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Around theCommunity
PAGE 16
The 93rd Agudah Convention welcomes its second Baltimore leadership delegation
Ner Israel 82nd Annual Dinner
NWCP 33rd Annual Reception
PAGE 17
PAGE 6
BaltimoreJewishHomeTHE nov 26 - dec 10 . vol 2, #19 י״ד כסלו - כ״ח כסלו
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Nurturing your daughter’s growth in Middos Tovos and social development
Learning comes alive through multi-sensory educational methods
Developing a wide variety of extra curricular activities in social skills, art, music, gym, special visitors and field trips
Enriching each day with a full Limudei Kodesh and General Studies program
Providing support services through Shemesh and Title I
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The Baltimore Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Baltimore Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The BJH contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.
Dear Readers,
They say that time flies when you’re having fun. I like to say that time flies when you’re busy. I know it’s true for me. By the time I flip my calendar every month, that new month is already filled with appoint-ments, events and things to do. I’m al-most overwhelmed seeing how much is happening-when the month hasn’t even started yet! Although children have been talking about Chanukah for months on end, it is hard to believe it is just around the corner.
For many people, Chanukah is about latkes and doughnuts, family and togetherness. Growing up, Cha-nukah to me meant presents, a partial week of school and a different party with just about everyone you ever had some type of association with. Chanu-kah was a fun holiday as a child, and continues to be so as an adult.
Every family has their own way of celebrating Chanukah. Some things we do are the same-we all light the menorah and we all sing hallel and al hanissim. But the way we do all these mitzvos differ from one family to the next. We are all individuals and have our unique way of celebrating, and yet
we are all one of the same. The me-norah is a symbol of our uniqueness and our uniformity. Each candle on the menorah is different and separate from the others. But when we light that candle as part of the mitzvah and harness the power of its tiny light, we are performing a mitzvah that symbol-izes our connection to our Creator for hundreds of years.
We packed so much for you to en-joy in this week’s special Chanukah issue. For those who want to learn more about the Yom Tov, make sure to read the divrei Torah and essays on Jewish thought. For those who want things to do for their Chanukah par-ties, check out the “light up the night article”. And for those who love cook-ing and baking and culinary delights, we have many recipes to enhance your Chanukah meals.
As always I look forward to hear-ing from each and every one of you. Feel free to send me an email at [email protected]
Wishing you all a good Shabbos & a Freilechen Chanukah,
Yaakov
COMMUNITYAround the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
JEWISH THOUGHT From Rockets to Doughnuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
The Infamous Case of the “Get of Cleves” . . . . . . . . 52
The Halacha Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Vayishlach: Introspective Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENTNotable Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Centerfold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
COVER STORYA Soldier on a Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Light up the Nights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
LIFESTYLES613 Seconds with Shuie Steinharter . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Dating Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
In The Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Smiling Through the Pain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8 Nontoxic, Natural Pest Control Ideas . . . . . . . . . . 63
NEWSGlobal News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
National News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Israel News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
That’s Odd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
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WOLASKY FAMILY EDITION
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CLASS ACTS 2by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer
More true stories about the power of caring
LETTERS TO MY CHILDRENby Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.
THE ARYEH FAMILY EDITION
THE STORY OF REB MOSHE by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman
A biography for young readers
EVERYDAY SECRET RESTAURANT RECIPES
by Leah Schapira & Victoria Dwek
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Around the Community
The 93rd Agudah Convention welcomes its second Baltimore leadership delegation BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn By: Isaac Draiman
Two weeks ago Agudath Israel of America held its 93rdAnnual National Convention. Hundreds of community minded men and women from across the country and overseas joined to-gether with leading Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva to give and receive chizuk on the challenges of the day and to focus on the many important issues facing the greater American To-rah community.
The 2015 Agudah Convention was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, CT and was centered around the theme of “Leadership: For Yourself; Your Family; Your Com-munity”. Numerous other topics were the focus at sessions throughout the long weekend, beginning on Thurs-day evening, and then on Friday, over Shabbos, Motzai Shabbos, and ending Sunday afternoon. Sessions focused on a wide array of topics included on parenting, relationships, politics, shid-duchim, and parnassa, to name just a few.
Continuing the successful model of the last few years, the 2015 con-vention programming placed strong emphasis on drawing in younger com-munity activists. Groups of young couples from Waterbury, CT, and the Syrian-Sephardic community in Brooklyn, joined in this year for their first experience at an Agudah Conven-tion.
For the second consecutive year, a bus load of Baltimore young leaders traveled to Stamford for the Thursday evening sessions and programming in conjunction with the Agudah’s Lef-
kowitz Leadership Initiative, under the direction of Rabbi Shai Markow-itz.
The Baltimore delegation traveled through the afternoon and arrived at the hotel in Stamford where they were greeted by Agudath Israel’s chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Shlomo Werdiger and Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, the Agudah’s mid-Atlantic regional director. After davening Ma’ariv the group was treated to a special dinner for the young leadership group, where they were addressed by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, the organization’s executive vice president, and other members of the board and leadership.
After dinner, the first of three ses-sions (pre-keynote concurrent, key-note, and post-keynote concurrent) began, offering the attendees a wide variety of topics – many of which revolved around the “Leadership” theme. Many members of the delega-tion stuck with the young leadership sessions, while some others hopped around to some of the other sessions, so as not to miss out on the inspiring and thought provoking presentations
that went on in each room.As it did last year, the leadership
delegation trip gave many of the par-ticipants their first taste of an Agudah Convention and a renewed sense of appreciation for the incredible work carried by Agudath Israel, on the local, state, and federal government levels.
After a second year of this wonder-ful trip Rabbi Sadwin looks forward to providing other trips and opportunities for the members of the community.
“The members of our communi-
ty are an inspired group of guys who are constantly looking to grow and achieve in all areas of their lives”, said Rabbi Sadwin. “The Agudah Convention provides the forum for so many vital aspects of life to be ad-dressed and for us to receive guidance. Through all of this we can all ignite the leader within ourselves and allow it to make an impact on our own lives, those of our family, and those of our community.”
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Around the Community
Sara & Ariel’s Mazel Tov Banner
The Baltimore community has come together once again to show support and love to a special couple in Israel, Sara Litman and Ariel Bei-gel whose wedding will I”YH take place on Thursday in Yerushalayim.
After suffering the tragic blow of los-ing her father, Rabbi Yaakov Litman, hy”d, and brother Natanel hy”d, a little over a week ago to a terrorist at-tack, Sara and Ariel responded by in-viting the entire Klal Yisroel to their
wedding. Impressed by the couple’s response, and reminded of the murder of the kallah Nava Applebaum and her father Dr. Dovid Applebaum by a suicide bomber in 2003, Frank and Danielle Sarah Storch wanted to show them support. A Mazel Tov banner was immediately printed for signa-tures and mazel tov wishes to present at the wedding. The project has now grown to three huge banners and has been signed by thousands of students, participants, and staff at Talmudical Academy, Bnos Yisroel, Bais Yaakov Middle and High School, Bais Yaakov Convention, Cheder Chabad, Jewels,
Beth Tfiloh, Ohr Chadash, and Maalot Baltimore. The banners were signed by many at Seven Mile Market and Goldberg’s Bagels as well as at the Star-K.
Although Frank and Danielle Sar-ah can’t attend the simcha in person, they hope to be misameach Sara and Ariel with Baltimore’s brachos and wishes when the banners are present-ed to them at the wedding. “We should all try to follow in their footsteps and focus on being b’achdus for the sake of shalom in Israel and around the world,” said Danielle Sarah Storch.
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Around the Community
This past October the Weinberg Foundation annual “Employee Giving Program” luncheon took place. This is a unique program in which Wein-berg Foundation employees have the opportunity to choose a nonprofit or-ganization of their liking, and award them with a generous grant. These or-ganizations collectively represent the goals and objectives that Mr. Harry and Jeanette Weinberg had in mind when setting up the trust.
Mr. Stan Goldman, Weinberg Foundation’s Program Director of Dis-abilities, US and Israel, chose to nomi-nate the JEWELS Inclusive School of Baltimore as his choice for this year’s grant. Stan is a believer in the power of inclusion and the impact it has upon children and ultimately communities. Stan himself felt the incredible atmo-sphere as he toured JEWELS seeing typically developing children with children with special needs learning and playing side by side in a manner in which everyone seemed so con-tent. These adorable little children displayed the kind of acceptance and respect that adults dream of having in their midst. Stan has proven to be not only a believer in JEWELS but a trust-ed supporter of the school.
Mrs. Shuli Bamberger, JEWELS Preschool Director and one of the founders, accepted the award on be-half of JEWELS. In a short (literal-ly under 2 minutes) but emotionally charged speech, she related how vi-tal the mission of inclusion is to our
school and community. “JEWELS is a program that incorporates a balance of special instruction, therapeutic in-tervention, social opportunities and all with lots of love”, said Mrs. Bamberg-er. “The Inclusive Preschool setting is beneficial for all children involved, as
it models diversity and compassion, teaches that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and embraces the meaning of true friendship.”
In thanking Mr. Goldman, Mrs. Bamberger, a parent of a child with special needs herself, said; “I know first-hand the overwhelming and chal-lenging journey parents go through upon the birth of a child with special needs. I stand here today as the direc-tor of JEWELS, however I am also standing here as the mother of a child with special needs. You have not only helped brighten my world, you have helped make the entire world a better place.”
It was a very proud moment for the staff and entire JEWELS family. In only four short years, the school has grown to 34 students and has caught the attention of many experts in the field of Education and Special Edu-cation. Hard work, dedication, and a determination not to fail the children with special needs of Baltimore, is what drives the staff and lay leaders. To be recognized by the Weinberg Foundation is another milestone for JEWELS on their accomplished jour-ney.
Baltimore’s JEWELS Inclusive School Takes Home Weinberg Foundation AwardBaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn By :Isaac Draiman
Ohr Chadash Students Write Letters to Soldiers in Israel
When Rabbi Margolese heard that Board Member, Mike Lowenstein, and his wife Layne were traveling to Israel to volunteer on an army base, he jumped into action and asked the students at Ohr Chadash Academy to write letters or draw pictures to bring smiles to the soldiers in Israel who need our support. Working at home and at school, the students recognized the opportunity where they can make a difference and connect with the Isra-
el community and put effort into their letters and drawings.
Mr. Lowenstein read the letters to the soldiers on base, bringing smiles instantly. He explained to them that learning about and connecting with Israel is a fabric of OCA’s mission and that the students wanted them to show their support and concern for the chayalim. The soldiers were touched and appreciated this effort.
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Rabbi Yakov Horowitz Speaks in Baltimore About Being a Mentsch (Photo Essay)BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn By :Isaac Draiman
After a Sunday filled with family activ-ities and responsibilities, 100 plus parents carved out time on this uncharacteristical-ly mild evening to attend a talk given by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz. Rabbi Horowitz, a trailblazer in education and child abuse prevention is the founder/dean of Yeshiva Darchei Noam of Monsey and founder/director of The Center for Jewish Family Life/Project YES, which conducts child abuse prevention and parenting workshops in Jewish communities around the world.Relying on his years of extensive work with struggling adolescents, Horowitz talked about a topic with the Baltimore community – one not often addressed pub-licly and directly; manhood. From a Torah perspective what qualities define a man? A mentsch? Are they mutually exclusive? The question most wanted answered was ‘How can we position our boys to develop into the Mentschen we hope they become? Undoubtedly, this topic is worthy of a healthy dialogue among parents.
“Being a man is unique,” explained Shmuel Fischler in his welcome. Fischler is a clinical social worker who was in-volved in developing this program. Fis-chler quipped “Even if it were true that women are from Venus, men are still from Mars.” He stressed that “While for some it may be out of our box to be here, it will help us reach our universal goal of raising a mentsch and having our daughters marry mentschen.”
Rabbi Binyamin Marwick of Con-gregation Shomrei Emunah hosted this talk and stressed the priority for develop-ing ‘mentsch’ skills. “The Torah stresses that before all, we should be an Adam, a mentsch. Who better to speak on this top-
ic then Rabbi Horowitz?” He added that Rabbi Horowitz’s years of working with youth who have confided in him have provided an inside look of a young man’s
mind. And Rabbi Marwick also encour-aged the crowd not to be afraid in enlisting the help of professionals, especially those from community organizations for their
help. In his affable style Rabbi Horowitz deftly addressed serious concerns we have for our boys interwoven with stories that found the crowd laughing. Rabbi Horow-itz layered his talk, beginning by painting the context of the adolescent experience.
“Adolescence is a time for making mistakes and growing from them,” he said. He invited parents to appreciate that context and create an environment that fosters such growth. He continued with stressing the relationship between parent and child, father and son. Without having a non-judgmental and compassionate rela-tionship they will not want to be open with parents.
Another point Rabbi Horowitz strong-ly stressed was congruence. “I urge you,” he pleaded, “to maintain congruence be-tween the messages your children receive at home and what school you send them to.” He felt that the incongruence between the values parents hold versus the values of the school they choose are extremely damaging to the child.
Finally, he delved into the building blocks for being a mentsch, breaking it down into two categories. Behaviors; such as holding doors open and helping the elderly is one. The other, of which he elaborated on, was relational. Model con-flict resolution at home between spouses in front of them. Teach empathy by re-flecting on viewing experiences through another’s eyes. Show them that being a mentsch in both categories is in their own best interest.
Boy to Mentsch is a federally funded program. For more information please vis-it boytomentsch.com or call 410.843.0030
Opening Ben Cardin Scholars Program
This past Wednesday night was the opening session for the Ben Car-din program. The sessions got off to a great start with local Mentors coming out to learn with the 35 teens accepted into the Cardin program- our largest group ever! Teens learned about the Jewish impact on civilization. The teens then heard from Russ Roberts, a Fellow at Stanford University on the topic of learning lessons in Judaism from Economics.
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Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund is a 501c3 yearly audited charity, based in Baltimore,benefitting the needy of the Greater Baltimore area Jewish Community
THIS AD SPONSORED BY THE SCHLOSSBERG FAMILY
With your help & support, we will continue to help the less fortunate of our community.Send a check to Ahavas Yisrael, 2723 Woodcourt Road, Baltimore, MD 21209
Or, donate online: www.ahavasyisrael.org
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MRS. AVIVA ISBEE: 410-764-6020 | ELI W. SCHLOSSBERG: 410-358-4464 2723 WOODCOURT ROAD | BALTIMORE, MD 21209
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NWCP 33rd Annual Reception BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn
Sherri Zaslow, Executive Director7218 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21208
www.peregrinetudor.com
Meat
CHANUKAH PARTY!
Sunday, December 6th1 - 2:30 pm
Our Residents & Staff Cordially Invite our neighbors, children & grandchildren
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Music, Balloon Animals, and so much more.
RSVP to Zack Pomerantz at 410-318-8000
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ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY CARE
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Ner Israel 82nd Annual DinnerBaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn
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Rabbi and Mrs Yitzchok Neger Dedicate Sefer TorahBy Elchonon Oberstien
On Sunday, November 15, Baltimore saw an unusual spectacle. Long known as a distinctly Litvish town, the Hachnosas Sefer Torah celebrated that day demon-strated the growth of the Chassidic com-munity. Rabbi Yitzchok and Mrs Gitty Neger commissioned the writing of a SeferTorah in memory of Mrs. Neger’s father, Max Knopf,z”l of Brooklyn, and Rabbi Neger’s parents Moshe and Chana Neger z”l of Toronto.
Like all such ceremonies, the final let-ters were inscribed at the home of the Baa-lei Simcha and various communal notables were honored with inscribing letters. The procession down Strathmore Avenue to Khal Machzikei Torah was led by a truck with amplified singing and music by local singing sensation, Yehuda Mond. He was followed by young boys carrying torches and the Sefer Torah under a chupah was escorted by several hundred members of the community. Old Timers remarked that
such a public expression of Kovod Hato-rah, dancing and singing in the street, with police escort would simply not have hap-pened in Baltimore in a past generation.
It is a sign of the vibrancy of the com-munity. Founded by Holocaust survivors and led by Rabbi Yitzchok Sternhell zt”l, Khal Machzikei Torah is today led by
Harav Nesanel Kostelitz and is a hub of Torah and chas-sidus for a new generation. Recently, the opening of the Chassidic Kollel has brought many young families to the neighborhood, who partic-ipated in the simcha. They have been warmly wel-comed and made to feel at home.
The dancing in the street lasted for an hour and then the Sefer Torah was greeted by Sifrei Torah and placed into the Aron Kodesh amid much joyous celebration.
Following this,there was a Seudas Mitzvah in the Royal Restaurant attend-ed by family ,friends and notables. Among the hon-ored guests wasthe son of the Skulener Rebbe ,Rabbi Noach Portugal shlita Rav of Skulen in Lakewood. He who spoke of the close ties between the Neger family and his zaide,the Skulener Rebbe, go-ing back to Romania. Rabbi Shafer, rosh hayeshiva in Lakewood East Jerusalem who came from Eretz Yisroel specifically for this event presented Reb Yitzchok with a sefer inscribed with words of praise and blessing signed by Rav Chaim Kanievski, shlita.
The Morah D’Asra, Harav Kostelitz spoke of the devotion of Reb Yitzchokto the Kehila of which he is the longtime President. He recalled the\parents in whose memory the Torah is dedicated and praised their devotion to Derech Yisroel Saba. Rav Yaakov Hopfer, President of the Vaad Harabbanim of Baltimore also gave moving divrei brocho.
In his remarks, the Baal Simcha, Reb Yitzchok Neger spoke movingly of his
departed parents and father in law who all were survivors of the Holocaust who re-built their lives and raied doros yesharim. Despite going through the Gehinnom of Aushwitz and other horrors, they rebult their lives to follow the ways of their ances-tors and supported and epitomized what it means to be a Torah Jew. Today, their children and later generations are pillars of their communities who are devoted to learning Torah and following the ex-ample of their ancestors. He also praised his mother in law, Mrs.Rika Knopf ,who is a living example to all of her children ,grandchildren and great grandchildren .
All wished the Negers continued na-chas from their children and grandchildren who are seeing the example set by their parents in Torah., Avodah and Gemilus Chassadim.
