Five Towns Jewish Home - 12-2-21

December 2, 2021

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

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44

Harav Don Segal, Shlita, Spends Time in Belle Harbor

40 JCCRP Toy Drive Brings Smiles to Children’s Faces

132 TJH Readers Share Their Happiness on Chanukah

PAGE 9

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

W

lot of different ways that we bring in the Chanukah festivities. Whether it’s special foods we make, interesting games we play, or unique songs and dances we perform, each family tries to “light up the nights” in their own special way.

Recently, I was speaking with someone, a traditional, shomer Shabbat Jew, and I asked her if she had any special way that she and her family celebrated Chanukah.

“Nothing, really,” she said. “We light the menorah, and we eat doughnuts.”

But then, a few minutes later into our conversation, she added, “Well, every night on Chanukah, a few family friends go to a different friend’s house. Each night, our group rotates between houses, so that every family in our group of friends gets to enjoy Chanukah at each person’s home.”

What seemed to her to be the “normal” way to celebrate Chanukah is truly extraordinary. And even more interesting was that, for her, she doesn’t see it as a “special” way to celebrate – it’s just something that she and her family have been doing for years.

However you celebrate Chanukah this year, I wish you and your family a wonderful, joyous yom tov filled with light that continues to glow for you throughout the rest of the year.

hat do you do special for Chanukah?

On Chanukah, you’ll find each family lighting the menorah come nightfall. But how each family performs the mitzvah differs depending on minhagim and tradition. In some homes, only the head of the household lights the menorah; in other homes, every family member partakes in the mitzvah. Some use candles; others use oil.

The tunes used for the brachos and “Maoz Tzur” are not always the same in each home. Before I got married, I thought that the tune my family used for “Ha’neiros Hallalu” was the one sung in every Jewish home. I was in for a surprise when I got married, and my husband used a different tune for “Ha’neiros Hallalu.” But that’s what he was used to – he couldn’t imagine that other homes sung those words in a different tune; my children also think this is the most popular tune to use. There’s no right or wrong – it’s all about performing the mitzvah in your own way.

Perhaps that’s why I love seeing photos that TJH readers send in each year depicting their Chanukah celebrations. It gives me a small glimpse into the homes of our readers and a hint of how they celebrate Chanukah.

Because there are eight days of Chanukah and we want our homes to be filled with joy during all those days, there are a

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Weekly Weather | December 3 –

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Shabbos Zemanim

December 9

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Friday, December 3 Parshas Miketz Candle Lighting: 4:09 pm Shabbos Ends: 5:13 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 5:40 pm

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

8

Community Happenings

40

Packing and Slicing the Jewish Vote: TJH Speaks with Rabbi Yeruchim Silber

110

Moskowitz and Mostofsky Talk about Maps and Minority Groups

114

Scenes from TJH Readers’ Chanukah

132 NEWS

84

Global

12

National

28

That’s Odd

36

ISRAEL Israel News

24

Kedma by Rafi Sackville

90

The Beauty and Mystery of Israel’s Olives

94

Terrorism Gone Viral by David Billet

130

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

72

Torah She’baal Peh by Rav Moshe Weinberger

74

The Powerful Synergy of the Mezuzah and the Menorah

by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

76

A Matter of Miracles by Rabbi Benny Berlin

80

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

84

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

86

Rabin’s Military Prowess by Avi Heiligman

131

HEALTH & FITNESS Are We Traumatized? by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

100

An En-Lightening Chanukah by Aliza Beer, MS RD

102

FOOD & LEISURE Delights for Chanukah Nights

by Leah Stern 116 The Aussie Gourmet: Fried Goat Cheese Latkes 120

102

Dear Editor, Recently, I listened to an episode from Rabbi Efrem Goldberg’s podcast, Behind the Bima, where he had R’ Dovid Lichtenstein as a guest. Lichtenstein, a great talmud chacham, noted author and successful businessman who hosts his own podcast, Halacha Headlines, has a good flavor for all of the Jewish worlds.

He was asked how one should deal with comparing themselves to others. He said that there’s only one comparison that can be made: that is a comparison between the you of now and the you of a year ago and five years ago, etc. Since every man is born an individual, it’s impossible to compare or measure oneself against others. Therefore, he said, one should just worry about their own growth and produce their best

self. He emphasized that one must serve G-d with the specific tools they were given. In other words, play your own music.

I believe a theme that is emerging more and more these days is that one must focus on and corral their individual talents and bring them to the world.

Steven Genack Dear Editor, I don’t agree with Chaim Waldman’s assessment – that it is a waste of space to include a question in your Dating Dialogue column about people being nosy or offering asinine advice.

The column is called “Dating Dialogue” for a reason. It’s about opening or continuing a dialogue with regards to dating and shidduchim.

To tell people to just “ignore” these comments and to never address that these comments may be hurtful or even harmful is heartless.

When the panelists at the Dating Dialogue address these questions and comments, they are doing three things: Firstly, they are pointing out to people that these comments are not appreciated. Hopefully, people will read their feedback and will hold their tongue the next time an opportunity for them to share their “wise words” is presented.

Secondly, they are telling singles and their families that addressing these comments in a firm manner or Continued on page 10

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 96

Parenting Pearls

106

Your Money

141

Be a Winner by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

142

HUMOR Centerfold 70 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

122

An Afghan Girl Grew Up to be Her Country’s U.S. Ambassador

by David Ignatius

126

Why the CIA is So Worried about Russia and Ukraine

by David Ignatius

128

CLASSIFIEDS

Dear Editor, Chanukah, a time for celebration and at the same token a time for reflection. Every Chanukah, we, the Korman family from Far Rockaway, reflect on our Chanukah miracle, our survival from carbon monoxide poisoning, and make it our point to remind the community to please make sure you have working, non-expired carbon monoxide detectors in your home, or are connected via your alarm company.

May Hashem continue to show us miracles and protect us from all the “poisons” of this world.

The Korman family

136

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 8

disregarding them are truly warranted responses to people’s “advice.”

Additionally, it’s good for a community to hear about what goes on in certain parts of society. From here, they can learn to understand more what people are going through in this time.

Thank you for a wonderful publication!

Sincerely, Tzila Goodman

Happy Chanukah

from our home to yours...

May this joyous season bring peace, health and happiness throughout the coming year!

Dr. Adam Zeitlin, Medical Director Matthew Ostreicher, Director of Operations For further information please contact Moshe Davidowitz, Administrator 78-10 164TH STREET FRESH MEADOWS, NEW YORK

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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, You hit the nail on the head in your note to readers this week. Truly, what we are facing during these times is an affront to our Torah-true values. Lately, I’ve noticed that some of the sentiments that have circulated in the secular world for years are now slowly seeping into our mindsets, which is a terrible thought.

Years ago, we would have raged if a book or magazine talked about something antithetical to the Torah way of marriage. Now, we have members of the U.S. administration who proudly wave the flag of this immorality.

If we are no longer enraged, then it shows us that we are only imbibing – subtly— the values (if we can call them that) from society around us.

Nachman Y. Dear Editor, Great article this week on Thanksgiving in Israel – what a great twist!

Gratitude is a message and theme that we should all be thinking of and exhibiting each day. Part and parcel of our Jewish tradition is gratitude – Modeh ani l’fanecha. To spend at least one day truly focusing on that concept is a wonderful way to appreciate all the blessings we have in our lives.

Sharon Muller

Make your voice heard!

Be part of TJH’s weekly poll.

Email the editor to be included in the weekly poll at: Editor@FiveTownsJewishHome.com

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

Russia: Explosion in Coal Mine Kills 52

In 2016, following a series of mine explosions, Russian authorities analyzed the safety of the country’s 58 coal mines and declared 20 of them, or 34% of those in the country, potentially unsafe. According to media reports, the Listvyazhnaya mine was not included in that list. In April of this year, Rostekhnadzor, Russia’s state technology and ecology watchdog, inspected the mine and found 139 violations, including breaching fire safety regulations.

Swedish PM Resigns and Then is Reelected An explosion in a Siberian coal mine on Thursday left 52 people dead. Russian officials said the explosion occurred approximately 820 feet (250 meters) underground.

Rescuers recovered 14 bodies immediately but were forced to stop their search due to a buildup of carbon monoxide and methane. At least 215 people – of the 285 present in the mine at the time of the blast – were rescued. Forty-nine suffered injuries.

Later that day, six rescuers died while searching for anyone who might be trapped in the mine.

Emergency officials were quoted as saying that there is no chance of finding additional survivors in the Listvyazhnaya mine, which is located in Siberia’s Kemerovo region.

According to Interfax, which quoted a regional administration representative, the 52 who perished died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The site noted that miners usually have oxygen supplies sufficient for six hours, which can last for another few hours if necessary.

According to Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Demeshin, the fire that caused the explosion was likely ignited by a methane explosion caused by a spark.

Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe into the incident and said that the mine’s director and two senior managers have been detained.

President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to the families of the victims, and ordered the government to offer any necessary assistance to the families of the injured. Regional officials have declared three days of mourning.

Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s first-ever female prime minister, resigned seven hours after her appointment on Wednesday of last week.

This week, she was reelected to her position of prime minister.

Andersson, a Social Democrat, said she was forced to resign after her budget bill failed and the Green Party quit the coalition. The government rejected its own budget proposal in favor of one presented by the opposition (which includes the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats). That prompted the Green Party to leave the two-party minority government.

Andersson later said at a news conference that she did not “want to lead a government where there may be grounds to question its legitimacy.”

On Monday, though, she won her second election in less than a week.

She made history when she became the country’s first female prime minister.

Of the 349-member Swedish parliament, known as the Riksdag, 101 members voted yes to Andersson, 173 voted no and 75 abstained. The country’s constitution allows prime ministers to be appointed as long as a parliamentary majority (175 people) does not vote against them, a slim margin for Andersson.

After the vote, Andersson told reporters that she’s ready to “take Sweden forward” with a platform focused on welfare, climate change, and crime.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Afghani from National Geographic Cover Evacuated

Sharbat Gulla, the girl from Afghanistan who became famous after making the cover of a National Geographic edition in the early 1980s, has been evacuated to Italy following the Taliban’s takeover of her country, according to a Thursday statement by the Italian government.

Gulla, born in in 1972, was 12 years old when Steve McCurry took her photograph in 1984. She quickly became famous as the green-eyed “Afghan Girl.”

In a statement, the office of Ita-

ly’s Premier Mario Draghi said the evacuation followed Gulla’s request to leave the country and that the government will now help her integrate into life in Italy.

Draghi’s office also said that Gulla had come to “symbolize the vicissitudes and conflict of the chapter in history that Afghanistan and its people were going through at the time.”

Her trip to Italy was “part of the wider evacuation program in place for Afghan citizens and the government’s plan for their reception and integration,” the statement added, noting that the office had received requests “by those in civil society, and in particular by non-profit organizations working in Afghanistan” to help Gulla.

Barbados is Now a Republic Barbados formally declared itself the world’s newest republic at the stroke of midnight on Monday, as the Caribbean island nation removed Queen Elizabeth II as head of state in a solemn ceremony attended by her son Prince Charles.

Symbolizing the historic han-

dover, the Royal Standard flag representing the queen was lowered during a ceremony inaugurating the current governor-general, Dame Sandra Mason, as the first president of Barbados.

Taliban Murdered Afghan Security Forces “I, Sandra Prunella Mason, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Barbados according to law, so help me G-d,” the new president said in taking the oath of office.

The new era for the nation of 285,000 ends Britain’s centuries of influence, including more than 200 years of slavery until 1834.

The “Pride of Nationhood” ceremony was closed to the wider public but top officials attended the event, complete with military parades, a mounted guard of honor, and gun salutes.

Barbados, famous for its idyllic beaches and love of cricket, won in-

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dependence from Britain in 1966.

In October, it elected Mason its first president, one year after Prime Minister Mia Mottley declared the country would “fully” leave behind its colonial past.

A new report reveals that the Taliban had executed dozens of members of the Afghan security forces after they surrendered following the militants’ seizure of Afghanistan in late summer.

The report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed “the summary execution or enforced disappearance” of 47 former members of the Afghan National Security Forc-

Wishing You and Your Families On This Festival of Lights A Safe, Happy, & Healthy Chanukah

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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es (ANSF), including military personnel, police, intelligence service members and paramilitary militia, who had surrendered to or were apprehended by Taliban forces between August 15 and October 31.

The findings of the investigation knock the Taliban’s previous claims to the international community that it would lead a more inclusive government than it did two decades ago.

Its leaders had promised a reprieve for those who collaborated with U.S. forces during the American presence in the country.

The report focuses on Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, and Kunduz provinces, but HRW notes that “the cases reflect a broader pattern of abuses reported in Khost, Paktiya, Paktika, and other provinces.”

A Taliban deputy spokesman rejected the HRW report, saying that the Taliban established a general amnesty on their first day of power in Afghanistan.

“Based on that, all military and non-military personnel of the former government were forgiven and told they could live normally in Afghanistan, that no one could harm them,” Bilal Karimi said.

Even so, Bilal did acknowledge that there were events when “some former forces were harmed,” but not as many as reported, adding that any “limited incidents” in which security forces were hurt were “due to personal enmity,” rather than Taliban policy.

HRW’s research indicates that Taliban forces have killed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former security forces members in just these four provinces in the three months since their takeover of the capital Kabul, on August 15.

HRW researchers add, “They have also targeted family members of former security force members.”

A man from Kandahar described to HRW what happened when the Taliban knocked on his door searching for his brother, a former member of the ANSF. “There was a knock on the door.

The [Taliban] asked: ‘Is [your brother] home?’ I said no. ‘Do not be scared, tell him, we want to talk to him.’ I said no, he is not home. A couple of days later, they took my brother from the street. We looked everywhere. We went to the Taliban, who denied involvement. Two days later we found his body.”

One Taliban fighter described a former prison official who was allegedly executed after being called

back to work in August.

“The commanders called him back to the job after a few days [after taking control of Kunduz]. They said, ‘Your job is here; you know this job.’

The prison has three gates. [‘Muhammad’] crossed the first gate. He was shot dead between second and the third gate.”

“In the weeks before the Taliban overran Kabul, revenge killings, including the targeting of government officials, were already on the increase in major cities and along key highways,” HRW says, adding, “The Taliban, through their intelligence operations and access to employment records that the former government left behind, have identified new targets for arrest and execution.”

HRW alleges information that was collected as part of a so-called “amnesty program” that would guarantee the safety of surrendering ANSF forces was used “to detain and summarily execute or forcibly disappear individuals within days of their registration, leaving their bodies for their relatives or communities to find.”

North Korean Recaptured by China 40 Days After Escape

A North Korean man was recaptured Sunday morning after evading authorities for 40 days following his escape from a Chinese prison.

Zhu Xianjian, 39, was jailed in China’s Jilin province after fleeing North Korea in 2013 and being sentenced for entering China illegally, larceny, and robbery with intent to cause serious injury, in 2014.

He was due to be released from prison and deported back to North Korea in 2023.

A statement from the city of Jilin’s public security bureau said that the escapee was caught by local police from the Fengman district. According to the Global Times, Zhu had hidden in a local abandoned tourist attraction.

Zhu escaped the Jilin City prison complex on October 18 by climbing

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

on a shed and vaulting over the outer wall. That month, Chinese authorities issued a bounty notice for $23,400 if he was captured alive. Later, the reward for information leading to his capture increased to $109,000.

Vaccine: Word of the Year

Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has named “vaccine” as its word of the year.

According to one U.S. publisher, searches for the word “vaccine” on its website had increased by 601% compared to last year, and 1,048% since 2019.

Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, noted, “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021.”

He explained, “It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were

developed. But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics, and political affiliation. It’s one word that carries these two huge stories.”

In 2020, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year was “pandemic.”

Earlier this month, the Oxford English Dictionary had chosen “vax” as its word of the year.

Canada Releases 50M Lbs. of Maple Syrup

The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers are releasing 50 million pounds of maple syrup from their strategic reserves.

The government-sponsored Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP) controls approximately 70% of the world’s maple syrup supply. It is a consortium of over 11,000 Canadian maple syrup producers.

According to QMSP this week, this

past spring, which was warmer and shorter than expected, led to a 24% year-over-drop in maple syrup production.

This, combined with increased demand as people spend more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, led the company to release 50 million pounds from its strategic reserve. That is the largest amount released in a single season since 2008, and it equals about half of the entire reserve.

QMSP spokeswoman Helene Normandin said the group will authorize more production of syrup next season in order to make up for the shortfall this year. Over 70% of the world’s maple syrup is produced in Quebec.

“What we can figure at this moment is maybe the season here in Quebec will start a bit earlier in February, instead of March, and end earlier also,” she said.

New Variant Named Omicron The World Health Organization announced on Friday it was naming a new Covid-19 variant “Omicron,” skipping over certain letters of the

Greek alphabet.

The WHO made the announcement about the B.1.1.529 variant out of Johannesburg, South Africa, passing over a letter many observers presumed would be next — “Nu” — as well as the subsequent letter, “Xi,” which composes part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s name.

The virus joins earlier variants named for letters of the alphabet, including the Alpha variant out of the United Kingdom; the Beta variant out of South Africa; the Gamma variant out of Brazil; and the Delta variant out of India. Additional variants include Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Mu. To date, “Nu” and “Xi” are the only letters the WHO has opted against using. Although there is no official explanation, Paul Nuki, an editor for the London-based Telegraph, said that a source said the decision to skip “Xi” was intentional.

“Nu had been skipped to avoid

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Preserving or Denigrating Jewish Property?

confusion with the word ‘new’; and Xi had been skipped to ‘avoid stigmatizing a region,’” Nuki wrote on Twitter.

Covid-19 was first detected two years ago in China in the province of Wuhan. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Xi at the beginning of the outbreak, when he praised China for its “openness to sharing information” about Covid-19, de-

spite the country’s initial refusal to let the agency’s scientists investigate. American intelligence later revealed China became aware of the virus in November 2019, months before the country began cooperating with health officials.

Last year, former President Donald Trump said that he wished to end the U.S. participation in the WHO. President Joe Biden reversed the decision in January, when he sent

Dr. Anthony Fauci to tell officials he was “honored to announce that the United States will remain a member.”

The Biden administration announced on Friday it was banning travel to the United States from South Africa and seven other African nations in response to the new variant — including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.

Jozef Gucwa is the owner of an ice cream shop in a small town in Poland. Now, though, he is offering up something more than a cold, sweet confection. In the store adjacent to his shop, Gucwa has opened up a makeshift museum filled with a gallery of items once owned by local Jews, including the family that lived in the building before the Holocaust.

Gucwa opened the “museum” in Bobowa, a town near Krakow, in 2019. Poland’s main Jewish museum, Polin, in Warsaw, has shortlisted him for an award for preserving Jewish heritage. But an advocate for preserving Jewish sites says Gucwa should instead be penalized for illegally appropriating Jewish property.

On display at “Beit Landau” are silver items including a Chanukah menorah, a gragger for Purim, a Torah scroll, finials that adorn the top ends of the rollers of a Torah scroll, kiddush cups, an elaborate fishshaped statue, a knife opener with a Star of David adorning the handle and a jewelry box. Several dreidels are also on display.

Gucwa named his museum “Landau House,” which is the name of the family that lived in the building during the war. He charges museum-goers $2 admission.

Meir Bulka has emerged as a leading advocate for preserving Jewish heritage in Poland, after he saw cemeteries in disarray during a trip to see his ancestral home there. Bulka says items on display at “Beit Landau” were illegally appropriated in violation of Poland’s monument laws, which generally places historically significant finds in the possession of the state.

The items on display were found during renovations to the building aimed at expanding the ice cream parlor. According to Bulka, Gucwa has declared his shop a museum in order to avoid having to give up the valuable property.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Australian Bank Fined $80M

Westpac, Australia’s first bank, announced this week that it will likely be fined 113 million Australian dollars ($80.8 million) for alleged compliance failures across its business over many years, including charging financial advice fees to thousands of dead customers.

Australia’s No. 3 lender admitted to six civil penalty proceedings filed by the country’s securities regulator, including allegations against its banking, superannuation, wealth management, and now divested general insurance units.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission had alleged Westpac charged over 10 million Australian dollars ($7.2 million) in advice fees to more than 11,000

deceased people and distributed duplicate insurance policies to over 7,000 clients.

These infractions took place over a 10-year period.

Australia’s financial sector has faced intense scrutiny since a Royal Commission inquiry in 2018 found widespread shortcomings across the industry, with charging the dead among the most common and damaging revelations.

“The issues raised in these matters should not have occurred, and our processes, systems and monitoring should have been better,” Westpac CEO Peter King admitted.

ASIC and Westpac will together propose the 113 million Australian dollar penalty to the federal court, and the lender will remediate about $80 million Australian dollars ($57 million) to customers.

Earthquake Shakes Peru Peru’s President Pedro Castillo Terrones has promised support for those affected by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake which shook the country on Sunday morning.

The quake caused structural damage in the northern part of the country.

No casualties were reported, but buildings and roads have sustained damage, government officials said.

The epicenter was in the Amazonas region and had a recorded depth of 112 kilometers (69.6 miles).

In a tweet, President Terrones wrote, “All my solidarity with the people of Amazonas in the face of the strong earthquake. I have arranged for the ministries and agencies of the executive branch to implement immediate action. You are not alone, brothers. We will support those affected by structural damage.”

He added that he would soon visit areas affected by the quake.

Earlier on Sunday, an earthquake measuring 5.2 struck Lima, Peru.

U.S. Navy Rescues Iranian Seamen

The U.S. Navy has rescued two Iranian seamen who had been afloat on a fishing boat for eight days.

In a statement released on Sunday, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) confirmed, “A U.S. Navy vessel rescued two Iranian mariners (on Saturday) from a fishing vessel after it was adrift for eight days in the Gulf of Oman.”

Navy cargo ship Charles Drew arrived with food, water, and medical care six hours after a distress call from the mariners. The men were then transferred to an Omani coastguard vessel near Muscat.

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

health and spirits at the time of the transfer,” the U.S. navy said.

NAVCENT Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper added, “We appreciate the government of Oman for its assistance and support in helping us return the mariners home.”

Ancient Roman Coins Found in Germany

A cache of 5,600 silver coins dating from the Roman Empire nearly 2,000 years ago has been found in Germany.

In a statement, the Augsburg Art Collections and Museum noted that the discovery last week was the largest-ever found in the state of Bavaria. The coins, weighing 33 pounds in total and minted in the denarii currency, were uncovered in an old

gravel riverbed near what was once a military base. They were discovered during excavations after the town of Wertach was flooded.

The oldest of the coins were minted in 54-68 CE, under Emperor Nero, and the newest were minted just after 200 CE, under Septimius Severus. They are being analyzed at the University of Tübingen.

According to Sebastian Gairhos, the head of city archeology in Augsburg, “A soldier earned between 375 and 500 denarii in the early 3rd century. The treasure, therefore, is the equivalent of about 11 to 15 annual salaries.

“The new finds now allow numerous new statements — not only about the function of the place, the origin and composition of the troops and civilians, as well as replenishment logistics — but above all to its dating.”

He added, “We assume that the treasure was buried outside the city of Augusta Vindelicum near the Via Claudia running there in the early 3rd century and was never recovered.”

Augsburg Mayor Eva Weber stated, “Augsburg’s rich history just got richer. Again, the importance of Augsburg during Roman times has been made abundantly clear.”

Canada: Indigenous Expert is Not Indigenous

A Canadian medical researcher who became the country’s top expert on Indigenous health has been fired from her government position and university professorship after she was exposed as a fraud.

Public health expert Carrie Bourassa, who served as scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health, was suspended on November 1, just days after the CBC published an expose on her true background.

Bourassa, who claimed to be of the Métis nation, is actually descended from immigrant farmers who hailed from Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

Initially, doubts surfaced when Bourassa began to claim she was also of Anishinaabe and Tlingit heritage and began dressing in a stereotypical Indigenous fashion – including wearing an electric blue shawl and a feather in partially-braided hair for a 2019 TEDx Talk at the University of Saskatchewan.

At that time, she told the crowd, “My name is Morning Star Bear. I’m Bear Clan. I’m Anishinaabe Métis from Treaty Four Territory.”

Winona Wheeler, an associate professor of Indigenous studies at the college and a documented member of Manitoba’s Fisher River Cree Nation, began investigating Bourassa’s heritage, taking her findings to the media.

When Bourassa was asked to provide proof of her heritage, she claimed she had been adopted into the Métis community by a friend of her deceased grandfather, Clifford Laroque.

“Even though Clifford passed, those bonds are even deeper than death because the family has taken me as if I was their blood family,” she insisted in a statement. “In turn, I serve the Métis community to the best of my ability.”

Compensation Demanded for Munich Massacre Victims

Family members of the 11 Israeli athletes who were slaughtered in the 1972 Munich Olympics are demanding compensation from Libya.

The 21 family members are demanding 110 million euros from United Nations-administered Libyan funds that were frozen due to embezzlement allegations. According to them, then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi supported and actively assisted the terrorists after they escaped Munich.

In addition, some of the terrorists entered Germany on forged Libyan passports.

The survivors and the victims’ families also noted that Gaddafi gave then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat $5 million as a gift for the attack, and the three terrorists who survived the attack flew to Libya after they were released from prison. In Libya, they received a hero’s welcome and went into hiding with Gaddafi’s assistance.

According to the report, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan assisted the families in presenting the UN with documents proving Gaddafi’s involvement.

Did Israel Hack Iran’s Gas System?

Israel carried out a cyber-attack against Iran’s gas system last month, two U.S. defense officials told The New York Times.

According to the Saturday report, the Israeli attack was followed by an Iranian attack on an Israeli

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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In the Israeli attack, which began October 26, gas pumps and Iran’s 4,300 fuel distribution stations shut down, as digital messages blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Some of the gas pumps were fixed within several days, but the prices remained high and the system did not fully recover for two weeks.

At the time, at least one Iranian official blamed Israel and the U.S. for the incident.

Speaking to The New York Times, an Iranian Oil Ministry official and an oil dealer confirmed that the attackers took over Iran’s fuel storage tanks and may have accessed data on international oil sales.

The Ministry’s servers, however, are not connected to the internet.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the gas attack, nor has Iran claimed responsibility for the Black Shadow group’s attack on the Israeli dating site.

New Findings on COVID and Pregnancy

New Israeli research has uncovered one reason why intrauterine deaths are twice as common among COVID-19 patients than among the general population, Arutz Sheva reported.

The research, led by Professor Eran Barzilay of Assuta Hospital in Ashdod, focused on women who had experienced the stillborn death of their fetus shortly after contracting COVID-19. Researchers looked at the following parameters: pathological tests for the placenta and PCR test results for the mother, baby, and placenta. They also compared groups of PCR-positive and PCR-negative mothers and babies at the time of birth.

In some of the cases of stillbirth, there was a higher level of virus in the baby than in the mother, and in all cases of stillbirth, there had been significant damage to the placental tissue.

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The researchers concluded that the reason for intrauterine death was damage caused by COVID-19 to the placenta, which impeded the transfer of oxygen and other vital matter to the fetus.

Commenting on the results, Prof.

Barzilay said, “Research has already suggested that a woman who is sick with coronavirus is twice as likely to deliver a stillborn baby than a woman who is not sick with COVID-19.”

“In our study, we attempted to find the reason for this phenomenon. What we discovered is that the coronavirus can infect the fetus and the placenta, causing substantial damage to the fabric of the placenta. It appears that this is the cause of the higher intrauterine mortality rate.”

No Public Transportation for New Visitors Israel’s Transportation Ministry on Sunday evening announced that those landing at Ben Gurion International Airport will no longer be allowed to travel by public transpor-

tation, due to concerns over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Ministry added that transportation from the airport will be by private vehicle only. At the same time, long-term parking at the airport will cost 50% less, the Ministry said.

So far, Israel has identified four cases of the variant, and 34 others are suspected of carrying it.

The new rules began on midnight on Sunday, and include a three-day quarantine for the vaccinated, with a second PCR test on day three after arrival. The quarantine rules for the unvaccinated have not changed.

In addition, those arriving in Israel from “red” countries – a list which includes all African countries other than Morocco and Egypt – must quarantine in a government-run hotel until a second PCR test performed days after their arrival comes out negative.

World’s Best Falafel

Turns out that if you want the world’s best falafel you have to travel to the Holy Land.

According to a study conducted by 10Bis, Haifa’s falafels have been rated the best in the world, with a 9.07 rating. While only four percent of the city’s eateries serve falafel, those restaurants seem to offer the best falafel dishes.

