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THEJEWISHHOMEA PUBLICATION OF THE FIVE TOWNS & QUEENS COMMUNITY JUly 11 - JUly 24, 2013 | DistributeD in the Five towns, Queens & brooklynWeekly
137 SPRUCE STREET 516-569-2662— See page 9, 54 & 55 —
Around theCommunity
— See page 20 —
— See page 53 —
Page 50
Page 38
Page 36
NFL Great Alan VeingradVisits Camp Avnet
Page 81
Tisha B’Av: A Day of Tragedy
Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Annual Yarchei Kallah
TOVA Hits Grand Slam with Home Run Derby
Finding Meaning in Tsfat: TJH Speaks with Rabbi Rafael and Rebbetzin Tova Weingot
Rav Shmuel Shmelke RubinThe Sulitzer Rebbe zt”lOn His Upcoming Shloshim
Tisha B’avA DAy of TrAgeDy
Page 78
PAGe 56
Special Coverage of Dirshu’s Asifas ChizukPage 39
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Kew GardensKew Gardens Syn. Adath Yeshurun82-17 Lefferts Blvd. 3:00 A 5:00 B
Kew Garden HillsCong. Ahavas Yisrael147-02 73rd Ave. 2:10 A 4:10 BCong. Toras Emes 78-15 Parsons Blvd. 4:00 A 5:45 BKehilas Sephardim 150-62 78th Rd After Eicha B
HillcrestY.I. of Hillcrest TBA
Forest HillsHavurat YisraelJuly 15, 10:00pm AJuly 16, 11:45 A 1:15 BMachane Chadash2:00 A & BQueens Jewish Center4:15 A 6:00 BY.I. of Forest Hills6:00 A 8:00 B
reGo ParKOhr Natan9875 Queens Blvd. TBASephardic Jewish Cong. 101-17 67 Drive 1:30 A 3:30 B
Far rocKawayYoung Israel of Bayswater2716 Healy Avenue3:00 B 5:15 a TAG 444 Beach 6th St. Lawrence1:30 a 4:30 B
cedarHurstAgudath Israel of Five Towns508 Arbuckle Avenue2:00 a 5:00 B
Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi395 Oakland Avenue2:30 B 4:15 a woodmereYoung Israel of Woodmere859 Peninsula Boulevard, TBA
HewlettYoung Israel1 Piermont Avenue3:00 a 6:30 B
Congregation Anshei Chesed1170 William StreetBack Building3:30 a 5:00 B
lawrenceShaarei Tefillah25 Central Avenue2:30 a 5:15 B
Cong. Bais Avrohom Zev 20 Rockaway Trnpk 3:30 a 5:00 B
nortH woodmereCongregation Ohr Torah410 Hungry Harbor Road2:30 a 5:00 B
BaysideY.I. of Bayside 209-34 26th Ave. 4:00 B 5:30 a
Great necKGreat Neck Syn. 26 Old Mill Rd. 6:15 aOhr Haemet 112 Steamboat Rd. 4:00 a & B
Torah Ohr Heb. Academy 575 Middle Neck Rd. July 15, After Eicha BJuly 16, 11:00am a
Y.I. of Great Neck236 Middle Neck Rd. 6:00 a
oceansideCong. Darchei Noam3310 Woodward St. 2:30 a 4:00 BY.I. of Oceanside150 Waukena Ave. 6:00 B
PlainviewPlainview Syn. Zichron Kedoshim 1:00 & 4:30 B 2:30 aSephardic Syn. July 15 10:00 a July 16 6:00 BY.I. of Plainview 132 Southern Pkwy. 4:00 a 5:45 B
west HemPsteadYoung Israel of W. Hempstead 630 Hempstead Ave. 2:30 a 6:00 B
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Y E S H I VA DA RC H E I T O R A H A N D AC H I E Z E RI N V I T E T H E M E N A N D WO M E N O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y
T O A S P E C I A L K I NO S P RO G R A M
Mourning & Meaning
Absorbing the Message of Tisha B’av
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN KINOS. PLEASE DO NOT BRING LAWN/BEACH CHAIRS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 718.406.8360 OR EMAIL [email protected]
RABBI SHLOMO AVIGDOR ALTUSKY
ROSH YESHIVA, YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH
RABBI PAYSACH J. KROHN
NOTED AUTHOR AND LECTURER
RABBI YITZCHOK KNOBEL
ROSH KOLLEL, YESHIVA GEDOLAH
OF THE FIVE TOWNS
RABBI Y.Y. RUBINSTEINNOTED AUTHOR AND LECTURER
RABBI ZEVI TRENKMENAHEL,
MESIVTA CHAIM SHLOMO
TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013 // DÆGA, CTC VGA,BEGINNING WITH SHACHARIS AT 8 :30
AND FOLLOWED BY MINCHA AT APPROXIMATELY 1 :30
MESIVTA C HAIM SHL OMOBEACH 17 STREET & SEAGIRT BOULEVARD
FAR ROCKAWAY, NEW YORK
The recital of Kinos will be interspersed with addresses from
SÆXC
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P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, nY 11559PhOne | 516-734-0858
FaX | 516-734-0857
Yitzy halpernPuBLisher
Yosef Feinermanmanaging editOr
shoshana sorokaeditOr
classifieds nate daviseditOriaL assistantnechama wein
cOPY editOr
rachel Bergida Berish edelmanmati Jacobovits
design & PrOductiOn
Dear Readers,
t’s hard to believe that Tisha B’Av is next week. Usually, we feel that we have time to prepare for the day, but this year the summer started off with the Three Weeks and its period of mourning. The summer is a more “free” season; there’s less structure for children and adults. We spend more time outdoors, more time enjoying the long summer days. And then the Three Weeks comes and we are reminded that our focus shouldn’t be all about fun. We remember that we are in golus, and we focus on what we can do to make ourselves better people and a better nation. And that helps us add more structure and commitment back to our lives.
There’s so much to read about Tisha B’Av and the day of tragedy throughout the generations. For our generation, many of us can relate to the Holocaust, as that is a recent churban that was documented and perpetrated against so many of our loved ones. We look at pictures and speak with survivors and even so, it’s still hard to imagine the terror that took place. How could six million people be so ruthlessly slaughtered and no one should care? How could communities so vibrant and rich in Torah and chessed be reduced to ashes? How could young children with swollen bellies be whipped by vicious guards under their parents’ anxious eyes? How? How? How? Indeed, our nation has been asking this same question in every generation. The question of “how” is how the Eichah begins, and it is the crux of our exile. Because our Beis Hamikdash was destroyed and because our relationship with Hashem is no longer what it once was, we aren’t able to see the full picture. We are lost, seeing events through a fog, and although we know that Hashem is watching over us and taking care of us, we don’t always feel His constant embrace. We stumble through history, searching for answers, questioning events, and seeking meaning.
Tisha B’Av is also a day of renewal, for we are told that on this day Moshiach will be born. Even though we have been through such tragedy and are bereft and forlorn, we know that the golus will be over soon. And we know that when Hashem sends Moshiach, all our questions will be answered. We will clearly see yad Hashem daily and feel His constant embrace.
As always, we look forward to hearing from our readers. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
Wishing you an easy and meaningful fast,
Shoshana
Friday, July 12Parshas Devorim
Candle Lighting: 8:08 Shabbos Ends: 9:15 Rabbeinu Tam: 9:38
The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.
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>>Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
>>CommunityReaders’ Poll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Community Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Worldwide Excitement for Dirshu’s Asifas Chizuk and Siyum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
>> NewsGlobal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
National . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Odd-but-True Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
>> IsraelIsrael News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
My Israel Home: Overcoming Sinat Chinam . . . . . 71
>> PeopleRav Shmuel Shmelke Rubin— The Sulitzer Rebbe zt”l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Finding Meaning in Tsfat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Great Sar HaTorah: Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
A World After This: The Story of Lola Lieber . . . . . . 94
>>ParshaThe Shmuz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
>> Jewish ThoughtBobker on Tisha B’Av: Trouble’s My Middle Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Tisha B’Av and the First World War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Tisha B’Av: Rome’s Rise and Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Why We Should Cry on Tisha B’Av . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
I’ll be the Judge of That, by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Ask the Rabbi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
>>ParentingMore Bath Time Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
>>HealthAn Alternative to Therapy, by Deb Hirschhorn, PhD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Navigating the Insurance Maze, Part II . . . . . . . . . . 96
>> Food & LeisureRecipes: No Meat? No Problem! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Travel: Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
>> LifestylesThe Business of Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Ask the Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Picture Perfect, by Rivki Rosenwald . . . . . . . . . . . .104
>> HumorCenterfold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
A Visit to the Dentist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
>> ArtFrom My Private Art Collection: Artistic Photo Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
>> Political CrossfireNotable Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
>> Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . 102
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Letters to the editorDear Editor,
I want to applaud the White Shul in Far Rockaway. This past Shabbos, the weather was a scorcher even from early morning. When everyone was arriving to shul, there was a large table set up with pitchers of cold water and cups for everyone to satiate their thirst. Rabbi Feiner always drives home how chesed is so important and being “a mentsch” is above all. It is very com-mendable that the kehilla lives his preaching.Rena S.
Dear Editor,You can learn a lot about past history
by reading “150 Years Since the Battle of Gettysburg” (Avi Heiligman – June 27). I had no idea that we had so many Jew-ish soldiers fighting on both sides of the war. The article is worthy of any high school or college history class covering the Civil War and Battle at Gettysburg. Sincerely,Larry Penner
Dear Editor,I know that you definitely do a good
job at pounding home the “go out and
vote” theme and although people may get tired of hearing the message, it is something that people must constantly have on their minds. Just like we think about where we will spend Yom Tov, what type of car to lease, where to send our kids to camp, we always have to think about elections.
I bring this up because now more than ever people living in Far Rocka-way must pay attention to what is going on. You have Anthony Weiner running for mayor of New York City and Elliot Spitzer running for comptroller of New York City. Aside for the fact that these are vulgar and highly offensive individ-uals, they are also stupid people. That is right, there is no better or more sophisti-cated way of saying it—they are stupid people.
What they both did proves them unfit to serve the public in any capacity. Yet, there are many, even within the frum community, who are willing to shrug their behavior aside. They think that they are being open-minded by doing so. My question to them is: even if you—for some odd reason—want to dismiss what they did, don’t you realize that these two buffoons exhibited the worst judgment
possible?The Far Rockaway community and
the larger frum community is a powerful voting bloc. Your voices can be heard. Talk to your friends, neighbors and fami-ly members and make sure that everyone votes. Know who the candidates are and be informed.
As far as who to vote for? Well, at this point, it looks like this election is certainly going to be about who not to vote for. Please get informed about who not to put in office. All of us who don’t live in New York City will certainly be cheering you on from the sidelines. Dovid Spinder West Hempstead
To Whom It May Concern,I find it outrageous that the New
York Jets, a team that is based within the large Jewish community of the tri-state area, recently drafted Oday Aboushi, a person who has expressed anti-Israel and anti-Semitic viewpoints on Twitter and in public settings. While Mr. Aboushi is obviously entitled to his basic American right to free speech, I feel that the Jets should be more sensitive to the Jews in their fan-base. Some of Mr. Aboushi’s
actions include posting a “smear-tactic” photo against Israel on Twitter, praising the conference of a charity group that the Israeli government has classified as a front for Hamas and other terrorist or-ganizations, tweeting about the Nakba on Yom Ha’Atzmaut and sympathizing with the “plight” of the Palestinians liv-ing in Israel, and recently speaking at a conference hosted by an anti-Israel or-ganization. I hope that the Jewish com-munity pressures the Jets to release Mr. Aboushi, and that the Jets make the mor-ally correct decision in this matter. Only then will it be affirmed that racism and hatred cannot be tolerated.Sincerely,Elan KirshenbaumWoodmere, NY
Views expressed on the Letters to the Editor
page do not necessarily reflect the views of
The Jewish Home
Please send all correspondence to
Compiled by Jannah Eichenbaum
Readers PollIt is hot, hot, hot!
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Global
Chaos in Cairo Once Again: Morsi Ousted by Public
Hours after the military ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, the chief justice of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court was sworn in as the nation’s interim president. Adly Mansour took the oath of office at the Constitutional Court in a ceremony broadcast live on state television. Ac-cording to military decree, Mansour will serve as Egypt’s interim leader until a new president is elected. Elections will be held in early 2014.
Mansour used his first remarks as in-terim leader to praise the massive street demonstrations that led to Morsi’s re-moval. He also hailed the youth behind the protests that began on June 30. “The most glorious thing about June 30 is that it brought together everyone without discrimination or division,” he said. “I offer my greetings to the revolutionary people of Egypt.”
“I look forward to parliamentary and presidential elections held with the gen-uine and authentic will of the people,” Mansour said. “The youth had the ini-tiative and the noblest thing about this glorious event is that it was an expres-sion of the nation’s conscience and an embodiment of its hopes and ambitions. It was never a movement seeking to re-alize special demands or personal inter-ests.” The revolution, he said, must con-tinue, so “we stop producing tyrants.”
Mansour replaced Morsi, who was Egypt’s first democratically elected president but was overthrown by the military on Wednesday after a tumultu-ous year in office. Morsi is under house arrest at an undisclosed location.
The military, in a statement read by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Siss, also suspended the Islamist-drafted con-stitution and called for new elections. Morsi has denounced the action as a “full coup” by the generals. Millions of anti-Morsi protesters around the coun-try erupted in celebrations after the tele-vised announcement by the army chief. Fireworks burst over crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where men and women shouted, “Long live Egypt.”
Even with an interim leader now in place, Egypt remains on an uncertain course following Morsi’s ouster, and the possibility of further confrontation still looms. Beyond the fears over violence, some protesters are concerned whether an army-installed administration can lead to real democracy.
Osama bin Laden Stopped for Speeding
over a Decade Ago
On Monday, an exclusive report was leaked online revealing secrets and as-tonishing facts about the life and death of Osama bin Laden.
The report was published by Al Ja-zeea news network.
The report reveals that in 2002 or 2003 the terrorist was almost caught by authorities while on his way in a speeding car to the market with his se-curity guard Ibrahim al-Kuwaiti and the guard’s wife Maryam. It is unclear who was driving the vehicle but they were pulled over for speeding. According to Maryam’s testimony, bin Laden “quick-ly settled the matter” and within min-utes was free again.
One of bin Laden’s relatives said he was known as “The Shaikh,” and often “wore a cowboy hat to avoid detection
from above” by overhead U.S. drones. That relative believes that and “a com-plete collapse of local governance” al-lowed him to hide inside the country for six years before his capture and murder.
Supposedly, on the night of the Navy SEAL raid, he was with his youngest wife and the two originally thought the approaching noise of the helicopters were a rainstorm.
The testimony recounts reports from more than 200 witnesses, including many of bin Laden’s family members.
Hitler’s New Enemy: KFC
A strange fried chicken store in Thai-land may be sued by KFC for replacing Colonel Sanders with Adolf Hitler. The fried chicken shop in the Thai capital opened a shop named Hitler with a logo that resembles KFC’s much-recognized branding. In the logo, Hitler’s head has been grafted onto the body of Colonel Sanders – complete with his signature bow tie.
“We find it extremely distasteful and
are considering legal action since it is an infringement of our brand trademark and has nothing to do with us,” KFC said in an email. Kentucky Fried Chick-en is investigating what legal discourse it may have.
The author of “Footprint Thailand Handbook,” Andrew Spooner, first snapped a photo of the restaurant and tweeted it to his followers in May, re-marking: “Very bizarre Hitler Fried Chicken shop in Thailand. I kid you not. Complete with pic of Hitler in bow tie.”
There is a recent trend in Bangkok of ‘Nazi chic,’ consisting of pandas, Teletubbies and Ronald McDonald be-ing changed into cartoonish versions of the Nazi dictator.
I can’t imagine why anyone would consider anything connected to the mass murderer to be “chic.”
Italian Mobster Captured in Columbia
An international manhunt came to a close this week when Columbian of-ficials apprehended Roberto Pannunzi
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at a shopping mall. Pannunzi was a fu-gitive Italian mobster who allegedly ar-ranged major shipments of South Amer-ican cocaine to Europe each month and was one of the world’s most powerful drug brokers.
Gen. Andrea De Gennaro, an Italian anti-drug customs police official, was quoted as saying that Pannunzi is “at the moment the most important broker for cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe.”
De Gennaro described Pannunzi as being able to “move thousands of kilos of cocaine — out of every 10 shipments, eight passed through” Pannunzi’s hands, De Gennaro said, as Italian law enforce-ment officials and prosecutors rejoiced over his capture.
Colombian police said Pannunzi had a false Venezuelan ID when nabbed ear-lier in the week and alleged that he im-ported two tons of cocaine every month from Colombia to Europe. Italian an-ti-Mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told reporters that Colombia had agreed to deport Pannunzi, and the convicted drug dealer’s arrival aboard a flight to Rome was already scheduled.
Pannunzi, 67, had fled twice from arrest in Italy, including a 2010 escape from the hospital, where he had been admitted after telling authorities he felt unwell. In 1999, Pannunzi also escaped from yet another Italian clinic while under house arrest, which had been permitted for purported health reasons. The first spell on the run ended with his arrest in Madrid in 2004. When Colom-bian and Italian authorities captured him in Bogota, Pannunzi immediately told them he had heart problems.
Gratteri also described how Pannun-zi repeatedly managed to avoid capture — until this time. “He traveled for years with a suitcase full of money” to corrupt would-be captors. “And he had a backup ‘safe-conduct’ instrument — a diamond
necklace around his neck” that he could use to buy his freedom, Gratteri said.
Crossing the Border is Now Fun in Mexico
The new-age haunted house has come to Mexico.
Parque EcoAlberto hosts a vari-ety of recreational attractions like hot springs and rappelling. Its latest exhibit is a mock border crossing. The park is located nearly 800 miles away from the actual U.S.-Mexico border. Park goers can experience the fear of fleeing the country and crossing the border without facing the real danger. Tourists endure three hours of sirens, dogs, chases, and bullying by fake border patrol firing threats at them.
Maribel Garcia, an administrator at the park, says the purpose of the Night Walk is to spread awareness and hope-fully prevent people from embarking on the real-life dangerous journey. “Our objective is to stop the immigration that exists amongst our citizens, principally from the state of Mexico to the U.S.,” Garcia said in Spanish.
The park is located in HñaHñu, a community that has lost about 80 per-cent of its population to the U.S., ac-cording to Garcia’s estimates.
The project was thought up by HñaHñu youth returning home after crossing the real border. And this tour-ist attraction is a good way to generate income for the community and to deter other Mexicans from fleeing the coun-try. “We try to help people so that they won’t leave,” Titi said in Spanish. “It’s time to create some employment, to work with our own and regenerate ev-erything, or at least what we can, even though it might be slow going.”
The tours cost the equivalent of about $20. Visitors are typically mid-dle-class Mexicans or students from pri-vate schools which is ironic since these aren’t the groups likely to attempt an illegal crossing into the U.S.
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The Torah Centers of Kollel Chatzos:
Healed!
It is well known that “Kollel Chatzos” has undertaken to complete the holy “Ketoras Segulah” from the holy Ari Hakodesh on the day of his Yahrtzeit, this Thursday night Parshas Devarim!
The holy Ari Hakodesh writes that by making the special “Ketoras Segulah” with a minyan pious Jews after Chatzos haleilu, all that they ask for will be fulfilled!
Have your name mentioned on during the holy “Ketorahs Segulah” on the night of his Yahrtzeit!
have your name also mentioned by chatzos-Jews at the gravesite of the holy Ari Hakodosh!
For the amount of $95
For the amount of $130
Though we receive many desperate phone calls in our office, none are as heartbreaking as from a parent calling to add their young child to our list. Such as the one we answered from a distressed father imploring the kollel members to fervently pray for his beloved ten year-old son, who had been diagnosed with cancer l”a.
Night after night, the esteemed Torah scholars learned and prayed in the child’s merit for several weeks, when the second phone call occurred….”I must tell you” - the father began in an emotional tone – I truly don’t’ know how to thank “Kollel Chatzos”. My precious son is completely cured and there is not a trace of the disease! The power of “Chatzos” is truly remarkable!”
He then went on to switch the name to his other child for success in camp, saying “It is a privilege to be a partner with Jews who have such an incredible influence up above in Heaven!”
By bringing joy to Hashem – as the holy Zohar Hakodesh says- they merit happiness themselves!
KETORAS SEGULAH
FROM THE ARI Z"L
Dear brothers! The following incredible passage originates from the holy Zohar Hakodesh who writes (רל"א ח"א Since“ :(זוה"ק the holy Beis HaMikdosh was destroyed, the שכינה הק' is wrought with pain and anguish and there is no joy and rest in Heaven. The only comfort the הק 'שכינה
has in galus is: Each night when Jews gather to learn in a Beis Hamedrash! There is a tremendous sense of joy for Hashem during that time!
Therefore - each year during this time – people feel a spiritual duty to sign up as partners with “Kollel Chatzos” during the three weeks, pleasing our Holy Father in Heaven while at the same time experiencing yeshuas and success!
Our Responsibility – the Three Weeks!
FINAL OPPORTUNITY – HOLY “KETORAS SEGULAH”!
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Qatar’s New Sheikh is 33
In Arab states of the Gulf, monarchs retain power for as long as they live unless they pass the torch themselves. Sheikh Hamad, 61, of Qatar renounced his ruler-ship on Tuesday in the favor of his 33-year-old son, Sheikh Tamim. Although it is known that Hamad suf-fers from kidney problems, officials in-sist his motives for stepping down were not health-related but rather an effort to bring a younger leadership to his nation.
The young sheikh was congratulated by elder monarchs from the Arab states.
Saudi Arabia’s 90-year-old King Abdul-lah congratulated Sheikh Tamim, who has played a major role in improving relations between Qatar and the region-al powerhouse, which had been strained until 2007 over a border dispute. “We are happy to express to you in the name of the people and Saudi Arabia’s gov-ernment and in our name, our sincerest congratulations,” King Abdullah said. “We are confident that you will continue the journey of your father... and his ef-forts in serving the state of Qatar and its brotherly people as well as strengthen-ing relations between the two nations.”
The United Arab Emirates also con-gratulated Sheikh Tamim, verbalizing their hope of stronger ties, the official WAM news agency reported.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan affirmed “the deep-ness of the brotherly relations between the two countries and the keenness to strengthen them to serve the people of both states,” WAM said.
Tamim is the youngest ever sover-eign in the Gulf Arab monarchies.
Chinese Law Forces Children to Visit Parents
Chinese culture stresses the impor-tance of respecting elders and honoring the patriarch and matriarch of the fam-ily. But apparently, children don’t feel the need to visit and take care of their aging parents. A new law in China now demands that children visit their parents.
New wording in the law now re-quires people to visit or keep in touch with their elderly parents. If one doesn’t obey the law, they face the possibility of penalties or being sued. This new law, enacted in December, comes as China struggles to keep up with caring for its
aging population. The new legislation does not specify
how often children must visit or clarify penalties, leaving a lot of room for loose interpretation.
In the first ruling since the new wording, a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi ordered a couple to visit the woman’s 77-year-old mother at least once every two months in addition to mandatory holiday visits. If the couple does not oblige, they could be heavily fined or possibly be imprisoned.
Xiao Jinming, one of the pioneers behind the new law and a law professor at Shandong University, said the goal of the new law is primarily to raise aware-ness. “It is mainly to stress the right of elderly people to ask for emotional sup-port. ... We want to emphasize there is such a need,” he said.
In the past, elderly parents in China have sued their adult children for lack of emotional support.
Wang Yi, 57, a domestic house worker who lives alone in Shanghai, feels that the new law is “better than nothing.” She has two grown sons who
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work several hundred miles away and she only gets to see them once a year at an annual family reunion. “It is too lit-tle, for sure. I think twice a year would be good,” she said. “We Chinese people raise children to take care of us when we are old.”
According to figures from the Chi-na National Committee On Aging, the number of people aged 60 and above in China is expected to jump from the cur-rent 185 million to 487 million (35% of the population) by 2053.
Turkish Jews Concerned for their Safety
Jews in Turkey are growing increas-ingly concerned for their safety after a Turkish deputy prime minister linked the “Jewish diaspora” to recent anti-govern-ment strife. World Jewish leaders and Turkey’s Jews are worried that the prej-udicial comments can potentially make them targets of public rage.
The comments were made by Dep-uty Prime Minister Besir Atalay. His office defended his comments made to reporters in the town of Kirikkale and published on the Cihan news agency website on Monday, saying they were taken out of context.
In a written statement to the me-dia on Tuesday, Atalay’s office stated, “There was no such statement or assess-ment made by our Deputy Prime Minis-ter Besir Atalay,”
Last month, Turkey was plagued by vicious protests in an effort to save Gezi Park in central Istanbul from rede-velopment. The small protest expanded into a mass demonstration by tens of thousands of people who oppose Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly dictatorial rule on the nation.
Erdogan has been in power for a decade. Officials have cited conspir-acies involving “foreign circles,” an “interest-rate lobby,” foreign media and terrorists engineering the protests to undermine Turkey’s economy and po-litical clout. Atalay’s comments put the blame on the “Jewish diaspora.” “There are those inside and outside the country who are envious about Turkey grow-ing too much,” said Atalay, one of four deputy prime ministers. “They are all
uniting. On the one side you have the Jewish diaspora. You have seen the for-eign media’s attitude over the Gezi Park events, how quickly they bought into it, and how quickly and widely they started broadcasting before any assessment was made,” he said.
Earlier this year, Erdogan called Zionism “a crime against humanity,” prompting objections from U.S. Secre-tary of State John Kerry.
The World Jewish Congress said it was shocked by what it said was “de-spicable” and “totally baseless slurs.” “Mr. Atalay should have the decency to apologize. His remarks are an insult not only to the Jewish people but also to the many Turkish citizens who took part in the protests and who have real grievanc-es,” it said in a written statement.
The Turkish Jewish community, which represents most of Turkey’s esti-mated 23,000 Jews, said Atalay’s com-ments can cause retaliations against its members in a mostly Muslim country of 76 million.
Wonders of the World 2013
Each summer season, UNESCO picks new locations to add to the World Heritage List. Locations are chosen for their cultural, historical, and envi-ronmental significance. This year, 19 new locations were added to the list to include 981 sites in 160 different coun-tries. Fiji and Qatar appeared on the list for the first time this year.
Sites range from infamous tourists attractions that attract millions of tour-ists a year to more understated off-the-beaten-track destinations that only the most adventurous travelers will venture out to.
Below is a list of 10 of the 19 ex-traordinary natural wonders that were added to the list in 2013:• Hill Forts of Rajasthan, India• University of Coimbra– Alta and Sofia, Portugal• Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China• Red Bay Basque, Whaling Station, Canada
• Namib Sand Sea, Namibia• Levuka Historical Port Town, Fiji• Medici Villas and Gardens, Tuscany, Italy• El Pinacate and Gran Desierto, de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Mexico• Wooden Tserkvas, Poland and Ukraine• Al Zubarah, Qatar
Bon voyage!
IsraelMan Sneaks Printed
Gun into KnessetIn a stunt which Israeli security
guards did not find very funny, a jour-nalist successfully smuggled a handgun into the Knesset building this week. The gun did not set off any metal detectors because it was made out of plastic and was printed from a 3D printer. The jour-nalist was trying to prove a point, and he even went so far as to point the gun
at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The reporter works for a technolo-
gy show and wanted to show how easy it would be to smuggle the plastic gun into the building. All of the materials that are needed to make the gun can be purchased online and are readily avail-able in Israel.
Israeli security officials were not impressed by the journalist’s stunt, but agreed that the new threat of printable plastic guns is worrying, noting that there are currently hundreds of 3D printers in Israel. The devices can be purchased locally for just $2,000.
If terrorists were to begin making use of this new technology, many of Is-rael’s security measures at public ven-ues could require a complete update.
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Hamas Raids Gaza Counterfeit Gang
Gaza’s Hamas authorities claim they’ve busted a counterfeiting ring that printed millions of fake shekels. Police spokesman Ayyoub Abu Shaar said on Sunday that authorities uncovered the ring last week when they traced a man trying to distribute a counterfeit 100 shekel bill. The tip-off eventually led to a gang in Gaza and some 20 million shekels (about $5.5 million) in fake bills was discovered.
Abu Shaar said luckily most of the money was confiscated before it was put into circulation. Four people have been arrested so far and a lot of equipment was confiscated including printers, lap-tops, ink, and paper.
This is the biggest counterfeiting ring bust in Gaza since Hamas took con-trol in 2007.
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Retiring
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, has announced that he will end his term this fall. There had been rumors circulating that Oren would stay for at least another year, but the ambassador announced on Facebook that he would retire from his position. The 58-year-old has been serving as ambassador since being appointed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in 2009.
“After more than four years, during which I had the honor of serving as Is-
rael’s ambassador to our most important ally, the United States of America, I will conclude my term this fall,” Oren wrote on his Facebook page.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the State of Israel and its gov-ernment, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to the United States, President Barack Obama, the Congress, and the American people. Israel and the United States have al-ways enjoyed a special relationship and, throughout these years of challenge, I was privileged to take part in forging even firmer bonds.
“I want to thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for affording me this extraordinary opportunity and to the communities which have hosted me so warmly across the United States. I look forward to continue serving the people of Israel in the future and further strengthening the historic U.S.-Israel al-liance.”
In Oren’s place, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Ron Dermer, 42, as Israel’s ambassador to Washington. Dermer has been Net-anyahu’s chief advisor for the past four years and has served in the past as an economic attaché to the embassy. The father of five was born in Miami. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania Universi-ty Business School and has a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University.
Netanyahu Remembers Entebbe
Recently, the 37th anniversary of the Entebbe rescue brought about a very emotional speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On the Knes-set floor, Netanyahu warned that “the threats we faced 37 years ago continue, and today I say there is no place the long arm of the State of Israel cannot reach and will not reach in order to defend the country.”
Benjamin’s older brother Yonatan was killed during the rescue mission and the raid has always been a flashpoint of both sorrow and resolve for the prime
The Week In news
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minister. At the time of the operation, Netanyahu said, he was studying in the US, and the moment he heard IDF sol-diers had landed in Entebbe, he knew his brother had to be there and called his parents.
“This day changed my life and the lives of my parents and my brother. My parents have died since then, but I will never forget their grief over the fall of their firstborn son,” the prime minister said.
Additionally, Netanyahu also re-counted the time he spent at a special memorial in Uganda honoring those that had fallen during the raid. He un-derlined how much he appreciates for-eign countries showing their sympathy for the IDF’s fallen soldiers.
Opposition leader Shelly Yachimov-ich said Netanyahu must use Israel’s “long arm” to bring peace. “Like it or not, you, Netanyahu, are our leader. Not every leader faces the same challenges,” she stated. “Just as we need courage to fight terror, courage and wisdom are needed to maintain a Jewish and dem-ocratic state.”
Yachimovich called on Netanyahu to show the level of courage displayed in the Entebbe raid to ensure that Israel does not become a bi-national state and to fulfill the Zionist vision.
The Labor leader repeated her prom-ise to offer support to the prime minister if he begins peace talks, quoting former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who was the opposition leader during the Entebbe raid, as having offered support to then-prime minister and rival Yitzhak Rabin.
NationalGeorge Zimmerman
Trial Nears FinishThe prosecution in George Zimmer-
man’s second-degree murder trial rested their case last Friday, after presenting 38 witnesses in nine days. The defense be-gan presenting their case on Monday. At the rate the trial is going, the Seminole County jury of six—which consists of females only—may begin deliberation by early next week.
Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 29, admits that he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed and walking home in a Florida housing complex after
going to 7-Eleven for Skittles and iced tea. However, Zimmerman’s defense is that he shot Martin in self defense, after Martin pounced on him and repeatedly slammed his head into the concrete side-walk.
The prosecution needed to prove be-yond a reasonable doubt that Zimmer-man did not shoot in self-defense.
One of the clues the jury will look to is a 911 call which captured the confron-tation between Zimmerman and Martin. In the background, an individual is heard frantically screaming, “Help.” It is pre-sumed that the individual screaming for help was being attacked by the other in-dividual. When asked by the prosecutor who the voice in the background of the 911 call is, Trayvon’s mother stoically responded, “Trayvon Benjamin Mar-tin.” When asked by the defense counsel who the voice in the background of the 911 call is, George Zimmerman’s moth-er responded, “My son, George.”
Although called by the prosecution, the lead police detective on the case testified that he believed Zimmerman’s story during his initial interviews with the suspect. He explained that he used a common investigative technique of deceptively telling the suspect that the incident was captured on video. Zim-merman’s response to that was, “Thank G-d.”
So far, this trial has featured nu-merous awkward moments. The first and most prominent such moment was during opening statements when de-fense attorney Don West declared, “This is a sad case, of course, a young man lost his life, another is fighting for his.” He then declared that he would tell a joke and proceeded to say, “Knock, knock. Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Good, you’re on the jury.” When the jury looked at him in bewilderment, he declared, “No more bad jokes, I promise that.”
Another awkward moment came during the cross-examination of a pro-fessor at Seminole State College who testified that George Zimmerman took
his criminal procedure class. When Zimmerman’s attorney pointed out Zim-merman at the defense table, the pro-fessor smiled at Zimmerman and said: “How you doing, George?”
Despite the seriousness of this tri-al, 19-year-old Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Trayvon as the saga unfolded last February, instantly became an internet sensation after her colorful testimony which was replete with eye rolling and long and drawn out responses of “Yes sir.”
If convicted of second degree mur-der, Zimmerman will face 25 years to life in prison. If convicted of man-slaughter, he could face up to 30 years in prison.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for Sale
How would you like to share an ad-dress with the Obamas?
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is now on the market! But before you get excit-ed about sharing a home with POTUS and FLOTUS, the address that’s for sale is 1600 Southeast Pennsylvania Avenue; the Northwest address is currently occu-pied by the First Family.
The apartment complex currently serves as a used car lot but developers expect the building to be ready for oc-cupancy by 2015.
The address was not easy to acquire. The developer had to petition his request to the D.C. government in order to ob-tain the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave address. But they hope that the famous address will help with marketing their property.
The 5-story luxury building will overlook the Anacostia River.
During a press release, the develop-ers at Novo Development Corporation released details of the project clarifying that the building will not resemble the White House in any way, it’s simply the
The Week In news
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mailing address that is similar.Hoping to lure buyers, the develop-
ers said, “Soon without having to stand for election or endure the isolation of the executive mansion, a select group of Washingtonians will be able to list their addresses as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Imagine receiving the Obamas’ mail by accident…don’t open it! It may be ricin!
Justice Ginsburg: No Plans for
Retirement Just Yet
The average retirement age in the United States is 61. That makes Su-preme Court Justice Ruth Bader Gins-burg one of the older working Ameri-cans at the age of 80. And she has no plans of stepping down as leader of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing.
In a recent interview, she told the public that she is in good health and has plans to keep her seat on the beach for a few more years. Ginsburg survived two serious bouts with cancer, in 1999 and 2009. She pledged to repel any pres-sure from her liberal counterparts to re-tire. Many liberals are hoping that she will retire before the November 2016 election so that Democratic President Barack Obama can choose her succes-sor while still in office, but Ginsburg says that won’t sway her decision. Su-preme Court justices are appointed by the president for life. They are often a president’s most enduring legacy. Gins-burg, the eldest justice on an ideologi-cally divided court, was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Harvard University law profes-sor Randall Kennedy told Reuters that he thinks that “the responsible thing” would be for Ginsburg to gracefully re-
tire. “It seems to me that a justice should take into account the politics surround-ing confirmation and not allow [an] op-portunity to fall to a Republican,” he said.
But Ginsburg’s opinion is that the job of a justice is “it really has to be, ‘Am I equipped to do the job?’”
She said she is energized by her work as the senior liberal, a position she has held since 2010 when Justice John Paul Stevens retired, and calls being a justice “the best job in the world for a lawyer.”
Moving War Letters Put on Display
A stunning collection of wartime correspondence from soldiers to their loves ones is being put on display in the new Center for American War Letters opening this fall at Chapman University in Southern California. The letters start from as far back as the War of Indepen-dence to modern day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Private collector and author An-drew Carroll, who started gathering war correspondence 15 years ago, began a nationwide speaking tour this week to unearth more historical gems gathering dust in the closets and attics of veterans and their descendants. A play based on the letters, “If All the Sky Were Paper,” will also tour this summer.
Some of the letters are speckled with blood while others have a thin layer of sand stuck to them. They are a very real way of understanding our coun-tries soldiers and wartime sentiments. “It’s about real people and what they go through, whether it’s frontline combat, whether it’s on the home front: combat letters, love letters, last letters,” Carroll said. “The thing about war letters is, be-cause they’re written in these life and death circumstances, almost by their
nature they tend to be more vivid and vibrant. Everything is more intense.”
One from World War II is pierced by a bullet hole that hit the soldier’s backpack but didn’t kill him. Another letter has an elaborate cartoon done by an airman, who was supposed to work for Disney upon his return but was killed in action.
Soldiers write about being freed from slavery upon the end of the Civil War and last goodbyes upon storming Normandy. The collection, which Carroll dubbed the Legacy Project, covers the vast sweep of U.S. history as seen through the eyes of the people who lived it.
Asiana Plane Crash Investigation Can
Take Years
The cause of the tragedy that claimed the lives of two schoolgirls from China traveling on the Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul to San Francisco is still un-known.
As officials try make out what led up to the catastrophic Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board plan to analyze air-traffic control re-cords, weather, aircraft maintenance, and the crew’s actions from data record-ers aboard the plane. Authorities say that the formal investigation can take several years.
The aircraft was packed with more than 300 people when it crash-landed onto the runway at San Francisco airport on Saturday and caught fire. Survivors escaped by sliding down the emergency inflatable slides.
The flight originated in Shanghai, China, and stopped over in Seoul, South Korea, before arriving in San Francisco.