Learn How to Learn
Beginner’s Gemora Class
Starting Sunday, December 20th
Reb Mahti Topas will guide you step-by-step through the language & logic of the Talmud
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Sunday Mornings, 9:00 – 10:30 AMClass held at Yesodei HaTorah’s Joseph Meister Beis Medrash
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For more information & to register, call Rabbi Tzvi Goode at 443-660-7008, or email [email protected]
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If you are interested,but the time doesn’t work,
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M19Around the Community
JCFL Championship GamePhoto Credit: Uri Aronson
On November 8, 2015, a sunny but chilly Sunday morning, Pikesville Middle School was the place to be. It was host to the 2015 Jewish Community Football League (sponsored by Northwest Refuse) Champi-onship game (Wasserman and Lemberger Bowl) between Park Heights Roofing and Y&L Landscaping. Hundreds of commu-nity members came to watch greatness, witness history and cheer on their favorite players. In the end, Park Heights Roofing’s offense was too much for Y&L to handle, as they won 45-30.
PHR started with the ball first and wasted little time. On the very first play from scrimmage, star QB, Chaim (MVP) Finkelstein dropped back to pass and connect-ed with TE Jason (Offensive Rookie of the Year) Mann for a touchdown. On the play, Mann rolled out, caught the pass, then turned up field and rum-bled, bumbled and stumbled his way in for the touchdown. Y&L’s first possession ended in a punt, and PHR’s explosive offense went back to work, quickly. On the first play of the second drive, Fin-kelstein launched a bomb and connected with WR Josh (Offensive Player of the Year) Zaslow for a 50 yard touchdown catch. This put PHR up by two touchdowns, and we were only four minutes into the game.
But Y&L kept battling and never gave up. They found some success towards the end of the first half, but some key drops and their inability to stop PHR’s deep passes, allowed PHR to hold a comfortable lead throughout. Y&L played with tre-mendous heart the entire game, but couldn’t quite come back from the early deficit.
PHR scored on their 3 other first-half pos-sessions, as Finkelstein threw 3 more touchdown passes, all 3 to WR Rafi (Defensive Player of the Year) Strum. Strum showed everybody why he was the number two overall pick in this year’s draft. PHR’s high-flying offense looked like a well-oiled machine in the first half, as they jumped out to a 31-14 lead. The offensive and defensive lines, con-sisting of Aharon (Ed Block Courage Award) Dino-vitz, Mann, Ozzie (6th Man of the Year) Marizon and Shmuel (Early Retirement) Moinzadeh were dominant in the half.
In the second half, PHR had a more conserva-tive game plan, as they tried to manage the clock and play solid defense to seal the victory. Yaa-kov (Ageless Wonder) Spatz, Shlomo (Defensive Rookie of the Year) Goldberger and Abbo (Come-back Player of the Year) Aranbayev all made spec-tacular defensive plays and had some key recep-tions for PHR. Finkelstein connected again with both Zaslow and Strum for touchdowns in the sec-ond half, creating buzz in the stands as the “Big Three,” reminiscent of the Chicago Bulls’ teams of the ‘90s, consisting of Jordan, Rodman and Pippen.
In the end, Park Heights Roofing won their first Championship in franchise history, and Owner Is-
rael “Elgy” Elgamil could be seen tearing up on the sideline, while handing out donuts and coffee. The fans stormed the field after the game, as the song “We are the Champions” was blasting in the background, as Rabbi Dave (Coach of the Year) Finkelstein got doused with the Gatorade bath, as Commissioner Dovi (what field are we on) Ziffer made comments suggesting next season may not include a draft, rather teams can form themselves, and as Joe (Honesty is my middle name) Openden was seen sobbing in the corner.
The league would like to extend a thank you to all 80 of its players, its referee crew (managed by Walt Johnson), the league management committee (Jeremy Lasson, Yossi Openden, Asher Sond-helm, and Yaa-kov Spatz), the Greater Pikes-ville Rec Coun-cil, and all 10 of its sponsors (Elle R e m o d e l i n g , Northwest Re-fuse, East Insur-ance Group, Park Heights Roofing, Y&L Landscap-ing, Early Steps Therapy, Wasser-man and Lem-berger, Samuel-son’s Diamonds, OK Uniform Company, and Limited Goods.) The league is also appreciative of the photogra-phy efforts of Uri Arnson and the publishing sup-port of Baltimore Jewish Home. See you all next year!
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Shuie SteinharterAEG Remodeling, INC..
Where do you Daven?Ohel Moshe
Growing up in Baltimore, where did you get the skills for woodworking and home remodeling? What was your first job?
I have always had interest and knack for making things. As a child I would use my father’s tools to build-ing different things in the backyard. I also worked for Rabbi Ribiat during the summers making schtenders and bookcases. He was very influential in developing my skills for woodwork-ing.
What do you attribute your success to?
I can’t attribute it to any one thing. When it comes to AEG, it’s a combi-nation of my relationship with Elazar, our amazingly supportive families, the mentors that we had guiding us and of course Hashem.
What are you truly passionate about?
Biking. It’s good to have a hobby you are passionate about. I have par-ticipated in Bike4Chai for two years now and love everything about it from the people I have met, the training and the mission of the ride. It’s worth ev-ery drop of sweat and every dollar to see the faces of the kids as we all ride into Camp Simcha.
Can you give us a short synopsis of what an average day looks like for Shuie Steinharter?
Not really, every day is different depending on what job we are work-ing on. I start every day with Daf Yomi at Ohel Moshe with Rabbi Teichman before shachris. Then we all meet at the office and plan the day. I try to be home by 5:30 to help with the kids.
What is the best career advice you can give to someone just starting
off in business?Make family a priority. When you
start a business there is so much that needs to be done to establish it and help it grow, but at the end of the day, you come home to those that love you and that is the most important thing. Make time for them and attend what-ever functions you can at your kids schools. You are building a career to support your family and you don’t want to lose site of that as you focus on the job.
What got you involved in volunteering at Lev Shlomo?
I wish Lev Shlomo, or a similar type of organization, had been around when I was a teenager. I think I would have benefited greatly. I want to help the students there as I would have ap-preciated and needed the help when I was a growing up.
How do you help in their efforts?We hire and mentor many students.
I try and find those that have a knack for construction so they can tap into skills they may have not known they had. I also try and support the organi-zation in other endeavors throughout the year.
How do you see the benefit of their program to their students, as opposed to the typical Yeshiva setting?
The benefit Lev Shlomo provides, that it is it not a typical Yeshiva set-ting. There are kids from all different backgrounds and learning styles, that need something that’s a little outside the box and Lev Shlomo is there for them and that is amazing. It gives them a sense that they belong some-where, are accepted and can learn To-rah in a manner suitable to their indi-vidual needs.
Mazel Tov on being honored by NCSY. How long have you been in-volved with NCSY and in what ca-pacity?
I have been involved with NCSY since I was in high school. I became an advisor after I got back from Israel. I met Elise at a shabbaton where she was also an advisor. Now we do what we can to help NCSY, by hosting meals and participating in events.
Sponsored by
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For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.atsncsy.org, call 410.358.6279 or email [email protected]
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Shabbos Parshas Vayeishev ' December 4 and 5 Women of the community are invited to share an uplifting Shabbos of warmth,
exploration and growth with the incomparable Rebbetzin Heller.
Tiferes Yisroel Shabbat Dinner Reservations: [email protected] Day Reservations: [email protected] or call Adriana Steinberg at (202) 641-6677
Donations and sponsorships are welcome! Shabbos Evening 5:30 pm - SHABBOS DINNER WITH RABBI & REBBETZIN GOLDBERGER AND OUR SPECIAL GUEST REBBETZIN HELLER. Sponsorship Shabbos dinner event for men and women at Tiferes Yisroel (Rabbi Goldberger’s shul). Following dinner will be a tish for men with Rabbi Goldberger and separate shiur for women with Rebbetzin Heller.Shabbos Day 11:15 am -1:00 pm - LIVING IN REAL TIME (QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS). Sponsorship lunch event for men and women. Enjoy Shabbos lunch and shiur with the Rebbetzin. Must RSVP!Shabbos Afternoon 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm - VAYEISHEV AND HANNUKA: OVERCOMING GALUS. Special workshop for Women of Ahavas Yisroel groups and friends of Ahavas Yisroel.Shalosh Seudos 4:15 pm - WOMEN OF AHAVAS YISROEL AND LOCAL COMMUNITY. Seudah Shlishit meet and greet with the Rebbetzin. RSVP required!Motzei Shabbos 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm - FROM GALUS TO GEULA. An evening of chizuk, inspiration and rededication for all women of the community. The Rebbetzin will be available for book signing. Music & light refreshments will be served. RSVP for tickets: $10 at the door.
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Your New Home Awaits
Sam RosenblattMortgage Planner | NMLS #75844Cell: (410) 375-4447 Offi ce: (410) [email protected]
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The Week In News
The Week In News
Paris Terror Mastermind Killed in Raid
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, the sus-pected mastermind behind the recent Paris attacks that killed 130 people who bragged that he could always stay one step ahead of Western intelli-gence, was killed in a police raid north of Paris.
Abaaoud had been linked to as many as four thwarted attacks since this spring, including the plot to kill passengers on a Paris-bound high-speed train in August, a plan that three young Americans helped foil. Abaaoud had claimed he successfully moved back and forth from Europe to Syria coordinating terror attacks and narrowly escaped a January police raid in the Belgian city of Verviers. “Allah blinded their vision and I was able to leave... despite being chased after by so many intelligence agen-cies,” he boasted in an ISIS magazine.
Two counterterrorism sources have said that his death marks a major advance for the investigation, but add they are operating on the premise that more senior suspects connected to the plot are still out there. They describe Abaaoud as the “Mohammed Atta” of the Paris attacks, the “tactical guy” who identified and pulled together the operatives, in the same way the lead hijacker kept the 9/11 teams on course. The sources emphasize, though, that
based on his skill set and experience, Abaaoud was not the strategic planner of the Paris attacks, in the same way Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was for the 9/11 attacks. The Paris massacre involved a plot or plots with multiple layers and upwards of 20 players, ac-cording to the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Texas Republican Michael McCaul.
Police say they launched their raid after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tip-offs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up in the apartment. Abaaoud was found dead after the raid with multiple bullet wounds and eight oth-er people were arrested.
The Paris attacks killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more. Europe and much of the world are on edge as French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned that associates of the attack-ers could use chemical and biological weapons. Valls convinced the French Parliament to extend their state of emergency by three months. The state of emergency expands police powers to carry out arrests and searches and allows authorities to forbid the move-ment of people and vehicles at specif-ic times and places.
Charedi Stabbed in France
Three people believed to be Islam-ic State supporters attacked a Jewish teacher in the southern French city of Marseille last Wednesday evening, November 18. Rabbi Tzion Saadoun, 56, a Chabad shaliach and Juda-ic-studies teacher at a local yeshiva, was stabbed in the anti-Semitic attack.
Rabbi Saadoun was attacked out-
side his home, a short distance from the school and shul where he works. Rabbi Saadoun “lives on the border between the Jewish neighborhood and the Arab neighborhood in Marseille,” said a fellow shaliach, Rabbi Eliyahu Altab. “Right outside his home, he was ambushed by three people. He was stabbed on his face, body, arms and legs. A car drove by, and the at-tackers got scared and fled.”
According to Chabad officials in Marseille, the victim suffered serious injuries but is in stable condition and his life does not appear to be in dan-ger. Police were combing the area for the attackers. One of the attackers, who was travelling by scooter, de-manded Rabbi Saadoun look at smart-phone pictures of Toulouse jihadist Mohamed Merah, who killed three Jewish schoolchildren, a teacher and three soldiers in southwestern France in 2012. The attacker also showed the teacher that he was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the symbol of the Is-lamic State terrorist group.
The two other suspects believed to have been involved in the attack stood by and joined in when the attacker be-gan shouting anti-Semitic profanities. France has had many such attacks re-cently. In October, a Rav and two con-gregants were stabbed outside a shul in Marseille following Shabbos dav-ening. The knife-wielding assailant could be heard shouting anti-Semitic slurs at the time of the assault.
The series of attacks on Jews in France in recent years has spurred a huge upsurge in immigration to Isra-el.
Drunken Sailor Wrecks Cargo Ship
What do you do with a drunken sailor? Well, for one, don’t give him any more rum.
A Russian officer on watch when a 423ft cargo ship ran aground at full speed in Scotland had drunk half a li-ter of rum before taking up his post,
an investigation has found. The Ly-sblink Seaways vessel was travelling from Belfast to Skogn in Norway with a cargo of paper when it became stuck off the west coast of Scotland near Kilchoan in the Ardnamurchan penin-sula on February 18 of this year.
The chief officer on watch, a 36-year-old Russian, had consumed half a liter of rum in his cabin before taking up his shift as the sole officer on watch at midnight, but had “be-come inattentive due to the effects of alcohol consumption.” His actions led the ship to run aground at full speed into the rocky foreshore, where it remained for two days during bad weather. The ship had to be scrapped due to the major damage incurred and 25 tons of marine gas oil leaked into the water.
The officer had consumed enough alcohol to make him eight times over the alcohol limit.
In a recent report, an investiga-tion into the incident found the bridge navigational watch alarm system (BNWAS), “which could have alert-ed the crew to the officer’s incapaci-ty, had not been switched on and an off-track alarm on the ECS2 had been silenced.”
“Although a radar watch alarm had sounded every 6 minutes, the somnolent officer was able to reset the alarm without leaving his chair,” the report noted.
But despite the zero tolerance policy on alcohol on their ships, Lys-blink Seaways carried a bonded store, which included a stock of spirits, beer and wine. “Records showed that the bonded store was regularly replen-ished, and empty beer, wine and spir-it bottles and cartons found on board after the accident indicated significant levels of alcohol consumption by the crew,” the report noted.
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The Week In News
WWII Document Trove Unearthed in Budapest
Nearly three quarters of a centu-ry after the Holocaust, a couple ren-ovating their apartment in Budapest, Hungary, has discovered a very large and historically valuable collection of documents, long thought destroyed during World War II. The haul of 6,300 documents are from a 1944 census that was a precursor to the in-tended liquidation of the Hungarian capital’s 200,000 Jews in Nazi death camps.
Brigitte Berdefy, co-owner of the apartment overlooking Hunga-ry’s parliament, said that in August a worker detected paper after jamming a screwdriver through a crack in the wall. “We thought we’d ruined the neighbor’s wallpaper,” Berdefy said. But then her husband Gabor peered through the crack and saw what looked like handwriting.
Carefully removing each brick, the couple eased out 135 pounds of dusty papers, many with bits of plaster caked on, but all more or less intact. With the ink still readable, the yel-lowed papers were given to the Buda-pest City Archives. Istvan Kenyeres, head of the archives, was amazed. “The content and scale of the finding is unprecedented,” he said. “It helps to fill a huge gap in the history of the Holocaust in Budapest.”
Since September, restorers at the archives have been literally ironing the papers to study them, pausing oc-casionally when they spot someone famous among the scrawled names. The May 1944 Budapest census was to identify houses to serve as holding locations for Jews before moving them to a planned walled ghetto in the city’s
seventh district. Two months earlier, Nazi Germany had occupied Hungary and deportations in the countryside to the gas chambers of Auschwitz began almost immediately.
The forms found in the Budapest apartment contain names of each building’s inhabitants and whether they are Jewish or not, with total num-bers of Christians and Jews marked in
the corners. “Jewish people filled in the forms honestly – they refused to believe where this might end up,” said Kenyeres.
Shortly after the census, around 200,000 Jews were moved into some 2,000 selected buildings, “Yellow Star Houses,” with the Star-of-David Jewish symbol painted on the doors. “Thanks to the Berdefys, we know
that if a lot of Jews lived in a build-ing then it likely became a Yellow Star House,” Kenyeres said.
In late 1944, the Jews of Budapest were crammed into the ghetto, where some died of starvation or were shot next to the river – a poignant memo-rial of abandoned iron shoes today marks the spot. The arrival of the Russian army in January 1945 saved
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The Week In News
the rest, though, and unlike the Jews from outside the city, most of Buda-pest’s Jewish population survived.
An estimated total of 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished in the Holo-caust, most in Auschwitz.
Two Jews Killed By Terrorist in Tel Aviv
Two Israelis were murdered and at least two others wounded in an attack in southern Tel Aviv on Thursday, No-vember 19. The stabbing took place in the Panorama office building at an entrance to a room used for davening next to the parking lot as Mincha was taking place. Reuven Aviram, 51, was from Ramle and Rabbi Aharon Yesiab, 32, was from Tel Aviv. Two more people suffered light and mod-erate injuries.
The Palestinian terrorist was caught by a passersby and arrested by police at the scene. Police identi-fied him as Raid Halil bin Mahmoud, a 36-year-old father of five from the West Bank village of Dura, near He-bron. Workers in the large office building were told to stay inside and lock their doors as police hunted for a possible second attacker. They later said there was only one assailant.
The attack broke several days of relative calm following a spate of stabbing attacks in Jerusalem, the West Bank and elsewhere over the last two months. Sadly, since the attack, others have been killed in other at-tacks as well.
Terror organization Hamas said it welcomed the attack. “We welcome the heroic operation in Tel Aviv that killed two people,” read a tweet on the Gaza-based group’s official account read. “We call on the Palestinians to continue such activities.”
Another Terror Attack Claims Innocent Lives
Three people were killed and four others injured in a shooting last week near the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut in the Etzion Bloc. Among the victims was Ezra Schwartz, an Amer-ican yeshiva student from Sharon, Massachusetts. Ezra, 18, was taking a year off in between high school and college to learn in yeshiva. He had been delivering food to Israeli sol-diers before the attack. Also killed was Yaakov Don, 51, from Alon Shvut, and a Palestinian man.
The police and army confirmed the assailant opened fire with an Uzi submachine gun from inside a vehicle at Israeli vehicles, hitting several people. When he ran out of ammunition, the attacker drove in the direction of the nearby Gush Etzion Junction before ramming the vehicle into a car. Security personnel shot back at the suspect, disarmed him and arrested him.
The wounded individuals, who were only lightly hurt, were Ameri-cans studying at a yeshiva in nearby Beit Shemesh. Magen David Adom said they were evacuated to the Sha’are Zedek Medical Center. Pales-tinian media identified the shooter as 24-year-old Mohammed Abdel Bas-set al-Kharoub, from the West Bank village of Dir Smat near Hebron.
At the funeral that took place in Boston, Ezra was remembered as a person with “boundless energy,” ca-pable of “making friends with any-one.” From mentoring his siblings to
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The Week In News
spending quality time with his grand-parents, he earned the respect and love of all kinds of people — “kids with little quirks and idiosyncrasies were his specialty,” according to Schwartz’s grandfather.