Following close behind, Tel Aviv nabbed the second-tastiest spot with a score of 8.7. The city boasts 13 falafel joints for every 100,000 people – more than Haifa.

Outside of the Holy Land, Beirut was gifted third place, with a score of 7.92. 9.36% of Beirut’s restaurants serve the Middle Eastern fare.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Athens, Berlin, Lisbon and Copenhagen rounded out the rest of the top findings.

Pass the chummus, please.

already in Israel and were declared eligible to immigrant in 2015. They will be brought to Israel in “the near future.”

In a statement, Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White) praised the decision, saying, “Today, we are correcting an ongoing injustice done to those waiting for their immigration to be approved from as early as 2015, but not implemented in previous governments.”

The Jewish Agency for Israel Acting Chairman of the Executive Yaakov Haogel said, “This government decision will put an end to the suffering of many families who will finally be reunited after years of waiting to make aliyah.”

Jewish Federations of North America Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mark Wilf added, “Today’s announcement is an exciting and important step to reunite families and strengthen the Jewish people.”

Is U.S. Democracy “Backsliding”?

Thousands of Ethiopians OK-ed to Immigrate

The Israeli government on Sunday voted to allow thousands of Ethiopians, who claim to be Jewish, to immigrate to Israel. The decision comes as Ethiopia faces rising concerns of a civil war.

Despite the green light, Detractors say that some of the Ethiopians brought over have no connection to Israel and no Jewish ancestry, and others have committed war crimes.

All of those included in the current plan have first-degree relatives

A new report by Sweden’s International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA) has shown that the U.S. may be in a “reverse” trend to democratization.

According to the report, the regression began in 2016 and is part of a “global retreat” in democracies’ health. Though there is a global cycle of “progress and regression,” the U.S. slide is the country’s first, the report added.

Annika Silva-Leander, who authored the annual IIDEA report on the Global State of Democracy, noted, “There is a mimicking effect that also comes into play, which we saw from the mid-1970s onwards in the world, a third wave of democratiza-

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

tion. What we are clearly seeing now is a reverse wave. Less countries becoming democratic, [those] that are democratic declining in quality.”

She added, “The democratic world is quite fragmented right now,” noting that democracies undergoing a “gradual but significant weakening of checks on government and civil liberties” now constitute over 30% of the global population.

The report is based on expert surveys, as well as 116 indicators of democracy from 165 countries. The 2021 report is the first time the U.S. has appeared on the list, but the “backsliding episode began at least in 2019” and may have preceded that.

According to Silva-Leander, “We know from other indicators not included in our measurements that levels of polarization have increased in the U.S. in the past decade. What we find when we look at data globally is that lower levels of public support for democracy often coincide with increasing levels of polarization and voters turning to parties that have a lesser commitment to democratic values.”

Reversing the backslide is “going to also involve democracies collaborating,” she added.

3 Found Guilty in Ahmaud Arbery Case

A Georgia jury last week reached a verdict in the trial of three men charged with murder for killing a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, as he ran in their neighborhood.

The jury, in its second day of deliberations, asked to view cellphone video of Arbery, 25, being fatally shot three times. The jury later reached a verdict.

Travis McMichael, 35, his father Gregory McMichael, 65, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment for the killing on February 23, 2020.

The video recorded by Bryan on his cellphone of Travis McMichael firing his pump-action shotgun at close range into Arbery became the

most important evidence for the prosecution in the trial. The younger McMichael, the only defendant to take the witness stand, said he fired his shotgun at Arbery in self-defense.

The jury also asked to hear again the 911 call made by Greg McMichael moments before the shooting in which he told the emergency operator that “there’s a black male running down the street” and can be heard yelling at Arbery repeatedly to stop.

The jury, composed of 11 white men and women and one black man, deliberated for more than six hours on Tuesday without reaching a verdict as the panel weighed evidence from the more than two dozen witnesses called during the trial of more than two weeks.

In their defense, Bryan’s and the McMichaels’ lawyers cited a Georgia law that allowed anyone to make a citizen’s arrest of individuals they have reasonable suspicion are fleeing a serious crime they committed.

The law was repealed in the wake of Arbery’s killing.

The trio said that they chased Arbery to detain him because they believed he might have been responsible for property crimes that had

left the neighborhood on edge. Arbery was found dead with nothing in his pockets – not even a cellphone or wallet.

Jack Dorsey Steps Down at Twitter CEO

Jack Dorsey stepped down on Monday as chief executive of Twitter, the social media site he co-founded in 2006. He was replaced by Parag Agrawal, who, as the company’s chief technology officer, had recently been working on technologies associated with cryptocurrencies.

Dorsey’s exit marks a significant shift at the company, which has navigated years of pressure from investors who thought it did not make enough money and criticism from Washington, particularly from Republican lawmakers who have com-

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plained Twitter has stifled conservative voices in social media.

Dorsey, 45, who is also the chief executive of the payments company Square, was fired from the top job at Twitter in 2008 but returned in 2015.

Dorsey’s departure represents the second recent significant shake up at a major social media company.

Last month, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. The change was accompanied by a new corporate logo and an emphasis on a virtual world called the metaverse, but Mark Zuckerberg, its high-profile chief executive, will still run the company.

Dorsey’s name has almost become synonymous with Twitter.

“If you stand back and you think about who’s had a big influence on social media over the past decade, the name Jack Dorsey is always going to come up,” said Tim Hubbard, an assistant professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

This week, Dorsey said in an email to Twitter employees that he wanted Twitter to stop being a founder-led company, which could be a weakness over time.

“I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders,” Dorsey wrote, adding: “I believe it’s critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder’s influence or direction.”

He added, “There aren’t many companies that get to this level.

And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego.”

Forbes estimates Dorsey’s net worth at over $11 billion.

“Flash mob” robberies involve a group of thieves who storm a store, ransack the shelves, and flee in what authorities have termed a “smashand-grab” incident.

At least two such incidents were reported Saturday by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. According to KCAL-TV, there were a total of six such incidents on Friday around the city’s west side.

A Home Depot robbery on Friday may have involved up to 20 suspects who pulled up in 10 cars and donned masks before raiding the tool aisle.

Four suspects in the Home Depot robbery were arrested on Saturday in Beverly Hills.

LAPD said that a similar group of 10 or more stormed a Fairfax store and began grabbing merchandise, pushing employees out of the way, and fleeing the scene without paying. An LAPD spokesperson added that investigations are underway as to whether the Fairfax incident is connected with incidents occurring earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, mass robberies were also reported on Friday at two Best Buy electronic stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and a series of retail burglaries occurred in Chicago.

States to Replace “Dehumanizing” Terms for Migrants

“Flash Mob” Looters Continue to Target Stores

Police in Los Angeles and other major cities around the U.S. spent Thanksgiving weekend searching for suspects involved in “flash mob” robberies on Friday.

Democratic lawmaker Luz Rivas has authored a bill to replace the word “alien” in state statutes with the word “noncitizen” or “immigrant.”

Now an assemblywoman in California’s legislature, Rivas explained, “I want other children of immigrants, like me, to not feel the same

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way I did, that my family did, when we saw the word ‘alien.’

“I want all Californians that are contributing to our society, that are small business owners, that work hard, to feel that they are part of California communities,” she explained.

The bill has already been signed into law.

Immigrants and groups supporting them claim the term is “dehumanizing,” especially when it is combined with the word “illegal.”

Only California and Colorado actually made a change in terminology, but the step to eliminate the use of “alien” and “illegal” was considered in at least seven different states, the National Conference of State Legislatures said.

According to State Sen. Julie Gonzales, who co-sponsored the new Colorado law, words such as “illegal” are “dehumanizing and derogatory” when used to describe immigrants.

“That language has been offensive for many people. And some of the rationale behind that is really rooted in this idea that a person can certainly commit an illegal act, but no human being themselves is illegal,” she said.

U.S. Imposes Travel Restrictions

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said his administration will impose restrictions on travel from eight countries in Africa.

The move follows the discovery of the new “Omicron” COVID-19 variant, which is believed to have originated in southern Africa.

Officials in the Biden administration told The New York Times that the ban will apply to those travelers from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

With the new travel bans, the U.S. joins a host of approximately 15 other countries that had announced similar restrictions.

In a statement, Biden said, “As a

precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering additional air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries. As we move forward, we will continue to be guided by what the science and my medical team advises.”

He also urged Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine – either the first doses, for those who have not yet received them, or the booster dose – for those eligible and who have not yet had it. The new variant, he said, “should make clearer than ever why this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations.”

Administration officials said that U.S. citizens and legal residents will not be included in the ban but will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test if they travel into the U.S. from the affected countries.

U.S. to Build Up Bases in Guam and Australia In an effort to better counter China’s increasing military strength, the Pentagon announced this week that

it will be focusing on building up bases in Guam and Australia.

Back in February, President Biden tasked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to partake in a global posture review. Although the review in classified, this move is prompted by the findings that came out of that review.

Biden “recently approved” Austin’s findings and recommendations from the global posture review, Dr. Mara Karlin, performing the duties of deputy under-secretary for policy, said at a briefing on Monday.

The Biden administration has made countering China its main foreign policy priority as tensions have increased with Beijing, particularly over the issue of Taiwan, and senior Pentagon officials have publicly expressed alarm about China’s efforts to upgrade and modernize its military. Last month, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China had successfully tested a hypersonic missile in what was “very close” to a Sputnik moment.

To counter China, the review directs the Department to enhance “infrastructure in Guam and Australia” and to prioritize “military construction across the Pacific Islands,” a defense official said, as well as “seeking

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

greater regional access for military partnership activities.

“In Australia, you’ll see new rotational fighter and bomber aircraft deployments, you’ll see ground forces training and increased logistics cooperation, and more broadly across the Indo-Pacific, you’ll see a range of infrastructure improvements, in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Australia,” Karlin said during the briefing.

The global posture review also directs the Department to focus more on the Indo-Pacific region by “reducing” the number of troops and equipment in other areas of the world, “to enable improved warfighting readiness and increased activities” in the Indo-Pacific.

The review also looked at other areas around the world and gave recommendations.

The U.S. military is working to “re-establish readiness” in Eastern Europe “with the goal of strengthening a combat credible deterrent vis-a-vis Russia and the specific requirements of that region,” the official said.

In the Middle East, the review directed the Department to “continue to support the defeat ISIS campaign,”

with the current U.S. military presence in Iraq and Syria, as well as continuing to work on building up “the capacity of partner forces,” in those countries.

Afghanistan was not officially included in the global posture review, because there is a “separate” National Security Council-led “process” that is “reviewing the way ahead for U.S. presence there,” the official said.

Stuck in a Bar

For three days, scores of people were forced to stay in a pub when the around the bar was hit by a snowstorm.

At least 60 people went out to the Tan Hill Inn in Sawledale in northern

England, thinking they’ll enjoy a pint or two. But by Friday night, the storm had brought down a power line and blocked roads – forcing the patrons to stay in the bar for three nights.

“They’re all in good spirits, they’re all eating and drinking well,” said Andrew Hields, 36, who co-owns the bar. Guests were entertained by a band, who had been booked to play on Friday night, as well with quizzes, table games, karaoke and sing-along carol sessions.

There are three routes to the isolated pub, which sits at an altitude of 1,732 feet above sea level. Two of them were blocked by snow drifts, and a downed power line shut the third, said Hields.

A mountain rescue team was called in to evacuate one man who is undergoing dialysis treatment, but the rest of the patrons stayed for a unique experience.

Puts a new spin on the term “three sheets into the wind.”

Extra Baggage In an almost impossible feat, a man from Guatemala managed to

hide in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight for almost three hours before the crew discovered him after arriving at Miami International Airport on Saturday.

The 26-year-old was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol before he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He had "attempted to evade detection in the landing gear compartment of an aircraft arriving from Guatemala,” according to the agency.

Wearing jeans, a jacket, and boots, the man hid himself in a tiny, cramped area of the plane. Aside from the small place in which he concealed himself, the man faced other dangers. At the average cruising altitude for a commercial flight — between 30,000 and 40,000 feet — temperature ranges from -40° F to -70° F. He also could have fallen out

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The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

of the plane during the flight.

Sounds like he was flying by the seat of his pants.

World’s Biggest Nose

There’s no other way to say this: Mehmet Ozyurek has a big nose.

And you can tell that to his face. In fact, Ozyurek is proud of his oversized schnoz. The Turkish man is now the proud Guinness World Record holder of having the longest nose on a living person.

Ozyurek’s nose measures 3.46 inches from the bridge to the tip.

What used to be a source of ridicule for him when he was a child is now a source of pride.

“My friends used to call me ‘Big Nose’ to upset me,” the 71-yearold told Guinness World Records.

“But I took a look at myself. That’s when I looked in the mirror – I discovered myself.

“G-d made me like this, there is nothing that can be done in this situation. I learned to live in peace with my physique.”

Aside from requiring a lot of sunscreen, Ozyurek’s beak offers him an enhanced sense of smell.

“I say, ‘There is a smell here.’

Other people say, ‘We don’t smell that smell.’ I say, ‘You may not smell it but I can,’” Ozyurek said. “For example, I enter my house ... I can immediately tell which dish is cooked.”

Ozyurek said he can also do some party tricks, such as inflating a balloon with his nostrils.

“I love my nose, of course,” he said. “I have been blessed.”

And that’s something he really knows.

Rent for $1 a Month

They say the cost of living is increasing, but if you’re looking for a good deal on a rental, you may want to move to Tokyo.

Ikea is offering a “Tiny Home” apartment in Tokyo for rent for the price of less than $1 a month for one year.

The Swedish furniture company said the 107-square-foot apartment in Shinjuku district will be rented out on a one-year lease for a price of $0.86 per month, not including utilities.

Interested in nabbing this sweet deal? The company is accepting applications from prospective tenants, who must be at least 20 years old.

Even more enticing than the affordable rent is the furniture in the apartment, which is furnished with Ikea products.

“One of the keys is to make good use of the vertical space,” the company said on its website. “By capturing the room three-dimensionally, new possibilities open up in a limited space.”

Ikea is promoting the Tiny Home with a series of videos featuring a person in a shark costume portraying a real estate agent. The videos feature the shark, named Blahaj, decorating the apartment with help from an Ikea interior design specialist.

Now if only he can help me put together this desk.

Did you know?

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On the dreidel, gimmel stands for “gantz,” which means “whole”; hey stands for “halb,” which means “half”; nun stands for “nisht,” which means “nothing”; and shin stands for “shtel einl,” which means “put in”

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The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community JCCRP Chanukah Toy Drive: Bringing Light to Local Children

C

hanukah is a most exciting yom tov, as all of Klal Yisroel celebrate the miracle with all of the beautiful mitzvot and minhagim (customs). One of the precious minhagim is to give Chanukah gelt or toys to children. However, there are families in our own community, maybe on your block or in your kids’ class, who don’t share the same enthusiasm. Many families find themselves unable to buy gifts for their children, which is undeniably disheartening. Presents aren’t the point of Chanukah, but it makes a difference in a child’s life knowing that someone is thinking of him or her.

The local families that we pass every day need as much love and help as we can give them, and in this vein, the community came together to help.

This past Motzei Shabbos, kids and adults joined together to volunteer at the JCCRP Chanukah Toy Drive, preparing toy packages for over 650 children!

“Every year we come to help out.

We love coming here to pack the toy boxes – it’s fun and a mitzvah,” commented Shany, one of the many children volunteers.

This year’s Chanukah Toy Drive was dedicated in the zechus of Mr. Milton Ostreicher, Menachem Avrohom ben Moshe Binyamin, a”h, by his children. Mr. Ostreicher personified klal work and caring for those who are less fortunate. This dedication is a most fitting tribute to his legacy and should be an Aliyah for his neshama.

Moshe Brandsdorfer, the JCCRP’s executive director, expressed, “The toy drive demonstrates the very essence of the Five Towns/Far Rocka-

way community. The toy drive committee, local stores, schools, shuls and dentist offices who graciously partnered with us to collect toys are the real heroes here. We did not have to turn any child away because the essence of our community is chessed and achdus!”

The JCCRP wishes to thank all the participating schools, shuls and businesses for collecting toys: BBY, BYAM, Congregation Beth Shalom, Dr. Denise Cohen, DRS, Frankel’s, Gourmet Glatt, Gural JCC, HAFTR, KolSave, Oppenheimer Orthodontics, Preminger Pediatric Dentistry, Seasons, Season’s Express, Shulamith, Total Family Care, Yeshiva

Darchei Torah, YILC and YKLI. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of the toy drive committee: Naamah Aisenbaum, Sara Austein, Rahely Fruchter, Lara Klein, Daphna Mishaan, Fraidy Osina, Devorah Pelman, Rebecca Richman, Hudis Saltz, Tamar Samuels, Esther Satt, Tamar Scharf, Rocky Stern, and Lily Weichholz. They ran around during their busy days to set up drop-off locations, collect toys, pack boxes and organize sponsors.

Their outstanding work led to yet another amazing toy drive!

At the toy drive pickup, Miriam*, a mother of four, commented, “This is so helpful. My kids are going to be

so excited for these toys. We can’t thank you enough!”

For those who couldn’t make it to the stores, please contribute online at www.jccrp.org. 100% of donations goes toward the toy drive. For more information or to volunteer for future project, please email info@jccrp.org or call (718) 327-7755, ex: 6113. *name changed for privacy.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Around the Community

HALB students enjoyed a Danny Palgon concert on Tuesday, the second day of Chanukah

SKA Comes to West Hempstead

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limpses of the warm and supportive SKA experience, imparted to its students on a daily basis, were on display as administrators and faculty members of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls joined the West Hempstead community for Shabbat, Parshat Vayishlach, November 10-20.

Friday night’s oneg with SKA Principal, Judaic Studies, Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky, Associate Principal Ms. Elana Flaumenhaft, Dean of Students Mrs. Shira Englander, SKA social worker Ms. Lisa Fogel, and SKA faculty members at the Halpert home was extremely well-received by over 100 current SKA students and West Hempstead eighth graders. A d’var Torah by senior Rena Hecht, delicious food, and a riotous game of “Family Feud” contributed to a welcoming and inclusive Shabbat oneg.

On Shabbat day, West Hempstead SKA ninth and tenth graders and their friends savored a festive Shabbat lunch at the home of their teacher, Mrs. Tzippy Calm, together with Ms. Flaumenhaft and Ms. Fogel, while elventh graders gathered at the home of their teacher, Mrs. Shira Greenberger, together with Mrs. Englander, and twelfth graders at the home of their teacher, Mrs. Kayla Bach, together with Mrs. Kaminetsky.

Junior Sheera Rockoff enthused, “We were able to spend quality time

with faculty and administrators.

Each of us were able to attend inspirational and exciting events with girls from every grade!”

Shabbat afternoon offered the women of the community the opportunity to hear Mrs. Kaminetsky speak on “Lessons from the Chanukah Lights” at the Sosnay home, after which SKA students joined for a heartfelt Shalosh Seudot, complete with zemirot and a d’var Torah from SKA rebbe Rabbi Jordan Ginsberg.

“It was almost like a mini-Skabbaton! I spent Shabbat in West Hempstead with girls from several different neighborhoods,” commented twelfth grader Samantha Klein.

The Shabbat offered the chance for eighth graders and SKA students to connect with Mrs. Kaminetsky, Ms. Fogel, Ms. Flaumenhaft, Mrs. Englander and faculty members Mrs. Beaty Menchel, Mrs. Rivi Blum, Mrs. Calm, Mrs. Bach, Mrs. Greenberger and Rabbi Ginsberg on a more intimate level and experience the warmth and excitement of SKA. Shabbat in West Hempstead was a wonderful opportunity for current and future SKA students to enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere – it was truly a Shabbat of achdut!

Our sincere thanks go to the Halpert and Sosnay families and our faculty members for their gracious hospitality.

Chanukah is in the air at HANC ECC

HAFTR Blood Drive

By: Gabrielle Kalish and Madison Pollack

I

n coordination with the New York Blood Center, HAFTR High School hosted a blood drive on Monday, November 22. Eager to take part in this lifesaving cause, over 30

students and faculty made their way to the Scott Satran Arena to donate a pint of blood, each with the ability to save up to three lives. The participants had smiles on their faces knowing they were doing such a big chessed. Thank you to everyone who donated and helped with this event.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Around the Community

Hagaon Harav Don Segal, Shlita, at Mercaz HaTorah of Belle Harbor

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very day in Yeshiva Mercaz HaTorah of Belle Harbor is one of limud haTorah, cheshkas haTorah, and inspiration to grow as a true ben Torah. However, for two weeks, the yeshiva was zoche to rise to a higher level, due to the privilege of having The Mashgiach, Hagaon Harav Don Segal, shlita, as a guest. The Mashgiach davened with the bochurim each day, and took the time to speak to them individually, showing interest in them, and encouraging them to continue to strive in their ameilus baTorah. The hanhalah, rebbeim and bochurim recognized and took advantage of the unique opportunity of being in such close proximity to such a gadol b’Yisroel, asked him shailos, and enjoyed many in-depth discussions

in inyanei mussar and hashkafa.

The Mashgiach’s shmuess to the bochurim left an indelible impression on all of their neshamos.

The Mashgiach mentioned

countless times to his gabbai how happy he was with the davening and the overall atmosphere of the Yeshiva. The Mashgiach came to Belle Harbor to relax after Yom Tov, but

by davening and learning with the bochurim of Mercaz HaTorah, he emerged inspired by their avodah, and they, in turn, were uplifted by his presence.

The Pre-1A children were challenged to use the number eight in many different ways. They composed and decomposed the number eight when they did activities like “Menorah Math” and “Ways to Make Eight.”

They completed a STEM challenge where they built a Chanukiya with eight candles using manipulatives and, of course, constructed their own beautiful and unique kosher Chanukiyot. It took a good deal of thought and planning to place the eight candleholders on the same level and the

Shamash candle in the center. Of course, they carefully covered the entire surface of the Chanukiyot with gorgeous fireproof tiles to enhance the beauty of the Mitzvah.

The most important thing that the children at Shulamith ECC learned about the number eight is to treasure each and every one of the eight days of Chanukah and to thank Hashem for giving us such a special and meaningful chag. Wishing everyone a chag Chanukah sameach!

Chanukah at Shulamith ECC

T

he Shulamith School Early Childhood Center is filled with smiling children who are enjoying celebrating Chanukah with their friends and morot. Songs, games, and special Chanukah foods mark this exciting week as the children learn so much in every curriculum area.

Since Chanukah is eight days long and the nes of Chanukah involved a small amount of oil burning for eight days, the teachers used this opportunity to focus on the number eight.

The nursery children worked on their one-to-one correspondence skills as they created and counted out eight clothes-pin candles for their pretend Chanukiyot. They counted and recounted each day to see how many candles they had finished and how many more were left to make. Each candle and each Chanukiya reflected

the individual aesthetic sense of each young artist as the children chose from a variety of creative mediums.

The kindergarten children also created beautiful, one-of-a-kind Chanukiyot. They worked hard making sure that they had eight candleholders and one more for the shamash. A real Chanukiya was available for reference as they were asked to count out the candleholders from a bowl containing more candleholders than they needed. They also did a corresponding activity based on the book “Six Sticks.” They were given a variety of objects to choose from and had to choose eight objects of the same type to create a collage. This involved holding two variables in their minds at the same time. Kol hakavod to our young mathematicians who succeeded in this difficult task and produced striking collages.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Around the Community

Thanksgiving at CAHAL Kindergarten Class

Chaver Knesset Rabbi Moshe Gafni, the Degel HaTorah party; Jonathan Pollard; Rabbi Pesach Lerner, chairman of Eretz Hakodesh at WZO; and Eliyahu Gafni at the wedding of the daughter of Rabbi Nechemya Malinowitz, Israel director of Eretz Hakodesh and its affiliate Igud HaYeshivos B’nai Chul, this week

YCQ Intergenerational Melava Malka

O

n Motzei Shabbat, November 20, Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) Grade 3 students celebrated an intergenerational virtual Melava Malka. On Friday afternoon, November 19, students brought home large gift bags containing fresh ingredients to be refrigerated in anticipation of the Melava Malka main activity, making homemade pizza for the entire family!

Rabbi Landsman, YCQ principal, kicked off the online event with an amazing d’var Torah. Each individual Grade 3 class sang its own song, accompanied by a special video. Rabbi Ribalt, the chef of the night, performed a pizza-making demonstration online.

The sages in the Talmud tell us that “a person should always set his table on Motzei Shabbat with all the preparations for an important feast, even if he only wishes to eat a small amount of food, in order to escort Shabbat with honor, just as he had done when she arrived” (Talmud, Shabbat 119b; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 300:1).

Miss Laffer, Grade 3 English Teacher, reported, “The Melava Malka was great! I was so proud of my Grade 3 students and all the third graders! I couldn’t help but sing along with them, even though I was muted!

T

he kindergartners in Morah Melody Harris’ CAHAL class in HANC culminated their study of early American life with a plentiful feast, just like the Native Americans and Pilgrims shared 400 years ago. After learning the history of the holiday, the children compared and contrasted life long ago with their own lives today. In contrast to the hardships of the Pilgrims’ jour-

ney and new life in a strange land, they appreciate all they are blessed to have: a warm home, appropriate clothing, plentiful food, and a happy, healthy family.

In their personal picture/writing journals, each child expressed what chore they would perform for their family if they had lived long ago.

They also expressed what they are thankful for today.

MTA Freshmen Bond at Grade-Wide Event Way to go Grade 3!”

YCQ Parent Mrs. Liel Shwartz called the evening, “A night full of giggles, tasty pizza, and amazing memories.”

All the participants enjoyed a special magic show presented by Mr. David Rosenthal, Magic and Mentalism, and raffles with prizes. Thank you, Rabbi Landsman, Rabbi Ribalt, Rabbi Hamel, Mrs. Jaffe, and Mrs. Pourad, for creating a memorable event for our students, families, and teachers. The YCQ Grade 3 Virtual Melava Malka was a wonderful success!

Did you know?

“Dreidel” literally means “little spinner.”

M

TA freshmen had a blast with their friends and rebbeim at their recent grade night. This exciting event featured a delicious Chickie’s dinner, fun competitions, watching the MTA vs TABC Varsity Hockey game, and Thursday Night Football. Talmidim had the best time bonding with each other and their rebbeim and teachers.

MTA offers an enhanced freshman experience, including fun events like this one, guidance sessions, and team-building workshops, which enable talmidim to bond cohesively as a grade, make friends with peers who they may not share classes with, and spend time with their rebbeim outside the classroom.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

OIF Delegation to Israel

At the visitor center in Sussiya with the mayor of the South Hebron Hills, Yochai Damri

L

eaders of the American philanthropy, One Israel Fund, traveled to Israel recently to witness what the dollars they have raised have brought to the communities in Judea and Samaria. The delegation, which was composed of trustees and donors, was led by executive vice president Scott M. Feltman and guided by One Israel’s Fund’s director of community development and tourism Eve Harow.

One Israel Fund is the leading organization providing essential security, medical, communal, and oth-

er humanitarian aid to the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria.

On this trip, the delegation, which included their new president Jacqueline Herman and former president Jonathan Sherman, was able to meet with the chairman of the five regional councils of Judea and Samaria to discuss the value of recently completed projects, see ongoing projects, and to learn about what these communities need for the future. The delegation was able to participate in the dedication of a new ambulance for the Jordan Val-

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ley at the regional offices of Mayor David Elhayani, see a new playground in Machane Gadi, and witness a recital in a dance studio in Itamar – all made possible through the generous donations of its supporters.

A memorable moment for the group was when Yochai Provisor, One Israel Fund’s coordinator of security projects, showed the group the lifesaving emergency kit designed by his father, Marc Provisor, One Israel Fund’s director of security projects. This kit has been given to many security chiefs throughout Judea and Samaria and in towns bordering Gaza and has saved the lives of both civilians and soldiers.

The group also enjoyed hearing from the mayor of the Shomron Region, Yossi Dagan, who spoke to the group about the vital role One Israel plays in keeping the communities safe. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the construction site of the Binyamin Medical Center with the mayor of the Binyamin Region, Yisrael Ganz, and seeing the progress being made to this transformational project in the heart of the largest regional council in Israel.

