By Hannah Reich Berman

When I was growing up, many of my friends had pen pals. I had one. I no longer remember her name or where she lived, but I do remember the thrill of coming home from school and finding her letter waiting for me. It did not matter that she was a stranger who lived halfway around the world. What did matter was that I had a new friend. The fact that we were unlikely ever to meet was also of no consequence. We exchanged snapshots of ourselves. Very often, these pictures were blurry but we did not care. We were happy to receive them. This long-distance correspondence was short-lived because, after a while, one, or both, of us, got tired of the nonsense, stopped writing, and never exchanged another letter.

Back then we labored under the assumption that writing to a total stranger was something only kids did since we had never heard of adults who did that. As far as I know, the only people my parents ever wrote to were relatives living in Israel. But it turns out that there are some adults who engage in this activity. Some folks write to soldiers. This is something I can understand. But others write to prisoners. Feel free to call me insensitive, but, frankly speaking, that is an activity I cannot relate to. I do not see myself corresponding with someone behind bars.

Note: Pen pals aside, there is also something known as PayPal. The sound is similar but PayPal is entirely different from pen pal.

Right now, all of this is coming back to me because, at the ripe old age of seventy plus years, I have recently acquired a new pen pal. I do not know the name of the person currently communicating with me, nor do I have a picture of him or her! I did not write first, nor was I overjoyed to receive the letter in the first place. Actually, what came in the mail was more of a notice than a letter. It was sent by my insurance company which wished to alert me to the fact that a check had been sent to me but that I had never cashed it. The company wants me to cash it. I have absolutely no clue what they are referring to since I do not remember receiving this check. So I did what I usually do when I am confused: I tore up the notice, tossed it away, and figured that was the end of it. Had the amount of money been significant, I might have investigated further. But the notice specified that the check was for a grand total of—drumroll, please—five dollars! I would not normally throw out a five-spot but, as I have no idea whether or not I cashed the first one, it was not worth my time to respond. I would live without the five dollars that is supposedly due me.

After having received numerous notices in the past year, I asked my trusted insurance broker how to put a stop to it. His advice was to just ignore it. The advice was sensible so I followed it. But it did not work. The notices keep coming. It has been almost a year since I received the first one, and thus far I have received six of them. Each one is a printed form letter containing multiple responses, and I am expected to check the response that applies. It reminds me of those multiple-choice quizzes that I used to take in school. I hated them then and I hate them still. I often felt that none of the choices were correct and in this case it is pretty much the same scenario. Nothing seems to apply. The choices offered are as follows: I lost the check; I cashed the check; I never received the check; I feel that the amount of the check is incorrect; yada, yada, yada. None of the options work for me. The most recent notice that I received came with another five-dollar check, and I could probably put an end to all these notices by simply cashing the check. But I fear doing that because the notices include a warning that if I cash a check that is sent to me and it is later discovered that I had cashed the first one, it would be considered fraud. Great to hear!

Wanting to put an end to this meshugas, I ignored my broker’s suggestion and wrote to these clowns. I explained that they can keep their five dollars and that I cannot check any of the responses nor will I cash the latest check. I thought that would be the end of it. It was not. As I should have expected, in this automated world of ours, we do not often get to deal with human beings. These notices are computer-generated. It is doubtful that anyone read my letter of explanation, so chances are that my plea to have the company stop sending a check to me has never been seen by a living soul. Therefore, I continue to receive notices. Some of them are accompanied by a check. I tried calling the company but that elicited the same result as did writing a letter of explanation. Until this very day, I have not managed to connect with a human. Apparently, only computers work at this outfit, which makes me wonder exactly who cashes the monthly-premium checks I send in.

Today I received yet another five-dollar check and, once again, I will not cash it on the outside chance that I did cash the original one and so could be charged with fraud. I might actually end up in jail wearing a prison-issued orange jumpsuit. That would not work for me. For starters, I do not look good in a jumpsuit and, secondly, orange is not my best color. Being a large person, I would probably resemble the great Halloween pumpkin.

It appears that this may be a correspondence that will far outlast the one I had with my childhood pen pal. There are some differences. In this instance, we do not exchange photos nor do I know the name of the person (if there is a person) who is writing to me. The notices keep coming and I continue to ignore them. I could end the whole thing by cashing the check, but I refuse to take the risk. Why gamble on five dollars? Even if I did not ultimately get sent to prison for fraud, I might have to pay a stiff fine.

There is, however, a positive side to everything in life, and I did get something out of all this. I got an education; I now understand why my insurance premiums are so high. I am paying for wasted paper and postage! That’s just the way it is.

Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and gives private small-group lessons in mah-jongg and canasta. She can be reached at Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.

At the conclusion of Shabbat Project, the hash-tagged pictures started appearing on the event’s website and social media around the world, showing hundreds of thousands of wildly enthusiastic people preparing for the coming of the Jewish Sabbath in a variety of innovative ways. With 924 cities engaged in 75 countries around the world, 2015’s Shabbat Project mobilized more than one million Jews worldwide.

Of all the hashtags generated by the initiative—#challahbake; #shabbosproject; #greatbigchallahbake; #kneadingittogether; #havdalahconcert—none was more compelling than #keepingittogether, which became a mantra for the project’s fully realized goal and a movement of sorts.

Jews around the world drew together for the Shabbat Project, from a 3,000-person Friday-night dinner in Los Angeles to a Great Big Challah Bake in Brooklyn—where a 20-foot loaf made the Guinness Book of World Records—to a Shabbat Expo in Panama City and an intergenerational dance in Vienna. Created two years ago in Johannesburg, the Shabbat Project quickly proved so popular that it spread across social media and grew into a global grassroots movement. It sparked thousands of local events, including synchronized challah-baking, communal meals, prayer services, concerts heralding Havdallah (a ceremony marking the end of the Sabbath), and even weekend-long celebrations.

The original impetus for the project, created by Dr. Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of South Africa, was to address the increasingly fragmented nature of modern life. “We are constantly pulled in different directions by distractions, demands, and onerous responsibilities that pile up with increasing speed. We seldom get the chance to be truly present. In a world of fragmentation, Shabbat enters to offers us that chance to connect and unite as a community,” he said.

Promoted by acclaimed actress Mayim Bialik and superstar musician Matisyahu, as well as high-profile rabbis and members of Israel’s parliament, the Shabbat Project was an unprecedented phenomenon in nearly 1,000 cities worldwide, a significant uptick from last year.

In the aftermath of the Shabbat Project 2015, as the worldwide partner communities posted their photographs and stories on the project website, Rabbi Goldstein released a statement:

“The response from around the world has been overwhelming and heartwarming, and shows the remarkable depth and reach of the Shabbat Project. There has been a great outpouring of joy and excitement, with so many people touched in deeply personal ways. Such a visceral reaction demonstrates that the ideas of Jewish unity and Shabbat are compelling to Jews from all walks of life. From the reports that are emerging, it’s clear that there has been a significant increase in participation this year—and I am confident this social movement will continue to expand as more and more people taste the magic of Shabbat and experience the beauty of Jews coming together in a spirit of unity.”

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Kamenetzky at an award function

The Kamenetzky family early years

Wedding of Binyamin and Tzirel Kamenetzky

Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky, ה״ע

By Michele Justic

What is a Jewish princess? The cultural stereotypes may paint a negative picture, but from reading the Torah and knowing some true Jewish princesses, these outstanding women of noble character lead when necessary, humbly stay to the side when appropriate, follow a mission of helping others, and truly model the eisheschayil who keeps our tradition alive.

It is no coincidence that we lost an eim of our community on the weeks when our Torah focuses on the life and passing of Sarah Imeinu. Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky, a’h—our Tzirel Imeinu—also followed a course of “Lech Lecha,” going to the spiritual wasteland of the Five Towns to help create a new community. The hardship of finding kosher food and facilities at that time make our current complaints about not finding parking at Gourmet Glatt seem utterly trivial. She did not have to schedule multiple Open House appointments. With no schools to choose from, she helped her husband, Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky, shlita, establish Yeshiva Toras Chaim-Yeshiva of South Shore, as well as a girls’ school, which became Torah Academy for Girls. Just like Sarah, Tzirel encouraged her husband to keep building even in the face of challenges, while also raising children to adhere to lives of Torah, chesed, and tzedakah.

Our rebbetzin stemmed from a royal line of Torah and chassidus, as one of seven children of Rav Pinchus Eliyahu Spiegel, the Ostrove-Kalushiner Rebbe in the Bronx, and his rebbetzin, Basha (née Burstein). Yet on the advice of her father-in-law, the gadol Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, zt’l, she and her husband paved a new path for which we can all be grateful.

As 5TJT publisher Larry Gordon notes, “The Kamenetzkys are the ‘first family’ of the Five Towns, and the rebbetzin served as both an inspiration and motivational force during those pioneering day of the 1950s in which their every decision and move contributed to building the foundation of what has developed into an outstanding community.”

Rabbi Heshie and Rebbetzin Rookie Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere looked at Rabbi Binyamin and Rebbetzin Tzirel as inspirational figures. Rabbi Billet describes her as “A class act. Sweet and strong. She and her husband built the Orthodox community of the Five Towns. They are smart, perceptive, and kind.” Rebbetzin Billet describes her further. “Rebbetzin Kamenetzky distinguished herself as a warm and open person who had a wonderful smile and a good word for everyone she encountered. I know that the older women in my shul spoke of her as one of the women, despite her illustrious family background and the fact that she came from ‘Jewish royalty’. Polite and refined, yet outgoing and determined, she was both a leader and a help-mate at the same time. She was never judgmental, loving all people in her inimitable style. Always elegant and a great conversationalist, she could engage anyone, regardless of their walk of life, and her excellent character traits made her universally respected and a fantastic ambassador for the Jewish people and Torah Judaism.”

Senator Chuck Schumer has represented our area for decades and personally seen the growth in the community. He remarks, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky. The Kamenetzky family is a shining example of Jewish life, not only on the south shore of Long Island but in all of New York and all of the United States. They have educated thousands and brought the light of Torah to so many more. Rebbetzin Kamenetzky will be missed. May her memory be a blessing.‎”

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder shares a close relationship with the Yeshiva of South Shore and exclaims, “Words cannot describe the pain that our community and all of Klal Yisrael is feeling with the loss of Rebbetzin Kamenetzky. As a pioneer of Yiddishkeit in the Five Towns, the rebbetzin has left a legacy of Torah that will be carried on by her children and the many lives that she has impacted.”

Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky is relatively new to Five Towns politics but has made sure to visit local institutions such as Yeshiva of South Shore on multiple occasions, assessing needs and issues on a continual basis. He notes, “Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky was a true woman of valor. So much of the beauty of the Five Towns community that we see today can be directly traced back to her pioneering work. Her legacy, love, and spirit will endure for generations in this wonderful community.”

Though we wished for more, our rebbetzin did not live as long as Sarah Imeinu. Yet, as Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano says, “Rebbetzin Kamenetzky lived almost 90 years, with so much to show for it: a beautiful family, a wealth of good deeds, and a partnership stake with her beloved husband, my dear friend Rabbi Binyamin, in building one of this nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities. Her kindness, wisdom, and love is an example for us all to follow, and her impact is seen and felt on every inch of the Five Towns and well beyond; she will never be forgotten.”

Senior Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony J. Santino agrees: “The length of time I know Rabbi Binyamin and Rebbetzin Kamenetzky can be measured in decades, and having lived on the South Shore of Long Island my entire life, just minutes from the Five Towns, I’d often marvel at what Rabbi Binyamin was able to accomplish in regard to the vibrant Orthodox community he willed into being. But I always believed that Rebbetzin Kamenetzky was the source of his remarkable energy, vision, and tenacity. The rebbetzin’s wisdom, vision, and personal strength clearly merit equal credit and recognition for all Rabbi Binyamin has achieved.”

Nassau County Legislator Howard Kopel has experienced the changing landscape of the Five Towns himself and notes, “At the time of her arrival to the Five Towns, it was not only difficult to find ten men who would make a minyan but there was no Orthodox infrastructure within which to raise a family. It was in this atmosphere that Tzirel Kamenetzky together with her husband, Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky, shlita, raised not only her own children, but went on to be the matriarch of an entire community. What we know as the Orthodox community of the Five Towns would not be what it is today without her and the children she raised.”

Parashas Chayei Sarah is well known as recording the first real-estate transaction in history, and it was done out of love and respect for Sarah. The Kamenetzkys were involved in many real-estate transactions, building our community from the ground up, with the support of Tzirel, for the love and respect of Torah. Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky was founding rabbi of the OU-affiliated shul, Young Israel of Woodmere, celebrating its 55th anniversary. Allen Fagin, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, comments, “Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky was a true eishetchayil for her family and the entire Jewish community. Together with her husband, Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky, she helped build many of the institutions that made Orthodox life on Long Island possible. The thriving Jewish community of the Five Towns is a tribute to her dedication to KlalYisrael.”

Rav Tzvi Kamenetzky noted at the levayah that his father on his porch and his mother from up high continue to look at the burgeoning Jewish life on the Five Towns with nachas.

We learn from Chayei Sarah the proper way to mourn a loved one with respect. At the rebbetzin’s levayah, held on Sunday, November 1, her beloved husband, along with her children and grandchildren—who have also become founders of the community—lauded the rebbetzin’s steadfastness to Torah values, even in the absence of formal chinuch. They note her dedication to her parents’ and grandparents’ traditions, manner of dress, and behavior, even in the changing society of 1960s and 1970s. At the levayah, her grandchildren reminisced about cherished traditions such as sharing divreiTorah at her Shabbos table and singing niggunim. Her strength of adhering strictly to the halachos, even while suffering from illness, also served as a strong model for her family to follow.

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky stated that his mother would answer his protests regarding styles of haircut or types of recreation with, “You’re different, and that’s the way it is.” He compared growing up in his mother’s home, protected from the outside world by her loyalty to minhagim, to the cloud of the Shechinah that protected OhelSarah. He also compared the neiros of Sarah to the chassidishe light in his home.

