Five Towns Jewish Home 02.26.26

Dear Readers,

Almost thirty years ago, on September 25, 1997, Hamas military chief Khaled Mashal was exiting his car on a busy street in Amman, Jordan, when two Mossad agents came up to him and sprayed him with a poison. This poison was particularly dangerous – whoever was sprayed with it would inevitably die within a day or two.

The mission went sideways, though. Mashal was rushed to the hospital, and the Mossad agents were eventually caught in Jordan. An international uproar ensued, with the King of Jordan furious that the Mossad was operating on his soil.

Benjamin Netanyahu was the prime minister of Israel at the time. He knew that if Mashal died, the outcry against Israel would become even greater. The only entity that possessed the antidote to the poison that Mashal absorbed was Israel. Netanyahu urged Mossad agents to give Jordan the antidote to use on Mashal. Mashal eventually recovered.

But before he recovered, Netanyahu was frantic. He knew how important it was that Mashal not die. A death on foreign soil, openly caused by Israel, would bring a tsunami of public sentiment against Israel. Two days after the attempted assassination, Netanyahu was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

How ironic is it that the leader of the State of Israel was praying for one of his nation’s biggest enemies to recover? And how sickening is it that, just decades later, that terrorist was behind one of the most horrific massacres of Jews in recent times? And that he’s currently living in comfort in Qatar?

History is a maze that twists and turns. We hardly ever get to see the final chapter to certain events. We see bits and pieces, headlines and news flashes. But the true culmination of history won’t be known until it is revealed by the Master of the world.

Purim, though, is a part of history that seems to be tied up in a cute, little bow. A king rules over 127 countries, invites people to a party, kills one queen, marries another, has an evil viceroy, sends out letters to

his nations, goes to parties, has his viceroy killed, and elevates the queen’s uncle. Oh, and along the way, the Jews are targeted, they fast, they daven, and then they are saved. It all seems so simple, so down pat, all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed. As the curtains close on the Purim story, the Jews are happy, as they reconnect with their Creator and joyfully reaccept His Torah.

There are so many lessons to the Purim story. But perhaps the most important understanding we can take away from it is that in every incident in history, in every event that takes place, there is a Master behind the scenes. Sometimes, we think we are looking at the final chapter; sometimes, it seems like the story will never end; sometimes, we can never fathom how the story will unfold, with all the characters getting their due.

We live in moments. We react to headlines, to speeches, to wars and ceasefires, and breaking news alerts. We think we understand what is happening because we see the immediate outcome. But we do not see the hidden calculations, the unseen protections, the delayed reckonings. What looks like failure may be salvation. What appears to be triumph may be only temporary. The story is never as simple as it seems when we are standing inside it.

Purim reminds us that there is always a larger script unfolding beyond our vision. Even when events appear chaotic, unjust, or unbearably painful, they are not random. The same Hand that guided a sleepless king, a hidden queen, and a gallows prepared for one man but used for another is still guiding events today. We may not yet understand how today’s chapters will conclude, but Purim teaches us to trust that nothing is accidental — and that in the end, every twist in the maze serves a purpose written by the Master of the world.

Wishing you a freilechen Purim, Shoshana

P.S. Remember to send in your Purim photos— editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com.

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Dear Editor,

It is important to be aware of the very real dangers posed by a new generation of influencers making waves across frum society in every area where you find information. Unfortunately, much of this content is not pre-monitored for the frum listener. Anyone these days can get a camera and some microphones and open up a YouTube channel or Spotify. Many of them have beautiful kippot and tzitzis on, too, and throw in a few religious business advertisements and you got yourself a seemingly religious program.

The problem is that not everyone is equipped to “influence” others in a Torah way. I won’t call them bad people, but sometimes, some of their hashkafos tend to fall out of line for a religious person to hear. And it’s not always so easy to catch. Content that could be 80% halachic debates or current events is very welcoming and draws people in, but unfortunately, the other 20% can often be super controversial opinions that can affect the listeners greatly.

Having opinions like this didn’t start in one day, it comes from being exposed to the wrong people and the wrong content over a long period of time. Whether it was a treif as can be secular university, secular books, secular radio, or secular podcasts; having that exposure is guaranteed to affect your brain and how you think no matter who you are.

And so you have it, where a seemingly religious podcast can be playing and suddenly you hear the person contra-

dicting openly the rulings of the gedolei hador. Or making light of their concerns/ takanos. Or belittling some of our values in a sarcastic manner. The minute you hear something like that, it’s time to turn off the program.

All respect to someone who wants to start a show and make themselves some money, but let’s remember that running a podcast doesn’t make someone a daas Torah. A peanut gallery commenter/influencer vs. the rabbanim who are the ones guiding the Jewish world from up top and making the decisions is not an equal footing for religious guidance.

I think you actually have to be more careful about the type of things you listen to from this source of content than anything else! Because nothing can steer more people wrong than seemingly very religious looking programs supplying the wrong material. You should always look for who they look up to as their rav or role model so you can know the type of person they are before you even listen. And sometimes, you can tell just by a guest they have on the show whether it’s someone you’re allowed to even invite right off the bat. We don’t consider someone who took a few months of guitar lessons to match up to a seasoned pro, and the same goes for Torah knowledge and issues as well.

Keeping a holy camp is extremely difficult to do, but it’s on everyone to maintain it together and be mindful of what people are listening to.

Benyamin Rivlin

Continued on page 18

This

WHERE BELONGING MEETS BECOMING.

Continued from page 14

Dear Editor

Germany’s Lufthansa airlines has finally admitted that they were involved with the Nazis during the Holocaust. Really, every German company that was around in those times should be assumed to have been involved with the Nazis. The Nazis had full control of Germany, and they used everything at their disposal. None of the companies from those times should be given a pass, nor the benefit of the doubt. We should hold them all responsible.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Eli Reit

Dear Editor,

I recommend to your readers to adjust the font to the smallest size in their phone settings. That can make reading a lot more pleasant and enjoyable by not having to scroll as much and by putting a lot more text per page.

Thank you for printing this letter and thus improving your readers’ lives.

Shlomo Klein

Brooklyn, New York

Dear Editor,

As Purim dawns on us, I am reminded of the common refrain, Yom Kippurim is called as such because it is a day like Purim. How is it that a day totally devoted to the spiritual is connected to a day devoted to the physical? The Vilna Gaon, zt”l, explains that what we accomplish on Yom Kippur in ruchniyus we accomplish on Purim with gashmiyus. These two halves, explains Rav Yitzchak Hutner, zt”l, make one yom tov: half for us and half for Hashem.

It is with this in mind that we can view Yom Kippur as a more joyous day: by fasting we become mindful of the great spiritual heights we can achieve. On Purim, Hashem saved us despite our being mired in physicality. We eat, drink and rejoice in His honor. Enjoy the food and drink, yes, but note well the elevated status our davening and learning can achieve as well.

This is a sobering reminder of the opportunity to beseech Hashem for mercy, make time for Torah study, as well as to eat and drink in moderation. We kick the bad habits of the year out the door on Yom Kippur. On Purim, we elevate the physical. Don’t miss out on this opportunity.

We also mark the acceptance of Torah she’baal peh. We no longer have nevuah; we have to analyze the text, break it down and turn to our rabbanim for answers. As Rabbi Shmuel Reichman states: We have

to spend our time “pouring over the pages of Gemara and exerting every ounce of our strength to absorb its meaning.”

In the zechus of the mitzvos of Purim, may we defeat our enemies both spiritually and physically.

Happy Purim, Chaim Yehuda Meyer

Dear Editor,

One person wrote into your letters section this week, saying that she is a widow who lost her husband. She is wondering where all her “friends” have gone since she lost her spouse.

There are so many people like her out there. Sometimes, in our busy lives, we forget people who we may have lost touch with or who may have lost a spouse or are homebound or don’t have families. It is incumbent upon us to keep them in mind. It doesn’t have to be a huge effort – a phone once a week, a Shabbos invitation once a month, a muffin dropped off occasionally. These are reminders to them that they are valued and are cared for.

Purim presents us with the most wonderful opportunity. Please give mishloach manos to your friends. But even more than that, please give mishloach manos to those who may have been forgotten. Drop off a package for them on Purim day. Remind them that they are not alone or on their own. This goes for young and old alike. For children in school, encourage them to give mishloach manos to the boy or girl in the class or on the bus who may not have as many friends and who may be sitting at home without anyone knocking on the door. Those are the people for whom mishloach manos means more than just chocolate and candy. It is a balm to their soul.

Wishing everyone a freilechen Purim!

L. Wagschal

Dear Editor,

That the laws of the Mishkan and Purim coincide is appropriate. The theme of the Mishkan is nidvat libo—a giving from the heart. Ultimately, Rachmana liba baya—G-d desires the heart. This is precisely what we gave on Purim through the act of kiyemu v’kiblu, re-accepting the Torah out of love. The Megillah concludes with the emotional words, “La-Yehudim hayesa orah v’simcha, v’sasson v’yikar The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.” Perhaps, because Purim is a holiday of the heart, it will never cease to exist.

Steven Genack

Shteig. Flourish.

Cartel Violence Pummels Mexico

Widespread cartel violence erupted in 20 Mexican states following the killing of notorious cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”

El Mencho, one of Mexico’s most wanted men, died on Sunday after being wounded in Tapalpa during a gunfight between his security personnel and Mexican soldiers attempting to capture him. He succumbed to his injuries while being transported to Mexico City. Three Mexican soldiers were injured in the operation, and at least six of El Mencho’s bodyguards were killed.

The violence that has spread across Mexico has been attributed to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations. Cartel members burned buildings and vehicles and blocked roads with burning barricades. Pharmacies and banks were also set ablaze.

normally.” She also praised the operation that led to El Mencho’s capture. According to the Ministry of Defense, the operation was carried out by the Mexican Army with support from the National Guard and Air Force and was aided by “complementary information” from the United States.

Previously, the U.S. State Department had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to El Mencho’s arrest.

New Dutch PM

This week, Rob Jetten became the youngest prime minister in Dutch history when his minority government was formally confirmed by King Willem-Alexander.

The 38-year-old boosted his progressive party to a surprising election victory just a few months ago, propelled by promises to break from nationalist Geert Wilders’ previous government.

Jetten’s coalition lacks a majority in the Netherlands’ lower and upper houses of parliament and will need opposition support for all its proposals. His party only holds 66 of the 150 lower-house seats.

The unrest was reminiscent of the street battles that erupted in 2019 after authorities captured drug lord Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. In that case, the violence was so severe that officials released him, though he was later rearrested and extradited to the United States in 2023.

The U.S. State Department has advised American citizens to shelter in place until further notice in Jalisco, Baja California, and Quintana Roo, as well as parts of Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.

Security officials said 25 people have been arrested so far — 11 for violence and 14 for looting.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to remain “calm and informed,” adding that “in most parts of the country, activities are proceeding

The coalition of Jetten’s party, D66, the conservative Christian Democrats and right-wing VVD marks a rare experiment in the euro zone’s fifth-largest economy. The Netherlands is traditionally governed by majority coalitions with detailed government pacts. But securing a majority has become increasingly difficult in the fractured Dutch political landscape, as voter preferences change in every cycle and centrist parties have steadily lost support.

Wilders has said he will oppose any initiative by Jetten’s government, while a range of smaller parties have all voiced concerns about the plans that have been presented so far.

The coalition has vowed to increase defense spending to the new NATO target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035, up from about 2% today, through a “freedom tax,” in the form of a surcharge in income taxes. It also aims to limit unemployment benefits, to hike people’s own contributions to healthcare, and to accelerate the increase

of the retirement age in step with rising life expectancy.

The coalition has also promised a strict approach to asylum migration, a topic that has split Dutch politics for years and has led to the downfall of the previous two governments.

Hong Kong 47 Appeals Rejected

On Monday, Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal dismissed appeals from 12 jailed pro-democracy activists, upholding their prison sentences.

In early 2021, the Chinese-run administrative region launched a crackdown on dissent, detaining numerous pro-democracy activists and politicians and charging them with conspiracy to commit subversion. In the case, dubbed

the “Hong Kong 47,” most of those arrested were sentenced in late 2024 to prison terms ranging from four to 10 years. Two others were acquitted.

The rejection of the activists’ appeals sparked international condemnation, including from the United States and the United Kingdom, which called for the prisoners’ immediate release. Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, expressed concern regarding Gordon Ng, an Australian citizen who was among those who lost the appeal. Wong said that Australia has “expressed our strong objections to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation.”

China and Hong Kong authorities maintain that the defendants were given a fair trial.

In their judgment, Judges Jeremy Poon, Derek Pang, and Anthea Pang accused the 12 democrats of participating in a conspiracy led by legal scholar Benny Tai to create a “constitutionally destructive weapon” intended to bring about the collapse of Hong Kong’s constitutional order.

The case centered on an informal “primary election” held by pro-democracy figures in mid-2020 to select their strongest candidates for the Legislative Council

race. Prosecutors argued that the group plotted to secure a legislative majority to paralyze the government by repeatedly blocking the city’s annual budget, ultimately pressuring Hong Kong’s leader to step down. Such a veto, the judges asserted, was “clearly an abuse of … power.”

The defendants included former lawmakers Helena Wong, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan, and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung; former district councilors Clarisse Yeung, Kalvin Ho, and Tat Cheng; and activists Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, Winnie Yu, Gordon Ng, and Prince Wong. All appealed their sentences except for Ho, who appealed her conviction.

The judges also rejected an appeal by the Department of Justice challenging the acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau, finding that he had not openly or explicitly called for blocking the budget in the same manner as the other defendants. Lau told reporters he was “happy” with the outcome.

Of the 45 democrats convicted, 18 have already completed their prison sentences.

U.S. Beats Canada in Olympic Hockey

It was a game destined to be played under the shadow of politics, but in the end, fans mostly put aside the growing animosity between the Trump administration and Canada’s government to cheer on top-tier ice hockey at the Winter Olympics.

As the men’s squads from Canada and the United States squared off for a gold medal at the Santa Giulia Arena in Milan on Sunday — with the United States winning in overtime, 2-1 — a tense atmosphere had mostly dissolved by the sportsmanly medal ceremony.

Canadian and American fans cheered players from both teams as they received their medals. There was no booing when the American national anthem played, unlike at the Four Nations tournament in Montreal a year ago.

Mike Sullivan, the U.S. team’s coach, said that President Donald Trump made a video call to the American players in the locker room after their victory to congrat-

ulate them. “He just spoke to the group expressing how proud he was,” said Sullivan, who is also coach of the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. Before the contest, the political undertones were unavoidable. Fans dressed in the red and white colors of Canada seemed to dominate the 14,000-seat arena, highlighting that the game meant even more than usual to the many Canadian fans who flew in for one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics.

Magda Palczynska, who was raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, took a large gulp of air as she considered the significance of Sunday’s encounter.

“Let’s be honest, it’s a grudge match,” Palczynska said, her husband vigorously nodding in agreement. “Canadians feel insulted by who they thought were their allies. It’s a matter of pride.”

Inside the arena, spectators from both sides waved their flags, decked out in team gear. One American wore a hockey jersey with 1980 emblazoned across the front, reminding everyone of the last time the U.S. men’s team had won Olympic gold, its upset of the Soviet Union at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.

That was perhaps the last time that ice hockey carried so much political significance. Canada last won the men’s gold in 2014. The U.S. women’s team won the gold medal against Canada on Thursday. (© The New York Times)

U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks

According to Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, the United States and Iran are expected to engage in nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday. The talks come amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran. Last week’s round of indirect talks was also facilitated by Oman in Geneva.

In an interview, Abbas Araghchi, a senior Iranian diplomat, told CBS he plans to speak with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday. Araghchi added that he believes there is a “good chance” the two countries will resolve the nuclear issue diplomatically. In the meantime, the United States has been awaiting a pro-

posed deal from Araghchi.

Araghchi said the talks would focus solely on Iran’s nuclear development, despite the United States and Israel seeking to include discussions of Tehran’s missile program and support for militant groups in the Middle East.

If diplomacy fails, President Donald Trump said last Friday, the United States is prepared to strike Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that previous talks

have led to “the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals.”

However, he added, Iran has “made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.”

Among Washington’s reported demands is that Iran not possess nuclear weapons, build them, or enrich uranium.

However, Araghchi said the United States has not demanded zero uranium enrichment.

He added that the goal of the talks is

thorities launched a deadly crackdown that killed more than 7,000 people, including 214 government officials, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Russia Probes Telegram Founder

Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into Pavel Durov, accusing the founder of Telegram of “abetting terrorist activities,” in a move that could pave the way for the platform’s ban inside Russia.

Two major newspapers — the staterun Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Kremlin-aligned tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda — published reports on Tuesday citing materials from Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB. The articles alleged that Telegram has become “a primary tool” for foreign intelligence agencies and the Ukrainian government to incite unrest and coordinate sabotage during what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said authorities have documented “a large number of violations” by the platform and described Telegram management as unwilling to cooperate with regulators.

Andrey Svintsov, a member of Russia’s parliamentary committee on information policy, warned that if Telegram does not begin cooperating with authorities “within the next month or so,” it could be designated an extremist organization — a label that would effectively outlaw the app under Russian law.

to ensure the Iranian nuclear program remains “peaceful forever,” with economic sanctions lifted in exchange for confidence-building measures.

The talks follow the 12-Day War in June, during which the United States and Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites. Since withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Trump has sought to negotiate a new agreement.

The negotiations come amid renewed protests in Iran. About six weeks ago, au-

The probe comes as Moscow intensifies pressure on foreign messaging services, steering users toward Max, a statebacked platform envisioned as Russia’s answer to China’s WeChat. Critics have described Max as a potential surveillance tool designed to centralize digital communications under tighter state control.

Durov founded Telegram in 2013, branding it as a privacy-focused alternative to state-influenced platforms. He left Russia in 2014 after claiming the Kremlin forced him to sell his stake in VK, the country’s largest social network. Now

30 a citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates, Durov has also faced legal scrutiny abroad. French authorities arrested him in 2024 over allegations Telegram failed to adequately moderate illegal content; he has denied the claims. The case remains pending.

Telegram is deeply embedded in Russian daily life and widely used by military personnel in Ukraine. Even some pro-Kremlin military bloggers have criticized the government’s recent throttling of the app, calling it “almost the only means of communication in active troops.”

Russia previously attempted to block Telegram in 2018 after it refused to hand over encryption keys. That ban proved largely ineffective and was lifted in 2020.

Yoon Gets Life in Prison

Fourteen months after then-President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked South Korea by declaring martial law, he was convicted of leading an insurrection.

Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, Yoon was ultimately sentenced to life in prison. He can appeal the

ruling but also faces several additional trials.

On the night of December 3, 2024, Yoon declared martial law, marking the first time in 44 years that South Korea had imposed such a decree. Six hours later, he rescinded the order, three hours after 190 lawmakers forced their way into the National Assembly and voted unanimously to lift martial law.

Eleven days later, lawmakers impeached him.

Under martial law, political activities and protests are banned, the media is censored, and the military is authorized to make arrests without warrants.

Months before declaring martial law, Yoon’s party suffered heavy losses in elections, which he claimed were rigged. The Democratic Party and other opposition groups, which controlled the National Assembly, subsequently impeached senior

cabinet members and stalled legislation. Yoon said he imposed martial law to restore order.

It took weeks for authorities to arrest Yoon after he resisted investigators’ summons. He denies any wrongdoing.

Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan

Over the weekend, Pakistan carried out multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan. The Taliban said that the strikes killed and wounded dozens of people.

According to Pakistan, the attacks targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. They had been launched after recent suicide bombings in Pakistan.

There is a 1,600-mile mountainous border between the two countries.

Afghanistan condemned the attacks, saying they targeted multiple civilian homes and a religious school in the civilian areas of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.

The fresh strikes come after the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in October following deadly cross-border clashes, though subsequent fighting has taken place.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied targeting civilian areas, adding that the country had carried out “intelligence based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts.”

In a statement on X, it said the targets included members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which the government refers to as “Fitna al Khawarij,” along with their affiliates and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province.

Pakistan has accused the Afghani Taliban of failing to take action against militants that targeted areas in Pakistan, including a recent attack on a Shia mosque in Islamabad this month, as well as other attacks that took place since Ramadan began last week in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

In response to the air strikes, the Taliban’s defense ministry posted on X that

the attacks were a “blatant violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity,” adding that they were a “clear breach of international law.”

“An appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time,” the Taliban warned, adding that “attacks on civilian targets and religious institutions indicate the failure of Pakistan’s army in intelligence and security.”

The strikes come days after Saudi Arabia mediated the release of three Pakistani soldiers earlier this week, who were captured in Kabul during border clashes last October. Those clashes ended with a ceasefire after the worst fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Panama Seizes Ports

Panama on Monday seized control of two major ports at the entrances to the Panama Canal, escalating a long-running legal and geopolitical dispute involving a Hong Kong-based operator and global powers.

The move came after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled in January that the concession granted to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, was unconstitutional. The decision voided both the original 1997 contract and a 2021 extension, stripping the company of its legal authority to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals at the Pacific and Atlantic gateways of the Panama Canal.

A decree issued on Monday authorized the Panama Maritime Authority to occupy the ports for “reasons of urgent social interest.” The order covered all movable property tied to the terminals, including cranes, vehicles, computer systems and software.

In a statement, PPC said it ceased operations after government officials arrived at the facilities and warned of criminal prosecution if the company did not comply.

“The takeover of the ports by the Panamanian State is a culmination point of the unlawful campaign that the State launched a year ago targeting PPC, its in-

EDUCATING WITH EXCELLENCE

I returned to Touro to teach for one simple but meaningful reason—to give back. I wanted to share everything the program gave me during my time as a student. While in PAschool, I formed strong relationships with many of my professors, connections that I’m grateful to still have today. Now, being able to work alongside them as colleagues is an incredible experience.

JEREMY BIENENFELD, MPAS, PA-C

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, TOURO’S SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Physician Assistant, Emergency Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center

vestors and its concession contract,” the company said. PPC added that it has not received compensation for its decades of investment.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of “running the Panama Canal,” drawing Panama further into the rivalry between the two powers.

CK Hutchison had planned to sell the ports to a consortium that included U.S. investment firm BlackRock, but Chinese authorities intervened to halt the deal.

Panama’s government has pledged to ensure uninterrupted port operations and protect jobs. It said APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, will temporarily manage the facilities while a new contract is awarded.

Meanwhile, CK Hutchison has initiated arbitration proceedings under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce and has threatened legal action against APM Terminals if it assumes the concession. The Danish firm has said it is not a party to the dispute.

Kim’s Sister Elevated

Kim Yo Jong, the influential younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been elevated to a top post within the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, state media reported on Tuesday, underscoring her expanding authority in the secretive regime.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong was promoted to department director within the party’s powerful Central Committee during a once-in-five-years party congress in Pyongyang. The summit, attended by thousands of party elites, sets national policy on issues ranging from diplomacy to military strategy.

While state media did not specify which department she will oversee, Kim has previously held a senior position in

the party’s propaganda apparatus and has become one of the most visible faces of the regime in recent years.

“Kim Yo Jong is one of the very few people Kim Jong Un can trust and rely on,” explained Ahn Chan-il, a North Korea-born researcher. “She also served as a working-level official for Kim’s summits with Trump in Singapore and Hanoi. She is experienced and seasoned.”

Kim Yo Jong first drew global attention in 2018 when she traveled to South Korea as her brother’s envoy to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming one of the first members of the Kim family to visit the South since the Korean War. Since then, she has played a prominent role in inter-Korean relations and nuclear diplomacy, often issuing sharp denunciations of Washington and Seoul. She once labeled the administration of former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol a “faithful dog” of the United States.

Her rhetoric has softened somewhat under current South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has sought improved ties with Pyongyang.

Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said the new appointment “amounts to promotion to ministerial rank,” reflecting her growing institutional power.

Born in 1988, Kim Yo Jong is the daughter of former leader Kim Jong Il and Ko Yong Hui. Educated in Switzerland alongside her brother, she rose swiftly after he assumed power in 2011.

The rare party congress — only the ninth under the Kim dynasty — is widely viewed as a stage for Kim Jong Un to reinforce control. Observers are also watching for signs that his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, may be elevated as a potential heir, as speculation swirls over the regime’s long-term succession plans.

Colombia Dealing with Drone Attacks

Colombian soldiers defending a stateowned oil pumping station near the border with Venezuela were under attack. Two powerful insurgent groups that have been fighting the Colombian state for

decades had been regularly stealing fuel from it.

The soldiers were used to snipers and ambushes, but now they had to contend with a new weapon their adversaries have by the thousands: swarms of small drones, the kind hobbyists can buy on Amazon, fitted with clawlike hooks carrying grenades.

Over 15 days, the soldiers shot down 50 of them, according to four government security officials familiar with the operation. On the 16th day, a much larger drone, commonly used for spraying pesticides, appeared carrying four grenades. The battalion did not detect it in time. The grenades exploded, killing one soldier, the officials said.

The four government security officials working in active combat zones across Colombia shared similar stories with The New York Times, reflecting what they said was a worrying trend: Cheap access to easily modifiable drones is upending the country’s decades-long war against insurgent groups and putting the government on its heels. Each spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues.

The rapid proliferation of increasingly sophisticated armed drones among insurgent groups has become a formidable challenge for the government.

“The narco-traffickers have the aerial advantage,” President Gustavo Petro of Colombia said in a speech to soldiers late last year, shortly after drones had killed 58 soldiers and police officers and wounded 300 more in the course of a few months.

Drones used by armed criminal groups can be bought on websites like Temu, said one official based in Catatumbo.

Pedro Sánchez, Colombia’s defense minister, acknowledged that criminals had begun using drones “indiscriminately,” causing more than 100 police and military casualties in 2025.

Sánchez said that the military managed to thwart the vast majority of drone attacks last year but that it had suffered the “equivalent to 333 successful attacks, causing enormous damage not only to the security forces but also to the civilian population.” (© The New York Times)

China Bars Certain Exports to Japan

China has barred exports of dual-use goods to 20 Japanese entities it says are tied to Japan’s military, escalating tensions with Tokyo amid a broader security dispute between the two Asian powers.

ONE STOP SHOP

In a statement on Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry said the measures target units of major industrial groups, including divisions of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries involved in shipbuilding and aero engines. The restrictions effectively cut the companies off from seven rare earth elements and related materials on China’s dual-use control list, as well as other critical minerals subject to export controls.

Among the materials affected are

dysprosium, yttrium and samarium— rare earth elements that play small but vital roles in cars, aircraft, weapons systems and consumer electronics. China maintains an export control list covering roughly 1,100 dual-use items and technologies, requiring exporters to obtain licenses regardless of destination.

The move comes after a recent landslide election victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has drawn Beijing’s ire for comments about Taiwan and for

ferring Chinese-origin dual-use items to the listed entities. Companies may apply for export licenses under “special circumstances,” the ministry said.

“The measures announced today are completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable,” Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato told reporters, adding that Tokyo has demanded the restrictions be withdrawn.

Ryo Sahashi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, said the decision could be viewed as “a check against the Japan-U.S. relationship and at Japan’s additional defense efforts.”

In a separate step, China added another 20 Japanese firms—including Subaru Corporation, Itochu Aviation and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation—to a watch list, citing concerns about verifying end users. Exporters to those companies will face stricter scrutiny and must provide written assurances that goods will not enhance Japan’s military capabilities.

pledging to strengthen Japan’s defense posture. Takaichi has vowed to revise Japan’s three core security documents, expand overseas military sales, and continue a military buildup launched in 2023 that aims to double defense spending to 2% of GDP by March.

China’s Commerce Ministry said the restrictions are intended to curb Japan’s “remilitarization” and nuclear ambitions. It added that overseas organizations and individuals are also barred from trans-

A Tragic Accident

Ori Mechtaiev, an 18-year-old Border Police trainee, was killed on Sunday when he was shot by a soldier at a home in central Israel, in what authorities are investigating as an accident.

The officer-in-training and several other friends had been playing with their weapons at a home in Azor, south of Tel Aviv, when one of the guns went off, according to Hebrew media reports.

The IDF Military Police detained two people involved in the incident, including

Israel accounted for 12.2% of geopolitically motivated cyberattacks. The United States ranked second at 9.4%, followed by Ukraine at 8.9%.

Last year, Israel experienced 1,881 unique attack claims — more than 300 above the previous year’s total.

The statistics highlight “the role of hacktivism as a proxy weapon in international conflicts, used to disrupt the digital infrastructure of perceived state adversaries,” Radware said.

Hackers were largely motivated by Israel’s war against Hamas and the country’s 12-day war with Iran in June 2025.

Nearly 39% of all claimed attacks targeted government services.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks were increasingly aided by generative artificial intelligence tools.

“The threat landscape is evolving rapidly,” said Ron Meyran, Radware’s vice president of threat intelligence. “Attackers are now combining automation, artificial intelligence, and multi-vector strategies to disrupt operations at scale.”

The hacker groups that targeted Israel most frequently last year included Arabian Ghosts, a pro-Iranian group; Black Ember; Mr. Hamza, a pro-Palestinian group; and NoName057(16), a pro-Russian group.

“The data confirms that hacktivists prioritize countries with ongoing geopolitical conflicts, using DDoS attacks as a tool for political protest and nationalist signaling,” Radware said. “Ideologically driven threat actors are running ongoing DDoS campaigns against government websites, critical infrastructure, and commercial companies, sometimes publicly claiming responsibility in real time through dedicated Telegram channels.”

a soldier. The suspected shooter serves in the Givati Brigade, Haaretz reported.

Mechtaiev, a resident of Azor, enlisted in the Border Police in November. Ori is the son of Ronen Mechtaiev, deputy chief of the Fire and Rescue Service.

“The Mechtaiev family has been connected for years to the Fire and Rescue Service. His grandfather was appointed as the commander of the Bat Yam [fire] station. And the two brothers of the deputy chief are appointed to senior positions

in the service,” a statement from Fire and Rescue Service read.

The agency “shares in the deep mourning of the dear family, embraces them, and will continue to stand by them always,” it continued.

In a similar incident in October, a Border Police officer was indicted on the charge of reckless homicide after fatally shooting a friend on the doorstep of his home in Kiryat Arba.

Highest Number of Cyberattacks

In 2025, Israel faced the highest number of geopolitically motivated cyberattacks in the world, with nearly one in eight such attacks targeting the Jewish state, according to a report released Thursday by Radware, an Israeli cybersecurity firm.

Breakthrough in Schizophrenia Research

In a major breakthrough, Israeli researchers say they have developed an innovative deep-brain stimulation technique aimed at treating patients with schizophrenia by restoring functions that

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“The study proposes a new therapeutic direction, which may in the future expand treatment options for patients with schizophrenia who do not respond sufficiently to existing therapies,” said Dr. Nir Asch, 44, a physician and researcher in the psychiatric department at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, who led the peer-reviewed study.

The research, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, utilized computational modeling, data analysis, and machine learning. It was guided by Prof. Hagai Bergman, a Hebrew University neuroscientist, deepbrain stimulation (DBS) pioneer, and 2024 Israel Prize laureate.

“A problem we have with many psychiatric diseases is that we define them by the symptoms,” Asch said. “In our paper, we provide a clear theory about what is happening on a mechanistic level in the brain — and also a potential way to address it.”

Approximately 70,000 people in Israel live with schizophrenia — roughly one in 143 residents — according to the Israeli mental health organization Ozma.

“The World Health Organization estimates that 21 million people worldwide have schizophrenia,” Asch said. “About one-third are what we call treatment-resistant. This is a significant burden.”

Schizophrenia symptoms include hallucinations and delusions, disorganized

thinking and speech, unusual behavior, social withdrawal, and impaired memory and attention.

According to Asch, patients experience “cognitive inflexibility,” meaning they struggle to update their internal models of reality even when circumstances change.

“Basically, the brain is a prediction machine,” Asch explained. “It builds a model of the world and constantly updates it based on sensory input. Patients with schizophrenia can become stuck in their own model.”

The study focused on applying DBS to two female African green monkeys. Researchers first induced a schizophrenia-like psychotic state using phencyclidine, a drug known to produce similar symptoms. They then targeted the globus pallidus externus (GPe), a region of the brain involved in decision-making processes. After applying low-frequency electrical stimulation (13 Hz) to the GPe, the monkeys’ cognitive inflexibility was immediately reversed.

Researchers believe the therapy could eventually help humans experiencing cognitive inflexibility associated with schizophrenia.

Hamas Tightening Grip on Gaza

nior government positions, resuming ministry and municipal operations, collecting taxes, and paying salaries, according to an assessment by the Israeli military and local sources. The move raises questions about the viability of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which hinges on Hamas’s disarmament.

“Hamas is advancing steps on the ground meant to preserve its influence and grip in the Gaza Strip ‘from the bottom up’ by integrating its supporters into government offices, security apparatuses, and local authorities,” the Israeli military informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late last month.

According to Palestinian sources, Hamas has appointed five district governors linked to its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and hired new senior officials in Gaza’s economy and interior ministries.

Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official leading the new U.S.backed Palestinian technocratic committee governing Gaza, “may have the key to the car, and he may even be allowed to drive, but it is a Hamas car,” a source told Reuters.

“Looking ahead, without Hamas disarmament and under the auspices of the technocratic committee, Hamas will succeed, in our view, in preserving influence and control in the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces assessed.

Hamas rejected the claims, asserting that the appointments are temporary and intended to “prevent any administrative vacuum” while maintaining essential services until a new government is formed.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a 15-member body positioned to govern the territory, has called on mediators to address the issue, stating it cannot function properly “without the full administrative, civilian, and police powers necessary to implement its mandate effectively.”

Documents suggest that Hamas is laying the groundwork for a parallel administration and seeking to position military commanders in civilian posts once the Palestinian Authority-aligned technocratic leadership begins operating.

U.S. President Trump convened his Board of Peace in Washington last Thursday, securing $7 billion in international commitments to rebuild Gaza. Five participating countries have pledged troops to an International Stabilization Force expected to serve as Gaza’s peacekeeping body.

Although Hamas says it plans to transfer its records to the new committee, sources say the group has retained copies. Documents reportedly issued by

Hamas leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad outline plans to transition commanders from the al-Qassam Brigades into civilian roles within the NCAG structure to coordinate with the incoming technocratic administration.

Knesset Axes Tax Exemption

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich initiated an order that went into effect on December 24 that allowed Israelis to buy up to $150 of personal goods from overseas – including sites like Amazon and Temu – without incurring an additional 18% value-added tax. That amount was double the previous limit of $75. This week, the Knesset, by a vote of 59 to 25, axed the measure.

Now, the limit is back to $75.

Since the order went into effect a few months ago, it was hailed by the general public but had drawn sharp condemnation from local business owners who argued it would hobble their sales. They succeeded in garnering support from other members of the coalition, in particular from within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party.

“This activity is a death sentence for the business sector,” said Likud MK Eli Dalal, who opposed the measure, according to a Knesset readout. He said Israel’s high cost of living derives from housing, rent and food prices, which he says “unfortunately weren’t addressed over the last three years.”

After the vote, Smotrich lashed out at the members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition who tanked his measure, branding them as part of the “left” and accusing them of linking up with the opposition and working against the government. He vowed to issue another order in place of the one that was revoked.

“What happened tonight in the Knesset plenum was the joining of two forces: the communist faction, the economic left in Likud,” and coalition MKs who “just want to hurt Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Smotrich said.

“Israeli citizens will pay more,” he

continued. “I’m not planning to give up. G-d willing, in the coming days, I will sign a new order, because I am determined, against the entire left, to prove that it can be inexpensive here.”

It is highly unusual for the Knesset to overrule ministerial orders. The vote was a notable defeat for Smotrich and reflected divisions in the coalition during an election year.

Following the vote, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid mocked the coalition for failing to maintain an order issued by one of its leading members.

“Netanyahu does not have a coalition and his government is crumbling,” Lapid wrote on social media. “He doesn’t even control his own party. He and Smotrich were once again degraded in the plenum. We will continue to fight in the Knesset against the worst government in the country’s history.”

The uproar surrounding the VAT order came alongside another controversial effort by Smotrich to lower the cost of living by eliminating tariffs on dairy products in order to import more of them. The dairy industry has reacted with fury to that effort, holding protests and staging a brief strike that led supermarkets to be devoid of milk for part of a day.

Man Killed Breaching Mar-a-Lago

Authorities have identified the man shot and killed early Sunday morning after breaching the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of Cameron, North Carolina.

The incident unfolded around 1:30 a.m. on February 22, when Mar-a-Lago security detected an unauthorized entry near the property’s north gate. According to law enforcement officials, Martin was seen carrying a shotgun and a fuel can as he attempted to make his way onto the resort grounds.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said officers and Secret Service agents confronted Martin after he entered the restricted area. Authorities ordered him to drop the items he was carrying. Martin complied by placing the fuel canister on the ground, but when he raised the shotgun into a shooting position, agents and a sheriff’s deputy opened fire, fatally striking him at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.

President Trump was in the White House in Washington, D.C., during the incident.

Martin had been reported missing by his family shortly before the breach. A missing persons alert was issued by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office as federal investigators began looking into the case.