In Kiryat Arba, the delegation visited the security command center to see how One Israel Fund had contributed to the safety in the area with Eliyahu Livman, the head of the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council, expressing his appreciation. The delegation had the opportunity to meet with Shlomo Ne’eman, the mayor of Gush Etzion, and Limor Pearl, the director of The Gush Etzion Foundation, as well as Yochai Damri, the mayor of the South Hebron Hills Regional Council. What was fascinating to everyone present was the excitement expressed by each of these mayors in greeting the delegation and expressing the vital role

their partnerships with One Israel Fund play in keeping each of the communities safe and constantly growing.

In every one of the communities visited by the group, they were astounded by the projects One Israel Fund has implemented in each one.

From tiny farms on strategic hilltops to bustling cities, One Israel Fund’s impact is clear and present in its lifesaving security and medical equipment to its life-enhancing work in recreational, educational, and communal support.

Additionally, the delegation was able to see the beauty and history of the areas they visited by visiting archaeological sites like Israel’s first capital city and site of the Tabernacle in ancient Shiloh, King Herod’s ancient palace and final resting place at the Herodium and a private tour with Mayor Damri of the beautifully restored synagogue from the Byzantine era in Sussiya. All of this was accomplished while simultaneously partaking of fabulously prepared private meals, outstanding restaurants, cafes and even falafel stands.

In Mishor Adummim, they were able to see the incredible new Design Center and enjoy a dinner with Benny Kashriel, the longtime Mayor of Ma’aleh Adumim. Of course, no trip to Judea and Samaria is complete without going to its famous wineries and the group were guests at the home of talented winemaker for the Shiloh Winery Amichai Lourie and met with its owner, Mayer Chomer, and well as got to tour the Tom Winery outside Itamar and the brand-new Psagot Winery.

Another trip is being planned for early March.

This article was originally printed in Arutz Sheva.

49

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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50

DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Mets Hit a Home Run at Staten Island Food Pantry

B

aseball season may be over, but the New York Mets delivered a winning performance recently on Staten Island. Reps from the team came to Staten Island last week to dole out over 100 turkeys to needy families. It was one of dozens of hunger relief efforts in motion over the week in the borough, a veritable race to distribute food before Thanksgiving.

The Mets also brought a $5,000 check to hunger relief organization, Project Hospitality. It will be the fifth year for the team’s donation, said a rep from the organization.

According to Project Hospitality, “This is a generosity that has made Thanksgiving possible for food pantry goers, many of them immigrants who were hit hard by COVID and then Hurricane Ida. Last year, Project Hospitality served four million meals to people in need — double the amount the year beforehand, due largely to the adverse impact of COVID on those who were already struggling.”

Pantries and soup kitchens on Staten Island have been pressed further with high food costs and inflation as those on slim economic margins seek help through the holiday season.

The pantry in Port Richmond where the Mets visited is a partner-

ship between Project Hospitality and El Centro del Inmigrante, one of the busiest in the county. The Council of Jewish Organizations a proud and staunch support of these emergency relief efforts also took part in the distribution.

“We give praise for the Mets who

gave an overflowing donation of rich harvest and fine birds!” enthused the Terry Troia, executive director, president and CEO of Project Hospitality.

She praised Staten Islanders’ good hearts in helping collect and deliver food. She said, “How good it is for all people to come together to serve the poor!”

Mendy Mirocznik, president, of the Council of Jewish Organizations remarked, “We are proud to join, support and strengthen Terry Troia, Project Hospitality, and El Centro del Inmigrante in these important ventures in combatting hunger, poverty and food insecurity. As a community of like-minded individuals, I am confident we will overcome the challenges we face as a united community. I proudly state that we will not stop until poverty is eradicated from the face of the Earth. Until that day, we will continue to staunchly work hand-in-hand with our great community partners.”

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Yeshiva of South Shore talmidim were inspired by the life changing power of Shmittah. Avichai Koch, a Shomer Shvi’is farmer living in the Negev, shared his inspiring life story

The learning at BJX was vibrant and stimulating on Thanksgiving night, with divrei Torah, sushi, cholent and kugel

A Walk-Thru Wonderland at the Gural JCC

W

ith Chanukah music playing and colorful balloons swaying, eighty children and close to forty families made their way around The Marion and Aaron Gural JCC’s Harrison-Kerr Family Campus this past Sunday at our fun-filled Kadima Chanukah party, sponsored by the family of Mark Ramer, a”h.

You could choose an octopus with eight long arms, or a giant butterfly that sat gently on your head. Some children picked colorful flowers, bows and arrows and others, tall, silly hats. The talented balloon artist busily crafted cool designs for excited recipients at the first stop at this very special annual event.

The next stop on the route was

to pick up a treat-filled pekalah put together with great enthusiasm by the Irving Place Minyan’s Bat Mitzvah group, led by Rebbetzin Malki Feigenbaum, who packed the cheerful bags as a wonderful way to bring home the important lesson of creating connections through communal organizations. Adding to the tour was the cupcake stand where yummy, menorah-decorated blue and white cupcakes were distributed to each child by our warm and wonderful JCC volunteers. Purple and aqua shopping bags were handed out to hold the accumulating goodies as the families made their way to the next stop – the exciting face painting station manned by a human dreidel whose blue-lipped smile never left

her lips as she artistically painted everything from menorahs to spidermen to unicorns on delighted children’s hands and faces. They also received a Chanukah origami dreidel there to add their collections.

The next stop on the Chanukah chagiga route was a photo-op booth where JEP volunteers happily and creatively took pictures of the families passing through, using a variety of fun props. The pictures, digitally and immediately sent to the parents’ phones, became memorable keepsakes. Just as they might be getting hungry, Kadima kids arrived at the next station where they were treated to delicious chicken fingers and chips in individually-packed snack boxes. With full hands and big

smiles, our guests finally arrived at the last station where the Ramer family generously handed out age-appropriate, brightly wrapped Chanukah gifts to every child in attendance.

This Kadima party for single Jewish parents was sponsored by the Ramer family in loving memory of their husband, father and grandfather, Mark Ramer, z”l, who was an incredibly kind and generous friend of the JCC and our various programs. The family continues to sponsor this special celebration that is a favorite of all the children in our program and is always a heartwarming event. JCC Kadima staff, interns, and wonderful volunteers hosted the event, greeting each family with warmth and cheer as they walked the party course.

The Kadima program for single Jewish parents is just one of the many initiatives that serves vulnerable populations at the Gural JCC. For more information about this or any of our other programs, call (516)569-6733.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

A Freilichen Chanukah From SBA Loan Group

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rabbi Yerachmiel Scheiner of Mesivta Shaarei Chaim giving an inyanei Chanukah shiur last Motzei Shabbos at Dr. and Mrs. Fagin’s house in Woodmere

MAY Dor L’Dor Breakfast

M

esivta Ateres Yaakov held its annual Yonatan Andrusier Dor L’Dor Breakfast last Thursday, during which fathers and grandfathers joined their sons for an enjoyable morning of ruchniyus and gashmiyus at the Mesivta.

The morning began with a warm, yeshiva Shacharis followed by a lavish, catered breakfast in the expansive Shaulson Gymnasium. To begin the program, the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, addressed the 400+ fathers and sons in attendance, welcoming them and expressing the

feelings of hakoras hatov he had that the Yeshiva was able to gather together once again in this way after cancelling last year’s breakfast due to Covid.

Senior Ephraim Brandsdorfer, representing the Mesivta student body, followed and delivered a heartfelt message to his peers discussing the strong connection he and his peers have with their rabbeim. He concluded by thanking his rabbeim for their warmth, care, and guidance throughout his years at the Mesivta.

The event also featured the Mesivta’s annual Fall Essay Contest, with

excerpts being read from the four 1st place essays. Awards and prize money were distributed by Rabbi Sam Rudansky, General Studies Principal, and Rabbi Yossi Bennett, Assistant Menahel/Assistant Principal.

The highlight of the breakfast was a visit from renowned speaker Mr. Charlie Harary, who spoke about the strength of each and every Yid. He discussed the mitzvas hayom of Chanukah, lighting candles, as opposed to recognizing the miraculous victory over the Yevonim. In his inimitable fashion, Mr. Harary painted a beau-

tiful tapestry of Torah, anecdotes, and stories to arrive at his message of Chanukah being a celebration of the neshama rather than the guf. He closed by challenging talmidim, their fathers, and grandfathers to take just 10 seconds after lighting the menorah and reflect on the meaning of Chanukah and to not just light candles, but to be candles.

The program concluded with the Student Government raffle of various prizes, including a gaming system, a restaurant package, MAY merch, and some very happy winners.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

At Gesher, we are working on increasing our gross and fine motor skills in our sensory gym

NYPD Chanukah Toy Giveaway

T

he 101st NYPD precinct in Far Rockaway hosted an inaugural Chanukah Toy Giveaway at BBY on Sunday. The event was coordinated

by Community Affairs officer Lynn Blanchette and Queen’s Hatzalah Police Liaison Menash Friedman (RLs1).

Hundreds of local families

participated in the event.

The event was done in partnership with local organizations: Hatzalah, JCCRP, RNSP (Shomrim), Achiezer, and FDNY. Event was hosted in partnership with local elected officials: Senator Joe Addabbo, Senator James Sanders, Assemblywom-

an Stacey Pheffer Amato, Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson, and Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers.

Thank you to the event sponsors: 718 Insurance, Aidy Design, Smiles Through Cars, Plush Creations, Chaveirim and Kesher and Frankel’s Grocery.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Chanukah at HALB

MTA Combats Anti-Semitism

S

eniors in MTA’s Names, Not Numbers elective course are combating the rise of anti-Semitism by creating their own Holocaust documentary.

Talmidim interviewed incredible survivors and are sharing their compelling stories with the world to make sure that these heroes are never forgotten. The incredible and often heart-wrenching narratives include the testimony of Ruth Mermelstein, who was torn from her home in Romania and sent to Auschwitz, where she was forced into slave labor.

As the Russian Army began to approach, the Nazis sent Ruth, along with everyone else who was at the camp, on a five-week Death March to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. On April 18, 1945, Ruth was liberated by British troops.

Esther Jakobowits talked about what it was like to live

in Munich, Germany, when the war started. Her home was attacked, and her father suffered a personal attack, all at the hands of the Nazis. Her father was a rabbi, and because of his position, the Chief Rabbi Emergency Council in London was able to arrange safe passage for their family to England in 1941.

Helen Rosenstark, who was born in Czestochowa, Poland, in 1938, was taken in by a local woman after her parents were sent to the concentration camps and was raised as a Catholic. Helen was reunited with her mother, who survived the concentration camps, when she was 7 years old.

Noemi Spitz went into hiding with her family when she was an infant. They pretended to be non-Jews and rented a bunker from an old Hungarian man during the war. They were the only Jews from their hometown Bratislava to sur-

vive the war. Even after the war, anti-Semitism was rampant in Czechoslovakia and her family was forced to flee to Canada to escape it.

Noemi’s husband, Tibor Spitz, was born in Northern Slovakia. When he was 12 years old, almost all of his family was sent to Nazi death and labor camps and were never seen again. During the 1944 uprising, Tibor escaped with his remaining family members and hid in a forest, but they were discovered by

the Red Army Partisans, who attacked them in 1945. He was liberated by the Soviet army seven months later. Tibor later escaped to Canada with Noemi and went on to become a scientist, and later in life, he became a professional artist and Holocaust lecturer.

Rabbi Dr. JJ Schacter (grandfather of senior Eli Knapp) talked about what it was like growing up as the son of immigrant parents and shared the story of his father,

Rabbi Herschel Schacter, who was an army chaplain during World War II. One of his major accomplishments was his work in the liberation of Buchenwald.

A special thank you goes to these brave survivors for sharing their stories of faith, hope, and survival. Seniors look forward to ensuring that these stories are never forgotten, as they create their documentary film, which will debut in the spring.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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60

DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Connecting to Our Musical Roots

A

nother fabulous day at HAFTR’s Early Childhood: the sun is shining, the classrooms are humming, the children are deep into anticipating what fun awaits them as they light the third candle. Today, however, was extra special. We had our favorite guest from Drum Tales/Musical IQ. This interactive show takes our children back in time to experience the light

and joy of Chanukah. The entire story is brought to life through music and rhythm.

Each child gets his/her own drum. The drum became the medium of transportation to ancient

times. All that is needed is a bit of imagination, but, after all, isn’t that what Early Childhood is all about?

YCQ Thanksgiving and Chanukah Celebrations

A

t Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ), preparing for Thanksgiving and Chanukah has been a school-wide extraordinary adventure.

Morah Yaffi Salek, Grade 3 teacher, says, “This time of year is special for my students. The Chanukah spirit is felt when they play a nightly Hebrew

interactive game that they’ve created.

The game is played while the menorah is burning.”

In Language Arts, Ms. Laffer, Grade 3 English teacher, read “Molly’s Pilgrim” to classes 3-211 and 3-212. “Wow, did they get into this book! We made predictions about the characters, self to text and text to text

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connections, explored the character traits of Molly and Elizabeth and discussed the theme. In the story, Molly is teased by her classmates and made to feel different because she is Jewish and Russian. When asked to make a pilgrim for a Thanksgiving project, Molly’s mother creates a doll that resembles a Russian girl. Her mother explains that since their family came to the United States to freely practice their religion, they are pilgrims like the English pilgrims at the First Thanksgiving. They have come to America to live a better life.”

Morah Ilyce Richter, Early Childhood teacher, reported, “Our 3-yearold students are ready for Thanksgiving with our handprint and footprint turkeys. Everything we do is handson, and sometimes even feet-on!”

“For the past month, Grade 5 students have been taking time every day to reflect on all that they have for which to be grateful. Every day, a few students shared one thing that they wrote on their list. This week, students decorated a ‘Thankful Tree’ to highlight how blessed they are,” notes

Mrs. Talia Hoffman, Grade 5 teacher.

Morah Michelle Bloom, kindergarten teacher, stated. “Grade 1 made ‘I Am Thankful For’ placemats. The students wrote what they are thankful for and drew a picture of it. We also made aprons, with the student’s handprint, that was turned into a turkey!

The yeladim can use this to help with the cooking on Thanksgiving. This time of year is special, because with Chanukah and Thanksgiving close to one another, the students learn what it means to be thankful and why we daven to Hashem. Then with Chanukah just around the corner, we discussed the story and all the miracles that occurred. We’re thankful for the miracles Hashem performs for us every day.”

Mrs. Chavi Lucks wrote, “For Thanksgiving, Grade 3 explored introspection. We took note of what we are thankful for having, what we are thankful to be able to do, and what about ourselves we are thankful for.

Finally, we wrote about gratitude for our wonderful families.”

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

61

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

The 6th grade at Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion wishes their dedicated principal, Rabbi Avraham Fridman, a shnat bracha v’hatzlacha

As a part of the ongoing year’s theme of “Bilvavi” (using all of our emotions to serve Hashem), the talmidos at the Ganger Early Childhood at TAG received specially decorated stethoscopes to help them listen to and talk about the feelings inside their hearts.

Mrs. Gross’s fifth grade students at Yeshiva of South Shore be - “leaf” in gratitude

The Heart of the Matter

A Bird in Hand at YDT

T

he Pre-1A talmidim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Harriet Keilson Early Childhood Center are enjoying their in-house baby chickens! The boys take turns learning how to care for the chicks, holding them, and doing some engaging hands-on activities with them. Children gain many therapeutic advantages during these interactions as well.

W

hat do you get when you put your whole heart into celebrating Chanukah?

You get another heartwarming TAG assembly featuring projects, songs, and a continuation of the “bilvavi” theme. The beautiful heart necklaces

the girls made will be constant reminders to open their hearts as they learn their weekly bilvavi lessons.

While we don’t expect our talmidos to know these lessons “by heart,” we know they will be valuable tools in their avodas Hashem.

Did you know?

Astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman spun a dreidel made by the renowned Israeli silversmith Gideon Hay for an hour in outer space

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Congratulations to the champions of the 5Towns JSL TurkeyBowl.

Ari Ivry was the tournament MVP. Special thank you to Dom Derosa and to everyone who participated.

Looking forward to next year!

YOSS Haschalas Gemara Chagiga

T

he 5th grade of Yeshiva of South Shore recently celebrated a milestone, a special simcha they will remember fondly for years to come. The occasion was a Seudas Haschalas Gemara, celebrating their first steps in their journey of Gemara learning. The 5th grade rabbeim, Rabbi Moshe B. Scharhon, Rabbi Avi Adler, Rabbi Nossie Burger and Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, had the zechus of ushering the talmidim into the world of Gemara by imparting not only the necessary skills, but also the ahavas HaTorah she’baal peh required for a lifelong yearning to learn and grow.

To mark the occasion, the Yeshiva held a three-generational gala breakfast for the boys, their fathers, and their grandfathers. The inspiring program included a festive meal, learning together, a moving rendition of Lulai

Sorscha, sung by the entire grade, accompanied by Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, Program Coordinator, and Rabbi Natan Wolf. Three talmidim, Jojo Rabin, Zevi Tepper and Eitan Maccabi, gave over

Divrei Torah.

The event was capped off by an inspiring drasha by the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, and guest speaker Rabbi Plutchok, Rav of Kehillas Ahavas Yisrael in

Cedarhurst. In his message to the talmidim, Rav Plutchok expressed how inspired he was to see a room filled with people learning with their children and showing great chashivas for Torah.

A major highlight of the day occurred right after the seudah concluded when everyone gathered in the Bais Medrash for intergenerational chavrusa learning. How special it was to see fathers, sons and grandfathers melodiously learning the timeless Torah together!

In conclusion, each talmid was presented with a personalized wooden table shtender. It is a valuable gift they will surely use and cherish in their limud Torah for a long time to come.

To top off the excitement, four sets of Shas were raffled off. The fortunate winners were Yosef Acobas, Yonah Levovitz, Meir Bernstein, and Ali Belsky.

The talmidim of the 5th grade will, Im yirtza Hashem, be matzliach in their learning as they begin to swim in the vast yam shel Torah. Mazel tov to all of them!

ANDS O US F O RS

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Around the Community

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita, Visits Darchei Torah

R

av Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka in Bnei Brak and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, spoke at Yeshiva Darchei Torah.

The Darchei Torah hanhala is privileged to enjoy a long-standing relationship with Rav Hirsch – a prime talmid of Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, who grew up in Far Rockaway

– and they seek his wise counsel regarding many aspects of the chinuch of the talmidim.

Rav Hirsch spoke in English about the mesirus nefesh of our forebears and how we must always strive to reach higher in our avodas Hashem. View the full video at Darchei.org/Rav Hirsch.

PHOTOS BY TSEMACH GLENN

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Chief Rabbi of the Kotel, and Rabbi Pesach Lerner, chairman of Eretz Hakodesh at WZO, met this week to discuss the current issues and challenges to the sanctity of the Kotel

On Friday, Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim hosted a father-son learning program with breakfast, learning time, and oneg Shabbos

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Chanukah at Khal Machzikei Torah

T

his year, Khal Machzikei Torah got into the Chanukah spirit early. It began with a beautiful N’shei event on Thursday night led by Mrs. Avigail Gleiberman and Mrs. Shira Cohen. Hosted by the Frischman family, women gathered to hear Mrs. Rivkie Alpert share inspirational Chanukah thoughts. All

of the women left feeling uplifted and spiritually prepared for the upcoming chag.

On Motzei Shabbos, the men enjoyed a Fabreng hosted by the Edell Family. With Torah and music by the KMT Trio, the Chanukah hachana went deep into the night. Our Mora Dasra, Rav Nosson Greenberg, ad-

Chanukah at Netzach HaTorah

O

n the first day of Chanukah, Mesivta Netzach HaTorah celebrated together with a beautiful kumzits and dancing led

by Duvid’l Ziff. The talmidim and rebbeim danced together and sang with tremendous ruach and excitement. Following the dancing, the Mesivta enjoyed a delicious seudah, while Duvid’l continued to enhance the Chanukah feeling, taking song requests from the boys and leading

them in hartzig singing.

The Mesivta was honored to welcome Rav Moshe Plutchok, Morah D’asra of Kehilas Ahavas Yisrael, who spoke passionately about the deeper meaning of Chanukah and the focus we should have in recognizing our inner potential.

Following the seudah, the boys enjoyed dessert and Mincha and left inspired and elevated as they began the week.

dressed the crowd, finishing with the importance of “strong work” on Chanukah. R’ Dovi Edell shared uplifting highlights from the Nesivos Shalom, as did Bernie Lichter who spoke about memories of a kumzits in his youth.

The Trifecta finished with a pre-Chanukah KMT family carnival on Sunday afternoon in the Yeshiva of

Far Rockaway gym. The children were thrilled with the music, bounce houses, popcorn, cotton candy, doughnuts and more! Mark the Magician amazed everyone with some fantastic Chanukah magic and extraordinary balloons. It was a perfect way to enter into the exciting yom tov of Chanukah!

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

1. *

TJH

Centerfold

Money Trivia Now that you are counting your Chanukah gelt, let’s see what you really know about money.

1. What materials are used to make paper currency? a. 50% wool and 50% linen b. 25% linen and 75% cotton c. 90% polyester and 10% wool d. 80% cellulose and 10% cotton 2. Who was on the front of the once-circulated (1928-1934) U.S. $10,000 bill? a. Abraham Lincoln b. Salmon P. Chase c. Dovid Hamelech d. Thomas Jefferson 3. The $100 bill has an image of Independence Hall. What time is it on the clock in the image? a. 6:00 b. 12AM c. 12PM d. 4:10 e. 9:45

Answer Key: 1-B 2-B 3-D 4-A 5-B 6-C 7-D 8-$1 – 6.6 years; $5 – 4.7 years; $10 – 5.3 years; 20 – 7.8 years; $50 – 12.2 years; $100 – 22.9 years Cash out 7-8 correct: You are the big winner.

4. The $1 bill features a pyramid.

What object rests atop that pyramid? a. A weird eye b. A scale c. The Statue of Liberty d. The Capitol 5. When was the last time that the government printed $1,000 bills? a. 1840 b. 1934 c. 1975 d. 1990 6. The $1 bill features the words “Annuit Coeptis,” which means what in Latin? a. To have and to give

I would give you one of my many $1,000 bills, but I had a little cold today and I keep the bills in my front pocket. When I was taking out a tissue, a bunch of my $1,000 bills must have fallen out of my pocket. I was in Grant Park at the time, but I didn’t realize until I got home. It’s totally fine, because I have a ton more of them anyway. If you want, you can go search

b. Official currency c. Providence favors our undertakings d. Can’t even buy a Coke with it!

7. What was the largest denomination ever printed in U.S. currency? a. $1,000 b. $5,000 c. $10,000 d. $100,000 8. Match the bills with their average lifespan, according to the Federal Reserve: Denomination

Lifespan

$1

12.2 years

$5

4.7 years

$10

22.9 years

$20

7.8 years

$50

6.6 years

$100

5.3 years

in Grant Park. If you find them, they are yours. I probably had around 15 of them.

4-6 correct: Not bad. You know a bit about money. You are right, though – paper currency is made out of wool and linen, which makes it shatnez. If you want, you can drop all of your money off at my house and I will make sure that it is destroyed for you.

0-3 correct: Well, you obviously don’t work in Chase Bank.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Cha-Ching!

Now that you won all of those coins playing dreidel, it’s time for you to learn a thing or two about coins, so you can put in your two cents.

One way coin collectors grade coins is on a scale of 1 through 70. The coin’s grade depends on its condition – dull or shiny, worn or crisp, nicked and scratched or clean.

It currently costs 2.06 cents to make each penny and 7.53 cents to make each nickel.

The nickel is the only U.S. coin that is called by its metal content – even though the metal alloy in a nickel is only 25 percent nickel; the rest is copper.

The phrase “In G-d we trust” first appeared on money in 1864, when, based on the recommendation of a priest, it was placed on the two-cent coins. It eventually was placed on all other coins and paper money.

Mint marks show what minting facility your coins came from – “P” for Philadelphia, “D” for Denver, and “S” for San Francisco. This mark can be found to the right of the subject’s face on the obverse side of each circulating coin—with the exception of the “Philadelphia” Lincoln cent, which has no mint mark.

George Washington refused to appear on a coin while he was alive because kings often put themselves on coins. In 1932, his face was placed on the quarter.

The New Jersey quarter has George Washington on both sides.

In 1909, President Lincoln appeared on a one-cent coin and became the first real person – as well as the first American president – to have his face appear on a regular-issue American coin.

For 10 years starting in 1999, the Mint released a quarter design for each of the 50 states, in age order – oldest first – according to when they ratified the Constitution or joined the Union.

The Mint produced its first circulating coins – all $111.78 worth of them – in March 1793. That first batch consisted of 11,178 copper cents. Soon after, the Mint began issuing gold and silver coins as well.

Paul Revere – yes, the “British are Coming” Paul Revere – was a silversmith, and his metals company once supplied the Mint with rolled copper for the production of early cents.

The life expectancy of a circulating coin is 30 years, while paper money usually only lasts for…well…you will have to do the Money Trivia on the next page to get that fact!

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! It’s 3AM. Poor Yankel is twisting and turning in bed. His wife Rose asks him why he can’t fall asleep. He explains to her that he owes Moishe a lot of money in a deal gone bad, and he doesn’t think he will be able to pay him back.

Rose is annoyed, picks up her phone, and calls Moishe.

“Hi Moishe,” she says, “this is Rose. My husband is not paying you back the money that he owes you!”

She then slams down the phone and declares, “If we are not sleeping, he is not sleeping either!”

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

3

Torah Thought

Parshas Miketz

By Rabbi Berel Wein

T

here is a famous statement that reverberates throughout Jewish society over the ages that states: “What cannot be solved by wisdom, will eventually be solved by the passage of time.” It seems that time is never neutral, and that its passage certainly influences decisions and events that take place in human society.

Our rabbis have commented that the miraculous deliverance of Joseph from his prison cell and his rise to power was, to a certain extent, due to the time that had passed and with the heavenly intervention in human events. It suddenly became the time when Joseph should be set free and achieve greatness and dominion.

That is why the Torah reading, with

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this unbelievable mysterious story, now begins to unfold after time has elapsed and when the correct moment for the divine will to be activated in human affairs.

In dealing with business and commerce, we are all aware of the axiom that “timing is everything.” Well, that is not only true in matters of finance and business, but it also a basic axiom of life and of human history. What can be accomplished at a certain time becomes impossible to achieve either earlier or later. The examples regarding this truism are various and innumerable. It is the circumstances that

man thought is the idea that we not only control the occurrence of events, but, somehow, we also have the power to decide when those events should take place. It should be obvious to all that we do not control time. In fact, unfortunately, we allow time to control us, our behavior, our schedules, and even our goals. It never enters our minds that somehow time is really beyond the boundaries of our powers of control and beyond even our most fervent wishes and desires.

In truth, most of our lives are almost predetermined: when we are born and the circumstances of the

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In retrospect, one sees the perfection involved, and the exquisite nature of the timing that governs human events.

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the passage of time create that fashions the milieu in which events can take place, and individuals can rise to greatness or be defeated.

The timing of Heaven and G-d’s guidance in human affairs is always mysterious, inexplicable, and irrational to us ordinary mortals. However, in retrospect, one sees the perfection involved, and the exquisite nature of the timing that governs human events. King Solomon taught us in Kohelet that there is a time for everything to occur and that everything has its time.

Among the many fallacies of hu-

present world in which we live. It takes a famine of epic proportions to propel Joseph to greatness, political stature, and governmental power. Heaven will use those times and circumstances to reunite the family of Jacob and to begin the story of Jewish exile and redemption. Everything that happens from then on, in the family of Jacob, will be a product of the times and the society in which they find themselves.

They will go into exile on schedule and will also be redeemed at the right time. But being human, they will not all be aware of the schedule itself.

Shabbat shalom.

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire Parshas Miketz

The Foundation of Torah Sheba’al Peh

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

W

e see in the seforim that it is customary to connect the parshios of Yosef Hatzaddik to Chanukah. I saw a teaching from Rav Pinchas Friedman, the Rosh Kollel of Belz, which makes several amazing connections between Miketz and the yom tov of Chanukah.

When Yosef’s brothers return to Egypt with Binyamin, Yosef invites them all to a seudah, a feast. The Torah then says (Bereishis 43:34), “And [Yosef] gave them portions, but Binyamin’s portion was five times greater than theirs.” Why does the Torah use the expression “chamesh yados” to say “five times greater?” There are other words it could have used besides “yados,” which literally means “hands.”

