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The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

CONTENTS

COMMUNITY

Community Happenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

JEWISH THOUGHT Our Speech Defines Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Tools of Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Op-Ed: A Penny A Jew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

FEATURE Trump’s First 100 Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

LIFESTYLES Op-Ed: There is a New Sheriff in Town. . . . . . . . . . . 16 Notable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Dr. T.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

NEWS

Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Remarks by President Trump at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum National Days of Remembrance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers, In Parshas Shemos, when the Torah relates how Moshe Rabbeinu told Dasan and Aviram to stop fighting, Rashi explains the words, “Moses became frightened and said, ‘Indeed, the matter has become known!’” by quoting a medrash, “the matter I was wondering about, [i.e.,] why the Israelites are considered more sinful than all the seventy nations, to be subjugated with back-breaking labor, has become known to me. Indeed, I see that they deserve it.” The fact that there were Yidden willing to inform on one another was reason enough for them to deserve golus Mitzraim. What is it about loshon hara that it would warrant such a drastic punishment? Indeed why has so much been written, and such an emphasis placed on, not slandering or speaking negatively about each other? Growing up, most of us were told something to the effect, “Whatever you do, please make sure you get along with your siblings.” Or, “It breaks our heart to see you fight.” Maybe we were better behaved and more in line with our parents’ wishes, but if we were not at peace with a sibling, it was as if we were cutting our parents to pieces; their spirit was only complete if there was unity in the family. The same is true with our Father in heaven. One Jew might be better behaved, learn more, and in general lead a more spiritual life. But were they to separate themselves from other Jews by speaking lowly of them, then the very spirit of Hashem would be “pushed out” of their presence. Hashem resides in unity. Even though we’re not perfect, as long there is ahavas Yisroel, Hashem will dwell among us. This is especially important in these last days of our exile when we can literally see the world changing in front of our eyes. It says in the gemara that sinas chinam, baseless hate, was the cause for our exile. It follows that ahavas chinam, baseless love, will be the cause for our redemption. Ahavas chinam means loving our fellow Jew not because of something they did or didn’t do, but rather because of a deep love and connection simply based on their being Jewish and part of the same family. When we rise above our differences then we can turn to Avinu Shebashamayim, our eternal Father in heaven, and request that He bring his family home accompanied with the great miracles and splendor promised when He originally sent us out on our long journey. Wishing you and your families a most wonderful Shabbos,

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

TheHappenings Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Israel Memorial Day: The Yeshiva that Pays the Price Communicated

Yossi Baumol When Rabbi Goren suggested that Israel’s annual Memorial Day be commemorated on the eve of Israel Independence Day, as a precedent he pointed to the juxtaposition of the Fast of Esther and Purim. Indeed, life in Israel continues to be punctuated by extremes of joy and pain. As was the case over the last few years, once again, as we were all getting ready to celebrate Pesach, we heard the terrible news of the sacrifice of yet another terror victim. This time it was Sgt. Elchai Taharlev of Talmon, murdered in a ramming attack outside Ofra. Israeli newspapers were quick to point out that Elachai was a graduate of Yeshivat Makor Chaim whose younger brother currently attends the Yeshiva. Maariv proclaimed: “The Yeshiva that Pays the Price: 7 Killed Over the Last Decade”. The Yediot Achronot headline read: “The Tragedies of Makor Chaim: Terror and Affliction Refuse to Spare the Prestigious Yeshiva in Kfar Etzion Ever Since the Kidnapping of the Three Boys in the Summer of 2014.” Arutz Sheva published the moving letter written by Bat Galim Shaer, mother of Gilad, hy”d, to Elchai’s family – her late son’s neighbor, friend, and schoolmate. In the letter she wrote that amidst the pain and suffering, “…we searched for the boys, but we found ourselves.” Just a week before, in an interview with the B’Sheva newspaper, Bat Galim was asked if she could, to whom would she award a medal? She responded: “To Rabbi Dov Singer, Rosh Yeshiva of Makor Chaim. His unique educational approach, training young men to empathize and engage in deep and respectful personal interactions should serve as an example and an ideal for other educators”. The newspapers listed the tragedies, one after another. In November 2014, Makor Chaim student Chagai Lemkus lost his sister Dalia in a terror attack. In April 2015, Shalom Sherki, whose brothers studied at the Yeshiva, was killed in a ramming attack. In January 2016, when Daphne Meir was murdered in her home in Otniel, it was Rabbi Dov Singer who drove her son Akiva home from school to face their tragedy together. Makor Chaim graduates serving in the IDF were killed in action – Capt. Benaya Sarel (August 2014) and Capt. Eliav Gelman (Feb. 2016). Pedaya Mark, son of murdered Rabbi Miki Mark (July 2016) also from Otniel, is still saying kaddish in the Yeshiva. All this happened since the kidnapping and murder of Naftali, Gilad, and Ayal in June 2014. Makor Chaim was miraculously spared from additional tragedies. Back in 2008, terrorists broke through the paper thin walls of the study hall, but luckily they entered the Yeshiva library during a meeting of the dormitory counselors who also serve as armed members of the emergency intervention team. Two staff members were slightly injured as they overpowered the terrorists. In May 2016, armed terrorist ambushed and shot up a school bus carrying eleventh graders on the way back from spending a Shabbat

Yossi Baumol at HitchHikers Monument in memory of the 3 boys

with Rabbi Singer in Tekoa, yet miraculously, no one was hurt. “We feel that Hashem is looking at us through a magnifying glass,” Rabbi Singer said after the bus attack. On another occasion, he said, “You can actually feel that the heart of the entire Jewish nation beats as one. This alone gives us the strength to cry out and beg for mercy…We want to tell Him that we got the message, we have become more humble, more resilient – but no one is asking us. We accept our lot in life, but now that we have already made it clear that we accept it all – the good and the bad – why not give us the good? For years now, Makor Chaim students have been wearing a tee shirt with Rebbe Nachman’s motto: “Nothing is More Whole than a Broken Heart!” It’s common knowledge that “There are no atheists in a foxhole.” In times of great loss, of deep stress, when the way going forward narrows down to despair, it is then that we can find within ourselves a special connection to the Divine. Is there no other way? The answer is simple. If we can find the way to serve G-d with deep joy, we can avoid having to serve Him out of pain. Many of us say the Arizal’s prayer between “Shalom Aleichem” and “Eishet Chayil” where we say, “Rouse my heart to love you, so I may keep your commandments with no sorrow.” More and more we are becoming aware of the fact that there is a gaping hole in our lives – the ability to connect to G-d with our emotions, something which is connected to the idea of prophecy. Being homeless children, having lost His House 2000 years ago, we have lost the place where this would happen. The original Chassidic movement and today’s Neo-Chassidic trends are attempts to re-create this connection. As we come closer and closer to redemption, this movement is growing by leaps and bounds. Makor Chaim and Rabbi Dov Singer are at the forefront of this revolution. Makor Chaim’s Beit Midrash L’Hitchadshut Outreach Program brings this message to communities throughout Israel and even overseas. The Lifnei V’Lifnim Alternate Educators Program run in conjunction with Herzog College brings the educational revolution of Yeshivat Makor Chaim to teachers from all over Israel. Israel’s Education Ministry has just appointed Makor Chaim to run a new program geared to empower joyous

Makor Chaim staff at construction site

prayer in schools throughout the country. On Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, followed by Independence Day, we cry over those we have lost, but recommit ourselves to grow and build and to rejoice with what we have. We remember the tremendous emotional tidal wave of Jewish unity felt around the globe in the aftermath of the kidnapping of the three boys. Education Minister Naftali Bennet, Naftali’s mother Racheli Fraenkel, Gilad’s mother Bat Galim Shaer, and others have attributed this to Makor Chaim’s unique leadership during the crisis. Makor Chaim’s response to terror is the construction of the new campus in memory of Naftali, Gilad, and Ayal outside of Neve

Daniel on the historic “Patriarch’s Road” – a short reclaimed section of the ancient road which once connected Hebron and Jerusalem, replete with ancient ritual baths and Roman milestones. The painful yet empowering trail in the footsteps of the three boys has led us back to the road of our forefathers. In joy and in sorrow, let us pray and act for the fulfillment of the very last words of the last prophet, Malachi: “May he return the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to their fathers.” Yossi Baumol is the Director of Development at Makor Chaim. He can be reached at yossi@makorchaim.org or 718-734-6524

TheHappenings Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Yahrtzeit of Maharal Tzintz Observed with Publication of New Edition of Sefer It happened during the final minutes before the Plotzker Gaon’s departure from this world on the 3rd of Iyar, 5593 (1833). When he was about to pass away, he asked for a wooden board and a quill, and with his last bit of strength he wrote the words that amounted to his last will and testament: I will come to the defense of whoever shall exert himself to print my seforim, if he has some merit. Then the rav commented, “A merchant does not display a sign in his establishment unless he has goods to sell!” On his matzeivah in Warsaw, these simple, awesome words appear, his promise and legacy to future generations. Close to two centuries have passed since he made this famous pledge. Many people have seen that promise fulfilled in miraculous ways. The Maharal Tzintz, zt”l, also known as the Plotzker Gaon, lived over two centuries ago. He was a phenomenal personality and stood out even in a generation that had its share of exceptional talmidei chachamim. He was not only a gadol in Torah, but was well-known as a wonderworker.

Rav Aryeh Leib’s sharpness and his vast knowledge were phenomenal. He composed his first sefer, Ayeles Ahuvim on Maseches Kesubos, when he was only 18. Rav Aryeh Leib received a haskamah from the gadol hador of that generation, the Nodah B’Yehudah, who was then in his final year. The Role of Machon Maharal Tzintz The mission of the Maharal Tzintz was to spread Torah, via his sefarim, throughout the world. His vision was to enlighten Torah scholars so they could gain a deeper understanding of the Torah they study. Machon Maharal Tzintz translates this vision into reality. The Machon consists of over twenty individuals, each one a talmid chacham in his own right. With great care, they meticulously review every word of the rav’s sefarim, with the objective of clarifying his thoughts so that their meaning can be understood more readily. As a further aid to comprehension, the members of the Machon enhance the original works of the rav by adding references to the sources on which the Maharal Tzintz’s writings are based. They also

add citations of other works that examine the topic under discussion, or pose a difficulty similar to the one posed by the Maharal Tzintz in a particular passage, or offer a related insight. Also cited are other places where the Maharal Tzintz treats the topic under discussion. The Machon publishes new volumes every year. Thanks to the many enhancements introduced by the Machon, each sefer is a masterpiece of clarity, set in fonts that are easy on the eye and make the work a pleasure to study. In addition to the actual editing and production of the sefarim, each of which is a project in itself, the Machon has undertaken responsibility for ensuring that these profound and sacred works enjoy the widest possible distribution. They are distributed to batei medrash, yeshivos and kollelim free of charge. As it does every year, the Machon invites the public to fulfill the wishes of the Maharal Tzintz. By sponsoring eight sets for only $480, you have a share in the printing of the sefarim and in their free distribution to batei medrash and yeshivos. This segulah is not a new discov-

Communicated ery. Over the course of many years, there have been numerous instances of people being helped after fulfilling the wishes of the tzaddik and helping to publish his sefarim. In honor of the gaon’s yahrtzeit on the third of Iyar, Machon Maharal Tzintz is preparing to publish Chamishei Chumshei Torah, with the Peirush Meloh HaOmer in five volumes. From the day it was first printed, it was accepted and praised as a masterpiece. It is still a much studied and appreciated text across the world. The sefarim will be distributed to batei medrash, kollelim and yeshivos, and you can designate which of these you want the sefarim you are sponsoring to be sent to. On the occasion of the yahrtzeit, a group of bnei Torah will travel to the Maharal Tzintz’s kever and offer their heartfelt tefillos there, mentioning the names of all the contributors, to be me’orer rachamim on their behalf. To sponsor the sefarim or to be an ongoing partner for $36 per month or for more information, contact the Machon at 718.259.2395. Kvittlach may be faxed to 718.256.4489 or emailed to tzintz@tzintz.org.

