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Around theCommunity
PAGE 10
BIKE4CHAI Baltimore Ride/ BBQ Kickoff Event This Past Sunday at the Home of Meir & Sarah Raskas
Agudath Israel of Maryland Hosts Mr. Ron Dermer Israel’s Ambassador to U.S.at the Home of Rabbi Jeff and Barbara Ifrah
Etz Chaim 3rd Annual Raise the Steaks Brings in Over 175
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BaltimoreJewishHomeTHE july 16 - july 30 . vol 2, #12 כט׳ תמוז - י״ד באב
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THE BALTIMORE JEW
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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,
Well, it seems that after arduous talks that spanned 20 months, nego-tiators have finally reached a deal at our historic and very possibly infa-mous deal enabling Iran to cheat and ultimately possess a nuclear weapon. While there is a 60-day review the president made it very clear he would fight to preserve the deal from critics in Congress, announcing, “I will veto any legislation that prevents the suc-cessful implementation of this deal.”
It has been written about so many times that the meaning of those words tends to get lost, but the reality remains that according to all military experts, should Iran get ahold of a nuclear weapon it would irreversibly change the Middle East from a trou-bled area to an explosive one, (think suicide bomber with nuclear capabil-ities.)
The difference between now and the 1930’s is that in the Twitter age we cannot claim that we don’t know what’s going on. Yes, one can still stick their head in the sand, but they will be guilty of knowingly doing so.
Chazal say that Hashem want-ed to pick chizkiyahu hamelech as the Moshiach but didn’t because he hadn’t sang shira in recognition of the
miracles which had occurred. There are miracles happening all around us, both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora. Let us not make the mis-take of overlooking these events and let us give praise and thank Hashem yisbarach for his continued protec-tion.
The shaloh hakadosh points out that chizkiyahu had indeed sang Hashem’s praise but it was after the miracles had occurred, not before. He should have been certain that G-d would perform miracles and started singing right away.
This is our current task. We need to recognize the seriousness in the current state of world affairs, pray and do good deeds that we stay safe. And most importantly have com-plete faith and know that our father in heaven will surely protect his children, and that this time instead of watching the world crumble into utter chaos we will witness miracles the likes of which will dwarf our ex-odus from Egypt.
We believe it. We know it. Let us celebrate it.
Wishing you a wonderful week,
Yaakov
COMMUNITYAround the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
JEWISH THOUGHT
The Question Behind The Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Parenting Pearls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
From the Files of Beis Din . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Rabbi Berel Wein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Yad L’achim - Tu B’av In Amuka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Av: Disaster and Consolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60The Truth about Getting High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61All of Our Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENTCenterfold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Notable Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
COVER STORYA Deal with the Devil: World Powers Laud Nuclear Deal with Tehran as Israel Looks on in Horror . . . . 38
LIFESTYLES613 Seconds with Jon Kaplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Dairy Delights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Book Review: Wisdom for Living:Rav Noach Weinberg on the Parashah . . . . . . . . . . 47
Dairy For Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Great Kosher Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Your Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
NEWSGlobal News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
National News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Israel News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
That’s Odd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Around the Community
Looking Back at Talmudical Academy-98th Anniversary Banquet
Harav Nota Greenblatt Shlita Visits Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Photo Credit Naftali Baum
Brownies for Brownies
On June 28, 2015, a Shomer Shab-bos Girl Scout troop, with a 30 year history in Baltimore, moved to Ner Tamid Congregation. Over 20 par-ents and daughters baked brownies and participated in a flag ceremony. This open house is the kickoff of what is now a troop for 1 – 5 grade (we hope to expand to middle school as well). For more information contact us at [email protected] or call Samson Wach at 410-764-6241.
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Around the Community
Mir Yerushalayim Shabbos of Chizuk and Benefit Reception Well AttendedPhoto Credit BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn
This past month, the kehilla of Bal-timore and the surrounding area got a boost of spiritual energy and inspi-ration with a special visit from Harav Nachman Levovitz, Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim, and Harav Moshe Aron Friedman, one of the Mir’s popular maggidei shiur.
Arriving in Baltimore on Friday, June 26th, Rav Friedman set out at 6:30 in the afternoon to begin a Shabbos of Chizuk packed with nine speaking en-gagements all over the city, braving several torrential downpours while captivating a most diverse array of au-diences with his inimitably warm and engaging style. He davened Mincha and Kabbolas Shabbos at Congrega-tion Kehilath Bnei Torah, where he was warmly introduced by the Rav, Rab-bi Yonason Seidermann. On Shabbos
morning, he davened and spoke first at the hashkama Minyan at Congregation Heichal Melech, where he provided an answer to a question posed by the Rav, Rabbi Pinchas Gross. He then deliv-ered a 45-minute shiur at Congregation Shomrei Emunah, led by Rabbi Biny-omin Marwick. He davened Mussaf at Congregation Ohel Moshe, where the Rav, Rabbi Tzvi Teichman introduced Rav Friedman by emotionally recalling his own days as a talmid of Rav No-chum Partzovitz zt”l in the Mir. Anoth-er drasha was given by Rav Friedman after Mussaf at Bais Haknesses Ohr Hachaim, led by Rabbi Tzvi Weiss.
On Shabbos afternoon, Rav Fried-man presented a drasha at Congrega-tion Shaarei Zion, under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, and then at Congregation Kol Torah, led by Rab-
bi Yosef Berger. He joined Rabbi Yis-socher Eichenstein’s kehilla at Mercaz Torah Utefillah for a warm and spirited shalosh seudos. On Motzei Shabbos, a most enjoyable and well-attended melave malka was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Yaakov Sonnenblick.
On Monday evening, June 29th, Gil and Molly Horwitz, longtime friends of Yeshivas Mir, hosted a beautiful Ben-efit Reception. An impressive crowd of people attended; Rav Moshe Heine-mann, Rav Yaakov Hopfer, and many other area rabbonim came to the event to show kovod haTorah. Mr. Horwitz opened the program by thanking ev-eryone for coming, and Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the Horwitz’s Rav and father of a talmid in the Mir, offered a personal perspective on the Yeshiva’s genuine ruach and sense of caring. Rabbi Mor-
dechai Grunwald, Director of Develop-ment of the American office, mentioned to the assembled about the warm, spe-cial bond that Yeshivas Mir has main-tained with the city of Baltimore, who have welcomed the Mir now for the past 25 years. Rav Nachman Levovitz, who has visited Baltimore every year during those 25 years, echoed Rabbi Grunwald remarks and elaborated on the ma’alos of the Yeshiva. The guest speaker was Rabbi Hanoch Teller, au-thor of many popular Jewish books and talmid of Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim for forty years. The memorable event ended with an audio-visual presentation depicting scenes from the Mir. The en-tire Baltimore community received tre-mendous chizuk and warmth from this much-anticipated visit.
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9
TISHAH B'AV
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EICHAH by Rabbi Meir
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RAV SCHWAB ON IYOV
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YEARNING WITH FIREby Rabbi Heshy
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TISHAH B’AV
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HaYonah
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THE THREE WEEKSTISHAH B'AV AND
OTHER FASTSby Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen
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TOUCHED BY THEIR TEARS A KINNOS COMPANION
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UNDERSTAND KINNOS IN CLASSIC OR INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION
/ 520 KINNAH 45THE CONGREGATION RISES AND RECITES THE FOLLOWING KINNAH RESPONSIVELY WITH THE CHAZZAN., *
1. , , , . 2,
, (1) Joel 1:8. (2) Cf. II Samuel 23:1.
suffering from labor pains,
»a woman< like< and her
cities,»
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youth ...«
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ing] for< in
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<of her flocks,
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of the sin
< abandoned< that is< the palace< ... for<chambers.«
her Sanctuary’s
<into< of
G d< of the
blasphemers
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for<
suffering from labor pains,
»a
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O Zion
< Lament,<of her
youth ...«
the husband< [lament-
ing] for< in
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and like a maiden
<
of her praise,
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song< [and the
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<of
G d< of [the
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<the exile< ... for<
of her canals.«the
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— Lament, O Zion. This final kinnah is chanted to a traditional heart-rending melody that expresses the full measure of our sorrow. Once again, in this last lament, we list all that we lost at the time of the Destruction, both materially and spiritually. However, the opening line of the kinnah (which is repeated either as a refrain after every second line, or once at the end of the kinnah) provides a ray
of hope: ‘‘Lament, O Zion and her cities, like a woman suffering from labor pains.’’ Israel’s suffering is not in vain; rather the Destruction and Exile should be viewed as a period of embryonic development and gestation leading to the rebirth of our nation. No pain is more excruciating than labor pains, yet the mother accepts it because it heralds the exhilarating joy of birth. Similarly, Israel’s suffering has been
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Around the Community
Etz Chaim 3rd Annual Raise the Steaks Brings in Over 175Photo Credit BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn
On Sunday Evening June 28th, at the beautiful rustic Green Acres Horse Farm of Dr. Dan Green & Dr. Tamara Sobol, the sun was out and the humidity was not, as over 175 guests gathered to enjoy an inspirational and entertaining evening. Billed as the most-anticipated men’s event of the year, Etz Chaim’s third annual “Raise the Steaks” Young Donor event did not disappoint.
As guests walked down the long
driveway and through the registration, they were greeted by the “Baltimore Lonsman” a Jewish bikers club which came out en masse to display close to 20 Harley Davidson motorcycles.
There was plenty of oohing, aahing and picture-taking as all the chrome and leather gleamed in the sunlight.
The pre-event VIP program for sponsors “A Taste of Rustic” be-gan with an enticing presentation by Chaim Silverberg, famous for his Lamb Ba-a-a-con and chief foodie at CWS Meats. In the impressive cherry wood barn Chaim presented a slew of unique dishes including beef bresaola, air dried pickled beef, lamb pancetta,
duck prosciutto. This small plate tast-ing was a great way to educate about the effects of aging and drying on the different types of meat.
Other attendees starting streaming
in for Yaakov Simanowitz of Elegant Events’ cocktail hour overflowing from the barn onto the area surround-ing it. Overlooking the pen containing mini ponies, guests enjoyed a delecta-ble variety of dishes including turkey club skewers, gazpacho shooters w/ lime and mint and hot pastrami knish-es along with local microbrews from Jailbreak Brewing Company in from Laurel, MD.
Music was expertly mixed by
Aaron Shiller a.k.a. DJ Balagan. Af-ter Mincha, everyone moved to the sprawling front lawn for dinner also prepared by Yaakov Simanowitz of Elegant Events and enjoyed a delecta-
ble rustic BBQ featuring ribs, pulled brisket, whole smoked turkeys, and paired expertly with delicious wine.
Rabbi Yisroel Porter, Director of JFI, Etz Chaim’s Young Family Divi-sion and event coordinator began the program by welcoming everyone and thanking all the sponsors and individ-uals for making this year’s event the largest and most successful Raise the Steaks event yet. He then spoke about Etz Chaim’s integral and unique role
in the community. Unifying, building bridges, and offering every single Jew regardless of their background or af-filiation opportunities and an environ-ment to grow and learn while feeling
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respected and accepted as individuals.He proudly mentioned some of
Etz Chaim’s recent accomplishments including its thriving Partners in To-rah program encompassing over 200 individuals from every point on the spectrum, and the JWRP Israel trips they have been running annually since 2010. This year Etz Chaim has another full trip of Jewish mothers leaving in October, followed by a Men’s trip in November.
Drawing on the words of the Ma-haral, he suggested that the way the
Jewish people can unite and strength-en themselves is by taking opportuni-ties to introduce yourself to other Jews who may not look or practice like you. When you take away the “labels” and meet the human being behind the “la-bel” we are always surprised by their unique individual talents and perspec-
tives. He suggested to everyone to make it a point to find time to intro-duce yourself to one individual you do not know and make a new friend. He concluded that whether we like it or not, we are ambassadors for the Jewish people when we are out in the world, and we must take that responsi-bility seriously.
Followed by a brief introduction by Rabbi Nitzan Bergman, Execu-tive Director of Etz Chaim, Dr. Scott Nawy took the mic. Scott, who has been learning in Etz Chaim’s execu-tive learning group with Rabbi Berg-man, spoke from his heart and shared his moving personal story of his Jew-ish journey. Growing up with a very rudimentary Jewish identity, he went through many stops and many per-sonal experiences which guided him to this point. At Etz Chaim he has
found a place where he feels com-fortable learning, asking, challenging, and growing which resonates with his desire for authentic Torah learning. Many of the guests remarked how moved they were by hearing Scott’s heartfelt words.
As dessert was being served, Rab-bi Shlomo Porter, Dean of Etz Chaim continued with a special auction for Israel scholarships to help send stu-dents to Israel over the next year. Within a few minutes more than 6 full scholarships had been “snapped up” by generous donors!
Rabbi Yisroel Porter then coordi-nated an exciting drawing of 10 dif-ferent prize packages including “King of the Grill”, “Pour Me a Cold One”,
“Get Fit”, “Take Me Out to the Ball-game”, “Take Me Out to the Ball-game Too”, “Date Night”, “Quit Your “Wine”ing”, “Spirit”ual Awakening”, “Honey, I’ll Take Care of Shabbos” & “Fly Away With Me”.
Each attendee was also given a tasty memento to bring home to his wife - a beautifully-wrapped mini kokosh gift package, prepared and sponsored by Faygil Feldman of The Cookie Jar. A Stainless Steel water canteen memento was also distribut-ed embossed with “I helped Raise the
Steaks for Etz Chaim”!Everyone went home with a good
taste in their mouths; they had been wined and dined like never before, learned about the unique contribution of Etz Chaim in the Baltimore commu-nity and been inspired by the personal stories and inspiration offered. The re-sounding comment of those who were fortunate to be a part of this event was that, in fact, Etz Chaim had done noth-ing less than raise the steaks!
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After learning and being tested on the basic Halachos of Melicha, the entire 5th grade participated in Kashering their own piece of steak. Of course after the meat was Kashered, the boys enjoyed a delicious BBQ.
Pre1A talmidim and their parents celebrate as they receive their first Chumash.
Around the Community
TI Summer Happenings
Inaugural Shabbos for Rabbi Pinchas Gross and Launch of New Kehilla named “Derech Chaim”
This past Shabbos gave new mean-ing to Parshas Pinchas, as Rabbi Pin-chas Gross and his family were for-mally welcomed by his shul with an inaugural celebration for their “new” Rav and Rebbetzin. While Rabbi Gross took the Rabbinic position at Kehillas Heichal Melech nearly a year and a half ago, the shul chose to rejoice and honor the Rabbi and his wife following the family’s recent move to town from Yeshiva Lane. The event, spearheaded and orchestrated by Mr. Elchanan En-gel, hosted a very impressive gala Kid-dush sponsored by an overwhelming 83 families and welcomed over 250 people in the Ner Tamid Social Hall.
This momentous Shabbos was a turning point in the shul’s existence as the Ner Tamid chapel, the shul’s cur-rent rented facility, filled to capacity to welcome the Rabbi and take part in the festivities. Following davening, Dr. Ronnie Samet, a representative of the board, opened the event by welcoming the Rav and Rebbetzin and all the hon-orable family members and guests who came to show their Hakaras HaTov for the Rabbi. He directly attributed the exponential growth of the kehilla to the impressive young Rabbi and expressed deep appreciation to all those who have assisted in the shul’s rapid progress. Special thanks was articulated to the shul’s board for all of their hard work, to Rabbi Kestenbaum who graciously housed Shabbos minyanim in his home for many years, and to the Ner Tamid family for opening their beautiful chap-el to serve the ever-growing number of
mispallelim.Emphasizing the kehilla’s increas-
ing recognition of the Rabbi’s vast To-rah knowledge and superb middos, Dr.
Samet surprised the Rabbi by publicly reading two heartfelt confirmatory let-ters of approbation and Divrei Bracha. One penned by the Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisroel, HaRav Aharon Feldman Shlita, stated that “Rabbi Gross is one of the most outstanding talmidim our Yeshiva has ever produced. By taking him as your Rav to teach you, guide you, and to lead you, you have made it possible for yourselves to reach unlimited heights both as a kehilla and as individuals.” The second letter read was from HaRav Dovid Cohen Shlita, world renowned posek in New York, who remarked that he “is in awe of Rabbi Gross’s breadth of knowledge, sterling character, and of his representation of an Adam Ha-Shaleim… He is the quintessence of the
perfect role model to emulate.”With upmost gratitude for Rabbi
and Rebbetzin Gross’ efforts and un-deniable success, Dr. Samet conclud-
ed by disclosing an official letter from the shul’s board granting the Rabbi full rights to rename the shul and to effec-tively launch a new kehilla with his own unique vision and identity.
Rabbi Gross then addressed the swelling crowd and referenced the Parsha’s discussion of choosing a new leader for Klal Yisrael. Quoting the Medrash that defines a true Manhig as one who recognizes and brings out the strengths and potential of each and every one of his constituents, he spoke about making a real kesher with every man, woman, and child of the kehilla and how the Beis Knesses is the guiding light for the entire family. He reminded the tzibur that he is always available to address their needs and remains com-
mitted to work with his Rebbetzin to expand the current services, as well as create new opportunities for all individ-uals to gain the most from the shul.
The Rabbi introduced the shul’s new name “Derech Chaim,” named after the Rebbetzin’s grandfather Reb Yisroel Chaim Peyser Z”L, and explained that it captured the essence of his vision -- to help develop the whole derech hachaim – way of life – of a Torah Jew. While this includes many different compo-nents of excelling in Avodas Hashem, Rabbi Gross closed by his resolve to accentuate Torah learning as the ke-hilla’s core derech chaim and identity, following the dictate in Mishlei (6:23) .כי נר מצוה ותורה אור ודרך חיים תוכחות מוסר
The event concluded with a truly special visit by HaRav Yaakov Hopfer Shlita who walked over 30 minutes in the July heat to add his divrei Haskama and Bracha to the Rabbi and the kehil-la. Rav Hopfer praised the kehilla for appointing such a “chashuve Rav” and ended by giving the shul the strongest possible endorsement.
Thereafter, the kehilla moved from the Chapel to the Ner Tamid social hall to enjoy the festive and elegant Kid-dush, lavishly catered by Yaffa. With so many of the local Rabbonim and the extended Baltimore community coming to pay tribute to Rabbi and Rebbetzin Gross, the newly established kehilla “Derech Chaim” took root with a pal-pable excitement and incredible energy.
For more information about the shul, please contact…[email protected].