The airline reported that there were 16 crew members and 291 passengers onboard. Of the 291 passengers, 77 were South Korean, 141 were Chinese, there were 61 Americans, and one Jap-anese citizen. The nationalities of the remaining passengers weren’t immedi-ately known. 181 of those on the plane were injured in the crash and two young
The Week In news
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The Tzitzit garment (beged) worn by combat soldiers in the Israeli army must be olive green to
match their uniform camouflage in the field. The standard issue green Tzitzit is made of thin cotton
that does not last long under the extreme rigors of long weeks of field training and combat.
The National Council of Young Israel and the American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate have joined to
promote a new fabric (Dri Fit ©) that resists sweat and the rigors of the field.
Now, you can help provide these tzitzit to chayalim. A donation of $25 for 1, or $36 for 2,
will help us reach our goal of 10,000 tzitzit by Rosh Hashana. Here is your opportunity
to add a layer of protection to our beloved chayalim and at the same time help them
fulfill a mitzvah while they are defending their country.
GOProject green
You can purchase these tzitzit online at
www.youngisrael.org/operationgogreen. Additional opportunities for larger quantities
are also available to help us meet our goal.
Please call us at 212-929-1525 x100Or email: [email protected]
דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם ועשו להם ציצת על-כנפי בגדיהם לדרתם
ונתנו על ציצת הכנף פתיל תכלת...
Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments...
Numbers 15:38
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girls were killed. The plane approached the runway
at around noon after the ten hour flight. Eyewitnesses and travelers at the airport reported that the aircraft was noticeably swaying as it approached, and the tail of the plane seemed to hit the concrete upon landing.
Kate Belding, who was jogging a few miles away, said she thought to her-self, “Oh my G-d. That plane is crash-ing.” She noticed that as the plane ap-proached the runway it “just didn’t look like it was coming in quite right.”
“Then all of a sudden I saw what looked like a cloud of dirt puffing up and then there was a big bang and it kind of looked like the plane maybe bounced [as it neared the ground],” she said. “I couldn’t really tell what happened, but you saw the wings going up and [in] a weird angle.”
The fire burned a hole through the top of the Boeing 777. The tail section was destroyed, with pieces of it scat-tered across the runway. One engine ap-peared to have broken away.
Smartest Cities in America
In what city does the smartest person you know live?
Lumosity.com, a cognitive train-ing site run by Lumos Labs, ranked the smartest cities in the country. Stanford, California, beat out all the other 478 cities for the title of “Brainiest City in America.”
Cities were ranked based on resi-dents’ average brain performance score across Lumosity’s five cognitive train-ing exercises: speed, attention, flexibili-ty, memory, and problem solving. More than 3 million people, between the ages
of 15 and 85, participated in this year’s study.
Last year, college towns dominat-ed the list and the same trend can be seen on this year’s rankings. Stanford is home to one of the best universities in the country, Stanford University. Princ-eton, New Jersey, also home to a presti-gious university, came in second place. The smartest cities in the U. S. are:
Stanford, CaliforniaPrinceton, New JerseyStorrs Mansfield, ConnecticutEvanston, IllinoisCambridge, Massachusetts La Jolla, CaliforniaAmherst, MassachusettsWest Lafayette, IndianaIthaca, New York Davis, California
Nation Mourns 19 Elite Firefighters Who
Perished in ArizonaThe wildfire that tore through
the village of Yarnell in Arizona and burned more than 8,000 acres and 200 structures was one of the most danger-ous fires in history. The fire led to the mandatory evacuation of 450 residents in Yarnell and Peeples Valley. Because of the massive fire, 19 elite firefighters were sent in to fight the blaze. But tragi-cally, they did not make it out alive.
The 19 firefighters who perished on Sunday in the wildfire were: Robert Caldwell, 23; Travis Carter, 31; Dustin Deford, 24; Chris MacKenzie, 30; Eric Marsh, 43; Grant McKee, 21; Sean Mis-ner, 26; Scott Norris, 28; Wade Parker, 22; John Percin, 24; Anthony Rose, 23; Jesse Steed, 36; Joe Thurston, 32; Travis Turbyfill, 27; Billy Warneke, 25; Clay-
ton Whitted, 28; Kevin Woyjeck, 21; and Garret Zuppiger, 27.
The public mourned the loss of these brave men who risked their lives to save others. Investigators are attempting to piece together the information they have in order to determine exactly what hap-pened in the deadliest wildfire for fire-fighters ever in Arizona and the dead-liest incident of any kind for U.S. first responders since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The all-male crew was aged be-tween 21 and 43 and members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew. Each one of them underwent in-tense training before being dispatched to battle wildfires nationwide. Based in Prescott, Arizona, only 34 miles away from Yarnell, they were familiar with the terrain.
Across the country, there are about 110 hotshot firefighting crews. The elite teams of about 20 specially trained members generally work almost non-stop through the summer. They break up every two weeks for two days off. Crews refresh their skills during a min-imum-80-hour training session, doing group cohesion drills, going over strate-gy and the latest tactics, at the beginning of each wildfire season.
“These guys are the best of the best,” said Alex Abols, a longtime Idaho-based hotshot, who recently became a smoke jumper.
They plow through forests carrying 40 to 50 pounds of equipment, including rations, a chain saw, a tool called a Pu-laski that combines an ax and a hoe, and shelter clothes.
Smoke jumpers usually leap to the ground from airplanes during the initial attack on a wildfire. It’s common for hotshot crews to fight fires deep in the forest for days at a time. The elite crews are sent around the country to battle the harshest wildfires, often being away from home for weeks at a time and on short notice. “Crews sleep on the ground and are lucky to get a shower every cou-ple of days,” according to a description of hotshots on the website for the U.S. Forest Service, one of several federal and state agencies that use the teams.
By late Sunday afternoon, the fire-fighters radioed from their positions on the ground that they were in trouble. A short time later, a helicopter pilot report-ed to the Arizona State Forestry’s dis-patch center in Phoenix that firefighters were attempting to shelter themselves west of Yarnell under fire-shelter covers, a heat-resistant specialty fabric made of aluminum foil, woven silica, and fiber-glass. The shelter covers are recognized as the last line of defense.
Due to extremely heavy smoky con-ditions and heat, it took rescue workers some time to check on the firefighters. “It felt like forever,” said Carrie Den-nett, state fire-prevention officer for Arizona State Forestry. According to a spokesman with the Prescott Fire De-partment, rescuers eventually found that the heroes had been caught in a “burn over,” a sudden change in the direction of the fire that overwhelmed them be-fore they could escape.
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12 to 12.3 oz. pkg
Paskesz Sandwich Cookies
2 for $5.0016 oz. pkg
Vanilla – Chocolate – Duplex
McCain’s Potatoes
2 for $5 19 to 28 oz. bags
Wedges – Spirals – Clas-sic – Crinkle Cut
2 lb. Rye Bread
$2.89 each Ronzoni Pasta
5 for $5.001 lb. pkg
Ziti - Spaghetti – Elbows – Rotini
Hunts BBQ Sauce 99¢
21.6 oz. btl Original – Honey – Hickory
Super A Ice Pops or Red/White/Blue Pops
$1.99 21 to 30 oz. pkg
Bounty White Paper Towels $7.99
8 roll pkg
Gefen Tall Pink Salmon$3.99 14.75 oz. can
Heinz Tomato Ketchup
$2.99 64 oz. btl
Edy’s Ice Cream $2.99
48 oz. cont Asst
La Yogurt Yogurts
2 for 99¢ 6 oz. cont Asst
Bissili Multi Packs
$4.99 14.8 oz. pkg
BBQ – Pizza – Falafel
Poland Spring Water
$4.99 24 pack
16.9 oz. btls
Coke – Sprite – Diet Coke –
Fresca 4 for $5.00
2 liter btl
Poland Spring Water 89¢
3 liter Clear Bottle
Super A Whipped
Cream Cheese$1.69
8 oz. cont
Tropicana Orange Juice or Grapefruit Juice
$2.99 59 oz. cont
Barilla Marinara Sauce 3 for $5.00
24 oz jar Asst
Marcal Bath Tissue $9.99
20 Roll Bundle
Super A Liquid Laundry
Detergent$2.99
Gallon Btl Regular – Bleach – Lemon – Mountain
Roland Kosher Dill
Pickles99¢ 24 oz. jar
Fanta - Fuze - Seagram’s – Minute Maid
99¢ 2 liter btl
Chobani Yogurt
89¢ 6 oz. cont Asst
Of Tov Chiclicious or Chicken
Cutlets $9.99
2 lb. bag
Arizona Tea
99¢ 64 oz btl Asst
Super A Vegetables
2 for $5.00 32 oz. pkg
Okra – Peas – Corn – Mixed
Blue Bunny Ice Cream
Sandwiches or Mini Cones $4.99
10 Ct. pkg
3:30 p.m.
7/14/13 - 7/19/13pay less - get more
Betty Crocker Fruit Roll Ups
2 for $5.00 5 oz. pkg Asst
Real Kosher No Nitrate
Franks$3.99
12 oz. pkg
Chulent Meat$4.99
lb
Ground Chuck $3.19
lbfamily pack
Tuna Patties$9.99
lb
Boneless Ribs $9.99
lb
Quinoa$6.99
lb
Boneless Chicken Thighs
$8.99 lb
Asian Rice$3.99
lb
Minute Steak$7.99
lbwhole or sliced
Cornish Hens $2.89
lb 2 in a pack
Shoulder London Broil $7.99
lb
FRESH FISHHalibut Steak$10.99
lb
Chilean Sea Bass Fillet
$17.99 lb
Baby Salmon Fillet
$8.99 lb
Flounder Fillet$12.99
lb
Costa Rican Tilapia Fillet$7.99
lb
Tuna Steak$11.99
lb
Flavor of the week CAPPUCCINO FUDGE
Tnuva Swiss Cheese$5.49
½ lb
FAT FREE / SUGAR FREEICED COFFEE REGULAR OR FLAVORED
20 oz. $2.50 , 32 oz. $3.50
APPY. COUNTER
Roland Mushrooms
99¢ 8 oz. can
Stems ‘n’ Pieces
Teva Beef Patties
$14.99 2 lb. pkg
Paskesz Marshmallows 2 for $4
8 oz. bags Asst
FRESH SUSHI
Snapple Tea3 for
$5.00 64 oz. btls Asst
Gefen Solid White Tuna
in Water 2 for $4.00
6 oz. can
PowerAde Drinks 69¢
32 oz. btl Asst
Kleenex Facial Tissue
3 for $4.00 152 to 160 Ct. box
White or Asst
Extra Large Sweet Southern Peaches
99¢ lb
Kiwi Fruit 3 for 99¢
Southern Blueberries
(pint) 2 for $4.00
California Organic Red or Green
Seedless Grapes $2.99
lb
California Raspberries/ Blackberries
2 for $5.00
Locally Grown Cucumbers 2 for 99¢
Best Local Grown Eggplants
99¢ lb
Locally Grown Corn
5 for $1.99Jumbo Sugar
Sweet Honeydews $2.99
each
Dole Classic Iceberg or Coleslaw Mix 2 for $3.00
California Iceberg Lettuce 99¢
each
Red Ripe Whole Seedless
Watermelons $4.99
each
Red Ripe Tomatoes 99¢
lb
Extra Large Nectarines $1.49
lb
Classic Cooking Dressing Italian Cheese or Ranch
2 for $5.008 oz. btl
Friendship Cottage Cheese
2 for $5 16 oz. cont Asst
Macabee Pizza Bagels
2 for $5.00 12.5 oz. pkg Original or Veggie
Amnon’s Original
Sliced Pizza$6.99
36 oz. pkg Regular or Whole Wheat
Real Kosher Classic Franks$2.99
12 oz. pkg
Yo Crunch Yogurt
2 for $1 6 oz. cont Asst
Swiss Miss Puddings 2 for $56 pack Asst
Solomon’s All Beef Franks$19.99
5 lb. pkg
Sally Sherman Cole Slaw, Potato or
Macaroni Salad $3.99
2 lb. cont
Vegetable Roll$3.99
each
California Roll
$4.99 each
Spicy Girl Roll$9.99
each Spicy Salmon Tuna, Crunchy
w/ Pepper Tuna, Avocado Scallion Topped
Smoked Salmon Roll $4.99
each
Salmon Special$9.99
each Salmon Avocado Roll w/ 3 Pieces
Salmon Sushi
SUPER SPECIAlS
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Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo, choking back tears, said the firefighters were “protecting property.” As to what transpired next, he said, “Only Mother Nature might be able to explain.”
The wildfire started burning on Fri-day and is believed to have been sparked by lightning.
Jewish-American Billionaire Fugitive
Dies at 78
Holocaust survivor billionaire Marc Rich died in Switzerland from a stroke at the age of 78. He is being buried in Israel. Rich was famous for having in-vented oil trading in the 1960’s and also for having been pardoned by President Clinton for one of the largest tax eva-sion crimes in history.
Rich fled the Holocaust with his par-ents for America and went on to become the most successful and controversial trader of his time.
The billionaire, who was born Mar-cell David Reich in Antwerp on De-cember 18, 1934, began his career with one of the biggest trading houses of the time, Philipp Brothers, when he was 20-years-old. He left in 1974 with a fel-low graduate of the mailroom, Pincus “Pinky” Green, and set up Marc Rich and Co AG in Switzerland, a firm that would eventually become the extremely successful Glencore Xstrata Plc.
Many of the biggest names in oil and metals trading trace their roots back to Rich, whose triumph in the 1960s and 70s was to create a spot market for crude oil, wresting business away from the world’s big oil groups.
He evaded arrest and became a fugi-tive from US justice, enjoying decades of comfortable privacy at his sprawling Villa Rosa on Lake Lucerne. Along with not paying taxes, he was also ac-cused of building a fortune trading with revolutionary Iran, Muammar Gaddafi’s
Libya, apartheid-era South Africa, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and Augusto Pinochet’s Chile.
Rich was eventually granted a pres-idential pardon in the last days of Clin-ton’s presidency. Eric Holder was the one who helped pushed through the par-don, and Clinton famously regretted the pardon later on. “It was terrible politics. It wasn’t worth the damage to my repu-tation,” he said in 2002.
Late Ambassador Chris Stevens Diary Published
The diary in which Ambassador Chris Stevens recorded the days leading up to his death in Benghazi, Libya, has been published online, revealing that in his last entry, the ambassador scrawled, “Never-ending security threats…”
The seven-page diary, published with redactions, was originally found on the floor of the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi by a reporter days after mil-itants targeted that facility and a nearby CIA annex in separate attacks on Sept. 11, 2012.
Stevens was slaughtered in the at-tack along with State Department com-puter specialist Sean Smith and two former Navy SEALs, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, who were working as contractors with the CIA.
The journal shows Stevens was grateful to be back in Benghazi and eagerly watching democracy slowly sprouting in nation. He had last visit-ed Benghazi nine months before when he snuck in the country in the midst of the popular uprising against dictator Moammar Gadhafi. ”Back in Benghazi after 9 months,” he writes. “It’s a grand feeling, given all the memories.” In the diary, Stevens is generally optimistic in his descriptions of Libya and its people, but he notes the “dicey conditions” on the ground there, where he said militias rule, and references previous attacks on diplomats.
State Department spokesperson Pat-rick Ventrell confirmed the diary did appear to be Stevens’ and repeated the family’s wishes that the journal not be published. “Ambassador Stevens was a cherished member of the State Depart-ment community who was clearly deep-ly committed to U.S. diplomacy and to the people of Libya, and he is profound-ly missed here at this department and here in this government,” Ventrell told reporters.
Snobbiest Cities in America
Most people have their own defini-tion of “a snob” but according to dic-tionary.com the exact definition is: “A person with an exaggerated respect for high social position who dislikes people or activities regarded as lower-class” or “A person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people.”
Recently, Travel + Leisure read-ers responded to a survey ranking the snobbiest cities in America. The classic symptoms of snobbery were factored in, like a reputation for standoffish and know-it-all residents, along with expen-sive shopping and exclusive cultural ex-hibits like classical music, theater, and art galleries. In addition, more current trends of superiority were considered, like tech-savviness, artisanal coffee-houses, and an obvious eco-conscious-ness trend.
The top snobbiest cities in the U.S. are:
1. San Francisco2. New York City 3. Boston4. Minneapolis/St. Paul5. Santé Fe, New Mexico (tied) 6. Seattle (tied) 7. Chicago 8. Providence, Rhode Island9. Washington, D.C. 10.Charleston, S. Carolina
If you plan on visiting any of these cities this summer, be sure to throw your soda can into the right garbage can or expect dirty looks from passersby, wear
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anything that can be interpreted as “vin-tage,” and don’t expect to find a Dunkin Donuts. Have fun!
That’s Odd
The Coolest Room Around
It may be hot outside, but in here, it’s freezing.
Manhattan’s first ice bar has just opened to New Yorkers’ delight. Pa-trons receive Eskimo-style gloves and a parka with their admission to the bar that is made entirely of ice.
“The walls, everything,” manager Chris Eldridge said. “The chairs you’re sitting on, the glass you’re drinking out of, even the light above your head is made of ice.”
The ice is special “carvers” ice—from Canada, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Minneapolis. 350 blocks of it, each weighing 100 pounds, were used to cre-
ate the igloo-type feeling in the room. Even when temps soar on the streets of Broadway over 90 degrees, the tempera-ture inside the bar is a cool 23 degrees Fahrenheit—or minus 5 degrees Cel-sius—hence, the cool name of the club: Minus5 Bar.
Every few months, ice carvers change the sculptures in the bar. There are no cellphones allowed as they emit heat that can melt the blocks of ice. Af-ter sipping your drink, if you’d like to sit somewhere warm, there are couches made of faux deerskin to provide some comfort. The bartenders are decked out in snow boots and coats—they’re here
for the long haul and know that it can get really cold!
Hands down, this is a great place to chill.
Big “Mis-State” in This Diploma
We would think that a universi-ty would be able to correctly spell the name of the state in which it is located. However, recent graduates from Rad-ford University in Virginia were sur-prised to find the name of their state missing a letter on their diplomas.
The word “Virginia” appears twice on the document and the second time, it is missing the last “i” for a grand total of “Virgina.” The university remained un-aware of the error until a graduate noti-fied officials. In total, 1,481 undergrad-uate and graduate diplomas from fall 2012 and spring 2013 were misspelled, according to Joe Carpenter, Radford’s chief communications officer. Appar-ently, out of all those graduates, only one actually took the time to read his diploma!
In a statement, Carpenter said that the diplomas actually had two spelling errors on them. In addition to “Virginia” being misspelled “Virgina,” the word “thereto” was spelled “therto.”
“The error was caused when the commercial software system used to produce the diplomas within the univer-sity’s registrar’s office was upgraded in the fall of 2012. That software upgrade required that the diploma narrative be re-keyed into the program. It was during the re-keying process that the typo-graphical errors were introduced into the template,” he said.
“Radford University regrets any in-convenience this error may have caused our alumni and will be working to cor-rect these errors in a timely manner,” he added.
The school has issued new diplomas to replace the misspelled ones. Some of the graduates have decided to keep orig-inals to remind them that even universi-ties of higher learning can make simple mistakes.
1776 Newspaper Sells at Auction—237
Years Later!A copy of the first newspaper print-
ing of the Declaration of Independence
has sold at auction for a record price. The paper went for $632,500 to David Rubenstein. Rubenstein is the chief ex-ecutive of U.S. private equity giant Car-lyle Group.
David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of the Washington-based asset manager, bought the printing of The Pennsylvania Evening Post dated July 6, 1776. It was printed two days after American colonists declared their inde-pendence from the British.
Seth Kaller, an expert and dealer in historic documents who represented the seller in the auction at the Robert A. Sie-gel Galleries in New York, said it was the highest price ever paid at auction for a historic newspaper.
Rubenstein has acquired several historic documents that are on loan to U.S. institutions, including a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation declar-ing freedom for slaves that is signed by Abraham Lincoln. The proclamation is on loan to the Oval Office of the White House, Carlyle spokesman Christopher Ullman said. ”He purchases these and then is putting them on permanent loan at important institutions so that more people can see them,” Ullman said. “When he dies, he’ll make them perma-nent.”
Rubenstein also owns a 1297 copy of the Magna Carat that is currently on loan to the National Archives, where the signed manuscripts of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights are displayed, and the first map of the United States after declaring independence, on display at the Library of Congress.
Rubenstein has not yet decided where to display The Pennsylvania Evening Post, one of 19 copies known to exist. “It looks like it did in 1776,” Kaller said. “No fading and very little toning to the paper.”
Some things have changed, though. 237 years ago, the price for the paper was only “two coppers.”
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Food and FriendshipWhen planning a party or get-to-
gether, many people focus on the food. After all, food has a way to help us connect with one another. A Cincinnati writer took this concept to a whole new level and has connected with someone she doesn’t know, just by cooking that person’s favorite foods.
Bryn Mooth was shopping in an an-tique store last summer when she came across a stack of index cards tied up nicely in a bow. She was looking for vintage cooking items to display on her cooking blog and could not resist the charm of these handwritten recipes tied up so carefully. The shopkeeper had picked them up at an estate sale and was happy to sell them for $3.95.
The 4-by-6 recipes cards, most of which were written in neat cursive and dated 1934, were signed “Clara Shenefelt.” Mooth felt she had found someone’s family treasure. “I don’t know Clara or her family,” Mooth wrote on her blog after the acquisition, “but I feel connected to her through her reci-pes. Food has a way of doing that.” She started what she calls the Clara Project and tries out a different recipe every week.
What began as a junk store impulse buy turned into a lesson in America’s home cooking history, and a search for the woman who had so carefully copied those recipes down with her fountain pen. Mooth has tracked down Clara and plans on meeting with her next month. “I didn’t know what the circumstanc-es were that led a family to part with a family thing like this,” Mooth said. “I hoped that the resolution would be hap-py and everyone would be cool with it. And that’s actually exceeded my expec-tations.”
Clara celebrated her 98th birthday on June 24 and is looking forward to seeing her recipe cards again. She has a chocolate cake recipe that she hopes to use for her 99th birthday next year.
Women Can’t Keep Secrets
I recently read (in TJH!) that Benja-min Franklin once said, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.“
But here’s some more news about secrets. According to recent research, women are significantly worse at keep-ing a secret than men. Researchers discovered that a woman will typically spill a secret to someone else within 47 hours and 15 minutes; that’s just short of two days.
The study conducted in the U.K. analyzed 3,000 women aged between 18 and 65 and found that four in ten were unable to keep a secret, no mat-ter how personal or confidential. Over half admitted that alcohol often prompts them to spill the beans. Husbands, best friends, and mothers were most likely to be initial recipients of the information.
Michael Cox, UK Director of Wines of Chile which commissioned the re-search, said, “It’s official—women can’t keep secrets.”
“We were really keen to find out with this survey how many secrets peo-ple are told. What we didn’t bank on was how quickly these are passed on by those we confide in. No matter how precious the piece of information, it’s often out in the public domain within 48 hours. That means every single Brit who has confided in a friend should be worried because they don’t know where their secret is heading.” Cox continued, “The fact they offload gossip to some-one completely unrelated to the matter or in a different social group can be comforting, but while nine in ten girls deem themselves trustworthy – they still
have spilt the beans. And juicy gossip can really flow after a couple of glasses of wine.”
According to the research, the aver-age woman hears about three pieces of gossip each week, and will most likely pass it on to at least one other person. Two-thirds admitted that after they re-peat the gossip they feel guilty.
Of the 3,000 women, 83% consid-er themselves 100 percent trustworthy. This revelation is particularly interest-ing; four in ten women believe that it’s perfectly okay to share a friend’s secret with someone who does not know them.
Fortunately for some, 27% say they usually forgot what they were told by the next day.
You can never believe what my friend told me…I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to tell!
This Turtle Turns Heads
It’s not an alien from a science fic-tion story—it’s a two-headed turtle and it’s very cute. The San Antonio Zoo has
hatched the female Texas cooter with two heads. She arrived June 18 and will go on display Thursday at the zoo’s Friedrich Aquarium.
The shell-bound amphibian is be-ing affectionately called Thelma and Louise. Zoo spokeswoman Debbie Ri-os-Vanskike said that the two-headed turtle appears healthy and is able to swim and walk. She says experts at the zoo don’t foresee any health issues for Thelma and Louise.
This is not the first time the zoo had visitors seeing double. The facility was home to a two-headed Texas rat snake named Janus from 1978 until the crea-ture’s death in 1995.
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Wine-Soaked Popcorn
If you like popcorn and you like wine, then this is the perfect treat for you. A gourmet popcorn bar in New York combined these two foods into a trendy snack.
Artisan popcorn maker Populence teamed up with the New Zealand win-ery Kim Crawford to create two new wine-soaked popcorn flavors: Pinot Noir Chocolate Drizzle and Sauvignon Blanc Kettle.
“I love combining organic heirloom and whole ingredients to create gourmet popcorn flavors. To me, the perfect snack
satisfies both a sweet and salty crunch but remains low in calories, low in fat, and is gluten-free made with all-natural ingredients,” Maggie Paulus, founder of Populence, said. “I began making my own gourmet popcorn flavors to satisfy my cravings in a healthy way.”
Expect a zesty, lemony taste from the Sauvignon Blanc and a more indul-gent flavor from the Pinot Noir Choco-late Drizzle. According to Paulus, both go incredibly well with a glass of their respective wines.
But a taste of these delicious snacks will cost you a bit more than usual. A 1-gallon tin costs $28 in Populence’s re-tail store and $35 on its website.
Supposedly, the snack is healthy—but in moderate doses. Studies show that those who drink red wine in moder-ation seem to have a lower risk of heart disease. A recent study by Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton reported popcorn contained more of the healthy antioxidant substances “polyphenols” than fruits and vegetables. However, Vinson was careful to mention that pop-corn should not replace fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies contain vitamins and other nutrients that are not
in popcorn that are important for good health.
$28 for a gallon of popcorn? I think I can dunk my kernels into my own wine for a lot less money.
Oldest McDonald’s Employee
As mentioned earlier in this issue, the average retirement age in the U.S. is 61; in the U.K. the average retirement age is slightly higher at 65. But that doesn’t stop great-grandpa Bill Dudley.
At 88, he may be McDonald’s oldest employee. Although he has a pacemak-er, angina, and a knee replacement, he is still able to work twice a week for six hours a day.
His title is Customer Care Manager at the Mold, North Wales McDonalds branch in the U.K. His regular duties include greeting customers and wiping down tables. The senior citizen previ-ously worked at British Steel, an aircraft manufacturer, and as a cab driver, but he is content with his current position at the fast food joint.
“Sitting at home can get boring. I’m not a drinker and my wife won’t let me touch the garden as she does all that. Af-ter four days off at home I look forward to coming to work because I like talking to people and meeting people — that’s why I loved the taxi work.”
Bill is a World War II veteran. He lives in Connah’s Quay, five miles from work, and adds: “The staff thinks the world of me. A lot of them are much younger than I am, like a whole differ-ent generation. But we’re like a family
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and I’m their father.” It cannot be confirmed that he is
the oldest McDonald worker since a spokesman for the company said they don’t keep a database of staff ages. But he added: “Bill is probably one of the oldest working for us in the world.”
And he’s lovin’ it.
Teacher Wears Same Clothes for Four Decades
Some people get tired of wearing the same outfit every day but this retir-ing schoolteacher has been sporting the same one for 40 years!
Every year, the Prestonwood Ele-mentary in the Richardson school dis-trict in Texas takes photographs of the faculty for the yearbook. Quite acciden-tally, Dale Irby, the physical education teacher, wore the same outfit two years in a row. His wife, Cathy, dared him to go for the hat trick and make it three years straight. After that he thought, “Why not five?” The rest is history.
The gym teacher, now 63, had a pret-ty loose dress code much of the time that allowed him to wear shorts to school. But on picture day, it was dress-up day. And that day became a “Groundhog Day” of outfits: a polyester, pointy-col-lared shirt and brown vest.
A slideshow of the past 40 yearbook photos shows that not much has changed about the P.E. teacher. His glasses have gotten a bit smaller and his hair a bit
grayer, but impressively he still fits into the same size shirt and pants. You know what else stayed the same? His smile, or lack of it.
Those P.E. teachers sure stay in shape.
Is This a Drive Thru for Food or Money?
It pays to order from the drive-thru, literally.
Three hungry customers who or-dered food at a Taco Bell drive-thru in western Michigan got something way more valuable than a lunch special. An employee at the fast food chain mistak-enly passed the customers cash instead of their food. The money had been pre-pared in a Taco Bell bag for deposit at a nearby bank.
The trio returned the $3,600 a short time later. Kennidi Rue admitted that she and two friends considered keeping the money but they said they’d feel too guilty so they decided to do the right thing and return it.
Rue and her friends got their meal
when they returned the money. I won-der if they got free fries with that.
Sidewalk Egg Frying Competition
We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s hot enough to fry an egg on the side-walk” but like most expressions, it tends to be an exaggeration. But not in Oat-man, Arizona!
In this dusty, desert town, it is literal-ly that hot! So the community organized an annual sidewalk egg-frying contest.
The summer season is kicked off every year on July 4th with a sidewalk
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egg frying competition. The winner is determined by who can cook the most edible-looking egg exclusively by solar means.
At high noon, the eggs are cracked, and the 30 participants get cooking. 15 minutes later, a winner is declared based on who has the best-looking fried egg. The event is over by 1pm.
“If we don’t [end it then], everybody would pass out,” said Fred Eck, 69, a re-tired special events coordinator who has organized the fry since its beginning.
Fire and electricity are banned from the contest, which attracts 200-300 visi-tors to the small town. Entrants can use magnifying glasses, aluminum foil, and focus mirrors to manipulate the eggs to the 158 degrees necessary to fry.
The concept started in 1983 as a competition between the nearby com-munities of Laughlin, Nevada, and Bull-head City, Arizona, during a heat wave that made national headlines. “People thought it was bad publicity for the area because it drew attention to the heat,” said Eck. But now it has become an at-traction and media coverage even helps attract visitors year-round. “The place is only a quarter mile long. There’s 35 shops, a couple of bars, a few restau-rants,” said Eck. “It needs all the public-ity it can get to stay alive.”
So, how would you like them? Sun-ny-side-up or scrambled?
The Pampered Life…For your Pets
Nowadays people spend money on all kinds of crazy things, and a big trend is people pampering their pets.
Abril Loya of BobVila.com com-piled a list of the ten over-the-top ways to pamper your precious pet.
Sean McCoy created a suit of armor for his guinea pig. After his pet died, he sold the suit on eBay for $24,300. The funds went to benefit the Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue.
If you feel that your dog should be treated like royalty, then the Fairytale
Dog House is the perfect palace. It’s made of premium varnished wood and each structure is custom built to accom-modate you and your pet’s needs. The little dwelling will cost about $2,680.
Exercising three times a week is cru-cial to your health, but frequent exercise also keeps your pet happy. If you’re too busy to take your pup for a jog, then consider the Pet Zen, a treadmill de-
signed especially for your dog to help him stay in shape. But this convenience will cost you about $489.89.
Designer Lori Garner recently cre-ated a human-sized Swarovski-crys-tal-studded bathtub; now she designed a matching tub for that man’s best friend. The Baby Diamond Bathtub is just the right size for small breeds and comes in a variety of colors to match your décor
and your pet’s taste. The bathtub is cov-ered in more than 4,000 crystals, mak-ing the price way higher than an average pup tub at $3,800.
Clearly for the right price, your cat, dog, or fish can live the high life…life-styles of the rich and furry.
The Week In news
Rone hundred miles106
$120
44”/48” or 54”Mattress Set
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Bnot Yaakov of Great Neck hosted a Mother-Daughter Luncheon that marked the close of the school year combining delicious buffet with an expressive stu-dent “Family Tree Gardens” display. Mothers and daughters joined together for lunch at tables adjacent to the display, a collection of student re-flections on familial and cultural heritage through the medium of writing and photographs. Moth-ers enjoyed the writings and family pictures that relayed cultural ancestry and appreciation of fam-ilies’ pasts. Some stu-dents wrote about their families’ escape from Iran in the 70’s while others relayed grandpar-ents’ musings of their own lives in Iran as children. All students were required to interview a grandparent or other rela-
tive and then synthesize the information in organizing their essays.
The Mother-Daughter Luncheon’s highlight was special guest Rabbanit Kashani who presented an art and crafts activity in which mothers assisted their daughters with the construction of paper
dolls and creation of wardrobe choices! Utilizing the picturesque backdrop of the Family Tree Gardens display, Rabbanit
Kashani explained the legacy of sniyut (modesty) and how it, too, belongs to the collective history of the Jewish people as a whole. She explained that sniyut is the jewel of every Jewish woman and girl’s collective family ar-
chive, having been passed down from Sarah Imenu through the generations and that it defines the dignity of a Bat Yisrael. Each girl was given her choice of shiny “doll hair” and an array of “fabrics” from which to cre-ate a varied line of apparel for her doll. All creations were both beautiful and sniyut with many sparkling sequins and googly-eyes to
boot! Girls also received parting gifts of a Bnot Melachim music and song CD’s and adjoining coloring books.
The afternoon concluded with a song in which all Bot Yaakov talmidot donned crowns and performed “I Am a Proud Bat Melekh” for their mothers to enjoy. “It was a beautiful luncheon!” Mrs. Mehrnia, a Bnot Yaakov parent, re-marked as she left with a group of moth-ers. “The girls’ projects were really nice and I had a great time with my two girls.” Everybody was smiling as the luncheon came to a close, girls with their gift bags and adorned dolls and proud mothers ad-miring their daughters’ projects.
Bnot Yaakov of Great Neck Mother-Daughter Luncheon
Around the CommunityNEWS
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OneFamily (http://www.onefami-lytogether.org/), Israel’s only national organization solely dedicated to the re-habilitation of victims of terror attacks and their families, will be hosting a spe-cial Tisha B’Av event featuring Naftali Moses, father of Mercaz Harav massacre victim Avraham David Moses Hy”d, at the White Shul (Congregation Kneseth Israel) in Far Rockaway.
Following the gruesome homicidal spree by a lone Palestinian gunman at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in March 2008, Naftali Moses penned the inspirational memoir Mourning Under Glass, a de-scription of his experiences dealing with the loss of his 16-year-old son and his struggles with the frustrations of mem-ory and memorial. A resident of Efrat and a professor of Jewish medical ethics,
Naftali is regularly invited to speak to groups about living with loss caused by an act of terror.
OneFamily has been a lifeline for the Moses family since the day of the attack and even provided the financial backing necessary to help Naftali pub-lish his book. Since 2001, OneFamily has distributed over $35 million in di-rect financial assistance and services to victims of terror. In addition to financial assistance, OneFamily fosters an envi-ronment of mutual emotional and psy-chological support for victims of terror through support groups, retreats, camps and other innovative programs.
For additional information about this event, please contact Michelle: [email protected].
Tisha B’Av Program at the White Shul to Feature Father of Mercaz HaRav
Massacre Victim
From the moment the buses arrive each morning at Camp Machaneh Yis-rael’s campus – located at the spacious confines of Yeshiva of South Shore – un-til they board the buses each afternoon
at Inwood Park, the excitement in the air is palpable. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, each day starts with davening and learning with a devoted staff of pro-fessional rabbeim. The rabbeim utilize
a variety of meth-ods to ensure that the campers retain their skills from the school year and in-spire them to grow in their love of learning.
The camp, un-der its director and head counselor Rabbi Binyamin Jacobi, is always hopping with activi-ties. A huge variety of sports and games, swimming, special events and fabulous trips fill the daily schedule. This past week was highlighted by the conclusion of the B.T.F.L. (B’nei Torah Football League) and the World Cup Soccer tour-nament. Six teams representing different countries proudly wore their team color in a great competition of skill and sports-manship. In addition, the camp invited Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch, director of the Living Torah Museum, to conduct a captivating presentation.
So far, campers have enjoyed trips to Legoland, Mini-golf, batting cag-es, bowling, Fun Station, and Five Star Gymnastics. Next week, the first month’s grand finale will have three phe-nomenal trips. The junior division will head to Adventurer’s Amusement Park,
Intermediates are going to Keansburg Water and Amusement Park, and the Se-nior Division will enjoy an overnight trip to Clementon Park and Splash World, with a stop in Philadelphia!
But, undoubtedly, the camp’s most exciting venture is the Dynanite pro-gram. It is CMY’s dynamite night pro-gram. Directed by Rabbi Eli Katz, a sixth grade rebbe at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, and Avrumi Jacobs, director of AJ Sports, 5th thru 8th grade boys em-bark twice weekly on spectacular night activities and trips. So far this summer, Dynanites has visited Bounce Trampo-line Sports in Valley Cottage, Wheel Fun Bikes at Riis Park, the Aviator, and Palli-sades Climb Adventure.
Camp Machaneh Yisrael can be reached at (516) 374-3432, or by email at [email protected].
Non-Stop Fun at Camp Machaneh Yisrael
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This Tisha B’av, as the entire Jew-ish world puts aside their daily con-cerns and mourns the Bais Hamikdash, an additional wave of inspiration flows out across the globe. For more than two decades, the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation’s World-Wide Tisha B’Av Event has brought together Jews across
the U.S., throughout the world, and from all walks of life. This worldwide event has been implemented in 16 countries and 700 sites, including communities, camps and bungalow colonies, in order to inspire Jews to do their part in bring-ing achdus and geulah to Klal Yisrael.
Each year, the event focuses on
new perspectives and practical actions individuals can take to increase shalom in their personal lives and in the world. The presentations are captivating and inspiring, encouraging people to make real changes that will bring z’chus and brachah into their lives.
Indeed, the dozens of emails and phone calls each year are testimony to the impact of these events and its effects in people’s lives. As a result of the in-spiring words heard on Tisha B’Av, rifts have been healed, issues have been re-solved, and spiritual health has been re-stored.
At this year’s worldwide Tisha B’Av Event’s two programs, tens of thousands of Jews will hear riveting presentations that examine the dynamics of this in-ternal battle for the soul of Klal Yisrael. With the title “Step by Step, Choice by Choice,” the presentation highlights the power each individual exerts over his personal reality and our people’s destiny, through the words and deeds he chooses each day.
