ISSUE#37 – 5/29/2024

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LETTER EDITOR from the

Irecently heard a shiur, in Hebrew, where the speaker (Rabbi Shneur Ashkenazi), mentioned a line, which, aside from the message of the shiur itself, resonated with me:

“I don’t think anyone will forget where they were on the night of vov Nissan [the night that Iran sent their missiles].”

I think that what we can now add is that no one will forget where they were at the time that they heard about the Iranian president’s, very literal, downfall.

I was at home when I heard the news. Yeah. Not the most remarkable of places.

But the news itself was remarkable. That’s why I won’t forget where I was when I heard it.

Oh, how remarkable the news was.

Nothing spelled “justice” and “middah kineged middah” as clearly as that helicopter crash.

“You’d have to be blind not to see the connection between the crime and the retribution,” I murmured as soon as I heard the news.

But I still wasn’t sure that the connection was obvious to everyone. Until later that day, when I heard the kids in my building speaking together.

“We said Tehillim, and the Iranian president died.” They chattered.

There’s been a Tehillim group, for children, in my building for the past seven months — since the war began. On some days (raffle days) there are more kids, on other days there are less. The kids were ascribing the president’s downfall to their Tehillim. The connection was that obvious that even the kids saw it.

The happenings of yud alef Iyar (that’s the day of the crash, note the closeness in date that the missiles were sent) went a long way toward boosting morale.

On many levels

The war in Eretz Yisrael has been raging for seven months.

Seven months is a long time...

Shock, sadness, trauma…The full gamut of emotions has been met, and they’ve all had time to fester.

At the beginning of the war, I saw a list of the various ideologies, and nationalities, by who tried to get rid of us, Jews — and of their bitter fate.

The Egyptians…disintegrated.

The Greeks…disintegrated.

The Romans…disintegrated.

The Nazis…disintegrated.

Hamas…in the process.

The list rang true, and it gave me strength, but over the course of the many months that this war has been raging, it’s been hard to keep the bigger picture — our nation’s eternality — in mind, and to act upon that feeling.

Last week’s helicopter crash was a wakeup call.

Every Tefillah, and every mitzvah, has a purpose. Not a single tefillah, mitzvah that we do, is unaccounted for.

Hashem is our Commander in Chief, and He is leading this war in the best manner possible.

Soon, very soon we will see victory.

We will see “in the process” turn into “disintegrated”—and blossom into something even better. Because, just as the cause and effect of the helicopter crash was/is evident to all, so too is the trajectory and outcome of this war. “One nation shall not lift the sword against another nation,” (Yeshayhu 2, 4).

Very soon, we will see the fulfillment of this prophecy.

The Lakewood Vibes Editorial Team

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Elisha ben Abuyah Acher

Elisha ben Abuyah lived during and after the second churban, and was one of the foremost tannaim of his time. Eventually, he went off the derech, becoming known as Acher — the “Other One” — and he allied himself with the Romans against frum Jews. It is possible that he was even guilty of murder.

What made one of the generation’s biggest talmidei chachamim go off the derech?

The Gemara gives us some indication. First of all, Elisha observed a child die while fulfilling two mitzvos for which the Torah promises a “long life” — honoring one’s parents, and sending away a mother bird — whereas a man who broke those same laws was not harmed at all.

Additionally, Elisha saw the detached tongue of Rabbi Chutzpit the Interpreter [who appeared in issue 35 in the story of Rabban Gamliel being deposed in favor of Elazar ben Azaria] being dragged through the streets after he was murdered as one of the asarah harugei malchus.

Elisha exclaimed in shock, “Should a mouth which produced such pearls of torah, now lick the dust?”

Elisha was bothered by the age-old question of how bad things could happen to good people.

But there’s more.

The Gemara relates that four went up to the orchard (pardes) — i.e. they went up to Shamayim (either literally or in a vision): Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Ben Azzai glimpsed the Shechinah and died. Ben Zoma glimpsed the Shechinah and went crazy. Acher became an apikores. Rabbi Akiva came out safely.

When Acher was in Shamayim, he saw the angel Metatron sitting and writing Klal Yisrael’s zechuyos.

Acher said, “There’s a mesorah that in Shamayim no one can sit besides Hashem. Perhaps there are two authorities, Hashem and Metatron, and Hashem is not the only One who runs the world.”

Acher decided that while Hashem does exist, He’s not the only one in charge. (Little did Acher know, or care, that as the “court scribe,” Metatron had special permission to sit.)

After this, a bas kol came out and said, “Shuvu banim shovavim (return my mischievous children) — except for Acher!”

When he heard this, Elisha said, “If I’m not going to have Olam Habah, I may as well enjoy Olam Hazeh!” and he immediately set out to enjoy forbidden pleasures.

They asked him, “Aren’t you the Tanna Elisha ben Abuyah? What in the world are you doing?”

In response, Reb Eliasha picked a radish on Shabbos (an issur d’oraysa) to show them that he was no longer frum.

Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes [featured in issue 36] was Acher’s talmid. Rabbi Meir continued to learn Torah from Acher and tried to encourage him to do teshuvah. Each time he did so, Acher replied, “What’s the point? I already heard a bas kol say that I can’t do teshuvah.”

What did the bas kol mean? Was it really true that Acher couldn’t do teshuvah?

• Rabbeinu Chananel says that the bas kol said what Hashem knew to be true — that Acher wouldn’t do teshuvah. It didn’t mean

that he couldn’t do teshuvah. If he had done teshuvah, he would have been accepted.

• The Shelah writes that Acher should not have given up on returning. Even after hearing a bas kol, he should have stubbornly persevered in his teshuvah, and it would have been accepted.

• Rav Yitzchak Blaser explains that normally Hashem helps those who try to return. Acher could have done teshuvah, but he would not have received divine assistance.

Bottom line: Acher could have done teshuvah, and he should have tried.

When Acher died, the Beis Din shel Malah left him in limbo. He could not be admitted to Olam Habah, but his limud Torah protected him from receiving punishment.

Rabbi Meir said, “It’s better that Acher be judged and go to Gehinnom. When I die, I will cause smoke to rise from his grave as a sign that he’s in Gehinnom.”

And so it was.

Rabbi Yocḥanan said, “Was burning his teacher the best that Rabbi Meir could do? Can’t we save our former colleague? If we hold him by the hand, who will remove him from our protection? When I die, I will have the smoke extinguished from his grave, as a sign that he has been released from Gehinnom and was brought to Olam Habah.”

And so it was.

. ***

(Adapted from Chagigah 15a-b, Sefaria; R. Gil Student, “Could Acher Return,” TorahMusings. com)

Shira Yael Klein

Vibes of Greatness

Reb Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl

The Chernobler Maggid (c. 1770–1837)

The Chernobler Maggid was accustomed to collecting money for hidden tzaddikim. One time he traveled to a certain city where one of his relatives lived and he begged the Chernobler to allow him to join him on his next fundraising trip.

At first, the Maggid did not want to agree. But, after much pleading, he gave in.

“You can come with me,” the Chernobler said. “On condition that you ask no questions about anything you see during the entire trip.”

The relative gave his word, and they set out together.

They reached a certain town, and the Chernobler went to visit a particular a family. Every corner of the house screamed poverty and lack.

The husband was not present, but the wife begged the Chernobler to please give her something. “

“I’ll give you a berachah,” the Chernobler replied, “but you’ll have to give me 200 rubles.”

200 rubles was a lot of money, and the woman had nothing. Still, she went and sold whatever was left in her house. With great difficulty, she managed to scrape together 200 rubles and gave them to the Chernobler Maggid.

The relative saw this, and he was incredulous. How could the Maggid request such a large sum of money from a woman who had nothing?

But because he had promised not to ask any questions, he remained silent and did not express his shock.

A year later, the relative wanted to know what had happened to that poor family whom the Maggid had taken everything from. How had the berachah come about?

He traveled to the village and upon his arrival he saw that the family’s home had totally changed. Instead of the old and dilapidated hovel stood a nice, new house. The family had become incredibly wealthy, and they were tremendously hospitable.

He went inside and asked to speak to the couple.

“What happened here?” he asked. “How did you become so wealthy?”