Rabbi Pinchas Gross Photo Credit Eli Greengart
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Around the Community
Thinking Outside The Lunch BoxStaff Reporter, Baltimore Jewish Home
On Monday, July 13, 2015 the Balti-more Orthodox Jewish Community was for the first time introduced to the Bal-timore City Summer Lunch Program. Children of all ages lined up at Bnos Yisroel to obtain a nutritious lunch. What made this a unique moment in our community’s history was that the Baltimore City program that is free for children under the age of 18 were kosher and cholov yisroel. There is an adage in business, “If you don’t go af-ter what you want, you’ll never have it, if you don’t ask, the answer is always, no, and if you don’t step forward you’re always in the same place” Members of the Baltimore Jewish Community took this mantra to heart and pondered why so many Baltimore City programs were being ignored or underutilized by their community. One such program was the Baltimore City Summer Lunch Pro-gram. For years the City has provided nutritious lunches to children 18 years or younger during the summer months. The challenge was that the lunches that were being provided were not suitable for the Kosher observant community. While most people would have stopped at the question of “why?” these vol-unteers asked “why not?” and went to work. After multiple meetings and con-versations with Baltimore City officials and other community members they were able to bring this program to the community.
Yitzy Schleifer, Vice President of the Cheswolde Neighborhood Associa-tion was one of the main volunteers that spearheaded this effort. When asked how he started this process, Mr. Schleif-er stated, “I look around the Country at other Orthodox Jewish Communities and see that in many situations we are not as aware of available programs that other communities benefit from. With help from various community leaders and Baltimore City officials, I was suc-cessful in bringing a Kosher version of this program to the children of our com-munity. In speaking with leaders at Aha-vas Yisroel as well as Rabbonim, I was encouraged to move forward on get-ting this initiative in place. During the summer months many families struggle to cover all of their regular household bills. Lunch programs that many fam-ilies utilize during the school year are
unavailable and that puts an extra finan-cial strain on many families that are al-ready teetering on the edge of financial crises. Even a small reduction of a fam-ilies’ weekly expenses can sometimes be the difference between covering all their bills or needing community assis-tance. What makes this program even more attractive is that it is not income based so there is very little bureaucrat-ic red tape for the participants to take advantage of the free lunches. There is a lot more work required to getting our community the resources it needs, but this is a great start. I want to thank Deputy Commissioner of the Baltimore City Department of Housing, Reggie Scriber for his invaluable assistance in making sure that all of Baltimore City’s children are included in this important program.”
Nathan Willner, community orga-nizer and President of the Cheswolde Neighborhood Association, comment-ed, “I have never met a more deter-mined community advocate, than my Vice President, Yitzy Schleifer. When he makes up his mind to accomplish something, it is rare that he does not ac-complish it. It is such a positive result for our community that we are able to provide the same free nutritious lunch-es during the summer to our kosher ob-servant families as the rest of the City has been able to utilize. It is moments like these when you really can see that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is se-rious when she speaks about unity and One Baltimore. When a segment of the City’s constituencies are not included, it is difficult to build on that theme. We saw in this program that this concept of One Baltimore is not just talk, but is being put into action. We are grate-ful to the Mayor to be included in this program”.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was pleased to hear the receptiveness of the community to this program, she was enthusiastic in saying, “During the school year, it is easy for students to get meals at school, but when school is out, it’s much more difficult for some of our young people to get the nutrition they need. Thank you to the Cheswol-de Neighborhood Association, Nathan Willner, Isaac Schleifer and the many others who have worked in partnership
with us to help bring meals to our ko-sher observant children.”
Ron Rosenbluth, community askan and owner of Tov Pizza, reflected, “When I was approached about at-tempting to bring the Baltimore City’s Summer Lunch Program to our com-munity, I was immediately enthusiastic. As the past President of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, I am keenly aware of our community’s economic challeng-es. While this is not an income based program, I realized that any initiative
that can alleviate some of the financial strain, a segment of our community feels, would be very worthwhile. Part of the challenge was trying to provide Cholov Yisroel Kosher lunches at the same allotted budgetary rate that the rest of the City utilizes for non-kosher lunches. I was so convinced that the children or our community could ben-efit from free nutritious lunches that I made the conscious decision to under-take the program even if it meant that from a business perspective I would not break even. The smiling faces that I encountered on our first day was value enough. Among the various individuals that made this come to fruition, I want to specifically thank the Baltimore City Department of Housing, Bnos Yisroel for making their building available, Sara Wetstein for volunteering to run the program, and Yitzy Schleifer for fighting for our community’s children to be able to participate in this need-ed program. I look forward to serving lunches to our children for the entire summer.”
Ahavas Yisroel, Baltimore’s pri-mary financial assistance organization for the Orthodox Jewish Community quickly saw the need for this program and was happy to assist in promoting it throughout the community. Eli Schlos-berg, Executive Trustee of Ahavas Yis-roel, stated, “ Any time we can make nutritious meals available for children of our community it’s a “win-win” proj-ect. We thank the City for making such a program available and particularly what to thank the Yitzy Schleifer and the other volunteers that undertook this initiative and made this possible”.
On the first two days alone, over 350 meals were served to children in our community, those who are interest-ed in participating only need to e-mail Yitzy Schleifer at [email protected] to register or if they have questions about the program. The pro-gram will continue until August 21, 2015 and will be held Monday through Friday at Bnos Yisroel, located at 6300 Park Heights Avenue from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get things ac-complished, or in this instance outside the “lunch” box.
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BIKE 4 CHAI Baltimore Ride/ BBQ Kickoff Event This Past Sunday at the Home of Meir & Sarah Raskas
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19Around the Community
On Sunday morning July 12, Agudath Israel of Maryland held its inaugural benefit brunch. The event took place at the Pikesville home of Rabbi Jeff & Barbara Ifrah and drew a capacity crowd of more than 120 people who came in support of this vital community organization. Joining in the event as the featured guest was the Ambassador of Israel to the United States, His Excellency Ron Dermer. This event marked the first time that the Ambassador has come to interact with the Baltimore Jewish community and its timing was indeed crucial due to all of the Israel-related news going on in the world.
The program began with welcom-ing remarks from host, Rabbi Jeff If-rah, who warmly welcomed the entire gathering and shared a D’var Torah on Parshas PInchas, read the previ-ous day. He cited the words used by Moshe Rabbeinu to refer to Hashem as, “Elokei haruchos l’chol bassar ish” (G-d of the spirits of all man) while re-questing that Hashem appoint Moshe’s successor. Rashi explains that Moshe was making the request of Hashem that the leader for Klal Yisroel must be a person who is able to tolerate and understand all types of people. Rabbi Ifrah pointed out that the role of an ambassador is precisely that, in that he needs to be able to understand and communicate with an endless array of people from all walks of life in order to properly represent his country and his people.
He then introduced Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, the director of Agudath Israel of Maryland, who acknowledged all those who were involved in putting together such an impressive event in a short amount of time. In addition to thanking the Israeli Embassy for
making the necessary arrangements to enable Ambassador Dermer to partic-ipate, he acknowledged the presence of the ambassador’s wife, Mrs. Rhoda Dermer (nee Pagano) a former Balti-morean and alumna of Bais Yaakov High School (class of ’92). Rabbi Sad-win lauded the impressive talents the Ambassador displays even while deal-ing with some of the most difficult and hostile situations as the spokesman for the State of Israel, as a true Kiddush Hashem.
He then introduced Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, the executive vice president of Agudath Israel of Amer-ica, who traveled in from New York to
honor the gathering. Rabbi Zwiebel went through some
of the many impressive accomplish-ments thus far in the Ambassador’s career – as a means to familiarize the gathered with the Ambassador. He then proceeded to familiarize the
special guest with his audience - the Orthodox Jewish community of Bal-timore. He firmly stated that it is in-deed the Orthodox Jewish communi-ty which is the core constituency for whom the Ambassador should impart his message. Citing a survey done by the New York Jewish Week newspa-per, a cross-section of secular Amer-ican Jews were asked to list the items that concerns them the most as Jews. Alarmingly, the safety and security of Israel was way down on the list. Us-
ing the impressive turnout at Sunday’s brunch as one mere example, Rabbi Zwiebel asserted that had that very survey been taken in the Orthodox Jewish community, a vastly different outcome would have resulted with the concerns for the safety and security of Israel at the top of the list.
He then eloquently introduced the featured guest, Ambassador Ron Der-mer.
In Ambassador Dermer’s opening words, he explained that speaking to heads of state on a regular basis assists him in his ability to adjust to address-ing a gathering, “but at this gathering, speaking in front of my wife’s rab-
beim”, he exclaimed, “that makes me nervous!” He engaged the crowd with his quick wit and pleasant demeanor, praising the community and schools of Baltimore for its role in helping pro-duce his wife, who is in turn raising their family with sterling middos and refined character.
He quickly turned to address the many Israel related concerns that were on the minds and hearts of all of the gathered, and specifically with the Iran negotiations. “It used to be a deal that was focused on the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program”, he said, “now all it is, is a deal to dismantle the eco-nomic sanctions that has crippled the Iranian economy and will leave them with a vast nuclear infrastructure”. He cited numerous concerns that a deal with Iran would inevitably cre-ate. Among them he mentioned how dissolving the sanctions will provide Tehran with hundreds of billions of dollars of economic surplus to further support the terror infrastructure all around the Middle East. He exclaimed, “instead of blocking the road to a nu-clear weapon, it rather paves the road
to the bomb.” And while all of these negotiations are going on, the virulent statements of destruction of Israel and America are still being made by the Iranian regime.
The Ambassador firmly expressed the impeccable truth of the concept of “netzach Yisrael lo yishaker” – the eternity of the Jewish people doesn’t lie, “after all of the empires in histo-ry who persecuted the Jewish people have disappeared, only the Jewish people remain”. He recently shared that with a group of congressmen when he explained that upon his ap-pointment as ambassador, he made courtesy calls to a number of other
ambassadors. Among them was not the ambassador of the Babylonian Empire, nor was it the Roman Empire, and it was not even the ambassador of the Third Reich of Germany.
He called upon the gathered to think about the great fortune we have as Jews to go to Israel as often as we please to visit and to learn Torah, and to view it as our homeland where we can make Aliyah – all things our an-cestors wish they could’ve done.
He calls upon Jews everywhere to assist Israel by continuing to strength-en their Jewish identity and continuing to visit Israel, and encouraging those ready to do so, to settle in Israel. As dangerous as things seem to be today, Jews are safer now in Israel than they are anywhere else in the world. To-day’s Jews will do whatever they need to do in order to keep its people safe and secure.
We all beseech the Heavens that Hashem continues to watch over all of us Klal Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel – as it says in Tehillim, “Hinai lo yanum v’lo yishan Shomer Yisroel”.
Ambassador Dermer inspires Baltimore crowd at Agudath Israel Event Rabbi Ariel Sadwin
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Global
A Message from the Holocaust behind the Walls
While he was renovating his house in the Dutch town of Bilthoven, Jelle Kapitein dismantled a wooden pan-el of an attic door frame and spotted an old, unclear text. A restoration of the panel revealed the pencil-written request from a few Jews who had hid in the house during the Holocaust: Lo-cate our family.
The couple, Levie Sajet and Ester Zilberstein, wrote their personal de-tails, dates of birth and address in the message in 1942, and asked that who-ever found it would try to find their relatives after the war. They added a blessing for the person who would discover their message, saying: “The G-d of Israel, have mercy upon your humiliated brothers.”
The house’s owner, who was not able to find information about the couple’s fate and whether they or their relatives survived the Holocaust, turned to a local television station and invited a crew to take pictures of the old door with the text left by the cou-ple, hoping that their family members would hear about it. “I would like to contact their relatives and relay the message to them,” Kapitein said.
The list of Pages of Testimony on the Yad Vashem website contains names identical to the ones of the Jew-ish couple which hid in the Bilthoven attic. According to the Friends of Yad Vashem association in Holland, Levi Sajet and Ester Zilberstein were mur-dered by the Nazis in Auschwitz.
Record Prices for Items Once Belonging to Lubavitcher Rebbe
Nine sentimental items which once belonged to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneer-son, were sold last week to a collector for over $80,000 (NIS 300,000).
The items were all used or associ-ated with the Lubavitcher Rebbe be-fore his death 21 years ago. The items include a Tehillim used by him, a sid-dur signed by him, and Shabbos table-ware. Experts say the items were sold for record prices for such artifacts in the past generation.
Many of the items were kept at the Rebbe’s home in Brooklyn, New York, and some have been exchang-ing hands over the years. Some items were under the authority of the shul managers, and some were under the ownership of ordinary Chasidim.
In last week’s sale, $21,650 was paid for the siddur, $14,425 for silver and glass utensils for serving com-pote, and $13,230 for a silver plat-ter with the letters MS engraved on it, the initials of Rebbetzin Mushka Schneerson. A cloth napkin was sold for $6,600, a silver napkin holder for $4,800, a spoon with the letter S – for Schneerson – engraved on it was sold for $4,300, and a similar sum was paid for the Tehillim. In addition, a $100 bill was auctioned off for $6,000; it was given by the Rebbe as a donation for a mikvah in South Africa. The first
printed version of the Tanya, written by Lubavitch’s founder, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi in the Ukrainian city of Slavuta about 220 years ago, was sold for $19,100.
Meron Aran, one of the owners of the Kedem Auction House, relat-ed, “The reason for the high prices is mainly a very high demand for such items among Chabad Hasidim and people associated with the Hasidic movement abroad.”
Telegram Addressed to Hitler Sells for $55K
A treasonous telegram from No. 2 Nazi Hermann Goering to Hitler was sold on Tuesday at an auction for $55,000. It is regarded as one of the most crucial documents from the most critical moments in World War II. The message is accredited to leading to Hitler’s suicide in his underground Berlin bunker.
Despite its deep impact on World War II, the memorandum ended up inside a South Carolina safe, nearly forgotten for more than a decade un-til a college student made it his senior thesis.
The telegram was sent on April 23, 1945, almost a year after American troops landed at Normandy. Amer-icans had crossed the Rhine in early March, but it was Soviet troops that now had Hitler and many of his top advisers surrounded, but not Hermann Goering. An ace fighter pilot in World War I, Goering had helped Hitler take power in 1933 and remained with him
throughout the war. He was Hitler’s designated successor; in June of 1941 Hitler issued a secret decree announc-ing that if he is captured or killed Go-ering should take over. However, as the war carried on, the megalomaniac leader became suspicious of his No. 2. And as the Soviets advanced to within two blocks of Hitler’s bunker, Goer-ing was nowhere to be found. He was holed up nearly 500 miles south in the Bavarian Alps. From a Nazi base in the mountainous town of Bercht-esgaden, Goering sent a telegram to Hitler shortly after midnight:
My Führer:General Koller today gave me a
briefing on the basis of communica-tions given to him by Colonel General Jodl and General Christian, accord-ing to which you had referred certain decisions to me and emphasized that I, in case negotiations would become necessary, would be in an easier po-sition than you in Berlin. These views were so surprising and serious to me that I felt obligated to assume, in case by 2200 o’clock no answer is forth-coming, that you have lost your free-dom of action. I shall then view the conditions of your decree as fulfilled and take action for the well being of Nation and Fatherland. You know what I feel for you in these most dif-ficult hours of my life and I cannot express this in words. G-d protect you and allow you despite everything to come here as soon as possible.
Your faithful Hermann GoeringAccording to an autobiography by
Albert Speer, Hitler’s chief architect turned minister of armaments and war production, which was written while serving 20 years in prison following his trial at Nuremberg, those close to Hitler used the telegram to pollute Hitler’s already crumbling attitude to-wards Goering:
. . . there was a flurry of excitement in the vestibule. A telegram had ar-rived from Goering, which Bormann hastily brought to Hitler. … In the telegram Goering merely asked Hitler whether, in keeping with the decree on succession, he should assume the leadership of the entire Reich if Hit-ler remained in Fortress Berlin. But Bormann claimed that Goering had launched a coup d’etat; perhaps this
The Week In News
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was Bormann’s last effort to induce Hitler to fly to Berchtesgaden and take control there. At first, Hitler respond-ed to this news with the same apathy he had shown all day long. But Bor-mann’s theory was given fresh support when another radio message from Go-ering arrived. I pocketed a copy which
in the general confusion lay unnoticed in the bunker. It read: To Reich Minis-ter von Ribbentrop
I have asked the Fuehrer to pro-vide me with instructions by 10 p.m. April 23. If by this time it is apparent that the Fuehrer has been deprived of his freedom of action to conduct the
affairs of the Reich, his decree of June 29, 1941, becomes effective, accord-ing to which I am heir to all his offic-es as his deputy. [If] by 12 midnight April 23, 1945, you receive no other word either from the Fuehrer directly or from me, you are to come to me at once by air.
(Signed) Goering, Reich MarshalThis was proof for Bormann.
“Goering is engaged in treason!” he exclaimed excitedly. “He’s already sending telegrams to members of the government and announcing that on the basis of his powers he will assume your office at twelve o’clock tonight, mein Fuhrer.”
Hitler eventually became furious and said:
“I’ve known it all along. I know that Goering is lazy. He let the air force go to pot. He was corrupt. His example made corruption possible in our state. Besides he’s been a drug addict for years. I’ve known it all along.”
A week later, Hitler and his com-panion, Eva Braun, killed themselves. Shortly after Hitler’s suicide, his Ber-lin bunker was overrun by Soviet sol-diers.
More than a month later, when U.S. Army Capt. Benjamin M. Bradin entered the bunker and brought home documents that he found in Hitler’s lair. Apparently unaware of their con-tents, he put them in his local bank vault, where they stayed until 1958. Years later Bradin’s son James took the papers to his history professor who examined the telegram and im-mediately realized its importance. He encouraged James Bradin to base his senior thesis on the documents. Bra-din gave the telegram to Rieke as part of his senior thesis.
On Tuesday, the Maryland-based auction house put the telegram up for sale. It was expected to sell for be-tween $15,000 and 20,000 but sold for $54,675 to an unnamed North Ameri-can buyer. The Bradin family will not get a profit.
Goering was put under house ar-rest but freed by the Luftwaffe, the Nazi air force. He then made his way west in the hope of surrendering to the Americans instead of the Soviets. He was captured by the U.S. Army on May 6 and imprisoned in Luxem-bourg and later Nuremberg, where he was among the top Nazi officials to be put on trial. He was sentenced to hang but killed himself hours before by swallowing a cyanide capsule.
The Week In News
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The Week In News
Russia Offers Help for those Addicted to Selfies
The word “selfie” has been trend-ing heavily lately. In fact, people have created careers and products from this popular trend. People have been tak-ing photos of themselves for years. The term, though, is relatively new.
