Five Towns Jewish Home 10.30.25

Dear Readers,

When you go to vote, you feel as if you’re part of a clandestine operation. They hand you your ballot and you’re sent to a privacy booth, where you color in some circles and then slide your paper into a machine that swallows it into its belly. In the “olden days,” I remember stepping into a space near an old machine and pulling the lever to close the curtains around me, which only opened after I flipped the levers for each of my votes and then “locked” in my vote with a final pull of the large lever. It was a process that seemed more official than what we have today.

But regardless of how the voting takes place, it’s our private, quiet way to effect change in our world.

No one knows how anyone votes when they get to that private place. And that is why there are some surprising results when election day is over.

This year’s mayoral race in New York City is being covered by media outlets throughout the country. Many of those outlets are predicting that Zohran Mamdani will become the next mayor of New York. Being that the vote is split three ways, Mamdani, a vocal socialist and anti-Israel candidate who is vying to lead the most important city in the world, has a strong chance of winning.

But don’t believe everything that the pundits want you to hear. Mamdani is not

a shoo-in.

A three-way split is a frightening and real concern for those New Yorkers who don’t want to see their city go down the drain. But that does not mean that they shouldn’t fight for their hometown.

A fighting force can swing this election. But this force will only be victorious if each person on the team goes out and votes.

People have all sorts of excuses for not voting – they work during the day, they have to make supper, they don’t have time, they’re scared of jury duty (huh?). But when it gets down to it, people don’t vote because they’re either lazy or they don’t believe their vote really counts. Why get off the couch if it’s not going to make a difference either way?

In this election – as with every election, but this one will come down to the wire –your journey from your couch to the polls can change the trajectory of New York City over the next few years. Your vote does matter. And so does your neighbor’s, your wife’s, and your 18-year-old kid’s.

It takes only a few minutes to vote, and they make it so easy, with early voting centers open this whole week.

Don’t be lazy. Get off the couch. Make a difference. Be part of your city’s future. Vote.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Dear Editor,

Many have spoken about the recent loss of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l. Some quotes about him illustrate his uniqueness. Rav Tzvi Berkowitz said he was in touch with his talents and reached his potential. Rav Tzvi Weinreb said his ahavas Yisrael was not matched in today’s times. This echoes a sentiment Rav Hauer himself said, that the question can no longer be Kayin’s question – “am I my brother’s keeper?” – but “I am my brother’s keeper.”

Besides reaching his potential and surpassing everyone’s ahavas Yisrael, he conducted himself as one who was dust of the earth, like his namesake Moshe and forefather Avraham. He brought all his goals to fruition and enabled others to as well. He was close to perfection. At the OU, he transformed people’s lives with his infectious smile. Because of him, I now try to congratulate people on their successes and bring some kind of joy to other people’s lives.

Can one be surprised that he was taken on Shemini Atzeret, a day where Hashem wants to draw close to us? Hashem wanted him in the heavens, close by, to advocate for His children.

Steven Genack

Dear Editor,

Mr. Scianablo, the Democrat candidate for Supervisor of The Town of Hempstead, is appearing on all kinds of flyers with Governor Hochul and the mayoral candidate for New York City, Zohran Mamdani. As you probably know, Mamdani is a Shia Muslim and is promoting socialistic-communistic programs. If he should become mayor, big companies/corporations will leave New York City and move to states like Florida and Texas. He will become the tombstone for New York City. Whoever supports his programs cannot become the Supervisor

of The Town of Hempstead.

The Republican candidate, Mr. Ferretti, is the right person for the job. He will work together with the Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman as a team. Under their leadership, Nassau will remain the County it is known for. To all the people in The Town of Hempstead, this is a wake-up call!

Heinz Mayer

Dear Editor,

It hurts the heart to see daily more bad news about the Israeli Attorney General continuing her tirade against yeshivos and rabbanim. I single the Attorney General out because it is not actually the prime minister or the Knesset behind these actions, but the rogue Supreme Court that works against the government to undermine it and cause its collapse. One of the best ways to do that is to get the country into civil war and cause the religious parties to leave the government. These wicked judges know they hold all the cards and unfortunately the world of Torah is being used as pawns in this mess. Every day there’s a new boy arrested, every day a new decree announced like canceling their National Insurance or ending daycare subsidies, and every day more gedolim are in pain. How the land of the Jewish people is seemingly becoming one of the prime antagonizers of our religion and those who hold it dear is enough reason to cry and fast. And that’s exactly what many of the rabbis have been calling for. To see the top elderly scholars constantly getting on planes going to different countries to personally fundraise for their institutions because they are being starved is a huge shame for the world! And especially a world that has Jewish communities with the means to help fully.

Continued on page 16

Continued from page 14

It is said that a heavenly voice calls out daily, “Woe to the people for the embarrassment of the torah.” Those words have never rang truer than now. I’m sure this has been discussed by many greater than me, but it is only my hypothesis that this is some sort of judgment process to prove who is with Hashem and who isn’t. The Torah is going through major yissurim but the light is at the end of this tunnel. They are looking closely above at who chooses to support these rabbanim in their time of great need and who scoffs at them with their corrupted hashkafos.

I will reiterate that I have nothing but hakaras hatov to soldiers and believe they deserve support. But I also do take great sadness in watching people who will donate anything in the world including pizza pies and falafels to units of the IDF, while never giving one penny to a needy kollel or yeshiva. These priorities must change immediately. We must all be running to give whatever we can to holy sources because the learners are the ones actually suffering and being choked, and they are our life blood and continuation. Look for where you can help! $10 a month for a poor person can be considered greater than ten thousand a month from a millionaire! In the end, one way or another, we know the lomdim are coming out on top, but we must support them in their hard time so that we come out on top with them.

Benyamin Rivlin

Dear Editor,

This letter to the editor will come out in your newspaper less than a week before Election Day, November 4.

If anyone can possibly beat Mamdani, it would be former governor Andrew Cuomo. This is according to all the pundits. Also, Nachman Caller, a chassidishe lawyer from Boro Park who will be running as a Republican for State Senate next year, had taken out last month a full page ad in a Jewish newspaper. One of the things Mr. Caller said in the ad: “We must daven to Hashem and ACT to stop Mamdani from becoming mayor in NYC. We can do this by coming out in the masses and voting for the only candidate that can beat Mamdani. Andrew Cuomo. He is our friend & will act in our behalf.”

Mostly frum organizations that endorsed Cuomo includes the Crown Heights United PAC (as well as Crown Heights leaders), the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, the Jewish Press. On the contrary, I haven’t heard of one frum organization or leader who have endorsed Curtis Sliwa. According to all the pundits, they have said that Sliwa has a

zero chance in winning this election. According to numerous recent polls, Sliwa’s numbers have remained so low – the last poll I have hears about, last week, showed he only has a 15% chance of winning. He is behind the frontrunner Mamdani by over 30 points. There has never been a race in which someone with such low polling numbers has ever won a race so close to the election. So voting for Curtis Sliwa would be a wasted vote when it can go instead to Cuomo, who has at least a slight chance in winning. In other words, if one votes for Sliwa, instead of Cuomo, it can help Mamdani win as Cuomo needs every vote he can get to possibly beat Mamdani. I have seen destructive ads by Curtis Sliwa saying a vote for Cuomo is a vote for Mamdani. Totally false! Totally the opposite! Ignore those ads! People will say anything just to get elected!

Trump’s choice for mayor is Andrew Cuomo. No, he did not come out directly to endorse Cuomo – but hearing Trump’s interviews, he has strongly hinted he wanted Cuomo over Sliwa. In at least two Trump interviews, he had said that Cuomo had the best chance of winning the election. And I also heard Trump bashing Sliwa in two interviews in the past. He clearly does not want Curtis Sliwa for mayor. Trump has said in one of his interviews, Sliwa is “not exactly prime time,” in other words, not equipped to being mayor. Not just because Sliwa has no government experience. He doesn’t like Sliwa at all as he strongly hinted. And in an interview Curtis Sliwa gave to a frum newspaper Sliwa himself said that he and Trump in the past, at times, “have been at each other’s throats.” Enough said about that.

Please don’t wait until election day to vote, as things can always come up on voting day making one enable to go out to vote. One can have a family matter. People can fall ill. We can have a storm. Chas v’shalom, Hurricane Sandy happened in October. In the primary, last June, we had a heat wave and a lot of people didn’t end up voting on that day. Mainly the young voters who were energized to vote for Mamdani and felt less affected by the heat came to vote than older voters, many of whom stayed home.

You can help turn the tide! Every single vote is needed. So if you can vote, vote early to ensure that your vote is counted. And vote for Andrew Cuomo – who can possibly defeat Mamdani. And please make sure other family members will go out to vote as well. You will have a great mitzvah! Zeit gebencht!

Sincerely,

C. Lipschutz Brooklyn, NY

Cameroon Pres. Wins Again

President Paul Biya of Cameroon is 92 years old and just won another eighth term.

He is the world’s oldest head of state, winning 53.7% of the vote, compared to the 35.2% of opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Constitutional Council declared.

Before the announcement, Tchiroma Bakary – a former Biya ally – insisted he

had won the election, but the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) dismissed his claim.

The election was marred by deadly violence. Since election day, hundreds of Tchiroma Bakary’s supporters have clashed with security forces.

On Sunday, at least four people were killed during protests in Cameroon’s economic capital of Douala. On Monday, a few people were killed near Tchiroma Bakary’s residence in the city of Garoua.

Protesters were denouncing what they said was a plan by the ruling CPDM, to “steal the victory” from Tchiroma Bakary.

The situation is so tense in the capital, Yaoundé, that almost all shops and schools have remained closed, while most civil servants and office workers stayed home.

In total, 10 candidates were in the running for the presidential office, including former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari.

President Biya, who came to power in 1982, has yet to publicly address Cameroonians after his re-election on Monday, but the governing party has hailed his victory “under the sign of greatness and hope” in online posts.

Biya is rarely seen in public and is known for spending time outside Afri-

ca in Swiss hotels. These long absences coupled with his advanced age has, in the past, led to rumors he was dead

While his leadership has been praised for the expansion of schools and public universities, his tenure leading the Central African nation has also faced criticisms.

A violent separatist insurgency in the English-speaking west has been running for almost a decade, unemployment stands at 40% for the under-35s, roads and hospitals are crumbling, and freedom of speech has been limited. Analysts have warned in recent days that Cameroon, a once peaceful country, could descend into political turmoil if the election results did not reflect the will of the people.

UK-Turkey Jet Deal

This week, Britain announced that it signed an agreement to sell Eurofighter jets to Turkey, a member of NATO, in a 10-year deal worth almost $11 million.

“This is a really significant deal, because it’s £8 billion ($10.7 billion) worth of orders… These are jobs that will last for 10 years, making the (Eurofighter) Typhoons, so really big for our country,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

According to Britain’s defense ministry, the order would involve 20 Eurofighters, as the “biggest fighter jet deal in a generation,” saying it would strengthen Turkey’s combat capabilities and bolster “NATO’s strength in a key region.”

“This is the southeast flank of NATO, and so having that capability locked in with the United Kingdom is really important for NATO,” Starmer said in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, hailed the agreement as a new symbol of defense cooperation with Britain.

“We regard this…as a new symbol of the strategic relations between our two close allies,” he said after the pair signed the agreement.

Last week, Erdogan held talks in Doha with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with Turkey floating plans

to acquire some of its Eurofighters.

Qatar ordered 24 Eurofighters in 2017, with the last two due to be delivered this year. It moved to acquire 12 more late last year. Any such move would likely be part of the deal with London, which would have to grant its approval for a transfer.

The Qatari leader will be in Ankara on Tuesday for talks to clarify certain outstanding issues, a Turkish official said.

The jets Britain was to sign over to Turkey on Monday were likely to be those that had been destined for Qatar.

The Starmer visit was partly clouded by a spying scandal that erupted late on Sunday, after a Turkish court charged Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor with espionage over his links to a Turkish businessman allegedly spying for Britain.

Turkey has been looking to modernize its air force and has been pushing to acquire 40 of the European-made fighter aircraft, which are jointly produced by Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

The United States booted Turkey from its F-35 fighter program in 2019, over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system. Erdogan raised the issue of the sale of F-35 fighter jets during a meeting last month with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

Last year, Ankara secured a $7-billion deal with Washington for 40 F-16s that have faced delays.

Turkish officials have said Turkey wants to acquire a total of 120 fighter jets — 40 Eurofighters, 40 US-made F-16s, and 40 F-35s — as a transitional fleet ahead of its own KAAN planes’ entry into service.

Anti-Israel Candidate Elected as Irish Pres.

The people of Ireland elected Catherine Connolly, a far-left independent legislator, as president on Saturday. Connolly won by a landslide, ultimately securing 63% of first-preference votes, while her opponent, Heather Humphreys, won 29%.

The Irish president, whose role is

mostly ceremonial, has few notable powers beyond representing Ireland globally and greeting other world leaders.

Connolly, a 68-year-old who entered politics around 25 years ago, was supported by several left-wing parties.

Connolly has come under fire for her anti-Israel and pro-Hamas views. In September, she declared that Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls Gaza and launched the October 7 massacre, was “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people.” Later, she backpedaled, claiming that she “utterly condemned” and thought the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks were “absolutely unacceptable.”

Still, Connolly has consistently blasted Israel for its response to the October 7 massacre. The president-elect has repeatedly charged the Jewish state with “genocide” for its ongoing war in Gaza. Moreover, she has branded Israel a “terrorist state.” In a video published in June to her Facebook campaign page, she said that the Dáil, the Irish legislature’s lower house in which she served, is “in serious trouble” if it “can’t recognize that Israel is a terrorist state.” She has also condemned Israel’s efforts to deter Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Connolly is also deeply critical of Western culture, the United States, and the European Union. She is far more radical than many left-wing politicians and parties in Ireland, including Michael Higgins, the outgoing president.

Though she started out as an underdog with little name recognition, she rose in the polls thanks to younger voters.

Connolly, a former clinical psychologist and barrister, will be Ireland’s third female president and tenth president in total.

“I will be a president who listens, who reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary. Together we can shape a new republic that values everybody,” said Connolly in a speech at Dublin Castle.

U.S. Sanctions

States also sanctioned his wife and son, as well as Colombia’s interior minister, Armando Alberto Benedetti.

In a statement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”

“President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation,” Bessent added.

In response, Petro defended himself and announced that he had appointed a lawyer to represent him in the U.S.

“Against the calumnies that high-ranking officials have hurled at me on U.S. soil, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the U.S. courts,” Petro said.

“Combating drug trafficking effectively for decades brings me this measure from the government of the society we helped so much to stop its use of cocaine,” Petro added on social media. “Quite a paradox, but not one step back and never on our knees.”

For the first time in 30 years, Colombia, a longtime U.S. South American ally, was added last month to the U.S.’s list of nations that have failed to cooperate in the war against drugs. Following that move, U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott announced that the department would be “slashing assistance for Colombia,” the country that receives the highest amount of U.S. aid in the region. An anonymous U.S. official estimated that U.S. aid would be cut by at least 20%, or around $18 million, though an exact number has yet to be confirmed.

Trump recently said he would cancel all payments to Colombia and has threatened to levy tariffs on Colombian exports.

“He’s a guy that is making a lot of drugs,” Trump told the press on Wednesday in the Oval Office, in reference to Petro, whom the U.S. president has called an “illegal drug leader.”

“He better watch it, or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country,” Trump added.

Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing leader, has instituted relatively lax drug policies, encouraging rather than forcing growers of coca leaf, which is used to make cocaine, to switch to other crops. However, Petro has praised his government for confiscating record amounts of cocaine. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in the last decade, the amount of land used for growing coca has nearly tripled to a whopping 625,000 acres, which is around triple the size of New York City. Petro has disputed those reports.

Venezuela’s government, which has also been fighting with the Trump administration, condemned the sanctions as “illegal, illegitimate … neocolonial actions that violate international law and the Charter of the United Nations” and are meant to “promote the internal destabilization in Colombia.”

