Five Towns Jewish Home - 1-9-20 by Yitzy Halpern

January 9, 2020

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

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

Always Fresh. Always Gourmet. See page 7 ‫ישיבה דרכי תורה‬ YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH

ANNIVERSARY DINNER

THIS SUNDAY! See Page

Around the

Community pg

50 YKLI Celebrates 24th Annual Dinner

102

CELEBRATING IN UNITY Scenes from the 13th Annual Siyum HaShas

Inspiration at Yeshiva of Far Rockaway Dinner

THE KILLING OF

A TERRORIST Who was Qasem Soleimani and What the Future Holds

70 Achiezer Dinner: Like a Brother YOSS Asifa Commemorates Rabbi Chanina Herzberg, z”l

49 PAGE 9

Passover Vacation Section Starts on page 121

How I Overcame Family Issues by Partying Hard

120

100

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

ometimes we’re gifted with a relaxing week, with time off from work and the opportunity to spend time with family. We received that gift a few weeks ago, with Chanukah and the legal holidays offering respite from our normal schedules. This week, though, it seemed that we were bouncing from one event to the next – a reminder that life can, and will be, hectic, busy, and exciting. Just a week ago, more than 90,000 Jews joined together to celebrate the culmination of the Daf Yomi cycle. Having grown up with a father who has completed Daf Yomi seven times (and has been learning Talmud Yerushalmi as well during his daily morning routine), I can attest to the incredible power of one’s consistency and devotion to the learning cycle. I never woke up in the morning – not on Shabbos or yom tov or legal holidays – to see my father still in bed. At 6:15 he was already in shul, ready to daven and learn before he headed off for his more-than-anhour commute. In fact, my husband incredulously recalled this week that when we were hunkered down at my parents’ home in Brooklyn during Superstorm Sandy, my father had walked into the house in the morning after having completed the Daf and Shacharis with a headlamp on his head, which he had worn to get to shul. Seven-and-ahalf years of snowstorms, early mornings, late nights, and deadlines at work – such is the devotion of those who learn Daf Yomi. Each person who has completed the long, demanding, and rigorous task is deserving of their own celebration.

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Yitzy Halpern PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces sarily 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.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Shabbos Zemanim

January 10 – January 16

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On Sunday, thousands came out to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in solidarity with the Jewish community and to project a voice against the hate crimes that have been perpetrated against us. I know that, for those who attended, it was inspirational and exhilarating to have so many Jews marching together regardless of their affiliation. It wasn’t just members of the community who came out against anti-Semitism this week. On Friday, I attended a press conference in Cedarhurst that Representative Kathleen Rice put together to denounce anti-Semitism and to urge her colleagues to promote legislation that would ensure that their constituents would be able to feel safe and secure in the communities in which they live. When hate is allowed to proliferate, it festers and erodes all parts of society. A community that permits or even condones hate is a society that is rotting from within. The conference was an impressive show of support for our community by our politicians, who came out en-masse from both sides of the aisle. I’d like to draw your attention to an article in this week’s issue written by one of our writers who wished to remain anonymous. There’s an intriguing idea and message in the piece. You’ll find it on page 100; I’m sure that you’ll also find it captivating.

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Friday, January 10 Parshas Vayechi Candle Lighting: 4:28 pm Shabbos Ends: 5:33 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 6:00 pm

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

How I Overcame Family Issues by Partying Hard by Anonymous

100

Scenes from the 13th Annual Siyum HaShas

102

From CNN, to MTV, to Siyum HaShas by David Jasse

108

NEWS

Global

National

Odd-but-True Stories

The Killing of a Terrorist by Susan Schwamm 120 ISRAEL Israel News

Renewal in Jerusalem by Rafi Sackville

26 98

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

Bringing the Two Moshiachs Together by Rav Moshe Weinberger

Parsha in 4 by Eytan Kobre

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

Attacking from the Skies by Avi Heiligman

Dear Editor, I love reading The Jewish Home every week, and I love the articles that you feature every week. But for a paper that spent so many pages on its Year in Review feature this week, you seemed to have missed huge chunks of the year – the impeachment process, Mueller’s report, the Democrats’ primary process… Did I miss something? Jake M. Dear Editor, What a breath of fresh air! Every newspaper that used their last issue of the year to go over what happened in 2019 made me sick – they just rehashed all the politics that raised the anxiety levels in everyone watching the daily news throughout the year. You managed to bring out the interesting and good parts of 2019 – and made it enjoyable to walk down memory lane. As with everything you do at The Jewish Home, you do it right! Keep it up! Sincerely, Shulamit Cohen

136

HEALTH & FITNESS Yoga is Invalidating by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

114

The Keto Diet by Aliza Beer, MS RD CDN

116

Dear Editor, At the recent Siyum Hashas, as I was walking by the concession stands, I happened to look up at one

of the TVs and I saw the part where one of Reb Chaim Kanievsky’s relatives was asking Reb Chaim to give a blessing to those who just finished learning Shas. Reb Chaim gave the bracha that they should also “know Shas.” I repeated his comment to someone who had to think about it for a minute and said, “Oh, not just learn Shas, but know Shas, an entirely different story.” Upon reflecting on Reb Chaim’s words, I was reminded of a story my uncle recorded in his sefer on Chumash where he brings down that the Griz was walking with Rav Elchanan Wasserman and they were discussing Torah. As they were speaking in Torah, Rav Elchanan mentioned that perhaps they should look inside the sefer to read the words in order to get reward for otiot machkimos (the letters bring wisdom). The Griz responded that such a notion only applies to Torah She’Bechtav and not Torah Shel Ba’al Peh, for regarding Torah Shel Ba’al Peh, it’s the understanding of the sugya that brings fulfillment of Talmud Torah, not the reading of the letters. Rabbi Efram Goldberg of the Boca Raton Synagogue noted that just “knowing Shas” without having Continued on page 10

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Orange Salsa Chicken

118

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 110 How To Receive Feedback Like a Boss, II by Rabbi Dr. Naphtali Hoff

116

Your Money

142

HUMOR Centerfold 86

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

126

The Sound You Hear is Mitch McConnell’s Laughter by Marc A. Thiessen

132

In Killing Soleimani, Trump Enforces the Red Line He Drew on Iran by Marc A. Thiessen 134 CLASSIFIEDS

138

If, at 5:30 p.m., you were 45 minutes away from your office where you inadvertently left your cellphone and you knew that you would be back there at 9 a.m. the next day, would you turn around to retrieve your cellphone?

YES

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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Continued from page 8

the pages affect the heart to engage in gemilus chassadim is also missing the point. Shas and character go hand-in-hand. Many rabbanim emphasize that in the times of ikvasa d’Moshicha both Torah and gemilus chassadim are the keys to strengthen one’s standing to be ready for the ultimate redemption. Steven Genack Dear Editor, While watching the candles burn on the last night of Chanukah, the thought crossed my mind (I have no idea why) of thinking of each candle (not including the shamash) as a “binary digit,” where the “lit” state corresponds to a “1” and the “unlit” state corresponds to a “0.” Therefore, all the candles burning on the last night of Chanukah would be represented by the binary number “11111111,” which has the decimal value of 255. “200” in gematria equals “reish”; “50” equals “nun,” and “5” equals “hey.” The fully lit complement of candles (excluding the shamash) therefore represents rinah. I suspect that I have too much free time on my hands (or maybe I’m simply losing it). In any event, if you decide to publish this, you can use as my nom de plume: TJH Contributing Editor Wannabe, Formerly Known as TJH Centerfold Commissioner Wannabe. A Reader

Views expressed on the Letters to the Editor page do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jewish Home. Please send all correspondence to: editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com.

Dear Editor, I highly recommend to your readers to consider taking a tour of the Federal Reserve gold vault in Lower Manhattan where a quarter of the world’s gold is stored. There are half a million gold bars in the Federal Reserve each worth half a million dollars and each weighing about twenty-five pounds. The gold in the Federal Reserve gold vault is worth about two hundred and fifty billion dollars. To make a reservation, go on the Federal Reserve’s website at newyorkfed.org and click on Museum and Gold tour at the top of the page. The tour is free and can be quite an educational and enjoyable experience. Thank you for printing this letter and thus improving your readers’ lives. Levi Ginsburg Brooklyn, New York

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Brig. Gen. Ismail Qaani to command the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force on Friday. Qaani will replace Qasem Soleimani, the general who led the Quds Force from 1998 until he was eliminated last week in an U.S. airstrike at Baghdad Airport. Qaani had served as Soleimani’s deputy but is not very well known and is far from the national symbol that Soleimani was. The shadowy Quds Force is often described as Iran’s CIA, Foreign Ministry, and military rolled into one. Reporting solely to Supreme Leader Khamenei, the unit is tasked with spreading the Islamic Revolution throughout the world. In practice, this means arming a slew of subversive terror groups all across the Middle East, from the Lebanese Hezbollah to militias in Afghanistan. The Quds Force also runs agents on every continent and is thought to control hundreds of sleeper agents within the United States. The selection of Qaani, who served under Soleimani for over 20 years, was expected after Soleimani’s death and demonstrates that the Quds Force is committed to following Soleimani’s path. Unlike Soleimani, who grew up destitute, Qaani hails from the affluent city of Mashad, Iran’s second largest city. As with most IRGC officers, little is known about Qaani’s personal life other than that he first enlisted in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps during the bloody Iran-Iraq War. During the eight years that the

war raged, Qaani demonstrated impressive battlefield acumen and rose through the ranks, advancing from battalion commander to leading his own division by the time the war ended. After the fighting ceased, Qaani joined the IRGC intelligence arm, where he rocketed through the ranks to become Soleimani’s deputy. In 2012, Qaani was added to the United States’ terror watch list and all of his assets were frozen. According to the U.S. Treasury, Qaani oversaw many weapons and cash transfers to a number of terror groups, including Hezbollah, Houthi insurgents in Yemen, and Iraqi Shia militias. On Tuesday, Iran’s Parliament approved a bill designating the entire U.S. military and Pentagon terrorist organizations. Lawmakers also backed a motion allocating $220 million to the IRGC Quds Force to take revenge for Soleimani’s death. It was unanimously approved by 223 lawmakers in Iran. Additionally, at least 32 people were killed and 190 others injured in a stampede that erupted at a funeral procession for Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman, in southeastern Iran. A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over 1 million people in Iran’s capital, crowding main thoroughfares and side streets.

Puerto Rico Rocked by Earthquakes

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake rumbled across Puerto Rico on Tuesday, killing at least one person and knocking out power to virtually the entire island of more than 3 million. An aftershock three hours later registered 6.0 magnitude. The temors came one day after the island was shaken by a 5.8 magnitude quake that crumbled homes and triggered states of emergency across the island. Tuesday’s quake was the largest

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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in a series of quakes that have struck the U.S. territory in recent days and caused heavy damage in some areas. Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced ordered government employees, except for first responders, to stay home. She urged residents to follow the island’s emergency management social media sites for updated information. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, said he had discussed the situation with President Donald Trump. Scott said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had 2,300 staff in Puerto Rico ready to support recovery efforts. FEMA drew sharp criticism for its efforts following Hurricane Maria, which smashed across the island in 2017, killing thousands, destroying thousands of homes, and knocking out power for weeks. Ponce Mayor Mayita Meléndez said at least one person died and eight were injured on Tuesday in the southern coastal city. “The road is cracked in the middle, and it lifted up,” he said. Monday’s quake unleashed small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking homes. That quake destroyed a popular tourist landmark, Punta Ventana, a coastal rock formation that had formed a sort of rounded window. The Puerto Rico Tourism Company confirmed that two other sites, Cueva Ventana and Ruinas del Faro, also suffered irreparable damage. Víctor Huérfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, said it was too early to determine the extent of the damage from Tuesday’s temblors. “We expect that this will be the largest quake for now,” he said. “The aftershocks will continue for some time.” The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began on December 28 with a 4.7 magnitude quake followed by a 5.0 tremor. The preliminary location of Tuesday’s earthquake was about 7 miles from Monday’s 5.8 earthquake. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred in this same region. One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.

Australia Still Battling Fatal Fires

Heavy rain brought some relief to fire-ravaged Australia on Monday as the country continues to battle massive wildfires. Torrential rain lashed Sydney and Melbourne, with precipitation covering swaths of desert in northern Australia. The rainfall extinguished dozens of smaller blazes and lowered the fire warning level to “advice,” the country’s lowest. However, fire officials warned that the rainfall may actually hurt the firefighting effort, as it would hamper efforts to set strategic fires. “There is no room for complacency,” urged NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian. “This morning it is all about recovery, making sure people who have been displaced have somewhere safe.” Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp added that the weather “will warm up” following the rain, causing the fires to “take off again.” For more than a week, Australia has been battling the worst wildfires the country has ever faced. The fires have already burned millions of acres and killed 24 people, as well as an estimated half a billion animals. By Monday, there were 136 fires blazing across Australia, with 69 of them not contained. Over 2,700 firefighters have been battling the flames, but to no avail. As the blazes only spread, the Australian Defense Force summoned 3,000 reserves to help the effort and loaned special planes to firefighters. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also earmarked an additional 2 billion Australian dollars for the country to recover, joining the tens of millions of dollars already set aside. “The fires are still burning. And they’ll be burning for months to come,” Morrison predicted. “And so that’s why I outlined today that this is an initial, an additional, invest-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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2008 magnum decanter was certainly the most expensive wine put up for sale in 2019. Each of the decanters, which come in a lacquered black box with a switch that illuminates the bottle, is specially hand-blown, meaning no two are completely identical.

ment of $2 billion. If more is needed and the cost is higher, then more will be provided.” Australia’s fire season usually runs from December to March, but record-breaking heat in 2019 coupled with lingering drought and high winds brought earlier and more intense fires than usual.

More than Fine Wine There’s no denying that good wine comes with a price, but $40,000 seems rather steep. Even so, Hungarian winemakers Royal Tokaji say their limited edition

Essencia 2008 decanter is worth every cent. Only 20 of the unique 1.5-liter magnums, designed by Hungarian-based artist James Carcass, exist – 18 of which were released last year. It was described as the “world’s most expensive wine” at the time of its launch, and while this statement is difficult to quantify, the Essencia

Approximately 11 have already sold. Royal Tokaji will likely sell the remaining seven before the wine’s 2300 expiry date. But what makes this particular vintage so valuable? Essencia is made in Hungary’s Tokaj wine region, located northeast of Budapest, which serves as a popular day trip for travelers visiting the capital city. The sweet wines produced there are reliant on botrytis cinerea mold, known as “noble rot,” that dries out grapes on the vine, shriveling them into what looks like brown raisins. Only the best aszú grapes are used for Essencia, which is made entirely from the juice of aszú berries (the other wines produced in the region have a base wine added to dilute their sweetness). “Essencia in itself is a miracle of nature,” says Orsi Szentkiralyi, a London-based Hungarian wine professional. “It’s very labor intensive and takes many years of careful work in the cellar. “It only reaches a couple of degrees of alcohol but has lots and lots of natural sweetness. It’s so rich it’s normally served on a spoon instead of a glass.” Essencia can only be produced in years with more or less perfect weather conditions for botrytis. It takes about a kilogram of “incredibly ripe” aszú grapes to produce just a teaspoon, while around 20 kilograms of grapes shriveled to aszú berries are required for a 37.5 centiliter bottle of wine, which usually contains around 3% alcohol. Although a lot of work is involved in gathering the grapes, the fermenting process is relatively simple, as “you just bottle it and leave it.” This results in a distinct and hugely intense flavor, with hints of honey, apricot and tea, that’s almost unbearably sweet. The liquid is so thick and syrupy, it’s often served by the spoon.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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Interesting information related to the parashah.

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Thought-provoking questions and satisfying answers

‫ספר שמות‬

HaKavod d by the Ananei ’s coffin, surrounde and a pillar of Egypt, carrying Yosef ed pillar by day The Jews leave d by a cloud-shap ). They are guide (Clouds of Glory t, so that it fire by night. through the deser to Eretz Yisrael, them the long way Hashem takes to Egypt. t. them to go back back toward Egyp would be hard for turn to them Hashem tells travel for two days, the Jews see After the Jews large army. When the Jews with a that Hashem es to chase after e assures them Mosh . Pharaoh decid panic they coming at them Pharaoh’s army follow them. will save them. go in. The Egyptians sea and the Jews on the Moshe split the Hashem has come crashing down sea, the waters safely out of the are Jews the After ning them. Egyptian army, drow em. Hash to a song of thanks ry the Egyptians The Jews sing silver, and jewel bodies, and the gold, out the Egyptian beach. The sea spits a fortune from the . The Jews pick up e that had taken with them complain to Mosh They . bitter is r e the wate wood into the l to Marah, wher a piece of bitter The Jews trave Moshe to throw r. Hashem tells sweet. they need wate water becomes bitter the ly, water. Miraculous of the Torah’s laws. are taught some At Marah they springs of water. find date trees and Eilim, where they ey complain They travel to Sinn (Sinn Desert).Th arrive at Midbar mahn leaving Egypt they after heavenly food, called h them mont A em sends have no food. Hash they that e to Mosh to eat. sends them birds bos, some (manna). He also d not fall on Shab woul mahn the that the Jews were told Even though for it anyway. to Moshe. of them go to look r. They complain there is no wate and water to Refidim, and again miracle happens The Jews come and hit a rock. A stick e to take his Hashem tells Mosh of the rock. leads the battle comes pouring out reason. Yehoshua the the Jews for no Amalek attacks win. Hashem gives The nation of them. The Jews Moshe prays for of the earth. against them while face the off d ek must be wipe command that Amal

 Torah in Our Lives

Connecting the Torah’s teachings to our children’s lives

 Who’s Who in the Parashah

SHAH

THE WEEKLY PARA

Looking around, Eliezer sees a neighbor who Egypt. He’s got had lost an arm both arms now in . There is his been blinded by cousin Shimon, a cruel, Jew-hatin who’d g Egyptian. He’s Before giving not blind anym the Torah, Hash ore. em healed all everyone coul the sick Jews, so d see and hear that what He had to would be at Matt say, and so that an Torah with everyone healthy bodies.

A fascinating look at some of the people in the Torah

 Section listing all the sources

A fantastic resource for parents and educators

THE WEEKLY PAR

ASHAH

Available at your local Hebrew bookseller or at www.artscroll.com • 1-800-MESORAH (637-6724)

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The 36th annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival kicked off in China on January 5

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It’s so mouth filling, it’s hard to imagine having more than a few sips without feeling a little light-headed. Although Essencia 2008 has been on sale before, it’s the exclusivity of this particular set that makes the decanters far more valuable than a standard bottle. Royal Tokaji had to obtain a special permit from the Hungarian government to bottle Essencia in 1.5-liter containers – present laws only allow a maximum capacity of 0.5 liters. Those willing and able to spend $40,000 for the privilege of owning this particular bottle will no doubt be few and far between. Upscale London department store Fortnum & Mason recently purchased one of the decanters, while a collector in Beijing was the first individual buyer to snap one up. Essencia 2008 is available by the spoon at various restaurants and hotels in the United States and Italy.

China Installs New Hong Kong Leader

GO.OU.ORG/TIPR

TORAH

L'ilui Nishmat Malka Esther Bat Tzvi Yoseph

As anti-China protests in Hong Kong refuse to die down, Beijing has installed a new top official in the

territory who is known for his experience in putting down ethnic uprisings. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Luo Huining will replace Wang Zhimin, who led Hong Kong’s Central Liaison Office since 2017. While Xinhua didn’t mention the reason for the change, it came only 60 days after China’s Communist Party voted to implement harsher measures in Hong Kong “to safeguard national security.” Zhimin is the highest official so far to be removed from his position over his failure to handle the protests. Hong Kong, which is nominally under Chinese control, has been rocked by anti-government demonstrations for over eight months ever since lawmakers attempted to pass an extradition bill last year. The bill, which was later scrapped, infuriated Hong Kong residents due to what they viewed as Communist China’s attempt to impose its sovereignty on the democratically-run territory. Despite being officially under Chinese control, Hong Kong has a different political system resulting from its status as a former British colony. As anti-China protests refused to die down, Zhimin came under increasing criticism for his inability to end the disturbances. “The massive defeat of the pro-establishment camp at the district council elections sealed his fate, but I think even before then, they had decided to remove him because he repeatedly failed to predict the mood of the city,” China specialist Willy Lam said. Huining has experience in suppressing opposition. In coal-producing Shanxi province,

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he helped root out corrupt officials with ties to the powerful aide of former president Hu Jintao. Before that, he spent more than a decade in Qinghai, birthplace of the Dalai Lama, where alongside efforts to revive the local economy he tightened restrictions on Tibetan Buddhist communities.

China Bulldozes Uighur Graveyards

China is systematically bulldozing Uighur burial grounds, CNN reports, and has already dug up 100 cemeteries since 2014. According to the report, China started destroying the cemeteries five years ago but picked up the pace in 2017. An examination of satellite photos taken a year apart show

the once-packed Uighur cemeteries paved over with cement, with at least one being turned into a soccer field. An investigation by the AFP found that many of the demolished gravesites were covered in human bones, suggesting that China had purposely mistreated the area in order to humiliate its Uighur minority. “It’s akin for an American to see Arlington Cemetery razed and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier dug up and paved over,” Loyola University Professor Rian Thum explained. Chinese officials didn’t deny the report, telling CNN that the burial grounds needed to be destroyed for “urban planning” purposes. “Governments...in Xinjiang fully respect and guarantee the freedom of all ethnic groups...to choose cemeteries, and funeral and burial methods,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The official added that “governments…in Xinjiang fully respect and guarantee the freedom of all ethnic groups…to choose cemeteries and funeral and burial methods.” The Uighurs are an Islamic minority native to China’s Xinjiang region. Viewing their religion as a threat to Communist rule, China has ramped up its persecution of the

group in recent years. Currently, Beijing is holding as many as 2 million Uighurs in forced labor camps and is reportedly harvesting the organs of inmates. China has denied these allegations and claimed last year that the camps are simply “vocational training sites.” In a December press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China views the welfare of its Uighur population in Xinjiang with the highest importance and said that the harsh measures were needed to “fight terrorism and maintain stability.”

More Than 3 Million Muslims in UK

The amount of Muslims now residing in the United Kingdom has

passed the 3 million mark, with more than half comprised of immigrants. According to new data released by the Office of National Statistics, 3,194,791 Muslims currently live in England – 5.9% of the population. 34% of them are under the age of 16, and over 60% identify as “strongly religious.” In addition, the number of Muslims in Britain has doubled over the past decade as a result of fluid immigration policies and a high native birth rate. Today, large swaths of London are more than 50% Islamic, a massive increase from the 950,000 English Muslims living there in 1991. The number is expected to rise even further, as 5,095 asylum requests were filed by Muslims since October 2015, mainly by Syrians and Libyans. If the current population explosion continues, parts of London could become completely Islamic by 2030, with the country’s overall Muslim population tripling by 2050. The surge in Muslims comes as the number of Christians in England continues to fall. The report found that the amount of practicing Christians fell from 59.6% to 56.6%, with the number dropping a full 12 points in Wales over the past decade. The Muslim Council of Britain

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hailed the sharp rise, saying that the increased numbers would lead to a better and more diverse England. “This statistic highlights the diversity in modern Britain and the need that this is reflected in all spheres of life, from top management opportunities to political representation,” said a Council spokesman. However, Conservative lawmakers point to the numbers as additional evidence that England is being swamped by Muslims who refuse to assimilate and are a drain on the economy. “This is clear evidence of the way in which mass immigration is rapidly changing the nature of our society,” said former Migration Watch leader, Lord Green of Deddington.

Known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal was inked between the six largest world powers and Iran in 2015. As per the terms of the agreement, Tehran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium to 3.67% in exchange for the removal of sanctions. The JCPOA had already been on shaky ground after President Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions against Tehran. Iran then began violating parts of the deal, including slowly raising the level of uranium it has been enriching. This is the first time that Tehran has openly announced that it sees the entire accord as void.

Iran: Nuclear Deal is Done

Vegans Protected in UK

The fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appears in jeopardy after Tehran announced on Sunday that it would stop keeping to its terms. Following the killing of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani on Friday, Tehran announced that it no longer viewed itself bound by the nuclear agreement. In a cabinet meeting, Islamic Republic officials said that the country would ramp up its enrichment of uranium and will no longer respect any limitations on its atomic weapons program. “Iran will continue its nuclear enrichment without restrictions based on its technical needs,” stated Iran’s official news agency. Even so, Tehran maintained that it will not break off ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and that it is willing to negotiate with the European Union to remove U.S. sanctions on its oil exports. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted that “this step is within JCPOA & all 5 steps are reversible upon EFFECTIVE implementation of reciprocal obligations. Iran’s full cooperation w/IAEA will continue.”

On Friday, a tribunal in Norwich, England, determined that ethical veganism is a “religion or belief” and one of the nine “protected characteristics” under the 2010 Equality Act. In other words, make fun of my tofu and you can end up behind bars. The ruling comes after Jordi Casamitjana of London claimed he had been fired by the League Against Cruel Sports as a result of his ethical veganism. Casamitjana said he was compelled to blow the whistle on his former employer, who he says had invested pension funds into firms that tested on animals. According to the League Against Cruel Sports, Casamitjana, 55, had really been dismissed for gross misconduct, adding that it is “factually wrong” to associate his firing with his beliefs. They also agree that ethical veganism should be protected. Following the verdict, Casamitjana told the BBC, “I’m really, really satisfied, and I hope all the vegans out there that have been supporting me – there have been many helping me in my crowdfunding – I hope they now feel their little donation has been properly used and all the vegans will benefit.”

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Judge Robin Postle, who has yet to rule on Casamitjana’s dismissal itself, based the court’s decision against a series of benchmarks qualifying ethical veganism as a belief worthy of protection, including the fact that the lifestyle is not incompatible with human dignity nor conflicting with the fundamental rights of others. Postle called veganism “important” and “worthy” of regard in a democratic society, adding, “I am satisfied overwhelmingly that ethical veganism does constitute a philosophical belief.” Casamitjana says his vegan beliefs are so fervent that he’ll often avoid taking a bus “to avoid accidental crashes with insects or birds that may occur when taking a bus,” according to a statement he provided to the tribunal. “Veganism is a philosophical belief and when you look at my life and anybody else’s life who is an ethical vegan, you will see it,” said Casamitjana. “This is a positive belief, it’s not a negative belief. And therefore, a positive belief is bound to be protected.”

Muslim Killer of French Holocaust Survivor Goes Free

French Jews are outraged after the Muslim terrorist who killed elderly Holocaust survivor Sarah Halimi walked free after mounting a successful insanity defense. The 67-year-old Halimi was murdered last year when Kobili Traore threw her out of a third story window. Traore had chanted verses from the Koran during the vicious beating he gave her, with neighbors recounting hearing him call her a “Jewish demon.” The brutal murder shocked Jews worldwide, who called for Traore to

be given a long prison sentence. Instead, he will now be released within the next few weeks after a Paris court ruled in December that he was not responsible for his actions. Pointing to the drugs Traore had consumed prior to the vicious attack, judges gave the shocking order to set the murderer free. Attorneys representing the Halimi family said it was a “scandalous decision” and confirmed they were preparing to appeal to the French Supreme Court. “I’m angry and ashamed of our legal system,” said Francis Spinner, a lawyer representing Ms. Halimi’s children. “It’s a scandalous decision. They’ve just created a new Sarah Halimi jurisprudence, starting today. Anyone who took illegal substances can go free without any criminal responsibility. Tonight, this man is free from justice, he is completely sane and will soon be released from the hospital.” Spinner added: “Sarah Halimi’s family will try to bring the case to the Supreme Court, but she may not be able to do so.” Moriel Oknin, a lawyer representing Ms. Halimi’s brother, said she was “very concerned about the implications of this decision. I wor-

ry about the future of Jews living in France.” The Jewish Student Union in France commented on the decision, saying “the decision marked the entry of the immunity rule in the face of the deadly anti-Semitism in the country.” Meir Habib, French MP, commented on the decision, saying, “As a Member of Parliament, I do not make judicial decisions, but as someone involved in this case from the first day at the family’s request, I am simply appalled – the judges declared that a murderer is criminally irresponsible. “The refusal of the judge and the police to reconstruct [the crime is] delusional,” he added.

