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August 20, 2026

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Community 56 The End of a Great Camp Season

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66 Supporting the Holy Land PAGE 111

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AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Dear Readers,

ne of the current world panics is how AI is taking over the world. Some people are concerned about their jobs – if AI can do it better, why are humans necessary? Others are alarmed that people will forget how to connect with others, allowing artificial intelligence to become their best friends. Still, others are worried that AI will take over and reshape the world outlook. But those concerns don’t worry me too much. Call me naïve or call me someone who is not good at predicting the future, but I believe that these types of things end up correcting themselves. There’s a pendulum in the world that swings wildly one way and then just as wildly the other way, but somehow naturally settles somewhere in the middle. There may be growing pains along the way, but I believe that we won’t end up in the mode of self-destruct. Still, there are very valid concerns when it comes to AI. Perhaps the biggest one is that some people are using artificial intelligence as a replacement for their brain. They use it for every task at hand. They need to write an email, pen a report, think of a recipe, design a garden, plan an outing, consider an impending decision…and they turn to their trusty ChatGPT. And ChatGPT is certainly trusty for this – it will spit out an answer in seconds, it won’t rock the boat, it won’t challenge an assertion. It will instead, very invitingly, suggest a solution to a conundrum and offer other suggestions along with recommendations on how to change those suggestions to move them in

another direction. It’s such an easy friend to have. But it can be a dangerous tool. For those who use ChatGPT as a tool, in small doses, in the right way, it can be a tremendous help to your business or even in some aspects of life. But for those who use ChatGPT for everything, they are slowly rotting the biggest asset that humans have: their brain. A brain needs to be used. It needs to be challenged. It needs to be involved in your life to help you make the right decisions. And it’s what separates us from other species. Our ability to reason, to understand, to extrapolate is what makes us human. By relying on artificial intelligence for every decision and task in life, the brain begins to atrophy. And if everyone allows AI to take over their most important asset, our future as a human species collectively begins to weaken and wither. We are not turning into zombies anytime soon. But perhaps this is a good time, as schools are starting, to remind ourselves that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s a good time to remember that we were given a tremendous gift to utilize throughout our days. Our creative, imaginative, wonderful minds are here to help us navigate through life. Let’s use them to their fullest. Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka, EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

The Struggles of Being Single

NEWS Global

National

That’s Odd

ISRAEL Israel News

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood by Barbara Deutsch

Before Israel Votes by Stephen Flatow

My Israel Home

JEWISH THOUGHT Torah Sparks

Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

The Empathy of Elul by Rav Moshe Weinberger

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Headlines and Halacha by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

The Mirror of Elul by Nataly Magendzo

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

The Ben Ish Hai’s Legacy

Inspiration Nation

Forgotten Heroes

120

HEALTH & FITNESS Structuring a Successful Playdate by Shira Richman

The Back-To-School Jitters are Back by Dr. Hylton Lightman

102

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Simanim Ceviche

107

LIFESTYLES

126

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

Parenting Pearls

100

Book Nook

106

Dear Editor, I moved. No one noticed. No one said goodbye. No one will miss us. We are invisible. I am a single mother. I raised my children completely on my own. I raised them down the block from a well-known shul. Yet no one noticed. No one checked in. Because we are invisible. I sent my children to the local yeshivas and schools. We reside in a community that we should feel we belong in. But we don’t. Because we are completely invisible. A bank rep recently said, “Wow! You’ve been through a lot. You’re really very strong.” And he doesn’t even know a fraction of my story. Yet in what should be “our community,” we are invisible. Single mothers are invisible. A Reader Dear Editor, I couldn’t agree more with this op-ed article. In fact, I believe this “dilemma” is part of a much larger issue that contributes to a generation of self-centered and entitled children. Several times a year, the world seems to revolve around becoming chauffeurs for our children. Often, these arrangements could easily be avoided, but we accommodate them because we don’t want our children to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced. Take midterms and finals. Students are expected to come in late and leave early, and parents are expected to rearrange their schedules accordingly. Why is additional sleep and studying time automatically prioritized over parents’ schedules? A child could take the bus in one direction, but then they may be one

of the only kids doing so, creating a sense of shame around being different. Play season is even more extreme. One day, my child had a late start, early dismissal, and then practice at a local high school—four separate rides in one afternoon. During play season, this becomes routine, with constantly changing schedules, rehearsals, practices, and performances, all seemingly assuming that parents are available to drive. At some point, we have to ask: Is this really necessary? What are we teaching our children when we make sure they never have to experience even minor inconveniences? We are teaching them that their schedules and convenience come before everyone else’s. If the schools don’t respect parents’ time, why should our children learn to respect it either? What makes this more frustrating is that many parents are bothered by it, but because everyone ultimately falls in line, the schools never see the extent of the problem. And when parents do speak up, concerns can be minimized or fall on deaf ears. No child wants to be the only one without a ride, and no parent wants to constantly be asking others for favors. And this goes beyond transportation. We are expected to constantly rearrange our lives around our children—not only during school, but during the time between school and camp, when there can be pressure to entertain them and take them on trips because “everyone else” is doing it, as well as the seemingly endless school breaks and extra days off. Because apparently, my high schooler really needs two weeks off before Pesach! Of course, there are times when our children need us. But there is a difference Continued on page 12

Rent a Dip by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS126 HUMOR

Centerfold

Shmooze and Muse

104

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

108

Never Write With AI by Bret Stephens

112

How Raúl Castro’s Grandson Rose From Bodyguard

114

One Family Confronts Another’s Dark Nazi Past

116

CLASSIFIEDS

121

Do you prefer working in silence or with background noise?

55 45 %

Silence

Background Noise

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 10

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

between supporting our children and creating a culture where they are never expected to tolerate inconvenience, problem-solve, or consider the needs of others. If we want to raise children with good middos, gratitude, independence, and consideration, perhaps we need to allow them to be a little uncomfortable. And perhaps our schools need to recognize that parents’ time, responsibilities, and ability to work matter, too. Thank you for bringing attention to this important conversation. L.B. Dear Editor, As Rosh Hashana approaches and I reflect upon the prior year, I start to appreciate some things that happened to me. Here is one of them: After 20+ years of a highly unsuccessful yeshiva route, I was about to give up. Last year, on Shabbos, I felt heartbroken and gave up all hope, and was flipping through this very newspaper, when I came across an ad for Yeshivas Rebbe Akiva, run by Rabbi Manoach Gelbfish. I couldn’t believe that finally, a yeshiva for those weaker was open to all ages and backgrounds, without any judgment – just simply learning the 3rd perek of Gemara Megillah, open to all who crave it. One of the key lessons to learn from this is that all the elite yeshivas, such as Mir, Ponovezh, BMG Lakewood, and Beis Hatalmid in Bensonhurst, and plenty of others, all technically have age caps and prerequisites to enter the yeshiva; finding a learning program for those older with no experience is literally next to impossible. He even once said that a kollel yungerlight learning for years in Lakewood wanted to learn in his yeshiva, as the classic yeshiva system didn’t teach him well. Rabbi Gelbfish is doing what the yeshiva and kollel worlds are long overdue to do: open the doors of Torah to all people and ages at any stage. There is much more work to be done, and there should be more such places in klal Yisrael – a yeshiva free of charge for all to join. We are in desperate need of many more such institutions. If Torah learning truly is for

everyone and has no age limit, then the yeshivas at large should really do what they preach! A Talmid Dear Editor, My wife, grandchildren and I were privileged to visit the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Israel Museum last July. For us, it was a meaningful experience that demonstrated a direct, physical link of our Jewish presence from the Second Temple period to today. Dr. Lightman’s article was not only informative but hopefully, it inspires others to connect to our heritage. Congratulations. As The Navi Yeshayahu lived in the 8th century BCE and the scroll dates back to the first century CE, I believe the text on display were not, in Dr. Lightman’s words, “... the Navi’s Yeshayahu’s actual writing.” Yours Truly, Norman Pearlman Dear Editor, Most of us in New York are not happy with Mamdani winning the mayoral race, however that could have been prevented if the Republican Party would have stood behind the better choice, which was Cuomo. I mean, what were they thinking with this Sliwa guy, as he was a spoiler just there to take away votes from the potential frontrunner Cuomo? Now we have the governor’s race, as we have our own local Bruce Blakeman running for governor. We all love him as he has done very well for us here in Nassau County, which again brings me to the Republican Party, as to who advises Mr. Blakeman, as his running mate could have decided the election, as the polls have him running ten points behind, and with the right running mate he could have been ten points ahead. The idea is to make Hochul look bad, and right now, Mr. Blakeman is running behind in the polls with women voters. He could have changed that if he would have chosen a woman as a running mate, or even better an African-American woman, would have been the winning ticket. We hope he wins either way. Reuven Guttman Lawrence, NY

Make your voice heard! Be part of TJH’s weekly poll. Email the editor to be included in the weekly poll at Editor@FiveTownsJewishHome.com

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

The Week In News

Mali Releases French Agent

Last week, Mali’s junta chief pardoned a French intelligence agent serving a 20year jail term. The act was a rare conciliatory gesture following years of tension between the west African nation and its former colonial ruler. The decision came as Mali’s military authorities have been weakened by a massive offensive launched in April by jihadists and separatists. Yann V., the French agent, was arrested a year ago. He was accused by Mali of being a spy and undermining state security. Mali said in a statement posted on Facebook that the clemency “does not call into question the facts established by an adversarial judgment rendered during trial.” It added that there would be “immediate removal of the individual from national territory.” The sentencing of the agent in June was a new blow to relations between France and Mali, where a junta has ruled since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. He was detained in August of last year in the company of several Malian officers, who were allegedly aiming to stage a coup. He sat in jail for ten months before his trial. Junta leader General Assimi Goita’s release of the agent demonstrated his “commitment to peace and dialogue, as well as to the ancestral values of forgiveness, hospitality and magnanimity that characterize our culture,” the statement said. France has insisted that the charges were “baseless.” The French foreign ministry maintains that the agent was “carrying out a security cooperation mission, and at no point did France participate, directly or indirectly, in the destabilization of Mali.”

In the days following the arrest, France suspended counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two Malian diplomats to leave French territory. The Malian officers arrested with the French official have not yet stood trial. They are accused of establishing an espionage and conspiracy network aimed at destabilizing Mali’s government in order to stage a coup. Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fueled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as local criminal gangs and separatists. It has seen a spate of attacks since April by a coalition of Tuareg FLA separatists and jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). The assaults resulted in the death of the country’s defense minister, the capture of the northern city of Kidal by insurgents and the brief capture of the town of Anefis. In 2022, amid the deteriorating relations, France ordered the withdrawal of its 2,400 troops from Mali. On Thursday, the Malian army announced the release of 82 soldiers who had been held since April by JNIM and the FLA.

Earthquake Rocks Indonesia

At least 68 people were killed on Saturday when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake slammed Indonesia. Thousands of people were waiting for aid on the Indonesian island of Flores on Monday as the country marked its 81st Independence Day, two days after the natural disaster injured more than 200 people and damaged thousands of homes. The Saturday morning quake left widespread damage, with buildings collapsed onto parked cars, homes shattered, and trees and boulders blocking roads. Hundreds of people displaced by the earthquake are living in temporary shelters. During Indonesia’s Independence Day ceremony in the capital, Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto asked

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

participants to pray for people affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara and other parts of the country, while leading a nationwide moment of silence honoring the nation’s independence heroes. More than 4,500 homes were damaged when the quake struck Flores island early Saturday. Some 19,000 people were forced into temporary shelters and 213 people were injured, according to the National Disaster Management Agency or BNPB. The disaster also damaged 122 health facilities, 252 schools, and 84 places of worship. The province’s governor declared a 14-day state of emergency on Sunday. Authorities have since recorded 1,576 aftershocks into Monday, though only 54 were felt by residents. For many residents, the disaster revived painful memories of a powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Flores in 1992, killing about 2,500 people. The government said that more than 1,800 military and police personnel have been deployed across the disaster zone, supported by 10 aircraft and several vessels, to distribute more than 100 metric tons of emergency aid. Authorities set up two emergency field hospitals in the worst-hit town of Ruteng to treat earthquake victims after local

hospitals were damaged, with two crisis management teams overseeing a health emergency operation center. Aid workers reached tiny Palue Island, one of the areas closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, late Sunday, after a difficult sea and land journey through landslide-hit terrain, authorities said. Thousands of residents remained in urgent need of assistance. “The roads are steep and many were blocked by landslides. It was a near-death journey,” said the deputy police chief of Sikka regency, Marselus Yugo Amboro, whose team was among the first to reach the island with emergency supplies. He said initial assessments revealed extensive damage, with one villager killed, two seriously injured and nearly 150 homes destroyed. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on the island of Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a

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dozen countries, nearly 170,000 in Aceh province alone.

China Mourns Former Premier

China lowered its national flag on Tuesday as the country bid farewell to former Premier Zhu Rongji, who died last week at age 97. His funeral ceremony and cremation were held under tight security in Beijing as citizens reflected on the legacy of one of the country’s most forceful economic reformers. President Xi Jinping and the other six members of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee attended the ceremony at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, where they stood in silence and bowed three times before Zhu’s cremation, according to state media. Former President Hu Jintao also sent a condolence wreath. Zhu served as China’s vice premier from 1991 to 1998 and premier from 1998 to 2003, playing a central role in the country’s economic transformation during the 1990s. Known for his blunt style, Zhu worked to bring inflation under control, strengthen China’s tax and banking systems, and overhaul state-owned companies. His reforms resulted in millions of workers losing their jobs as the government shut down or restructured unprofitable enterprises. The changes also helped prepare China for entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, a milestone that accelerated the country’s integration into the global economy. Zhu was known for speaking his mind. “My defining trait – my guiding principle – is independent thinking,” he said in 1988, when he was mayor of Shanghai. “I believe I should say what I truly think.” His willingness to challenge others sometimes came at a personal cost. Zhu said his Communist Party membership was revoked in the late 1950s after he delivered a three-minute speech considered politically inappropriate. His membership was not restored for nearly two decades. His legacy remains deeply divisive.

Supporters credit him with laying important foundations for China’s economic growth, while some former state workers blame his reforms for the loss of their livelihoods. “I know that quite a considerable number of ordinary people in China like me,” Zhu said in 2001. “But there are also some who hate me to the core. How could one possibly make everyone love him?” His death sparked an outpouring of memories online, although Chinese authorities closely monitored public expressions of grief. The government has historically treated the deaths of popular former leaders cautiously, concerned that large public gatherings can sometimes develop into political protests. The deaths of former Premier Zhou Enlai in 1976 and former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang in 1989 both preceded major periods of public unrest.

Russian Opposition Leader Jailed

Lev Shlosberg, a top opposition leader and critic of Russia’s war on Ukraine, was convicted on charges of “discrediting” and spreading “false information” about the Russian military and was sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison by a Russian court on Monday. Shlosberg, 63, is the deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, the only official party that vocally opposes the war on Ukraine, and a former member of Pskov’s regional legislature. In July, the Central Election Commission allowed the party to run in the parliamentary elections late next month. However, after a Supreme Court petition by the Kremlin’s allies, the high court last week blocked the party from running and rejected its appeal. Shlosberg was charged after he called for the war to end and posted a picture from a British tabloid’s front page that blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the bloodshed. A court previously designated Shlosberg a “foreign agent,” and he was convicted of violating the foreign agent regulations. He has been in jail since December 2025, when his pretrial detention began. Several other top

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Yablonko members have been imprisoned or designated as “foreign agents” in recent years. Yablonko condemned Shlosberg’s “barbaric sentence,” which he received for his “love of the Motherland and calls for a ceasefire,” adding that he would appeal. On Friday, Shlosberg, in his final statement to the court, said that Russia, for three decades, “has traveled a path from hopes for freedom to the almost complete destruction of human and civil rights and freedoms.” The war in Ukraine has “changed the lives of every Russian citizen without exception,” he said, adding that “the entire country will shudder” when the true death toll is known. “The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Lev Shlosberg and quash his conviction,” stated Marie Struthers, the director of Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia branch. “They must repeal legislation criminalizing peaceful anti-war expression, end the persecution of Yabloko members and supporters, and respect the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and political participation for all Russians.” Yabloko’s campaign slogans this year were, “For a ceasefire agreement, diplo-

macy and peace!” “Our goal is to prevent nuclear war!” and “For a Russia free from fear and political repression!”

Afghanistan 5 Years Later

Just over five years ago, on August 15, 2021, after the United States and NATO troops suddenly withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban capitalized on the chaos, retaking control of the country. Now, according to the Taliban, many residents of Kabul claim they feel safer than they did five years ago. According to Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister in the Taliban for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and Culture, the government has brought Afghans security, stabilized the currency, improved infrastructure, and created

jobs by forming industrial parks. Farahi dismissed a U.N. report about terrorism in Afghanistan as “merely enemy propaganda, spread to portray the country as unstable.” Farahi also claimed that the Taliban was engaged with around 40 countries, despite it only having formal ties with Russia. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has fulfilled all the requirements necessary for official recognition. It is now up to the international community and others to step forward and take the appropriate action,” he said. Notably, Farahi declined to discuss the way girls are treated in Afghanistan and their exclusion from the education system. Just before regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban said it would give women access to education, employment, and public participation. However, the group quickly reneged on its promises, banning girls beyond sixth grade from going to school, including those pursuing higher education. Additionally, women were barred from entering gyms, public baths, and parks, as well as from playing sports and traveling long distances without a male guardian. According to the United Nations,

while Afghanistan has become more stable in the past five years, lasting stability can’t be achieved until the Taliban stops mistreating women. “Half a decade after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of half its population, making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world,” the U.N.’s agency on women’s rights said. “In the past year alone, this exclusion of women and girls from education, employment, public life, justice systems and healthcare has only intensified, entrenching what remains the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis.”

Iran Plans to Continue War

The memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

mid-June was widely considered overly generous in Tehran’s favor, offering the country billions of dollars in frozen funds and a potential $300 billion lifeline. Yet, while Iran initially agreed to the MOU, its hardline leaders planned all along to escalate the war. Iran used the pause in fighting to prepare for more fighting, communicating its plans with allies in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. “We took full advantage of the ceasefire period,” Revolutionary Guard spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi declared. “We enhanced our capabilities, accelerated our missile production rate and improved missile accuracy.” Now, Iran is reportedly mulling a ground invasion into its small Gulf neighbor, Kuwait, which is very concerning to U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East. Tehran’s goal is not to defeat the U.S. militarily, obviously, but to cause just enough pain to deter the United States and Israel from launching further attacks. While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged the government to negotiate in order to save Iran’s ailing economy, the country is standing strong despite its massive military and economic setbacks. It is quickly rebuilding its infrastructure and regaining access to missile bases, according to reports.

Iran has threatened to retaliate against U.S. attacks on its energy facilities by destroying similar sites in Gulf states, to whom Tehran has sent comprehensive lists of targets. During a quiet time in the war, Iran struck Jordan with five ballistic missiles in a surprise attack that targeted American troops. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has also overseen the Revolutionary Guard’s internal reshuffling. The Revolutionary Guard has been planning pre-emptive strikes and is mulling cutting internet off from the Persian Gulf, encouraging political unrest in Kuwait, Bahrain, and other countries with Shia communities, and launching a ground invasion in Kuwait. According to some figures in Iranian politics, the Revolutionary Guard might attack Kuwait through southern Iraq if the U.S. threatens Iranian territories such as Kharg Island. In early May, Kuwait caught six Revolutionary Guard troops attempting to enter a Kuwaiti island using a rented fishing boat. Mehdi Mohammadi, a strategic adviser to chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has warned that the ongoing quiet is merely the calm before the storm and that Iran is motivated by a “generational project for blood ven-

geance” for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “The Iranian nation still has much unfinished business with Trump,” said Mohammadi, an Iranian negotiator. “Iran is prepared for the great confrontation.”

Ebola in DRC is Deadliest

Russian Officer Killed by Bomb

A Russian military officer who had defected from Ukraine was killed in a bomb blast last Thursday in Sevastopol, a city in Russia-annexed Crimea, in a targeted assassination plot, the regional governor said. Robert Shageyev was ‌a former Ukrainian naval officer who fled to Crimea after switching allegiance to ‌Russia during Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. He was commanding Ukraine’s only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia. Russia’s Federal Security Service confirmed the death of a military official and announced the detention of a woman, a Russian national, suspected of carrying out the attack. The suspect was acting “on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence agencies,” said Sevastopol’s governor Mikhail Razvozhayev on Telegram. The attack took place when the man was walking down a staircase with a friend. The explosive device had been planted inside a bin near a bench. The target died instantly from the blast. Myrotvorets, an unofficial ‌Ukrainian website that keeps a database of people described as war criminals or ‌traitors, said Shageyev had been “liquidated.” This is not the first time Russia has blamed Ukraine for the assassination of a senior military official. Moscow has blamed Kyiv for a string of attacks on important figures, particularly those linked to Moscow’s war effort, on Russian soil. Ukrainian sources have claimed responsibility in some cases, while denying others. Shageyev joined Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after he surrendered the Ukrainian submarine to Russian forces with little resistance. He subsequently swore allegiance to the Russian military, according to local media reports.

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 2,325 people, government data showed on Sunday, surpassing the toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak to become the deadliest in the country’s history. Congo’s public health institute said in its latest report that confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours. The outbreak, Congo’s 17th, was already the biggest in the country’s history in terms of number of cases, a gruesome milestone reached in late July. The latest government data shows that the total number of deaths has surpassed the 2,299 deaths recorded in Congo’s 20182020 outbreak, which was previously the country’s worst on record. Three months after it was formally announced, the outbreak is now dwarfed only by West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in which 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths were recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. It took nearly five months from the declaration of ‌that outbreak to hit 1,000 deaths, whereas Congo’s current outbreak hit 2,000 deaths in less than three months. The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no approved vaccines or treatments. The outbreak has gained momentum since it was declared on May 15, as weak health infrastructure, community resistance and instability hinder the effort to identify and respond to cases. The proportion of people dying from the outbreak after a confirmed infection, known as the case fatality ratio, has risen from about 20% in early June to 46%, according to government data, meaning nearly one in every two confirmed cases is now fatal. “Normally, as an outbreak progresses, the case fatality ratio should fall as contact tracing improves and patients are identified and treated earlier,” said Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist recently deployed to Democratic Republic of Congo with Medecins Sans Frontieres. “Instead, we’re still seeing many cases

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

mately tortured and killed. Meng and his wife were arrested and brought to S-21 in 1977. The couple was separated upon arrival, and Meng never saw his wife again. His children also died during the Khmer Rouge period. Meng endured weeks of interrogation and torture. He was beaten and subjected to electric shocks while being accused of working for foreign intelligence agencies. In his testimony, he described the prison as a place of unimaginable suffering.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

detected very late, when treatment is less likely to succeed, with many identified only after they die in the community.” The outbreak earlier spread to neighboring Uganda, but authorities there managed to limit deaths to two and confirmed cases to 20 before declaring an end to the outbreak in that country last month. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, living or dead. It can cause fever, vomit-

ing, diarrhea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding before becoming fatal.

Khmer Rouge Torture Prison Survivor Dies Bou Meng, a Cambodian artist who survived one of the Khmer Rouge’s most

notorious torture centers and later became an important witness to the atrocities committed there, died last week at 85. Meng was among only a handful of known adults to survive S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, a former high school in Phnom Penh that the Khmer Rouge regime transformed into a prison and interrogation center. An estimated 14,000 to 20,000 people were imprisoned there between 1975 and 1979, with most ulti-

“I saw about 20 men with long hair, looking very sick and emaciated. The cell was like hell on earth,” Meng told a tribunal in 2009. His survival came down, in part, to his artistic ability. Prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, ordered Meng to paint portraits of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and other officials. His skills made him useful to the regime at a time when usefulness could mean the difference between life and death. “If I could not draw well, they would have killed me. Many other people died,” Meng later said. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Meng eventually became an advocate for remembering the victims and seeking justice. In 2009, he testified before a United Nations-backed tribunal against Duch, helping document the crimes committed at S-21. His testimony contributed to findings of murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture and other crimes against humanity. For a time, Meng himself was mistakenly reported to have died. After learning of the reports years later, he returned to Phnom Penh and declared that he was still alive. “The story said I was already dead, so I came back to show that I am still alive,” he said. “I want to tell the world about the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.” In his later years, Meng continued sharing his story with visitors and researchers. His death marks the passing of one of the last living witnesses who could personally describe the horrors of S-21.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

A Mafia Museum Heist?

Four paintings by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were lifted off a museum’s walls on Saturday in a heist that has raised eyebrows and concerns. The thieves entered Messina’s Accascina Regional Museum in Italy on Saturday evening, while the city was celebrating a religious festival that brought thousands into the streets. The burglary only came to light some two hours later when tourists found two Antonello paintings, apparently discarded by the thieves, leaning against the museum railings. Renato Schifani, the president of Sicily, issued a statement to say the museum’s video surveillance system and alarm had been working normally, adding that an internal investigation was underway

to see if any museum staff had been involved. Enzo Caruso, Messina’s councilor for culture, said it was difficult to understand how thieves could have removed the works in a matter of minutes without detailed knowledge of the museum’s layout. “It’s a very, very strange affair,” Caruso said. He noted that the stolen Antonello works are so famous that selling them even on the black market would be virtually impossible, raising the possibility that they could be used as bargaining chips or collateral in criminal dealings. “The Mafia? It’s possible they might try to blackmail the state itself in order to return them. These are the kinds of dynamics that ordinary people never get to see,” he said. He said another possibility was that the paintings could be used as guarantees or currency within the criminal underworld. Caruso questioned how well prepared the thieves had been, pointing to the fact that two paintings had been left in the street. “Perhaps they did not anticipate how heavy they would be. These are wooden panels ... stealing them is not as easy as stealing a canvas that can be cut from its frame,” he said.

He noted a professional art thief would normally take greater care handling works worth tens of millions of euros, saying no attempt had been made to protect the paintings. Italy’s squad of art police are heading to Messina to take on the case, just three days after helping to retrieve paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne stolen earlier this year from a museum near Parma.

Russians Pull Billions From Banks

Russians are withdrawing billions of dollars from the country’s banks as intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks and growing concerns over the economy fuel fears that the government could eventu-

ally restrict access to deposits. Nearly $3.4 billion, or 286.4 billion rubles, was withdrawn during the first two weeks of August, according to Russian Central Bank data. That followed roughly $7.3 billion in withdrawals in July and more than $4.5 billion in June. The withdrawals have raised concerns about liquidity in Russia’s banking system, which is already under pressure from rising bad debts and heavy lending to the defense industry. “Drones are flying. Things are burning down. Nervousness is growing,” said a former senior Russian finance official. “People’s everyday wisdom may be kicking in that they need to have cash under their pillow and not somewhere in banks where it may never be returned.” Taras Skvortsov, a senior executive at Sberbank, Russia’s largest retail bank, said the amount of money leaving the banking system this year could approach twice the amount withdrawn during the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Alexandra Prokopenko, a former adviser to the Russian Central Bank, said the withdrawals reflect a growing lack of confidence in the financial system. “It means people have no trust in the Russian banking system or in the Russian

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from a year earlier, although revenue for the first seven months of the year remained below 2025 levels. Meanwhile, businesses and wealthy Russians are increasingly seeking ways to move money abroad. “Everyone who can is trying to move money out of the country, but it’s getting more and more difficult to do so,” one Moscow business executive said. Some are reportedly opening brokerage accounts in neighboring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, using them as channels to move funds beyond the reach of Russian authorities. As the war continues to strain the economy, even some prominent Russian officials have publicly warned against allowing military spending to cripple civilian economic activity. “If there’s no economy of peaceful life itself, there will be no taxes, no income for the population,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said recently. “And to kill life, to kill the civilian economy, is to kill the country itself.”

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financial system,” she said. She added that while she considers the government nationalizing deposits unlikely, she would not rule out authorities eventually imposing limits on withdrawals. The financial pressure is also affecting the government’s ability to fund the war. Russia has increasingly relied on issuing government bonds to help cover a widening budget deficit, but banks facing liquidity problems have less money avail-

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able to purchase the debt. The Finance Ministry postponed planned bond issues last month. At the same time, Russia’s economy is slowing. Gross domestic product grew just 0.3% during the first half of 2026, down from 1.2% during the same period last year. Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries have added to the pressure, contributing to fuel shortages and higher prices. The country’s budget deficit

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reached 6.46 trillion rubles, or about $76 billion, during the first seven months of the year—already well above the government’s full-year forecast of 3.8 trillion rubles. The Kremlin has also expanded its seizure of private assets. Russian prosecutors say the state took control of $51.5 billion in assets last year alone. For now, higher global oil prices have provided Moscow with some relief. Russian oil and gas revenue rose 60% in July

Brunei’s sultan has stripped his daughter-in-law of all titles, saying her conduct was “unbecoming” of a member of the royal family. The Office of the Grand Chamberlain of Brunei Darussalam confirmed earlier this month that the titles were revoked with “immediate effect” following a decree from Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. “The revocation was carried out following conduct by Pengiran Raabi’atul Adawiyyah that was deemed unbecoming of a spouse of a member of the royal family. Her actions were also found to have tarnished the monarchy’s good name and demonstrated a lack of respect towards Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah,” it said in a statement. Pengiran Raabi’atul Adawiyyah, 33, is married to Prince Abdul Malik, 43, who is the fourth in line to the throne. Her actions showed a lack of respect for the sultan and damaged the monarchy’s reputation, the public broadcaster RTB News reported, without providing

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

details of what she had allegedly done. The Office of the Grand Chamberlain didn’t elaborate on the princess’s “unbecoming behavior” either. Raabi’atul Adawiyyah has lost the title of Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Isteri. This isn’t the first time the sultan had stripped someone of their royal titles. In 2003, he stripped his second wife, Mariam Abdul Aziz, of her royal titles after their divorce. He did the same after divorcing his third wife, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, in 2010. Raabi’atul Adawiyyah’s case is different, though. She is married to the sultan’s son and, thus, still a member of the royal family. There has been no official announcement of a divorce between them. She married the prince in 2015 in a lavish ceremony at the royal palace in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The celebrations lasted 10 days and were attended by thousands of guests. The couple have four children – Princess Muthee’ah, 10, Princess Fathiyyah, eight, Princess Khaalishah, six, and Princess Nabeelah, who is 16 months old – whose titles have reportedly not been affected. Prince Abdul Malik is the sultan’s son from his first wife, Queen Saleha. He is one of the monarch’s 12 children from three spouses. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 80, rules over an absolute monarchy in Brunei, a tiny oil-rich country on the island of Borneo surrounded by Malaysia. Crowned the 29th sultan in 1968, he is the world’s longest reigning monarch and resides in the world’s largest residential palace with 1,788 rooms called Istana Nurul Iman. Under his rule, Brunei has solidified its status as one of the world’s richest nations.

Hebrew U and Weizmann are Top

2,500 universities worldwide are considered, and they are ranked based on several indicators, especially the number of faculty and alumni who have received international prizes and the volume and quality of their publications in peer-reviewed journals. The top 10 spots were held by universities from the United States and the UK: Harvard University was number one, followed by Stanford, MIT, University of Cambridge, UC Berkeley, Princeton, University of Oxford, Columbia, University of Chicago and Caltech.

Eli Cohen Tops Likud Primary Two of Israel’s research universities — the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science — are among the top 100 universities in the world, according to the 2026 Shanghai Ranking, which were released over the weekend. Technion-Israel Institute of Technology fell out of the top 100. The Hebrew University was ranked 89th in the world, a slight fall from 88th place last year, and Weizmann came in at 71st — the same position it held last year. Three other Israeli universities were on the list, although they didn’t manage to get to the top 100: the Technion, ranked 97th last year, fell into the 101-150 range (no exact number given); Tel Aviv University was at 151-200; and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was at 401500. The Academic Ranking of World Universities, compiled annually by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy in Shanghai, China, is considered an accurate ranking of academic excellence. Around

Energy Minister Eli Cohen emerged as the top vote-getter in Likud’s primary, according to final results released on Tuesday after all ballots were counted. Cohen was followed by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Transportation Minister Miri Regev and coalition whip Ofir Katz. The results will be used to determine much of Likud’s slate for the next Knesset, alongside several positions reserved for candidates selected directly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Likud said Netanyahu was “very satisfied” with the results and predicted the party would secure a “big victory” in the October 27 election. The party also framed the election as a choice between the current government and what it described as a potential leftwing coalition led by opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan and Avigdor Liberman, together with Arab parties. Eisenkot, leader of the newly established Yashar party and a leading rival to Netanyahu, sharply criticized the results. “No festive message or ‘victory’ parties will hide the fact that the Likud list for the 26th Knesset is, in practice, the October 7 list,” Eisenkot said, referring to the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. He accused the Likud lawmakers of having “blindly led Israel to the worst disaster since the founding of the state” and said they were not capable of uniting the

country or leading it to victory. Yashar is not holding a primary. Eisenkot is selecting his party’s candidates himself. The Likud primary was held on Monday at 501 polling stations nationwide. Of the party’s roughly 140,000 members, 75,177 cast ballots, representing a turnout of 53.5%. That was down from approximately 58% in the party’s 2022 primary. Following the vote, several veteran Likud lawmakers appear unlikely to return to the Knesset. Among those at risk are ministers Ze’ev Elkin, May Golan, Idit Silman and Avi Dichter, as well as MKs Hanoch Milwidsky, Keti Shitrit, Ariel Kallner, Amit Halevi, Avichai Boaron and Nissim Vaturi. The competition was especially tight because Likud is polling at roughly 22 to 24 seats, significantly fewer than the 32 seats the party currently holds. Netanyahu has control over eight reserved positions among the top 30 places on the slate, while another slot is reserved for Defense Minister Israel Katz. Netanyahu has already selected Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz and political newcomer Oren Dobronsky for three of his reserved slots, though their exact placements have not all been finalized. The final slate is expected to take shape in the coming weeks as Netanyahu fills the remaining reserved positions and Likud prepares for what is shaping up to be a closely contested election.