The wife answered, “After the rebbe left, someone came here with a sack of gold coins. He left the sack and didn’t return, and we ended up with the money.”

The relative saw that rebbe’s berachah had indeed borne fruit. He figured that now — after he had already seen the berachah manifest — he could ask the Maggid to explain.

He traveled to Chernobyl and went to the Maggid. “I saw that the rebbe’s berachah came true,” he said. “But please, can you explain why you took the lady’s money and left her house totally bare. Couldn’t you have given her a berachah without taking everything from her?”

“I’ll explain,” responded the Chernobler. “You should know that min hashamayim that man was supposed to be wealthy. But he never asked Hashem for money, because he was always same’ach bechelko. As long as he had what to eat he didn’t ask Hashem for more.

“I wanted to cause him to daven and that’s why I took everything. When the husband returned home and saw that his house was empty, he finally davened and said, “Ribbono Shel Olam, please help us and send us something to eat.’ It was after his tefillah that he received the shefa of wealth that had already been decreed for him min hashamayim.”

Sometimes we’re so busy having emunah and accepting our lot in life that we forget to daven for things to change. It could be that Hashem is just waiting for us to ask!

Accepting our situation as min hashamayim is a great thing to do — provided that we’re also davening and doing the relevant hishtadlus to try to make things better.

The Chernobler Maggid’s yahrzeit is Chof Iyar.

(Adapted from Nifla’os HaTzaddikim by Reb Yaron Amit)

Shira Yael Klein

Spiritual Rocket Fuel

Without question, the most frightening part of the entire Torah is the curses contained in this parshah, those horrible events that Hashem tells us will ensue if we abandon our faith in Him and adherence to His mitzvos.Those scary heavenly declarations of the misery that will rain down upon us. How our bodies will languish. How our enemies will dominate us. How wild beasts will bereave us of our children, roads and cities. How we will be met with sword, pestilence and sickness. How we will encounter forms of death unfathomably gruesome and ghastly. How we will eat the very flesh of our sons and daughters out of hunger. How we will be scattered amongst the nations of the world and our land will become desolate, our cities in ruin. How we will be rendered into a bunch of carcasses and heaped together into a pile to rot. Kind of scary.

But what’s strange is that just as the parshah is ending, it throws in something that seems to be completely unrelated to this very daunting and prophetic Divine warning. Immediately after the tochachah, the Torah discusses the laws of erechin – the right each Jew has to donate his monetary value to the Bais Hamikdash.

Why does the Torah place it specifically there? Doesn’t it take away from the import of this topic? Why would the Torah follow its thunderous and ominous admonition of serious catastrophes with something so technical and seemingly unrelated?

Perhaps the following idea can give us a clue. The Secret to Our Endurance

Out of all the many character traits that the Jewish people exhibit, the one that is perhaps most impressive is our endurance. To be history’s punching bag and live to tell the tale. To have suffered at the hands of virtually every one of history’s villains, and still survive it all.

But more than merely surviving in the face of adversity, what sets us apart is our unique ability to actually use the pain and anguish as a springboard to catapult us forward. We don’t merely stand up and limp to safety; we spring up with vigor, we jump up with tenacity, we regain our spirits and rebuild ourselves even better than before. Each tragedy is transformed into new creativity. We are pummeled and terrorized, and yet we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and find a reservoir of strength to not only move on, but to do so with robustness. To thrive and grow and soar, using the animosity around us as fuel to power the spiritual rocket ship within us.

There are many examples in our history of how, following a tragedy, we rebuilt even stronger than before. Following King Shlomo’s death and

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Hillel Eisenberg

the division of the kingdom came the towering prophets Amos and Hoshea, Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu. After the tragic destruction of the first Bais Hamikdash came the great renewal of Torah, beginning with Yechezkel and culminating with Ezra and Nechemia. From the destruction of the second Bais Hamikdash came the explosion of Torah in the form of the Mishnah, Midrash and Gemara. From the Crusades came the Chassidei Ashkenaz. Following the horrific Spanish expulsion came the immense mystical circle of Tzfas led by the Arizal, leaving ripple effects that reverberated throughout the entire Torah world. From the unspeakable Eastern European persecution came the Chassidic movement, injecting Judaism with a seemingly endless flow of passion, story and song. From the Holocaust, the most horrid loss of Jewish life in our nation’s history, came the miraculous resurrection of Torah Judaism in America and in Israel. There is such a proliferation of institutions supporting our lifestyle, that in Yerushalayim, virtually every fifteen feet is another shul, Bais Medrash and seminary.

Where did that inner reservoir of fortitude and strength come from? With what energy did our parents and grandparents, after persecution of the worst degree, rise from the ashes and rebuild our communities, bigger and better than before, brick by painstaking brick?

The end of this parshah, says Reb Mordechai Kamenetsky, holds the answer. Immediately following the list of horrors that will barrage the Jewish people upon straying from the Jewish faith, the Torah speaks of the ability of each and every person to donate his monetary worth to the Bais Hamikdash. The placement isn’t random. Nothing in the Torah is. The juxtaposition in the Torah is telling us that the immense inner value of each and every Jew is unbreakable, and no matter how grim and gory the backdrop is, one’s neshama is intrinsically holy, and no amount of persecution will ever convince us otherwise.

The Torah’s specific placement of the mitzvah of erechin, which highlights the ability for each Jew to donate his worth to the Bais Hamikdash, is telling us that even as we get kicked and burned, stabbed and expelled, we must remember our ever-present, untouchable, glistening inner worth. We are to remember that it is not those barbaric hooligans who determine our value, it is God who determines it, and in His eyes we are all intrinsically holy. No matter how many layers of human corpses we may lay under, we must climb out and allow our holiness to shine. We are the torch of humanity, and no amount of ferocious persecution will ever dim it.

If we lose sight of the immense spiritual value embedded deep inside of us, then our enemies

win the war. If we keep our eyes on the potential within, we are indestructible.

Moon Perspectives

Every month, Jews go outside to say kiddush levanah – the monthly sanctification of the new moon. We look at the moon and declare that the same way the moon renews itself, so must we. We take inspiration from the change of the moon to get up and change ourselves.

The question is glaring. Just about the only thing in the entire solar system that does not change is the moon. The earth has seasons. Stars come and go. The sun is forever burning itself with more and more energy. The moon just sits there. No wind. No water. No gravity. No life. Neil Armstrong’s footprints are still there, exactly where he left them. But that is precisely the point we are trying to make. Change is not about waiting for the season to pass or the climate to improve. Change is not about dreaming about different settings and scenarios more conducive to our success. Change is about changing our perspective. Change is taking the circumstances at hand and seeing them in a different light, with a different angle. Change is ridding the habit of blaming circumstances, and directing our sights on inner transformation. Hence, the moon is the perfect paradigm. It sits there, never moving a muscle. And yet it waxes and wanes every month. How is this so? Our perspective of it changes. It screams out to us that in order to grow and climb and ride the wave of life, we need to be forever enhancing ourselves. To be forever improving the quality in ourselves. To stop blaming external persons, places and things and start focusing on ourselves. To be forever grabbing hold of that self-replenishing reservoir of value deep inside of us, and unleashing it.

The Hebrew word for eye is ayin. Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch points out that ayin also means spring. For having the right outlook in life can make us release a spiritual spring of potential, and gush forth energies that are strong enough to survive any adversary. We go out once a month, whether in the cold or the rain, the snow or the sleet, and we dance by the light of the moon. For our nation has a spring of spiritual energy contained within our souls, and we, with the right perspective, can always tap into it.

The Beating in Klausenberg

Rav Kamenetsky sums up this concept with the following story:

After the Nazis invaded the small village of Klausenberg, they began to celebrate in their usual sadistic fashion. Gathering the Jews into a circle in the center of town, the Nazis paraded the Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, into

Seriously, you know there’s no such thing.

BUT IF YOU’RE DETERMINED AND SERIOUS TO GET RID OF THOSE, UH, HANDLES, SLENDR WILL WORK AS HARD AS YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU REACH YOUR GOAL.

the middle. Taunting and teasing him, pulling his beard and pushing him around, the vile soldiers trained their guns on Rabbi Halberstam as the commander began to speak.

“Tell us, Rabbi,” the officer sneered, “do you really believe that you are the Chosen People?”