Rav Friedman brought down a Torah from the Kedushas Levi (Peirushei Agados) on this pasuk

to explain that Yosef was planting the seeds for the ultimate victory of the Chashmoniam over the Greeks with this gift to Binyamin. The five “hands” correspond to the five deliverances of the Greeks into the “hands” of the Chashmonaim: “the mighty in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few, the impure in the hands of the pure, the wicked in the hands of the righteous, and the willful sinners in the hands of those who study Your Torah.” The five ways in which the Greeks were delivered into our hands correspond to the five “yados,” the extra gifts Yosef gave Binyamin.

Generally, Hashem sends His Divine influence to the Jewish people using His “right hand,” the side of mercy. He sends His Divine influence to the nations of the world using his “left hand,’ the side of strict judgment. The Kedushas Levi also

explains that Yosef gave these extra portions to Binyamin in particular to further strengthen the Jews’ ability to overcome the Greek oppressors. Binyamin means “ben yamin,” the “right hand.” Yosef gave him additional gifts in order to strengthen the “right hand,” the Jewish people, to enable them to overcome the “left hand,” the nations of the world at the time of Chanukah.

Yosef, however, gave Binyamin an extra gift another time as well. In Parshas Vayigash, the pasuk (Bereishis 45:22) says, “[Yosef] gave each one changes of clothing, but he gave three hundred silver pieces and five changes of clothing to Binyamin.”

Why did he give an additional gift of “five” to Binyamin? The Gemara in Megilla 16b explains: “Rabi Binyamin bar Yofes said: [Yosef] hinted to him that someone would come from him [Binyamin] who

would come out from the king with five royal garments, as it says, (Esther 8:15) ‘And Mordechai went out in the royal garments of [1] turquoise and [2] white with a [3] large gold crown and a [4] robe of fine linen and [5] purple.’”

We therefore see that Yosef gave Binyamin five gifts twice: one to set the stage for the five victories of the Chashmonaim over the Greeks in the events of Chanukah, and the other corresponding to the five royal garments worn by Mordechai in the miracle of Purim.

Why did Yosef hint to Binyamin about the yomim tovim of Chanukah and Purim? What is the connection between Binyamin and Chanukah and Purim?

Each of the twelve months of the year correspond to one of the twelve Shevatim, tribes. According

The 2, 2021 The Jewish Jewish Home Home || DECEMBER OCTOBER 29, 2015

to the Arizal (although not the Zohar), the month in which Chanukah takes place, Kislev, corresponds to Shevet Binyamin, about whom the Torah says (Devarim 33:12), “May Hashem’s beloved dwell securely by Him; he hovers over him all day long and rests between his shoulders,” an allusion to the fact that the primary parts of the Beis Hamikdash will dwell in Binyamin’s portion of Eretz Yisroel.

The Beis Hamikdash would be re-inaugurated in the month of Kislev by the Chashmonaim after it had been defiled by the Greeks, as we say in Al Hanisim, “And after this, your children came into the Holy of Holies of Your house, cleansed Your Temple, purified the site of Your Holiness and kindled lights in the courtyards of Your Sanctuary.” They therefore cleansed Binyamin’s portion of Eretz Yisroel in the month of Binyamin, Kislev.

Binyamin is also connected to the yom tov of Purim because that miracle occurred through Mordechai, Binyamin’s descendant, as the Megilla (2:5) calls Mordechai “Ish yemini,” “a man [from the tribe of] Binyamin.”

According to Rav Tzadok Hakohen in Pri Tzadik on Chanukah, Chanukah personifies the victory of the holiness of Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah, over the Greeks who attempted “to cause [the Jewish people] to forget Your Torah.”

At the time of Chanukah, Oral Torah began to take shape as the sages initiated the compilation of the Mishnayos. This was necessary to counterbalance the spread of Greek philosophy, Aristotle, y”sh, and the like, which, on the side of evil, corresponded to the Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah.

That is why the miracle of Chanukah took place through the children of Aharon Hakohen. Moshe is the source of the Torah she’bichtav, the written Torah, because he received the Torah from G-d’s mouth at Sinai. Aharon, however, did not hear the Torah from Hashem directly. Aharon was the first person to learn Torah orally, from Moshe, so the kohanim were the initial step in the process of the Oral Torah. We can see this in the pasuk (Malachi

2:6-7), “The Torah of truth was in [the kohen’s] mouth ... the lips of the Kohen will guard wisdom and seek Torah from his mouth.”

The connection between Chanukah and the Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah, is also exemplified by the fact that there are 36 candles lit throughout Chanukah, which correspond to the 36 masechtos, tractates, of Mishna.

Based on what we have said, we can also understand why Yaakov had to marry two sisters. According to the Me’or Einayim in Vayeitzei and the Baal Hatanya in Likutei Torah on Metzorah, as well as

sister, who corresponds to Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah.

This is also why Rochel said to Yaakov (Bereishis 30:1), “Give me children, and if not, I, anochi, am dead.” In other words, Rochel was saying to Yaakov, “Give me Yosef and Binyamin, my children who will lay the foundation of the Oral Torah. If you do not, I, anochi, which stands for “Anochi Hashem Elokecha,” “I am the L-rd your G-d,” i.e., the whole written Torah, will not have any staying power without my children Yosef and Binyamin, the progenitors of the Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah.”

The answer is that we must eat more latkes.

other tzaddikim, Yaakov married Leah, who corresponds to the Torah she’bichtav, the written Torah, and he married Rochel, who corresponds to Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah. This is alluded to Lavan’s statement to Yaakov (Bereishis 29:26), “It is not done in this place to give the younger one [Rochel] before the older one [Leah].” Leah, who corresponds to the written Torah, is the older sister because the written Torah came first. Rochel, who corresponds to the Oral Torah, is the younger sister because the Oral Torah explains and expands upon the preexisting written Torah.

Therefore, Lavan’s words can be interpreted to mean that one should not study the Oral Torah before he has something of a firm grasp on the written Torah.

The Yomim Tovim of the written Torah, like Pesach and Sukkos, were therefore revealed first through Moshe Rabbeinu, who is a descendent of Leah, the older sister, who corresponds to the written Torah.

The rabbinically instituted Yomim Tovim of Chanukah and Purim, however, were revealed later in history, through Yosef and Binyamin, the children of Rochel, the younger

We know that we will return from exile in the merit of the prayers of Rochel who represents the Torah she’baal peh, the Oral Torah, as it says in the pasuk (Yirmiyahu 31:1416), “A cry is heard is Rama … Rochel cries for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for they are no more … you have hope says Hashem and your children will return to their borders.”

And according to the Medrash (Vayikra Raba 7:3), “All of the exiles will only be brought back in the merit of Mishnayos,” i.e., the Oral Torah represented by Rochel.

In a similar vein, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, taught an amazing gematria in the pasuk (Yeshaya 1:27), “Zion b’mishpat tifdeh v’shivyah b’tzedakah,” “Zion will be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness.” He taught that Zion b’mishpat tifdeh is the numerical equivalent of Talmud Yerushalmi, and the phrase v’shivyah b’tzedakah is the numerical equivalent of Talmud Bavli.

This connection between Yosef Hatzaddik and the Oral Torah is also hinted at in the pasuk (Bereishis 41:42-43), “And Paroah removed the ring that was on his hand and placed

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it on Yosef’s hand and enclothed him in garments of linen (“shesh”) ... and he caused him to ride on the second (“ha’mishneh”) royal chariot which belongs to him (“lo”).” The garments of linen (“shesh,” which also means “six”) correspond to the six sections of the Mishnah, the second (“ha’mishneh,” which also means “Mishnah”) royal chariot corresponds to the Mishnayos, and the phrase “which belongs to him” (“lo,” which has the numerical value of 36) alludes to the 36 candles of Chanukah, which is the yom tov of the Oral Torah.

After finishing the preceding teaching from the Belzer Rosh Kollel, we may be left to wonder how we can retain the deep experience and Torah of Chanukah even after the yom tov is over. We may feel like the skinny and impoverished cows in Paroah’s dream, which remained just as pathetic as they were before even after eating the seven fat cows.

We also consume a lot of holy ideas throughout Chanukah, but as soon as the yom tov is over, we may fear that we will go back to being exactly like we were before and that nothing we experienced will have made any lasting change in us.

The answer is that we must eat more latkes. According to the Baal Hasulam, Rav Alshag, the word latke is connected to the Aramaic word “lateh,” meaning patch. The nations among whom we live have created many breaches in the walls of our lives, “u’phartzu chomos migdalai,” and we must create more latkes, more patches, to mend those breaches by learning more Torah she’baal peh, Mishnayos and Gemara.

With Hashem’s help, the Torah we learn should fill in everything we are missing and we should be zocheh merit to go up to Yerushalayim, b’viyas go’el tzedek b’mheira b’yameinu. Amen.

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.

DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

The Powerful Synergy of the Mezuzah and the Menorah

76 36

BY RABBI DANIEL GLATSTEIN

The

Gemara discusses the optimal location for the placement of the Chanukah menorah. Rav Acha Brei D’Rava is of the opinion that the menorah should be lit on the right side of the doorway. Rav Shmuel M’Difti disagrees, stating that the menorah is to be placed on the left side of the doorway. The Gemara concludes with the ruling that the menorah should be lit on the left side, causing one to be surrounded by mitzvos as he traverses the doorway, with the mezuzah at his right and the menorah at his left.

Aside from the beautiful idea of being surrounded by mitzvos on all sides, is there a deeper connection between these two mitzvos? Do mezuzah and menorah share a fundamental interrelation, leading the Gemara to partner them in creating a corridor of mitzvos?

In general, we employ the rule ein osim mitzvos chavilos, chavilos; i.e., we do not bundle mitzvos together. This seems to be an exception, as the Gemara tells us to combine mezuzah and ner Chanukah. Why is this so?

The pasuk in Shir HaShirim states, “How beautiful you are, and how pleasant, love in delights” (Shir HaShirim 7:7). To what does the pasuk refer? What is beautiful and pleasant, love of delights?

Maseches Sofrim teaches us that this pasuk refers to the ritual of placing the mezuzah on the right side of the door and the menorah on the left.

“How beautiful” refers to the mezuzah, and “how pleasant” is a reference to the menorah.

Mezuzah and the Chanukah menorah are so closely related that when the pasuk in Shir HaShirim extolls the beauty of Klal Yisrael, it chooses the combination of the mitzvos of mezuzah and ner Chanukah as the manifestation of the beauty and pleasantness of Bnei Yisrael.

How are mezuzah and menorah connected?

What bond exists between the flames of Chanukah and the mezuzah that is placed on the doorpost?

Exceptional Care Required Although the Rambam discusses all the mitzvos of the Torah, there are only two areas in which he states that a person must be exceptionally careful in the performance of those mitzvos. A person must be extremely cautious, the Rambam writes, to perform the mitzvah of mezuzah properly. Mezuzah is an ongoing, constant obligation, and therefore one must be particularly vigilant in performing it. It is one of the few mitzvos that one can fulfill even while sleeping. Whenever one enters or exits a room, the mezuzah affords him an encounter with the Unity of Hashem, because the pasuk, “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad, Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our G-d, Hashem, the One and Only,” is written on it. Seeing the mezuzah further motivates one to recall Hashem’s love for the Jewish people and will inspire him to make the best use of his time, avoiding pursuits that are worthless and empty.

The Rambam employs a similar terminology when presenting the mitzvah to light the Chanukah menorah. The mitzvah of ner Chanukah is extremely precious, and one must be fastidious in its performance.

The Rambam utilizes the same unique terminology, l’hizaher, to be cautious, for only these two mitzvos.

Mezuzah is a mitzvah mi’d’Oraisa, while lighting the ner Chanukah is a mitzvah mi’d’Rabbanan. Yet, for some reason, the Rambam equates them and holds their practice in higher regard than he does the other mitzvos. Why? The Gemara links the mitzvah of ner Chanukah to the mitzvah of mezuzah as well. One who is careful about the performance of the mitzvah of ner Chanukah will be blessed with sons who are Torah scholars. Being particular in the correct performance of the mitzvah of mezuzah gives one the merit to have a pleasant home.

Rav Alexander Ziskind of Horodna authored Ye-

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sod V’Shoresh HaAvodah, a fiery mussar sefer that inflames its reader with love of Hashem and inspires him to elevate the performance of His mitzvos. He quotes a Zohar that presents a phenomenal idea.

When we recite Shema, we recite the first pasuk aloud, and then follow in an undertone with “Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.” This second pasuk contains twenty-four letters. When the first twenty-four days of Kislev have passed, as alluded to by the completion of the pasuk Baruch Shem with its twenty-four letters, we arrive at the yom tov of Chanukah. Hashem’s Presence rests on Klal Yisrael at that time. Chanukah begins on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, a day that is represented by the twenty-five letters in the first pasuk of Shema: “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad,” which describes Hashem’s uniqueness.

The Zohar continues, suggesting an etiology of the name Chanukah as Chanu chof-hey. The name reveals that the reason Hashem rested upon the Jewish people is because of the twenty-five letters of Krias Shema.

Why the Name “Chanukah”?

Rabbi Avraham Saba was one of the geirushei Sfard and grandfather-in-law of the Beis Yosef. After Rabbi Saba’s manuscripts were lost in the persecution of the Inquisition, he rewrote his magnum opus, Tzror HaMor, from memory. In this wondrous sefer he reveals a secret that was disclosed to him with Ruach HaKodesh.

Every yom tov has a name that alludes to what transpired on that day. The name Pesach indicates that Hashem “jumped over” the homes of the Bnei Yisrael. Sukkos is a commemoration of Klal Yisrael’s residing in sukkos while in the Midbar. Purim was named for the lottery that Haman cast in his quest to wipe out the Jewish nation.

Chanukah seems to be the exception. The yom tov is named for the fact that the Jews were finally able to rest on the twenty-fifth of Kislev: Chanu chof-hey.

The name has no connection to the miracles that actually transpired — not in terms of the battle and not in terms of the miracle of the oil. The name Chanukah does not capture the essence of the day or hint at the reason for the celebration. Why then is the yom tov called Chanukah?

The Gemara teaches us that brevity is the optimal educational format: L’olam yishaneh adam l’talmido derech ketzarah, one should always instruct his student in the most concise manner possible. Declaring the Oneness of Hashem with the recitation of Shema is equivalent to learning the entirety of the Torah.

The Torah tells us that there is only one Hashem, one G-d. However, remembering and reciting the entire Torah is challenging. It is not a task most can do. Hashem thus sought to provide us with an easily recited single sentence that would capture this fundamental idea, this yesod ha’emunah, that there is only a single Deity. Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad is that pasuk.

The idea that Hashem is One is encapsulated in the words of this one sentence. The number of letters in this all-important pasuk is twenty-five, numerically equivalent to the word “koh” in the pasuk, “Koh yehiyeh zaracha, So shall your offspring be” (Bereishis 15:5).

The message is that through the pasuk of twenty-five words, one can be assured that his progeny will be successful. This is the secret of Shema.

Moshe Rabbeinu employed this principle as well, when he sought to ascertain if the Egyptian who struck the Jewish slaves would have any worthy descendants. The Torah states, “He turned this way and that, koh v’koh” (Shemos 2:12). He looked to the future to see if any of the Egyptian’s children would affirm the great principles of the Shema. Moshe saw there would be none, and then he slew the Egyptian.

The Chashmonaim lived in a very challenging environment. A byproduct of all the decrees issued by the Yevanim was that they were unable to learn the Torah HaKedoshah. The Jews employed this

The one time and location that we find these two fundamental functions and both purposes of Creation are being fulfilled simultaneously is the doorway on Chanukah, where the menorah is lit. incredibly powerful tool: they recited Shema. Doing so, declaring Hashem’s Oneness with the pasuk of twenty-five letters, gave them the strength they needed to triumph over the Yevanim.

Chanukah does not mean that they rested on the twenty-fifth. That would require the addition of a beis, namely, chanu b’chof hey. The name Chanukah refers to the reason that the Chashmonaim were victorious: It was because of the pasuk that contains twenty-five letters — Shema Yisrael — which they recited over and over.

This is the derivation of the name Chanukah.

“Lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach, not through army and not through strength” — we are not triumphant because of brute strength or military prowess, “ki im b’ruchi, but through My spirit” (Zechariah 4:6): It is Hashem Who wins our wars for us.

The Name of Hashem that conveys Hashem’s Oneness, adds Rabbi Avraham Saba, is His Seventy-Two-Letter Name. The Chashmonaim were victorious because they had Hashem, the ultimate

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Warrior, fighting on their side: “Mi kamocha b’eilim Hashem, Who is like You among the heavenly powers, Hashem?” (Shemos 15:11). The initial letters of this phrase is the title that was given to the Jews who fought the Yevanim: Maccabi, the gematria (numerical value) of which is seventy-two.

Additionally, the letters of the name Maccabi are the same as the initial letters of the phrase “baruch kavod Hashem m’mkomo.”

The Chashmonaim were able to rest, chanu, because of the fundamental Oneness of Hashem represented by the pasuk Shema Yisrael, which contains twenty-five letters, chof-hey. Their strength came from the recitation of the Shema.

The name Chanukah is a lesson to us who are presently in galus. We, too, can be victorious against the trials and tribulations of galus through the recitation of Shema and through the belief in the Oneness of Hashem.

The Two Fundamental Obligations of a Jew • Witness to the Singularity of G-d Believing in yichud Hashem, the Oneness of Hashem, is, after all, one of the most fundamental obligations of every Jew. As the Derech Hashem writes, “A Jew is obligated to serve as a witness that Hashem Yisbarach is One.” The Navi Yeshayah has already advised us of our obligation to bear witness to the yichud Hashem. “You are My witnesses — the word of Hashem — and My servants whom I have chosen, so that you will know and believe in Me, and understand that I am He; before Me nothing was created by a god nor will there be after Me!” (Yeshayah 43:10).

As witnesses, we are called to testify that Hashem is indeed One. The recitation of the Shema is our testimony to that effect. That is why in the pasuk of the Shema the letters ayin and daled are written in a larger font. It is a statement of eidus, testimony.

Our testimony includes the fact that Hashem is the sole Creator and Ruler, and that nothing can ever occur anywhere unless it is decreed by Hashem and put into motion by Him. In addition to bearing witness, there is a second fundamental objective that each Jew must perform.

• Gratitude The Ramban teaches us the overarching purpose of Creation. The world was created so that we would acknowledge Hashem and express our gratitude to Him for having created us.

Chazal teach us that one must perform mitzvos that may seem lighter or less important to us with just as much care and concern as he performs apparently more serious and seemingly important mitzvos. Every single mitzvah, says the Ramban, is cherished by Hashem. Every time a person does a mitzvah, he is acknowledging Hashem, and it is a testament that the performer believes in Hashem and is grateful to Him for having created us.

So, in addition to proclaiming and testifying that there is only one G-d, a Jew is also obligated to thank Hashem. These are the two essential and fundamental functions of a Jew. Our daily morning davening affirms this. Before

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we say the Shema, we recite the tefillah Ahavah Rabbah (Ahavas Olam in nusach Sefard). We say: “And You have brought us close to Your great Name forever in truth, to offer praiseful thanks to You and to proclaim Your Oneness with love.”

Thus, the two obligations of the Jew are declaring His Oneness and expressing our gratitude.

Mezuzah and Menorah: The Vehicles for These Two Fundamental Functions If one were to do a mitzvah without kavanah (intention) or contemplation, he has missed the opportunity to perform the mitzvah in its entirety. It is not a mitzvah b’shleimus, a complete mitzvah.

Having the right kavanos, however, elevates the mitzvah and enhances it; it is transformed into a mitzvah being performed b’shleimus.

The Ramban illustrates his point. Someone purchased a mezuzah and affixed it to his doorpost.

If, while attaching the mezuzah to his doorpost, he focuses on why he is doing it, then his actions are a public proclamation that there is only one G-d. The text inside the mezuzah case includes the Shema, which testifies that Hashem Echad, Hashem is the One and Only. Placing the mezuzah in its required location with the proper kavanos is a reaffirmation of the yichud Hashem. The Ramban is teaching us that it is through the mitzvah of mezuzah that one can fulfill the great objective of testifying that Hashem is One. We can now understand the importance the Rambam ascribes to the mitzvah of mezuzah. He tells us that we must be extremely careful to perform the mitzvah of mezuzah correctly, because it is the vehicle via which we perform one of our most fundamental functions. Through the mezuzah we testify that Hashem is One. Additionally, the Rambam tells us the following regarding lighting the menorah on Chanukah.

One must take great care to light the menorah, as this will publicize the miracle, will serve to praise Hashem’s Name, and will also express our gratitude to Hashem for miracles He performs for us.

Lighting the Chanukah candles is an act of thanks to Hashem! It is a display of gratitude. As we say in davening, the purpose of Chanukah is “l’hodos u’l’hallel, to praise and thank Hashem.” The menorah is a form of hoda’ah, an expression of gratitude.

Lighting the menorah, therefore, allows one to fulfill the second function of the Jew. As the Ramban writes, Hashem created Man so that he can give Him thanks. The menorah serves as the medium through which we can fulfill our purpose of existence. This is therefore the second time that the Rambam dictates that one must be extremely careful in the performance of the mitzvah.

The mezuzah embodies our obligation to proclaim His Oneness, and the menorah is the manifestation of our obligation to express our gratitude to Hashem. Together, they fulfill the two fundamental functions that we are required to perform. The synergy of these two mitzvos creates a force that is unparalleled. All at once, the purpose of Creation is realized.

The one time and location that we find these two fundamental functions and both purposes of Creation are being fulfilled simultaneously is the doorway on Chanukah, where the menorah is lit.

Mezuzah and ner Chanukah, in one place, at one time.

Mizmor Shir Many have the custom to recite Mizmor Shir Chanukas HaBayis L’David (Tehillim Ch. 30) after Shacharis on Chanukah. Rabbi Avraham ben HaGra teaches that the reason for this is not merely because this mizmor contains an allusion to Chanukah in the word Chanukas. David HaMelech wrote this song to be sung at the time of the rededication of the Beis HaMikdash at the time of Chanukah (which would transpire only about seven hundred years later).

Interestingly, this chapter of Tehillim, which was authored specifically to be recited at the time of Chanukah, does not discuss dedication of the Beis HaMikdash at all!

The Vilna Gaon did not customarily recite chapters of Tehillim as part of the conclusion of davening. During Elul, he did not say L’David Hashem Ori V’yishi. Yet, on Chanukah, he replaced the usual Shir Shel Yom, Song of the Day, with the Mizmor Shir mentioned above! Instead of the usual Shir Shel Yom, he said Mizmor Shir Chanukas HaBayis L’David. It is the Shir Shel Yom of each day of Chanukah. What is it about this perek that makes it the Song of the Day for Chanukah? It contains no mention of Chanukah or of the inauguration of the Beis HaMikdash!

The mantra of the Chashmonaim, their clarion call, was Shema Yisrael. They were fulfilling the mission of the world — declaring Hashem to be One. As a reward for publicizing this fundamental and critical belief and thereby performing one of the two purposes of Creation, Hashem gifted them the opportunity to perform the second purpose of Creation as well. Chanukah is the fulfillment of a combination of the two main functions of the Jew. In Mizmor Shir (v. 10), David HaMelech queries: “What gain is there in my death, in my descent to the pit? Will the dust acknowledge You? Will it declare Your truth?” What is the “truth” to which he alludes?

The Gemara tells us that when someone writes Megillas Esther, he must perform sirtut on the klaf; that is, he is required to etch impressions of

lines on the parchment prior to writing. The Gemara gleans this from the pasuk in the Megillah that says, “Divrei shalom v’emes, words of peace and truth” (Esther 9:30). The word emes, truth, teaches us that the Megillah requires sirtut like the amitah shel Torah, the truth of the Torah; i.e., the Torah itself. The Torah is Toras Emes, and the word emes in the Megillah tells us to make the lines in the same way that we do for a Sefer Torah.

Tosafos has difficulty with this Gemara. After all, he asks, the Sefer Torah does not require sirtut.

A Sefer Torah without the lines is perfectly kosher, so what does the Gemara mean when it says that a Megillah must have sirtut as a Torah does?

Tosafos answers that the Gemara is not referring to the Sefer Torah in its entirety when it states that “the amitah shel Torah” requires sirtut. Rather, the amitah shel Torah that the Gemara is referring to is a mezuzah, which is invalid without sirtut. The reason the Gemara refers to a mezuzah as amitah shel Torah, adds Tosafos, is because a mezuzah contains yichud Malchus Shamayim, the Unification of the Kingdom of Hashem. A mezuzah contains the Shema, which is a proclamation that there is only one G-d. When we refer to Torah as truth, we are referring to yichud Hashem, the Oneness of Hashem.

From Tosafos we learn that “truth” is a synonym for the Oneness of Hashem.

In Mizmor Shir Chanukas HaBayis L’David, when the pasuk states, “Will the dust acknowledge You? Will it declare Your truth?” it is saying, “It cannot declare Your Oneness.” David HaMelech is stating that were he to pass away, he would not be able to fulfill the two fundamental purposes of Creation. He would not be able to thank Hashem, nor would he be able to declare Hashem’s Oneness from the grave.

The Rambam writes that when the Navi Yirmiyah states, “V’Hashem Elokim Emes,” (Yirmiyah 10:10), he means that only Hashem is Emes, only G-d is True. No one else is true. The Rambam explains this as a reference to the principle of ein od milvado, there is nothing but G-d. He is alone — He is One — yichud Hashem.

When we conclude the Shema, ending with the words “Hashem Elokeichem Emes,” we are testifying to Hashem’s Oneness. Ein od milvado.

Chanukah is the fulfillment of the two main functions of the Jew. “L’hodos lecha” with the menorah, and “l’yachedcha” with the mezuzah on the other side of the doorway. This is what we express when we recite the pasuk, “Ha’yodcha aphar ha’yagid amitecha,” in the Shir Shel Yom of Chanukah. We specifically recite this perek on Chanukah because it mentions David HaMelech’s desire to perform the two fundamental functions of the Jew, which are embodied by the yom tov of Chanukah.

Rabbi Daniel Glatstein is the Mora D’asra of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai in Cedarhurst, NY. He is the author of Sifrei Maggid Harakiah on the Moadim in Lashon Kodesh and in English for Artscroll. This article was excerpted from his book, The Light and the Splendor, published by Artscroll.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Sparks of Light

A Matter of Miracles

By Rabbi Benny Berlin

F

rom a young age, we are taught that we celebrate Chanukah because of the famous miracle described in the Talmud (Shabbos 21b) regarding the flask of oil which miraculously lasted for eight days. And yet, when we say the “Al HaNissim” piyut in bentching and Shemona Esrai every day on Chanukah there isn’t a mention of any aspect of the miracle involving the oil. Rather, we speak of the military victory: “You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few...”

We know that the military victory was an important one, and we should certainly be grateful and express our thanks for that salvation, but it seems like a glaring oversight that there is not even a mention of the miracle of the oil!

There is a famous question brought by the Beis Yosef who asks why it is that we observe eight days of Chanukah to begin with. He points out that since the flask contained enough oil to burn for one day, it really only burned for an additional seven days. He agrees that the seven additional days were a miracle but notes that there wasn’t anything extraordinary about the burning of the oil on the first day as that was expected based on the amount of oil in the flask.

He then noted that, technically, if we

are celebrating Chanukah as a way of expressing our gratitude for this miracle, then for precision we should have seven days of Chanukah and not eight.

The Ramban at the end of Parshas Bo explains that the plagues in Egypt were Hashem’s way of demonstrating to all of mankind that He is the true ruler of the world and that all of the laws of nature are under His control and dominion. The Ramban shares a

you take a moment to realize what the world would be like if you never had experienced the sun before. On first glance, rain may seem mundane and even a nuisance when it interferes with our plans, but rain is an incredibly important miracle. It’s critical for our agricultural needs. We need rainwater to perform the mitzvah of going to the mikvah. The whole purpose of the neis is to just get our attention so we

We forget to focus on the “everyday miracles” that occur in our lives.

beautiful thought that the purpose of all great miracles is really to show us that a miracle doesn’t need to be supernatural to be classified as a miracle but that there are miracles that happen every day and we must stop to recognize them. These “everyday miracles” are extraordinary on their own.

In other words, miracles get our attention, and we forget to focus on the “everyday miracles” that occur in our lives. How often do we only acknowledge a miracle when it’s large in size?

