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October 8, 2026

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Dear Readers,

f a tree falls in a forest and no one is around

work in how He runs the world. It’s a reminder to us that miracles don’t just

to hear it, does it make a sound? Does a collapsing tree need an observer

to acknowledge and hear the sound in order for

occur on planes at 34,000 feet. They occur on the ground, each day, every day.

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

the sound to have actually have been produced?

They are the miracles that wake us up ev-

It’s a good philosophical debate, and it’s been

ery morning, that allow us to chew, to laugh, to

discussed for years. But I have another question

play. They are the miracles that give us life and

for you: if G-d performs a miracle, and no one

family and food on our tables. They are the mir-

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

acknowledges it, does that mean that Hashem

acles that make us think and discern and debate

didn’t perform that miracle?

and dance. They are the miracles that keep our

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant

I thought about this last week, when the miracle in the sky was so blatant, so obvious, so ev-

blood flowing, our synapses sparking, our lungs inflating.

ident, that it was hard to look away. There were

Each day. Every day. In and out.

so many steps and details that came together in

But we don’t always acknowledge those won-

such a wonderous way on that fateful flight that

ders that we take for granted. We don’t always

the Hand of G-d was apparent to all.

see the Master Hand guiding us, supporting us,

The confluence of events was certain – each

reviving us. But He’s there. Sometimes we need a message from Above

piece was orchestrated by Above, because how else could it have come so miraculously togeth-

that reminds us of His power and His love. Miracles are occurring constantly, whether

er? And so, we stopped, we stared, we marveled,

or not we stop to gape and stare and marvel.

we praised, we thanked, and we gazed in awe

But shouldn’t we – the recipients of all

at the wisdom of the Creator of the world Who

that goodness – take a few moments amidst

safely brought back home scores of our brothers

the miracles to thank the Master Perform-

and sisters and averted disaster.

er for the gifts He bestows upon us all?

But then I thought about it, and I realized: this open miracle was impetus for us to thank

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

our Creator and to reacknowledge His divine

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka, EDITOR

Nechama Wein Copy Editor Rachel Bergida Shana Brecher Lani White Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classified Deadline: Monday 5:00PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003 PAYMENT VIA CREDIT CARD MUST BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH CLASSIFIED ADS The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

Shabbos Zemanim

Weekly Weather | October 9 – October 15

Friday, October 9 Parshas Bereishis

FRIDAY

SHABBOS

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Rain

Showers

Partly Cloudy

71° 52°

67° 59°

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64° 46°

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Candle Lighting: 6:06 pm Shabbos Ends: 7:04 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 7:35 pm

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

Voice Notes by Pesach Osina

NEWS

Global

National

That’s Odd

ISRAEL Israel News

Miracles by Barbara Deutsch

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

Begin A New by Rav Moshe Weinberger

Still Alive by Judah Mischel

The Deeper Purpose of Torah Wisdom by R’ Shmuel Reichman

Carrying Teshuvah Forward by Nataly Magendzo

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Headlines and Halacha by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

PEOPLE Inspiration Nation

Forgotten Heroes

112

HEALTH & FITNESS Not Every Person Loves a Checkup by Dr. Hylton Lightman

Confused about Confusion? by Dr. Benson Fox

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Artichoke Chicken

LIFESTYLES

The Beautiful Ache of Letting Go by Chayee Blum

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

School of Thought

Over But Not Over Yet by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Dear Editor, I was alarmed when I heard about the hijacked Fly Dubai flight today. Like others, I’m glad everyone is safe in what could have ended in a devastating catastrophe, to say the least. That being said, the world sadly has a tremendous amount of catch up to do to learn from Israel and El Al. Among them: 1. All El Al passengers and their luggage are screened and interviewed before they reach the ticket counter and before passengers board the plane. They should put a metal detector, too. 2. A flight marshal is on board every single flight. 3. At Ben Gurion airport, there are several layers of security, including an interview upon stepping foot into the airport. 4. Israel is considering screening pilots flying to Israel, regardless of airline. They obviously should have done this ages ago. All of these security measures should be done at ALL airports on ALL airlines; the fact that it’s only seen with El Al is just positively inexcusable! Furthermore, I was impressed that Israeli fighter jets, as well as Mossad, rushed to Saudi Arabia to handle this situation as best as possible. Now I know why people feel safest flying El Al. A Reader Dear Editor, As a candidate for the Nassau County Legislature in District 7, I have spent the last six months visiting neighborhoods throughout District 7 and knocking on

many hundreds of doors. I have generally been met with a warm reception; those conversations have reinforced for me how much our neighbors have in common. But I am writing because I also have encountered neighbors who have been persuaded to view every Democrat through the actions or statements of a few politicians. Both the Republican and Democratic parties include members and leaders with a broad spectrum of views on the issues that matter to our communities. In this election, I believe it is important to look beyond party labels and exercise sound judgment and critical thinking. If a candidate shares your values on issues that are important to you–including supporting Israel and combating antisemitism–that candidate should be evaluated on those values as well as on their experience, judgment, and positions on the other key issues facing the residents of Nassau County. Rejecting an entire political party because of the statements or actions of individual politicians risks overlooking candidates who may share many of your values. We should judge candidates as individuals, not simply by the letter next to their name. Our communities deserve thoughtful voters who are willing to look beyond partisan labels and consider what each candidate actually believes and will do in office. Sincerely, Dr. Doug Segan Candidate for Nassau County Legislator District 7 Continued on page 14

118

HUMOR Centerfold

Shmooze and Muse

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

100

Most of Today’s Higher Prices by Marc A. Thiessen

104

The Real Lesson of Oct. 7 by Jonathan S. Tobin

106

Inside a Billionaire’s Paradise

108

CLASSIFIEDS

114

Do the kids in your home make their beds in the morning?

72 28 %

Yes

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Continued from page 12

Dear Editor, With Creation, came three distinct lights: the physical light from the sun, moon, and stars; the hidden light stored away for the righteous; and, as the Zohar notes, the Ein Sof (never-ending) light— G-d’s infinite light that can be tapped into every day. This Ein Sof light is expressed through the ten sefirot, ten levels of emanations, through which G-d reveals Himself in the world. To receive this light, we must be pure vessels fit to absorb it. The advantage to elevating ourselves in purity through Torah and mitzvot is that we can experience more G-dliness and rise to higher levels in the sefirot framework. The greater the purity and absence of sin, the more room we make for the Divine. We know Moshe, the greatest prophet who ever lived, is described in Avot as a mekabel, receiver of the Torah at Sinai. He made himself a pure vessel that could receive, and he was imbued with the highest levels of spirituality, expressed through his radiant aura. Steven Genack Dear Editor, In the last few years, there has been a gigantic increase in the supply of Jewish podcasts floating around. I guess it evolved from what was originally known as blogs that people were writing, but with the rise of YouTube and Spotify and all sorts of other avenues, they are now spread all over the world in just a few moments. Everyone these days wants to be heard; everyone wants to get a chance to say their piece in the spotlight. But like all other content that a Jew must monitor before it enters their house, podcasts are no different. There is a great danger especially to the young ears and eyes of society where they could be innocently listening to someone that looks quite frum, and yet the content can resemble what you might get at a secular university or me-

dia station. These programs don’t come with hashgachos, and the freedom of the internet has given anyone permission to say whatever they want. Unfortunately, not everyone is equipped to give a Torah opinion on something. Quite the opposite – sometimes a lack of connection to the Torah in someone’s life can lead them to say all sorts of things that contradict rabbanim and basic Yiddishkeit principles. It’s important to know who you’re listening to and what you’re listening to, because the damage it can do hashkafically is not always noticeable until the person slowly changes from who they once were. Seemingly innocent programs have ridiculed elements of religious life and rabbinical figures all in the name of “good fun,” but there are some things forbidden to ever play with. Keep those ears clean! Benyamin Rivlin Dear Editor, I was in a shul out-of-town for Simchas Torah, and I noticed that each child received a fancy pecklach packaged by a business. I was kind of surprised as outof-town is usually more simpler. I was told that cost of the pecklach bags and refreshments for the kids was sponsored and cost $4,500. This didn’t include the sponsored upscale kiddush. I also heard others talking that the shul could have arranged for people to pack the pecklach and it would’ve costed a fraction of the price. In addition, there’s been ongoing discussion of the shul struggling financially. The rest of the money could have been used for the expenses of the shul or even to benefit the children’s programming during the year. There is tremendous pressure in shuls to make fancy kiddushim, Chanukah and Purim parties, etc. However, it sometimes seems like the basic expenses of running a shul are being overlooked. A Reader

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

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

The Week In News

School Protests Sweep France

A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday after picking up a police grenade during nationwide protests in France over deteriorating school conditions, as demonstrations continued to disrupt hundreds of high schools across the country. The teenager was injured in the northern city of Lens. According to a police union source, he apparently picked up a sting-ball grenade that had been fired by riot police, and it exploded in his hand. The protests began in mid-September and have spread rapidly, with students blocking school entrances and demanding action over chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded schedules, crumbling buildings, and classrooms poorly equipped to handle increasingly hot weather. More than 400 of France’s roughly 3,700 high schools were partially or fully closed on Monday, according to the Education Ministry. In the Paris region, about one-third of schools serving students ages 15 to 17 were expected to remain shut. “We’re missing our lessons to give you one,” read one sign outside a Paris high school. While many demonstrations remained peaceful, others have turned violent. In Lille, masked protesters smashed bus shelters and set garbage bins on fire as police responded with tear gas. Elsewhere, students fired fireworks toward officers. Since the protests began, 24 schools have been burned or vandalized, and more than 5,000 people have been arrested, about 85% of them minors. Students have also accused police of using excessive force. The French Human Rights League criticized security tactics on Monday, saying authorities were failing to show sufficient restraint when

dealing with minors. “There is no directive to show restraint, even though they are dealing with children,” league president Nathalie Tehio said. The government, meanwhile, says it is working to address the students’ complaints while blaming hard-left activists for fueling some of the unrest. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has called for local officials to urgently fill long-term teacher vacancies and scheduled talks with regional leaders about renovating aging school buildings. The government is also proposing legislation that could force families to help pay for public property damaged by minors.

Nobel Prize in Medicine

Three scientists whose work gave researchers a new way to peer into the brain’s wiring have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were honored on Monday for developing optogenetics, a technique that uses light to activate or silence specific nerve cells. Anna Wedell, a member of the Nobel committee, described the method as a “light-sensitive switch” that lets researchers “map which cells are responsible for which function” in the brain. The breakthrough began with Hegemann and Nagel, German researchers who studied a light-sensitive protein called channelrhodopsin found in algae. They discovered that when the protein was introduced into other cells, those cells could also respond to light. Deisseroth, a Stanford University professor of bioengineering and psychiatry, then adapted the discovery for nerve cells, effectively turning light into a remote control for parts of the brain. The result has transformed neuroscience. Researchers have since used optogenetics to study the circuits involved in pain, thirst, eating, reward, attention, social behavior, memories and emotions.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Scientists hope the technology could eventually contribute to treatments for conditions including depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The Nobel committee said the work “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.” Deisseroth said he was working late and had just begun falling asleep when the Nobel committee called. “My phone rang at my bedside,” he said. “There was about 30 seconds when I had trouble forming words.” Nagel received his news under considerably sunnier circumstances: sitting on a terrace in Italy. “I didn’t expect this, really!” he said, adding that he had long believed it was too early for optogenetics to receive medicine’s top honor. The field is already moving beyond the laboratory. Researchers have experimented with optogenetic techniques to restore limited vision in people with certain forms of blindness and are studying whether similar methods could improve cochlear implants. The three scientists will share the prize of 12 million Swedish krona, roughly $1.2 million. Their discovery began with tiny algae

swimming toward light. Decades later, that same light is helping scientists illuminate some of the brain’s darkest mysteries.

Many Still Missing in Nepali Flood

Nearly 40 days after catastrophic flash floods devastated parts of Nepal, authorities have officially ended the active search-and-rescue operation for thousands of people who remain missing. The August 26 disaster along the Bhote Koshi River killed at least 1,455 people and left more than 5,285 people missing. Among those still unaccounted for are dozens of Americans, Britons, and Ukrainians, as well as citizens of Australia and India. Most are feared to have been swept away when massive walls of water tore

through towns and villages in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. “We are moving from the search-andrescue phase to the search-and-rehabilitation phase,” said Phanindra Paudel, chief of Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Centre. Authorities said they are also beginning the difficult legal process of declaring some of the missing dead so relatives can handle insurance claims, banking matters and other formalities. “We are initiating due processes to complete required legal formalities,” Paudel said. Nearly 13,800 people have been rescued since the flooding began. Identification of the dead remains painfully slow. Of the 1,455 bodies recovered, only 112 have been returned to their families following DNA testing. More than 1,300 others have been temporarily buried while authorities work to establish their identities. “A large number of people are missing, and the bodies that have been found ... are difficult to identify,” police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle said. “We understand the pain people are in, and our teams are working diligently.” Officials said rescue crews will no longer conduct widespread searches for bodies, although any remains, valuables or property discovered during rebuilding efforts will be recovered. Emergency rescues will also continue when necessary. The floods caused enormous economic damage, destroying 12 hydroelectric projects. More than 800 workers from the facilities remained missing as of last month. An estimated 33,000 displaced residents have spent weeks in temporary shelters, while the government estimates that rebuilding and rehabilitation could cost nearly $5 billion. Nepal is moving to reduce the threat of future disasters by draining four high-altitude glacial lakes considered at risk of breaching their natural barriers. “Our aim is to lower the risk of the lakes breaching their natural dams and reduce the risk of downstream floods,” government expert Subash Tuladhar said. Across the border in China, authorities have reported 43 deaths, while 519 people remain missing.

Death from Plague in Russian Lab Russian health authorities have placed dozens of people under observation after a 28-year-old laboratory technician at a

Siberian institute that studies plague and other dangerous infectious diseases died from a mysterious case of pneumonia. The woman, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia. Russian officials said she was diagnosed with pneumonia of “unknown” origin before her death.

The case has drawn international attention, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Moscow to provide more information. “I think it’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Rubio said on Tuesday. “Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know, but I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate.” “We’re watching it very closely, hour by hour,” he added. Russian health agency Rospotrebnadzor has sought to calm fears, saying tests found no evidence that Shipilova had contracted any microorganism connected to her laboratory work. The agency said the regional “epidemiological situation” remains stable. Still, officials have taken extensive precautions. The hospital where Shipilova was treated has placed its inpatient facility under quarantine, and several departments temporarily stopped admitting or discharging patients. Local authorities also canceled a community event amid concerns over the unexplained illness. Unofficial reports have said nearly 200 people are being monitored. Several individuals who had contact with Shipilova later tested positive for COVID-19 or rhinovirus, according to Russian authorities. President Donald Trump said the United States would be prepared to assist Russia if necessary. “Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we’re always willing to help,” Trump said. “It’s a rough disease.” The World Health Organization said it was in contact with Russian officials to verify the circumstances of the case and review laboratory testing. Based on available information, the WHO said the risk to the general public appeared to be “low.”

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Nevertheless, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan announced heightened health precautions, including increased monitoring at border crossings. One regional official initially said Shipilova may have died “possibly from the plague,” though that has not been confirmed. Pneumonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, can be deadly but is treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed early. Experts stressed that the disease is far less easily transmitted than respiratory viruses such as COVID-19. For now, the cause of Shipilova’s death remains unclear, while Russian authorities continue testing and surveillance.

German Ex-Spy Chief Accused of Treason Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage and treason, federal prosecutors announced. August Hanning, 80, who led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from 1998 to 2005, was taken into custody in southern Germany. A

former aide, identified by prosecutors only as Manfred D., was also arrested in western Germany. Federal prosecutors said Hanning is “strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage.”

Manfred D., who once served as Hanning’s chief of staff, is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and espionage. Authorities did not disclose which foreign country or intelligence service the two men are suspected of assisting. According to prosecutors, Manfred D. continued working in senior positions at the BND after Hanning left the agency, eventually serving as chief of staff to several subsequent intelligence chiefs from 2012 until March 2026. “In his role, he had access to confidential information,” prosecutors said. Investigators allege that beginning in

the spring of 2010, Manfred D. repeatedly passed sensitive intelligence to Hanning in exchange for payment. Over the years, prosecutors say, roughly 2,000 documents were transferred, many containing classified material intended strictly for internal BND use, including information prepared for senior intelligence briefings. Hanning allegedly used some of the material in his private consulting business after leaving government service. Prosecutors also said that on at least one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence supplied by Manfred D. to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. The arrests mark a striking turn for one of Germany’s former top intelligence officials, who once headed the country’s primary foreign intelligence agency. Police searched properties connected to both men on Tuesday as the investigation continued.

More Arrests in British Terror Plot British counterterrorism police arrested a seventh suspect this week in

connection with an alleged plot targeting a U.S.-operated military air base in England, an incident British officials have linked to Iran. The 22-year-old British national was arrested on Tuesday in central London’s Westminster district on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, according to Counter Terrorism Policing.

The arrest is the latest development in an investigation surrounding RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base about 100 miles west of London that has been used by American B-52 and B-1 bombers, including during U.S. strikes against Iran earlier this year. Five British men in their 20s were arrested near the base’s perimeter during the early hours of September 27. A sixth suspect, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man, was taken into custody in London last week. All six have since been released

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

on bail while the investigation continues. Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said investigators “continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry” and “remain committed to investigating all possible angles.” The original security alert prompted the evacuation of scores of residents living near RAF Fairford as armed officers and military bomb-disposal teams descended on the area. Police later said gasoline, described as an accelerant, had been discovered in three vans associated with the suspects. No explosives were found. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there are “strong indications” that Iran was connected to the incident, though officials have not publicly detailed the evidence behind that assessment or disclosed the exact nature of the suspected plot. Iran has denied involvement. Tehran has previously warned, however, that it views military installations used to launch attacks against Iranian territory as legitimate targets. The United States moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford on Sunday. It remains unclear whether the transfer was directly connected to the in-

vestigation. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the aircraft were moved because of a threat. “If we’re going to be threatened, we would just move them, and that sort of alleviates that,” Trump said, adding that those behind the threat “would be linked to Iran.” British officials have declined to confirm reports that concerns about a possible drone attack contributed to the decision to move the bombers.

Yemen Renews Houthi Fight

The Saudi-backed government of Yemen on Sunday announced a major military campaign against the Houthi militia, a key Iranian ally, plunging the Middle

East deeper into war. In a televised speech, Rashad alAlimi, the leader of the internationally recognized Yemeni government — which depends heavily on Saudi Arabia for financial and military support — said that his armed forces were seeking to reclaim the territory lost to the Houthis over the past 12 years. In a statement hours later, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for a Saudi military coalition in Yemen, said that Saudi Arabia had the right to defend itself from Houthi attacks and pledged “full operational support” to the Yemeni military to fight the militia until it is “eliminated.” Asked about the campaign, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi political official, accused Saudi Arabia of waging war in Yemen to “impose its tutelage and interfere in sovereign decision-making.” The announcement marks the second time that the Yemeni government has sought to fight the Houthis with Saudi support. In 2015, a Saudi-led intervention devolved into a grinding war that contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people from violence, hunger and disease, and failed to defeat the Houthis. Last time, the campaign hinged on U.S. support and weaponry, and Saudi officials have sought U.S. assistance this time, too. The U.S. is providing intelligence, planning and targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia to help its Yemeni allies, according to one current and one former U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. Saudi Arabia has sent military advisers into Yemen to coordinate a ground offensive by the government’s armed forces, they said. More than 200 U.S. intelligence and military analysts are aiding the Saudi government in command centers inside the kingdom, helping to analyze and select targets, the officials said. The United States is also providing aerial refueling for Saudi warplanes conducting defensive air patrols, they added. The new fighting has compounded the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. More than 800 people have been killed since early August, according to the World Health Organization, while the World Food Program says more than 150,000 people have been displaced. (© The New York Times)

Ebola Comes to Kenya

Kenya confirmed its first case of Ebola on Tuesday after a Kenyan man who had traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi, raising concerns that the outbreak in eastern Congo may be spreading beyond the region. Kenya is now the third country to report a case connected to the Congo outbreak, which has grown into the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record, with more than 8,000 reported cases. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year before being declared Ebola-free in August. The Kenyan patient had lived in Congo for seven years and had reportedly been ill for about a month before beginning his journey, Health Minister Aden Duale said. He traveled by road from Congo to Kampala, Uganda, before flying to Nairobi on Saturday. After arriving at Nairobi’s international airport, the man passed through an airport health screening. He was later taken by a relative to Nairobi Hospital, where he was admitted with fever, chills and bleeding beneath the skin. He was quickly isolated but died late on Monday. Health Ministry Director General Patrick Amoth said medication the man had taken may have temporarily concealed his symptoms, allowing him to pass airport screening. Officials said the patient would be buried under strict safety procedures intended to prevent further transmission. Kenyan authorities have identified 28 people who had contact with the patient, including relatives and healthcare workers. Officials are also attempting to locate 23 passengers and four crew members who were aboard his Jambojet flight. Jambojet, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, said it was cooperating with health authorities. Duale sought to reassure the public, saying Kenya has trained nearly 5,000 healthcare workers in Ebola prevention and treatment. “We have continued to maintain, as a country, a high level of alert for Ebola

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

since the outbreak began in May,” he said. Julien Harneis, the United Nations’ senior Ebola coordinator, also expressed confidence in Kenya’s ability to contain the case. “With a solid health response — which is what my colleagues expect from the Kenyan government — this will be managed,” he said. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding. The current Congo outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, has been blamed for more than 4,000 deaths.

Elections in Brazil

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was not on the ballot on Sunday, but his political movement emerged as one of the biggest winners of Brazil’s firstround elections. Bolsonaro, 71, is serving a 27-year sentence over a plot to overturn the results of the 2022 election and has been under house arrest since March because of health concerns. Yet his influence remained evident as his eldest son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, unexpectedly finished first in the presidential vote. Flavio won about 47% of the vote, compared with roughly 45% for leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, setting up a runoff between the two on October 25. The strong showing capped a broader surge for Bolsonaro’s right-wing Liberal Party, which won races across the country and nearly doubled its representation in Brazil’s 81-seat Senate to 28 seats. Several members of the Bolsonaro family also won office. Former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and Bolsonaro’s son Carlos secured Senate seats, while his brother Renato and youngest son Jair Renan won seats in the lower house. “In Brazilian political history, I do not remember any political clan that ever managed to elect so many members all at once,” political analyst Antonio Flavio Testa said. Flavio’s candidacy had initially faced skepticism even among center-right pol-

iticians. When his father chose him to run in December, markets reacted negatively, and no major outside party joined the ticket. Flavio ultimately chose little-known lawmaker Alfredo Gaspar as his running mate. Jair Bolsonaro, barred from campaigning publicly, nevertheless remained a central figure in his son’s campaign. An AI-generated avatar of the former president was even used to endorse Flavio at his campaign launch. The election results could also have implications for the elder Bolsonaro’s legal future. With the Liberal Party’s stronger presence in Congress, an effort to grant him amnesty is expected to become a major issue next year. Flavio has made clear that he hopes his father will be part of a possible presidential transition. “I ask G-d for the opportunity to walk up the ramp of Planalto Palace next year alongside President Jair Messias Bolsonaro,” he said in September. For now, the presidency remains undecided. Flavio and Lula will face each other again on October 25, with both campaigns seeking to win over voters who backed other candidates in the first round.

Miracle on Flydubai

What began as a routine Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv turned into a terrifying fight for survival and an extraordinary series of miracles after the co-pilot attacked the captain and attempted to crash the plane with more than 170 people aboard. Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was en route to Israel on September 30 when co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, repeatedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit. UAE authorities have since described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack; Is-

raeli officials say the co-pilot appears to have intended to bring down the plane. Within seconds of the stabbing, the flight plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to flight-tracking data cited by Reuters. But what happened next turned what could have become one of the deadliest aviation attacks in years into an extraordinary survival story. Despite being seriously wounded, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door before collapsing, giving passengers access to the cockpit. “We knew there was an attack because a woman screamed ‘stabbing’ and the plane shook,” passenger Yaniv Hayun, 50, recalled. “At that moment I ran to the cockpit, and the plane dived.” Hayun – who was seated in row 18 – and several other Israeli passengers raced forward. “One [pilot] was down and one was on the controls,” Hayun later told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I grabbed the assailant and put him in a chokehold, and pulled him out.” After dragging the attacker out of the cockpit, Hayun realized that the plane itself was still diving. He returned to the controls and pulled back on the yoke. “We pulled the assailant out,” he said. “After I pulled him out, we took control of the plane. I pulled up the yoke, I straightened the plane out a bit.” Asked by Netanyahu how he knew what to do, Hayun offered a response that quickly went viral. “I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr. Prime Minister,” he said. Other passengers joined the struggle. Tzvika Manes, an Israeli bank executive traveling with his family, helped hold down the terrorist. He said passengers ultimately used corded airline headphones to tie the terrorist up. Dr. Shota Musaev helped treat the badly injured captain, while Asaf Rajuan and other passengers assisted in restraining the suspect. Rajuan later rejected the hero label. “I’m not a hero,” he said. “It’s something you do without thinking, running to save your daughter’s life, your family’s life, your wife, and all the staff and people on the plane. You don’t think – you just act.” Passengers described a chaotic scene as the aircraft spiraled downward, with people being thrown through the cabin. Manes said he first pulled his young daughter away from the bathroom before rushing toward the cockpit. As the aircraft plunged, his daughters screamed, “We don’t want to die.” “It was a very difficult scenario,”

Manes recalled. “But because we’re Israelis, we responded quickly.” Then came another extraordinary element of hashgacha: Two additional Flydubai pilots happened to be passengers on the flight. The pilots were “deadheading” — traveling as passengers because they were scheduled to operate another flight — and were able to enter the cockpit after the attacker was subdued. “This is one of the miracles,” passenger Daniel Schlichter said. “Not in every flight they bring two extra pilots.” One of the pilots reportedly climbed over the group of passengers restraining the suspect and took the controls, while the second soon joined him. The badly damaged aircraft was eventually stabilized and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. For Lital Shahar, who was aboard with her four daughters, there was no question how she viewed their survival. “There were two miracles,” Shahar said after arriving safely in Israel, “that Israelis were on the plane who heroically went into the cockpit…and that there were off-duty pilots onboard who could land the plane in Saudi Arabia.” “It was so scary to death on the plane,” she said. “I felt sick. There are no words to describe what we experienced. Imagine I’m a mother and had my four girls next to me.” Shahar told her children during the terrifying descent to pray for a miracle. She later described their survival as a “miracle wrapped in a miracle.” Even Machchhar, fighting for his life inside the cockpit, later spoke of faith sustaining him. The captain told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that as he lay wounded, he repeated religious prayers and believed that “G-d would save us.” “When I was lying on the floor, I could feel the aircraft was going down,” Machchhar said. “I knew exactly that this would be the last push. I told myself that if I didn’t get up, there would be a problem. I managed to open the door, and then everyone else came in.” The dramatic rescue has drawn widespread praise from Israeli leaders. Netanyahu met several of the passengers after their return and hailed them as heroes, embracing Hayun and praising the civilians who had rushed into the cockpit. Investigators, meanwhile, have increasingly focused on the co-pilot’s background and whether the attack had been planned long in advance. “We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

instead of away from it. One passenger knew enough about aviation to help pull a diving plane upward. A doctor happened to be there to treat the wounded pilot. And, remarkably, two trained pilots happened to be sitting among the passengers. By the time the replacement flight finally reached Ben Gurion Airport, those onboard had already begun describing their survival with a word that would be repeated again and again: Miracle.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Flight Crew Screenings

said. “That appears to be something we are gathering from his personal information.” “It looks very likely that he was going to down the plane,” Netanyahu added, pointing to what he described as the suspect’s Islamist radicalization. Before he was hired by the UAE-based airline, Al Hammami – who has a Syrian mother and was born in the UAE – had been banned from flying by Oman over fears he had adopted extremist views.

In a later statement, Netanyahu went further. “As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer; the attacker underwent Islamist radicalization,” he said. “He came to crash the plane with its passengers. We are investigating whether he was dispatched, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.” UAE authorities have launched a broad investigation into whether the attack was connected to a terrorist orga-

nization, whether the suspect received outside direction, and how he was able to become a pilot despite apparent warning signs in his background. For the passengers, however, the investigation comes after the more immediate reality that they somehow made it home and how G-d showed His strength and love through an open miracle in the skies that day: A wounded captain found the strength to open a cockpit door. Ordinary passengers ran toward danger

Israeli officials are moving to tighten screening of foreign airline crews after an investigation into the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight exposed significant gaps in the country’s aviation security system. During a Knesset committee hearing on Tuesday, officials revealed that 1,240 airline crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel entered the country over the past year, including citizens of Syria and Lebanon. The disclosure came as authorities investigate Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who is accused of attacking the captain of Flydubai Flight FZ1073 and attempting to seize control of the Tel Aviv-bound aircraft. Investigators believe al-Hammami intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport, with a U.S. military base in Jordan reportedly serving as a backup target. The National Security Council has now been asked to work with the Mossad and Shin Bet to identify countries considered high security risks. Under a proposed new system, airlines flying from those countries would be required to submit passenger and crew lists 48 hours before departure for security approval. Transportation Minister Miri Regev called for “immediate measures” to prevent a similar incident, including a new aviation visa or comparable authorization for everyone flying into Israel. Regev also proposed requiring airlines to provide advance information on crew members and passengers from highrisk countries, with the names reviewed by Israeli intelligence agencies before

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

flights are permitted to depart. The measures follow revelations that al-Hammami, an Omani citizen, had reportedly been removed from flying duties at Oman Air because of concerns over radicalization before later being hired by Flydubai. Israeli authorities nevertheless did not flag him before the flight. Shin Bet personnel have traveled to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the investigation. According to Israeli reports, al-Hammami told investigators that he wanted revenge over Israel’s actions in Gaza. Investigators have found no evidence that the flight attendants assisted him in the attack. The attack was ultimately thwarted after the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower the terrorist. Despite the incident, Israeli and Emirati officials are also discussing the resumption of Flydubai’s Israel service, which previously included as many as 10 flights per day.

1 Million Calls for Help

Nearly one million people have reached out to Israel’s ERAN emotional support hotline since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, underscoring the deep and lingering psychological toll of years of war, grief, and uncertainty. According to a report released on Tuesday, ERAN received 928,911 inquiries over the past three years, including more than 774,000 phone calls and over 154,000 digital contacts through WhatsApp, chat, SMS and email. “The three years of war have confronted us with a harsh and ongoing reality,” said ERAN CEO David Koren. “Behind every call for help stands a person grappling with pain, loss, anxiety, loneliness, or burnout — and often a combination of

these.” While calls initially centered on trauma, panic and grief, the nature of the distress has shifted over time. Loneliness has emerged as the most common concern, rising from about 28% of all calls during the first year of the war to 41% in the third year. ERAN officials said the increase reflects the cumulative impact of prolonged uncertainty, strained families, and disrupted social life. Particularly concerning was the increase in calls from children, teenagers, and young adults under age 24. That group now accounts for nearly one-quarter of all inquiries. Among them, calls involving suicidal thoughts, intentions or actions rose from 2.6% in the first year to 4.4% in the third. Across all age groups, ERAN handled 21,829 suicide-related contacts during the three-year period. The organization cautioned that the figures do not necessarily indicate a rise in actual suicide rates but noted that they do show a growing need for accessible, long-term support. Soldiers and reservists have also been heavily affected. ERAN received some 160,000 calls from military personnel, with loneliness cited in 41% of their in-

quiries during both the second and third years of the war. ERAN officials said many soldiers struggle to transition between intense combat experiences and ordinary life at home. Shiri Daniels, ERAN’s national professional director, urged people not to ignore signs of distress, even when daily life appears to have returned to normal. “Listen closely,” Daniels said. “That way, we can offer help before their distress deepens.”

Hunting the Oct. 7 Terrorists

Some 4,000 terrorists who took part in the October 7, 2023, massacre have been killed over the past three years, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday, as Israel continues efforts to track

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

pants in the massacre. Investigators have used videos, photographs and other evidence — including footage recorded by terrorists themselves — along with facial recognition technology to compile lists of suspects. The list also reportedly includes Hamas commanders and other senior figures accused of planning and directing the attack. Israeli forces have stepped up operations against October 7 participants in recent months. In September alone, the IDF said 17 terrorists who took part in the massacre, abducted hostages, or held captives in Gaza were killed in Israeli strikes. Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ordered the military and other security agencies to pursue all those who participated in the attack, “without limitation and under any circumstances, from the senior ranks to the junior ranks.”

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

CA to Ban Quartz Counters

down those involved in the attack. “Six thousand terrorists crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and carried out the atrocities,” Katz said in a statement. “Of them, 4,000 have been killed so far, leaving another 2,000.” The figures were presented by Military Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder during a cabinet meeting on Sunday night. The latest estimate is somewhat higher than previous IDF assessments, which

had put the number of terrorists who entered Israel during the Hamas-led assault at approximately 5,600. Israeli officials had previously estimated that between 1,200 and 1,600 attackers were killed inside Israel during the massacre itself. According to the updated figures, thousands of terrorists returned to Gaza after the attack, with roughly 2,400 subsequently killed during the war or in targeted Israeli strikes. Another approximately 300 suspected participants have

been captured and are awaiting prosecution before special military tribunals, which have not yet been established. Israel has devoted significant intelligence and military resources to identifying those who participated in the October 7 attack, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. A special joint IDF-Shin Bet unit known as “Nili” has spent the past three years identifying and tracking partici-

California is set to become the first state to ban the production or installation of manufactured quartz, amid mounting cases of a lethal lung disease among workers who carve the material for kitchen countertops. The emergency regulation, which California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is expected to pass in October, signals growing alarm over the ill effects of a popular alternative to granite and marble. The board, made up of health, labor and corporate leaders, unanimously agreed in May to take up the proposed ban, which would target manufactured stone that contains more than 1% of crystalline silica. The rule would be subject to brief state review before taking effect. Manufactured quartz is packed with crystalline silica, which is released as dust into the air when a slab is cut. The

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

particles lodge in the lungs, prompting an aggressive immune response; scar tissue forms, slowly killing the lung. By the time silicosis is diagnosed, patients often need a single or double lung transplant. Representatives for manufacturers and distributors in the $30 billion engineered-stone industry say quartz is safe. They blame fabrication workshops further down the chain of production, where engineered stone slabs are cut to spec, for the surge in silicosis cases. There are many such fabrication workshops in California. Many of the workers have tenuous immigration status. Since 2019, California has confirmed 657 silicosis cases and 35 silicosis-related deaths among countertop workers, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. The state has also recorded a rising tide of lawsuits for injuries related to stone cutting, with multimillion-dollar verdicts. The workers, along with their lawyers, doctors and occupational health experts, have said there is no safe way to cut quartz. California’s ban would be an acknowledgment that the state’s laws requiring safer processing techniques for quartz are not enough to protect workers: Compliance is too low and the industry too fragmented, with many small shops that escape inspection, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations, which has pushed for the ban. (© The New York Times)

Hawaiian Cliff Collapses

A prominent cliff on the wave-battered coast of Hawaii’s Big Island collapsed recently, according to the National Parks Service. The Holei Sea Arch, situated within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, was roughly 90 feet high before it collapsed between September 23 and September 27, possibly during a temporary park closure for Tropical Storm Nolo. While anticipated, its fall into the Pacific Ocean marks “the latest transformation of the park’s remote and rugged coastline,” the NPS said in a Facebook post.

