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The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

CONTENTS COMMUNITY

Community Happenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

JEWISH THOUGHT Torah Musings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Living with the Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Weekly Daf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Sukkot - The Final Destination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

LIFESTYLES Book Review: Rebels in the Holy Land . . . . . . . . . . 16 An Angeleno Sukkos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Be Our Guests.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Forgotten Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

NEWS Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 National. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The Jewish Home is distributed bi-weekly to: ANAHEIM AGOURA HILLS BEVERLY HILLS BURBANK CALABASAS CAMARILLO COSTA MESA ENCINO GLENDALE HUNTINGON BEACH IRVINE LONG BEACH LOS ANGELES -BEVERLY HILLS

LOS ANGELESFAIRFAX LOS ANGELESLA BREA LOS ANGELESS. MONIA LOS ANGELES-PICO LOS ANGELES -WESTWOOD MALIBU MANHATTAN BEACH MARINA DEL REY MISSION VIEJO MOORPARK NEWBURY PARK

NORTH HOLLYWOOD PALM SPRINGS PACIFIC PALASADES PASADENA REDONDO BEACH SHERMAN OAKS SIMI VALLEY STUDIO CITY TEMECULA THOUSAND OAKS TORRANCE VALENCIA VAN NUYS WOODLAND HILLS

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers, We’re told to prepare ourselves for Mashiach as if he is not only on his way, but is coming any minute. But is that even possible? What can we possibly do that would be considered preparing for such a great revelation? The same can be asked regarding the creation of the world; what accomplishments can we claim that would warrant the world – and ourselves – to be created? The answer to these two questions is that the Torah and its mitzvos are a lot more than what they appear from a human perspective. The rabbis say that Hashem has enclosed Himself and His will in the Torah and mitzvos. To us sitting in the sukkah, fasting Yom Kippur, or attending a shiur might seem inconsequential, but in reality through each mitzvah, G-d Himself “enters” our reality. When Mashiach comes we will see this with our own eyes. Will we be ready? Wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur and a most joyous Sukkos,

Shalom

T H E P R E M I E R J E W I S H N E W S PA P E R H I G H L I G H T I N G L A’ S O R T H O D OX C O M M U N I T Y The Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly. FOR HOME DELIVERY, OR TO HAVE THE LATEST ISSUE EMAILED TO YOU FREE OF CHARGE, SEND A MESSAGE TO EDITOR@JEWISHHOMELA.COM

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Sukkos Carnival EMEK HEBREW ACADEMY TEICHMAN FAMILY TORAH CENTER

and Boys Basketball Tournament GAMES

Basketball Tournament sponsored by: Cambridge Farms Orange Delight and Grill Pacific Kosher Restaurant and Grill Western Kosher Moses Fitness The Pearl Source

Sunday, October 8th $10 Admission/Person (max. $60/family)! 15365 Magnolia Blvd., Sherman Oaks

Carnival 12:00 – 5:00 pm • Open to the Entire Community! • • • • • •

Petting Zoo Rock Climbing Carnival Games Mega Slide and Inflatables Zipline Face Painting

• • • • •

Wristbands sold at the door Glatt Kosher Food Available for Purchase Huge Sukkah on Premises Plenty of Parking Available Only 20 minutes from most LA neighborhoods

Boys Basketball Tournament • Tournament played by division (Ages 6-8, 9-11 and 12-14) • Great prizes for the Champions in each division! • To play in the tournament register at www.emek.org/sukkos_basketball_tournament • $15 Registration Fee to participate in tournament/per player • Must Register by September 30th! 15365 Magnolia Boulevard Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 818.783.3663 info@emek.org www.emek.org

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

TheHappenings Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Advertorial: Dairy Leader, Norman’s, Looks to Even Greater Innovation in the New Year A wise man once said, “There are no dreams too large, no innovation unimaginable and no frontiers beyond our reach.” As the only chalav Yisrael dairy company with its own production plant, the saying is essentially Norman’s Dairy’s mantra. This past year has seen the introduction of a significant number of new products. In this coming year, says Norman’s management, “No innovation is unimaginable.” For Norman’s, the sky is definitely the limit! The first to introduce Greek yogurt to the chalav Yisrael market, Norman’s prides itself on its creativity and ability to provide consumers with new products on a continual basis. “Our food scientist is constantly dreaming up and creating incredible products to take to the market; ‘ah-ha’ moments are a daily occurrence at our Rutherford facility,” says a Norman’s spokesman. “The fact that we can create a small sample on premises and after feedback is given go back to the lab an hour later to perfect the product is a testament to our role as innovators in the industry.” Over the past few years Norman’s has brought a variety of Greek yogurt products to the market, never seen before in chalav

I am Already Shomer Shabbos! Why should I be Involved With the Los Angeles Shabbat Project? Dr. Aviva Weisbord You and your family have been going on vacation every year to a place of spectacular beauty. You relax, enjoy the scenery, actually talk with your children, and revisit your favorite sites. You look forward to your next trip. One year, your cousin’s family joins you on this special vacation, and you have the pleasure of showing them around, sharing the highlights of this location, reveling in their awe and delight, and renewing your own pleasure. Suddenly, you come across a magnificent garden you’ve never seen before. “Are we so used to coming here that we simply didn’t notice this?” you ask yourself. You begin to see this place through the eyes of the newcomers, with a freshness and clari-

Yisrael. This summer Norman’s introduced the I.Q. Greek yogurt pouch to consumers and has experienced unprecedented success, with the product literally flying of the shelves. “We are excited for the new year as we have many new innovative products up our sleeves. We can’t wait to introduce them to our fans!” “It’s not just the power of invention,

but it’s the ability to control the quality as well. Owning our own factory allows for superior quality control and the highest kashrus standards possible. We also have a dairy farm in upstate New York to ensure that our yogurts are made from the freshest milk possible.” Don’t miss Norman’s delightful award-winning yogurt lines including

Greek Original, Light, Creamy Blends, Pro, Stackers, Kids, and I.Q. as well as Low-Fat, 80 Lite, Poppers, and Kiddies all in an extensive range of delectable flavors. For further details about all Norman’s delectable products and delicious recipes, check out: www.normansdairy.com.

TheHappenings Week In News

ty that previously eluded you because you had taken it all for granted. Shabbos comes every week – Baruch Hashem! – and we treasure what it brings along with it: special family time with zemiros, divrei Torah, and catching up with each other; the opportunity to disconnect from the outside world and remind ourselves of our priorities and purpose; renewing our connection to the Borei Olam and His world. After years and years of keeping Shabbos, our appreciation for the gifts it brings us may diminish just a bit. Enter The Shabbat Project. It’s a crazy idea to do the impossible: Get one million Jews to keep one particular Shabbos. Last year, over one million Jews all over the world, in 1150 cities and 95 countries, shared an achdus and commitment to have a Shabbos that, as Rabbi Warren Goldstein, the founder of the International Shabbat Project, puts it, “offers us the time and space to renew our inner selves and to revisit and reinvigorate our most important relationships.” Whether we’ve been keeping Shabbos since birth or discovered its magnificence later in life, the vision of over ONE MILLION of us doing this together is a powerful, uplifting experience. The Rebbe of Karlin famously said, “Master of the Universe, I have fish for Shabbos. I have challah for Shabbos. But where do I get SHABBOS for Shabbos?” It’s so easy to let our Shabbos become routine, even a bit stale. The Shabbat Project gives us a push to revitalize our Shabbos, perhaps by adding a feature to the Shabbos seudah such as a parshah riddle, or committing to using our best utensils for the Shabbos table, or simply looking at Shabbos with a freshness and appreciation that may have dimmed over the years under the pressures of life. You don’t need to be a kiruv expert

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

to share your love for Shabbos this year, to have your “cousins” visit your special place. Here are some of the many ways you can contribute to this extraordinary project: Women and girls can attend the Great Los Angeles Challah Bakes at Adas Torah, Shalhevet High School, Nessah Synagogue, or Chabad of Palisades to name a few. Please check out our Facebook page The Shabbos Project – Los Angeles and our website theshabbosproject.org/la for more information on all of the challah bake events, as well as Shabbos Project gatherings. It is suggested to use Uber or Lyft for the Adas and Shalhevet Challah Bakes since parking is extremely limited near the two events. Invite a co-worker, friend, or family member who might not yet be aware of this powerful experience. Join in the Shabbat Project 5000 Friday Night Dinner Experience on Pico. It is slated to be the world’s largest Shabbat dinner ever! Be a part of it by visiting the Pico Dinner website at theshabbatprojectla.com to purchase tickets for the amazing evening of Jewish unity. Please do not wait to order your tickets, as ticket prices will increase as we get closer to the actual date of the event. Help your synagogue or school participate in the project by creating special projects or events around Shabbat, like oneg Shabbos gatherings, or kumsitz get-togethers. Help arrange a community Shabbos meal. Get together with some of your neighbors to host a group meal. Laugh, sing, and enjoy camaraderie with the people who are closest to you...geographically at least. Host an individual or family for the entire Shabbos. Help someone who has not yet discovered the beauty of an immersive Shabbos experience see how powerful and

Photos: Ari Praw

Shabbos Project 2016

transformative it can be. Invite someone new to your Shabbos table. Have that new neighbor who you have been meaning to introduce yourself to. Have that guy at shul you sit near but have never gotten to know. Move out of your comfort zone and invite someone who is not part of your regular rotation. Learn two or three halachos of Shabbos with a chavrusa beginning that Shabbos, Parshas Lech Lecha. Rabbi Goldstein reminds us that

“Shabbos can hold us together in a society where everything seems to be pulling us apart.” On October 27-28th, Parshas Lech Lecha, infuse YOUR Shabbos with extra meaning by participating with our entire community in the Los Angeles Shabbat Project. You can make a big difference in someone’s life…and in your own. Shabbat Can Do That.

ZAKA Responds to Recent Worldwide Tragedies ZAKA in Houston As soon as Shabbat went out on September 2nd, an eight-member team of volunteers from the ZAKA in Israel began preparations to fly to Houston, Texas, to offer humanitarian assistance in the area devastated by Hurricane Harvey. However, this was not a typical ZAKA rescue and recovery mission overseas, such as Hurricane Katrina or Typhoon Haiyan, working with recovery of victims. Rather, this was a humanitarian hands-on mission in which the volunteers worked to assist the communities in any way that was

needed – from clearing debris to offering assistance with food deliveries. After an initial briefing with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) – which was overseeing the recovery efforts – and the Orthodox Union – which was coordinating the volunteers within the Jewish community in Houston – the ZAKA team set out to work. “As a humanitarian organization, we help all those in need, regardless of religion, race or gender,” notes ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav. “On day one, our team contacted Pastor Becky Keenan

from the Gulf Meadows Church, and we began working with the Christian community in the area as well.” The ZAKA volunteers worked in the synagogue, clearing debris and removing mold and they helped remove rubble from private homes as well as assisting with the delivery of kosher food after supplies began to run low. One home-owner, astonished to realize that the men helping him had come all the way from Israel, thanked the volunteers. “We really appreciate your help. You make a big difference and it’s so much easier having you here.”