Gaza Disarmament Plan May Shift

The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is considering changing its proposed framework for disarming Hamas after Israel rejected a plan that would have linked the terror group’s weapons handovers to phased Israeli troop withdrawals, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Under the original proposal, approved by Hamas on July 30, the roughly 47% of Gaza still controlled by the terror group would be divided into five sectors. Hamas would surrender its weapons and

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

increasingly difficult as Israel approaches its October 27 Knesset election. Netanyahu is widely expected to avoid major concessions in the weeks leading up to the vote. A Board of Peace official said on Monday that Netanyahu and Kushner had agreed “that there will be no IDF redeployment from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed and all of Gaza is demilitarized.” The wording appeared to suggest that Israel’s position had been accepted, but the source said the key phrase was “from Gaza.” Under the original proposal, Israel was not expected to fully leave the Strip; it would instead reposition its forces closer to the border as individual areas were demilitarized. The Board of Peace has not formally abandoned its phased framework, and negotiations remain ongoing. Meanwhile, questions also remain over the location of the Yellow Line, which marks the area of Israeli military deployment. The source disputed claims that Israel had moved its troops to a newer line farther from Gaza’s coast.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Yehuda Katz’s Remains Finally Home

destroy tunnels in each sector, with the Board of Peace verifying the disarmament before Israeli forces pulled back from that area. The IDF would not have been required to leave Gaza entirely. Instead, troops would move from the existing Yellow Line toward a Red Line closer to the Israel-Gaza border, as outlined in U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

has rejected that arrangement, insisting that Israel will not withdraw troops until Hamas has been completely disarmed. The disagreement remained unresolved during Monday’s meeting in Jerusalem between Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, a senior Trump adviser. A different proposal now under consideration would require Hamas to surrender all of its weapons across the territory it controls before Israel makes any withdrawal. Once the Board of Peace

verifies that Gaza has been fully demilitarized, Israeli troops would then pull back all the way to the Gaza perimeter. The approach could address Israel’s demand for complete disarmament before an Israeli withdrawal, but it creates a new obstacle: Hamas would have to approve the revised framework after months of negotiations over the phased plan. Arab diplomats involved in mediation have warned that the effort could become

This week, the remains of Israeli soldier Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who went missing in the First Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, were returned to Israel. The battle, 44 years ago, was a skirmish between the Israel Defense Forces and the Syrian army in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. It claimed the lives of 21 Israeli servicemen and injured more than 30. Katz, a tank soldier, went missing during the battle, along with Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman. Baumel’s remains were recovered with Russian assistance and returned to Israel in 2019, and Feldman’s remains were recovered by Mossad agents in May 2025. Katz’s bones were located and brought to Israel for burial in a joint operation led by the Military Intelligence Directorate,

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

in coordination with the Mossad spy agency. No details were given on where they were found. The operation was based on intelligence obtained in recent months, according to the military. The IDF said that the finding was made possible due to a “series of intelligence and operational activities that continued for more than four decades, since he fell in battle.” Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF announced that Katz’s belongings were brought back to Israel and given to his family for inspection. His bones were confirmed to be his after they were brought to be tested to a lab in Israel. The military said Katz’s family was updated over the years regarding the ongoing efforts to locate his remains and return them to Israel. “Upon completion of the mission, the family was informed of the return of their loved one. Unfortunately, Yehuda’s parents, Sarah and Yosef Katz, did not live to receive the news,” the army said. In a statement, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, “The return of Yehuda Katz, the last fallen soldier from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, is a significant moment for the IDF and for the State of Israel. Decades have passed, but our duty toward our fallen has not changed. We will leave none of our people behind,”

Zamir added. “All those missing from the battle have been returned to Israel. This is a special day for me, both as chief of the general staff and as a soldier of the Armored Corps,” Zamir said. “From the day I enlisted in the Armored Corps, I was raised on the legacy of that battle and on the moral commitment to bring all of our missing home. An entire nation stands united with you and shares in your emotion today.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Missing Persons Directorate for their “determined and courageous work” to return Katz’s remains. President Isaac Herzog said that he kept a photo of Katz in his office, serving as “a daily reminder of our holy duty to return our sons home and not leave anyone behind.” “Today I’m thinking in particular of his sister, Prichya, and the whole family,” the president said, in this “painful and emotional moment,” adding, “the State of Israel didn’t forget him and will never forget its children.”

Families Return to Ganim

Norway Govt. Org. Met With Hamas

On Thursday, Jewish families moved back into Ganim, a community in Judea and Samaria that was evacuated in 2005 during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, and three other communities in northern Judea and Samaria. This return follows the March 2023 government decision to repeal the legislation that forced the evacuations and banned Israelis from returning to their abandoned homes. “Twenty-one years after the terrible sin of the expulsion from [Gaza’s] Gush Katif and northern Samaria, we are finally erasing the disgrace of the expulsion from northern Samaria,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Before Thursday, around two dozen prefabricated homes were built, and space was cleared on the hillside for future construction. Ganim’s reestablishment was celebrated on Thursday with a ceremony that drew around a hundred people, including Defense Minister Israel Katz and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan. “The era of evacuations is over. From here, we only build,” Dagan declared. “Here, this is the Land of Israel. Here, we are staying forever,” said Katz during the ceremony. Twenty-two communities in Judea and Samaria, including Homesh and SaNur, were approved by the security cabinet in May 2025. The establishment of 19 more, including Ganim and Kadim, was approved in December. In April, Israelis returned to Sa-Nur. In March, they repopulated Homesh. Around 38% of Jewish Israelis are in favor of Israel “annexing” Judea and Samaria in its entirety, 35% support dividing the territory up, and 22% are in favor of turning Arab-majority land into territory for a Palestinian state, according to a survey released lats Thursday by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). Another 14% support Jordan annexing the territory. Around 22% of Jewish Israelis said they support moving the Arab population from Judea and Samaria to other countries.

According to internal Hamas documents, the Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution (NOREF), an organization founded, funded, and largely controlled by the government of Norway, secretly met with Hamas on May 15, 2021, to brainstorm ways of improving the terrorist organization’s relationship with the European Union, of which Norway is not a member. Norway’s foreign ministry appoints members of NOREF’s board. According to the declassified documents, NOREF’s deputy head Marte Heian-Engdal and Middle East Department chief Frida Nome met with Bassem Naim and Abdullah Walid, two Hamas foreign relations officials, and continued discussing the issue through the following year. During the May 2021 meeting, Naim told the NOREF officials that one of Hamas’s top priorities was “opening channels of communication with the international community.” Nome inquired about Hamas’s current communications with Europe and asked how NOREF could help. In response, Naim claimed that “there are several European countries that have communications with Hamas, and they are trying to keep these communications secret and undeclared,” adding that Hamas’s friendship with Norway “is a great and historic one, and there is mutual respect between the two peoples.” Naim, who was later targeted in a failed Israeli strike in Qatar, added that Norway’s deputy foreign minister Raymond Johansen was the only European official who met with Hamas’s then-prime minister Ismail Haniyeh following the terror group’s victory in the 2006 elections. Ziad Abu Mustafa, a NOREF adviser on Gaza, suggested exploiting the “negative reality” in Palestinian-controlled areas to “push toward changing the European position” on Hamas. Norway mediated the secret talks that led to the controversial Oslo Accords in 1993. However, the country’s relationship with Israel has soured since it recognized a “Palestinian state” in 2024.

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THURSDAY AUG 13, 20, 27, SEPT 3 9:30-4PM FRIDAY - AUG 14, 21, 28, SEPT 4 9:30 - 4PM SUNDAY - AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6 10AM - 6PM

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

In 2022, NOREF reportedly spearheaded a project aimed at “achieving political and social reconciliation” between different Palestinian groups, including Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Unlike most European countries, Norway does not recognize Hamas as a terror group. On October 27, 2023, before Israel’s ground campaign in Gaza started, Norway supported a United Nations resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave.

With Pain There’s a Gain

A study recently conducted by BarIlan University researchers found that focusing one’s attention on painful inflammation rather than trying to ignore it could cause recovery to happen faster. “Our cognitive processes can shape how the body regulates itself,” noted Dr. Liron Rozenkrantz, assistant professor at the university’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, who supervised the research. “Feeling pain does contribute to the healing process.” “We tend to think of the immune system, injury, or inflammation resolution as something that can take care of itself without any involvement of any high cognitive function,” Rozenkrantz said. “But

what happens if the mind focuses on the pain? Does directing the brain toward the injury actually impact its healing? That’s never been studied in humans before.” The experimental study included 57 people, ages 20 to 45. Researchers induced acute inflammation in the skin in each participant, causing a bump and redness within 30 seconds that lasted for around 20 to 30 minutes. Some participants were told to focus on the pain in their arm, while others were distracted with videos. “We simply told them to pay attention to sensations arising from the inflamed site,” she said. “If attention draws away from it, then bring your attention back. We did the same thing when they were distracted, explaining that if their attention wandered, to return to what was happening on the screen.” The findings suggest that ignoring pain could prolong and worsen it. “Nearly 90 percent of participants showed less inflammation when paying attention to it, with total swelling and redness measuring about 1.5 times smaller than when they were distracted,” she said. “The brain can help regulate immune responses.”

StubHub Profits Stumbling The World Cup was supposed to bring a windfall for StubHub. Instead, it wiped out its quarterly profit and left the ticket reseller battling customers angry about fraudulent tickets and slow refunds.

Shares tumbled 16% last Thursday morning trading after the company reported quarterly expenses jumped 37%, more than offsetting a 33% surge in revenue for the quarter that ended June 30. Chief Executive Eric Baker acknowledged the problems that some buyers had with World Cup tickets. “As fans ourselves, we understand the disappointment when these issues occur,” he said. “Our marketplace only works when fans attend an event.”

Baker pointed to FIFA’s mobile-ticketing app as a challenge for the company. He described it as a system “put up by the event organizer that was sort of just a bespoke thing for this tournament, not anything that anybody would typically rely on,” and said it “added an additional layer of complexity” on top of the 75 matches StubHub handled in roughly two weeks. According to the Wall Street Journal, StubHub is facing a flood of complaints from World Cup fans who bought tickets months in advance, only to be stranded hours before the games. StubHub has blamed World Cup disruptions on what it said were obstacles with FIFA’s mobile-ticket app. The Journal found that ticketing problems extended beyond the tournament. More than 50 StubHub buyers said in interviews that they were denied entry for events despite paying for valid tickets, were sent replacements worse than what they had bought or spent months fighting StubHub for refunds it had already promised. For many, resolution came only after they hired lawyers or complained in the press. Baker said the overwhelming majority of StubHub buyers experienced no problems with their ticket orders during the World Cup but acknowledged that “there was a small subset of fans who didn’t have the experience they wanted and had to get a refund.” “That’s unacceptable to us. We work every day to try and eliminate that. Even one refund…is one too many,” said Baker. By Thursday, the stock was down nearly 70% from the price the company fetched in its initial public offering less than a year ago. The company sold shares to the public at $23.50 last September.

Reservoirs are Drying Up

Lakes Powell and Mead, the nation’s largest reservoirs, are drying up, sending a Colorado River system that provides water and electricity for millions of people into a state of crisis with no end in sight. Water levels in Lake Powell, along the Utah-Arizona border, fell to a record low on Saturday. Lake Mead, the larger of the two and farthest downstream on the Colorado River, dropped to its lowest recorded point a week earlier. The combined reservoir system, an essential water source for cities and farms across Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, has not held so little water since 1957, before Lake Powell was filled. That was long before three decades of drought, the worst dry spell for the Southwest in at least 1,200 years, scientists said. Federal and state officials and communities across the region have taken emergency steps to try to head off catastrophe. They shifted water from a smaller reservoir to try to save Powell and have called for water conservation, though those requests are mostly voluntary so far. The water shortage could have dire implications for growing Sun Belt cities such as Phoenix, for key industries including agriculture and data centers, and for hydroelectric dams that power millions of homes across the Southwest. The shrinking reservoirs are the immediate result of record-low snowpack this winter, which was erased by record heat in the spring. Melted snowpack creates most of the Colorado’s flow during the dry summer months. But as the Southwestern climate has grown hotter and drier, the river’s flow has become smaller and less reliable. “We expected to be in a very unpleasant place, and that’s where we find ourselves,” said Kathryn Sorensen, the director of research at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. “Mother Nature is in charge of this system.” At the same time, a booming population in the Southwest and intensive agriculture mean that the region is consum-

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

According to The New York Times, Rideout was in good health, based on proof-of-life images that were provided to American officials. In his post, Trump said Rideout was kidnapped by “Jihadi terrorists.” On Sunday, Trump said, “This return marks the 110th captive American liberated since I was sworn in as President for a second time. I look forward to seeing Kevin and Krista [Kevin’s wife] at the White House soon!”

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Rideout, who was a pilot for the evangelical missionary agency SIM, was seized ‌by three unidentified men as he headed to the airport on October 21, 2025. The kidnappers then headed toward the western Tillaberi region of Niger, where Islamist militants linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda are active. Niger, like its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, has been battling jihadist insurgencies for over a decade. The U.S. issued a travel warning about Niger days after the kidnapping, warning its citizens against traveling to Niger, citing crime, unrest, terrorism, health and kidnapping.

Kushner, Iger Bid to Buy Lakers

ing far more water than the river can now provide. The Colorado River supplies water to 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of farmland across parts of seven states. About two dozen native tribes and two Mexican states also hold rights to the river’s water. (© The New York Times)

American Released from Niger Kevin Rideout, an American missionary pilot who was kidnapped in Niger’s capital Niamey in October last year, has been released and is in U.S. custody, according to the Christian organization Rideout worked for. “Kevin is in good health in the care of

U.S. officials,” the Serving In Mission organization said. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Rideout’s release in a social media post on Friday. “I am proud to announce that Kevin Rideout, a wonderful Christian Missionary, is back in United States Custody,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Kevin, the United States of America looks forward to welcoming you HOME. Glad to have helped!”

Joshua Kushner is making a major move into the world of professional sports. The 41-year-old investor has teamed up with former Disney CEO Bob Iger in a bid to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for a reported $12.5 billion. If approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors, the deal would become the most expensive sale of a U.S. professional sports team in history. For Kushner, the proposed purchase is the latest chapter in a remarkably successful investment career.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

The younger son of real-estate businessman Charles Kushner, Joshua launched Thrive Capital in 2011 at age 26. The venture capital firm has since invested in some of the technology world’s biggest names, including Instagram, Spotify, Stripe and OpenAI. Kushner’s investment in OpenAI has been particularly successful. Thrive has invested more than $2 billion in the company over the years, including approximately $1 billion in a recent funding round. Kushner has said his investment philosophy centers on identifying exceptional people and companies and sticking with them for the long term. “Since day one as a firm, we have been very much oriented towards being extremely concentrated in people and ideas,” he told Fortune in 2024. “It’s so driven by the person who’s running those businesses.” He has also said he follows the investment principles of Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger, particularly their emphasis on patience and long-term growth. “We’ve always believed in the Munger-Buffett way of the world, power of compounding—one of the wonders of the world—and to hold these companies for a

very long period of time,” Kushner said. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has praised Kushner’s willingness to make bold investments without worrying about conventional opinion. “Josh makes high-conviction bets on high-quality companies and founders, and he doesn’t care too much about what other investors think,” Altman previously told Fortune. The Lakers deal would add another major asset to Kushner’s growing sports portfolio. Thrive already owns minority stakes in the San Francisco Giants and Miami Heat, while Kushner previously held a stake in the Memphis Grizzlies. His partnership with Iger also predates the Lakers bid. Iger began working with Thrive in 2022, and the pair had previously been connected to discussions surrounding a potential NBA expansion team in Las Vegas. Now, they are looking at one of basketball’s most iconic franchises—and potentially the biggest sports purchase ever made in America.

Trump Name Back at Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center is headed for another major chapter in its ongoing battle over its future after the institution’s board voted on Thursday to close the performing arts center for two years for renovations. The board, made up largely of members appointed by President Donald Trump, also voted to add an inscription beneath the Kennedy Center’s existing sign reading, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board also voted to designate the physical site as “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said. The moves come despite an ongoing legal fight over Trump’s efforts to reshape the Washington institution. In May, U.S. District Judge Casey Cooper blocked the planned closure, ruling that the board had to consider keeping some programming available during renovations so the center could continue fulfilling its congressional mandate. Cooper also ruled that the board had acted unlawfully when it attempted to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center. Federal law established the building as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy and, according to Cooper, does not give the board authority to change its formal name. Trump’s name was removed from the building’s facade in June following the court order. The latest vote appears to offer a different approach. One source said the inscription beneath the existing Kennedy Center sign is not intended to rename the institution, while another described it as a “permanent reminder” of Trump’s role in the renovation. However, critics say the move is an attempt to get around the court’s ruling. Nathaniel Zelinsky, an attorney representing Beatty in her lawsuit, called the latest action “an effort to evade the court’s justice.” The board voted to keep the REACH,

a separate portion of the Kennedy Center complex, open during the renovation for smaller performances and events. The center is required to provide a federal judge with information about the proposed renovation and closure by August 18. The Kennedy Center has experienced declining ticket sales, staff reductions, artist withdrawals and continuing political controversy. Trump has been closely involved with the institution, hosting the Kennedy Center Honors and bringing other events aligned with his cultural priorities to the venue.

ABC Sues FCC

ABC has sued the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of unlawfully targeting the network over its programming and political speech and using its regulatory authority to pressure the network into changing its coverage. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to temporarily halt an FCC review of ABC’s broadcast licenses. The network is also seeking a preliminary injunction and a hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech—the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” the network said in its filing. ABC argued that those efforts have escalated into demands that the network lose its broadcast licenses because of its content. The dispute began last year, when FCC Chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The FCC said the review was intended to determine whether the policies violated federal rules prohibiting unlawful discrimination. ABC executives, however, viewed the investigation as connected to commentary on programs such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The View,” both of which have featured criticism of President Donald Trump and his administration. The conflict intensified in April, after Trump criticized Jimmy Kimmel and

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

called for him to be fired. Shortly afterward, the FCC announced an early review of the licenses for ABC’s eight local broadcast stations. “Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” Disney said in the lawsuit. Carr has rejected that characterization, saying the license review is focused on Disney’s DEI policies rather than the network’s editorial content. The FCC is also investigating whether “The View” qualifies for an exemption from federal equal-time requirements. The rules generally require broadcast programs that are not considered bona fide news programs to provide comparable airtime to opposing political candidates when one candidate appears. ABC said the investigations have already affected its editorial decisions. The network cited its decision to livestream a July 16 address by Trump on election security, saying it would not ordinarily have done so but was concerned about potential retaliation from the administration. The lawsuit also said ABC has not had a political candidate appear on “The View” since the FCC investigation began and has become more cautious about booking political guests.

Stop with So Much Soda Drinking one can of soda may have far more repercussions that just satisfying your thirst. According to a study published August 17 in the Gastro Hep Advances journal, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute researchers found that consuming at least

one sugar-sweetened beverage per day is associated with more than twice the risk of developing gastric cancer compared to rarely consuming them. The findings were based on decades of data from more than 100,000 people. Across the United States, 63% of adults aged 18 or older reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages one or more times daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the study, sugar sweetened beverages included regular soda, energy drinks and juice with added sugars.

“This is the first study to demonstrate an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer in a U.S. population,” senior author Dr. Andrew T. Chan, a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist with the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, said. “Gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but we’ve known very little about how diet might contribute to this cancer.” Previous studies have also revealed an association between these types of beverages and other types of cancer, including colorectum, breast and liver, the authors added. Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, can happen in any part of the stomach and is harder to cure when the disease is advanced, according to the Mayo Clinic. Artificially sweetened beverages, which were defined as low-calorie car-

bonated beverages in this study, were not associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. But that doesn’t mean diet sodas come with no risk. For example, one of the most common artificial sweeteners, aspartame, was previously labeled a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified aspartame as safe for consumption at acceptable daily limits.

An “Influencer” Degree

Some major in the sciences; others in the arts. But at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, you can now get a bachelor’s degree in content cre-

ation — in the art of becoming an internet “influencer.” ASU’s content creation degree, which shares much of its curriculum with the college’s communication and media studies degree, was recently unveiled and includes specialized courses on podcasting, studio production, and on-camera presence. However, many have criticized ASU for introducing the degree, citing the challenges in making a living with a social media career, the lack of transferable skills learned through content creation coursework, and the absurd, misleading idea that a particular major could help you become famous (the notion that a bachelor’s will “suddenly turn people into viral content machines deserves a bit of a reality check,” says Max Willens, a principal analyst at Emarketer). Furthermore, for many students, ASU’s cost of attendance, including an instate tuition of $12,000 per year, easily exceeds $35,000. At private colleges with similar programs, such as Syracuse University and Quinnipiac University, the tuition alone can be as high as $60,000 a year, which raises concerns that some less practical four-year degrees might not be worth the $250,000+ sticker price. Even with generous financial aid, what kinds of

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

jobs will a content creation major be able to find following graduation? Still, others question if a college degree is even helpful or necessary for becoming an influencer. While content creation is often perceived as an effortless “dream job,” Brooke Erin Duffy, a Cornell University communication professor, notes that “influencers” usually work the hardest off-camera, including on media production, audience retention strategies, brand partnerships, and the like. “It is a time-consuming, labor-intensive job that often doesn’t pay well — at least in the beginning,” Duffy said, adding that becoming an influencer is, contrary to popular belief, not an easy way to get rich quickly.

Lala Hits Hawaii

Hurricane Lala — which has since weakened to a tropical storm — passed southern Hawaii on Saturday, leaving dangerous winds and heavy rainfall in its wake, as it continued west, away from the state, on Monday. The storm was expected to become a hurricane again by Wednesday, when it reached the Pacific. Kapalua, a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, was hit with 48 inches of rain, while four other places in Hawaii saw 35 or more inches. All state and county offices, state Department of Education schools and public charter schools, courts and judiciary offices were closed on Monday because of the storm,

according to officials. Flash flooding unleashed by the hurricane swept away two homes in the Kau District’s Naalehu community on Saturday evening, with responders rescuing an elderly woman from one of the homes. Other homes were swept away by flash floods in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu. More than 200 people were brought to the hospital by Honolulu EMS, according to authorities. Gov. Josh Green said that at least three hospitals were operating on generator power. The hurricane damaged roads and a number of small bridges, complicating rescue efforts. Trees and power lines fell during the storm, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, which urged locals to “please stay indoors and off the roads.” By Sunday night, all airports were open in Hawaii, while 52 cancellations were reported by Hawaiian Airlines that day. The day before, around 190 flights were paused or canceled. Hawaii’s commercial ports were reopened Sunday night. Lala was around 360 miles west of Honolulu, as of Monday morning, sustaining 60 mph winds and moving west at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane warnings and watches have since been discontinued, but life-threatening conditions were expected into Monday.

Striking Gold Forget overtime pay. This construction crew hit the mother lode. Eight construction workers renovating an old building in Dendermonde, Belgium, made an astonishing discovery last

Tuesday: roughly 40 gold bars and 4,000 gold sovereign coins worth an estimated 9 million euros ($10.5 million). The treasure was buried beneath the foundations of a former brewery, about 19 miles northwest of Brussels. And unlike most construction surprises, this one definitely wasn’t on the blueprints.

Kobe Phillips, a student working parttime on the construction crew, was the first to uncover the coins. “I thought they were one-euro coins, neatly lined up in a row,” Phillips told Belgian broadcaster VTM. “We dug them out, and then we saw a small bar of gold lying there, already attached to our digging hammer. There was actually a bit more than we’d thought.” A little more, indeed. Once the workers realized they weren’t digging up ordinary loose change, they contacted the property owner, who called the police. Authorities quickly secured the haul in a guarded location. Photos released by Dendermonde police show a bucket overflowing with gold coins and a table covered with gold bars—a construction site that suddenly looked more like a bank vault. Police said some of the bars bear stamps dating to the 1960s, while the coins feature various monarchs and dates. The discovery has already attracted would-be heirs. Several people have come forward claiming the treasure belongs to their ancestors and presenting documents to support their claims. Police are investigating the origins of the gold and whether any criminal activity is connected to the stash. For the workers, however, one thing is clear: this was one job where the gold standard of construction was taken quite literally. And where the streets are almost paved in gold.

Child’s Play At just 11 years old, Bodhana Sivanandan is already making moves that leave seasoned chess players searching for words. After Bodhana delivered the final move against 14-year-old Trisha Kanya-

marala of Ireland at this month’s British Chess Championships, her defeated opponent reached across the board to shake her hand. The commentary team, meanwhile, was practically in checkmate itself. “Unreal,” exclaimed grandmaster Daniel Gormally. “Bodhana, or Godhana as I call her, has won yet again, astonishing.” The victory made Bodhana Britain’s youngest-ever women’s chess champion, breaking a record that had stood since 1939. Elaine Pritchard was 13 when she won the title; Bodhana was just 11. This is hardly her first trip around the chessboard.

Bodhana began playing only six years ago, after a family friend left a bag of unwanted items at her family’s home in Harrow, London. Inside was a chessboard. The pieces caught her eye — particularly the knight and queen — and soon she was hooked. Her father, Sivanandan Velayutham, initially had only a basic knowledge of chess. But he began teaching his daughter, who quickly outplayed her instructor. From there, Bodhana turned to YouTube tutorials and online chess lessons, and her learning curve became more of a rocket launch. At age seven, she won all 24 of her games at the European Schools Championship and collected three gold medals. She has since defeated several grandmasters, including 39-year-old Ameet Ghasi at the British Championships. She has even played world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, although that game ended in defeat. Bodhana is not exactly dwelling on that loss. “I’m happy about the title but I want to keep going for more in the future,” she said. Her next goal? Becoming a grandmaster “as soon as possible.” She spends one or two hours a day playing chess while also studying violin and piano. Talk about having more than one move in the repertoire. As she prepares to enter secondary school, special arrangements are being sought so she can continue traveling to international tournaments. Chess experts are already predicting a championship-level future. “She will be in five years,” said Leon

Go for the Gold

For years, Alan Daniels and Andy Crammond went metal detecting and came home with little more than bits of scrap metal. Then, one day, their luck finally struck gold — three times over. The British detectorists discovered three Bronze Age gold bracelets near Carlisle, England, two months ago. The ancient treasures could be worth around $400,000. The torcs, which date to approximately 1100 B.C., weigh a combined 18.27 ounces and are in remarkable condition despite spending more than 3,000 years underground. “Gold doesn’t tarnish at all, and they came out of the ground just the same as when they went in over 3,000 years ago,” Daniels said. The discovery began with Crammond finding the first bracelet just inches beneath freshly plowed soil. He alerted Daniels, who searched nearby and uncovered a second. Daniels later found a third roughly 20 feet away. Crammond joked that finding the first torc nearly gave him a heart attack. “Detectorists dream of these things, and that is how it still feels, like a dream,” he said. The pair had been searching for about two hours before their fortunes changed. Until then, Daniels said, they had found little more than pieces of aluminum cans. “We have never found anything valuable before and always come home disappointed — until now,” he said. The bracelets are now being assessed by the British Museum. A coroner will determine whether they legally qualify as treasure under British law. If they do, a museum or institution could purchase them, with the proceeds shared by the two detectorists and the landowner. If not, the finders may be able to sell

them at auction. After years of coming up empty, these detectorists finally had a field day — and this time, they really dug up something golden.

Going for a Stroll

Stephen Biebelhausen is a former runner for Miami University in Ohio, but that’s not why he broke a world record recently. The former college track star ran a mile in 4 minutes and 17 seconds, which sounds pretty good especially considering that he was pushing his daughter in a stroller while nabbing the win. The dedicated dad ran in the Guardian Mile race across Cleveland’s Hope Memorial Bridge while giving his one-year-old daughter Blake the time of her life. Biebelhausen, an Ohio emergency medicine physician with Cleveland Clinic, finished with a time a bit over 4 minutes. If the time is verified by Guinness World Records, he will grab the title for fastest mile pushing a pram from Silas Frantz, who finished his run in 4 minutes and 26.29 seconds in June 2025. Biebelhausen’s original goal was to beat the course record, which was 4 minutes 44 seconds. By the halfway mark, he realized he was ahead at 2 minutes 12 seconds. “I was like, ‘Oh, man, this is going to be a good day,’” he told The Athletic. “I truly did not think I was going for the world record,” Biebelhausen told Runner’s World. “I thought on a good day I could break the course record of 4:44 and get into the 4:30s.” Blake, for her part, was also into the race. “I was just mostly surprised at my baby, who made it past her bedtime and wasn’t screaming and crying,” Biebelhausen said. “We were just happy that there was no meltdown city.” Biebelhausen said he thinks he can best his own time with a little more training. “There’s some room to go,” he said. Going the extra mile.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Watson of World Chess. “Everyone will know her name. She will be a world champion.” For Bodhana, the pieces are already in place. Now she just has to keep making the right moves.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

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Community Elul Zman Begins at Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh Hayeshiva

Rav Shmuel Strickman, menahel

Rav Avrohom Bender, menahel

Rav Dovid Morgenstern, menahel

Happy talmidim on day one

Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva; Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel; and Rav Dovid Geller, mashgiach ruchani of Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid

Rav Avrohom Nusbaum, menahel of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo

Rav Eliyahu Goldfarb, ninth grade maggid shiur in Mesivta Chaim Shlomo; Rav Moshe Bender, S’gan Rosh HaYeshiva; and Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva

Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva, delivers the pesicha shmuess

Rav Pinchas Wachsman, first-year maggid shiur in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid

Rav Avrohom Wachsman, first-year maggid shiur, and Rav Avrohom Indich, sho’el umeishiv

A bachur learning outdoors during bein hasedarim

Rav Zevi Trenk, menahel of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo

The beis medrash during the pesicha shmuess

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Around the Community

Avnet’s Creative Corridor

vnet’s “Creative Corridor” is exactly what it sounds like: a stretch of campus where campers can move from one imaginative and innovative experience to the next. Located in the DRS campus, the area is concentrated to maximize creative opportunities for campers in both buildings. In one room, participants can code and program robots. A few doors down, campers can collaborate on a STEM project or work on fine art, beading, cooking, or even designing Origami with duct tape. Together, these hands-on activities give campers a place to learn, build, experiment and discover new interests within an already action-packed Avnet day. “One of the things we love about the Creative Corridor is that there’s something different happening behind every

door. It gives kids the freedom to try new things and explore new talents and interests,” said camp director Daniel Stroock. “Our Avnet senior staff includes educators, and within the relaxed fun of summer we’re also making sure campers have opportunities to build their skills.” A standout Creative Corridor experience this summer has been the Avnet Ozobot Challenge. Campers hand-drew

the Avnet logo, designed custom tracks around it and wrote code to guide their palm-sized Ozobot robots through the course. This is very similar technology to that used by robotic vacuums! Forty-five campers submitted projects, taking creative control from start to finish, before their work was shared for voting. The range of Creative Corridor activities has added another dimension to

the Avnet experience. Some of the most memorable moments of summer happen during big trips, games and special events. Other moments happen more quietly with a blank canvas, a recipe, a roll of duct tape or a tiny robot waiting to be programmed. In the Creative Corridor, those moments have become some of the proudest accomplishments of summer ’26.

Village of Lawrence Announces First Annual Summer Concert

he Village of Lawrence is pleased to announce its first Summer Concert Spectacular. Residents, families, and Five Towns community members are invited to gather for an evening of live music, delicious food, and world-class entertainment. The signature end-of-summer celebration will take place on Sunday, August 30, at the scenic Lawrence Yacht & Country Club. The main event features a live performance by renowned musical artist Joey Newcomb, best known for his uplifting, spirit-filled music and viral hit anthems. In addition to live music, attendees will enjoy a complimentary Kosher BBQ, cul-

minating in a grand Fireworks Display over the water. “This inaugural celebration is all about bringing our families and neighbors together to celebrate the vibrant spirit of our community,” said Village of Lawrence Mayor Samuel Nahmias. “We are thrilled to welcome Joey Newcomb to the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club for what promises to be an unforgettable evening. From the music to the free Kosher BBQ and fireworks, this event reflects our administration’s commitment to enhancing village life, bringing residents together, and ending the summer season on a joyful note.”

Event Details: * Date: Sunday, August 30, 2026 * Time: Program begins at 7:00 PM | Fireworks at 8:00 PM * Location: Lawrence Yacht & Country Club Driving Range, 101 Causeway, Lawrence, NY * Admission: Free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Limited parking will be available on-site at the country club, with municipal traffic directors assisting arrivals. For real-time updates, parking guidelines, and weather alerts, follow the

official Village Instagram account @ villageoflawrenceny or visit www.villageoflawrenceny.gov.

