s clear which skills can be built through some games, with others, it’s less obvious and may require effort. It can help to break down what smaller tasks are necessary towards proficiency in the greater accomplishment and then find which games necessitate those smaller tasks. For exam-

Logic is one area where games really excel. There are so many games that require logical reasoning. Cat Crimes and Sudoku are just two examples, but a significant number of games build logic. Strategy and thinking ahead are also skills that are strongly needed for many games. Othello, chess, and checkers are

skills for so long that we assume they’re acquired naturally. While some children will pick up on these norms on their own, not all children do. These include taking turns, following rules, and compromising. Giving children healthy ways to interact encourages these skills. Children can best learn these skills when adults

There is something reassuring and soothing in the wholesomeness of family games.

among the classics that require you to think a step ahead. Yahtzee, Risk, and Ticket To Ride may have some component that is “random” (nothing in life is random) but how you decide to use your cards or dice roll requires strategy and forethought.

Interpersonal Skills We can easily forget how many skills are involved in successfully interacting with others. As adults, we have had some

join in the fun and can guide their young teammates in appropriate behavior. Games that involve teamwork and cooperative games require children to work together and communicate effectively. They have to work towards the greater good and not just go for their own personal glory. Good middos are always important, and games give plenty of opportunities for children to work on their character traits. Learning to not cheat, wait for

someone else to finish their turn, and good sportsmanship can all be taught during interactive play. Puzzles and games give children the opportunity to play with other children and for siblings to interact. It is an easy way for siblings to play together and bond, even when there is a noticeable age gap. You’d be surprised how fast younger siblings can learn to play games far above their age level. It’s also a phenomenal way for parents to spend time with their children. Games provide plenty of natural conversation topics which can benefit the many adults that find it difficult to think of what to say to their youngsters. We’re so used to games and puzzles that we can forget how such a simple activity can create so many positive memories. As parents, we can have fun with our children and enjoy seeing their face light up when they succeed. It’s a win all around.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at Rayvych Homeschool@gmail.com.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

ple, a game that requires discriminating between similar objects can help with visual perceptual issues. An occupational therapist is an excellent resource in this area. We want to keep games fun and enjoyable – not forced. By having the appropriate games available, we can help children to readily access these activities. I’ll include a few examples, but the list is too long for any one article. Young children, especially, enjoy memory games, but even older children can benefit from improving their recall ability. There are numerous memory-based games geared towards various age groups. As an example, the game Simon (yes, it’s electric) requires remembering a large sequence of colors and pressing them in the correct order. We had a blast playing that as a child – all without realizing we were learning something! Kanoodle and The Genius Game series (e.g. The Genius Star) are both examples of games that improve spatial reasoning. These hands-on activities allow children to manipulate various pieces until they complete the task. As they go from easier to harder levels, children improve their ability to recognize how the various shapes interact.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

100

School of

Thought

By Etti Siegel

Dear Etti, There is a child in my fourth grade boys’ class who is very angry. I tried to come up with a better description, but angry is the most accurate word I can think of. The outbursts are sporadic and extremely disruptive. The mother is seeing the same thing and has partnered with me as we have tried charts and different reward systems. Nothing is really helping. What is your take? -Concerned Teacher

Dear Concerned Teacher, It sounds like you are trying your best to help your students and even partnered with his mother to try to make a change. It is concerning when temper tantrums occur at this age, as it is developmentally past the ages where tantrums happen. It is even more concerning if the anger outbursts are physical and cause harm to the student or his classmates. This can cause the student to experience social issues, as other students might avoid playing with him, due to his erratic behavior. Of course, this can also cause your student to feel bad about himself, if it is a response he struggles to control. There are different reasons a child might be acting this way. If the reason is ADHD, your student may find it hard to listen and follow instructions or transition well from one activity to the next and have an inability to focus and/or complete tasks. According to Dr. Vasco Lopes, a clinical psychologist, “More than 50% of kids with ADHD also exhibit defiance and emotional

Most anger exhibited in a regular outbursts” and lead to arguments, mainstream classroom comes from power struggles and tantrums. Most anger children who are feeling frustrated This doesn’t mean your student exhibited and stupid. has been diagnosed with ADHD. Children are survivors. Early on, Sometimes, ADHD is overlooked in a regular they realize that being dumb is not in children with a history of agmainstream socially acceptable but being angry gression and other issues because (for boys) and weepy (for girls) gets the clinicians are dealing with the classroom them the social attention they crave. bigger problems. comes from Bad behavior is cool; being dumb If the reason is trauma or neis not. When everyone around you glect, “Kids who are struggling, children who seems to understand what is going not feeling safe at home can act are feeling on in class and you don’t, this is a like terrorists at school, with fairfrustrated major trigger. ly intimidating kinds of behavior,” The way a teacher can minimize Dr. Nancy Rappaport points out. and stupid. that feeling of frustration is to teach She is a Harvard Medical School all skill-based lessons using the professor who specializes in menGradual Release of Responsibility, tal health care in a school setting otherwise called the I Do, We Do, and feels children with ADHD who also went through trauma are the most at risk of de- You Do method of teaching. This method helps because children are taught in a step-by-step method that alleveloping this kind of terrorizing anger. Sometimes children who lash out are actually suf- viates the feeling of “not getting it” for most children. When the teacher begins his/her lesson, there is fering from anxiety that they are trying to hide. If demands in school cause them extreme anxiety, then an understanding that the responsibility is all on the they might act out to avoid doing the task that is caus- teacher. The class is not supposed to know anything yet. Though this works just as well for a Chumash lesing them their anxiety. Children on the ADS spectrum can melt down son, we all learned math growing up so I will ask you when their routine is changed. They can be very rigid, to picture a math lesson. The teacher explains what will be covered in the lesson, and he/she writes an and so they melt down when they are feeling change. I am not specialized enough to know how to help example on the board. This is the I Do it, the Focus children who suffer with ADHD, trauma, extreme anx- Lesson. Then the teacher reviews a bit, still keeping in mind that most children have not caught on. He/ iety, or ADS. I can, however, let you know what I have found in she might include children in this part, but there is my 36 years in education, in my 27 years in my own no expectation that the children have mastered the classroom, and while coaching in all different schools information. The teacher shows more examples, calls across the tri-state area and beyond, boys and girls, on some children, and might have the students try examples on individual whiteboards of paper, while the across the Jewish spectrum.

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds an MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. She is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech Magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School leaders. She will be answering your education-based questions and writing articles weekly for The Jewish Home. Mrs. Siegel can be reached at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

101

ject that demands mastery, like math, grammar, and writing, often elicits groans because children are worried about the hard work involved and about failing. Teaching with the Gradual Release of Responsibility lessens anxiety, allows children to take it slower, and is scaffolded to help and then allow for more and more independence as the children master the material. This has solved anger problems in many of the classes I work with. Most of the children are not struggling with the severe issues listed above but desperately want to be seen as smart. When the teachers take the time to teach with the Gradual Responsibility model in mind, calm replaces worry, and children can attempt harder work. I remember seeing a lot of hands up in my 5th grade class when I was already in the You Do it Together stage, and I asked the class for silence. With all eyes on

me, I explained that I must not have been clear, and I wanted to go over the lesson one more time to make it even clearer. The relief on some of the students’ faces was almost comical as they realized it wasn’t their fault and I was taking full responsibility for their confusion. Children assume they are the only ones who don’t understand, and when we lighten that load, we have children who are willing to work harder than they ever worked before. Dr. Ross Green reminds us in his eye-opening book The Explosive Child: “Children do well when they can.” They want to do well; they know they are in school to learn. It is when they feel they can’t learn that they begin to explode. Hatzlacha, Etti

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

teacher or a student tries it on the board. This is the We Do It, the Guided Instruction. Now it is time for the teacher to see if the students grasped the information. The children can work on the skill, and the teacher is walking around, answering questions, providing support, and reteaching the information to a few students who need more help. It is the You Do It Together when the teacher is helping students and/or the children are working in pairs. If there are too many questions, it means the teacher did not spend enough time on the Focus Lesson and Guided Instruction. Finally, the students are ready to Do it Alone, and begin Independent Practice. How do you know which lessons need this method? There are two kinds of lessons, story and skill. Any lesson that is story-based, like parsha or history, does not require any mastery or skill to learn. Any sub-

102

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Health & F tness

Promoting Longevity By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

hen it comes to aging, there’s often an association with older age leading to chronic disease, physical inactivity, and reduced quality of life. While these associations can be true, it is important to recognize that there are many proactive measures one can take to avoid these negative health outcomes as one ages. This article will talk about ways to promote living a long healthy life, the common characteristics of people who live long, healthy lives, and explore specific foods and dietary practices that contribute to longevity. By incorporating these healthy approaches into our lifestyles, we can enhance our overall wellbeing and promote a fulfilling life throughout the aging process.

Common Denominators According to the National Institute of Health, there are nine evidenced-based common denominators people practice that are believed to slow the aging process and promote healthy lives. These are based on people who live in “blue zones,” which are regions around the world where people have higher-than-average longevity and a lower incidence of chronic diseases. 1. Move naturally: One should incorporate natural, moderate activity throughout their day. This can be done by using the stairs, taking evening walks, and driving less to places that are walkable. 2. Purpose: Studies show that having a sense of purpose in life can contribute to longevity. This can be done by volunteering and taking up hobbies or other interests. 3. Downshift: Adopting regular habits to destress can promote longevity. Getting enough sleep, reading, exercising, and socializing can help manage stress. 4. 80% Rule: This rule says to eat until you’re mostly full but not stuffed to prevent overeating. A good tip is to eat until you are no longer hungry – that means

you are satisfied – and conclude the meal. 5. Plant Slant: Incorporating more plant-based meals and limiting processed foods and added sugars is associated with a longer life. You can try filling your plate with more vegetables, having fruit for dessert, and reducing meat. 6. Moderate Alcohol: One to two glasses of wine is associated with longer life with moderate drinking. However, there are studies that counter this claim, so alcohol consumption should be practiced with caution. 7. Belong: Active involvement in a community can contribute to happiness and contentment leading to an increase in healthy habits and longevity. You can do this by attending shul and community events. 8. Loved Ones First: Being intentional about family time can help lead to longer life expectancy. Having meals with family members is a great way to spend more time with family. 9. Right Tribe: Studies show that smoking, happiness, loneliness, and obesity are contagious. Surrounding yourself with people that practice and support healthy behaviors can influence your lifespan.