First Trustees Reception for Laniado Hospital Promises to be a Night to Remember On Tuesday, May 16th, the L.A. community is invited to join the Trustees of the West Coast Friends (WCF) of Laniado Hospital for its inaugural reception at the home of Ilan and Linda Gorodezki. This fundraiser is on behalf of creating a new gynecologic-oncology department at Netanya’s Laniado Hospital. The WCF of Laniado are thrilled to welcome the electrifying Zvi Yechezkeli as the evening’s keynote speaker, his first public appearance in the U.S. “Zvi can speak for three hours and people won’t want to move from seats,” said Urie Lieberman, Director of WCF of Laniado Hospital. Yechezkeli, who was a former agent

of the General Security Service and Special Forces officer in the IDF, went undercover for a year and a half as a Muslim, living with Arabs in Chevron and Jenin. “He learned their customs, every notion, how to hold a cigarette…everything he could pick up as a so-called ‘Palestinian.’” This education was Yechezkeli’s crucial preparation for moving on to Europe as a “Muslim” correspondent and exposing ISIS, being one of the first sources to warn about Islam’s takeover of Europe. Today, Zvi is regarded as one of the world’s experts in Arab affairs. “Zvi’s riveting account on infiltrating the ISIS strongholds in Europe while disguised as Muslim will

Next to dedication plaque of Los Angeles Donors March 2017

capture and move everyone,” said Lieberman. “He’s a sensational person to hear and meet.” For Israelis, both in the country and

Zvi Yechezkeli undercover in London

abroad, Yechezkeli is a household name; he’s watched daily on Channel 10 News, and is currently creating his third TV series on ISIS. Largely as a result of his

The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

IN A SERIES

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“ IN LIEU OF HAVING A BEIS HAMIKDASH TODAY, OUR SHULS ACT LIKE A ‫ מקדש מעט‬. HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT!” ~ Rav Dovid Schustal, Shlita Full video message can be seen at theyeshivaworld.com FOR A FREE DISPLAY FOR YOUR SHUL, PLEASE EMAIL STOPTHETALKING@GMAIL.COM

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Visit of Zvi Yechezkeli at Ryzman Family Invasive Cardiology Center, Laniado Hospital March 2017

The 1

experience in Chevron – during which he was told, “The only reason I want to kill you is because you are Jewish.” – Zvi became a Breslover Chassid, and is now married with five children. Another highlight of the evening will be the phenomenal speaker Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn, Dean of Yavneh Hebrew Academy and Rav of Kehillat Yavneh, and an expert on the rabbinical masters. He will

‫בס”ד‬

Trustees Reception West Coast Friends of Laniado Hospital

Tuesday, May 16th 2017 6 PM Reception 7 PM Program at the home of

Ilan & Linda Gorodezki in Hancock Park

provide a breathtaking glimpse into the founder of Laniado, the first Klausenburger Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, and his unique legacy. The goal of this exciting evening is to raise funds to build a new gynecologic-oncology department at Laniado Hospital. Currently, the unit is part of the regular gynecology department, but the hospital is looking to make a separate unit which will give the proper care, respect, and privacy to oncology patients. This new department will also allow for more outreach work, particularly important to educate women in Charedi circles about, among other subjects, the major issue of the BRCA gene mutation. This mutation is especially prevalent in the Jewish Ashkenazi population. The Los Angeles Community has participated in four other projects to aid in the development of Laniado, including the enlargement of the Cardiology Department, the Ryzman Family Invasive Cardiology Center, the Underground MRI Center, and the Missile Safe Dialysis Department. “We are very grateful to the L.A. community,” said Lieberman, who, along with the trustees and the Board of Governors, looks forward to meeting members of the LA. community on May 16th. The reception will be begin at 6 p.m. and the program will commence at 7 p.m. For further information on the complete program and to register directly, please see our registration site at: TRUSTEESreception.eventbrite.com. Zvi Yechezkeli for WCF Laniado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdbV1HF_Wtw You can push another link which shows up on your screen at the end of the film and register for the fundraising event.

Zvi Yechezkeli First time in USA as Guest Speaker from Israel Former Israeli Security & Special Forces Officer who DISGUISED as a Muslim and infiltrated the ISIS strongholds in Europe. Learn firsthand his incredible story.

Sol Teichman, Joe Kornwasser and Sol Goldner

Co-Chairmen of the Board of Governors of West Coast Friends of Laniado Hospital

LANIADO WEST COAST FRIENDS

SANZ MEDICAL CENTER

AFFILIATED TO RAPPAPORT FACULTY OF MEDICINE TECHNION HAIFA ISRAEL

RSVP or information: 424-394-0853, 818-540-6026 or go online: TRUSTEESreception.eventbrite.com

Zvi Yechezkeli “Undercover” at Laniado Hospital with Urie Lieberman, Director of WCF of Laniado Hospital

TheHappenings Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Yom HaShoah – Our Six Million Remembered at The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, Beth Jacob Congregation, and The Museum of Tolerance Tova Abady

Hundreds of people gathered together on Sunday, April 23rd, in a tent adjacent to LAMOTH, The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, in a tremendous show of unity. They bore witness to the period of history when a “civilized” people committed unspeakable atrocities. The event was held under the leadership of recently appointed executive director Beth Kean. The annual memorial service began with remarks by second-generation Holocaust survivor and LAMOTH President Paul S. Nussbaum. He stated that the museum, founded in 1961 by local Holocaust survivors, presently has an archive which includes almost one million precious personal artifacts. Nussbaum himself was bearing witness for scores of his family members who perished at Birkenau. He cautioned that today, looking across the landscape of Britain and even, shamefully, in the U.S., there is silence, indifference and – once again – the seeds of hatred. Being a witness, he said, can no longer be passive, but has to be a clarion call to action. Renee Firestone was one Holocaust survivor who could not be silent. She said that Czechoslovakia was a wonderful democratic country until it was destroyed by the Nazis. Her father’s business was confiscated, her family put in the ghetto and then sent to Auschwitz. She and her sister were separated from their parents. Her mother was gassed, her father was missing (later on to be found dying of tuberculosis); her sister, later murdered. Her brother, she discovered, was a partisan fighting the Nazis and then recruited by the Haganah to fight for the new state of Israel. Mrs. Firestone said she was lucky after coming to the U.S. She speaks and teaches students to put down their cell phones and start talking and respecting each other. Other speakers at LAMOTH included Gila Gamliel, Minister of Social Equality in the Knesset; Consul General for Israel Sam Grundwerg; Rabbi Fruithandler of Sinai Temple; Ron Galperin, second-generation survivor and Los Angeles City Controller; and John Emerson, U.S. Ambassador to Germany who served under Clinton and Obama; and his wife Kimberly, a human rights activist. MK Gila Gamliel was also present at another program, the fortieth Yom HaShoah commemoration held at The Museum of Tolerance. She told both audiences that the difference between then and now is that now we have a strong state of Israel. Director of the Museum of Tolerance, Liebe Geft, said the focus of this year’s program was “on the brave people who had the courage to stand up against evil and rescue those who are in peril.” The

newest exhibit, produced by Olga Menzelova and curated by Professor Jaroslav Brabec, is the story of multiple-medal recipient and honoree, Nicholas Winton. As a young man in his twenties, Winton skipped a planned ski trip and rescued 669 Jewish children. He lived long enough –

he passed away at the age of 106 – to meet and be thanked by many of the children he saved, including one, Dave Lux, who was in the audience. During the Holocaust, tens of thousands of non-Jews risked their lives to save Jews. Filmmaker Debbie Goodstein

has produced a new documentary Echoes From the Attic, a sequel to her previous film about the Grocholski family who hid a family (her relatives) of 16 men, women, and children in their farm attic for two years. Rabbi Abraham Cooper delivered the

TheHappenings Week In News

commemorative address for 2017. He welcomed Consul Generals from around the globe many of whom are battling terrorism, “a battle none of us can say has been won.” Rabbi Cooper continued that in 2017, for the first time since the defeat of Nazi Germany, there has been a forced closure of a Jewish institution because of Nazi threats. Before Pesach, leaders of a small Jewish community were threatened and swastikas were painted on the JCC in democratic Sweden. The Swedish government is doing nothing to protect local Jews, who have been threatened for five years. There are many other examples of growing anti-Semitism throughout Europe, and there is a 45 percent spike on college campuses in the United States, partially spurred on by the BDS movement. Rabbi Cooper said in the name of Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, that in spite of this, we still have an obligation to fight against genocide even against our historic enemy Syria. Israel has been helping the wounded in Syria with an operational hospital on the Syrian frontier saving thousands of lives, no questions asked. Sunday evening, Beth Jacob was the venue for a program sponsored by the David and Fela Shapell Institute for Shoah U’Gevurah at Yeshiva University. Following tehillim read by Rabbi Topp, there were beautiful renditions of songs by the talented Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy Choir under the tutelage of Beth Jacob Cantor Arik Wolheim and Katherine Simon. Joey Small, the Western Region Director of Yeshiva University introduced keynote speaker, Rabbi Benjamin Blech. Rabbi Blech is an internationally recognized best-selling author and educator. He has been teaching at YU for over 50 years. Rabbi Blech said with great emotion that it is unconscionable that there are people who question why the Holocaust still must be remembered. One reporter asked Rabbi Blech that very question, and the rabbi replied that it would be spoken at least six million more times. Blech’s re-

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

sponse received applause from the crowd at Beth Jacob. One of the greatest gifts to the Jewish people, Rabbi Blech said, was the best-selling book, The Gift of the Jews. It was written by a non-Jew, an Irishman named Thomas Kagel, who was impressed with the uniqueness of the Jewish people. Kagel said that the Jews brought a new idea to humanity by ritualizing and institutionalizing memory so that humankind can learn from the past. However, said Rabbi Blech, “It isn’t only that those who don’t learn from the past are condemned to repeat it or in more modern terms retweet it.” If we forget we forgive, Rabbi Blech continued, we become complicit in the crimes of the past. In fact, he said, to forget is to reenact in some measure the original crime. “We are all survivors,” he explained, “because Hitler wanted to destroy all of us.” Rabbi Blech said he wanted to share something amazing, and that is that we are also survivors in a different sense. He relates a fascinating question posed to the Ponevezher Rav. The Rav was asked why there are more Jews who are baalei teshuvah in this generation than ever before. Rabbi Blech then digressed, saying that his own father, who was a rabbi in

Switzerland, once attended a conference in the early nineteen-teens or -twenties the gedolei hador. The Chofetz Chayim was there along with many other Torah luminaries. His father told a story that in Zurich there was a man who was not religious and returned to the fold. This concept of a baal teshuvah almost never existed in the shtetl. They were all incredulous, and this baal teshuvah was the highlight of the conference. But now, in our days, baalei teshuvah are all over the world. In response to this increase of baalei teshuvah, the Ponevezher Rav said that the baalei teshuvah today are the neshamos and the tehorim of the six million murdered in the Holocaust. Some people have trouble believing this, but Rabbi Blech believes it literally and suggested to at least accept it metaphorically as a description of the reality of six million having perished. Rabbi Blech says G-d stepped in post1945 with a remarkable prediction. The Talmud tells us one of the students of the Tannaim asked his rebbe to tell him how will know when the Messianic age is here. He was answered with a story about a family traveling through a desert and the son was impatient. He kept asking how he will we know when they arrive? His father said that we will know when we see a beit

hakevarot (cemetery). How will the Jewish people know when the geulah is near? Rabbi Blech said: in the aftermath of a cemetery. It will happen when there is a cemetery occupied by six million. He asked the audience, “How can anyone be insensitive to the proximity of Yom Ha Shoah (1945,) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (1948)?” There is a medrash on Tehillim, a verse that says G-d will answer you on a day of tragedy. HaKadosh Baruch Hu will say, Dayenu. In 1945 the Holocaust ended and in 1948 the State of Israel began. It is a great nes that our people that were almost wiped out returned three years later to our Jewish homeland. Another moving and inspirational teaching Rabbi Blech shared was from Rav Kook. Rav Kook said in 1947, “On the basis of sources, I believe when the Jewish population of Palestine reaches the biblical number of Jews mentioned in the Torah of 600,000, that is when we have our State of Israel.” That’s exactly what happened in 1948. Rabbi Blech also repeated a tradition that geulah shleimah will come when the population of Jews will reach six million. This is the first year the number of Jews in Israel has finally reached six million. Eli Wiesel – who was quoted many times in all three programs – said, “We are the most cursed generation and the most blessed generation.” There is the generation that saw the Holocaust, the curse, and today’s young people are the generation able to see the blessing. “Next week,” Rabbi Blech said, “on Yom Ha’atzmaut – celebrate and say that Hitler, yemach shemo, did not win.” Also, the most amazing Yom Yerushalayim is approaching May 24th of this year, marking the Yovel. Rabbi Blech concluded on a very hopeful note that we have lived through the worst, so now let us live through the brightest, the best geulah shleimah.