ZAKA Responds to Hurricane Irma As Hurricane Irma formed, ZAKA anticipated the need for more volunteers in Florida and the Caribbean. The ZAKA International Rescue Unit, working together with local Jewish emergency forces including Chesed Shel Emes (CSE), established two fully-equipped command centers to offer assistance to the local communities when weather conditions would permit. Five ZAKA volunteers arrived in Florida directly from their week-long clean-up operation in Houston, where they joined forces with C.S.E. Miami (Chesed Shel

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Emes) under the direction of Mark Rosenberg to help the local community. ZAKA International Rescue Unit Chief Officer Mati Goldstein flew in from Israel to lead the team. In St. Martin, ZAKA volunteers assisted in a multi-national WhatsApp rescue operation that included Israel, the USA and Holland, working before and into Shabbat (Sept 8/9). They facilitated the rescue of the wife and children of the Chabad emissary, as well as another eight Jewish visitors stranded on the island. ZAKA Search and Rescue in Mexico On September 19th, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit 120 kilometers south of Mexico City. Immediately, ZAKA Mexico volunteers were rushed to the area to offer search, rescue, and recovery assistance. Working in cooperation with Cadena Mexico, they concentrated their efforts in the search for a missing Jewish resident who, according to reports, was in one of the collapsed buildings. In addition, the volunteers helped local rescue forces deal with the bodies of the victims. ZAKA Mexico volunteer Benjamin Shechnazi explained that engineers checked local synagogues to ensure their safety during Rosh Hashanah. ZAKA Mexico commander Marcus Cain adds, “It is impossible to describe the scope of the disaster. Millions of people are without power, there is great confusion and distress.” The volunteers continued to search into Rosh Hashanah, in accordance with the rulings of Chief Rabbi of Mexico, Rabbi Shlomo Tawil. Tragically, on the first night of yom tov, the ZAKA volunteers recovered the body of Haim Ashkenazi, z”l, from the rubble of the office building in which he was working during the time of the earthquake. Goldstein added that the ZAKA International Rescue Unit had proved, once again, that regular advance training of the units around the world allows them to operate in real time. ZAKA to establish first ever Kohanim Unit for the Temple Mount Following the July 14 Temple Mount terrorist attack in which two policemen and three terrorists were killed, the ZAKA Rabbinical Council made a historic ruling obligating the removal of any dead body from the Temple Mount area. This ruling led to the decision to establish a ZAKA Kohanim Unit to deal with any other such incident on Har Habayit. Today, everyone is halachically impure due to contact with a dead body, and most rabbis, headed by the Chief Rabbinate, rule that going up on the Temple Mount is a very serious sin, punishable by karet (excommunication). On the other hand, there is a commandment to remove impurity from the site of the Temple. The religious legal decision of the ZAKA rabbinical council introduces a revolutionary idea: there is a religious obligation to remove every dead body from the Temple Mount. There is no difference

TheHappenings Week In News

whether the body is that of a Jew or nonJew – even a terrorist. The rabbis also determined which ZAKA volunteers should deal with the deceased on the Temple Mount and distinguished between its various areas, which have different sensitivities to tumah. Likewise, the rabbis instructed the ZAKA volunteers to carry out specific procedures before entering the Temple Mount. Please help support ZAKA’s lifesaving work by sending your tax deductible donation to ZAKA Westcoast Attn: Kamran Imanuel PO Box 3483 Beverly Hills CA 92012 or by visiting zaka.us. Cleaning up in Houston

Torah Musings The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Expecting the Worst When You Are Expecting Sarah Pachter

No one likes to talk about how it feels to be pregnant. Frankly, no one wants to hear the complaining. And for those of you who claim that they feel exactly the same whether pregnant or not (like my mom’s rose-colored memories), you can just move right along, because this article most certainly is not for you. Disclaimer: The information below may delay any hint of baby fever for quite some time. Proceed with caution. They say that every woman experiences pregnancy differently, and each journey of bringing a child into the world is unique in itself. Compared to my current pregnancy, my last three were a breeze. After discussing it more with other friends who have had difficult pregnancies, we came to the conclusion that if men were the desig-

nated birth-givers, the human race would be much, much smaller. Of course, our little joke is all in good fun, but the truth is, pregnancy and labor are no child’s play! It is the middle of the night and I am four months pregnant, curled up in a ball, praying the nausea will go away. Even though the thought of writing about my experience thus far is enough to send me running back to the bathroom, I power through, hoping my experience will help other women (and their supportive male counterparts!) who are going through the difficulty of pregnancy. Each day, the exhaustion is overwhelming, and I never know when I will just have to just stop and rest. Inevitably, I feel at my worst in the afternoon, precisely when my children get home from school and need me to be available to them both physically and emotionally. I have also developed a superhero-like ability to detect certain

smells. In the morning, I know whether my children have had their multivitamins just from getting a whiff of their scent, even ten feet away, and can immediately tell if they have brushed their teeth or not. Unfortunately, because of this enhanced sense, I can’t tolerate the scent of meat, chicken, or fish cooking in an oven. Looking at food, smelling it, and cooking are all out of the question. This makes Shabbat preparations especially problematic. Aside from the physical roller coaster my body is experiencing, my emotions have also gone completely haywire. The second I discovered I was expecting, I was immediately overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation, alongside an intense wave of anxiety and worry for my unborn child. Questions began swarming: Will my baby be healthy? Will there be chromosomal issues? When will the baby be born? And after hearing friends’ stories of miscarriages and stillborns, and my own personal past experience, at the forefront of our minds is the questions of if the baby will be born at all. Will the “fill in the blank” complication be resolved, or will this end painfully, both emotionally and physically? Once you are pregnant, there is no going back – no matter the end result. And that is frightening. Not complacent to remain in fear for the remaining six months, I found a few techniques that help me cope with these lingering worries. Besides the obvious things, like walking, meeting up with friends, and teaching, I notice that when my mind is completely focused on something (like writing this article), the nausea and fears are momentarily forgotten. I compare it to gum being stuck to the bottom of your shoe; it’s always there, but can sometimes be ignored. So, moving forward, my mantra has become living in the moment and giving my full focus to whatever I am doing, distracting me momentarily from my discomfort. One of the most challenging parts of the day is bedtime. I try to divert myself from the feelings of post-dinner nausea and heartburn and instead focus on the words I am reading, shifting my mind to focus on the moment. Now, instead of a tired and nauseous pregnant woman, I am the mother of three beautiful children who is blessed to be reading them bedtime stories in our cozy home. Another technique that has changed my perspective during these challenging months has been to picture myself leaning into G-d. I imagine myself falling, and G-d is there to catch me and give me support during my time of weakness. Alongside all

of the other pregnancy woes I have faced, there have also been some health complications this time around, leaving me feeling completely helpless and out of control. Although the truth is we are never really in control, this heightened awareness has proved to be especially unsettling, leaving me feeling completely powerless. But with this knowledge, I have come to the liberating realization that my body is merely a vessel, holding the potential for a life which hopefully will come to fruition. When the aches are strongest, the fears are most pressing, I turn to G-d and plea, “Hashem, if you want me to be a vessel for this unborn neshamah, that is what I will be.” This realization has strengthened my sense of serenity, reminding me that G-d is really running the show. All I can do is lean back and let Him support me. Although this apparent lack of true control may seem scary, being a vessel of G-d is actually the most powerful and liberating position a person can be in. Suddenly, we realize we are a beautiful container filled with Hashem’s miracle, and we are partners with Him by simply letting go and accepting this challenge. This state of mind can extend far beyond the nine months of pregnancy and is not bound by gender. I often find myself praying to G-d to allow me to be his kli (vessel) in other areas of my life. For example, before giving a lecture, I remind myself that I am merely a vessel to transmit G-d’s message, and if the speech is meant to go well, it will. My most powerful lectures are given when every inch of me internalizes this message, and I take on the role of messenger, rather than craving the praise for myself. Being pregnant is essentially allowing one’s body to be the ultimate vessel of G-d, for better or –unfortunately, sometimes – for worse. With G-d’s help, a life is forming in the process, and although scary and vulnerable, leaning into that role is our only choice for remaining serene for our own sake and for the sake of the life growing inside. When pregnancy, or any other inevitable bump in the road of life, are sapping your energy and dragging you down, take a step back and breathe into the moment, focus on other tasks, and allow yourself to lean into G-d for His strength. You might just find yourself crawling through those three trimesters a little faster – and maybe just a bit stronger, too. Dear Readers: Sarah wants to let you know that she, bli ayin hara, delivered a baby girl over the recent yom tov and feels much better already.

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

CHAI LIFELINE WEST COAST

Legacy of Hope Gala Monday, October 30, 2017 Taglyan Cultural Complex 1201 Vine Street, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Honoring

RABBI AND MRS. BARUCH GRADON BASYA AND MALKIEL GRADON

Legacy of Hope Award

CHESTON AND LARA MIZEL

Builders of Hope Award

475 South Robertson Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 Tel 310.553.5214 Fax 310.274.6447 Web www.wcgala.org Email info@wcgala.org ADS OR RESERVATIONS CAN BE MADE ONLINE AT WWW.WCGALA.ORG.

Celebrating 17 years of

Care, Compassion, & Hope

Living with In theNews Times The Week

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz Publisher of the Yated Ne’eman

Sukkos is upon us. The Yom Tov of joy has returned. We study its halachos and concepts so that with the observance of its mitzvos, we grasp its lessons. The Torah tells us that the mitzvah of sukkah was given “lemaan yeidu doroseichem,” so that future generations shall know that Hashem placed the Jewish people in sukkos when He removed them from Mitzrayim. Rabi Akiva (Sukkah 11b) says that they were “sukkos mamosh,” actual sukkos. We left the servitude of Mitzrayim and crossed the Yam Suf, but we had no roof over our heads to protect us from the elements and to live a family life in a home. Hashem made for us small huts, in which we lived for the duration of our sojourn in the desert. Allegorically, it would seem that living that way was an uncomfortable experience, yet for all the complaints the Jewish people had, the Torah doesn’t record that they grumbled about their living arrangements. Apparently, life in the sukkah was quite acceptable to them. And we wonder how that can be. Living in the sukkah means living surrounded by Hashem’s blessing and knowing that He grants us our needs. A ma’amin is happy with what he has, because he appreciates that his possessions are given to him by a loving Father who provides for each person according to his/her personal needs. This is symbolized by the humble sukkah. We leave our sturdy, temperature-controlled places of luxury, and for seven days we dwell in a small, barely furnished, uninsulated shed to demonstrate our dependence on Hashem all year round, and our happiness with what we have. If it is ordained for us to live in a place like this, we accept that this is the will of Hashem, and we not only make the best of it, but are actually happy and grateful for what we have. Therefore, Sukkos is a Yom Tov of joy. When the sun sets on the fourteenth day of Tishrei, happiness descends upon the Jew-

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Let’s All Be Happy ish people, as they look forward to living for seven days in the shadow of Hashem’s Shechinah. We begin with the much-awaited experience of sitting in a beautifully decorated sukkah. Chains crisscross its expanse, pictures adorn the walls, and the table is laid out with a crisp white tablecloth and the finest dishes. Everyone is dressed in their Yom Tov best, the refraction of the lights and candles reflecting off the glowing faces of the people seated around the table. The Vilna Gaon, in his peirush to Shir Hashirim (1:4), explains why we celebrate Sukkos during the month of Tishrei and not

left Mitzrayim during the month of Nissan departed when we sinned with the Golden Calf. They did not return until after our teshuvah was accepted. It was on Yom Kippur that Moshe Rabbeinu returned from interceding on our behalf for forty days. The next day, he gathered all of Am Yisroel and related the commandment to build a Mishkon. It took a few days to gather the material, and on the 15th day of Tishrei, they began to work on crafting the Mishkon. It is for this reason, the Vilna Gaon writes, that we celebrate Sukkos in Tishrei. Since it is the return of the Ananim to Klal Yisroel that we celebrate with our suk-