Strategies Based on the blue zone habits and other research studies, here are some habits you can adopt to increase your likelihood of a longer and healthier life. 1. Healthy Diet: Your chances of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), dementia, and other chronic diseases increases with age. It’s recommended to have a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, poultry, fish, lean meats, beans, and nuts. Limit saturated and trans fat, sodium, and added sugars. Pro tip: snacks should come from a tree, not a bag! 2. Physical Activity: Regular exercise can lower the risk of many chronic diseases like diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease, and cognitive decline. Exercising can also lower your blood pressure, anxiety, and improve sleep quality. Even just incorporating daily walking has been shown to lower the risk of these diseases. 3. Maintaining Healthy Weight: Healthy weight is associated with a lower risk of weight-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Weight gain can be caused by an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, stress,

and inadequate sleep. A study that was done on middle-aged men and women who gained 11 to 22 pounds after age 20 showed that they were up to three times more likely to develop chronic disease than those who gained five pounds or fewer. As you age, it’s essential to maintain a healthy weight since weight gain increases your chances of developing chronic diseases. 4. Avoid Smoking: Smoking is a strong risk factor for the development of many diseases. It can promote chronic inflammation which can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, diabetes, and arthritis. Smoking can also contribute to the aging process by leading to age-related conditions like osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hearing loss and vision loss. Smoking can also increase your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Diets That Promote Longevity Our diet contains three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fats. We need these three nutrients in larger quantities since they provide us with energy and are essential for life. The sources of these macronutrients are important when it comes to increasing your lifespan. Here are healthy options of each macronutrient that can help promote longevity.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are a great source of energy, and studies show that moderate to high levels of unrefined carbohydrates are associated with longevity. Since the nutrient quality of the carbohydrates matter, limit your consumption of refined carbohydrates. a) Unrefined sources: Lentils, steel cut oats, spaghetti squash, quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. b) Refined sources: Cookies, cake, doughnuts, candy, sugary cereals, and white bread. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate which

Protein Protein is important for maintaining strength as you age. Protein is broken down into amino acids that help form muscles, collagen, tendons, and ligaments. Lack of protein in your diet can also contribute to age-related muscle loss known as sarcopenia. Protein sources to include in your diet are salmon, cod, chicken, turkey, eggs, low-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, edamame, chickpeas, and chia seeds.

Fat Fat is crucial for satiety, balancing blood sugar, vitamin and mineral absorption, supporting immune function, and more. Just like carbohydrates, the type of fat you consume matters for lon-

gevity. Research says that eating more unsaturated fats compared to saturated fats can reduce your risk of heart diseases, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. This is because higher intake of saturated fat can elevate your LDL cholesterol which promotes plaque buildup and inflammation. A type of unsaturated fat to increase are omega 3’s since they are associated with reduced risk of heart attacks and stroke. Here is a list of fats to include in your diet and ones to limit: • Include: Chicken, turkey, walnuts, almonds, salmon, tuna, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and avocados. • Limit: Processed deli meats, red meat, packaged snacks and baked goods. There are many foods that contribute to longevity, but there are ones you should prioritize for your health. Some include nuts, mushrooms, berries, fatty fish, dark leafy greens, avocado, beans, peas, and chickpeas. If you’re looking for a specific eating pattern to follow to increase your longevity, here are a few diet patterns that are shown to lower the risk of chronic conditions that come with older age. a) Mediterranean Diet: This diet is often utilized to decrease the risk of depression, dementia, and heart

��% OFF REGULAR INVISALIGN FEE FOR ANYONE IN THE MIDDLE OF SMILE DIRECT TREATMENT

disease. It encourages one to eat primarily plant-based, whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, herbs, and spices. Fish is the preferred animal protein, while other animal proteins should be eaten in smaller quantities. b) DASH Diet: The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is usually prescribed to treat high blood pressure. Even if you don’t have hypertension, the DASH diet is recommended to follow since it promotes heart health, weight management, reduced sodium intake, and prevents chronic diseases. The DASH diet is based on eating fruits, vegetables, low fat milk, beans, nuts, whole grains, fish, and poultry. One should reduce their intake of sodium, added sugars, and red meat. The DASH diet also suggests a specific number of servings for the recommended foods above. Based on 2,000 calories a day: • 6-8 servings of grains or grain products (whole grains recommended) • 4-5 servings vegetables • 4-5 fruits • 2-3 low fat dairy foods • 2 or fewer 3-ounce servings of meat poultry, or fish

• 2-3 servings of fats and oils • 4-5 servings of nuts, seeds, or dry beans per week. • Limit sweets and added sugars to 5 servings or less per week. While aging is often associated with negative health outcomes such as chronic diseases and reduced quality of life, espousing more proactive measures can help mitigate these effects. Integrating practices done by people living in blue zones, adopting a balanced and nutrient-rich diet, such as the Mediterranean or DASH diet, and engaging in physical activity can offer numerous health benefits even for individuals without specific health conditions. Opting for unrefined carbohydrates, incorporating sufficient protein sources for muscle health, and choosing healthy fats over saturated and trans fats also contribute to better health outcomes and longevity.

Aliza Beer is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition. She has a private practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Patients’ success has been featured on the Dr. Oz show. Aliza can be reached at alizabeer@gmail. com, and you can follow her on Instagram at @alizabeer

103

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

is associated with balancing blood sugar levels, improving cholesterol levels, promoting insulin sensitivity, helping to keep you full, and lowering blood pressure. These consequences of fiber consumption can promote longevity by lowering your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Fiber can be found in brown rice, quinoa, oats, spinach, apples, berries, pears, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and black beans.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

104

In The K tchen

Smoked Turkey Salad By Naomi Nachman

I have just returned from a trip to Las Vegas where I ran a culinary event for the Community Kollel of Greater Las Vegas in Su mmerlin. We stayed with our close friends, who live in the community.

Ingredients

Linda Ru benstein, who is a fa bulous cook, made this salad for Shabbat lunch, and it was devoured in minutes. Linda graciously shared the recipe with me for this article, and I’m sharing it with you.

Dressing

◦ 6 cups romaine lettuce ◦ 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced ◦ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved ◦ 1 avocado, cubed ◦ 1 lb. slab smoked turkey, cut into cubes ◦ 1 cup La Choy crunchy noodles

◦ 2 tablespoons sugar ◦ 1/3 cup mayonnaise ◦ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ◦ 1 tablespoon parsley flakes ◦ 1 teaspoon mustard powder ◦ 1 teaspoon lemon juice ◦ 2 cloves crushed garlic

Preparation

Mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside. Place salad ingredients, except for the crunchy noodles, in a bowl. Top salad with

crunchy noodles and dressing right before serving.

Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.

105

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

106

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Mind Y

ur Business

Sparking Innovation in Your Business

his column features business insights from a recent “Mind Your Business with Yitzchok Saftlas” radio show. The weekly “Mind Your Business” show – broadcasting since 2015 – features interviews with Fortune 500 executives, business leaders and marketing gurus. Prominent guests include John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi; Dick Schulze, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Best Buy; and Beth Comstock, former Vice Chair of GE; among over 400+ senior-level executives and

business celebrities. Yitzchok Saftlas, president of Bottom Line Marketing Group, hosts the weekly “Mind Your Business” show, which airs at 10pm every Sunday night on 710 WOR and throughout America on the iHeartRadio Network.

ince 2015, Yitzchok Saftlas has been speaking with leading industry experts on the “Mind Your Business” show, sharing insightful business and marketing strategies. In this article, we’re looking back to collect some of the best advice on looking forward. Read on for our selection of incredible innovation tips from five leading experts!

InnovatIon Style and BIaS Stephen Shapiro, NSA Hall of Famer, Keynote Speaker, and Noted Author We all contribute to innovation in our own specific way. We’re all wired a little differently. For example, some of us are very analytical and data oriented. So, when it comes to innovation, we might not be the person that is going to come up with a really cool, wacky, and out-there idea. But, we are going to have the data and the information to pinpoint very real problems, that if we solve, are going to have great value. That’s still innovation. It’s just a different part of the innovation process. What we want to do is figure out what our own personal innovation styles are. Once we uncover that, we need to also recognize that some of the things we’ve

been taught about innovation actually lead us in the wrong direction. We’re often told that the enemy of innovation is the phrase, “yeah, but…,” and what we really want to say is “yeah, and…” But, here’s the problem. “Yeah, but…” is not the enemy of innovation. It’s the “wow, this is a great idea” that really causes problems. Now, that might seem counterintuitive, but the problem is, once you start loving your ideas, something called “confirmation bias” kicks in. And now, all of a sudden, even if we get information about our ideas that tells us they are actually bad, the brain is going to filter those issues out and only focus on the good aspects. And so, what ends up happening is, we invest in that innovation and fail because we didn’t really validate our hypotheses. There’s a great quote from Scott Cook: “For every one of our failures, we had spreadsheets that looked awesome.” I love that quote because we can validate and justify however we want, but until we actually go into the real world and test it, we’re never going to know if these are really great ideas.

MakIng InnovatIon the JoB Steven Gaffney, Communications Consultant for Fortune 500 Companies

So often, when you think about innova-

tion and what prevents it from occurring, it’s because if you ask employees, “What do you think about innovating around this?” they’ll say, “I don’t have time to do that.” What they’re missing is that innovation should not be viewed as an extra to-do. It should be a fixed part of our job every single day. Unfortunately, people just don’t think they have that permission. You might be thinking that sounds kind of crazy, but the reality is, people just aren’t thinking it’s a part of their job. So, we need to remind people that we want to be innovative every day. The other thing about innovation is that when people come to a problem or get stopped by various things, they give up, instead of asking, “How could I do this differently?” So, it is essential to let your employees know that innovation is actually the job. We have to be in an innovative mindset. Now, when people are thinking about innovation, they typically think about developing a new product or service. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about how to be innovative daily in our jobs, and even at home. Innovation is about doing things differently. Innovation is not just continuous improvement, it is a significant jump forward, or it’s a right or left turn. And it often happens in an instant. Did you know that they first put wheels on suitcases in 1971? We had already figured out how to put a man on the moon, we were exploring space, and then somebody said, “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we put wheels on a suitcase?” It’s all about how you look at your job.

PlayIng to WIn Jerel Benjamin, Founder and CEO of ProfitGOLD Group There’s a common perception out there of “survival of the fittest,” a perception that the future belongs to the strongest people and companies around. But the truth is that the future doesn’t belong to the fittest; it belongs to those who are willing to adapt and change. And by and large, business owners are often afraid to adapt and reset their vision. They’re afraid to even step a foot into that territory, because they don’t know what they don’t know and that fear is causing analysis paralysis. And that paralysis is then feeding its way down into the rest of the company. There’s an expression out there: “You can play a game two ways. You can either play to win, or you can play not to lose.” A lot of companies are starting to convert their strategy so that they’re now just playing not to lose, to hold on to what they have. And they’re finding out that it’s become more and more difficult to hold onto those things, because at the end of the day, you need to adapt. You need to play to win. The landscapes around us are constantly shifting. When you see those shifts start to occur, you need to go into the office, preparing and planning to adapt, instead

of just trying to hold on and hunker down with what you’ve still got.