Though law enforcement has not publicly confirmed a motive, investigators are examining his movements and personal history to better understand what led him to breach the President’s retreat. Some reports suggest Martin may have acquired the shotgun during his travel south from North Carolina.

Martin worked locally on golf course grounds and had interests that included sketching landscapes and donating at times to charity, according to relatives.

President Trump has faced multiple threats to his life, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign. Thomas Crooks, 20, shot Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024 when he clipped Trump’s ear before a Secret Service counter sniper fatally shot him. Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after taking up a position with a rifle near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, as Trump was playing in September 2024.

Storm Blankets Northeast

A powerful nor’easter that buried much of the Northeast under massive snowfall is being described by meteorologists as one of the strongest blizzards in at least a decade — and among the most intense ever recorded. In some areas, snowfall approached

or exceeded three feet as the storm rapidly intensified into what experts classify as a “bomb cyclone.” Rare features such as thundersnow and lightning were reported, underscoring the storm’s extraordinary strength. While the blizzard disrupted daily life for millions and created dangerous conditions along the Eastern Seaboard, meteorologists expressed awe at its near-perfect alignment of atmospheric forces.

The storm struck what experts call a meteorological “Goldilocks zone,” said Owen Shieh, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Temperatures were just cold enough for precipitation to fall as heavy, wet snow, yet warm enough to retain moisture in the atmosphere — a balance that maximized snowfall totals.

The system also followed an ideal path along the coast. Had it moved farther inland, it would have lost energy from the warm Atlantic waters. Had it stayed farther offshore, much of the snow would have fallen harmlessly over the ocean, noted Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.

Providence, Rhode Island, set an alltime snowfall record with 33.5 inches by midday Monday, surpassing the mark set in 1978, according to the National Weather Service. Warwick, Rhode Island, reported the highest total at 36.2 inches. At least 19 weather stations across five states measured two feet of snow or more, with Central Park recording over 19 inches.

Wind gusts reached 83 mph in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with hurricane-force winds observed on Cape Cod. The wet, dense snow increased the risk of heart attacks during shoveling, prompting officials to urge frequent breaks.

Veteran forecasters compared the blizzard to historic storms in 1961 and 2016. “It was just an amazing system,” said Louis Uccellini, meteorologist and former director of the U.S. National Weather Service.

Avalanche in Lake Tahoe

An avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains killed nine people last Tuesday. Of the 15 people caught in the “football-field-sized” avalanche, six were rescued. Three guides were among those killed.

The avalanche, which occurred near California’s Lake Tahoe, was the deadliest in the state’s history.

Authorities said that Andrew Alissan-

dratos, 34, from Verdi, Nevada; Michael Henry, 30, from Tampa Bay, Florida; Nicole Choo, 42, from South Lake Tahoe; Carrie Atkin, 42, from South Lake Tahoe; Liz Clabaugh, 52, from Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, from Marin County; Kate Morse, 45, from Marin County; Caroline Sekar, 45, from San Francisco; and Kate Vitt, 43, from Marin County, were all killed in the tragedy. Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters.

Alissandratos, Henry and Choo were guides at Blackbird Mountain Guides who had led the ski trip to the Frog Lake huts near Castle Peak.

Six others, an employee with Blackbird Mountain Guides and five clients, survived the avalanche.

“We are an incredibly close and connected community,” said Stephen McMahon, executive director of Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school in Placer County, California. “This tragedy has affected each and every one of us. The depth of support for the families whose lives have been changed forever reminds us of how special this community is.”

The 15 people were returning from a ski trip when the avalanche struck. They had embarked on a three-day excursion over the weekend. They had been wrapping up their mountain adventure when the avalanche swept through, burying nine of them.

Trump Sues JPMorgan

After President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase Bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, alleging that the bank debanked him and his organization for political reasons, JPMorgan acknowledged that it had closed Trump’s accounts following the January 6, 2021, events.

In February 2021, the bank notified Trump and The Trump Organization that their accounts would be closed.

“JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (‘we’) has decided to close its banking relationship with The Trump Corporation and its affiliated entities,” read one letter dated February 19, 2021.

“We may determine that a client’s interests are no longer served by maintaining a relationship,” a separate letter to Trump stated the same day. “With that in

mind, this letter is to respectfully inform you that we will need to end our current relationship.”

According to Dan Wilkening, chief administrative officer for global banking at JPMorgan, the bank assisted Trump and his company in transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to other institutions, giving him until April 19, 2021, to complete the transfers. However, Trump’s lawyers claimed that Bank of America prevented him from finalizing the trans-

a growing trend by financial institutions in the United States to cut off a consumer’s access to banking services if their political views contradict those of the financial institution.”

Banks are not required to provide a reason for closing a client’s accounts. However, Trump’s lawyers alleged that his accounts were blacklisted and “unlawfully closed due to political discrimination,” noting that Trump and his companies had transacted “hundreds of millions of dollars” through the bank.

About a year ago, Dimon, while testifying on Capitol Hill, rejected claims that JPMorgan engages in political debanking.

Weight Loss Meds Prices to Decrease

The blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs that ignited America’s GLP-1 boom are set to see significant price reductions.

Novo Nordisk announced it will lower the list prices of its top-selling medications — Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus — to $675 for a one-month supply beginning January 1, 2027. Currently, the drugs carry list prices exceeding $1,000 per month, with Wegovy topping out at $1,349.

The company said the cuts are designed primarily to help insured patients whose out-of-pocket costs are tied to a drug’s list price. Those paying coinsurance — a percentage of the medication’s total cost — or enrolled in high-deductible health plans could see meaningful savings. Cash-paying customers, however, are unlikely to notice a difference.

fer. Trump has since sued JPMorgan for $5 billion.

“JPMC’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations, and JPMC’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views,” Trump’s lawyers said. “In addition to the considerable financial and reputational harm that Plaintiffs and their affiliated entities suffered, JPMC’s reckless decision is leading

“We think this addresses and responds to repeated calls for lower list prices on Capitol Hill and elsewhere, as well as the call for lower list prices from our patients who want access to these innovative medicines,” said Jamey Millar, Novo Nordisk’s president.

The move comes as Novo faces mounting competition from Eli Lilly, whose obesity drug Zepbound has rapidly gained market share. In late-stage trial results released February 23, Novo’s next-generation obesity treatment, CagriSema, showed a 23% average weight

Boston Globe Doesn’t Print

For the first time in its 153-year history, The Boston Globe wasn’t able to print its daily newspaper due to the record-setting snowstorm that blanketed Massachusetts.

reduction over 84 weeks. That fell short of the 25.5% reduction seen with Lilly’s tirzepatide in a comparable study. Novo shares dropped 16% following the announcement.

Despite the setback, company executives said they remain confident that CagriSema could become a leading option if approved by the FDA, potentially by the end of 2026.

Cost remains a major barrier for many patients. A recent survey commis-

sioned by Navitus Health Solutions found roughly 70% of GLP-1 users said price influenced their decision to start or continue treatment, with one in four paying more than $250 per prescription.

“Difficult tradeoffs exist for patients and plan sponsors alike,” said Sharon Faust, Navitus’ chief pharmacy officer.

Novo said announcing the changes well in advance will allow insurers and employers time to adjust coverage. The goal, Millar said, is to “improve the insurance-based

traditional side of the market in terms of quality, access and affordability.”

As of late 2025, approximately 1 in 8 American adults (roughly 12–13%) reported taking a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss or to manage chronic conditions.

Snow and winds prevented staff from safely getting to the Globe printing plant to print Tuesday’s paper, the newspaper said in an article on its website. Parts of Massachusetts’ Bristol County, where the Globe’s printing press in Taunton is located, recorded 32 inches of snow by Monday night, the National Weather Service said.

Readers are much less reliant on newsprint for their news in today’s internet age. A 2025 survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 7% of U.S. adults often got their news from printed newspapers or magazines. That’s compared to 56% who said they often got their news from a smartphone, computer or tablet.

Tuesday marks the first time Globe management has called off the newspaper’s daily production since its 1872 founding.

The Globe said it went to press during another record-setting blizzard nearly five decades ago, when it printed a few thousands copies of a February 7, 1978, edition. Despite being printed, only a few people picked up the paper because piles of snow prevented delivery trucks from getting farther than a mile or two from its building.

The Globe said print subscribers will get Tuesday’s paper delivered on Wednesday.

Trump’s Tariffs

After the Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the president remained defiant, imposing trade duties through other legal mechanisms. On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down the trade measures Trump had implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). It

remains unclear whether other countries will withdraw from previously negotiated agreements, though Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on nations that back out of deals.

On Saturday, following the ruling, Trump invoked an emergency provision to impose a global 15% tariff. He had initially announced a 10% rate but raised it to 15% less than a day later. The provision, which has never previously been used in this manner, allows the president to impose across-the-board tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days, after which congressional approval is required to extend them. The tariffs were set to take effect February 24.

“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump wrote on social media. “During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again — GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”

“Some of them stand, many of them stand, some of them won’t, and they’ll be replaced with other tariffs,” Trump said of the measures.

The administration is also expected to rely on other legal authorities, including Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to impose tariffs on specific countries.

Although the new tariffs apply broadly, certain exemptions remain. Beef and other agricultural products are excluded. Separate national security tariffs continue to apply to goods such as foreign automobiles and steel.

The generous present came from an anonymous donor. But it also came with a specific request: that the money be used to fix the Japanese city’s dilapidated water pipes.

The gold bars weighing 21 kilograms (46 pounds) in total were given to the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November by a donor who wants to help improve aging water pipes, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters last week.

“It’s a staggering amount, and I was speechless,” Yokoyama said. “Tackling aging water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank enough for the donation.”

Concern over the safety of Osaka’s waterworks systems grew after a massive sinkhole swallowed a truck and killed the driver last year. It was linked to a damaged sewer in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Osaka had 92 cases of water pipe leaks under city roads in the fiscal year ending March 2025, the city’s waterworks official Eiji Kotani said.

Osaka is the country’s third-largest city, with a population of 2.8 million. It needs to renew a total of 160 miles of water pipes. Renewing a 1.2 mile segment of water pipes would cost about 500 million yen ($3.2 million), according to Kotani.

Sounds like a pipe dream.

Dog Days

The most accomplished athletes in the world pushed to the finish in the women’s team sprint heats last Wednesday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. But one participant hadn’t been training for the event.

morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving — and I think he just wanted to follow us. He always looks for people.”

But the owners weren’t near Nazgul when he made his surprise world-famous debut.

“We were on the train to Anterselva to watch the biathlon,” Alice Varesco recalled. ”We were three hours from home when friends started sending us videos. That was the panic moment. We realized we could not do anything.”

Some runners and spectators thought Nazgul was a wolf.

“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?’” Croatian skier Tena Hadzic said. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”

Alice said they were worried about their pet, who had escaped the house on his own. He had repeatedly hit the lever on the door, which allowed him to sneak out after the family had left.

“Concern, for sure,” Alice said of her first reaction when she saw her pet on the slopes. “It was with us the whole day actually. Even after they told us he was safe, we kept thinking about what could have gone wrong.”

Despite the four-legged competitor on the track, racers stayed focused. Officials restrained Nazgul after he crossed the finish line.

You know what they say: every dog has its day.

All Pies Lead to Rome

When in Rome, do what the Romans do. But when in Hungary…do what ancient Romans did?

That’s what Netherland Pizzeria in Budapest is doing. Founder Josep Zara and his team have created a limited-edition pie using only ingredients that would have been available in ancient Rome, long before what we know today as pizza ever existed.

ate pizza at the time.”

It turns out that the ancient Romans did not eat pizza. Tomatoes arrived in Europe centuries later from the Americas, and mozzarella cheese was as yet unknown. Some histories have it that the discovery of mozzarella led directly to the invention of pizza in Naples in the 1700s. So perhaps their dream was a pie in the sky?

Years ago, Romans ate oven-baked flatbreads topped with herbs, cheeses and sauces, the direct ancestors of modern pizza, which were often sold in ancient Roman snack bars called thermopolia.

In 2023, archaeologists uncovered a fresco in Pompeii depicting a focaccialike flatbread topped with what appear to be pomegranate seeds, dates, spices and a pesto-like spread. The image made headlines around the world, and piqued Zara’s pizza obsession.

“That made me very curious about what kind of flavor this food might have had,” he said. “That’s where we got the idea to create a pizza that people might have eaten in the Roman Empire, using only ingredients that were in wide use at the time.”

Zara began researching Roman culinary history.

“We sat down to imagine what we might be able to make using these ingredients, and without using things like tomatoes and mozzarella,” Zara said. “We had to exclude all ingredients that originated from America.”

Head chef Gergely Bárdossy said the constraints forced the team into months of experimentation and a few false starts.

“We had to discard a couple ideas,” Bárdossy said. “The fact that there wasn’t infrastructure like a water system at the time of the Romans made things difficult for us, since more than 80% of pizza dough is water. We had to come up with something that would have worked before running water.”

Their solution included using fermented spinach juice to help the dough rise. Ancient grains such as einkorn and spelt, widely cultivated in Roman times, formed the base. The dough ended up slightly more dense than that of most modern pizzas.

Gold Gift

million).

Nazgul, a Czechoslovakian wolfdog, had darted onto the course and began to cross the finish line with the runners.

According to the Varesco family, which owns Nazgul, “He was crying this

“Curiosity drove us to ask what pizza might have been like long ago,” Zara said. “We went all the way back to the Roman Empire and wondered whether they even

The finished pie is topped with ingredients associated with Roman aristocratic cuisine, including epityrum, an olive paste, garum, a fermented fish sauce ubiquitous in Roman cooking, confit duck leg, toasted pine nuts, ricotta and a grape reduction.

Bárdossy noted, “While most people want more conventional pizza, it’s not for everyday eating. It’s something special.”

Sounds like a nice slice.

Around the Community

Shulamith Welcomes Adar with Simcha, Inspiration, and Fun

Shulamith began the month of Adar with the ruach of “Mi’shenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha,” increasing our joy as Adar enters. From meaningful tefillah to powerful inspiration and creative fun, the entire school welcomed the new month with energy and excitement.

The Middle School girls started celebrating Rosh Chodesh Adar with a bagel and muffin breakfast together. Student Council members enhanced the morning by teaching fascinating facts about the month of Adar and the story of Purim. Later that day, girls in grades 6-8 were deeply inspired by guest speaker Rabbi Lavi Greenspan. Rabbi Greenspan shared

his powerful personal story of losing his vision completely at the age of 26. Despite this life-altering challenge, he spoke about how he continues to see yad Hashem clearly in his daily life. His message resonated strongly with the students, especially during the month of Adar, a time when we recognize Hashem’s hidden miracles. Rabbi Greenspan’s words left a lasting and meaningful impact on every student in attendance.

Meanwhile, Grades 1-5 celebrated Rosh Chodesh with excitement and wonder. The girls focused on the theme of hester panim, recognizing that things are not always as they appear, and were amazed

by the incredible illusions of magician Chaim Gitelis. Through his captivating performance, students experienced firsthand how what we see on the surface is not always the full picture, a perfect connection to the hidden nature of the Purim story.

Grades 3-5 brought even deeper meaning to the day with a special activity titled “What We See Behind the Mask.” Each student decorated a mask and had the opportunity to write positive adjectives about her classmates. When the girls received their masks at the end of the activity, they were elated to read the uplifting words their peers had written about

them. The room was filled with smiles, and heartfelt joy.

Throughout the day, Shulamith embraced the theme of v’nahafoch hu — turning things upside down! Students dressed like teachers, and teachers dressed like students. It quickly became hard to tell who was who, and laughter filled the halls as everyone enjoyed the playful role reversal.

Shulamith truly kicked off Adar with a beautiful blend of simcha, inspiration, achdut, and fun setting the stage for a month filled with hidden miracles and revealed joy.

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Chinuch Panel Offers Guidance and Insight

On Tuesday, February 17, hundreds of mothers from across the community gathered in Aish Kodesh for a well-attended chinuch panel focused on the education and development of today’s girls. The evening brought together leading educators representing several local schools to address the opportunities and challenges facing families in the current generation.

Participating panelists included Mrs. Kaminetsky (SKA), Mrs. Ackerman (TAG), Mrs. Gornish (BBY), Mrs. Munk (Shulamith), and Mrs. Rudomin (BYAM). Each shared thoughtful perspectives drawn from years of experience in the classroom and in school leadership, offering practical guidance and broader insight into fostering growth, resilience, and strong values in students.

The program was skillfully moderated by Mrs. Suri Weingot, who guided a substantive and engaging discussion. The diversity of viewpoints presented by these respected leaders in education provided attendees with both clarity and encouragement, and the program was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback.

The event was organized by Sparks of Inspiration under the auspices of Aish Kodesh and led by Mrs. Nataly Magendzo, Mrs. Allyson Perkal, and Mrs. Sarah Weis.

Special recognition is extended to Mrs. Nina Myers, Mrs. Jenny Wise, Mrs. Lani Zoldan, and Mrs. Daniella Weider for their dedicated efforts in coordinating and executing a meaningful and impactful evening for the community.

Life Lessons at MTA

Mr. Ed Hajim has had one of the most eclectic, successful and tragic lives of a successful financial executive. His story begins with him being kidnapped by his father, left in an orphanage, only to end up at Harvard, where he received his MBA. Ed began his career in engineering and endowed the University of Rochester with the Ed Hajim School of Engineering. He went on to hold managing director positions at companies like Lehman Brothers over a successful career spanning four decades on Wall St.

He spoke with the talmidim in MTA’s Ms. Felsman’s Business & Entrepreneurship class about the principles of business and shared a “road map” he has designed for success. His roadmap is being used at universities across the US as a core curriculum on Life Design. The course em-

phasizes the importance of real-world learning for workforce development. Ms. Felsman is in discussions with Mr. Hajim’s team to potentially adopt the course and implement it in her class for the upcoming school year. Mr Hajim is the author of On the Road Less Traveled and The Island of the Four P’s.

Mesivta Hockey League Crowns JV Champions

In a heated contest last Thursday evening, the top seeded MAY Eagles battled against the #2 seeded YDT Devils in the Junior Varsity Championship Game of the Mesivta Hockey League. An anticipated showdown, the Devils held the game throughout, going up 2-0 in the first quarter, with precision

shooting, relentless defense and lockdown goaltending. When the dust settled, the Devils had the shutout win, 3-0. The Mesivta Hockey League congratulates Coach Charles Levine and the YDT Devils on winning the 2025-2026 MHL Junior Varsity Championship.

47th Annual HAFTR Dinner

This past Sunday, the HAFTR family gathered for our 47th Annual HAFTR Dinner: an evening defined by warmth, pride, and a feeling of “Makom Shelanu.” It was a celebration, yes, but also served as a meaningful reminder of who we are and what we strive to build together as one HAFTR family.

From the moment guests walked in, there was a sense of unity. Parents, alumni, faculty, and friends came together to celebrate the strength of our community, the values that guide our students, and the shared vision that continues to shape HAFTR’s future.

The evening opened in a way that reflected both our gratitude and our grounding. Our Mashgiach Ruchani, N–8, Rabbi Klein, led the community in a heartfelt rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and Hatikvah, uniting us in appreciation for the blessings of this country and our enduring connection to Eretz Yisrael. HAFTR High School Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Ira Wallach then guided us in Tehillim and a special tefillah for our chayalim, reminding us that even in moments of celebration, our hearts remain with Am Yisrael. He then followed with an inspiring dvar Torah centered on the concept of “makom,” the importance of

having a place that anchors us, shapes us, and calls us to responsibility. His words beautifully framed the evening, reminding us that HAFTR is a place of belonging, growth, and shared purpose.

Board President Mr. Stephen Wallach then offered opening remarks, highlighting the purpose of the evening and the collective responsibility we carry to ensure HAFTR’s continued strength. set the tone for a night rooted in gratitude, pride, and commitment to our future.

We were proud to honor Mr. and Mrs. Dani and Lori Lasky as Guests of Honor, a couple whose lives reflect the very essence of chesed, responsibility, and communal leadership. Dani’s steady guidance, quiet reliability, and unwavering commitment to helping whenever and wherever needed have strengthened HAFTR in countless ways. Lori, a proud alumna and devoted parent, embodies the beautiful continuity of our yeshiva, ensuring that the same nurturing, values-driven education that shaped her continues to shape the next generation. Together, they represent what it means to show up for a community with generosity, humility, and heart.

Mrs. Nechama Landau was recognized as Educator of the Year, a tribute to

more than two decades of inspiring Torah learning, thoughtful leadership, and genuine care for her students. As Middle School Jewish Studies Coordinator and Chesed Coordinator, Nechama ensures quality Limudei Kodesh and cultivates empathy, responsibility, and deep connection within the HAFTR community. Whether teaching Chumash, guiding Tefillah, or mentoring colleagues, she models what it means to educate the whole child. Her impact in chinuch and chesed is lasting, her dedication to her work unwavering, and her influence is felt in every corner of our school and beyond.

Mrs. Joan Parmet was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing 37 extraordinary years of guiding thousands of HAFTR students through the college admissions process and beyond. As Director of College and Academic Guidance, Joan has been a steady hand and trusted voice for generations of families. Her wisdom, compassion, and deep belief in every student’s potential have shaped countless futures. Perhaps most meaningful is the fact that she has guided multiple generations of HAFTR families, a testament to the enduring relationships and sense of family that define our school.

Throughout the evening, we were re-

minded that HAFTR is more than a building or an institution. It is a community that shows up for our students, for one another, and for the future we are entrusted to build. The warmth in the room, the shared pride, and the collective commitment to our mission reflected the very best of who we are.

Makom Shelanu, Our Place. The 47th Annual HAFTR Dinner was a celebration of that place and of the people who ensure that its future remains bright. Thank you to everyone who made this evening a success.

Spring Semester at YUHSG Includes Old and New Traditions

Headlining good news: the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) has officially accepted the class of 2030! The newest crop of YUHSG students were notified last week with warmth and cheer. They were also invited to an incredible event, helping them to “Learn S’more About Central”! The evening was filled with laughter, games, and of course, delicious s’mores-making stations at each table. Welcome home, Wildcats!

While we love old traditions, there’s nothing like a new tradition to keep things exciting. Last week also saw the very first annual YUHSG Mishmover on Thursday, February 12. The theme of the schoolwide sleepover, “I may be sleeping, but my heart is awake,” spoke to the year’s overall theme, “with all your heart and soul.” Sessions like “What Keeps Your Lev Alive?” and “Ask Your Morah” encouraged creative introspection and bonding. Highlights included gradewide trips to Dave and Buster’s and Activate, followed by dinner at the Holliswood campus, a game show, glow-in-the-dark dodgeball, a round of “Central’s Got Talent,” an ice cream and waffle party, a hot cocoa bar, and a full-school kumzitz. Wildcats relished the chance to bond and connect with one another and enjoyed the novelty of bunking in the same rooms in which they usually have classes. Kudos to Central’s G.O. – seniors Eliana Gomberg and Shalhevet Koenigsberg, juniors Elianah Aminova and Eliana Sobolev, and sophomores Jackie Marmer and Malky Reznik – which was instrumental in or -

ganizing the Mishmar, as was Director of Student Activities and Judaic Studies faculty member, Mrs. Sydney Yaros, who facilitated the event.

“It was an amazing night,” Mrs. Yaros said. “Students from all four grades came together to sing, dance, grow, and learn.”

There are other time-honored traditions coming up to accompany the new –YUHSG’s annual Yachad Ivdu Carnival, hosted for the benefit of students from the Ivdu Elementary School for Girls, will take place on Wednesday, February 25. The event is a way for YUHSG students to practice collaborating with one another to produce projects, as well as a fun way to incorporate valuable chesed experience. Another chesed project will follow on Thursday, February 26, as YUHSG stages a bat mitzvah for Rayna, who will celebrate her big day right on YUHSG’s campus. Other upcoming events include YUHSG’s participation in the Science Olympiad on Sunday, February 22, as well as its participation in this year’s CIJE Hackathon on Wednesday, February 25. Lastly, YUHSG’s annual Dinner of Tribute, which will honor those making the greatest contributions to the school and its legacy, will take place on Motzei Shabbos, Saturday, March 7, at Great Neck Synagogue.

YCQ Students Help Write Sefer Torah

On Thursday, February 12, grade 2 students at YCQ had the incredible opportunity to write letters in a Sefer Torah as part of the “Otiot shel Ahava,” “Letters of Love” program by the Sulamot organization. Once complete, the Torah will be donated to Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Students learned that just like each letter joins together to create a Sefer Torah, every member of Am Yisrael truly makes a difference when we are united. Students also had the chance to practice their sofer skills by writing their names with a real quill and ink.

Podcasts for Israel at MTA

eniors at Yeshiva University High School for Boys are engaging with Israel in a meaningful new way through a bi-weekly podcast assignment for their Contemporary Israel class. Every other week, students choose from a curated list of Israel-focused podcasts covering topics ranging from current events and politics to culture, history, and Jewish identity. After listening during their commutes or free time,

students write brief summaries and engage in thoughtful online discussions with their classmates, asking questions, making connections to classroom learning, and exploring different perspectives. This innovative assignment helps talmidim build essential background knowledge about Israel while developing critical thinking and academic discussion skills that will serve them well beyond the classroom.

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Mesivta Shaarei Chaim Annual Limud HaTorah Celebration

Queens Jewish Link Networking Expo

By Shabsie Saphirstein

Hundreds gathered at Young Israel of Jamaica Estates (YIJE) on Wednesday evening, February 18, as the Queens Jewish Link hosted its annual Networking Expo — an evening that blended professional networking with heartfelt recognition, community pride, and meaningful messages of Jewish unity at a time when connection feels more important than ever.

The evening opened with words of reflection led by Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner, rabbi of YIJE, who recited Tehillim together with the audience. He was followed by Rabbi Daniel Rosenfelt, rabbi of Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills and the publication’s local rabbinic advisor, whose remarks helped set a thoughtful and uplifting tone for the night ahead.

Program host Nachum Segal, host of JM in the AM on 91.1 FM airing Monday through Friday, thanked Rabbi Lerner and the synagogue leadership for opening their doors to the community. Co-Publisher Yaakov Serle began by thanking Hashem and recognizing those who worked behind the scenes to make the evening possible, including myself, Donny Hoschander, and co-publisher Naftali Szrolovits.

Sponsors reflected the broad spectrum of communal and professional life that makes Queens unique, including: Alan Sherman; Ateret Cohanim; Barry & Regina Cik; Mr. & Mrs. Binyamin Sdayeb; Boulevard Assisted Living Community;

Boots for Israel; Glenn Pollack of PGS; Kenneth Paek; Kew Forest Republican Club; Mendy & Hindy Laster of Bättr; Legacy Workplace Solutions; Mercaz Daf Yomi; Moshe Spern; Mr. & Mrs. Moshe Meirov; Olam Realty Group; Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce; Pathway Funding; Philip Wang; R’ Dr. Joe and Karen Frager; Ronen Nahom; Shalom & Victoria Zirkiev; District Leader Shimi Pelman; The Orlow Firm; VHQ; and YU Global.

We show special appreciation to Power Media for enhancing event promotion through elegant bus-stop signage across the community, Avi Conway of Prime Media Distribution, and numerous Jewish print media outlets whose coverage helped spread the word. We also thank Dr. Paul Brody, one of last year’s honorees, for arranging official proclamations honoring this year’s recipients from Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip.

The evening’s musical program featured internationally renowned chazzan Nissim Saal, whose powerful voice immediately lifted the room.

A central highlight was the recognition of the NYPD’s 107th Precinct for its ongoing partnership with and protection of the Queens Jewish community. Assemblymember Sam Berger reflected on the difficult weeks following October 7, recalling how fear spread quickly throughout Jewish neighborhoods and institutions. He pointed in particular to the recent pro-Hamas rally that drew outside agitators into Kew Gardens Hills, noting that officers from the 107th Precinct were

on the ground throughout, ensuring residents, families, and local shuls remained safe.

Assemblymember David Weprin echoed those sentiments, noting that throughout his many years representing the district, the precinct has consistently maintained a close and respectful relationship with local residents.

One of the evening’s most emotional moments came as Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann was honored for his lifelong dedication to Holocaust education. Introduced by veteran broadcaster Zev Brenner, Steigmann shared reflections from a life marked by unimaginable hardship yet defined by resilience and purpose.

Speaking calmly but with deep conviction, he explained that recent attempts to silence his educational appearances ultimately strengthened his resolve.

“This is not my victory,” he said. “It is a victory for Holocaust survivors and for the Jewish people — that we will not be silenced.”

Quoting the Haggadah ahead of Pesach, he reminded the audience that in every generation there are those who rise against the Jewish people — yet the Jewish people endure. “We are here to stay,” he declared, drawing sustained applause.

Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, CEO of Chazaq, was then honored as Defender of the Jewish Spirit. Speakers highlighted Chazaq’s remarkable impact since 2006, including helping more than 2,000 students transition from public school into yeshiva education — changes that have strengthened

families and reshaped Jewish futures.

In his remarks, Rabbi Meirov gently shifted attention away from himself and toward a message fitting for the approaching month of Adar.

“Hashem is constantly sending blessings,” he said. “The challenge is knowing how to catch them. When a person smiles, the blessings can enter.”

Longtime Queens Jewish Link feature columnist Moshe Hill, of Hill with a View, then presented the Golden Defender of Israel honor to WABC radio personality Sid Rosenberg, praising his outspoken advocacy and consistent support for Israel and the Jewish people following October 7.

Rosenberg delivered an energetic and deeply personal address filled with humor, candor, and emotion. Reflecting on how recent events reshaped his connection to Jewish identity, he spoke openly about visiting Israel and witnessing firsthand the aftermath of terror attacks.

“When you see what happened, you can’t stay quiet,” he said. “No one else is going to fight for us. We have to stand up ourselves. We have to keep fighting.”

Following the formal program, guests moved into the networking portion of the evening, enjoying cuisine provided by SoySauce Glatt Kosher Chinese Takeout and Top Notch Sushi, along with wine tastings courtesy of Hakerem Wine & Liquor. Conversations filled the room as professionals, community leaders, and neighbors connected, exchanged ideas, and strengthened relationships.

From Your Closet to Their Smiles: Yad Leah’s Five Towns Clothing Drive

Price tags tell you what a garment costs; Yad Leah’s donated clothing tells you what it’s actually worth: a child’s confidence, a parent’s peace of mind, and the dignity of a family. These “threads of joy” weave warmth into thousands of lives across Israel, turning every cozy sweater or gently-worn dress into a story of hope and care.

Take 10-year-old Moriyah, for example. Her mother, Orit, has spent years struggling to provide for their family and often worries about how financial stress affects her children. Recently, Orit walked into one of the Yad Leah shops and found a dress for Moriyah. The very next day, Moriyah came running home, burst through the doors, shouting, “Ima, Ima, I got a compliment on my dress today. This is the first time anyone ever

complimented me!”

Orit was overcome with emotion and gratitude for the ability to give her daughter a sense of pride and belonging. Every donation of clothing creates its own ripple effect of impact.

This year, the Five Towns can help weave even more threads of joy at Yad Leah’s annual clothing drive! Bring your clothing, shoes, and linens to SKA High School for Girls, 291 Meadowview Ave, Hewlett, NY, on Sunday, March 8, from 10 AM to 1 PM, and help bring warmth and happiness to children and families in need.

Every contribution matters. A coat that no longer fits your child, a dress that has been outgrown, or a sweater you no longer wear can become someone’s source of warmth and pride.

Ezra Academy Students Show Strong School Spirit

Ezra Academy students continue to demonstrate a high level of enthusiasm and school pride through their involvement in a wide range of extracurricular activities, with multiple teams earning notable successes this week. From competitive academics to athletics and the arts, student participation remains a defining feature of school life at Ezra.

The Ezra Knights chess team recently faced North Shore in a competitive match, securing several victories through disciplined play and strong strategic execution. In athletics, the Ezra Eagles basketball team recorded its first win of the season after a dramatic 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter. The team was led by David Avulov and Daniel Boruchov, whose leadership helped shift momentum and close out the game. Ez-

Participation is simple:

• Pre-register to take part in the drive.

• Bring gently used or new clothing, shoes, or linens

These items should be something that someone in Israel would treasure — a warm sweater for an unheated apartment, a barely-worn dress to help a young girl feel special, a suit a son has outgrown.

To complete the giving process, supporters can also help financially. Each box shipped to Israel holds approximately 50 items. It costs $36 to ship one box and $100 to clothe a family. Sponsorships ensure that every donated item makes it from a Five Towns closet to the smiles of Israeli families.

Sign up: yadleah.org/5T2026

Questions? Contact the drive com-

mittee heads: Laurie Finkel: 917-3646111; Deborah Adler: 917-749-3836

From a single coat to a full box of donations, every item matters — and every donor becomes part of a story like Moriyah’s.

Students Bond with the IDF

ra’s mock trial team, made up of students preparing for careers in law and public service, also began its season on a strong note, earning a Round One victory.

Beyond the results, Ezra students have been actively supporting their peers by attending games and competitions, contributing to a lively and positive school atmosphere. Attendance at events has reflected a culture in which students take pride in representing their school and encouraging one another.

Looking ahead, the Ezra Eagles will open their soccer season with their first match of the year, while the girls dance team is set to compete at Yeshiva of Flatbush. As the school year continues, Ezra Academy’s extracurricular programs remain an important outlet for student engagement, teamwork, and community spirit.

This last week, HAFTR eighth grade students participated in a unique and meaningful experience through the “Letters of Light” program facilitated by The 8 Project, founded by Tomer Peretz, a former IDF officer and ZAKA volunteer. The 8 Project uses art as a pathway to healing, supporting former IDF soldiers as they navigate physical injuries and trauma after their service. Through residencies, workshops, exhibitions, and community programs, the organization empowers survivors, soldiers, and artists to transform pain into creativity and connection.

For this project, our students were guided by Shahad in a hands-on workshop, painting and decorating repurposed military uniforms with messages and images of strength, gratitude, emunah, Israel, and hope. As they worked

thoughtfully on each piece, students understood that these were tangible expressions of both hakarat hatov and solidarity. This experience gave our students the opportunity to give in a real and personal way, transforming feelings of care and tefillah into action. It helped them feel closer to the chayalim who have remained at the forefront of their hearts and prayers over the past two years. Through creativity and compassion, our students were able to bridge the distance with dignity. HAFTR Middle School has consistently stepped forward through davening, creating, organizing, and acting on behalf of Am Yisrael. It is meaningful that they were able to continue their commitments through this initiative. May we continue to see our students channeling their compassion, creativity, and unity for the benefit of Am Yisrael.

Karate Tuesday at IVDU 5T

Each Tuesday at IVDU 5T, Master Eli from Pakua LI works with our classes to build confidence, cooperation, and a willingness to try new things. Through his steady and encouraging approach, students strengthen both their physical skills and their ability to persevere.

Master Eli thoughtfully challenges students to push themselves, follow di-

leaves feeling proud of their accomplishments. Students earn official patches as they master specific skill levels, a meaningful reflection of their dedication and hard work.

It has been wonderful to watch our students grow stronger, more confident, and more determined each week. We are proud of the effort, sportsmanship, and positive attitude they bring to every ses -

in

Grandparents Day at HANC

The Nursery Aleph children in the HANC Reinstein Family Education Early Childhood Division in West Hempstead provided a great deal of happiness to some very special guests this week. As the doors opened, a stream of eager grandparents filled the Rabbi Moshe Gottesman z”l Beit Midrash and they could not wait to see and spend time with their adorable grandchildren in school. The program began with greetings from Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Head of School, Nursery through Eighth Grades, and Mrs. Trudy Rubinstein, Director of the Early Childhood Division. The grandparents were then invited to sit at the festive tables and await the arrival of the children. Along with their grandparents, the children decorated a special Purim Tzedakah box with special paint markers, jewels and Purim stickers, and completed with a picture of the child on top of the Tzedakah box. This impactful project, created together by two generations, served as a keepsake gift and fulfilled one of the mitzvot of Purim, to give tzedakah, for all the special guests.

Following the project, the group reassembled for a Purim sing along. The children sat with their grandparents and each child was provided with a grogger to shake during the singing. While the HANC Early Childhood music teacher, Morah Kayli, led the crowd in interactive songs about Purim, it was truly delightful to see the grandparents enjoying this special time with their grandchildren in HANC.

One very special guest was recognized by Rabbi Hazan: “Although we are a school with a new building that is only seven months old, it has been in develop -

ment for seventy-five years. We are an institution that honors and appreciates the founders that built HANC into what it is today. Each week, we conduct the Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer zt”l Shabbat Assembly in the Rabbi Moshe Gottesman z”l Beit Midrash. The spirit and impact of Rabbi Meyer Fendel z”l is felt all through the building and in our many programs. This morning, we are thrilled to be able to host Mrs. Sondra Gottesman, wife of Rabbi Gottesman z”l, founder and extraordinary educational leader of HANC, who is here with her great grandchild, Moshe Burger, who is a current HANC Nursery Aleph student. This is our HANC mesorah.”

At the conclusion of the event, the crowd was treated to a delicious collation, including drinks, fruit platters, and hamantashen. The joyfulness that was evident on the faces of all who attended created such light and happiness in the room. The children were so pleased to have their grandparents in school with them and to share this precious moment together. As Morah Trudy added, this is a day that everyone will surely remember!