As always, with new trends comes a whole new slew of issues and prob-lems. Selfie-taking has become an ad-diction for some teenagers and young adults. Youngsters are taking so many selfies and are sometimes even putting themselves in dangerous situations just to capture their selfie-moment.
In response, Russia has begun a campaign against the dangers of tak-ing selfies, promoting “safe selfies.” Moscow authorities introduced 24/7 phone support for anyone who is con-cerned that they might be addicted to taking the arms-length snaps.
The head of Moscow’s narcolo-gy unit, Yevgeny Bryun, announced, “More and more Muscovites suffer from selfie addiction, putting them-selves in danger. We have created a round-the-clock emergency service providing psychological support by the MNPC narcology for such aficio-nados [of selfies].”
“If you feel that you cannot live without selfies, call our psychology desk – you will receive counselling and be offered support,” Bryun added.
Later in the week, the Interi-or Ministry issued leaflets warning young people against posing for pics
in dangerous places. The Interior Min-istry posted a memo on its website which instructs young people on how to take a selfie without hurting them-selves. The campaign’s leaflet shows a stick figure getting injured while tak-ing a selfie in hazardous surroundings such as in front of a wild animal, on a
rooftop and even while holding a gun.The campaign is in response to the
death of several young people who were killed while trying to take self-ies. In April of last year, 17-year-old Xenia Ignatyeva fell to her death from a bridge in St. Petersburg while trying to take a photo of herself, and in Janu-
ary two teenage boys died after posing for a photo with a grenade with the pin pulled out.
Councilors from Russia’s ruling United Russia party in Moscow have discussed extending the initiative to building signs in sites across the capi-tal where young people may be at risk
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The Week In News
of taking an “unsafe selfie,” estimat-ing that as many as 100 people a year get injured in the capital while taking a photo of themselves.
IsraelJerusalem: Time’s Bucket List Destination
It turns out I have spent a lot of time in the 10th-best world city to vis-it, according to Time magazine’s latest travel bucket list. Jerusalem, accord-ing to Time’s website, is one of the most “energetic, diverse destinations” on the planet, among a select group of cities “intent on preserving local her-
itage, revitalizing undervalued neigh-borhoods” and possessing “distinct personalities.”
Despite the fact that “Jerusalem, the controversial capital of Israel, is at the crux of an ancient and ongoing conflict,” Time says the ancient city has “new upmarket appeal” thanks to its new luxury apartments and high-end eateries. Among the 4,000-year-old city’s highlights mentioned in the list are the Western Wall, excavations near the Temple Mount, and the Old
City’s Austrian Hospice.Jerusalem came in at No. 10 be-
hind Cape Town, South Africa; Bar-celona, Spain; Krakow, Poland; Bang-kok, Thailand; Rome and Florence, Italy; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Charles-ton, South Carolina; and Kyoto, Ja-pan.
BBC Caught Taking Sides
Broadcasting giant BBC has ad-
mitted that it distorts the truth in or-der to make the Palestinians appear more sympathetic to their viewers. A new documentary, entitled, “Children of Gaza,” aims to depict how Opera-tion Protective Edge affected children living in and around the Gaza Strip. The program has not yet aired, but according to reports, the Palestinians’ testimonies were mistranslated in or-der to cover up frequent anti-Semitic comments.
The Palestinian children regular-ly used the word “yahud,” meaning “Jew,” when talking about their en-emies. In the documentary, BBC’s translators insisted on changing “Jews” to “Israelis” in order to make the Palestinians appear more tolerant. In one instance, a child claims that “the Jews are massacring us,” which appears in the subtitles as “Israel is massacring us.” The station’s chief in-ternational correspondent, Lyse Dou-
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cet, justified the edits by saying, “We talked to people in Gaza, we talked to translators. When [the children] say ‘Jews,’ they mean ‘Israelis.’”
Despite the translators’ claims, ex-amples of Palestinian children being taught to hate Jews collectively are well-documented. For example, it has been reported that there are summer camps in Gaza where children learn to glorify terrorism and recite anti-Se-mitic chants that date back to centuries before the State of Israel’s founding.
Doucet’s tweets promoting “Chil-dren of Gaza” also shed light on the channel’s coverage of last year’s war. One screenshot depicts an Israeli child hiding in a bomb shelter after having only 14 seconds warning that a rocket would strike. During the war, watch-dog organizations argued that the news station focused on portraying Gazans as victims and Israelis as aggressors. In fact, media monitoring group BBC Watch has pointed out that the station clearly had footage of Israelis having to run for shelter as their homes were being attacked, yet chose not to air it.
The BBC has long been criticized for bias in favor of Palestinians. After several high-profile instances, such as when one journalist described her tears at seeing Yassir Arafat in poor health, senior editorial advisor Malcolm Balin conducted an investigation into the sta-tion’s objectivity. Completed in 2004, the BBC still refuses to publicly release the Balin Report; the station even spent almost $460,000 fighting against Free-dom of Information Act appeals in or-der to ensure that the public could not read it.
NationalThe Removal of the Flag
On Friday, the Confederate flag that was flying on the Capitol of South Carolina was summarily taken down. It was taken to the Confederate Rel-ic Room and Military Museum and
placed in storage until it could be de-cided how it should be displayed.
Over the last 15 years, the Nation-al Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been boycotting the state of South Caroli-na but since the flag was taken down, it has agreed to reconcile. Back in 2000, when the Confederate flag was
placed on top of the State House as a Confederate memorial on the Capital grounds, the boycott started. The boy-cott was also observed by the NCAA and United Auto Workers, among oth-er groups. The NAACP tweeted Satur-day that the National Board of Direc-tors voted in an emergency resolution to end the boycott.
NAACP President Cornell Wil-liam Brooks praised the state’s action in a Thursday statement, saying their decision “will make South Carolina more welcoming and affirming of all people irrespective of their skin col-or.”
The South Carolina state legisla-ture voted to remove the Confeder-
The Week In News
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The Week In News ate flag from the Capitol grounds last week. The state legislature debated the issue after a tragic shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, left 9 dead, reigniting impassioned opposition to the flag’s presence at the Capitol.
De Blasio: No More Need for Bail for Some Offenders
The de Blasio administration made a big announcement on Wednesday that will change the justice system in New York for low-level or non-violent crimes. The mayor proposed a plan for all these detainees to be freed without posting bail. A $17.8 million fund will allow judges to substitute bail for an estimated 3,000 low-risk defendants with a modern supervision system beginning next year. The supervision
would include daily check-ins, text message notices, and linking them with drug counseling and behavior treatment. Studies have illustrated that poor minorities accused of low-level crimes are more likely to get stuck in jail because they can’t afford to post even small amounts of money for bail.
“There is a very real human cost to how our criminal justice system treats people while they wait for trial,” Mayor de Blasio said in a statement. “Money bail is a problem because — as the system currently operates in New York — some people are being detained based on the size of their
bank account, not the risk they pose.”“That is unacceptable,” de Blasio
said. “If people can be safely super-vised in the community, they should be allowed to remain there regardless of their ability to pay.”
The initiative will be funded by $4 million from the city and $13.8 mil-lion from seized assets collected by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
About 41% of criminal defendants who pass through city courts each year are released on their own recognizance and another 14%, or 45,500 people, are held on bail, authorities said.
This plan still needs to be approved by state lawmakers in Albany.
The Good Life for a Chinese Counterfeiter
It is widely known that the making and selling of counterfeit luxury goods
is illegal across the globe. The act of buying one of these items seems to be more of a gray area.
While the majority of fakes are made in China, many are sold in America. In the U.S., counterfeiting is rarely prosecuted as a crime but rather as a civil case brought by victimized companies, enabling counterfeiters to continue their successful businesses. Lawyers say criminal cases, which carry the possibility of jail time, are a more effective deterrent.
“A person is more likely to be struck by lightning than imprisoned
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The Week In News for counterfeiting,” Geoffrey Potter, an intellectual property lawyer at New York’s Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, pointed out.
Xu Ting, 45, of China, created a career for herself out of the sales of “fake” designer handbags. Eventual-ly she was caught and sued by eight luxury brands. She currently owes Chanel Inc. $6.9 million for selling products online under its brand name. But that hefty fine and the legal action taken against her have not stopped Ms. Ting from living a happy and comfortable life. Xu Ting is currently a legal resident of California. She re-sides in a comfortable suburban town in San Diego with her husband and toddler son.
Xu Ting obtained a green card in February 2014. Dan Kowalski, an immigration attorney and editor of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, said it’s likely that immigration officials did not know about Xu Ting’s legal problems, but even if they did they probably didn’t consider them a dis-qualification. Grounds for denying a green card range from committing a serious crime to having communica-ble disease but there’s nothing about civil liabilities.
“There’s a million ways to game the system,” said Dan Plane, an in-tellectual property lawyer in Hong Kong. “Probably the only thing that’s going to stop her is when she passes away – probably on an island resort somewhere – or if she gets arrested.”
To date, Xu Ting has failed to show up in court. According to pub-lic records, she recently purchased a home for $585,000 and accumulated at least $890,000 in bank accounts in China. She has attended San Diego State University where she is working towards a graduate degree.
“The essential point for Chanel is really shutting down the counterfeit-ing operations which we did success-fully,” Chanel spokeswoman Kathrin Schurrer wrote in an email. Schurrer added that the legal process is ongo-ing and declined further comment, but did note that “California has a law prohibiting the civil seizure of a home if it is a primary residence.”
In 2009, a Florida judge ruled against Xu Ting and shut down seven websites selling fake Louis Vuitton,
Marc Jacobs and Celine. In 2010, Gu-cci and other brands in France’s Ker-ing group filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Xu Ting, her future husband, and eight others who allegedly sold more than $2 million worth of fake handbags and wallets online to U.S. customers.
The Youngest Looking Cities in the U.S.
By now it’s been proven that un-fortunately there is no fountain of youth. But there are factors that have quite the opposite effect and can con-tribute to making a person look older.
In a recent survey, researchers analyzed cities in which people look younger. The survey considered life-style factors that affect skin aging, like sun exposure, stress, pollution, average sleep logged, fitness levels, and the prevalence of smoking and al-cohol consumption in American cities with populations over 300,000.
Yes, products and attentive skin-
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The Week In News
care can certainly help skin look younger, but it’s our daily lifestyles that influence the way we look the most.
“Age management has to do with managing your stress levels and learning to say ‘no’ when you’re over-whelmed, taking care of yourself and making sure you exercise regularly,” says Montclair, New Jersey, derma-tologist, Jeanine B. Downie, MD. “As we get older, we need to sleep more to help our bodies recover,” she adds.
“As you get older, regularly ex-ercising more intensely for shorter bursts of time is one of the best ways to stay fit and young as we age in our stressful society,” advises Downie.
Interval training, short 15 to 20 minute bursts of high intensity work-outs as opposed to longer light or moderate workouts, is shown to oxy-genate the body to help relieve stress, and also offers a variety of anti-aging benefits, including burning more fat and moving sugar out of the blood-stream for healthier blood sugar lev-els.
So where do the young-looking people hang out? Seems we better move soon if we want to look a little younger. Consider these ten cities in the nation:
1. Minneapolis, MN2. Seattle, WA3. San Francisco, CA4. Salt Lake City, UT5. Honolulu, HI6. Raleigh, NC7. San Diego, CA8. Pittsburgh, PA9. Washington, DC10 .Cincinnati, OH Higher rates of obesity, smok-
ing, drinking, and poor sleep habits all plunged cities like New Orleans, Detroit, Albuquerque and Oklahoma City to the bottom of the list.
NYC to Pay $5.9M to Family of Eric Garner
According to the New York Times, the City of New York and the family
of Eric Garner have reached an agree-ment. The wife of Garner is suing the city for the wrongful death of her husband who died on July 17, 2014 in Staten Island after he was questioned for selling loose cigarettes.
A police officer allegedly put him in a chokehold after he resisted arrest for about 15 to 19 seconds. A video taken on a passerby’s cellphone shows the middle-aged man saying, “I can’t breathe.” The officers called for medical attention but later in the day Garner was pronounced dead.
The New York City Medical Ex-aminer’s Office attributed Garner’s death to a combination of a choke-hold, compression of his chest, and poor health. New York City Police Department policy prohibits the use of chokeholds, and the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, a NYPD po-lice union, has said that the officer did not use a chokehold.
According to the New York Times, NYC agreed to pay $5.9 million to Garner’s widow in order to resolve the claim.
Hack Bigger than We Thought
The previously announced num-ber of people whose information was hacked off of the Office of Personnel Management’s computer system has been raised by almost 500 percent. The OPM now says that over 21.5 million people—much more than the original 4.2 million—were affected. Victims include current and former employees, contractors and their fam-ilies and friends.
The breach was arguably the most consequential cyber intrusion in U.S.
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government history. Administration officials have privately said they were traced to the Chinese government and appear to be for the purposes of tradi-tional espionage. The 21.5 million fig-ure includes 19.7 million individuals who applied for a background investi-gation, and 1.8 million non-applicants, predominantly spouses or people who live with the applicants. Some records also include findings from interviews conducted by background investiga-tors, and about 1.1 million include fin-gerprints, officials said.
The lapse enabled hackers to gain access not only to personnel files but also personal details about millions of individuals with government security clearances — information a foreign intelligence service could potentially use to recruit spies. Because the ex-posed records included information on individuals who served as references on security clearance applications,
U.S. officials said that stolen data in-cludes details on certain employees’ relatives and friends.
Although officials have said that the hackers worked for the Chinese government, the Obama administra-tion has not formally accused Beijing. “It is an enormous breach, and a huge amount of data that is personal and sensitive … was available to adver-saries,” FBI Director James Comey said at a Senate Intelligence Commit-tee “We’re talking about millions and millions of people affected by this,” he said. “I’m sure the adversary has my SF86 now,” referring to the Standard Form 86, which all applicants for se-curity clearances must fill out. He not-ed it lists “every place I’ve lived since I was 18, every foreign trip I’ve taken, all of my family and their addresses… I’ve got siblings. I’ve got five kids. All of that is in there.”
The government has already be-
gun taking steps to mitigate the dam-age in the intelligence and counter-intelligence arena, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said. “We’re going to be doing that for years, in terms of the whole range of steps that we’ll have to take to protect our peo-ple and our sources and methods.” He added: “The consequences will be very far-reaching.”
Obama Commutes 46 Sentences of Nonviolent Offenders
On Monday, 46 nonviolent drug offenders were extremely grateful to President Obama as he commuted their sentences as part of a bigger ef-
fort to try to ease such people out of the federal prison system.
The president introduced this ini-tiative last year when he vowed to free nonviolent offenders who were, ac-cording to then-Attorney General Eric Holder, “deserving individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety.” More than 35,000 inmates have ap-plied for early releases under this new enterprise.
According to Obama, many of
The Week In News
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these prisoners were sent to jail during a different era, when sentencing guide-lines were much stricter. As such, the offenders may be serving longer pris-on sentences than necessary; if they would be sentenced for such crimes today, they would be sent to jail for a shorter term than they initially re-ceived.
Interestingly, a presidential com-mutation is generally rarer than a pres-idential pardon. The commutations granted on Monday, though, more than double the amount that he’s is-sued since taking office. Before this week, he had granted 43 commuta-tions and 64 pardons. Obama has now commuted more sentences than any president since Lyndon B. Johnson, who commuted 226 sentences during his time in the Oval Office, accord-ing to federal statistics. He has also commuted more sentences than the number granted by his four immediate predecessors — Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.
That’s Odd
Feeding the Hungry
Next week, restaurant goers in Baltimore will be lining up for sumptuous dinners at a discounted price during the city’s Restaurant
Week. Tabrizi’s, though, will be feed-
ing a different clientele that other eateries in the area. The Mediter-ranean restaurant will be hosting “Homeless Restaurant Week” and will be feeding 1,000 meals to the city’s homeless population over the course of six days. Sorry, your money won’t be good here.
“I live in the city and see home-less people all the time going home late night. I saw a sign a homeless man was holding at the traffic light [that read], ‘I am hungry, will work for food,’” owner Michael Tabrizi related. “I felt a warm urge to in-vite this person to my restaurant. I gave him my business card and told him to come and eat whenev-er he wants. Then I thought, ‘Why not invite all of them?’ So I did.”
Now he partners with Balti-more’s shelters to bring in as many homeless people as possible from July 20 to 25. The shelters will bus in people with volunteer drivers, and more than 200 people volun-teered to work the week for free as greeters, buffet staff and servers.
“Our staff is volunteering, too, because they believe it’s a great cause. Management also offered a flat fee of $100 a shift from noon until 7 p.m. as an average income,” Tabrizi said. “Many employees de-clined; they want to do it for free.”
What’s on the menu? The lucky diners will be treated to chicken Cordon Bleu, salad, spar-kling apple cider, and ice cream in a waffle cup. They can choose to eat at the restaurant at 1pm, 3pm or 5pm daily.
“It feels right, it looks right and it tastes right! Seeing happy shiny eyes of a forgotten homeless per-son is priceless. Giving the home-less a feeling of hope and respect
is everything they want,” Tabrizi exuded. “I receive hundreds of emails a days from people across the country and overseas com-mending this gesture.
“My reply to all these kind peo-ple is to do one good [deed] to a stranger every day, even a smile. It goes a long way.”
It doesn’t hurt when you fill their bellies with gourmet, deli-cious food, too.
The Newest Demo-Cat
Watch out Hillary. There’s fierce competition in the presiden-tial race.
The newest 2016 hopeful is sweet and adorable. In fact, what may set him apart from other 458 candidates is that he loves tuna—maybe a bit too much.
Limberbutt McCubbins is a registered Democrat but his cam-paign literature describe him as a “Demo-cat.” The furry feline is confident about the upcoming election. His slogan is “Together, we cat.”
Want to contribute to Mr. Mc-Cubbins’ campaign? As opposed to his opponents, your dollars ar-en’t good here. “We are not tak-ing donations at this time,” says 17-year-old Isaac Weiss, one of the cat’s two campaign managers. “If we later decided to take them, they will most likely be forwarded to the Humane Society or another
organization for animals.”McCubbins actually has all his
papers filed with the FEC. Weiss points out that just by running McCubbins is showing that much needs to be done with regards to election reform. Others issues that are close to this kitten’s heart? Protecting the environment and the legalization of catnip are things worth campaigning for.
