Five Towns Jewish Home - 1-23-20

January 23, 2020

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

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

Always Fresh. Always Gourmet.

See page 7

Around the

Community

Sheila Schwebel

Shows You the

WORLD pg

64

36 Rav Yaakov Hillel, Shlita, Comes to Town

Get to Know

NEW YORK 39

in

Hundreds Join in YKLI Moed-A-Thon

pg

45 Bikur Cholim Hosts Community Parenting Series

PASSOVER VACATION SECTION Starts on page 71

Finding the Right Career for You

69

pg

86

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

ANNIVERSARY GALA 2.9.20 | TWA Hotel | 6PM

D I N N E R @ O N E I S RA E L F U N D.O R G | O N E I S RA E L F U N D.O R G | 5 1 6 . 2 3 9.9 2 02

2

GUE STS OF HONOR

Dr. Emma Laskin-Baum & Bart Baum BONEH YISRAEL AWARD

Amichai Lourie

WINEMAKER SHILOH WINERY

DOR L’DOR AWARD IN MEMORY OF

Gloria & Morris Grob â€«ï¬ ×´×”â€¬

YEDID YE SHA AWARD

KETER SHEM TOV AWARD

Hannah Lewin, Talia Loskove Molly Sigman, Isabella Weisfeld Arielle Yarmish

ACCEPTED BY THE GROB OPPENHEIMER AND POLLACK FAMILIES

Rebeka & Gabriel Boxer

MASTER OF CEREMONIE S

‡‡TH GRADERS AT SKA HALB HS FOR GIRLS

Rita Cosby

EMMY-WINNING TV HOST BE ST SELLING AUTHOR AND DAUGHTER OF WWII POW Honorary Chairs Cherna Moskowitz | Renèe Serlin & Martin Rothman Dinner Chairs Allison & Jonathan Bellows Journal Chairs Shari & David Shapiro

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Join the Circle

7 MINUTE DRIVE TO WOODBOURNE & SKOPPS

• Town sewer and water

Fully built -Move in ready

• Solid Bnei Torah crowd

Winterized homes with colony feel Conventional mortgage available

Units starting at $210k 2,319 SQ FT including basement. Low maintenence cost $2500

• 2 floors + ground level basement with rear entrance • 12' x 20' detached front deck • 8' x 12' rear deck off kitchen

ONLY 10% DOWN REQUIRED!

1 OLYMPIC LANE, LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY To sign up or for more info contact newcolony2019@gmail.com (917) 297-7658

with patio sliding doors • 2.5 parking spots per unit

PINECREST E S T A T E S

3

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

An American initiative to protect and uphold true Torah values in Eretz Yisrael

THE KEDUSHA OF

ERETZ YISRAEL IS BEING

D E N E T THREA

Vote in the WZO* Congress Election to Protect it!

American delegates are now being elected to: Decide the leadership positions of key national Israel organizations Create policy affecting Shmiras Shabbos, Kashrus and tradition at the Kosel Set standards of marriage, divorce and conversion Decide policy and funding affecting Jewish education in Israel and across the world Decide on the direction of the $5 billion budget (over 5 years)

Our slate represents the Yeshiva, Sephardic, Chasidic, and Israeli Torah communities of the United States.

Without our votes, the influence and decisions will be placed in the hands of those who will decide policies that are very often anti-Torah.

Eretz HaKodesh is encouraged in its efforts by numerous rabbanim including HARAV YITZCHOK BERKOWITZ, HARAV ELYA BRUDNY and HARAV ASHER WEISS.

THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE FOR US TO REMAIN SILENT!

Vote NOW to Protect the Kedusha of Eretz Yisrael! *World Zionist Organization

Tuesday, January 21 — Wednesday, March 11 , 2020

Vote online TODAY and learn more at:

EretzHaKodesh.Org

BottomLineMG.com

4

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Annual

DINNER At The Seawane Country Club | 7pm

Joseph & Devora Obermeister Amud Hachesed Award Yoel and Feige Mezei Parents of the Year Award Nison & Shayna Gordon Alumnus of the Year Award

FOR RSVP & JOURNAL AD SUBMISSIONS:

rayze.it/nishmashatorahdinner

Event Sponsor:

516.939.1526 nishmashatorah.org 6 Franklin Place Woodmere, NY 11598

5

6

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

H

as it been a year already since last midwinter vacation? Time flies by when you’re having fun – or when you’re working hard.

There’s nothing like a few days of sleeping late and spending time together as a family. I remember the family trips we took together every year around this time. We would load up the car and head down to Baltimore to spend time with our cousins, where we’d inevitably spend time in Washington, D.C., and tour the museums there.

One Friday in particular, we wanted to go somewhere local and asked our little cousin what there was to do in Baltimore. “There are only two things to do in Baltimore,” the five-year-old declared. “The Baltimore Zoo and Fort McHenry.”

OK, so that was good, inside information from an informed child. We ended up at Fort McHenry. It was probably not the most exciting thing we’ve ever done, but it was a destination and a place to spend the day.

Car rides nowadays are very different from when I was growing up. Back then, we all managed to squeeze into a car (who had minivans years ago?), and everyone – regardless of age – had to listen to the same music. The person who sat in the front would push the tapes into the tape deck in the dashboard and hope that everyone liked the music – until it was over and you had to flip the tape to get to the other side. (I’m sure that everyone under a certain age has no clue what I’m referring to when I say “tape” or “flipping over” but, believe me, that was how it was done.) In any case, there was a lot of closeness and probably lots of elbowing, too.

But now, there’s a lot more space. And there are a lot more things to do. Don’t like the music

Weekly Weather |

being played? Listen to your iPod. Want more entertainment? Watch a video. Don’t want to do anything? Curl up in the back and put on your headphones.

Sheila Schwebel, tour guide extraordinaire, was interviewed for this week’s issue. One thing that she said highlighted the difference of traveling today versus years ago. Way back when, when there were no cellphones, when people went touring, they would interact with the others on the bus with them. There would be chatting and kibitzing and singing – with older groups maybe there would even be shidduchim being made.

Jewish geography was a given. But now, once everyone boards the bus, it’s almost quiet. Everyone is in their own little world, focused on their phones, sending out photos, checking for updates, talking to others who are not sitting next to them. Gone are the days of connecting with those who are spending time with us touring the sites.

Instead, we’re focused on ourselves and on our $1,000 plastic gadgets.

Perhaps Sheila is pointing out a flaw in society that we’ll never be able to fully correct. For now, though, after reading the article, I realized that it’s a good thing to keep in mind – even on a family trip. Maybe, during vacation, we can institute certain “no-phone” times to help facilitate more family closeness. During those times, we can talk about our day, plan for the next day, or play a game. We can focus on the moment and on the people around us who are there and have so much to offer in the moment.

Because isn’t that what family vacations are really about?

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman MANAGING EDITOR

ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor Berish Edelman Adina Goodman Mati Jacobovits Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classified Deadline: Monday 5:00PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003 PAYMENT VIA CREDIT CARD MUST BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH CLASSIFIED ADS

The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine.

Opinions expressed by writers are not neces­ sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

Shabbos Zemanim

January 24 – January 30

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Partly Cloudy

Rain / Wind

Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

PM Showers

46° 37°

47° 37°

44° 34°

45° 31°

43° 31°

44° 34°

45° 40°

Friday, January 24 Parshas Va’eira Candle Lighting: 4:44 pm Shabbos Ends: 5:48 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 6:16 pm

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Warm Up TO WINTER With Produce From Gourmet Glatt

From nourishing root vegetables, to spectacularly sweet citrus fruits, to crisp apples, juicy pears and so much more, Gourmet Glatt winter produce is so good you’ll be welcoming the new season with open arms.

Gourmet Glatt produce ... the bright side of winter. cedarhurst

woodmere

brooklyn

lakewood north

137 Spruce Street Cedarhurst, New York T: 516-569-2662

1030 Railroad Ave Woodmere, New York T: 516-295-6901

1274 39th Street Brooklyn, New York T: 718-437-3000

1700 Madison Avenue Lakewood, New Jersey T: 732-961-1700

Shop online at G ourmetGlattOnline.com

/ gourmetglatt

New! lakewood south 1328 River Avenue Lakewood, New Jersey T: 732-961-1750

7

8

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

8

Community Happenings

36

Bearing Witness by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic

51

NEWS Global

12

National

28

Odd-but-True Stories

34

ISRAEL

16

Israel News

26

My Israel Home

62

JEWISH THOUGHT

Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

54

The Fulfillment of Hashem’s Promises by Rav Moshe Weinberger

56

Parsha in Four by Eytan Kobre

58

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

60

Sheila Schwebel Shows You the World

64

Sgt. Benjamin Kaufman by Avi Heiligman

96

HEALTH & FITNESS Spice Up Your Life by Aliza Beer, MS RD CDN

82

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Sweet Chili Chicken

84

LIFESTYLES New York in 8 Florida Dining Guide

69

Dear Editor, The letter to the editor by Berel Elin in the 1/16/20 issue (“there are only 10 types of people – those that understand binary and those that don’t”) may have some validity, but I take exception on the following grounds (note that these are not being numbered): “Those that don’t” should be rendered instead, in this politically-correct age, as “those who are binarily-challenged.”

Additionally, consideration should be given to the possibility of “binary neutrality” [sort of like net neutrality or neutral neutrality – now there’s a real oxymoron (oops!

Now that is a REALLY politically incorrect word)].

On a much more dark and somber note: The 1/16/20 issue “Table of Contents” listed the “Center-

Correction: It has come to our attention that the names of Rebbetzin Rookie Billet and Rebbetzin Margie Glatt were inadvertently left off the list of council members of the JWLC in the article in last week’s issue, “Bringing Fun Back into Your Marriage.” We apologize for the omission.

fold” as being on page 56. The inner turmoil that must have been experienced by the “decimally-challenged” reader frantically searching for this column, only to find that it was on page 66 instead, can only be described as being indescribable.

I rest my case (whatever it is, may be or may not be).

TJH Contents Editor Wannabe, Formerly Known as TJH Contributing Editor Wannabe, Formerly Known as TJH Centerfold Commissioner Wannabe Dear Editor, I cannot agree more with your “Dear Readers” article in this week’s issue. As a grandmother with many years life experience, I look back aghast at this young generation and their audacious attitude. They seem to know better than anyone else – and have no qualms with voicing their (naïve/ignorant/silly) opinions.

Years ago, children were seen and not heard. Now, I’m not saying that children shouldn’t have opinions and voice them. What I am saying is that they need to know their place. There’s a time and place Continued on page 10

72

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 76

82

Finding the Right Career for You by Jodi Smolen 86 Your Money

Prisoner of Your Past? by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

101 102

HUMOR Centerfold 52 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

88

Iran’s Protesters Reflect Middle East’s Abiding Anger Against Injustice by David Ignatius 93 Trump & Taiwan by Marc A. Thiessen

94

Be Careful What You Wish For, Sen. Schumer by Marc A. Thiessen

95

CLASSIFIEDS

98

Do you prefer pizza with a thin crust or a thick crust?

54

%

Thin crust

46

%

Thick crust

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

WE’RE HIRING! CARE MANAGERS

to provide person-centered, comprehensive care management to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD).

REQUIRED

BENEFITS YOU’LL RECEIVE

Minimum of Associates degree required for CMA position OR Bachelors or Masters degree with relevant experience OR RN with relevant experience

Medical, dental and vision coverage FSA 401K plan Life & Disability Insurance Paid time off (includes vacation, holiday and birthday!)

HIRING FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: 5 Boroughs, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, Rockland County, Orange County, Albany County, Ulster County.

W W W.T R I C O U N T YC A R E .O R G

APPLY NOW Send resume to jobs@tricountycare.org

TCC is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by state or local law.

9

10

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 8

for everything. If adults are having a conversation, and you’re not involved, there’s no need to butt into their conversation. They are managing fine, thank you, without your input. Understand that the adults who have way more experience than you are perhaps more educated in certain areas. Understand that there’s a certain respect that’s required of you. Understand that you will have your turn when you get older.

Thank G-d, in our community, there is still an emphasis on kibbud av v’aim. Children are taught to respect their elders. Hopefully, the attitude of chutzpah that prevails in outside society will stay far away from our children.

Sincerely, R. Heller Dear Editor, I am a Trump supporter and I like what the president has been doing in terms of the economy and propping up the country around the world.

I agreed that something had to be done with Iran; after all, they were becoming more and more em-

boldened as they consistently were acting out against the West with nary a slap on the wrist. Truthfully, though, I was concerned that after the U.S. killed their top commander, Soleimani, there would be repercussions. Now, a two weeks later, I am breathing easier; I see that Iran has been chastised and sees America for what it is: a strong country that will attack if necessary.

Hopefully they will have learned their lesson.

Sincerely, Charlie Kent Dear Editor, Call me cynical, but when you call a seven-year-old (That’s Odd News, January 16, 2020) a “Pre-

School Picasso,” you’re raising a child to a level that should not be unattainable to someone who has not studied art and understood the complexities of the art world.

Save those monikers for someone older and wise and way more talented.

Chava Golding Dear Editor, I think that therapist Rachel Pill’s suggestion to incorporate “mindfulness” into your marriage is a wonderful idea. To appreciate your spouse and let them know that you’re grateful for who they are and what they do for you is a great way to strengthen your relationship.

I would suggest that you can also

connect this idea to other relationships in life. For example, which child wouldn’t appreciate being told of something to look forward to that day when they work up in the morning and which child wouldn’t benefit from looking back on their day and being grateful for one or two specific things that took place that day? It will only create more centered, grounded, and emotionally-in-touch children and parents.

It’s a great idea that only takes a few minutes but can change a person’s world.

Sincerely, L. Mintz Far Rockaway, NY

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.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

B R O O K LY N

YEA RS 20

ER

MONSEY

of S UC CE S S

O

V

LAKEWOOD

The NewSeminary

Ayearofgrowth nowopportunityfor the future!

&

STIMULATING CLASSES by prominent Rabbonim and Mechanchos

O F F I C E @ D C D E S I G N NJ . C O M

THIS !

WEEK

University Degrees that are RECOGNIZED EVERYWHERE

Expert personal GUIDANCE & HADRACHA in navigating your future

THE NEWSEMINARY. DO IT QUICK. DO IT RIGHT. please join us for an informative

PASSAIC

TUES,ouJAN s hosts u21 r gracio

you to ThankAT THE HOME OF

Dr. & Mrs. Mechy Neiman 79 Ridge Ave, Passaic, NJ 7:30 pm

OPENHOUSE

LAKEWOOD

BROOKLYN

AT THE NEW SEMINARY

AT THE NEW SEMINARY

SUN, JAN 26

139 Ocean Ave (Rte 88) Lakewood, NJ 7:30 pm

APPLY NOW FOR

WED, JAN 29 AT T H E H O M E O F

1492 East 12th Street Brooklyn, NY 7:30 pm

FALL 2020

FINANCIAL AID AND ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

PROGRAM

OF

THE New

Seminary asjv rbhnx

NEW JERSEY:

1492 EAST 12TH ST, BROOKLYN, NY 11230

139 OCEAN AVE, LAKEWOOD, NJ 08701

732.366.3500

Rabbi & Mrs. Yeshaya Levy 7 MarinerWay, Monsey, NY 7:30 pm

EXCLUSIVE

NEW YORK:

718.769.8160

MONSEY

MON, JAN 27

AN

Looking forward toyou greeting ally! person

Rebbetzin Sora F. Bulka

MENAHELES

Rabbi Yeshaya Levy MENAHEL

email: INFO@THENEWSEMINARY.ORG online: W W W.T H E N E WS E M I N A RY.O R G

11

12

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

Ooh

B B

B

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY MIRIAM

By Miriam

CALL OR TEXT MIRIAM JACOBOVITS 347–572–8973 INSTRAGRAM: OOHBABYPHOTOGRAPHY

Apply Your Yeshiva/ Seminary Credits or Your Rabbinic/ Secular Degree Toward: ~ An Accredited BACHELORS DEGREE ~ BS in Business or BS in Behavioral Science/ Human Services Additional Majors are available: contact YIEP

New programs begin in February!

• Apply up to 67 Judaic credits in transfer toward the required 127 credits of the degree • Government tuition grants and loans available • Registration is currently underway

• New programs begin February 17, 2020

Upcoming Programs Fall 2020 BS in Business BS in Behavioral Science/ Human Services BS in Cyber Security MS in Data Science Master of Healthcare Administration - MHA

MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling begins August 2020 MA in Educational LeadershipBegins October 2020 Master of Business Administration - MBA

Additional Majors are available: contact YIEP

YESHIVA INITIATIVES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Our students have been accepted into many graduate school programs, including Harvard, Columbia & NYU

Bellevue University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Earn your degree through ONLINE COURSES, accessible anywhere (in 16-32 months, depending on the degree)

TheYIEP@gmail.com | 917-209-8204 | www.theYIEP.com

Finland is Most Happy

Want to know where people are the happiest? Turns out that Finland is the place to be if you want to keep a smile plastered on your face. The Nordic country ranked number one out of a list of 156 countries in 2019’s World Happiness Report.

Finland and its runners-up, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, all received top scores for caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income, and good government.

Israel ranked 13th on the list, while the U.S. ranked 19th.

The report, produced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in partnership with the Ernesto Illy Foundation, claimed that “the links between the government and happiness operate in both directions: What governments do affects happiness and, in turn, the happiness of citizens in most countries determines what kind of governments they support.”

It also theorized that “happier people are not only more likely to engage in politics and vote, but are also more likely to vote for incumbent parties.”

Finnish people ranked their general life satisfaction at 7.6 out of 10, above the OECD average of 6.5 out of 10. In general, Finland’s population is educated, employed, and has a life expectancy that is two years longer than the OECD average. Though average annual income per household is lower than OECD average, the inequality gap is also lower than in other EU countries.

Interestingly, despite being the world’s “happiest” country, the nation also has high suicide rates.

Market Watch has been investi-

gating why Finland, of all countries, has such high suicide rates. The site found a 2011 study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization which speculated that closing the inequality gap may lead to more comparisons and despair.

In a different study by published this week, author and Dartmouth College economist David Blanchflower said there is “growing evidence from around the world that prime-age adults are struggling, and especially so if they have low levels of education.

“This is particularly apparent in the United States that has seen a rapid rise in deaths of despair, principally down to drug poisonings and suicide,” he added.

Blanchflower’s data showed that people in 41 countries were at their lowest points around age 50 and theorized that those in midlife “quell their infeasible aspirations” and compare their lives with those of others.

A New Fast-Moving Coronavirus

China’s mystery new coronavirus has so far infected at least 291 people and killed six, with the World Health Organization set to meet to determine whether the outbreak should be categorized as an international health emergency.

While the vast bulk of cases have been confined to China, cases in this fast-moving outbreak have now been found in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.

Experts the world over are on high alert after authorities confirmed that the virus could jump from human to human.

According to the WHO, the new coronavirus causes a fever, fatigue, sore throat and dry cough in the early stages of the disease. As the illness progresses, patients may experience difficulty breathing. But these symptoms – similar to many other

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Skylines

I I E E ZAA T T OO OS S! M M SS BBBO I TH SHAAB SH

SINAI ACADEMY CHINESE AUCTION

Valet Parkin g

MOTZAEI SHABBOS • FEBRUARY 1, 2020 • 7:45 PM ATERES CHYNKA • 129 ELMWOOD AVENUE • BROOKLYN, NY Hot Sumptuous Melave Malka • Valet Parking • $100,000 Cash Raffle • Loads Of Amazing Prizes

Special Guest : EITAN KATZ

Renowned Mentalist : DAVID BLATT ACCOMPANIED BY SLIGHT OF HAND EXTRAORDINAIRE

MOSHE ROTBERG

ADMISSION: $25 PER PERSON (INCLUDES $25 IN TICKETS).

7 1 8 - 2 5 6 -74 0 0 EXT. 2 1 0 O R 7 1 8 - 2 3 2 - 8 4 81 A FT E R 7 P M FAX: 7 1 8 - 2 5 6 -7 7 8 6

www.sinaiauction.org

13

14

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Receive a COMPLIMENTARY hearing evaluation with your visit.

CALL TODAY! 516-295-1300

Dr. Shalom Motechin 513 Chestnut St. · Cedarhurst, NY 11516 | 516-295-1300 921 49th St. · Brooklyn, NY 11219 | 718-283-8456 hearingsolutionsli.com The following insurances are accepted as full or partial payment, depending on the plan: Oxford, United Health Care, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Healthfirst, Empire Plan, United Federation of Teachers.

respiratory diseases – are what make it so difficult to control.

The virus was initially described

by Chinese authorities as a new strain of pneumonia, but was later confirmed to be a new coronavirus.

Like other coronaviruses – such as the common cold – the virus is spread via droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. It can also be spread when someone touches a contaminated surface such as a door handle.

The outbreak is thought to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan which also traded in other animals such as marmots and bats. But what animal the disease originally came from is still unknown, as is how easily the disease spreads between people. WHO and the Chinese authorities initially said there was “limited” human-to-human transmission but the pace of the outbreak would suggest that it spreads more easily than first thought.

There are no specific treatments for coronaviruses – just as there is no treatment for the common cold. Anyone with a severe form of the disease receives antiviral medicine and support for symptoms.

Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of emerging infectious diseases at the WHO, said: “Coronaviruses typically cause respiratory symptoms so we recommend basic hand hygiene such as washing hands in soap and water and respiratory hygiene so when you sneeze, sneeze into your elbow.”

As the source of the virus is an animal, still unknown, she cautioned against any unnecessary contact with live animals. She urged anyone having contact with animals to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water. Meat should also be cooked thoroughly.

Tighter screening measures have been introduced at airports across the continent, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, and at three major transit hubs in the United States.

It’s important to keep in mind that screenings cannot pick up everyone as the incubation period for contracting the virus and the onset of symptoms is between six to 10 days.

Iran Admits Downing Iran has confirmed that two of their missiles were fired at a Ukrainian airliner that was brought down this month, killing all 176 peo-

ple on board and sparking angry protests.

The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines plane was accidentally shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8.

Iran has come under mounting international pressure to carry out a full and transparent investigation into the air disaster.

“Investigators...discovered that two Tor-M1 missiles...were fired at the aircraft,” Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said in a preliminary report posted on its website on Monday.

The statement confirms a report in The New York Times which included video footage appearing to show two projectiles being fired at the airliner.

The Tor-M1 is a short-range surface-to-air missile developed by the former Soviet Union that is designed to target aircraft or cruise missiles.

Iran had been denying Western claims based on U.S. intelligence reports that the Boeing 737 operating Flight PS752 had been shot down by Tehran.

It came clean on January 11, with the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh accepting full responsibility. He said the missile operator who opened fire had been acting independently.

The deadly blunder triggered days of student-led protests mainly in the Iranian capital.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the demonstrations were unrepresentative of the Iranian people and accused the country’s enemies of exploiting the air disaster for propaganda purposes.

The Civil Aviation Organization said it had asked its French and U.S. counterparts, the BEA and NTSB respectively, to provide a list of the equipment required to read the black boxes from the downed airliner. For now, the Civil Aviation Organization said it is “impossible” for it to read the flight data and cockpit voice recorders because they are so advanced.

15

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

y o u a r e c o r d i a l ly i n v i T e d T o j o i n u s aT o u r

b u ild i n g

d ed i c aT i o n

TribuTe d i n n er

edi d g ca in d

T u e s d ay , F e b r u a r y 1 8 , 2 0 2 0

‫כ"ג שבט תש"פ‬ T h e s a n d s aT l a n T i c b e a c h 1 3 9 5 b e e c h s T , aT l a n T i c b e a c h , n y 1 1 5 0 9

on

b ui

Ti

l

and

recepTion 6:45 dinner 7:30

b u i l d i n g

d e d i c a t i o n

ibuTe

i

n

Tr

ne

d an

r

‫לזכר ולעילוי נשמת אשה החשובה‬

d

‫שרה הינדא מרים סיטניק‬ ‫בת ר’ ישראל ע”ה‬ d i n n e r

i n

Tr i b u t e

 t o

r abbi avrohom FruchThandler ale x edelman e van Genack nachman Goodman shloime Z alman GuTFreund moish hirTh moish leben



henry shachar

d i n n e r

c h a i r m a n

yoni kuTner & shalom sTein

Rabbi & Mrs. dovid Plotkin

Alumni Committee | chaim becker, c o - c dovY h a ibrazil, r m e n avromi gutFreund, avraham Jacobs, meir kaplan, chaim kurland, duvid mashinskY, muttY rosen, abba stein Couvert $600 per couple p a revan e n t genack, s o F t hnosson e Y e a gold, r exeCutive BoArD | rabbi avrohom Fruchthandler, norman braun, alex edelman, nachman goodman, shloime zalman gutFreund, moshe hirth, reuven Jacobs, hershY kappel, moshe leben, henrY schachar, mordY sohn Dinner Committee | elan Forman, naFtali t. halpern, moshe hammer, Yitzchok Jungreis, eli kutner, dovid nussbaum, YoseF nussbaum, Yehoshua riegel, r’ YoseF richtman, donnY Weinraub

siachyitzchok.org/dinner

For dinner reser vations or to pl ace an ad please contact: e

dinner@siachyitzchok.org

P

718-327-6247 f 718-471-0925

16

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

‫בס“ד‬

Are you searching for your marriage partner?

Are you suffering from a illness? are you struggling financially ?

For over 50 years, his father, Rabbi Moshe Ben-tov Z"L, has helped tens of thousands of people with his advice, Brachot, & Segulot in matters of parnassa, health, chinuch and shidduchim and has been endorsed by Gedolei Hador R' Ovadia Yosef, R' Vozner, the Belzer Rebbe, R' Amar, and the Baba Sali!

Rabbi Shimon Ben-tov Shlita from Jerusalem, esteemed Mekubal & Mezuzah see-er, renowned for his Yeshuot

will be coming to New York!

From January 26th until the 30th ‫ד’ שבט‬- ‫פרשת בא כ”ט טבת‬ Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to meet with Rav Shimon Ben-tov!

Contact us today to schedule an appointment call 917-473-2225 917-907-4537 dorvador.org.il DorVadorUSA@gmail.com

Cambodian Princess Celebrates Bat Mitzvah Elior Koroghli’s recent birthday was a Jewish milestone in Cambodia. For the first time ever, the royal family celebrated a bat mitzvah, with members of the country’s lead-

ership snacking on kosher food and listening to a Torah sermon.

The happy event took place last month in the Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh. Catered by the local Chabad, the bat mitzvah saw the king don a kippa while Elior lit the Chanukah menorah. Later, she performed the traditional Persian bat mitzvah candle lighting ritual and played classic Jewish songs on the piano.

The reason? Koroghli is an Or-

thodox Jew. Born to the granddaughter of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, her mother converted to Judaism and later married a Persian Jew. Currently living in Las Vegas, Koroghli’s mother wanted Elior to celebrate her bat mitzvah in Cambodia to make her aware of her royal heritage.

“It was just incredible how you can bring Cambodian, Jewish and Persian all into one, where we go to Cambodia and I’m wearing their

costume but I’m also lighting a menorah there, and I’m wearing ‘tznius’ clothing,” Elior said in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Elior’s mother, Sathsowi, was born in the U.S. She later met her husband Ray Koroghli at a birthday party and then started dating seriously. Their journey to Judaism began after attending a Torah lecture at a Las Vegas Chabad.

Despite growing up without any Jewish friends, the teachings about G-d and Torah immediately struck a chord.

“I was taught about Buddha. And I’m thankful for all that I was taught because it made me who I am. It gives me patience, it makes me who I am at [my] core,” Sathsowi said.

“But on the other hand, I just believe that Something created all this. So when the rabbi spoke about that, it was just like, whoa, this is how I’m feeling. So that’s why I wanted to know more.”

Sathsowsi continued to inquire about Judaism, eventually converting to Judaism before marrying her husband in Israel. They currently live in a Las Vegas suburb and practice an Orthodox lifestyle.

“It just kind of happened naturally,” she said. “It took a long time – many years.”

Putin in Power Forever?

Russia’s government resigned en masse last Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin proposed changing the country’s constitution.

Speaking at the Duma parlia-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

17

SUNDAY MARCH 22 7:00 PM LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL

L A H CA

th ANNUAL

T R E C N O C AVRAHAM

SPONSOR MEET THE STARS BACKSTAGE DINNER

516-295-3666 CONCERT@CAHAL.ORG

FRIED SHULEM LEMMER MOSHE TISCHLER

18

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy was arrested and jailed for five days last week for climbing to the top of Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza

ment in Moscow, Putin floated amending the constitution in order to transfer power from the president to the prime minister and parliament.

“I propose…entrusting the State Duma with the power to approve the candidacy of the prime minister, and then, per the prime minister’s proposal, [appoint] all deputy prime ministers and federal ministers,” Putin said. “In this case, the president will be obliged to appoint them, that is, he will not have the right to reject parliament-approved candidacies.”

The Russian president called the steps “important amendments for Russia’s further development as a welfare state with a rule of law.”

Contending that Putin’s soughtfor changes to the constitution infringed on the separation of powers, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev announced that the entire government would be resigning in protest.

In a statement, Medvedev said that Putin “outlined a number of fundamental changes to the constitution, significant changes not only to a number of articles of the constitution, but also to the balance of power as a whole.”

“In this context, it’s obvious that we, as the government…should provide the president of our country with the opportunity to make all the decisions necessary for this. And in these conditions, I believe that it would be right, in accordance with Section 117 of the constitution,” for the government to resign, Medvedev

continued.

Medvedev will likely be replaced

by Federal Taxation Service head Mikhail Mishustin.

The power change was seen as a way for Putin to remain as Russia’s leader after his term runs out in 2024. Putin, who first took power in 2000, is legally prohibited from seeking the presidency again, leading to speculation that he want to change Russia’s governmental makeup in order to stay on as leader.

While Russian law limits a president to two terms, it says nothing about a prime minister. Transferring much of the president’s authority to the prime minister would enable Putin to run for the position and potentially stay on indefinitely.

Putin had already pulled a similar move in 2011 after he replaced Medvedev as prime minister while the latter became Russia’s president. Known in Russia as the “castle” after the chess move, the switch allowed Putin to remain as Russia’s de-facto leader while Medvedev passed legislation permitting him to run again.

Iran Warns of Repercussions Ali Larijani, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, warned on Sunday of “repercussions” if the European nations launching a dispute regarding the nuclear deal act “unfairly” towards

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

10th ANNUAL

FOR

BOWL THEM

CATERED BY:

-Sa h-EE Ah

CE

$75

NTRAL

Registration Including 2 Games, Dinner, Shoe Rental, Swag Bag and Premium Giveaway

Tuesday, February 04, 2020

STRIKE A BETTER FUTURE

FOR OUR YOUTH

Woodmere Bowling Lanes, 948 Broadway 8:00 PM - Registration (at Madraigos) 9:00 PM - Bowling Begins

For sponsorship opportunities: sgross@madraigos.org or call 516.371.3250 x103

Register at

BowlForThem.org Event Committee:

Chassia & Judd Boczko • Mendy & Leah Elefant • Nosson & Miri Ginsbury • Simcha & Mala Goldberg • Moshe & Rochi Klein Ami & Sara Melohn • David & Aurora Mosberg • Yanki & Machy Muller • Dov & Allyson Perkal • Avi & Tova Singer • Dovi & Yonina Wisnicki PREMIER SPONSORS:

Premium Giveaway Sponsor

A

ABSTRACT INC. D DEPENDABLE

3838 Flatlands Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11234 Tel: (718) 337-8000 • Fax: (347) 673-6173 www.dependableabstract.com

(516) 612-0677

718.644.1594 • www.moshealpert.nm

19

20

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Iran.

These repercussions, Larijani said, would affect the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog charged with supervising the implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying: “What the three European countries did regarding Iran’s nuclear issue...is unfortunate.