The soldiers guarding the crowd howled in laughter.

In a serene voice, the Rebbe answered loudly and clearly, “Most certainly.”

The officer became enraged, lifted his rifle above his head, and viciously beat the Rebbe. Swinging the rifle like a baseball bat, he repeatedly swung at the holy Rebbe’s head. As the Rebbe fell to the ground bloodied and bruised, there was a rage in the officer’s voice. “Do you still think you are the Chosen People?” he yelled.

Once again, the Rebbe nodded his head and said, “Yes, we are.”

The officer became even more infuriated, kicked the Rebbe and repeated, “You stupid Jew, you

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Hillel Eisenberg

townspeople watching in horror. He turned back to face the officer. From the depths of his humiliation, covered in dust, the Rebbe replied, “As long as we are the ones getting kicked and not the ones doing the kicking, we can call ourselves the Chosen People.”

From the back alleyways of the destroyed city of Yerushalayim, to the ports of Spain in 1492, to the villages in Germany ransacked and torched by pogroms. From deep within forests in the middle of nowhere, to the northernmost parts of freezing Siberia. From the riots to the Crusades. From the cells to the dungeons. From the fires to the torture chambers. From the barracks to the ghettos. From the hidden caves to the concentration camps. From the bomb shelters to the prisons. No matter where we find ourselves at the beginning of every month, we Jews, in groups large and small, huddle together in the cold of the night and say kiddush levanah. We look up to the moon and proclaim, “Hashem, this month we will be better. This month we will start anew. This month, we will reenergize ourselves and bring a fresh perspective.”

road and allow our souls to flood forth, no matter the circumstances, shining ever brighter with each passing year.”

We look down from the moon with tears streaming down our cheeks. We limp into a small circle, and we dance and we sing and we cry. We remind each other that though the exile has been long, and it’s been dark and dreary, if we absorb the lesson of the moon and keep the fire in our souls growing ever stronger, we will without a doubt keep on forging on.

With tears in our eyes, we said, “Hashem, no amount of pain and bloodshed will ever place a damper on the value we place on our holy neshamos. We will keep dancing down history’s

Hillel Eisenberg, originally from Rochester NY, teaches courses on the fundamentals of Judaism at Princeton University as well as in Torah Links Yeshiva in Lakewood NJ. He is the author of the newly published book THE PARSHAH ON FIRE as well as the host of a podcast with the same name. His dynamic and passionate style of teaching the joy of Judaism has made him a sought-after teacher and lecturer throughout the United States. Feel free to reach out to Hillel by email Hilleleisenberg613@gmail.com or phone 585-4149729.

The Guy Next Door

Chapter 35

My previous image of Mr. Nakamura, the sweet little Japanese businessman, had now morphed into Mr. Jeong San-Hoon, the Anything-But-Sweet North Korean who everyone was suspicious of. And he was approaching me, waving his hands in the air to indicate that wherever I was going, I should stop dead in my tracks.

As if I would listen to someone just because they emerged from their house waving their hands at me! Even if he was thought to be a very pleasant neighbor.

The idea!

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Mr. Nakamura (I can’t get used to his other name) came up to me. He was dressed in the kind of suit I had been looking for, for Shabbos. It was exquisitely tailored and fit him perfectly. I wanted to ask him where he got it, but I presumed he’d say Japan, because he was living the Japanese lie.

His hair was beautifully cut, and I also noticed a gleaming, expensive car parked in his driveway. Japanese, of course. EV, plugged into an electric outlet in the wall of the house.

Everything about him spoke Japanese, stylish and expensive. Even if it was a lie and overdone, it was… well… it was overdone well. If you get my meaning. I wondered what his salary was. I wanted it.

Well, I’d wanted it in the past, and I still wanted it now.

“Good morning, Mr. Feld,” he said, in perfectly enunciated English, smiling benevolently. “May I please talk to you?” I didn’t believe the benevolence for one second. I was

rooted to my spot, the spot I’d been rooted to ever since he’d waved at me from his house. The spot was right next to a street tree and any minute I was going to sprout my first set of twigs.

I put on a smile. “Good morning Mr. …. er…”

“I am Mr. Nakamura.” He offered a smile and a little bow.

Oh, that name.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Nakamura?” I asked with genial British politeness.

“Actually,” he said, “I want to do something for you.”

“You do?”

“You British people have been so kind to me since I’ve come,” he said, smiling. “I have been made to feel so welcome in this street.”

We had? I thought we’d done little else than ignore him, and now we were considering arresting him for a nefarious international crime. But if he thought we’d been so kind to him… well, who was I to argue? Especially rooted as I was; I could nearly feel the first little stalks beginning to grow on my feet. They tickled.

“Glad you found us so kind,” was all I could think to say. It’s hard work being a tree. I wondered if I would start getting rings.

“So,” Mr. Nakamura said, with another little smile. “I would like to give a generous donation to one of your favorite charities. To say thank you. If that is acceptable to you, that is. “

I was finding him increasingly likeable. And it was becoming harder to believe that he wasn’t genuine.

Recap: Rikki tells Nachman that she wants to stay home instead of returning to Gateshead and Nachman gives his blessing to the idea. Upon leaving his house to work, Nachman is confronted by Mr. Nakamura.

Ruthie Pearlman

“You give me the name of a charity. Or two,” he said. His smile grew slightly. “I will arrange to give a lot of money. In cash.”

My mind was blank. I dredged it and found two names. Our shul and our local school. Both were on their uppers and an injection of cash would be much appreciated. I wrote the details down on a piece of paper I had in my jacket pocket and handed it to him. He pocketed it.

Maybe I was good at this after all. I was getting our local charities large injections of cash. I could see my name in lights already. Nachman Feld, the largest donor in the history of our institution. The fact that I had, in fact, not given a penny myself, didn’t trouble me. At all.

“I will see to this immediately,” he said, turning around and walking back up his immaculate front path. He opened his gleaming front door and closed it behind him.

The exchange was over. Despite the amicable nature of our conversation, I was highly troubled. Something wasn’t adding up and I didn’t seem to have the street smarts to know what it was. I stood there a while longer, thinking, and coming up with nothing.

There was no way I was going into the office now; not the way I felt. I managed to dislodge enough rooting compost from my feet to allow me to turn around and walk down the street to my house.

Debbie came forward smiling, wiping her hands on her apron. “You’re back already?” she asked.

Rikki, more astute, had a worried look on her face. “What happened, Dad?” she asked.

I couldn’t answer her. I was too freaked out. I just yelled up the stairs for Avi, who was doing something important to save the world in his bedroom.

No. I didn’t yell. I roared. Like a lion. “AVI!!!!!!!!”.

To his credit, Avi did a good imitation of a herd of wild beasts thundering down the stairs. I thought he would trip and go flying, but he was far more agile than I thought he would be, and despite landing at my feet slightly breathless, he made it down safely.

“Yes, Dad?” he asked. Seeing my appearance, his sister’s worried expression duplicated itself on his face. I must have looked like a real mess to generate that air of intense anxiety.

Wordlessly, Avi led me into the living room and sat me down, sitting beside me, while my wife and daughter sat opposite me.

“What’s up? You look like you’ve had an encounter with a man-eating monster,” Avi said.

“A man-eating monster would be highly welcome at the moment,” I said. “I’d even make him a cup of tea.”

Now even Debbie looked worried. They all sat there looking at me.

“Mr. Nakamura/Jeong San-Hoon came out of his house and waved at me,” I said. They all looked suitably impressed.

“Not waved, waved, you understand,” I said. “He waved at me as in: “Stop! I want to talk to you!”

Now they were looking more alarmed than impressed.

“I presume you ignored him and walked on?” Debbie said.

Both Avi and Rikki shot her a look and said, “Muuuum,” as respectfully as they could without saying something implicit that was rude.

I managed a slight eye roll.

“Dad’s traumatized, can’t you see?” Rikki said to her mother, touching her shoulder to soften the words.

“I was rooted to the spot,” I added to the drama. I looked down at my feet. The shoots had disappeared.

“So, what did he want?”

“He wanted to thank us for being such nice neighbors by giving a large cash donation to a cause of our choice.”

“He did what?” Avi shouted. “In cash? I hope you said no.”