Mark Levy, Founder of Levy Innovation LLC When it comes to innovation, often getting buy-in from naysayers or hesitant parties can be the most difficult stage. When an idea or a strategy is foisted upon people that didn’t have a hand in creating it, they look at that new thing as an invading virus to the body. They start to push it away. “It wasn’t made here. It must be awful.” So, I try to get people involved in the creation or implementation of the idea as much as possible. In general, if people feel that they had a hand in the creation of something, or a hand in making something work, then they’ll want to see it work because it reflects on them. Another thing that I do is that when I come up with an idea individually, or come up with an idea together with a group, I’ll often say, “Just as a thought

eMBracIng adaPtIve tranSforMatIon Lisa L. Levy, Founder of Lcubed Consulting When it comes to innovating and transforming a business, many people view it as a one-and-done process, but the reality is that transformation should be continuously happening. Adaptive transformation is all about taking the four best practices from the big corpora-

tions – project management, process performance management, internal controls, and organizational change management – and building them into the culture of our businesses. Project management means that we can plan, work, and get our projects to an end state. Process performance management means that I know where my work comes from, I know who I give it to, and I know what value it adds to my customer. Internal controls refer to the measurement and mitigation of risks within our processes. It’s a set of triggers that we can use to make sure that we are being good stewards of people’s time and energy. Finally, organizational change management is where we take our people on the journey to understand that change is inevitable. If we try to prevent that, our businesses are going to fail. When we incorporate those practices across all functions and all roles, it really sets a foundation for doing things differently. Adaptive transformation sets the tone that innovation is an ongoing experience. This is a foundation of building skills and capabilities that need to be instilled in everyone within your company. This isn’t just a leadership or entry level exercise. Everybody in the organization

should understand this, because that is how we move the company forward. Organizational change is about getting people to understand and embrace change and to know why it’s happening. Ready to take your business to the next level? Head to BottomLineBrew.com and sign up for the weekly eblast to discover even more business tips and insights like these from leading industry experts in nearly every field!

FATHER & SONS CAR AND LIMO SERVICE Professional Drivers with black Suburbans for all your TRI-STATE transportation needs. · Airports · Weddings, · Out of town · Hourly rates. Affordable luxury!! Family operated business 36 Years experience · Shomer Shabbos

Call Mike: 1 (646) 208-6593 Mikedrivenyc@gmail.com

107

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

generatIng Buy-In

experiment, let’s pretend that this is definitely going to work. How will we go out there and make it work? What are we going to be doing?” Or I’ll give my client homework about taking the idea and making it work. I’ll tell them, “I don’t want you to think about the negatives. I don’t want you to think about any hesitancies or anything like that. Your job is to go make it work. So, how are you going to do that?” You want people to feel they had a hand in it, and you want them to focus on making it work rather than have doubts.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

108

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Ladies and gentlemen, Trump’s gonna get reelected. Donald Trump is going to be the next president of the United States if this kind of stuff that I’m reading continues to happen in American cities. Donald Trump is a shoo-in for re-election, even if he’s a convicted felon. - Sports host Steven A. Smith

What it came down to for me was this. I see homeless folks in the street of New York all the time that are American citizens, I … sure see them in California. We’ve got poor, impoverished, starving people who are born and raised in this nation. How in the [world] do we come up with a $53 million pilot program for illegals, but folks who are here legally, or born here, we don’t have enough for them? - Ibid.

I have respect for the governor. We get along well. I disagree strongly with how he would describe that situation. I certainly do think this was criminal activity. It was lawlessness, and I think that that’s troubling. But “thugs” is a dog whistle in the most classic sense. - Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) accusing Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) of using a racial “dog whistle” by calling the animals that opened fire at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade, killing a woman and wounding 19 others, thugs

Change the definition of crime. If you get to define what conduct is going to be made criminal, you can predict who the criminals are going to be. - Civil rights attorney Ben Crump on MSNBC arguing that the way to end the crime wave in the U.S. is to redefine what is a crime

109

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

110

Everything is possible… Even if the conditions right now don’t seem right for the rescue of more hostages, it doesn’t mean that we won’t do everything to keep trying, whether it’s intelligence or operations, and we’ll take every risk on ourselves to carry out the next operation. - The commander of the elite IDF unit that rescued two hostages from Rafah last week, in an interview with JNS

I want to thank you for this book as it has helped me a lot and continues to help. Yes, I am at SHIZO now, but when reading about your 400 days spent in the “punishment cell” on decreased food rations, one understands that there are people who pay much higher prices for their convictions. I understand that I am not the first, but I really want to become the last, or at least one of the last, of those who are forced to endure this. - From a letter that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (who was killed in a Russian gulag this week) wrote to Russian refusenik Nathan Sharansky

I wish to you — no matter how hard it may be physically — to maintain your inner freedom. On this day, I am sitting at the celebratory meal wearing a kippah, which was made 40 years ago, out of my footcloth, by my cellmate — a Ukrainian inmate in the Chistopol prison. That’s how twisted everything in this world is! I wish to you, Aleksei, and to all of Russia, an Exodus as soon as possible. – From Sharansky’s letter to Navalny

You need to listen to him and take him seriously. He is telling us what he wants to do. He wants to be a dictator on day one. He wants to round up people because of the way they look. They may or may not be undocumented. It doesn’t matter to him. He wants to call out the Army to do that. - Hillary Clinton in an interview with Christiane Amanpour at the Munich Security Conference

I think you are what cool looks like. You are a good sport to go out there every day to defend Bidenomics. But do you know what Bidennomics is? It’s just paying more to live worse. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), addressing Secretary Janet Yellen at a Senate hearing

111

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Forget about Trump, every single real estate developer everywhere on Earth does this. They always talk about their asset being worth a lot, and the bank says no. That’s just the way it is. If you’re going to sue this case and win, you’ve got to sue every real estate developer everywhere. - Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary responding to a judge fining Donald Trump $355 million because he found that Trump inflated the value of his real estate assets

I would never invest in New York now. - Ibid.

It is a form of Navalny. It is a form of communism or fascism. - Donald Trump on Fox News calling out the fraud verdict in a less articulate way than Kevin O’Leary did and referring to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was killed by Russia this week

We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day. - New York Attorney General Letitia James on ABC taunting Trump that she is going to seize one of his prized buildings to satisfy the $355 million verdict

Hamas’ invasion…brought about the largest single-day loss of Jewish life since the end of the Holocaust. Is Biden so addled that he doesn’t understand that? Or is he so fixated on a second term that he doesn’t care? – Michael Goodwin, New York Post

Asked about working with the perpetrators of Oct. 7, [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh] replied, “One should not continue focusing on Oct. 7.” He later clarified on Al Jazeera, “Palestinian suffering did not start on Oct. 7” but with Israel’s creation. “Don’t deal with the cosmetics, you should deal with the roots of the problem.” “Cosmetics” is a cavalier way to brush off Oct. 7, but why should Mr. Shtayyeh guard his tongue? Even as his PA glorifies Oct. 7 at home and compensates the killers, the Biden Administration insists that a new Palestinian state be created for the PA to rule. - Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

112

Israel Today

What Americans Don’t Get About Israelis Fighting For Their Lives They fail to understand a traumatized nation facing genocidal foes—one that is united behind a war whose aim is the preservation of their very existence. By Jonathan S. Tobin

he world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the United States or any other point on the planet. The difference is obvious in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or anywhere else in Israel. Throughout the world in most mainstream media accounts and commentary from supposedly enlightened members of the chattering classes, the current war being fought in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is seen as merely the latest twist in a long cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. From that perspective, it’s just more evidence of the cruelty of war to which the only possible moral response is to tell everyone involved to stop it, especially when the alleged underdogs—the Palestinians—are being defeated. To those who look on from afar, the history of the conflict or the rights and wrongs of how the war started—even the unspeakable atrocities committed on October 7 at Kfar Aza and 21 other Israeli communities when Palestinians associated with Hamas violated a ceasefire, crossed the border and murdered…tortured and kidnapped people—are just details that act to incite the combatants. But those details matter, especially if they involve the right to live in safety and relative peace.

A Just War This war is between a democratic nation fighting for its existence against an Islamist movement whose goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Yet many outside of Israel, even those who do know the history and essential nature of the two sides in this struggle, such as President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary

of State Antony Blinken, are increasingly speaking as if the only thing to do is to end the war as soon as possible. They say the aftermath of the war must mean that Hamas survives—and gets away with mass murder. That means the Palestinians are rewarded for such abominations with an independent state that will likely have the ability to pursue the terrorist organization’s

If so, you’ll soon realize that the battle with Hamas isn’t one about Israelis ruthlessly harming Palestinians. Nor is it about “white” oppressors seeking to dominate powerless “people of color,” as many left-wing Americans think. Nor is it one in which tired diplomatic theories about a “two-state solution,” which have repeatedly been rejected by the Palestinian people,

Despite the barbarism shown by the Palestinians involved, what made it resonate throughout Israeli society was the certain knowledge that it was intended as a trailer for what Hamas — and the majority of the Palestinian population that supported and still supports those actions — intends to do to the rest of Israel.

service. The buses and trains are running, and people still go to the movies and concerts, as well as other normal activities. The hotels are also full, but not with tourists. That is a key giveaway that something isn’t right. Walk into many hotels in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and something is a little off. They’re packed with people but not tourists on vacation from abroad. Chat with even a few of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis—families with small children and elderly people prominent among them—who were forced to flee their homes in the south near Gaza and the north near Lebanon, and you get a view of the war that is omitted in the breathless coverage of Palestinian suffering. These people were chased out of their homes by either the Oct. 7 attacks and continued rocket fire by Hamas, or the ongoing missile fire from Hezbollah. They can’t go home until the terrorist threat at both borders is eliminated.

A Country United By Grief and Determination goal for many more days like Oct. 7. Somehow, that makes sense in Washington and other places. But not in Israel. The overwhelming majority of Israelis, including many, if not most, of those who oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, see it very differently. And to understand why, maybe you need to go to Kfar Aza and see the ruins and makeshift memorials to the people who lived in that small kibbutz near the Gaza border who were brutally murdered, raped or kidnapped by Palestinians.

can be employed to get a messy situation under control, not to mention ease some of Biden’s political problems. To be in Israel during this war is to experience both the strength and the fragility of the Jewish state. Yet the general public wouldn’t necessarily think that if all they know of the Middle East is what’s seen on news shows. After all, life goes on pretty much as normal, even if some businesses and farming areas in southern and northern Israel have clearly suffered due to the absence of employees because so many people have been called into active military

To understand what’s going on, you need to talk to Israelis who have been called back into the military and willingly risking their lives fighting in Gaza. Though they’re eager to resume their regular lives, many I spoke with are just as ready to return to the battlefield because they know the job of destroying a deadly threat to their country isn’t finished. While international opinion deplores the possibility that Israel will attack the city of Rafah— Hamas’s last major enclave inside Gaza— few Israelis I spoke to, including those who have served, are prepared to halt the war until all of the perpetrators of the Oct. 7

PHOTO BY JONATHAN TOBIN

massacres are stripped of the ability to repeat their crimes. You don’t have to do a lot of reporting before you realize that morale among Israeli soldiers is high and stretches across all the cultural, political and religious debates that divide Israeli society. It’s not because they relish war or bloodshed. They don’t want to kill Palestinians and also grieve the loss of so many of their comrades—casualties made more likely because of the strict rules of engagement that prevent the Israel Defense Forces from fully utilizing the firepower at their disposal to lower the number of civilians killed because Hamas uses them as human shields. Their spirit remains strong. They know that what they are doing has nothing to do with the lies about “apartheid,” “settler-colonialism,” “occupation” or “genocide” that are thrown about at antisemitic demonstrations in U.S. cities or on college campuses and are treated as acceptable discourse in mainstream publications like The New York Times. Israeli soldiers—young conscripts and veteran reservists alike—aren’t down about the war because they know that what they are doing is defending their homes and families. It’s the civic faith in the justice of their cause that resonates throughout Israeli society and pervades the thinking of those who have sent their loved ones to battle. It is also felt by the grieving families of those who didn’t come home. Israel is a nation that is united by both anguish and determination.