Highlighting the Murder of Alberto Nisman A new Netflix series is shining new light on an Argentinian lawyer’s suspicious death days before he was to accuse the country’s president of covering up the bombing of a Jewish

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center. Titled “Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spy,” the series examines the 2015 death of Alberto Nisman that rocked the South American country. The series premiered on January 1 and will run for six episodes.

Nisman had been found shot dead in his apartment in 2015, shortly after accusing then-President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner of covering up the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. The bombing was an attack on the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994. Eighty-five people were killed; hundreds others were injured. It is the deadliest , Jan. 7 Wednesday, Jan. 9 Sunday, Jan. 13 Tuesday, Jan. 15 Wednesday, Jan. 16 bombing in Argentine history. ome of At the home of At the home of At the home of At the home of The attack had the highest Jewra Silber Mrs. Michal Mrs. Machla Bressler Mrs. Giselle Yedid Mrs. Tziporah ish toll since the Holocaust and was Muller Fruchthandler 4th Street 1015 East 2nd Street 1572 East 10th Street presumed to be the work of 1278 East 32nd Street 973widely East 18th Street oors open 7:30 pm - Doors open 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm 7:30 pm - Doors open 7:30Iran. pm - Doors open No perpetrators were ever inspired by: 8:30 pm - Be inspired by: 12:30 pm - Be inspired by: Rabbi Fishel Schachter Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein ha Wrona brought to justice, and the unsolved case remains a sore spot for Argentina’s Jewish community. Following 18 years of research, Nisman was ready to present his findings that fingered Kirshner in covering up Iran’s true role in the bombing. He and his partner formally accused Iran of directing the bombing in 2006. In 2015, Nisman filed a 300-page document accusing Kirchner of covering up Iran’s role in the incident. ‫לע”נ זאב זעליג בן ר’ יונה זצ”ל ורעיתו חשא ע”ה בת ר’ צבי זצ”ל‬ His alleged “suicide” threw a Rabbi & Mrs. Zev & Chashi Weiss ‫ע”ה‬ wrench into those plans, sparking theories that Nisman was, in fact, murdered by Kirchner to avoid facing justice for her crimes. In 2017, Judge Claudio Bonadio accused Kirchner of treason and called on the country’s senate to perUPCOMING EVENT — MARK THE DATE mit her arrest and trial for allegedly covering up Iranian involvement in WOODMERE FAR ROCKAWAY the 1994 bomb attack. Kirchner is MOTZEI SHABBOS, JAN. 18 MONDAY, JAN. 20 currently referred for public trial MRS. ALLYSA PRINCE MRS. MIMI GOLD over alleged cover-up of Iranian involvement in the bombing. 728 TURF ROAD 643 OAK DRIVE A day after the first episode aired 8:00 PM 8:00 PM on Netflix, Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez denied in an inORDER NOW! www.helpakallah.org • 646-677-2990

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terview that Kirchner was responsible for Nisman’s death but said that he did not believe that the prosecutor’s death was a suicide. “I doubt that someone who was going through a euphoric moment could commit suicide, I don’t know that. I’m allowing myself to doubt it,” Fernandez admitted. Argentina is home to 230,000 Jews, the largest Jewish community in Latin America and the sixth in the world outside of Israel.

Conviction for Murderer of Ari Fuld, Hy”d

A West Bank military court convicted a Palestinian teenager this week of murdering Israeli-American Ari Fuld in a 2018 stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction. The Judea Military Court found 18-year-old Khalil Jabarin guilty of one count of intentionally causing death – the court’s equivalent of murder – and three counts of attempted murder. Jabarin stabbed Ari, a father of four, multiple times in the back and neck as he was standing outside a supermarket near the Gush Etzion Junction in the central West Bank. After he was stabbed, Ari, 43, pursued and shot the terrorist, who was attempting to attack a shop employee, possibly saving her life. Ari then collapsed and was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his wounds. Ari’s family lauded the court’s ruling and called for Jabarin to be given the maximum punishment. Recognizing that the court would not hand down a sentence harsher

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

than life in prison, the family said the only way to prevent future terror attacks is to give the death penalty to all perpetrators. Although the death penalty formally exists in Israeli law, it has only ever been used once – in 1962 in the case of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. It is technically allowed in cases of high treason, as well as in certain circumstances under the martial law that applies within the IDF and in the West Bank, but currently requires a unanimous decision from a panel of three judges and has never been implemented. Joining the Fuld family in calling for the death penalty, Education Minister Rafi Peretz said in a statement that while “the conviction of Ari Fuld’s murderer is a right step in the right direction, if the intention is to allow the perpetrator to obtain a bachelor’s degree and enjoy other treats in jail, then it is on us to carry out a serious internal reckoning of how we arrived at this situation.” Fuld was born in New York and later moved to Efrat. A well-known Israel advocate and right-wing activist, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Distinction, the

third-highest award that can be granted by the Israel Police. Jabarin, who was shot by Ari and another armed civilian at the scene, was taken to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in moderate condition with multiple gunshot wounds after the attack. He was indicted a month later. Last January, Israeli security forces demolished Jabarin’s home in Yatta, near Hebron.

Netanyahu Asks Knesset for Immunity

Prime Minister Netanyahu asked the Knesset to grant him immunity last week, in what is his latest gambit to shield himself from prosecution on multiple corruption charges.

Bibi made his request on Wednesday in a prime-time press conference. The appeal for immunity came despite pledging before the most recent campaign in an interview that he would not seek to avoid justice. “In order to continue to lead Israel to great achievements, I intend to approach the speaker of the Knesset in accordance with chapter 4C of the law (Hebrew link), in order to fulfill my right, my duty and my mission to continue to serve you for the future of Israel,” the prime minister said. In his address, Netanyahu said that he was making the request due to what he said was a “wide-ranging plot” by the police and the State Prosecutor’s Office to frame him for crimes that he didn’t commit. The premier added that he would be ready to face justice after his term was over, just like any other citizen. “The Immunity Law is intended to protect elected officials from being framed. The law is intended to ensure that the elected officials can serve the people according to the will of the people and not the will of the clerks,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, this is what happened in my case – inventing criminal cases,

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blackmail and threats to turn people state witnesses, a flood of leaks, brainwashing the public and giving me a ‘field trial,’” he asserted. The prime minister filed a formal request on Thursday to Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) to convene the appropriate committee that would grant him immunity from prosecution. He said immunity would only protect him from facing charges while he remained in office and that he would still be charged the moment he was no longer Israel’s elected leader. Until 2005, Israeli legislators were automatically immune from prosecution, with authorities forced to ask the Knesset to remove the immunity in order to bring MKs to justice. In 2005, however, the law was changed, with lawmakers having to ask the Knesset to grant them immunity. Netanyahu’s sought-for immunity is contingent on getting 61 votes in the Knesset, something that appears unlikely after Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman promised to vote against the move. “It’s clearly beyond doubt now: All that is and what interests Netanyahu is immunity,” Liberman

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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wrote on Facebook soon after Netanyahu’s press conference.

Coffee Culture

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Israelis love coffee – so much so that they have earned the 19th spot on illy’s list of global coffee consumers. The Italy-based coffee company founded in 1933 recently released a report about international coffee consumption over the last decade. In that time, the global coffee market has grown by 60%, it reported. According to the report, Israelis consume an average of 4.4 kg. of coffee per person annually, just ahead of Spain, whose citizens consume 4.3 kilos. Americans are just behind their Israeli and Spanish counterparts and reportedly consume 4.1 kilos per person. “As you can see in the data, there has been a significant increase in coffee consumption worldwide in the last decade,” noted Uri Federman, CEO of Landwer Cafe, which has locations across Israel. “In recent years, Israel’s coffee culture has become among the most developed in the world.” In Israel and around the world, the most common strain of coffee consumed is Arabica. The largest exporter of coffee is South America, which is responsible for 48% of global exports. “The Israeli coffee market is currently estimated to be between NIS 3 billion to NIS 3.5 billion a year, about 78% of the Israeli adult population drinks coffee, and the average Israeli drinks between two to four cups of coffee a day,” Federman noted. Finland was at the top of illy’s list. Its citizens reportedly consume an average of 12.1 kilos of coffee annually. China and India tied for last place, at 0.1 kg. annually. When it comes to importing cof-

fee, the U.S. leads illy’s top 10 importers, just ahead of Italy, which ranked third.

Two Drown in Elevator from Flooding

A man and woman in their thirties drowned to death last week in a Tel Aviv elevator amid the flash floods that paralyzed the city. The two had taken the elevator to an underground parking lot in southern Tel Aviv’s Hatikva neighborhood on Saturday in the midst of driving winds and heavy rain. The elevator suddenly stopped working after the power went out. A faulty sewer then disgorged hundreds of gallons of rain into the elevator shaft, trapping and drowning them. Din Shoshani was the first to be rescued by firefighters and was rushed to Tel Hashomer’s Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. He later passed away, despite frantic efforts by doctors to resuscitate him. At about 3 p.m., almost an hour later, divers managed to extract 35-year-old Stav Harari, who was pronounced dead at the scene. They were both laid to rest on Sunday at Yarkon Cemetery before a crowd of hundreds. Building residents later said that they had heard the couple banging and calling for help as the elevator slowly filled with water but to no avail. Family members blamed the lengthy period it took rescuers to arrive for the tragedy, asking why it took firefighters almost an hour to reach the scene. “How can it be that no one has yet come to speak to the family?” one relative asked. “No official representative, no one from the municipality or police came to tell us what happened.” “When I arrived, the water had already reached the top,” building owner Alfred Jadid said. “We tried to open the doors but were unable to.” Jadid criticized the slow response

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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High Court Rejects Petition to Disqualify Netanyahu

Israel’s High Court rejected a petition that sought to disqualify Prime Minister Netanyahu from forming a government following the next elections in March. The appeal, which was filed by 45 senior business officials and lawyers, had argued that Netanyahu could not be entrusted with a mandate to form a government while under indictment. Bibi is currently charged with three counts of breach of trust, three counts of fraud, and one count of bribery. In the decision, the three justices wrote that while the matter was justiciable, it was too early to rule on it since Netanyahu has still not won the March election. The ruling left the door open for the Court to rule on the issue again following the March election. In doing so, the court explicitly rejected Netanyahu’s and Likud’s claim that the possibility of imposing a criminal charge against the government is a non-justiciable issue. The Likud had said that the very fact that the justices were allowing themselves to debate which candidate the people were allowed to vote for was anti-democratic.

“The issue raised in our petition is a fundamental and important issue,” wrote the justices. “It touches on the principle of the rule of law, the purity of the standards of the elected officials, and the public’s confidence in the government institutions. It therefore touches on the core values on which our legal system is based and therefore the respondent and respondent do not really argue that this is an unjustifiable issue.” Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to the decision by blasting the High Court for even agreeing to debate the issue. “To be clear, I don’t think it should be discussed at all because the people’s choice who will lead the people is the people’s choice and not anyone else’s. That will be the case in the future as well,” tweeted the prime minister. Netanyahu is currently facing criminal indictments in three different cases. Under existing laws, a prime minister under indictment does not have to resign until he is convicted in court. The case had revolved around if the president is even allowed to task Netanyahu with forming a government in the first place should he win in March.

Gas Deal Signed with Greece & Cyprus

Israel signed an agreement with Cyprus and Greece in Athens last Thursday that will see the Jewish State become an energy exporter, a development once seen as unthinkable. Known as the East-Med gas pipeline, the agreement paves the way for Israel to export gas through Cyprus and Greece on the way to Europe. The 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) EastMed pipeline is able to transfer 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The agreement was inked in a ceremony by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Greek Prime Minis-

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time of the rescue workers, noting that “they weren’t prepared for this.” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement that he was “appalled by the tragic death of two Tel Aviv residents killed in the elevator disaster” and demanded answers to how such a thing could happen. The drownings occurred amid massive flash flooding in Tel Aviv that paralyzed Israel’s second-largest city on Saturday. An estimated 71 millimeters of precipitation lashed Tel Aviv on Saturday, flooding the municipal sewer system and causing widespread chaos.

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ter Kiryakos Mitsutakis, and Cyprus President Nikos Anastasadis during the Triple Summit on Thursday. The Athens meeting marks a continuation of the Jerusalem Summit, which was held with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last March. With the signatures, the gas deal is now defined as an intergovernmental agreement, which goes further to the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013 after a preliminary feasibility study was conducted. The agreement enshrines the commitment of the three countries to the project. “This is a historic day for Israel, because Israel is fast becoming an energy superpower, a country that exports energy,” said Netanyahu. “This brings us hundreds of billions of shekels of income to Israeli citizens – for welfare, for health, for young people and the elderly – for everyone. This is an outstanding development.”

A Bite Out of the Big Apple

“I love New York” – that saying may be a thing of the past. According to U.S. Census data released last week, more people are choosing to leave the Big Apple and are fleeing at a faster rate than from nearly any other state in the nation. For the fourth straight year, the state’s population decreased as the number of residents choosing to go elsewhere outpaced the number of births, new residents moving in, and people immigrating to the Empire State. New York is one of only 10 states to see their population go down between 2018 and 2019, according to a study by the Empire Center for Public

Policy. “New York has lost nearly 1.4 million residents to the rest of the country since 2010 – and largely as a result of this outflow, the Empire State’s total population barely budged during the decade,” a December 30 Empire Center release said. “The cost of living in New York — the high taxes, regulations and housing costs — are making it untenable to live the American dream here,” Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli noted. In 2019, New York saw its population drop by 76,000 people – about 0.4 percent overall – the largest decline of any state in the U.S. last year.

U.S. Amb. to Afghanistan Steps Down

The American ambassador to Afghanistan stepped down from his position on Monday, after serving in the war-weary country’s capital since December 2017. John Bass’s departure was longplanned and part of the normal rotation cycle, with American ambassadors typically serving in Kabul for only two years. The State Department has named Ross Wilson as chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul until a new ambassador is confirmed. Wilson is expected to arrive in Kabul soon. Karen Decker, deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, will serve as chargé d’affaires until Wilson’s arrival.

Trump Bans Popular Vaping Flavors President Trump has announced that he will ban some of the most popular e-cigarette flavors in an attempt to crack down on America’s teen vaping epidemic.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

The ban exempts larger cigarettes that are filled manually by users and do not use replaceable cartridges. In announcing the ban, Trump administration officials pointed out that cartridges are sold in shops such as gas stations, enabling their purchase by underage teens, while manual e-cigarettes are sold in age-restricted tobacco shops. “The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes. HHS is taking a comprehensive, aggressive approach to enforcing the law passed by Congress, under which no e-cigarettes are currently on the market legally,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “By prioritizing enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth,” he explained. The U.S. government has been combating e-cigarette use over the past year as vaping by teens continues to climb, resulting from the lack of smell given off by e-cigarettes and the varying flavors available to the more than 5.4 million high schoolaged Americans that used e-cigarettes in 2019.

New Year, New Laws From shifting gun laws to a new minimum wage, a slew of new laws commenced in the United States as the new year was brought in. As mass shootings continue to occur across the U.S., various states have implemented new gun-control

laws in an attempt to halt the seemingly endless tragedies. In Colorado, the Democratic Party passed its first “Red Flag” law, despite fierce opposition throughout the state.

The legislation allows family and friends of a potential shooter to ask a court to forcibly confiscate his firearms. The successful passage of the bill caused massive backlash throughout the state, with many counties declaring themselves “Second Amendment sanctuary zones” that will not enforce the law. Meanwhile, anyone over the age of 21 in Illinois will now be allowed to purchase marijuana. Under the bill that passed earlier this year, residents can buy up to 30 grams of the drug, making Illinois the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis. Cash bail in New York is now a thing of the past after the state’s new bail reform law took effect on January 1. Attempting to end “wealthbased incarceration,” the legislation ended the practice of demanding cash bail for any non-violent offenses – effectively allowing hundreds of criminals to continue to walk the city’s streets. The new law means that anyone caught for non-serious crimes can avoid being detained until they can pony up the sum set by the judge. The act was passed in order to end what critics called “wealth-based incarceration” and excludes charges related to domestic violence, witness intimidation or tampering, and terrorism-related offenses. New York’s law is controversial, with opponents noting that it will now let criminals loose on the street immediately after breaking the law. Coming amid a recent spate of anti-Semitic hate crimes, the new bail reform law has allowed those arrested for assaulting Jews to return to the streets within hours. “I think we need to take a look,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “We want to take a look at reforming the system but making sure we do it right. We’re as concerned about these hate crimes as everyone.” When the ball dropped on Times

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Democrats Condemn Terrorist Assassination

Senior Democratic Party lawmakers criticized President Trump’s decision to kill Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a Friday morning airstrike. Soleimani, who commanded Iran’s Quds Force, was killed by a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad Airport. Soleimani was widely regarded as the second most powerful person in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The missile attack was seen as a major escalation by Washington in its feud with Iran. Following the assassination, Democratic Party presidential hopefuls bashed Trump, alleging that the attack brought the United States closer to war with the Islamic Republic. “As I said yesterday, I am deeply concerned that President Trump’s actions represent a dangerous escalation that brings us closer to yet another disastrous war in the Middle East,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders told a crowd in Iowa.

Criticizing Trump for failing to notify Congress prior to the assassination, Sanders and California Rep. Ro Khanna later introduced legislation that would defund U.S. military units that were deployed on missions without the approval of the House. Meanwhile, Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden said that he was glad Soleimani was killed but questioned the operation’s timing. “I just want to say one thing very briefly about Soleimani being killed,” the former vice president said. “There should be no [empathy] for this guy. The hope is the president at least has a plan… I don’t know yet, whether or not he is prepared, for what is likely to come.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another leading candidate, bashed the airstrike as “reckless” and added that “our priority must be to avoid another costly war.” The populist candidate said that she shed no tears for Soleimani, calling him “a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans.” Hitting back at critics, President Trump asserted on Saturday that eliminating the powerful general would lower the chances of future bloodshed from occurring. “If Americans anywhere are threatened, we have all of those targets already fully identified, and I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary,” the U.S. president said.

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Square last week, Paid Family Leave laws changed too. Workers in New York are now entitled to take up to 10 weeks of leave and receive 60 percent of their average weekly wage, although that amount will be capped at $840.70 per week. The percentage is up from 55 percent in 2019. Minimum wage was also changed for the new year. On December 31, 2019, the minimum wage on Long Island and in Westchester increased to $13 an hour, up from $12. Small employers in New York City – those with 10 or fewer employees – will have to pay the maximum $15 per hour, which will bring them in line with other city employers. The rest of the state, which is increasing at a slower rate, will see the minimum wage rate go from $11.10 to $11.80 per hour.

A recent ranking from Blacktower Financial Management examined the best and worst places within the U.S. to retire. The rankings took into account factors such as life expectancy, cost of living, property prices, and crime, and examined government as well as nonprofit data. So where should you hang out after you put in all those years at the office? The Hawkeye State may be the place to go. In first place in the nation stands

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months in Florida or other southern states when it’s a little colder,” noted Christopher Thornton, country manager at Blacktower. “But for the rest of the year, when you’ve got to worry about your expenditure and your budgeting, these [other] states are actually more cost-effective to live in.”

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Iowa as the best place to retire. The average home cost is $173,561 – one of the lowest nationwide – and there is also an overall low cost of living. The rest of the “top ten” is rounded out by Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Florida, and North Dakota. While Florida is often thought of as a prime location for retirees, who

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make up roughly 26% of the state population, one of the reasons it only comes in at #9 on the list is that the state has a crime rate higher than the national average. As for the worst states to retire, stay away from Alaska. The Last Frontier has the highest crime rate nationwide and a relatively small percentage (less than 16%) of residents aged 60 or above. Following

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Alaska come Hawaii (having the highest cost of living in the U.S., almost double the national average), California, Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee, Nevada, Alabama, New Mexico, and Arkansas. It is noteworthy that most of the top-ranked states are not known for warm winters, something traditionally associated with the golden years. “You can spend a few more

Three Americans were killed on Sunday in a terror attack at an airfield base in Manda Bay, Kenya. The casualties included a U.S. servicemember and two civilian contractors working for the Defense Department. Two additional DOD members were injured in the attack and were evacuated once they were in stable condition. The attack was carried out by alShabaab, a militant jihadist group based in east Africa. The group, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. as well as several other countries, had previously pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. U.S. Africa Command, which handles military relations with nations on the continent, stated that America uses the airfield in Kenya to respond to crises, protect U.S. interests in the region, and provide training to African allies. According to authorities, after the initial penetration of the facility’s perimeter, Kenyan as well as U.S. forces fought back the attack. Aircraft of both countries, as well as contractor-operated civilian aircraft, sustained damage to varying degrees. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, said in a statement. “As we honor their sacrifice, let’s also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-Shabaab who seeks to harm

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Americans and U.S. interests. “We remain committed to preventing al-Shabaab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the U.S. homeland and east African and international partners.”

Maxine Waters Pranked by Russians

California Representative Maxine Waters was left red-faced after two Russian pranksters tricked her into thinking she was talking to Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, two Russian comedians who perform under the monikers Vo-

van and Lexus, aired a recording of the 10-minute conversation they had with Waters. Believing she was conversing with Thunberg and her father, Waters repeatedly praised the teen’s environmental advocacy and reiterated her opposition to President Donald Trump. “Hello, everybody! This is Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and I am so pleased to be on this telephone call with Greta Thunberg,” Waters can be heard saying. “She has been the greatest advocate for what is happening with our climate and the environment, and I’m very pleased that she’s with you in North Carolina, where you’re focusing on protecting the very important island of Choola Changa.” Later in the conversation, Waters told “Greta” that the Swede climate change activist “should win the Nobel Peace prize for what she is doing.” “I’m so glad you came to my state, and, of course, I know all about you,” said Waters. “You have made quite a big, big, big thunder on this issue. I’m really, really proud of you and the work you are doing.” In an attempt to bait Waters, the two jokesters alleged that Trump had bullied Greta “to tears” due to his op-

position to fighting climate change. “I’m terrified of what Trump’s doing. And I even can’t sleep or eat when I see him on TV. It was a really terrible meeting in the U.N. building in September with him, and I had nightmares afterwards,” Kuznetsov said, pretending to be Thunberg. “I saw him in the hallway, he was with security, I shouted at him, ‘Sign the Paris Climate Agreement!’ at him again. He came over, he leaned toward me and said softly, ‘Listen to me careful, little girl, you will never achieve your goal.’” Kuznetsov was referring to the viral moment in September in which Trump demonstratively ignored Thunberg at the UN General Assembly. “He said you will never achieve your goal? Oh, my goodness,” Waters responded. “Did you ask him if he would rethink signing the Paris Climate Agreement? Is that your question to him?” The congresswoman went on to reassure “Greta” that she was doing everything in her power to remove Trump from office. “We are working very hard. We are putting together the facts and we’re going after him,” Waters

said. “We’re going to try everything that we have to impeach him. Yes. And if the public knew that he talked to Greta like that, he made her cry, and told her she would never achieve, this would go against him too.” The exact date of the call is not clear, although the comedic duo uploaded the recording to YouTube along with colorful animations. Waters’ office has since dismissed the call, telling the Washington Post in a statement that the conversation was just “another stupid prank by the same Russian operatives who have targeted many U.S. elected officials, including Representative Adam Schiff, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Mitch McConnell, and late-Senator John McCain, and international heads of state such as Emmanuel Macron.”

Boeing Explores 737’s Glitches Attempting to ascertain malfunctions in its 737 Max jets, Boeing has uncovered another glitch that may have led to the two crashes that killed 346 people aboard its jets.

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The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March. The company determined a software fix was likely to correct the issue with the automatic safety feature that caused the crashes.

However, as part of a December audit of the plane’s safety ordered by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing found “previously unreported concerns” with wiring in the 737 Max, according to a report from The New York Times. The company informed the FAA last month that it is looking into whether two sections of wiring that control the tail of the plane are too close together and could cause a short circuit – and potentially a crash, if pilots did not react appropriately. “Our highest priority is ensuring the 737 Max meets all safety and

regulatory requirements before it returns to service,” a Boeing spokesperson said. “We are working closely with the FAA and other regulators on a robust and thorough certification process to ensure a safe and compliant design.” The spokesperson added that it “would be premature to speculate” whether the discovery will lead to new design changes for the plane or further extend the timeline for its recertification. It will be a challenge for Boeing’s new chief executive, David Calhoun, who officially takes over the job on January 13 after former CEO Dennis Muilenburg was ousted on December 23. Earlier in December, the company announced it would take the dramatic step of suspending production of the 737 Max in light of the continued setbacks to recertification. Orders for the 737 Max dried up following the grounding, and it wasn’t until November that Boeing recorded its first new orders since the grounding. In the meantime, the company had continued to produce the planes at a rate of 42 jets a month, in hopes of a quick recerti-

fication by airline regulators around the globe. But as the process was pushed into 2020, Boeing said the plane’s uncertain future had forced it to pause production and prioritize the delivery of the approximately 400 airplanes it has in storage.

DNA & Immigration

The Trump administration will begin collecting DNA samples from some migrants in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody as part of a pilot program, something it says will allow the agency to be in compliance with an upcoming regulation change. In October, the Department of Justice proposed eliminating the ability of Homeland Security to limit its DNA collections, prompting the pilot program. It’s the latest attempt by the Department of Homeland Security to expand DNA collection. Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, another agency within DHS, deployed DNA testing at locations along the U.S.-Mexico border to determine familial relationships amid concerns that some individuals were posing as families to eventually be released into the U.S. The proposed rule, which is expected to be finalized soon, would also require that DNA samples be submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS. The DNA database allows federal, state, and local forensic laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically in an attempt to link crimes to known offenders. The Department of Homeland Security has been operating under exceptions put in place a decade ago. In 2010, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano requested an exemption for DNA collection from the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, including for migrants

in custody who weren’t facing criminal charges or those pending deportation proceedings, citing a lack of agency resources at the time to gather DNA. The 90-day pilot will be implemented by U.S. Border Patrol in the Detroit region, as well as at the Eagle Pass port of entry in southwest Texas, the agency said. Under the pilot program, U.S. Border Patrol will collect DNA from individuals between ages 14-79 who are arrested and processed. At the port of entry, customs officials will collect DNA from people who are subject to further detention or proceedings. In August, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency, urged CBP to begin collecting DNA samples from criminal detainees. “CBP’s noncompliance with the law has allowed criminal detainees to walk free,” said Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner at the time. The OSC alert came after whistleblowers notified the agency that CBP “has evaded this law over the last decade citing a temporary Obama-era exception.”

Search Ends for Crew of Alaska Boat

Alaska’s Coast Guard announced that it has ended its search for the five missing crew members presumed dead after their crab fishing vessel sank last week. The decision came after Guard officials determined that there was no way the crew members could have survived. In a statement, the Coast Guard said that they had looked for the fishermen for over 20 hours and deployed four Jayhawk helicopters, two airplanes, and a cutter. “The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it’s only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors,” said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Matthew

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Bell. “Our deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy.” The Scandies Rose had sunk early last week while fishing for crabs about 170 miles off of Alaska’s Kodiak Island. At the time of the disaster, the boat had seven crew members on board, with the Coast Guard managing to rescue two of them by the end of the week. Coast Guard sailors had frantically searched for the survivors but were faced with 60 mph winds and nearly no visibility. Gary Cobban Jr., 61, and his son David, 30, were both aboard the boat when it sank. Both of the men were among the five missing crew members. Gary was the captain and part owner of Scandies Rose and was a third-generation Alaska fisherman. According to his sister, Deanna, he was a “hard-working crab fisher” who spent all his time out on the boat. “He loved fishing,” she said. “He’s a crabber.”

117 Years Young

Kane Tanaka extended her record as the world’s oldest person by celebrating her 117 th birthday this week at a nursing home in Fukuoka in southern Japan. Tanaka marked her birthday with a party on Sunday along with staff and friends at the nursing home. Tanaka, whose birthday was on January 2, took a bite from a slice

Did you know? Every winter, at least one septillion (that’s 1 followed by 24 zeros) snow crystals fall from the sky.

of her big birthday cake. “Tasty,” she said with a smile. “I want some more.” Last year, Tanaka was confirmed as the oldest living person, aged 116 years 66 days old as of March 9, according to Guinness World Records. She is now continuing with her world record. Tanaka’s record age is symbolic of Japan’s fast-aging population, which, coupled with its falling birthrate, is raising concerns about labor shortages and prospects for future economic growth. The number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9% last year to fewer than 900,000 for the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899, according to Japan’s welfare ministry. Ms. Tanaka was born prematurely in 1903 and married Hideo Tanaka in 1922. The couple had four children together and had adopted a fifth. I guess with her, when we say “until 120,” we really mean it.