Petro has condemned recent U.S. strikes on boats with Venezuelan drug traffickers and originally said his country would not accept deported migrants from the United States. After Petro urged U.S. troops to disregard Trump’s orders, the State Department said it would revoke the Colombian leader’s visa when he comes to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Arrests in Louvre Heist

Two people were arrested last week in connection to the theft of precious crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris, France, a few days prior.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said one of the men had been taken into custody as he was preparing to board a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Around $102 million worth of jewels were pilfered last Sunday when at least four thieves using power tools broke into the museum just half an hour after the museum opened.

France’s justice minister has conceded that security protocols “failed,” leaving the country with a “terrible image.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the arrests had been made on Saturday evening, without specifying how many people had been taken into custody.

One of the suspects was preparing to travel to Algeria; the other was going to Mali.

According to reports in French media on Sunday, DNA found at the scene of the robbery led to the identification of one of the suspects.

The gang left behind a number of items, including gloves and a high-vis

jacket. They also dropped a crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, in their haste to escape.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France following the heist. They will now be stored in the Bank’s most secure vault, 85 feet below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris.

Thai Queen Mother Dies at 93

Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit died on Friday at the age of 93.

Her husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October 2016. She had suffered a stroke in 2012 and wasn’t involved in public life since then due to declining health.

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn said that the Queen Mother will be given a funeral with the highest honors. He instructed members of the royal family and royal servants to observe mourning for one year.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Saturday that Sirikit’s passing was “a great loss for the country.” He said the national flag will fly half-staff at all government agencies for 30 days, and civil servants will observe mourning for one year.

Although overshadowed by her late husband and her son, the current king, Sirikit was beloved and influential in her own right. Her portrait was displayed in homes, offices and public spaces across Thailand, and her August 12 birthday was celebrated as Mother’s Day. Her activities ranged from helping Cambodian refugees to saving some of the country’s once-lush forests from destruction.

Sirikit Kitiyakara was born into a rich, aristocratic family in Bangkok in 1932, the year absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional system. Both of her parents were related to earlier kings of the current Chakri dynasty.

She attended schools in wartime Bangkok, the target of Allied air raids, and after World War II moved with her diplomat father to France where he served as ambassador.

At 16, she met Thailand’s newly

crowned king in Paris, where she was studying music and languages. The pair married in 1950, and at a coronation ceremony later the same year both vowed to “reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese (Thai) people.”

The couple had four children: current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and princesses Ubolratana, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn.

Queen Sirikit believed the monarchy was a vital institution in Thailand.

“There are some in the universities who think the monarchy is obsolete. But I think Thailand needs an understanding monarch,” she said in the 1979 interview. “At the call, ‘The king is coming,’ thousands will gather. The mere word king has something magic in it. It is wonderful.”

Milei Wins Midterms

Argentinian President Javier Milei’s party secured big wins in the country’s midterm elections on Sunday, with La Libertad Avanza winning almost 41% of the vote along with 13 out of 24 Senate seats and 64 out of 127 contested lower-house seats.

His victory in the elections will help him advance his free market and cost reduction agenda. Milei’s efforts were previously limited since his party had, before these elections, only seven Senate seats and 37 lower house seats. As such, his policies were consistently overturned by the opposition. But now that his party has won many more seats, Milei should have an easier time advancing his agenda.

A day before the election, U.S. President Donald Trump offered Argentina a $40 billion economic lifeline to avert a potential economic crisis. However, Trump said the offer would be rescinded if Milei loses.

Voter turnout was at 67.9%, which is the lowest it’s been in decades.

Among his cost-cutting measures, Milei has targeted budgets for education, pensions, health, infrastructure, and subsidies. He has also fired tens of thousands of public sector workers.

Iranian Women Going Hijab-Free

In recent months, Iran seems to have eased up on enforcing its draconian modesty rules, according to reports. Though Iranian law still mandates that all women wear a hijab, authorities have, as of late, been more lax, allowing women to go unpunished for walking around unveiled.

Just over three years ago, a young Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini died in police custody after authorities detained her for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. That incident inspired mass protests and subsequent government crackdowns.

According to Iranian officials, the rules are now going mostly unenforced because the government fears that further crackdowns would trigger more protests, which would be particularly troublesome for Iran now, considering its struggling economy and water crisis, as well as the international sanctions it faces.

A law passed by the Iranian parliament in late 2024 mandated stricter punishments for those who violate hijab laws. However, that law has yet to be enforced. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, noted in May 2025 that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council blocked parliament from enforcing the law, since the issue was apparently one of national security. According to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the law’s enforcement could trigger a “war in society.”

While unveiled women have largely avoided serious punishment in recent months, the government has, since June, temporarily shuttered at least 50 businesses for allowing women without hijabs to gather. A number of cafes were closed down in September for permitting unveiled women to assemble. However, the businesses reportedly reopened about a week later.

Earlier in October, Ruhollah MomenNasab, the head of the Tehran branch of government body Headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, said a “Chastity and Hijab” unit would be formed and that his agency would train over 80,000 people to work in accordance with the unit’s goals. It is unclear what the workers or the unit would do

exactly. However, funds have yet to be allocated to the hijab unit, according to Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokeswoman for Pezeshkian’s administration.

Malaysia and U.S. Trade Deal

President Donald Trump arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday, sealing a trade deal with the Southeast Asian country.

Trump was met by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the airport. In the car driving from the airport, Ibrahim lobbied for peace in Gaza.

“I am delighted, truly President, to hear from you personally, how determined you are to ensure that peace is achieved in the most intractable areas — almost impossible, but you did it,” Anwar said.

Anwar now has a trade deal with the U.S. that other nations have spent months negotiating for in Washington. Malaysia and the U.S. upgraded ties to the highest rung possible, and the two sides pledged to deepen maritime security cooperation at a time when the U.S. and China are competing for influence across the region.

“I told the leader of Malaysia, who’s a very good man, I said, I think I owe you a trip,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One before arriving in Malaysia.

Trump was present at the gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the weekend. His presence led to a slew of agreements on tariffs and critical minerals and the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, which Trump set as a condition for attending the regional summit.

Opposition leaders in Malaysia were critical of Trump’s visit, with the secretary-general of the Islamic party, which holds the most seats in parliament, saying the grand welcome for Trump was excessive and “akin to pouring salt on the still-bleeding wounds of Gazans.”

For years, Malaysia was seen as one of the more stable and less corrupt countries in Southeast Asia, until the eruption of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. The fallout led to the defeat of then-prime minister, who was later

28 jailed, and the fall of a coalition that had ruled since independence.

After that event, there was a succession of short-lived administrations. In 2022, Anwar, who first rose to prominence as a pro-market finance minister back in the 1990s before being jailed under what he says were concocted charges, completed a dramatic comeback by becoming premier.

Anwar on Sunday quipped during the signing of the Thailand-Cambodia peace accord that he and Trump “shared a lot in common,” including the fact that the Malaysian leader had been to prison, and the other “almost got there.”

among people who have not forgotten. We will carry on in your name, in your memory, in your path, and we promise to remember, to tell, and to love — just as you loved.”

Yossi’s widow, Nira, mourned her husband, “In what world should daughters have to bury their father so early? In what world should a mother have to bury her son? In what world should a woman have to bury the love of her life when there was still so much left to do?”

She added, “I ask myself: how does one fill this void? How do I gather myself again?”

She added, “I look at our daughters, and I see you in them. In each one of them, you appear in a different way, and together they complete you — the one I miss so deeply.”

Yossi Sharabi, HY”D

On Monday, thousands of people gathered in Kibbutz Be’eri to bury murdered hostage Yossi Sharabi, whose body was finally brought home earlier this month.

Yossi, who was taken hostage to Gaza along with his daughter’s boyfriend, Ofir Engel, and a neighbor, Amit Shani — both of whom were freed in a November 2023 ceasefire deal — died as the result of an Israeli airstrike in January 2024.

Yossi’s brother Eli Sharabi was kidnapped separately and was released in February 2025 after 491 days in captivity. Eli’s wife and two daughters were murdered in the October 7 massacre, as was Yossi’s nephew on his wife’s side, Idan Herman.

“Today, after more than two years of waiting, of anxiety, of uncertainty — we finally have the privilege of burying you here, at home, in the soil of Be’eri. This is not the ending we had hoped for, but it is the beginning of a belated justice,” Eli said.

Eli said that his brother as “an anchor, a man with a huge heart, with quiet devotion, a family man. A father of three daughters who was always there — with a kind word, with a smile, with a generous heart.”

He said, “Yossi, my dear brother, our hearts are broken, but our heads are held high. Because you were granted the honor of being buried here, in the land you loved, in the heart of your community,

President Isaac Herzog said, “As president of Israel, in the name of the State of Israel and the entire nation, I ask of you, Yossi, of the Sharabi family, and of all Kibbutz Be’eri, forgiveness.

“Forgive us, Yossi, for failing to save you, and for not returning you earlier. Forgive us for not managing to protect you on that cursed day. Forgive us for not standing here beside you, in the face of those human monsters. Forgive us for taking so long to return Yossi to his homeland.”

Yossi Sharabi’s body was returned to Israel on October 15, as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Hamas is still holding 13 bodies of those who were kidnapped on October 7.

Ofir Tzarfati, HY”D

On Monday night, Israel received a casket of remains from Hamas. After testing, it was determined that the casket contained the partial remains of Ofir Tzarfati, a hostage whose body was recovered by the Israeli military in early December 2023, Israeli officials said.

The return of Ofir’s remains means that Hamas did not return the body of one of the 13 deceased hostages still held in Gaza. Israel has said Hamas has access to many of the remaining bodies and is dragging its feet in returning them, which it is required to do under the terms of the U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement.

Voices from across the political spec-

trum have called on Israel to halt or pause its own commitments under the agreement in response, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss possible Israeli reactions.

Ofir was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the October 7 massacre. He was celebrating his 27th birthday. Ofir was declared dead the following month. His body was recovered by the IDF in the Gaza Strip on December 1 and brought back to Israel for burial.

The transfer of the remains on Monday night had already sparked controversy, with military sources saying Hamas staged its “discovery” in eastern Gaza City by digging a hole in the area, extracting the remains from a nearby building, placing them in the hole, and then pretending to “uncover” them for the first time in front of the Red Cross.

The entire incident was filmed by a military drone. The footage leaked to the media later on Tuesday.

The video showed Hamas operatives bringing a body bag from a building to a hole that was dug in the ground before covering it in dirt. The operatives were then seen digging up the body bag using an excavator before dumping it nearby.

Red Cross representatives were seen arriving as the excavator dumped more dirt on the body bag. The Hamas operatives then uncovered the body bag in front of them, with one seen taking pictures with his phone.

Ofir’s family said that they had viewed the video, lamenting “a wound that constantly reopens.”

“Once again, deception has been inflicted upon our family as we try to heal,” Ofir’s family said in a statement. “This morning, we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross — an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home.”

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that “this is a clear violation of the agreement” by Hamas, as it is obligated to return the bodies of the 13 deceased captives still held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “Hamas’s repeated violations and the IDF’s documentation prove what we have known and stated clearly and unequivocally: Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonoring our loved ones. The Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations.”

Ruby Chen, the father of slain Amer-

ican-Israeli hostage soldier Itay Chen whose body has yet to be returned from Gaza, told the Ynet news outlet on Tuesday, “This agreement isn’t good, that’s the lesson. Hamas has no incentive to transfer all the slain hostages to Israel.”

He added, “What is the government of Israel doing right now? They should dedicate their energy and their thought to what we’ll do to change the equation. We shouldn’t lose this window of opportunity.”

“The fact that Hamas continues to play games and does not immediately transfer all the bodies of our fallen is in itself evidence that the terror organization is still standing,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X. “Now we don’t need to ‘exact a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to exact from it its very existence, and destroy it completely, once and for all — in accordance with the central goal defined for the War of Revival.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, on X, suggested that, as a penalty for the ceasefire violations, Israel rearrest “all of the terrorists released to [the West Bank] as part of the hostage deal.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is considered the most credible rival to Netanyahu in elections due next year, also called for the destruction of Hamas.

“Hamas is a cancer. Hamas must be destroyed,” he said in a statement.

Largest World Zionist Congress

This week, from October 28-30, more than 2,500 participants from 42 countries will gather in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center for the 39th World Zionist Congress. The confab is set to be the largest on record.

A side event of the Congress will see the appointment of officials who will help decide how to spend more than $1 billion in annual funding directed through the World Zionist Organization, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish National FundKKL and Keren Hayesod.

Several hundred of the attendees from Israel, the United States and around the world will vote on a variety of issues of importance to Jewish communities. Others attending the conference will have

more limited voting rights or be there as alternates or observers.

The elections for the congress earlier this year was record-setting, with more than 224,000 American Jews voting out of the 265,000 ballots cast worldwide.

Elections take place every five years. The votes from the U.S. represented an 80% increase from 2020.

There are 543 delegates with full voting rights who will be at the congress this year: 203 from Israel, 155 from the Unit-

ed States, 21 from France, 19 each from the UK and Canada, and 126 from dozens of other Jewish communities from around the globe.

In the U.S., the Reform movement received 33 delegates. Orthodox, right-wing parties were the big winners in the U.S. election, with new party Am Yisrael Chai winning 21 seats, Eretz HaKodesh securing 19, and the Orthodox Israel Coalition-Mizrachi winning 18. The Conservative movement’s Mercaz USA garnered 19

ceremonial functions. President Isaac Herzog is set to address the congress. The second day will consist primarily of committee discussions about more than two dozen proposed resolutions and 18 proposed amendments to the World Zionist Organization Constitution.

Ten committees will discuss resolutions on topics ranging from social justice to national policies to fighting antisemitism to Jewish education to rebuilding Israel after its two-year war with Gaza.

Resolutions are not binding upon Israel’s government, but representatives acknowledge that their decisions are significant declarations of the democratic will of the Jewish people and have an influence on members of Knesset.

The third day will feature voting and the conclusion of the congress. Immediately afterward will be the first meeting of the Zionist General Council, or ZGC, the supreme institution of the Zionist movement responsible for implementing decisions reached at the World Zionist Congress.

At the ZGC meeting, council members will select the leadership of the World Zionist Organization, Jewish National Fund-KKL, and Keren Hayesod, massive, wealthy institutions with billions of dollars at their disposal to allocate toward different Israeli and Jewish causes worldwide. Currently, all three of those are headed by figures from the Likud party, but shakeups are expected.

Iran Demands Ship’s Ransom

Iran seized a cargo ship last year and is now demanding a $170 million fine from the Israeli owner of the ship.

to round out the top five of the 22 parties.

The World Zionist Congress was founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897.

This year’s convention will be the first regular in-person congress in a decade, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 edition to be held remotely. Delegates eventually got together in person for an extraordinary session of the 38th Congress in 2023.

Day one of the three-day conference will consist primarily of plenary talks and

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military force that supports terror groups in the Middle East and answers directly to Iran’s supreme leader, intercepted the MSC Aries in April 2024 and detained its 25 international crew members.

At the time, the official IRNA news agency said that the Portuguese-flagged vessel was “managed by Zodiac, which belongs to the Zionist capitalist Eyal Ofer.” Ofer, 75, was ranked by Forbes earlier

this year as the wealthiest Israeli, with a fortune of $28.2 billion.

On Tuesday, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said charges had been filed and the case was before the courts, though no date had been set for a trial.

“A fine of $170 million has been demanded against its owner, of Israeli origin, accused of financing terrorism,” Jahangir said.

The MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz when it was seized. The ship had turned off its tracking data, a common practice for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the vessel as being “seized by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah. In footage of the incident, commandos rappelled down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.

Jahangir said the seized ship, excluding its cargo, was valued at $170 million and claimed that Ofer was an “influential figure” within the Israeli government.

Ships tied to the business magnate have been attacked by Iran in the past: In February 2023, an oil tanker at least partially owned by Ofer was targeted by an Iranian suicide drone, and in August 2021, a different oil tanker operated by his company was hit by Iran, killing two crewmen.

The United States denounced the 2024 seizure of the ship as an act of piracy and called for its crew to be released.

Israel’s foreign minister at the time called on the European Union to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization in response, denouncing Iran as a “criminal regime that supports Hamas’s crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of

At least some of the ship’s crew were later freed.

Shas Withdraws From Coalition Roles

On Thursday morning, Shas, a charedi party in the Knesset, said it would quit its posts in the Knesset in protest over the government’s failure to vote on a law regarding military conscription for yeshiva students.