“Well…I…”

“Dad, you didn’t.” This came from Rikki. I hung my head.

“It’s okay, Nachman,” Debbie said soothingly. “You were in shock. You didn’t know what to think or do. It’s understandable.”

I looked at her, practically oozing with gratitude. “I’m still in shock. The whole experience was very upsetting. I’m not used to being accosted by North Korean gentlemen. And you should see his car. ”

“I know,” Avi said gently. “But you might need to come to terms with the fact that you might need to get used to it. This is only the beginning, and if this guy has latched onto you, we might have to exploit the friendship. You may need to pretend you’re his new BFF or something.”

“No, please no,” I heard myself say. And then, in a similar voice that had to be my own, I heard myself say: “Grow a backbone, Nachman Feld. Avi is saving the world; you can do your little bit to help.”

“I’ll try and be Jeon San-Hoon’s new best buddy,” I said, in as positive a voice as I could muster. Which wasn’t much. “You want us to invite him for Shabbos?”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, Nachman,” Debbie said.

“This meeting between you and whatshisname, is something I have to report back to Xavier Roberts,” Avi said firmly. “He’ll know what to do. We’ll probably have to use Dad. Jeong San-Hoon has decided he’s his new best buddy, but seeing as he has a delicate constitution, we’ll have to pick and choose what missions to send him on.”

“Nothing that involves jumping out of a helicopter,” I said. I was recovering my equilibrium and starting to put my foot down. I was quite proud of myself.

“I officially finalized my cyber security course,” Rikki said. “But one thing that’s hitting me even before I start, is this: Cash isn’t traceable unless it’s marked, and he wants to give you a bucketload of cash. It has to be moneylaundering, Dad. We’d better stop it happening.”

I wasn’t sure we could.

To be continued…

CHAPTER 4

Devorah Talia Gordon

The next day, Miri and I had our first baking session for Zesty Delights Emporium, the official name of our ‘store’ (Zesty being our inside joke, hinting to Zaidy). The grand opening was scheduled for Sunday, at the corner of Bell Street and Sheffield. The corner was two blocks from Miri’s house, and a ton of frum people drove by there on Sundays, on their way to the shops and yeshivos.

“It was super weird,” I said to Miri, as I measured cups of sugar and added them to the big bowl of flour. The first recipe we were making for this week’s theme — muffins — was banana chocolate chip. Mommy had said having a new theme every week would be too much work, and we should just do the same thing each week, and we’d get good at it, but how boring was that?!

“Super weird, or super-duper weird?”

“My Zaidy stood there for a couple of minutes, this funny look on his face, and then said, ‘I don’t know what happened.’ And my mother just laughed and said, ‘it’s easy to get the 10th of Sivan mixed up with the 10th of Shevat. No matter, I’ll gladly take a gift from my Tatty, whenever it comes.’”

Miri peeled another banana and added it to her bowl. “Sometimes grandparents forget things. Like my Bubby calls

Recap: As Liora finishes giving Ari basketball lessons, Zaidy comes by. The kids are flustered when they see that he bought Mommy a birthday cake even though it’s not her birthday. Mommy tells them that Zaidy must be very stressed and that’s why he made such a mistake.

me ‘Tovi’ and then calls Tovi ‘Miri.’”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same…” I looked through the doorway to make sure no one was coming. “I decided I’m not going to worry. My mother said stress can make someone confused and do all sorts of things. Plus, Zaidy’s probably still very sad about Bubby. You know, it’s only been one year since she was nifteres.”

“Your Bubby was the best. And her cinnamon babka? Yum!” Miri’s eyes grew wide, and she licked her lips.

“Miri, you’re brilliant! One week of Zesty Delights will be ‘Babka Week,’ dedicated to Bubby West!”

I pictured the big smile on Zaidy’s face when he took a bite of Bubby’s famous babka as he drank his English tea. “Oh no!” I stopped midway, while pouring the next cup of sugar, and stared into the bowl.

“What?”

“Did I put in two or three cups of sugar?” I tucked my hair behind my ears, and we stared into the mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Since we were quadrupling the recipe, there was a lot of each one.

Miri shrugged.

“We need to start over.”

“Liora, so it’ll be a little sweet.” She took out a big spoon and started to stir the mixture.

I pulled the bowl away. “Or taste like cardboard! If our first theme flops, no one’s going to come back to the sale! We must do this right.”

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, Liora.” Miri folded her arms across her chest. “We still have to make blueberry, oatmeal, and corn muffins. Now, we’ll probably run out of flour. And my mother wanted us to be done by suppertime.”

I carried the bowl to the trash can and poured it all in. “Don’t worry. I’ll whip up the dry ingredients again in a jiff. Meanwhile, can you add the vanilla extract to the bananas?”

Miri stomped over to the pantry and took out the ingredients.

“Your turn, maidele.” Zaidy smiled at the Scrabble board and jotted down eighteen points beneath his name for another word I’d never heard of: ‘abashed’.

“It means embarrassed, or uncomfortable.” Zaidy sat back in his chair with a funny half-smile on his face. “When I got confused about your mother’s birthday, I felt abashed.” He looked down and traced the flower design on the tablecloth.

I bit my lip, then gave Zaidy West my biggest smile. “It must be hard to keep track of every little thing when you’re so busy with such big, important things, like the families in Eretz Yisroel.”

“Well, that’s true, and each family is so unique.” Zaidy looked at me closely. “Did you know that many haven’t been home since October 7th, and they left their houses with nothing.” He stared at me. “Could you imagine? We must try to picture what life is like for the Israelis, as this war drags on.”

I stared at the letters on my tiles, but all I could think of was leaving my house, barefoot, at seven in the morning on Simchas Torah, without my clothes, shoes, books, and everything in my room that made me ‘me.’ And then having to live in a hotel room, or someone else’s house, with none of my friends nearby.

Zaidy shook his head. “The longer it lasts, the more people forget what’s happening and get complacent.” He pounded his fist on the table and his forehead wrinkled up. “We cannot go back to normal life.”

I made a mental note to look up ‘complacent’ in the dictionary as I shuffled my tiles on the holder. I thought of the post-it note in my siddur, with the name of the hostage I davened for every day, a girl only six years older than me. I imagined her parents, little brothers, and sisters, seeing her empty place at the table, and her quiet, still bedroom, day

after day.

“I haven’t been davening so hard anymore,” I said quietly. That’s it, I thought. Tonight, I’ll call Miri and we’ll go back to saying the those five perakim of Tehillim together, that we started saying every day when the war began.

Zaidy shook the bag of tiles, pulled out a handful, and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“How much longer is it going to last?” I whispered.

Zaidy laughed wryly. “Ah, Liora. If only I knew.” He leaned his head back and ran a hand over his silvery hair. “Nothing is simple over there. Yet, in a minute,” he stared hard at me, “HaKadosh Baruch Hu can turn it all around. You must know that.”

I nodded and joined my word ‘drag’ to Zaidy’s ‘abashed.’ Only four letters, but a double letter score for my ‘G’ made for a nine-point total. Not terrible.

Zaidy folded his hands on the table and raised an eyebrow at me. “Many of the donors who have been giving tzedakah to Ki Ata Imadi have stopped giving or are giving much less. It’s hard to be so far away, and not to see what’s going on for yourself, and to keep giving.” He pulled out his phone. “See here? There are at least eight people who didn’t return my calls yesterday.”

He pushed his chair away from the table and slowly stood up. “When you talk to the Israelis, the people who have lost their homes and jobs, and those whose sons and husbands have died fighting in Gaza — it becomes alive.”

My eyes grew wide. “Have you done that, Zaidy?”

He nodded. “I’ve spoken with many new widows and orphans. One young man, Yoni, calls me every few days. His father was killed in Gaza. But talking on the phone is not the same as looking someone in the eye, and them feeling that you care about them and are right there.”

Zaidy paced back and forth on the living room rug, his hands behind his back, his eyes squinting and almost shut. That’s what he did when he was thinking hard. I stayed quiet and fiddled with my tiles until Zaidy turned to me with a big smile.

“That’s it!” he said. “Yoni…Yonasan!”

“Uncle Yonasan? What about him?”

“Yes, your uncle. I must call him, right away. He’s the one who can do this!”