If rain prevents us from entering our sukkah, we fear that it is a message from Heaven that we are not worthy of being the Chosen Nation and bearers of that royal heritage. Nissan, when we were freed from Mitzrayim and Hashem placed us in sukkos. The Gaon writes that the sukkah is a commemoration of the Ananei Hakavod that enveloped the Jewish people as they traveled through the desert. [Whether the Gaon’s explanation is strictly according to Rabi Eliezer (ibid) who disputes Rabi Akiva and posits that the sukkos referred to in the posuk refers to ananim is beyond the scope of this article.] The clouds that protected us when we

kos, they contain an extra measure of simcha. The return of the Ananim was tied to the acceptance of our teshuvah. That empowers us in moving ahead from the days of Rosh Hashanah, Aseres Yemei Teshuvah and Yom Kippur, as we see the power of teshuvah and tefillah. Just as Am Yisroel was able to come back from the depravity of the sin of the Eigel and merit the Ananei Hakavod, the Mishkon and a home for the Shechinah, so too, in our day, if we return with full

hearts, our teshuvah is accepted. Thus, after the Yomim Noraim, we construct the sukkah to demonstrate our faith that Hashem accepted our repentance and will accept us as He did at this time of this month when the Jews left Mitzrayim. Our joy is overwhelming as we await the return of the Ananei Hakavod and the Shechinah. We enter the sukkah and praise Hashem “asher bochar bonu mikol am.” We recite the brocha of Shehecheyonu, thanking Hashem for keeping us alive so that we can celebrate this moment. The Maharal (end of Drasha LeShabbos Hagadol) goes a step further and says that in the merit of us observing mitzvas sukkah on the first day of Sukkos, Hashem will rebuild the Bais Hamikdosh, which is His sukkah in this world. However, there are times when it rains on Sukkos and we aren’t able to observe the remembrance for the acceptance of teshuvah and return of the Ananei Hakavod. Rain on Sukkos is distressing, as there is a Divine message inherent in the downpour. The Mishnah in Sukkah (28) famously teaches that rain on Sukkos is compared to a servant who pours a drink for his master. Instead of accepting it, the master throws the drink back in the servant’s face. How dispiriting it is to have an act of devotion and deference rejected in such fashion. Why does the Mishnah convey its point regarding the bad omen of rain on Sukkos through an allegory describing a slave and his master? The Mishnah could have made the same point with a tale involving a son serving his father. A person’s children are his children no matter what happens. If a son is disobedient, he is still a son. If a son doesn’t serve his parents properly, he is still their son. They may be upset with him, and they will try to educate him to improve his ways, but they cannot divorce him from being their son. Servants and slaves, however, exist purely to serve their masters. The concept of avdus is one of complete servitude. A servant’s very existence is dependent upon his master’s mercy. Should the servant not serve his master properly, he won’t remain a servant much longer. When a master rejects his servant’s help, the master isn’t merely rebuffing or insulting him. The master is rejecting his very essence. The master, in a statement of invalidation, is declaring that he has no need for the servant. Our relationship with Hashem is one of duality. We are both children and ser-

Living withIn theNews Times The Week

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

vants. On Rosh Hashanah, following the shofar blasts of Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, we recite a brief tefillah. We proclaim that we are bonim and avodim. We ask Hashem that if He perceives us as children, He should have mercy on us the way a father has mercy on his children. If He is dealing with us as avodim, we ask that we find favor in His eyes so that we will emerge triumphant upon being judged. If that is the case, why, when it comes to Sukkos, is our relationship with Hashem depicted as one of avodim, servants, and not as bonim, children? Perhaps we can understand this by examining the biblical explanation for the mitzvah of sukkah. Hashem commands us to sit in the sukkah, stating, “Lemaan yeidu doroseichem ki vasukkos hoshavti es Bnei Yisroel behotzi’i osam mei’eretz Mitzrayim - So that your future generations will know that I placed the Jewish people in sukkos when I took them out of Mitzrayim.” The mitzvah of sukkah is to remind us that Hashem redeemed us from slavery in Mitzrayim. When we sit in the sukkah, we proclaim that Hashem plucked us out of that awful situation and fashioned us to be His avodim. As Chazal say, “Avodei heim, velo avodim la’avodim.” We are avdei Hashem, not avodim to people who are themselves avodim. Because we are His avodim, He freed us from the Mitzri’s physical servitude, split the Yam Suf for us, and put us on safe, dry land, where He built sukkos for us and spread His canopy of peace over us. The supreme joy of Sukkos is a celebration of our rewarding avdus of Hashem. Therefore, since the Yom Tov of Sukkos is a celebration of us becoming exclusively avdei Hashem, when it rains on us in our sukkos, it is as if there is a Heavenly proclamation that our service is not appreciated. The avodah of Sukkos is avdus. It is a celebration of avdus. When there is a taanoh on us, it is a taanoh on our bechinah of avdus. Therefore, the Mishnah uses the parable of a slave and his master to portray the calamity of Sukkos rain. This might be the explanation of the halacha of mitzta’eir, which is unique to sukkah. A person who finds it difficult to sit in the sukkah is freed from the obligation. We can explain that since we perform this mitzvah as avodim, a servant doesn’t have the luxury of complaining that he is inconvenienced by the master’s request of him. If a servant complains about a task, that is an indication that he has failed in his role and doesn’t appreciate his function. A servant does as he is commanded. His job is to perform for his master and be there at his beck and call. If he cannot do that, he has failed. An eved Hashem who feels inconvenienced by a mitzvah has lost focus. A person who is pained by fulfilling the will of Hashem has failed in his avodah. Hashem says to him, “I don’t need you here. You may leave.” We can also understand why someone who sits in the sukkah as rain is falling is

termed a hedyot. An eved whose services are not wanted must atone for his wrongdoing and find favor again in the eyes of his master before returning to his service. As long as his master is displeased with him, he must stay away and work on amending the situation. Rain on Sukkos is a message to us that we must work harder to find favor in the eyes of Hashem. One who ignores that message is a hedyot. The proper response is sadness at being turned away and engaging in teshuvah in order to be welcomed back in the tzila demehemnusa, not so-to-speak forcing ourselves on Hashem. Rain on Sukkos, as well, forces us to reexamine our identity, since our role as avdei Hashem is threatened. On Rosh Hashanah, each time we blew the shofar, we asked Hakadosh Boruch Hu to have mercy on us, whether as sons or as servants. We are indeed both. We possess the fierce love and devotion of a son, coupled with the loyalty and dependability of a slave. The avodah of the Yomim Noraim is to work on ourselves to be more subservient to the will of Hashem and be mamlich Him over us. With much longing, we say, “Veyomar kol asher neshomah be’apo, Hashem Elokei Yisroel Melech.” For ten days, we proclaim that Hashem is the “Melech Hakadosh.” We recite pesukim of Malchuyos and pray that “veyekablu ohl malchuscha aleihem.” The point of these tefillos and others similar to them is for us to recognize our duty as avodim to Hashem. We approach Sukkos confident in understanding our mission and having perfected our avdus. Therefore, when it rains, it is a sign that our avdus is lacking and we have not yet perfected ourselves as required. Yetzias Mitzrayim was a march to a new reality. Once we felt the bitter taste of servitude to the Mitzriyim, we were led out toward Har Sinai, where we were charged with the mandate of being avdei Hashem. Rosh Hashanah tells us of Hashem’s greatness. The teshuvah of Yom Kippur leads us to humility. Following those great days, we are ready for Sukkos, humble servants eager to serve our Master. The excitement we feel about sitting in the sukkah is exhilaration about facing our destiny. In its embrace, we celebrate avdus. ** The Netziv, in his Ha’amek Dovor (Vayikra 16:29), explains that according to teva, the Jews should lose in their tug of war against the nations of the world, for there is no way that Jews are plentiful enough or strong enough to defeat all those who seek their destruction. Klal Yisroel endures because it is lema’alah miderech hateva. Like our forefather Yaakov Avinu, who beat back his brother Eisov, we are not beholden to teva and the laws of nature. Thus, when rain falls and prevents us from observing the mitzvah of sukkah, it is an omen that the teva may be dominant during the coming year. It is a reminder that we must complete our teshuvah.

If rain prevents us from entering our sukkah, we fear that it is a message from Heaven that we are not worthy of being the Chosen Nation and bearers of that royal heritage. By consequence, we fear that we are no longer being treated specially as bonim laMakom. Thus, the Mishnah compares us to avodim, not bonim. To commemorate that we know Hakadosh Boruch Hu stands by us, we build sukkos as our grandfather Yaakov did, confident that Hashem will protect us there. We pray that we will be seen as worthy heirs to the name Yisroel and treated as Hashem’s children and not as slaves, who are only around as long as their services are desired. We pray that we will be treated as children, and even if we stray, we will always be welcomed and never abandoned. The Tur (Orach Chaim 417) writes that the Yom Tov of Sukkos is “kineged” Yaakov Avinu, as the posuk states, “Ulemikneihu osoh sukkos” (Bereishis 33:17). The Zohar also says that Sukkos is “kineged” Yaakov, but derives this from the first part of the same posuk, which reads, “V’Yaakov nosa sukkosah.” The Torah tells us that Yaakov was “ish tam yosheiv ohalim,” literally a simple, or complete, person who lived in tents. Yaakov was the “tam,” who simply trusted in Hashem without questioning his lot and

making “cheshbonos.” Yaakov was the “yosheiv ohalim,” dedicating his life to Torah. For him, a tent - temporary, simple and rustic - was a sufficient dwelling place if that was what Hashem had chosen for him. “V’Yaakov nosa sukkosah.” It was in merit of those middos that we were given the mitzvah of sukkah, reminding us to live as our forefather Yaakov did, with complete faith, come what may. The Gemara states (Pesochim 88a) that Yaakov Avinu referred to the place where the Bais Hamikdosh was to be built as a bayis, a home. Similarly, for seven days, we call the sukkah, which commemorates the return of the Ananei Hakavod and the commencement of the construction of the mishkon, a bayis. The simple room is our home and we are very happy with it. Sukkos only lasts seven days, but its lessons and inherent joy keep us smiling throughout the cold and darkness of winter. The messages of the sukkah, celebrating the acceptance of our teshuvah, the return of the Ananei Hakavod, and the construction of the Mishkon, warm our hearts and lighten our paths through the golus. We await the day when our teshuvah for the sins that keep us in golus will finally be accepted. Then we will merit the return of the Shechinah among us and the construction of the third Bais Hamikdosh, bemeheira beyomeinu. Amein.