Finally, the essential part of ChayeiSarah is the continuation of the traditions to the future generations. Rebbetzin Tzirel is survived by her children: Mrs. Sarah Knobel, wife of Rav Yitzchok Knobel, roshyeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah of the Five Towns; Mrs. Esther Wilhelm, wife of Rav Shlomo Wilhelm of Monsey; Mrs. Shani Lefkowitz, wife of Rav Simcha Lefkowitz, rav of Congregation Anshei Chessed in Woodmere; Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky, roshyeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim of South Shore; and Rav Tzvi Kamenetzky of Toronto; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The rebbetzin is also survived by her siblings Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Spiegel of Boro Park; Rav Dovid Spiegel of Cedarhurst; and Rebbetzin Esther Lichtshein of Chicago. She was predeceased by her brother Rav Moshe Spiegel, zt’l; her youngest brother, Rav Avrohom Elchonon (Chuni) Spiegel zt’l, one of the early pioneers of the Lakewood community; and her sister, Rebbetzin Yetta Zaks, a’h, of Yerushalayim.

As many of her loved ones proclaimed at the levayah, may she be a meilitzyosher for us all and may her memory be for a blessing.

By David J. Seidemann, Esq.

Wednesday evening, Oct 28, presented a bit of a dilemma for me. My beloved New York Mets were playing on Fox, and the Republican debate was airing on CNBC. In the old days, before the remote was invented, I would have had to make a choice and just stick with it. Constantly getting up to change the channel by manually turning the dial would have broken the dial and my back. But with the advent of the remote, I was able to feed both of my desires. I caught the lowlights of the Royals drubbing the Mets, and the highlights of the candidates, specifically Ted Cruz, exposing the infantile behavior of the moderators at CNBC.

Seriously, would anyone watch the World Series if the outcome was a foregone conclusion? Would anyone consider it a fair match if the umpires called balls strikes and strikes balls? Would anyone trust the integrity of the game if the managers did not put their best lineup out on the field? Baseball is supposed to be about the players, not the umpires; a debate should be about the candidates, not the moderators. Biased? Of course. But that we knew before the debate started. The real tragedy was that the candidates were not afforded the opportunity to discuss issues of vital concern to our country and instead were forced to wade through a cesspool of journalistic waste.

No one on the right expected it to be different, but the degree to which the moderators shamed themselves was the news of the night. Business cannot continue as usual, and when the media covering the political process or other issues near and dear to us obfuscate, fail to report, or outright misreport, they must be held accountable. Whether CNBC, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, the BCC, or the New York Times, we must register our immediate outrage by phone calls, e-mails, letters to the editor, and the like. As a community we must cancel our subscriptions to those newspapers that are blatantly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, and we must tell them exactly why we are canceling. The same holds true for news outlets that equate victims of terror with terrorists. The next time one of their reporters speaks about proportionate responses, remind them that a terrorist with a knife versus an 80-year-old woman with a pocket book is disproportionate. It seems to me that a much fairer fight is a soldier with a gun versus a knife-wielding man.

The next time some lunatic from the left speaks about the occupation and the occupying force remind them that Arabs can live in Israel proper, but if a Palestinian state is ever established, no Israeli will be able to live there, let alone vote in parliamentary elections or be permitted to run for a seat in their governmental body.

The next time some liberal shouts about the cruelty of the IDF or the Israeli police, and the innocent Palestinians suffering at their hands, you can refer them to the pictures from today of the Israeli policeman bandaging the head of a six-year-old Arab boy who was hit in the head by a rock thrown at Jews by other Arabs. Contrast that with the parades and celebrations, complete with the distribution of sweets as the Palestinians celebrate the stabbing and killing of Jews.

The next time the apologists complain that the Israeli government is not transparent, remind them that Netanyahu agreed immediately to place 24-hour surveillance on the Temple Mount. Israel wants it; Jordan wants it. Who doesn’t want it? Abbas and the Palestinians. Why? Because it would then be clear that Israel is not guilty of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount and that Israelis are not stoking the flames of controversy. The myth will be exposed—the emperor will be without clothes once again.

Why doesn’t Abbas want cameras and responsible journalism on the Temple Mount? Because the truth of what they are smuggling in—weapons—and of what they are destroying—vestiges of Jewish life—will be exposed. Moderators lie. For cameras, it’s a bit more difficult.

The truth will ultimately prevail, but we need to ask ourselves if we are doing enough to expose the fraudsters. Too many of us are just too busy to get involved and set the record straight. But we have no choice. The stakes are too high.

As of this writing, the news reported that Willis Carto, the famed publisher and Holocaust denier, has passed away at the ripe old age of 89. In addition to his anti-Semitic rants, Carto had organized conferences centered around denying that the gas chambers ever existed. In 1978, he offered $50,000 to anyone who could prove that the gas chambers in fact existed. Mel Mermelstein, a Californian, who survived Aushwitz, sent Carto pictures, testimonials, and a canister of Zyklon-B gas used in the gas chambers. Carto persisted in his denials.

Members of the media and press, foreign leaders, and, yes, some who occupy positions of power here in the U.S., are just as blind. We owe it to our brethren in Israel who are under constant attack to help set the record straight. This is one debate, one game, that we cannot afford to sit out.

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann and Mermelstein and serves as a professor of business law at Touro College. He can be reached at 718-692-1013 or ds@lawofficesm.com.

Matt Harvey

By Larry Gordon

How can we ignore the distracting late-into-the-night sports spectacle that has been taking place here in New York and dominating lives over the last few weeks? Even the yeshivaleit with whom I come into contact on a daily basis and who are not sports-obsessed inevitably ask the question in the course of the day: What happed to the Mets last night?

For the few who do not know, the Mets came apart at the seams the other night—mercifully not putting us through another half-week of nail-biting, anxiety-ridden concern that incorrigible sports fans simply cannot put out of our collective minds.

For sports aficionados, this was an unusual period, particularly for those in New York where about half of American Jews reside. The seasons of all the professional teams in the major sports all converged due to the fact that the Mets—our Mets—were in the World Series.

The problem apparently was that the team that played the Dodgers and the Cubs was not the same one that played the Kansas City Royals last week. The Mets seemed deflated and helpless against the Royals. The miracle that was Daniel Murphy during the playoff game checked out early and became a hitless and shoddy fielder at the precise wrong time.

As a baseball fan from as far back as I can remember, it was a letdown for a multiplicity of reasons. In the aftermath of all these decades and after consuming so much baseball, I still have to make an effort—albeit a slight one—not to let the loss of the Mets impact my emotions or affect me in any way.

I have to admit that I structured my schedule around that silly World Series for over a week. I went as far as telling one of the gentlemen I have the pleasure of learning with during the week that instead of learning at 8:30 p.m. and daveningMa’ariv at 9:30, that we should meet at 7:00 p.m. and we would daven Ma’ariv at 8:00 p.m. First pitch was about 8:15. I did not explain or say why; I just suggested a change in the schedule.

I’ve been to CitiField where the Mets play in the spring and summer. If you have a predisposition to attend baseball games, that is the natural time of year to go. It is a fundamental contradiction that defies the very definition of what baseball is about to be sitting in those stands in a heavy down coat with a ski mask on. That is no summer classic.

I have not yet confirmed if it is true, but I heard from some folks who are usually in the know that as many as several dozen shomer Shabbos Mets fans attended the Friday-night World Series game. This, I understand from my source who requested anonymity, was all done within the confines of scrupulously observing Shabbos while still not missing our precious Mets.

And that, by the way, was the only game they won, and they did so handily by a 9–3 score. Most of us had to wait until the next morning when the newspapers were delivered or until after Shabbos to learn the outcome of the game. Some people not receive newspaper deliveries on Shabbos, or receive the paper but do not take it into their homes until after Shabbos is over; but somehow the Mets fans got their information.

I have a few thoughts about attending the game on a Friday night. While you may have been able to keep Shabbos despite attending the game, such a thing is certainly not within the parameters of the spirit of observing Shabbos. But then again, if you are such a disturbed Mets fan that it would impinge in a dramatic fashion on your oneg Shabbos, then I guess you probably consulted a halachic authority for a ruling.

I wasn’t there, but my guess is that the glatt kosher food stands do not function at Friday-night and Shabbos-day games. It’s a pretty simple equation—if they do, then they are not glatt kosher. In one way, I have to admire the determination of a baseball fan crazy enough to check into a motel near Citi Field—which is near LaGuardia Airport—bring along grape juice, challah, and fish, and then spend the next day biding your time, waiting for the day to end so you can either go to the next game or go home. My guess is that whoever did this also carved together a little minyan for themselves so as to hold on to some of that Shabbos spirit.

The few times I have been to CitiField, I have been struck by the late-innings minyanim for Ma’ariv which seem to always take place around the kosher concession stands. That seems the natural place for it; first Ma’ariv, then another corned beef on rye.

Apparently, our prayers for the Mets—if that’s what they were—were not responded to with satisfaction to most fans. But then again, maybe we are all better off with a Mets loss in the World Series. Frankly—just between us—this was not a World Series-caliber team. Murphy’s homerun streak in the playoffs was a fluke that surprised even him. His World Series performance was more in character and more along the lines of expectations.

Duda was a dud. Wright perfected the ability to strike out on a bad pitch. Cespedes was banged up and tired. He was no Kirk Gibson, if you recall and know what I mean. Granderson did well, but he could not do it by himself.

And there was the pitching—Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, and Matz. Young strong arms that will assure the Mets’ future unless one or two of them gets traded for a marquee player who does not consistently swing at pitches low and away.

My baseball-fan persona has been allowed to develop unchecked after all these years. Back in yeshiva, the rebbeim were not that wild about our interest in the game, but I think they viewed it as the best of the worst things that a young kid can be interested in and distracted by. For some reason, though, when it came to collecting baseball cards in elementary school, that is where they cracked down.

Still, we felt attached to those ballplayers and especially their cards. We loved analyzing the statistics on the back of the cards and discussing the subject. Even though it was forbidden, we brought some of our cards to school in order to trade with one another. I once hatched a plan to conceal two valuable cards so that if I was asked if I had any cards on me I would not have to be deceptive.

There was this big, usually overstuffed, garbage can that was used to keep one of the main doors of the yeshiva wide open. I observed that this container was almost never moved—at least not during the school day. Upon arrival before Shacharis when I was in seventh grade, I slid those two cards under that can with the plan to retrieve them later in the day after the daily baseball card crackdown. I thought it was the perfect plan—hiding garbage in the garbage.

Later that afternoon, the baseball-card crusaders had left and I went back to pick up my baseball cards. I was stunned by what I found. Both cards were still lying there, both torn perfectly in half. How did that happen? Who would do that? I never solved that mystery.

Baseball is one of those kosher good distractions in the larger realm of distractive things in this modern world. We want our team to win, but how and why we identify with them so personally and intimately—as if they were a part of us—will have to be left to the psychologists and sociologists to explain.

Let’s face the facts: the World Series is over and the Mets lost. It was a good try, but just not good enough. In the meantime, as the seasons march on, there are thankfully other sports distractions to assuage the pain. I mean, was that Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks missing all those easy shots against the Spurs the other night? Was Geno Smith as quarterback for the Jets throwing an interception with such ease and grace? Say it ain’t so . . .

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.

Halachic Musings

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Recently, the National Council of Young Israel, under the direction of Farley Weiss, issued the following statement regarding the Temple Mount: “The National Council of Young Israel strenuously denounces the double standard that exists in relation to prayer on the Temple Mount. It is wholly unacceptable that Muslims are permitted to pray at this holy site but Jews and Christians are prohibited from doing so. People of all faiths should be permitted to pray at the Temple Mount.”

The sentiment behind the NCYI statement resonates deeply within the heart of every Jew. This is Har HaBayiswe are talking about. Everyone wants to see it remain in Jewish hands. The fact that after nearly two millennia the Temple Mount is back in Jewish hands is a source of deep pride; the fact that the Waqf seems to be in charge of it, however, is a source of sadness.

The Two Issues

There are two perhaps conflicting halachic issues that need to be discussed. The first is the issue of “Lo sechaneim”—the prohibition of giving over land that is in Jewish hands in Eretz Yisrael to gentiles (see ShulchanAruch YD 151:8 and Rambam Hilchos Avodah Zarah 10:3–4). Allowing the Waqf to exercise ownership control ofHar HaBayis is probably the apogee of “lo sechaneim” violations.

The second issue is that of advocating avodahzarah worship on Har HaBayis. To call for “people of all faiths” to be permitted to pray at the Temple Mount is, at best, a highly questionable thing to ask for—notwithstanding the laudable origin of the idea of not giving up Har HaBayis.

The question boils down to whether we say in matters of halachah that the ends justify the means. Do we advocate for a matter that would seem prohibited in order to attempt to retain full possession and active control of Har HaBayis? We must also explore which is worse: violating lo sechaneim or the aiding and abetting of avodahzarah.

Lo Sechaneim

The prohibition of buying and selling on Shabbos is a rabbinic one. The reason for it is to prevent people from violating the Torah prohibition of writing on Shabbos. However, there is an exception to the rabbinic prohibition of conducting transactions on Shabbos: the halachah is that when purchasing land in EretzYisrael from gentile hands, it is permitted to violate the prohibition of amira l’akum in order to facilitate the sale on Shabbos itself! We see from this halachah how important this ideal is. If this is true for land in all of Eretz Yisrael, how much more so must it be true for Har HaBayis.

Avodah Zarah

The issue of avodahzarah is also not inconsequential. The Torah is replete with verses that discuss how much we must distance ourselves from it. Avodahzarah is the antithesis of Hashem’s design or Master Plan for the world.

Rav Yitzchok Isaac Sher once asked (Leket Sichos Mussar Vol. II #134) what the significance is of the statement in our Hoshanos—Hoshana Goren Arnon. Why does it matter if Har HaBayis was a storage house for grain? What is the value in that?

Rav Sher explained it based upon a statement of Rabbi Akiva, that any beautiful place initially was a place where idol-worship flourished. Har HaBayis miraculously never served in that capacity (see RambanA.Z. 46b).

Similarly, in the Kinnos of Tishah B’Av, we recite, “Al Har Tziyon she’shamaim—oy—ki nitan alav shikutz m’shamaim,” “And on the Mountain of Zion—woe!—for it has been given to abominations.” The meaning is that avodahzarah was placed on Har Tzion. How can we possibly advocate for that?

But Is It
Avodah Zarah?

Most mainstream Christian denominations believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, in one form or another, that would fit into the technical definition of avodahzarah. They teach that G-d is simultaneously three distinct hypostases who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in One Being.

In his classic work the Philosophy of the Church Fathers, Professor Harry Austryn Wolfson (a former student of the Slabodka Yeshiva), the first to head the Department of Judaic Studies at Harvard University, went through every explanation of the Church fathers’ understanding of the Trinity—and each of these explanations still would be considered avodahzarah. The Rambam (Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros 11:7 and in Peirush HaMishnayos) states that it is considered avodahzarah (see Frankel uncensored edition). And while there are those who read a more moderate view in TosfosSanhedrin (63b), the majority view of scholars who have studied this Tosfos is not in accordance with this reading.