The party has, however, stopped short of withdrawing from the Knesset entirely or toppling the government. Instead, Shas is merely relinquishing its control of parliamentary committees: party MKs Yossi Taib and Yoni Meshriki will step down from their posts on the Education and Health committees, and Michael Malkieli will quit his role as chair of the Special Committee for Bridging Social Gaps in the Periphery.

“In accordance with the directive of the Council of Torah Scholars…according to which the government must bring to a vote the law to regulate the status of yeshiva students no later than the opening of the winter session of the Knesset — which unfortunately has not yet been implemented — Shas announces its withdrawal from its coalition roles in the Knesset,” the party stated.

Since the High Court ruled against military exemptions for yeshiva students around a year ago, charedi parties such as Shas have urged the government to pass a law to exempt charedi students from drafting. Currently, it is estimated that 80,000 charedi men between the ages of 18 and 24 are eligible to enlist but have not.

On Thursday, Shas vowed to “continue to lead the struggle against the political and cruel persecution campaign directed against students of the holy yeshivas, who study Torah day and night for the sake of all Israel and for the success of the soldiers.”

“When the status of yeshiva students is resolved, Shas will return to its positions in the government and the Knesset.” the party said. Until then, it will “operate in full coordination with the charedi factions and will continuously consult with the Council of Torah Sages regarding its position on votes in the Knesset plenum,” the party said, suggesting that it would continue boycotting coalition bills.

In July, Shas left the government after all its ministers resigned in protest over the yeshiva student enlistment issue, adding in a statement that the party’s Council of Torah Sages ordered Shas lawmakers to institute a law “as soon as possible and no later than the opening of the Knesset winter session, so that it will be possible to maintain the existence of the government and the coalition partnership.” However, the party remained in the Knesset. Prior to Shas’ exit, charedi party United Torah Judaism left the government and the coalition.

Shas was reportedly considering returning to the government. However, legislation on the matter has yet to be presented.

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth told Channel 14 last Tuesday evening that he expects a reworked version of the postponed bill to be presented next week to lawmakers, which will hopefully be voted on by the end of the year.

Last Monday, however, Bismuth said he would delay the bill’s scheduled discussion since his committee’s legal adviser needed more time to write a draft based on a document he’d submitted a week before. The document reportedly keeps the age of exemption at 26 and requires that, within five years, half of the yearly charedi draft cohort be enlisted. Yeshivas will only lose government funding if they fail to meet army enlistment quotas after a year, and punishments for draft evaders will only be implemented after two years. Those penalized will not

have their driver’s licenses revoked, according to the bill’s draft, but sanctioned individuals will be subject to restrictions if they attempt to obtain a license.

The Likud party last Wednesday evening ousted former chairman Yuli Edelstein from the committee in a move that many believe was meant to boost support for Bismuth’s bill and lay the groundwork for Shas’ return. That same day, lawmakers rejected a series of bills from the opposition that would have subjected yeshiva students who refuse to enlist to financial penalties.

Terrorists Living in Luxury

Following the recent ceasefire deal that saw Israel release around 2,000 criminals to secure the return of the remaining hostages, over 150 Palestinian terrorists freed during the exchange and deported to Egypt were recently spotted living in the lap of luxury at the Renaissance Cairo Mirage, a five-star Marriott hotel in Egypt’s capital.

The news was reported on Saturday by the Daily Mail. The terrorists were seen by reporters who had booked rooms “just a few doors down” from them, according to the reports. The terrorists were seen relaxing by the hotel’s pool, bar, and cafe, hanging out with relatives “who had flown to be with them” and “posing for selfies with adoring local fans,” the Daily Mail reported. Tourists and guests were unaware that they were sharing a hotel with murder convicts and terrorists.

Akram Abu Bakr, the former chief of Fatah Tanzim, reportedly got married on Saturday at the hotel. Mahmoud Issa, who has been in jail since 1993 for his involvement in kidnapping and murdering Nissim Toledano, a Border Police officer, was also seen at the hotel, as was Muhammad Zawahra, who murdered people in 2024 at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, and Samir Abu Nima, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people in a 1983 Jerusalem bus bombing.

A number of the terrorists were spotted “withdrawing wads of cash from ATMs within the hotel,” according to the Daily Mail.

The terrorists’ presence at the hotel was confirmed by a staff member, according to an Israel Channel 12 news report on Saturday. However, the staffer said the terrorists have since left the hotel.

After their deportation from Israel to Egypt, the 154 terrorists reportedly went to the hotel in Cairo, where they were greeted by “huge crowds of friends, family and fans.” They then went to a “function room beneath booked for the occasion.” The event was attended by senior Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud al-Arid, a convicted terrorist who spearheaded the 2021 Gilboa prison escape.

According to the Daily Mail, some of the terrorists want to relocate to Qatar, Turkey, or Tunisia. Those who wished to leave the hotel needed to ask for permission from Egyptian authorities. Police allowed Basem Khandakji, who played a role in the deadly 2004 bombing at Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, to leave the hotel freely.

A former Israeli intelligence officer said that the terrorists had “no restrictions on their movements in these countries.”

“They can walk freely, travel to Europe – even the UK – receive donations from naive supporters, and gain backing from protesters who already sympathize with them,” he reportedly said. “The first thing these terrorists will do when they reach Turkey or Qatar is contact their associates in Gaza and the West Bank to send money and re-establish their networks. They will quickly regroup and form new terror cells.”

To host 154 people at the hotel, it could cost $39,000 per night. It is unknown who is paying for the terrorists’ accommodations.

Five Hostages Come Home

On Sunday, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Eitan Mor, Evyatar David, and Guy Gilboa-Dalal — who were among the final 20 living hostages to be freed — were welcomed home with celebrations after being released from hospitals.

Last Monday, Kalfon, 26, was released from Sheba Hospital, which is in the Tel Aviv area. He spent six additional days with his family at Ramat Gan’s Kfar Mac-

cabiah Hotel. After that, he headed home to Dimona in the Negev Desert. As he stepped onto a bus bound for Dimona, he waved to a crowd of people who came to cheer him on.

Kuperstein was simultaneously released from Sheba. Kuperstein, a 23-year-old resident of Holon in Central Israel, went home by motorcade via Bnei Brak, where he was greeted by enthusiastic children and overjoyed young charedi men who danced and sang to celebrate his release. There, he met with the city’s mayor and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshiva of Bnei Brak’s Slabodka Yeshiva.

“I had been traditional, I would do kiddush and stuff like that, but I didn’t keep Shabbat or wear tzitzit,” Kuperstein told the rabbi. “These two years made me realize that it’s important and that I need to grow, and my faith has grown.”

Kuperstein’s mother, Julia, promised in a column she wrote when her son was in Gaza that Bar would pass through Bnei Brak on his way home so he could meet “the incredible charedi society that has taken us under its wing.”

Three other hostages were discharged on Sunday from Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson) in Petah Tikvah: Gilboa-Dallal, 23; David, 24; and Mor, 25. Gilboa-Dallal was wrapped in an Israeli flag when he opened his van window to smile at and hug those celebrating his release. Upon David’s return home, he was welcomed by neighbors dancing in the street, videoing him, and singing “Am Yisrael Chai.” Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister, visited David at the former hostage’s house and kissed the 24-year-old’s head, as seen in a social media post.

There were also celebrations in the Gush Etzion junction in Judea and Samaria celebrating the return of Mor.

All five of the released hostages were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from the Supernova Festival. Mor was working as a guard at the festival, while the other four were participants. They were finally released from captivity after 738 days of being held in terrorists’ hands.

“full winter conditions” without the proper gear, with some developing hypothermia, according to the Mount Washington Cog Railway.

The hikers, who were rescued on Saturday by railway officials, had reached the mountain’s 6,288-foot summit, but “most had no idea that summit services would be unavailable and that the state park was closed for the season,” explained Andy Vilaine, the assistant general manager for the Mount Washington Cog Railway.

The train was heading to the summit as normal when crew members discovered “several distressed hikers,” Vilaine added.

The hikers told the train officials they “didn’t think they would be able to hike back down,” with Vilaine agreeing after “assessing some of their conditions and outward appearance,” he said.

Many of the hikers were showing the “beginning signs of hypothermia” due to their “poor choice of clothing, including non-waterproof layers and sneakers,” Vilaine noted.

Some of the hikers even admitted it was “their first hike ever.”

Temperatures on Saturday hovered between 15 to 18 degrees near the summit, with a wind chill anywhere between minus 5 and zero degrees.

“Had we not been able to assist the hikers with the one-way ride, there is little doubt in my mind that several more complex rescue efforts may have needed to be undertaken,” Vilaine said.

On Sunday, New Hampshire State Parks urged those hiking in the winter conditions to be responsible as “multiple people have arrived at the summit the last few days very unprepared for winter and required assistance.”

Another hiker was rescued from Mount Washington on Sunday after he was “caught in a windblown snow with a dying light and cellphone near the summit,” according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

“It’s literally a life or death situation if they go up there unprepared,” Lt. Mark Ober with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department noted.

Pig Kidney a “Miracle”

Tim Andrews lived with a genetically modified pig kidney for a record 271 days before having it removed. He will now return to using dialysis.

Andrews, of New Hampshire, received the transplant in January, but surgeons at Mass General Brigham removed the organ on Thursday because of a decline in kidney function. The 67-year-old was the fourth living patient in the U.S. to get a kidney transplant from a pig that had been genetically modified to help prevent organ rejection and other complications.

Andrews had suffered from diabetes since the 1990s. He learned that he had end-stage kidney disease three years ago. Dialysis saved his life, but the process was draining: He was connected to the machines for six hours, three days a week.

Andrews knew it was risky to try a xenotransplant – transplanting an animal organ into a human – but he said that if it could keep him off dialysis and help other people with kidney problems, it was worth it. He called the transplant a “miracle.”

In a statement on Monday, Mass General Brigham called Andrews a “selfless medical pioneer and an inspiration to patients with kidney failure around the world.”

Andrews posted on Facebook on Saturday that “this was a punishing journey filled with unknowns and surprises.” He added that “there were experimental drugs that had some unexpected side effects,” but for the nine months he was able to live with the pig kidney, he said, “I am proud of everything we discovered, learned and experienced.”

Hikers Rescued from Mt. Washington

Twenty hikers needed to be rescued on Saturday from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington after they were trapped in

The 20-year-old hiker from Rhode Island was “on the upper reaches of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail,” which is approximately 0.3 miles below the mountain’s summit, when he alerted rescuers that his headlamp and cellphone were “rapidly dying,” the fish and game department said.

Andrews also expressed his gratitude to the pig who gave him the time off of dialysis, calling her “my hero.”

“What a warrior she became helping fight through several ‘bumps in the road,’” he wrote. “Wilma the genetically edited pig is a major part of this medical breakthrough and a major part of my soul as long as I live. I LOVE YOU WILMA!

36

Donate a Kidney and be a HERO!” Andrews is now on the waiting list for a human kidney transplant.

In March 2024, Richard Slayman became the first patient to get a pig kidney in the U.S. He died two months later from causes not related to the transplant. The second, Lisa Pisano, received a mechanical heart pump in addition to the pig kidney in April 2024. The organ failed due to limited blood flow and was removed the next month, and she died in July 2024

In November 2024, doctors at NYU gave 53-year-old Towana Looney a genetically modified pig kidney that functioned for four months and nine days. They had to remove it in April when her immune system started to reject it.

Mass General Brigham said it will do another pig-to-human kidney transplant later this year.

Texas Suing Tylenol

On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he is suing the makers of Tylenol, claiming the companies failed to warn consumers about the risks of taking the medication while pregnant.

Paxton filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its spin-off company Kenvue, claiming the companies withheld information about Tylenol’s links to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, violating the state’s consumer protection laws.

The suit also claims Johnson & Johnson broke the law by fraudulently transferring liability over Tylenol to Kenvue, which spun off in 2023, in order to shield their assets against lawsuits.

“These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in statement “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”

Kenvue has stated that Tylenol is not harmful to fetuses or people.

Acetaminophen, the generic form of Tylenol, “is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy,” Kenvue said in a statement. The company said it is “deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation” about the drug’s safety.

“We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims and respond per the legal process,” the company’s statement added. “We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support.”

The lawsuit comes just over a month after President Donald Trump told pregnant women to stop taking Tylenol, citing an unproven link between the drug and a rise in autism diagnoses among children.

More than two dozen studies have linked a pregnant person’s frequent use of acetaminophen to autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in their child, including a report published in August in BMC Environmental Health.

But several studies have found competing evidence. That includes a 2024 study in Sweden of about 2 million children, over 180,000 of whom were exposed to acetaminophen during pregnancy, which found no associations between the pain medication and children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.

Experts say multiple factors including genetics contribute to the development of autism. In September, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists both endorsed the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy.

Grokipedia

On Monday, Elon Musk launched Grokipedia in an effort to combat the bias found in Wikipedia. But less than an hour after the launch, the site went down, before going back up in the evening.

The project is Musk’s latest bid to develop AI systems that offer an alternative to what he considers left-leaning mainstream tools.

Grokipedia resembles Wikipedia in style and format but offers very different entries to the popular online encyclope-

dia on many topics, including “gender” and “Elon Musk.” The site’s articles, far less numerous on launch than Wikipedia’s, appear to be derived from the same large language model that underlies the Grok chatbot, the ChatGPT-like AI system developed by Musk’s xAI company.

Musk was once a supporter of Wikipedia. But since then he has publicly criticized the site’s leftward slant and built Grokipedia as a right-wing alternative.

For years, the co-founder of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger, has publicly condemned what he sees as a liberal bias shift on the site, contrary to its founding principle of neutrality. Conservatives such as Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and pundit Tucker Carlson agree with Sanger. They are calling for reform of the site, which provides the public with information and has become the foundation of information to train AI systems.

Last month, Sanger published “Nine Theses” on how to reform Wikipedia. He suggested strengthening the neutrality policy, unmasking the most influential editors, and abolishing the list of sources Wikipedia considers too unreliable to cite. The same day Sanger issued his “Nine Theses,” Musk shared them in a post and later announced that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, was developing his alternative, Grokipedia.

Trump Pardons Crypto Billionaire

President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, a billionaire who founded the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, last week. In November 2023, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to money-laundering violations. In September 2024, he was freed from prison.

“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement on Thursday. “The Biden administration’s war on crypto is over.” Zhao, who is believed to be the richest man in the crypto industry, was born in

China and now resides in the United Arab Emirates. He admitted to failing to implement rigorous compliance systems at Binance, thus allowing terrorists and criminals to use the exchange. After pleading guilty, he resigned as Binance’s CEO but still owns a majority of the company.

A spokesperson for Binance praised the pardon as “incredible news” and touted Trump “for his leadership and for his commitment to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.” Zhao, too, wrote on social media that he was “deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice.”

“Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto,” he said.

Now that he’s been pardoned, it may be easier for him to regain control of the exchange.

NBA Gambling Scandal

A gambling scandal rocked the NBA last week following the arrests of over 30 people, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, who were federally charged with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy, and Damon Jones, an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Authorities accused Billups of playing a role in a conspiracy to rig high-stakes card games linked to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families, in effect stealing at least $7 million from gamblers. Rozier was said to have used his private knowledge about players to win basketball game bets. Jones was allegedly involved in both schemes.

The indictments were unsealed in New York. The Eastern District of New York’s top federal prosecutor, Joseph Nocella, called the case “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”

“My message to the defendants who’ve been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended,” Nocella added.

“Your luck has run out.”

FBI Director Kash Patel called the fraud “mindboggling,” amounting to tens of millions of stolen dollars. Last year,

38 Billups was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, having earned around $106 million over his 17-year career. In his stops in Boston, Miami, and Charlotte, Rozier made around $160 million. Both were placed on leave from their respective teams, the NBA said, adding that it is cooperating with authorities and treating the allegations with the “utmost seriousness.”

Rozier appeared in an Orlando, Florida, federal court hours after his arrest, while Billups went to court in Portland, Oregon.

Chris Heywood, Billups’ lawyer, defended his client as a “man of integrity.”

“To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his Hall of Fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game,” Heywood said.