The Week In News Torah

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Weekly Daf

How do we scare the witnesses from bearing false testimony? Rabbi Shmuel Wise, Maggid Shiur of RealClearDaf.com

Do we follow majority to put someone to death? On 69a we studied this issue. Let’s review the discussion there. The gemara there presents the teaching of R’ Kruspedai (parenthetically, in masechtas Rosh Hashanah this rarely mentioned amora quotes his rebbi, Reb Yochanan, with the famous teaching that explains how the righteous, average, and wicked are judged on Rosh Hashanah) that the window of opportunity in which a youth can be judged a ben sorrer umoreh lasts for only three months following his bar mitzvah. The gemara identifies the source for his teaching as from the verse’s language, “ben sorrer..” This word ben, which means son, indicates that only a son can become a ben sorrer umoreh (henceforth: bsu”m), as opposed to a youth who is himself a father. Now the gemara explains that even a youth who can theoretically start being called a father is excluded. The Gemara explains that a youth can start to be called a father at the age of thirteen and three months. Why? Because the earliest age at which a male can impregnate is thirteen. If that happened the woman who conceived from him would begin to show signs of her pregnancy three months later, at which point people would already start to call this youth a father. The end result is that a youth could only be judged a bsu”m for three months after his bar mitzvah. The gemara then tells us that R’ Yaakov of Nehar Pekod made a brilliant inference from this teaching. He says we can deduce a scientific fact about fetal devel-

opment from R’ Kruspedai: Women only begin to show signs of pregnancy a full three months after pregnancy – regardless of the ultimate length of the entire pregnancy. For is this were not true, and instead we suppose that pregnancies begin to show after one third of the total pregnancy term (hence a seven-month pregnancy would begin to show after two-and-a-third months), then the halachah should say that a youth is already too old to be deemed a bsu”m by the age of 13 and two-and-athird months. Yet R’ Kruspedai rules that we can still execute a bsu”m at that age; evidently R’ Kruspedai was aware of a scientific fact that women invariably only show signs of pregnancy three months after conception. Now science is great and everything, but the gemara is primarily interested in this point for its halachic implications. Specifically this scientific fact would guide us how to rule in a situation where a woman got remarried sooner than three months after her previous marriage (something she wasn’t supposed to do), and two-and-a-third months later, she began to show signs of pregnancy. According to R’ Yaakov’s inference we can safely assume that the second husband is not the father. However the Gemara deflects R’ Yaakov’s inference, arguing that it is entirely possible that the length of time until a woman begins to show her pregnancy is proportionate to the entire pregnancy (i.e. always at one third into the pregnancy). And yet R’ Kruspedai rules that we would go ahead and execute a bsu”m all the way until the age of thirteen and three months.

But – AY! (Forgive my improper English here. There’s just no comparable proper English way to satisfactorily express that a glaring problem still exists.) – some youths

rah tells us to follow the majority vote, but when you are attempting to convict a person of a capital crime based on the assumption that he is a sample of some sta-

(i.e. those that produce seven-month pregnancies) would already be beyond the age of bsu”m if they are above 13 and twoand-a-third months. How could we still apply the death penalty?! The gemara says: nevertheless, we would execute him based on the fact that the majority of pregnancies (which last nine months) will only begin to show after a full three months. The gemara is thus suggesting that beis din will put someone to death based on the principle of majority. The gemara takes issue with such a notion in light of the Torah’s teaching that, “the congregation (i.e. beis din) shall save,” which demands that a court make every attempt to find a legal basis to acquit a person from the death penalty. Surely this should require the court to doubt any conviction that is based on majority and consider that perhaps this individual is from the minority group which means that he is innocent! Now the truth is that the gemara’s argument here can be questioned: We know from the first page of our tractate that we do in fact follow majority in capital cases in the sense that if the majority of judges (as long as they have at least two more votes) decide to convict, we do apply the death penalty. Yet the gemara here does take issue with following the type of majority discussed on our page because our discussion deals with a statistical majority, which is fundamentally different than the concept of following a majority vote of judges. True, our gemara asks, the To-

tistical majority – that appears to violate the idea that we try to raise doubts when it comes to the death penalty. Ultimately the gemara sets aside this question, proving that in fact we do follow statistical majorities in capital cases. However the gemara doesn’t directly address the issue of why this doesn’t violate the requirement that “the court shall save.” Perhaps the understanding is this: “The court shall save,” requires the court to scrutinize the specific facts of the case before them. So when it comes to things like the accuracy of the testimony or the presence of physical evidence, beis din is to leave no stone unturned. Everything should be intensely questioned to find even the slightest possibility to exonerate the accused. However, questioning our underlying assumptions (provided that those assumptions are predicated on sound statistical majorities) is not within the purview of “the court shall save.” It is true, for instance, that our knowledge that the sun will rise tomorrow morning is merely an assumption that relies on statistics, but it nonetheless is a settled issue to us and pointless to question. Likewise, the assumption about what kind of pregnancy to expect or whether a child will develop normally (see gemara further there) are not assumptions that are considered halachically valid to question. If there’s one thing you can take to the bank from this article it is that the halachah definitely allows you to assume that the sun will rise tomorrow. Wishes to all for a gmar chasima tovah

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Book Review The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Rebels in the Holy Land: Mazkeret Batya – An Early Battleground for the Soul of Israel by Sam Finkel (Feldheim Publishers, Second Edition 2015, 471 pages) Reviewed by Devorah Talia Gordon

While little has been written about the First Aliyah period (1882-1903), most people assume the early pioneers in Israel were non-religious, eager to build a society based on the secular “Enlightenment” ideology. In Rebels in the Holy Land, author Sam Finkel introduces us to the real first settlers – deeply religious Jews. “The settlers of Mazkeret Batya were made of unique material, combining great love for the Land of Israel, fear of Heaven, and an unyielding determination to settle the land. It is difficult to find any parallel to them anywhere else in the country,” writes Mordechai Naor, in Sefer le-Mazkeret Batya-Ekron – Me’ah Shanim ha-Rishonot (Rebels, p. 231). These eleven Orthodox farmers, from the tiny hamlet of Pavlovka (in White Russia) were handpicked in 1882 to establish the sixth Jewish agricultural colony in the

Land of Israel (initially named Ekron). Since Baron Edmond de Rothschild was a supporter of the colony, among many others, he renamed it Mazkeret Batya when he visited in 1887, in memory of his mother Batya Rothschild. Part One of Rebels focuses on the founding of Mazkeret Batya, including the selection of the farmers, the difficult journey from White Russia to the Land of Israel, and the immigrant families getting acclimating to the Land. While packed with information, at times the details made the reading a little too slow, as I was eager for the farmers to arrive in the Land. Part Two, and the crux of the book, “The Farmers Wage War Against the Baron,” deals with the decision of the settlers of Mazkeret Batya to keep shemittah in the year 1888-1889, which “sparked a passionate debate” throughout the Jew-

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ish world. Here the pace speeds up, in line with the story, and the controversy keeps the reader fully engaged. Even though heterim were available, these pioneers refused to rely on them. They chose instead to keep the mitzvah to the fullest, as determined by the Jerusalem Rabbinate, even at risk of angering their benefactor, Rothschild. “Shemittah without the Baron’s safety net would be a fearsome endeavor, notwithstanding the Torah’s assurance of God’s blessing. They had large families to feed and were just barely getting by, even with the added financial support of the Baron. (p. 175)” Although they were simply trying to uphold the Torah law as they understood it, the farmers were scorned and ridiculed by some, yet supported and admired by others, such as Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, Rosh Yeshivah of Volozhin, and Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe. Finkel does an outstanding job here – and throughout the book – of presenting diverse sides of arguments. Finkel does not wish to be dogmatic, but rather to appeal to a wider audience: secular, religious, and anyone in between. Part Three chronicles the final years of Mazkeret Batya, including the struggle of the pioneers against the Baron’s anti-religious administrators, the maskilim making headway into the country and the modernization of the schools, and the resulting secularization of the colonies and Palestine. One also learns of the remaining years of the main players in the book, including their descendants and the legacy they left behind. The book is rounded out with ten appendices of rich information, including more details of Pavlovka, how “shtetl Jews” became farmers, profiles of Ekron’s first rabbis, and a look at the early newspapers of the era, which were highly influential in shaping the opinions of tens of thousands of people about aliyah to Palestine. History buffs will relish the jam-packed book, while laypeople will learn a tremendous amount about a little-known period. Author Sam Finkel writes in his disclaimer: “This book may have many references and endnotes, but don’t be fooled. I am not a historian…. I am really a storyteller and a collector.” Finkel explains that the end-

notes (an impressive number: 521) are to clarify to the reader that he did not fabricate any of the information or leave things out, since this period of Israeli history is misunderstood and often distorted. But Finkel’s skill as a storyteller and collector is most pleasurable; the pages are chockfull of photographs, maps, letters, stamps, photos of documents, newspaper headlines, and the like, which bring the story to life. Most fascinating are the photographs of the settlers themselves juxtaposed to the modern-day photographs of their greatgreat grandchildren and their families. In his afterword, Finkel poses the question – why did the farmers of Pavlovka settle in Palestine? After all, they had prosperous farms in Russia, and Palestine was a challenging place to be – undeveloped, plagued with disease like malaria, and other issues. While one historian posits that the Jews were idealistic, loved the Land of Israel and yearned to fulfill the agricultural mitzvos there, others disagree. According to Dr. Yerakh Tzur, the farmers were running from economic difficulties and anti-Semitism in Russia. Yet while most escaped to America, they chose Israel, and they left on short notice with no plan B to fall back on. Finkel takes the side of idealism, but offers, “perhaps the truth is somewhere in between.” He leaves it to the reader to imbibe all he presents in this tome and make his own decision, the mark of a good book.

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Humor The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

An Angeleno Sukkos Rebecca Klempner As a child, the sukkah I knew best belonged to my aunt and uncle. Aunt Susan and Uncle Ira lived in Baltimore, which receives 70 days of precipitation a year. Several of these days seemed to take place yearly during Sukkos. Our usual routine went like this: My sister and I are setting the table in the sukkah. Rain begins to fall. Aunt Susan says, “Quick! Take the dishes back to the dining room!” The rain stops. Uncle Ira grabs the kiddush cup and shouts, “Run back outside!” We dash to the sukkah and make kiddush. While we are inside to wash before hamotzi, the rain starts again. We dine indoors. When I moved to L.A., a city with an arid climate, I looked forward to sitting in a nice, dry sukkah. Alas, I soon learned

that it’s pretty common to receive our first seasonal rain during Sukkos. If we are lucky, it holds off till Shemini Atzeres. If we are really, really lucky, it begins only after we’ve put away the sukkah for next year. Most years, we aren’t lucky. The rain arrives at 3 a.m., while we’re sleeping in the sukkah. In between sudden cloudbursts, though, an Angeleno Sukkos is hot. And I don’t like hot. (You can blame that on my Viking ancestors – at least I blame them.) We have a pre-fab sukkah, which is very convenient. Unfortunately, we bought it the year before the company we purchased it from created a special model to cope with the Mediterranean climate. (Apparently someplace as unsophisticated as Los Angeles can have a very sophisticat-

ed-sounding climate.) At some point, my husband cut out the plastic windows – better suited to a greenhouse – and replaced them with metal screens. Nevertheless, the temperature in our sukkah tends to run about 10 or 15 degrees warmer than the temperature outside our sukkah. Normally, our desire to perform hachnassas orchim is undermined by the size of our apartment. Our home is small enough that if our children were animals, and our apartment was a zoo exhibit, PETA would be picketing on our sidewalk. Our sukkah has no such limitation. Desperate people who lack yards, patios, and balconies often rely on us to provide them with the means to sit in the heat, drink grape juice, eat challah, and beg for more ice in their lemon-flavored seltzer. Our youngest guests run about like pet

iguanas who have sat a bit too long on their heat rocks. When everyone leaves, we mop up the sweat that has pooled under their seats. Don’t get me wrong. I love an Angeleno Sukkos – in the evening. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the sukkah, sipping tea and reading a book while my husband learns Torah beside me. There’s no need for a heavy jacket or a wool skirt or thermal underwear purchased at REI and rated for sub-zero temperatures. You are welcome to join us for a cup of Earl Grey or Mint Medley some evening during Sukkos. Perhaps we’ll even glimpse a starry sky through our wellworn-but-still-kosher schach mats – if the smog and light pollution lift. I’ll just pray you don’t swing by on one of the 19 days a year it rains in L.A.