Groups That
Are Not Avodah Zarah

Are there modern Christian groups that would not halachically be considered ovdei avodah zarah? There are. According to this author’s research, they constitute two types. First, there are those who are members of mainstream denominations of Christianity that do not truly share the theology of their denomination. Their conceptualization of the nature of G-d is what Rav Elchonon Wasserman describes as intuitive. In an unofficial survey, a good percentage of America falls under this category.

There is also the view found in some poskim that modern-day practitioners of the religion are just following the ways of their parents (ma’aseh avoseihem b’yadeihem), and do not truly believe in the theological underpinnings (see Shulchan Aruch, Y.D. 148:12; Bach ibid.; Responsa YehudahYaaleh YD #170).

Second, there are members of denominations that even today do not subscribe to a Trinitarian doctrine. Some of these denominations could be construed as believers in shittuf, but not true avodahzarah. They are Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, Dawn Bible Students, Friends General Conference, Iglesia ni Criso, J’s Witnesses, Living Church of G, Oneness Pentecostals, Members Church of G International, Unitarian Universalist Christians, The Way International, the Church of G International, and the United Church of G.

The Ran’s View

Parenthetically, there is also the Ran’s view (Sanhedrin 61b) that belief in any religion other than Judaism is considered avodah zarah. He says the following: “Even Christian saints, and Muslims who believe in the leader of the Ishmaelites, although their followers do not consider them gods per se, by virtue of the fact that they bow to them in order to acknowledge the human incarnation of their divinities, they are all considered avodahzarah.”

This view of the Ran pertains to our question because if this view is correct, then the NCYI statement is not doing anything worse by replacing one group of ovdei avodah zarah with another group. Most authorities, however, do not consider this Ran authoritative.

Weighing
The Consequences

Getting back to the topic of the two conflicting issues, of “Lo sechaneim” versus advocating further avodahzarah on the Temple Mount, there is a fascinating Ran on the Rif in Shabbos (4a). The Ran writes that violating a minor prohibition in order to save oneself from a more major prohibition is only allowed when that minor prohibition is a rabbinic violation. The clear indication is that when dealing with a Torah prohibition—even if it is less consequential than a second Torah prohibition—we do not violate it.

We have not even mentioned the question of which prohibition is worse, encouraging idol worship on the Temple Mount or allowing for less Jewish supervision on the Temple Mount. Regardless, even if it were a lesser prohibition, we should not be advocating for such a position.

There is also a fascinating Nefesh HaChaim (found at the end of Shaar 1 and also Shaar 3) that discusses the sin of the daughters of Lot. He writes that prior to MatanTorah, we would serve Hashem based on the ultimate outcome to be accomplished. Therefore, prior to the giving of the Torah, the daughters’ actions were permissible. After the giving of the Torah, where it is not up to each individual to make such decisions, it would be prohibited. The parallel in our case would be that one may not advocate for idol-worship on Har HaBayisin order to retain more control on Har HaBayis.

Finding Leniencies

An argument could perhaps be made that in light of the danger of losingHar HaBayis, one could take the lenient position mentioned above that it is just ma’aseh avoseihem b’yadeihem and they are not active idol-worshippers; but it is still a minority view, and most scholars who have studied this position in the mefarshim claim that it is being misapplied.

Perhaps one can also argue that those who do go up and pray are not so familiar with the technical aspects of their theology. This is not tenable either, because, as a general rule, those who do pray are more familiar with the theology than those who believe in G-d but don’t pray regularly.

The National Council of Young Israel has always been in the forefront of standing up for EretzYisrael and for numerous issues that are important to KlalYisrael. Its advocacy and efforts on behalf of KlalYisrael are consistently on the mark. It is this author’s view, however, that regarding this issue, NCYI should adjust its statement to conform better with the halachos discussed above. May Hashem grant us peace and bring yeshuos and nechamos to KlalYisrael and the world. v

The author can be reached at
Yairhoffman2@gmail.com.

Rabbi Meir Kahane

Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin

By Larry Gordon

Israelis and Jews everywhere observed the yahrzeits of two unique personalities over the last few days who shared at least two similar characteristics. They were idealists, who saw the future of Israel from extreme polar-opposite perspectives. And both were murdered by people bent on stopping them as their visions gained popular momentum in their respective directions.

Yitzchak Rabin was prime minister of Israel when he was killed two decades ago. Rabin was a general concerned about the security of Israel. At the same time, he and those around him felt that there was an obligation to deal with the large Arab population living in Israel’s midst.

All these years later, it is still debatable whether Rabin understood that the Palestinian pantomime about being a partner for the Jews was really anything more than a charade.

Even more interesting today, more than two decades later, the left in Israel still celebrates Rabin and his entrance into the Oslo Accords with arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat even though the effort has proven a failure. In the aftermath of Rabin’s death, the imaginary impression exists that if somehow Rabin would have lived, there would have been peace long ago between Jews and Palestinians, and everything would be blissful in the Middle East as a result.

That false notion is played into by high-profile leaders like President Obama and former President Bill Clinton who was in Israel last week to speak at a memorial service for Rabin in Tel Aviv. Both spoke about Rabin’s vision of peace and what could have been if only fate would have allowed it to happen.

It is tragic and unfortunate that Rabin was murdered on a Saturday night two decades ago as he finished a speech about what he hoped was a burgeoning and successful peace process. The peace was not stalled or terminated because of his assassination. As we can clearly see in hindsight today, there was never any intent on the part of Palestinian leadership to conclude or implement any peace deal with Israel. The left in Israel exists on denial of this fact all these years later.

Rabbi Meir Kahane was murdered five years prior to Rabin. Kahane was killed in New York on November 5, 1990. The New York-born founder of the notorious and innovative Jewish Defense League was a man with a different vision. He did not see Israel’s future through rose-colored lenses. Not only did he envision today’s events as they exist on the streets of Israel, he foretold them in his books and speeches.

Kahane was murdered by an Arab resident of New Jersey—El Sayyid Nosair. He was shot and killed as he spoke to a small group of supporters at the East Side Marriot Hotel in New York City. Kahane was murdered because he was the one person who called the Arab threat to Israel precisely what it was. He insisted throughout his life—including during the one term that he served in the Knesset—that the Arab population had to be convinced or persuaded to leave Israel.

Meir Kahane understood that the Arabs within Israel were an avowed enemy of the Jews both inside and outside of the Jewish state. And as we see now, all these years later, the Jewish population is willing to make adjustments to allow the Arabs to live freely amongst them. It is the racist Arabs and their leadership that refuse. For telling it like it is, Meir Kahane was the one branded a racist and run out of the Knesset. His Kach Party was outlawed and he was not permitted to run for reelection.

Despite the adversity and the lack of popularity in his articulated positions, he remained undaunted and determined to move forward. This past summer, I had the opportunity in Israel to meet with Rabbi Kahane’s brother—Rabbi Nachman Kahane. He told me in our meeting in Jerusalem that Meir was convinced that he would be killed but he articulated his concern to his brother that he was hoping that the murderer would not be another Jew. And unlike the Rabin case, it was not a Jew.

I have a photograph of Yitzchak Rabin in my office. Not that he was a hero of mine, but he was a prime minister of Israel, a former general, and an ambassador to the United States. His murder by Yigal Amir was not only a tragedy, but a tragic mistake. Had Rabin lived, he would have seen that the people in the Palestinian camp that he was alleged to have negotiated peace with were perpetrating a colossal diplomatic fraud.

Arafat’s terror campaigns killed a lot of people but never advanced his cause in any way. And no, his cause was not the creation of a Palestinian State. His objective, as is now that of his successor—Mahmoud Abbas—was to destroy the state of Israel.

I picked up the photograph about ten years ago at a store on King George Street in Jerusalem. It is a famous photo. It shows three generals of the IDF striding into the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967 at the time when the Old City was liberated from Jordanian occupation.

The three generals walking side by side into the city were Rabin, Uzi Narkiss, and Moshe Dayan. I’m looking up at that poster-size photo as I write these words. Rabin is on the right, Dayan is in the center. They just led the IDF to the capture or liberation of Jerusalem. A commander who later became a Knesset member and a cabinet minister—Motta Gur—led the battle for the capture of the Temple Mount. He radioed back to his headquarters the simple words in Hebrew—“Har HaBayit B’Yadeinu,” the Temple Mount is in our hands.

Following that watershed and historic moment, there were a lot of mistakes that we continue paying a price for today. The biggest error was the magnanimity of Moshe Dayan in insisting that he return control of Har HaBayis to the Muslim Waqf. How Israel was to manage the area with all its complicated halachic implications is a discussion for another day. Dayan handed it easily over to the Waqf because he was a wholly secular individual who could not perceive any value of the site to the Jewish nation.

Years later, with more of the details of the Oslo accords either falling into—or, more aptly, out of—place, a decision needed to be made about what to do with Kever Rachel in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was essentially an Arab city with Jews only going there to pray at the Kever. The Muslims, in their eminently corrupt way of distorting history, consider KeverRachel to be a mosque.

Rabin could not understand at the time what all the fuss was about. After all, there was finally going to be peace. It has been related that the prime minister mused, what is the big deal about this burial place of some ancient biblical figure who lived thousands of years ago, a site that is only dirt and stone? The chief rabbis had to get involved at the time to implore Rabin to hold on to and protect Kever Rachel.

The picture on the wall in my office portrays Rabin with that stoic, non-emotional look he was famous for. To me, he always looked disinterested, annoyed, and bothered by whatever it was. The Jerusalem Post in a retrospective last week reported that Rabin was ready to abrogate the Oslo Accords when it became clear that the Palestinians had no intention of fulfilling their part of the agreement. The liberals who had control of him, like Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin, convinced him not to.

The peace effort did not end with Rabin’s death, and it is a sheer demonstration of intellectual dishonesty to believe that if only he had lived we would have had peace a long time ago. Had he lived, the fraudulent nature of that agreement would have been clearer sooner.

And what about Meir Kahane? What if he would have lived instead of having a New Jersey-based Arab terrorist murder him in cold blood? If Kahane lived and if his Kach Party was not outlawed for being racist, he may have become the second- or third-largest party in the Knesset. But that is one of the reasons that he was prohibited from running. It was not just the Arabs who were afraid of Meir Kahane; it was the Jews too.

Rav Nachman Kahane in his writing made an interesting observation last week. He said that Rabin was murdered the week of Parashas Lech Lecha. That was the Torah portion in which Avraham expresses the hope that his son Yishmael would inherit him and that future generations would emanate from him. In a sense, Avraham represented the idea of accepting the Arabs who are Yishmael into or at least alongside the Jews nation—just like Rabin.

On the other side of the equation, Meir Kahane was killed the week of Parashas Vayeira. This is the portion in which Sarah insists that Yishmael be expelled from their home because it was not he but Yitzchak who would be the father of Am Yisrael. And Hashem told the conflicted Avraham to listen to Sarah his wife. And that is what Kahane was wont to say, and it indeed became one of his popular slogans: “They Must Go.”

More than two decades later, did we learn any lessons from our history? It doesn’t look like it. We keep making the same mistakes. We didn’t listen then and we are not listening now.

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.

By Phyllis J. Lubin

So many times I’ve considered the concept. So many times I’ve deliberated if this was worth doing. After all, I only need glasses to drive . . .

A few years ago, I asked my eye doctor whether I needed to wear my glasses all the time. And I remember my doctor’s response quite clearly: “Well, do you want to see all the time?” Suffice it to say I didn’t find his response amusing—more like merely facing reality.

When I was in tenth-grade chemistry class at YUHS/Central in Manhattan (I am dating myself since it moved to Queens some time ago), I was seated toward the rear of a lecture hall. Before that time, my classes were generally small, and I always happened upon a front seat. I was one of those kids who enjoyed participating in class, and surely always enjoyed being right in the front of the room. So I guess until tenth grade I was able to compensate for not seeing too clearly.

Somehow I would always pass the eye exams at my checkups; perhaps I had memorized the chart? When tenth grade came, and the teacher assigned me a seat in the rear of the room, I couldn’t compensate any longer. It was finally time to face facts: I needed glasses! I remember the first time I put on glasses and was able to see things clearly that were very far away. I felt like Superman with X-ray vision. I was able to see things no normal person could see—or so I thought. After all, many people wore glasses; it wasn’t a new discovery!

And so I would sneak my glasses on only when I wanted to use my special powers of vision. I didn’t need to use them to see ordinarily, just to see the out-of-the-ordinary things, like small writing on signs far away that no one else could possibly see without my special glasses.

I would forget my magical glasses quite often and then have to see just the ordinary. I decided I wouldn’t need to put on my glasses for trips to the movies, because I was never too far away from the screen. Of course life was challenging when I would go with my friends to Broadway shows during school breaks and end up seated further back in the theater. I wasn’t able to see the actors clearly and was shocked when others were able to recognize the actors from afar. And so I started to take my glasses with me more often—when I remembered to.

I do remember when I went to get my driver’s permit. After standing with my parents on the long line at the DMV, I realized that I had forgotten to take my birth certificate with me and couldn’t get the permit after all. The next time, I made sure that my birth certificate was safely in my bag, but lo and behold my glasses weren’t there. What a difficult state of affairs. I didn’t think my parents would be too happy to find out that we would have to make yet another trip! This was before the Department of Motor Vehicles conveniently had an office on Rockaway Turnpike, and we had to schlep to faraway Jamaica. And so I explained my dilemma to the person at the counter who administered the eye test, and he was so nice. This was not the eye chart that I had mastered at my doctor’s office, so the man behind the counter “assisted” me, and I managed to get through the exam.

And so I passed the driver’s permit eye exam without glasses! Of course, I assured the man that I would wear my glasses every time I drove, and frankly, at the time, my vision was probably passable without the assistance, but I will never forget that experience; from that time forward, the glasses took a permanent spot in my pocketbook!

I would only wear my glasses when I had my pocketbook with me—until that fateful day a few years later when the eye doctor declared that if I want to see I would need to wear my glasses all the time. This meant that on Shabbos, glasses were not part of my ensemble. Sometimes people who would greet me from afar thought I was ignoring them, but it was really because I couldn’t see them!

So here I am. Waiting in the eye doctor’s office to take the next step.

When I made the appointment, the receptionist remarked, “You have had contacts before, haven’t you?”

“No, I’ve never had them.”

 “Really? Then you will need training.”