“We clearly announce that if Europe, for any reason, uses Article 37 of the nuclear agreement unfairly, then Iran will make a serious decision regarding cooperation with the agency [the IAEA].”

He added: “The issue is not Iran’s behavior. It is America’s threats that have pushed a powerful European country to a humiliating and unjust” position.

Last week, Britain, France, and Germany launched a process to charge Iran with failing to observe the terms of the nuclear deal. Iran, meanwhile, has accused the European partners of failing to respond to sanctions imposed on Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump, who backed out of the deal in May 2018.

Tehran has continued to gradually roll back its nuclear commitments under the pact in reaction to sanctions re-imposed by Washington.

Last week, it said it would abandon limits on enriching uranium, though it would continue to cooperate with the IAEA. A group of Iranian lawmakers signed a statement on Sunday warning the European powers to “stop their hostile approach” toward Tehran. “Otherwise we, as representatives of the Iranian nation, will decide whether Iran should remain in the nuclear deal or whether it should continue its cooperation with the IAEA,” the lawmakers warned.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – not parliament – has the last say on state matters such as Tehran’s nuclear standoff with the West.

From rustic to modern or traditional and refined, we can custom build your new American made furniture to fit your style. We offer hard maple, authentic American reclaimed barn wood oak, walnut, pine and birch options. Visit our showroom to design your new custom solid wood furniture. @therusticloftli

@therusticloftli

Climate Change Refugees?

According to the UN’s Human Rights Committee, refugees fleeing the effects of the climate crisis cannot be forced to return home by their adoptive countries. The United Nations panel’s decision could open the door to a flood of legal claims by displaced people around the world.

The committee was making a judgment on the case of Ioane Teitiota, who applied for protection from New Zealand after claiming his life was at risk in his home country of Kiribati. The Pacific island is at risk of becoming the first country to disappear under rising sea levels.

The committee ruled against Teitiota on the basis that his life was

not at imminent risk – but it also outlined that countries could violate people’s international rights if they force them back to countries where climate change poses an immediate threat.

“Without robust national and international efforts, the effects of climate change in receiving states may expose individuals to a violation of their rights,” its ruling said.

For now, it’s unlikely the ruling will have an immediate impact on citizens of other countries, given that even Kiribati’s situation did not meet the threshold for Teitiota’s claim to succeed. But the decision could have a significant impact on future claims, as the number of people forced from their homes from changing climates grows.

Droughts, crop failure, and rising seas are expected to force tens of millions to move to other areas in the coming years. A 2018 study by the World Bank found that 143 million people across South Asia, subSaharan Africa, and Latin America are at risk of becoming climate migrants.

In its ruling, the committee cited articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which ensure an individual’s

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

inherent right to life.

“Given that the risk of an entire country becoming submerged under water is such an extreme risk, the conditions of life in such a country may become incompatible with the right to life with dignity before the risk is realized,” it added.

Norway’s Govt Sways THE MASTER

EXQUISITE

Silver

Candle Sticks

Crafters - SINCE 1952 -

17" Starting at

$990

BOLERO

Candlestick 12"

$1350 FREE LUXURIOUS

r$ 90

TRAY

e

ve

h ve

0

SILVER DIPPED

wit

Last year, China’s economy saw its slowest growth rate in nearly three decades.

Though Chinese officials say their country’s economy will remain stable throughout 2020, analysts have casted doubt on the claim.

In 2018, China’s GDP saw a 6.6% growth rate, but that dropped to 6.1% in 2019; its growth rate during the last quarter of the year was just 6%.

The slowdown is caused by rising global debt, as well as a fall in domestic demand and China’s ongoing trade war with the U.S. – a war which seems to have toned down a bit now that the two countries have signed an agreement for the first stage of a trade deal.

In this first stage, China will invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the purchase of products from the U.S. China’s national statistic chief Ning Jizhe said the trade deal will help China and the U.S. deepen their economic relationship. Vice Premier Liu He, who signed the trade deal, told reporters that he is optimistic about the agreement.

The deal will boost business confidence throughout the year, but it’s doubtful the trade war is indeed over, since the U.S.’s new tariffs on Chinese goods remain in effect and China will be hard-pressed to reach its import targets for U.S. products.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Market Strategist Chaoping Zhu recently told CNN, “The signing of the phase-one trade deal is a signal that the situation is unlikely to deteriorate.”

There are lines not meant to be crossed when accepting immigrants into a country. That’s what was apparent this week after Norway’s ruling coalition was disbanded after the populist Progress Party (FRP) left the government, partly due to the repatriation of a mother with suspected ISIS links from Syria.

FRP leader Siv Jensen met with Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Monday before telling a press conference she would take her party out of the coalition.

“I’m doing it because it’s the only right thing to do,” Jensen said, adding that she couldn’t get enough of her party’s policies implemented.

Jensen then cited the repatriation of the woman and her two children, who landed in Norway on Thursday night, according to a government statement.

“Then came the case with a suspected (ISIS) terrorist woman, the other three parties gave in, to bring home (the) mother and child,” said Jensen.

“We could welcome the children, but we do not compromise with people who have voluntarily joined terrorist organizations and who are working to tear down all the values Norway is built on,” she explained.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide said she was “pleased” to bring a difficult case to a close.

“The decision to provide assistance to enable the family’s return to Norway was taken on humanitarian grounds because of fears that one of the children is seriously ill,” she said in a statement.

The mother was arrested on arrival in Norway, while the children are receiving health care and will be monitored by child welfare services, the government added.

“These children need a calm environment and must be shielded from public attention,” Søreide insisted. “I hope that this will be respected.”

Solberg, who leads the Conservative Party, has been Norway’s prime minister since 2013. She was

ry

candlestick

o

limited amount

*

teal blue media

China’s Economy: Slowest Growth in 29 years

Boro Park

Williamsburg

Flatbush

4424 13th Ave, (718) 480-0270

67 Lee Avenue (718) 387-0445

1412 Avenue M (718) 480-0270

By Eastern

Lakewood

Monroe

167 E. Kennedy Blvd.

(718) 480-0270

7 Van Buren Dr. (845) 783-0675

By Regal

www.Hazorf im.com

Sale dates: January 15 - February 4

21

22

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Jail for Head of Interpol

re-elected in September 2017.

“Our dilemma became the following: bringing home the child with (his) mother, or risking that a Norwegian, a sick 5-year-old could die,” Solberg said. “Faced with these choices, we chose to work to bring the boy home, confident that his mother would be arrested and prosecuted when she came to Norway.

Something that is now also happening,” she said. “I respect that FRP has a different view. This was a diffi-

cult trade-off. But for me it was right to help the boy come home to Norway and get help,” added Solberg.

Despite uncertainty around the future of Norway’s government, Jensen said she is “committed to resolving this in an orderly manner and will have a close dialogue with the prime minister in the future.”

Solberg said her government will continue until 2021 as a minority propped up by the Liberal and Christian Democratic parties, as part of a

confidence and supply deal agreed in January last year.

Many nations have been grappling with the issue of what to do with so-called ISIS brides – women who traveled to the Middle East to join the Islamic caliphate.

European countries have been reluctant to accept ISIS members, and only a handful of countries, such as Russia, Indonesia, Lebanon and Sudan, have allowed ISIS followers to return.

China has sentenced the former president of Interpol, Meng Hongwei, to 13 years and six months in prison on charges of accepting more than $2 million in bribes.

Meng was elected president of the international police organization in 2016, but his four-year term was cut short when he vanished after traveling to China from France in late 2018.

Interpol was not aware of Meng’s whereabouts and was forced to make a formal request to China for information about his location amid suspicion he had fallen out of political favor with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Meng’s wife, who remains in France with their two children, has accused Chinese authorities of lying and questioned whether her husband was still alive.

Grace Meng is now suing Interpol, accusing it of failing to protect her husband from arrest in China and failing to look after his family.

Meng’s lawyers last year filed a legal complaint in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press, she said Interpol “breached its obligations owed to my family” and “is complicit in the internationally wrongful acts of its member country, China.”

A statement this week from the No. 1 Intermediary Court in the northern city of Tianjin said Meng accepted the verdict and would not appeal. In addition to his prison sentence, he was fined 2 million yuan ($290,000).

The statement added that Meng, 66, admitted he abused his position to accept 14.4 million yuan ($2.1 million) in bribes while serving in various offices, including as a vice minister of public security and maritime police chief, often in exchange for favors and using his influence with other officials.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

23

24

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Meng has already been fired from his positions and expelled from the Communist Party. The relatively light sentence was likely a result of what the court called his cooperative attitude and willingness to admit to and show remorse for his crimes.

While serving at Interpol, Meng retained his title as China’s vice minister of public security. It wasn’t clear when or how he had crossed Xi, who has leveraged a wide-ranging campaign against corruption at all levels to eliminate or intimidate political rivals.

As a long-serving vice minister of public security, Meng served for a time under Zhou Yongkang, the former security chief who was sentenced to life in prison, becoming the most powerful figure to fall in Xi’s anti-graft campaign.

Hezbollah Terrorist Group On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised three South American countries for recently declaring Lebanon’s Hezbol-

lah a terror group, while criticizing Venezuela for continuing to support the organization.

“We applaud the announcements of Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala to designate Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organization,” Pompeo tweeted. “It and other transnational terrorist groups remain active in the region. The U.S. continues to rally international support to counter these threats.”

Attending an international conference to discuss regional cooperation against terrorism, held in Colombia, Pompeo slammed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for embracing the Shiite terror group.

Hezbollah “has found a home in Venezuela under Maduro. This is unacceptable,” Pompeo said as he met with Venezuelan opposition lead-

er Juan Guaido for strategy talks.

Guaido is recognized by the U.S. and nearly 60 other nations as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Earlier on Monday, Colombia and Honduras officially declared Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

“We declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization and will include it in the registry of persons and institutions linked to acts of terrorism and its financing,” Honduran Deputy Security Minister Luis Suazo said, according to the Reuters news agency.

On Sunday, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said his government would blacklist the terror group, via a series of policy pronouncements.

He also shared a video on Twitter of him speaking to the Israeli-American Council last month about the bombings of Jewish and Israeli buildings in Argentina in 1992 and 1994, thought to have been carried out by Hezbollah and Iran.

President Hernandez noted that Guatemala’s president had agreed to designate Hezbollah as a terror group, as well.

Last year, Argentina and Paraguay blacklisted Hezbollah, leading Hernandez to announce in November that his country would follow suit.

Hezbollah is listed as a terror organization by the U.S., UK, Canada, and the Arab League. The European Union currently deems only the group’s military wing as such.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 under the guidance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to combat Israel. It has since served as the Islamic Republic’s arm at Israel’s doorstep. It has risen from a small-armed group located mainly in south Lebanon to a formidable force with a major presence in and influence on Lebanese politics. The group possesses tens of thousands of trained fighters, as well as an array of sophisticated armaments.

Its intervention in Syria on behalf of President Bashar Assad also expanded its influence and reach in the region. It has been blamed for multiple terror attacks and terror plots targeting Israelis around the world.

Under UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon committed to disarming the Iran-backed terror group but has failed to do so.

China to Ban Plastics

The Chinese government has announced a new plan to crack down on plastic pollution across the country by 2025, including a ban on single-use plastic straws and bags.

In a statement on Sunday, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said both the production and use of a large number of single-use plastics would be slowly phased out across the country by the middle of the decade.

The new policy included a detailed timeline outlining which plastics will be banned by a certain time in areas across the country. Major cities can expect to see changes sooner, while smaller towns or rural areas will be given more time to adjust. By the end of 2020, for example, the catering industry will be banned from using single-use plastic cutlery in major cities, while non-degradable plastic straws will be unavailable nationwide.

Thin, single-use plastic bags will be banned in most stores in large cities by the end of 2020. Smaller cities and villages have until 2022 or even 2025 to begin phasing them out.

China produces more than 29% of the world’s plastic products, making it the largest manufacturer of plastic in the world, according to a 2019 joint study by Columbia University and Zhejiang University. The country is also home to some of the world’s highest plastic consumption.

According to the World Economic Forum, China’s Yangtze river carries more plastic pollution into the ocean than any other waterway in the world.

In 2018, China announced it would no longer accept other countries’ plastic waste for recycling, citing environmental concerns.

In Sunday’s announcement, the commission said cracking down on plastic pollution was important for people’s health and “to build a beautiful China.”

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

25

26

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Helmut Kleinicke: “Righteous Among the Nations”

More than 40 years after he passed away, Helmut Kleinicke has been awarded the title of “Righteous Among the Nations” for his role in saving hundreds of Jews from the Nazi killing machine.

The title of “Righteous Among the Nations” is defined by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum as a non-Jew who risked his life, freedom, and security to save one or more Jews and without asking for monetary compensation. Few Germans have received the honor, with Kleinicke being only the 628th.

In a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, Ambassador Jeremy Issachorof presented Kleinicke’s daughter, Juta Scheffzek, with a plaque thanking her father for his actions. Visibly moved, Scheffzek told the assembled that she had only been made aware that her father saved Jews after visiting Yad Vashem three years ago.

“It verified what my father said to me in very few words – and I never knew if he had been telling the truth,” Scheffzek said.

Kleinicke is one of the lesser known righteous gentiles whose heroism remained under wraps until an Israeli TV report broadcast a report about him in 2016. A German engineer who joined the Nazi party in 1933, Kleinicke was tasked with building the Chrzanów forced labor camp about 20 kilometers from the Auschwitz death camp.

Horrified at the condition of the Jewish prisoners, he used his position to get as many Jewish inmates from Auschwitz as he could, ostensibly to build Chrzanów. Then, he fed them, treated their wounds, enabled them to escape, and even warned Jews of future German raids.

“He hid them, drove people to the border with Slovakia himself, sometimes by car, sometimes by truck,” Scheffzek said.

Kleinicke is said to have saved hundreds of Jews from certain death until the Nazis caught on. He was sent to military training as punishment.

“Those of us who worked for Kleinicke were like VIPs,” one survivor recalled. “We had a certificate that we worked for him and that was our insurance policy.”

There are still ten people alive in Israel who were helped by Kleinicke.

Nobody knows exactly how many were saved by Kleinicke.

“My father didn’t keep a list,” Scheffzek said. “When those saved after the war searched for him with ads, he didn’t answer.”

Tel Aviv: 20th Most Expensive City

A report published this week found Tel Aviv to be the world’s 20th most expensive city in which to reside, as well as the priciest in all of the Middle East. Just last year, the White City found itself in 27 th place.

Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database, compared the cost of living across 440 cities for their 2020 report. Other Israeli cities featured included Haifa at #31 and Jerusalem at #34. Overall, Israel ranks on the site as the 8th most expensive country in the world.

According to the report, the five most expensive cities in the world are all within Switzerland, headed by Basel. As for the United States, New York was ranked #11, San Francisco at #12, and Washington, D.C., at #17.

The site was established as the

first free database to compare cost of living and bills itself as the world’s “largest database of user-contributed data about living conditions in cities.” It utilizes user input as well as publicly available information to analyze cost of living estimates as relating to costs of rent, groceries, and ability to buy goods and services based on average wages.

destroyed in December 2018 by the IDF. Though it is possible that the terror group has since dug more tunnels, military officials do not believe that to be the case.

Israel Ranked #29 for “Overall Best Country”

TunnelDetecting Sensors in the North

One year after the IDF located and destroyed six Hezbollah terror tunnels penetrating Israel from Lebanon, the IDF has begun installing sensors to detect tunnel-digging activities along the Israel-Lebanon border.

The installation began on Sunday with soldiers digging the necessary holes to install the system, which only recently was declared fully operational. The first of the sensors, which use both seismic and acoustic data, will be installed near the northern Galilee town of Misgav Am over a period of several weeks.

Additional sensors will be placed in other border locations in the future, with positions being decided based on intelligence information and available funding.

IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus emphasized that “the installation of this system is a preventative infrastructure step; it is not based on new intelligence.”

He also said that placing all of the sensors may take several months.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman noted, “This is an action that will be seen and heard both in our territory and on the Lebanese side — we want to prevent a miscalculation.”

The United Nations Interim Task Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that the IDF had informed them of the operation to install sensors.

To date, Hezbollah has dug six tunnels into Israel, all of which were

For the second year in a row, Israel came in at #29 for U.S. News & World Report’s “Overall Best Countries Ranking.”

The ranking, released earlier this month, examines “a nation’s worth beyond hard metrics: The 2020 Best Countries report and rankings are based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics, impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment, and directly affect national economies.”

Seventy-three countries were included in the ranking, which are measured across 65 attributes, including heritage, quality of life, power, citizenship, and cultural influence. The Jewish State ranked highly in the “power” category thanks to its political influence, as well as strong military and international alliances. It also received high marks in the “movers” category for being “different, distinctive, dynamic and unique.”

The magazine described Israel as “very highly developed in terms of life expectancy, education, per capita income, and other human development index indicators. But the country also has one of the most unequal economies in the Western world, with significant gaps between the rich and poor.”

Israel was sandwiched between Brazil at #28 and Qatar at #30. The top three countries, respectively, were Switzerland, Canada, and Japan.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

CR A ZY SUIT DEAL! PRESENT THIS

COUPON AND

SAVE

UP TO

$100! offer expires 1/31/20

$100 OFF ANY MEN’S SUIT! $50 OFF ANY BOYS’ SUIT!

BIANCO WRINKLE FREE SHIRTS REGULAR PRICE OF $25 SALE PRICE OF $20

BALTIMORE • BROOKLYN • CEDARHURST • CHICAGO LAKEWOOD • LOS ANGELES • MONSEY • TORONTO

456 Central Ave, Cedarhurst NY 11516 | 516.791.1925

Sunday 11-6 | Mon – Thurs 11-7 Friday 10:30-1:30

Sale ends 1/31/20. Must mention this ad. Not valid with any other offer, special or discount. We are not responsible for typos. All prices are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply.

27

28

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Cuban Refugee Conundrum

Former President Barack Obama’s attempt at strengthening U.S.-Cuba relations is now causing tens of thousands of Cuban refugees to face imminent deportation.

In the final week of his presidency, Obama ended the controversial “wet feet, dry feet” policy in a bid to boost ties with Havana. The measure had granted Cuban asylum seekers who managed to reach the U.S. main-

land an expedited immigration process, including protecting them from deportation along with the possibility of obtaining a green card in under a year.

The policy had enraged Cuba’s communist regime, who viewed it as a measure deliberately designed to encourage its citizens to leave. After reestablishing relations with the island nation in 2014, Obama agreed to scrap “wet feet, dry feet” in the waning days of his presidency.

Suddenly treated like any other illegal immigrant, the end of “wet feet, dry feet” caused a steep dive in the number of Cubans fleeing to the U.S. While 41,523 Cubans reached the United States in 2016, the figure fell to only 7,079 by 2018.

However, the flood of immigrants from Venezuela and sanctions from the Trump administration soon caused the amount of Cuban asylum seekers to increase. Over 21,000 Cubans arrived in 2019, with many unaware that they were no longer shielded from deportation. Finding out only after arriving that the days of special treatment are over, over 20,000 Cubans now face imminent deportation back to their homeland.

According to official data, deportation files were opened against

25,044 Cubans over the past year.

Now forced to remain in Mexico until they can appear before a judge, the majority do not qualify as being “physically present” in the United States for at least a year.

Under the updated Migration Protection Protocols (MPP), migrants must be in the U.S. for at least a year in order to obtain a green card.

In addition, migrants now have a harder time applying for asylum under Trump administration rules that mandate applicants provide evidence that they face danger back home.

According to official statistics, less than 50% of asylum seekers are admitted into the U.S. Stuck in Mexico, the tens of thousands of Cubans who reached the U.S. since 2016 are now in danger of being sent back home.

“The number of people who obtain asylum does not reflect the human rights situation on the island,” immigration rights advocate and Florida International University Professor Juan Gómez told the Miami Herald. “The administration complains about human rights violations in Cuba, but is sending many Cubans back without consideration.”

days after ICE sent similar subpoenas to the city of Denver. Three of the New York subpoenas request information regarding three inmates who were recently released from prison despite immigration officials’ demands to turn them over for deportation. One of the three released is wanted for homicide in El Salvador.

The fourth New York subpoena requests information regarding Reeaz Khan, 21, a Guyanese man charged earlier this month with the assault and murder of a 92-yearold Queens woman, Maria Fuertas.

Khan is still in custody, but New York police claim they did not receive the detainer for him which ICE insists it sent.

De Blasio has accused ICE of using “scare tactics” and wrote on Twitter that his city has “common-sense laws about immigration enforcement that have driven crime to record lows.”

Denver officials refused to comply with ICE requests, claiming the demands are “viewed as an effort to intimidate officers” into compliance.

ICE’s Lucero said that his agency may consult with federal prosecutors to force compliance on the municipal level and that “a judge can hold them in contempt.”

ICE Blasts NYC Jet Fuel Dump’s Impacts

U.S. federal authorities have issued four “immigration subpoenas” to New York City, demanding information regarding inmates wanted for deportation.

Henry Lucero, a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, said, “This is not a request – it’s a demand. This is a last resort for us. Dangerous criminals are being released every single day in New York.”

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s team responded on Saturday, saying that the city will review the subpoenas.

But in an email, spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein wrote, “New York City will not change the policies that have made us the safest big city in America.”

The New York subpoenas came

Several days after a Delta jet dumped fuel on homes and schools in southeast Los Angeles, the South Coast Air Quality Management District responded to public complaints by sending an inspector to study air quality in the affected neighborhood, the Los Angeles Times reported.

On Friday, the inspector issued Delta a notice of violation, agency spokesman Bradley Whitaker said.

According to Whitaker, notices of violation can result in civil penalties, and if no settlement is reached, the agency can initiate a civil lawsuit.

In some cases, he said, the company can choose to implement measures to reduce emissions or prevent further

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

JUNE 30 - AUG 20

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

CENTRALLY LOCATED IN FAR ROCKAWAY!

FOR 3RD & 4TH

W E E K LY TRIPS!

GIRLS GOING INTO

INSTRUCTIONAL SWIM

GRADE

PROFFESIONAL BAKING

FOOD D E C O R AT I N G

ARTS ‘N CRAFTS

A PLACE WHERE EVERY GIRL SHINES!

PAINTING

camp CARNIVAL

fun over & over!

AEROBICS

DIRECTED BY GITTEL HILLER (STEIN) FOR APPLICATIONS & MORE INFO: CAMPSUMMERSAULT@GMAIL.COM or 347.306.9685

29

30

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

symptoms include skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, as well as headaches and dizziness. Though some research shows that jet fuel exposure can affect the nervous system, this research involved those who were exposed consistently to the substance over long periods of time, UC Irvine’s Director for the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Dr. Ulrike Luderer noted.

She added that even though “exposure in children really hasn’t been studied,” it is “such an unusual situation that there wouldn’t be a population to study.” She emphasized, “Still, we’re likely not going to see significant long-term impacts.”

Puerto Rico’s Emergency Manager Fired and Replaced

Rabbi Paysach Krohn hn

Sunday January 26 6 8PM • Refreshments • Men & Women Welcome • Free Admission

The Five Towns Premier 1050 Central Ave, Woodmere, NY 11598 Please RSVP to Rgewirtz@fivetownspremier.com violations.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department and LA Unified School District have already performed several air tests in the area.

According to Dr. Cyrus Rangan, director of Los Angeles Department of Public Health’s Toxics Epidemiology Program, the test readings were “consistently” below the “limit of detection for jet fuel chemicals” and that “odors have also dissipated, which is consistent with the chemical

characteristics of kerosene-based jet fuel, in that it is expected to evaporate.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident but emphasizes that vapor pollution from the jet fuel is negligible in comparison to pollution from cars, trucks, and industry and is also rare enough that it will probably not have major environmental implications.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Health, the county fire depart-

ment, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have warned that those growing fruit and vegetables in the area should discard unharvested produce.

Cleaning crews have already power-washed the affected outdoor areas.

According to the UK’s Health Protection Agency, symptoms from one-time exposure to Jet A or Jet A1 fuel tend to be temporary. These

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced fired the island’s emergency manager, Carlos Acevedo, on Saturday, appointing a replacement the same day.

The dismissal closely follows the discovery of a warehouse full of unused emergency supplies in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The supplies included pallets of water, food, diapers, baby formula, cots, and emergency radios.

According to Garced, the warehouse supplies are believed to date from Hurricane Maria, which struck two years ago.

Garced has ordered an investigation be opened and demanded the findings be shared in the next few days.

“There are thousands of people who made sacrifices to bring aid to the south, and it’s unforgivable that resources have been kept in a warehouse,” Garced said in a statement.

After the warehouse was discovered on Saturday, families lined up to receive the supplies.

Acevedo has denied allegations of mishandling, claiming that his agen-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

cy has been actively distributing supplies and that no one has been denied any of the supplies in the warehouse.

He also said 600 pallets of water were distributed prior to Hurricanes Dorian and Karen and that 80 pallets remained in the warehouse since they had expired.

“There have not been any orders to seize or destroy those items at any point,” he emphasized.

Trump Signs Trade Deal with China

President Donald Trump signed an interim deal with China last week that aims to provide a respite from the bruising trade war between the two countries.

With China’s vice premier and chief negotiator Liu He looking on, Trump signed the agreement at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. “Together we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security,” Trump said. “Most people thought this could never happen.”

Trump added that he was considering a state visit to Beijing in the “not too distant future.” Liu He, meanwhile, read the president a letter penned by China’s President Xi Jinping calling the deal “good for China, the U.S., and the whole world.” Jinping noted that the deal proved that the two countries could hatch out their disagreements via dialogue.

The ceremony was attended by Trump’s cabinet, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and senior business executives including Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga and Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman.

Under the terms of the deal, which was first announced in early December, China will purchase $30 billion of American-made agricultural products in exchange for a reduction of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods

from 15% to 7.5%.

However, the agreement does not touch on other contentious issues such as Chinese currency manipulation and intellectual property theft.

China is also not obligated to end its tariffs on U.S.-made products.

China and the United States have been locked in a brutal trade war over the past two years that saw Trump levy over $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. Beijing responded by sanctioning U.S. agriculture, slapping tariffs on products such as soybeans that devastated farmers in Republican strongholds such as Iowa and Wyoming. The U.S. government has spent over $28 billion in order to mitigate the economic damage to farmers. The pause in the trade war grants Trump a victory for his base ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

While acknowledging that there was a slew of issues that needed to be resolved, top U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer called the agreement a “massively good first step.”

“Are we in an ideal spot? No,” Lighthizer acknowledged. “Is this a massively good first step? Yes.”

A Couch Potato Life

Over 15% of adults in every state report less physical activity than recommended, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found.

Where are those couch potatoes living? Turns out that most of them are sitting around in Mississippi and Kentucky, followed by states in the South, where nearly one out of every three residents is inactive. Colorado, Utah, and Washington, D.C., have the fewest inactive residents, Bloomberg reported.

According to Ruth Petersen, director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, “Too many adults are inactive, and they may not know how much it affects their health.”

She noted, “Being physically ac-

31

32

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

tive helps you sleep better, feel better and reduce your risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.”

The CDC report utilized data from annual surveys between 20152018, in which over 400,000 respondents answered questions on how often they performed aerobic exercises such as running, walking, and gardening.

The CDC also noted that sedentary lifestyles cause 10% of early deaths and add $117 billion to U.S. health care costs each year.

Adults need at least 150 minutes – or two and a half hours – of moderate-intensity exercise each week, as well as muscle-strengthening at least two days each week, to reap significant health benefits.

Saudi Arabia Helps Criminals Flee U.S. According to a declassified FBI memo, Saudi Arabia helps U.S.based Saudi citizens flee the U.S. to avoid criminal prosecution.

The heavily redacted FBI intelligence bulletin, dated August 29, 2019, was obtained and shared by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Twitter on Friday. The Justice Department sent the document in response to a request from Wyden’s office.

dom will continue to help Saudi citizens charged with crimes evade the American justice system unless the U.S. government addresses the situation; that assessment was made with “high confidence.”

Senator Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced two bills earlier this month that would impose significant penalties on foreign consulates that help their citizens escape the U.S. judicial system.

The proposed legislation followed an Oregonian report that said that Saudi consular officials within the U.S. helped Abdulrahmeen Sameer Noorah, a Saudi nationalist, flee the U.S. after fatally striking 15-yearold Fallon Smart with his car in 2016.

Noorah, 21, was charged with manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and reckless driving but managed to flee the U.S. with the help of Saudi officials two weeks before his trial was set to begin.

The FBI’s assessment will likely add to the already strained relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

The CIA had determined that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. Earlier this month, the U.S. sent back to Saudi Arabia nearly two dozen Saudi military students from a training program after a Saudi aviation student shot up a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, in December.

Costco’s New Chicken Model

Saudi Arabia officials “perceive the embarrassment of Saudi citizens enduring the U.S. judicial process is greater than the embarrassment of the United States learning that the [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] surreptitiously removes citizens with legal problems from the United States,” the FBI wrote in the bulletin.

Some of the Saudi fugitives receiving assistance from the Middle Eastern kingdom face charges ranging from traffic violations to assault, crimes against women and children, and manslaughter.

According to the FBI, the king-

Costco’s Kirkland Signature rotisserie chickens, costing just $4.99 each, serve the company as a way to bring in customers, who sometimes purchase hundreds of dollars in other products when they come to pick up their chicken dinners.

The chain sold whopping 91 million rotisserie chickens last year – twice the amount it sold a decade ago.

To keep the chickens so cheap, Costco has had to go to extreme measures, including selling them at a loss to undercut competitors and

opening a new $450 million poultry complex in Nebraska.

According to Costco’s senior vice president of fresh foods, Jeff Lyons, the chickens have been a “very, very good business and very consistent growth for a long period of time.”

But to keep prices down and to ensure access to the six-pound whole chickens it needs, Costco now aims to reduce its reliance on the major chicken producers which control over 60% of the country’s poultry market.

While Nebraska is an unusual choice of location for a chicken complex, the process in itself has been done before: until 2009, Costco sold hot dogs, purchased from other companies, in its food courts. When the beef supply started to run low, Costco opened its own plant and began producing its Kirkland Signature hot dogs.

Nebraska was chosen as the site of the new poultry complex thanks to its available grain, water, and labor, as well as the potential to interest local farmers in the initiative. The Fremont, Nebraska, plant will be spread over nearly 400,000 square feet, employ around 950 workers, and – hopefully – process about 100 million chickens annually.

The plan, however, is not without its opponents. One of these is Randy Ruppert, a Fremont activist who is concerned about the plant’s impact on the environment. His concerns include, but are not limited to, water contamination from the runoff, high levels of nitrates in local tap water, and ammonia from chicken feces.

Ruppert, who founded the Nebraska Communities United nonprofit group, believes that Costco is “bringing degenerative farming to Nebraska, nothing else.”

Robert Taylor, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Auburn University, an attorney at the Farmers’ Legal Action Group, said the contracts Costco is offering to local farmers “essentially make the farmer an indentured servant.”

Walt Shafer, a veteran Pilgrim’s Pride executive and Costco’s executive in charge of the Nebraska operations, argues that the farmers’ contract has “one of the best pay rates in the industry” and is “one of the lowest risk poultry contracts available” due to the fact that the company’s chicken business continues to grow.

“I have no doubt that Costco will continue to do the right thing by our growers for the next 15 years and beyond,” he said.

Peaceful Gun Rights Rally in VA

Thousands of gun owners and gun rights supporters gathered on Monday at Virginia’s Capitol for a “peaceful day to address our Legislature” that appeared to generate none of the violence feared by some state leaders.

Many demonstrators, opposed to proposed gun restrictions, openly displayed military-style semiautomatic rifles. Other wore orange “Guns save lives” stickers as the crowd chanted “USA” and sang the national anthem. Signs read “Come and take it” and “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”

But despite warnings from Gov. Ralph Northam and law enforcement that out-of-state hate groups and militias may incite violence, the protest did not grow heated. Police estimated the size of the crowd at 22,000 – including 6,000 people inside Capitol Square; only one arrest was reported.