Yom Hashoah memorial at Beth Jacob

Yom Hashoah Event at the Museum of Tolerance Bart BartholomewSWCPhotos

Holocaust survivors in the audience being acknowledged

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center

Czech Consul General Pavol ŠepeĬák with Dave Lux, who, as a child, was rescued by Nicholas Winton

The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

. . . i n

Going the extra mile!

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It was only two days afterwards that that someone called me up and offered me a great position in a very busy office. It was a wellpaying business and a very ehrliche environment as well. So, I would like to ask you to please publicize my story, so that people should know the koach of supporting a talmid chacham learning in the holy hours of fartugs.

Z. G., Boro Park

Boro Park Williamsburg Monsey Monroe Meron

‫להצלחת דוד משה‬ ‫בן שיינדל‬ '‫וכל משפ‬

Living with In theNews Times The Week

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz Publisher of the Yated Ne’eman

On Pesach, we celebrated the birth of our nation, the moments when we stood together to become amo Yisroel, His beloved People. Since that time, we have shared a destiny, as a family walking along a common path, bound to each other. Pesach leads us into the Sefirah period with its focus on tikkun hamiddos. And this week’s parsha is the bridge between Pesach and Sefirah. The parsha discusses the affliction of tzora’as and the necessity to remove the afflicted person from among the community and place him in isolation for weekly periods. Bodod yeisheiv. The Medrash (Vayikra Rabbah 16:1) teaches that tzora’as is brought on by engagement in any one of seven anti-social characteristics: haughty eyes, a tongue that speaks falsehood, hands that spill innocent blood, a heart that plots bad thoughts, feet that run to do evil, a liar/one who testifies falsely, and, the worst of them all, someone who causes disputes to break out between people. This is accomplished through spreading slander and lies, motzie sheim ra and lashon hora. Thus, the Torah refers to the person with tzora’as as a “metzora,” for the word is formulated from the words motzie sheim ra. Someone who speaks lashon hora is punished with tzora’as. The question is why. How does the punishment fit the crime? In this world, there are four elementary forms, each one on a higher level than the one below it. They are domeim, tzomei’ach, chai and medaber, the inert, such as stone and dirt; that which grows, such as grass and trees; that which is alive, such as animals; and, above them all, man, who is granted the gift of speech. The ability to speak allows us to effectively communicate with each other. With speech, we can learn, grow, develop, study Torah, engage in mitzvos, and be part of a cohesive social fabric. Thus, Targum Onkelos famously says that the words in Bereishis that state that man was alive,

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Our Speech Defines Us “Vayehi adam lenefesh chaya,” indicate that “vehavas b’adam ruach memalela,” man was given the power of speech. The ability to speak gave man his spirit and life. Life is that ability to connect with others – the experience of joining others, interacting with them, and using words to convey emotion. The breath invested into each word is the stuff of life itself. Man was bestowed with the gift of speech to enable him to live an exalted life, connected with Hashem and Klal Yisroel. One who uses that gift instead to sow

behalf of sinners, because all of Israel is one body. It is known that the Arizal would say before davening (the nusach is brought in certain siddurim), that he accepts upon himself the mitzva to love every Jew, because he felt that in order for his tefillah to be accepted, it had to be combined with all of Klal Yisroel’s tefillos, so that the prayers would rise as one together. If he disliked someone, it would be as if the body is incomplete. Missing a limb, it would be a baal mum and could not accomplish its goal.

Let us stamp out hatred and division.

dissention and separate people from each other is therefore isolated from everyone else and locked away. Bodod. Alone. Because he rejected the gift of life and used his words to create division and hate, he is forced to become withdrawn from society, deprived of the essential joy of life and social interaction. We received the Torah when we were united, k’ish echod beleiv echod, and all of Klal Yisroel became areivim zeh bozeh, interconnected. Yisroel v’Oraisa v’Kudsha Brich Hu chad hu. We are connected to each other, to the Torah, and to Hashem, as one. Sefer Derech Mitzvosecha (Issur Sinas Yisroel, Mitzvas Ahavas Yisroel) discusses the arvus that connects all the Jewish people. He quotes the Arizal, who, simply put, says that all of Klal Yisroel is one body, with each person being a different limb of the single entity. We are all intertwined with each other. He quotes Rav Chaim Vital that the Arizal would recite vidui on

Hatred causes dissention and disconnects people from each other. One who recognizes that we are all linked with each other and each one of us is comprised of parts of other Jews is not encumbered by pettiness or jealousy. Those who are cognizant of that which connects us are conscious of the fact that our neshamos emanate from the same place, beneath the Kisei Hakavod. When they view another Jew, they feel the deep connection, unfettered by externals that distract the rest of us. Man is made up of chomer and tzurah, the chomer being the physical and mundane, while the tzurah is the spiritual. The real person is the tzurah, literally his image, his depth and spirituality, which are wrapped in the outer chomer. A person who is caught up with his chomer is wrapped up with the superficial and is missing out on the greatness and essense of life. A person of chomer, who lacks in tzurah, rejects unity, as he is shallow, with

no appreciation for what lies at the root of everything. He becomes a baal lashon hora, a hate-monger, resents other people’s success and popularity. He cannot live comfortably with others, because other people’s possessions arouse envy in him. He is unable to be with them. Rejecting unity and suffering his own punishment, he is forced to sit alone. Tzora’as forces the person consumed with exterior impressions to confront physical imperfections that are brought on by his spiritual inadequacies, as he ponders the essence of his existence. The posuk in Bereishes (2:18) states, “Lo tov heyos ha’adam levado.” As Hashem was creating the world, He said that it is not good for man to be alone and He fashioned a partner for him. Loneliness is not healthy. Man must be involved with other people and not enveloped in himself without social contact. In fact, medical studies indicate that people who maintain friendships and engage with others live longer and are healthier. The purveyor of lashon hora, hotza’as sheim ra and rechilus divides people, bringing on loneliness and ill feelings. His punishment fits the crime, as he is left in solitary confinement. Rav Yisroel Hager of Vizhnitz regularly sits with a gabbai to go through the pile of simcha invitations that arrive at his home. The rebbe recently paused after reading an invitation to the wedding of a girl whose mother passed away not long before. He asked the gabbai to mark the date and let him know when the wedding would take place. As the wedding day approached, the mechutonim went to the rebbe for the traditional brocha. When they left, the rebbe asked the gabbai to let him know when the wedding ended. He wanted to be informed of when the families would leave the hall, regardless of the time. On the appointed day, in the wee hours of the morning, the gabbai gingerly knocked on the door and informed the rebbe that the mitzvah tantz had concluded and the families were on their way home. Accompanied by the gabbai, the rebbe left his home and walked through the quiet streets, as he headed to the apartment of the kallah’s father. The rebbe knocked on the door, which was opened by the stunned chossid. The rebbe asked if he might come in for a cup of tea. The rebbe sat down and began speaking to the man about the wedding. How had it worked out? Did all the guests come? Was the food good? How

Living with In theNews Times The Week

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

was the band? Did things go according to schedule? The chossid found his voice, answering the rebbe’s questions and discussing each part of the wedding in great detail. The rebbe listened closely, asking more questions, before offering his fondest wishes and returning home. As they left, the gabbai asked the rebbe why he had gone to visit the baal simcha and taken such intense interest in the wedding. The rebbe explained, “Loneliness is never easy, but at a time like that, it is especially profound. Here he is, a proud new mechutan, having just married off his daughter. The chasunah was no doubt filled with joy, but a big part of that joy is being able to come home after the event and talk about it, sharing the simcha, reminiscing about who came and who didn’t, and speaking about the things that worked out well and what was most meaningful. But this mechutan lost his wife and he has no one to discuss it with. He came home to an empty house. Alone. I can’t erase his loneliness, but this was an opportunity to be there at a moment when he really needed company.” A person of tzurah, arvus and ruach memalela feels the soul of another.

Reb Moshe Prager described a small shul on Tel Aviv’s Rechov Allenby, not far from the roaring waves of the Mediterranean. Every evening, between Mincha and Maariv, a learned member would deliver a Gemara shiur to Holocaust survivors. One evening, as the shiur began, a distinguished-looking visitor with glowing eyes entered the non-descript shul. The Ponovezher Rov slipped onto a worn bench and looked into the Gemara with the person next to him, as they followed the shiur. After Maariv, the men gathered around the famed orator. He turned to them and simply said, “It was so enjoyable to sit with you. How nice it is to be with other Jews. It was so heartening to hear the song of the Gemara together with you.” And with that, he left, a broad smile on his face. The Rov had heard that there was a group of survivors in Tel Aviv, and he traveled there to check on their needs and see if they required chizuk. As great as he was, he enjoyed their company and returned home thankful that he met them and that they were acclimating well to their new surroundings. Great people perceive the joy in being around people. They value being part of a

whole. They seek people whom they can help. For we are all one. This week’s parsha equips us with the insight to give life to others. There is no shortage of lonely people. They may even have spouses and large families. Some appear to have many friends. They are regular, nice, normal people of any age. But they are lonely. Talk to them. There is no shortage of people who can use a little chizuk. Let them know you care about them. The Alter of Slabodka is quoted as saying that respect and self-respect are integral to a person’s existence. “If a person loses all his kavod,” the Alter would say, “he can die or lose his sanity.” One who speaks lashon hora seeks to deprive his victims of their self-worth and the respect others have for them. Someone who lacks respect for others and causes them to lose their own self-respect snuffs out their spirit. Someone who is so wrapped up with himself that he snuffs out other people’s respect is a person who cannot live with others, Thus, “vehisgiro shivas yomim,” he is locked away by himself until he learns to respect others.

If being alone is being separated from life, then being together is being very much alive. We each carry supplies of oxygen, kind words and a genuine interest in others that can restore life to people and give them a reason to smile. With our gift of speech, we can build people. Consideration of other people’s feelings on any level strengthens our connection not only to each other, but also to the depths of our neshamos and to Hashem. We mourn for the students of Rabi Akiva who died during the Sefirah period. Lo nahagu kavod zeh lozeh. They didn’t treat each other respectfully and were afflicted by a plague. Kavod - respect, validation and acknowledgment - is life itself. May this parsha’s lessons - the significance of words, the value of being connected, the appreciation of others - fill us with the resolve to use our gift of ruach memalela correctly, elevating ourselves and our lives to new heights. Let us stamp out hatred and division. Let us bring about peace and have respect for all.

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DiD you hear the news? Guess who’s cominG to town?! CheCk out the baCk page Cover!