Estate Planning Seminar with Bikur Cholim

ikur Cholim of Far Rockaway & Five Towns recently hosted an informative Zoom webinar, “The ABCs of Estate Planning,” presented by Lenore S. Davis, Esq. The program offered participants a clear and practical overview of the important steps everyone should consider when planning for the future. Ms. Davis discussed essential topics including wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, living wills, beneficiaries, and planning for the proper distribution of assets. Proper estate planning is an

important step in preparing for your own future needs and protecting the needs of your family, providing clarity and peace of mind for whatever the future may bring. Bikur Cholim was pleased to provide this valuable educational program to the community and thanks Ms. Davis for sharing her time, knowledge, and expertise. To learn more about Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway & Five Towns and the many services and resources available to the community, visit bikurcholimfr5t. org.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

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Rav Binyomin Finkel, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Mir Yerushalayim, visits Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Summer Achdus with the Nikolsburg Rebbe in Woodbourne

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

We were so excited to welcome Councilwoman Melissa Miller to The Center for a tour! She got to see firsthand the magic that happens here every day! For more info and to get involved, call 516-200-2234 ex. 507.

Competition, Creativity & Camp Spirit at Hillel Day Camp

eek 7 was another action-packed week at Hillel Day Camp, filled with exciting trips, special theme days, creative activities, and plenty of camp spirit! The week kicked off with campers enjoying Fun Time Pottery and bowling, giving everyone a chance to get creative and show off their skills. Our campers also had plenty of opportunities to explore and try something new throughout the week. Tuesday brought Western Day, transforming camp into a Wild West

adventure topped off with a petting zoo! Campers got into the theme while enjoying special activities, and some groups headed out for exciting adventures at Bounce and Adventureland. On Wednesday, campers showed off their personalities for Crazy Hat/Hair Day, with creative, colorful, and sometimes downright silly looks filling camp. The day also featured a Silent DJ Party, giving campers a unique way to dance, sing, and have fun together, and also turned into the breakout of one of the biggest

highlights of the summer: Color War! Campers came together with incredible energy and enthusiasm, competing, cheering for their teams, and showing what Hillel spirit is all about. From athletic competitions to team challenges, every camper and staff member had a chance to participate, encourage their teammates, and proudly represent their team. After an exciting competition, the Red Team emerged victorious! Congratulations to the Red Team on an amazing win, and a huge shout-out to all of our

campers for bringing such incredible sportsmanship, energy, and spirit to Color War. Of course, the best part of the week could be seen in the everyday moments, too—friends laughing together, campers challenging themselves, creating new projects, playing sports, and making memories with their counselors and bunkmates. With only one week of camp remaining to recap, we’re making every moment count. We can’t wait to finish the summer with an incredible Week 8!

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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Making a Wedding in a Week By Robin Einbinder

ina and Yaakov S. never thought that they would marry each other twice, nor did they ever imagine that their second wedding, twelve years later in West Hempstead, New York, would be planned, funded, and attended mostly by people they did not know. The couple are both veterinarians, and have two children, Rivka and Gideon, aged six and four. Rina is on active duty in the United States Air Force, while Yaakov is in a civilian practice. A year after marrying Yaakov in 2014, Rina had a Reform conversion to Judaism, as had Yaakov’s mother when she married his father. In 2024, while deployed to Germany, Rina met Rabbi Levy Pekar, the Chabad chaplain, and his wife, Bassy, who were the first Orthodox people she had ever encountered. When her husband and children visited Germany and met the Pekars, the family decided to begin the Orthodox conversion process, as they realized that conversions by a Reform rabbi were not universally accepted. Rabbi Pekar, working with the Aleph Institute, Chabad’s organization for military families, supported the family during this process with holiday care packages, free books, and through Myzuzzah.org, a mezuzah in a plastic case. Rina and Yaakov read all the books on Judaism that they were given and participated in regular chaburot led by Rabbi Pekar and in Chabad-sponsored Jewish Learning Institute classes. The Pekars strongly encouraged and supported the couple and became their mentors. When Rina received new orders, the family relocated to Dayton, Ohio. Because her military service made it impossible to guarantee that the family could remain permanently in one Orthodox community, finding a beit din willing to oversee their conversion presented a challenge. Eventually, the couple found a beit din in New York willing to accept

them as conversion candidates provided that the actual conversion would not occur until the family satisfactorily completed its studies and relocated to a permanent Orthodox community. Rina and Yaakov adhered closely to the beit din’s learning curriculum, kept kashrut, and became shomrei Shabbos. Observing Shabbos required them to spend every Shabbos and yom tov at the Chabad of Greater Dayton, since it was too far for the family to walk. Rabbi Nochum and Devorah Leah Mangel of the Chabad of Greater Dayton, and Rabbi Levi and Rochel Simon, the youth coordinators, were incredibly supportive and helpful, while the Pekars continued to be mentors. Rina and Yaakov stayed in touch with the beit din overseeing their conversion, meeting with it twice via Zoom. After two years, Rina, now an Air Force major, was transferred to Washington, D.C. With the conversion process finishing, the couple purchased a home in Silver Spring, Maryland, which has a large Orthodox community, and Yaakov and the children moved there while Rina remained in Ohio to comply with the beit din’s directive to separate from Yaakov for three months. The last meeting with the biet din, which would be held in-person and include the children, was scheduled for the following week on Tuesday. The next day, if all went well, the family would visit the mikveh,11 and the Lubavitch Rebbe’s Ohel. Then, on Thursday, the couple’s chasanah would take place. Since the couple would convert and become “new souls,”2 they needed to re-marry in accordance with halacha. Rina and Yaakov faced a logistical issue: how to plan a small wedding in just one week when they were living in separate states outside New York and would leave almost immediately for Maryland. Because she knew nothing about New York venues, Rina posted a notice on a chat for Achoteinu, an organization for women who completed or were in the process of undergoing an

Did you know? The average wooden pencil can draw a 35 miles-long line and write around 45,000 words.

Photos by Leah Brick

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Orthodox conversion. Within minutes, Avital K., a recent convert, suggested that the wedding take place in West Hempstead. Rina was receptive, and within an hour, Avital had contacted Marie Rosenthal, Achoteinu’s founder, and Rabbi Yossi Lieberman of Chabad of West Hempstead, and the parameters of the wedding began to congeal. Avital and Marie, both of whom live in West Hempstead, sought volunteers from their community to help make the wedding into what a chasunah should be. The response was immediate, overwhelming, and enthusiastic. Within a day, volunteers had begun arranging nearly every element of the wedding. Achoteinu coordinated the venue, catering, live music and transliterated benchers. It recruited kohanim to recite Birchat Kohanim under the chuppah and men for dancing and Birchat haMazon, and arranged accommodations for the family before the wedding. The volunteers arranged for tables, chairs, photography, wine, drinks, challah, and serving pieces, as well as flowers for the kallah, flower girl and centerpieces, floral decorations for the couple’s chairs, and decorations by the chuppah and in the aisle. The women also collected Jewish books, toys and Judaica for the family and prepared gift packages, including candlesticks, Kiddush cups, Havdalah sets and challah covers for the couple, and encouraged local residents to attend to be m’sameach the couple. Rabbi Pekar flew in from Texas, where he is currently stationed, to officiate. Rabbi Mangel and his wife attended, and he assisted, along with another Air Force rabbi and a Navy rabbi. Ironically, the three military rabbis had never officiated at a chasunah before, so Rabbi Mangel’s expertise was appreciated. The volunteers uniformly felt honored to have participated in making the wedding and moved by the celebration,

which they described as “amazing,” and “beautiful,” even though they had never met the couple before. Linda K. summed up the women’s feelings when she said that “[d]ancing with the kallah and seeing the kallah glowing brought such joy to all who attended.” Because volunteers and participants came from different shuls, the chasunah generated tremendous achdut. Some people who had just arrived from Israel at JFK Airport heard about the wedding and attended, as did local yeshiva boys with their rebbeim. As for the couple itself, Rina felt that the community had gone “above and beyond,” describing the gifts of toys, books and Judaica as “so nice.” She was amazed that “we didn’t have to do anything, and it was so much more than we expected.” The volunteers had even helped babysit the children. After the wedding, the couple returned to Silver Spring, where their new community welcomed them with sheva brachot and many Shabbos invitations. Rina received a religious accommodation to wear a tichel while in uniform and credits her supportive and helpful supervisors for smoothing her way in the military. Fortunately, both her parents and in-laws were understanding, which helped in the family’s transition to an Orthodox lifestyle. Rina and Yaakov are excited and look forward enthusiastically to this new chapter in their lives, in an Orthodox community they can call home. 1. Yaakov and Gideon had already had a brit milah by an Orthodox mohel. 2. See Talmud Bavli, Masechet Yevamot 22a (legal status of convert like that of newborn; all previous family ties become irrelevant).

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Around the Community

Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halachah Program Set to Embark on Chelek Hei of Mishnah Berurah A Unique Opportunity to Bring Daily Halacha into Your Life

HaRav Dovid Hofstedter presenting the Dirshu Mishnah Berurah to HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, 2009

By Chaim Gold

magine being able to learn nearly all of hilchos Pesach this year before Pesach. Yes, we are only just beginning chodesh Elul and Pesach seems far off on the horizon, but learning hilchos Pesach is a serious undertaking and if you start now, with Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program, you can come into Pesach on a completely different plane. What a wonderful kabbalah to make before Rosh Hashanah, a kabbalah to bring daily halacha into your life! HaGaon HaRav Shraga Shteinman, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Orchos Torah, said that this is exactly what we should be doing now in Elul as we begin thinking about the upcoming Rosh Hashanah, “It is incumbent on all of us to make a cheshbon hanefesh and discern what we need to improve. One of the things that every Jew must analyze is if his knowledge of daily halacha is up to par. If he finds himself lacking, he should optimally make a kabbalah to accept upon himself to improve and learn the halachos that he needs to know. Are we sufficiently familiar with the halachos of Pesach? If the answer is no, then now is the time to accept upon oneself to learn hilchos Pesach. “What better time to join the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha than now?!” Rav Shraga Shteinman exclaimed, “If we make this kind of kabbalah, we will see that, little by little, we will gain a knowledge of the halachos of each Yom Tov, each day and Shabbos. What better way to amass zechusim than to make a kabbalah to learn daily halacha?!”

Permeating One’s Life with Halacha! The Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program was established in the month of Iyar, 2008, at Dirshu’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration in Eretz Yisrael. The program received not just the blessing but also the active encouragement of the senior Gedolei Yisrael of that time including, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, HaGaon HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, zt”l, HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zt”l, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Wosner, zt”l, and yblc”h, the Gerrer Rebbe, shlita, the Belzer Rebbe, shlita, the Sanzer Rebbe, shlita, and many others. As the many thousands who already participate know, the program features a daf of Mishnah Berurah daily, five days a week, with Friday and Shabbos set aside for chazarah. When a Dirshu delegation visited the Gerrer Rebbe, shlita, the Rebbe encapsulated one of the primary purposes of the program: “When someone makes learning halachah and knowledge of Mishnah Berurah part of his daily learning schedule from a young age, he becomes accustomed to living in such a way that for the rest of his life his every action is permeated by halacha.” Currently, the Daf Hayomi B’Halacha is already moving towards the latter part of its third cycle. They have just completed the difficult halachos of Eruvin and are set to embark on hilchos Pesach. Hilchos Pesach is one of those areas in the Mishnah Berurah where lomdei halacha with limited time often choose to learn only the seemingly more rele-

HaRav Yaakov Hillel at a past Siyum on Mishnah Berurah Chelek Daled, 2019

vant halachos. Many of the important simanim, which on the surface, seem to either be very intricate or not as relevant to our times are therefore neglected. Countless individuals suffice with learning the beginning of Chelek Hei which deals with the halachos of bedikas chametz and biur chametz and then skip over to the seder night thereby missing numerous vital halachos. There are the halachos of taaruvos chametz, the halachos of what one must do if, G-d forbid, he finds chametz in his house on Pesach, the halachos of kashering keilim, baking matzos and the list goes on… In fact, during the last machzor of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, one of the lomdim remarked, “I would never have dreamt that I would one day be zoche to learn all the halachos of baking matzos, all the complex details on how to properly sell chometz to a gentile and the detailed wording of the shtar, the document of sale. When would I have ever sat down and properly learned the difficult halachos of hagalas keilim, kashering keilim for Pesach with so many associated, contemporary scenarios? But I have done just that, thanks to Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program.” Fleeing This World for the “World of Hashem!” During the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha’s last machzor, the Sar HaTorah, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, was still with us, and before the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha embarked on Chelek Hei, he said something that can serve as the greatest catalyst to start learning hilchos Pesach with the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha.

He said, “In our generation, the generation of ikvesah d’Meshicha, there is a great tumah, impurity in the world. The power of the yetzer hara in this world is greater than it ever was. That is why we must flee from ‘this world’ and enter ‘the world of Hashem’. What is the ‘world of Hashem’? The ‘world of Hashem’ is the daled amos of halacha.” Perhaps HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Hillel, shlita, Rosh Yeshivat Ahavat Shalom, put it most succinctly when he said, “By promoting a daily Mishnah Berurah program, Dirshu has done a colossal chessed for Klal Yisrael. The Mishnah Beruah is not just a halacha sefer, it is a sefer that builds the life of every Jew. The Chofetz Chaim spent over 25 years writing the Mishnah Berurah. Until you really learn it, you cannot appreciate the work that went into it. Dirshu has given all of us a window into the greatness of this sefer.” Whereas some of the Dirshu programs cater to those who are able to devote a considerable part of their day to learning, the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program is for everyone. Now, during Elul, the month of teshuvah when we begin our march towards Rosh Hashanah, it is the optimum time to join and begin Chelek Hei. Learning daily halacha with a structured program will have a transformative impact on your life. What are you waiting for!? To join Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, please call 888-5-Dirshu, or e-mail info@kolleldirshu.org.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Around the Community

50 Years of ArtScroll Part 23: The Schottenstein Era Begins

he first volume of the ArtScroll Talmud, Tractate Makkos, took the world by storm. Its extraordinary reception gave ArtScroll the confidence to proceed with succeeding volumes, timed to coincide with their study in the Daf Yomi cycle. According to that schedule, Tractate Eruvin Volume 1 would be the next practical one. There was one problem: How would Mesorah Heritage Foundation pay for its editorial work, with each volume costing hundreds of thousands of dollars? R’ Zlotowitz’s friend, Rabbi Raphael Butler, suggested that Mr. Jerome Schottenstein of Columbus, Ohio, might be receptive to sponsoring a volume. The Schottenstein’s rav and trusted confidant, Rabbi Alan J. Ciner, encouraged Jerome to meet with R’ Meir and R’ Nosson. With the wholehearted support of his wife and children, Jerome agreed to underwrite the first volume of Tractate Eruvin. Before it was finished, he committed to a second volume and advanced the funding for both. Not long afterward, Jerome became seriously ill. Around the same time, an even greater opportunity arose. We were seeking a sponsor for the entire Talmud project, and another philanthropic family had ex-

pressed interest. Yet R’ Meir believed that the Schottensteins should receive the first opportunity to undertake this historic role. In the spring of 1991, R’ Meir and R’ Nosson traveled to Ohio to meet Jerome, stopping first in Wickliffe to visit Rav Mordechai Gifter where they received his blessing. Jerome, with his son Jay and Rabbi Ciner beside him, listened as R’ Meir proposed that the Schottenstein family sponsor the naming of the entire English edition of the Talmud. After hearing the proposal, Jay turned to his father and observed that there could be no greater distinction for a Jew than to have his family name permanently linked with Torah. The decision came quickly. By the following day, the partnership was finalized. From that moment, the monumental undertaking would be known as the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud. The family name would eventually appear in shuls, schools, and Jewish homes across the globe. At a celebratory dinner, Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, then Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, described the project as one of the most consequential publishing achievements in Jewish history. Jerome lived long enough to witness

Jerome with R’ Nosson and R’ Meir

R’ Dovid Feinstein and Jay

the start of his extraordinary vision, but sadly, passed away on 5 Adar II, 1992. In addition to perpetuating Torah study, Jerome was a role model of another very important element of Jewish continuity. He was committed to involving his children in his philanthropies so that tzedakah would be as central to their lives as it was to his. In achieving this goal, no one was more successful than Jerome: After his passing, Jay—only 37 years old, and with every understandable excuse to step away from the enormous 15-year, multi-million dollar undertaking his father had begun— joined with his wife, Jeanie, in accepting responsibility for carrying the entire project

forward. To this day, they and their children continue to undertake landmark ArtScroll/Mesorah Torah projects, ensuring that Jerome’s devotion to spreading Torah continues to illuminate generations. Jay’s words to his father became far more than a reflection on that historic moment: Through the devotion of the Schottenstein family, the Schottenstein name has become permanently—more than any other philanthropist in Jewish history— linked with Torah. UP NEXT: The ArtScroll Series — Who’s It For?

Rep. Gillen Delivers Over $2 Million in New Federal Security Funding for Houses of Worship

his week, Congresswoman Laura Gillen (D-NY-04) announced that eleven faith-based institutions in New York’s Fourth Congressional District have been awarded a total of more than $2 million in federal funding through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to safeguard houses of worship and community spaces from security threats. Each institution will receive nearly $200,000 for safety enhancements, such as physical barriers, security cameras and contracted security personnel. Rep. Gillen has been a strong advocate for increased NSGP funding and has assisted Nassau County houses of worship in applying for and winning these grants. This year’s recipients include St. John’s Baptist Church of Inwood, Young Israel of Woodmere, HALB DRS Yeshiva

High School and several other houses of worship. “Long Islanders deserve to gather and pray safely without fear of violence. I’m proud to have secured this federal funding for religious institutions in Nassau County through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program,” said Rep. Gillen. “No American should feel threatened simply for practicing their religion. I will continue to work with all our houses of worship to bring more federal dollars back to Long Island and keep worshippers safe.” “We are sincerely grateful to Congresswoman Laura Gillen for her advocacy and support in securing this $190,000 Nonprofit Security Grant for Young Israel of Woodmere. The safety and security of our congregants, children, staff, and visitors is our highest priority, and these funds will allow us to further strengthen

the measures we have in place to protect our community. At a time when houses of worship continue to face evolving security challenges, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program is an invaluable resource. We deeply appreciate Congresswoman Gillen’s commitment to ensuring that we have access to the federal resources needed to provide safe and secure environments for everyone who walks through our doors. This investment is not only in our synagogue, but in the safety and resilience of the broader Long Island community,” said Steven Myers, Executive Director, Young Israel of Woodmere. “Security is a core cost that grows heavier every year, and the threats we plan for today didn’t exist just a few years ago,” said Rabbi Adam Englander, Head of School, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB). “We’re deeply grateful to

Congresswoman Laura Gillen and everyone who fought to bring this federal Nonprofit Security Grant funding to HALB, helping us keep our students and faculty safe.” The funding will be administered through the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (NYS DHSES) and is made available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Rep. Gillen has continuously supported increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. She previously brought together interfaith religious leaders at Hofstra University to help prepare houses of worship in NY-04 to apply for NSGP funding.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Around the Community

West Hempstead Community Comes Together in Support of the Biblical Heartland

he West Hempstead community gathered for a special evening supporting the communities of Judea and Samaria, featuring a barbecue by Main Event-Mauzone Caterers, fine Israeli wine, and delicious cocktails. A special thank you to hosts Alan and Sharon Shulman for generously opening their home, as well as to the evening’s sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and at-

tendees who made the event possible. The event featured an inspiring presentation by Ruthy and Ido Mann of Ruthy’s Farm, which provides equine-assisted therapy for soldiers suffering from PTSD, at-risk youth, and individuals with disabilities. Community members can continue making an impact by supporting One Israel Fund at oneisraelfund.org/donate.

Inspired by Time By Rabbi Yehoshua Frankenhuis

here was once a wealthy man who owned a magnificent home with a vast wine cellar. Inside was his greatest treasure: a collection of rare and exquisite wines gathered from around the world over many decades. Whenever distinguished guests visited, he would ask his longtime butler to select a bottle suited to the guest’s stature. One day, the wealthy man welcomed a particularly important visitor. The guest arrived by limousine with an entourage, and the host was eager to impress him — especially with his celebrated wine collection. The guest entered a grand dining hall, where fine china, silver, and crystal gleamed in the candlelight. The meal was prepared to perfection, the conversation flowed easily, and the guest appeared thoroughly impressed. As the main course was served, the host turned to his butler and said loudly enough for the guest to hear: “Please bring us a very special bottle — an aged Cabernet I purchased in France forty-eight years ago. It is unmatched in taste and rarity. You’ll find it on the third

row, at the far end, on the bottom shelf.” The guest’s eyes lit up, and the host smiled with satisfaction. The cellar was only a short walk away, so the errand should have taken a few minutes. As they waited, the host described his collection — its rare vintages, enormous value, and the extraordinary care devoted to preserving it. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. The host continued speaking, but his smile tightened. What could possibly be taking so long? His instructions had been perfectly clear, and the butler knew every corner of the cellar. Twenty minutes passed. The guest glanced toward the cellar door. “My cellar is practically a labyrinth,” the host explained with a forced smile. “It may have taken him a little longer to find the proper shelf.” He continued describing his imported barrels, cooling system, and insurance policies, but his thoughts were racing. Had the butler misplaced the bottle? Dropped it? Impossible. He had served faithfully for years. After twenty-five minutes, the host could no longer hide his concern. “Please forgive me,” he told his guest. “I’ll see what is keeping him.”

Did you know? On average, 14 billion pencils are produced in the world annually, enough to circle the Earth more than 40 times.

He hurried downstairs and opened the cellar door. Immediately, an overpowering smell of wine struck him. This was not the gentle fragrance of aged bottles; it was thick, sharp, and overwhelming. His pulse quickened as he descended. At the bottom of the stairs, his polished shoe splashed into a puddle. He looked down. It was wine. The cellar floor was flooded. Shattered bottles lay everywhere, and treasures worth tens of thousands of dollars had been reduced to pools of red liquid. “Hashem yeracheim,” he gasped. “What has this butler done?” Furious, he stormed deeper into the cellar. In a far corner, he found the butler lounging comfortably on a couch, his feet propped up, calmly sipping a glass of expensive wine. As the master approached, ready to explode, the butler looked up and said casually, “Thank you for coming down. You know, I’ve worked here for many years. I think this would be the perfect time to ask for a raise.” The master stared at him in disbelief. “Are you insane? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve smashed priceless bottles and poured thousands of dollars down the drain — and now you ask me for a raise?!” _____ All year long, we smash bottles in the cellar: a berachah without kavanah, a mitzvah neglected, a tefillah rushed, a careless aveirah. Words of lashon hara, eyes wandering where they shouldn’t, a harsh word spoken in anger. Each one is another shattered bottle. And then comes Rosh Hashanah. And what do we do? We arrive with a long list of requests. We come with our brand-new machzo-

rim and our heartfelt pleas: “Ribbono shel Olam, give me more! A better year. Better parnassah. A shidduch. Health. Success. So many blessings.” And Hashem could say: “You’ve been smashing bottles in My cellar all year long — and now you ask for a raise?” That is why we do not wait until Rosh Hashanah. That is why we begin already now — this is the very idea of Elul. We cannot walk into the Day of Judgment as though nothing has happened. We must begin preparing before the court convenes. Already we look inward. Already we plead for forgiveness. When Rosh Hashanah arrives, we will not appear like the butler surrounded by shattered bottles, brazenly demanding more. We will come instead as children who are sincerely trying to improve — children longing for their Father’s embrace, begging for a year of forgiveness, a year of closeness, a year of growth in avodas Hashem. Reprinted from Inspired by Time by Rabbi Yehoshua Frankenhuis, with permission from the copyright holder, ArtScroll Mesorah Publications.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

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TJH

Centerfold

Signs You Listen to Too Much Talk Radio You’ve screamed “EXACTLY!” at a person who has no idea you exist. You start conversations with, “A caller from Staten Island made a very good point this morning…” You know how to fix the economy, the school system, the Mets, and international relations—all before 9 A.M.

You know the regular callers by name. “Oh no. Not Steve from Queens again.” You hear someone say, “Long-time listener, first-time caller” and immediately sit up straighter. Your commute takes 45 minutes, but emotionally it takes three hours. You’ve arrived somewhere angry and can’t remember exactly what you’re angry about.

You’ve sat in your driveway for 12 minutes because you had to hear what the next caller was going to say.

You’ve said, “This guy is an idiot,” and then continued listening to him for another two hours.

You’ve yelled at a caller to “GET TO THE POINT!” while sitting alone in your car.

You’ve seriously considered calling in because everyone else is missing the obvious point.

You’ve missed your exit because the host said, “When we come back, I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen!”

You finally call the station after listening for 15 years—and spend your entire time on hold rehearsing, “Long-time listener, first-time caller.”

Riddle Me This Three radios, A, B, and C, are tuned to three different stations: news, sports, and music. - Radio A is not playing music. - Radio B is not playing news. - The sports station is not on Radio A. - Radio C is not playing sports. Which radio is tuned to which station? Answer to riddle: Answer: A = News, B = Sports, C = Music.

In honor of National Radio Day on August 20, let’s see what you know about this almost-extinct form of entertainment 1. In what year was the radio invented? a. 1883 b. 1895 c. 1908 d. 1922 2. In 2008, Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year radio contract reportedly worth more than how much? a. $80 million b. $150 million c. $250 million d. $400 million 3. What does the “FM” in FM radio stand for? a. Frequency Modulation b. Free Modulation c. Fixed Megahertz d. Frequency Measurement 4. What was Paul Harvey’s famous tagline? a. “Stay tuned, America.”

b. “Until tomorrow…keep listening.” c. “And now you know...the rest of the story.” d. “From coast to coast, that’s today’s news.” 5. Until a judge in 2015 ruled that Warner Music did not own the copyright for “Happy Birthday,” approximately how much did they make per year on royalites off of the song? a. $40,000 b. $340,000 c. $790,000 d. $2,000,000 6. How many minutes does it take to get all of the news in the world from 1010 WINS? a. 7 b. 22 c. 33 d. 45

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! Good old Yankel is out driving when a man on his radio suddenly announces: “Beware of a dangerous car driving against the general direction of travel!” Yankel mumbles to himself, “One? There are several hundred of them!”

7. According to Pew Research, what percentage of Americans still listen to radio at least once a week? a. 56% b. 62% c. 74% d. 82% Answers: 1-B 2-D 3-A 4-C 5-D 6-B 7-D Wisdom Key: 6-7 correct: Boy, do you know the rest of the story. 3-5 correct: You’re not tuned in for all 22 minutes, but not bad. 0-2 correct: You’re like 880 – almost extinct.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Radio Trivia

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Voice N

tes

The Struggles of Being Single By A Concerned Older Single

am writing this not only from my own perspective, but because I believe I speak for many single men and women who have quietly become increasingly uncomfortable with the way privacy, personal information and boundaries are sometimes handled in the shidduch world. I come from a family of accomplished men. I have brothers who are a doctor, a lawyer and a Ph.D., all of whom have semicha. They are intelligent, educated, thoughtful men who take Torah, family and marriage seriously. Yet I have watched them, too, get burned by a system in which information travels quickly, assumptions become facts, and people who barely know someone confidently explain what “type” of person he is, what he is looking for and whom he should consider. Having now experienced the system from my own perspective as a woman, I find myself asking a very simple question: When did helping someone find a spouse become permission to speak for that person? A résumé gets sent to a shadchan. It is forwarded to someone else. A photograph accompanies it. Someone calls a friend who knows a cousin who knows the family. Suddenly, people the single man or woman has never spoken to are discussing deeply personal questions. “What type of girl is she?” “What is he looking for?” “Would she relocate?” “Would he consider someone from this background?” “Would she be open to someone more heimish?” “What type of home does she want?” And sometimes the person whose life is being discussed does not even know these conversations are taking place. Perhaps we have become so accustomed to this that we no longer stop to consider how invasive it can feel. If you want to know what type of woman I am, ask me. If you want to know whether I would relocate, ask me. If you want to know what type of home I hope to build, ask me. And if I tell you that a particular life-

style, community or type of person is not for me, please accept that answer. “No” should not become “maybe.” “Not for me” should not become “send the résumé anyway.” A person’s preferences should not be softened, reinterpreted or negotiated by somebody else because that person believes he or she knows better. And perhaps most importantly, I should not have to explain myself. Neither should any other adult. A single woman should not have to defend why she does not want to date a particular type of man. A single man should not have to justify why a suggestion is not appropriate for him. Someone who wants to take a break from dating should not owe the community an explanation. Someone who prefers to meet people organically should not have to apologize for it. “No, thank you” is a complete answer. We need to remember that being single does not make one’s private life communal property. A résumé is not public property. A photograph is not public property. Our preferences are not public property. Our personal circumstances are not public property. And our desire to someday marry is not blanket consent for other people to circulate, discuss and interpret those things on our behalf. I understand and respect the purpose of birurim. Marriage is an enormous decision, and reasonable inquiries into serious, objective matters have an appropriate place. There are also wonderful shadchanim who devote extraordinary amounts of time and energy to helping people build homes, often with tremendous sensitivity. This letter is not an attack on them. It is a plea for boundaries. There is a difference between responsible birurim and community telephone. There is a difference between making an introduction and conducting an investigation. There is a difference between offering guidance and taking control. And unfortunately, I believe many men and women have been burned enough by the latter that they have simply stopped trusting the process.

They become reluctant to share a résumé because they do not know where it will end up. They hesitate to provide a photograph because they do not know who will receive it. They become guarded about expressing preferences because they fear those preferences will be repeated inaccurately. They hesitate to confide in people because they do not know whether tomorrow’s private conversation will become somebody else’s shidduch information. Eventually, privacy begins to feel safer than participation. That should concern us. We also need to normalize the idea that if someone is old enough to get married, that person is old enough to have meaningful control over how he or she dates. There is nothing wrong with being introduced organically. There is nothing wrong with a friend saying, “I know somebody I think you might like,” making an introduction and allowing two adults to take it from there. There is nothing wrong with adults planning their own dates, communicating appropriately, asking their own questions and deciding for themselves whether they would like to see one another again. Not every interaction needs to travel through a chain of parents, shadchanim, relatives and acquaintances. We tell our young adults that marriage requires maturity, independence, judgment, communication and responsibility. Yet sometimes we create a dating process in which everybody except the two people who may actually marry is empowered to speak. If two adults are mature enough to stand beneath a chuppah, build a home, manage finances, raise children and make consequential decisions together, surely they are mature enough to arrange dinner. Parents can advise without speaking for their adult children. Shadchanim can introduce without controlling. Friends can suggest without investigating. And single men and women can know themselves without being labeled “picky” because they decline something that somebody else believes they should want. We need to normalize something else

as well: sometimes people simply want privacy. They may not want everyone to know whom they are dating. They may not want their picture circulating. They may not want every relative to know that a résumé was suggested. They may not want ten people investigating someone before they’ve even decided whether they want to meet. And they may not want to explain why. Privacy does not mean someone has given up on marriage. Privacy does not mean someone is difficult. Privacy does not mean someone is hiding something. Sometimes privacy simply means: this is my life, and I would like to decide whom I invite into it. I believe I speak for many men and women when I say that we are grateful to those who genuinely want to help us. But helping us must also mean respecting us. Ask before forwarding our information. Ask before sending our photographs. Do not tell somebody else what we are “open to” unless we have actually said so. Do not turn a firm no into a tentative maybe. Do not assume that because someone is single, everyone is entitled to participate in finding that person’s spouse. And please do not demand explanations for decisions that belong to the person making them. We can preserve the beauty of shidduchim without sacrificing privacy. We can make thoughtful introductions without stripping adults of agency. We can conduct appropriate birurim without turning people’s lives into communal conversation. We can, and must, do better. Because ultimately, a shidduch is not about résumés, photographs, references or categories. It is about two human beings deciding whether they can build a life together. The community may help bring them to the door. But perhaps we need to become more comfortable allowing them to decide whether to open it.

Parshas Ki Seitzei is filled with a whopping 74 commandments, ranging from sending away the mother bird, to putting a rail on your roof, and so much more. The parsha begins with the discussion of war as well as the case of the Ben Sorer uMoreh (rebellious son). The end of the parsha tells us about the importance of remembering Amalek.

Torah parks S Inspiration. Everywhere.

Parshas Ki Seitzei

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QUICK VORT

Quotable Quote

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“Before you can find G-d, you must lose yourself”

Imagine that you were contracted to build the Bais HaMikdash. Ok, now stop imagining, and read the Baal HaTurim in this week’s Parshah. On the words, ‫כי‬ ‫( תבנה בית חדש‬When you build a new house), the Baal HaTurim explains that the building of a new house is a reference to the Bais HaMikdash.

GEMATRIA

The gematria of ‫כי תצא למלחמה על‬ ‫ אויביך‬is 823, which so happens to be the exact same as the gematria of ‫ מלחמת היצר‬- the battle with our Yetzer Hara, which is, of course, the battle that is alluded to in this very verse!

Explaining to the reader his thoughts about his new book, Horeb, Rav Hirsch zt”l writes an incredible thing (see Foreward, there): “I shall also be happy if it [the book] contains...but a small contribution to the joyous upbuilding of the HOly of Holies in Israel. To have contributed even one stone to the mighty structure, to have have contributed one drop of oil to the lamp of the Sanctuary – who would not find in this his abundant reward!”

If we would just reframe the actions that we do in our Avodas Hashem and realize that with every small step we take, we are helping to build the Bais HaMikdash, that would be incredibly valuable.

This Elul, let us get back on track and stay true to our contract. Become a builder, today!