Americans Understand War Differently This may come as a shock to Americans, who are used to thinking of wars in a very different way. Since World War II, Americans were sent to fight dismal and bloody proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam, where the rhetoric about defending democracy against com-

A poster in memory of Aviad Edri, who was murdered on Oct. 7 in Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas terrorists.

munism rang hollow for many. That was just as true about the attitudes toward the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq in this century. Despite any initial enthusiasm about punishing the perpetrators of 9/11 or toppling dictator Saddam Hussein, those conflicts turned into messy quagmires that most Americans—whether on the right or the left—wished to escape. Though the opponents of the United States were clearly evil, by the time both wars ended in what history will record as defeats, they hardly seemed worth the sacrifice of blood and treasure that had been expended on them. Even before the final rout of Americans during the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, these wars had already been sealed in the country’s collective memory by both popular culture and the opinion of most serious commentators as terrible mistakes. Coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas makes it seem as if it is another version of hapless and brutal Westerners fighting Muslims in futile efforts that cannot succeed, similar to the way Americans failed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the overwhelming majority of Israelis—from secular left-wing Tel Avivians to pious Jerusalemites and all points in between—know their war is different. They understand that their opponents are not in far-off lands like America’s in recent decades, and their raw violence directly threatens them. Though Israel has prospered in the 75 years since the Jews regained sovereignty in their ancient homeland, it hasn’t known a day of complete peace. Palestinian Arabs, their foreign allies and enablers in the Muslim and Arab world, as well as those in the West and international community, have never given up their quest to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet. The horrors of Oct. 7 were not a one-off act of despicable and pointless anti-Western terrorism like the Sept. 11 attacks. Is-

A house destroyed by Hamas in Kfar Aza on October 7

rael has suffered many terrorist attacks in which large numbers of civilians were killed by Islamist murderers, but Oct. 7 was the worst of them all. Despite the barbarism shown by the Palestinians involved, what made it resonate throughout Israeli society was the certain knowledge that it was intended as a trailer for what Hamas— and the majority of the Palestinian population that supported and still supports those actions—intends to do to the rest of Israel.

Places of Pilgrimage That’s why the view from Kfar Aza, and other Israeli kibbutzim and towns throughout southern Israel, is so different. The sites of the massacres have become places of pilgrimage for Israelis and visitors to the country—and rightly so. To see the homes in places like Kfar Aza that were riddled with bullets and/or burned by the terrorists, and to learn of the horrible fates of their inhabitants, is a searing experience. The same is true for the fields where the Nova music festival took place, and where hundreds of young people were slaughtered, raped and kidnapped—and which are now filled with makeshift memorials to the victims and those taken hostage. Just as haunting are the nearby fields where the wreckage of hundreds of burned-out cars of festival attendees have been piled up and for the time being, left as a gruesome reminder of their fate. After a brief period of interest and empathy, most of the international media lost interest in the story of Oct. 7. Americans don’t hear from those who survived the attacks or those who risked their lives to rescue some of the victims. But their stories do resonate with fellow Israelis, who understand that they could have just as easily found themselves the prey of Hamas murderers hunting for Jews to torment and kill on that terrible day. The fate of the hostages also hangs over the country. The pain of the families

of those who are still held in captivity by Hamas is felt by everyone there. And while politics has intruded into the discussion— as the anti-judicial reform movement that paralyzed the country has taken control of the weekly “hostage square” protests in Tel Aviv and focused their animus at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than Hamas—support for the war effort remains largely unshaken. The notion of stopping the fighting to allow Hamas to survive while still armed and in control of part of Gaza is widely considered reasonable elsewhere, but not in Israel. There, they understand that if Hamas is allowed to fully escape the consequences of the war it started, it will only mean that it will be allowed to make good on its promise to repeat the Oct. 7 atrocities again and again. The widespread assumption in America—even among major Jewish organizations that are supposed to have Israel and the Jewish people’s best interests at heart—that a Palestinian state must be created after the war ends is opposed even by most on the Israeli left. They know that rewarding Hamas and its supporters with such a gesture isn’t just an invitation to more bloodshed. It’s also immoral and will ensure that the conflict never ends. The independent Palestinian state in all but name ruled by Hamas in Gaza before Oct. 7 was evidence of what such a “solution” would mean for Israel. They understand that a state in Gaza, as well as one in Judea and Samaria, controlled by genocidal terrorists and their morally equivalent political rivals—the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah Party—could place the entire country in danger. But that’s hard to see in Washington, even by those not motivated by leftist ideologies to hate Israel and to cheer the slaughter of Jews. Still, it’s a truth that is difficult to escape when looking at the ruins of Kfar Aza. (JNS)

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Wrecked cars from attendees of the Nova music festival on Oct. 7.

113

114

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Political Crossfire

China Airbrushed Away Its Foreign Minister. Why? By David Ignatius

or nearly eight months, diplomats around the world have puzzled over the sudden disappearance and firing of China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang. China watchers have shared plenty of speculation, but Beijing has said nothing officially – and even the CIA doesn’t know for certain what happened. Theories about Qin’s fall from power have focused on his relationship with a Chinese TV journalist named Fu Xiaotian…. That created a storm on Chinese social media. But was it enough to demolish the career of the foreign minister? Qin was widely resented among his colleagues because he had risen so rapidly within the Foreign Ministry, U.S. officials say. He was viewed as a pet of Chinese President Xi Jinping, for whom he’d served as protocol chief, which peeved colleagues and produced what one U.S. official calls a “blood feud” with his predecessor, Wang Yi, who now oversees all foreign policy. But that resentment doesn’t explain his catastrophic down-

fall, either. The most tantalizing theories involve speculation that Fu was an agent of a foreign intelligence service and that her spying compromised Qin. One U.S. diplomat told me he heard that Qin was a Russian agent. No, said a former U.S. official with long-standing dealings with Beijing, Chinese officials believe that Fu served as a British agent for more than a decade. The spy stories are juicy, but I haven’t been able to confirm them. We’re left with a mystery that underlines how opaque China’s one-party state remains and how hard it is for the CIA, probably the world’s premier intelligence service, to penetrate its walls of secrecy. “We’ve looked far and wide for what happened to Qin, but it’s as if he disappeared, with his photo airbrushed out of the picture as in the Stalin era in the Soviet Union,” said a senior Biden administration official who follows China closely. “We do not have any relevant information to offer,” said a spokesperson from

the Chinese Embassy when asked about Qin’s disappearance and the spy rumors. A CIA spokesperson also declined to comment. So did a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office in London. Qin disappeared from public view June 25, and he was officially removed from his post a month later. Intriguingly, the day he vanished, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko visited Beijing for high-level talks. Did Rudenko bring evidence that Qin was compromised? That’s the version recounted by the former U.S. official. He says the Russian Federal Security Service had previously warned the Chinese Ministry of State Security that Fu was an agent of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. But the Security Ministry had been reluctant to move against the foreign minister without “rock solid” evidence, the former U.S. official explained. Press reports have speculated for months that Fu could have been a spy, and some suggested Britain might have

recruited her. The Biden administration has heard these rumors and pressed both the CIA and Britain about them without getting any confirmation, the senior administration official said. Whatever the trigger, Qin, 57, was arrested and investigated soon after his June disappearance, the senior administration official said. In the version recounted by the former U.S. official, the foreign minister didn’t know of Fu’s purported intelligence ties and tried to kill himself after confronted with the information. According to this account, Qin was hospitalized at a special facility for senior Chinese military and political officials, known as “Hospital 301.” There’s no independent confirmation of that. Fu, 40, also disappeared and is almost certain to have been arrested and imprisoned. Like Qin, she had a meteoric rise, becoming a star host for state-controlled Phoenix TV’s “Talk With World Leaders” program until she was dropped in 2022. That year, Fu’s son, named Er-

Qin’s intimacy with the Xi family probably helped him skip the promotion ladder that is normal in China and ascend to foreign minister at a relatively young age. This rapid rise fostered resentment among his ministry peers. “Qin’s obsequiousness toward Xi was an affront to the rigid hierarchy cultivated

ministry’s role in shaping foreign policy.” As Qin rose, his purported connection to Fu would have become problematic for any foreign intelligence service that had contact with her. Spy services like to have well-placed agents, but not in such prominent places that they cause flaps. The danger of recruiting agents who

We’re left with a mystery that underlines how opaque China’s one-party state remains and how hard it is for the CIA, probably the world’s premier intelligence service, to penetrate its walls of secrecy.

by the Foreign Ministry’s founder, Zhou Enlai,” explained Christopher K. Johnson, a former CIA senior China analyst who now heads China Strategies Group, a political-risk consulting firm. “The resultant squabbling left Chinese diplomats divided and distracted as Xi pushed harder for the Communist Party to usurp their

eventually rise to lofty positions was described to me by a CIA source decades ago as “the prime minister problem.” But, again, there’s no proof this was a problem for Qin. An abiding mystery in this story is the coincidence – perhaps – of the senior Russian diplomat’s visit to Beijing

on the very day China’s foreign minister vanished. Whatever intelligence Rudenko might have brought, his deeper mission was probably to remind Xi of Russia’s staying power. The day before, renegade mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin sent his private army marching on Moscow – momentarily rocking the Kremlin. Though Prigozhin’s revolt was crushed, and he died two months later in a mysterious plane crash, Putin would have wanted to quickly remind Xi that he was in control. The takeaway for me is that Russia isn’t the hapless junior partner it sometimes appears in its relationship with Beijing. Xi’s China might have growing wealth and power, but Putin remains a master of intelligence and political manipulation. “Putin is a case officer,” observes the senior administration official. The fall of the foreign minister and the TV star reminds us finally that even in a rigid, one-party state such as China, political life can still turn on the very human foibles of individuals. And it’s a caution, too, of just how hard it is to penetrate the curtain of secrecy that surrounds the Chinese leadership. (c) 2024, Washington Post Writers Group

115

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Kin, was born to the surrogate mother in the United States. The ill-fated relationship between Qin and Fu began around 2010 in Britain, according to the Financial Times, when they both were working there. Fu, born in the city of Chongqing, earned a master’s degree at Churchill College in Cambridge in 2007 and joined the Phoenix media company. Qin served in London as a junior diplomat from 1995 to 1999 and was posted there a second time as a minister-counselor from 2010 to 2011, according to his official Foreign Ministry biography. That’s probably when he met Fu. Qin rose quickly after he returned to Beijing in 2011 following his second London posting, serving as spokesman for the Foreign Ministry for three years and then, until 2017, as the ministry’s director of protocol, where he was responsible for organizing Xi’s trips. In that role, he is said by current and former U.S. officials to have developed close ties with the Chinese president. This warm relationship was aided by Qin’s wife, Lin Yan, who became friendly with Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan. According to the senior administration official, Qin’s wife made mooncakes for Xi’s wife, almost as if she were a family member.