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APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Tools of Communication Sarah Pachter

Our family recently went skiing in Park City, and as we drove along the windy roads towards the resort, I couldn’t help but marvel at the breathtaking mountains. Despite their beauty, they appeared incredibly steep and dangerous. These were mountains we wouldn’t dare walk up or down on our own – but slap on boots, skis and a snowsuit, and we flew down at thrilling speeds. As soon as we were given the proper tools, the impossible became doable, enjoyable – even glorious! Tools are an important part of the everyday experience. One of my favorite tools: the internet. It’s so convenient. I can order whatever I need, and with two little ones in the house, that means the diaper shipments come in surplus! Imagine the scene: I’m changing my daughter’s explosive, horrific diaper. I open the drawer of the changing table, only to discover that every last diaper has been used, with not a straggler left. I open the wipes drawer hoping to find a lone diaper. Nothing. I look behind me. There, in my baby’s closet, is a shining, brand new box of diapers calling my name. I look at my baby and then back at the closet, over and over again. Leaving her unattended, even momentarily, is not an option. So, I pick her up – while trying not to dirty myself – and bring her towards the closet, only to find that the box is still sealed shut. Try opening a box with no tools. No box cutter, no knife, not even a set of keys. Add a soiled baby to the picture, and you’re sitting on a time bomb. In moments, the whole room will begin to reek. I struggle to open the box and mutter to myself, “Never! Never bring a box upstairs without opening it first!” I manage to open the box and change the baby, eventually, but how much easier would this process have been if I simply had a tool? Problems are no sweat with tools. And such is life. When we have tools, anything is possible. Tools, however, are not just objects. Other types of tools can be even more useful, such as the tools of communication. When we learn to communicate with healthy tools, harmony between people becomes attainable. Life is not just about acquiring such tools, though. It’s also vital to discover the instructions for how to use these tools. The

same is true in life’s relationships, particularly marriage. In marriage, one can have the best dress, venue, and caterer around for the wedding, but if we do not have proper instruction on how to communicate with our spouses, it’s going to be very hard to navigate the twists and turns of life’s mountains. The following are three basic tools of

Beginning with affirmative wording allows the other person to actually hear what you are saying, rather than immediately putting up a wall. Suppose you started the same sentence with, “You left your nasty socks on the floor!” Your spouse’s internal response may be, Oh boy, here they go again. I can ignore the next few sentences until they moves on.

communication that can help bridge the gap between two people in a relationship. The Sandwich Whenever we speak about sensitive topics, it is always best to start with genuine positivity. This is not to butter the person up, but rather it helps to begin the conversation in a positive mindframe. Next, after addressing the difficult portion, always end with a positive thought so that the person maintains his or her personal dignity and walks away feeling respected. For example, suppose your spouse usually leaves his socks on the floor, and you are beginning to resent it. Perhaps start with, “Honey, I know how much you always want to help me around the house and are usually the first to wash dishes. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that you leave your socks on the floor, and it’s starting to frustrate me. Do you think you could make a better effort at picking them up? I’d really appreciate it, and I know that you want to help me out because you always do. Thank you.” The basic formula is: positive, negative, positive.

Sometimes, people express concern that if they start with a positive statement, the other person knows that negative is on its way shortly. We must take care to deliver the positive in a way that the other person is not anticipating an immediate negative. This is an art that is best described by John and Julie Gottman in The Soft Startup. They recommend making your positive startup brief and to the point for a more effective reception from your spouse. “I “Statements Dr. Meir Wikler writes in his book, Ten Minutes a Day to a Better Marriage, that when we use “you” statements such as, “You are insensitive, lazy, rude, etc.,” the other person automatically becomes defensive, and may put the blame back on you. When we talk about our own feelings, however, it becomes very difficult to dispute or invalidate them. He therefore makes a communication rule that we should use only “I” statements when addressing sensitive topics. Here is the basic formula: I feel ________ when _________ happens, because ________. Put all together: “I feel frustrated when

you don’t follow through with the errand you committed to because I take it off my mental list, and then have to perform it myself at a later, inconvenient time.” Never say “Never” (or “Always”) When we use definitive words such as “never” or “always,” they become another instinctual cue for the other person to become defensive. Wikler describes these words as generalizations that usually yield a negative response. A better technique is using the phrase, “Sometimes ____ happens” or even, “I recently noticed this type of behavior.” When we say, “You never help me,” or, “You always talk back,” the person can’t even hear the problem itself because he or she is too busy preparing a retort of “I know I don’t always…” For example, “I noticed that you have at times been distracted by the phone when I’m trying to engage in a conversation with you, and that is hurtful to me.” These communication techniques sound easy in theory, but when actually trying to implement them, the experience can be difficult, awkward, or unnatural. However, they can and should be practiced regularly. If, during a quiet moment, we mentally visualize and exercise these tools, then they will become more fluid when the experience actually presents itself in real time. Although we may feel silly practicing alone, it is well worth the effort. When we successfully use these tools to communicate, the other person is more likely to hear what we are actually trying to say, rather than shutting us out. I’ll never forget the satisfaction I felt when a student of mine approached me and thanked me for sharing these concepts with her. “Sarah, I was sitting at the Friday night table with my husband. There was this one sensitive issue between us that we just couldn’t seem to work out, or even discuss without some sort of explosion. But then I was in awe after I used these three simple techniques. For the first time, magically, before my very eyes, I watched my husband respond calmly to my feelings on this issue. We came to a mutual understanding, and moved on. No harsh words were exchanged, no lingering hurt feelings remained. I was blown away at the effectiveness.” The techniques are simple, and they work. Using these three tools enables communication with others to become magically doable, and dare I say, even glorious.

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Op-Ed The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Op-Ed: There is a New Sheriff in Town Kevin (Arie) Gres Sheriff Jim McDonnell vowed to fundamentally change the corrupt culture of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) created under disgraced former sheriff, Lee Baca. He vowed to bring transparency and honesty back to the nation’s largest sheriff’s department. The distrust and friction between civilians and law enforcement seems to be at an all-time high. Recently, one of his moves to garner the public’s trust has been met with surprising scrutiny. Let me give you some background. McDonnell took over the LASD after Lee Baca resigned due to a pending bombshell FBI investigation. For many years under Baca, there were credible allegations that some deputies were abusing inmates in L.A. County jails. Following years of allegations from watchdog organizations and inmates themselves, the FBI decided to investigate with a planted undercover inmate. This inmate would see for himself and report directly to the FBI about allegations of abuse. The LASD discovered the inmate plant, and intentionally hid him under fake names so his FBI handlers could not communicate with him about inmate abuse. Baca also allowed deputies to threaten an FBI special agent with arrest, if she continued her investigation into inmate abuse. Baca was recently

found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. He was the one of 21 members of LASD to be convicted. When Baca resigned, the LASD was in a state of turmoil. Deputy morale was low. Following his election in 2014, Jim McDonnell promised change. We hoped for the best but expected business as usual. McDonnell proved to be a man of his word. During the first few years of his tenure, he was busy at headquarters compiling a list of over 300 LASD deputies who were labeled as “problem deputies.” We are not talking about chronically late deputies, or deputies who take long lunches, but deputies with track records of tampering with evidence, perjury, violence, making false statements, and using excessive force to just name a few – acts that would land any civilian behind bars. McDonnell wants prosecutors to know the names of these deputies because prosecutors and defense attorneys have a right to know if the officers involved in their cases are liars, cheats, and criminals themselves. However, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, a union that represents LASD deputies, has successfully filed a lawsuit to block the list from getting to prosecutors and ever seeing the light of day. McDonnell favors disclosure because un-

der the law, a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to obtain any favorable evidence in the government’s possession. This rule of law derives from the landmark case, Brady vs. Maryland. Brady was accused of murder. He claimed he didn’t do it. He was convicted and sentenced to death. On appeal, it was discovered that the prosecutor had a confession from the person Brady claimed did do it, but the prosecutor never disclosed it. Brady’s attorneys argued that hiding the confession violated Brady’s right to a fair trial. The court ruled that any favorable, material evidence that the prosecutor has must be disclosed to the defense. Since that Supreme Court ruling, courts have consistently held that law enforcement is an acting arm of the prosecutorial team, and therefore must be trained and responsible for upholding the Brady ruling – meaning they must disclose material, favorable evidence to the defense. This includes personnel records of bad cops. As of now, defense attorneys must fight tooth and nail to get personnel records of bad cops, a process that law enforcement agencies spend millions of dollars fighting every year. For the defendant, this process is long, arduous, expensive, and should be completely unnecessary. A recent case of mine serves as a prime example of why McDonnell’s desire to turn over the list of “problem deputies” would make so much sense. An 18-year-old yeshiva bachur is pulled over for bad driving. The boy has never been pulled over before and is very nervous and scared. His hands are trembling in fear, he is stuttering, he is not making eye contact, and his forehead begins to perspire. The deputy becomes nervous because these are classic signs of substance abuse. He asks the boy to exit the vehicle so he can briefly detain him and investigate. The boy is following directions but apparently not quickly enough. The officer grows frustrated, pulls the boy from the car, throws him to the floor and cuffs him. The deputy searches the car for drugs and alcohol and finds nothing. When he releases the boy after about 15 minutes, the boy complains of excruciating elbow pain. The boy claims that he can’t bend his arm because when the deputy threw him to the asphalt, he landed straight on his elbow. The deputy realizes that he may be in hot water. This boy might sue the department. Maybe the deputy should have been a bit more patient. Maybe he should have called for backup if he was unsure how to proceed. Hindsight is 20/20. But this deputy knows there is one claim he could make that would absolve him from any liability – claim the boy resisted arrest. If the boy resisted, then the deputy was justified in using force. The deputy issues the boy a citation for misdemeanor resisting arrest, a charge that could land the boy in jail, serve 36 months on probation, and pay fines and fees totaling thousands of dollars. When or if the boy wants to go to college or get a job, this crime will remain on his record.

When the deputy’s boss reads the report, he knows that this deputy has a documented track record of using excessive force and lying (i.e. one the bad cops). Should the prosecutor know up front, before he or she presses charges against the boy, that a crooked cop is behind the allegation? Does the yeshiva bachur have a right to know up front that this cop has done this many times before, before potentially accepting a plea deal that could impact the rest of his life? Sheriff McDonnell believes prosecutors and defense attorneys should know from day one if an investigation is irreparably tainted by a “problem deputy.” The union disagrees. To me, the debate does not even get off the ground. There are a plethora of reasons why the LASD and every other law enforcement agency in the country should disclose to prosecutors and defense attorneys the names of bad cops with criminal convictions, arrests, or named in internal investigations. I understand why the bad cops on McDonnell’s list are against disclosure, but don’t we owe it to the other 9700 or so good deputies in the LASD to weed out the bad cops? These 300 bad apples make life for the good deputies far more difficult because the public and prosecutors don’t know who is who. That is where the distrust between cops and civilians start. Why are the District Attorney and City Attorney not demanding the names of bad cops who have been embroiled in internal investigations and cover-ups? Why do we allow them to claim willful ignorance? Why does disclosure not act as a healthy system of checks and balances for deputies teetering between the ethical and unethical? Aside from the philosophic reasons to demand upfront disclosure, practically, prosecutors are overworked. They have more cases than they can handle. One criminal prosecution can take years and tens of thousands of dollars to prosecute. Even low-level crimes take substantial taxpayer resources. If a prosecutor knows a case cannot move forward because of a problem cop on Day 1, not Day 142, law enforcement and prosecutors would have significantly more money to deal with other issues, like mental health, homelessness, and recidivism. As a former prosecutor and now defense attorney, I have been on both sides of the aisle. The issue is simple. Either you believe in transparency and fairness and treat everyone the same, or you don’t. I applaud Sheriff McDonnell for seeking the truth, fighting for transparency, and doing what is right. It is now up to us to demand that our politicians follow suit. Kevin (Arie) Gres is a former Los Angeles prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney. He owns and operates his own criminal defense practice, serves on the Project Tikvah Advisory Board, and recently completed a four-year term as Vice President of the South Robertson Neighborhoods Council.

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

tion p e c e th 2017 es R Truste y, May 16 a g Tuesd uratin paign g u a n I Cam g n i s i a Fundr

The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

20 6

29, 2015 | The Jewish Home Feature TheOCTOBER Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Many Successes…Some Failures It’s still early, and a hundred days don’t really mean very much in a presidential term. Even so, in his first hundred days, President Trump hit the ground running on many of his core campaign promises but has hit speed bumps on some of his other promises. Despite a constant anti-Trump drumbeat by the media, he has plowed ahead and showed that he is willing to take on the establishment…most of the time. Does the media have a double standard when it comes to their treatment of Trump? You bet. After all, read the first sentence of this paragraph again – it was originally written by The New York Times in 1993 about then-President Bill Clinton. Yet, The New York Times and many of its cohorts in the media – who all declared Trump’s candidacy dead-on-arrival – are now declaring Trump’s first 100 days to be a failure. So here are some of Trump’s accomplishments and failures during his first 100 days in office – and you can decide for yourself.