Program A offers the inimitable pre-sentations of Rav Yitzchok Scheiner , Rosh Yeshivas Kamenitz, Yerushalay-im and Rav Elya Brudny, R”M in the Mirrer Yeshiva of Flatbush, NY as they reveal the force exerted by lashon hora. “Choosing Our Words” examines the di-visive nature of negative speech and the manner in which it destroys unity and exposes Klal Yisroel to danger and de-struction.
This program also offers “Choosing to Care” which highlights the positive impact of Klal Yisroel caring for one another. Rav Yissocher Frand, R”M in Yeshivas Ner Israel of Baltimore, shines a brilliant light on one especially power-
ful aspect of this mitzvah – that of “no-sei ohl b’chaveiro, “bearing the yoke” of another’s burden, and showing the ultimate understanding of ahavas Yisroel by putting personal time and effort and resources to alleviate another’s plight.
Program B features world renowned speakers, Rabbi Eytan Feiner, Rav of Knesses Israel, Far Rockaway, and Rab-bi Eli Mansour, Rabbi of Congregation Bet Yaakob in Brooklyn, NY. In “Choos-ing Our Words,” these two dynamic lecturers offer a masterful presentation examining the divisive nature of nega-tive speech and the manner in which it destroys unity. With their own unique and powerful style these lecturers leave an indelible message about the evil force exerted by lashon hora, which exerts klal Yisroel to danger and destruction.
The two segments come together in one event that will open participants’ eyes to the internal battle between golus and geulah which plays out in the every-day lives of the Jewish people. Although Hashem promises that ultimately, the side of geulah will win, the length and difficulty of the battle lies with choices of each Jew. With the inspiration flowing from this year’s event, participants will be energized to join the battle whole-heartedly and add their own special strength to the winning side.
Join thousands of Jews around the globe as we strive to build a better world at this year’s worldwide Tisha B’Av Event. Rediscover how we define our-selves as individuals and how we impact our nation–choice by choice.
See the listings spread in this week’s newspaper for the times and location in your neighborhood or call 845-352-3505 ext. 106.
World-Wide Tisha B’Av Event Spotlights Our Everyday Journey to Geulah
Around the CommunityNEWS
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Rally in the
Raleigh
Be there.You. Yes, you.
The Final Call
One Phone Call1.877.686.1313
or visit us at mesamchelev.org/auction
Join the Mesamche Lev Auction Drawing Event, Monday, July 22nd!
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The one & only all-female band, with full-scale harp & cello.
Featuring: Soul Stirring Philharmonic Experience
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MILSTEIN EDITION OF THE MEGILLOSdedicated by
Asher David Milstein
Eichah dedicated by the Rosedale and Wilheim Families
a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns wıt∑ t∑ese artscroll classıcs
a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns wıt∑ t∑ese artscroll classıcs
a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns wıt∑ t∑ese artscroll classıcs
a meanıngful tıs∑a∑ b'av begıns
TISHAH B'AVWith Bina, Benny
and Chaggai HaYonahby Ya�a Ganz
EICHAHThe classic translation
and commentary,by Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz
Overview by Rabbi Nosson Scherman
TISHAH B'AVAn overview of the tragic
day of Tishah B'Av,by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Feuer and Rabbi Shimon
Finkelman
Just in time for Purim
MILSTEIN EDITION OF THE MEGILLOS Eichah dedicated byMILSTEIN EDITION OF THE MEGILLOS
B
C
DE
A
Also available in this series:
4Bereishis Volume 2: Lech Lecha — Toldos4Bereishis Volume 3: Vayeitzei — Vayishlach4Bereishis Volume 4: Vayeishev — Vayechi4 Shemos Volume 2: Yisro — Pekudei4Vayikra Volume 1: Vayikra — Metzora
4Devarim (complete in one vol.)
4Megillos Ruth and Esther (complete in one vol.)4Compact Ruth4Compact Esther
NEW!
THE KLEINMAN EDITION MIDRASH RABBAH FEATURES:
A The Hebrew text, newly typeset, on pages facing the English translation
B Many classic Hebrew commentaries, including Rashi, Matnos Kehunah, Eitz Yosef, and Maharzu
C ArtScroll/Mesorah’s acclaimed phrase-by-phrase transla-tion and elucidation of the Midrash text, created by an international team of Torah scholars for optimum under-standing of the Midrash
D A special “Insights” section that brings a contemporary focus to the timeless words of the Midrash
E Explanatory footnotes to help clarify di�cult passages
4 Chart of Parallels between Kinnos and Midrash Eichah
Dedicated by Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein
by Rabbi Menachem Davis
THE COMPLETE TISHAH B’AV SERVICE WITH AN INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION
interlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnosinterlinear kinnossc∑ottenstein e∂ition
Includes the complete prayers for Tishah B’Av, Kinnos, Torah readings, laws,
and an Overview. Plus — the acclaimed ArtScroll full English translation and commentary.
By Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer and Rabbi Avie Gold
/ 520 KINNAH 45THE CONGREGATION RISES AND RECITES THE FOLLOWING KINNAH RESPONSIVELY WITH THE CHAZZAN., *
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— Lament, O Zion. This final kinnah is chanted to a traditional heart-rending melody that expresses the full measure of our sorrow. Once again, in this last lament, we list all that we lost at the time of the Destruction, both materially and spiritually. However, the opening line of the kinnah (which is repeated either as a refrain after every second line, or once at the end of the kinnah) provides a ray
of hope: ‘‘Lament, O Zion and her cities, like a woman suffering from labor pains.’’ Israel’s suffering is not in vain; rather the Destruction and Exile should be viewed as a period of embryonic development and gestation leading to the rebirth of our nation. No pain is more excruciating than labor pains, yet the mother accepts it because it heralds the exhilarating joy of birth. Similarly, Israel’s suffering has been Includes the complete prayers for Includes the complete prayers for
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CLASSIC ENGLISH/HEBREWKINNOS/TISHAH B’AV
SERVICE
AVAILABLE IN ASHKENAZ AND SEFARD
AVAILABLE IN ASHKENAZ AND SEFARD
by Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen
The Laws of Daily Living
t∑e bıstrıtzky e∂ıtıon
dedicated by Dr. Michael and
Linda Elman
Dedicated by Joseph and Sheila
Bistritzky
yes∑aya∑ /isaia∑
dedicated by Asher David Milstein
Midrash Rabbah dedicated by Elly and Brochie Kleinman
Matching volume to the classic Stone Edition of the Chumash and Rubin Edition of the Early Prophets.
NEW!t∑e milstein e∂ition
FOR
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Includes Haftaros from Parshas Devarim until the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah
SPECIAL COMPACT SIZE LIGHTER EDITION FOR
TISHAH B'AV
Touched by Their Tears
The Soul of Tishah B'Av through stories and reflections
t∑e elman e∂ition
A KINNOS COMPANION
In Touched by Their Tears, Rabbi Yechiel Spero explains the majority of the Kinnos, and illustrates their message with powerful true stories. Through these stories, we learn how to better understand tragic events, beginning with the greatest Jewish tragedy of all, the Destruction of the Temple.
BY RABBI YECHIEL SPERO
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Ruach Day Camp, located on the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County’s Plainview campus’s sprawling grounds, successfully held its first annual commu-nity (pre) 4th of July picnic on Wednes-day, July 3rd. Under a beautiful summer evening sky, the picnic celebration was a blast for all and included patriotic themed games and prizes, face painting, arts and crafts projects and a bounce house. The scrumptious picnic dinner was catered by Hunki’s Dairy Restau-rant located just a few blocks away from the campus.
While Ruach’s Plainview campus hosts a preschool camp program, the activities at the picnic were geared to-wards all age groups and for all mem-bers of the community. “We created a July 4th themed scavenger hunt so that children from six to sixteen had a game that would be fun and challenging just for them,” said Sari Kahn, the Director of the camp. Mrs. Kahn added, “The children really enjoyed decoding the clues and running from one end of the campus to the other. And of course, an added bonus was receiving their prize for completing the scavenger hunt.”
One of the highlights of the evening was that the children got to make cards, decorate, and pack care packages for our military men and women overseas. PM Pediatrics, the LIJ/North Shore Hospi-tal of Plainview, Shoprite, Plainview
Family Pharmacy, and the Kosher Food Emporium, as well as Great Smiles of Hicksville and Caring Dentistry for children in Parsippany, NJ, graciously donated the items to go into the pack-ages while the camp supplied the box-es. Each child who made a package re-ceived a Ruach Day Camp flying disk as a special present for the good deed he or she just performed.
Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head) joined in the festivi-ties and thanked the families at the event for all of their hard work and dedication for our military overseas. “I had a great time celebrating the Fourth of July at the Ruach Summer Camp’s family picnic,” he said. “The event was a wonderful cel-ebration for our community and I look forward to working with the children and staff at Ruach again in the near fu-ture.”
One Ruach Plainview mother summed up her family’s experience at the picnic like this: “I feel like every-one at HANC is like one big family, so friendly and welcoming. The pic-nic was so much fun. Netanya didn’t want to stop bouncing in the bouncy house. We’re so happy for Netanya to be able to experience all the activities camp has to offer....making challah, learning new Hebrew songs and meet-ing new friends,” said Ronit Shanzer.
Ruach Day Camp Community 4th of July Picnic
Rabbi Kalman Fogel, Principal of HANC Plainview, Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head), Rabbi Ellie Weissman, Rabbi of Young Israel of Plainview, Sari Kahn, Director of Ruach Plainview and organizer of the event
Around the CommunityNEWS
LOCAL
NEWS
LOCAL
The National Council of Young Is-rael has launched “Project Go Green” to help Israeli combat soldiers get the spe-cial tzitzit that they require. The Nation-al Council of Young Israel joined forces with American Friends of the IDF Rab-binate to promote a special tzitzit shirt made from a new fabric (Dri Fit (c)) that resists perspira-tion and is able to withstand the rigors of the field.
The tzitzit g a r m e n t (beged) worn by combat sol-diers in the Israeli army must be olive green to match their uniform camouflage in the field. The standard issue green tzitzit is made of thin cotton that does not last long under the extreme rigors of long weeks of field training and combat.
The Young Israel’s new initiative en-ables people to provide these tzitzit to Is-raeli combat soldiers. A donation of $25 for 1, or $36 for 2, will help the National Council of Young Israel and American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate reach their goal of supplying 10,000 pairs of tzitzit to Israeli soldiers by Rosh Hashanah.
Project Go Green is a unique oppor-tunity to add a layer of protection to our beloved chayalim, while at the same time helping them fulfill a mitzvah as they are defending their country.
The tzitzit can be purchased online
at www.youngisrael.org/operationgo-green<http://www.youngisrael.org/oper-ationgogreen. American Express, Master Card, and Visa are all accepted. Addi-tional opportunities to purchase larger quantities are also available to help meet the goal of 10,000 pairs of tzitzit by Rosh Hashanah. Please call 212-929-1525
x100 and ask for Proj-ect Go Green or email [email protected]<mailto:[email protected].
In light of the cur-rent debate regarding the Israeli army service of Orthodox Jews, it is important to recognize that the Israeli army is extremely mindful of the religious needs of its soldiers. For exam-ple, if a soldier wants tzitzit, he is provided tzitzit.
The American Friends of the IDF Rabbinate, in col-laboration with the National Council of Young Israel, has been working to give the IDF Rabbinate the extra capa-bility to ensure that Israeli soldiers are able to serve their country, while at the same time being able to maintain their religious observance. Among their many areas of activity, in addition to tzitzit, they provide tefillin and talitot, Torah li-braries, and for combat units in the field the IDF Rabbinate even supplies a field Aron Kodesh and a field Beit Knesset kit. They also build new and/or refurbish existing base synagogues and underwrite unit Shabbat Seminars, on-base, and in Jerusalem.
Young Israel Launches Project Go Green To Help Israeli Soldiers
Mercy Medical Center Ranked One of the “100 Great Community Hospitals” by Becker’s Hospital Review
Mercy Medical Center has been named one of the “100 Great Commu-nity Hospitals” by Becker’s Hospital Review based on the hospital’s quality of care and service to the community. Mer-cy is the only Long Island metropolitan area hospital and one of two New York state hospitals recognized.
“As Mercy celebrates its 100th year anniversary this is yet another fitting tribute to the wonderful care and ser-
vices we provide to the patients in our surrounding communities,” said Mercy’s Executive Vice President and Chief Ad-ministrative Officer Aaron E. Glatt, MD. “This latest recognition coming in addi-tion to US News & World Report rank-ing Mercy among the top NY hospitals underscores the high quality provided at Mercy and our superior patient care.”
The Becker’s Hospital Review ed-itorial team selected community hos-
pitals based on rankings and awards from iVantage Health Analytics, Truven Health Analytics (formerly Thomson
Reuters), Healthgrades and The Joint Commission. Nominations for the list were also considered.
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LOCAL
NEWS
LOCAL
TOVA Hits Grand Slam with Home Run Derby
On Monday evening, June 24, the TOVA mentoring program knocked it out of the park with their first annual Home Run Derby competition in North Wood-mere Park. With the weather cooperating beautifully, nearly 60 batters cheered on by hundreds of supporters took to the plate in an effort to be crowned Home
Run Champion. Phil Goldfeder, Rocka-way’s state assemblyman, threw out the
first ball to TOVA’s program director, Yehuda Klinkowitz. Great food, fantas-tic prizes and an atmosphere of enthusi-asm marked this event as a truly memo-rable evening.
The Home Run Derby was a joint ef-fort between the TOVA program and the Croton Softball league to build aware-ness of and raise funds for the valuable services that TOVA provides. TOVA has been a staple of the Five Towns / Far Rockaway community since 1997, providing mentors to our communities youth to prevent at-risk and self-de-structive behavior.
In addition to being a highly suc-cessful fund and friend raiser the event served as a reminder that a great time with good friends who share communi-ty spirit and a generous heart can also make the difference for our youth and for our community.
Congratulations to Asher Ingbar, the Home Run King. In second place was
Joe Eisenberg, and in third place, Pinky Friedman. We hope they have a great time in Israel or at the ball games.
For more information or to support
other TOVA initiatives, please contact Zezy Fuld, Director of Development at 516-295-0550 Ext 102 or email [email protected].
Joe Eisenberg of Triple Net, second place winner
Richard Altabe, executive vice president of TOVAChaim Silber of Lobos, Evan Blachman (Croton Softball league), Asher Ingbar, Zezy Fuld, director of development of TOVA,
Yehuda Klinkowitz, TOVA program director, Abi Liff
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder and Yehuda Klinkowitz, TOVA program director
Oftentimes, when someone speaks to us, we hear the words they say but either are so busy or we are focused on something else, so we don’t hear the meaning behind the speech. For exam-ple, a teacher calls into her school that she can’t come in today because her mother is in the hospital. The secretary is so busy figuring out who will sub for this teacher and the other details that have to be worked out that the words didn’t really get heard. While it can slide in a business relationship or in a chavrusah’s relationship, in a marriage the consequence of not really taking the time and focus to listen to what is be-hind the words is more serious. When a spouse asks something of his partner, in particular something that is out of char-
acter, she should try to “really listen” and hear what her partner is saying.
A wife may call her husband and say “I had such a busy day, can you please pick up the milk.” If her spouse takes the time and energy to focus, he will hear that what she really is saying is, “I had such a busy day and am feeling so overwhelmed, please help me.” When the husband hears that message he can come home and offer his wife physical help and emotional support. This will result in her feeling understood and cared for, which in turn, creates feelings of appreciation and closeness that will enhance the relationship.
Similarly, if a man comes home from a long day and says, “Would you be able to make me a cup of tea,” if his
wife really listens she may “hear” him say, “I had such a long day and I need to unwind and feel taken care of, please can you pamper me a bit and let me re-lax for a few minutes.” If she graciously offers him his newspaper and slippers, along with a piece of cake with his tea while shooing the kids out of the room he can feel understood, cared for, and appreciated.
Listening to what is behind the words can create a tremendous sense of closeness in a marriage. Hashem does not expect us to be prophets or mind readers and know what the other per-son is thinking and expecting. However, if we really listen we will find that the words are there hidden within what is being said, especially through the tone
of voice and body language used. Let us try when our spouse speaks
to us to really listen and hear, not just the words, but what he really is saying. May this lead to an increase of peace in our homes, our families, and across all aspects of our lives.
Five Towns Marriage Initiative pro-vides educational programs, workshops and referrals to top marriage therapists. FTMI will help offset counseling costs when necessary and also runs an anony-mous shalom bayis hotline for the entire community Sunday, Tuesday and Thurs-day evenings, 10:00-11:00 p.m.
For the hotline or more information, call 516-430-5280 or email [email protected].
The Message Behind the Words
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At Camp Atara, the Fun is Just Beginning
Campers had fun swimming in the out-door pool, sliding down the waterpark slide, en-joying bunk day, build-ing memories at LEGO-LAND, getting tied in knots at the Jump Rope Interactive Show, riding the rides at Luna Park, baking, doing aerobics and making new friends! The summer just started and there’s more fun to come!
Welcome to Orah day camp 2013! It is our “job” to make sure that our campers have the best summer of their lives. There are so many fun and ex-citing things planned and we are “em-ploy”ing all of our creative talents to make sure we accomplish just that. The theme of this summer is occupa-tions. We started out with construction and we will “build” on that. Our first week was a “work” of art—well, actu-ally it was more like a construction zone but we “built” a magnificent time. It was jammed packed with trips, treats and, of course, our amazing specialties that help to make Orah unique. There were trips for every grade level from our pre-school through 7th grade. Our girls went to Fun Station, Fitwize, Q-zar Laser Tag, bowling, and the Long Island Children’s Museum. The campers were coming and going and all with huge smiles on their faces. New this year was a trip to Bayswater Park where our 5th graders learned the art of orienteering (how to use a compass) and went canoeing. Our fabulous specialties work with our theme and you should have seen the tool belts created by Lower Arts & Crafts; they hold everything a girl might need while in the field.
Our pre-school had its very first main event. The girls used craft sticks to “build” a “Bruchim Habaim” frame that was decorated with tool stick-ers. Also welcomed this week were our
first participants for Mother -Daughter swim. Orah day camp opened its pool twice this past week, once on Thursday, July 4th and then again on Sunday so that current campers and their mothers could cool off and enjoy our outdoor, in-ground, Olympic-size pool. Even though we didn’t have camp on July 4th, the girls made delicious red, white and blue cakes in upper baking to comple-ment the tri-colored cookies that were made earlier in the week. Towards the end of our very busy week, our first ce-ramics pieces came out of the kiln and they are both creative and beautiful.
The second themed week is well un-der way or under hay…way, depending on which floor you are on. The 1st floor of the building is decorated like a zoo that keeps the zookeepers busy, the 2nd floor is a jungle out there complete with trees, vines, and veterinarians to keep all the animals healthy. There are lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), giraffes, pea-cocks and elephants galore all over Orah day camp but don’t worry, they are be-hind bars. There will be some loose and wild animals in the camp but don’t wor-ry, it’s just the petting zoo we brought in to entertain the campers.
We have so many more occupations to explore and activities in store that we can confidently say that when it comes to summer fun here at Orah Day Camp, we get the job done.
Orah Day Camp – Working with the Best
Join the Jean Fischman Chabad Cen-ter of the Five Towns on Tisha B’Av, July 16 at 5:30 PM at 74 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst for film, study, and per-sonal reflection. “Triumph of Hope,” a professionally-produced, 25-minute, emotionally-gripping and intense doc-umentary features Holocaust survivors recounting their own memories of bi-tachon, mitzvos performed, and Jewish identity maintained in the most horrible moments. It weaves together their per-sonal recollections, stories, and sen-timents along with a rare video clip of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ob”m speaking about the Holocaust.
Following the film, Rabbi Wolowik will lead a 50-minute JLI learning class
about finding faith during difficult times.Admission is free; RSVP is appre-
ciated at [email protected] or at (516) 295-2478.
In a joint effort for the entire com-munity, Chabad of Hewlett—an affiliate of Chabad of the Five Towns—will have the same presentation given by Rabbi Nochem Tenenboim on Monday eve-ning, July 15 at 8:30 PM at Chabad of Hewlett, 31 Franklin Avenue in Hewlett.
Admission is free, RSVP is appreci-ated (516) 295-3433 or at www.jewish-hewlett.com.
Allow yourself to transform this day of tragedy to one that will give you hope and energy to make the future of our eternal nation brighter than ever.
Film, Study, and Personal Reflection this Tisha B’Av
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Last week, Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim/Rabbinical Seminary of America held its annual Yarchei Kallah. Twenty-five alumni from around the country gath-ered at the Yeshiva’s campus in Kew Gardens Hills for a week of learning and reconnecting with their Rabbeim.
The program opened Monday morn-ing with a shmuess from Rav Dovid Weiner, a mashgiach in the yeshiva. Many of the yeshiva’s alumni are marbi-tzei Torah in communities across North
America. As such, he said, there must be a greater awareness of being mekadesh
sheim shamayim. We must strive in all of our interactions to emulate Hashem.
The Sugya D’Kallah was lididi shave li, Kiddushin daf ches amud alef . The participants spent Monday morn-ing and afternoon sedorim preparing the sugya. In the evening, the Rosh HaYeshiva, HaRav Akiva Grunblatt, said a shiur klali on the sugya.
HaRav Dovid Harris, Rosh HaYeshi-va, gave a shmuess discussing our ability to impact others. The Gemara in Makus
says that the redeeming factor that al-lowed Yehuda into Gan Eden was the in-
fluence he had on Reuvain about doing teshuva publicly. Rav Harris pointed out that it was not the merit of Yehuda himself doing teshuva and admitting publicly that he was wrong, rather the unintentional and indirect influence he had on Reuvain. We must realize and appreciate the profound impact that we have on people.
In conjunction with the Yarchei Kallah, a special program was held Tuesday, Shiva Asar B’Tammuz. After
davening at the kevorim of gedolim bur-ied in Queens, two speakers addressed the alumni. First, Rav Avrohom Stul-berger, Rosh Yeshiva of Valley Torah High School in LA, a yeshiva affiliate, spoke on the importance of bein adam lechaveiro. Even the smallest acts of kindness, he said, can have a tremen-dous impact. This is especially true when it comes to marbitzei Torah. Quot-ing the Rosh HaYeshiva, HaRav Henoch Leibowitz ztz”l, he stressed that harbot-zos haTorah isn’t just a job; it’s a mind-set of being concerned for others. The program concluded with Rav Shlomo Yonosan Harris, maggid shiur in the ye-shiva, who spoke about our difficulty in
feeling the loss of the Beis Hamikdash. He said that there are two points to fo-cus on. The first is our personal yearn-ing to grow in Avodas Hashem, which is limited without the Beis Hamikdash. The second he quoted from the Mesilas Yesharim, who writes that a chasid must
feel pain that Hashem is lacking a home.The Roshei HaYeshiva held a joint
question and answer session Wednes-day afternoon, affording the participants a unique opportunity to gain hadracha and hashkafa from their rabbeim.
On Thursday, Rav Avrohom Sem-mel, Rosh Kollel, gave a shiur discuss-ing the monetary obligations of shad-chanus in halacha.
At the seudas preida, Rav Dovid Harris spoke about the importance of mesorah and staying connected with one’s Rabbeim. He remarked that seeing the talmidim return for a week and par-taking in the yeshiva’s sedorim infuses him with tremendous chizuk. The alum-ni left uplifted and strengthened in their dedication to avodas hashem and their avodas hakodesh.
Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Annual Yarchei Kallah
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“Just like a person can’t live without air, so too a Yid cannot live spiritually without Torah. The world cannot exist without Torah. A Jew cannot exist without Torah. If a person chalilah does not have an esrog on Sukkos he can still be a Yid. If he doesn’t have Torah, however, the world does come to an end!”
Those were the powerful, heartfelt words of the venerated, senior Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, at the massive kinnus called by Gedolei Yisroel and organized by Dirshu on Sunday 15 Tammuz/July 23. The kinnus was simulta-
neously a siyum on Masechta Eruvin just completed in the Daf Yomi and a chizuk gathering to mark the first yahrtzeit of the Posek Hador, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l. However, the primary purpose of the kinnus was to hear the divrei Elokim chaim, the words of guidance and inspiration of the senior ged-olei hador directing Klal Yisroel how to conduct them-selves in this difficult period facing Eretz Yisroel’s To-rah community and to give chizuk to the Torah world and to all Jews to whom limud haTorah is dear.
Many thousands gathered both at Binyanei Haumah
and at live satellite hookups around the world to drink in the words of guidance from our gedolim. They came because instinctively all Torah Jews realize that we are living in very turbulent, trying times. The Torah world is under unprecedented attack and desperately needs direction as to how to respond on the spiritual plane. Gedolei Yisroel led by such luminaries as HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, HaGaon HaR-av Shmuel Auerbach, shlita, the Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, shlita, and numerous others pushed themselves to come, despite frailty and busy schedules, because
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“Just like a person can’t live without air, so too a Yid cannot live spiritually without Torah. The world cannot exist without Torah. A Jew cannot exist without Torah. If a person chalilah does not have an esrog on Sukkos he can still be a Yid. If he doesn’t have Torah, however, the world does come to an end!”
Those were the powerful, heartfelt words of the venerated, senior Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, at the massive kinnus called by Gedolei Yisroel and organized by Dirshu on Sunday 15 Tammuz/July 23. The kinnus was simulta-
neously a siyum on Masechta Eruvin just completed in the Daf Yomi and a chizuk gathering to mark the first yahrtzeit of the Posek Hador, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l. However, the primary purpose of the kinnus was to hear the divrei Elokim chaim, the words of guidance and inspiration of the senior ged-olei hador directing Klal Yisroel how to conduct them-selves in this difficult period facing Eretz Yisroel’s To-rah community and to give chizuk to the Torah world and to all Jews to whom limud haTorah is dear.
Many thousands gathered both at Binyanei Haumah
and at live satellite hookups around the world to drink in the words of guidance from our gedolim. They came because instinctively all Torah Jews realize that we are living in very turbulent, trying times. The Torah world is under unprecedented attack and desperately needs direction as to how to respond on the spiritual plane. Gedolei Yisroel led by such luminaries as HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, HaGaon HaR-av Shmuel Auerbach, shlita, the Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, shlita, and numerous others pushed themselves to come, despite frailty and busy schedules, because
Guidance and Chizuk of Senior Gedolei Hador Heard Across the World at
Dirshu Asifas Chizuk and Siyum at Binyanei Hauma
Guidance and Chizuk of Senior Gedolei Hador Heard Across the World at
Dirshu Asifas Chizuk and Siyum at Binyanei Hauma
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Attending the Kinnus Ha’adir Li-chvod Lomdei Torah, this writer’s eye was caught by an almost inconspicu-ous banner on the balcony at Binyanei Ha’uma that read “V’chol banayich limudei Hashem.”
Those four words encapsulated the spirit of the event, and the lesson that
all participants internalized for the fu-ture.
No geographical, cultural or gener-ational boundaries can erode the com-mon bond that Torah-true communities have with the Torah. They have not reduced our relationship with the To-rah and only increased our resolve to strengthen the bond.
Despite our myriad daily preoccu-
pations, countless Yidden around the globe – in Dirshu and other programs – dedicated precious time to learn and master a masechta as complex as Ma-seches Eruvin.
Despite all the attempts to dispirit us and divide us, we are more determined and united than ever. Indeed, following the event, those on the ground in Eretz Yisroel relayed a palpable rise in spir-it and optimism amongst both gedolei Yisroel and everyday Yidden.
The message of unity and common resolve was also noted as many Yidden in communities across Europe and North America – residing far from the most direct and imminent threats against the Torah –took time on a Sunday afternoon to attend the event’s satellite locations, or listen in on the various telephone net-works that carried it live.
Appreciating the Inheritance
The crowd at Cheder Bnei Torah in Lakewood rose as the Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Malkiel Kotler shlita, entered the auditorium to ad-dress the gathering.
The Rosh Yeshiva began
by quoting the Chofetz Chaim zt”l, who stressed the importance of com-pleting a masechta before proceeding to learn another one. The Rosh Yeshi-va then quoted the Zohar Hakadosh, which compares the completion of a masechta to “inheriting a world,” as well as the words of “Torah tziva lanu Moshe, morasha kehillas Yaakov.”
What is inherent in this “inheri-tance”?
Rav Malkiel juxtaposed this con-cept to the “inheritances” of kehuna and malchus, which define the essence
of particular segments of klal Yisroel throughout the generations. So too, Torah molds the very essence of those who learn and acquire it.
The Rosh Yeshiva concluded with a bracha that the merit of all the Torah learning symbolized by this Siyum and other Siyumim should help us maintain our prized inheritance into the future.
Yom Tov on SundayThe sight of the renowned senior
Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Moshe Green, shlita, standing up and deliv-ering his address despite his physical
the Dirshu Siyum was viewed as the optimum venue to address the burning issues facing Klal Yisroel. Indeed all of the gedolim spoke powerfully and passionately, energizing the crowd of people sitting spellbound and latching on to every word.
A Three-Fold PurposeThe kinnus, as mentioned, had a three-fold pur-
pose: To hear guidance from the gedolei hador, to remember and gain inspiration from the life of Rav Elyashiv and of course, to celebrate the tremendous milestone of thousands upon thousands of Dirshu learners who have completed and been tested on Masechta Eruvin, many of them with Tosafos!
Perhaps HaGaon HaRav Yosef Yekusiel Efrati, shlita, talmid muvhak and close con-fidant of Rav Elyashiv, put it best when he was called upon to address the assemblage in memory of Rav Elyashiv. In a voice brim-ming with emotion, Rav Efrati exclaimed, “If we really want to remember Rav El-yashiv; if we really desire to follow in his ways the only way to do so is by completing one masechta and beginning another—completing Eruvin and beginning Pesachim! There can be no greater hesped for Moreinu v’Rabbeinu than thousands learning and completing one masechta and beginning another. Similarly, there is no greater way to neutralize gezeiros against the To-rah world than learning more and more Torah!” Rav
Efrati concluded, “Ashreichem Dirshu, fortunate are you Dirshu that you are perpetuating a Torah legacy through your many programs of accountable limud haTorah! Rav Elyashiv was especially supportive of the halacha programs that ensure knowledge of and adherence to halacha l’maaseh.”
The Entry of the Senior Gedolei YisroelAs the crowd enthusiastically rose, singing, “Yamim
al yemei melech tosif,” they craned their necks and saw the diminutive figure of the Torah giant, Rav Aharon
Leib Shteinman, shlita slowly proceeding to the center of the multi-tiered dais. The sight of the Gadol Hador, stooped with age and the burden of Klal Yisroel on his physically frail but spiritually strong shoulders, filled the audience with emotion.
Rav Shteinman was followed by HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Auerbach, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Maalos HaTorah, and the Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe,
shlita. Other luminaries in attendance included such greats as HaGaon HaRav Aryeh Finkel, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Brachfeld; HaGaon HaRav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshi-va Ateres Yisrael; HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Zilber-stein, shlita, son-in-law of HaGaon HaRav Elyashiv; HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Porat Yosef; the Biala Rebbe, shlita; the Modzhitzer Rebbe, shlita; HaGaon HaRav Ezriel Au-erbach, shlita; HaGaon HaRav Moshe Tzadka, shlita; HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita, and tens more
gedolim.
HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Auerbach, shlita: Strengthening Ourselves in
Torah Will Bring the GeulahFollowing the entrance of the generation’s
luminaries, Rav Shmuel Auerbach addressed the assemblage. “How can we display to Hashem our deep desire for the geulah? The only way we can do that, is by showing Him how important that which we still have, that
with which He has left us, is to us. If we show Him how much we love Torah, He will in turn see fit to once again entrust us with the Bais Hamikdash.”
Rav Shmuel also called on the assemblage to in-vest even greater effort in tefillah and middos tovos. With his eyes closed and remarkable passion, Rav Shmuel concluded with a veiled reference to the dif-ficulties facing the Torah community by saying that
The Call Heard Around the World: We Reserve our Honor for Torah
“TORAH IS LIFE! IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT A JEW CANNOT LIVE WITHOuT IT.”
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weakness made an immense impres-sion on the members of the Monsey community gathered at Hamaspik Ter-race. Rav Green delved into the lessons we must internalize from the churban habayis, as we work to merit its re-building, b’ezras Hashem. The Gemara in Maseches Ne-darim explains that the churban was due to the fact that Yidden did not recite birchas HaTorah before learning, which the Ran explains symbol-izes a lack of ap-preciation for the Torah’s value.
“This Siyum is the antidote for the ‘lo birchu baTorah tech-ila,’” the Rosh Yeshiva exclaimed, referring to the majestic display of honor due to the completion of Maseches Eruvin.
Turning to the difficult issues that we face today, Rav Green explained that this concept is incredibly import-ant in our children’s chinuch, as we fight a mighty battle to draw them to-wards the light of Torah and away from the world’s nefarious lures. “If we feel a geshmak in Torah, if our children see that our lives revolve around Torah,
Hashem will help that the message will reach our children,” the Rosh Yeshiva stated.
Rav Green urged the audience to take the decrees against bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel as a message from Heav-en that we can do better in appreciating
the value of Torah. Rav Green explained that the aim
of the decrees in Eretz Yisroel to up-root the spiritual Torah life implores us all to work on increasing our enthu-siasm for learning. “That is how we will nullify the gezeira,” he concluded, “and this Siyum is a zechus.”
Master PlanThe crowd at Bais Medrash Bir-
chas Avraham in the heart of Boro Park
heard from HaGaon HaRav Fishel Schachter, shlita, Maggid Shiur at Ye-shiva Torah Vodaath.
Rav Schachter cited an intriguing Midrash relating the story of an impov-erished woman who lamented to Shlo-mo Hamelech that a wind blew away the bits of leket in a field that she was relying on for food. Shlomo Hamel-ech later turned to a businessman who had been enriched by the same wind – which allowed his boatload of goods to reach the shore before his competitors – to provide the woman’s needs.
Rav Schachter related this to the heavy headwinds we face as a Peo-ple, and placed faith in our ability to counteract them with positive winds of our own. “Pikudei Hashem yesharim mesamchei lev,” Rav Schachter con-cluded. “Hashem has a cheshbon for tomorrow.”
Wake Up CallIn the halls of the Raleigh Hotel in
South Fallsburg, noted Dirshu Maggid Shiur HaGaon HaRav Zev Smith, shl-ita, spoke of the ease and accessibility of Torah learning today, which has no par in any period since churban habay-is. He related the Gemara in Maseches Sanhedrin that lists “yaasok baTorah” – toiling in Torah – as the remedy to save one from the chevlei Moshiach, the suffering in the era of Moshiach, which no doubt applies today.
Rav Smith related the words he
heard from a businessman who had dif-ficulty committing time in his schedule for learning, until he became an avid participant in a Dirshu learning pro-gram and its solid learning structure. The man exclaimed, “I only live once, and I had to make it work. I am now a completely different person.”
No doubt, our hectic lives present an enormous challenge in increasing our Torah learning, but Rav Smith im-plored us to consider the suffering of our brethren as an impetus to do our share in sparing klal Yisroel from the chevlei Moshiach. “There is a criti-cal need for this today. It may not be a personal need, but it is klal Yisroel’s need.”
strengthening ourselves in Torah, tefillah and middos is especially important now when we are facing such terrible gezeiros from those who seek to destroy us. Strengthening ourselves in the above will thereby cer-tainly bring the geulah closer.
The Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, shlita: The “Light” of Torah Can Banish All Darkness
The Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, with great feeling, delivered a potent message that infused Klal Yisroel with hope and guidance for the future. He began by
praising the holy organization Dirshu for facilitating so much limud haTorah on a scale that no one would have dreamed of in the past. He said, “Only through Torah learning can a person truly become close to Hashem and Dirshu is at the forefront of creating the
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deep bond between Yidden and Hashem.” The Rebbe then went on to talk about the vexing
issue at the forefront of the worries of all Jews who care about Torah. The Rebbe, his faced etched in pain, began to address current events and what the call of the hour for Klal Yisroel must be. “We are living in very difficult times,” he cried out, “there is a strong battle being waged… primarily a battle against lomdei To-rah. Torah is the lifeblood of Klal Yisroel. Rav Saadya Gaon famously wrote, ‘Our nation is only a nation be-cause of the Torah.’ This is why they are so intent on
uprooting the Torah from among us. So what should our response be?!” thundered the Rebbe. “When Hash-em created the world there was darkness everywhere until He said, ‘Yehi Ohr – let there be light!’ Only through kindling the great ohr, the great light of Torah, with another blatt Gemara, another shiur, building an-other bais medrash… can we neutralize the forces that seek to destroy us.
“It is therefore so appropriate,” the Rebbe contin-ued, “that this kinnus is in memory of Rav Elyashiv. Rav Elyashiv spent his entire life illuminating the
world with his Torah!” The Rebbe then emotionally exclaimed, “It is cer-
tainly no coincidence that these gezeiros that plague us only started after his passing. With his learning, the ohr – the light of his Torah protected the entire gener-ation. As soon as he left us they began. The message is thus clear that we must collectively fill the void he has left by illuminating the darkness with more Torah and finally bring the ultimate light when Hashem will shine a new light to illuminate Tzion and finally bring Mashiach and the geulah shelaima!”
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HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita: Addressing the “Yissochers” and the “Zevuluns”
When the chairman, Rav Mordechai Blau, called upon the senior Rosh Yeshiva Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman to address the assemblage, the crowd both in Yerushalayim and the many thousands around the world craned their necks and cocked their ears so as not to miss a word. The Rosh Yeshiva, bringing with him nearly 100 years of total immersion in Torah, spoke quietly and in his daas Torah he not only addressed the Torah world as a number of the other rabbanim
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had done but he also ad-dressed the supporters of Torah and what their role would be in the new sit-uation in which we find ourselves.
Rav Shteinman said, “In certain areas of ruch-niyus one can perform a mitzvah on behalf of an-other such as one person can learn Torah on behalf of someone who supports him. This does not work with all mitzvos; after all, one individual can cer-tainly not don tefillin on behalf of another. Why is Torah different?” Rav Aharon Leib asked.