116

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Political Crossfire

Here’s a Deal That Could Get Aid to Ukraine By Marc A. Thiessen

epublican moderates in the House have a solution to the congressional stalemate over getting aid to Ukraine: Pass a “skinny” version of the Senate’s supplemental aid package that would cut out economic and humanitarian aid, providing only military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. In exchange, the bill would include two border provisions: (1) Restoration of Title 42, the covid-related order that allowed border officials to turn away illegal migrants, minus its public health requirements; and (2) reinstatement of the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims were considered. Such a deal, which is still being hammered out with moderate House Democrats, makes perfect sense. The European Union just approved a $54 billion economic aid package for Ukraine, so we can let our allies take the lead on humanitarian and financial support for Kyiv. And military provisions make up most of the U.S. aid package anyway. Last Tuesday, President Biden demanded the GOP “immediately” pass the Senate’s bill, asking, “Are you going to stand up for freedom, or are you going to side with terror and tyranny? Are you going to stand with Ukraine, or stand with [Vladimir] Putin? Will you stand with America or with Trump?” This was both unhelpful and unrealistic. Attacking Republicans as Trump-Putin stooges is no way to get anything through the House, and the Senate’s bill is not going to become law as written. Here is the reality: Republicans have something Biden wants: aid for Ukraine. To get it, he needs to give them something they want (and need): major concessions on border security. Even

the many House Republicans who want to help Ukraine need those concessions to do so, so that the anti-Ukraine right cannot accuse them of caring more about Ukraine’s borders than our own. The reason the Senate border deal is going nowhere was that it was an immigration reform compromise, not a border concession. Republicans were being asked to approve a border-security package they found woefully insufficient – and then approve the aid to Ukraine that Biden wants. That was never going to fly. In fact, it backfired – losing the votes of pro-Ukraine Republicans in the Senate. Passing Ukraine aid is the Republicans’ concession. The Democrats’ concession has to be securing the border. On Monday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Senate bill was dead on arrival in the House because it was “silent” on border security. “The mandate of national security

supplemental legislation was to secure America’s own border before sending additional foreign aid around the world,” Johnson said in a statement. “Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.” He has reportedly told members that Biden is refusing to meet with him to discuss the border-Ukraine compromise. The solution that moderate Republicans suggest would give Johnson a way to bring the bill to the House floor. And it would solve the Republicans’ fundamental political problem, which is that they cannot vote to help Ukraine secure its borders without voting to secure our own borders as well. The hurdle Johnson would still face is that several Freedom Caucus members who are dead set against such a compromise sit on the House Rules

Committee, which decides which bills can come to the floor. So the House would have to suspend the rules to take it up without the committee’s approval. This requires a two-thirds vote as well as the speaker’s consent. If Johnson won’t provide that consent, supporters of a skinny aid package tell me they won’t rule out using a discharge petition to bring it to the floor anyway. This would require 218 votes, which means a handful of moderate Republicans would have to team up with virtually the entire Democratic caucus. Normally, such a direct assault on their own speaker’s authority would be virtually unthinkable. But GOP moderates watched in October while a handful of far-right extremists teamed up with Democrats to oust Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), from the speakership, so they might decide what’s good for the far right is good for the center as well. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Another alternative would be for Johnson to break up the Senate bill into pieces and let the House vote on each element – Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan – separately. Each element would likely pass with a different coalition if allowed a floor vote. But this lets Democrats off the hook on securing the border, which Johnson has said is his nonnegotiable demand. This much is certain: There is no time to waste. Right now, with military aid stalled, Ukrainian troops are being forced to ration artillery. It is only a matter of time before Congress’s failure to act begins to result in Russian military gains on the ground. Johnson needs to move a bill, and fast. (c) 2024, Washington Post Writers Group

117

Political Crossfire

By David Ignatius

CREdIT HEIdI LEVINE, WAPO

he Ukraine war demonstrated the military impact of Starlink and other space-based communications and intelligence networks. Now, Russia appears to be working on weapons aimed at disabling such systems using new space-warfare technologies. Russia’s development of space weapons technology is at the heart of the “serious national security threat” mentioned elliptically on Wednesday by Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, according to congressional sources. National security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to brief the socalled Gang of Eight congressional leaders about the Russian threat Thursday. Although national security officials caution that the Russian capability isn’t an imminent danger to the United States, Turner’s spotlighting of Moscow’s aggressive plans could have a short-term impact on congressional approval of additional military assistance for Ukraine. Ironically, it’s the Ukraine conflict – and the role of space systems in helping Kyiv survive the initial Russian onslaught in 2022 – that likely triggered Russia to rush development of its new space tactics. Starlink and other space systems allowed Ukraine to create an electronic battle-management system. Constellations of commercial satellites could gather information with optical, thermal and other sensors. That information could be analyzed by artificial intelligence to determine likely targets, and the targeting information could then by beamed to Ukrainian troops at the front through Starlink and other broadband connections. Russia warned more than a year ago that it might take action against these commercial satellite providers. Konstan-

tin Vorontsov, a senior Russian diplomat, said in a speech at the United Nations in October 2022 that the array of private satellites was “an extremely dangerous trend that goes beyond the harmless use of outer-space technologies and has become apparent during the latest developments in Ukraine.” He said this “quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation.” U.S. officials didn’t provide details of Russia’s new capability. But the Russians might be planning to use directed-energy weapons or electromagnetic pulses in space that could disable commercial and military networks. Such systems could, for example, attack the exotic “mesh networks” that allow Starlink and other companies to bounce signals among their satellites before sending data back to Earth. In 2021, Russia tested an antisatellite weapon that could shoot an orbiter out of the sky (creating a horrible debris field in the process). And Russia could, in theory, fire a series of nuclear ASATs to make space a no-go zone. But such an approach would be sloppy and self-destructive, in addition to violating a treaty banning

nuclear weapons in space. Russia’s new technology appears to be something more sophisticated. The United States has an array of intelligence and military systems in space with what officials often describe as “exquisite” capabilities. But these amazing sensors and other technologies are carried by a small network of satellites that offer a handful of “fat, juicy targets,” as Gen. John E. Hyten, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it in 2017. “We have to build a more resilient architecture” with more small satellites, Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, then head of the Space Force, told me in 2021. As things have evolved, it has been commercial companies such as Starlink, which has more than 5,000 satellites, that have developed the hard-to-target architecture. That’s what probably worries Russia. Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was a game changer in the opening weeks of the war in Ukraine. The satellites provided broadband internet signals that, combined with commercial imagery satellites, helped Ukraine identify and target Russian attacks. In the first hours

of the war, a Russian cyberattack briefly disabled a smaller U.S. broadband system operated by a company called Viasat. But that network rebounded, and it was joined by a galaxy of other space systems. Starlink terminals gave Ukraine the connectivity to fight a 21st-century “algorithm war.” Russia tried to jam and spoof the data coming from space, but Starlink engineers found ingenious ways to keep the data flowing. On Feb. 26, 2022, two days after the Russian invasion, Musk tweeted: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” Musk doubled down that May, posting: “Starlink has resisted Russian cyberwar jamming & hacking attempts so far, but they’re ramping up their efforts.” But he became anxious about Starlink’s role and threatened to withhold the vital service unless he got paid for it, before deciding in October 2022, “The [heck] with it … we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.” Musk’s growing concern about Starlink’s role in the war was described by Walter Isaacson in his recent biography. The mega-billionaire balked at Ukraine’s request to provide coverage for operations against Russian-occupied Crimea. Musk explained to Isaacson: “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.” Russia, it seems, is looking for new ways to challenge the United States’ space supremacy. But given the ingenuity of U.S. engineers in helping friends and evading enemies, it’s a safe bet that the cycle of punch and counterpunch in space is just beginning. (c) 2024, Washington Post Writers Group

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

In the Arms Race for Space Weaponry, Russia Fires a Shot Across the Bow

118

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Forgotten Her es

Daring Search and Rescues By Avi Heiligman

Richard Bell Davies performed the world’s first air search and rescue operation

fter the October 7 attacks by Hamas, more than 230 hostages were taken into Gaza. On February 12, two of these hostages were rescued in a planned mission by Israeli Special Forces. While some of the details are classified, the names of the units involved and other aspects of the operation have been revealed to the public. Search and rescue missions in combat zones have become part of military operations, and special units are dedicated to carry these out successfully. While not all missions go according to plan, these operators take extra risks so that those they are trying to rescue come home safely. “Search and rescue missions” is a term used for several types of operations that include rescue from enemy territory, prisoner of war rescue, sea-based rescue operations, rescue of civilians held by non-friendly forces, and rescuing downed airmen or stranded soldiers and civilians. The doctrine for search and rescue developed throughout the 20th century and is evolving into the 21st century. The invention of the airplane in 1903 and its adaptation into war led to situations in that a downed pilot would often find himself deep behind enemy lines or in no man’s land. Pilots that found themselves in these situations in World War I needed to be rescued, and at first, armored

cars were employed by the British to fetch pilots. That technique, though, wouldn’t work if pilots were surrounded by the enemy. Squadron Commander Richard Bell Davies of the Royal preformed the first combat search and rescue mission by air in history on November 19, 1915. His wingman, Flight Sub-lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, was forced down during a mission in the Gallipoli Campaign. There was

many types of rescues were attempted. Downed airmen or stranded seamen in the Pacific were often rescued by “lifeguard” submarines or by long-range aircraft. Code-named Dumbo, these operations often utilized both floatplanes and regular aircraft. When a search plane located a party in need of rescue, they would drop emergency supplies like lifeboats, water, food or communication equipment. A

The plane wasn’t designed for so many passengers, but Marks managed to rescue 56 survivors – some were tied to the wings.

an unexploded bomb aboard the downed plane, so Smylie set the plane on fire to set it off so the plane would be destroyed. He then looked up and saw Davies coming in for a landing and shot at the bomb, causing it to explode safely. Davies then landed and picked up Smylie. They successfully returned to their air base, and Davies was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his daring feat. Search and rescue missions during World War II were expanded globally, and

nearby ship or submarine would be called in to pick up the survivors. Sometimes, a flying boat or a floatplane, usually a PBY Catalina or a PBM Mariner, would be sent in to make the pickup. These operations required coordination and training from the ships to the aircraft involved. In July 1945, cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) had just completed a top-secret trip to Tinian to deliver components of the first nuclear bomb that was to be dropped on Japan. On the return trip, she was tor-

pedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank within minutes. Hundreds of crewmen were stranded in the water, but the U.S. Navy didn’t learn about their plight until four days later, when a plane on patrol spotted the survivors. Lieutenant Adrian Marks and his crew climbed aboard their PBY5A Catalina and were sent to the scene. Once at the location, they tried dropping life rafts but they didn’t reach the exhausted survivors. Despite having orders to not land in the open ocean, Marks landed the plane anyway in twelvefoot swells. The plane wasn’t designed for so many passengers, but Marks managed to rescue 56 survivors – some were tied to the wings. However, this damaged the Catalina, and they weren’t able to take off. As night fell, they saw the light on the horizon of a rescue ship. All of the remaining surviving sailors were then picked up by the destroyers. For his heroic actions in saving so many lives, Marks was personally awarded the Air Medal by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Search and rescue operations were advanced by the introduction of the helicopter which made it possible to land in hostile territory. Although some planes were able to do this in World War II, helicopters could be designed specifically for this purpose. Even with helicopters, not all missions went according to plan.