“Do what?”

But Zaidy didn’t hear me, he was already hurrying to the kitchen with his phone pressed to his ear.

To be continued….

Devorah Talia Gordon is a freelance writer, editor, and creative writing teacher. Her first book, The Impossible Project, a middle-grade novel, has recently been published by Menucha Publishers.

Writing Contest Writing Contest

Last summer I went to a camp where most girls didn’t wear tights. That made it very hard for me to wear tights. But I was strong and I wore them anyway. One day we went on a trip to Urban Air. There was a rock-climbing wall that everybody wanted to go on. There was just one problem—for most girls, that is. Urban Air only allowed girls wearing tights (which they considered leggings) to go on the climbing wall. That meant that I was one of those very few, lucky girls in the entire camp who were able to go. Of course this is nothing compared to the schar I’ll get for being extra careful to be tzniusdig, but this was still very exciting.

Mazal Tov! My sister had a boy! On Sunday, we went to buy strechies in Elemeno for the new baby. As we were paying, the man offered us a free crib sheet. We weren’t sure if we need it but we said we’ll take it because we only had one. A week later, after the Seder, our younger sister threw up from all the grape juice. We couldn’t wash her linen right away because it was Yom Tov, and we didn’t know what to do! We were thinking very hard what we should do, and then my sister came up with an idea- and do you know what the idea was? We remembered about the new crib sheet we had just gotten as an extra! This was a real Hashgocha Protis. We were going to go to a different store, but because we went to Elemeno, we had an extra sheet when we needed it.

I was on my way to my cousins vort, that was all the way in Monsey. My older sister that was home, was on the phone with my father, asking him directions to somewhere she needed to go. Suddenly, her voice turned high pitched! She frantically told us that my brother was choking, and she didn’t know what to do! We were at least 30 miles away from my house, and by the time we would get there it would be Chas V’shalom too late. I closed my ears shut, and said a kapital of Tehillim. When I opened my ears my parents told me the Hashgacha Pratis story. My other sister, who was also home heard my sister shriek. She came to see what was going on. Then she saw my brother choking. She knew just what to do because she just learnt how to do CPR, because she was becoming a lifeguard. Baruch Hashem she was able to save my brother from choking!

Leah Rubin, 11

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Sara Leeba Weiss, 10

Rischel G., 8

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Parashas Bechukosai

CHAZAK, CHAZAK VENISCHAZEK! An overview of Chumash Vayikra

Down:

1. What is the name of the last parashah of Chumash Vayikra?

3. Which parashah talks about the laws of shemitah?

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7. Which parashah talks about the petirah of Aharon’s oldest sons?

8. How many silver shekels is a man between the age of 20 and 60 valued at?

10. Which parshah is about the yomin tovim?

13. When we fulfil the mitzvos, Hashem promises that _____ Yidden can chase away 100 goyim. ____

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Across:

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SELF-ESTEEM AND FRIENDSHIP

Q: Why do we need self-esteem in order to be a good friend?

A: When people think about friendship, they think about reciprocity, about give and take. However, if you don’t feel like you have anything to offer – it is very hard to give of yourself and let others give to you. That’s where self-esteem comes in.

What are some signs of healthy

self-esteem?

•Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses

•Admitting to your mistakes and learning from them

•Forgiving yourself and others for mistakes

•Listening to other points of view aside from your own

•Taking care of yourself – physically and emotionally

•Feeling proud of your positive accomplishments and letting go of your faults

Many people confuse the concepts of self-esteem and ego, assuming that if you believe in yourself you are automatically egoistic and arrogant. Someone who is

self-confident is able to see past his own needs and wants, while an egoist believes that he is the only one who has worth around him. This is the key difference between those who have self esteem or overactive egos: self-esteem often means you are confident enough to allow for criticism and failure, while ego often leads to discrediting all others around you because you are the only one who can be “right.”

Why Do You Need Self Esteem For Friendships?

In their book Self Esteem, Matthew McKay and Patrick Fanning explain the importance of self-esteem by stating that when you reject certain parts of yourself, you are damaging psychological structures essential to healthy living. For example, in the same way that you

protect a physical wound, when you are critical of a part of yourself you will find yourself avoiding anything that might aggravate the pain of self-rejection. Therefore, you will take fewer social, academic, or career risks.

To that end, you will erect barriers of defense in order to protect yourself. Those barriers can include blaming others, bragging about things you don’t truly like about yourself, getting angry, or making excuses. You can imagine how damaging this kind of behavior can be to friendships.

How Can You Cultivate Self-Esteem?

•Take inventory of your strengths. Make a list of the things you are good at – and then spend more time productively doing the things you do best. Spending time doing tasks that you excel in will build your confidence.

•Realize your limits. No one is without flaws. While this might not always seem to be true, recognizing that everyone else has his or hero own failings can give you perspective on your own. You are a unique and distinctive person regardless of your flaws.

•Stop putting yourself down. Restructure the way you speak to yourself by identifying when you are putting yourself down and making a conscious decision to speak more kindly to yourself. Constantly putting yourself down can seriously injure your self-image.

•Celebrate progress and small victories. Building self-esteem happens in baby steps. Acknowledge when you do things right, even if it’s only a small improvement. Giving yourself compliments can help you develop belief in your abilities.

It’s hard to believe, but friendship truly begins by believing in yourself and having the ability to accept both constructive criticism and affection.

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Reb Daniel Alter Shlita Shabbos in Oak n Vine

Submit Your Stories Submit Your Stories

Dear Vibes,

This is such a great column! Sometimes acts of kindness are performed in disguised ways and that’s what this letter is about.

A few weeks ago I was standing with my daughter when a woman, who in retrospect I realized as suffering from acute leg pain, asked us for some help. “Will you let your daughter schlep my bags into my building?” she asked me, pointing. “I live right over there.”

I, of course, nodded, and my daughter went over to help the woman — explaining to me later that the woman had said that she was suffering from prolonged health issues in her leg and should have been using crutches.

It was a chessed all around, but my point in writing this letter isn’t about what my daughter did—that she did a chessed is pretty obvious — it’s actually about the chessed that the woman did when she callidg our attention to the fact that she needed help.

Too often people (talking about myself here) get lost in a world where they don’t notice that others need help. We have a mitzvah to help others, but we also need to notice those others, so by calling our attention to her plight — and asking for that help that she needed — this woman not only was helped, she also allowed a mitzvah to be performed and for ripple effects to fill the world.

I hope to be more aware, in the future, of when people around me need help. But in the event that I’m not, and in the event that there are others who are not, it’s chessed for us to be reminded.

-A Reader

Dear Editor,

Thank you, Lakewood Vibes, for this platform where we can express our gratitude.

Around six years ago I arrived in Boro Park, early in the morning, after a sleepless overnight trip by bus from out of town. Tired, and with luggage, I made my way onto 13th Ave where I soon found an open grocery store. I was happy to now have a place where I could wait for my connecting bus to Lakewood, scheduled for two and half hours later.

The grocery store owner was kind, and he suggested that I go into a different store nearby that was more comfortable so that I’d be able to sit down and rest. I thanked the store owner and left.

With my heavy luggage in toe, I arrived at the next spot and sat right down. No more than ten minutes passed before I saw the grocery store owner again — holding my handbag for me. In disbelief I realized that I’d left it on the counter in his store by mistake and he’d come all the way to find me. My handbag had my passport, credit cards, cash, and some jewelry. To this day I think of the grocery store owner’s kindness every time I’m on 13th Ave (on the side closer to 14th Avenue) between 49th and 50th Street. I don’t know the store owner’s name and have never seen him since, but I am so grateful to him for his act of kindness.

-C.W.

DIABETIC

Lakewood Vibes News

Pesach

Pesach

Revenue Beyond Rent

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A

FASHION CONSULTANT

Some say you either have it or you don’t: That knack for spotting the perfect sweater to go with that coral, floral skirt you found on the clearance rack in your favorite department store in, look at that, just the right size!

If you have it, pu pu pu, enjoy your blessing. Also, seriously now, why not share that blessing with others? Like, ever wonder about the sheer number of invitations to shop with your friends? You now know the reason; not only do your friends enjoy your company, they want a share of your fine taste and finds!