Mikaela E. Beschler, 21, was arrested for wearing a bandanna to cover her face. She was eventually released.

A heavy police presence greeted rally-goers calmly lining up to enter the state Capitol, where they had to pass through a security checkpoint.

While more than a thousand gathered inside the state Capitol, many more were outside rallying.

The day was planned as a “lobby day” by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which has organized similar events to advocate for gun rights for years.

Driving the momentum behind the Richmond rally was a host of new gun-control measures backed by Northam and Democrats, who flipped both houses of the General Assembly and have full control of state government for the first time since 1993.

Democrats proposed limiting handgun purchases to one a month, universal background checks on gun sales, allowing localities to ban guns in some public areas, and a “red flag” bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.

Other proposals include rules

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

33

34

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

around reporting lost or stolen firearms and a ban on “assault firearms,” though some moderate Democrats have expressed concerns over that bill.

Advocates for the gun-control laws say Virginians signaled their approval of the proposals when they elected a Democrat-controlled General Assembly in November. Many Democrats campaigned on the issue of guns, and gun laws were the most important voting issues before the election among both Democrats and Republicans, according to a Washington PostGeorge Mason poll.

Northam has worked to dispel the idea that he intends to go “door-todoor” with authorities to take away people’s guns. He says the bills are intended to keep Virginians safer, but his detractors see them as infringing on their rights to bear arms.

“All these bills are basically steps in the direction of disarming people,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

In the weeks leading up to the rally, more than 100 counties, cities and towns declared themselves “sanctuaries” for the Second Amendment, saying they would not enforce unconstitutional gun laws.

While the “sanctuary” resolutions passed in many localities have been seen by supporters as a way to fight back against Northam’s proposals, legal experts say those resolutions are largely symbolic as local law cannot supersede state law.

A Dream Job

Looking for something new to do this year? Perhaps you’d like to head to a remote island and drink coffee all day. Well, then, this job is the perfect one for you.

Recently, Great Blasket Island, located just off the coast of Kerry in Ireland, tweeted about a new position.

The island is looking for two friends,

or a couple, to work at its coffee shop as well as provide other “island accommodations” from April 2020 to October 2020. While the tweet does not list the salary, it does note that room and board will be provided for the chosen pair.

For those who do end up taking the position, be forewarned that it’s not just coffee that you’ll be making yourself. Although the island has been making strides technologically-speaking, it’s still way behind other places. For example, there is still no electricity, Wi-Fi or hot water on the island.

“We use gas hobs in the cottages and the coffee shop,” Alice Hayes, the main contact on the job posting, explains. “We have gas canisters out the back. We know when the water is boiled with whistling kettles on top of the hobs, and we can cook on the gas hobs as well.” She notes that there is “a little wind turbine that generates enough electricity to charge one device, so you are not completely cut off.”

In other words, you’ll majorly get to connect with nature as you sip myriad pots of joe. Sounds ideal – for some.

Nebraska; Buffalo, New York; and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In a press release, Senior Director of Marketing at Anheuser-Busch Daniel Blake said, “We know some of our biggest fans are going to experience a lot of snow this winter, which can make things a little rough. There’s not much worse than a snowstorm hitting and your stock of Busch being low, so this is a fun way to make our fans’ lives a little easier this season in those snowy cities.”

The company also set up interactive billboards in each of the cities to keep track of the snowfall totals. Any kind of accumulation counts – even if it melts the following day.

There’s a $30 limit to the program, however. Fans can submit their rebate (limited to one per customer) claims through Busch.com/snowday, where they’ll be asked to upload their receipt and zip code.

They can beer-ly wait.

Sofa Surprise

Beer for a Blizzard

While this headline may sound odd, it is actually true. Fans of Busch Beer in certain cities are being promised by the beer brand that they’ll be offering residents a dollar off of their beer products for every inch of snow that falls in those areas.

You better believe these beer-guzzlers will be praying for snow.

According to the company, “As the snow falls, so does the price of Busch.

For every inch of snow that accumulates in your state this season, we’ll take $1 off your Busch (up to $30, excluding sales tax).”

Busch will be tracking snowfall from January 1 until March 21 across seven cities: Des Moines, Iowa; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fargo, North Dakota; Omaha,

Need some money? Check your couch cushions. You’re bound to find a quarter or two – or in the case of Howard Kirby, a whopping $43,000.

Kirby had purchased a couch at the Habitat for Humanity store in Owosso, Michigan, for $35 a few months ago. The ottoman, though, was uncomfortable and so his daughter unzipped the cushions to see what was the problem.

Turns out, it wasn’t a problem – it was stacks of bills that were making the couch lumpy.

“That’s when she started pulling out this,” Kirby said, holding up a fistful of cash. ”I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming or something,” A total of $43,170 was found inside the couch. Kirby immediately felt that it was his duty to return the money to the store and seek out the original owner.

Kim Fauth-Newberry had come into possession of the couch after her grandfather, the original owner, passed away last year. She said she had no idea there was money inside when

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Since 1997, it’s been just meters from where it was last seen. A month ago, it was found.

“Portrait of a Lady,” painted by Austria’s Gustav Klimt, had gone missing when the Ricci Oddi Gallery of Modern Art in Piacenza, Italy, had undergone renovations more than two decades ago. Since then, officials had thought that the expressionist piece of art had been stolen.

Last month, gardeners found the painting wrapped in a black garbage bag and hidden inside an external wall surrounding the museum. They had been removing ivy from a wall when they uncovered a ventilation space with the painting, sans a frame, hidden within.

The 55-by-65-centimeter expressionist work could be worth between $67-111 million, but it’s not certain, since the work has never been sold on the market.

Colossal Candy Bar

Here’s a sure way to make sure your sugar levels don’t go down for a long time.

Last week, the Guinness Book of World Records declared Waco, Texas, the home to the world’s largest Snickers bar. The mammoth bar weighs more than 4,700 pounds and measures two feet high and 26 inches wide.

It’s the size of 43,000 single-size Snickers bars put together.

“This is incredibly impressive,” Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Empric shared. “Some of my favorite record categories are big food because it has to be edible and it is also an engineering feat, so to get a 5,000-pound bar of chocolate to stay together is really challenging.”

And where was this master creation made? Where else, but the Mars Wrigley plant in Waco.

The plant calls itself one of the world’s largest producers of candies such as Snickers, M&M’s and Skittles.

The idea to create a giant Snickers bar came only two weeks ago. It took a week to produce the huge rectangle of chocolate.

“This bar that we made in the last week absolutely is the (sum) of, I think, what you could call, ‘Everything is bigger in Texas.’ Because it’s the biggest Snickers bar ever made,” Snickers value manager Ruud Engbers said. “It’s the largest chocolate nut bar ever made in the world.”

So, who gets a taste of this colossal confection?

Well, the plant plans to give out pieces of the bar to Mars workers around the country. Looking for a part-time job at a chocolate plant?

te Minyan ple

omplete T e •C

‫ישועות‬

365

Klal Yisroel's Oldest Segulah

Tehillim Narrative e Year • Com let

Lost & Found

Painted in 1916-1917, artwork depicts the face and torso of a young woman with brown hair over an emerald green background.

Thankfully, the painting was not damaged during all those years – although it makes you wonder who put the painting there and why they never came back to claim it.

We’re sure police will find this crook with flying colors.

im • Comp hill

she gave it away. She was surprised last Thursday when the store called and told her that Kirby had her cash.

“It’s just crazy,” she said. “It’s completely awesome.”

Kirby had reportedly sought legal advice about his rights to the money and was told that he was under no obligation to return it. Despite having the legal right to keep it, he thought giving it back was the right thing to do.

“Just doing the right thing – to me, this is someone who in spite of what they’re going through – in spite of their own needs has said, ‘I’m just going to do the right thing,’” store owner Rick Merling said.

Kirby claimed he could have used the money for a new roof but is happy the cash has found its way back to the original owner.

“I always thought, ‘What would I do if that ever happened?’ Now I know,” he said. “And it makes me feel good.”

We’re chair-ing you on, Kirby.

35

January 25 '20

Cancer in remission in merit of the powerful Tehillim.

I had felt a sense of serenity upon reaching my early forties and considered my life pretty much settled. My children were grown-ups and in addition my financial status was okay.

Finally, I had the time to actually take care of myself.

I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for a simple check up being that it was already pushed off multiple times. The bad news has hit me like thunder! Life was at all now so calm and peaceful as I had imagined. In fact, a long and painful journey was unfortunately ahead of me…

The doctor has diagnosed me with cancer.

Just the name of the sickness itself is one which people refrain from verbalizing. It’s fatal, surrounded by misery and agony making a person feel helpless without strength.

However, albeit the circumstances, I was a woman who was determined and had high hopes for the situation to change to the better. I observed life as a whole and realized how many chances one has to survive; hence I didn’t want to spend even one minute of my life to dwell over the matter.

All I felt that I can do which was under my control was to reach out to the chushive yingerleit of the Tehillim Kollel so they can pray for my recovery and open the gates of heaven.

Understandably they are the ones who were given the power to poil yeshious due to their constant prayers recited by Kivrei Tzaddikim.

Without any second thought, I can truly admit that in their merits I am still here to share with you the amazing news that my cancer is in remission B”H! With every passing day, my life is luckily being transformed into a more calm and healthy life!

Hashem should help me further!

Meron

Tzion Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

Kiryas Joel

Weekday - Tzion Satmar Rabbi Shabbos - Ba"h Toldos Aharon

Williamsburg Bais Hamedrash Dinov

- Purchase a Tehillim Kolel Membership -

718.705.7174 www.TehillimKollel.org Info@TehillimKollel.org

36

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community Rav Yaakov Hillel Visits Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Rav Yaakov Hillel, rosh yeshiva of Hevrat Ahavat Shalom in Jerusalem, addressing the talmidim of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid at Yeshiva Darchei Torah on Friday

Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, rosh yeshiva, in a Torah discussion with Rav Yaakov Hillel

Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, asking him to share some lessons from the life of Rav Shimshon Pincus, zt�l

Rav Yaakov Hillel meeting with the Sephardic talmidim of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

my favorite weekly specials

Store Hours:

Order Online: www.FrankelsKosher.com or by Email: orders@Frankelskosher.com

Jan 22- Jan 28,

1913 Cornaga Avenue • Far Rockaway • T. 718-327-4700 F. 718-327-4701 E. orders@Frankelskosher.com

grocery

major deals Cup A Soup Chicken Flavor

Minute Roast

$8.99

$4.99 Lb

Gefen

Sun: 7-7 Mon: 7-8 Tue: 7-8 Wed: 7-9 Thur: 7-11 Fri: 7-5:00

Snapple

First Cut

Cowboy Rib Steak

Gefen

Cucumber In Brine 7-9

12 Pack

Gefen

Wesson

14.1 Oz

128 Oz

Soup Mandel

Heckers

Canola Oil

Flour 5 Lbs

19 Oz

By The Case

$6.99

$6.99

meat department Rack Of Flanken Roast

$2.49

$6.99

2/$5

Green Giant

Osem

Skippy

Pam

6 Oz

Consomme & Onion, 14.1 Oz

Reg & Reduce Fat 16.30 Oz

$4.59

2/$5

$3.19

Best Health

Ohr

Panadora

Niblets

Soup & Seasoning Mix

11 Oz

Glatt Kosher

Boneless Chuck Fillet Steak

2/$3

Top Quality Meat & Poultry

Roast Shoulder

$1.29

Silver Tip Roast

Shibolim

Light Whole Wheat Matza

Peanut Butter

Seltzer

Shabbos Candle (3 Hrs)

All Flavors 1 Ltr

10.5 Oz

$6.99 Lb

$9.99 Lb

$5.99 Lb

$6.49 Lb

Beef Soup Bones

Beef Neck Bones

Family Pack

Chicken Wings

Chicken Drumsticks

$3.49 Lb

$2.49 Lb

$1.29 Lb

Chicken Tops

Chicken Tops

Aarons

Aarons

Bone In With Wing

Bone In No Wing

$2.49 Lb

$1.49

Idaho Potatoes

Avocados

5 Lb Bag

24.20 Oz

2/$1

$5.99

Aufschnitt

Betty Crocker

Frankels

All Varieties 4.8 Oz

10 Oz

Beef Jerky

Gusher

Assorted 2 Oz

$4.79

Sour Worms

2/$5

La Yogurt

$4.29

Macintosh Apples

Baby Carrots

Grapefruit

Shabbos Bouquet

$20

Blooms & Buds Bouquet

$15

All Varieties 16 Oz

2/$1

$1.79

$3.99

Breakstone S

Shefa

Shefa

7 Oz

7 Oz

32 Oz

Spreadable /Salted / Unsalted 8 Oz

$9.99

$2.29

$1.99

$2.79

Sabra

Achla

J2

Tuscanini

8 Oz

8 Slices 40 Oz

8.3 Oz

Butter

Tomato Dip

Babaganoush

Jalapeno Dip

Pizza

Classic Only 10 Oz

$12

8 Oz

Cottage Cheese

Natural & Kosher

Hummus Dip

Tulips

J&J

4/$5 Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

2/$1

Farms Creamery

Whipped Cream Cheese

All Flavors 6 Oz

All Flavors 7 Oz

Sweet Cantaloupes

Yellow Onions

flower arangments

1 Oz

Kariot Nougat Cereal

$5.99

Yogurt

$1.99

2/$3

Telma

dairy - frozen

$0.99

$.99 Lb

Snack Factory

Snack Delight

Mehadrin

2/$5

2/$3

$0.99

2/$5

$2.99

3/$1 3 Lb Bag

$4.49

Minis Pretzel Crisps

Assorted Flavors 12 Pk

6 Oz All Flavors

PRODUCE SPECIALS WEDNESDAY THRU FRIDAY Small Oranges

Coke Cans

Crisp Rice Treat

3 DAYS ONLY

Wednesday, Jan/22/19 thru Friday Jan/24/19

Coke Cola

3.50 Oz

$1.99

produce

2/$1

Torino Milk Chocolate

4 Oz

$2.29 Lb

5 Pk

72 Ct

$2.79

Smoked Turkey Pastrami

4 Oz

8” Square Pans

winter break

$2.99 Lb

Chicken Bologna

Cooking Spray

Thin Pizza Crust

$1.99

$2.29

$8.99

$2.79

Eggo

Paris

Heaven & Earth

Chef Tzali

Chocolate Chip Waffels

Mini Puff Pastry Squares

12.3 Oz

Rice Cauliflower 14 Oz

36 Oz

2/$5

Whole Tilapia Fillet 14 Oz

$5.99

$2.99

$3.49

take a peek at our everyday special prices Norman’s

Taste Yogurts 5 0z

New!

$.69

Gevina

Greek Yogurts

$1.39

Fresh Sandwiches Coffee & Slush Bar

Norman’s

Fresh & Tasty

Milk

Cream Cheese

Cholov Yisroel

$2.99

2/$4

Fresh

Fruit Platters

Mehadrin

Chocolate Leben 12 Pk

$11.99

Free Cholent

While U Shop Thursday Night

WE ADDED MORE

American Cheese

Yogolite

$15.99

$0.79

108 Slices

Givat

Postiv

Romaine Lettuce 24 Oz

Weekly Yiddish Newspapers & Magazines Der Blatt, Der Yid, News Report, Der Blick, Dee Voch, Etc.

Specials Are Running From Wednesday Jan/22/19 Thru Tuesday Jan/28/19. Produce Sale Effective Jan/22/19 Thru Jan/24/19 We Reserve The Right Tp Limit Quantities, While Supplies Last. Not Respo/nsible For Typographical Or Photographic Errors. No Rain Checks.

Greenhouse Grown

$10.99

37

38

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

A Winning Team

O

nce again, the Women’s League arranged another inspiring, informative and entertaining evening for the mothers of TAG. T.E.A.M. UP Tag Educators And Mothers has become a popular event that is eagerly awaited every year. While not a fundraiser, it does raise awareness about issues and concerns shared by both parents and educators. This year was no exception, as our excellent panelists discussed the timely and important topic of emotional well-being and raising healthy and resilient girls in a world of challenges. The many questions submitted focused on the high stress level that both parents and students are experiencing, especially in the current world situation. In

fact, TAG recently started the Paid Officers Program and has an armed police officer at both of its buildings for safety reasons, and parents and staff addressed this issue with the students.

This year’s impressive panelists consisted of some of the most influential members of our stellar faculty. Moderated by Mrs. Batya Krasnow, principal of Limudei Kodesh in our Jr. High School, we were fortunate to have Morah Tzirel Klein, an outstanding first grade morah along with Mrs. Yocheved Nissan, Machon Sarah TAG High School Mechaneches coordinator & guidance counselor.

They were joined by Mrs. Temima Feldman, general studies principal in the Elementary School, and Mrs. Dovi To-

maszewski, LCSW social worker in the Elementary Division. Each in their own right provided practical suggestions, advice, and insights as they answered the questions presented to them.

The famous soup bar prepared by many of the committee members was once again a big hit, and the recipe cards of the favorites were eagerly taken home. For those who wanted to indulge their sweet tooth, there was a table

filled with delicious cookies with recipe cards available as well. The lovely home of our gracious hostess, Mrs. Aliza Fuchs, provided the perfect setting. The overflow crowd stayed to socialize and enjoyed spending time with like-minded TAG mothers and educators who attended.

A huge yashar koach to Mrs. Naomi Newman, who developed this project and continues to oversee every detail to ensure its success.

Special thanks to Mrs. Evy Guttman for her help with formulating the questions as well as to the amazing committee members who were an integral part of the team.

Thanks to Racheli Blumenkrantz, Ilana Dubin, Nomi Friedman, Elisheva Gross, Rivka Lock, Aviva Paneth, Brochi Rossen, Michelle Segelman, Shira Silberstein, Rachelle Tepper, and Yael Willig.

bee had three students left: Gabriella Koyenov, Shayna Mendelson, and Meira Schuck. Finally, the winner of the schoolwide spelling bee was...seventh grader Gabriella Koyenov! The win-

ning word was “sojourner.”

Gabriella went on to the Inter-Yeshiva Spelling Bee hosted by the Jewish Education Project in Manhattan.

She competed against 15 other winners from different

yeshivas around the city.

We are so proud of Gabriella, and all of our students, for their efforts, enthusiasm, and all the new spelling words they learned!

Annual Spelling Bee at BYQ

T

he fifth through eighth graders of Bais Yaakov of Queens were excited for the annual spelling bee last month.

First, each class competed to get a class winner. Once all the classes had winners, these girls represented their classes in the schoolwide spelling bee, which took place on Chanukah this year. The girls enthusiastically cheered on their classmates, as the fourteen com-

petitors took the stage. We are so proud of each class winner: Yehudis Aronovitch, Tziri Rosenholtz, Aliza Howitt, Shalva Kobre, Noa Harris, Malka Lavner, Sarala Weiner, Shayna Mendelson, Haddassah Boehm, Esther Keller, Gabriella Koyenov, Racheli Praeger, Nechama Friedman, and Meira Schuck. They worked hard and truly showed good sportsmanship!

The last round of the spelling

An Exciting Milestone

M

azel tov to the Kitah Beis talmidos of Torah Academy for Girls who recently received their Chumashim!

Excitement permeated the beautiful TAG simcha hall as proud parents, grandparents and families joined to celebrate this special event. With the classes numbering six, bli ayin hara, there needed to be three performances featuring two classes each which took

place on Sunday, January 5.

All the talmidos embraced their Chumashim with pride and joy. Many thanks to TAG’s outstanding kitah beis moros: Morah Pfeibush, Morah Girnun, Morah Respler, Morah Rothman, Morah Samet and Mrs. Schwartz, under the guidance of Morah Menuch Levin, devoted principal of Limudei Kodesh Elementary School Division.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

39

40

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Supervisor Don Clavin met with members of the Town of Hempstead’s CSEA Local 880 last week to prepare for the storm that was expected to blow through town over the weekend

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer with Rabbi Yaakov Bender, rosh yeshiva, and Rabbi Boruch Rothman at the 47th Annual Yeshiva Darchei Torah Dinner last week

Eyewitness Drawings Made During Holocaust by Daring Artists Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony will run from January 16 to July 5, 2020

T

he Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust announces the opening of a special exhibition featuring drawings made during and shortly after the Holocaust by eyewitnesses documenting their experiences. Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony is curated from the museum’s collection and features a majority of artworks never presented before. The exhibition will be on display from January 16 to July 5, 2020 at the museum located in Manhattan’s Battery Park City.

“Rendering Witness is a very special opportunity to see the first-hand experiences of the Holocaust as depicted by individuals who lived through its horrors. The artists, which include a young girl, took great risks to make this art. These were tremendous acts of bravery and resistance. That these fragile works have survived is a testament to the human spirit,” said Jack Kliger, museum president & CEO. Each artwork reasserts

the artist’s humanity and individuality, qualities that are often obscured by the iconic Holocaust photographs taken by the Nazis or their collaborators. The works were produced in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, and Poland during the Holocaust, primarily in ghettos and a slave labor camp, or immediately after the Holocaust. The artists documented the Holocaust as it unfolded around them, providing a unique personal layer to the visual

culture of World War II. “The art on display in Rendering Witness demonstrates that every victim of the Holocaust has a personal story,” said Michael Morris, who curated the exhibition.

The exhibition includes works by two well-known artists, Helga Weissova and Alfred Kantor. Three other artists featured – Jo Spier, Alfred Lakos, and Vincent Brauner – all had careers before the Holocaust.

Helga Weissova, who is

now in her 90s and lives in Prague, was sent to Terezin at age 12. A budding artist, she brought art supplies with her, and these lasted the time of her internment. Weissova was able to smuggle a drawing to her father Otto, who was housed in a different barrack.

He advised her, “Draw what you see.” Weissova followed this advice and produced more than 100 drawings.

One of the many compelling attributes of these works on paper is that they even

endured. Rendering Witness features a mixture of works by people who survived and people who perished during the Holocaust.

Before deportations, some of the artists gave their artwork to friends and family for safekeeping. Peter Loewenstein gave his artwork to his mother. He was murdered in Auschwitz. Johann Eisler gave his artwork to his girlfriend. He was murdered in Flossenberg concentration camp. Helga Weissova was deported from Terezin to Auschwitz, she gave her drawings to her uncle, who hid them behind a wall in Terezin. The drawings were therefore preserved and handed back to her after the war Entry to the Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony exhibition is included with the purchase of an MJH Highlights ticket or with the purchase of a ticket to the Museum’s featured exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. For more information, visit mjhnyc. org. The Museum is located at 36 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

41

Around the Community

Fun & Excitement at Yachad

Y

achad Long Island has had an exceptional fall semester.

The excitement began with a Kick-off Karate Event back in September at Warren Levy Martial Arts in Cedarhurst. This was followed by the bi-weekly Bowling Night and Pizza & Parsha events, which continue throughout the school year. These events are some of the most popular local Yachad events and are highly attended as they are exciting, fun, and provide meaningful social outings where Yachad participants can enjoy their time with local high school students. Due to the popular demand of the highly attended karate event, Yachad now hosts a Karate Nite once a month at Warren Levi Martial Arts and Fitness.

Yachad Long Island loves celebrating upcoming yomim tovim and holidays at their fun-filled events.

The annual Rosh Hashana Bake Night, hosted by the Glickman family in Woodmere, was a fun and delicious program. Just before Sukkot, the enthusiastic Yachad members

were invited to decorate the sukkah at the Young Israel of North Woodmere with other community members from their shul. Additionally, the parties continued for the annual Thanksgiving painting party, Chanukah Bounce Event, as well as a sold-out Chanukah Concert, featuring music sensation Simcha Leiner

and Duvie Shapiro at The Shulamith School in Cedarhurst.

Local schools, including DRS Yeshiva High School for Boys and SKA for Girls, created incredible inclusive programs for our Yachad participants to join. DRS hosts a Thursday night Mishmar program where the DRS boys learn b’chavrutah togeth-

er with Yachad members. They graciously host a delicious hot dinner after the program. SKA has created a GNO (Girls Night Out) event once a month with fun activities, including karaoke and painting. Yachad is so grateful for these school partnerships, as the Yachad participants love and thrive at these special inclusive opportunities.

The annual Inclusive Superbowl Party will be taking place on Sunday, February 2, at the Yachad Long Island Center in North Woodmere.

They invite all yeshiva high school students to join and watch the game, be part of the fun, and enjoy the delicious food with the Yachad members!

The annual Inclusive Superbowl Party is generously sponsored by Jonathan and Dina Ohebshalom and Howard and Eddy Blady.

For more information and to join the Yachad programming, contact Meira Samet at sametm@ou.org.

TAG Artists Go “Fourth”

Serving our community for over 30 years

T

he mothers and daughters of Kitah Daled in TAG enjoyed a beautiful evening together on Motzei Shabbos, December 21 at Paint Night. What a wonderful way to spend time together and to be able to bring home a lovely picture to help them remember the great time they had. Led by Mrs. D’vora Weinberger, a talented morah in the Ganger Early Childhood Division of TAG, the girls and their mothers had an opportunity to express themselves artistically.

Thanks to the committee moth-

ers, Edna Ershowsky, Chayala Gorlin, Shani Klein, Brochi Rossen, Zahava Nussbaum, Chana Respler, Michelle Segelman, Michal Soffer, and Amanda Waltuch. Special thanks to the following TAG High School young ladies who provided assistance; we greatly appreciate that we can always count on them: Ella Berger, Ahuva Bloom, Perly Dahan, Shaindy Dembitzer, Leeya Feldberg, Aliza From, Rachi Lowy, Tova Schechter, Aviva Spira, and Tamara Taub.

42

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Hempstead Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman, fourth from left, attended the 24th Annual Dinner of the Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island on January 7, 2020 at The Sands of Atlantic Beach. Also attending were members of the Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island including Director of Development Rabbi Moshe Katz and New York State Assemblywoman Missy Miller.

10 Ways the Elderly Can Avoid Financial Abuse

By Monet Binder, Esq.

A

lthough people are living longer, they are not necessarily living healthier. As time goes on, because of illness, disability or cognitive impairments, there may be an increased need to rely and depend on others for health care and financial management. This dependency can make seniors susceptible to financial abuse. Savings, investments, and personal belongings, accumulated over decades, also often make seniors attractive targets for predators, whether the predator is a fraudulent solicitor or a care provider who sees an opportunity to be paid more than an hourly wage.

When we’re considering measures to protect our precious elderly, transparency provides the strongest abuse protection. If others, such as family members, are involved with the senior’s finances possible predators will either see that no opportunity exists to take advantage of the senior, or if a senior has already been targeted, the family members and/or professionals can step in to keep any fraud from going too far. Here are some steps seniors, or their loved ones, can take to prevent financial abuse.

1. Arrange for account oversight Make sure that someone close to the senior has access to his or her accounts to be able to see if anything unusual is going on. For instance, large checks being made out or larger-than-usual cash withdrawals from ATMs are red flags. The oversight can be through copies of monthly statements or online access to accounts.

2. Create joint accounts A joint account with someone gives them oversight as well as the ability to write checks, make investment decisions and take steps, if necessary, to protect the funds in the account. It also avoids probate, making the transition somewhat easier at the owner’s death. However, make sure you only add the name of someone you really trust to the account because it can also be an avenue for financial abuse if the joint owner becomes the perpetrator.

3. Use a Revocable Trust Revocable Trusts can be useful for a number of reasons. They include all of the benefits of joint accounts, with few of the drawbacks. Your Revocable Trust gives someone you trust access to your accounts and the ability to step in seamlessly if you become disabled. Unlike a joint account, it does not give the Trustee any ownership interest in the account. If, for instance, you had four children but named one as a co-owner of your joint accounts, at your death she would have the legal right to keep the funds rather than share them with her siblings. That would not be the case with a Revocable Trust.

4. Visit often Nothing prevents financial abuse or stops it in its tracks better than frequent visits by loved ones. Either the potential perpetrator will see that he can’t isolate the senior and take advantage of the person or family members or friends will notice the abuse before it goes too far.

5. Get help paying bills If someone helps you pay your bills, they will help you make sure that you’re not letting anything slip through cracks or paying something that shouldn’t be paid. They will be able to help you sort through your mail and determine what is important and what is not.

6. Use a limited credit card Credit cards are now available that allow another person to monitor the activity of the cardholder and to limit both the amount he spends and where he can spend it.

7. Sign up for do not call registry It is quite easy to register your telephone number with the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registry either online at www.donotcall. gov or by calling 888-382-1222. While this may not stop someone intent on defrauding a senior, it should help reduce calls from salespeople.

8. Sign up for Nomorobo You can sign up for Nomorobo to block robo calls. Unfortunately, it does not work with all telephone providers, including Verizon.

9. Opt out of mail solicitations At www.dmachoice.org, the Direct Marketing Association permits you to limit the number of catalogs, credit card offers, and other direct mail pieces you or a loved one receives. You may well ask why the Direct Marketing Association does this. The answer is that they don’t want to waste their print and mail costs sending to consumers who have no interest in the product being marketed.

10. Consult with an Elder Law attorney An elder law attorney can help set up a Revocable Trust and Durable Power of Attorney to assist with financial management, advise on the best protective steps to take in each situation, and provide additional oversight to discourage financial abuse.

While there’s no foolproof measure you can take that will both prevent financial fraud and leave you or your loved one with at least some independence and control over his or her finances, the steps described above can make the world a safer financial place. Just remember what was said at the beginning: isolation is a breeding ground for financial abuse (as well as depression and other ills). Social involvement is the best protection.

To learn more about how a power of attorney can help you, you can send me an email at monet@mbinderlaw.com or call 718-514-7575.

Monet Binder, Esq., serves Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island and is dedicated to protecting families, their legacies, and values. All halachic documents are approved by the Bais Havaad Halacha Center in Lakewood, under the direction of Rabbi Dovid Grossman and the guidance of Harav Shmuel Kaminetsky, shlita, as well as other leading halachic authorities.

The information in this article is intended solely for your information. It does not constitute legal advice, and it should not be relied on without a discussion of your specific situation with an attorney.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

STAFF

interviews ORAH STAFF

s u n d a y, f e b 2 10:30 am-12:30 pm @ bnos bais yaakov FAR ROCKAWAY

motzei shab, feb 8 8:15 pm-10:00 pm 141-23 72nd drive f l u s h i n g

s u n d a y, f e b 1 6 10:30 am-12:30 pm bnos bais yaakov FAR ROCKAWAY

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

43

44

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

The Impactful Productivity Blueprint

By Naphtali Hoff, PsyD

A

painful reality for today’s business and organizational leaders and managers is low workplace productivity.

My clients complain about it all the time.

• “My head is in 100 different places and I can’t get anything done.”

• “If my people were more efficient with their time, I wouldn’t always feel so feel pressured and stressed.”

• “The quality of our work would improve dramatically if we could just share information better.”

• “There are way too many silos in

this place.”

• “I just don’t have enough energy and mental bandwidth anymore.”

This is, in fact, the reality that so many leaders endure. They come to the office each day in dreadful anticipation, worried that they will

fall even further behind in their work. They get these strained, “are you kidding me?” looks every time they ask something new from their people. They’re bombarded with complaints from customers about delayed outputs and reduced product quality.

Does this describe you?

You’ve probably suspected that this problem is not just something that you struggle with. And you’re 100% correct.

In fact, throughout the world and in every industry, engagement, motivation, and productivity continue to drop. Today’s leaders feel mounting pressure to work harder to just keep up. They work longer hours and ask the same of their people, even when they know how much it’s resented. They neglect their health and wellbeing and try to get by through any means possible. And they know that what they’re doing is unsustainable, but they can’t see a

way out.

The results are predictable.

Service quality diminishes.