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50 Years of ArtScroll

Part I: From a Megillah to a Movement

Purim 5736 (1976) had a new guest on thousands of festive tables: the newly released first-ever ArtScroll/Mesorah publication—Megillas Esther, translated with commentary. It’s fifty years since then, and a good time to look back at the five decades of ArtScroll, the people, ideas, and events that led to today’s more than 3,500 ArtScroll titles so far, in five languages. It’s a fascinating story, filled with challenges, refusal to surrender, bold steps forward, and inspiring illustrations of how Hashem orchestrates events.

Tragedies elicit sometimes unexpected reactions. Rabbi Mair Fogel was a popular and accomplished rebbi at Yeshivah Toras Emes in Boro Park, who had a host of loyal friends. And then, on the 3rd of Teves, 5736, he unexpectedly and shockingly passed away in his sleep, leaving a widow and no children. How do people react to such tragedies? Tears. Shock. Some put up a memorial plaque or even collaborate to write a sefer Torah.

Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz was different.

He was a man of imagination and vision, a talmid chacham who always thought in terms of Torah. His lost friend was a man who lived to spread Torah, and Purim was only a few months away. R’ Meir sought a way to honor his friend’s memory and felt there could be a no more fitting and enduring tribute than to undertake an English translation and commentary on Megillas Esther, and to complete it by the end of the Shloshim.

It would not be an easy task. R’ Meir had to keep running his business, ArtScroll Studios, which was a graphics company that produced invitations, kesubos, brochures and other printed material. That meant that his research and writing for the commentary would have to be done mainly in the evening, late night, and early morning. Sleep would have to be rationed until after the Shloshim. Was it possible? Probably not! But R’ Meir was a man of unusual stamina and determination, and he made it happen. He met his self-imposed deadline of Shloshim. It was a sign of things to come

many times over the years at ArtScroll; with siyata diShemaya the impossible would become possible.

To edit his manuscript, R’ Meir recruited his good friend, Rabbi Nosson Scherman, principal of Yeshivah Karlin Stolin, who, like R’ Meir himself, “had no time.” Once the translation and commentary were edited, R’ Meir asked R’ Scherman to write an introduction, which they called, “An Overview,” a name that stuck and became the forerunner of scores of Overviews. R’ Meir asked Rav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, and yb”l Rav Dovid Cohen to review the manuscript. R’ Meir was proud to receive a warm haskamah from his rebbi muvhak, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, and others.

R’ Sheah Brander, R’ Meir’s principal colleague at ArtScroll Studios, was a brilliant yeshivah graduate and budding graphic artist. Together, they fashioned the new Megillas Esther into a book of beauty, one that would match any volume on the shelves of Barnes and Noble. They followed the advice of the great gaon Rab-

bi Akiva Eiger, who wrote to his sons that when preparing their father’s responsa for print, they should use paper and typography of the highest quality. A work of Torah, he said, should be a Kiddush Hashem. And that’s what the new Megillas Esther volume was: a thing of beauty.

Until then, a typical English-language Torah work was considered a commercial success if 2,000 copies were sold – and even that number was unusual. In less than two months, over 20,000 copies were sold. It was an unprecedented success, a fitting tribute to the memory of R’ Mair Fogel. That was the original plan, and it had been accomplished. None of the three men had any intention of becoming writers and publishers. Their intention was to produce a meaningful memorial to a departed friend and marbitz Torah.

Mission accomplished, Rabbis Zlotowitz, Scherman, and Brander could go back to their regular jobs.

But it was not to be. What happened? We’ll find out next week…

The Bitachon Haggadah – With a Daily Dose of Preparation

By Rabbi David Sutton

30 Days of Pesach Prep, Day 15: Hard Labor

“They imposed hard labor upon us.”

Vienna, 1923. The first Knessiah Gedolah. Though getting on in years, R’ Yisrael Meir Kagan, the Chofetz Chaim, undertook the journey from his home in Radin to attend the gathering. While many wanted to see him and receive his blessing, his gabbaim did their best to conserve his energy and limit his appointments.

One Jew from London had come to Vienna with the express purpose of speaking to the Chofetz Chaim, and he wouldn’t leave without achieving his goal. His question centered on his communal involvement. His family was upset that his askanus (activism) was taking up too much of his time, detracting from his family life and his own needs. People were knocking on his door at all hours; guests seemed to be overtaking his home.

After doing a bit of sleuthing, the British Jew found out who was hosting the Chofetz Chaim in Vienna. He managed to finagle a morning appointment, just after the Chofetz Chaim finished his breakfast. The Jew showed up a bit before the scheduled time, to observe the Chofetz Chaim as he ate his morning meal.

The Chofetz Chaim began his meal by reciting the perek of Mizmor

L’Dovid (Tehillim 23), which concludes: “Ach tov vachesed yirdifuni kol yimei chayai — “May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life.” He asked a question: “What is Dovid HaMelech requesting in this pasuk? Why would one request to be pursued by goodness and kindness?

“Because,” the Chofetz Chaim explained, “every individual is meant to undergo a certain measure of difficulties and challenges in life. It’s unavoidable. The only question is: What kind of difficulties and challenges? He can choose to deal with challenges with shalom bayis, with health, with children, with parnassah. Or he can deal with other difficulties, those challenges caused by assisting others, by doing kindness and goodness. These can include dealing with unappreciative recipients or those who try to thwart his objectives. In addition, a person can face difficulties from the act of chessed itself, which eats up his time, leaving him little time for himself or his family.

“Dovid HaMelech presented his request: ach tov vachesed yirdifuni kol yimei chayai, Hashem, please make my challenges come from goodness and kindness, that I should fill my yissurim quota through assisting others, rather than encountering actual physical and emotional yissurim.”

The Jew from London turned and went back home, having already received his answer.

The sefer Ohr Torah cites the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 25:1), which speaks of a person who committed a sin that makes him liable for misah bi’dei Shamayim, death by the hands of Heaven. This is what such a person is advised to do: If he usually learns one page of Gemara, he should learn two. If he learned one chapter of Mishnayos, he should learn two. He should double his Torah learning — that is a way to atone for his sins. The Midrash continues: If someone is unable to learn Gemara or Mishnayos, he should become involved in the community or become a charity collector.

In Shaarei Teshuvah (4:11), Rabbeinu Yonah details how to go about achieving this atonement: by toiling and exerting oneself in learning until he is exhausted and depleted. The pain one feels as a result of stretching himself and straining himself, and pushing away the sleep from his eyes, will serve as the best possible suffering.

This applies not only to learning To-

rah, but to any area in which a person puts forth effort and truly toils for the sake of Hashem.

In this manner, one can fulfill his quota of avodah kashah, hard labor, and not have to undergo suffering.

Reprinted from The Bitachon Haggadah – With a Daily Dose of Preparation by Rabbi David Sutton, with permission from the copyright holder, ArtScroll Mesorah Publications.

DON'T JUST ARRIVE AT THE SEDER; ARRIVE READY.

A Daily Dose of Preparation from Purim to Pesach

THIS UNIQUE TWO-IN-ONE SEFER FEATURES:

• The 30-Day Reader: Daily doses of emunah and bitachon relating to the Haggadah.

• The Full Haggadah: Profound commentary and stories to bring the Seder table to life.

Designed to help readers arrive at the Seder with a deeper sense of emunah and bitachon, Rabbi David Sutton, bestselling author of Beis HaLevi on Bitachon, A Daily Dose of Bitachon, and A Daily Dose of Preparation for Yamim Noraim, will transform your Pesach preparation into a meaningful journey that will culminate in a more focused and elevated Seder.

BRING GIANTS OF CHACHMEI LUBLIN TO YOUR SEDER TABLE

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This beautifully crafted Haggadah brings the spirit and teachings of Chachmei Lublin to the Pesach Seder table. Rooted in the Torah and legacy of R’ Meir Shapiro — founder of Daf Yomi and Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin — it weaves together the divrei Torah, stories, and insights of the yeshiva’s leading figures, along with illuminating biographical sketches.

Featured personalities include:

• R’ Meir Shapiro

• R’ Aryeh Tzvi Frommer, the Kozhiglover Rav

• R’ Shimele Zelichover

• R’ Pinchas Hirschprung

• R’ Shmuel Wosner

• and others

Built First.

YEARS OF CHINUCH EXCELLENCE

We

TJH Centerfold

Hey Man, What Do You Do By “Haman”?

The Vintage Wooden Gragger Guy: Owns the same gragger since 1987. Claims that “they don’t make them like this anymore.” You are right – they don’t because it sounds like a folding chair fighting for its life.

The Cap Gun Guy: You really should have followed your dreams of becoming a cop. Your parents had you become a lawyer instead and now you are shooting cap guns in shul. It’s never too late to go to the Police Academy

The Blank Starer: You don’t even make any noise by Haman. Lighten up and have a good time…for a change!

The Airhorn Extremist: You are not content with everyone disliking you just because you are annoying. You also want everyone to dislike you because you blew their ear drums out.

The Gently Bang on Table Guy: I don’t want to insult you in any way; you can put the heebie-jeebies on me.

The App Guy: We all have the same phones in our pockets, but we choose to be more creative.

The Singer: “Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah, heeeyy goodbye!” You never grew out of camp. You still tell your kids about how you won color war in 1992 in Camp Manavu.

The Guy Who Has to Finish Last: We have a lot to say about you. Do you realize just how annoying you are? OK, you know what…I can’t. Just stop! We all could do the same thing. Each of us has the ability to be the last one to belch out another scream but we have other ways of getting our self-worth. You want to do it once, that’s annoying but we can live with it. But every time? I’m beginning to think that you are a control freak. Do you not realize that most of us are actually fasting and are hungry? Seriously, bro, what is it deep in your psyche that gives you this need? Power? Control?

The Failed Musician: Shows up with a kazoo, or trumpet, and treats every Haman like it’s a solo at Lincoln Center. When your annual recital is during Haman chaos, that may be a sign that you didn’t practice enough.

The Late Banger: You were spacing out so much that you didn’t even realize that the Haman banging even started. Concentration is not your… Did the Mets get any new players this pass the chips?

Gosh, I could keep on going, but whatevs. Do me a favor, can you at least not make each Haman take an extra minute? You are personally responsible for taking 22 minutes out of my Purim night! Are you really comfortable with that? Is your hootin’ and hollerin’ just because everyone else is civilized enough not to lift you up and remove you from the shul really that important? Wow! That felt good! [Editor: Mr. Centerfold Commish, you need to calm down a bit and let people have fun. Do you really need this message to be out there in a CF? People will think that you have anger management issues? Centerfold Commish: I do have anger management issues when I have to sit there and make believe that I’m enjoying some guy always having to be the last one to make noise by Haman.] EAAAARRRRRRP! EAARRRRRRP! EAAAAARRRRRRP!

Riddle

Me This

After having almost been poisoned, King Achashveirosh decided to inoculate himself from being poisoned again. He knew that in Paras, if you drank poison, the only way to save yourself is to drink a stronger poison, which neutralizes the weaker poison. So King Achashveirosh needs to make sure that he possessed the strongest poison in the kingdom, in order to ensure his survival, in any situation.

He called the kingdom’s pharmacist and the kingdom’s treasurer, and he gave each of them a week to make the strongest poison. Then, each would drink the other one’s poison, then his own, and the one who will survive will be the one that had the stronger poison.

The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer knew he had no chance, for the pharmacist was much more experienced in this field, so instead, he made up a plan to survive and make sure the pharmacist dies. On the last day, the pharmacist suddenly realized that the treasurer would know he had no chance, so he must have a plan. After a little thought, the pharmacist realized what the treasurer’s plan must be, and he concocted a counter plan, to make sure he survives and the treasurer dies.

When the time came, the king summoned both of them. They drank the poisons as planned, and the treasurer died, the pharmacist survived, and the king didn’t get what he wanted. What exactly happened there?

get a strong poison like he wanted.

because both of them brought King Achashveirosh water, he didn’t

The pharmacist drank only water, so nothing happened to him. And

own water, and died of the poison he drank before the meeting.

who drank poison earlier, drank the pharmacist’s water, then his

out this plan, he decided to bring water as well. So the treasurer

poison. As his own poison, he would bring water, which would have no effect on him, but the pharmacist, who would drink the water and then his poison, would surely die. When the pharmacist figured

the pharmacist’s strong poison, which would neutralize the weak

the meeting with King Achashverosh, and then he would drink

Answer: The treasurer’s plan was to drink a weak poison prior to

Dear Underlings,

如果你能讀到這段文字，你真的很聰明，除非你是中國人，在那種 情況下，你只是跟任何能讀英文的美國人一樣聰明。Oops…I’m

sorry. I deal with the Chinese a lot. For all my American underlings, I hope you have a great, happy, and fun Purim. If you want to bring me mishloach manos, I like sardines, dumplings, and rice with seaweed. Если ты понимаешь это--как думаешь, кто выиграет войну, Украина или Россия? Этот парень Путин и правда кажется довольно больным типом, согласись. В любом случае,

Sorry, sorry…just had to answer Putin’s call for a minute. Look, bottom line is, I’m a busy guy. I have a lot going on.

Seriously…they don’t leave me alone, and on top of all of that, I have to write a Purim Centerfold.

I know that I usually keep myself incognito. People have no clue who the true CF Commish is, but I do want mishloach manos, so I guess I have to tell you who I am. Hmm, probably not a smart thing to do. Let me think about it a little more.

In the meantime, don’t forget to send your Purim pictures to TJH. Your fellow underlings want to see how you dressed up. So, send your pictures to editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com, in the Subject line write: Chanukah Pics. No, little Einstein—the subject line should say Purim Pics!

Have a Happy Purim!

-Jared Kushner

Torah Thought

Parshas Tetzaveh

By Rabbi Berel Wein z”l

The garments of the kohanim – the priests of Israel – occupy a great deal of space in this week’s parsha. These garments were meant to bring “honor and glory” to those who donned them. But they were also meant to bring “honor and glory” to all of Israel, for when our religious leaders are objects of honor, we, their followers and public supporters, also share and bask in that glory.

The garments of the kohanim represent their sense of devotion and service to the G-d and people of Israel. This sense of devotion and holiness was supposed to be for the kohen at all times and to become part of his personality and worldview.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points out that this was the message of the rabbis that stated that nothing was to be be -

tween the actual body of the kohen and the clothing that he wore. The garments of “honor and glory” were to become the very being, the skin, if you will, of the kohen himself. Only if he constantly operated on the lofty plane of service and honor to G-d and Israel could he meet the challenge of being a kohen.

Clothes may or may not make the man, but the sense of honor, duty and loyalty that the garments of the kohanim represented certainly defined the sense of greatness that was expected from him. Once having had the privilege of wearing those holy vestments, the kohen was bound forever to the concept of

ever-you-like type of dress.

But there is a responsibility that comes with wearing special clothing. And that responsibility is to be people of “honor and glory.” The Talmud states almost ironically that he who wishes to sin should travel to a place where he is unknown and to wear “black clothing” so that his behavior will not reflect on the whole of Israel.

There are differing interpretations of what “black clothing” means in this context. But it means a type of anonymous and casual clothing that will not reflect upon the Torah community and Judaism generally. One cannot wear the

The sense of honor, duty and loyalty that the garments of the kohanim represented certainly defined the sense of greatness that was expected from him.

“honor and glory” that those garments represented and demanded.

Clothing plays a great role in current Jewish society. Certain sectors of our society identify their closeness to G-d and tradition in terms of the clothing that they wear. There is no doubt that clothing makes an impression upon those who see us and upon those who wear it. Research has shown that schools that have a dress uniform have an ability to deal with problems of student discipline more easily than the free and open schools of casual, what-

garments of “honor and glory” and behave in a fashion that contradicts those values. Wearing garments is something that should never be taken lightly, for with the garments come the responsibilities and challenges as well.

In the Second Temple when the anointing oil crafted by Moshe no longer existed, the rabbis stated that just donning the garments of the priesthood became the installation ceremony of the kohanim. I think that this is true in our world and time as well.

Shabbat shalom.

From the Fire

Parshas Tetzaveh –Parshas Zachor

Calling Out Modern Day Evil

Adapted

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

for

publication by Binyomin Wolf

Purim is a holiday of stark contrasts. As we say in the song Shoshanas Yaakov, “Cursed is Haman who attempted to destroy me” and “Blessed is Mordechai the Jew.” We have “Cursed is Zeresh the wife of the one who terrorized me” and “Blessed is Esther [who sacrificed] for me.” The Megillah refers on one hand to “king” Achashveirosh. But it also refers to “The King,” the hidden King of all kings who acts behind the scenes. Purim means making a place in our lives for both parts.

While gratitude to Hashem, rejoicing in His salvation, gifts to the poor and to our friends, and celebrating with friends are a major part of Purim, an equally important part of the day is hatred of that which is truly evil in the world today. Therefore, when we celebrate on Purim by drinking a little bit, “when the wine goes in, the secret comes out” (Eiruvin 65a). Our inhibitions and political correctness subside, and we call out the alternate text of Shoshanas Yaakov, “Cursed are all of the wicked!”

Certainly, everything in Yiddishkeit starts and ends with the quality of love.

In the second blessing before Shema, we say every day, “You have loved Your nation Israel with an eternal love.” In Shema, we say the pasuk (Devarim 6:5), “And you shall love Hashem your G-d will all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your resources.” And the Torah teaches us, “And you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18).

Love is the foundation of the world and is the overarching emphasis in our service of G-d. The ultimate goal of “turn away from evil” is to “do good” (Tehillim 34:15). As Rabbeinu Bachaya says, “A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness.”

That is always the primary emphasis. But the truth is that love is not everything. The Western world is drunk with the idea that, as the song says, “All you need is love.” That is the perverse current formulation of a concept which originated in the teachings of the apostate from Nazareth. The reality is that “those who love Hashem hate evil” (Te -

hillim 97:10). This is a positive form of hate, one which is not only permissible but obligatory. In the Western mind, love is always good and hate is always bad. But this extremist, black-and-white approach is foolish, false, and very dangerous. The truth is that there is a good form of love and a bad form of love. There is a good form of hate and a bad form of hate. We have an obligation to clearly identify evil and evil-doers and work to stop and, if necessary, destroy them. It is forbidden to indiscriminately love everyone and everything.

Judaism is not a religion of love. Nor is it a religion of hate. It is a religion of truth. As long as there are evil acts and evildoers in the world, there will be a limitation on where love is appropriate. If one loves wicked people, he begins to identify with them and eventually justifies and becomes caught up with them, ultimately throwing his lot in with them in every way.

The Rambam rules (Hilchos Melachim 5:5) that “it is forbidden to forget

his [Amalek’s] enmity and hatred.” The Chayei Adam (155:2) teaches us that “it is a positive commandment from the Torah to remember what Amalek did and to hate him with a hatred fixed into the heart…” Why is this? It is because “those who love Hashem hate evil.” The same thing that makes a person love Hashem causes him to hate evil. That is why the Alter Rebbe, zy”a, teaches us in the tenth chapter of the Tanya about a complete tzaddik: “The extent of the greatness of his love for Hashem is the extent of his hatred for the Other Side and his complete disgust with evil.” It is not that those who love Hashem “also” hate evil. Their love of Hashem itself gives birth to hatred of evil people and their evil actions. The same way a modest, loving mother hates someone who abuses her child, a tzaddik’s hatred for evil does not come from anger, jealousy, or arrogance. Rather, it arises from the powerful purity and refinement of his love for G-d. “Love is powerful like death… its coals are

like the coals of the fire of the flames of G-d.” When a fiery love of G-d comes into contact with evil, that evil is completely consumed.

This is the message of Shabbos Zachor. We must clearly identify evil. Esther answered the question, “Who is this and where is he” (Esther 7:5) without hesitation or equivocation: “This evil Haman!” (ibid. 6).

The evil people of the world today completely negate the image of G-d in man. They viciously behead, slaughter, and enslave Christians, Yazidis, and Kurds all over the Middle East, not to mention how the butcher other Muslims who disagree with them, including burning a Muslim pilot alive as part of their worldwide PR campaign. Shabbos Zachor reminds us that we must clearly identify and condemn evil in our own time. We cannot fall prey to the same mistake some world leaders make by refusing to call radical Islam out as the source of the problem and clearly identify Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Syrian Regime, Fatah/the PLO, and their ilk as the purveyors of the most inhumane forms of evil perpetrated in the world today against non-Muslims

and Muslims alike.

In chassidus, we always learn that there is a spark of holiness in everything in the world, from the most benign to the most evil. Someone asked whether we should seek out the good in evil ideologies, regimes, and organizations in the world today. Does the Gemara not say (Gitin 57b), “The great-grandchildren of Haman studied Torah in Bnei

have heard you [Avraham]” (Bereishis 17:20), refers to how G-d took note of the spark of holiness within Yishmael. It is also true that Reb Shimon Ostropoler, zy”a, teaches that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Reish Lakish, was a reincarnation of Yishmael. He further explains that because the word for “and He heard, vayishmah” is related to the name Shimon, the pasuk (ibid. 21:17)

When a fiery love of G-d comes into contact with evil, that evil is completely consumed.

Brak”? I explained to him that while this is true, how Hashem ultimately redeems the good in the evil things of this world today is none of our concern. He will extract sparks of goodness according to His plan. But as long as something reveals itself as pure evil in this world, we must relate to it as such. It is true that the Arizal teaches that the pasuk, “And regarding Yishmael, I

“And G-d heard the voice of the boy [Yishmael]… where he was” hints at the fact that the soul of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish was already deep within Yishmael. Notwithstanding all of that, the fact that good or bad would come from Yishmael or his descendants in the distant future was not part of the calculation at the time. Yishmael was only saved because he was deserving at the

time. We must relate to evil exclusively according to its manifestation as evil as long as its spark of goodness remains hidden. Hidden, as-yet-unredeemed holiness is none of our concern.

It is no coincidence that amidst the mitzvos of Purim related to love and friendship is the mitzvah to remember the evil of the nation of Amalek. One is the natural result of the other. “Those who love Hashem hate evil.” While the primary mitzvah to destroy Amalek today can only be fulfilled by destroying our own inner Amalek-like qualities, coldness and detachment toward an enthusiastic, wholehearted service of G-d, we must also fulfill the mitzvah by recognizing and calling out the evil and evildoers of the day.

May Hashem bless us by giving us and our leaders the clarity and courage to unequivocally identify and destroy the evil ideologies, organizations, and regimes prevalent in this world.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congreagation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.

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Headlines Halacha

The Salmon Recipe and the Dishwasher

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

There is a controversy brewing with regard to dishwashers that can be viewed as a possible divide between the chareidi community and other

religious communities in Eretz Yisroel. There is also a 50-year-old salmon recipe that may possibly help determine which side may be correct.

In Igros Moshe Yoreh De’ah (vol. 2, #28, 1964), Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, provides three explanations as to why one could possibly be permitted to get by with a single dishwasher and two separate racks for both milchigs and fleishigs used during separate times.

One of the reasons was that dishwashers do not have an internal heating mechanism and would be considered a Kli Sheini and not a Kli Rishon. This author once sat next to Rav Moshe’s esteemed son-in-law, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, zt”l, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Rabbi Tendler, at first, stated that dishwashers do not have internal heating mechanisms, and that his shver had consulted with him on this very matter – not once, but twice. I then proceeded to draw the schematic of a few different models. Rabbi Tendler then responded that if that is the case, then the halacha would need to be re-examined.

Rav Feinstein quoted the Rama (YD 95:3) who rules that the very same basin of water could be used for cleaning meat and dairy dishes consecutively. Rav Moshe explained that nosain ta’am bar nosain ta’am would render it such that the ta’am of the meat and dairy would be lessened once one type of dish is removed. This Rama, however, is dealing with a Kli Sheini and not a Kli Rishon. Also, there is almost always b’ain – solid fleishigs – in the trap or drain that is fully edible.

Another point Rav Moshe made was

that the huge amount of water would make for bitul b’shishim, a nullification in a 60:1 ratio. This, too, does not account for the minimum amount of water that comes in contact with the meat that is in the trap and would send ta’am upward since it is piping hot.

The modern communities in Eretz Yisroel have extended these arguments even more and do not even require separate racks as Reb Moshe had argued.

Rav Moshe continued the discussion a bit eight years later in Teshuvah #29 (1972) as well as in YD #43, YD III #28 and #29. He explains that soap or detergent is considered a davar hapogaim, and while that may be a mitigating factor, the soap may not pogaim the meat in the trap, as the soap is often washed away in a manner not too different from strawberries and other vegetables that the kashrus agencies are now requiring. The mitigating factor of nosain ta’am lifgam after 24 hours does not apply to real b’ain

Rabbi Yehuda Spitz, shlita, an outstanding talmid chochom and posek, in his Ohr Samayach’s Insights into Halacha, cites a number of poskim who disagreed with Rav Moshe’s heter and mitigating factors for a number of reason. They are: See Shu”t Ba’er Moshe (vol. 7, 60), Shu”t Beis Avi (vol. 2, 93), Shu”t Avnei Yashpei (vol. 3, 71), Yalkut Yosef (IV”H vol. 3 pg. 491, s.v. ulam), Badei Hashulchan (Y”D 95, 81; Biurim pg. 309, s.v. u’linyan), Pischei Halacha (English version ppg. 258 - 262), Kitzur Shulchan

What Is Wealth Management?

Aruch (Pfeiffer, on BB”C vol. 2, Kuntress HaBiurim 6), Kovetz M’Beis Levi (vol. 1, HaKashrus HaMitbach pg. 30, 7, footnote 6), HaKashrus (Ch. 1, pg. 75 -76), Kashrus V’Shabbos B’Mitbach HaModerni (pg. 114), Ohel Yaakov (on IV”H 1st edition pg. 296 - 297, 26, footnotes 52 & 53).

Two more thoughts: In the 1960s and early 1970s, frum American families were still relatively poor and were not in a position to afford two dishwashers or significant household help. Rav Moshe looked out for Klal Yisroel as much as possible – something that should be taken more into account even nowadays.

But the second thought goes back to 1975. An actor who played villains went on national television with a recipe as to how to “cook salmon” in, yes, a dishwasher.

What follows is just such a recipe. The purpose of printing it is to show that dishwashers are clearly a Kli Rishon. There are two main types of the internal heating mechanism:

two sheets together and fold them over several times, crimping tightly all the way around. The goal is to create a fully sealed packet that hugs the fish closely and prevents any water from getting inside.

To cook it, position the foil-wrapped salmon on the top rack of your dishwasher and run a standard wash cycle. DO NOT ADD DETERGENT! The heat generated during the normal cycle is intended to cook the fish. When the dishwasher finishes, open the door and take note of the smell. If the foil packet was sealed properly, the interior of the dishwasher should smell as it normally does, without any trace of fish.

Remove the packet, carefully unwrap the salmon, and transfer it to a plate. You may see a bit of liquid inside the foil — that’s simply moisture released during cooking, assuming the seal held. Before serving, check that there is no scent of detergent on the fish. For safety, insert an instant-read thermometer into the

The modern communities in Eretz Yisroel have extended these arguments even more and do not even require separate racks as Reb Moshe had argued.

1) An exposed one – generally a visible coil at the bottom of the tub, similar to an oven element. They are common in many American-brand budget and midrange models (GE, Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana). These heat up the wash water and also do a “heated dry” by radiating heat after the wash cycle.

2) Those with hidden/concealed heaters — they are built into the base or integrated into the circulation pump. Brands like Bosch, Miele, and many European-style dishwashers use this approach. They heat the water but typically rely on condensation drying rather than a hot exposed element, which is gentler on plastics and are more energy-efficient.

The Recipe

Begin by pulling out two pieces of aluminum foil, each roughly 16 inches long. Lay your salmon fillet in the center of the first sheet and sprinkle it generously with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Once seasoned, place the second sheet of foil directly on top.

Carefully press the edges of the

thickest part of the fillet and confirm it has reached an internal temperature of 145°F. If it has, the salmon should be tender, moist, and ready to eat — unconventional method notwithstanding.

Potential Concerns

However, several safety issues should be considered. If the fish fails to reach the USDA-recommended minimum internal temperature of 145°F, there is a risk of foodborne illness. Dishwashers vary widely in temperature output and cycle duration, so results are inconsistent. Additionally, if the foil packet is not perfectly sealed, water and detergent can penetrate the wrapping, contaminating the food. For these reasons, appliance manufacturers strongly advise against using dishwashers for cooking, as they are not engineered for food preparation.

Delving into the Daf

On Borrowed Time

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Rabbi Yaakov Ettinger, the Rosh HaYeshiva of Zichron Paltiel of Passaic, had a remarkable story told about him at his sheva brachos.

The speaker related that he had been a bochur who, at one point, found himself without a tie for Shabbos. In desperation, he approached his friend Yaakov and asked if he could borrow one. Yaakov graciously agreed.

The bochur went up to the dorm room and, with the keen eye of a seasoned shopper, selected the nicest and most expensive tie in the drawer.

Yaakov said nothing.

The following Shabbos, the same tie made another appearance. And the next Shabbos. And the next. This continued for six months. By then, had Yaakov himself worn the tie, it would have looked as though he were the one borrowing it!

Still, he never said a word.

Rabbi Ettinger later told this author that remaining silent during that episode was a moment of growth and self-control. Sometimes, the greatest accomplishment is not what you say but what you choose not to say.

That subtle shift—when an item sits in someone’s possession long enough that it starts to look like his—doesn’t just test middos. It carries halachic ramifications.

Borrowed Tzitzis and the Thirty-Day Threshold

Suppose someone borrows a four-cornered garment from his friend. There is no Torah obligation to affix tzitzis. The mitzvah applies only to one’s own garment.

For a wedding, someone bought four-cornered Mexican ponchos as shtick. When a spectator saw the young men dancing in the ponchos, he pointed out that they needed tzitzis. The dancers’ quick reply was, “We borrowed them from the owner, so there’s no obligation.”

Eventually, the owner affixed tzitzis to them anyway.

Practically speaking, if one borrows a pair of tzitzis and has no ownership stake

in them, he does not recite a bracha. However, one may employ the halachic mechanism of matanah al menas l’hachzir—a gift on condition that it be returned—and then recite a blessing.

Interestingly, the Rosh maintains that someone who recites a bracha on a borrowed pair of tzitzis lo hifsid, he has not lost out. Although a borrowed four-cornered garment is technically exempt, one still fulfills a mitzvah if he affixes tzitzis. Nevertheless, this opinion is not accepted as halacha.

The Gemara (Menachos 44a) teaches that once someone borrows a four-cornered garment for thirty days or more, he becomes obligated to affix tzitzis. For the first thirty days, people view it as borrowed. After thirty days, ownership becomes blurred in the public eye. If he continues wearing it without tzitzis, people will wonder: Why isn’t he affixing tzitzis to his garment?

Perception creates obligation.

Mezuzah: The Renter’s Thirty Days

The Gemara cites proof of this concept from a mezuzah on a rented home.

Tosafos suggests that, biblically, one is obligated to affix a mezuzah only to a house one owns. Accordingly, a renter should never have to affix a mezuzah. However, after thirty days, he appears to others as the owner. Therefore, Chazal obligated him to put up a mezuzah.

Tosafos offers another interpretation. In truth, a renter is biblically included in the mitzvah of mezuzah. However, living somewhere for less than thirty days is considered diras arai, a temporary dwelling, and is exempt. Only after thirty days does it assume permanence.

Most poskim rule that the first opinion is authoritative.

The halacha is clear that when one purchases a home, he must affix mezuzos immediately. There is no thirty-day grace period. That applies only to renters.

What if a renter signs a one-year lease?

May he affix mezuzos immediately?

It would seem to depend on Tosafos’ two approaches. If the issue is diras arai, here he has committed to a full year. He cannot break the lease without consequences. That sounds permanent; he should be obligated right away.

But if the issue is appearance, when does he look like an owner? On day one, he still looks like a renter. Since, l’halacha, the first opinion is accepted, it would follow that he is not obligated until after thirty days.

This is the conclusion of the Pischei Teshuvah (Yoreh Deah 286:18).

However, the Aruch HaShulchan disagrees and rules that when a renter signs a one-year lease, he should affix the mezuzos immediately.

Practically speaking, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:179) writes that a renter who signs a lease for longer than thirty days should affix the mezuzah immediately upon moving in and may even recite a bracha then. Nevertheless, Rav Moshe adds that it is preferable to wait until thirty days have passed before reciting the bracha.

Tevilas Keilim: When Borrowed Starts to Look Owned

A third halacha built on this same foundation appears in Hilchos Tevilas Keilim.

When one purchases or acquires a metal or glass food utensil from a gentile, he must toivel it in a mikveh. Yet one is permitted to borrow a utensil from a gentile and use it without tevilah.

For this reason, in some catering halls,

kosher caterers borrow clean glassware from the gentile owner and use it for cold drinks without tevilah.

This halacha can be very useful in a case of need. If one has a utensil that requires tevilah but needs to use it immediately and cannot toivel it, he may give it to a gentile and borrow it back.

However, the Mishnah Berurah cautions that this workaround works only for thirty days. After thirty days in the Jew’s possession, the utensil appears to be his and now requires tevilah rabbinically. Some rely on this method for items that cannot be toiveled. For example, many Keurig machines would break if immersed. HaRav Moshe Heinemann, shlita, ruled that since they cannot be toiveled, one may use them without tevilah. However, this ruling is highly controversial.

Some transfer ownership of their Keurig to a non-Jew and borrow it back. Even if it remains in their possession indefinitely, the obligation to toivel it would be only rabbinic. And for rabbinic obligations, some rely on Rav Heinemann’s reasoning. A tie for Shabbos. A poncho at a wedding. A rented apartment. A borrowed utensil.

Sometimes, what begins as “just borrowed” slowly begins to look like it’s yours. And after thirty days, halacha may agree.

Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@gmail.com.

Torah Thought

Purim The Day The Music Returned

By Rav Yaakov Feitman

There is a famous question often raised about Achashveirosh’s infamous party. The Megillah describes the incredibly lavish – indeed sybaritic – trappings of this celebration. For 180 days, everyone reveled in resplendent couches of gold, drinks served in golden vessels, where even the pavement was of the finest marble. Yet, there was apparently no band. Where was the music? What, no orchestra? Why, even in ancient times, people enjoyed singing and instruments while they ate and drank.

Numerous answers have been offered over the centuries. The Maharam Shif (end of Maseches Chulin) even suggests that, of course, there was music, but at such an elaborate celebration, it was a given and unnecessary to mention. However, the Alshich Hakodosh (on the Megillah 1:7) and Rav Shlomo Alkabetz (Menos Halevi) are of the opinion that there were no musical instruments or even singers at Achashveirosh’s party. What could possibly be the reason for such an omission?

Rav Shlomo Alkabetz, famed author of one of the most beloved songs of all time, “Lecha Dodi,” gives a powerful answer. The evil Achashveirosh wanted to tempt the Jews to sin at his bacchanal so that he could plot their destruction. He also knew that music could uplift a person to lofty levels of spirituality. He didn’t want to take the chance that singing and music would elevate Am Yisrael to the point where they were indestructible, so it was worth it to him to leave it out. The Shomer Emunim teaches that the reason that little children are lulled to sleep by lullabies is that they have just come from heaven where the angels are singing holy songs of praise to Hashem. This was too great a risk for the evil king to take, so he left it out of the plans for self-serving festivity.

Throughout Sefer Tehillim, we find many of the Psalms introduced by the

word Lamenatzeach, a difficult word to translate. Some suggest that it is a message to the conductor of the orchestra which would play the music for the poetry of the sefer. However, Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch is of the opinion that the word refers to Hashem Himself. He is the One Who grants us the power to overcome our yetzer hara for the pleasures of this world – the gashmiyus – and to turn them into ruchniyos – spirituality – instead. This is the source of the stress chassidus places upon the singing of powerful tunes which inspire the soul. Achashveirosh knew this as well and wanted to prevent Klal Yisrael from achieving this religious ecstasy at his banquet and merriment. In truth, as is well known, Dovid Hamelech (see Targum to Divrei Hayamim 1:23:1-4) utilized his harp and music to elevate himself and Klal Yisrael in this way. The Gra there adds that the word Lamenatzeach means “those who can triumph over their yetzer hara through the power of music.”

However, in a way, it seems that Achashveirosh won this part of the battle. Chazal (Megillah 12a) teach that Klal Yisrael became guilty of destruction r”l because they had enjoyed the party. The Megillah (1:8 according to the Gemara Megillah 12a) itself hints at the fact that the food was completely kosher, but they still should not have enjoyed themselves. Some of the Tannaim defended Klal Yisrael for eating since they would have brought punishment and possibly death upon themselves if they didn’t eat – and after all, it was kosher. The problem was in their hearts. There, they should have been mortified, but they did descend at least one madreigah by not lamenting where they were at least in their hearts. Achashveirosh had donned the vestments of the Kohen Gadol and drank from the holy vessels of the Bais Hamikdash. They should not have taken pleasure from

this scene even if they were forced to be there. Music might have saved them, but Achashveirosh saw to it that they should be unmoved by a niggun.