Spoiler alert: Don’t be fooled when those same invitations are extended by your offspring; they’ll be just as satisfied if you simply hand over your wallet.

For those of us who weren’t born with that particular flair, rest assured that finding gorgeous clothing at killer prices and knowing how to match them with teenager-approved accessories, is a skill that can be learned with time, patience, and— frankly—teenagers.

But many a mother simply (read: wisely) will not shop for themselves and their kids on the same trip. Emotional upheaval, believe it or not, has its limitations.

Those are my thoughts, at least, when I find myself, one sunny day, parked in the single chair next to a row of dressing rooms. It’s the chair every store owner should (ahem) invest in more of, the chair every mother darts for when shopping with her girls, in anticipation of the unpredictable, timeless and endless hours up ahead.

So when I finally do manage to get that chair all to myself, without any lingering women eyeing me suspiciously or

Find Chilli & Tilli

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longingly (yet), I allow myself a mindful moment of gratitude. And then I beseech Hashem that my girls find something, anything, that will make the trip worth the gas, tolls and laundry-time it took to get here. After that I open my eyes in anticipation of the upcoming fashion show.

What they do in those dressing rooms that takes so long is beyond me. Especially since some stores have this mysterious and, mind you, ridiculous lack of mirrors in the rooms themselves, so that the customers have no choice but to come on out and display their choices for all the world, or the mothers in it, to see and pass judgment on.

But maybe that’s just the point. For said customer is then faced with one of two choices: she can either completely ignore the presence of the trying-notto-look-but-clearly-staring woman in the coveted upholstered chair, or she can acknowledge the woman’s boredom and graciously ask her opinion on the hot pink, cropped two-piece she’s trying on.

Responsible mothers will obviously bring along a Tehillim to pass the time productively, but, all too often, the sights are detrimentally distracting.

Like when someone nearby says, “Excuse me, would you be so kind as to offer your opinion on this blazer?”

After which I look left, then right, and then behind, to see which stylish woman this customer must be addressing,

only to realize in utter bewilderment followed by ill-concealed delight, that it is none other than me.

“That looks amazing!” I cheer just a tad too loudly.

One of my daughters pokes her head out of her dressing cubicle to make sure I’m behaving.

No worries.

I grant my daughter a meek and motherly smile until she’s satisfied and disappears behind the curtain to the isolated Island of Adolescence once again. Then I eagerly return to the new, and shimmering, world of fashion consulting. and shower my full attention upon the hapless customer who clearly has no idea what she’s getting herself into.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit tight in the back?” asks my new best friend.

“Tight? No way,” I rule. “That is not tight.”

She examines the mirror once more before trailing back into her dressing room.

Meanwhile, a short woman with a long sheitel exits her own dressing room in a gorgeous, floral dress that skinny people call a size zero, but the rest of us call a sleeve. She admires herself in the mirror because that’s really the only choice, but she wants another opinion. She sees me lounging in my throne, awaiting consultation by the next shopper, but her eyes rove over my head. Right, left, up, down.

No choice.

“What, er, do you think about this dress?” she asks hesitantly. “Does the color suit me?”

“Purple? Of course, it—”

“Lavender, actually.”

“Right. Yeah. Looks terrific with your blue eyes!” “Green, actually…”

I would cordially profess color blindness if not for the unexpected save from another mother who appears on the scene just then: “Sorry to bother you..” she begins.

Connecting the Kosher World:

WHERE BUSINESS + FLAVOR MEET

“It’s no bother at all! How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for a second opinion on this dress.” She points to her daughter who’s smiling into the mirror in a dress that reminds me of a strawberry Laffy Taffy. “I’m not so comfortable with the color. What do you think?”

“Ma,” whines the teenager. “Everyone’s wearing it! They wouldn’t sell it here if it wasn’t okay!”

Um. Can I plead the fifth?

But the mother’s looking at me, puppy-eyed, like I’m supposed to pull out my cape and rescue her from this familiarly sticky situation.

From fashion consultant to therapist. Why not?

“Hmm,” I wonder, loudly.“I think my daughter’s friend has the same dress! Couldn’t miss a gorgeous dress like that at the siddur play!”

The girl’s eyebrows freeze mid-arch as she looks at me, wheels clearly circling in her head until they come to a complete stop. “I think I’ll try that blue one on again, actually.” And into the dressing room she flees, while her mother looks like she’s about to invite me to move in with the family.

Next, customer number one emerges from her cave in a cute, black two-piece. She looks at the mirror and then at me, questioning my approval.

“What do you think about this one? Does it look okay?”

“I think it looks great!”

“Do you think it’s too vuchidik,” she continues, twirling in front of the mirror. “Or can I wear it to my niece’s sheva brachos?”

“Too what?” I ask.

“My niece’s sheva brachos,” she says again, turning to me as though wondering if I’m hard of hearing.

“No, the other thing you said.”

“Vuchidik?”

“Yes, that. What is it?”

Suddenly, my daughter falls out of her dressing room, in an effort to save my social life by its last thread . “Um, weekday, maybe?” she whispers. “Like, you know,vuch?”

“Oooooh,” I laugh, “Of course! Like, ‘gut vuch’!”

But, inside, I’m cringing, my esteem having been shattered as my daughter cringes from every cringing-point possible.

The lady makes believe she’s not cringing when she totally is, because how could she possibly have asked tznius opinions from someone who has never even heard the word vuchidik before?!

“I’m all done, Mommy,” mumbles my daughter as she whisks me away from my new career toward the register.

“Good luck, ladies!” I call over my shoulder. Goodbye, friends!

And that is the end of my fling as a fashion consultant. At least, until the next time.

The Common Octopus is not a fish specie, despite the fact that it constantly lives and swims in water. It is classified as an “invertebrate” which are animals that don’t have bones (included in this family of invertebrates are: bees, ants, beetles, worms, insects and butterflies). BTW: of the millions of kinds of animals that Hashem created, 95% (yes, ninety five percent!) are invertebrates. Altogether, only 5% comprise the rest: mammals, birds, fish and amphibians (frogs & snakes)!

Common Octopus

The common octopus is found in water bodies all over the world, near the shores, except for in the Polar region where it’s too cold.

Their odd shaped figure consists of the center rounded part with 8 long arms protruding from it. The center sack , comprised of many muscles, contains all vital organs (including 3 hearts!). The arms can reach a length of 4 feet.

They fill the sack with water, and by spraying the water through their funnel, they are propelled forward in the water in whichever direction they want to move. (The funnel can be seen clearly in the picture on the left: the yellow/orange object extending from his body, like a car muffler).

The mother will lay eggs only once in her lifetime, but in this one time, a duration of approximately 10 days, she will lay 150,000 eggs! She will fiercely protect the eggs and even chase away animals she would normally capture and eat! All this notwithstanding, almost none survive to adulthood.

Hashem created each animal with an individual instinct for camouflage and survival, and the common octopus is not an exception. If he senses danger, he will squirt a special ink from his ink sack, which will cloud the water giving him a chance to escape.

However, he can also take preventive measures. The common octopus is an expert in camouflage. Hashem created them with specialized pigment cells and in seconds they can alter the color of their body to totally blend into their surroundings (see top and left!): from white to red, from green to grey, and many more shades!

How and what do they eat? Their mouth is located on the base of their body, close to the ocean bed. Most of their day is spent in their burrow, which is usually between stones on the floor of the ocean, and wait for their prey to swim by. Noticing an animal, they will extend their long arms, which have many suction clasps (picture bottom) on it, and wrap it around. They will bring it to their mouth, inject a poison to kill it, and then enjoy the meal.

1. A common octopus, temporarily red, resting on the ocean floor.

2. A common octopus, his pointed mouth underneath his body, eating a crab fish.

3. A common octopus swimming among the plants on the ocean bed in search of food.

4. A common octopus camouflaging in precisely the color of his surrounding. He can do instantaneously and to all colors!

5. A common octopus swimming serenely in the ocean.

6. A common octopus wrapping around a dead fish he found, to eat.

TIDBITS

Habitat: All warm oceans in the world

Weight: up to 55 lbs.

Length, body: up to 10 inches

Length, arms: up to 4 feet

Eggs: 150,000 once a lifetime

Food: Other small water creatures, including octopus?