What does the candidate do in his spare time? “Sleeping, playing with his scratching post” and tear-ing paper – especially model gov-ernment paraphernalia – the cat-di-date’s owner and co-campaign manager, 18-year-old Emilee Mc-Cubbins, says. “He’s a good cat,” she adds.
Weiss, the ever-positive cam-paign manager, knows that Mc-Cubbins deserves a shot at the White House. “For over 200 years, man has been running the show,” he says. “And now, it’s cats’ turn to help lead the way.”
The time is meow.
11,000 Pennies in Protest
When is a penny not just a pen-ny? When it’s a penny for a cause.
Stephen Coyle used 11,000 pennies in protest at his college when he had to pay a $110 fine.
The Week In News
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Completely Renovated 4BR/2.5BA Rancher with 2-car garage! Living & dining room combination with wood floors. New kitchen with stainless appliances, granite counters and center island. Lower level has large rec room, laundry area and powder room. New baths, new windows, new doors, new carpeting, freshly painted throughout & much more!
CHESWOLDE ROAD
$329,000
Beautiful, completely renovated 4BR/3BA brick rancher. Hardwood floors on main level. Gorgeous remodeled kitchen with granite counters, stainless appliances & doors leading to the rear deck. Master bedroom suite with walk-in closet & remodeled luxury bath. Finished walk-out lower level with lrg. family room, bedroom, full bath & laundry area. Huge rear patio & fenced yard.
LIGHTFOOT DRIVE
$429,900
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• CTC is a testing and proctoring center, where students earn a Bachelor’s Degree from a Regionally Accredited college in less than one year.
• CTC offers all exams needed to fulfill the college requirements for graduation.
• CTC accepts Seminary and Yeshiva credits, which are used towards a College Degree.
• CTC creates an exam schedule for students, to ensure a timely completion of the program.
• CTC welcomes high school students who are ready to begin their college education.
• Open Evening and Sundays for testing.
Community testing CenterLisa Meister B.S.Ed, DIRECTOR
6202 GREEnSpRInG AvEnuE
BALTIMORE, MD [email protected]
410.258.1158
Earn your Bachelor's Degree in less than one year!
open House for post HigH sCHool students
DATE: Tuesday, July 21stTIME: 7:30p.m.
LOCATIOn: 6202 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore
plan. test. suCCeed.
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Shimmy BraunVice President of Mortgage Lending
1-844-SHIMMYB (1-844-744-6692)[email protected]/shimmy
NMLS ID:112849 CA - CA-DOC112849 - 413 0699, FL - LO4719 - MLD1102, IL - 031.0000741 - MB.0005932, MD - 112849 - 13181, NJ - Licensed - Licensed, NY - 112849 - B500887, WI - 112849 - 27394BA • NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System) ID 2611, CA - Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight, Division of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act Lic #4130699, FL - Lic# MLD1102, MD - Lic #13181, IL - Residential Mortgage Licensee - IDFPR, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1900, Chicago, Illinois, 60603, 312-793-3000, 3940 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613 #MB.0005932, NY - Licensed Mortgage Banker - NYS Department of Financial Services- 3940 N Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60613 Lic # B500887, Licensed in NJ: Licensed Mortgage Banker - NJ Department of Banking & Insurance, WI - Lic #27394BA & 2611BR
Shimmy Braun has built his business by providing the best service possible for your home loan. That’s why he has closed 60 million in loans since entering the Baltimore market and was named #4 loan officer in the country according to Scotsman’s Guide.See for yourself why so many people choose Shimmy for their mortgage needs.Call today for a low rate mortgage–
Rates are back down to historic lows!
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The student at University of North Carolina got two parking tickets in June and then learned that only 20 percent of monies collected through fines are used on campus. The rest are redistributed to other schools.
“We have a beautiful campus, but there’s some severely neglect-ed buildings. Lecture halls have missing seats, ceiling tiles are missing – some of that money can be reinvested into the buildings,” the 26-year-old said.
Coyle went to three local banks and collected 11,000 pennies to pay his fines.
“There were 25 dollars in each box and 50 rolls,” he explained. “I brought the pennies in loose – in three separate buckets.”
Because pennies are legal cur-rency, the office had to accept them. The office initially said he would have to count the pennies in front of their employees, but then Coyle argued that it was their re-sponsibility to ensure all the mon-ey was there.
It took two of the office’s em-ployees three hours and 40 minutes to count the coins.
You know what they say: in for a penny, in for a pound—of pro-test.
The Money TreeYou know that money doesn’t
grow on trees. But this weekend, passersby at a campsite in a small German town may have thought differently when 50 euro notes (which around $200,000) in cash starting falling from the trees.
A plastic bag had been hanging
on a pipe between two branch-es but after a heatwave struck the area, the pipe bent and the bag opened, sending the paper money floating to the ground.
Who owns the cash is not cer-tain. Police suspect the bag may have to do with a cottage fire that took place on the campsite ear-lier in the week. If the owner is not found within six months, the people who found the money will be entitled to the entire sum. They have already been rewarded $6,000 for reporting the findings.
Pitching at 108
She’s 108 and she’s still rooting
for the home team.On Saturday, Seattle Mari-
ners fan Evelyn Jones celebrat-ed her 108th birthday in epic and record-breaking fashion.
The centenarian has been a Mariners fan for the team’s whole life; she was 69 when they debuted in 1977. This year, she was invit-ed to Safeco Field to throw out the ceremonial pitch.
As she wound up for the pitch, Ms. Jones became the oldest per-son to throw a ceremonial first pitch at a major league game. The previous record holder was 105-year-old Agnes McKee, who threw out a pitch before a San Di-ego Padres game on July 2014 ,20. The team didn’t let her down on Saturday, winning 0-5 against the Los Angeles Angels.
The avid fan lives in a retire-ment community but heads to her room to watch the Mariners play so the other residents don’t disturb her focus on the game. When she’s not rooting for the home team, Ms. Jones passes the time doing crossword puzzles, reading, and watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
According to the Seattle Times, the oldest player on the Mariners is Joe Beimel, who is 38. He was born in 1977, when Ms. Jones was 70. Taijuan Walker, the youngest player on the team, is 23. He was born in 1992, when Ms. Jones was 85.
Yes, age is just a number and baseball seems to unite young and old.
A Hotspot up HighLooking for free Wi-Fi? You may
want to head north—and we mean way up high.
In an effort to boost its annual visitor numbers to 20 million before Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympics, the country is now offering free Wi-Fi on Mt. Fuji. Now, after climbing the highest mountain in Japan, one can check their email and send out smiling selfies 3,776 meters in the air. There are eight hotspots on the mountain for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit every year.
“We hope people will use the ser-vice not only to tell about the attrac-tions of Mount Fuji to people abroad but also to obtain weather and other information to ensure their safety,” a tourism official related.
Besides for free Wi-Fi, the gov-ernment is pressuring banks to make more of their ATMs compatible with foreign cards, long on the wish list of visitors and expats.
In May, the nation’s “travel bal-ance”—the amount that foreign visi-tors spend in Japan less what Japanese spend overseas—turned positive for the first time 55 years.
Must all that free Wi-Fi that’s making people flock to the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Week In News
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MOSAIC CATERERS - Jon Kaplan
How long have you been in the ca-tering business? 20 years.
Where is your kitchen? We are currently sharing space with
Hoffman Caterers which enables us to use their kitchen and equipment, so we didn’t have such a large start up cost, can keep our overhead low and pass the savings along to our customers.
How did you get started? I started my kosher catering adventure
back in 2006 out of Suburban Orthodox’s kitchen as The Wandering Chef. I final-ly found a new home as Mosaic Catering, which started with the generosity of Ed Hoffman at Hoffman Caterers.
What is your professional back-
ground in catering?I got my start in back in 1997, prior to
becoming religious. I purchased an Italian restaurant in Owings Mills, where I also did off premise catering, I then purchased a catering business in Carroll County, which merged with another caterer which enabled us caterer events up to 1000 peo-ple.
In 2006 I started getting involved in the Orthodox Com-munity by doing small parties for friends and members of my Shul.
When I became religious, It was nat-ural for me to open a catering business and continue the pro-fession passion for. Also, I enjoy giving to our community and making people happy.
What type/lev-el of catering jobs does your compa-ny?
All levels from galas to drop off ca-tering to BBQ to din-ner for 2.
Do you have a signature dish?
None in partic-ular, since I enjoy making all kinds of
things. My Italian Dishes and some of my Dairy Delicacies are particular favorites among my customers.
Who is the most famous person you
cooked for and what type of menu was served?
The President of the United States at a fundraiser and Senior Lieberman at a Pe-sach Hotel. I made him Pesach foods.
How long have you lived in Balti-more?
41 years Where do you Daven? Suburban Orthodox
Tell us about your involvement in Suburban Orthodox?
I’m involved in a lot of things at the Shul. I took over the Kiddush commit-tee about 6 yrs ago. Today I help with all events at the shul that deal with food from the Kiddush, our Annual Banquet, Shab-bos across America, the Shul BBQ and other Fundraisers.
I hear you have some interesting hobbies. Please tell us a little about them.
I enjoy fishing, camping, gardening and just relaxing. Catering is a very de-manding profession and down time is very important.
Jon Kaplan can be reached at: 410-764-6300 or 5805 Oakleaf Ave. Balti-more, MD 21215
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It was lauded as “historic,” “groundbreaking,” “unprecedented.” It’s the deal of the century;
the agreement that will cement peace in the Middle East and glorify President Obama’s legacy in the pag-es of history. Or is it?
Many see it as the deal with the devil. They point out that the leopard doesn’t quickly change its spots. Surely, although the wolf is wearing Grandmother’s clothes we know that she has great big claws and pointy teeth. But shouldn’t we be giving the wolf a chance? Shouldn’t we allow her to prove to us how she’s changed, how she’s dedicated to a peaceful way of life?
No, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts, a deal with Iran is a “stunning historic mistake.”
Not so, countered President Obama on Tuesday morning when the two-year-in-the-making deal was completed.
For two years the five permanent members of the United States Security Council, led by
the United States, have worked on a pact with Iran to try to limit their proliferation of nuclear energy. Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 159-page document amounts to the most significant multilateral agreement reached in several decades.
For years Iran has been subject to sanctions by the major players of the world. The sanctions stem as far as back as President Carter’s era when the United States froze about $12 billion in Iranian assets in-cluding bank deposits, gold and real estate during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The economic squeeze con-tinued and in 1984 sanctions were approved that pro-hibited weapons sales and all assistance to Iran. The Iran Sanctions Act is the basis of current sanctions against Iran. In 2013, members of Congress voted in favor of toughened sanctions against the Persian country.
Money is always a wonderful motivator. Iran only came to the table in these negotiations with the governments of Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany in the desire to have crip-pling UN sanctions lifted on the Islamic Republic. As soon as the deal is implemented, Iran will have immediate access to its frozen assets. Banking ac-tivities will resume abroad. Full trade will essentially
resume. After five years, the arms embargo against Iran will end. After eight years, the missile embargo against Iran will end.
Included in Iran’s com-mitments in the deal is the requirement on Iran to cap and partially roll back much of its nuclear infrastructure for ten to fifteen years and enable the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, access to monitor that pro-gram with inspections. Iran, though, will still be able to retain much of its nuclear infrastructure and will be able to enrich uranium on its own soil but has agreed not to work on technologies for the construction of a nuclear warhead.
Newly developed elec-tronic seals will physically cap much of Iran’s de-clared nuclear infrastructure. The IAEA will also use new, online enrichment measurements to monitor activity in the cascades of centrifuges Iran will be al-lowed to retain. 5,060 centrifuges, first constructed
in the 1970s, will be allowed to be used to enrich ura-nium to a low grade at Natanz for the first decade of the deal. The Arak installation will be converted into an altogether new design, based on conceptual models of a peaceful plutonium reactor that still uses heavy water. Iran’s heavy water stocks— stored in “beer kegs”— will also be monitored.
When will Iran receive full sanctions relief, in-cluding access to around $100 billion in frozen assets overseas? That day, known as “implementation day,” should be taking place within the next few months as long as Iran prepares to implement the agreed-to con-ditions: reduce its stockpile to just 300 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride, disconnect and remove some of its nuclear infrastructure, and neuter its heavy-wa-ter plutonium reactor at Arak.
Ten years seems like a long time but in the history of nations and the world stage, a decade is a blip on the screen. By the year 2025, “breakout time,” Iran will no longer be subjected to many of these guide-lines. For the next ten years, it will be prohibited from constructing an industrial-sized nuclear pro-
A Deal with the DevilWorld Powers Laud Nuclear Deal with Tehran as Israel Looks on in HorrorBY SUSAN SCHWAMM
“If a nuclear bomb explodes in London or New York, we know that we can trace it down to July 14, 2015.”
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gram. The regime cannot produce the materials nec-essary for building a nuclear weapon without giving the world one year’s notice. But in ten years, officials won’t have a say. The future of its nuclear program will then be decided between the IAEA and Tehran—the same IAEA that has been hoodwinked by so many other Middle East na-tions and by Iran her-self.
According to Tues-day’s agreement, the IAEA will be moni-toring Iran’s nuclear plants to ensure that nuclear weapons are not being produced. But the agreements failed to set up a stan-dard of “anytime, anywhere” access that several members of the American Con-gress had demanded. Instead, if Iran objects to an IAEA request for an in-spection of a specific site, each side will be granted 14 days to negotiate. If those 14 days pass without any resolution between Iran and the IAEA, the Joint Com-mission would have seven days to advise them on how to move forward. Iran would then have three days to comply with the commission’s final advice—24 days after IAEA inspectors initially requested access.
Many have expressed concern over this clause in the agreement. Giving a regime 24 days to prepare for an inspection seems almost silly and downright naïve.
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett point-ed out, “We keep on hearing it’s a verifiable sanction regime. In order to go and make an inspection you have to notify the Iranians 24 days in advance. That’s a farce! Of course within the 24 days they’re gonna clean up the facility, get away with the inspections and go on with what they do. Imagine a police sta-tion raiding a drug baron and giving him a month’s notice,” he said facetiously.
So what’s to stop Iran from continuing on its path to nuclear proliferation? Should the
regime fail to comply with the tenets of the agree-ment or with the commission’s requests, a majority can vote to refer the complaint to the UN Security Council. A vote will be held to determine if sanctions relief should be kept in effect—and only one perma-nent member’s veto will be required to end it. Pro-ponents on U.S. soil have pointed out that sanctions could snap into place with just the wave of the United States’ pen, should the deal go bad.
“If Iran violates the deal, all of these sanctions will snap back into place,” Obama lauded. “So there’s a very clear incentive for Iran to follow through, and there are very real consequences for a violation.”
That’s a major argument put forth by the Obama administration in persuading the American public to see the benefits of this week’s agreement. Under-standably, Congress has been giving the president major pushback on the deal. A few months ago, Obama assured lawmakers that they would have a 60-
day review period to scrutinize and nullify the deal. The administration has five days to certify the agree-ment and then formally present it to Congress with all its details. 60 days from that point Congress has the opportunity to voice its disapproval.
But despite the president’s assurances that he will be listening to law-makers’ concerns, on Tuesday he vowed to veto any resolution, es-sentially steamrolling over Americans’ appre-hensions. “I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal,” Obama pledged.
Congress can tech-nically override the veto, but it’s improb-able it would be able to obtain the necessary amount of votes for the
override. Senator Marco Rubio pointed out that Obama
gave “concession after concession to a regime that has American blood on its hands, holds Americans hos-tage, and has consistently violated every agreement it ever signed.” He said the deal “undermines our na-tional security.” By voting no, lawmakers will be tell-ing Iranians—and the world—that the deal put forth is “Barack Obama’s deal, not an agreement with last-ing support from the United States.”
Secretary of State John Kerry attempted to stronghold Con-gress on Tuesday. “If Congress were to veto the deal,” Kerry said, “the United States of America would be in non-compliance with this agreement, and contrary to all of the other countries in the world.
“I don’t think that’s going to hap-pen,” he continued. “I really don’t believe that people would turn their backs on an agreement which has such extraordinary steps in it with respect to Iran’s program as well as access and verification,” he warned.
Despite Obama’s warnings and threats of a veto, there is bound to be pushback from the American public and Congress over this controversial agree-ment. Many see making a deal with Iran as a contra-diction. Indeed, the president has said that the deal reached on Tuesday is not one based on “trust”; it’s based on “verification.” Apparently, the Iranian re-gime is not an entity to be trusted. Time and time again the Iranian leaders have insisted that they never
sought to build a nuclear bomb, a claim world leaders have greeted with cynicism. Why make a deal with a people who have failed to keep their promises and who don’t engender credibility?
Perhaps a better way to look at the divisive agreement is to see
who was applauding when the deal was done. In Iran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “a
new chapter” had begun in his nation’s relations with the world.
“Today is the end to acts of tyranny against our nation and the start of cooperation with the world,” he exulted. “This is a reciprocal deal. If they stick to it, we will. The Iranian nation has always observed its promises and treaties.”
Indeed, Tehran is consistent with one thing: their hatred of Israel, the United States’ major ally in the Middle East. In fact, during last minute negotiations, on July 10, the country celebrate Al Quds day in its usual fashion: burning Israeli and American flags and shouting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” Rouhani himself joined in one of the rallies and did not protest when he saw citizens burning posters of Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Obama, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia.
“Another advantage of Al Quds Day 2015 was that it coincided with the final hours of Iran’s nuclear talks because these talks are in fact the confrontation between the Islamic Revolution of Iran and world ar-
rogant powers,” Ayatol-lah Mohsen Araki, Sec-retary General of the World Forum of Islam-ic Schools of Thought, said.
In Tuesday’s ad-dress to the nation, Rouhani concluded his speech by poking fun at the Jewish State. “To-day people in Lebanon and Palestine are happy because Zionists have tried to block this deal but failed,” Rouhani gloated.
“Do not be deceived by the propaganda of the usurper Zionist re-gime,” he advised, add-ing that “the Zionist state has failed in its ef-
forts” to obstruct the deal and Iran’s nuclear program.Prime Minister Netanyahu has been the most vo-
cal world leader against the Iran deal, perhaps be-cause the small, democratic state that is surrounded by enemies and is a target of Iranian venom has the most to lose.
“What a stunning, historic mistake,” the prime minister said, stressing that Israel is not bound by the deal. “We will always defend ourselves,” he added.
“This cash bonanza will fuel Iran’s terrorism worldwide, its aggression in region, and its efforts to destroy Israel, which are ongoing,” Netanyahu pointed out. Iran is a major supporter of anti-Israel
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif laughs out loud after the talks are done
Iranians burn posters with American and Israeli flags on Al Quds day, July 10, 2015
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groups in the area, including Hamas and Hezbollah. An influx of cash will undoubtedly bolster these ter-rorist groups.