Photos are Bad for the Environment

Those reading Vogue Italia this month were treated to an interesting issue: there were no photos in the magazine. The cover featured a message: “No photoshoot production was required for the making of this issue.” Perhaps the fashion magazine was concerned about unhealthy body image when they decided to forgo real people on the paper’s pages. But no, that wasn’t it. According to Editor-in-chief Emanuele Farneti, in an effort to take action to save the environment, the paper decided against using photos in its January issue. Yes, photos are melting ice caps all over the world. “In the global debate on sustainability...there is one aspect that is particularly dear to me: intellectual honesty,” Farneti wrote. “In our case, this means admitting that there is a significant environmental impact associated with publishing a

fashion magazine.” The editor listed some of what was involved in producing photo shoots for a single issue in September: around 20 flights, a dozen train rides, 40 cars on standby, 60 international shipments, more than 10 hours of lighting, food waste from catering, plastic to wrap clothes, and more. To avoid some of these environmentally damaging outputs, the January issue instead features seven cover illustrations by different artists of people wearing designer clothing. This is the first-ever illustrated cover for Vogue Italia and, to the best of the editor’s knowledge, no Vogue issue “since the existence of photography” has been printed without photos. Money saved from not producing photo shoots in this issue will go to Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a historic house and museum in Venice that was damaged in the floods in November. Amid the devastatingly high waters, Venice’s mayor blamed climate change for the highest tide the city had seen in over 50 years. Farneti acknowledged that having a single issue without photo production was not a long-term solution to climate issues and that the magazine will return to its normal production routine on Friday. But he called the January issue “a small but concrete gesture” toward sustainability, and noted Conde Nast Italia will now on only use compostable plastic to wrap its magazines. “I think that the most honest way to face a problem is starting by admitting it,” Farneti told The New York Times. “That was our way to say that we know we are part of a business that is far from being sustainable.” Umm, and how many trees were cut down to produce your magazine?

Diet Doughnuts?

Krispy Kreme just rolled out a big product that comes in a small

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

package in an attempt to help you keep your New Year’s resolution to cut down on sweets. The doughnut maker has added mini doughnuts to its permanent menu. “Too many people bail on their New Year’s resolutions before they are even halfway through January... Sometimes a mini-indulgence, or cheat, is all you need to help you stick with it. So, we miniaturized our most popular doughnuts,” said Dave Skena, Chief Marketing Officer for Krispy Kreme. “A little Krispy Kreme goes a long way.” The mini doughnuts come in four classic flavors: Original Glazed, Chocolate Iced Glazed, Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles, and Strawberry Iced with Sprinkles. The company said the new smaller offerings give those who are trying to cut back a way to indulge without going all the way. The mini doughnuts are less than 100 calories apiece – about half as many as in a regular-size glazed doughnut. Listen, folks, take it from experience: half the calories doesn’t mean you’re going to eat only one.

Horses’ Rights

There are around 200 hard-working horses that work in Central Park, ferrying gullible tourists around the park for a hefty fee. Now, a group wants to make sure that these horses get the same rights as others who work in the park and are able to retire after putting in their time. “In the absence of any official retirement policy, what will happen to all these horses who are too old or ill to pull carriages?” NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets) Executive Director Edit Birnkrant wrote City Council members in a letter on Monday. “The scary truth is that, right now, nobody knows – not even the carriage operators,” she added. “What we do know is that those horses are in danger, as are any carriage horses still working who will not have a place to

go when they can no longer pull a carriage, unless we take action in the City Council.” Recently, Blue Star Farm in Connecticut, which was home to several retired Central Park horses, closed down amid complaints that the horses there should run free. But now, there are fewer places for horses to spend their golden years, and activists are concerned that they may end up in the slaughterhouse instead. Say “neigh” to the slaughterhouse after these horses go to pasture.

in a store where you can buy pajamas, diapers, and bananas has really bugged me out.

Bugging Out

When a neighbor heard a woman calling for help, she immediately called the police. “Let me out! Let me out!” was what the woman was screaming. A shot time later, police officers showed up at the offending address to help out the woman in distress. But it turned out that there was no woman in need of rescue. Police officers met with a man who laughed when they told him that someone needed help. Instead, he said to them, “Let me bring out the screamer for you.” Coming back from his yard, he showed officers his 40-year-old bright green and yellow parrot – “the woman who was in trouble.” Rambo, the squawking impersonator, had been taught by his owner years ago how to say “let me out” when he still lived in a cage. The man also introduced the parrot to his neighbor, who had called in the incident to police. “She too had a good laugh,” the owner said. “Sometimes Rambo yells, ‘Help, help, let me out’ – something I taught him when I was a kid and Rambo lived in a cage.” Isn’t that tweet?

If you thought that Walmart was giving you the creeps, it may be because of some creepy-crawlers that have been taking over a Walmart in Pennsylvania. Recently, an employee at the Edinboro Walmart found a closed pill bottle filled with live bugs in a boy’s jacket that was being sold. The bottle was thrown out – thankfully! – but the next day, bedbugs were found crawling around the men’s fitting room. The day after that, another employee found another closed pill bottle with several dead bugs on the floor of the men’s department. Police have been investigating to ascertain who has been “bugging” the store. Walmart is also working on getting rid of the bedbugs. For now, police are saying that this may have just been a prank by some individuals with a weird sense of humor. In any case, hearing about bugs

Mistaken Identity

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Community First Graders at Gesher Receive Their First Siddur

ne of the highlight moments of first grade at Gesher is the sddur play. The students work very hard to prepare for the big day. The curriculum is planned so that the appropriate kriyah skills are built up for using the siddur in the coming months – fluency in kriyah, word recognition, and the ability to follow with fingers and eyes through significant portions of the davening. The excitement had been building as the children were practicing their songs

and motions, as well as their full performance rehearsals. As has become the norm, the event took place on the January 1st federal holiday and was attended by a capacity crowd of parents and grandparents. It was a special day for Klal Yisroel, with many of the attendees preparing to go from one monumental occasion to another, the Siyum HaShas. The class performed beautifully, giving much nachas to their families and to their morahs.

In preparation for receiving their siddurim the students learned about the three parts of tefillah: shevach, bakasha, and hodaah. They were able to recognize the concepts of praising, requesting, and thanking through a curriculum of “Wow, Please, and Thanks Moments” geared for younger children. Mrs. Dahlia Weiss, Director of Student Support, penned a meaningful poem explaining how these expressions are so important in our daily

lives. Those sentiments were certainly heard from the parents and grandparents who attended and expressed their appreciation for the impact that Gesher has had on their children and their families. Special appreciation was given to Morah Elisheva Rabinowitz and her dedicated assistant morahs Shoshana Frishman and Esti Winder. Gesher would like to thank the Aronstein/ Zidelle family for sponsoring the siddurim and refreshments.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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YOSS Asifa Commemorating 1st Yartzheit of Rabbi Chanina Herzberg, zt”l

n Sunday, Ches Teves, Yeshiva of South Shore, commemorated the first yahrtzeit of our long time menahel, Rabbi Chanina Herzberg, zt”l. The asifa took place in the Yeshiva Bais Medrash, together with his rebbetzin, children, and grandchildren. Rabbi Zev Davidowitz, Menahel HaMechina, opened the program describing that a yeshiva is a living, breathing entity, fueled by the mesorah of its hanhala and rabbeim. This idea is something that Rabbi Herzberg would often focus on when he spoke with talmidim. Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Rosh Hayeshiva, gave divrei hisorirus, focusing on Rabbi Herzeberg’s incredible level of achrayus, responsibility, which he felt for every single Jew. Rabbi Kamenetzky described how there was not a single student or rebbi in the yeshiva that Rabbi Herzberg didn’t care deeply about and feel responsible for. Rabbi Eli Herzberg, Rabbi Herzberg’s son and rebbi at YOSS, followed by highlighting different aspects of his father’s life. He related a story of his father’s only trip to Eretz Yisrael. When Rabbi Herzberg went to meet Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, he didn’t bother to ask Rav Chaim for a bracha. All he was interested in discussing with Rav Chaim was a question he had regarding one of his talmidim. When his children asked him why he didn’t bother to ask Rav Chaim for a personal bracha, all Rabbi Herzberg would say was, “What for? Baruch Hashem, I have everything I need.” Rabbi Herzberg was always in a state of contentment and happiness with the life that Hashem

gave him. Rabbi Eli Herzberg also emphasized how his father appreciated little things in life. He was reminded of the pocket-sized picture of Rav Aharon Kotler his father saved for many years. When Rabbi Herzberg was a learning rebbe in Camp Rayim, a camper gave him the picture, thanking him for teaching him Torah that summer and explaining to him how his family couldn’t afford to give him a tip. Rabbi Herzberg considered that picture one of his most cherished possessions. He framed it and the pictures still sits in the Rebbetzin’s house today. The yeshiva was inspired with story after story relating the tzidkus of Rabbi Herzberg. Rabbi Yitzchak Herzberg, menahel of Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin and YOSS alumnus, emphasized to the talmidim that his father had to work very hard to become the man that he was. “Rabbi Herzberg wasn’t born an angel,” Reb Yitzchak commented. He explained that although his father had frum parents, most of his family was not religious. In fact, Rabbi Herzberg started off in public school. His parents couldn’t initially afford to send him to yeshiva. It wasn’t until the rebbi from the local yeshiva showed up on the first day of school at his front door to bring him to yeshiva, demonstrating a tremendous level of mesiras nefesh, that his parents acquiesced. Reb Yitzchak described the difficulties and challenges his father faced in elementary school and high school. It wasn’t until Rabbi Herzberg met Rabbi Freifeld, zt”l, that was he turned on to learn-

ing and ultimately made the decision to go into chinuch. The theme throughout all of the speeches was the middah of hakaras hatov and finding the good in everything and everyone, which is something Rabbi Herzberg personified. Rabbi Robinson, menahel of the elementary school, ended off the asifa by announcing the Hakaras Hatov Initiative, which the yeshiva will

on being makir tov to Hashem, the yeshiva will be focusing on making brachos with kavana, showing gratitude to Hashem for the food given to us. The students will be making brachos l’ilui nishmas Rabbi Herzberg and will receive special brachos cards l’ilui nishmaso, continuing the special legacy that he set forth. May his neshama have an aliyah.

Color War at DRS

ast Wednesday, DRS students participated in DRS’s sixth Color War competition. There were plenty of activities in this grade vs. grade competition, each displaying the great creative talents of the students. The events began with intense games of Musical Chairs and Simon Says, which came down to the wire. During the Color War Chidon, students were tested on Hilchos Chanukah and the themes of this year’s event: Shira, Hoda’ah, Gevurah and Orah. Throughout the day, be launching. With a primary focus

students participated in skills competitions, Iron Chef, Bucket Brigade, Spikeball, Basketball, and a variety of other miscellaneous activities. At the end of the day, exciting closing ceremonies included a comedy video, talent competition, theme presentations, and window art. The leadership, teamwork, and spirit were evident throughout the school. Congratulations to the senior grade on their narrow victory and special thanks to Rabbi Farber and Rabbi Brazil for putting it all together.

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Yeshiva of Far Rockaway 51st Annual Dinner On January 2, Yeshiva of Far Rockaway celebrated its 51st Annual Dinner – The Dawn of the New Yovel – at The Sands of Atlantic Beach. Mr. & Mrs. Avrumi Hass were the guests of honor; Mr. & Mrs. Abel Feldhamer were the Esteemed Parent honorees; and Rabbi & Mrs. Akiva Graeber were the Rabbi Aaron Brafman zt”l Harbotzas Torah awardees.

Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yechiel Perr, Mr. Avrumi Haas, guest of honor, and Mr. Jonah Lobell, dinner chairman

Mr. Jonah Lobell , dinner chairman, Rabbi Yechiel Perr, Rosh Yeshiva, and Mr. Abel Feldhamer, Esteemed Parent awardee

Mr. Ben Brafman, dinner chairman, Rabbi Yechiel Perr, Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbi Akiva Graeber, Rav Brafman zt”l Harbotzas Torah awardee

PHOTOS BY IVAN H NORMAN AND YOSSI KOHN

Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yechiel Perr with Mr. Benzion Heitner

Village of Cedarhurst Trustee Izzy Wasser presenting a citation to Lawrence School Board Trustee Abel Feldhamer

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion of Forest Hills held its annual Chanukah carnival last week featuring Squirt the Candle, a Treasure Hunt, Fluff n’ Chips, face painting, and lots of popcorn

On Wednesday, the third day of Chanukah, a group of eighth graders from Shulamith brought the joy of the chag to residents of the Premier Nursing Home in Woodmere. Adina Baum and Sarah Farkas joined chessed heads Mimi Feinberg, Yocheved Jacobowitz, Yael Landau, and Talia Schecter and Director of Student Activities Rachel Steiner as they played a variety of Chanukah games and spent time socializing with the residents.

HANC Chag HaSiddur

he first grade students in HANC’s Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School in West Hempstead were filled with great excitement in anticipation of their spectacular Chag HaSiddur last week. In order to accommodate the large crowd, the event was moved to the auditorium of the George Washington Elementary School. As the children marched in and took their places on the stage, it was evident that the crowd was in for a special treat. The first grade students performed magnificently, dedicating their commitment to Hashem and tefillah, and beautifully expressed their appreciation for everything that Hashem has given them. In addition to their individual speaking parts, which they delivered with confidence and pride, they sang

melodious songs of praise for Hashem, accompanied by the music of Kari Levine, a HANC alumnus herself. At the conclusion of their play, each child was called up to receive his/her first siddur. As the children stepped forward to receive their siddurim, which were presented by Rabbi Yaakov Sadigh, Head of HANC West Hempstead campuses, Mrs. Barbara Deutsch, associate principal, and Rabbi Michael Merrill, assistant principal Judaic Studies, as well as their classroom teachers, the excitement that they felt was apparent in the glow on their faces. The children couldn’t wait to begin to daven with their new siddurim. This superb program could not have been possible without the contributions of many dedicated part-

ners. Thank you to the classroom teachers, Morah Rivka Goldson, Morah Hila Haimoff, Mrs. Daniella Zimerman, Morah Ahuva Noy, Morah Teri Lubin, Mrs. Dara Reiff and Mrs. Nancy Greenberg, for the many weeks they spent preparing the children for this momentous occasion. Thank you to Mrs. Kari Levine for teaching the children such inspirational songs that will remain in their hearts and for her fantastic accompaniment. Thank you to Morah Rachel Steinberg for making the beautiful costumes that enhanced the children’s performance. Thank you to Morah Dafna Berman for creating the personalized labels for the siddurim and Mrs. Lisa Lowy for ordering the personalized tote bags and candy bags. Many thanks to the numerous sponsors for the gorgeous

leather covers for the siddurim that were personalized with each child’s Hebrew name. As always, extra thanks to the hard-working members of the PTA for the delicious collation that followed the production. No program would be complete without the devotion of Jeannie Toplin, HANC’s indefatigable administrative assistant, who created the programs and provided continuous support with so many details throughout the process of preparing for this event. This collaboration was a source of true nachat for so many parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and teachers of these very special students. May the children’s tefillot continue to reach straight up to Hashem, and may they always bring nachat to all that they encounter in their lifetime. Mazal tov!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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Siyum Hashas Celebrations at BYAM

he students at Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam had the opportunity to feel a personal connection to the global Siyum Hashas at a very meaningful celebration which took place in school. The day before over 90,000 people assembled at MetLife Stadium, the students and hanhalah participated in the celebration of a Siyum Hashas made by their very own Menahel, Rabbi Nosson Neuman. This auspicious occasion began with

the third through seventh graders gathering to hear divrei chizuk from Harav Yaakov Bender, shlita. Rabbi Bender stressed the importance of learning Torah and the role that our precious Bnos Yisroel play in it. He explained that the schar of an eishes chayil who encourages her husband to be kovei’ah itim is even greater than her husband’s schar. How lucky and fortunate our talmidos were to experience this momentous oc-

casion firsthand! You could hear a pin drop as the first and second graders marched in to join the rest of the school for what was about to happen. Rabbi Neuman was mesayem and was joined by several parents from the school who finished the Daf Yomi cycle as well. After kaddish was recited, the men exited, and the room broke out into music, dancing, and celebration. A theme-appropriate gift bag was handed to each talmidah as she left

with a newfound excitement for kavod haTorah. The smiles and jubilation felt by all will never be forgotten. Mazal Tov to Rabbi Neu-

man on this great accomplishment, and may Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam continue to “shteig” mechayil el chayil.

BYQ “Lights Up” Chanukah for Hospital Patients

his Chanukah was full of “light” for the sixth graders at Bais Yaakov of Queens, not only with the light of the menorah but the light that comes from bringing joy to others who are less fortunate. BYQ’s Heart2Heart Shabbos Kit project, a chessed project program now in its fourth year, had sixth graders craft special Chanukah-themed Shabbos kits that were distributed at Northshore University Hospital for those who needed to spend this special time away from home. The girls carefully decorated challah covers both with elaborate Shabbos and Chanukah pictures. They put effort into their artwork to make sure it truly brightened the recipients’

Shabbos tables! The girls used Chanukah stickers to decorate Shabbos candles. They included a dreidel and

the rules for playing. Finally, to top off a beautiful package, each girl added a heartwarming message of cheer

and good wishes inside the colorfully decorated Shabbos kit. The girls showed their maturity and understanding of the importance of this special mitzvah. Some girls commented they personally know people who benefitted from these Shabbos packages in the past, which brought special meaning to their project. They knew their efforts brought light and joy to other Jews. One sixth grader expressed her feelings about putting together the Shabbos kits, “It doesn’t only benefit other people, it benefits you. You’re proud of yourself that you did a mitzvah.” May the girls continue to brighten the lives of those around them and find the joy in helping others for many, many years to come!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

ORAH

going on

ï&#x20AC;³ï&#x20AC;° and still

CAMP DIRECTOR: LEEBA BRISK PROGRAM DIRECTOR: ELISHEVA SEGELMAN phone: 718.324.6724(ORAH) EMAIL: ORAHDAYCAMP@GMAIL.COM W E B S I T E : O R A H D A Y C A M P. C O M

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StudentInitiated Chessed

group of HANC High School students decided to take advantage of their lighter afternoon schedule on December 25 and joined students from all over Long Island as they packed hundreds of Shabbos hospital care packages at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset with Rabbi Hillel Fox, director of Pastoral Services. As their

next stop, they stopped into the Third Precinct to drop off doughnuts for the local Nassau County police of-

ficers as a token of appreciation for their constant efforts and care that they demonstrate for our com-

Ezra Academy Graduate Receives Semicha

munity. The entire trip was student-initiated and arranged, and it was a true kiddush

Hashem. Thank you to Rabbi Yakov Grun for helping to facilitate this initiative.

Hour of Code at HALB

Rabbi Noach Issac Oelbaum, Rabbi Yitzchak Aminov, and Rabbi Aharon Walkin

n September of 2008, as Ezra Academy began another school year, the students and staff were excited for all the great things that would come to fruition. Among the newly enrolled students was a seventh grader by the name of Yitzchak Aminov. Coming from public school, Yitzchak was placed in the Mechina tract where he was taught the alephbeis for the very first time. Like all middle school/high school students, Yitzchak dealt with his ups and downs in and out of the classroom. Throughout his journey, he developed and strengthened strong relationships with several members of the faculty.

These relationships continued after he graduated with the class of 2014. Yitzchak then decided to continue pursuing an area in which he developed a deep appreciation and love for: learning Torah. This past Sunday night, Yitzchak showed his commitment to his passion of learning Torah when he received his semicha from Rabbi Aharon Walkin of Kollel Zichron Moshe VeLeah. He now joins a long list of Ezra alumni who have received their semicha and have and will continue to fill vital roles within their communities. We wish the most heartfelt mazal tov to Rabbi Yitzchak Aminov.

ALB Middle School STEM students recently completed an Hour of Code – a global initiative reaching over 45 million students that demystifies “code” by showing the basic concepts of coding in an engaging, user-friendly format and broadens participation in the field of computer science. The Hour of Code projects at HALB take students through tutorials to create an interactive experience that conveys the story of Chanukah. The Hour of Code culminated with a game-show style quiz showcasing the concepts and code that students acquired. In STEM classes last week, we coded an app that shows how to make toast - and what happens if you aren’t paying attention! Helped by on-screen instructions, the user places toast in the toaster, waits for it to pop up, and then places it on the plate and puts jam on it. Students designed a new “Burned Toast” costume for the “actor” (the Bread) and set the behaviors of the Bread based upon its costume. The user is either asked the user to toss out the burned toast and try again or celebrate the successfully prepared toast with jam. Students learned to place actors in different “states” based on user interaction, and employed principles of effective game design. During Chanukah week, students worked on a Tynker project that tells the story of the Maccabees and the

miraculous oil in an interactive, creative fashion. As the Chanukah story is shared, the shamash is used to light the candles. Students learned to control on-screen events by passing “messages” between actors. They then went on a “code scavenger hunt” to find the code that controls various behaviors, including: • What triggers the candles to light? • The snow puts out flames on candles…can you stop this? • How can we ensure the candles are always lit in the correct order? • Which line of code makes the shamash go out when it is still being held? HALB eighth grader Andrew Bornstein shared, “I like learning to code, and this was a fun way to do it!” We look forward to more Hours of Code in STEM class this spring.

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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MTA’s Makor Chaim Israel Exchange Program

TA’s eleventh annual Makor Chaim Exchange Program is off to a great start, as 14 MTA sophomores arrived in Israel at Yeshivat Makor Chaim on Tuesday, December 31. Located in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, Yeshivat Makor Chaim was founded by noted Jewish educators Rabbi Adin Steinzaltz and

Rabbi Dov Singer. Each year, MTA sophomores and YMC juniors spend an academic quarter in each other’s yeshiva. This immersive experience of Toras Eretz Yisrael affords MTA talmidim an opportunity to fully integrate into Israeli culture and absorb the spirituality of YMC. The MTA talmidim received a

warm welcome as soon as they arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, where their madrich and Makor Chaim talmidim greeted them with singing and dancing. Afterwards, they headed to Yeshivat Hakotel, where they experienced the grandeur of Yerushalayim from the famous rooftop. After a meaningful Maariv at the

Kotel, they made their way to YMC, where a big group of talmidim were singing and dancing for them. The MTA talmidim were excited to start shiur at YMC the next day, after touring Kfar Etzion, where the yeshiva is located. They look forward to the rest of their trip.

Central’s Ulpana Program Takes Off

ast Monday evening, Central bid farewell to eleven sophomores who are off for a month in Israel as part of the Central/Ulpanat Zvia Exchange Program. The exchange program, directed by Mrs. Tova Rosenberg, who escorted the students to Israel, pairs our students with those at Ulpanat Zvia, one of the finest high schools in Israel, located in Ma’aleh Adumim. Ulpanat Zvia’s educational philosophy, based on Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook, zt”l, strives to inculcate the love for Torah, Israel, and community and emphasizes developing the students’ inner spiritual life, character, and intellectual formation. Our students are fully integrated with their Israeli peers, both in the dormitories and in the classrooms. They study all of their limudei kodesh subjects with the Israeli students and keep up with Central’s general studies curriculum on the side. They participate in all of the trips and activities at the Ulpana. Students typically return from

the Ulpana fascinated by their new inside view of Israeli society, thrilled with the new friendships they have made. The program only reaches its true completion, though,

in March, when students from Ulpanat Zvia come to Central for a month for their turn as exchange students. This year, before our students left, they met with the juniors

who attended Ulpana last year to hear about their experiences and get pumped up. We can’t wait to hear about their adventures when they return!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

EARL Y BIRD NEXT ENDS W JAN 1 EEK 9TH!

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Rep. Kathleen Rice & Elected Officials Pledge Action to Combat Anti-Semitic Violence

.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (NY-04) convened a press conference on Friday, January 3 in Cedarhurst Village Hall to condemn anti-Semitism and pledge renewed action to combat it. The conference came in the wake of several recent incidents of targeted violence against the Jewish community, including the Chanukah stabbing in Monsey, the shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, and at least eight other anti-Semitic incidents reported in the New York City metropolitan area since December 13. “The vicious attack in Monsey, and the alarming spike in anti-Semitic violence we have seen over the past several weeks, has put all of us on edge,” said Representative Kathleen Rice. “I gathered federal, local, and state officials today to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and provide reassurance that we are working at every level of gov-

ernment to stop these bigoted acts of violence. We are New Yorkers, and an attack on one religious, racial or ethnic group is an attack on all of us. We will not tolerate these hateful acts.” In her remarks, Rice pledged to fight for a number of initiatives to address anti-Semitic violence, including: • Increasing funding for the Nonprof-

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Anonymous hotline — no caller ID. You do not have to give your name. Trained staff of informed, sensitive and caring individuals. Referrals include counseling, legal advice or finding a safe place. It hurts to call A domestic abuse hotline. It hurts more not to. www.ShalomTaskForce.org

it Security Grant Program (NSGP), which helps organizations secure their facilities against a potential terrorist attack. In • FY 2019, 17 Jewish organizations, synagogues, and schools in NY-04 received this funding, for a total of $1.7 million. • Increasing federal funding for state and local hate crimes investigations and prosecutions. • Increasing funding for the Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism prevention (TVTP) at the Department of Homeland Security. • Passing the Never Again Education Act, a bipartisan bill to expand Holocaust education training and resources for teachers across the country. U.S. Representatives Peter King (NY-02), Gregory W. Meeks (NY05), Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Comptroller Jack Schnirman, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, State Senator Todd Kaminsky (SD-9), State Assemblywoman Missy Miller (AD-20), Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Congregation Beth Sholom, and several other local officials and community leaders joined Rep. Rice for today’s event. “Anti-Semitism is an evil which can never be tolerated,” said Representative Peter King. “Americans of all religions, ethnic groups, and political parties must stand in solidarity against any and all anti-Semitic words and deeds.” “The terrible attacks in Monsey and Jersey City show us that nowhere is immune to the scourge of anti-Semitism that has spread throughout our nation like a cancer,” said Representative Grego-

ry W. Meeks. “It pains me to see it spread to New York, which has long served as a symbol of multi-culturism, where communities of different faiths and ethnicities have lived together in harmony. We must make it very clear that hate has no place here – not in New York, not in the United States of America. Together, let us do all that is within our power to root out anti-Semitism and protect all communities from its violence.” “Chanukah 2019 in New York will be remembered for a sick amount of violent anti-Semitic attacks in and around New York City,” said Representative Lee Zeldin. “From colleges to Congress to Chanukah parties and synagogues, anti-Semitism is on the rise and on full display in many ugly forms. All elected and community leaders need to step up to confront and crush this threat.” “Anti-Semitism is real and growing. It must be addressed and called out,” said Representative Tom Suozzi. “While there are several known contributing factors in the rise of anti-Semitism throughout America such as divisive rhetoric at the national level, the rise of social media and ignorance, we must also be on high alert for nefarious use of social media and corruption by our foreign adversaries who wish to foment civil unrest. I will continue to work with local officials and with my colleagues in Washington to try and prevent these attacks from occurring.” “Nassau County stands in solidarity with our Jewish community, and we won’t be complacent in the face of this horrifying rise in anti-Semitic attacks,” said Nassau

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Around the Community

Please your palette

County Executive Laura Curran. “Last month, Nassau and Suffolk formed a bi-county coalition that will identify and develop a plan of action to combat and report acts of hate and bias incidents on Long Island. We will work together to stand up to hate and stress the value of our diverse Long Island community. Together, we are committed to fostering a culture of unity among all Long Islanders. Thank you Congresswoman Rice for your important leadership on this issue.” “The alarming rise of anti-Semitic hate and the attacks it inspires is not just a trend occurring in our community and across our state, but around the world,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “By the numbers, anti-Semitism is on the rise, and by the numbers, local leaders must take real action to confront it and stop it in its tracks. I’m proud to stand with leaders from across our island who all agree that an attack on one community is an attack on all. Those who would promote hate should not feel emboldened. In fact, they have emboldened us to act.” “The recent vicious attacks on

members of the Jewish community in the tri state area is of upmost concern,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “The Nassau County Police Department’s Intelligence Unit is working with federal, state and local authorities to monitor any threats to our residents. We continue our increased and intensified patrols of all areas of concern and are prepared to respond at a moment’s notice. As we continue to work with our communities, we request that all of our residents call the police immediately if they see or hear anything suspicious. Nassau County will continue their zero-tolerance approach towards any bias of individuals or groups.” “As a community, it’s critical that with one collective voice we strongly condemn the abhorrent rise of anti-Semitic attacks occurring throughout our state,” said State Senator Todd Kaminsky. “We must remain united in our resolve to protect our communities and offer real solutions to this scourge of violence by enacting tougher hate crime legislation and providing more security funding.”