His shiurim and other Jewish content can be found on Torah Anytime and Meaningful Minute. He may be reached at rabbistrumo@gmail.com

Thoughts in Chassidus The Rebbe of Ropshitz (Zera Kodesh, Ki Seitzei) teaches us: ‫כי תבנה בית חדש‬ ‫ובנה אותה בקרוב בימינו בנין‬...‫ועשית מעקה‬ ‫ובמה בונה אותה בימינו ע”י הימים שלנו‬...‫עולם‬ ‫שבכל יום שכאדם עובד אותו י”ת הכל לפי מעשיו‬ ‫בונה את ירושלים ובית המקדש‬. We can build the Bais HaMikdash in our days through the very days themselves. Every day, when a person serves Hashem, according to his deeds, he builds Yerushalayim and the Bais HaMikdash.

Did You Know?! The Torah tells us to make a “guardrail” - a maakeh - on the roof of your home. The Shelah says this is a reference to pride, that is must be guarded. We must place restrictions on our pride. Indeed, a reminder to live with humility.

One stone to the mighty structure. One drop of oil to the lamp of the Sanctuary.

Valuable for our selves. Valuable for our family. Valuable for our community. Valuable for Klal Yisroel. And valuable for the entire universe.

Rabbi Ori Strum is the author of “Ready. Set. Grow.” “Dove Tales,” “Karpas: The Big Dipper,“ and “VEYIDGU: The Upstream Jew.”

Pesukim - 110 Words - 1582 Letters - 5856 Mitzvos - 74

But notice what the Torah says. “When YOU build a new house.” On some level, we are being told quite plain and simply that we are each responsible to build the Bais HaMikdash. But how? How can we build the holiest structure on Planet Earth?

-Baal Shem Tov

PARSHA STATS

Points to Ponder The Torah tells us the reward for Shiluach Hakein (sending away the mother bird) is longevity. What is the connection? What is the middah knegged middah?

Scan the QR code to view Torah classes from R’ Ori Strum on Torah Anytime!

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

PARSHA OVERVIEW

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Torah Thought

Parshas Ki Teitzei By Rabbi Berel Wein z”l

ewish homiletical tradition identifies the “enemy” in the opening verse of this parsha not only as an external foe, but also as the evil instinct within the warrior himself. In the immortal words of the famous cartoon character Pogo, “We have met the enemy and they are us!” This is in consonance with the words of the Talmud that the opening topic of the parsha – marriage to the attractive woman, a non-Jewish captive – has specific reference to one’s own struggle with the basic desires and evil instincts that bedevil us all. The true struggle in life is therefore not really against others who may not wish us well as much as it is against our own conflict-torn nature. Temptations, both physical and monetary, and power-driven ambitions abound in our everyday existence. Falsehoods, lame excuses, or the feeling that “everyone does it” and that one will never get caught up and publicly exposed in the scam or scandal are

the weapons of the enemy that lurk within us, preying on our built-in weaknesses. Unless one truly realizes how vulnerable each and every one of us is regarding our internal enemy, there is little hope of creating effective defensive strategies to combat it. The haughty arrogance of un-

sin is never able to truly repent of that sin. One should not underestimate the enemy that lies within us. The month of Elul traditionally was set aside as a particular time when that internal enemy was to be identified and confronted. In our busy and crowded

One should not underestimate the enemy that lies within us.

warranted self-righteousness is one of the most serious moral and personal defects that a person may possess. This is the message that the Talmud delivers to us when it states that one who sins and yet remains confident that one will later be able to repent and cancel the

world, our schedules allow precious little time to think about our true selves – our goals and the purpose of our existence. Our enemy confounds and confuses us with all of the myriad details, pettinesses and distractions that our super busy world inflicts upon us.

Rabbi Yisrael of Salant was once asked if one has only ten minutes a day to study Torah, should one study Talmud or Mussar (the ethical teachings of Judaism.) He answered that one should study Mussar for then he would come to realize that he has much more time than just ten minutes in the day to study Torah. By that, Rabbi Yisrael outlined his method of confronting the inner enemy that convinces us that we are unable to improve, that we are too weak or habit-stricken, or that we are simply too busy and preoccupied with other issues to think about ourselves. Ignoring the enemy is the surest way of being defeated by it. I think that tradition placed such an emphasis on the month of Elul, for it is the self-confrontation that this month indicates to us that is the strongest weapon in our spiritual arsenal. In preparation for the days of awe and judgment that are soon upon us, let us use this time wisely and efficiently. Shabbat shalom.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

From the Fire Parshas Ki Teitzei

The Empathy of Elul By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

e are in the midst of our efforts to prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur throughout the month of Elul. Our sages have found a number of allusions to the month of Elul in the Torah, including in the mitzvah of yibum, levirate marriage, in which one brother marries the widow of his childless, deceased brother. In this week’s parsha, the Torah tells us that the purpose of the surviving brother’s yibum marriage is that “the firstborn son who will be born [of the yibum relationship] will uphold the name of his brother, and his name will not be erased from the Jewish people” (Devarim 25:6). This is made even clearer from the first time this mitzvah is mentioned in the Torah, when Yehuda instructed his son Onan to marry his brother Er’s widow Tamar (Bereishis 38:8). Yehuda told him, “Come to [marry] the wife of your brother and perform yibum with her to establish progeny for your brother.” Establishing a Jewish person’s name and legacy among the Jewish people is really what we are celebrating at every joyous occasion, whether it is an engagement, marriage, birth, bris, or bar or bas mitzvah. But Onan did not want to participate in that. The pasuk says about Onan (ibid. 9), “And Onan knew that the children would not be his, lo lo…” Our sages see in the words “lo lo, not his,” as an allusion to the month of Elul, which shares the same letters. But what is the connection between the month of Elul and the mitzvah of yibum, and, more particularly, Onan’s desire not to do a mitzvah to uphold his deceased brother’s name in the Jewish people? During Elul, there is a custom to study the sefer Tomer Devorah by Rav Moshe Cordovero, zt”l, the Ramak.” Tomer Devorah explains that we can work to emulate G-d’s thirteen attributes of mercy which we read at Tashlich on Rosh Hasha-

rejoice in each other’s simchos and cry for each other’s suffering. That is why, whenever a Jew suffers, even one who is far from being a tzaddik, Hashem says (Sanhedrin 46a), “My head hurts, My arm hurts.” We are so intimately connected to Hashem, that He considers us part of His “body,” so to speak. We all know the story that Reb Areye Levin, zt”l, told the doctor, “My wife’s foot is hurting us.” The real trick is living with the consciousness that this is not simply a beautiful idea or a nice slogan. The fact that we are intimately connected to our Father Above, and, by extension, other Jews, is a reality that must inform the way we relate to Hashem and other Jews.

Empathy and the Foundation of the Exodus na, and by doing so, draw down a manifestation of those attributes from Above. The fourth attribute is “the remnant, she’eiris, of His inheritance.” The Ramak points out that the word “she’eiris, remnant” is connected to the word “she’eir, blood relative.” The Ramak writes: The Holy One Blessed is He conducts Himself with the Jewish people in the following way: He says, “How will I act with the Jewish people when they are my relatives, I have a blood relationship with them?” They are G-d’s match, and He calls them “My daughter,” “My sister,” and “My mother.” As Chazal explain, the pasuk, “Yisroel, nation which is his relative,” means that He is literally a relative with them and they are His children. That is what “The remnant, she’eiris, of His inheritance” means, which is an expression of a blood relationship. In the end, they are His inheritance. That is why the pasuk says, “If I punish them, it will hurt Me…”

The Ramak continues that the pasuk in Yeshaya 63:9 is written one way but read differently. It is read, “In all of their pain, it pained Him, lo tzaar [lo with a vav],” but it is written “lo tzaar [lo with a aleph], it did not trouble Him.” Hashem feels our pain because we are so close to Him. This pasuk also alludes to the month of Elul because the two ways of reading the pasuk, lo with a vav and lo with an aleph, are the same as the letters that spell Elul. The Ramak then continues by explaining what this attribute of G-d’s means for us: “This is how a person must conduct himself with his friend. All Jews are blood relatives to one another because all souls are part of one totality. Each one has a portion in the other… This is why all Jews are responsible for one another, because each one contains part of everyone else within him.” The fact that Hashem considers us “blood relatives,” as it were, His “empathy” for us is the root of our ability to

Rav Joseph Albo, zt”l, in his Sefer Haikarim (2:14), explains that G-d feels “pain” when we suffer. He took the Jewish people out of Egypt using this trait when He said (Shemos 3:7-8), “I have surely seen the suffering of my nation which is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers, for I know their pains and I descended to save them from the hands of Egypt…” Rav Elyah Lopian, zt”l, as recorded in the sefer Lev Eliyahu (Vol. 1, p. 98), teaches that Hashem wanted to infuse this ability to empathize and identify with others into the DNA of our nation. He therefore redeemed us with that trait. Hashem even chose a redeemer who possessed that quality. The first thing Moshe did when he grew up was to exhibit this ultimate marker of maturity and responsibility, as the pasuk (Shmos 2:11) says, “Moshe grew up and went out to his brothers and saw their burdens…” Rashi explains that this means “he directed his eyes and his heart to be pained for them.” The Jewish officers the Egyptians

delights in its rectification, and delves into the pure, supernal depths of its past and future. He investigates, with love and wisdom, the depths of its inner spiritual heart.

The Chozeh and the Barber The beauty of a Jew who puts others’ concerns over his own is illustrated by a story told by Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l, about the Chozeh, the Seer, of Lublin. The Chozeh needed a haircut before yom tov like anyone else. But everyone knew about the Chozeh’s spiritual sensitivity and were afraid to touch the Chozeh’s head, lest he be unworthy and somehow disturb the Rebbe’s holiness. All of the barbers in Lublin spent several days before each yom tov fasting, praying, and doing teshuva in the hopes that whoever the Chozeh chose for his haircut would be worthy enough for the Chozeh to tolerate his haircut. Just before one particular yom tov, the Chozeh’s assistants, as usual, gave notice to the barbers to begin preparing themselves to cut the Rebbe’s hair. When the day arrived, the barbers lined up outside of the Chozeh’s room. The first barber approached the Rebbe’s chair. But when he touched the Rebbe’s head, although the Rebbe did not intend to insult him, the Rebbe cried out in pain. He quickly left the room, feeling horrible that he had hurt the Rebbe. The other barbers saw how quickly he left, without giving a haircut, and they became even more afraid. The second barber went into the room and the same thing happened. As soon as he touched the Rebbe’s head, the Rebbe screamed out in pain. The process repeated itself until they ran out of barbers. They did not know what to do in order to arrange a haircut for the Rebbe for yom tov. But someone told one of the Rebbe’s assistants that he saw a strange-looking Jew on the streets of Lublin, a traveler, who carried a sign around his neck that said, “I’m a barber and a little bit of a doctor.” After discussing the matter among themselves, they concluded that it was worthwhile to at least try to determine whether this Jew could cut the Rebbe’s hair. Perhaps he was an upright person. When they approached the man about cutting the Chozeh’s hair, they asked him whether he would cut the Rebbe’s hair. Once they assured him that it was a paying job, they asked him if he knew whose hair he was about to cut. He said that he did not but that it did not matter. He was capable of cutting anyone’s hair. They told him that they were about to

bring him to cut the hair of the Chozeh of Lublin. Unfazed, he answered, “OK, everyone needs a haircut. So does the rabbi. And I’m a barber. No problem. Please bring me to him.” He entered the Rebbe’s room without any preparation. The man and the Chozeh looked at one another and the Rebbe saw the barber’s little sign and smiled. It seemed the Chozeh already liked this barber. The barber took out his old scissors, and the Rebbe’s assistants began covering their eyes, not relishing the scream they were about to hear. But when the barber touched the Rebbe’s head, he sighed and said, “A mechaya, a pleasure!” And with every single snip, the Rebbe continued to enjoy himself, repeatedly saying, “a mechaya!” As soon as the haircut was over, the man simply left. The Rebbe’s assistants followed him, “Sir, sir! Can we ask who you are? Where are you from?” But he simply answered, “You can see on my sign. I am a barber.” Apparently, he did not want to say anything about himself. They formulated a plan, however, to find out more about him. They invited him to a local establishment that served alcoholic beverages. Once he had enjoyed a couple of drinks, and they saw that he was in a good mood, they asked him again, “Tell us who you are. When every other barber in Lublin touched the Rebbe’s hair, he screamed out in pain, but when you cut his hair, it was a mechaya. We have never seen anything like that. What is your story?” Even with a couple of drinks, however, he did not want to talk about himself. But they persisted and asked him repeatedly, “Tell us about yourself. Who are you?” Finally, the barber told them what he had done that may be able to explain why the Rebbe was able to tolerate his haircut. He stood up, pulled up the back of his shirt, and they saw that his entire back was covered with horrible, disgusting welts. They chassidim recoiled and asked him, “What happened? What is that?” So he told them the following story: I travel from place to place. I am a barber and a little bit of a doctor. I cut people’s hair and do what I can for them. In one town, I saw some sort of commotion. When I approached, I saw that the non-Jewish authorities were dragging a man away from his family, and his wife and children were screaming. I asked someone standing there what happened, and they told me that something had been stolen in the town. As the authorities

always did, they blamed the Jews and grabbed the first Yid they found. They were going to take him away and give him 100 lashes for his “crime.” The man was so skinny and small that I realized he would die. He would not be able to survive. Because I am a little bit of a doctor, I figured that I am healthy and somewhat stronger so that I would probably survive 100 lashes. Also, no one would marry me anyway. I have no wife or children. And even if I am wrong and I die of my injuries, at least I would not leave behind a widow and orphans as this man would. So I walked over to the police and told them, “You have the wrong man. I did it.” I was a strong man, and I truly thought I could handle it. But those wicked people beat me with such strength that after ten lashes I was sure that I was going to die. I cried out to Hashem, “You know I am not doing this for myself. I am doing it for this man, his wife, and children. I accepted these lashes only because that man is a Jew and I am a Jew and one must help another Jew. So please, Hashem, have mercy and let me not die.” And I do not know how I survived. Every blow felt harder than the one before. But somehow, I endured one hundred lashes. And that is why I walk with a limp and why my back looks this way. But thank G-d, I am alive. When the Chozeh saw this Jew, he saw someone who did not turn away from other Jews. This Jew had every reason to run. But he took a beating for another Jew. The Chozeh felt that in the deepest way. His hands and his entire existence were filled with sacrifice for other Jews. Just like Hashem says, “I am with them in their pain,” “My head hurts, My arm hurts,” and calls us His “blood relative,” may we also merit to see other Jews in this way. Let us dance at their weddings like the bride and groom are our own children, sisters, or brothers. Let us cry and daven for other Jews’ pain like we ourselves are suffering. And let us not turn away from other Jews when they are in a time of need. And in that merit, may we see the final redemption just like we did in Egypt in the merit of Moshe’s and the Jewish officers’ acts of self-sacrifice for other Jews.

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.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

used as enforcers over the Jewish slaves exhibited this remarkable trait as well. The pasuk says that after Pharaoh increased the Jewish people’s workload by forcing them to collect their own straw (Shemos 5:14), “And the officers of the Jewish people who Pharaoh’s taskmasters had appointed over them were beaten…” According to the Midrash (Shemos Raba 5), “They sacrificed themselves for the Jewish people and they endured beatings in order to lighten their [the Jewish people’s] load.” Hundreds of them were killed because they did whatever they could to lighten their brothers’ burdens. Because these Jewish officers could not live a life of relative ease while their fellow Jews suffered, they awakened the attribute of “the remnant of His inheritance” Above. By caring about their brothers’ pain, they brought down Hashem’s mercy and, consequently, the redemption itself. That is why Hashem first revealed Himself to Moshe in a burning bush, which Rashi explains (Shemos 3:2) was meant to convey “I am with them in their pain.” Hashem said (Rashi on ibid. at 7), “I set My heart to contemplate and to know their pain and I did not cover my eyes, nor did I conceal My ears from their cries.” The mitzva of yibum in this week’s parsha, whereby a brother does the selfless act of bringing Jewish souls in the world not for his own sake but to uphold his childless brother’s name among the Jewish people, reminds us not to be like Onan, who felt “the children would not be his, lo lo [with a vav] …” Rather, Hashem calls on us to recognize that not only are we His “flesh and blood,” so to speak, but that the Jewish people are literally one corpus. We must turn around the letters lo lo to spell Elul, by rejoicing in other Jews’ successes, mourning for their tragedies, and not turning a blind eye to their needs. Rav Chaim Volozhiner zt”l’s son, in his introduction to Nefesh Hachaim, said in Rav Chaim’s name that he repeatedly reminded his children that the purpose of their lives is to do good things for other people. We do not live for own sake. Rather, we live for other Jews’ sake. Rav Kook, zt”l, teaches about a person who has internalized this attitude as follows (Oros Hakodesh 30): There are those who sing the song of the nation. A person in that category goes out of the sphere of his own private concerns, which he finds to be insufficiently broad, in which idealism does not dwell. He longs for mighty heights and cleaves, with a refined love, to the totality of the Jewish people. He sings its songs, feels its pain,

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Delving into the Daf

In a Pickle By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

n the “you can’t make this stuff up” department, 35-year-old Bobby Bolen of Niles, Michigan, was sentenced to 54 days in prison plus probation after barging into his then-friend Lee’s home, throwing him on the couch, and pelting him with not one, but two pickles. The fight apparently stemmed from an earlier visit when Bolen went to the fridge to grab a slice of the action (a couple of pickles), only for Lee to inform him that basic bread and butter hospitality has its limits – he simply couldn’t afford to feed everyone who dropped by. Had Bobby stayed as cool as a cucumber instead of letting Lee’s comment grate on him, no projectiles would have been launched. Perhaps the whole incident could have been avoided if Bobby had paused to wash his hands before touching the pickles. He might have cooled off instead of hurling them at Lee! Before you rack your brine over whether hand washing is required, some background is in order. Rebbi Elazar, in the name of Rebbi Oshiya, says the requirement to wash one’s hands for fruit or vegetables is strictly for cleanliness. Rav Nachman, however, soured on the idea of washing for kirbies and fruit altogether, maintaining that it isn’t just optional; it’s forbidden as a sign of haughtiness (Chullin 106a). The halacha follows Rav Nachman. However, that Gemara was only discussing dry produce. Rebbi Elazar also states (Pesachim 115a) that one must wash before eating any food dipped in a liquid, as wet foods are more susceptible to tum’ah. While some Rishonim disagree, the Shulchan Aruch requires hand washing (without a bracha) before eating wet food, just as one does for bread. The Vilna Gaon, spearheading the stringent opinion, rules that washing before consuming wet foods is definitely mandatory, holding that it’s a big dill and one should wash with a blessing as if he were eating bread! With these conflicting views, the

consumer is left in a kosher dill-emma. The Lechem Chamudos allowed a lenient custom to ferment among the populace, noting that common practice was to not to wash. The Mishnah Berurah, however, advises against the Lechem Chamudos, ruling that one should wash without a bracha. Meanwhile, the Aruch HaShulchan (O.C. 158:4) notes that most people in his day weren’t stringent and skipped netilas yadayim for wet pickles, even when not in a crunch. The Chofetz Chaim adds that for wet food smaller than a kezayis, one may be lenient. Interestingly, he added a footnote on this point in the second printing of the Mishnah Berurah, writing: “However, from the Tur (in Hilchos Pesach), it seems not this way. And my opinion is null compared to his.” The Tur requires washing for karpas

Lest you think I’m gherkin your chain, there’s a story that the Chofetz Chaim once passed a sign announcing his arrival in town as the “author of Mishnah Berurah on all of Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim.” He didn’t exactly relish the opportunity for unearned honor; he promptly took out a pen and updated

With these conflicting views, the consumer is left in a kosher dill-emma.

on Pesach night even though our custom is to use a vegetable smaller than an olive. (If karpas were a full kezayis, you’d be over a barrel, potentially forced to say a bracha acharonah in the middle of the Seder when the ha’adamah ought to cover the maror as well.) Since the volumes of the Mishnah Berurah were published sequentially, the fifth volume (covering hilchos Pesach) came out after volume two was already in its second printing. There, the Chofetz Chaim shares a jar-ring revelation: “I found a source that supports me! The Rashbatz holds that one should specifically use karpas the size of an olive, as otherwise hand washing is not required!”

the sign to read: “Author of the Mishnah Berurah on Shulchan Aruch until siman so-and-so!” In the sefer, Reb Reuven Feinstein on the Haggadah, a story is told: Rav Moshe’s grandson, Harav Dovid Beinish, shlita, was eating wet grapes in front of his grandfather and began drying them off. Rav Moshe, zt”l, told him it wasn’t necessary, following the Aruch HaShulchan’s view based on his local custom. The Haggadah notes that under this custom, the entire reason we wash for karpas is because we don’t wash for wet vegetables the rest of the year. It piques the children’s curiosity at the Seder. Returning to Bobby Bolen: the initial

premise was just being cuke. Even if you follow the Mishnah Berurah on wet foods, washing is only required before eating them, not before handling them or using them as projectiles! In Eretz Yisrael, serving Yerushalmi kugel with a pickle at a kiddush is “vlassic.” Rav Shlomo Zalman’s ruling here can get you out of a pickle: since the pickle is tafel (secondary) to the kugel, no washing is needed for the combination. (It would seem to depend on the intention of the eater.) While this might spark a vinegar-ous debate, the fact that Yerushalmi kugel can be wet or dripping with oil doesn’t change things. First, hand washing is only triggered by the “seven liquids”: wine, bee honey, olive oil, milk, dew, water, and blood (which is forbidden anyway). Oil other than olive oil doesn’t require washing. Second, kugel is usually eaten with a fork, and foods eaten with cutlery don’t require hand washing even if consumed by hand (M.B. 158:26). Hopefully, these halachic insights will ferment into a clearer understanding the next time you reach for a bite!

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.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Headlines

Halacha

Explaining the Chazon Ish’s Joke by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

family member of the Chazon Ish once told me that he had once poked fun at the Brisker method of study. He had asked, “I have a chakirah: Is everyone who violates Shabbos purposefully and spitefully mechuyav misah? Or is it that essentially, everyone is mechuyav misah, but being mekayem Shabbos is a ptur, an exemption, in the chiyuv misah?” But how could it be that the Chazon Ish would be against the trend in the Yeshiva world that has veritably defined it for the past nine decades? Perhaps the answer to this question appears in a much ignored essay bound into the front of Be’ayos HaZman, in the Toldos section. It is titled, “Darko Shel Rabbi Reuven B’Halacha,” and it was written by Rabbi Chaim Gronem Landau. Rav Refael Reuven Grozovsky, zt”l, (1886–1958) was the maggid shiur in Kaminetz whose shiurim later became Chiddushei Rabbi Reuven, a set that sits on the shelf of nearly every yeshiva in the world. Rabbi Landau (1911–1997) was a talmid muvhak of Rav Reuven, zt”l. Rav Landau was born in Starobin to the

rav of the city. He learned as a boy in Slutsk under Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, then in Kletsk, and then in Kaminetz under Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, and, for several years, under Rav Reuven himself. He later learned in Mir, where he belonged to the elite circle that included Rav Leib Malin, Rav Yonah Karpilov and Rav Yechiel Michel Feinstein. He married a daughter of Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, was appointed a rosh yeshiva at the Beis Medrash L’Torah in Chicago, later headed Yeshivas HaDarom in Rechovot, and spent decades preparing his father-inlaw’s Har Tzvi for print.

Two Shiurim in One Yeshiva Between the two world wars, Kaminetz held more than two hundred talmidim, many of them bochurim of unusual ability. Rav Boruch Ber gave the first shiur. His son-in-law, Rav Reuven, gave the second. Rabbi Landau writes that the enormous light of Rav Boruch Ber did not dim the light of Rav Reuven. The talmidim who worked hardest to absorb Rav Boruch Ber’s shiurim were precisely the ones who also

came to hear Rav Reuven, because his shiurim carried a color of their own.

A Third Rebbi Two of Rav Reuven’s teachers are well known: Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein of Slabodka and his father-in-law Rav Boruch Ber. Although Rav Reuven spent more years learning under Rav Moshe Mordechai, it is the influence of Rav Boruch Ber that stands out more sharply in his derech. Rav Landau adds a third name. Rav Reuven, he writes, was shaped in no small measure by Rabbi Akiva Eiger, whose seforim he learned with tremendous hasmadah and enormous depth.

Who the Three Were Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein, zt”l, (1866–1933). Born in Bakst in the Vilna district, he was called the illui of Bakst as a boy and entered Volozhin at sixteen, where he learned under Rav Chaim Soloveitchik. He married a daughter of Rav Shraga Feivel Frank of Kovno, which made him a brother-in-law of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer. In 1897, the Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson

Tzvi Finkel, asked him to serve as rosh yeshiva of Knesses Yisrael, and he held that position for roughly four decades, through the split over mussar, through the move of the yeshiva to Chevron in the mid-1920s, and through the massacre of 1929. His chiddushim on Shas were published as Levush Mordechai. He was niftar in Yerushalayim on 10 Kislev 5694 and is buried on Har HaZeisim. Rav Reuven learned under him during his Slabodka years — more years, in fact, than he spent under Rav Boruch Ber. Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, zt”l, (born in Slutsk in the early 1860s; niftar 5 Kislev 5700/1939). A prodigy sent to Volozhin at sixteen, he became one of the closest talmidim of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk, and he spent the rest of his life transmitting his rebbi’s yesodos. He married a daughter of Rav Avraham Zimmerman and succeeded him as rav of Halusk. In 1904, he was appointed rosh yeshiva of Knesses Beis Yitzchok in Slabodka, moved the yeshiva through Minsk, Kremenchug and Vilna during the

Rabbi Akiva Eiger, zt”l, (1761– 1837). Born in Eisenstadt, he served as rav of Markisch Friedland and, from 1815 until his petirah, as rav of Posen. He is known to every learner from the glosses printed on the margin of the Gemara — short, sharp questions that go straight at the plain reading of the text — and from his teshuvos and his Drush V’Chiddush. He was famous in his lifetime as the posek hador. He was never Rav Reuven’s rebbi in the ordinary sense — he was niftar forty-nine years before Rav Reuven was born — but Rabbi Landau insists that he shaped Rav Reuven’s derech as much as either of the other two.

Two Methods, Joined Rav Reuven’s derech, in Rabbi Landau’s reading, is a fusion of two things that are rarely described in the same breath: the approach of Rabbi Akiva Eiger and Lithuanian analytic logic. The first is about pushing into the depth of the pshat, the plain sense of the words on the page. Rabbi Landau explains what drove it. Out of ahavas ha’emes, love of truth, Rabbi Akiva Eiger recognized that the simpler an explanation is, the closer it stands to the truth. He therefore pushed away pilpul, which ties distant matters to one another and hammers them into a single unit. The Lithuanian derech, Rabbi Landau continues, likewise does not bring its bread from far away. It does not explain an Amora in one masechta by saying he is following his own shitah somewhere else. It found a different route: breaking a din down into its parts and asking what its geder — its precise definition — actually is. In nearly any din in the Gemara, there is room to ask that question, and the answer can usually be framed two ways.

The Warning For many authors, Rabbi Landau writes, the method turned over on itself. The chakirah became a goal in its own right. The intellectual charm of the analyses and the definitions captivated them. Then comes a line that belongs on the wall

of every beis medrash: for some of them, the learning became more lishmo — for his own name — than lishmah, for its own sake. Some took pride in inventing new chakiros. What all of them share is the sequence. First comes “yesh lachkor” — here is something to investigate — and only afterward do they examine the sugya to see which side the Gemara actually takes. Rav Reuven’s derech, he writes, was far removed from all of this. First one must understand the sugya as it plainly stands: the shakla v’tarya, the salka da’atach, the maskana. Rabbi Landau’s evidence is simple and hard to argue with. Look at which seforim Rav Reuven actually used. He used, primarily, the Nachalas Dovid, the P’nei Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva Eiger and seforim of that sort. The great pashtanim, in other

nition, the Torah nullified the shlichus at its root, so there is no shlichus for the second aveirah either. According to the second definition, the Torah only withheld the punishment, so the sender is liable for the second aveirah, because the shlichus was never cancelled at all. Then comes the detail that defines the method. Rav Reuven demonstrates explicitly that these two explanations are themselves a machlokes among the Rishonim. The chakirah is not pressed onto the sugya from outside. It is drawn out of the sugya and then located in the words of the Rishonim.

The Second Example: Kesubos 83a A husband wrote to his wife that he has no claim to her property and to its produce. R’ Yehuda holds that he nevertheless still

Rav Reuven’s derech, in Rabbi Landau’s reading, is a fusion of two things that are rarely described in the same breath: the approach of Rabbi Akiva Eiger and Lithuanian analytic logic.

words, were his primary teachers in how to understand a sugya, and their influence comes through in the seriousness and the weight of Rav Reuven’s own pages. Only when those seforim did not supply what was needed to resolve the difficulty did the second tool come out. Then Rav Reuven turned to Lithuanian logic and began to investigate on his own. The order is the entire point. Chakirah is the second move. It is never the first.

The First Example: Ein Shaliach L’Dvar Aveirah Rabbi Landau brings two illustrations. The first concerns the rule that there is no shaliach for a matter of transgression. The din can be explained two ways. One: there is no shaliach at all, so no shlichus exists here whatsoever. Two: there is no chiyuv of punishment on the one who sent him, but the shlichus itself was never uprooted. The nafka mina is sharp. Suppose the shaliach committed two aveiros in the course of his mission. One falls under the general rule. The second is one of the exceptions, where shlichus does apply even for an aveirah. According to the first defi-

eats the produce of the produce, until he writes that he has no claim to her property, to its produce, and to the produce of its produce, forever. R’ Yehuda’s position, Rav Reuven shows, can be explained two ways. Is his right to eat the produce of the produce a din in the property, or a din in the produce? Does it flow from his right in the property — just as he eats produce from the property, so too the produce of that produce — or does it flow from the produce itself, since produce that was not consumed becomes keren of nichsei melog, and whatever grows from it is the produce of that nichsei melog? The nafka mina is whether the wife may eat or sell the produce. On the second definition, the produce itself carries the din of nichsei melog — land is bought with it and the husband eats from it — so if she sold it, the sale is void. On the first definition, the produce carries no din of nichsei melog at all; his eating of the produce of the produce is only an outgrowth of his rights in the original property. She may therefore eat or sell it, and only if the produce is still in existence does he eat what grows from it. The chakirah always arrives second,

after the sugya has been understood on its own terms. It is framed as two definitions of one din, not as an open-ended menu of possibilities. It produces a nafka mina that is concrete and halachic — liability for a second aveirah, the validity of a woman’s sale — rather than a distinction that lives only in the abstract. And wherever possible it is anchored in an existing machlokes Rishonim, which converts the chakirah from an invention into a discovery. Investigations of this kind appear throughout all the simanim in the sefer, he writes, and their purpose is, for the most part, to explain the depth of the pshat in the Gemara or in the words of the Rishonim. The chakirah is not the destination. Pshat is the destination. The chakirah is the road.

A Training Manual Chiddushei Rabbi Reuven, published after his petirah and edited by his son-inlaw Rav Don Ungarischer, consists largely of the shiurim Rav Reuven delivered to talmidim in Kaminetz and later in Torah Vodaas. Rabbi Landau describes their function in pedagogical terms. They show bnei hayeshivos how to approach a sugya, how to press to the depth of understanding, and how to analyze concepts. They are not primarily a record of conclusions. They are teaching you how to learn. Rav Reuven left Europe with a group of his talmidim, reached America, and threw himself into the work of the Vaad Hatzala alongside Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz. He served as rosh yeshiva in Torah Vodaas and in the young Beis Medrash Elyon in Monsey, chaired the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and helped guide Torah Umesorah as it planted day schools across the country. In Elul 5711, he was struck by a car in the street. A heart attack followed, and then a devastating stroke. He never delivered a shiur again, and he was niftar on 22 Adar 5718. What survived him is a set of seforim that does not merely record what he held. It records how he got there — sugya first, chakirah second, pshat last and always. And this is the real explanation of the Chazon Ish’s foray into humor. He meant that the chakirah should never be the end all – it should rather be a tool employed only after explaining pshat. Otherwise, as Rabbi Landau explained, it can be abused.