SUCCESSES >> Border Crossings Slow to Trickle Wall or no wall, since Trump became president, border crossings have plummeted to their lowest level in 17 years. In December 2016, approximately 16,000 people were apprehended illegally crossing the border. In contrast, just a few months later, in March 2017, approximately 1,100 people were apprehended. That’s a decline of 93 percent. Open-borders advocate and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos attributes the drastic reduction in illegal border crossings to Trump’s hardline immigration rhetoric and refer to it as “the Trump effect.” The massive decrease in illegal crossings is taking place even before the 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents that are being hired take to the border.

>> Withdraws From TPP >> Appoints Supreme Court Justice Presidents come and go, but Supreme Courts stay for decades. To many, the most important issue in the 2016 election was the Supreme Court. After conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia died last year, conservatives lost their 5-4 edge on the court. During the elections, President Trump promised to appoint a conservative justice in the mold of Justice Scalia. He delivered on that promise within two weeks of taking office when he nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose judicial philosophy is closely aligned with Justice Scalia’s, thus restoring the conservative edge on the High Court. When Justice Gorsuch was confirmed on the 77th day of the Trump presidency, Trump became the quickest president to fill a seat on the Supreme Court since President Pierce in 1853.

>> Rescinds Burdensome Regulations In his first 100 days, President Trump has rescinded more regulations than any other president. Many of these regulations had devastating effects on small businesses before the rescissions. Trump has gone so far as to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to repeal two regulations for each new regulation that they issue. He also rescinded regulations which have had a devastating impact on coal workers.

Delivering on a promise that was one of the cornerstones of his campaign, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing from his predecessor’s signature trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, thus taking a stance against economic globalization and foreign competition to American businesses. “We are going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken...companies out of our country, and it’s going to be reversed,” Mr. Trump told applauding union leaders after signing the executive order.

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APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

>> Approves Keystone Pipeline President Trump ordered work to proceed on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, rolling back a key Obama administration environmental policy in favor of expanding U.S. energy infrastructure.

>> Steps Up When Assad Crosses “Red Line”

>> Takes on North Korean Threat Although it is yet unknown how the story will end with North Korea, unlike his predecessors – one who struck a sham deal in which North Korea would rid itself of its own nuclear weapons (George W. Bush) and one who chose to ignore the topic altogether (Barack Obama) – President Trump has acknowledged the urgency of the matter and is shining a very necessary light on the problem. Despite his strong rhetoric about “Chiner” during the campaign, he has acknowledged that the Chinese government will be a necessary partner in achieving a resolution to the North Korean crisis and has established a diplomatic working relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping who paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

Although then-Secretary of State John Kerry declared in 2014 that the Obama administration negotiated a deal that removed “100 percent” of deadly chemical weapons from Syria that was proven to be completely false when in early April Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons to gas men, women and children. In 2012, President Obama promised that if Assad were to use chemical weapons, it would be a “red line” which the U.S. would react to with military action, yet in 2013 when Assad did exactly that, Mr. Obama took no action. Well, on April 6, 2017 Assad discovered that “there’s a new sheriff in town” when, in response to a chemical attack on men, women and children in Syria, the new commander-in-chief launched 59 tomahawk missiles at the Assad-controlled airbase where the chemical weapons were stored, putting the world on notice that America will no longer stand by when innocent people are gassed.

FAILURES

>> Immigration Order Denied...and Denied Again

>> Unable to Repeal Obamacare After promising throughout his campaign to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Trump relied on Speaker of the House Paul Ryan who hodgepodged a health care replacement bill that quickly became known as “Obamacare lite” once the details were revealed. After several weeks of floundering and not gaining any enthusiasm, the bill crashed and burned on March 24th when the House Freedom Caucus, a group of several dozen conservatives, refused to support the bill, resulting in Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declaring, “I don’t know what else to say other than Obamacare is the law of the land.”

>> Out Like Flynn Less than one month into the new Trump administration, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after it was disclosed that he lied to Vice President Pence and other administration officials about the contents of a telephone call that he had with the Russian ambassador to the U.S during the Trump transition period. Flynn had, in fact, discussed sanctions with the ambassador even though he claimed he did not. It was later disclosed that Flynn had also worked last fall as a lobbyist for Turkey and that he had also failed to disclose that he once took tens of thousands of dollars for a speech he gave in Russia.

Eight days after entering office, President Trump issued a hastily orchestrated executive order temporarily banning entry into the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries, resulting in mass hysteria stoked by Trump’s detractors. When the most liberal appeals court in the country upheld a judge’s injunction, Mr. Trump issued a revised order which another liberal judge in Hawaii issued an injunction against. Although the injunctions will likely eventually be overturned by the Supreme Court, it provided a useful template for those who seek to prevent Trump from implementing his agenda: find a liberal judge who is willing to issue an injunction or rule an executive order unlawful. Had the executive order been more thought-out and implemented in a more organized fashion, this may have all been avoided.

22 2

29, | The Jewish Home Op-Ed TheOCTOBER Week In2015 News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Op-Ed

A Penny A Jew NY By Assemblyman Dov Hikind

nfortunately, if we set aside a day for every tragedy in Jewish history, the calendar would be full. But the scope, circumstances and impact of the Holocaust are so immense that a special day of remembrance was deemed appropriate. I never discussed the day itself with my parents – both survivors, both in Heaven now – but I suspect they would have agreed. My mother, z”l, warned against getting comfortable with the memory. As a child of survivors, and as a student of history, I have sought to understand as much as I can about what occurred during those tragic years. It’s not a morbid fascination; it’s a thirst for knowledge that might somehow be useful in dealing with today’s issues that endanger the Jewish people…and help prevent future tragedies. No one can deny that a generation has not passed where many people – not just an isolated madman – have expressed their eagerness to finish what Hitler started. Did my mother have these fears as a child in pre-war Czechoslovakia? I doubt it. Her memories of life before Germany invaded were happy ones; the Jewish community got along fine with their Czech neighbors, she recalled. Then the Nazis came and the town’s Jews were rounded up. My mother’s most vivid memory of that day was how the non-Jewish neighbors came out

to watch. And no one said a word. “Do you know about antiSemitism?” I asked my 14-year-old granddaughter. She was sitting with me as I prepared to speak on the subject over the holidays. “Yes,” she said. “We saw a video about it.” The video presented other young teens being asked about their perceptions of Jews. “They’re all rich,” said one. “They have all the power,” said

In France. While in the Middle East there are Muslim leaders who have openly stated their desire to see all Jews return to Israel as soon as possible, so they can kill them all at once. You would think that Muslim leaders in the Middle East would be most concerned with their people’s quality of life, but killing Jews is a higher priority. Despite all my years

Remembering our loved ones, these six million innocent souls, brings a sense of them back to life. That’s the least we can do. another. Nearly a century later and nothing has changed. Except for one thing: now, there is a State of Israel. So the chants of “Jews, go back to Palestine,” have ended, and the existence of a Jewish State has joined the list of “reasons” to call for Jewish extermination. I repeat: it’s not morbid fascination. It’s a matter of paying attention. A single day does not pass without an incident or a threat. If you follow international headlines, this is not news to you. There are a half million Jews in France who no longer feel safe looking like Jews.

of reading, I never understood how the Germans could concentrate their efforts on anything but saving their own soldiers once the Allied invasion proved that their march to world domination had come to an end. But killing Jews was such a high priority to the Nazis that they studied its efficacy like a science. In The Holocaust, a new 500-page study by Laurence Rees, we learn how the Nazis were able to reduce the cost of murdering Jews to about two German pfennings a person. Less than one U.S. cent. Another new historical study by Peter Hayes

entitled Why demonstrates how the Nazi regime used just two trains per day from 1942-44 to move three million people to the death camps. In 1944, as the Allies closed in, three trains per day deported 440,000 Hungarian Jews in eight weeks. Priorities. My mother recalled standing on Mengele’s infamous life-ordeath line. Trains had arrived from everywhere. Elderly men, pregnant women, children, the sick, the hungry… Her three-year-old nephew stood with the family and asked his mother, “M’geit ins hargenen?” Are they going to kill us? One sister whispered to my mother, “M’ken nisht lozen Mommy alein.” We can’t let Mommy go alone. So she went to the gas chamber with her mother. Why recall all this? Because we must. Because remembering our loved ones, these six million innocent souls, brings a sense of them back to life. That’s the least we can do. But more, we remember for us. We remember because we live in a volatile world and it’s critical to be honest about anti-Semitism, to call it out and to stand up to it. Even when things simmer down and look fine, it can grow dark very quickly. And if you don’t believe me, just ask my mother.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind represents the 48th District in New York.

Quotes The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

I like to stay happy. I can’t stand an old grouch, so I sing to myself.

dn’t

– Eugene Ruf, in an interview with MSN, on his 108th birthday, talking about his keys to a long life

You’ll hardly ever hear him say anything negative. It’s always positive.

- Eugene Ruf’s daughter, 61, talking about her father, who was orphaned at 12 in 1921 after his parents and a younger brother died of the Spanish flu in a matter of days, and who fought in WWII and the Korean War

gest

I thought it was important that people on the other side of the DMZ see our resolve in my face.

l he and rom

- Vice President Mike Pence, in an interview with the Washington Post, explaining why he went to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border of North and South Korea during a visit to South Korea last week

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I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the president of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and constitutional power. - Attorney General Jeff Sessions talking about a judge in Hawaii preventing Trump’s immigration order from taking effect

Nobody has a sense of humor anymore. - Ibid., on ABC’s “This Week,” when asked about his referring to Hawaii as “an island in the Pacific”

A New Jersey man recently admitted to stealing $20,000 worth of ginger ale from a grocery store. He said he wasn’t planning on stealing so much, he just got Schwepped up in it. – Seth Myers

who This weekend, Bill Clinton tweeted that he it was in Houston UPS announced yesterday that will begin visiting former President George H.W. Bush. However, he ended the tweet delivering packages on Saturdays. Unless, of course, with #Alibi. you - Conanplan O’Brien on being home on Saturday.

- Seth Myers

ad our

You guys all collectively lived through Trump

Time Magazine today released its annual list of the “100 Most-Influential People in the World.” Making the list this year, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Pope Francis, James Comey, and, of course, Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton did not make the list. Which is really crazy. Hillary Clinton influenced a whole half of a country to vote for Donald Trump for president. You’d think that would be worth something. – Jimmy Kimmel

A recent security purge by Facebook has unintentionally gotten rid of millions of “likes.” Just think...all those wasted hours, wasted. – Conan O’Brien

MORE QUOTES

Quotes The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

C M

I read the article in The New York Times Sunday which presented arch-terrorist Barghouti as a “leader and parliamentarian.”... Calling Barghouti a political leader is like calling Assad a “pediatrician.”

- Prime Minister Netanyahu, criticizing The New York Times for printing an op-ed by Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti who murdered countless Israelis

S c s y h m d

This article explained the writer’s prison sentence but neglected to provide sufficient context by stating the offenses of which he was convicted. They were five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Mr. Barghouti declined to offer a defense at his trial and refused to recognize the Israeli court’s jurisdiction and legitimacy. – The New York Times’ tepid clarification, in response to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s criticism

A new study found that plastic surgeons make an average of $354,000 per year. “I am shocked,” said one woman’s face but not her mouth. – Seth Myers

–

How do I turn out the lights on such a venerable and amazing show? I can’t. It’s not my show and it’s not my place. So on behalf of all of us on “The Factor,” good night and Godspeed. A package of salad mix that was sold in a Florida Walmart was found - Fox News’s Greg Gutfeld hosting the final episode of “The Factor” after Bill O’Reilly was fired to contain a dead bat. This is shocking news – someone shopping at Walmart bought a salad?