Minimum Patchke. Maximum Presentation.

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community PHOTOS BY JACOB THOMAS

More than 10,000 people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday chanting “no hate, no fear” in solidarity against a recent string of hate attacks committed against Jews in the New York and New Jersey areas

Local Officials Denounce Anti-Semitism

on Clavin, who became Hempstead Town Supervisor on New Year’s Day, united with Senior Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, Councilman Bruce Blakeman, Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, Assemblywoman Missy Mill-

er, and a diverse group of religious leaders last week at the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett to denounce anti-Semitism and hatred and demonstrated solidarity as a unified Town of Hempstead. “There is absolutely no room in

our society for anti-Semitism, bigotry and any forms of hate,” Clavin said. “On New Year’s Eve, here in America’s largest township, we’re here at the Yeshiva of South Shore to denounce the disturbing string of violence in our region targeted against

people of the Jewish faith during the past week of Hanukkah. And we’re gathering to announce that we’re unified across all faiths, denominations and races against all forms of hatred. We are a unified Hempstead Town.”

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Around the Community

L’Dor L’Dor at Shulamith

n Wednesday, January 1, Shulamith Middle Division hosted Dor L’dor, a wonderful event for women in the Shulamith School community. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters joined the students of grades sixeight for Shacharit. The tefillot, led by Morah Keren Amar and Morah Shoshana Fishman, were beautiful and heartfelt. Following Shacharit, Allison Josephs, founder and director of Jew in the City and Project Makom, delivered an engaging and thought-provoking address entitled, “You Don’t Gotta’ Flaunt It, Even If You’ve Got It!” In the words of one inspired mother, Mrs. Josephs’ presentation on the topic of tziniut was “on-point, positive, and inspiring in a fresh and thought-provoking manner.” We thank the sponsors of this event, the Baum, Feinberg, Goldberg, Perlysky, and Weinstein families, for enabling us to host such an intelligent and successful role model to help us all aspire to greater levels of kedusha in our dress and manner.

Speaker Allison Josephs

Relish the rings

5 Towns Girls Basketball League

he 5 Towns Girls Basketball League is finishing another amazing season! The girls in each division are learning the fundamentals of the game, learning to work together as a team, and having so much fun while getting a great workout. Our energetic high school and college/adult coaches and refs are doing a great job teaching the girls the skills and the rules of the

game while still enabling the girls to have a fun experience every week. The girls-only basketball league is in its fifth season and is run for girls from 4th to 10th grade. The league was sold out last season. We look forward to the next season beginning in the first week of February. For more information please go to www.5townsgirlssports.com.

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Keep our survivors

SAFE. IN THE E V AN EME ENT OF R GENC MEDICA L PERSO Y, WILL KN NNEL OW WHO TO CONTAC T

If you know a Holocaust survivor who would be interested in an emergency contact safety bracelet please contact Barbara Satt at bsatt@jccrp.org or 718.327.7755 ext. 6113 for more information.

PROJECT SPONSORED BY NYC COUNCIL JEWISH CAUCUS, COUNCILMAN CHAIM DEUTSCH COUNCILMAN DONOVAN RICHARDS

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Around the Community

Squash the prep Rav Yaakov Feitman addressing participants of Olami, a kiruv program geared towards professionals from around the world, at a kumzitz held at the home of Yossi and Dena Eisenberger

Light & Laughter at Shulamith

t was a week filled with light, laughter (and doughnuts!) as students of the Shulamith School for Girls Middle Division celebrated Chanukah. On Monday, the first day of Chanukah, the inimitable Shimi Adar came to Shulamith for our annual Chagigah. The girls danced and sang with exuberance in celebration of the chag. On Tuesday, the second day of Chanukah, the G.O., with help from Director of Student Activities Rachel Steiner, organized a doughnut decorating activity. Big and Little Sisters bonded as they garnished their doughnuts with blue and white icing, sprinkles, candy, and strips of sour sticks. The creativity of each girl was astounding, and there were many fantastic confections featuring menorahs, dreidels, and more. The “winning” doughnut was the “hamburger” created by eighth grader Eliana Jakubowitz. On Wednesday, the third day of Chanukah, students of grades five to seven were pleased to welcome fathers to the third annual Father-Daughter minyan. After the minyan, everyone enjoyed refreshments sponsored

by the Jaspan, Silva, and David Chait families. We are grateful to the many fathers who participated in this exceptional minyan, and most especially, to our ba’al tefilah, Mr. Hillel Tuchman; ba’al koreh, Mr. Michael Bahn; and gabbai, Mr. Chaim Schreck. To round off the week of Chanukah celebrations, Judaic Studies Coordinator Morah Chana Schwartz created a Chanukah scavenger hunt in which groups of girls were challenged to find answers to a variety of Chanukah and yediot klaliot questions. The girls had to find a photo or create a video for each answer. They learned a lot and had a great time!

Did you know? According to the Guinness World Records, on January 28, 1887, a snowflake 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick fell in Fort Keogh, Montana, making it the largest snowflake ever observed.

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Around the Community

Rabbi Akiva Oppen presented the melacha of toivah, spinning, at this week’s Learn and Live program

Get it “red”dy

Advisory at HAFTR Middle School

he advisory program is in full swing at HAFTR Middle School! As part of this program, small groups of students are paired with a faculty adviser. Students meet with this adviser throughout the school year, enjoying conversation and hands-on activities. Dr. Yali Werzberger, the program’s director, explained, “School connectedness, where all students feel that they have a connection with other peers and adults in the building is associated with numerous positive outcomes for students and schools, and we are excited about the positive ripple effects this program has on school culture and student academic, social and emotional development.” Students have already participated in a number of activities this year. In addition to building cohesion among members, the activities are based on principles of positive psychology. Seventh grade students wrote a letter to their future selves, where they identified the hopes,

goals, and dreams they have for themselves this year. A discussion about how to set, visualize, and accomplish goals also took place in advisory groups. These letters were tied with decorative ribbons and put away to be reviewed at the end of the school year. Sixth grade students, meanwhile, took time to identify and discuss their strengths. When students are able to identify their strengths, think about a time when they have used that strength, and think about how they can continue to use that strength in the future, they become happier, healthier, and more successful. Indeed, current research finds that it is not by focusing on fixing our weaknesses that we excel but that it is by identifying and using our strengths that we really shine! As the year progresses, advisory sessions will continue to focus on developing relationships and student growth, with activities that are engaging and empowering. We thank Dr. Werzberger for developing this enriching program.

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

My Brother, My Helper 2020 Stunning Gala Showcases Unprecedented Support for Achiezer

he annual Achiezer Gala, graciously sponsored by Cross River, held this past Sunday, January 5, had arrived. Based on the unprecedented turnout, one thing was clear: the attendees had been eagerly awaiting this event, which some call “the highlight of the year” in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway communities. By 6 p.m., it was clear that the crowd would be like no other the community had ever seen at a function of this sort. More than 1,800 people converged at the Sands Atlantic Beach over the course of the evening, ready to express their support for a oneof-a-kind organization that has redefined chessed in our communities. Elegantly catered by Chap a Nosh Caterers, the formal program saw over 1,000 people seated, with hundreds more lining the walls and filling the hallways. The energy in the air was palpable. Adam Okun, master of ceremonies, set the tone of the evening by stressing that the community’s strong expression of support during this year’s dinner campaign made clear that the support for Achiezer

among the masses has never been stronger. He specifically thanked the supporters and elected officials who stand behind Achiezer. He welcomed County Executive Laura Curran and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder on stage. After brief remarks from Ms. Curran, recital of Tehillim for all the cholim of the community was led by HaRav Yaakov Bender, rosh hayeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah,

and Mr. Ronald Lowinger, Achiezer trustee. Attendees then watched the Achiezer feature video, depicting the astounding work of this phenomenal organization. The evening’s honorees were then recognized, with each one’s accomplishments being beautiful represented on a video presentation. The Young Leadership Award was presented to Ari and Deena

Weinstein by Rabbi Tzvi Krigsman, menahel of Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island. The Excellence in Medicine Award was presented to Dr. Daniel and Riki Haller by Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, chairman, Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau. The Pillar of Chessed Award was presented to Stacey Zrihen by Shalom Vegh of Westwood Realty Group. The Man of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Jonathan

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Around the Community PHOTOS BY MOSHE GERSHBAUM, BRILLIANT PHOTOGRAPHY

Herman by his brother-in-law, Mr. Moshe Wolfson. Finally, the Guests of Honor, Jason and Danielle Bokor, were presented their award by Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, rabbi, Young Israel of Woodmere. Mr. Okun then introduced the indefatigable founder of Achiezer, Boruch Ber Bender, who has carried the yoke of chessed in the community on his shoulders, never resting and never allowing himself to be sat-

isfied with past achievements. Rabbi Bender described how the Achiezer personnel is a selfless group of individuals, “dedicated, committed, devoted” to each and every member of the community. He proceeded to describe the many phone calls that the office receives but relayed the story of one couple in particular who were on the receiving end, grew from their experience, and are now there for others “like a

brother.” Following his remarks, Rabbi Bender invited the guests to partake of the dessert reception. As music filled the air and the guests pondered the messages shared throughout the uplifting evening, the underlying theme was one of unity, reflecting the dinner campaign theme of “My Brother, My Helper,” as Achiezer is always there to assist others – “like a brother.”

Every person who exited The Sands that evening knew that they are never alone. Because there are those who spend their every waking moment concerned about the community and concerned about the individual. The message was unambiguous: Like a brother, Achiezer is always there. Like a brother, Achiezer will always be there.

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Join or set up a shiur or chaburah in your neighborhood! Call today or visit our website for more information. P. 8 5 5 . 4 - O R . AY S A

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JOIN A LOCATION NEAR YOU OR FORM YOUR OWN! JACKSON, NJ

LAKEWOOD Sterling Place Bais Medrash

Lakeview Shul

The Woods Shul

Bais Hamedrash Ohr Tuvia

1 Gila Place, Lakewood, NJ - 1st Floor 6:00 - 6:53 AM

2 Boulder Way, Lakewood, NJ 9:15 - 10:15 PM, Maariv 10:15 PM

1 Stonewall Ct, Lakewood, NJ Mornings

969 East End Avenue, Lakewood, NJ

CONTACT

R’ Heshy Kaufman 718.541.8548

••• Bais Medrash of Lakewood Commons 44 Coles Way, Lakewood, NJ 6:00 - 7:00 AM, Shacharis 7:00 AM CONTACT

R’ Aryeh Leib Smith 732.575.6454 asmith@toraszev.org

••• Bais Medrash of Cedarwood Hills 1 Flannery Ave, Lakewood, NJ 6:15 - 7:00 AM, Sunday 9:15 AM CONTACT

Moshe Dovid Fischman 718.702.6589

••• Teﬁllah L'Moshe Stretin 309 Ocean Ave, Lakewood, NJ 9:00 - 10:00 PM CONTACT

Zevy Lamm 732.994.9981

CONTACT

R’ Nosson Neustadt 216.905.9982 R’ Yossi Schuk 8 48.221.0780

•••

Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury

••• Brookwood 3 Shul

CONTACT

•••

R’ Yechiel Rivlin 917-418-9071 R' Feivish waxman 347-524-8681 R' Avi Bader 917-539-4403

Bais Medrash Of Arlington

•••

501 Arlington Ave, Lakewood, NJ Sunday - Friday 6:15 AM - 7:15 AM CONTACT

R' Eli Kessler 848.299.6927

••• Westgate Bais Medrash 100 Ropshitz Place, Lakewood, NJ 6:15 AM Shacharis upstairs at 7:10 (M & Th 7:00), downstairs at 7:30 CONTACT

Ohel Shulamit

Chaim Pesach Kovalenko 848.525.4498

Beis Medrash Nachlas Yaakov

•••

•

Night Seder 8:45 - 10:00 PM Ma’ariv 8:30 and 10:00 PM CONTACT

Moshe Bloom 475.559.5230

•

Shiur 8:45 - 9:30 PM CONTACT

Mr. Shimmi Handelsman 203.565.3549

••• Bnai Sholom – ‫קהל בני שלום‬

135 Roseland Ave, Waterbury, CT 6:15 AM CONTACT

Mr. Gavriel Lazarus 917.825.3051

ENGLAND Gateshead Chaburah Forming CONTACT R’ MOISHE DRESDNER

+447938624792 mdresdner30@gmail.com

••• Golders Green, London Chabura forming CONTACT ALLAN BECKER

abecker@jpearlman.com

••• BZME (Rabbi Spira) 110 Main Avenue, Passaic Sunday 7:50 AM Mon-Fri 6:20 AM Followed by Shacharis CONTACT

R' Moshe Niehaus 201.820.5721 mniehoas@riveredgeadvisors.com

••• BTU (Rabbi Zupnik) 218 Aycrigg Ave, Passaic Sunday - Thursday 9-10 AM Mon-Fri 6:20 AM Followed by Shacharis CONTACT

R' Moshe Neurath 973.477.7370

BRIGHTON MA Khal Tiferes Yosef 53 Parsons Street, Brighton, MA Weekday: 7:45 - 8:30 followed by Maariv at 8:30 Sunday: Following Maariv at the Shul CONTACT

Rabbi Halpern info@khaltiferesyosef.org

CONTACT

Bais Medrash of Flair Ashkenaz

CONTACT

9:00 - 10:00 PM

Rabbi Arye Leib Lerman 732.608.1100

29 Parker Boulevard, Monsey NY 8:30 - 9:45 PM, Maariv 9:45 PM CONTACT (CALL OR TEXT)

Rabbi Perlstein 845.558.0600 info@nightseder.com

••• Khal Bais Elazar – ‫קהל בית אלעזר‬ 26 Voyager Court, Monsey, NY 7:30 - 8:00 PM

TOMS RIVER, NJ Bais Medrash Knesses Yechezkel / Kollel Ohr Yisroel 1814 Charlton Circle, Toms River, NJ 6:20 - 7:00 AM, followed by Shacharis Sunday: 8 - 8:45 AM followed by Shacharis Night Seder: 8:45 - 10 PM followed by Maariv CONTACT

Moshe Nacham

6:10 AM, Shacharis 6:50 AM

1600 Central Court, Lakewood, NJ 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

The Monsey Night Seder BM Bais Medrash Shaarei Teﬁlah

Reuven Feinberg 917.952.8365 reuvenbcd@gmail.com Dovid Kaplan 718.570.4706 dsk.kaplan@gmail.com

••• Kahal Chasam Sofer

•••

K'hal Tiferes Boruch

CONTACT

Binyamin Nussbaum 732.228.0257

New York Avenue, Lakewood, NJ

MONSEY

Second Seder 4:00 - 5:30 PM

9:00 - 10:00 PM

38 Spruce Street, Lakewood, NJ Monday - Friday: 6:45 AM Shacharit 7:40, Mon & Thurs 7:35

PASSAIC/CLIFTON

359 Cooke Street

Yacov Metz 203.707.3148 Eli Shapiro 347.323.9247 Dovid Herschel 516.426.4819

R Heshy Pinter 732.939.1264

Bais Medrash Lutzk

R' Moshe Sturman 732.281.4860

CONTACT

Zev Lefkowitz 516.398.4432

R' Chaim Englander 908.783.1082

520 New Egypt Road, Lakewood, NJ 8:45 - 9:45 PM, Maariv 9:45 PM

Coventry shul

232 Terhune Avenue, Passaic 9:00-10:00 PM Ma’ariv 10:00 PM

CONTACT

601 E Kennedy Blvd, Lakewood, NJ 8:30 - 10:00 PM, Maariv 10:00 PM

R' Eliyahu Silver 248-376-7346

WATERBURY

Maariv before at 8:40 and after at 10:30

CONTACT

R’ Raphael Baruch Schiff 718-213-0356

Bais Medrash of Oakley Hills 2 Monroe Lane Jackson, NJ 6:20 - 7:00 AM, followed by Shacharis

FLATBUSH Bais Medrash Rabbeinu Yaakov Moshe 1221 Avenue S, Brooklyn, NY Sunday 7:15 - 8:00 PM Mon - Thurs: 8:15 - 9 PM, Maariv 8 PM

CONTACT

Avrohom Schwab 845.826.4788

347.930.8748

SPRING VALLEY

FIVE TOWNS

Kehillas Zichron Yackov 18 Landau Lane, Spring Valley, NY 6:00 - 6:55 AM, followed by Shacharis CONTACT

Eli Weiner 845.538.3879 Yisroel Kaplan 845.538.0623

Sh’or Yoshuv – ‫ישיבה שאר ישוב‬

1 Cedar Lawn Avenue, Lawrence, NY Morning Chabura 6:00 - 7:00 AM CONTACT

R' Yaakov Pluchenik 732.995.0427

•

LONG ISLAND Agudah of Long Island

Beis Medrash Katan 9:30 - 10:30 AM CONTACT

Ephraim Frenkel 917.362.4829

•

Evening Shiur 8:45 PM

CONTACT

8:45 - 9:45 PM

Eli Richman 845.521.9940

R’ Dov Zauderer 646.499.1825

Dr. Dovid Metz 516.659.8124

CLEVELAND OH

New Mesivta Bais Medrash 211 Beach 17th St 6:30 - 7:30 AM, Shacharis 7:30 AM

Chaburah Bais Medrash Zichron Asher Zelig

Rabbi Yitchok Haur 347.414.0383

CONTACT

••• Rabbi Viener’s Shul 9:15 - 9:45 PM CONTACT

Shmuli Dembitzer 203.252.1600 sdembitzer1@gmail.com

•••

CONTACT

CHICAGO Adas Bnei Yisroel

Bais Medrash Torah U'tﬁllah Ateres Shmuel

CONTACT

••• 8:30 - 9:30 PM, Maariv 8:15 PM CONTACT

Yoel Mermelstein 773.617.4191

R' Moshe Rajchenbach 773.329.1098

••• Kollel Tiferes Yisrael 2855 W Touhy Ave, Chicago, IL 6:15 AM CONTACT

Avraham N. Siegal 773.349.6385

CONTACT

4316 University Pkwy, University Heights Mon-Fri: 6 - 7 AM, Followed by Shacharis Rabbi Avrohom Meystel 216.789.0952

6200 North Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 6:15 - 6:45 AM Other times Sunday - Friday

CONTACT

MONTREAL Kollel Keser Torah 8:30 - 9:30 PM CONTACT

kollelkesertorah@gmail.com Office: 514.341.4616, ext. 24

QUEENS

WOODMERE

Ahavas Yisrael

Young Israel of Woodmere

147-02 73rd Ave, Flushing, NY 9:45 - 10:30 PM CONTACT

Yoel Gabay 718.640.6614, ygabay@freedomcareny.com

9:15 PM CONTACT

Rabbi Shalom Jakubowitz 516.780.3875 Jeffry Kaufman 917.662.0825

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

SKA Students Explore 2020 Vision For Their Future

KA’s Career Day program, 2020 Vision of Your Future, was an exciting opportunity for the students of the Stella K. Abraham High School to begin thinking about their expanding career choices. “Take the time to consider the numerous professions presented this morning,” Mrs. Bluma Drebin, SKA’s principal, General Studies, urged in her introduction. The program’s keynote speaker, who is in the luxury clothing line business, shared her personal story and courageous work experiences with the entire student body on Wednesday, January 1. Telling the students to be open to possibilities, dare to make mistakes and especially own their religious standards, the speaker also told the girls to make choices of when to scale back to achieve a work-life balance. Her messages really resonated with the students who are now beginning to think about their future. SKA students were also able to

hear from highly successful women professionals, many of them SKA graduates, from such fields as finance, law, maedicine, real estate, engineering, coding, audiology, marketing, genetic counseling, cosmetology, nursing, graphic design, social work and nutrition among others. The women shared their challenges and accomplishments with girls who appreciated hearing about the many options available. It’s never too early to think

about a future career, the SKA students learned, and several presenters suggested the girls think about building their skills and leadership roles while still in high school. In addition to the careers discussed, the girls heard from Dr. Eli Shapiro, director of the Digital Citizenship Project, who spoke about the risks of social media when applying to schools, seminaries and jobs; what we do online can really impact us. The

interview process was also explored by Chief Brand Officer of M. Gemi, Mrs. Heather Kaminetsky; Executive Director, JP Morgan Chase Mrs. Dana Frenkel; and Partner, Northeast Region Healthcare Leader, Grant Thornton Mrs. Tami Radinsky who among their many other recommendations, all noted that “first impressions really do matter.” The morning was filled with enthusiasm and energy! Our thanks go to Ms. Elana Flaumenhaft, SKA’s associate principal, who organized this outstanding initiative, Mrs. Corey Katz, College Guidance, the Parent Committee headed by Mrs. Racheli Laufer, SKA Liaison to the Board, and Mrs. Brina Ganchrow, Mrs. Daniella Graff, Mrs. Tova Keller, Mrs. Alissa Pomerantz, and to the faculty members and parents who assisted in making this day so successful. The 2020 Vision of Your Future program really broadened the SKA students’ career aspirations.

Parenting All Your Children

n Monday evening, December 30, Madraigos presented “How to Parent All Your Children When One Child Is Struggling,” an initiative of its Parenting Matters program. The event featured Rav Aaron Lopiansky, shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva of Greater Washington Tiferes Gedaliah, and Dr. Hindie M. Klein, PsyD, Senior Consultant for Clinical Projects at Ohel and psychologist in private practice. Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence provided the perfect venue for this program. Mothers, fathers, therapists, and educators from the Five Towns and the greater New York area attended. The first speaker, Rabbi Lopiansky, shlita, stressed the importance of parents and siblings supporting a family member who is going through a hard time. The child must feel they are validated, loved, and important. The perception the child has for himself/herself becomes his/her own reality. He high-

lighted the point of being open and honest with your other children about the challenge this particular child is facing. Rabbi Lopiansky encouraged parents to accept their children as respectable and valuable members of the family despite their unique struggles. Dr. Klein spoke about the need to connect and understand each child and appreciate their uniqueness – their strengths and their struggles, and ultimately, their needs. She provided a detailed explanation of various brain functions and the importance of eliciting the right brain in order to connect to the child in the present moment in an emotional way as opposed to the left brain in a more factual or informational way. Dr. Klein encouraged parents to maintain a mindset of balance, love, and nurturance. Rather than focusing on short-term solutions, she stressed the importance of focusing on long-term solutions of deeper love, connection,

and respect. On a practical note, she encouraged each parent to spend time alone with each child to facilitate the process of attunement and connection. The evening drew to a close with parents enjoying a dessert buffet. As the crowd lingered, the conversations all centered on the takeaway. One parent remarked, “It was very enlightening. I am walking out with a new mindset and an arsenal of practical tools to deal with my children.” Mrs. Miriam Schiller, LMSW, clinician, Madraigos, commented, “This event val-

idated the existence of the unique challenges the individual and the family face, along with the best way to understand and work through the experience.” Madraigos extends sincere hakaros hatov to the event’s presenting sponsors, Cross River Bank and Touro College and University System, who appreciate the value of parenting education as a means of strengthening families and preventing serious issues from developing. Their leadership in supporting effective community-wide initiatives like this one demonstrates their commitment to

serving the needs of the community. Madraigos is grateful to their social work interns who took an active role in taking care of all necessary logistics for the event and to the student volunteers for their dedicated commitment to the success of the event. To participate in the eighth round of the Madraigos Parenting Support Group or for more information about the Madraigos Parenting Matters program, please contact Mindi Werblowsky, clinical director, at 516-371-3250 x 112 or mwerblowsky@ madraigos.org.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rabbi Binyamin Eisenberger joined Mesivta Netzach HaTorah for their Chanukah mesiba, dancing with the talmidim and sharing poignant divrei Torah

Over 350 Public School Teens Attend NCSY’s Torah Study Convention

or the first few days of 2020, the Ocean Place Resort and Spa on the Jersey shore became a center of Torah learning for more than 350 teens coming together from across the United States, Canada and South America. Aspire: The NCSY Yarchei Kallah program, a signature annual event for almost 30 years, has capitalized on the public school winter vacation period to inject an authentic week of Torah learning and unity into the lives of teens. NCSY is the international youth movement of the Orthodox Union (OU). The week started with NCSY bringing the group to the Siyum HaShas, where they joined nearly 100,000 who were celebrating the completion of the cycle of daily study of the Talmud. For many of the teens, the Siyum HaShas experience was their first exposure to the concept of

intensive Torah study, and it was a fitting lead-in to the four-day Yarchei Kallah that followed. Yarchei Kallah is designed and managed by NCSY’s education team, led by Director of Education Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin. The teen participants, the majority of whom have limited previous exposure to Jewish texts or traditions, enjoyed one-onone, group and lecture learning with dynamic speakers from around the world with whom they discussed the central theme: Find Your Story. Over the course of winter break, NCSY ran two other similar events which took place in Chicago and Connecticut. Including the New Jersey Yarchei Kallah, NCSY cumulatively reached over 600 teens with school break programs. The program featured scholars from around the world, most notably, Rabbi Dr. Meir Y. Soloveichik, Tikvah

scholar-in-residence and director of the Straus Center at Yeshiva University, and Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, author of The Thinking Jewish Teenager’s Guide to Life. In addition, famed musician Zusha performed for the group and former NBA first-round pick Michael Sweetney addressed the teens on the topic of gratitude. “Each year, hundreds of public school teens look forward to the annual Yarchei Kallah where they

are able to delve deeper into their religious heritage, learn from staff and advisors, and join a broader community of teens who come from similar backgrounds with similar aspirations of learning Torah,” said Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane. “The eagerness of the program participants to actively search for religious meaning is an inspiration to us all.”

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

One Israel Fund: Celebrating 25 Extraordinary Years

any things have changed in the past twenty-five years, but one thing has not: One Israel Fund’s mission. For the past quarter-century, One Israel Fund has worked tirelessly on behalf of the residents of Judea and Samaria. These regions are comprised of an extraordinary collection of people, over 460,000+ residents who are wholly dedicated to life in their Biblical Heartland. But these extraordinary people deserve ordinary lives, furnished with the integral services that the rest of the country is privy to – such as security, healthcare, and education. Since these communities do not receive much, if any, support from most of the major Jewish philanthropic organizations, One Israel Fund was created to fulfill in these needs. Founded in 1994, One Israel Fund has long been the premier organization providing support to the residents of Judea and Samaria. As these areas face unique challenges and blessings, One Israel Fund meets its evolving needs with critical humanitarian aid and assistance. By working in tandem with communal and regional leadership as well as with most

Keter Shem Tov Award: Rebeka & Gabriel Boxer

governmental agencies, One Israel Fund fills the gaps in medical, social welfare, recreational, religious, and preventive security services which are conspicuously lacking in these areas. To date, One Israel Fund has invested over sixty-five million dollars to cement the infrastructure and secure the safety of these communities. By supplying security systems, training medical professionals, providing medical facilities and equipment, building integral community fixtures, and facilitating countless initiatives, these areas continue to flourish and prosper at an inspiring rate. On Sunday, February 9, One Israel Fund will celebrate the extraordinary people behind its work.

Guests of honor Dr. Emma Laskin-Baum & Bart Baum

Dr. Emma Laskin-Baum & Bart Baum will be recognized for their wholehearted devotion to One Israel Fund’s mission and services as this year’s guests of honor. Amichai Lourie, a devoted friend of One Israel Fund and the winemaker at the award-winning Shiloh Winery, will be honored with the Boneh Yisrael Award, and Rebekah & Gabriel Boxer will be honored with the Keter Shem Tov Award. The Grob, Oppenheimer, and Pollack families are accepting the Dor L’dor Award in memory of their parents and grandparents, Gloria & Morris Grob, a”h. Additionally, eleventh graders at SKA HALB HS for Girls – Hannah Lewin, Talia Loskowve, Molly Sigman, Isabellla Weisfeld, and Arielle Yarmish – will

Dor L’Dor Award in Memory of Boneh Yisrael Award: Amichai Morris & Gloria Grob, a”h Lourie, Winemaker, Shiloh Accepted by the Grob, Winery Oppenheimer, and Pollak families

Yedid YESHA Award: Hannah Lewin, Talia Loskove, Molly Sigman, Isabella Weisfeld, and Arielle Yarmish

be recognized for their support with the Yedid Yesha Award. The collective support of our incredible honorees has changed the lives of thousands, and their dedication to the residents of Judea and Samaria is truly unparalleled. Join us at 6 p.m. at the TWA Hotel for our annual

Anniversary Gala as we celebrate 25 years of One Israel Fund. For reservations, journal ads, and more information, contact Dinner@OneIsraelFund.org or visit OneIsraelFund.org/dinner or call 516239-9202.