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Holiday Series The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2016

Sukkot The Final Destination By Larry Domnitch

he Duke of Manheim once asked Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Levin, The Rav of Berlin, the reason that children ask the “Four Questions” on Pesach and not on Sukkot? “After all, on Sukkot you have more customs than on Passover, since you leave your homes and live in temporary booths!” The rabbi replied, “On Passover, a child sees the family seated around a table with many tempting dishes, and they are freely relaxed in a way we Jews are not always permitted to enjoy. Therefore the child is surprised and asks the questions. “But what does the little one see on Sukkot? The people of Israel leave their homes and sit in the outdoors without a roof over them. This is no surprise, for even a child knows this is the way of Jews in the exile.” The wanderings of Bnei

Yisrael in the Sinai wilderness commemorated by the sukkah can be seen as a microcosm of the future travels of Jews in the Diaspora throughout history. The Torah states, “These are

challenges to Bnei Yisrael. That experience was instrumental in strengthening their identity as a Torah Nation. As their ancestors in the Sinai wilderness, Jews

in Eastern Europe, the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany, and persecution in Arab countries. Yet, according to Rashi, Bnei Yisrael were encamped in one place, Kadesh Barnea,

Jews throughout history have been in frequent transit as a result of many expulsions and flights from persecution.

the journeys of the Israelites who had left Egypt in organized groups.” (Numbers 33:1) The Israelites traveled to forty-two different locations en route to their final destination, the Land of Israel. Each place is specifically mentioned, and each presented its own specific

throughout history have been in frequent transit as a result of many expulsions and flights from persecution. Jewish communities have been subject to hundreds of expulsions. In the twentieth century alone, millions of Jews fled pogroms and discrimination

for nineteen years. (Devarim 1:46) Similarly, throughout history, there were times when an abode for the Jews had lasted for an extended duration and sometimes in relative comfort within a tolerant atmosphere. And, as with the Israelites in Kadesh Barnea, who were destined

to eventually move onwards, they too would most often be forced to continue their journeys with the emergence in their times of forces of hatred and intolerance. In today’s times, Jewish communities in the Diaspora are again imperiled and many Jews are again in flight. Anti-Semitism, which was once deemed under control in post-World War II Europe, has proliferated and now threatens Jewish communities throughout Europe. The current situation is so severe that many European Jews did not attend synagogue for the Rosh Hashana holidays out of fear. The sukkah, with its flimsy walls and open roof, is an embodiment of Jewish existence in the Diaspora, which as the sukkah itself is temporary is part of a larger journey which inevitably leads to the Land of Israel.

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Feature The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Be Our Guests

How Two Families have Mastered the Art of Hosting Crowds of People Every Shabbos BY MALKY LOWINGER

n Sukkos, we invite the ushpizin into our sukkahs and, frankly, they make pretty good guests. They don’t spill the wine or try to make awkward conversation. Their kids are never rowdy. And they never complain that the food wasn’t good enough. Inviting real guests is different, especially if you’re having random strangers. They can show up at the last minute or fall asleep on the living room couch. They might even be rude or noisy. And yet, there are those families among us who have turned the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim into their life’s calling. Not satisfied with the occasional Shabbos seudah company, these people have an open door policy every Shabbos. And they never really know who the next interesting guest will be. These families tell us that as much as their guests benefit from their hospitality, it’s they who are reaping the benefits of meeting amazing people who inspire them week after week. The occasional stain on a tablecloth is a small price to pay for the opportunity to revel in the diversity of klal Yisroel. It doesn’t get better than this, they say. With the advent of social media as well as the Shabbat.com site, it’s easy to invite guests anytime and anyplace. These families rise to the occasion on a regular basis, week after week. Their stories are an inspiration to us all.

Meet the Beymans

The Beyman family at a family simcha

Deena and Avrohom Beyman have been living in Monsey for the past 21 years but only registered with Shabbat.com about six years ago. “We started out with just a few guests but then they started bringing their friends and it grew

and grew.” These days, the Beymans host an average of twenty guests each Shabbos. “We can fit eighteen around our dining room table,” Avrohom explains. “And then if we need to, we can open up a folding table for a few more.”

Because they live upstate, most of the Beymans’ guests sleep over. “We have sixteen extra beds in our home,” says Deena. “When there’s an overflow, they are hosted overnight by our wonderful neighbors who also want to have a part in

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2016 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Feature The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

this mitzvah.” Their guests come from all walks of life and all backgrounds, but most of them are single or divorced young people who are looking to enjoy a Shabbos experience or maybe just to socialize. More than a few shidduchim have come about as a result of Shabbosim spent in their home. The Beymans begin searching for their Shabbos guests as soon as the previous Shabbos is over. As Avrohom explains, “We realized you need to be proactive.” Deena can often be found at her computer on Motzei Shabbos inviting next week’s guests on Shabbat.com. The motto at the Beymans’ home is that “All Brands of Jews Are Welcome,” and that includes the not-yet-Jewish. They’ve had several geirim at their Shabbos table, as well as almost-geirim. Most memorable was a woman named Melissa who reached out to them through social media. “She lived in a small village in Canada and didn’t drive. Instead, she took buses and hitched rides to get to us. She left on a Tuesday and didn’t arrive at our home until Friday. But she was determined to join us.” They’ve met their share of amazing people: Yedidya, the African-American ger who asked the Beymans to adopt him; Nancy, who escaped from Cuba on a raft in shark-infested waters; Rivka, who kept growing in her religious observance until she married a yeshiva guy and is now hosting guests in her own Brooklyn apartment; Millie, from

Peru, who burst out crying as she sat in the Beyman sukkah and eventually was megayer – she now calls herself Miriam and is married to a man from Boro Park; Roger, from Brooklyn, who observed his first Shabbos at the Beymans and is now learning in yeshiva in Israel; Imri, the Israeli ba’al teshuva who brought along his non-observant father, David, for Shabbos. At the end of the weekend, David said to Avrohom, “I never knew Shabbos could be so beautiful.” Their most memorable

we request that all guests move out of the living and dining room areas into the kitchen and family room so as not to disturb those who are going to sleep. I also announce that we are a ‘shomer negiyah’ household and that everyone should act accordingly. Basically, it boils down to being a mensch.” Were there ever guests who were rude or disrespectful? “Look,” says Avrohom, “ninety five percent of our guests are wonderful and amazing. There’s a tiny percentage who aren’t and we’ve definitely had some

We buy sodas at Shoprite, water at Walmart, and paper goods from Amazing Savings. We pretty much have it down pat.” Deena does the cooking on Thursdays and Fridays, and the cleaning lady makes the beds before Shabbos. Avrohom admits that their weekly hachnosas orchim project can become pricey, yet he says, “somehow we manage. Only Hakadosh Boruch Hu knows how it gets done.” The menu remains simple yet satisfying. Deena’s specialty are her meatballs, and she makes sixty ev-

At the end of the weekend, David said to Avrohom, “I never knew Shabbos could be so beautiful.” guests, say the Beymans, were the group of students from Toulouse, France. “It was several years ago, after the tragic terror attack at their school. They came with their principal to spend Shabbos with us. Most of them didn’t speak English but we had someone translate. There was so much singing and dancing that weekend, it was amazing. Probably one of the best Shabbosim we ever had.” Avrohom and Deena are generally laid back and easygoing about hosting, but they did establish a few general rules. “During the meal,” says Avrohom, “I announce that everyone should help clear the table before benching. And at 11:00 PM,

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interesting experiences, but by and large we’ve morphed into a great group. I guess you can call it on-the-job training.” The Beymans maintain a non-judgmental atmosphere, which their guests appreciate. “We love everyone,” says Avrohom, “and people feel it.” How do you feed so many hungry people week after week? The Beymans have turned their weekly shopping expeditions into a science. “We dedicate much of our Sundays to shopping, and we purchase different products in different stores, depending on the prices. By now we have a system. Evergreen’s kugels are on sale on Sunday. The bakery donates cake to us on Wednesdays.

ery week. “That’s the first course,” says Avrohom. “The second course is buffet style. We prepare chicken and side dishes on the kitchen island. Everybody helps themselves.” On Shabbos day, the menu consists of a huge cholent and lots of salads. Some of the guests will bring along extra side dishes, challahs, sodas, or dessert. Avrohom and Deena insist that they benefit from their Shabbos hosting experience as much as their guests do. “We meet a lot of fantastic people,” says Deena. “We’re like one big happy family.” So much so that a few guests have taken to calling them Tatty and Mommy Beyman. Their

own married children don’t come often for Shabbos, as they are busy raising their own families. And their single son, Elisha, is totally on board and has become an integral part of the program. “He’s a real people person,” says Deena. “He’ll often say a dvar Torah or lead the singing and the havdalah ceremony.” Do the Beymans recommend hachnosas orchim to other families? “Of course,” says Avrohom. “But better to start small. Have just a few people over and see if you are ready to build up. Also, you certainly don’t have to be hosting every single week.” But he does encourage would-be hosts to be proactive. “Don’t expect your guests to invite themselves for Shabbos. It’s your job to do that.” Reaching out has its rewards, he says. “You don’t know what kind of impact you can have on someone else’s life. Several people have told us that if they wouldn’t come here they wouldn’t keep Shabbos.” Before he ends our conversation, Avrohom makes one request. “Could I ask you a favor?” he asks. “Can you list our names and phone numbers in the article? That way, someone new might see this and decide to join us for Shabbos. We enjoy meeting new people and this might attract potential guests. We really want to host more people!” Of course! The Beymans can be reached at 845-3540934 or at deenabeyman@ gmail.com.

Some items to leave in your guest room to make your guests comfortable Bottle of water • Sealed snacks • Magazines (don’t forget TJH!) • Books • Over-the-counter-medication • Bandages Mini mouthwash • Extra blankets • Shabbos lamp • Closet space • Alarm clock • Shabbos key or code to the house

OCTOBER 14, 2016 | The Jewish Home Feature 26 56 Week In News S32 The OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

The Zahav family with a guest

Meet the Zahavs They may live in a cozy little Jerusalem apartment, but that doesn’t stop Tuvia and Chana Zahav from hosting 20-24 people every Friday night as well as a sizeable group of lunch guests on Shabbos. “Somehow,” says Chana, “Hashem allows our living room to expand.” The Zahavs live in the area of Rechov Shmuel Hanavi, easily accessible to the Old City, the center of town, and the Maalot Dafna/Ramat Eshkol areas. It wasn’t always so. When they were first married, the Zahavs lived in a more remote location, and “we would daven for guests” but it didn’t always happen. Now, their apartment is an open house, with guests coming and going. “We love it and we love people, so we feel truly blessed, boruch Hashem.” For Chana, these blessings are truly special. She and Tuvia are married nearly thirteen years and are still waiting to be blessed with children of their own. “So aside from my husband’s Torah learning, we feel this is our way of contributing to klal Yisroel. It’s as if Hashem sent us His children to nurture until we have our own, b’ezras Hashem.” There’s an open atmosphere at the Zahav evening seudah, with religious and non-religious guests min-

gling easily. But the daytime seudah is more formal, with separate seating that usually attracts the seminary and ye-

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

will then call them during the week to inform them about the basic standards of dress observed in her home. “They have always taken it well,” she says. The Zahavs say that their most memorable guest was a young girl of Ukrainian heritage who had recently discovered that she is Jewish. As a result, she had come to learn in seminary in Eretz Yisroel. “Her story was so inspiring!” says Chana. Another “interesting” guest was the homeless woman who was so selfless she would consistently give away any contributions she received to those less fortunate than her. “We all thought she