All of this also answers another famous question about the first pasuk in the Megillah. The first word in the Megillah is vayehi, which deceptively simply means “it was.” However, Chazal (Megillah 10b) reveal that this word always reflects something tragic happening. Now, the real evil and danger didn’t begin until the third chapter of the Megillah, several years after the beginning, so why does it begin with the extremely negative vayehi? One ingenious answer is given by the author of the Nesivos, Rav Yaakov Lorberbaum. He explains that the very fact that Achashveirosh was already the king of the entire ancient world meant that if he instituted antisemitism and, with the aid of the Amalekite Haman, turn it into genocide, the Jews would have nowhere to run. This made even the seemingly innocent beginning of the Megillah the beginning of potential tragedy as well.

However, the first pasuk carries the seeds of salvation as well. The Ben Ish Chai quotes the Gemara (Megillah 12b) that if not for the first set of declarations, there might have been rampant murder of Jews. The first letters sent by the king were actually quite pathetic. After Vashti’s insolence toward her husband the king, he sent the decree that each man was supposed to be the ruler of his own home. Most men in the kingdom laughed at this silly command. “We are already the masters in our home. Perhaps the king is a wimp, but we are not.” And so, even when the evil decree to destroy every Jew was sent, no one took it seriously. Thus, even though he was already the king of the existing 127 countries

in his reign, very few people listened to the ludicrous king’s rantings anyway. In effect, then, the danger inherent in the first pasuk turned out to be the blessing as well. Ah, disguises! Here we arrive at the essence of Purim and a good lesson for our lives as well. Our bitachon in Hashem demands that we accept and truly believe that everything He does is for the best. It might seem like the End, but it is really just the Beginning. That is why it is the first pasuk. This is also the lesson of Rav Shlomo Alkabetz in his masterpiece of song and poetry: “Last in deed, but first in thought.” Hashem thinks of everything; all we need to do is listen to His word, stand aside, and let Him run His world. Esther means hidden, and Megillas Esther means “Revealer of the Hidden.” That is the message of the Megillah we are about to read and hear. Even as we read of renewed antisemitism, let us remember that Hashem is in control. Neither mayors, nor governors, can change Hashem’s plans, so we need not worry. We need to make sure to follow His laws, not enjoy the pleasures of others, and Hashem will save us from them and sometimes even from ourselves. Then we can truly sing a happy song. These are the musical notes which make up our lives, which we heard in the heaven and in the womb. Achashveirosh can deprive us of these songs at his feast, but he cannot stop us from singing on Purim. This is the day to be thankful for everything Hashem has done for us, is doing now, and will do in the future.

May we soon sing the song of Moshiach, bimeheirah b’yameinu, amen.

Torah Study at the Purim Seudah

Every Person’s Table Can Be Mechaper

By RaBBi DaniEl GlaTs TEin

he Rema writes that it is proper to engage in the study of Torah prior to starting the Purim seudah

An allusion to this custom can be found in the Megillah, which states, “L’Yehudim haysah orah v’simcha, The Jews had light and gladness” (Esther 8:16).

Chazal tell us, “Orah zo Torah,” that is, the word orah in this pasuk is referring to Torah. The Rema expounds this pasuk as referring to the practice of kindling the light of Torah before celebrating the simcha of a festive meal.

In Darchei Moshe , the Rema elaborates on the reason for the custom, writing that engaging in the study of Torah before the seudah provides spiritual protection. It ensures that nothing inappropriate or unseemly will transpire during the meal.

The Rema’s source for this custom is somewhat curious. The pasuk does seem to imply that one should study the Torah on Purim. But how does the Rema glean from these words the fact that Torah study should take place immediately before enjoying the seudah?

As all minhagei Yisrael are founded upon the holiest of bases, let us try to uncover additional meaning in the custom of beginning the Purim seudah with divrei Torah

Divrei Torah — The SignaTure FeaTure oF a JewiSh Meal

The Megillah states, “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king

was merry with wine” (Esther 1:10).

Maseches Megillah asks why Achashveirosh’s drinking is mentioned only on day seven of the party. He most assuredly had been imbibing all along, so why does the Megillah mention it specifically at this point?

The Gemara explains that the seventh day mentioned here does not refer to the seventh day of the party but to Shabbos, the seventh day of the week. It is the day on which Klal Yisrael sit down to enjoy their seudas Shabbos, whereupon they begin to recite divrei Torah and sing zemiros to Hashem. Contrast this with how the non-Jews often spend their time, indulging in food and drink and participating in uncouth conversations.

This was, in fact, what transpired at Achashveirosh’s party. The Gemara relates that the attendees were inebriated, and they began discussing which region of the world produced the most beautiful women. Achashveirosh put an end to the discussion when he offered to demonstrate the beauty of his wife Vashti, of Chaldean descent, and commanded that she parade unclothed before all those in attendance. Her refusal to comply led to her execution, which paved the way for Esther’s entry to the palace.

Why does the Gemara’s description of Achashveirosh’s party begin with a comment about how Yidden comport themselves at their meal? The Gemara could have described Achashveirosh’s party without this seemingly irrelevant fact. Why is the fact that a Shabbos seudah includes divrei Torah and zemiros relevant

to how the discussion at Achashveirosh’s party ultimately led to Vashti’s demise?

e veryone’ S PerSonal Table Can be Mechaper Maseches Berachos teaches a fundamental idea that should empower us to approach our meals as more than just a time to enjoy gustatory pleasure.

As long as the Beis HaMikdash was standing, the offerings on the Mizbei’ach, Altar, served to atone for the sins of Klal Yisrael. One could receive kapparah by bringing korbanos. To our dismay, we no longer have a Mizbei’ach upon which to offer korbanos. The Gemara teaches that although we are lacking the Beis HaMikdash and the Mizbei’ach, we still have a means by which to be granted kapparah: Every person’s table can provide atonement. Every home’s table can effect kapparah.

The Gemara explains that aniyim, paupers, are fed around the table. When we invite the needy into our homes, seat them around our table, and provide for the hungry, that is the source of the table’s capability to provide atonement.

The Shevilei Pinchas writes that there are practical implications of the fact that our tables are considered a mizbei’ach.

The Rema advises that it is a mitzvah to always have salt on the table prior to starting a meal. The shulchan is likened to a mizbei’ach, and therefore the food upon it to a korban. Every korban requires salt; as the Torah states, “On your every offering shall you offer salt” ( Vayikra 2:13). Eating at a table literally

elevates the table to the status of a mizbei’ach and the consumption of the meal to the level of bringing a korban. Salt is therefore a necessary substance.

The Panim Yafos explains how consuming a meal can be considered bringing a korban to Hashem. Food contains both physical and spiritual components. It provides physical sustenance for the person consuming it. And yet there is a spiritual component to food as well. The Gemara tells us that the manna, eaten by Bnei Yisrael throughout their sojourn in the Midbar, was lechem abirim, bread of the mighty. It was called thus because the angels, the malachei hashareis, also enjoyed it.

Animals can actually achieve a higher spiritual level if they are consumed by a human being than if they were brought as korbanos on the Mizbei’ach! The ultimate destination for a plant (tzome’ach) or animal (chai ) is to be consumed by a human being. The food transcends any spiritual level it could otherwise ever possibly aspire to attain, as it achieves the status of a medaber when consumed by humans. If food is consumed with proper kavanah, which is to strengthen its consumer in his service of Hashem, then the food rises to the level of a speaking human being, who has the ability to learn Torah and praise Hashem. However, if the proper thought and intent are lacking, the spiritual attainments achieved through the food are not accessed, and the food is denigrated.

Eating a meal, then, can actually

serve to elevate the food to a higher and loftier level than it could have on the Mizbei’ach in the Mishkan or Mikdash.

Shlomo HaMelech says, “Mi zos ha’nishkifah k’mo shachar yaffa k’levana bara k’chamah ayumah k’nigdalos, Who is this that gazes down like dawn, beautiful as the moon, brilliant as the sun, awesome as the bannered hosts?” (Shir HaShirim 6:10).

The Bnei Yissaschar writes that Klal Yisrael’s secret to success is hinted at by the word shulchan, which is an acronym for the four entities listed in this pasuk: shachar, levana, chamah, nigdalos. This pasuk that attests to the beauty of Klal Yisrael and to the strength of Hashem’s love for us hints to the word shulchan to demonstrate the high regard that Hashem has for us because of our shulchan

The

SPiCeS

oF The

Ketores Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Zhiditchov discovers an astounding remez to the word shulchan. The ketores, the fragrant incense that was offered in the Beis HaMikdash, contained eleven spices. Maseches Kreisus elaborates on how we arrive at the number eleven. The Torah states: “Va’yomer Hashem el Moshe. Kach lecha samim nataf u’shecheles v’chelbinah samim u’levonah zakah bad b’bad yehiyeh, Hashem said to Moshe: Take for yourself spices — stacte, onycha, and galbanum — spices and pure frankincense: These shall all be of equal weight” (Shemos 30:34).

The command begins, Kach lecha samim, take for yourself spices The use of the plural samim, spices, indicates that two spices (at least) must be taken. The pasuk then names three spices: nataf u’shecheles v’chelbinah Adding these to the two samim gives a total of five spices.

The Torah then repeats the word samim to indicate that we double the number of spices listed thus far. This gives a total of ten spices. Finally, the pasuk mentions u’levonah zakah, and pure frankincense, the eleventh spice.

Of all eleven spices, though, the Torah names only four: shecheles, levonah, chelbinah, nataf. There is great significance in the four species of spices the Torah specifically names. The roshei teivos of these four spices spell the word shulchan, table.

The Torah alludes to the idea that our table, our shulchan, is a mizbei’ach. The ketores, which was burned on the Mizbei’ach HaZahav (Golden Altar), hints to the word shulchan. This is because our tables can be likened to the Mizbei’ach.

The Vilna Gaon advances the same idea. He writes that since the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, our private tables have assumed the role that had previously belonged to the Mizbei’ach Our tables are mechaper in the same sense that the Mizbei’ach formerly did. The Torah alludes to this idea by explicitly naming only four of the spices that are offered on the Mizbei’ach: the four whose acronym spells the word shulchan

To whiCh Mizbei’ach

iS The shulchan CoMPareD?

The remez advanced by Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Zhiditchov and the Vilna Gaon indicates that the mizbei’ach our tables are facsimiles of is the Mizbei’ach HaKetores. As the roshei teivos of the four ingredients delineated in the production of the Ketores are an acronym for shulchan, clearly our shulchan is symbolic of

Our table needs to be symbolic of both Mizbeichos in the Beis HaMikdash. Therefore, at the table one should engage in learning the parsha of the ketores and the perek Eizehu Mekoman. In this way, the shulchan can embody the nature of each of the two Altars.

The Ben Ish Chai then advises us what to do in a practical sense to elevate our physical table to the level of each of the Altars that stood in the Beis HaMikdash. He encourages the study of Torah at the table, as well as seating and feeding needy guests and attending to their needs. The Ben Ish Chai seems to be addressing how to access both attributes of the Mizbei’ach that are symbolized by our tables. By studying Torah, we tap into our table’s ability to symbolize the Mizbei’ach HaKetores, and by feeding the needy, we activate our table’s power of representing

The merit for their salvation is found in the divrei Torah and zemiros with which the Yidden elevated their Shabbos meals.

dering it akin to idol worship. Speaking divrei Torah at the table, on the other hand, elevates the meal to the status of eating directly from the table of the Ribbono shel Olam.

Earlier in Pirkei Avos, we are taught about the kavanos, intentions, we should have as we pursue our everyday, mundane, and routine activities.

R’ Yose says: Let your fellow’s money be as dear unto you as your own; apply yourself to study Torah, for it is not yours by inheritance; and let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven. Every activity we engage in, whether it is going to sleep, eating a meal, exercising, or going to work, should be done with the intention of serving Hashem. Eating a meal in this manner, with the intent that the food and drink will provide strength, energy, and clarity of mind to serve Hashem properly, elevates the meal and makes it a holy endeavor. Why must we also engage in the study of Torah at the same time?

the golden Incense Altar located in the Heichal. This would seem to be at odds with the way we presented the significance of the shulchan earlier.

The Rema codifies the importance of placing salt on the table. The salt placed on korbanos was utilized only on the Mizbei’ach HaNechoshes, Copper Altar, that was situated in the Chatzer, Courtyard. No korbanos, and therefore no salt, were placed on the Mizbei’ach HaKetores. Clearly, the Rema’s view is that our shulchan is symbolic of the Mizbei’ach HaNechoshes. Likewise, the idea that eating can elevate the life form that is being consumed, much like a korban that is consumed by the fiery maarachah, also is likening our tables to the Mizbei’ach HaNechoshes. To which Mizbei’ach, then, are our tables likened, the Mizbei’ach HaKetores or the Mizbei’ach HaNechoshes?

The Ben Ish Chai postulates that our shulchan actually comprises attributes of both the Mizbei’ach HaChitzon, the copper Outer Altar upon which korbanos were brought, and the Mizbei’ach HaPenimi, the golden Inner Altar, upon which ketores was offered.

the Mizbei’ach HaNechoshes.

Let us try to uncover how learning Torah at the table is symbolic of the incense that was brought on the Incense Altar. But first, let us study and appreciate the importance and power of saying divrei Torah at the table in general.

why iS learning aT The Table So iMP orTanT ?

The Mishnah teaches:

R’ Shimon said: If three have eaten at the same table and have not spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten of offerings to dead idols, as it is said, “For all tables are full of vomit and filth, without the Omnipresent” (Yeshayahu 28:8). But if three have eaten at the same table and have spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten from the table of the Omnipresent, as it is said, “And He said to me, ‘This is the table that is before Hashem’” (Yechezkel 41:22).

The critical importance of discussing Torah at the table is clearly evident from this Mishnah. Not engaging in discussions of Torah denigrates the meal, ren-

One answer to this question can be found in the writings of Rav Moshe ben Machir, in his sefer Seder HaYom. Discussing Torah at the table is the precise method by which one displays that he is eating a meal l’shem Shamayim! Merely thinking thus does not suffice. Someone who enjoys an entire meal yet does not voice any Torah thoughts shows that he is, in fact, eating to merely satisfy his hunger or his craving for delicious food.

Another approach can be found in the sefer Mizmor L’Asaf. As mentioned, eating a meal with the kavanah to elevate the food can be likened to the bringing of a korban in the Beis HaMikdash.

When a korban was brought, it was accompanied by shirah, song. Songs were sung at the time of the Avodah, and the shiros were an inherent part of the offerings. The Torah is likened to song, as the pasuk states, “Even by night a song to Him is with me” (Tehillim 42:9).

Thus, the divrei Torah at the table provide the musical accompaniment that is required for every korban

Torah a S The Ke ToreS

We would like to present a new approach for the importance of divrei Torah at the table and how it allows our table to specifically symbolize the Mizbei’ach HaKetores.

The Shevilei Pinchas explains the connection between divrei Torah at a meal and the ketores based upon a sugya in Maseches Yoma. The Torah states: “Aharon took as Moshe had spoken and ran to the midst of the congregation, and behold!

the plague had begun among the people. He placed the ketores and provided atonement for the people” (Bamidbar 17:12).

Clearly, the ketores provided atonement. The Gemara asks for which sin the ketores provided atonement, and answers that the ketores atoned for the aveirah of speaking lashon hara. Amazingly, Maseches Arachin teaches that another method whereby one can atone for the sin of speaking lashon hara is to learn Torah! The pasuk states, “Marpei lashon eitz chaim, a soothing tongue is a tree of life” (Mishlei 15:4).

The word lashon is a reference to lashon hara. The eitz chaim in the pasuk quoted above refers to the Torah, as an earlier pasuk states, “It is a tree of life to those who grasp it” (Mishlei 3:18).

Thus, marpei lashon eitz chaim can be understood to read that the refuah, the cure, for lashon hara is Torah study.

Ketores and Torah study both can atone for lashon hara. No wonder, then, that the divrei Torah at our shulchan elevate it to the status of the Mizbei’ach HaKetores, with the words of Torah considered to be actual ketores

Torah aT The Table

We have demonstrated the importance of divrei Torah and that they can atone for lashon hara just as the ketores did. But why must it happen during a meal?

There is a mitzvah of talmud Torah, to study Torah every single day and every available moment. This study of Torah can very well serve to provide kapparah for lashon hara, as one can fulfill his mitzvah of talmud Torah at any time during the day. Why, then, must one engage in the study of Torah specifically at a meal?

The Shevilei Pinchas explains that the Torah’s prohibition against speaking lashon hara stems from the pasuk, “Lo seilech rachil b’amecha, You shall not be a gossipmonger among your people” (Vayikra 19:16). Targum Onkelos translates this pasuk as “lo seichul kurtzin.” Rashi explains the Targum. The use of the word kurtzin, says Rashi, is akin to its use in two other places:

“Va’achalu kartzhon di yehudyeh, Some Chaldean men came forth and defamed the Jews” (Daniel 3:8).

“Achal bei kurtzah bei malkah, [That man] went to inform the king ” (Berachos 58a).

Rashi explains that there was a custom to eat a portion of food in the home of the person to whom one would present slanderous words. This served as confirmation that the lashon hara he was spreading was true. His eating there demonstrated that he could be trusted to report accurate slander, and that he was not fabricating lies regarding the people of whom he was speaking ill. The Targum is referring to this snack, which was called kurtzin. The word kurtzin is derived from the pasuk, “Korei’ah b’einav, he winks with his eyes” (Mishlei 6:13). It is a term applicable to someone who slanders others by spreading lashon hara, since those who disparage others will often wink or gesture in some manner, conveying the slanderous message with mere gesticulation.

Apparently, lashon hara was accompanied by food. The person speaking lashon hara would partake of food at the table of those who listened to the lashon hara. We can now understand why the discussions of Torah that atone for lashon hara must take place at a meal. The rectification for the sin that occurred at one’s table must take place in the same setting.

We can now gain a new appreciation for how speaking Torah at the table elevates the level of the shulchan to that of the Mizbei’ach HaKetores. The divrei Torah that are spoken at the table, like the ketores, serve to atone for lashon hara that was also spoken at the shulchan

and other venues.

which was in turn mechaper for their aveiros. They would then be worthy to be saved from Haman’s evil decree.

Klal Yisrael wa S SaveD by Divrei Torah

The sin that Klal Yisrael committed at the time of Purim was that they enjoyed the party given by Achashveirosh. They should not have participated in the festivities, since the very essence of the party was to celebrate what Achashveirosh believed: that the Beis HaMikdash would never be rebuilt.

Incredibly, at the very moment the Jews were sinning, while they were eating, drinking, and enjoying a party celebrating Churban Beis HaMikdash, Hashem was setting the stage for their salvation! Achashveirosh commanded Vashti to appear before the revelers, and her refusal to comply led to her execution. This enabled Esther to enter the palace as her replacement, where she was able to orchestrate the events that led to Haman’s downfall.

At the very time and place that the aveirah was being committed, at that very party where the Jews of Shushan were sinning, Hashem was planting the seeds of redemption. How did Klal Yisrael merit such remarkable Divine intervention if they were in the midst of grave sin at that very moment? The Ben Yehoyada explains that the merit for their salvation is found in the divrei Torah and zemiros with which the Yidden elevated their Shabbos meals.

The Gemara includes this seemingly extemporaneous fact in its discussion about Vashti’s demise to advise us that this was the basis for the yeshuah. Klal Yisrael merited salvation specifically because of the divrei Torah that are shared at the Shabbos table. Relating divrei Torah at the seudas Shabbos elevated their shulchan to the level of the Mizbei’ach,

The Ksav Sofer takes a similar approach in explaining why the festival of Purim was established to specifically be celebrated with mishteh and simchah, with festive food and drink. It was the zechus of the divrei Torah and zemiros that Klal Yisrael brought to their Shabbos tables that allowed their salvation to begin at the very party where their sins were being committed. We commemorate this by celebrating with a festive meal, with a seudah replete with delicacies. Klal Yisrael was saved because of the divrei Torah repeated at the seudah, and we honor this by enjoying a seudah prefaced by divrei Torah as well.

unDerSTanDing The reMa

We can now understand the depth of the custom codified by the Rema. There is a profound connection between the recitation of divrei Torah and seudas Purim. We need to engage in the study of Torah prior to enjoying the seudah on Purim because the yeshuah came about only because of the divrei Torah that were repeated at the seudah! Our Purim seudah is a commemoration of this fact and therefore must begin with divrei Torah!

a reMez To MorDeChai

With this new understanding, we can now more fully appreciate the Torah’s remez to Mordechai that is brought in the Gemara. The Gemara states that the remez to Mordechai in the Torah is in the pasuk, “V’atah kach lecha besamim rosh mar d’ror, Now you, take for yourself choice spices” (Shemos 30:23). The Targum on the words mar d’ror is meirah dachyah, an allusion to Mordechai. This remez is appropriately placed in the discussion of the fragrant besamim, since the salvation came about because of the divrei Torah that were discussed at the seudas Shabbos at the time of Purim. The divrei Torah were the ketores that served to elevate their shulchan to the level of the Mizbei’ach HaKetores, which was mechaper, ultimately leading to the geulah. May we, too, be zocheh to elevate our shulchan to the level of both Mizbechos, and, in doing so, merit the ultimate salvation of the Geulah Sheleimah bimheirah v’yameinu, amen

Sparks of Light

When Fortune Turns

The Jewish People Beyond Mazal

TBy Rabbi Benny Berlin

he Megillah contains many puzzling moments but perhaps none more perplexing than Zeresh’s response to Haman. After Haman returns home humiliated from parading Mordechai through Shushan, his wife and advisors tell him:

“Im mi’zera haYehudim Mordechai asher hachilosa linpol lefanav, lo tuchal lo ki nafol tipol lefanav. If Mordechai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him; you will surely fall before him” (6:13).

If? Does anyone not know that Mordechai is Jewish? That was the entire premise of Haman’s decree. The Megillah states explicitly that Haman sought to destroy all the Jews because Mordechai the Jew refused to bow. Zeresh herself had enthusiastically supported building the gallows only hours earlier. Why does she suddenly speak as if Mordechai’s Jewish identity is uncertain?

The Vilna Gaon offers a reading that turns this question into the very core of Purim.

To understand Zeresh’s words, we must retrace the astonishing events of that night. “Balailah hahu nadedah shnat HaMelech That night, the king’s sleep was disturbed” (6:1). Achashverosh is troubled by a political mystery. His queen risked her life by entering uninvited. Clearly, she needs something urgent. Yet when offered up to half the kingdom, she requests another party. Why the delay?

The king reasons that Esther was raised in Mordechai’s home. She is an orphan, and he is her guardian. If she would risk everything for anyone, it would be for him. And she brought Haman, the most powerful of-

ficial in the empire. Whatever they intend to request, it must concern Mordechai.

Unable to rest, Achashverosh orders the royal chronicles. He is searching for leverage. The records reveal that Mordechai once saved his life by exposing the plot of Bigsan and Seresh. The king understands that before any request is made, he must place himself in control. He will honor Mordechai first and regain the upper hand.

At that precise moment, Haman arrives, eager to secure permission to execute Mordechai. The king, however, assumes Haman has come to advocate for Mordechai. Before Haman can speak, the king asks, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman, imagining himself the subject, suggests a royal parade: garments, horse, public proclamation.

“Hurry,” the king commands. “Take the garments and the horse and do so for Mordechai the Jew” (6:10). Immediately.

Picture the scene at Haman’s home. Only hours earlier, they had finalized their strategy. Build the gallows. Secure approval. Eliminate Mordechai. Suddenly, they see Haman leading Mordechai through the streets in royal attire, proclaiming his greatness.

Any rational observer would conclude that Haman attempted to destroy Mordechai and was decisively defeated. His career is over.

When Haman arrives home, his household assumes the tide has turned. “We sent you to kill him, and now you are honoring him. You have lost everything.”

Haman protests. The king interrupted me. It was a sudden impulse. A

strange coincidence. Nothing more. I am still in control.

The Megillah describes his account with a precise word: “Vayesaper Haman…es kol asher karahu. Haman told them all that had happened to him” (6:13). Karahu implies happenstance. Random occurrence. This is the worldview of Amalek, the philosophy of mikreh, where events are stripped of meaning and history is reduced to accident.

It is at that moment that Zeresh speaks.

She is not questioning Mordechai’s identity. She is challenging Haman’s interpretation. If this concerns the Jewish people, and you are dismissing your fall as coincidence, then you have already misunderstood the nature of your opponent. Because with this nation, there is no such thing as mere chance.

The Vilna Gaon explains that we are a people of ein mazal l’Yisrael. We are not confined to the ordinary calculus of fate. This began with Avraham and Sarah. According to every natural measure, they could not have a child. Yet G-d lifted Avraham beyond the stars and declared that his destiny would not be dictated by them. Jewish existence does not unfold within predictable systems.

This does not mean we are immune to history. It means our history is not self-contained. When we fall, we descend with an intensity that defies explanation. When we rise, we rise in ways that defy expectation. Empires have vanished. Ideologies have crumbled. We have endured dispersion, persecution, and exile, yet remain a living covenantal people. Not because fortune

favored us. Not because statistics predicted us. But because our story is tethered to something beyond mazal.

Zeresh understands this instinctively. If you have begun to fall before a Jew, and you attribute it to coincidence, you have already lost. Jewish history does not turn on randomness. It turns when Heaven decides it turns. Once that pivot has begun, it is irreversible.

The next verse makes this clear. “While they were still speaking, the king’s officers arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet” (6:14). The descent accelerates. What Haman labeled accident reveals itself as orchestration.

Here lies the deeper message of Purim. The king’s insomnia. The precise page in the chronicles. The timing of Haman’s arrival. Each detail appears incidental. Yet each is perfectly aligned. Purim is the celebration of hidden governance, of divine direction operating beneath the surface of political intrigue.

To live as a people beyond mazal is not to ignore natural reality. It is to recognize that beneath it runs a deeper current. Amalek sees coincidence. Zeresh senses destiny. Haman insists nothing has changed. In truth, everything has changed.

Purim teaches that what looks like randomness is divine choreography. There is no such thing as happenstance in Jewish history. Because we are a people whose story is written beyond the stars.

Rabbi Benny Berlin is the rabbi of BACH Jewish Center located in Long Baeach, New York. For more information, visit: https://www. bachlongbeach.com/.

Think. Feel.Grow.

Our Existential Battle Against Amalek

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

As we encounter Purim, let us delve deeper into the unique spiritual and existential battle that the Jewish People continue to wage against the philosophy of Amalek. Amalek first appeared on the scene when they attacked Klal Yisrael in the Midbar, on their journey to Har Sinai. The most striking aspect of this attack was its timing.

Hashem had just performed the Makkos and split the Yam Suf for the Jewish people — acts that had worldwide reverberations. The Jewish people were viewed as invincible and untouchable, and exactly at this moment, Amalek chose to attack them, undertaking a (practically) suicidal battle with zero provocation. What was their motivation to undertake such a mission?

This question can be extended to the Purim story as well. Haman, suddenly promoted to second in command, makes it his mission to wipe out the entire Jewish people. As a descendant of Amalek, he is clearly continuing their legacy of Jewish obliteration.

Why is it that, throughout history, people have made it their singular focus to wipe out the Jewish people? And why is this the spiritual legacy of Amalek? In order to answer this question, we must examine the fundamental principles of Jewish belief, based on the thirteen ikarei emunah (principles of faith) delineated by the Rambam in his commentary on perek Chelek in Sanhedrin.

Three Fundamental Principles

• The first fundamental principle of Jewish belief is that Hashem is the Creator of the world. He is the Source of time, space, and all of existence.

• The second principle is that Hashem has a direct relationship with this

physical world. This is the concept of hashgachah — that Hashem oversees and controls the events of this world.

• The third fundamental principle is that there is a purpose to this world and our lives within it. There is not a single aspect of life that is random; rather, each and every occurrence and interaction is part of an infinitely beautiful grand plan, a cosmic symphony, a masterpiece designed by Hashem.

While Amalek does not tend to focus on the first of these principles, their entire existence is devoted toward destroying the second and third of these principles. Amalek claims that although Hashem may exist, He has absolutely no connection to us or our world. Our lives are therefore meaningless, and this world is devoid of spirituality.

This destructive conviction is embodied in the pasuk describing Amalek’s attack on the Jewish people. As we read

in Parshas Zachor, we must remember what Amalek did to us, “Asher korcha ba’derech — How they happened upon us while we were traveling” (Devarim 25:18). The word korcha is peculiar, and Rashi therefore quotes three interpretations of this word, each fundamental and significant.

1. Randomness and Happenstance

The first explanation of the word “korcha ” is based on its connection to the word “karah” (happenstance).

This interpretation reflects Amalek’s claim that everything in this world is random and meaningless. There is no hashgachah, no Divine providence. Anything that happens to you, whether bad or good, has no deeper meaning or significance behind it. Amalek implied that they just “happened” to be there with swords in hand, ready for battle; they simply “chanced” upon the Jewish

people as they were on the way. This is the exact approach that Haman took when plotting to kill the Jews. He did not rationally calculate a date on which to kill the Jews, but rather, he specifically chose one through a pur (lottery). A lottery represents and embodies randomness and chance. Haman let the luck of the draw determine when he would kill the Jews, an act of devotion to “karah.” The gematria of Amalek is the same as that of the word safek (doubt). Amalek represents doubt and uncertainty, randomness and chaos.

2. Keri: Spiritual Marriage

The second interpretation offered by Rashi connects the word “korcha” to “keri,” a concept linked to marital impurity. Judaism views marriage as a lofty mitzvah; the relationship between husband and wife holds incredible spiritual potential. The Ramban explains that the relationship between man and wife ideally reflects the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people. It is a relationship of spiritual and existential oneness where potential is developed and actualized.

Amalek, however, claims that marriage is no more than animalistic mating, a relationship devoid of higher meaning and spirituality. The name Amalek shares its root with the word melikah, which is the process of removing the head from the body of a bird before it is offered as a sacrifice. The head is the highest part of the body, representing the mind and the spiritual; the body is the lower part, representing the physical. Ideally, the two are harmoniously connected (and the head [spiritual] influences the outer expression of the body [physical]). Amalek attempts to disconnect the head from the body, to

disconnect the spiritual (head) from the physical (body), claiming that there is no spirituality within the physical world, no meaning, and no connection to Hashem or anything higher.

3. Kor: Cooling the Flame Rashi’s third explanation of the word “korcha ” is based on a Midrash that relates the word to “kor ” (cold). The Midrash describes the mashal of a boiling hot bath of water that nobody dares jump into for fear of being scalded. Along comes a man and boldly jumps into the boiling water, severely burning himself in the process. Although he burned himself, he has now cooled the water enough to allow others to follow suit and jump in as well.

This is what Amalek did as the Jewish people traveled from Egypt to Har Sinai. After Hashem performed the ten Makkos and took the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim, Hashem’s providence was flamingly clear in the world. The nations of the world were ready to accept Hashem and His Torah, and they began flocking toward Har Sinai to join the Jewish people in accepting the Torah. (The Ramchal explains at the end of Derech Hashem that until the Torah was given, any nation could have joined Klal Yisrael. See Zevachim 116a.) The Jewish people were at the height of their success, about to receive the Torah, and the other nations were ready to accept the Torah along with them. At this point, Amalek attacked the Jewish people, undertaking a nearly suicidal mission.

Although the Jewish nation won, Amalek showed the other nations that the Jews were not as invincible as they seemed. They “jumped into the scalding bath,” i.e., attacked the Jewish people, and “cooled the waters,” i.e., showed the other nations that the Jewish people were vulnerable to attack. Why did Amalek do this? Why were they willing to burn themselves simply to weaken the Jewish People?

The Philosophy of Amalek

Amalek rejects Hashem’s connection to this world or any connection between the spiritual and the physical. Essentially, Amalek denies Hashem’s control of this world and the ability for man to uplift himself to the level of the spiritual. Torah is the epitome of both of these principles, and it provides the guidelines for how to achieve this spiritual elevation. It is based on the axiom of Hashem’s connection with this world, and it is the means for elevating ourselves and all of physicality to a higher purpose.

Amalek stands in direct opposition to this, and when they saw that not only the Jewish people but the entire world was ready to adopt the Torah way of life, they had no choice but to attack. Amalek’s entire existence is predicated on a lack of connection between Hashem and this world; therefore, a complete acceptance of that principle by all the nations of the world would mean the cessation of Amalek’s existence.

Amalek fights for a G-d-less reality, devoid of spirituality and meaning; a world of Haman, of doubt, where a gap exists between us and Hashem. Only when you look closer, deepening your gaze, do you see the deeper layer of reality, the transcendent root. Hashem is Echad, One, and our goal is to see the spiritual oneness inherent within every event and object in this world. Amalek seeks to hide the truth, to disconnect us

Our

challenge is to see past the surface, to see the miraculous within the natural.

Amalek attacked the Jewish people order to prevent Matan Torah — to stop the world from accepting Hashem’s Torah and the truth that lies within it. And although Amalek was sorely beaten with only a few survivors, they still managed to slay a few Jewish warriors. They showed that the Jews were not invincible, “cooling” down the excitement of all the nations of the world and paralyzing their readiness to accept the Torah. Amalek won. Physically, they lost, but in a deeper way, they won. The nations of the world walked away, turning down the opportunity to accept Hashem and His Torah.

Why Isn’t Hashem Mentioned in the Megillah?

Megillas Esther is unique in that it is one of the only books in Tanach in which Hashem’s name is not mentioned. This is because Purim marks a transition in history, when our battle against Amalek manifested in a new form. Until Purim, history was permeated with consistent open miracles, nevuah was common, and Hashem was openly revealed in the world.

The second stage, ushered in by Purim, is characterized by hidden miracles. In our present world, Hashem is no longer openly manifest and clearly visible. In this stage, we must choose to see Hashem within the darkness — to peer past the façade of a meaningless world. It is in this stage that Amalek’s claims are all the more tempting to believe, as it is so easy to ignore Hashem’s involvement in this world. Our challenge is to see past the surface, to see the miraculous within the natural, the ethereal within the mundane, and the infinite within the finite.

from our Source, and thus to strip all meaning from life. Only when we see past the surface, when we trace everything that happens in this world back to Hashem, our spiritual Source, will we ultimately defeat Amalek and all that they stand for.

speaker, bestselling author, business coach, the CEO of SMA, and a TED Talk Speaker. His online content reaches millions of people every month, and he lectures internationally on topics of Torah thought, psychology, leadership, and business – uniquely blending many areas of Torah and wisdom together. His bestselling book, The Journey to Your Ultimate Self, serves as an inspiring gateway into deeper Torah thought. After receiving his BA from Yeshiva University and Semicha from Yeshiva University’s RIETS, Rabbi Reichman received a Masters degree in Philosophy and Religion from the University of Chicago. As part of his Masters Degree at the University of Chicago, Rabbi Reichman received an Ivy Plus Scholarship to Harvard where he spent a year studying Religious Philosophy and Literature as an Ivy Scholar. Additionally, he received a Masters degree in Educational Psychology from Azrieli Graduate School and a Masters degree in Jewish Thought from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. As a business and leadership coach, Rabbi Reichman provides a unique 1-on-1 coaching program where he helps high-achievers, coaches, and business owners achieve their financial and personal goals. To learn more or to get in contact with Rabbi Reichman, visit his website: ShmuelReichman.com

School of Thought

The First Sefer Torah

By Barbara Deutsch

The 613th commandment instructs Jewish males to write a Sefer Torah. It’s not cheap; for those who have the desire and ability to fulfill this mitzvah, try to do so. Often, someone takes on this mitzvah to memorialize a departed loved one, to highlight a milestone simcha, or for a special situation.

To commission a Torah, you need a sofer who is proficient and well trained. Parchment is used for the writing; it must be made from the skin of a kosher animal. The scribe mixes a special ink for the calligraphy (safrut) and prepares the actual writing utensil, a quill, that usually comes from a turkey feather. The scribe uses a specific reed instrument to scratch lines into the parchment in preparation for the actual writing.

Alternatively, it is not unusual to try to rescue a Sefer Torah that has been deemed pasul (no longer viable) and for a scribe to fix the problems rather than burying the Torah as shaimus.

During my tenure at JKHA, Kushner, a Holocaust survivor grandparent, Mr. Zuckerman, was deep into the heavy lifting of rescuing and rehabilitating Torah scrolls which had gone missing or became damaged during the war. In the eight years that I served as the principal of the Middle School, Mr. Zuckerman, a dynamic and powerful visionary, redeemed three sifrei Torah; he let nothing stand in his way.

He was not alone in his efforts; along with the other “Builders” (as they were called) in his beloved New Jersey communities of Elizabeth and Livingston were survivors who used their hard-earned profits in search of the holy books and sifrei Torah that had been stolen from synagogues and homes. To their credit, and with the guidance of Rabbi Teitz, they were often successful in their rescue attempts.

One of those refurbished sifrei Torah was donated to JKHA as part of a bar mitzvah celebration for a student. On the designated day, everyone came dressed in the blue and white uniform of big-deal school events. Halls were decorated with Torah posters and Israeli flags. An elaborate sumptuous seudah was arranged for all of the celebrants.

Outside, parked on the rolling lawns of the JKHA backyard, was a magnificent entertainment truck, embellished with sparkly lights and blasting Hebrew music. Everyone in the school came out to dance and sing with this reborn Sefer Torah under the specially designed chuppah created for the simcha.