The poker games rigged by Billups and Jones used advanced cheating technology, including altered card-shuffling machines, hidden cameras in poker chip trays, special sunglasses, and X-ray equipment built into the table to read cards, according to officials.

Rozier has been accused of faking a foot issue and withdrawing from a game while playing in 2023 for the Charlotte Hornets in order to win bettors who predicted he’d

leave the game tens of thousands of dollars.

The move was seen as shady at the time. Though they haven’t been accused of wrongdoing, the injuries of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Damian Lillard were the basis of certain bets, according to the indictment.

Cancer in the Corn Belt

According to a data analysis by the Washington Post, cancer rates among young adults in the Corn Belt, the six main corn production states — Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Kansas – are rising at a faster rate than in the rest of the country.

Though the cancer frequency in those states in 1999 was the same as the rest of the U.S., since 2015, those five states have seen an unprecedented surge in cancer cases among people between the ages of

15 and 49. As of 2022, those states’ cancer rates for young adults and for the population as a whole were both five percent higher than in other states.

According to research, young adults in the Corn Belt have a much higher risk of developing several cancers, particularly kidney and skin cancers. The skin cancer risk for young men in those states is 35% higher. For young women, it’s 66% higher.

Now, residents are questioning what’s behind the increased cancer rates.

According to Iowa Cancer Registry Director Mary Charlton, a number of factors are likely at play, including risk factors from 10 to 30 years ago.

Experts have previously pointed to ultraviolet exposure from being on or near farms and high rates of binge drinking as factors for Iowa ranking number five for cancer rates among people under 50. But in 2024, the University of Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center blamed Iowa’s land for the cancer rates, claiming the state was a “hotspot for environmental exposures to cancer-causing agents,” including some of the U.S.’s highest natural radon levels and highest levels of groundwater pollution.

Research has found a link between long-term exposure to fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides and an increased chance of developing certain types of cancer, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, and prostate cancer. In 2024, the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society found that “the impact of pesticide use on cancer incidence may rival that of smoking,” noting that states with “higher agricultural productivity, such as the leading corn-producing states of the Midwest, also have increased cancer risk.”

Particularly controversial is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and the most commonly used herbicide. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate “probably carcinogenic,” though those findings were disputed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, the EPA is reevaluating glyphosate and will unveil updated findings next year, though the agency claims it’s unlikely that the results will change.

Bayer, a glyphosate-based product manufacturer, has been hit by billions of dollars worth of lawsuits from thousands of cancer patients, though the company maintains its innocence, attributing its use of the ingredient to the EPA’s ruling that glyphosate does not cause cancer. Cancer screening technologies have been mostly developed to accommodate older individuals rather than younger ones. And while younger patients may fare better with aggressive therapies in

the short term, the long-term risks are worse, since they are likely to live longer with the side effects of cancer treatment, including heart damage, hormone disruptions, secondary cancers, and infertility.

Giant Oops

Passengers on a Delta flight in Pittsburgh were in for a surprise on Saturday after landing. A giant “boom” sound filled the cabin when an emergency evacuation slide deployed accidentally.

The plane was parked at the gate when a crew member opened the door without first “disarming” it.

Before takeoff, flight attendants “arm” the doors so that if they’re opened, the slide automatically inflates for an emergency evacuation. It’s like flipping the switch to your alarm at your house. After landing, they “disarm” (or switch off) the slide mechanism, allowing the doors to be opened normally. If an armed door is opened from the inside — even just by pulling the handle — the slide bursts out in seconds, and it can’t be stopped. Slides open up quickly in case of emergency.

But this was a pretty costly mistake.

Repacking an undamaged slide can cost up to $12,000, with inspections and any necessary repairs or replacements adding an additional $20,000. Adding the costs of rebooking passengers, providing hotels, and taking the plane out of service while the slide is reinstalled, Delta’s total tab could reach $100,000, according to industry experts. A mechanic and a replacement sometimes are also needed to be flown in if there are none at the site. Although this incident is quite costly and can be avoided, there are probably around 30 to 40 inadvertent deployments each year.

In January, a British Airways crew member accidentally set off a slide on an Airbus A321 — an error that The Sun reported could cost about $130,000. And sometimes passengers set them off. In October, a United Airlines passenger tried to open a door after landing in Houston. The Boeing 737 door didn’t open, but it

Fat Squirrel Week

Chunkosaurus Rex has made it to the top.

The chubby squirrel was crowned Texas’s fattest squirrel living in its national parks.

Fat Squirrel Week was inspired by Katmai National Park’s annual Fat Bear Week.

Chunkosaurus Rex, a resident of Dinosaur Valley State Park in the Glen Rose area, was crowned the competition’s firstever winner after a bracket-style competition using social media likes as votes.

But the competition was fierce. Chunkosaurus Rex faced off in the finals against Chunk Norris from Fort Richardson State Park, after fellow final-four squirrels Nutella from Lake Mineral Wells State

Park and Stanley “The Texas Tank” from Cleburne State Park were eliminated.

“Chunkosaurus is a fan favorite at Dinosaur Valley State Park, moving surprisingly fast in the quest for acorns and camper crumbs,” Texas Parks and Wildlife boasted on social media.

The contest was aimed at celebrating Texas’ native rodents as they packed on the pounds for winter.

“Dinosaur Valley is proud to be the home of this behemoth! We appreciate all the support for Chunkosaurus Rex during this hard fought battle,” Dinosaur Valley State Park said on social media.

Gotta think of all those acorns that he’s been gathering.

Stealing Seats

You’ll have to take this piece of news sitting down. Or maybe not.

Last week, Spain’s National Police said

that they had arrested seven people who were suspected of stealing more than 1,100 chairs from outdoor seating areas at restaurants and bars in Madrid and another nearby municipality over the past two months.

The gang of six men and one woman would work at night to swipe the seats from 18 different eateries in Madrid and Talavera de la Reina, a smaller city to the southwest of the capital. The thefts took place in August and September. According to police, the chairs were worth around $69,000.

The suspects, who face charges of theft and belonging to a criminal organization, resold the chairs in Spain, Morocco and Romania.

In Spain, many restaurants and bars leave tables and chairs, which are usually made of metal or hard plastic, outdoors during the night. The chairs will normally be kept in stacks and chained down.

This is news so shocking I almost fell off my chair.

Pints for Pets

Cooper having a ruff day? Perhaps he needs a glass of wine to unwind.

Muttley’s Estate in New Zealand is selling non-alcoholic wine for dogs and

cats that worked hard patrolling the neighborhood, eating slippers, or climbing the walls.

The range of tipples sold have fun names like Pawt, Champawgne, Purrno Noir and Sauvignon Bark.

The company bills its catnip-infused concoctions as a mood-enhancing luxury.

The pet beverages, which do not contain grapes or alcohol, offer a “perfect companion when celebrating with your furry family member,” it says.

Owner John Roberts said he began crafting pet wine after seeing similar products, like beer for dogs, overseas.

“It’s good for stressful situations,” he explained.

He says his family’s veterinary pharmaceutical company gave him the expertise to start making a product beneficial for pets.

The company has been garnering a strong following and plans to expand to Asia and North America.

Sounds paw-some, like fur real.

Around the Community

YOSS Dedicates Playground in Memory of the October 7th Kedoshim

In a moving and uplifting event, parents and friends of the Yeshiva of South Shore community gathered to dedicate the Gan Simchas Torah Playground. The new play area, created in memory of the pure children who were tragically taken from us on Simchas Torah, October 7, 2023, was dedicated by Dr. Dan and Rachel Frogel in honor of County Executive, Bruce Blakeman.

The dedication, graced by local officials, rabbanim, and community members, was themed around transforming the tragedy of October 7th into the resilience and joy of the future through Jewish continuity and Torah education.

A line on the dedication captures the essence of the moment: “A playground of joy rising from the ashes of pain – where terror’s bullets are transformed into children’s joy.”

The program opened with heartfelt remarks by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Dean of Yeshiva of South Shore, who correlated the event to the story of No -

ach, who saw a world destroyed, yet led its renewal and rebirth.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman addressed the crowd, citing his privilege to work together with shuls, yeshivos, and every member of our community.

The YOSS choir, led by Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, performed Av Harachamim and Acheinu, and Mr. Neil Wallin recited the Keil Malei in memory of the kedoshim.

The playground structures themselves were sponsored by cherished friends and supporters of the Yeshiva: Mrs. Barbara Levkovich, Mr. Eli Samet and Family, Mr. and Mrs. David Segal, and Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Levine.

The Yeshiva is excited about this new opportunity for its talmidim—giving them space to play amid their joy of learning, while developing a meaningful feeling for acheinu b’nei Yisroel, and standing testament to the fact that Klal Yisroel will always remain strong in galus and will always rise from the ashes with Simchas HaTorah.

Shulamith ECC enjoyed a visit from the petting zoo in honor of Parshas Noach

Animal Fun at HALB

Leading up to Parshas Noach, Party Pets visited Lev Chana and HALB. Students had a great time learning

about and petting the animals and reptiles!

HAFTR’s Petting Zoo

HAFTR Early Childhood students had a real hands-on learning experience this week, as Parshas Noach came to life right before their eyes! With Steppin’ Out Ponies and Petting Zoo visiting campus, the children were happy and curious as they fed, petted, and played with ducks, goats, sheep, chick-

ens, and rabbits. It was the perfect way to connect their Torah learning of this week’s parsha to the beauty of Hashem’s creations. This beloved event brought so much excitement, laughter, and joy to our youngest learners (and teachers)! A big thank you to the Auerbach family for sponsoring.

Gan Chamesh Parshas Noach Petting Zoo

Parshas Noach came to life at Gan Chamesh as the children excitedly greeted the animals in a visiting petting zoo. They were able to feed, touch, pet and observe all kinds of animals which helped them conceptualize what it must have been like for Noach to care for the animals on the Teiva.

YKLI New Parent Melave Malka

Munkacser Yeshiva Annual Breakfast

The multitudes that typically walk past the bustling intersection of Boro Park’s 14th Avenue and 47th Street are accustomed to the imposing edifice of the Munkacser Beis Medrash. The iconic building has been a Chassidic landmark for over four decades and is a familiar sight to many. But while many pass without an additional glance, an occasional more discerning passerby may pick up the faint yet powerful reverberations from within. Looking up, just past the “Binyan Menachem Ostreicher” letterings on the facade of the building, comes the robust sound of Torah learning; a sound that resonates echoes of the past, yet holds the promise of an eternal future.

Yeshiva V’Kollel Chaim V’Shulom Zichron Tzvi is a crown jewel of the Munkacs Torah institutions specifically and a source of pride to the Torah community at large. Commonly referred to as a chiddush in the world of Chassidishe kollelim, its avreichim are known to be of a rare caliber, and the level of iyun and lomdus is famous for being highly exceptional.

The Kollel is led by the Munkacser Rebbe’s son-in-law, Harav Yosef Horowitz, shlita. Rav Horowitz leads the Kollel with

a unique devotion, with his weekly shiur being widely acclaimed for its breadth and depth of the sugya. The Roshei Chaburah, Harav Leibel Cisner, Harav Yaakov Yosef Katz and Harav Chaim Eluzer Horowitz are each renowned talmidei chachamim and do much to increase the overall stature as well as individual learning of each of the yungerleit. Harav Moshe Green, a veteran talmid chochom, serves as Shoel Umeishiv in the morning. An additional notable feature of the Kollel is the two-pronged learning track of either Gemara and Halacha offered in the afternoon seder. Enhancing the halacha track is the noted dayan Harav Yitzchok Eizik Spitzer who delivers shiurim to that chabura.

The Munkacser Rebbe consistently shows great connection and appreciation to the Kollel. Occasionally, the Rebbe personally visits and delivers shiurim enabling the avreichim to utilize the opportunity to benefit from the the mesorah which the Rebbe shlita passes on from his Roshei Yeshiva and rabbeim, zt”l. The Rebbe, shlita, shows much interest in the progress of the Kollel’s limudim as well as all aspects of the success of this notable makom Torah.

The Five Towns community bears a particular connection to Kollel “Zichron

Tzvi,” named for one of the pillars of the community, the legendary R’ Hershel (Tzvi) Ostreicher a”h. The Ostreicher family’s connection with Munkacs spans back to the era of the previous Munkacser Rebbe, the revered Minchas Eluzar, under whom R’ Hershel’s father, R’ Menachem Ostreicher, a”h, served as one of the Roshei Kehilla.

Mr. & Mrs. Yussie Ostreicher along with Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Zitter befittingly dedicated the distinctive Torah edifice that is Yeshiva and Kollel Chaim V’Shulom as an everlasting memory to their father R’ Hershel. In doing so they have combined two of R’ Hershel’s greatest values, Torah learning and Munkacs, into “Zichron Tzvi,” assuring a relationship for eternity.

An enthusiastic partner to this lofty endeavor was the late Mrs. Helen Ostreicher a”h. Befittingly, Mrs. Ostreicher’s noble demeanor and character is commemorated on a daily basis through “Keren Chaya Nechama,” a program that promotes rigorous testing and extra learning hours, taking the hasmada and level of Torah learning in the Kollel to the next level.

The Ostreicher family relationship with the Yeshiva and Kollel is more than just a commemoration of the past though,

but rather a recognition of its vibrant and intensifying future. As such, R’ Yussie is continuing his tradition of hosting the Yeshiva’s annual Lawrence breakfast.

The reception will take place this Sunday, November 2 in the Ostreicher home at 184 Wildacre Avenue and is set to begin at 9:30. The Munkacser Rebbe is expected to attend and to address the event with Divrei Torah. The Rebbe coming to the Five Towns is seen as both a privilege and an opportunity for all. Hagaon Rav Naftali Jaeger, Rosh Yehiva Sh’or Yoshuv, will enhance the program as its guest speaker.

The Five Towns community at large, and friends of Munkacs and R’ Yussie Ostreicher, in particular, are looking forward to show respect and appreciation for this most notable mossad of Torah.

Bringing Learning to Life at HALB

Each week, HALB first grade students enjoy hands-on science experiments to better understand the world around them. This week, they learned all about Air Pressure, keeping a paper towel dry when submerging it under water using a cup. The students are always very excited to see the results of their experiments!

HALB lower school students got a special visit from The Sky Planetarium. Students got a close look at the moon and stars. They learned all about the lunar calendar and Kiddush Hachodesh.

HALB’s eighth grade STEM class created their very own spoon characters which they coded to move and dance.

Week #7 of 5 Towns Flag Football

What a great week in the Five Towns flag football league. This week, FM home loans gave out amazing authentic 5TFFL winter hats that all participants and staff members got to take home.

This week, we had great matchups as well. In first grade, the Patriots beat the Jets, and the Giants beat the Broncos. In 2nd grade, the Broncos beat the Giants. In our 3rd and 4th grade matchups, the Jets won the Vikings, Raiders won the Eagles, Broncos beat the Seahawks, Patriots beat the Packers, and the Giants tied with the Steelers. In our 5th and 6th grade league, the Broncos toppled over the Jets, Eagles won the Panthers, and Giants won the Steelers. In 7/8th grade, the Giants beat the Broncos and the Pats beat the Jets. This week great, plays were made by Avrumi Kapnick, Yitzchak

Rosenthal, Zev Akerman, and Asher Rodin. We are very excited for next week as playoffs begin and anything can happen.

As we inch our way towards the Super Bowl, stay tuned for the exciting updates and pictures.

TAL Academy Celebrates Rosh Chodesh

This past week, TAL Academy celebrated Rosh Chodesh with creativity, leadership, and teamwork on full display. Our first-ever G.O. presidents launched this year’s theme, “Just dew it!” Throughout the year, the girls will be presented with different challenges and will be encouraged to share their experiences of going out of their comfort zone to “Just dew it!”

To kick things off, our older and younger girls paired up to decorate cakes reflecting the theme, showcasing impres-

sive creativity and collaboration before enjoying their creations with a fitting cup of Mountain Dew. Many thanks to Mrs. Dashiff and Mrs. Brecher for organizing the event.

The celebrations continued with a delicious boys’ breakfast, beautifully arranged and expertly cooked by our Roshe Chodesh committee. The boys thought of every detail, arranged the tables beautifully, and, as it turns out, are expert pancake makers! Thank you to Rabbi Jacobs for guiding the boys on the Rosh Chodesh

committee.