MORE QUOTES

- Conan O’Brien

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The Week In News

Macron vs. Le Pen

Sunday was an important day for France as the first round of presidential voting took place. The long list of candidates has now been narrowed down to only two: Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. Macron took 24% of the vote and Le Pen received 21.3%. According to the French voting system, the two will now square off in a oneon-one race in just two short weeks. The run-off election will take place on May 7 to determine who the next president will be in a country with a suffering economy and an increasingly troubling terrorism problem. The two candidates cannot be more different. Le Pen is an extremely conserva-

tive candidate. The leader of the far right is outspokenly anti-EU and has proposed France pulling out of the European Union altogether. She has also been open about her ties to Russia. After the results came in, demonstrators took to the streets to protest her advance. The protests turned violent with cars being burned and police getting pulled into the fighting. Le Pen is vocal about her stance against immigration, vowing to expel foreigners who are being monitored by intelligence agencies. She has pushed for a return to closed borders and would limit immigration to 10,000 people a year. Macron, on the other hand, does not believe in closed borders. He has praised Angela Merkel’s stance on accepting refugees in Germany and believes that France should do more. Last week, in the aftermath of the terror attack in Paris, Le Pen called for the closure of all “Islamist mosques” in France. She also said that the country needs “the resources to make sure we can combat ... Islamist terrorism.” In response to the recent stabbing, Macron urged citizens, “All of this makes me only too well aware that we are being attacked in the heart of our nation. We are under threat. I want to make sure we are protected. We must not give into fear, and we must not give in to their trap. It is not a moment to doubt the EU.” He added, “Do not to give into fear, do not

to give into division, do not to give into intimidation.” World markets surged on the news that many of the other anti-EU candidates were knocked out of the race and that Emmanuel Macron took first place. The centrist Macron is seen as pro-business and wishes for investors to have much more faith in the strength of the European Union. He is also pro-immigration and a strong supporter of the European Union. He has never held public office. Many are projecting that Macron will win the election by a landslide but Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton last year has restored the belief that quite anything is possible, especially when it comes to politics.

N. Korea, China and the U.S. It’s a triangle of tensions between North Korea, the U.S. and China. On Tuesday, the Hermit Kingdom conducted a large-scale, live-fire military drill in yet another show of force. It was part of celebrations marking the 85th anniversary of the founding of the country’s military.

While the North fired weapons near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. and South Korea conducted drills off the west coast. Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson naval strike group was making its way to the divided peninsula. On Monday President Trump told the media that Kim Jong Un isn’t as strong as he claims to be, although he also blamed the international community for not reining him in. The “status quo” on North Korea is “unacceptable,” Mr. Trump told members of the United Nations Security Council at the White House. He scolded the other members of the council for falling short in their dealings with North Korea. “The council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions,” he said. The deployment of a U.S. Navy strike group – which will be joined by two Japanese destroyers and South Korean ships – to the Korean Peninsula is a show of force and a clear warning to North Korea. The USS Michigan, a nuclear powered submarine, also arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday. In response to the United States’ bluster, North Korea has stepped up its rhetoric too, unveiling new weapons and lashing out as adversaries. Its media warned the U.S. to “consider carefully any catastrophic consequence.”

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On Saturday, North Korea detained Korean-American Tony Kim at the Pyongyang airport, bringing the total number of Americans held in North Korea to three. No one wants a war and to avoid that, the Trump administration is ramping up diplomatic efforts to put pressure on North Korea. Mr. Trump has spoken by phone to the leaders of China and Japan. On Wednesday, U.S. senators will get a rare briefing on the issue at the White House, and on Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will chair a special meeting on North Korea at the United Nations. Beijing is increasingly becoming the monkey in the middle. At least two-thirds of North Korea’s trade is with China, which means that China is the player with the most leverage when it comes to the regime. Beijing has been urging the United States to take less aggressive action against North Korea. Even so, China has used its influence in North Korea in recent months. After a North Korean missile test in February, Chinese authorities suspended coal imports from the state for the rest of the year. Media reports citing Chinese academics and opinion pieces in the Beijing-backed Global Times have raised the prospect of cutting oil exports to North Korea. Such action would severely hurt the small, North Korean economy and indicate China’s seriousness on curbing the pariah state, analysts said. “I think China is signaling to both sides, to the U.S. that China is doing more, that China is acting in good faith to head off a crisis in North Korea,” Michael Hirson, Asia director at consulting firm Eurasia Group, said. “Primarily they’re telling the U.S. that ultimately China feels the only solution in North Korea is one that involves diplomacy and getting North Korea to the table.” As a candidate, Trump said he would be prepared to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and talk things out “over a hamburger.” Since then, though, Trump seems to be playing a more intense game with the North Koreans. A few weeks ago, Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to South Korea that “the era of strategic patience is over” with North Korea.

respondents about how people do work around the house.

In addition to just one in five not being able to change a lightbulb or boil an egg, the survey found that nearly a third of the participants couldn’t cook any meal on the fly. And if someone were to spill a portion of their meal on their clothes or on the floor, only 59 percent would know how to get rid of the resulting stain. Only 37 percent could change a flat tire. The findings were even surprising to the folks behind the study. “As a nation we tend to take pride in our ability to do things ourselves in and around the home, so it’s a surprise to see there could be a skills gap in places,” says Aviva Propositions Director Adam Beckett. Interestingly, while 50 percent of those surveyed said they learned how to do a home task on their by trial and error, plenty of people are turning to the internet for help, especially millennials. The study found four in 10 people aged 25 and under prefer learning do-it-yourself chores online. That’s more than twice the number in the age group who turn to an actual book for help. According to the survey, 66% of people were able to read a map; 65% of people were able to sew a button; 57% of people were able to change a baby’s diaper; 39% of people were able to put up wallpaper; and 37% of people were able to change a flat tire. Seems like schools need to add another class or two to get these people into the real world.

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Know how to change a lightbulb? Boil an egg? Well, you can pat yourself on the back since one in five people aren’t as skilled as you. A recent survey in the United Kingdom found that around 20 percent of people did not know how to change a lightbulb or boil an egg. In their annual Home Report the British insurance company Aviva asked

The Vilnius University has awarded bachelor’s degrees to hundreds of Jewish students who were kicked out of the university during World War II. The university issued the diplomas after Israeli Professor Moshe Lapidot spearheaded a campaign to see recognition given to the students who were unfairly expelled, many of whom were later killed by the Nazis. Lapidot was in Lithuania tracing his family heritage when he contacted Prof. Artūras Žukauskas, the rector of Vilnius University. He also involved Amir Mai-

The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

mon, Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania, and requested that the university recognize his uncle’s academic studies. Lapidot’s uncle was killed by the Nazis after being expelled from the school. The rector granted his request and decided to grant degrees to all of the Jewish lecturers and students who were forced out of the Vilnius by Nazi decree. The university even went so far as to launch a program to track down the Jewish students who were dismissed. A ceremony was held last week to grant the diplomas. Ambassador Maimon described the ceremony as “unprecedented.” He added, “We intend to encourage the applications of the relatives and descendants of those Jewish students and lecturers whom the university was not able to locate.”

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial Held The Jewish community of Warsaw recognized the 74th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising by burying the remains of old and damaged Torah scrolls.

The ceremony was described as a symbolic celebration of life for a Jewish community that was almost destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

ed since the Holocaust. Anna Chipczynska, the head of the Warsaw Jewish community, said the event marked “a return to a tradition that had been forgotten in our community for at least 70 years.” The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish ghettos during Nazi times. It was established in 1940, with over 400,000 Jews imprisoned in an area of around 1.3 square miles. From there, Jews were deported to death camps and mass-killing centers. In the summer of 1942 alone, at least 254,000 ghetto residents were sent to Treblinka under the guise of “resettlement in the East.” On April 19, 1943 around 750 brave Jews with barely any ammunition and no military experience rose up against the Nazis in an effort to prevent the last remnants of the ghetto from being sent to the death camps. Sadly, the uprising was crushed the next month and the ghetto was razed to the ground, with most of its residents murdered.

Before the War, Warsaw was home to 330,000 Jews. Today the Jewish community numbers less than 1,000. “These scrolls were burned and destroyed, many of them. But the spirit of them wasn’t defeated,” said Rabbi Moshe Bloom, a leader of Warsaw’s Jewish community. “Some people’s intention was to stop the Torah learning of the Jewish nation,” Bloom said. “And here we say ‘no.’ Torah and the Jewish nation are stronger than all of these enemies.” The tattered remains were housed in large clay vessels. Fragments from dozens of Torahs were buried next to the remains of some of the fighters in the uprising. It is the first time such a burial has been record-

Historian: Allies Knew about Jewish Genocide Newly discovered UN documents

show that the western Allies were well aware of the Jewish genocide that was taking place during the Holocaust – as early as 1942. Dan Plesch, a historian who has just published a book titled Human Rights After Hitler, has examined documents that prove that the upper echelon of British officials knew that Hitler was on a mission to kill Jews, that 2 million Jews had already been killed, and that 5 million more were in mortal danger. Although the Allies knew about the genocide, they made no policy decisions to counter the mass murders. Plesch has shown that Viscount Cranborne, a minister in Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s war cabinet, said that Jews could not be considered a special case because England had already taken in too many refugees to grant sanctuary to Europe’s Jews. Plesch also shows that the documents, which have never been revealed before, indicate that the Allies had “already begun drawing up war crimes charges based on witness testimony smuggled from the camps and from the resistance movements in various countries occupied by the Nazis.” England is not the only country to have ignored the proof. The book shows that evidence of the Final Solution was dismissed by anti-Semites in the U.S. State Department as well.

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Holocaust Property Yet to be Returned

A large scale study was recently conducted on the property that was stolen by

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

the Nazis during the Holocaust. The findings of the study show that a very significant amount of property has yet to be returned to its rightful owners, despite legislation in place to ensure property return. The report examined the 46 countries that signed the 2009 Terezin Declaration which calls for the restoration of Jewish property stolen during WWII. While most of the western European states have followed through on their commitments, many eastern European countries, especially Poland and Bosnia, have yet to do so. The Terezin Declaration formalized the widely held principle that no state should profit from property without heirs. It also recognizes that needy Holocaust survivors

should be provided for from the income derived from the stolen properties. There are an estimated quarter of a million Holocaust survivors alive today. Sadly, as time passes, these survivors slowly pass away. The amount of unclaimed property is staggering. In most European countries, the property that was left without explicit ownership claims was transferred to the state and not returned. In countries such as Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia and Slovenia, you have to be a citizen of the country to make a claim. In Poland, only half of the 5,550 communal property claims filed under the 1997 Law of Restitution were accepted. Furthermore, a dozen countries in Europe have not passed any legislation

concerning heirless property, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Slovenia and Poland. In Romania there is a law, but it has never been implemented. Gideon Taylor, chairman of the operations committee of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO), praised the recent report pointing out that it “sheds light on the failure of certain countries to address the past and to restore what was taken away. In recent years there has been progress in recovering and compensating for looted property, but as the survivors pass away, Europe must ensure that all countries comply with their international obligations,” he urged.

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Taking advantage of a medical entry permit, two Palestinian sisters recently attempted to smuggle explosives into Israel from Gaza inside tubes labeled as medication. The woman whose name was on the prescription bottles was traveling to Israel to seek treatment for cancer. Shin Bet security services stopped the entry of the explosives. The two women are being accused of aiding terror activity on behalf of Hamas. Shin Bet released a statement in which they said the explosives were “sent by Hamas and it is believed that they were meant to be used to carry out attacks in Israel in the near future.” They say that the materials were going to be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices. “Unfortunately, this is more proof that terror groups in Gaza are continuing to take advantage of humanitarian channels to export terror into Israel’s heartland,” Defense Ministry Crossing Points Authority head Kamil Abu Rokan said in a statement. “The security checks at the crossing worked exactly as we expect and with notable professionalism.” Tens of thousands of Palestinians are

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APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

allowed to come into Israel each year for medical attention. In March, Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan claimed that Hamas was using Gazan cancer victims as mules to smuggle money and gold into Israel to finance terror operations. His comment was in response to questions about why the number of cancer patients being given entry permission has been decreased.