Officials at the park service warned visitors to keep away from the unstable location, citing severe falling risks. “Photos on social media show people entering the closed area near where the sea arch once stood, putting themselves and first responders at great risk of falling and drowning,” the NPS stated. The arch’s name, Holei, originates from a small endemic plant in the milkweed family. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park confirmed the news on Facebook: “So when did it happen? The 90-foot Hōlei Sea Arch was still standing on September 23 but had collapsed by Sunday night, September 27. The exact time of the collapse is unknown and could have occurred when the park was temporarily closed during Tropical Storm Nolo. Hōlei Sea Arch is a very special place to so many of our visitors!”

Chinese Spy Arrested at LAX

Federal authorities arrested a California woman at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, accusing her of secretly working for the Chinese government and conducting surveillance on relatives of Taiwan’s president living in the United States. Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, of Irvine, was taken into custody before boarding a flight to China, according to the Justice Department. She has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if she is convicted. Prosecutors say Zhang traveled to China in June 2025, where she met with Chinese government officials and was instructed to gather information about relatives of a senior Taiwanese official. Several months later, Zhang and another person allegedly traveled to the Seattle area, rented a vehicle and drove to the family’s home. Authorities say Zhang photographed and recorded the residents and sent Chinese officials license plate numbers belonging to vehicles at the property.

Law enforcement sources identified the surveillance target as Lai Ting-yu, the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. According to court documents, Zhang messaged a Chinese contact after spotting the target, writing, “Saw him, young male, it’s the young one.” When asked to join an audio call, she allegedly responded, “I am videorecording.” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the allegations demonstrate the need to confront covert foreign operations inside the United States. “Ms. Zhang acted at the direction of Chinese government officials to spy on the family of a senior Taiwanese official here in the United States,” Essayli said. “We will aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal foreign operations on American soil.” Taiwan’s presidential office condemned the alleged operation, describing it as a case of “transnational repression” and thanked American authorities. Beijing said it was unfamiliar with the specifics of the case and rejected accusations concerning Chinese espionage activities. The arrest comes amid continued tensions between Beijing and Taipei. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan operates as a self-governing democracy. Federal officials emphasized that the charges against Zhang are allegations and that she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Firing Squad for Terrorist

Nidal Malik Hasan, a convicted terrorist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Ft. Hood in 2009, has been sentenced to death by firing squad, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on Monday. Parnell said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “recommended” it, and President Trump “approved” it. Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. Hasan represented himself during his 2013 trial and said in his opening statement that “the evidence will clearly show

that I am the shooter.” He added later that it would show “that we are imperfect Muslims trying to establish the perfect religion … I apologize for any mistakes I made in this endeavor.” Brad Sigmon was executed by firing squad last year. The 67-year-old was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001 and sentenced to death in 2002. He chose the method over the electric chair and lethal injection, the other two death penalty methods in South Carolina. Prior to Sigmon, death by firing squad had not been used for 15 years. “The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell said.

An End to a Rocky Ride

One of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s most famous roller coasters remains shut down as lawsuits mount from riders who say they suffered serious brain injuries after riding it. X2, the California park’s distinctive rotating-seat coaster, has been closed since July 12, with no reopening date announced. The closure comes as three new lawsuits allege that riders suffered traumatic brain injuries after riding X2. Attorneys involved in the cases say they now represent more than 100 other people who have reported similar injuries over the past two years. The allegations have not been proven in court. X2 has long been one of the park’s signature attractions. Originally opened as X in 2002, it was billed as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster. Riders sit in seats positioned on either side of the track that rotate independently while the train races through steep drops and inversions at speeds reaching 76 mph. The ride reopened as X2 following renovations in 2008. The latest lawsuits were filed on behalf of Pamela Guillen, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, and Michael Wilk. Guillen rode X2 on July 5 while celebrating her daughter’s 16th birthday.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Measles Hits NY

According to her lawsuit, she later underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage. Greer-Wilkinson rode the coaster six days later, collapsed afterward, and also required emergency brain surgery. Doctors treating both women reportedly attributed their injuries to the ride’s rapid acceleration and deceleration. Wilk rode X2 in February and later sought medical attention after experiencing cognitive problems, according to his lawsuit. An MRI reportedly revealed bleeding and

swelling in his brain, leading to surgery. California safety officials are also investigating the attraction. Cal/OSHA opened an inspection after emergency responders were called to the park in July, and the probe remains ongoing. The ride has faced legal scrutiny before. In 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley died after riding X2. His family later sued Six Flags and the coaster’s manufacturer, S&S Worldwide. That case was settled in August for undisclosed

terms. For now, X2 remains off-limits, though Magic Mountain continues operating more than a dozen other major roller coasters. Six Flags has not said when X2 might reopen, and state officials have not indicated when their investigation will be completed.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, the first such declaration by a U.S. state since cases began surging in 2025. The state also expanded the pool of health professionals allowed to administer measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines as cases rise in rural communities. “No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease,” Hochul said. New York has reported 108 measles cases this year through October 3, including 92 since July 15 in under-immunized rural communities across 18 counties, well above typical annual levels, according to the executive order. Seven of the cases are in New York City and 101 are elsewhere in the state, the governor’s office said. Local health departments have administered more than 1,000 MMR doses in rural areas since July 15. Neighboring Pennsylvania is battling a fast-spreading outbreak, with 977 cases and five deaths as of October 2, mostly in rural counties that border New York. Pennsylvania health officials said on Monday the state’s total had passed 1,000 cases, making it the largest state outbreak in more than three decades. The U.S. is having its worst year for measles since 1991, with nearly 3,900 cases reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The order allows registered nurses to order tests for suspected measles and for pharmacists to vaccinate children as young as two. It also requires all MMR vaccinations to be reported to state or New York City immunization registries within 72 hours, while waiving adults’ consent for such reporting. Vaccination itself still requires the consent of the patient or a legal guardian. The emergency took effect on Monday and runs through November 4.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Parallel Parking Prowess

Zucca, driving a 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback with 155,000 miles on it, was the champion. He beat out a heavy equipment operator and a former driving school instructor, taking home a prize of $76 — the cost of a parking fine in Philadelphia — and a trophy made of a piece of street curb. The triumph of an amateur only reinforced the idea that parallel parking is an art — if perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, a lost one. (© The New York Times)

Solo at Sea As more and more daily tasks are taken over by the machines, a newfound appreciation has emerged for certain displays of human art and mastery. We speak, today, of parallel parking. On Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, before a panel of judges and a crowd of hundreds, 14 residents took turns angling into tight parking spaces in the city’s first parallel parking championship. Some contestants, like a city bus driver, were professionals, while others were in it for the love of the game. But none were particularly humble when it came to parking. “I have a parking Instagram,” boasted Missy Philips, 35, a high school Spanish teacher who indeed has an account dedicated to photos of the tight spots she has parked in. The event was organized principally by Adam Wodka, 42, the self-styled commissioner of the Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association. He and a friend had been discussing the frustration of nailing a parallel parking job and realizing that no one was around to see it. “It’s good to share,” Wodka said. Out of more than 900 applicants, 15 were chosen to compete, though one did not show up to the event. Some decorated their cars with signs and props. Mario Zucca, 46, an illustrator who went by the name “One-Shot Mar,” wore an Evel Knievel helmet and jumpsuit. The crowd roared when drivers took a particularly adept angle, winced when they hit other cars, and, in between, murmured the usual unsolicited coaching of sidewalk parking spectators: “Turned too early.” “Too far, too far.” “OK, now bring it home.” The three top scorers went on to the Performance Dodge Ram Finals, where the panel of judges — a bar owner, a comedian, and a crossing guard who went viral for a TV interview he gave while eating an ice cream cone last May — decided the winner based on style points alone.

“To sit, mid-ocean, knowing you’ve still got seven, eight, nine months at sea but not be rowing was one of the hardest things, psychologically, that I’ve ever had to deal with,” he said. Bell passed the time with podcasts, audiobooks and voice messages and said the idea for the voyage was driven largely by curiosity. “The idea struck me it might be achievable,” he said, “and I couldn’t let that go.” The former Marine had previously rowed across the Atlantic in 2021 and reportedly vowed afterward never to attempt anything similar again. Never say never — especially to a man with an ocean-sized sense of adventure.

Pumpkin Power A former Royal Marine has completed an extraordinary solo journey across the Pacific and Indian oceans, spending 327 straight days at sea without setting foot on land. Dave “Dinger” Bell, from Dorset, England, arrived in Kilifi, Kenya, after rowing more than 15,000 nautical miles — roughly 17,000 miles — from the west coast of Peru. Bell began the trip on November 9, carrying enough food and supplies for 350 days aboard his carbon-fiber boat. When he finally reached shore, he bent down to touch the sand before being helped up the beach by his friend. A waiting crowd greeted him — along with a well-earned beer. “I’ve not stepped off that boat since the ninth of November,” Bell shared. “This is the first time I’ve touched land.” Oohrah! The journey was more than a test of endurance. Bell used the expedition to raise funds for Rock2Recovery, a charity that assists military veterans and emergency workers struggling with PTSD. His effort has raised more than £110,000. Bell said some of the most memorable moments came from the wildlife that accompanied him across the oceans. “I was followed for weeks — one whitetip [shark] on one side and one on the other,” he recalled. “I would row for days like that.” Despite the grueling distance, Bell said one of the hardest stretches came when he deliberately stopped making progress. He had been moving too quickly across the South Pacific and risked reaching the Coral Sea during cyclone season.

This squash is setting world records. Ian Paton, from Lymington, Hampshire, entered his exceptionally large pumpkin into a giant vegetable weigh-off near Reading in Berkshire. Sure enough, with a gargantuan circumference of over 20 feet and a whopping weight of 2,856.8 pounds, the pumpkin was crowned the world’s largest. Paton said growing the pumpkin named Bagheera, tending to it for up to six hours, and providing about 130 gallons of water daily had been “bloody hard work.” It was the first time the 65-yearold, who has grown giant pumpkins with his twin brother Stuart for over 50 years, had entered the competition on his own. The pumpkin is now on show at Sunnyfields farm near Southampton, where it will be displayed for the next few weeks. Paton said the pumpkin would later be used as feed for cows. We hope they really like the pumpkin flavor because they will be eatting it till next fall.

Fine Art A $30 estate-sale gamble turned into a picture-perfect payday after a small oil painting discovered in a Michigan home sold at auction for more than $1.35 million. The 8-by-11-inch still-life, found tucked away in a dark hallway near a ga-

rage, was later confirmed to be “Alderman Merriam’s Shells,” a 1951 work by celebrated surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie. Talk about finding a hidden gem — or, in this case, a hidden shell. The painting depicts ten seashells, a recurring subject in Abercrombie’s work. It had not been publicly seen in nearly 75 years.

The anonymous buyer, described as an experienced hunter of vintage records and mid-century furniture, spotted the faint signature “Abercrombie, ‘51” and decided the $30 price tag was worth the risk. That hunch turned out to be worth well over a million dollars. After buying the piece, the new owner reportedly rerouted a family vacation to visit an Abercrombie exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum. There, a decades-old newspaper clipping showed the same painting displayed alongside the actual shells that inspired it. The buyer later brought the work to Freeman’s auction house, where Abercrombie expert Susan Weininger authenticated it. Even better, the painting was still sitting in its original frame. Art restorer Julian Baumgartner cleaned away decades of grime and cloudy varnish, revealing a work he described as being in “perfect condition.” “It was drab, missing its life, but now cleaned, retouched, and revarnished, it’s alive and radiant,” he said. Freeman’s estimated the painting would sell for between $150,000 and $250,000. But bidders turned out to paint the town red. The hammer came down at more than $1.35 million, setting a new auction record for Abercrombie’s work and shell-shocking just about everyone involved. Abercrombie, who died in 1977, was known for dreamy, slightly eerie compositions featuring shells, owls, cats and mysterious landscapes. She once said, “I always paint myself.” In this case, one of those deeply personal works nearly disappeared into obscurity — only to resurface decades later and prove that sometimes, it pays to comb through an estate sale with an artistic eye.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the

Community JCCRP Bubble Show

CCRP hosted a free community event for the community on Hoshana Rabba, Friday, October

2. Over 600 community members of all ages came to the Bubble Show by the Bubble Dad. Thank you to TAG for allow-

ing your playground to be used for the event. Thank you to JCRC-NY, the local NYPD 101 Precinct, RNSP and the entire

community for participating in the chol hamoed family fun.

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OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

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Around the Community

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Rav Dovid Hofstedter visited HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch in his sukkah on chol hamoed

Rav Dovid Hofstedter visited HaRav Dov Landau in his sukkah on chol hamoed Special Children’s Center children and staff enjoyed a joyous Chol Hamoed Sukkos trip

MTA Brings Sukkos Programming to Our Communities

t MTA, the relationships between our talmidim and rebbeim extend far beyond the walls of the yeshiva. This Sukkos, MTA rebbeim brought the warmth, ruach, and Torah of the yeshiva directly into the communities where our talmidim and families live, with programming taking place throughout the New York and New Jersey area. From Brooklyn and Monsey to Bergen County, Passaic, Queens, and West Hempstead, MTA rebbeim joined talmidim, families, alumni, and community members for special Sukkos gatherings. Rabbi Brownstein celebrated with the Brooklyn community at the Hochman Sukkah, while Rabbi Kerner hosted

talmidim in his sukkah in Monsey. In Passaic, Rabbi Schenker hosted an Open House Simchas Beis Hashoeva, while Queens families had the opportunity to celebrate with Rabbi Kaminetsky and Rabbi Pearl at the Basalel Sukkah. The programming continued through the final days of Chol Hamoed, as Rabbi Balsam, Rabbi Konigsberg, and Rabbi Fuchs joined the West Hempstead community in the Sultan’s sukkah for a Leil Hoshana Rabba program. In Teaneck, Rabbi Barth participated in the Masmidim CBY Sukkah gathering, bringing MTA Torah and ruach to the local community. These events reflect an important part of the MTA experience: MTA is in your community. Our rebbeim don’t sim-

ply teach our talmidim during the school day, they build relationships with them and their families and are active members of the communities they call home. Sukkos provided another opportunity to strengthen those connections through Torah, celebration, and shared experiences. Whether in the MTA building or in a neighborhood sukkah, the sense of achdus and connection that defines MTA continues well beyond the school day. This Sukkos, communities across the region had the opportunity to experience firsthand what makes MTA special: a yeshiva whose rebbeim are present, engaged, and an integral part of the lives and communities of their talmidim.

What is the Single Biggest Estate Planning Mistake a Family Can Make?

ailing to establish or maintain a proper estate plan is one of the most expensive mistakes a family can make. It frequently results in frozen bank accounts, prolonged court battles, and asset distribution that completely goes against your actual wishes. Avoiding these five common blind spots protects your legacy and saves your family thousands. 5 Critical Blind Spots in Family Estate Plans  Operating with No Will: Without a will, state law, not you, dictates who inherits your assets and who raises your minor children. The court takes total control over the distribution process.  Leaving Outdated Beneficiaries Active: Financial accounts, 401(k) s, and life insurance pass directly to who-

ever is named on the account. These designations completely override your Will, even if you named an ex-spouse, or someone else you no longer desire, decades ago.  Missing a Trust Where Needed: Bypassing probate court saves time and money. If you own real estate, investments, have a blended family, or wish to protect minor children or a child with special needs, a trust is essential to distribute assets privately and instantly, without court involvement.  Neglecting Powers of Attorney: Planning is not just for after you pass away. Without a valid Financial Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directive, your family is legally locked out of managing your bills or medical decisions if you become suddenly incapacitated.

 Failing to Update After Life Events: Your estate plan must evolve. Major life milestones, marriages, divorces, births, deaths, or moving states, render older documents obsolete or dangerously counterproductive. The Cost of Waiting: Resolving an estate with a missing or flawed plan always costs families significantly more in court fees and legal delays than setting it up correctly in advance. Is Your Family Truly Protected? Don’t wait for a medical emergency or unexpected loss to find the gaps in your plan. Let us review or build a plan that guarantees complete peace of mind and ensures your family is completely legally protected.

Contact Monet Binder Law today to schedule your FREE 15-minute phone consultation: 844-OUR-WILL | 718.514.7575 | 732.333.1854. Monet Binder, Esq., has a practice in Lakewood, Queens, and Brooklyn areas, dedicated to protecting families, their legacies and values. All halachic documents are approved by the Bais Havaad Halacha Center in Lakewood, under the direction of Rabbi Dovid Grossman and the guidance of Harav Shmuel Kaminetsky, shlita, as well as other leading halachic authorities. This article is provided for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Readers should consult an attorney regarding their individual circumstances.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

Amb. Ron Dermer Visits HAFTR HS

hat does it mean to have a Jewish state? Why does Jewish sovereignty matter? And what responsibility comes with being part of the Jewish story? Those questions, and many others, were at the heart of a meaningful speech and dialogue between HAFTR High School students and Ambassador Ron Dermer, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States and former Minister of Strategic Affairs. Dermer spoke with HAFTR students as part of his “Unite. Lead. Fight” speaking tour, an initiative that strives to empower Jews in the face of rising antisemitism. Rabbi Ira Wallach, HAFTR HS Rosh Yeshiva, introduced the event, noting that, “for [Ambassador Dermer], the stakes are not personal, but communal.” That idea became a central thread throughout a conversation that moved between Jewish history, Israeli sovereignty, self-defense, advocacy, courage, and the responsibilities of the next generation. As Ambassador Dermer asked questions about Jewish history, Israel, and the meaning of sovereignty, students readily engaged, drawing on a strong foundation of Jewish learning and advocacy. Their knowledge was evident throughout the discussion, and Dermer was impressed by both what they knew and the pride with which they spoke about their Jewish identity and history. Three Questions Why does Israel matter to the Jewish people? Dermer began with a contemporary, yet timeless question: Why is it important for the Jewish people to have a sovereign state? Students considered what sovereignty makes possible: self-government, freedom, security, and the ability to determine one’s own future. Dermer connected those ideas to Jewish history,

emphasizing the significance of having a place where the Jewish people can defend themselves, provide refuge, and speak for themselves. He reflected on moments in which Israel has helped Jews and others reach freedom and safety, and the perils that took place when Israel did not exist to provide a safe haven. Through this discussion, Dermer highlighted Israel’s continued role as a voice for Jewish communities around the world. The lesson was larger than the history itself: sovereignty changes what a people can do for themselves and for others. What does it mean to stand with Israel? Dermer encouraged students to approach Israel through knowledge rather than simply through headlines or social media. That means learning Jewish and Israeli history, understanding facts and context, asking questions, and recognizing that Israel is a sovereign country which, like any other country, is filled with nuance. He emphasized the importance of knowing enough to engage thoughtfully and responsibly, particularly when students encounter difficult conversations about Israel in college, professional settings, or different communities. “You’ve got to know the facts” was a recurring theme. For HAFTR students, this was more than advice for the future. Throughout the visit, they demonstrated that they are already developing the knowledge and confidence to engage in those conversations. What is the most important virtue? Dermer’s answer was simple: courage. Knowledge and conviction matter, but they mean little if a person is unwilling to speak when speaking is difficult. He asked students to consider moments when remaining silent might be easier, and whether they would have the courage

to stand up for what they believe. For HAFTR students, the conversation about Israel became a conversation about character. Because ultimately, knowing your history and knowing what you believe are only part of the responsibility. The harder question is whether you will have the courage to act on those values. Three Answers The conversation offered three ideas for students to carry forward: Sovereignty means self-determination. Jewish history provides context for understanding why Jewish sovereignty matters and what it makes possible. Knowledge creates responsibility. Students cannot meaningfully engage complex questions about Jewish history and Israel without learning the history, facts, and context behind them. Courage turns values into action. There will be moments when speaking up is difficult. Character is revealed in what we choose to do in those moments. These ideas reflect an important part of a HAFTR education: preparing students to be intellectually engaged, deeply connected to their Jewish identity, and responsible and courageous members of their community. Three Points Forward Learn. Know Jewish history. Understand Israel. Ask questions. Seek context. Care. Recognize that Israel and Jewish history are not simply topics in the news. They are connected to the story, identity, and future of the Jewish people. Have courage. Use knowledge to engage the world thoughtfully, even when conversations are complicated or uncomfortable. Following Dermer’s remarks, students continued the conversation during an extended Q&A, asking thoughtful and substantive questions that reflected both

preparation and genuine curiosity. They engaged with difficult questions about decision-making, criticism, Jewish identity, Israel, and the complexities of responding to competing claims. Their questions demonstrated that they were not simply listening to a speaker; they were thinking and responding critically about what they were hearing. Dermer was impressed. Just as important, students demonstrated something that cannot be measured by an academic test: genuine pride. They knew their history. They understood the significance of the conversation. They asked questions. They engaged with difficult ideas. And they spoke with confidence about their Jewish identity. That is Jewish education becoming Jewish identity in action. Part of Our Story An ambassador’s visit could simply be an opportunity to hear an important and unique perspective. At HAFTR, it becomes something more: a connection between classroom learning and the larger Jewish world. Students had the opportunity to listen, question, demonstrate what they know, and consider the responsibilities that come with being part of the Jewish people. HAFTR students are not simply being prepared to know about the world. They are being prepared to participate in it: with knowledge, Jewish pride, curiosity, and courage. The story of the Jewish people is not only something to study, but it is something in which they are actively involved. HAFTR extends its sincere thanks to everyone who helped make this meaningful visit possible, including Ambassador Dermer, our faculty and administration, and all those who worked behind the scenes to create this important opportunity for our students.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

FC Volunteer Orientation

he Friendship Circle is holding its annual volunteer orientation this coming Sunday, October 11, kicking off a year filled with fun and friendship. At the Friendship Circle, friendships bloom and smiles shine. With events and programs for children, teens, and adults with special needs, the Friendship Circle provides a space where everyone can learn and connect, have fun and flourish. But without our dependable high school volunteers — the boys and girls who conduct weekly home visits for our Friends @ Home program, accompany participants on our winter and summer trips, and ensure fun and safety at our many

weekly and monthly programs — the smiles we see every day at the Friendship Circle would not be possible. This month, there’s plenty to look forward to at the Friendship Circle. On October 18, we’re holding our first T-YAD (Teen and Young Adults Division) program of the year, which occurs once a month. Kugel & Kumzitz, a thrilling program with learning, dancing, singing, and (of course) kugel, will start on October 19, taking place thereafter on Monday nights biweekly. Jump to the following Sunday, October 25, and we have our first session of Fun & Fitness, which takes place weekly. That same day, we’re holding our first Sunday Circle of the

year, a grand monthly event with group activities, crafts, music, games, fun shows, and workshops. And to close out this incredible month, we have the first session of Judaica Circle — our weekly Hebrew school program for all levels — on Wednesday night, October 28, and our inaugural Shabbat Circle, with Shabbos-themed activities and treats, on October 31. If you’re interested in making a difference in a child’s life, please reach out and sign up to volunteer. You can RSVP for our volunteer orientation, register your child, or learn more about our programs by emailing Batsheva@chabadfivetowns. com and visiting fc5towns.com.

FIDF’s Largest Legacy Program In 23 Years

riends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) brought 240 bereaved Israeli teens to the United States this summer through its signature Legacy Program, marking the 20th year of the program and its largest summer to date. Each participant lost a parent or sibling in defense of Israel on or since Oct. 7, 2023. During the last 3 months, 5 groups traveled throughout the Northeast, combining recreational and educational experiences with opportunities to connect with FIDF supporters, host families and Jewish communities. The program gives participants time away from their daily environment, exposure to new places and cultures, and the opportunity to

spend time with peers who have experienced similar loss. The groups visited New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut Westchester, and Massachusetts, with itineraries that included Central Park, Times Square, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Little Island, Coney Island, Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure, The American Dream Mall, Nickelodeon Theme Park and Jewish summer camps. One group even attended a Yankees game in New York as guests of an FIDF supporter. Participants biked, kayaked, played water sports, bowled, rode speedboats, played team sports, and took part in other activities. Some groups also spent

time at summer camps in Pennsylvania, participating in hiking, waterfront activities, high ropes, arts and crafts, paintball and evening campfires. A key component of each trip was engaging with American Jewish communities. FIDF supporters and host families hosted groups for BBQs, meals, Shabbat and other special activities, creating opportunities for personal connections between the teens and community members across the United States. An IDF social worker accompanied each group, providing professional support and helping participants process their experiences throughout the trip. The groups were also led by counselors who are currently serving as active-duty soldiers in the IDF and who themselves had lost a loved one. Many of them participated in the Legacy Program as teens. “What makes Legacy so special is that we get to take these children out of their everyday reality for a little while,” said FIDF Legacy Program Project Manager Tamar Reshef. “They get to see new places, meet new people and just have fun. But what stays with me most is seeing them reconnect with themselves. They remember who they were before the loss that changed their lives and, for a little while, they get to remember that they are still young and that there is still so much possibility and joy ahead of them.” “After everything these children have endured, giving them the opportunity to laugh, explore, make friends and expe-

rience the love of the American Jewish community is incredibly meaningful,” said FIDF CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nadav Padan. “Legacy reminds them that although they have experienced profound loss, they are not alone. The connection between Israel and Jewish communities across America is a source of strength they will carry with them long after they return home.” Now in its 20th year, the Legacy Program is a cornerstone of FIDF’s support for Israel’s bereaved military families. Through Legacy and its broader bereavement programs, FIDF provides financial assistance, educational opportunities, mental health services and personal support to help families navigate life after experiencing the loss of a close relative in the defense of the Jewish State.

Around the Community

By Eric Narrow

Photos by Yaakov Nachumi

here was music in the air at Givat HaShalvah this Sukkos. Against the backdrop of the hills surrounding Givat Ze’ev, families gathered for a Simchas Beis HaSho’evah led by Ishay Ribo, an evening of music, celebration and the special atmosphere of Zman Simchaseinu. No detail had been overlooked. Guests were treated to an elegant evening, with freshly barbecued meats, a lavish dessert table and beautifully arranged hospitality throughout. The aim was to make current and prospective homeowners feel genuinely welcomed, valued and well cared for. For many of those present, however, the setting gave the evening an added dimension. They were standing in the place they hope to call home. Givat HaShalvah is a new residential community being built in Givat Ze’ev with a particular understanding of the needs of English-speaking families, whether they are planning a move to Eretz Yisroel or looking for a second home. Its goal is straightforward: to make it possible to feel at home in Eretz Yisroel while enjoying the comfort and sense of community families value. “This is the largest project AMIM has undertaken, and its scale comes with a real responsibility,” says Itay Hershkovitz, CEO of AMIM Group. “Behind every plan are the families who will eventually call this place home. We want the finished neighborhood to exceed their expectations, from their own apartments to the community around them. Our ambition is that when they arrive, they will find something even better than they imagined.” For Anglo families, that matters. Living in Eretz Yisroel is a privilege and an aspiration, but it is also a major practical undertaking. Choosing a community means thinking about chinuch, shuls, neighbors, housing standards, transportation, outdoor space and countless details of everyday family life. Givat HaShalvah has been planned with those considerations in mind. Spread across approximately forty acres, the development includes plans for

Amim Group owner Ahron Mertzbach (L) with Lyo Group CEO Sruly Lev

ten acres of parks, landscaped areas and walking paths. Parking throughout the project is designed to be underground, allowing the neighborhood itself to remain pedestrian-friendly and giving children safer access to parks, playgrounds and communal facilities. The plans also include ten shuls and extensive indoor communal space for events, co-working and neighborhood activities, alongside educational infrastructure from early childhood through Cheider and Bais Yaakov. The wider plans also include a substantial health club, a large shopping center and a future retirement community. The idea is not simply to construct apartment buildings, but to create smaller, connected neighborhood pods in which families can develop a genuine sense of belonging. This is “Living with Intention”: homes and communal spaces planned around the way families want to live, connect and grow. For buyers coming from abroad, another major concern is navigating the Israeli purchasing and construction process. “We strive to bridge the gap between the Israeli system and what Americans expect,” explains Nissan Pshemish, Director of Buyer Relations at LYO Group. “We want to make sure people don’t feel lost in the shuffle.” The project is being developed by AMIM Group, with Solel Boneh, one of Israel’s longest-established construc-

tion and infrastructure companies, constructing the first two phases. For families considering Givat HaShalvah, that combination of community planning and professional oversight is an important part of the appeal. “We were looking for quality and a community feel, but most importantly, the confidence that things would be taken care of,” says Givat Ze’ev resident Dovid Toledano. “At some point you realize that this is about much more than a standard purchase. It is about building a future where your family can thrive.” That sentiment is echoed by prospective and current buyers who have spent years searching for the right balance. “We wanted to experience the kedushah of Eretz Yisroel without giving up the hashkafah and culture of American Torah life,” says homeowner Avraham Danziger. “You want your children growing up in Eretz Yisroel, but you also want a home that works for your family and a community where you feel you belong.” The community is designed to accommodate a broad range of frum Anglo families, each able to maintain its own identity while sharing the advantages of a thoughtfully planned neighborhood. “Where Belonging Meets Becoming” captures that balance: feeling part of a community while continuing to grow as a family. For Givat Ze’ev Mayor Yosef Asraf, the project is also part of the continued growth of the wider community. “Givat Ze’ev is a place for all of Am Yisroel,” he

Ishay Ribo at the event

says. “I am thrilled to see this project taking shape and welcoming new families.” Back at the Simchas Beis HaSho’evah, Ishay Ribo spoke about the significance of Am Yisroel returning home and about the value of every step taken in that direction. For the families looking out across Givat HaShalvah that evening, those words were particularly meaningful. The warmth and generosity of the event itself offered a small taste of what the developers hope to create here: a community where families are not merely buying homes, but are made to feel that they belong. “Seeing these families come together was very special,” says Sruly Lev, CEO of LYO Group. “It has been a real privilege to work alongside Ahron Mertzbach and see his vision take shape. The professionalism of the AMIM team and the expertise of Solel Boneh are evident throughout the project. An undertaking of this scale is only possible through the dedication of many people, and that spirit of partnership was very much part of the evening.” Making a home in Eretz Yisroel, whether full-time or part-time, is ultimately about both ideals and the practical decisions that turn them into daily life: a home, a shul, a school, a neighborhood and a community. At Givat HaShalvah, the homes are rising, and the community is already coming to life.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

What Does It Take to Feel at Home in Eretz Yisroel?

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

BACH Jewish Center Yachad Simchaton

inging, dancing and celebration filled BACH Jewish Center on Simchas Torah as more than 30 Yachad members joined the BACH and members of the Long Beach Jewish community for a spirited Simchas Torah Simchaton. Hosted by BACH Jewish Center, the gathering brought together one of the largest groups of Yachad members to Long Beach for one of the most joyful days on the Jewish calendar. As the hakafos began, participants joined the community in song and dance, taking an active role alongside BACH congregants. The celebration continued throughout the day with music, dancing and the energy of a community sharing Simchas Torah together. “Simchas Torah is about bringing ev-

The Kindergarten classes of the Ganger Early Childhood division of Torah Academy for Girls had an opportunity to open a gift box full of the aleph beis letters to begin their aleph beis curriculum

eryone together,” said BACH Jewish Center’s Rabbi Benny Berlin. “There is something incredibly special about seeing the BACH filled with people singing, dancing and celebrating the Torah together. We were so happy to welcome Yachad and to celebrate alongside them.” The Simchaton marked the start of a new chapter in the ongoing relationship between BACH and Yachad, which already included annual Shabbatons and events hosted by the synagogue and its community. “For us, this is what community is all about,” Rabbi Berlin said. “Everyone has a place, everyone has a role and everyone has something to contribute. Simchas Torah gave us another beautiful opportunity to experience that together.”

Chai Lifeline Presents Dream Big: A First-Of-Its-Kind Benefit Event

et ready for a completely new kind of philanthropic experience. On December 1, 2026, Chai Lifeline is taking its annual year-end benefit to the next level with an exclusive, fullpark takeover of Nickelodeon Universe at the American Dream Mall. Dubbed “Dream Big,” this one-of-a-kind event invites donors, corporate partners, and the community to step outside the traditional gala ballroom and directly into the joy and support they are helping to create. Designed to foster a deeply interactive and immersive environment, the Dream Big event offers a profoundly unique format. Supporters are encouraged to bring their entire families for an unforgettable evening of unlimited rides and premium entertainment. Most importantly, donors and their children will be sharing the park right alongside the very Chai Lifeline families their contributions support. “Childhood illness affects the entire family, and our community’s support must do exactly the same,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline. “We designed ‘Dream Big’ for families to

celebrate together, giving our donors the unique opportunity to not just support our mission, but to experience it firsthand. Watching our supporters and their children share the thrills and laughter of a theme park with the Chai Lifeline families they champion all year long is the truest expression of what we stand for.” This immersive approach also provides an exciting, high-energy platform for donors and corporate sponsors. The event offers high-impact, experiential branding opportunities where partners can secure exclusive naming rights to major rides, attractions, and giveaways, gaining massive brand visibility while providing their own families and friends with VIP park access. All proceeds from the Dream Big event will go directly toward benefitting children and families impacted by illness and crisis, funding Chai Lifeline’s critical network of emotional, social, and financial support services. To reserve your tickets and sponsorships today, or to learn more about the event, visit Chailifeline.org/DreamBig.