Pheffer Amato: Expect Rebate Check In the Mail

New York State Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato sought to remind taxpayers of the incoming “Inflation Rebate Check” that is being sent out via the mail. During the 2025 State Budget, State lawmakers like Pheffer Amato worked with Governor Hochul to map out a plan for a one-time rebate check. The rollout of the checks started in September and will continue till late November, with over 8 million New Yorkers expected to receive a check. The check amounts will be based on 2023 tax

filings:

 Single earners earning less than $75,000 will receive a one-time check of $200

 Single earners making between $75,000-$150,000 will receive a onetime check of $150

 Joint filers earning less than $150,000 will receive a one-time check of $400

 Joint filers earning between $150,000-$300,000 will receive a onetime check of $300

HANC Commemorates October 7

The third through eighth grade students in the HANC Reinstein Family Campus in West Hempstead gathered with the staff to commemorate the second anniversary of the October 7th attack in Israel. The Rabbi Moshe Gottesman zt”l Beit Midrash was filled to capacity, and the atmosphere in the room was both solemn about what had happened in Israel, yet also happy that the final living hostages had finally been returned to their families.

Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Head of Nursery through eighth grade, stood before the crowd draped in an Israeli flag. As he lit a memorial candle for all those who had fallen on October 7, as well as in the defense of our beloved Israel, he explained that we still feel the effect of what was one of the most tragic days in Jewish history. He shared with the crowd how he found out about the attack and how his disbelief on Simchat Torah turned to devastation after Yom Tov as he watched the first reports come in. “For the past 738 days, we have davened for Israel and

for the safe return of the hostages. These brave men remained strong in spirit despite their harsh treatment and unbearable living conditions, and they returned to Israel as heroes who inspire us with their resilience.”

Adding a personal note to the whole experience, the HANC B’not Sherut, Maayan and Renana, shared their experience in Israel on that fateful day. They described the unusual scene of seeing men walking in the streets, with their Tallit in one hand and their cell phones in the other, in anticipation of being called up to the army to defend Israel. While the fathers were away on Milluim, and school was closed for the children, everyone else searched for ways to help the country and help the families whose parents were serving in the army. “Since we had no school for a few weeks, we did everything we could to help out. “ We volunteered to babysit and baked cookies for the families whose fathers were away at war, we tied tzitzit for the soldiers, we collected clothes for families whose

The Assemblywoman cautioned everyone about the numerous scams that have come to light as people have reported getting texts, phone calls or emails requesting social security information, banking information, and other pieces of personal data to get their checks.

“Do not believe these scams. New York State will not be texting or calling you to ask for any personal information for this rebate check. If you get a text, call or email asking you questions about the check, ignore it,” said the Assemblywoman.

homes were destroyed, we gathered vegetables in the fields for farmers who had lost their staff to the war effort, and even made a chuppah for a couple whose wedding was to take place. Everyone can do a lot to help, no matter how old you are!”

Rabbi Elliot Hecht, principal of HANC Middle School, shared a moving story which illustrated that sometimes things happen in our lives and we don’t know why, and at other times we don’t realize why Hashem does things but eventually it is all for good. Following his remarks, the crowd viewed an emotional

According to a 2025 report by the Federal Reserve, 37% of Americans (or 1 in 3 people) would not be able to immediately afford or cover an unplanned $400 expense.

“As your Assemblywoman my goal is to help you – and New York State is stepping up to help families tackle the ongoing affordability crisis and give millions of New Yorkers a little bit of financial relief,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato.

video which contained clips of the hostages reuniting with their families. Tears of joy filled the eyes of all who watched these miraculous events.

At the conclusion of the event, each child wrote a note about their connection to Israel, which was then displayed on a map of Israel in the atrium outside the Beit Midrash. Building strong connections to the heart and soul of Israel, the country and the nation, is a value at HANC that will continue to be instilled in its young and impressionable students.

A morning scene

HAFTR Girls Help at Ohel

HAFTR eighth grade girls spent a meaningful few hours of chesed at Ohel, creating beautiful flower arrangements and writing heartfelt cards for Ohel members to sell. The students also played games and spenta time socializing, spreading warmth, friendship, and joy through every moment of connection.

Rambam Mesivta Hosts West Hempstead Shabbaton

This past Shabbos, Rambam Mesivta held its Annual West Hempstead Shabbaton, highlighted by a spirited Friday night tisch graciously hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Hillel Goldman.

The evening featured Mrs. Goldman’s Mad Phat Chulent, delicious snacks, and meaningful singing that filled the home with warmth and ruach. Close to 100 Rambam students joined together to sing, share divrei Torah, and experience the special sense of achdut that defines the Rambam family.

A highlight of the night was a thoughtful Dvar Torah delivered by sophomore Yehuda Weissman, who inspired the crowd with words of Torah and insight. The atmosphere was electric—equal parts ruach, laughter, and genuine connection. Events like this tisch capture what makes Rambam so unique: a yeshiva community that celebrates Torah, friendship, and joy together.

Shabbos morning featured a school-sponsored kiddush at the Young Israel of West Hempstead Teen Minyan, where Rosh Mesivta, Rabbi Avi Herschman, delivered an uplifting drasha.

Later in the day, students gathered at

Anshei Shalom for Mincha, followed by a Shalosh Seudos filled with more singing, led by senior Aidan Mayer, and Divrei Torah from Rabbi Yitzy Laster (Rebbe and Director of College Guidance), senior Yoni Kogan, and Reb Yitz Milworn (rebbe and Director of Student Activities).

As Shabbos came to a close, senior Elan Klein led a spirited Havdalah, bringing the Shabbaton to an inspiring and emotional conclusion.

The Shabbos was truly a meaningful and memorable experience, reflecting the warmth, ruach, and unity that make Rambam Mesivta so special.

Yeshiva Darchei Torah Fifth Graders Celebrate Hascholas Gemara with Fathers & Grandfathers

YCQ to Host Kindergarten Open House on Wednesday, November 5

On Wednesday, November 5, Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) will be having a Kindergarten Open House at 7:15 pm for parents. This event will provide a comprehensive look into the school’s dynamic program under the theme “From Strong Beginnings to Unlimited Possibilities.”

The open house will showcase the

JSL

Recap

K/P Hockey

Gaby Mayer was unstoppable, scoring 7(.) goals to carry his team to an 11–3 win over Marciano PD. The Yeled LI Panthers topped Smash House 7–2, led by Moshe Homnick’s 5-goal performance. Ari Acker netted a dramatic, buzzer-beating goal to seal Maidenbaum’s 7–3 win over SD Shades, earning Smash House Game MVP. In the Game of the Week, Demo & Cleanouts and Marciano PD battled to a thrilling draw. Yonah Wegh led the charge for Demo & Cleanouts with 2 goals and an assist, but Aharon Portal tied it late for Marciano PD in what was an instant classic.

K/P Soccer

Chaim Leyton recorded a JWorks Hat Trick, propelling 5TownsCentral to a dominant 8–2 win over SR Whee. Maidenbaum and PIP Printing showcased elite defense in a 1–1 draw, with Netanel Moskowitz scoring the lone goal for Maidenbaum.

1st Grade Hockey

Shua Sternbuch powered Posh Home & Bath with 2 goals and 3 assists in their 10–6 win over SR Whee. Yaakov Gross came up huge with 5 goals as 5TownsCentral edged out Tikva Fire 8–5.

highlights of the YCQ Kindergarten program, which is designed to foster curiosity and a love of learning through a blend of hands-on activities and joyful play. The curriculum provides a robust foundation in both general and Judaic studies. Curriculum highlights include foundational Limudei Kodesh knowledge, an Ivrit Immersion program, and core skills

2nd/3rd Grade Hockey

Abie Tennenberg (3 goals) and Gavriel Aryeh (shutout in net) led Growtha to a big win over Town Appliance. Built By Nate outlasted Styles Design Interiors 6–5 in a shootout. Izzy Fried’s relentless defense and clutch play sealed the victory. Sushi Tokyo squeaked past Newman Dental 4–3, thanks to 2 huge goals from Michoel Ruzohorsky. J Works Construction built an early lead and never looked back, defeating NY Custom Closets 11–5 behind Ezra Newman’s stellar defensive performance.

4th/5th Grade Hockey

Yitzchak Schattener and Tzvi Jarcaig scored key goals to lift Extreme Vent Cleaning past J Works Construction 7–5. Bentzion Kashi filled in at goalie and delivered big, leading SR Whee to a statement win over Tal Academy. Akiva Greenspan recorded a JWorks Hat Trick as Styles Design Interiors defeated Eden Gardens. Wieder Orthodontics edged out Smash House 6–4, thanks to Akiva Levine’s lockdown defense.

6th-8th Grade Hockey

Sruli Shreiber’s defensive dominance powered Emporio to a big win over Cachet. Chaim Stern scored 2 goals to lead Town Appliance past Wieder Orthodontics 5-3. Gavriel Abbitan continues

in Literacy and Math. The program also features personalized learning in small groups and daily specialties including Music, Gym, and Science, plus a social-emotional learning component.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear special presentations from YCQ graduates, who will reflect on their experiences and how the school prepared

them for success.

Please Note: The event is for parents only, and RSVP is required at ycq.org/ openhouse

For any questions, please feel free to contact info@ycq.org.

to make history — 11 more goals(.) as SD Shades took down Sperling Productions 12–7.

1st Grade Basketball

The clinics were in full swing, with players working on shooting, passing, and dribbling as they prepped for upcoming games. Marciano PD and Growtha battled to a defensive tie. Seasons narrowly defeated Posh Home & Bath in an intense showdown.

2nd Grade Basketball

Nechemia Oratz was brilliant as Five Towns Landscaping and Rita’s ended in a 12–12 tie. Avi Eisenreich took over down the stretch, leading Wieder Orthodontics to victory over Rip It.

3rd Grade Basketball

Tikva Fire defeated Elegant Lawns by 6, behind Dani Grabie’s standout performance. Nissi Berman shined as Central Pizza Co. secured a big win over Seasons Express.

4th/5th Grade Basketball

Zack Treitel’s unselfish play led Wieder Orthodontics to a 22-18 win over Rip It. Avi Schiowitz came up clutch as Addictive Ads edged Newman Dental 17–16.

6th/7th Grade Basketball

Itai Samuels was sensational, scoring and dishing dimes as Elegant Lawns edged Eden Gardens 22-21.

Moshe Borokhim’s all-around effort sparked Maidenbaum to a convincing 37–20 win over Tal Academy.

Men’s Basketball Co-captains Shelby Rosenberg and Ashie Schreier led Town Appliance to a 77–56 victory. Jonathan Bayez dropped 18 points as Emporio edged Hewlett Auto Body 64–61. In an instant classic, Kol Ve’or topped Maidenbaum in double overtime, with Sami Mandel getting the game winning point at the FT line. Gabe Leifer was on fire, pouring in 44 points as Smash House defeated SR Whee.

The Heart That Gives

HALB Middle School girls kicked off the month of Cheshvan with davening, dancing, singing and a delicious bagel breakfast. Following the year-long theme of “HALB, A Work of Heart,” this month students are focusing on “The Heart that Gives,” learning about and practicing chessed, kindness and selflessness. This will be a month filled with helping others!

Grow Torah at Lev Chana

The Grow Torah garden is going strong at Lev Chana! The children enjoyed smelling the lavender and searching for all different colors growing in the garden.

HAFTR Boys’ Bakery Trip

HAFTR seventh graders took their Mishna learning beyond the classroom with a trip to Seasons Bakery, where they brought Eilu Metzios to life! In this Mishna, students learned that if a baker’s loaves are all identical and lack a siman (distinct sign), a found loaf may be kept by the finder. Seeing real bakers at work helped students understand how halacha applies in everyday life. Real learning, real connections — that’s the HAFTR way.

HANC High School Beyond the Curriculum

HANC High School hosted its annual Club Fair—now proudly known as Beyond the Curriculum. The event offered students an exciting opportunity to explore the many ways they can get involved beyond the classroom and discover activities that reflect their passions, talents, and values.

Throughout the fair, students had the chance to learn about a wide range of committees, from Pre-Med to Big Brother/Big Sister, Bikur Cholim, and the Drama Program. They also explored opportunities to contribute to our student publications, The HANC Herald and Midrishei HANC, as well as academic initiatives such as the Peer Tutoring Society and the STEM Journal.

Our competitive and academic teams were also represented, including Chess, College Bowl, Debate, and Model UN. These teams provide students with valuable outlets to sharpen their minds, showcase their skills, and develop teamwork and leadership.

The fair also highlighted our many clubs that meet during the weekly Club Hour. Students can choose from a wide

variety of options—creative outlets like Art, Photography, Culinary, and Music; active options such as Box Ball and Spikeball; intellectually engaging groups like Robotics and Makerspace; and socially conscious initiatives like the Environmental Club. There’s truly something for everyone at HANC.

Students enjoyed speaking with club leaders and returning members, learning firsthand what each opportunity has to offer. With Club Hour officially beginning on Wednesday, October 29, we look forward to another year of exploration, creativity, and growth—an experience that truly embodies education beyond the curriculum.

Rosh Chodesh at HANC High School

HANC High School’s Rosh Chodesh girls’ program, Muffins and Meaning, was a warm and inspiring way to start the new month together. Students enjoyed delicious muffins and hot cocoa while reflecting on themes of renewal and personal growth.

Each student received a reflection notebook to set goals and track progress throughout the year. Morah Adina Waldman spoke beautifully about the power of renewal and the importance of setting meaningful goals each month, while also sharing practical ideas on how to do this.

Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Daniel

Mezei shared a multi-media presentation and offered words of inspiration about embracing new beginnings, growing in character, and building new friendships.

The program, organized by the Mechanchot, Mrs. Steiner and Morah Feder, concluded with a fun and engaging activity led by Ms. Simpson, who ran an interactive “Human Bingo: Share Your Talent” game that helped everyone connect and celebrate each other’s strengths.

Students enjoyed the meaningful and engaging program while having the opportunity to bond with their teachers and classmates.

YUHSG to Welcome Community to 2025 Open House on November 2

On Sunday, November 2, the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) will open its doors to area families for the annual Open House — a celebration of the extraordinary opportunities that define the Wildcat experience. The event is a highlight of the fall calendar and a true reflection of this year’s theme, B’chol levavcha, U’vchol nafshecha: Full Hearts, Full Souls, which emphasizes connection, purpose, and growth both in and out of the classroom. YUHSG’s Admissions Coordinator, Mrs. Rachel Sacknovitz, spoke to the significance of this annual event.

“Our Open House is more than an introduction to our school,” she said. “It is an opportunity to experience what sets Central apart. Families see how our Torah values, academic excellence, and vibrant student life come together to nurture growth and confidence in every girl. It’s a place where their daughters are challenged to grow, and are supported and inspired to discover their unique strengths and potential.”

YUHSG’s Office Manager and Business Liaison, Ms. Kymberly Baker, who also plays an instrumental role in the Open House event, agrees. “Central’s Open House invites prospective students to step inside and experience the heart of our school – to meet our inspiring teachers, connect with our incredible students, and feel the warmth that defines the Central community.”

On the schedule for next Sunday: welcome remarks from Principal, Mrs. Aliza Gewirtz, Associate Principal, Ms. Leah Moskovich, YU Vice President, Mr. Andrew (Avi) Lauer, and the Rosh Yeshiva of YU RIETS, Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, followed by a student life panel and gallery walk, parent sessions with General Studies and Judaics Studies representatives, a tour of campus facilities, a curriculum fair, and, of course, time with those who can speak to the YUHSG experience best – our Student Ambassadors. The Open House will offer families a first-hand look at the official girls’ high school of Yeshiva University, which provides a direct path-

way for students to continue their education at one of the world’s leading Jewish universities — an advantage unique to the YUHSG community. Students who qualify through YUHSG’s Honors Pathways Program can earn automatic admission to the Stern College for Women Honors Program. The school’s YU Residency Program enables YUHSG students who take twelve credits of YU courses during their senior year to fulfill one of the six-semester residency requirements at YU, meaning that YUHSG graduates can potentially graduate with a degree in as few as five semesters. Other successful programs demonstrating the close relationship between YUHSG and YU: the YUHS Leadership Track, developed in partnership with the Yeshiva University Center for Values and Leadership, which cultivates student leaders through mentorship and specialized coursework, and the YUHSG Rambam Bekiut Program, the only program of its kind that provides an opportunity for a girls’ school to learn with YU Roshei Yeshiva.YUHSG’s prestigious

Science Institute also bears close ties to YU, with participants taking advantage of research opportunities at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and attending YU’s yearly Medical Ethics Conference. Students will be on hand to speak personally to these programs, as well as to the variety of clubs and athletic programs that exist hand-in-hand with YUHSG’s strong academic programs.