Hamas Taunts Parents of Fallen Soldiers

The military wing of the Hamas terror group has released a video in which they taunt the parents of two Israeli soldiers that have been presumed dead since 2014, claiming they are still alive. The group, which has never offered any proof that the two soldiers are alive, uses a disgusting music video which shows multiple pictures of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin and plays a song that taunts, “Mother, Mother I’m here. Why are they

saying that I’m dead?” Although the bodies of soldiers Shaul and Goldin were never found, the IDF has established that Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin were killed before their bodies were captured by Hamas in the summer of 2014 war between Hamas and Israel. A similar video was released last year in which Hamas hinted that the soldiers may be alive. Leah Goldin, mother of Hadar Goldin, blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week for trying to turn the Goldin and Shaul families into the “enemy of the people” for wanting to retrieve their sons’ remains. Netanyahu has insinuated that Israel’s security needs are more important and that the families should not pursue their children’s remains at any cost. “Operation Protective Edge isn’t over,” she pleaded. “Hamas wanted to kidnap soldiers and it still has two of them.” Israel has been trying to retrieve the remains of the two kidnapped soldiers along with two – possibly three – Israelis who had crossed into the Gaza Strip by themselves and have not been seen since. Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed have not been seen since they entered Gaza. It is still unconfirmed if uma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima, who has also been missing, is in Gaza as well.

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NYT Blasted for Whitewashing Palestinian Terrorist Liz Spayd, the public editor of The New York Times, has come out criticizing the paper for running an op-ed that failed to list the terror crimes that Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti committed to earn his five life sentences. Spayd blasted the writers and editors of the op-ed that was under Barghouti’s name, saying that such information is left out repeatedly and it discredits the entire newspaper. The piece was written by Barghouti himself. It defended the mass hunger strike that was initiated in Palestinian security prisons last week. The op-ed’s description line called Barghouti a “parliamentarian and leader” but did not mention that he was convicted of multiple terror crimes. “I see no reason to skimp on this, while failing to do so risks the credibility of the author and the Op-Ed pages,” Spayd wrote in a piece titled “An Op-Ed Author Omits His Crimes, and The Times Does Too.” “This isn’t a new issue for the Opinion section,” Spayd wrote. “I have written

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

before on the need to more fully identify the biography and credentials of authors, especially details that help people make judgments about the opinions they’re reading. Do the authors of the pieces have any conflicts of interest that could challenge their credibility? Are they who they say they are, and can editors vouch for their fidelity?” Many Israeli officials responded to the op-ed in the Times with outrage. Benjamin Netanyahu said that referring to Barghouti as only a politician was like referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad as “a pediatrician.” Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, accused The New York Times of “intentional deception” of its readers by omitting any mention of Barghouti’s past. In response to the heavy blowback, the Times issued a clarification online. “This article explained the writer’s prison sentence but neglected to provide sufficient context by stating the offenses of which he was convicted. They were five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization,” the paper wrote. “Mr. Barghouti declined to offer a defense at his trial and refused to recognize the Israeli court’s jurisdiction and legitimacy.” Barghouti is the former leader of the armed wing of Fatah and is the founder of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Fatah terror group. He was convicted in an Israeli civilian court on five counts of murder and one attempted murder. He was also implicated

in, and held responsible for, four other terror attacks. He is serving five life sentences and an additional 40 years in prison.

List of Indictments for JCC Bomb Hoaxer

Headlines were made in the past few months about bomb threats that were made against Jewish community centers around the United States. The culprit, it turns out, is an Israel-American teen from Ashkelon. The huge list of charges he is facing includes thousands of counts of extortion, publishing false information that caused panic, computer offenses and money laundering. Allegedly he has caused a lot of panic and confusion around the globe, including directly causing fighter jets to scramble, commercial airline emergency landings, and school evacuations. The 18-year-old hacker, whose identity has not been released because many of his crimes were committed when he was underage, was charged in the Tel Aviv District Court. According to the indictment, he targeted hundreds of

airlines, airports, malls, schools, and police stations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. He also tried to extort Republican State Senator Ernesto Lopez from Delaware and offered extortion services online in exchange for bitcoins. The court said that the teenager’s motive was to cause public alarm, which he did. The range of his crimes is far wider and against a much larger range of targets than previously reported. The court alleges that the teen called American Airlines, Virgin Australia and El Al with imminent bomb threats. A call in July of 2016 caused French and Swiss fighter jets to scramble and escort the plane due to fears of a potential hijacking. He caused a Virgin Australia plane to dump eight tons of fuel over the ocean prior to landing as a precaution. He threatened a plane carrying the Boston Celtics basketball team as well. The menace’s internet account has over $240,000 worth of bitcoin currency as he charged fees up to $500 for a bomb threat against an airplane. “The accused even asked customers to contact him if they had special requests for threats against other targets and to receive a customized quote,” the indictment reads. When threatening Jewish and Israeli institutions over the past few months, he used advanced camouflaging technology. When his home was raided, police found satellite equipment and advanced antenna tech. Israel has refused a United States’ request to extradite the teen so they can try him in Israel. His lawyer has claimed that the teen is on the autism spectrum and has a brain tumor that has caused him to act erratically. His parents have apologized for his behavior and have requested

Current The Week Events In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Remarks by President Trump at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum National Days of Remembrance

Friends, members of Congress, ambassadors, veterans, and, most especially, to the survivors here with us today, it’s an honor to join you on this very, very solemn occasion. I am deeply moved to stand before those who survived history’s darkest hour. Your cherished presence transforms this place into a sacred gathering. Thank you, Tom Bernstein, Alan Holt, Sara Bloomfield, and everyone at the Holocaust Memorial Council and Museum for your vital work and tireless contributions. We are privileged to be joined by Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, friend of mine -- he’s done a great job and said some wonderful words -- Ron Dermer. The State of Israel is an eternal monument to the undying strength of the Jewish people. The fervent dream that burned in the hearts of the oppressed is now filled with the breath of life, and the Star of David waves atop a great nation arisen from the desert. To those in the audience who have served America in uniform, our country eternally thanks you. We are proud and grateful to be joined today by veterans of the Second World War who liberated survivors from the camps. Your sacrifice helped save freedom for the world -- for the entire world. (Applause.) Sadly, this year marks the first Day of Remembrance since the passing of Elie Wiesel, a great person, a great man. His absence leaves an empty space in our hearts, but his spirit fills this room. It is the kind of gentle spirit of an angel who lived through hell, and whose courage still lights the path from darkness. Though Elie’s story is well known by so many people, it’s always worth repeating. He suffered the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust. His mother and sister perished in Auschwitz. He watched his father slowly dying before his own young eyes in Buchenwald. He lived through an endless nightmare of murder and death, and he inscribed on our collective conscience the duty we have to remember that long, dark night so as never to again repeat it. The survivors in this hall, through their testimony, fulfill the righteous duty to never forget, and engrave into the world’s memory the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people. You witnessed evil, and what you saw is beyond description, beyond any description. Many of you lost your entire family, everything and everyone you loved, gone. You saw mothers and chil-

dren led to mass slaughter. You saw the starvation and the torture. You saw the organized attempt at the extermination of an entire people -- and great people, I must add. You survived the ghettos, the concentration camps and the death camps. And you persevered to tell your stories. You tell of these living nightmares because, despite your great pain, you believe in Elie’s famous plea, that “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” That is why we are here today -- to remember and to bear witness. To make sure that humanity never, ever forgets. The Nazis massacred 6 million Jews. Two out of every three Jews in Europe were murdered in the genocide. Millions more innocent people were imprisoned and executed by the Nazis without mercy, without even a sign of mercy. Yet, even today, there are those who want to forget the past. Worse still, there are even those filled with such hate, total hate, that they want to erase the Holocaust from history. Those who deny the Holocaust are an accomplice to this horrible evil. And we’ll never be silent -- we just won’t -- we will never, ever be silent in the face of evil again. (Applause.) Denying the Holocaust is only one of many forms of dangerous anti-Semitism that continues all around the world. We’ve seen anti-Semitism on university campuses, in the public square, and in threats against Jewish citizens. Even worse, it’s been on display in the most sinister manner when terrorists attack Jewish communities, or when aggressors threaten Israel with total and complete destruction. This is my pledge to you: We will confront anti-Semitism (Applause.) We will stamp out prejudice. We will condemn hatred. We will bear witness. And we will

act. As President of the United States, I will always stand with the Jewish people -- and I will always stand with our great friend and partner, the State of Israel. So today, we remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children whose lives and dreams were stolen from this Earth. We remember the millions of other innocent victims the Nazis so brutally targeted and so brutally killed. We remember the survivors who bore more than we can imagine. We remember the hatred and evil that sought to extinguish human life, dignity, and freedom. But we also remember the light that shone through the darkness. We remember sisters and brothers who gave everything to those they loved -- survivors like Steven Springfield, who, in the long death march, carried his brother on his back. As he said, “I just couldn’t give in.” We remember the brave souls who banded together to save the lives of their neighbors -- even at the risk of their own life. And we remember those first hopeful moments of liberation, when at long last the American soldiers arrived in camps and cities throughout occupied Europe, waving the same beautiful flags before us today, speaking those three glorious words: “You are free.” It is this love of freedom, this embrace of human dignity, this call to courage in the face of evil that the survivors here today have helped to write onto our hearts. The Jewish people have endured oppression, persecution, and those who have sought and planned their destruction. Yet, through the suffering, they have persevered. They have thrived. And they have enlightened the world. We stand in awe of the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people. I want to close with a story enshrined in the Museum that captures the moment of liberation in the final days of the war. It is the story of Gerda Klein, a young Jewish woman from Poland. Some of you know her. Gerda’s family was murdered by the Nazis. She spent three years imprisoned in labor camps, and the last four months of the war on a terrible death march. She assumed it was over. At the end, on the eve of her 21st birthday, her hair had lost all of its color, and she weighed a mere 68 pounds. Yet she had the will to live another day. It was tough. Gerda later recalled the moment she realized that her long-awaited deliverance

had arrived. She saw a car coming towards her. Many cars had driven up before, but this one was different. On its hood, in place of that wretched swastika, was a bright, beautiful, gleaming white star. Two American soldiers got out. One walked up to her. The first thing Gerda said was what she had been trained to say: “We are Jewish, you know.” “We are Jewish.” And then he said, “So am I.” It was a beautiful moment after so much darkness, after so much evil. As Gerda took this solider to see the other prisoners, the American did something she had long forgotten to even expect -- he opened the door for her. In Gerda’s words, “that was the moment of restoration of humanity, of humanness, of dignity, and of freedom.” But the story does not end there. Because, as some of you know, that young American soldier who liberated her and who showed her such decency would soon become her husband. A year later, they were married. In her words, “He opened not only the door for me, but the door to my life and to my future.” Gerda has since spent her life telling the world of what she witnessed. She, like those survivors who are among us today, has dedicated her life to shining a light of hope through the dark of night. Your courage strengthens us. Your voices inspire us. And your stories remind us that we must never, ever shrink away from telling the truth about evil in our time. Evil is always seeking to wage war against the innocent and to destroy all that is good and beautiful about our common humanity. But evil can only thrive in darkness. And what you have brought us today is so much more powerful than evil. You have brought us hope -- hope that love will conquer hatred, that right will defeat wrong, and that peace will rise from the ashes of war. Each survivor here today is a beacon of light, and it only takes one light to illuminate even the darkest space. Just like it takes only one truth to crush a thousand lies and one hero to change the course of history. We know that in the end, good will triumph over evil, and that as long as we refuse to close our eyes or to silence our voices, we know that justice will ultimately prevail. So today we mourn. We remember. We pray. And we pledge: Never again. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