Fall Semester Brings JOWMA Pre-Med Events to YUHSG

ne of the most exciting new initiatives taking place at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) is its JOWMA (Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association) Pre-Med Club – and this new club is bringing a full roster of exciting new learning opportunities to the Holliswood campus. The first event of the year, titled “Beneath the Surface: A Live Ultrasound Session,” took place on Wednesday, September 23, and featured Dr. Ayelet Hilewitz, MD, who is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Associate Director of Critical Care at LIJ Valley Stream Hospital. Facilitated by the club’s faculty advisor, YUHSG Science Institute Director and Science and Math Department Chair, Mrs. Ruth Fried, and Dr. Yarden Goldman Gollan, MD, Director of Pre-Med Committee and High School Programs at JOWMA, the event follows last year’s inaugural YUHSG/JOWMA event, which offered families the opportunity to hear from a wide range of medical professionals with specialties including internal medicine, pediatric neurology, and palliative care, among others. On Wednesday, Dr. Hilewitz addressed the use of ultrasound technology in critical care settings and the novel treatments of sepsis. “The excitement in the halls has been wild,” Mrs. Fried said. “The event will promote a hands-on understanding of radiology technology. The students themselves asked for a JOWMA collaboration, and the formation of the Pre-Med Club was motivated by our student leaders. There’s a newfound curiosity about the field of medicine. Students want to try it out before making any long-haul commitments.” The club, which is capped at the most invested 45 students and helmed by seniors Emma Katz and Shira Peskin,

will play a defining role in influencing the futures of YUHSG students envisioning a future in medicine. “JOWMA events are such a great opportunity for students to learn more about the medical field and hear directly from people who have real experience in healthcare,” Shira observed. “I hope students leave this event, and all future JOWMA events, feeling inspired and excited to explore their interests and learn more about the different paths available in medicine.” Over 50 YUHSG students were treated to dinner and a lecture from Dr. Hilewitz, followed by a demo of mirroring technology in which Dr. Hilewitz modeled the procedure and explained findings before giving students a chance to try the technology themselves. The 45 members of the JOWMA Pre-Med Club will also be full JOWMA members, which provides students with resources and networks that could match them with internship and research opportunities, as well as the advice and support necessary to move forward on their pre-med journeys – including mentorships and entrance to medical school. Mrs. Fried stressed the positive impact this membership can have on student futures: “JOWMA’s role is not only to support medical professionals through their studies, but throughout their careers.”

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

HAFTR Students Begin Names, Not Numbers Program

istory can be studied in a classroom. Memory, however, is something we carry. This week, HAFTR’s eighth-grade students began their annual participation in Names, Not Numbers®, an extraordinary initiative that connects students with Holocaust survivors to preserve their stories for future generations. This year marks the largest group of HAFTR students ever to participate in the program, a meaningful reflection of HAFTR’s commitment to Jewish memory, identity, and responsibility. Through Names, Not Numbers®, students have the opportunity to meet and interview Holocaust survivors, documenting their lives before, during, and after the Holocaust. Along the way, they develop research and interviewing skills

while gaining something deeper: an understanding of what it means to listen, remember, and carry someone else’s story forward. To prepare for this responsibility, students heard from Tova Fish-Rosenberg, the founder of Names, Not Numbers®, who shared valuable lessons about why participating in the program is so important and the responsibility students have to preserve survivor testimony. Students also learned from Shoshana Soroka, editor of TJH, who taught them valuable interviewing techniques and how to ask thoughtful, respectful questions that allow each survivor’s story to emerge. As students move forward with their interviews, they will have the opportunity to hear firsthand accounts of lives shaped by history, resilience, faith, and

courage. This year’s expanded participation makes that opportunity especially meaningful, as students recognize that they may be among the last generations able to hear these stories directly from survivors themselves. HAFTR is once again partnering with Lawrence Middle School, bringing students from both schools together around a shared commitment to Holocaust education and preserving the voices of survivors. The collaboration gives students an opportunity to learn alongside peers from the broader community while working toward a common purpose: ensuring that these personal stories are documented, remembered, and passed on. For HAFTR students, Names, Not Numbers® is more than a history project. It is an opportunity to transform

learning into responsibility, and to understand that memory is not only something we inherit, but something we are entrusted to preserve. Memory becomes mission. And through our students, these stories can continue to be heard.

Episcopal Health Services Encourages Women to Get Screened and Understand Their Risk

ctober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Episcopal Health Services (EHS) is encouraging women over the age of 40 to prioritize breast health by scheduling regular mammograms, understanding signs and symptoms, knowing the risk factors and discussing personal and family history with a physician. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. The organization estimates that 321,910 women

will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2026 and 42,140 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. women, excluding skin cancers. “Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a reminder to make breast health a priority throughout the year,” said Dmitriy Kim, DO, FACS, a board-certified general surgeon at EHS whose clinical focus includes breast cancer surgery. “Early detection through mammography remains one of your most powerful tools in the fight against breast cancer. When breast

cancer is identified at an earlier stage, patients have more treatment options and a better chance for successful outcomes.” Knowing Your Risk Factors ● Age: Risk increases as you get older, with most cases diagnosed in women age 50 or older. ● Genetics: Inherited gene mutations, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, raise risk significantly. ● Family History: Having a mother, sister, daughter, or multiple relatives with a history of breast or ovarian cancer increases your risk. ● Breast Density: Having dense breast tissue means more fibrous and glandular tissue and less fat, which raises risk and makes tumors harder to see on a mammogram. ● Radiation Exposure: Exposure to high levels of radiation in the past can increase your risk. Breast Cancer Treatment Options at EHS EHS provides individualized breast cancer care through a team of breast surgeons, radiologists, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. Specialists review imaging, pathology and other clinical findings to recommend treatment based on the cancer’s characteristics and the patient’s needs.

● Surgery: Lumpectomy to remove the cancer while preserving the breast, or mastectomy to remove the breast. Breast reconstruction is also available. ● Radiation therapy: Often used following lumpectomy to lower the chance of recurrence. ● Chemotherapy: May be recommended for more aggressive or advanced cancers. ● Hormonal therapy: Used for hormone-sensitive breast cancers to help reduce recurrence risk. ● Immunotherapy: Helps the immune system attack cancer cells in appropriate patients. EHS also offers on-site PET/CT imaging for cancer staging. Expanded oncology services at the EHS Cancer Center at the Walsh Ambulatory Pavilion support coordinated diagnosis and treatment, while a breast health navigator assists patients with appointments, testing and care planning. Schedule a Mammogram To schedule a mammogram, call 718869-5888 for the Margaret O. Carpenter Women’s Health Center or 718-8697780 for St. John’s Episcopal Hospital. To speak with a breast health navigator, call 718-869-5886. For more information, visit ehs.org/breastcancer.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

A New Way to Play: Mercaz Launches Let Grow at Recess

s childhood norms shift and change, Plainview’s Mercaz Academy is launching a new recess model this year designed to boost resilience, independence, and social skills. Play Clubs, a program developed by the non-profit organization Let Grow, offers opportunities for mixed-age, unstructured free play during recess periods. The concept is simple: different grades are combined for recess, and unnecessary adult intervention is reduced, allowing students to organize their own games and activities and resolve their own conflicts.

“Teacher and staff supervisors will remain nearby, but they take on a ‘lifeguard’ role rather than getting involved when conflicts come up,” explained Principal Rabbi Fogel Kaplan. “This allows the kids to be in charge. They make decisions about their play, solve problems among themselves, and become more confident in social situations.” While it may sound like a small change, the benefits are major. As screens and growing adult oversight increasingly shape childhood, kids have fewer opportunities to self-direct and engage freely with peers. Research by social psychologist and Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt, co-founder of Let Grow,

has found that unstructured play is associated with social and cognitive development, reduced behavioral problems, and increased executive function. “We saw the research, heard from concerned parents, and decided that Mercaz should be part of this movement,” said Rabbi Fogel. “You can see the dynamic of the playground changing. Instead of always relying on an adult to referee, students are figuring things out for themselves, working together to organize games, establish rules, and hold each other accountable.” Parents are also thrilled about the change. “I’m so excited that Mercaz is embracing this philosophy and giving

kids a much-needed daily dose of free play and independence,” shared the parent of a first- and fourth-grader.

Masnisin: Discovering the Uncharted Frontiers of Torah Shebal Peh

hen we hear mention of an uncharted chelek of Torah, what likely comes to mind is the discovery of an extinct Ksav Yad that has been lost for generations or perhaps the finding of a vanished medrash. But do we ever stop to think about an integral portion of Torah Sheb’al Peh – essentially a third of Shas! – that seems to be hiding from us in plain sight! Shisha Sidrei The term Shas is an acronym for Shisha Sidrei – referring to the six sedorim of Mishnayos that comprise the mainstay of our Torah Sheb’al Peh. Talmud Bavli primarily covers only four of these six sedorim, with the exception of Masechta Brachos, the only Masechta in Seder Zeraim with Gemara in Talmud Bavli and Masechta Niddah in Seder Taharos. The reasons given for this are varied but the point is that the 21 masechtos without Gemara (out of 63) are very much a part of our fundamental Torah Sheb’al Peh, encompassing many relevant halachos that are applicable in our day-to-day lives. Uncharted Territory With the focus of our learning being Gemara, over the centuries, the two sedorim without Talmud Bavli have become uncharted territory amongst mainstream lomdim. Rav Chaim Kanievsky, whose famous annual Siyum Hashas included the completion of the Mishnayos of Zeraim and Taharos, was a strong proponent for Zeraim and Taharos becoming part of the mainstream learning regimen amongst

lomdei Torah. He would say that a proper Siyum Hashas includes learning Zeraim & Taharos. Masechtos With No Gemara Truthfully, when Chazal and the poskim speak of the primacy and precedence of learning Gemara, essentially what this refers to is the critical analysis of the Mishnah as per the process of the Amoraim in the Gemara. This includes tracing each halacha of the Mishnah to its source in the Torah, understanding the differing positions of the various Tannaim and the basis behind each, exploring the ramifications and parameters of the mishnah’s choice of words, and ultimately, following through the journey to the Rishonim’s establishment of Halacha Lemaaseh. For masechtos without recorded Gemara, this very process was executed by the meforshei hamishnah, primarily using corresponding Gemaras recorded in other masechtos or drawing parallels from other sources in Chazal. For the purposes of what Chazal call “Gadol Talmud shemeivi liydei ma’aseh,” the meforshei hamishnah on these masechtos take the place of the Gemara. This can be seen in the way Bais Yosef and Shulchan Aruch establish the halachos of Challah, Mikvaos, Netillas Yadayim and other sugyos, directly from the mishnah and its Rishonim. A Historic Revolution A primary impediment to learning these masechtos at any level has been the absence of a framework. The lack of familiarity with the subjects has created a

sense of distance or mental abstractness to the concepts of Zeraim and Taharos. Some people are not aware that the halachos pertaining to the challah their wife takes every week come straight from the mishnah in Seder Zeraim. Additionally, the meforshei hamishnah, Rishonim, Acharonim and pirushim, are scattered amongst various editions of the Mishnayos – not all of them readily available. As of this coming Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, all this is about to change. Masnisin, an initiative long-anticipated and long-overdue, will be launching a new mishnah-a-day program designed to make the acquisition of Zeraim and Taharos a realistic goal for yidden across every stratum of Klal Yisroel. Daily Mishnah and Chazarah The program’s easy-to-follow format of a single mishnah per day can be achieved for each person at his own level and capacity for commitment. Built into the program are daily, weekly and monthly chazaras to facilitate easy retention of all that is learned while the Mishnah is still fresh in one’s memory. Resources The program includes beautifully compiled resources and materials to facilitate the learning and acquisition of these 2 sedorim of Shas, tailored for the learner at every level. Mishnayos An exclusive Mishnayos edition bringing together all the meforshim, including the Yachin UBoaz, Rav, Tosfos Yom Tov, Rash, Rosh, Rambam as well as the Artscroll translation and commentary all

conveniently collated in a single publication. Marei Mekomos Carefully chosen marei mekomos, references and sources to provide background and in-depth insight into the daily Mishnah. Shiurim Audio and video shiurim in English, Yiddish and Lashon Hakodesh by world renowned maggidei shiur, catering to lomdim on all different levels. Shiurim are available by email subscription and accessible via the web or automated callin hotline. Calendar Convenient print and online calendars to help keep to the daily schedule. Support Masnisin provides support and logistical assistance with setting up shiurim, chaburos and chavrusos in communities around the world. A Hadran on ALL of Shas! For those of us aiming to finish Shas, Masnisin will enable us to make a true siyum on all of Shas. Join Masnisin and be zoche, be’ezras Hashem, to say Hadran Alach Shisha Sidrei in its true sense! To join, start a shiur or chaburah, or get a calendar or complimentary Mishnayos Mahaduras Masnisin: www.masnisin. org, info@masnisin.org, 848-356-8185.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

Tens of Thousands of Lomdim Complete Masechta Yoma with the Amud HaYomi By Chaim Gold

within it many of the yesodos of Seder Kodshim.

he Amud HaYomi is on fire! It is hard to believe that the program, which is barely three years old, already has hundreds of thousands of lomdim all over the world! The upcoming completion of Masechta Yoma is an opportunity not just for Amud HaYomi learners to celebrate their accomplishments but also for future Amud HaYomi learners to join as the Amud HaYomi is slated to begin Masechta Sukkah on Monday, 8 Cheshvan/October 19. Now is the time to witness firsthand the transformational impact learning the Amud HaYomi can have on one’s life. Siyumim on Masechta Yoma, will be held in locales across North America and across the globe. A testament to the important role that Amud HaYomi plays in the eyes of Gedolei Yisrael can be gleaned just from observing the senior Gedolim who will be participating in and addressing one of the larger Amud HaYomi siyumim that will be held this coming Motzoei Shabbos Parshas Noach at the Ateres Esther Hall in Lakewood. The siyum will be made by HaGaon HaRav Reuven Feinstein, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim of Staten Island. Despite the difficulty in making the journey to Lakewood, Rav Reuven enthusiastically agreed to participate in a siyum being made by so many lomdim on their journey through Masechta Yoma, a masechta that contains

Going Above and Beyond HaGaon HaRav Yeruchem Olshin, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, is also slated to attend and deliver a major address at the Melava Malka. At the Dirshu Convention held this past February, Rav Yeruchem showed his esteem for the lomdei Dirshu and Rav Dovid Hofstedter when he said, “I want to say something about my dear friend, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, and the entire kehillah hakedoshah of Dirshu. They go above and beyond anything that could be considered the norm! They have to master large amounts of Torah, understand it and be able to be tested on it. They are only able to do that because they go above and beyond their abilities. They are therefore endowed from Above with kochos and abilities that they may not have had until now. “The Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Aharon Kotler, brings in his sefer that the greatest tragedy for Klal Yisrael is shikchas haTorah, forgetting the Torah. Torah is the lifeblood of Klal Yisrael, and the Torah warns us with various warnings that we should not forget the Torah: ‘Hishamer lecha,’ ‘ushemor nafshecha,’ and ‘pen tishkach.’ Rav Aharon is telling us that the greatest hatzalah for Klal Yisrael is chizuk haTorah. When thousands of members of mishpachas Dirshu come to learn with tremendous amal and yegiah followed by chazarah again and again, gaining clarity in their learning that is

the greatest service and the greatest good anyone can do for Klal Yisrael.” At the upcoming gala Melava Malka siyum on Masechta Yoma that will be held in Lakewood, the special guest speaker will be HaGaon HaRav Osher Dovid May, shlita, Rosh Kollel of the Kollel of the Yeshiva Gedolah of Passaic and rav of Khal Beis Tefillah of Monsey. Rav May, who is a son-in-law of the venerated Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic, HaGaon HaRav Meir Stern, shlita, agreed to come to Lakewood despite his full schedule of shiurim and this will be the first time that he will address a Dirshu event. Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, the Nasi of Dirshu, will also be in attendance and will address the throngs that are expected to attend.

The Secret to Amud HaYomi’s Popularity What is the secret to the tremendous popularity of the Amud HaYomi in such a short time frame? HaGaon HaRav Dovid Cohen, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron, best encapsulated why the Amud HaYomi gained popularity so quickly by giving hashkafic insight into its entire purpose. Rav Cohen recalled the foundational meetings held to establish the Amud Hayomi. “At that time, I shared an important thought. Rav Meir Shapiro had tremendous zechuyos when he established the Daf HaYomi. Many people have, baruch Hashem, completed the entire Shas through learning with the Daf HaYomi and that is wonderful. Nevertheless, the fact is that for those who learn the daf in a half hour or 45 minutes, it is nearly impossible to learn it properly.” Rav Cohen maintained that the slower pace of Amud HaYomi enables a person to learn with a much more enhanced understanding of what he is learning and allows more time for chazara as well. And that is the secret to the popularity of the program. In fact, at a recent Amud HaYomi event, HaGaon HaRav Avraham Salim, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Me’or HaTorah and one of the senior and most prominent Sephardic roshei yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael, said, “We live in a generation in which we see that, baruch Hashem, there is a thirst for Torah! Not only is that thirst evident in those who spend their entire day immersed in learning, but it is also evident when observing the rest of Klal Yisrael. In

HaRav Yeruchem Olshin addressing the Dirshu World Siyum, 2020

recent years, I visited numerous countries outside of Eretz Yisrael and wherever I go, I see baalei battim deeply engaged in learning! Similarly, we see this in the way that the Amud HaYomi has become so popular. The slower pace of learning truly connects Jews to Torah. The fact that they can understand what they learn at a deeper level intensifies their bond with Torah in a profound way.” Now is the Time to Join For Masechta Sukkah The Amud HaYomi program, which was launched three years ago in Vienna at the Sofiensäle Hall, the same hall in the same city where the Daf HaYomi had been established at the Knessiah Gedolah one hundred years previously, is now completing Masechta Yoma and will begin Masechta Sukkah on Monday, 8 Cheshvan/October 19. Currently, there are more than a thousand Amud HaYomi shiurim across the globe from Brooklyn to Be’er Sheva, Melbourne to Lakewood, Antwerp to Mexico City… wherever you go, Yidden are learning the Amud HaYomi, attending shiurim on Amud HaYomi and enjoying the slower paced limud that enables them to digest, review and truly gain a kinyan in the amud. As the Amud HaYomi is about to embark on Masechta Sukkah, now is the time to join the Amud HaYomi and truly gain a kinyan in that masechta. To join the Amud HaYomi contact Dirshu at info@dirshunj.org or at 1-888-5Dirshu.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

UJA-Federation was proud to honor Melinda Strauss, a powerful advocate for Jewish pride, with the Community Advocate Award at the annual South Shore Inaugural Dinner on September 16

Be My Guest Tishrei Roundup By Chaya Feldstein

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

HAS YOU COVERED

omehow the new year is sparked upon us and just as sudden the month of Tishrei comes to an end with the “Gezunta Vinter” wishes.... Even though it’s not a popularly enjoyed season... Still, it’s on the way so we may as well embrace what is. This past month was a heavy-ish month for many...on different levels... for many reasons...a time of self-introspection, practical busyness in hosting or those who are emotionally depleted from aloneness. Now’s the time to put all those acquired hopes, dreams, aspirations, mindsets into practice! Fortunately, there is a weekly reprieve. Shabbos comes every six days. Putting inspiration to practice this year, together, we can make sure that everyone has the opportunity to experience the warmth and joy of Shabbos. Imagine if each person looked around their own neighborhood, shul, street, or community with an open heart and noticed someone who may be waiting to be included. From feedback I receive, many say their spouse isn’t interested, or it’s just the couple, the two of them, and they feel inadequate to extend an invitation. Others feel self-conscious about their Shabbos table experience. Or some say they don’t know their plans until Thursday, and it isn’t nice to reach out with an invite so late in the week. What about those that feel invisible in society in general and specifically in

making plans for Shabbos? How do we answer their cries of anguish? Perhaps a slight shift in perspective of understanding is possible. Maybe a good place to start is by slowing down enough to notice someone who may enjoy a little extra care or connection; then reaching out, inviting them in, and by definition they now feel that they matter. Consistency shows caring, relationship, and makes a person feel supported. A caring member of our community shared with me that there was an individual who was living in our community and was one foot out the door because he/she felt unwelcome and difficult in making weekly Shabbos plans. That caring person then told me that she offered to assist in helping that individual. “Would you like me to find you weekly invites?” That individual readily agreed and no longer felt the need to leave. It is with great anticipation and hope of a positive good, sweet year that we invite this new year to set in. Please, dear reader, keep your friend who is alone on your radar consistently which will enable him/her to feel included and supported. That, in turn, is a ripple of effect which will allow him/her to make steps for their own future. Make sure to save the date for the 4th annual Be My Guest event of inspiration b’ezras Hashem on Monday, December 21 at the White Shul. Details to follow. For more information, please email bemyguestforShabbos@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

The Architect of Harmony – Practical Strategies for a Lasting Legacy

he goal of a family business estate plan is to protect the business’s viability while ensuring that the family remains a unified unit. This requires a significant shift in mindset from “Equal” to “Fair.” True shalom bayis is not necessarily achieved by giving everyone an identical percentage of a single asset but by ensuring that every child is respected and secure in their own unique path. When parents fail to make these distinctions, they often inadvertently set the stage for resentment that can boil over into a public and painful courtroom battle.

The “Fair but Not Equal” Strategy: Ownership vs. Control How do you provide for the child in the Kollel and the child in the boardroom without creating a fight? One of the most effective methods is the separation of economic interest from management control. This allows the “active” child to run the business without constant interference, while the “passive” children still benefit from the family’s success. The Gold family’s story, a composite of many families we helped in Brooklyn, illustrates this perfectly. Shmuel Gold had built a successful catering and event-planning business that had become a staple of the community. Of his four children, only Avi had any interest in the grueling hours and complex logistics of the business. Shmuel’s other children were successful in their own fields but relied on Shmuel for help with their children’s tuition. Shmuel was deeply worried that if he left the business to all four equally, the three who weren’t involved

would eventually want to sell the company for a quick profit, effectively “firing” Avi and destroying the family brand. Working with his legal and financial advisors, Shmuel structured a plan that utilized “Equalization through Outside Assets.” He recognized that appointing a spouse or child as a sole fiduciary in a blended or complex family can fuel mistrust, so he opted for a structure that provided built-in neutrality.  The Operating Entity: Avi was left the “operating company”—the brand, the management rights, and the equipment. He had 100% of the voting power, allowing him to make the daily decisions necessary for the business to thrive without being second-guessed by siblings who did not understand the industry.  The Real Estate Entity: To provide for the other three children, Shmuel utilized his extensive real estate holdings. He left the commercial buildings where the business operated to the three “passive” siblings in a separate trust. This ensured they had tangible, valuable assets that were independent of Avi’s daily management.  The Lease as a Bridge: Shmuel had the business sign a long-term, fair-market lease with the real estate entity. This legal agreement acted as a bridge between the two groups of siblings, providing a formal structure for their interaction. This was a masterpiece of shalom bayis. The three passive siblings received a steady, “passive” stream of rental income that supported their families for years, regardless of whether the catering

business had a “good” or “bad” month. Avi, meanwhile, had the freedom to grow the business and the security of knowing his location was protected. They were no longer “partners” who had to argue over salary and expenses; they were “landlord and tenant,” a relationship with clear boundaries that allowed them to remain loving brothers at the Seder table. The Role of Life Insurance as the “Great Equalizer” For many families, there isn’t enough real estate or cash to balance the scales. In these cases, life insurance is often the “magic ingredient” of an estate plan. A parent can purchase a significant life insurance policy that is designated for the children who are not entering the business. Upon the parent’s passing, the business goes to the active child, and the taxfree insurance proceeds go to the other children. This ensures that every child receives a significant inheritance at the same time, removing the feeling that one child was “favored”. It also prevents the business from being “bled dry” of cash by siblings who need money immediately for tuition or weddings, as the insurance provides that necessary liquidity. Without this liquidity, an active child is often forced to choose between the survival of the business and the immediate financial needs of their siblings—a choice that almost always leads to a breakdown in family relationships. Protecting the Family from the Secular Courts Perhaps the most important element for a religious family is the inclusion of a Beis Din (Rabbinical Court) Clause. A public lawsuit in a secular court is like a “scorched earth” policy; the legal fees will drain the estate, and the public airing of family grievances will make a reconcilia-

tion nearly impossible. Shmuel Gold included a mandatory mediation and arbitration clause requiring any and all disputes to be settled through a specific, reputable Beis Din. This ensured that if tensions did arise, they would be handled within the framework of their shared values. The Dayanim (judges) in a Beis Din are not just looking at the law; they are looking at the Shalom of the family. They can provide a resolution that a secular judge cannot— one that honors the parent’s wishes and the Torah’s emphasis on brotherly love. Planning is a Mitzvah of Peace In the end, the Gold family remains as close as ever. They still gather for Shabbos and share in each other’s simchas because Shmuel had the foresight to plan for peace. He realized that his most important “business deal” was not a contract or a merger; it was the plan that protected his children’s love for one another. He understood that clarity is the best prevention for conflict. Estate planning for a family business is not just about taxes or legal structures; it is an act of profound chesed (kindness). It is the realization that while you cannot be there to moderate the family’s future disagreements, you can provide them with the map, the rules, and the peace of mind to navigate those challenges together. By separating business from family and control from equity, you ensure that your legacy is not a storefront or a warehouse, but a family that remains a single, unified unit, committed to each other and to the values you taught them. To learn how to protect you and your family visit www.haaszaltz.com or call 516-979-1060. You can also email them at info@haaszaltz.com.

The yeladim at HANC EC are so excited to be back learning ABCs and aleph beis

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

At the historic Chanukas HaBayis held in Yerushalayim for Weiss Family Building-RCCS Headquarters in Eretz Yisroel, with participation of gedolei and tzaddikei hador

Dr. Glatt to be Honored at Mount Sinai South Nassau Soirée Under the Stars

ount Sinai South Nassau’s 2026 “Soirée Under the Stars” will benefit “Bringing Heart Home,” the campaign to support the expansion of the hospital’s advanced cardiovascular services program, including open-heart surgery, for residents of the South Shore of Nassau County. Hospital Advisory Board member, longtime benefactor, and Hewlett Harbor resident Steven Gold has been named the honoree of the gala. The Soirée will be held Saturday, November 7, at The Lannin in Eisenhower Park at 6:30 pm, featuring an extended cocktail hour, music, dancing, a mentalist and an opportunity to celebrate the hospital’s expansion of patient services. Two News 12 personalities, Erin Colton and Joe Arena, have agreed to serve as Masters of Ceremonies. Nydia White, RN, MSSN, CCRN, Director of Nursing, Department of Medicine, and Aaron E. Glatt, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, Chief of Infectious Diseases, and Hospital Epidemiologist, will also be honored. They will be presented with the hospital’s Cupola and Mary Pearson Awards, respectively. A special posthumous award will be presented to the family of the late Wayne Lipton, a long-time Mount Sinai South Nassau board member who co-chaired the gala for many years. “Steven Gold is one of our longest serving volunteer board members, and he has been a supporter of the hospital for decades. Anytime we need something, he is there. He embodies the South Nassau spirit,” said Joshua Kugler, MD, Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Interim President “Dr. Glatt’s many years of service to his patients and to the hospital exemplifies a rare level of dedication. His leadership of the Department of Medicine has helped us improve the quality of our patient care

while expanding services. And Nydia is a nurse’s nurse. When there is a job to do, she is the first one to raise her hand. Her leadership during COVID-19 helped us get through the toughest of times.” A prominent business leader and philanthropist, Mr. Gold is recognized primarily for his past leadership of Gold Pure Food Products (popularly known as Gold’s Horseradish), the iconic brand that his grandparents founded in 1932 during the Great Depression. Though the company has its roots in Brooklyn, it flourished even more when he spearheaded the factory’s move to Hempstead in 1994. Mr. Gold served as president of the company until its sale in 2015. Throughout his career and even more so in retirement, Mr. Gold has been a steadfast champion of Mount Sinai South Nassau. His support has spanned multiple decades across key functions, offering executive leadership and corporate strategy as an advisory board member since 2011. For many years, he served as Co-Chair of the Soirée, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in support of expanding clinical facilities and services and upgrading medical technologies, and he is currently a SIBSPlace Board member. A key ambassador for Mount Sinai South Nassau, Mr. Gold has forged relationships with both business and civic leaders who have been vital to the hospital’s mission to deliver essential health care services across the South Shore of Long Island. Mr. Gold and his wife, Terri, live in Hewlett Harbor and have two adult daughters, Fara and Melissa. The Mary Pearson Award, named in honor of the hospital’s founding administrator, is presented annually to an individual for extraordinary effort and individual contributions that significantly advance the hospital’s commitment to

the community. An internationally recognized infectious disease specialist, Dr. Glatt has served as the hospital’s Chair of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Infectious Diseases since November 2015. As Chair of Medicine, Dr. Glatt leads the overall administrative, academic, and clinical activities of the Department of Medicine and works closely with the other clinical departments, nursing and pharmacy leadership, and directors. He also oversees the hospital’s Infectious Diseases Society of America Designated Center of Excellence in Antimicrobial Stewardship. Dr. Glatt was the hospital’s lead expert throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. His well-respected and practical insight and expertise were vital to protecting residents across Long Island from severe cases of the disease. He also spearheaded hospital-based COVID-19 initiatives, from the exploratory use of monoclonal antibodies to treat the virus to the rollout of the vaccines and the launch of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Vaxmobile. A Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Glatt was awarded the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians Laureate Award, which honors Fellows and Masters of the College. The prestigious award recognizes physicians who have demonstrated, by their example and conduct, a commitment to excellence in medical care, education, or research through service to their community. He is also an ordained rabbi and is the Assistant to the Rabbi at the Young Israel of Woodmere synagogue. “Dr. Glatt’s clinical acumen has been key to Mount Sinai South Nassau’s advancements in patient safety, quality, infection prevention, and antibiotic administration and the multiple awards the hospital has received for patient safety

and the quality of care,” said Alan Wong, DO, Chief Medical Officer. “We are grateful for his leadership.” The Cupola Award, established in 2015, honors a deserving hospital employee who goes beyond their duties and lives by the hospital mission to promote excellence in health care. Ms. White has spent her entire 22year nursing career at Mount Sinai South Nassau, most of it in critical care services, providing operational, clinical, and strategic leadership for a high-acuity environment. During the early intense waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. White served as a calming influence and pillar of clinical advancement for the hospital’s team of critical care nurses. She worked side by side with her team to manage critical care responses and patient care under extraordinary pressure. For her work in helping the hospital and local patients and their loved ones through the pandemic, New York State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin named Ms. White a “Warrior for Wellness,” which acknowledges and expresses gratitude to health care workers, first responders, and essential workers at the front lines of the pandemic. Funds raised by the Soirée will support Mount Sinai South Nassau’s expansion of its cardiovascular services. This includes the introduction of advanced cardiac surgical services, including adult open-heart surgery, as well as the expansion of its Interventional Cardiology program to add a Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology Lab and a new CT-Angiography Lab. For more information about the Soirée, to purchase tickets, or support the event as a sponsor, call Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Development Office at 516-377-5360, or visit www.southnassaulifesaver.org.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Around the Community

50 Years of ArtScroll Part 29: Beyond English: Artscroll Speaks To The World

hen Rav Meir Shapiro introduced and popularized his pioneering Daf Yomi initiative, he said that it would help unify Jews throughout the world. If a Polish Jew came to Brazil, they would be united in discussing the same blatt Gemara. He surely did not mean that a Jew from Cracow and a Jew in Rio de Janeiro would discuss Tosafos in Portuguese, or that a New Yorker in Warsaw would debate a Maharsha in Polish. In the 1920s, when Daf Yomi was becoming popular, Yiddish was the international language of Ashkenazi Jews, especially among bnei Torah. Not only the blatt, but the language as well, was universal. Times have changed. As we once quoted Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky in these pages, “In its time, Ladino became a language of Torah; and in its time, Yiddish became a language of Torah; and today, English is a language of Torah” as proven by the need for, and success of, the more than 3,000 ArtScroll/Mesorah titles. Actually, we are not the first to present the Torah in multiple languages. Moshe Rabbeinu, too, recorded the Torah in many languages, making its teachings accessible to those who wished to drink from

it.