With a strength and conviction that belied
his more than 90 years, the Rosh Yeshiva explained, “Because Torah is life! It is so important that a Jew cannot live without it. Torah is like air. Hashem makes air the easiest commodity to obtain because without it we would cease to live. Without Torah a person would cease to live as well. For that reason, Hashem infused in the creation the ability for a person who cannot learn Torah or cannot learn a sufficient amount of To-rah to connect with the Torah through supporting it. In this way everyone can have a chelek, a part of Torah.”
Clearly addressing what may be a new reality, Rav Shteinman said, “There are many Yissochers and many Zevuluns. Not everyone can be a Yissocher – some don’t have the ability to learn, others have var-ious things preventing them from devoting their lives to Torah study. But they must have a connection to To-rah. Without a connection to Torah, the world would cease to exist. That is why Hashem gave them the op-portunity to support Torah thereby giving the entire Klal Yisroel the zechus of Torah. May Hashem help,” the Rosh Yeshiva concluded with a heartfelt exclama-tion, “that the zechus of Torah should endow us with
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“IF WE SHOW HIM HOW MuCH WE LOVE TORAH, HE WILL IN TuRN SEE FIT
TO ONCE AGAIN ENTRuST uS WITH THE BAIS HAMIkDASH.”
Gedolei Yisroel From Across the Spectrum
Demonstrate the Power of Achdus
The crowd was on its feet. They were
clapping, swept up in their euphoria at the
entrance of the Gedolei Yisroel. The ven-
erated, senior Gedolei Hador were already
sitting in their seats benevolently gazing
at the audience of thousands, like wizened
shepherds looking with care at their flock.
This caused the crowd to sing even more,
accompanied by lively music. In the front
row we saw: HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib
Shteinman, shlita, The Sanz-Klausenberger
Rebbe, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Au-
erbach, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Co-
hen, shlita, venerated senior Rosh Yeshiva of
Yeshiva Porat Yosef, HaGaon HaRav Moshe
Tzadka, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Boruch Mor-
dechai Ezrachi, shlita, and the list goes on.
All of them representing a different approach
to Avodas Hashem, and all of them united by
the Torah the ultimate unifier of Klal Yisroel.
Finally, the crowd was stilled, the music
stopped and there was a hush in the cavern-
ous Binyanei Haumah Convention Center.
The crowd was waiting for the chairman
of the event to introduce the speaker… and
then it happened. One of the most beautiful
sights was the Rosh Yeshiva of Maalos Ha-
Torah, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Auerbach,
shlita, rising from his chair and slowly, with
yiras hakavod, approaching HaGaon HaRav
Aharon Leib Shteinman and giving him a
heartfelt greeting. The two venerated gedo-
lim shook hands exchanging greetings for
what was just a few seconds, perhaps half
a minute, but it was a gesture that so sym-
bolized the achdus that permeated Binyanei
Haumah that evening.
The handshake and the achdus among all
the many gedolim that it symbolized, said
it all. A palpable, quiet admiration was felt
in the room before the flashbulbs began to
hum; a wave of ahavah for all of the gedolim
seemed to sweep over everyone.
the requisite merits that we so need at this time!”
Rav Dovid Hofstedter: Achieving Unity Through Separation and Reunification
One of the addresses that evening was delivered by the Nasi of Dirshu, Rav Dovid Hofstedter. With a combination of passion and intellect, Rav Hofstedter touched on the evening’s themes echoing the call of the hour of the Gedolei Yisroel.
Rav Dovid then addressed vexing current events, “In these difficult times, when those who hate Hashem are pursuing lomdei Torah in an attempt to try mak-ing both their spiritual and material lives difficult, we must contemplate, ‘Why is Hashem doing this to us’? How could it be that the beautiful Torah world that has risen from the ashes of the Holocaust is today under threat? Perhaps it is because we ourselves are lacking in the ideal of kavod haTorah. Perhaps their hatred of us indi-cates that we ourselves are missing achdus and mutual love for each oth-er. Perhaps we must ask the supporters of Torah to show how dear the Torah is to them by increasing support of lomdei Torah. When we will inculcate into our very beings the importance of Torah, those who want to destroy Torah will have no hold over us. If we promote true shalom among ourselves, they will not be able to harm us.”
Rav Dovid concluded his powerful address by cit-ing the haftorah of the weekly parsha. After Eliyahu Hanavi killed the prophets of avodah zarah, he fled to
the desert. He had not eaten in days and asked Hashem to take his life. An angel came to him and said, “Come and eat, because you still have a long trip ahead of you.” Only then, following his fatigue, following the feeling that he had no more strength to do anything was Eliyahu able – from that very fatigue – to gath-er his strength and anoint Yehu as king and Elisha as navi. From here we see,” exclaimed Rav Dovid pas-sionately, “that now, at a time when we feel so afraid, so weak and lacking koach, lacking strength, we must realize that we do have koach!
“If we strengthen ourselves, Hashem will give us strength to continue to sustain Torah!”
Remembering HaGaon HaRav Elyashiv, zt”lOne of the evening’s
most moving moments was the Kaddish recited at the completion of the masechta by HaGaon HaRav Moshe Elyashiv, shlita, son of the posek hador who has assumed delivery of his father’s famed shiur in the “car-avan” bais medrash. Rav Moshe’s uncanny
resemblance to his father symbolized the hemshech, the continuity, of the Torah of his illustrious father. The haschalah of Masechta Eruvin was made by an-other son of Rav Elyashiv, HaGaon HaRav Binyamin Elyashiv, shlita.
HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen, shlita: “More Hours and More Depth”
HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva of
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46 Yeshiva Porat Yosef, gave a fervent drasha encourag-ing the assemblage not to suffice with surface learning, but rather to delve in depth to truly find the meaning of our sages. He related that over the past 50 years he had occasion to speak to Rav Elyashiv about numerous important issues in both halacha and hashkafa. “When you spoke to him, the only thing that came out of his mouth was Torah. He was totally Torah. It was impos-sible to speak about anything else in his presence. If we want to do something in his memory we must learn more hours and learn with even greater depth.”
HaGaon HaRav Azriel Auerbach, shlita: The Importance of an “Understanding Heart”Rav Azriel Auerbach, a son-in-law of Rav El-
yashiv, concluded the evening by giving a drasha in memory of his illustrious father-in-law. He cited the famous Gemara wherein Hashem asked Shlo-mo Hamelech what he desired, a long life, a life of riches or an understanding heart. Shlomo Hamelech responded, “Give me a Lev Shomeiah – a heart that listens, a heart that understands.” Rav Auerbach said, “We have all heard remarkable stories about Rav El-yashiv’s amazing hasmodah, his diligence, his yegiah, the tremendous amount of toil and effort he invested in learning. That is all true, but it is important to under-stand that he constantly davened to Hashem for this. He asked Hashem to endow him with a lev shomeia, an understanding heart. He begged Hashem to help him learn and understand Torah. This is something we can all do. We can daven to Hashem and beg Him to endow us with a lev shomeia.
“Today’s siyum on Masechta Eruvin is far more
about the future than about the past. It is a time to re-flect as we enter Pesachim and beg Hashem for the future that we should possess an understanding heart.”
HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita: “May You Return to Us”
The Hadran on Masechta Eruvin was delivered by HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita, well-known Rosh Yeshiva, Av Beis Din and inspirational speaker. Rav Weiss fo-cused on the words that we say when making a siyum on a masechta. “We say, ‘May we return to you, Masechta Eru-vin and may you return to us.’” Rav Weiss asked, “It is understandable that we say, ‘May we return to you.’ But what is the meaning of, ‘May you return to us?’” He explained that the Gemara teaches that the Torah itself asks Hashem to reveal its secrets to those who toil in Torah. Torah is not a science, it is not just another area of knowledge; Torah has its own nefesh and wants nothing more than to reveal its se-crets to those who truly appreciate the Torah. The Sefer Hakaneh says a talmid chacham is classified as some-one whose nefesh, whose soul, is bound up with the soul of the Torah. Rav Weiss went on to say that “our generation saw in Rav Elyashiv the ultimate manifes-tation of a person whose nefesh was bound with the Torah with an inseparable bond. If we follow in his
footsteps, not only will we return to the Torah but we will merit the Torah returning to us as well!”
At the beginning of the evening, Rav Moshe Tzad-ka, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Porat Yosef, whose talmidim include many Dirshu members, addressed the crowd. Rav Tzadka focused on the ideal that Dirshu represents a giant inclusive tent that embraces all of the wide-ranging Jews compromising the rainbow of
Klal Yisroel. Bnei Torah, baalei batim, Sefardim and Ashkenazim, all come together under the banner of Dirshu to learn Torah with alacrity. This is the greatest bracha!The rip-ple effect of the Dirshu Asifas Chizuk and Siyum and the messages of the Gedolei Yisroel reverber-ated throughout the world
and gave Klal Yisroel chizuk, strength and most of all guidance on what the call of the hour is during this most difficult time. Perhaps, Rav Avigdor Berenstein, a senior member of Dirshu’s hanhala, put it best when he said, “The response from the thousands world over to the Dirshu asifa was in effect a collective recita-tion of the bracha of ‘Boruch Shenasan M’chochmoso L’ireyav, Blessed his He who has given His Wisdom to those who fear Him.’ The wisdom that we have all collectively heard and internalized from the Gedolei Yisroel have given us our marching orders and instruc-tions on how to conduct ourselves in these times of travail.”
“THERE IS NO GREATER WAY TO NEuTRALIzE GEzEIROS AGAINST THE
TORAH WORLD THAN LEARNING MORE AND MORE TORAH!”
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Around the CommunityNEWS
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The Jewish Heritage Center of Queens has launched a new division for yeshiva high school boys to strengthen children’s Yiddishkeit through exciting and innovative programs. The group went on a kayaking trip and a trip to a Mets game last week as part of the summer night program.
Torah Connections will again be or-ganizing a special Tisha B’Av program to offer residents of the Metropolitan New York area inspiration and hope on our national day of mourning to com-memorate the Churban Bais Hamikdash and other related and continuing trage-dies to Klal Yisroel.
Participants will have the oppor-tunity to daven with chizuk and listen throughout Tisha B’Av to lectures by prominent rabbonim that will offer guidance on how we can transform this day of mourning into a joyous Yom Tov.
This year’s Brooklyn Tisha B’Av Program will be held on Monday night, July 15th and all day on Tuesday, July 16th in a new location – the Yeshiva of Brooklyn (Boys Division) at 1200 Ocean Parkway, corner of Avenue L.
The program will begin Monday night with Maariv at 9:05 P.M. Partic-ipants should bring their own Siddurim and Kinos. At 10 P.M., Rav Ozer Alport, author of Parsha Potpourri, will speak on “Appreciating What We Lost on Ti-sha B’Av.”
The Tisha B’Av Program will re-sume with Shachris at 8 A.M. Rabbi Efraim Levine will offer an introduc-tion and explanations of the Kinos. At 1 P.M. Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Klein, Director of Publications for Torah Ume-sorah, will speak on “The Prohibition of Learning Torah on Tisha B’Av.”
The first Mincha minyan will be held at 2 P.M. At 2:45 P.M., Rabbi Ba-ruch Rabinowitz, the Menahel of Me-sivta Torah Vodaath, will talk on “The Flames of Destruction/The Fires of Construction.”
Rabbi Baruch Hilsenrath, princi-pal of Yeshiva K’tana of Passaic, will at 3:45 P.M. address the topic of “The Power of the Pausitive.” At 4:45 P.M. Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff, Rav of the Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin, in Flat-bush will speak on “When Brothers Don’t Get Along.”
Rabbi Shmuel Dishon, Menahel of Mosdos Yad Yisroel, Karlin-Stolin, will offer his heartfelt insights regarding Tisha B’Av. Rabbi Avraham Reisman,
Rosh Kollel of Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Yerushalayim, will discuss “A View from the Home Front (Israel) on Tisha B’Av 5773.”
At 7:30 P.M. Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, Director of Teacher Training of Mish-kan Yechezkel, will be the featured speaker. A second Mincha minyan will be held upstairs at the same time.
Completing the lecture program will be Rabbi Fishel Schachter, Maggid Shi-ur at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, on the sub-
ject of “From Tisha B’Av to Elul, Bridg-ing the Gap.”
Maariv will begin at 9:05 P.M. and participants can break their fast with light refreshments. Admission is $12 a person or a maximum of $35 per family with separate seating.
For more details, please call Torah Connections at (718) 998-5822 or email [email protected].
Major Tisha B’Av Program to be Held at the Yeshiva of Brooklyn
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At NCSY, There’s No Such Thing as a Summer OffBy Hanna Schlager
Around the CommunityNEWS
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As the school year winds down and our children slowly make their trek up-
state to camps or gear up for their first summer jobs, one can’t help but wonder if all of the valuable Jewish education they had received and the rituals they had practiced throughout the school year will be remembered and maintained or will they fly out the window the moment they embark on their summer journeys? Will this be a summer “off” or will it be a summer full of inspiration, self-discov-ery, and Jewish learning?
At NCSY, there’s no such thing as a summer off. There is no break, time-out, or pause. The momentum that is built up throughout the year at weekly Latte & Learning meetings, Regional Shabba-tonim, and Jewish Student Union clubs comes to a peak as the calendar page turns to the month of July. And this in-credible force of inspiration naturally continues into the following school year. Public school students, who do not have the opportunity to learn Torah during
their school days, spend the year learning with talented advisors after school and receiving inspiration from creative and unique NCSY events. After the school year, many teens set out on life-changing summer-long programs that empower
them as individuals, connect them with their peers, and expose them to their
homeland and tra-dition. Whether they are in Israel hiking the historic peaks of Masada, attending a shiur at the Ner Israel cam-pus in Baltimore after playing hours of competitive bas-ketball at Camp Sports, or running a Jewish camp
for Russian children in Eastern Europe, NCSY teens will be making the most of their summers while on unforgettable summer programs. And, with thirteen programs to choose from, it is not diffi-cult to find the right niche for each indi-vidual teen.
This year, NCSY Summer hit a new landmark. More than 980 teens from across the world are attending one of NCSY Summer’s 12 programs. Last year NCSY Summer had 835 partici-pants. This year the programs experi-enced a 20 percent growth across the board.
Below, a recent public school grad-uate and long-time member of NCSY tells his story of personal growth and ex-presses gratitude to the organization that allowed him to become the best version of himself he could be.
“My name is Avi and I have been an active NCSY’er for four years. Growing
up in a broken home, I always needed a stronger support sys-tem outside of my family – Boy Scouts, school, my teachers and my Rabbeim served that role. But one of the strongest support systems, especially through those four crucial years of high school, was NCSY. There were times in the past four years where I felt that the only place I had friends was at NCSY. I don’t even think my advisors, my mother, or even my fellow NCSY’ers realize how much of an impact NCSY has had on me.
When I was in Yeshiva in seventh grade, I often left class with a very nega-tive attitude towards Judaism. By eighth grade, I wasn’t keeping Shabbat in my house. I would watch TV, turn on and off lights, and use the computer. Outside
of the house, I kept Shabbat, or at least I would pretend to when people were watching. I wouldn’t always wear my Kippah, let alone don my tzitzis. In short, I wasn’t very proud of being Jewish.
Everything changed when I attended my first NCSY Sheepshead Bay Shabba-ton. I remember during Kabbalat Shab-bat, we sang a version of Lecha Dodi that made the hair on my arm stand up. I had never heard anything so beautiful in my entire life. From that Lecha Dodi, I decided I would try to keep Shabbat. It took me about a month, but I did it. Since then I’m proud to say that I have never intentionally or knowingly violat-ed Shabbat.
But that’s not the story I wanted to tell you. One Shabbat, after I had been keeping it for a couple of weeks, I decid-
ed to sit down at the table and sing some Zemirot. I don’t know what made me do it – I guess it was just an instinct or a burning desire. My grandmother was in the other room, watching TV. But the in-stant she heard me singing that beautiful tune of Lecha Dodi, she turned off the TV, got up, and came in to sing with me. In my entire life, I had never felt more privileged to be Jewish.
Looking back on my NCSY ex-perience, I find it very in teres t ing to note that even though I was an active NCSY’er for four years, I never at-tended a sin-gle regional
Shabbaton, which means I missed eight! My mother didn’t want me to attend and out of respect for her, my advisors never pushed me to do it. Even still, I consider each one of those regionals a missed opportunity. Although I was never able to partake in regional Shab-batonim, NCSY introduced me to hun-dreds of other programs that inspired me and led me in the right direction. Since graduation, I have decided to ded-icate fifty hours of learning to NCSY this summer in honor of the incredible gift of Torah NCSY has given me. I will iy”H complete these hours before August 20th, when I hope to leave for a year of study at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Israel. I will be learning Masechet Berachot and when I finish it, I will dedicate the Siyum to NCSY, as well. I also hope to return to NCSY as an advisor after my year in Is-rael, granted that my Yeshiva University schedule allows me to.
I’d like to thank NCSY for all of the Jewish friends I have been able to make, for all of the role models who gave me guidance through some of the most chal-lenging times in my life, and for all of the memories I made with NCSY. I will never forget these past four years, thank you so much.”
Avi is just one unique teen whose moving story permeates the halls of the NCSY office. There are thousands of other teens striving for the inspira-tion, direction, and empowerment Avi received from his positive Jewish role models at NCSY. Can you imagine pressing the pause button for even one moment when you are charged with such a crucial mission? Reconnecting Jewish teens with their heritage and exposing them to positive Jewish experiences is not a part-time job, in fact, it’s not a job at all. At NCSY, there’s no such thing as a summer off.
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Around the CommunityNEWS
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With today’s rising costs, making ends meet can be more than a little chal-lenging, particularly when it comes to grocery shopping. It comes as no sur-prise that particularly after the devastat-
ing effects of Hurricane Sandy, the food pantry at the Jewish Community Coun-cil of the Rockaway Peninsula (JCCRP) is seeing more clients than ever before.
In its current state, the JCCRP build-ing prevents us from fully reaching our potential to serve all who need help in this community. Our onsite kosher food pantry is not being fully utilized because it is currently inaccessible to senior and handicapped clients. Clients who need food must climb a flight of stairs to sign
in, and then go back downstairs and wait for our food pantry worker to give them pre-packed bags. Since there has been no waiting room, the hallway is often impassable. There is a large space ad-
jacent to the current pantry that is being used for storage but after renovations, will be incorporated into the supermar-ket-like space.
Funding from The Food Bank has been instrumental in helping the JCCRP start renovations and optimize the space to meet the growing demand for ser-vices. The work included mold remedi-ation, replacement of damaged flooring, framing and sheet-rocking, and installa-tion of new light fixtures.
The new JCCRP food pantry will mirror that of a supermarket so that cli-ents can browse the pantry shelves and choose which food items they would like to take, mimicking real shopping experiences in supermarkets, enabling clients to choose their grocery items that they would like to bring home with them.
The construction has stalled as the JCCRP has run out of funding for this project. The JCCRP is seeking a donor who would like to dedicate the pantry in the honor of a loved one. This dona-tion will allow the JCCRP to complete the renovations to enable handicap ac-cessibility and to ensure that clients can
receive food that is so desperately need-ed and still maintain their sense of dig-nity. Additionally, the newly renovated space will enable the JCCRP to attract cli-ents that have shied away, who may benefit from other services the JCCRP has to offer in order to help them rebuild their lives and return to stability, security, and self-sufficiency.
If you are interested in this spon-sorship opportunity please email [email protected] or call Nathan Krasnovsky, Executive Director of the JCCRP at 718-327-7755, to schedule a tour of the food pantry or to discuss this sponsorship opportunity further.
Also, you can visit the JCCRP at www.jccrp.org to make a donation for the food pantry reconstruction. We ask you to act speedily as the pantry has been closed for three weeks and the people in our community are in great need for the pantry to reopen as quickly as possible.
JCCRP Sponsorship Opportunity for Food Pantry
Chaim I. Anfang, M.D.Howard M. Zimmerman, M.D.
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We’d Like to Hear From YouPlease send all
correspondence to: [email protected].
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Former NFL great Alan Veingrad, a starting offen-sive lineman for the vic-torious Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl 27 in 1992, visits the Avnet Country Day School’s Woodmere Campus on June 27 to give an inspirational talk to the campers on how he, and anyone else, can overcome physical limitations and accomplish goals that were thought to be beyond reach. Alan was born in Brooklyn and became a practicing Orthodox Jew after retiring
from the NFL in the early 90s after be-ing invited to a Dallas resident’s house for a Shabbos meal during the last years of his career.
Photo credits: ira thomas creations
NFL Great Alan Veingrad Visits Camp Avnet
Around the CommunityNEWS
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On Monday, June 17 2013, the resi-dents of OHEL Bais Ezra’s Ave M resi-dence took some time to say thank you to all of their surrounding neighbors for being so welcoming, by hosting their Annual Community Appreciation Day Barbeque. Opened in 1993, OHEL’s Ave M residence is a home to 10 adults with developmental disabilities.
Family, friends, and neighbors were invited, and all enjoyed the delicious food set up by the men who live in the residence. In addition to the residents and their family members, there were close to 30 community families who joined for the fun. Residents and neigh-bors exchanged good wishes for an en-joyable summer and many look forward to once again hosting OHEL Bais Ezra individuals for Shabbos meals when the families return from spending the sum-mer upstate.
Community and family members re-ceived tours of the residence given by Alan and others who have lived in this
home for over 20 years. Neighbors and family members remain impressed with how well kept the residence is and how each resident takes pride in their private space with photos of vacations as well as paintings done by the residents adorn-ing the walls.
One community member said, “The greatest chinuch I can give my children is living across the street from an OHEL Bais Ezra residence, and having the in-dividuals join us for Shabbos meals. My children and my husband and I all gain immeasurably from spending time with the cheerful residents, whether it’s sharing a joke, a d’var Torah, or just talking about current events.”
For more information about OHEL Bais Ezra and their many services which you can benefit from, or to host individ-uals for a Shabbos meal, please contact OHEL today at 1800-603-OHEL, [email protected] or visit www.ohel-family.org.
OHEL Bais Ezra Ave M Residence HostsCommunity Appreciation Day
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Don’t you love it when functionality and fashion can merge harmoniously? Well, the timing is right to discuss something that has become somewhat of a craze in the frum fashion world…Modest Swim-wear! As someone who’s been wearing modest swimwear for years, I would like to assess the pros and cons, and figure out whether or not a new swimdress or swimskirt is a worthwhile investment for the upcoming summer season.
Many people who remember the time of “shvimkleit” can recall an aproned, matronly-looking item that was worn by only a small segment of Jewish women. People, rightfully, don’t want to wear something that makes them feel unat-tractive. So most frum women had to struggle to figure out the appropriate at-tire in aquatic situations. Until one day, a religious woman wondered aloud, “I wish I could have a dress that would be modest to swim in and stylish enough to feel good in.” And that was how Un-dercover Waterwear came into being. What started with one woman’s vision, Undercover Waterwear has become a name brand in the frum woman’s clos-et. How else can the modest woman go swimming, kayaking, jet skiing, hiking, or enjoy any other water related activity modestly?
Ten years later, that solid black swim-dress has evolved into an array of choic-es for the fashionable modest woman. Over the years, Undercover Waterwear has developed a line of modest swim-
wear that is unparalleled. Their selection of swimskirts, swim-tops, swimdresses and kids’ swimwear is sure to please even the most discerning Jew-ish fashionista!
The most obvious benefit of modest swimwear is just that, that it’s modest. So some may wonder, what is the advantage of something like Under-cover Waterwear, as opposed to buying a slinky skirt or wearing an oversized t-shirt?
Maybe it’s because all of Undercover Waterwear’s swimwear is made from a special fabric, specialized for water, and chlorine-proof. So while wearing an oversized t-shirt is possible, there are many reasons to wear something made of this special fabric. Swimming fabric doesn’t cling, won’t weigh you down while swimming, and it dries faster.
Did you know that the Skin Cancer Foundation reports that the most com-mon form of cancer is skin cancer? 1 in 55 people will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime. Have you ever heard of sun-protective clothing? All modest swimwear by Undercover Wa-terwear is UPF 50+. Which means that it protects against ultraviolet rays. With sun-protective clothing, you are not only protecting your femininity, you are also protecting your health!
So if I can look good, feel good and stay healthy all in one, I guess I’ll be treating myself to a new swim outfit from Undercover Waterwear this season after all!
Undercover WaterwearA Look into the Premier Brand of modest Swimwear
Location: Beth Gavriel Community Center
66-35 108th St, Forest Hills, NY 11375 Monday, July 15th, 20139:30 PM: R’ Yossi Mizrachi Tuesday, July 16th, 2013 8:45 AM: Shacharit (Sephardic Nussach) 10:30 AM: R’ Zechariah Wallerstein Video 11:15 AM: R’ Benzion Klatzko 12:00 PM: R’ Israel Itshakov 12:30 PM: R’ Benzion Shafier 1:15 PM: R’ Ilan Meirov 1:45 PM: R’ Yitzchak Oelbaum 2:15 PM: R’ Mordechai Kraft 2:45 PM: R’ Label Lam 3:15 PM: R’ Avraham Nissianian
3:45 PM: R’ Akiva Rutenberg 4:15 PM: R’ Daniel Gladstein4:45 PM: R’ Moshe Bamberger5:15 PM: R’ Dovid Lefkowitz
6:00 PM: R’ Igal Haimoff 2:00 PM-7:00 PM: Kalever Rebbe will be available to give blessings and advice to individuals and families10:00 AM- 4:00 PM: Free shatnez checking 7:00 PM Mincha8:00 PM Arvit 8:57 PM Fast Ends For more information, please call 917-617-3636 or email [email protected].
Tisha B’Av Torah Marathon in Queens
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HANAH BRASCHOn her selection as an intern at the
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AY 24, 2012
93Cover Story
Joe Bobker
The moment G-d decreed that “Trouble” was to be Tisha b’Av’s middle name, the Ninth of Av entered the Jewish calendar cycle as our Annual Bad Omen Day.
Its zodiac sign is a lion, appropriately chosen by Eicha’s, “He is a lurking bear to me, a lion in hiding”; as if the Heavens have “stood aside” each year during this month and allowed the “lurking bears, lions,” and wild animals to have their way with His flock; a gentile free-for-all that drives the Jews to yearn for the day when the beasts of prey are tamed, when “the wolf will live with the sheep, and the leopard will lie down with the kid.”
The date-fixation with the “9th” was such that all Jewish disasters, whether they occurred on the Ninth of Av, or close by, were automatically allocated to this day, a day that our kabbalists claim proves the world’s incompleteness.
On this day, Temples fell and Jerusalem was destroyed; once by the Chaldeans, twice by the Romans, Titus and Hadrian, whose catastrophic rage sold so many Jews into slavery that the open market price of slaves collapsed. Mighty Rome’s commemoration of this major achievement would be the minting of special Judeae Capta coins, bearing the image of the broken exiled Jew, crying under a
palm tree. So total were these twin psychic traumas
that, at the sight of “Zion and her cities la-menting like an almuna girded with sack-cloth,” God Himself “ceased to laugh” and became an empathic companion of His folk’s tragic history, an expression of participation known as Imo Anochi betzarah.
It was on Tisha b’Av 1242 that Torah scrolls and 20,000 hand-written Jewish man-uscripts would burn in Paris, ordered by a Pope Innocent IV who wasn’t so innocent. King Louis IX was rewarded with a “Saint-hood” for being such a good arsonist.
As a result of those flames, all the yeshi-vas of Paris closed down and the spiritual decline of French Jewry began. This inspired the Maharam, R’ Meir Rottenberg, to write the kinos (Sha’ali Serufah ba’Aish) that we still say today.
On this date, Beitar fell, Crusaders start-ed their bloodbaths, Jews were unceremoni-ously kicked out of England, Germany be-gan a World War, and all Jews were expelled from Russia’s border provinces, a move that marked the beginning of the end of Jewish life in Eastern Europe.
Jewish mystics, by juxtaposing 1492 and 1942, linked the Tisha b’Av’s of those two years to the sight of Spanish Jews being expelled to the seas with the 300,000 Warsaw ghetto Jews being shuffled off as cattle to a Treblinka crematoria.
This Judaic day of “trouble” coincided with other tragedies, a fatal calendar “coincidence” whose improbability of odds convinced a Jewish nation that the Heavens were serving official notice to expect a hovering visitor, a prosecutorial adversary we know as the Angel of Death, who would appear suddenly and unin-vited, ensuring that this day retained its unholy status as history’s shockwave of tragedies: distant only in space, time and number of casualties – but common in calendar.
Tisha b’Av was carved into the Jewish cycle as an eternal Day of National Mourning, as one of four prostrate days, and given equal status with Yom Kippur as a “major” fast.
In the past, some Jews fasted a half-a-day erev Tisha b’Av, others slept on rocks as pillows. The day before, we eat a meal called seuda ha’mafsekes, which literally means “the meal that interrupts,” meant to emphasize the break between a regular day and a fast day.
Jewish law forbids eating different foods from separate dishes at this meal. Why? Because eating a variety of foods was considered too “festive.” Lentils, a “food of misfortune and mourning,” and eggs were the favored foods, because “roundness,” considered a symbol of mourning, also represented the belief that mourning surrounds (rounded) everyone eventually at some point in life.
On this day there is no music, no festivities, no dancing, no singing, no bathing, no leather shoes: in short, no joy of any kind—one is not even permitted to greet other Jews with the customary words, Shalom aleichem, “Peace be with you” (this is why the Kohen’s priestly blessing is not said, because it contains the words, “and grant thee peace”); nor is one allowed to put on tefillin or tallis in the morning (worn in the afternoon instead). Why? Because both were considered ornaments, “theologic jewelry,” inappropriate for a day of sadness, reminiscent of a mourner
TROUBLE’S MY MIDDLE NAMEBobker On Tisha B’Av
Our kinos are only substitutes for the thousands of volumes of unwritten diaries and incomplete chronicles whose blood-stained pages were penned by Jews being reduced to cinders either at the Temple or at Treblinka.
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who does not put them on the day of a funeral as part of the nihugei gavra, the ac-tive display of mourning.
And more: one is even forbidden to study Torah. Why? Because Torah learning represents the highest state of happiness. Instead we read the Book of Job (a dra-matic probe into the question of seemingly undeserved suffering), Megilas Eicha (the lamentations of Jeremiah over the fate of Jerusalem), and certain moralistic ag-gadic parts of the Talmud, allowed because they are of a non-legal nature, and thus more historic or poetic (e.g. Maseches Gittin which deals with divorces, considered suitable because the Churban represented a “temporary” separation between G-d and the Jewish People).
Lamentations opens with the word Eicha, an expression that kabbalists link via the same letters – alef, yud, kof, heh – to ayeka, the word that G-d uses when rebuking Adam, “Where [ayeka] are you?” in order to show that Adam, history’s first alienated exile, was the archetype symbol of G-d’s loss of harmonious relation-ships.
It was King James, and not the Jews, who first called Jeremiah’s book “Lamen-tations,” in that it described the national degradation and destruction of Jerusalem. In Hebrew, it is Megilas Eicha, literally translated as “The Book of How” (as in, “how can it be?”) thus making it a floating manuscript of “how” to remember the outrages of Jewish history.
Jewish tradition, which forbids mourners to go to shul during their seven-day shiva period, makes an exception for Tisha b’Av, because everybody in the syna-gogue or beis medrash is in a “low” position, just like the shiva mourners, who are
even allowed to be called up to the Torah on this day.
On Tisha b’Av, all decorations are removed from the synagogue, lights are dimmed, and the whole community sits on the floor or on low wooden benches, analogous to mourning.
The custom of dimming lights comes from G-d asking the angels, “What does a king of flesh and blood do when he goes into mourning?”
“He puts out all his lanterns,” they replied; to which God answered, “I will do likewise.”
Since our rabbis were aware of human nature, they understood that to order a sudden cessation in our normal lives for the pure purpose of grief was risky, so they devised a “mourning ramp-up” that started with the Three Weeks, then moved on to the Nine Days, climaxing finally on Tisha b’Av with the removal of the curtain of the Ark and the stripping off the Torah scrolls of their velvet embroidered cloaks.
After maariv, Jews listen in hushed silence to the mournful melodic cadences of Lamentations, followed by liturgical “poems of sorrow” known as kinos un pi-yyutim; their content dripping in anguish and agony, despondency and depression.
Why poetry? This was the most admired form of religious expression in both ancient Israel, medieval Europe, and the golden age in Spain: from King David’s Tehillim to Moses’ Song of Triumph at the Red Sea to Bilaam’s Ma Tovu to such Sephard giants as R’ Samuel ha-Nagid, R’ Solomon Ibn Gabirol, R’ Dunash Ibn Labrat, R’ Moses Ibn Ezra, and the legendary Zionist “mother of all Hebrew poets,” R’ Judah ha-Levi.
Jews are the only people in the world whose very existence inspired this new genre of literature but only at the feel of cold blades of steel at their collective throats.
Tragically, these poignant lyrics have expanded over the centuries as Jews be-came the unlucky beneficiaries of gentile largesse, ranging from the tale of the Ten Martyrs (Aseres Harugei Malchus) at the time of the Mishna to the devastation the Crusaders decided to visit, seven times over several centuries, upon the Tosefos communities of France and Germany.
There are seven weeks from Tisha b’Av through the month of Elul, known as shiva d’nechemta, the “seven weeks of being comforted.”
The Shabbos Torah read-ings that fall just before and after have special signifi-cance, their names derived from the haftora portion of the Hebrew prophets read on those days.
Our rabbis, acutely aware that a people’s belief sys-tem needed a bond between despair and hope, preceded Tisha b’Av with Shabbos Chazon and followed it with Shabbos Nachamu.
Because its content pre-dicted horrific experiences for Am Yisrael, the Chazon portion is chanted to the same haunting and fearful melody as Megilas Eicha; and yet, for a haftara of puranut (“punishment”), it still ends on a positive note, “Zion will be redeemed in Justice [and] will be redeemed in Righteousness”; a reaffirma-tion that the last note in the symphony of the history of Israel would end in the composition of triumph.
Meanwhile, Nachamu is the first word from the fortieth chapter of Isaiah that begins Nachamu, Nachamu ammi, “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.” (After the Holocaust, many babies were named Menachem, as a “comforter” for the family emerging from the Nazi abyss.)
Isaiah, the son of Amotz, was a brilliant and boundlessly gifted poet with a style both comforting and melodic tinged in grandiose themes of hope and optimism. His Shabbos Nachamu, in sharp contrast to the morbid gloom of Shabbos Chazon, contains uplifting poems, soaring inspirational prophecies, and such enriching lyr-ics that it was from here that the Zohar lifted its lofty battle cry, “Men fall only in order to rise!”
In order to buttress this fast day with both mourning and the hope of deliver-ance, this Shabbos became the Shabbos of joyful festivities and the start of Jewish wedding cycles.
Our rabbis designated the month of Av as Menachem Av, the “comforting” Av, in order to soften a potentially damaging body-blow to the Judaic belief system, and based it on the belief that the ultimate redeemer of the Jews, the Messiah himself, was born on this terrible day.
Meanwhile we begin lamenting gradually, haltingly, in gentle whispers and in hushed tones, swaying and murmuring in unison.
Then our kinos rise, until we reach an anguished crescendo; and then they rise even further, and further still, until the crushing emotional awareness of the full weight of Jewish history erupts on Tisha b’Av.
Sadness propels the words of kinos that are nothing more than a revisit of the savagery, one that unpleasantly throws the ghosts of our enemies amongst us.
They are a summary of works written on behalf of the millions of Jews who were un-able to bear witness to what they saw, heard, experienced. But remember: our kinos are only substitutes for the thousands of volumes of unwritten diaries and incomplete chroni-cles, whose blood-stained pages were penned by Jews being reduced to cinders either at the Temple or at Treblinka; as such they are a massive reportage that has rolled down the mountain of Jewish history from the ancient borders of Canaan to Europe 1939, when they crashed head-on into a Third Reich’s “Holocaust Kingdom.”
Doomed Jews were able to look ahead. They now knew the odds: the eternal Jew always remained, not so easily defeated after all.
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During the Holocaust, Tisha b’Av allowed each Jew to look over his hurt shoulder and see the shift-ing silhouettes of Jewish history; the shadows of
the Bar Kochba revolt, Crusades, the Mainz affair, pogroms surrounding the Black Plague, a blood libel in Trent, ferocious Christian passion plays, burning of Mar-ranos, “hep, hep” taunts of World War I (a Crusaders acronym of Heirosolyma est perdita, “Jerusalem is lost”), Kishinev, and the wretched “Ratevette!” (Please save me!) cries that were pouring forth from the Nazi ghettos.
This repetition reminded him that there exists not only days of dark destruction, but also desirable days of creation, a recurring annual theme that allowed Jews to see their own dreadful dilemma within the totality of Jewish history.
Tisha b’Av’s traumatic historiography thus acts as a compass to help each gen-eration place their own harvest of hate sufferings within Jewish destiny. Doomed Jews were able to look ahead. They now knew the odds: that the Hitlerian or Cru-sader sounds in the background would be drowned out by the past voices of the Hebrew prophets; that the Auschwitzes’ might, nay would, come and go, but the eternal Jew always remained, not so easily defeated after all.
That is why if you compare the first two “songs” of eichah (“Help us turn to You, L-rd, and we will return, Renew our days as of old”), which are plaintive, mournful, wistful, to the last eichah you’ll notice a shift in tone.
The coda suddenly bursts forth in a rousing and invigorating optimism.These last lyrics make Tisha b’Av, in its own strange way, a day of robust and
imaginative hope. If you then juxtapose this insight with the final words, chadesh yamenu k’kedem, “make new our days of old,” which all Jews say together, you
will notice that this begins not with the word kina, a lamentation, but with mizmor, implying a song of praise, a hint of acclaim, a teaser of adulation.
And so we read Lamentations, one of the “Five Scrolls,” from ordinary and inexpensive paper with simple binding and not, like Megillas Esther, from a parch-ment scroll. Why? Because parchment was considered a permanent means of re-cording.