Ezra would spend time with his three younger brothers, playing sports with them. His older sister, Mollie, with whom he was especially close, said, “From a very, very young age, you looked out for me,” she said through tears. “You played and played with our brothers until there was no playtime left. I’m going to try to be happy for the both of us from now on.”
“His life ended abruptly as he was on a mission of chessed,” Ez-ra’s mother, Ruth, said through tears. “Our family will never be complete again.”
Jonathan Pollard Finally Free
After thirty long years, Jonathan Pollard was finally released from pris-on last Friday. His lawyers are now appealing the restrictions placed on the American-Israeli spy upon his re-
lease from prison, arguing that they render him unemployable.
Pollard’s lawyers say that the re-strictions — among them an anklet for 24-hour GPS tracking and the monitoring of his and any future em-ployer’s computers — are illegal, and that no employer would agree to their computers being monitored in this manner. The attorneys also claim that there is no cause to believe that Pol-lard will pass on further classified in-formation or commit any other crime, as the data he gleaned is outdated and he can barely recall it. Additionally, the lawyers point out that his crime had nothing to do with the internet, as the internet had not yet been invent-ed at the time of his incarceration. Therefore, they posit, he should be allowed unmonitored internet access.
After three decades behind bars, Pollard, now 61, was released from
the Butner, North Carolina, facility where he has been serving a life sen-tence for spying on the United States on Israel’s behalf. He was arrested in 1985 for selling U.S. secrets to Isra-el while working as a civilian intelli-gence analyst for the American Navy. One year later, Pollard pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit espionage and was sentenced to life in prison in 1987.
Pollard has said that he would like to move to Israel after his release, a request that has been ruled out by the American authorities as he is required to remain in the U.S. for the five years that he is on parole. He is expected to settle in the New York area and is barred from traveling outside the country, including to Israel, without permission.
Under the terms of his parole, the former U.S. Navy analyst is also
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The Week In News
not allowed to give interviews to the media and no rallies or other public events were allowed to be held to mark the occasion. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the re-lease, saying he had “longed for this day.” “The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard,” the prime minister said in a statement. “After three long and hard decades, Jonathan is finally being reunited with his family. May this Shabbos bring him much joy and peace that will con-tinue in the years and decades ahead.” The prime minister is reportedly seek-ing to keep the release as low-key as possible and has instructed his cabinet to refrain from discussing the matter.
Pollard’s supporters argued for years that his sentence was excessive and that others convicted for compa-rable crimes received lighter sentenc-es. Most recently, hints circulated in spring 2014 that Pollard’s release could be secured as an incentive for keeping foundering peace talks alive between Israel and the Palestinian Au-thority — but Pollard himself report-edly rejected any attempt at using him for leverage.
“She Was a Source of Good Energy”
Hadar Buchris, the 21-year-old who was murdered in a terror attack at Gush Etzion junction this past Sunday, was memorialized on Sun-day evening at the Bat Ayin midrasha she joined last year. Girls attending the Zohar midrasha gathered there before setting off for the junction where their friend was murdered.
“Hadar was a fantastic, bright girl. She was always a source of good en-ergy for the whole group,” said Ayala Eretz Hazvi, Hadar’s former teach-er from her old school in the Golan
Heights. “She was a very talented theater student and a successful com-ic who always created positive vibes around her friends,” Hazvi continued. “She was also a kind of ‘psycholo-
gist’ who would lend a sympathetic ear to whoever needed it… We love her and her family very much and are sending them a strong embrace.”
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The Week In News
Before moving to the Golan Heights, Hadar had attended school in Tzfat, where one of her sisters still studies. Those at the school say that she and her sister were very close and supported one another.
Buchris was murdered on Sunday afternoon when a Palestinian stabbed her while she was waiting at a hitchhiking point at Gush Etzion junction. A soldier standing nearby shot and wounded the attacker, who later died. Magen David Adom para-medics treated Hadar and she was evacuated to Sha’are Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem, but surgeons were un-able to save her.
According to a witness to the at-tack, the Palestinian initially spoke with a soldier at the site before car-rying out the stabbing. The Shin Bet
confirmed later that the attacker was Issam Thawabteh, a 34-year-old from Beit Fajjar, which is close to the Gush Etzion junction.
The Happiest Town in the Country
San Luis Obispo, California, is widely regarded as the Happiest Place in America.
The town frequently makes Gal-lup-Healthways annual rankings of cities with the best well-being. Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, named San Luis Obispo, about two hours north of Ventura County, one of the four happiest cities on earth (it was the only U.S. city in the bunch). In addition, Oprah Winfrey featured the city in a segment titled “The Hap-piest City in America.”
So what makes the city, located between Los Angeles and San Fran-cisco, so happy? Recently, Sid Lipsey of Yahoo Travel visited the city and came away smiling.
First and foremost, Lipsey noticed that the locals are relaxed and chilled. There is an overall slow-paced atmo-sphere about the town. The wide side-walks are designed for casual strolls and add to the laidback feel. The ac-commodations in the town echo the “don’t worry, be happy” vibe. There are several charming and quant Bed & Breakfast type of lodgings, many of them pet friendly.
In SLO, a common acronym used to refer to San Luis Obispo, there is a deep appreciation for wine and meat. There are tons of restaurants and win-eries to choose from and people seem to always be socializing. But it’s not all about food. People in SLO also enjoy the great outdoors, getting their daily dose of Vitamin D and physical activity.
“We have great outdoor activi-ties,” Kylee Jepsen, senior commu-nications director for Visit San Luis Obispo County, related. “There’s lots of hiking in its beautiful terrain. And you’re within miles of the ocean, and who can’t be happy when they’re that close to the ocean?”
The beachside of the greater coun-ty of SLO is sprinkled with commu-nities.
In 2013, the city had a population of 46,377 with the average of 25.8 years old; 93.7% had a high school degree or higher. About 49% had earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher and another 18.1% received a gradu-ate or professional degree. The unem-ployment rate for 2013 was 7.4% but the people who do work have a short commute with an average travel time of just 13.8 minutes. The estimated median household income in 2013 was $44,618 with an estimated medi-an house or condo value of $530,947 and median gross rent of $1,222.
No wonder they keep on smiling!
Chicago Sets Snowfall Record as Midwest Smacked with Freeze
While many of us are still en-joying the relatively warm weather, others are preparing for snow. Frig-id temperatures brought snow across the Midwest on Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday, the region was hit with a deep freeze with temperatures dipping to the single digits and even below zero in some areas, turning any snow into ice. The National Weather Service forecast was 20 degrees or lower across six states from North Dakota to Illinois.
In Chicago, residents were blanket-
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The JCN wishes you a happy & healthy Chanukah! Thank you for your support!
The Jewish Caring Network is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing a full range of personal services to familiesfacing life-threatening, lifelong, and serious illnesses while preserving their privacy & dignity.
I would like to make a difference in a family’s Chanukah this year by donating:
Toys & Games Books Toys R Us & Target Gift Cards
Sponsor a gift basket filled to the brim with a menorah, latkes, chocolate Chanukah gelt, sufganiot & dreidels!
Sponsor a family fun-day during Chanukah!
I would like to donate $ __________________________ and put a smile on a child’s face this Chanukah. All Donations are Greatly Appreciated
Donations may be sent to: The Jewish Caring Network122 Slade Avenue, Suite 100A • Pikesville, Maryland 21208
www.jewishcaringnetwork.org
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For more information or to makea donation, please call us at
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DON’T MISS THE JCN ANNUAL TOY DRIVE!
Put a smile on a child’s face
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Your kindness will bring a smile to a child’s face and a little “light”
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Jewish Caring Network Touching Lives...Making a Difference
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Beautiful, completely renovated 6BR/3.5BA porch front home. Gleaming hardwood floors in living room & dining room. Brand new kitchen with granite counters & stainless appliances. Main level master bedroom suite. Upper level has 3 bedrooms & full bath. Finished lower level with 2 bedrooms & full bath. New baths, flooring, windows, doors & much more!
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Beautiful, completely renovated 6BR/3.5BA porch front home. Gleaming hardwood floors in living room & dining room. Brand new kitchen with granite counters & stainless appliances. Main level master bedroom suite. Upper level has 3 bedrooms & full bath. Finished lower level with 2 bedrooms & full bath. New baths, flooring, windows, doors & much more!
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ed with over 11 inches of snow, a re-cord breaker. This is the most amount of snow in the city for November in 120 years. More than 130 flights were cancelled on Sunday into and out of the O’Hare International Airport.
Earlier in the weekend, South Da-kota through Michigan received up to 20 inches of snowfall. In the southern Wisconsin town of Janesville, between 10 and 20 inches of snow had fallen by late Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Southside True Value Hardware manager Matt Krienke said business had been good in the days leading up to the storm in the Janesville, but that it had become “very, very, very, very slick.”
“People who don’t need to drive don’t need to be out,” he said.
Slick driving conditions were re-ported across the region. In western Michigan, two people were injured in a 15-car pileup late Saturday along In-terstate 196 following heavy snow in the area.
Winter doesn’t officially begin un-til Tuesday, December 22 but don’t be surprised if you spy a couple of flurries before then.
“Clock Boy” Demands $15M
It all comes down to money.Remember “Clock boy,” Ahmed
Mohamed, who was arrested after
he brought what he claimed was a “homemade” clock to school? Now, the 14-year-old Muslim boy is seek-ing $15 million because of his public “mistreatment.” His attorney is de-manding $10 million from the city of Irving, Texas, and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District.
Ahmed took his clock to school in September, and an educator thought it could be a bomb. Ahmed was arrested but never charged and was suspended from school.
“What has happened to this fam-ily is inexcusable,” Kelly Holling-sworth, an attorney for Ahmed and his family, said. “As indicat-ed in the letters, the long term ef-fects on Ahmed are incalculable.”
Interestingly, the family is no lon-ger living in the United States. They accepted a foundation’s offer to pay for Ahmed’s education in Qatar and moved to the Persian Gulf country. He had visited Qatar during a whirlwind several weeks following the incident that even included a stop at the White House. Less than 24 hours after he met the president, the Mohameds left for Qatar.
This is not the first time the family has been in the news. Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan, ran for presi-dent of Sudan and was present during a high-profile Koran burning in Flor-ida. Even more interesting is that many have revealed that Ahmed did not invent the “clock” that he brought to school. He actually took an old clock made by Radioshack and then
transported it into a silver pencil case. Perhaps he was also seeking some of the fame that his father enjoyed just a short while before.
Guys on a RollThese people are eating on the run
– and the cops aren’t too happy about it.
A group of nine young men in Perth, Australia, have been caught sip-ping and chewing on mobile patio ta-bles. They might be sitting pretty but the authorities are pretty angry about what they’re doing. It seems like they are sitting on large skateboards with tables attached and the table actually move while they’re eating. Police have posted a clip of the chillers on-line, stating that they “are concerned for the safety of those riding on the ta-bles with no protective clothing,” and that the riders “could face a number of charges including driving an unli-censed vehicle, driving an unroadwor-thy vehicle and drink [sic] driving.”
While the drunk driving claim may or may not have merit, many of the Western Australia Police’s Face-book followers seem to be on board...with the Picnic Table Passengers.
The Week In News
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One woman writes, “My brain tells me that it is stupid and dangerous but my inner child thinks that it is hi-larious and quite clever and possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen...”
“With everything that’s going on in the world right now, I 100% agree that motorized picnic tables are of high concern and should without doubt be [the police’s] main priority,” another one facetiously says. “Please yellow sticker that table immediately.”
Can anyone tell me where I can buy these cool tables for my next BBQ? I’m going to be the coolest kid on the block.
Introducing Mr. Ugly
Hey, you! Mr. Ugly! Congratula-tions!
No, we are not insulting or bully-ing someone. This Mr. Ugly is really ugly – and he’s proud to have earned the title.
Pageant judges have crowned a new winner of for Zimbabwe’s 4th annual Mister Ugly contest, upsetting supporters of the crowd favorite and prompting rioting at the event. Judg-es chose Milton Sere for the title on Saturday, citing his numerous missing front teeth and a wide range of gro-tesque facial expressions, over Wil-liam Masvinu, who has held the title since 2012.
But Masvinu and his supporters don’t agree with the decision, claim-ing that Sere is “too handsome” to win (you can be the judge by seeing his
picture) and that his ugliness wasn’t natural since it was based on missing teeth.
Judges said Sere, 42, made a “tre-mendous effort to enhance his ugli-ness by pulling facial stunts,” while Masvinu did not try hard enough.
You know what they say: beauty – and ugliness – is in the eyes (and teeth) of the beholder.
A Chunk of Change
Ever want to throw a quarter at the meter maid?
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Mayor Carlos Hernandez tried to throw a whole lot more – and now he’s in major trouble.
The Miami-area mayor tried to use 360,000 pennies and nickels – 28 buckets full of coins – to pay a $4,000 ethics fine. Instead of ac-cepting the change, the ethics com-mission doubled the fine for Hernan-dez, saying he intentionally broke the rules because he knew the panel only accepted checks. And now the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust is suing the mayor.
The commission ruled in July that Hernandez lied about interest rates on a $180,000 loan to a jewelry sales-man now jailed for a pyramid scheme. Hernandez has called the complaints a “political circus” and described com-mission members as “clowns.”
Seems like Hernandez needs a bit of a “change” of attitude.
The Golden Kit Kat
“Give me a break, give me a (gold-en) break.”
For chocolate lovers with cash to burn, a gold-coated Kit Kat bar will hit stores in Japan later this month. The candy will sell for around $16, so you probably won’t be stocking up.
Looking for the “golden tick-et”? Unlike in the famous children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Fac-tory, the luxury chocolate bar won’t be randomly scattered among regular Kit Kats in shops. Instead, 500 of the single bars will be made and sold only in the country, according to Nestle Japan, which has produced over 200 flavors – from strawberry to green tea and even wasabi – since introducing the chocolate treat there in 1973.
“In Japanese convenience stores, consumers are used to having new varieties all the time,” Nestle Japan
spokeswoman Melanie Kohli related. “Japan is a very unique market.”
Nestle’s limited edition “Sublime Gold” one-finger treat, which is cov-ered in gold leaf and described as hav-ing a rich, bitter chocolate taste, will go on sale at chocolate boutiques in eight swank department stores from Tokyo to Sapporo in the north and Fu-kuoka in southern Japan. “We have made it a luxury product,” Kohli said of the gold bars, which could be a popular treat during the “gift-giving” season. “Not like you probably re-member from your childhood. It’s a special occasion, to celebrate the end of the year.”
Kohli added that Japan’s “omiy-age” culture of bringing regional gifts back for family and work colleagues after trips away was another reason for Kit Kat’s success with its various flavors. “Like you have wasabi from Shizuoka and strawberries in Ky-ushu,” she pointed out.
“Japan is the only place where you can have such a variety of Kit Kat fla-vors, something linked to that regional culture.”
Kit Kat currently offers around 30 different flavors in Japan, including Okinawan sweet potato, Yokohama cheesecake and Kobe pudding.
Wonder if they’ll be making a lat-ke-flavored Kit Kat for the Festival of Lights?
Piling on the Points
Know that guy in the back of shul who is always boasting about how he flew his whole family to Israel for Pe-sach, stayed in a gorgeous hotel, and rented an SUV – all on credit card points? Next time he starts to chew your ear off, just mention Liu Yiqian’s name – and he’s bound to keep quiet.
Chinese billionaire and art collec-tor Liu Yiqian found a savvy way to accumulate frequent-flier miles. He put his record-breaking purchase of a Modigliani painting — which he bought at auction for 170$ million — on his American Express card.
Liu, a former taxi driver, told the New York Times that he charged the painting so that he, his wife, and their extended family of four children and two grandchildren can accumulate Membership Miles and fly around the world for free. PEYD would be proud.
The billionaire, who, according to Forbes, has a personal wealth of $1.38 billion, is a passionate travel-er: Before he started collecting art, he contemplated buying a plane. But who needs a plane when you have millions upon millions of miles?
This isn’t the first time Liu has racked up points with a credit card. In 2014, he paid for a $36 million an-cient ceramic cup with his Amex Cen-turion card. In that case, Bloomberg News reported that he got a whopping 422 million points (based on the Hong Kong dollar), which translated to more than 28 million frequent flyer
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miles. According to American Express,
Liu isn’t the first card member to take this route. “We see a huge range in redemptions using Membership Re-wards points,” spokeswoman Kim-berly Litt related. “Everything from engagement rings to fine art and, of course, for travel all over the world.”
In fact, there’s a whole community of frequent-flyer nerds called “Hob-byists” who have figured out how to game the system to fly for free.
Liu certainly has. We give him points for his frugality, especially when he can afford to own the airlines.
Swimming the Nile with a Smile
Want to help women in Sudan? Perhaps you should swim across the Nile.
The Dutch ambassador to Sudan swam across the Nile in Khartoum on Saturday in a stunt that began as a bet to win more “likes” for her embassy’s Facebook page. She also wished to promote women’s empowerment in Sudan.
Clad in a bright orange swimsuit bearing the embassy logo, Ambassa-dor Susan Blankhart swam several hundred meters across the Blue Nile with six other Dutch women and sev-en Sudanese women, cheered on by dozens of supporters on the riverbank.
“It was lovely, it was beautiful. I would recommend that everyone swims across the Nile,” Blankhart said laughing, relieved to be back on dry land after the crossing.
She had originally said that she would swim across the river if her embassy’s Facebook page received more than 10,000 likes. After she hit the target, the 63-year-old organized the swim with two charities to raise awareness about safe swimming in the Nile.
They were serious about their safe-ty. The group was watched over by a team of Sudanese lifeguards in kayaks and boats as they swam through the muddy water.
No saying what germs they’ll be catching after their plunge, though.
A Half-Marathon – Or Was It?
Thought you ran the half-mara-thon in Bangkok last week? You were wrong – you ran the half-marathon plus 4 miles, due to an error by race officials. Runner ran 27.6 kilometers (17 miles) instead of the standard 21 kilometers (13 miles). Many clocked the race on GPS watches and were bewildered by the erroneous calcula-tions.