Chana cooks for Shabbos whenever she gets a chance, but mostly on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She’s also an expert at making the dollar (or shekel) stretch. “When I make chicken burgers,” she says, “I use one whole chicken and lots of carrots instead of using several whole chickens which we simply couldn’t afford to do week after week.” Funding for their hachnosas orchim seems to come min hashamayim. “Several years in a row,” says Chana, “we’ve had different people magically show up at our home on erev Pesach with gigantic vegetable deliveries. They told us they just had extra.” Chana and Tuvia are

Once in a while she’s had to walk a guest to the door at 3:00AM, give them a hug, and say, “I love you! Good night!” shiva crowd. “Both are great in different ways,” Chana observes. “It can get quite lively at night and we get to know lots of different people. But it’s also nice to have deeper conversations and a bit more quiet for lunch.” The Zahavs try to include everyone in the conversations. “We go around the table asking people where they’re from,” Chana says. “Then they can either say a dvar Torah or an inspirational or funny story. This works out really well as it helps us avoid inappropriate conversation plus it makes it easier for us to really get to know our guests.” What if someone shows up dressed inappropriately? Chana admits that it’s certainly happened but they are careful not to lecture or judge their guests. Instead, she waits. If these guests start coming on a regular basis, she

might really be Eliyahu Hanavi!” The Zahavs consider it a successful Shabbos when all their guests get along and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Chana admits that there were the rare occasions when she and Tuvia were publicly insulted by a guest in front of the others. “That was hard,” she admits, “but boruch Hashem part of hosting is letting everyone in.” Otherwise, the only awkward situations they experience is when their guests are having such a good time they don’t want to leave. “We do encourage people to stay a bit after the meal,” Chana says, “but when we’re very tired we are very clear about turning in for the night.” Once in a while she’s had to walk a guest to the door at 3:00 AM, give them a hug, and say, “I love you! Good night!”

grateful for the guests who fill their home with joy every week. Do they ever crave private quality time? “We’re fine,” Chana says. “We take nighttime walks together during the week. And we do Melave Malka together on Motzei Shabbos.” Do the Zahavs recommend that the rest of us open our doors to klal Yisroel every Shabbos? Only if we can do it

b’simcha. “Everyone should do the chessed that they enjoy. I am not the type to sit with a sick child for hours. I’ve done that and I came home so drained I just couldn’t function. But I love having guests.” Still, she warns would-be hosts to take it slow. “Some people enjoy a smaller table. Others may want to host once a month. It’s okay to push yourself just a bit beyond your normal, so you are growing. But don’t give beyond what you can give b’simcha.” Chana and Tuvia continue to be inspired by their guests, especially those who contact them years later saying that their Shabbos table made a tremendous difference in their lives. “Nobody knows how their acts of chessed affect others,” Chana points out. “A woman once shared with us that she was not yet Jewish when she ate at our home on Shabbos but that the experience made her feel so comfortable it reinforced her determination to convert.” The most important thing, say the Zahavs, is for guests and hosts to appreciate each other. “Judging each other favorably on both sides would go a long way to making us all better, more caring Jews!” The Beymans and the Zahavs can be contacted through Shabbat.com, a Jewish social network that allows Shabbos hosts and guests to connect with each other.

Chana Zahav with a few happy guests

The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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28 68

29, | The Jewish Home Quotes TheOCTOBER Week In2015 News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

No, I wouldn’t rule it out - Hillary Clinton, who relentlessly mocked candidate Donald Trump when he refused to state during a debate whether he would accept the result of the 2016 elections, when asked on NPR last week whether she would consider challenging the legitimacy of the 2016 elections once more information about “Russian interference” comes out

I think no one, including me, is saying we will contest the election. - Ibid., the next day, after, perhaps, realizing the irony of her prior comments

Hopefully he hasn’t ordered the killing of people and journalists and the like.

- Ibid., in an interview with Charlie Rose, talking about President Trump and comparing him to Putin

Apple CEO Tim Cook is claiming that the $1,000 iPhone X is a good value. Cook said, “It’s the last phone you’ll ever need for the next eight months.” - Conan O’Brien

There’s no question that raising minimum wage is a faster way to get people more money very quickly. I think … the result of that, will be that quite quickly, the prices in restaurants who … are supported and basically run by people who [make] minimum wage will raise their prices. It’s not without cost that we [raise wages]. That’s all I’m saying.

He was under pressure from Rudy Giuliani. - Hillary Clinton’s new theory, disclosed in her interview with Charlie Rose, as to why then-FBI Director James Comey reopened the investigation into her emails several days before the election

We had leaders who wanted to give people a safe space to loot and to burn. Now in Missouri if you loot the only safe space you’re going to have is in a jail cell. If you’re going to riot we’re going to cuff you. Violence and vandalism is not protest. It is a crime. - Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens warning demonstrators in St. Louis not to riot and vandalize following a judge’s decision on Friday to acquit a former police officer for the killing of a black man

- Celebrity chef Mario Batali at a conference, talking about the push to raise minimum wage for restaurant workers

MORE QUOTES

Quotes The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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We had a bunch of big football matchups yesterday. You had the Eagles against the Giants, you had the Patriots play against the Texans, and you had the president against everyone. – Jimmy Fallon

This is our democracy. We did not vote for you or for any politician. We don’t owe you nothing. This is what democracy looks like. - What approximately 40 protestors who identified themselves as “undocumented youth” chanted at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at a town hall in which they demanded quicker actions on “amnesty”

Just stop it! Just stop it now! Just stop it now! Just stop it now! Stop it! - Ms. Pelosi attempting to respond to the protestors, before abruptly leaving the town hall meeting

I was talking to a president of an African country yesterday and he actually cited Rocket Man back to me… Look, this is a way of getting people to talk about him but every other international community now is referring to him as Rocket Man. - UN Ambassador Nikki Haley when asked on ABC about President Trump referring to Kim Jung Un as “Rocket Man”

President Trump is using his 2020 campaign fund to pay his legal fees, which experts say is “wrong but not illegal.” Coincidentally, “Wrong But Not Illegal” is also Trump’s 2020 campaign slogan.

[Shorting] America has been a loser’s game. I predict to you it will continue to be a loser’s game. - Warren Buffett at a Forbes magazine party last week, predicting that the Dow will hit 1 million points within 100 years

I’m cleaning out the White House. We’re going to sanitize the White House. We’re not going to take what is happening in this country. Haven’t you taken enough? - Rep. Maxime Waters (D-CA) while eulogizing Dick Gregory at his funeral

The answer is yes. - Sen. Bernie Sanders’ response when asked last week whether he would “consider voting to reduce U.S. aid to Israel or U.S. arms sales to the Israeli military,” in an interview with The Interceptor

I waited until the national anthem ended, I took off my shirt, threw my Bills hat on the ground, walked out. - Erich Nikischer, who was a stadium worker for the Buffalo Bills for 30 years, telling WGRZ-TV that he quit right after he saw Bills players kneeling during the anthem as a form of protest

– Conan O’Brien

MORE QUOTES

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home History The Week In News

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

Major Moshe Levy’s Heroism in the Yom Kippur War By Avi Heiligman

Meeting with Yitzhak Rabin. Notice Levy’s missing right hand

n the many wars and battlefield engagements that Israel has fought they were the least prepared and expectant of the attack on Yom Kippur 1973. Syrian tanks were rolling through the Golan Heights and Egyptian armor had breached the Bar Lev Line in the Sinai in less than two hours. Israeli nuclear missiles were armed in the ensuing panic. American planes soon resupplied Israelis who were low on just about every type of material needed to fight the war. Eventually the IDF was able to push back on both fronts and negotiate a ceasefire on their terms. During the bitter battles, the IDF took severe casualties, and many soldiers were decorated for their heroics on the battlefield. Moshe Levy was one of these men who despite all the odds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers. Levy (sometimes spelled Levi) was 28-years-old with a wife and two young children when the war broke out. Levy was in a mechanized unit and had been in a car accident a few weeks prior and was nursing a broken kneecap when his unit was called to reserve duty before the war. With his leg still in a cast he was exempt from duty but he wanted to be with his unit when they were sent to the southern front. He told his wife, “They don’t need to call me. I’m still going.” When Levy arrived at the front on October 8, he found his unit deployed east of the Suez Canal at a place called

Al Qantarah El Sharqiyya. Levy was given an armored vehicle personnel carrier called a half-track and sent to locate Egyptian commandos. A week later, on October 15, the IDF commander received a call to rescue soldiers trapped in an ambush. However, when Levy’s unit came on the scene they found out that the 20 or so Egyptian soldiers that were attacking the Israelis actually numbered in the hundreds. “They had 120 tanks to our 98 soldiers,” Levy said. Even though they had walked into the trap themselves, they weren’t going to leave anyone behind and Levy’s unit started to prepare for the Egyptian attack. The commander told them that they, with a few other small units in the area, were the only thing between them and Tel Aviv. A frum soldier, the only one in Levy’s unit, started saying Tehillim and the non-frum soldiers not knowing any better replied, “Amen.” Sadly, that soldier was killed in the upcoming attack but he inspired other soldiers towards teshuva (it was closer to Hoshana Rabbah at this point in the war than to Yom Kippur). When the Egyptians came towards the Israeli position they waited until the IDF vehicles were bunched together to begin firing rockets and missiles that had been buried in the sand. It was that first barrage that did the most damage. Many of the IDF vehicles were hit, and Levy saw a rocket heading straight for

Recovering from his injuries

his half-track. Suddenly, he felt a boom and the next thing he knew he had lost an arm. The soldiers under him were more in a panic seeing him injured than Levy was about his own plight. He said to the men in his vehicle, “One missile went above us and one missile didn’t reach our vehicle. In about a minute another missile will fire directly at us. We must jump outside the vehicle.” He recalled, “As I jumped, my soldiers jumped after me, except for four. A minute later, the four who stayed in the vehicle were killed by a missile.” Looking around and seeing the devastation Levy felt that he had no choice but to attack the Egyptian post. The situation looked hopeless so he went armed with an Uzi and a couple of grenades to protect the remaining men in his unit. As he approached the enemy’s machine gun nest on a hill they were so amazed to see a one-armed soldier coming alone that they failed to notice that he was pulling the pin of a grenade with his teeth. Levy threw the grenade ten meters away from the post and killed several enemy soldiers and destroyed the position. In the blast he was hit by shrapnel from his own grenade in the face and chest. With the thought of “if I stay here I am dead,” Levy managed to crawl back to his own lines. A short time later, IDF paratroopers arrived on the scene to stabilize the front and were evacuating the severely wound-

ed first. Levy refused to be sent back to the rear until all of the other wounded soldiers were removed from the battlefield. When he was finally looked at by a doctor, the physician stared in disbelief at Levy. It took two months for Levy to recover from his injuries, and he still wanted to be sent back to his unit. Finally, one doctor agreed on the condition that Levy was accompanied by a doctor to his unit. The State of Israel won the war but they lost the most service members in their history. Over 2,500 were killed in the line of duty, and Israel swallowed the bitter message to make sweeping changes in intelligence and defense networks. Moshe Levy retired as a major from the IDF and is the president of anti-terrorist technology company. Levy was awarded the Medal of Valor for his actions during the war and is still alive today. He has spoken several times about his experiences and even about his encounter with the Lubavitcher Rebbe who gave him spiritual advice when he needed it the most. Moshe Levy’s story is unique in that not only was he a war hero but he took the lessons to heart for the rest of his life. Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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difficult to navigate, leaving many people to allow their hard won points to expire. Up to 90 percent of the 300 million-plus in frequent flyer and rewards points earned each year can go unclaimed, often because both private individuals and businesses find redeeming them to be either too challenging or too time-consuming. By 2014, the group found themselves inundated with travel related requests from both private clients and corporate accounts. With a customer base comprised of all types of travelers – from the occasional flyer, looking to use miles or points to enjoy a free trip, to frequent flyers who have amassed high quantities of unused miles – PEYD Travel will assist clients in bundling miles and points together to allow them to enjoy their rewards in a variety of ways. Rewards can be applied not only to airfare and hotels, but to premium luxury experiences as well. PEYD Travel also works with luxury villas in destinations such as Jerusalem, Miami Beach, the Catskills, Maldives, Poconos, and the Caribbean Islands. Pinny Ackerman, Director of Operations, explained that the PEYD Team uses