Prospective families are invited to join the YUHSG community on Sunday, November 2, for a morning of discovery, inspiration, and warmth — and to experience what makes YUHSG truly exceptional.

Rambam Mesivta Launches “Sunday in the

Neighborhood with Rebbe”

Rambam Mesivta has reintroduced a special learning initiative for its talmidim: “Sunday in the Neighborhood with Rebbe.” This innovative program brings Sunday morning learning directly into students’ local communities, enabling them to daven and learn close to home while maintaining the spirit and high level of learning of Rambam’s traditional Sunday classes.

This week, the program took place in four pilot neighborhoods in Brooklyn, The Five Towns, Queens, and West Hempstead with plans to expand to additional areas such as Far Rockaway, Great Neck, Oceanside, and North Woodmere.

The morning began with davening at local shuls, followed by breakfast and two engaging shiurim led by Rambam rebbeim. Designed to make Sunday learning more personal, accessible, and community-centered, the program fosters connection between talmidim, their rebbeim, and their neighborhoods in a warm and meaningful way.

As Rambam continues to create new opportunities to inspire its talmidim, “Sunday in the Neighborhood with Rebbe” stands out as a creative and impactful way to strengthen both Torah learning and community bonds.

Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and Five Towns Participates in HAFTR

Chessed Fair

Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns was pleased to participate in the HAFTR Chessed Fair on Monday, October 20th. During the event, eighth grade students learned about the vital work that Bikur Cholim carries out throughout the community, providing support and assistance to individuals and families facing medical challenges.

Students met with Hadas Vann, Di-

History Meets the 21st Century at Yeshiva of South Shore

Mrs. Kastriner’s YOSS fifth graders take active authentic learning seriously, especially when it comes to social studies. The chapter learning centers facilitate the social studies topics to come alive, whether the students are creating a news cast, a museum exhibit, or a graphic novel. History takes on a new meaning when students internalize material, relate the topics to their real-world, and enjoy learning. Who will be inspired and leverage themselves into becoming a journalist, museum curator, or novelist?

Ezra Academy Launches Dynamic New Recruitment Season

rector of School Engagement, who spoke about the many opportunities available for students to become involved. These include friendly visits to homebound individuals and residents of local nursing homes, as well as other meaningful volunteer programs.

The students were eager to sign up and take part in Bikur Cholim’s initiatives, while also enjoying some fun Bikur Cholim swag to mark the occasion

Recruitment is in full swing at Ezra Academy, and this year’s outreach comes with energy, excitement, and a full-service breakfast spread! The school’s leadership team, led by Assistant Principal Mr. Daniel Miska and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Eli Geller, is hitting the road alongside a group of enthusiastic student ambassadors to introduce prospective students to the vibrant Ezra experience.

Each visit features a warm breakfast, a spirited welcome, and a captivating video presentation showcasing Ezra Academy’s exceptional academic, extracurricular, and spiritual programs. The event highlights everything that makes Ezra stand out from rigorous Advanced Placement courses and championship debate and mock trial teams to immersive Judaic studies, engaging student life, and a culture of connection and growth.

After the presentation, guests are

invited to participate in a Q&A session, followed by informal mingling with Ezra’s student ambassadors who share first-hand perspectives about their experiences and the school’s warm, inclusive community.

The program concludes with an invitation to sign up for an in-person interview day, where prospective students and their parents can visit the Ezra campus, meet the faculty, and get a true taste of life at Ezra Academy.

“Recruitment is more than just presentations — it’s about relationships,” said Principal Sima Fish, Esq. “Our goal is for every student we meet to feel the excitement, warmth, and purpose that define the Ezra family.”

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Ezra Academy at 718-263-5500 or visit www.ezraacademy.org.

Standing Room Only at SKA’s Inspiring and Energetic Open House

It was standing room only at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls (SKA) Open House this past Sunday, as an enthusiastic crowd of eighth grade students and parents filled, and even surpassed, the school’s overflow room. The event captured the warmth, ruach, and innovation that defines SKA, highlighting its exceptional student body and the school’s commitment to nurturing every girl academically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Parents participated in a series of engaging round-robin sessions that reflected the vibrancy of the SKA experience. The program included an interactive student and parent panel, a meaningful presentation on “Mattering and Belonging” led by SKA’s educational and guidance staff, a Q&A with Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky and Mrs. Bluma Drebin, and thoughtful discussions on student life, programming, and living our values through the academic program at SKA.

While parents explored these sessions, the girls took part in a lively Stu-

dent Activities Fair, showcasing the vast array of opportunities offered at SKA, from chesed programs and athletics to academic clubs and creative extracurriculars.

The Open House offered prospective families a glimpse into what makes SKA so extraordinary, a school that combines serious scholarship with genuine joy, inspiring each student to grow into her fullest potential. We invite interested students to apply and become part of the SKA legacy, where learning, leadership, and belonging come together in a community like no other.

YCQ Kindness Campaign in Memory of Mrs. Melissa Maisel A”H

The Yeshiva of Central Queens and the YCQ PTO dedicated the week of October 20 to a Kindness Campaign in memory of Mrs. Melissa Maisel A”H. The week began with kickoff assemblies led by Rabbi Landsman, who introduced the initiative with an inspirational video. Students and staff also received beautiful zip-up sweatshirts from the PTO with “Be Kind” written on the back.

Tuesday’s “Mix It Up Lunch” encouraged JHS students to sit with new peers. Students had the opportunity to watch a special video message from Mrs. Maisel’s daughter and hear about Mrs. Maisel and how she started this special initiative at our school. Tuesday and Wednesday also featured 7th & 8th graders leading activities for elementary school students Additional programming on Wednesday included two powerful Yom Iyuns for Grades 4-5 and 6-8 respectively. Students learned b’chavruta about the importance of chesed and emulating Hash-

Niggun Chabura Experience with Aaron Holder

This past weekend, the Niggun Chabura brought its signature blend of Torah and music to two powerful venues—The Barn in West Hempstead on Thursday night, and Aish Kodesh in Woodmere on Sunday night, sponsored by Twillory. Both gatherings drew participants seeking to deepen their spiritual awareness through the unique fusion of song, soul, and Torah insight led by Reb Yirmi Ginsberg.

em’s kindness to us.

The week concluded with “Action Plan Day.” The entire school wore blue for bullying prevention and made personal commitments to positive change. The Junior High School was also introduced to the ‘Just One Chesed’ organization and the amazing opportunities they offer.

A tremendous thank you to the PTO, Dr. Elana Dumont, Mrs. Aviva Dua, and the entire administration for such a special week.

Thursday night’s event at The Barn was a beautiful and intimate space for spiritual growth and authentic connection. Sunday’s follow-up gathering at Aish Kodesh carried that same spirit, where music and Torah wove together seamlessly.

The featured artist, Aaron Holder, captivated audiences with his remarkable voice, rich musical style, and heartfelt lyrics. His original songs—deeply inspired by his love for Eretz Yisrael—carry timeless themes of gratitude (hakaras hatov), prayer, purpose, and returning home to Yerushalayim.

Reb Yirmi opened each night by laying out the “ground rules” of the Niggun Chabura Experience: Aaron would play seven of his songs, share their origins and inspirations, and then Reb Yirmi would explore each niggun through the lens of Torah—revealing layers of meaning and spiritual resonance that even the artist himself may not have consciously intended.

Drawing from Chovos HaLevavos, Reb Yirmi spoke about Hashem’s perfect order in creation and how man, too, has an inner order to follow—to have true emunah in Hashem, to live with gratitude, stand strong through darkness, help others, and build unity (achdus) throughout creation. Through this framework, he traced a journey from Adam to Noach to Avraham—a progression of spiritual development culminating in the world of kindness described by Chazal: Olam Chesed Yibaneh. As the music filled the air, hearts opened and souls rose. Listeners found themselves transported—not merely entertained, but uplifted. The Niggun Chabura continues to be a sacred space where music becomes prayer and Torah becomes song.

Stay tuned for the next Niggun Chabura—where the soul listens, and the heart learns to sing.

The Niggun Chabura was founded in 2023 by Reb Yirmi Ginsberg, a mashpia in Kehillas Aish Kodesh of Woodmere. With a vision to fuse Torah and music, Reb Yirmi created a space where soulful niggunim and deep Torah insights come together to inspire and uplift. Follow for the latest shiurim and concerts: on WhatsApp www.tinyurl.com/niggunchat and on Instagram at @theniggunchabura

Second graders at Yeshiva Darchei Torah conducting a scientific experiment: water condensation in “clouds” transforming into precipitation

Getting Over the Hump

If you lived in the times of our Avos and Imaho,s you certainly needed to know how to ride a camel, humps and all. The kindergarten classes of the Early Childhood Division of TAG had an opportunity to imagine themselves riding this life-size camel which has become the favorite mascot of the preschool, during these early parshios of Sefer Bereishis.

Mercaz Academy Explores Parshas Noach Through Animals, Science, and Play

Last week, Mercaz Academy’s youngest students dove into Parshas Noach, exploring the story of Noah’s Teivah through hands-on activities, classroom lessons, and even a visit from a traveling zoo. These experiences gave children a tangible understanding of the parsha while connecting Torah learning to math, science, and observation. Throughout the week, teachers used the parsha to inspire classroom activities: Nursery Bet practiced counting and sorting animals in pairs and created sets of felt-board animals marching two by two. Lots of questions about how a big, heavy ark can float on the water led to experiments on buoyancy with floating and

sinking different objects in a water table. The young students tested their hypotheses and recorded the results, then recreated the rainbow with colored tiles to reflect Hashem’s promise after the flood.

Nursery Aleph linked natural sciences and weather to the parsha, performing an experiment with cotton ball clouds and food colored-rain that showed how clouds grow heavy with water and make storms–just like the flood in Noah’s story.

The week’s theme culminated on Thursday in a visit from a visiting zoo featuring a variety of exotic creatures.

Nursery Bet students handled ferrets and observed chinchillas and leaf bugs, while Nursery Aleph explored the smooth

scales of a ball python. Toddlers admired Jada, a South American taigu, which they observed “looked like a dinosaur.”

Kindergarteners were captivated by Waffles, an albino Columbian red-tailed boa. Their teacher tied the encounters to the parsha by asking students how many lizards and snakes would have been on Noah’s ark: two or seven? The children correctly answered that only two of the non-kosher animals were aboard.

By beginning Sefer Bereishis with a robust curriculum infusing hands-on lessons with curiosity and excitement, Mercaz’s youngest students are primed for a school year full of discovery, wonder, and meaningful connections to Torah.

Shulamith Students Strengthen Bonds on Annual Achdut Trips

This past Tuesday, October 28, 5th, 6th, and 7th graders of Shulamith School for Girls enjoyed their much-anticipated annual Achdut Trips. Each grade embarked on a unique adventure designed to foster friendship, teamwork, and a deeper sense of connection within their grade.

The fifth grade headed to Launch, where they bounced, played, and laughed together, forming new friendships and strengthening old ones. The sixth grade took to the trees at the Adventure Park at Long Island, challenging themselves on ropes courses and zip lines while cheering one another on, while the seventh

graders tested their teamwork skills at the Long Island Escape Room, working together to solve puzzles and “escape” within the time limit.

Each trip was thoughtfully planned to encourage achdut (unity), cooperation, and shared joy. The girls returned with smiles, stories, and a renewed excitement

for the year ahead. It was truly a day filled with fun, friendship, and Shulamith ruach. The school looks forward to many more opportunities this year to continue building unity and connection among its students.

“Real Money, Real Life”: Aleph’s New Workshop Delivers a Wake-Up Call to Frum Professionals

Anew educational initiative from the Aleph Institute is helping a generation of post-yeshiva professionals navigate the high-stakes world of business, without ever compromising their integrity or their future. In a world that celebrates the hustle and often glorifies success at any cost, “Real Money, Real Life” delivers a timely reminder: true success isn’t measured by how much you gain, but by how faithfully you hold to your values.

Developed through Project 432— Aleph’s initiative for proactive education and prevention—this practical workshop gives the next generation of frum professionals the tools to build careers, businesses, and financial success all while staying firmly anchored in Torah values and ethical decision-making. Through a one-hour multimedia presentation, participants encounter real-world case studies, halachic insights, and firsthand stories from people who learned their lessons the hard way.

The workshop was recently presented at Bais Tefila of Inwood, Kehilath B’nai Torah of Baltimore, and Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah of Baltimore, drawing crowds of young men in their 20s and 30s. Many

are entrepreneurs and community members just beginning their careers, marriages, and family lives—often under intense pressure to succeed, provide, and “make it.”

Through real stories and practical examples, the workshop highlights how easily people can stumble into legal or halachic trouble, whether by not knowing the rules, trusting the wrong people, giving in to pressure, or chasing the thrill of “outsmarting the system.” Participants leave with a clear decision-making framework called ACT: Ask a qualified expert before acting, Consider how your choices will look and what they mean, and Take the right action right away.

“I walked in, not knowing what to expect, and I was blown away… What a wakeup call it was for the crowd,” said one participant from the Ahavas Chaim Shul in Baltimore.

“All the points made—the pesukim brought down, the videos, and the passion really drove the message home. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t great—it was absolutely amazing. [Aleph is] doing an incredible service and chessed for the community.”

“Project 432 provided us with a brief seminar, with testimonies from Shomer Shabbos Yidden who served time for

HANC Brings Learning to Life

The Early Childhood students in HANC’s Reinstein Family Campus in West Hempstead were engaged in a variety of hands-on experiences last week that helped bring learning to life. What better way to explore Parshas Noach than with a special visit from “Steppin’ Out Ponies.” The children loved feeding and petting the variety of animals, but their favorite part was walking the new HANC fields on ponies! It was hard to contain their excitement as they rode up high on these precious animals, and their smiles could be seen from all around. Back in their classrooms, the children enjoyed sorting animals as they walked two by two to the Teiva, and after learning about the different levels of the Teiva, they created one of their own using hand painting, pom poms and other materials. They even enjoyed a culinary experience as they ate animal crackers for a special Parshas Noach treat.

To commemorate Fire Safety month, the children discussed in their classrooms what to do in case of an emergency and created 911 signs. They practiced calling 911 and performing “Stop, Drop and Roll” and other ways to keep themselves safe in an emergency. Then, to their great surprise, fiery red, shining fire engines came with brave firefighters who taught the yeladim how to remain safe in case of a fire. Of course, sitting in

white-collar crimes,” said Rabbi Jonathan Aryeh Seideman of Kehilath B’nai Torah. “In clear and instructive fashion, they shared the mistakes they made, the traps into which they fell, the tragic consequences they live with even post-prison, and how to navigate a Torah-true life and identify ethical challenges and illegalities before it’s too late… I urge shuls to arrange to host this presentation, especially for their young members in business. This is the classic ounce of prevention that can prevent heartache and Chillul Hashem, chas v’shalom.”

“The workshop was inspiring and enjoyable at the same time, with clear and

concise messages portrayed through stories and video clips,” said Yoni G. “I left the workshop wanting more and, more importantly, with the overall message of: it’s just not worth it. Definitely a 10/10.”

Following its successful launch, the program is set to expand, with upcoming presentations planned in Baltimore, the Five Towns, Monsey, and Toms River.

To learn more about the “Real Money, Real Life” workshop, to host a session in your shul, or to explore Aleph’s work through Project 432, visit p432.org or email letstalk@p432.org.

the fire truck and seeing all of the fascinating equipment was a truly memorable experience!

Laughter, songs, stories and dancing filled the air on Thursday as the children joined our second Rosh Chodesh chagiga with the Early Childhood music teacher, Morah Kayli, and Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Director of the HANC Reinstein Family Campus in West Hempstead. Following the spirited Shabbat celebration, the Da-

vid family provided all of the children with a very special and delicious Rosh Chodesh treat, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Morah Trudy Rubinstein, Director of the Early Childhood Division, said that all of the children thoroughly enjoyed the week as everything they learned became a hands-on experience.