But runners, do not despair. For your extra time and effort exerted, you will receive a wonderful, special jersey to wear like a badge of pride. 6,000 runners took part in the race and everyone – even those who didn’t
complete it – will receive their t-shirt. “The T-shirt will say, ‘Finisher of
27.6 km,’” Songkram Kraison, vice president of the Jogging Association of Thailand, one of the event’s two or-ganizers, said,. “The shirts are meant to apologize and also to honor runners who ran in the longer version of the half-marathon.”
The race looped through Bang-kok’s historic district, past the Grand Palace, monuments and Buddhist temples, with half-marathon partici-pants sharing the route with full-mar-athon runners until a specified turn-off. That’s where the error occurred, according to organizers, who said officials stationed along the route accidentally directed half-marathon runners to make a U-turn at the wrong spot, which added the extra distance.
“We deeply regret this unfortunate mistake,” the Jogging Association of Thailand said in its apology posted in Thai and English on websites and Facebook pages connected with the event. “We admit our mistake and would like to apologize.”
The T-shirt is meant to “express our admiration for your spirit in bravely overcoming the obstacles,” the letter said.
Maybe they should have given out a bumper sticker for those who are having trouble walking after the extra running they had to do.
The Week In News
Immediate Openings English Teacher
9th & 11th grade students. Hours: 2:55 PM—6:15 PM Monday—Thursday
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Founded by Sgt. Antho-ny in 2007, Our Sol-diers Speak is a non-
for-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to bringing the proud truth of Israel Defense Forces to the campuses and communi-ties of the English speaking world. As with any mean-ingful mission, Sgt. Anthony is driven to succeed – and has recruited the best and the brightest representatives of Israel to join him.
Our Soldiers Speak deliv-ers a unique presentation di-
rected at pro- and anti-Israel groups and those undecided alike. The organization aims to delve between the head-lines and media coverage of the military operations of the IDF in efforts to sepa-rate fact from sensational-ism and distinguish between perception and reality. Largely focused on bringing its message to North Amer-ican campuses, Our Soldiers Speak has reached some 350 universities and 300 high schools across four conti-nents to date.
One of the most power-ful and targeted endeavors is the inclusion of relevant specialists of the IDF such as lawyers and doctors to ad-dress graduate students, rec-ognizing that the students of today are the legislators and policymakers of tomorrow. Sgt. Anthony recently com-pleted a campus tour which brought top IDF lawyers to several prestigious law schools including Universi-ty of Pennsylvania, Emory, Stanford and UCLA. The next tour will bring Col. Dr.
Tarif Bader, Deputy Surgeon General of the IDF, to pres-ent to students at medical schools and public health programs. Col. Dr. Bader is a proud member of the Druze community who headed the IDF’s relief mission to Nepal and oversees the medical treatment of refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.
Sgt. Anthony has seen a definitive positive impact be-ing made on university cam-puses through Our Soldiers Speak. “Absolutely – just by the sheer numbers of inter-ested listeners,” he asserts. Lectures at Harvard Law attracted 100 attendees this year and at the University of Pennsylvania over 110, both an increase from the previ-ous visits. “Being invited back shows the efficacy of the initiative. Individuals that come with one view-point have turned around, or
are at least open to ideas,” he relates.
This initiative is just one part of a larger plan to ed-ucate and inform Diaspora Jewry on multiple fronts. Our Soldier’s Speak Elite brings active generals in the IDF and other key leaders from Israel to brief Congress on security issues affecting Israel and the U.S. Super-intendent Mickey Rosenfeld, spokesperson of Israel’s po-lice force, will be address-ing members of Congress in Washington, D.C., this month.
A third and very crucial component of Our Soldiers Speak is the educational program. This program is geared towards yeshiva high schools as a way to teach Jewish students so that they could teach others. While all yeshivas incorporate Jewish history lessons, some in the
A Soldier on a MissionWords are Sgt. Benjamin Anthony’s Weapon in his Defense of the Jewish StateBy Tammy Mark
Sgt. Benjamin Anthony is always on mission. Whether defending Israel in combat or on college campuses, his commitment is unyielding. His personal journey, from his exposure to anti-Semitism as a child in England to his intense experiences serving on Israel’s frontlines, reinforces his determination to reach and educate others through his organization Our Soldiers Speak.
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form of religious history and some in connection to Isra-el advocacy, the programs are not rigorous enough to deal with the dialogue on campuses today. Without sufficient grounding, Sgt. Anthony has seen that stu-dents can turn apathetic or worse, and it is happening with alarming frequency. He insists that all yeshivas are responsible to preempt this situation, and his goal is to make it as imperative a part of the core curriculum as math and science. The program has been institut-ed in nine schools so far, in-cluding North Shore Hebrew Academy, Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, and Flat-bush Yeshiva, among others across the country.
Sgt. Anthony was born in Leeds and raised in England as one of seven children. His father is a cantor and a crim-inal defense attorney and his mother was trained as a concert pianist. As a young child he experienced brutal anti-Semitism in the UK and witnessed his own brother being severely beaten on the way to school. The incident left his brother with injuries that continue to affect his health to this day. The epi-sode left a lasting impact on Sgt. Anthony as well, leav-ing him with the stark real-ization that defensive action cannot wait.
Sgt. Anthony is a grad-uate of the University of Manchester, where he was further exposed to rampant anti-Israel views. He im-migrated to Israel in 2004 after graduation and served in the IDF from 2005-2007. A heavy machine gunner, Sgt. Anthony has taken a front line role in several of Israel’s most recent cam-paigns to defend its citizens, including the second Leba-non War, Operation Pillar of Defense, and most recently, Operation Protective Edge. He has served in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, and along Israel’s northern
border, and has witnessed dreadful tragedies of his comrades on the battlefield. Sgt. Anthony continues to serve on an annual basis as a reservist in the IDF.
Having worked side by side with fellow soldiers of diverse backgrounds all with the common goal of defend-ing Israel, Sgt. Anthony is deeply proud to be a part of the IDF. He is comforted by the idea of having a Jewish state and the IDF to defend it. He knows what trage-dies befall the Jewish people otherwise and considers it a humbling privilege to be a part of it.
Our Soldiers Speak encoun-ters an initial pushback on almost every campus. Stu-dents will attempt to boycott or cancel events, even pres-suring the moderating pro-fessors to cancel their par-ticipation. At Northeastern University, students defaced event posters with swas-tikas. At Tufts and NYU, “die-ins” were held, with stu-dents covering themselves in ketchup to feign injuries as if at the hands of the IDF. Once Our Soldiers Speak pushes past these hurdles, the lectures are overwhelm-ingly successful. Sgt. An-thony recalls one particular student who was initially set on protesting and disrupt-ing the presentation. He remarkably sat through the lecture and has now applied to sign onto the organiza-tion’s mission.
Sgt. Anthony has seen shifts on the college campus-es over the 5 to 7 years he has been touring. While Jewish life on campus is growing, pro-Israel life on campus is diminishing and they are more and more becoming two different viewpoints. Anti-Israel sentiment is growing, and the unin-formed have increasingly grown critical of Israel. Jew-ish students feel less com-fortable expressing pro-Is-rael views and have nobody there to educate them at that
point. It’s easier for most to remain silent than to speak in favor of, and they lack the necessary tools.
Sgt. Anthony is intellec-tually deeply disturbed by the growing anti-Israel sen-timent and believes that fu-ture policymakers won’t find favor with Israel and that we do not have the luxury to ignore it. He cautions that if the trajectory of the U.S. follows the course of the UK and Europe, this mentality will inevitably permeate the workplace and leave people to hesitate disclosing a gap year spent studying in Israel or volunteering in the IDF. These are possibilities he in-sists need to be considered.
In addition to misrep-resentation and biases in traditional media outlets as of late, heated exchanges and attacks via social media have also become increas-ingly common. As for the average person who comes up against anti-Israel vitri-ol, whether in person or on social media, they need not feel completely powerless to address it. “It is definitely a personal issue that’s at the heart of identity and when attacked we feel it viscerally. Although very few people have the skills to engage in it, we have to stand in the face of the issue. It’s our responsibility to defend the name of Israel and IDF,” he advises.
He feels there is far too much readi-ness of those who have nev-er served in the IDF to criticize Israel and dic-tate what should be done, as it is very elusive. “We all learn our values from a common source. We share the same values as Diaspora Jews – the paramount
value of peace – all of us, the policymakers, the citizens and the IDF together.”
Sgt. Anthony spends several months each year traveling and speaking on behalf of Our Soldiers Speak and bringing his message to other organizations. He appreciates and enjoys meeting Jews from all com-munities and people from all backgrounds who love Israel. He has been keynote speaker on behalf of Israel Bonds, for Christians United for Israel and at Federation events, and has addressed synagogue congregations throughout North America.
Speaking with a smooth demeanor, Sgt. Anthony conveys a strong sense of ur-
gency. “I don’t expect every-one in the Diaspora to fight, but to understand that the future of Israel rests on the State of Israel. Be proud and confident in the existence of the state of Israel and sup-port the work of the IDF and stop apologizing.”
Sgt. Anthony will be re-turning to the Five Towns this Sunday November 15, at 7:00 PM to speak at the Young Israel of Woodmere. He will be joined by two ex-pert journalists to address the community on how to combat anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Visit OurSol-diersSpeak.org for more in-formation.
“Although very few
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Fun with Food.............................
Make Your Own PizzaChanukah is all about milchigs, and pizza is the perfect entrée to serve when feeding a crowd. This year, let your guests help out with the planning. Buy store-made pizza dough or pizza crusts and ar-range bowls of toppings for them to choose from. Make sure to include marinara sauce, shredded cheese, balls of mozzarella cheese, oregano, basil, peppers, onions, fried eggplant, sliced olives, spin-ach and broccoli. Label each pan before they start their creation so you know which pizza belongs to who once it’s done. Bon appétit!
Fondue FountainChewy marshmallows and cubes of fruit dipped into a geyser of chocolate—need I say more? One year I purchased a fondue fountain at a local store for a family party and the kids couldn’t get enough. Make sure to put an adult in charge as it can get a little messy. Hand out skewers and set out bowls with marshmallows, cubed pineapple, pretzels, cubes of brownies, strawberries and banana. They’ll be talking about this for the rest of the year!
Doughnut BarMy kids look forward to Chanukah all year for the endless supply of doughnuts they are treated to at every party. Instead of just giving out dough-nuts for the children to enjoy, why don’t you set up a doughnut bar where children and the young-at-heart can choose toppings of their choice? Set up doughnuts or doughnut holes with tongs and your guests’ favorite toppings. Include chocolate syrup, gooey caramel, hot fudge sauce, confection-ers’ sugar, shredded coconut, colored sprinkles, chopped nuts and miniature chocolate chips. You can set aside small tins or containers for them to place their unique doughnuts in to take home.
I actually saw this idea on estherodesign.com. For more info, visit Esther’s blog, estherodesign.com, where you will find details about how to set one up and many other great ideas for Chanukah and year-round.
I Scream, You ScreamIf you are serving dairy, dessert is as easy as 1-2-3! Ice cream sundaes are fun and only require mini-mal effort. Set out tubs of ice cream, bowls of top-pings and lots of napkins. No ice cream sundae is complete without chocolate syrup, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, crushed cookies, nuts, strawberry syrup, bananas, and whipped cream. For a twist on the classic ice cream sundae, feel free to include
waffles or brownies as well. And don’t forget the cherry on top!
Fun ‘n Games.............................
Pin the Shamash on the MenorahFor a twist on the classic “pin the tail on the donkey” game, cut out a giant menorah and candles from oaktag and have your children decorate it with glit-ter and colored markers. Take the time to laminate it, as it will help it maintain its shape and you will be able to use it from year to year. While blindfolded, have each child try to pin the shamash on the me-norah. The one whose candle comes closest, wins!
Pass the PresentSometimes I feel that when Chanukah comes the children are overloaded with presents. So, why not make the presents into a game? In this game, wrap some small toys (think stickers, erasers, candies) between layers of different types of wrapping pa-per. The big “present” gets passed around as the music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the present gets to unwrap one layer of paper and keeps the small toy found underneath. When wrapping the “present,” keep track of which toy is hidden under each wrapping paper. This way, the adult in charge of the game can stop the music when he or she feels the next small toy is ap-propriate for the person who will get to keep it. In this game, everyone wins!
Family Photo BoothThis activity is so much fun and the memories will last for a lifetime! Set aside a space of around 8 feet by a wall with minimum distractions. Place a box with props such as large sunglasses, hats, fake mus-
Chanukah
Light up the nights Special Chanukah Party Ideas to Wow Your Guests This Year
Susan Schwamm
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taches, bowties, fedoras, feather boas and clown wigs. Buy one or a few very large picture frames. Have each family dress up and “frame” themselves with the frames. Snap a few pictures and then send them home with a wrapped picture frame and photo of their good time.
Musical ChairsMusical chairs is always fun to play and it gives the kids a little exercise after eating all that candy. Make sure to have fun music on-hand. For added excitement, take away two chairs at a time, or even three—if you dare!
Family TriviaThis requires a little bit of planning beforehand, but it is truly worth it! In this game, each person receives a list of questions that pertain to differ-ent family members and they have to guess which relative it’s referring to. Speak with different fam-ily members for information to ensure that you include everyone in the family. Include hints like: “This girl loves to wear purple.” Or, “Did you know he plays three instruments?” The person who an-
swers the most questions correctly wins the game! An added bonus? You get to learn a lot about your favorite people!
Guess the PenniesFill a jar with pennies and have each guest mark down how many pen-nies they think are in the jar when they come into the party. At the end of the night, reward the best guess-er with their very own jar of pennies!
Chanukah Taboo For older children, a game of Chanukah Taboo will give some structure to a fun, family party. Create Taboo cards before the party and then have them play when they have the time. You will need to cre-ate at least 25 cards to make the game fun, but not all the words have to be Chanukah-related. Here are some ideas for Chanukah Taboo cards to start you off. Main word: Oil. Words not to be spoken:
fry, jar, water, yellow. Main word: Maccabee. Words not to be spoken: Yehuda, fight, soldier, Mi Kamo-cha. Main word: Dreidel. Words not to be spoken: Spin, penny, nes, top.
We’re Going on a Treasure HuntWhen the Maccabim won over the Greeks in the time of the Chanukah miracle, they searched high and low for the one container of pure oil in the Beis Hamikdash. At your party, have your little “Mac-cabim” find the hidden oil in your house. Create a treasure hunt with hidden clues around the house to lead them to the final and most important trea-sure—the pach shemen! This will keep them busy and excited as they go from clue to clue in anticipa-tion of the final treasure.
Chanukah
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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”
I don’t believe it. – Famed mobster Vincent Asaro last week when the jury foreman announced that he was not guilty for taking part in the 1978 Lufthansa Heist
You really don’t want to know, honey.– Ibid., when asked by a reporter what he thinks of his cousin who turned on him and became a government informant
Hey Sam, don’t let them see the body in the trunk. – Ibid., joking to his lawyer as he hopped into a waiting car, with reporters in tow
Police say a Texas man stabbed his roommate this weekend during a fight over a piece of fried chicken. So even if you don’t eat the fried chicken, it will still find a way to kill you. – Seth Myers
You can’t bribe crocodiles. You can’t convince them to let inmates escape. — Budi Waseso, chief of Indonesia’s anti-drugs agency, on his idea to build a prison to hold death-row drug convicts on an island guarded by dangerous reptiles
He looks at me and he goes, “Um, how old are you?” I said, “Well, I’m 26, I’ll be 27.” He goes, “Well, that’s kind of old for us.” He says to me, “Maybe the dogs will take you,” meaning the Army.– Hillary Clinton at a roundtable in New Hampshire “dusting off an old tale” that she once tried to join the Marine Corps and was rejected
Mrs. Clinton has repeatedly disparaged the integrity of the Marine Corps by claiming she was turned away from serving as a JAG officer in 1975 because she was too old at age 26 and too vision-impaired. She should tell us when and where this meeting took place, and with whom. – Former 2016 Democratic candidate and military veteran Jim Webb
Hillary Clinton this week has begun telling the story of her attempt to join the Marines in 1975. But the closest she ever came to the Marines was buying a pantsuit at Old Navy. – Seth Myers
In one of his books, Ben Carson actually admitted to falling asleep several times while driving his car. He started taking Ubers to be safe, but his drivers kept falling asleep while listening to him talk. – Jimmy Fallon
Hey, who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here. — Melissa Click, a professor of mass media at the University of Missouri, trying to stop a journalist from filming students’ reactions after the resignation of university president Tim Wolf
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Tomorrow night is the second Democratic debate! It’s the perfect way to spend a Saturday night if you’re single. And it’s raining. And every movie theater is closed. And you only get one channel. – Jimmy Fallon
I have no doubt that it’s a wig. It looks like a wig and I’m sure it’s a wig. And I knew that sooner or later she would have to get a wig because she had to find a place to hide her emails. It’s under the wig. That’s where it is. There’s no question about it.- Jackie Mason discussing Hillary Clinton, on Aaron Klein Investigative Radio
That’s shameful. That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion.- President Obama responding to suggestions that in light of the fact that radical Islamists are among the refugees, America should only take in Christian refugees
This time, the debate will feature just three candidates: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley. Or as viewers call them, “Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Bathroom Break.” – Jimmy Fallon
Apple announced a plan to create 1,000 new jobs in Ireland. Irish people were excited, until Apple told them, “It’s a Genius Bar, not a Guinness Bar.”– Conan O’Brien
In the previous debate, you said the greatest threat to national security was climate change. Do you still believe that?– Moderator to Bernie Sanders at the Democrat debate, which took place one day after the Paris attack
Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. – Bernie Sanders in response
Real terror unfolds in Paris. Perhaps this will convince the right to tone down their incessant violent rhetoric.– Tweet by hyper-left website, Salon.com
- Oxford dictionary’s word of the year
Researchers have published a letter from a Harvard student in 1743 asking his parents for money. On the bright side, just this year his student loans were finally paid off.- Conan O’Brien
Political correctness prevents the addressing of situations as they should be.- Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto while in Israel announcing that Hungary will not place special labeling on products made in the “settlements”
During the debate last night, Marco Rubio said, “We need more welders and less philosophers.” Graduates with a philosophy degree were so furious, they got on their parents’ computers and wrote angry emails. – Conan O’Brien
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ISIS isn’t necessarily evil. It is made up of people doing what they think is best for their community. Violence is not the answer, though. – Tweet by Minnesota House candidate Dan Kimmel (D). The backlash to this comment caused him to end his campaign
The fourth Republican presidential debate was tonight! And if you’ve watched all four ... you do know about Netflix, right? – Jimmy Fallon
No, we do not have to be guilt-tripped into fighting these barbaric groups that slit throats…torture and kill innocent civilians in the most cowardly ways possible. No, our values are strong enough to refuse to sink to their level, and instead, to turn towards reinforcing national unity against their aggression. No, we do not doubt that enlightenment and democratic progress are strong enough to stand up to such behavior, which is sending us back to prehistoric times. No, we are not afraid, and it’s because we have no doubt that we will continue to live as we choose, and to defend the policies that we believe to be essential. Amongst these is the climate change issue, which will determine, in the long term, the survival of mankind, and, in the short term, the demographic balance. – Huffington Post editorial
There will be setbacks and there will be successes. The terrible events in Paris were obviously a terrible and sickening setback.- President Obama when asked about a comment he recently made that ISIS is contained
A painting by the Italian artist Modigliani was just sold at auction for $170.4 million. It’s the second highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. A Picasso sold for $179.4 million. It’s actually a great value. For $170 million you’re not just getting the painting; you get the opportunity to be the target of a heist. – Jimmy Kimmel
Maybe it was stress.– A family member of one of the Paris terrorists who blew himself up, giving a possible “motive” for his actions
OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home 21The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 201520
We can remember the tragedy in Paris and still remember #Mizzou. We are capable of multitasking. Both situations are equally messed up.