Most people who get contacts do so when they are teenagers. Or maybe right before they get married. Here I am at the midpoint of my life and I have finally decided to take the plunge. I want that liberating experience that contacts have to offer. Basically, no more need to put glasses on to see!

As I sit here in the doctor’s office, I am so excited to see what happens next. Will it be that same freeing feeling as the first time I put glasses on? Will I perpetually feel like Superman with his X-ray vision? “Contact” me in the weeks to come to see if I can see clearly! v

Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Maidenbaum & Sternberg, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurst with her husband, Leonard. They have six children—Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea—and a daughter-in-law, Nina. The author welcomes your questions and comments at MothersMusings@gmail.com.

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Scenes from Achiezer’s Eldercare Plus Conference

Photos by Moshe Gershbaum Photography

On Sunday of this week, more than 700 people (some hailing from as far as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, and beyond) arrived at the Eldercare Plus Conference and Vendor Expo Showcase hosted by Achiezer at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel. The attendees anticipated valuable information on how to be a more responsible and better caregiver.

Upon arrival, guests had a chance to browse a showcase featuring over 50 exhibits, ranging from a variety of senior services and centers, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, financial institutions, elder-law attorneys and advisers, medical equipment, and respiratory therapy solutions.

The 20 sessions that ran throughout the day included a session on dementia given by Mrs. Hennie Friedman and Dr. Elliot Salamon, and when Mr. Ronald Spirn, Esq., spoke about financial planning, there were no seats left in the room—the door remained open and many people tried listening in from the hallway. Dr. Zev Carrey led two sessions on the varied opinions regarding keeping loved ones at home or enrolling them in a nursing home; both sessions were crowded and many stayed at the conclusion for a Q&A session. Rav Yaakov Bender addressed a packed session about how to care for your loved one from afar. Dr. Rachel Lowinger hosted two popular sessions offering a great deal of valuable information to caregivers on how to care for themselves.

Other highlights included sessions about retirement planning; the special-needs child; critically ill patients, presented by Rabbi Tzvi Flaum and Dr. Martin Grossman; and the “ABCs of Medicare,” presented by Mrs. Lea Gould. Many noted that this session provided a clear new understanding of how Medicare works.

The Nachum Segal Show held a two-hour live radio broadcast in the lobby of the hotel. Nachum had the opportunity to meet, greet, and interview many of the key attendees, presenters, vendors, and Achiezer representatives who helped assemble the event. Gourmet Glatt of Cedarhurst sponsored a delectable lunch spread and a tea room which was open during the duration of the conference.

With needs constantly evolving, information constantly changing, and roles constantly progressing through the various stages of care-giving, Eldercare has become a once-a-year, can’t-miss event for the Jewish caregiver.

Achiezer wishes to extend its gratitude to Gourmet Glatt for its friendship and sponsorship, as well as to the three event sponsors—Caring Professionals, MJHS, and Sentosa Care—for their generous contributions and for playing an active role in planning and executing the event. Achiezer extends its appreciation to Senior Care EMS for sponsoring and hosting on-site health screenings for all attendees.

Additional thanks to the many vendors that participated and assisted Achiezer in carrying out its mission of providing the community with the tools, techniques, and solutions to the challenges faced by caregivers.

Audio, video, and photographs of the event are all available at www.achiezer.org or by calling the office at 516-791-4444.

By Chanita Teitz

The terror continues in EretzYisrael. While some days are more subdued, on other days we hear of multiple stabbings or attempts that are thankfully intercepted before anyone gets hurt.

Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements continue, like the Kristallnacht commemorations in Sweden and Amsterdam. Jews were not invited to the memorial in Sweden, and Hanin Zoabi, the Arab member of Knesset who keeps inciting for accelerated terror, spoke in Amsterdam, drawing a parallel between the Nazis and the Israelis and emphasizing how the Palestinians are being oppressed.

It is as if people’s minds have become twisted. We can see who is doing the stabbing and we can see who is trying to live in peace. Facts are facts, but they are being twisted into lies.

Last Shabbos, we had our granddaughter for the Friday-night seudah. Shoshana impressed us with her mature conversation and insight into the current situation in Israel. She said that she’s concerned about what is going on not only because of our extended family living there, but also that everyone should be concerned regardless if they have family there or not: “These are our brothers and sisters who are getting stabbed. We have to care about other Jews.” Shoshana went on to say that saying Tehillim would be more meaningful if she knew more about the events that are taking place and the names of the victims.

When I suggested that parents and teachers don’t want students to be frightened, she answered, “We’re seventh-graders. We’re not babies.”

There must be a way to integrate more lessons in current events, especially Jewish current events, without traumatizing kids. These lessons can also spark related lessons in bitachon and emunah.

I followed up this discussion with Shoshana and her sister Rivky the other night and they just don’t understand why the terrorists continue to kill knowing that they will probably be killed if they stab anyone. It is hard to explain how brainwashed the Arabs are to value death more than they value life.

The girls also wanted to know what the Israeli government is doing to protect its citizens. “What is Israel doing to stop more of its people from getting killed?” I told them there are police and soldiers everywhere and they respond quickly. But the girls asked why they don’t just bomb all of the Arabs. That’s a good question that many of us ask, but it’s hard to explain in one sitting. But I am proud that they are interested. I enjoy having these adult conversations with my preteen and teenage grandchildren and I want them to have a commitment to Israel and to Jewish causes and to feel a connection to all Jews.

As proud as I am of my granddaughters, I am shocked, though maybe I shouldn’t be, by Michele Bachmann’s statement this week. She is a former presidential candidate who has been pro-Israel and pro-Jew. But now she put her cards face-up on the table and we see that her support has an agenda.

She recently stated that the end of days is coming and she called out to Christians to convert as many Jews as possible. Over the past years, we have seen many fundamentalist Christians of various denominations support Israel, visit Israel, and support Jewish causes. We appreciate their friendship and support, but now we see that the goal is still to convert Jews.

In the distant past, mass conversions led to forced conversions and, just as in Yemen recently, expulsion or death if the Jews didn’t convert.

Mrs. Bachmann, don’t try to save my soul; I will save my own soul. And don’t aim the missionizing at our children, especially the teens who are searching for spirituality and the college kids who have little knowledge or affiliation with Judaism. In response to the missionaries, our own kiruv organizations have to work harder than ever to reach out to Jews and keep them in the fold. And we should remember that we trust only in Hashem and not even in the best of our friends.

Upcoming Events

Kashrus Awareness by Rabbi Pinchas Shedrowitzky. The ravha’machshir and rabbinic coordinator of West Coast Kashrus Agencies will give a shiur on leilShabbosParashasToldos, Friday, November 13 at 8:15 p.m. at Agudas Yisrael of Kew Gardens Hills (in the YCQ building), 147-37 70th Road.

Bnos Malka Open House. November 15, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. at Bnos Malka Academy, 71-02 113th Street in Forest Hills. Call 718-268-2667 for more.

Tzaddik Ba La’ir: Kalever Rebbe Visits Beth Gavriel Center at 66-35 108 Street in Forest Hills on Sunday, November 15, 5:30–9:00 p.m. The Kalever Rebbe is world-renowned for his inspiration, wisdom, advice, and blessings for chinuchha’banim, shalombayis, parnassah and all other pressing issues that we face today. For the past 40 years, the Rebbe has met with people of all ages in over 60 countries. Hundreds of thousands have been uplifted and motivated by his advice and inspiration. The Rebbe’s holy life mission overrides his current physical limitations. The Rebbe will be seeing individuals and families, listening to their requests and invoking Heavenly intervention and salvation. All are welcome, including women and families, to attend and meet with the Rebbe. There will be no fundraising solicitation. For more information, call 718-285-9132.

Shabbos Hatzolah. Hatzolah of Queens is an all-volunteer organization responding 24/7 to all emergencies. On Shabbos ParashasVayeitzei, November 21, local shuls will be making appeals for Hatzolah, or you can make a donation at QueensHatzolah.org.

Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun Open House. Sunday, November 22, 2:30–4:30 p.m. at 141-51 71 Avenue in Flushing. Please call 718-261-4738 for an application packet.

Climbing for a Cause. Kew Gardens Hills resident Michael Rollhaus is once again climbing the Azrieli Towers in Israel in memory of his mother, Hilda Rollhaus, who passed away this summer. He is climbing for the benefit of Camp HASC, which provides programs for children with special needs and developmental disabilities. For over 40 years, they have provided a summer of respite and a needed break for families, as well as a magical experience for the campers. Michael has climbed stairs in a variety of locations but Azrieli is one of his favorites. The climb includes three buildings, totaling 140 flights. Online donations can be made at go.camphasc.org/climbing. You can also send in a donation to Camp HASC, 1563 49th Street, Brooklyn NY 11219.

Chanita Teitz is a real-estate broker at Astor Brokerage in Kew Gardens Hills, serving the entire Queens vicinity. For all your real-estate needs, call her at 718-263-4500 or e-mail chanita@astorbrokerage.com.

By Shmuel Katz

The weather in Israel these past few weeks has been stupendously wet. Storm after storm has blown through and we’ve had some significant amounts of rain. In fact, I read that Ra’anana has seen 400%+ of the expected rainfall already, and that some areas in the south are close to their normal annual yields.

There were floods earlier this week in Ashdod and Ashkelon, and the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway closed last Saturday night due to rockslides. In other words, there has been plenty of rain in the heart of Israel. But that is not the case everywhere.

Israel is a bit strange, weather-wise. Because of our location and region, the weather can vary widely throughout the country, and even within the same part of the country. It might be sunny in Modi’in where I work, but at the same time, Mordechai, who is in school in Nof Ayalon, a drive of about six minutes from my office, will be experiencing severe thunderstorms.

Where am I going with this? Well, you all know of my fascination (some might even say obsession) with the water levels of the Kinneret lake. The Kinneret has historically been the largest single source of water in Israel, and our first six years here were a period of extended drought—to the point where the lake was in serious danger of permanent ecological damage.

The drought ended and the lake recovered somewhat. Yet last year’s rains did not significantly replenish the waters. This summer’s dry season caused the water levels to drop back to levels not seen since the middle of the drought. When the rains hit—almost immediately after Sukkot and again in earnest after we began saying v’tein tal u’matar in Israel—I looked forward to seeing a rapid improvement in water levels.

But that has not come. Although the center and the south have seen significant rains, the north has seen almost none at all. The Kinneret has not had a single measured rise in its water level since the spring. In fact, the water is currently so low that we are once again only a couple of centimeters above the lower red line, the level at which the water is spoiled by bacteria and other contaminants.

Yes, we desalinate the Mediterranean Sea and are one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to water production and desalination of seawater. Yet, despite everything we have done, the ecology needs rain. And maybe this might be G‑d’s way of showing us that no matter how smart we think we are, we will always rely upon His blessings.

I will be appearing on Arutz Sheva radio Thursday night. By the time most of you read this, the show will have aired, but you can hear the show in full, if you are interested, on their website at http://bit.ly/1O07nQv.

I’ve known Judy, the show’s host, since we were both kids in elementary school in Chicago, and I’ve known her husband, Lenny/Yehuda, as well as both of their families, probably just as long. Judy and Yehuda served as kvatterin for our son Chaim. (And those who hold by such things would be interested to know that they had their first child, a daughter, just nine months later.) When we first made aliyah, Judy even interviewed Aliza for a kids’ show she hosted at the time.

I was chatting with her online about a trip we are planning for the yeshiva when Judy told me about her new show and asked if I would agree to be interviewed. It’s a 45-minute show, which means I had to do a lot of talking. And, in fact, most of it was stories that many of you have read before.

In any case, you can tune in and listen, or you can listen to it archived as well.

Shmuel Katz is the executive director of Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah (www.migdalhatorah.org), a new gap-year yeshiva. Shmuel, his wife Goldie, and their six children made aliyah in July of 2006. Before making aliyah, he was the executive director of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett. You can contact him at shmu@migdalhatorah.org.

Fourth-graders at Shulamith with their new sefarim

At the Shulamith Shabbaton

Shulamith students admiring model synagogues at the YU Museum

Gala Breakfast As Fourth-Graders Learn Yehoshua

On Thursday, November 5, the fourth-grade students of Shulamith School for Girls reached a milestone in their lives as they each received a brand-new SeferYehoshua.

To begin the celebration, Mrs. Joyce Yarmak, principal of the Lower Division, spoke to the girls about their mesorah. She emphasized that as bnotYisrael, they are fortunate to learn about and emulate the beautiful middot and life lessons from their parents and grandparents.

The girls’ knowledge of Jewish history was evident in the song they sang about KlalYisrael finally entering EretzYisrael after a 40-year delay, led by their new leader, Yehoshua, after the death of MosheRabbeinu. The girls sang about the inner strength Yehoshua would need to do what was required of him.

In addition to the singing, the enthusiastic girls played “EretzYisrael Bingo” and enjoyed a delicious array of cereals and cupcakes.

The divreiTorah, singing, and breakfast treats were all wonderful, but the highlight of the event was when Mrs. Yarmak and Morah Mindy Futersak called upon each talmidah to receive her Navi. As the girls begin to delve into the study of Navi, the Shulamith administration is certain that each precious talmidah will continue to give her parents and teachers much nachat. v

Third-Graders Gain New Appreciation Of Tefillah

Last week, the-third grade students of Shulamith School for Girls enjoyed a memorable outing to the YU Museum. The museum houses a variety of exhibits, but this trip’s focus was on tefillah and Jewish history.

Students were astounded by the exhibit called “Modeling the Synagogue.” They “oohed” and “aahed” over each of the ten carefully constructed models. From an ancient shul in Italy, to the Altneuschul in Prague, to Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, each model included intricate architectural details and was carefully constructed to mimic the original buildings, both inside and out. Seeing the shuls and a model of the BeitHaMikdash gave the girls the opportunity to reflect on the kedushah inherent in a shul and on the importance of tefillah. These messages were imparted by third-grade teachers Morah Penina Deutsch, Morah Lindsey Weinreich, and Morah Rivka Holzman.

The trip ended with the girls creating Mizrach signs on copper foil, which they will treasure as a reminder of how our tefillot are directed each day to the makomHaMikdash, where the Shechinah rests.

Thanks to the parent chaperones, Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Flaum, for joining the girls on this special excursion. v

Shulamith Shabbaton:
The Ties That Bind

The Shulamith Middle Division Shabbaton took place this past Shabbat, ParashatChayeiSarah, in Woodmere. The much-anticipated yearly event gives students and faculty members a chance to spend quality time together and to experience the peace, joy, and serenity of Shabbat b’achdut.