A sunset doesn’t seem miraculous until

will stop and recognize that Hashem controls the entirety of our lives – each and every minute, whether there is a large miracle or one that perhaps we take for granted.

The Ramban notes it is a big mistake when we look at nature and say it is not a miracle because it is “mundane.” He reminds us that all miracles – big or small – are a reflection of G-d’s infinite greatness, wisdom, and power.

We must not take the small miracles for granted, and we must also remember to celebrate them.

This relates to Chanukah and helps to explain why we celebrate that first day. By doing so, we celebrate both the miraculous and the mundane! The fact that the oil even burned that first day was miraculous because the fact that Hashem created the world as such is a miracle. The next seven days of its burning were also a miracle, albeit of a supernatural variety. By combining both aspects, we celebrate the gamut of miracles – both the supernatural and natural – all within the creation of the Master and only Creator.

We must take this lesson a step further and think about how this manifests itself in our own relationships – the real building happens on a quiet evening when the kids need homework help or on a random Tuesday when a spouse is feeling down and needs your chizuk, not just in the grand moments such as an anniversary or vacation.

We see through the example of Chanukah and the Ramban’s explanation that there is so much power in the mundane. The oil reminds us to be awed by all miracles – regardless of the uniqueness of what we’re witnessing.

Rabbi Benny Berlin is the rabbi of the BACH Jewish Center in Long Beach.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Delving into the Daf

Lessons Learned from Nakdimon’s Fall from Fortune

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

O

nce it happened when all Israel came up on pilgrimage (oleh regel) to Jerusalem that there was no water available for drinking. Nakdimon ben Gurion approached a certain lord and said to him, “Loan me 12 wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will repay you 12 wells of water; and if I do not, I will give you instead 12 talents of silver.”

The lord agreed, and they set a date for repayment.

When the time came for repayment and no rain had yet fallen, the lord sent a message to Nakdimon in the morning, “Send me either the water or the money of mine that you have.”

Nakdimon replied, “I still have time; all day, in its entirety, is mine.”

At midday, the lord again sent him a message: “Send me either the water or the money of mine that you have.”

Nakdimon replied, “I still have time left today.”

Late in the afternoon, the lord again sent him the message demanding payment of the water or

the money. Nakdimon again replied, “I still have time left today.” Thereupon the lord sneeringly said, “The whole year has passed and rain has not fallen; now [in the short time remaining] rain will fall?” Thereupon he repaired in a happy mood to the baths. (The Maharsha explains that his intent was possibly to ridicule Nakdimon and the Jewish people, as if to say, “You don’t even have enough water to drink, and I have plenty – enough even to bathe in.”)

Meanwhile, while the lord had gone gleefully to the baths, Nakdimon entered the Beis HaMikdash sadly. He wrapped himself and stood prayer, “Master of the Universe! It is revealed and known before You that I have not done this for my honor nor for the honor of my father’s house, but for Your honor have I done this, in order that water be available for the pilgrims.”

Immediately, the sky became overcast with clouds and there was a downpour of rain until the 12 wells were filled with water to a level higher than they were the year before. As

the lord came out of the baths, Nakdimon ben Gurion came out from the Beis HaMikdash. The two met, and Nakdimon said to the lord, “Give me the money for the additional water of mine that you have.”

The latter replied, “I know that the Holy One, blessed be He, disturbed the world only for your sake, yet my claim against you for the money still holds, for the sun had already set – the rain that fell is mine [and your debt is still due].”

Nakdimon thereupon reentered the Beis HaMikdash, wrapped himself, and stood in prayer: “Master of the Universe! Make it known that You have beloved ones in Your world.”

The clouds then immediately dispersed, and the sun broke through.

(Ta’anis 19b–20a) The simple understanding of this Gemara is that the sun had not yet set. It was temporarily obscured by the clouds. This is indeed how the Ra’avad understood it. The Gevuras Ari, however, explains that the sun had, in fact, set, but Hashem per-

formed a miracle and brought the sun back out.

As for the fate of Nakdimon ben Gurion, the following Gemara (Kesubos 66b) is apropos: Once Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was riding on a donkey, leaving the city of Jerusalem, and his students were walking behind him. He saw a young woman who was gathering barleycorns from the dung-droppings left by the animals of Arabs. When this impoverished young woman saw the great sage, she respectfully covered her face with her hair and approached him with a plea, “O rabbi, please sustain me!”

Rabban Yochanan asked her, “My daughter, who are you?”

She replied, “I am the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion.”

The rabbi continued to inquire, “My daughter, the wealth of your father – where has it gone?”

She responded, “Rabbi, do they not say this proverb in Jerusalem: ‘The only way to salt [i.e., preserve] money is to give it away? The only way to guarantee that you will keep

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your money is by giving your money to charity!’” [But Nakdimon ben Gurion did not disburse charity properly, and therefore he lost all of his money.]

The Talmud concludes: how can anyone say that Nakdimon ben Gurion did not give charity? Have we not learned: “They would say about Nakdimon ben Gurion that when he walked from his residence to the house of study they would roll out an exquisite silk runner before him, and he would allow the poor to walk behind and pick up the expensive material for themselves”?

The Gemara offers two answers.

One is that he gave tzedakah, but his primary motivation was for his own honor. The second answer is that although he gave an enormous amount of tzedakah, a man of his means was expected to give even more.

The commentators question the first answer. Isn’t charity given for ulterior motives also a mitzvah?

The Gemara says in Rosh Hashana: “Whoever says ‘this coin should be for charity for the sake of my son’s cure’ is considered completely righteous.”

From that Gemara it is evident that even charity given for ulterior motives is considered a compete mitzvah. The Maharsha answers that charity given for the sake of honor is considered a negative intention.

This is similar to Tosfos in Pesachim who writes that even learning Torah for ulterior motives is praiseworthy.

However, someone who only learns Torah to instigate fights or to feed his arrogance, upon him it is said, “It is better if he wasn’t created.” Ulterior motives for mitzvos are acceptable, unless the motives are themselves disgraceful.

Rav Elchonon Wasserman, zt”l, adds that the Gemara cannot mean that Nakdimon ben Gurion only had intentions to give charity for the sake of honor. He was certainly a great tzaddik and intended to fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah. Yet, even charity given partly for the mitzvah and partly for honor is unacceptable.

He writes further that the act itself of giving tzedakah for the sake of honor might be the reason that Nakdimon Ben Gurion lost his wealth.

The Hafloah disagrees. Someone

who gives charity for the sake of his son’s cure or for the sake of honor is completely righteous. Both intentions are the same. Indeed, even studying Torah for the sake of honor can be admirable. Yet charity given to further a personal agenda does not

money was already past due. Perhaps according to the strict letter of the law, Nakdimon was allowed to keep the money. (Maybe actual nightfall, not sunset, should be the determinant -Iyun Yaakov.) Someone of his stature, though, is expected to act ac-

Only the merit of charity given for the proper reasons has the special fringe benefit of safeguarding one’s assets from loss.

afford the protection of one’s wealth; only the merit of charity given for the proper reasons has the special fringe benefit of safeguarding one’s assets from loss. The fact that Nakdimon ben Gurion gave charity for ulterior motives was not in and of itself a reason that he should lose his wealth.

However, it didn’t safeguard it either.

People’s fortunes rise and fall all the time. Charity given for the right reasons can cause a person to merit to keep his fortune from falling.

The Maharsha’s commentary on this episode is somewhat enigmatic. He writes, “From here we learn a lesson regarding those people who become wealthy with money that is not justly acquired. These people use their ill-gotten gains to pledge large sums of money during a Mi SheBeirach for their honor and glory. They will not be saved from the punishment of thievery.”

The Chasam Sofer wonders where the Maharsha sees this lesson in the aforementioned Gemara. True, the Gemara discusses the giving of charity for the purpose of receiving accolades, but nowhere does it discuss the means by which one attained his affluence.

The Chasam Sofer suggests that perhaps the Maharsha’s source is the first story with Nakdimon. When the sun miraculously reappeared, Nakdimon ben Gurion did not give the lord the 12 talents of silver. Perhaps he should have. True, Hashem miraculously brought the sun back out, but the day was already over and the

cording to highest levels of honesty and integrity.

The Chasam Sofer explains that the value of the 12 talents of silver was presumably distributed to charity. (As a general rule, righteous people prefer not to have any benefit

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from miracles.) Since the charity was given for his honor, he was punished by the loss of his wealth. According to this explanation, the Maharsha holds it was the combination of both factors that brought about the failing of Nakdimon’s fortune: he should not have kept the 12 talents of silver, and he distributed these very same funds to tzedakah for his own honor.

Someone who achieves success using less-than-honest methods may momentarily seem to benefit.

However, the Maharsha provides a powerful lesson to us regarding what the end results might be. The Rambam, though, notes that no one ever became poor by giving charity.

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

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The Wandering

Jew

Richmond, Virginia

By Hershel Lieber

The statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Ave

I

n the spring of 2015, we traveled to Virginia – not that we hadn’t been there before. As a teenager in the early ‘60s, I went with my mother to visit her first cousin who was living at the time in Newport News. During a number of occasions, while visiting Washington, D.C., we were in Arlington and Mount Vernon.

In the summer of 1981, we traveled with our three girls to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens as part of a twoweek family vacation.

Where we had not been before was the historic capital of the state, Richmond. Richmond played a big role in U.S. history in the Colonial era, during the American Revolution,

and as an important and vibrant city of the Early United States. Richmond was the capital of the Confederate States of America and was a major player during the Civil War. Richmond’s prominence waned after the War of the States, but it still retains its significance as a major city of the Southern states.

As part of planning our trip, I was in touch with Rabbi Dovid Asher of Keneseth Beth Israel. The rabbi arranged that we would stay for Shabbos at the home of Stuart and Joan Cantor. Stuart’s brother, Eric, was a U.S. Congressman from 2001-2014 and the House Majority Leader during the final four years of his tenure.

Rabbi Asher’s shul had minyanim all week long, and there was a daily minyan at the boys’ yeshiva high school. I was told that although there were supermarkets that carried an extensive line of kosher products, there really were no kosher eateries in town. Hence, we brought along some food from home. Our plan was to stay in Richmond for six days with stopovers in Silver Springs, Maryland, on the way there and on the way back.

We left on Thursday, April 30, and drove to Silver Springs. We ate out at a great fast food restaurant called Max’s. Their shawarma in pita was heavenly and very filling. We

With Stuart Cantor

stayed over at the Sheraton where we showered and got ready for Shabbos the next morning. After davening at the Woodside Synagogue and picking up chicken sandwiches for lunch, we drove to Richmond. There was a

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lot of traffic on the way, and we arrived after 4 PM. We went directly to the Cantors, where they prepared a comfortable room for us. They introduced us to their fifteen-year-old triplets, two daughters and a son, and I met another son later on in shul. We did not have much time to socialize initially as Shabbos was quickly approaching.

On Friday evening, we went Keneseth Beth Israel, where I met and thanked Rabbi Asher for arranging such wonderful hosts. Walking to and from shul, Stuart filled me in about Jewish life in Richmond.

There is an elementary yeshiva from kindergarten through eighth grade and separate high schools for boys and girls. There are three Orthodox synagogues. There are also two mikvahs. Besides for some supermarkets that carry kosher products, most religious families get deliveries from Baltimore, which is only two and a half hours away.

In that short walk, I learned a lot about Jewish life in the capital of the South.

We had a most beautiful and spiritually charged Shabbos seudah at the Cantors. The food was delicious, the zemiros were lively, and the conversation ranged from Torah thoughts to personal stories interspersed with a healthy dose of humor. Our biggest surprise came when I was telling the Cantors about our involvement in the Soviet Union and our subsequent association with the Yeshiva of Kishinev. We were then told by Stuart and Joan how they hosted two sisters in their home for a few years when they came from Kishinev and were studying at the Rudlin Girls High School. We were shocked at the coincidence. We remembered when the

‫בס“ד‬

Standing with Thomas Jefferson

sisters, Elana and Anya, were sent to study in Richmond and knew their mother, who was the doctor at our Yeshiva in Kishinev. What a small world, indeed!

After a sumptuous dessert, we went with our host to visit Rabbi Hal Klestzick, the principal of the boys’ yeshiva high school, and his wife.

There, we were engrossed in both serious and entertaining conversations.

We did not get to bed until way after midnight.

The shul had a larger amount of mispallelim that Shabbos morning.

It seems that once a month both the boys’ and girls’ high schools join for davening at Keneseth Beth Israel.

The tefillos were nice, I got an aliya, and we joined the rather large crowd for kiddush where both of us had a chance to mingle with the locals and share information. We also met Chuck Lessin and his wife, with whom we had a chance to talk with at length. We then met a relative who was studying at the girls’ high school.

This was truly a surprise that we did not anticipate.

The rest of Shabbos was also quite

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At the State Capitol in Richmond

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The Virginia Holocaust Museum

enjoyable. The Shabbos day seudah was followed by a short nap and then it was back to shul for Mincha, shalosh seudos, and Maariv. After havdalah and taking some photos, we said our thank yous and goodbyes and headed for the Embassy Suites less than a mile away.

On Sunday, Pesi did not feel well.

After Shacharis we took a walking tour in the hot sun along the city’s famed canals, which turned out to be a bit boring. Then we headed back to our hotel suite. Other than going to shop at the supermarket and I going to daven Mincha and Maariv, we relaxed in our room.

On Monday, I davened with the boys at the yeshiva, and then we started to take in Richmond’s historical attractions. We toured the State Capitol, the Confederate White House, and the Museum of the Confederacy. We have been to many places associated with the Civil War era and yet still find these sites and the War’s history fascinating.

For dinner, we were invited to the Lessins at their elegant home where we dined on salmon accompanied with fine white wine. We went out to

At the Museum of the Confederacy

daven and then returned for cake and tea and more conversation.

On Tuesday, we took a two-hour walking tour of the Botanical Gardens. It was the beginning of spring, and many flowers were already in full bloom – after all, this is the South.

Then we went to Agecroft Hall to explore the Tudor Manor House and its gardens. This tour took one and a half

The interior of Keneseth Beth Israel

one reads long texts and views photos about the horrid events of those years. I find those exhibits somewhat lacking, as with the addition of artifacts and visual aids one can gain so much more understanding of the catastrophe. This museum, though it was small, was able to convey the message of the Shoah in a very moving and inspiring way.

In that short walk, I learned a lot about Jewish life in the capital of the South.

hours. We stopped at the Hollywood Cemetery where Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler are buried, as well as the only President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis.

This was followed by a visit to the Virginia Holocaust Museum.

We have been to quite a few museums dedicated to this terrible tragedy of the Jewish people. Many of these places rely on exhibits where

On Wednesday, we went to the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, a treat that we enjoyed immensely. There were Van Goghs, Manets, Matisses, and many other famous artists. We took the audio tour, which made seventeen stops at the museum’s most famous collections. We also stopped to see a historic synagogue called Beth Ahabah. Like many synagogues in the South, Beth Ahabah started out in 1841 as an Orthodox shul for Ashkenazim. In 1867, it moved gradually towards Reform. The present building was built in 1904 and houses a Jewish museum next door.

We ended our day at the Tredegar Iron Works, which operated from 1837 until 1957 and was part

and parcel of Richmond’s colorful history. During the course of the last four days, we had passed Monument Avenue many time. It is a grand boulevard with five massive statues at intersections. The statues were dedicated to leading generals of the Confederacy including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The statues always elicited controversy as they glorified personalities that were associated with and supported slavery.

Recently, the statues were removed after violent protests and vandalism. This issue is part of an ongoing debate that I will not address in this article.

On Thursday, we started making our way back home. We stopped at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, and took a great tour including inspecting the slaves’ quarters.

Jefferson has also become very controversial during the past few years, although that does not diminish the historical significance that his estate represents.

We continued on and drove for one hour along the scenic Skyline Drive and made it to Silver Springs in time to pick up food at Max’s which we ate in our hotel room. The next day we ate tuna wraps in Baltimore on the way to Lakewood for Shabbos. We let our daughter-in-law Leah know that we were coming for Shabbos, but our son Mechel and our grandchildren were in for a complete surprise.

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.

Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson

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Israel Today

A Miracle on Israel’s Borders

By Rafi Sackville

T

he existential threat of Covid-19 has not only turned us inward looking, but somewhat stifled our ability to view the glass as half full. As we gaze at our Chanukah candles this year, it is worthwhile remembering that oil always floats to the top; it represents hope and optimism. It is the symbol of our will to persevere through difficult times.

Our story involves the vision of Tira-El Cohen, a remarkable young woman, whose indefatigable energy has brought such hope to the very places in Israel where, over the course of the last few years, it has almost vanished. Like the Maccabees, she has stood resilient in the face of adversity and has turned her vision into a miracle.

We traveled north from the Western to Upper Galil. The trip took longer than we planned; there had been activity in southern Lebanon and the army had chained the approach roads that led up to the border. We traveled around in a circle for half an hour before chancing upon a shortcut through Yishuv Yiron. We were on our way to meet Chen Makover, a 23-year-old student and a member of Kedma, the organization Tira-El founded. Its goal is to revitalize our border settlements.

Chen could be at college or university in any of Israel’s big cities.

Instead, she chooses to study at Tel

Tira-El Cohen on the cover of Forbes “30 Under 30”

Hai Academic College, close to the Lebanese border in Northern Galil.

Along with another 18 students she lives on Kibbutz Misgav Am (Fortress of the People).

Chen and her friends don’t live on the kibbutz because of cheap housing or due to the kibbutz’s close proximity to the college. They are, in fact, like all members of Kedma, typical post-army students who came to the kibbutz where they pledged, among others things, to volunteer 300 hours of community work a year.

From the lookout at the kibbutz one has an extended view of the Hula Valley to the southeast and Lebanon to the north, where on a clear day Tyre, its second largest city, is visible. Dotting the Lebanese village just north of the fence are scores of what appear to be empty houses. It is known that they provide hiding places for Hezbollah arms and that those who live in the basements of these are well-aware.

Chen and her friends have become a vital cog in assuring the survival of the kibbutz. It is feasible that without them Misgav Am would succumb to Israel’s border communities’ most vexing problems: a dwindling and aging population coupled with the flight of its younger generation.

Founded in 1945, the average age of Misgav Am’s members is over 70.

The hopes of it continuing Zionist dreams had been crumbling over the last few decades at a quickening pace.

After the kibbutz privatized, there was a downturn in the internal economy, which left the strategic outpost financially vulnerable.

Misgav Am is one of many yishuvim dotting Israel’s borders in the north, south and the Jordan Valley, where students have come to make a difference.

The genesis for this idea can be traced back nine years to the actions of one remarkable young woman.

Tira-El Cohen was 19 years of age and doing National Service when she heard about Maaleh Ephraim, a settlement in the Jordan Valley facing difficulties.

Once a magnet for people from all walks of life, it had become emasculated after the Intifada. Residents either traded their idealism for safety or left if they had the means. The once-thriving community had been reduced to a wasteland.

It was while studying Journalism in Tel Aviv that Tiara-El connected with Maale Ephraim after falling in love with the Jordan Valley.

“I saw a view of an amazing wilderness,” she recalls. “This wilderness evoked in me the desire to act and create. It’s a wilderness so full

of potential and creation. This was my first insight into that wonderful space.”

Seizing the opportunity, she met with the council at Maale Ephraim, requesting permission to upgrade their abandoned field school. When she mentioned that her only hesitation was leaking roofs in the winter, she was told it was the stifling summer heat they had to worry about when temperatures can daily reach well over 100 degrees. Using the budget from Israel’s Ministry of Housing, they purchased some air conditioners to fight against the Valley’s oppressive heat and set about organizing a student migration to Maale Ephraim.

Tiara-El sent out a post on her Facebook page announcing that she was off to live in the Jordan Valley to strengthen and support those living there.

“Hundreds replied,” she says with palpable joy in her voice. “How wonderful is this generation of ours!”

Today in her late 20s, Tira-El oversees a large staff which has successfully placed hundreds of students in yishuvim from Misgav Am in the north of the country, Rimonim and Mekhora in the Jordan Valley, to Nir Oz in the south.

The eldest of eight siblings, Tira-El gets her unbridled enthusiasm from her parents, who made Aliyah as teenagers from France to serve as lone soldiers in the army.

Tira-El speaks about the philosophical approach of their love and responsibility to the Land of Israel.

These echoes permeate the ideology Tira-El has brought to Kedma. She could be talking about her parents’ generation when she says, “We all have a role in the Zionist story because we are privileged to be part of a generation that has returned home.”

Growing up with such role models Tira-El searched for her own place within the dream of Zion. “I wanted

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to take another step forward in the love story I have for the country. I live in the Jordan Valley, and my parents see my moving there as an extension of their own Aliyah.”

Growing up in the middle of the country Tira-El couldn’t find her place within the story.

“The cities are already so developed and ready made,” she notes.

She is ready to admit that upon starting Kedma she was as much interested in helping others as she was in finding her own place within the larger picture.

“When you do what’s good for you – something that is related to your identity – it follows that you also start doing what’s good for the public,” she asserts.

Probably the greatest example of this is the name she and her husband Idan gave to their son. He is called Ani-am, or “I am my people.”

After a few months in Maale Ephraim, Tira-El understood that she and her friends had stumbled upon something far greater than they realized. On the one hand, she saw how the students who came from every possible sector of Israeli society – from the religious to the secular – were unified in their vision and desire to help. On the other hand, the residents in the Valley were excited by the students coming to a place where they were used to seeing people leaving.

It was the realization that Kedma could have an important role to play along Israel’s border communities.

Take the Jordan Valley, for example.

In an area spanning 1,600 kilometers (620 square miles), there are only 7,000 residents.

Tira-El has an inimical way of condensing that space into an understandable example.

“There are great distances between these yishuvim, which creates many problems that are central to the very existence of these communities,” she explains.

“Take education. Don’t most parents want their kids to experience enrichment programs like math, English, music? We take the strengths of Kedma’s students and get them to dedicate 140 annual hours running these activities.

“Then there are the 100 annual hours each student spends working

A view from Misgat Am

with the residents in the communities. Finally, our students have to dedicate another 60 hours working on projects on the yishuv.”

An idea alone, however, does not build institutions. It takes an organization, fundraisers, requests for donations, and government assistance.

These matters are usually conducted by adults with years of experience.

Not so in Tira-El’s case. She started the ball rolling by herself.

It is hard to imagine a teenager with a mass of curly hair and casual clothes walking the halls of the Knesset pushing her cause. Moreover,

understand that those who founded the country were young people with a glint of light in their eyes. When they saw this in me, they took me seriously.”

That was nine years ago. While Kedma continues to grow, the struggle for funds continues. Covid-19 has only added to its financial difficulties.

“The pandemic has caused us a very complex economic crisis,” she says.

“I believe that, coupled with spiritual abundance and effort, the end result will always be positive.”

Since its inception, Kedma has witnessed great demand, particularly

“I wanted to take another step forward in the love story I have for the country.”

it begs belief how such a young girl with an infectious smile could have convinced those twice, even three times, her age to join her bandwagon.

Tira-El’s response is surprising in her mixture of candor, naïveté, and conviction.

“My perception is that the state only needs guidance from people on the ground,” she shares. “When there is good intention, it knows how to do good things. When I brought the Kedma initiative to the table, it gave us legitimacy.”

She admits, “It required a lot of strength. I must say that I was surprised because I arrived at the Knesset in a t-shirt and started walking around. It was not easy. But the Knesset members and politicians also

of late. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, that demand has increased threefold. Before the pandemic, there were about 1,200 requests for the current 300 places across the 12 yishuvim where Kedma has a presence. Last year alone, there were over 3,600 requests. Many of the requests are linked to young people wanting to get away from the cities and dire economic situations.

Tira-El looks at that high number from another angle.

“This is a situation about values,” she asserts. “In this uncertain period, people have more time to think about their priorities. Instead of urban intervention, we offer an experience replete with a strong base set of values.”

The selection process is inten-

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sive. Not everyone is a fitting candidate. Kedma has now expanded its approach to sending students to the border regions. They have developed “Young Communities,” tight knit groups of 20 individuals who have graduated from other Kedma programs and are looking to build a future along the frontier.

This answers the question of what happens to these communities when their student volunteers leave after two years. Kedma prefers to send young couples into the “Young Community” program. This provides the emotional support that many of these frontier communities need.

“After our students volunteer for two years and understand the needs of a yishuv, we look to them to settle themselves there permanently.

It’s not exclusive, however. We are also open to couples who did not go through our volunteer program.”

Tira-El adds, “I’m not saying that our programs have saved these yishuvim. What I am saying is that we have strengthened them. Our data points to a 63% population growth in the yishuvim where we have had a presence.”

This fact is supported by Sharon Trebitsch, the welfare officer on Misgav Am, who has worked extensively with people like Chen Makover.

“The first year was difficult,” Trebitsch shares, “but then the students seemed to find their groove. They have really helped developed Misgav Am. They have brought with them a positive energy. More people are staying.”

Not all initiatives have been successful. Kedma sent a group of students to Manara, situated only a few kilometers south of Misgav Am, where they failed to make progress.

Tira-El is quick to qualify, though.

“There is no such thing as failure,” she asserts. “These entries of ours into aging yishuvim are not easy.”

Undaunted by their initial failure, Kedma sent another group of students to Manara that has shown greater success.

One can only imagine the obstacles standing in their way. The average age of Manara’s residents is 75.

The adage that it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks is certainly applicable. It’s not enough for the students

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to adapt themselves to the residents.

The residents need to accommodate themselves to a younger, more vibrant generation.

“We have to be very stubborn in our approach to these yishuvim,” she says. “Oftentimes, they don’t understand the values we strive to meet, or they have forgotten that they once held the same values.”

Tira-El envisions Kedma’s longterm presence across the eastern, northern, and southern borders. They will continue to go into the most challenging and remotest places with the hope of eventually having a presence in 36 yishuvim.

This young 28-year-old visionary with degrees in journalism and public policy plans to begin her doctorate on settlements in the Jordan Valley and the border regions. She is tireless and indefatigable. She is the face of the newest embodiment of Zionism.

She has a dream that extends further than the borders of Israel. She

has given much thought throughout the pandemic to the Diaspora, particularly how to connect and give strength to communities there.

She shares, “We have a dream to connect the settlements to different communities over the world. I’m only talking about the young generation. I have a feeling that we have plenty to give and plenty to learn from them.

It’s a connection that doesn’t exist for young people in the Diaspora. I have a dream that we will be able to bring youngsters from overseas to visit our yishuvim. Remember that young people everywhere are searching for meaning and a way to fulfill themselves by connecting to values bigger than themselves.

“The crossroads between the needs of the younger generation to do and be a part of something bigger than itself on the one hand, and the rural areas that give you something to grow and influence on the other was all we needed,” she says.

“Establish a real home in the vil-

lage and revive entire area. That’s the whole story.”

Sitting with Chen Makover and Sharon Trebitsch in the clubhouse only meters away from the border, one gets a better sense of Tira-El’s understanding of how we can best strengthen and protect our borders – not through tanks, soldiers, and the air force alone but through communities living there. As Tira-El so aptly puts it, “These communities provide the real security of Israel.”

In this post-modern age, Tira-El has created 21st century Zionism. It is a Zionism faced with new challenges. Life on the border doing volunteer work is an approach that combines the spirit of the founding fathers of the State of Israel with its current needs.

It is easy to disparage today’s millennial generation glued to their electronic devices. The headway Kedma has made into a difficult and older world bears testimony to the fact that today’s youth are just as capable, as daring, and as enterprising as those

upon whose shoulders the State of Israel was forged.

Bearing witness to Misgav Am’s revitalization, and infused by Tira-El’s unbridled enthusiasm, one cannot help but view Kedma’s incursion along our border communities as nothing short of miraculous. Tira-El’s vision-turned-reality is one of the many miracles which, combined with those throughout our difficult history, charges our spiritual batteries with energy and allows us to dream and realize a better future not only for Israel, but for young people in the Diaspora.

Postscript: Tira-El recently became the recipient of the prestigious Hero of Israel award. The ceremony was broadcast on state television.

For more information, go to http://kedma-hityashvut.org/language/en/home/

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

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

The Beauty and Mystery of Israel’s Olives

The Founder of Galilee Green, an Olive Oil Company, Shares His Story

BY RABBI SHMUEL VEFFER, AS TOLD TO SARA LIEBERMAN

M

ost people know me as the inventor of the Kosher Lamp and founder of Kosher Innovations.