CAHAL Students Visit Seniors at the Long Island Living Center

uring Chanukah, the students of the CAHAL Junior High School class at Bnos Bais Yaakov took a trip to the Long Island Living Center in Far Rockaway. To break the ice, the girls took turns reading an engaging and humorous story to the residents. Afterwards, the enthusiastic group of seniors each signed the decorative “Happy Chanukah” posters the girls had created. The highlight of the visit was a lively game of human bingo which sparked interactions between the girls and

the residents that were both fascinating and entertaining. One of the residents gifted the girls with two of his truly beautiful works of art, and they hung one in their classroom as soon as they got back as a memento of their visit. Much appreciation to the CAHAL teacher and teacher assistant, Mrs. Becky Amster and Ms. Aliza Leitman, for coordinating this trip. Special thanks to Mrs. Esther Arakanchi for helping arrange for this visit. The students reflected about their wonderful experi-

ences at this visit. “My partner was smiling the whole time, which made me smile. He talked about being a sailor and how he was in so many different places. He was a really good cook and would cook for 168 people a day. Visiting the Living Center was the best time of my life.” Another girl said, “We read a story to the seniors, and I made a tiny speech. We had lots of fun, and I really hope I can go back there by myself or with a friend. I am very proud of myself and hap-

py that I saw so many smiles on lots of people’s faces.” CAHAL is now in its 28th year providing smaller, more individualized classes in 11 local yeshivas. For more in-

formation about the CAHAL program and to donate to this great community organization, contact CAHAL at cahal@cahal.org, call (516) 2953666 or visit www.cahal.org.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Simchas Ha’Torah in Hewlett

o commemorate the bar mitzvah of their son Zevy, Marcia and Joe Freud dedicated a new sefer Torah on Sunday, December 22 in memory of Joe’s grandparents, Rochel and Gibor Freud and Ruth and William Simon, and Joe’s brother, Shlomo Freud, to the Young Israel of Hewlett. The Freud family decided to house their new Torah at the Young Israel of Hewlett out of their love for the shul and congregation as well as their great love and

PHOTOS BY GABE SOLOMON

respect for the dynamic and eloquent Morah D’asra, Rabbi Simcha D. Hopkovitz. Local sofer Rabbi Oppen assisted congregants and guests in fulfilling the mitzvah of kesivat sefer Torah, while Tani Polanski and his orchestra enhanced the celebration, performing lively music for the seudat mitzvah and procession. Zevy is excited to use his family’s Torah this week for his bar mitzvah. Mazal Tov to the Freud family!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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All In on HANC Retreat

he HANC High School Girls’ Retreat took place on Shabbat Parshat Vayeishev, December 20-22, at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT, and once again proved to be a highlight of the year so far. Students bonded with peers and teachers and felt an enhanced sense of closeness and connection that the Shabbat experience often brings. The achdut and spirit that the girls exuded was palpable throughout Shabbat and definitely carried over into school for the week of Chanukah. Retreat 2019, which was attended by almost every single girl in the high school, was certainly

a memorable experience which will have a long-lasting impact on all who joined. The theme of the Retreat was “All in, Mi l’Hashem eilai,” and was brilliantly woven through the entire weekend. From Friday’s adventure of See-Run-Build, the grade onegs, to the unifying Motzei Shabbat kumzitz, the girls took part in inspiring activities and workshops. We were joined for Shabbat by renowned guest speaker, Mrs. Jackie Bitton. Her personal story and message captivated and inspired each and every student, through her engaging talks on Friday night and fol-

lowing Seudah Shlishit, as well as in an interactive session for the seniors. The beautiful singing of zmirot led by the heads of chorus, the student-delivered divrei Torah, the workshops conducted by their own HANC faculty and their spouses, and the participation of many teachers’ families all came together to create an uplifting Shabbat atmosphere. On Motzei Shabbat, the girls participated in the HANC’s Talent Show. Following a delicious Melave Malka, the students geared up for a spirited chagigah. Led by energetic and dynamic HANC alum (‘98) Naz Aziz, of “iMove with Naz,” the girls danced

and sang with incredible excitement and enthusiasm. The girls boarded the buses with newfound friends and reinvigorated appreciation for their school, Shabbat, and their teachers. A huge thank you to faculty members Mrs. Leigh Henoch and Mrs. Nomi Zanjirian for spearheading the entire Shabbaton. Kudos to Mrs. Jackie Raofim and Mrs. Rebecca Gordon for all their expertise in organizing the event. Shout out to Senior Retreat Heads, Ali Lenefsky, Stephanie Hoch, and Avital Mahgerefteh, for making this event a huge success.

PHOTO BY MHB

Rav Yitzchok Brailofsky, a third grade rebbi in Yeshiva Darchei Torah, with talmidim and a gift he received in honor of his personal siyum on Shas Bavli

Did you know?

The average snowflake falls at about 3 mph.

A surprise Siyum HaShas celebration was held at Yeshiva Darchei Torah on Friday

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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Preparation Continues for the Dirshu World Siyum at Prudential Center, NJPAC and Newark Symphony Hall By Rabbi Nachman Seltzer

s word of the Dirshu siyumim in Binyanei Haumah in Yerushalayim and Event City in Manchester, England, spreads, more and more people are talking about what to expect at the different Dirshu events in other parts of the world. As someone who had the zechus to take part in the Motzei Shabbos Chanukah siyum, I can tell you that every seat was taken by a crowd of people who clearly knew that a Dirshu event was not to be missed. And they were right. From the opening moments of the event, throughout what proved to be an absolutely incredible night, it just got better and better, with the evening ending on a high note as hundreds of Dirshu members danced for hours in a scene reminiscent of Simchas Torah. So the first event was a success. But then I’d expected nothing less from a Dirshu event. After years of covering their productions I have come to expect perfection from the talented team who expertly puts together multiple events – sometimes on the same day – and sometimes even at the same time. Which brings me to my next point. The Dirshu World siyum events in North America on Sunday, February 9 at 6 p.m., are fast approaching. There is the huge event at Prudential Center – with that venue almost sold out (the women’s section at Prudential Center is completely sold out!). And because there are so many people who understandably want to take part in the Dirshu World siyum (once you’ve been to one Dirshu event, you do not want to miss another), the organizers gave a lot of thought to the challenge facing them and arrived at an out-of-the-box solution, quickly reserving another top quality venue while there was still time. I am referring to NJPAC – a mere ten-minute walk from Prudential Center, giving a number of gedolim time to get from one location to the next – enabling them to grace both stages and offer words of wisdom at both events. However, from my conversation with the organizers, it should be em-

Prudential Center, site of the North American Dirshu World Siyum

phasized that NJPAC is not simply an overflow venue; the NJPAC event will be just as unique and special in its own way as Prudential Center. The reason is simple. It is not the same event. The lineup and the speakers are different, and it will feature a separate live orchestra. This is not just a case of showing footage from a different event which is happening at the same time. Many of the keynote speakers will only be attending the event at NJPAC, which means that in many ways, I would understand if people would try to get themselves into both events – because both will be truly worthwhile in their own way. There is no question that the Simchas HaTorah at both the Prudential Center and NJPAC will be incredible and absolutely genuine! There is no question that every single person walking out of either event at the end of the night on Sunday, February 9, will be ultra-inspired and ready to begin new commitments to their Torah learning and the learning of the rest of their mishpacha too. Now here’s the thing. I’m sure there are many people who still want to attend the Dirshu World siyum event – not only them, but their wives as well. The women’s section at Prudential Center, however, has already completely sold out. Again, the Dirshu production team – seeing the way things were going, and foreseeing the need to be prepared for the demand that was sure to come, booked an additional venue – the very prestigious Newark Symphony Hall – exclusively for women. Which means that for the men coming by car (although bussing will be available – details forthcoming), after

Newark Symphony Hall, the exclusive women’s venue

dropping off your very excited wife at Newark Symphony Hall, you can drive a few more minutes and find your own seat at NJPAC (Dirshu’s all men’s event). And why will your wife be so excited to spend this particular evening at the Newark Symphony Hall? The answer is simple. This, too, is another exclusive event, made all the more interesting because it has been tailored solely to provide women with a unique experience, one that will bring home the importance of Torah learning and the vital role Jewish women fill by instilling those values in their homes. In true Dirshu tradition, it promises to be remembered for years to come by anyone who has the good fortune to be in attendance. Rebbetzin Sarah Meisels, the daughter of the previous Bobover Rebbe, HaRav Shlomo Halberstam, is the evening’s keynote speaker. Rebbetzin Meisels will no doubt deliver a message that is crafted especially for those assembled at the Newark Symphony Hall. That, however, is just the beginning. Who hasn’t heard of legendary songwriter and singer Mrs. Miriam Israeli and enjoyed her fantastically uplifting music and the many hit songs she has composed throughout the years? Well, if you have enjoyed her music, get ready for a wonderful experience, because Newark Symphony Hall will be featuring a live original musical production composed by Mrs. Israeli especially for the evening. In addition, there will be musical entertainment provided by the very talented Malky Giniger and Bracha Jaffe, who will no doubt make an already wonderful event, that much

more so. There will be singing, there will be dancing, there will be speeches containing words of Torah and inspirational messages – every element adding another layer to a memorable evening. I am sure that this will be an evening to recall for a long time to come. I know this because that is the Dirshu way. Just like Rav Dovid Hofstedter exhorts the members of Dirshu to not overlook any detail in their quest towards achieving Torah greatness, he expects the same from the producers of every Dirshu event. No detail is too small to be dealt with. Nothing is unimportant. The result of that approach is that every one of the Dirshu events taking place on February 9 will be something which those fortunate enough to attend will never forget. And while being part of the event at Prudential Center will be amazing, there is something equally incredible about being part of an all-women’s event – an event that will be geared towards the wives and daughters of Klal Yisrael. Here, the messages of the speeches will have been prepared by women – for women – inspiring them with ideas and lessons to be internalized and taken home – to be used in their own lives as they go about helping their husbands and children reach ever higher in Torah and avodas Hashem. All this is yours for the taking. You just need to purchase a ticket (347-85-SIYUM), DirshuWorldSiyum.org, and reserve your place for the special night. Ashreichem, ashreichem, ashreichem… the wives and daughters of Klal Yisrael...

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

OCTOBER 29,2020 2015| The | TheJewish JewishHome Home JANUARY 9,

TJH

Centerfold

Blah Blah Blah... Literally... Blah... Whatever... Blah Blah... No Offense... According to a newly released Marist poll, the following five words and sayings were the most annoying of 2019. Match the word with the percentage of people who voted for that word as most annoying: Literally

34%

No offense, but

20%

Whatever

16%

Please wait, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be right with you

14%

Dude

Please wait, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be right with you: 9%

You Mean to Say What? Decipher what these clues are saying:

D. In between jobs

D. Split level C. Forgive and Forget Missing You (U)

Answers:

A. Space Invaders

Dude: 16% No offense, but: 20% Whatever: 34% Correct Order:

Literally: 14%

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The 2015 TheJewish JewishHome Home| OCTOBER | JANUARY29, 9, 2020

New Additions The following words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2019. Match the word with its meaning:

A. A person having a perky, mischievous character

2. Skunked

B. A speech intended to promote or publicize something

3. Spruik

C. Fancy, showy, flashy; stylish, sophisticated

4. Sprit

D. Representing the reverberating sound made when a compressed spring is suddenly released

5. Fantoosh

E. Having an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance; arrogant, pretentious, conceited

6. Sproing

F. A sudden quick movement; a spring, jump, leap

7. Bigsie

G. Drunk, intoxicated

8. Chipmunky

H. A foolish, annoying, or obnoxious person

1. H 2. G 3. B 4. F

1. Bamstick

5. C 6. D 7. E 8. A

Answers:

Riddle me this? When you have me, you feel like sharing me. If you do share me, you don’t have me. What am I? See answer below

You gotta be kidding A man walks into a bar and it’s empty – it’s just him and the bartender. He sits down and orders a drink. He hears someone whisper, “Pssst…I like your tie.” The man looks around but doesn’t see anyone. Then he hears, “Pssst…that color looks nice on you.” The man turns to the bartender and asks, “Excuse me, but are you speaking to me?” The bartender rolls his eyes and says, “No, sorry about that. It’s the peanuts – they’re complimentary.”

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Answer to Riddle Me This: A secret.

JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Torah Thought

Parshas Vayechi By Rabbi Berel Wein

he conclusion of the book of Bereishis sets the stage for all of the remaining history of the Jewish people. Jacob and his family have settled in the land of Egypt and live under the most favorable of circumstances. Their son and brother, Joseph, is the de facto ruler of the country that has provided them with prosperity. However, Joseph himself warns them that the

situation is only temporary and that there are troubled days ahead. He tells them that they will leave the land of Egypt – whether they wish to or not – and that when they leave they should remember him and take his bones with them, to be buried in the land of Israel, the home from which he was so brutally taken when he was about 17 years old. I would imagine that the family

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of Jacob, when hearing these predictions of Joseph, were amazed and probably were unable to fathom how their situation could change so drastically from greatness and wealth to slavery and persecution. The Jewish people are by nature an optimistic people. We always believe that somehow things will turn out well, no matter how bleak the present circumstances may appear to be. Yet, only by remembering Joseph’s words would the eventual redemption from Egyptian bondage be realized. Joseph’s warnings would

disaster. If Joseph, the viceroy of Egypt, warned us that Egypt is not our home, then that message could not have been clearer to Jews in the coming millennia. But as the story of Egypt and the Jews unfolds in the book of Shemot, the majority of Jews forgot Joseph’s message. And it remained only for Moshe himself to bring Joseph’s bones out if Egypt for eventual burial in the Land of Israel. The Torah will record for us that later Egyptian pharaohs and the Egyptian nation forgot about Joseph

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accompany them with his remains through the 40-year sojourn in the desert of Sinai. It would remind them to be aware of the historical dangers they would always have to face. The conditions under which Jews have lived in exile and in the diaspora for millennia have always varied and fluctuated. But the basic message was that we were we were not really at home. We continually ignored warning signs and somehow believed that things would get better. Ignoring the warnings of Joseph, many times in our history we doomed ourselves to tragedy and

and his great accomplishments. The ironic tragedy is that much of the Jewish people as well forgot about Joseph and his message to them. In the annals of Jewish history, this forgetfulness on the part of Jews has often been repeated – and always with dire consequences. The story of Joseph and of the Jewish settlement in Egypt provides the prototype for all future Jewish history. We always need to ask ourselves what Joseph would have to say about our current Jewish world. This is worthy of contemplation. Shabbat shalom.

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From the Fire

Parshas Vayechi Bringing the Two Moshiachs Together By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

he Gemara in Kiddushin 81b says that when Rebbe Akiva read the pasuk (Bamidbar 30:13) “And Hashem will forgive her,” he would cry. In order to understand why that pasuk moved Rebbe Akiva, we must first understand the law of a woman who makes a vow to become a Nazira, who is forbidden to drink wine during her Nazirus period. If her husband annuls her Nazirus vow without her knowledge and she drinks wine, thinking at the time that it was forbidden, the pasuk says, “And Hashem will forgive her,” meaning that she needs atonement for her attempt to sin, even though she failed and did not actually sin. Whenever Rebbe Akiva read that pasuk, he would say, “If someone intends to eat pork but actually eats kosher meat, the Torah says that he needs atonement and forgiveness, then how much the more so does one require atonement when he intends to eat pork and succeeds in eating pork!” Similarly, Bilaam attempted to curse the Jewish people, and although Hashem transformed his curses into blessings, he was still considered a rasha, a wicked person. We see from this that even when someone doesn’t actually commit a sin, although he tried to, he is still considered guilty. Bad intentions do count, although a bais din cannot act on such a failed attempt to sin.

Based on this principle, how can we understand Yosef’s attempt to comfort his brothers so that they would not feel guilty for selling him as a slave? He told them (Bereishis 50:20), “You planned to do bad to me, but Hashem planned it for good in order to give life to a great nation at present.” How is Yosef’s attempt to comfort the brothers valid? Hashem may have turned their “pork” into kosher meat, their Nazir wine into permitted wine, and their “curses” into blessings, but how does the fact that Hashem caused the sale of Yosef to work out for the good absolve the brothers of their evil intentions? The Ohr Hachaim as explained by the Klei Chemda explains that there is a difference between mitzvos bein adam l’Makom and mitzvos bein adam l’chaveo, interpersonal mitzvos and mitzvos between a person and Hashem. With respect to mitzvos between a person and Hashem, the primary aspect of the mitzvah is one’s intentions rather than the outcome. Hashem does not ask us to do mitzvos because He “needs” the outcome, the result of the mitzvah. His main concern is one’s loyalty in keeping the mitzvah or the rebelliousness in defying Hashem’s command. In contrast, Hashem’s primary concern with regard to interpersonal mitzvos is the practical outcome, that people actually treat each other properly.

Therefore, a woman who unsuccessfully attempted to violate her Nazirus vow still committed a sin when she believed that she was drinking wine because her intent was to sin, and intent rather than the outcome is the most important element of mitzvos between a person and Hashem. In contrast, because the brothers’ sale of Yosef was an interpersonal sin, the main thing is the objective reality, the outcome. Yosef was telling his brothers that because Hashem worked everything out for his and everyone’s benefit, their bad intentions do not count because with regard to interpersonal mitzvos, the main thing is the outcome rather than the intention. That is why Yosef said (Bereishis 50:19), “Am I in place of G-d?” Yosef meant that because their attempted sin was against him, a human being, and not against G-d, they could look to the outcome, rather than their intentions, and understand that ultimately they were not blameworthy.

Two Moshiachs The Ohr Hachaim and Klei Chemda’s explanation is beautiful but we must still attempt to understand this interaction between Yosef and what it teaches us today. Yosef and Yehuda, the leader of the brothers, are the paradigms for the two main forces throughout history: Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach

ben Dovid. These two forces permeate all of Jewish history and our own individual lives. Moshiach ben Yosef means physical redemption and the practical cultivation and economic development of the land. Yehuda and Moshiach ben Dovid stand for spiritual redemption and the rectification of the inner world of the Jewish people as a whole as well as each individual Jew. From this latter perspective, intent is everything. From Yosef’s perspective, however, because the main thing is the practical outcome, the brothers should not be blamed because everything worked out for the best regardless of their intentions since a whole nation was sustained as an ultimate result of the brothers’ sale of Yosef into Egypt. According to Yehuda, however, to whom the inner world of intent is the main thing (Bereishis 42:21), “Indeed, we are guilty” because they did not heed Yosef’s cries for mercy. In our own lives, neither extreme is healthy. We cannot go to the extreme of total concern for intentions without regard for the realities of practical life, nor can we be so focused on the bottom line outcome that we begin to believe that “the ends justify the means” no matter what. The students of the Vilna Gaon and the students of the Baal Shem Tov teach us that the goal of the Jewish people and for ourselves as individ-

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uals is to join together the paths of Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid, the forces of practical-physical life and the spiritual-inner life, as the Navi says (Yechezkel 37:17), “And they shall become one in your hand.” This was Yosef’s goal in comforting his brothers, to bring together the world of action and the world of ideas. Men of action and halacha must join together with men of spirit, and those who specialize in the revealed Torah must not separate from those who study the inner light of the Torah. We must finally reconcile these two opposing forces within the Jewish people, which was Yaakov’s greatest desire when he said (Bereishis 49:2), “Gather and listen children of Yaakov.”

Two Worlds Together This was also Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook’s greatest desire: to join the powerful Torah of the “old yishuv” with the practical idealism of the “new yishuv.” Rav Kook wrote about his frustration at his inability to bring those two worlds together in hundreds of places. I will, however, quote a few selections from one of his letters to Rav Baruch Meirs, which can be found in the first volume of Rav Kook’s letters (Letter 274). Rav Kook wrote: It is very difficult for me to find common ground with the majority of the gedolim of the generation, Hashem should protect them, because they desire only to walk in the old path, distancing themselves from every type of aptitude or movement toward practical life. It is clear to me that this is completely against the will of Hashem. Such an approach assists immoral people and strengthens the hands of evildoers. And woe is to us for these people’s actions even though they have good intentions. I therefore have no choice but to support an educational approach which recognizes the fact that knowledge of the world and life has a place, and which guides children in the path of healthy life. Rav Kook’s radical idea was to set aside just fifteen minutes a day for children in yeshiva to exercise. In response, posters were plastered all over the old yishuv vilifying Rav Kook for this proposal, accusing him of the

worst forms of evil for allegedly attempting to nullify the study of Torah for those fifteen minutes a day. Rav Kook knew that by not recognizing the needs of the generation, the old yishuv

blind people in the dark of night. Because of this, the masses continue to stray even further, become heretics, and in truth, they cannot be blamed at all, for there is no one

We must finally reconcile these two opposing forces within the Jewish people.

was driving more people away from Torah, strengthening evildoers, and increasing the number of young people leaving the path of Torah. Because the old path caused people to believe that their natural lively inclinations had no place in the Torah, they felt imprisoned and believed that they had to escape a life of Torah in order to live a healthy, creative life. Rav Kook continued later in the letter: The majority of the Torah learners of the generation, even the great rebbeim of the generation, do not make an effort to become great in matters of Yiras Shamayim with the kind of breadth fitting for the leaders of the generation. They are therefore unable to walk in the new path fitting for the current generation and attend to its spiritual needs. The old guard has not even studied enough of the inner light of the Torah to understand that the soul of each generation is different and that they must lead each generation according to its spiritual root, which changes from generation to generation. They feel that they have no choice but to maintain the old way of doing things without taking even one good point from the new ways, through which they could rectify the stature of the generation. They refuse to admit that they lack any grasp of a fundamental part of life [the physical-practical], which is an inseparable part of Torah and faith. We therefore fumble around at midday like

to show them the straight path, a unified vision of the holiness of Torah and faith along with practical healthy life. So they continue to stray from the Torah... If, in educating our children, we can join the good of each side together by teaching courses of study that will allow them to make a good and honorable living together with the Torah,

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this will strengthen and increase the foundation of the Torah. But who can I speak to about this? Who will agree with me? Who will throw away his own honor for the sake of the honor of Hashem, His Torah, and the sanctity of His precious holy land? Rav Kook writes that his heart is on fire with longing to bring the world of holiness and Torah together with the world of practical life, but that he cannot see how to create this unification by natural means. We can only attempt to unify these paths in our own lives and in the lives of our children and hope that Hashem will intervene and help us bring the worlds of Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid together with the coming of the complete redemption soon in our times.

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.

Serving our community for over 30 years

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Parsha

in 4

Parshas Vayechi By Eytan Kobre

Weekly Aggada And Yosef saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it displeased him; and he supported his father’s hand so as to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Menashe’s head (Bereishis 48:17) This is difficult to understand. First Yosef wanted to remove Yaakov’s hand from Ephraim’s head forcibly, but then Yosef requested that Yaakov do so himself willingly. Which was it? R’ Berechya explains that when Yosef tried forcibly to remove Yaakov’s hand from Ephraim’s head and place it on Menashe’s, he was unable to do so. And Yaakov said to Yosef, “This is the hand that overpowered a third of the world” – for an angel, such as the Angel of Eisav that Yaakov defeated, is comparable to one-third of the world (Chullin 91b) – “and you think you can overpower it?” Seeing that he could not move Yaakov’s hand physically, Yosef then asked Yaakov to remove it voluntarily (Bereishis Rabba 97:4).

Weekly Mussar All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them, each one according to his blessing he blessed them (Bereishis 49:28) According to Rashi, the blessings mentioned here refer to those Yaakov gave earlier (Bereishis 49:127) – the “Birchos Yaakov” (Rashi,

Bereishis 49:28). Others, like the Chizkuni, understand that these blessings were different than the Birchos Yaakov (Chizkuni, Bereishis 49:28). At the core of their disagreement, however, there is a more fundamental question: how can the Birchos Yaakov be characterized accurately as “blessings”? In many instances, Yaakov criticized his sons sharply – where is the blessing in that? But, as R’ Yerucham Levovitz explains, that is precisely the point: the greatest blessing possible is for one to understand his or her true nature – strengths and weaknesses, successes and challenges. Because only when we understand ourselves – the good and the less good – can we realize our potential and fulfill what we are destined to. As related by his student, R’ Shlomo Wolbe, R’ Yerucham often said: “Woe to the person who does not recognize his weaknesses, but much more woe to the one who does not recognize his strengths. For the latter person does not recognize the tools G-d has given him. How then can he fulfill his ultimate purpose?”

Weekly Anecdote And as for you, you intended harm against me, but G-d intended it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, that a vast people be kept alive (Bereishis 50:20) In about 1975, a certain rabbi was appointed as head of a certain shul in Brooklyn, New York – a shul that had been decommissioned for some time and was in a state of

disrepair. The rabbi and his family worked tirelessly to restore the shul in time for what they hoped would be its much-ballyhooed reopening on the night of Purim. The family managed to complete the restoration work only a few days before Purim, when, without warning, a heavy snowstorm with galeforce winds pounded the tri-state area, causing widespread damage. Their shul was no exception. Its eastern wall began to crumble and peel, revealing a ghastly patch right near the Aron Kodesh. This was no way to reopen the shul, thought the rabbi. So he went to a local thrift shop to purchase something – anything decent, really – to cover the hideous patch in his otherwise-restored shul. Well, as “luck” would have it, the rabbi found the perfect fix: a beautiful large tablecloth, with a Star of David embroidered in its center. And it was just the right size to cover the dilapidated area. The rabbi purchased the tablecloth and made his way straight to the shul to hang it. Just before reaching the shul, however, the rabbi saw an older woman run to catch a bus but just miss it. The rabbi asked the woman if she preferred to come sit inside the shul until the next bus was scheduled to come, an offer she accepted gladly. Sitting in the back of the shul, the older woman watched as the rabbi hanged the tablecloth on the shul’s eastern wall. “Where did you find that tablecloth?” she shrieked. When the rabbi told her how he had purchased it at the local thrift shop, the older woman incredulous. “Turn

up the bottom right corner of the tablecloth. You will see the letters E.B.G.” The rabbi checked and, indeed, those letters were knitted into the corner of the tablecloth. Those were her initials, she explained. About 35 years earlier, just before the onset of World War II, she had woven this tablecloth for her husband. But then the Nazis, ym”sh, came along, and she was separated from her husband. The rabbi could not believe how fortuitous it was that he needed to and did purchase this very tablecloth and then bumped into the very woman who had knitted it so many years earlier. Learning more about the woman’s story as he drove her home to Staten Island, the rabbi was awed. Truly the Hand of G-d at work! What an amazing story of G-d’s Divine Providence! But there was more. A few nights later, as planned, the shul reopened on Purim night. There was a festive mood in the air, but as the congregation filed out of the shul, one older man remained behind. He sat and stared at the eastern wall with its tablecloth “tapestry,” visibly moved. The rabbi asked the older man if he required assistance. “No, thank you,” he replied. “But may I ask how you came to have that tablecloth?” “I purchased it at a local thrift shop recently to cover an unsightly patch on the wall. Why do you ask?” “Well, you’ll never believe this,” said the older man, “but my wife knitted that tablecloth for me before the war. But from the day the Nazis, ym”sh, marched into our town

around 35 years ago, I was separated from my wife. I have no knowledge of her fate or whereabouts.” As “luck” would have it, the rabbi explained, he knew her whereabouts – she was none other than the older woman who had missed the bus at just the moment he was returning to his shul from purchasing the very tablecloth she had knitted 35 years earlier! And so it was that G-d had orchestrated quite the master plan – as He always does, whether we see it or not – so that there would be a long overdue reunion of husband and wife on that Purim night.