This article should be viewed as a halachic discussion and not practical advice. The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

First World War, and re-established it in Kaminetz in 1926, where it drew hundreds of talmidim for thirteen years. His shiurim became Birkas Shmuel, named for his father, and they preserve a great deal of Rav Chaim’s Torah that was never written down anywhere else. He fled with the yeshiva toward Vilna in 1939 and was niftar there weeks later. Rav Reuven married his daughter, lived in the apartment above him in Kaminetz, and considered him his primary rebbi.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Torah Thought

The Mirror of Elul By Nataly Magendzo

s we enter the month of Elul, we hear the sound of the shofar every morning. It is more than a beautiful mitzvah—it is a wake-up call to the soul. It asks each of us a simple but powerful question: Who are you when no one else is watching? The answer to that question begins with one word: emes—truth. Elul is not only about becoming a better person. It is about becoming our truest self. The foundation of that journey is emes. The Navi says (Tehillim 145:18): “Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” This pasuk teaches us something remarkable. Hashem is always close, but there is a unique closeness that comes when we approach Him with honesty. Not perfection. Not flawless observance. Honesty. The Gemara in Shabbos (55a) teaches that the seal of Hashem is truth. A seal represents authenticity. Everything Hashem creates is genuine. Therefore, if we want to become closer to Him, we must become people of authenticity ourselves. The Maharal notes that the letters of emes span the Hebrew alphabet—from aleph at the beginning, mem near the middle, and tav at the end, symbolizing that truth endures from beginning to end. By contrast, the letters of sheker are clustered together near the end of the alphabet and rest on unstable foundations, reflecting the temporary nature of falsehood. Truth is lasting because it is rooted in reality. Falsehood may appear convincing for a moment, but it cannot endure. Elul is the time to ask ourselves difficult but necessary questions: Am I serving Hashem because it looks good, or because I truly want a relationship with Him? Do my actions match the values I claim to have? When I daven, am I simply saying words, or am I trying to speak honestly with my Creator? Rav Yisrael Salanter emphasized that self-deception is one of the greatest obstacles to spiritual growth. Elul removes the

excuses. It invites us to stop comparing ourselves to others and instead compare ourselves to the person Hashem created us to become. Imagine someone looking into a mirror covered with dust. They may think something is wrong with their reflection, when in reality the mirror simply needs to be cleaned. Elul is that cleaning process. Teshuvah does not create a new person. It reveals the person who was always there beneath the layers of distraction, habit, and ego. The Rambam writes in Hilchos Teshuvah (3:4) that although the mitzvah of shofar is a decree of the Torah, it carries a message: “Wake up, sleepers, from your sleep! Search your deeds, return in teshuvah, and remember your Creator.” Notice what the Rambam says. He does not tell us to become someone else. He tells us to remember. Deep inside, our soul already knows Hashem. Elul helps us reconnect with that inner truth. Those who encountered the Chofetz Chaim often commented that what struck them most was not only his brilliance but his sincerity. The person he was in public was exactly the same as the person he was in private. That consistency is emes. In our own lives, emes can look very simple. It means admitting, “I made a mistake.” It means apologizing without making excuses. It means saying, “I don’t know.” It means davening honestly. Some days that may mean saying to Hashem, “I’m struggling to focus today, but I still want to be here.” Emes also asks something especially difficult of us during Elul: to forgive. We naturally hope for an apology when someone has hurt us. Accountability matters, and reconciliation is always easier when the other person acknowledges the pain they caused. Yet Elul reminds us that our ability to forgive does not have to depend on someone else’s willingness to apologize. Holding onto resentment allows another person’s actions to continue shaping our own hearts. Choosing to let go is not

pretending the hurt never happened, nor is it excusing wrongdoing. Rather, it is the honest decision to free ourselves from the burden of bitterness. When we choose forgiveness, everyone benefits. We free ourselves from carrying anger that weighs us down. We create the possibility for healing and growth in the life of the person who hurt us. And perhaps most importantly, every act of forgiveness strengthens the unity of Am Yisrael. During Elul, as we ask Hashem to forgive us despite our imperfections, we can strive to extend that same grace to others. Sometimes the greatest act of emes is not waiting for someone else to take the first step but choosing to take it ourselves. Hashem does not expect us to pretend. He wants us to be real. The Baal Shem Tov taught that a sincere prayer from a simple Jew can rise to the highest heavens because Hashem values the heart behind the words. A person who prays honestly, even imperfectly, is building a genuine relationship with Hashem. One of the names associated with Elul comes from Shir HaShirim (6:3): “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li, I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine.” Notice the order. First, “I am my Beloved’s.” We take the first step. Hashem then responds with love and closeness. Elul reminds us that no matter how far we may have wandered, Hashem is waiting for us to return. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to emes today is distraction. We spend so much

time trying to project an image that we sometimes lose sight of who we really are. Elul gives us permission to put down the masks. Before Hashem, there is no need to impress anyone. The Sfas Emes writes that every Jew possesses a point of pure truth within the soul. Teshuvah is the process of uncovering that point until it shines again. We are not manufacturing holiness—we are revealing it. As Rosh Hashana approaches, each of us can choose one area in which to practice emes. Maybe it is spending one extra minute speaking honestly to Hashem after Shemoneh Esrei. Maybe it is being truthful in business or school, even when no one would know otherwise. Maybe it is choosing to forgive someone, even if the apology you hoped for never came. Maybe it is admitting to ourselves where we need to grow. Real change rarely happens through dramatic gestures. It happens through small acts of consistent honesty. The month of Elul reminds us that Hashem is not searching for perfect people. He is searching for truthful hearts. When we approach Him with honesty, He draws close to us. May we merit that closeness, grow in emes during these precious days of Elul, and be written and sealed for a year of life, peace, health, and every blessing.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

School of

Thought

Who are the People in Your Neighborhood? By Barbara Deutsch

am thinking – waiting to see how it rolls out – of doing a series on the interesting, out-of-the-box people I have met and continue to meet in Israel. When we made Aliyah, and especially since losing Bob, I have been hosted by a rolling roster of families’ Shabbat tables populated with interesting, often strange people. My daughter Rachel is an excellent chef so I’m spoiled by her always delicious food. In Jerusalem, more often than not, there are always people searching to be hosted at a Shabbat table –lone soldiers, seminary girls and yeshiva boys, divorcees, widows, widowers, etc. Luckily, there are a plethora of wonderful hosts who open their hearts and homes for Erev Shabbat, Shabbat, and yom tov meals. Most hosts cook for their own families (many consisting of 7 or 8 kids), so if there is room at the table, why not? If it can be avoided, why should anyone be forced to eat alone? There is always a place at the table for me in the Shapiro family home. This

past hard year, I usually enjoyed one Shabbat meal with them, but I would try to accept the generous and warm invitations of many in my chevra. That is how I find myself spending many Shabbat meals at busy, multi-background and -ages tables. This past week, I found myself enjoying a wonderful Shabbat meal with Michal, Jonathan and their family, who all are incredible hosts. They have a lovely Jerusalem apartment above the shuk in Jerusalem. In the past, I always tried to snag a seat facing the breathtaking panoramic view of the city. Their kids range in age from 24 to 10 – three girls and four boys. Charming, smart and kind people – each one of them. The industrious boys, the older ones work in a furniture store and a shawarma restaurant, respectively. They play mahjong. Each girl is unique and follows her dreams. The food is always delicious and plentiful. The conversation is filled with engaging topics and interesting.

Getting into Michal and Jonathan’s apartment building presents a roadblock for the directionally challenged me. The place is a complicated maze of elevators and staircases. I found it – yay, me. Waiting to sit down for the meal with me was a motley crew of guests, mostly in their 20s and early 30s, no couples. A few of the four men had guns, three were in the army: a South American from Colombia, the second from Philadelphia, a third, a charedi lone soldier who came dressed in his uniform, and a fourth, a martial arts expert and teacher who grew up in South Africa. Still, the women were the interesting ones. Two Canadian sisters, raised Chabad, one in the army and the younger one a Birthright dropout. Her story is fascinating. They somehow landed on the side of the table with the motley crew of guys. The other group of women were all professionals: two social workers, a speech therapist, and one who I don’t

remember what she did. I think she is visiting from America, and her brother is the rabbi of a shul in Lawrence. The girls were single, wanted/ planned to make Aliyah, and very brave. I invited all of them to attend my Breslov Chabura class with me; no one came. After everyone left, Michal, two of her boys, and I played mahjong. It was a great meal. When was the last time you had this assortment of guests at your Shabbat table? In the continuum of my life’s crazy, I got a random text from a friend this week. She asked me if I would mentor a giyoret. I have been asked to help with a lot of things, mostly kids and parents, but this request was so out-of-the-box for me. When I asked around whether or not I should do the mentoring, I got a universal response of “Wow, what a mitzvah!” I am always game to do a mitzvah, so I responded with a tentative okay. Leah then connected me with the 30-year-

library sale where they were offloading old books. For some reason, she cannot pinpoint why, Chiara was drawn to two giant picture books about Israel. Chiara devoured them. From that point on, she was drawn to all things Israel/Jewish and the Jewish faith. Af-

becoming Yocheved, she was forced to take the Conservative route. Throughout our hour-long eye-opening conversation, Yocheved did most of the sharing. I was encouraged by her positivity and hunger for all things Torah. She is currently enrolled in a spe-

When was the last time you had this assortment of guests at your Shabbat table?

ter she completed her university studies with high honors, she went to teach in an Orthodox Jewish school. When Chiara began her conversion in Germany, she learned that the rabbi in her community who facilitates the Orthodox conversions only speaks Russian and Hebrew; this would make it difficult for her to understand the process and protocols. Therefore, to convert to

cial conversion program that will enable her Orthodoxy. Yocheved takes classes, is sponsored by a family, davens daily, keeps mitzvot and goes every Shabbat to Ha-nasi, Rabbi Wein’s shul. As requested, I spoke to her teacher Michal, a woman who has dedicated her life to helping converts. Yocheved adores Michal and is greatly influenced by her tutelage.

Today, I brought Yocheved to my Breslov class. She loved it, and everyone was eager to learn more about her. I am a student of Breslov ChassidusWhat is it about our faith that attracts so many to its restrictions and does not scare them away from its haters? My Anglo friends and I have come to realize that in America we most often socialize in shul, with colleagues at work or mostly with close family and friends. We usually spend our free time with like-minded individuals whom we know from school, our shuls, our kids’ friends, or for work-related reasons. We basically all grew up with similar backgrounds and values in the same cloistered neighborhoods. In Israel, that is not the case. I like that. I hope to share more about the people and what I learn as my future in Israel evolves.

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.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

old giyoret from Germany. We set up a time and place to meet. Chiara teaches languages at Hebrew University and has been on the conversion journey since childhood. She lives near me in Nachlaot. We met at Nocturno, a quaint cafe equidistant to both of us. We didn’t share distinguishing characteristics, but when I approached the restaurant, I knew immediately that it was her – stick-straight light brown hair and a warm greeting smile which put me immediately at ease. What did I have to offer that could help? We sat down at one of the outdoor tables and started to share; she did most of the talking. Chiara chose her Hebrew name, Yocheved, because of the similarities in their journeys. Yocheved/Chiara grew up in a loving family even though her parents are divorced; her father remarried and has another child. They co-parent Chiara/ Yocheved, her sister and her brother lovingly. Her family supports her decision to convert fully with no judgement. Chiara/Yocheved told me of a childhood experience she shared with her grandmother. They had gone to a local

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Israel Today

Before Israel Votes Why American Political Labels Don’t Always Work in Israel By Stephen M. Flatow

Part four of a series explaining Israel’s political system before Israelis go to the polls

sk an American Jew whether a particular Israeli politician is on the left or the right, and you’ll usually get an immediate answer. Ask what those labels actually mean in Israel, and the answer becomes much less certain. That is because Israeli politics developed differently from American politics. In the United States, political debates often revolve around taxes, government spending, regulation, social issues and the proper role of government. While those issues exist in Israel, they do not always define political identity. Historically, Israel’s political divide centered on questions of security, territory and relations with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states. How much risk should Israel accept for peace? Should Israel withdraw from territory in exchange for security

guarantees? Can Palestinian leaders be trusted to fulfill their commitments? Those questions often determined whether a party was considered left, center or right. As a result, an Israeli voter may hold views that seem contradictory to American observers. A politician may support a strong welfare state and extensive government involvement in the economy while also advocating a hard line on security issues. Another may support free-market reforms while favoring territorial compromise. Neither fits neatly into an American political category. Religion creates another complication. In the United States, religious voters are often associated with political conservatism. In Israel, religious parties focus on a wide range of issues, including education, military service, conversion, marriage, Shabbat observance and the relationship between religion and state.

Some religious parties are hawkish on security matters. Others are willing to support governments of the left or the right depending on the issues most important to their constituents. Recent years have introduced still another dividing line: the role of Israel’s courts and legal institutions. Debates over judicial reform, the powers of the Supreme Court and the authority of unelected officials have created new political alliances and tensions that do not fit comfortably within traditional labels. This is one reason American Jews often become frustrated when discussing Israeli politics. We assume that “left” and “right” mean roughly the same thing in Jerusalem as they do in Washington. They do not. A voter who considers himself politically liberal in America may find himself agreeing with Israeli parties on some issues and disagreeing sharply on others. Likewise, an American conservative may discover that his Israeli counter-

parts support policies that would seem unusual in the United States. None of this means the labels are useless. They provide a shorthand for understanding political trends. But they should be viewed as approximations rather than precise descriptions. As Israel approaches another election, Americans would be wise to spend less time asking whether a party is leftwing or right-wing and more time asking what that party actually believes. That approach will lead to fewer misunderstandings and a clearer understanding of the choices facing Israeli voters. Next: Why do small parties seem to have so much influence—and why do Israeli governments fall so often?

Stephen M. Flatow, attorney, author and longtime writer on Israel and Jewish affairs who divides his time between Jerusalem and New Jersey.

A Minyan in a Garage By Gedaliah Borvick

A Yedidim volunteer helping a stranded motorist in Jerusalem. (Yedidim)

n Tu B’Av, the holiday of matchmaking, I was walking down a small Jerusalem alley lined with automobile repair shops when I was invited to join a Mincha service. Curious, and always up for a “chavaya,” I accepted the invitation. The prayers took place in a tiny office behind one of the garages. The room was barely large enough to hold a minyan. For a few minutes, this cramped workspace was transformed into a shul. The minyan included mechanics, replete with the mandatory oil-stained hands and grime beneath their fingernails. Some men had flowing beards and black velvet yarmulkes, others were clean-shaven and wore yarmulkes of different sizes and colors, while a few borrowed one for the service. Jews from diverse backgrounds stood together in quiet, sincere prayer. Once the prayers began, those outward differences no longer mattered. I was honored to join this inspiring service, as the respect and acceptance among the participants represented the essence of what we should aspire to on the holiday of love. Watching this cross-section of people pray together also made me think about the language of our prayers. Even when we stand before G-d in the Amidah, in an intimate encounter with

the Al-mighty, we make our requests in the plural. We approach Him as members of a larger community, asking Him to provide for both our personal needs and the needs of the entire Jewish people. The month of Elul, which begins the process of teshuva, has arrived. The Sages explain that the word Elul is an acronym for the verse in Shir HaShirim, “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li – I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me.” While this pasuk describes the loving relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, perhaps it can also remind us of the love we must show one another. By caring for our fellow Jews, we emulate the Al-mighty’s love for all His children. As I left that tiny office behind the garage, I thought that the setting itself also carried a message. Sometimes, in our little country, the most inspiring moments happen when and where you least expect them.

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

My Israel Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

The Wandering

Jew

Eretz Yisroel Why, When, Where & Who Part I: 1972 – 1999 By Hershel Lieber

Drinking tea in Bethlehem in 1972

isiting Eretz Yisroel does not require any specific reason or motive. This is after all, our land, and the people are our family. We all share historical roots, and we identify with religious traditions. We are ecstatic about Israel’s victories and mourn its tragedies. Visiting Israel is really about “coming home.” Nevertheless, we do not live there continuously, our visits are only periodically, and our stays are generally short. This article is written from Pesi’s and my perspective where I chronicled the events of our nineteen visits to Artzeinu Hakodosha starting from early 1972 to date. Our first visit in January of 1972 was technically an over-three-year “delayed honeymoon.” Neither of us had ever been

Hendi Neni and Nandor Bacsi with their daughter and Pesi in 1972

there before, so we took in all the sights that are a must for a religious visitor – the Kosel, Kever Rochel, Mearas HaMachpelah, Tzfas, Teveria and Bnai Brak. We even wandered around the streets of Chevron and Bais Lechem being that both of those cities were accessible to Jewish tourists without any restrictions. Our main focus was visiting my mother’s aunt and uncle, Naftali and Hendi Eneman, and meeting their four daughters, spouses and some of their children. We stayed by them for Shabbos in Tzafon, Tel Aviv, and had the opportunity to meet Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren at his shul. We also visited my parents’ Uncle Yoshe in Bnei Brak as well. While there, I stopped by the famed Ponevezh Yeshiva where I was privileged to have a private audience

Pesi with my great-uncle and family members in Bat Yam in 1972

Pesi and I with my great-uncle, Yoshe Berger, in 1972

At the Kever of Yosef Hatzaddik in Shechem in 1972

Sefer Torah in the shul of Rav Shmuel with Rav Eliezer Menachem Shach. While in Yerushalayim I went to a Wosner. I was zocheh to hear Rav Wosner shalosh seudos tisch in Gur presided over and the Rebbe address the oilem. Shabby the Gerer Rebbe, the Beis Yisroel. We bos we spent in Yerushalayim together. The next time, in May of 1986, I was also went to Bat Yam to visit Pesi’s great joined by Pesi for a nearly two-week jouruncle and his family. My next visit was nine years later in ney which covered a good part of Eretz Yisroel. Besides spendDecember 1980. This ing time with my mothtime, I went alone. My er’s aunt and uncle and brother-in-law Eli Kroa Shabbos by my Uncle en was learning in the Yoshe, we did a lot of Bobover Yeshiva in Bat touring. Pesach Levy, Yam, and my trip was the guide, took us one centered around spendday to Qumran and Maing time with him. The sada and another time Bobover Rebbe was on an in-depth tour of there at the time, and we Yerushalayim’s Old City. joined him and my UnTogether with my great-uncle I was encouraged by cle Yosheat a Hachnosas Yoshe in 1980

Pesi with a donkey cart in Hebron in 1972

With my brother in law Eli Kroen at the Kosel in 1980

Rav Hillel David to visit his relative, the famed posek and Rosh Yeshiva of PinskKarlin, Rav Yisroel Grossman, a visit that we will never forget. Living in the Batei Warsha in two small rooms, he greeted

Meah Shearim, 1986 (note sign about lecture by Rav Eliyahu Essas)

bach home from shul. When we reached his house, we met Rav Shalom Schwadron, his brother-in-law. We went together with a kvittel into the Belzer Rebbe where Pesi told the Rebbe of her mother’s fam-

Living in the Batei Warsha in two small rooms, he greeted us heartily and gifted us with a number of his seforim. us heartily and gifted us with a number of his seforim. At the Kosel, we met R’ Nota Schiller, the one-man master of kiruv. We davened one day in the Vilna Shul in Shaarei Chesed where I was honored to walk Rav Shlomo Zalman Auer-

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ily’s Belzer roots. On Shabbos, I went to the Rebbe’s tisch where he gave me some sherayim. We also had an opportunity to go to the Beit Hatfutzot (Museum of the Diaspora) in Tel Aviv where we marveled at

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With my mother’s aunt and uncle Nafatali & Hendi Eneman, 1986

Pesi at the Kosel in 1986

display of miniature, hand-crafted synagogues from around the world. For Chol Hamoed Sukkos of 1991, we traveled to Israel as a family. Our oldest daughter, Itty, was already married, so we went with our three younger children, Faigy, Chavi and Mechel. We rented an apartment in Geulah and took in the atmosphere of Zman Simchoseinu in the neighboring section of Meah Shearim. Mechel and I went to the Simchas Beis Hashoeiva celebrations of Lelov, Breslov and Toldos Aharon. We davened by the Kosel on Friday night and in Gur on Shabbos. On Sunday, after the vasikin minyan at the Kosel, my cousin, Rami Sadan, took us on a tour by car. For hakofos we danced in Gur, Sadigur, the Bukharian Synagogue and at the Chevron Yeshiva. Hakofos Shniyos were at the Kosel with

In the Jewish Quarter in 1991

At Shaar Shechem in 1991

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Rav Eliezer Menachem Schach

The Gerer Rebbe, the Pnei Menachem

Rav Ovadia Yosef

The Gerer Rebbe the Bais Yisroel

The Gerer Rebbe, the Lev Simcha

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

times we met in Mos- man were living in the Har Nof section live music. We ate a cow. For shalosh seudos, of Yerushalayim since they got married. seudah at Rami and we went to Rami and After having their first child Azriel, they Yonit, who were livYonit again and davened had a daughter Chevy. Pesi went with ing in the Old City. I her mother to spend in the Ramban got in to see and get time with them and to Shul. We went to a bracha from the help out. I arrived with the kever of the Gerer Rebbe, the Lev Mechel a few days later. Bluzhever RebSimcha. Our youngest daughter be who was very After yom tov, our With Rav Eliyahu Essas in 1991 Chavi was there studyclose and dear to activities continued ing in seminary. with a visit to Yad Vashem where we met us. We visited Uncle Yoshe in Bnei On Shabbos afterArgentinian President Carlos Menem. Brak and met with our cousin Koti noon, I went to the We went to Kever Rochel and the Mearas at the Plaza Hotel. In short, we rehome of Chief Rabbi HaMachpelah. We visited Migdal Dovid ally jammed in a lot of activities Ovadia Yosef to get a and the Holyland model of Yerushalayim. and met many people in the span bracha. Besides the of eleven days in Israel. We took a tour given by Ateret Kohanim. Pesi with our grandson Our next trip was after the Azriel Grossman in 1995 regular visits to the On Shabbos, we davened by the BiaKosel, we made a few la Rebbe who was near our apartment. birth of our granddaughter in We visited Rav Eliyahu and Anya Essas the winter of 1995. Our daughter Faigy excursions. We went on an overnight trip where we reminisced about the many and her husband Pesach Moishe Gross- to Teveria which included the local kevorim and the kivrei tzaddikim in Tzfas, Amuka and Meron. On the way there, we stopped in Rosh Hanikra, the Banyas and a short intrusion into the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. We visited the shuls in Tzfas and went to the Ari’s mikvah. I visited Rav Baruch Horowitz at Dvar Yerushalayim, where one of our boys from Poland was learning. I had the opportunity to give a kvittel to the Gerer Rebbe, Rav Pinchas Menachem, the Pnei Menachem. In Bnei Brak, I met with a young man who I had the privilege of taking out of Poland and putting him into a yeshiva in Brooklyn. At the time, he was married with a family and was known as a budding talmid chochom. My next trip was in February of 1999. This time, I went alone. By then, I was heavily involved with the Yeshiva of Kishinev of Moldova in the former U.S.S.R. I have written about Kishinev a number of times. Suffice it to say, my responsibilities included recruiting staff members for the Limudei Kodesh department. This also involved interviewing candidates for the

The Belzer Rebbe

At Shvut Ami with talmidim from our Yeshiva in Kishinev in 1999

With Malka and Monika Lewkowicz recent emigrees from Poland in 1999

Rosh Yeshiva and rabbeim. This trip was totally dedicated for this purpose. I stayed at my nephew Ichie Daum and his wife Esti in the Mattersdorf section of Yerushalayim. I also met with Rabbis Martin Eisemann and Moshe Yarkoni, who headed our girls’ school at different times. I met with Rabbi Eliezer Kugel of Shvut Ami whose yeshiva consisted mainly of baalei teshuva from the Soviet Union. He was trying to propose various contenders for positions in our yeshiva. The yeshiva hosted a number of our talmidim from Kishinev as well. I met with Miriam Shtyber, originally from Poland, who was married and raising a family in that neighborhood. I also met with Malka Lewkowicz and her daughter Monika originally from Wroclaw, Poland. I had the opportunity to see both the Belzer and Gerer Rebbes. To be continued…

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

The Ben Ish haI’s Legacy

on his 117th Hillula By yali (Manasseh) WerzBerger

he 117th Hillula of Hakham Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Hai, a”h, is on the 13th of Elul (Wednesday, August 26). The Ben Ish Hai lived from 18321909. It is auspicious to light a candle in his honor on this day, as it is for all great and holy souls, and to learn some of his teachings for him to intercede on our behalf and on the behalf of the entire Jewish people. The Ben Ish Hai, known as “Il Hakham” (the Hakham; implying that although Baghdad had many rabbanim, the Ben Ish Hai was the Hakham, as were his father and grandfather before him) was the preeminent halachic authority in Iraq, India, Iran, China, Morocco, and many other Sephardi lands. His halacha and Torah were also greatly respected among the Ashkenazi communities. The Ben Ish Hai came from an illustrious family of chachomim. His grandfather, Hakham Moshe Hayyim, a”h, was very scholarly and erudite. He was also very shy, and once had a disagreement with the Rosh Av Bet Din of Baghdad and went to the Nasi (president) of the communit, to discuss the matter with him. The Nasi disagreed with Hakham Moshe Hayyim, who then left Baghdad for Basra (another city in Iraq). A few years later, a serious question about an agunah came to the dayanim of Baghdad. When Hakham Moshe heard about the case, he wrote a long ruling about what should be done, sending it to the rabbis in Israel, who were impressed with his ruling and agreed with him. When the chachomim in Baghdad heard this and became aware of his greatness in Torah, they brought Hakham Moshe back with a lot of honor. He was then the rabbi of Baghdad for another fifty years, continuing to lead with humility, and continued to do what was right, not bending because someone was influential. It is interesting to note that only three of Hakham Moshe Hayyim’s responsas are printed. In one of these responses, he discusses the importance of the Jews in his city following the opinion of the Hida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulay). Hakham Moshe Hayyim’s son, Hakham Eliyahu Hayyim, a”h, took on the role of Il Hakham after his father’s passing. Hakham Eliyahu was renowned for his knowledge in both the simple, revealed understanding of Torah, as well as kabbalah. Whenever Hakham Eli-

yahu heard that someone was struggling financially, he would go to their house at night, leaving a sack full of money outside their door. For years, no one knew that Hakham Eliyahu was behind these gifts, and only after his passing did people find his books, which listed the amount of money he left to different people. Hakham Eliyahu Hayyim and his wife did not have sons for many years. His wife traveled to Morocco to receive a blessing from the Abir Yaakov, who wrote a note back to Hakham Eliyahu Hayyim, saying that within a year they would have a son who would be holy from the womb and will light the eyes of the Jewish people. Indeed, Hakham Yosef Hayyim, a”h, who was born soon after, was extremely bright and noble from a young age, and dedicated his existence to Torah. At the age of fourteen, a letter with a question came to his father from the rabbanim in Israel. Hakaham Yosef Hayyim researched the matter and sent his response to the rabbanim. They received the letter, and shortly after, received a second response from Hakham Eliyahu Hayyim. The rabbanim in Israel told Hakham Eliyahu that his son already responded and gave the exact same answer as his father. When the Ben Ish Hai was twenty-six years old, his father, Hakham Eliyahu, passed away. The entire city mourned, and all the Jewish businesses closed for the entire week, and the community spent the week in the Great Synagogue of Baghdad, listening to hespedim. When the Ben Ish Hai gave his hesped, the community was awed and stunned, and all the great chachomim, including Hakham Abdallah Somekh, who was the Ben Ish Hai’s teacher, appointed the Ben Ish Hai as the head of all the rabbis in Baghdad. The Ben Ish Hai was able to blend the sod (Kabbalah) and pshat, and many of his rulings are based on this. What is also clearly evident in his rulings is his deep love for the Jewish people. The Ben Ish Hai also had a great love for the land of Israel. Indeed, he printed most of his works in Jerusalem, and the manuscripts would come to Israel by Ottoman mail, taking forty days via camel. At the age of 35, the Ben Ish Hai went on a trip to visit the Land of Israel, accompanied by many people. During the journey, the Ben Ish Hai spent the entire day studying Torah, would wake up at midnight for Tikkun Chatzot, and then study again until the morning.

An Arab camel driver was leading the group to the Land of Israel, and the Ben Ish Hai explained to him in advance that they would have to stop traveling on Shabbos. Shortly before Shabbos, however, the Arab refused to stop, citing danger. The Ben Ish Hai and everyone who was with him explained that they were dismounting. The Arab leader said he was leaving, but instead, hid and watched what was happening. He saw a band of thieves enter the Ben Ish Hai’s tent, with the leader of the robbers coming face to face with the Ben Ish Hai, and then run out of the tent, with the rest of the robbers following him. Some say the thief saw the light shining from the Ben Ish Hai’s face, saw his holiness, and ran away, while others say the robber recognized the Ben Ish Hai from a court case where the Ben ish Hai helped him, when another individual owed him money. The camel driver then begged forgiveness from the Ben Ish Hai for his previous actions. When in Israel, the Ben Ish Hai visited many holy graves. When standing next to the grave of Benayahu ben Yehoyada, many Torah secrets came to the Ben Ish Hai, and he realized that he was a spark (nitzutz) of the soul of Benayahu ben Yehoyada. The Ben Ish Hai named one of his works Benayahu, and many other works are named after other phrases in the pasuk in Sefer Shmuel that discussed Benayahu ben Yehoyada. As Il Hakham, there were four Shabbatot in the year, when the Ben Ish Hai would be the only one giving a drasha in the entire city of Baghdad. As many as ten thousand people attended to hear his words of Torah, and everyone could hear him. When his son spoke in the same place after the Ben Ish Hai’s passing, not everyone was able to hear him, and his son explained that it was because the Shechina spoke from the throat of the Ben Ish Hai, enabling everyone to hear. The Ben Ish Hai’s Shabbos drashos were extremely popular. He writes in the introduction to the Sefer Ben Ish Hai, that when giving a sermon to the people on Shabbos, it is not enough to just speak about the parsha and Midrashim, but that the people must also be taught the halachos (laws) so that they can follow the Torah of Hashem. However, he says that if he were to only teach them halachos, he would lose people’s interest and concentration. Therefore, he would expound on the parsha with all sorts of Torah gems and stories that were easy and pleasing to listen to, while tying in halachos, so

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

to remove the moisture that the people would also know what they were and Ben Ish Hai visited the without allowing the ice were not permitted to do. This offers a glimpse into the grave of Yehezkel Hanato pass through a liquid tremendous greatness of Hakham Yosef Hayyim, a”h. vi. The Ben Ish Hai got stage. Page by page, the Although he was the greatest, most exalted person in sick and passed away on damaged collection was Baghdad, he also knew how to speak to the simplest of the 13th of Elul. His body separated, cleaned, prepeople, helping them to follow in the ways of the Torah. was immediately brought served and digitized. The Ben Ish Hai would study Torah in his attic ev- back to Baghdad on what Among those rescued ery Motzei Shabbat, and it was thought that he was was a two-day journey, arriving at the graveyard learning Torah with Eliyahu Hanavi then. Indeed, he pages were the actual would ask his servant to bring two cups of wine to his of Baghdad on the 15th of handwriting of the Ben attic and would later leave with two empty cups. The Elul at night. Thousands ish Hai. Scholars idenBen Ish Hai’s students wanted to ascertain whether the and thousands of Jews, tified substantial quanBen Ish Hai really was studying with Eliyahu Hanavi, Christians, and Moslems tities of his autograph and sent Hakham Yehoshua Sharbani, one of the Ben came, with some estimaterial, including serThe Ben Ish Hai with some of his relatives Ish Hai’s beloved talmidim, to run up to the attic and mates of 150,000 people mons, halachic writings, and other Jews in Baghdad barge in, under the pretense of having an important at the funeral, including prayers and Torah inquestion that needed to be asked. When he was halfway babies brought by their sights. Some of these reup the stairs, the Ben Ish Hai opened the door, sending mothers. Shops and businesses were all closed, with covered writings had never appeared in his previously people hearing hespedim. Hakham Shemuel Agassi printed works. A significant body of this newly recovHakham Yehoshua back. It is clear that the Ben Ish Hai’s neshama was one explained that Hakham Yosef Hayyim, a”h, was the ered material was subsequently edited and published that was on a very high level. Hakham Yehuda Feta- shoresh (root) of the soul of Yosef Hatzaddik, and like in Birchas Hareiach, bringing previously unpublished ya explained that the Ben Ish Hai’s soul was that of a Yosef, he had to be born in one place and die in another. Torah of the Ben Ish Hai to the public. The result is The Ben Ish Hai’s legacy continues after his passing, extraordinary: what had been submerged for decades Tannah; that he was supposed to live during the time of the Mishnah, but his generation needed him, and in synagogues and yeshivot spanning different conti- in the archives of the Iraqi regime survived war, water, subsequent generations would need his teachings. As a nents. The Jewish community that lived in Iraq since mold and time, and ultimately returned to the world in result, Hashem held back the soul of the Ben Ish Hai, the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash eventual- the words and handwriting of the Ben Ish Hai himself. ly disappeared, and some of the Ben Ish Hai’s books until later generations. On a personal note, much of the material here is The Ben Ish Hai was revered by Jews and non-Jews and handwritten teachings remained behind. Nearly taken from speeches my father, Rabbi Ya’aqob Mealike. A story is told, where a young Jewish boy saw a a century later, in 2003, American soldiers searching nashe, a”h, (who founded the multifaceted organiMoslem woman walk to the Ben Ish Hai’s home, kiss the former Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad zation, Midrash Ben Ish Hai, along with my mother, the mezuzah, and pray for her son to be healed. She discovered thousands of Jewish books and documents Rabbanith Ruth Menashe, a”h) gave on the life and submerged beneath legacy of the Ben Ish Hai. My father would often share vowed that if her son roughly four feet of how his father, Rabbi Albert Manasseh, a”h, would would be healed, as water. The pages were speak about, study, and quote the Ben Ish Hai, and happened to her neighwaterlogged and be- how everything in his home was done in accordance bor’s son, she would ginning to develop with the Ben Ish Hai’s rulings. My siblings and I say take kosher meals to mold, placing them in the same thing about the home where we grew up. We the Jewish orphans at immediate danger of grew up with the mashalim (parables) and drashot a school. When she saw being lost. The mate- of the Ben Ish Hai, and lived our lives in accordance the young Jewish boy, rial was removed and with the rulings of the Ben Ish Hai. At times, we wonshe told him, “When stabilized, eventual- dered why the halachos we followed were different you walk by this house, ly being frozen and from what others did, and later understood that it was make sure to kiss the transported to the because we followed the Ben Ish Hai in all aspects of mezuzah every day, United States, where our lives. We lived our lives in the way our grandfather because great blessings conser vators used and great-grandfather did, by following and speaking will come to you.” vacuum freeze-drying about the words of the Ben Ish Hai. In 5669 (1909), the The Great Synagogue of Baghdad

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

nspiration Nation

Moshe Luck

The U.S. Marine Who Found Hashem By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

t was the first time he ever defied his parents. At 18 years old, Moshe Luck wanted leadership skills — the confidence and expertise to go out into the world and make a difference. Despite his parents’ initial objections, young Moshe

opted to travel down a time-tested, honorable path in his journey for self-discipline: enlisting in the army. Moshe’s philosophy was simple: “If you’re going to do something, you’ve got to go all out.” That’s why he chose the Marines.