This is not the first time world powers endeavored to control nuclear proliferation. The last attempt was with North Korea, in which a system of inspections and verifications failed to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons capability. This deal with Iran will “repeat the mistakes” the international community made with the Hermit Kingdom.
And when the ten years of prevention are up, an “unreformed, unrepentant and far richer terrorist re-gime” in Tehran will have the capacity to build an entire nuclear arsenal, Netanyahu predicted.
Others in Israel echoed Netanyahu’s warnings. On CNN, Education Minister Naftali Bennett was ominous in his criticism of the deal. “If a nuclear bomb explodes in London or New York, we know that we can trace it down to July 14, 2015.”
“This deal is a mistake of historic proportions. It effectively paves the way for Iran to become a terror nuclear superpower. The world is going to be funnel-ing half a trillion dollars to the world’s biggest ex-porter of terror,” he said.
The gloomy sentiment was reflected across party lines in Israel. “This is a regime based in deceit, and now they are going to do what they did for the last 20 years, which is trying to get themselves nuclear weapons behind the back of the world,” Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition Yesh Atid Party, related. “Now they are going to do it with the help of the in-ternational community.”
Sadly, although Israel has been a staunch ally and an unrepentant holdout of democracy in the Middle East, the United States has yet to stand by her side, instead choosing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those who call for her destruction.
“The fact is, is that he’s [Netanyahu’s] frankly been making comments that are way over the top,” Secretary of State Kerry said about Netanyahu’s fore-boding messages.
On the other side of democracy, Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded Tuesday’s deal and said that it brought the world “a sigh of relief.”
Syria’s President Bashar Assad said the signing of a nuclear agreement is “a historic turning point” in the history of Iran and its relationship with countries of the region and beyond.
He added that coming days will witness a
“strengthening of the constructive role played by Iran in supporting the rights of nations.” Iran has poured millions of dollars into helping Assad’s regime in recent years. A relief of sanc-tions for Tehran would translate into millions more for Assad’s reign of terror.
Although the Iran deal was brokered in 2015,
international powers have known about its nu-clear capabilities for many years. In 2002, two covert facilities—a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy-water plutonium facility at Arak—were discovered by Western intelli-gence agencies. These two facilities were built for the production of fissile material necessary for nuclear weapons, hardly a peaceful nuclear program.
The following year, Britain, France and Germany
initiated talks with Iran. The efforts of E3, as the three powers were known, failed, and Iran arrogantly expanded its nuclear program despite several calls from the UN Security Council to halt enrichment completely. After 2006, Tehran belligerently refused to answer any of the IAEA’s questions about its nu-clear programs and the UN Security Council imposed its first set of sanctions on Iran, including banning the sale of sensitive nuclear technology.
By November 2007, the number of uranium-en-riching centrifuges assembled by Iran reached about
3,000 from just a few hundred in 2002. Its stockpile of low-enriched uranium also grew, giving Tehran the capability to make enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb within a year.
In 2008, the United States joined in talks with the P5+1 group which includes the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. In 2009, though, an-other covert facility—this one burrowed in-side a mountain—was uncovered. The UN Security Council passed a total of eight sanc-tions resolutions against Iran by 2010. An oil embargo was implemented by the European Union, and Iran was cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecom-munication, better known as SWIFT, which
made basic transactions a struggle for the regime. Talks between the world powers and Iran came in
starts and stops over the past few years. Negotiations were halted for 15 months after Iran refused to make deep cuts in its nuclear program in January 2011. The next January the European Union froze the assets of Iran’s central bank and halted Iranian oil imports. But then, in April, negotiations restarted—and then stopped.
In August 2013, Rouhani took over the reins of the nation and declared that his country was ready for serious negotiations. At the time, Iran had about 20,000 centrifuges and the United States estimated that the regime was only a few months away from nuclear weapons capability. The next month, talks began in earnest, with Rouhani and Obama speaking by telephone, the highest-level exchange between the two countries since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
November 2013 saw an interim agreement that temporarily curbed Tehran’s nuclear program and unfroze some Iranian assets. For the next two years, talks were started and then halted as deadlines were missed. Then in April of this year, a framework deal was announced. This week, on July 14, at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, world powers shook hands with Iran and celebrated a comprehensive nuclear agree-ment.
Standing on the State Floor of the White House alongside
Vice President Biden, Obama told the nation, “His-tory shows that America must lead not just with our might, but with our principles. It shows we are stron-ger not when we are alone, but when we bring the world together.”
“Today’s announcement marks one more chap-ter,” he concluded, “in this pursuit of a safer, and more helpful, and more hopeful world.”
When dealing with a rogue nation like Iran it seems like hope is the only answer. We can only hope that we are not giving Tehran a carte blanche endorse-ment of their nuclear program, as we hand them the keys to their deep coffers. Imagine a country with unfettered access to billions of dollars, the capability to build a nuclear bomb, and a burning hatred of the West and what is stands for. Soon, we won’t have to imagine that nation: Iran will be brandishing its new, legitimate status as we all look on with bated breath, hoping—yes, hoping—that the rogue state will keep to its promises.
Obama tries to persuade the American public that the Iran nuclear deal is essential to world peace
A done deal: Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif,shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday
“Today people in Lebanon and Palestine are happy because Zionists have tried to block this deal but failed.”
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T J H C E N T E R F O L D • T J H C E N T E R F O L D • T J H C E N T E R F O L D
It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and a man leaves home in a hurry.
He makes three left turns and returns home. Upon getting home he finds two masked men waiting for him. Who are the men?
See answer on next page
Did You Know?
Yankel and Moshe are out one afternoon on a lake when their boat starts sinking. Yankel says to Moshe, “So listen, Moshe, you know I don’t swim so well.”
Moshe remembers how to carry another swimmer from his lifeguard class when he was just a kid, so he begins tugging Yankel toward shore.
After ten minutes, he begins to tire. Finally about 100 feet from shore, Moshe asks Yankel, “So Yankel, do you suppose you could float alone?”
Yankel replies, “Moshe, please, this is the wrong time to be asking for money!”
Riddle! You Gotta be Kidding!
My, Howit's Changed!
Baseball’s customs for most of the 1800s
A walk was six balls, not four.
A batter is out on a batted ball, fair or foul, if caught on the fly or after one bounce.
If a batter was hit by a pitched ball, it only counted as a ball.
A hitter was out if a fielder threw the ball at him and hit him while he was running between the bases.
The batters were allowed to request for a low or high pitches.
One side of the bat could be flat.
No gloves were used.
Pitchers were called hurlers.
Fans were called cranks.
Pitchers threw underhand.
If a batter did not swing at five or more hittable pitches, he got a warning.
If a pitcher failed to throw enough strikes, he got a warning, and then the umpire would begin to call balls.
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1. From 1959 through 1962 what of the following was done to raise money for players’ pensions?
a. There was a $2 surcharge for each ticket purchased for the All-Star game that went towards player pensions
b. The All-Star players went on a tour of five major cities and signed autographs for fees, which went to the pension fund
c. There were two All-Star games each yeard. There was a pay-per-view fee to watch the game on television
2. How are the managers selected for the All-Star game?
a. The managers of the previous World Series teams are selected
b. Managers with the best records in the previous season are selected
c. Players voted. Fans vote
3. In 1983, this American League outfielder hit the first grand slam in All-Star history. Who was he?
a. Fred Lynnb. George Brettc. Reggie Jacksond. Dave Winfield
4. Who is the first manager to win three consecutive All-Star games?
a. John McGrawb. Casey Stengelc. Joe Torre d. Tony La Russa
5. Stan Musial, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron are tied for playing in the most All-Star games. How many did they play in?
a. 13b. 15c. 17d. 19e. 21f. 24
6. Since the year 2000, how many times has the National League won the All-Star game?
a. 3b. 5c. 7
d. 9e. 12
7. The first All-Star game was played in 1933 in what ballpark?a. Yankee Stadium, New Yorkb. Municipal Stadium, Clevelandc. Comiskey Park, Chicagod. Polo Grounds, New York
8. Which of these sluggers never won the All-Star Home Run Derby?
a. Ken Griffey Jr.b. Mark McGwirec. Sammy Sosad. Jose Canseco
9. Why did the 2002 All-Star game ended in a tie?a. It was rained out
b. Both teams ran out of pitchersc. There was a bomb scare
d. Time constraints
Answers:1. C2. B3. A4. D5. F6. A7. C8. D9. C
Scorecard:7-9 Correct: You are an All-Star starter! (I guess you don’t play for the
Yankees or the Mets)4-6 Correct: You are an All-Star backup player… so if game goes into
the 19th inning, maybe you’ll get to play for a few minutes. All three peo-ple who are still watching the game will get to witness this historical mo-ment.
0-3 Correct: What are you, from Nigeria or something?! OK, we’ll do cricket trivia next week.
ANSWER TO RIDDLE: Umpire and catcher. (Why was it 2AM? Well, I guess the game went into extra innings)
T J H C E N T E R F O L D • T J H C E N T E R F O L D • T J H C E N T E R F O L D
All-Star Game Trivia
GOT FUNNY? Let the Commissioner decide Send your stuff to [email protected]
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METZ CHAIM THANKS ALL OUR
SPONSORS & GUESTS FOR MAKING THIS YEAR’S
RAISE THE STEAKS OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL YET!
CBA TOURS
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The Question Behind The QuestionRabbi Eli Scheller
It Could Have Happened To You
One morning a few months ago I received the following text message. “What is your first meeting today?” The question seemed simple and di-rect. It wasn’t. It was much more than it appeared.
I had been working my first of-ficial full time job for about nine months and I had learned much about the American workplace. Prior to this official job I was a Kollel student in Eretz Yisroel studying for semicha, taking my studies very seriously. Nev-ertheless, this type of “work” allowed me the leeway of picking up my son from playgroup, bringing him to med-ical appointments as needed, and hav-ing an hour long lunch with my wife. There was no penalty for going over the maximum number of sick days. I was expected to further my studies over Shabbos and Yom Tov but could do so at my own pace.
In my new working life, in addition to losing the privileges listed above, there were several things that I needed to get used to. First, during work hours the cell phone needed to be on, and used, rather than off and stored away. Second, leaving the house with any sign of spit up or ketchup finger prints on any item of clothing was a no-no. Third, I had to find a way to keep up with the latest current events not covered in the Kollel’s coffee room. Finally, I had to get used to someone constantly telling me what to do and how to do it - my boss.
My boss was extremely driven and motivated and had his business con-stantly on his mind. When he hired me he expected that I follow in his path. He needed to know that I worked long hours, and that I was constantly mea-suring my productivity. He was look-ing over my shoulder to ensure that would happen.
Most people are familiar with a fear called claustrophobia. Some feel that particular anxiety when they stand in a crowded elevator, and others when they sit in an airplane’s window seat. Others may even get this sense in an overbearing relationship. When a part-ner, spouse, or friend needs to know every detail of your day-to-day life,
this might make a person on the other end feel claustrophobic. In my case, this was how my boss made me feel.
So that morning, when I received the text from my boss asking, “What’s your first meeting today?” I could feel the tension in my stomach. I was in no mood that day of being microman-aged. I considered my options. I could be passive aggressive and ignore the text. I could take a stand and respond, “I don’t appreciate your involving yourself in my every movement.” Something held me back. I thought, “Despite his overbearing nature, I had never received this type of text from him before. Perhaps my boss was pos-ing a question behind the question he texted.”
I thought about what unstated circumstance might be bothering my boss, and remembered that he was working on a new program we were getting to ready to launch in a couple of days. I knew the background work for this program was far from com-plete, and the brunt of that work fell on my boss’s shoulders. I also knew his personality could not allow him to call for help. Lastly, he was a very matter of fact and concrete type of person. There was no room in our relationship for emotion. Perhaps this text message was not about his need to make me miserable, but rather his need of my assistance.
With this new insight in mind I reworded his text to how I now imag-ined it to read-“Eli, the pressure of the upcoming program is overwhelming me. I can’t see how I can achieve this goal without you. I’m ready to pull my hair out in despair. Would you be so kind as to drop your meetings and other responsibilities and help me get this done?”
I read over the message and imme-diately my mood shifted from feeling indignant and stressed to feelings of empathy and compassion. ‘He needs my help - of course I can be of assis-tance!’ I wrote back “I have a meeting at 11:00.If you need help with some-thing I can push it off...” He imme-diately replied, “Yes, pls push it off. Thnx” I came to the office and as I
anticipated, he needed help with the program.
What I learned from this is that ev-eryone has different ways of commu-nicating their needs and wants and can easily be misunderstood by others. If you merely listen or read their words without seeing the bigger picture then arguments and strife can easily ensue. Don’t take a question or a comment on surface level but rather try and see be-neath what is really being said. When your teenage son, spouse or colleague says something that on the surface seems hurtful look deeper, it may very well be that they are not trying to help you cry but rather they are crying for your help.
Rabbi Eli Scheller is the author of the popular series ‘A Minute Vort’ on the parsha. He produces inspiration-al videos which are featured on major Jewish websites. Rabbi Eli is a sought out lecturer and motivational speaker. Currently he resides in Baltimore with his wife and their four children, where he teaches and inspires Jews through his program, J-Bal, a division of Etz Chaim. [email protected]
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Mrs. Newman’s Blintz Soufflé When I spent my first summer in America, I
stayed with a dear friend who made me a delicious meal for erev Tisha B’Av. I had never had a blintz soufflé before, and it was the beginning of a love af-fair with the dish. To this day, I am obsessed with it and make it for my family and clients on a regular basis – including almost every erev Tisha B’Av.
Ingredients2 packs Ratner’s Blintzes (any flavor) ¼ lb. butter 4 eggs, well beaten 1 ½ cups sour cream ¼ cup sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 tablespoon orange juice
Preparation
Melt butter in 2 quart casserole and place blintzes over butter in one layer. Blend other ingredients with well beaten eggs and pour over blintzes. Bake for 45 minutes in 350° F oven or until the tops start to brown.
Serve with powdered sugar, strawberries, raspberries or sour cream.
Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain ad-ditional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com, or at (516) 295-9669.
In The KitchenNaomi Nachman
Dairy Delights
As the Nine Days are fast approaching, I am getting
so excited to make lots of differ-ent dairy dishes. There is nothing more amazing than latkes right out of the frying pan. My moth-er makes the best cheese latkes. Whenever she visits us from Australia, my house smells of these Ricotta Cheese Latkes ev-ery Sunday morning. However, the challenging part is that this recipe comes from her mother (my grandmother) and, rather than having fixed measurements, they simply eyeball all their reci-pes and use their estimations. When I asked my mother for the recipe, it was “a little of this, and a pinch of that…” So, on her last visit, I watched, measured and wrote down exactly what she did. Next thing I know (viola!), I have the precise recipe on paper and I can now share it with my family and all of you too!
Ricotta PancakesIngredients1 ½ cups ricotta cheese½ cup milk½ teaspoon vanilla extract2 eggs, separated¼ cup sugar1 cup flour1 tsp baking powderPinch kosher salt2 tsp canola oil
PreparationPlace ricotta, milk, vanilla extract and egg yolks
in a bowl and mix well. Stir in sugar, flour, baking powder and salt and mix gently until smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks, then fold them into the cheese mixture.Heat oil in a 9 inch pan till oil is hot. Drop 1/8 cup worth of batter into pan, lower heat to medium and cook on both
sides until brown, about 2 minutes per side.
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Capturing a Unique Voice:Wisdom for Living:
Rav Noach Weinberg on the Parashah
Book Review
Wisdom for Living: Rav No-ach Weinberg on the Parashah was adapted from Rav Noach’s famous Thursday-night shmuessen by his
talmidim and close associates, Rab-bis Eric and Nechemia Coopersmith. Here, Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith talks about those famous lectures and the challenges of capturing Rav No-ach’s unique voice in print:
As a talmid learning in Yeshivas Aish HaTorah, the highlight of the week for me and all the bachurim, from the drop-in beginners’ program to the semichah program, was Rav Noach’s Thursday-night shmuess on the parashah. The beis midrash was packed and the anticipation hung in the air as we waited eagerly to hear Rav Noach’s penetrating insights.
Rav Noach zt”l was a genius at uncovering the Torah’s timeless wis-dom and demonstrating, with piercing clarity and relevance, how it address-es the issues of the day. He was also a master orator and riveting storyteller — humorous, down-to-earth, and to-tally accessible, while at the same time fiercely passionate and intense. Thir-ty years later, I still remember those shmuessen. Rav Noach challenged and provoked us, pushing us to think for ourselves and embrace the formidable responsibilities that the Torah placed upon us. He was a living example of
a leader who took personal responsi-bility for bringing every Jew back to Hashem and His Torah. He lived with the constant awareness of Hashem and
he burned with a love for every Jew. And every week he tried to instill that awareness in his talmidim.
People have told us that we man-aged to keep Rav Noach’s unique voice, which was not an easy task.
Rav Noach was a charismatic speak-er. So much was given over through his down-to-earth way of talking, his
personal charm, and his style of speak-ing — things that do not transfer easily to print. I think we remained faithful to his Torah, and through the book you can get a taste of those powerful Thursday night shmuessen.
Rav Noach stressed a number of crucial themes in his talks: responsi-bility as the key to greatness, living
with yiras Shamayim and feeling the reality of Hashem’s love, actualizing man’s awesome potential through us-ing the power of our free will, the pri-macy of Torah, and the depth of our responsibility to the Jewish people and to perfecting the world. He lived and breathed these core principles and they form the basis of the book.
RAV NOACH ZT”L WAS A GENIUS AT UNCOVERING THE
TORAH’S TIMELESS WISDOM ….
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Avocado Strawberry Spinach SaladINGREDIENTSSalad • 6 cups fresh baby spinach• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced• 1 avocado, diced • 4 ounces
crumbled blue cheese• ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted• Half a small red onion,
thinly sliced
Poppy Seed Dressing • ½ cup avocado or olive oil • 3 TBS apple cider vinegar• 2 TBS honey• 1 TBS poppy seeds• Salt and pepper, to taste
PREPARATIONWhisk all dressing ingredients until com-
bined. Toss all the salad ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle salad with dressing and toss until combined. Serve immediately.