Since Purim was to “spill-over” into Messianic times, parchment was appropri-ate for the saga of Esther and Mordechai but not for a sorry tale of Lamentations which clashes with our faith that Redemption will come speedily.
Thus printing kinos was seen as a waste of money; since Tisha b’Av would one day be a time of happiness instead of sorrow, eliminating any further need to la-ment.
Consider: a chassid, astonished at the sight of his Rebbe dancing happily on the Ninth of Av, approached his mentor and saw that he was dancing with tears of sad-ness. When asked why, the Rebbe replied, “It’s very simple, it’s a mitzva to be sad on the ninth of Av, and a mitzva must be carried out with happiness!”
Therefore, while it is technically correct to refer to Tisha b’Av as the traditional day of preeminent mourning, sorrow, and grieving; it is just as correct to refer to it as our traditional day of hope and optimism par excellence; and recall that it is also the day when Noah sent out the dove.
Joe Bobker is the publisher of the Los Angeles Jewish Times and author of the popular “Torah With a Twist of Humor” series. This is an excerpt from Bobker’s “From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through the Jewish Holidays” (Gefen Publishing). The author can be contacted at [email protected].
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During the Holocaust, Tisha b’Av allowed each Jew to look over his hurt shoulder and see the shift-ing silhouettes of Jewish history; the shadows of
the Bar Kochba revolt, Crusades, the Mainz affair, pogroms surrounding the Black Plague, a blood libel in Trent, ferocious Christian passion plays, burning of Mar-ranos, “hep, hep” taunts of World War I (a Crusaders acronym of Heirosolyma est perdita, “Jerusalem is lost”), Kishinev, and the wretched “Ratevette!” (Please save me!) cries that were pouring forth from the Nazi ghettos.
This repetition reminded him that there exists not only days of dark destruction, but also desirable days of creation, a recurring annual theme that allowed Jews to see their own dreadful dilemma within the totality of Jewish history.
Tisha b’Av’s traumatic historiography thus acts as a compass to help each gen-eration place their own harvest of hate sufferings within Jewish destiny. Doomed Jews were able to look ahead. They now knew the odds: that the Hitlerian or Cru-sader sounds in the background would be drowned out by the past voices of the Hebrew prophets; that the Auschwitzes’ might, nay would, come and go, but the eternal Jew always remained, not so easily defeated after all.
That is why if you compare the first two “songs” of eichah (“Help us turn to You, L-rd, and we will return, Renew our days as of old”), which are plaintive, mournful, wistful, to the last eichah you’ll notice a shift in tone.
The coda suddenly bursts forth in a rousing and invigorating optimism.These last lyrics make Tisha b’Av, in its own strange way, a day of robust and
imaginative hope. If you then juxtapose this insight with the final words, chadesh yamenu k’kedem, “make new our days of old,” which all Jews say together, you
will notice that this begins not with the word kina, a lamentation, but with mizmor, implying a song of praise, a hint of acclaim, a teaser of adulation.
And so we read Lamentations, one of the “Five Scrolls,” from ordinary and inexpensive paper with simple binding and not, like Megillas Esther, from a parch-ment scroll. Why? Because parchment was considered a permanent means of re-cording.
Since Purim was to “spill-over” into Messianic times, parchment was appropri-ate for the saga of Esther and Mordechai but not for a sorry tale of Lamentations which clashes with our faith that Redemption will come speedily.
Thus printing kinos was seen as a waste of money; since Tisha b’Av would one day be a time of happiness instead of sorrow, eliminating any further need to la-ment.
Consider: a chassid, astonished at the sight of his Rebbe dancing happily on the Ninth of Av, approached his mentor and saw that he was dancing with tears of sad-ness. When asked why, the Rebbe replied, “It’s very simple, it’s a mitzva to be sad on the ninth of Av, and a mitzva must be carried out with happiness!”
Therefore, while it is technically correct to refer to Tisha b’Av as the traditional day of preeminent mourning, sorrow, and grieving; it is just as correct to refer to it as our traditional day of hope and optimism par excellence; and recall that it is also the day when Noah sent out the dove.
Joe Bobker is the publisher of the Los Angeles Jewish Times and author of the popular “Torah With a Twist of Humor” series. This is an excerpt from Bobker’s “From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through the Jewish Holidays” (Gefen Publishing). The author can be contacted at [email protected].
THEJEW
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During the Holocaust, Tisha b’Av allowed each Jew to look over his hurt shoulder and see the shift-ing silhouettes of Jewish history; the shadows of
the Bar Kochba revolt, Crusades, the Mainz affair, pogroms surrounding the Black Plague, a blood libel in Trent, ferocious Christian passion plays, burning of Mar-ranos, “hep, hep” taunts of World War I (a Crusaders acronym of Heirosolyma est perdita, “Jerusalem is lost”), Kishinev, and the wretched “Ratevette!” (Please save me!) cries that were pouring forth from the Nazi ghettos.
This repetition reminded him that there exists not only days of dark destruction, but also desirable days of creation, a recurring annual theme that allowed Jews to see their own dreadful dilemma within the totality of Jewish history.
Tisha b’Av’s traumatic historiography thus acts as a compass to help each gen-eration place their own harvest of hate sufferings within Jewish destiny. Doomed Jews were able to look ahead. They now knew the odds: that the Hitlerian or Cru-sader sounds in the background would be drowned out by the past voices of the Hebrew prophets; that the Auschwitzes’ might, nay would, come and go, but the eternal Jew always remained, not so easily defeated after all.
That is why if you compare the first two “songs” of eichah (“Help us turn to You, L-rd, and we will return, Renew our days as of old”), which are plaintive, mournful, wistful, to the last eichah you’ll notice a shift in tone.
The coda suddenly bursts forth in a rousing and invigorating optimism.These last lyrics make Tisha b’Av, in its own strange way, a day of robust and
imaginative hope. If you then juxtapose this insight with the final words, chadesh yamenu k’kedem, “make new our days of old,” which all Jews say together, you
will notice that this begins not with the word kina, a lamentation, but with mizmor, implying a song of praise, a hint of acclaim, a teaser of adulation.
And so we read Lamentations, one of the “Five Scrolls,” from ordinary and inexpensive paper with simple binding and not, like Megillas Esther, from a parch-ment scroll. Why? Because parchment was considered a permanent means of re-cording.
Since Purim was to “spill-over” into Messianic times, parchment was appropri-ate for the saga of Esther and Mordechai but not for a sorry tale of Lamentations which clashes with our faith that Redemption will come speedily.
Thus printing kinos was seen as a waste of money; since Tisha b’Av would one day be a time of happiness instead of sorrow, eliminating any further need to la-ment.
Consider: a chassid, astonished at the sight of his Rebbe dancing happily on the Ninth of Av, approached his mentor and saw that he was dancing with tears of sad-ness. When asked why, the Rebbe replied, “It’s very simple, it’s a mitzva to be sad on the ninth of Av, and a mitzva must be carried out with happiness!”
Therefore, while it is technically correct to refer to Tisha b’Av as the traditional day of preeminent mourning, sorrow, and grieving; it is just as correct to refer to it as our traditional day of hope and optimism par excellence; and recall that it is also the day when Noah sent out the dove.
Joe Bobker is the publisher of the Los Angeles Jewish Times and author of the popular “Torah With a Twist of Humor” series. This is an excerpt from Bobker’s “From Fasting to Feasting: A Unique Journey Through the Jewish Holidays” (Gefen Publishing). The author can be contacted at [email protected].
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ccording to tradition, the messiah is born on Tisha B’Av. It also stands to reason that the redemption of
the Jews can only follow their exile. On Tisha B’Av, the First and Second Jerusalem
Temple was destroyed and Judean independence was lost to the Romans following the fall of the city of the
city of Beitar, the last stronghold of the Bar Kochba revolt. As a result, the Jews lost their spiritual center and were exiled from
their homeland.Many additional tragedies throughout history have marked the day
of Tisha B’Av. One of the most ominous was Tisha B’Av, August 1, 1914. On that day, Germany had declared war on Russia, transforming the European conflict between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Serbians backed by Russia to a World War between opposing allianc-es.
The declaration of War on Tisha B’Av, 1914, brought the unthink-able to reality. Millions died on the fronts. Military casualties from new weapons technologies produced tools for killing en masse: im-
proved artillery, poison gas canisters, tanks, airplanes for dropping bombs from the skies. Civilians caught in the fighting often faced persecution, expul-sion, starvation and disease. Over one million Armenians were systematically massacred by the Ottoman Turks.
The twentieth century was a post-en-lightenment era where new ideologies viewed mankind as the arbiter of his actions, possessing a personal autono-my free of any controlling dogma. Yet, man’s primal instinct endured, and his capacity for evil had not diminished de-spite the onset of modernity.
This storm that had swept over the world severely impacted the Jews who were caught in the middle. Young Jews stood on different sides of the lines in trenches facing enemies some of whom
were fellow Jews. Amid the chaos of war, Jews were targeted, suffer-ing Pogroms at the hands of Cossacks, and mass expulsions in Poland and Galitzia by the orders of Russian commanders. It is estimated that one million Jews fled or were expelled from their homes into dire cir-cumstances.
Following the war, Jews would face additional horrors. Catastroph-ic massacres took place during the Ukrainian Civil War of 1919-1920 along with a rise of anti-Semitism throughout Europe and the world. The rise of Communism following the 1917 Russian Revolution, which was also a direct result of the war, would soon threaten Jew-ry with a new virulent form of anti-Semitism. Nazism would gain a
foothold in Germany, and grow with the rise of Hitler and the eventual economic chaos of the Great Depression of the early 1930’s.
In the year 1914, a massive storm was unleashed upon the world and the Jewish People. Rabbi Yehudah Leib Graubart, in the introduc-tion of a book he authored on the extreme difficulties of the First World War, cites a sentence from the Psalms, “Hashem looks to the Earth and it quivered” (104:32). The events of 1914 shook up the world whose aftershocks are still felt. The letters of the Hebrew word, “tirad” from the sentence meaning, “The ‘Earth’ quivered” is the numerical equiv-alent of the year, 5674, which is 1914.
Perhaps, as the war which shook the world and caused hatreds against the Jews to surface, which so often accompanies chaos, it also unleashed powers of redemption.
As victorious British and Allied forces over the Turks in the Middle East were completing the conquest of Palestine in 1917, the famous Balfour Declaration endorsing Jewish statehood in the Land of Israel was issued. During this era of nationalism and the advocating of na-tional rights for minority groups, the Balfour Declaration had received support among many world leaders. It was an era of both widespread anti-Semitism as well as support for Jewish Statehood.
War-weary Jewish communities around the world paused and cel-ebrated. A popular Yiddish daily, Dos Yiddishe Folk, stated, “For the first time in two thousand years we again enter into the arena of world history as a nation which deserves a national home.” The religious Zionist movement, Mizrachi, issued a statement, “It seems that Holy Providence which guided Israel in its long night of exile is about to reward the Jewish people for all their suffering and tribulations.”
That dream, although appearing near, was still distant. Its realiza-tion was soon prevented by the British who enacted severe restrictions on Jewish immigration into the land and implemented the infamous MacDonald White Paper of 1939 which called for 15,000 Jewish im-migrants per year the next five years. The White Paper also nullified the principle of Jewish Statehood as called for by the Balfour Declaration.
With no sanctuary, European Jewry faced destruction. The Balfour Declaration did not cause the rebirth of the Jewish
State, but it did give Zionism international support and caused its eventuality. Zionism gained a footing during these tragic and trying times.
Ninety-nine years later, the Jewish world still lives in the shadow of the dark days of The Great War of 1914-1918. Forces of hate still abound and clamor for the destruction of Israel and Jewry. The events of November 1917 have ultimately lead to Jewish Statehood and the continual ingathering of the exiles. The Jews en masse have returned and reconnected with their spiritual home. They no longer need to be prey for their enemies in foreign lands as in the days of that horrific conflict.
The hope of Tisha B’Av is the same yesterday and today: that the light of redemption will shine bright, illuminating the world, where sorrow would be a painful memory of the past.
Tisha B'AvLarry Domnitch
Tisha B’Av and the First World WarTremors of Tragedy We Still Feel Today
As the war which shook
the world and caused
hatreds against the
Jews to surface, it also
unleashed powers of
redemption.
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60 Forgotten HeroesAvi Heiligman
Tisha B’AvRome’s Rise and Fall
The destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdash was caused by the sin of sinas chinam and Klal Yisrael
has been in golus ever since. The per-petrators of the destruction were the Romans led by Titus ha’rasha. The Ro-mans had been on a warpath for hun-dreds of years and they thought it would be easy to add Eretz Yisrael to their con-quests, but they were mistaken. It took a four siege of Yerushalayim and three years of fighting after that to conquer Eretz Yisrael. Many Jews were killed and the destruction of the Bais Hamik-dash culminated on Tisha B’Av. Over 1800 years later, it was a Jewish general who captured Rome.
Even though it was one of the sad-dest times in Jewish history, it is import-ant to know the basic facts surrounding the siege and destruction of the Bais Hamikdash. The Jewish historian Jo-sephus, at one time a resistance leader who was captured and then befriended Vespasian, wrote about the rebellion, and many of the facts that we have to-day are from his books. Rome was a na-tion built on military success. Emperors and leaders were chosen based on their successes on the battlefield. Low rank-ing or “under the radar” generals were given a chance to prove themselves when assigned so-called easy assign-ments.
The Background of the Churban In the year 66, a revolt began in
Eretz Yisrael which at that time was called Judea. A Roman governor had been killed trying to repress the uprising so Emperor Nero sent General Vespa-sian to Judea. His second in command was his son Titus. With 60,000 well-trained soldiers, the Romans subdued
the northern Jewish resistance but left the stronghold of Yerushalayim alone. The southern leaders wanted to prevent as many deaths as possible and didn’t come to help their northern brethren.
The Jews were driven out of Jaf-fa and many of the leaders, including Shimon Bar Giora, of the northern re-sistance came to Yerushalayim. Many civilians fled there as well. Civil War had sprung out among the different fac-tions in the holy city and many leaders were killed. Now many of the govern-ment leaders were dead and the ones in charge were hotheads who didn’t listen to anyone especially the rabbanim. See-ing that the city was in disarray, the Ro-mans made their move in the year 68.
The gemara in Yoma explains that the destruction of Bayis Sheini was due to sinas chinam (hatred of a fellow Jew) and this was the cause of many deaths as one Jew fought another. The Romans just came in to finish the job. All they had to do was put a siege on the holy city and not let anyone or thing in or out. Stockpiles of food were burned down by the Zealots causing rampant starvation. This is when the story of Rabbi Yochanon Ben Zakai occurred.
The only thing that the Romans or the Zealots let out of the city was corps-es to be buried. So Rabbi Yochanon feigned death in order to leave the city, and once outside the walls, he asked the Roman guards to take him to Vespasian. Walking into the general’s quarters, Rabbi Yochanon addressed the general as your majesty and Vespasian demand-ed that he be killed because it sounded like treason against the current emper-or. (The year 69 was known as the year of the four emperors.) Just then a mes-senger arrived from Rome saying that
emperor was dead and Ves-pasian was the new emper-or. The newly crowned em-peror thus rewarded Rabbi Yochanon with the fulfill-ment of three requests. One was that the city of Yavneh and its talmidei chachamim be spared. The second was that the ailing Rabbi Tzadok be healed, and the last was that the family of the nesiim could continue.
Vespasian left Judea (he didn’t go straight to Rome because there were political matters to be dealt in Egypt), and his son Titus took over the campaign against the Jews. Vespasian opposed a siege on Yerushalayim because he felt that Rome would lose too many soldiers. However, in the year 70, he wasn’t there, and Titus put a stranglehold on the city. At first, the Jews employed co-vert and night sneak attacks which severely hampered the Roman efforts. However, Rome sent more troops and Titus waited for more forces to arrive. Eventually, he used battering rams and missiles thrown from towers that were constructed outside the walls. In the summer, the walls of the city were breached and the Romans began their plunder and destruction. It culminated on Tisha B’Av when the Bais Hamik-dash was set afire.
Most of the fighting ended after the Churban except for in a few places like Masada. All resistance stopped by the year 73. Titus returned to Rome in the year 71 as a hero, and in 79, he became emperor. He died two years later when a gnat flew up his nostril and ate away at his brain. It way Hashem’s way of re-paying Titus who said that Hashem only had powers at sea (Gemara Meseches Gitten 56b).
Defeating the RomansThe Jews were sent into golus (ex-
ile) and didn’t regain political authori-ty in Eretz Yisrael until 1948. Over the years, Rome was attacked by many ene-mies and conquered. The capital city of Italy is called Rome, and during WWII (1939-1945), the country was allied with Germany. The Italians overthrew Dictator Benito Mussolini in 1943 but Hitler ym”s still controlled the country. Allied armies invaded Italy but were slowed by the Germans. After a break-
out of a beachhead, the Allies, led by the American 5th Army, advanced to-wards Rome.
The commander of the 5th Army was General Mark W. Clark whose mother was a daughter of Romanian Jews. He
did not have any affiliation with being Jewish but had great admiration for his Jewish soldiers. On June 4, 1944, two days before the invasion of France, Clark led his troops triumphantly into the open city of Rome. The Germans had fled to the northern part of Italy and didn’t defend Rome. The war lasted un-til May 1945 when the Germans surren-dered to the Allies.
The irony of the capture of Rome by a Jewish general was lost on many. Here was a nation that destroyed the holy Bais Hamikdash, brought many other peoples to their knees but was captured without a fight by a nation led by a Jew-ish general that supported Jewish caus-es. This is just one small sign that this world is ruled by Hashem, and may we soon see the rebuilding of the third Bais Hamikdash in our times.
Author’s note: These articles are meant to be informative and are not all inclusive. Due to space constraints, not all information on the topic can be ad-dressed. If the reader feels that some-thing needs to be clarified, feel free to email the author for an explanation.
Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your com-ments and suggestions.for future columns and can be reached at [email protected].
The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the Romans pillaging the holy objects from the Beis Hamikdash
The Judea Capta coins were issued by Vespasian in the year 71 to celebrate his victory over the Jews
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There’s room for all of us to grow closer to ourselves and therefore infinitely closer to Hashem.
We fast, we sit on the floor, we cry, we recite Eicha and kinos - but do we really even care that we don’t have a Beis Hamikdash? As we near Tisha B’Av, let’s take a moment to understand exactly what galus – exile – has to do with our own lives.
Most of us find ourselves in won-derful frum communities with great schools for our children; we daven in warm shuls and learn in the best kol-lelim and yeshivas; on top of that many of us have excellent jobs, beautiful homes, and fancy cars – what exactly is missing in our lives? How does galus affect us on a daily basis?
Let’s make the question stronger: even when there was a Beis Hamikdash, did the Jews ever have it as good as we have it now? At this time of year, these
questions should be bothering all of us.To answer these questions, we have
to define galus. For two thousand years since the destruction of the Beis Hamik-dash, we have really been mourning the Galus HaShechina – the exile of the Divine Presence. The Shechina is G-d’s revelation in the world. When there was a Beis Hamikdash, Hashem’s presence was revealed in the world; when people came to Jerusalem they could tangibly feel G-d. Nowadays, without a Beis Hamikdash, no matter how comfort-able we may be – both in ruchniyous and gashmiyous – the presence of G-d in our lives and in the world is hidden. The tangible relationship with Hash-em that should permeate every aspect of our lives is only peripheral at best. Perhaps the greatest place where we can
clearly see the result of this exile is in ourselves. Our Sages teach us that the soul is literally a spark of G-d. When one is disconnected from their self, they
are in effect disconnected from Hashem. The most relevant part of galus is that most of us are walking around without a clue as to who we are and why we’re here in this world. Now that’s something to cry about.
Finding Yourself – The Most Important Lost Object
Finding your-self and finding your life’s purpose can be compared to the mitzvah of hashaves aveida – returning a lost object. Everyone knows that it’s a tre-mendous mitzvah to return a lost object to its owner; how much more so, to return a
lost soul to its owner! Our rabbis learn the great importance of kiruv from here – to teach people that they have a soul.
The problem is that with so much emphasis on kiruv these days, many frum people may think that their souls are already “found” and that only non-frum people need to find their souls. However, the truth is that if you don’t clearly understand your own unique life’s purpose – you have hardly begun to find your soul. Despite the fact that you may be totally frum, you may be only scratching the surface in regards to fulfilling what you were created for. No matter how religious we are, there’s room for all of us to grow closer to our-selves and therefore infinitely closer to Hashem.
At this time of year as our mourn-
ing for the galus reaches its climax, we must ask ourselves the ultimate ques-tion: Do we honestly know who we are and what we are here for?
In the next few issues of The Jewish Home we are going to address this ques-tion and hopefully present you with the tools to begin to discover who you are and what your unique purpose in life is.
Rabbi Aryeh Nivin is the founder and di-rector of Machon Ha’adam Hashalem – a personal development Torah network which helps thousands of people around the world find their unique life’s purpose. A new cy-cle of Rabbi Nivin’s personal development phone chaburas for women is starting in Elul ( Aug 5th and 6th). Register now for the 3-Class No-Obligation Trial and for a limited time receive a bonus 3 CD Series, “The Jewish Woman’s Introductory Guide to Achieving Vitality” for just $1. For more information go to www.newchabura.com, call (646) 863-4123 from the US, or email [email protected].
If you’re traveling this summer, there will be a special review session after the Yomim Tovim so that you can make up any missed classes.
Rabbi Aryeh Nivin
Jewish Thought
Personal Redemption Finding Your Unique Life’s Purpose
Part 1: Why We Should Cry on Tisha B’Av
There’s room for all of us To grow closer To ourselves and Therefore
infiniTely closer To hashem.
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Recently I heard a story about Rob-in Williams. Robin Williams is a world-famous comedian and
actor who has been in the business for decades. While he is not Jewish, he has said that growing up he gravitated to-wards the Jewish kids in school because they, like he who had moved to the area from another city, were seen as outsid-ers. He even called himself an honorary Jew because he attended 14 Bar Mitz-vahs in a single year!
While being interviewed on a Ger-man talk show, a woman asked him, “Mr. Williams, why do you think there is not so much comedy in Germany?” He replied, “Did you ever think you killed all the funny people?”
When a friend related this story, one woman who heard it was very upset. She said, “If he really said this, it is a terribly cruel and insensitive response to someone not responsible for the hor-rific acts of a previous generation.”
Now, I’ve often said that when giv-en the choice between good taste and a good line, a good line will win every time. I’m not going to discuss wheth-er his comment was tactful or not or whether it was funny or not. (OK, I think it was funny!)
What I’d like to focus on is this: The woman who was incensed by the cruel-ty of his comment may have jumped the gun. She was obviously feeling defen-sive for the interviewer, who was seem-ingly attacked by this American, born after the Holocaust, who stereotyped Germans as indiscriminate murderers.
I wondered: how did he deliver the punch line? What was said before that
question? How did the interviewer take the line? In truth, we can’t rush to judgment because we don’t have all the facts. We just have a snapshot in time where we see an interaction, but we’re seeing it out of context. In that light, I don’t think it’s fair to condemn him.
Unfortunately, though, this wom-an’s behavior is not uncommon. All too often we see people do things wrong and we condemn them. We assume they are insensitive, sinful, callous, and any other adjectives that fit someone who does something wrong and maybe even hurtful.
Chazal tells us, “Don’t judge your fellow until you reach his place.” In the American vernacular, we say, “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” Both expressions high-light something key.
If we want to judge someone, we first need to not only be in the same
place as he is physically, emotionally, spiritually, or otherwise, but to have gotten to that place on the same path as he arrived there. Just as one who heli-copters to the top of a mountain cannot gauge the skills necessary or the chal-
lenges faced by one who climbed to the summit himself, so can we not judge others when we’ve not experienced ex-actly what they have. And here’s a little secret: That will never happen!
No two people are alike, so we can’t know what someone else is thinking, how each experience affected them, or how they got to where they are. In other words, we can NEVER judge people. In fact, it’s a posuk, “Ki hamishpat l’Eilokim hu,” for judgment is G-d’s.
Once we’re on the topic of judging though, let’s take this example one step further. Just as we can’t judge people
because we don’t know what they’ve gone through and why they do what they do, so too can we not judge Hash-em and question His actions.
Now, before somebody stands up and says, “That’s the problem with you people,” (what does he mean by that?!) “you just believe everything the rabbis tell you and you don’t allow people to think for themselves or ask questions,” let me stop you. I’m not saying that we can’t wonder why Hashem did some-thing, or that we shouldn’t discuss how and why “bad” things happen.
What I mean is that the point of the questioning should be to reach some level of understanding of why Hashem might have done something and what message He is sending, but we can’t second guess Him or say that He made a mistake, or lost control, G-d forbid. We are only seeing an instant in human history, and only from the very limited perspective of our personal life experi-ences. We don’t see the ripple effect,
the consequences, good or bad, that are taking place.
A friend took his daughter and two grandchildren to the airport. His daughter was traveling abroad and the airline told her that one of her bags was
too large. She had to call her father to come back to get it, and have a brother-in-law come get it from her par-ents’ home lat-er. Surely this was a frustrat-ing experience that was just
“bad.”What she couldn’t know was that
her father was a bit misty-eyed, hav-ing dropped off the kids and wondering when he would see them next. When she called him to come back, he was pleasantly surprised to be able to hug them again so soon, courtesy of some-thing “bad,” which G-d had planned all along.
So, before you rush to judgment next time, think of Robin Williams’s joke, and how we don’t know what took place before and after it was said. It might make you withhold your opinion and realize you’re just getting a glimpse through a keyhole. That’s how wise people look at the world. No kidding.
Jonathan Gewirtz is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications around the world. He also operates Jew-ishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion.
HELP PUBLISH THESE ARTICLES! We are currently gearing up for publication of a book of Observant Jew articles. Reread your favorites; laugh, cry, scratch your head in confusion, just like the very first time! Sponsorship opportunities are available and necessary.
For more information, or to sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English, e-mail [email protected] and put Publication Sponsorship or Subscribe in the subject.
© 2013 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.
The Observant JewRabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
I’ll be the Judge of That!
The poinT of The quesTioning should be To reach some level of undersTanding
of why hashem mighT have done someThing and whaT message he is sending.
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66 In the Kitchen
What’s on the Menu This WeekNo Meat? No Problem!
Light Delights Eating dairy does not have to mean not watching what you eat. You can serve your family a nutritious and delicious meal that will fill their bellies and satiate their appetites.
What’s oN the MeNu• Vegetable soup• sesame-style tuna with spinach• teriyaki green beans• Roasted cauliflower• Baked sweet potato slices• Fresh fruit
Sesame TunaIngredients1 tablespoon dark sesame oil4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 1 teaspoon sesame seeds1 package baby spinach leavesGarlic powder, to taste
Preparationheat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Brush fish with soy sauce. Combine 2 teaspoons pepper and ses-ame seeds; sprinkle evenly over fish. Add fish to pan, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
Wash spinach leaves. In a separate pan, heat pan over medi-um heat and spray with cooking spray. Place the leaves in pan and cover with silver foil until wilted. sprinkle with garlic pow-der to taste a few minutes be-fore the leaves are done.
Breakfast for DinnerWho ever said that pancakes and waffles were only for the AM? Serve your family breakfast for dinner and mix things up!
What’s oN the MeNu• eggs, any style, with lettuce and tomato slices• hash browns with ketchup• French toast• Blueberry pancakes• Whole wheat
bread, toasted• Fruit smoothies
C lassic French ToastIngredients3 large eggs¾ cup milkPinch of salt¼ teaspoon vanilla
extract ¼ teaspoon ground
cinnamon 6 slices of good
quality, day old bread (cut into 1/2 inch slices) or challah
PreparationIn a large bowl, whisk together the
eggs, milk, salt, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon (if using). transfer the egg mixture to a large shallow glass or ceram-ic dish. Dip both sides of each slice of bread into the egg mixture.
Meanwhile, in a large non-stick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, melt about one tablespoon of butter. Fry the slices of bread until golden brown on one side and then turn and fry the other side. When done, transfer to serving platter and continue frying the other slices of bread, adding more butter as needed.
serve immediately with a dusting of powdered sugar and pancake syrup.
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Burger with the WorksAre the boys in your family hankering for some meat? Treat them to a burger with all the trimmings! A burger ‘n fries, even without being fleshigs, will definitely fill them up!
What’s oN the MeNu• Veggie burger on a bun with lettuce,
tomato, pickles and mayo• French fries with
ketchup• Cole slaw• Fried onions • Iced tea
Asian C ole SlawIngredients4 cups shredded
purple cabbage2 large carrots,
julienned1 red bell pep-
per, julienned1 yellow bell
pepper, juli-enned
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce1 tablespoon light brown sugar1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
PreparationIn a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, and
peppers. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over vegetables. toss to coat. serve chilled or at room temperature topped with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.
Say CheeseThis meal is the perfect one to serve to your dairy-lovers. Some people can’t get enough cheese and there’s lots and lots of the stringy delight for them to enjoy at tonight’s dinner.
What’s oN the MeNu• Mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce• onion soup• Greek salad• Corn on the cob• Baked ziti• Marble cheesecake
Marble CheesecakeIngredients1 chocolate crumb pie crust3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened1 cup sugar, divided½ cup sour cream2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, dividedtablespoons all-purpose flour3 eggs¼ cup cocoatablespoon vegetable oil
PreparationPreheat oven to 450°F. Beat cream cheese, ¾ cup sugar, sour cream and 2 teaspoons
vanilla in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until smooth. Gradually add flour, beating just until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine cocoa and remaining ¼ cup sugar in medium bowl. add oil, remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla and 1-1/2 cups of cream cheese mixture; stir well. spoon plain and chocolate batters al-ternately over crust, ending with spoonfuls of chocolate on top; gently swirl with knife for marbled effect.
Bake for 10 minutes. Without opening oven door, reduce oven temperature to 250°F; continue baking 30 minutes. turn off oven; without opening oven door, leave cheesecake in oven 30 min-utes.
Remove from oven. Immediate-ly loosen cheesecake from side of pan with knife; cool to room tem-perature. Re-frigerate sev-eral hours or overnight.
For the KidsNeed to prepare supper but also need to entertain the kids for a while? Why don’t you have them help make supper just this once? Don’t worry about the mess. There’ll be plenty of time after they go to sleep to sweep the kitchen floor.
What’s oN the MeNu• Cut up veggies with dip or hummus• Make-your-own pizza• sweet potato fries• steamed broccoli spears• Chocolate pudding
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More than Just the C lassicDid you know that people have written books about how to make the perfect grilled cheese? It seems that there’s a whole group of people out there who spend many moments of their lives perfecting this dish. For me, grilled cheese is grilled cheese, but if you do your research, you’ll see that there’s more than just cheese between those two slices of bread.
What’s oN the MeNu• tomato and rice soup• Garden salad• Grilled cheese• Dill pickle spears• Cheese-stuffed mushrooms• Potato chips
Enjoy!
Roasted Tomato SoupIngredients2 28oz cans whole & peeled tomatoes 4 cups pareve chicken or vegetable stock 1 red pepper, cut into chunks 1 leek, white part only, cleaned
& cut into chunks1 tablespoon olive oil 2 sprigs fresh thyme salt to taste
Preparationheat oven to 425°F. Drain one can of tomatoes, reserving the
liquid. Put the drained tomatoes and red pepper in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes. While tomatoes are roasting, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over low heat. add the leek and cook over low heat until soft, about 15 min-utes. add remaining can of tomatoes, reserved liquid, stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. add roasted tomatoes, red peppers and any juic-es that accumulated in the baking dish to the Dutch oven. Cook for about 15 minutes to combine the flavors.
Let cool and then blend gently. Reheat and season to taste prior to serving.
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With your permis-sion, I am going to stray from my usu-
al real estate-related topics to make an appeal. (Don’t wor-ry, it’s not for money.)
We are fortunate to be living in a very special peri-od in Jewish history: Jews in most parts of the world are able to practice their religion and live in comfort and security. And in Eretz Yisrael, this time period is down-right miraculous. For the first time in over two thousand years, we have been blessed with a Jewish State.
Hashem has blessed Israel with eco-nomic success, spurred by its advances in many vital fields such as medicine, high-tech, energy, and water technolo-gy. And despite our enemies surround-ing us, the country’s army has consis-tently proven itself as a reliable and unswerving protector of the Jewish people.
From a religious perspective, there is an unprecedented amount of To-rah that is being learned and religious growth that is occurring in Israel. There are literally thousands of Torah classes offered for people of all ages and all skill levels. The sheer number of people studying Judaic studies is astounding, and the level of learning is remarkable.
Notwithstanding all of these phe-nomenal achievements, one issue sad-dens my heart – and with Tisha B’Av upon us, perhaps it is timely to discuss this concern. The gemara in Masechet Yoma (9b) relates that despite the Jews’ focus on holy pursuits such as learning Torah and keeping its commandments and being immersed in acts of kind-ness, the Second Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam, or baseless hatred. Sinat chinam is so deplorable that the gemara equates it to the three cardi-nal sins that caused the First Temple’s destruction: idolatry, immorality and bloodshed.
When I see the current animosity between Jews, whether between the religious and secular populations or between religious camps, I shudder to think about the pain that we must be causing our Father in Heaven. (Please do not think that I exonerate myself; I too am guilty of this heinous sin.)
Let me share with you an intriguing thought from Reb Chaim Brisker. After
the Almighty quashed the rebellion of Korach, who wanted to usurp Moshe’s position and become the leader of the Jewish people, the Torah states that such an episode will never again occur (Numbers 17:5). Reb Chaim Brisker asked: How do we understand that verse – haven’t we unfortunately seen many instances of rebellion and infighting af-ter Korach? He proceeded to offer the following fascinating explanation and wonderful life lesson: in Korach’s rebel-lion, G-d revealed Moshe and Aharon’s position to be 100% right and Korach’s position to be 100% wrong. Rav Chaim Soloveitchik suggested that this verse is a Divine guarantee that there will never again be a dispute in which one side is entirely correct and the other side is ab-solutely incorrect.
If we remember this guarantee, it may be easier for us to listen to the mer-its of the other side’s argument, which will hopefully lead to a peaceful reso-lution.
No one group has a monopoly on truth. We need to respect everyone’s contributions to society, whether their involvement is via Torah study, army service, or any other honest pursuit. Only when we stop demonizing those who don’t share our beliefs and start ap-preciating their contributions, will we overcome the divisive and debilitating effects of sinat chinam.
May the Al-mighty bless us with wisdom to see beyond ourselves and understand other viewpoints. With this appreciation and sensitivity, may we be worthy of seeing the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash, speedily in our days.
Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home, a real estate agency focused on help-ing people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at [email protected]. Please visit his blog at www.myisrael home.com.
My Israel HomeGedaliah Borvick
Strengthening our NationOvercoming Sinat Chinam
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Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens
Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of
the mouth
Bogyphobia- Fear of boogeymen.
Brooklaphobia- Fear of Brooklyn
Chronomentrophobia- Fear of clocks
Dentophobia- Fear of dentists
Failaphobia- Fear of report cards
Hicuphobia- Fear of hic-hic-hic-hiccups
Homilophobia- Fear of sermons
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas
Alphabephobia- Fear of not being able to alphabetize
Kosmikophobia- Fear of cosmic phenomenon
Musophobia - Fear of mice
Nephophobia- Fear of clouds
Ophidiophobia- Fear of snakes
Phobophobia- Fear of phobias
Tjhphobia-Fear of finding the TJH
centerfold so funny that you
just can’t stop laughing
Xanthophobia- Fear of
the color or the word yellow
Truthaphobia- Fear of determining whether a phobia name
is correct
Answers on next page
You Gotta be Kidding! RiddleA small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a
trial—a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”
She responded, “Yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?”
She again replied, “Why, yes I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to babysit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Yes, I know him.”
At this point, the judge ordered silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, “If either of you asks her if she knows me, you’ll find yourself in jail within 3 minutes!”
Answer to riddle: Meir – hot dogReuvain – Caesar saladEitan – rice sushiAvraham – fried chicken
Yerachmiel – burgerShalom – salmonBaruch – zingersZacharia – apples
Made up and submitted by Yosef Fertig, age 9
Meir, Reuvain, Eitan, Avraham, Yerachmiel, Shalom, Baruch, and Zacharia go to a barbecue. They each ate one food. No two people had the same food. There was a hot dog, a burger, chicken zingers, fried chicken, Caesar salad, salmon, rice sushi, and an apple. Who had what?
Reuvain, Eitan, & Shalom are vegetarians.Zacharia, Shalom, & Reuvain don’t like rice sushi.Eitan & Zacharia don’t like lettuce or salmon.Avrohom likes all chicken except zingers.Yerachmiel loves meat.Meir had a hot dog.Baruch didn’t wash.Reuvain didn’t want an apple or salmon.
Answer below
All but six of the below listed phobias are listed with their proper names. Which six are made up by the TJH Centerfold Commissioner, who takes great pride in being able to contribute to the phobia lexicon?
Know Ya Phobias?
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Answers1. C- Memo to Ike Davis: perhaps you should
show up to watch the game and get some tips on how to swing the bat. You strike out so much that you should think about joining a union or something like that.
2. C- David Wright will be the starting 3rd base-man and Matt Harvey will be one of the pitchers. (Starting pitcher? remains to be seen).
3. D-The Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, short stop J.J. Hardy, and outfielder Adam Jones are all starting for the American League team.
4. A5. D- Rose “only” appeared in 17 All-Star Games
in his 24 major-league seasons.6. B- The All-Star game was the idea of Arch
Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, to co-incide with the celebration of Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition.
7. A-After 10 innings, the game was tied and both teams were out of pitchers. The American League man-ager Joe Torre and the National League manager Bob Brenly met on the mound with Commissioner Bud
Selig to discuss the situation, and it was controversially ruled that if the NL did not score in the bottom of the eleventh, the game would be declared a tie. After the decision was announced over the stadium’s PA system, fans loudly booed and jeered, with beer bottles being thrown onto the field, and chants of “Let them play!”, “Refund!”, “Bud must go!” and “Ripoff!” were heard. Garcia retired the side in the eleventh, and the game ended in a 7–7 tie, to further booing and bottle throw-ing. No MVP award was given.