When JKHA celebrated, the yeshiva always went first class with style, no detail missed or expense spared.

Whenever I participated in a Hachnasat Sefer Torah, the highlight was watching as the resident sifrei Torah came out to greet a new family member; I cried every time.

At JKHA, specially chosen older children and faculty held tight to their precious Torah scrolls as they surrounded the newbie and welcomed it into the community.

Similar in many aspects to the manner in which European Jewry survived and rebuilt their lives, families, and communities, this rescued Torah represented rebirth and promise for everyone bearing witness that day.

I have had the privilege of participating in numerous Hachnasat Sefer Torahs in my community in America and here in Israel, each one significant and memorable for the families who commissioned them and for the people or places that they were dedicated. The Torah dedicated at the Hachnasat Sefer Torah ceremony I attended this week in Beit Shemesh is for Bob, Avraham ben Pinchas Shmuel. The inherent finality is bittersweet, but the celebration I witnessed that night will forever have a place in my heart and head.

Beit Shemesh and its surrounding communities are among the fastest growing in Israel. Young couples, Anglo or Israeli, can ill afford the cost of a home for a growing family within Jerusalem proper. Communities, many being coordinated and led by Anglo rabbis, are being developed to meet the huge aliyah and Israeli families’ need for affordable housing.

The center of every single Jewish community is the shul; every shul needs a Sefer Torah.

There is a brand new and expanding shul in one of the new Beit Shemesh com-

munities that was in need of its own designated Torah; they have been using one that is second-hand, borrowed from another shul. The young visionary leaders of this community organized a campaign to commission one for their burgeoning, but still with far to go, shul building. They currently daven in a crowded caravan down the block from the building site.

They raised a lot of money (each family pledged 50,000 shekel and more) for this Shul/Torah venture; it is not enough. Through all kinds of connections, the financial gap for the Torah was closed, and the Torah was completed and dedicated to Avraham ben Pinchas Shmuel, a”h. It was fabulous.

The Beit Shemesh location is a solid hour, with no traffic, away. We arrived to find the streets closed off and hundreds of babies, toddlers, teens and grownups representing all kinds of hashkafot milling around. The Mizrachi Shul, as it is called, boasts over 100 families, and every single person was there to welcome its Torah.

Congregants took off from work. Many came with their extended families. The Mizrachi Shul has been counting down the days to reach this special one.

Our family was greeted with welcoming smiles of joy as they escorted us to special seats of honor – Keter chairs on a temporary stage set up among the slats and bricks of the “in progress” shul building. Young and old, fluent in English or not, came to bless us and shake our hands in gratitude. It was overwhelming and joyful with an undertone of melancholy.

Writing the final letters took time and patience. No one cared; everyone had been waiting a long time, and they savored every second of preparation and celebration. I was given a special computer disc with the pictures of the gedolim of Israel who had been invited to write a letter.

Naftali, our cousin and the Torah facilitator, had been designated to write the last letter. It turned out that it had already been promised to a gadol in attendance.

Witnessing the happiness of the dancers and singers brought me to my knees. The image of this vast circle of men – in brimmed hats, fur ones, kippot, srugah,

silk velvet or any type – made me hopeful.

The crowd’s enthusiasm and awe of this magical gift reminded me of the scene from “Fiddler on the Roof” when everyone in Anatevka surrounds the tailor Motel’s new sewing machine. This was not just any Sefer Torah for this community. This Torah was the first – their first.

Our grandson Dovid left his circle of jubilance to hug me close and dance with me on the sidelines. I cried and cried as I envisioned Bob’s neshama hovering above us smiling and dancing with us.

And then it was time to go home. It was past 10:00 pm and our family did not participate in the cholent and Yerushalmi kugel. Everyone was starving (not me or Tova). Close by is Ruben’s Deli, and it was packed with Israelis who eat late. Everyone ordered and ate hungrily; Bob would have approved. It gave him so much pleasure when our grandkids actually ate what they had ordered.

It makes no difference if it’s a reborn Torah taken from the ashes of destruction or a brand-new one written for a burgeoning young community – they both represent our long history of survival. As long as we can hold onto the mitzvot and history etched into every letter, we will continue to be a vibrant nation.

To quote our dear, longtime friend Joel, who is like family, “A Torah written in someone’s memory is a living memorial that will elevate Bob’s neshama every time they lein from this Sefer Torah.”

“May his neshama have an aliyah.” Amen.

Barbara Deutsch is the former associate principal at HANC, middle school principal at Kushner, and Dean of Students at Yeshiva of Flatbush. A not-retired educator, she is still trying to figure out life in Israel.

Nation

ABatyah Furz From Filipino Christian to Proud Jew

By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

t first, Batyah Furz’s congregation was a typical Filipino Baptist church. And then, one day, it became something else.

It all started when Batyah was in high school. One morning, the preacher began speaking about the Hebrew name of G-d.

Then, some time after that, the man told his congregants that there were more than 10 commandments — there were 613!

And then, he banned his church from eating pork.

By the time Batyah was a high school junior, she and the church were observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and had also begun keeping Pesach and

In

Her Words…

Sukkos, among other Jewish traditions.

Eventually, the congregation stopped calling itself a “church,” exchanging its Protestant identity for a new label: Messianic Judaism — a Christian sect with Jewish traditions.

But then, one day, it stopped being that, too.

After a deeply spiritual trip to Israel in 2018, spurred by her growing interest in Judaism, Batyah asked her preacher an important question. Her congregation, it seemed, had abandoned every belief it once held true — everything except for its belief that Yashka is the messiah. Batyah wanted to know if they would be dropping that belief, as well.

i wanted to remain a noahide because it’s easy. But it felt so limiting. i felt like i couldn’t connect to hashem. i needed more.

if we, the Jewish people, don’t love hashem with all of our hearts, with all of our souls — then who’s going to do it? Who is going to love hashem?

o ur religion, our Torah, our relationship with hashem is very beautiful. We just have to stick with this. We know we have the reward, we have the punishment. But most of all, we just have to serve hashem with ahava, yirah … and just be a happy Jew.

“Do we still believe in J—?” she asked the preacher.

“Of course we do,” he assured her.

But a few months later, when the preacher warned his congregation that he had a big announcement to make, Batyah had a feeling that she knew what was coming. But that didn’t make it any easier for her.

“He put the announcement at the end of the service, so I hated that part. But he said that ‘J— is not the messiah,’” Batyah recalls, her voice cracking. “I was crying. I was sobbing. I felt betrayed.”

The preacher noted contradictions between the Torah and the New Testament. He debunked Christian scripture’s account of Yashka’s birth. In the course of one speech, he tore apart Christianity, leaving a shocked Batyah in tears. Everything he once preached, he revealed, was a lie.

“My entire life is dedicated to J—,” Batyah thought at that moment. “I worship him. I pray to him. And he’s not the messiah?! Now what am I going to do with my life?”

But then, Batyah had a eureka moment.

“You know what I’m going to do?” she thought. “I’m going to convert to Judaism.”

* * *

During a trip to Thailand in 2016, Batyah found herself on a bus, talking with an Israeli Jewish girl. Batyah recalls her amazement at seeing a Jewish person. Her congregation had engrained in her that the Jewish people are holy and, contrary to popular Christian belief, are still G-d’s Chosen People.

“We were big supporters and lovers of Israel,” Batyah recalls. “Whenever we would have our service, we would always end by saying, ‘Peace to Israel, its borders, and the Jewish people.’”

That interaction led her to visit a Jewish restaurant, where she stumbled into yet another fascinating conversation: the Jewish chef introduced her to the concept of conversion.

From there, her interest in Judaism grew steadily. She began researching Judaism online. She discovered Shabbat. com and got to know its founder, Rabbi Benzion Klatzko. And the more she learned, the more her fascination grew.

“In 2018, I went to Australia. And I really wanted to visit a Jewish synagogue,” she shares. “I visited, and I felt like it was pretty much normal in comparison with Christianity. I saw a woman with a tallis who was part of the main service. There was mixed seating.

“I went to Israel three months after that, because Hashem put me there. I applied for a visa to Europe, but it was rejected. So I thought, ‘OK, what country can I go to without a visa?’ And Israel was one of them. So, I went there, and I spoke to many secular people.”

“I don’t see much difference between Christianity and Judaism,” she recalls telling secular Israelis in Tel Aviv. “I went to a synagogue in Melbourne, and my experience was very similar to church.”

Eventually, someone explained to her that the synagogue she visited was a Reform one.

“You have to visit an Orthodox shul,” they told her.

So, that coming Shabbos, that’s exactly what she did.

“When I went there, I only saw two or three women. There were no microphones or instruments. And that struck me: I felt the kedusha. I felt the connection. I was crying,” Batyah recalls. “I didn’t understand their service because it was in Hebrew. I just covered my face with the siddur, and I was crying. And that’s when I realized that I want to be part of this.”

* * *

During the pandemic, in the midst of her geirus process, Batyah completed her doctorate in business. Simultaneously, she immersed herself in prayer and Torah study. Back in the

Philippines, she had a part-time job as a college professor. But because of COVID, she was able to take a break from work and spend six months in Israel. It was a challenging time for her. Despite having a Ph.D., she took on a cleaning job, struggled with Hebrew, and encountered many other obstacles. And yet, living in the Holy Land was an incredibly rewarding experience for her, as she never stopped believing that G-d was watching over her. Indeed, when faced with the choice between returning to her teaching job in the Philippines or staying in Israel, she chose the latter.

Four months after the October 7 massacre, Batyah became a Jew. Today, she lives in the United States with her Israeli husband. Since converting, she’s become a social media influencer.

After Batyah’s conversion was finalized, the Beis Din asked her for her new name.

“Batyah,” she replied.

When asked why, she explained the importance of her non-Jewish name, which was a combination of her parents’ names. Her father, Dennis, and her mother, Gina, had blended their names — as is common in Filipino naming traditions — naming their daughter “Denji.” As Batyah explained to the rabbinical court, “I wanted to make sure that I have a name that could surpass that.”

The name Batyah (literally, “daughter of G-d”) encapsulates her relationship with Hashem. Her favorite mitzvah is V’ahavta et Hashem Elokecha — to

love Hashem your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.

“Why do I love Hashem so much?” Batyah shares. “I was deprived of Him. I was longing for Him.”

Batyah’s pained to see people — Jews and non-Jews alike — worshiping idols, giving credit to non-existent beings when all blessings come from G-d. Indeed, part of her mission as a social media influencer is to encourage Jews and Noahides alike to love Hashem.

“If we, the Jewish people, don’t love Hashem with all of our hearts, with all of our souls — then who’s going to do it?” Batyah declares, concluding with an emotional appeal.

“Who is going to love Hashem?”

This article is based on a podcast, “Inspiration For the Nation,” hosted by Yaakov Langer. To catch more of this conversation, you can watch it on LivingLchaim. com or YouTube.com/LivingLchaim or listen wherever you listen to podcasts (just search for “Inspiration For The Nation”) or call our free hotline: 605-477-2100

The Gantze Megillah

TJH Speaks with Dr. Paul Brody, M.D.,

Who Has Leined Megillah for 50 Years and Taught

Hundreds of Students How to Lein Megillah Esther

Dr. Brody, you have leined Megillas Esther for more than 50 years. Tell us about the first Purim when you read the Megillah and about some subsequent readings.

Dr. Brody: I first leined Megillas Esther in 1973 at the very expansive Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills (YIKGH), in Queens, led by Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, zt”l. I distinctly remember that Purim night fell on Motzei Shabbos, which was advantageous because I did not have to fast before reading the Megillah. The only time I had the zechus to be in Eretz Yisroel on Purim was in 1979, when I was doing a medical school elective abroad at the old Shaare Zedek Hospital on Yaffo Street. I read the Megillah at BMT (Bet Midrash L’Torah), at the recommendation of then-student, now-activist Shmuel Sackett, whom I had taught to lein the Megillah as a teenager at YIKGH. I leined a few times in Chicago, when I was a Dermatology resident in Cook County Hospital, from 1985-88, living in West Rogers Park. I subsequently read the Megillah several times at the YIKGH Young Marrieds’ Minyan, and at Kehillas Aderes Eliyahu (Rabbi Elchonon Teitz’s zt”I shul in KGH) through 1993, when my wife Drora and I moved with our little kids to Great Neck. I have chanted Megillas Esther at the Great Neck Synagogue ever since.

Who taught you how to lein the Megillah initially?

My maternal grandfather, Rabbi Jacob Brown, zt”l, patiently convinced me to read the “Gantze Megillah” – that it was not “insurmountable” – after I learned the initial Megillah trop at the Cantorial Training Institute (CTI) (now

L-R: Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) Middle School Principal Rabbi Adam Acobas; Dr. Paul Brody, holding plaque; GNS Chazzan Yitzy Spinner; and Rosh HaYeshiva & Head of School, Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Kobrin. The Megillah Readers program that Dr. Brody initiated 20 years ago at NSHA, teaching 400 students - Ashkenazic and Sephardic - was named the “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Program,” and a newly purchased Megillah was named the “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah,” to be used by all future Megillah readers at NSHA.

the Belz School of Jewish Music) of Yeshiva University, from Rabbi Solomon Berl, z”l, rav of the Young Israel of Co-op City. My wife and I donated the “Megillah Reader” portion of a stained-glass window at the Great Neck Synagogue, where I have chanted the Megillah for the past 30 years to show hakoras hatov for my grandfather, zt”l. I also wear my grandfather’s century-old tallis when I lein the Megillah, and so did all the Ashkenazic students that I have taught at the North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) in Great Neck.

Do you have a particular Megillah that you like to read from?

The Megillah Scroll that I lein from and that my students have read from has special significance, as it was presented to me by the renowned holy rabbi of

Migdal Ha’Emek, in the Northern Galil of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Grossman, shlita, recipient of the prestigious “Israel Prize,” whose organization Migdal Ohr nurtures many thousands of disadvantaged children. I am one of two remaining members of Migdal Ohr’s Founders Board.

Tell us about some of the well-known embellishments that you employ while reading the Megillah. When reading the Megillah, I always try to have a creative approach to keep the kehilla’s attention. I modulate my voice for the various personages in the Megillah, employ special tunes at dramatic moments, and utilize several props to keep the listeners engaged. When the pasuk talks about hanging the evil Haman on the tree that he prepared for Mordechai, I swing a “paddle” picturing four modern-day Hamans: Osama bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. This year, my wife and I plan on “updating” the four evil men to the extremely evil leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Though he was always modest about it, I credit Rabbi Dr. Jerry Acker, z”l, of Kew Gardens, NY, with many of my vocal embellishments. A “perfectionist” Ba’al Kriah, he always managed to teach at least one course that included our particular class at the Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) and at the Yeshiva High School of Queens (YHSQ), in the 1960s. Though separated by age, we became lifelong friends, as did others in my class.

You initiated the Megillah Readers Program in 2002, eventually instructing 400 boys at Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) Middle School over two decades. Can you tell us more about it?

I often davened with the NSHA Middle School students, where my four daughters attended, and I observed that none of the young men there had any knowledge of how to chant Megillas Esther. I broached the idea to volunteer to instruct the students how to chant the Megillah with Rabbi Dr. Michael Reichel, then-principal of the Middle School, who heartily acquiesced, with the

approbation of now Dean Emeritus, Rabbi Yeshayahu Greenfeld. It has since become integral in NSHA’s curriculum – and unique among yeshivos – even gracefully conducted when Purim Day falls out on a Sunday.

Students, along with their siblings, parents and grandparents, plus faculty and members of the administration, have been reporting to the Academy’s Cherry Lane Synagogue for more than two decades on Purim Day for a student-led Megillah Reading, turning one of the Purim mitzvos into a very exciting spiritual and learning experience, enabling all of those in attendance to have a total Purim experience – not only on Purim night.

The Middle School students were instructed by me in the fine art of cantillation and the meticulous notes and melody of chanting the Megillah – life skills. The Megillah Readers Program has served as a paradigm for other yeshivas and day schools. Several of the students have leined the whole Megillah by themselves or shared the reading with one or two other alumni at various shuls, nursing homes or private individuals’ homes, especially helpful during the Covid-19 pandemic. Whenever I hear about those accomplishments, I kvell, I shep nachas.

We understand that this innovative program is now called the “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Reader’s Program” since your retirement after Purim 2022.

Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Kobrin, Rosh HaYeshiva and Head of School, at the Middle School Graduation Exercises, held at the Main Sanctuary of the Great Neck Synagogue, on June 15, 2022, announced that the Middle School Megillah Readers Program, initiated two decades prior by me, was to be named the “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Program” for creating generations of Megillah readers. M’dor l’dor!

Also, a recently purchased beautiful Megillah, to be used by each student reader on Purim day, was named the “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah.” Over a two-decade period, I had instructed approximately 400 students – both Ashkenazi and Sephardi – beginning with only eight students in 2002. My final group included 35 students (out of 39 eighth graders) and two seventh graders.

A detailed Proclamation declaring June 15 as “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Day,” in “fitting recognition and heartfelt appreciation for the dedicated service of Dr. Paul Brody to the residents of Nassau County,” was issued by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, also issued a Proclamation lauding my accomplishments.

Are there any extraordinary experiences regarding the reading of Megillas Esther that stand out over the past 53 years?

Two extraordinary experiences stand out in my mind. On Purim Day 2011, several of my former students read the Megillah for me and my family at St. Francis Hospital in Port Washington, LI.

“This was the first and only time in the hospital’s long history that it granted a large meeting room for a Megillah reading. All of the room’s religious articles at the Catholic Hospital were covered over,” according to Cardiology Vice Chairman, Dr. Meyer Abittan, my cardiologist and close friend, who arranged the room for this special reading the day before I underwent successful cardiac quadruple bypass surgery.

It was very emotional for me and my family to have several of my former students chant the Megillah for me. B”H, I was strong enough to fill in for some of the perakim, and I even leined the “Gantze Megillah” the night before for several patients on my floor.

The most exciting, but dangerous, Megillah reading experience of all for me occurred during a three-person mission in 1985 to smuggle in Judaica objects and meet with many Jewish Refuseniks in the then-USSR. I leined the Megillah publicly illegally in the majestic Great Synagogue of Leningrad, which was prohibited by the Communist Soviet government. I was told that several of the “Gabbaim” were actually members of the KGB. “Better read (red) than dead,” I figured!

Dr. Brody, thank you for your time and for enhancing the community’s Purim with a beautiful Megillah leining for so many years.

Five Towns Mom of Six Climbs Mount Everest

A woman from the Five Towns made history last month when she climbed Mount Everest. Her journey was unique in that her Honda Odyssey served as her base camp. (For you non-climbers: base camp is where you store your supplies and sleep on an excursion.)

Despite the unplanned adventure, the woman survived on rations of Cheerios

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that were strategically placed in hard-toreach areas around the minivan. (Someone could have done a better job cleaning for Pesach last year. Ahem!) In her center console, she had a healthy supply of hand lotions and sanitizers, expired Tylenol, coffee-stained band-aids, sunglasses (it gets sunny up on the hill), and straws –lots of straws.

Ms. Heroic Mom Mountain Climber also had plenty of water bottles since her husband never brought the cases of water in from the back of her car, even though he has been promising to do so for the past month. To stay warm, she wrapped

herself in the numerous Costco sweatshirts and sweatpants that had been flattened under atom bomb-sized detergent and massive mango juice containers in the trunk.

Most importantly, she had her phone so that her kids could call her 37 times every four minutes asking where she is.

Despite some setbacks, this determined Five Towns mom preserved and eventually made it to the summit of Mount Everest.

When she arrived, she did the summit ceremony which consists of…taking a quarter out of her pocket and paying the Central Avenue parking meter.

But unbeknownst to her, Ari Brown canceled all meters and instead of the lady on the meter saying in her faux-English accent (what? Is she making crumpets for the queen or something?),

“Touch arrow here,” she got the vicious swish sound that the meter makes when it’s not in service.

What. Is. With. That. Swish. Sound. It’s diabolical. I think that’s how the electric chair sounds. Sssswwwiiisssshhhh…lights out.

With the sound of the “swish!!!” this mountain climbing Five Towns mom put the quarter back in her pocket (terrible idea – put it back in the minivan right away, otherwise the next time you need a quarter, you won’t have one), quickly ran into the supermarket to pick up some

chicken, rushed back home so supper could be ready on time, and was greeted by her children who said, “What? Chicken? We’re not in the mood of chicken!” Swwwwwwiiiiiiiiissssssshhhhhh.

Hachaim V’Hashalom

Gambling Crackdown

The Five Towns has been roiled by a gambling scandal that has been uncovered at the Moroccan consulate/ local Walmart/aged and curated pizza shop/wife-didn’t-make-dinner-refuge/ bi-weekly Baba Sali yahrtzeit hall/ Charlie Harary lecture space/daveing and Learing center. One of the gabbaim has been rigging the Hachaim V’Hashalom Roulette to never land on Eidus HaMizrach.

“I daven here seven times a day,” says Tzvi Lampost, “and I have never seen the wheel land on Eidus HaMizrach.”

Another davener, who came up from air while swimming in the Thursday night cholent (it’s like mud bathing but better), decried the fact that the spinner never lands on Eidus HaMizrach. Although he is Ashkenaz, he complained, “One of the most geshmak things in my

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life is when I get to scream, ‘Revach v’hatzalah!’ during Sefardi kaddish, but because of this rouge gabbai, I’ve been robbed of that joy.”

After a thorough investigation conducted by Tom Homan’s identical twin brother, the culprit was found to be none other than Gabe Solomon, who hails from Iraq or Afghanistan, maybe Iran. Either way, he comes from a not very good place.

On multiple occasions, especially Chanukah time when he needed more money to cover all the presents that he gave out, Solomon was seen badgering congregants for money. “This gabbai accosted me and asked me for money while I was enjoying my 16th doughnut of the day at HVH,” complained one davener/ donut fresser. “Totally killed my chill.”

These shakedowns took place in plain sight. Authorities took multiple pictures and videos of Solomon collecting vast amounts of money. He can even get money from people who usually respond to such requests by saying, “You’re lucky I paid the meter!”

Aside from those who were victims of the shakedown, many others were trau-

matized as well.

“Usually, when I come into HVH, I see the gabbai who is as happy as someone who drank endless amounts of the Baba Sali’s arak,” said one HVHV learing center patron. “It’s total Zen. Then I walk in one morning, and there is a foreign national who seems to be two syllables away from Allahu Akbar! The only way I was able to cope was by downing some old sushi.”

As part of his scheme, Solomon would force patrons to buy HVH sweatshirts for $360.

One davener declared, “Who in their right mind buys a sweatshirt for $360… other than my daughter?”

Another HVH regular explained that he has no need for a HVH sweatshirt because his sweatshirt schedule is already booked up.

“I wear my TYH sweatshirt whenever TYH puts out a new song, so I’m wearing that sweatshirt 2-3 times a day, and even more when TYH comes out with the weekly swishy-yum-yum remix.”

(Ten second break for Public Service Announcement to all guys in shidduchim: Here is a new dating question to

ask on a date: “If, hypothetically, a new song came out called ‘Swishy Swishy Yum Yum,’ would it be on your playlist?” Proceed accordingly.)

The davener continued to explain that he wears his Bike 4 Chai sweatshirt when he is feeling a little round and wants people to think that he is really in shape and does Bike 4 Chai.

(Another side note: I hate to break it to you but most of the Bike-4Chai “riders” get driven up the hills in luxury vans…and drink a lot of pickle juice. It’s basically a two-day pasta party during which middle-aged men make believe they still know how to dance. (See Ari Dicker’s WhatsApp status…or maybe don’t.) They bike less in those two days than I do when I bike the Atlantic Beach Boardwalk in my white shirt and rebbe tie. Bike 4 Chai should have done what Louis Scheiner did in Morocco: Put up a sign that says don’t post on social media. #IYKYK. How do I know? Because I was there. Yes, I was in Morocco. By the way, the wedding wasn’t really in Morocco. It was at HVH, which looks just like Morocco.)

The shaken down davener continued, “I wear my Shomrim sweatshirt when I set up sting operations five nights a week

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to catch petty car thieves; my Chaveirim sweatshirt when I’m changing tires because someone decided to try and drive over the Grand Canyon in the right lane on Rockaway Turnpike; and a Hatzalah sweatshirt when I go to Yagdil...uh, just kidding. So when am I supposed to wear the HVH sweatshirt – when I’m in the mood of aged pizza and Lysol wipes?”

Although this started as a gambling shakedown, it quickly turned into an immigration issue because Mr. Solomon is not legal in the U.S. Mr. Homan was on site and promised that “ICE is in HVH right now…and I’m not just talking about the slushy machine.”

Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem came as well. She was already in the Five Towns for a sheitel macher appointment. Gotta get that lace tightened in the front. Maybe some more highlights?

Pete Hegseth came ready to blow stuff up. It wasn’t a very far trip for him because he lives in Hewlett Bay Park. His father-in-law Howard Lutnick, who usually davens at Beth Sholom, came along as well.

Due to the scandal, Resorts World Casino and Bet MGM cut ties with HVH. According to reports, Lysol Wipes is considering severing their relationship with Hachaim V’Hashalom as well.

Gourmet Selling Bots…and aliyos

Gourmet Glatt’s Yoeli Steinberg last month unveiled a new AI-controlled shopping robot, dubbed the GourmetBott. Now, customers can shop from the comfort of their own homes. The roll-out was so successful that the GourmetBott deluxe 2.0 was quickly released. It has more Five Townish features and dresses in Alo from head to toe and has big sunglasses.

One GourmetBott owner explained that although he actually likes going

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to the store and shopping for himself, there is one insurmountable problem that the GourmetBott fixes.

“I could never figure out what to say to my friend who I just gave a big hello to in aisle one when we bump into each other in aisle two,” noted the GB2.0 owner. “By aisle three, we are both giving the this-is-getting-awkward nod. By aisle seven, we are no longer on speaking terms.”

He added, “In fact, my wife recently asked me why I am no longer on

speaking terms with my childhood best friend. ‘What happened?’ she asked. I told her, ‘Oh, nothing. We just ran into each other in the supermarket.’”

“Ouch. Now, I understand. Yep, that friendship is over.”

For those who do not yet have the GoumetBott, Gourmet Glatt’s Yoeli Steinberg has implemented the Zigzag Rule which mandates that once you see a friend in an aisle, you must start zigzagging so that you don’t run into each other in every subsequent aisle.

This works for most people except the more popular people in the Five Towns who end up zigzagging like PacMan.

In fact, one woman recently had to be rescued from aisle 17 where she spent a record four hours zigzagging. She even missed her yoga, palates, karate, and sourdough classes. Her husband was not available to rescue her because was in the middle of an intense aliyah auction taking place near the gribenis. Yes, that is new to Gourmet Glatt as well.

According to Yoeli, many have complained that shul takes too long on yom tov, and they are starving by the time it’s over. To remedy that issue, Gourmet Glatt has started selling aliyos. Some aliyah auctions take place in Kol Save, but that is only for the less prestigious yomim tovim aliyos. Basically, if you can’t afford a Gucci aliyah, you can still buy a Bowl & Basket aliyah.

Gourmet’s aliyah sales simulate a real shul feeling, with lively “psheee! Psheee!” chorus that rings out over the PA system when a customer purchases an aliyah.

Some are not happy that Gourmet Glatt is selling aliyos because they

enjoy watching the gabbaim breaking their teeth to do the auction in Yiddish…. “ Tzim ershter mul...tzim tzwaiter mul.”

One wokester argued that the whole bidding in Yiddish process is pretty stereotypical.

“Why is it that all of the sudden when it comes to getting people to try to out-gamble each other and engage in financially reckless behavior do we do it in Yiddish?” noted the wokester. “What is the insinuation? They might as well have a tuna bagel kiddush when the auction is over!”

Yoeli has said that the response to their aliyah product has been overwhelming. In fact, Tesla is building a charging station at Cedarhurst Park to accommodate all of the bidders.

Some were surprised that Tesla was aware of Gourmet’s new aliyah product. However, the reason is because Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently moved to the highly taxed District 14 in Woodmere; he’s the only person who can afford it…because he wears black and white and has 11 kids.

At one recent Aliyah auction in Gourmet Glatt, a Five Towns resident even paid a whopping $6,000 for shli-

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shi on the second day of Pesach. When his friend pointed out that he is a kohen, he responded, “I may be a kohen, but my GourmetBott Deluxe is not!”

Ozempic a nonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous recently announced a new division called Ozempic Anonymous, OA for short.

While the spokesperson for Overeaters Anonymous, also called OA, complained that this is blatant misappropriation as they had the name first, Overeaters Anonymous is down to one person who is the only guy in the Five Towns who is still determined to lose weight on his own…the real way.

Ozempic Anonymous sponsor Meir

Mounjaro was unable to convince this last anti-jabber to come on over to the light side and just take the shot.

“OK, have it your way,” he declared, “You hitch up your horse while I fly my jet!”

Ozempic Anonymous meets every morning at the Rebbe’s Ohel at 10:30. The location is convenient, and there are portion-controlled cookie packets. Also, the Ohel has gotten so popular with people in the Five Towns that even Rabbi Rand’s Kollel guys go there.

At a recent OA meeting, one participant noted that before going on Ozempic, everything was great.

“My son would tell me that he needs me to take him to hockey practice”— no problem, let me just eat two danishes first.

“My wife tells me that the boiler broke”— Cool, let me get a flashlight and a bucket of ice cream to check that out.

“My daughter needs me to help her study for two hours”— Sure, sour sticks and pretzel party!

“Then I started jabbing, and before I even walk into the house at night, I’m stressed out!”

Other participants at OA express that they now have yo-yo-angst (not to be confused with Yo-Yo Ma). They live in fear that the minute they stop jabbing, they will turn into eighteen-wheeler trucks again.

OK. Now everyone is really mad at me because I spilled the beans on 97% of our readers.

Yes, everyone is on it. When your friend tells you that they discovered moderation at 40 years old, I’d be quicker to believe that he discovered Amelia Earhart in the Bermuda Triangle. Even

the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department is on Ozempic – you may have heard their loud burps on the Avenue. By now you probably figured it out: I’m just like you; I’m on Ozempic, too!

If I’d go off of it, those Ohel cookies would be flying into my mouth like ballistic missiles. We would definitely have to reactivate the Ozempic Dome! (Oops, I thought I am at an OA meeting.)

Ozempic Anonymous also has a support group for spouses of Ozempic users called Ozemp-Anon. It is for the poor

spouses who have to put up with a lot. “Until he started jabbing, if the cholent was good, all was good. Now he is all stressed that he is getting wrinkles and needs Botox. It’s always the next thing –he’s never happy,” said one wife. Those wives have it hard indeed. There was some reprieve last month, though, when all of their husbands for the first time ever were completely happy. The clouds parted, and everyone saw the light. What am I referring to?

You see, it’s no secret that there is a

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lot of financial pressure in our community, and people think that life would be easier if they have the billions.

Well, Elon Musk, who is worth $850 billion, tweeted that money doesn’t buy you happiness.

The entire world was moved by that tweet, which was seen by hundreds of millions of people; it was the confirmation that many were looking for.

But that didn’t do anything for the overworked, overtaxed, underpaid, average, everyday Five Townser.

So, what was it that made them change their entire perspective on life, if not for the richest man in the world promising them that money doesn’t buy you happiness?

The big mind-shift was caused by the TYH boys choir’s song “Eizeh hu ashir You don’t have to be a billionaire.”

That did it. Not Elon Musk. The TYH boys choir cured the entire Five Towns!

This song is not only historic because of its earthshattering message but also because it’s the first instance

of inflation making its way into a song — until recently, people dreamt about being millionaires, but nowadays, that won’t even get you a GourmetBott. We wanted to be billionaires, with a “B.” That was UNTIL the song came out. But now, many have seen the light and have decided to stop their pursuit of riches and instead are going into klei kodesh.

PSA: In order to be entitled to the pre-Pesach Chasdei Lev distribution, you must have been in klei kodesh for at least one year.

Massive Heist at Rock Hall Museum

The famed Rock Hall Museum, located on Broadway in Lawrence, was hit by a brazen daytime heist. Although it is well protected by the Nassau County Police, thieves broke into the museum through a window during operating hours and stole the crown jewel of the museum—a broken sewing machine from the early 1940s.

The exact value of the machine is unknown, but in giveaway-chat currency, it would be valued in the range of “half of a pie of pizza from Chanukah available for curbside pick up” and “broken chicken coop available, first come, first serve.”

According to the Rock Hall Museum curator, who is older than the sewing machine, the heist took place during the busiest hour of the busiest day of the busiest season when there were a whopping zero people in the museum.

Now that the last remaining exhibit is no longer in Rock Hall Museum, the property might be sold by the entity that owns it, which may be the Village of Lawrence, Hempstead Township, Nas -

sau County, the State of New York, or the federal government. Actually, maybe it’s still owned by the Brits.

One local resident suggested that a school should move into the museum. The problem with that idea is that the driveway is way too long, so pick up and drop off won’t clog up enough traffic.

Another idea for the property is to turn it into low-income housing. Don’t worry— it will be filled with middle class firemen and policemen. (Hold on, I have a question: Where do all of these firemen and policemen live now? Are they all homeless?)

According to one local resident, the Rock Hall Museum is just there to cover up what the real use of the property is—a full-time dormitory for the election day poll workers who work the polls at Lawrence Middle School one day a year.

Investigators who oversaw the recent heist at the Louvre are now investigating the Rock Hall Museum heist. They are considering the possibility that the heist was carried out by the same group that conducted a heist at Chase Bank on Central Avenue and got away with the whole bowl of Dum Dum lollipops.

Sochi Majeski appointed to Key White House Position

Five Towns resident Sochi Majeski was appointed by President Trump to be the new Health and Human Services secretary after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stepped down to pursue his longtime dream of becoming an opera singer. Sochi, who rose to fame with his leitzanus nefashos WhatsApp group, caught the attention of President Trump who was amazed at Brother Sochi’s ability to down chicken wings while staying fit.

At his first press conference, Sochi declared that instead of Kennedy’s clear-throated policy of Make America Healthy Again, the department will now focus on MALA: Make America Laugh Again.

“There are MALAdaptive MALAdies that cause people to be MALAjusted and have a MALArkish attitude,” said Health Secretary Majeski. “I see that people walk around the Finifh Shtetlech sad all day. I mean rabbosai,

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chevra, have such a day. Drink your kerach coffee. How are yah?! Where’s your second straw; it’s Tuesday! Get laughing!”

However, not all are happy with Sochi’s appointment.

There are those who say that MALA should not be the goal. The only goal should be Torah. Just learn. Forget laughter. In fact, they think that the HHS motto should be FLJL: Forget Laughter Just Learn. To that end, they started a counter organization dedicated to…swag!

According to FLJL, wearing a “Just Learn” baseball cap is the equivalent of learning four blatt Gemara; wearing one of their extra-large sweatshirts is the equivalent of learning 12 blatt Gemara; and playing the “Don’t Thank Hashem, Just Beat Yourself Up” song is…mechaper avonos! (Hmm...that last one is probably true.)

In fact, according to reports, America’s secret weapon to get Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to come out of his safe house was that song. They blasted the song really loud and within five minutes, he surrendered.

Upon Sochi’s appointment, the official song of the Trump administration

was changed from “YMCA” to “Shukul Shukul.”

America has fallen in love with this song. Many in the Orthodox community take shuckling for granted, but stop and think for a moment what life would be like if you never shuckled ever, even once. Imagine how stifling that would be. MALA is teaching shuckling to millions of people.

Many are now even growing long peyos like chassidim in order to have their own built-in Shuckle Meter.

What is a Shuckle Meter?

Ever see a chassidish teenager doing the side-to-side shuckle (rapidly shaking the head in a “no” motion), and his peyos are flying back and forth like knock-knock toys (old reference)? At that point, he is “Shuckle Metering,” which measures the G-force that the peyos smack into the face.

Many in Washington have started growing peyos. Even Sen. John Fetterman has grown peyos, but that may just be because he plans on going to Uman for Rosh Hashana this year. He definitely has the outfit down pat. Dovi Safier is dropping him off in Uman but says that he does not plan on staying there himself for Rosh Hashana.

At the most recent cabinet meeting, Sochi was seated near Secretary of Everything Mark Rubi. That is right – his name was never Marco Rubio; it was just a high-school nickname that stuck.

You see, one time, a buddy of Mark Rubi was in an excited mood and said, “Hey, Marcoooo!” That really stuck,

and everyone started calling him Marco. Before long, his bros started calling him “Marcooooo Rubioooooo!” But his real name is Mark Rubi. Gotta know your history.

At the cabinet meeting, Sochi introduced the idea of random clapping every time the word “President” was

Around the community

mentioned. Trump loved it and said that it is totally not distracting. Trump broke protocol and had Sochi take out his phone in the middle of the meeting. “Brother Sochi,” said the President, “let the vicious press see how you eat a chicken wing. Show them that video.”

There were other changes made at the cabinet meeting as well. Mark Rubi was taken off the Russia-Ukraine task, and Joey Newcomb was brought in as a special peace envoy. #IYKYK

Upon being introduced at the cabinet meeting, Peace Envoy Joey Newcomb said, “How aw’ you over there, Mister President?! How much did you pay for this table over here?”