A senior delegation of close to a dozen New York law enforcement officials visited the national logistics center of ZAKA Search and Rescue in Beit Shemesh to learn more about ZAKA’s response on Oct. 7, 2023, and to meet some of the civilian volunteers whose lifesaving work has become a cornerstone of Israel’s emergency response system.

A Lion for Life: Honoring the Legacy of Mr. Leonard (Lenny) Wetzler z”l

The MTA family recently came together in a powerful display of achdus and hakaras hatov to honor the memory of Mr. Leonard (Lenny) Wetzler z”l, Eliezer ben Mordechai, a proud member of the Class of 1961 and a beloved librarian and AP U.S. History teacher at Yeshiva University High School for Boys throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Lenny dedicated his life to education and to his talmidim, inspiring countless students through his love of history, his intellectual curiosity, and his genuine care for each young man who walked through our doors. Although he passed away without close living relatives, his MTA family and lifelong community ensured that his memory was honored in a way that reflected his impact and devo -

tion.

In true “Lions for Life” spirit, MTA’s administration, rebbeim, faculty, talmidim, parents, and alumni joined together to launch a Mishnayos Learning Initiative in Lenny’s memory, spearheaded by longtime rebbe Rabbi Shimon Kerner and Mrs. Tamar Sheffey, who taught alongside Lenny for many years. Within days of his passing, learning began across the MTA community, uniting generations of Lions, from Lenny’s own classmates in the Class of 1961 to current talmidim, in a shared goal of completing all of Mishnayos in time for his shloshim. This meaningful initiative reflects what it truly means to be a Lion for Life: a member of a community grounded by Torah, learning, and achdus.

Around the Community Ronnie

By Suri Cohen. Edited and Expanded

By Rabbi Chananya Greenwald

“People make a big mistake — they think these kids don’t want to be frum. It’s not that they don’t want to be frum, they don’t want to be (i.e., they don’t want to exist).”

— Ronnie Greenwald at a Torah Umesorah convention

Monsey, Ronnie Greenwald’s hometown, was no exception to the growing challenge of children and teens struggling to find their place.

A mother whose daughter did not fit into Bais Yaakov desperately needed a solution. Aware of other girls in the same situation, she opened a program which she called “Bnos Cheyn.” The tiny school, housed in a basement, had no dependable financial backing, and the teachers were volunteers. Ronnie helped raise money to keep the program going, but as the burden of the school grew, the woman could no longer handle the pressure.

One Friday morning in 2000, she called Ronnie.

“That’s it. I can’t do this any longer. The school is yours.”

“What?”

Ronnie was already very busy and wasn’t looking to take over a school in his late sixties, but on the other hand, there was no place to send the girls and he couldn’t walk away from them. He had three days to find a suitable location, principal, teachers, and a secretary, as well as funding.

Things gradually came together. He rented space, put out feelers for staff, and spoke with the parents and the students.

The girls disliked the name Bnos Cheyn, and he allowed them to choose a new one. They unanimously agreed on MAG, Monsey Academy for Girls.

“It was really a crazy thing,” he later reflected, “because I opened up a religious school for girls that didn’t want to be religious and didn’t want to go to school.”

One of the challenges was keeping the girls engaged. They needed activities and projects to keep them busy and out of trouble to balance the classes which held little appeal. Ronnie found enthusiastic Bais Yaakov graduates and young women, both single and married, who were excited to work with them.

Ronnie collaborated with R’ Dovid Refson, and Monsey Academy became a part of Neve Yerushalayim Institutions. Morris Esformes of Chicago donated a large private home on a residential street for the dormitory in memory of R’ Refson’s daughter, Sara Gita.

Shari Kaufman, a Neve graduate close to the Greenwalds, accepted the job of house mother while a counselor supervised the nine girls at night.

Ronnie hired various gifted women to work in the school who spoke of his vision.

“Rabbi Greenwald wanted the school to be a welcoming, loving, supportive environment for girls who were not finding their places in the regular Bais Yaakov system, regardless of the reasons. He had enormous courage and required everyone to be courageous — just think of what it took to begin such a venture at his age.”

“‘We are planting seeds,’ Ronnie often reminded us.

“There was such wisdom in those

simple words. In the beginning, I didn’t appreciate them. I was impatient, feeling that we weren’t doing enough. I wanted more to happen now.

“He knew that this was not always possible, but through his rose-colored glasses, he saw the future. Planting seeds is hugely significant. They eventually grow. We saw it over and over when we danced with the girls at their weddings, and when we received calls from our students years later, saying, ‘I went through a hard time, but I’ll never forget what I learned, and what you all did for me.’”

To a girl who was struggling with emunah, he’d say with a smile, “I see you in a tichel, kerchief, with a baby and three little kids.”

“Yeah, right,” the girl would answer sarcastically, but a flicker of hope could be seen in her eyes.

“We both know that this is really what you want. And you can admit it to me because you know I believe it.”

Once a girl entered the doorway of MAG, he felt responsibility for her forever. In 2015, he received an email from a former student, by then a married mother of two.

“Hi, Rabbi,” she wrote. “I was wondering if you could refer me to a therapist who can give me a diagnosis and therapy. Thank you for everything.”

He replied immediately, referring her to a local therapist. “I’ll ask him to give the best possible price for eight sessions, which we will undertake to pay on your behalf. Please advise me when you have that information so that we can arrange payment.”

“We,” of course, was the loving father figure, Ronnie himself.

R’ Zecharia Wallerstein described Ronnie as his rebbi in chinuch. “Esther* was thrown out of her Bais Yaakov. Board members, local rabbanim, even one of the gedolim, attempted to get the school to take her back, but the principal didn’t budge.

“The desperate parents reached out to Ronnie. He called the principal, who knew all about him.

“Rabbi Greenwald, if you’re calling about Esther, don’t waste your time. We made a decision and we’re not taking her back.”

“I’m not calling about Esther. I’d like to meet with you.”

“It’s not about her?”

“No, it’s not about her.”

“Okay.”

Ronnie came to the school and said to the principal, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Is there anything that an alte babitchka, an old grandmother, who came to your school could do to make you throw her out?”

“What? Of course not! What on earth are you talking about?”

“No? But you just did,” replied Ronnie.

“What are you talking about? We didn’t throw any old lady out.”

“You did,” Ronnie insisted. “Isn’t it true that you threw Esther out?”

“Rabbi, you lied — you told me you’re not coming about her!”

“I’m not coming about her. I’m not coming about the sixteen-year-old girl you just threw out of eleventh grade. She probably deserved to get thrown out.

“But one day, she’s going to be a mother, and then she’ll be a grandmother. And the grandmother doesn’t deserve to be thrown out. But if you throw her out, you’re throwing out the grandmother, too. Who knows where she’ll end up? You didn’t just kick her out. You discarded all her children and grandchildren. You just threw out a whole family!

“I’m not coming for who she is now, but for the grandmother she’ll be in the future.”

“The girl was allowed to come back to school. Today she is married, the mother of a thriving family.”

Reprinted from Ronnie by Suri Cohen, with permission from the copyright holder, ArtScroll Mesorah Publications

Why I’m Running and What I’m Running For

By Moshe Hill

If you live in or have driven through West Hempstead, Franklin Square, Hempstead or Uniondale in the past few weeks, you would have seen “Elect Moshe Hill” signs all over the neighborhood. Everywhere else in Nassau County you’ll see signs bearing the names of Mazi Pilip, Howard Koppel, John Ferretti, Kate Murray, Anne Donnelly and Bruce Blakeman. This isn’t just because we love seeing our names plastered all over the place – it’s because it is election time, and we need everyone to vote.

I would love to talk all about my background, history and qualifications for

the office I am seeking. Had I an endless amount of space, I would happily ramble on for pages about my years of service to my community, my professional experience completing complicated projects on time and on budget, or the over 600 published columns in notable outlets like the Daily Wire, Newsweek, JNS, the Washington Examiner, the Queens Jewish Link, and The Jewish Home. That was what I was planning on talking about when I began this race in February.

Everything about this race changed for me in June, however. The June primary in New York City put Zohran Mamdani

on the general election ballot as the head of the Democrat line, all but assuring him victory in deep blue NYC right then and there. This election for me turned from “how can I help my community and my county” into “how can I protect my community and my county.”

I have been a political analyst and columnist for seven years, ever since I volunteered for the Ameer Benno Congressional campaign and began writing for his website. So, speaking to my strengths, I analyzed the data. The policies put in place in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s decimated it. There were thousands of murders per year, not to mention the robberies, assaults, car jackings, breaking and entering, and rampant drug use. Times Square was a desolate wasteland, walking around at night was unheard of, and subway cars literally needed Guardian Angels.

There was spillover effect in Nassau County. Fortunately, we never had the same issues that New York City had, because we had strong Republican leadership. County Executives Ralph Caso, Francis Purcell, and Thomas Gulotta served this county between 1971 and 2001. They were able to keep the worst of it out of Nassau County, but there was still heightened levels of crime, drug use, and other issues that plagued our county.

The policies Zohran Mamdani is proposing are not new. They may be polished, but in essence they are a rehash of the same failed policies of the 1970s and 1980s that led to so much crime, death and destruction. The best that NYC can hope for is that Mamdani is so incompetent at being mayor, like he was at being an Assemblyman and a rapper, that nothing really changes. Far more likely is that he, with the backing of the 45 Democrats in the 51 seat City Council, implement the exact pro-criminal policies that they are espousing.

I can read a ballot, however, and Zohran Mamdani does not appear on any ballot in Nassau County. There is no

possible way we can vote against Zohran Mamdani. I am not running against Zohran Mamdani. This is about who I am running with.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has proactively proven that he knows how to protect Nassau County. He, along with District Attorney Anne Donnelly, have earned Nassau the honor of being named the safest County in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. 3,144 counties, we’re number 1. He had the support of the Republican majority on the Nassau County Legislature, which I am running for. There were things he was blocked from doing because a supermajority was needed, and the Democrats blocked it. This included more support for our Nassau County Police Department.

I am running with Bruce Blakeman and Anne Donnelly. I am running with the Town of Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti, who was a member of the Legislature and will work with us there to keep Nassau safe. I am running to prevent the NYC policies from spilling over into Nassau. I am running to welcome in the businesses and residents that will ultimately flee NYC for our greener pastures (all the while telling them to leave their politics, which caused them to flee, behind).

We cannot accomplish anything if we do not vote. Your vote is truly your voice in how you want your hamlet, village, town, county, state and country to be run. In local elections such as this one, you have an opportunity for your voice to be heard louder than in large national elections. Be heard. Vote.

Election Day is November 4. Early Voting is from October 25 through November 2.

TJH Centerfold

Fall Back Trivia

1. What is the estimated annual economic cost of the U.S. switching to/from Daylight Saving Time, according to a study by Chmura Economics & Analytics?

a. Less than $1 million

b. About $672 million

c. About $1.5 billion

d. About $22 billion

2. Who first proposed the idea of Daylight Saving Time?

a. Thomas Edison

b. Benjamin Franklin

c. George Hudson

d. Winston Churchill

3. Which U.S. state does not observe Daylight Saving Time?

a. Alaska

b. Hawaii

c. Arizona

d. Florida

4. The official reason given for starting Daylight Saving Time was:

a. To reduce car accidents

b. To improve worker productivity

c. To conserve energy

d. To annoy people

5. How many time zones are there in the continental U.S.?

a. 3

b. 4

c. 5

d. 6

6. What country first implemented Daylight Saving Time nationwide?

a. Germany

I’ve been working 25/7 to come up with a joke about

b. United States

c. Great Britain

d. France

Answers:

Wisdom key:

5-6 correct: You are so smart, you probably actually know how to change the clock on the microwave!

2-4 correct: You are pretty smart… you realized that the good place to start is with the button on the microwave that says “clock.”

0-1 correct: I told you – you should wear a helmet when falling back!

20 Things That Take Longer Than That Extra Hour You Just Gained

Waiting for your computer to restart after an update.

A Zoom meeting that “should only take five minutes.”

Finding your keys when you’re already late

Explaining to your parents how to open a PDF.

Listening to someone describe their dream.

Trying to cancel an online subscription.

Figuring out if the oven clock or the microwave clock is right.

The line at Dunkin’ on Monday morning.

Waiting for laundry to actually dry.

Walking into Costco “just to buy water.”

Putting on fitted sheets.

Arguing about whether we should abolish Daylight Saving Time.

Printing a boarding pass when the printer decides to “go on break” and your flight is in 90 minutes, and your WhatsApp is blowing up about traffic on Rockaway Turnpike.

Deciding what to do with your extra hour — and then wasting it.

Getting tech support to stop saying, “Have you tried turning it off and on?”

Explaining what Daylight Saving Time even is.

Assembling “easy” IKEA furniture.

Picking up your phone “just” to check the time.

Getting off a phone call with “that friend” who says, “OK, one last thing.”

Driving from one end of Central Avenue to the other end on a Friday.

Trying to figure out if there are really just 20 items on this list.

Riddle

Me This

What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every race?

Answer: The letter E

Torah Thought

Parshas Lech Lecha

By Rabbi Berel Wein z”l

The Torah teaches us that our father Avraham was told to leave his home in Mesopotamia and to travel to an unknown land, which eventually turned out to be the Land of Israel. The Midrash points out to us that the entire success of Avraham’s mission in life – to spread the idea of monotheism and the universal G-d – was dependent on his living in the Land of Israel. The question naturally arises why this should have been so. After all, he could have been successful in so doing had he remained in Mesopotamia, which then was the center of human civilization and culture, while the Land of Israel was somewhat of a backward, out-of-theway place.

There are many possible answers to this question, but the one that intrigues me most is as follows. Being successful in spiritual missions and growth always requires sacrifice and some physical discomfort. The prophet castigates those that are complacent and comfortable in Zion. A person is born to toil and accom-

plish, to be busy and productive. Without undergoing the arduous and potentially dangerous journey to the Land of Israel, Avraham will never fulfill his spiritual destiny. Avraham is the symbol of challenges in life.

in foreign society to grow into his great spiritual role of influence and leadership. But why the Land of Israel as the desired destination for Avraham? Jewish history provides us with this insight. It is in the Land of Israel that a Jew can truly

Being successful in spiritual missions and growth always requires sacrifice and some physical discomfort.

The ten tests that he undergoes shape him and mold him into the father of our people and the symbol of human civilization and monotheistic progress. Only by leaving his comfortable and familiar surroundings can he achieve greatness. It is imperative for him to leave and to wander, to be a stranger and an alien

achieve spiritual elevation and development. The Land of Israel provides greater challenges to Jewish development than any other location on the face of this earth. Throughout Jewish history, the Land of Israel has posed the greatest challenge to Jewish communal living. It is no surprise that those who live in Is -

rael find it to be a daily struggle in their lives. Nevertheless, it is the place for the greatest Jewish accomplishments and achievements. And it is the destination for Avraham in his quest for spiritual growth and attainment.

He will find it to be a difficult place in which to live, But, as he struggles with his tests in life and rises to each challenge, the L-rd promises him that the Land of Israel will be his place on earth for all his generations.

The challenge of living in the Land of Israel has never waned, but G-d’s promise to the Jewish people has always remained in force as well. It seems obvious that the ultimate fulfillment of Jewish life can only be realized in the Land of Israel. The problems faced there sometimes seem overwhelming. But the rabbis stated that according to the pain and difficulty so is the reward. As the children of Avraham and Sarah, we must rise and overcome all our tests and challenges as well.

Shabbat shalom.

From the Fire

Parshas Lech Lecha One Against the World

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

This is the most exciting time of year. Once again, as we begin Parshas Lech Lecha, we read about the Avos, starting with Avraham Avinu. Everything begins with Avraham, and everything ends with Avraham. As Rashi says (commenting on Bereishis 12:2), in the first paragraph of Shemoneh Esrei, we mention Avraham first among the Avos, and we conclude the blessing with a reference to Avraham as well, “we conclude with you.”

Beyond the text of a paragraph in Shemoneh Esrei, what does it mean that we open and close with Avraham Avinu?