Stress levels increase. Morale plummets. Workers start calling in sick.

Some quit or threaten to do so. And the downward cycle continues, with no apparent end in sight.

Sound familiar?

Fortunately, all is not lost.

It is possible for leaders to drastically increase workplace productivity while alleviating anxiety and stress.

How? By following a few high-impact strategies, you can not only meet expectations but even exceed them!

You can go from “underperforming” to “overproducing.” You can exceed all reasonable expectations: your customers’, your people’s, and even your own.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

After all, isn’t that what we’re all looking for?

Look, we all want to be more productive. But to get there, we need to be strategic.

The Impactful Productivity Blueprint™ was designed to help busy professionals get more of the right work done, clear their desks, and improve their bottom line, all while reducing office stress and getting home to their families and at a decent hour.

The Blueprint is divided into five steps. Each step consists of five action items, for a total of twenty-five.

When completed, each step will transform your personal and / or team productivity levels.

Performed in unison, they will turbo boost your productivity.

To download your FREE Productivity Blueprint, please visit ImpactfulCoaching.com/Productivity-Blueprint.

OU’s Impact Accelerator Supports 4 Innovative Nonprofit Startups

O

U’s Impact Accelerator, a mentorship program for growth and early-stage funding for Jewish non-profit entrepreneurs and a division of The Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s oldest and largest umbrella organization for the North American Orthodox Jewish community, has announced its second cohort of four startup ventures. The organizations chosen for this year’s cohort are using innovative models to address issues that impact the Jewish community including: fighting poverty, substance abuse recovery and education.

Launched in early 2018, the OU Impact Accelerator was created to provide mentorship and early-stage funding for Jewish nonprofit entrepreneurs with the next

groundbreaking ideas, over the course of a 10-month program.

The second cohort of the OU’s Impact Accelerator, chosen from a pool of over 80 applicants, will include the following four ventures: ANI TEFILLAH/ The Voice of Jewish Education Founded in 2018 by Tamar Nusbaum of Far Rockaway, NY, ANI TEFILLAH is a prayer-enhancement curriculum that imbues the process of praying with deeper meaning and connection for school-age children, with the goal of helping them look forward to praying daily. The program is designed for students of all backgrounds and utilizes classroom strategies in conjunction with gentle spiritual guidance to encourage each child to “Stop, Think and

Did you know?

New York City was the first capital of the United States from 1789 to 1790

Feel” the words of prayer they are saying.

Communities Confronting Substance Abuse, Inc Founded in 2018 by Lianne and Etiel Forman of Teaneck, NJ, Communities Confronting Substance Abuse (CCSA) was created to bring awareness, education, prevention and programming regarding substance abuse and addiction to local Jewish communities.

Chinuch Yehudi Founded in 2017 by Rabbi Chaim Bernstein of Waterbury, CT, Chinuch Yehudi is designed to educate the nearly one million Israelis living in the United States about the critical need of providing their children with a Jewish education and assist them, financially and otherwise, in transferring their children to Orthodox Jewish day schools.

Daily Giving Founded in 2019 by Jonathan Donath of White Plains, NY, DailyGiving.org is an online platform

that guarantees its users the fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzedakah with as little as one dollar a day, vetting Jewish charities worldwide for meaningful donations. The platform harnesses the power of crowdfunding to feed the poor, help those with special needs and much more.

Led by Jenna Beltser and the Accelerator Executive Board, chaired

by Ezra Friedberg, the OU’s Impact Accelerator will pair members of the selected cohort with experienced professional mentors and provide them with OU resources and network infrastructure. The entrepreneurs will take part in a customized curriculum of business skills, coaching, fundraising and implementation strategies over the next 10 months to accelerate their ventures.

“Our community enjoys many opportunities and faces many challenges,” said Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane. “It is inspiring and invigorating to be engaged with the growing number of community members harnessing their creativity and passion to help move the community forward.”

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

45

Around the Community

Bikur Cholim Far Rockaway-Five Towns Parenting Series

A

s part of its ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of the community in a quiet, effective way, Bikur Cholim of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway is offering a four-part parenting series. The series, “Anxiety in Children, Many Forms and Many Faces,” is designed to give parents the ability to recognize when professional intervention is warranted and to provide the tools needed to parent an anxious child. The series, graciously hosted by the Young Israel of Woodmere, is free of charge and open to men and women of the community.

The first session of the series was presented on January 15 by Dr. Frimi (Faye) Walkenfeld, chair of the Touro College School of Health Sciences Department of Behavioral Sciences. In addition to being an expert academic, Dr. Walkenfeld is a clinical psychologist with both a local private practice and an office in Brooklyn. In her lecture, Dr. Walkenfeld presented direction on how, through effective parenting, one may increase the development of independent, anxiety-free adults.

The audience of over 100 was given

the opportunity to improve their understanding of how anxiety manifests itself in children and how proper parenting can help children cope and even thrive.

The series continues on January 29, 2020, when a local expert will again offer a deeper understanding of this complex challenge. Dr. Ditza Berger, psychologist with Lander

College for Women and a local private practitioner, will present the way to recognize various types of anxiety and the techniques for addressing them.

On February 11, Rabbi Brown, PhD, rebbe and psychologist at Darchei Torah and consulting psychologist for Anchor Mentoring Program and with a private practice,

will host a Q & A panel. In the final lecture, delivered on February 26, Rebbetzin Shaindy Bondi of Yesod Yosef in Inwood and a social worker with a local private practice will address self-management as parents.

Bikur Cholim encourages and looks forward to greeting the community at 8:30 p.m. on January 29, February 11, and February 26.

The Kedusha of Eretz Yisrael is Being Threatened YOU can protect it!

T

he opportunity only comes around once in five years.

It’s your chance to protect Eretz Yisrael from liberal movements that are pushing anti-Torah policies and programs.

Right now, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) is electing members of its Congress (the decision-making body of the WZO) and executive board members of the other national Israel organizations.

This is a unique opportunity for the American Orthodox community to affect the culture and atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael.

Yes, Americans can vote!

152 delegates will be voted in from United States based on YOUR vote.

These delegates will be elected to: • Decide leadership positions in key national Israel organizations • Create policy affecting,

Shmiras Shabbos, kashrus and tradition at the Kosel • Set standards of marriage, divorce and conversion • Decide policy and funding affecting Jewish education in Israel and across the world • Decide on the direction of the $5 billion budget (over 5 years) If the Torah community does not vote, we will not be represented.

Without our votes, the influence and decisions will be placed in the hands of those who will decide policies that are most often anti-Torah. This is what happened in the last election because we didn’t vote.

Vote TODAY to protect the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael at EretzHaKodesh.org.

In the 2015 election, the liberal Jewish groups won the majority of American votes. They tried to add a

mixed section at the Kosel. They gave money to liberal anti-Torah projects and causes. They launched a program to teach pluralism in Israeli public schools. They welcomed hundreds of thousands of non-halachic “Jewish” Russians as Israeli citizens.

And they limited funding to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Now again, they’re gathering tens of thousands of votes to advance their agenda.

There is too much at stake for us to remain silent. Gedolei Yisrael have directed us to act for Torah. Numerous rabbanim, including HaRav Asher Weiss and HaRav Yitzchok Berkowitz of Yerushalayim, and HaRav Elya Brudny of New York (as reiterated at the recent 2019 Agudath Israel of America National Convention) feel that there is much merit in this endeavor and are encouraging us in our efforts.

To that end, Eretz HaKodesh, an American Initiative to protect and uphold true Torah values in Eretz Yisrael, has put together a slate of delegates that represent the Yeshiva, Chassidic, Sephardic, and Israeli Torah communities of the United States.

Your vote matters! The outcome of the 2020 election is CRITICAL to the Torah atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael. If Torah representatives are elected to the WZO Congress, they will have an enormous impact on the Torah standards and traditions of Eretz Yisrael.

Voting is only open for 6 weeks, from Tuesday, January 21 – Wednesday, March 11 (Shushan Purim) Protect the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael!

Learn more and vote at EretzHaKodesh.org.

46

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Darchei Torah Wins Big at Robotics Competition

Hazorfim’s Amazing Candlesticks Offer

C

Free tray with every purchase of candlesticks $990 and up

ongratulations to the Yeshiva Darchei Torah students who competed in the robotics competition of the Center for Ini-

tiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE).

The team of came Moshe Frisch and Dovi Wiesel won second place!

Rabbi Moshe Leff, middle school principal, Moshe Frisch, Dovi Wiesel, Daniel Indig, Simcha Roth, Yaakov Gorelick, and Rabbi Nachum Dinowitz.

Bottom row: Avi Weinberg, Yisroel Roitman, and Elchanon Kamin.

Rabbi Moshe Leff with students at the CIJE Robotics competition

W

hether you’re dreaming of a new set of candlesticks for yourself or looking to give your chosson and kallah a memorable gift, Hazorfim’s not-to-be-missed candlestick event is worth taking a second look.

From January 15 to February 4, save on our full line of exquisite silver candlesticks with prices starting at just $990. Featuring a wide array of hand-crafted styles, everyone — from the traditionalist to the modern art lover— is sure to find a piece that wins their heart.

And with every $990 candlestick purchase, we’re gifting you a FREE classic silver-dipped tray so that you can welcome in Shabbos with a breathtaking piece of art on your table.

Hazorfim offers a full selection of high-end Judaica, including: me-

norahs, candlesticks, candelabras, trays, and chosson sets. At every one of our locations, you can browse a dazzling display of original and unique styles. Looking for clean lines and simple accents? Ornate and beautifully detailed? Our savvy salespeople are happy to help you find the perfect piece for you.

With simcha season on the way, there’s no better place to treat your chosson and kallah to luxury pieces at unbeatable pricing than Hazorfim.

Visit Hazorfim at our flagship store in Borough Park at 4424 13th Ave, or in Williamsburg at 67 Lee Ave. Hazorfim has also opened three new locations: 1412 Avenue M in Flatbush, 167 E. Kennedy Blvd in Lakewood, and at Regal Silver, 7 Van Buren Drive in Monroe.

Did you know?

Oysters were such a popular food item in New York in the 19th century that the shells were actually used to pave Pearl Street in New York City

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

47

48

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Dirshu World Siyum Melava Malka Caps Off an Unforgettable European Shabbos of Chizuk

By Chaim Gold

I

t happened on Shabbos morning during kriyas haTorah at the Heythrop Hotel and Resort near Oxford, England. From my spot in the middle of the beis medrash, I noticed something out of the ordinary going on next to the sefer Torah. I couldn’t, however, figure out what it was. Suddenly, I heard a resounding “Amen.” The faces of those close to the bimah showed a combination of surprise and emotion. I knew I had to find out what remarkable incident had just transpired.

What I heard sent shivers up my spine.

Shabbos Parshas Vayechi was the Dirshu Shabbos for European Jewry that culminated in the Dirshu Europe World Siyum held on Moetzei Shabbos. The venue was a beautiful hotel near Oxford. Perhaps to the rest of the world, Oxford is the center of academia, but on Shabbos Parshas Vayechi, British Jewry realized that the center of true “academia,” of comprehensive

knowledge of Torah sheb’al peh, was a few miles away from Oxford at the Heythrop Hotel.

What happened at the bimah? A Yid who was there asked that a unique mishebeirach be made. That Yid was facing the tzaarah of his life. His wife was ill, very ill, with a dreaded illness. He came to the bimah and requested that the gabbai make a mishebeirach for her. In the mishebeirach he begged Hashem to send her a refuah and promised that as a zechus to invoke Divine mercy for her refuah he had undertaken to learn and take Dirshu tests on the new machzor of Daf HaYomi on the entire Shas!

The resounding amen and the tear-infused amen from his wife in the ezras nashim could not leave anyone unmoved.

This is the power of Dirshu.

The Power of Bracha of the Chofetz Chaim At shalosh seudos, Rav Avrohom Ehrentrau, a rav and rosh yeshiva from An-

Festive dancing on the dais

twerp, put that incident into context in his rousing drashah when he related a story that transpired with his grandfather, Rav Yehuda Zev Segal, zt”l, famed Manchester rosh yeshiva. He said that in the late 1980s, when the rosh yeshiva was visiting Boro Park, a Yid told him that doctors had predicted that he did not have much longer to live, and he

Partial view of the participants at the Dirshu World Siyum in London

sought a bracha. “My Zeide told him he should go to Williamsburg for a bracha from Reb Hershel Kaufman.

Reb Hershel Kaufman was a fine baal habayis, not known as a great rav or tzaddik, and the person couldn’t understand why my Zeide had chosen him. The rosh yeshiva explained, ‘Reb Hershel paid to reprint and newly typeset all of the sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim and distributed the sefarim virtually for free. Someone who encourages so many people to learn the sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim has the power of bracha that the Chofetz Chaim had!’”

In aa thunderous voice, Rav Ehrentrau exclaimed, “Who in this generation has promoted the learning of the sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim more than Rav Dovid Hofstedter and Dirshu??!

Mishnah Berurah, the mussar sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim... Tens of thousands are learning these sefarim because of Dirshu! Certainly this carries with it the koach habracha of the Chofetz Chaim!”

An Unforgettable Shabbos Shabbos Parshas Vayechi will go down in history as a unique, incredible Shabbos the likes of which European Jewry has never before seen. The chizuk in Torah, the recognition of colossal Torah accomplishments of Dirshu learners and their wives, and the deeply inspiring drashos and speeches for both men and women gave tremendous chizuk to the lomdim and their wives and served as a clarion call to the rest of European Jewry to become “Dirshu Yidden,” to join the ranks of those whose days and nights, and everything they do, are permeated by Torah.

The Shabbos culminated in a gala melava malka siyum where hundreds of additional Yidden made the journey to participate in the siyum, which featured special guest addresses from the Limanover Rov, HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Shlomo Meisels, shlita, of Williamsburg, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London, HaGaon HaRav Aharon Hager, shlita, and

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

49

Around the Community

the Nasi of Dirshu, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita.

Shabbos featured shiurim from HaGaon HaRav Gavriel Knopfler, shlita, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivah Shaarei Torah of Monsey, on the sugya of milah on Shabbos; a pesichah shiur on Masechta Brachos by Rav Dovid Hofstedter; and drashos from HaGaon HaRav Mordechai Druk, shlita, well-known maggid from Eretz Yisrael, and Rav Gershon Miller, shlita, mashgiach of the Gateshead Yeshiva.

Another deeply gratifying aspect of the Shabbos was the tremendous achdus.

It is so rare to see chassidim of all kinds, Litvishe Yidden, Sephardic Yidden, ba’alei batim and rabbanim, sitting together, davening together, talking in learning

together and singing together. Dirshu, like Torah, is the ultimate unifier beause Dirshu Yidden are so saturated with and permeated by Torah that all of the external differences are simply unimportant.

Rav Gershon Miller chaired the evening. After divrei pesichah from Dirshu maggid shiur, Rav Yosef Weinberg, Rav Tiferes Yisrael Golders Green, Rav Mordechai Austerlitz, shlita, a Dirshu maggid shiur from Antwerp who has already taken tests on the last two machzorim of Daf HaYomi, was honored with making the siyum. Kaddish was recited by HaGaon HaRav Lipa Rackov, rav of Kehal Heichal HaTorah.

Rav Shmuel Aharon Singer of Antwerp was then asked to make the haschalah

of Masechta Brachos. Rav Singer is a ba’al habayis, a working man who has just completed his third siyum haShas and his second siyum while taking monthly Dirshu tests.

Rav Dovid Hofstedter: “The Essence of a Dirshu Yid” The heartfelt drasha of Rav Dovid Hofstedter and its practical message was a catalyst for growth.

“The galus of Mitzrayim is the paradigm for all galuyos including ours. The only way to combat the difficulties of our generation is to become so attached to limud haTorah that we don’t allow a crack or crevice for outside influences to enter.

“That is the idea of a Dirshu Yid. He is totally immersed in the mikvah

• FREE Pickup and Delivery always!

• Wash & Fold Laundry Service • Expert Tailoring, Same Day Work Available • Special Discounts for Rabbis. Teachers.

Hatzolah and Chaverim • Shomer Shabbos Owned and Operated

Call (718)887-9886

taharah of Torah!”

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London said, “I remember when the Klausenberger Rebbe came to ask my father to sign a kol korei encouraging people to join Mifal HaShas. My father replied, ‘Does one need to sign a kol korei telling people to live?

Torah is life!’ The same applies to Dirshu. They enable people to learn Torah with a goal, with accountability.

They give life itself!”

The Limanover Rav: “A Dirshu Yid Lives Here!”

The final speaker of the evening was HaRav Yaakov Shlomo Meisels, the Limanover Rav. Rav Meisels wove a beautiful tapestry, holding the massive crowd spellbound with his depiction of the transformative

impact that learning in Dirshu’s programs has, not only on the learner but on the entire family.

Rav Meisels explained, “When a person takes upon himself to learn and take tests with Dirshu, his entire essence changes. He becomes a Dirshu Yid and his home becomes a Dirshu shteib. If it would be up to me,” Rav Meisels continued, “I would design a special nameplate for the front door of a home. Just like so many homes have nameplates that say ‘Mishpachas Meisels’ or whatever the family name is, I would design a nameplate that says, ‘Du Voint a Dirshu Yid – A Dirshu Yid Lives Here!’”

o do ways t t n e i n conve ing.

Now 3 ur dry clean op off at dr yo up and . k c i p y ome up Weekl your h d pick n a ff op o . ide dr ervice s Curbs e r o t In s

or call/text (917) 612-2300 email otmdrycleaners@gmail.com for the next scheduled pickup.

Sign up FCC- Fr now for our equ Club an ent Cleaner d ge with ea t savings ch orde r

68-26 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11367

50

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Nationwide TEAM Shabbos Promotes Awareness About End-Of-Life Decisions

T

NOBODY

DESERVES TO BE

ABUSED

Shalom Task Force receives thousands of phone calls offering a confidential place to turn to for help, resources and support.

You’re not alone. We’re here to help.

CONFIDENTIAL ANONYMOUS HOTLINE:

(No Caller ID)

888.883.2323 (TOLL FREE) 718.337.3700 (NYC AREA)

Anonymous hotline — no caller ID. You do not have to give your name.

Trained staff of informed, sensitive and caring individuals.

Referrals include counseling, legal advice or finding a safe place.

It hurts to call A domestic abuse hotline.

It hurts more not to. www.ShalomTaskForce.org

he conversation is growing. The fifth annual TEAM Shabbos was held on Shabbos Vayechi, January 11, and rabbis in over 525 shuls and more than 225 communities across North America enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to discuss end-of-life issues. TEAM stands for Traditional End-of-Life Awareness Movement, and TEAM Shabbos, a project of NASCK (the National Association of Chevra Kadisha), encourages and empowers an estimated 100,000 people to have these difficult but essential conversations.

Rabbis from Teaneck to Toronto annually dedicate Parshas Vayechi to addressing topics such as the inherent sanctity and value of life, the importance of making proper medical decisions, preparing wills in accordance with halacha, and encouraging all Jews to embrace traditional Jewish burial practices.

“TEAM Shabbos was a national success, with overwhelming positive feedback. Many of the rabbanim who presented shiurim on end-oflife matters were surprised at the positive and accepting attitude that their communities responded with,” said Rabbi Elchonon Zohn, the founding president of NASCK and creator of TEAM Shabbos. “I have heard from rabbis who participated that the prevailing sentiment in their kehillos was ‘it’s about time we talked about this.’”

“TEAM Shabbos provides a very important venue for people to hear and talk about these sensitive topics in a neutral and responsible manner,” said one Brooklyn rabbi.

“TEAM Shabbos opens the door to a safe space for talking about these

difficult subjects,” says Rabbi Avi Billet, of Anshei Chesed in Boynton Beach, Florida, “especially for those in their retirement years.”

So, what’s next for NASCK and TEAM Shabbos?

“Not only will we continue to keep the discussion open and generate awareness of the inherent sanctity and value of life, we will encourage people to take action on these matters. Regardless of the age or demographic of your shul or community, the need for this program is real and significant, whether the information pertains to the shul members themselves or their relatives.

One person may need to sign a halachic living will; another may need to speak to a nonobservant relative about the importance of burial rather than cremation. We have a wealth of material on the TEAM Shabbos website to support people in taking their next steps,” says Rabbi Zohn.

“And, of course, we look forward to expanding participation in the TEAM next Parshas Vayechi.”

To download a Halachic Living Will, visit nasck.org/1-2-3/. After having filled out a Halachic Living Will, you can order EMES Cards, which ensure your Halachic Living Will information is with you in case of an emergency. Contact NASCK at 718847-6280 or visit nasck.org/1-2-3/.

For help when opening a conversation about the importance of burial with people who are considering cremation, visit nasck.org/cremation-2/ or call us at 718-847-6280.

For more information about the National Association of Chevra Kadisha (NASCK) and TEAM Shabbos, please call 718-847-6280.

Did you know?

The Genesee River of New York is one of only 33 rivers in the world that runs from south to north

12

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

51

Op- d

Bearing Witness

By Assemblywoman Nily Rozic

“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana

2020

marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. A week ago, I joined a delegation of legislators from the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council to Poland.

As we walked the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Jewish quarter in Krakow searching for clues as to how the Jewish community lived, how generations of my family lived, I was struck not by what was but by what wasn’t. The storefronts we passed were a trick of the imagination – a sign signifying what was once a Jewish bakery was now just another tourist spot.

In Warsaw, most of the city was razed to the ground; current residents live in modern homes atop historic remains. On the night before the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, over 300,000 Jews resided in Warsaw. Today, there are fewer than 10,000 Jews across all of Poland. In Krakow, memorials and city walls are created out of broken tombstones from what was once a Jewish cemetery. In both cities, only a small section of their ghetto walls remains.

It is only at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentra-

tion and death camps intentionally maintained as museums, that our Jewish history is intact. Not the story of how they lived, but of how too many died.

As the daughter of a Yad Vashem educator, my bookshelves were lined with Eli Wiesel, Leon Uris, Primo Levi, Anne Frank, and Lois Lowry.

My yeshiva day school experience and Jewish upbringing afforded me a deep

I advocate for freedom of religion and expression as a fundamental value and right.

I was raised to know that Never Again is a call to action, not just an empty platitude.

With anti-Semitism rising at alarming rates, we need to look to the past so we do not repeat it. But that extends beyond our communities. Currently, Holocaust education is a mandatory unit

A sign signifying what was once a Jewish bakery was now just another tourist spot.

and meaningful Holocaust education to ensure I learned the stories of the more than 6 million lives cut short and the tremendous potential that was lost. I was often surrounded by firsthand accounts from survivors. They spoke of their own experiences; of what happens when people are treated as sub-human, vilified for their religious beliefs. I was privileged to be born in Israel, a Jewish state built out of the ashes of the Holocaust. And, now, as a state legislator,

in the New York State curriculum yet, according to The New York Times, 31 percent of Americans, and 41 percent of millennials, believe that two million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Forty-one percent of Americans and 66 percent of millennials cannot identify Auschwitz. More than half of Americans wrongly think Hitler came to power through force.

We must do better. That’s why I have introduced legislation to commis-

sion a study to better understand how New York schools are complying with the curriculum requirements. If they are not in compliance, we must fix that.

Just a few years ago, chants of “Jews will not replace us” reverberated through Charlottesville, Virginia.

From Pittsburgh to Poway, we check our phones after Shabbat and hold our breath each time there is another shul shooting. Last month, Jews were killed lighting Chanukah candles in New York. We must connect the dots: as the Holocaust fades from memory, anti-Semitism and hate crimes rise.

Our fellow citizens fall victim to ignorance, misinformation, and conspiracy theories.

As Holocaust survivors pass on, we must share their burden and their stories. We must all bear witness. My trip to Poland was one way to carry the charge. There are many others. I urge you to speak up now. Tell your state and local legislators that this matters to you. Show up for rallies and events to denounce hate in all its forms.

I invite you to join me in bearing witness to ensure that all future generations are accurately taught about this unconscionable stain in history so that we can truly live up to our pledge of “Never Again.”

Nily Rozic is a New York State Assemblywoman representing parts of Queens.

52 30

JANUARY 23, The Jewish Jewish Home Home OCTOBER 29, 2020 2015 || The

TJH

Centerfold

Say...It’s Vacation You gotta be

kidding

Morris went on vacation and asked Yankel to watch over his house. About a week later, Morris calls home and asked, “How’s my cat?”

“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.” – Earl Wilson “Isn’t it amazing how much stuff we get done the day before vacation?”

– Zig Ziglar “The vacation we often need is freedom from our own mind.”

– Jack Adam Weber “A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.” – Robert Orben “I need a six month vacation, twice a year.” – Steven Wright “Make your vocation your vacation. That is the secret to success.” – Mark Twain “No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.”

– Elbert Hubbard “Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.”– Mason Cooley “Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – Jerry Seinfeld “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller “Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.”

– George Carlin “There is nothing safer than flying – it’s crashing that is dangerous.”

– Theo Cowan “The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” –Russell Baker “Hearing about vacations is like hearing about dreams – no one cares except the person who’s experienced them.” – Kirsten Hubbard

Yankel hesitated and sadly told Morris that his cat had died.

“What?! You shouldn’t have broken the news to me like that!” Morris exclaimed. “You should have done it slowly. The first time I called, you should have told me she was on the roof. The second time I called, you should have said there was no way to get her down. The third time I called, you should have told me that you tried to get her off the roof, but she fell down and died,” Morris said.

Yankel apologized hung up the phone.

and

About a week later, Morris called again and asked, “How’s Granny?”

There was a long silence and then Yankel replied, “Well, she’s on the roof.”

The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 23, The 29, 2020 2015

Looks Familiar Skiing? Miami? Staycation? Come on…let’s take it to the next level. Have you been to these places yet for winter vacation? If so, let’s see if you can remember what they are.

A

C

B

F

Tokyo Tower Rock of Gibraltar

E)

Louvre Museum, France

D)

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

C)

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

B)

Great Wall of China

A)

Answers:

E

F)

D

53 31

54

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

3

Torah Thought

Parshas Va’eira

By Rabbi Berel Wein

T

his week’s Torah reading contains the four famous words of redemption that signal the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. Much has been made over the centuries as to the meaning and implication of each of these four Hebrew verbs. The fact that there are four such words used in the narrative of redemption fits the pattern that we find in the Haggadah of Pesach – four sons, four questions, four cups of wine.

None of this is naturally random

chance. That is not the way of the Torah or of the tradition of Rabbinic commentary and understanding of the words of the Torah. Since there are 70 facets to all Torah words and thoughts, the use of these four verbs contains different messages, all of them valid and important, that can be experienced and understood by different generations of the Jewish people.

Every era has its own circumstances and its own necessities. The eternity of Torah is that it is able to

Low Cost Quality Insurance

address each and every one of these differing times and circumstances in a meaningful fashion. The Torah speaks to our generation in a way that could not necessarily have been so clearly understood by a past generation which experienced different circumstances than the ones that we face today.

It is one of the extraordinary features of Torah study that it is applicable to so many different times and situations. The rabbis of the Talmud implied this in their statement that the words of Torah sometimes seem to be poor and without meaning in

and accomplished by humans to restore us to our homeland and to our independence and greatness. Anything that is a process takes time and very rarely has immediate general impact. People view events and circumstances as they occur, one by one, and with of the passage of time and constantly changing circumstances, rarely are able to discern the general process that is unfolding before their very eyes.

This process of redemption outlined for us in this week’s Torah reading, a process which was not instantaneous in its result but most

Our Specialty Free Consultation

Free Policy Evaluation

SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PROGRAMS FOR A SYNAGOUGE,YESHIVA, NURSING & ADULT HOME FACILITIES (SAVE UP TO 50% AND MORE)

The Torah speaks to our generation in a way that could not necessarily have been so clearly understood by a past generation.

Large Commercial Insurance Policies Life Insurance Disability Insurance Self Employed Health Insurance Long Term Care Insurance Rabbi S. M. Leiner, CLTC Licensed Independent Broker for all types of Insurance Call: 917-543-0497 - Leave a message Mail: Rabbi S. M. Leiner, CLTC P.O. Box # 7655 600 Franklin Ave. Ga Garden City, NY 11530

one place and time while they are rich and of enormous value in another.

The use of different verbs to indicate the advent of the promised deliverance from Egyptian bondage indicates a process of redemption – a series of events and understandings and the development of a relationship between the Jewish people and the G-d of Israel that will fulfill the promise of redemption made to Abraham.

I have always felt in reviewing the events of the past century in Jewish life that we were in the midst of a process engineered by Heaven

gradual in its unfolding, is a harbinger of much of what is happening today in the Jewish world. The Jewish State in the Land of Israel is flourishing against all odds, and Torah and Jewish life are strengthened daily within its borders. Even though the Jewish situation in the diaspora is of a very mixed quality, the strength of Torah and its resilient quality is being proven once more in front of our gaze. We are still in the middle of the process but I think there is little doubt regarding the actuality of the process itself.

Shabbat shalom.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

55

64 56 64

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire

Parshas Va’eira The Fulfillment of Hashem’s Promises

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

A

t the beginning of the parsha, Hashem tells Moshe (Shmos 6:3), “I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov with the name ‘Keil Shakai,’ but My name ‘YKVK’ [the four-letter name of Hashem] did not become known to them.”

Rashi explains this pasuk as follows: “It does not say ‘I did not make My name known to them.’ Rather it says, ‘My name did not become known to them.’ They did not recognize My attribute of truth personified by my name is YKVK, which implied my trustworthiness to fulfill my word; because I made promises to them but did not fulfill them [in their lifetime].”

Rashi makes a similar comment on the pasuk (Shmos 11:2), “Please speak into the ears of the nation and let them borrow, each person from his neighbor...,” where he explains: “The word nah means ‘please’ [as if to say], ‘Please tell the people [to borrow the Egyptians’ wealth] so that the Tzaddik Avraham should not say that Hashem fulfilled his promise (Bereishis 15:13) “And they will enslave them and oppress them” but He did not fulfill His promise “and after that they shall go out with great wealth.”’”

What is the meaning of Rashi’s comments on these pesukim? Did the Avos have such little faith in Hashem that they needed proofs and reassurances that Hashem would fulfill his promises?

The Avos certainly had perfect faith that Hashem would fulfill His promises. Nevertheless, until one witnesses the fulfillment of a promise with his own eyes, something is still missing. One cannot sing until he has actually experienced redemption. As the pasuk (Tehilim 13:6) says, “I sing out to Hashem when He does kindness to me.” When can a person sing to Hashem? When He does good with the person. When one actually experiences a redemption, he can sing to Hashem. The Avos believed that their children would be redeemed, but they did not fully comprehend Hashem’s kindness until His promises began coming to fruition at the time of Moshe.

The time of the Avos was a time of potential, a time of promises, but Moshe’s time was the beginning of the time of the actualization of that potential. There are no songs in the book of Bereishis. In Moshe’s time,

where (Mechilta Beshalach 3) “[a simple] maidservant by the sea saw what Yechezkel and the other prophets did not see,” the Jewish people were able to sing about the actualization of Hashem’s kindness, as it says (Shmos 15:1), “Then Moshe sang...”

The Ohev Yisroel of Apt, zy”a, asks why Yaakov Avinu never attempted to kill Eisav his brother by using Hashem’s name, just as Moshe killed the Egyptian later on. He answers that Hashem’s name was not fully revealed in Yaakov Avinu’s time. His time was one of promises, of potential, but not actualization.

Yaakov Avinu therefore did not fully comprehend Hashem’s name and could not access its full power, “My name ‘YKVK’ did not become known to them.”

The time of the Avos was a time of collecting promises for the future (Tehilim 13:6), “I trust in Your kindness,” in Hashem’s promises for the future.

The time of their children, however, was a time of the revelation of the fulfillment of those promises, a full recognition of the truth of Hashem’s kindness, “My heart rejoices in Your salvation.”