In His Words… it’s more than just doing mitzvos. it’s more than just knowledge. it’s who you are as a person. Judaism challenges you to reflect on yourself, on your character.

if we all want Moshiach now, to have peace in this world, we need to have peace with ourselves. and how we do that is how we treat each other; we have to love each other.

Being Jewish is having a relationship with hashem. Being Jewish is more than just going to shul three times a day, doing this and doing that, being tznius. it’s about what’s inside.

It was simultaneously the best and hardest experience of his life. As he puts it, “I didn’t know what I signed up for.” Moshe remembers the day boot camp started, sitting awkwardly in a van with 15 other people on Parris Island, staring out at the recruit depot’s towering brick walls and large silver doors. Inscribed above the doors was the phrase, “Through these portals pass prospects for America’s finest fighting force – United States Marines.” Suddenly, the van doors flung open, like a jump scare in a horror movie, and the recruits were rushed out of the vehicle by an angry drill sergeant, ordered to stand in a single-file line. It was a long, oftentimes uncomfortable 13 weeks. “There’s no privacy. As a matter of fact, not to scare anybody, but there are no doors in the bathroom stalls,” Moshe notes. “So, you’re using the bathroom, and people can just walk around and start talking to you while you do your business!” And then, of course, there’s the grueling training. Enough pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups to reduce the average person’s body to Jell-O. Hardest of all — especially for Moshe, who wasn’t physically conditioned— was having to run a mile and a half in 13 minutes. But then, after training came the fun part, the meat and potatoes, if you will, of the service. For nearly six years, he served. “My first duty station was Okinawa, Japan. That was pretty fun. It was nice.

Basically, we were patrolling the Pacific area with the Navy, and we did training with Australians. Also, I had the opportunity to go to Korea and the Philippines,” Moshe shares. “And those were awesome experiences, where I got to travel the world and go to different countries. I signed up to become a Marine security guard. From Okinawa, I went up to Damascus, Syria, which was interesting. The Arab Spring protests in 2010 happened after I had left, but Syria was my first duty station. And then Brazil was my second. And I spent a month in Uruguay. “And then, my last post was actually in Jerusalem, in Israel. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way, because it was a great way to end my Marine Corps career. For me, it was an opportunity to really experience Judaism in Israel.” His experience in the Holy Land left him hungry for more spirituality, paving the way to his Orthodox conversion. * * * Moshe Luck’s parents were not your average Christians. At first, they were Seventh-day Adventists, which are basically Christians who, like Jews, treat Saturday as their Sabbath and observe dietary laws, abstaining, for example, from pork. But one morning, as 13-yearold Moshe prepared for church, his parents announced that they would instead be visiting a different house of worship: a “synagogue.” First, they tried Messianic Judaism (which is ironically a Christian sect, not a Jewish one). Then, they began gravitating

On the shore, he cried and spoke to G-d about his challenges — about how overwhelming it sometimes felt to be tested by the Beis Din, about how cognitively dissonant it felt to feel Jewish but to know you aren’t. And as he wept, he had an “aha moment.” He realized that his main job in his geirus journey isn’t to memorize halachos or to be perfectly observant, but to simply trust in Hashem. It’s not about seeking validation from the Beis Din or community, he realized; it’s about building a relationship with G-d. “I remember one time telling my shul after Shacharis an idea: if you can master yourself, your soul, then you can lead your family and community,” he shares. “But if you can’t control yourself, it’s just a balagan.” If you can’t help yourself, you can’t help anyone. Baruch Hashem, Moshe recently got married to his wife, Elisheva, who grew up Reform and embarked on her own journey to frumkeit. “You always want to be with someone who has the same values as you,” Elisheva remarks. “And one of the values that we agree on is that we always put Hashem first. Second is us, which is our family. And then, third is our country.” Another value they share is that a Jew is a Jew, regardless of what they look like or how they behave. Every Jew is part of our family, and every Jew is a child of G-d. As Moshe notes, how can we expect to have peace in the world — freedom and redemption — when we don’t have peace amongst ourselves; when we focus on our tiny differences instead of our countless similarities? Ultimately, it’s all about how we treat one another. As Moshe puts it, “We have to love each other.”

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

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

towards authentic Jewish communities, experimenting with Orthodoxy before settling on a Conservative congregation. Later, Moshe’s father underwent a Conservative conversion, while his mother converted to Reform Judaism. “I had a bar mitzvah when I was 17. Through that time, I was learning Hebrew, obviously learning for my aliyah, to be called up to the Torah, and to give a sermon,” he remembers. “And I hadn’t done a conversion yet, and I know now that I wasn’t halachically considered Jewish, but for me, I took it upon myself as if I was Jewish.” Moshe Luck, now 40, was born and raised in Florida. The son of Haitian immigrants, Moshe learned perseverance and grit from his parents. He credits them for his determination, for teaching him to always put in his all, to never do things halfway. With the grit he inherited from his parents, he served in the Marines, and with that same tenacity, he later pursued an Orthodox conversion. A few years ago, after his Catholic grandfather passed away, Moshe started thinking about his own religious status and how he’d want his children to not only be Jewish but to have a father whose Jewishness is unquestionable. “While I was in the conversion process, it was more than just making sure that food is kosher. For me, while I was going through it, I wanted to be closer to Hashem,” Moshe declares. “I used the month of Elul to do a lot of self-reflecting and soul-searching. It was really then that I realized that it’s more than just doing mitzvos. It’s more than just knowledge. It’s who you are as a person. Judaism challenges you to reflect on yourself, on your character.” One day in the month of Elul, Moshe visited the ocean early in the morning.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My daughter is dating a wonderful guy from a nice family. We are very excited for things to progress and move forward. There is one thing we are very nervous about and wondering how to proceed. The guy she is dating’s friends and next door neighbors (I’ll call them the Stein

family) are not on good terms with us. As a child, their son was very mean to ours, taking an emotional toll on him and our family. Eventually we took action with the school, and he got in trouble for what he had been doing. Since then, they have been nothing but downright nasty to us. We are extremely afraid that as soon as things become official, they will mix in and try to break the shidduch. What’s interesting is that although they are nice to others and many have a good relationship with them, we have really seen their true colors. It’s not obvious that they are mean and vindictive. My husband and I are wondering if we should bring this up with the boy or his family, before the shidduch becomes official to avoid any kind of blow-up after the engagement. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Mindy & Ben Berger*

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

Looking forward! Michelle, the “Shadchan”

The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

n general, I don’t believe that one should play defense when it comes to shidduchim. However, if you are truly

talk about the wholesomeness of your family at the expected engagement. They probably would do this anyhow at the simcha, but you want to make sure that your fears are assuaged.

The Shadchan

The more dignified and restrained you are, the more credible you will appear.

Michelle Mond

stressed about this (and if your child sees the neighbor’s interference as a real possibility), share your concerns with your rav or someone your family is close to from the school administration. They are individuals of authority who have known your family for years. You can suggest that they say something very positive to the other family and

’m so sorry you’re dealing with this now, at what is supposed to be such an upbeat and exciting time in your lives! I completely understand the mindset that would tell you to leave this alone. After all, who actually wants to bring up machlokes? However, in this case, something truly feels different. You have dealt with these people, who have proven themselves to be mean and vindictive (your own words).

It is important that the guy your daughter is dating is informed about this past history, so he knows about it and can decide if and how he needs to communicate it to his parents. On one of their dates, your daughter could mention the story of a boy who tormented her brother and the agmas nefesh that ensued. Then she can explain to him why she is mentioning the story now. Your daughter should make it clear that the only reason she is bringing it

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

up is so that he is aware of the background, in case his neighbors say anything. Please make sure she does not do it in an emotionally heated way. Rather, she should be levelheaded and state the facts without dramatizing them. My sincere hope is that, since it is so close to the Yomim Noraim, the Steins will keep quiet. However, if they do stir up trouble, you’ll have preemptively avoided a surprise pothole on your road toward a smooth engagement.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

t’s a shame that while you are looking forward to one of the happiest occasions in a family’s life, you are faced with this overhanging shadow, cast by the mean neighbors.

Issue #1 - The neighbors from you-know-where You had a very painful experience with this family. Their son mistreated yours, your family eventually involved the school, he suffered consequences, and ever since then you feel that his family has treated you with hostility. I have no reason to doubt your account. But there is another reality that you yourself acknowledge. Other people apparently have perfectly pleasant relationships with the Steins. That means that if they ever do speak negatively about your family, the young man and his parents may hear a very different version of the history than yours. Issue #2 What are your guidelines here? The guideline for you to follow was

written over 2,500 years ago, by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War. He astutely wrote, “Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.” Today, psychologists recognize a related phenomenon known as the Primacy Effect, the tendency for information presented first, to disproportionately influence our impressions and judgments. In other words, people tend to give greater weight to the version of the story that they hear first. Issue #3 – How should you proceed? It’s important, then, that the young man hear your side of this sad story before he hears the Steins’ version. Your daughter should be the one to tell him, calmly and without dramatics, what actually happened. She can say something like, “Unfortunately, there was a serious incident involving my brother and your neighbor’s son many years ago, and the relationship between the families deteriorated afterward. We don’t want to speak negatively about anyone. But if you have any questions or concerns, please ask us directly, and we will answer them honestly.” Do not provide twenty examples proving that the neighbors are terrible people. Do not recruit witnesses. Do not distribute affidavits from the school principal. The more dignified and restrained you are, the more credible you will appear. What are your objectives here? Your goal is not to get the boy’s parents to dislike their neighbors, or even to take your side in the dispute. It is merely to ensure that your future inlaws don’t automatically think badly of you, if they eventually hear a very different version of events from their neighbors. And in case, by happenstance at some future simcha, you and those evil neighbors are ever seated together at the same table, make sure it is right in front of a very, very loud band.

I would be very careful about responding to something that hasn’t happened yet as though it already has.

That way, no one else will hear the argument.

Reader’s Reponse Shira Malka Katz, LCPC

n the one hand, sharing the full picture can cause problems if the “Stein” family doesn’t say anything to them in the end. However, not reaching out can cause a lot of misunderstanding and concern if the Steins says something negative out of left field. I would aim for somewhere in between both options. Reach out and let them know in a general way that there have been some difficulties between the families in the past, and you are worried that they may say something negative about your family because of that history. It is really important not to dramatize what you are sharing or go into all the sordid details. A simple, somewhat vague explanation is best. It gives advance notice that something may come up without ruining their friendship or making them feel defensive about their friends. You might add that they should come directly to you if any concerns are raised so you can clarify. Depending on your daughter’s involvement and knowledge of the families’ history, she can directly mention it to the guy so he is aware and it doesn’t become something that involves the whole family.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Mindy and Ben, I can understand why you’re nervous. You had a painful experience with this family, your son was hurt, you had to step in and protect him, and what followed left you with very little trust in the Steins. So now, as something beautiful may be unfolding for your daughter, of course your minds are going to the place of: What if they interfere with this too? But I want to separate what you know from what you fear. You know there is bad blood between the families. You know the Steins are close to this young man and his family. You know that your experience of them has been very different from the experience many other people have had. What you don’t yet know is that they are going to try to break up this shidduch. And I would be very careful about responding to something that hasn’t happened yet as though it already has. I don’t think I would approach the boy’s parents right now. There is something about doing that preemptively that could unintentionally create the very cloud you are hoping to avoid. Suddenly, before anyone has said anything, there is a story. There are sides. There is a warning about the neighbors. And the Steins have entered your daughter’s relationship without ever having opened their mouths. I wouldn’t give them that much power. If this relationship continues to progress, however, I do think there may come a point when it makes sense for your daughter to say something directly to the young man she is dating—particularly if he is close with this family and there is a reasonable chance he will hear their version of events. And I would keep it incredibly simple: There was a difficult history between the families involving their son and her brother when they were children. Her par-

ents eventually needed to involve the school. The relationship between the families became very strained afterward. She isn’t asking him to take sides, and she isn’t telling him what to think about people he cares about. She simply doesn’t want him to be blindsided if something is ever said. That’s it. No convincing. No proving who the Steins “really are.” No list of everything they’ve done since. Let the facts breathe. Because if this young man is mature enough to marry your daughter, one of the things you ultimately want to know is whether he can hear complicated information without immediately being recruited into somebody else’s version of reality. Can he come back to her? Can he ask questions? Can he tolerate that two families may have radically different accounts of the same history? That matters far more than whether you can get to him first. And if the Steins do say something? Then you deal with what they actually say. Your daughter can answer questions honestly. You and your husband can clarify whatever needs clarifying. You don’t need to defend yourselves against accusations that haven’t been made. I also want to gently point something out. You already had to protect one child from what happened with this family. Don’t let the fear of what they might do now steal some of the joy from what is happening with another. They don’t get to occupy that much space in your family. Your daughter is dating a wonderful young man. You are excited. Something hopeful is happening. For now, I would let that be the story. Jennifer

Jennifer Mann, LCSW, is a therapist and certified life coach in private practice in Cedarhurst, NY and via telehealth. She works with individuals, couples, and families, and is a part-time school social worker at Bnos Malka Academy. Her work centers on anxiety, relationships, life transitions, and narcissistic abuse. She integrates attachment-based therapy, cognitive behavioral approaches, and relational work, grounded in the belief that healing and growth emerge through honest, attuned, and meaningful human connection. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512.

The following insurances are accepted as payment in full or partial payment to the purchase of hearing aids. OXFORD, UNITED HEALTHCARE, AETNA, THE EMPIRE PLAN, UFT Teachers, HEALTHFIRST

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The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

Parenting Pearls

Structuring a Successful Playdate 5-Minute Tips for Helping Children Build Friendships By Shira Richman, MA, BCBA, LBA

oes your child: • Wander off or choose to play alone when friends come over? • Rarely get invited to peers’ homes or have difficulty maintaining friendships? • Spend much of group play engaged in solitary activities, even when other children are nearby? For some children, especially those who are neurodivergent, interacting with adults can feel much easier than interacting with other children. Adults tend to be more predictable, are more likely to naturally follow along with a child’s interests, and make adjustments to keep an interaction going. Peers are less likely to do that, and that is exactly why peer play provides such important opportunities for learning. Beth loved the color purple and almost always wore her hair in a single braid with a bow. She was well-spoken, friendly, and loved talking and playing with her family and other adults. She would approach teachers and neighbors without hesitating and happily include them in conversations about her interests. Beth also had seven dolls, a closet full of toys, and plenty of board games. Yet when the girls on her block came over to play, Beth rarely interacted with them. Sometimes, she sat in the kitchen while they played. Other times, she picked up a book and read by herself. When the

girls invited her into their game, Beth often said no and played by herself with her dolls instead. If she did join, she sometimes became frustrated when they changed the rules. Beth would complain to her mother about the girls during the play date, saying: “They’re playing the wrong way!” or worse, yell at them directly, saying, “That is not how you play this – go away.” Beth’s parents were embarrassed and confused. They desperately wanted Beth to make some friends. They knew that their daughter clearly enjoyed people and conversation. So why was she so comfortable with adults but having such a difficult time playing with children her own age? Interacting with peers required a different set of skills.

Why Can Playing With Adults Feel Easier? Adults often naturally accommodate children during interactions. We listen longer, ask follow-up questions, allow a child to choose the activity, and are more likely to overlook a rule being changed or a conversation staying focused on one favorite topic or imaginary play script. Peers are different. Another child may say, “No, I want to play this.” They may change the game. They may disagree. They may want the first turn. They may

not want to talk about the same topic anymore or want to change the story in a pretend play scenario. That unpredictability is part of friendship, and learning to navigate it takes practice.

The Benefits of Playing With Peers Time with peers provides opportunities to develop skills that interactions with adults cannot completely replicate. Playing a board game with peers requires: • Waiting • Taking turns • Following shared rules • Handling winning and losing Imaginative play with peers also requires children to: • Consider each other’s ideas • Honor each other’s preferences Group activities require flexibility and compromise. These are not just “play skills.” They are skills that children will eventually need to use in multiple situations throughout their childhood and adult lives such as: • Classrooms • Group projects • Team activities (color war, sports, outings) • Workplaces • Relationships

Simply increasing the amount of time a child spends around peers, however, may not be enough. Without the right support, more inclusion can sometimes just mean more time playing alone or more opportunities for frustrating interactions. By structuring early playdates, parents can instead provide children with specific, directed, hands-on opportunities to practice these skills in the context of social interactions that are set up for success and therefore may lead to deeper, more meaningful friendships.

5 Simple Strategies for Structuring a Successful Playdate 1. Practice Before the Playdate Don’t wait until another child arrives to introduce a new game or practice taking turns. Instead, build familiarity with the activity by playing the same game with your child together before you send them off to try it with a peer. Practice following the rules, saying, “Your turn” and waiting while the other person goes, and responding politely when someone else wins. The more familiar your child is with an activity, the less energy they will have to spend figuring out how to play it while simultaneously navigating the communi-

cation aspect of reading and responding to another child.

3. Stations and Supervision Contrary to instinct, a successful early playdate does not require parents to disappear. Although it is very tempting to use the time that children are occupied with friends as time to go read a book or clean up the kitchen, a successful playdate is actually much more likely when some form of parental supervision is present. Your involvement might mean being proactive in order to keep the activities moving smoothly by acting almost like an MC, or it may simply mean staying nearby and providing occasional guidance when the children get stuck. As their skills improve, you can gradually step back. It can also help to have the pre-selected games out, visible, and organized in a few different corners of the room. This way the children, with guidance if needed, can rotate activities every 10-15 minutes. Short segments of play can help to keep the playdate moving by: • Allowing each child the opportunity to choose a preferred activity • Minimizing the length of time any child has to compromise • Preventing too much boredom during initial playdate attempts • Creating a sense of excitement with so much fun and so many activities to get through • Helping with the flow of the conversation by providing varied material to talk about with each change of activity By organizing multiple fun play stations, supervising the rotation from one to the next, and limiting the time spent in each station, you are essentially preventing children from becoming stuck in an activity that is no longer going well and instead, leaving all of the children involved wanting more. Remember throughout this supervision, that the end goal is still independence and connection. The point of structuring a playdate so that it is set up for success from the start is that as the friendship evolves, gradually fading adult presence becomes both possible and natural. 4. Plan Breaks, and Include a Snack A snack provides more than food. It creates a natural break in social de-

mands. When providing a snack, offering 2-3 choices will be just enough for each child to have options, and not too much to overwhelm choice-making. Snack time can also be used in order to divide the playdate into manageable sections, keeping the mood positive overall. Even with these stations, breaks, and supervision, some conflict will (and should) occur. In fact, this is a good sign, because children need opportunities to practice compromise and work through mild conflict. Although some disagreement is normal and even useful, keep in mind that too much overwhelm can make a child reluctant to try another playdate. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with stepping in before things completely fall apart. You can even keep a short video as a backup if the children need some downtime. Afterward, switch to something active (and somewhat less interactive) and fun such as bubbles, freeze dance, a trampoline, or tossing a ball. And when they are having fun and asking for more? That may be the perfect time to stop. 5. Keep It Short and End on a Positive Note A successful playdate does not need to last all afternoon. Depending on the children’s ages, abilities, and comfort levels, and for some children, 45 minutes may be plenty. Especially at first, quality matters more than length. Ways to structure a successful ending to the playdate include: • Ending the playdate while things are still going well, rather than waiting until both children are exhausted, frustrated, or arguing • Establishing a predictable goodbye routine • Practicing cleaning up together before the playdate and on a regular basis during every-day play, so that clean up time feels familiar when a friend visits • Using a cleanup song, if that helps and is age-appropriate • Teaching your child a simple closing phrase such as: “Thank you for coming!” Practicing beforehand translates into your child already knowing what to do when the playdate ends, even if saying goodbye feels difficult.

Building Independence Over Time The goal is not for parents to supervise playdates forever. But early supervision provides the opportunity to teach skills in the real-life setting, where your child actually needs them.

Your involvement and mindful, directed help can support: • Initiation of an activity • Modeling flexibility • Redirecting when needed • Engagement in conflict resolution • Creating a setting and the opportunities for successful interaction As your child develops these skills, gradually step back. Maybe you initially organize every activity. Later, you offer two choices and let the children decide. Eventually, you may simply provide the space and let them take it from there. With practice, parents can gradually provide less structure as children take on more of the interaction themselves. Friendship, like any other complex skill, develops over time, through practice, and after multiple positive shared experiences.

A New Skillset A playdate is about much more than keeping children entertained for an afternoon. It is an opportunity to practice sharing space, listening to another person’s ideas, compromising, taking turns, handling disagreement, and enjoying another person’s company. The goal is not to create a perfect playdate without disagreement. The goal is to create enough structure and support for children to experience what successful connection feels like, and then give them opportunities to experience it again. Sometimes, five minutes of connection can be that one small step towards building the skillset, and the friendship, that will last a lifetime.

Shira Richman, MA, BCBA, LBA is the proud owner of 5 Minute ABA and developer of 5 Mi n u te A B A / MadgeBadge Parenting App. She has spent over 20 years consulting with Directors of Special Education across New York, providing support and training to teachers, psychologists and principals regarding Behavior Plan and IEP Goal development, establishing aide-fading protocols, and increasing mainstreaming and inclusion opportunities. She conducts district-wide and individualized staff and parent trainings, and is the author of Raising a Child with Autism: A Guide to Applied Behavior Analysis for Parents and Encouraging Appropriate Behavior for Children on the Autism Spectrum: Frequently Asked Questions. For more parenting strategies and neurodiversity tips, or to contact Shira Richman, download mobile iOS App: 5MinuteABA/MadgeBadge Parenting App

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

2. Choose Activities Carefully The right activities can set both children up for success. In addition to selecting games that your child already knows and has practiced with an adult, make sure to have at least 3-4 preferred activities available and on rotation. Think of the different types of play and try to have the materials that you need in order to encourage the type of play that works well for your child. Parallel play is when children play side by side with similar materials without needing to interact. This can be a great starting point. Materials that fit this level/style of play include: • Coloring • LEGOs or blocks • Play-Doh • Puzzles • Beads These activities allow children to enjoy being together without requiring continuous social interaction. If sharing joint materials is involved, it is important to practice sharing materials, first with parents, then siblings, cousins, and friends. Cooperative Play is where children interact with the same activity. This is a somewhat higher, more complicated level of play, as it requires them to be able to follow a specific set of rules and work together. This is where more practice may come into play. Simple games that fit this level/style of play include: • Zingo • Lucky Ducks • Ball games • A large floor puzzle • Memory By practicing these games with a child first and only then inviting a friend, the skills that are learned with an adult can be mastered first in an easier environment and then generalized to others, with multiple opportunities for practicing skills such as turn-taking, rule-following, and sportsmanship. Pretend Play is when the imagination can take over. But pretend play with a peer also involves restricting one’s imagination just enough to include room for another imagination to join in. Pretend play can include: • Dolls and a doll house • A toy kitchen, grill set or market • Pretend food • Matchbox cars and a garage or tracks • A train set and conductor

Sneaking small variations into a child’s play scenarios will help train towards flexibility when peers come over and want to participate as equal creators of the imaginary scene. Finally, consider putting away your child’s most treasured toys if sharing them is likely to cause conflict.

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Parenting Pearls

Parenting Imperfectly By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

lul is in the air, and The King is in the field. It’s an intense time that comes once a year as we lead up to the yomim noraim. It only becomes even more busy with back-to-school shopping, transitioning out of summer and preparing the kids for school. With so many things to do – and they are all time-sensitive – it’s easy to lose sight of the many spiritual focuses we should have now. Among the many ways we can improve ourselves, bettering our parenting techniques is no less important. Parenting by rote is ineffective – and often foolish. Sadly, we’re often too busy parenting to focus on improving our parenting. It’s ironic but also the reality for many adults. Whether it’s correcting previous parenting errors, or simply wanting to do better, we can – and should – always improve ourselves.

Parenting Imperfectly Last week’s article focused on the mistakes kids make, but adults make mistakes, too. We will make mistakes

in our personal lives and throughout our interpersonal interactions. We’re only human, and we only know what we know. Just like children, we learn as we grow and, hopefully, improve from the life lessons learned in the school of hard knocks. Parenting is mostly learned by experience. Hopefully we have been surrounded by people who are good examples to teach us, and there are books, articles and other ways to fill in the gaps, but ultimately we learn by experience. Those other parents who served as role models are not us, nor do they have our particular child. Those books were written generally for parents and children – not for us or our particular child. It’s impossible for anything to fully prepare us for parenting. As terrifying as it is, we learn as we go. I don’t like using the term “guinea pigs,” but it’s sadly accurate. This means that we are bound to make mistakes in our parenting. I certainly don’t mention this necessity for mistakes lightly, but I try to be truthful

and accurate when discussing parenting. The question isn’t “will we make mistakes?” but “what do we do when we do make mistakes?” Most mistakes are relatively mild and correctable without lasting damage. Hashem designed the world in a way that imperfect parents will raise imperfect (but adorable and precious) children. It’s these everyday errors that I’m referencing in this article. For more severe situations, please reach out to a professional for assistance. As parents, we’re fully invested in these young people, and we take to heart all of our actions and how our children will be affected as a result. This is normal and healthy, but it can lead to some complicated emotions. When working with families, I’ve noticed a tendency for remorse to lead to greater feelings of failure and inadequacy rather than hope for bettering oneself. Practically speaking, they mentally beat themselves up and feel unmotivated to correct their behavior instead of being moved to propel towards improvement.

They may feel so hopeless and upset that thinking of their mistakes just makes them feel worse, resulting in a negative cycle of self-hate. The result is not an improved parent but one that is less functional than before the negative cycle started. Being aware of this tendency can help parents avoid the pitfalls while improving themselves. It’s my humble opinion that parents should not stay too long in this negative cycle but should try to move towards more effective means. What happened in the past can’t be undone, but changes we make now can improve the future. Parents should periodically take stock of their parenting, and I think this is one of the most powerful ways parents can better their techniques and effectiveness. When we act in the moment – which we often are forced to do – we can’t always make the best decisions. We’re under pressure and feeling stressed, neither of which leads to ideal responses. It’s when we’re somewhat calmer and able to take a fuller view of the

ment, picking realistic goals is more effective than grandiose ideas that never materialize, and choosing manageable goals will ultimately get us further than undefinable improvements. Some mistakes are very big, and some mistakes can’t be addressed alone. There are many professionals who can guide parents towards making better choices for themselves and their chil-

Prioritizing the Day It’s a busy z’man, and there may not be enough time to get everything done. It’s painful, but it’s also the most realistic way of viewing the situation. Even if there would be time for everything on the to-do list, more will be added, and the kids will interrupt with some new crisis. Inevitably, parents will need to sleep at some point.

We’re often too busy parenting to focus on improving our parenting.

dren. Parents should not be afraid to seek guidance. Parents would be rather surprised by the many situations professionals have already dealt with. While I can’t speak for everyone, I know for myself that rather than look down upon someone needing assistance, I have respect for what it takes to make those positive changes.

Usually, not everything on the list needs to get done, and prioritizing is often the best way to make sure that what needs to get done is actually accomplished. Focus on what is necessary and leave the preferences for later. Please do not skip sleep or meals. Your functioning and parenting will only be that much less efficient and may lead to

less getting done rather than more. Trying to take time for your own physical and emotional health will ultimately improve your ability to get through your list, and thinking clearly will make every moment more effective. As parents, taking time for introspection and rethinking our parenting approach is not a luxury but a basic necessity. This time of year – in all its craziness – may be the ideal time to set aside some moments to see how to better our parenting along with our other middos. In all the to-do, we can easily forget that people matter most. In between buying crayons and notebooks, we should try to remember to hug those sweet little ones we’re buying all this stuff for. When our children know how much we love them, all parenting is better.

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.

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situation when we can analyze if we are getting the ideal results and what changes should be made. Rather than continuously doing the same actions resulting in the same sometimes poor results, we can plan an approach that meets our child’s needs while respecting their development. More than just having a better response, this introspection and planning permit us to think proactively and prevent many of the situations we’re forced to address at the last minute. We’re often so focused on having an appropriate method of discipline – which is certainly important – that we often forget how many of these situations could have been avoided with a little forethought. For example, a child breaks something expensive and the parent gets upset at the child which may result in an inappropriate response. When evaluating their parenting, the adult may find a more effective response, such as being firm without losing control. Further introspection might lead the parent to think proactively and decide to keep expensive items out of their young child’s reach. As with all areas of self-improve-

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 20, 2026

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Health & F tness

The Back-To-School Jitters are Back New teachers. New classrooms. New worries. Here’s how to help your family start the school year with an A+ in mental health. By Hylton I. Lightman, MD, DCH (SA), FAAP

ou are reading the topic correctly. I wrote about this not even six weeks ago. Why am I addressing this topic again so soon? Because the issue is real, and our children and their families need help. Let’s launch the school year properly to assure a win-win for all. The backpacks are ready. A dozen boxes of stylish, and apparently essential, new shoes are barricading the front door. School supplies have taken over the dining room table. Somewhere in the house, a child has already decided that the entire school year is ruined based on an unconfirmed class list. Meanwhile, Mom is trying to remember who needs what for the first day, Dad is studying the tuition bill as though there may have been a mathematical error, and everyone is just a little more on edge than they were two weeks ago. Welcome to back-to-school season. And along with the fresh notebooks and sharpened pencils comes something else: anxiety. Lots of it. The kids are worried about new teachers, friends, and homework. Par-

ents are worried about whether their children will succeed, adjust and be happy (not to mention carpools, schedules and getting everyone out the door on time). Did we mention the tuition bill already? Exactly. The truth is back-to-school anxiety is a family affair. But as a pediatrician, I want parents to understand that a little anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Starting something new should give us some butterflies. Our job isn’t to make every butterfly disappear. It’s to teach our children that they can feel nervous, walk through those school doors anyway, and discover: I can handle this. So as another school year begins, how do we help them get there? It Starts With Us Parents Children have remarkable radar. We sometimes think they’re not listening. Trust me, they’re listening. If you’re constantly discussing how difficult this year’s teacher might be, whether your child can handle the workload, whether the class placement was a disaster or how nervous you are about

the upcoming year, don’t be surprised when your child becomes nervous too. This doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t have concerns. Of course we do. It means we need to be conscious of where and how we express them. And if you struggle significantly with anxiety yourself, address it. Evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be helpful. One of the best things you can do for an anxious child is learn to manage your own anxiety. We also need to be careful about how we ask children about their worries. Instead of leading with, “Are you nervous about your new teacher?” or “Are you scared you won’t have friends in your class?” try: “How are you feeling about school starting?” or “Is there anything you’re not looking forward to?” You might discover that the thing you’ve been worrying about for three weeks hasn’t even crossed your child’s mind. Let’s not give them any ideas. When they do express a fear, don’t rush to dismiss it. “I’m scared nobody will sit with me at lunch” may sound easily solvable to us, but to a child, it is

the world. Acknowledge the feeling, then help put it into perspective. The message is simple: I hear you. I understand you. We’re going to figure this out.

Don’t Let Anxiety Make the Decisions This is where parenting an anxious child gets harder. Your child doesn’t want to ride the bus, enter the classroom, or attend an activity because it makes them anxious. Our instinct is to make the discomfort disappear by letting them avoid it. And it works beautifully … for about five minutes. Everyone feels relieved. But the child may also have learned: That was dangerous. I couldn’t handle it. Escaping saved me. Avoidance can reinforce anxiety. Our job is not to throw children into the deep end and tell them to swim. It is to calmly help them face age-appropriate fears, sometimes gradually and step by step. In CBT, this process is called exposure, and it can be an important component of effective anxiety treatment.

tinction between ordinary back-to-school butterflies and anxiety that requires professional attention. Most September nervousness settles as children become comfortable with their teachers, classmates

idence-based treatment such as CBT. Parents should be involved too, because we need the tools to coach our children through difficult moments rather than unknowingly reinforcing avoidance.

Success is a child who gradually learns that uncomfortable feelings don’t have to control what happens next.

and routines. But if anxiety is causing significant distress or interfering with normal functioning—persistent sleep problems, physical complaints around school, school refusal, withdrawal from friends or activities, or a world that seems to be getting smaller because of fear—don’t simply wait and hope it disappears. Speak with your pediatrician, your gateway to your child’s health and development. If appropriate, your pediatrician can help you find an experienced child anxiety professional who uses ev-

Early, effective intervention can make an enormous difference.

Success is a child who gradually learns that uncomfortable feelings don’t have to control what happens next. It’s the child who walks toward the classroom even with butterflies in his stomach. The child who raises her hand even though she’s afraid of giving the wrong answer. The child who discovers, one small experience at a time, I can do hard things. Perhaps that’s an A+ worth pursuing. So pack the knapsack. Sharpen the pencils. Find the missing shoe. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. And parents, try not to stare at the tuition bill for too long. It’s going to be a wonderful year. As always, daven.

The Grade That Really Matters As parents, we want a lot from a new school year. We want good teachers and rebbeim. Good friends. Good grades. Growth in Torah, middos and knowledge. We want our children to come home happy. We should want them to succeed. But success isn’t a child who never feels anxious.