Not to take away from Paris at all but just how they’re getting news coverage and the world’s support, we deserve it too. # Mizzou – Two of many absurd Tweets by University of Missouri activists
First Ben Carson said he attacked his mother with a hammer, now Ben Carson’s mother is saying she’s the one who attacked Ben with a hammer. I don’t know about you, but that’s going to be one awkward Thanksgiving at the Carson house. – Conan O’Brien
The politics of it would be very, very different if a bunch of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande. Or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press. Then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation. — Sen. Ted Cruz, on combating illegal immigration
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The PanelThe Rebbetzin
Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, MS
It seems to me that you should be questioning yourself rather than
your friends. Why are their opin-ions so important? Why do you need their approval? Why, if you don’t trust yourself, are they the ones you are approaching? Are your friends mature and seasoned in their assess-ments? Are they the best judges of character, personality and fit? Did you consider a possible negative reac-tion and what you would do about it in advance? Have you considered be-ing placed in such a situation where you would be sized up in a “group in-
terview” style by others? If they are such good friends whose opinions on the most important decision of your life seem to hold so much value for you, why would you even consider that they have ulterior motives?
Another set of things to think about is your perception of a relation-ship and what is involved in a mar-riage. Do you have healthy relation-ships with other people in your life? Have you thought about how marital relationships work? Have you seen them? Have you thought about how marital relationships differ from re-lationships with friends and others?
You may need to discuss the re-ality of marital relationships with a seasoned, mature advisor who knows
you well. Perhaps it would also be helpful to pay attention to some healthy, mature marriages around you without prying, while you begin to think and learn about some of the aforementioned.
A troubling point that comes through your question is your strong interest in being married already. You don’t say much about Avi at all. Your query opens and closes with your desire to settle down and you discuss your friends’ reactions at length. Marriage is a long term com-mitment to another person based on understanding yourself, your poten-tial partner and both of your values, needs, aspirations, as well as chem-istry. It’s about living with another
person with whom you can grow and build. It’s not about being in the mar-ried state. Learn more about your-self, let your relationship skills ma-ture with help, and choose the person – not the state of marriage – before you commit.
Getting to know Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, MS...
Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz is a
veteran community activist. She has
spent more than twenty years in so-
cial services both as an executive and
as a board member of non-profits.
She is a founder of Rachel’s Place, a
shelter for homeless girls in Brook-
lyn. Rebbetzin Horowitz has a career
Dating Dialogue
What Would You Do If…Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LMSW of The Navidaters
I’ve been dating Avi for a number of months. I’m not a kid anymore,
(O.K. – I’m 25 years old), and this is the first time that I’ve actually been in
a relationship. Before Avi came along, there wasn’t anyone that
I went out with more than three times.We’re getting serious and since so many of my friends
are already married, I wanted a few of my very close friends to meet him so that I could get their reactions. I don’t know if that was a good idea, but it’s too late now to undo it. One of my friends arranged a gathering where we could all get together. I think Avi might have been a little nervous before this meeting, and as a result, I think he came off
a little tough. Kind of defensive, which he usually isn’t. Admittedly, he’s not the gentlest person I’ve ever met. He says what he thinks and may-be goes overboard a little bit. But I still think he has many great qualities that I’m attracted to.
Meanwhile, my two best friends both told me in a gentle way that they thought Avi may not be right for me. They felt he was a bit ag-gressive and that I didn’t seem myself around him and I appeared to be quieter than usual around him. I don’t agree and don’t know why they are saying these things.
Meanwhile, I do like Avi and am really anxious to settle down. I’ve dated for so long and am so tired of the whole spiel. I just don’t know whether I should take what my friends said too seriously or reject their warnings. Maybe they have ulterior motives. What do you think?
Chana
Dear Navidaters,
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It goes without saying that your life partner is not a dress you try on for friends and ask, “Does it do anything for me?”
counseling practice and is a freelance
writer for print and digital media. A
columnist for Hamodia and Binah
Magazines, she has been published
in several anthologies and in Poet-
ica Magazine. Rebbetzin Horowitz
is currently the program coordinator
in the Career Services Department at
Touro College’s Flatbush campus and
serves as the Rebbetzin of Congrega-
tion Agudas Achim of Lawrence.
The Dating Mentor
Rochel Chafetz,
Educator/Dating Mentor
I know it is too late now, but I don’t think that was such a good idea
to arrange a get together with your friends in the way that you did. It’s possible Avi felt interrogated. After all, think how you might feel if the re-verse was done – not a very pleasant scenario. You probably should have introduced Avi slowly, to one friend at a time. But that is moot at this point. What bothers me is how you are describing him.
I think you need to continue dat-ing him and observe carefully how you feel when you are with him. Can you be yourself? Are you quiet? Are you afraid to say certain things or give your opinions? When you do ex-press yourself or ask a question, does he really listen and hear you or does he respond in a way that makes it clear that he believes his ideas make more sense than yours? Do you sec-ond-guess yourself when you are having a discussion with him? Do you sometimes think to yourself that his opinions are right and yours are not?
You mentioned that he is not the gentlest person. Ouch! That does not sound good. How does he act toward waiters, the parking attendants, chil-dren? Have you seen him interact with children? What about when you bring up a recent tragedy that happened to klal Yisroel – do you ob-serve his reaction? Is it appropriate and caring?
I know you want to get married but you can’t get swallowed up in a relationship. You need to be loved for who you are and not what he wants you to be. Step back as if you are an
outsider looking in on yourself and watch how the two of you interact. Are you really yourself?
Hard work but doable. Good luck.
Getting to know Rochel Chafetz...
Rochel Chafetz has been in Chi-
nuch for over 30 years, teaching
Chumash to grades 6 through 12.
She taught in Prospect Park Yeshiva
for 25 years, taught in Rabbi Waller-
stein’s school for at risk teenagers and
is currently teaching at SKA. Rochel
is a mentor for teenage girls, which
ultimately leads to coaching them
through their dating years. She is
now also a Kallah teacher. Rochel not
only teaches them Taharas Hamish-
pacha but also helps them navigate
their Shana Rishona. Rochel is also
an inspirational speaker and gives
weekly shiurim to women of all ages.
She volunteers in the organization
Sister to Sister for divorced women,
and is a “sister” to two very special
young women. Rochel Chafetz can
be reached at rochelchafetz@gmail.
com.
The Mother
Sarah Schwartz Schreiber
There are several statements in your question that trouble me.
Your anxiety about being 25 years old and single are palpable (“I’m not a kid anymore,” “I’m so tired of the whole dating scene”). Your desper-ation (sorry to use the D word) may have caused you to be less than pru-dent and expose Avi to your friends’ scrutiny. It goes without saying that your life partner is not a dress you try on for friends and ask, “Does it do anything for me?” Impressing your peers, neighbors or Tante Reizel is not a criterion for marriage. As the maternal presence on the panel, I will paraphrase your Mom: “Honey, you have to live with him.”
That said, you raise valid issues. First and foremost, that Avi comes through as “tough,” “aggressive,” and “not the gentlest person” and that you acted “quieter” around him. Were your friends being friendly and open or aggressive and threatening (in or-
der to determine whether he is “good enough for you”)? His attitude may be a natural reaction to being under pressure, on the hot seat, as it were. At the same time, I am not surprised if you came across as “quieter”; your anxiety regarding their assessment of him and his discomfort under pressure curbed your enthusiasm.
What to do with your anxiety? Three key suggestions. First, date longer. Forget your “exhaustion with dating,” dating has no deadlines. Choosing a husband is the most im-portant decision you will ever make. Second, bring Avi home. You may think you have the wisest, most well-intentioned friends, but, hey, your family knows you longest and loves you best. The more you view Avi in context of your family circle (Shabbos meals, Sunday BBQs and the occasional bagel breakfast) the better you can assess his fit within the mishpacha (and the better they can evaluate him as husband materi-al). Finally, seek professional guid-ance. If you still feel anxious and uncertain regarding Avi’s husband potential, your best investment at this juncture is a qualified therapist, dating mentor or spiritual advisor. These professionals have the objec-tivity, training and experience to help you address your qualms so that you can date effectively and make healthy, considered decisions.
Getting to know Sarah Schwartz Schreiber...
Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, moth-
er of several and grandmother of
“not enough,” is a native Los Ange-
lino. Decades back, she married and
settled in Midwood (aka Flatbush).
Since then, Sarah has worked in sev-
eral professional arenas – first as a
medical writer and a pharmaceu-
tical copywriter. Sarah eventually
pursued her lifelong ambition and
became a physician assistant. Cur-
rently, Sarah can be found triaging
patients in the busiest labor and de-
livery room on the East Coast. Of all
the jobs she’s held, Sarah considers
her role as wife and mother to be the
most thrilling and fulfilling vocation
of all.
The Single
Irit Moshe (pen name)
When getting serious with a guy or a girl, one should want to intro-duce that special someone to the other important parties in one’s life, i.e. friends, rabbi, mashpia, children, siblings and parents. Only you know when the time to make such introduc-tions are right for you. It is advisable to always consult with the person you are dating if they feel comfort-able and ready too, as well. Inquire with this individual as to what set-ting would maximize their comfort when such introductions are made. Make it a joint effort to maximize success in order to reduce nervous-ness and/or defensiveness in such an important interview as this, which could make or break a relationship, as is evident from this scenario with Avi. Some people interview well and some people don’t. Nevertheless, it is important for you to get an objec-tive opinion from someone who cares very much for you and hopefully that is their only agenda.
If you notice his gruffness and accept it now, know that this is something that most likely will not change, but amplify after marriage. Some wives are able to smooth out their husband’s rough edges if they are willing to accept this sort of in-tervention. If that’s something that you can see yourself embarking on, then you have a shot. If you’re not looking to take on this type of work, then Avi may not represent marriage material for you.
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Dear Chana,You have gone on handfuls of
dates with different guys, but find yourself in your first serious relation-ship with Avi. Clearly, there is some-thing about Avi that has attracted you to him and has propelled you to maintain and nurture this relation-ship. The same can be said about Avi’s feelings for you. Here you are, twenty five (as you mentioned, “not a kid anymore”), wanting to settle down and begin married life. And of course you do! I believe in my gut that many of our readers who have been or are in a similar position will certainly understand this desire. The panel has considered your driving force to be “anxiety” and maybe des-peration but I am not so sure. You write that you are “anxious” to settle down and you are tired of dating but certainly from your email you do not meet any criteria for being diagnosed with anxiety. My concern is that an unsubstantiated label may fan a spark into a flame. And if you are experi-encing full-fledged anxiety… guess what? You are normal! The pressure on young men and women to marry by a certain age is enormous and ex-ists in an environment that is not al-
ways conducive to what is in the best interest of our singles community – and only perpetuates more anxiety.
Furthermore, Chana, I can com-pletely understand your desire to in-troduce Avi to your tightknit group of friends. Outside of Orthodox circles, people introduce boyfriends and girl-friends to their friends all the time. Reasons are varied. Perhaps they are excited about this new person in their lives and want their friends to get to know him. Or, perhaps some-one is sensing something may be off, but can’t put their finger on it. Who better to turn to than trusted friends whom you can rely upon to give you honest feedback?
What is of importance to me is not to tell you whether it was right or wrong to introduce Avi to your girlfriends or how the meeting was implemented. We can guess and an-alyze your and Avi’s behaviors during the gathering until the cows come home. What is worthy of explora-tion is to address why you wanted this meeting. You mention that you wanted your friends’ “reactions.” Re-
actions to what? You mention that he is “not the gentlest,” “says what he thinks,” and “goes overboard.” That is a vague description for a wide range of pos-
sible behaviors. There is a difference between a
man who receives your call with “What’s up? I don’t have much time to talk!” and “Get to the point already, will you?” I wonder if any of your descriptions about him prompt-ed you to get your friends’ opinions and feedback because you yourself are not sure where on the pendulum Avi’s behaviors and actions lie. I will reflect to you one potential red flag I picked up on in your email. You made an excuse for Avi’s being “a lit-tle tough.” What does “a little tough” look like? You chalked it up to nerves. Healthy relationships do not allow for rationalizing bad behavior. Do you find yourself excusing or rationaliz-ing his behaviors at other times? Only you know this answer.
You end your email with the fol-lowing question: Should I heed the advice and warnings of my friends, or reject their warnings? You are left wondering if your friends have ulteri-or motives in their assessment of Avi. Nowhere inherent in your question is the most important question of all, “Do I go with my gut? Do I go with my own assessment of Avi?” Please pay close attention to the next sen-tence. Read and reread it as many
times as you need to: You say that he isn’t gentle and goes overboard but scratch your head at your friends’ feedback that he came off as aggres-sive. I ask you: When Avi is not “the gentlest” or “says what he thinks” or “goes overboard,” what do you do? How do you react? Do you hesitate, stop in your tracks, quiet down, get loud, become more emotive, etc.?
Hopefully, this introduction of Avi to your friends will serve as a won-derful opportunity for you to reflect upon your motives, the dynamics in your relationship and the way the two of you treat each other. If this becomes too much for you to handle on your own, or if you share your feel-ings with Avi and the two are having unproductive, circular conversations about the issue, there are many qual-ified therapists who can be of assis-tance.
All the best,Jennifer
The Navidaters are dating and relation-ship coaches and therapists. Located in Lawrence, NY, their services include date debriefing, dating skills coaching, couples counseling, premarital and marital coun-seling. The Navidaters can be reached at 516.224.7779. If you have a dating or re-lationship scenario you would like to be featured in WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF, email [email protected]. Check out their website, thenavidaters.com for more information. Follow TheNavidat-ers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Can you be yourself? Are you quiet? Are you afraid to say certain things or give your opinions?
Pulling It All TogetherThe NavidatersDating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists
Wariness of the dating process or feeling anxious to marry should not be an excuse for accepting a mar-riage proposal from any man. It has to come from feeling loved, respect-ed, safe and secure with him and you can’t see your life without him. Those should be the motivating fac-tors for moving toward a marriage with someone.
Getting to know Irit Moshe...
Irit Moshe (pen name) is a
39-year-old woman who has dated
in the Orthodox world some twen-
ty years ago and is now “back on
the market,” divorced with children.
Currently being eligible, and “on the
scene,” she feels her anonymity is
important, both for her marketabil-
ity, as well as the sanctity of any of
her past and future relationships
she may be discussing with you, the
readers. Irit’s background as a shad-
chon started back in her early 20’s,
when she first succeeded in setting
up several matches, who now have
thriving families of their own. In her
late 20’s, she worked in the secular
world as a social worker for sev-
eral years with the ill and geriatric
communities. In her late 20’s, after
her divorce, she experienced living
within various Jewish circles, both
on the east and west coasts and has
observed the distinct differences in
dating styles per coastal region. At
present, Irit works as a certified life
and dating coach, aiding other shad-
chanim with thinking
“outside the box” as
well as coordinat-
ing local events. Irit
looks forward to
hearing from you
and learning about your dating ex-
periences and dilemmas plus shar-
ing with you some of her own.
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When we think of Jewish holidays, we usually think of our traditions, and Chanukah is no exception
to the rule. Beautiful, silver menorahs lit with oil, customary fried foods such as doughnuts and latkes, Chanukah gelt, and the tunes we sing each year are some of the warm memories we associate with the Festival of Lights.
The Jewish faith has been connected to the symbol of the menorah for generations. The menorah brings light into the world, just as the Jewish people are a light unto the nations. The seven branched meno-rah was used in the Bais Hamikdash, with the kohanim lighting it every day in the evening and cleaning it every morning. The Chanukah me-norah is similar to the Bais Hamkidash’s menorah, but contains eight branches and one shamash to symbolize the miracle that lasted for eight nights. Some say it is also not the same as the Temple vessel because there is a tradition not to replicate anything used in the Bais Hamikdash after it was destroyed. Incredibly, this holiest menorah from the days of old was constructed out of a solid block of pure gold. That includes its base, cups, knobs, shaft and flowers, and the lamps on top. In fact, the concept was so difficult to understand, that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to throw it into the fire, and Hashem formed the intri-cate menorah for the Mishkan.
Nowadays, people are thinking a little more out of the box when it comes to menorahs. While gold and silver are the more traditional mate-rials used, these modern-day menorahs make the mitzvah slightly differ-ent than usual.
Rockets into Roses is one such project, which is the brainchild of Yaron Bob, a metal
sculptor, blacksmith and part-time computer teacher. He spent years wit-nessing rockets being launched into Israeli cities—over 18,000 of them since 2001. Yaron had two personal, frightening incidents with rockets, and he felt a strong need to do something with them, to make something constructive from the destruction of the rockets. However, he was also hesitant to touch them, because they are instruments of death. The stress was rising the more the rockets were falling. “It finally struck me that I need to make a rose from a Kassam,” he related. He thought of the verse, “Swords will be turned into plowshares” and decided he would take the destructive rockets and turn them into something beautiful.
The police give Yaron the spent rockets after the bomb squad does the necessary checking to ensure they are not live. He first began making metal ros-es, with only the help of a hammer, anvil and furnace. Each rose takes him hours to produce, and each one is truly unique. The stem of the flower is attached to a metal base that is in the shape of the land of Is-rael; the flowers seem to be growing out of the base.