As the Ramban explains in his introduction to the book of Shemos, “This [the book of Bereishis, the story of the Avos] was a type of formation of their descendants...to hint and make known everything that would happen to them in the future. After the formation period was completed, another book [Shemos] began with the actualization of those hints.”

The Avos believed in Hashem’s promises and Hashem even appeared to them with the name Hashem, but they never experienced the actualization of those promises in the physical world. Therefore, they could not say, “I sing out to Hashem when He does kindness to me.”

The prophet Yeshaya (43:21) reveals the purpose of the creation of the Jewish people: “I formed this nation; they will relate My praises.”

Our job is to recognize Hashem’s kindness when we witness its actualization and relate His praise.

This difference between the way of the Avos and the way of the children exists today as well on several levels. The way of the Avos is re-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

vealed with respect to children and young adults. Their lives are filled with promise for the future. Their time is the period of formation, when they clarify their faith and work toward what they can achieve and attain in the future. They daven, learn, and work on their middos, but everything remains in a state of hope and expectation. They do not yet get to enjoy the sweetness of a full Jewish life. This recognition takes time to attain.

It is the same with the earlier generations. Our parents and grandparents lived through the valley of the shadow of death. All they had was hope for the future. They were unable to sing to Hashem, even if they believed that everything would turn out for the best. They had to wait many years before they were able to witness the actualization of their hopes as they began to watch their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren learning Torah and growing up in the right way.

Rav Yitzchak Hutner went through a difficult trial when his flight was hijacked by terrorists in 1970, and the plane was taken to Jordan. Although the terrorists did

ech meant when he wrote (Tehilim 142:8) “Take my soul from out of its bondage in order to give thanks to Your name; because of me the righteous will crown You because of the

Our job is to recognize Hashem’s kindness when we witness its actualization and relate His praise.

not know that he was a famous rabbi, he looked like one so they singled him out for “special treatment,” making that time extremely difficult and frightening. When he was finally released, he said that only then did he understand what Dovid Hamel-

kindness You do to me.”

At first, Rav Hutner thought that a person should be able to give thanks to Hashem even before he is released from bondage. The truth is that (Brachos 60b) “everything that Hashem does, He does for the

65 57 65

good.” But when Rav Hutner went through that hijacking experience, he realized that one cannot fully comprehend Hashem’s kindness until he has actually experienced redemption from danger, after one is released from the bondage. He wanted to be saved from that situation so that he could give thanks to Hashem. Then, “because of me the righteous will crown You because of the kindness You do to me.” That is the fulfillment of our purpose, “I formed this nation, they will relate My praises.”

May we soon merit to see the actualization of all of Hashem’s promises to us with the arrival of the complete redemption, may it come soon in our days.

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

58 20

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Parsha

in 4

Parshas Va’eira

By Eytan Kobre

Weekly Aggada And Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, and he commanded them about the Jewish people and about Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to bring out the Jewish people from the land of Egypt (Shemos 6:13) Hashem equated His command with respect to the Jewish people and with respect to Pharoah to demonstrate that the redemption of the Jewish people and the punish-

ment of Pharaoh shared a common objective.

R’ Levi likened it to a king who had a sprawling orchard, covered with both fruit-bearing trees and non-fruit-bearing trees. The king’s subjects asked him, “What benefit do you derive from the non-fruit-bearing trees?”

“I need the non-fruit-bearing trees every bit as much as I need the fruit-bearing ones,” replied the king.

“For if I had only fruit-bearing trees, what would I use for construction and what would I use for firewood?”

That is the reason Hashem equated His treatment of the Jewish people and Pharaoh: just as His (Hashem’s) praise ascends from Gan Eden from the mouths of the righteous, so too does it ascend from Gehinnom from the mouths of the wicked.

And what is it that the wicked say about Hashem?

You have said well, You have judged well, You have purified well, You have defiled well, You have obligated well, You have taught well, You have shown well (Shemos Rabba 7:4).

Weekly Mussar And I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov, as G-d Almighty, but My name Hashem I have not made known to them (Shemos 6:3) On the words, “And I appeared,” Rashi explains that Hashem was saying that He had appeared “to the Forefathers” (Rashi, Shemos 6:3).

But that does not seem to add anything to the plain words of the Torah – appearing to “the “Forefathers” is the same as appearing “to Avraham, to Yitzchok, and to Yaakov.” So what is Rashi adding?

R’ Shammai Zahn (1920-2001), rosh yeshiva of the Netzach Yisroel yeshiva in Sunderland, England, answers this question by asking another one: How could Hashem have criticized Moshe Rabbeinu for not comporting himself like Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, who never questioned Hashem’s ways and simply believed in Him wholeheartedly and unquestioningly? Perhaps Moshe Rabbeinu never quite reached the level of Avraham, Yitzchok, and

Yaakov; why, then, should he be held accountable for not comporting himself as they did?

Rashi therefore emphasizes that Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov were not mere exemplars for Moshe Rabbeinu – they were his “forefathers.” Their DNA was his DNA. He was held to their standards not merely because they came before him and served as a role model for him but because they made him and were part of him.

An illustrious pedigree can be a source of strength, pride, and inspiration. But it is also a challenge; inasmuch as we are made of the same stuff as those who came before us, we may be held to their lofty standards and taken to task if we fall short of them.

Weekly Anecdote And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them; just as Hashem had spoken (Shemos 7:13) R’ Yitzchok Isaac Eichenstein of Ziditchov (1805-1873), author of the Likutei Maharya, was widely known as a “ba’al mofes” – a rebbe who performed miraculous and seemingly supernatural feats. But as his legend grew amongst the G-d fearing Jews of Galicia, so did his perceived infamy grow among Galicia’s sizeable and expanding “enlightened” population. These latter Jews were disbelievers in the truest sense of the word. And their cynical skepticism about R’ Yitzchok Isaac and his wonders was no exception. They downplayed and outright denied and mocked the rebbe’s so-called “miracles” and “feats” as nothing but the stuff of fable and fantasy.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

21

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

59 21

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Once, a member of this so-called “enlightened” movement managed to secrete himself in the rebbe’s court, where he lurked for a week, tracking the rebbe’s every movement. At the conclusion of his mission, this reformer published a screed in a weekly Jewish circular, in which he sought to debunk the rebbe’s acts as mere hypnosis, suggestion, and subterfuge – it was all just a hoax, he wrote.

When word of this reformer’s rant reached the rebbe’s camp, one follower of the rebbe belittled the article as the mere drivel it was. “The Torah tells us of Moshe Rabbeinu and the wondrous ‘signs’ he performed,” the rebbe’s follower began.

“But think about it: why is it that when Moshe Rabbeinu performed these wondrous ‘signs’ for the Jewish people, ‘the people believed’ (Shemos 4:30-31), yet when the same wondrous ‘signs’ were performed before Pharaoh, Pharaoh was unmoved and remained a skeptic (Shemos 7:13)?

Same Moshe Rabbeinu and same wondrous ‘signs’ to such different effect? How could that be?

“It must be,” continued the rebbe’s follower, “that the difference lies in the eyes gazing upon the wondrous signs – whether they are Jewish eyes or the eyes of the cynical Pharaoh…”

Weekly Halacha And Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, and he commanded them about the Jewish people and about Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the Jewish people from the land of Egypt (Shemos 6:13) Hashem commanded Moshe and Aharon to accord some honor to Pharaoh (Rashi).

Upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler, we are to recite a special blessing: “...that He has given of His honor to flesh and blood” (Brachos 58a; Shul-

GET YOURS TODAY! “Naphtali Hoff has achieved the implausible: a new management book that is fresh, novel, and highly-readable. Dr. Hoff draws on current industry trends and his own rich leadership expertise to deliver a book that has actionable insights and strategies for organizational leaders. While marketed to “the new boss,” I believe that this book is equally valuable for veteran and aspiring leaders, too.”

— RABBI HERSHEL LUTCH, MBA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEOR

BECAUSE EVERY NEW LEADER DESERVES TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND ENJOY SUSTAINED SUCCESS 1. Achieve immediate, sustainable success 2. Manage effective change 3. Provide clear, useful feedback 4. Connect with your team 5. Maintain work-life balance And so much more!

Available on Amazon and at other fine online retailers.

BecomingtheNewBoss.com

chan Aruch, Orach Chaim 224:8).

Generally, the blessing is recited (with Hashem’s name) upon seeing a ruler who wields enough power to execute or pardon from execution (Yechaveh Daas 2:28; Radvaz 1:296). The blessing is recited (with Hashem’s name) even upon seeing a democratically-elected leader, provided there is no superior figure or body with the ability to nullify the ruler’s decision, or if the ruler has the power to declare war against another country (see e.g. Mishna Berura 224:12; Halacha Berura, Orach Chaim 224:14).

According to some, however, if the ruler does not wear special royal clothing, the blessing is recited without Hashem’s name (Responsa Yabia Omer 8:22(25)). Indeed, Rav Ovadyah Yosef notes that when President Nixon visited Israel, the blessing was recited without Hashem’s name because he was not wearing special clothing of royalty.

Most authorities hold that even a

blind person should recite the blessing (with Hashem’s name) if he or she knows the ruler is present, while one who is congenitally blind should recite the blessing without Hashem’s name (Mishna Berura 224:11 [citing the Pri Megadim]).

One who sees a ruler through glass (e.g., window) should recite the blessing with Hashem’s name (Shaarei Teshuva, Orach Chaim 224:3), but Hashem’s name should not be recited when seeing the ruler through some form of media transmission (e.g., livestream over the internet) (Yechaveh Daas 2:28).

The Weekly Halacha is not meant for practical purposes and is for discussion purposes only. Please consult your own rav for guidance.

Eytan Kobre is a writer, speaker, and attorney living in Kew Gardens Hills.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

E-mail eakobre@outlook.com.

60 84

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Wandering

Jew

My Maiden Voyage Part II

By Hershel Lieber

My father and his brother, Yoel, in the early sixties with my brother, Yossi, in the center

M

y stay in Amsterdam was barely three days long, and yet it was jam-packed with activities. I saw all the major tourist sites including two museums, walked endlessly the charming streets alongside the famed canals, bought lithographs for my mother’s art shop, and went to shul twice a day since I was in my year of aveilus. My last day there was Wednesday, December 21, 1966, and after supper I went to the train station to buy tickets to Hook von Holland, from where I would take an overnight ship to London. I took one final stroll down the Kalverstrat and boarded the train for the two-hour trip to the port. Before boarding the boat, I met a young, chassidishe man who dealt in commemorative coins and medals. We spent hours in the ship’s cocktail lounge where we enjoyed each other’s company and had some drinks. Then we retired to our cabins where I slept bunk-style with three other strangers. I awoke just before docking in Harwich from where I took another two-hour train ride into London. After arriving, I took a taxi to Stamford Hill to the home of my father’s first cousin, Mechel Lieber.

That coming Shabbos was a very

My cousin, Mechel, and his son, Chaim Leib, (both on the left) during a visit of the Bobover Rebbe to London

special one for my London family.

Mechel’s son, Chaim Leib, was having his aufruf. Although the aufruf and simple kiddush was done without much fanfare, the event took away from me receiving any special attention. I felt somewhat neglected in the commotion and excitement surrounding the simcha. I enjoyed myself more when visiting Mechel’s brother, Her-

Yoel, Miriam and Harry in the early sixties

I realized their state of observance, and that he had no idea that our family was, baruch Hashem, religious.

Nevertheless, we met, and they took me out to Bloom’s, a famous kosher restaurant in downtown London. He also took me to some antique shops to see if I could find some artwork to buy for my mother’s art studio. The paintings were either too expensive

He spent a great deal of the war years in Italy hiding in a convent run by Catholic nuns.

shel, both during the week for supper and for the Friday night’s seudah.

Thursday was the only time that I had to see London. My mother had a cousin, Isaak, who was very wealthy, whom I called to give personal regards. He didn’t see my mother since their childhood days before the war.

He invited me to come to him for dinner. When he mentioned that his wife will be preparing shrimp cocktail,

or were junk. In the end, I didn’t buy anything. I saw very little in London.

I just passed by Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus, and Buckingham Palace. I had spent only a half an hour in the British Museum when I rushed out in a panic.

I had left my umbrella in one of the antique shops and ran back to get it, since it rains almost daily in England.

On Friday, I started making plans to go the following week to visit my

father’s brother, Joel, in Munich, Germany. The difference between a flight and a boat ride was negligible so I tried to make an airline reservation for Motzei Shabbos. They told me that there were no flights available since that night was the 24th of December and that the next day was a holiday.

There was a flight available to Paris, so I booked that planning to go to Munich after I would stay a couple of days in France.

After Shabbos, I quickly thanked and took leave from my family and rushed to airport. While standing in line for my ticket, I realized that because of the two-day holiday, all tourist sites would be closed and that my trip to Paris would be in vain. I asked again about a flight to Munich. The agent at the KLM counter was very helpful and rebooked me on a Pan Am flight at midnight to Munich. I called my uncle and told him that I would arrive at 2 a.m. and asked if he could pick me up. The plane was empty, and the airports were nearly deserted as the Weihnachten holiday was ushered in.

A Week in Munich My father’s older brother, Yoel, had a very colorful history. He was the el-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Champs-Elysees

dest of my grandparents’ children and was followed by six sisters and then my father, who was the youngest. He was the only sibling of my father who survived the war. As a teenager, he rebelled against his strict religious upbringing and left home when he was about sixteen years old. He traveled all over Europe and spent a considerable amount of years in France and Italy.

His father could not accept his departure from tradition, but his mother always maintained a line of communication with him. Yoel had a vagabond nature, and even stowed away on a ship to see the New York World’s Fair in 1939, was caught and shipped back to Europe just in time for the beginning of World War II. He spent a great deal of the war years in Italy hiding in a convent run by Catholic nuns.

After the war, he married a Jewish Hungarian woman, had a daughter, and then divorced a few years later.

He then moved to Germany, where he married a Jewish German woman and had a son, Harry, named after his father, Hershel.

As a child, I remember well the continued correspondence that Yoel had with my father and the occasional photos that he sent us. My father and Yoel had not seen each other since Yoel left Krakow as a teenager. Only a few years before my father’s petira did Yoel come to New York to a tearful and emotional reunion of the two brothers.

It was two o’clock Sunday morning when I arrived at the airport in Munich. Yoel was waiting for me, and we drove back to his apartment in a blinding snowstorm. His lovely wife, Miriam, and their son, Harry, were up to greet me. We spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other. Miriam was very devoted to Yoel, who was struggling to make a living. Harry took to me instantly and clung to me for the duration of my stay. My week-long stay was very uneventful as we spent most of the days talking, with some minor er-

A telegram to my mother, telling her I had arrived in Munich

rands out of the home. What was very encouraging to me was both Miriam’s and Yoel’s yearning to bring more Yiddishkeit into their home. They kept a strictly kosher kitchen and celebrated Shabbos and yom tov, although there were not exactly shomer Shabbos. The shul was too far for him to walk to, and there were no minyanim during the week. On Friday night I davened at home, and we had a beautiful Shabbos tish. On Shabbos morning, I walked alone for 45 minutes to the Reichenbachstraase Synagogue where I got an aliyah and joined the congregation for the kiddush.

My stay with my uncle and his family was very relaxing, and I was thrilled to hear all the stories from his childhood, his adventures and struggles after leaving his parents’ home and his travails during the war. There were times when the lengthy conversations became a bit boring, but I was always interested in my family and learning our past history. This was the perfect time and the right place to expand this knowledge.

The City of Lights After an entire week in Munich, I flew to Paris on Motzei Shabbos.

I arrived on New Year’s Eve and stayed in a small cheap hotel off the Champs-Elysees. I remember watching the midnight fireworks from my window and having a hard time falling asleep. The next day everything was closed for the holiday, including

all tourist attractions. I spent the whole day walking around this beautiful city. Regulations did not allow any tall buildings to be erected, so the graceful Eiffel Tower was visible in so many locations. I spent time in the Tuileries Garden, strolled along the Seine River, browsed in the book stalls on the Left Bank, and ate a tasty fleishig lunch in the Marais section of town. This area was nicknamed Der Pletzl, because of the large Jewish population that lived there for many years. When I was there, the population had largely shifted, but many Jewish institutions, businesses, and kosher restaurants were still located there.

The next day was quite cold, but I continued my tourist exploits by climbing up to the roof of the Arche de Triumph, visiting the world-renowned Louvre Museum to appreciate the paintings of the famous masters, and gazing at the City of Lights from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I was also quite occupied with trying to buy artwork for my mother’s art studio in the Montmartre section of the city.

The paintings were either too expensive or too modern for her customers’ tastes.

Although I loved the city and its sights, I still felt a certain emptiness in spending so much time sightseeing.

At times I felt lonely and longed to be back with my mother and family. Yet, I still was determined to continue for another week on my maiden voyage.

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.

61 85

A photo taken before Shabbos with Miriam and my cousin, Harry

With my uncle Yoel and my affectionate cousin Harry

The Eiffel Tower

The only photo of me in Paris

62

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

1

My Israel Home

Carl Lutz The Mystery Savior

By Gedaliah Borvick

Carl Lutz in Budapest in 1945 (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

A

friend visiting Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov community was walking on Charles Lutz Street. The street sign mentioned that Lutz was among the Chasidei Umot Ha’olam – Righteous Among the Nations – which piqued his interest, so he googled the name. After reading the first paragraph about Mr. Lutz, my friend sent me the following WhatsApp: Gedaliah, you MUST write an article about this mystery man!

Over thirty heads of state will be participating this coming week in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, titled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,” at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. In honor of this event, permit me to share with you the remarkable story of Charles Lutz.

Charles – known as Carl – Lutz is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the Holocaust, but somehow his activities went mostly unnoticed.

In comparison, Raoul Wallenberg of the Swedish foreign ministry, with whom Lutz sometimes collaborated, saved under 10,000 people – no small feat either, I might add – but became

famous for his humanitarian efforts.

How in the world did Lutz save over 60,000 people, literally half of Budapest’s Jewish population? Secondarily, why did Wallenberg become so famous when Lutz’s heroic activities flew under the radar?

Carl Lutz was a Swiss diplomat who arrived in Budapest in January 1942 and, due to Switzerland’s stance of neutrality, also represented the interests of many countries that had severed diplomatic relations with Hungary during World War II, including the United States and United Kingdom.

Lutz understood the German mindset that admired discipline and valued being rule-oriented – and used that knowledge to save many Jewish lives.

He leveraged his position as the UK wartime representative and created an emigration certificate to allow safe passage to British-controlled Palestine.

Lutz then negotiated a deal with the Hungarian government and the Nazis to allow 8,000 Hungarian Jews to use these protective letters to escape certain death and move to Palestine.

Although receiving permission to issue only 8,000 letters, Lutz – at-

Jews seeking protection outside a glass building

tempting to save as many lives as possible – broadly interpreted the document as applying to families, rather than individuals. In addition, he worked with members of the Zionist youth underground to forge thousands more of these protective letters.

Lutz was an organizational genius and brilliantly patched together a network comprised of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, local Zionist organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, diplomats from five neutral countries, including Sweden’s Raoul Wallenberg, and sympathetic Hungarians to create 76 – and by some accounts 122 – “safe houses” around Budapest to store the people who had these emigration certificates until they could be sent to Palestine. By using ingenious and daring diplomatic tricks and masterfully twisting the tenets of the Geneva Convention, Lutz successfully managed to provide diplomatic protection to tens of thousands of Jews in these safe houses. However, as opposed to the famous Wallenberg who was literally on the streets distributing letters of protection, Lutz always remained in the background and pre-

ferred to operate in the shadows in order to not jeopardize the mission.

After the war, instead of receiving accolades for his extraordinary humanitarian achievements, Carl Lutz received an official reprimand from the Swiss government for overstepping his diplomatic authority and disobeying the law, effectively blocking him from advancing his diplomatic career.

In 1964, Lutz and his first wife were awarded the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Years later, the Swiss government finally restored his tarnished image, but it was too little and way too late. Lutz died in 1975 a disillusioned man who felt betrayed by the Swiss government, which never fully recognized his moral clarity and superhuman efforts during one of history’s darkest periods.

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel.

To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Which one of these children needs Chai Lifeline?

(Hint: They all do.)

Chai Lifeline is renowned for the care and love it bestows on children fighting cancer. But that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline serves thousands of children with medical challenges that aren’t evident on the outside, everything from Crohns Disease to cystic fibrosis to heart disease and illnesses so rare only a handful of children have been diagnosed. And still, that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline includes siblings and parents, too, with programs geared towards the entire family.

We care for more than 5,000 children and their families around the world and across the street.

Chances are, you know them. They just don’t look sick.

Whenever, wherever we’re needed, Chai Lifeline is there.

Chai Lifeline. Comprehensive, compassionate, professional assistance for families facing illness, loss or trauma.

151 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001 I (877) CHAI-LIFE I (212) 465-1300 I www.chailifeline.org

Regional Offices: Greater New York I Southeast I West Coast I Midwest I Mid-Atlantic I New Jersey I Canada I England I Israel I Belgium Hospital Support: Meals | Transportation Assistance | Hospital Visits | Respite Children’s Programs: Arts and Recreational Activities | After-school programs | Sibling Programs | Educational Assistance in Limudei Kodesh Counseling for patients and siblings | Camp Simcha/Camp Simcha Special Family Programs: Advocacy and Information | Retreats | Insurance Advocacy | Family Recreation | Family Counseling | Bereavement Services Community Programs: Project CHAI, support for schools, camps, and communities facing crisis or trauma.

63

64 82

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER OCTOBER 29, 29, 2015 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home

Sheila Schwebel Shows You the

WORLD

By Malky Lowinger

I

f you were to meet Sheila Schwebel, your first impression would probably be of a sweet, mild-mannered, and unassuming woman who lives in Flatbush and probably spends her days picking grapefruits at Pomegranate or babysitting for the grandkids.

So it’s probably a good idea to clear up any such misconceptions from the get-go. Sheila is a traveling powerhouse. She’s smart, charismatic, and energetic, with tremendous simchas hachayim. And while you may occasionally find her squeezing melons at a Brooklyn supermarket, you are way more likely to see her climbing the mountains of Croatia, singing songs of emunah with seminary students at a hidden synagogue in Theresienstadt, or marveling over the wonders of Niagara Falls with graduating students. Sheila is a tour guide, a group leader, a master organizer, and a scholar of Jewish history.

And she’s made it her life’s mission to introduce others to the beauty, the inspiration, and the wonders of Hashem’s world.

Sheila’s passion and enthusiasm

are irrepressible. She simply can’t help herself.

“I love what I do!” she says. “I’ve been, baruch Hashem, to many places, and I never ever get tired of seeing ‘Mah rabu ma’asecha Hashem’ or learning more history.”

It’s a love that has spanned, ka”h, close to four decades as a travel guide and is becoming stronger and more vibrant than ever.

Revisiting the same destinations doesn’t faze Sheila, and she never gets tired of it. “That’s because it’s not the site itself that I need to see again and again; it’s the new people I bring there that interest me. I want those who travel with me to see the places I love through my eyes and internalize my thoughts, my hashkafa, and my enthusiasm. I give it over to them with love.”

Call Me Sheila How did this Brooklyn woman turn into an extraordinary and sought-after tour guide? It all started when Sheila was a young mother of five small children, and her husband began entertaining the idea of moving to Eretz Yisroel. The thought seemed daunting at first.

“I’m a Tzioni at heart,” she admits.

“But we were living a good life here in America with a house, two cars, and family all around. So I davened to Hashem that I adjust and love living in Eretz Yisroel because that’s really where my heart is.”

The young family moved to Bayit V’gan in Yerushalayim, and Sheila began to consider different options for parnassah. She was passionately in love with Eretz Yisroel, with every inch of the land so filled with the rich history of the Jewish people. And she was determined to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with others. In 1981, she developed ITT (Israel Torah Trip), a six-week summer tour of Israel for Bais Yaakov high school graduates as an alternative to seminary in Israel. The program offered touring and adventure with an uncompromising Torah hashkafa.

Several years later, the Schwebels moved back to New York, and Sheila was devastated. But she continued to return to Eretz Yisroel every summer to lead the ITT tour for two decades, helping groups of young women appreciate the beauty of the Jewish homeland.

She also began coordinating a successful series of graduation trips for American students. Schools in Brooklyn, Queens, the Five Towns, and beyond enlisted her talents and trusted her judgment to lead their eighth or twelfth graders on trips to Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, or Niagara Falls.

These young students invariably respond warmly to Sheila’s enthusiasm and passion.

“When we board the bus,” she explains, “I tell them to call me Sheila.

It’s an immediate ice breaker. I’m not Mrs. Schwebel, and I’m not their teacher. I’m a guide who is hoping to teach them in an interesting and fun way.”

That world looks very different to impressionable youngsters when seen through the eyes of a professional, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic guide.

“They can go to these places themselves and say, ‘OK, very nice. Here’s a waterfall. Big deal.’ But if they go with me, I try to help them recognize the majesty and learn the history, and that makes a huge difference.”

More recently, and in response

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

65 83

One of the fishing boats used to save the Jews of Denmark

The Grand Choral Synagogue in Moscow

to popular demand, Sheila began leading women’s tours to a variety of European destinations as well as to South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China. She is often accompanied on these trips by Rebbetzin Rena Tarshish, principal of Masores Rochel Seminary in Eretz Yisroel and a brilliant scholar. Sheila’s enthusiasm coupled with Rebbetzin Tarshish’s breadth of knowledge is a powerful combination so it’s no wonder that many of the women who join the tours are repeat customers.

I’m Not 9 to 5 Type “I’m not the nine-to-five type,” Sheila explains. And honestly it would be difficult to picture her at a desk job. Instead, she is always on the go and forever looking forward to her next big trip. She currently leads at least twelve school groups annually and works equally well with students from chassidic mosdos to Modern Orthodox yeshivas. Principals and administrators trust her to inspire

The towering Victoria Falls in Zambia

their students with the proper hashkafa as well as to properly arrange every minute detail of their trip from bus rentals, to hotel reservations, to proper kosher meals. All they have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

Every location has its own story to tell.

At Niagara Falls, Sheila focuses on nifla’os haboreh. In Washington, D.C., she points out the thirty-six pillars surrounding the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool that reflects the image of the Washington Monument.

She also leads many young people with sensitivity as they visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., for the very first time.

Is the museum perhaps too intense of an experience for young children? Do they find the exhibits to be emotionally overwhelming?

Sheila says that every school principal makes that decision for his or her own students. Some will limit the

time spent at the museum, and others will choose which exhibits are most appropriate. Sheila will generally give introductory remarks before the students enter the museum, discussing the Torah approach to learning about the dark and devastating history of the Nazi era. She knows the museum so well that she can expertly and effectively guide the youngsters through its corridors.

“They will get more out of it in an hour with me,” Sheila observes, “than roaming around the museum by themselves for two hours.”

The King of Denmark Guiding and educating are an integral part of Sheila’s DNA. We are not on a tour visiting a far-flung destination but she can’t resist telling me the remarkable story of the Jews of Denmark during the Holocaust. It’s a story of hope and promise during an era of darkness and desperation.

“When you visit Yad Vashem,” says Sheila, “you will see a small fishing

boat in the museum’s ya’ar of chasidei umos ha’olam. Similar boats are on exhibit in two other museums. Do you know the story behind the boats?

You don’t?? Then I must tell it to you!”

Thus, do I learn about the king of Denmark and the citizens of that country who were determined to protect their Jews from the Nazi deportations and were largely successful.

The story of the fishing boat is the story of a nation who stood up to the most evil empire and saved the lives of over 7,200 Jewish people.

“The king loved his country,” Sheila began, “so when the Nazis invaded in 1940, he made a treaty with them.

The Nazis plundered Denmark’s natural resources but they allowed him to continue to rule. He did so and continued protecting his Jews, even refusing to allow the Nazis to force them to wear the infamous yellow stars.” In fact, she says, he threatened to wear a yellow star himself if the Nazis insisted that his Jewish subjects must wear it.

84

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

66

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

The majestic Plitvice Lakes in Croatia

In 1943, as the Nazi deportations intensified, they decided to deport the Danish Jews to Polish concentration camps. The people of Denmark rallied to assist their Jewish neighbors.

They tipped off the leaders of the Jewish community that the Nazis were planning a deportation on Rosh Hashana of that year. And they helped them hide from the Nazi invaders in schools, hospitals, and churches until they could ferry them to neutral Sweden.

At great personal risk, the Danes ferried the Jews ten at a time in small, rickety fishing boats across the canal to safety. Sweden may have been just three miles away, but the journey was harrowing and the danger was imminent. Despite the risks, thousands were rescued.

The story of Denmark is heartwarming, a glimmer of light in a vast sea of darkness, so it’s not surprising that Sheila considers it one of her favorite tales. She also offers her own editorial comment.

“Sadly,” she says, “the overwhelming majority of the people in Europe remained silent during that awful era. But all those innocent bystanders are also guilty. They knew what was happening but they did nothing.

The story of Denmark proves that it was possible stand up to terror and oppression, even in times of overwhelming danger.”

Be in the Moment Clearly, Sheila has tremendous energy. Flying doesn’t faze her, and

The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand

lengthy bus rides don’t tire her out.

She can outpace her young tourists who sometimes struggle to keep up with her. Sheila has also developed an extensive fan club of women who traveled with her when they were eighteen and now have married children. It’s not unusual for these women to greet her at a simcha and remind her how much they enjoyed traveling with her.

“They’ll tell me, ‘Shh. Don’t tell

of song and laughter. There was a healthy and ongoing cheerful chatter between the girls.”

Today? Not so much.

“The buses are quiet,” Sheila laments. “Everybody is on their phone checking their messages or scrolling instead of speaking and engaging with the person sitting next to them.”

Sheila insists that she has nothing against cellphones. “In fact,” she says,

“THEY’LL TELL ME, ‘SHH. DON’T TELL MY HUSBAND, BUT IT WAS THE BEST SUMMER OF MY LIFE!’” my husband, but it was the best summer of my life!’”

How does touring in the year 2020 compare to the trips Sheila led back in the ‘80s and ‘90s? Has anything changed over the years? Sheila answers with one definitive word: “Cellphones.”

The cellphone era has impacted everything, she says. “Years ago, our bus trips were filled with the sounds

“I enjoy my cellphone. But I think it’s important to be in the moment. It’s much better to enjoy where you are right now. That means sharing the excitement and connecting with the people who are with you.”

Wherever she goes, Sheila’s top priority is maintaining an elevated level of decorum. She remembers how Chacham Harari-Raful would lecture the students of Ateret Torah

before they embarked on their graduation trip each year. “He would say, ‘You are going out to see Hashem’s world, but do you know why I am sending you? To make a kiddush Hashem wherever you go.’” That has remained Sheila’s highest priority.

Her list of instructions to students is short yet meaningful. “Say please and thank you at all times,” she reminds them. “Don’t cut the line. Behave with dignity and with proper respect, especially when visiting memorials and monuments.”

She advises travelers to dress comfortably and appropriately. Common sense perhaps, but Sheila says that wearing the proper clothes will enhance any trip.

“I sometimes take groups to places where it’s freezing. Those people should come prepared with winter gear and layers of warm clothing. If you’re not comfortable, you just won’t enjoy it,” she notes.

Experience has taught her to dress properly for any occasion.

“I was probably the warmest person at the Siyum Hashas in MetLife stadium,” she says. “I must have been wearing seven layers of clothing, but I was comfortable. I came prepared.”

Similarly, she advises those who are planning a trip to warm weather destinations to always remember to use sunscreen, bring along a hat to protect against the sun, and drink lots of water.

Of course, footwear is crucial.

“Wear super-comfortable shoes or sneakers when roaming the cities of

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

85

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

67

Somehow, the harrowing stalemate was eventually resolved. The contents of the bag were confiscated, and Moses eventually managed to book a first-class ticket on a later flight with the Vietnamese airline, while paying a hefty fee for himself and eighteen pieces of luggage. It was a frightening experience, but things could have been much worse!