The President was quite enamored with Joey’s peyos and had him do a peyos G-force test right there in the meeting.

President (clap, clap, clap) Trump was amazed. “Wow! That really is something!” he said before turning to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, “Pete, you can use that as the weapon for your next kinetic boat strike.”

Joey and Sochi then presented Trump with a pins and needles’ image of himself. The President asked if the picture could be hung in KMH’s pins and needles’ wall of fame, but they gently explained to the President that there is insufficient security to host such a painting. The President (clap, clap, clap) pointed out that KMH has two former Capitol police officers for

security, but he was still rebuffed. They did arrange, though, that Trump’s needle painting can be hung outside Yismach Moshe, which has a daily Amud Yomi shiur at 7:04am, 9:13am, 10:56am, 12:240pm, 3:17pm, 5:11pm, and a train to Ronkonkoma at 7:47pm.

Woman Loses Respect For Her Husband Because He’s The Only Guy In The Five Towns

Who Doesn’t Have a

Podcast

At a recent symposium, Rabbi Shais Taub was asked a novel question: Is it OK for a wife to lose respect for her husband because he doesn’t have a podcast?

The moderator pointed out that every half-successful yeshiva guy with thinning hair’s response to waking up and realizing that they are “deep into the second half of the sandwich” is to go on a self-discovery journey consisting of them becoming a podcaster. But this Five Towns woman’s husband is the only guy who doesn’t have a podcast.

It’s actually even worse than that— not only does he not have a podcast, he’s never even been a featured guest on a podcast.

OK, I’ll be honest. I’m not going to continue the whole “asking for a friend” thing—I’m the guy! Never been on a podcast.

And the chances of me getting on one is really small. At this point, I would have to outdo everyone. I guess if I become

Amish for a few years, then rediscover Judaism on a trip to India, and then start a quantum hedge fund, maybe I’d get on a podcast. But even that has already been done. And I’m not going to take the circuitous route to Podcastville by robbing a bank and then going to Aish Hatorah.

So it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards for me.

So I’m not going to be on a podcast. And I ain’t gonna wear no bekeshe.

Wow! That goes great together… Maybe I can write lyrics; that may get me onto a podcast…or at least a spot at Reb Yirmi Ginsberg’s Thursday night Niggun Chabura…

I’m not going to be on a podcast…

And I ain’t gonna wear no bekeshe…

Because…I’m not a lucky ducky! Nope, doesn’t really go.

So I’m not going to be on a podcast, and I can’t even write lyrics. And, to make matters even worse, I wasn’t invited to

Louis Scheiner’s wedding in Morocco! Wow, being this vulnerable feels really good.

The truth is that I am happy just listening to podcasts; I really don’t need to be on one.

I like Bashevkin’s 1865 podcast because I’m a Civil War buff.

I also like Meaningful Minute because it’s the only podcast that I listen to from start to finish since it’s just a minute. Living L’Chaim is more open-ended. It can go on for hours, but who cares – the whole thing is a binge drinking game, so I’m having a good time.

I like Kosher Money because it makes me feel like I’m being fiscally responsible. It’s kind of like listening to a podcast about exercise— it just makes me feel more physically fit.

Yes, you can get the positive effects of exercise by just listening to something about it.

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That’s the next thing in weight loss. You’re not going to have to even take a shot anymore. They are going to play you the sound of someone burping on Mounjaro, and it’s going to make you not want to eat for a week.

Don’t think that’s believable? Well, let me tell you a true story (ask your parents to verify it): Around twenty-five years ago, the biggest fad in our community was that people would put little marbles behind their ears and rub them three times a day in order to lose weight. I know this is supposed to be Purim news, but I’m dead serious. You’d walk into Traditions and see someone sitting there rubbing behind their ears before their meal. You could be driving down Broadway, and

somebody would be stopped smack in the middle of the street to rub their ears. (OK, the last thing was an exaggeration, but not the rest of it.)

So my idea of marketing a hypnotic, long Mounjaro burp at a really high frequency is not that crazy.

Now all I have to do is bring this idea to market, get thrown in prison in Honduras for a few months, go broke, take my company public, fly a helicopter to learn with my chavrusah in Lakewood, win an axe-throwing contest in Kentucky, meet with the Sinaloa drug cartels, and the next thing I know, I will be prominently featured on a podcast.

Wow, I think my wife is regaining her respect for me.

Chesky Klein Wins Karako Bonanza Raffle

Anyone who spent a week in traffic one afternoon on Rockaway Turnpike knows that Karako is building a new mega center in the space that used to have a wig shop. Turns out that the Five Towns women didn’t exactly shop there for their lace-tops. But Karako is a much better fit for the location.

The new Karako Super Center will rival the Fame Super Center and will also have around 75 dressing rooms.

Wait a minute…

Paging the Shidduch Lounge: This could be really fun – let’s have a shidduch night for singles that shop at Karako and singles that shop at Fame! We will call it An Evening of Fame Karako Fun Karaoke.

Try saying THAT ten times fast. Fame Karako Fun Karaoke. Fun Karako Fame Karaoke.

Karaoke Karako Fun Fame.

OK, if you are still following me, you are officially an upstanding member of the Five Towns adult male ADHD community…which consists of every single male in the Five Towns except for the people who daven at the vasikin minyan at the Agudah. That is the most non-ADD place I have ever been. I mean, how long can it take to say Shema? Hachaim V’Hashalom finishes six Shacharises in the amount of time that it takes them to say Shema.

Wait, wait, wait…where was I? Oh… Fame Karako Fun Karaoke.

In order to celebrate their grand opening, Karako held a grand raffle. One lucky winner won 17 suits, 14 shirts, 16 pants, 7 belts, 4 watch cufflink sets and 22 pairs of socks.

The winner of this mega raffle was… Chesky Klein!

Yup, that Chesky Klein— the frum guy from Brooklyn who won millions in the scratch-off lotto a few months ago.

After winning the mega Karako raffle, Klein posted on his status (so yeshivish) that he’s taking it in a lump sum of 6 suits, 9 shirts, 7 pants, 4 belts, and 12 pairs of socks. And he announced that he will still be wearing his old suit. By the way, since we are in the business of breaking news, I’ll break another news story:

The joke is on you. I have never in my life seen a guy so perfectly troll the entire frum community like this Chesky Klein fellow.

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You really believe he won the lotto?

Chesky was sitting with his friends one Shabbos afternoon and made a bet with them that he can get the entire frum community to think that he is a millionaire by Sunday morning.

“Impossible,” his friends replied. “What? Are you going to fly over the whole frum community in a private jet with a big ‘Look at me’ sign?”

“Nope,” said Chesky. “I’m going to do it without even leaving my house.”

“No way!” replied his friends.

So, on Motzei Shabbos, Chesky took a picture of himself, added a very fake-looking NY Lotto backdrop in the background, photoshopped in a large NY Lotto check with a lot of zeroes, and put it on his status.

Within four minutes, the dozen views to his status morphed into every frum person getting the news on twenty-four different WhatsApp chats… Frum guy won $4 million!

But Chesky was in trouble because the joke kind of went too far. He couldn’t take it back. So what was he supposed to do?

He quickly released a statement declaring that “I’m not quitting my job;

I’m continuing to work; I am going to be the most responsible person who ever walked the face of the planet.”

Of course, he’s not quitting his job – because he never won the lotto in the first place! It was all a Shabbos kiddush gag that went a bit too far.

Now, I know that you are a good-natured person and were really happy that this frum guy won the lotto. But admit it, you are also happy to hear that he didn’t win. Not because you are jealous, but because once you heard that he won, you stopped buying $20 scratchoffs since the odds are that two frum people in New York would never win the $20 scratch-off lotto. But now that he never won, maybe you can win it. So, I’ll let you in on another secret: He didn’t win the Karako raffle either. You can still win that one, too.

6-7 Therapy

A local therapist has set aside 6pm to 7pm to provide therapy for parents who can’t understand why their children are fixated on 6-7. The cost of the

therapy is $67, and patients can be healed in 6-7 sessions.

“I realized that I needed 6-7 therapy when I ripped the 6 and 7 buttons off my iPhone,” said one healed parent. “The therapy healed me; I am no longer delusional. I am even buying a new iPhone so that I can once again dial phone numbers that have a 6 or 7 in them.”

One sixth grade child whose parents are in 6-7 recovery told TJH that “for some reason, my parents pulled me out of school this year and said that I will be homeschooled until 8th grade.” When his parents told him the news, this child disclosed to TJH that he simply responded, “Ohh, siiiixxxxx sevvven.”

Another young girl told TJH that suddenly, out of the blue, her parents changed her name from Bat’sheva to Bat’tesha.

“Now that I’m healed,” said one father, “I can resume learning with my chavrusah at 6am and davening at 7am. I also don’t have to skip the sixth and seventh blatt of every mesechta of Daf Yomi.”

Some people go through 6-7 therapy and think that they are healed but are not really sure. Luckily, there’s a diagnostic test for that: I’m going to tell you something and if you don’t freak out, you are healed; if you immediately rip this page out, you still have some inner 6-7 work to do. Look at the page number at the bottom of this page!

JFK a irport

After adding his name to Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and clos -

ing it down for renovations, President Trump has renamed JFK Airport, and it will now be officially called Trump Kennedy Airport.

Many are excited about this development as it means that the renovations at the airport will speed up substantially and be done almost as quickly as the new city that Yeshiva Darchei Torah is building for its high school and beis medrash.

Trump Kennedy Airport will be the gold standard for airports. Each terminal will have a Trump Kennedy Fried Chicken. There will be ICE machines every twenty-five feet. TSA will not require flyers to remove their hats so as not to mess up their hair. And all flights to Greenland will be free.

If all goes according to plan, Trump Kennedy Airport will soon become the first airport where flights will not only leave on time, but they will also leave tremendously.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Dating Dialogue What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

Thanks for the opportunity to ask my question. I’m in a bind and would love to have some guidance.

I’m 26, a hard worker, and have been dating for five years. I’m dating a really nice guy now whom I respect and appreciate. He is a baal teshuva and has been since 2020.

My friends are now asking me questions – these are not meant maliciously, more to bring my attention to it. Questions like, “Are you sure you are OK ending up with a guy whose family you can’t spend yom tov with?” Or “I never pictured you with a guy who had a past.”

I have been very happy and confident responding to my friends, but it has been planting seeds... should I be OK with this stuff? Maybe I should think twice? This week, one friend pulled up his old Facebook account and was showing me pictures he never deleted. These are not bad or alarming pics, just very different than who he is now. This made things all the more real and upset me.

I know he’s a baal teshuva and is not who he was then, but now my mind is full of questions. Is this really what I’m comfortable with? I thought so, but now I’m not so sure.

Thanks!

Chana*

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

The Panel

Dear Readers,

We want to offer YOU an opportunity to be part of the discussion! Please email us at MichelleMondShadchan@gmail.com, subject line “reader’s response,” if you would like to participate in the new “A Reader’s Response” columnist spot. We will send you a question and publish your answer in an upcoming Navidaters edition.

If you have a question you would like the Navidaters to answer, please reach out to this email as well.

Looking forward!

Michelle, the “Shadchan”

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Chana, it’s the person who shares his past and is open about it who deserves respect for his journey as well as his transparency. He has put hard work into his quest, and you value effort. Middos tovos are what are essential, not necessarily family.

If you need encouragement, speak (again) with the mentors on his Jewish journey and the teachers with whom he is close. They know him well and for a long time. They can speak to his sense of direction, effort, solidness, and authenticity. This will also give you an opportunity to deepen your relationship with those who will play a role in his future life, the religious family in his life.

Your friends are assuming you are not mature enough to handle things like not having another side for yom tov. It sounds like you are. Go for it.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

As someone who deals with shidduchim and setting people up constantly, I could tell you that the biggest mistake you made here was involving your friends in your dating life. Your friends shouldn’t know you are dating someone; and even more so, they should not know details (aka his BT status).

I’m sorry to break the news this way, but not all friends have their friends’ best

interest in mind. Friends could speak negatively about a friend’s shidduch prospects for a myriad of reasons. They could be jealous and subconsciously try to sabotage. They could fear losing your close connection and use these tactics to try to make you doubt yourself. Whatever the case may be, your friends are very off base. It is inappropriate for them to be asking you these questions.

Be proud of yourself for choosing someone who has chosen this path. Be proud of the guy you’re dating for the amazing accomplishments he has made, including turning to the path of Yiddishkeit. You mention in your letter that you respect and appreciate him – keep this on the forefront of your mind. You have dated long enough to know when you have truly found a gem.

If it is too late, and you are already doubting yourself, I want you to do the following: Sit down with a paper and a pen and start writing. List all the qualities you see in this guy as a future husband. Write down what you appreciate about him and how he makes you feel. After a few minutes, put your pen down and read. This is what you truly feel about the guy you’re dating. Whenever you are in doubt, refer back to this paper and read it to yourself. And last but not least, stop talking about dating with your friends. Let them know in a kind and gentle way that you no longer would like to talk about your dating life. Tell them straight out that if they have questions or comments, they should please hold back. Assure them you have proper guidance and mentors to discuss the intricacies with. There is nothing wrong with being assertive.

Hatzlacha with this, and hopefully you will get past this soon!

Matanot L’evyonim in Israel on Purim Day

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

Istarted to type “Helpful Friends,” but, when I re-read it, I had accidently written “Helpful Fiends.” Oh, the delicious irony.

Question #1 – When friends create doubt instead of support

Your letter touches upon one of my biggest pet peeves. Why, oh why, do friends sometimes plant uncertainty just when someone may finally be dating “the right guy”? Instead of being genuinely happy, why do some people unintentionally put a damper on their friend’s happiness?

Perhaps they mean well. But as George Bernard Shaw famously wrote, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Question #2 – When to share and when to stay private

Self-confident people have learned to trust their own instincts, intuition, and

judgment. They do not need others to affirm their decisions and opinions. There are some subjects that one should discuss with friends and some subjects that should be kept private.

In my 50 years of practicing dentistry, I was blessed with wonderful young dental assistants who often discussed their dating adventures. However, when they suddenly became close-mouthed about a boyfriend, it usually meant the relationship had become serious.

I learned something from that pattern. When a relationship becomes meaningful, wise people protect it from excessive outside commentary and noise.

Question #3 – How to respond to intrusive comments

At this point, your friends’ comments have clearly caused you to question your own judgment. How do you proceed?

First, politely end the conversation: “Thank you for sharing your concerns, but I’m pretty happy with how things are

going.” Then say no more.

And ask yourself why someone would take the time to show you old, potentially embarrassing Facebook posts instead of asking the questions that truly matter: Do you share the same goals and values? Do you bring out the best in each other?

Those are the questions that intelligent and good friends should be asking.

Second, ignore the noise and trust your instincts. You have been dating long enough to know what you like and what you don’t like. Don’t let others sidetrack you. Fifty-four years ago, if my wife had listened to some of her friends, she would never have agreed to a second date with me.

Third, it is understandable that seeing old photos feels jarring. If you need reassurance, speak with his rabbanim or references who can vouch for the person he is today, not who he was years ago.

Finally, consider a story that may or may not be true but remains inspiring. A 40-year-old man complained to his rab -

bi that he had not yet found a suitable wife. The rabbi suggested that perhaps his bashert had not yet been born. Years later, he married a convert. In a sense, he had been waiting for his wife to be born.

Maybe that’s the case here, too. Perhaps you have been dating unsuccessfully for the past five years, because you have been waiting for this particular person to become reborn spiritually and become the person he is today.

Reader’s Response

Rachel Klein

Ihear your concern and validate your questions completely. I married a baal teshuva more than 20 yrs ago, who was frum for three yrs.

Here are a few points I feel are important to mention.

1. Marrying a baal teshuva does come with tremendous advantages.

I always loved going to my family for yom tov and Shabbosim. The fact that only my side was an option was such a treat. There were no taking turns or traveling in between first days and second days. My parents’ home was everything for both of us. Plus, he embraced my parents and siblings like his own and felt and still feels extremely close to them as he can relate to them more than his own non-religious family.

2. Being married to a Baal teshuva is a true inspiration every day. They chose this derech; they left behind so much for the more fulfilling way of life. I look up, admire and respect him so, so much. Change, growth, and being different is so hard. Yet, they chose this way. One doesn’t get this when marrying an FFB. I look at all these pictures of him with earrings and long hair with such admiration. I sure haven’t changed that much! It serves as such a great mussar for me: how am I growing? How am I

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Chana,

I want to answer you carefully, because “intrusive thoughts” is a real psychological term, and it deserves precision.

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, repetitive thoughts that feel sticky and distressing. They often show up suddenly, can feel ego-dystonic (meaning they don’t line up with your core values), and they create anxiety precisely because they clash with what you believe or want. The more you try to neutralize them or get certainty, the louder they tend to become.

They are not always planted by someone else. They can arise internally, especially during transitions, attachment shifts, or when something starts to feel serious. Commitment itself can activate intrusive doubt. The brain’s job is to scan for risk. When the stakes go up, so can the scanning.

Common signs you may be dealing with intrusive doubt:

• The thought feels urgent and demands certainty.

• You replay the same ques - tion over and over with - out arriving at peace.

• You seek reassurance but it only helps briefly.

• The distress comes from not being able to be 100% sure.

That is different from a grounded concern.

A grounded concern tends to move you toward thoughtful reflection. It may feel uncomfortable, but it has texture. It leads to questions like, “What does this actually mean for my life?” and you can think about it without spiraling.

So the first gentle question for you is this:

Are you trying to solve a real-life compatibility question?

Or are you trying to get rid of anxiety?

Those are two very different projects.

Now let’s talk about what may be getting activated.

changing for the good?

He also feels so much meaning in his life…whether it’s bumping into a friend of his who still isn’t married or just seeing his siblings’ families. He often stops and says, “Wow! Hashem saved me!” All this reminds me just how lucky we are to be shomer Torah and mitzvos, something I take so for granted being born into.

3. It’s hard to change as an adult. Whether it’s one’s character traits or to grow in Torah and Yiras Shamayim, change isn’t easy. Yet the fact that these are ppl of change and growth, when in marriage, they need to change they are

more adaptable and acceptable to change which is a huge plus in a marriage.

4. While all these positive items I mentioned come with marriage to a bt. One has to be sure he’s grounded and not looking to seek out chassidus or other life changes that you are not looking to pursue.

I would assume a rebbi or good friends or just a heartfelt discussion with him can reassure you. This was not an issue for me but I do know bts that were still changing and finding themselves when they married. And this could be a marriage issue.

Wishing you clarity!

You’re dating someone you respect. That matters. He is a baal teshuva. That means he has a visible “before” and “after.” When you saw old photos, something inside you reacted. That reaction deserves curiosity, not judgment.

What exactly was upsetting?

Was it fear of social perception?

Was it a grief about not sharing a fully parallel background?

Was it a question about long-term family integration?

Was it a subtle shift in how you view him?

You don’t need to have the “right” answer. But you do need your real one.

The yom tov question your friends raised is not superficial. Lifestyle alignment matters. Family rhythms matter. But here’s the piece I’m most interested in: Have you brought any of this to him?

Not in a dramatic way. Not as “I’m doubting you.” But as: “Something came up for me this week about what our future looks like practically. I want to understand it better.”

Is there space in the relationship for that conversation?

If there is, that’s a very healthy sign. If there isn’t, that’s important information.

Also, remember this: every person has a past. His is simply more visible because there is a clear religious shift. The real question is not whether he had a past. It’s how he relates to it now. Is he integrated? Is he grounded? Is he aligned with the life you want?

Intrusive thoughts thrive on the pursuit of perfect certainty. But marriage is not chosen from a place of zero doubt. It is chosen from a place of enough alignment, enough respect, enough shared direction, and enough emotional safety to grow.

So I would encourage you not to rush to eliminate the thoughts. Instead, slow them down.

Notice when they spike. Notice what triggers them. Notice whether they soften when you connect with him, or intensify when you’re alone scrolling.

And then ask yourself, quietly: When I picture building a home with this man as he is today, do I feel expansion or contraction?

That answer will be more trustworthy than the noise.

Ultimately, this is your life. Your future. You get to decide what feels aligned.

Sincerely, Jennifer

The Emperor’s New Shidduch

By Mordechai Schmutter

“Hi, this is Shoshie Shotkin from Shushan Shadchanim. Is your mother home?”

“My mother’s not available. What is this regarding?”

“This is regarding a possible shidduch for her daughter, Aravah.”

“I’m Aravah! I can talk to you.”

“Wonderful! I came across this boy’s resume in a shidduch chat, and I was thinking that he might be for you.”

“Wow! OK, first of all, thank you for thinking of me.”

“No problem! Remind me again: Are you OK with a working boy?”

“I guess so. My parents can’t really support.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem. OK, so his name is King Achashveirosh…”

“Who?”

“Achashveirosh.”

“Is he related to the Achashveiroshes from Hodu?”

“No, Achashveirosh is his first name.”

“Oh, sorry, it sounds like a last name. Like Chaim Menachem Achashveirosh.”

“OK, so remember there was a big party a couple of years ago? Everyone was invited…”

“No, I think I was in sem. Does he have a nickname?”

“Yeah, his friends call him Your Majesty. Your father’s name isn’t Achashveirosh, is it?”

“No, but my mother sometimes calls him Your Majesty. Can you send me his resume?”

“I already did. It takes about three months to get to you… Did you get it yet?”

“No.”

“Did you get it yet?”

“No.”

“OK, let me know when you do.”

“Still not.”

“Let’s continue talking in the meantime. Do I have an updated version of

your resume?”

“Maybe. Does it say that I’m a secretary in a real estate office?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the one!”

“Oh. He’s probably going to want you to include a picture of yourself.”

“I don’t have a… You mean a painting?”

“Yes. Do you have a recent painting?”

“Not professional… I’ve done some paintings of myself, though. Will he accept selfies?”

“How many can you send?”

“I don’t have so many that I like. In a few of them I have a double chin.”

“Oh.”

“So tell me about this boy.”

“What can I tell you? He’s a great boy; he learned in the MARE...”

“The MIR?”

“No, the MARE. Medea Academy of Racing Equines.”

“Oh.”

“He was in a lot of those kinds of schools. He spent a bunch of years in Filly, he was in Clydesdale, Ponyvitch…”

“I should probably ask more questions…”

“What else do you want to know?”

“I never know what to ask. My mind’s going blank. But I know that as soon as we hang up, I’m going to think of 20 questions I should have asked.”

“Take your time.”

“All I can think of are the silly ones. Does he wear tie shoes or slip-ons?”

“He wears tie shoes, but someone else ties them.”

“Does his family use disposable plates?”

“To him, all plates are disposable.”

“Oh! How tall is he?”

“Well, he says he’s six feet, but in every painting I’ve seen, he’s maybe four feet.”

“Is he smart?”

“There are different kinds of smart. He did say he’s looking for someone with a head on her shoulders…”

“A good head?”

“He didn’t say. I think just any head.”

“What about emotionally? Does he get in touch with his feelings?”

“He does keep a diary.”

“Oh, that’s sweet! What else does he like doing in his free time? When he’s not journaling.”

“Let’s see… Hobbies… Party planning. Long walks in the garden. He likes to sit. A lot. He spent a fortune on a chair, and then he realized he couldn’t move it. He had to rebuild his palace around the chair.”

“What would you say is his biggest maylah?”

“Well, he did not get his job through nepotism, which is a big problem in his profession.”

“Really? Wait, so does he have any yechus?”

“Let’s see, I think his father was raised by dogs… Do you know the Dogs?”

“I know some Dogs… Are all Dogs related?”

“His ex definitely had yechus. Does that count? She was the granddaughter of Nebuchadnetzar.”

“Sorry, we have a bad connection. Nebech who?”

“Chadnetzar.”

“Wait. He had a wife?”

“Yeah, that’s the one thing.”

“What happened to her? Do they still get along?”

“OK, there are two things.”

“What happened? Did he have to give her half his kingdom?”

“I heard some rumors of what happened, but I’m not sure. He said he saw some blemishes in her that weren’t disclosed originally? She couldn’t let go of

the past? She kept bringing things up that happened like 70 years earlier? I can’t really make heads or tails of what happened.”

“So where is she now?”

“Her head or her body? They’re in two different…”

“Oh. OH! How did he decide to just do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he flipped a coin.”

“Couldn’t he just cut off her tail?”

“The coin came out heads.”

“Oh. I don’t know, then…”

“Listen, you don’t always get everything on your list. Not every guy is against beheading wives.”

“I know. And my mother keeps saying: There are way more girls than guys out there.”

“Yeah. Though he’s trying to solve that problem. He’s single-handedly solving the shidduch crisis.”

“How are his communication skills?”

“OK, so you know how so many marital disagreements are about either, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize you were talking to me,’ or, ‘Oh, I thought you were talking to me’? Well, Achashveirosh has this scepter. If it’s pointing at you, he’s talking to you.”

“Wow! That’s great for sholom bayis! Every home should have one!”

“I know people who do the same thing with a rolling pin.”

“Is he the type who will come home after a hard day’s work and not help out with the kids?”

“I mean, he works at home.”

“Is he going to treat his wife like the maid?”

“Maids.”

“Does he keep his room messy or neat?”

“His throne room is always neat. You know how some people leave things on the steps to go up? His throne has steps, but there’s nothing on them. Just animals.”

“So what’s he looking for?”

“Let’s see… He’s looking for someone who will get along with his friends…. He’s looking for, quote, ‘Someone who has amazing yechus but never brings it up.’ In fact, are you OK with your parents not coming to the wedding? He can hire two women to stand there and break the plate.”

“I have to ask them. What are his hashkafos?”

“I would have to find out.”

“Does he have a rav?”

“He has a few. He has a yayn malchus rav and a rav beiso.”

“Is he the type to want to wear a ring?”

“He already wears a ring. He sometimes lends it out, though.”

“What about tzinius? Like does he want his wife to cover her hair?”

“Yes, actually, he’s very makpid that she wear a crown at all times.”

“How are his kiso, his koso, and his kaaso?”

“His kiso is loaded, his kisei is one of a kind, and his casa is stunning.”

“No, you… OK. Does he drink a lot? Because that could be a problem for me.”

“Actually, he’s a social drinker. He only drinks at parties.”

“Does he have anger issues?”

“From what I’ve seen, if he’s angry, he doesn’t act immediately and just kill the person he’s mad at. He goes for a walk to cool down, he asks his friends…and then he kills the person he’s mad at.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

“Uch, you’re still on the beheading thing? It was one time!”

“I don’t know; I can’t help how I feel.”

“Look, I don’t think he’s going to behead another wife. Live and learn, you know? I feel like this time, with his second bashert, he’s looking for something a little bit more stable.”

“Could I just ask you – why did you think of me for him specifically?”

“Well, he said he wants to date all the girls in the kingdom. And I was thinking, ‘Hey! You’re one of the girls in the kingdom!’”

“That’s so funny! I totally am!”

“Hashem works in mysterious ways.”

“But like are there any references I can call? Just to put my mind at ease? Like people he hasn’t beheaded.”

“You still didn’t get the resume.”

“Still no.”

“OK, so the first guy listed here is I believe his barber.”

“Who’s his barber?”

“It says here, ‘Haman Ha’Agagi, of Haman’s House of Hair and Haberdashery.’”

“Haman… Like the cookie?”

“That’s how it’s spelled.”

“I think my uncle goes to the same barber. Do you know Mordechai, the real estate agent?”

“I know a Mordechai the Tzaddik…”

“No, that’s not my uncle. You think his barber knows him?”

“People talk to their barbers. This barber probably has the guy’s ear.”

“Wait, actually I think my uncle goes to a different place – Hair There and Everywhere?”

“Well, let’s go through his other references… Do you know a Charvona Zachurlatov?”

“His last name is Zachurlatov? No.”

“And then there’s Memuchan… No, wait, this must be a typo. He has the same contact info as this Haman guy. But look, no one I called had anything bad to say about this boy. I always say it’s worth going out once, and just seeing how it goes. What could it hurt?”

“So what would be the plan? Would he travel here, or…?”

“No, he would want you to come to him.”

“Really? Because usually the boy travels.”

“He can’t really get away.”

“So how do I get there?”

“He’ll send someone to pick you up.”

“What does he usually do for the first date? Just so I know what to wear. Like if we’re going to a lounge…”

“No, he was thinking a beshow in his house for the first date, and you’ll see how it goes.”

“Will his parents be there?”

“No. Maybe his cousin. Rover.”

“So it’s not really a beshow. Is he sure that’s his minhag?”

“Well, he doesn’t really have minhagim…”

“Wait, is he Jewish?”

“OK, there’s three things.”

Mordechai Schmutter is a freelance writer and a humor columnist for Hamodia and other magazines. He has also published eight books and does stand-up comedy. He can be contacted at mschmutter@gmail.com.

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Looking in my rearview mirror, I still firmly see Chanukah. When I wasn’t looking, Purim snuck up on me. Despite my lack of attention to calendar details, my kids have been keeping up to date. The costumes have slowly been accumulating, and the mishloach manos eagerly packed.

It’s a big decision for the kids. Do we do a theme? What do we include in our mishloach manos? The seudah menu is uniquely fun because there are no cooking restrictions. It’s a wild day but a special time to relax and connect with others. Purim is a holiday like no other. Besides the ability to drive and do other melacha, it’s a time of silliness and when each of us takes a step back to view the world a little differently. We see people we don’t otherwise have a chance to be with, and we have the opportunity to experience their personalities from a different angle.

Megillah

The story of the Megillah is one of many competing emotions as Klal Yisroel ascends into the king’s favor before plummeting to the depths of despair. Salvation comes from the very source of pain, and our greatest weakness becomes our mightiest strength. By the tenth perek, we remember that we have never left – and will never leave – the favor of the True King.

The details of the story may be lost on the kids, drowned out by the roar of removing the remembrance of Amalek. For regular shul-going children, it must be confusing to see how the adults are dressed while a ruckus is periodically made in an otherwise quiet environment. Purim is one of those times of year when very young children may be brought to shul. In their excitement, kids may not recognize when it is – and isn’t –appropriate to make noise. Parents may need to cue their child when to start and stop shaking their graggers.

I am all for bringing kids to join the festivities, but before the big day, parents need to make sure their child is ready to be in shul. Some kids are too young to

Parenting Pearls Purim

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

sit still; other kids are overwhelmed by crowds or noise. Let your child know what to expect in advance. Keeping little ones close to a parent will not only ensure supervision, but most importantly, it will provide comfort to a nervous child.

The Festivities

Purim is every child’s dream. Costumes of their favorite characters. Enough sugar to down a pachyderm. The world around them is acting silly. It’s fun and mayhem for over 24 hours. It’s easy to forget yourself and for little ones to get distracted in the action. Make a point of knowing where your children are and who they are traveling with. This includes older children and teens who generally have more freedom.

Costumes tend to have all the fun alongside the child wearing them. Take the proper precautions of covering or removing their costume when they’re eating or otherwise liable to make a mess. Hats, jewelry and other costume items may pose a potential strangulation or other hazards, chas v’shalom.

Purim is the perfect time to build bridges and make new friends. It’s the

one time of the year when it’s not awkward to give mishloach manos to someone you don’t know well or send over a seudah invite. Some children are not included throughout the year; many families are experiencing their own challenges. Try to remember these individuals during your Purim day.

Ad D’lo Yada

We had a rebbi for one year of school, and he taught many classes. He was good at answering questions, and the girls had plenty to ask. Sadly, the only teaching I remember is the one I often present at Purim time. My only memory is the story he shared with us of how he spent Purim. Well, truthfully, he probably doesn’t remember that Purim. His wife eventually found him lying in a ditch by the side of the road. It’s truly unfortunate that such a disgraceful image is my sole memory of his many lessons.

My family has, at times, asked why I bother speaking about the many concerns regarding alcohol. As they have logically stated, the ones doing it are probably not reading these articles anyway, and in the remote chance they are, then it’s unlike -

ly they will change their behavior. Still, I feel the need to add my own humble words asking for sanity and kedusha in Purim. Purim is the one time of year when there is actually an inyan to really drink. Other times may have some alcohol associated with them, but not to the risk of excess. Please ask a shaila and determine what the Torah actually wants from us. This is one area where being “machmir” is anything but that.

Nobody, especially teens, should be forced or otherwise pressured to drink. There are many reasons a person may refuse alcohol, and it’s not our place to make assumptions or comment. There should always be a designated driver – especially for teens. Parents need to make sure there is always a safe driver whenever their child will be in a car. Do not give the keys to your teenager unless you are positive they can be responsible. It doesn’t take much to impair their judgement, and they are new to the road. Purim is once a year. Shabbos, yom tov and simchas are year-round. Our children should see us as their role models and who they would like to follow. We should be mindful of our drinking throughout the year and what lessons we are teaching with our actions.

Let’s not forget who we are in our ad d’lo yada state. It isn’t a kiddush Hashem to see Jewish teens vomiting on the lawns, nor is it nice for the lawn owner. It is also frightening for children to see drunk behavior. Let’s encourage our families to be the example we want others to follow, not the lesson of what to avoid. I want to wish all our readers a happy and safe Purim. May Hashem continue to protect us from all our enemies, bringing us brachos and yeshuos.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, holds a master’s degree in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 15 years. Sara provides personalized parent mentoring services, addressing a variety of general and specific parenting concerns. She can be contacted at Sara.Rayvych@gmail.com with comments, questions or for private consultations.

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:Dear Etti, I was raised to believe that “tough love” builds strong children. But lately, I’m worried that my kids think I only love them when they behave well. I want them to grow up responsible, but I also want them to feel secure. How do I set limits without making my love feel conditional?

-Conflicted Parent

A:Dear Conflicted, We often use the phrase “unconditional love” as if it means “accept everything.” But as Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin, a Flatbush-based clinical psychologist, writes in his essay “How Unconditional Is Unconditional Love?”, that’s not what it means at all. True unconditional love isn’t permissiveness; it’s permanence. It’s the unwavering sense that no matter what I do, my parents’ love for me will not disappear.

Dr. Sorotzkin explains that when children experience love as something tied to approval or success, they internalize a deep fear: “I am only lovable when I’m good.” That fear becomes the root of anxiety, perfectionism, or even rebellion later in life. Many adults who “turn away” from religion or family expectations, he notes, are not rejecting values – many are fleeing shame. They grew up associating authority with judgment rather than warmth.

But when love is truly unconditional, the opposite happens. A child who knows they are loved even when they fail can face correction and consequence without losing their sense of self-worth. They don’t experience limits as rejection; they experience them as guidance.

I work with teachers and stress this all the time. Shock and awe, like raising your voice, tightening rules, and/or humiliating a child into obedience simply doesn’t work. Veteran teachers sometimes tell me, “It used to work!” I always wonder: Did it? Perhaps it produced compliance but not connection. And compliance without connection doesn’t last.

Whether we’re parents or educators, we must remember: children don’t thrive under fear. They don’t give their best to someone who frightens them; they give their best to someone who believes in them. Children work hard for adults who make them feel seen, capable, and worthy. The ones who feel small, scolded, or shamed shut down instead.

Dr. Sorotzkin’s message is validating and clear: authority without warmth breeds rebellion, but authority with compassion breeds respect. When a child feels that your limits come from love, they will grow from them.

Dr. Sorotzkin writes, “The world can indeed be a

harsh place. Parents should be the ones providing the support and guidance to help their child cope with the difficulties the world brings.” That line resonates with me. Our homes and our classrooms should be the places where the world recedes and we can be ourselves (within healthy boundaries).

It is not our place as parents or teachers to say, “Life isn’t fair, so get used to it.” Life will teach that lesson soon enough. Our job is to make life as fair and warm as possible while children are in our care. We are the foundation-builders. The world may be unpredictable, but the child who grows up with consistent love, security, and fairness learns how to face that world with strength and confidence. A firm, kind home teaches children that they can weather life’s storms without losing their balance.

A child who knows they are loved even when they fail can face correction and consequence without losing their sense of self-worth.

He also reminds us that “unconditional” doesn’t mean “without boundaries.” Every family, and every classroom, needs structure. But structure given with respect, not resentment, builds both character and connection. A parent can calmly say:

“I can’t let you speak that way, because I love you and you’re capable of better.” or

“That choice wasn’t okay, but you are still my wonderful child.”

In those moments, you’re teaching two messages at once: accountability and belonging.

In one of his most moving examples, Dr. Sorotzkin quotes Rabbi Moshe Sherer, who explained that even some-

one who is a tzaddik in his own behavior but “looks at you as if you’re a bad person” is a dangerous neighbor. Why? Because being in the presence of someone who judges you chips away at your sense of worth. That same truth applies in the home and the classroom. When a child senses judgment instead of compassion, it damages their emotional well-being. But when they feel seen for their goodness, even when corrected, they flourish.

If we want to raise emotionally secure and spiritually strong children, our authority must be steady, not sharp. We can hold them accountable without cutting them down. We can teach them what’s right without making them feel wrong at their core. We need to remember: our goal isn’t to create children who fear disappointing us, but children who trust us enough to come to us when they do. That kind of relationship doesn’t make them soft; it makes them spiritually strong, emotionally resilient, and deeply connected to their parents’ values.

Rules teach children how to act. Love teaches children who they are. When both come together, discipline becomes a lesson in trust, not in fear.