Dr. Hylton Lightman MD DCH(SA) FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician and the Medical Director of Suffolk Health Five Towns. He adores his patients and tolerates their parents. His life’s mission is to deliver quality health care to babies, children, teenagers and young adults so they bring their children and grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) to him. He loves what he does.

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We’re helping children discover something for themselves: I was scared. I did it anyway. And I was okay. That is why we also need to rethink what we celebrate. We’re very good at asking children about results. “What did you get on the test?” “How many did you get right?” “What grade did you get?” But with an anxious child, there may be another accomplishment worth celebrating: bravery. “I know you were nervous about going into that classroom today, and you did it.” “I know speaking in front of the class was difficult for you. I’m proud that you tried.” “You didn’t know anyone at the activity, but you went in anyway.” That’s success. Little by little, children can learn to recognize what triggers their anxiety, understand what’s happening in their bodies, calm themselves, examine catastrophic thoughts and replace them with more realistic ones. Most importantly, they can learn that being nervous doesn’t mean they have to stop. Of course, there is an important dis-

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Shmooze & Muse

Angry Birds By Mordechai Schmutter

did shiluach haken for the first time ever. It’s definitely not like I pictured it. All right, I don’t know what I pictured. When I first heard of the mitzvah as a child, I pictured the mother bird running away, perhaps with a bindle over her shoulder. Containing what? Not eggs. But I don’t know why I didn’t picture it flying away. Like what kind of bird…? Would I would just randomly come across a chicken nest? An ostrich nest? Penguins? I also didn’t realize the bird had to be kosher. I didn’t know the details. With so many other mitzvos, my rebbeim went into how to perform them, but when it came to shiluach haken, the rebbeim were like, “We’re not going to really focus on parsha his year until Bereishis. Yom tov is coming.” Yom tov was coming every year. So I know very little about how to actually perform the mitzvah. In fact, when my chickens first started laying eggs, my first thought was, “Wait. Do we have to send the chickens away every time we want to take the eggs?” No. The bird has to be hefker. And apparently, I still had a lot to learn, because I had no idea that multiple people can do this with the same nest. I would think the idea of it is that if you actually want the eggs, like your store is

out or eggs go up to six dollars again, this is how the Torah says to acquire them. I didn’t think that you chase away the mother, you take the egg, you put the egg back, the mother comes back, she says, “What was that about?” and then someone else chases it away, and then he takes the egg, and then everyone goes home and washes their hands. And the mother’s like, “I need to wash this egg. It smells like everyone’s hands.” You think it’s one of those mitzvos you’re never going to do. Maybe you’ll learn the halachos someday, if it comes up. But the truth is, you never know when you’re going to get a phone call in middle of the night to come chase away a bird. That’s what happened to me. My wife called me one night when I was on my way into Maariv. She said, “Mrs. Frankfurter down the block just called and asked if you wanted to do shiluach haken.” “Now?” “No, like after Maariv.” I later found out that a lot of seforim say it’s better to do it at night. But I wasn’t sure why they called me, specifically. Maybe it’s because we let their kids play with our chickens. Or maybe they said, “Which of our neighbors can we call who isn’t scared to stick his hand into a nest, blindly, in middle of the night?” Their concern with me was more like, “Will he decide to

keep it?” But I’m sure they’d all done it already. Maybe they were hoping I’d finally take it off their hands. So I came by their house to ask about it, and a kid answered the door, and he called, “Ma! Mr. Schmutter is here to do shiluach haken!” and I heard her voice from somewhere deep in the house, saying, “Just show him where it is. And tell him he has to make it hefker tomorrow morning in front of a beis din.” Apparently, that’s what you have to do, so that someone else can then do the mitzvah or so the mother can have her babies back halachically. I did not know that I’d have to hire a beis din. Or awkwardly gather three people after Shacharis, like it’s erev Rosh Hashana. “Is this going to take long?” “I have work.” “I hope you practiced what you’re going to say ahead of time.” So the kid pointed me to a ladder on the front porch, right next to a tall, thin evergreen bush. This is definitely the only mitzvah I’ve ever done up on a ladder. I was more scared of the ladder than I was of the bird. Then the kid said, “You have to approach the ladder alone. If I come near the ladder, it’s going to scare the bird away. And then we’re going to have to walk away

and wait for it to come back.” So you’re basically standing up on a ladder in the dark and trying to scare a bird out of a bush and hoping there’s an exit on the other side. And you’re like, “Did it fly away? I can’t see.” This is why you need a second pair of eyes. So I approached the ladder and I put one hand on a rung, and the kid said, “I think that was it. It’s gone.” “Really?” It wasn’t a whole procedure, like I’d expected; it was like, “Now you need to—oh, the mother left! You can be koneh the eggs now.” You don’t even notice the mother flying away. She sees you coming, and she’s like, “Uch, not again.” They say you have to send away the mother bird. Sending is a very strong word. You just show up, and it runs away. You don’t have to give it an errand, or tie a note to its leg and send it off to warn the Allies. The mother has no idea for sure that you’re even coming near it. It abandons its kids just in case. I mean Rashi does call it a mitzvah kalah. It’s like a beginner’s mitzvah. One that you can do by accident. There aren’t a lot of mitzvos you can do by accident. I mean you can sleep through Shabbos by accident and say, “Hey, I didn’t do any melachos!” But I mean mitzvos asei. What other mitz-

vana at home. So I went home, and I called my sons together. And only one came. One was in the shower, and one was in bed as usual. So gathering them together took some doing. “Can you take out your earbuds for a second?” “Why? What’s happening?” So I showed them the picture: “You see this?” And they’re like, “Yeah! What is that?” And I said, “I hereby make it hefker,” and then one of my sons said, “It’s hefker? Now I want to go do it.” So I walked him back to the neighbor. The bird did not make off with him. It’s not one of these mitzvahs that are on the forefront of my mind. It’s not like whenever I see birds, I think, “Oh, let’s get a ladder and see what’s doing, and maybe we can send away the mother.” So I’m

Or maybe they said, “Which of our neighbors can we call who isn’t scared to stick his hand into a nest, blindly, in middle of the night?”

let go wouldn’t fling the nest away like a catapult, said, “Whichever one you want!” So I grabbed the baby. And it was not cute. I couldn’t even tell what species it was just by looking at it. Of course I took a picture. Is that even a bird? What am I looking at here? I sent the picture to my wife. And she wrote back, “That is not a cute baby.” And I said, “You can’t say that.” “Why? The mother’s not around.” We’re used to baby chickens, which are, no offense, cuter than most human babies. So I put it back ASAP, because I’m not sure how it works. I think if the mother doesn’t come back, you are now responsible for raising this baby. And regurgitating food into its mouth. Then the kid said, “Okay. Let us know in the morning if you don’t get to make it hefker.” Wait – I’m getting a beis din together? I don’t even do Barchu at the end of Maariv if I come late to Maariv. So he said, “Actually, the rabbi said you can just use your sons for this.” This is why I’ve made three bar mitzvahs – so I could have my own little beis din. And also so I can say Kiddush Le-

definitely happy that I finally got to do it. It was a very unique experience. Not only is this definitely one of the more adventurous mitzvos, it’s a mitzvah that you have to wash your hands afterwards. Like eating marror. That said, there are other mitzvos that I’d love to do for the first time and then write about them. For example, I’ve never brought a Korban Pesach. But even not just things that only apply after Moshiach comes. I could also write about: - Helping someone unload an animal (I’ve done cars, but it’s not the same) - Building a rooftop fence - Shechitah - Rodef - Kisui dam - All the farming mitzvos, - Pidyon peter chamor For a lot of these, I also have to wash my hands afterwards. But maybe I don’t have to make them hefker.

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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vos can you do by accident? Hearing shofar? Counting the Omer? Killing Amalek? (Yes, I realize that Rashi primarily means that it’s an easy mitzvah because it does not require financial expenditures, unless you fall off the ladder.) I’m sure there are some more aggressive birds that will actually fight you. Like wild turkeys. That would have been a funnier column, I think. That said, in general, if you are scared of birds and you’re dealing with something aggressive, don’t bring your kids. Because then the bird will flap its wings and you’ll go, “Ah!” and tumble off the ladder, and then the bird will make off with your child. So anyway, I climbed up the ladder and stuck my hand into the dark, and I felt two things in there: an egg and a baby chick. And I asked, “Which one should I take?” and the kid, who was pulling the tree toward me in a way that hopefully when he

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Book

Marked

The Thirteen Attributes Ask for Nothing By Tzvi Adler

Reviewing: “In His Mercy: Understanding the Thirteen Midot,” by Rabbi Ezra Bick. Translated by Rabbi David Silverberg. Maggid Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem, in cooperation with Yeshivat Har Etzion. 2011. Hardcover: 131 pages.

elichot is built around the Thirteen Attributes, and nothing in them is a request. No petition, no please, nothing asked for. They are a list of names, and Rabbi Ezra Bick says so twice in his opening pages before putting the question the sefer exists to answer: why should reciting such a list accomplish anything at all? Sephardim have been saying them since Rosh Chodesh, and the rest of us have until Motzei Shabbat, September 5. That question took two decades of Elul shiurim to answer, all at Yeshivat Har Etzion, where Rabbi Bick has taught since his aliyah in 1977 and directs the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash. He holds semicha and a philosophy degree from Yeshiva University, and a second from Columbia, worth knowing before Sartre, Epicurus and Socrates turn up in the footnotes of a sefer about Selichot. Those shiurim, in Hebrew, became “Yud-Gimmel Midot Shel Rachamim” in 2009 and reached English in Rabbi David Silverberg’s translation for Maggid Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem. His answer is that reciting the Attributes does not request mercy but brings it into the world. A congregation can make itself a chariot for the Shechina by proclaiming the Names, but the descent onto that chariot comes from the Al-mighty and not from us. Which is why, he argues, the matter had to be shown rather than said, with the Al-mighty wrapped like a shaliach tzibbur before Moshe Rabbeinu. Of the One addressed at Selichot he writes: “He does not listen to this prayer service; He is present within it.” Each attribute, on his account, has to be said with its own awareness, the wor-

shipper standing as the chariot that bears that Name. Rachum is the plea of a man with mitigating circumstances to point at. Chanun is what is left when there are none. Saying that Name means standing with nothing to argue and saying only that it hurts. “I am not wise. I do not understand.” A child who has fallen does not marshal reasons before running to his father. Rav Chesed is where the Gemara asks how the Al-mighty tilts a balanced scale. One answer is that He lifts the side holding the iniquities, because He shares responsibility for them, having supplied the strength and sustained the world it happened in. “The explanation is clear, although the pen trembles a bit in writing it.” Nowhere is he less willing to comfort than on Erech Apayim, which is about what a delay is for. The Yerushalmi’s king garrisons his harsh legions far outside the city so that provocation buys travel time. Collection is certain, which gives the Almighty “the luxury of waiting.” The delay does not merely postpone the anger. It is, in his words, “simply the preparation of the anger.” Rabbi Bick pictures a man whose hearing catches, beneath the soothing cover of chesed, “the dull beat of the marching boots.” Then the reason it belongs on a list of mercies at all. Divine anger is “fundamentally a positive attribute, an indication of G-d’s identification with the person,” rising because man was made betzelem Elokim and the Al-mighty takes the ruin of that personally. Even a father who knows the punishment is necessary turns his head aside. What becomes of the good a person does, once the deed is finished, the money spent, and the poor man gone? That is Not-

zer Chesed LaAlafim. Rabbi Bick quotes a French poet on the snows of yesteryear, then asks where that moment from last Yom Kippur went. Through the Ramban, he answers that the Al-mighty preserves chesed by making it grow. There is one place the sefer declines to go, and Rabbi Bick puts up the sign himself. Having argued that we increase the divine presence, and that the Al-mighty puts His hand under the scale of our sins, he anticipates the reader who wants to know whether G-d literally takes offense, and leaves the matter to the great Jewish metaphysicians, the Rambam and Rav Chasdai Crescas. Elsewhere he writes that one who prays need not solve theological dilemmas. That is defensible for a man at the amud at one in the morning. It is harder for a book that has already summoned the Rambam in a footnote to object. A smaller complaint. The book recaps as it goes, and chapter two closes on a three-line ladder from Havaya to El, but it never gathers all thirteen onto one page a person could hold at Ne’ila. A future printing should carry one. Against that stand two appendices. The first roots verbal sanctification in G-d rather than in man, which is why a minyan is required, and why the man who tries it alone drifts toward mistaking himself for the Shechina. The second rereads the mitzvot given after the Eigel as an argument that nothing is bound by what produced it: matzah is dough with its rising stopped, and the kid is deliberately kept from the milk of its own mother. The final attribute is the strangest of the thirteen. At Selichot, the pasuk, “Venakeh lo yenakeh, He will surely not

cleanse,” is cut in half and said as VeNakeh, reversing it, though a verse Moshe Rabbeinu did not divide is not ours to divide. Rabbi Bick answers that Selichot never was a quotation. The Attributes were given twice, publicly at Sinai with the limitation intact and privately in the cleft of the rock, where a thirteenth surfaces the public revelation withheld. That one alone turns on teshuva, and not as a qualification for it. The other twelve will keep a person alive, unrepaired and at a distance. The last exists only for someone who finds that unlivable, as Moshe Rabbeinu did in refusing the escorting angel: “If Your countenance does not go, do not take us up from here.” Nine short chapters against a month in which these words return every morning, taken one at a time, will last from here to Ne’ila. For anyone who learned the sugya 20 years ago, the case is stronger, because nothing goes stale faster than a text you are certain you understood. Rav Lichtenstein, who led the yeshiva where those shiurim were given, taught in “Return and Renewal” that letting a spiritual opportunity pass is not passivity but what Chazal understood as rot. Later in the volume comes the corrective: teshuva “is not simply a destination attained; it is a direction pursued.” Rabbi Bick points past his own argument to the promise in Rosh Hashana 17b, that Israel need only “perform this service before Me and I shall forgive them.” His book ends: “History is completely different after sin because, amazingly, it continues.”

Tzvi Adler enjoys riding the last car of the train out of Tel Aviv with a sefer open and the country going by.

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In The K tchen

Simanim Ceviche Pareve / Yields 8 servings

By Naomi Nachman

Ceviche isn’t considered raw, as it is cured with citrus juices. The acid “cooks” the protein. The dish originates from South America. There, they serve it with assorted chilies in place of the fruit. This recipe is using all the ingredients for simanim for Rosh Hashana in this twist. Ingredients • 1 lb. fish, such as salmon or tuna • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice • ¼ cup fresh lime juice • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped • 2 Tablespoons olive oil • ½ teaspoon kosher salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • ¼ cup fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped • 1 green apple, diced • ½ cup pomegranate seeds • ½ cup shredded carrots • 1 leek, white part only, finely diced • 1 Tablespoon silan • Tostados or tortilla chips, for serving, optional

Preparation Cut fish into small cubes. In a glass bowl, combine fish with lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeño, oil, salt, pepper, cilantro, apple, pomegranate, and carrots. Cover and refrigerate; marinate for 2-4 hours. Taste; adjust seasoning, if necessary. 2. Serve with tostados or tortilla chips, optional.

Variation: Cooked fish option

Ingredients • 1 lb. salmon • ½ teaspoon kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 2 Tablespoons olive oil • Juice of ½ lemon

Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Place salmon on prepared baking sheet. 3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oil, and lemon juice. 4. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Continue with Step 1, above.

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.

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

If he could get out of that thing now, tonight, he would. My own words haunt me. So in February, I talked to the president. Just him and me. I said, this is the biggest gamble you have ever taken in your entire life messing around with these people. They’re irrational. They are like the militants in Japan in World War II, in Germany in World War II. They’re not going to surrender. It’s going to be exceedingly difficult. And you can’t count on the Persians to overthrow them. My words haunt me because it’s exactly how it came down. - Conservative pundit Bill O’Reilly

We’re way too early to even be thinking about that. - President Trump when asked about endorsing J.D. Vance as the 2028 Republican presidential candidate

“Legacy” is not a word I recognize. Statues are torn down; buildings with people’s names on them erode. The world is in constant change. The only legacy I recognize is doing good. I’m human, with my terrible faults, but I’m an admirer of good deeds. - Jewish actor William Shatner in a recent interview

I found out that she likes her children more than she likes Trump. I’m very concerned about that. – President Trump talking about White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt leaving her post to raise her children

A large pre-historic shark tooth was found along the Jersey shore. You can tell that the shark was from New York because it was found along with a giant neck chain. - Kat Timpf, Fox News

Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britian. - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

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Israel dominates the daily news in this 2026 midterm election year—almost always in a boring, fatiguing, negative light. Tens of thousands of innocents may be slaughtered, ethnically cleansed, butchered, and tortured by the world’s dictators, yet an overwhelming and obsessive abhorrence is reserved for tiny, democratic Israel. - Victore Davis Hanson, American Greatness

As far as tolerance goes, in the entire region, only in Israel is it legal to criticize political or religious figures. Only there can one choose to adopt an [alternative] lifestyle. Only there can an apostate renounce one’s religion or urge others to do the same. And only there can Christians establish a new church almost anywhere they choose. - ibid.

In terms of protest, scream publicly in Tel Aviv, “I no longer believe in the Jewish faith, and I hate the current government of Israel”—and there is little chance of being arrested. Chant the same publicly in any Muslim country in the Middle East—“I no longer believe in Islam, and I hate our current government”—and the loud critic would be either jailed or beaten by a street mob or worse. – ibid.

Our prediction right now, our range of outcomes are anywhere from Republicans holding the majority by just three seats to Democrats holding it by 11. - Amy Walter of the “Cook Political Report,” which is a premier forecaster of elections, discussing the likely outcome of the 2026 midterm elections

Starting next month, Barack Obama will host a podcast about books that impressed him. Episode one? The first book that Michelle ever tore in half. - Greg Gutfeld

A Mississippi company will take wheelchair-bound young people alligator hunting this season. Or as the alligators call it, “Meals on Wheels.” - Greg Gutfeld

Karoline Leavitt Prepared For Motherhood After Spending Last Two Years Answering Millions Of Stupid Questions. - Headline in the Babylon Bee

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Massachusetts was once known as the Cradle of Liberty for its role in the American Revolution. Now, it has forsaken the cradle and turned the womb into a death chamber. Thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, residents can kill unborn children up to the moment of birth. They call it lateterm abortion. Infanticide is a more accurate description. - From a Washington Times editorial about Massachusetts’s new abortion law which allows killing a baby until birth

I didn’t believe this law was real – abort up to birth. Why not wait until they are in kindergarten and get them while they are napping? - Greg Gutfeld

Most of what we saw were crimes of poverty – people who are stealing things like toothpaste, people who were stealing things like, you know, soap. And that means if you’re stealing those things, you need them. And we are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by. So I would say that the true crime is that there is such incredible wealth disparity in this city that there are people who can be thrown in jail simply for having a biological need. - New York State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher

This is just another step to the amoral bottom. We may already be there. The applauding women [at the bill’s signing] are like Mullahs celebrating public executions. - ibid.

They will pull out all of the stops to defend a death row killer or a drunk illegal that runs over a teen, but an inconvenient child? That kid is doomed before his first day on earth. - ibid.

I might make it to 115. I’m hanging in there. - 102-year-old Glenn Ward of Virginia after celebrating his birthday by going out for hot wings

We have gone from rare and tragic to “if you don’t like your baby, you can kill your baby.” – Ibid.

A recent video of Michigan Democratic senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed shows that he wanted to cancel the 4th of July fireworks…or at least move it to Sept. 11th. – Greg Gutfeld

The internet was amused over Abdul El-Sayed’s “Blues Clues” parody video. Except for the part where he stones Dora the Explorer to death for traveling alone. – ibid.

Abdul El-Sayed is under fire for a blog post in which he links football to toxic masculinity… He prefers the traditional Muslim sport-synchronized honor killings. – ibid.

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Political Crossfire

I’m Begging You: Never Write With AI By Bret Stephens

his column isn’t so much an argument as it is a plea: Don’t use artificial intelligence to help you write. Never let AI do your writing for you. Don’t use it for school papers, work briefs, letters to your in-laws, speeches at your company gathering or emails (however perfunctory) to your colleagues or friends. Don’t let it organize your notes. Don’t let it suggest an opening sentence, a segue or a closing paragraph. Don’t ask it to write a first draft and pretend that editing that draft somehow makes it your own. It doesn’t. Do none of these things not because they are unethical. Writing with AI is unethical when it’s a deception: when you pass off words, ideas and information as your own when they aren’t. An acknowledgment can largely address the problem. Do none of these things, either, because you might be able to learn to write better than an AI can. Pretty soon, if not already, you won’t, just as you can’t outrun a car or outplay a chess app. The problem with writing with AI is that it’s mentally enfeebling — an escalator toward a result when you really need to make a daily habit of taking the stairs. As it becomes ubiquitous, it undermines not only our individual ability to write but also a society’s collective ability to reason, a culture’s inner capacity to create and everyone’s reason to care. We’re already reckoning with the well-documented decline of reading; AI is accelerating the decline of writing, ushering us further into what The Atlantic’s Rose Horowitch calls our “post-literate age.” What, uniquely, does writing do? It compels thought. It compels thinking in ways that silent contemplation or spoken language rarely can. It compels us to subject our thinking to the effort of

articulation, the rigor of grammar, the tests of intelligibility and coherence, the inspection of others. In doing so, it also enjoins us to be clear, logical and accurate — and accountable. People may easily forgive a word said in anger but not so easily one written in anger, precisely because the fact that it was written tells us that it was considered. The considered word matters. It has staying power and moral weight. We use the expression “I want that in writing” not only so there’s no mistaking the exact words that have been agreed upon but also as proof that the words are meaningful in the first place.

as significant and personal as a wedding speech and the boring and frequently exhausting tasks of writing, say, routine office memos. But the intellectual muscle that’s exercised in everyday writing is the same one used for the writing that matters. We become better writers by the constant effort that mundane writing demands. We become better thinkers by investing into that writing a degree of attention we’d never give it if we relinquished

As it becomes ubiquitous, it undermines not only our individual ability to write but also a society’s collective ability to reason, a culture’s inner capacity to create and everyone’s reason to care.

But what happens when the words aren’t considered because they were written by (or with the help of) a machine? Words become hollow. Imagine the father of the bride turning to AI to help him write his daughter’s wedding toast: What the AI can supply in eloquence it subtracts in effort and authenticity. Now imagine that the daughter learns that the speech was written by AI: Wouldn’t she be right to be disappointed, if not insulted? Many would argue there’s a big difference between using AI for something

the task to AI. We become more creative when we learn how to put a personal stamp even on routine things, making them unmistakably our own. These skills are now evaporating. A recent examination using AI-detection technology of 100 doctoral dissertations found that 56% of them contained “more than negligible” AI-generated writing and 19% had “more than 50% AI-generated text.” Anecdotal stories from college professors have a finger-in-the-dike feeling with regard to their efforts to hold back the flood

of AI-generated student papers. It’s easy to treat the problem as one of mere cheating. But cheating doesn’t capture the real scope of the AI threat, which isn’t merely to academic integrity or personal betterment but also to democratic self-governance. The link between broad-based literacy and the rise of democracy is well known: People who can read and write for themselves have, historically, also been good at choosing and advocating for themselves. What happens when the process goes into reverse? When people lack the patience to absorb arguments more than a few pages or sentences long? When they lack the ability to contradict those arguments because they’ve never honed, through daily practice, the most essential skill for clear thinking? We’re already getting a taste of what this world looks like in President Donald Trump’s social media posts and the sway they clearly exert over tens of millions of Americans. But that’s a reflection of where the country was a decade ago, in the pre-AI age. How much farther down the road are we now, with our even more diminished capacity to read, write and think? The next time you’re tempted to just adopt an automated response for a text message or an email, don’t. Type out a response that’s your own. Think of it as an act of free will. Or a vote against Trump. What takes you a few additional seconds is an act of resistance against an ever-dumber world. © The New York Times.

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Political Crossfire

How Raúl Castro’s Grandson Rose From Bodyguard to Key Power Broker By David C. Adams and Frances Robles

Rodriguez Castro as with his grandfather Raul Castro’s bodyguard

aúl Castro was on an official state visit in Paris a decade ago as Cuba’s president when a hulky bodyguard in his entourage stood out. The man kept so close to Castro while they walked the red carpet at the Élysée Palace that a member of the French honor guard tried pulling him back. Even François Hollande, France’s president at the time, waved him back. The security escort who kept inserting himself in official photos was none other than Castro’s grandson, Raúl G. Rodríguez Castro, a colonel in the Interior Ministry. Today, the once largely unknown bodyguard has become a key figure in Cuba’s talks with the United States, even though he has never held public office. His name has even come up as someone the Trump administration might find acceptable to become Cuba’s next leader. “He exemplifies how that government operates,” said Tim Rieser, a foreign policy aide to former Sen. Patrick

Leahy, D-Vt., who met Rodríguez Castro several times. “It’s a lot like a family business, and so someone who was described to us a decade ago as President Castro’s bodyguard has for whatever reason, by whatever means, become something much more than that.” But Rodríguez Castro, who has met with some of the most senior people in the Trump administration, may have also used his considerable influence to protect a large-scale smuggling operation that moved people out of Cuba and brought illicit goods into the country, according to interviews and court records. Rodríguez Castro, 42, was accused of helping funnel goods purchased with stolen credit cards into the country, receiving luxury items as bribes and allowing wanted criminals to roam free on the island, the interviews and court records show. The scheme was the target of a federal investigation that resulted in the convictions of at least 21 people and decades-long sentences. Rodríguez Castro

has not been charged. This article is based on court documents and interviews with nearly a dozen people who either know Rodríguez Castro personally, including one person close to the U.S. negotiations, or are familiar with the criminal investigation in which his name surfaced. Rodríguez Castro did not respond to requests for an interview sent through formal diplomatic channels and a mutual acquaintance. A top Cuban official called the accusations slanderous. Rodríguez Castro’s prominent role in the discussions with the Trump administration seemed to astound some Cuban officials who viewed him as merely a caretaker for his grandfather. Still, an official with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba took to social media last month to say Rodríguez Castro had been the subject of “character assassination” in the U.S. media, which was aimed at making the Cuban government appear divided. As he helps Cuba’s government try

to survive and navigate its standoff with the United States, those who have spoken to Rodríguez Castro say he has made no secret of his ultimate ambition to be his country’s next president — though it is unclear whether he has the internal support to do so.

The Cuban Smugglers The human smuggling network was known as the Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo; its name came from the state in eastern Mexico where it was based. The ring used boats stolen from Florida to sneak people out of Cuba who wanted to reach the United States, according to the Justice Department and members of the criminal gang who cooperated with prosecutors. The Cuban migrants would be taken to Mexico, where they were held in safe houses until they paid smuggling fees, and were tortured if they didn’t, according to court testimony. Two defendants in the case implicat-

including a Rolex watch, Suzuki motorbike and Louis Vuitton clothes, González Vidal claimed. The products were later sold in Cuban government stores, he said. González Vidal’s account was supported by text and voicemail messages that the FBI extracted from the cellphones of members of the smuggling ring, the people familiar with the case said. González Vidal’s lawyer, Juan D. Berrios, declined to comment. Rodríguez Castro, in a recent interview with USA Today, which some

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. One American close to the U.S.-Cuba discussions said that, despite the allegations of smuggling, Rodríguez Castro was considered a worthy representative to interact with the Trump administration because his fondness for material goods suggested he was open to capitalist ideas. Rodríguez Castro is not apologetic about his lifestyle. “It pains me that many people can’t live the way I do,” Rodríguez Castro told

His nickname, which is how he is commonly known, is “el Cangrejo,” meaning “the crab,” and was given to him because he was born with an extra finger on one hand.

critics took to be self-promotional, said he had no wealth of his own. “Wealthy friends and admirers” had paid for fashionable clothes, luxury foreign vehicles and expensive overseas trips, he said.

A Slanderous Accusation Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Carlos R. Fernández de Cossío, in an interview with The New York Times in Havana, called the accusations against Rodríguez Castro involving the smuggling ring “slander.” He said that for several years during migration talks with the United States, Cuban officials had repeatedly raised concerns about widespread smuggling of Cubans through Central America and Mexico. They received no response, he said. “We alerted them. Meeting after meeting: ‘Have you taken action? What have you done?’” Fernández de Cossío said. “I cannot doubt whatsoever that there are organizations in Mexico, in Central America and in other parts of Latin America, which involve Cubans that have been making money and had a business of smuggling aliens to the United States. “But I can assure you,” he added, “there’s no link with the Cuban government.”

USA Today. “And I’m working every day to change that situation.”

A Golden Boy of Cuba’s Elite Rodríguez Castro is the son of Raúl Castro’s eldest daughter, Déborah Castro Espín, and the late Gen. Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, a powerful figure who helped establish Cuba’s military conglomerate, known as GAESA, which manages much of Cuba’s ailing economy. His parents had a troubled marriage, so Rodríguez Castro, who is also known as “Raulito,” spent much of his youth at his grandparents’ house, several people who knew him in his youth said. His nickname, which is how he is commonly known, is “el Cangrejo,” meaning “the crab,” and was given to him because he was born with an extra finger on one hand. Despite his revolutionary roots, he is descended from an upper-class family — his grandmother was an heir to the Bacardi rum fortune. He enjoyed extreme sports, music with racy lyrics and was less polished than other members of Cuba’s revolutionary elite. He studied economics at the University of Havana, where he received credit for traveling with his grandfather, said Juan Juan Almeida, the exiled son of a hero of the 1959 Cuban revolution who was close

to the Castro family for many years. He described Rodríguez Castro as affectionate and friendly. “He is better known outside Cuba than inside,” he said. “Cangrejo and all the Castros know that their power only lasts until the day his grandfather dies.” Rodríguez Castro, who is often photographed wearing expensive designer clothes, was widely known during his younger years for being spotted in videos partying at concerts, hanging out with the reggaeton duo Gente de Zona and on boats. One family member said he sometimes traveled around Havana in one of his grandfather’s BMWs, which irked some who thought it projected a bad image in a country where people suffer severe food, medicine and power shortages. Rodríguez Castro has enjoyed extraordinary access, attending virtually every one of his grandfather’s meetings, including with the late Pope Francis. After serving as a bodyguard, he became more of a personal assistant for Castro, 95, who was vice president for decades and became president in 2006 when his brother Fidel fell ill. While he no longer holds any official government post, Castro is widely considered the most powerful person in Cuba. After Cuba began secret meetings with the United States this year seeking to end sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, Rodríguez Castro met separately with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (The CIA has covertly created a task force as part of the U.S. campaign to pressure Cuba into political, economic and leadership change, the Times reported.) Arturo Lopez-Levy, a research associate at the University of Denver who is a second cousin to Rodríguez Castro, said much of the criticism of his relative is based on videos of rowdy behavior that circulated more than a decade ago. He has not spoken to his cousin in about seven or eight years, he said, but his public persona appears to have changed considerably. “The relationship with his grandfather has changed from a young man who was quite immature to someone with political knowledge and connection to his grandfather — not only for the protection of his life, but politically,” said Lopez-Levy, a former analyst at Cuba’s Ministry of Interior. “He has not been outside the door; he has been inside every meeting.” © The New York Times

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ed Rodríguez Castro as a collaborator in the organization, according to court records and interviews with several people familiar with the investigation. Both defendants, José Miguel González Vidal and Reynaldo Crespo Márquez, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to long prison terms for their roles in the scheme. Rodríguez Castro arranged safe passage for the group into and out of Cuba, a leader of the group told U.S. prosecutors, several people familiar with the case said. Rodríguez Castro’s name came up in a U.S. Justice Department case in 2020 against the group, according to evidence gathered by prosecutors and one of the people familiar with the investigation. The people who know Rodríguez Castro spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships with Cuban government officials, and those familiar with the criminal case did so to discuss sensitive legal matters they were not authorized to disclose. It is unclear whether Rodríguez Castro is a target of the ongoing investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment. The smuggling ring stole vessels from South Florida to bribe foreign officials, according to an admission statement filed in federal court as part of a guilty plea signed by González Vidal, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The statement does not name Rodríguez Castro. But González Vidal and another defendant told U.S. authorities that Rodríguez Castro was among the foreign officials who received a stolen boat, court records show. The issue was also discussed in open court. During a September 2023 trial in Miami, a defense lawyer asked Crespo, who was a cooperating witness, about a meeting in which he told prosecutors that González Vidal and Rodríguez Castro had discussed sending him a boat in Cuba. Crespo is serving 20 years in prison for his role in the smuggling operation. González-Vidal said the men who smuggled migrants and goods bribed Rodríguez Castro to keep the Cuban coast guard and customs away, three of the people said. In exchange for allowing merchandise that the smuggling network bought in Mexico with stolen credit cards to clear Cuban customs, Rodríguez Castro was given a Fountain 38 high-performance boat and various other gifts,

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As the Old Files Open, One Family Confronts Another’s Dark Nazi Past By Nina Siegal

udith Zilversmit, a journalist in Amsterdam, was checking her Instagram in October 2023 when she noticed a new message. A woman she did not know said she had information about Zilversmit’s family. “For several months now, I’ve had a knot in my stomach,” the message read. “I would like to share something with you, but I am so afraid of writing something wrong. Two years ago, I discovered in an old newspaper article that my grandmother, who lived at home until I was 18, had a dark past. She betrayed your father and the rest of the family, among others.” The writer identified herself as Ingeborg Boelen, a Belgian woman who lived near the Dutch border. She talked of how she had obtained her “sweet grandma’s” criminal file from a Belgian judicial archive and that it included the details of her grandmother’s collaboration with the Nazis during World War II. She invited Zilversmit to contact her if she wanted more information. Zilversmit, 49, remembers being so startled that she swiped the message off her screen. Who was this stranger reaching out about the wartime betrayal of her family? What did she know? What did she want?