8. B9. B10. B-Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige played in the
Negro League until shortly after Jackie Robinson in-tegrated the Major Leagues in 1947, at which time Paige signed with the Cleveland Indians on his 42nd birthday, becoming the oldest rookie in baseball. In 1952, Paige won 12 games and became the oldest player selected to an All-Star team, at the age of 47. Always the showman, he frequently would call in his outfielders before an inning and then proceed to strike out the side. Paige returned to baseball in 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics at the age of 59. He
pitched three innings. Not surprisingly, he didn’t give up a run.
Scorecard8-10 correct: You are a Centerfold All-Star!! (That
and a $1.50 will get you a donut at, well, probably any donut shop.)
4-7 correct: You are a decent player, but not an All-Star, which still puts you way ahead of the Mets!
0-3 correct: Yes, I know the shtick, “If a baseball player has a .300 average he is great...” But I am not exactly hurling 96 mile per hour fast balls at you. So, the truth is, to put it bluntly: YOU STINK! (Hey is that Sandy Alderson knocking at your door? oh, I for-got you don’t know who Sandy Alderson is...he is the GM of the Mets.)
GOT FUNNY? Let the Commissioner decide. Send your stuff to [email protected]
1. Where is the 2013 All-Star game being played?a. Marlins Stadiumb. Yankee Stadiumc. Citi Fieldd. Target Field
2. How many Met players made it to the 2013 National League All-Star team?
a. 0b. 1c. 2d. 3
3. Which team has the most starters in the 2013 All -Star game?
a. Yankees (as usual)b. Rockiesc. Cardinalsd. Orioles
4. Which of these players did NOT hit two home runs in an All-Star Game?
a. Babe Ruthb. Arky Vaughan c. Gary Carterd. Ted Williams
5. Three of these players appeared in a record 24 All-Star Games. Which one did not?
a. Stan Musialb. Willie Maysc. Hank Aarond. Pete Rose
6. The first All-Star Game was played in 1933 in which ballpark?
a. Polo Grounds, New Yorkb. Candlestick Park, San Franciscoc. Comiskey Park, Chicagod. Memorial Stadium, Baltimore7. Why did the
2002 All-Star game end in a tie?a. Both teams ran out of pitchers.b. The stadium ran out of hot dogs and distraught
fans started demonstrating, resulting in the head of se-curity calling off the rest of the game in the 7th inning.
c. All-Star games automatically end after 15 in-nings if tied.
d. It was rained out in the 6th inning.
8. How are the All-Star game managers selected?a. The managers with the best records in the previ-
ous season are automatically selected.b. The managers of the previous year’s World Se-
ries teams are given the honors.c. The managers hold a vote, but they can’t vote
for themselves.d. They have a bubble gum blowing contest and
the two managers who make the biggest bubbles are chosen.
9. This All-Star pitcher took the mound in the fifth inning on July 10, 1984 at the age of 19 and made history for being the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game. He complemented this distinction by striking out the side. Who was he?
a. Fernando Valenzuelab. Dwight Goodenc. Roger Clemens d. Pedro Martinez
10. The oldest player to participate in an All-Star Game was Satchel Paige. How old was he at the time?
a. 41b. 47c. 51d. 53
The six
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“And it was in the fortieth year, in the twelve month, on the first day of the month, when Moshe spoke to the Bnai Yisroel according to everything that Hashem said to them.” — Devarim 1:3
When Moshe Rabbeinu was near the end of his life, he gathered the Klal Yisroel together to give them rebuke for the sins they committed in the forty years of wandering in the desert.
Rashi is bothered by why he waited. Why didn’t he rebuke them years earlier when the events first took place? Rashi answers that Moshe learned from Yaa-kov Avinu. Yaakov didn’t admonish his son Reuvain until he was close to death. “If you are wondering why I didn’t ad-monish you all of these years,” Yaakov told Reuvain, “it’s because I was afraid that if I did, you would leave me and cling to my brother Aisav.” Therefore, Yaakov waited until he was about to die and only then did he chastise Reuvain. Moshe learned from Yaakov, so he too
didn’t give rebuke to the Jewish nation until he was about to die.
This Rashi is very difficult to un-derstand. Why would Yaakov be afraid that if he criticized Reuvain, it would cause him to leave and cling to Aisav? First off, it is difficult to imagine a re-
lationship of love, mutual respect, and dedication that was greater than the one that Yaakov and his oldest son Reuvain shared. Aside from the natural sense of attachment of a son to his father, Reu-vain accepted his father as his teacher, mentor, and spiritual guide. Surely, that should have allowed Reuvain to know that his father’s rebuke was only for his good.
Furthermore, whenever Yaakov
spoke to his son, it was with love and sensitivity. If a situation arose where Yaakov felt his son erred, a mature per-son like Reuvain would willingly accept words of guidance and correct his ways. Why should Yaakov have been afraid?
The Damage of CriticismThe answer to this question is based
on the effect that criticism has upon a person. The Orchas Tzadikim (Shaar 12) explains that when you verbally at-tack me, it is a given that I will retaliate. It isn’t much different than if you were physically assaulting me. I perceive your words as an attack against the es-sence of me, and it is almost within the category of self-defense for me to strike back at you. Every fiber of my being screams out to defend myself against the onslaught of your words.
Criticism is but one step below a verbal attack. It isn’t quite as pointed, not quite as aggressive — but not that far off. When you criticize me, I am un-der attack. The essence of me, who I am, and what I stand for is being assaulted. You may not have intended it that way, but that is what I feel. There is a power-ful sense of disapproval and condemna-tion that comes across, and I feel under attack. No one likes to be criticized, and the easiest course is to avoid the pain by pulling away. The greater you are in my eyes, the greater the damage of your words, and the more they will drive a wedge between us.
This seems to be the answer as to why Yaakov was so afraid to criticize Reuvain. Despite the fact that Yaakov would only have intended it for his son’s good, and despite the fact that Reuvain was looking for direction from his loving father, if Yaakov had rebuked Reuvain, he was afraid that it would have forced them apart, damaging the relationship, and perhaps even going so far as to drive Reuvain away. The sense of disapproval that Reuvain would have felt would have been so difficult to bear that Reuvain might well have run away to avoid it, even going so far as joining Aisav.
This is a powerful illustration of the damage caused by rebuke. Even in a relationship based on mutual love and respect, criticism undoes the bond and causes a separation. Here we see it with a mature man whose priorities were straight, a man who lived his whole life for growth and recognized his father as the spiritual guide of the generation. Yet words of rebuke could have had the ef-fect of separating and causing even such a man to go off the path.
If this concept is true for people as great as the Avos, how much more so for us. The reality is that we humans are very sensitive; we hunger for approval and despise rejection. When you criti-cize me, it may not be your intention, but I feel unwanted and unaccepted. I feel that you don’t approve of me, so I am not respected in your eyes. That emotion is very difficult to bear. The easiest course is for me to run away — away from the situation, and away from you. For that reason, criticism is poison to all relationships. As a parent, it is one of the most noxious elements that can ruin an otherwise strong relationship. As a spouse, it can be the wedge that drives apart an otherwise happily mar-ried couple. And amongst friends, it can be the force that ends an otherwise nur-turing relationship.
The Three Rules of Criticism For that reason, before a person
sets out to criticize, he should remem-ber the three cardinal rules of criticism. The first rule is: don’t do it. The second rule is: don’t do it. And the third rule is: don’t do it.
Don’t do it because it hurts. Don’t do it because it distances people. Most of all, don’t do it because it doesn’t work.
Even if your intentions are to help, and even if you only mean these words for the good of the recipient, criticism is a powerful separator that accomplish-es no good, merely drives people apart, and should be avoided like the plague.
Get the new Shmuz APP! Access hundreds of audio, videos, and
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R’ Ben Tzion ShafierThe Shmuz
Parshas DevarimI Hate Criticism
when you criTicize me, i feel unwanTed and unaccepTed.
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CelebrateindependenceinBinyamin
4th of July 2013Tammuz 26
We begin our day with a visit to artist Ora Solomon at Talmon in western Binyamin.
Then to the tunnels, caves and Second Temple wine and oil presses at Givat Yekevim and Mitzpe Haresha, with a stop at one of many local springs.
Continue to lovely Yakir above the Kana Ravine and the playground built with the assistance of One Israel Fund.
Move to the amazing "outpost" Havot Yair, with its very unique Aron Kodesh, and enjoy a dairy gourmet lunch at Hatzrif shel Tamari.
Ariel, the capital of the Shomron, is more than a university town. Visit the world famous theater & culture center and Park of Challenges where Israeli leadership is developed.
As reward for spending a family day, relax with wine tasting at the award winning boutique winery Gvaot at Givat Harel.
We leave from the Liberty Bell Parking lot promptly at 8:30am, return approximately 6:30pm.
Cost for the day including lunch: $65/adult $55/student in Israel or child under 12.
For reservations & further information visit www.oneisraelfund.org/daytrips or send email to [email protected]
Israel: Rivkah Rybak 054-803-4853 or [email protected].
In US: Ruthie Kohn 516.239.9202 x10
ItIn
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erm
Ined
by
secu
rIty
and
wea
ther
cons
Ider
atIo
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Upcoming TripsAsk us about our trips
on the following dates:
July 23 • July 29August 7 • August 11
August 20
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New Vistas on Ancient Soil
iN the shomroNGood GAStronomic livinG
august Day trips 2013
rosh ChoDesh
Ancient Shiloh- See remarkable new finds and the just opened multimedia production of the Ro-eh Tower. Join archaeologists in uncovering thousands of years of history. In Eli visit Talmud Torah Hadar-Yosef, the Hayovel Hilltop neighborhood of Israeli war heroes Roi Klein Hy"d and Eliraz Peretz Hy"d and meet the residents to learn of their struggle to save their homes.
Enjoy a delicious mehadrin dairy lunch at Safta Chana's Café in Yitzhar.
In Chavat Alumot in Itamar meet Yifat Meshulami and learn how she creates delicious award winning organic goat cheese. Collect eggs with the farmers in free range chicken coops.
With Rachel Tzimmerman at her ecological organic farm. "Pick your own" produce and sample delicious sour dough bread, organic granola and Yoghurts. Learn about her geoponic inventions and new ideas for agriculture in Israel.
End the day in 'France' of Ofra at the Domaine Ventura Winery with tasting and a visit to the vineyards.
Sweet morning! In Tapuach at the Seter Hamadrega Farm, we will learn all about the honey making process including a visit to a hive and a sticky treat. Then out to Eynavi's in Barkan for a gourmet chocolate workshop after a tour of the town with journalist Noam Orr. This 'strenuous' morning will be followed by a gourmet meat lunch and wine tasting at the award winning Tura Winery in Rachelim.
Down to Gush Shilo; at Esh Kodesh see vineyards and olive groves and digest their security situation before stopping at top olive oil producer Meshek Achiya. Top off the day at Shilo Winery for tasting. Opportunities to purchase for chagim all thru the day.
SundAy, AuGuSt 11 with eliAnA PASSentin wedneSdAy, AuGuSt 7 with eve harow
coSt for the dAy includinG lunch: $75/adult $65/student in israel or child under 12
coSt for the dAy includinG lunch: $90/adult $80/student in israel or child under 12
we leave from the liberty Bell Parking lot promptly at 8:30am, return approximately 6:30pm.
for reservations & further information visit www.oneisraelfund.org/daytrips
or send email to [email protected]: rivkah rybak / 054-803-4853
in uS: ruthie Kohn / 516.239.9202 x10
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Nestled in the heart of Jewish Far Rockaway, a modest red-brick building regards the vibrant suburban traffic with a quiet and humble pride.
A modern version of its older self, the building sits on the corner of Beach 9th and Roosevelt Court, a beacon to all seeking authentic Chassidishe Torah and tradition. Its presence serves as a precious link in the chain of its heritage and is a testimony to the vision and unwaver-ing determination of its founder. It is Kehilas Yaakov, a Torah nucleus originated and sustained by the illus-trious Rav Shmuel Shmelke Rubin, the Sulitzer Rebbe zt’”l.
On the 21st of Adar, 5685 (1925) in Sasregen, Roma-nia, Rav Rubin entered the world as the 7th generation of the Ropshitzer dynasty. Born to parents Rav Yaakov Yisrael Veyeshurun and Rebbetzin Alta Nechama Mal-ka (nee Dachner) Rubin, hy”d, the rebbe was a direct descendent of Rav Naftoli Tzvi Horowitz, the original Ropshitzer Rebbe. Rav Rubin, one of ten siblings, spent his early years studying in his father’s beis mi-
drash, which had been reestablished after his parents’ move from Sulitza during World War I. With his father as the rav of the town, the Rubin establishment was a paradigm of community-centered leadership anchored to Torah and mitzvos.
Whether a travelling guest or local resident, it was a known fact that the Rubin home was open and available to all. People from far and wide would come to eat, drink, or stay for the night. The rebbe himself recalled that not one meal transpired in his father’s house with-out a minyan present for bentching. The people of Sas-regen treasured their local hub of learning and g’milus chessed and gave thanks for their loving and holy rav.
When the rebbe was in his late teens, the ruthless fingers of World War II encircled his beloved town and deportations quickly commenced. Unfortunately, his parents and a few siblings were not spared the horrors of this reality and they, too, were sentenced to Aus-chwitz. Facing his father in the train window for the last time, Rav Shmuel Shmelke cried out, “But I don’t
have a gartel!” His father quickly removed his own and passed it to his son through the window. With the gartel in hand, the rebbe watched as his parents were taken away by the creaking train to Auschwitz and, ul-timately, their deaths. Thus illustrates the rebbe’s fierce desire to preserve his family’s traditions to the utmost, beginning at a young age and so turbulent a time. The gartel remains in the family until today.
This steadfast adherence to minhagim followed the young rebbe through his multitude of challenging war experiences. He was “enlisted” in a special Jewish di-vision of the army called Munke Tabor, to whom de-grading and menial assignments were relegated. Even during those hours of backbreaking labor, Rav Rubin strove to complete his tasks dressed as much as he could in his Chassidishe levush, stowing his father’s gartel in his pocket when necessary. Enduring the harsh condi-tions of the camp was not easy, but with his brother, Rabbi Mordechai David, the current Sasregener Rebbe, at his side, the situation remained that much more bear-
In MemoryRena Zingmond, MA
Rav Shmuel Shmelke RubinTHE SULITZER REBBE ZT”L
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75able. He also had his tefillin with him and proudly re-called that not a day passed by without his donning of them.
A granddaughter of the rebbe recalls his telling the story of the end of the war as he experienced it. It was in the wintertime, and the Nazis told everyone, for whatever reason, that they had to run or else suffer the consequences. Though Rav Rubin knew he would be shot for not complying, he was so devoid of strength that he was unable to muster the energy even to save his own life. For reasons that would always remain un-known to him, instead of shooting the rebbe, the nearest guard fired a shot into the air and kicked him instead. That kick ultimately left the rebbe with terrible back pains, but his life was spared.
After the war, the rebbe remained in Fernwald, a DP camp in Germany, for three years. During that time, Rav Rubin learned Torah in the makeshift beis midrash with other Jewish survivors and was also introduced to his future wife, Shifra Rosenbaum, daughter of Rav Yis-sachar Ber Rosenbaum, the Rebbe of Stroznitz. They met and became engaged on either side of the French-German border. With the help of the rebbe’s other bro-therm Rabbi Mendel Rubin, Muzhayer Rav, who was already in New York, Rav Rubin came to America in 1949 and settled in the Bronx, where his kallah’s family resided. The rebbe and rebbetzin were married in 1950.
But their time in the Bronx was fleeting. Not long after, Rav Mendel, who was living in Edgemere at the time, suggested that the rebbe relocate to Far Rocka-way, explaining that there were Orthodox Jews there who desired to daven with a minyan of their nussach, aligned with their minhagim. So, in accordance with this request, the rebbe and his wife moved to Far Rock-away a short year later in September of 1951 (5712). They would remain there for over sixty years.
Running a Chassidishe kehillah in Far Rockaway at that time was far from a smooth ride; the rebbe con-stantly struggled to gather a minyan and faced regular opposition from fellow survivors whose only connec-tion to Yiddishkeit was their desire to leave it behind. The rebbe pushed on, taking the steps that would render the area’s change from a neighborhood to a community. After establishing regular minyanim in his house, Rav Rubin’s next desire was to construct a mikvah. Unfor-
tunately, the sum total of his funds was enough to cover the sole digging of a pit so without further ado, with only his tenacity of faith and no further inflow in sight, the rebbe ordered the pit to be dug. When a member of the community heard this, he was so impressed with the rebbe’s level of commitment that he supplied him the rest of the necessary funds.
Running a shul from within the Rubin’s home en-sured that there was never a dull moment. People from all walks of life created a steady flow of traffic through its open doors, basking in the Torah, chessed and hint of miracles that surrounded the household.
It happened that during the time the minyan was in the house, someone noticed a leak in the ceiling drip-ping in front of the aron kodesh. After a short time, it was determined that the substance, though not alarm-ing, was undoubtedly an unexpected discovery to be dripping from the ceiling of a house: it was honey. Somehow, a massive and fully operational beehive had been constructed in the narrow space between the ceil-ing and the roof of the room. When the rebbe’s wife heard about the discovery, she good-naturedly com-mented that the aron kodesh was a fitting place for such a phenomenon, for the Torah is the ultimate sweetness. Even after the hive was removed, the honey continued to drip for months afterward.
Another miraculous event came to light at the time that the rebbe was gathering funds with which to build a proper shul building. The contractor spared no words in conveying his interest in receiving payment, but the rebbe simply did not have the means to fulfill his re-quest.
One Friday night, a man came to shul wishing to daven with a siddur of his own nussach – Nussach Ari. There happened to be one available in the form of an old Lubavitch siddur the rebbe had brought back with him after the war. Somehow, the siddur was dropped, and from within the binding fell around eleven Ameri-can hundred-dollar bills.
The story emerged that upon entering the DP camp in Germany, there was, understandably, a shortage of religious articles to satisfy the needs of the commune. The rebbe and a friend had the idea to search a Jew-ish cemetery for anything they could find and came out with a copy of the Meor Einayim by the Cherno-
bler Rebbe, and the Nussach Ari siddur, respectively. The friend, having descended from Chernobyl lineage, asked the rebbe if he didn’t mind switching with him. The rebbe was quite reluctant, but after much pressure he finally relented. Little did he know that that fateful exchange would provide him with the means to secure his very own house of Torah and tefillah so many years later. After ascertaining that the money was indeed ownerless, Rav Rubin put the sum towards the building of the shul.
Family and community members alike remember the rebbe as personifying true ahavas Yisroel and com-mitment to Yiddishkeit. With the revolving door char-acteristic of the Rubin tradition, the home was a con-stant ebb and flow of individuals in need. Meshulachim made regular use of couches and even floor space. Peo-ple with no prior exposure to an open Chassidishe home inquired as to how to go about paying for the meal they had just consumed in the apparent “restaurant.” The minyan was a rainbow of color, a representation of the array of Jews who felt comfortable identifying with a kehillah led by a man who clung to the minhagim of his heritage so tenaciously.
This steadfast approach also manifested itself in the realm of halacha. Under no circumstances would the rebbe compromise his values for the sake of “the times” or social pressure. The only sharp words he ever ut-tered were solely for the sake of ensuring that the exact-ness of Torah law was upheld.
When it came to conversing with his beloved talmi-dim, the rebbe was soft-spoken, genuinely interested in their affairs, even following up with them afterward. Following shul each Shabbos, the men and boys would line up to greet the rebbe, each one receiving a kind word, a warm smile, a pat on the cheek. A person would enter the Beis Midrash intending to daven and would leave feeling like the rebbe’s close friend.
The red-brick shul on the corner has dimmed in its illustrious light with the passing of the venerable Rav Shmuel Shmelke. As his worthy son steps up to per-petuate his father’s legacy, the memories and lessons of the rebbe will remain faithfully with us, and the light will shine once more. Kehilas Yaakov will continue to stand erect on its unshakable foundation, a paragon of the virtues and vitality of its founder.
the Rebbe with his son, who has now taken over the kehillah the Rebbe with the Bobover Rebbes
with the Rachmistriskte Rebbe
At his weddingAfter the War At his wedding
with the Rachmistrivke Rebbe
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T his year, Sharei Bina seminary in Tsfat celebrated its twenty year an-niversary. The Jewish Home congratulates Rabbi Rafael Weingot and Rebbetzin Tova Weingot on the occasion of this milestone.
In conversation with The Jewish Home’s correspondent, Rebetzin Weingot explained, “In many ways it was the vision of Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, zt”l, that guided us in creating first Yeshiva Shalom Rav and then Sharei Bina Seminary. He had a way of seeing the best in people, including those who were struggling, or who had issues in Yiddishkeit. He believed that each student is capable of suc-ceeding, and conveyed this message to them, empowering them to start believing in themselves. And he believed that a religious life must be lived full of mean-ing.”
Rabbi Weingot himself was a teenager when he first met Rabbi Freifeld, zt”l. He was one of the first group of students when Sh’or Yoshuv opened. But after many years, when he decided to spend some time in Israel, he made it up to Tsfat and felt an inner calling – this was his place!
Soon after their marriage in 1979, the Weingots made aliya and moved to Tsfat. “My husband was growing in his learning, but was missing the genuine sparks of warmth and enthusiasm that he had come to thrive on. He figured that if he felt this way, there must be others in Tsfat who also yearned for something more, and he created a kollel and yeshiva that would attract them.
“At the same time, it became clear to me that there was a need for a similar type of environment for young women. Jewish girls from secular backgrounds were coming to Tsfat and discovering that you could live a re-ligious life and still be real and normal! They wanted to stay here and learn, but the options were limited. I spoke to rabbis at the more estab-lished schools in Jerusalem and they encouraged me to create a place for girls who were searching for something inspiring and creative, going as far as sending me some of their own students when Sharei Bina opened its doors. I saw tremendous siyata d’shmaya; the teachers and schedule fell into place with a short sequence of phone calls, and we were ready to go.”
About five years into Sharei Bina’s success, the program shifted. Girls from observant homes wanted the same experience, wanted to ask the same basic questions that the ba’alei teshuva were asking. They craved authentic answers that would make sense in a confusing world. They were looking for a deeper connec-tion to truth, and they found it in Tsfat.
Chana, now married with five children, was one of those early students. Re-flecting back on her Sharei Bina experience, she says, “During my two years there, I went through a lot of personal growth and many struggles, but no matter what was going on, I felt accepted and seen for my strengths, some of which I hadn’t known that I had. Tova didn’t lose patience with me, and was there to shed light on difficult situations. The staff taught me such wonderful Torah, from a real and genuine place. Their words came straight from their hearts and entered directly into mine. The classes were not like any of my earlier experiences of learning. Questions were welcomed and not shushed and the conversations were dynamic and fresh. With time, my eyes were opened to the hidden springs of holi-ness within myself. I am still in touch with many girls from that year, and I know
that life would have turned out very differently from the fulfill-ing life I have now, had I not had that special time in Sharei Bina.”
For Miriam, being in the holy city of Tsfat was essential to the changes that she made while at Sharei Bina. “When I arrived, my iPod and my cell phone were extensions of my very being − almost like limbs. I was used to the New York pace of life; at first Tsfat felt too quiet and slow, but after a month or two, something inside me also quieted and slowed down, and I found myself hearing and noticing things that I hadn’t before − a beautiful sunset, the birdsong at dusk, and even my own subtle emotions, which had previously been drowned out by the noise. I realized that where I grew up there was so much emphasis on physicality − nice clothing and an upscale life-style – that I hadn’t had time for the truly finer things in life. In Tsfat, the focus is on more important things, and the term lifestyle takes on an entirely different meaning. Sharei Bina’s building, which we nicknamed ‘the castle,’ with its stone archways overlooking the Tsfat mountainside, was the perfect backdrop for me to let go and look inside.”
Sharei Bina has always had a family feel to it, with tutors bringing their babies to sessions, and students doing chesed in the homes of the staff and community, but recently Sharei Bina and Yeshiva Shalom Rav truly became a family endeavor in every sense of the word. Rav Avra-ham Shimon, the eldest Weingot son, has taken over many of the responsibilities at Shalom Rav, and his wife Kiki is the vice-principal of Sharei Bina. The metaphorical family continues to grow as well, as the Weingots are always deeply moved to celebrate the weddings and simchas of their former students, many of whom have settled in Israel and some even in Tsfat.
Rabbi Weingot joins the conversation to add, “I once heard a vort from Rabbi Freifeld zt”l. Every morning in shacharis we say the pasuk, ‘[Hashem] heals the broken hearted, attending to their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them
all by name.’ What’s the connection? When people don’t know their infinite in-trinsic value, they cannot help but be brokenhearted. How can they be healed? By showing them that they count, and calling them by name. This has stayed with me and is a guiding force in my approach to chinuch.”
To the Weingots in Tsfat, chinuch is about finding chein, the spiritual radiance that is within each and every Jew. This is the first step on the path of a meaningful Jewish life.
Tova Weingot will be”H be visiting Far Rockaway between July 21st and August 6th and is available to interview potential students for the coming school year. Students wanting reach her or boys wanting to discuss Yeshiva Shalom Rav, can call 609-375-5085, or email [email protected]. For more information, see their websites: www.shalomrav.org and www.shareibina.com.
TJH Staff
Focus on People
Finding Meaning in Tsfat
Rabbi Rafael Weingot and his son, Rabbi Avraham Shimon Weingot
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T his year, Sharei Bina seminary in Tsfat celebrated its twenty year an-niversary. The Jewish Home congratulates Rabbi Rafael Weingot and Rebbetzin Tova Weingot on the occasion of this milestone.
In conversation with The Jewish Home’s correspondent, Rebetzin Weingot explained, “In many ways it was the vision of Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, zt”l, that guided us in creating first Yeshiva Shalom Rav and then Sharei Bina Seminary. He had a way of seeing the best in people, including those who were struggling, or who had issues in Yiddishkeit. He believed that each student is capable of suc-ceeding, and conveyed this message to them, empowering them to start believing in themselves. And he believed that a religious life must be lived full of mean-ing.”
Rabbi Weingot himself was a teenager when he first met Rabbi Freifeld, zt”l. He was one of the first group of students when Sh’or Yoshuv opened. But after many years, when he decided to spend some time in Israel, he made it up to Tsfat and felt an inner calling – this was his place!
Soon after their marriage in 1979, the Weingots made aliya and moved to Tsfat. “My husband was growing in his learning, but was missing the genuine sparks of warmth and enthusiasm that he had come to thrive on. He figured that if he felt this way, there must be others in Tsfat who also yearned for something more, and he created a kollel and yeshiva that would attract them.
“At the same time, it became clear to me that there was a need for a similar type of environment for young women. Jewish girls from secular backgrounds were coming to Tsfat and discovering that you could live a re-ligious life and still be real and normal! They wanted to stay here and learn, but the options were limited. I spoke to rabbis at the more estab-lished schools in Jerusalem and they encouraged me to create a place for girls who were searching for something inspiring and creative, going as far as sending me some of their own students when Sharei Bina opened its doors. I saw tremendous siyata d’shmaya; the teachers and schedule fell into place with a short sequence of phone calls, and we were ready to go.”
About five years into Sharei Bina’s success, the program shifted. Girls from observant homes wanted the same experience, wanted to ask the same basic questions that the ba’alei teshuva were asking. They craved authentic answers that would make sense in a confusing world. They were looking for a deeper connec-tion to truth, and they found it in Tsfat.
Chana, now married with five children, was one of those early students. Re-flecting back on her Sharei Bina experience, she says, “During my two years there, I went through a lot of personal growth and many struggles, but no matter what was going on, I felt accepted and seen for my strengths, some of which I hadn’t known that I had. Tova didn’t lose patience with me, and was there to shed light on difficult situations. The staff taught me such wonderful Torah, from a real and genuine place. Their words came straight from their hearts and entered directly into mine. The classes were not like any of my earlier experiences of learning. Questions were welcomed and not shushed and the conversations were dynamic and fresh. With time, my eyes were opened to the hidden springs of holi-ness within myself. I am still in touch with many girls from that year, and I know
that life would have turned out very differently from the fulfill-ing life I have now, had I not had that special time in Sharei Bina.”
For Miriam, being in the holy city of Tsfat was essential to the changes that she made while at Sharei Bina. “When I arrived, my iPod and my cell phone were extensions of my very being − almost like limbs. I was used to the New York pace of life; at first Tsfat felt too quiet and slow, but after a month or two, something inside me also quieted and slowed down, and I found myself hearing and noticing things that I hadn’t before − a beautiful sunset, the birdsong at dusk, and even my own subtle emotions, which had previously been drowned out by the noise. I realized that where I grew up there was so much emphasis on physicality − nice clothing and an upscale life-style – that I hadn’t had time for the truly finer things in life. In Tsfat, the focus is on more important things, and the term lifestyle takes on an entirely different meaning. Sharei Bina’s building, which we nicknamed ‘the castle,’ with its stone archways overlooking the Tsfat mountainside, was the perfect backdrop for me to let go and look inside.”
Sharei Bina has always had a family feel to it, with tutors bringing their babies to sessions, and students doing chesed in the homes of the staff and community, but recently Sharei Bina and Yeshiva Shalom Rav truly became a family endeavor in every sense of the word. Rav Avra-ham Shimon, the eldest Weingot son, has taken over many of the responsibilities at Shalom Rav, and his wife Kiki is the vice-principal of Sharei Bina. The metaphorical family continues to grow as well, as the Weingots are always deeply moved to celebrate the weddings and simchas of their former students, many of whom have settled in Israel and some even in Tsfat.
Rabbi Weingot joins the conversation to add, “I once heard a vort from Rabbi Freifeld zt”l. Every morning in shacharis we say the pasuk, ‘[Hashem] heals the broken hearted, attending to their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them
all by name.’ What’s the connection? When people don’t know their infinite in-trinsic value, they cannot help but be brokenhearted. How can they be healed? By showing them that they count, and calling them by name. This has stayed with me and is a guiding force in my approach to chinuch.”
To the Weingots in Tsfat, chinuch is about finding chein, the spiritual radiance that is within each and every Jew. This is the first step on the path of a meaningful Jewish life.
Tova Weingot will be”H be visiting Far Rockaway between July 21st and August 6th and is available to interview potential students for the coming school year. Students wanting reach her or boys wanting to discuss Yeshiva Shalom Rav, can call 609-375-5085, or email [email protected]. For more information, see their websites: www.shalomrav.org and www.shareibina.com.
TJH Staff
Focus on People
Finding Meaning in Tsfat
Rabbi Rafael Weingot and his son, Rabbi Avraham Shimon Weingot
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A few weeks after I arrived in Eretz Yisrael in 1974 to
learn in Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, I received a heartfelt letter from a kollel fellow I knew.
The letter detailed the diffi-culties that he and his wife were undergoing, as her last three pregnancies had ended in mis-carriages and doctors could not identify the cause. The couple
had heard about a mekubal in Netivot who dispensed bottles of water rumored to prevent miscarriages. Since I was the only one he knew living in Eretz Yisrael at the time, he asked if I could travel to Netivot, obtain a few bottles of water from the mekubal and send them to him.
In those days, a round trip from Yerushalayim to Netivot required at least six hours. Moreover, with the inevitable long lines at the mekubal’s home, I could ex-pect the trip to take all day. I wasn’t sure what to do: Should I give up an entire day of learning in yeshivah for this act of chesed?
When I asked the mashgiach of the yeshivah, Rabbi Avrohom Kanarek, for advice, he recommended that I present the she’eilah to a posek in Meah Shearim who at the time was not known outside of the small circle of scholars in Yerusha-layim. His name? Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.
I went to see Rav Elyashiv and upon hearing my she’eilah, he said, “I am not personally familiar with the practice of dispensing water as a segulah nor with the people who do so. However, there is a concept in Chazal that ‘Tzaddik gozeir, v’Hakadosh Boruch Hu mekayem’ (What a righteous person decrees, the Al-mighty makes happen). Therefore, if a true tzaddik decrees that if one drinks from a cer-tain cup of water, berachot will come from it, then I strongly suggest he drink to the very last drop.” I then asked who, in his opinion, fits Chazal’s description of a “tzaddik.” Without any hesitation, he said, “The Steipler Gaon.” (The Steipler was the father of Rav Chaim Kanievsky and also Rav Elyashiv’s mechutan.) Since the Steipler lived in Bnei Brak, which was less than an hour from Yerushalayim, Rav Elyashiv suggested I travel there to obtain a berachah for this young couple.
I immediately traveled to Bnei Brak with a letter in hand from Rav Elyashiv introducing me and stating the purpose of my visit. Upon showing the letter, I was seen immediately. After the Steipler read the letter, he smiled and said, “Di kumst fun Rav Elyashiv. Veist du vus iz by Rav Elyashiv? Kol pesakav min Shamayim hu.” (Loose translation: “You are coming from Rav Elyashiv. Do you know who Rav Elyashiv is? All of his halachic decisions come from Heaven above.”)
Having secured the berachah, on the ride back to Yerushalayim I contemplated the words that the “tzaddik of the generation” had just shared with me: the unas-suming man in Meah Shearim was completely and totally dedicated to Torah. And his halachic decisions come from Heaven itself.
At that moment, I decided to spend as much time as I could with this great and holy man and absorb what I could from him. (Incidentally, approximately twenty years later, I was granted the honor of reciting a berachah under the chuppah at this young couple’s eldest daughter’s wedding.)
And so, for the following sixteen months that I was in yeshivah in Eretz Yisrael, I visited with Rav Elyashiv several times a week. Ultimately, I was blessed with the great zechut of having a regular seder with him every Motzaei Shabbat, where I would present halachic questions to him that I received from all over Yerushalayim.
In the ensuing years, after I returned to the States, I made sure to return to Eretz
Yisrael several times a year to visit with Rav Elyashiv and present she’eilot. Some-times my stay in the country was only twenty-four-hours long, for I came for the sole purpose of seeing him. Over the past four decades, I obtained more than 3,000 of his halachic rulings.
Observing Rav Elyashiv respond to she’eilot was a breathtaking experience. At one point, I witnessed the rav answer she’eilot successively for a period of almost three hours. These were not simple she’eilot, but complex questions covering a range of topics. A group of prestigious sofrim arrived to discuss a complicated issue in safrut; they were followed by experts in shemittah, then representatives of a mik-vah organization arrived to discuss the construction of a mikvah. Each she’eilah was answered within minutes, and with the utmost clarity, attesting to Rav Elyashiv’s mastery of every aspect of Torah.
A well-known story about Rav Elyashiv demonstrates the breathtaking scope of his Torah genius. A renowned Torah scholar had just published a sefer—which he had worked on for ten years—on Masechet Ohalot, one of the most complicated ar-eas of Torah. The scholar came to show his sefer to Rav Elyashiv. The two of them then engaged in an in-depth conversation. A little while later, the scholar, looking dejected, emerged from Rav Elyashiv’s home. Despite this scholar’s decade-long immersion in the subject matter, he realized that Rav Elyashiv had a much greater mastery of the topic.
Rav Elyashiv’s influence on my life was profound, and my appreciation for the depth and breadth of Torah has been greatly enhanced because of my relationship with him.
I remember once escorting Rav Elyashiv to the funeral of the rosh yeshivah of Brisk, which consisted of a ten-minute walk to the yeshivah, a twenty-minute stay at the levayah, and a ten-minute walk home. Throughout the forty-minute period, people constantly approached him, asking she’eilot. I had a pen and a notepad in hand and tried to record every she’eilah and teshuvah. Upon returning to yeshivah, I was astounded to discover that in those forty minutes, Rav Elyashiv had answered more than seventy she’eilot touching upon the entire gamut of Torah, exhibiting his colossal and breathtaking knowledge.
It has been noted in numerous newspaper articles that from the age of twelve until approximately six months before his passing at 102, Rav Elyashiv strictly adhered to a routine. His daily regimen of learning began at 3:00 am and ended often past 11:00 pm. This didn’t change during times of war or peace, whether he was marrying off a child or, tragically, sitting shivah for a child—the learning never stopped. His bein hazmanim“vacation” meant more hours to learn and less time for the public.
The tremendous zechuyot his learning and his extraordinary hasmadah, dili-gence, brought to the world are beyond our comprehension; but his remarkably disciplined way of life—day in and day out, decade after decade—underscores the exalted level a human being can attain even in this lowly physical world.
I am writing these reflections on the plane while returning from a brief visit to Yerushalayim. This is the first time in almost forty years of my visiting Yerushalay-im that I could not visit with Rav Elyashiv—the great Sar HaTorah of our genera-tion. Yerushalayim is different; Klal Yisrael is different, and together with the Torah itself, we mourn the loss of this great treasure that is no longer. Yehi zichro baruch.
Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg is rav of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center in Cedarhurst, New Yaork.
This articles was reprinted from the Summer 2013 issue of Jewish Action, the quarterly publication of The Orthodox Union.
Aryeh Z. GinzbergPhotos: Kuvien Press
The Great Sar HaTorah A TRIBUTE TO RAV YOSEF SHALOM ELYASHIV ZT”L ON HIS FIRST YAHRTZEIT
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“I’m not crazy!” Ralph protested. “I’m not going to therapy!”
“You don’t have to be cra-zy to go to therapy,” Cindy grumbled. This was so trying. All she wanted was to make their marriage better and it was like banging her head against a wall. Ralph would not budge on the subject of therapy and he didn’t think he needed a self-help book either.
This is a common problem and frankly, therapists have brought it on themselves by utilizing a code of diag-nosis which practically guarantees that when you go to therapy, you will get some sort of label.
But there is an alternative and I ex-perienced it this weekend. It’s called the OU Marriage Enrichment Program. It was started ten years ago by a far-seeing person named Frank Buchweitz. I’m guessing that he felt that couples de-served something more fun than being “fixed” in therapy. He created a really pleasant summer weekend out of this idea and it has be-come an OU staple.