Asian Quinoa Salad INGREDIENTS• ½ cup cooked quinoa • 2 medium carrots, spiraled or shredded• 1/3 cup edamame bean• ¼ cup diced red pepper• 2 TBS sesame seeds• 2 TBS cilantro, minced
Dressing• 2 ½ TBS sesame oil• 1 ½ TBS tamari sauce• 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar• 1 tsp. lemon juice• 1 tsp. maple syrup• 1 tsp. sriracha sauce• Salt and pepper, to taste
PREPARATIONCombine cooked, cooled quinoa with
diced pepper, edamame, and carrot.Whisk all dressing ingredients together and
then pour over salad. Top with minced cilantro, sesame seeds and
extra sriracha if you wish.
Perfect Sweet Potato FriesINGREDIENTS• 6 whole sweet potatoes,
peeled and cut into thin sticks• 1 stick salted butter• 2 cloves garlic, pressed• 1 teaspoon salt• 1 teaspoon chili powder• ½ teaspoon black pepper• ½ cup mayonnaise• 2 tablespoons ketchup or sriracha
PREPARATIONPreheat oven to 450°F.Melt the butter and skim off the foam. Add
garlic, seasoned salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Stir with a fork.
In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes in the butter/seasoning mixture. Arrange on two baking sheets and bake in the oven for 15 to 17 minutes, shaking the pans halfway through, un-til the fries are sizzling (watch so that the edges don’t burn). Remove from the oven and allow to sit on the pan for 5 minutes. Sprinkle gener-ously with salt.
Mix the mayonnaise with the ketchup (or sri-racha). Serve fries with the dipping sauce.
Enjoy these ideas for your upcoming dairy meals.A gourmet meal is always appreciated,
although pizza one night or two is bound to please!
Dairy For Dinner •
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Springtime Pasta PrimaveraINGREDIENTS• 1 pound fettuccine, cooked and drained
(reserving 3/4 cup liquid)• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil• ½ lb. button mushrooms, sliced• 3 cloves garlic, chopped• 2 large spring (or 4 green) onions,
thinly sliced• 1 ½ cups fresh (or frozen and thawed)
green peas• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese• 2 TBS lemon juice• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved• 1/2 cup roughly chopped basil (optional)
PREPARATIONHeat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-
high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until just golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and green onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in peas, salt and pepper. Immediately cover and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet over medium heat, toss hot, drained pasta with reserved pasta water, cheese and lemon juice.
Gently toss mushroom mixture and toma-toes into pasta. Transfer to serving bowls, top with basil and serve.
Grilled Salmon SkewersINGREDIENTS• 1 ½ lbs. salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch squares• 2 large lemons thinly sliced• 16 (10-inch) bamboo skewers
For the Marinade• 2 TBS parsley, freshly chopped• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed• ½ TBS Dijon mustard • ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper• 2 TBS light olive oil • 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
PREPARATIONSoak bamboo skewers at least 1 hour to
keep them from catching fire. Preheat grill to medium heat (about 375˚F).
In a medium bowl, stir together all of the marinade ingredients: chopped parsley, gar-lic cloves, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Double skewer the salmon and lemon slices folded in half intermittently onto two skewers at a time. Brush both sides of skewered salmon with marinade.
Oil the grates and then carefully place salm-on skewers onto the hot BBQ. Grill kebobs for 3-4 minutes per side or until salmon is cooked through and opaque.
Cheesy Spinach QuicheINGREDIENTS• 1 frozen pie crust, prebaked• 1 box (10 oz.) frozen spinach• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced• 1 tsp minced garlic• 4 large eggs,• 1 cup whole milk• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese• Salt and pepper, to taste
PREPARATIONPreheat oven to 350°F. If your frozen spinach
is not already thawed, thaw it in the microwave per box directions. Drain the spinach in a col-ander while you prepare the rest of the ingre-dients.
Place sliced mushrooms in a skillet coated with 1 teaspoon olive oil or nonstick spray, add the garlic, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Sauté for about 6-7 minutes.Whisk together the eggs, milk, and parme-
san cheese until combined. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Blot and squeeze the rest of the water out of the thawed spinach. Spread spinach on top of prebaked pie crust. Add the cooked mush-rooms and shredded cheeses. Pour the egg mixture on top. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with more parmesan cheese and/or salt and pepper.
Bake the quiche until it is golden brown on top and the center is set, 45 minutes to an hour. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Juicy Salmon BurgerINGREDIENTS• 2 pounds fresh salmon, skin removed • 2 egg whites • 1 TBS Dijon mustard • ½ cup fresh bread crumbs • ½ teaspoon kosher salt• 2 TBS fresh dill, chopped • 2 TBS olive oil • 4 brioche buns, toasted
PREPARATIONMince the salmon, then place half in a large
sealable plastic bag and use a flat-surfaced meat pounder or a rolling pin to mash it. Place all the salmon in a large bowl and combine with the egg whites, mustard, bread crumbs, salt, and dill. Form 4 patties, each 3/4 inch thick. Place on a medium-hot grill and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side. (To cook on a stovetop, heat the olive oil in a grill pan over medium heat and cook the patties 5 minutes per side.) Top with coleslaw, if desired, lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce and serve on the brioche buns.
Peach Berry CobblerINGREDIENTS• 3 cups fresh peach slices (about 3 medium)• 2 cups fresh blueberries• 1 large egg • 1 large egg yolk • 1 cup sugar • ¾ cup flour• ½ cup oats• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt• ½ cup butter, melted
PREPARATIONPreheat oven to 375°F. Place peaches and
berries in an 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Stir together egg, egg yolk, and next 4 ingredients with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over fruit; drizzle melted butter over topping.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until light brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes; serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
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My husband and I feel that it’s im-portant for our children to have set re-sponsibilities around the house. How-ever, we have been having a hard time ensuring that the chores get done. It’s just easier for us to do it ourselves than to deal with the arguing and groans of “None of our friends have to do this stuff” and “You’re so mean!” Also, should we pay our children to perform their chores?
Rabbi Staum Responds:Anyone who deals with children
will tell you that he/she can tell when a child has chores and responsibilities at home versus when a child has no spe-cific responsibilities.
I once heard a lecturer say that when he asks a room full of adults what the greatest memory from their youth is, over 90% reply that it was a time they were asked to be helpful or contribute to something in a meaningful way.
Infants and toddlers often pick up a broom or mop and try to imitate our ac-tions of cleaning up. Without realizing it we often squelch those efforts by grab-bing away the broom or mop because we know the child’s helping will only make it more difficult for us. But there
is an innate desire and need for every person to be helpful and to feel like they are contributing.
The problem is that there is also a superficial laziness that masks that de-sire. As parents, we often have to prod our children to get them past that initial laziness to attain that sense of accom-
plishment. (As mature adults we have to do the same for ourselves.)
To be sure, very rare is the child who will thank us for giving them chores so
that they can develop their sense of re-sponsibility, but doing so inevitably will help them in the long run. As one of my high school rabbeim once quipped: “Work on yourself now or your mother-in-law will later.”
As a camp counselor I remember one twelve year old camper who did not know how to sweep the floor. When I gave him the broom and insisted that he do his job he sat down on his bed and began to cry. The maid at home did all the cleaning and he didn’t even know how to sweep. His loving parents who spared him the trivial chores at home unwittingly did him a great disservice. The child could hardly fend for himself, was extremely irresponsible, and got on
his bunkmate’s nerves with his obnoxious sense of en-titlement.
Every member of the family should have certain chores that are uniquely their responsibility. In some families, parents first decide which chores need to be performed, and then the family decides together who will perform each chore. Then a chart is drawn up which details who has to do what and on which night. On Thursday night or Friday there may be certain added chores in
honor of Shabbos, and there may be added chores on Motzei Shabbos or Sunday to clean up from Shabbos.
We should not be paying our chil-dren to perform basic chores. Chores are the shared responsibilities of the family. By simply being a member of the family it is our responsibility to ful-
fill those responsibilities. The reward for the chores is the sense of pride and mastery involved in doing them.
What if a child doesn’t perform his/
her chores? Once it has become clear what the child’s responsibilities are, sometimes the best response is to have no response at the time. Perhaps you should even do the chore for the child. Then, when there is something special that other children receive, the child who didn’t do his chores can be calmly informed that unfortunately he is unable to receive the treat because his family responsibilities weren’t performed. Per-haps it may be an outing that he can’t join. The consequence should be a calm yet firm message that states that the child is losing out because he did not fulfill his familial responsibility.
What about when children roll their eyes and grumble about their chores? As much as possible try to ignore it and not waste your energy fighting it. Per-haps it’s worth even telling the child that you appreciate their doing it even though they don’t want to. Then bite your tongue and walk away.
At a later time, when both parent and child are calm, it may be worth sit-ting down with the child and revisiting what happened, discussing whether the child would like it if supper was served with a grunt and eye rolling. Perhaps parent and child can even laugh togeth-er as they act it out. But one thing is for sure – lectures and threats in the heat of the moment don’t accomplish anything positive.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is the Rabbi of Kehillat New Hempstead. He is also fifth grade Rebbe and Guidance Counselor in ASHAR in Monsey, and Principal of Mesivta Ohr Naftoli of New Windsor, NY, and a di-vision head at Camp Dora Golding . Rabbi Staum offers parenting classes based on the acclaimed Love & Logic Program. He can be reached at [email protected]. His website is www.stamtorah.info.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Parenting Pearls
Chores
The reward for the chores is the sense of pride and mastery involved in doing them.
KEY POINTS:• Chores are important for
building responsibility and a sense of belonging
• Don’t pay children to do their chores
• If a child doesn’t fulfill responsibilities, let the consequences do the teaching
SALES POSITION$1000/week (based on exp) - Unlimited commission potential - 3 positions availableCall: Fidelity Payment - 516-262-3134Or apply online: www.fidelitypayment.com/salescareer
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Join Kollel Chatzos in the ultimate Segulahfor Yeshuos on the Yarzheit of the Arizal
Shoshana Bernstein
Kollel Chatzos
With the approaching yarzheit of the holy Arizal the very pinnacle of segulos and yeshuos is within reach of yidden the world over: the Ketores Segulah.
Monday evening, the 5th of Av, July 21st, marks the yahrzeit of the Arizal, who illuminated and transformed the world with his unique Torah greatness. In his lifetime, the Arizal revealed the power of the Ketores Segulah, stating: “If a minyan of pious Jews will gather after midnight and they will recite the special Ketores Segulah together with concentration, it will definitely make
a deep impression and whatever they ask for will be accomplished in Heav-en!”
It is well known that the yarzheit of a great Tzaddik provides an espe-cially auspicious time to daven and implore that our bakoshos be heard and answered. This is particularly true for the yarzheit of the Arizal, in whose zechus the prayers of thousands of Jews have been answered over the years.
Like their counterparts in Monsey, Brooklyn and Monroe, the illustrious and dedicated Kollel Chatzos Meron members leave home every midnight to immerse themselves in Torah and tefilla. They devote a portion of each night to daven for their Chatzos Part-ners -- Jews across the world that rec-ognize the tremendous bracha inherent in supporting nighttime Torah learn-
ing. The Arizal extolled the virtues of nighttime learning saying: There is no end to the merits of learning Torah af-ter chatzos. What they daven for on earth is fulfilled in the heavens. There is nothing greater than learning at midnight. ( שער הכוונות).
The exemplary talmidei chacho-mim of Kollel Chatzos Meron, who rise at midnight every night to learn at the kever of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, provide the ultimate means through which Jews the world over can par-ticipate in the Ketores Segulah. The Kollel members fulfill all the criteria
to perform this segulah at its highest level: they are talmidei chachomim, gathering at midnight, at the kever of the Arizal, on his yarzheit.
In the days approaching the Arizal’s yarzheit, the Meron Kollel members devote time and effort to re-view the teachings of the Ari, delving into the special tefillos and insights contained within the unique and pow-erful Ketores Segulah. On Monday night, instead of heading directly to learn in Meron, the talmidei chacho-mim will first travel to the renowned and massive bais hachaim in Tzefas to the kever of the Arizal. As thousands of Jews from all walks of life gather at the Arizal’s gravesite to daven, the Kollel Chatzos members will congre-gate at a separate, more private loca-tion nearby.
Surrounded by quiet darkness and
strengthened by the deep understand-ing of the potential magnitude and impact of their tefillos, the Kollel will fervently recite tikun chatzos and then recite the tefillos of the Ketores Seg-ulah with tremendous concentration. Upon completion they will daven for the hundreds of sponsors of the eve-ning’s Ketores segulah as a zechus for yeshuos in all areas.
“This is a minyan of ehrliche yid-den, talmidei chachomim, who are coming to the Arizal’s kever with tre-mendous feelings of joy and intense concentration and emotion”, explains
Rabbi Shimon Halperin, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Chatzos, Meron. “It is a very special eis ratzon, to be by the kever, on the yarzheit after chatzos. To have these talmidei chachomim davening for all the Chatzos partners and for klal yisroel; there can be no greater moment.”
Last year, hundreds of people from around the world called the cen-tral office of Kollel Chatzos, signing up before the yarzheit to be a part of the Ketores Segulah. In the weeks that followed Kollel Chatzos received scores of emails and phone calls in which elated sponsors described the yeshuos they experienced as a result. Now is your chance to be a part of this potentially life altering Ketores Segu-lah.
In the merit of the Arizal and the Ketores Segulah, Kollel Chatzos wishes its many partners, supporters and the entire klal yisroel all forms of yeshuos: health, wealth, children, na-chas, shidduchim and success.
Call Kollel Chatzos today and sign up to have your name included in this year’s Ketores Segulah
1-855-Chatzos (242-8967)718-887-9114
The Miron Kollel doing Ketures Segula last year
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The Din of Down Payments*Story is fictitious, to illustrate the Halacha. In an actual case a Halachic authority should be consulted.
A project of the Choshen Mishpat Chabura of Kollel Avodas Levi
Rabbi Gershon SegalReviewed by Rabbi Morchechai Shuchatowitz,
Av Bais Din of The Baltimore Bais Dinwww.BaltimoreBaisDin.org
From the Files of Beis Din
Shimon just finished Sheva Bro-chos for his youngest daughter. With Hashem’s help he was zocheh to marry off three daughters in six months! He remembers that just a short while ago his house was filled with the action of three energetic young ladies. Now it is just he and his wife, a new reality to get used to.
Another thing on his mind after the chasunahs is how he is going to man-age to pay off the steep debt which he is now in. After giving it some thought, he realizes that with an empty house he can down grade a few things. His neighbor Yaakov, who is a few years younger, has a large family of little kids. Yaakov has asked Shimon in the past if he is interested in selling his twelve seat van since he is through with carpools. Previously Shimon had rejected the idea, but now that he is pressed for money, he decides that he is ready to sell.
The next time Shimon bumps into Yaakov he offers to sell his van for a very reasonable price of $6000. Yaa-kov is very happy with the offer and quickly accepts. Yaakov inquires, “If I buy the van would you also be willing to sell me a few inches of your land? I am going to need the extra space in order to extend my driveway to com-fortably park the van.” Shimon is hap-py with the opportunity to earn a little more money. The two settle on the price of $2000 for the land. Shimon offers to sell a few accessories for the van that he has accumulated over the years. He also has four new tires that fit his van. They agree on $300 for the tires and $200 for the accessories. Shimon tells Yaakov, “As you know, I made three chasunahs this year. I’m a little pressed for money now. Do you have the cash available to pay for these sales?” Yaakov responds, “Yes,
I have a few investments I can sell, and should have no problem coming up with the money.”
The two agree to meet the follow-ing evening to complete the sales. When they meet again, they review the items for sale and the agreed upon prices. Yaakov suggests, “Let’s com-plete one sale at a time.” Shimon agrees. They begin with the van. Shi-mon takes out the car title and signs it over to Yaakov. Yaakov takes out $3000 cash and hands it to Shimon. Yaakov explains, “When I reviewed my investments, I discovered that I need more time to liquidate them. Will you accept the $3000 as a down payment until I can pay the rest?” Shi-mon accepts and they move on to the sale of the land. Once again Yaakov offers a down payment of $1000, and Shimon accepts. The same scenario repeats itself for the accessories, with Yaakov paying a down payment of $100 for the tires and $50 for the ac-cessories.
Yaakov, now with the keys in his hands, walks over to Shimon’s garage. The two load the sold accessories into the van. Yaakov then hops into the driver’s seat and drives the van out of the garage and onto his driveway.
The next day, as the two neighbors pass each other on their way home from Minchah, Shimon inquires as to whether Yaakov has been able to come up with the rest of the cash. Yaakov assures Shimon that it won’t be long before he has the money. This ex-change repeats itself several times over the next week.
The following week, as Shimon is leaving Marraiv, his friend Chaim turns to him and innocently asks if he is considering selling his van. Chaim explains that he is looking for a larger van now that he has more carpools to
drive, and is looking for a quick buy. Shimon thinks to himself, “I sold the van to Yaakov because I really need the money. It seems that for whatever reason Yaakov is simply not coming up with the cash. I don’t think that I should have to wait around for him.” Shimon tells Chaim that he actually is interested in selling his van. He asks Chaim to come to his house the fol-lowing evening to discuss the details.
Later that evening, Shimon gives Yaakov a call and asks if he has the money ready. Yaakov apologies, and again assures Shimon that he will have the money soon. Shimon tells Yaakov that he’s sorry, but he really needs the money and is no longer able to wait. He informs him that someone else has approached him about buying the van, and since he has not yet been paid, he is backing out of the sale. He requests that Yaakov return the van and the accessories so that he will be able to sell them to his new buyer. Yaakov re-sponds that while he understands that Shimon needs the money and that he has been delinquent in paying, he has already purchased the van and Shimon cannot just back out of the sale! He assures Shimon that he will not have to wait much longer for the mon-ey, but Shimon is not willing to hear Yaakov’s argument and insists that he return the van to him. The situation only becomes more complicated when Chaim arrives the next evening eager to purchase the van, and finds out that the two neighbors are battling over its ownership.
Chaim recommends that the three of them should go to Bais Din the fol-lowing day and hear what the Torah rules in their case. The Bais Din asks Shimon to state his complaint against Yaakov. Shimon explains that he sold his van to Yaakov a few days ago.
Yaakov had given him a down pay-ment and assured him that he would have the rest of the money shortly. He has requested that Yaakov pay the re-maining balance several times, but has yet to receive it. Shimon continues to explain that he sold the van because he needs the money. He now has a per-spective buyer, Chaim, and would like the keys and car title back so he can sell it to him. It is obvious to him that the sale is contingent on receiving the payment that is due. He also explains that there are accessories to the van and that there is land that were sold. He says that he considers all sales null and void since he has not received full payment.