In the Midbar, Jews who had been prevented from offering the Korban Pesach protested, “Lamah nigara — Why should we be left out?” Following ArtScroll’s presentation of Torah in English, speakers of other languages made the same plea: Why should we be left out? Why shouldn’t our native tongue become a language of Torah? An executive of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation approached us. Mr. Safra, a Syrian, French-speaking Jew, had been one of the world’s premier bankers. After his untimely death, his foundation wished to dedicate a French edition of ArtScroll’s Schottenstein Talmud in his memory. The resulting 73-volume Edmond J. Safra Edition is nearly complete, thanks to the Foundation and other dedicators, along with the Edmond J. Safra French Chumash and more than a dozen other ArtScroll titles. French, too, has become a language of Torah. Interestingly, the precedent for translating the Torah classics into French can be traced back to the “father of commentators,” Rashi. Throughout his commentaries on Tanach and the Talmud, Rashi includes more than 3,000 laazim—trans-

lations of obscure words and expressions into the Champagne dialect of Old French. In fact, Rashi’s laazim remain one of the primary sources used by modern linguists in their study of Old French. Our next language to conquer was Spanish. A young leader of Panama City’s vibrant Jewish community offered to assemble sponsors for a Spanish ArtScroll Chumash in memory of Rabbi Sion Levy, the community’s legendary architect and leader for nearly half a century. The project spurred Spanish editions of dozens of ArtScroll works, including Mishnah, liturgy, Haggadah, and more. The ArtScroll Library also created demand for Hebrew translations of its English elucidations — not classic Rabbinic Lashon Kodesh and not modern Ivrit, but a Hebrew accessible to those raised in both the yeshivah and Chassidic worlds and understandable to a broad Israeli readership. Our writers and editors had to bridge that linguistic gap while remaining accurate and graceful. Baruch Hashem, their efforts have met with phenomenal success. A growing array of ArtScroll classics, including Bavli and Yerushalmi, Midrash Rabbah, Sefer

HaChinuch, Onkelos, and Mishnah, have become as successful in Hebrew as they are in English. The latest addition, The Schottenstein Edition Rashi HaMivoar, which is the Hebrew edition of the Schottenstein Rashi Elucidated on Chumash, is now being released to widespread acclaim. With a host of books in other languages, including Yiddish, Russian and Portuguese, ArtScroll’s boundaries continue to expand, enabling an ever-wider swath of Jews to taste the sweetness of Torah in the languages they know best. UP NEXT: Jewish History à la Wein

A Double Inspiration: The Gibber Family’s Stirring Yom Kippur Minyan Raises Over $200,000 for American Friends of Yad Eliezer / B’ezri

or those who join the Gibber family’s Yom Kippur minyan in Jerusalem at the Dan Panorama Hotel, the inspiration comes in two forms: an unforgettable day of tefillah and the opportunity to help families across Israel celebrate Yom Tov with dignity. This year, well over 200 participants came together for the minyan, raising more than $200,000 for B’ezri and counting. The funds were directed to B’ezri’s Holiday Fund, contributing to over $3 million in food and essential holiday support provided to thousands of widows, single mothers, chayalim, and families struggling to put even the basics on the table. Led by Dudi Kalish and a 16-member choir bringing together some of Israel’s finest voices, the davening has become a deeply cherished experience for participants who return year after year. Stirring melodies and harmonies bring the words

of the machzor to life, creating moments of connection that remain with people long after the fast ends. A highlight of the day was the powerful address by Daniel Gibber of Teaneck just before Neilah, uplifting the crowd and preparing everyone for the emotion and intensity of Yom Kippur’s final tefillah. A Minyan That Brings People Together Part of what makes this gathering so special is the range of people it draws. Participants from the Five Towns and the broader tri-state area join others traveling from across the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Chassidish, heimish, and Modern Orthodox attendees join in a shared appreciation for beautiful, spiritually uplifting davening. Local Israelis have become part of the minyan, too. Over the years, passersby drawn by the sound of the choir have

stopped to listen, filling hallways and stairwells before returning in subsequent years. Some participants with very little religious background have found themselves crying on Yom Kippur for the first time, moved by a beauty and connection they had never experienced before. The anticipation begins even before Yom Tov, as the chazzan and choir rehearse with participants and members of the Gibber family. This year, Chanan Ben Ari’s “Hashivenu” became a particularly stirring refrain, sung again and again before Yom Kippur and during the davening itself. Inspiration That Reaches Beyond the Minyan Behind the experience are Debbie and Elliot Gibber and the Gibber family’s heartfelt dedication and meticulous planning. From seating arrangements and machzorim to yahrzeit candles and food for the break-fast, every detail re-

Dan Panorama Hotel set up for uplifting Yom Kippur davening

flects their care for those attending. The family generously covers the expenses, allowing funds raised from seat reservations and aliyos to go directly toward helping families in need. As the minyan continues its tradition of tefillah and tzedakah, participants leave with gratitude for the experience and eagerness to return. Their hope is shared: next year, b’ezrat Hashem, together again in Jerusalem—with the inspiration of Yom Kippur continuing to bring relief to families across Israel.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Voice N

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Public Safety Starts at Home By Pesach Osina

s a father of six, I think about public safety the same way all parents do. I worry whether my children are safe when they leave home. I think about parents and grandparents walking through the neighborhood. I think about the small business owner who works early to late just to keep the doors open. And I think about the families who work hard, follow the rules, and simply want to feel secure in the community they call home. Those are the people I am running to represent. Public safety is not an abstract political issue. It is about feeling safe and comfortable where you live. It is knowing the police will be there when you need them. It is knowing that repeated criminals face real consequences. It is being able to walk into your local pharmacy or supermarket without seeing basic necessities locked behind plastic, or knowing that a package delivered to your porch won’t be stolen before you can get home. When I am elected to the State Assembly, standing with our police to strengthen public safety and protect Queens families will be my top priority. I will fight for tougher bail laws to keep dangerous offenders off our streets. I will fight for stronger laws against repeat shoplifting, trespassing, porch pirates, and organized retail theft. And I will stand up for our police officers and first responders to make sure they have the resources, staffing, benefits and retirement security they deserve. That commitment is why I am so proud to have earned the endorsement of both the NYC Police Benevolent Association and the New York State Troopers PBA. Our first responders know firsthand what is happening in our communities. They understand where our laws are working and where they are falling short. Keeping people safe takes more than talking about public safety during an election. It takes laws that make

sense, resources for our police, consequences that mean something, and elected officials who listen to the people every day. One issue – porch piracy – has become so common that many people almost expect it. You order something online. You track it on your phone. You get the notification that it was delivered. Then you come home and find an empty doorstep. Someone walked onto your property and took something – a birthday present for your child, school supplies, medicine for a parent or grandparent, or something you had saved up to buy or needed. Whatever was inside that box, you worked for it. You paid for it. And it was at your home. You should not have your package stolen or your property invaded. But New York’s laws don’t reflect the way we live today. Our theft laws focus on the dollar value of what was stolen, and treat porches and private outdoor areas differently than other property. Under current New York law, the seriousness of a larceny charge depends on the value and circumstances of what

was stolen. But if someone enters your home unlawfully and steals something, New York’s burglary laws recognize that as a fundamentally different offense. That distinction makes sense. Your home – all of your home – is your private space. Someone who comes onto your porch to steal is not simply taking property – they are invading the security of your home and your family. New York needs stronger laws that recognize the seriousness of someone deliberately coming onto residential property to steal a package. A package on your porch may be outside your four walls, but it was intentionally delivered to your home, to your private property, for you. The thief has deliberately come onto your personal property, invading your family’s space, to take your package. This conduct needs serious consequences. If someone walks onto your property, goes up your steps, looks around your porch, and steals your belongings, the value of the item stolen has nothing to do with the seriousness of

the crime. For all the thief knows, the package could be worth $20 or $2000. Criminals don’t know the value when committing the crimes, so why should the law have different punishments for the crime committed? And if someone is going from home to home, stealing multiple packages, our laws should recognize the repeated and intentional nature of that conduct. That is why, in the Assembly, I will support legislation creating clear and meaningful consequences for package theft, including stronger penalties for repeat offenders, a clear legal standard that porches are considered part of your home, and enhanced consequences when stolen packages contain medication or medical equipment. To me, that is what common sense public safety looks like. It means looking at the problems people are actually experiencing and making government respond. Albany has a very real responsibility because state legislators write New York’s criminal laws. When those laws no longer reflect what is happening in our neighborhoods, we have the ability and the responsibility to improve them. When you see toothpaste and deodorant locked behind plastic at the store, something has gone wrong. When you have to plan your entire day around making sure someone is home to receive a package, something has gone wrong. People should not have to lower their expectations for what a safe community looks like. We know we will never eliminate every crime. But we can make sure our laws are strong, our law enforcement officers are supported, and the concerns of everyday families are not dismissed. That is the approach I will take in Albany. Public safety begins at home.

Pesach Osina is running for State Assembly District 23 in this upcoming election.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

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TJH

Centerfold

Flydubai Hero Plumber Yaniv Hayun’s New Slogans “Roto-Rooter & Rudder” “Drains, Planes & Everything In Between” “Air Force Plumb” “The Wright Plumbers” “From Clogged Johns to Jumbo Jets” “Plumbing, Heating & Emergency Landings” “Licensed Plumber, Unlicensed Pilot “No Job Too Big, No Altitude Too High” “We Make House Calls — Even at 35,000 Feet” “Your Pipes Are in Good Hands. Apparently So Is Your Plane” “If It Goes Down, We Bring It Back Up” “One Call Does It All: Toilets, Turbulence & Takeoffs” “We’ll Get You Out of Any Jam — Plumbing or Aviation” “Why Call a Pilot When You Can Call a Plumber?” “We Accept Cash, Credit & Frequent-Flyer Miles” “We Unclog Toilets. We Also Prevent Unscheduled Landings” “When Your Pipes Are In A Nosedive, Call The Guy Who Knows What To Do”

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! A blind pilot walks into a plane waving his walking stick. The passengers all look at each other in disbelief. The flight attendant gets on the PA and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the captain is legally blind, but rest assured, he is one of the best pilots in the world with over six thousand successful flights.” Next the co-pilot makes his way to the plane, and he is also blind and uses his walking stick to make it to the cabin. The flight attendant gets on the PA and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the co-pilot is also blind, but rest assured, he is the second-best pilot in the world with over five thousand successful flights.” The plane begins to take off from the runway. As it gains speed, the passengers grow tenser. The plane keeps accelerating more and more, and as it approaches the end of the runway, it still hasn’t left the ground. The plane is approaching the end of the runway at high speed, and the passengers start screaming. At that moment, the plane smoothly takes off and begins its ascent. The pilot turns to the copilot and says, “One day, they aren’t going to scream, and we are all going to be dead!”

1. In Operation Solomon in 1991, which was a mission to rescue Ethiopian Jews, Israel set an aviation record by carrying how many people on a single El Al Boeing 747? a. 539 b. 603 c. 985 d. 1,088

did they bring with them as part of a plan to fool the Ugandan guards and reach the terminal by surprise? a. Ugandan military uniforms b. A black Mercedes made to resemble Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s car c. Forged airport identification cards d. Ugandan flags for their vehicles

2. In 1948, why did Israel’s fledgling air force drop empty seltzer bottles over enemy lines? a. They contained written messages in them b. Because they made a whistling and shrieking noise that the Arabs mistook as bombs c. So Israeli soldiers could fill them with water from local sources d. So the enemy would think that Israel had no more bombs and would thus expose their own military assets to bombing

5. In September 1970, TWA Flight 741, carrying Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l, his wife, daughter and son-in-law and 40 other Jews was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and diverted to Jordan. Exactly how many days was Rav Hutner held captive before being released? a. 12 days b. 16 days c. 20 days d. 27 days

3. In 1972, Israeli commandos disguised as airplane technicians stormed hijacked Sabena Flight 571 at Lod Airport, killed two hijackers and rescued the passengers. Which future Israeli prime minister was a member of the rescue team and was actually wounded during the operation? a. Ariel Sharon b. Yitzhak Rabin c. Benjamin Netanyahu d. Shimon Peres 4. During the daring 1976 Entebbe operation, Israeli commandos flew more than 2,000 miles to Uganda and rescued 102 hostages being held at the airport. What unusual item

6. On the first morning of the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel launched Operation Focus, sending roughly 180 aircraft to attack Egyptian airfields while leaving only about 12 fighters behind to defend Israeli airspace. By the end of that first day, approximately what percentage of Egypt’s air force had Israel destroyed? a. 35% b. 40% c. 60% d. 90% 7. In 1960, Mossad agents secretly captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who had been living in Argentina under the false name Ricardo Klement. How did they manage to smuggle him out of

Argentina and fly him to Israel? a. They sedated him, dressed him as an El Al crew member, and pretended he was sick b. They hid him inside an El Al cargo shipment c. They gave him a forged diplomatic passport d. They drove him across the border and flew him from another country 8. On the first day of the Yom Kippur War, an Egyptian formation suddenly attacked Israel’s Ofira air base in the Sinai. Only two Israeli F-4 Phantom fighters were available to scramble and defend the base. How many Egyptian MiG fighters did those two Israeli planes shoot down? a. 2 b. 4 c. 7 d. 12 Answers: 1-D 2-B 3-C 4-B 5-C 6-D 7-A 8-C Wisdom Key: 6-8 correct: Yaniv Hayun has nothing on you! 3-5 correct: You are b’seder! 0-2 correct: You must have gotten hit by an exploding seltzer bottle (maybe it was Mayim Chaim…extra fizz!).

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Israel and Its Airplane Miracles Trivia

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Torah Thought

Parshas Bereishis By Rabbi Berel Wein z”l

here are many moral lessons that are derived from the story of creation as related to us in this parsha and also in next week’s parsha of Noach. One of the insights that I find most relevant and instructive has to do with the relationship of humankind to the animal kingdom and the rest of the natural world. According to Jewish tradition Adam and Chava and their immediate descendants were herbivorous, subsisting on the fruit, plants and the bounty of the earth. According to rabbinic tradition, the animal kingdom imitated the human species and also refrained from killing other creatures to satisfy their own daily need for food. The lion ate as did the elephant, the leopard as did the giraffe. In short, the animal kingdom followed the lead of the human species. It was only after the Great Flood and the new lower level of human existence that the L-rd allowed humankind – Noach and his descendants – to become flesh eaters and to kill animals for hu-

man purposes and gain. The rabbis again taught us that this change in human behavior precipitated a change in animal behavior as well. Now deadly predators and killers stalked other creatures in the animal world.

dangerous lion or leopard or crocodile. The prophet Yeshayahu, in his majestic and soaring description of the utopian era – the end of days, states that the lion will lie down with the lamb and that war between nations will no longer be pos-

Judaism sees humans as the primary creature in the process of creation.

Judaism sees humans as the primary creature in the process of creation. It is human behavior that influences animal behavior. Those who deny a Divine Creator have it the other way round – for them, it is animal behavior that influences human behavior and civilization. To them, humans are not exceptional and unique creatures. A human is just a more

sible. Maimonides chooses to view this prophesy in an allegorical sense rather than in a literal sense. He interprets it as stating that large and powerful nations will no longer impose their will and wring unfair concessions from poorer and weaker countries. This is in line with his statement that nature will not change in any given way

even when the messianic era of the end of days arrives. However, there are many great scholars and commentators who reject this idea of a rather bland messianic era as foretold by Maimonides. Instead, they state categorically that nature will change and that predators such as the lion and the bear will now revert back to their original state at the time of creation and become wholly herbivorous. Again, that seems to presuppose that humans, when giving up war and violence in the messianic era, will no longer eat the flesh of animals, and herbivorous humans will influence the animal world to do the same. There remains the problem of what to do then with animal sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. Answers are advanced but as is easily understood, the topic is esoteric and no one really knows what that world of the messiah will look like. But it is clear that Judaism preaches that the animal kingdom follows the behavior of the human race and certainly not vice versa. Shabbat shalom.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

From the Fire Parshas Bereishis

Begin Anew Every Time By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

t is customary to tie together the end of the Torah with the beginning. The Torah (Devarim, 34:11-12) concludes “and for the signs and wonders which G-d sent to perform in the land of Egypt…and all the strong hand and all of the great fear which Moshe performed before the eyes of the entire Jewish people.” Rashi there explains that the phrase “before the eyes of the entire Jewish people” refers to the incident in which Moshe’s heart moved him to shatter the Tablets in front of them. This explanation is very difficult to understand. Usually parshiyos, books in Tanach, and even sections of Shas, end on a positive note. Why would Hashem conclude the entire Torah with a reference to the breaking of the Tablets in response to the sin of the Golden Calf? Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev points out that we find in Tanach and in davening that sometimes it says that Hashem “created” or “formed” the world, using the past tense, as in the phrase

“who formed man with wisdom” in the bracha “Asher Yatzar.” Other times, it says Hashem “creates” or “forms” the world, using the present tense, as in the phrase “who forms man” in the bracha under the chuppah and the pasuk (Yeshaya 45:7) “who forms light and creates darkness.” In order to explain the difference, Reb Levi Yitzchak says that whenever it speaks in the past tense, it is referring to the human perspective. It appears to man as if G-d created and formed the world and mankind at some point in the past. But if a person understands the inner essence of things, the true reality, he recognizes that the world lacks any independent existence. Rather, Hashem actively imbues all of creation with its life force and its very existence at every single moment. The pesukim and davening refer to G-d as “creating” and “forming” us in the present tense because this is the reality. If Hashem were to cease actively causing us to exist for even a split sec-

ond, we would flit out of existence and into emptiness – instant non-existence. The Alter Rebbe discusses this concept in depth in the one of the five parts of the Tanya, the Shaar Hayichud V’ha’emunah. The sefer Tomer Devorah, by Rav Moshe Cordovero, the “Ramak,” is based on Hashem’s attributes of mercy as expressed in Tashlich, which we say on Rosh Hashana. He expands on the implications of the fact that Hashem actively creates the world at every moment in his explanation of first of the attributes of mercy, in which we say “Who is like You?” He says as follows: This teaches that the Holy One Blessed is He is a “Humiliated King,” suffering embarrassment beyond understanding. Without a doubt, He observes everything that happens. In addition, not a moment passes when man does not live and is not sustained from the supernal strength which is imbued into him. The foregoing im-

plies that no one has ever sinned in the history of the world without receiving the Divine gift of life which powers every single movement he makes. And despite the fact that the person sins with the very strength that Hashem gives him at the very moment he is sinning, Hashem does not withhold it from him! Instead, the Holy One Blessed is He tolerates this profound insult whereby He gives the person the ability to move his limbs at the very moment the person uses this strength to sin and anger G-d. Yet the Holy One tolerates this. And Hashem does not lack the ability to withhold this good from the person, G-d forbid. Indeed, he has done so… to Yeravam. And although He has the ability to withhold this strength from the person and tell him, “Since you are sinning against Me, sin with your own strength, not with mine!,” He does not withhold good from the

past, then there is no way to actually fix my mistakes. One cannot undo the past if he believes that the past truly exists in an immutable state. This is why Chazal teach (Tanchuma, Nasso 11) that teshuva preceded the world. It is above and beyond the natural order of Creation. The Midrash (Bereishis Raba 12:10) explains based on the pasuk in Bereishis 2:4 that Hashem created the world with the letter “hei,” which represents teshuva. How so? The shape of the letter hei is such that it is open at the bottom and has a small opening on the side. This teaches that even if someone initially sins and falls through the opening at the bottom of

to miracles. And, as we explained above, the phrase “all of the great fear which Moshe performed before the eyes of the entire Jewish people” refers to the breaking of the Tablets. This is related to the other way of revealing our recognition that Hashem recreates the world at every moment – teshuva. How so? According to the Gemara (Avoda Zara 4b), “the only reason the Jewish people worshipped the calf was to demonstrate the power of teshuva to the masses.” They wanted people to understand that if something breaks, it can be fixed. These two elements with which Hashem concludes the Torah (miracles/prayer and teshuva) reveal that the

Hashem actively imbues all of creation with its life force and its very existence at every single moment.

the hei, he can climb back in on the side, through a different opening than the one he fell through initially. Since one cannot literally undo the past, if he knows that he and the world are created anew at every single moment, he has the confidence to climb back through a new opening. The Rebbe Reb Yonasan Eybeschutz, z”ya, in Tiferes Yehonasan (Vayikra), explains Dovid Hamelech’s prayer in Tehilim (118:19-20) where he says, “Open up the gates of righteousness for me, I will enter through them to give thanks to G-d.” Dovid lead the way for baalei teshuva. He asked G-d to open up a new gate for him, different from the gate he originally came through. Why? Because he says about the main gate, “This is the gate to G-d, tzaddikim pass through it,” but not baalei teshuva. Those who have already made mistakes and can no longer enter through the gate of the tzaddikim need Hashem to create a new gate for them. Dovid Hamelech is asking for Hashem to open up a new gate for him, for Hashem to create a side entrance through which he can climb back to G-d. We see from the foregoing that there are two main ways through which we can recognize that Hashem constantly creates the world at every moment: miracles and davening on one hand and teshuva on the other hand. The Torah concludes with both. The pasuk says, “And for the signs and wonders which G-d sent to perform in the land of Egypt…,” which refers

purpose of the Jewish people is to reveal the true reality that Hashem is the Creator and Former and not merely One who created the world in the past. Therefore, the Torah concludes with the fact that the “eyes of the Jewish people” see Hashem’s miracles and the power of teshuva. These things enable one to start again and both can only exist when one recognizes that when the Torah begins with G-d’s creation of the world at the beginning of Bereishis, it was not a one-time event, but an ongoing act of Creation. Therefore, every moment is a new start, and we can begin again because we are not encumbered by a past we can never completely undo. Every second is a new, clean, and fresh beginning. This is the truth of Creation witnessed by the “eyes of the Jewish people.” This is why the word for the Jewish people, Yisroel, has the same numerical value as “Hashem yotzer borei, Hashem creates forms,” which is 541. The tzaddik Reb Baruch of Mezhbizh was known as being very sharp. He was once told by his chassidim that a certain chassid was starting to veer a little bit off of the path. He was not coming to shul as often and he was changing his mode of dress, so the chassidim were worried about him. The Rebbe told them not to worry, that the man would come to him. Several weeks passed, and the man did not come to Reb Baruch. But the chas-

sidim came with a new report that this chassid had stopped keeping mitzvos. Reb Baruch assured them that the former chassid would come crawling back to him. Several more weeks passed, and the man still did not come. But once again, the chassidim came to Reb Baruch with an even more disturbing report. The man had left Mezhbizh and had moved in with a non-Jewish woman. The Rebbe then realized that it was time for him to come to the man. He therefore traveled to the town where the man was then living, and he knocked on the man’s door. The woman answered the door and was very surprised to see the Rebbe there. He stood in the doorway but did not look up at her. When the man saw his former Rebbe there, he told her to leave and then the Rebbe looked up at the man and said, “Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?” “Of course,” the man answered, and brought the Rebbe into the house, humiliated at the way he was living right in front of the Rebbe, with this “girlfriend,” no mezuzah on the door, etc. The Rebbe sat down at the table and the man sat across from him, but the Rebbe said nothing, just looked at the man, immersed in thought. Finally, after several minutes of this, the man burst out into tears and crawled over to Reb Baruch, held onto his coat, and begged, “Please, Rebbe! I’m so sorry! Is there any way I can come back?!” But Reb Baruch answered him, “No, You cannot come back.” Shocked, the man asked, “But Rebbe, haven’t you always taught us that a person can do teshuva no matter what?” “Of course,” the Rebbe answered, “there is always teshuva. But you cannot come back the way you came. The path you took to this point had many problems and many questions. You can only do teshuva if you forge a new path back to Hashem. You cannot follow your old path back home.” We must recognize that our old path is gone. Hashem is recreating the world right now. We therefore have the privilege of starting again from scratch. May we merit to see Hashem as the One who creates the world at every moment and not just One who created the world in the past. May we merit to see every moment as a fresh start.

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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

person for that valid reason, but instead He tolerates this insult and imbues the person with strength and bestows good upon him. This is an insult beyond measure and requires patience which cannot be imagined. This is why the angels call Hashem the “Humiliated King,” and this is what we are referring to when we say, “Who is like you?!” Can you imagine if Hashem were a person? It would be like a son asking his father if he can borrow the father’s car, and then when the father is waving goodbye to his son, the son runs his father over with the car the father gave him. It is like a person who is about to fall off of a cliff and someone else is holding his hand so he does not fall. But while the person is hanging on for dear life to his savior’s hand, he spits in his benefactor’s face. This concept as articulated by the Ramak has helped prevent countless sins over the centuries since it was written. Now, which of the outlooks expressed by Reb Levi Yitzchak can lead to the realization outlined by the Ramak in Tomer Devorah? Clearly, only one who recognizes that Hashem creates and forms him in the present tense can recognize how Hashem imbues him with the ability to rebel against Him at the very moment of the rebellion! One who thinks that Hashem created him at some point in the past cannot appreciate the extent of the insult he perpetrates with each sin. But how can a simple person appreciate how Hashem creates reality at every single moment? When a miracle occurs. When G-d changes nature, one can see with his own eyes that Hashem creates the world at every moment because at the moment of the miracle, Hashem creates the world a bit differently than before. That is why Hashem can turn the sea into dry land or the like. Tzaddikim have the ability to bring about miracles by davening. That is why the Hebrew word for davening, tefillah, and the combination of the words for “creates” and “forms” – yotzer and borei – have the same numerical value, 515. Davening has the power to bring about miracles for those with a palpable awareness that nothing from the past truly exists, that Hashem “forms light and creates darkness” at every single moment. Besides davening, man has access to another power which reveals how Hashem constantly creates and forms the world: teshuva. From a naturalistic perspective, it is impossible to begin again from the beginning. “You can’t unscramble an egg.” If the world was created and I was born exclusively in the

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Torah Thought

Still Alive By Judah Mischel

he Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, was once visiting a certain town, and as was customary with visiting teachers, he was invited to the local cheder to spend time with the young talmidim and farher them, test them. When the Kotzker arrived, he learned that the boys were studying, in Parashas Bereishis, the pesukim in which the descendants of Adam are listed generation by generation: “So-and-so lived for a certain number of years, had certain children, and then died.” The Rebbe asked one of the boys to read and translate a few of the pesukim. The student read, “And Sheis lived 105 years...and gave birth to Enosh, and so it was that all the days of Sheis were 912 years, and Sheis died...” Shaking his head, the Rebbe interrupted, “No, no, that’s not right. Noch amol [Again].” The melamed frowned; surely the boy had read and translated correctly. But the Rebbe insisted, “Zog noch amol [Read it again].” The boy reread the pasuk word for word and translated it according to the peshat. But the Rebbe shook his head. “Again...” Another student gave it a shot. He read the pasuk, gave the simple translation, and without a pause continued with the next pasuk: “And Enosh lived ninety years and gave birth to Keinan...and so it was, that all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.” The Rebbe shook his head with disapproval and said, “No, no. Noch amol.” He repeated his effort at translating the pesukim, but the Kotzker was still displeased. The melamed became more and more confused and frustrated. Yet another boy tried: “And Keinan lived seventy years and gave birth to Mahalalel, and it was that all the days of Keinan were 910 years, and he died.” Again, the Kotzker vigorously disapproved, and finally the melamed, full of remorse, apologized for whatever his shortcoming was in the way that he was teaching the children. “Please,” he begged. “Instruct us in the correct way! Rebbe, teach us the peshat!” Said the Kotzker, “Azoi [this] is the way it should be read.” With a booming voice the Rebbe cried out, “And Keinan LIVED

seventy years!” and at the end of the pasuk his voice dropped to a whisper, “...and then he died.” In each pasuk, the Kotzker raised his voice and accentuated the person’s years of “LIFE,” and then became barely audible when mentioning his death. “You see,” said the Rebbe, “the emphasis for us Yidden is how we live, what we live for, how alive we are, what we accomplish here in this world. The amount of time we were here is only secondary.” * * * We have just spent the greater part of this month davening for life: “Zachreinu l’chaim…chasveinu l’chaim…chasmeinu l’chaim… Remember us for life... inscribe us for life...seal us in the Book of Life.” Parashas Bereishis gives us another opportunity to begin again, to consider what it is about our lives that makes us truly alive,

his avodas Hashem. On the surface, the generations of Adam and Chavah may sound almost like a registry. But the Torah is reminding us that the Creation of this world, all of existence, is only truly meaningful when we live with purpose and are fully alive. And thus, we begin a new cycle of Torah reading in the new year with freshness, as though we have never heard it before. RAV YEHOSHUA HARTMAN is the prolific author of the voluminous commentary on the works of Maharal of Prague, as well as a talmid chacham of renown and the rosh beis midrash at Hasmonean High School, London. A charismatic teacher and warm, engaging baal machshavah, he developed a close relationship with the great Rav Yitzchak Hutner. Rav Hartman relates:

We are able to remember that it is not how long we live but how we live and how much we offer of ourselves to life, which is most important. to refocus ourselves on what we are living for, and commit ourselves to investing in that which gives us vitality. We are able to remember that it is not how long we live but how we live and how much we offer of ourselves to life, which is most important. Let us look deeper at the meaning of the story of the offerings of Kayin and Hevel: “And Hevel, he too brought [offerings] from the choicest of the firstlings of his flock, and Hashem paid attention to Hevel and his offering.” This pasuk can be read: “And Hevel also brought himself [among] the firstlings of his flock, and Hashem paid attention to Hevel and to his offering.” Hevel didn’t just give his choicest animals to Hashem; he gave all of himself. He put his whole heart into his offering. He was “all in” on

Over the years, I had the privilege of meeting Rav Hutner more than thirty times; in each instance—every single time—the Rosh Yeshiva would greet me and the first question was not “How are you?” It was always, always, “Atah chai [Are you alive]?” At first, I assumed he was asking because I looked tired or pale...so he was asking me if I was alive. But then the rosh yeshiva would ask me again, “Atah ada’in chai [Are you still alive]?” I have come to understand Rav Hutner’s intended message: Are you really living? Have you activated the latent chiyus, vitality in your soul? You were alive...but are you still alive? “ V’atem ha’d’veikim b’Hashem Elokeichem chaim kulchem hayom,

And you who are cleaving to Hashem your G-d, you are all alive today.” May we be counted among those who are “written and sealed for life” – for being truly alive and fully engaged in life, with presence, joy, newness, and purpose at every stage and age! AT THE LEVAYAH of Rav Moshe Feinstein, his devoted wife of over sixty-five years, Rebbetzin Shima, looked at the aron of her beloved husband and exclaimed, “Ehr hut zich enjoyed zein leiben [Oh, how my husband enjoyed his life]!” * * * There is so much we can achieve, creatively and spiritually, in this world. Whether we are called to build a home, cultivate a family, and be part of a community, or to develop cities, coax vineyards to grow from limestone, and make the desert blossom, we must know that no matter how much we give, there is no upper limit to how deeply we can love. Another classic composition sung by Naomi Shemer describes the infinite potential we are granted in being alive: Od lo ahavti dai Ha’ruach v’hashemesh al panai Od lo amarti dai V’im lo achshav eimasai I have not yet loved enough The wind and the sun upon my face I have not yet said enough And if not now, when? This article has been reprinted from Baderech, Along The Path of the Torah, by Judah Mischel, published by Mosaica Press.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Think. Feel.Grow.

The Deeper Purpose of Torah Wisdom By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

s we begin the new Torah cycle, let’s take a moment to contemplate the deeper purpose of Torah. Some may refer to the Torah as a history book; others may think of it as a book of law or a source of Jewish wisdom. While these are all true, they only scratch the surface of the Torah’s true nature. Torah is not simply a guide to living a life of truth within this world; it is the blueprint and DNA of the world itself. Our physical world is a projection and emanation of the deep spiritual reality described in the Torah. This is the meaning behind the famous Midrash, “Istakel b’Oraisa u’bara alma — [Hashem] looked into the Torah and used it to create the world” (Bereishis Rabbah 1:1). Torah is the spiritual root of existence; the physical world is its expression. Imagine a projector: the image that you see on the screen emanates from the film in the projector so that everything you see on the screen is simply an expression of what’s contained within the film. So too, every single thing that we see and experience in the physical world stems from the spiritual root — the transcendent dimension of Torah. To illustrate further, the trees you see outside originally stemmed from a single seed. Similarly, each and every one of us originated from a zygote, half a male and half a female genetic code. From that single cell ultimately manifested a fully developed and expressed human being. You are the expression of your original seed, just like the world is the expression of its original seed and root — the Torah. Thus, the world in which we live is an avenue to

the spiritual; we can access the spiritual, transcendent world through the physical world because the two are intimately and intrinsically connected. To relate to this concept, think of the way in which other human beings experience and understand you. All they can see of you is your physical body. They cannot see your thoughts, your consciousness, your emotions, or your soul. All they can see are your actions, words, facial expressions, and body language, i.e., the ways in which you express yourself within the world. They cannot see your inner world, but they can access it through the outer expressions that you project. The same is true regarding human beings trying to experience Hashem and the spiritual. We cannot see the spiritual; we cannot see what is ethereal and transcendent, only that which is physical. However, we can use the physical to access the spiritual; we can study the Torah’s expression in this world to understand its spiritual root. To fully grasp the depth of this concept, we must understand the nature and purpose of a mashal. A mashal is an analogy, an example one gives in order to explain an abstract, conceptual idea to one who does not yet understand it. If a teacher wants to share a deep principle with his or her students, they might share a story or analogy that depicts the idea through a more relatable medium. While the mashal does not fully convey the idea itself, it leads the listener toward it, aiding him or her in the process of understanding. Deep ideas cannot be taught, as they are beyond words. They can only be hinted to and talked about. The job of

the teacher is to guide the student toward the idea until the idea falls into the student’s mind with clear understanding. A mashal serves as a guiding force in this process, leading the student toward an understanding of that which defies simple explanation. This process itself can be understood through a mashal. You cannot teach someone how to ride a bike. You can only help them, holding on while they practice, and perhaps showing them an example of how it is done. Ultimately, though, you must let go, and the student will have to learn how to ride independently. (This is a mashal to help explain the concept of a mashal. Think about that.) Once you learn how to ride a bike, it’s hard to imagine not being able to ride one. We often can’t understand what took us so long to learn. Yet, despite the fact that we now know how to ride a bike, we will not be able to explain how to ride a bike to someone else. It is simply beyond words. A mashal is the only tool a teacher can use to teach spiritual truths; the learning and understanding must be done within the inner mind of the student. If this is true, how can we relate to and understand the spiritual world? We cannot see, touch, or feel the spiritual. Thus, if all learning occurs through the use of analogy, what mashal did Hashem give us to help us access spiritual truths? The ultimate mashal is the world itself. The physical world guides us toward deeper, spiritual truths. Everything in this world is a mashal — a tool guiding us toward a deeper reality. Every physical object, every emotional phenomenon,

every experience in this world is part of a grand mashal leading us toward the root of all existence. With the Torah as our guide and teacher, we can navigate the physical world and understand how to trace ourselves back to our ultimate Source, Hashem.