its extensive knowledge of the intricate mileage network employed by various airlines and alliances to find the best deals for clients. A coach ticket to China may cost $1000 or 70,000 miles, while a business class ticket to the same destination can run $6500 or 140,000 miles. Although mileage tickets can offer significant savings with their substantially smaller price differentials, they can be difficult to acquire. “An infrequent traveler may not know how to navigate the system to take advantage of that mileage ticket, but we can do that, discounted business class tickets are our specialty,” explained Ackerman. “Our agents utilize the vast network of rewards options to book the ticket and take care of everything.” While expanding to the business sector, PEYD still maintains a strong focus on individuals’ needs, small and large, such as helping find the right credit card that fits their lifestyle, providing discounted hotel options for corporate hotel stays, or full-scale travel concierge services. The company also offers discounted airfare, and mileage specialists will search all published fares and even those industry-insid-

er unpublished fares, getting you to your destination in the most cost effective manner. Travel experts and concierge personnel help provide clients with a smooth travel experience and the ability to enhance every aspect of travel, from air, lodging, and car rentals to customized itineraries. PEYD offers VIP packages in Israel with several levels available including hassle-free entry and exit and optional transportation service. “As our company has grown, we renewed our focus on business travel and rewards management,” said Eli Schreiber, PEYD’s director of marketing. “We are the only company that offers credit card rewards, airline miles and travel services merged into one cohesive product based on your business type and where you are traveling.” Through the establishment of PEYD360°, executing efficient corporate travel itineraries has become a high priority. The PEYD team navigates through all of the tedious and time-consuming travel planning details, to allow for maximum savings and increased productivity.

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worst results in almost 70 years, however, she was still able to hold on and maintain a majority in the German parliament. The nationalist, right-wing, anti-Islam AfD party made historic surges and came out with its first seat. The AfD has not only entered the German parliament for the first time, but it’s also succeeded in being strongest of the smaller German parties, making them the third-biggest party in the incoming legislature. Having failed to enter the Bundestag in the last election, the party is now likely to have nearly 100 seats in parliament. It’s the first time since the Second World War that a party professing such xenophobic, anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic views has been voted into the Bundestag.

Undoubtedly the AfD was able to garner support from Germans who are angry with the influx of asylum-seekers. They have bashed those who they say order them to be quiet under the banner of “political correctness.” Some members have espoused the values of the extreme right, and one of its co-leaders, Alexander Gauland said publically that Germany should be proud of its past and the achievements of its soldiers in two world wars. Many Germans were shocked at AfD’s strength in the elections and gathered to protest the results. They congregated outside of the AfD’s headquarters in Berlin with signs that blared, “Refugees are welcome.” Protests were also held in other cities, including Cologne and Frankfurt. When she was addressing her supporters after the results were announced, Merkel said she had hoped for a “better result.” The election saw the Christian Democrat (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) come away with their worst results since 1949, when Germany held elections for the first time after World War II. Merkel added that she would take into account the “concerns, worries and anxieties” of voters of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in order to win them back.

AfD Wins Big in Germany Angela Merkel has been re-elected for a fourth term as Germany’s chancellor. Her conservative CDU/CSU had its

Services like these prove especially beneficial for small businesses that may lack the manpower and the time to deal with the consuming task of travel planning and reward redemption. Even small details, like being able to speak to a knowledgeable travel specialist, versus customer service representatives in foreign countries who don’t understand their needs, make a big difference in getting the job done well. Through PEYD’s extreme level of attentiveness coupled with a loyal client base, this Long Island based company has grown from a four-man, one-room operation in New York to a full scale global business with additional offices in New York, Pittsburgh and Jerusalem, serving a diverse clientele. With an unwavering commitment to customer service and a willingness to listen to client needs, PEYD is filling marketplace voids and helping consumers and businesses simply do business better. For more info please visit www. peyd360.com or call (888) 404 - PEYD (7393).

Kurds Vote for Independence

Initial results from the vote on Kurdistan independence show that a whopping 93 percent of voters support independence; 6.71 percent object to becoming an independent state. Iraqi Kurds headed to the polls on Monday, despite the elections being rejected by the government in Baghdad, the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, Turkey and Iran. The vote was a big concern for Kurds, as evidenced by the large turnout. Nearly 3.3 million voters – out of 5.2 million eligible – took part, a whopping 72.16 percent. Kurdistan gained autonomous governance based on the 2005 constitution, but is still considered a part of Iraq. The region was created in 1970 based on an agreement with the Iraqi government, ending years of conflicts. The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group who occupy one geographical area but don’t have their own country. Despite the deep desire and what many believe is a human right, there are many critics who say that the ballot could cause destabilization, ethnic violence, and hamper the fight against ISIS in an already un-

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

stable environment. With majority of Kurds residing in Iraq, the central government in Baghdad has rejected the referendum as illegal and unconstitutional. Its Supreme Court officially suspended the ballot — not that the Kurds are listening — and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has threatened military action if the vote leads to violence. Turkey and Iran issued a joint statement with Iraq saying they were considering deploying “countermeasures,” although they didn’t specify what or how. Baghdad and Erbil have for long disputed sovereignty over a number of regions, most notably the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, besides contending over petroleum exports’ revenues from those regions. “We have the right to choose our destiny and fulfill our dream,” Dallo Mohammed, a 32-year-old accountant from the town of Khanaqin, told NBC News. “I am a Kurdish citizen, this is how I was born, and this is how I would die.” The estimated population of 35 million Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims living across mountainous regions across Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Armenia. During WWI they almost became their own country when the 1920 Treaty of Sevres carved up the Ottoman Empire and proposed an independent state for Kurdistan. However, disagreements and subsequent treaties meant that never happened. Since then Kurds have been at the mercy of the countries they belong to and have been subject to a complex web of oppressive enemies, forced allegiances and internal divisions.

N Korea & U.S. Continue to Clash

The foreign minister of North Korea has warned that the country may test a powerful nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean in response to President Donald Trump’s threats of military action. Ri Yong Ho spoke with reporters in New York after Kim Jong Un made an unprecedented televised statement following Trump’s U.N. speech last week. President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea in a speech to the UN General Assembly which he followed up with a tweet saying that Kim Jong Un was “obviously a madman” who would be “tested like never before.” Kim then appeared on North Korean television and said that President Trump would “pay

dearly” for the threats and that Kim will now “consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hardline countermeasure in history.” “I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue,” Kim threatened. “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.” Hours after the television statement, Ri Yong Ho said that Pyongyang could launch a nuclear weapon test. “This could probably mean the strongest hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean. Regarding which measures to take, I don’t really know since it is what Kim Jong Un does,” said Ri. The White House has expanded the “peaceful pressure” it is placing on North Korea by adding more sanctions on the country and those with whom they do business. The executive order enhances Treasury Department authorities to target individuals who provide goods, services or technology to North Korea. China, which is the supplier of most of North Korea’s imports, was hit hardest by the new set of sanctions. Even so, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was clear that “this action is directed at everyone” and that the steps are “in no way specifically directed at China.”

Gabbai Killed in Mexican Quake A gabbai in Mexico was tragically killed in the powerful earthquake that rocked Mexico last week. ZAKA, the emergency response organization, found the body of R’ Jaime Achequenze Ashkenazy, z”l, in a collapsed office building. R’ Ashkenazy was the gabbi and community assistant at Maguen David, an Orthodox shul in Mexico City. He was also the owner of a textile business located in the city center. R’ Ashkenazy had just come back from distributing money to the poor for Rosh Hashana before he was crushed during the quake. Although an Argentine native and citizen, R’ Azkenazy lived in Mexico for 40 years. He had endured the similarly destructive earthquake in 1985, which resulted in thousands of lives lost and left his business in ruins. However, with help from the community, he was able to reestablish it. The volunteers worked through Rosh Hashana to locate R’ Ashkenazy’s body under the instructions of Mexico’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Tawil. Mati Goldstein, who is the International Rescue Unit Chief Officer for ZAKA, said that “immediately after the Sabbath went out in Mexico (early morning Israel time), we received an update from our team in Mexico that they had recovered the body of the missing Jewish man. The ZAKA team, which was on the scene at the time the earthquake struck, will remain until we

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receive an update that there are no more missing people.” R’ Ashkenazy had seven daughters and one son, all of whom are married with children. His son-in-law is the chief rabbi of Mexico, Rabbi Shlomo Tawil, and his son is a rabbi and instructor at Yeshiva Ateret Yosef elementary school. The earthquake took over 300 lives. Hundreds of bodies and survivors have been pulled from the 38 buildings that collapsed during the quake. The IDF’s Home Front Command sent a 71-member team to assist with the rescue efforts. IsraAID and iAid also sent delegations to help with the search and rescue. In the past two weeks, Mexico has been hit with three massive earthquakes, the largest of which measured 8.1 on the Richter scale.

Fresh Mandate for Japan The prime minister of Japan is banking on his recent rise in popularity to pull off the dissolvement of parliament’s lower house as he seeks to overcome a “national

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

crisis.” Shinzo Abe, who has been in power for five years, is seeking a fresh mandate to move a large part of Japan’s budget to fund social agendas such as education and to form a tougher stance on North Korea in light of Kim Jong Un’s recent missile and nuclear tests. “I will dissolve the lower house on September 28,” Abe told a nationally televised news conference on Monday. The election was originally to be held on October 22nd. Many see the new date as a result of Abe’s jump from 30 percent approval ratings in July to over 50 percent in September. Abe is betting that his coalition government can keep its lower house majority even though it may lose its “supermajority” of twothirds. A supermajority would allow Abe to achieve his long-held goal of revising Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution and enhancing its military’s role. Abe has been known for tackling hard problems with a firm hand. He recently asked his cabinet to compile a 2-trillion-yen ($17.8-billion) economic package by the end of 2017 which is to focus on education, child care, and encouraging corporate investment while maintaining fiscal discipline. Aside from being popular, Abe’s political rivals also have extremely low popularity numbers. Abe’s main opposition, the

Democratic Party, is recording single-digit approval ratings.

Saudi Arabia Schools Teach Hate & Violence

In Saudi Arabia, anti-Semitism is a subject taught in elementary school. Human Rights Watch found during a recent review of Saudi Arabian textbooks that children are formally taught that the “Day of Resurrection” will not come until Muslims kill Jews. The organization also revealed hateful and disparaging references to Christians, Shi’ites and Sufism. “As early as first grade, students in Saudi schools are being taught hatred toward all those perceived to be of a different faith or school of thought. The lessons in hate are reinforced each following year,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, said in a press release

last week. Forty-five Saudi textbooks and student workbooks produced by the Education Ministry for the primary, middle and secondary education levels were reviewed as part of the study. The curriculum is based on tawhid, or monotheism. The textbooks discuss that one of the indicators of the coming of the “Day of Resurrection” is the killing of Jews. The passage, from a quote attributed to Muhammad reads, “The hour will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and Muslims will kill the Jews. The Jew will hide under the rock and tree, and the rock or tree will say, ‘O Muslim, servant of Allah, this Jew is behind me, kill him.’” Not all Muslims share this belief. Moderate Palestinian Islamic thinker Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi described the hadith as a “fabrication” and condemned Saudi Arabia for teaching it. “The prophet couldn’t have said that and it contradicts the text of the Koran. The prophet said anything attributed to me not in harmony with the Koran is not true. This can’t be true because it totally contradicts the text of the Koran. Teaching this to children is incitement and anti-Semitic. Saudi Arabia and any other Arab countries teaching such nonsense should stop and this should be eliminated from the educational systems.” Following the September 11, 2001 at-

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tacks, in which 15 of the 19 terrorists were Saudi citizens, Saudi officials promised educational reforms. However, according to this recent study, it seems that the curriculum was not changed. “Saudi Arabia’s officials should stop denigrating other people’s personal beliefs,” Human Rights Watch concluded. “After years of reform promises there is apparently still little room for tolerance in the country’s schools.”