119

Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 was the plan to rescue 52 American Embassy staff members held captive in Tehran, Iran. The mission was aborted when one of the helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft, killing eight servicemembers. As a result of this crash, it was determined that a special operations unit needed to be created to plan and achieve mission success. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) – better known as the Night Stalkers – was founded to provide helicopter support for Special Forces operators. On June 2, 1995, American F-16C pilot Scott O’Grady was shot down over Bosnia

Lt. Adrian Marks, fourth from right, and his crew in front of the seaplane they called Dumbo

and Herzegovina by a surface-to-air missile. For the next six days, he was hunted down by Bosnian Serbs who had found the wreckage of the plane but not the pilot. O’Grady was burned and only had a pistol for defense. His survival radio was low on power, but NATO planes were able to pick up his signal. Another F016 pilot was able to communicate with him, and a rescue team from the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) took off to rescue the pilot. Fifty-one marines on two CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, along with two Marine AH-1W Supercobras and two AV-8B Harrier jets along with backup aircraft, soon arrived

Pilot Scott O’Grady after being rescued

over the area. They saw a yellow smoke flare that O’Grady had set off to alert the rescue team. The two Sea Stallions landed, and the marines set up a perimeter while others saw O’Grady running towards the marines. He was quickly pulled on board. The mission lasted just seven minutes, but they weren’t safe just yet. The helicopters were attacked by surface-to-air missiles that missed, but they could hear bullets hitting the aircraft. Soon they were back over the water and landed safely aboard the Kearsarge without further damage. Unit 669, the Israeli combat search and rescue unit, played a major part in the

February 12, 2024, operation that rescued Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har in Rafah. The ability to perform search and rescue missions worldwide is a major asset to any military. Rarely do their stories come to the forefront of news outlets, but their dedication to help anyone in need makes them heroes deserving of public appreciation. Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The terrible end to Operation Eagle Claw to rescue hostages in Iran

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

120

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

SERVICES PROFESSIONAL BAR/BAT MITZVAH SPEECH WRITER Let your child’s speech be something you all remember! Personalized and suited to your style. Contact: Bluma@blumagordon.com PEACEFUL PRESENCE STUDIO Men’s private yoga, Licensed Massage & Holistic Health Guidance 436 Central Ave, Cedarhurst Info. & free video training www.peacefulpresence.com 516-371-3715 GERBER MOVING FULL SERVICE MOVING Packing Moving Supplies Local Long Distance. Licensed Insured 1000’S Of Happy Customers Call Shalom 347-276-7422 HANDYMAN AVAILABLE For big or small jobs, Sheetrock, carpentry, painting, electrical, plumbing, install & repair appliances Call Ephraim at 347-593-4691 VACUUM SALES AND REPAIR All areas call Max Flam 718-444-4904 MANAGEMENT STAFF WILL ASSIST you with: * Obtaining Medicaid and Pooled Income Trust * In-home Assessments, Individual and Family Counseling * Securing reliable home care assistance * Case and Care Management services Dr. S. Sasson, DSW, LCSW (718) 544- 0870 or (646) 284-6242 HAIR COURSE: Learn how to wash & style hair & wigs. Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group Call Chaya 718-715-9009 ZEVIZZ WOODTURNING JUDAICA Challah knifes, batei mezuzah, besamim holder, kiddish cups, havdalah candle holders, yad for sefer torah, pens, stenders, bowls and more 952-356-2228

ISRAEL REAL ESTATE RAMAT BEIT SHEMESH G1 *Available this summer in RBSG1* 5 bedroom/4 bathroom (3 full- 1 half) 1st floor • Building w/ an elevator Quiet street • Close to bussing (local and to Yerushalayim) Across the street from a few different Shuls Walking to G1 Mercaz Available July 12 - Aug 9 with flexibility For more info WhatsApp 347-831-5128 or call 053-412-7194

HOUSES FOR SALE

DON’T GET STUCK WITH A TWO STORY HOUSE YA KNOW, IT’S ONE STORY BEFORE YOU BUY IT BUT A SECOND STORY AFTER YOU OWN IT! Call Dov Herman For An Accurate Unbiased Home Inspection Infrared - Termite Inspection Full Report All Included NYC 718-INSPECT Long Island 516-INSPECT www.nyinspect.com

NORTH WOODMERE Stunning Split , 5 Bedrooms With 3 Full Baths. Custom Features Throughout. Well Maintained Home. Hardwood Floors, Granite Counters in kitchen, Formal Living Room and Dining Room, Den, Full Finished Basement. Relax in the Private Backyard With Inground Pool. SD#14. A must see! Close To All Houses of Worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CAN’T AFFORD YOUR PROPERTY TAXES? MORTGAGE? Must sell for any reason? Call for FREE Consultation. Call now 212-470-3856 Cash buyers available!

HEWLETT Exquisitely renovated and modernized residence situated on a picturesque 50x200 lot. 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms. First floor features dining area, huge living room, expansive kitchen with modern cabinetry, two sinks, two ovens, and two islands. Second floor features 4 bedrooms, a nursery, primary suite with WIC. Private backyard with 400 square foot inground pool house/ guest house, cabana with a kitchen and grill, playground, basketball court. Fully paid solar panels. A fully renovated basement featuring a wet bar, separate outside entrance. Close to all houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com LAWRENCE Stunning One of a Kind Mid Century Modern 6 Bedroom, 6.5 Bath, Contemporary Ranch. Resort Style Home on Over an Acre of Property in Back Lawrence. Incredible Views, Regulation Size Tennis Court - Deco Turf. IG-Gunite Pool, Low Taxes, 5318 sq. ft. of Main Floor Living Space. Plus 5000 sq. ft. Basement With Very High Ceilings. Call Mark 516-298-8457 for more details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Beautiful, brick, colonial boasting 5 bdr 3.5 Bth in pristine condition. Excellent location, near all! Move right in! RCUSA 516-512-9626 CEDARHURST JUST LISTED Magnificent renovated 4 bedroom 3 bathroom in SD#15, new roof, windows, plumbing + electric, gas cooking, new marble bathrooms, marble kitchen with stainless steel appliances, LED lighting, security cameras and speakers throughout the home, custom closets, outdoor patio, 1 car garage, near all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Charming Colonial on beautiful tree lined street in the heart of Old Woodmere. Home features 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, kitchen, dining area, living room, full basement. Relatively new heating system + hot water tank. Large & beautiful backyard. Great for entertaining. Close to all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com HEWLETT Exquisite contemporary colonial residence boasts a prime location set back from the street, enhancing its striking curb appeal. With 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, this move-inready home is bathed in natural light thanks to its four spacious skylights. Expansive formal dining room, full basement offers 8-foot ceilings. Stunning inground gunite pool and a beautifully designed patio in the well-landscaped yard. Located in school district 14 and conveniently close to all amenities, this property is a rare find that won’t stay on the market for long! Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 WOODMERE New to the market renovated 3 bedroom 2 full bathroom ranch home with a full finished basement in the heart of Woodmere, sd#15, on a lot size 90x118, gas heat, central air conditioning, garage, new windows, roof, siding, appliances, lighting, kitchen and bathrooms. Eat in kitchen with 2 sinks, 2 dishwashers, double oven, island, lots of cabinets and storage. Spacious renovated basement with lots of storage, washer dryer and utilities, minutes to the railroad, shopping and houses of worship. Open house Sunday February 25 11:30-2:30pm 401 Howard Avenue Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE New to the market 5 bedroom 3.5 bathrooms prime location with a lot size 77x130 features an eat-inkitchen, formal dining room , main floor den , formal living room with vaulted ceilings, finished basement, 2 car garage, gas heat, central air conditioning, in ground sprinkler, alarm call for more details. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Woodmere just listed 3 bedroom 2 full bathroom hi-ranch in sd #15 with central air-conditioning , gas heat, 2 car garage, eat-in-kitchen, l/r, d/r, den, hardwood floors, minutes to transportation , shopping, and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Beautiful & Spacious Sunlit 4 Bedroom Colonial In HewlettWoodmere School District #14. Features 2 Updated Full Baths, Gleaming Hardwood Floors, A Delightful Screened-In Porch, and A Very Large Well Maintained Property. $939k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Welcome to this stunning residence situated on a tranquil residential street in Lawrence SD#15. This spacious and flawlessly maintained home boasts 4 to 5 bedrooms. Bright, airy living room with vaulted ceilings, skylights and wet bar. Central air conditioning, elegant quartz countertops, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, main floor den with fireplace, master bedroom with bathroom snd dressing room, Jacuzzi tub, three other bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Inground sprinklers, lush landscaping, alarm system. Spacious playroom. Twocar garage. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