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

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Torah Thought

“One More Day” Carrying Teshuvah Forward By Nataly Magendzo

here is a fascinating halacha regarding the esrog that, at first glance, seems almost strange. Even after Hoshana Rabbah has passed and the mitzvah of the Arba Minim has seemingly come to an end, we are still not permitted to eat the esrog. The Shulchan Aruch teaches that in Eretz Yisrael, the esrog remains set aside for the mitzvah through Hoshana Rabbah and may only be eaten on Shemini Atzeres. In chutz la’aretz, where we observe two days of yom tov, that prohibition extends even further: the esrog remains forbidden throughout Shemini Atzeres and may be eaten only after Yom Tov has completely passed. Why does the halacha require us to wait just one more day? Perhaps hidden within that extra day is a beautiful message about what happens after teshuva. We spend an entire month preparing ourselves. Elul begins, and we look inward. Rosh Hashana arrives, and

we stand before Hashem. We enter the Aseres Yemei Teshuva. We reach Yom Kippur, when we ask Hashem for forgiveness and commit ourselves to change. And then come the days of Sukkos, culminating in Hoshana Rabbah. The Zohar describes Hoshana Rabbah as a day connected to the completion of the judgment and the final sealing. And then, after Hoshana Rabbah, there is one more day. Perhaps that is not merely an extra day on the calendar. Perhaps it is a day to pause. The Torah tells us: “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree...” (Vayikra 23:40). There is something striking about the words “b’yom ha’rishon, on the first day.” We know Sukkos begins on the fifteenth of Tishrei. Why does the Torah call it the first day? Chazal give us an incredible answer:

“And you shall take for yourselves on the first day — the first day for the accounting of sins” (Vayikra Rabbah 30:7). Chazal discuss the identity of the fruit of the Eitz HaDaas. There are several opinions, and one opinion identifies it as an esrog. This is only one opinion among Chazal, but it creates a remarkable connection. The very fruit that, according to one opinion, represents the first sin of mankind becomes part of one of the holiest mitzvos of the year. There is something deeply symbolic about that. The Torah does not ask us to erase the past. It asks us to transform it. And this brings us back to that one extra day. From Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur, we are in a period of din, judgment and teshuva, the Yomim Noraim, when we stand before Hashem with awe and humility. From Yom Kippur until Hoshana Rabbah, the atmosphere changes from din to ahava. Having

experienced forgiveness and reconciliation with Hashem on Yom Kippur, we enter a period of closeness and love, expressed through the joy of Sukkos and culminating in Hoshana Rabbah. And then Hashem asks us for one more day in which we still don’t eat the esrog. The message is clear: Stop. Before you move forward, take one more day to remember where you have been. Think about Rosh Hashana. Think about Yom Kippur. Think about the prayers you whispered. Think about the tears you shed. Think about the things you promised Hashem you would change. Think about every person from whom you asked mechilah. Think about every person with whom you still need to make peace. Think about every reason you asked Hashem for forgiveness. Think about the journey from the be-

Do we remember the promises we made? Do we remember the closeness to Hashem that we felt? That is why perhaps there is one more day. Not another day of judgment. A day of internalization.

turning it into something sweet. The sour fruit becomes sweet jelly. This is the ultimate message of teshuva. We cannot change the past. But we can change what we do with it. The things that once represented our mistakes (sourness) can become the source of growth (sweetness).

Before you move forward, take one more day to remember where you have been.

A day to pause between the holiness of the Yamim Noraim and our return to ordinary life. A day to make sure that the teshuva we experienced does not remain an experience of the past. There is another beautiful part of the story. The esrog is famously sour. We know that Hashem’s ways are not a coincidence. One of the ways people preserve the esrog after Sukkos is by

The pain can produce compassion. The mistakes can produce humility. The failures can produce greater closeness to Hashem. The past can become part of the sweetness of the future. That may be the message of that one extra day. Wait. Pause. Remember.

Don’t go back. Move forward. Maybe that is why we are given “one more day.” One more day to make sure that the person who walks into the new year is not the same person who entered Elul. Because teshuva is not measured only by the tears we shed, the words we said, or the resolutions we made. Teshuva is measured by what we carry with us afterward. The esrog remains out of reach for one more day, as if Hashem is telling us: Don’t rush. Before you return to your routine, before the holiness of these days becomes a memory—pause one more day. Remember who you wanted to become. And then take that person with you. Because the goal was never simply to have a beautiful Yom Kippur. The goal was to have a different year. May we be zocheh to carry the pnimiyus of these holy days with us throughout the entire year, transforming our teshuva into lasting change, our challenges into growth, and our past into the foundation for a sweeter future.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

ginning of Elul until Hoshana Rabbah. And then: Stop. The greatest challenge of teshuva is not recognizing what we did wrong. It is not returning to the person we were before. It is so easy for the inspiration of the Yamim Noraim to fade. After yom tov, life becomes busy again. The tefillos become memories. The commitments become difficult. The emotions of the past month begin to feel distant. And that is precisely when we need to remember: Do not go back. Teshuva is not only about leaving the past behind. It is about carrying something forward. We spent an entire month working on ourselves. We asked Hashem to give us another chance. We asked people for mechilah. We tried to identify the things that needed to change. Now we have to take the pnimiyus of those days and bring it into the year ahead. The real test of teshuva is not how we feel on Yom Kippur. It is who we become on a random Tuesday in the middle of the year. Do we respond differently? Do we speak differently? Do we treat people differently?

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Delving into the Daf

When Less Is Too Much By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

n acquaintance once confided that he had a stone fragment from the Kosel in his possession. He said archaeologists were excavating near the Kosel area and uncovered numerous stone fragments during the dig. Because the team was only interested in the larger stones, my friend was permitted to take one of the smaller pieces. While there was no concrete proof, so to speak, that this specific fragment originated from the Kosel or the surrounding walls of the Har HaBayis, it was a distinct possibility. Was he actually permitted to keep it? A short detour brings us to a surprisingly relevant illustration. A Massachusetts man named Mark received an alarming letter from Bank of America regarding his mortgage: “The loan is in serious default because the required payments have not been made... You have the right to cure the default. To cure the default, on or before February 4, BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP must receive the amount of $0.00...” You read that correctly. The bank

threatened foreclosure on his home unless he paid... absolutely nothing. Mark’s credit score plummeted as a result. Frustrated, he reached out to a local news channel to demand answers. Bank of America eventually contacted him to explain that the notice was generated by an electronic glitch, even throwing in a $150 gift card for his trouble. Had Mark owed $1,000, the solution would have been straightforward: pay the bill. But because he owed $0, he was powerless to fix the system; he couldn’t make a payment that didn’t exist. In a bizarre twist of administrative bureaucracy, a substantial debt would have been far easier to satisfy than a non-existent one. This quirk of logic nicely mirrors a fascinating line of reasoning in the Gemara. (And if it doesn’t, it was a fun story anyway.)

Sanctity in Limbo The Gemara in Maseches Bechoros discusses a consecrated animal that develops a mum (a disfiguring blem-

ish), rendering it unfit to be offered on the Altar. The animal enters a state of halachic limbo: its inherent kedushah prevents it from being slaughtered for personal consumption, yet its physical blemish prevents it from being brought as a sacrifice. The Torah provides a clear solution: the animal is redeemed. Its sanctity transfers to the redemption money, which is then used to purchase a valid sacrifice, and the original animal becomes permitted for secular use and consumption. The Gemara (Bechoros 15b) then introduces a fascinating edge case: What happens if a consecrated, blemished animal conceives while still sacred but gives birth after its mother has already been redeemed? The redemption performed on the mother successfully removes most of the sacred status from the unborn fetus. However, the newborn offspring still retains a faint vestige of kedushah. The Gemara concludes that this newborn becomes trapped in a state of perma-

nent limbo with no possible remedy: 1. It cannot be used for secular purposes because of its residual sanctity. 2. It cannot be brought on the Altar because it lacks the high-level sanctity required for a sacrifice. 3. Crucially, it cannot be redeemed, because its remaining sanctity is considered too minor and negligible to undergo a formal act of redemption. Counterintuitively, the very fact that the offspring’s sanctity is so minor works against it. A higher level of sanctity can be removed through redemption, whereas a trace amount cannot. As a result, the animal remains forbidden forever for both sacred and secular use.

The Status of Kosel Stones Returning to our Kosel fragment: Rashi (Avodah Zarah 52b) notes that when idolaters breached the Bais HaMikdash, its sacred vessels became profaned and lost their kedushah. Based on this Rashi, one might argue that when the Bais HaMikdash was destroyed, its stones similarly lost their sanctity, meaning my

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from Maseches Megillah (11b) regarding King Belshazzar, who possessed looted Temple vessels that had sat in storage. Belshazzar knew those vessels retained their full sanctity; he only dared to use them for his feast when he mistakenly

The Danger of Personal Benefit Rav Moshe adds that even if someone were to mistakenly assume that Kosel stones lost their intrinsic kedushah, it would still be strictly forbidden to use

The bank threatened foreclosure on his home unless he paid...absolutely nothing.

calculated that the 70 years of exile had passed without the Bais HaMikdash being rebuilt. • The Kosel Was Never Overrun: Non-Jews never gained absolute dominion over the Western Wall to destroy or desecrate it. Midrash Rabbah explicitly states that Hashem swore the Kosel would never be destroyed and that the Shechinah would never depart from it. Whatever Rashi in Avodah Zarah is describing, it cannot apply to the Kosel.

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them for personal purposes. It is fundamentally inappropriate for an item that once served the Al-mighty to be downgraded to serve man. Could one argue that simply displaying a Kosel fragment on a shelf as a keepsake does not constitute a violation of me’ilah (unlawful benefit from consecrated property)? Rav Moshe rules unequivocally that it does. Displaying a Kosel fragment like a trophy or antique yields personal

pleasure and pride, the very definition of deriving personal benefit from sacred material. In the end, a well-known posek advised my friend to throw his Kosel fragment into the ocean or another deep body of water. Because it is forbidden to derive any benefit from the stone, it is far safer to dispose of it permanently than to leave an item in one’s home that could easily lead to a severe Biblical prohibition.

Note regarding the article that appeared in the Succos edition: This author was informed that Rav Shlomo Miller, shlita, advised against drinking Jacu (bird) coffee. He would presumably advise against civet and black ivory coffee as well.

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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

friend’s fragment could be kept. However, the Rogatchover Gaon (Tzofnas Paneach, Hilchos Terumos 1:5) disagrees with this line of reasoning. He explains that Rashi’s rule applied only to the First Bais HaMikdash, which possessed a supreme level of sanctity. By contrast, the Second Bais HaMikdash had a lesser degree of kedushah, and precisely because its level of sanctity was lower, it could not be profaned in the same manner. Much like the fetus in Bechoros, an object with a minor or altered degree of sanctity can sometimes be harder to desacralize than one with maximum sanctity. Independent of the Rogatchover’s analysis, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Yoreh De’ah 2:141) demonstrates that Rashi’s principle cannot be used to permit keeping a Kosel stone, citing two main reasons: • Limited Scope: The Gemara refers specifically to gold and silver vessels that were looted for immediate personal use by the conquerors. It does not imply a blanket, automatic loss of sanctity for all physical components of the Temple structure. Rav Moshe cites a proof

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Headlines

Halacha

Fire Hazards in the Jewish Home By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

ildfires make national headlines. Electrical fires generally don’t. They strike one house at a time, quietly, and they are far more common than most people realize. A veteran electrician recently pointed out that the old two-prong, ungrounded outlet found in so many older homes is actually responsible for only a small share of electrical fires. The real culprits are ordinary household items: cheap extension cords, space heaters, old electric blankets, and overloaded outlets. The Jewish home adds several risks of its own: Chanukah lights left burning unattended, children near Chanukah and havdalah flames, and a blech or hot plate running for days on end during a long yom tov.

The Five Hazards (Starting With the Worst) 1. Extension cords – the number one problem. Extension cords are meant to be temporary. Using them permanently, chaining several together, running them under rugs or furniture, or running them out to a shed to power a space heater are all recipes for disaster. A cord that can safely power something for a few minutes is not built to power it indefinitely. 2. Overloaded power strips. Six or eight outlets on a strip does not mean six or eight heavy appliances can be plugged in at once. Heaters, air conditioners, microwaves, and refrigerators do not belong on a power strip. Strips are meant for low-power electronics such as computers, lamps, televisions, and chargers, and they are no substitute for adding circuits. A strip that feels warm, smells odd, or shows discoloration is a warning sign. Cheap ungrounded strips from discount stores are especially suspect. 3. Old electric blankets. Modern electric blankets are much safer than those of decades past. Still, they should be checked regularly and replaced if

frayed, damaged, or old. 4. Space heaters near flammable materials. Older heaters, such as the 1970s model still in Grandma’s living room, are especially risky. Newer models generally shut off if they tip over or overheat. Even so, any heater placed near curtains, bedding, furniture, or carpets can start a fire. A space heater is simply a hot element sitting in the middle of a room. It is not a substitute for central heating and should not run unattended all day. (A practical side note: heaters are cheapest in summer and air conditioners in winter.) 5. Improper do-it-yourself work or hiring the cheapest handyman. A common mistake is wiring an outlet with the colors correct (black wire to the brass screw) but leaving insulation caught under the terminal screw. That is a fire hazard. Another is Romex cable left hanging

loose in a crawl space instead of being stapled to the joists, so the full weight of the wire pulls on the receptacle. The cheapest contractor is rarely the one who works to code.

The Halachic Dimension 1. The mitzvah of ma’akeh applies to every hazard. The Torah commands building a guardrail on one’s roof “so that you not place blood in your house” (Devarim 22:8). The Rambam (Hilchos Rotzeach u’Shmiras HaNefesh 11:4) rules that this mitzvah is not limited to roofs. Anything in one’s possession that poses a danger to life must be removed or made safe. The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 427:6–8) codifies this. Faulty wiring, a frayed electric blanket, or an extension cord buried under a rug falls squarely within this obligation. Leaving such a hazard in place violates both a positive

commandment and the prohibition of “lo sasim damim b’veisecha.” 2. The rickety ladder principle. The Gemara (Kesubos 41b) applies “lo sasim damim b’veisecha” to keeping a dangerous dog and to keeping a rickety ladder in one’s home. The hazard does not need to be dramatic. An ordinary household item that is likely to cause harm is enough. An overloaded power strip is the modern rickety ladder. 3. “Sakanta chamira me’isura.” Chazal teach that matters of danger are treated more strictly than ritual prohibitions (Chullin 10a; Rema, Yoreh De’ah 116:5). In a case of doubt about kashrus, one may sometimes rely on leniencies. In a case of doubt about danger, one may not. A power strip that “has been fine so far” or a 1970s heater that “never caused a problem” does not meet the halachic standard. 4. V’nishmartem me’od l’nafshoseichem. The Torah commands, “You shall guard yourselves very carefully” (Devarim 4:15). The Gemara (Berachos 32b) and later poskim understand this as an obligation to guard one’s own health and safety. Wrapping oneself in a damaged electric blanket is not merely unwise. It is a halachic concern. 5. Liability for fire: “Ki seitzei eish.” The Torah holds a person responsible for a fire he starts that spreads to another’s property (Shemos 22:5). The Gemara (Bava Kamma 22a) records a dispute about whether a person’s fire is treated like his arrows (isho mishum chitzav) or like his property (mishum mamono). Either way, he bears responsibility. The halacha is codified in Choshen Mishpat 418. Someone who runs an extension cord to a shed or an attached unit, especially one where other people live, may carry real liability if a fire spreads to a neighbor’s home. 6. Hiring the cheapest handyman.

Fire Hazards Unique to the Jewish Home 1. Unattended Chanukah lights. Every winter, fire departments respond to fires that began with a menorah. The halacha requires that the lights burn for half an hour after the time of lighting (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 672:2). Once that time has passed, the Shulchan Aruch rules that one may extinguish the lights or make use of them. There is therefore no halachic reason to leave a menorah burning in an empty house or while the family is asleep. A family that must go out should either wait the half-hour or arrange for someone to stay home. The menorah should stand on a non-flammable surface, away from curtains, tablecloths, paper decorations, and doorway traffic. A menorah placed by the doorway, within a tefach of the door (Orach Chaim

671:7), sits exactly where coats, scarves, and sleeves brush past. 2. Chazal’s own fire case: the camel and the Chanukah lamp. The Gemara (Bava Kamma 62b) discusses a camel loaded with flax that passed a shop, caught fire from a lamp, and set a building ablaze. If the flax caught fire from a Chanukah lamp placed outside, the

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 253:1), but a flame burning under metal for days creates real dangers. Pots can boil dry. Dish towels, paper towels, oven mitts, plastic containers, and challah bags left on or next to the blech can catch fire. A gas flame left burning for days also raises the risk of carbon monoxide. Every home that keeps a flame on through yom

A homeowner who knowingly hires someone who will not do the job to code has not fulfilled his own obligation of ma’akeh.

shopkeeper is exempt, because he placed the lamp there with permission, as a mitzvah. That exemption, however, concerns where the lamp was placed. It does not grant license to neglect a lamp, and it certainly does not relieve a person of the obligation of ma’akeh inside his own home. The mitzvah of pirsumei nisa does not require leaving lights where they are likely to cause harm. 3. Children near Chanukah and Havdalah flames. Training children in mitzvos (chinuch) is a parental obligation, and many families have each child light a menorah. That is a beautiful custom, but each child’s menorah must be lit under direct adult supervision and placed where a younger sibling cannot reach or knock it over. The Havdalah candle presents a special danger. It is a torch with several wicks, often handed to a child to hold, sometimes raised high in keeping with the well-known custom about the height of the candle. Long hair, loose sleeves, and dripping wax all come within inches of an open flame. An adult should stand ready, hair should be tied back, and the candle should be extinguished promptly afterward. The Rema (Orach Chaim 296:1) records the custom of extinguishing the Havdalah candle in the wine poured out after Havdalah. The flame should be fully out, not merely dimmed, before it is put away. The obligation of “lo sasim damim b’veisecha” applies with special force where children are involved. 4. The blech and hot plate on a long yom tov. When yom tov falls next to Shabbos, a family may leave a blech over a gas flame, or a hot plate running, for three or four days straight. The Shabbos blech serves a real halachic purpose (see

tov should have working smoke detectors and a working carbon monoxide detector, with fresh batteries checked before yom tov, and the kitchen should be kept ventilated. A hot plate should be plugged directly into a wall outlet, never into an extension cord or power strip, which brings back the first two of the five hazards listed above.

The Bottom Line Fire safety is not just common sense. It is a mitzvah. Before winter begins, it is worth walking through the house and checking several things. Check each power strip for what is plugged in. Check whether any extension cord has become permanent. Look at where the space heaters stand. Look at how old the electric blanket is. Any wiring work should go to a qualified, licensed electrician. Before Chanukah, choose a safe place for every menorah and decide who will stay home while the lights burn. Every Motzei Shabbos, keep an adult hand near the Havdalah candle. Before every long yom tov, check the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and clear everything flammable away from the blech. Fulfilling the mitzvah of ma’akeh in the modern home may be as simple as unplugging a cord or moving a menorah a few inches.

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

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Gemara (Bava Kamma 99b) and Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 306) hold that a craftsman (uman) who ruins what he was hired to work on is generally liable. That does not let the homeowner off the hook. A homeowner who knowingly hires someone who will not do the job to code has not fulfilled his own obligation of ma’akeh. The duty to make one’s home safe rests on the owner. 7. Do not rely on miracles. “Ein somchin al haneis” (Pesachim 64b; Kiddushin 39b). Leaving a space heater running in an empty house, or going to sleep with a heater beside the curtains, means relying on a miracle. 8. Shabbos considerations. Many families use space heaters and electric blankets on Shabbos. Turning them on or off, or adjusting a thermostat or dial, is forbidden on Shabbos. Contemporary poskim discuss leaving them on from before Shabbos or using a Shabbos timer. Because an appliance may run unattended for twenty-five hours, safety placement before Shabbos is even more critical. Moving an operating heater on Shabbos raises questions of muktzeh, and one should consult a rav. Many poskim recommend taping the controls of an electric blanket before Shabbos so they are not adjusted by accident. 9. If a fire breaks out on Shabbos. Any fire that may endanger life must be extinguished, and Shabbos is set aside entirely (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 334:26). The Mishnah Berurah and later poskim note that nowadays virtually every house fire is treated as life-threatening. One calls the fire department immediately. One does not hesitate or ask a question first.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

School of

Thought

Miracles By Barbara Deutsch

his week I’m confused as to how I feel about the massive crowds who have come to celebrate Sukkot in Israel. During the past several hard years of COVID and war, as a new oleh I kind of liked and enjoyed the tranquility of a quiet Jerusalem. I know it’s good for the shops to be busy with people shopping, eating, browsing, etc. For me, the crowds are overwhelming. Sunday morning on my way to the Shuk, Isru Chag for me, I caught myself feeling a bit uncomfortable carrying my fanny pack and phone as men and boys in formal suits and ties walked carrying their lulavim and etrogim on their way to shul. There is a definite cognitive dissonance about inviting grandchildren and great-grandchildren for a second day Yom Tov meal, ordering the “feast” from Burger’s Bar and buying four Spidermen toys from the store. It was a glorious family gathering where we made it work. After we made aliyah, Bob and I spent that first Sukkot in Israel; for some reason, the memories of that chag are fuzzy. Prior to that, the only time we were in Jerusalem for Sukkot was for our grandson Dovid’s birth and brit milah. That family simcha was awesome. After four beautiful girls, a boy! The whole Rechavia neighborhood turned out to greet us as we made our way to his Shabbat Shuva Brit Milah. Last year, I spent most of the chag in America but returned for Simchat Torah. Being here this past week has been a bit surreal. The weather outside is magnificent, cloudless skies and temperate. In my community, most take the week of chol hamoed as vacation, and families spend their days and exciting nights with family and friends sitting in the sukkah. My osteopath and part-time psychologist, Dr. Sher, is also a yeshiva bochur and philosopher. As he pummels my body for sciatic pain relief, we discuss parsha and Torah. This week, the discussion was about Sukkot and the sukkah. Before my treatment even began, he showed me his sukkah space. His high-rise in Talpiot, an up and coming residential neighborhood, designates community space in front of the building. He eschews the more luxurious

spacious area in favor of a small – really small – slice-of-life sukkah that sits off to the side of his porch. Even though it’s kosher, it barely clears the overhang from the porch above him. In that small space, he entertains his family royally. His son and son-in-law sleep “comfortably” outside. The day before my appointment, I had eaten breakfast in my own garden-sized sukkah, lunch in the Shapiro’s sukkah housed in their parking lot, which is filled with all manners of traditional sukkahs – some are fancier than others. I had dinner followed by a party at two different worldclass sukkahs. Sukkot in Israel is wonderful. Dr. Sher has come to the conclusion that Sukkot is the best Jewish holiday and a sukkah is a perfect building. The chag brings together family and friends for joyful delicious meals. The temporary building itself can be reconstructed easily should anything hurt the structure or even tear it down. Sitting in the sukkah is not meant for everyone, and if it causes emotional or physical stress (heavy rain) you may explore the option to stay inside. Sukkah living harkens a simpler life as it rejoices in easily transported fare and focuses on minimal need. Sukkot addresses minimal creature comforts. This may not be true for many, but the holiday spirit is felt by most. This particular Sukkot in Israel fills you with the luxury of seeing so many enjoying Israel’s bounty. Men, carrying lavishly appointed cases that contain their lulavim and etrogim, fill the streets. Every night, there is a Simchat Beit Hashoeiva with musicians, singers, dancing and general revelry into the night. Jerusalem is a happening place; oftentimes, too much so as the police are often called to shut these mostly American “G’virim” down. Three years ago, October 7 fell on Simchat Torah. It is impossibly hard to erase the horrific images that emerged in the aftermath of that terrible day. I so clearly remember Bob coming home from shul, walking into our Cedarhurst bedroom to

find me, shaking his head and crying in disbelief; Bob was not a crier. He explained to me what the talk in shul had been; a security guard or someone with a phone had heard and shared the awful news of a surprise attack on our brothers and sisters in Israel. We would not believe this news was true. We sat stunned, not knowing what to do next. As staying home kept us locked in our terrifying thoughts, we decided to go to our planned luncheon that was a few short blocks away from our friends who are like family, Lewis and Melissa. We always enjoyed this Yom Tov meal with them and their growing family. On our walk, we saw small groups of men, women and children, holding their heads and sobbing. People were coming home from shul asking each other if what everyone was saying was indeed true. How could this even happen when Israel had the strongest army in the world? Disbelief and deep sadness prevailed. Many shuls continued their tefillah and hakafot despite the blanket of horror that had just fallen over our community. In the aftermath of the attack, there was contention concerning shuls that had continued their celebrations. While on a tiyul with our family during Sukkot this year, news about a miracle unfolding in the sky became a part of our day. What could have turned into an epic tragedy became an unbelievable story of heroes and Hashem’s love. A Flydubai plane loaded with over 100 Israelis and 22 children was sabotaged by a copilot who attempted to kill the pilot and redirect or crash the plane. An Israeli plumber hearing the commotion was able to neutralize the situation after the badly injured pilot was somehow able to open the heavy metal door to the cockpit. Coincidentally – or not so coincidentally – there were two back-up pilots and a medical professional as well as brave Israeli passengers

aboard. Together, they were able to assist in landing the plane safely. This will be a movie. Actually, the humble hero plumber said he knew what to do to right the plummeting plane because of a documentary he saw. As our group followed the miracle in real time, so many 9/11 comparisons emerged. The implications of a planned attack on a plane filled with Israeli passengers is directing the investigation. October 7th marked a huge turning point in our collective history; we are still struggling with its terrible effect on our people, land and future existence. A long time ago, while sitting in a community park watching my young Israeli family play, a siren blasted and the park filled with children ran for safety. It was at that moment that I came to an abrupt realization: Israel will always be fighting for its right to exist. The fighting will never stop! No one can ever take for granted the ability to live and celebrate Sukkot or any chag in Israel. My commitment to making aliyah was cemented that long ago day, with not a single regret. What happened in the sky this week proved once again that being Israeli means much more than nationality. Being Israeli signifies courage, strength, resilience and pride – just getting the job done any way it has to happen. Though longing for the opportunity to return to familiar routines of shiurim, classes, Mah Jong, canasta, coffee dates, tours, papercutting, interesting Shabbos meals and more, I will miss the Israel that is filled with visitors/guests who call Israel home from afar. May this brand-new year bring shalom for kol Yisroel.

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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

When Your Daughter Gets Married The Beautiful Ache of Letting Go BY CHAYee Blum

here are moments in a mother’s life that she knows are coming, yet somehow she is never quite prepared for them. Watching her daughter get married is one of those moments. For years, you raise your daughter with the hope that one day she will build a beautiful life of her own. You teach her, guide her, worry about her, celebrate her accomplishments, dry her tears, and stand beside her through every stage of growing up. And then, almost overnight, the little girl who once needed you for everything becomes a wife. You are so happy for her. You are proud. You are grateful. You are excited to welcome someone new into the family. And yet, underneath all that happiness is an ache that is difficult to explain. You cry. Sometimes, you cry because you are happy. Sometimes, because you are overwhelmed. Sometimes, because you suddenly realize that a chapter of your life has ended. And sometimes, you don’t even know exactly why you are crying. You just feel it. There is a strange emptiness that can settle into your heart after the wedding. The house may look exactly the same, but somehow it feels different. Her room is still there. Her things may still be in their

places. But something is missing. It is not simply that your daughter is no longer living under your roof. It is that the role you have played in her life has changed. For so many years, you were her first phone call. You knew where she was, what she was doing, what she was worried about, what made her happy, and what was bothering her. You could check in whenever you wanted. You could offer advice, ask questions, remind her of something, or simply hear her voice. Now you have to learn something completely new: how to love your daughter without reaching for her. Marriage changes the rules. There is a new person in her life who comes first. There are new routines, new decisions, new priorities, and a new home. As a mother, you may know all of this intellectually. You may even have prepared yourself for it. But knowing something in your head does not make it easy on your heart. You have to learn not to call just because you miss her. Not to text because you haven’t heard from her. Not to ask too many questions. Not to offer advice unless it is wanted. Not to assume that silence means something is wrong. And perhaps hardest of all, you have to learn to sit with your own feelings without

immediately bringing them to her. You may want to say, “I miss you.” But sometimes you stop yourself. You may want to ask, “Why haven’t you called?” But you remind yourself that she is building her own life. You may want to tell her how much you are hurting. But you realize that she shouldn’t have to carry the weight of your adjustment while she is adjusting to her new life too. So you follow the rules. You give her space. You wait for her to reach out. You smile when she tells you how happy she is, even when a tiny part of you wishes you were still the center of her world. And that is the quiet sacrifice of motherhood. Letting go does not mean loving less. In fact, sometimes it means loving more. It means understanding that your daughter needs room to become a wife without feeling that she is abandoning her role as your daughter. It means allowing her marriage to have its own space, its own privacy, and its own rhythm. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. There can be a hole in your heart that no one else quite understands. You may look at pictures from her wedding and cry. You may hear a song

that reminds you of her childhood and suddenly find yourself overwhelmed. You may pass something in a store that she would have loved and instinctively think, “I should get this for her,” before remembering that things have changed. And sometimes the hardest part is realizing that you are grieving something that was beautiful. You are not grieving your daughter. You haven’t lost her. You are grieving the version of motherhood you knew. The mother who was needed every day. The mother who could walk into her daughter’s room. The mother who could fix a problem with a hug, a conversation, or a late-night cup of tea. That mother is still there. But her job has changed. Now, instead of holding her hand, you watch her walk forward. Instead of making decisions for her, you trust the decisions she makes. Instead of protecting her from every disappointment, you trust that she has learned how to navigate life. And instead of constantly being present, you become the safe place she knows she can always return to. That may be one of the hardest transitions of all: learning that being a good mother sometimes means being quiet.

way things used to be. You can adore your new son-in-law and still have a hole in your heart. You can be thrilled that your daughter is married and still cry when you realize she doesn’t need you in quite the same way. You can welcome the new chapter with open arms while quietly mourning the closing of the one before it. The tears aren’t rejection. They aren’t resentment. And they aren’t a reflection of how you feel about him. They are simply the tears of a mother who loves her daughter deeply and is learning how to make room in her heart for a new kind of relationship.

The Adjustment Can Look Different in Every Family There is another factor that can make this transition feel very different from one family to another: the way married children remain connected to their parents. For a Chassidish family, there can be a built-in rhythm that makes the transition a little gentler. Married children may come to their parents for supper several times a week. They may stop in, spend time together, and remain a regular part of the family’s everyday life. The daughter who was just married may no longer live at home, but she isn’t suddenly absent from the home either. There is still that familiar knock on the door. There is still a seat at the table. There are still ordinary evenings together. That doesn’t mean a Chassidish mother doesn’t feel the loss. Of course, she does. Her daughter has still moved into a home of her own, and there is still an adjustment to sharing her with a husband and a new family. But the frequent contact can soften the abruptness of the change. The mother gets to see her daughter regularly, hear about her life, watch her settle into marriage, and maintain some of that familiar mother-daughter connection. For a Litvish family that does not have the same custom of married children coming for supper several times a week, the adjustment can sometimes feel more pronounced. Suddenly, the house can feel much quieter. The daughter who was once part of the daily routine is now living her own life. You may see her on Shabbos or at family occasions, speak on

the phone, and stay connected in many ways—but the casual, everyday presence is different. There isn’t necessarily a reason to stop by for supper on an ordinary Tuesday night. There may be fewer spontaneous visits and fewer opportunities for those little, seemingly insignificant moments that mothers don’t realize they will miss until they are gone. And that can make the empty space feel bigger. Neither way is better or worse. They are simply different family structures, and each comes with its own emotional reality. Some mothers may find the frequent contact comforting; others may need more space to establish a healthy new relationship with their married daughter. But for a mother who is used to having her daughter woven into the fabric of everyday life, the difference can be significant. It is one more reminder that the experience of marrying off a daughter is not simply about the wedding day. It is about what happens after the wedding— the first quiet week, the first yom tov, the first family gathering, the first time you realize she has plans with another family, and the first time you sit at the table and instinctively look toward the chair where she used to sit. The world has not changed dramatically. But your place in your daughter’s

world—and her place in yours—has. And every mother has to find her own way of adjusting to that new rhythm.

Learning to Share Your Daughter

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

It means not calling. Not asking. Not interfering. Not because you don’t care, but because you care enough to respect the life she is building. And perhaps, one day, she will understand just how much strength that took. Because behind every mother who says, “I’m fine,” there may be a thousand emotions she is quietly carrying. The tears. The loneliness. The pride. The memories. The ache. The joy. The hole in her heart. And through it all, gratitude. Gratitude that the little girl she once held in her arms has grown into a woman who is beginning a life of her own. So she cries when she needs to cry. She allows herself to miss her. She looks at the pictures. She remembers the little girl. And then she takes a breath and reminds herself: This is what I raised her for. Not to need me forever. But to be strong enough to build a life without me beside her every step of the way. And maybe letting go isn’t really letting go at all. Maybe it is learning to hold her differently. Not with your hands, but with your heart. Not by reaching for her, but by giving her the freedom to reach for you. And when she does, you will be there. Always. And none of this is about the new sonin-law. It is not about not accepting him. It is not about not loving him. In fact, you can genuinely love him, be grateful that he is the person your daughter chose, and feel completely at peace knowing that she has someone wonderful beside her. You can welcome him into the family with an open heart and truly believe that he is good for her. You can be happy to see the two of them building a life together. You can even look at them and think, This is exactly what I prayed for. And still, your heart can hurt. Because the ache isn’t about who she married. It is about what changed. It is about realizing that there is now another person who gets the everyday version of your daughter—the conversations, the little stories, the inside jokes, the ordinary moments that used to be part of your relationship with her. Someone else is now the person she turns to first, and that shift can be difficult for a mother to absorb, even when she genuinely likes and loves the person who has taken that place. There is no contradiction in being happy for your daughter and missing the

There is another adjustment that no one really prepares a mother for: learning to share her daughter. For years, she was yours in a very special way. You knew her stories, her habits, her likes and dislikes. You were there for the milestones, the struggles, the celebrations, and all the little moments in between. You knew the version of her that perhaps very few others knew. And then she gets married, and suddenly, she belongs to another family, too. You are now sharing your daughter with her husband, with his parents, with his siblings, and with an entire family who will develop their own relationship with her. They will have their own inside jokes, their own traditions, their own experiences with her. They will get to see her laugh, celebrate with her, make memories with her, and become part of the life that you spent so many years building with her. And even when you genuinely love and appreciate these people, there can still be a quiet ache. It is not jealousy. It is not that you don’t want them to love her. Quite the opposite—you are grateful that she has people who love her. You want her to feel welcomed, cherished, and embraced by her new family. But there can still be a moment when you realize, I have to share her now.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

There may be holidays when she is with her husband’s family. There may be family occasions you don’t experience together anymore. There will be stories and memories that you weren’t there to witness. There may even be times when someone from her new family knows something about your daughter that you don’t know. That can be surprisingly difficult. A mother has to learn to make room— not because her place has been taken, but because her daughter’s world has expanded. And perhaps that is one of the deepest lessons of marrying off a daughter: you are not losing your place in her life; you are learning to share the space you once occupied more exclusively. You have to trust that the years of love, connection, and memories cannot be replaced. Her husband’s family may become part of her life, but they cannot become her mother. They didn’t hold her hand through childhood, worry over her first day of school, sit beside her through disappointments, or watch her grow into the woman she has become. Your role has changed—but your place has not disappeared. Still, knowing that intellectually doesn’t always make it easy emotionally. Sometimes a mother simply has to allow herself to feel that little pang when her daughter is celebrating with another family, while reminding herself that this is what she prayed for: that her daughter would build a beautiful life filled with people who love her. The challenge is learning to bless that new circle of love without feeling that your own circle has become smaller. Because it hasn’t. It has simply become bigger.