On Friday morning, exuberant seventh- and eighth-grade students arrived with luggage in tow. They created challah covers while their principal, Mrs. Rookie Billet, provided a brief orientation and overview of what to expect during the weekend. At 10:30, the Shabbaton heads, Sarah Leah Herman, Adina Lazar, and Kayla Wilamowsky, along with the decorating heads, Meira Max and Shirley Shayesteh, left school to set up the shul. Within a short time, the simcha room in Congregation Aish Kodesh had been completely transformed. The lavender and gray décor, including beautiful centerpieces, was perfect for the occasion.

On this “short Friday,” it was just a few hours later when faculty members and students began arriving at the shul, dressed in their Shabbat finery. Earlier in the week, tefillah leaders Shira Borochov, Rachee Ganchrow, and Yehudis Herschberg had reviewed KabbalatShabbat with their peers, which allowed everyone to appreciate the tefillot as they davened with the kehillah.

After davening, students headed to the simcha hall to enjoy a delicious seudah catered by Traditions. The evening’s activities included divreiTorah, a spirited kumzits, and a choir presentation headed by seventh-graders Ariella Borah and Priva Halpert. They were also privileged to hear spellbinding midrashim and stories about the Jewish city of Hebron and its heroes and heroines from Mrs. Leah Feinberg, parent of Shulamith sixth-grader Elisheva Feinberg and longtime Judaic Studies teacher in the Five Towns. The evening flew by, and before they knew it, it was 9 p.m. and parents were arriving to escort students to their hosts’ homes.

On Shabbat morning, students reconvened in the shul, where they davenedShacharit with the kehillah. After tefillah, they were joined by Rebbetzin Weinberger, who encouraged the girls to follow in the footsteps of our Imahot and shared details from the exalted life of Rebbetzin Henny Machlis, a paragon of chesed, who did just that.

The program continued with another delectable seudah, replete with lively singing and divreiTorah. The final guest speaker was Rabbi Shmuel Klammer, principal of Shulamith School for Girls of Brooklyn. Rabbi Klammer described individuals such as Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Albert Einstein, who were told as youngsters that they were intellectually impaired, but did not accept those labels and went on to achieve greatness. Rabbi Klammer also told stories of gedolim and of the midrash, to inspire each student to always believe in herself and to strive to do her very best.

In the afternoon, students enjoyed some “downtime,” followed by seudahshlishit hosted by the Gerber, Brunner, and Schreier families. In the Gerber home, the eighth-graders enjoyed a hilarious skit written and produced by Miri Granik and Rachel Sandler.

To cap off their outstanding Shabbaton experience, the seventh- and eighth-graders were joined by the rest of the middle division for a gala melavehmalkah which took place on the Cedarhurst campus. First, students gathered in the spacious gym to watch the eighth-graders perform two dynamic dances, choreographed and led by Batya Altmark, Shoshana Hess, Tzipori Eichler, and Rachelle Gelbtuch. After the dance presentations, everyone headed to the newly repainted auditorium to experience the live game show. The student body was divided into two teams, Chayei and Sara, which competed against each other. Girls were called to the stage to answer questions in categories ranging from challah-baking to KeverRachel to Shulamith school trivia. The game was fast-paced, fun, and, at least some of the time, educational!

When the show was over, it was time to move once again, this time to the Lower Division lunchroom, which had been expertly decorated by melavehmalkah heads Adina Fiber, Perri Hirschel, and Sarah Miller, along with their many helpers. The striking color scheme of gold, black, and red was dramatic and eye-catching. The room was festooned with balloons and streamers, and a gold treasure chest filled with “jewels” graced the center of each table. The girls enjoyed some delicious pizza and jumbo black-and-white cookies, as well as a final d’var Torah about the concept of melavehmalkah. Everyone was grateful to Morah Chana Schwartz and Mrs. Rachel Steiner, student-activities coordinators, for all the hard work, originality, and diverse programming.

Halachic Musings

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Here’s the case: A yeshiva is in trouble. Its mortgage, now up to $9.65 million, has not been paid and the bank now wants to minimize its exposure. Unbeknownst to the parent body or the new board of trustees now running the yeshiva, a group of anonymous investors finds out about the bank’s offer to sell its note and secretly purchases the note from the bank for well below face value. They then resell the note to the yeshiva at a huge profit of well over a million dollars.

Are these people savvy businessmen—or are they immoral vultures making a profit on the back of a yeshiva? A quick survey of a number of people in shul revealed that most were deeply horrified by this action. One said, “Couldn’t this person find another way of making a living? It is eckeldik (revolting)!”

The Response Of Gedolim

This author further posed the question to a number of gedolim and poskim. One responded that from a halachic perspective he is unsure whether what the group of anonymous investors had done was not strictly forbidden in the sense that a din Torah that can be brought before a beisdin, but there is such a thing as “naval b’reshus haTorah—being disgusting within the framework of Torah.” The Ramban at the beginning of ParashasKedoshim elaborates extensively on this issue. Certainly it is a negation of the Jewish nation’s mandate of “KedoshimTihyu—you shall be holy.”

A prominent rosh yeshiva suggested that, notwithstanding any protests of what a “good deal” the yeshiva was getting, the fact that the purchase and sale of the note was obscured in anonymity is indicative of a knowledge that what they were doing was absolutely wrong and unconscionable. He cited the words of Yeshayahu HaNavi (Yeshayahu 29:15):

“V’haya b’machshach ma’aseihem. Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans . . .who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”

It was also pointed out that one of the reasons that mesacheik b’kubia, engaging in gambling, makes one invalid as a witness (see Shulchan AruchChoshen Mishpat 203) is because “eino oseik b’yishuv shel olam—his daily activity does not contribute to the economic wellbeing of the world.” Every person, from a farmer to a storekeeper to a truck-driver, is contributing to the general functioning and order of the world. His intention may be in order to make a profit, but the bottom line is that he is contributing in some manner to society.

Not so a gambler. A gambler’s efforts and what he does in the world contribute nothing whatsoever to society. Here too, the actions of the “anonymous investors” were just to turn a profit for themselves and had no redeeming function whatsoever. It just served to milk money from the limited funds of the Torah public.

Another Violation

This author would like to suggest that the actions of the anonymous investors were forbidden based upon a number of issues. The first of which is the abnegation of the mitzvah of hashavasaveidah.

Within the mitzvah of hashavasaveidah lies the obligation to protect others from any and all damage. It is not just limited to physically finding a lost object (see S.A. Y.D. 259:9). The source of this idea can be found in BavaKama 81b. There, the Gemara derives this notion from the verse in Devarim (22:2), va’hasheivosolo—that the mitzvah includes damage to his body as well. From the fact that it goes beyond a physical object we can learn that it applies to all form of damage.

The yeshiva had built equity in the building. The building also served its purposes perfectly, as it was built to spec for the yeshiva. Having to find a new location would severely impact its enrollment, finances, and ability to do its job.

Both the MinchasChinuch (Mitzvah 539) as well as the AruchHaShulchan (end of 259) rule that the two additional mitzvos of “Lo suchal l’his’alem—you cannot hide your eyes” and “hashevtashivam—you shall surely return it to them” both apply to nezek, damage, as well.

The TashbatzKatan (495) also rules that the principles of hashavasaveidah apply to monetary losses involved in loans.

Further Points

There is also the issue of causing tza’ar—aggravation to people. Generally speaking, it is prohibited to cause pain and aggravation to others. Here, the aggravation was to be caused to well over 1,000 children and their parents—some 2,500 people.

The Gemara in BavaMetzia (58b) derives this prohibition from the pasuk in Vayikra 25:17—“v’lo sonu ish es amiso—one shall not aggrieve his fellow, and you shall fear your G‑d, for I am Hashem your G‑d.” See also Sefer HaMitzvos 251 and Sefer HaChinuch 338. Granted that one is allowed to look after one’s own property, but here the anonymous investors specifically looked to place themselves in such a situation—like sharks on the prowl. This type of behavior is so beyond the pale that one is hard-pressed to find other examples of it.

The deal also involved charging ribis—interest—without the heter iska document that is generally required for such transactions. The prohibitions of ribis are most serious—involving some six Torah prohibitions. While some people tend to quote Rav Feinstein’s response (Igros Moshe YD II #63) that there is no prohibition of ribis when involving corporations, this is a misreading. There are many caveats that Rav Feinstein lists that are not met here, including the exception of personal guarantees. Also, there are no contemporary poskim that allow such transactions without a heteriska in place.

The prohibition of lifneiiverlo sitein michshol in being involved in such an arrangement is also not insignificant. The lawyers who represented the group of investors may have violated this, yet another Torah prohibition.

Conclusion

In short, the actions taken here by the anonymous investor or investors were abominable. There were likely some ten Torah prohibitions violated. There was a mitzvah of hashavasaveidah that was selfishly ignored. Those who were involved in this scandalous action should do teshuvah and donate the proceeds to the yeshiva that they so damaged.

There is a fascinating passage in the Talmud Yerushalmi in Sanhedrin (6:7): Rabbi Abba Bar Zamina said in the name of Rav Hoshia: Greater is a kiddush Hashem than a chillulHashem.

This statement is patently obvious. Of what need was there for Rabbi Hoshia to state it? One possible answer is that Rabbi Hoshia was teaching us a profound insight in matters of chillulHashem. If someone fell victim to his desire for money or some other desire, it is not too late for him. He can rise to the occasion and recompense for the vile deed that was done.

Rabbi Hoshia is imparting that when someone performs such an action—when he undoes the immoral or base action that he had previously violated—then a great kiddush Hashem has occurred. This kiddush Hashem, which demonstrates that man was endowed with the ability to undo an evil he may have committed and that this is what Hashem wants of us, is actually greater than the original chillul Hashem—the desecration of Hashem’s Name that he had originally initiated.

There are at least two individuals out there who know the identity of the person who did this. Those two people should show this column to him, including the Yerushalmi cited above.

May Hashem give that individual the strength to make the right decision.

The author can be reached at Yairhoffman2@gmail.com.

Globe-trotter Phyllis Koegel confers
with a potential client

Leo “Zeidi” Bleier, father of the author

Leo Bleier as a young man

By Phyllis Koegel

Marketing Director, OU Kosher

When I was growing up, my father always used to tell me that I had to learn to take care of myself. If I was ever in trouble, he explained, no one would help me. His attitude wasn’t a surprise; my late father survived Dachau. Known to all as Zeidi Leo, he was kind and stubborn, and he loved me to death.

As an only child, I spent a lot of time with him. When he wasn’t working, my father could be found on our front porch, saying Tehillim or listening to famous chazzanim. Always wearing his trademark royal-blue sweater, which I cherish still today, he would impart his words of wisdom. They usually included learning how to take care of myself, and always making sure I had cash in my wallet, because you never know what can happen.

From the time that I was 10 years old, until my father, Leo Bleier, passed away six years ago at the age of 93, never did a week go by that I didn’t get a sermon of some kind from him. The concern and love I felt from him was powerful, although annoying at times, but never more pertinent than on my recent experience in Berlin. On a return business trip from Germany, his words rang in my mind, over and over again, as I found myself in quite a predicament.

While I waited for a connecting flight at a Starbucks in Tegel Airport in Berlin, I was pick-pocketed. My money, my credit cards, and my passport were all stolen. I admit that it was partially my fault. I had been working on my laptop with my bag on the chair next to me. Yes, I know I should have been more careful, I know I shouldn’t have left my bag on the chair next to me, and I know that my passport and money should have been in a safe place, preferably on my person. Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes.

My first reaction? Panic. I frantically began to ask the people around me if they’d seen anyone near my bag. They all looked at me blankly. Physically shaking and hyperventilating, I envisioned becoming the next Tom Hanks in the movie The Terminal, where he lives stranded in the airport, homeless and country-less. I ran to the nearest information counter and was told to go to the police station in the airport to file a claim. That day had been a boon for pickpockets; there were at least four people standing in the police station in the same dire situation as I was. My brain raced as I tried to remember which credit cards I had brought with me, while at the same time praying that it was all a mistake and any second someone would walk in with my wallet, or at the very least my passport.

I’m one of those people who curse their smartphone. Most days I wish I could just throw it in the ocean for its unending beeps and reminders of all the things I have to attend to. But not today! Today, I was thankful for technology and the Internet. While the police took my statement and offered very little hope—no, let me correct that, offered no hope whatsoever—I was told that I would have to travel into Berlin to the U.S. Embassy and apply for an emergency, temporary passport. I found the local number for the U.S. Embassy. The woman explained that the U.S. Embassy was only open from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. “Whhhhhhaaaaaattttt?” I exclaimed. “Only two hours in the morning?” It was now 11:00 a.m. and my flight was scheduled to depart at 1:00 p.m. I explained that this was an emergency and I couldn’t wait until morning, only to be told that she was extremely sorry but there was nothing they could do.

At this point I realized that I was in trouble. My father’s words echoed through my mind.

I called one of my colleagues who lives in Belgium. I work in the marketing and sales department for OU Kosher. Having been in Germany to attend Anuga, an international food trade show, I knew at least one person in Europe. I know, I know, Europe is a big continent, but I wasn’t thinking so clearly.

Rabbi Yisroel Hollander and I attended the food show together, where we met with hundreds of potential new clients for OU Kosher as well as many existing OU companies. He answered his phone right away; I asked him where he was. Holland, he answered, performing inspections for OU clients there. He quickly understood my situation: stranded in a foreign country with no money, no credit cards, and no passport. He told me he would start calling all our European colleagues to see if anyone was nearby to help me.

What a network I had at my fingertips! I may survive this after all, I thought to myself! I called my friend at work, knowing that it was 5:00 a.m. and I was sure to wake her. She took charge on her end and my network was enlarged by the second. I notified my children who tried to locate anyone they could think of with political connections. Although I was not getting on the 1:00 p.m. flight and I would be staying overnight, it would hopefully be somewhere with a bed. I would have to figure out how to get to the U.S. Embassy by 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

The next hour I called every credit-card company and blocked all my cards. My son texted me to tell me that he found a friend with connections at the U.S. Embassy, only to be told that there was nothing that could be done from the States. I would just have to wait until morning. Perhaps the pickpocket was after cash and might have thrown my wallet and passport in a nearby garbage bin, my son suggested. The next half hour, I walked inside and outside of Terminal A in Berlin’s Tegel Airport, peering into garbage cans. No luck!