In 2009, I sold Kosher Innovations to my partner and moved back to Israel.

Eventually, I settled in the Moshava (village) of Yavne’el in the Galilee, southwest of Tiveria.

On a balmy day in November 2013, my neighbor invited me to harvest some olives from the trees on our shul’s property. We picked armfuls of green, fragrant olives all day, and some local children helped us.

We drove 15 minutes to the nearby Kibbutz Degania to press the olives.

They were so helpful and kind. It was close to midnight when we returned to Yavne’el with jerry cans filled with oil.

The local rav came over and helped us take trumos and maaseros – it’s a mitzvah d’oraisa to take tithes on olive oil. Then we tasted the most incredible olive oil ever! It was light, fruity, and fragrant, with just the right balance of tart and sweet.

The oil was so pure and exquisite I knew we needed to share the wealth, so I founded an olive oil company, Galilee Green. My background was in kiruv and marketing, therefore I worked out an arrangement with nearby Kibbutz Degania. They provided us with olive oil made from their own groves, and we did the marketing.

The olive trees are located on the portion of land that was allotted to the tribe of Naftali. The strength of the

harvest is directly intertwined with prophecies and blessings from the Torah. Naftali’s bracha was: “Naftali is a deer let loose: he gives goodly words” (Bereishis 49:21). Rashi elucidates that this refers to the Ginosar valley in Naftali’s portion. Similarly to the natural grace and alacrity of the deer, the fertile land in this region will ripen exceedingly fast. Naftali’s bracha embraces most fruits, and farmers plant whatever crop proves most rewarding. In the early days of Israel, citrus and cotton were commonly grown. Currently, many farmers consider mangos to be a lucrative crop.

The blessing holds true today, as the eye can behold the flourishing, fertile crops thriving in the Lower Galilee.

The bountiful growth of this region of Eretz Yisroel sends a powerful message. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) states that Mashiach is near when the prophecy of Yechezkel comes true. “But ye mountains of Yisrael ye shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Yisrael; for they are at hand to come” (Ezekiel 36:8).

In a manner that transcends nature, the relationship between the Jews and the land of Israel is so powerful that, according to the prophecy, the land was to remain barren until the Jews returned, at which point it was to give forth abundant fruit. And this is indeed what has happened in recent history.

I merited to see Yaakov’s bracha come true in my own backyard!

When I harvested my date tree, I was shocked to see the sheer amount of fruit this one tree bore. There was 440 pounds of fruit! This was more than enough for me and my family for an entire year.

Similarly, our olive oil is among the highest quality and tastiest extra virgin olive oil around.

It is an exceptional product, and our customers are discerning and know their olive oil. Over 80 percent of our customers are non-Jewish supporters of Israel in the U.S. and Canada. We sell via our website, to countries around the world, including New Zealand, Norway, Alaska, and Australia.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

B

esides for our secret ingredients of the kedusha and blessings of Eretz Yisroel, what else makes our oil so extraordinary? Initially, we cold-press the Barnea and Coratina varieties of olives. Both species are grown in the Galilee and nourished by the Jordan River. Cold-pressed oil retains its high nutritional content and contains numerous health benefits. Then, we fuse the two kinds of oil into a special blend that is smooth and mild with a slightly tangy kick after a few seconds. That peppery tang indicates that the oil is 100% extra virgin.

Our oil is certified kosher under the supervision of Rabbi Shlomo Didi of Kinneret-Emek HaYarden Rabbinic Council and is also certified by Badatz Beit Yosef. The olives are only picked from trees that are over three years old (orlah) and all biblical tithes are taken. We bring the olives directly to the olive press the same day that they are harvested.

As part of the kosher supervision, the machines are washed and cleaned before our oil is cold-pressed.

The oils are extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). This means that we coldpress the olives once, and they must be less than 0.8% in acidity. Additionally, our oil is unfiltered, so there may be some sediment, but is healthier because it contains the maximum polyphenols and antioxidants. Processed oil uses heat to extract more oil. In fact, Israeli oil facilities are not built to create lower quality oil that requires 2nd or 3rd processes of refinement.

When you buy our oil, you are supporting a small business in Israel.

You are helping Israel prosper after 2,000 years of exile and helping the Land bring forth her fruits!

Finally, we have customers in Italy and Spain (two of the most famous olive oil exporters), and our

clients around the world rave about the taste and quality of our oil. Israel does not produce enough olive oil for the needs of the local population. We are a net importer of olive oil. Spain boasts the highest production of olives and olive oil. They provide 40% of olive products around the world.

That’s why you won’t see much Israeli olive oil outside of Israel. Chanukah use does not affect our sales because 80-90% of our customers are non-Jewish and they enjoy the flavor of our oil in their food. Also, most people will not use such high-quality oil for kindling lights.

A word about Shemittah. Shemittah for olives becomes relevant for next year’s harvest. The olives will be flowering and budding this spring during a Shemittah year which gives them kedushas sheviis.

The olives that were harvested in November and early December of this

Shemittah laws come into effect for olives in the eighth year.

H

istorically, during the Roman Empire, the currency and economy of Israel was based on its olive oil. We exported oil throughout the Roman Empire. It was our liquid gold. If you go to an archeological dig in the Galilee, what’s the first thing that you are likely to find?

A small olive oil lamp. They are everywhere. You can also find ancient olive presses. In Biblical times, olives were grown for oil, and not for eating whole. The oil was used in food, like it is today, but also in lamps as the best source of lighting.

Olive oil has significant biblical meaning and is one of the seven special species of fruit of Eretz Yisrael enumerated in the Torah. However, the most important role for the olive oil was to ignite the menorah in the

“Jews are likened to olive oil. When faced with unfathomable challenges and crushing heartbreak, we don’t crack – we produce this beautiful, pure substance that lights up the world.” year, which was after the Shemittah year started, don’t have the kedusha of shviis because they flowered and budded last March, before the Shemittah year, in the sixth year, so they have the status belonging to the sixth year. Thus, we can harvest them and sell them around the world. In the spring, there will be a new crop budding and that will have kedushas shviis, so even though we will be harvesting them after the Shemittah year ends, they still have kedushas shviis. All the relevant

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Temple. On Chanukah, it is hiddur mitzvah to light with shemen zayit zach. Our sages tell us that light represents Torah. “Ner mitzvah v’torah ohr.” Ner is a mitzvah, and Torah is ohr. Torah is the big vessel (menorah) that emanates light. It is our instruction manual for living.

Jews are likened to olive oil.

When faced with unfathomable challenges and crushing heartbreak, we don’t crack – we produce this beautiful, pure substance that lights up the world. We are indestructible. Also,

olive oil represents our mission; we are the light onto the nations, here to spread the knowledge of Hashem and the wisdom of His torah.

“Ki mitzion tetzey Torah, u’dvar Hashem m’Yerushalayim.” The rabbis teach us that the words “teytzey Torah” is the actual Torah and “u’dvar Hashem” was the words of our prophets. We lit the menorah to symbolize lighting up the world with Torah. R’ Zev Leff said that the Jewish people are like olive oil and the nations are like water. If you take even a few drops of oil, pour it on water and place it in the sun, the water can’t evaporate because it’s protected by a sheen of oil. The oil is supported by the water and the water is protected by the oil. It’s a symbiotic relationship. If you shake it up and put it outside – it evaporates.

That’s the relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish world.

If we forget who we are and start adopting the customs of the “Greeks,” we are in trouble. But if we stay the course to spread light and remain pure in the ways of the Torah, we will bring blessing and geulah to the world.

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

I am friendly with a family in my neighborhood. We daven in the same shul and have children around the same ages. One of their sons, I’ll call him Chaim, is about to start shidduchim. He is 23 years old and is learning and going to college part-time. The family is a wonderful family, and I know that they are starting to “listen” to shidduchim for Chaim.

I have one concern: Chaim has issues with alcohol. I won’t call him

an alcoholic, but he drinks a lot at shul kiddushim, and any time we are at their Shabbos table, he spends the meal takes shots and then ends up at the end of the meal on the couch. To me, that is very concerning.

So I have two questions for the panel: do you feel that I should broach this subject (very delicately – and I would need advice on how to do that) with my friends and mention that their son’s behavior is something that’s not normal and should be addressed? Do I ask someone else to talk to them about it?

Additionally, what should I do when people call me for information on Chaim? Do I tell them my concerns? Do I only mention it if they ask me?

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Sincerely, A concerned neighbor

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

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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The Panel

The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Y

ou are right. Chaim’s consumption of alcohol is very concerning.

I am pretty sure that the parents, if they are as wonderful as you describe them, are concerned as well. Responsible parents are not passive about an alcohol problem – ever. Therefore, I would not bring it up. They are trying to deal with it, perhaps unsuccessfully. If they bring it up, then you can respond carefully with sensitivity. Be supportive, not confrontational.

Now as to the question about responding to questions in connection with shidduchim for Chaim. There is a halachic issue here. I would therefore consult your rabbi, as this is both a medical issue and a bad habit/addiction issue (depending on severity, which seems serious). He may know more than you do about Chaim’s problem and what his parents are doing about it. He may advise you to punt the question to him. You should definitely ask him for another reason beyond your own response to people who inquire about Chaim. Asking the rabbi of the shul you both attend will also alert him to the fact that you see a problem as a neighbor, not just in shul, and it’s not small.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond

Y

ou know the term, “Good fences make good neighbors”?

The reason for this adage is that nosey neighbors are never appreciated. If you have observed Chaim’s kiddush and Shabbos table drinking habits, I assure you that his parents and loved ones have, too. Do you think his

parents don’t see this at their Shabbos table if it happens every week?

It is not the job of a neighbor to make calls (or judgments) – not to mention, it is socially inappropriate.

What Chaim does to relax is his business, and if, indeed, it is excessive, his family is already on the case. The last thing a family wants is to have the embarrassment of a phone call alerting them to something they already know.

The past few weeks we have received quite a few letters addressing the topic surrounding making other people’s business your business. If there is ever a question, you can ask a rav, but as a general klal, the best advice I can give you and our readers is to stay in your own lane (you’re less likely to get into an accident that way!).

The Single Tziporah Klein

D

ear Concerned Neighbor, Everything you reported is your perception of what is taking place. That being said, I am not denying your concerns but rather am highlighting how extraordinarily cautious one needs to be when making assumptions about another’s behavior, attitude, and image. A person’s reputation is the most valuable thing they have. There are multiple stories of people’s lives that have been negatively affected by rumors starting based off perceptions and even well-intended concerns.

I am assuming this boy has a parent who sees his behavior and will address it if it’s concerning. I strongly believe that it is not your responsibility to get involved in his life based on your admitted assumptions. I hope it’s fair for me to assume that you don’t live with him, you don’t

spend Shabbos there every week, and you may not know the culture of his circles. Is the behavior healthy? No. Is it possibly common in his social group? Yes. Does that mean he is an alcoholic? Definitely not.

Of course, when it comes to answering questions directly from shidduch calls, I always say to ask a rabbi to get the halachic response.

My main intention in responding to your question is to highlight the importance of how careful one needs to be when judging others and making assumptions.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

I

t’s kind of ironic that you gave your neighbor the name “Chaim” when his problem is that he overly enjoys drinking a “l’chaim.”

Your very important letter raises two fundamental issues.

First, is the question about discussing your concerns with the boy’s parents.

On the one hand, it’s hard to believe that the parents are not already quite aware that their son’s drinking is excessive and clearly surpasses acceptable norms. Furthermore, you are certainly aware that unsolicited advice is generally not appreciated.

On the other hand, as a good friend and neighbor, how can you ignore trying to be helpful?

My suggestion is to follow the advice of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, who often extolled the potential value of anonymous letters. Write an anonymous note to your neighbors, advising something like, “When your son starts to date, make sure that he doesn’t get a reputation for drinking excessively.”

Second, is the question of what to say and what not to say when called

The best advice I can give you and our readers is to stay in your own lane (you’re less likely to get into an accident that way!).

for a shidduch reference.

The all-too-easy answer would be to ask a rabbi for his halachic ruling. The problem with that solution, however, is that it wouldn’t be a fair question for the rabbi, because there is absolutely no way to provide him with a full, clear, and accurate report of the situation. The situation has many subtleties, and what you observed was filtered through the lens of your own preconceptions.

This is a far more nuanced and complex question than asking a rabbi if a chicken is kosher, or if you can trust the mashgiach at your cousin’s bar mitzvah.

My suggestion is, when asked, to extol the positive qualities of the young man and his family.

Then, unless the person asks you directly about the boy’s drinking, do not bring up the subject; if they do ask about the boy’s drinking, you can say something like, “After davening, he does join others at the shul kiddush.”

Your letter underscores the value of a young couple spending a few Shabbosim in each other’s homes before making any commitments.

There is no substitute to actually observing how potential mates interact with their own families, in their own homes. Personal observation is far more valuable than the “recommendations” of well-meaning friends and neighbors.

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

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

D

ear Concerned Neighbor, Thank you for writing into our panel. You’re in a very delicate position. With all sorts of addictive behaviors and tendencies increasing at an alarming rate, our community is not exempt. It is wise of you not to jump to conclusions and label Chaim an alcoholic, however, you have seen enough to strongly believe that Chaim has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, and you are probably right. On the one hand, if you say something to Chaim’s parents you stand to lose the friendship. On the other hand, if you do not say something to his parents or to Chaim’s potential future in-laws, you may feel responsible for any future strain or hardship in the young woman’s life brought upon by your omission. I wish there was a simple answer and I could offer you some clear cut advice, but I can’t.

You may want to consider consulting a rav about this. He may be able to guide you and give you the answer you are seeking. Rebbeim are often very familiar with all sorts of issues affecting their congregants and can be intimately involved and/ or helpful in giving you a halachik/ hashkafic perspective on the matter.

There are so many people in your uncomfortable shoes, and many rebbeim have heard it all and will tell you, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and offer you a practical, Torah-guided answer.

Getting involved in an area of a friend’s life that she has not invited you to participate in can be very tricky. Parents are often protective of their children and can become

highly defensive, even when a wellintentioned friend airs a true concern with the best interest of the child in mind. If your friend has never said anything about Chaim’s drinking to you, she has decided not to include you in this area of her life. And if it weren’t for shidduchim, you most likely wouldn’t say anything.

Should you decide to broach the subject with your friend, you need to be prepared that, at worst, you may lose the friendship. When alcoholism and addiction is present in a family, there is often a lot of very strong denial (which can look very ugly and get very extreme), rationalizations (the justifications and excuses), and avoidance (never speaking with you again because you held up a mirror to a reality that doesn’t want to be seen). Your friend may have no idea Chaim has a problem, she may know and be furious you brought it up, she may know and politely dismiss you, or she may melt into your arms so happy that she has someone to speak with. There is so much unknown, and no way to predict the outcome.

The readership will most likely be divided on this one. Here are the two camps of thought: 1. Do not get involved! Do not say a word. It is not your place. This is a private family issue and getting involved will only upset your friend.

When someone calls about a shidduch for Chaim, you can: a. Speak highly of the family and say you don’t know the

boy well. Or, b.

Tell your friend that you prefer not to be involved in shidduchim.

Sometimes a little white lie is OK. It is a healthy boundary that you are allowed to have in place. If your friend asks why, you can deal with the answer and the possible repercussions then.

2. If this is a good friend, lovingly approach her about her son, Chaim. After all, you have been privy to this painful and uncomfortable situation many times over. (She has exposed you to it.) Are you supposed to ignore her son’s pain? Here is a potential script: You know I adore you and your family. There is something that has been weighing heavily on me, and I haven’t known how to bring it up to you. If this isn’t my place, please accept my sincerest apology and know I will never bring it up again. Is Chaim OK? I noticed that he drinks at shul and Shabbos meals, often to the point of excusing himself and falling asleep on the couch.

I have been worried about him and also worried about you.

Please know that I am here for you if you ever want to talk.

So Concerned Neighbor, you definitely have what to be concerned about: Chaim’s wellbeing, your friend’s wellbeing, and your role in all of this. Ultimately, as anyone who has to been to AA and Al-anon will tell you, you did not create this problem, you are not responsible for this problem, and you cannot cure this problem. You can only do what feels comfortable and right for you. Will you make a boundary for yourself, as in option 1a and 1b? Or, will you put your heart on the line in the name of friendship and concern, risking your

You did not create this problem, you are not responsible for this problem, and you cannot cure this problem.

friend’s negative reaction?

Alcoholism destroys marriages and friendships. It is often a response to trauma and a way of disconnecting from pain. Acknowledging the alcoholism is welcoming back the pain and deeply intolerable feelings the individual needs protection from. Alcoholism can run in families, and often there are other family members abusing as well, though others may keep it hidden. If you decide to say something to your friend and she, in turn, cuts you out, please know that that is a direct result of her trying to protect her son and herself from a reality she doesn’t want others involved in and a reality that she may not be able to herself acknowledge.

Whatever you decide to do, know that you have been put in an impossible situation and feel good about having tried your best to be a loving friend. What happens after is not in your control. Feel good about yourself and know that some situations in life are larger than us and that there is no perfect answer.

Sincerely, Jennifer

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

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Dr. Deb

Are We Traumatized?

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

S

o there I was, trying to attend to all the needs of my clients, write an article for you (of course) and keep on top of my very active Facebook group when I received a text message from my late husband’s, a”h, friend, Don, in Florida.

Don is an oncologist who is very health conscious. We – meaning me, my husband, and kids – would kind of joke around back in the day, when we would invite him for Shabbos and he would only eat organic food.

That is, the joking went on until I ended up sick over a year ago with this crazy auto-immune disease of my mouth and lost 16 pounds because I was in too much pain to eat.

I tried the Gundry diet for a whole year which didn’t work (and it didn’t change my thyroid numbers either) but – interestingly – when I gave up on it, I, too, stayed with organic food as much as possible.

So sometimes your emotional experiences are so powerful that they forever influence your choices.

Oddly enough, that was exactly the topic of the text that Don had sent me. It was a link to an interview on Oval Media with a trauma recovery coach, Meredith Miller, whose focus is on relational trauma. Because all of the work that I’ve been sharing with you for some time now is based on the idea of the effects of trauma on people and all the research I had done over the years is in this area, I thought that what Miller would be saying was not going to be new.

Yet, I tuned in out of respect for my friend, Don. But Miller had an unusual take on trauma: We are in the midst of national trauma, she said.

Wow, although what’s in the news bothers me terribly and I have been trying to tune it out, I never

thought of this epoch we are in as traumatic. I tuned in to hear more.

Miller began her presentation saying things I could agree with – for example, that you can’t tell an abuse victim that they’re being abused if they feel they still love the person who is abusing them.

It doesn’t work because their emotions override the logic and they will simply find explanations for each instance you give them trying to prove they’re being abused.

The same dynamic is happening at a societal level, Miller explains.

People want to believe our government is there to protect us. However, when the pandemic hit, our government started a “hypnotic induction” through the use of language, she says.

(In the world of hypnosis, many people’s brains are full of chatter that needs to be quieted first, so the therapist would provide a running commentary suggesting a person’s body relax or their thoughts go to a nice place or to some interesting metaphorical story that would cap-

ture their attention. That is a hypnotic induction.)

She points out that the term “social distancing” was the beginning of a hypnotic induction into the trance we are in now. How does that work? Those words create cognitive dissonance. (Cognitive dissonance is the emotional experience of some distress when two ideas cannot go together. This discomfort forces a person to change the meaning of at least one of the terms or ideas in their own mind.)

Continuing with her example, “social” implies connection. As humans, we want that connection.

She says it makes us feel safe. I’m not so sure about that part, though.

For some people, being connected is scary. But it certainly does mean “connection.”

The word “distancing,” of course, is the opposite of connection. This is why the two words, when put together, lead to cognitive dissonance.

In order to resolve this uncomfortable feeling, the words must mean something different from what they

originally meant. The way that people have been handling this is to go into “denial” that there is a problem with the terminology in the first place.

Another person on the panel was Dr. Reiner Fullmich, a consumer protection attorney. He described an interview he conducted with a Holocaust survivor, Aviva Scharaff, who was discussing the use of euphemisms to mislead people, and he thought that the term “social distancing” is an example of that.

Viviane Fischer was also a panelist. She, too, is an attorney and also an economist. She wanted to know how Miller could compare a love relationship to the relationship citizens have with their government.

Miller explained that both relationships begin with love bombing. So, in the case of government, we are receiving economic stimulus money and, some of us, free food. Add to that the government’s assurance that “we want the best for you.”

But there is another part to the abuse cycle, Miller said, and that is the devaluation: “you’re dirty, you’re sick.” Abusers also will pull back their abuse if they see that their victim is coming out of denial by the overwhelming nature of the abuse. So, too, the government has seen people objecting to the lockdowns, so they set people free for a while. But they are cycling back to the abuse now, with lockdowns in many countries.

Fischer was curious to know if Miller thought this whole cycle was intentional and planned. Miller responds with a bit of history that I was not aware of. Apparently, after World War II, the United States brought over hundreds of Nazi scientists and put them to work in government organizations.

(The reason for this step was to be ahead of Russia in the Cold War. Thus, the 1,600 Nazis could be valuable to us. It was called Operation Paperclip.)

She labels the government’s actions a “gaslighting campaign.” (“Gaslight” was the name of a movie out in 1944 in which a husband would move the furniture ever so slightly while his wife was sleeping.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was happening, so she started to believe she was going crazy.)

Today, the term is used to describe a planned set of actions to make a person doubt their own perception. Miller claims this is being done by the media and social media, for example, by not letting posts appear that differ with their narrative and by de-activating the accounts of scientists and doctors who disagree with it.

(For example, Dr. Vladimer Zelenko, a frum doctor who has been suggesting the use of axythro-

max and ivermectin to treat Covid – which is what I used when I got covid in August – had his social channels shut down. On another interview, he stated that the isolation that was forced on us would create panic and that this was done deliberately so people would follow their government’s requirements.)

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people have dropped all that out of fear of losing their jobs.

How do we tolerate all this abuse? One way of resolving the cognitive dissonance of being mistreated as we have been is to give up our own identity and simply take on the group identity. Otherwise, to goit-alone, to think for oneself, means

We are in the midst of national trauma, she said.

Gaslighting makes a person stop trusting their own perceptions, even the signals from their own bodies.

In that vein, Fischer pointed out that as a nation we have been highly protective of the right to make decisions ourselves as to what our bodies should experience, yet many

to leave the safety of the group, and the group will attack and smear individuals who do so. Such individuals need the support of others who are “living in reality.”

Fullmich wanted to know Miller’s opinion as to why the government would do this. Her answer was

simple: Just as the case of abusers, it was power and control. The desire is to create a totalitarian society. However – and this is something I’ve seen -- the abuser is doing all this because they do not believe in themselves. They are afraid of being exposed for the mediocre people they feel they are underneath (which, of course, gets back to all the articles I’ve been writing on that topic).

In any case, the bright light here is that Miller believes that more and more people will take personal responsibility to be themselves and believe their own perceptions. Either that, or we will have the darkness of a totalitarian state.

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

How to Lighten Up this Holiday

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

I

t’s that time of year again! Chanukah is here, and there is so much excitement in the air. This holiday can be difficult for people trying to lose or maintain their weight because it involves many fried foods and eight days of holiday celebrations.

There are a lot of temptations at this time, and it may be difficult to keep indulgences to a minimum.

Chanukah recipes are characterized by fried latkes and jelly-filled donuts.

We typically have parties with family and friends and are surrounded by the special foods that symbolize this exciting time of year. I am here to assure you that, with my tips, as well as some willpower, the eight days of Chanukah won’t ruin your progress in achieving a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy this wonderful time surrounded by family and friends.

1. Treat each day of Chanukah like a regular day. Have a proper breakfast, lunch, and snack.

Then, when you get to dinner, fill your plate with the unprocessed clean foods you usually eat. During the holidays, people tend to think it’s better to eat very little during the day so that you can eat freely at night. This faulty thinking will only backfire on you, for you will arrive at the Chanukah party famished. This can lead you to overeat and make the wrong choices. Instead, have a filling breakfast, lunch, and snack. Don’t show up to the party with an empty tank. Have a snack like an apple with peanut butter before so you don’t arrive ravenous.

Another good tip is to drink one to two cups of water before the party. The water will act like an appetite suppressant and help the stomach prepare itself to receive the food.

If you want to indulge at the party, select one food to try. If it’s a latke, eat just one. If it’s a doughnut, take a small piece and savor it.

If you stick to your usual routine

during the day, your body will work more efficiently when you do choose to indulge.

2. Find substitutes for your Chanukah favorites. Although latkes and doughnuts are appealing and there is certainly room for them in a healthy lifestyle, they are high in fat and refined carbohydrates. These refined carbohydrates and fats will result in blood sugar spikes and only cause more hunger and cravings.

Experiment by making healthier versions of latkes such as zucchini, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or spaghetti squash latkes. They can be a gracious host or hostess gift for a Chanukah party! It’s a clever way to ensure there’s something wholesome for you, your friends, and your family.

Doughnuts can be a tricky Chanukah favorite. Although they taste amazing, they are filled with processed sugars and oils that won’t leave you feeling your best. There are more nutritious doughnuts on the market, and some entrepreneurs in the boutique food industry sell homemade healthier versions throughout Chanukah. Do your research in order to locate and purchase cleaner doughnuts or try a new recipe and you may surprise yourself!

3. Choose one party to treat yourself. The doughnuts and latkes can be very tempting. Instead of restricting yourself, decide to have a latke, doughnut, or another food that appeals to you at one or two events.

This will ensure you don’t feel deprived and will help satisfy your craving in a controlled way. For the other festivities, stick to lean proteins

Try this healthy cauliflower latke recipe!

Ingredients » 10 oz frozen cauliflower rice, defrosted in microwave for 1 minute » 3 TBS oat flour » 1 small onion, blended in food processor » 2 eggs » 1 TBS avocado oil » Avocado oil spray » 2 turns Trader Joe’s garlic salt » 1 tsp onion powder » 1 tsp garlic powder » 1/4 tsp pepper » 1-2 tsp sea salt

and vegetables, combined with fresh fruits for dessert.

4. Don’t eat standing up. It can be difficult to attend a party and not pick at the different foods displayed. However, when we eat standing up, we don’t realize how much we are eating, because it doesn’t register in the brain. This is called mindless eating and can lead to the consumption of thousands of calories without even feeling satisfied.

When you attend a party, make yourself a plate and sit down to eat it. Making a balanced plate and eating while sitting down will help make sure you are satiated.

5. Provide options at your party. If you’re hosting a Chanukah party this year, it’s a wonderful idea to offer both nutritious and less healthy options to choose from. Buying or preparing a crudité of cut-up vegetables with dips like hummus and techina can be a clean and easy-tomake appetizer perfect for socializing! Having a salad bar is a great idea

Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine eggs, avocado oil, oat flour, and spices. Add in blended onion and the defrosted cauliflower rice. Mix well.

Preheat a non-stick skillet and spray with avocado oil spray.

Scoop the cauliflower mixture into the hot pan and try to flatten out the mixture.

Pan fry on both sides, about 1-2 minutes a side.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 6 and a half minutes until they firm up.

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for a party because it can be simple to prepare but offers your guests many options when making their salads, as well as being a fun activity.

6. Stay active. Whether it be a boxing class, an online Zumba class, or a walk on Shabbos afternoon, it is best to stay moving throughout this holiday. Maintain a routine throughout Chanukah so that you set yourself up for success after the holidays. Staying active throughout the holidays will boost your metabolism and help maintain optimal digestion.

Exercise reduces stress by releasing “feel good” endorphins and can be very helpful when trying to not overeat from stress. This will give you protected armor for your Chanukah party later in the day.

7. Focus on the foods you can eat. It is challenging for people trying to manage their weight to not feel deprived of their favorite foods. Being mindful and enjoying the healthy foods you can eat and reminding yourself of your goals will

help you coast through. Even though Chanukah is filled with fried foods, you can almost always find a better option. Be creative and use the air fryer to air-fry cauliflower latkes or even the healthier doughnut recipe you found. Living a healthy lifestyle is what you make of it. Being in con-

take at least a 10-minute break. Drink water, and after 10 minutes, reassess how you feel. If you are still feeling hungry, go back and take a small portion of food. Let your body cue you for its hunger signals.

Chanukah is a special time filled with gifts, family, and friends. Begin

Instead of restricting yourself, decide to have a latke, doughnut, or another food that appeals to you at one or two events.

trol leaves you feeling your best, while being out of control does not.