Weekly Halacha And he commanded them, and he said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Chiti. In the cave that is in the field of Machpela, which is

before Mamre, in the Land of Canaan, which Avraham bought with the field from Ephron the Chiti for

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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one that “Avraham purchased from Ephron the Chiti as a possession of a burial place” (Bereishis 49:30) – we

The greatest blessing possible is for one to understand his or her true nature — strengths and weaknesses, successes and challenges.

a possession of a burying-place (Bereishis 49:29-30) Inasmuch as Yaakov insisted on being buried in Me’aras Hamachpela – and went to great lengths to emphasize that his burial plot was

see that there is a strong preference for one to own his own burial plot (and not rely on others purchasing one on his behalf or gifting one to him) (Responsa Tirosh ViYitzhar, No. 35 [R’ Tzvi Yechezkel Michelson]).

Indeed, the Chasam Sofer draws the same conclusion from Avraham Avinu’s purchase of Me’aras Hamachpela (Responsa of Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Dei’ah 341). While Ephron would have permitted Avraham to bury Sara without any payment, Avraham insisted on buying Me’aras Hamachpela so it would belong to him. On a related note, it is said in the name of the Steipler Gaon that purchasing a burial plot (during one’s lifetime) is a segula (good omen) for a long life (Orchos Rabbeinu, Vol. IV). The Weekly Halacha is not meant for practical purposes and is for discussion purposes only. Please consult your own rav for guidance.

Eytan Kobre is a writer, speaker, and attorney living in Kew Gardens Hills. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail eakobre@outlook.com.

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JANUARY 9, 9, 2020 2020 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home JANUARY

The Wandering

Jew

My Maiden Voyage Part I By Hershel Lieber

Chanukah, 1965, the last family picture we have with my father, a”h

t happened more than fifty years ago, when I was twenty years old. My father, Mechel Lieber, a”h, was niftar. He first bout with cancer was just before my bar mitzvah, and although we thought he won that battle, it came back with a vengeance about a year before his petira. My memories are a bit faded, but I remember spending a lot of time with him during that dreadful year. He was weak, so I did most of the talking and I sang to him the heartwarming tunes of Shlomo Carlebach. I left yeshiva in middle of that year and went to work to help support our family. My father’s income was gone, and my mother needed whatever I earned to help pay the bills. My father was not happy with the situation, but reality took precedence in our decision. I worked by a Lubavitcher chassid who imported sweaters from Italy, and my job was to fill the orders and pack the cartons. The work was not inspiring, and at times it was phys-

Sampling of the many letters that I sent to my mother, a”h, during my trip

ically draining, but it did earn me a check of $75 a week, which we badly needed. I was home on that fateful Sunday. My mother ran out for a short errand, and I went into their bed-

At the airport with my mother, a”h, and my siblings

the despair was devastating. The levaya and the week of shiva passed in a haze, and we were thrust into a new reality. I went back to work, although added to my gloomy day was a trip from Canal Street to the Romanian

When I look back, I can’t believe how illprepared I was for the trip that initiated me into becoming “The Wandering Jew.”

room to check on my father. I called out to him, and he did not respond. As I approached him, I realized that the inevitable had happened – my father returned his neshama to his Maker. As much as we all expected his petira, the shock was enormous, and

Shul in the East Side to say kaddish during Mincha. I would not describe my condition as depression, but I felt an irreplaceable void in my life that often made me anxious. My mother was a very special person who was openminded and did not necessarily follow convention. It

was she who suggested that maybe I should take off some time from work and travel to Europe. Visiting relatives and going sightseeing could bring back my natural calmness and could do wonders in recuperating from this traumatic period. We both knew that it was completely uncommon for a young bachur to do this, and there was concern what others may think. We came up with a ruse, telling others that I would be going on behalf of my boss to the sweater factories in Milano, Italy, to inspect the production of his products. We spoke to my employer who granted me a three week leave in light of the difficult year that I had experienced. Together with my mother I made travel plans for my “maiden voyage” to Europe. When I think back, I find it amazing that the only tickets we bought were the outgoing flight on KLM to Amsterdam and the return flight to New York three weeks later. I had

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Famous tourist sites Amsterdam

to make all the other arrangements while I was in Europe. I would decide where to go and when to go, where to stay and what to do. Either I was extremely mature at the time or my mother was overly trusting. My father had first cousins in London and a brother in Munich, and my mother had first cousins in Antwerp. Since calling by telephone was too expensive, my mother wrote to the families of my impending visit but without any specific dates. In Amsterdam and in Paris we had no one and yet these cities were on my itinerary. I took along very little money, and this all took place before I owned a single credit card. When I look back, I can’t believe how ill-prepared I was for the trip that initiated me into becoming “The Wandering Jew.” At the airport I was accompanied by my mother, my brother Yossy, and my sister Mati. One friend joined my family in bidding me farewell, while two others arrived after I boarded. Going to Europe was an event which was so uncommon at the time that I was viewed as a celebrity of sorts. This was also my first time on a plane and that experience was exciting as well. The window seat added to my pleasure, and even the kosher airline food was a novelty that I appreciated at the time. The only thing that disturbed me was the amount of hand luggage I had with me on the plane and the two bulging suitcases that accompanied me throughout the trip. My mother insisted that I take along clothing for every eventual weather condition along with numerous gifts for all the members of our family. After a night of much eating and little sleeping, I landed at Schiphol

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Portuguese Synagogue

Airport in Amsterdam. In the airport, in addition to presenting my passport, I had to show that I had received a smallpox vaccination. I changed some dollars into guilders – which was the Dutch currency at the time – and took a bus to Dam Square, the center of the city. I inquired about a hotel and found a small kosher guesthouse within a fifteen-minute walk to a synagogue. I was in my year of aveilus and needed a minyan to say kaddish. The hotel was priced at $3.25 a night with an additional cost for breakfast and dinner. The second night I moved up one flight to a room with a shared bathroom to save 50 cents for that night. The first thing I did after I settled in was to write an aerogramme to my mother, which was cheaper than a letter. I told her that I would write every day and that she should save my correspondence. This would form a diary of my European trip. She saved each one, and I still have the entire collection, which I recently reviewed for the first time in over fifty years and which helped me in writing this article. Before going to shul, I wanted to shave. I could not use my shaver since the outlet holes were further apart than my shaver plug. I had no idea of the difference in voltage between the U.S. and Europe. I put aside shaving for the moment and ran over to the shul. It was a large building, and they were just starting Mincha. For the next two days, I was in complete confusion and could not coordinate myself with the congregants. Whenever they were standing, I was sitting, and when I was stand-

The house where Anne Frank and her family hid during the war

ing, they were sitting. When I started saying kaddish, they hushed me and indicated that only one person says this kaddish. At other times, they motioned that I should join the others saying kaddish in unison. Somehow, whatever I did was wrong! Yet the different customs fascinated me, as I participated in Judaism’s variety of traditions. My little guesthouse was next door to Concertgebouw, Holland’s National Philharmonic Hall. Although I could not go to a concert because of my aveilus, the grandeur of the music waft through the massive walls of the Hall into my modest room and lightened my spirits. Amsterdam is so charming. The variety of townhouses lining the tree-shaded canals is a scene in an artist’s dream. Thousands of bikes rush past the quaint cobblestoned streets where street vendors sell Delft Porcelain, wooden shoes, and fresh tulips in a myriad of colors and shades. Food vendors dole out hefty portions of salty herring complemented with a jug of Heineken beer. I walked the streets for hours and never got tired. I went to the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt’s

“Night Watch” and to the Van Gogh Museum to see his “Sunflowers.” My mother was a renowned artist who instilled in me the love and appreciation of art, for which I am thankful to this very day. While in Amsterdam, I bought lithographs of street scenes and country landscapes which I shipped off to my mother to sell in her well-known art studio in Boro Park. My love of Jewish history took me to the famous Portuguese Synagogue, which represented the apex of Jewish life in Holland when the Dutch provided a haven for the Sephardic Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. I also recognized the destruction of Holland’s Jews during World War II. This happened when I visited and reacquainted myself with the tragedy embodied in The Diary of Anne Frank at the house where she and her family hid before being caught and sent to Bergen-Belsen where she eventually died. Clearly our people’s story is a combination of lows and highs, of valleys and mountains, of tragedy and triumph. Amsterdam was my introduction to our constant shifting destiny.

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.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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Israel Today

Renewal in Jerusalem By Rafi Sackville

aint the following map in your mind’s eye: you are walking down Rechov Yaffa in Jerusalem towards the Old City. Just before the road starts its descent towards Jaffa Gate, you turn left towards Damascus Gate, walk down a few hundred yards, and then turn left again. You now find yourself in Musrara, a neighborhood that, over the last 50 years, has dramatically changed from a slum and the center of a radically socio-political movement to an area of renewal. It has become Jerusalem’s poster child of just what can be accomplished through the fusion of history and technology. Before Musrara’s founding in the late 19th century, most of Jerusalem’s Jews lived in the Old City. Musrara was one of the first places where people chose to live outside the Old City. After the War of Independence, the residents of Musrara found themselves in the unenviable position of being caught in skirmishes between Israel and Jordan. The Arab residents had fled, and the government filled their houses with thousands of immigrants from North African countries. From Independence onwards, each respective government would house new residents throughout the country without thought to integration. Imagine the difficulty new immigrants had integrating into Israeli society after World War II. Consider moving into a neighborhood where Jews from Eastern Europe and

North Africa lived side by side. The only thing in common between them was their Jewishness. Not language. Not culture. Not food. Even davening in minyanim would have been challenging. Due to its closeness to the border, the residents suffered greatly. Musrara’s reputation as a neglected slum grew until eventually, in 1971, a movement against the government’s discrimination quickly grew into a raging wave that exploded into headlines. The Black Panther movement squarely placed the plight of Sephardim into perspective. Their voices were loud enough to bring about effective change. The Panthers weren’t the first minority group to riot against predominantly Ashkenazi governments. Wadi Salib in Haifa is a case in point. After the serious wounding of a Moroccan immigrant in Wadi Salib in 1959, there were riots that filtered through the periphery in Tiberias, Beer Sheva, and Migdal Ha’Emek. In Wadi Salib, immigrants had been moved into over-populated slums, while new Polish immigrants were granted far better housing. The riots in Wadi Salib led to an outcry, including personal concerns by the king of Morocco regarding Israel’s ill treatment of North African immigrants. The riots in Musrara in 1971 had an effect of a different kind. For one, advancements in broadcasting in radio and television brought the story to more Israeli homes. Secondly, the

continuing lack of political empathy by Ashkenazi elites eventually culminated in the election of Menachem Begin in 1977, the champion of Israeli’s minorities. Fast forward almost 50 years, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any remnants of a slum in Musrara. Despite its facial gentrification, though, the advancements of the community in Musrara rank behind other communities in the city. Into this vacuum stepped Intel, the multinational technology company. Through the auspices of the Jerusalem Municipal Center, they met with institutions, organizations, residents, and communities operating in the neighborhood to develop programs in collaboration with the community with the goal of developing solutions to community challenges by transforming the neighborhood into an innovative, technologically-integrated space. Intel was instrumental in developing the “Young Maker” program at the Yerushlab in Musrara. This program focuses on developing technological and artistic skills and learning about physical principles, basic electronics, and the concepts of the art world. In addition, participants are exposed to new technological tools such as 3D printers, laser-cutting machines, and other tools and equipment that are in the lab. Unlike most residents, the visitors who flock to Musrara aren’t aware of a vibrant scene now emerg-

ing in the neighborhood. But that is quickly changing. Intel is also supporting another program which integrates video animation through layered reality. By facing a building with a phone, one can watch as the building becomes animated. The very telling of Musrara’s history can now be viewed through 21st century technology – or as it was so succinctly put during a recent ceremony, “the stories of old seen through the eyes of modern technology.” On an early, sunny November morning an official ceremony to launch the project was held. I had a personal interest in the proceedings as my friend’s son, Alon Adler, was master of ceremonies. He’s a confident young man who had spent months working on the project. He effortlessly linked a path between the various speakers and performers. Yaniv Garty, CEO of Intel Israel, said he was proud to be in a neighborhood that symbolizes social innovation in Israel and has a history that has pushed Israeli society to places that would not have come without the people doing it. Eldad Weil, director of the Young Jerusalem Center and Licensed Community Administration, added to this idea when he said that, together with Intel and the community, a technological-community experience has been created that is unique. The Musrara neighborhood is being renewed and revitalized, and today

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon at the hologram display in Musrara

we have added another, new floor on top of an old one. Jerusalem’s Mayor Moshe Leon sounded particularly proud of the development in the neighborhood that allows residents and guests of the Musrara neighborhood to play a

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

Mayor Moshe Leon and Intel CEO Yaniv Garty using the layered reality technology

part in the urban history of the area. “We want the children of this neighborhood to be able to master technology,” the mayor said. “If only we had projects like this across Jerusalem.” It is difficult to walk through Je-

rusalem trying to imagine the history that has walked its cobbled paths. History can be elusive, politically manipulated, glorified, or underplayed. Musrara’s renewal has helped blend a true sense of the technologically-advanced world we live in with-

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out compromising the history of the area – without detracting from its stormy past nor its bright future.

Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.

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How I Over came Family Issues by P artying Har d By Anonymous

all families, my family has issues. It’s complicated – we have been through a lot. We are a large brood with lots of different personalities, most of them strong. We suffered from serious trauma just a short while back, and some of my siblings are still very wounded. Truthfully, I think that we are all still wounded; some of us just know how to cover it up better. Look, life could be rough and there have been many bumpy roads in my family’s history. I was a bit nervous when one of my brothers recently decided to make a family get-together. I had a lot of mixed emotions about it. You see, I don’t talk much to some of my siblings. Over the years, we have grown apart and we are so different from each other. I have a brother who lives a lifestyle that I just don’t understand – he is very intense and

thinks that it’s his way or the highway. I have another brother who must have severe ADD – he’s always running around and making lots of noise. I have a sister who is very studious and has no emotions; she’s a

Some of the kids are like their parents – I totally see how they turned out the way they did; some have rebelled against their parents and have gone in the exact opposite direction as them; and some are just

We instantly became the idyllic family that people think everyone else has but that doesn’t really exist in real life. super achiever and top in her field, always makes me feel inadequate. And each of them has a bunch of kids, which just compounds and complicates things even more.

emotionally checked out. That’s just my basic diagnosis. I have a much more nuanced diagnosis as well, but you don’t have all day. One thing is clear: our family’s journey, trauma,

path – whatever you want to call it – has affected us each deeply and differently. The one nice thing about our family, though, is that my father is great. He’s very wealthy – not in the “drives a LS 500 way” – it’s more than that. He is there for us, and he gets us. I have an excellent relationship with him, and I know how important it is that we all show up to the family party and have a good time together. He really doesn’t get to see us together too often. It’s interesting. My father has a different, unique, and individual relationship with each of us, but I know for a fact that he likes when we all get together. So even though I was a bit hesitant at first when my brother told me about it, I agreed to go to the party. Of course, a barrage of normal crazy emotions (that’s not an oxymoron in my world) flooded my

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brain before the party. First of all, nobody asked for my opinion about what we should do at the party, and I have a lot of opinions and ideas. I wasn’t sure about the place that we were doing the party; they decided to do it at a place that was far from where I live. I was definitely not looking forward to schlepping out there. The sibling who arranged the party wanted everyone to pitch in and pay for their family and I wondered whether there was a way that we could do it cheaper. I wasn’t sure if some of my siblings who I liked were coming or not. Who would I hang out with? My list of concerns went on even further, depending on my mood. But I’m proud of myself. I kind of did something that I don’t normally do. I said to myself, “Family is important; with all of our issues, I still love my family members; it’s nice to get together once in a while; and Pops will definitely shep nachas, which is very important, because although we have been through a lot, in a weird way, he has been through even more than us.” So, with those thoughts in mind, I promised myself that I would go to the party, but more importantly that I would go with a 100% positive attitude. I wanted my kids to feel the same way, so I got them really excited for the party as well. Turns out that they were more pumped than me. You see, I carry around the baggage of years of family stuff. My kids don’t. All they know is that they were going to see their cousins, uncles, and aunts. To them, it’s exhilarating because it’s so real; the connection is natural – love isn’t so complicated to kids. My son even got involved in a skit that he and his cousins were going to put on. At first, I wanted to tell him, “Come on, that’s so gimmicky,” but I stopped myself and let him roll with it. I reminded myself that just because I’m not free enough to get excited, it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be able to express his excitement for our family event. Anyway, on the day of the party, I drove there with my family and a few cousins from the Five Towns who hopped along. We hit the road with

snacks, great music, and, of course, lots of discussion and predictions about how the party would turn out (after all we are Jewish). When we got to the party, right when I parked, I immediately ran into a brother who I never had much to do with. But something strange happened – there was no awkwardness, we were excited to see each other. We actually walked into the party together. With my kids at my side, I entered the room of the party and I was completely overwhelmed by a feeling of love, the type that I’m not used to, the type of love that caused me to almost feel like I stepped outside of my normal state of being. I looked around and saw each of my siblings. Strangely, all of the family trau-

good in our get-together.” Within moments of arriving at the party, I felt a sense of calm, acceptance, and even vulnerability. It seemed to be radiating back to me very strongly from my siblings. That made time seem to stop; it felt like a twilight zone. Then a thought hit me – your siblings don’t know what process you went through before coming to the party and you don’t know what process they went through, all of that is just external. What was really happening, I realized, was that these family members – after peeling away our differences and trauma – really are the only people in the world who are truly there for me. These family members, when in their soul state, would take a bullet for me and I’d do

These family members – after peeling away our differences and trauma – really are the only people in the world who are truly there for me. ma, drama, and issues didn’t seem to be present at all. It’s almost like we were a different family – we instantly became the idyllic family that people think everyone else has but that doesn’t really exist in real life. Did each of them go through the same emotional process that I went through before the party? Was it just me who was apprehensive about the party in the first place? Maybe it was the way I looked at things for all of these years? Everybody looked great and seemed so healthy. My mind started wondering whether this was authentic…maybe it was not as good as it looked…maybe it wasn’t really so great but I had just drunk the “be positive Kool-Aid.” But I caught myself. “If you analyze it this way and go down that road,” I told myself, “your head will fall into the same pattern and you will totally miss the

the same for them. What was really happening is that I was sensing a feeling of comfort that I needed so much but rarely ever find in this tumultuous world. And now that I had it I wanted to be enveloped in it. I wanted it to stay with me. The party started with some family members talking about different family qualities. It was nice to hear but truthfully, I didn’t have to hear; I didn’t have to look; I just had to be. I just had to take that tranquil comfort and love and internalize it so that when I left the party, I could hold onto it. And I’m proud of myself. I kind of did that. I’m a judgmental person by nature, with my eighteen different opinions on everything. But I didn’t share my opinions at the party and tried not to be judgmental either. Not everything was exactly how I

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would have done it or planned it. Some things should have been more creative and thoughtful than what they planned; some things could have been less. But the most important thing – to me, at least – was that I was able to see past that and tap into what was really happening – internally, not externally. Has the party changed how I look at my family members? Well, no and yes. No in a small way, and yes in a big way. I still have differences with some of my siblings. They are not me and I am not them, and we will each do things differently, look at things differently, act differently. But “yes” in a big way because here’s what changed: I know deep in my heart that, despite all my differences with some of them, when we are together, the feeling of love breaks every boundary. And when that love is illuminated, our differences seem so small, so trivial, so insignificant. It reaffirmed something that we always say but don’t always believe – we have the best family in the world! Going forward, instead of getting all bent out of shape about something that a sibling does, I can go to a deeper place of loving that sibling regardless of his or her actions. When a critical thought about a sibling enters my mind, I’ll remember how I clutched that sibling’s hand at our party and danced with him. Hopefully, I will be able to store away the feelings that I had at the party deep in my heart and allow those feelings to forever change how I look at my family. After getting home from the party, I was winded but energized. Many family members shared pictures and videos from the party. I am still looking at my WhatsApp every few minutes hoping to see a good picture or video. It’s nice to see that everyone seems to have the same feelings that I have about this get-together. I already can’t wait for my next family party in seven-and-a-half years. Hopefully the next one will be in Yerushalayim rather than at MetLife Stadium. P.S. To see photos of my family get-together, turn to page 102.

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SCENES FROM THE

HELD IN

Photo Credits: Menachem Adelman, Moshe Bitton, Moshe Gershbaum, and Chaim Schwartz/Agudath Israel of America Archives

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SIYUM HASHAS

METLIFE STADIUM

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudas Yisroel, welcoming the attendees

Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rosh HaYeshiva, Beis Medrash Govoha, Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, giving divrei bracha

Rabbi Aaron Schiff, chief rabbi of the Ultra-Orthodox community in Antwerp and a former rosh yeshiva of Antwerpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Belz school, addressing attendees in Yiddish

Davening Mincha together with thousands of other Jews

Rabbi Uren Reich, Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Ohr Zecharia Woodlake, addressing the crowd

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Rav Yaakov Feitman dancing with members of his shul at the Siyum

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy at the Siyum

Rabbi Nosson Scherman, general editor of ArtScroll/ Mesorah Publications, making a siyum on all shisha sidrei Mishna, the culmination of many months of study by over 30,000 child members of the Masmidei HaSiyum initiative

Rabbi Yissocher Frand, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Baltimore, addressing the crowd

HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky reading the Hadran

TheJewish JewishHome Home| OCTOBER | JANUARY29, 9, 2020 The 2015

Mr. Jay Schottenstein, who dedicated the 73 volumes of the ArtScroll Talmud in memory of his father, Mr. Jerome Schottenstein, reciting the Kaddish prayer marking the end of the 13th Daf Yomi cycle at the Siyum

Rabbi Yoel Gold shares a “Siyum Moment”

Moments after the triumphant conclusion of the 2,711 page-long Daf Yomi cycle, Rabbi Aharon Feldman, rosh yeshiva of Baltimore’s Ner Israel Rabbinical College and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America, starts the Daf Yomi anew

Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, dancing during the celebration

A Holocaust survivor gives a bracha to a young attendee at the Siyum

Rabbi Eliezer Ginsburg, Rosh Kollel, Mir Yeshiva, Brooklyn, and Rav, Agudas Yisroel Zichron Shmuel, leading the crowd in Maariv

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SCENES FROM THE

HELD IN

Photo Credits: Hillel Lichtenstein and Avrumi Blum

Rabbi Yeruchem Olshin saying the Yehi Ratzon

Rabbi Yaakov Reisman saying Kaddish on Shisha Sidrei Mishna

Rabbi Avrohom Nisan Perl making the siyum

Rav Elya Brudny saying the Kaddish after the siyum

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SIYUM HASHAS

BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN Reb Mordechai Menachem Weider, a Holocaust survivor, saying the Kaddish for the six million kedoshim

Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel beginning Shas

The Kossover Rebbe davening Mincha

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L-R: Rabbi Shlomo Altusky, Skulaner Rav, Viznitzer Rav (Boro Park), Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, Bobov 45 Rov

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From CNN, to MTV, to Siyum HaShas With a Daytime Emmy in Between

By David Jasse

Scouting out MetLife Stadium

“I

had the zechus to interview many of the gedolim before they gave their speeches at the Siyum at MetLife; it was surreal!” said director David Jasse right after he interviewed rabbanim, participants, and attendees of the 13th Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium with his video crew for Agudath Yisroel of America. “I’ll never forget going to the Siyum in 1997, also having been hired by the Agudah to take around my video crew for interviews, but at that time I never heard of the Siyum HaShas,” Mr. Jasse continued. “It’s actually quite remarkable even to me when I look back on my TV career and how it helped lead me on a path to a life of Torah observance.”

a nearby diner, get to CNN at 5:30 to set up the studio. I don’t think I ever, ever missed a train. I loved doing studio camera for the early financial shows, so much so that I thought nothing of getting up

dios, in 1992. Shortly after going out on my own in business, I started keeping Shabbos, learning, and davening Shacharis in the early morning instead of jumping on the train. It was around that time

“I never heard of the Siyum HaShas. I heard of Madison Square Garden – that’s where I went to see Billy Joel in concert, the music I grew up on.”

David takes a look back...

y first real job in TV was at CNN. It’s 4 a.m., time to get up to catch the 4:17 a.m. LIRR train. Get to the city at 5 a.m., have breakfast in

every day in the dark. I subsequently went on to be an editor and a producer at CNN before moving on to do editing work for MTV, CBS, and FOX before opening my own company, DMJ Stu-

that I began to be a regular guest in shomer Shabbos households. I’ll never forget the Friday night when I stayed in New York City for Shabbos, and I was set up for a meal with Yo-

sef Chaim Golding who was working at Agudas Yisrael at the time. When Rabbi Golding heard of my extensive TV experience, it didn’t take long until we were collaborating, subsequently producing, editing, and directing videos for a range of Jewish organizations. First it was Camp HASC, then Shuvu, interviewing Rav Pam, zt”l, and producing a feature about Agudas Yisrael and interviewing Rabbi Moshe Sherer, zt”l. At that time, I never heard of any of these organizations nor any of these holy rabbis. Looking back, I seemed to have had quite a zechus to interview these holy gedolim of Klal Yisroel that seems to continue until today. After being shomer Shabbos for quite some time, and having a substantial number of Jewish videos under my belt, Rabbi Golding had a new assignment for me. It was 1997, and he said we’d be filming Siyum HaShas in Madison Square Garden. Once again, still relatively new to the Orthodox world I entered, I never heard of the

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Filming the Siyum HaShas in 2013

David with Craig Braden and Mitchel Wolf

Speaking with Rabbi Aharon Feldman

David with Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky and Rav Malkiel Kotler

Speaking with Rabbi Sholom Kamenetsky

this year, one of my daughters bought a ticket and attended the siyum, and our two other children, who are learning in Israel, smiled from ear to ear when they saw me sending social media updates of me with my crew at the awe-inspiring siyum. Speaking of awe-inspiring, during one of the interviews, one of the gedolim actually told me there hasn’t been such a gathering since the Beis Hamikdash. Wow! I want to give you one last unforgettable moment of this TV producer’s road to becoming an observant Jew. I’ll never forget walking down Yellowstone Boulevard in Queens with Rabbi Algaze a few weeks into keeping Shabbos and desperately asking for help. “Rabbi, what did I do?” I asked him. “Friday nights used to mean a wonderful traditional Shabbos meal at my parents’ house in New Hyde Park; Saturday mornings a private drive to Queens to hear your speech; and then

Siyum HaShas. I heard of Madison Square Garden – that’s where I went to see Billy Joel in concert, the music I grew up on. I took my former colleagues from CNN to the Garden, and we put our broadcast TV skills to work for Agudas Yisrael. The video we produced with Rabbi Golding started with a resounding voice-over, “The 2,711-page odyssey of Shas” – that’s how I know

until this very day how many pages there are in Shas! Looking back on that Shabbos meal at the Goldings, I remember gasping in admiration at the Goldings’ holy family around the Shabbos table, and praying to Hashem to merit a similar situation. Today, with the chessed of Hashem, our youngest son, a budding talmid chacham at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, was my assistant at MetLife Stadium

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going to the gym in Manhasset Hills on Long Island to teach an aerobics class. Now, I’m here for 25 hours with people I just met. What in the world am I doing?” The rabbi said, “So why are you doing this? Is there something you saw and liked?” “Yes,” I answered. “Benzion and Tamara’s wedding with 50 guys storming the chuppah after the ceremony, and the Shabbos meal at Rabbi Golding’s house with his holy children around the table, which I would like, too” – just the inspiration I needed at the time. It’s been a meaningful and fulfilling journey, although I forgot to mention that DMJ Studios was recently part of a Daytime Emmy award-winning nature show that aired on ABC called “Born to Explore.” Now, when reminiscing about my journey and reading the name of the show…well, maybe that should be the name of this article: “Born to Explore.”

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Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

I’ve been watching my mother-in-law slowly but surely damage her reputation, and she doesn’t even know it.

She is attempting to marry off her two youngest kids (my sister- and brotherin-law), telling people that they are in the parsha, but when she gets suggestions she is impossible to deal with. I get comments all the time from friends of the family asking if my mother-in-law is generally a difficult person, and I try to defend her, but the things I am hearing are making it hard for me to keep defending her. She begs shadchanim for help with my sister-in-law, and if they even ask about my brother-inlaw, she gets defensive, saying that people should think of my sister-in-law first. Sometimes it feels like they use their son as collateral for shadchanim to set up my sister-in-law! She has strange requests, like asking the shadchan if the boy can meet her and my father-in-law before they agree to a date with a bochur and asking incredibly detail-oriented questions that delve into matters that have no relevance (which always gets back to the parents by the references). They make strong demands on the boy’s side in terms of travel requirements for my sister-in-law but at the same time require girls to travel in for my brother-in-law to date because of his busy schedule. They also have double standards, such as asking for a picture of a girl for their son but have said it’s a red flag if a family of a prospective girl they’ve given a yes to asks for a picture of my brother-in-law. So many things – I could go on and on. My in-laws are definitely opinionated, and I could see it getting really awkward if I bring this up, but I don’t want my siblings-in-law to suffer for it. How do you suggest I proceed? Distressed Daughter-in-Law

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.