By now it was 7:00 a.m. in New York and I called my best friend to vent. She asked me if I had gotten my luggage back. I had totally forgotten about my luggage! She told me that airlines always remove luggage for security reasons if a passenger does not show up. Next task, track down my luggage. I was directed to another terminal, about a ten-minute walk away and told to wait. An hour later, I was told they had located my luggage and brought it to me. OK, I thought, if I get stuck here indefinitely, at least I’ll have a change of clothes.

My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID to see that Rabbi Hollander was calling. With a shaky voice, I answered, hoping for good news. Rabbi Hollander told me that Rabbi Avraham Schwarz, one of our European rabbis from England, was not available as he was in Denmark, but he managed to track down Rabbi Yitzchak Sterling, who was in Hamburg. Germany is a big country. Hamburg to Berlin is like Boston to New York. But Rabbi Sterling was happy to be my knight in shining armor. Rabbi Hollander told me he would give Rabbi Sterling my number and have him call me. I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. You see, Tatti, I thought, sometimes people will help you.

Five minutes later, my phone rang. A lovely voice introduced himself as Rabbi Sterling. He explained that he would finish up two inspections in Hamburg and then head to Berlin. His navigation system estimated he would arrive at around 6:30 p.m., and he reassured me that he would not leave until I was safe and on my way back to New York. At that point I was emotionally drained and sat down on the floor of the airport to shed tears of relief.

Offers Of Help

Phone calls and texts started pouring in from concerned colleagues who had heard through the office grapevine what had happened. Offers of credit-card usage, money wires, and anything else I could possibly need were pouring in. Overwhelmed with emotion, I thanked all of them and informed them that Rabbi Sterling was coming to save me. I wasn’t helpless anymore, I would be fine.

I parked my luggage and my very tired self next to an outlet so at least I could charge my phone and wait for my savior. Rabbi Sterling had a bit of trouble finding me, but find me he did. I was greeted by a gentle, smiling soul who was so happy to have reached me. I’m not sure who was happier! All I knew was that this remarkable man had driven four hours to help another Jew and colleague. I had not eaten all day, and after we checked into separate rooms at the Ramada Hotel in Berlin for the night, Rabbi Sterling, who travels with kosher food, offered to share everything he had with me. Words cannot express how delicious a piece of bread and a slice of cheese can taste after the kind of day I had.

Rabbi Sterling and I agreed to meet at 7:30 the next morning so I could get to the U.S. Embassy as soon as it opened. By 10:00 a.m. I was the proud owner of a temporary United States passport. We headed for the airport and as I prepared to leave, Rabbi Sterling handed me enough Euros and U.S. dollars to ensure I would get home. After thanking him, he handed me another dollar bill as shaliachmitzvah gelt, money given to charity while traveling. With tears in my eyes, I headed into the terminal to get on my flight to New York.

As I write this article, I am sitting comfortably on the plane, halfway home. Mi k’amcha Yisrael—Who can be compared to the Jewish nation! Where in the world could I possibly find a kinder, more selfless group of people than those I am lucky to work with at the Orthodox Union. Guess what, Tatti. I want to tell my father, who I’m sure is watching me from Olam HaBa, of the people who will come to the rescue. I am all the richer for being lucky enough and privileged enough to work with many of them. v

Guests in Hebron last Shabbos

Dovi Weiss with Ronen and Eli Borochov

Yosef, Ronen, and Eli Borochov
in Hebron

By Larry Gordon

They had already davenedMinchah early last Friday afternoon before returning to their yeshiva dormitory room for the weekend in Yeshiva Shavei Hebron. Three hundred and thirty students are learning in this school, just a few yards from the entranceway to the Cave of the Patriarchs, and another 150 are presently serving in the army. On Shabbat Chayei Sarah, more than 200 guests from all over the world—England, France, United States, and Israel—came to stay at Yeshiva Shavei Hevron.

The inspirational Shabbos began with the arrival of the commander of the Yehuda and Shomron division, Brigadier General Lior Carmeli, on erevShabbat. At the meal, he blessed all those who came to Hevron despite—or because of—the present situation. Further, he said that the IDF is involved with operating the weapons, and at Yeshiva Shavei Hevron, the students and teachers are involved with the spiritual. He emphasized that without the spiritual side, the army would not be able to successfully carry out its operations. All those present at the meal responded with much emotion and enthusiasm and gave him a standing ovation. It was a touching moment. Dovi Weiss, the executive director of the yeshiva, thanked the brigadier general and requested to relay our appreciation to all of the soldiers of all ranks, wherever they are. The guests stated that the atmosphere of this Shabbat Chayei Sarah was the most uplifting of all of the previous ones ever held. Despite a terrorist attack on one visitor, Eli Borochov, all of the guests already expressed an interest in coming again next year.

What happened to Eli is scary and miraculous at the same time. Eli and his father dressed for Shabbos, and at about 4:00 p.m. headed back toward Me’arat HaMachpelah where they would be joining thousands of Jews to welcome Shabbos in Hebron.

“We walked up the first flight of stairs before making a sharp left turn to head to the security metal detectors and then up the next set of stairs,” said Eli Borochov, 20, a student at Lander College and resident of Cedarhurst.

“We heard a boom but we’re not sure where it came from,” said Eli’s father Ronen. He said that at first he thought it might have been a firecracker or something similar. But then young Eli fell to the ground.

“I thought that I might have been hit by a rock,” Eli says. “I felt a pain in my upper leg but I never would have imagined that I was hit by a sniper bullet from somewhere out there in the Hebron Hills,” Eli says.

Eli could not get up as the pain worsened. His father immediately told the nearby young soldiers guarding and patrolling the plaza leading to the main entrance to the cave that his son was shot. “I saw blood pouring out of his pants. Soldiers rushed over as did medical personnel, but the officer in charge said that he didn’t think it was a sniper’s bullet,” says Ronen. He says that at first the soldiers asked whether Eli was carrying a gun that might have fired accidentally and injured his leg. Regardless of the cause, Eli was rushed to an ambulance for the long ride to a Jerusalem hospital.

The Borochovs—Eli, Yosef, 16, a student at DRS high school in Woodmere, and their father—arrived in Israel the day before on Thursday. This was their third year together for Shabbos Chayei Sarah in Hebron. Ronen Borochov says it has become a tradition that he and his boys go for Chayei Sarah to Israel as an expression of their love of Torah and Eretz Yisrael. They believe in the land of Israel and have many friends who have made aliyah and reside in cities like Bet Shemesh and others.

It’s Tuesday night and we are sitting around the dining-room table in the Borochov home. Eli, now featuring a slight limp, sits at the head of the table. Across from me is Ronen, then Yosef, and next to him his mother, Devora.

This entire scenario was a potential nightmare. Dan Rosenstein, the head of the Hebron Fund, said this week that they had no idea what would happen on Chayei Sarah in the city due to the unpredictable security situation on the ground. Over the years, there have been Shabbosos where up to 20,000 people descended on the city to celebrate. This year, Dan said over the phone on Tuesday, they thought that only a few hundred would come to spend Shabbos there. In the end, over 4,000 came to Hebron for Shabbos despite or perhaps because of the purposeful terror and the bottom-line objective to scare Jews away.

When Eli arrived at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, it was already Shabbos. His father said that what he witnessed next was awe-inspiring. Since the nature of the wound or the trajectory of the bullet that hit Eli was still not clearly defined, a team of doctors were called in—some pulled away from the Shabbos table as is unfortunately not unusual—in case their medical expertise would be required.

A social worker at the hospital reached out to the American embassy to inform them that an American citizen had been injured in a terror attack. But there was no response from any representative of the U.S. until Tuesday after the Borochovs returned to the U.S. Ronen showed me an e-mail he received from the U.S. consulate inquiring as to whether he would require any assistance and also advising him that their office would be closed on Wednesday in observance of Veterans Day. The letter writer suggested that Ronen try to reach her on Thursday.

“It’s a little astounding that an American is wounded in a terror attack and your own country representatives are nowhere to be seen or heard from,” Ronen says. He is, however, exceedingly pleased that because of the support of so many friends in Israel as well as here in the States, he did not need to depend on any U.S. involvement.

Since the Borochovs have returned from Israel on Monday, the office of Congresswoman Kathleen Rice has reached out to the family to assist them with whatever they might need related to the terror attack. Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky, Nassau County Supervisor Tony Santino, and Nassau County Councilman Bruce Blakeman have also been in touch with the family.

But the question remains: Where were the U.S. representatives in Israel during those hours of fear and uncertainty when a young American student visiting Israel was shot by a sniper—who still has not been found? Was it an issue for the U.S. that Eli was shot in Hebron, a city in which the U.S. has made clear that they would like to see Jews withdraw from, one of the many so-called areas of Israel that the State Department considers “occupied territory?”

Can it be that it is U.S. policy that if an American is hurt in an area of a country where there is a territorial dispute, that the U.S. officially has no obligation to provide assistance? Disappointingly, so far in this case, it seems that this might be the reality that we are dealing with.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, Eli says that there were at least 15–20 medical personnel around him trying to determine the nature of his injury. Ronen says that the Shin Bet that accompanied him to the hospital from Hebron urged Ronen to call his wife back in New York to tell her what happened to their son. They explained that the news of an American young man being shot in Hebron was all over the news and that his mother should hear it from him rather than see it on a website.

Since there was no exit wound, the doctors felt that the bullet still must be lodged somewhere in Eli. An abdominal surgeon was brought in just in case. A sonogram was done in an effort to see where the bullet was but it was nowhere to be seen. The next day at the site of the shooting in Hebron a bullet was found and sent to the hospital for DNA testing. It was determined that this was the bullet that injured Eli Borochov. How it exited his body has still not yet been determined.

On Sunday, Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, arrived at Shaare Zedek to visit Eli Borochov. Many of Eli’s friends with whom he attended Yeshivat Sha’alvim, and other friends, were in the hospital with him at the time. Eli explains that all except two friends and his dad were asked to leave the room when the defense minister arrived.

Eli’s younger brother, Yosef, who sat with us the other night, remained in Hebron over Shabbos under the close watch of Israel security forces and several people from the administration of Yeshiva Shavei Hebron.

“I cannot say enough about how well we were treated at Shaare Zedek Hospital,” says Ronen Borochov. “Every detail was attended to.” He says the hospital provided him with food for Shabbos and people who live nearby the hospital whom he does not know flocked to the medical center to see what they can do for him.

Ronen told them at the time that he did not want anything until his son was out of surgery, in recovery, and he would be allowed see him. Ronen called Devora here in New York after the surgery to say that Eli had been in an accident. She asked what type of accident and Ronen slowly related to her what had occurred. He added that Eli is fine and recovering.

Devora Borochov asked her husband if she could speak to Eli. He handed his son the phone and she was pleased—overjoyed, in fact—to hear his voice. Amongst the things she said to him at the time was, “I guess your suit pants are ruined.” He chuckled and said, “Looks that way!”

Eli is home in Cedarhurst and though it was already after 9:00 p.m., friends were still coming over to visit and in a sense celebrate a miracle with the family.

Eli is hobbling around his home but looks like he is on the mend. He hopes to be back at school at Lander College in Queens next week.

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.

Jeff Ballabon

By Jeff Ballabon

Last month, this paper published a piece I wrote (“How AIPAC Failed Us,” October 9) arguing that AIPAC misinforms the Orthodox Jewish community about its policies and practices in order to recruit members and fundraise. The following week, the paper published “In Defense of AIPAC” (DOA), which was signed by two distinguished rabbis based on information provided to them by AIPAC. There is no doubt that the rabbis mean well, but AIPAC, in my opinion, exploited their trust and reputations. That article should be preserved as Exhibit A of the deceptive messages AIPAC feeds our community.

Everything I write is from personal knowledge and is easily verifiable. Since I’m revealing what has been largely Washington-insider information, it’s been suggested that I should share a little of my background. After attending Ner Yisroel, Yeshiva University, and Yale Law School, I worked on Capitol Hill as counsel to U.S. Senator John Danforth (R-MO) and to the Senate Commerce Committee. For the past 20 years, I’ve been a professional lobbyist and communications strategist, both for clients and as senior management of national media companies, including CBS News. I hold appointments and leadership positions at a number of national policy organizations and foreign-policy think tanks. I am of counsel to a Washington, DC public-interest law firm that represents the State of Israel in international tribunals, and where I fight BDS. As a lobbyist, I successfully represented victims of Palestinian terror against the State Department and defeated a plan which would have divided Jerusalem, lobbying against the State Department—and AIPAC. I plan to post this article (and the previous ones), with supporting links backing every point, at www.IronDomeAlliance.com.

Let’s start with a revolutionary but obvious truth: AIPAC is not Israel. AIPAC is an establishment American-Jewish organization with its own agenda. Given that reality, it actually would be strange if there weren’t a significant gap between the Orthodox community’s overall outlook and that of AIPAC.

For example, in December 2013, when Obama’s plans for Israel and Iran were clear to all, AIPAC called a special meeting of the Conference of Presidents to demand that Jewish groups stop criticizing Barack Obama. AIPAC executive director Howard Kohr declared at that meeting that AIPAC and Obama share the “same goals” and have only “a difference of strategy.” I don’t share Obama’s goals. Nor, I believe, do most Orthodox Jews.

Is it possible that AIPAC didn’t really mean they share Obama’s goals and AIPAC’s silencing of Jewish criticism was a purely tactical move? Sure. If so, it was a tactic that spectacularly failed.

But it does seem to be ideology more than ineptness. In the words of one veteran House chief of staff after reading my article, “My colleagues in Israel would affirm that AIPAC no longer advocates for Israel in Washington [but] rather pushes the Obama agenda in Israel.” In my experience that’s right…but it certainly isn’t what AIPAC tells our community.

DOA made four arguments. Let’s evaluate them:

1. AIPAC and Bipartisanship. Every lobby in Washington wants to achieve as much real bipartisanship as possible. Yet, whether it’s the NRA (pro-gun), Planned Parenthood (pro-abortion), Chamber of Commerce (pro-business), United Federation of Teachers (pro-union), or any other issue, it is obvious that it matters to them which party controls Congress and each fights actively to make sure the ‘right’ side wins. “Control matters” isn’t partisan; it’s Lobbying 101. AIPAC’s mantra that it makes no difference to Israel who controls the White House or Congress isn’t “bipartisanship”; it’s absurd.

Do I want to see the Republicans in control of Washington? You bet I do. Not because of “partisanship,” but because it’s a matter of survival for Israel. If that changes, I’ll be fighting for the Democrats to take control.