The Bais Din then asks Yaakov to explain his defense. Yaakov tells the Bais Din, that he understands that he is obligated to pay Shimon the balance and he expects to have the money very soon. Having said that, he feels that the van was already sold to him, and Shimon has no right to try to sell it to someone else! He feels the same way regarding the sale of the land, tires, and accessories. He would want to buy them even if he had not purchased Shimon’s van, since he needs a van, and they can be used for any van he might own.
The judges adjourn to discuss the case. After reaching a ruling the judg-es return to give the verdict. The Av Bais Din begins, “Before I issue the ruling of the court, I would like to explain some of the background laws that are relevant to this case. Accord-ing to Torah law in order to transfer ownership there have to be two com-ponents. One is complete intention for the transaction to occur, and the other is an act or method of transaction spe-cific to the type of item being trans-ferred. The intention for the transac-
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53From the Files of Beis Din
tion includes both the owner having complete intention to give over own-ership to the acquirer, and the acquirer having complete intention to accept ownership. In addition, if the transfer of ownership is made contingent on an agreed upon condition, the transaction is only finalized once the condition is satisfied.
When the transaction is a sale, by definition, there is a condition of pay-ment. Therefore, even if all the nec-essary components are in place at the time of the sale, if the buyer tells the seller that he simply does not have the money to pay, the sale becomes void. Even if the purchaser would still like to keep the item and offers to pay as soon as he gets funds, the seller does not have to agree.
There are cases, however, when the law is not as clear cut. In a case when the purchaser is still promising that the money will be forthcoming the sale is not always automatically voided. Unless there is strong circum-stantial evidence that the seller only intended to sell if he received the mon-ey promptly, neither party would have a right to back out. The Talmud teach-es, that if the seller has been demand-ing the payment that is owed from the time of the completion of the sale, it is clear to everyone that the seller only intended to transfer ownership to the buyer if he was promptly paid. In such a case, either party would have a right to back out of the sale. This is the law even if at the time of the sale all the necessary acts through which ownership is halachicly transferred were done. Even if a down payment was made, the law remains the same, and either party has a right to back out. However, when one party decides to back out, the other party is given a choice. Either he can choose keep the sale valid proportional to the amount of money that was already paid, or he
can choose to completely invalidate the sale and the down payment would be returned to the buyer.
There are many more details re-garding these laws, but for now I will get back to the case at hand. In the case presented here today it is clear that Shimon only intended to sell his belongings to Yaakov because he needed the money. Since Yaakov was not able to produce the money when repeatedly asked to, as explained, Shi-mon did not have the intention to sell his possessions to Yaakov. Therefore, Shimon does have a right to back out of the sales. There are actually four sales that took place and l will deal with them one by one.
As far as the sale of land, Shimon told us today, that he is backing out of the sale. Since a down payment was made Yaakov has a right to choose ei-ther to keep the sale valid proportion-al to the amount of money that was already paid, or to ask for his money back.”
Yaakov says, “I would like to keep the land. How much land am I entitled to?”
The Av Bais Din responds, “You paid $1000 and the sale price was $2000. You may keep half of the land.”
Yaakov says, “I don’t know if you have been following the news, but last week there was a big housing market crash and now the land that I purchased has devalued by at least a quarter of its original value. Since you said that Shimon has a right to back out of the sale, isn’t it only fair that I should get the value of the land as it is worth now?”
The Av Bais Din responds, “You are raising a good point. There is a dispute amongst the Poskim regarding this issue. However most opinions rule that if you want the land then you are upholding the previous sale for the
amount of money that you put down. That being the case, you are bound by the original agreement of sale. You do have the option of requesting that the money be returned, if at this point you do not feel you will be getting the fair value of land. There is more that goes into this ruling but that will take us beyond the scope of this short ex-planation.”
Yaakov decides he wants the land even if it means only getting half of it.
“Now we will move on to the van. Shimon is backing out that sale as well.” Before the Av Bais Din can continue Shimon remarks, “I don’t think it would be fair the give Yaakov the choice of keeping half the van. I just don’t see how I would be able to manage sharing a van with my neigh-bor. We can split the land down the middle but you can’t cut a van in half. The Av Bais Din continues, “You are absolutely right Shimon, our Chocho-mim understood that, and specifically excluded cases were the item being sold cannot be split. Therefore the rul-ing in this case is that the $3000 which you received as a down payment must be returned, and the van should be sold to Chaim as the two of you have verbally agreed.”
“The last two sales are the tires and accessories to the van. The rule that we mentioned, which allows the parties to back out of a sale, has an additional exception. If the seller sold items be-cause they were not so desirable, the sale is final, as we do not view the seller’s insistence of prompt payment as an indication that he is pressed for the money and is only selling on con-dition of immediate payment. Rather, it is viewed as an eagerness to ensure that the deal goes through. This is true regardless of whether the merchandise is not desirable due to some inherent blemish, or it is just undesirable to this particular seller. Based on this
introduction, we can make a distinc-tion between the tires, which are only usable on a van, and the accessories, that would be usable in any car. Since Shimon is no longer planning to drive a van, for him the tires are an undesir-able item. Yaakov on the other hand, is planning to purchase a van, so for him the tires may very well be a need-ed item even though he will not be getting Yaakov’s van. Therefore the sale would be final. The outstanding balance of $200 is owed and must be paid by Yaakov. The accessories, on the other hand, are items that can be used in any vehicle, and would there-fore have the same rules as the land. Yaakov has a choice to either keep the sale active up to the amount of the down payment, or ask for his money back. If Yaakov chooses to keep the sale active, he may choose which of the items equal to the amount of the down payment he would like the sale to apply to, and which items he wants to return.
As the three leave Bais Din, Chaim turns to Yaakov and says, “I’ll tell you what. Take my number, and when you get the rest of the money, I’ll sell you the van. I just can’t see myself driving in a van that someone else was really expecting to have.” Yaakov really ap-preciates the gesture and is soon driv-ing carpool in his new van once more, this time paid in full!
References for this article, previ-ous articles, as well as information on how to utilize this important com-munity resource, are available on the Baltimore Bais Din web site www.bal-timorebaisdin.org
.Web site is up - improvements on the way.
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M80 Great Kosher Food
Elan Kornblum
JALAPENO BAY by Chef Jackie Hong Chen, Sushi Tokyo (Brooklyn, NY)
This recipe was reprinted from the 2015 Edition of Great Kosher Restaurants Magazine.
Elan Kornblum, a.k.a. “The Restaurant Guy,” is the publisher of Great Kosher Restaurants International Magazine and its accompanying website www.gkrm.net. The 2015 edition, available on www.GreatKo-sherDeals.com, has 256 glossy pages and provides a visual description with menus to over 200 top kosher restaurants alongside 400 stunning high resolution color photos. Kornblum’s top ranked website, award-winning newsletter, comprehensive app and hugely popular Facebook Foodies page makes sure every-one is up to date on the latest restaurant news.
Email [email protected] for any questions or comments.
INGREDIENTS4 jalapeno peppers1 cup tempura flour¾ cup waterOil for deep frying
Filling:5.5 oz. fresh tuna / fresh Scottish salmon0.5 oz. crunchy flakes2 tablespoons spicy mayo
Topping:Sushi Tokyo’s sweet sauce
DIRECTIONSCut peppers into halves. Scoop out the seeds in a bowl. Mix tempura flour
with water to a smooth blend in a separate bowl and combine filling ingredients. Stuff peppers with filling.
Bring oil to a boil and dip filled peppers in tempura mix. Make sure all sides are fully covered. Deep fry till color of tempura mix changes to golden brown. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to absorb oil.
Top with Sushi Tokyo’s sweet sauce and decorate with vegetables to your taste.
61Allan J. Rolnick, CPA
Your Money
A Tax in a Pineapple Under the Sea
You know what’s even worse than paying tax on money you make? Try taking a loss on
money you lose. Make $100, pay a 40% tax, and you’ve still got $60 left. But lose $100, take a tax loss, and you’re still out your $100. Yeah, you can de-duct it against future income. But it’s kind of like those “mail-in” rebates you get when you walk out of Staples with a new printer. It sounds good when you’re still in the store. But in the back of your mind, you realize you’ll prob-ably never actually mail it in.
It’s no fun if you lose money in a bad in-vestment. It’s no fun if you get ripped off in some sort of fraud. It’s even worse if you get ripped off in an investment fraud! And that brings us to this week’s story, which starts out in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom.
SpongeBob SquarePants is a kids’ cartoon chronicling the adventures of a sponge named Bob, who lives with his pet snail Gary in a pineapple on the ocean floor. (If you’re a parent of a young child, you can just skip ahead to the next paragraph.) SpongeBob has become Nickleodeon’s most popu-lar series, squeezing up a boatload of awards and spawning two movies. In 2011, mycologists working in Malay-sia even discovered a new species of fungus in the Bolotaceae family which they named spongiforma squarpantsii.
With a franchise that successful, every huckster within 20,000 leagues wants a SpongeBob tie-in to promote their business. One of those hucksters was a company called SpongeTech. Don’t let the “tech” fool you; these guys were in the decidedly low-tech business of selling soap-filled sponges, including a SpongeBob SquarePants model filled with baby soap. But their real business was soaking investors — and after all the hype was washed away, SpongeTech was just another penny-stock scam. Scratch that — as one reporter put it, “SpongeTech was no ordinary pump-and-dump penny-stock scheme; it was, to play on Churchill’s famous definition of Russia, a fraud
wrapped in a stock-market rig inside a money-laundering conspiracy.”
Robert and Penny Greenberger were two of those unlucky investors who watched their “investment” in SpongeTech circle down the drain. By the time the company filed for bankruptcy, the Greenbergers had lost
$569,220. In 2010, they wrote the capital loss off on their taxes. Which
was fine, except for one thing. They can
carry that loss forward to absorb future gains.
But they can only deduct $3,000 per year against their or-dinary income. At that rate,
they’ll still be writing it off in the 23rd century.
But theft losses are deductible against ordinary income. Right now! So, in 2012, the Greenbergers amended their 2010 return to claim a theft loss, and asked the IRS to send them a re-fund for $177,102. The IRS said no, and everyone sailed off to court. Last month, Judge James Gwin ruled that, to prove theft, the Greenbergers had to show two things: 1) that SpongeTech’s “nauty” scammers acted specifically to take their money through fraud, and 2) that the Greenbergers had transferred their property to the thieves. Unfor-tunately for our losing investors, they had bought their stock on “the open market, without any knowledge of who was on the other side of the trans-action.” And with that, he sank the Greenbergers’ case.
Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you not to buy something just because there was a cartoon character on it? She was right, and she would tell you the same thing about your portfolio. The most impor-tant lesson here may be to make the right financial decision first, then find the most tax-efficient way to do it.
Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 yea rs in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at [email protected].
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The opening theme of this week’s double parsha/Torah reading, concerns itself with
the laws of vows and verbal commit-ments. The Torah nevertheless intro-duces this subject by stating that these laws and val-ues were transmit-ted to the heads of the tribes of Israel. Since these laws are binding upon the entire Jew-ish people and are clearly discussed and explained in the Talmud in the tractate of Nedar-im, the question obviously is raised as to why the emphasis was placed on teaching these laws to the leaders of the tribes of Israel. Since they are binding on all Jews then why the spe-cial notation regarding the heads of the tribes of Israel?
Over the centuries, the great com-mentators to the Torah have offered varied explanations and different com-ments regarding this matter. In our time when democratic elections take place on a regular basis and politi-cians are constantly run-ning for office, I believe that we can understand a special relevance to Moshe’s first empha-sizing these laws to the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
Leaders have a tendency to speak in exaggerated terms and make exorbi-tant promises. We are witness to the famous excuse “that one sees when in office what one did not see when campaigning for that office.” Thus the intelligent citizen will always inject a note of skepticism regarding campaign promises, party platforms or policy pledges.
The Torah views the spoken word as being sacrosanct. “What comes forth from one’s mouth should be honored and observed and implement-ed.” Since the tendency of leaders is somehow to be loose with promises, the Torah makes a special point of addressing these laws regarding ver-bal commitments to the leaders of the
tribes of Israel.In general, the Torah always plac-
es special emphasis and importance on the spoken word. “Life and death are dependent upon the spoken word
of the tongue.” In the Talmud we are taught which ver-bal commitments are legally bind-ing and which are to be taken only as “words” without legal consequence. Nevertheless, the Talmud empha-sizes that mere “words” even if not legally binding
are of moral importance.In the times of the Talmud, one
could publicly issue a harsh criticism of someone who did not stand by his or her word even if that verbal com-mitment was not legally actionable or enforceable. The highest compliment even in today’s sometimes cutthroat economic world is that “so and so is a person of his or her word.”
Exaggerations abound, negotiating
positions are ploys and not to be taken seriously and yet even when we real-ize this, we are taken aback and disap-pointed when seeming commitments and spoken promises are ignored. There is an inner voice within us that demands that what we say should be what we mean and should be carried out effectively in behavior and action. This is true for all of us no matter what our circumstances may be. But it is doubly true for leaders and public fig-ures whose words are taken seriously by their listeners and can have devas-tating effects when not honored or ful-filled. This is an important lesson for our current times and society.
Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Parshas Matot-Masei
Torah Thought
There is an inner voice within us that demands that what we say should be what we mean.
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This Friday - Tu B’av In Amuka – The Proven Segulah For Shidduchim -
The One Day Of The Year & The Mitzva Of Pidyon Shvuyim
Yad L’achim
Join this special opportunity. A Minyan of Talmidei Chachamim, mes-sengers of Yad L’Achim, will daven for you at the resting place of the Holy Tannah Rav Yonason ben Uziel on the 15th of Av!
For those who haven’t yet merit-ed to find their zivug (match), Amuka isn’t just a place, it’s an extraordinary opportunity to have their prayers an-swered, especially on the auspicious day of Tu B’Av.
“There were no better days for the Jewish people than the 15th of Av…,” says the Talmud. On this day, the young women of Jerusalem would go out dressed in their white finery and dance in vineyards, in a courtship ritu-al that led to marriage.
This year, a minyan of Talmidei Chachamim will once again be going to Amuka on the 15th of Av – which this year falls out on Friday, July 31st - on behalf of Yad L’Achim to lead a tefillah of the masses. The talmidei chachamim will read from a list of names given over to Yad L’Achim, and immerse in heartfelt prayer for each individual by name.
Many of those who participated in last year’s event have reported seeing positive results.
The event, which is shrouded in an aura of holiness and reverence, begins with mincha, as it says, “Eli-yahu was answered only at mincha.”
Afterwards, the minyan of talmidei chachamim will lead the crowd in the recitation of seder hatikkun.
The minyan of talmidei cha-chamim will ascend the roof of the holy tziyun and circle it seven times, holding lists of those who have donat-ed to the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim. They will recite relevant chapters of Tehillim and blow the shofar, fol-lowed by the recitation of the moving Ana BeKo’ach prayer.
The minyan of talmidei cha-chamim will then enter the tziyun, and after spending long minutes lighting candles, will begin reading the names of those in need of shidduchim, care-fully enunciating each one in a heart-felt plea.
At the conclusion of the tefillah, The minyan of talmidei chachamim will daven: “Let it be His Will that our tefillos are accepted by the Holy Throne, and the donors whose names we read now will merit mercy and sal-vation and to quickly establish a bayis ne’eman beYisrael, among all of Klal Yisrael in need of a yeshuah.”
The tomb of the holy tanna, Rabi Yonason ben Uziel has special mean-ing for this cause, as the great tanna, who studied under Hillel the Elder and wrote Targum Yonason, was believed to have never married and understands the pain of those who are single and the importance of pleading on their
behalf. The Gemara says that he was so holy that if “a bird flew over his head when he was learning, it would
be burnt up.” A donation to this unique project
does more than give the child, or sib-ling or friend in need of a shidduch an opportunity to benefit from a proven segulah. It is the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim, (Redeem-ing of captives – helping to rescue Jewish women & children from Arab villages) of which the Rambam states, “There is no greater mitzvah than the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim”
HURRY!!! TO PARTICIPATE, CALL YAD L’ACHIM AT
1-866-923-5224OR SUBMIT YOUR NAMES
ONLINEAT WWW.YADLACHIM.ORG
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MORE QUOTES
For him to be paid to raise money for veterans that were wounded in combat under his orders, I don’t think that’s right. … It’s kind of a slap in the face. - Former Marine Eddie Wright, who lost both hands in a rocket attack in Iraq in 2004, after learning that former President George W. Bush received a $100,000 speaking fee at a fundraising event for wounded warriors
Mexico’s No. 1 drug lord has escaped from prison and may be headed to the U.S. So Donald Trump was wrong. They are sending us their best. – Conan O’Brien
These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit. I stole them in July 1995 and since then they have brought me nothing but trouble. Please, do not steal antiquities.- An anonymous note left with two 2,000-year-old Roman sling stones which were returned to a museum in Israel, after having been stolen 20 years ago
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About the hatred we have against the Jewish people: As Palestinians, first, we don’t have hatred. Second, we don’t recognize the existence of the Jewish people—there is no Jewish people.- PLO Ambassador to Chile Nabil Jada at a Chilean conference for Peace in Palestine and Israel
He never responded to me at all. Not once. - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban after free-agent center DeAndre Jordan reneged on an $80 million deal to play for the Mavs, went into seclusion and refused to accept calls from Cuban before re-signing with the Los Angeles Clippers
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“Say What?”Compiled by Nate Davis
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Today Scott Walker announced that he is running for president, making him the 15th Republican candidate to enter the race. Which I think means we get the 16th one for free. I’ve got a punch card. – Jimmy Fallon
Today we are all witnessing today, perhaps, truly the beginning of the end of the Civil War.- Author Isabel Wilkerson on MSNBC, as the Confederate flag was removed from South Carolina’s State House
I want to thank de Blasio for taking it easy on us. It’s easier for me to get by. Because of him, nobody bothers me… It’s not like 10 or 20 years ago, when I would get harassed by police all the time. People just leave me alone, and I get some money sometimes, too. – A homeless man in Manhattan praising Mayor Bill de Blasio to the New York Post
Twenty-two months of negotiation means we have managed to charm the world, and it’s an art. – Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, during a meeting last weekend
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Scott Walker’s campaign slogan is “Reform. Growth. Safety.” Which is actually similar to Donald Trump’s new slogan: “Mexico. Money. Crazy.” – Jimmy Fallon
Chuck Schumer is supposed to be the guardian of Israel. He goes around everywhere and says, “My name is Schumer. It means guardian of Israel.” Well, if you care about Israel, you will not put her in this box. If you care about the United States, you will not allow our chief antagonist to become a nuclear threshold nation guaranteed in nature with no restrictions for them to go beyond that. - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
This is a bad mistake of historic proportions…One cannot prevent an agreement when the negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who, even during the talks, keep chanting: “Death to America.” We knew very well that the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than anything, and therefore we did not commit to preventing an agreement. We did commit to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and this commitment still stands. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after the Iran deal was reached this week
[Netanyahu] said the same thing about the interim agreement and he was wrong. The fact is, is that he’s frankly been making comments that are way over the top.- U.S. State Secretary John Kerry on MSNBC
If a nuclear bomb explodes in London or New York, we know that we can trace it down to July 14, 2015.- Israel’s Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi’s party chief Naftali Bennett on CNN
Isn’t it odd how every pundit and politician who’s been antagonistic towards Israel is also super excited about an Iranian deal that’s allegedly going to help protect the Jewish State from the threat of nuclear Iran?- David Harsani, The Federalist
Before taking a selfie, everyone should think about the fact that racing after a high number of “likes” could lead him on a journey to death and his last extreme photo could turn out to be posthumous. - Yelena Alexeyeva, an aide to Russia’s interior minister, explaining why the government issued a list of recommendations for practicing “safe selfies”
My aspirations for the country – and I believe we can achieve it – is for 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a lot more productive. Workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we are going to get out of this rut that we’re in.- Jeb Bush in an interview with a New Hampshire newspaper
And you @EPN, don’t call me a delinquent because I give people work unlike you, you cowardly politician.– Tweet by El Chapo Guzman directed at Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto
Never say never, this world keeps turning. In this life, he who risks nothing cannot win.- Ibid., addressing the fact that Mexican officials said he would never be able to break out of prison
I personally am trying to lose weight.- Mayor de Blasio dismissing former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato’s suggestion that de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo, both of Italian heritage, have a “pasta summit” to sort out their differences.