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. ou are right to be distressed. However, this is not a matter that you can deal with yourself. While you are right to be concerned about the damage to the prospects of your siblings-in-law, your involvement is most likely going to be counterproductive. You may be blamed and further complicate things for the two young people. Your in-laws have children who are already married and probably think they know what they are doing. They may also feel justified in holding a double standard for their son and daughter. Therefore, I think that their peers, friends of theirs, relatives their own age, and a rav will be the only ones who can influence them. I’m not even sure if a straighttalking shadchan will get through to them; people tend to get hurt by shadchanim who tell them general practices. They may listen to a forthright shadchan on particulars only. If your husband wants to take this up with the aforementioned people who may have some influence, he should do so with discretion and caution. It also needs to be broached in a positive way such as “it might increase Sarah’s chances at dates if…” Directly addressing the obstacles on his own will probably not be effective. If, however, he has a warm, open relationship with them, he should go ahead. You should stay out of it.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. ear Mommy and Daddy: This morning I attended a bris made by my best friend since high school, Tziporah. It was her third son (her fifth child), and I was the only one of her high school

friends who could make it – on a weekday, at 7:30 in the morning. (Everyone else had to get their kids ready for school, I guess.) She was so excited to see me; she thanked me for coming and gave me a huge hug. I was happy to be there; so why was I teary-eyed, as I sat at the table, nibbling my bagel? Last month I was at Avigayil son’s (my camp friend) bar mitzvah. I was seated with a lot of girls I knew from camp. They all looked glamorous – in their long, perfect sheitels and gifted jewelry; they prattled about their kids and husbands and recipes. They kvetched about homework, showed pictures of their babies, and raved about their tablescapes and Chanukah-themed parties. There was a lot of laughter. So why did I feel like sobbing when Chedva – who I haven’t seen in a decade – asked, in a soft, sympathetic tone, “So…how do you keep yourself busy?” Since graduating, I have been to scores of friends’ vorts and weddings and sheva brachos. Over the past few years, I haven’t gotten too many wedding invitations. I, along with my small circle of single friends, struggle to find even one “normal” guy who qualifies as marriage material. Have no fear. I figure that, in about seven years, my married friends will be inviting me to their children’s weddings. So I’ll be back on the vort/chasunah/sheva brachos circuit. Mom and Dad: I want to make my own simchas! And I know you both want me to get married. But, from what I’ve heard through the grapevine (from shadchanim, Joyce, my favorite SIL, Tante Sandy, our neighbors, our shul friends – who have had the guts/chutzpah to tell me) “the parents are the problem!” There. I’ve said it. In this letter. I know, I know: writing is so… awkward. But it’s hard for me to pull the phone away when I hear you give shadchanim a hard time. I can’t interrupt when you ask about the nitty gritty, irrelevant details of a boy’s

family background. I don’t know when you nix shidduchim because you don’t trust the shadchan. I can’t walk away while you interrogate and humiliate the (rare) guy who takes me out. I could scream when I hear you say “No” to sending my picture or allowing me to date a “baal teshuva” or “out-of-towner” or a “guy with a past.” Let me decide. If I’m old enough to be a wife and mother, mature enough to make a bris or a bar mitzvah, responsible enough to be a professional and travel the world, allow me to choose who I want to date and in what areas I’m willing to compromise from my original post-seminary, twenty-something’s wishlist. I believe and pray every day that my bashert is out there. It’s taking a while for him to arrive, but, please, please, Mom and Dad, don’t take it on your conscience to be the obstacle that prevents him from coming. With utmost love and respect, Your Daughter

The Shadchan Michelle Mond hank you so much for bringing this question to a public forum. I see this scenario play out time and time again as a shadchan. Often, I experience what you are witnessing here. A son or younger sibling being treated as a “collateral” to shadchanim to help set up an older daughter or moms of young men having expectations of prospective young women to bend over backwards for their son’s schedules, since the boys seem to have the upper hand – often, at the same time, displaying an obvious double standard by expecting the young men to bend over backwards for their daughters, even though it is the exact opposite of what they expect their own sons to comply with for their suitors. It is a problem, and I completely understand the pain you must feel, sitting back and watching

Although we might be single, we are breathing, thinking, capable, real life human beings who have reputations, thoughts, and feelings.

your mother-in-law singlehandedly ruin their reputation. My advice to you is quite simple, actually. I can easily tell you to stay out of it and let her burn her bridges. I can easily tell you to stay out of this. But unfortunately, as a shadchan, I must stand up for the sake of my fellow shadchan-colleagues and the singles we are responsible for to help create a world that is more conducive to shidduchim actually being made. Less border control agents and drama. It is because of this that I unequivocally recommend that you and your husband sit down and talk to your father-in-law. Generally, fathers in the parsha are more logical and less emotionally driven (sorry, ladies!). Most likely, your father-inlaw has taken the passenger’s seat and has given your mother-in-law the steering wheel, not realizing the car is now spinning out of control. Tell him confidentially the feedback you have been getting and consequently the negative effect it is having on their kids’ shidduchim. As the person who knows her best, it

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would be ideal if he brings this topic up with his wife. Together, they can figure out a solution where your mother-in-law still somewhat feels in control but does not know that this constructive criticism came from her beloved and special daughter-in-law. For all she will know, it was feedback her husband had received, who then discussed it with her for the sake of damage control. If nothing else, this letter you have written will help Mothers In The Parsha appreciate those who take the time to voluntarily help their single children and not make things more difficult. Hatzlacha!

The Single Rena Friedman istressed Daughter-in-Law, it seems as though you are wit-

nessing an injustice by your mother-in-law to her children and you feel that you must do something to protect your siblings. Based on your description of your mother-in-law, you must be a very special person, especially to have the zechus of marrying her son. Thank you for caring enough to write in and trying to take action to help your sister- and brother-in-law. When it comes to shidduchim everyone loves to hear from the rebbetzin, mother, sister, shadchan, uncle, grandpa, mailman, dog’s owner, but no one ever stops to ask the person whose very life is on the line…the single. Although we might be single, we are breathing, thinking, capable, real life human beings who have reputations, thoughts, and feelings. Remember that when presenting that resume there is a real person behind it. When it comes to your sisterand brother-in-law, you have an achrayus to make sure that they

know exactly what their mother is doing on their behalf. They need to understand how their shidduchim are being handled and how their reputations are being tarnished by their mother’s mischievous moves within and her attitude towards this system. They have a right to have their own voices heard. Your mother-in-law clearly understands how to play the shidduchim game as she knows what to appropriately request for her son versus her daughter (i.e. travel and pictures). She might think she’s pulling one over on everyone and that she has a right to make these outlandish requests because her children are precious, but let me tell you, everyone’s children are precious. People are going to start getting frustrated with her, and the suggestions are going to start coming far and few in between. Someone better tell her quickly that when it comes to anything, especially shidduchim, it is all about reputation.

Think of her as an extremely agitated, stressed-out mother hen, trying desperately to protect and guide her young chicks.

She needs to be extremely careful with how she presents herself and, most importantly, her children. Your mother-in-law, sister-inlaw, and brother-in-law all need to hear some serious feedback and perhaps criticism. Go to whoever they

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 TheJewish JewishHome Home| OCTOBER | JANUARY29, 9, 2020 The 2015

will each be most receptive to (i.e. a rav or close friend) and ask that they relay the message anonymously. For the sake of your shalom bayis with your husband and the larger family, I do not think it would be wise to put yourself in the messenger position. When these things happen in a family, spouses tend to suffer from guilt by associate, so make sure that your husband agrees, or at least is okay, with any action that you decide to take.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler ave you heard about the daughter-in-law who gave her moth-

er-in-law some heartfelt, sincere, constructive criticism, and afterwards they loved each other even more and lived happily ever after? Neither have I. No, no, no! It is very easy to ruin, and very difficult to repair, the relationship between a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law. It is clear that you are genuinely concerned that your mother-in-law’s actions are harming the marriage prospects of your brother-in-law and sister-in-law. However, if you, personally, try to intervene, no good will come of it. She will resent you and blame you for everything that subsequently goes wrong. If you feel that you must intervene, do it through a third party. And, no, no, no, do not ask your husband to speak

up on your behalf. Your mother-inlaw will see right through it and correctly conclude that you put him up to it. What you might consider doing, though, is asking a knowledgeable shadchan or consultant to call or write to your mother-in-law anonymously and suggest that there are certain norms of behavior that help enhance children’s prospects and certain negative behaviors to be avoided. (Some of my fellow panelists are expert consultants/therapists. Perhaps you could enlist their assistance.) Yes, yes, yes! Why not consider bypassing this system altogether? I’m sure that you and your husband have come across wonderful young men and women who could

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make excellent spouses for your husband’s siblings. Why not take the initiative and try to set them up yourselves? After all, you know your relatives and friends much better than any third-party shadchan who merely scans their resumes. Why, why, why? Don’t be too harsh in judging your mother-in-law. Think of her as an extremely agitated, stressed-out mother hen, trying desperately to protect and guide her young chicks. (Why intelligent people in an enlightened community like ours have allowed the evolution and standardization and of the current extremely difficult, stressful, and painful system of dating is a proper subject for a different time and place.) Your mother-in-law is the victim of a very difficult status quo. Empathize with her and try to help her.

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

h at a predicament. I know you want to help your brother-in-law and sister-in-law. If your mother-inlaw is as “difficult” a person as others perceive her to be, I’m thinking she may not be able to or want to hear your input. How many parents unknowingly are sabotaging their children in shidduchim with silly or ridiculous demands and expectations? What is your relationship like with your mother-in-law? What is her ability historically to look at her behavior and “own” it? If your relationship is good and your mother-in-law is self-aware, the conversation will go smoothly. However, if your relationship isn’t rock solid and/or your mother-in-law has a hard time taking ownership, be

prepared that it may not go smoot hly. A re you prepared to have words or suffer the consequences of your honesty? You have two options: to get involved or to stay out of it. If you choose to get involved, invite your mother-in-law out for lunch or coffee or get together in one of your homes. Let her know how much you care and what has been coming to your attention. Tell her how much the feedback has been weighing on you and that you couldn’t keep it from her any longer. At that point, it is truly up to her. You will have done your part. Wishing you and your family all the best!

All the best, Jennifer Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and dating and relationship coach working with individuals, couples, and families in private practice at 123 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, NY. She also teaches a

psychology course at Touro College. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 516-224-7779, ext. 2. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

Hi Readers! Receiving your enthusiastic emails wanting to participate in the Reader’s Respond section has been wonderful! Just a reminder about how Reader Response works. Email thenavidaters@gmail. com with the subject line “Reader Response.” We will then ask you, in the order we receive your email, if you would like to respond to the coming week’s email. If you would like to respond to an already printed Navidaters Panel, please submit your answer to the editor at editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com. You can also join us on our FB page @thenavidaters on Sunday evenings to post your response to the week’s column. Interacting with you has been a pleasure! Thank you for all of your feedback. Jennifer

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Dr. Deb

Yoga is Invalidating By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

was reading an old therapy magazine, and surprisingly there was an article in it explaining the principles of yoga. I take a nice stretching-yoga class in the gym, and I can vouch for the benefit of stretching after sitting all day every day at the computer. I sit at the computer when I’m seeing clients (that’s how I take my notes), and then I sit some more just to write articles for you. What I didn’t know before was the connection between the stretching and the breathing. I’m a huge advocate of breathing to take control of emotions that seem out of control. I have most of my clients practice breathing exercises at home, and whether it takes them a year to agree to even try it or they grab hold of it right away, they agree that it works and is a powerful tool. So I like the stretching, and I like the breathing. I just never saw the connection before. The author explained that the whole purpose of the breathing – as I said – is to get the mind quiet, relax the body, and give a person the peaceful presence to deal with the stressors of life. Now, how exactly does this work? When you breathe deeply, you lower your blood pressure, heart rate, pulse, and cortisol, the stress hormone. But here is the other, little considered aspect of the breathing: You distract yourself from whatever

is bothering you. Or you’re supposed to. Just like we give an alternate toy to the baby when he has grabbed his sister’s doll and she starts to complain, distraction works for us, too. So, the stretching – especially if it is difficult or even painful – acts

words, so “resistant”? Why do we all – I include myself – seem to want to return to our worries? Why do we go over and over the same annoying conversation that bothered us yesterday? Why do we journal the insults we received? Why do we waste

So, the stretching — especially if it is difficult or even painful — acts as a distraction.

as a distraction. You return to your focus on the breathing, breathing, breathing. Your mind is off the other problems in your life – your brother-in-law’s remarks at the wedding, your child’s teacher’s comments on the report card, your boss’s concerns about the late reports – and is working hard to overcome the discomfort by just breathing. Now, I came to a realization: Why is it so many people don’t want to do this? Why is it even people who understand the value of calming and relaxing and getting away from worries seem to be, in Freud’s

therapy hours expressing the same pain over and over and over instead of moving on? There are three reasons.

We Want Validation Think about it. If you could just breathe and let the thoughts go by without latching onto them and repeating them and arguing with them and getting physiologically worked up over them, you would feel much better. And then all your suffering would have been for nothing. This is not as strange as it sounds. We do want recognition for

our suffering. That is what military medals are all about. Don’t we enjoy reading “hero” stories? You know, the ones where a person’s arm or leg got blown off but he saved the lives of others? Sure we do. We love them. They’re a tribute to individual courage, smarts, quick thinking, caring, loyalty, and love of humanity. They affirm what is right in a difficult, painful world. Well, we do the same things with ourselves. “Look at what I’m going through!” we tell ourselves. And we become our own heroes in our own eyes. It becomes even better when we can retell our stories to those who validate us: “Can you imagine what he said yesterday?” And we feel so good about it. Yes, we are suffering. But at least we are not suffering for nothing. Someone else is a witness. We are a witness. Especially if we put it all down in a journal. But if we practiced the breathing, we lose all of that. The breathing practice gives us, as this author said, an expansive view of who we are. We are, she declares, like the sky – endless. Part of. And the stories we tell ourselves are like the clouds. They come; they can go. This is our Torah as well: We are just here to do our job; only Hashem runs the Universe. There is no point complaining about adversity; it’s all part of the Plan, a Plan we can’t un-

derstand and don’t have to. We just have to do our part. But as soon as we accept upon ourselves the adversity we are given – without complaint – our suffering is no more. And that is invalidating. I recall reading in my dissertation research how difficult women found emotional abuse to bear because with physical violence “at least there were scars to show what I’ve been through.” It’s normal to want that. The struggle is to come to terms with the fact that when we keep our validation, we keep the pain, too.

We Want the World to Make Sense Generally, the things that keep us up at night are what we would call “injustices.” Someone mistreated us, our kid, our family. We have judged their behavior to be unfair, mean, or irrational. Since we made the judgment, their behavior falls into the “unjust” category.

And we don’t like that. Justice makes sense; injustice does not. We want the world to make sense. We furthermore make every effort to create order in our world when it doesn’t. When we go over and over a problem, we are trying to make sense of it. Or we are trying to find a sensible outcome. The problem is that, very often, there is no way to make sense of it and there is no sensible outcome that we can control. We are only left with our “shoulds”: “They should have said it more nicely.” “He should have told me he didn’t hear me before going shopping.” “She should have studied harder or she at least should have started working on it a week earlier.” All the shoulds. The shoulds that should have happened if we ran the Universe. Except, of course, that we don’t. So we mistakenly go over it ad nauseum in our minds, hoping that our rearranging of events can make it so. This, of course, is impossible,

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but please don’t fault the people who do this. Research shows that our brains are literally structured to approach dilemmas this way because this is the essence of problem-solving. We are supposed to try to figure out puzzles. The problem, of course, is when do we realize we need to give up? That’s a personal call. But the moment we see the impossibility of changing reality from irrational or unjust to rational and just, we need to breathe.

It’s Scary to Be Out of Control Not only do we want – need – to make sense of a crazy world, but it is doggone scary to accept craziness without trying to take control of it. It is not possible to control our world – and we know it – but again, our brains were structured to try to do it. That accounts for every advance in science and understanding that has ever been made. It’s a

good thing, a positive thing. And we should not give up trying. Except when we know that there is nothing we can do. Like every end-of-life scenario. We always want to believe we will beat the odds. This time. It is very normal but doesn’t prepare us well for the inevitable. Research on trauma victims has shown that a practice of consistent, deep breathing will actually make trauma go away. But we must first decide if we want to hold onto our memories and our suffering. So, on each of these three fronts, we need to make a personal decision: Breathe or keep the pain. Breathe or keep fighting the irrational. Breathe or try to control that which is out of our control.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. If you want help with your marriage, begin by signing up to watch her Masterclass at https://drdeb. com/myw-masterclass.

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Health & F tness

The Keto Diet and the Supplements You Need to Be Healthy By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

he ketogenic diet is a highfat, adequate protein, very low-carbohydrate (less than 50 grams a day) diet that forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates for fuel. I have discussed the pros and cons of this diet before, but as the popularity of the ketogenic diet continues to grow, it’s imperative to examine nutritional deficiencies and the supplements needed to avoid an unhealthy outcome. The keto diet is a high-fat, lowcarb diet that cuts out many foods. Therefore, there is potential for certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Within the first few weeks of the keto diet you will lose a lot of water weight. This is because the low-carb, high-fat aspect of keto causes you to release water and therefore electrolytes as well. The three main electrolytes at risk are sodium, potassium, and magnesium. These are the electrolytes that your body needs to control blood pressure and keep the nerves and muscles functioning properly.

Calcium is another electrolyte that can be affected. Here are some electrolytes you should monitor on the keto diet. • Sodium: Many diets will recommend restricting or avoiding sodium. But on a low-carb diet, you actually need extra sodium, since not enough may cause constipation, headaches, fatigue, and even heart palpitations. Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to control sodium intake, it’s generally suggested to consume some extra sodium on keto. Around 3,000-5,000 mg of sodium a day is a good amount. Aside from salting your food, you can get extra sodium from beverages with added electrolytes, soups, and higher-salt veggies like cucumbers and celery. • Potassium: Potassium is a crucial mineral that plays a role in many important functions in your body, especially when it comes to cellular health. Studies have shown that a deficiency of this nutrient may

lead to the development of coronary heart disease, bone deterioration, and hypertension. The general recommendation for potassium intake is about 2,000 mg per day, but those on a keto diet are encouraged to increase to 3,000 mg. Be mindful of potassium in supplement form, as too much can be toxic. Consume foods that are high in potassium and keto-friendly such as avocado, cooked broccoli and cauliflower, and salmon. • Magnesium: At least 57% of Americans are clinically deficient in magnesium. We need magnesium to keep the primary energy system of our cells working properly and to maintain tissue integrity. When someone starts a keto diet, muscle cramps may occur due to the loss of water and electrolytes during the first stage when the body is transitioning to ketosis. Supplementing with magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate, two of the most easily absorbed forms of magnesium, might help prevent that side effect. A

general guideline is to take 500 mg of a magnesium supplement at bedtime. Magnesium-rich foods include nuts and green leafy vegetables, but consumption of these foods may not be enough for someone who is very active. • Calcium: This electrolyte can also be flushed out of the body when it’s transitioning to ketosis. The most obvious source of calcium is dairy, but if you aren’t able to consume dairy, then other good sources are fish, like sardines, broccoli, kale, bok choy, or unsweetened almond milk. If you are going to use a calcium supplement, make sure it includes vitamin D because vitamin D is necessary to help the body absorb the calcium. Other than these electrolytes, there are some other nutrients that are at risk when on a keto diet. • Vitamin D: This is one of the most important vitamins and is responsible for regulating inflammation, immunity, hormones, and much more. Many people are deficient in

this vitamin, whether they are on keto or not. An easy way to check your level is via a blood test. If you are deficient, then supplementation will be recommended. Try taking the supplement in the morning, as a night dosage may interfere with your sleep. • Omega-3s: Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients, meaning your body can’t produce them so you have to consume them from outside sources. They help support heart and brain health, lower inflammation, and may help prevent brain-related issues like depression and dementia. One study showed that people following a ketogenic diet who supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids experienced greater decreases in triglycerides, insulin, and inflammatory markers than those who did not. Unless you’re eating a huge amount of vegetables and wild, fatty fish (like salmon and sardines), supplementation might be a good idea. Not all fish oil is created equal, so make sure the supplement has the International

Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) five-star rating. Also look for a brand that provides at least a combined 500 mg of EPA and DHA fatty acids per 1,000 mg serving. Those on blood-thinning medica-

tions should consult with their physician before taking omega-3 supplements, as they can increase bleeding by further thinning the blood. • Digestive Enzymes: One of the main complaints of those new to the keto diet is that the high fat content of this eating plan is tough on

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the digestive system. Since the keto diet consists of up to 75% fat it can cause unpleasant gastrointestinal issues like nausea and diarrhea. In addition, although the keto diet is only moderate protein, it may still

Any change in diet will affect the way the body operates on every level.

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be a higher amount than some people are used to, which can also cause these negative digestive effects. Supplementing with a digestive enzyme blend that contains enzymes to break down fats and proteins will help optimize digestion and relieve or minimize the symptoms.

The goal of a ketogenic diet is to achieve nutritional ketosis, which is a metabolic state where the body is fueled by ketone bodies and not glycogen. Many people go on a keto diet for weight loss, others for improved athletic performance. Whatever the reason, it is crucial that the diet, and any possible supplementation, be discussed with your physician at the outset. Any change in diet will affect the way the body operates on every level. Knowing ten different people on the diet who are fine and successful doesn’t mean that it is healthy or necessarily the right diet for you. Every person has their own specific needs, and the best person to address that with is your primary physician. 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.

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In The K

tchen

Orange Salsa Chicken By Naomi Nachman

Here is one of our family’s favorite chicken recipes. It’s always hard to please everyone in the family but this is one of our family’s winning dishes. This new chicken recipe is so perfect to feed the family. It’s super-quick to make and freezes really well. You can also try it with fish for a parve alternative.

Ingredients 2 whole chickens, cut into quarters 1 cup salsa 1 cup orange jam 1 (11 oz) can sliced mandarin oranges, drained

Preparation Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place chicken pieces in a large baking pan and season with salt and pepper. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the salsa, orange jam, orange zest and mandarin oranges. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

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.

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The

Killing of a

By Susan Schwamm

Terrorist Who was Qasem Soleimani and What the Future Holds

hen the airstrike that hit Baghdad Inter nationa l Airport in the dawn hours of January 3, 2020 k illed Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, the symbol of Iran’s “resistance” didn’t know what hit him – literally and figuratively. In fact, no one in the Persian regime would have suspected that U.S. President Donald Trump would go after the second-in-command of Iran – regardless of mounting attacks against Western and United States interests by Tehran. Iran seemed to have become bolder as of late, baiting the rest of the world as it inched towards achieving its nuclear aspirations, spread terror across the Middle East via its proxies, and lashed out against enemy targets. Never in its wildest dreams did Tehran think that the United States would have the moxie to step into the nefarious path of the terror state in its quest for regional and world domination. Soleimani was a terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds around the world. In Iran, though, he was deeply respected by the ruling mullahs – one of the key architects of the regime’s efforts to spread its vision.

In addition to directly commanding Iran’s most elite military unit, the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, he was in charge of virtually all foreign military – and perhaps more importantly, quasi-military – operations conducted by the regime. Soleimani was often referred to as the “real foreign minister” and “Khamenei’s stepson,” second only in command to Khamenei himself. In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has the last word on almost everything when it comes to the state – even military matters. With the Ayatollah’s firm backing, Soleimani was able to sow terror as he saw fit. His Quds Force, a U.S. designated terrorist organization, directly armed and trained Iraq’s powerful Shiite militias and other proxy groups in Leban non, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Yemen.

From Construction to Carnage Soleimani was born in 1957, although there are differing opinions as to where he was born – near the town of Rabor, famous for its forests, its apricot, walnut and peach harvests and its brave soldiers, or in the Iranian religious capital of Qom.

Soleimani’s father was not wealthy – some say he was a peasant who succumbed to debt – and Soleimani began working in construction when he was 13. Swept up in the fervor that dominated the country in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Soleimani joined the Revolutionary Guard. He deployed to Iran’s northwest with forces that put down Kurdish unrest following the revolution. With the onset of the Iraq-Iran War in 1980, Soleimani’s unit saw itself at times under attack by Iraqi chemical weapons. He exhorted his troops to join him in battle – even embracing them when it came to encourage them to attack the enemy. When the Iraq-Iran War came to a close, Soleimani disappeared from public view for several years. When President Hashemi Rafsanjani stepped down in 1997, Soleimani resurfaced as head of the Quds Force. His relationship with the Supreme Leader became so close that Khamenei officiated at the wedding of Soleimani’s daughter.

A Bloody Path When a terrorist, whose hands drip with blood, is put to death, few should be crying. But in Iran, when Soleimani’s death was announced, it was viewed by the Iranian elite with

sadness and grief. Around the world, though, where lives are valued and terrorists are seen for who they are, some took a moment to remember the path of carnage and blood that Soleimani was responsible for. Take, for example, the assassination of President Rafik Hariri of Lebanon in 2005. Hariri, a Sunni, had been attempting to take Lebanon out of the Iranian-Syrian orbit. Soleimani was behind the truck bomb that weighed more than five-thousand pounds that threw pieces of Hariri’s body into the air. Soleimani’s hatred for the United States was decades old. In 1983, he was involved in the bombing of the Beirut barracks in an attempt to drive out Western troops there. Both American and French troops were housed in those barracks as members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon. 307 people were killed by the two truck bombs used in the attack. Eventually, the U.S. moved its troops out of Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is a product of the Quds Force, saw itself rise in prestige as the Lebanese saw that trucks packed with bombs used against the West produce results. Around a decade later, in 1996, Soleimani used another truck bomb

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

against members of the United States Air Force deployed in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Iran again wanted to drive out the U.S. from a foreign country – this time, Soleimani and his minions sought to sever the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Nineteen U.S. Air Force personnel and a Saudi local were killed; 498 others were wounded. Hezbollah was found to be behind the attack. In 2006, the U.S. found Iran and Hezbollah guilty of orchestrating the attack. Not satisfied with the deaths of these American soldiers, Soleimani continued his reign of terror in 1998, orchestrating the twin bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which 224 people were killed. Most of those who were murdered were those who worked at the facilities or who happened to be passing by. More than 4,000 people were injured in attacks. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the slaughter; Soleimani was the state sponsor for al-Qaeda, giving it its start. Soleimani and his guards were behind the audacious attack in Iraq against U.S. troops that took place in January 2007 in Karbala, south of Baghdad. Five U.S. soldiers lost their lives in the attack. Militants, brandishing U.S.-style uniforms, forged ID cards and using passable English entered a combined U.S.-Iraqi base in a column of SUVs. A U.S. soldier was killed there and four others were abducted and driven miles away. Three were later found dead in and near one of the abandoned SUVs, and the other died on the way to a hospital. Lest one think that Soleimani only knew how to commit mass murder with truck bombs, behold the small but mighty EFP, a weapon of Iranian engineering that strategically litter the battlefields upon which Iran-backed Shiite militia fight, such as Kirkuk and Sadr City in Iraq. The weapons, compact but potent, are deployed against armored vehicles in a way similar to traditional IEDs but are much deadlier and more effective. The small device, similar in shape to a coffee can, is packed with plastic explosives that can penetrate through several inches of armor. EFPs have killed at least 196 American troops and wounded almost 900 of them between 2005 and 2011. Even more atrocious is the amount of amputations that troops have had to

The Khobar Towers bombing in 1996

suffer because of attacks perpetrated through EFPs. Soleimani’s Quds Force expertly trained and provided logistics to militants in Iraq on how to use EFPs. The bombs are set off with an infrared eye, that detects movement. When bombmakers noted that army vehicles were circumventing the bombs with socalled “rhino” horns attached, they revised their design to ensure maximum casualties. Israel bore much of Soleimani’s malevolence. Soleimani instructed his troops to increasingly strike at Israel last year. Just a few months ago, in August, Soleimani oversaw the movement of “killer drones” near the Golan Heights, including a thwarted attempt to use them. Although that attack was prevented by Israel, Soleimani blustered that Israel’s opposition would be the “last struggle of the Zionist regime.” Soleimani has had Israel in his crosshairs for many years. He was instrumental in propping up Hezbollah against Israel during the 2006 war with Israel. He aided the group in planning the 2006 attack on IDF soldiers at the Lebanese border that led to the 34-day war. He arranged Iranian support and weapons transfers to Iran that arrived through Syria and other countries in the region. In 2009, Israel intercepted a ship carrying 3,000 rockets destined for Hezbollah. They were the same types rockets that Soleimani would arrange for transport to Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq to attack the U.S. In 2010, he worked with Hezbollah to

strike at the U.S. and Israel, even in attacks in Thailand, New Delhi, Lagos and Nairobi. Soleimani supported Hamas as well. In February 2016, Soleimani met with a Hamas delegation in Tehran. In 2017 he said that Iran would increase its support for Islamic Jihad and Hamas in perpetrating terror. A year later, Soleimani ordered a barrage of rockets to be fired at Israel from Syria. Israel had wanted to assassinate the murderous general for a while. In 20142015, Israel planned to kill Soleimani but the Obama administration pressured Israel not to do so and warned Tehran of its plan. A year ago, in January 2018, the U.S. reportedly gave Israel a “green light” to kill Soleimani. Attempts had been made, although Soleimani managed to slip through their fingers.