Predators: Some fish, especially dolphins, sharks and seals

Lifespan: males, 2-8 years; females, 2 years

Population: unknown, but not endangered

First choice, even for

1) When it says םתעב םכימשג יתתנו when is it talking about?

2) What’s included in the הכרב of

?

3) When it says םכמ ופדרו who is it talking about?

4) What’s the הכרב of םכתא יתיברהו?

5) What does ינכשמ יתתנו mean?

6) What is the הכרב of םככותב יתכלהתהו?

7) The Pasuk says that after the women would bake their bread in one oven, they would return their bread based on weight, why did they give it back based on weight?

This week’s questions are until זכ קוספ ’וכ קרפ’ If you would like to submit answers and be entered into a raffle for a $25 gift card, please call 848 373 5489. To get this Parsha sheet emailed to you every week, send a request to torahshleimah@gmail.com.

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Seasonal Aergies

GET RID OF SEASONAL ALLERGIES AND ITS SYMPTOMS FROM THE SOURCE

Wear a special gem combination that targets the emotional and physical cause of seasonal allergies.

Acute situations are paired with a potent combination of homeopathic drops for external application and/or additional stones.

Memory

What color is the popsicle stick to the right?

PARSHAS BECHUKOSAI

DID YOU KNOW?

The Torah is the blueprint for the world, Hashem’s design and plan for how the world should work. Therefore, when we follow the Torah’s instructions, the world runs in the natural way, the way Hashem intended it to.

IMAGINE

You get a remote-controlled car as a gift, and you have the best time playing with it! You roll it over every floor in your house. But after a while, something seems a bit off and broken. You open up the instruction manual written by the developer to see how to fix it. The one who developed this toy knows the product inside out, so you can be sure that following their instructions will give you a solution for fixing it.

DELVING DEEPER

BRING IT HOME

Why is it that when we do Mitzvos the natural world runs smoothly?

Similarly, Hashem, like the toy developer but infinitely greater, created this world and everything in it. We are lucky that He gave us an instruction manual, the Torah, for how to live in this world that He created. In this week’s Parsha, Hashem tells the Yidden that acting in the way that the Torah teaches is the key for the world, and specifically the patterns of nature, to work properly since the Torah is their source. For example, the rain falls at the appropriate time, the crops grow as they should, and all natural functions of the world work properly when Yidden are following the Torah.

Mix ‘N’ Match Leaf Cookies PARSHA

In a small saucepan, melt 1 cup of butterscotch chips over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.

Wrap each half of dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling.

Using a small leaf-shaped cookie cutter, cut out center of each round cutout. Replace center leaf with the opposite color.

In large bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 cup oil and melted chips. Beat until smooth. Add 2 tbsp. apple juice, 1 tbsp. vanilla and 1 egg. Blend well. Add 3 cups of flour.

Heat oven to 375°F. On wellfloured surface, roll out each half of dough to 1/8-inch thickness and make circles with round cookie cutter.

Bake at 375°F. for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from baking sheets.

Divide dough in half. Keep one half, plain. In the other half, stir in cocoa until well blended.

Place 1 inch apart on parchment paper. Refrigerate the cutouts for 15 minutes.

3Tbsp.Unsweetened Cocoa

1 Cup Butterscotch Chips

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Oil/Margarine

INGREDIENTS 2 Bowls

2Tbsp. AppleJuice

1Tbsp.Vanilla

½ Cup Sugar

3 Cups Flour

1 Eggs

Rolling Pin

Mixing Spoons

WE’RE HIRING!

FOR THOSE WHO TAKE THEIR COFFEE SERIOUSLY

HOUSE BLEND

FRENCH ROAST

BREAKFAST BLEND

CARAMEL

CINNAMON DOLCE | MOCHA | VANILLA | HAZELNUT

Contact the renowned Rebetzin Aidel Miller from Yerushalyim Kein Ayin Hora.

Rebetzin Aidel Miller is a granddaughter of the known Rabbi Yakov Yosef Herman ל״צז, who did much to strengthen Yiddishkeit in America.

The Rebetzin became known over the years for helping people with difficulties through special Segulos and prayers from holy sources, to fortify the faith and Bitachon of those in need of a Yeshua

Rebetzin Miller is also an expert in using the segula of “Blei Gissin” (pouring of lead).

This Segulah is mentioned in the Sefer קדצ

and other Seforim. This Segulah is known in Klal Yisroel for many generations and Mekubalim have given their approval of this Segulah

May Hashem grant her much Siyata Dishmaya to continue her work, and may Hashem the healer of the broker heart, heal all those in need of help.

“A year ago a lady came to the Rebetzin as she did not have children.

The Rebetzin gave her a big brocha, did the blei gissen and told her she will have twins. A year later she gave birth to twins. ”

Removing Ayin Hora through “Blei Gissin” is a known Segulah to aid with issues of health, Shidduchim, child bearing, Parnassa, anxiety and other difficulties.

Rebetzin Miller is blessed with tremendous Siyata Dishmaya and has had the Zechus to be the right Shliach to help and be Mechazek Klal Yisroel for close to 40 years.

“A man called the Rebetzin as his daughter had to go to the emergency hospital. The Rebetzin calmed the father down and did the blei gissen with tefillahs, and said she has nothing and will be going home the same night safe. It happened that the doctors found nothing and sent her home safely. ”

“A girl from Brooklyn NY called and was having a terrible time finding her soul mate. The Rebetzin did the blei gissen and told her to daven certain tehillims. A month later she became engaged and is today happily married. ”

UPGRADE YOUR HOME

Tart Cherry Ices

1/2 cup Tart Cherry Juice

1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

3/4 cup Frozen Cherries

2 tsps Maple Syrup Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Add more liquid if needed.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for five to six hours or until completely frozen. Enjoy!

Ingridients

:

2 pounds ground beef

1 onion diced

1/3 bunch fresh parsley

chopped

4 cubes frozen garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

6 pitas cut in half

Arayes

Directions :

Preheat oven to 350°

Mix meat in a bowl with onions and spices

Stuff mixture into pita halves

Brush outside of pita with olive oil

Place on baking pan

Bake for 10 minutes on each side

Serve with techina and Israeli salad

NINE BY THIRTEEN

Tart Cherry Limeade

Refreshing summer treat...

1/2 cup Tart Cherry Juice 1/2 cup Water

1 tsp Maple Syrup

1 tsp Lime Juice 4 Ice Cubes

Add the tart cherry juice, water, maple syrup, and lime juice to a glass. Stir to combine. Top with ice and enjoy! This recipe is super easy...

Trueyounourishment.com

Liatt Ehrman is a Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Prenatal/Postpartum Nutrition Professional, and Certified Transformational Life Coach. Her passion is to support and empower women with the physical, emotional, and spiritual tools to thrive during pregnancy, postpartum, and the years after. Bringing out the best version of themselves so they can be better wives, mothers, and Ovdei Hashem. She can be reached by email at liatt@trueyounourishment.com or 732-276-0276

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

Ingredients

3 eggs

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbls margarine melted

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

2 Tbls of flour

1 x 9 inch frozen pie crust

NINE BY THIRTEEN

505 - 913 - PANS 7267

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Beat eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla together until combined

Add melted margarine and mix.

In a second bowl combine chocolate chips, pecans and flour

Place in pie crust

Pour liquid mixture on top . Bake for 50-55 minutes

PLEASE CUT AND SHARE

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Government Bids

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Office Manager

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Accounts Receivable $25 Hourly Lakewood/Five Towns

Investor Relations Officer Commission Based Toms River

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Insurance Underwriter

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Salesperson (Experience with Distribution in Healthcare)

Salary + Commission Remote

Yisroel@SwiftStaffingGroup.com

Physical Therapist (Healthcare) $85k NJ

Occupational Therapist (Hea lthcare) $70k-$85k NJ

RivkaL@SwiftStaffingGroup.com

Medicaid Specialist

$65k-$70k BOE Remote

Sales/Store Manager (Women's Clothing) $35-$40 Hourly Lakewood, NJ

Sales Lady (Women's Clothing) $25-$30 Hourly Lakewood, NJ

Biller/Panders (Healthcare) Female Office

$25 Hourly Room For Growth Lakewood, NJ

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CLASSIFIEDS

Real Estate

Magnificent, luxurious, walk in vacation villa in the heart of Romema of Yerushalim available for rent.