Every Family Has Its Own Story And ultimately, there is no one way to describe how a mother will cope with marrying off a daughter, because the dynamics of every family are different. Was she your first child? Did you wait years for her to be born? Was she the child who brought you into motherhood after years of hoping and praying? Was she one of two or three children, or is she one of ten? Was the house always full of children, noise, and activity, or did her presence fill a much larger portion of the home? All of these things matter. For a mother who waited years for her daughter, the emotional attachment may carry a different weight. Perhaps she re-

members every stage with extraordinary clarity because of how long she waited for the privilege of becoming her mother. Watching that daughter walk to the chuppah may bring not only the joy of seeing her married, but the overwhelming realization of just how quickly those precious years passed. And then there is the size of the family. When a mother has a large family and many children still at home, there may be less silence after one daughter gets married. There are still children asking for supper, homework to help with, laundry to fold, rides to arrange, and a house that continues to bustle. The unoccupied chair is there, but there are many other chairs still occupied. For a mother with a small family, the absence may be much more noticeable. If there are only a few children, one daughter leaving can change the entire feeling of the home. Her room may be

The daughter may be the first one to leave home or the fifth. She may be one of twelve children or one of three. Her mother may have waited years for her or welcomed her into an already bustling family. There may be children still at home or an almost-empty nest waiting in the wings. All of these details shape the experience. And perhaps that is why mothers need to give themselves permission to feel whatever they feel. There is no correct amount of sadness. No prescribed length of time for the adjustment. No rule that says, Your daughter is happily married, so you should be completely fine. You can be enormously grateful to Hashem and still feel a hole in your heart. You can love your son-in-law and genuinely welcome his family into

There is a strange emptiness that can settle into your heart after the wedding. quiet. Her voice may no longer be heard down the hallway. The family table may suddenly feel different. And sometimes, it isn’t even about the number of children. Perhaps she was the child who was especially close to her mother. Perhaps they shared a unique bond. Perhaps she was the one who was always around, the one who helped, talked, laughed, and filled the house with her personality. So when she gets married, the mother isn’t simply adjusting to an empty bedroom. She is adjusting to the absence of a person who occupied a very specific and irreplaceable place in her life. This is why it is so difficult to compare one mother’s experience to another’s. One woman may seem to move through the transition with relative ease, while another may struggle deeply. It doesn’t mean one is more attached to her daughter. It doesn’t mean the other is less grateful or less happy. It simply means that every mother is coming from a different starting point.

yours, while still missing the daughter who used to be yours in a different way. You can be thrilled that she is building her own home and still mourn the little pieces of the home she left behind. Because marrying off a daughter is not simply one emotion. It is joy and sadness. Pride and longing. Gratitude and loss. It is learning to let go while discovering that letting go does not mean loving less. It means learning to love her in a new way.

Who Prepares the Mother? We have kallah classes. We have classes for the yom ha’chuppah. There are books, lectures, mentors, and support systems to help a young woman prepare for marriage and for the life she is about to begin. And rightfully so. But what about the mother? Who prepares a mother for the day her daughter gets married?

Who tells her that she may be bursting with happiness and, at the very same time, feel as though someone has quietly taken a piece of her heart? Who explains that she may cry—not because she isn’t happy, not because she doesn’t love her new son-in-law, and certainly not because she isn’t ready to see her daughter married—but because a relationship that has existed for decades is suddenly changing? Who teaches her how to navigate the new rules? Perhaps there should be a “mother of the Kallah” class. A place where mothers could be told: You are allowed to miss her. You are allowed to cry. You are allowed to feel a hole in your heart. You are allowed to need time to adjust. But you also need to learn when to step back. You need to understand that giving your daughter space is not the same as losing her. That not calling doesn’t mean you don’t care. That not offering advice doesn’t mean you don’t have wisdom. And that waiting for her to reach out doesn’t mean you are any less important in her life. Most importantly, mothers need to hear that this isn’t about the new son-inlaw. You can love him. You can respect him. You can be grateful that he is the person your daughter chose. You can be genuinely happy that she has found someone to build a life with. The pain isn’t about him. The pain is about change. It is about moving from being the person your daughter automatically turned to, to becoming the mother who waits patiently for an invitation into this new chapter of her life. And perhaps that is something we don’t talk about enough. We spend so much time preparing a young woman to become a wife, but perhaps we also need to prepare her mother to become the mother of a married daughter. Because that is its own transition. It requires patience. It requires restraint. It requires trust. And, more than anything, it requires learning that sometimes the greatest expression of love is not reaching out—but knowing when not to. A mother shouldn’t have to figure all of that out alone. Maybe it’s time we created a space for her, too.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

nspiration Nation

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Choosing to Forgive and to Live Lessons Learned from Yotam Haim, Hy”d BY BrendY J. Siev

efore October 7, Iris Haim’s life ran on a rhythm she barely had to think about. She was a hospice nurse in the Gaza envelope, managing her own palliative care business, teaching, dancing, walking, busy with her own private things. “Normal life,” she recalls. “Just normal life.” She had three children. Tuval, the oldest, is 33. Noya is 23. And Yotam, the middle child, lived in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. On October 7, 2023, Yotam was taken hostage into Gaza during the Hamas invasion of Israel. He would have turned 31 this year, had he not been killed months later during the war, in the chaos of his own escape from Hamas captivity. A rabbi, trying gently to speak of him in the past tense, once said to Iris that she “had a son.” She corrected him on the spot. “No,” she told him. “I have a son. He’s still with us.” * * * At 6:29 on the morning of October 7, Iris woke to a missile attack, the kind

she assumed at first was just another round of rockets. Yotam lived close by, in Kfar Aza, and soon WhatsApped his parents that there were terrorists on the kibbutz, though from a distance no one understood yet how bad it was. Yotam was calm until 10:00 a.m. Then his house came under fire. “Yotam said that they are shooting on his door,” Iris recalls. What he typed next, from inside his safe room, would be the last thing she ever heard from him: “They are here, Ima. I don’t think I will survive that. It’s a matter of minutes. I love you.” Then he went silent. Iris does not describe what followed as panic exactly, though it was close. “I’m never in shock,” she says. “I always function.” But that morning she froze. Her husband pushed her back into motion. “Contact somebody,” he told her. “Contact the police. Contact the army.” So she did what she could. She called hospitals. She searched Facebook for anyone who might know some-

In Her Words… i believed in his abilities, his resilience. That’s what i just told myself. i could see Yotam as a hero, as a big part of the big story of Am Yisrael. now everything is lost, everything is ruined. And it was amazing, this thing that we did.

thing. She and Tuval posted, “My son disappeared. Please help us.” For three weeks, nothing came back but silence. Then the army confirmed their biggest fear: Yotam was a hostage. * * * For the next weeks and months, Iris drew upon a discipline she had spent years building without knowing she would ever need it. As a hospice nurse she had trained in theta healing, in meditation, in spiritual guidance. Now she turned those same tools on herself. She was firm in her belief that Yotam was alive, a certainty she could feel within her. “I listened to an inner voice, my inner voice that was very strong,” she says, “and I didn’t want to hear any other voices.” She calls herself stubborn about it, almost fanatic. “I didn’t let nobody ruin my story,” she says of her refusal to give up hope. Yotam had struggled for years with anorexia and with emotional pain, but she chose to trust what she had always believed about his resilience. “I believed in his abilities, his resilience,” she says simply. When there was no information, she made her own. “For myself, I made the information.” She insisted, against every fear that would have been reasonable to feel, that Yotam had access to the medication he needed. “I just said opposite,” she explains. “I said, he will have the medicines.” That refusal to entertain the worst case rippled outward. Her own family, grieving already, had begun looking for a grave. But over time, her confidence and hope became theirs. After fifty-five days, a hostage released from Thailand who had been held

alongside Yotam brought back word, they learned. Everything matched what Iris had insisted on all along. “I jumped today like to the ceiling,” she remembers, “and said, ‘I knew!’” Yotam was optimistic. He was drumming on whatever they could give him, staying upbeat, staying himself. Food was scarce but present. He was not, she was told, treated as cruelly as she had feared from the news. * * * The day it ended began, for Iris, with the same certainty she had carried for months. It was the end of Chanukah. A major hostage deal had just brought 110 people home, and though Yotam wasn’t part of it, she was sure his turn was close. She was preparing for a television appearance, already in her makeup, when the phone rang. An officer was on the phone, and her voice sounded different. “You need to go back home,” was all she said. Iris didn’t ask why. She called Tuval. Shortly after they came home, a delegation of women arrived at her door. One of them, an officer, told her that Yotam had been killed, not by Hamas, but by the IDF, misidentified as a terrorist while he was escaping captivity. Her first words, before anything else could form, were not what anyone expected. “I am not angry,” she insisted, “because it’s our soldiers, the Israeli army.” That composure did not mean the grief was any smaller. “I was not just in shock,” she says, “but I was devastated.” She counts it as only the second time in her life she has felt real despair, the first being when Yotam nearly did not survive his anorexia at eighteen. This time, she says, “I couldn’t. It’s the end.” She asked herself, over and over, how she could keep living. She had no answer.

before the shiva was over. Since then, soldiers have sought her out at lectures across Israel and abroad, less to apologize, she says, than to unburden themselves. “They were angrier at themselves,” she says, “at their friends, at their officers, than at me.” One soldier, in particular, connected with her, a young man in the tank who had been ordered to fire on the building where Yotam was hiding, not knowing who was inside. For two months after Yotam’s death, he could not eat or sleep. He finally asked to meet her, and they sat together at a restaurant in Tel Aviv, where he cried for an hour before Iris gently redirected him. “We are doing things for Yotam,” she told him. “What are you doing in life?” He was a chef. She told him Yotam used to cook gnocchi for her. He created a dish in Yotam’s memory and went back to his life. Iris wants people to remember her son the way he tried, all his life, to be. He struggled for years, but in captivity he was strong, drumming on whatever they gave him, keeping others’ spirits up. “That people will remember him as a helper,” she says, “I think this was what Yotam wanted.” She and Tuval are building an organization in his name meant to reach people carrying the same pain Yotam once carried, through the four things he loved most: music, animals, sport, and family support. Iris was raised in a secular home, then moved as a young woman to a left-wing, secular kibbutz. “I was afraid from religious,” she admits. Since October 7, something in her has shifted. “I’m feeling much more connected to my Judaism,” she says, though she is not formally observant. “Something that it’s higher than me,” is how she describes what she has come to believe in. “A hundred- and eighty-degree change in me.” * * * Tuval Haim is two years and four

months older than his brother, and for most of their childhood, they were nearly inseparable, sharing a room, friends, sports, music. When Tuval discovered heavy metal, Yotam followed him into it. But when Yotam’s anorexia surfaced in high school, Tuval was in the army and caught up in his own struggles, and the distance between them grew. “I was not understanding,” he admits, “and also judging.” It took an actual physical fight between them, and the honest conversation that followed it, for the brothers to become close again in a deeper way. “We have a connection,” Tuval says, “a way of communication that I don’t have with anyone else.” On October 7, Tuval lost four friends and did not know for a full day whether his brother was among the dead. “I crashed,” he says. “I thought he’s dead.” His mother’s optimism, at the time, only made him angrier. “How can you be like that?” he asked her. What steadied him, eventually, was music. A therapist asked what he loved, and he said drums, and told him to do something with that. He reached out to every musician he knew, famous names he had toured with, including Netta Barzilai. They all came the following Saturday. “Now everything is lost, everything is ruined,” Tuval says of that moment. “And it was amazing, this thing that we did.” It helped his parents too, giving them a place to cry. “I felt this is like a prayer,” he says. “You need something to hold on to.” But Yotam was killed, and that fragile hope collapsed. “My hope was crushed,” Tuval says. “I stopped playing music.” He didn’t leave the house for two months, furious at the soldiers, the army, the government, everyone. “Yotam always said that the world is bad,” he says, “and I felt that he was right.” At night, Yotam kept appearing in his dreams, playing drums beside him. Tuval noticed a pattern: when he dreamed of Yotam trapped here, his

brother was furious; somewhere else, Yotam was happy. One night, he dreamed they were driving to a concert. The next day, a musician named Guy Davidov, a stranger to him then, asked to use footage of Yotam in a remix, with space left for a drummer’s part, not knowing both brothers played. “It’s like completing my dream from the same night,” Tuval says. He didn’t just give permission. He played the part himself, for the first time since his brother’s death. From there, something opened in him that had never been there before. He began writing songs, something he had never done as a session drummer for other artists. He recorded “Kanfei Ruach,” built on words by Rav Kook, a choice that would have made him laugh before October 7. “The things about the stigmas, religious, non-religious,” he says, “completely fell away.” The song, and the video that followed it, shot at all of Yotam’s favorite places, was meant to carry a different message than the one people kept offering him. “When I told people that I’m the brother of Yotam,” he says, “the reaction was like, oy vey, a voy.” He wants people, hearing his brother’s name, to think about who Yotam was, not only how he died. Looking back at shiva, Tuval recalls sitting alone in his room. There, he felt something he still struggles to explain: his brother’s voice, his hand. “I want the final lesson,” the voice told him. It confused him at first; he had taught Yotam drums, not the other way around. Days later, it came to him: Yotam wasn’t asking to be taught. He wanted Tuval to teach others, through him. That conviction carries the music and the organization forward, built around the same idea Iris holds for Yotam’s memory: that his story might become something someone else can lean on. “You really are capable of doing much more than you think,” Tuval says now. “I took the courage from Yotam.”

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

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

A friend who had lost her own brother young told her only, “You will find the way. You will have ups and downs.” Iris didn’t believe her. For the first two days, she was, in her own words, broken, asking over and over why this had happened to a family that had stayed so positive, and insisting, “I can’t believe it.” Then she looked at herself and asked, “Where is Iris? Where is the Iris that you know?” The person she meant, always positive, always helping other people, was nowhere to be found. What brought her back was a session with her therapist, a psychodrama practitioner. In the therapist’s room, she set a single chair apart from the others and named it “the liberation day.” She asked Iris to sit in that chair and speak as if she were Yotam himself. Iris did. Speaking as her son, she described a war zone, the danger, not knowing whether he would make it out alive. “I didn’t let them murder me,” she said, becoming Yotam. “I died as a free person.” Sitting in that chair, something in her shifted. She and her husband had spent years, long before October 7, wondering aloud who in their family might have resisted the Nazis. Now she had an answer, found inside her own home: Yotam the partisan. “I could see Yotam as a hero,” she says, “as a big part of the big story of Am Yisrael.” * * * A few days into the shiva, Iris learned the soldiers involved were themselves shattered. One woman connected to the unit told her the men could no longer fight. “We came to save hostages,” they had said, “and we ended up killing them.” Iris asked to speak to them directly, and sent them a message telling the soldiers, in her own words, that her family held no anger toward them. It changed the entire atmosphere; four of them came to sit with her family

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

First of all, I want to thank you for the amazing column! This might sound like a trivial question, but to me, it’s pretty important and I’m wondering what the panel thinks. I grew up in a family where dinners and family time went hand in hand. My moth-

er cooked delicious dinners which we all really appreciated (and still appreciate) to this day. I always imagine my family having that similar kind of dynamic. I have been dating a wonderful girl now who has many positive qualities. The thing is I’m coming to realize she grew up totally different than me and we have very different perspectives. Frozen pizza, fish sticks, Wacky Mac, and take out Chinese food was basically on repeat in their house growing up. When I told her about how we grew up with homemade delicious suppers she made a comment. I just can’t stop thinking about it. She said something along the lines of, “Oh, I can never have the patience or time to do things like that. Frozen pizza is much easier!” I honestly took this as a red flag. Ever since then, I’m just feeling deflated about the relationship because I don’t think it’s just about the food. It’s about how a person sees their future home. What are your thoughts about this? Is this a reason to break up, or am I just overthinking? Thank you! Josh B*

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.

osh, I think you are concluding that there is much that goes into making a home a cozy environment that is nourishing, restorative, and cultivates strong bonds. Cooking and meals are not just about feeding hungry people, as you seem to be thinking. It’s about creating an environment that fosters connection between family members and engagement. It takes time and effort. It’s about taking interest in one another, sharing thoughts, happenings, stories, and values. Bring up the subject of a home, not merely the subject of cooking. A man can cook. It’s about paying attention to the care and effort that goes into making a home, and mealtimes are a part of that. It’s painstaking effort day by day. Shortcuts don’t work in relationships and a positive family culture. Once you have a discussion about what makes a house a home for its family members, you will be clear about where you need to take this relationship.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond

ear Josh, You were very lucky to grow

up the way you did, and you have every right to prefer that kind of home for yourself. I can imagine some of our readers and panelists may comment on the traditional gender roles to which your question alludes. I truly believe, though, that this is a strongly ingrained mentality which, if not met, can lead to disappointment and resentment. You have to understand that the two of you seem to have very different mentalities when it comes to this. If I wanted to be idealistic, or perhaps even delusional, I could tell you that this does not matter, that you yourself could take up cooking classes, and all will be fine! I just know, however, that this is about much more than who actually cooks dinner. It’s about the homey feel and nurturing atmosphere that you imagine your future home having. The answer to your question comes down to one thing: communication. I understand she made the comments that she did, but when asked about her future home, how does she imagine it? If she is set on building a home similar to the way she was raised, you will have to move forward only if you can acknowledge that this is fully okay with you. You cannot go into a marriage assuming she will automatically adapt to the way you grew up. This kind of thing, if it is that important to you, needs to be talked about beforehand. I would also encourage you to have Shabbos meals at each other’s houses before making any decision. It is nice to see the dynamic within each other’s homes. This doesn’t merely come down

to cooking but to the general atmosphere of a home. A little “vibe check” to see how you feel in each other’s family environments can actually tell you a lot. Ultimately, I don’t think one comment about frozen pizza and fish sticks is a reason to end a relationship with a wonderful girl. But I also don’t think you should brush off what that comment brought up. Use it as an opportunity to have a deeper conversation about the kind of home you each envision building. You may discover that your visions are actually much more similar than you think, or you may realize that there are too many fundamental differences between you. Either way, it is much better to understand those differences now than to enter a marriage hoping that one of you will eventually change. Hatzlacha!

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

osh, this is truly a remarkable and astonishing coincidence. The day after we received your letter, we received the following letter: Dear Navidaters, I have been dating a wonderful guy named Josh, and he has many positive qualities. Things had been progressing well until our last date. He told me that when he was growing up, his family enjoyed meaningful dinners together on a regular basis. That sounded like an excellent family-time dynamic. But then, GIANT RED FLAG. He let me know that he would expect me to prepare the same delicious homemade dinners that his mother always prepared for him and his family. Everyone always warned me to avoid marrying a boy who expects his wife to take care of him the way his dear, old mother did! Note that he didn’t suggest that he and I could partner together in the kitchen. Nope. He expects me, by myself, to do what his mother always did.

You cannot go into a marriage assuming she will automatically adapt to the way you grew up.

On our next date, unless he changes his tune and suggests that we could work together to create tasty and nutritious meals, I am afraid that this otherwise promising relationship is doomed. Yours, A Very Disillusioned Dina Leah Okay, I confess. We didn’t really receive that letter from your girlfriend. I made it up. But, Josh, I hope you get the message loud and clear. You are absolutely entitled to dream of a home where the family sits down together for dinner. That is a lovely aspiration. But don’t confuse “family dinner” with “wife cooks dinner.” (And, by the way, The How-To Cookbook for Men: 100 Easy Recipes to Learn the Basics is available on Amazon for $4.95.)

Reader’s Response Sruli A Supportive Friend

ear Josh, First of all, I love that you grew up having home-cooked family meals and sitting down together to eat them. It’s an amazing way to keep a family dynamic strong and communication close and open. That’s how I grew up as well, and I wouldn’t have asked for anything different. But let me ask you two questions that may help answer yours. First, is the red flag that her family doesn’t have home-cooked meals, or is it that they don’t eat meals together as

OCTOBER 8, 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 | OCTOBER 8, 2026

a family? Those are two very different things. If the concern is simply that there aren’t home-cooked meals, I’m not sure that tells you very much about her family dynamic. There could be many reasons for that, and I wouldn’t read too much into it without knowing more. Second, what is her own attitude toward family meals and the kind of home she would like to have someday? From the comment you quoted, it might be worth finding out whether she simply doesn’t enjoy cooking or whether she has a different vision of what family meals should look like. Cooking takes time and effort, and people have different feelings about how much time they

want to spend preparing meals. For years, American families had their dinners come out of a can, when the dinner menu was which can of Chef Boyardee mom opened. Rather than trying to figure out what it means on your own, I would ask her some questions. Is she close with her parents? Is she close with her siblings? Does she enjoy spending time with family? She’s a wonderful girl, with what I’m sure is a wonderful family just like her. What does she envision family meals looking like in her own home? Does she like the idea of the two of you sharing home-cooked meals together, or perhaps even cooking together?

So don’t be deflated. Keep communicating and give yourself the opportunity to understand what she actually wants, rather than assuming that her family’s routine will necessarily become your routine. And even if cooking every night isn’t realistic, there are practical solutions. You could meal prep together, for example, so that you can still have homecooked meals on busy nights without spending hours in the kitchen every evening. Ultimately, I wouldn’t consider this a red flag based on this information alone. I’d use it as an opportunity to have a conversation and see whether the

You don’t need to decide whether she is your wife based on whether or not she owns a crockpot.

two of you have a similar vision for the kind of home and family life you want to create together.

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

ear Josh, Thank you for writing! I actually don’t think this is a trivial question at all. But I also don’t think the question is whether your girlfriend is willing to make homemade suppers. I think you’re picking up on something that is worth paying attention to: what does “home” mean to each of you? For you, food seems to represent much more than food. It sounds like it represents family, warmth, effort, sitting around the table, creating memories, and maybe even the feeling of being cared for. So when you heard “frozen pizza is much easier,” you may have heard, “I don’t really want to create the kind of home you grew up with.” But I’m not sure that’s what she was actually saying. Maybe she was saying, “I hate cooking.” Maybe she has no interest

in spending two hours in the kitchen every night. Maybe she envisions a home where dinner is sometimes takeout, sometimes cereal, sometimes frozen pizza, and sometimes a beautiful Shabbos meal that you make together. And maybe that is completely different from your childhood without necessarily being worse. I would get curious before I get scared. Ask her what she actually imagines when she thinks about having a family. What does dinner look like? What kind of Shabbos do you want? Who cooks? Do you sit together? Do you host? What traditions matter to her? What does she want her children to remember about growing up in her home? And then tell her what this represents for you. Not, “You never want

to cook and that’s a red flag,” but something more like, “I realized that when you said that, it hit something deeper for me. Family dinners were a really meaningful part of my childhood, and I’ve always pictured creating that kind of home. I think I need to understand what that looks like for you.” That conversation will tell you much more than the frozen pizza ever could. And there is another piece I’d pay attention to. You said you have been dating a wonderful girl who has many positive qualities, and now you’re feeling deflated because of one comment. That makes me wonder whether this comment landed on an existing fear. Sometimes when we really like someone, we start unconsciously interviewing them for the role of “future spouse.” We hear one thing that doesn’t fit the picture in our head and suddenly we’re standing ten years into the future imagining the children eating fish sticks while we mourn the family dinners we never had. Slow down. You don’t need to decide whether she

is your wife based on whether or not she owns a crockpot. You do need to find out whether the two of you share the same values, even if you express those values differently. Maybe the answer is that you both value family, connection, and creating a warm home, but she has a very different relationship with cooking. That is workable. Or maybe you discover that you want a very traditional, home-centered lifestyle and she genuinely has no desire for that. That is also important information. But let her tell you which one it is. And Josh, one more thing: there is a big difference between “This isn’t how I grew up” and “This isn’t how I want to live.” Make sure you aren’t confusing the two. You’re not overthinking because you noticed something important. You may be overthinking if you’ve already decided what it means. Sincerely, 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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

School of

Thought

By Etti Siegel

Dear Etti, My daughter is in fifth grade and is a very strong student. Last year, her teachers consistently told us that she was working well above grade level, particularly in reading and math, and this year is the same. Our school does a wonderful job helping children who are struggling, and I am genuinely glad those supports exist. But what happens to the child who needs something more? My daughter finishes her work quickly and is usually told to read a book, help another student, or do additional problems. Sometimes she gets a harder worksheet, but it is basically more of the same. She has started complaining that school is boring. Recently she said, “Why should I work quickly? Then I just get more work.” I understand that a teacher with 20, 25, or 30 children cannot create a sepa-

rate curriculum for every child. But in making sure struggling students don’t fall behind, do we sometimes overlook the children at the other end? Is it unreasonable to expect some enrichment for children who have already mastered the grade-level work? I don’t want my daughter skipped a grade; socially, that would be a terrible idea for her. I just want her to be challenged, to have to think, and to learn what it feels like when schoolwork doesn’t always come easily. How can I approach the school without sounding as though I think my child is more important than everyone else’s? - Concerned About the Other End

Dear Concerned, We understand instinctively that when a child is struggling, we need to help her. If a fifth grader is reading on a second-grade level, we don’t

keep handing her the fifth-grade reader and hope she will catch up. Schools provide resource room, modified work and whatever other support they can reasonably offer. But there is another child in that same classroom who may already know much of what is being taught. She isn’t struggling or failing tests. In fact, she may be getting 100s on everything. That doesn’t necessarily mean she is learning. Your daughter’s comment, “Why should I work quickly? Then I just get more work,” caught my attention. Children figure things out pretty quickly. If finishing ten math problems means you get ten more, there isn’t much incentive to finish the first ten. And if she already knows how to do them, the extra ten aren’t enrichment. They’re just more math problems. There is good research behind your concern. Researchers at the University of Connecticut studied “curriculum compacting,” which simply means that once a child has shown that she knows something, she doesn’t need as much practice with it. In a large study, teachers eliminated approximately 40–50 percent of regular curriculum in one or more subjects for some high-ability students. Those children did not fall behind. In some areas, they actually did better. That doesn’t mean every teacher should now create an individualized curriculum for every advanced child. That isn’t realistic. Teachers have a curriculum to cover, papers to mark, lessons to prepare and children at many different levels. Differentiation has to be doable. But enrichment isn’t more of the same work. If a child can clearly do the first five

math examples, perhaps she doesn’t always need to do all twenty. The teacher might circle the problems she wants completed and allow her to move on to a challenge question, find a second way to solve something, or explain why an answer works. None of this requires an entirely separate lesson. Enrichment also shouldn’t mean that the strongest student becomes the assistant teacher. I am all for children helping each other, and the child doing the explaining often learns from it, too. But if the answer every day is, “You’re finished? Go help Chani,” we have a problem. This child came to school to learn, too. The same is true of reading. “Take out a book” is perfectly reasonable when a child finishes early. I hope our children always have books available to them. But if a child spends a significant part of every day reading because she finishes before everyone else, reading has become the school’s enrichment program. So what is reasonable? Sometimes it is simply letting a child go deeper rather than farther. Instead of another page of computation, give her one problem that takes some thought. Instead of answering the same reading questions and then waiting, ask why she thinks the author made a particular choice, whether she agrees with a character’s decision, or what might have happened if something in the story had changed. Many Teacher Editions have such work available to teachers for enrichment. This doesn’t have to happen with every assignment. Even giving a strong student something once or twice a week that makes her stop and think can make a difference. For some children, though,

may come much later to academically strong children: struggling. They have to try again. They ask for help. They study because reading the material once isn’t enough. They hear, “No, that’s not quite right. Try it another way.” A very bright c h i ld can go through years of school w it hout developing those muscles. She learns quickly, remembers easily and gets excellent grades. Everyone is happy...until something is hard. I have seen students in junior high and high school, and even some of my college students get stuck when they

We don’t do

a bright child a favor by

making sure everything stays easy.

don’t understand something immediately. They haven’t had much practice studying or sitting with a problem that doesn’t make sense the first time. For some, the first B feels devastating, not because a B is a bad mark, but because they haven’t learned that being challenged is a normal part of learning. We don’t do a bright child a favor by making sure everything stays easy. So yes, I would speak to your daughter’s teacher, but I would be careful how you approach it. I certainly wouldn’t expect her to prepare a second curriculum for your daughter. Start with what your daughter is telling you: “She seems to be finding the work very easy, and she tells me that when she finishes, she often gets more of the same work. Are you seeing that, too?” Then listen. Her teacher may tell you something you don’t know. Perhaps your daughter rushes and makes careless mistakes. Perhaps the work is more chal-

lenging than she makes it sound. Perhaps she is far ahead in reading but not nearly as far ahead in writing. Or perhaps the teacher will say, “Yes. I’ve noticed it, too.” Then you have somewhere to begin. Ask, “Is there anything we can do, either in school or at home, so that she has opportunities to stretch a little?” Now you are coming in as a partner, not asking an already busy teacher to solve the problem alone. Your daughter doesn’t need to be challenged every minute of every school day. Sometimes, she will sit through something she already knows, practice something she has already mastered, or finish early and read a book. That is part of being in a classroom. But if that describes most of her school experience, then I think your concern is justified. Hatzlacha! Etti

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds a MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. Etti is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, FACTS Education Solutions, Brienza Academic Advantage, Yeled V’Yalda; is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country; and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School Leaders and has a weekly column in The Jewish Home. She can be contacted for questions and comments at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

enrichment within the grade-level curriculum may not be enough. Research on acceleration has generally found strong academic benefits when the placement is right for the child. That doesn’t mean every bright fifth grader belongs in sixthgrade math, but it may mean working with an already overtaxed school to find material that gives your daughter the challenge she needs. There is another reason this matters, and it has little to do with grades and a lot to do with grit. Children who find school difficult get plenty of practice doing something that

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Health & F tness

Not Every Person Loves a Checkup. But Everybody Loves Free Ice Cream. By Hylton I. Lightman, MD, DCH (SA), FAAP

et’s establish something right from the beginning: I know your child does not necessarily want to come see me for a well visit. I’ve been a pediatrician long enough to accept it. Given the choice between spending an afternoon in my office or hanging out with friends at the pizza shop, I know exactly where I rank. Frankly, most adults aren’t much better. Nobody wakes up on a beautiful Sunday morning and says, “You know what would make today perfect? Going to the doctor’s office for a blood test.” How then do we convince children— and their parents—to actually come in for an annual well visit? I suppose I have two options.

The Horror Stories I Could Tell You Option one is that I could scare you. Every pediatrician has stories. The 9-year-old who walked into the office feeling perfectly fine. The 12-year-old whose mother almost canceled the appointment because “there’s nothing wrong with him.” The teenager who hadn’t been to the doctor in a while be-

cause she was healthy, active and doing great in school. And then, during an ordinary well visit, we notice something. Maybe it’s a blood pressure reading that doesn’t look right. A heart sound that deserves another listen. A growth pattern that suddenly changed. A lump that shouldn’t be there. A vision problem nobody realized was developing. Or perhaps it’s a symptom the child never thought was important enough to mention. Most of the time, these things turn out to be manageable. Sometimes, they lead to another test or a visit to a specialist. And every once in a while, we discover something serious; something that would have continued quietly if nobody had looked. There are children who have walked into a pediatrician’s office believing they were completely healthy and walked out with the first clue to a diagnosis that ultimately saved their lives. There. Are you scared enough yet? Good. Because I have a much better strategy. It involves ice cream.

Now We’re Talking At our office, after your child’s well

visit, we have a fully-stocked freezer of ices and Cholov Yisrael ice cream waiting to be taken by our patients. Real ice cream. Different flavors. Sprinkles. Chocolate chips. The works. We also have stickers, prizes and plenty of other goodies. I have discovered over the years that telling a 7-year-old, “Preventive medicine is an essential component of your long-term health” is not particularly persuasive. “You get ice cream afterward” performs considerably better. Amazing how that works. But underneath the ice cream – and I promise we’ll get back to the ice cream – is something I wish more parents understood about these appointments.

What Are We Actually Looking For? A well visit isn’t simply a sick visit without the sickness. When your child comes into my office with a fever, sore throat or cough, we have a specific mission: What’s wrong? What caused it? What do we need to do about it? A well visit is completely different

because I’m not looking for one particular thing. I’m looking at the whole child. How are they growing? How is their weight progressing? What does their blood pressure look like? How is their vision? Their hearing? Their heart? Their spine? Are they meeting the developmental milestones we expect for their age? What does the depression screening show? Then there are the things that don’t necessarily show up on an examination table. Are they sleeping enough? Eating properly? Getting physical activity? How are things going in school? How are they doing socially? Are there changes in behavior or mood that deserve a closer look? As children get older, the questions change. We start talking about puberty, anxiety, friendships, school pressure, sleep, screens and the many other things that become part of adolescence. Children change quickly. A lot can happen in twelve months, and that’s exactly why these visits matter.

Healthy is Exactly How I Want Them “But my child is perfectly healthy.”

Sometimes They Tell Us Things There’s another part of the annual visit that becomes particularly important as children get older.

Sometimes kids tell us things. There may be something your 15-year-old tells a pediatrician that he or she hasn’t told you. Before any parents become offended, remember what I said at the beginning: don’t take it personally.

checkup, too. No stethoscope required.

Preventive Medicine With Sprinkles Yes, I could convince you to schedule well visits by continuing to tell you scary stories. I could remind you about

A well visit isn’t simply a sick visit without the sickness.

Part of growing up is developing independence. A good relationship with a pediatrician gives a teenager another responsible adult in their corner. Sometimes the conversation is about sleep or school stress. Sometimes it’s anxiety. Sometimes there’s a physical concern they were embarrassed to mention. Sometimes it’s simply an opportunity to ask a question they weren’t comfortable asking anywhere else. Those conversations are part of the

the things we sometimes discover and tell you that early detection matters and preventive medicine can save lives. All of that is true. But I don’t want children growing up believing the doctor’s office is a scary place you only go because somebody thinks something terrible might be wrong. I’d rather teach them something very different: taking care of yourself is normal. And it’s great to come to our office.

You go to the doctor when you’re sick. You also go when you’re healthy. We check in. We talk. We measure. We listen. We make sure everything is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, I’ll tell you everything looks terrific and I’ll see you next year. And then comes the part your child has actually been waiting for. The delicious ices and ice cream experience. If it helps, think of our office as a Cholov Yisroel ice cream parlor that just happens to have some stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs hanging on the wall and medical scrubs are the uniform. Preventive medicine with sprinkles. Isn’t that sweet? As always, daven.