Hidden History Months after the Instagram message, Zilversmit decided as a journalist that there might be value in sharing her family history and her interactions with a collaborator’s granddaughter. Others might be grappling with similar encounters. She discussed it with Annet Röst, who makes podcasts for Dutch newspapers including Het Parool, where Zilversmit then worked. They decided to make a podcast that would end up being six parts — “The Betrayal of the Zilversmit Family.” It would focus not just on the past, but on events of the present as well. To prepare, Zilversmit began her own research, scouring her mother’s cellar for boxes with her grandfather’s and father’s files and talking to relatives, historians and other experts. Boelen had already filled her in on some basics about her grandmother, Maria-Elisabeth Stratermans-Coenegrachts, the informant, who went by Betsy. There was other material online. Boelen’s grandmother and her husband, Lambert, had run a cafe in Vroenhoven, on the Belgian side of the Dutch-Belgian border. But her grandmother had also worked as an undercover informant for a leading German Gestapo agent, Richard Nitsch. She infiltrated resistance groups, turned in their members and caught at least one Jewish family in her net — the Zilversmits. Tried and convicted after the war, Stratermans-Coenegrachts was sentenced to life in prison, but gained clemency and was released in 1951. Boelen had gone to some lengths to learn about her grandmother. In Belgium, those seeking such records from judicial archives must petition the state to see them. Usually, they need to prove a direct familial link to the accused collaborator, or approval from a family member — with a few exceptions for researchers and the like.

Such restrictions are designed to protect the families of collaborators, who after the war had been vilified, their heads sometimes shaved, their clothes torn off. But descendants of the Holocaust victims must request permission from the collaborator’s family members. In her Instagram note to Zilversmit, Boelen effused about what she had found in the files. “I also have the voluminous testimonies of your grandparents, M. Zilversmit and Th. Lebenstein, your aunt Helga, and those to whom she entrusted items, Hazelet, Kraay, Franssen, etc.” She added encouragingly, “Should you wish to know more, you are always welcome.”

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“My first reaction was, ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’” Zilversmit said in an interview. Zilversmit already knew the broad outlines of her family’s Holocaust history. Her father, Hans, who died in 2014, told her that as a child, he, his parents and his sister had fled to Belgium when Germany invaded Holland in 1940. They were hiding in a town near the border in 1943 when someone betrayed the family. The Gestapo showed up suddenly at their hiding place. The family tried to escape by climbing onto the roof and dropping into the yard. Hans, then 14, and his parents got away. His sister, Helga, 19, was captured and, like some 1 million other Jews across Europe, sent to Auschwitz. Did Zilversmit need to know more precise details about who, exactly, had betrayed them? She wasn’t sure. These sorts of questions have become increasingly relevant as some European governments create access to enormous, once-sealed archives related to the postwar judicial trials of accused and suspected Nazi collaborators. For many, the trauma of the Holocaust has lived beneath the surface of daily life for decades, too painful to confront. But now second- and third-generation family members are getting access to archives of collaboration. In some cases, it’s opening old wounds. In Zilversmit’s case it is also inflicting new ones, as her renewed curiosity about her family’s past has erupted into a dispute over who has the right to tell their story, and how.

A photo in a newspaper of Maria Elisabeth Betsy, the Nazi collaborator

Who Gets to Tell the Story? Zilversmit was not the only person interested in reviewing Boelen’s materials. When Boelen realized what was in the documents, she had asked a historian to read them because the historian had published a book that touched on some of the same figures. The Dutch historian, Marie-Cécile van Hintum, had decided to write a book, with the tentative title “The Betrayal of the Zilversmit Family.” Van Hintum has asserted she came up with the title first; Zilversmit said Röst came up with it independently for the podcast. Van Hintum, a well-regarded author who specializes in World War II topics, co-authored two books edited by Dutch historian Ad van Liempt. He described her as “a very talented writer and a very good and serious researcher.” Her 2019 book, “Lokerman,” focused on a Dutch resistance leader from the southern Netherlands, in the region where Boelen lives. Zilversmit said van Hintum reached out to her, and they met at a local cafe, then at Zilversmit’s home, where they discussed their backgrounds and looked at Zilversmit’s family photos together. Months later, van Hintum biked over to Zilversmit’s mother’s house in a leafy district of Amsterdam. The two women and Zilversmit’s mother, 80, sat in the living room with Röst, going through her father’s and grandfather’s boxes. There were letters, newspaper clippings, a yellow Jewish star, documents stamped with swastikas, and lists of looted property. Zilversmit agreed to let the historian take the boxes as research for her book. “I thought we would work together, each on our own separate projects,” Zilversmit said. She said she assumed van Hintum would write a book focusing on Boelen’s grandmother and she would tell a personal story in her podcast. Van Hintum declined to give an interview to The New York Times until after her book is published (no date has been set). But Zilversmit and Röst recorded their conversations with her and allowed the Times to hear the tapes. During the conversation, some of which was included in the podcast, van Hintum said the material was fascinating

but much more than she had anticipated or could carry off on a bicycle. She called a friend with a car to pick her up. While they waited, Zilversmit mentioned that she looked forward to hearing from van Hintum if she discovered something exciting in the boxes. Van Hintum paused. “I don’t know what you expect,” she said. “What you’re expecting from me. I can’t contribute much in terms of content. So it depends on the focus of your podcast.” Van Hintum explained that she was on a tight schedule with her book and could not simultaneously do research for the podcast. The collegial tone of the conversation quickly evaporated. “You can probably tell what would be interesting for us,” Zilversmit said. “If you come across something interesting, you could just say, ‘Hey, look at this letter ...’ That would be enough for us.” Van Hintum repeated her concerns about her book and said she didn’t have enough time to “report to you about what I come across.” Zilversmit took offense. “I find it strange that I’m giving you all this information, all this stuff,” she said, “and you won’t share with me what you find. That’s crazy.” “I’m going to share it,” van Hintum replied. “But in my book.” Zilversmit described in her podcast what happened next. “I looked at the table,” she narrated, “at these boxes that were so carefully preserved by my grandfather and then by my father.” She continued, “I understand what’s she’s saying, but I can’t comprehend it. She would rather keep anything that she finds for her own research. She’s not going to do any work for us.” “I’m sure you can imagine how I feel,” van Hintum said in the recording. “Actually, I can’t,” Zilversmit replied. “It is my family, my material, and you want to hold onto it so you can have success for your book. I find that very unpleasant.” The argument escalated. The podcaster, Röst, turned off the recording device. When van Hintum’s ride arrived, she walked out, leaving the boxes on the table.

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Across the Border Van Hintum has argued that Zilversmit’s podcast, which streamed in the Netherlands last year, mischaracterized her as “someone who does not want to share and cooperate and who wants to run off with her family archive.” “I shared my initial research results with Judith in confidence, long before she came up with the idea of making a podcast,” she said in a statement she sent in May to members of a panel in Amsterdam that invited Zilversmit to speak about intergenerational feelings of World War II trauma and shame. “My information and book outline titled ‘The Betrayal of the Zilversmit Family’ played a crucial role in her plan for a podcast,” van Hintum said in her statement. Zilversmit, who disagrees with that contention, still had another avenue to learn more about her family’s history — Boelen. After the initial Instagram message, Zilversmit said she and Boelen continued to chat online, and that Boelen kept promising Zilversmit could “come with all your questions,” and look at the judicial dossier. Before visiting Boelen in Belgium, Zilversmit spoke with Esti Cohen at Jewish Social Work in the Netherlands, which helps descendants of Holocaust victims with research and with the processing of difficult histories. She advised Zilversmit to set appropriate expectations. “Sometimes people want to have some kind of acknowledgment from the Jewish side that they have also suffered, or that they also have trans-generational trauma,” Cohen said in an interview. “While that may be true, most of the Jewish people from the second or third generation are not ready to give that. We see here that it’s too painful.” Boelen declined to speak with the Times until van Hintum’s book is published. But Zilversmit and Röst recorded their conversations with her during their visit. At Boelen’s home, a spacious, three-story house, she served Zilversmit and Röst an enormous lunch — egg salad, fish, salads and other dishes that she had been preparing for days. While they ate, Boelen talked nonstop about her family, her childhood and her health, which she said wasn’t good. After lunch, she led them upstairs to a library full of books, where they continued talking. Zilversmit asked Boelen about looking at the archival material she had received from the government. Boelen balked. “Oh, yeah, I’m going to keep that closed for now,” she said, according to the recording. She explained that she had promised van Hintum that she would not let Zilversmit see it until the historian was finished with her book. “I hope that the trust between you returns,” Boelen said. Zilversmit said her project would not interfere with van Hintum’s book, that she only wanted to tell her own family story. Boelen said at one point that perhaps the argument between the historian and the journalist boiled down to who should make them public first. “The two things can exist completely side by side,” Zilversmit replied. But Boelen would not budge. When the conversation was over, Boelen took the women upstairs to the attic and showed them paintings she had made. Zilversmit was surprised — some depicted scenes from a book that Zilversmit’s aunt, Helga, had written about her experience in surviving the Holocaust. The memoir, “Through the Eye of the Needle,” published in 2006, describes the terror of the family’s betray-

al: Helga’s mother jumping from the roof, hitting an electrical pole and plunging the neighborhood into darkness. Her father hiding behind a chimney. Helga falling to the ground, hurt and captured. Her brother, Hans, able to escape and climb on a passing train. Imprisoned for time in a military barracks, Helga was later sent to the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where, healthy and young, she was picked to make hand grenades and to move the baby carriages of murdered children. Some of the carriages held teddy bears and milk bottles. Judith Zilversmit with family documents and photos at her home “We still heard their screams,” she wrote. One Boelen painting showed the carriages in flames. Another the gates of Auschwitz. in the podcast and said some of the recordings had been Hans was depicted running for the train, Helga at her type- “partly covert.” On the tapes, there is no discussion of whether van writer. “I found it completely surrealistic, to find that there Hintum consents to being in the podcast. But Zilversmit were pictures of my family, here in a Belgian attic,” Zilver- says the historian was fully aware she was being taped, as van Hintum spoke into the microphone and introsmit said in an interview. duced herself. Röst has a photo of what she said was their meeting in Zilversmit’s apartment and the recording equipment is visible in front of van Hintum. At De Balie, the discussion in the theater began with Zilversmit’s podcast began streaming last November. The episodes drew more than 500,000 listeners, which Zilversmit discussing her podcast with the moderator, ranks as very popular in the Netherlands, a country of Ianthe Mosselman. She outlined her concerns over access to her family’s records and spoke of her surprise at 18 million people. Zilversmit told her listeners that her family’s greatest seeing “hundreds” of paintings of her family members betrayal was initiated by Boelen’s grandmother. But she in Boelen’s house. Suddenly someone began shouting from the audisaid she thought they had been mistreated again. She could not make sense of van Hintum’s unwillingness to ence. It was Boelen. She wanted to correct something share information with her. And why would Boelen reach Zilversmit had said. Tension filled the room. Mosselman asked Boelen to out to offer access to the records only to withhold them? Yes, she said in an interview, she might be able to reserve her comments and questions for the end of the access the records herself through a researcher — and discussion. Roughly an hour later, Boelen was given the opportustill might — but that wasn’t the point. In May, Zilversmit was invited to participate in the nity to speak from the audience. She said she thought the panel on intergenerational trauma and shame. The dis- podcast was well done and effective in creating drama cussion, “Descendants: Dealing with a loaded family and drawing in listeners. “But there are things where I think that, well, this past,” was held at De Balie, a prominent Amsterdam is no longer an objective representation of realities,” cultural venue that hosts lectures and debates. Before the event, van Hintum wrote to De Balie, to Boelen said, “but a subjective work that you have creatZilversmit and to other members of the panel to express ed, and in some parts that no longer corresponds with her feelings. Zilversmit and the organization shared cop- reality at all.” There weren’t hundreds of paintings, she added, just ies with the Times. Van Hintum said she felt that she had shown respect 30 or so. They weren’t about the Zilversmit family, just for Zilversmit as a descendant of Holocaust victims and images from Helga’s book. She went on for a bit, and then the moderator stepped back in. did not think she had been treated fairly. “You have, of course, your story, and Judith has her “It is, of course, not a question that Judith has a right to her family’s war history,” she wrote. “However, she story,” Mosselman said. “It will never be one story, and seems to think that she is also automatically the owner maybe these two stories can never really come together.” Zilversmit, onstage, took stock. of many hours of research work by someone else — in “Maybe it’s what Esti Cohen said in the podcast,” she this case, mine.” “Against my will and without my permission,” she offered. “Maybe the time is just not yet ripe in this gencontinued, “I play a significant role in her podcast that eration, for this kind of conversation. Maybe in the next is damaging to my reputation as a researcher and as a generation.” human being.” She disputed that she had given her permission to be © The New York Times

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Forgotten Her es

Jewish Heroes Who Earned the DFC in WWII By Avi Heiligman

Arnold Witoff

y the end of the 1930s, when war in Europe and the Pacific seemed inevitable, military aviation was a crucial part of the overall strategies for the belligerents of World War II. New planes, technologies and tactics were entering the air war, and many new pilots and aircrew were needed to fly these planes and keep them airworthy. Many Jewish airmen answered the call and were on the frontlines of many crucial air battles. These airmen were often decorated for their acts of bravery during these missions, and over 2,000 of them were recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Both the United States and Great Britain awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary actions while on missions. Over 20,000 British DFCs were awarded during World War II, while approximately 126,000 American DFCs were given to military personnel from all branches of service. George Laven, from San Antonio, Texas, flew a P-38 Lightning nicknamed “Itsy Bitsy” in the Pacific and Aleutian theaters, known for their unforgiving weather and terrain. Joining the Army Air Forces in 1940, Laven became an accomplished fighter pilot with the 54th Fighter Group, downing four enemy planes – just one short of becoming an ace. On September 3, 1942, he was given a mission to attack enemy installations

George Laven

on Kiska. Lieutenant Laven flew for eight hours on the 600-mile round trip and destroyed a Japanese flying boat that was in the harbor. Additionally, he struck enemy gun emplacements and a small boat and reported a previously unseen submarine net protecting the harbor. For his extraordinary aerial combat performance across multiple hazardous missions, Laven was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, alongside the Distinguished Service Cross. He remained in the Air Force after the war, retiring in 1969 as a colonel. Lieutenant Arnold Abraham Witoff was a B-17 navigator with the 2nd Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force, operating in the Mediterranean Theater. He flew 50 combat missions, including the dangerous raids on the Ploesti Oil Fields and air support missions for the Allied landings in Southern France in August 1944. During the war, several downed American airmen who had ended up in Russian-controlled territory were released, and Witoff flew them safely back to American bases. For his courage and bravery during these high-risk missions, Witoff was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, four Air Medals, and the Purple Heart. While large four-engine bombers had crews of ten or more airmen, medium bombers such as the B-26 Marauder operated with a crew of five to seven. Staff Sergeant Max Globerman of Detroit was

Meyer Levin

the recipient of sixteen decorations, including the DFC and the Air Medal with thirteen Oak Leaf Clusters. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in 1945 that the 32-year-old was awarded the prestigious DFC for commendable dexterity as a tail gunner. He flew twenty-five missions over Europe while “manipulating his guns with telling effect against enemy fighter plane onslaughts.” Master Sergeant Meyer Levin was a bombardier on B-17 Flying Fortresses. The Brooklyn native graduated high in his class from an aeronautical school, but due to antisemitic hiring practices at the time, he couldn’t find an aviation company that would employ him. Seeking to fly, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939 and was assigned to a B-17 piloted by Captain Colin Kelly of the 19th Bombardment Group. On December 10, 1941, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, they sighted a Japanese naval force, and Kelly turned the controls over to Levin to begin a bombing run. Levin released his bombs on an enemy light cruiser, which sustained damage. Return fire and enemy fighters subsequently downed the bomber; Kelly was killed, but Levin and the other crew members parachuted to safety and were rescued. Although early wartime reports incorrectly stated the ship was sunk, it was nonetheless the first Japanese vessel hit by American bombs after Pearl Harbor, earning Levin the DFC.

After the fall of the Philippines in 1942, Levin was stationed in Australia. He took part in 60 combat missions, including the Battle of the Coral Sea, where he scored a direct hit on a 15,000-ton Japanese transport ship. On January 7, 1943, his aircraft ran into a fierce storm while returning from a mission. Short on fuel, the plane ditched in the ocean. Most of the crew escaped, but Levin drowned while ensuring his crewmates could reach the life rafts. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall personally wrote to his parents, and he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart alongside his earlier honors. Since its establishment in 1926, the Distinguished Flying Cross has been awarded to thousands of military personnel for extraordinary achievement and heroism in flight. Though the DFC has been awarded across many eras of military aviation, the impact of these Jewish airmen during World War II stands out as a vital chapter in aerial combat history. The stories recounted here represent just a few of the Jewish Forgotten Heroes who were awarded the DFC for their courage in the skies of World War II.

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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Quality New Construction!!! showcasing timeless elegance and exceptional Stucco Col. with throughout. 2 Story Entry 9Aftgracious Ceilings, entry 14 Zone Heat which craftsmanship welcomes includes Radiant Heat, Anderson Windows with Lots of Natural you into a elegant living room, a banquet formal OPEN HOUSE 3:00-4:30 223-sized Hickox Avenue Light Throughout, Flr Fdnr, Magnificent Chefs Eik with High End Totally Colonial. New. High Ceilings, Chefs EIK, 5 diningrenovated room, perfect entertaining. The level den Appliances, Dble Ovens for , 6Like Burner Cooktop withmain Pot Filler, Bdrms. Prime Woodmere location! a private retreat relaxing. BEDwith 4 BATH PORBath 2offers Dishwashers, and more. for Master Bdrm 4 Suite Luxurious $1.659M and Walk in closet,+4 Bdrms and 2 Beautiful Bths ,2nd Flr

WOODMERE WOODSBURGH CEDARHURST

Laundry Rm , Full Finished Basement with 10 ft Ceilings Huge Playrm 2 Bdrms and Bth laundry Rm storage, Beautiful Manicured Garden.

SOL

JUST SOLD!

UNDER CONTRACT

Elegant Stone Home with Modern Comfort & Timeless Charm — A rare stately stone residence blending

Spacious Wide Line Expanded Ranch on Most Prestigious and classic architectural beauty with today’s most desirable Serene Cul-de-Sac in Village of Lawrence , Main Flr Master Bdrm amenities, set on lushly grounds with mature OPEN HOUSE 12:30-1:30 1068 Suite with Many Closets andlandscaped Bthrm, Addional Main Flr highland Bdrm & Bath, shrubbery, outdoor lighting, and sprinklers. Center Hall Huge Colonial with Main Level 3 BRs 23Bths Baths Finished Lg Flr Fdnr Den, EIK, Mudrm, +Den 4underground Bdrms on Second Flr, Basment Beautiful Property Beautiful Around Property, $1.690M 6 Beds |Wrap 6 Baths | $3.69M $999K

INWOOD CO-OPS/CONDOS WOODMERE CO-OP

LAWRENCE

261 Central Ave 1st Floor, Large Entry Foyer, Open Concept Kitchen. Large LR/DR Overlooking the Courtyard $229K

LAWRENCE

Private street luxury living in this custom-built 2026 gut-renovated home. 8 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, soaring ceilings & radiant heat. $3.95M

LAWRENCE 348 MULRY LN,

Move-in ready Colonial on 10K+ sq ft. 5BR/4.5BA, radiant floors, finished basement w/ sep entrance. $1.65M

SOLD OFF MARKET!

LAWRENCE 60 BROADWAY,

This stately side-hall colonial with soaring ceilings, beautiful hardwood floors, and incredible bones is truly one of a kind.

SOLD OFF MARKET!

LAWRENCE

240 Central Avenue Spacious 1 Bdrm 1 Bth Apt in Well Maintained Elevator Bldg with Terrace Overlooking Garden, Near All $229K

FAR ROCKAWAY

Welcome tos/h thiscol bi-level offering a bright open This spacious , in thehome prestigious village of woodsburgh, concept for modern living. Thesetting, main floor features sits on 1/2 layout acre property in a. most serene with beautiful waterviews, magnificent sunsets . Flr and banquet fdnr with , a sun filledand living room, dining room kitchen COMMERCIAL RENTAL! NEW! 9 ,Room Drbdrm officesuite Suite, Located breakfast rm, main level den /fpl master with his seamless flow for everyday living and entertaining. This inand theher Heart of Cedarhurst, room, Reception closets and bth + 4Spacious bdrms , waiting new bths, newly renovated home 3+2 bedrooms, including a home office Area andoffers Exam Rooms, alllaundry on Mainrm, Floor. Close to of Public finished basement with playrm, lots storage, or additional bedroom, plus a den/ playroom ideal for Transportation many special details thruout $1.9M+ $6,000 activities. 5 BEDROOMS 2 BATH $1.135 M

156 B 9th St Mint 2BR, 2 BTH Beachfront Condo PRICE ADJUSTMENT! This modern, well maintained with Wraparound Terrace, Magnificent professional medical building is ideal for doctors, Sunrise & Sunset dentists, chiropractors or a combination of professional $589K practices. Built in 2004, this singlestory,Corner Class-A 29 Woodmere Blvd Apt 2B Renovated, Mint, 1 Bdrm property offersSpacious flexibleEat space designed for efficient with 9ft Ceilings. In Kitchen, 2 Sinks, Granite flow and comfortable work areas. Situated on a level Counter tops and S.S. Appliances.Large Lvgrm/Dnr and Largelot, the building features a large private parking lot with 18 Bdrm/BR with Lots of Windows dedicated spaces. Call for details !! REDUCED $299K

LAWRENCE 34 LISMORE RD.

A luxury residence offering over 12,000 sq. ft. of exceptional, high-end living with every amenity you could want.

LAWRENCE 116 HARBORVIEW EAST

New construction, 7-bedroom home on an oversized property in desirable Lawrence Bay Park.

AUGUST 20, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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Classifieds

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESATATE CEDARHURST Prime Restaurant Location For Lease. For more information: Call/Text/WhatsApp Owner: (516) 206-1100 5 TOWNS - SHOWROOM/ Warehouse For Lease 4000 + 1000 SF Can divide - Parking included Next to LIRR - No broker fee Call/text/Whatsapp: 516-206-1100

HOUSE FOR RENT EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY In prime Lawrence 6 spacious bdrs, 5.5 bath plus add 2 bdrs in low level Low taxes, desirable cul de sac Walk to shopping, houses of worship, parks, LIRR 516-784-0856 Alexandra at Exp

HELP WANTED

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership. Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Experience with Excel required. Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote. Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

REGENTS EXPERT

CARE MANAGER

Tutoring regents in Algebra and

Remote (requires in-person

Geometry A Darchei Torah

home visits in NY)

instructor. Guaranteed results

Support families facing serious

Text 347-491-8045

medical or emotional challenges.

BOOKKEEPER A Five Towns Real Estate Company is seeking a full-time Bookkeeper. The right candidate must be proficient with QuickBooks and Excel. They must also be self-motivated, organized, detail oriented, reliable, and able to work independently or as a team player. Warm, frum office environment with excellent salary & benefits. Please email resume to HR@capsprop.com

LEAH SCHEININGER

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Realty Connect USA 516-884-6530 (C) Lscheininger@realtyconnectusa.com @LeahScheininger_Realtor 24 Franklin Ave. Hewlett NY 11557

NEW RENTAL

WOODMERE

Move-in condition high ranch in central Woodmere location. Fully renovated in 2018. Kosher eat-in kitchen, 5 beds, 3 baths. $7500/mo

LAWRENCE

Legal 2-family home on oversized 8600 sq ft lot. Multi-vehicle parking. Great location, close to many shuls & shopping. Asking $1.299M

WOODMERE

Fully updated 4 bed, 3.5 bath colonial in the desirable Academy Area. CAC, kosher eat-in kitchen w/ 2 of everything, finished basement. $8000/ mo

Rare opportunity!! Beautiful, big house in the desirable “Tree Streets” area. 9,000 sq ft lot. 5 beds (upstairs), 3.5 baths. Finished basement. No flood zone. Low taxes! $2.295M

JUST SOLD

WOODMERE

OFF MARKET! 12 Hazel Pl

821 Napoleon St Last ask $1.698M

WhatsApp 347-767-1755

HELP WANTED

Provide guidance, advocacy, and resource coordination from home or

SEEKING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

on-site. Training provided.

For current school year, starting

BA or 2 years Care Management

from end of January: Seeking

required Apply online: www.

assistant teacher for General Studies.

chailifeline.org/careers or

Candidate should have skills to take over for teachers if needed. Far Rockaway area boys’ school, M-Th, PM hours, strong support. Excellent salary. Possibility to continue for next year. Send resume to teachersearch11@gmail.com

email hr@chailifeline.org ARE YOU A DOULA? Or have a passion to be? Come join our great referral group and get access to a vast new clientele through Medicaid. JUST CALL 347-668-7886

We put the “Pro” in

Property!

LAWRENCE

WOODMERE

2 family luxury townhouses on the beach, private balconies, access to private beach and dock. Ayelet (516)993-9561 STARTING AT $1.15M

Welcome to this perfect resort like home, 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms on a 25,047sqft lot. Avigail (516)316-3452 $2.9M

Fully renovated & beautifully redesigned home 5 spacious bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Raizie (917) 903-1778 $2.999M

WOODMERE

CEDARHURST

ATLANTIC BEACH

5 bedroom 2 bath expanded ranch on huge lot in prime Woodmere. Chana (516)449-9692 $6,800/M

A move-in ready beautifully renovated splitlevel home featuring 4 bedroom, 2.5 Baths. Miri (646)515-8813 $1.149M

beautifully redone 4 bedroom, 2.5 Bath located 1 block from the bay and 1 block the ocean. Moshe (516)455-5364 $5,000/M

Custom tudor in the heart of Lawrence. featuring 8 bedrooms, and 9.5 baths on a 12,036sf lot. Avigail (516)316-3452 $6.395M

beautifully maintained split-level home in the highly desirable District 15 of N. Woodmere! Sarah (347)524-9147 $1.225M

Beautiful sun-drenched split-level, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths Nestled on a quiet, tree-lined block. Chana (516)449-9692 $1.378M

Spacious five-bedroom, three-bath Colonial in sought-after District 15 in Woodsburgh. Sarah (347)524-9147 $1.775M

Move-in-ready completed new construction features 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, on a 6,000sf lot. Avigail (516)316-3452 $2.39M

Beautifully renovated 5 bedroom, 3 full bath splanch in an unbeatable location. Miri (646)515-8813 $1.579M

Rare opportunity to purchase fully occupied office building in the heart of Cedarhurst. Raizie (917) 903-1778 Moshe (516-455-5364 $2.39M

Elevate your business in this high-end professional office space, situated in prime Woodmere District. Chana (516)449-9692 $3,000/M

Commercial Storfront in the heart of Cedarhurst. Moshe (516)455-5364 $7,500/M

HALLANDALE BEACH

HOLLYWOOD

additional units available

The Olympus- 2 bedroom, 2 baths, Kayla (347) 729-9863 Chana (516)449-9692 $274K

3 bedrooms, 2 baths, Moshe (443) 630-2006 $550K

2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, Chaim (516) 262-2144 $225K

LAWRENCE

WOODSBURGH

CEDARHURST

Don Miller

Tamar Miller

Hollywood, Florida (954) 300-3142 MillerRealtySouth.com

NORTH WOODMERE

WOODMERE

NORTH WOODMERE

CEDARHURST

DEERFIELD BEACH

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27 Frost Lane Lawrence, NY 11559 (516) 374-4100 www.ftmr.com

FR- SALTMEADOW TOWNHOMES

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HELP WANTED

MDS REGIONAL NURSE

IVDU FIVE TOWNS IN

5 Towns area Nursing Home management office seeking a Regional/Corporate level MDS Nurse to work in our office. Must be an RN. Regional experience

North Woodmere seeks assistants and paras for the 26-27 school year. If you are pursuing a degree in special education, mental health, or ABA, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll learn on the job. Competitive salary + benefits, as well as excellent workplace culture and professional development.

preferred. 2-3 years MDS experience

Send resume to debkatz@ou.org

with good computer skills required. STAFF FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD Position is Full Time but

Center The Marion & Aaron Gural JCC Early Childhood

Part Time can be considered. Great Shomer Shabbos environment

Center is hiring Assistant Teachers for

with some remote options as well. Email: officejob2019@gmail.com

the 2026-2027 school year. Please send resumes to: JCC.Nursery@guraljcc.org or call (516) 239-1354.

NOW HIRING

READING SPECIALIST IVDU Upper Boys School and Boys Middle School in Flatbush is seeking a certified literacy/reading specialist for this school year. The ideal candidate will have training in the explicit instruction of reading and will have experience with individualized instruction in both one-on-one and small-group settings. We offer a competitive salary, a supportive work environment, and strong opportunities for professional development. To apply, please send your resume to Dassa at GutwirthD@ou.org. SPEECH THERAPIST IVDU Upper Boys School and Boys Middle School in Flatbush is seeking a Speech Therapist for a special education school. This position offers a supportive work environment and competitive pay. Interested candidates should please send their resume to Gutwirthd@ou.org TEACHER IVDU Upper Boys School and Boys Middle School in Flatbush is seeking a financial literacy and computer literacy teachers’ teacher for the upcoming school year. We offer a competitive salary and benefits, along with a supportive work environment and strong opportunities for professional development. To apply, please send your resume to: Gutwirthd@ou.org MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IVDU Upper Boys School and Boys Middle School in Flatbush is seeking a driven mental health professional to join our expanding school clinical team.

Responsibilities include school-based counseling (CBT, autism-related work), coordinating services, and supporting classroom behavior. Excellent clinical, communication, and follow-through skills required. Weekly training in autism provided. Positive work environment and excellent salary. Please email Gutwirthd@ou.org to apply. ASSOCIATE TEACHER IVDU Upper Boys School and Boys Middle School in Flatbush is seeking full time associate teachers. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals pursuing a degree in Special Education, Mental Health, or Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to gain hands-on experience and grow professionally. We offer a competitive salary and benefits, along with a supportive work environment and strong opportunities for professional development. To apply, please send your resume to: Gutwirthd@ou.org.

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

HELP WANTED

MISC.

UPSCALE EVENING & Ready-to-Wear Boutique opening on Central Ave seeks fashion-forward, friendly sales associates with retail experience. Full-time & Part-time. Text/WhatsApp 718-310-8550.

SHMIRAS HALASHON

YESHIVA OF GREAT NECK BOYS Yeshiva High School Seeking qualified Hebrew Language teacher for four periods of Regentsfocused instruction weekly. Classes meet twice a week. Hours begin 3:00 pm. Strong content knowledge and teacher experience required. Competitive Compensation. Email recruitment@ yeshivaofgreatneck.org. SEEKING 2 TEACHERS For Science and for History, 4:15-5, M-Th, JH boys. Great environment, great administrative support. Eganz@siachyitzchok.org

Text 516-303-3868 with a time slot of your choice to be careful on lashon hara. Be a part of the 1,000 people for klal yisroel!

BEIS HAMEDRASH CONG. Chasdei Uvois Oshpitzin Talmidei chachomim are willing to learn mishnayos, say kaddish and be the shliach tzibbur to daven for the umid on the yartzeit yom hashanah of your parents or close relatives or loved ones To arrange please call Rabbi Miller 917-445-6220

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Life C ach

Rent a Dip By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

h, dear, it’s hot outside. There are days you feel you’ll melt. The beach clubs have usurped the beaches. You used to be able to just walk on. Of course, you had to shlep your blanket with you which, within minutes, was as sandy as the beach itself. But at least it mapped out your territory. Then again, it also brought the beach home with you later. Lucky you! And you also had to shlep your own beach chair down to the shore in order to watch your kids jumping the waves. This was important so that you wouldn’t miss them as they wandered halfway down the shoreline trying to find you when they got out of the water. It was no easy feat getting the chair there. These chairs didn’t have the back straps they do now that free up your hands. Therefore, you had to squeeze it under your arms to transport the rest of the stuff you were carrying. After all, you had to bring your food,

snacks, drinks, towels, toys and changes of clothing with you, too. No one had the insulated bags, so the drinks were hot, and the snacks were melted. The sandwiches, of course, were pretty fresh though. Until you got them out.

ular either, so you basically came home red as a lobster. And immobile as a deer on headlights. You were a crispy critter in terrible pain. Yet, that was and still is the place to go for the breeze, the water and the relief.

Basically, the sandwich was whatever you put in it plus abundant sand granules.

Then they were inevitably crunchy. No matter what was inside – tuna, peanut butter, cream cheese – it quickly had added crunch. Basically, the sandwich was whatever you put in it plus abundant sand granules. Suntan lotion was not really so pop-

So, if you don’t have a beach club pass, you’re out! Unless you join the new craze: rent a pool. This is the new way to get some relief. People with the good fortune to have their own pool more and more are

sharing their good fortune. Well, maybe not exactly sharing. More like helping to pay the heating and cleaning bills. But either way, it benefits everyone. There’s no sand to wash off, no parking fee to pay and best of all no overly salted water to swallow. Wherever, you can get refreshed, go for it. Remember, summer comes and goes, fast, so enjoy the best of it!

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certifie d 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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