Classifieds

121

HOUSES FOR SALE

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

HEWLETT-WOODMERE School district. New to the market. 4 bedroom 3 full bathroom home features living room with a fireplace, formal dining room leading out to the deck, eat-in-kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, 2 dishwashers, double oven, new microwave, primary bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, plus 3 additional bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, large family room, central air conditioning, gas heat, in-ground sprinklers, hardwood floors, modern high hat lighting, custom window treatments, driveway has recently been done, 2 car garage, beautifully landscaped plus so much more. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Spacious home within school district 14 with exquisite upgrades and central air conditioning, splendid kitchen with dual sinks, five bedrooms. Main level encompasses a spacious great room, office space, complementing the formal living and dining areas. Unfinished basement, detached garage. Expansive lot, measuring 80 x 100. Conveniently located near shopping, railroad, restaurants and places of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE New to the market 2 bedroom 2 full bathrooms top floor elevator building, 24 hr doorman, open concept, totally renovated kitchen, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, 2 dishwashers, island, 2 new bathrooms, terrace, central air conditioning, u/g parking, high hats throughout, custom closets minutes to shopping, railroad, park, and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WEST HEMPSTEAD Introducing a stunning new construction home. Nestled in a picturesque neighborhood. Large windows, open-concept layout that merges the various living spaces. The expansive living room is bathed in natural light, thanks to the windows that offer great views of the surrounding area. Gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances, sleek cabinetry, expansive center island with a breakfast bar. Ample counter space and a welldesigned layout. Wonderful dining area providing. Large glass doors, spacious patio. Luxurious master suite with a spacious bedroom, a lavish ensuite bathroom and a large walk-in closet. Additional bedrooms. High-end finishes, premium flooring, and custom details throughout. Call for pricing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Spacious home within school district 14 with exquisite upgrades and central air conditioning, splendid kitchen with dual sinks, five bedrooms. Main level encompasses a spacious great room, office space, complementing the formal living and dining areas. Unfinished basement, detached garage. Expansive lot, measuring 80 x 100. Conveniently located near shopping, railroad, restaurants and places of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE 1st showing spacious bright and sunny 5 bedroom 3 full bathrooms in school district 15. Features an expanded gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, 2 sinks, double oven, warming drawer, great counter space, central air conditioning, gas heat, 2 of the bathrooms are new, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, in ground sprinkler, gas line for the barbeque, 2 car garage and minutes to all. OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25 1:30-3:30PM 839 LOWELL STREET Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE New to the market studio co-op apartment, elevator building, high ceilings, low maintenance, laundry room on premises, minutes to the railroad, shopping, restaurants and houses of worship. $130K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE WOODMERE Generously proportioned, first-floor apartment in an elevator-equipped building in the heart of Woodmere. This Co-op boasts three bedrooms, two full bathrooms. Lofty ceilings, spacious foyer, formal living area and dining space. Expansive kitchen with gas stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer-dryer. Hardwood floors provide an elegant touch, and the comfort of five air-conditioning units ensures year-round climate control. Three bedrooms, with the primary bedroom having en-suite full bathroom. Dedicated storage. Near shopping centers, railroad, dining and places of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Introducing a stunning 14-side hall colonial home in the Hewlett Woodmere School District. Formal living room, formal dining room, den with a skylight. Eat in Kitchen, two sinks, a double oven, WOODMERE WOODMERE CEDARHURST WOODMERE LAWRENCE CEDARHURST a warming draw and a microwave. WOODMERE WOODMERE WOODMERE CEDARHURST LAWRENCE CEDARHURST First floor bedroom, a full bathroom and laundry room. Two-car garage. Upper level has four bedrooms, two full bathrooms. Finished basement with playroom, storage and utilities. Well-groomed exterior with porch adjoining the master bedroom. Hardwood floors and back patio. Central air conditioning, inQuality New Construction!!! ground sprinkler system, alarm Quality New Construction!!! Spacious Wide Line Expanded Ranch on Most Prestigious and Stucco Col. withLine Story Entry 9 Ranch ftIn Ceilings, 14 Zone Heat which Spacious Wide Expanded on Most Prestigious and Brick Stucco with 2 Story EntryColonial 9to ft Ceilings, 14 Zone Heat which New ToCol. Mkt. Charming on Beautiful Tree Spacious Split Home Academy C/H Colonial 4+ BR, 3 Bths, Hardwood floors, system. Close proximity schools, Spacious Split2Level Level Home InPrestigious Prestigious Academy includes Radiant Heat, Anderson LotsFlr ofMaster NaturalBdrmSerene Cul-de-Sac in Village of Lawrence , Main Flr Master Bdrm Serene Cul-de-Sac in Village of Windows Lawrencewith , Main includes Radiant Heat, Anderson Windows with Lots Natural Area.HOUSE Lg EIK, w/2 FLR/FDR, Attic, Lower lvl Den FLR Finished Basement, in quietMain Exclusive Tree lined Street, Features FLR FDR, EIK, Den andofLibrary OPEN 3:00-4:30 223Eik Hickox Avenue OPEN HOUSE 12:30-1:30 1068 SuiteFDR, with Many Closets and Bthrm, Addional Flr highland Bdrm & Bath, Area. Lg EIK, w/2 sinks, FLR/FDR, Attic, Lower lvl Den shopping centers, and OPEN HOUSE 3:00-4:30 223Eik Hickox Avenue Light Flrsinks, Fdnr, Magnificent Chefs with High End OPEN HOUSE 12:30-1:30 1068 highland Suite Throughout, with Many Closets and Bthrm, Addional Main Flr Bdrm & Bath, Light Throughout, Flrrestaurants, Fdnr, Magnificent Chefs with High End Totally renovated Colonial. Like New. High Ceilings, Chefs EIK, 5 Hall Huge Colonial with Main Level+Den 3 BRs 23Bths Baths Lg Flr Fdnr Den, EIK, Mudrm, 4 Bdrms onFinished Second Flr, FinFlrBsmt, Bsmt, Playroom 22Mudrm, add’l rooms, Oversized Prop. lined area. $1.599 Appliances, Dble Ovens ,& 6& Burner Cooktop Filler, Totally renovated Colonial. Like New. High Ceilings, Chefs Large Primary Basement Prime Center Hall Huge Colonial with Main Level Den 3with BRs 3Bths Baths Lg Fdnr Den, EIK, +rooms, 4 Bdrms 2Pot onFinished Second Flr, Fin Playroom add’l Oversized Prop.Center Appliances, DbleSuite, Ovens Finished ,6 Burner Cooktop within Pot Filler,EIK, 5 transportation options. Bdrms. Prime Woodmere location! Basment Beautiful Property 2Beautiful Dishwashers, and more.Property, Master Bdrm Suite with Luxurious Bath Beautiful Wrap Around Property, $1.690M Bdrms. Prime Woodmere Basment Beautiful Property $1.1M Wrap Around $1.690M 2 Dishwashers, and more.location! Master Bdrm Suite with Luxurious Bath $1.659M Location $1.39M $1.1M $999K Mark Lipner Associate Broker and Walk in closet,+4 Bdrms and 2 Beautiful Bths ,2nd Flr $1.659M $999K and Walk in closet,+4 Bdrms and 2 Beautiful Bths ,2nd Flr Laundry Rm , Full Finished Basement with 10 ft Ceilings Huge Berkshire Laffey Laundry Rm ,Hathaway Full Finished Basement with 10 ft Ceilings Huge Playrm LAWRENCE 2 Bdrms and Bth laundry Rm storage, Beautiful RENTAL INWOOD WOODSBURGH CO-OPS/CONDOS Playrm 2 Bdrms and516-298-8457 Bth laundry Rm storage, Beautiful International WOODSBURGH CO-OPS/CONDOS Manicured Garden. CEDARHURST WOODMERE CO-OP Manicured Garden. CEDARHURST WOODMERE CO-OP N. WOODMERE FAR ROCKAWAY mlipner@bhhslaffey.com LAWRENCE 359A Central Av Lawrence 1 bedroom apartment, elevator building, eat-in kitchen, full bath, hardwood floors, plenty of closet space. Ceiling fan in bedroom & kitchen, laundry room in the basement. Close to the This spacious s/h col , in the prestigious village of woodsburgh, railroad, shopping, houses of with beautiful sits on 1/2 acre property and in a. most serene setting, waterviews, and magnificent sunsets4BRs, . Flr banquet , New! Renovated High Ranch, 2 Bths,fdnr New worship. $179k Mark Lipner Associate COMMERCIAL RENTAL! NEW! 9 ,Room Drbdrm officesuite Suite, Located breakfast rm, main level den /fpl master with Kitchen & of Bths,3 ZoneSpacious Heatingwaiting & CAC, Den FLR,his in the Heart Cedarhurst, room, Reception and her closets and bth + 4 bdrms , new bths, newly renovated BrokerFDR, Berkshire Hathaway Laffey Area and Exam alllaundry on Mainrm, Floor. Close to of Public SD# 14Rooms, finished basement with playrm, lots storage, International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ Transportation many special details thruout $1.9M+ $1.279M $6,000 bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

261 Central Ave 1st Floor, Large Entry Foyer, Open Concept Kitchen.

261 Central Ave 1st Floor, Large Entry Foyer, Open Concept Kitchen. Large LR/DR Overlooking the Courtyard $229K Large LR/DR Overlooking the Courtyard $229K

LAWRENCE

240 Central Avenue Spacious 1 Bdrm 1 Bth Apt in Well Maintained Elevator Bldg with Terrace Overlooking Garden, Near All $229K

LAWRENCE

240 Central Avenue Spacious 1 Bdrm 1 Bth Apt in Well Maintained Elevator Bldg with Terrace Overlooking Garden, Near All $229K

FAR ROCKAWAY

156 B 9th St Mint 2BR, 2 BTH FAR ROCKAWAY Beachfront Condo This s/h col , in 2the prestigious village of woodsburgh, 156 spacious B 9th Stsplanch Mint 2BR, Beautiful on aBTH quiet cul-de-sac in village of Charming 4 bdrm cape in prestigious country with Wraparound Terrace, Magnificent sits on 1/2 acre property in a. most serene setting, with beautiful Beachfront Condo Lawrence. 4 Bedrooms 3sunsets full baths, Spacious den club area, open concept, fir, fdnr, eik, full height Sunrise & Sunset waterviews, and magnificent . Flr banquet fdnr , with Wraparound Terrace, Magnificent COMMERCIAL RENTAL! NEW! 9 Room Dr office Suite, Located $589K breakfast rm, main level den /fpl , master bdrm suite with his with sliding doors overlooking property. basement, beautiful oversized property with1 Bdrm above Woodmere Blvd Apt 2B Renovated, Mint, Corner Sunrise & Sunset Brher Home inand Heart Far Rockaway, 3Bth, EIK, FDR, 29 in5 the Heart of Cedarhurst, room, Reception and closets bth + of 4Spacious bdrms , waiting new bths, newly renovated with 9ft Ceilings. Spacious In Kitchen, 2 Sinks, Granite ground pool; fish pondEatand greenhouse, low taxes $589K Area andFoyer, Exam Rooms, alllaundry on Floor. Close to of Public 29 Woodmere Blvd Apt 2BMain Renovated, Mint, Corner 1 Bdrm finished basement with rm, playrm, lots storage, Den, Walk in Closets 130’ Deep Property. Counter tops and S.S. Appliances.Large Lvgrm/Dnr and Large endless potential! location!!! $995K Transportation with 9ft Ceilings. Spacious In Kitchen, 2 Sinks, Granite many special details thruout Eat $1.9M+ Bdrm/BR with Lots of Windows $1.4+M $6,000 Counter tops and S.S. Appliances.Large Lvgrm/Dnr and Large REDUCED $299K Bdrm/BR with Lots of Windows REDUCED $299K

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

122

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

LAWRENCE New to the market spacious 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom condo, elevator building, central air conditioning, garage parking, 24hr doorman, many closets, kitchen with granite countertops, generous counter space, washer/dryer, minutes from shopping, park, transportation and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment, private entrance, washer/dryer, central air conditioning, freshly painted, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, garage parking, stainless steel appliances, great courtyard, minutes to the railroad, shopping, restaurants, park and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Totally renovated bright and sunny 1 bedroom corner unit apartment with a washer/dryer. Features quartz countertops, ss appliances, recessed lighting, bathroom with chrome fixtures, close to the railroads, shopping and houses of worship. Call for details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE New to the market 1 bedroom 1.5-bathroom condo apartment, elevator building, 24 hr doorman, central air conditioning, washer/ dryer, u/g parking, terrace, many closets, social room, gym, library minutes to shopping, restaurants, transportation and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT Totally renovated 1 and 2 Bedroom, Apartments with washer/dryer, kitchen with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances. Recessed lighting, hardwood floors, storage in basement. Close to RR, shopping, and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, totally renovated private entrance , central air conditioning, hardwood floors, washer/dryer, garage parking, dishwasher, recessed lighting, private playground, close to railroad, park, shopping and houses of worship. Call for more details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