8. Take 10 minutes before going back for seconds. It actually takes 20 minutes for your stomach to notify your brain that you are full. After you finish your first plate of food,

Chanukah with a game plan and identify how you want to feel after it’s over.

Having a planned mindful indulgence will ensure you stick to your goals and help motivate you to continue making progress. Treating each day as a regular eating day, researching healthier

recipe alternatives for traditional latkes and doughnuts, and allowing for a mindful indulgence here and there will help make the week a successful one.

It is best to have more healthful options at your Chanukah party so everybody has something they can eat. Instead of picking at foods, make yourself a plate and ensure you sit down and savor the food you’re eating. Focusing on the foods you can eat, staying active, and listening to your hunger cues will result in a successful holiday week.

Wishing all of my readers a freilechin and healthy Chanukah!

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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Wishing You a Happy Hanukkah and Many Blessings!

Chag Urim Sameach!

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks 5th Congressional District of New York

@GregMeeksNYC

@GregMeeksNYC – Paid for and authorized by Friends for Gregory Meeks –

GREM-079972

@GregMeeksNYC

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Parenting Pearls

Thoughts on Educational Testing

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

I

recently spoke to a few parents who expressed misgivings about getting their child tested to check for educational disabilities and determine if their child qualified for therapeutic services. This was not the only time I’ve seen these concerns, as this is something many parents hesitate with. As this is clearly on the minds of parents, I thought it would be an important topic to address. It may not be a glamorous one, but it is a necessary one when it comes to parenting.

I would like to mention in advance that I have an inherent bias due to my professional training. All the information in this article is accurate to the best of my knowledge, but there is always the possibility that something will differ in your child’s particular school or district or that policies will change. No article can accurately cover every scenario, and the best answer will depend on your personal situation. Others may have different opinions than me, but what follows are some of my thoughts on this issue. Parents, along with their child’s teacher or others the parents trust, are the most appropriate and informed people to decide what best meets their child’s needs.

When to Think about Testing Usually, parents will consider testing if they see their child is not succeeding to the degree the child should be, the child isn’t able to do the work at all, or the child is having to work too hard to learn. For most parents, they will probably hear the suggestion from their child’s teacher but it may be the parent that first expresses concerns.

Parents know their children best and naturally may be the first ones to spot a potential issue. Parents see their child at home and know whether their child flies through their math homework or cries through every example. Parents will also be the ones to recognize if the child takes far too long to finish the evening assignments.

(As a related side point, parents should speak to the appropriate teacher if homework takes too long or is too frustrating. It could mean the child is having trouble or that the material isn’t being taught sufficiently in the classroom. Respectfully communicating with the teacher can give valuable feedback.)

Teachers often have years of experience and see many children your

child’s age and developmental level.

An experienced teacher may be the first to recognize an issue is brewing because they can mentally compare your child’s strengths and weaknesses against the other children his/her age and quickly see when a child is struggling. Even in a classroom full of kids, a teacher can see who is having difficulties.

Please remember that when a child struggles in school, it isn’t a symptom of failure or a judgment on you or your child. Many children have challenges for any number of reasons, and an experienced teacher recognizes this without judgement.

I personally find it irritating when people use the phrase “bad baby.”

“Oh, is she a good or bad baby?” they ask. Babies can’t be “bad” because they don’t have the capability. They cry because that’s how they express themselves. Some babies have more needs than others and may present more challenges, but that’s not a function of being “good” or “bad.” Young children, too, aren’t “bad” when they struggle in school. Young children generally struggle or act up because of influences beyond their control. They lack the ability to think about their actions first and then follow through

with the appropriate self-control. We need to educate them to behave in a more acceptable fashion but that’s chinuch; they’re not expected to suddenly be able to control themselves without intervention.

The Benefits There are a number of benefits to testing. Having an accurate diagnosis can greatly assist your child’s educational team in best meeting his/her needs. As much as someone might assume they know the problem, quality testing can yield surprising results and the issue may not be what you assumed. Without accurate information, you cannot effectively solve the problem.

You need testing to qualify for therapeutic services such as speech therapy, resource room, occupational therapy, or physical therapy. Testing results may also mean your child qualifies for a number of different options such as assistive technology or accommodations for testing.

Children who qualify for services receive them free through the school district. Children may also be able to get some services through their health insurance plan.

Therapy services can help address

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any core issues your child might have.

Rather than continuously putting on a band-aid, therapy can help solve the issue. Think of therapy as addressing the root cause or as removing a potential blockage that is preventing them from learning. Alternatively, therapy may help a child learn to compensate for their weaknesses. As adults, we often compensate for deficiencies without even realizing it. As an example, adults with sensory issues may avoid uncomfortable fabrics. There are many options available that your child can only benefit from if there is an accurate description of the concerns and a well thought-out plan to concentrate on those core issues.

Whatever difficulties your child is experiencing are most likely something the testers have seen time and time again. It can be emotionally beneficial for parents and children to know they are not alone and that whatever is happening has a name and a way to manage it. It’s usually scarier to face the unknown than to have something concrete to work with. For one of our children, their diagnosis was key to helping us understand why he/she was having trouble reading. Having a formal diagnosis, along with a clear explanation, was very helpful in normalizing, rather than stigmatizing, the problems.

I’ve heard it’s far easier to get accommodations for the SAT or other high stakes testing when there is already a paper trail showing need.

Parents that have avoided testing until just before college have often found it’s nearly impossible to get accommodations, since it seems like the child has no history of learning issues.

The Hesitations I personally feel there are far more benefits than disadvantages to testing when necessary, but I do want to lay out any possible hesitations parents may have. Since testing can be long and tedious, it isn’t something done without cause. Testing can be frustrating for children, as many of the tests require a child to fail a certain number of tasks to stop the testing.

Children can become discouraged being asked to complete tasks that are too easy or too difficult for them.

While I personally don’t think this should deter parents from testing if

their child is struggling, it is a potential reason to not test “just because.”

Parents have often expressed a concern of how a diagnosis will affect their child’s life and are hesitant to have their child “labeled.” Along with this, parents are concerned that others outside the school may find out

child but that doesn’t take away from their immense worth and your love for them.

There is a concern that children will feel different after being formally diagnosed. My guess is that most children in this situation already suspect something. Children are very percep-

Think of therapy as addressing the root cause or as removing a potential blockage that is preventing them from learning.

that their child is receiving services.

Any information found from testing is entirely confidential and can’t be shared without your permission.

It’s really not that different from any other medical information. Any information gleaned from these evaluations should not follow your child unless your child chooses to bring them along.

Parents do have the option of getting neuropsychological or psychoeducational testing done privately. This testing is generally more thorough, and parents may have more privacy in who accesses the information. The downside is that this testing is often more expensive and not all parents can afford the out-of-pocket costs. For those interested in private testing but unable to pay the full price tag, they may be able to get it done by a college, such as Adelphi, that has psychology PhD students. The future doctorates are overseen by an experienced PhD supervisor. A friend of mine went this route and found it helpful. This may be an option for parents whose hesitation is having the district or school involved. The overwhelming majority of families choose to go through the district, but it’s nice for parents to know their options.

Emotionally, it can affect parents to hear that their child has a “diagnosis” but that should not be a reason to avoid testing. What it does mean is that you should prepare yourself for the possibility you might have a painful, emotional response to the results. It’s often hard to hear something negative about your precious

tive and realize when they’re having trouble in school. They also recognize if the teacher has to continuously stop because they’re acting inappropriately in class. Getting tested shouldn’t make a child feel much more different than they may already be feeling. Any extra negative feelings that a child

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may experience should hopefully be mitigated by the benefits of getting the issues addressed. Additionally, many children in any given school receive services, and there is no longer a stigma attached.

While every case is different, if the child seems fine, then there is no need to pursue testing. But, if your child is having issues, then ignoring those issues won’t stop the problems. In fact, ignoring issues long enough will often exacerbate the problem. If testing can yield practical benefits for the child, then I personally think the pros outweigh the cons. The most important thing is to remember how wonderful your child is and appreciate the gift that Hashem gave you. Daven for their success and see nachas.

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

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Packing and Slicing the Jewish Vote TJH Speaks with Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Agudah’s New York Director of Government Relations, about New York State’s Redistricting Efforts

BY SUSAN SCHWAMM

Rabbi Silber, New York State is in the process of redistricting its legislative districts. Can you give us some background on the process?

As you know, every 10 years, there’s a census.

Every population is counted. In terms of the Senate, every state gets two representatives regardless of population. But Congressional and state legislative seats – State Senate and State Assembly – are based on population. In this past census, New York State lost one Congressional seat.

The whole Congressional makeup throughout the country – all 435 seats – is proportion-based per state. Actually, it was very sad because had New York had 80 more people counted in the census, we would have stayed at 27 seats. But now, we went down one seat.

Eighty more people. That’s all that was needed to keep that seat?

Yes, 80 more people. Instead,

that seat went to Minnesota. So now, New York has 26 Congressional seats, and those seats need to be reapportioned based on the population changes. And the same thing took place with the State Senate seats. There are 63 State Senate seats, and 150 New York State Assembly seats. These seats all have to reapportioned based on population changes. For example, in the Senate system, each State Senator represents around 340,000 people. In the State Assembly, it’s around 130,000 – these are just approximations, of course.

Now, because of population shifts, they need to reapportion these seats by districts according to the populations, so each district is represented equally by their representatives – whether it’s in the State Senate or the Assembly or in Congress.

How will they be dividing up the districts?

There’s a number of ways. Obviously, you want to keep counties intact and towns intact, but we also have something called “communities of interest.” This is a very important thing. A community of interest is a geographic area that shares cultural, historical, or economic interests.

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Rabbi Silber with Sen. Todd Kaminsky and members of the Five Towns in Albany in March 2020

Based on that definition, there’s nothing more of a community of interest than the Orthodox community. We share a culture, we share a religion, we share a history, we share economic interests.

We also go to the same schools, same stores, same shuls, same kosher shops, same community centers. We’re a very, very strong community of interest. No one’s going to argue that point.

The other thing that they need to keep in mind when dividing districts is that there are certain protected minorities going back to 1965, which means most communities of color are protective minorities that sort of have to be taken into account when dividing districts. The Orthodox community is not considered a protected minority by law, although we technically should be.

What benefits do they have to be called a protected minority?

Basically, they’re what was defined in 1965 – the African American, Hispanic community, Asian communities are protected minorities. You can’t slice them up when you’re creating districts.

There are a lot of clever ways to make districts.

Do you know what gerrymandering is?

Yes. Well, just to explain again, gerrymandering is configuring a district to maximize advantage to whatever party is in control at that time. If the Republicans are in control, they’ll divide it up in their favor; if the Democrats are in control, they’ll divide it up in their favor.

The two ways through gerrymandering to divide a district is called “packing” and “slicing.” Say, for example, you’re a Republican. You can “pack” all the Democrats into one area, which will guarantee that a Democrat will win in that area, but your Republican constituents are spread out in other districts and will bring in Republican candidates who will win in all those other districts.

Or, you can “slice” up the district, and dice up all the Democrats into little slivers in many districts, so their power is very watered down and there’s no real way for them to make an impact.

For around 10 years – after the census 10 years ago – the Orthodox community was, in a way, both “packed” and “sliced.” I’ll give you some examples.

Brooklyn has the largest Orthodox community,

with most of Borough Park, Flatbush, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, Graveshead, and Marine Park. It’s one contiguous area with a large Orthodox population, a few hundred thousand people. That Orthodox area is spread out over four different Congressional districts. Each district has no more than 10 to 15 percent of the Orthodox community. Not one of those districts has a single office in the Orthodox community’s area. You can call your representative but there is not one Congressional office in any of the Orthodox areas. In that way, we were really “sliced” up.

Who is the congressperson for the Midwood area or Sheepshead Bay? The community has four representatives split up between them. You have Jerry Nadler, Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries, and Nicole Malliotakis.

Some areas in Williamsburg are represented by Nydia Velazquez, so it’s really five representatives.

Our community is very “sliced up,” in this way.

So, for example, Yvette Clarke is pretty much based in Crown Heights. And Hakeem Jeffries is based in Canarsie. And Nicole Malliotakis is more of a Staten Island. Nadler is more of a West Side representative. We’re not more than 10-15% of each district, which makes us not a significant force in the district.

What we just spoke about was talking about Congress. In terms of the State Senate, we have a super-Jewish district, with the Simcha Felder district. That’s where they really “packed” us all into one district in a way. But the outlying areas that are not part of that district have representation spread out over four or five different districts, giving us watered down representation in those districts.

And then in the Assembly, you have the 48th Assembly District with Simcha Eichenstein, but the rest of the community is spread out into five different ones. Instead of having two Assembly districts for our community which would make sense – we could easily support two Assembly districts or two State Senate districts – you have one district which is a packed district, and then the rest are sliced. So we’re partially packed, partially sliced.

Let me give you one more example. The Town of Ramapo, which is most of greater Monsey and Spring Valley, is split into three Assembly districts.

It’s the only town in the entire state that is divided into three districts. So the community there is really sliced up and that truly dilutes any power the community may have.

Do you think that it was a deliberate action to slice and dice our community when they redistricted ten years ago?

I don’t prescribe motives to people. I’m just dealing with the facts on the ground. What the intention was, I don’t know.

But, what I will say, is that other communities were higher priorities and they were taken care of.

We may have been left with the scraps, so to speak.

Did we, as a community, make any noise 10 years ago when they were redistricting?

Not enough.

In the past, the way it worked, until 10 years ago, was that for many years in New York State, the Republicans controlled the Senate, and the Democrats controlled the Assembly. So basically, the Senate Republicans made the lines for the Senate districts because they controlled the Senate. And the Democrats made the lines for the Assembly because they were in control. And there was some sort of a compromise when it came to Congress.

But the lines were drawn purely by the legislature.

In 2014, there was a voting referendum, and the people in New York voted to form a commission, an independent commission, to deal with drawing the legislative lines for the districts. This was rather wise because the whole idea of gerrymandering comes from partisan reapportionment because every party obviously wants to reapportion to their advantage. So an independent commission sounds very good.

The independent commission basically says, “We’re totally independent based on the community’s interests and geography without looking into who could win, which party or person should win – we just want to form fair districts.”

Part of the intention of the commission was to make sure the community of interests are kept together as well.

The commission has ten members – there are equal numbers of the Democrats and Republicans in the commission. The commission works to come up with lines for districts. The legislature will then

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Rabbi Silber with politicians and community activists in Albany in March 2020

vote on these lines and can accept them or they can reject them.

The commission started late this time around because the census was late because of COVID. This past summer, they had a series of hearings throughout the state before they released any maps to give people a chance to speak up and say what they would like to see in the new legislative maps.

Many of us testified at those hearings. Our message, during those hearings, was that we want to be consolidated as a community and we don’t want to be sliced and diced.

In September, the commission released two maps of the proposed districts because they could not agree on one map. There was a Republican version and a Democratic version.

Isn’t that interesting? That the independent commission is releasing two different maps – one Republican and one Democrat?

Yes. Because they couldn’t agree on one map.

Definitely ironic.

One map, the Republican map, linked Borough Park to the Five Towns in one Congressional district. It was basically all along the water into the Five Towns. It would be a very interesting district.

In November, they began a set of hearings in different regions throughout the state. This is a second round of hearings – they did the first round in the summer, as we discussed. In this month’s hearings, people can comment on the two maps they came out with or they brought their own maps. We testified last week in the Brooklyn hearings and in the Queens hearings.

In your testimony, are you advocating for the Republican drawn maps or the Democratic version?

None of them. I was advocating for our community to be consolidated into maximum two or three Congressional districts.

Did you put forth your own maps?

We’re working on it. We should be putting them out next week. Our coalition actually has a call this week to produce our own maps with a mapmaker.

Based on your experience, and seeing what’s been done in the past, do you think that they

would actually redraw the maps based on what you suggest?

Well, we’ll hope, but the process isn’t over yet.

There was a lot of talk before the election to vote down certain proposals. So now, because the proposals were voted down, two interesting things happened.

Number one, there is now a deadline of January 15 for the commission to submit the maps. Once they submit it to the Legislature, the Legislature can accept it or reject it. If they reject it, they have until February 28 to produce a second set of maps which could be accepted or rejected. And if those

If we’re 30 or 40 percent of a district, then we will make a difference in a district, and we truly count.

But, if one party controls both houses – as is the case now, that the Democrats control both houses – you need a two-third majority to pass. The proposal on the ballot in the elections this year wanted to do away with the two-thirds majority rule. But that proposal didn’t pass, and the Democrats need a two-thirds majority to approve the lines.

So what came out of the ballot proposals this year is that the Democrats need a two-thirds majority to approve the lines and the commission has until February 28th to submit its maps.

Let’s talk about the recent elections in which Democrats suffered tremendous losses in our community. Do you think that the Democrats would consider our community more strongly in the redistricting process because of the losses they faced?

I think that the ramification of the election results is that they’re going to empower moderates in the State Senate – people like Joe Addabbo, Peter Harckham, James Skoufis, and Anna Kaplan.

There is a group of suburban moderates, and I think they’re going to push back on some of the extreme legislation that’s coming from the left.

How can the community get involved in the redistricting process?

The public testimony is over, but they can still submit written testimony to NYIRC.gov.

Will the Agudah be giving people sample letters of what they can submit to the commission? maps are rejected, then the Legislature has the right to produce their own maps.

The timing now is very tight. Primaries are being held in June this year. It’s very tough to prepare for a primary in June if maps are redrawn in February. But this deadline does help us because the Legislature may be inclined to accept the maps or make minor adjustments to them, so they don’t draw out the process.

The second part of the ballot proposal that was voted down says that if there is split control in the Legislature – at the time that this was passed, in 2014, the Republicans controlled the Senate and the Democrats controlled the Assembly – all you need to pass the lines is a majority of votes to pass.

Well, we can consider that. With these letters, you need to be very specific. A different letter needs to be written for each community. We have people working in every community and sending out letters.

People need to know that redistricting takes place every ten years and really affects our representation for the next decade. If our segment only represents 10% of an area, then our representatives don’t care about us. They could do whatever they want with our community’s interests. But if we’re 30 or 40 percent of a district, then we will make a difference in a district, and we truly count. Our interests will be important to those who are our representatives.

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The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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F I R S

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Nachman Mostofsky and Chesky Moskowitz

Talk about Maps and Minorit y Groups

BY SUSAN SCHWAMM

N

achman Mostofsky, Executive Director and VP and Amariah, says he started working on the issue of redistricting and the Jewish vote ten years ago. At the time, he was working on David Storobin’s campaign in the State Senate. It bothered him that after the community came out and voted in a certain way, the powers that be – with the stroke of a pen – were able to divide our community into what seemed like arbitrary lines. In fact, Storobin’s State Senate district was divvied up into two or even three parts.

Mostofsky points out that there are certain minority districts, in which a majority of a district is one single minority, which goes back to the Civil Rights Act. The Jewish community is not considered a “minority” when it comes to Civil Rights Act and redistricting.

“I don’t understand,” he says. “We’re one-percent of the country. Who else is considered more of a minority than our community? The Amish?”

Even more than that, it’s our shared values that should justify us to be considered a minority group – that’s what connects us.

“We’re a people, an ethno-religion,” Mostofsky adds, “in a way like the Yazidi and the Uyghurs in China.”

In fact, when it comes to education law, New York State considers Orthodox Jews a minority under the Civil Rights Act. Why, then, he wonders, is the Orthodox community not given the allowance to be considered a minority when it comes to redistricting?

In 2017, Mostofsky and Chesky Moskowitz, a community activist who lives in Bayswater, NY, met with Scott Walker. Walker then became the National Finance Chair for the National Republican Redistricting Trust. The Trust was formed to combat President Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder’s efforts to sue states to force them to redistrict.

Chesky Moskowitz, left, and Nachman Mostofsky meeting with President Trump

Mostofsky and Moskowitz looked at the 2016 election map, pointing out to Leader Kevin McCarthy and to Rep. Tom Emmer that the Jewish community votes, by and large, Republican but is registered as Democrat.

In New York, many people choose to register as Democrats so they can participate in the Democrat primaries. But if the Orthodox Jewish community would be able to be influential in their districts be-

“The map that is going around, the ‘Republican’ map, that was the map that I had drawn on my phone.”

cause they are there in strong numbers – with the right redistricting lines – then they can register as Republicans and put up formidable Republican candidates who can actually win elections in New York and send Republican representatives to Washington.

Mostofsky also contends that by sending representatives to Congress that truly represent our values, we would be showing the nation the values that Jews uphold.

“This would stop anti-Semitism,” he declares.

“I’m involved with a lot of movements, and I’m close with a lot of figures around the nation. But the problem is, if you’re a non-Jew living in Kentucky or Mississippi, all you know about Jews is Jerry Nadler, and that creates animosity towards Jews. But if we had a staunch conservative, like Matt Gaetz, representing our community, that would go a long way.”

With these assertions in mind, Mostofsky decided to put pen to paper and drew a map that would give an advantage to the Orthodox Jewish vote in New York.

According to him, “The map that is going around, the ‘Republican’ map, that was the map that I had drawn on my phone. I can show you the original drawing.”

He adds that because the independent redistricting commission “liked his map” so much, they used the same idea in drawing lines in Rockland County.

Mostofsky says that redistricting is so important to him – and so vital for the community – that he and his associates are prepared to “go to court,” if warranted.

“We’re prepared to go all the way,” he says.

“There are many young activists in the community who are very bothered by this,” Moskowitz adds.

“We follow daas Torah to the best of our ability, but at the same time, we wonder why we are forced to work with people who don’t truly represent our community.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘OK, we need to work with them because there’s nothing else we can do. But that’s absolutely false. We can work to create better opportunities for ourselves. We live in America, in a medina shel chessed. We have a voice, and we have the ability to effect change.”

To reach out to Chesky Moskowitz or to Nachman Mostofsky, email nachman@amariah.org.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

WWW.EITANKATZ.COM | 718.770.7973 | INFO@EITANKATZ.COM

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Delights

for Chanukah Nights

BY LEAH STERN

These recipes were reprinted with permission from Around the Kitchen Table by Leah Stern.

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Latke-Topped Salad INGREDIENTS n 1 (8-oz.) bag romaine lettuce n 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced n 6 red pearl onions, sliced n ½ cup black olives, sliced Optional: n String Cheese, sliced Latkes n 2 potatoes n 2 eggs n 1 tsp. salt n Dash black pepper Dressing n ¼ cup oil n ¼ cup ketchup n 2 tsp. vinegar n 1–1½ tsp. mustard n 1 T. sugar n ¼ tsp. salt n pinch black pepper n 2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS Prepare the latkes: Finely shred potatoes; combine with remaining latke ingredients. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat; add oil to generously cover pan. Using approximately ¾ teaspoon per latke, add batter to pan.

Fry until crisp; flip over and fry the second side until crisp.

In a bowl or jar, blend all dressing ingredients.

Assemble the salad: Place salad ingredients on a platter. Top with latkes.

Serve with dressing.

Yield: Approximately 60 mini latkes.

Variation: If you don’t have time to fry all those mini latkes, prepare potato kugel. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F in a generously oiled 11x17-inch baking pan for approximately 35 minutes. To serve, cut into small squares.

Potato-less Soup This low-carb soup looks and tastes like potato soup, but actually depends on turnips for their great texture and flavor. Alternatively, for a milder flavor, replace turnips with 1 package mini cauliflower florets.

INGREDIENTS n n n n n n n n

2 large carrots 1½ zucchini ½ knob celery 3 TBS oil 1 onion, peeled 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 turnips, cubed 10 cups boiling water

n 3–4 TBS kosher salt

DIRECTIONS Finely shred first three ingredients.

In an 8-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shredded vegetables, whole onion, and garlic. Sauté for 10 to 15 minutes.

Cut turnips into ½-inch cubes; add to pot. Sauté for approximately 15 minutes.

Add boiling water and salt to pot.

Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.

Remove onion before serving.

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Pancake Tower To present these pancakes as a gift, place a stack in a round, clear salad container; tie container with a ribbon and add a spoon.

INGREDIENTS Batter n 1½ cups flour n 6 TBS sugar n 1 TBS vanilla sugar n 2 tsp. baking powder n 3 eggs n 2/3 cup milk n 3 TBS oil, plus more for frying Filling n 4 oz. whipped cream cheese n 4 oz. sour cream n 3 TBS confectioners’ sugar n 2 tsp. vanilla sugar

DIRECTIONS Prepare the pancakes: In a large bowl, combine the first 4 batter ingredients.

In a second bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and 3 tablespoons oil.

Add mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat; drop approximately 2 tablespoons

batter into the pan.

With the back of a spoon, pull the batter into a circular shape. Cook until bubbles appear on the pancake.

Flip pancake; cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Prepare the filling: In a bowl, combine all filling ingredients, stirring until smooth.

To assemble: Place cheese filling into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Squeeze a generous ring of cream around the rim of the pancake, leaving a ½-inch border.

Top with a second pancake. Repeat until all pancakes and filling have been used.

Note: You may wish to decorate pancakes with whipped cream and fruit or chocolate.

Variation: For chocolate pancakes, decrease flour by 1 tablespoon and add 1½ tablespoons cocoa. For chocolate filling, add 1 to 2 teaspoons cocoa until the desired color and flavor are achieved.

Peanut Shake

Praline Shake

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

n n n n n n

n n n n n n

1 cup milk ½ cup vanilla ice cream ½ cup ice cubes 2 TBS smooth peanut butter 1–2 TBS sugar 1½ tsp. vanilla sugar

DIRECTIONS Place all ingredients into a 32-ounce container. Use an immersion blender to process until ice is finely crushed.

Variation: Spritz lines of chocolate syrup or caramel cream down the sides of a smoothie cup; top with whipped cream and desired toppings.

1 cup milk ½ cup vanilla ice cream ½ cup ice cubes 1½ tsp. praline powder 1–2 TBS sugar 1 tsp. vanilla sugar

DIRECTIONS Place all ingredients into a 32-ounce container.

Use an immersion blender to process until ice is finely crushed.

Variation: Spritz lines of chocolate syrup or caramel cream down the sides of a smoothie cup; top with whipped cream and nougat chips.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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In The K

tchen

Fried Goat Cheese Latkes

By Naomi Nachman

I’m so excited for Chanukah, and every STR AUSS

year I make these delicious mini goat

cheese latkes for our family Chanukah

PHOT O BY ME LIN DA

party. It’s literally the “perfect” latke for Chanukah. I serve it with an

incredible decadent dipping sauce made

from sour cream. It kicks up the flavor another notch. All I can say is

fried + cheese + sour cream =� heaven on a plate.

Ingredients Latkes ◦ 8 ounces goat cheese, sliced ◦ ¼ cup flour ◦ 2 eggs, lightly beaten ◦ 1 cup panko crumbs ◦ Oil, for frying Sour Cream Dipping Sauce ◦ ½ cup sour cream

Preparation

1. Prepare fried goat cheese: Set up a breading station. Place flour into one bowl, eggs into a second, and panko into a third. Dip each slice of goat cheese into flour, then egg, then crumbs.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry slices for 1 minute per side, until golden brown. Place on paper towel to drain; set aside.

3. Prepare the dressing: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.

4. Serve on a platter with dipping sauce on the side.

◦ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard ◦ ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ◦ 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup ◦ 2 tablespoons orange juice ◦ ¼ cup olive oil

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.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

5 towns premier

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

I should be prosecuted? What happened on Jan. 6, senator?

- Dr. Anthony Fauci on “Face the Nation” responding to Sen. Cruz’s (R-TX) assertion that Fauci should be prosecuted for lying to Congress

If you’re attacking me, you’re really attacking science. I mean, everybody knows that.

- Ibid.

Fauci is an unelected technocrat who has distorted science and facts in order to exercise authoritarian control over millions of Americans. He lives in a liberal world where his smug “I REPRESENT science” attitude is praised.

Biden spent his birthday in Wilmington, Delaware, and went to a 5 o’clock Mass. Man, does this guy know how to party or what? I mean, even Mike Pence was like, “Ever heard of Chuck E. Cheese?”

- Jimmy Fallon

We will not back off from the annihilation of Israel, even one millimeter. We want to destroy Zionism in the world.

- Spokesman for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi , in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency

Nu’ is too easily confounded with new; Xi’ was not used because it is a common last name.

- Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the WHO, explaining why the new Covid variant is named Omicron, skipping over the next two letters in the Greek alphabet (Xi also happens to be the name of the Communist leader of China, where Covid was created)

I am considering changing my name. Growing a beard maybe, losing some weight — I gained it all back during this stressful time.