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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

Wonderful. That’s exactly how I want your child to arrive for a well visit. There’s a misconception that doctors are primarily here to take care of sick people. Obviously, that’s a part of what we do. But some of the most important medicine happens before anyone realizes there’s a problem. An annual visit gives us a baseline and, over time, lets us follow patterns instead of snapshots. One blood pressure reading gives us information. Several years of readings tell us much more. One height measurement is useful. A growth curve tracked over years tells a story. The same is true for weight, development, emotional health and so many other pieces of your child’s overall well-being. Most of the time, I get to tell parents exactly what they hoped to hear: everything looks great. This is a successful visit.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Shmooze & Muse

As Soon As We Finish These Leftovers By Mordechai Schmutter

ow that yom tov is over, no offense, but we need to lose weight. What?! I said we! And I said no offense! Everyone gains weight over yom tov. If only we wouldn’t have so many yomim tovim, right? Why does Hashem keep saving us? More fasts, I say. But you can’t blame the Torah for your weight gain, because as far as the Torah’s concerned, after the whole month of yom tov is over, you’re supposed to walk all the way home from your Aliyah L’regel. “Move your feet,” it says. You also need to walk to Yerushalayim beforehand, pulling korbanos and carrying all your maaser sheini. The more food you have, the more of a workout you get. So those are the optimal conditions that the Torah had in mind. We did this to ourselves. “Yes,” you say. “But then the rabbis added an extra day!” Yes, they did. They said, “We’re adding a day, but you’re going to spend that day moving around. Dancing, moving tables… And if you’re going to eat meat that day, you should wrap it in a vegetable.”

And we’re like, “What do you mean by dance? Do you mean walk slowly in a circle, or watch a guy standing on a chair sing a song in a funny accent?” “No, we meant like active dances that get your heart rate up.” “Oh, okay. Maybe we’ll do one of those at the end, when we’re putting away the Sefer.” And they said, “Fine. As long as you also deadlift your kids over your head 112 times in front of the entire shul. And the women.” And then we say, “Oh, also on Rosh Hashana, I had to eat a lot...” What do you mean, you “had to eat a lot”? “Well, you know. All the simanim.” Most of the simanim are vegetables and fish. There’s no Yehi Ratzon that the year should be as easy as pie, or a Yehi Ratzon that we should pasta tests that Hashem gives us, or a Yehi Ratzon that Hashem should feed all the poppers, or a Yehi Ratzon that whenever ice cream, Hashem should answer. And we’re like, “There’s a lot of eating on Rosh Hashana because it’s yom tov,”

and Chazal says, “Are you sure? Because we told you to spend a lot of the day davening.” “Well, we have a kiddush in middle of davening.” And we love blaming Chol Hamoed. We say, “It’s four days straight of eating!” Not really. All those middle days, you’re going out to where you have no sukkah. And we say, “That’s okay; we’ll bring a sukkah. And rugelach.” We love blaming Pesach, too. Our Chachamim said, “We should eat minimal carbs. Just matzah.” And we’re like, “What about potatoes?” And they said, “…Okay.” And we said, “For all the meals! We’ll even put potatoes in our cakes!” “You guys are having cakes?” And then we blame Chanukah. Chazal established Chanukah, and we asked, “So we have to eat seudos for all eight days?” and Chazal said, “There’s no chiyuv,” and we said, “We didn’t hear what you said because we were thinking about donuts.” But all of that said, the best time to

diet is right after a big yom tov, because that way you have about six months before another big yom tov. I would definitely recommend starting after Pesach. Because #1, there are two periods in there that you can’t go to chasunahs. (Though those are each followed by two weeks straight of chasunahs.) Also, in the winter, you have Chanukah and Purim, and there’s an entire month before Pesach when you’re trying to get rid of chometz, and the only saving grace about the winter is that maybe you’re eating more soup. So maybe wait until Pesach. I, in particular, have been dieting since right after this past Pesach. And when I say, “Right after Pesach,” I mean, a few days after Pesach, because right after Pesach, my brother dragged me to a shvitz that had a restaurant that served only meat. I don’t even think there were side dishes. The closest thing they had to a vegetable was chummus. But then after that, I started my diet. Wait, actually, there was a day between the shvitz and the diet. This was

so I lose weight and these things go away. Will they? I’m trying to call their bluff. But it’s not like if I lose the weight and none of these things go away, I’ll say, “That was dumb. I shouldn’t have lost all that weight.” And if I do, I can very easily gain it back. And have a blast doing it. Gaining it back is not the part I’m worried about. At the very least, I wanted to start losing weight so I could go horseback riding at the end of the summer. I’d never been, but I’d heard good things. And it turns out there’s a weight limit. All the horses got together – including the ones who, during Westward Expansion, could pull an entire loaded wagon – and they decided on a limit. It took them thousands of years to get to this consensus. “All in favor of a weight limit, say, ‘Aye!’” “Why does everyone keep voting neigh? We’ll try again next year.” So I had to get down under the limit. It’s not like an airplane, that if you’re too big you can get two horses. But which diet should I choose? I don’t think I could do any of the weird diets. Like intermittent fasting, which is the one where people say, “I only eat for eight hours of the day.”

And I’m like, “Me too! Wait – you mean in a row?” So I tried intermittent fasting for a couple of days, which is how long it took me to remember how much I eat after a fast. Never mind the mess of figuring out how to navigate Shabbos on this diet. So what I do is I count calories. This means that every day I can eat a certain number of calories, and if I accidentally go a little bit over that amount, I gain a pound. Which makes zero sense mathematically, because there were a couple of years that I didn’t think about calories at all and I’m not 730 pounds. The amazing thing about this diet is that there’s really no food I have to give up. I can eat chocolate chips! Well, chocolate chip, singular. This is also a great diet if you’re looking to save money, because you don’t have to replace your food as often. On the other hand, you increase the risk of your foods going bad before you get to finish them. Like at first, you’re all proud of yourself. You say, “I only eat two potato chips at a time; I get the taste, and I’m happy!” But then a month later, you’re like, “Uch, we still have these chips? I need to move on already.”

Unless you have someone else in your house who’s willing to eat the foods you’re not getting to in time – one person who’s willing to help you lose weight at their own expense. But I don’t have a husband. One big challenge about this diet, though, is that you have to decide that leftovers are no longer your problem. You can’t say, “I have to eat this or it’ll go in the garbage.” Now I can’t pasken shaylos for you, but what I do is I have chickens. If I’m unable to eat something and no one else will, I give it to the chickens. And it’s actually saving money on chicken food. Instead of having to pay for chicken food for the day, I’m giving them, for example, pulled beef. And they love it. They think it’s worms. They’ve also had tongue, mashed potatoes, cholent… That said, my chickens are going to die from being overweight. I’m just transferring it all to the chickens. Like kaparos.

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.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

the day I went to the doctor for my annual checkup, which my doctor makes me come in for about six times a year, at which point the doctor told me that my cholesterol was a little high. (I did not tell him about the shvitz. Or the eight days of yom tov.) And this is on top of my blood pressure, which is a naturally high, due to my chosen lifestyle of stressing about deadlines and yelling at mesivta bochurim. And my students. So I said, “Then what can I eat? A lot of dairy?” And he said, “Actually, your calcium is a little high, too.” Well, yeah. Any meal over Pesach that didn’t involve meat involved an entire container of cream cheese. Then he basically told me that if I want to go on having these medical conditions, I can only eat specific things. So I said, “Then I don’t want these medical conditions. It doesn’t seem worth it. The cons are starting to outweigh the pros.” But I noticed that every time a new condition comes up, my doctors attribute it to my weight. So my choices are: I can either try to work around three different sets of eating restrictions and eat basically nothing, or I can eat nothing for a while

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Health & F tness

Confused about Confusion? By Dr. Benson Fox

wo parents huddle at their kitchen table, a looming decision casting a visible shadow across their worried faces. Their son can either stay at the local yeshiva with his friends and a rigorous learning schedule, or attend a warmer yeshiva with a philosophical outlook that may better support his growth but where he knows no one and may face negative influences. They’ve done their due diligence by visiting both yeshivas, consulting with their son and countless rabbis and mentors, and scouring online for reviews from other parents. Even with the deadline tomorrow, they can’t bring themselves to submit the form. In my work with couples and individuals, I’ve seen how so many people feel stuck—whether with shidduchim, career, or parenting decisions. What lies behind this confusion?

Bravado vs. Clarity Sometimes, you may not be more confused than anyone else—you just show it more. Others might feel just as anxious but act with bravado, which can easily be mistaken for clarity. When you speak with other parents, they may sound certain about their yeshiva choices, but that confidence is often easy to misread as true clarity. Yet sometimes, you are genuinely at a loss and find yourself paralyzed by the options. Confusion can arise from both what you feel inside and what you show to others.

The Practical Reason for Confusion At times, you simply lack enough information. Naturally, you lack clarity when you haven’t done enough preparation to turn unknowns into knowns. You find yourself swimming in ambiguity, trying to solve a problem with too many unknowns instead of focusing on practical research. All too often, though, you’ve put in the work. You’ve called another ten references, spoken to daas Torah, psychologists,

and mentors, and still can’t make up your mind. You torturously vacillate, gathering more information to cope with your anxiety surrounding your choice, long passing the point of diminishing returns for your research. What kind of confusion is this? Sometimes, the source is deeper than a lack of knowledge; you may be choosing confusion.

Choosing Confusion Yes, at times, you may actually choose confusion. While your self-awareness may vary, you’re the credentialed expert on your own life with many answers deep within you. “Lev yodea marat nafsho” — “The heart knows its own bitterness” (Mishlei 14:10). Denial and confusion often come after clarity. Sometimes, you sense the truth in your gut but still choose to remain confused. Why would you choose confusion? 1. Confusion as Your Protector Isn’t clarity wonderful? But be careful what you wish for—”ignorance is bliss” contains real truth. Confusion can act as a shield, and sometimes, you bury things deep within your unconscious for good reason. Even if the need for repression has faded, you might still not be ready to face every truth. Clarity means seeing the full spectrum of reality: the good, the bad, the ugly, the wonderful, and everything in between. But seeing more reality isn’t always better, since you can only process so much at a time. 2. Wanting It Both Ways Often, you refuse to accept that every choice has its own drawbacks. “I understand the options, but I’m not ready to accept what either choice will cost me.” As you cope with cognitive dissonance, you may blur reality. Another aspect of this confusion is a refusal to commit, since commitment means sticking to one choice and giving up endless possibilities of the others.

Confusion is what you choose when you want it both ways, lacking the internal leadership to reconcile your inner conflicts. True internal leadership involves negotiating compromise and making decisive choices. Sometimes, you’re caught between several good options—vanilla, chocolate, creamsicle, and... (I’m craving ice cream now). You want smaller classes, familiar friends, more attention, and an easy commute for your child. The difficult part is accepting that no school—or ice cream store— can offer everything you want or need. 3. Overusing and Conflating Logic, Emotion, or Intuition Confusion often comes from leaning too heavily on, or conflating, the three ways you make decisions: emotion, logic, and intuition. Each has benefits and flaws in clarifying truth and guiding you toward optimal, moral decisions. Ask any lawyer or scientist how logic can be weaponized to advance an agenda. You know the destruction that follows when emotions like anger or hatred take the lead. Intuition can also be confused with unconscious forces: unmet needs, inner conflicts, or old wounds. You are meant to integrate and triangulate all three to mitigate their limitations. Sometimes, it’s not about making another pros-and-cons list (logic); it’s about finding quiet within and accessing your inner truth.

Practical Strategies for Moving Through Confusion How do you break through confusion and make a decisive choice or take action? Here are some techniques I recommend: • Remind yourself that procrastination carries its own cost, and you only choose which cost you are most willing to bear. • Set a firm deadline or threshold for when the research ends and then commit. • Leave the world of thought and enter

the world of action by activating your senses: go outside, wash your face, or work out. • Notice your inner dialogue. Usually, follow the quiet, calm, and consistent voice—the one that integrates your perspective as a whole. • Practice making minor decisions daily that disrupt your routine and comfort zone. • Separate in your mind who is talking: Your internal advisors, like logic, emotions, or intuition, or your true self, who knows what YOU think after hearing the rest of them all out. • Build trust with a rav or mentor you respect to guide you through complex major decisions. • Daven for clarity, and remember that ultimately, Hashem determines whether your efforts will bear fruit. Remember: confusion is normal, not a crisis. It’s a critical part of the process of making meaningful decisions. With research, self-awareness, and courage, you can take the next step—even when the path isn’t clear—while leaving room to respond to new information. May Hashem bless you with clarity to make decisions according to His will, without constantly looking back, so you can move forward bravely and thoughtfully.

Dr. Benson Fox is a licensed psychologist and certified life coach in the Five Towns who works with men, couples, and parents. He helps clients replace second-guessing with confidence, turn arguments into productive conversations, and respond to their children with greater calm and intention. His approach combines warmth, humor, and practical guidance while honoring each client’s religious and personal values. To learn more or inquire about a consultation, visit drbensonfox.com.

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

In The K tchen

Artichoke Chicken Recipe by Alicia Wilbur

By Naomi Nachman

I recently made this chicken recipe on Kosher.com with my friend Alicia Wilbur, who is the only fru m woman that I know who is a winemaker. We made her fa mily’s favorite chicken recipe that of course includes some delicious wine. You can watch us make this recipe on my cooking show Sunny Side Up on Kosher.com and learn all the tricks and tips of this easy-to-make recipe.

Ingredients

Preparation

• 1 box of your favorite long, flat pasta such as pappardelle or fettuccine

• 3 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 1/8ths • Olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Cook pasta according to the instructions for al dente and drain.

• 3 lemons, halved

3. Arrange chicken in a baking dish, top with leeks and fennel, juice of one lemon,

• 2 leeks, rinsed and sliced

salt, pepper, and 2 cups of the white wine. Bake until the internal temperature reads

• 1 fennel bulb, rinsed and cubed

165°F in the thickest parts of the chicken. Cube chicken and discard skin.

• 1 bottle Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc • 1 can artichoke bottoms • 1 teaspoon oregano • Sea salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste

4. Combine chicken and vegetables with pasta in a large sauté pan. On low flame, add in artichokes and juice of remaining lemons, oregano, and salt to taste.

5. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve cold or warm in a bowl or on a plate. Pair with a fruity white wine such as the Herzog Special Reserve Albariño or Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc.

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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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ableists. - One of many angry comments on social media after a radically liberal bar in Massachusetts lifted their face mask requirement for Saturdays

You chose to use your time to spill tears and center your feelings. This is incredibly racist and deflecting behavior. – Response of one of the bar patrons when the owner explained at a meeting that she lifted the ban one day a week because the bar is tens of thousands of dollars in debt and needs to increase revenue

Call Tom on his cellphone at 479-453-0533, and let him know. – Pres. Trump in a Truth Social post giving out Sen. Tom Cotton’s cell number and imploring people to call him to have him allow the bill to stop Daylight Savings Time to pass

No one likes changing the clock, me included. But Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter. Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first. - Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) responding on X to Pres. Trump

Before I had a kid, more daylight seemed great to me. Now I got a little one, and I’m not a fan. Which led me to an obvious epiphany. A society with fewer parents means fewer people whose daily lives force them to think about the world as it was designed. It was designed really for kids. - Greg Gutfeld

If you’ve never had to get a kid out the door on a January morning and stand with him at a dark bus stop, you have no reason to consider that tradeoff. You’re more likely to think, “Great, I get more daylight after work to get hammered.” And the safety concerns hit the people who aren’t you— parents. – ibid.

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OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

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I ask myself, what do you do on a day like this? How can I come and do something for all those who were murdered? I said, I’m coming to Nova today and putting on tefillin in memory of all those who were murdered and never had the chance to truly go on living. I invite all of you: Stop for a moment, put on tefillin today, and dedicate it to them. - Former hostage Bar Kuperstein upon returning to the Nova music festival site where he was abducted by Hamas terrorists three years ago

On the 70th day [of my captivity], I spoke to G-d and said: “Listen, I know I haven’t spoken to You in seven years, and it’s hypocritical of me to ask You for something now, especially when there’s a good chance I’ll forget You once I get out. So I’ll speak to You frankly: the Torah commands us to honor our parents, and I tried to do that even before October 7. Now it’s Your turn to fulfill the part that promises long life in the land.” - Former hostage Avinatan Or in a recent interview

I thought that the airline hijacking would be a much bigger story… The media is always a little reluctant to call it terrorism when it’s obviously terrorism; then after a while, they do. But I noticed when the Hamas propaganda is out there, that stuff gets fasttracked. – Bill Maher, HBO

The reporting was that the two pilots had an altercation. Yes, they had a little argument: “I think we should crash the plane and you don’t. Let’s agree to disagree.” - ibid.

I was talking to G-d nonstop, believing prayer was the only thing that could save us. I told my daughters to pray, too. - Lital Hirschl-Shahar, who was on the Flydubai flight with her four daughters, in an interview with the New York Post

It was just a miracle wrapped in a miracle wrapped in a miracle. - ibid.

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This morning, after this great miracle, I went to the synagogue to recite the Birkat HaGomel, the blessing of thanksgiving for surviving danger… The reading at the synagogue included Deuteronomy, Chapter 33, verse 26: “There is none like G-d, Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your aid, through the skies in His majesty.”

This hijacking story is INSANE but I’m looking forward to hearing the terrorists’ side of the story on Miss Rachel today. - Jimmy Failla on X

100 Israeli passengers vs. One Muslim Pilot. What a completely disproportionate response from Israel. - Anastasia Volkova on X

PRO TIP: Next time you try to Highjack a plane, maybe try the easier level, like an Irish airplane that would love to get highjacked, and not a plane full of Israeli army veterans, with combat training, a short fuse and a burning hate for terrorists… You are not ready for that level. - JewniorProMax on X

I just want to thank and congratulate Yaniv Hayun. He’s a Trump fan, and I’m a fan of his, a big fan. He saved that flight. He got in there, and he learned how to fly from watching Air Disasters on television, and he’s my kind of guy. He can be my plumber; he can be whatever he wants to be. What a job he did. He’s a hero. You like me, and I like you. Thank you, Yaniv! - Pres. Trump congratulating Flydubai hero Yaniv Hayun

Tennessee corrections failed to execute an inmate despite administering two full doses of a lethal drug. Critics say next time they should just hire Hillary Clinton—unlike the state of Tennessee, she actually knows how to make people disappear permanently. - Greg Gutfeld

I read the verse, stopped, and shuddered along with all the other worshippers who knew the story. After everything we had been through— the fear, the attack, and the realization of how thin the line between life and death had been— standing there, facing those particular words, was a moment that is difficult to explain. I don’t know whether this was divine providence, a coincidence, or simply a moment that took on profound meaning. But today, during the Birkat HaGomel, I felt one central thing: gratitude. Gratitude for life, gratitude for the miracle, and gratitude for the privilege of standing here and telling the story. Am Yisrael Chai! The people of Israel live! - Facebook post by Assaf Raguon, one of the Israelis who helped overpower the terrorist pilot on the Flydubai flight

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

I don’t usually tend to write on social media, but today I felt something burning inside me that I had to share…

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Political Crossfire

Most of Today’s Higher Prices are Biden-Era Inflation By Marc A. Thiessen

efore the 2022 midterms, Americans were facing the worst inflation in 40 years, a collapse in real wages, the highest murder rate since the 1990s, and the worst border crisis in U.S. history. Yet, despite these headwinds, Joe Biden got one of the best midterm results of any president since John F. Kennedy. Well, today, things are better by nearly every metric. The border is secure, and the violent crime rate is falling at a historic pace. The poverty rate is at a record low. Real median household income is at the highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking it in 1967, while inflation was 3.4 percent in August – higher than most would like, but slightly below the post-1957 average. The economy is growing and has created over 1 million new private-sector jobs since President Donald Trump took office, and the unemployment rate is just 4.1 percent. Growth is being driven by the private sector, not by inflationary government handouts. In other words, the economy is objectively in great shape. Nonetheless, polling shows that three-quarters of people rate it as poor or fair, and Republicans are bracing for a blue wave in November that could sweep them out of power on Capitol Hill. So, what gives? Here’s why so many are sour on the economy: Consumer prices today are 27.2 percent higher than they were in January 2021. Something that cost $100 when Biden took office now costs about $127. That is a massive increase in prices in just over five and a half years. Biden bears the lion’s share of the blame for that cumulative increase. The consumer price index rose 21.4 percent from January 2021 to January 2025 (Biden’s term), while it has risen just 4.8 percent since Trump took office. In other words, of that $27 in rising costs, about $21 came on Biden’s watch, while about $6 was on Trump’s watch.

Put another way, about 80 percent of the higher prices Americans are paying today are due to Biden-era inflation, which is locked in. Though prices have gone up at a slower pace during Trump’s term, they have not returned to pre-Biden levels. People are angry about the cumulative effect on their wallets, and they blame the current occupant of the Oval Office. Additionally, to tamp down inflation, the Federal Reserve has been raising in-

Add to that high energy prices. The price of gasoline has averaged $3.43 a gallon during Trump’s second term – which is lower than the $3.89 average under Biden. But at this writing, gas costs $4.43 a gallon, while the cost of home heating oil is up 52 percent over last year – price increases that Americans correctly attribute to the war in Iran. In August, Trump told voters that if you have “to pay a tiny little bit more for

Consumer prices today are 27.2 percent higher than they were in January 2021.

terest rates, which has dramatically increased the cost of buying a home or car. In January 2021, when Biden took office, the average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage was 2.65 percent; today, it is over 7 percent, pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans.

your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have … a nuclear weapon.” He’s right. And most Americans are patriots who are willing to sacrifice for our national security – so long as they understand why they are being asked to sacrifice and see a clear strategy

for victory. Right now, they don’t. Then there are Trump’s tariffs, which have added about 0.4 percentage points to core inflation as of July. That’s not a lot, but it contributes to the cumulative increases consumers are struggling with. The trade war with Canada makes things tougher for Republicans in border states such as Maine, Michigan and Alaska, which are key midterm battlegrounds, while high prices for fertilizer and diesel fuel have contributed to the GOP’s struggles in Iowa - normally a reliably red state. Of course, it’s absurd for Democrats to campaign on “affordability” when it was their reckless spending that unleashed the soaring inflation that is responsible for the vast majority of the higher prices Americans are paying today. And they are campaigning on promises to spend even more - which would make inflation worse, not better. As for high gas prices, the last time Democrats held the presidency, they suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, blocked oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of federal waters and leased fewer acres of federal land for oil and gas drilling than at any time since World War II. Today, gas prices are higher in blue states like California ($6.40 a gallon) than in red ones like Texas ($3.94 a gallon), thanks to radical climate policies that many Democrats want to force on the rest of America. Rather than denying the lived reality of Americans struggling with high prices, President Trump needs to acknowledge the pain Americans are feeling, lay blame for those high prices where it belongs, and explain why Democrats would make inflation worse. The message should be: Electing Democrats to tackle affordability is like hiring a gang of arsonists to put out the forest fire that they started. © 2026, Washington Post Writers Group

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Political Crossfire

The Real Lesson of Oct. 7? Stop Appealing For Sympathy By Jonathan S. Tobin

fter three years of failure, it’s time to try something else. That’s the lesson that Jews and those who purport to speak for them and/ or the pro-Israel community should be thinking about on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre. For three years, the Jewish world has been stunned by the reaction to the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab terror attacks on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023. But it’s time to stop. More to the point, it’s also necessary to cease appealing for sympathy or understanding. The expectation on the part of most Jews and Israelis, as well as those who are their friends in the days that followed, was that world opinion would swing behind the Jewish state in the aftermath of that horrific orgy of mass murder, torture, assault, kidnapping and wanton destruction. And there was, in fact, some initial sympathy for Israel, even in the media that is so quick to denounce it.

The Turn Against Israel Within days, however, that changed. Once it was clear that Israelis were not going to simply accept their victimization and would act to end the threat of more such atrocities, what passes for enlightened liberal opinion, along with some elements on the far right, voiced outrage. That outrage was not aimed at the crimes of the Palestinians. Nor was it a response to the evidence that their leaders and most of the population have meant what they said when they repeatedly rejected an independent state alongside Israel and would settle for nothing less than the destruction of the Jewish state. Instead, the spectacle of Jews defending themselves and moving to eliminate a threat that no sovereign nation would tolerate on its border was too much for

a world that has largely regarded Jewish power of any kind as intolerable. Even before the Israel Defense Forces began their offensive into Gaza to attempt to eliminate Hamas’s ability to make good on their promises to repeat Oct. 7-style massacres, anti-Israel protests began. More importantly, world leaders called for caution and restraint that they would never demand of their own countries under similar circumstances. The United States was an initial exception to that rule. Yet within weeks, the administration of President Joe Biden, which had supported Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas, shifted to a more equivocal stance. What ensued was a year-long dance in which the United States sought to pressure the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop seeking victory. Washington even demanded that Jerusalem accept an outcome in which the continued hold on power on the part of the

Islamist terrorists who had ruled Gaza as an independent Palestinian state in all but name since 2007 was to be tolerated. Biden’s shift was clearly a reaction to liberal and left-wing opinion in his own Democratic Party. After Oct. 7, Democrats, who had already been turning against Israel over the course of the previous decade under the administration of President Barack Obama, overwhelmingly took the side of the Palestinians against the Israelis. The same was true around the globe as Western European nations—influenced by both the influx of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, and by Marxist and leftwing parties that reviled Zionism—expressed their horror at the idea of Israel pursuing a war to defeat Hamas.

Disingenuous “Criticism” Israel’s foes claim that the revulsion was the product of an unusually harsh

and “disproportionate” offensive in Gaza in which its military indiscriminately killed large numbers of civilians, including women and children. The Jewish state was accused of “genocide” and causing mass starvation. Indeed, so ubiquitous were these accusations in mainstream media outlets and popular culture that few liberals or left-wingers dared to question them or consider them debatable. This critique was—and remains—entirely disingenuous. Israel’s military used more restraint in the difficult conditions of urban warfare and, as impartial military experts testified, killed a far lower percentage of civilians than in any other such confrontation in modern-day history. Hamas hid behind Palestinian civilians and did everything to expose them to death. They stored weapons in schools and hospitals. They stole food meant for residents that the Israelis moved from one part of the Strip to another to keep them out of the way of airstrikes and other military efforts to bring back men, women and children dragged by Hamas on Oct. 7 into the coastal enclave. With the international aid it had received prior to Oct. 7, Hamas had built a tunnel network under Gaza that might be termed the world’s largest bomb shelter, the size of the New York City subway system. But no civilians (other than the hostages, many of whom were hid there) were allowed into them. They were only for terrorist fighters, their commanders and their supplies. There was no “genocide” or Gaza famine. There isn’t any such thing going on today. Nonetheless, much of the world believes it. The atrocities of Oct. 7 were denied, even though Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists had documented them with GoPro cameras and social-media uploads (one infamously called his par-

They’re Not Listening While Israel and its supporters might have done better in their efforts to inform the world about Oct. 7 and the century of Palestinian rejectionism that preceded it, the notion that the global audience or even the bulk of the base of the Democratic Party was open to being educated about any of this was unfounded. The red-green alliance of Marxists and Islamists that are skewing European politics and ideas about Israel and the Jews has also secured a beachhead in America, as the success of antisemitic figures like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed demonstrates. A world that had decided that the Jews and their state were singular villains, and thus guilty of horrible crimes, was certainly influenced by social-media algorithms and biased media. But their receptiveness to the blood libels about genocide and famine in Gaza or to the lie that Israel is an “apartheid” state

wasn’t due to the lack of a proactive information task force in the Israeli prime minister’s office or the failure of much of the organized Jewish world. Having been marinated in the toxic doctrines that taught them the Israelis were the bad guys, liberal opinion was already lost to the Jewish state even before the bodies were buried after Oct. 7. The only sectors of global or American society that remain impervious, or at least less vulnerable, to the onslaught

movement of the Jews—equals racism. Unlike the recent past, the real debate about the Middle East isn’t about a two-state solution the Palestinians never wanted. It now centers on whether all of the Jewish state, including the kibbutzim and other communities near the Gaza Strip whose liberal-minded inhabitants were slaughtered along with everyone else on Oct. 7, is stolen land. That goes hand in hand with the idea that its occupants are foreign colonizers in their

Having been marinated in the toxic doctrines that taught them the Israelis were the bad guys, liberal opinion was already lost to the Jewish state even before the bodies were buried after Oct. 7.

of Hamas propaganda masquerading as progressivism are among those on the right who have already rejected these doctrines. That’s provided that they are not also being seduced by the wave of Jew-hatred on the far right that employs traditional antisemitic tropes. Once we acknowledge all of this, the question remains: What do we do about it? The first thing is for the Jews to stop appealing for sympathy that isn’t coming. It should have been apparent from the outset that centering pro-Israel advocacy on the victimization of Jews on Oct. 7 or on the appalling treatment of the hostages taken that day was a mistake. It only excited antisemites. And, rather than elicit empathy, it seems to have convinced many others to believe that the Palestinians had a good reason to murder the Jews.

A Futile Quest In this sense, it was much like Israel’s misguided and failed efforts to trade “land for peace” throughout the previous three decades. That did more to convince world opinion that the Jews were possessors of stolen property, rather than high-minded people who were willing to compromise their rights and even their security to achieve an end to the conflict. But now, the pleas for understanding seem only to have reinforced the growing chorus of those who believe Zionism— the anti-colonial and national liberation

homeland, where they are the indigenous people who are only getting what they deserve. Rather than members of the Jewish community wracking their brains trying to solve the puzzle about how to convince those who aren’t listening to hear sound historical arguments, they need to stop centering so much of their efforts on this futile quest. It’s true that losses in the information world have real consequences, and that the attempts to isolate Israel diplomatically and economically pose a grave danger to it. But if the Jews should have learned anything in the last century when the world stood by as the Holocaust went on for years, it’s that the most important task facing them is to strengthen their state and its ability to defend Jewish life. As horrible as the catastrophe of Oct. 7 was, in the three years that have followed, Israel’s defeats of Hamas and Hezbollah—plus the fall of a longtime brutal dictator in Syria—and their Iranian paymasters and sponsors have done more to make Jewish lives safer than all of the clever arguments put forward by its most able public information advocates. That doesn’t give the Israeli government—or Diaspora leaders and groups—a pass for doing so poorly at explaining the situation. And it certainly doesn’t excuse a tech-savvy Jewish state for not being as nimble as it should have been in employ-

ing new media and Internet technologies to make their arguments against those spreading blood libels and antisemitism. Still, delusions should be discarded about the chances that appeals aimed at inspiring sympathy for Jewish victims will move the needle on international or even American public opinion for those who have bought the pro-Hamas narrative hook, line and sinker. As Dara Horn has written, the world may “love dead Jews,” but what that really means for us today is that their abhorrence of Jews with power is undiminished.

A Just Cause What Israel and its defenders must exude is strength, confidence in their justice of their cause, and a willingness to be undaunted by the lies and smears spread about them. Rather than seeking to debate or persuade those crying “genocide” primarily to give the world a pass for permitting the actual genocide of European Jewry during the Holocaust, we must dismiss them as hate-mongers unworthy of intellectual refutations. As much as Jews everywhere must continue to mourn the victims of Oct. 7, as well as the heroic soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who fell or were wounded in the ongoing effort to defeat terrorists, they should quit waiting for others to join them. The real lesson of Oct. 7 is no different from that of the thousands of years of Jewish history that preceded it. Weakness and faith in the kindness of those ready to believe that Jews are the cause of whatever it is they fear most or the greatest societal problems they face is a formula for disaster. Just as in the past, those who think that destroying the Jewish state will be the first step toward the liberation of the world’s oppressed peoples are not persuadable. But they can be defeated. A proud declaration of Jewish rights and faith is far more likely to inspire friendship and alliances. That’s a lesson that should resonate for Israelis. But it must also be one adopted by Diaspora Jews perplexed by a wave of bigotry and vitriol they never anticipated and struggle to cope with. Unless and until they realize that they must defend themselves first—and worry about what everyone else thinks later—will they find a way to live in a world where Jew-hatred has again become fashionable.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate).

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ents to brag about how many Jews he killed that day). The victims, including raped women and men, were ignored or not believed. Posters of the kidnapped, even of a 9-month-old baby, were torn down on the streets of American and European cities. Mass rallies were held to bolster support for Hamas on the streets of those cities and on college campuses. The main reason for the lack of sympathy for Israel wasn’t because Netanyahu or members of his cabinet were unlikable or too truculent, or because his government failed to mount an effective public diplomacy campaign (though it should have done better). Nor was it because pro-Israel supporters in the United States were equally ineffective in making the case for the Jewish state or against intransigent Palestinian Arabs and their terrorist leaders. The deck was stacked against Israel long before Oct. 7. Like the American education system, the corporate media had largely been captured by left-wing ideologues who believed in political activism, not journalism. And it, too, adopted the skewed ideas of critical race theory, intersectionality and settler-colonialism that exacerbated racial tensions among the general population, as well as falsely labeled Israelis and Jews as “white” oppressors and their Palestinian opponents as “people of color.” That meant the former were always in the wrong, no matter what they did, and the latter in the right, no matter how awful their crimes.