123

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

124

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

LAWRENCE

LAWRENCE Spacious 2BR, 2 Full Bath Apt with an enclosed terrace in the heart of Lawrence. Well maintained & manicured building. New hardwood floors, updated Eat-in Kitchen with gas stove. warming draw, dishwasher & microwave. New windows on the enclosed terrace & one of the bedrooms. 3 New A/C Units & New Refrigerator. Close to shopping, transportation, library, schools, and houses of worship. $339K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

New to the market Jr. 4 apartment in an elevator building with a terrace and underground parking, laundry on premises. Kitchen with granite countertops, 2 sinks, ss appliances, spacious step down living room with high ceilings, guest room/ office, spacious primary bedroom with 3 closets, full bathroom with full vanity, medicine cabinet, toilet and lighting, custom blinds, near the railroad, shopping and houses of worship.$289K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Well maintained 1 Bedroom apartment. Elevator Building. Pet Friendly, SD#14, Corner Unit, Bright + Sunny, Hardwood Floors, Eat-in Kitchen, Full Bathroom, 3 Closets, 2 Ceiling Fans, 1 A/C Unit, Full Time Super on Premises. Minutes from the Railroad, Shopping, Houses of Worship, and Laundry Room on Premises. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 • $179K

5TOWNS-OFFICESFORLEASE

HELP WANTED

1500SF LOFT OFFICE (formerly Shmuel Flaum Architect) 2 store/offices; ~600sf each 2 Cedarhurst offices; ~100sf each Starting at $650 Also… Large Parking Lot & Storage available Utilities, Internet & Parking incl. with some Kosher kitchen – Minyan Next to LIRR - No broker fee Call/text/Whatsapp: 516-206-1100

HE LOVES COMPUTERS, animals, and exercise. Can you share his interests? Spend time with a 29-year-old young man with developmental disabilities in Lawrence, NY. Part time, flexible hours, starting salary $27. Contact: Jobs@hamaspikking.org or 718-387-8400 Ext. 249

COMMERCIAL REAL ESATATE ROCKVILLE CENTRE Newly Renovated Office Space LIRR, Bus, Bank, Shopping, City Center. 20 Minute Drive to JFK Call Owner 516-654-4986

FOR RENT WOODMERE House rental 4 bedroom 2 full bathrooms, central air conditioning, kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, dual sinks, formal dining room, den, hardwood floors, washer and dryer Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HELP WANTED ACCOUNTANT F/T Beitel Group is seeking to hire F/T Staff Accountant. Min 2 years’ experience required. Competitive pay, benefits, and growth potential. Please email resume to jobs@beitel.com

BOOKKEEPER Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH Middle School is seeking to hire ELA teachers for the Fall. We offer an excellent working environment and salary; Monday-Thursday, 2:305:30 PM. Interviews are being held now. Candidates should have prior teaching experience. Please send resume to mhorowitz@darchei.org GROWING BACK OFFICE ACCOUNTING Firm in the Five Towns Looking to hire staff to join the accounts payable team Please send resumes to jobs@riveredgeadvisors.com or call 516-548-1622 A YESHIVA IN QUEENS is looking for an experienced part/ full time secretary, 2-year-old morah, kindergarten morah, kindergarten morah assistant and Pre-1A English teacher for the 2022-2023 school year. Nice and timely pay. Please email resume to mshelt613@gmail. com or call/text 718-971-9799.

Classifieds

125

HELP WANTED SECRETARY Woodmere, Part-Time HASC, a leader in special education, is seeking a part-time SEIT Secretary to add to our Team. Job includes general office and administrative tasks related to the tracking and maintenance of SEIT student and staff files. Computer skills required. Attention to detail a must. Great pay. Room for growth. Warm and caring environment. Training provided. jobswd@hasc.net 516-295-1340 5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA Seeking Elem Gen Ed Teachers Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply. Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com

HELP WANTED

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED to deliver Newspaper every Thursday morning to locations in Brooklyn. Must have Minivan or SUV and availability to work consistently every week! Please e-mail gabe@fivetownsjewishhome.com or call (917) 299-8082 SEEKING ELA TEACHER Teaching position for Gr. 6. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Great salary, warm, supportive environment. Training in our curriculum is provided. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

TEACHER/TEACHER MENTOR Join our Collaborative Team at HASC. Looking for an experienced Teacher/Teacher Mentor to help with the administration of a SEIT Program. Great Pay! Part-time! Flexible hours! Warm & Caring Environment. SAS/SBL a plus Email resume: jobswd@hasc.net

MDS REGIONAL NURSE 5 Towns area Nursing Home management office seeking a Regional/Corporate level MDS Nurse to work in our office. Must be an RN. Regional experience preferred. 2-3 years MDS experience with good computer skills required. Position is Full Time but Part Time can be considered. Great Shomer Shabbos environment with some remote options as well. Email: officejob2019@gmail.com

WEALTH MANAGEMENT OFFICE in Cedarhurst looking for an in-office assistant for 18-20 hours a week. Ideal candidate will be proactive, detail oriented, positive, and a team player. Must have familiarity with or willingness to learn about financial markets, financial planning, and account types. Email résumé to wmassistantjob@gmail.com

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership. Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Experience with Excel required. Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote. Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

MISC. SHMIRAS HALASHON Text 516-303-3868 with a time slot of your choice to be careful on lashon hara. Be a part of the 1,000 people for klal yisroel! GOING TO FLORIDA FOR PESACH? Get your favorite wine and spirits delivered for free for all orders over $400 vintagekosher.com/pesach 646-768-8800

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

126

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Your

Money

What Happens in Vegas… By Allan Rolnick, CPA

ast Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas was a spectacle for the ages. MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs affirmed their dominance in the NFL, coming from behind to win in overtime. It was their second straight Lombardi trophy and their third in five years. About 1,000 celebrities clogged nearby airports with their private jets. Thousands more fans descended on the stadium and the city to eat, drink, and be merry. The IRS is always a big winner on Super Bowl Sunday. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expects it to generate $600 million in economic impact for the city. Much of that $600 million will eventually find its way to Washington in the form of taxes on income from seat sales (the most expensive luxury boxes went for $2.5 million), lodging, food, and beverage revenue, and gambling winnings. (Most of the ballers flying in for Super Bowl Sunday would rather die than be seen sitting at a nickel slot machine.) But hosting a Super Bowl in Vegas marks a turning point for the NFL, along with a broader transition that works in the IRS’s favor, too. The NFL has always had an uneasy

relationship with gambling. League officials aren’t stupid, of course. They’ve always known it happens, both among friends and through goons with names like “Louie the Nose” and “Frankie Bats” hanging out in sketchy bars. They’ve even facilitated it in ways both big and small – for example, by requiring teams

banned sports betting in most states. Since then, sports books have exploded, especially online. Now, all you have to do is download an app, and you’ll have a casino in your pocket wherever you go. And you’ll be amazed at the variety of “proposition bets” you could make on the game. Are you a coin toss fan?

Are you a Gatorade fan? You could bet on the color of the Gatorade to be poured on the winning coach after the game.

to report on players’ injuries, which helps oddsmakers set lines. But they’ve always worked to avoid betting scandals that could destroy fan confidence in the integrity of the game. And that included blackballing Las Vegas simply because Nevada was the only state with legal sports books. In 2018, though, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 law that effectively

You could bet heads or tails, or Chiefs or 49ers. Are you a Gatorade fan? You could bet on the color of the Gatorade to be poured on the winning coach after the game. (Purple was the favorite at +225, with blue running a close second at +275, and “no bath” a longshot at +2000.) The bottom line here is that much of the Super Bowl betting that used to go

through bookies (where it got spent on pinkie rings) has moved to legal sports books (where it gets taxed). Today’s legal sports books report your winnings to the IRS. Then, they report their own income, too. And that means the IRS wins no matter which team scores the most points. Once those winnings hit your tax return, you’ll discover another IRS edge. Gambling winnings are taxable, of course. But losses are deductible only up to the amount of winnings. In other words, the IRS shares your gain when you win but not your pain when you lose. Today’s story is just another example of how taxes affect everything. Sadly, we can’t help your favorite team win the big game. But if you call us to stop wasting money on taxes you don’t need to pay, we’ll help pay you for your seat in the stadium!

Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.

127

Life C ach

FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Blessed to Travel By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

et lag! Who came up with that name? That seems to be describing a plane kvetching along in the sky, not the state of your sleep, or lack thereof, that you experience when you travel. Can we be real here? Call it exhaustion. Or call it wired. After all, it’s the exhaustion we feel – when we return home! And the being wired we experience when we get in bed, where we went. But really don’t name it as if it is the plane that made you shleppy. Your whole sleep cycle is out of whack and you’re blaming it on the FAA, The Federal Aviation Agency. That’s a little self-aggrandizing. The skies are inundated with traffic, planes are crisscrossing the universe, and we are saying our sleep being thrown off wouldn’t happen if they didn’t lag! Are we going to hold them responsible for our over-eating on vacation, too? I really think that would be a stretch. After all, all they give us on these flights anymore is a microscopic bag of pretzels or nuts. I’m certain our digestive tracts don’t even register that that the food went down. I think we have to admit that all that

eating happens after we get to our destinations. We don’t call it “plane pounds” or “flight fat.” We take responsibility. So why call out the flying industry for our sleepiness?! What about vacation excursions? That seems even more travel related. Yet, we don’t accuse the fallout of anything related to flights. About the closest we come to that is if we see a bad show, we might call it a bomb.

they like us to put our crying infants on these planes? Thirdly, where exactly would they like us to store our appetites on these planes? And here’s a big one: where exactly would they like us to stand, while waiting to use the restroom? On the wing? And here’s a few more…. Why aren’t drones used? Drones are used for everything else these days. Can’t they have them delivering the

We take responsibility. So why call out the flying industry for our sleepiness?!

The point is, why are we criticizing the industry because we can’t get our resting right when we cross an ocean? Honestly, if we want to criticize the airline industry, there are plenty of things we could focus on that seem much more in their control. For instance, where exactly would they like us to put our legs on these planes? Secondly, where exactly would

drinks rather than the stewards blocking the only aisle available to get to the bathroom, where we shouldn’t stand, to wait for the unavailable bathroom. And can’t they still give us the little TVs so we don’t have to shlep our computers or iPads to keep us distracted at times on the plane? They were there before. Did they have to go and rip them out? It’s not like there’s such lavish

space that we want to drag out another item from our stored-above-us (if they didn’t confiscate it at the gate) carry on. I’m not saying I think there’s nothing good about flying. Truthfully, if it gets me where I’m heading safely, I’m a happy camper. I’m just saying that if there’s something you want to blame on the airlines, the above seem like more legitimate complaints than blaming and naming your tiredness on a jet. Interestingly, I’m writing this at three in the morning, of course, ‘cause I have the unmentionable! Bottom line: Wherever you find yourself traveling, we are blessed to have a way to get there. Sweet dreams… And… Happy travels!

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com. A book is the ultimate apparatus.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 22, 2024

128