- Kyle Rittenhouse in his first post-acquittal interview with Tucker Carlson

– Tweet by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), in response

Anthony Fauci is a disturbed and disturbing man. An unelected bureaucrat who is consistently wrong about things (going back to AIDS), who used taxpayer money to help develop the COVID that plagues us, and who has funded indescribably cruel animal research, he is threatening to shut America down again, throwing mud at elected officials, and anointing himself as the embodiment of “science” in America. Never in American history has a megalomaniac had so much power and been so destructive.

- Andrea Widburg, The American Thinker

Vaccine - Websters Dictionary’s word of the year, after searches for the word vaccine soared by 1,048% since the start of the pandemic

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Here comes the MEV – the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots.

Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election – but we’re not going to let them!

– Tweet by Representative Dr. Ronnie Jackson (R-TX), who served as Pres. Obama’s personal doctor

My favorite part about these self-satisfied, overindulged, busybody fascists is how they want us to forget that all the horrors heaped upon the American Indian came from one place: the federal government. And what do these same silver-spooned, emotionally damaged, infantile Thanksgiving-haters all want? They want this very same federal government in charge of our health care and banking; they want a federal police force to end rural America. They want us all disarmed and put on a Trail of Tears as we’re herded onto the federal reservation of “Green Utopia” and forced to eat bugs, drink our own [urine], and live in 200 square feet of “Sustainability.”

- John Nolte, Breitbart News, in an article titled, “I’m Thankful Thanksgiving Offends All the Worst People”

Last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges against him in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Just two days later, a Black nationalist BLM supporter drove an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was a slaughter… As of tonight, Brooks has not publicly explained why he committed mass murder. Instead, the media and local authorities have decided to speak for him, and the main thing they want you to know is that these killings had absolutely nothing to do with the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict just two days before. Nothing whatsoever. The timing is just one of those amazing coincidences.

-Tucker Carlson, Fox News

Palestinian Shot Dead After Holy Site Killing - Headline of the Manchester Evening News after a Hamas terrorist murdered Eli Kay, HYD, and wounded four others in the Old City

Probably by the end of this winter, as is sometimes cynically said, pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, cured, or dead.

- Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn as coronavirus infections increase in the country

I regret and should not have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company.

- J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon apologizing to China’s Communist Party for saying last week that “the Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year. So is JPMorgan. And I’ll make you a bet we last longer”

So the question remains, why did Darrell Brooks commit mass murder in Waukesha? The media don’t seem interested in finding out, not even a little bit. So they’ve decided to ignore the story completely. And they are. Subpoenas to Roger Stone from some fake congressional committee are apparently more important than six deaths.

- Ibid.

As the Bay Area grapples with a wave of seemingly organized smash and grab robberies this weekend, policing and journalism analysts are cautioning against the use of the term “looting.”

- Race and social justice reporter Julian Glover on the looting in California

MORE QUOTES

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If Don, Jr. had done what Hunter Biden had done, it would be every night, all night on MSNBC. But the fact that it’s Hunter Biden and Joe’s on the blue team…that’s the problem with America, everything is so binary… So, you know, every democratic politician has to wear on his sleeve every silly, stupid woke thing that the fringe left does. And the red team has to wear kids in cages and, you know, lock her up and all that kind of stuff.

– Bill Maher, HBO

We solemnly urge the U.S. to … stop providing a platform to Taiwan independence forces. Those who play with fire get burned.

- China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responding to President Biden’s inclusion of democratic Taiwan in his forthcoming online democracy summit, with no invitation extended to Beijing

We apologize deeply for the email that was sent today. $14.92 was our average donation amount this week. It was an oversight on our part to not make the connection to a year of colonization, conquest, and genocide for Indigenous people, especially before Thanksgiving.

– Tweet by the official twitter handle of the Women’s March movement, sent out at 2:33PM on 11/23

RIP, satire. Time of death: 2:33 p.m ET, 11/23/2021. Satire succumbed peacefully after realizing it could no longer compete with reality.

– Tweet, in response

You should hire at least ten more indigenous female staffers immediately. If it’s any less than ten staffers with full benefits and a living wage, you aren’t seriously sorry, and are still harming people.

– Tweet, in response

Should have had a man do the math.

- Tweet, in response

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5

Political Crossfire

An Afghan Girl Grew Up to be Her Country’s U.S. Ambassador Now, She Watches Progress Lost

By David Ignatius

I

n this Thanksgiving week, when we think about our blessings of peace and plenty, here’s a reminder of the suffering of people who are not so fortunate. The story begins with an Afghan woman named Adela Raz. Raz was in the sixth grade when the Taliban first took control of Afghanistan in 1996. They banned girls’ education as un-Islamic and closed her school in the Macroyan neighborhood of Kabul. She had been constructing a model of a skeleton for a school biology project that term. She hid it in the closet.

But the young women of Kabul were hungry for learning, and after a few months, their parents began organizing secret classes in people’s homes.

If the Taliban became suspicious, the girls would move to another location.

Raz spent five years moving among makeshift classrooms. She would hide her schoolbooks under her burqa.

After the United States toppled the Taliban in 2001, Raz was able to return to regular classes, and she excelled.

She had learned English in those furtive years of study, and when she graduated, she found a job with the United Nations.

Raz was determined to succeed in the world that had opened to her after the overthrow of the Taliban. She won a scholarship to Simmons College in Boston, where she earned a 3.98 grade average, and then a graduate degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. “I wanted to learn everything,” she remembers.

Raz was thriving in the United States, but she felt she should be helping her country, so she returned home in 2013. She became, in succession, deputy spokesperson for President Ha-

mid Karzai, a senior aide to President Ashraf Ghani, deputy foreign minister, U.N. ambassador, and, finally, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States.

The Taliban seized power in August, soon after Raz arrived in Washington. Back in Kabul, the mullahs once again banned young girls’ education in secular schools. Under the new regime, women can’t work in many government offices; they can’t appear in television dramas; they can’t walk outside without cloaking their heads and bodies.

I spoke with Raz this week, as Thanksgiving was approaching. She’s still in charge of the embassy, technically. And she speaks her mind, as her generation of Afghan women learned to do in their years of freedom. Watching the Taliban try to erase the gains her country made over the last two decades is “surreal,” she says. The Taliban may hope she’ll quit, but she still goes to the embassy every day, talking about her country’s plight to anyone who will listen.

If you wonder whether the United

States achieved anything during those two costly decades in Afghanistan, it’s worth thinking about the transformation of Raz’s life, and those of millions of other Afghan women. It’s worth thinking, too, about what’s happening to people like them now, under Taliban rule.

Raz says that she gets several desperate messages every day from women who are still in Afghanistan. She quotes one she received the day I saw her: “Help me get out. I am suffocating.” She tries to help, where she can, but there’s little she can do.

Night has fallen on Afghanistan.

A United Nations report this week warned that the banking system is in “disarray” and near “collapsing.” With no banks, merchants can’t finance needed food imports. The United Nations’ World Food Program report predicted that more than half the population, about 23 million people, face severe shortages this winter. Ten of the country’s 11 most densely populated urban areas will experience conditions approaching famine.

Banking and commercial activi-

ties are shattered because of sanctions against the Taliban, who have refused to form an inclusive government or guarantee basic human rights, such as education for women, as the international community has demanded. But it’s the people who are being crushed by these punitive measures, not the Talibs.

The situation is “infuriating,” Dominik Stillhart, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said this week after visiting Kabul. “Economic sanctions meant to punish those in power in Kabul are instead freezing millions of people across Afghanistan out of the basics they need to survive.”

Raz is careful with policy advice.

She doesn’t want to help a Taliban religious leadership that appears to be as deeply opposed to women’s rights today as when she was a girl hiding her biology project in the closet.

But she argues that the international community must find a way to provide food and restore the basics of economic survival. She’s right. The United States must find a way to provide more humanitarian aid to the country, without giving the Taliban a cut.

Americans probably share mixed feelings about Afghanistan this Thanksgiving – happy that our troops are home after the nation’s longest and perhaps most frustrating war, angry that power has been reclaimed by a Taliban government that treats women so shamefully and worried how the population will survive a cruel winter.

The one thing we shouldn’t do now that we’ve left is to forget that nation and its pain. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

Why the CIA is So Worried about Russia and Ukraine

By David Ignatius

T

he CIA discovered something scary in October: Russia was moving troops toward the Ukrainian border – and, unlike in previous border thrusts, was making secret plans about how to use them.

The agency also worried that the potential conflict zone didn’t appear to be just the eastern sliver of Ukraine occupied by Russian-backed separatists, which Russian troops had approached the previous April, but a much broader swath of the country. Alarm bells rang at the agency, and then across the U.S. government.

Reports of the Russian buildup couldn’t have come at a worse time.

President Joe Biden was seeking improved relations with Moscow after his June summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

The Russians seemed to be reciprocating with dialogue on cybersecurity and strategic stability. And the administration had signaled support for an eventual diplomatic deal on Ukraine that would give Putin much of what he wanted.

The tension mounted through November. CIA Director William J. Burns rushed to Moscow at the beginning of the month to warn the Russians that an invasion of Ukraine would shatter the Russian economy and void any hope of rapprochement with the West.

But Putin didn’t seem to be listening.

The Russian buildup continued, accompanied by defiant rhetoric.

As the Ukrainian crisis enters December, the Biden administration is pursuing what policymakers like to call a “dual strategy.” To deter a Russian invasion, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Wednesday with NATO allies in Latvia to share U.S. intelligence and discuss joint military plans to raise the cost of any Russian invasion. At the same

time, the White House has continued high-level conversations with Moscow that could lead to a meeting between Biden and Putin, virtual or in person, before year end.

Russia isn’t backing down. It has nearly 100,000 troops close to the border, and administration officials expect that number could increase soon. As NATO plans for contingencies, Russia is boasting of its “unbreakable” military alliance with Beijing. Putin speaks of Moscow’s eternal bond with Kyiv in nearly the same way that Chinese leaders demand reunification with Taiwan. He offered a rationale for war in an emotional essay in July arguing that Ukraine and Russia were inseparable.

Putin loves to play mind games with the West. He dials confrontation up and down, sending troops to the front and then blaming America for provoking him; his agents float rumors of coup plots in Kyiv. He invites concessions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and then, when the Ukrainian enlists Israeli and French leaders to argue his case, spurns him as weak. A former CIA officer who knows Ukraine well

explains that Putin is “softening the target, increasing fatigue, distracting the government.”

Blinken is likely to warn NATO allies Wednesday that Putin may be preparing a ploy in which he falsely claims that Russian-backed forces have been attacked by Ukraine, as a pretext for taking action. Blinken said last month that Putin made such false claims when he invaded Ukraine in 2014, and that they’re part of his “playbook.”

The Russian leader wants to be taken seriously by America, but beyond that, he wants payback for Russia’s humiliation after the collapse of communism. “Putin actually has a malign attitude toward the United States,” explains William B. Taylor Jr., a former ambassador to Kyiv. “He wants to stick it to America in whatever ways he can.”

Taylor recalls the warning he gave to Zelensky after he became Ukraine’s president in 2019 and was eager to negotiate a deal with Putin: “Don’t get sucked in.”

The troop movements that began in October were an example of Putin’s wily persistence. “The way they did

the buildup was not transparent; it was concealed, done partly at night,” explains John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who’s now at the Atlantic Council. He argues that for all Putin’s boldness in staging this new, partly covert plan, “his game is bluff.”

Putin’s biggest problem may be public opinion – in both Ukraine and Russia. As much as Putin talks about the mystical unity of Kyiv and Moscow, people in both countries don’t want conflict.

An August poll by the National Democratic Institute found that 76 percent of Ukrainians wanted a “fully functioning democracy.” That goal was endorsed by 71 percent of those polled in the east; sentiment in Kharkiv, near the Russian border, matched that in the capital Kyiv. Asked to name a threat to the country, 82 percent of Ukrainians cited “Russian military aggression.”

Putin is popular in Russia, with a 67 percent approval rating in October, according to the Levada Center in Moscow. But a May survey by the group showed that the percentage of people who wanted to stay out of a war in Ukraine was identical to the number who wanted Russia to intervene.

Just 16 percent of Russians thought a Ukraine war would boost Putin’s authority, and 31 percent said it would bring dissatisfaction.

How do you stop a “master of audacity,” as a former CIA official describes Putin? One way is to talk to him, as Biden is planning to do, and offer a dignified retreat. But if that fails and Putin invades Ukraine, the United States and its allies are discussing this week how to make him pay as heavy a cost as possible. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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Middle East Musings

Terrorism Gone Viral

By David Billett

I

n November of 2015, tragedy struck the heart of France as 130 men, women, and children were ruthlessly killed in a terror attack by ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). One of the victims was Nohemi Gonzalez, an American student studying abroad, who was dining with a group of friends at a restaurant in Paris. One may wonder how such a deadly attack could occurred.

Simply put, terrorists have tragically learned to exploit the fruits of Western ingenuity in an endless pursuit of Western destruction. Terrorist groups are actively utilizing social media sites to further their bloodthirsty activities, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) limits the potential liability facing these companies. Section 230 of the CDA must be amended to not only deter terrorist activities, but to also ensure that all those who assist terrorists will be held liable.

In Gonzalez v. Google, Nohemi Gonzalez’s surviving family members sued Google for providing material support to ISIS and for providing ISIS with a tool with which they commit terrorism. They further argued that YouTube provided the terror group with a powerful mechanism to communicate with their members. Although the court recognized that Google knowingly assisted a terror

group, it ultimately decided against acting since Google is not a publisher and it held that insufficient factual allegations were made by the Plaintiff.

The CDA was passed in 1996 and was primarily intended to help ensure the growth of the internet during its infancy and to protect innovation. In essence, the CDA’s Section 230 limits

sites to spread hate-filled, violent messages and to recruit new members. Experts have also warned that certain internet platforms can help orchestrate terrorist operations, allowing terror groups to increase the effectiveness of their deadly attacks. While the internet rose to prominence in the 1990s, no one could have imagined the power-

Section 230 is acting as a shield for social media sites that have assisted known terrorists in extinguishing the lives of innocent men, women, and children around the world. social media sites’ liability for content posted by third-party users. While both Republicans and Democrats alike have attacked Section 230 in recent years, the impact of Section 230 on terrorist activities has failed to attract the attention that it deserves.

In 2015, Professor Gabriel Weimann of Haifa University found that “ninety percent of terrorist activity on the internet takes place using social networking tools.” Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and ISIS have all utilized social media

ful force that it would one day become.

Even after terror groups have proven that they are determined to exploit social media sites for their own benefit, the laws and regulations in place today fail to effectively counter this behavior. In Force v. Facebook, the plaintiffs alleged that Facebook provided material support to Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group. In Force, the plaintiffs included the families of American citizens who were the victims of terrorist attacks in the Mid-

dle East between 2014 and 2016.

Although the court recognized the plaintiffs’ argument and was sympathetic to their position, it ultimately held that the text of Section 230 prevented Facebook from facing liability.

This case was recently solidified into caselaw as the Supreme Court rejected a petition to hear the case.

Section 230 is acting as a shield for social media sites that have assisted known terrorists in extinguishing the lives of innocent men, women, and children around the world. Recognized terror groups are actively using social media sites to recruit new members, communicate with their followers, and, ultimately, to plan future terror attacks. We must amend Section 230 of the CDA to establish that if social media sites assist terror groups in any way they will be held liable.

David Billet is a student at Fordham Law School, where he is an Associate Editor of the International Law Journal. In May of 2018, David graduated from Queens College, CUNY, with a B.A. in Accounting and a minor in Economics. David additionally writes articles that focus on foreign affairs, domestic policy, and global anti-Semitism. To date, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Israel Hayom, and almost twenty other media publications.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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Forgotten Her es

Rabin’s Military Service

By Avi Heiligman

Rabin, right, at the entrance of the Old City during the Six Day War

D

epending on the laws of a country, a head of state can usually serve non-consecutive terms. In the U.S., this has happened once when President Grover Cleveland was elected the 22nd president in 1885 and four years after his first term ended was reelected in 1893 as the 24th president of the United States. In Israel, this has occurred three times, with Yitzchak Shamir, Benyamin Netanyahu, and Yitzchak Rabin all serving non-consecutive terms leading the Jewish State. Rabin’s record serving the State of Israel dates back to days of the British Mandate with a military record that is to be remembered.

Yitzhak Rabin was born in 1922 in Jerusalem a few years after the British Mandate was instituted. His parents emigrated from the Russian Empire during the Third Aliyah, and Yitzhak grew up in Tel Aviv. When he was just 14, he joined the Haganah and received military training. Before deciding on a military career, he considered the idea of becoming an irrigation engineer and excelled at the Kadouri Agricultural School. During this time, he met a young Haganah sergeant, Yigal Alon, whom he joined in weapons training with the organization. The pair became policemen for a kibbutz for a short period while the school was closed.

The Palmach was established in 1941, and many men from the Haganah were eager to join its ranks. Rabin

Rabin speaking to the commander of the southern front during the Six Day War

was one of these recruits and was accepted, even though he couldn’t fire a machine gun yet.

Under the tutelage of Moshe Dayan, Rabin became a polished soldier and took part in a few operations.

The first of these was with the British Army to take over Lebanon, which had been held by the Vichy French. It was during this operation that Dayan lost an eye. Rabin later took a senior commanders’ course, and at the end of World War II was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Battalion in the Palmach. In 1945, he planned a raid to release over 200 immigrants who were being held in the Atlit Detention Camp. He spent five months in a British prison in 1946 for his participation in the organization. In 1947, Rabin was appointed as the Palmach’s chief operations officer.

The British Mandate ended in 1948, and the State of Israel was formed after the Brits’ departure. The newly formed Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) needed many trained soldiers to fight an invasion of several neighboring Arab countries. The war actually started in November 1947 as a civil conflict, and the Haganah and other underground organizations had been preparing for war for several months.

Once the IDF was formally established, many former Palmach soldiers, including Rabin, joined their ranks.

Rabin was appointed commander of the Yerushalayim sector with just

An infamous handshake on the White House lawn

two Palmach battalions under his command. In April 1948, the 26-year-old was given command of the Harel Brigade and was active during the battles for Yerushalayim. The brigade then participated in the Operation Maccabi around Latrun to reopen roads to Yerushalayim. They succeeded in opening up part of the road and went into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

However, the overall operation failed, as the Jordanians retained control of East Jerusalem and the Old City, including the Kotel. Several battles were fought to capture Latrun, but they failed. These included Operations Danny and Horev, in which the Harel Brigade participated. For Operation Danny, Rabin was promoted to the deputy commander for the operation, which included four brigades. Altogether, 274 members of the brigade died fighting in the War of Independence.

Later in the war, Rabin was appointed as chief of operations on the southern front and took part in the battles that ended the fighting in that sector. He also participated in the ceasefire talks with Egypt. After the war, he became the most senior Palmach officer to stay with the IDF and held several commands in the years that followed. In December 1963, he was appointed as the chief of staff for the IDF under Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and held that position until 1968. Rabin used his position to buy American weapons and systems and

prepared the IDF for a large-scale war.

The Six Day War took place in June 1967 with Rabin as the chief of staff.

The war turned into a major Israeli victory and under Rabin’s leadership gained many strategic and important areas. Parts of Jerusalem, including the Kotel, were now in Jewish hands.

Retiring from the IDF in 1968, Rabin turned to politics after spending 26 years wearing the army’s uniform.

He was appointed ambassador to the U.S. and used his position to lift an embargo on F-4 Phantom fighter jets and was able to increase the aid the U.S. sent to Israel. He served twice as prime minister and received the Noble Peace Prize for his role in the Oslo Accords.

On November 4, 1995, Rabin was attending a rally in Tel Aviv when he was shot and killed by Yigal Amir.

Many questions still remain in connection to the assassination, as the official account has several inconsistencies.

Much of Rabin’s life is known to the general public, but it was his early years in the Palmach and the IDF that molded him into one of the most important prime ministers in Israeli history.

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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Chanukah Lights, Sights & Delights Here are some photos that TJH readers sent in for our Chanukah contest: What Chanukah Means to You. Judging from the entries, family, doughnuts, menorahs and lots of joy saturate our homes on Chanukah!

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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LAWRENCE 8BR, 9Bath Custom Colonial & Full Basement. Top of the line, All Amenities, A Must See P.O.R.

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

TAILOR WANTED KGH dry-cleaners is seeking a tailor for p/t or f/t work.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday preferred, other days available.

Call or text 917-435-9753

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership. Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Experience with Excel required.

Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote.

Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

ASSISTANT TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking Assistant Teachers. FT or PT, AM or PM. Flexible Hours. Work with skilled Rebbeim and Teachers in small Special Ed classes located in yeshivas in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway.

Send Resume to shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666 for information.

Torah Academy for Girls seeks a vendor to provide breakfast, snack and lunch for our students for school year 2021-2022.

To submit a proposal, contact Mrs. Obadia at nobadia@tagschools.org for bidding criteria. Respond by Friday, October 29, 2021 SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking Permanent AM and PM substitutes for 2021-22 school year.

Also, Secular and Judaic Substitute Teachers to cover Maternity leaves in the fall months.

Send resume to shira@cahal.org.

Call 516-295-3666.

Local yeshiva seeks a permanent substitute for limudei kodesh in grades 1 through 5.

Please call Rabbi Avrohom Bender at 718-868-2300 extension 490 Or email abender@darchei.org

Get the lift you need.

NEW YESHIVA IN QUEENS SEEKING SECRETARY Must be detail-oriented, have great organizational skills, able to multi-task.

Experience in school programs a plus.

Send resume to: office@yeshivatbneitorah.org or call/text: 347-351-4573

MISC Gemach Zichron Yehuda In memory of R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib ben R’ Yisroel Dov We have a library of books on the subjects of loss, aveilus, grief, & kaddish. We have sets of ArtScroll Mishnayos to assist with finishing Shisha Sidrei Mishna for Shloshim or yahrtzeit.

Locations in Brooklyn, Far Rockaway, & Lakewood.

Email: zichronyehuda@yahoo.com

Reach Your Target Market

Shabbos mode option available on all our lifts.

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The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

Money

Gobble, Gobble

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

F

our hundred years ago, a group of 50 pilgrims sat down with 100 Wampanoag guests for a three-day feast that we now celebrate as the first Thanksgiving. It was a mostly young, mostly male group that survived the colony’s harsh initial year in New England. The menu featured venison and shellfish — while Governor William Bradford reported sending four men “fowling” to stock up for the meal, there’s no evidence actual turkeys ever made it to the table. There were no potatoes or pumpkin pie, and Thanksgiving football didn’t appear on TV until 1953. (The Lions actually beat the Packers!)

Thanksgiving marks the “official” start of the winter holiday season. But the real action kicks off with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. (Although, the peculiar thing about that holiday is, there’s no Charlie Brown Black Friday special. Can you really call it a “holiday” if there isn’t a Charlie Brown special?)

Millions of bleary-eyed shoppers suit up early and brave the predawn traffic to line up outside their favorite bigbox store to compete for doorbuster specials. With any luck, they’ll avoid those occasional Black Friday riots!

You’re probably not thinking about taxes when you hit your local outlet mall to load up your carts with presents. (This year, you’re probably worried the gifts you want are stuck on one of those container ships you’ve seen anchored just off Los Angeles!)

But read on, and you’ll see why tax collectors across the country get excited about Black Friday, too.

The term “Black Friday” refers to the day when retailers see their books move from red (losses) to black (gains). The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday sales should hit $850 billion for 2021, or about 10% above last year. Holiday sales typically make up about 19% of

the total for the year. Retailers will hire between 500,000 and 665,000 seasonal workers this year, assuming they can find enough people to work!

Love it or hate it, Black Friday has become as important a part of the holiday weekend as carving the turkey and finding the wishbone.

Naturally, the bargain hunters at the IRS are delighted to see retailers making all that money. If there isn’t any income, there won’t be any taxes to pay. Uncle Sam also collects income and payroll taxes on everyone involved in moving your presents from those container ships to warehouses to retailers to their final destination in your home. Higher wages this year should mean even higher collections, too — a welcome development after nearly two years of pandemic-fueled disruptions.

State and local governments love Black Friday, too. States collect their own share of income taxes on those earnings. Sales tax revenues typically spike at the end of the year, too. That means places like Texas and Florida that don’t levy income taxes get to join the celebration, too — even if we all know it’s a big commercial racket. (“It’s run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.”)

Speaking of Black Friday, did you know the IRS offers a “Black Friday” sale on tax bills? Well, not really…but proactive planning lets many of our clients save huge amounts on their taxes! If you’re willing to wake up early and fight the crowds instead of enjoying leftover turkey, then why wouldn’t you be willing to call us to save even more?

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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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

43

Life C ach

Be a Winner!

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

C

hanukah is ONE-derful.

Chanukah is TWO few days.

Chanukah is such a THREE-ling time.

Chanukah is fun FOUR everyone.

But, Hope we can sur-FIVE all the parties.

Hope we don’t get SIX of food.

Hope we don’t misS EVEN if we have too many…

Help! I think I EIGHT too many latkes!

Gifts, wrapping, eating, lighting, joining, partying, singing, celebrating, commemorating!

Eight busy, wonderful days and nights of light and levity.

Whatever your mood, as you light up each night, you are reminded there can always be flickers of light in all situations. From the midst of darkness, with our subtle but active involvement, we bring a little more light into our lives each night.

We build up!

But who says we need to stop after night number eight?

We’ve learned some things. Let’s keep them going: Getting together feels good.

Giving to others makes them happy. Receiving is a nice feeling, too.

We can bring more and more light into darkness.

We don’t have to be a bright light all at once – we can start slow and build up.

Therefore, even though we stash the menorahs away and stop the ac-

packed up and packed away when they are done but rather to leave us with the lessons they bring with them.

So, I guess that means we have to make life a series of parties!

What does that take?

Planning, sharing, including, and influencing our moods so we get up

Our holidays are not meant to be packed up and packed away when they are done.

tive kindling, let’s keep going with the lessons we’ve learned.

For instance, that it’s important to stop each and every night and join with the people in your life. To value and connect with those within your immediate world. To enwrap them with love and warmth and gifts of appreciation. Also to reach out and share your light with others. To build up in intensity your warmth and your glow.

Our holidays are not meant to be

for the days of our lives.

When Chanukah departs, We don’t want to say I EIGHT my fill. Now I’m done.

That’S EVENtually going to deplete us.

We want to remember one of life’s baSIX. The best way to sur-FIVE is to be aware of our blessings; also living with and FOUR others in our midst.

Can be THREE most rewarding feeling.

Then, they TWO will live for us in return.

And then life’s anything but a ONE way street.

So COUNT those blessings.

ADD a dash of awareness each day.

DIVIDE your gifts among those around you.

SUBTRACT out your worries – they just darken you.

And watch your happiness MULTIPLY! Ask yourself each day: how many candles did I light on my internal Chanukiah tonight?!

And thus, you will NUMBER yourself among the memorable Maccabees, who took an active stand, fought the difficult battles, and came out glorious winners!

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail. com.

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 2, 2021

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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home

WISHING YOU A HAPPY CHANUKAH FULL OF LIGHT & JOY!

you’ll feel

LIGHT on your feet!

New modern look.

Same tradition of care.

• 85% Private Rooms • Separate Kitchens for

Putting spring into your step is what our patients can look forward to.

Currently with 0% COVID-19 recurrence rate, our five-star rated, fully Kosher facility is one of the safest destinations for Subacute Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care.

Meat & Dairy (Cholov Yisroel | VHQ) • Full time Rabbi On-Staff • Special Shabbos & Holiday Meals • Beautiful Outdoor Gardens • Shabbos Elevator

In our beautiful new Synagogue, renovated and expanded gym, recreation

• Community Eruv

center and cafe, you’ll rehab in a comfortably modern, traditionally Kosher

Unique to Margaret Tietz

setting. And our bright rehabilitation gym, cutting-edge equipment, and

• Daily & Shabbos Minyanim

focused one-on-one staff will help you recover quickly with optimal results.

Quick recoveries - from a pandemic to your rehab - is where we excel.

• Full Holiday Schedule • Shabbos Hospitality Apartment

Short-Term Care | Long-Term Care | Hospice Care

718-298-7806 • 164-11 Chapin Parkway, Jamaica Hills, NY 11432 • margarettietz.org/jewish