Emboldened and Escalating Over the past few months, Tehran has become more and more emboldened in its attacks against the West. Soleimani himself had become almost daring in his approach. Seen many times in Syria without a flak jacket leading missions against ISIS, he also didn’t feel the need to keep his whereabouts secret or shuttle from one hideout to the next. Perhaps he felt that the United States, despite being prodded by Tehran, wouldn’t react. Over the past several months Iranian proxies have attacked American interests in Iraq. No Americans, though,

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had been killed. But less than a month ago, on December 27, a sustained rocket attack on a U.S. base in Iraq killed a defense contractor working for the U.S. and wounded four Americans and two Iraqi servicemen. Striking back at Kataib Hezbollah, the terrorist proxy that perpetrated the attack, the Trump administration used airstrikes against the group, killing 24. “What we did is take a decisive response that makes clear what President Trump has said for months and months and months,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained, “which is that we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy.” The Trump administration placed economic sanctions on three militia leaders , including the leader of Kataib Hezbollah. The United States accused those militias of participating in an unprovoked attack on anti-government protesters that killed 15 people.

“This is bigger than bin Laden. It’s bigger than Baghdadi.” But Tehran did not get the message. Two days later, on December 31, Iranian proxies penetrated the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, burning buildings and chanting “death to America.” In the crowd at the embassy was Kataib Hezh bollah founder Abu Madhi Muhandis, who was killed in the strike along with Soleimani on Friday. With the death of an American and with Tehran seemingly unabashed in its quest for American blood, President Trump decided to take decisive action. Killing Soleimani was not an arbitrary act. It was a necessary step in preventing more attacks against the United States and Western interests. “General Soleimani was actively

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developing plans to attack American diplomats and servicemembers in Iraq and throughout the region,” a Pentagon statement said. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”

Bigger Than Bin Laden Reaction to the killing of Soleimani cannot be said to be based on straight partisan line, rather it zigzags erratically with factors such as the perceived geo-political ramifications, potential cost of human life, political ramifications in Washington, and even Trump Derangement Syndrome all playing a role in people’s response. Former CIA Director David Petraeus, who previously served as commander of U.S. forces in the Iraq War and who is largely credited with turning the tide in that war, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that it’s “impossible

“Tonight the world is safer as one of the most ruthless, evil war criminals on Earth has been brought to justice.” to overstate” the importance of the U.S. taking out Soleimani. “This is bigger than bin Laden. It’s bigger than Baghdadi,” he declared. Sen. Thom Tillis (R.-NC) defended the killing of Soleimani on Fox News and explained that Iran had been given many passes for previous provocations but that the latest attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad “crossed a line” and required “consequences.” “If we give them another pass like

The Ayatollah and other Iranian elite mourn Soleimani

we did with maritime attacks in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, the attacks on the Saudi oil field, the rocket attacks that killed a U.S. contractor, sooner or later, you have to say, ‘You have crossed the line and there has to be a consequence for it,’” the senator told Fox. “You have to draw a line. I think the president appropriately did that when he took out Soleimani last week.” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who The New York Times refers to as “the rare Republican who has never been shy about criticizing President Trump,” put out as statement saying, “This is very simple: General Soleimani is dead because he was an evil [person] who murdered Americans. The President made the brave and right call, and Americans should be proud of our servicemembers who got the job done.” He added, “Tehran is on edge – the mullahs have already slaughtered at least a thousand innocent Iranians – and before they lash out further, they should know that the U.S. military can bring any and all of these IRGC butchers to their knees.” The killing of Soleimani was praised by noted Trump foreign policy critic Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, who had quit Fox News because of its perceived support of Trump. In an appearance on CNN, Peters called Soleimani “the aces of spades that our enemies in the Middle East had” and said, “It’s a remarkable achievement, and we are very, very, very lucky this man is dead. I, for one, am grateful and have no reservations about it.” Peters predicted that there would be some repercussions to the strike,

but dismissed concerns by some of a pending “World War III.”

The Death of Diplomacy? However, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has over the past several years been a key political supporter of Pre. Trump, has been his chief critic when it comes to the killing of Soleimani. The libertarian-leaning senator, who has long been opposed to military intervention abroad, said on CNN that one would have to be “brain dead” to think that Soleimani’s death will lead to diplomatic negotiations, calling the death of the Iranian military commander “the death of diplomacy.” Sen. Paul suggested that former National Security Adviser John Bolton – a noted “hawk” who believes in strong preemptive military actions against America’s enemies – was behind the decision to kill Soleimani and said Trump received “bad advice.” At the start of his 8 p.m. nightly show on Fox News, Tucker Carlson responded to the news of the operation by asking, “Is Iran really the greatest threat we face? And who’s actually benefiting from this? And why are we continuing to ignore the decline of our own country in favor of jumping into another quagmire from which there is no obvious exit? By the way, if we’re still in Afghanistan, 19 years, sad years later, what makes us think there’s a quick way out of Iran?” The commentator added, “Nobody is thinking like that right now. Instead, chest-beaters like Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska are making the usual war-like noises, the noises they always make.”

In contrast, one hour later, Sean Hannity began his nightly Fox News show by declaring, “Tonight the world is safer as one of the most ruthless, evil war criminals on Earth has been brought to justice.” And then, of course, there was the usual chorus of Trump-haters whose statements would not be noteworthy if not for their absolute absurdity. One famous Hollywood actress tweeted, “Dear Iran, The USA has disrespected your country, your flag, your people. 52% of us humbly apologize. We want peace with your nation. We are being held hostage by a terrorist regime. We do not know how to escape. Please do not kill us.” Left-wing agitator Michael Moore tweeted in Farsi, “I deeply regret the violence committed on our behalf by a man that most Americans never voted for. I want you not to respond violently, but to act bravely instead. We will take care of this in our Senate or at the ballot box, non-violently.” Not to be outdone by his colleagues on the left, Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback who protested the U.S. by kneeling for the National Anthem, tweeted, “There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism.” The Democratic 2020 presidential candidates have uniformly criticized the killing and warned that it could set the U.S. on the path to another war. Sen. Bernie Sanders argued the killing would bring us closer to war and could wreak havoc on the least powerful Americans. “I know that it is rarely the children of the billionaire class who face the agony of reckless foreign policy. It is the children of working families,” he said. Perhaps the most sensible statement on the matter came from former Vice President Joe Biden who said in a statement that “no American will mourn Qasem Soleimani’s passing. He deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region. He supported terror and sowed chaos.” Biden added, “President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox… I’m not privy to the intelligence and much remains unknown, but Iran will surely respond.”

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“They have a long history of marching right up to the edge and then eventually backing down and surviving to spread its malfeasance another day,” Waltz noted. Within hours of a 2003 U.S. cruise missiles strike on Ansar al-Islam, a Sunni terrorist group in northern Iraq that Iran had found it convenient to aid, Tehran closed the border over which it had supplied arms and laid very low. Additionally, according to published U.S. intelligence estimates, it was after the fall of Saddam Hussein that Iran, apparently intimidated by the U.S. forces next door, abandoned work on an atomic warhead, while continuing the civilian side of its nuclear program. For now, it is hoped that, with the killing of terrorist Soleimani, Tehran will realize the United States, with President Trump at its helm, is not a force to be reckoned with. Protecting the American people and supporting its allies around the world, the United States will stand up against terror.

What the Future Holds How Iran responds to Soleimani’s killing remains to be seen. On Tuesday, the Pentagon reported that Iranian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against two military bases in Iraq. The alAsad air base in western Iraq, which houses some American troops, was hit by at least six missiles. President Trump said he would be addressing the nation on Wednesday regarding Iran’s attack. For now, it’s unclear what the future holds. It’s doubtful that President Trump will pull the United States into a full-blown war with Tehran, as he has been attempting to pull out U.S. troops from the Middle East. House Armed Services Committee member Michael Waltz of Florida predicted that the president will be using tactics similar to what President Ronald Reagan did in the late 1980s during Operation Praying Mantis to

Thousands turned out for the state-mandated funeral for Soleimani

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Jacking up your prices on people trying to celebrate the holidays? Classy, @dominos. To the thousands who came to Times Square last night to ring in 2020, I’m sorry this corporate chain exploited you — stick it to them by patronizing one of our fantastic LOCAL pizzerias. - Tweet by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio after the Time Square Domino’s pizza store charged $30 per pie on New Year’s Eve

If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. - Comedian Ricky Gervais scorching Hollywood in his opening monologue at an awards show on Sunday

How…can teasing huge corporations, and the richest, most privileged people in the world be considered right wing?

Every store in [New York City] is owned by a local resident. Every employee is a local New York resident. Those stores provide jobs to thousands of his fellow citizens. With his comments, the mayor is suggesting that New Yorkers who own or work at a franchise are lesser than those who don’t. - Domino’s spokesman responding to the mayor’s tweet

White supremacists attacking leftleaning Jews fits a desired narrative. Black teenagers beating up Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg doesn’t. And so the left ignores the “wrong” type of anti-Semitism. - Ben Shapiro, Foxnews.com

- Gervais, responding to criticism that his monologue was “right wing”

Democratic candidates who suggest that Trump has emboldened anti-Semites will make pilgrimage to Rev. Al Sharpton, who was instrumental in not one but two antiSemitic riots. The same commentators who will police Republican references to George Soros for hints of anti-Semitism completely excuse open anti-Semitism when it comes from Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. - Ibid.

Tasty, I want some more. - Kane Tanaka, of Japan, who, according to the Guinness World Records, is the oldest living person at 117 years old, while eating cake at her birthday party last week

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It is impossible to overstate the importance of this particular action. It is more significant than the killing of Osama bin Laden or even the death of [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi. - General David Petraeus, who led the U.S. troops in Iraq and who is considered the foremost military expert on the region, in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine about the killing of Qasem Soleimani

Dear Iran, The USA has disrespected your country, your flag, your people. 52% of us humbly apologize. We want peace with your nation. We are being held hostage by a terrorist regime. We do not know how to escape. Please do not kill us. – Tweet by a Hollywood actress after the U.S. killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers in IED attacks

I deeply regret the violence committed on our behalf by a man that most Americans never voted for. I want you not to respond violently, but to act bravely instead. We will take care of this in our Senate or at the ballot box, non-violently. – Left-wing agitator Michael Moore tweeting the Iranians in Farsi

There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism.

Do you know how much [anti-Semitic attacks are] up? 29 percent. That is extraordinary. I started CompStat with [ex-police commissioner] Bill Bratton. If I had seen it up 2 percent, that’s when I would have acted. Not at 10 percent, not at 15 percent, not at 20, and by the time you’re at 29, this is going to be very, very hard to turn around… It has nothing to do with Donald Trump. It has to do with you, and the minute you think it doesn’t, you become a bad mayor, and he has become a very, very ineffective mayor in so many ways, but this is one that I think is inexcusable. – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a radio interview criticizing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s response to the uptick in anti-Semitic attacks in New York

- Tweet by Colin Kaepernick after the U.S. killed Gen. Soleimani

He has no idea what the Iranian regime has done to the region. He has no idea they have 600 American deaths as a result of IEDs made in Iran, used in Iraq. It is unAmerican. He’s a racist. If you are looking for racism in America, Mr. Kaepernick, look in the mirror. Your country is not the problem, it’s the Iranians, and you’re so blinded by your hatred of Trump that you can’t see the difference between who we are and who the Ayatollah is. Pretty sad. – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), responding to Kaepernick’s tweet

The only ones mourning the loss of Soleimani are our Democrat leadership and Democrat presidential candidates. - Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

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It was a really terrible meeting in the UN building in September with him. And I had nightmares afterwards. It’s terrible. I saw him in the hallway. He was with security, and I shouted at him, “Sign the Paris Climate Agreement again!” He came over, he leaned in towards me, and said softly, “Listen carefully to me, little girl. You will never achieve your goal, like the congressional goal, trying to accuse me.” – Famed Russian pranksters known as Vovan & Lexus, who pretended that they were Greta Thunberg and her father, talking to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) in a newly released prank call that they pulled on the American politician

We are working very hard. We are putting together the facts, and we’re going after him. We’re going to try everything that we have to impeach him. Yes. And if the public knew that he talked to Greta like that, he made her cry, and told her she would never achieve, this would go against him, too. - Rep. Waters’ reply to the pranksters, who she thought was Greta Thunberg and her father

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A large number of oversized connecting guest rooms, free Wi-Fi Tranquil gardens and ponds on 16 acres of property Guest rooms outfitted with Hilton’s luxurious “Pillow Top Beds” On-premises tennis, volleyball, basketball courts, and nearby golf course Heated indoor pool and hot tub Spectacular tea room & nightly entertainment Gourmet Cuisine Provided By Dynamic Scholar in Residence program Daily shiurim and Daf Yomi Warm and professional day camp and daycare staff Personal attention to every guest

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

The Sound You Hear is Mitch McConnell’s Laughter By Marc A. Thiessen

head of the House reconvening next week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi still is refusing to send articles of impeachment to the Senate. Instead, she is demanding that Republicans agree to allow new witnesses and new evidence during a Senate trial. The sound you hear is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s laughter. Pelosi has no leverage. The speaker has essentially put a gun to her own head and threatened to shoot. Senate Republicans’ answer should be: make my day. As Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., tweeted, “I hate to break the news to the Resistance, but you…can keep your partisan impeachment articles as long as you want.” The Senate “will just keep confirming judges, approving trade deals, & doing the people’s business.” Cotton is right. Senate Republicans don’t care when, or if, Pelosi ever sends the impeachment articles over. First, if House Democrats don’t send over the articles of impeachment, then according to one of their handpicked witnesses, Harvard law professor Noah Feldman, President Trump has not been impeached. “If the House does not communicate its impeachment to the Senate, it hasn’t actually impeached the president,” Feldman wrote, because “a president who has been genuinely impeached

must constitutionally have the right to defend himself before the Senate.” Other legal experts disputed his analysis, but no matter. If they don’t transmit the articles, Trump can cite the constitutional expert whom Democrats called to testify in favor of his impeachment as declar-

witnesses they were in too much of a hurry to wait for? The longer they delay, the weaker their fairness argument becomes in the eyes of the American people. Third, if they don’t send over the articles, House Democrats undermine their case that Trump engaged

Senate Republicans’ answer should be: make my day.

ing that he “could legitimately say he wasn’t truly impeached at all.” Second, if Democrats don’t transmit the articles of impeachment, they lose the fairness argument. Right now, Democrats claim they are delaying in the name of “fairness.” But what is really unfair is to accuse the president of high crimes and misdemeanors and then deny him a trial in which he can clear his name. Democrats were the ones who rushed the process, setting an artificial deadline to impeach before Christmas. And now they say the Senate should call

in obstruction of Congress. Democrats say the president obstructed Congress by refusing to provide witnesses and documents. It is a ridiculous charge. When a dispute arises between the executive and legislative branches, the president has a right to appeal to the third equal branch of government – the judiciary. That’s exactly what Trump did. It was the Democrats who said they could not wait for the courts to decide because the matter was too urgent. But now, suddenly, they have all the time in the world? Delaying sending the impeachment articles to

the Senate makes a mockery of the obstruction charge. Some have speculated that Democrats are delaying sending the articles to delay Trump’s inevitable vindication. But Trump’s vindication was inevitable before they even began the impeachment process. The later they send the articles of impeachment, the better for Trump and Senate Republicans. McConnell would be happy to hold the trial during the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary, or Super Tuesday – or even during the Democratic National Convention, if they would like. The closer the trial is to the November election, the more absurd impeachment becomes. There has never been a presidential impeachment trial during a presidential election year. The logic of voting not to convict becomes stronger with every passing day. Every Republican senator can say: look, the voters are going to decide whether to remove Trump in a few months; I am not going to usurp their decision. In other words, the Democrats have come to the end of the road where they call the shots on this political impeachment process. Send the articles, Madame Speaker, or don’t send the articles. Republicans couldn’t care less. (c) 2020, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

In Killing Soleimani, Trump Enforces the Red Line He Drew on Iran By Marc A. Thiessen

resident Trump’s decision to kill Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani should have come as no surprise to the Iranian regime. The administration had drawn a clear red line, warning Iranian leaders they would pay a severe price if they killed a U.S. citizen. The Washington Post reported last summer that, during a May visit to Baghdad, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “privately delivered warnings intended for Iranian leaders that any attack by Tehran or its proxies resulting in the death of even one American service member will generate a military counterattack.” The United States had seen a spike in intelligence that Iranian-backed militias might resume the kinds of attacks against U.S. forces that were common during the Iraq war. Pompeo said this would not be tolerated. The message the administration sent to Iran was crystal clear: (1) any attacks on Americans would elicit a military response; and (2) the United States would henceforth hold Iran responsible for the actions of its terrorist proxies. To underscore the message, Trump designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – including its Quds Force – as a foreign terrorist organization. This made Soleimani a

legitimate military target. For months, Iran danced around Trump’s new red line, carrying out increasingly bold attacks against U.S. targets, allies and interests – but assiduously avoiding U.S. casualties. First, it attacked Japanese and Norwegian oil tankers. Then, it shot down an unmanned U.S. drone (while avoiding a manned American P-8 aircraft that was reportedly flying in the area). Then, it attacked Saudi oil facilities. In each case, the president demonstrated enormous restraint. He tightened economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran. He launched cyberattacks against Iran’s military capabilities. And he warned Iran that his patience was not without limits. “I think a lot of restraint has been shown by us but that doesn’t mean we’re going to show it in the future,” Trump said. Iran misread Trump’s restraint for weakness – and miscalculated. On December 27, an Iranian proxy militia, Kataib Hezbollah, launched a rocket attack against a military base in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk that killed a U.S. military contractor. With that attack, Iran crossed the red line Trump had set. Trump struck back militarily, hitting Kataib Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria – and U.S. officials began discussing a strike against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran escalated further. Kataib Hezbollah overran and set fire to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, an attack a senior U.S. official told me was coordinated with Soleimani. U.S. officials watched as Soleimani flew into Baghdad to meet with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia. According to the U.S. official, the United States had “exquisite intelligence” that the two men were planning an attack that could have killed hundreds of Americans. Seizing that opportunity, Trump took them both out. His action was defensive, preemptive, and lawful. Had Trump not acted and more Americans had died, he would have been excoriated – and rightly so. Instead, he took bold action that disrupted that attack and took Soleimani and Muhandis off the battlefield. But instead of praising Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of “engaging in provocative and disproportionate actions” and complained in a statement that he had done so without consulting Congress and “without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran.” That is absurd. Trump did not need an AUMF. Soleimani and Muhandis were both designated as global ter-

rorists. Muhandis was designated in 2009, and according to U.S. officials was responsible for smuggling armor-piercing IEDs from Iran into Iraq that killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers. Soleimani was his commander and the architect of virtually every major Iranian terrorist action for decades. They were in the midst of planning another attack, reportedly against the U.S. Embassy, which is sovereign U.S. territory. Trump does not need Congress’ permission to take military action to protect U.S. citizens from terrorists. And Trump’s action was not “provocative.” He is not the one escalating; Iran has been escalating for months. And now, Iran needs to understand that if it escalates further in response to this defensive action, the United States has made clear what the next step will be. In public comments last summer, Pompeo said that if Iran killed Americans in Iraq, the U.S. “response likely would not take place in Iraq but would likely take place in Iran itself.” Trump hit Soleimani in Iraq because he made the mistake of coming there to plan a terrorist attack. But if Iran miscalculates again, then the regime has been warned: next time, the target will likely be Iran. (c) 2020, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

Attacking from the Skies By Avi Heiligman

ne shortfall of the airplane in the early 20 th century was that it always had to be moving because if it tried stopping in midair or even slowed down it would fall out of the sky. In the 1930s, inventors went back to the drawing table to come up with an aircraft that would

be able to hover in midair. In 1939, Igor Sikorsky tested the first successful helicopter. Although it didn’t see combat during World War II, it played a major part during the Cold War. Starting with the Vietnam War, one helicopter in particular provided the backbone for ground support

from the air for several countries in the coming decades. The Bell AH-1 Cobra was designed as an attack helicopter (hence the AH designation) and was introduced into the U.S. military in 1965. The Cobra’s main mission was to accompany the unarmed troops carrying UH-1 Hueys into battle and protect them from groundfire. The Huey was developed as a type of “air cavalry” but wasn’t intended to stay and fight the enemy if things got “hot” (for example: if the enemy would fire at the dismounting troops). The army had attack aircraft but these underperformed and so Bell Aircraft set off to design and produce a new helicopter. The new design was designated Model 209 only eight months after it was first given the green light. Some modifications were made to the production model, and it was officially called the AH-1G HueyCobra. Cobras were first deployed to Vietnam in 1967 and were used throughout the rest of the war. The helicopter was a big improvement over armed Hueys and could carry a vast assortment of rockets, miniguns, and grenade launchers. It had a crew of two, had a maximum speed of 171 mph, and had a range of over 350 miles. America’s first attack chopper had a unique design with a very slim, sleek body that had added capabilities and new technology over the years. The pilots were skilled. One of the most decorated Cobra pilots of the war was Jewish Captain Kenneth Rubin. He trained as a Cobra pilot

and by the summer of 1967 was stationed in Vietnam flying a variety of missions. On August 1, Captain Rubin was leading a flight of two heavily armed Cobras in the Rung Sat Special Zone on a reconnaissance mission when a call came over the radio. A commercial ship had been ambushed in the South China Seas by a group of communist Vietnamese. After one pass over the enemy to fire at the insurgents, the Cobra was hit by a bomb and was badly damaged. Despite the fact that the wounded Cobra was a sitting duck, Rubin kept on flying until he had expended all of his ammunition. He killed several enemy soldiers and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. Rubin received the award again for screening ground troops despite his chopper being hit several times. On December 26, he again put the lives of his fellow soldiers before his own when he was a flying a smokescreen mission. Rubin was injured in the leg by a bullet but stayed on the scene until all the men were safe. Only then did he seek medical attention. He received the Siler Star, the third highest award given to soldiers, for his bravery in battle. During the Tet Offensive, Captain Rubin and his team were returning from a mission when they were told to divert to the current attack. They attacked the enemy through thick ground fire but had to disengage after 30 minutes to refuel. Rubin and his Australian copilot were injured,

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

but they asked for a new Cobra because the previous one was not in flyable condition. Back in the air, Rubin helped out a ground unit that was asking for air support and then went on to engage about two hundred VC (Viet Cong). Rubin directed the Cobra’s fire in such a skilled way that the VC could not escape and were annihilated. As daylight approached, more enemy positions were spotted, and Rubin led the assault. Then he noticed two air force guards that were wounded on the ground and were trapped behind enemy lines. Rubin himself landed his chopper and rescued the two men while enemy resistance was again annihilated. Scott O’Grady was a F-16 jet pilot flying over Bosnia on June 2, 1995 on a NATO patrol mission. Suddenly, his instrument panel alerted him that there was an incoming missile but he couldn’t see it due to the overcast sky. A surface-to-air missile hit, and the F-16 broke in two as it burst into flames. O’Grady managed to eject and

for the next six days hid from Bosnian patrols trying to capture the downed pilot. During the daring rescue mission, two Marine AH-1 Cobras provided vital air support in keeping enemy soldiers away from the rescue force. It was these Cobras that pinpointed

Many countries worldwide have received Cobra helicopters, including a few in the Middle East. Israel saw the success of the chopper during the Vietnam War and bought their first six AH-1 Cobras in 1975. These were used in tests to see how they would

Rubin himself landed his chopper and rescued the two men while enemy resistance was again annihilated.

O’Grady’s exact location and shot back when surface-to-air missiles were launched at the rescue aircraft. Two other choppers rescued the pilot – all Americans involved returned to their carrier without injury.

operate in the conditions that Israel would need them to operate. Upgrades were also made to the ones being added to the Israeli Air Force. In 1979, the Israelis first started using them on missions and sent them on

a successful raid on a terrorist holdout in Lebanon. From 1979 to 2014, the Israeli Air Force employed AH-1 “Tzefah” helicopters in many different types of engagements and environments. During the 1982 Lebanon War, the choppers were used to destroy Syrian armor and fortifications. The United States Army replaced their AH-1 Cobra fleet with the AH-64 Apache but there are still some versions in use within other branches of the military and in civilian use. The United States Marine Corps continues to operate Super Cobra AH-1W and Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters. The flying record of America’s first attack helicopter is incredible given the range of missions it was tasked to accomplish.

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.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 9, 2020

139

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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JANUARY 9, 2020 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

Money

We’re From the IRS and We’re Here to Help By Allan Rolnick, CPA

oliday season is drawing to a close, and we hope your celebration was exactly what you hoped for, whether you celebrate Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or Toyotathon. But now it’s time to begin anew, with a new year and a new decade. That means resolutions: time to finally start that diet, give up those cancer sticks, or sign up for that newly-deductible gym membership that most people start regretting around Groundhog Day. You probably don’t think of the IRS as being interested in helping you keep your New Year’s resolutions. But they do want to keep you healthy so you can keep paying taxes. Three years ago, the IRS sent letters to 3.9 million Americans who had paid fines for not carrying health insurance, suggesting ways to find coverage. At first glance, that seems incongruous – like, say, Quentin Tarantino directing a remake of Little Women. But a team of Treasury economists has discovered

that the letters did encourage people to sign up – and saved an estimated 700 lives. Now, we’re not here to debate the merits of mandating health insurance. And we don’t have anything to say about the IRS getting all up in your business. (They must think, hey, if Facebook can do it, so can they.) But the story got us wondering, what other ways the IRS could use the information they already have on us to remind us to make our lives better as we open the 2020s? The answers might surprise you! • If you use your car for business, the IRS knows how old it is and how many miles you drive. (They can’t tell how fast you drive, at least not yet, but if you use that State Farm safe driving doohickie that Aaron Rogers advertises, it’s only a matter of time.) They can text you helpful reminders when it’s time to rotate your tires and get your oil changed. (Just kidding…the IRS won’t even email you, and they never text. If

you get an email purporting to be from the IRS, it’s a scam!) • If you itemize deductions, the IRS knows how generous you are with your charitable dollars. They’d probably be happy to remind you when school fundraisers and ballet company donor drives are approaching. They might even urge you to be just a little more generous! • Personal exemptions disappeared with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. But the IRS still knows how old your children are (to determine if they qualify for the expanded Child Tax Credit). We’re sure they’ll be happy to help schedule well-child checkups and six-month teeth cleanings. • If you own your home, your Form 1098 tells the IRS when you bought it and how much you paid for it. They could help you schedule big-ticket maintenance like a new furnace or roof. (Sadly, those aren’t deductible, except for investment properties.)

• IRS computers can match your Social Security number back to when your parents claimed you as a dependent, double-check to make sure they’re still filing returns (i.e., still alive), and send you letters reminding you to call Mom more often. The nightmare scenario, of course, would be if the IRS teamed up with Facebook to put all your data to work. Fortunately, we haven’t arrived at that Black Mirror scenario, at least not yet. Right now, we’re focused on helping you pay less. But we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for helping safeguard your privacy. So welcome to 2020, and be sure to call us if your New Year’s resolution involves anything financial!

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.

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