6 bedroom, 5 bathroom, large playroom, large sauna, 3 patios, all household

Inventities, 2 private parking. Pls WhatsApp 845-274-3601

Summer Rental

4 bedroom/4 bathroom house on Charming Way (Segull Square) available first half by the week or for the month. Park on block, right near all shopping and pools. 848299-2883

Help Wanted

Bebe kangaroo A Baby layette shop in Jackson. NJ is looking to Hire. Full/ part time position, Tech savvy, Organized, Reliable, People’s person Ready to start immediately. Sundays are a must If this is you, or someone you know please reach out to us at: 718-5305899

Merchandise For Sale

Exclusive Designer Womans Gown

Beautiful, beaded, Omb re gown for sale size 10-12. Great price please call 718-473-7389

Affordable Women’s Clothing Boutique for

Simchas, & Shabbos:

One-of-a-kind, handpicked selection of dressy clothing for older teens and fashionable women sizes xs-xl.

We carry both new and preloved items, and a cool selection of higher-end/designer items. Shabbos dresses aprox. range btwn: $50-$100 Evening & Simcha-wear aprox. range btwn: $100$225

Call for hrs & appointments: 848-243-0019

152 Pressburg Ln, Lakewood cash/check accepted

Baby Carriage

Great condition“Marmet” Made in Hollan d - Worth over $250 but will accept a good offer.

Tel 732.977.3400

Small Refrigerator

Great condition - Best offer accepted Tel 732.977.340 0

3 speed English Bike

New Tyres - Excellent condition - $200 or best offer

Tel 732.977.3400

Wireless Wifi Rental

Short or long term for just $25 per week - Tel 718 435 1923

Classy ivory gown for sale, semi custom by silhouette Worn once size 4/6 Beautiful details! Elegant design! perfect for talls

Call or text 732-675-8551

BRAND NEW CARRIAGE FOR SALE:

Selling Minu V2 UPPAbaby lightweight travel stroller with one hand fold. Brand new in box, light

grey.

Originally $400, selling for $225

Please text only 347-4154051

Looking to sell a dinette set in great condition. It’s a 6 ft frosted glass table with 6 metal frame, sturdy chairs. Asking $800 obo. For pics/ more info please text/call 848-240-5067

Cotton ribbed baby stretchies for sale! Only $10-$20! CALL 732806-0294 (Largest selection for babies 3 and 6 months old .)

Beautiful lavender exquisite gown size 8 very tall worn once selling for 225 or rent for 100 text 848-299-7537

Beautiful mauve mother/sister of the bride gown size 10 selling for 300 or rent for 125 text 848-299-7537

Beautiful white exquisite gown size 44 very flattering fit selling for 250 or rent for 100 text 848-299-7537

Selling used canon dslr camera. perfect for a beginner photographer. $330 or best offer. call/text 848-223-2775

Luxurious Custom Paintings! Call/text/WhatsApp 848-299-1887 to order yours or for more info.

Brand new dining room table. WhatsApp/text: 845-445-8648 for details.

STUNNING IVORY/CREAM GOWNS, Size 2/4 ladies. 848-245-4401.

ADORABLE CUSTOM IVORY KIDS GOWNS, Sizes 2-16. Great price. 848-245-4401.

Selling beautiful custom kids bedroom furniture. White desk, night table and light fixture. Desk special made to hold books and looseleafs. Call 732-664-2913 or email gmalky123@gmail.com for pictures. CHEAP PRICE!

Selling almost new 30” white oven, looks new, perfect condition, selling for $295. Call 732-6642913 or email gmalky123@ gmail.com for pictures.

LG Classics for sale great price call-848240-1786 leave message

Stunning exquisite black and white gown for sale 443-202-2369

Selling a $700 Argentum silver gift card for $625. 718-578-1996

Selling 2 cream mummy moon sim ha dresses size 12 and size 6 - 718578-1996

Looking to sell a gorgeous Bar Chorin kids gown- white with colored embroidered flowers-size 4. Great price. Call/text 646-300-3764

OLIVIA JEWELRY RENTAL

Gorgeous selection of fine costume jewelery for your simcha or special occasion. $25 for the first piece and $15 for each additional piece. Located in prospect square 35 lewin ave. Contact 7735039132

CLASSIFIEDS

Classy ivory gown for sale for sister of the bride. sheer high neck and stunning appliqué Worn once size 4/6 Semi custom by silhouette Call or text: 732-675-8551

Selling $500 tabernacle steakhouse gift card for $450 txt 845-502-4283

Selling seat fabric replacement for Bugaboo Bee 6 color GREY, 917609-3507

Selling black Cybex stroller in great condition. please contact 917-6093507

FREEZER:

Danby 10.1 cu ft. small upright freezer in white. Excellent condition. Sold in stores for $750 or more. Selling for $275. Call/text 347-491-9184

You can now get all your cricut supplies locally. Tools, mats, transfer tape and many shades and styles of cricut paper. Buy by the page! Also cricutable gift items at great prices. Call/ text 347729-5448

Weight loss products: Amazing weight loss product will help you look good and feel good! The results speak for itself, safe and healthy. Call Esty Meyer 732-806-0895.

Van/Car For Sale

2020 Ford Edge SUV

Perfect condition

61000 Miles mostly highway, $24,500.00, 732209-1165

Services

Experienced and professional seamstress available for all your alteration needs. Call/text 848-525-6619

Music Lessons

Professional Music

Lessons by Mr Wertzberger now for just $10 per week, limited time special. Tel: 718-435-1923

EZ ride transport: Airports, nyc, upstate, Luxury suv, Reasonable prices, Call/text 848-251-4736

Lost and Found

Found

Tiffany bracelet at Princeton and fourth/Skulen lag boomer fire. Call:848224-5701

Library

Book library-adult & children’s book library. Over 1,000 books. Located near Segull Square plaza. Call /text(848) 525-5909.

Gemachs

New tznius hospital gowns in Oak and Vine. Please call: 347-486-2994 or 347-633-6329

Vort Dress Gemach

If you have a perfect condition Simcha dress that you would like others to benefit from, please call/ text (848) 245-2633.

The Pickup Gmach-Picking up your current last season’s kids clothing in good condition and passing it on to local Lakewood families who appreciate it and wear it right. We keep outfits and matching together as sets. For pickups email pickupgmach@gmail. com

Deja New Clothing Home Pickups. We pickup your excellent clothing so others can enjoy them too! Text ‘pickup’ to 732-7023352.

Zichron Naftali jewish dvd gemach for challenging times. Men/women/kid dvds -2week, provide dvd player. 917-628-1785

Beautiful current style and current season children, teen, infant dresses avail for a Simcha, such as brothers bar mitzvah or cousins wedding...Call\ text 7326911666 to inquire Lzchus r’s refael Moshe Chaim ben chana

Huge buckets of lego and duplo for your shabbos simcha. Call 732 370-2572 to reserve

New tznius hospital gown gemach in Oak and Vine. At no cost. Please call: 347-4862994 or 347-633-6329

Speaker System for Small Events (with mic) 7320-510-3917 call/text Jackson, Bates Area

Gemach Zichron Feige Stunning childrens gowns- matching collection from sizes 9 months

untill size 18 for appt call 908-4610058

If you have up-to-date, beautiful childrens gowns in all sizes you’d like to donate to our gemach please call 908-461-0058

Gemach zichron Gittel ladies gown gemach. Beautiful gowns size 0-20 (732) 908-8263

Free Giveaway

Brand new bumper for a Toyota Camry 2002-2004, no fog lights please text 908-943-8537

Misc.

Mishnayos for the Kedoshim

Many of those killed on Simchas Torah and during the current war may not have ppl to learn Mishnayos/say Kaddish for them. Please learn a perek/mesechta Leili Nishmas text 201-241-2875

Ayin Horah

The renowned Rebetzin Aidel Miller from Yerushalayim

Is now available to remove “Ayin Horah” over the phone. Call till 5:00 PM: 718.689.1902 or 516.300.1490

Lag Buomer in Koson Lakewood