Now, Yaron has branched out into other items, not just roses. In fact, his beautiful selection of menorahs made from rockets is breathtaking. Each one is different, and
range from modern to traditional in design. We spoke with Shana from the Israel Boutique, whose website, www.rocketsintoroses.com, sells the vast majority of Mr. Bob’s products. In fact, they came up with the “Rockets into Roses” name, after they met Yaron Bob and saw his mov-ing artwork. Shana says that people’s reactions to the products have been incredible. They feel very connected to the Israelis who live in fear when they touch the different items made from the rockets. “They love the idea of turning terror and destruction into beauty, which is what the Jewish people are all about,” she explained.
From Rockets to Doughnuts
Menorahs Large and SmallBY SHIRA DIAMOND
“Lighting them truly symbolizes the victory of the light of Israel over the darkness of
our enemies.”
From destruction came light, lighting a menorah made from rockets
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111During the year, the Star of David is by far the best-selling piece. It’s a classic item, and its popularity doesn’t wane. Another popular item is the petit rose, which people keep on their desk at home or at work and is an item of interest to others and never fails to spark a conversation. Specialty items are also big sellers in their respective seasons, and the menorah is no exception. As Shana beautifully points out, “Lighting them truly symbolizes the victory of the light of Israel over the darkness of our enemies.” The most wonderful thing about these menorahs, she explains, is that it truly tells the story of our people, the Jewish people. In every genera-tion our enemies rise up to destroy us, and we take that destruction, we build with it and turn our circumstances into beauty. “People in Israel are not hungry for war and what they really want is a bright and beautiful fu-ture,” Yaron says.
The ice menorah is a “cool” menorah found around the
world at many Chabad Houses. The Chabad at Cornell University has one, the Chabad of Indiana, the Chai center in Brookline, Mas-sachusetts, and many others have this freez-ing menorah to attract onlookers and bring attention to the mitzvah of lighting menorah. Cool Way Ice, LLC even advertises that they sell ice sculpted menorahs and will do a live demonstration upon request. In the past they have even constructed ice menorahs as large as ten feet tall. No need to worry about these menorahs melting; an ice sculpture lasts about six to nine hours in 70 degree weather before it starts to melt and lose its shape. Me-norahs made in the winters of the east coast will last a lot longer. To make the menorah even cooler, one can add different color LED lights to tint it any color they desire. Talk about a menorah that is sure to “freeze” your attention on this Chanukah holiday.
And what about the menorah the kids would go crazy for? This year, The Chabad Jewish Center of Oceanside/Vista sponsored its annual community event for families, and it was held on December 16. As a family project, kids and their parents spent the night building a seven-foot menorah out of 5,000 Lego pieces. Lego menorahs have been made before and are actually quite popular, but seven feet worth of Lego is quite a feat! (And quite a hefty price, too). Kids will definitely be ogling this menorah and give them one more item to put on their Chanukah gift lists.
Seven feet is quite large, but that is nothing compared to the world’s largest Chanukah menorah whose home is right here in New York City. In Grand Army Plaza, between Fifth Avenue and 59th street, stands the tallest menorah in the world at 32 feet high! This steel, gold-colored me-norah weighs about 4,000 pounds and was designed by Yaakov Agam, a world-renowned Israeli artist who makes contemporary art. The meno-rah also uses real oil for burning, instead of lightbulbs like many others. Each oil lamp is equipped with glass cases specially designed to keep the wind from blowing out the flame. Rabbi Shmuel Butman, the director of Lubavitch Youth Organization which funds the event, says, “This meno-rah stands as a symbol of freedom of democracy and delivers the message of light over darkness and freedom over oppression.”
Interestingly, Con Edison helps out with this lighting. Because it is so tall, they use their crane to help lift people to the top in order to light
it. This menorah lighting ceremony began in 1877, when Mayor Abraham David Beam, the very first Jewish mayor of New York City, lit the menorah in public.
While we’re on the subject of the tallest menorah, let’s not forgot the smallest meno-rah that is actually the size of a dust speck! The menorah was created by the physics laboratory at Hebrew University in Jerusa-lem in honor of the holiday. This lab, part of the Peter Brojde center for innovative en-gineering and computer science where their main focus is applying scientific discoveries to technology, has created incredible objects that are nothing less than groundbreaking. It is the home of the one and only Nanoscribe system in the Holy Land, and two doctoral students, Yossi Kabessa and Ido Eisenberg, decided to show the world the Nanoscribe’s abilities in building tiny 3D structures. Eventually, Kabessa and Eisenberg built the world’s smallest menorah. But don’t think that you’ll be lighting it any time soon. This menorah actually measures less than a tenth of a millimeter; it can’t be seen by the naked eye. It is only visible through a microscope and is built with building blocks that mea-sure 100 nanometers. The detail that is visi-ble on the menorah is incredible considering its size and represents the “miracle machine” that has the potential to make incredible breakthroughs in medicine and the environ-ment, as well as in the war on terror and for military purposes. Unfortunately, this meno-rah is not considered kosher since it can’t be lit, as a candle or even a single wick would tower over this miniscule structure!
As far as the world’s yummiest me-norah, Rabbi Mendel Kastel, the Chabad shaliach in Bondi, Australia, likes to make menorahs out of the most interesting things. In fact, in 2010, he constructed a menorah that was made from doughnuts. This deli-cious confection stood tall with hundreds of doughnuts on its base and branches. The lo-cal bakery, Carmel Cake Shop, donated 600 doughnuts for the project and to give out to those who attended the lighting. After Rabbi Kastel lit the candles, he announced that the crowd could partake of the treat, and ev-eryone made a beeline to try the oily food. Think a yummy menorah is really different? Rabbi Kastel is no stranger to unusual meno-rahs. He has previously made menorahs out
of sand, and one from surfboards. One year, he had 20 tons of snow deliv-ered to Sydney’s Hyde Park to make heads turn with his wintery menorah.
Regardless of what your menorah is made out of, whether it’s the more
traditional silver or metal, or something a little different and out of the ordinary, one thing stays true. The beauty and tradition of Chanukah and the warm glow of the lights create a wonderful atmosphere that carries us through the dark, cold winter season. Spending time with family and friends, eating delicious latkes, singing songs and gazing at the Chanukah lights remind us of the love Hashem showed us years ago when we saw the menorah lights burn for eight days and nights.
No matter what kind you are lighting this year, whether it’s cold, big, oily or invisible to the human eye, whether it’s made from precious metals or metals of destruction, allow the message of the menorah to penetrate: that even in the darkness there is always a spark of light.
An ice cold menorah
Lighting the world’s tallest menorah in New York City
The most delicious menorah – made out of doughnuts!
The world’s smallest menorah is less than a tenth of a millimeter
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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home 9The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 20158
Part I
Many years ago I was in-volved in a tragic situation, trying to help an estranged
wife obtain her get* from her recal-citrant husband. He had been very abusive towards her during their time together, and the marriage had irretrievably broken down. The hus-band was now trying to extort a large sum of money from the wife’s family in exchange for the get, and the wife’s family was simply not able to come up with the exorbitant sums that were being demanded by the husband. Even if they were able to come up with the money, I felt it would be out-rageous to give into his demands. Af-ter consulting with the distinguished dayanim of the London Beth Din, I let the husband and his family know that I would be conducting a public campaign against him and anyone associated with him – his family, his business associates, his supporters – until he gave his wife her get and ceased his unreasonable demands. We would organize demonstrations outside homes and businesses, pub-lish adverts in the newspapers, and write to every synagogue and insti-tution he was associated with to ex-plain how he was a “mesaref l’dina,” the Jewish legal phrase for someone who is in contempt of court.
I was quite confident with this strategy, as I knew that the family
was terrified of negative publicity and would certainly not want such a situation to erupt around them. Then, out of the blue, I got a phone call from a close friend of the hus-band’s family. He informed me that a few years earlier the husband had been diagnosed with a chronic men-tal condition, and if I went through with my threatened action, the fam-ily would use his history of mental problems as proof that he was legally incompetent, which would mean he would not be able to give the get. The man on the phone was well versed in halacha and quoted me numerous sources to unequivocally prove that someone who is insane or legally in-competent cannot give his wife a get.
I put the phone down and sat for a while in contemplation, not sure what to do. Before receiving that phone call it had all seemed so simple. I had been convinced that the matter would be resolved quick-ly. Now it appeared as if I had been outsmarted by this devilish plan. I decided to call my late mother’s brother, a humble man whose knowl-edge in Talmud and halacha is un-surpassed, and whose devoted atten-tion to my Torah studies as my rebbe had been the incredible springboard that had ensured my enthusiasm for Torah knowledge – and in fact, all knowledge. I explained what had happened, and asked him if I should call it a day. After chastising me for my hubristic overconfidence, and for being so adversarial, he asked me if I
The Infamous Case of the “Get of Cleves”
Jewish History
By Rabbi Pini Dunner
In the late eighteenth century, a seemingly innocuous divorce in a provincial German town evolved into one of the most bitterly fought Jewish legal controversies of the era, involving the most famous rabbis of the day. The story of the “Get of Cleves” is an extraordinary tale of intrigue, ego and hubris. At the center of it all was a young couple whose personal lives were humiliatingly discussed and debated, as one of Europe’s most distinguished rabbinic courts refused to reverse their ruling that the husband had been legally insane at the time of the divorce, a ruling which had invalidated the divorce, leaving the couple still married. Rabbis everywhere erupted in indignation at this intransigence.
What is the “Get of Cleves” backstory? How was it possible that the esteemed rabbis of Frankfurt, who had never met the young man in question, felt compelled to deliver a retroactive ruling of insanity against him? In a three-part article we will delve into the tragic events leading up to and surrounding this titanic legal battle.
A Jewish marriage ceremony in Nuremberg, Germany, c. 1726\
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had ever heard of the ‘”et of Cleves.”“No,” I said, “although I have
heard of Anne of Cleves,” the name of one of Henry VIII’s unfortunate wives. “Did Henry VIII give her a get when they divorced?”
My uncle chuckled. “Just look into the story of the ‘Get of Cleves’ and you will see how this threat to thwart the get by claiming that the man is insane and legally incompetent is an empty threat. These people have no idea what they are talking about, and have no concept of the halachot sur-rounding insanity and incompetence when it comes to giving a get. After the ‘Get of Cleves’ case, being insane enough so that you would not be able to give a get became pretty difficult.”
Modern secular law defines in-sanity as “mental illness of such a se-vere nature that a person cannot dis-tinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct his or her affairs due to psy-chosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.” Insanity is nor-mally used as a defense in criminal cases. The most common variation is cognitive insanity, which means that the alleged criminal was so impaired by insanity when committing a crime that he or she did not know that the crime committed was wrong.
Another form of the insanity is volitional insanity, or “irresistible impulse,” which refers to someone who is able to distinguish right from wrong, but has a temporary mental breakdown making them incapable of controlling their actions. This de-fense is commonly used in crimes of vengeance.
There is another condition that can affect a legal transaction, called “incompetency.” Civil law requires a person to be legally competent in order to enter into a contract or sign a will or make any type of binding legal commitment. In contract law a person who agrees to a transaction becomes liable for duties under the contract unless they are legally in-competent at the time the contract was entered into. If someone does not comprehend the nature and con-sequences of a contract, they are re-garded as having mental incapacity.
But how does Jewish law define insanity and incompetence, and what are the implications of an act carried out, or a contract entered into, by an insane or incompetent individual? The “Get of Cleves” saga was a wa-tershed divorce case that brought all these issues into sharp focus.
In the late spring or early summer of 1766, a young man called Isaac Neiberg from Mannheim, Germany, became engaged to Leah Gunzhausen of Bonn, which is also in Germany. During the engagement period Isaac visited his fiancée and appeared to all to be perfectly normal and happy. On Friday, August 8, 1766, Leah and her parents arrived in Mannheim to join the groom and his family in an-ticipation of the wedding that was taking place the following Tuesday. Among the friends and family who joined them was their cousin, a rab-binic scholar called Rabbi Aron Shi-mon Copenhagen, who would later be crucial in providing the details of the strange story that unfolded over the next couple of weeks.
That Friday night passed without incident, but on Shabbat morning something was up. Without expla-nation Isaac became agitated and anxious. He paced up and down and muttered to himself, and no one seemed to be able to calm him down. His demeanor was so strange that Leah’s parents began to worry about his mental state. They sat him down with Leah, and asked him why he was so stressed. After some prompt-ing, Isaac explained that he was up-set over a new apartment his father had promised him for after the wed-ding, which his father had suddenly decided to give to his sister and her new husband instead. Although an-other apartment had been set aside for him, he claimed to be concerned that this smaller accommodation would not be sufficient for him and Leah once they were married and
had children.Leah’s parents were satisfied that
this explained Isaac’s strange behav-ior and immediately went to confront Isaac’s father, who, after a short nego-tiation, agreed to honor the original promise and allow Isaac and Leah to move into the larger accommodation.
With everything seemingly set-tled, the wedding took place as planned on the following Tuesday. Isaac addressed the wedding ban-quet, and acted in a composed and dignified way. But the following Shabbat morning – sheva brachot Shabbat – Isaac was nowhere to be found. After a comprehensive search involving the local gentile authori-ties, it was discovered that not only had he disappeared, but he had ab-sconded with a large sum of money. To put it mildly, this was highly un-orthodox behavior for an orthodox Jew on Shabbat, and particularly strange behavior for someone in the midst of his own sheva brachot cel-ebrations.
Both families went into full panic mode and hired a search party to look for him in the surrounding villages. Isaac was eventually discovered hid-ing under some hay in a farmhouse belonging to a non-Jew, about four hours’ journey from Mannheim. He was brought back to Mannheim, but was very agitated, and kept on re-peating that he needed to run away to escape government agents who were intent on killing him.
Simultaneously, and perhaps as a result of what was going on, the two families began to bicker over finan-cial support for the couple. A medi-
ator was called in and the dispute was settled. As part of the settlement it was agreed that the couple would not stay in Mannheim as originally planned, but would instead move to Bonn with Leah’s family, at least for the immediate future. Everyone was happy with the new arrangement, es-pecially Isaac, who was delighted to be leaving.
On August 19, 1766, exactly one week after the wedding, the young couple left Mannheim and began their journey to Bonn, together with Leah’s family and the friends from Bonn who had attended the cele-brations. The following night, at a Jewish inn near Mainz, an innocent conversation involving the innkeep-er that touched on the story of the groom who had run away the previ-ous Shabbat resulted in Isaac freak-ing out and becoming completely hysterical. The family eventually calmed him down, but once again his strange behavior had become cause for concern.
The journey towards Bonn con-tinued, and the family arrived on Fri-day just before Shabbat. The follow-ing morning Isaac attended prayers and was called up to say the blessing over the Torah. Notwithstanding the outburst in Mainz his demeanor throughout Shabbat was serene and relaxed.
But beneath the surface it seems that Isaac was in total turmoil. On Saturday night, straight after Shab-bat, he sent for Rabbi Copenhagen and begged for his help to arrange a divorce. Rabbi Copenhagen was totally dumbstruck. “What are you talking about? Why do you want to divorce Leah?” he inquired incred-ulously. Isaac responded that he felt Leah disliked him, and he couldn’t live with someone who didn’t like him. He also claimed that his life was in grave danger, and he need to leave Germany immediately. This meant Leah would be unable to remarry, particularly if his enemies caught up with him and killed him without any-one knowing. He therefore wanted to divorce her while he still could, rath-er than cause her and her family the anguish associated with a missing husband unable to write a get.
Rabbi Copenhagen was a wise and worldly man, and he told Isaac to sleep on it while he conferred with the family. The rabbi ran to Leah’s fa-ther to report the conversation he had had with Isaac, and the two of them
18th century wedding
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agonized all night trying to figure out what to do. The following morning Rabbi Copenhagen told Isaac that he had no solution to suggest as yet, but was happy to continue discussing options and ideas. Isaac respond-ed that he was not interested in any solution, as he had decided overnight
to divorce Leah without delay so that he could run for his life. He added that if Leah or her family would not agree, that was their choice to make, but meanwhile his bags were packed and he was ready to leave for London, where he felt he would be safe.
After an intense family confer-ence everyone concluded it was best to just go ahead with the divorce and
be done with it. Isaac was itching to leave, which meant that they could not execute the divorce in Bonn, so the family decided to accompany him on the first part of his journey and arrange for the get to be given in Cleves, a small town on the German side of the border with Holland. The
rabbi of Cleves was a respected schol-ar named Rabbi Yisrael Lipschuetz, whom everyone was satisfied would be helpful and correct in these un-usual circumstances.
So, on Sunday morning, Isaac, Leah, Rabbi Copenhagen, Leah’s brother, and another cousin all left Bonn and headed towards Cleves. The 100-mile
journey took them a couple of days, and they arrived there on Tuesday, August 26 – exactly two weeks after the couple had married. Rabbi Lip-schuetz was rather surprised when this unexpected delegation arrived at his door, particularly when he heard what they wanted. Isaac explained what had happened and why he wanted the divorce, although he did not mention his weird Shabbat dis-appearance with the money. He was lucid and composed, and articulated perfectly why he felt the need to end his marriage. The rabbi explained the divorce process to him, and he seemed to completely understand ev-ery aspect, as well as the implications of the detailed asset separation that was hammered out between him and Leah’s relatives.
Isaac insisted that they press ahead with the divorce as quickly as possible. He also asked for the di-vorce not be publicized in Cleves, as he had heard that there were people there from Mannheim, and he did not want them to hear about it and for his parents to find out. As the di-vorce document was being written, Rabbi Lipschuetz took Isaac aside to tell him that he found what was happening extremely upsetting and puzzling, and he added that he was quite concerned that Isaac’s parents would be worried and upset when they found out what he had done. Isaac replied that it was dangerous for him to go back to Mannheim, and if he returned there he would be ex-ecuted on the spot, although he re-fused to elaborate.
The divorce proceedings went ahead and the get was given to Leah in front of witnesses, as required by Jewish law. The following day Isaac and Leah parted ways. She returned to Bonn with her family, and he left for London. It was only a matter of time before Isaac’s parents discov-ered what had happened, and when they did they were livid, believing that Leah’s family had taken advan-tage of their vulnerable son. They were also upset that the asset separa-tion had been decided very heavily in Leah’s favor. Isaac’s father arranged an emergency meeting with his lo-cal rabbi in Mannheim, Rabbi Tev-ele Hess – who knew Isaac well and had attended the wedding – and he insisted the rabbi find a way to annul the divorce.