The goal of parenting isn’t to raise children who behave perfectly, but to raise children who feel secure enough to learn from their mistakes. When love is steady and boundaries are clear, children internalize both self-discipline and self-worth. That combination is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.

Hatzlacha, - Etti

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds a MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. Etti is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, FACTS Education Solutions, Brienza Academic Advantage, Yeled V’Yalda; is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country; and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School Leaders and has a weekly column in The Jewish Home. She can be contacted for questions and comments at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

There’s a question that quietly lives in the minds of almost everyone who sits down in a therapist’s office — and even more in the minds of those who hesitate to come at all: Is this real? Or am I just paying someone to care about me? It’s a question many of us carry — sometimes long before we ever walk in the door. The short answer? Therapy is both professional and personal. But that barely scratches the surface.

Professional Boundaries, Personal Connection

Yes, we know, therapy is structured. There’s a set time. Boundaries. Confidentiality. Training. Clinical expertise. All of it exists to make the space safe. But within that structure, something deeply human happens.

I love a phrase therapists often share: “We’re paid for our time — but the care comes for free.” The boundaries keep it professional and secure for both of us. The connection? That’s real. That’s human. That’s the part that actually breeds the change.

In Emotionally Focused Therapy, which shapes much of the work we do at Core Relationships, healing isn’t primarily about advice or insight. It’s about secure connection — you being seen, you being heard, you being held in emotional safety. And that can’t be faked. You feel authenticity in a heartbeat. If it weren’t real, therapy wouldn’t work.

The Quiet Truth About Therapists

We’re human. Surprising? Maybe. But it’s true. We’re navigating our own struggles, just like you. We know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, unseen, uncertain. We know what it’s like to long for real connection. Lori Gottlieb describes this phenomenon in Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: therapists are often growing alongside the people we support. This is not a flaw in

Relationships Rewired

Is the Therapist-Client Relationship Real? How secure connection in therapy shapes relationships beyond the therapy room

By Bassy Schwartz, LMFT

the system — it’s part of the design.

We bring that human experience together with clinical training and intentional presence. The result is not a detached expert analyzing you, but two humans meeting in a space carefully structured for safety and growth. Professional in boundaries. Personal in humanity.

“It’s Not a Real Relationship”

Some people say that. And we get it. But it begs the question: what is a real relationship? What is more real than when someone can see you clearly, responds with care, and shows up consistently? Most of us go through life surrounded by people and still feel unseen. Politeness, obligation, roles — not real connection. In therapy, the goal is precisely that: to create a relationship defined by nonjudgmental presence, emotional responsiveness, and psychological safety. For many of us, this becomes one of the first experiences of secure connection. It’s more common than not for us to have spent years in relationships where our feelings were minimized, dismissed, or simply not noticed. In therapy, we discover that someone can listen without

judgment, respond with care, and hold us accountable in a way that is safe. It’s a relationship where our emotions are welcomed, our experiences are validated, and our needs are seen as important.

This safe, attuned connection teaches something profound: being vulnerable doesn’t have to be dangerous. Expressing our feelings doesn’t have to push people away. Having needs doesn’t make us a burden. For someone who has rarely felt truly “seen,” this is revolutionary. It models, in real time, what it feels like to be met with respect, warmth, and steadiness — a template for the healthy, secure relationships we can seek and build outside the therapy room.

The Relationship Is Everything

Research across therapeutic approaches consistently shows that the strongest predictor of change in therapy is not technique — it is the quality of the therapeutic relationship. From an attachment perspective, this makes sense. Humans heal in connection. When we experience a relationship that is reliable, respectful, and emotionally safe, our nervous system learns something new: I can be seen and remain safe. I can

have needs and remain accepted. Connection does not have to mean danger.

In my book, this is not an abstract concept. The hope is that the therapeutic relationship itself becomes a lived experience of secure connection — not as an end in itself, but as a model.

If you can experience a relationship that is safe, responsive, and respectful within the therapy space, you begin to recognize what healthy connection feels like. And once you recognize it, you can seek it, build it, and sustain it outside the therapy room — in marriage, friendship, parenting, and community.

So What Are You Paying For, Really?

You’re not paying someone to care. You’re investing in a space designed for growth — a space where care is real, consistent, and safe. The payment keeps the structure. The relationship keeps the healing. Therapy isn’t artificial. It’s concentrated. It’s a place where everyday roles fall away, and connection becomes purposeful.

And maybe that’s why the question sticks. Because deep down, we all know: A relationship built on authentic presence, care, and safety isn’t less real than everyday relationships. It’s what we’re all searching for. And what we can learn to build — in therapy, and beyond.

Bassy Schwartz, LMFT is the founder of Core Relationships, a boutique therapy practice in the Five Towns offering individual, couples, and family therapy. Her work centers on helping clients build safer, more authentic connections by healing the patterns that block intimacy and trust. Bassy is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and integrates trauma-informed care and relational insight in her approach. She believes therapy is not about “fixing” people — it’s about creating the safety to be fully human.

A Fulfilled L fe Are You Really Listening? Why Love Without Value is Like a One-Sided Chat

By Miryam Werdyger

We’ve all been there, right? You hear someone say, “But I love you!” It’s the classic excuse for a relationship that’s a little wobbly. Love becomes our trusty parachute—always ready to catch us when we trip. But as a communications coach, I’ve seen this awkward trend: you can be showered with love and still feel like a ghost in your own life. You can be adored by someone who still crashes your dreams, ignores your boundaries, and makes decisions like you’re not even in the room.

Here’s the scoop: love is just the volume knob turned up. Value? That’s the actual clarity you need to hear the music!

If you’re in a relationship where you feel “heard but not understood” or “cared for but not considered,” it’s not that they don’t love you. Nope! You’re facing a classic Value Gap.

When we stop really tuning into our partner’s needs and opinions, love turns from a duet into a solo act—where one person is feeling all the love while the other is left out in the cold, feeling undervalued.

We’ve all been there. You’re in a relationship—could be with a spouse, a parent, or that friend who still owes you lunch—where “I love you” is tossed around like confetti, yet you still feel a tad invisible. They care, but your thoughts, time, and boundaries seem to vanish into thin air.

At “Are You Really Listening?”, we often chat about the magic of hearing words. But today, let’s spotlight the need to truly value one another.

Here’s the real deal: you can love someone to the moon and back and still not give them the value they deserve.

Heart vs. Head:

The Ultimate Showdown

If love is that warm, fuzzy feeling in

your chest, value is the solid ground that keeps you from free-falling.

Love is all about feelings: “I love how you make me feel” or “I can’t imagine life without you.”

Value? That’s about who they are: “I respect your time,” “I admire your judgment,” and “I prioritize your needs.”

When we stop really listening, we stop valuing. We start treating our loved ones like extras in our own movie. In my prac-

Watch Out For These “Communication Crashes”

- The Assumption Trap

You think you already know their opinion, so you stop asking. (Translation: You don’t value their ever-changing perspective.)

- The “I’m Busy” Shield You wave your packed schedule like a flag to ignore their boundaries. (Trans -

You can love someone to the moon and back and still not give them the value they deserve.

tice, I often see clients shouting, “I love you!” from the sidelines. But love alone doesn’t cross the divide; respect does. And the only way to build that bridge is through consistent, intentional communication.

lation: You value your time more than their feelings.)

- Selective Hearing

You only catch what you agree with and tune out the rest. (Translation: You

love the cozy vibes but don’t value their truth.)

How to Show Value Through Communication

Ready to shift from “passive love” to “active value”?

Here are three tips to get you rolling:

1. From “Informing” to “Consulting”

Instead of saying, “I invited my parents over for dinner on Sunday,” try: “I’d love to have my parents over on Sunday—how does that work for you this weekend?”

Why it works: It shows you care about their comfort, too!

2. Listen for the “What” Not Just the “Why”

When they share, don’t just wait for your turn. Ask: “What made you feel that way?”

Why it works: It shows you value their thought process, not just the end result.

3. Be Specific

“I love you” is sweet, but “I value your resilience” hits harder. Shine a light on the traits you admire. When you recognize their character, you’re saying, “I see you, and I think you’re amazing.”

The “Are You Really Listening?” Challenge: Next time you’re with someone you care about, ask yourself: “Am I really listening to understand them, or just waiting for my turn to be heard?”

Love brings us close, but communication—especially the kind that shows value—keeps us connected!

Miryam Werdyger is a Certified Life Coach and mentor specializing in effective communication skills for individuals and couples. She can be reached at coachmiryam@icloud.com or via WhatsApp/Text at 516-924-7695.

There is a barbershop on Ben-Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. The unnamed narrator of Yitzhak Shalev’s novel passes it one day in the 1960s and catches the scent of an aftershave lotion he has not smelled in twenty years. It stops him cold. He steps inside, half expecting to find Gavriel Tirosh sitting in the barber’s chair. The man there is someone else. The narrator hurries out. But the scent follows him, and for the rest of the afternoon, he wanders the divided city, tracing the borders of his own memory.

That opening captures something essential about “The Gavriel Tirosh Affair,” published by The Toby Press, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem (korenpub.com). It is a novel about the presence of an absence. Gavriel Tirosh appears for less than a year in the lives of five Jerusalem high school students in the late 1930s. He teaches them history. He trains them for combat. He vanishes. Decades later, they are still trying to make sense of what he meant and what he cost them.

Shalev, who lived from 1919 to 1992, published this novel in 1964. His son is Meir Shalev, the author of “The Blue Mountain” and other well-known works. The elder Shalev was a poet and man of letters, and this is his only novel. Ruth

Book Marked

The Man Who Taught Them to Fight

By Rachel Parness

Reviewing: “The Gavriel Tirosh Affair”

Translated by Hillel Halkin. With a foreword by Ruth Wisse and historical context by Yiftach Ofek.

The Toby Press, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem ISBN 978-1-59264-713-2, Paperback, 252 pages. Published 2026

Wisse, who wrote the foreword and spent years getting the book translated, calls it the novel she would have wanted to discover in high school. The novel is set in high school, and it speaks to the students living those years as much as to the adults looking back on them. Hillel Halkin, who has translated Yehoshua, Oz, and Hareven, handled the English. The result reads like it was written in English from the start.

The story is set during the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939, a period of Arab attacks on the Jewish population that historians also call the “Bloody Events.” The Jewish leadership’s official policy was havlaga , restraint. The Haganah would defend settlements when attacked but would not pursue perpetrators or retaliate. Some Jews rejected this approach and formed breakaway groups, including the Irgun. They believed that restraint signaled weakness, that it encouraged further violence, and that the British would only respect strength.

Into this world comes Gavriel Tirosh, a 28-year-old refugee from Nazi Germany, hired to teach history at an elite Jerusalem high school. He arrives with a tan that surprises the students, green eyes that captivate them, and an aftershave lotion that the narrator,

years later, can still smell. He teaches them about the Crusades. He makes them write research papers. He takes them on a class trip to the Galilee. On a steep trail to the ruins of Montfort, he outruns them all without trying. That is when they begin to understand that their new teacher is not like the others.

Tirosh forms a small group: Aharon, Dan, Yair, Aya, and the narrator. He trains them in marksmanship, fieldcraft, and tactics. He teaches them to move through the night without fear. He sends them on missions that blur the line between education and combat. His methods are unorthodox. His aims are ambiguous. His sister was murdered in Germany. He has no patience for Jewish accommodation or Jewish passivity. He believes the Jews of Palestine are making the same mistake as the Jews of Europe, and he is determined to break the pattern. Before leaving his kibbutz to become a teacher, he told a friend: “Enough of forging iron! It’s time to forge souls!”

The novel never makes clear what Tirosh’s relationship is to the underground organizations. He seems to operate independently. He recruits his students without asking permission from anyone. He answers to no one. Near the end of the school year, during an op -

eration in the Arab village of Shuafat, Aya is killed. Tirosh disappears. The students finish the year without him. They join the underground. They fight in the War of Independence. They build families. They grow middle-aged. They never see Tirosh again.

Shalev writes in the first person, and the narrator’s voice carries the weight of hindsight. He is looking back from

1964, sixteen years after the establishment of the State of Israel. The country exists. The war was won. But something has been lost. The narrator walks past the ruins along the armistice line that divides Jerusalem and sees in them a reflection of the ruins inside himself. He realizes that he and his surviving friends “were all blurry facsimiles of Gavriel.” He and his friend Yair, the only two survivors of Tirosh’s group, meet occasionally in cafés. Aharon died commanding a unit that destroyed a British railway line, blown to pieces attaching the explosive charge himself. Dan was killed during the War of Independence when his infantry company approached an Arab village they thought was deserted. They are overweight. They have grown cynical. They lead lives of trivial pleasures that Tirosh would have regarded with disdain. The narrator imagines encountering Tirosh again and winces at the thought of his dismissive stare.

The novel describes the narrator’s obsessive searching. He goes to the train station to watch passengers arrive. He walks the aisles of theaters and cinemas, scanning faces. He catches the

scent of Tirosh’s aftershave lotion and breaks into a run, only to discover it is someone else. Years pass. He names his son Gavriel. The searching never stops.

This elegiac tone runs through the entire novel. It is not a story of triumph. It is a story of bereavement. Wisse notes in her foreword that the novel “partially joins the literature of bereavement, filled as it is from start to finish with mourning for the absent teacher and other departed people and expectations.” Tirosh succeeds in changing his students. He prepares them for a fight they had to win. But he also leaves them with something unfinished, a wound that does not heal.

The novel raises questions it does not answer. Was Tirosh right to do what he did? Was the price worth paying? Did the Jews of the Yishuv need men like him, or did they need to resist the temptation to become like him? Shalev lets the tension sit. The book was controversial when it appeared. It gave voice to the Irgun and Lehi at a time when Israel’s Labor establishment controlled the national narrative. Menachem Begin, former leader of the Irgun, would not become prime minister until 1977.

Shalev was writing against the grain.

But the novel is not ideological. It is personal. The narrator does not defend Tirosh or condemn him. He simply cannot let him go. Tirosh appears for a few months and shapes the rest of his life. That is the mystery at the heart of the book. How does one person exert such power? What makes a teacher unforgettable? What does it mean to be changed by someone and then abandoned by them?

There are passages in the novel that linger. The description of the narrator wandering through divided Jerusalem, searching for traces of a past that no longer exists. The account of Aya’s death, told with restraint that makes it more devastating. Shalev does not overwrite. He trusts the reader to feel what he does not say.

Halkin’s translation preserves the spare quality of the prose. He makes small changes where necessary to help American readers understand references to the Yishuv and the underground movements, but he avoids footnotes, which he finds cumbersome. The result is a text that reads smoothly without feeling dumbed down. Yiftach Ofek’s historical introduction provides context

for readers unfamiliar with the period. Wisse’s foreword explains how the book came to be translated and why it matters.

“The Gavriel Tirosh Affair” was published sixty years ago. It arrives in English at a moment when Israel is again divided over questions of force and restraint, when debates over how to respond to violence feel as urgent as they did in the 1930s. The novel does not offer answers. It offers a story about people who made choices under impossible circumstances and spent the rest of their lives wondering if they chose right.

Wisse notes that before the category of young adult fiction existed, “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Elie Wiesel’s “Night” “were among the teen books of our generation. This novel belongs in that company. It is set in high school, about high school students facing choices that will define their lives. It speaks to the students living those years now as much as to adults looking back on them.

The narrator ends where he began, walking through Jerusalem, following the trail of a memory. He never finds Tirosh. He never stops looking. That is the legacy Tirosh leaves: not certainty, but the inability to forget.

In The K tchen

Taco + Hamantashen = Taco-Tashen

By Aliza Grubin

By Naomi Nachman

My friend Aliza is a kosher personal chef in Israel and a recipe developer with an Instagram page to share her ideas @aliza—personal—chef. She is super creative.

Seeing Purim is on a Tuesday this week, she gave Taco Tuesday a whole new meaning by turning tacos into hamantashen. Below is her recipe for Taco-Tashen. I asked her if I could share her recipe with my readers.

Ingredients

◦ 1 lb. ground beef

◦ 1 medium onion, diced

◦ 1 teaspoon salt, divided

◦ 2 tsp onion powder

◦ ½ tsp garlic powder

◦ ¾ cup barbecue sauce

◦ Black pepper, to taste

◦ Oil (for sautéing + brushing tortillas)

◦ 4–5 large tortillas

◦ Toothpicks

Preparation

1. Make the filling: Sauté onions in oil until translucent. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Add beef, remaining salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder until lightly browned. Stir in barbecue sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Shape the taco-tashen: Brush tortillas with oil on both sides. Using a 4- inch cutter (or cup), cut circles from each tortilla. Pinch each circle into a hamantashen shape and secure well with toothpicks so they don’t open.

3. Bake: Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 375°F for about 10 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Cool slightly and remove toothpicks carefully (it’s important to be gentle).

4. Fill & serve: Spoon the meat mixture into the tacos and top with your favorite toppings such as guacamole, salsa, and parve sour cream.

Make ahead tip: Store baked shells airtight at room temp. Refrigerate or freeze the meat filling separately and reheat before serving.

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 additional 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.

for every Fit and size

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

The UK has been colonized… You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people

- Britain’s wealthiest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologize.

- England’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

When there is scarcity in jobs, when there is scarcity of opportunity, they pick boogeymen — or in this case boogey-people — and they blame them.

- Rep. Tim McBride (D-DE) at a recent town hall meeting

They roughed him up with special snacks, smiling pictures, and VIP treatment.

- U.S. Amabassador to Isael Mike Huckabee on Newsmax mocking Tucker Carlson’s claim that he was roughed up when he got to Israel

Of all places, I went to a Jesuit college. I think I knew two other Jews at the entire university. They were all kids that went to private Catholic schools. We’d have these 100-question multiple choice tests, and these kids in class were just rattling off the answers. And I was like, “I have no idea. I’m in way over my head here.” I went to a Hebrew school, having never done any of that. It was definitely something that stood out, and ever since then, I’ve just been really happy to represent Jewish people.

- American speedskater Emery Lehman, who won a silver medal in the Olympics, in an interview with The Times of Israel

While President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda separates families, and federal agents detain 5-year-olds and kill unarmed civilians, American athletes are winning medals on behalf of the nation at the Olympics right now. This whiplash between pride for United States competitors and national shame for the federal government is common.

- Huffington Post

I, on behalf of the American people, would like reparations from them for allowing Somali fraudsters to steal billions of dollars from the American taxpayer that live in Minnesota.

- Vice President J.D. Vance in response to Minnesota officials saying that they want reparations from ICE

I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, I’m like you. I’m not better than you. I’m a 960 SAT guy.

- Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to Atlanta’s Mayor Andre Dickens, who is black, at a town hall of mostly black people.

Wow! Gavin Newscum just dropped out of the Presidential race!!! President DJT.

- Social media post by Pres. Trump in response to Gov. Newsom’s seemingly racist statement

Gavin’s got a new pitch— “I’m dumb.” Maybe this is the reason Dems have lost men.

- Jesse Watters, Fox News

I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!

- An online statement by former Pres. Barack Obama shortly after he said on a podcast that aliens exist

He gave classified information; he’s not supposed to be doing that. I don’t know if they’re real or not, but I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information.

- Pres. Trump responding to former President Barack Obama saying last week that aliens are real

I love [Pres. Trump]. I don’t want to hear nothing you got to say about that racist stuff. And don’t be looking at me on the news, hating me because I’m standing up for somebody that deserves to be standing for. Get off the man’s back. Let him do his job. He’s doing the right thing. Back off him.

- Forlesia Cook, whose grandson was murdered in 2017, addressing the White House audience at a Black History Month event

Israel will stand united — there will be no opposition coalition during war with Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I will put aside our differences to defend our country. For the defense of our people, all of Israel will unite behind our soldiers and pilots.

- Israeli opposition Leader Yair Lapid in a recorded statement addressing the people of Iran

Trump: has never had a child. Has been married 3 times. Ran several businesses into the ground. Never ran a home, couldn’t make a bed to save his [life]. Calls people he works with dumb, losers, etc.. Has never done sweat labor. Has never served on a local committee. He has no life experience.

- Writer Stephen King, who has chronic TDS, in a post on X

I’m friends with a million bad people, or I’ve talked to a million bad people.

- Tucker Carlson during his interview with Ambassador Mike Huckabee

Hey, I’m sitting here with you!

- Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s response

I love the idea of a refund. Are we getting refund checks for the $9 billion the Somalis stole? Are we getting refund checks for Bidenomics? The average family paid thousands more a year under that disaster.

- Jesse Watters, Fox News, responding to Democrat claims that there should be a “tariff refund”

We spent hundreds of billions on migrants—their hotels, healthcare, phones. I want a refund. Are California taxpayers going to get the $24 billion back that Gavin spent on the homeless? Do they get the $16 billion back from the train to nowhere that Gavin never built?

- ibid.

[AOC] is kind of like Kamala Harris, just with more bartending experience.

- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Fox News

Someone told me a joke today: Congresswomen Ocasio Cortez announced today categorically that she is not a moron. And, she went on to say, she hasn’t even been to Utah, much less embrace their religion.

– ibid.

If this speech made you mad, you need to take a Valium and maybe take a thousand steps back.

- Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy responding to people who are upset about a video of Pres. Trump congratulating the USA hockey Olympic team after they won the gold medal

After massive loss to USA, entire Canadian national hockey team to be euthanized for being “sad.”

-Breccan F. Thies, the Federalist

Political Crossfire

The “Discombobulator” Arms Race Has Begun

By David Ignatius

As the United States moves toward possible military conflict with Iran, the White House and the Pentagon have been boasting about an exotic arsenal of directed-energy weapons that could signal a new era of lethality in warfare.

The administration’s public talk about the new weapons systems followed the success of U.S. forces on Jan. 3 in penetrating Venezuelan air defenses, neutralizing defenders there and snatching President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. After that decisive operation, officials began providing a glimpse of weapons that are rarely discussed. Perhaps they hope to intimidate prospective military opponents, such as Iran or China.

These disclosures about U.S. directed-energy capabilities come as a Post report raised new concerns that Russia or another foreign adversary might have secretly used a pulsed-energy weapons over the past decade against CIA and State Department personnel, inflicting a constellation of symptoms known as “Havana syndrome.” Descriptions of

the effects of U.S. and alleged foreign attacks are eerily similar.

President Donald Trump blurted out some hints of new systems during a Jan. 24 interview with the New York Post when he said U.S. forces used what he called “the Discombobulator” to storm Maduro’s compound. “I’m not allowed to talk about it. I would love to.… They never got their rockets off. They had Russian and Chinese rockets, and they never got one off. We came in, they pressed buttons, and nothing worked.”

Trump offered another clue in a Feb. 13 speech to soldiers at Fort Bragg, the home of some of the Army’s most elite warriors. “Everyone’s trying to figure out why [Venezuelan air defenses] didn’t work. Someday you’re going to find out,”

Trump said, according to a report from a North Carolina news outlet The local reporter noted that the disabling weapon sounded like little-known Air Force systems that use high-powered microwaves to disrupt electronics.

Another flashy advertisement of U.S. capabilities came in a social media post from the office of Emil Michael, the Pen-

tagon’s chief technology officer. “Yes, the @DeptofWar has directed energy weapons. Yes, we are scaling them,” his office said on X on Jan. 23. The post was accompanied by a bright red image of a laser cannon with the words: “Light-Speed Lethality … Directed Energy Dominant.”

Wall Street analysts foresee an investment boom in this spooky technology. A research report last month by Astute Analytica predicted that the global market could grow from $7.1 billion in 2024 to $32.5 billion by 2033.

Public reports cast light on some U.S. weapons that could have effects like those described in Venezuela. The Air Force in 2017 posted a video simulation of a rocket carrying a high-powered microwave system known as CHAMP. The video shows a rolling blackout across a city, like what is said to have happened in Caracas early last month.

A more advanced microwave weapon known as HIJENKS was described by the Air Force and Navy in a 2023 release. It explained that the system uses high-powered microwaves for “disabling of computer systems, damaging target-

ed electronics, disrupting security and industrial control systems, etc.”

The Pentagon has developed sonic weapons, known as Long Range Acoustic Devices, that can fire beams of sound at adversaries. Smaller versions of these “sound cannons” have been used by police forces in the United States and abroad for crowd control, according to a human rights watchdog group.

Public White House discussion of these exotic weapons began on Jan. 10, a week after the Venezuela attack, when press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X: “Stop what you are doing and read this.” She then shared what purports to be a Venezuelan security guard’s account of what happened the night of the attack, as summarized by a right-wing social media influencer:

“We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation,” said the security guard. “At one point, they launched something – I don’t know how to describe it … it was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly, I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We all started bleeding from the

nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move.”

What’s striking about this account is how similar it is to the first known incident of Havana syndrome. The victim’s experience was described in the preface to a 2020 report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine: “An individual assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Cuba was awakened one night at home in Havana in 2016 by severe pain and a sensation of intense pressure in the face, a loud piercing sound in one ear with directional features, and acute disequilibrium and nausea. Symptoms of vestibular and cognitive dysfunction ensued.”

What caused these symptoms? The National Academies study assessed scores of incidents and decided that directed energy was “the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases,” as I noted in 2021. But the U.S. intelligence community, led by the CIA, reversed that finding in 2023, concluding that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary had used a “novel weapon” to inflict the damage.

The judgment seemed to shift once more when the Biden administration’s National Security Council decided in January 2025, in its last weeks, that “pulsed electromagnetic or acoustic energy remains

a plausible explanation in certain cases.”

Last weekend, alarm bells started ringing again with The Post ’s disclosure that a Norwegian scientist had built a pulsed microwave system and tested it on himself – causing neurological symptoms like Havana syndrome. U.S. officials had visited Norway in 2024 to explore his find-

ognize the severity of Russian attacks using exotic technologies, whether they were to blame for Havana syndrome or not.

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, who spent two tours in Moscow, said in an email message:

“As far as I know, the agency has never interviewed the living retired officers who can paint a picture of the operational con-

“Suddenly, I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move.”

ings, and the CIA had covertly acquired and tested a foreign-made device that used pulsed radio waves. Yet CIA analysts continued to assert that Havana syndrome cases weren’t linked to Russia or other foreign governments – infuriating some victims.

Former CIA officers who served in Moscow told me they’re frustrated by the agency’s long-standing reluctance to rec-

ditions in Moscow in the 1970s and ’80s that provides the context for assessing the health threat – such as microwaves, X-rays, laser attacks, electronic bugging devices, tunnels, and other exotic technical attacks. The truth is they had no idea what the KGB was doing – and still don’t.”

The Russian surveillance was so intense that a Russian command post in a church across from the American com-

pound in Moscow was known as “Our Lady of Telemetry,” because it bristled with “every type of technical monitoring device known to man,” including lasers and heat sensors, writes Rosie Mowatt-Larssen, Rolf’s wife and a part-time case officer, in a recently published memoir.

Here’s the bottom line: Ready or not, we’re entering an era of directed-energy weapons. As with any new technology, the first obligation is to set “rules of the road” for the United States and then, hopefully, with other countries. A starting point is to distinguish between attacks on military personnel, as in Venezuela, and on civilian diplomats and intelligence officers, as is alleged in the Havana syndrome cases. The first may be permissible; the second shouldn’t be.

The larger question is whether we’re setting off a new arms race that could ultimately hurt America more than its adversaries. Soon, other countries, too, will be able to launch rockets and drones that can trigger rolling electricity blackouts, fry computer circuits and cause severe neurological damage. A warning to enthusiasts for what Trump called “the Discombobulator”: What goes around comes around.

© 2026, Washington Post Writers Group

Political Crossfire

Why Trump Was Right to Let This Nuclear Treaty Expire

President Donald Trump has come under withering criticism for allowing the Obama-era New START nuclear pact with Russia to expire. But he was right to do so. Instead of preserving antiquated limits, Trump needs to act unilaterally to modernize America’s nuclear deterrent. There’s a model for how to do it.

In April 2002, I traveled to Moscow with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for negotiations on the Moscow Treaty, the predecessor to New START. Instead of engaging in long, adversarial negotiations, Rumsfeld simply informed the Russians that the United States had, after careful review, determined the nuclear force levels that it needed to achieve to defend itself, its interests and its allies. The U.S. would adopt those force levels regardless of what Russia did with its own arsenal. America would be happy to codify these levels in an arms control agreement, Rumsfeld said, if Russia really wanted one, or the George W. Bush administration could enact them unilaterally.

The Russians were taken aback. They wanted a treaty. So, the administration gave them one. The resulting agreement was just three pages long.

This was the right approach – then and now. The United States should look at the national security landscape that exists today and determine on its own what nuclear force levels are necessary to deter its adversaries and meet its national security imperatives.

The world has changed dramatically since both the Moscow Treaty and New START were negotiated. Russia has reverted to its Soviet-era expansionism, invading Ukraine in 2014 under President Barack Obama and then again in 2022 under President Joe Biden. As Vladimir Putin has waged war against his neighbors, he has been carrying out a massive nuclear modernization program – including the

By Marc A. Thiessen

development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads, and new intercontinental nuclear-powered torpedoes and cruise missiles that were, by Russian design, not subject to the limitations of the New START pact.

Moreover, as my American Enterprise Institute colleague Kyle Balzer points out,

Beijing’s arsenal of deployed nuclear weapons is expected to match or exceed that of the United States.

What’s worse is that America’s two nuclear adversaries have entered into a “no limits” partnership – as well as a de facto alliance with a nuclear North Korea and an aspiring nuclear power in Iran.

Rather, it is to ensure that America is capable of deterring multiple nuclear adversaries at once, while preventing new ones from emerging.

today “for the first time in the nuclear age, Washington faces not one but two nuclear-peer competitors – adversaries with arsenals comparable to America’s.” No longer satisfied with fielding a rudimentary nuclear force, China is making a mad dash to join the U.S. and Russia as a nuclear superpower. Beijing has tripled its stockpile of nuclear warheads and increased its ICBM force by more than 500 percent. By 2035,

Given these realities, it would have been pointless to extend a bilateral treaty that did not restrain China and which Russia was no longer observing anyway. It was Putin who suspended compliance with New START in 2022 – the same year he invaded Ukraine.

The United States’ national security imperative now is not to try to negotiate restraint with Russia, a country commit-

ting naked aggression and threatening to use nuclear weapons against those who push back. Rather, it is to ensure that America is capable of deterring multiple nuclear adversaries at once, while preventing new ones from emerging.

This will require nuclear modernization, including investments in next-generation nuclear systems and possibly a resumption of testing. It will require loading additional warheads on existing land- and sea-based strategic missiles, forward-stationing nuclear-capable aircraft in Europe and the Pacific, growing the planned fleet of strategic missile submarines and expanding the next-generation B-21 bomber program.

It will also necessitate new investments in missile defense – including Trump’s “Golden Dome” defense shield to fulfill the vision Ronald Reagan put forward with his Strategic Defense Initiative to protect the United States from ballistic missile attack, as well as dramatically increasing the scale and pace of production of theater ballistic missile defense interceptors. It will require acting decisively to stop Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon –ideally by ending the Iranian regime. All of this must be funded by raising the U.S. defense budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, as Trump recently announced.

So the Pentagon should undertake a new Nuclear Posture Review to determine the appropriate nuclear force levels to deal with a new multipolar nuclear security environment. Then, if appropriate, President Trump can offer to record those changes in a treaty with Russia and China, or he can simply make them unilaterally. It really doesn’t matter. Because ultimately, the security of the free world does not depend on a piece of parchment. It depends on the United States wielding a credible nuclear deterrent.

Political Crossfire Huckabee’s Gift to Israel Ahead of an Iran Strike

By Martin Oliner

As the United States and Israel move closer to action in Iran needed to make the world a safer place, they must cooperate more closely than ever before.

Thankfully, the U.S. ambassador to Israel is a closer friend to the Jewish state than anyone who has ever been in this very sensitive role.

Mike Huckabee recently told a delegation of more than 200 American lawmakers that Israel is akin to the “wife” of the United States.

“If you came to my house tonight for dinner, and you came in and you said, ‘Oh, Mike, we like you. We really think the world of you. We just enjoy being with you. So excited to be here with you and have dinner with you,’” he said. “‘But your wife, we can’t stand her. We don’t like her a bit. I hope she’s not going to be at the table.’ I would say, ‘Well, she will be. You won’t be. Get out.’ Because if you were to insult my partner, you have insulted me. The U.S. has a lot of friends and allies. But we only have one partner, which is Israel. It is a relationship like no other.”

Supporters of Israel must cherish this time — the golden years of U.S.-Israel relations — thanks in part to Mike.

A dozen years ago, I brought Huckabee to Jerusalem on what was just one of his countless trips to Israel.

He told a reporter his support of Israel was like standing in “a very short line.”

“The only explanation for Israel’s existence in the modern world is G-d’s providence,” he told the reporter. “The line to stand with Israel is a very short one. And since I always like to get in the short line, I don’t mind being at the very front of that line.”

Huckabee has been standing with Israel for a long, long time — not just since 53 years ago, the first time he came here, but I believe since 3,339 years ago, when the Jewish people received the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Deuteronomy 29:14 talks about everyone “who stands here with us today before Hashem our G-d, and with one who is not here with us today.” The Torah doesn’t say, “One who is not standing here with us today.” It says, “One who is not

ing author of 14 books.

On a personal level, Mike has been a special friend of mine for decades and was kind enough to review and write the foreword to my book In Praise of Donald Trump.

He is an oheiv Yisrael — a man who loves the land, people, and State of Israel.

here with us today.” This refers to souls that would be created in the future — not just Jews, but their strongest non-Jewish supporters as well. And no one is a stronger supporter than Mike Huckabee.

Mike was the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 until 2007. Time magazine rated him among America’s five best governors. He was the host of the TV show Huckabee on TBN each weekend from 2017 until January 2025, a Fox News contributor, a great musician, and a best-sell-

Donald Trump is the best president of the United States that Israel will probably ever have, and Huckabee is clearly the best friend Israel can ever have. He is an oheiv Yisrael — a man who loves the land, people, and State of Israel.

Likewise, President Trump will always support Israel, just as he will always do the right thing for his own country, because he rightly believes that preventing harm to Israel helps America.

That can be seen from every step

Trump took in his first term, from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the U.S. embassy there, to recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, closing the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, and ending the nuclear deal with Iran.

And now, together with Amb. Huckabee, in the first year of office in this term, President Trump bombed the most fortified Iranian nuclear facilities with the bunker-busting bombs Israel lacked, freed every live hostage in Gaza, and is ending the war on terms so favorable to Israel that naysayers could not have dreamed possible.

But what may be remembered in retrospect as the most important steps could still be yet to come.

Iran must be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon, building a dangerous stockpile of ballistic missiles, and enabling its proxies to recover from the blows inflicted on them by Israel since the October 7 massacre.

The U.S. and Israel will work together against Iran to bring the world a much safer future.

I was fortunate to present a gift to Huckabee this week on behalf of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

But as I told him, his real gift will ultimately come from the Master of the Universe — and the real gifts to Israel are President Trump and his masterful ambassador.

Martin Oliner is the chairman of Religious Zionists of America, as well as a committee member of the Jewish Agency. He currently serves as a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and is the author of In Praise of Donald Trump, available on Amazon. Mr. Oliner is the former mayor of the Village of Lawrence.

Political Crossfire

The Greatest Threat to the West is Immigration, Not Moscow

The initial reaction from Europeans who were in attendance at U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the recent Munich Security Conference was relief. The mere fact that Rubio had reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the Atlantic alliance calmed the nerves of NATO nations. They have been rattled by President Donald Trump’s demands for America’s acquisition of Greenland from Denmark, as well as by the general tone of the administration’s attitude toward its European allies. It was also considered to be not as confrontational as the address given to the same gathering a year ago by Vice President JD Vance.

Vance frightened the Europeans because he bluntly called them out for hypocrisy about democracy. The liberal elites who run most of Western Europe like to talk about defending democratic values, especially in contrast to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Yet by seeking to suppress right-wing parties that have protested unfettered immigration from Africa and the Middle East, it’s clear that they don’t really believe in such values. Just look at the ensuing impact this has had on their own countries, especially with respect to the growing influence of Islamists.

This particular issue wasn’t mentioned in the secretary of state’s speech, and that gratified the cross-Atlantic foreign-policy establishment that despises the administration both men serve. While they were pleased by Rubio’s emphasis on Europe and the United States needing one another, they also chose to downplay the substance of the address. In many respects, it was similar in purpose to Vance’s more controversial speech.

By Jonathan S. Tobin

Rubio’s Purpose

Rubio’s main purpose was not so much to mollify the Europeans, who remain up in arms about Trump’s demands for Greenland, despite the fact that they are still unwilling to pay their fair share of the defense of a continent that relies primarily on American military might to preserve its independence. Rather, it was an eloquent reminder that the real threat to Europe is the one posed by the same issue raised by Vance—namely, that the erasure of borders and consequent unfettered mass immigration by those who don’t believe in the values of Western civilization, who are undermining the national identities of those countries.

Equally important, he was again sounding the alarm about the way environmentalist extremism and globalist economics—promoted by the same liberal elites who advocate open-border policies on both sides of the Atlantic— aren’t just undermining Western economies and the futures of their citizens. They’re also hamstringing the ability of these nations to defend themselves.