But it won’t change anytime soon—not any more than guns or abortion or business or unions. The Democratic party is overwhelmingly split between liberals whose support for Israel is predicated on creating a Palestinian state, and progressives for whom the Jewish state is irredeemably racist and criminally colonial.

It’s obvious that control matters and it’s obvious which party is more pro-Israel. AIPAC’s phony version of “bipartisanship” is precisely why it fails as a lobby when the chips are down. Democrats know that AIPAC will protect them because AIPAC is a Jewish group whose base has Democratic loyalties for reasons having nothing to do with Israel.

To its eternal shame, in order to protect that illusion, AIPAC told Democrats that it won’t score the Iran vote as a vote against Israel. And AIPAC already is busy pushing inconsequential ‘consensus’ legislation to rehabilitate Democrats’ “pro-Israel” status and making sure money continues to flow to the same Democrats who stabbed Israel in her back in her time of greatest need. That’s not bipartisan support for Israel; that’s selling out Israel.

Which brings me to DOA’s next argument.

2. AIPAC and Money. DOA makes the astonishing claim that AIPAC isn’t involved in directing support for political candidates. Setting aside the issue of AIPAC’s track record for actually staying within the law, DOA’s response is misleading, and assumes the reader to be stunningly naive.

AIPAC’s influence on money via the PACs and bundling operations run by AIPAC members is the worst-kept secret in Washington. In fact, you can find it on Wikipedia, which describes the entire rationale for AIPAC’s existence. According to former AIPAC executive director Tom Dine’s playbook: “While AIPAC would not be able to deliver significant numbers of Jewish voters…it could deliver campaign contributions…”

Or see AIPAC’s own website for the example of AIPAC’s “Congressional Club” for individuals who pledge to give annual minimums in direct political contributions. As Foreign Policy reported only last month, AIPAC relies on “an army of bundlers to funnel money to candidates and party committees.”

Recently, I met with a businessman from our community who wanted advice on how to respond to AIPAC’s request that he organize a massive fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. AIPAC’s request came just two days after Mrs. Clinton gave the knife in Israel’s back a twist by taking credit for being the mastermind behind the Iran Deal.

AIPAC is most definitely involved in the money end of politics; but the real problem is where the money goes and why. As former AIPAC policy director Steve Rosen said the very same week that DOA appeared in this paper, “There is no question AIPAC lay-leaders will in the future be holding fundraisers for Democrats who voted for the Iran deal.”

Why shouldn’t Democrats vote against Israel in its time of greatest need when they know AIPAC will cover for them and keep the money flowing regardless of how they vote?

3. AIPAC and Policy. DOA next claims that AIPAC would never take a position in opposition to the government of Israel. But I already pointed in my first article to a recent case—last year’s reversal on Iran sanctions—where AIPAC publicly did exactly that, lobbying directly against Israel.

Here’s another rather significant example, courtesy of the Zionist Organization of America: “AIPAC has always said that it supports the policies of the Israeli government, but it now supports a Palestinian state while the Netanyahu government has taken no such position. On other occasions, it is also true that AIPAC has not supported Israel’s policies. For example, when Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir asked AIPAC to support the right of Jews to live in Judea and Samaria, AIPAC refused.”

Speaking of Judea and Samaria, DOA asserts that I wasn’t telling the truth when I wrote that AIPAC takes congressmen to Ramallah to hear Palestinian propaganda and then refuses to take them to Jewish Judea and Samaria. I’ve invited the rabbis to Washington to hear it for themselves from some of the many congressmen and staffers who have experienced it. Meanwhile, to get a sense of AIPAC’s views, here’s an experiment you can try at home: Go to www.aipac.org. Search “Judea and Samaria.” Then search “West Bank.” Now go to www.zoa.org and do the same searches. You’ll get the picture.

4. AIPAC and America. The most treacherous of AIPAC’s claims, and one that does incalculable harm to Israel, is DOA’s fourth argument: that it is “because of AIPAC” that Americans support Israel and specifically that it is due to AIPAC that Americans opposed the Iran Deal. The idea that the Jews and their lobby are behind America’s support for Israel may feed egos and line AIPAC’s pockets, but it is straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

To briefly state the obvious: (1) Even using the most expansive definition of “Jewish,” Jews are less than 2% of the U.S. population. (2) The majority of American Jews don’t consider Israel’s wellbeing a major priority, placing it well below issues like abortion, income inequality, global warming, etc., or are anti-Israel by any reasonable definition. (3) The false narrative that support for Israel is primarily a Jewish/AIPAC issue restrains the true dominant American pro-Israel base (peace-through-strength and Christian conservatives) from asserting its own ideas and leadership. (4) While this favorite AIPAC propaganda does nothing to help Israel, it insults those in Washington who support Israel out of conviction and validates all the worst anti-Semitic, anti-Israel libels of excessive Jewish money, power, influence, and manipulation as the source for American support of Israel.

The American public’s rejection of the Iran deal has little (if anything at all) to do with AIPAC—many of whose leaders joined the Israeli left to criticize Bibi for taking Israel’s case directly to America via his address to Congress. It is, however, a sign of the tremendous gap between AIPAC’s reputation as a lobbying titan and the reality of its inability to deliver when the chips are down, that they couldn’t even get Senate Democrats to support Israel—a Democratic ally with a 72% favorable rating among Americans—against an unpopular deal with Iran—a jihadi terror sponsor with an 84% unfavorable rating.

In short, DOA’s four claims are a combination of outright lies and intentional distortions—and precisely the kind of misleading propaganda that AIPAC has been using to woo Orthodox Jews.

For those who still aren’t convinced, however, I leave you with this comforting thought. Don’t worry too much about AIPAC. Another little Washington secret is that when Israel loses big, AIPAC wins big. AIPAC already is exploiting their Iran Deal loss and expecting a huge fundraising windfall as a result. “This fight has been good for AIPAC in that it brought in a lot of money,” Steve Rosen told ForeignPolicy last month. Estimates are that AIPAC hopes to jump from a $120M annual budget to at least $140M and maybe as much as over $200M as a direct result of the Iran Deal fiasco. That’s what happens you have a monopoly. Meanwhile, in Washington, the professionals shake their head in wonder at the rubes. You hear it often in politics, but never more than these past weeks: “I don’t get it; I thought Jews were smart.”

You don’t have to be a political insider to know that if you hired a lobbyist to save your company and instead ended up with the disastrous results AIPAC delivered on the Iran Deal, you’d be in the market for a new lobbyist with a new plan, not doubling down on failure.

If you were satisfied with AIPAC’s results, if you believe it doesn’t matter to Israel who runs Washington, if you feel that money should keep flowing to those who voted for the Iran Deal, if you think Jewish families in Efrat, Tekoah, and Bet El are the problem and the solution is a PLO state, then you probably should support AIPAC.

If not, I invite you to join the Iron Dome Alliance.

Pictured above (L–R): Rep. Lee Zeldin, Eli Verschleiser, Miles Berger, Joseph B. Stamm,
Sol Goldner, Foreign Affairs Chair Ed Royce, Stanley Treitel, Ezra Friedlander,
and Leon Goldenberg. Pictured on cover (L–R): Ezra Friedlander, Eli Verschleiser, Miles Berger, Sol Goldner, Stanley Treitel, Rep. Lee Zeldin, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Joseph B. Stamm, Leon Goldenberg, Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers, Rep. Mike Rogers, Rep. Derek Kilmer,
Chief Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua, and Tamara Holder of Fox News

L–R: Ezra Friedlander, Eli Verschleiser, Miles Berger, Sol Goldner, Stanley Treitel, Rep. Lee Zeldin, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Joseph B. Stamm, Leon Goldenberg, Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers, Rep. Mike Rogers, Rep. Derek Kilmer, and Chief Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua

By Larry Gordon

The support for Israel is both heartening and reassuring. They are strong words of support that if you live in Israel or support or care about the Jewish state, you can rest assured that America is behind Israel without any reservations or doubt. And that’s good.

Last week I attended a tribute to the U.S. Congress and the support of legislation that funded Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling technology to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. This is an annual event, six months in the planning by chassidic political consultant Ezra Friedlander who works his way around Capitol Hill with ease and panache.

You can see in the way he interfaces with some of the most influential members of Congress a confident and real expression of gratitude for the bipartisan support for Israel that this group of congressmen and women are representative of. “Some members of the House used to ask why we were doing this and what it was that we wanted in return,” Friedlander said on the way to Washington. “I told them and still tell those who ask that we do not want anything—just to say thank you. And they greatly appreciate that.”

Friedlander manages to attract important members of Congress to events like these that he organizes several times a year. And there were powerful and influential members present at the Iron Dome tribute last week as well. We will get to who they were and what they had to say shortly. For now it is important to note that while support for Israel in Congress is strong—as it has always been—there are also some serious problems.

First off, Congress today is unpopular, weak, and ineffective on numerous levels. It is an enigmatic legislative body that is controlled by a Republican majority in both houses with the inability to rein in a president who stretches law so as to implement his personal agenda before his administration dissolves into history.

Last week’s luncheon in the Cannon Building took place in the shadow of the just-completed visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for talks with President Obama. Needless to say, after seven years in office, there is a contrast, if not somewhat of a conflict, between the way Israel is viewed by Congress and the tension that always seems present when the White House is involved.

The Republicans that we heard from last week at the Iron Dome tribute are hands-down on board with Israel and the positions taken by Mr. Netanyahu. The Democrats, though supportive of the Jewish state, would seem to have an issue if their words had to be matched with their actions.

Ed Royce is a Republican congressman from Los Angeles and has been serving his California district in the House since 1993. He is an outspoken and direct supporter of Israel and proud of it. Royce was forceful and incredulous when he spoke about the fact that we as a country are so nonchalant about Iranian leaders leading the hordes in chants of “Death to America.”

“Incitement was critical to setting the tone and facilitating the advent of the Holocaust,” Congressman Royce said. He recounted how on a recent trip to Israel he made a side trip with some colleagues to Ramallah to see PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinian president, now in the 11th year of his four-year term is notorious for his expertise on the subject of Holocaust denial. Royce shared with the audience that his father was with U.S. troops that liberated Dachau and that his father had taken photographs. Royce brought the photos with him to Ramallah to show Abbas. “Let’s get rid of the propaganda and the deception,” he said he related to Abbas at the time.

Of all the presenters, the one who probably grabbed the attention of a lot of folks busy with their lunch was Democratic congressman of California, Brad Sherman. He is certainly not your predictable run-of-the-mill, toe-the-party-line Democrat. Sherman has a history of—for most of our readers anyway—what we can call very pro-Israel positions. Sherman is apparently not lined up with President Obama when it comes to Israel. Sherman, unlike most Democrats, vociferously opposed the Iran deal and in the few minutes that he spoke, he enunciated two positions very clearly. He said that the U.S. should increase funding to Israel and that the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv should be moved to Jerusalem.

Surprisingly, one of the most stunning comments was made by Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado who is a Republican. Considering his helpful pro-Israel position, I found it a little shocking when he said that by funding the Iron Dome that saves lives, the missile defense system has also allowed Israel to show restraint and offer up a gradual response to missile attacks from Gaza instead of using the full force of the IDF to counter those constant, though lately less frequent, missile assaults.

I was sitting there taking notes and when Mr. Lamborn said that I kept thinking, “Did I hear right or not?” In his defense, I will go out on a limb and say that I don’t believe he realized what he was saying. But the idea that a benefit of the Iron Dome technology is about allowing Israel the ability not to retaliate at their deadly enemies is absurd.

I asked Ezra Friedlander what he thought about the Lamborn statement and he suggested that I was misinterpreting the congressman’s sentiments. “Doug didn’t mean that Israel should not be hitting back hard at those who fire missiles at their citizens,” Ezra explained. “Rather, he meant that because of the luxury of Iron Dome, Israel does not have to act hastily but can be circumspect and hit them when it best suits Israel.” I hope that is what he meant.

As long as we are on the subject of disorganized or misplaced thinking, it was important to pay careful attention to Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The troubling thing about Ms. Schultz, whose statements are pleasing to a pro-Israel audience, is her active support for the president’s deal with Iran, of which she was a leading proponent.

How does being an outspoken advocate for Israel jibe with supporting an agreement that is snuck into law and poses the greatest security danger to Israel in her six-and-a-half-decade history? There is no rationale here; it is simply a fundamental contradiction. It is understood and even accepted that Democrats are going to vote in support of their president, but please don’t insult our intelligence by voting to arm Iran with dangerous nuclear weapons and then stand before us expressing solidarity with Israel, telling us that, “As a Jewish mother, nothing is more important than a safe Israel.” First of all, what does being a Jewish mother have to do with Israel’s safety? Secondly, the facts demonstrate that the proclamation is deceptive. So please, give us all a break.

At the luncheon, Mike Rogers, a Republican congressman from Alabama, didn’t mince any words but just said that he was a Baptist and believes what the Bible says about standing with Israel. “‘Those that bless you shall be blessed and those who curse you will be cursed’ . . . I don’t want to stand on the wrong side of G‑d,” Congressman Rogers said.

Long Island congressman and the only Jewish Republican in the House, Lee Zeldin, was there. He said that he was in Israel in August and while he goes there to offer support to Israelis, it is he who comes away from these visits inspired with confidence about Israel’s future.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a great longtime friend of Israel in Congress, talked about the tradition of bipartisan support for Israel and the fact is that there is a great deal of that. But there is also too much double-speak and talking out of two sides of one’s mouth. Still it was a great tribute and a great day for Israel’s supporters both in Congress and out here in everyday pedestrian life.

Some of the lay chairmen who paid tribute to and introduced the members of Congress were Sol Goldner and Stanley Treitel of LA, Rubin Margules, Eli Verschleiser, Joe Stamm, Leon Goldenberg, and others.

Despite some of the contradictory sentiments expressed, it was a great day for Israel and the American Jewish community. At the end of the day, despite some of the political zigzagging, the U.S. support of Israel and projects like Iron Dome are literally lifesaving efforts. Sure it’s easier to say that Israel’s security is your utmost concern while some of your actions demonstrate the opposite, but that’s politics—and that is how the game is played in DC.

Ezra Friedlander gets all the credit for putting together a remarkable tribute. He’s a talented and capable young man—one we can all be thankful for and very proud of.

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.

By Rabbi Meir Orlian

David was visiting his friend Moshe. “I need to run over to the pharmacy to pick something up,” he said. “I wish I had my car here!”

“You can take my car,” said Moshe. “I’d drive you, but I have to watch the kids.”

“Are you sure?” asked David.