Although Rabbi Hess was a dis-tinguished rabbinic scholar in his
own right, he did not feel himself to be sufficiently qualified to perform an annulment. So he did something that would prove to be a game-chang-er. He wrote a detailed letter that was co-signed by nine other rabbis to one of the most famous rabbinic courts in Europe – the illustrious Beit Din of Frankfurt. The Frankfurt beit din was headed by Rabbi Avraham Abish Feld, author of the authorita-tive halachic work Birkat Avraham. Rabbi Abish, as he was known, was one of the most eminent rabbinic au-thorities in Germany at that time, not only renowned as a massive expert in Jewish law, but also known for his pi-ety and gentleness.
The letter from Rabbi Hess ended with a simple request – on the basis that Isaac had not been competent at the time of the divorce, Rabbi Abish and his colleagues should annul the get of Cleves, which would mean that Isaac and Leah were still married. This request was nothing short of a bombshell, and the response of the Frankfurt beit din would reverberate around the Jewish world in a contro-versy that embroiled rabbis far and wide.
*A “get” is the official legal document that records the divorce between a man and his wife, and it is crucial that it is ex-ecuted correctly, as the consequences of an invalid get would be a disaster. If the non-divorced wife remarries, she and her new husband are guilty of adultery, while any children would be considered “mamzerim.” For this reason, great care is taken by rabbis who preside over a get, and the Talmud is extremely critical of those who retroactively question the va-lidity of a get.
In Part II of this series discover how the “Get of Cleves” story escalated into an international scandal involving the leading rabbis of the era. What could have been sorted out in a single afternoon arbitration became a scandal that turned into a major debacle for everyone involved.
Rabbi Pini Dunner is the Rav of Young Israel North Beverly Hills in California.
Isaac was eventually discovered hiding under some hay in a farmhouse belonging to a non-Jew, about four hours’ journey from Mannheim.
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These are the perfect dairy appetizers for your Chanukah party. Spinach and feta wrapped in buttered phyllo dough—need I say more?
Ingredients1 tablespoon olive oil1 medium onion, diced1 clove garlic, minced1 bag frozen spinach,
defrosted and drained well (10 oz. bag)1 cup crumbled feta1 teaspoon ground nutmeg½ teaspoon ground cinnamon6 phyllo sheets, defrosted½ cup unsalted butter
PreparationHeat oil in a medium sauté pan over me-
dium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic for 5 minutes or until translucent. Transfer to a large bowl and add spinach, feta, nutmeg, and cin-namon and stir to combine.
Take one phyllo sheet from the stack and arrange on a work surface with the long side
closest to you. Brush with melted butter. Top with another sheet and brush with more butter. Top with one more sheet and brush with butter. Cut stack crosswise into 8 strips.
Preheat oven to 375°F.Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near one
corner of a strip on the end closest to you. Fold corner of phyllo dough over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding the strip, like a flag, maintaining the triangular shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a lightly greased large baking sheet and brush the top with butter.
Repeat with remaining strips and filling. Repeat with remaining three phyllo sheets
to make 16 triangles total.Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes,
and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.
Note: Cutting Lengthwise vs. Crosswise: Cutting an ingredient “lengthwise” means to slice it the long way, the length of the ingredi-ent from “pole to pole.” Cutting an ingredient “crosswise” is the exact opposite and means slicing across the short way.
In The KitchenJamie Geller
A Spin on Traditional Chanukah De-lights
Get out of your rut! These latkes are a super yummy and healthy way to add some variety to your Chanukah table.
Ingredients1 head cauliflower cut into florets,
approx. 3 cups3 carrots or 6 baby carrots, shredded 1 cup1 small potato, quartered1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled2 eggs, beaten¼ cup matzoh meal1 small onion, finely diced 1 teaspoon kosher salt¼ teaspoon nutmegpepper to taste
PreparationBoil cauliflower, carrots, potato and gar-
lic in salted water for 15 minutes. Chop cau-liflower, smash the potato and garlic.
Mix cauliflower, carrots, smashed pota-to, garlic, matzoh meal, onion, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add beaten eggs to bind ingredi-ents together.
Shape ¼ cup of mixture into latke shapes. Spray non-stick pan with cooking spray. Brown latkes on each side to desired doneness.
Caulif lower Carrot Latkes
Mini Spanakopita
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Yankel, a small man, is looking for work. He goes to a ranch and says to the lumberjack, “Excuse me, I’d like a job chopping down trees.”
The lumberjack, who is built like an ox, looks at skinny, little Yankel and says, “You’ve gotta be kidding. This is a tough job. Not for little old men like you. Besides, where did you ever work before chopping down trees?”
“Well, I used to work at the Sahara Forest,” says Yankel.The lumberjack looks at him and says, “You mean the Sahara
Desert?”Yankel dismissively waves his hand and says, “Oh, well, now it’s a
desert. You should have seen it years ago!”
o The most accepted spelling for the delicious round pastry is “dough-nut.” However, according to Merriam-Webster, “donut” is also an ac-ceptable spelling.
o Krispy Kreme was founded in 1937. Dunkin’ Donuts started selling doughnuts in 1950, though it was known as Open Kettle for two years prior.
o 10 billion donuts are eaten in the U.S. every year. (Sounds crazy? Ever see what goes on at the corner of Rockaway Turnpike and Burnside Avenue at all hours of the day?)
o The original name for doughnuts was “oily cakes.”
o The original pastries, which didn’t have holes, were the size and shape of walnuts—thus the name.
o Bakers started placing holes in donuts when they realized that it enabled the doughnut to cook more evenly.
o The largest doughnut ever made was an American-style jelly dough-nut weighing 1.7 tons, which was 16 feet in diameter and 16 inches high in the center.
o Eric “Badlands” Booker holds the Guinness World Record for eating 49 glazed donuts in eight minutes.
o Per capita, Canada has more doughnut shops than any other coun-try.
o According to studies, there is an 8 day period in the winter, usually in December, during which if you eat a doughnut a day for 8 days you won’t gain any weight from it. (OK, that was totally made up by me…but I know you totally believe it!)
Siblings Sara, Moshe, Chaya, Leah, and Tzvi all lit the menorah. Sara lit before Chaya, but after Moshe. Leah lit first. If Tzvi lit after Chaya, in what order did the siblings light?
Answer on next page
Riddle!
You Gotta beKidding!
Chanukah Word Jumble
1. Nteesprs ________________________
2. Ltge ________________________
3. Knaauhhc ________________________
4. Tnghouud ________________________
5. Aabcceem ________________________
6. Xndraaler tehtreag ________________________
7. Hytmsiaau ________________________
8. Hheuady ________________________
9. Rliedde ________________________
10. Sltkea ________________________
11. Lio ________________________
12. Nrhomae ________________________
13. yptra ________________________
14. sbeimkhaiashd ________________________
15. heuaairslmyy ________________________
16. hcpa ________________________
17. ehgti ________________________
18. eehmns ________________________
19. aaiochhsmmn ________________________
Answers on next page
“You Say Donut, I Say Doughnut” Facts
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1. What is the standard size of a barrel of oil?
a. 5 kilolitersb. 76 litersc. 42 gallonsd. 55 gallons
2. One fifth of the oil shipped worldwide passes through which checkpoint?
a. Strait of Hermuzb. Panama Canalc. Suez Canal d. Black Sea Port
3. Which U.S. city is built on top of a major oil field?
a. Houstonb. Los Angelesc. Anchoraged. Miami
4. Which of these states is not in the top five oil-producing states?
a. Alaskab. Texasc. Oklahomad. New Mexico
5. How much did a gallon of gas cost after the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo?
a. $5.76b. $3.23c. $2.12d. $1.89e. $0.55
6. Which country is the world’s biggest producer of oil?
a. U.S. b. Russiac. Saudi Arabiad. United Arab Emirates
7. What is ethanol?a. It is a type of oil which is ex-
tracted from the ground without causing adverse en-vironmental impacts
b. It is an alcohol c. It is oil which is ethicald. It is a natural gas
Answers:1. C- A bar-
rel of oil’s refined products includes about 20 gallons of gasoline, 12 gal-lons of diesel and 4 gallons of jet fuel and other products like lique-fied petroleum gases and asphalt.
2. A- The Strait of Hermuz is a narrow strait located between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Iran borders the Strait of Hormuz to the north, and the United Arab Emirates and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula border it to the south.
3. B4. C5. E6. A- In 2013, the U.S. produced
12.31 million barrels of oil per day. Saudi Arabia produced 11.59 million per day and Russia produced 10.53 barrels per day.
7. B- Ethanol is a clear, colorless liquid. In the U.S., over 80% of etha-nol is produced from corn. (When you fly over the heartland and see millions of acres of corn fields, it’s not just because corn is a great BBQ side dish.)
The Jelly Doughnut Challenge
The TJH Centerfold Commissioner should have made this challenge up, but it is actually a real Guinness World Record Challenge, which is available on their website.
The challenge is to eat a jelly doughnut without using your hands and without licking your lips. You must abide by the following rules (again, these are the Guinness World Record’s rules, not mine…so, please, no hate mail):
• Thedoughnutsusedmustbefreshandmusthaveaminimum diameter of 6 cm (2.36 in).
• Thedoughnutsmusthavejaminthecenterandbecovered in sugar.
• Thedoughnutsmustbeservedatroomtemperatureand may not be heated prior to eating.
• Theattemptmusttakeplaceatatableordesk,withthechallenger sitting or standing.
• Thedoughnutmustbeplacedonaplate.
• Thechallenger’shandsmustremainbehindtheirbackfor the entire duration of the attempt.
• Ifthechallengerlickshisorherlipsatanypointduringthe attempt, they will be immediately disqualified.
• Thechallengerisnotpermittedtodrinkwaterduringthe attempt.
• Anyjam,sugarorcrumbsthatremainontheplatemust also be consumed. As the challenger is not permitted to lick their lips, they may have small remnants of food around the mouth and lips. Any large pieces of dough-nut unconsumed, or on any other part of the challenger’s face, the at-tempt is disqualified.
• Theattemptendswhenthechallengeropenstheirmouth and it is empty.
All About Oil
GOT FUNNY? Let the Commissioner decide Send your stuff to [email protected]
ANSWER TO RIDDLE: Leah lit first, then Moshe, then Sara, then Chaya, and then Tzvi.
JUMBLE ANSWERS: 1. Presents; 2. Gelt; 3. Chanukah; 4. Doughnut; 5. Maccabee; 6. Alexander the Great; 7. Matisyahu; 8. Yehudah; 9. Dreidel; 10. Latkes; 11. Oil; 12. Menorah; 13. Party; 14. Beis Hamikdash; 15. Yerushalayim; 16. Pach; 17. Eight; 18. Shemen; 19. Chashmonaim
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The Borochov family mantra is not just words – they’re words that they take
to heart and live with ev-ery day. Eli, the Borochov’s 20-year-old son who was shot by a sniper in Chev-ron last week, smiles and speaks softly as we discuss his ordeal. He stresses that he’s on the road to recovery and emphasizes his grat-itude to Hashem that the bullet missed his muscle, nerves and bone. “It’s chas-dei Hashem,” the family de-clares.
A doctor at the hospital told Ronen that Eli was tru-ly fortunate. “Zechut Avos,” the secular physician pro-claimed.
This is the third time Eli made the trip to Chevron
on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara. This year, he was joined by his father, Ronen; his brother, Yosef; and a friend. On Friday, they trav-eled from Yerushalayim to Chevron. Thousands of peo-ple spend Shabbos in Chev-ron on the week we read about Avraham purchasing Me’aras Hamachpela from Efron Ha’Chiti. Some sleep in tents and others in peo-ple’s homes. The Borocho-vs were spending Shabbos in Yeshiva Shavei Chevron, where they run a program for people coming to Chev-ron. They davened Mincha in Me’aras Hamachpela and then headed back there af-ter dressing for Shabbos. It was then that Ronen heard a boom and saw his son crum-ple to the ground.
“I fell to the floor in a lot of pain,” Eli recalled. “I
Smiling Through the PainA Conversation with Eli Borochov as He Heals after a Terrorist AttackBy Susan Schwamm
As he was walking me to the door, Ronen Borochov related to me that his children have a sign hanging on their bedroom walls: Keep Smiling. He said that they know that their father
impresses that message upon them every day – to always see the good in everything that comes your way. Just a few minutes
earlier, as we were chatting around the Borochov dining table, I asked them if they would be going back next year to Chevron on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara. “Next year,” Ronen Borochov
smiled, “I’ll be taking my whole family.”
Eli, Dovi Weiss, director of Yeshiva Shavei Chevron, and Ronen
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wasn’t sure what happened but I was in a lot of pain.” A bullet had pierced his inner thigh and blood was pooling on the floor.
Because of the myriad people who spend Shab-bos in Chevron on Parshas Chayei Sara, there are hun-dreds of members of the
army and security forces patrolling the city. The IDF even has their own snipers on roofs around Me’aras Hamachpela to ensure the safety of the people visiting.
“I was devastated – I knew he was shot,” Ronen related. “I screamed out, ‘Sniper.’ The soldiers didn’t
believe it. This is unheard of.”
Soldiers quickly picked Eli up and walked him to a medical tent nearby. He be-gan to feel woozy from the loss of blood and the shock of the attack, and doctors re-alized that he needed medi-cal attention. They rushed him to Shaarei Tzedek hos-pital with an IDF escort. The hospital had at least a dozen doctors waiting for Eli to evaluate his condition. They had thought he was wounded in the stomach.
Devora, Eli’s mother, said she only processed what really happened a while af-ter Ronen called her. She recalled, “Ronen told me, ‘Eli had an accident, but he’s fine.’ I asked him, ‘What happened?’ ‘Eli got hurt,’ Ronen said.”
“Where?” she asked him.
“In Me’aras Hamachpela.” “No, where was he hurt?” “In his leg,” Ronen told her.
Eli’s wound is healing nicely now but he is ex-tremely lucky. The bullet that pierced his thigh left only an entrance wound. Doctors couldn’t figure out where the bullet went; it wasn’t inside. Later the IDF found it near the place of the attack. Thankfully, the bul-let didn’t nick an artery, ma-jor blood vessel, or a nerve. Hopefully in a few weeks Eli will be able to walk as he did before.
After the attack, a spokes-man for the hospital told the Borochovs that she was contacting the American embassy on their behalf. She was surprised that the em-bassy had not yet contacted them on Sunday when she stopped by again.
“Thank G-d we didn’t need them. We have support within Israel. I was with my son. But where was the American embassy?” Ronen wonders. “An American citizen is hurt in a terrorist attack and no one contacts them?”
On the government web-site, travel.state.gov, it states that the U.S. embassy is available for U.S. citizens who are victims of crime overseas. “If you are the victim of a crime overseas,” the website states, “contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.” It continues, “When a U.S. citizen is the victim of a crime overseas, he or she may suffer from physical, emotional or fi-nancial injuries. It can be more difficult because the victim may be in unfamil-iar surroundings, and may not know the local language or customs. Consular offi-cers, consular agents, and local employees at overseas posts know local govern-ment agencies and resources
in the country where they work. We can help.”
On Tuesday, a few days after the shooting, Ronen was contacted by the con-sular at the embassy. In the email, Ronen was told that the embassy would be closed on Wednesday for Veteran’s Day. Ronen reached out to them again on Friday and as of Saturday night had still not received word from the U.S. embassy in Israel.
A politician that did not want to be named told Ronen that the investiga-tion into the incident could take months. He says the embassy should at least ac-knowledge the faux pas or apologize for their lack of communication. The Israe-li government made sure to extend themselves as much as they could to the Boro-chovs. Their medical bills have been taken care of and their plane ticket (they had to upgrade to first class to accommodate Eli’s wound-ed leg) have been paid for as well. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited Eli. But, the Borochovs won-der, where was our coun-try? They are concerned for other Americans in Israel, thinking of all those yeshiva and seminary students who don’t have their parents with them. If, G-d forbid, some-thing happens to them who will be there for them and take responsibility for their care?
The Borochovs will hope-fully be in Chevron next year, davening at Me’aras Hamachpela, a holy site that our forefather Avraham pur-chased for our nation thou-sands of years ago. Last week’s terrorist attack on their son won’t deter them from enjoying what is right-fully ours.
“They can’t bully us. We have a right to be there,” Devora says.
Eli in the ambulance. He is using his yarmulka to cover his face from reporters.
Yosef, Ronen and Eli Borochov at Me’eras HaMachpela
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The Halacha CornerBy Rabbi Yosef Wagner
Kollel Avodas Levi
Proper time to light Chanukah can-dles
The ideal time to light Chanukah candles is tzais hakochavim (night-fall).1 This is true even nowadays when the candles are lit inside.2 One should put in enough oil to last a half-hour from tzais hakochavim.3 If one did not light at tzais hakochavim, he may light any time that night until alos ha-shachar (day break). However a bra-cha may only be recited if one other person (even one’s wife or child) sees the candles.4 If one is not able to light during the night,5 the candles may be lit starting after plag hamincha (one and a quarter halachic hours before the end of the day).6 However, enough oil must be put in to last a half-hour after tzais ha-chochavim (nightfall).