As he rightly asserted, the rational way forward for the United States and its allies is to again embrace the specific civilizational legacy of the West, rooted in democratic systems of government, culture and faith that the toxic neo-Marxist doctrines of the left are trying to destroy.

At the same time, Europe should follow America’s lead in attempting to re-industrialize and to stop outsourcing its ability to manufacture goods and defense materials to a Chinese communist state that cares little for its environmentalist pieties and that poses a genuine geostrategic threat.

Above all, Rubio made it clear that their faith in multilateralism and the United Nations is not only letting them down. An unwillingness to acknowledge that the world body has been a dismal failure—not to mention a destructive force that is enabling antisemitism—is a far more crucial difference between Trump and the Europeans than the president’s critics understand.

That didn’t escape the notice of The New York Times. The so-called newspa-

per of record devoted no less than four separate articles to the job of pointing out that Rubio’s somewhat more diplomatic enunciation of American principles was at odds with the positions held by most NATO member nations, in addition to the Trump-hating foreign-policy establishment in the United States. They were right about that. But far from this being proof that Rubio is just a more pleasant facade to what they see as Trump’s mindless destruction of the post-World War II order, his speech pointed out some basic truths that needed to be reiterated.

What he said also explained why the administration’s approach is not only a justified defense of the interests of the United States and the West, but also in the best interests of the State of Israel and the defense of Jews everywhere.

Obsessing About Russia

The analyses by the Times were correct in pointing out that nowhere in Rubio’s speech did he mention Russia or the claim, so often asserted in Munich by many Europeans, that Moscow is the primary threat to the West.

The reason Rubio omitted mentioning Russia is not because the administration approves of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine or his ill-advised decision to reject American efforts to broker an end to that destructive war. Trump opposes the war and wants it to end on terms that will preserve Ukrainian independence, even if that means that it won’t get back all of the territory it had back in 2014, when the land war really started (a reasonable compromise rooted in what is possible rather than fantasies).

Washington also understands that the nightmare scenarios about the Rus -

sian army overrunning Europe after a conquest of Ukraine that were echoed in the Times’s stories are equally unrealistic. In its current state, Russia isn’t capable of posing such a threat. Its failure to defeat Ukraine testifies to that. While still a dangerous rogue nuclear state allied with China and Iran, it is but a shadow of the once mighty Soviet empire that, before its defeat in the Cold War, did pose such a threat to Europe.

The Europeans—and the Americans who agree with them—seem to think it is still 1987, and the forces of the since-disbanded Soviet-led Warsaw Pact face them in the middle of Germany. But they are equally wrong to be so angry about Trump’s demands for Greenland and his more transactional approach to the alliance. If they want to step up and pay for their own defense—a frequent theme echoed by many at the Munich conference this year—they can certainly do so. The only problem is that no one seriously believes that they can or will accomplish that. These countries have grown prosperous while being sheltered by the umbrella of the U.S. defense establishment, with few signs that they are willing to make the sacrifices to pay for the kind of armed force that will ensure their security against Russia or anyone else.

The most crucial issue facing Europe today isn’t the war in Ukraine or Putin. It’s the way so many in the West have abandoned a defense of their own values and civilization. Contrary to the conventional wisdom peddled by the liberal media, it wasn’t Trump that broke the Western alliance. Rather, it was the European elites who abandoned their own heritage and belief in its eternal truth and put in its place a failing neo-Marxist mindset that rendered them vulnerable to subversion from within long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Immigration and Antisemitism

Rubio’s message that this civilization is rooted in part in the Christian faith unsettled many people. That shouldn’t frighten Jews, who should understand that it is the Judeo-Christian tradition that is the guarantee of their freedom and security in Europe, as well as in the United States. The efforts of Islamists and secular Europeans to discard that tradition are directly linked to the redgreen alliance of Marxists and Islamists that has been the engine of a surge in antisemitism around the globe since the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Pointing

this out isn’t xenophobic or Islamophobic; it is simply recognition of an unfortunate reality.

As the Times wrote , the Europe that exists now doesn’t really resemble the one that created and cherished the Western canon that Rubio exalted as being as integral to American identity as it is to that of the old world from which it emerged. Mass immigration from Muslim countries in the past decade and longer has transformed many of these nations for the worse, where belief in their own political, cultural and faith traditions has declined precipitately. Rubio didn’t specifically mention it, but a natural consequence of these trends has been growing hostility toward Israel and Jews that is present everywhere in Europe—except, that is, in those nations, like the Czech Republic and Hungary, which agree with Trump about defending borders and national traditions.

Rubio also didn’t mention Israel, which most Europeans have largely betrayed since Oct. 7. Nevertheless, the foreign-policy principles he enunciated in Munich—opposition to mass immigration from Africa and the Middle East, preservation of borders and Western civilization—are essential to the security of the Jewish state and its war of self-defense against genocidal Islamists.

Many Americans, like the Europeans, have gotten caught up in Trump’s trolling of his critics and his efforts to push allies to start acting as if they are as invested in their own defense as the United States has been. Some, especially in the Jewish community, are also stuck in an outdated mindset that wrongly identifies today’s immigration of antisemitic populations to Western nations as somehow analogous to past chapters of history, in which Jews fled persecution and sought a safe haven in America and elsewhere. They should realize that the policies stated by Rubio in his Munich speech are not just correct but inextricably linked to any effort to roll back the tide of Jew-hatred and the support for Jewish genocide and Israel’s destruction that has gained so much support on the political left. If they are serious about supporting Israel’s continued existence, then they should stop sniping at Trump and obsessing about Russia and get behind the administration’s efforts to wake up the Europeans to what is really threatening the West.

Political Crossfire Why Attacking Iran Could Be Riskier Than Capturing Maduro

By Abdi Latif Dahir and Samuel Granados

When President Donald Trump said in January that a U.S. “armada” was heading to Iran, he compared it with the kind of force used in the military’s recent lightning operation in Venezuela, saying it was “able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence.”

Now, as Trump weighs options against the Iranian government, including limited strikes, experts caution that an attack on Iran would be significantly more complex than an operation in Venezuela and could potentially draw the United States into a protracted conflict.

Iran’s leadership oversees extensive military abilities and a network of regional proxy forces that could help sustain a resistance.

And unlike the swift operation in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, Trump is potentially contemplating more extensive military action without saying pub -

licly what he wants to achieve. But he has said that he wants to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon and that regime change would be “the best thing” that could happen.

“There is no low-cost, easy, clean military option available in the case of Iran,” said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group, an organization focused on resolving conflicts.

“There is a real risk that there will be American lives lost,” Vaez said, adding that this will feature highly in Trump’s calculus, “especially in an election year.”

Iran can hit back.

Whereas Venezuela’s skies were relatively unprotected before the U.S. attack in January, Iran has one of the biggest and most varied missile stockpiles in the Middle East, according to regional experts. Its arsenal includes drones and anti-ship weaponry, though the current

volume of Iran’s missile inventory remains unclear after its 12-day war with Israel in June.

Iran’s mediumrange ballistic missiles are capable of traveling over 1,200 miles, which includes U.S. bases as far away as western Turkey and across the broader Middle East, including in Israel and the Persian Gulf States.

On Saturday, Iranian state media reported that Iran had, for the first time, tested a sea-based air defense missile with a range of over 93 miles during military drills this past week in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran’s strategy “is to quickly escalate and export instability in multiple theaters so that the cost is spread, the pain is spread,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a policy institute.

The Persian Gulf States, which are

home to a number of U.S. bases, are anxious that any U.S. military strike could lead to blowback against them.

In January, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which are close U.S. allies, said they would not permit the United States to use their airspace for attacks. That stance may not ultimately shield them from Iranian retaliation, experts say.

An Iranian counterattack could strike major cities in Israel. The Israeli military used interceptors to shoot down the majority of Iran’s missiles during the war in June. Yet its supply of interceptors is running low after more than two years of fending off attacks from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, intelligence officials say.

Vakil said that Iranian officials most likely believed that the “fear factor” of a larger regional war would help dissuade Trump from attacking.

Iran’s proxies could threaten U.S. forces and allies.

Iran operates an “Axis of Resistance” that uses proxy forces across the Middle East, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has built and armed those groups to expand its influence and challenge adversaries in the region.

Although many proxies have been severely weakened, they could retaliate against U.S. forces and allies, creating multiple fronts and amplifying the conflict beyond Iran’s borders.

At least one Iranaligned group in Iraq has pledged support for Tehran if the U.S. attacks, with its leaders warning they could order “martyrdom operations” as part of a broader conflict. Experts also say that the Houthis could resume targeting commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea, as they did in late 2023 in support of Hamas during its war with Israel.

The groups backed by Iran “know it would be better off hanging together rather than hanging separately,” Vaez said. “If the mother ship sinks, then they are all alone.”

Iran’s leadership is deeply entrenched.

The Iranian government is a theocracy in which the supreme leader is the main authority. That is enforced by the Revolutionary Guard, a feared and powerful branch of the armed forces that is estimated to number about 150,000,

supported by political hard-liners and reinforced by a complex power structure solidified over nearly half a century.

Vakil said that “a copy-paste operation of Venezuela might be harder to achieve if the goal is decapitation.”

It remains unclear whether there would be an equivalent figure like Del-

Real power in Iran is driven by ideology, supported by political hard-liners and reinforced by a complex power structure solidified over nearly half a century.

who safeguard and advance the regime’s authoritarian agenda.

In Venezuela, the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a tightly coordinated raid that lasted just over two hours. But in Iran, removing the government is not as simple as ousting the supreme leader.

Real power in Iran is driven by ideology,

cy Rodríguez — Maduro’s vice president and Venezuela’s current interim leader — for U.S. officials to work with if the supreme leader were removed from power.

Also, Tehran sits roughly 400 miles inland from the Persian Gulf. That would make it harder for U.S. forces to directly reach and seize Iranian leaders

compared with the operation in Caracas, which is about 10 miles from the Caribbean Sea, experts say.

The economic fallout would be widespread.

Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, choking off one of the world’s most important energy shipping lanes. About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travel through the channel.

Any disruption in the strait would send energy prices soaring, said Claire Jungman, the director of maritime risk and intelligence at Vortexa, a company that tracks oil and energy trade.

Iranian forces have conducted live drills in the strait in recent days, which some experts say is a signal that it could close the 90-mile-long waterway if war were to break out. Closing the channel would also harm Iran, restricting its ability to export oil to major customers like China.

“It will be like bringing down the roof on its head,” Vaez said.

© The New York Times

Political Crossfire Ukraine Has Passed a Point of No Return

By M. Gessen

Hundreds gathered over the weekend to socialize and party on the frozen Dnieper River

KYIV, Ukraine — In the middle of the last Saturday of January, hundreds of people congregated on the frozen Dnieper River for a rave. Under the high noon sun, the world was white: the tall apartment blocks lining the riverbank, the unplowed boardwalk and the flat, snow-covered expanse of ice.

With a citywide curfew in effect, parties in Kyiv have long moved to daytime hours, and with much of the city lacking light and heat, it makes sense to gather outdoors. So adults of different ages, dressed in puffy coats of every color, baggy designer sweatpants and chunky Uggs, had gathered, though there wasn’t much dancing, perhaps because the battery-powered speakers weren’t quite strong enough to blast music through the open air. There was, however, much mingling, some barbecuing, a lot of mulled wine and at least one book burning, of a Russian-language young-adult novel. Kids in snow pants slid down the steep,

iced-over bank of the river; when they skidded across the ice, they knocked over a few adults.

After the music ended, as scheduled, at 3 p.m., many of the revelers poured into a cafe overlooking the river. It was a quintessential Kyiv scene: exaggeratedly large wineglasses on sturdy wooden tables, a seafood bar, a display of bottles — impeccable style and a commitment to enjoyment as resistance to the Russian onslaught. But a few minutes after the influx of customers, a waitress announced: “We have no water. I won’t be taking orders.” Seconds later, the electricity went off, taking the music and the lights with it and turning the oyster display cases into dark gray boxes. Most of the customers left. The servers vanished, too, leaving dirty dishes on many tables. The cafe looked like a movie set after the director shouts “Cut!” and the actors and crew disperse, exhausted.

Kyiv is tired. For most of the four years

since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the capital city has insisted on maintaining or restoring its usual vibrant urban life. Theaters have been operating, as have art galleries and museums (although permanent collections have been stowed away in safe locations); universities and secondary schools have continued in-person instruction; electric bikes and scooters have been well maintained; the metro has kept running; and the railroad has served the city like clockwork. The railroad in particular has become a symbol of Ukrainian nezlamnist — invincibility or, literally, unbreakability.

But with Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure leaving people without light and heat for weeks on end, living a normal life has become untenable. It is probably fair to say that there isn’t a place or a person left in Ukraine who can forget about the war for even a few minutes.

People still try — not to forget, but to

continue living the best possible life every minute. After a short while, the servers at the riverbank cafe returned and cleared the tables. New customers came in. Someone restarted the generator, bringing the lights and the music back. Without running water, the place couldn’t serve food, but there could still be — and there was — drinking. Soon, the sun went down, and the giant apartment blocks dissolved into the dark sky. Only a few windows flickered dimly, perhaps with the light of candles, oil lamps or a few battery-powered fixtures.

Feb. 24 marks the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion. Four years is a particularly significant milestone for people who, like me, grew up in the Soviet Union, in the eternal shadow of World War II, because four years was the duration of the fight against the Nazis. The number was seared into our minds. Four years in which the Soviets fought what

they called the Great Patriotic War. Four years that created the country we lived in — its superpower status, its claim to world moral superiority. Four years of death, displacement, of tens of millions of people being called upon to sacrifice for their country’s war effort. The slogan of those years was “Everything for victory.”

Mila Teshaieva, the photographer I worked with on this story, and I were both raised (she in Kyiv, I in Moscow) by parents who were born during that war. For us and so many people of our generation, the war explained why our grandfathers were absent, our grandmothers hoarded odd objects, our parents had fraught relationships to food, and all of our family members seemed at all times to be in a state of hypervigilance. Most of all, the war explained why none of the plans our grandparents had made for their future ever came true. In our generation, the future, as a category, continued to be suspect.

Growing up, I never questioned the heroism and special status of Soviet society. It was only as an adult that I came to understand that the war, which ended 22 years before I was born, had recast public morality, valorizing single-minded commitment and self-sacrifice above all else — above happiness, human connection, creativity, freedom.

Many Ukrainians — even those born after the country gained independence from Moscow’s rule in 1991 — grew up with much of the same mythology of the Great Patriotic War. Ukraine, which was under German occupation for most of that war, lost some 10 million people. Mila’s surviving grandparents, like mine, celebrated every anniversary of that war’s end but almost never talked about what they had experienced. After the war, the Soviet authorities sent thousands of Ukrainians to the gulag for suspected collaboration with the Germans — in many cases, as what amounted to punishment for surviving the occupation. Ukrainians never forgot that injury. Both of those World War II stories — of the heroism of Ukrainians and of the cruelty of Moscow — inform the way Ukrainians think about the war they are fighting now.

Newer works of history reframe the period as two sides of a coin: German and Soviet occupations of Ukraine, two empires that aimed to enslave Ukrainians — Germany during World War II, the Soviet Union before and after. And yet, the number four has continued to loom large in collective memory. Now Ukraine’s patriotic war, against Russia, has crossed that threshold, with no end in sight. Rus-

sia’s offensive appeared to speed up in December. In February, Ukraine recaptured ground, in its most successful counteroffensive in more than two years. But on the whole, the front line has remained largely static for more than three years. Russia’s apparently overwhelming superiority in manpower and military resources didn’t bring about a swift victory, but neither have the resolve of the Ukrainian people and the Western aid they have received proved enough to stop Russia’s aggression.

Whatever lies ahead feels as if it will last forever. Ukrainians have organized their lives accordingly. They are living this war in their work, their social lives, their waking and sleeping hours. It is a fundamental orientation of time, values and social relations that will define many future generations of Ukrainian life.

By any measure, Ukraine is a profoundly different country now than it was four years ago. At the start of the full-scale invasion, excluding regions that were already occupied by Russia, it had a population of perhaps 36 million people, according Tymofii Brik, a sociologist and the rector of the Kyiv School of Economics. (Other estimates tend to be higher.) Since then, Brik says, 6 million have been displaced inside the country and some 4 million — mostly women and

ern Europe have adapted to their new homes and to the separation from those they left behind.

“What kind of relationship can we have, with them over there and me back here?” Taras Viazovchenko said when I asked him about the state of his marriage. He got his wife and two children out of Irpin, one of the Kyiv suburbs then under Russian occupation, on March 3, 2022. The wife and kids live in Switzerland now. He has visited once. “She’s built a life there,” he said. “The kids speak French to each other, and I don’t understand.”

Like many Ukrainians who remained in the country, Viazovchenko has lived several different lives in the past four years — lives that he has shared with his parents and some of his friends, but not with his wife and kids. Before the full-scale invasion, Viazovchenko was a yoga instructor and a member of the Irpin City Council, a position he still holds. During the weeks in

azovchenko couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t think of anything else. He kept unzipping the black bags in which the bodies were kept — or what remained of them after several months in morgues that didn’t consistently have electricity.

It is probably fair to say that there isn’t a place or a person left in Ukraine who can forget about the war for even a few minutes.

children — have left Ukraine. More than 100,000 Ukrainians, troops and civilians, are estimated to have been killed. Millions of people live under occupation in areas Russia controls.

When people were fleeing the Russian offensive in the winter of 2022, squeezing onto overcrowded train cars headed west, few imagined that the war would go on for a long time. Either Russia’s tremendous military might or the West’s firm resolve would dictate a fast resolution, it seemed. But four years after that — and 13 months into the presidency of Donald Trump, who promised to bring the war to an end within 24 hours of his inauguration — there is no safe home for Ukrainian war refugees to return to. And there is less and less reason even to think about it: The people who stayed in West-

2022 when part of Irpin was occupied, he spent every day helping people escape the town. When Russian troops retreated from the Kyiv region, Viazovchenko joined the effort to identify the bodies of people killed in Irpin and neighboring Bucha, which has become synonymous with Russian war crimes.

People killed during the occupation had been buried in private yards, in group graves, in town parks, often after their bodies were left for days wherever the killing had occurred. Viazovchenko and others exhumed the bodies, interviewed loved ones and witnesses, and tried to match remains to descriptions. After several months of this work, Viazovchenko became obsessed. He and his colleagues had been able to identify more than 400 bodies, but several dozen remained. Vi-

It took the intervention of visiting mental health professionals for Viazovchenko to get help. He worked on setting up therapy centers for survivors of Russian aggression in different parts of Ukraine. And then last year, at the age of 46, he enlisted. He thinks that everyone should.

To be clear, not everyone agrees. After an initial wave of volunteers immediately after the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian armed forces have struggled to conscript enough people. People who enlisted four years ago and who are still physically able to serve have been unable to leave the service. Meanwhile, enlistment officers stage daily raids in Ukrainian cities, apprehending potential conscripts and delivering them to military bases. Some escape. At the same time, on this visit in particular, I heard many stories of people who either chose to enlist or submitted to a conscription raid and found peace in the service — and in no longer trying to evade it. Viazovchenko thinks this is as it should be, and that those who cannot serve at the front should join the war effort in the rear. He complained that after several years of pooling money for the war effort, parents’ groups have resumed collections for gifts and flowers for teachers.

That strikes him as frivolous, as does any pretense of peacetime life. As an example of proper, realistic adjustment, he cited the schools of Kharkiv, many of which have permanently moved to underground bunkers.

Underground schools have become symbols of Ukrainian unbreakability, along with warming tents set up in the shadow of unheated high rises. I visited the Kyiv School of Economics, a small, ambitious private university that has managed to draw some outstanding academic talent from both Ukraine and the West. Brik, the rector, excitedly led me to the basement, where the university has created several classrooms, complete with whiteboards. The school schedules only as many classes as can simultaneously convene in the bunker, so that whenever the air-raid alarm sounds, as it does on most days, classes can move down below. Then Brik showed me something else he was proud of: a classroom equipped for a vocational training program, this one in soldering — a skill newly in demand in the growing drone industry.

Most recently, Brik told me, the university had moved dozens of students out of apartment buildings that had lost power and heat and into hotel rooms. I wondered what, with his ingenuity and energy, he would be capable of in peacetime. Russia’s war — a war for the return to an imperial past — has always been a war against Ukraine’s future.

“I imagine that if there were no war, I’d get another Ph.D., in neurobiology,” another acquaintance, Lena Samoilenko, told me. Her first doctorate is in mathematics (multidimensional spaces, to be exact). She got it before Russia annexed Crimea and Russian-backed forces occupied the small town in the east where she’d grown up. When that phase of the war began, in 2014, Samoilenko was 28 and living in Kyiv. She started volunteering, helping some people to escape the Russians and others to survive under occupation. She spent many years organizing aid and reporting about the war — and then it came to Kyiv.

“It’s Groundhog Day every day,” she said. “You had your ear to the ground every day, listening for tanks.”

It was only later that night that I realized that it was, in fact, Groundhog Day, Feb. 2. It was also four years to the day since I first wrote about Samoilenko. Back then, I had come to Kyiv — a city I had often visited — to cover its preparations for the Russian invasion. I had sought out Samoilenko because she had written

a Facebook post decrying the idea that anyone can adequately prepare for war. While most people she knew were packing go-bags and laying in supplies to survive a short-term crisis, Samoilenko was girding herself and her family for a more fundamental change.

In 2022, Samoilenko started to help out in Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine that spent more than six months under occupation. After Russian troops retreated, remaining residents — a disproportionate number of them poor, older, disabled — needed basic supplies, medicine and care. Samoilenko raised money, recruited volunteers, bought a car and set up shop in a working-class neighborhood of the city. In June 2023, Russian forces apparently blew up the nearby Kakhovka dam, unleashing a deadly flood, which created even more need for Samoilenko’s work.

Meanwhile, her marriage ended, and her ex-husband, a poet and musician, joined the military. “Even if he hadn’t joined up, he might have met a[nother] woman,” Samoilenko said. It’s just that the war has been going on for a long time — long enough for people to fall in and out of love, among other things.

It’s been going on so long that the war itself has changed in profound ways. It started with bomber planes and tanks, but it is continuing primarily with drones — and the drone technology keeps chang-

youth in a dimly lit office space with people I wouldn’t ordinarily choose to socialize with.” Like other service members, Samoilenko can’t tell me exactly what she does, but she is based in Kyiv, a couple of hundred miles from the active fighting, which means that she doesn’t get supplemental frontline pay. From her old life, she still has her remote jobs as a consultant, which allow her to rent an apartment near her base, and some floorlength velvet dresses that she keeps in a closet there as something like a talisman. Someday, she hopes to wear them again, to travel and to walk by the sea — those are the things she needs to feel happy.

ing. Military personnel have had to train and retrain. So have journalists. On a Sunday afternoon, Mila and I attended a training session for journalists at a former Soviet Young Pioneer camp outside Kyiv. A group of people who became war correspondents four years ago — before that, many of them wrote about politics or social issues, or produced movies — were learning how to detect and avoid drones. They looked for cover, pursued by the devices’ beehive-like hum, but how can you dodge weapons that are capable of turning corners, hovering in wait, and going into open doors and windows? At one point, a journalist dropped to her knees in the snow and yelled: “That’s it! I’m [done].”

The drones made it harder for Samoilenko to continue working in Kherson. She could no longer use the car, because drones would follow the few vehicles traveling the city’s largely deserted back roads, and the distances she needed to cover were too great to travel by foot regularly. So she, too, joined the military. The day we met up, she had been promoted to staff sergeant. “Let’s drink to that,” she said, in a way that made it clear this wasn’t a milestone she’d ever hoped to celebrate.

In her past life, Samoilenko was a prominent figure in Kyiv’s cultural scene. She organized a poetry festival, and she loved to dress up for events. “And I’m spending the last years of my

While we talked, Ukrainian, American and Russian representatives continued their endless negotiations — negotiations about negotiations that, Trump kept promising, would bring an end to the war. Meanwhile, 2025 had been the deadliest year for civilians since the war started. The Americans said that Russia had agreed to stop hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, for a week. The agreement didn’t hold. “It’s been so cold for the last month that you keep feeling that it must warm up soon,” Samoilenko said. “But there is still February, and March in Kyiv is cold too. There is no reason to think that it will get warmer. And nothing gets easier, even though we’ve been through so much.” Even the catastrophic early days of the full-scale invasion felt more hopeful, she said.

The way we think about the future is also, usually, the way we think about the past. The inescapable sense that this war is forever has compelled Ukrainians to reframe their history — including the history of World War II — as one of eternal war against Russia. I saw and heard this narrative seemingly everywhere on this visit, including in Independence Square in the center of Kyiv, long a site of memorials both permanent and makeshift. For years, these were memorials to revolutions, particularly those of the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, for which the square served as the main stage.

But the memorials currently on display in the square tell a different story: There is an exhibit devoted to the 1991 protests against the Soviet regime, now reframed as a revolt against Russian imperialism; a permanent memorial to the people who died in 2014, both during the revolution and in the war in the east; and a growing memorial to Ukrainian fighters who have died since 2022, each of them marked with a small Ukrainian flag.

What struck me most about this current memorial is its scale: There is a multitude of flags, but most are tiny, guaranteeing that the memorial can keep expanding for a long time.

Paradoxically, thinking of the war as eternal gives Ukraine some room for negotiating with Russia and gives Ukrainians a modicum of hope. No one expects the current negotiations to bring permanent peace, but a truce that gives Russia domain over parts of eastern Ukraine may be acceptable when one compares it with the outcome of World War II — the Russian occupation of all of contemporary Ukraine, including lands that had belonged to Poland before that war.

If the war is eternal, it must also be all-encompassing, just as Taras Viazovchenko told me. All of Ukraine is the front. The country’s westernmost major city, Lviv, which has been subjected to only intermittent assault, has transformed itself into a city that visibly lives and breathes the war. A large stand in Market Square, updated every morning at 9, displays the photos and biographies of soldiers who will be buried that day. Typically at 11, cars carrying flag-draped coffins pull up to the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church, one of the largest houses of worship in the city. A military band assembles in front to play while coffins are loaded back into the vehicles. They are then driven to Market Square, where the mayor of Lviv pays his respects as a trumpeter, dressed in red, plays “Il Silenzio” by Nini Rosso. Every day.

But perhaps the biggest change the war has brought to Lviv is that the city has become a world capital of amputations and prosthetics. Together, centers with names like Unbroken and Superhumans serve thousands of people at a time. In all, some 100,000 Ukrainians are estimated to have lost limbs in this war, so far. At Unbroken, I walked down a hallway filled with photographs and architectural renderings of rehab centers, vocational training schools, new surgical clinics and on and on — that the organization either has recently built or plans to build. At Superhumans, I heard about centers the organization is opening in other cities — including one in Odesa that’s being built partly underground. These centers are, of course, proud of their work — their technological expertise, their range of rehabilitation services, the speed with which they get people standing and walking and being self-sufficient again. At Superhumans, I interviewed two men who seemed preternaturally cheerful, full of hope for the

future; both were fairly newly in love. Each of them was missing both legs above the knee — one because a rocket hit the trench where he was operating a machine gun, the other because an attack caused the loaded drone he was carrying to explode in his hands. So, this man is also missing one hand.

This war, like the great war before it, has extracted and normalized extraordi-

ondary. But in many ways, Ukrainians have never been less independent from Russia. It’s Russia that determines when and if Ukrainians sleep, whether they can move through their cities and whether they have running water, light and heat.

In Lviv, I met Mariana Mamonova, who works as a therapist at the Unbroken center. She began the war as a military doctor in Mariupol, where she worked

It demands that everyone serve and everyone be a hero.

nary sacrifice. It demands that everyone serve and everyone be a hero. I talked with a lawyer who said he was defending more than 50 of the thousands of people accused of collaborating with the Russians — some, he said, because they didn’t resist occupiers who entered their houses, others because they continued to run businesses under occupation and paid taxes to the occupying authorities.

War poses impossible choices, Samoilenko said — “like, when you are fleeing the advancing Russian troops, whether to force your grandmother, who has dementia, to come with you. And then you have to live with that choice, whatever the decision that you made.”

War turns writers, artists, engineers and house painters into soldiers. “And when people come back from the war, they are going to want to have a say in how the country is run,” Anton Liagusha, chair of the newly formed master’s program in memory studies and public history at the Kyiv School of Economics, told me. “Some of them will be in government. In the history of the world, I am not aware of any case of a country that is run by military officers that is democratic.”

This is the most painful irony forced by the war. Ukrainians rose up against Russian aggression in order to protect their democracy — by any measure, one of the most vibrant and robust in the post-Soviet space. But over four years of martial law, military censorship, suspended elections, and mobilization both legal and psychological, Ukraine has become progressively less democratic. This was part of Russia’s goal.

In the course of the war, I’ve heard Ukrainians talk less about democracy. It’s understandable: This is a war for independence, and everything else is sec -

through the first couple of months of the siege of that city. In April 2022, just weeks after she learned she was pregnant, she was taken prisoner. She spent almost seven months in a notorious Russian prisoner camp near the occupied Ukrainian city of Olenivka before being released as part of a prisoner exchange. Less than a week later, Mamonova gave birth. She retrained as a therapist, and the skills she learned, she told me, saved

her life and her marriage.

When I told Mamonova that I was trying to describe Ukraine’s current predicament, she compared it to being a prisoner of war. “It is a kind of captivity,” she said. “You are in bondage. Russia tortures its prisoners with cold — cold and hunger. And here it is the same.” Continuing the comparison, she likened Kyiv, where many apartments have no heat or electricity and almost no one has enough, to solitary confinement — not because Kyiv is isolated but because it’s a place where even more people are suffering from the cold than elsewhere in the country.

Yet another round of U.S.-led negotiations on the Russian-Ukrainian war was in the planning stages. A day before Mamonova and I talked, Russia had violated the ostensible temporary ban on targeting the energy infrastructure. Kyiv had spent much of the previous 24 hours without electricity and under an air-raid alert. It wasn’t the first such day, or the second, or the fifth, and it wasn’t clear that anyone outside Ukraine took much notice.

This, too, reminded Mamonova of Russian captivity. “You scream, and no one can hear you.”

© The New York Times

Forgotten Her es Achashveirosh Arena and Loads of Violations in Shushan

By Avi Heiligman

There have been many debates among Rishonim, Achronim and cholent-deprived bochurim regarding many parts of the Megillah –ranging from halachos made up by the self-appointed expert at the Shabbos table to little known midrashim that sound like they were forwarded in a WhatsApp group with three “thinking” emojis and no source. We here at TJH have unearthed newly discovered (Apple) tablets from within the walls of Shushan. The cloud storage was a bit dusty, but we were able to recover much of the data. What we discovered wasn’t very shocking.

Even in ancient times, the governments had budget overruns, office dramas, HR complaints about Haman’s hostile work environment, reporters asking irrelevant questions, and at least one employee who constantly “accidentally” ate the king’s Uber Eats order from the palace fridge. So grab your gragger, ignore the mounting credit card debt from Pesach that’s still a month away, and relax as we uncover some situations from that town called Shushan that might sound suspiciously familiar.

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One of things that we discovered in these tablets were memos from the HR department, and let me tell you, these were a total doozy. Both Bigsan and Seresh had the largest file as they were complaining about everyone and everything. They

couldn’t stand the head of the palace security, Constance Snoring, whom they claimed was too busy counting sheep instead of counting spears. They hated Dusty Plotikin – the head of the sanitation department who was always getting in their way as they tried to scrub 180 days’ worth of Persian cabernet out of the expensive Persian carpets. (Pro tip from Dusty: never trust a carpet that’s older than your bubbe’s sheitel.)

Speaking of sanitation, they were very unhappy with cleaning up after Achashveroish’s 180-day party as the floor was super sticky from all the wine stains. A complaint was also filed against the palace caterer, Catering in Containers by Kalman and Cory, for the unforgivable sin of running out of spicy Oneg Shabbos herring and egg kichel by day 87 of the party. The palace guards weren’t happy with the trief caterer either, Russell Upsumgrub, as he just reheated fast food that was “too wormy.” (In his defense, the worms were probably just extra protein –very keto-friendly.)

The Palace press conferences back in those days weren’t that far off from White House press briefings in the 21st century.

At the chaotic briefing where the palace secretary, Ari Stotle, was announcing that the king had chosen Esther as his queen, a chassidish guy (name sounds like Urx, long beard, up-hat, press badge and a lot keys) working for the Medina Magazine asked if the king had any architectural plans or building permits in place for the rebuilding of the Second Temple. Mr. Stotle didn’t respond to that question but then made the big announcement: “The king has selected Esther as queen. No comment on her background check – it’s classified under ‘Need-to-Know’ and apparently nobody needed to know.” However, we

now know that the Mossad and President Trump knew where she was from. After the fact, Candace Owens also said she knew because Charlie Kirk came to her in a dream and told her.

At the second part of the briefing, the king announced that the palace hall would be renamed Ateres Vashti. However, there was an immediate uproar from the keffiyeh-wearing crowd who weren’t sure what they were protesting since the Zelle payment from Haman hadn’t cleared yet. Instead, the king just named it after himself, Achashveroish Arena, but said that there will be strict takanos (regulations) at the royal wedding: only a 30-piece band, the royal portrait would not be a take home gift for every guest, and the sushi bar would cost less than a Pesach vacation in Morocco. There would be an open bar and a Viennese table for dessert called Dessert in the Desert – which was really just 40 different types of pareve chocolate mousse.

We were also able to get a copy of the Shushan Department of Safety and Health as well records from the city council. According to inspectors, the palace was cited for “excessive open buffets,” serving kishka without a proper license, and a cholent pot that had been simmering since the days of Nevuchadnetzar.

However, this pales in comparison to the violations that Haman racked up. Aside from telling people he had permission to use the signet ring – he didn’t even have a basic notary license – his three-cornered hat was called in by a purple haired lady because he posed a public safety hazard. The city loved handing out violations, and even Mordechai was giving a loitering ticket for sitting at the king’s gate for too long. He tried telling them that he was part of Shomrim, but they responded, “Listen, Reb Yid, unless you’re learning Daf

Yomi with Rabbi Eli Stefansky out here, it doesn’t count.” Rabbosai!!

After all these things had transpired, another unredacted document was unearthed. This stated that after Haman had been hanged – that’s where the game hangman comes from if you didn’t know – the Jews would be allowed to fight back on the 14th day of Adar. The hamantaschen could only come from the most heimishe bakeries and the gallows were taken down and turned into a jungle gym used primarily for chol hamoed trips.

It all ended well for Mordechai as he was given Employee of the Month and a parking spot right outside the palace gates right next to the minyan factory, which leads us to the new definition of prime real estate: close enough for Shacharis, far enough from the king’s “quiet car” policy. So there you have it. Ancient Shushan was basically a modern office that smelled like kebabs and rice with politics, drama, and an HR department that rarely did anything except misplace leave request forms.

We wish you a happy Purim. May all of your mishloach manos arrive before Pesach cleaning starts!

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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Life C ach Decisions, Decisions

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

Those holidays are almost back again! You know the ones where the big questions flash brightly: Where are you going for the Seudah and where are you going for Seder?

Both of these mantras spin in the atmosphere.

To be perfectly honest, some people are still spinning with these decisions. And others with indecision!

It’s interesting that we put so much thought into the first one, the Purim Seudah. Especially, since the Seudah can be totally unmemorable. Of course, that depends on how impactful the joy of Purim was earlier!

The Seder is a longer event. Therefore, it may seem more worthwhile agonizing over.

However, if you think about it, there may be some major rituals here that cause blind spots as well.

Firstly, the Seder has its own intoxicating moments. You are encouraged right from the start to drink. And not just one simple cup of liquor. Or even two or three. But four! And not four measly cups that you can slowly nurse along at your own

leisure. Rather, “rov kos,” meaning the majority of the cup, and imbibed with no time wasted!

And along with this liquor being pumped into you, you are advised to tell the story of the Exodus in detail! Really, who can remember the details?!

through your mind. And the sea-splitting excitement of the march goes on.

At the same time, you are directed to LEAN in your chair while reclining on a comfy pillow, no less.

Who are we kidding? Can bunches of exhausted adults stay sober enough

How can anyone be responsible for what they speak about in this condition?

And not merely to tell it…but it’s introduced with a promise that the more you discuss it, the greater the praise you will receive. Therefore, you are motivated to, slurringly, push forward, while sharing the miraculous pieces and features of the historic escape by the Jewish slaves from Pharoah himself.

Plagues, frogs, boils, they’re all flying

to remain awake while encouraged to lie down? Especially someone who has worked all week at their job. Or even more impressive, someone who worked at this job for weeks to get everything ready for this moment:

• shlepping and prepping

• stacking and packing, baking and matzah making

• peeling and reeling

How can you ask them to stay up to speak? And even if they can, how can anyone be responsible for what they speak about in this condition?

Or even where they wound up at these moments for Purim or Passover while all this was happening?!

So why do we put so much agonizing attention into where we celebrate these two momentous events? Because who we throw up on when we’re a little out of it matters to us.

And more importantly, who we LEAN ON in life matters to us even more!

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.

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