I have to watch my waistline.- Governor Cuomo, dismissing the idea as well
Jeb Bush… oy, yoy, yoy. How can I be tied with this guy? He’s terrible. Terrible. – Donald Trump during a campaign speech in Phoenix, bemoaning the fact that polls show that he and Jeb Bush are leading the Republican pack
The drug lord is on the run. His name is El Chapo. Donald Trump is in a Twitter feud with this Mexican drug lord. It’s historic — the first time Americans have ever sided with a Mexican drug lord. – Conan O’Brien
Let us have faith that America is incapable of any misstep [against Iran], and that it cannot even attack Iranian facilities without the White House being destroyed in under 10 minutes. Let us have faith that the old “village leader” [i.e. the U.S.] has fallen onto his deathbed, and that even in his youth, he never made the mistake [of daring to attack Iran], and that he, like Israel, remains mired in quicksand.- Editorial in an Iranian newspaper affiliated with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
The G-d of Israel, have mercy upon your humiliated brothers.- Writing recently found on a piece of beam in an attic of a home in the Dutch town of Bilthoven, where a Jewish couple hid during the Holocaust
After 17 hours of negotiations, European leaders agreed early this morning to a tentative deal to resolve the debt crisis in Greece. Seventeen hours — or as Greeks call that, a workweek. – Seth Myers
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Rebbetzin Tziporah HellerTorah Thought
By every measure the Jewish month of Av is tragically unique, one in which the worst disasters in our history took place.
Disaster is no stranger to us. In many ways it is part and parcel of G-d’s covenant with Abraham. When Abraham was told that his people would be chosen, G-d told him that there would be a price to pay. What is that price? One look at Jewish history tells us two pieces of information that make us unique. One is that we don’t disappear because we recognize that we are a people who are united in what the Vilna Gaon would refer to as “rec-tifying ourselves and rectifying the world.” The other is that the when we try to disappear, the results have been disastrous.
Abraham was a seeker. His search took him far be-yond his one land, and even further from the assump-tions that virtually everyone else in the entire world had about life. To Abraham, G-d was not only in the heavens, but very much here in the earth, with us. Abraham in-tegrated the world of thought with the world of action. While other religious thinkers at the time would be deep in meditation, Abraham was chopping vegetables and serving platters of food to his innumerable guests.
He was not a glorified version of Conrad Hilton of the ancient world. What did Abraham have in mind?
Abraham believed that the world of thought, emo-tion, and action were never meant to be fragmented into three autonomous worlds, out of touch with each other. Life should be seamless. God promised him that his path would not disappear when he dies. He would father a na-tion, and they would preserve his heritage.
When G-d promised him a future, Abraham had one question. “How do I know that I will pass on this inheri-tance?”
Abraham did not doubt G-d’s power. He had followed G-d from Ur to Israel, Egypt, and back to Israel without ever once expressing the slightest reservation. He was concerned that his descendants might make choices that would in effect divorce them from their Creator. The fact that he was devoted, compassionate, and willing to make sacrifices was no guarantee that his children would not be self-centered materialists. After all, how many of us live lives that are really carbon copies of the lives of our parents and grandparents?
In reply, G-d said:Bring me threefold heifers, threefold goats, threefold
rams, a dove and a young pigeon. (Abram) brought all these for Him. He split them in half, and placed one half opposite the other. The birds, however he did not split. Vultures descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
When the sun was setting, Abram fell into a trance, and he was stricken by a deep dark dread. (G-d) said to Abram, “Know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. They will be enslaved and oppressed... A smoking furnace and flaming torch passed between he halves of the animals.
On that day, G-d made a covenant with Abram saying, “To your descendants I have given the land.” (Genesis, 15:9-18)
G-d is telling Abraham that there are two ways that our identity will be preserved. One way is through the sacrificial offerings. It isn’t necessary to view sacrifices as archaic. The Hebrew word for sacrifice, “korban,” lit-erally means an object that brings something close. The animal self within us (and let us be honest, we have quite a menagerie tucked away in our psyche) can distance us from G-d by making us less and less aware of the part of us that is real, enduring, and ultimately most genuine – our spiritual selves. The way the animal self was up-lifted during the time of the Temple was actually through touching and offering an animal that was, in a certain sense, our twin, and letting the experience change us.
Today, we uplift our inner selves through prayer, and the outer world through mitzvot (observing G-d’s com-mandments) that involve our relationship to our animal selves. Mitzvot like the laws of keeping kosher, take us along Abraham’s path of seamless devotion to G-d, unit-ing the physical and spiritual worlds.
Suppose we opt out? Free choice is never removed. But G-d will not allow us to choose, as a nation, spiri-tual oblivion. We will be exposed to beastly empires. The German wolf was no mascot. It was a symbol of everything German. We will suffer, be enslaved, and find alienation where we yearned for acceptance.
“Your descendants will be foreigners in a land which is not theirs....they will be enslaved and oppressed.” We have lived out this prophecy in Egypt (the first exile, and prototype of all future editions), in Babylon, Greece, and Rome. While these names seem distant and dusty, they are underpinnings of the civilizations that have attacked us with bestiality that almost defies words.
What words are there in human vocabulary that described what happened in Auschwitz, in Treblinka, in Eastern Europe? In York where a castle was burned along with the Jews hiding inside? In Spain where they burnt people at the stake for the crime of being Jewish?
We have not disappeared from the map. We have emerged from each confrontation with the vulture that seeks to consume us, shaken but alive. Whatever else
we knew when we left the camps, it was that what we are and what we want to be cannot even remotely resemble what the Germans have chosen to make of themselves. This is not unique to the Holocaust, but rather is what has prevented us from disappearing into Bab-ylon, Spain, or Greece. In each instance we rediscovered ourselves by facing the mirror and rejecting the image that we once thought was our own, knowing now beyond a shadow of doubt that it is not our image, nor it will ever be.
The month of Av is the time in which we confront this aspect of our history.
The astral sign of the month is the lion. It symbolizes our encounter with raw force. In-terestingly, the first day of Av is the anniversary of the passing of Aaron, Moses’ brother, who was known as the ultimate man of peace. What this tells us is that that al-though we may currently be distant from G-d and from our higher selves, ultimately there will be the peace that He envisioned; peace that is based on the emergence of our higher selves and the part of us that is man not beast. Nothing can be further from this than the peace based on mutual fear that is all we can realistically aspire to if we see the current war in Israel without its historical frame.
The Talmud tells us that the Messiah will be born on the 9th of Av. This is the day in which both Temples were destroyed, the Spanish expulsion of the Jews took place, and World War I, the “parent” of World War II, broke out. What this tells us is that the same covenant that promises suffering, promises redemption. They are two sides of one coin—labor and birth.
We may never allow ourselves to forget what we have suffered. The fact that G-d is committed to never allowing us to disappear does not exonerate those who have perpetrated history’s worst crimes against us. Their intentions were evil, their choices were made conscious-ly, and most significant of all, their bestiality knew no bounds.
We must also not allow ourselves to forget who we are, and why we have survived. We are G-d’s people with a mission to fulfill Abraham’s covenant. We aim to-wards living seamless lives, elevating the physical, and having faith in G-d. The fact that we are here at all in the 21st century, that we have not forgotten who we are, and that we are committed to continuing to live out our covenant is nothing less than a miracle.
The 15th of Av was a time of joy. In ancient times it was a day in which marriages were arranged, and new beginnings celebrated. It was a time in which we began again, expressing not just who we don’t want to be, but who we can be.
May this Av bring us joy, fulfillment, and consola-tion.
Reprinted with permission from aish.com.
Av: Disaster and Consolation
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When I was deciding what I could bring my daughter for visiting day, I realized she
had plenty of junk food. She had reading material (including a copy of my book, though she lent it to her counselor to read), and she had tutus and suspenders and funky accessories. I tried to think of something we could enjoy together.
I remembered how much fun we’d had flying a kite and thought that might be something I’d bring. I didn’t end up finding one, but it did get me to think-ing about it. When people are flying kites, there’s a certain aura of excitement around them. People stand around and look at them high up in the air, dancing in the atmosphere, and are a bit awe-struck.
Now, when you start to fly a kite, it’s not so pristine. First of all, the kite has to be aerodynamically-designed to get lift. Some designs are easier to get off the ground than others. It’s not enough to just cut a shape out of cardboard and tie a string to it. I know, because I tried it when I was younger.
Once you’ve got a kite that’s made for flying, you have to give it enough string to be free to rise, but not so much that you can’t get the necessary tension for liftoff. Now for some artificial wind. Taking one end of the string, you start running, creating airflow and hopefully
lifting the kite up in the air. If the kite is angled incorrectly, it will end up thud-ding along the ground as if bouncing unceremoniously on its head. Instead of going up, you’ve arranged for it to go down. Let’s fix that and rearrange the flight path.
Ah…now you’ve got it going up in the air. You need to let out more string. Wait! Not so fast. If it isn’t taut, the kite
will flounder, lose its heading, and crash to earth. That’s it, a little at a time. And here comes the glorious moment of the flight…
The kite has now reached an altitude at which the updrafts and wind seven-
ty-five, a hundred, or two hundred feet high work to keep pressing it higher. It suddenly becomes easier to fly the kite. Now you’re not running with it anymore. Instead, you’re keeping a close eye on it and making little adjustments as neces-sary. Pull the string a little here, give it a little more leeway there, and start en-joying the admiration of the crowd that has most likely gathered to watch your success.
And this, my friends, like nearly ev-erything else in this world, is an analogy for life. We’re all kites. Some of us are a little more cut out for speedy takeoff, and some of us need a little more work. Which way we’re headed is important because if our goals are not properly directed, we’ll end up ignominiously bumping our heads on the road of life.
We can’t be let loose because it’s precisely the tension and resistance, whether in the realm of refining our middos and character traits or maybe fighting our natural tenden-cies when it comes to performing mitzvos, that lift us up and help us go higher.
On the other hand, we must be given enough room to grow and not be kept on such a tight leash that we can’t catch the wind under our wings to fly. If we’re too tied down, we’ll never get off the ground.
And now comes the secret you’ve been waiting for; the truth about getting high.
You see, once you get above a certain level, it gets easier! That’s right. When you rise to a sufficient height in your self-refinement that you’re now sur-rounded and supported by others at that altitude, you don’t have to work as hard.
If you’ve been working on proper speech, not being negative or cynical,
not using vulgarity or gossip, you’ve likely migrated towards a circle of friends who are like-minded. Together, you each share the burden of watching your tongues and you lift each other so it’s easier to maintain your lofty state.
And repetition helps too. For exam-ple, when I first started listening to Torah lectures in the car, I could handle it for a few minutes but then I needed some music or news. However, as I continued to listen, I was able to enjoy it for the full commute. It got to a point where if I didn’t put on the Torah CD, I’d feel like something was missing. That was
the benefit of Mr. Kite: that when we’re uplifted, we have Hashem’s assistance to keep us upwardly mobile.
So, when life sometimes feels like a struggle, like you’re banging your head and getting nowhere, adjust your atti-tude and direction, give it another shot, and pretty soon you’ll be flying high. Oh, yeah: and then everyone will stand around and marvel at your success.
Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. You can find him at www.facebook.com/RabbiGewirtz and follow him on Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar To-rah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeech Writer.com and put Subscribe in the subject.
Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
The Observant JewGreat Kosher Food
And here comes the glorious moment of the flight…
The Truth about Getting High
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It’s the deal that President Obama wants above all others. He repeatedly refers to it as the one thing that will
be his legacy and define his stewardship of America. The deal with Iran. As I write this today on the 14th July in Vi-enna, he has got his wish.
For those who are pathologically incapable of tolerating even the slight-est criticism of America’s 44th presi-dent, i.e. America’s Left, it all makes perfect sense.
Iran will emerge through the United States as the Middle East’s undisputed superpower. The Shia nation will de-stroy the Sunni, ISIS. The anarchy of Iraq will be controlled and stabilized. Iran will return “to the community of nations,” as the president repeatedly says.
For everyone else, including the House of Saud who recently dispatched one of its princes to visit the State of Israel, Obama’s mindset defies any ra-tional understanding. They know their large Persian neighbor very well. They believe that this deal will just make the neighborhood bully a much bigger and better financed tormenter.
Then there are all the extremely nasty (although in the Middle East the word “nasty” applies far and wide) peo-ple Iran has been sending weapons and money to for decades. President Assad of Syria, for example, and of course Hezbollah in Lebanon. These clients have had to tighten their belts as the international sanctions squeezed their benefactor.
Obama started to loosen those sanc-tions ahead of any deal being achieved, and in 2014 Iran’s economy actually started to grow.
More money for Iran means more money for Hezbollah et al. If the deal is signed and Iran is returned “to the community of nations” (and its banks are too) the good times for Shia terrorist organizations from Yemen to Kurdistan will start to roll.
The president is, of course, aware of the concerns of America’s tradi-tional allies in the region. He convened a summit of Persian Gulf states to reas-sure them. Leaders of four of the six invited nations were “unavailable” that day. The White House struggled to deny accusations of a “snub.”
American Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer re-
cently penned a piece for the Washing-ton Post entitled, “The Worst Agree-ment in U.S. Diplomatic History.” In it he pointed out, “Desperate for a legacy deal, Obama has played the supplicant, abandoning every red line his adminis-
tration had declared essential to any ac-ceptable deal,”
Of course, after years of negotia-tions and deadline after deadline be-ing breached, although a deal has been struck to stop Iran from obtaining a nu-clear bomb, most people believe it will get one.
The thought of that threat hanging over the heads of the majority of the world’s Jews, who now live in the State of Isra-el, is too terrible to contemplate.
A friend of mine in Manhat-tan called me last night worried about all of this. Despite his concern, he held onto a glimmer of hope.
Because the latest talks breached the deadline set for them, the Congress has sixty days to scrutinize and analyze the final deal. If enough Democrats can be found to oppose it (and so close to presidential elections that is possible) then it might well be the beginning of the end for the “worst agreement in U.S. diplomatic history.”
“So,” my friend assured me, “even if the president seems to have aban-doned the State of Israel, we can always rely on the checks and balances of the Constitution and Congress to reject this act of insanity.”
I wouldn’t be so sanguine. The echoes of this moment in history reverberate across the millennia in
a dirge soon to be chanted yet again.
“There is no comfort from all of those who once loved her, all her friends have betrayed her, they have become enemies.”
The Chovos HaLevavos adds a fur-ther word of caution to my friend’s op-
timism at the beginning of Shaar HaB-itachon. “It is impossible for a person to be free of worries unless he relies on Hashem. If he relies instead, even a little bit, on someone or something else ... the Almighty removes his su-pervision and control of that person’s
life, leaving it in the hands of the thing or person he has chosen to depend on.”
And those sobering words give us pause to consider whether relying on Con-gress to reverse the folly of the current U.S.
president and protect the Jewish peo-ple, is after all, a wise thing to do.
Rabbi Dessler in his essay on Ti-sha B’Av asks precisely what does the Torah’s expression and accusation
against the Jewish people mean when it writes, “You have cried a crying for nothing...”
He says, “Those tears flowed from a lack of bitachon.”
Reb Matisyohu Salomon shlita in his recently published vaadim on Shaar HaBitachon, decides not to translate bitachon as “trust in Hashem,” rather he renders it, “certainty in Hashem.”
Returning to Rabbi Dessler in his conclusion about the wasted tears that led to Tisha B’Av and the myriad trag-edies it produced, it was because of “the lack of Klal Yisroel’s certainty in Hashem,” he ominously continues, “that would and could only be repaired through tears that would be shed again and again across two thousand years.”
Those tears would be shed as the Jewish people through the ages dis-covered that those they thought they could trust and who promised to pro-tect them reneged on their word and turned their backs. Those tears were the tears we shed in our hurt and dis-appointment in those we trusted. Reb Elchonon Wasserman zt”l warned the Jewish people in his time that the de-mocracies would prove no different. From Chamberlain’s criminal naiveté that he could trust Hitler to the Allies’ refusal to bomb Auschwitz, he was proven terribly right.
And now in the reign of the 44th president of the State of Israel’s most powerful ally, the words of Eichah resonate clearly again, “There is no comfort from all of those who once loved her, all her friends have be-trayed her.”
All of Our Friends
Rabbi YY Rubinstein
Another Look
From Chamberlain’s criminal naiveté that he could trust Hitler to the Allies’ refusal to bomb Auschwitz, he was proven terribly right.
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The 9 DaysCHESED PROJECT at 7-Mile Market
גמ׳ ברכות ו:
Gemara Brachos 6b
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אמר מר זוטרא:
איגרא דתעניתא צדקתא
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