First, they feed you. There is no end of food. (Of course it’s under strict su-pervision.) And it is delicious. They put you up in a really nice hotel an hour or so outside of New York, complete with Shabbos services. Finally, three work-shops run at the same time so you get to choose which one you’re interest-ed in attending. And then three more are offered and then three more and so on. The weekend was chock full of interesting new informa-tion – and food.
Audience participation was encour-aged, the presenters were knowledge-able (if I say so myself), and the staff couldn’t do enough to accommodate people. Topics included:
• Mindfulness and Emotion Reg-
ulation• Personality Compatibility Pro-
files• Taharas HaMishpacha Review• Off-the-Derech Children• Intimacy from a Medical Per-
spectiveand many others. There were 27
workshops offered in all.
The three that I offered were called• Self-Esteem and its Effect on
Marriage• Get What You Want! – The Nice
Way• How to Accrue “Points” in Your
MarriageThe Five Towns
boasted two oth-er faculty besides me: Rachel Pill and Dr. Michael Sala-man. When I wasn’t speaking myself, I was delighted to attend other peo-ple’s workshops and found them infor-mative. Judging by the questions from the audience, they gave plenty of food for thought to go along with the ca-tered kind.
This year, the program was geared
just for alumni, so it wasn’t promoted. Nevertheless, sixty-nine couples at-tended. The fact that these people have been coming regularly is an indication of how valuable they thought it has been.
The good news is that as soon as the program ended, OU Director of Com-munity Engagement Rabbi Judah Isaa-cs and the one-woman dynamo who
organized it this year, Hannah Farkas, started planning with the hotel for next summer, and they will open it up to new attendees.
And that’s why I’m writing about it now. Going forward, you may hear of local presentations in which you will get a chance to interact with faculty and ask questions of staff. I would suggest
you definitely take advantage of this great opportunity by going, listening, and asking.
As much as I favor therapy and truly believe there is nothing like it for tak-ing a good look at oneself and trying to make life better, the OU Marriage Re-treat was a great alternative for people who are gun-shy about therapy.
What I have discovered about peo-ple who come to therapy for their mar-riages, their children, or their own gen-eral happiness is that they are “normal” just like you and me. But life has a habit of throwing us all curveballs and some-times they are difficult to catch. We can be bright, caring, and loving, and still miss the ball. In other words, we don’t have to be “crazy” to go to therapy and
benefit from it.I truly believe that Hashem has giv-
en these curveballs to us in order to help us to learn and grow. When we utilize the help of other well-intentioned peo-ple to be able to grab those balls, it’s exciting and wonderful. We suddenly feel capable, competent, and in control of our lives – to the extent that any of us actually has control. Oddly enough, the difficulties may seem in retrospect as gifts because getting through them has taken us to a much better place.
I myself would go to therapy should such a curveball fly my way; I’m an advocate. But I also think a weekend retreat in the country in a relaxed and friendly environment can go a long way toward strengthening one’s batting arm.
(Ladies, I hope you don’t mind the male metaphor. I’ve got something dif-ferent just for you: a talk at Aza Hair Salon in the Gourmet Glatt Plaza on July 22 at 11 o’clock. It will be called, “You’re Beautiful – Now Feel Beauti-ful!” Gourmet is sponsoring refresh-ments, too!)
Dr. Deb Hirschhorn, a Marriage & Fami-ly Therapist and best-selling author of The Healing Is Mutual--Marriage Empowerment Tools to Rebuild Trust and Respect--Togeth-er, is proud to announce that readers of The Jewish Home will receive a $50 discount on every visit to her Woodmere office. For more information, call 646-54-DRDEB or check out her website at drdeb.com.
TJH StaffDrDeb
Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.
An Alternative to TherapyConsider a Marriage Retreat
life has a habiT of Throwing us all curveballs and someTimes They are difficulT To caTch.
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Compiled by Nate Davis
Notable Quotes
“Say What?”There are prison-like elements, but it’s a really nice prison. - First lady Michelle Obama describing life as the first lady
According to the American Medical Association, obesity is now a disease. Have you looked around? Apparently it’s contagious. - Jay Leno
Broccoli- President Obama responding to a child’s question regarding what his favorite food is
A new report reveals that Mexico has replaced the United States as the world’s fattest nation. In fact, Mexicans now are trying to cross the border just to ask, “Are you going to finish that?” - Conan O’Brien
Politicians don’t always kiss babies. - Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan sharing a photo of him kissing a fish
That Edward Snowden dude got out of Hong Kong, flew to Russia, has been in the Russian airport the whole week, but still no one can find him. When Sarah Palin today heard that he may be incognito, she called for a full scale invasion of Cognito.- Bill Maher
Last Thursday we celebrated our 237th year of independence from Great Britain. And our 10th year of dependence on the Chinese. - Jay Leno
Sometimes we’re deeply disappointed by the things our children do. But we love them anyway, and we move on.- Statement by George Zimmerman’s defense team after the 24-year-old daughter of one of the defense attorneys posted a picture of her and her father eating ice cream last weekend under the caption, “We beat stupidity celebration cones.”
My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries. Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s [Obama’s] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.- Dennis Rodman in an interview with Sports Illustrated, discussing his visits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this year
I shot myself a deer. - Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan recalling a hunting trip with Justice Antonin Scalia
In the NFL, 31 players have been arrested just since the Super Bowl. In fact, a lot of teams are switching to the no-huddle offense because players aren’t allowed to associate with known felons. - Jay Leno
A new report from sociologists has discovered the number one cause of prison overcrowding — apparently it’s the NFL. - Jay Leno
The show “Cops” is now on the NFL network. That’s how bad it’s gotten. - Jay Leno
You expect me to believe that “Mrs. Ketchup” is in critical condition?- Glenn Beck, arguing that reports of Teresa Heinz Kerry being hospitalized in critical condition may be a State Department fabrication to take the spotlight off of Secretary of State Kerry who was on his yacht when Egypt’s president Morsi was ousted from power
He respectfully requests six Cleveland Browns pallbearers so the Browns can let him down one last time.- From the Columbus Dispatch obituary for lifelong Cleveland Brown’s fan Scott E. Entsminger, who passed away last week
By overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, the Court recognized that discrimination towards any group holds us all back in our efforts to form a more perfect union. - Joint statement by Bill and Hillary Clinton after the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996
An amusement park in Mexico has opened a fake border-crossing attraction. You get to experience what it’s like to come across the border. Unfortunately, the park is losing money now because instead of buying tickets, people just keep sneaking in.- Jay Leno
Since his plane touched down in Washington at 4 am, Secretary Kerry was working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt. - Secretary of State John Kerry’s spokesman Jen Psaki when questioned about rumors that Kerry was on his yacht while the coup in Egypt was taking place
While he was briefly on his boat on Wednesday, Secretary Kerry worked around the clock all day.- Ibid., three days later after photos of Kerry on his yacht were released
To be fair to Secretary Kerry, he has been going through a grueling time. - David Gergen on CNN arguing that it was okay for Secretary of State Kerry to be on his yacht while Egypt was imploding
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89Paula Deen’s new cookbook is already on Amazon’s best-seller list. As a result, Rachael Ray declared that she’s not crazy about Mexicans. -Conan O’Brien
Microsoft is testing a smartphone that can sense your mood, using a scope that tests your mood and shares them on media sites. I don’t need that. I have a fiancée who can test my mood. - Jimmy Kimmel
On Saturday Phoenix had its fourth hottest day in 110 years. The high was 119 degrees. The low was 91. 119 to 91. That’s not a temperature range. It’s a basketball score. - Jimmy Kimmel
It was so hot in L.A. today that you could cook a tofu-based cruelty-free egg substitute on the sidewalk.- Ibid
Six half-marathon runners were hospitalized yesterday for running in 100 degree heat. They were rushed to a mental hospital. - Ibid
The Administration is announcing that it will provide an additional year before the ACA [Affordable Care Act] mandatory employer and insurer reporting requirements begin.- A notice by the Treasury Department, titled “Continuing to Implement the ACA in a Careful, Thoughtful Manner,” which announced that the controversial Obamacare “mandatory coverage” provision is being delayed a year
The president’s healthcare law is already raising costs and costing jobs. This announcement means even the Obama administration knows the “train wreck” will only get worse....This is a clear acknowledgment that the law is unworkable, and it underscores the need to repeal the law and replace it with effective, patient-centered reforms.- Speaker of the House John Boehner, responding to the announcement
Gov. Christie’s dead to me. -Tweet by Conservative personality Ann Coulter after Christie’s hand-picked choice for U.S. Senate voted in favor of the immigration reform bill
It is estimated that 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on the Fourth of July, and another 50 million eaten by a depressed Paula Deen. - Jimmy Kimmel
Cleveland Browns rookie Ausar Walcott was arrested for attempted murder. Boston Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested for murder, with possible links to another double murder. In fact, now the NFL is begging the press to start talking about concussions again. - Jay Leno
I will say that every country in the world that is engaged in international affairs and national security undertakes lots of activities to protect its national security and all kinds of information contributes to that. All I know is that is not unusual for lots of nations.- Secretary of State Kerry responding to a leaked Snowden document which shows that the U.S. spied on the European Union and various countries
Raise your voice and not your hands! We need to stand together as one, no cuffs, no guns. Let’s give violence a rest, because we can easily end up arrested. I know your patience will be tested, but law enforcement has your back! - From a video released by the Broward County sheriff’s office warning citizens not to engage in violence after the George Zimmerman verdict
Frank Lautenberg followed three fundamental principles as New Jersey’s U.S. Senator: stay true to his progressive values, put New Jersey first, and be a workhorse, not a showhorse....Frank Pallone knows that gimmicks and celebrity status won’t get you very far in the real battles that Democrats face in the future....While it may not always attract glamorous headlines, Frank knows that to be effective you must put New Jersey and your principles first, not your own glory. - Statement from the family of recently deceased Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) endorsing Frank Pallone and taking veiled shots at Newark Mayor Corey Booker who is also running for the seat
Oh, you who murdered Allah’s pious prophets Oh, you who were brought up on spilling blood You have been condemned to humiliation and hardship Oh, Sons of Zion, oh most evil among creations Oh, barbaric monkeys, wretched pigs - Little girls reading a poem on the official Palestinian Authority TV channel
Thank you for bringing it up. - Former President George W. Bush when asked in an interview about his recent higher favorability ratings
I took the phone but I offered the kid two dollars.- Feliberto Ramirez, 53, upon being sentenced to 1 ½ to 3 years for stealing an iPhone from a 3-year-old child in Manhattan
How you doing George? - What George Zimmerman’s former professor said when he was on the witness stand and the defense attorney pointed out Zimmerman in the courtroom and asked him if he knows Zimmerman
There are some circles that are jealous of Turkey’s growth. They are all uniting, on one side the Jewish diaspora. - Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay blaming civil unrest on Jews, who are almost non-existent in Turkey
If Governor Perry decides to run for president, I think there are three good reasons he could be president. You know, Texas is a big, successful state, he’s a long-term governor, uh, I can’t remember the third one. - Sen. Rand Paul (R- KY), poking fun at Rick Perry’s famous “oops” moment in the 2012 presidential debate
Nathan’s held its annual Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. The winner and seven-time champion was a guy named Joey Chestnut. He ate 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes. How is that possible? My garbage disposal doesn’t work that fast.- Jay Leno
Republicans are already trying to paint Hillary Clinton as too old to be president. In fact, a new ad claims she’s so old that she could be a Republican. -Conan O’Brien
On Friday, Dwight Howard announced that he is leaving the Lakers to join the Houston Rockets. Or as Kobe Bryant put it, “Great. Now who am I NOT going to pass the ball to?”- Jimmy Fallon
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Chaim ZipperHumor
Teeth are an important part of the human body. Without teeth, you can’t chew pizza, chew chicken,
or talk, which iz wewy imh-paw’tint.When I was little, my teeth would
help me get my toy back from some-one who took it from me. I would say something like: “Give me back my toy or I’ll bite you.” It was very effective. When I was told to “ask for it nicely,” I would day, “Please give me back my toy or I’ll bite you,” not realizing that merely adding the word “please” didn’t make it “nicely.” I was not aware that my teeth were not in my mouth for bit-ing people but rather for biting food. I didn’t know that it helped me to talk, as well.
I was told many times that if I didn’t brush my teeth, they would fall
out. What made me confused was why would I want to brush my teeth if ev-ery time my tooth fell out, my father gave me a dollar? I didn’t understand the value of money except that if my grandfather took me to the store, the man behind the counter liked money, and if I gave the money to him, then he would give me something I liked – a toy. I was lucky if the toy didn’t break before I got home. I didn’t know that if I would have saved the money, then after a while of not spending the money I received, it would accumulate so that I would be able to buy a toy that would have lasted more than the time it took to go home. What can you expect from a toy that costs only a dollar?
When I got a little older, I found out that the teeth that fell out were sup-posed to fall out, so that the adult teeth can grow in. And then it hit me: if my teeth were supposed to fall out, and I
was getting a dollar for each tooth that fell out, that meant that I was getting paid for something that happens with-out me doing anything. I did nothing, and I got something. “Were my par-ents trying to teach me something – Hmm...?”
Anyway, I needed to make sure that my teeth were healthy, so every six months I had to go to the dentist. The night before I went to the dentist, I did what all kids do, brush my teeth – real-ly well – hoping that if I brush my teeth now, somehow I wouldn’t have any cavities, and if I did have any cavities, my dentist wouldn’t notice. Of course, he noticed – he’s a dentist!
The next day, after school, my father took me to the dentist. I sat in the waiting room and waited for my turn.
While I sat, I was think-ing:
“I hope I don’t have any cavities. I hate that drill thing.”
“Maybe he’ll run out of time and I’ll have six months to brush my teeth.”
“Hey, where’s the Spiderman comic Num-ber 143 that I was in middle of reading from six months ago (i.e. the last time I was here)?”
I didn’t mind the wait because there were comics to read. For some strange reason, it would only be my turn when I was in middle of reading a comic, and up to the “best” part. Why couldn’t the secretary call the next patient or at least wait until I fin-ished the page? Unless, of course, the next patient was also in middle of read-ing a comic. The next time I’d be able to continue reading this comic would be in six months. By that time, there would be a whole new set of comics.
When it was finally my turn, I was told to go into a room, sit in a chair and “Relax, the dentist will be with you shortly.” Right after I sat down, the dentist’s assistant would take out a tiny mirror, sharp, pointy-shaped tools, and place them on a tray that was about 2 feet from where I was sitting. The den-tist came in wearing a mask and gloves. How in the world was I supposed to re-lax?! This is like bringing your car to a
mechanic because it makes a noise that it shouldn’t make, and you ask the me-chanic “Can you fix that?” He replies, “Sure! Relax, have a seat.” And then “disappears” for a moment and comes back with a sledgehammer. “It’ll be fixed in no time.”
How am I supposed to relax? There are strange, sharp-pointy tools, two feet from where I’m sitting. Besides, why does the dentist need sharp-pointy tools anyway? Is this a dentist’s office or an acupuncture office? Or perhaps that’s what’s done now to relax the patients before the dentist does his thing. I’d rather have an ice cream – chocolate. Why is he wearing a mask? Is he trying to hide his face? Maybe he’s somebody else? For all I know, the dentist went on vacation, and this guy is the comput-er technician from the computer store across the street. Maybe he got bored cleaning computers (from viruses), and decided to give it a shot at cleaning teeth (from plaque – duh). What’s with the gloves? This is not the post office. There’s no anthrax. Is he afraid of get-ting dirty? He doesn’t know the mean-ing of dirty! Let this guy be a plumber for a day. Then, he’ll have an inkling of what it means to be dirty.
To say the least, I’m anything but relaxed, and then all of a sudden, the chair I’m sitting on starts to move – my back and head are going down. Maybe those sharp-pointy tools are the needles for the acupuncture after all. That’s why this chair is converting into a bed. I just can’t seem to find the pillow. Hey! Where’s the pillow? And why is my head hanging off this chair. Can’t you see I’m over six feet tall? Get me the manager! I want a refund!
Once that’s done, he tells me to open my mouth – wide. I don’t have a prob-lem with that. My problem is: How does he expect me to keep my mouth open like that for – THIRTY MINUTES! He keeps repeating “Open…open…open…open–open…You need to keep your mouth open so I could see your teeth.” All I’m thinking is: “Open...open…you need to open your eyes, so you could see what you’re doing. If you still can’t see what you’re doing then, you need to: put...put…put on your glasses…”
While I’m trying to keep my mouth open, there’s this little device-like vac-uum in the corner of my mouth. Its
purpose is to suck up all the saliva and blood that is quickly accumulating in my mouth (you know what I’m refer-ring to). However, the problem is that it moves – and ends up on my cheek. Now, it’s annoying. It’s not suck-ing up any saliva or blood. It’s suck-ing my cheek. If I close my mouth so that the device moves and all the sali-va and blood are able to be sucked in once again, then guess what? Yes, you guessed it! “Open...open…” resumes all over again. I can’t tell him to please move the device because my mouth is wide open and he’s cleaning my teeth with those strange, sharp, pointy look-ing tools, and if I try to tell him to please move that device off my cheek, I end up sounding like this:
“An oo moo u ee. Ih u-ing I ouh.”“What did you say?”“I eh I ou ih eein uk iu eeh.”“Please speak clearly. You’re not
making sense.” “Uh coth uh no a-kin thenthe. I outh
ith why oh-in. eeth oov duh uhking thin, I hah allonth uf wateh and lood in my outh.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t understand you. Your mouth is full of saliva and blood. Let me take this off your cheek. There! That’s better! Now, what did you say?”
“Thank you.”The dentist is now scratching his
head in confusion.When the dentist finished cleaning
my teeth he took of his dirty, bloody gloves and threw them in a garbage can. It looked like he just slaughtered a chicken for Empire Kosher Chicken. I had no idea my teeth could produce that much blood. Then, he tells me to “rinse out” forgetting that I’m still lying hori-zontal. What does he expect me to do? Pour the water into my mouth and spit it out into the air? I told him I have some talents but none would help for this. He understood the problem and pushed the button that controls the chair. When the chair was vertical, I rinsed my mouth a few times the assistant removed that lit-tle blue “smock-like thingy” and I was ready to leave.
As I was leaving, I received a new toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, and…wait for it…a lollipop! At first I thought it was a joke, but then I realized why. He wants to guarantee that I’ll come back.
A Visit to the Dentist
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The Hungry SoulI have a very difficult time not eat-
ing until after davening on Shabbos. By the time the chazzan finishes his singing, the rabbi finishes his (won-derful, inspiring, but sometimes a lit-tle long) sermon, and walking home, I find myself plotzing. What should I do?
The Rabbi Responds:You remind me of Mahatma Gand-
hi’s observation: “There are people in the world so hungry, that G-d cannot appear to them except in the form of food.”
If the misery of hunger loves company, know that you are not alone. If you find it very difficult to wait till after shul to eat, after finishing Shemone Esrei of Shacharis, you are technically allowed to make Kiddush and eat some refreshments. Practically, one should be discreet and quietly leave sanctuary to a private area. It’s important not to disrupt the services. You certainly shouldn’t start a Kiddush Club during davening.
Some have a medical condition that requires them to eat before going to shul. Such individuals may be required to make Kiddush before davening or may only eat or drink certain foods. This should be discussed with your rab-bi in person.
It is actually forbidden on Shabbos to refrain from eating until chatzos (midday). Right now that is about 1pm, but can be as early as 12pm early in the winter. The source for this law origi-nates from the Talmud (Megillah 23) which states: “On Shabbos we hasten to go [to shul] and we hasten to leave.” This does not mean that on Shabbos you should run to shul or that you should leave shul early. It also doesn’t mean to bolt out of shul immediately after davening before even saying “Good Shabbos” to anyone. The simple under-standing is that on Shabbos, we should start Shacharis (morning prayers) ear-lier, and we should end early too. In his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch, the Rema writes that in practice, it is actu-ally customary to start Shacharis later on Shabbos than the rest of the week. (Shacharis is a prayer said in lieu of the morning Tamid offering brought during the Temple era. On Shabbos, it was brought later on than during the week.) Even today this remains the prevailing custom.
To reconcile our practice with the teachings of the Talmud, the Magen
Avraham explains that the Talmud is discussing the proper time to begin davening on Shabbos relative to Yom Tov. It is not telling us to begin Shacha-ris on Shabbos earlier than weekdays. (Aishel Avraham ibid.) On Yom Tov we commence later than on Shabbos because on Yom Tov we are allowed to do certain preparations for the meal, and many need the time to make those preparations before going to shul. (See Levushei Serad ibid). When I tell this to women, they respond that this is halachic proof that men must help in the kitchen. Their husbands argue that this is proof that women should do the preparations and still come to shul.
The Rema also notes that davening takes longer on Shabbos due to the extra singing, but cautions against singing too much or for too long, because we can-not eat before Shacharis, and we must eat before chatzos, as it is prohibited to fast even for half a day on Shabbos because it diminishes Oneg Shabbos. The meaning of “hastening to leave” is essentially “don’t schlep out davening.” For this reason, shuls should be careful to instruct their chazanim (cantors) to finish davening well before chatzos, so that everyone will have time to go home and make kiddush and begin eating be-fore chatzos. (Magen Avraham ibid.) I would think the same would apply to the rabbi’s sermon, but don’t quote me on that. As long as people have adequate time to begin their meal before chatzos, it is acceptable practice. Some suggest that if one drinks before chatzos, he is not considered to be fasting. It is per-mitted to drink water, and some other beverages before davening, so by drink-ing water, tea, or coffee before davening the issue is avoided. This could solve your problem if drinking something is enough to stave off the pangs of hunger. Then, there’s always King David’s solu-tion: “My tearful prayers have been my bread” (Psalms 42).
Please note, the information written above is not meant as a rabbinic ruling. If you have any questions, please consult your rabbinic authority for clarification.
Yehoshua Levy, a teacher of Torah, is a writer and lecturer who dares to think out-side the box to bring his thought-provoking insights and facts to his readers. He wel-comes your comments and can be reached at [email protected].
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Dear Devorah,I’m having a very difficult time
with my three-year-old son during bath time. Although he doesn’t mind having his body washed, he absolute-ly refuses to have me or my husband wash his hair. He screams and wiggles so much, I’m terrified one day he will slip and hurt himself against the tile or tub. Other than the hair washing, I don’t see any other sensory type of issues in other areas. I’m anxiously awaiting your re-sponse.
Vickie
Dear Vickie,Wow, I really do understand what
you are going through. I have a son who also hates having his hair washed; although he is just one-years-old, he has a full head of hair! I have met a number of parents who have this very similar situation, so we are all in good company.
Desensitization and Experience
Your son is most likely up-set when the wa-ter goes into his eyes along with the burning effect the soap/shampoo may have. So if you haven’t al-ready, make sure the shampoo you are using is tear-free. Since it is summer, there are plenty of water activities to do outside. Does he have any pool time (home, camp etc.)? You may want to consider providing him with swim in-struction. Not only will it teach him survival skills in the water, he will also learn to dunk his head in the water in a safe and fun environment. Running through the sprinklers will also create a fun and exciting opportunities for his head to get wet. These experiences will create pathways in his brain that will signal “my face and eyes getting wet is fun and OK” as opposed to the fight-and-flight reaction he has in full throttle now.
Distraction and AttentionHaving your son attend to some-
thing else will help distract him while you wash his hair. Consider some fun bath activities like soap crayons he can
use to color on the wall and foam letters and shapes that stick to bath-room tiles.
AdaptationsThere are
handy visors on the market which prevent water from dripping onto
a child’s face while washing their hair. A quick search on Amazon.com comes up with quite a few. The Lil Rinser Splashguard (approximately $10) re-ceived some good reviews.
EnvironmentYou may want to consider washing
his hair in the sink. (Position him as you would when you go to a hair salon.) You can even place a rolled up washcloth across his forward to catch any drops of water. With the correct positioning, he
can watch his fa-vorite DVD while having his hair washed.
You can also ask your son if he himself would like to rinse out the shampoo. Pro-viding him with this independence may be very ex-citing for him,
exciting enough to distract him from noticing how much water is dripping all over his face after pouring water over his head!
Wishing you the best of luck!
Devorah (Gerber) Schmeltz, MS OTR/L is a 2003 alumnus of Downstate Medical Cen-ter’s OT Program. She worked as a senior occupational therapist at United Cerebral Palsy’s Brooklyn Children’s Program for 9 years. Currently, Devorah runs a private practice, Bumble & Tumble Occupational Therapy P.C in Far Rockaway. Your ques-tions and comments are welcome. She can be reached at [email protected] or 917-971-5327.
Health & FitnessDevorah Gerber Schmeltz
More Bath Time Help
having your son aTTend To someThing
else will help disTracT him while you wash his hair.
If you happen to be upstate for the summer, take advantage. The flow-ers are blooming, foliage is a healthy
shade of green, and the waterfalls are easy to find. Pleasant and soothing rides through the countryside and down winding roads often turn out to be excel-lent choices for fam-ily photo shoots. So take along a camera and start your ad-venture and family trip by searching for those special plac-es where the back-ground setting will make all the differ-ence. This is also an excellent activity to take part in together with your friends on a long summer day.
Here are some of the secrets which make for a picture that is interesting and eye-catching. The background set-ting makes all the difference, and there is nothing as charming as nature itself. Stop by a reservoir of water, a waterfall, an old bridge or interestingly-shaped rock. Look for a farm, an old inn with unusual signs or an antique store with attractive pieces outdoors. Use the un-usual scenery as the background of your picture. Is there an old well nearby, wagon, bike or boat that can be used in the background? Keep your eyes open
for scenes that are appealing at parks and even an old, quaint, hick town with a striped barber pole out front. Besides
the actual props, that might include shovels, pitchforks, baskets or unusual fencing, the way you dress will make a difference. Choose colors that complement the surroundings. If the surroundings are dull, then the clothing should be bright and vice versa. The colors should contrast and pop. By using cre-ativity and an artis-
tic flair your pictures will be embraced by all.
Rebbetzin Naomi N. Herzberg is a profes-sional art educator, artist and designer. Among her known artwork is a floral sculp-ture presented to Tipper Gore, Blair House, Washington, D.C. Presently she is the Di-rector of Operations at Shulamith School for Girls. Please feel free to email [email protected] with questions and sug-gestions for future columns.
Artistic Photo Planning
Rebbetzin Naomi N. Herzberg
From My Private Art Collection
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96The Business of Money
Jay Spok
What Are They Doing? Understanding Brand’s Strategies
Big Box Retail
THIS WAS BRUTALLY PAINFUL AND MADE IT
CLEAR TO THE BIG BOX INDUSTRY THAT THEY
DON’T HAVE ANYTHING BETTER OVER ANYBODY;
IT’S JUST THAT THEY HAVE MORE MONEY
TO PUT IT IN FRONT OF MORE PEOPLE.
In this column I usually analyze a particular brand, but in this article I’ll be focusing on big box stores
in general. I started writing about one in particular and realized it applies to many in the industry. They’re failing miserably and are having a really hard time adapting, so I switched the fo-cus to understanding big box stores in general verses successful online retail.
There’s a lot of discussion these days that big box stores are nearing their end. We see this with stores such as Toy’s R US, Sears and JCPenney. With the 24/7 accessibility of the on-line market and ease of price check-ing, folks are shopping less and less in brick and mortar stores and more and more online. The stores that are successful are the ones that give you an extreme experience. We discussed this last time in our analysis of the Starbucks chain. Starbucks gives you a strong experience of home, besides they’re a food retail which is a whole different story altogether. We also see this with the successful Apple stores. The roominess, “hip atmosphere” and Geek Bar invite individuals to explore their shops.
With Big Box stores experiencing a decline in sales, they’re desperately exploring new ways to gain relevance. We saw this with JCPenney’s recent fiasco of trying to rebrand themselves where they introduced “shops” in the hopes of giving that Apple store feel to their large stores.
Recently, on my blog, I wrote a post that explains in depth where they went wrong; if you have a few minutes it’s definitely worth a read. We’re see-ing this throughout with more adver-tising from Sears and even Walmart, a company that hardly ever advertised in the past.
So what are they doing and why is it not working?
These big stores are just advertis-ing more. First, let’s discuss why they are doing that. The annual Cannes Li-ons recently just finished. Cannes Li-ons is an annual event held in Cannes,
France. It’s the biggest event for the advertising, marketing and creative industry. The greatest minds in these industries get together for a few days of celebration, awards and to dis-cuss what’s next. This year, while I couldn’t make it to France, I watched some of it live from my office. A lot of the discussion was about social media and the future it holds for advertisers, marketers and brands going forward.
They spoke about how brands have to realize that today’s consumers are engaged 24/7 and expect their brands to be as well. It used to be a company would sit down in the boardroom and strategize what would be the best way to advertise this quarter, through print, radio and TV. They would discuss different slogans, circulars, targeted
sales and the general feel and goals of each campaign. All of a sudden, since 2008 with the boom of social sites, be-sides general strategy, they now have to post daily and be engaged daily. There’s no time for long brainstorm-ing on a slogan or graphic; people ex-pect them to be alive with good con-tent every day, all day. And what came more as a big shocker was when a TV commercial or print commercial that cost them millions to make and had the top agencies and brightest minds working on it would then be placed online and get nearly zero recognition, it was a very bitter rude awakening. They would put it on YouTube and get only a few hundred views or post it on
their social sites and it wouldn’t gain any vi-ral attention. Yet little no name companies and individuals would get the viral attention. This was brutally pain-ful and made it clear to the big box industry that they don’t have anything better over anybody; it’s just that they have more mon-ey to put it in front of more people, but once it’s on the web and there are many options, individu-als have to feel connected in order to share content to their own social net-works.
Before the internet, the formula to
success was fairly simple. The ones with the most money won. If you had the biggest store with the big-gest variety, easy parking, and were big enough to offer low pricing and be able to lose on setting up store policies such as “always accepting re-turns” and then have enough money to send the most mailings to individuals’ home, take out the biggest ads in the local papers and take out radio and TV spots, you won. Nobody questioned it. You just had to have money to be big and spend on awareness and you were successful.
Folks who wanted an item, didn’t want to go to a small retailer, haggle on prices, try to find parking, maneu-
ver around small aisles and then be told that they don’t have something in stock or they don’t carry that particu-lar brand or item and then not have the security of being able to return some-thing if it was faulty. It was much eas-ier to drive after work or on a Sunday to a big parking lot, shop with ease in a big store that usually had every-thing, was always running a sale and then be able to return the item if it was defective. Nobody cared that the store wasn’t particularly nice or that the workers were uninterested minimum wage workers who knew very little and had no passion for the products they were selling and were there just to get by in life. It was an easy and secure shopping experience.
Then came the internet, and now folks who are shopping around for a specific item can have ten differ-ent ecommerce sites open at once and want to be able to shop at any time. E-commerce, for the most part, is extremely limited in the way they can function or look. One can’t have bigger aisles or store or higher ceil-ings or a bigger parking lot. They all have a certain size landing page, lim-ited by a screen, and can carry unlim-ited amount of product and options. And the shopping experience is done from wherever the shopper is and at any time. The way to make it in this market is to simply give the consumer a better online experience and better customer service.
A better online experience in-Continued on page 93
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Keeping a child with learning disabilities in a mainstream class, when he or she needs the support of a professional special education program, greatly increases the risks of failure and isolation with the potential for at-risk behavior in the later grades.
Since 1992, CAHAL has helped hundreds of children in the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, Queens and greater Nassau County overcome their learning disabilities. CAHAL has a proven success rate of helping children rejoin mainstream classes and reach their full potential, while avoiding the shame and stigma of being singled out.
CAHAL’s success in the classroom adds up to a brighter future for our children!
To discuss placement of a child with learning disabilities contact CAHAL today at 516-295-3666 or visit us online at WWW.CAHAL.ORG.
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97cludes easy user experience, easy maneuvering, simple beautiful design and a knowledgeable staff to offer real useful advice to someone who needs assistance. Zappos did this with send-ing a return box with each purchase for easy returns, so consumers can try product with ease (a big hurdle for the online market). The most well-known success story is Amazon. The reason Amazon succeeded so well and con-tinues to succeed is because they focus on being an online retailer and only that and are always evolving. When they started in the mid 90’s, they fo-cused on having the most books be-cause they were virtual and were able to be open all the time; then they kept on evolving to be at the forefront in online retail. Today, trust is the big factor and they aim to be at the fore-front of gaining consumer trust.
So big box stores’ solution to all this, like everything else they do, is: let’s spend more! If only we were in people’s faces more then they’ll buy from us. More TV spots, more circu-lars, more sales.
Here’s why it’s failing.It’s an interesting concept: think
about this. Ten years ago, if someone wanted an item, they would associate it with a store. Folks wouldn’t say I’m
going to buy toys, they would say I’m going to Toys R Us or Walmart. They wouldn’t say I’m going to buy clothes, they would say they’re going to the mall or the GAP. These days when you shop online, how come you don’t go straight to a store but instead Google an item? The answer is very simple; because it’s easy to have options. We want ease first, so if it’s easiest for us just to drive to one store that has the most items and is usually the cheap-est, we’ll do that. But we also want se-curity to know that we’re making the right purchase; maybe there’s a better cheaper version somewhere else. If it requires me to drive to every store in my area, I’m not willing to do that but if it means searching the web for a half hour, I’m definitely going to do that before I make a purchase. If I want to buy clothing online, I don’t want to feel limited to just going to one re-tailer I want to search and explore as many options as possible. I may have a few sites that I visit for particular items because I had a good experi-ence with them in the past but I still want the options so I’m still going to search. Nobody cares what your name is anymore or how much money you spent on a TV spot. If the site looks legit, is easy to use and has a beauti-
ful user interface, has an overall easy user experience, good re-views, good return policy and someone to chat with to help me with my pur-chase, I’m willing to give them a shot.
So what can big box stores do? In-stead of advertising more, focus on mak-ing your online and in-store experience the best possible. It’s time to get creative, hire people at higher wages that would be knowledgeable and actually care to offer real value to consumers. Try to be relevant on social media, not just big. Now’s their chance to switch fo-cus and switch strategy. That’s one of the downsides of being so big; you’re not nimble so it may be hard to move. The future will tell which companies will be on the right side of history and the ones that won’t. Times running out.
On the good side, if you have a small brick and mortar retail store or sell online, now’s your chance to ad-vance. Over the next five years it’s
estimated that another five billion in-dividuals will join the online universe and with that comes their shopping needs. We’re still at the beginning of the internet age and now’s the time to get involved and focus on offering real value.
Jay Spok is the founder and creative di-rector of Spok Global, a business devel-opment firm with offices in New York and Chicago, IL. Connect with Jay on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. His office can be reached at 718-427-2202 or at [email protected].
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COnTInuED
Chapter 17Alone
The train pulled into the Budapest station at 9:50 p.m., just ten min-utes before the curfew would close
the ghetto’s gates. My heart raced as I rushed toward the old Jewish Quarter, correct in my assumption that it would be where the Nazis had located the ghetto. I slipped in just before curfew. The guards did not acknowledge me. I had no idea where the Judenrat was however, and I could not see any ob-vious sign or posting of directions. It was past curfew and doors were being shut and locked everywhere. I wan-dered around, but there was nobody to ask and I had no place to stay.
I saw one door that was still open and dashed for it. Inside, I headed down the basement stairs. I thought it was the least likely place to be discovered. I sat on the stairs about halfway down, tired and terror-stricken. A few minutes later I heard the janitor making his rounds. He locked the front door and went up-stairs. I had no idea what sort of build-ing I was in or what I would do in the morning. I could not sleep so I decided to venture upstairs to see what I could determine regarding my whereabouts, but after a few steps I lost my nerve and returned to my spooky seat on the stairs, which had been transformed in my mind into a shelter.
About an hour or so later, I heard a door above me open and then close. I heard footsteps. Then there was silence and I detected the odor of a cigarette being lit and smoked. I heard a muf-fled cough that sounded like a man’s, but how could one be sure from only a cough? I crept farther down the stairs almost into the basement. I stayed there for at least another hour, too petrified
to move. Finally, I decided to creep back up the stairs because the build-ing had become silent again. I climbed a few stairs, trying to do it quietly, but the stairs were old and made of wood, and filled with cracks from wear that creaked under even my slight body weight.
“Who is there?” It was a man’s voice.
“Nobody…I mean…I’m sorry…I missed the curfew and I am sitting here until the morning. I mean no offense to anyone.” I barely stammered out the
last few words. A man with glasses started down
the stairs toward me. He walked nor-mally and without aggression or threat in his steps. I saw that he was balding, of fair complexion, and had a pleasant expression on his face. He was probably in his forties, of average height, and a little chubby. When he got closer to me I could tell that he was a Jew.
“Are you Hungarian?” “Yes, yes, I am Hungarian.” “Well, I have to ask you then, where
is your armband?” That was the one question I had for-
gotten about. I was so “assimilated” in my role and used to being accepted as a gentile woman, I had forgotten about the armband issue. Of course! There I was in the ghetto, and what would a gentile be doing in the ghetto after cur-few? My lies and deceptions could no longer be maintained. I was too tired to keep all the lies organized coherently and I ached for Mechel’s return. I took a long look at the man and decided to
tell him the truth. There was something about him that made me feel comfort-able enough to blurt it out.
“I am a Jew, but I have false papers.” He nodded nonjudgmentally and
did not criticize me. His voice was soft and he asked me what I was doing there and what was wrong with me. I told him about Mechel’s imprisonment and told him I was trying to reach the Judenrat for help.
“Well, you don’t have to look any further. I am the Judenrat – I am the head of it. You have come to the right
place. I can’t offer you a room here, however, because I have just given my own quarters to a woman with a small child.”
I had miraculously ended up where I needed to be, but I wondered why there was someone else that needed a room in the Judenrat headquarters. An abso-lutely crazy idea entered my head. A woman and a child? It couldn’t be, I rea-soned with myself. But then I thought, Well, I think it must be so because so many things have happened that cannot be explained. It began to register that it probably was Rosie and Micheline who had preceded me to Budapest by car. I was about to ask him what they looked like, but he continued talking.