Europe or climbing the steps of Ir David,” she advises. “Don’t be fashionable, be smart.”

Caught with the Kitchen Knives Sheila’s organizational skills are legendary. She can arrange a trip with all its particular details, and everything will run like clockwork.

But occasionally stuff happens.

Like the time that Moses, her trusted friend and knowledgeable tour guide, was assisting her on a trip to Thailand and was almost arrested in Thailand.

Sheila remembers it well.

“We were a large group of women who were ready to board a plane at the airport. An airline representative had told us that we can each bring along two suitcases.” That turned out to be an error, and Sheila found herself grounded with dozens of extra suitcases while her group began to board the flight.

Despite her well-honed negotiating skills and offers to pay handsome-

The Journey Continues

There are 36 pillars in the Lincoln Memorial

ly for the extra luggage, the airline agents refused to budge. Time was ticking by, the flight was preparing to take off, and there seemed to be a standoff. That’s when Moses volunteered to take Sheila’s hand luggage and go ahead to board the flight.

When he passed through security, he was stopped and questioned

aggressively by local law enforcement agents. Apparently, there was a set of kitchen knives that had been used that morning to cut up veggies for her group’s breakfast in Sheila’s bag. It wasn’t easy to convince the local authorities that it was mistakenly placed in the hand luggage; the evidence was telling. Moses was almost arrested.

Sheila Schwebel can rack up frequent flyer miles better than anyone.

She has, so far, visited a total of over 20 countries on four continents and has inspired over 1,500 young people. And there’s no indication that she plans to slow down anytime soon.

It’s a big world out there, and she’s determined to conquer it, so she will continue to journey and to inspire others about Hashem’s world.

It’s a journey that started four decades ago, a journey that continues and never ends.

68

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

78

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

NEW YORK

IN

69

8

How well do you know the Big Apple? Probably not as well as your Uber driver. But you can use the next few days to get to know the city and enjoy all that it offers. Make sure you check out TJH’s top attractions in NYC over midwinter vacation because, to quote a famous singer with blue eyes, “These vagabond shoes, they are longing to stray… I want to be a part of it, New York! New York!”

1

3

CENTRAL PARK

There are 843 acres of green space smack in middle of the bustle in Manhattan – and we love every inch of it. Central Park is part-park, part-museum, partNew Yorkers’ backyard. You can spend time taking a boat out for a leisurely afternoon on the water, navigating the immense circle by bike, enjoying the animals at the zoo, and eating lunch on the lawn. We challenge you to visit all 20 playgrounds, 48 fountains, monuments and sculptures, and 36 bridges in the park. If you can’t get to them all, make sure you check out the 11-foot-tall statue of Alice in Wonderland, who sits perched on a magic mushroom and is surrounded by her friends, the Mad Hatter and Cheshire cat. Just a few feet below, you can take out remote-control sailboats for a cute spin. Looking for a quiet place to relax? The Conservatory Garden is comprised of six acres of flora and greenery. In the warm months, taking a bike or a boat out from the Loeb Boathouse is a must, but in the winter months, Wollman Memorial Rink is a better place to plan your outdoorsy day. There’s nothing like ice skating with the New York skyline as your backdrop.

2

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Before you turn the page because we mentioned the word “museum,” keep in mind that the American Museum of Natural History has something for everyone – and is quite warm on a winter day. There are almost 32 million artifacts inside the ginormous museum, which is spread across four city blocks. With 45 exhibition halls, there’s no way you can take it all in on one day (yay! Another idea for next midwinter vacation!), and there’s bound to be something to pique each one of your family member’s interests. Visitor particularly love the Rose Center for Earth and Space, but the Butterfly Conservatory is also really popular.

We would suggest that you get there earlier in the day and go during a weekday, as the museum can get really crowded. Round off your day with dinner in Manhattan, and you can bet your kids will doze off on the LIRR coming home.

TOP OF THE ROCK

Psst! We’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s OK to do touristy things in NYC, even if you only live a few miles away. Rockefeller Center is a great place to visit while in the city. You can enjoy a few hours ice skating in the iconic rink surrounded by beautiful sculptures. Once you’re done there, you can spend some time at the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, getting a bird’s-eye view of the Big Apple.

Have a little girl tagging along with you on your visit to the city? Make sure she visits American Girl Place to check out the overpriced, beautiful dolls on display. Have more kids with you? The LEGO store is always a hit, and the FDNY Fire Zone is also a fun, hands-on place for children. For those with more mature taste, Saks is right across the street, and there are many shows – The Dr. Oz Show, for example – that film right around here.

Make sure to grab a quick lunch or dinner before you head home. Wolf & Lamb, Kosher Deluxe, and Milk and Honey are all within walking distance.

70

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

4

79

BRYANT PARK

Lest you think that we’re sending you to too many parks, remember that Manhattan is huge and that each “park” has its own flavor and tempo. Bryant Park is way smaller than Central Park – a “mere” 4 acres – but it is a lush oasis in a busy city.

On a sunny day, scores of people enjoy their lunch and free Wi-Fi just south of Times Square. There’s ice skating there as well, along with a cute carousel for the young and young-at-heart. It’s just around the corner from the New York Public Library, where you can spend hours perusing the thousands of books and scores of maps in addition to special collections of English and American literature. (Ever wanted to know the names of those two lions that guard the library? They’re Patience and Fortitude and are really gentle.) Bryant Park is also located right near some great shopping, too. And if you’re hungry after all that ice skating, reading, and shopping, Colbeh and Le Marais are close enough to hop into after a long day.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

5

Nothing says “culture” like the Met. Filled with masterpieces from all over the world, including notable collections from Ancient Egypt and classical antiquity, it’s an art experience unlike any other. With so many collections – permanent and temporary exhibits – you’ll need to come back at least once a week for many months to take it all in.

But don’t be discouraged. The museum is set up so that anyone can find their way easily through the exhibits. Decide on what types of art and collections you’d like to focus on and spend your time there. Current exhibitions include “In Pursuit of Fashion” and “Dutch Masterpieces at the Met.” Guided tours are also offered and may make your stay a bit more entertaining.

6

GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL

We know this is highly unusual; after all, Grand Central Terminal is, in reality, a train station. But there’s a lot going on here, and it’s always fun to pop in and take in the very-busy scenery. The main concourse is beautiful, and if you’re not rushing to catch a train, you can admire the detailed work soaring above your head and below your feet. Pick up a souvenir for the train-lover in your family at the New York Transit Museum Store. Oh, and speaking of trains (isn’t that what this is all about?), the Holiday Train Show is open now until February 23 in the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery. Miniature electric trains run beneath famous landmarks and will delight both young and old. All those trains making you hungry? Check out Mendy’s on the Lower Concourse or pick out fruits and vegetables at the Grand Central Market, which features 13 local vendors hawking fresh produce and other treats.

80

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

7

TIMES SQUARE

Maybe it’s a bit overrated, but we like to think that a walk through Times Square means that you were really in New York. Known as the Crossroads of the World, the five-block mega tourist zone is just like New York City itself: exciting, crowded, and very colorful. As true New Yorkers, you’re allowed to gawk just a bit at the tall buildings as you head from store to store or pick up Broadway tickets at TKTS. The Disney Store here is always happening; Hershey’s Chocolate Times Square and M&M’s World New York will bring out the chocaholic in everyone in your group. Prices are extremely high, though, so don’t be too free with your wallet. Remember, your nosh closet is only a train ride away.

8

HUDSON YARDS

If you’ve never been to Hudson Yards, we understand. This newest attraction is just a few years old – but it’s pretty cool. The Vessel is perhaps the most interesting site at Hudson Yards. Comprised of 154 intricately interconnected flights of stairs – almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings – this outdoor attraction is a great way to work off your lunch. Guests need to order tickets in advance – but the site is free. After climbing the intricate outdoor “beehive,” grab a coffee at a shop nearby. On a nice day, the public gardens offer 14 acres of green oasis in which to enjoy your hot drink. Want to walk off more calories?

The Spur, which is the last part of the High Line, is located right there and has panoramic views up and down 10th Avenue and 30th Street.

Oh, and if you love shopping, there are more than 100 stories in the mall at Hudson Yards.

PESACH 2020

AT THE BEAUTIFUL

MARCO POLO BEACH RESORT

Celebrating

• • • • • • • • • • •

Years!

Oversized rooms, many with terraces Poolside fitness, sauna, steam room Aerobics & zumba by Danielle Jacobs Superb day camp led by the Stroll Brothers Private seder rooms available Gourmet glatt kosher cuisine with renowned Chef Andy Serano Sumptuous Tea Room Cantor led or private seders Top name entertainment Trips to major attractions Daily services, shiurim, lectures

–––––––––––– JOINING US THIS PESACH: ––––––––––––

Rav Chaim Friedman

Dr. Mendy Ganchrow

Dr. Scott Goldberg

Entertaniment by

Sam Jacobs

HOSTED BY:

For reservations call Howie Sarnoff:

Trusted Leaders in Passover Tours

marcopolopassover@gmail.com

800-327-8165

The Schechter Family 19201 COLLINS AVENUE SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA

www.marcopolobeachresort.com

FIRST CHILD FREE!

Call Joy of AMIT Children SOUTHEAST REGION

954-922-5100

71

72 70

JANUARY OCTOBER 23, 29, 2020 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home

Florida Dining Guide

For those of you who are enjoying time off in sunny Florida, we miss you.

But in between walks on the boardwalk and laps in the pool, make sure to check out these wonderful restaurants for lunch or dinner (or anytime in between!).

Call before you go; these places fill up fast!

26 Sushi & Tapas

Backyard BBQ and Brew

Boca Kosher Bagel

Carlos & Gabby’s Miami

9487 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 570-2626

9472 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 763-8818

21065 Powerline Road Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 245-8363

740 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140 (786) 276-1212

41 Miami

Bagel Time

Butcher Block Grill

Century Grill

4101 Pine Tree Drive Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 230-4200

3915 Alton Road Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 538-0300

7000 West Camino Real Boca Raton, FL 334344 (561) 409-3035

9060 Kimberly Boulevard Boca Raton, FL 33434 (561) 571-6144

41 Pizza & Bakery

Bagel Way and Pizza

Café Emunah

Chai Wok

451 W 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140 (786) 517-3833

1600 NE 163 Street North Miami Beach, FL 33162 (305) 974-2629

3558 N Ocean Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 (954) 561-6411

1688 NE 164th Street N. Miami Beach, FL 33162 (305) 705-2110

Acqua Trattoria

Baketory

Café Vert

Chai Wok

3565 NE 207th Street The Waterways Miami, FL 33180 (305) 690-7103

7160 Beracasa Way Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 672-7606

9490 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 867-3151

233 95 Street Surfside, FL 33154 (786) 245-5557

Asia Boca Raton

Boca Grill

Capri Sushi & Italian

Chill ‘N Grill Pita

8903 Glades Road, Suite G9 Boca Raton, FL 33434 (561) 419-8434

726 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 534-0551

7158 Beracasa Way Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 717-6968

7600 W Camino Real Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 544-8100

The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 23, The 29, 2020 2015

China Bistro

Grand Cafe Espresso Bar

Kikar Tel Aviv

Mozart Café Sunny Isles

5650 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 505-4729

2905 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33312 (954) 986-6860

5005 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 866-3316

18110 Collins Avenue Sunny Isles, FL 33160 (305) 974-0103

Cine Citta Cafe

Grill House

Kosh Miami

Mozart Grill

9544 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 866-8688

976 41st Street (off Alton Road) Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 674-9005

9477 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 763-8601

18120 Collins Avenue Sunny Isles, FL 33160 (305) 974-0098

Grill Time

Krudo

Noma

17092 West Dixie Highway North Miami Beach, FL 33160 (786) 440-5483

18851 NE 29 Avenue Aventura, FL 33180 (305) 974-0288

L’Chaim Asian Restaurant

Orchids Garden

4000 N 46th Avenue Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 362-0777

9045 La Fontana Boulevard Boca Raton, FL 33434 (561) 482-3831

Lenny’s Pizza

Pita Hut Miami Beach

544 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 397-8395

530 41st Street Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 531-6090

Levy’s Kosher

Pita Hut North Miami Beach

Cinnaholic 141 NW 20 Street Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 617-7277

Ditmas Boca Raton 21077 Powerline Road Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 826-8875

Dixie BBQ 18798 West Dixie Highway Miami, FL 33180 (305)760-2620

Dunkin Donuts 3951 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33314 (954) 842-3719

Florida Grill Steakhouse 4299 Collins Avenue Miami, FL 33140 (305) 535-6077

Foozo Artisan Pizza 2520 NE 186 Street North Miami, FL 33180 (305) 682-9692

Fresko 19048 NE 29 Avenue Aventura, FL 33180 (786) 272-3737

Fuego by Mana 3585 NE 207 Street Aventura, FL 33180 (786) 520-4082

16145 Biscayne Boulevard (just south of 163rd Street) N Miami, FL 33160 (786) 274-8935

Harbour Grill 9415 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 861-0787

HBK Burger 5650 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 404-7369

Holy Bagels & Pizzeria 15903 Biscayne Boulevard North Aventura, FL 33160 (305) 940-4402

Holy Bagels & Pizzeria 93 NW 1st Street Miami, FL 33128 (305) 961-7878

Hummus Factory 2790 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33020 (954) 927-3225

Jerusalem Pizza 761 NE 167 Street Miami, FL 33162 (305) 653-6662

Jon’s Place 22191 Powerline Road Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 338-0008

3369 Sheridan Street Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 983-2825

Mizrachi’s Pizza Kitchen 5650 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 505-3190

Montefiore Café 4017 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 538-4770

Mozart Cafe Boca Raton 7300 W Camino Real Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 367-3412

Mozart Café 4433 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 584-5171

18450 West Dixie Highway North Miami Beach, FL 33160 (305) 792-0821

Pita Loca 601 Collins Avenue, #5 Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 673-3388

Pita Star 5800 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 981-7710

Pita Xpress 3000 Stirling Road, Ste 116 Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 251-1799

Ramona’s 19785 Hampton Drive Boca Raton, FL 33434 (561) 419-7523

73 71

74 72

JANUARY OCTOBER 23, 29, 2020 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home

Rita’s Ices

Shalom Haifa

The Carrot

9461 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 614-5355

18533 West Dixie Highway Aventura, FL 33183 (305) 936-1800

9519 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (786) 216-7355

Rustiko

Soho Asian Bar and Grill

Wok on the Beach

9476 Harding Avenue Surfside, FL 33154 (305) 560-5650

19004 NE 29th Avenue Aventura, FL 33180 (305) 466-5656

3919 Alton Road Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 534-3034

Sara’s Pizza

Soho Deli

Yogurt Rendezvous

3944 N 46 Street Hollywood, FL 33021 (954) 986-1770

19010 NE 29th Avenue Aventura, FL 33180 (305) 931-8883

7150 Beracasa Way Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 392-8384

Seventeen Restaurant

Subres Grill

Yum Berry Café

Raw Poke Bar

1710 Alton Road Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 672-0565

2218 NE 123rd Street North Miami, FL 33181 (305) 899-0095

4009 Oakwood Boulevard Hollywood, FL 33020 (954) 922-7876

1304 E Las Olas Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954) 903-7752

Seventeen Restaurant North Miami Beach

Tasty Beach Café

TJH is not responsible for the kashrus, atmosphere, or accuracy of information of any establishment listed. Please check before you go to ensure a pleasant experience. Bon appetit!

1129 NE 163 Street North Miami Beach, FL 33162 (305) 454-9100

Red Hook Bakers 3000 Stirling Road Hollywood, FL 33021 (754) 400-7275

BY WYNDHAM

JERUSALEM

What makes this night different from all other nights?

This Passover we’re at the Ramada!

‫בוטיק‬

‫ותקין‬

Spacious and fully accessorized guest rooms | Kosher LeMehadrin Lavish holiday menu | Fun Family Activities | Kids Club Scolar in Residence Rabbi Shmuel Hershler

Wide range of attractive holiday packages

Reserve Now For reservations call: 02-6599950 reservations@herzlhotel.com | www.jerusalemramadahotel.com

4041 Royal Palm Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 673-5483

The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 23, The 29, 2020 2015

PASSOVER Escape Presents: TWO Exciting, High-End Pesach Experiences Washington, DC

GAYLORD NATIONAL RESORT & CONVENTION CENTER Scholars in Residence

ORLANDO WORLD CENTER MARRIOT Scholars in Residence

Chaya Batya (C.B.) Neugroschl

Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier and Chana Zuckier

Head of School for Central Queens

Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik

VP of Rabbinical Alliance of America / Igud Harabbonim; Attorney; Political Activist

MAIBORT PETIT

TV & RADIO PERSONALITY DEALING WITH ISRAELI ISSUES

Dr. Chaya Sima Koenigsberg

Resident scholar at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University

Entertainment Zusha

Rabbi Akiva Koenigsberg

Instructor in the Isaac Breuer College

Mark Schiff

Chasidic Band Folk, Reggae style

Entertainment

Actor, Comedian Opens for Jerry Seinfeld for past 15 years

Mark Schiff

Actor, Comedian Opens for Jerry Seinfeld for past 15 years

Tours of Capitol Tours of Washington's House Chol Hamoed Cruise Party on Potomac River Acrobat show

Surprise world class singer Private Golf Tournament

Children's entertainment

Outdoor slides

Kashruth under Rabbi Sholtiel Lebovic • Cholov Yisroel • Non Gebrochtz

B O T H L O C A T I O N S W I L L H AV E F U L L C A M P P R O G R A M S L E D BY O U R P R O F E S S I O N A L S TA F F

TILL FEBRUARY 10TH EARLY BIRD PRICE STARTS AT $3,995

718-675-4480

passover.escape@gmail.com | www.thegreatkosherescape.com

75 73

76 60

JANUARY 23, 2020 | 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, My husband and I are in our 70s and B”H easily married off five sons and two daughters many years ago. We now have many einiklach in the parsha. The kids of marriageable age span in religious observance from very yeshivish to extremely Modern Orthodox. While we don’t like to pry, we have noticed that many of our grandchildren, from all different backgrounds, are not yet married.

We love reading this column and one theme we pick up on weekly is that shidduchim is so much more complex than it used to be. I guess that is what happens as technology advances?

We sit on the couch reading this column together wondering, what went wrong, what could we do better? Why can’t things be simpler like they used to be? Is there any way to encourage our generation of leaders to help work on the obvious issues?

Thank you, Lenard and Baila S.

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 | JANUARY 23, 2020

61 77

The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. our generations are lucky to have you as thinking, caring grandparents. You are lucky and smart to count your blessings. You are also smart to notice that shidduchim are much more complex across the Orthodox spectrum. But do not make the mistake of blaming yourselves for the situation your children/grandchildren are in.

We are living in a different world, externally and internally, than that of forty and fifty years ago. The Jewish communities have come of age and are no longer a group of immigrants and steadfast Americans who kept Torah and mitzvos. There are many factors which probably influenced the craziness of today’s shidduch crisis: numeric growth, superficiality, awareness and fear of mental illness, the influence of visual media on our attitudes towards physical attractiveness, a strong yeshiva world, entitlement, affluenza, cost of maintaining a Torah lifestyle, access to quality education, careerism, etc. There are more factors, I am sure.

It takes sociologists, leaders with vast experience, and very wise people to interpret our present. I don’t consider myself one of these and will not fall into the trap of theorizing causes in order to enact solutions. Rather than spout theories on the broad topic you brought up, I will just suggest the following: It’s up to each of us to articulate our values and wisdom to our generations in intelligent ways that are both direct and subtle. It’s up to each of us to be emotionally supportive of our own offspring in whatever challenges they face, whether it is shidduchim, money, special needs children, or health. Let’s deal with the individuals in our lives first.

In terms of the community, our practices and attitudes are moving more to the center after a strong pendulum swing during the postwar survivors’ rebuilding and renewal. In the areas of Jewish education, economic prospects, depth of commitment, and

Y

yes, even shidduchim, we are presently moving in an activist mode to self-correct our community’s negative trends.

Individuals, organizations, grass roots groups, and communication are moving us in a positive direction to redress our community’s failings in uniquely Jewish ways. Social change in our community usually comes from the bottom up, and it has already begun. People are getting involved and accomplishing, thank G-d.

Yes, it’s a different world but it’s being changed for the better. You do your part for your own. Be the voice of reason. And daven too. Don’t let the talk about crises paralyze you and cause fear.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. o Lenard and Baila, Congratulations on qualifying for membership in a very exclusive cohort: The “All My Children Are Married” Club! No small accomplishment!

And I’m sure you’ve faithfully, wholeheartedly, and relentlessly sacrificed to pay your dues while raising wonderful children who now have families of their own. Some of those childrearing costs included: *Sleepless nights, Shabbos naps *Day care and playgroups *Yeshiva tuition *Orthodontia and optometrics *Birthday parties/upsherins/ bar and bas mitzvahs *Quiet dinners *Homework and test prep (spelling, history, Mishnayos, Gemara, Regents, SATs) *Babysitters *Yeshiva tuition *Urgent Care visits *Little League Coaching/PTA *Carpooling (mileage and maintenance) *Hundreds of pairs of shoes and sneakers *Yeshiva tuition *Complete sets of (breakable) dinnerware *Winter Break, Yeshiva Week Getaways, Shabbatons, Senior trips *Sleepaway camp *The Year in Israel *The Wedding (!!!!)

This list, by no means exhaustive, is downright exhausting! And that’s just reading and remembering – all the highlights and challenges of nurturing

T

the next generation.

And the Rewards? Top of the List: The Grandchildren. Now that you’ve arrived and re-claimed your Shabbos naps and full nights of sleep (well, yes, except for those occasional, annoying interruptions), you can revel in your roles as doting Zeidy and Bubby. Babysit when asked, spoil them with gifts and goodies, regale them with stories of how their parents were no angels either. At the end of your shift it’s “off to your parents, you go.”

From one grandparent to another (currently babysitting for my son’s children, while he and his wife are cavorting in Israel), I, too, am grateful that I no longer have to deal with nightly homework and carpools. I am also relieved that, when these kinderlach enter the parsha, it will not be our responsibility to marry them off.

Not to minimize your concerns. I agree that shidduchim, in this technology-driven age, seems more complex than in earlier generations. You say you “easily married off” your children, but, trust me, your mazal was all Siyata Dishmaya. The Ribbono Shel Olam made it happen seamlessly for your children as He will split the seas for your einiklich. My advice to you: network with other bubbies and zeidies who have eligible grandchildren, offer a listening ear and shoulder to your children when they seek your opinion.

Finally, buy yourself a new large-type Tehillim for your enhanced prayer initiative on behalf of your fantastic, fabulous, geshmake, geshikte grandchildren (and all the others) in the parsha.

Oh, and start saving pocket change – Sheva Brochos can be expensive.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond our question has certainly hit a raw nerve. I would love to sit down with you, Lenard and Baila, and bemoan the shidduch system along with a hot cup of coffee. My grandparents often remind me of the days when the most religious bais yaakov girls and yeshiva boys

Y

It’s up to each of us to articulate our values and wisdom to our generations in intelligent ways that are both direct and subtle.

would come together for the Agudas Yisroel Night of Stars. In a tziniusdik and controlled, Torahdik environment, single men and women from the most yeshivishe homes would meet at these events. Families would take the word of a neighbor or friend and go on a date without conducting an FBI investigation. It was not considered taboo or un-tzinius for a single frum Torahdik man to ask a young woman out in the Queens College library or on the train.

It was just what was done.

What has happened in the interim to cause a flip in the system is up for conversation, and there are certainly many theories, which all ring true.

Some say technology has encouraged people to be more picky than ever before. Since resumes were instituted as the proper way to share information, rather than allowing people to meet in controlled kosher, natural ways, information will inevitably be accumulated and compared and analyzed by singles. This system makes the need for pictures of singles inevitable. One can’t expect volunteer shadchanim to collect thousands of people’s basic information from around the world and work on setting up shidduchim without knowing what a person looks like. It would be impossible.

This may come as a shock, but contrary to the world’s perception,

62 78

OCTOBER 23, 29, 2020 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home JANUARY

shadchanim do not “rule the system.”

We are public servants trying to work a system that has been dictated as “the proper way.” We are not a set of gat-keepers who hold and collect resumes and throw a boy together with a girl, like many singles like to believe.

I have seen my kind bashed and madmouthed all over the place. Shadchanim simply go along with what is mandated by the system requirements because, if not me, who?

With this background, I would like to present a few ideas that would help tremendously. If the right people read this and are inspired, be the Nachshon ben Aminadav to make the changes that need to be made.

1. Young men should be appropriately reassured by their rabbeim that they can be both machshiv Torah and kovea itim while also working to become professionals. After all, aren’t all the kollel youngeliet being supported by these types of choshuve ba’alei batim? Men being machshiv Torah and also taking steps towards parnassa should not be looked at by young women as any less choshuv. Obviously, learning Torah is crucial and essential. It should be the focus of a man’s life. But if he goes out into the professional world and makes time to learn, he could be considered just as frum, without fearing the consequences of appearing, chas v’shalom, “less serious.” From my experience dealing day-in and day-out with young women in today’s shidduch world, I can say for certain that if there is a surge in professional bnei Torah we will undoubtedly see a surge in dates, engagements and marriages.

2. Weddings are the perfect opportunity for singles to meet. When planning a chasunah, families should designate a room in the hall to have the leftover shmorg food, where the single’s chosson and kallah friends (both men and women of a certain age bracket) can naturally have the opportunity to meet each other. Shadchanim can be in the room as well meeting the singles, and if one expresses interest in the other, the shadchan can then facilitate the shidduch.

3. If as a society we are going to continue to require shadchanim to work as hard as we do, every community should create an organization of committed people willing to net-

work for their particular community.

Many times, not only are shadchanim unappreciated but not given proper shadchanus after a shidduch has been made. Shadchanim are required to devote an immense amount of time, effort, and energy, while also juggling everything else. The idea would be to offer a progress-based salary, in addition to guaranteed shadchanus. This will lead to proper focus and attention solely on these specific singles ultimately finding their bashert. Baruch Hashem, I am very lucky to be a part of an organization in Baltimore that has brought this idea to fruition. The Baltimore community, under the guidance of both rabbinical and lay leadership, and with the professional leadership of Rabbi Shlomo Goldberger, has spearheaded this with the creation of The Shidduch Center of Baltimore, www. shidduchcenter.org. With Hashem’s help, it has been incredibly successful and has led to hundreds of dates and a 10% date-to-engagement ratio. Todate, our organization’s shadchanim have produced over 700 dates and 71 engagements, baruch Hashem! The Adopt-A-Shadchan organization started by the excellent shadchanit Lisa Elefant is also a prime example of a creative way to organize advocates who are responsible for a specific community of singles.

These are just three of many ideas I have to help the shidduch crisis, and due to lack of space I will have to end here. I would like to let you know, Lenard and Baila, that you are not alone.

Many people in your age bracket and beyond are scratching their heads, trying to understand what went wrong.

The most important thing you can do now is daven and network for your grandchildren. Iy”H they will all find their basherts quickly and with clarity!

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler ou’re not the only grandparents asking these questions. When our generation dated, it was perfectly natural and acceptable for young men and women to meet either in college or at a shul Chanukah party. You accurately point out that there are significant problems today, both on the left (“Mod-

Y

ern Orthodox”) and right (“Yeshivish”) regions of our religious spectrum. It seems to be a universal difficulty, but for different reasons.

Let’s try to understand the problems and be supportive.

On the left: On the Modern Orthodox end of the spectrum, some single young adults would love to get married, but their time-consuming careers simply make it difficult to devote sufficient time for serious dating. Another problem, is that some who are ready to start dating and get married, are a bit worried and might be hesitant about making the commitment. It is scary, and they need reassurance. They may currently have a somewhat comfortable life, professionally and socially, and fear that getting married means the end of this lifestyle. Still another impediment is that in some communities, large numbers of young men and women enjoy a very active, group centered, social life. In those circles, a single is reluctant to seriously date someone from that same group. It is common to hear, “Oh, we can’t date, we already know each other.” If a prospective, deeper relationship would be attempted but fail to materialize, the subsequent, very real concern would be that the two of them might no longer feel comfortable back together, in that same social circle. These singles need to meet other singles outside their immediate circle of friends.

On the right: On the yeshivish end of the spectrum, there are different, but equally stressful challenges. One obvious problem is that it is considered highly inappropriate and a serious moral blemish for young men and women to actually meet on their own and start dating.

Yet, ironically, in that very same environment, does everyone share the proper values? We hear that parents of an eligible young man, rather than inquire about a girl’s hashkafa, character, goals, and aspirations, will sometimes demand instead: Does she wear a size four or, preferably, smaller? Since the boy has no plans to attend college or vocational school, are the girl’s parents’ wealthy enough to set him up in business? For parents of young women, the system is especially stressful. Parents often wind up begging and badgering shadchanim to recommend an appropriate young man.

Septuagenarians unite, and let’s not be shy!

I do know, and appreciate, that most shadchanim try to be considerate and helpful, often working l’shma, for either no, or very little, remuneration.

Nevertheless, this is an extremely artificial, painful, and stressful system of dating and matchmaking.

Almost everyone universally agrees that there’s got to be a better way of doing this! But I’m afraid that our religious leaders are reluctant to loosen the reins on this tightly controlled, contrived system and suggest changes because they genuinely fear being labelled as a “maikel.” Understandably, no rabbinic leader wants to be accused of being overly-permissive or lenient.

Solutions?

I do have two suggestions: 1. In the business world, or professional world, everyone recognizes the value of networking, of connecting people who ordinarily would never have had an opportunity to connect. Grandparents, parents, friends, and relatives of young people “in the parsha,” know and understand them much better than a helpful shadchan who scans dozens of resumes. We should all try, ourselves, to make appropriate connections and introductions, and bypass the current antiquated system.

To my fellow grandparents, I implore: septuagenarians unite, and let’s not be shy! When my wife and I are with our friends at a simcha, we don’t hesitate to praise our grandchildren and slyly remark, “Wouldn’t it be something, if our grandson and your granddaughter…”

2. There are rabbinically sanctioned organizations that recognize today’s problems and help young people meet in a wholesome atmosphere. For example, YUConnects recently sponsored very successful singles events in Woodmere and in Teaneck. They can be reached at www.yuconnects.com.

Hatzlacha to all our eligible young men and women, and let’s pray for a more easily navigated system that leads to more and more smachot in our community.

63 79

The 29, 2020 2015 The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 23,

THE MANDEL FAMILY WELCOMES YOU TO

PESACH 2020 at the

THE BERKELEY

TIME

URS TO

Located in Beautiful Asbury Park, NJ Just 1 hour from Brooklyn

H

PESAC

our 15th exciting year

OCEANFRONT HOTEL

~ Rabbi Avi Juravel, Rav ~ ~ Entire hotel Kosher L’Pesach ~ ~ Infant day care and babysitting ~ ~ Daf Yomi, many Shiurim and lectures ~ ~ Close to many Chol Hamoed Attractions ~ ~ Amazing day camp and teen program ~ ~ Jugglers, clowns, animal shows, & more ~ RABBI MOSHE MEIR WEISS WOMEN'S CONCERT BY MALKY GINIGER

RABBI ELIEZER ABISH

MICHOEL PRUZANSKY THE JABALI ACROBATS

Nearby Activities - Horseback riding - Great Adventure - Escape room - Aquarium - Jersey outlets - Golf / Mini golf - Charter fishing excursions -

Chasidishe Shechita, Cholov Yisroel, Non Gebroks, Hand Shmurah Matzo

Looking forward to greeting you personally.