Three Killed by Terrorist

In Israel, the nation mourned for three Israelis who were killed by a Palestinian

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terrorist in Har Adar on Tuesday. Border policeman Solomon Gavriyah, 20, civilian security guards Youssef Ottman, 25, from Abu Ghosh, and Or Arish, 25, a resident of Har Adar, were laid to rest in separate funerals. Gavriyah was buried in his central Israel hometown of Beer Yaakov in an emotional ceremony that saw several family members collapse from grief. In Jerusalem, Arish was buried in the city’s Givat Shaul Cemetery. In the nearby Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, hundreds attended the funeral for Ottman. The burial was held in both English and Arabic and was attended by police officials, Knesset members, and town mayor Issa Jaber. Gavriyah, who was posthumously promoted to staff-sergeant, had joined the Border Police for his mandatory national service and had recently been serving as a policeman in the Jerusalem seam area along the boundary with the West Bank. The 20-year-old was mourned by his girlfriend as “the best person I knew.” “You never complained. You were a warrior. A hero, my hero,” she said. His sister had to stop during her eulogy because she was overwhelmed with emotion; family members comforted her as she stepped away. “You were the pride of our

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family. You were an inspiration to all of us. I don’t know how we can go on without you,” she said through tears, before breaking down. “He put himself in front of the terrorist. He stopped him, even as his own life was taken,” Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said. “You came to this land as an immigrant. You became one of its defenders.” Erdan says that “the acts of heroism” displayed by Gavriyah, as well as Ottman and Arish “allow those in Har Adar, and all of us in Israel to live in peace and security.” “Islamic extremists are trying to drive us out of our home through rockets on our borders and through stabbing and shooting attacks in our cities and towns,” the minister said in pointed remarks. “Efforts to reach compromise are important but whenever we have Palestinians who want to kill innocent Israelis and the Palestinian Authority supports them, we will stand strong and we won’t give in. The terrorists will not get anything.” “Solomon, I promise that we will not give up and give in, for your sake. We will continue to build our national home, we will continue to build our country, because it is our home,” Erdan concluded before a 21-gun salute closed the ceremony, echoing off the high-rise buildings surrounding the small cemetery. In Abu Ghosh, Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev praised Ottman for

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

protecting lives in the face of “cowardly” terrorism. “Two men went to work this morning. One for life, one to save lives, and one of death, who went to take life away,” she said, referring to Ottman’s killer, Nimer Muhammad Jamal, as someone whose name “should be blotted out.” “We have no patience for people who take part in cowardly terror attacks,” she added, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the house of the attacker would be demolished. “They must choose: Terror or making a livelihood,” Regev said of the Palestinians. The early morning attack also killed 25-year-old security guard and Har Adar native Or Arish. According to Channel 2, Arish was not scheduled to work on Tuesday morning, but requested the shift because he was saving up money to attend university. Just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday 37-yearold Nimr Mahmoud Ahmed Jamal had approached the gates of Har Adar. When officers who were opening the back gates of the community to Palestinian laborers approached him for acting suspiciously, he withdrew a pistol from his shirt and began to fire. Ottman, Gavriyah and Arish were killed in the attack. Another man, the settlement’s security coordinator, suffered serious gunshot wounds to his stomach and chest. His injuries after surgery were downgraded to light-to-moderate. The terrorist was killed by officers.

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Jamal had a valid work permit. He was a father of four. His wife had fled to Jordan a few weeks ago, citing domestic violence and leaving him with their children. Hamas praised the terrorist and called for others to commit similar acts of terror. Israeli forces arrested Jamal’s brothers after the attack. Netanyahu had said he will be razing his family’s home and rescinding work permits for his relatives.

Bahrain Connects with Israel Israel and the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain are bonding over their mutual hostility toward Iran. Bahrain has been slowly dropping its hostility levels towards the Jewish State for some time and may be announcing the establishment of official relations in the next year, according to Middle East experts. Bahrain, which has a Shiite majority population, has accused Iran of setting up aggressive terrorist cells inside their kingdom. A Bahrain official has been telling press outlets in the Middle East that establishing ties with Israel would not be problematic because “unlike Iran, Israel does not pose a threat to Bahrain.” The government has recently ordered mosques to stop giving sermons that are critical of Israel. Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Director of the Wiesenthal Center, met with the Bahraini king in the capital city of Manama last February. The king personally invited Hier to his palace and Hier said that “the king made a clear statement: ‘It’s illogical for the Arab world to boycott Israel. We must find a better way.’” Bahraini Prince Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa even attended a large event for the Wiesenthal Center last week, after which he visited the pro-Israel Museum of Tolerance. Bahrain is a group of islands in the Persian Gulf. The country of 1.4 million people has no official relationship with Israel, however, Israeli businessmen and tourists have been visiting the island nation more frequently over the past few years. In 2010, a Bahraini princess was given life-saving treatment in an Israeli hospital.

Intel in Israel Releases “Best Processor Ever” A new desktop computer processor has been unveiled in Haifa by a development team for Intel Corp. The new processors are faster and stronger than the previous

generations put out by the computer giant. The new family of 8th Gen Intel Core processors was built for content creators, gamers, and anyone in need of high performance standards, said Intel. The chips include the Intel Core i7-8700K, which is being called the “best gaming processor ever” by the U.S.-based computer firm. The new chips are able to provide 25 percent more frames per second than the previous generation of Intel Core processors. According the company, they are more “accurate, faster, powerful and compatible than earlier versions, allowing for high quality of graphics creation and consumption.”

Intel has been operating out of Israel since 1974. The company has a production center in Kiryat Gat and four development centers in Haifa, Yakum, Jerusalem and Petah Tikva. The development center in Haifa is the company’s largest such site outside of the United States. Over 10,000 Israelis are employed by Intel.

Checked Bags = $ for Airlines

Remember the days when you were allowed one free checked bag on domestic flights? Well, those days are mostly gone and they won’t likely return since airlines have reaped major earnings from checked bag fees. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. airlines earned a record $1.2 billion in checked bag fees and $737.5 million in reservation

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The Week In News change fees during the second quarter of this year. This is the fifth consecutive quarter that bag fee profits have surpassed $1 billion. Just recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced that airfare has decreased since airlines began charging separately for perks likes checking bags and priority boarding. However, when customers choose to opt for those add-ons, the price of their ticket usually exceeds the difference. “As a result, customers who paid for checked bags paid more on average for the combined airfare and bag fee than when the airfare and bag fee were bundled together,” the report states. “Conversely, passengers who did not check bags paid less overall.” Bill Nelson, Florida senator, who initially demanded the GAO report, called the fees “outrageous.” “At this rate, passengers are going to have to start showing up with a suitcase full of clothes and a suitcase full of money just to get on the plane,” Nelson said. “It’s high time the airlines rein in these outrageous fees.” Earlier this year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that in the first quarter of this year the average cost of a domestic airline ticket was $352, which is the lowest average price during the first three months of the year since data collec-

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

tion began in 1995.

Hurricane Maria Slams Puerto Rico

The island of Puerto Rica has sent out an S.O.S. in the wake of Hurricane Maria. In parts of northern Puerto Rican, floodwaters reached more than 10 feet. Some of the towns affected were still reeling from Hurricane Irma when Maria hit. For example, in Loiza, a north coastal town, 90% of homes (about 3,000) were destroyed by Hurricane Maria just days after Irma. There are communities totally

isolated after bridges and highways collapsed. In Rio Grande, officials are still trying to assess the number of families trapped in their homes. Mayor of the southern city of Juana Diaz Ramon Hernandez Torres said with tears in his eyes, “It’s a total disaster.” No part of the island of Puerto Rico was spared in Wednesday’s storm. Many areas were left with no way of communicating due to power outages, lack of cellphone service, and no internet connection. Local mayors and officials were unable to reach central government to call out for help. By Saturday, mayors and representatives from more than 50 municipalities across Puerto Rico were able to meet with government officials at the emergency operations command center to discuss rescue plans. Many of the mayors learned about the meeting through media reports over satellite radio. The meeting focused on providing all communities with the basic necessities: drinking water, prescription drugs, gasoline, oxygen tanks and satellite phones. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced that officials are in the process of centralizing medical care and shelters for the elderly. He said he will be distributing 250 satellite phones to mayors across the region to facilitate communication. He urged the mayors to develop a “buddy system” with other local officials to maintain contact. The hurricane brought 160 mph winds

to the island, knocking out power on the entire isle. Officials are estimating that it will take three weeks for the power to be restored in hospitals and six months for the rest of the island. While most of the main roadways were still waterlogged, men, women, and children all across the island were stranded without food to purchase or medical treatment. Drinking water was in short supply. “There is horror in the streets,” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz told The Washington Post. “People are actually becoming prisoners in their own homes.” “Whenever I walk through San Juan,” Cruz said, she sees the “sheer pain in people’s eyes... They’re kind of glazed, not because of what has happened but because of the difficulty of what will come,” she said. “I know we’re not going to get to everybody in time... Two days ago I said I was concerned about that. Now I know we won’t get to everybody in time.” The official death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria has risen to 10. One person died when he was struck in the head by a panel. Another died in an accident with an excavating machine. Three died in landslides, two in flooding in Toa Baja, and two police officers in Aguada drowned when the Culebrinas River overflowed. One person in Arecibo died after being swept away by rising water. Officials believe there are likely many other casualties

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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In the Chofetz Chaim’s hakdamah to the

Our academic seal is not only rooted in the past. It also celebrates a sweet beginning. Each year, Cedars-Sinai graduates PhD students in our fully accredited Biomedical Sciences and Translational Medicine doctoral program. Their diplomas feature Cedars-Sinai’s academic seal, which draws upon the institution’s history, Judaic tradition, and its deep commitment to healing and education. In the lower right corner is a drawing of Kaspare Cohn Hospital, the first precursor to Cedars-Sinai, founded in 1902 in Angelino Heights, and Los Angeles’ first free hospital. The two top images relate to Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai, the hospitals that merged in 1961 to create the modern medical center we know today. The lower left image is known as the Staff of Asclepius, an image that represents the Greek mythical figure of healing and medicine. The symbol also recalls the Staff of Moses with entwined Copper Serpent used to cure all onlookers in the Torah (Numbers 21:6-10). The Hebrew text at the bottom of the seal (V’rapo Yirapeh) translates as “You Shall Surely Heal” (Exodus 21:19), from which the Talmud derives the obligation to heal those who are sick. Our academic seal is an ongoing reminder, particularly during the month of Tishra, that we all must strive to improve the world as we and our Jewish community partners have done throughout the year. May your families and our community be sealed for a year of health and goodness in 5778. Shanah Tova.