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Political Crossfire

Inside a Billionaire’s Paradise With Crypto’s Most Powerful Ex-Convict By David Yaffe-Bellany

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — One morning in June, cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao pulled up to the St. Regis resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in a white Nissan SUV. Zhao is the richest man in crypto, worth an estimated $114 billion, and he lives in a villa nearby, with nine bedrooms, four bodyguards, a chef and a yacht named Da Moon. But he also likes to play the part of a “normal dude,” as he often describes himself, and that day he had offered to give me a personal tour of the city. Outside the St. Regis, Zhao sat at the wheel of the Nissan, with his iPhone mounted on the windshield, like the world’s wealthiest Uber driver. “My Lamborghini,” he joked as I climbed in. Zhao, to be clear, isn’t a normal dude. Not long ago, U.S. authorities brought a criminal case against him for his management of Binance, a crypto exchange depicted in court papers as a haven for Russian money launderers, Iranian sanctions evaders, and Islamic State terrorists. Zhao pleaded guilty and escaped with his fortune intact. After serving a four-month prison sentence, he returned to Abu Dhabi, still Binance’s majority shareholder and still the most powerful figure in the industry. These days, Zhao, who is 49, moves through the world like a head of state, flying around Asia on his private jet to advise governments on crypto regulation; a stop in Islamabad or Manila, Philippines, is often followed by the announcement of a new regulatory breakthrough for Binance. At home, one of his two dogs is a Taigan, an elegant Central Asian breed, likened to the gazelle. It was a gift from the crypto-curious president of Kyrgyzstan, with whom he went skiing in February. “He actually wanted to give me a tent, like a full-sized

tent,” Zhao said. “I said no to the tent, and then he insisted on the dog.” Zhao’s most influential allies are a pair of powerful ruling families. One is the clan that runs the UAE, which wants his help creating a technology powerhouse in the desert. The other is the Trumps. Last year, Binance forged a business relationship with World Liberty Financial, the crypto startup founded by President Donald Trump and his three sons. World Liberty generated $799 million for Trump last year — his single most lucrative asset, more remunerative than his real estate portfolio or his social media business. Trump pardoned Zhao last October, a move widely criticized as a quid pro quo. Known in the industry as “CZ,” Zhao often avoids reporters, but he met with me several times this year, eager to put a friendlier gloss on his career at Binance, which still hasn’t stanched the flow of dirty money. He is tall and thin, with short dark hair and a Binance tattoo on his forearm, and lacks the frat-bro swagger of many of his crypto peers. He comes across as polite and attentive, though his interests are almost comically narrow. This year, he self-published a memoir, “Freedom of Money,” in which he describes receiving an after-hours tour of the Louvre. The experience left him cold. The guide might as well have been “playing piano to a cow,” he wrote. For years, his true calling has been what academics term “jurisdictional arbitrage” — moving from country to country in search of a legal framework pliable enough to accommodate his appetite for risk and growth. In Abu Dhabi, he may have found an ideal base of operations. As we drove into the city, Zhao chatted amiably, pausing to ask his bodyguard for help

with directions. (“Yes, boss, stay right.”) We passed a string of impressive compounds and drove toward the presidential palace, Qasr Al Watan, whose striking white dome resembles the Taj Mahal. Zhao was growing animated. “Democracy has been hailed as, like, the holy grail for the last couple hundred years, but democracies are inefficient,” he said as we approached the palace. “If you get a benevolent dictator, it’s actually extremely efficient. There’s very little debate going on. You don’t waste time on a lot of frivolous stuff.” Lately, this top-down model of business and politics, simultaneously medieval and ultramodern, has gained traction in the United States. On a trip to Abu Dhabi last year, Trump called the nation’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, “a very strong man” and “a man of vision like few others.” Zach Witkoff, the son of one of Trump’s top advisers and himself a kind of MAGA princeling, put it more bluntly at a crypto conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in May 2025. “We really need to take a page out of His Highness’ and the Emirates’ book,” Witkoff said. “They are just an amazing example of how you can lead with innovation while also maintaining your family values.” Zhao is already living in the future these men crave, nestled in an elite enclave where monarchs and billionaires operate in harmony. As he drove away from Qasr Al Watan, he told me about a private conference he had attended nearby, at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental hotel, a gathering of executives such as hedge fund founder Ray Dalio and Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son. While he sat in the audience, Zhao noticed someone stooping down to speak with him. It was Sheikh

Mohammed. He wanted to know how Zhao was getting along and whether he could do anything to help. “This is the king,” Zhao told me, “kneeling down beside you.”

ne day early this year, Zhao was working from bed — he often does business lying on his back after a long struggle with chronic pain — when the windows began to shake. He got up, he told me, and walked onto his balcony, where he saw a trail of smoke in the sky. Zhao lives on Saadiyat Island, an enclave of Abu Dhabi across the Persian Gulf from Iran, which had just fired a missile at the UAE. It was the start of a geopolitical crisis that has destabilized the region, but Zhao was not overly concerned. He went back to bed and kept working. “More people die from traffic accidents than from the missiles,” he said later. “Very protected here.” Until he settled in the UAE, Zhao was a man without a country. He was born in China, then moved to Canada with his family at the age of 12. After attending McGill University, he worked a series of technology jobs, bouncing among New York, China and Japan. In July 2013, over a poker game in Shanghai, a colleague suggested he check out “this new thing called bitcoin.” It was the perfect borderless technology for his borderless lifestyle. After a few months of study, Zhao made a radical bet. He sold the family home — a three-bedroom apartment in Shanghai where he and his wife were raising two children — and plowed the $900,000 in proceeds into bitcoin. It was a risky move, but Zhao wasn’t worried. Even if bitcoin plunged, he figured, he could easily land another high-paying job in traditional finance. Zhao went on to work at a succession

giveness than permission.” Privately, Zhao had discussed ways to obfuscate that Binance served American users even though it wasn’t licensed in the United States, according to legal filings. “Don’t leave anything in writing,” he told a subordinate. In Abu Dhabi, Zhao described himself as a “rule follower.” It seems obvious, however, that he made a strategic choice to push the legal limits at a crucial time, when the habits of a new generation of investors were forming and the rules themselves were rather elastic. I was reminded of this when he showed me into the entrance of his house, which

had signed a memorandum of understanding with local authorities to develop rules for crypto operations; the company dispatched three staff members to help put together a framework. A draft was completed in January 2022 and signed into law a few weeks later. “When you’re the captain of a ship that’s sailing true north, the UAE wants you on their team,” Abed said. “They did that with CZ. They rallied around him from Day 1.” Not everyone in the UAE is treated so generously. Over the years, the nation’s leaders have conducted mass surveillance, outlawed even the mildest forms of dis-

In July 2013, over a poker game in Shanghai, a colleague suggested he check out “this new thing called bitcoin.”

was stocked with boxes of Binance swag. He urged me to pick out a gift, perhaps a Binance backpack or a yellow-and-black Binance sweater, styled to look like a varsity jacket. I told him that reporters have protocols about these sorts of things and that I had to decline any gift over $20. He laughed and said the price was “probably 19 bucks.”

hao paid a visit to the UAE in 2021, after years of roaming around Asia. In 2017, he and his Binance colleagues had been forced to flee China in the middle of the night, as the government prepared to announce a ban on crypto exchanges. A stint in Japan hadn’t worked out, either; nor had Singapore, where it was difficult to get a work visa. Then Zhao’s friend Gabriel Abed, a businessperson who served as the ambassador to the UAE for Barbados, made a suggestion. He told Zhao to check out Dubai. Immediately, Zhao saw how the UAE treated the rich and powerful. He arrived in Dubai on a Saturday morning in October, and within hours, a government minister, Omar Sultan al-Olama, came to visit. He offered Zhao a so-called golden visa, which grants 10 years of hassle-free residency. A doctor was summoned to conduct the blood test required of all visa holders. Applications often take weeks to process. Zhao was approved in less than 12 hours. The friendly reception impressed Zhao. “On my fourth day in Dubai, I saw two properties,” he told me. “I bought the second one.” By the end of the year, Binance

sent, and overseen a labor market where foreign workers are frequently exploited and abused. But for Zhao, it was the beginning of a comfortable new life. Before founding Binance, he had separated from his wife, who moved to Tokyo with their children. He connected with one of his colleagues, He Yi, a marketing executive known in China as the former host of a travel program called “Beautiful Destinations.” While his older children attended college in the United States, Zhao and He raised a young family in the UAE. Zhao was ushered into a rarefied world of billionaire networking. He got to know a group of Emirati leaders who were curious about technology — the “crypto sheikhs,” as he calls them. Eventually he worked his way up to the brother of Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a jujitsu enthusiast who would host high-powered businesspeople at his palace. On the royal dinner circuit, Zhao was treated as a valued guest. “We’re like, ‘What’s the seating arrangement?’” he said. “‘Just sit anywhere, it’s fine.’” During these early encounters, the sheikhs would pitch Zhao on the UAE, asking what they could do to help him. Soon, Zhao was preaching the nation’s virtues to the broader billionaire community. He encouraged artificial intelligence mogul Sam Altman to set up a corporate presence in the UAE, warning that other countries would treat him with hostility. “You’re going to face a lot of regulatory issues,” Zhao told him over coffee.

Zhao had more than a passing familiarity with the perils of emerging industries. As he arrived in the UAE, Zhao was locked in a vicious competition with a young entrepreneur named Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of a rival exchange, FTX. The son of Stanford Law School professors, Bankman-Fried was in many ways the polar opposite of Zhao: a consummate insider whose personal connections and proximity to the U.S. political elite greased his path to the top of the industry. “He had tricks I didn’t have,” Zhao wrote in his memoir. Bankman-Fried would poach Binance employees, offering salaries three to five times as high. Zhao also heard rumors that Bankman-Fried was bad-mouthing him in Washington. In November 2022, a report in the crypto publication CoinDesk raised doubts about the stability of FTX’s finances. Zhao was in Dubai, on his way to have drinks with Abed, when he decided to weigh in on Twitter, posting a short but ruthless announcement. He was selling a stash of $500 million in FTT, a digital coin that was a proxy for FTX stock. The post set off a panic, as anxious investors rushed to pull money out of FTX. The money wasn’t there — Bankman-Fried had stolen $8 billion from his customers. He had no choice but to seek a bailout, and only one man in crypto had the resources to save him. Two days after his tweet, Zhao announced that he was buying FTX; a day later, he pulled out of the deal, sending FTX deeper into crisis. It all had the feel of a masterful bit of corporate warfare — an act of “blood sport,” as one observer put it. Within six weeks, Bankman-Fried was arrested at his apartment in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States. He was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud. Zhao told me that he had never meant to destroy FTX. Slipping into his usual mode of shrugging naivete, he explained that he had hoped to gradually sell his FTT over a few months. “I had no intention to crash them,” he said. “We lost $500 million.” His vanquished rival sees it differently. “He played me,” Bankman-Fried said at the time. “He played it well.”

illionaires gravitate to the UAE for billionaire reasons. The country doesn’t levy an income tax, and it’s considered extremely safe, at a time when crypto investors have been targeted by kidnappers in Europe and the United States. But for Zhao, who had just seen his nemesis dragged across borders, the UAE held another important advantage: It had no extradition treaty with the United States.

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of crypto startups in Asia. The industry grew rapidly in the 2010s, with hundreds of new tokens, but the platforms for trading these coins were poorly run and vulnerable to hacks. In July 2017, Zhao founded Binance. Within a few months, it was the largest exchange in the world, a title it has never relinquished. Binance’s success rested on two pivotal insights. The first was that crypto investors, as a species, were drunk on risk and would never be satisfied swapping dollars or yen merely for an equivalent amount of crypto. For years, Binance has operated as a margin exchange: Traders can borrow money to place high-risk, high-reward bets on the prices of bitcoin and other popular tokens. The second insight was simpler yet more consequential. Many crypto investors didn’t want to identify themselves, and Binance didn’t ask them to. For its first four years, the company allowed customers to open accounts without providing even the most basic KYC — the “know your customer” information that traditional companies require to prevent financial crime. Binance was not the only exchange to offer these types of risky services, but Zhao executed better than any of his competitors. “There was a lot of MySpace in the exchange world, and he built Facebook,” said Austin Campbell, the founder of a crypto consulting firm. The result was an extremely lucrative free-for-all: a platform where unvetted investment products were available to unvetted traders. As the market boomed, Binance took a cut of each transaction; the company quickly reached $1 billion in profits, according to “Freedom of Money.” Zhao was suddenly a crypto celebrity. But he has never been widely understood outside the industry, even as he has joined a small cohort of ultrawealthy executives who wield astonishing political influence. When he recounts his most contentious moments, Zhao portrays himself as a kind of passenger — a crypto nerd overwhelmed by success, a naive outsider who somehow stumbled into Bond villain status. It is not always a convincing performance. Sitting in his kitchen in late June, Zhao told me that he had “never really wanted” to break the law in Binance’s explosive early years, when the company’s lax controls allowed a procession of bad actors to launder money. “It’s just my lack of experience in that area,” he said. “I’m a tech guy. I lived in China.” That image isn’t compatible with the evidence U.S. prosecutors collected in their investigation into Binance. In court, they quoted an admonition that Zhao had given his underlings: “Better to ask for for-

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In either late 2022 or early 2023, he recalled, an Emirati royal asked him over dinner whether he wanted citizenship. Zhao sent in some documents and waited. Months later, a government emissary arrived at his house, holding a box with passports for Zhao and his family. The Emiratis “would never extradite citizens,” Zhao told me. “That was a very strong thing.” He had reason to be wary: The noose around Binance was tightening. U.S. prosecutors were collecting evidence that the exchange’s lax protocols had allowed scammers, hackers and sanctions evaders to move money. In private messages obtained by the government, Binance employees spoke with astonishing candor about the exchange’s shady clientele. “Is washing drug money too hard these days,” one employee wrote. “Come to Binance we got cake for you.” Zhao hired a team of lawyers to broker a deal with the Justice Department. His new passport gave him considerable leverage. After a couple of years in Dubai, he moved an hour and a half south to Abu Dhabi, closer to the nation’s center of political power. While the negotiations unfolded, Zhao gave serious thought to life as a fugitive; he would have to limit his traveling, but he would be safe in the UAE, at least in theory. Eventually, his legal team struck a bargain with the U.S. government. Zhao would plead guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, an anti-money-laundering statute, and step down as CEO. (The company would pay a $4.3 billion penalty.) Despite the generous terms, he was frustrated with his lawyers and didn’t think he deserved any prison time at all. “I got put in jail because we had a platform that didn’t have proper KYC,” he told me. “You can vote for the president of the United States government without having an ID. I don’t know how that system came about. I would imagine someone should be put in jail for that, given what I went through.” Still, it was an excellent outcome for Binance. At the sentencing hearing in the spring of 2024, Zhao delivered a contrite statement: “I deeply regret my failure, and I’m sorry.” The judge gave Zhao a fourmonth sentence, calling him “a dedicated family man and a giving person.” When the sentence was read aloud in the courtroom, Zhao’s college-age son quietly pumped his fist. As the rare felon with virtually unlimited resources, Zhao was ideally positioned to suffer as little as possible. He was assigned to Lompoc II, a low-security facility in California, the same complex where Bankman-Fried was later housed. Before

With Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE

he reported to prison, Zhao assembled a team of advisers, who schooled him in the subtleties of cellblock politics. One of them, Michael Santos, exchanged letters with other inmates, who agreed to help Zhao get his bearings inside. “CZ, you’re a guy who’s understood people and had thousands of employees,” Santos told him. “You’re not going to lose those skills when you walk in here.” Zhao arrived at Lompoc on the morning of May 30, 2024. He quickly settled into what’s known as a “car” — an informal social group, often established along ethnic lines. The other Asian inmates sat with Zhao during meals and worked out with him in the yard at recess. They were thrilled to be in the presence of a multibillionaire. “Everybody gave way for him,” said Jaton Aguon, a fellow inmate at Lompoc. “It was like a king walking down the aisle.” Zhao grew close with a Vietnamese bank robber who had once worked as an engineer. They talked in detail about the robberies, which didn’t involve any of the “Ocean’s Eleven”-style preparation one might expect. He was “very mellow” and “a super-chill dude,” Zhao told me. “He just walks in, asks for the money and leaves. And he got away with it 11 times.” The bank robber was one of a handful of inmates who were interested in the business world. He read Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal and asked Zhao about Elon Musk’s astronomical compensation package at Tesla. Other inmates also had questions about business, including one who wanted to understand the mysteries of the crypto market. “He’s like, ‘Well, bitcoin — why did it go up?” Zhao recalled. “I’m like, ‘Wow, I don’t know for sure, either.’” Zhao started a study group that tracked stock prices; one of the prison TVs was tuned to CNBC. Not every one of his messages landed. At Lompoc, Zhao had a hard time conveying his deeply held belief that the Binance

case was essentially victimless, with “no fraud, no nothing.” When he explained the details, the response was dismissive. “They’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s what everybody says,’” Zhao recalled. In August 2024, Zhao left Lompoc for a halfway house. But a complication with his immigration status meant he had to spend his last two weeks at a local jail, passing the time doing pushups and crunches in his cell. On the day of his release, an officer escorted him outside, where his mother, sister and assistant were waiting. They drove to a nearby airport and deposited him onto a private plane bound for Abu Dhabi. Between the moment Zhao left custody and the moment his jet took off, only 26 minutes elapsed.

hao returned to a world that was shifting in his favor. A crypto-friendly administration was poised to take power in Washington. Shortly before the election, Trump had founded World Liberty as a joint enterprise with the family of Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul who was preparing to serve as White House envoy to the Middle East. Soon, America’s newly empowered dealmaker-diplomats were spending lots of time in the UAE. As he drove me around the city, Zhao paused to point out the ADNEC Center, a conference hall that hosted a giant gathering of crypto enthusiasts in December 2024. “This is where I met Eric Trump,” he said. At the venue, he recalled, a Trump booster named David Bailey had introduced him to the president’s middle son, a leader of World Liberty. It was a casual conversation, with no official agenda. “He was just saying that he was looking at some real estate deal here,” Zhao told me. Their interests were about to align. The UAE had been working to transform from a petrostate into a powerhouse in emerging technologies, a project spearheaded by Sheikh Tahnoon, who oversees $1.5 trillion

in Emirati sovereign wealth. Before he went to prison, Zhao had held talks with Peng Xiao, one of the sheikh’s top lieutenants, about selling the Emiratis a stake in Binance, the ultimate union between his company and his political guardians. Rarely seen without dark glasses, Sheikh Tahnoon is chair of a venture capital fund called MGX, which specializes in AI. Early last year, MGX agreed to invest $2 billion in Binance, a deal that valued the company at $75 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. MGX viewed Binance as the perfect bridge between crypto and AI — a high-tech money-transmission service that could someday enable automated AI “agents” to make payments on behalf of real people. Zhao told me that he wanted to settle the deal in bitcoin. The Emiratis worried that it was prone to drastic price swings that would complicate the transaction. They preferred to pay Zhao in stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a price of $1. What happened next is widely disputed — and likely to become the subject of a congressional investigation if the Democrats win control of Congress in November. According to MGX, the fund evaluated several stablecoins before selecting USD1, a coin created by World Liberty, citing “business suitability.” It was a stunning choice, given that USD1 was completely untested, with no track record. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance had specifically asked MGX to pay in USD1; Zhao said MGX had made the decision. “I didn’t care too much as long as the stablecoin is reputable and is not going to disappear overnight,” he told me. “There wasn’t any other consideration.” But all the parties had an incentive to cut World Liberty into the transaction. A UAE-backed investment firm had taken a 49% stake in the startup in January 2025, days before Donald Trump’s inauguration; Sheikh Tahnoon got a seat on World Liberty’s board. Around the same time, the Emiratis were negotiating with the White House to secure the export of the valuable computer chips that power AI. Binance also had business in front of the Trump administration. With its legal troubles receding, the company wanted to escape some of the restrictions imposed in the 2023 settlement. Witkoff’s son Zach announced the deal in May 2025, thanking Binance and MGX “for their trust in us.” Democrats in Congress condemned it as “stablecoin corruption.” An issuer like World Liberty makes money by accepting cash deposits from crypto traders, giving them stablecoins in

was like, ‘If the newspapers think I should be asking for a pardon, maybe I should,’” he said. In reality, as early as December 2024, Zhao’s legal team had been working with Brett Tolman, a prominent pardon attorney, to explore the possibility of clemency, according to two people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Ultimately, Binance paid $2.1 million to a lobbying firm run by Ches McDowell, who is close to the president’s elder sons, for services including “executive relief,” according to public filings. (A World Liberty spokesperson said the company had “zero involvement in any decisions on pardons.”) When the pardon was announced last October, Zhao had just landed in Kyrgyzstan for a meeting with President Sadyr Zhaparov, who was interested in creating a digital coin pegged to the Kyrgyz nation-

lion and $30 billion. He could live comfortably on a tiny fraction of that, he said — a mere $10 million. On the crypto podcast circuit, Zhao is occasionally asked about his house, and he often mentions an upstairs leak that he has never managed to fix. Sure enough, in the living room, he pointed to a patch of water damage on the floor, then gestured to the ceiling. “That’s the spot,” he said. “I don’t know if you see the difference in color.” It’s true that Zhao’s villa is modest by billionaire standards; a house nearby is on sale for $150 million, he told me. But it’s hard to square his affectations of humility with the world of power and privilege that he has settled into. Once, at a group dinner, Zhao listened as Altman described an emerging field of biotech research. Zhao has his own ambitions to defy biology; he has invested in a startup that works with artificial wombs.

While Forbes estimates his wealth at over $100 billion, Zhao insists that the actual figure is much lower, somewhere between $10 billion and $30 billion.

al currency. Zhao posted a brief thank-you message on social media as his hosts greeted him in the capital city, Bishkek. He spent the evening at a restaurant with the president, talking about stablecoins.

n a blistering morning this summer, Zhao pulled into the driveway of his $5 million villa, where he and He host a rotating cast of grandparents and siblings. He was greeted at the door by his two dogs. In addition to the Taigan, Zhao has a Belgian Malinois that he named Broccoli, which he thought sounded a little like “blockchain.” With a photographer trailing behind him, Zhao bounded from room to room, pointing out pictures of his young family. A stately cream-colored piano sits in the center of his children’s playroom, surrounded by toys — a scene of neglect that dismayed the tuner who came to service it. It was a Steinway, “one of the expensive ones,” Zhao told me, “but I don’t know how to use it.” In his home gym, he paused to do some bench presses. Zhao wanted to make clear that he doesn’t live like a normal billionaire. While Forbes estimates his wealth at over $100 billion, Zhao insists that the actual figure is much lower, somewhere between $10 bil-

Since prison, Zhao has split his time among a range of ventures, including his tech investments and his travels as a kind of crypto diplomat, helping promote the industry in countries where he’s often treated like royalty. “They always send a guy with two cars to drive right up to the plane,” he told me. “There’s a girl holding the local delicacy, like you’re supposed to try one of them.” Zhao downplayed his involvement in Binance; the company’s plea deal prohibited him from “operating or managing” the business. He made a point to express frustration with Binance’s recent decision to sue the Journal, after the paper reported on turnover in the compliance division, calling the case “a gigantic waste of time.” Even if Binance wins, “they won’t get very much,” he told me. (The company dropped the lawsuit last month.) It’s obvious that Binance remains a major part of his life. One of the two coCEOs appointed to replace him was He — the mother of his three young children. Two years ago, in a gesture toward traditional governance, Binance established a board of directors with three supposedly independent trustees. One of them is also the board’s chair — Gabe Abed, the friend who first recruited Zhao to the UAE. They

have gone jet-skiing together, and Abed gave Zhao a pair of orange high-top sneakers, emblazoned with the words “TRUMP CRYPTO PRESIDENT.” Lately, Binance has faced new accusations of impropriety. The company fired or suspended four compliance officials last year, after they reported that nearly $2 billion had flowed from customer accounts to a cluster of entities with ties to Iran — a possible repeat of the sanctions evasion that led to the U.S. criminal case in 2023. The company disputed the employees’ findings and denied that anyone was disciplined for raising concerns. The Justice Department said later that two Chinese firms had used Binance to launder the proceeds of Iranian oil sales, though it didn’t file any charges against the exchange. Some cracks have also emerged in Binance’s relationship with the Emiratis. In December, the company received a license to operate out of Abu Dhabi, which would soon face a barrage of Iranian missiles; the exchange’s new overseer hailed the company as a beacon of “regulatory progress.” Over the summer, however, two Binance employees were briefly detained in the UAE, an unusually aggressive step by local police, who were looking into possible financial crimes on the platform. The detentions alarmed Binance’s local workforce. Zhao told me that he had sent a message to a contact in the Emirati police and reached out to lieutenants of Sheikh Tahnoon. “I just said, ‘Look, let’s find a way not to have this happen,’” Zhao recalled. “It looks bad for the country, it looks bad for us.” He insisted that the UAE remained a friendly home for Binance. “No one’s in danger,” he said. Zhao has the confidence of someone who has glided away from trouble over and over, a consummate winner in an era that often rewards brazen rule-breaking. In his memoir, he writes for a page and a half about his belief in “simulation theory,” the notion that we might all be living in someone else’s imagined reality. He encountered the idea early in his crypto career and now believes it’s a mathematical certainty. “In 20 years, we should be able to plug a rod into our heads like in ‘The Matrix’ for complete simulations,” he writes. “Billions of people will. There will be billions of simulations.” That belief has given Zhao some detachment from the stresses of everyday life. It’s possible we’re versions of Super Mario, he writes, running around an artificial landscape. He tries to live by a simple mantra: “It’s just a game.” © The New York Times

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return and then investing the deposits to generate a yield. With the $2 billion from MGX and Binance, World Liberty instantly became one of the world’s largest stablecoin companies, a boon to the Trump and Witkoff families. “It’s just such a craven effort to curry favor,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who has investigated Zhao and Binance. “Unprecedented in its scope and scale of corruption.” Zhao is adamant that nothing untoward occurred. He said he no longer held the USD1, which he used to invest in bitcoin and other assets. “I assume that President Trump has very good lawyers, and the setup where the sons run businesses and the father is the president is completely kosher,” he told me. He suggested that some of the outrage might reflect cultural differences. “In Kazakhstan, we can eat horse meat,” he explained. “In some other countries, we’ll be like, ‘Well, that’s crazy.’” The ruling families of two governments had struck a business deal — couldn’t that be a good thing? Zhao reached for a medieval comparison. “If you marry the daughter of one country to the prince of another country,” he said, “they maintain peace for 50 years.” Two weeks after the $2 billion transaction, the White House agreed to share access to the chips, overcoming concerns from some U.S. national security officials. Steve Witkoff joined Trump last spring on a trip to Abu Dhabi, where they celebrated the deal with the Emiratis at Qasr Al Watan. Privately, Witkoff also told an acquaintance that Zhao deserved a pardon, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Zhao had filed the relevant paperwork and was waiting for the president’s verdict. The outcome would have enormous implications for Binance. After Zhao pleaded guilty, the exchange’s dormant U.S. operation lost state-level licenses. A pardon could help the company pitch itself to regulators. (A White House spokesperson said Witkoff does not play a role in the pardon process.) When he described the process to me, Zhao spoke carefully, calling it a “black box” overseen by a couple of lawyers who gave periodic updates from Washington. Once in a while, he said, he would be approached at social events by shady middlemen who said they could arrange a meeting with Trump — for the right price. “It’s a mini industry of people who want to make a buck,” Zhao said. Zhao ignored them. He told me that he started thinking seriously about a pardon in March 2025, after other crypto executives received clemency and the Journal reported that he, too, was seeking it. “I

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Forgotten Her es

The Russian Jewish Heroes of World War II By Avi Heiligman

Vulf (Wolf) Vilensky

he Allies of World War II were a diverse group of countries that banded together to fight a common enemy. Jewish soldiers and service members served in almost all of these armies and air forces, including those from the United States, Great Britain, and other European nations, Australia, and even Mexico and Brazil, who joined the fight to defeat the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The United States and the Soviet Union had a working but strained relationship during the war, which, after the fighting ended in 1945, turned into the Cold War between the two world powers. About half a million Jews served in the Red Army, with many receiving decorations and medals for bravery in action. Tanks became a major weapon of World War II as many armies fielded large armored divisions or other units dedicated to mechanized warfare. Ion Degen was a Ukrainian-born soldier who first served in the Red Army as a volunteer in an infantry division. After recovering from a battlefield wound, he returned to service and was assigned to an armored train battalion. There were two trains assigned to protect certain sectors, and Degen was appointed as the commander of the reconnaissance units. While on a mission behind enemy lines, he was wounded for a second time. After

British tanks operated by Soviet crewmen in 1942

another stint in the hospital, he was assigned to a tank unit and transferred to the Kharkov Tank School, where he graduated as a junior lieutenant. In the summer of 1944, Degen was deployed to the front lines as a commander of a T-34/85 tank in the 2nd Guards Separate Tank Brigade. It was during Operation Bagration – the massive Red Army offensive that tore through the Nazi army in Belarus, Poland, and the Baltic States – that Degen became a tank ace. He destroyed 12 tanks, including 8 Panthers, 1 Tiger and 4 self-propelled guns and took out several machine guns, mortars and other enemy targets. In January 1945, he was severely wounded again, and his fighting career was over. For his actions on the battlefield, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner along with several other decorations for bravery in battle. In 1977, Degen moved to Israel to practice medicine and write his memoirs and poems. Vulf (Wolf) Vilensky was another highly decorated Jewish soldier in the Red Army to eventually move to Israel. Born in Kovno, Lithuania, in 1919, Vilensky joined a Zionist movement before being called up for active duty in 1940. He was in officer’s school when the Germans invaded Russia on June 22, 1941 in Operation Barbarossa. Together with the other students at the military school,

Ion Degen

Vilensky was sent to the front lines to fight defensive battles in Belorussia. At a bridge near Molodechno, he held off the Germans for seven hours with his machine gun. The Russians suffered heavy casualties during the surprise invasion, and men like Vilensky were needed to be fully trained so they were sent back to the rear to complete their training. The Soviets decided to form ethnic divisions, and Vilensky became a company commander in the 16th Lithuanian Division, which had many Jewish soldiers in its ranks. In 1943, he married Sonia, who served as a medical orderly in the same division, and she was present at several battles evacuating wounded soldiers to the rear. In October 1944, Vulf’s unit was at Klaipeda, Lithuania, where they were fighting against a regiment from the Hermann Göring Division. While commanding his company, Vilensky also manned a machine gun and was determined to get back at the Nazis for murdering his family. The enemy attacked eight times, and Vilensky killed over a hundred German soldiers and forced the enemy to pull back. For this action, Vilensky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The division went on to liberate Lithuania from the Nazis, and Vilensky helped many of the Jewish soldiers search for Holocaust survivors. In 1948, he met Is-

rael’s first ambassador to the USSR and future prime minister, Golda Meir. He retired from the army in 1965 but was initially not allowed to leave the USSR due to him being labeled as a refusenik by Soviet authorities. He finally moved to Israel in 1983 and was reunited with his son and daughter, who had made aliyah eight years earlier. Vilensky was later given the honorary rank of colonel in the Israel Defense Forces. There were other former Red Army soldiers, estimated in the thousands, who defied Soviet restrictions and eventually immigrated to Israel. Among them was Yerachmiel Milya Felzenshtein, a decorated combat veteran who famously had to renounce his Hero of the Soviet Union medal just to be granted permission to leave the USSR. These Forgotten Heroes were vital in the defeat of the Nazis, and after surviving the horrors of the Eastern Front, many went on to help build and defend the young State of Israel. Their heroism and courage is a vital chapter of history that deserves to be remembered.

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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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

WOODMERE

2 family luxury townhouses on the beach, private Newly renovated Colonial in the heart of Old balconies, access to private beach and dock. Woodmere, featuring 8 bedrooms and 5.5 baths. Ayelet (516)993-9561 Avigail (516)316-3452 STARTING AT $1.15M $2.899M

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

FAR ROCKAWAY

LAWRENCE

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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

OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

FR- SALTMEADOW TOWNHOMES

CEDARHURST

NORTH WOODMERE

Move-in-ready legal two-family home, Featuring 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths Miri (646)515-8813 Price Reduced $1.649M

Side-hall colonial offers 5 bedrooms and 3 full baths with a flexible layout. Bryna (516)322-4831 $1.55M

Beautifully renovated 5 bedroom, 3 full bath splanch in an unbeatable location. Miri (646)515-8813 $1.525M

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

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

This delightful 5bdr 3.5bth center hall colonial is filled with warmth, character, and charm. Ayelet (516)993-9561 $1.849M or $7,500/M

Beautifully maintained 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home, located in the heart of Far Rockaway. Malka (516)967-1967, Ayelet (516)993-9561 $1.849M

Contemporary home Featuring 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in desirable Cedar Bay Park. Lydia (516) 286-1629 $6,500/M

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

Newly constructed Commercial Building. 4/5 offices per suite includes a breakroom, private bathroom and parking. Raizie (917) 903-1778

charming three-bedroom, two-bathroom home nestled in the heart of Cedarhurst. Bryna (516)322-4831 $719K

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

HALLANDALE BEACH

MIAMI-MiMo District

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

4 bedrooms, 2 baths, Moshe (443) 630-2006 $985K

Open House 647 Jarvis Ave. Sunday Oct 11th 11:30am-1:00pm

We put the “Pro” in

Property!

ATLANTIC BEACH

FAR ROCKAWAY

CEDARHURST

Don Miller

Tamar Miller

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

WOODSBURGH

CEDARHURST

WOODMERE

CEDARHURST

DEERFIELD BEACH

additional units available for Sale and Lease

2 bedrooms, 2 baths, Chaim (516) 262-2144 $279K

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

Life C ach

Over But Not Over Yet By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

oof! We made it. The marathon is over. And we are here to talk about it. Holiday into holiday. Meal into meal…. And some serious soul searching. And we, who are reading this article, are here to talk about it. Chest pounding behind us. Maybe a little bruised from the enthusiasm. But, most importantly, present and accounted for. So what’s the plan? Sit back and wait for Chanukah?! Along with the challenge of figuring out whose Chanukah party to attend. On top of which resides the dilemma of which set of in-laws gets Shabbos Chanukah? Oy! Or stop waiting and make those changes! We have some time now. Remember Yom Kippur’s clop, clop, clop. Some of it we didn’t understand, and some others we didn’t actually think was necessarily our personal sin. But all of

us can use some upgrading and ironing out. And this is the time and opportunity to do it. Whether it’s to be more patient with people, even yourself. Whether it’s to

days really all about? A few thousand extra calories? We definitely were not interested in that! Or trying out some new recipes? As if we need an excuse!

Let’s all commit, together, to taking a giant baby step.

be more positive and optimistic, even though there are things that are truly challenging in all our lives. Whether it’s to listen and think before responding or give more time to others. Even working on growing in our learning can be a goal. There is so much to which we can devote some time and effort. Otherwise, what were all those holi-

Or listening to a new chazan who is a nice guy but hard to tolerate their tunes and pace? Or a long-needed trip to Israel? Or sitting in a sukkah that was either too hot or too cold or leaking schach into our soup? Is this what we are left with? Or perhaps we are left with some real

understanding that we should work to improve. Still, be realistic, by doing it not in giant steps, but start with a baby step – however, a conscious one. Don’t let all that clopping and eating and freezing and praying go to waste. Let’s all commit, together, to taking a giant baby step. Whatever yours is, keep at it. It’s not just about the holidays being over. It’s about our working on our own makeover! Because, overall, as great as we may be, there’s always room for improvement! Trust me – you’ll always find someone who thinks you can use 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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OCTOBER 8, 2026 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 8, 2026

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