Your hosts, The Mandel Family

732.370.7777

www.pesachtime.com

find us on

80

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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

D

ear Lenard and Baila S., Thank you for writing in! The panelists offered wonderful theories and suggestions as to why the shidduch system evolved and what we can do to encourage leaders to help work on the obvious issues. My own father was born on the Lower East Side to Holocaust survivors. He had payos until he was five years old, and Yiddish was his first and only language until the same age. My Zeidy, a”h, would give my father ten dollars to “take this girl out.” Others tell stories of the cheerleaders at Central and frum young men and women socializing at Grossinger’s etc.

What has happened has complicated and derailed the very human nature that Hashem created. See a woman who catches your eye, approach, ask her out on a date, get to know each other, break up or get married. Finished! Our system doesn’t allow men to feel like men and women to feel like women. We keep our single men and women so separate; creating the illusion that there is something almost sinful about the opposite sex.

A few years ago, a single woman called me frantically. She had to come see me, and it was an emergency. When we sat down, she told me that she has been seeing a great guy.

They had been out together six times, and he had recently told her that he’s attracted to her and finds her to be very beautiful. “How inappropriate!

He can’t talk to me like that! Do you think this is a red flag?” The mother and father were involved and the shadchan was involve,d and she was getting mixed opinions from friends and family. “He’s impulsive!” “He’s inappropriate!” I will never forget this

woman. We examined their relationship, and upon deep inspection and analysis I determined that what was missing from their relationship was the allowance for their own humanity. Can’t a man tell a woman he is dating that she is beautiful? This is called “courting.”

And it’s designed in Hashem’s wisdom to bond a couple.

I can recall another young woman I worked with briefly. She was very upset that the guy she was seeing didn’t open doors for her. He told her that his rebbi said he can’t stand behind a woman because that would be inappropriate. I am not going to touch that idea with a ten-foot pole. What I will talk about are the repercussions for the woman (and ultimately the man, by the way). This makes women feel bad. Pure and simple. These women often wind up on a couch like mine analyzing the date. “He didn’t hold the door for me. Is that a red flag or simply something he learned in yeshiva? Do you think I can say something about that? Should this even bother me?” A woman wants a gentleman; a mensch. And mensches open and hold doors. Chivalry isn’t dead but we certainly are trying our best to kill it.

Shidduchim sometimes teach us that we don’t need: • Chemistry (of course you need to feel a certain chemistry) • Attraction (of course you need to feel a certain attraction, even if that attraction is based on intellect or chain or shared interest) It teaches us (too often, and more often than I care to know about…. But I do):

• That the mistakes of our fathers and mothers will haunt us.

• That we can’t have a struggle or a past.

• That many people are unfamiliar with the concept of teshuva.

• That we are very Darwinian, weeding out any “bad” genes… survival of the fittest.

• That we must hide our skeletons…and we all have them.

• That tablecloths, dress size, where you went to school, and your references (and if someone is listing a reference…would that person ever say anything bad? Oy!) are of major significance.

It leaves single people feeling frustrated, anxious, sad, depressed or that something must be wrong with them. The reality is something is not “wrong” with single people. Let frum people meet in a natural, kosher environment which allows for our humanity (a little talking, a little hair twirling, butterflies “Who’s that guy over there?” …. This is wired into us, and it’s there for a reason! I believe it is part of Hashem’s shidduch system that has been tampered with way too much.) Sometimes children do not get the help they need because parents are so scared of a diagnosis that could potentially impact a shidduch ten years down the line. This is happening. In certain circles, families are dealing with their children’s’ and family’s struggles all alone because they fear the “secret” getting out. These shidduchim affect more people than those in the parsha.

Until the community acknowledges and addresses the need for systemic change on many levels, this will continue. The question then becomes: What can I do? We can all help!

• Network.

• Get involved in a shidduch group.

• Set up a shidduch group with your own funky spin.

• Invite five men and five women over to your house on Shabbos afternoon or on a Sunday.

63

• If you’re more modern, host a “Bring your Friend Who Isn’t For You” party.

• Thank of all the single people you know and make a list. Don’t worry if they aren’t for each other.

• Call your rabbi and ask how he can be influential in making necessary changes.

Education happens at school, but it also must happen in the home. Talk to your children about healthy relationships. Talk to your children about dating; how to treat a man; how to treat a woman. Teach your sons about women and your daughters about men. Tell your children to come to you with anything they learn about relationships or dating at school. Tell them they can ask you anything. Know what your child’s yeshiva is teaching your son or daughter about dating and marriage.

Lenard and Baila and all the bubbies and zaidies, grandmas and grandparents, parents…. Do your part (whatever you believe that to be), and let Hashem take care of the rest. And whatever you do, parents and grandparents, don’t let your kids see you sweat this. This gives them anxiety.

And once again, I will leave you with this: the vast majority of singles I work with come in in a huff, believing something must be wrong with them or that they have dated “everyone” and there is no one out there. And time and time again I am learning (through my clients’ experiences) that all it really takes is one person. The right person. And it’s all about Hashem’s timing. That’s it.

All the best, Jennifer Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and dating and relationship coach working with individuals, couples, and families in private practice at 123 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, NY. She also teaches a psychology course at Touro College. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 516-224-7779, ext. 2. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Passover 2020

MatzaFun’s Nineteenth outstanding year at the New Jersey Shore.

Celebrate with a pampered PassoveR •

Culinary Cuisine by the team of Main Event-Mauzone Catering, Kosher Supervision under The Orthodox Rabbinical Council of Broward and Palm Beach Counties

at •

Scholars in Residence: Rabbi Ephraim Kanarfogel, Dean of Jewish Studies Program, Stern College Stephen J. Savitsky, Former Chairman and President of the OU, President of the Bnai Zion Foundation and Chairman of Partners on Torah

•

Only 55 Minutes From NYC

•

European Spa “Pamper Yourself”

•

2 Miles of Boardwalk featuring Pier Village

•

Outstanding teen, children and toddler program

•

Ocean View & Private Balcony With Every Room

•

Refrigerators in all sleeping rooms

•

FREE Transportation to Great Adventure on NCSY Day

•

Complimentary WiFi

Rabbi Elly Krimsky, Program Director NJOP

Call Jay | 800-752-6050 | 215-332-2444 | www.matzafun.com

81

82 22

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Health & F tness

Spice Up Your Life Healthy Herbs & Spices

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

I

consistently encourage my clients to expand their taste palate and experiment with different herbs and spices. Healthy food does not have to be bland and boring!

In addition to enhancing the flavor of the food, many herbs and spices are packed with powerful nutrients.

Modern science has now shown that many of them have medicinal properties and carry remarkable health benefits.

Here are my favorite ones and why you will need a bigger spice rack: • Turmeric: Otherwise known as the super spice, turmeric is an incredible inflammation fighter and can make a significant difference in those suffering from rheumatic pain. This is due to its constituent corcumin, which is a yellow bioactive compound that gives turmeric its color. Corcumin has a wide variety of biological reactions when consumed. Its anti-inflammatory benefits are helpful in healing a leaky gut, improving digestion, and addressing autoimmune issues. It has the ability to slow down inflammation-related aging processes and

diseases. Corcumin is also effective at increasing antioxidant capacity in the body. It is one of the most concentrated antioxidant foods you can consume! Consumption will result in an overall reduction of oxidative stress. But wait, there’s more. Corcumin can increase immunity with its anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, protect against cancer and the development of tumors, and improve heart health. One of the best ways to increase its absorption by the body is by using turmeric alongside a dash of black pepper. This is due to black pepper containing piperine. The combination can boost corcumin’s bioavailability up to 2,000%!

Sprinkle turmeric on your veggies, grain dishes, or into your sauces, curries, and even smoothies.

• Ginger: Fresh ginger and ground ginger are both beneficial and easy to use. Like turmeric, it’s also anti-inflammatory. It is wellknown as a treatment for an upset stomach. Additionally, ginger can protect against stomach ulcers and treat menstrual cramps. It can also help relieve nausea and diarrhea, and

studies have shown that 1 gram or more of ginger can successfully treat nausea. This includes nausea caused by morning sickness, surgery, chemotherapy, and sea sickness. Ginger tea is great for relieving flu symptoms as well. Ginger also contains inflammation-fighting compounds called gingerols, which some experts believe may help fight some cancers, reduce osteoarthritis pain, and soothe sore muscles. In one study, people who took ginger capsules daily for 11 days had 25% less muscle pain when they exercised, compared to those who took a placebo. Another study found that ginger-extract injections helped relieve osteoarthritis-related knee pain.

Add an 1/8 of a teaspoon of ground ginger to your pancake, waffle, or muffin batter. You can also sprinkle it over applesauce or on your toast with peanut butter. Make ginger tea with hot water, tea, ½ tsp grated ginger, lemon, and a tsp of agave, if needed.

• Cinnamon: A staple in every kitchen, cinnamon is packed with antioxidants! It’s so concentrated that

even just 1 teaspoon a day can help give you a healthy boost. Like turmeric and ginger, cinnamon is also anti-inflammatory. It is believed that cinnamon might be a good fighter of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It may protect the neurons in our brains, inhibit proteins connected to these diseases, and even improve motor function. Cinnamon is great for managing blood sugar and insulin levels; studies have shown that it can lower fasting blood sugars by 10-29% in diabetic patients. Adding cinnamon to fruits, oats, and sweet potatoes is an excellent idea. Finally, cinnamon is a powerful cancer fighter and may inhibit the growth of tumors, prevent DNA damage, and cell mutation.

Baked apples with cinnamon is a wonderful winter snack. Sprinkling it into every cup of coffee you drink is such an easy and delicious way of consuming it!

• Rosemary: The active ingredient in rosemary is called rosmaranic acid. This substance has been shown to suppress allergic responses and nasal congestion. Rosemary also

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

contains vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and other B vitamins such as folate and thiamin. It also contains anti-inflammatory properties and is good for gut health. Rosemary may actually increase bile flow, which improves digestion overall and helps with conditions like IBS and Crohn’s disease. Rosemary oil is great for the skin and can help soothe and heal dryness, dandruff, cuts, and bruises. It can also help fight hair loss!

In one study, researchers compared rosemary oil to minoxidil (a common medication used to treat balding).

The group that treated their scalps with rosemary oil had similar hair growth, and less scalp itching, over 6 months compared to those who used the medication.

Use chopped fresh rosemary when roasting potatoes and chicken; it’s amazing on fish as well.

• Garlic: Throughout ancient history, the main use of garlic was for its medicinal properties. We now know that most of these health effects

are due to a compound called allicin, which is also responsible for garlic’s distinct smell. Garlic supplementation is well-known for combatting sickness, including the common cold.

Studies have consistently shown that garlic can reduce the frequency and length of cold symptoms. Human studies have shown that garlic supplementation can cause significant reductions in blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. In one study, garlic was just as effective as a blood pressure-lowering drug. For those with high cholesterol, garlic supplementation seems to reduce total and/or LDL cholesterol by about 10-15%. Garlic was also one of the earliest “performance enhancing” substances and was even given to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece.

Some studies suggest that exercised-induced fatigue may be reduced with garlic. One study in menopausal women found that a daily dose of dry garlic extract (equal to 2 grams of raw garlic) significantly decreased

ICED VANILLA GOLDEN MILK LATTE This refreshing drink has some serious nutritional power. Serves 1.

Ingredients 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk ½ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract ½ -1 tablespoon of agave (optional) Pinch of ground black pepper Pinch of sea salt 1-2 handfuls of ice

Preparation Pour almond milk into a mixing glass. Add turmeric, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, agave, pepper, and sea salt to glass. Vigorously stir with a spoon or stirrer until everything is well mixed.

Place ice in a drinking glass. Pour golden milk mixture into the glass, and sprinkle in additional cinnamon on top.

Enjoy!

a marker of estrogen deficiency. This suggests that this supplement may have beneficial effects on bone health in women.

Garlic is very easy to include in your diet and can be added to soups and sauces and is wonderful on fish, poultry and meat. Press some garlic cloves with a garlic press and mix with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of salt, and you have yourself a healthy and delicious salad dressing!

• Cayenne Pepper: This is a type of chili pepper used to prepare spicy dishes. The active ingredient in it is called capsaicin and has been shown to reduce appetite and increase fat burning in many studies.

This is why it is a common ingredient in many commercial weight loss supplements. One study found that adding 1 gram of red pepper to meals reduced appetite and increased fat burning in people who did not regularly eat peppers. However, there was no effect in people who were accustomed to eating spicy food,

23 83

indicating that a tolerance to the effects can build up. Other studies show that capsaicin can bump up the body’s metabolic rate, helping you burn slightly more calories. It may also stimulate brain chemicals that help tame hunger.

Stir a dash of cayenne into your hummus or sprinkle it onto your avocado toast or air-popped popcorn.

Herbs and spices can wake up just about any food, and have enormous health benefits as well. It is important to note that some herbs in large doses can cause side effects or interact with medications. Use in moderation and discuss with your physician any herbal supplements that you are considering.

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.

84 66

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

In The K

tchen

Sweet Chili Chicken

By Naomi Nachman

To me, there is nothing better than freshly cooked chicken, especially when it is fried. I love the sweet flavor of the honey combined with the heat of the sweet chili sauce in this dish. This recipe is actually super versatile and works great with fish, too.

Ingredients Sweet Heat Sauce ½ cup honey ½ cup sweet chili sauce Dash of sriracha (optional) 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 4 tablespoons ketchup 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons water

Chicken 2 pounds chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces 1 ½ cups flour 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder Canola oil for frying

Preparation In a medium bowl, mix flour with all the spices. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture and set aside.

Heat a large sauté pan and fry the chicken in batches till brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Mix the sauce ingredients – except the cornstarch and water – in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

In a small cup, mix the water with cornstarch and pour into the sauce. This will thicken the sauce.

Mix the chicken and sauce together in a sauté pan, on low heat, until chicken is well-coated in sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes on low.

Toss chicken in the sauce and serve immediately.

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 | JANUARY 23, 2020

85

86 76

JANUARY 23, The Jewish Jewish Home Home OCTOBER 29, 2020 2015 || The

Finding the Right Career for

YOU By Jodi Smolen

IF

you came back f rom a yea r in Israel with college credits from seminary or yeshiva but no clue what career path to pursue, you’re not alone. Excluding the few people who have always wanted to be doctors or those who have particular passions (for law, health sciences, engineering), so many young people find themselves anxious as they must decide on their majors within the first or second semester of college. Choosing a career at age 19, or even 21, is daunting. It requires self-awareness, an honest assessment of your strengths and skills, and a knowledge what you actually enjoy doing. You must also possess a certain level of information about the work environment in any particular profession in order to select a path that ideally will last for decades.

Many young people feel rushed to select the “perfect” major so they can follow a particular career trajectory. But if you made the choice due to family pressure or anticipated earnings, it likely won’t lead to great satisfaction. Taking the time to find a

career that best matches your interests and strengths is a difficult but worthwhile undertaking.

Here are some tips to help you get started on identifying the right career path for you.

1. Take time for self-assessment. Most colleges offer career services and academic advisement.

Use them! Seek out these professionals whose job it is to help you explore your strengths/challenges, likes/dislikes, skills and values.

There are various exercises and aptitude-type tests they can provide to help you discover your path. Talk to professors who are also professionals working in fields you are considering entering. They can give you a reality check and answer your questions.

2. Network with everyone you know. It can feel like there are so many possibilities, so how do you begin to narrow down your options?

I always recommend starting with the people you know in a variety of professions. If someone is working in a field that interests you or has a job that seems particularly exciting, ask if you can shadow him or her or conduct an informational interview so you get a sense of the workplace

and job responsibilities. By observing how people spend their days and asking targeted questions, you can begin to parse out what you like and what doesn’t appeal to you. But remember, professions can vary in different settings so don’t make a judgment based on only one person’s input.

3. Gain real world experience. Internships and volunteer programs are a great way to “try on” different professions. You can see what it is like to work in a particular setting and decide if you actually like the day-to-day realities. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Experiences that challenge us tend to teach us the most about what we really can do and where our strengths lie.

4. Think about the lifestyle you want. What type of lifestyle do you seek for the long haul? Are you someone who is energized by working fourteen-hour days? Are you most productive in a flexible environment? How do you want to balance your work and home life? It is important that the demands of your career match how you want to live.

Think ahead and choose a career

that matches your interests but also your desired lifestyle. If you need remote options or flextime, make sure there are settings in your chosen profession that offer these.

5. It’s not always about the money. Yes, money is certainly important, but it shouldn’t be the single driving force behind your decision.

Choosing a career based solely on salary won’t serve you well in the long run. If that high paying job isn’t a match for your interests and strengths, it ultimately won’t make you happy and you are more likely to seek change mid-career. If you choose a profession that provides you with personal satisfaction and a work setting where you feel motivated to achieve, you will likely be successful and perhaps more importantly, happy.

Treat this time of self-exploration with rigor. The more you commit to putting in the work, the more likely you are to end up in a profession that is right for you and will serve you well for years to come.

Jodi Smolen is director of career services at Touro’s Lander College for Men.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Pesach at

Pesach at

Pesach at

with a complete indoor fun park on premises!

with more activities and entertainment than any program on earth!

with Mickey Mouse!

(Non Gebrokst)

*per person, plus service charges

*per person, plus service charges

Kosher Cruises 6

Caribbean Feb 14-24

only

$1990 p/p

845-794-6000

Japan Land Tour May 11-20

Danube River Boat Cruise

May 12-19

Des�na�ons613@yahoo.com Des�na�ons613.com Japan

We welcome you to the magnificent, newly refurbished

Heritage Resort & Spa.

Creating memories of pesach 2020 to cherish for

the

A lifetime.

years

46 hospitality

of

RABBI DR. AARON GLATT RABBI DR. CHESKY GEWIRTZ Scholars in Residence MORAH DGANIT ISRAEL Day Camp Director

Contact us at: mendyvimholidays@aol.com

Heritage southbury, ct

Just 1 hr and 15 minutes from the Whitestone Bridge this full-facility splendid resort in the picturesqueLitchfield Hills of northwest CT offers New England at its best.

It is truly quintessential destination for an unforgettable Passover holiday. The haute cuisine offered in a beautiful setting with music and shiurim to enrich your Pesach experience.

Call 718.998.4477 or 410.484.5553 w w w . v i m s h o l i d a y s . c o m

87

88 26

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Mike can telepathically communicate with dolphins.

Observers believe the turning point of the 1976 election is when Gerald Ford debated while eating a sausage calzone.

WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF THE BODY TO GET A BLOOMBERG 2020 TATTOO? - Several of the nonsensical tweets sent out by 2020 Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg’s campaign during the Democratic debate, to which he did not qualify

Trump almost started World War III. Trump almost catalyzed the entire destruction of the Kurds. Trump almost started war with North Korea. Trump almost started a full-blown war between the Palestinian-Arabs and the Israelis. Trump almost devastated the economy by slapping tariffs on Chinese goods. See how much heavy-lifting the word “almost” is doing? It’s utterly bizarre, because these predictions never happen.

- Erielle Davidson, The Federalist

I was sure that Trump was going to get elected the day he announced. I said he’s going to – it is going to be like Hitler and the Mexicans are the new Jews. And sure enough, that is what he delivered.

- A Hollywood celebrity in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week

My spinal cord injury doesn’t define who I am. The message that I want to come out of this is that your injuries, your physical disabilities, your adversities will never define who you are.

We could welcome the children, but we do not compromise with people who have voluntarily joined terrorist organizations and who are working to tear down all the values Norway is built on.

- Adam Gorlitsky, who is paralyzed from the waist down and ambulates in an exoskeleton suit, after completing South Carolina’s 26.2-mile marathon last Saturday with a time of 33 hours, 50 minutes and 23 seconds, creating a world record for the fastest time to finish a marathon in an exoskeleton suit

- Norwegian politician Siv Jensen, whose populist Progress Party has pulled out of Norway’s government over the repatriation of a mother – with suspected ISIS links from Syria – with her 5-year-old child

If we’re going to get rid of it, let’s replace it, and let’s replace it with the Trump deal. President Trump is a great deal maker, by his own account and by many others’. Let’s work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead.

How could the American people want someone who lies to them?

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a BBC interview talking about the Iran nuclear deal

- 2020 Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren, who lied about being partially Native-American, talking about President Trump in a CBS interview

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

12 SPECTACULAR DAYS YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!

APRIL 7TH-19TH

Join Us for a Breathtaking

PASSOVER 2020 PINE MOUNTAIN, GA

Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier Scholar in Residence

Shimmy Feintuch LCSW CASAC-G

Rabbi Ilan D. Feldman Senior Rabbi, Author

Rabbi Cary A. Friedman Chaplain, FBI Consultant

Allan Barall US Army Colonel

Karen Paikin Barall Jewish Advocate

Benny Friedman

Yehuda Green

JEWISH MUSIC SENSATION

JEWISH MUSIC SOUL SINGER

Yaakov “Yanky” Lemmer

Elon Gold

WORLD RENOWNED CANTOR

STAND UP COMEDIAN

Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff Jewish Historian, Author

Shlomi Elishaev

Sara Younger

JEWISH SINGER

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM LEADER

Charlene Aminoff Inspirational Speaker Under the Strict Supervision of

Call: 718.508.4440

Email: info@passovergetaway.com

@PassoverGetaway

Please visit our website for more details: www.passovergetaway.com

Five-Star Kosher Cuisine by

89

90

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

27

I’m surprised Bernie said that to Warren.

You think he would have learned his lesson after he said the same thing to Cleopatra.

— Jimmy Fallon, referring to Bernie Sanders supposedly telling Elizabeth Warren that a woman can’t win the presidency

But this is a rare and unexpected rift between the senators. They’re usually on the same page. I mean, up until now, Bernie and Elizabeth Warren have spent just about every debate looking like a married couple at a diner complaining that their soup isn’t hot enough.

— Jimmy Kimmel

Six candidates, all of them white, which is amazing odds. I mean, even a carton of eggs will sometimes have a brown one thrown in accidentally.

Much of the U.S. economy is largely unscathed by two turbulent years of trade war with China, economic indicators show.

– Wall Street Journal

— Trevor Noah, talking about the remaining Democratic presidential candidates

Apparently, caucus is short for Caucasian. What happened? The field of candidates went from looking like a diverse representation of the country to looking like the front row of a Jimmy Buffett concert.

A secret report, suppressed by U.S. defense chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a “Siberian” climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.

- From a 2004 article in The Guardian, reprinted on Breitbart News last week to highlight its inaccuracy

— James Corden

Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done.

He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney, and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.

- Hillary Clinton talking about 2020 Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, who ran against her in the 2016 Democrat primaries, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter

“Do me a favor?” Do you paint houses too? What is this— “Do me a favor?”

– Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a press conference before sending the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, misquoting Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian President and then referencing a phrase which is mafia code for having someone killed

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

Pesach 2020 PRESENTS

T H E U P S C AL E E X P ER I E N C E AWA I T S

W hite Oaks Resort

N I A G A R A FA L L S , C A N A D A

GENERAL ELI BEN MEIR

RABBI YONASON GOLDSON

RABBI TZVI SYTNER

RABBI AARON SELEVAN

SIVAN RAHAV MEIR

FEATURING

NISSIM BLACK IN CONCERT

15 YEARS RUNNING IN NIAGARA!

UPSCALE-GETAWAYS.COM INFO@UPSCALE-GETAWAYS.COM

1.877.895.3210

91

92 28

JANUARY 23, The Jewish Jewish Home Home OCTOBER 29, 2020 2015 || The

It was just incredible how you can bring Cambodian, Jewish and Persian all into one, where we go to Cambodia and I’m wearing their costume but I’m also lighting a menorah there, and I’m wearing tznius clothing.

– Elior Koroghli, who is a member of the Cambodian royal family (her mother converted to Judaism and married a Persian Jew), talking with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about her recent bas mitzvah ceremony in Cambodia

We know this form of capitalism takes and takes; it takes whatever, whenever, however it wants. It’ll take our lives, it’ll take our labor, our spirit, our air and water, even our earth.

– John Cusack, a Hollywood actor who is worth tens of millions of dollars, introducing Bernie Sanders at a rally

The past? Let’s talk about the future.

That’s what should be beautiful. The past is past but there is still a future.

The time comes when, [well], you have to give it up. I guess your body tells you when it’s time to go.

- Agnus Keleti, age 99, who is a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic champion – with 10 medals, including 5 golds – in an interview with Times of Israel

- World War II veteran Bob Vollmer, age 102, who is retiring in several weeks from his over-six decades as a surveyor for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, in an interview with a local TV station

Schedule your free and easy pick up TODAY! e info@pickpurple.org w www.pickpurple.org We now accept clothing, shoes, accessories, linen and towels in usable condition

201.47.purple

4

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

93

Political Crossfire

Iran’s Protesters Reflect Middle East’s Abiding Anger Against Injustice

By David Ignatius

W

hen Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed two weeks ago, his death may have drawn the curtain on the Iranian revolution that he symbolized.

The Iranian regime is far from finished, but from here on it will maintain power through thugs and autocrats who lack Soleimani’s revolutionary appeal. Maybe that’s what the Iranian streets are telling us: the masses marched in mourning for Soleimani, but within days the people were denouncing a regime that shot down a plane carrying dozens of young Iranians and then lied about it.

Grief over Soleimani and anger at the regime may be two sides of the same coin: Soleimani had a public image as a man of humble origins, and his handlers tried in recent months to contrast him with the corrupt “authorities” who are mismanaging Iran. The regime hoped to use public sadness over his death to regenerate the revolution, but that has visibly failed this week.

Next come the gray men: Esmail Ghaani, Soleimani’s successor, is described by Iran experts as a tough shadow warrior who has run operations abroad and helped suppress domestic protests at home. Ebrahim Raisi, the likely successor to Su-

preme Leader Ali Khamenei, lacks distinction as a religious scholar or spiritual leader. He’s a lawyer, justice minister and former prosecutor.

A vibrant protest movement is visible in Iran and across the Middle East – but it isn’t calling for Islamic revolution, much less the tired misrule of the mullahs. It’s a bottom-up rebellion against the corrupt elites who rule Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries. The Iraqi version of this movement is sometimes called “madaniyya,” which Nibras Kazimi, an Iraq expert, translates as a call for civic rebirth. The autocrats have tried everywhere to crush or manipulate this movement, but it persists.

Maziar Bahari, an Iranian journalist who was imprisoned by the regime, quotes some slogans chanted this week by students protesting the downing of a Ukrainian jet that carried many fellow students.

“You’ve Killed Our Geniuses and Replaced them with Mullahs,” read one banner. Bahari says protesters use the term “Bi Sharaf” to describe Khamenei and other officials, a phrase that he says evokes “someone who has no conscience, morals or values.”

Videos and other reporting gathered by Iran Wire, the website Bahari edits, convey the popular an-

ger: At Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology, protesters shouted last Monday: “We do not want coward directors.” At the Isfahan University of Technology, students chanted: “Cannon, tank, explosives, no longer useful; mullahs should go.” At the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj, protesters defied authorities: “We are so sick of crime, why should we be afraid?”

Even the official news organizations in Iran, once reliable mouthpieces of the regime, seem fed up.

After official statements about the crash of the Ukrainian jetliner were revealed as false, the state-run newspaper Bahar ran a piece titled, “Lying and insisting on secrecy is unforgivable.” The article asked the telling question: “What else did they hide or were able to conceal?”

This movement lacks leaders or a clearly defined goal, but it conveys a palpable sense of disgust and anger – and a willingness to defy the authorities. Several Iranian journalists have resigned in protest against the propaganda machine.

The Iranian state news agency quoted a Tehran journalists’ association statement: “What endangers this society right now is not only missiles or military attacks but a lack of free media.”

The popular yearning for change – and the brutal tactics that governments have used to suppress protest – have been the dominant themes of the Middle East for the past decade.

We sometimes miss that continuity: popular rage has sometimes taken grotesque forms, as in the Islamic State, but the abiding theme is anger against injustice and theft by autocratic leaders.

The Trump administration wobbles in and out of a coherent approach to this region. The president embodies the American public’s allergic reaction to the Middle East after two decades of war, but his aides have wisely kept Trump from pellmell retreat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon. Hanging tough seems to have worked in Iraq; the Iraqi parliament has recessed for six weeks with only a nonbinding resolution demanding U.S. withdrawal on the books.

America has been trying to contain the Iranian revolution since 1979, with little to show for all our money and manipulation. But if you listen now, you can hear the Iranian engine sputtering and wheezing.

It’s a revolution that has run out of positive energy and now operates on violence, fear and repression. (c) 2020, Washington Post Writers Group

94 6

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

Trump & Taiwan

By Marc A. Thiessen

D

onald Trump is arguably the most pro-Taiwan president in U.S. history. On Trump’s watch, U.S. warships sail through the Taiwan Strait – the international waters separating Taiwan from China – on a routine basis, compared with just one to three times a year under Barack Obama. While both Obama and George W. Bush refused Taiwan’s requests to buy U.S. F-16s for fear of provoking Beijing’s ire, Trump approved the fighter-jet sale – the first since 1992. And after the 2016 election, Trump became the first U.S. leader to speak directly with a Taiwanese leader since the United States broke diplomatic relations in 1979 when he accepted a congratulatory call from President Tsai Ing-wen.

That’s good news because Taiwan has never needed America’s support more than it does now. Last week, the people of Taiwan delivered a stinging rebuke to China when they defeated the pro-Beijing Nationalists and reelected Tsai in a landslide. More than a year ago, Tsai appeared to be finished after her Democratic Progressive Party suffered huge losses to the Nationalists in local elections. But last week, despite massive Chinese efforts to bolster her opponent, Tsai won a record 8.2 million votes, more than any Taiwanese leader since the start of direct presidential elections in 1996.

What changed? China’s crackdown in Hong Kong, that’s what.

Beijing claims Taiwan as a province and wants it to accept Chinese sovereignty under the same “one country,

two systems” principle by which it rules Hong Kong. And after watching Beijing trample over Hong Kong, the Taiwanese people want nothing to do with “one country, two systems” and decided to send China a clear message. As Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu said in an interview, “Young voters here in Taiwan, they see the young demonstrators in Hong Kong fighting for their freedom and democracy [and realized] if they don’t come out and try to save our

mistakes and back off. Instead, China will probably seek to punish Taiwan.

The question is in what form that punishment might come. Beijing might seek to coerce Taiwan economically by scrapping trade privileges under the economic cooperation pact it signed with Tsai’s Nationalist predecessor. Like its crackdown in Hong Kong, such a move would backfire on China – pushing Taiwan to diversify its economy and become less dependent on trade with the mainland. The

Tsai won a record 8.2 million votes, more than any Taiwanese leader since the start of direct presidential elections in 1996.

country through the democratic process, Taiwan might become a second Hong Kong.”

If China’s Communist leaders were capable of introspection, they would realize they screwed up. All they had to do was leave Hong Kong alone, continue to collect its riches, and watch as the Nationalists in Taiwan took power. Instead, with their brutality, they created a wave of anti-China sentiment in both places.

It is unlikely that Chinese President Xi Jinping will learn from his

Trump administration has a strategic and economic opportunity to help Taiwan do that by negotiating a new U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement. A free trade deal should be a no-brainer for Trump: a chance to bolster the U.S. economy, increase U.S. exports, raise pressure on China, and rack up a big win on Capitol Hill all in one fell swoop.

The more worrisome possibility is that China will respond militarily.

The conventional wisdom holds that so long as Taiwan does not declare

formal independence, Beijing will not invade. But, as the American Enterprise Institute’s Oriana Skylar Mastro points out, there is a real danger that the lesson Beijing takes from Tsai’s reelection is that “the only way Taiwan will ever reunify with mainland China is at the end of a gun.”