Eating once the time has arrivedOne should not eat bread7 once the
time to light has arrived,8 but one may eat and drink other foods. If a woman’s husband is lighting for her, she may eat bread even after the time to light.9 1 Mishna Birura (MB) 672: 1. There are different opinions for how many minutes after shkeyah (sunset) to light. Kovetz Halachos pg 48 says between 20-30 minutes after shkeyah. Although for many halachos one might wait 42 minutes to be considered halachic nightfall, Chanukah candles have unique halachos. See Kovetz Halachos ibid for explanation. 2 Rema 672: 2 and Biur Halacha 672 s.v umekol makom tov lihizoer 3 Shulchan Aruch (SA) 672: 2. See Kovetz Halachos pgs 55-56.4 Aruch Hashulchan 672: 7 says only one person is necessary but the Shaarei Tziun 673: 17 says that two or three people are necessary to recite a bracha. If there are no people there, one does not have to be object at one who recites a bracha. See Mikadesh Yisrael 157. Iggeros Moshe OC 4: 105: 7 and Chazon Ovadiah pg 65 say a person can always recite a bracha even if all the people in the house are sleeping. 5 MB 672: 26 SA 672: 17 MB 672: 10 and Kovetz Halachos pg 388 Shaarei Tziun 672: 12 says that one should not even have a meal within a half hour of the zman.9 Kovetz Halachos pg 43, Mikadesh Yisrael 219, Chazon Ovadiah pg 68
Additionally, if one appoints a shomer (or alarm) for himself to remind him to light, then one may eat bread.10
BrachosOne should recite the bracha of
lihadlik ner and sheasa nissim (and shehechyanu on the first night) before lighting the candles. If one forgot to re-cite the bracha before the lighting, the bracha of sheasa nissim and shechey-anu may be said while the candles are still burning. However, lihadlik ner may only be recited before the last can-dle of that night is lit.11 If one forgot to say shehecheyanu on the first night, he may recite it the next night.12 Some people say haneros halalu after lighting the first candle13 while others say ha-neros halalu after all the candles have been lit that night.14
Women Women should abstain from mela-
cha (work) during the first half-hour15 of the candles burning.16 Some poskim say that women should only refrain from the type of melacha that is pro-hibited on chol hamoed,17 while others say that only melacha that entails tircha (excessive toil) is prohibited.18
Type of candlesOne should ideally light with oil,
10 Kovetz Halachos pg 4311 MB 676: 4 12 SA 676: 113 MB 676: 8. If one says haneros halalu before he lights the first candle, Kovetz Halachos pg 101 says one must recite a new bracha while MikadeshYisrael 213 says one does not have to.14 Pri Megadim MZ 676: 5. Kovetz Halachos 101 says Rav Moshe Feinstein was accustomed like this.15 MB 670: 416 SA 670: 117 Rav Moshe Feinstein cited in Rav Eiders’ sefer on Hilchos Chanukah chapter 1 footnote 3518 Mikadesh Yisrael 15. Kovetz Halachos pg 75 says that cooking is permitted even if it entails tircha because it was never accepted by women not to cook.
but one has fulfilled his obligation if he lights with wax.19 One is considered to have lit with oil even if the wicks are coated with wax.20
One should avoid lighting with electricity,21 but there is a minority opinion which says it is permissible.22 If one has no choice he may light a flash light which has an incandescent light bulb and a battery.23
MenorahThe candles on the menorah should
be in a straight line and not in a circle.24 All the cups of oil should be filled to the same height so all the flames are about the same height.25 Some says each flame should have the space of a finger between each other,26 while others say that it is sufficient as long as the flames are clearly recognizable from each oth-er.27 Menorahs which have backs are not recommended because when the candles are facing the window, the peo-ple in the house cannot see them.28 The shamash should be a little higher then all the other candles.29 If one’s shamash is of similar height to the other candles, his menorah is still acceptable provided that the shamash is in front of the other candles.30
PlacementOutside of Eretz Yisrael the com-
mon custom is to light the menorah in-
19 Rema 673: 120 Halichos Shlomo pg 285, Kovetz Halachos pg 22 21 Kovetz Halachos pg 24 Chazon Ovadiah pg 93 22 Kovetz Teshuvos ( Rav Elyahsuv) 3: 10323 Mikadesh Yisrael 170, Halichos Shlomo pg 283, and Asheri Haish pg 26424 Rema 671: 425 Mikadesh Yisrael 162
26 MB 671: 1827 Aruch Hashulchan 671: 1328 Mikadesh Yisrael 40 says it is better to face the menorah to the house than the window if one is going to use such a menorah.29 Rema 673: 130 Mikadesh Yisrael 175
side the house,31 on a windowsill32 that will be seen by the most people. Even in a fully Jewish neighborhood one should light at the windowsill, because outside of Eretz Yisrael it has never been the custom to light outside.33 Some say that the menorah should be within ten te-fachim (31.5 inches according to Rav Chaim Naeh) of the house floor even when lighting inside,34 while others do not require this.35 Everyone agrees that it is better to place the menorah at the window even if the window is above ten tefachim from the floor as long as the window is within 20 amos (31.5 ft according to Rav Chaim Naeh) from the street.36 If the window is 20 amos higher then the street, one should put the menorah at his front door at the left side.3738 However, some poskim say that if there are buildings across from the window of one’s house that are of the same height, one should still light at the window,39 while others argue that one should not.40 If one cannot light the menorah in the window because of ill-ness, one should lechatchila appoint a shliach (agent) to light for him by the window. If that is not possible, the me-norah may be lit next to his bed.41 Once the menorah has been lit, it should not lechatchila be moved until a half hour after nightfall.42
If one is staying at a hotel for Cha-nukah he should not light in the lob-31 Rema 671: 8, Iggeros Moshe OC 4: 125. However, see Ashrei Haish pg 248 who argues.32 MB 671: 38 and Aruch Hashulchan 671: 2433 Kovetz Halachos pg 11434 MB 671: 2735 Aruch Hashulchan 671: 2236 MB 671: 2737 SA 671: 738 Shaarei Tziun 671: 42. The same would apply if the only window faces an unpopulated area such as the woods where no one goes or lives.39 Mikadesh Yisrael 56, Kovetz Halachos pg 145, and Even Yisrael pg 12840 Chazon Ovadia pg 3941 Kovetz Halachos pg 8842 Kovetz Halachos pg 86-87
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by of the hotel. Rather, some say he should light in the dining room,43 while others say that he should light in the room where he sleeps.44
If a person lives in an area where there are no Jewish people, many poskim say that he is not required to light at the windowsill45, however oth-ers argue.46
Extinguishing candlesIf the candles go out by themselves
within a half hour of the zman, they don’t have to be lit again, but it is prop-er to relight them, especially on Erev Shabbos.47
A person may extinguish his can-dles after they have burned for a half hour,48 but it is best to make a tenai (condition) before one lights that he only wants a half-hours worth of oil to be used for the mitzvah.49
After Chanukah, one should burn the remaining oil and wicks50 of any candles that did not burn for a half hour.51 Some say that the oil does not have to be burned but may be placed in a bag and then put in the garbage or be poured down the sink.52
The Traveler53
A guest who does not have anyone
43 Kovetz Halachos pg 12844 Mikadesh Yisrael 63. 45 Lehoros Lenasan 4: 6346 Hissorirus Hateshuva 1: 15347 MB 673: 27. If one has already accepted Shabbos, he may ask his friend to relight them if his friend has not accepted Shabbos yet. 48 SA 672: 249 MB 672: 7. 50 Kitzur SA 139: 2951 SA 677:452 Kovetz Halachos pg 217 53 It should be noted that a traveler must light candles inside a house and cannot light candles in the street. See Iggeros Moshe YD 3: 14: 5 and Halichos Shlomo pg 257. Some say that a train or car are acceptable places to light. See Maharsham 4: 146 and Aruch Hashulchan 677: 5
lighting for him (i.e. his wife)54 in the house, must preferably light candles where he is staying that night.55 If he cannot light, he must give a prutah (a penny56) to the owner of the house where he is staying to be mishtatef (partner in the mitzvah) with his host.57
One may light in the airport if he has no other choice.58
If one’s wife is in the hospital, she can be yotze with her husband when he lights at home.59
If one relies on a baal habay-is (home owner) for his needs all the time (somech al shulchan baal habyis b kveyaus) he does not have to give a prutah is yotze by the letter of the law with the lighting of the baal habayis.60 However, Ashkenazim always try to light themselves.61
WeddingsIf one is going to a wedding and will
not be home during the time of lighting the candles (and lives in a different city then the wedding hall), some poskim say that he may light at the wedding
54 Halichos Shlomo pg 260 says that a traveler may be yotze with his wife’s lighting if he is in a different time zone.55 MB 677: 15-16 says that either one should have kavanah not to be yotze with his wife’s lighting, hear the brachas from someone else when lighting, or should light in his location before his wife lights.56 Iggeros Moshe 1 15057 SA 677: 1. Halichos Shlomo pg 262 says a guest may not give a prutah to another one of the guests; rather, he must specifically give a prutah to the owner of the house.58 Mikadesh Yisrael 9459 Halichos Shlomo pg 261, Mikadesh Yisrael 233-234 says that it is best if she can hear the brachos from someone else. 60 MB 677: 161 Rema 671: 2
hall,62 while others argue.63
Eating at friendsIf one is eating at a friend’s house
for dinner, the lighting must be done at his own house and not the friends’ house.64 If the friend lives outside of his city, some say that one may light at his friend’s house,65 while others say that he should wait until he gets home to light.66
If one goes away for Chanukah (and is eating and sleeping in the new location), he may light in that house, even if the house he owns is in the same city.67 When one wishes to re-turn to his house, if it is already time to light (which commonly occurs on Mo-tze Shabbos), some say he should light where he is right now68 (even though he has plans to leave), while others say that he should light at his house when he gets home.69 If one is going away for 62 Kovetz Halachos pg 195. Mikadesh Yisrael 78 and 93 says only to light there if one has no other choice, but it is better to light at home very late at night, with minimal publicizing of the miracle (pirsumei nissa), than to light at the wedding hall.63 Emes Liyakov 677 footnote 590 and Halichos Shlomo pg 276 footnote 47. Emes Liyakov says if one will not be home until late, his wife may light for him at his house. If one will light after the wedding and would like to eat bread, he should appoint a shomer (i.e. set alarm) to remind him to light the candles. 64 MB 677: 1265 Kovetz Halachos pg 19366 Mikadesh Yisrael 8067 Biur Halacha 677 s.v. bimakom sheochel says that if one is going for all eight days of Chanukah, he may light where he is staying. Halichos Shlomo pg 278 footnote 34 says that even if one goes away for one day he may light where he is sleeping. Kovetz Halachos pg 167 says that one must go away for all eight days in order to light where one is staying; otherwise, one must appoint a shliach to light for him in his house.68 Kovetz Halachos pg 187. Emes L Yakov 676 footnote 590 says that the primary place to light is where someone is at the beginning of the night. This is also the opinion of the Steipler (Orchos Rabenu 3: 100). Halichos Shlomo pg 279 says that in order to light somewhere one must stay there for a half-hour. 69 Chovaas Hadaar 1 footnote 65, Chazon
Chanukah to a friend; if he will be eat-ing all his meals at his friend’s house, but will be sleeping somewhere else, he should light in the place where eats the meals.70
TefilaIf one forgot to recite al hanissim
in davening and realized before he mentioned the name of Hashem in the bracha of hatov shimcha, he should say al hanissim and then continue with the word vi all kullam. If he totally forgot he doesn’t have to repeat shimone es-ray.71
If one accidently said a chatzi hal-lel one must say hallel shalem without a bracha.72
Chatzi Kaddiesh is recited after hallel, and not kaddish shalem. If one accidently said kaddish shalem after hallel, then after uva litzion one should say kaddish shalem but omit tiskabel.73
HavdalaOn Motze Shabbos in shul, one
lights the menorah first and then says havdala. In ones house, one may do which ever one he wants first.74
Ovadiah pg 155. Mikadesh Yisrael 83 says that if ones residence is in the same city where he is staying, then he should light in his own house. If one’s house is outside the city, then one should light where he is currently. 70 Rema 677: 1 and Mikadesh Yisrael 61. When there is a need, he may light where he is sleeping. Mikadesh Yisrael 62 says that if on Friday night the guest is eating at one person’s house, and on Shabbos day he is eating at someone else’s house, then he should light where he is sleeping.71 SA 682: 272 Shevet Halevi 7: 6273 Kovetz Halachos pg 24274 MB 681: 3. Aruch Hashulchan 681: 2 says one should always recite havdala first. Kovetz Halachas pg 236 says that if in one’s shul doesn’t recite havdala, then havdala should be recited first according to all opinions.
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Vayishlach: Introspective IdentityRabbi Shmuel Silber
A Parsha Thought
It was an inevitable reality. Yaa-kov knew the day would come when he would have to face his brother, Esav. Would Esav be seething with anger or had he moved on? Could Yaakov and Esav rehabilitate their relationship or would they simply go their own ways? We could only imagine that these questions were on Yaakov’s mind on the night before this fateful encounter. The Torah de-scribes that after Yaakov crossed his family over the Jordan River, he found himself all alone, Va’yivaser Yaakov L’Vado. It was at this moment that he is attacked by the “Ish,” (man, Rashi identifies this “man” as the minister-ing angel of Esav) and they wrestle with one another throughout the night. Yaakov was injured but managed to stand his ground and kept his adver-sary restrained until morning. When
the sun rose, the Ish requested that Yaakov release him. “And he (the angel) said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking,” but he (Jacob) said, “I will not let you go unless you have blessed me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” And he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed” (Genesis 32:27-29).”
This exchange seems a bit strange on a number of levels. Firstly, why is the Ish asking Yaakov his name? After all, they had been struggling with one another throughout the night. Sec-ondly, it would appear that Yaakov’s name is changed twice, once in the above-mentioned verse and a second time when God appears and says: “…Your name shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” And He named him Israel (Genesis 35:10).” Why is this second name change necessary?
The Torah (Genesis 2:20) states that Adam named each of the ani-mals. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba Chukas 19:3) relates that after Adam finished this important task, God ap-proached him and asked, “… and you, what is your name? He (man) responded, Adam, because I was cre-ated from the earth (adama).” Man named each of the animals based on the qualities and characteristics he perceived in them. When God asked man, “What is your name?” He was asking how do you perceive yourself? And man answered, “I am from the earth.” Adam failed to realize that the root of his name is also the same root as the Hebrew word “adameh, I will resemble.” Man has a choice – he can view himself as resembling the dirt or he can view himself as resembling his Maker and Creator. He can choose to identify with the earth or he can choose to identify with the heavens. The choice is his.
A name captures the essence of an individual. When the angel asked Yaakov, mah sh’mecha (what is your name)?” he was asking Yaakov, “how do you view yourself? What do you see when you look in the mirror?” Yaakov responded, “I am Yaakov. I am the one who was trampled on (the root of the name Yaakov is eykev, heel), I am the one who is always running; I am the one who is unable to face oth-ers (he runs away from home and lat-er from Lavan in order to avoid con-flict).” The Ish says, “Yaakov you are mistaken. Your name is no longer Yaa-
kov, you don’t have to run, you don’t have to fear – your name is Yisrael, ki sarisa, you are a master, you have struggled but you are still standing. You have fought with both angel and man and you have stood your ground. You lived in Lavan’s home, a spiritu-ally hostile environment for over two decades and yet, you remained true to your Abrahamitic values. You wres-tled an angel into submission. You don’t have to grab at anyone’s heel; you don’t have to flee in the face of adversity. You are Yisrael. Find the confidence to face your demons, find the confidence to confront your chal-lenges, find the strength to see how much you have grown.”
The angel did not change Yaakov’s name. In fact Rashi explains that the angelic Ish was foreshadowing what would occur later on when God ap-pears to change Yaakov’s name to Yisrael. The Ish is giving Yaakov im-portant advice. The only way you will be successful in life is if you begin to view yourself in a different light. You have so much potential, you possess so much holiness but your self-percep-tion is preventing you from seeing it.
Too often we fail to achieve, prog-ress and grow because we have given up on ourselves, we feel unworthy. We are acutely aware of our faults and shortcomings and assume that we cannot achieve greatness. We assume we are “adama” and therefore, low-er our expectations of ourselves. We must always remember that we are the Children of Israel; we are the people who strive for “adameh.” Let us find the strength to see the good, the beauty and the holiness that resides within.
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8 Nontoxic, Natural Pest Control Ideas (That Actually Work!)
Submitted by: Ben Schwartz | FounderVacancyFillers.com
Real Estate
As the weather turns cold, gone are the mosquitoes and flies that bugged us all summer. In their place come the cold-weather critters (think mice and moths) that can wreak havoc on our homes (and closets). Sure, ’tis the season for holiday guests, but if yours are of the rodent or insect kind, you’re probably hoping to be less than hospi-table (especially if you’re selling your home).
But you don’t have to break out the harsh chemicals. Whether you’re defending real estate in Seattle, WA, or Baltinore,MD from those pesky would-be roommates, these natural pest control remedies will do the job and are safe for kids and pets.
Store firewood far away from your house
You see a woodpile, rodents see a warm shelter from the cold — and it’s only a short while until they migrate to your abode. Another reason to keep piles of debris away from your home? They’re a prime breeding ground for spiders.
Use soap and waterAnd not just for hand-washing.
If you have an ant issue, wipe them away with a paper towel doused in soap and water. Doing so will remove the ants’ chemical trail, which can keep their friends from following their path. For good measure after cleaning, sprinkle some cayenne or black pepper near entry points, which will also repel those little workers.
Make use of mintMice abhor peppermint, so soak
a few cotton balls in peppermint oil and leave them where you suspect the mice are entering. Replace these often, as the mint oil tends to dry out. For a
longer-term fix, plant mint near the foundation of your house to discour-age entry.
Bring on the peanut butter — as bait
Even rodents can’t withstand the temptation of this delicious treat (it beats cheese!), so if you’re using mousetraps, dab a bit on the trap to ensure a catch.
Stock up on sachetsWrap rosemary, lavender, or
thyme in a cloth sachet and place it in your closet or drawers to keep moths at bay. Moths also hate the smell of cloves, so wrap them in tissue paper or cloth and store them in your pantry to keep food from becoming infested.
Store sweaters in the freezer (re-ally)
This is especially helpful if you think you have a moth problem. The cold air kills any remaining larvae, so put your sweaters in a plastic zippered storage bag and give them a deep freeze for a couple of days.
Embrace garlicAnd not just in your cooking.
While you may love the stuff, it turns out that stink bugs can’t stand the stench. Sprinkle garlic powder in hard-to-reach areas or make a spray of 4 tablespoons of powder and 2 cups of water. Spray it on doorways or plants near your house (stink bugs live on leaves and then mosey on inside) ev-ery two to three days.
Cue the citrus oilSpiders, which taste things with
their feet, are not citrus fans, so dab a few drops of orange or lemon oil around the house (especially in dark
corners) to discourage their stay. Bo-nus: Your house will smell fresh and clean!
Are you wasting time, money and pa-tience trying to find a tenant for your va-cant property? Are you constantly being distracted from you family and career, and stressed because you are not get-ting results from your current placement efforts? VacancyFillers.com can help! We are your one-call tenant placement solution! For more information, please visit: www.vacancyfillers.com or call 410.941.4813
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