“She said she and her daughter had to have privacy and so I said I would be happy to let them stay. I would sleep in the basement for the night. That’s where I was headed, when I found you.”
“May I please ask you what this woman and her child look like?”
He described them exactly – even their clothing.
“That’s my cousin and her daugh-ter.”
We both looked at each other in dis-belief. I began to cry. He told me I had no reason to be so upset. He told me he had a great deal of power and would find out where Mechel was. He intro-duced himself. He said his name was Kasztner.
“Please, don’t worry. This is not as hopeless and dire as you may think. However, in order to help you, I must get more information.”
He took out a small notebook and I told him everything I knew. He wrote it all down carefully. When I was done he looked over his notes. He then asked me to fill in certain details I had skipped over in my rush to remember. He said that we would meet again in the morn-ing. He told me I should stay where I was, as it was a safe refuge.
The last thing he said to me was I should try to get some sleep, or at least try to close my eyes. After he walked away I was overcome by what had just occurred. Had I just been duped? Was I in the presence of another Moishe Schiller? Was he actually an informant who would now go find Mechel and have him killed and then come back for me and Rosie and Micheline? I could not believe my lack of caution. What would Mechel think of this behavior? Yet somehow I felt this man was not an informer or a Kapo. I believed he would help me find Mechel. I thought the fact that he had given his room to Rosie indicated he was a good person with a generous heart.
Just after daybreak Mr. Kasztner re-turned and told me to meet him in the park later in the day. He said it was best to discuss these matters outdoors where there was no chance of being overheard by informers. Now, of course, I was ashamed of myself for having distrust-ed him as a potential traitor to his fel-
Lola Lieber SchwartzLola's Story
A World After ThisA Memoir of Loss and Redemption
Lola Lieber Schwartz is a world-renowned artist whose paintings have been exhibited in art galleries throughout the United States and are part of the Yad Vashem archives in Jerusalem. Most importantly, Lola is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to many. She has myriad friends and sees life in all its vibrancy and vitality. But life was not always easy. Lola was only sixteen-years-old when Hitler ym”sh invaded Poland, and Lola was forced into hiding and spent years on the run with her husband, Mechel. Through six years of trying times, near
starvation and brutality, Lola and her husband held onto their faith and values. It was Mechel’s words of encouragement, “There will be a world after this,” that helped them cling to the hope that there will be a life of light and joy waiting for them at the end.
This is the story of Lola’s life—from her grandparents’ “enchanted garden” to meeting Eichmann ym”sh to making the Pesach seder for the Bobover Rebbe during the war—her words will take you back to a different world.
“iT is nexT To impossible, if noT ToTally impossible, To do anyThing for him.
you will never see your husband again.”
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95low Jews. I made a note in my mind of the precise directions he gave me to the park.
“Would you like to go upstairs to your cousins now?”
Helplessly, I let him lead me upstairs to what he referred to as his apartment but was only a dingy, dark room. There, still asleep, were Rosie and Micheline. I ran to Rosie and woke her up, and could not stop weeping and clinging to her. Rosie was calm and little Micheline patted my back. Kasztner was quiet and did not intrude on our family reunion. When I calmed down he told us we should stay together in the room until he found a place for us to live. Then he left. I thought it most unusual that Rosie did not say good-bye to our benefactor. Nor did she thank him. I thought it was rudeness but wrote it off as exhaustion.
After I had rested, Rosie told me things were not as they appeared with Mr. Kasztner. He had made “approach-es” and she’d had to make a scene to get him to leave her alone. She’d threat-ened that if he did not she would scream at the top of her lungs. That is why he had gone downstairs where he found me hiding. He was not an informer, appar-ently, but sadly, neither was he a gen-tleman. Beyond the fact that he was a cad, we knew we could not stay in the Budapest Ghetto. We had fake Christian papers and no armbands. In any event, there was no reason to believe anyone in the ghetto would be willing to share sparse accommodations with strangers. And even if he allowed us to remain in his room, the building concierge would turn us in to the authorities promptly be-cause we did not wear our Jewish stars.
We stayed inside all day. I didn’t think I should go to the park to meet him, but Rosie and I both reasoned there was nothing else to do. We did not have another avenue to pursue. I left for the park reluctantly at the appointed hour in the afternoon. When I reached the exact location he described, I was confronted with a scene I will never for-get. There was a large line of distraught women begging him for information. He stood at the front of the line with the women lined up, crying out for his help. He spoke to them in turn, one by one, and just as he had done for me, he wrote down everything they knew about what had happened to their husbands and when it had happened. The cries were in different voices but they were all the same desperate plea.
“Please, Mr. Kasztner, help us… My son is gone and my husband… My children and I are alone… My husband, my husband... my husband…” The same cry of alarm and sorrow echoed from each of them, and it reverberated through me as well. Nobody was alone
in this misery. I stood quietly to the side and he nodded, indicating that he had seen me. However, he did not approach me. He kept taking notes as each wom-an spoke, but as the day progressed the line of women grew longer and longer.
So he was not an informer. I thought perhaps he was the head of the Juden-rat. Whatever his position, he was clear-ly the man to see if you wanted help in getting your loved one out of the grip of the Gestapo. I could see he was treat-ed not only as someone with power, but as a kind of ghetto personality, if not a celebrity. He was almost holding court. It is hard to explain how he be-haved and how the women responded to him. There was something theatrical about the whole setting. The “park” as he had called it wasn’t grand; it was a large lawn with a few benches – that was really all it was. It might well have been something quite lovely before the horrors. It was adjacent to the ghetto but not fenced in; people came and went freely.
Sunset was not far off, and as darkness fell I did not know what to do. Kasztner finally spoke to the last woman in the line for that day. He told those he had not spoken with when to come the next day. Then he came over to where I had been standing the entire day, just waiting. He was charming and kind to me and apologized for the long wait. He said he never knew how many people would come on any given day. I told him I understood and was grateful for any help he could give me.
“You know I am a yeshiva man,” he said. “I have no idea where my wife is now, but I fear she is in Auschwitz. Nothing is normal any longer.”
I felt a fleeting tenderness for him as a man who had lost his wife and pos-sibly the rest of his family. However, I also knew how badly he had behaved with Rosie and so I was guarded. This turned out to be the correct stance. He tried to put his arm around my shoul-ders. I moved away gently without say-ing anything or making a fuss.
“Please,” he urged. “These are not times when God judges us for being hu-man. See, just across the way there is a fine hotel and I am known there. I am allowed to stay as a guest. Come with me. Let’s get away from the ghetto and our sorrows and worries for one night.”
I burst into tears rather than fight back like a tiger. I was so thoroughly of-fended that my outrage boiled inside me without finding a verbal outlet. That a Jewish man should ask this of me? After all I have been through with the Nazis? Now, one of my own asks me to do this?
“No, you misunderstand. I do not mean you harm. It will be good for both of us and God forgives these things now.”
“Not my God. He does not forgive such things. If I am to ask for His help in finding my husband it will not be found in this manner.”
“And just where do you think you will stay tonight then?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been through more things than you can pos-sibly imagine. Your offer does not tempt me in the least. I will find a place to stay.”
I walked away from him and did not look back to see his expression. My gait was steady. I made sure my posture told him I was a dignified married Jewish woman who did not compromise her fi-delity. Only after I got back to his room, where Rosie and Micheline were, did I express my anger. I told Rosie every-thing and she was not surprised. Mostly she was horrified that he kept me wait-ing the entire day for nothing. I said that as Kasztner had stopped bothering her, she and Micheline might as well stay in his room for another night until we fig-ured out what to do. During the day of waiting, a kind woman had left the line and come over to me to see if she could help. She had given me her address in the ghetto. I went to her place and was welcomed.
Later that very night, the Gesta-po went to the hotel where Kasztner was staying and arrested him. I detest-ed what he had done to me, but I was horrified that the head of the Judenrat could be rounded up like everyone else and thrown into prison. Within days we learned of his release. The Nazi officials said it was an unfortunate case of mis-taken identity. After his release I had no better idea than to appear before him during the day in his office to see what he had learned about Mechel. He greet-ed me with caution but not complete hostility.
“When I was in prison I met your husband.”
I blanched, wondering if he had lied to Mechel about our encounter in the park.
“I told him he had the most amaz-ing wife in Europe. ‘Never, ever, have I seen or met such a wife as yours,’ is what I told your husband.” He want-ed to continue telling me how he had praised me to Mechel, but I gave him a very harsh stare, which he did not ap-preciate. His feelings toward me quick-ly turned to contempt.
“Here is the truth. It is next to im-possible, if not totally impossible, to do anything for him. You will never see your husband again. They are not going to release anyone from that place.”
He said it somberly, without a trace of sympathy. I had not played by his rules and I was going to be punished because of it. He would do nothing to secure any favors for Mechel because I
had dared to refuse him. I left without saying good-bye. Mr. Kasztner and I were finished pretending with each oth-er. He held me in contempt but I held him the same. However, I had gotten one very valuable thing out of the meet-ing. I knew exactly where Mechel was.
I never saw Kasztner again, and had no wish to ever see or hear about him. Oddly enough, his name came to my attention again in the 1950s. He re-mains a mysterious figure in Holocaust history. Some said he was responsible for saving thousands of Jews. He was not the head of the Judenrat – that was a lie. However, he was indeed a power-ful man. He was the deputy chairman of the Hungarian Zionist Organization. The Zionist Organization in Hungary completed major operations in the suc-cessful rescue of Polish and Slovakian Jews like Mechel and me. Kasztner was linked to the aborted “Blood for Goods” plot to save Jews in exchange for war materiel – especially trucks. The larger plan fell apart, but Kasztner did arrange a transport that delivered more than one thousand Jews safely to Switzerland, including the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. Others insist that Kasztner was responsible for halting a mass mur-der of Jews in Auschwitz in late 1944.
After the war, he made his life in Is-rael and resumed his original career as a journalist and political activist. In 1953 Malkiel Gruenwald, the publisher of a newspaper based in Jerusalem, accused him of having been a Nazi collaborator. In Gruenwald’s allegations, Kasztner was accused of hastening the death of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Kasztner was by then an Israeli government of-ficial and the Israel Attorney General’s Office successfully defended him. Gru-enwald was then indicted for libel. On appeal, however, the court held on June 22, 1955, that Gruenwald’s accusations were true and Kasztner had been a Nazi collaborator. The Israeli government appealed again, insisting that Kasztner was completely innocent. On January 17, 1958, the Israel Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision and cleared Kasztner’s name complete-ly. It would not change the course of his life though, because Kasztner was already dead. He had died the year be-fore on March 12, 1957, at the hands of an assassin on a street in Tel Aviv. Even his first name was buried in a cloud of confusion and obfuscation. The news-paper article that reported the assassina-tion said he was known as Rudolf a.k.a. Reszo a.k.a. Israel Kasztner.
Lola wrote this book with the help of Alida Brill.
A World After This was published in 2010 by Devora Publishing.
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Achiezer Staff
Navigating the Insurance Maze, Part IICovering your Newborn
Insurance & You
My husband and I are each covered under our respective parents’ health insurance plans. We had assumed that our baby would automatically be covered under the same policy, but now we found out that our parents’ plans only cover us, and not our children. What should we do?
I’m iy”H expecting my first child in three weeks, and I wanted to apply for public insurance for the baby. I am not eligible for Medicaid. When I spoke to Child Health Plus (CHP), they said that I can only apply after the baby is born, and they won’t cover any bills retroactively. They also said that it will take up to six weeks for the application to be processed and approved. How can I cover my baby from birth if I can’t even apply until after s/he is born?
Many young parents find themselves in a bind with the birth of their first child. As per federal law, as of January 2012 young adults may remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until the age of 26. This coverage does NOT include the young adults’ own dependents, forcing expectant couples to look for other options. In this second part of Achiezer’s insurance series, Sruly Miller answers some of the most common questions per-taining to public health insurance for newborns.
Q: What public health insurance options are available to my newborn?
A: There are two public insurance options available for children: Medicaid, and Child Health Plus. As stated in the previous segment of this series, Medicaid requires lower income levels, and offers full coverage without premiums, co-pays or deduct-ibles. Child Health Plus (CHP), which offers similar coverage, can be attained at significantly higher income levels with monthly premiums ranging from $0-$180 based on family income.
Q: Are the benefits good? And, just as importantly, will my pediatrician accept this insurance?
A: The benefits are excellent, and cover basically everything necessary for a normally developing child, including hospitalizations, prescriptions, and doc-tor’s visits. Virtually every pediatrician in our area accepts HMOs affiliated with Medicaid and CHP, as do a wide variety of specialists.
Q: Are there any differences in coverage between Medicaid and CHP?A; Medicaid offers better coverage for babies requiring long term care, but
for normal, healthy newborns, the differences are negligible.
Q: I’ve heard that there can be problems with getting CHP coverage for a newborn. What’s the story with that?
A: The biggest difference between Medicaid and CHP is that Medicaid can be applied for in advance, and also covers most bills retroactively. CHP can only be applied for after the baby is already born, and coverage doesn’t begin until 3-6 weeks after that.
Q: Three to six weeks after birth?! What happens with all of the hospital bills, doctors’ visits, etc., from birth until six weeks?
A: Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do. If you are not eligible for Medicaid, your choices are either to pay out of pocket expenses for the first few
weeks of the newborn’s life, or to take out an insurance policy that covers your baby through you or your husband.
Q: I would never take the chance of leaving the baby without coverage. What if I get stuck with a $20,000 bill from a stay in the NICU? I would prefer to find some sort of coverage that will last until I can get the baby onto CHP,
even if it costs me more for the first couple of weeks. What are my options?
A: First of all, if you are being covered through your parents’ insurance policy, there may be a clause that your baby is covered for the first 48 hours, so ask your insurance agent. Other than that, you can take out a policy for yourself or your husband through your school or employer. You also may be eligible for a policy through Healthy NY, a public insurance plan designed for higher income individuals who do not have access to group insurance policies.
Q: What if I can’t get back onto my old in-surance plan right away? Won’t I get stuck pay-ing for the new insurance plan for longer than it takes for the CHP application to be approved?
A: You might. That’s the price you pay.
Q: Sounds like Medicaid is a much better bet. What’s the likelihood that I’ll be eligible for it?
A: Happily, Medicaid income guidelines for newborns are significantly higher than for kids over age 1. Young couples who are expecting their first child are very often still in yeshiva or college, and fre-quently qualify for Medicaid based on that higher income allowance. Even if you think that your income is too high based on your online research, it is worth your while to give us a call, since you may actually be eligible based on the guidelines.
Q: When should I contact your office to apply for Medicaid or CHP?A: Sooner is better! Ideally, you should contact our office by your fourth
or fifth month of pregnancy. This way, we have the leisure to figure out your best options, give you time to collect your documents, and send everything out with plenty of time to spare. If you are eligible for Medicaid, an advance appli-cation ensures that you get full coverage from birth (retroactive coverage may not cover doctor’s visits), don’t need to wait until the baby’s birth certificate is issued, and continue coverage until the baby’s first birthday without a stitch of paperwork. CHP applications cannot be submitted until after delivery, but you can at least get the preliminaries out of the way. Once the baby is born, the father can come in and take care of the rest of the CHP application, no birth certificate necessary.
Q: What if my baby is already due—or born!—and I haven’t applied for insurance yet?
A: Unfortunately, you have a problem. Medicaid insurance applications take six weeks to process; CHP applications take three to six weeks. If you are not eligible for Medicaid, you can’t fight your way to retroactive coverage—not for CHP, and not for private insurance. Regardless of your situation, you can contact our office at 516-791-4444 or [email protected], and we’ll do our utmost to help you make the best of the situation.
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If you like cheese, love nuts, and don’t like to pump gas, head to Oregon this summer. The Beaver State is known for many things, and you and your family are bound to
enjoy your vacation week there. Oregon boasts the deepest lake in the United States. The
crystal-blue waters of Crater Lake are world-renowned. Speaking of bodies of water, the Beaver State is home to the world’s shortest river—the D River is only 121 feet long! The largest cheese factory in the world calls Oregon its home. The Tillamook Cheese Factory has been around for 100 years. It is also the only state with an official state nut—the hazelnut. I guess that means that they’re just nuts over their nuts! Speaking of being a little nuts, the city of Portland is just plain weird. In fact, residents like to call their city Weird and Unusual Portland and have been overheard saying, “Keep Portland weird.” But Portland is not just about weird sculptures and people. It is also known as the City of Ros-es. The International Rose Test Garden features more than 500 varieties of roses since 1917. Want to hear some weird facts? Oregon residents own one-fourth of the country’s total llama population. There’s a city in Oregon called Sisters and another city in the state called Brothers. The state also has more ghost towns than any other in the nation. And, just like New Jersey, Oregon is the only other state in the entire United States where it’s illegal to pump your own gas.
Want to go on a major road trip this summer? It’s best to head out now if you want to visit Oregon sometime before school starts again. If you plan on driving, you’re gonna have to drive across the whole country and of course make many stops along the way. But once you get to your destination, remember, no more pumping gas for you—you’re in the won-derful state of Oregon!
Things You Won’t Want To MissSkeleton Caves
If you’re looking to cool off in the summer’s sweltering heat, the Skeleton Caves are the best place to do it and ex-perience the awesomeness of Oregon. The High Cascades Mountains are picturesque with snow-capped peaks, deep green forests, and glassy ponds and lakes. But you can ex-plore the mountains from within where years ago lava formed tunnels in the mountains creating caves deep within the earth. The Skeleton Cave is nearly 2900 feet long and drops 100 feet across. And no matter how hot it gets outside, the tem-perature remains a steady, cool 44°F.
Mount HoodThe highest mountain in Oregon reaches 11,245 feet and
is the second most climbed mountain in the world, after Japan’s Mount Fuji. The grandeur of Mount Hood reflected in the lake below is breathtaking. Along the way, visit Timberline Lodge, a Nation-al Historic Landmark, made of timbers and stone and dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. Trillium Lake offers a 2-mile hiking trail around the lake, and swimming, canoeing, and kaya-king are great activities to do with the family on the perfect summer day. At the end of day, stop at Jonsrud Viewpoint, a five-acre park, and enjoy a awe-inspiring view of Mount Hood and the bucolic Sandy River Val-ley.
Wallowa Lake TramwayEver want to experience nature from the skies? The
Wallowa Lake Tramway takes visitors on a 3700-foot ascent to the summit of Mt. Howard on the steepest vertical gondola ride in North America. The views of the valley are spectacular, and if you’re in the mood of adventure, bring your bike with you on the ride up and enjoy an amazing downhill ride over pine-cov-ered hills and gravel paths.
Garden of DelightsPortland is Oregon’s largest city in terms of
population and there’s a lot going on in this busy and quirky metropolis. But if you’re looking for some time to relax and reconnect, spend time at the Lan Su Chinese Garden where you can meander along with winding walkways, enjoy the bridged lake, and spend time in the open pavilions. Speaking of tranquility and relaxation, the City of Roses boasts the International Rose Test Garden, and there visitors can spend time among the 7,000 luscious rose bushes and breathe in their intox- icating scent. Who knows? You may be able to w i t -ness one of the many marriage proposals that take place in this romantic setting.
Susan SchwammLeisure & Travel
From Sea to Shining Sea: Oregon
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101Ask the AttorneyZehava Schechter, Esq.
Dissolving the Corporation I Share with My Partner
When my business partner and I formed an “S” Corporation, we had been per-sonal friends for many years. We are now five years down the line and recog-nize – albeit be-latedly – that our work styles do not mesh. We argue frequently about everything from marketing to budget-ing and are ready to call it quits. I am the president of the corporation with 50% of the shares; my partner is the vice president with the other 50% of the shares. How do we end the corpo-ration so we may move on separately in business?
The Attorney Responds:When business partners decide to
separate, it is akin to a marital divorce. Your dreams and hopes for this part-nership did not materialize and you are disappointed by the reality of an unsuc-cessful future together. Moreover, you are quite possibly losing the friendship of a close and familiar comrade. Yet…you understand that you need to sever the relationship so that you may move ahead with your business goals. While it is not easy to take this path, once you have carefully made the decision, it is probably for the best. So, how do you do it?
When you incorporated the busi-ness, you or your attorney filed a Certif-icate of Incorporation and prepared the corporate bylaws. You or your attorney should consult those Bylaws to deter-mine the means of terminating the cor-poration, whether by transferring shares from one shareholder to the other, re-signing as a corporate officer, passing a Resolution at a “Special Meeting,” or perhaps all of the above. In addition, a Dissolution Agreement signed by both of you should be prepared and executed (signed by both parties to the Agree-ment before a notary public). This Agreement will deal with who pays outstanding business debts (if any), use of corporate customer lists and/or business name, sale or distribution of corporate assets, and details concern-
ing the winding down of the busi-ness. In addition, New York State’s Department of State Division of Corporations will also need to be notified of the dissolution. For more information about NYS De-partment of State
Division of Corporations rules, please see www.dos.ny.gov/corps.
I strongly suggest that you and your partner do not share one attorney in this process. You and your partner have different goals in winding down the business. You may not see it now; you will see it as negotiations begin as to outstanding debts and ownership of customer lists, etc. Each of you needs a separate attorney in this process to protect and represent your disparate needs. While it may look as though you have a similar goal (i.e. terminating the business), in fact this situation is rife with different agendas and conflicts of interest. Each partner wants to end the business with as little debt or encum-brance assigned to him/her and with the most benefit. One attorney cannot rep-resent two people with vastly different interests. Besides being unfair to both parties to the Agreement, it would be an ethical violation of the Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Responsibility for one attorney to represent you and your partner.
I am sorry to hear that your business partner and you are not able to continue your business. However, it is wise that you plan to properly terminate the busi-ness and move ahead with your separate business goals. Good luck to both of you.
W. Zehava Schechter, Esq. specializes in real estate law, estate planning and administra-tion, and business law. Her private practice is located on Long Island. Please send your comments to [email protected].
No column is a substitute for competent legal advice. Please consult with the attor-ney of your choice concerning specific legal questions you may have.
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Services
Hair Course Learn how to wash and style hair and wigs
Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group
Call Chaya 718-715-9009
Real Estate for Sale
Weekly classified ads
up to 5 lines and/or 25 words
1 Week………………$20 - $10 2 Weeks……….……$35 - $17.50 4 Weeks…………….$60 - $30 Call or Text 443-929-4003
Or email ads to: [email protected]
Include valid credit card info Deadline Monday 5:00pm
Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted,
Services, Misc. Ads here every Thurs.
TJH CLASSIFIEDS
LEARN TO LEAD A BEAUTIFUL DAVENING Do you love davening for the amud? Do you sometimes wish you could lead the
Tsibbur but lack the knowledge and confidence to pull it off?
Call Yaakov 516-229-1948
Voice Coach Now Available In Five Towns Do you love singing? Do you wish you
could reach higher notes? Not get tired? Not get hoarse? Do you wish you had more power, depth and ring in your
voice? The answer is Voice Coaching – You can develop and maintain your true vocal
potential. Yaakov 516-229-1948
Yiddish Home Study Program: The new book Yiddish in 10 Lessons along with 2 CD's has just been released to easily learn to read,
write and speak the Yiddish language. Call Chaim at 516 924 7694 or
www.conversationalyiddish,com You can also sign up to receive a Free Weekly
Taste of Yiddish
CUSTOM SUITS Expertly tailored hand made
custom suits for men Hundreds of fabrics and styles
We will come to your home or office day or night
Design the suit you've always wanted From $649 Call 516-619-6264
Babysitting
Available in
Woodmere
Mon-Thurs 9:30-2:00
For more info please call
Rochel Cohen 516-456-7184
Lawrence - For sale by owner Co-op, large one bedroom, 1 1/2
bath, eat in kitchen, cent. A/C, double terrace, top floor, doorman, pool, garage, walk to town, temples,
train. (516) 791-7000
Struggling with Shalom Bayis? The Shalom Bayis Hotline
732-523-1112 Caring rabbanim answering your
questions for free So far very positive results BS’D!
Experienced Certified Life Coach for Men only
Call Chaim 516 924 7694
Bubby babysitter available Newborn and up
Excellent references - Long hours Centrally located in Far Rockaway
TLC 718-327-1932
Guaranteed cheapest prices on strollers and baby gear!
Babyjogger, Uppa, Stokke, Britax, Bugaboo and more!
Free next day shipping and no tax Call or text 443-208-8532,
Looking to design/redecorate your home? Call Tami Rosenbaum Interiors for a free
consultation! 718-734-7452 or email:
[email protected] Affordable design without having to
compromise
Photos 4 your Simcha Professional Photography and Video
We love what we do and it shows in our work! Competitively priced!
Check out our website & specials. www.photos4yoursimcha.com or call
Yaakov 718-868-1800
Jewish Lower East Side Walking Tours given by licensed NYC tour guide
specializing in the area. Once a bustling Jewish neighborhood with struggling immigrants. Come connect to your
heritage and experience the gateway to “Di Goldneh Medinah”. Private, Group, School tours booking now. Appropriate for ages 10 and up. Call 516-652-4527
Home Improvements General Contractor
Entire renovations of bathrooms, kitchens and basements
Tiles, floors, expert Roof repair available
Free estimates and reasonable rates Call 718-907-0618 or 917-865-5033
Can You Sell? Looking to make some extra cash?
On-The-Marc is hiring motivated part time sales people. Six to 8 hours a week with unlimited income potential. Must have/own car. For more information call Marc at 917-612-2300
Exercise - Certified personal trainer with years of experience,
giving a privet sessions at her studio. $40 for full hour.
(availability at client home. lady's only) Please call Ruchi at 917-847-3888.
Got Math? Math Tutor - Experienced
High School, Regents, SAT, AP, Geometry College, Calculus, Algebra, Trig, Stats,
Excel Call Hillel @ (718)-471-9337 Email: [email protected]
Swim Lessons WSI certified lifeguard with seven years’
experience. Private indoor pool and outdoor pool available
All ages from infants to adults Call Shoshana: 516-776-2229
Girls voice lessons- and recording studio. Group or private available. Girls will learn proper breathing, extend their range and agility through vocal exercises. Coaching
and different techniques taught. Recording studio-record and come home
with your own cd as part of the voice lessons.
Shira call or text 516-506-1732 or email [email protected].
Lifeguarding Courses available for Women and Girls
ages 16 and up this summer (also right before the summer).
Learn CPR and First aid as well. Shira LGI and WSI certified.
Call or text 516-506-1732 or email [email protected]
Certified Male Personal Trainer for men and boys only
Available in your home or mine One on one training - Special packages and rates - Nutritional guidance also available -
Call Morde Gable 845-596-0350
Certified Nurses Aid is available to care for your loved ones in your home
Day or night. Very caring and loving. Reliable - Excellent references
Call Pat or Carmen at 516-661-8068
Is your child home this summer? Want to treat yourself to some fun?
Enjoy some of our creative lessons given by qualified and experienced
instructors. Centrally located at the Young Israel of
Wavecrest & Bayswater 2716 Healy Ave.
Arts & Crafts, Jewelry (Beading),Mosaics, Papercutting*
All Classes are $120 for 6 lessons. All materials included. Lessons are based upon registration. Beginning July thru
Aug. For more information or to register:
Chana Yurman 347 729-3102 [email protected]
Children's Way Learning Center After School Homework Group
Orton Gillingham: Reading, Writing, Math & Hebrew
HomeSchool Education! Register Now! www.childrensway.wix.com/childrensway
516-847-2047
Counseling 4 Success! Relationships, school, work, parenting.
Solution-Focused. Teens, adults, children. 20 yrs experience. Warm, understanding,
supportive. Confidential. Affordable. Rabbi Perry Schafler LCSW-R (516) 428-
8525 [email protected]
“Kosher” Yoga & Licensed Massage Therapy
The Peaceful Presence Yoga & Massage Studio - 436 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst NY
Separate for men & women Massage therapy: studio visits- $85,
home visits- $130 www.peacefulpresence.com
516-371-3715
www.WeddingSHTICK.com Available to rent or made to order Visit www.weddingshtick.com for
pictures and deals Locations in Far Rockaway and Brooklyn
Email: [email protected]
HOME SERVICES & MAINTENANCE Plumbing Electricity repaired- replaced-
relocated. We do asssemblies- House problems
solved. so put togeter your repair to do list and
call Avrohom 917.744.1962
Reliable Shomer Shabbat Driver Available for trips upstate, out of
town, airport or local errands Brand new minivan. Very reasonable
rates Call Shlomo at 917-385-9043
Children's Way Learning Center After School Homework Group
Orton Gillingham: Reading,Writing,Math & Hebrew
HomeSchool Education! Register Now!
www.childrensway.wix.com/childrensway
516-847-2047
House for Sale Flushing/Kew Garden Hills
3 Family brick home, 2 car garage $825k
718-261-9430
A highly successful organization is seeking a motivated fundraiser. "Very well paid"
Fax your resume to: 718-506-1051 or email to jobs [email protected]
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Real Estate for Rent Seeking Job
Experienced P-3 Provider, with M.S. in
Education and Permanent N.Y. State Teacher Certification- Available to work
with students in all grades Mondays through Thursdays- mornings
until 11 A.M. and anytime after 5:30 P.M.; and Sundays anytime
Please call Tsivia: 516-526-2385
Simone's Bridal located at 71-05 Main Street has many elegant wedding gowns by designers
Maggie Sottero , Enzoani , Morilee and Allure Bridal look on their site to see if
u like the gowns we carry most samples . Custom made gowns and mother of bride and sisters are all
welcome. Please call for appt. 718-793-5989
Bayswater- massive 2 family home in a great area, close to all the shuls, beautiful cabinets & granite counter
tops, lots of bedrooms, all tiled bathrooms, hardwood flooring all through the house, fireplace, etc., needs tlc, very motivated seller,
Asking 449k, Call Yitzchok 847-691-6397.
Job Available
Teachers F/T General Studies PreK, 1st, 3rd, 4th Grades
Co-ed progressive Brooklyn Day School Inspire students' hearts, minds & souls! Email [email protected] call
718-368-4490
We are seeking, friendly female to work in our newly renovated high end wig
salon, located in the heart of Cedarhurst Experience in cutting and styling required
please send resume to [email protected]
Local restaurant looking for responsible experienced shomer shabbos night time manager email [email protected]
Leaders in Online Jewish Marketing are hiring Sales Superstars. Do you fit the bill? Send your resume to [email protected]
or call us @ 646-351-1808 x 111
Misc.
2 Bedroom Co-op for Sale/Rent in Lawrence Ready to move in immediately, Low
maintenance fee $1600 to rent or $180,000 for sale
Call 516-456-4238
Lost white gold diamond bracelet/covered watch either at
Kennedy Airport or in Boro Park. If found please call 347.578.4165
Nursing in Far Rockaway Looking for P/T Executive Secretary
Monday – Thursday 1:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M. Knowledge in Quickbooks.
Fax resume to: 718-327-2880
Shaital gmach in Eretz Yisroel desperately needs shaitels.
To be a part of this great mitzvah please call Peninia @ 347-6756526
Tizku L’mitzvos
Queens-Upper Ridgewood. Fresh Pond Rd./Forest Ave area. Professional space
for rent. Ideal for medical office. 1st floor handicapped access, around 1000 sqf.
Call R.E. Agent for more info @347-806-5414/Edyta - Grimaldi Realty
Boys Elementary School in the Far Rockaway / 5 Towns area seeks experienced
and dynamic General Studies teachers for grades 1-5 and Junior High School SS, Sc,
ELA and Math positions. Please email resume to [email protected].
Cedarhurst – For sale by owner. 5 BR, 3.5 bath. Colonial on oversize lot.
Hardwood flooring throughout. Beautiful Eat-in Chef’s Kitchen
(Viking/Sub-Zero/Granite). Lrg LR & DR. Finished Basement. Central A/C.
Walk to all. Move in Condition….$799k….917-685-0247
Sales position available. Flexible hours, great commission, excellent communication
skills needed, must have car. Please call 732-503-3760 if no answer leave message.
Great Kosher Summer House Rental Long Beach NY- 4b 3b CAC EIK LR
DR W/D WiFi, enclosed yard, parking. Near beach, shuls LIRR, 5T
[email protected] 516-428- 8525
Shared Office Space Available Affordable shared office space
available with a chiropractor on the Far Rockaway / Lawrence Border.
~$600 a month, utilities included, no broker fee.
If you are interested and in a similar profession, please email
[email protected] for more details.
Seeking a full time administrative assistant for a busy roofing company.
Hours are M-Th 9am - 4pm & Fri 9am - 1pm. Skills must include:
- The ability to multitask - Good phone skills -Basic bookkeeping
- Proficient in MS Office - Proficient in Quickbooks
Please email resume and salary requirements to [email protected]
or fax to 516 303 7664.
Due to expansion, Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway,
is seeking qualified, experienced and successful moros for our lower
elementary and junion high school divisions for the September school term.
Please fax resume to: 718-868-4612, att: Morah Drillman
For Sale / North Miami Beach Apt. One Bedroom Deluxe, First Floor,
Gym, 2 Pools...
Gated Community, Walking to all Shuls & Shopping
Low Maintenance, Must be 55 or Older
Call - 305-761-9323
Love your car?…Give it life Donate it to Yeshiva
Fast, Free pick-up and towing Easy donation steps
Maximum charitable tax deduction Free Vacation Voucher, 2 days/3nights
CALL NOW! (718) 778-4766
House for rent in Bayswater, weekly or weekend,
starting June 23 to Aug. 25. 4 BR, 3 BA, finished basement, enclosed
yard. Close to all shuls. Please call 646-932-1763*
Due to expansion, Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway is seeking a qualified and experienced 1st grade Morah . Please fax resume to 718-868-4612 attention Morah Levin.
New to market. 2 bedroom apt 1st floor.
Neilsen and Dinsmore area. Kosher kitchen $1,400 available July 1st. Call 516-569-1150
Looking to rent an apt. or studio in Far Rockaway, Lawrence or Inwood
$1,000 to 1,200 per month Call Robert 917-922-8426
Get CASH Today for your
Junk Car We will pay you cash for
your junk car & tow it Call now 845-661-1109
Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy as to Students
The Mesivta/ Torah High School of Long Beach and Rabbinical Collage of Long Beach admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school- administered programs.
Looking to rent a garage for storage No food will be stored
Call 646-657-3131
Looking for donation of car or minivan in good running condition. Tax exempt receipt available for full market value.
Please call 347-342-8196
Job offer store manager Store manager for a mattress store in
Cedarhurst. full time, experience in sales pref.
e-mail us @ [email protected]
An embroidery store in New Hyde Park is seeking a male, front desk operator. Needs to be bright, energetic and very
responsible. Required to deal with customer service and
prepare work tasks for embroidery operations.
Will train fully embroidery program. For more info please call 516-355-0362
A highly successful organization is seeking a
motivated fundraiser. "Very well paid" Fax your resume to: 718-506-1051 or
email to jobs [email protected]
Warm, loving and responsible assistants needed for a girls preschool - elementary
school grades 1-4 Full day or part time available. Please
send resumes to [email protected]
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So, they post these camp pictures on the internet and we peruse 200 pictures a day looking for a
glimpse of our daughter’s sleeve or our son’s eyelash—anything that says, that one’s mine! And if we find a full fron-tal view—nirvana! 199 other pictures of someone else’s prized jewel can go to spam as far as we’re concerned –unless, of course, our child is old enough to date, then we might check out the crowd in some greater detail. We are tapping into our parental desire to make sure they are having a good time. We want them to be happy but we are really glad to be having a break from being the one providing that entertain-ment.
There is literally nothing left the mailman delivers that is of interest to us. But a letter from camp makes his job the other 10 months of the year worth every flyer, charity request, and bill we are forced to sort through. Those coveted letters light up our lives. “Mommy, I hate it here please take me home,” “Mommy, send me more bat-teries,” “Mommy, I didn’t take enough snack with me,” “So and so was mean to me!” Still, we wait and hope for these connec-tive messages, writ-ten in simple black on white, because once in a while they say: “Camp is fun,” “I’m having a great time,” “I love you.” And those few sim-ple words soothe our soul like no thera-peutic treatment ever could.
Camp has a purity to it that we want our children to experience: the outdoors, the “fend for yourself” atmo-sphere, the appreciation of simple forms of enjoyment. Their lives at home are fast-paced, computer-based, interfaced. We want them to slow down and have
time to smell the roses ,so to speak, maybe even to plant a few of them!
Not to traumatize our kids of course with this effort, but it might be nice to let them find out that not everything originates from Amazon.
The world may have changed a lot but camp, thank-fully, is still go-ing back to basics. Okay, some may argue they have the luxuries of home there, like having their own bathroom connected to their bedroom, but in camp they are shar-ing it with 15 other kids—the bedroom as well as the bath-
room. They also have their own person-al night light above their beds, but they are the ones who have to hold it there. They even have their very own supply of snacks, but they do have to bend down and schlep it out from under their bed to access it. And who knows what rare relics they may encounter on this foray into the unknown—possibly, the
flip flops they’ve been missing since last summer. Hope-fully there’s noth-ing more mobile than that living un-der there.
We send them off with a prayer that they will thrive. And we hope all is going really well for them daily. Es-pecially because that’s the only way we can fargin our-selves to enjoy our own summer at all!
So just remem-ber, one picture is worth a thousand
words so keep a very smiley one of your kids plastered inside of your head—and have a wonderful, picture-perfect sum-mer!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified life coach and relationship counselor, as well as a space design consultant. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or [email protected].
Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS
Life Coach
Picture Perfect
camp has a puriTy To iT ThaT we wanT
our children To experience: The ouTdoors, The
“fend for yourself” aTmosphere, The appreciaTion of simple forms of
enjoymenT.
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www.ehs.org
A F F I L I A T E D W I T H
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At Belle Harbor Family Health, we treat the entire family from birth through adulthood. From well baby careto elderly chronic diseases, the family practice physicians at Belle Harbor Family Health can meet all of yourmedical needs. Your healthcare is our first priority.
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IntroducingDr. Yating LeeFamiLY Practice
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