The Parenting Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Proactive Parenting: My Child’s a Thief Sara Teichman, Psy D

Dear Dr. T., I would never believe that this could happen to me. My 10-year-old daughter has been caught stealing money at school. Some background: We are a typical, large family in the community. We are very careful in matters of character, and I would never expect such outrageous behavior. In fact, we have never had any problems with this child before. She is our middle child, quiet and well-mannered. Though she obviously understands that stealing is wrong, when we tried to talk to her about it, she looked down, hung her head, and refused to say a word. What punishment do you suggest to make sure that this never happens again? Rebecca Dear Rebecca, Though your question seems to focus on the punishment issue, I would like to address the more important question: Why would your daughter steal? And, how do you get her to stop? As always, before we can address a problem, we need to understand it. Why do children steal? Very young children – until the age of six or so – do not steal; rather, they have a poor concept of ownership and sharing and so they simply take things. By elementary school age, though, children do understand rules, regulations, and the laws of possession. Sometimes, however, the child has

difficulty with self-control, and though he knows stealing is wrong, he may impulsively act on his urges. I would imagine that none of the above apply to your daughter, because her behavior has been exemplary until now. Probably the most common reason children steal is deprivation: They feel an emotional void in their lives. A child who does not have his emotional needs met (love, attention, respect, listening, validation) feels empty inside. He may take money or things in an attempt to fill himself up. He may even feel that stealing is only fair or makes things even; i.e., “I don’t get what I need, so I will just take what

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I can.” Or, “Nobody cares about me, so I don’t care about them.” This is usually an unconscious thought process, one that you could not get your child to articulate, even were she open to talking. Many children do not get the attention that they need, and thus feel a lack of love and disinterest on the part of their parents. In your case, you may feel that your daughter does get enough attention, but how your child perceives your attention is more important than the attention she actually receives. So, is it possible that this daughter just fell through the cracks? The child who is “quiet and well-mannered” is easy to overlook, and you may have had little indication that your daughter was hurting. Though your daughter did not communicate any distress to you, perhaps her stealing is a way to gratify her needs and express discontent. It is also conceivable that the stealing is quite practical on your daughter’s part. Perhaps she has asked for money for some particular item, and you have refused her. Though your motivation may be instructive – i.e. “It’s okay to say, ‘No,’ sometimes,” or “She doesn’t need it.” – she may feel that she just must have the item. Or, maybe there is some nosh habit that you just will not entertain, despite her begging. This stealing represents another type of deprivation – for tangible objects. It is a real art to figure out the line between need and indulgence. My point here is that it is critical to understand your daughter’s motivation so that you can best deal with the issue. You want to take different approaches with the child who lacks control and the child who feels unloved. Here are some specific suggestions for a child who steals. Stay calm. Don’t overreact. Stealing does not mean that you have failed as a parent or that your child is going to jail. It is an opportunity both to teach your child and to address her underlying needs. Do not ask for explanations; just state that stealing is wrong. Had your daughter been able to express her feelings, she would have done so, and perhaps would not have had the need to steal. Further discussion often becomes browbeating (“Why? Tell me why!”). Your daughter does not feel good about this, as evidenced by her reaction. Do not state or imply that your daughter is bad, a thief, a disappointment, etc. The behavior is wrong, but not your child. The last thing you want or need is a self-fulfilling prophesy. (Think she’s a thief, she becomes a thief.) Guide your child to making amends.

Your forgiveness and her promise to repent are just not enough here. Your daughter needs to “fix it.” Once the incident is resolved, let it go. Do not bring it up to your child again. Consider the reasons your daughter stole and work towards addressing the issues and needs. Avoid punishment, which only breeds resentment and the determination to never be caught again. Your daughter will learn far more from the logical consequence of having to make amends. Model honesty in your words and deeds. Chinuch is not for the short-term, but for the long run. The best way to raise an honest child is for you to be an honest person. And that includes the most minor of behaviors – like benefitting from the undercharging of a non-Jew, avoiding taxes, etc. Your child cannot differentiate between major (jail, chillul Hashem offenses) and “minor” misdeeds. In addition, do not whitewash or excuse dishonest behavior in others by claiming, “They are good people,” or “We don’t know the whole situation.” The contemporary world has so much dishonesty that is glossed over and accepted that children today may see stealing as minor and not as one of the aseres hadibros. A final thought – behaviorists have a maxim: “All behavior is communication.” By working at understanding what your daughter’s behavior is telling you, you have a wonderful opportunity to learn more about your child and teach her right from wrong. If, however, despite your best effort, this behavior persists, you may want to consider consulting a professional who specializes in children and their issues. The Book Nook: In Living and Parenting, Rabbi Yakov Horowitz writes with uncompromising clarity and directness about the challenges and rewards of contemporary parenting. A veteran mechanech, Rabbi Horowitz provides reasoned and reasonable advice to issues from adapting traditional methods to today’s challenges to solutions for at-risk teens. Sara Teichman, Psy D. is a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles and Clinical Director of ETTA, L.A.’s largest Jewish agency for adults with special needs. To submit a question or comment, email DrT@jewishhomela.com. Sara Teichman, Psy D. is a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles and Clinical Director of ETTA, L.A.’s largest Jewish agency for adults with special needs. To submit a question or comment, email DrT@jewishhomela.com.

The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Dirshu The Week In News

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Dirshu Embarks on Third Machzor of In-Depth Kinyan Halacha Program: Role of HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Wosner, zt”l, in Establishing Program Highlighted Chaim Gold

There is a thirst for yedias halachah, for knowledge of in-depth halachah in Klal Yisrael that defies the imagination. Thousands of yungeleit, numerous entire kollelim have undertaken to join Dirshu’s Kinyan Halacha halachah program. Kinyan Halacha is Dirshu’s in-depth halachah program that serves as a foundational learning syllabus that ultimately produces legions of poskim muvhakim. The third machzor began this week. This past 29 Nissan/April 25, Dirshu’s Kinyan Halacha program held its final test completing the second machzor of its five and a half year Kinyan Halacha program. Nearly 1000 talmidei chachamim who have been toiling over the most intricate sugyos in horaah over the past five and a half years and taking comprehensive tests as well as chazarah tests every half year have now completed the program and have amassed the tremendous amount of knowledge that will enable them to serve Klal Yisrael as poskim muvhakim for decades to come. In addition, for those who have finished the five and a half year program that covers all of the major areas of horaah, Dirshu also has an advanced second track, fiveand-a-half-year program of Kinyan Halacha where additional important sugyos in halachah from Yoreh Deah, Even Ha’Ezer, and Choshen Mishpat will be learned with the trademark attention to detail, constant chazarah, and testing. Thus, there are lomdei Kinyan Halacha that began with the first machzor in 2006 have now completed 11 years of sustained halachah b’iyun! Transformative Learning of Halachah HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shaul Klein, shlita, a talmid muvhak of HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Wosner, zt”l, Rav of the Ohr Hachaim neighborhood of Bnei Brak and posek of the Mayaanei Hayeshua Hospital, related that in the eleven years since its inception, the Kinyan Halacha program has wrought a transformation in the way halachah is learned in kollelim the world over. “Certainly, before Kinyan Halacha there were many kollelim learning halachah and horaah, but it was often not done in an orderly, comprehensive fashion. It was possible for a yungerman to learn with great diligence in a halachah kollel for ten years and still not possess the clarity in the corpus of halachah needed to become a morah horaah. Yes, he learned everything necessary with hasmada and iyun, but not in the proper order, not with

constant chazarah on what he had already learned, nor with constant tests. Thus, even though he had learned everything he did not retain it in a way that he could use it to pasken. “What Kinyan Halacha has done,” continued Rav Klein, “is that it has infused the learning of halachah with clarity and seder. Each area of halachah is learned comprehensively, it is reviewed and there are tests every half year. On every test, in addition to questions on the new material, there are questions on the material previously learned and tested as well. Budding poskim who participate in the program become cognizant of the tremendous responsibility not just to learn with diligence but to constantly review. It is clear that in the zechus of Dirshu’s Kinyan Halacha program there are hundreds of talmidei chachamim who have become truly proficient in the halachos that they have learned.” Leading Poskei Hador Instrumental in Guiding the Program Before the program’s inception in 2006, when HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, was presented with the details of the Kinyan Halacha program by Dirshu’s hanhalah led by its Nasi, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, he was extremely impressed saying, “…Learn [halachah] with Tur and Shulchan Aruch, for these are the essentials of [gufei] Torah.” He went on to recommend that an optimum way to learn halachah is by learning the Tur with the Bais Yosef’s commentary prior to learning Shulchan Aruch. In this way, one can discern how the halachah evolved into the final psak halachah of the Shulchan Aruch. Learning in-depth and following the tra-

jectory of the halachah from the Gemarah through the rishonim, the Tur with Bais Yosef and onto the Shulchan Aruch with its commentaries provides a person with the Gufei Torah, the essentials of Torah. This was the message that Rav Elyashiv imparted. At that time, Hagaon Harav Shmuel Wosner, zt”l, and ybl”ch, Hagaon Harav Nissim Karelitz, shlita, also enthusiastically hailed the program. Rav Shmuel Wosner played an instrumental role in guiding the program from its inception, even giving the pesicha shiur together with Rav Nissim Karleitz in the month of Nissan, 2006, at the Heichalei Malchus Hall in Bnei Brak. Rav Wosner Remembered by his Son and Illustrious Talmidim At a recent gathering marking Rav Wosner’s second yahrzeit held at the home of Rav Shmuel Wosner and attended by his son and successor, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Wosner, shlita, Rav of Zichron Meir and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin, together with a number of his most prominent talmidim including HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shaul Klein, shlita, Rav of the Ohr Hachaim neighborhood of Bnei Brak and posek of the Mayaanei Hayeshua Hospital, HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Meir Stern, shlita, the Av Beis Din in Rav Wosner’s Beis Din and a Dayan in Vizhnitz, and HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, shlita, Rav of Western Bnei Brak. These giants of Torah and horaah reminisced about Rav Wosner’s role in setting forth the hashkafah upon which the program was based. In addition, Rav Shmuel Wosner’s impact in transforming the world of psak

was highlighted. Rav Wosner’s son, Rav Chaim, was asked how his illustrious father was able to have such a profound impact on the world of psak. Rav Chaim answered, “The fundamental principle that my father established and that his great talmidim sitting here have continued is that there is no motive other than actually trying to pasken the halachah. He never received any reward for his piskei halachah. He never took any money or had any ulterior motive other than, ‘What is Hashem’s desire? How do we rule on this through the prism of Hashem’s Torah?’” The Power of A Rebbi’s Smile and Love Rav Shmuel Eliezer Stern was asked about the deep bond that Rav Wosner had with his talmidim and the secret of his ability to connect with his talmidim and groom so many poskim. Rav Shmuel Eliezer replied, “The Gemara says, ‘If one sees a student who is having difficulty understanding or explaining what he has learned, the reason for this is that his Rebbi is not smiling at him and encouraging him.’ Our Rebbe, Rav Wosner, infused us with such love, with such encouragement! He cared about us and worried about us, akin to the way a mother treats her child. The love that he infused in his talmidim created an unbreakable bond between us and him.” 3700 Applicants for New Machzor of Kinyan Halacha! As the lomdim in the second machzor took their last test this past 29 Nissan/ April 25 Dirshu’s hanhalah has been overwhelmed by requests to join the third machzor of Kinyan Halacha which begins this week, Rosh Chodesh Iyar. According to senior Dirshu hanhalah member, Rabbi Avigdor Bernstein, over 3700 people have signed up for the third machzor! As Dirshu embarks on the third machzor of Kinyan Halacha and scores of elite talmidei chachomim join the comprehensive halacha b’iyun program, Rav Wosner’s great talmidim expressed their deep satisfaction that their rebbe’s effort into helping launch the program and the trust that he placed in Dirshu to properly execute his wishes, has resulted in a tremendous revolution in the world of limud halachah and will ensure that Klal Yisrael will have the halachic guidance that it needs.

APRIL 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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