“Yes,” replied Moshe. “Just please be careful.” He handed David the keys.

David drove carefully to the pharmacy. As he parked, though, he neglected to see a small pole fixed in the ground and severely cracked the front fender.

When David returned, he apologized to Moshe and offered to pay for the replacement of the fender.

“I’ll have to take the car to the body shop for an estimate but don’t have time to take care of it this week,” said Moshe. “Meanwhile, I can still drive with it.” He taped the fender and put some screws in to strengthen it.

A few days later, Moshe was involved in a much more serious accident, which affected the whole front of the car. Baruch Hashem no one was injured, but the front fender, headlights, and hood all had to be replaced.

While at the body shop, Moshe checked what it would have cost to replace the cracked fender. He asked David for that sum. “I wonder whether I still have to pay,” David said hesitantly. “What’s the point of paying to replace the cracked fender when it was completely ruined anyway in the second accident?”

“The second accident is irrelevant,” countered Moshe. “You damaged my car and owe me for the damage. What happened later is of no consequence!”

The two came to Rabbi Dayan to clarify the issue.

“A first glance, this might depend on the nature of damage payments,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “The Shach (C.M. 387:1; 95:18) maintains that the primary obligation is to repair the item and restore it to its former status. One could argue that, in this case, there is no longer any need to replace the fender. The Chazon Ish (B.K. 6:3), however, maintains that the damage immediately becomes a monetary obligation. Thus, he writes that even if the owner chooses not to repair the damaged item, the repair becomes pointless, or the cost of repair changes, the monetary obligation remains, based on what it was at the time of the damage.”

“However, according to the Shach as well, David has to pay here,” said Rabbi Dayan. “The Shach agrees that where there is a loss in monetary value and it is not possible to repair the damage, there is a monetary obligation. Thus, since the cracked fender is already replaced, the Shach would agree that a monetary obligation exists.”

“Are there any examples of this?” asked David.

“UlamHaMishpat (C.M. 387) writes that if a person damaged another’s property by digging holes in it and the owner relinquished ownership of the courtyard (made it hefker),” answered Rabbi Dayan, “the one who damaged cannot discharge his obligation by filling the holes, even according to the Shach, but would have to pay the former owner the value of the damage.”

“A somewhat similar halacha exists regarding a person who injured another,” continued Rabbi Dayan. “The halacha is that the medical expenses, ripuy, are evaluated and the one who was injured is paid that amount. If the injured person subsequently died, that amount is paid to the heirs, even though it is now no longer needed for medical care” (Tosefta B.K. 9:2, Rashi, Sanhedrin 78b s.v. nosein).

“Thus, even though Moshe had another accident and the damaged fender was replaced,” concluded Rabbi Dayan, “David is not exempt from paying for the damage he did.”

From The BHI Hotline: Stolen Parts

1. I was informed about a mechanic whose prices are low. I am concerned that his charges are low because he uses stolen parts to make the repairs. Do I have to refrain from hiring him to repair my car?
2. It is forbidden to purchase stolen merchandise from a thief. This transgression is severe, since it encourages the thief to steal, and one who does so violates the prohibition of placing a stumbling block before the blind—lifnei iveir (C.M. 356:1, 369:1). Although the thief could always travel to a place where they do not recognize him as a thief, the reasoning is that if he does not have local customers he will not continue to steal.

The maxim used by the Gemara (Kiddushin 56b) is that it is not the mouse that steals, it is the hole in which he hides the stolen food that is at fault. (Rashi explains that were it not for the available hole to hide the stolen food, the mouse would not steal the food in the first place; Sema 369:1.)

If one realizes that he has purchased stolen property, he is forbidden to benefit from it, even after the owner despaired of recovering it (C.M. 369:2). There are even authorities who maintain that one who purchases stolen property from the thief is himself a thief, since his purchase removes the stolen property permanently from the owner’s domain (shinuyreshus), and the owner’s only recourse is to be reimbursed rather than demand the return of his stolen property (Nesivos 34:5, cf. Ketzos).

It also does not matter if the thief is a gentile who stole from gentiles. The prohibition of theft is one of the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach, and thus purchasing from a gentile thief also violates the prohibition of lifneiiveir. (Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Geneivah 23; see Imrei Yaakov 9, 23. Kesef HaKodashim 358 adopts a lenient position; see also Shitah Mekubetzes, B.K. 113a, d.h. “v’lo.”)

It is also forbidden to purchase objects that are presumed stolen; therefore, one may not purchase wool or milk from a shepherd unless it is evident that the shepherd is authorized to sell these items (C.M. 358:1). A shepherd who does not own any animals of his own may thus be suspected of stealing the owner’s wool or milk. However, it is permitted to purchase objects from thieves who, in addition to stolen property, have possessions that were legally acquired; one need not be concerned that one is purchasing stolen objects (Sema 358:2). Others contend that when most of a thief’s possessions were acquired by means of theft, one is prohibited from purchasing from him potentially stolen objects (Taz 369:3). If the thief physically altered the stolen object, even if the alteration could be reversed—which some authorities maintain does not constitute a kinyan for the thief—nevertheless, if one is not certain that the object was stolen, it is permitted to purchase it. Thus, for example, it is permitted to purchase a pillow filled with wool bought from a shepherd (ibid. 358:12).

Concerning your case, if you do not know that this repair part was stolen, and the mechanic has car parts that he acquired legally, you are permitted to purchase it, especially since it is unlikely that one would run a garage with only stolen parts. On the other hand, it is prohibited to purchase a bike from someone who sells used bikes at a significant discount when it is likely the bike or its parts was stolen, even if it was stolen from gentiles.

Money Matters:
Gentile Partner

1. Is there a problem forming a partnership with a gentile?
2. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 63b) states that one may not form a partnership with a gentile lest the gentile be required to take an oath and swear in the name of his god; and it is prohibited to cause invoking the name of idolatry. Nonetheless, if one did form a partnership and the gentile was required to swear, it is permissible to accept the oath from him; it is not necessary to forfeit the claim (C.M. 176:51; O.C. 156:1).

Some authorities permit forming a partnership with gentiles nowadays, since they no longer swear in the name of idols, but rather their primary intention is to the Creator, even though they include others with Him (Rema, O.C. 156:1).

If the gentile will operate the business on Shabbos, one should consult a halachic authority on how to arrange this (see O.C. 245).

Additionally, one should avoid forming a partnership with a wicked person or one who consistently suffers bad fortune (Kaf HaChaim 156:19). v

This article is intended for learning purposes and not to be relied upon halacha l’maaseh. There are also issues of dinad’malchusa to consider in actual cases.

Rabbi Meir Orlian is a faculty member of the Business Halacha Institute, which is headed by HaRav Chaim Kohn, shlita, a noted dayan. For questions regarding business halacha issues, or to bring a BHI lecturer to your business or shul, please call the confidential hotline at 877-845-8455 or e‑mail ask@businesshalacha.com. To receive BHI’s free newsletter, Business Weekly, send an e‑mail to subscribe@businesshalacha.com.

Khazar coin referencing Moses found
in the Spillings Hoard

Borders of the Khazar Empire

People Of The Book:

Classic Works Of The Jewish Tradition

By Dr. Henry Abramson

A bold, even defiant statement of Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Levi’s Ha-Kuzari is unparalleled in Jewish literature. Written in the middle of the 12th century, Ha-Kuzari (The Khazar) defends Judaism against the ideological challenges posed by Christianity and Islam, both major faiths in medieval Spain, using arguments that have endured the test of centuries and reinforcing the intellectual foundations of Jewish readers to the present day.

Rabbi Ha-Levi, a gifted poet in both Hebrew and Arabic, placed his polemic in historical context by retelling the rather amazing story of the conversion of King Bulan of the Khazars, a Turkic people that formed a massive Central Asian empire reaching well into Eastern Europe. According to legend, King Bulan was a spiritually sensitive individual who began to doubt the shamanistic practices of his native people. His search for meaning led him to convene a debate between a Jewish rabbi, a Christian priest, and a Muslim mullah. After hearing their respective claims to authenticity, the story goes, Bulan chose to convert to Judaism, ultimately taking his entire country with him.

The legend suited Rabbi Ha-Levi’s purposes very well. His principal goal in composing Ha-Kuzari was to provide an answer, even a refutation, to the intellectual attractions of the dominant cultures of Spain. (In this regard, Ha-Kuzari is one of the earliest examples of a Jewish literary genre that stretches through Maimonides, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, and many contemporary writers.) Rather than openly critiquing Christianity and Islam in his defense of Judaism, he used the story of the Khazar conversion as a literary device, presenting philosophical arguments as part of a historic trialogue rather than a direct rhetorical attack. This thinly veiled disguise allowed much more latitude in making his case, especially in Arabic, where it met with enthusiastic readership among philosophically inclined Jewish youth.

Rabbi Ha-Levi based his book on one of the more detailed historical sources available on the Khazar Empire, the so-called Reply of King Joseph. In the 10th century, the Spanish-Jewish diplomat Chasdai ibn Shaprut sent out emissaries to the east, hoping to gain confirmation of the existence of a Jewish kingdom on the shores of the Caspian Sea; his envoys were blocked at Constantinople, but through a third party they managed to exchange some communication with Bulan’s descendant, King Joseph, who validated the stories of this mysterious land.

Historians have since discovered dozens of references to Jewish Khazaria, written by both Jewish and non-Jewish travelers and historians of the medieval period. Khazarian documents written in Hebrew have been found in the Cairo Geniza, and Khazarian coins with the inscription “Moses is the Messenger of G‑d” have been unearthed in Sweden. Strangely, with the notable exception of Ha-Kuzari, there is a remarkable silence regarding Khazaria from rabbinic sources, indicating the possibility that the conversion was limited to the ruling elite, or that perhaps the Khazars adopted Karaite interpretations of Judaism.

There is some evidence to suggest that the Khazar conversion, notwithstanding the pious account preserved in King Joseph’s reply, was actually motivated by geopolitical considerations: faced with the rapid advance of Islam to the south and Christianity to the west, the Khazars may well have decided that adopting Judaism, a religion tolerated by both Christians and Muslims, might be a better way to ensure their political independence than retaining their polytheistic shamanism or choosing one dominant faith and warring with the other.

The Khazar Empire eventually fell to the princes of medieval Kievan Rus’ in the 13th century, after nearly five centuries of existence as a Jewish state. Some writers have argued that the Khazars are actually the ancestors of Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewry, a theory that bears little connection to historical reality, including the results of multiple DNA studies conducted in the last decade. Some of these writers do not bother to conceal their true agenda, which is to undermine the connection between contemporary Jews and their biblical ancestors, hoping to delegitimize the Jewish claim to the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Levi’s Ha-Kuzari, written 800 years ago as a defense of Jews, their biblical origins, and their connection to their ancient homeland, retains its value even today.

Dr. Henry Abramson is a specialist in Jewish History and Thought. He serves as dean at the Avenue J Campus of Touro’s Lander Colleges and may be reached at abramson@touro.edu.

By Anita Kamiel, RN, MPS

Many might think that social media is the exclusive domain of the younger generation. However, many older adults have enthusiastically adopted it to keep up with the times as well as with their old acquaintances and younger family members. Grandparents are becoming proficient in Skype and Facebook, for example—and liking it! It has become a healthy emotional outlet, and word of its benefits has spread like wildfire among the elderly.

According to the Pew Research Center, Internet use among those 65 or older grew 150% between 2009 and 2011, the largest growth in a demographic group. Furthermore, their 2012 study showed that of those who go online, 71% do so daily and 34% use social media. The elderly use these tools to bridge the geographic gap between them and their loved ones far away, and as a way to reconnect with friends from a far-off time. Studies show that the Internet has become an important portal for reducing isolation, loneliness, and other feelings that can trigger depression.

Seniors emphasize the informational and educational aspects of the Internet, using it in an encyclopedic fashion to visit government sites or research financial issues. Many of the elderly have uncovered the beauty of the digital travelogue and the value of having a book review available through a simple click. This gateway to the outside world is critical once the elderly become homebound. While teens have moved on from Facebook, the older generation has found that it serves them quite well. Seniors have discovered that Skyping is a great way to bring relatives from faraway destinations right into their living rooms. Twitter has become popular for keying in to specific news topics they want to follow.

While their younger counterparts use social media in a “selfie” sort of way, the elderly, who are very sensitive to privacy issues, use it to connect with like-minded individuals. They use it for health information and to connect with others experiencing the same challenges. They have recognized that others in their stations in life are also online and have used it to start discussion groups for issues pertinent to them. From dementia to depression to diabetes, all can give and receive support in the comfort and convenience of their home. Doctors and other professionals have keyed in to this demographic and set up social-media pages to take advantage of this customer and patient outlet. Groups for the elderly experiencing specific ailments, as well as groups directed at their caregivers, are all set up for those elderly who are increasingly availing themselves of this supportive network.

Computer classes at senior centers are growing in popularity. Classes on computer basics, as well as instruction in using e-mail and social-media platforms such as Facebook, have become more common. The Jewish Council for the Aging in Washington, DC offers a senior tech program. DorotUSA.org has a program called University Without Walls, specifically designed for seniors who are homebound; they get to participate in stimulating classes and lectures through their computer or tablet. Local AARP chapters also offer computer-basics classes and sometimes partner with vendors for discounts on the hardware.

Research shows that the Internet has become an important way to exercise the minds of seniors. A study out of England and Italy finds that when the elderly are trained in the use of social media as well as Skype and e-mail, they perform better cognitively and experience improved health. During a two-year period, 120 seniors in the UK and Italy, ages 65 and above, were given specially designed computer training and were compared against a control group that did not receive any. Among those who used these tools, the mental and physical capacity improved, as opposed to a steady decline experienced in the control group. One woman reported feeling “invigorated” rather than “slipping into a slower pace” and caring more about her appearance and losing weight. It seems that satisfying our basic social needs can have synergistic effects for our overall health.

Overcoming loneliness is that much easier through the Internet and social media. As more of the population ages and sticks closer to home, the Internet as a support and educational tool becomes ever more important. Technology has greatly alleviated feelings of isolation and loneliness in seniors. Let’s help them take advantage!

Anita Kamiel, R.N, M.P.S., is the founder and owner of David York Home Healthcare Agency and is fully acquainted with all factors related to eldercare services and the latest guidelines for seniors. Thirty years ago, she realized the need for affordable, quality home health aide services provided and supervised by caring individuals. You can contact her at 718-376-7755 or at www.davidyorkagency.com. David York Agency is also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.