To keep the peace, the United States must enhance its deterrence posture with China. One way to do so would be to deploy new conventional intermediate-range ballistic missiles to East Asia. China is aggressively building and deploying such missiles, but the United States was banned from doing so under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. This put the United States at a strategic disadvantage in any military standoff because China knows our only possible response options in a conflict is to target the mainland with intercontinental ballistic missiles – an unacceptable escalation. Thanks to Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty, we can now deploy conventional medium-range missiles – a move that would restore U.S. military supremacy in the Pacific and improve our ability to deter Chinese aggression.

As we learned from our recent standoff with Iran, totalitarian regimes have a tendency to miscalculate. It took a military strike to restore deterrence with Iran; we should not wait to restore deterrence with China. (c) 2020, Washington Post Writers Group

14

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

95

Political Crossfire

Be Careful What You Wish For, Sen. Schumer

By Marc A. Thiessen

I

n January 1999, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., voted against a resolution allowing witnesses to be subpoenaed during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. A day later, he voted for an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Daschle, D.-S.D., to prohibit any further evidence, argument, or deliberations except for two hours of concluding argument by each side. But now, as Senate minority leader, Schumer is singing a different tune. “If you want the truth, you have to have witnesses,” he insists.

“Who has ever heard of a trial without witnesses and documents?” Be careful what you wish for, Senator. If the Democratic House managers can call witnesses, so can the president’s legal team. Democrats might soon find that Trump is not the only one on trial – former Vice President Joe Biden will be as well.

If Democrats call former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify, Republicans can call Hunter Biden. His testimony would be relevant, as George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley recently pointed out, because part of Trump’s defense is that he raised Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian business dealings in his call with President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a larger concern about corruption in Ukraine. If Hunter Biden’s contract with Burisma was corrupt, then Trump can argue raising it had a “public purpose.”

But Hunter Biden’s testimony might only be the beginning. The president’s legal team could also call

former Obama administration officials who warned then-Vice President Biden about his son’s business dealings in Ukraine. For example, they could call former White House energy czar Amos Hochstein, who the New Yorker reports “raised the matter with Biden,” to testify under oath about the concerns he expressed to the vice president and how he responded. They could call Christopher Heinz, then-Secretary of State John Kerry’s stepson, who broke business

ty of Wisconsin-Madison, who has said that “if Biden is working for the Obama administration on Ukraine, his son should not have been on the board of a company there that could be affected by U.S. policy spearheaded by his father.” They could call Robert Weissman, president of the progressive watchdog Public Citizen, who said, “It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Hunter’s foreign employers and partners were seeking to leverage Hunter’s relationship with

Questioned under oath, Biden would not be able to get away with the dismissive replies he regularly gives.

ties with Hunter Biden over Burisma because “working with Burisma was unacceptable,” a spokesman said.

They could call former State Department officials, such as then-Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken, who met with Hunter Biden during his time on Burisma’s board.

The president’s legal team could then call nonpartisan experts to testify that Hunter Biden’s contract was corrupt. For example, they could call Yoshiko M. Herrera, a political science professor at the Universi-

Joe, either by seeking improper influence or to project access to him.”

They could even call Turley, who has written that “the Biden contract was so openly corrupt it would have made Jack Abramoff blush.”

That’s not all. The president’s lawyers could also call witnesses to testify about Hunter Biden’s questionable business dealings in other parts of the world, including China and Romania – testimony that would be relevant because it would establish a pattern of corruption.

Finally, they could call the former vice president himself to testify.

Questioned under oath, Biden would not be able to get away with the dismissive replies he regularly gives – that “no one has said my son did anything wrong” and that we should “focus on Donald Trump.” He would be forced to answer questions he has thus far avoided: Why do you think Burisma hired your son and paid him massive sums despite his complete lack of experience in Ukraine or natural gas? What did Obama officials say to you when they raised concerns about Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine?

Biden has been shaky under mild questioning during the debates. How would he fare under the withering pressure of legal cross-examination?

If he stumbled, or appeared confused, it could expose to voters how old and frail he really is at the very moment they are going to the polls to decide their party’s presidential nominee. Do Democrats really want to put Biden through that, especially since they know that the president is going to be acquitted?

And for what? Democrats have no idea what John Bolton will say under oath. His testimony may be exculpatory for the president, in which case they will have opened the Pandora’s box of witness testimony for nothing.

So, call your witnesses, Sen. Schumer. They may very well pose a greater danger to Biden’s presidential prospects than they do to Donald Trump. (c) 2020, Washington Post Writers Group

32 96 32

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

Worthy of Honor Sgt. Benjamin Kaufman

By Avi Heiligman

D

ecorated military heroes are sometimes easy to spot as they proudly wear their medals on their clothes or around their neck.

When approached, they will tell the story that earned them the medals and oftentimes will demur, saying, “I’m not the hero, and I only accepted this award for those who didn’t make it.”

The story of nine companies of the 77 th Division during the Argonne Offensive in World War I is known as “the Lost Battalion” with seven men earning the Medal of Honor. By the end of their ordeal, the vast majority of the men were either killed or wounded. Many soldiers were given medals for their bravery for stopping the Germans. One Jewish soldier from New York earned the Medal of Honor for his incredible actions.

Sgt. Benjamin Kaufman was born in 1894 in Buffalo to parents who were Russian immigrants; Kaufman grew up in Brooklyn. His upbringing was a bit rough on the streets of East New York, but he managed to earn a scholarship to Syracuse University. After the United States entered the war, Benjamin wanted to be a pilot but didn’t have time to train before the draft board called his name. He was drafted into the army in 1917 and was assigned to Company K, 308th Infantry Regiment of the 77 th Division.

The 77 th was called the Metropolitan Division since most of the men

were from New York. Their uniform patch depicted the Statue of Liberty, and it is said that more languages were spoken in the division than by any other in modern military history.

More Jewish soldiers served in the 77 th Division than any other that was sent to fight in the Allied Expeditionary Force (AEF). The division was sent to fight in France during the war and entered combat in 1918. As they were preparing to go overseas, Kaufman quickly became the division’s boxing champion and was very loyal to the men of K Company.

The first phase was the breakout from the line and lasted until October 3. The second phase was about to begin when word came that there was a battalion of the 77 th Division that was trapped in the Argonne Forest near Charlevaux and that they needed help.

The Argonne was a dense forest that the Germans considered an impregnable defensive position. Indeed, during the first four years of the war, the Allies had failed to take it. During the first phase of the offensive, the 92nd Division (an African-American unit) had taken portions of the forest,

The air was putrid with the stench of the dead and wounded that just seemed to mount in ever-growing numbers.

The Allied (mainly French and American units) offensive had started in September 1918 and was to include troops across the entire line that up to that point had been entrenched on the Hindenburg Line. It was to last until November 11, when the Germans were forced to surrender. It was also called the Grand Offensive or the Hundred Days Offensive.

but the French, who had taken over their position, couldn’t hold the ground and retreated. Meanwhile, several companies of the 77th, under the command of Major Charles White Whittlesey, had advanced and didn’t realize that the French had left their left flank exposed.

Two other American divisions had retreated on their right and didn’t realize something was wrong until it was too

late. The Germans had surrounded the New Yorkers.

From October 2 until their rescue on the 8th, the Battalion was cut off from supplies and reinforcements and were facing an unknown number of Germans. The Germans saw this protrusion into their lines as a major threat and sent thousands of soldiers to eliminate the surrounded battalion.

When the Germans thought that they had the Americans licked, they sent terms for surrender to which Whittlesey refused to sign and so the fighting continued. The air was putrid with the stench of dead and wounded that just seemed to mount in ever-growing numbers. Finally, on the 8th of October, reinforcements arrived, and the Germans backed off. The Allies had made a huge dent in German defenses and exploited that gap to force the German surrender on November 11.

Kaufman was slightly wounded in August but escaped the hospital despite recovering from a gas attack. He continued on with the company until the start of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

His company was not part of the Lost Battalion but was tasked with reaching the stranded soldiers. He was the highest-ranking officer in Company K who hadn’t been killed or wounded and effectively took command. He recorded his exploits during the battle: The fourth of October, 1918, is a day I will never forget. We were advancing one yard at a time, into

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

the forest of Argonne, when out of nowhere an enemy machine-gun began shooting down my soldiers.

For a moment, I just stood there helpless, but when I realized what was happening, I just couldn’t stand there any longer. I kept advancing, determined to knock out the enemy gun that was killing my buddies.

Before reaching the enemy position, I was hit. A machine-gun bullet shattered my right arm. Separated from my patrol, wounded and in great pain, I probably should have given up. Sure, I was in pain, but that didn’t matter. For that instant, nothing mattered to me except knocking out the machine-gun. If anything, I became more determined to attack.

I kept on charging, even though I had a shattered arm, and my weapon was empty. Still able to use my left hand, I began to throw grenades at the enemy position.

Well, I kept going and captured myself a prisoner. Then, as I ad-

American troops defending the Argonne in 1918

Serving

House HOUSE Calls CALLS

Brooklyn Queens Long Island & Entire Tri State Area

vanced, I ended up scattering that enemy crew. I was able to bring both the prisoner and the enemy machine-gun back to our lines.

Same day Same Day Service Service available available

TOP $ PAID FOR JUDAICA COLLECTIBLES

ANTIQUES ANd ESTATE BUyErS We Pay $ Cash $ for

all Gold, Gold & sTerliNG silver CosTume JeWelrY, all CoiNs, paper moNeY & sTamp ColleCTioNs

all Gold...BrokeN or NoT pre- 1960 FurNiTure, CloCks & WaTChes (WorkiNG or NoT) TiFFaNY, BaCCaraT, lalique

Top $ Paid for Diamond & Estate Jewlery

Military

Silver Gold Coins • Top $ Paid, Herrend, Meissen, KPM Etc., Antique Chinese & Japanese Art, Jade Top $ Paid for antique Coral Pottery Etc, Bronze Sculpture, All Musical Sterling!

Instruments, LP Records, Vintage Toys...Pre 1970, Persian & Oriental Rugs, Oil Paintings & Comic Books, Hummels & LLadro......The list is endless

ed Collect ions Want s, ive Kn , ds or Sw Helmet s, etc.

See our aD in the SunDay PoSt

516-974-6528 ASK FOR MICHAEL

www.antiqueandestatebuyers.com

ANTIQUE & ESTATE BUYERS WILL TRAVEL ENTIRE TRI-STATE!

We buy anything old. One piece or house full.

WILL TRAVEL. HOUSE CALLS. Will We house Calls.

WillTravel.

Travel.

We make make house Calls.

37W 47Th sT, NYC 1029 WesT JeriCho Turnpike, smiThToWn, l.i.

Free

estimate

Because of this I was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Kaufman incredibly captured an enemy soldier with an empty gun! He

33 97 33

reached headquarters and told them that the road had been cleared so that other soldiers should attack it before the Germans sent in reinforcements.

Kaufman then collapsed from a loss of blood.

The rest of Company K charged and reached the Lost Battalion.

Seven soldiers of the Lost Battalion were awarded the Medal of Honor, and 28 were presented with the Distinguished Service Cross. It was a testament to the tough and bitter fighting that these men fought until they had won. Receiving the Medal of Honor in the 20th century was different than receiving the honor a century prior.

Kaufman was also decorated by the French with the Croix de Guerre for his heroic actions in the last months of the Great War. 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.

98

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

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

SERVICES

SERVICES

Yoga & Licensed Massage Therapy Peaceful Presence Studio 436 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst Separate men/women Group/private sessions Gift Cards Available www. Peacefulpresence.com 516 -371 -3715

GERBER MOVING FULL SERVICE MOVING Packing Moving Supplies Local Long Distance Licensed Insured 1000’S Of Happy Customers Call Shalom 347-276-7422

Alternative Solutions Geriatric Care Management staff will assist you with: * Obtaining Medicaid and Pooled Income Trust * In-home Assessments, Individual and Family Counseling * Securing reliable home care assistance * Case and Care Management services Dr. S. Sasson, DSW, LCSW (718) 544- 0870 or (646) 284-6242 MOONBOUNCE FOR RENT $100/day Holds up to 500lbs.

Perfect fun for ages 3-8 Call or text 516-220-0616 to reserve your date

HAIR COURSE Learn how to wash & style hair & wigs Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group Call Chaya 718-715-9009 SHALOM HANDYMAN Plumbing, heating, boiler, installation, sewer, locks, dryer vent cleaning and more…

CALL 917-217-3676

HOUSES FOR SALE 370 FELTER AV. HEWLETT 70x150 lot BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME!!

Also next door lot available for sale Call 516-206-2005 AllGoingRealty.com

HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES FOR SALE

Don’t Get Stuck With a Two Story House Ya Know, It’s One Story Before You Buy It But a Second Story After You Own It! Call Dov Herman For An Accurate Unbiased Home Inspection Infrared - Termite Inspection Full Report All Included NYC 718-INSPECT Long Island 516-INSPECT www.nyinspect.com

OPEN HOUSE IN MULTIFAMILY HOME IN LAWRENCE!!

Great investment property in Five Towns!!!

Asking $980,000 Own this home and make money every month, ask me how.

Join me this Sunday January 19 from 12 to 2.00 PM!!!

286 Lawrence avenue Lawrence, New York 11559 Call Alexandra at 1-516-784-0856 at Realty Connect USA

FOR SALE IN LONG BEACH Beachside Classic Tudor Newly Renovated 4 BR, 4 Baths, 2 FP, Bsmt, Deck, Garage, 6000 SF lot, $899K Beach West Realty 516-287-9735 HOUSE FOR SALE PRIME WOODMERE “TREE STREETS” 6 bedrooms/4 bathrooms. Oversized lot. Move in condition $1.4 mil Call/text 914-263-7712

WOODMERE

Free standing building, parking, great for medical office or pre-school ask $799K Call Miri (646)515-8813

PRICE REDUCED: Sprawling 4BR, 4BA Exp-Ranch, Oversized Rooms, LR W/Fplc, Formal Dining Rm, Large Den, Master Suite, Full Finished Basement, Storage Room & Office, Deck, Fabulous Property…$1.078M Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

VALLEY STREAM

Newly renov. all inclusive office near LIRR, singles & Suites, util, conf room, kitchen, parking Call Raizie (917) 903-1778 or Sarah 347-524-9147

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020

99

Classifieds HOUSES FOR SALE CAN’T AFFORD YOUR PROPERTY TAXES? MORTGAGE? Must sell for any reason?

Call for FREE Consultation.

Call now 212-470-3856 Cash buyers available!

LAWRENCE: NEW TO MARKET Large multi level home on desirable quiet cul-de-sac.

7 bdrms, 5 baths, new EIK, FLR/fpl, FDR, DEN, office w/sep entrance, full finished Basement, fenced & landscaped yard NEAR ALL, S.D.#15 Asking 2.4M NO BROKERS 516-319-7149 FOR SALE IN WOODMERE Legal 3 Family on 100 x 100, Bsmt, 3 Car Garage, Brick Driveway, $849K Beach West Realty 516-287-9880

COMMERCIAL RE

COMMERCIAL RE PROFESSIONAL OFFICE SPACE TO RENT: CEDARHURST: CENTRAL AVE. ENTRANCE, 2nd floor. 1 to 4 Rooms available: 22'x14', 14'x12', 13'x9' , 12'x8'. from $500/month+.

Call/text 516-371-3715 STORE IN INWOOD FOR LEASE Bayview Ave. Can be used as an office or store. 600+ sq feet. Private Bathroom. Reserved parking. $1395.

Please text: 323-620-4344, or email: mark@mbequitygroup.com EAST ROCKAWAY: Retail Stores on Busy Corner, 1000SF& Up Available, Great High Visibility Location, For Lease…

Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698

SF MEDICAL OFFICE SPACE Available, Reception Area, Waiting INWOOD OFFICE SPACE Room, Kitchenette, 2 Consult, 4 Exam LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN! Rooms, 2 Bathrooms, 30 Car On-Site 500-7000 Square feet gorgeous office Parking, For Lease … space with WATERVIEW in Inwood!

Call Ian for More Details Lots of options. Tons of parking.

(516) 295-3000 Will divide and customize space for www.pugatch.com MILLERyour COMMERCIAL 680CENTRAL 5X3.qxp_2018 11/26/18 3:32 PM Page 1 needs! Call 516-567-0100

APT FOR RENT

SUMMER RENTALS

WOODMERE: BEST BUY Spacious 2BR Apartment, Washer/Dryer In Bldg, Elevator Bldg, Open Floor Plan, 1st Floor, Close To All...$199K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

DUE TO CANCELLATION 1 UNIT AVAILABLE S Fallsburg, Willow Woods B section Rent/sale, Beautiful, fully furnished duplex, porches, great condition.

3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, upgraded.

Call/Text 917-270-6032

FAR ROCKAWAY: BRAND NEW APARTMENT FOR RENT: 2 BR Private entrance, close to all Shuls and train, AC/Heat private laundry room, a must see!! $1595/month Text 917-626-9233

HELP WANTED

VACATION RENTALS VACATION IN JERUSALEM: Beautiful 3 bedroom apartment with porch and view available for short term in the Kaduri – Jerusalem Heights project on the 8th floor.

Shisha Realty 718-408-8070 vacation@shisharealty.com

Seeking full time OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred.

Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org GIRL'S BAIS YAAKOV SEEKING 4TH GRADE ENGLISH STUDIES TEACHER. Position available immediately. Please email teachingpositions1@gmail.com

VACATION IN JERUSALEM: Beautiful Short-term rentals in Jerusalem (Sharei Chesed, Romema, Hanevi'im – City Center) Contact today for great service: Shisha Realty 718-408-8070 vacation@shisharealty.com

Far rockaway

4BR updated home, very desirable block. Bright EIK, updated master bth, fin. bsmnt & nice yard. Malka (516)967-1967 $799K

Far rockaway

Completely renovated 4 br, 2.5 bath home with new kit and baths, rights to priv beach. Malka (516)967-1967 $679K

Lawrence

Move-in ready 1BR co-op in the Majestic building on the top floor (3rd) with elevator access. Chaya (346)782-5912 $179K

north woodmere

New exclusive! 4br 2.5bth col with EIK and den on quiet cul-desac. Call Moshe (516)455-5364 $4600/month

cedarhurst

Charming 3br 2bth cape style home. Bryna (516)322-4831 $589K

Lawrence

Brick SH colonial 4brs, 2.5bth, new hardwood flrs, centrally located. Bryna 516-322-4831 Reduced $3950/month

woodmere

Charming CH col. 4 brs, 2 bths, IGP w/ hot tub, cabana, outdoor kit, C/AC, lrg fin. bsmnt, 100x100 lot. Bryna (516)322-4831 $955K

north woodmere

Beautiful exp 5br 4bth high ranch w/ 3 lvls of living space, many updates throughout. Sarah (347)524-9147 $999K

100

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

Classifieds HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

ASSISTANT TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking part time or full time Assistant Teachers for Judaic Studies (AM) and/or General Studies (PM) for the 2019-20 school year.

Send resume to shira@cahal.org or Fax 516-295-2899.

Call 516-295-3666 for more information.

YOUNG ISRAEL OF LONG BEACH IS SEEKING A VIBRANT YOUNG COUPLE (REBBE/MORAH TYPES) TO SERVE AS YOUTH DIRECTORS. The candidate(s) would run youth groups on Shabbos and develop youth programming for all ages and seek to engage the young couples in the shul. email cwakslak@att.net.

ASSISTANTS NEEDED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AFTERNOON SESSION. Email: fivetownseducators@gmail.com

MAZEL TOV! Due to a simcha TORAH ACADEMY FOR GIRLS IS SEEKING A 4TH GRADE L'MUDEI KODESH MORAH Please email resume to mlevin@tagschools.org.

REGISTERED NURSE openings to work with adults who have developmental disabilities within residential settings in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Long Island. Current NYS RN, min 2 years hospital exp.

OHEL: 855-OHEL JOB www.ohelfamily.org/careers

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers, Title I Boro Park, Williamsburg and Flatbush Schools *College/Yeshiva Degree *Teaching experience required *Strong desire to help children learn *Small group instruction *Excellent organization skills Competitive salary Send resume to: Fax: (212) 480-3691 ~ Email: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com

SPECIAL ED DIRECTOR Responsibility: Curriculum Designer Individual curriculum as needed Staff training Innovative, visionary Requirement: Masters Special Ed and Education Administration or SLP Backgroup Email Resume: specialedresume2018@gmail.com

Looking to hire sales people to train as NY & NJ Public Adjusters. No experience necessary, flexible hours.

Call 973-951-1534

SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year.

Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org

is excited to launch in the

FIVE TOWNS! FOR SALE

Move-in Ready Colonial 4 BR | 2 Ba + Finished Basement on 6,000SF Corner Lot with LOW Taxes in the heart of Cedarhurst!

Priced to sell at $899k

5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA SEEKING ELEM GEN ED TEACHERS Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply.

Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com “NEW FIVE TOWNS RESTAURANT IS LOOKING TO HIRE THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: Experienced grill man Laffa maker, Dishwasher, Delivery guy Please email Ronazohar@hotmail.com Bais Yaakov in Far Rockaway seeking permanent substitute for Preschool and Elementary school.

Please call 718-868-3232 ext 211

MISC ARE YOU IN NEED OF A LIVER TRANSPLANT? LIVER DONOR AVAILABLE! If you are blood type A or AB and in need of a liver transplant call Chaya Lipschutz, Kidney & Liver Shadchan, (917) 627-8336, or email KidneyMitzvah@aol.com

Reach Your Target Market

Classifieds

TJH Classifieds Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services, Miscellaneous Ads here.

IN CONTRACT: 3 BR | 2.5 BA in Lawrence $1M+ RECENTLY SOLD: Cedarhurst: 3 BR | 3 BA | $850k | 4 BR | 2.5 BA in Lawrence $999

SULLY KLEIN | OFFICE@REALSTREETNY.COM | C:347.243.8776 BEN BEGUN | BEN@REALSTREETNY.COM | C:516.491.9593

Weekly Classifed Ads Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words 1 week ................$20 2 weeks .............. $35 4 weeks .............. $60 Email ads to: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com Include valid credit card info and zip code

Deadline Monday 5:00pm

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

101 15

Money

Look What’s Hiding Here

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

E

veryone understands the concept of a “tax haven” – a delightfully sunny island somewhere in the subtropics or a cozy European duchy tucked away on a scenic Alpine lake. Perhaps the global rich who take advantage of these safe deposit boxes just want someplace nice to stay when they visit their money. Surely that’s why places like Kazakhstan and Burundi struggle to attract their share of global “flight capital.” Tucking your money someplace miserable would just be silly when the world offers so many sunnier places for shady people to park their cash.

Except, it turns out not every tax haven lures depositors with sunny beaches, high-rise condos, and Hermès boutiques. In fact, there’s a new financial hot spot that’s grown from $57 billion to $355 billion in assets in just a single decade. No, there’s not a Lamborghini dealer in site. “Dakota” is the name…specifically, South Dakota, the Mount Rushmore State. It’s a mostly flat, featureless landscape that shares a 383-mile border with North Dakota – a place whose very name suggests such bleak desolation that officials once considered dropping “North” from the name entirely.

(Did you know we even have two

Dakotas? Not everyone does!)

Trusts, not taxes, are the main reason South Dakota has become such a go-to spot for foreign money.

Keeping your principal safe, it turns out, is sometimes even more important than keeping your income safe from taxes. If you’re a Russian potash

Let’s see: Switzerland is too obvious, the Caymans are too cliched, and the Cook Islands are just too far away. Look at this, though, the United States is the only major financial center that’s not part of the international “Common Reporting Standard” agreement, so they won’t report your U.S.

Tucking your money someplace miserable would just be silly when the world offers so many sunnier places for shady people to park their cash.

oligarch worried about Putin seizing your mines, a central African kleptocrat losing sleep over the ethnic minority you’ve been oppressing for a generation, or el jefe of a middling Columbian cartel, you want to stash your “safe” money someplace where no one can even find it, let alone steal it back.

assets back to your homeland!

Having said that, South Dakota trusts offer game-changing tax benefits for American money, too. If you leave your assets to your heirs in a regular trust, anything over about $12 million per person gets whacked by estate taxes at 40% -- every generation.

Most rich people are rightly terrified

at the thought of their wastrel heirs struggling to eke out an existence on just $12 million. South Dakota was the first state to eliminate the common-law “rule against perpetuities,” ushering in so-called “dynasty trusts” that never distribute their principal, thus avoiding transfer tax hits forever.

Eliminating that federal estate tax hit isn’t the only way South Dakota trusts help rich people keep their assets under wraps. Local legislators have also made South Dakota the only state allowing true perpetual trusts with no state income tax, no tax on capital gains, and no state-level estate tax at all. Finally, South Dakota courts let trust grantors, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries seal filings and orders, in perpetuity, for ultimate privacy.

The lesson here is that you’ll never know where the most powerful financial strategies are lurking. That’s why we spend so much time looking for them, so we can put them to work for you!

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.

102 42

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Life C ach

Prisoner to Your Past?

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., MFT, CLC

“N

o, it’s not!”

“That’s not true!”

“That isn’t what hap-

pened!”

Would you dare argue the other way to these definitive statements?

Some of you might be thinking, yes!

Or maybe, more accurately, yes – if I knew what she’s talking about. Perhaps even, more realistically, yes – if I knew the context in which the statements were meant.

Hold up. I feel like I might have lost you at hello. In other words, right from my opening sentence of this discussion you may be thinking, she’s being a bit too vague. So, let me start again and move forward somewhat differently.

When someone says the words “no, it’s not” where would most people’s automatic response go, almost immediately? Come on, let’s all say it together: “Oh, yes, it is!”

The tone of that statement...the certainty of it...the declaration of it… brings on a defensive stance, almost without even knowing what I’m talking about.

Might you even say the same thing occurs with the declaration “that’s not true”? What about with the words “that isn’t what happened”?

A cycle of disagreeing is now in play.

Let’s look at it in more depth, using the last declaration. Obviously, the backstory for asserting “that isn’t what happened” was a reaction to someone declaring what did happen and the listener feeling quite differently and then countering with “that isn’t what happened.” So here they are, both of them already positioned at two opposing sides of the ring.

Herein, lies the meat of disagreements, arguments, counter-attacks, or,

might I say, non-meetings of the minds.

Would it help you to know what specific situation I’m talking about, so you can weigh in with your opinions?

Well, how about, in the alternative, if I never get specific, leave out all context, and just share some hints on how we can do better? What I’ll call my “non formulas” work for all situations. In other words, they are helpful approaches that are nonspecific, available daily, and with broad appeal. They can be used in all situations.

Let’s use the response, “that’s not true,” as our reference point and see how we can react better: • You can use add-ons. For example: “That’s not true, from my perspective.”

• Make it about yourself. Use “I” messages. For example: That’s not the way “I” saw it.

• You can leave room for discussion. For example: “That isn’t quite so.”

• You can also soften the language.

For example: “Honestly, I felt it happened somewhat differently.”

What we must do to achieve these more palatable responses when we feel differently about something is to stop and not react immediately to our feeling.

Not so easy, huh?

Let me see if I can help you do this.

There is a lesson my dad always shared with us growing up, which he learned in Harvard Business School. I’m going to share it with you, especially because you are some of my nearest and dearest friends. Simultaneously, this can save many the stress of receiving a perfect score on your SATs, producing a wildly creative entrance essay, years of achieving a 4.0, and the burden of shelling out a great lump of moola in

order to attend Harvard.

So back to the Harvard lesson. They made the class watch a movie in which many people observed the same crime taking place. Then, each and every one observing the crime had to report what they had seen. And not one, of hundreds of the observers, reported the same story.

The lesson was tremendous.

Though they had seen the exact same scene, all reported it differently. It was skewed in all different directions and with different details.

Now, you tell me: why?

Exactly! They weren’t looking to be original or create dissension in the ranks, rather, because of any number of personal variables, their experience of it was different. That is to say, because of their upbringing, their vantage point, their values, their education, their temperament, their way of thinking, the guiding voices in their heads, etc., an automatic combining of information occurred, which organically influenced what they believed happened. They saw the same thing but experienced it differently!

Can we now still argue that they are wrong, and we are right? Can we truly argue that everyone else was wrong and only our way of seeing it was right?

Can we at least see that there is a little more gray here than we thought? In other words, that there may be different ways of looking at the same situation even if our way feels more right to us?

If we can hold this truth in our minds at the beginning of any interaction, might we be able to be just a little more understanding, patient, and forgiving in how we interact and react in our exchange with another?

Statements like, “no, it’s not,” “that’s not true,” “that’s not what happened,” are reacting words to something that’s usually said from the another’s point of view even if the speaker seems to state it as fact. Hearing it with some leniency, even if they didn’t convey it that way, can tone down your counter-reaction.

In fact, maybe you can even do one better and think: do I agree with any part of what they just said? And then even validate that piece first.

Are we in a better place already?

You can even do one more better: start and stay with just declaring what’s true or right in what they shared. This is called taking some tiny bit of responsibility. Instead of going to defense right away.

And guess what happens? Often the other person begins to scroll it back. Calm down. Rethink their point of view. And the conversation can proceed very differently.

You as the reactor have a lot of power.

How about taking recognition of that power and attempting to not going into automatic defensive mode, even if your past, your upbringing, your guiding voices, etc. start to send you there?

The next time you feel reactive remember that the initiator may have messed up in how they said it but you can do better in how you respond.

And you know why? Because, now, in your set of experiences is exposure to this article which tells you that you’ve got the power to react differently!

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@ rosenwalds.com.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 23, 2020 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

103 43

104

JANUARY 23, 2020 | The Jewish Home

in all of g in ic r p y a Best everyd ng Island! o L & s n e e u Brooklyn, Q DAY!

(

Free Parking

S EVERY T C U D O R P NEW

TM

much

Over 150 Spaces!

More for Less

Prices Good Sunday, January 26th through Friday, January 31st, 2020

All Price Rite Cereals Except Raisin Bran

1

$ 79 11.5 oz-18.7 oz

Stella D’Oro Swiss Fudge Cookies

Paskesz Dunkees

5

2/$

8 oz

Imagine Soups

Except Broths

1

1

2/$

1

$ 99 14 oz

Turkey Hill Iced Tea

Yo Crunch Yogurts

Assorted

3

2/$

64 oz

Spring Valley H’ors D’oeuvres All Varie�es

1299

$

40 Pack

2nd Cut Brisket

9

$ 39 LB

Assorted

1

2/$

1

$ 79 13 oz

Strawberry Twizzlers

1

$ 99 16 oz

1.8 oz

Best Select Mini Croutons

6 oz

Brooklyn’s Best Pizza

7

$ 99 8 Slice

Beef Stew

5

$ 99 LB

16 oz

Bowl & Basket Tor�lla Chips

$ 99 16 oz

$ 99 32 oz

3

69¢

6

$ 99 12 Pack Ortega Salsa

99

Assorted

Assorted

Colonna Marinara & Pasta Sauces

¢ 24 oz

Allegra Pasta

Snapple Iced Teas

Avenue A Flour Gefen Easy All Purpose or Unbleached Baking $ 99Parchment 5 LB Paper

1

4

$ 99 100 Feet Sabra Guacamole

1

$ 49 8 oz

Heaven & Earth Carrot or Zucchini Spirals

4

2/$

12 oz

Chicken Legs

1

$ 99 LB

Sweet Honeydew

Green Grapes

Ripe Mango

Roasted Almonds

Whole Bronzini

Empire Turkey Breast

3

$ 49 EA

Salted or Unsalted

6

$ 29LB

1

5

$ 79 LB

7

$ 99 LB

5/$

7

$ 99 LB

Keilim Mikveh on Premises | Pre-Shabbos Buffet Every Thursday & Friday!

Savings Plaza | 11 Lawrence Lane, Lawrence, NY | (516) 371-6200 | info@kolsavemarket.com | /kolsavemarket Hours: Sunday-Tuesday: 9am-7pm | Wednesday: 9am-10pm | Thursday: 9am-11pm | Friday: 8am-�ll 2 hours before Shabbos We reserve the right to limit quan��es. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.