Rav Nosson Nota Spira, zt”l , writes in Megaleh Amukos that the deeper meaning of Chazal’s teaching is that the Jewish people begin and end exile with the powers we inherited from Avraham. What was Avraham’s most identifiable characteristic? Yechezkel describes Avraham with a unique statement not

used regarding anyone else in Tanach, including Moshe Rebbeinu and Dovid Hamelech. He says (33:24), “Avraham was one.” He was unique and stood alone against the entire world.

As a nation, we certainly feel what it means to be alone, standing against everyone else. We look around us and feel that not only is the entire Muslim world against us, but the Western world has again turned its back to us, isolating and rejecting us. We know that we are, in a very real sense, alone.

The Megaleh Amukos’s teaching that we begin and end our exile with the power to stand against the entire world like Avraham Avinu is not, however, directed only at the Jewish nation as a whole. It applies to every individual Jew as well.

We live at a time of unprecedented spiritual blessings. There are more people studying in yeshiva than ever before.

It is astounding how many shiurim are available to people. Deeper levels of Torah are now extremely accessible. But with all of our spiritual blessings, one thing has changed drastically. In earlier times, most people lived a “single life.”

In other words, they davened, learned, worked, and raised their families. They lived one, consistent, cohesive life. There was, of course, tremendous variation in the spiritual and physical quality of that life, but people lived “single lives.” Even those who left the path of Yiddishkeit did so completely and lived a consistent, albeit nonobservant, life.

Today, however, there is a different reality. Many, many people live fine, upstanding lives during the day. They get up to daven and learn Torah. Perhaps they even go to the mikvah. They go to work, teach in yeshiva, and may even be roshei yeshiva or prominent rebbeim. They are known far and wide

as ehrlicher Yidden , honest religious Jews or talmidei chachaim , great Torah scholars. Yet at night, when all the doors are closed, they descend down into the depths of the forty-nine levels of impurity with the click of a mouse or the tap of a screen. So many people are now living double lives.

And no one knows about people’s alter ego besides themselves and Hashem. Sometimes wives or parents catch them and bear the pain of knowing about their secret life of impurity. But no one in their communities has any idea who they really are or the nature of their struggles and failures.

Many people remain immersed in the depths of Geheinom by night, but look like the same holy Jews they always were during the day. Today’s technology enables people to live a double life to a degree that was not possible just twenty-five years ago.

What is the significance of this new reality in these last few minutes before Mashiach? It means that now, every single Jew has the opportunity to stand alone against the entire world like Avraham Avinu did in his own time. “Avraham was alone” meant that he was called (Bereishis 14:13) “Avraham the Ivri” because, according to the Yalkut Shimoni on that pasuk , “the whole world was on one side, eiver, and he was on the other side.”

Most Jews today carry a device in their pockets that can access the entire world in just a few seconds. So, just like Avraham Avinu, when a Jew sits in his home at 11 p.m. with no one watching, he finds himself alone, facing down the world. And just like his great-grandfather Avraham, he has the power to say, “No!” But that challenge feels daunting.

Because the whole world is now so easily accessible to a person, we have never before seen a situation in which every boy and girl, every man and woman, has been called upon to fight against the entire world.

My father occasionally commented that he was so impressed with yeshiva bochurim , young men studying in yeshiva, today. Why? Because they have so many more options and choices than he and his contemporaries had growing up in Ungvar, Hungary. In those days, leaving Yiddishkeit meant never seeing his family or anyone else he knew ever again. And it was not so easy to sin in private. There were simply not very many options. So if a person there loved his family and was not so motivated that he was willing to give up his entire life, he had to live a relatively specific life. There was very little wiggle-room. He had one cousin who decided to leave religion. He traveled to Vienna to study in university and eventually moved to Australia. But such occurrences were rare in Ungvar. My father expressed amazement that even though young people today have so many choices, they choose to spend a year in seminary or go to yeshiva for several years after high school. It is astounding. There certainly have been choices that our people have had to make. We were threatened by many movements that were very tempting, like the Enlightenment, Reform, communism, and many others. But we were able to fight these things as a community. We formed yeshivos, chassidic groups, political groups, and organizations. We rallied together and faced these threatening movements together. But the

threats today are different. There are no shuls or religious political organizations together with a Jew when he is sitting with the lights off at night and no one is looking. He faces the collective impurity of the whole world alone. “Avraham was alone.”

Avraham had the whole world open to him – he had a choice. Yet he chose to

lay in bed, I began thinking about it. I wondered how a grandson of Jews who had been killed in gas chambers by the Nazis could attend public school and other thoughts that go through the head of a child of Holocaust survivors. I also thought about the fact that I would probably have a different rebbe the next year. Eventually, I went to sleep.

Every single Jew has the opportunity to stand alone against the entire world like Avraham Avinu did in his own time.

embrace Hashem and spurn all the insanity of the world, even though people persecuted him for his choice. Similarly, each person today has the whole world in front of him right in his pocket. Just like Avraham had no one to help him in his fight because he was alone, a Jew today must also stand against the whole world alone.

I will share a personal story. When I was in sixth grade, I decided I could no longer tolerate yeshiva, and I wanted to transfer to public school. My rebbe that year was a cruel and vicious man. He beat his students every day – and not with the palm of his hand but with his fists. Such a teacher would be arrested today. He was an extraordinarily angry person, and I was miserable in his class. To make matters worse, my family was one of only two religious families on my block. In the winter, I arrived home after it was already dark, at which point all of the other boys on my block had already played basketball and hockey, returned home, and were already watching their third TV show by the time I got off my school bus. Especially after the misery I endured between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. every day in my rebbe’s class, this injustice was more than I could take.

I told my father one Thursday that I simply could not stay in yeshiva anymore. I was miserable, and I wanted to switch to public school. He knew I was unhappy, listened to my prepared statement, and responded, “I understand, but this is a very big choice. The decision is yours, but I believe you ought to think about it over the weekend. Let’s talk about it Sunday morning.” I was shocked that my father would even consider it. So Friday night, as I

After davening Sunday morning, my father asked me, “So, what did you decide?” I answered that I had decided to stay in yeshiva. My father almost never showed emotion, but I saw that his eyes were a little red as he said he was proud of me for my decision. But I asked him, “Would you really have let me transfer to public school if I wanted to?” He answered, “Are you crazy?! Over my dead

body!” “But,” I asked my father, “you said it was my decision! That I could choose!” I will never forget my father’s answer: “I said that because I knew you would make the right choice.”

For some reason, it is Hashem’s will that every Jew today has the opportunity to conquer the whole world in a way of “Avraham was alone.” It is as if He is telling each of us, “I know you have the ability to make the right choice.”

Avraham was known for his attribute of kindness, chessed . The Zohar (114b) says that Avraham did kindness with his Creator. Every time one of us stands up to the whole world like Avraham Avinu and makes the right choice, Hashem considers it an act of kindness to Him!

May each of us merit to see how precious our personal battles against the world are to G-d – how Hashem will say about each one of us “He was one” or “She was one” against the whole world!

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

Think. Feel.Grow.

The Deeper Purpose of Torah Wisdom

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

As 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, he or she 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

Delving into the Daf

The Avodah of Shemoneh Esrei

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 98:4) writes that tefillah, specifically the Shemoneh Esrei, is comparable to the offering of a korban.

“Prayer stands in place of the sacrifice. Therefore, one must ensure it resembles the korban in its focus and intention, without allowing unrelated thoughts to intrude— just as an improper thought could invalidate an offering. One must stand during prayer, as the Avodah was performed standing, and pray in a fixed place, just as each offering had a fixed location for its slaughter and sprinkling of blood…

“It is also fitting that one have special garments for prayer, reminiscent of the Bigdei Kehunah, though not everyone can afford to do so.”

Guarding Our Intentions

The daf in Zevachim currently delves into how improper intentions can invalidate a korban. It is therefore no surprise that the Shulchan Aruch draws this parallel — our tefillah must mirror the sanctity and precision of the Avodah. Yet, maintaining pure concentration during Shemoneh Esrei is a most difficult spiritual challenge.

A well-known story captures this struggle with a touch of humor. A gentile once asked a rabbi why the Jewish people seem to be so successful in business. The rabbi smiled and replied, “If you silently meditate on your business three times a day, every day, would it surprise you that you succeed?”

The Eternal Challenge of Kavanah

Distraction during prayer is hardly a modern problem.

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik wrote that if one is not fully aware that he is standing before Hashem while reciting Shemoneh Esrei, he has not fulfilled the mitzvah at all. The Chazon Ish, however, disagreed by citing the Gemara, which says that we must “give thanks to our head that it knows to bow at Modim.” Even in Talmudic times, the Chazon Ish explained, people struggled with concentration; the

battle for kavanah is ancient.

One rabbi quipped that after Shemoneh Esrei, we should recite Tefillas Haderech—for we have just returned from a long journey abroad!

The Chofetz Chaim’s Mashal: Grab What You Can

The Chofetz Chaim offered an insight into working on kavanah during Shemoneh Esraih.

He compared it to a street vendor selling fresh rolls in the marketplace. Suddenly, a stray dog runs by and knocks over the vendor’s table. The rolls scatter everywhere, and before the stunned seller can react, a pack of dogs rushes in, each snatching a roll and running off. The vendor stands there helplessly, watching his livelihood disappear.

A bystander shouts, “Don’t just stand there! If the dogs are grabbing, grab too!”

The Chofetz Chaim explained: the yetzer hara tries to snatch away every bracha we recite during Shemoneh Esrei, stealing our kavanah and focus. But we shouldn’t surrender. If he grabs, we must grab too! Even if we can’t hold onto all nineteen brachos, let’s seize whatever we can. One heartfelt blessing, one genuine moment of awareness, is infinitely precious before Hashem.

Physical Parallels to the Korbanos

The Mishnah Berurah extends the

Shulchan Aruch’s comparison of Shemoneh Esrei to the Avodah. Just as a kohen performing the service could not have anything separating his feet from the floor, one should not have a separation between himself and the ground while praying.

How far does this halacha go? The Mishnah Berurah clarifies that one may not pray on a platform or item that is raised more than three tefachim, approximately 9–12 inches, above the surrounding floor, as that conveys arrogance. However, if the elevation is less than that, most Acharonim rule that it poses no problem.

The Mishnah Berurah (Chelek Alef) adds that spreading leaves on the floor on Yom Kippur is permitted. Since worshippers were barefoot and the ground cold, the leaves served to ease discomfort, and their thinness did not constitute a separation. Yet, intriguingly, in the Mishnah Berurah (Chelek Vav) in the laws of Yom Kippur the Chofetz Chaim writes that this leniency applies only to someone who is cold, implying that ideally, one should avoid any barrier, even something as slight as a layer of leaves.

This apparent contradiction caught the attention of Ishai Yisrael, who asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky about it. Rav Chaim explained that the Chofetz Chaim was merely giving a practical example in the later volume, but the halacha l’maaseh follows the first chelek: if the barrier

is less than 9-12 inches high, it is mutar lechatchilah . In fact, Ishai Yisrael records this conclusion explicitly. The Be’er Heitev (O.C. 90) even notes that it was common practice in the time of the Bach to daven on mats on Yom Kippur.

Reconciling the Mishnah Berurah

Still, Rav Chaim’s reconciliation, while logical, feels somewhat dochuk . There may be another explanation.

In Kitzur Toldos HaChafetz Chaim (p. 42), the Chofetz Chaim’s son reveals fascinating background information:

“My father, the master, came to visit me, and after some discussion between us, he suggested that I assist him in compiling the Shulchan Aruch. He instructed me to remain at home and study specific sections of Hilchos Shabbos, to analyze and clarify them in writing, and send him my notes ( kuntrisim). He would then review them together with his sonin-law, Rabbi Tzvi, and include what they deemed fitting in his work.

“I note for the scholarly reader that since these writings were not all from the same pen, certain contradictions may be found.”

From this, we learn that portions of the Mishnah Berurah were indeed authored by the Chofetz Chaim’s son, and possibly by others under his supervision. There is a tradition that Rav Dovid Leibowitz, zt”l, authored or co-authored Hilchos Sukkah.

Perhaps, then, the seeming contradictions between volumes were intentionally left intact, each reflecting the considered judgment of a Torah scholar working under the Chofetz Chaim’s direction.

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.

Kavana matters. There is a bracha that we recite every morning. It is recited just before Shemoneh Esrei. This article is designed to both teach Torah and also improve our kavana in this bracha.

Join me. Join me for a walk in downtown Yerushalayim. But not now – the walk is almost 24 years in the past.

It is March 21, 2002. We are in downtown Yerushalayim, on Rechov King George.

A young couple, Tzipi and Gad Shemesh, are walking home from a pregnancy checkup. Tzipi is five months pregnant. She is carrying twins. She is 29 years of age, Gadi is 34. They have two daughters at home: Shoval, 7, and Shachar, 3.

Tzipi is an accountant at the Akademon bookstore at the Hebrew University. Gad is a Staff Sergeant-Major responsible for the IDF’s graphics and printing department.

Their minds are full of hope and dreams for their unborn children. Another individual is also walking by – a Mr. Yitzchak Cohen is going about his day.

And then, suddenly and instantly –obliteration.

Rachmana litzlan.

Headlines Halacha

Gazing at a Rasha

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber detonated himself in their midst. The Shemesh couple—and their unborn baby—gone in an instant. Yitzchak Cohen murdered. Dozens others maimed. Some permanently. Others needing rehabilitation for years and decades. In total, 89 other people are injured.

The suicide bomber’s handlers were two Fatah terrorists. According to the very testimony of one of these handlers, that very morning, they brought the suicide bomber—already strapped into his suicide belt—to a high profile leader’s office.

That leader looked at the man who in a short time would slaughter innocent civilians. That leader handed him cash and also handed him two hand grenades.

Hours later, body parts littered a Jerusalem street. A pregnant woman and her husband were dead. Their babies would never be born.

Who was that man? His name was Hussein al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh was formerly a colonel in the PA’s Preventive Security forces. Then he advanced in rank. He eventually became General Secretary of Fatah in Judea and Samaria.

But on that Thursday morning, March 21, 2002, Hussein al-Sheikh facilitated a triple murder.

And Al-Sheikh’s career flourished.

As PA Minister of Civil Affairs, he threatened Israel with “political, security, and financial consequences” when Israel tried to stop the “Pay-for-Slay” program—cash rewards for terrorists.

When banks tried to close accounts belonging to 35,000 terrorists, alSheikh raged that this “harms the dignity of every Palestinian” and constitutes “submission to the occupation’s will.”

When terrorist Nasser Abu-Hamid—a man who murdered seven people in cold blood—died of cancer in prison, al-Sheikh eulogized him as a “heroic prisoner” and demanded Israel return his body so Palestinians could “honor him as is fitting for a Martyr.”

This is the man who facilitated the murder of a pregnant woman.

Just months before October 7, 2023, as Palestinian Arab terror attacks surged, al-Sheikh called for the PA and Hamas to unite, urging all Palestinian “factions”—including the genocidal terrorists of Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

After Hamas’s October 7 massacre— the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust—al-Sheikh called Hamas his “brothers.”

When Israel eliminated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, al-Sheikh publicly contacted another Hamas leader to offer condolences, calling Haniyeh’s death “a great loss for the Palestinian people.”

When Abbas appointed him Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee, only 26% of Palestinians supported the move.

The international community will be told al-Sheikh is a moderate. A pragmatic new face.

The truth?

He is a murderer in a suit.

This is the man now positioned to lead the Palestinian Arabs.

And what of the two orphaned girls? Shoval is 30 now. Shachar is 27.

According to the Palestinian Basic Law, when the PA president dies or becomes incapacitated, the speaker of the Legislative Council should step in. But democracy is a fiction in the Palestinian Arab political arena. The Legislative Council has not functioned since Hamas violently seized Gaza in 2007. No elec -

tions in twenty years. Palestinian Arabs never voted for Abbas—they voted for Hamas. Now, the corrupt 89-year-old dictator has simply appointed his own successor.

His choice? Hussein al-Sheikh. He will be a public figure, and his picture will be everywhere. Why do we care?

Because the halacha throws in a complication.

The Gemara in Megillah explains that Rebbe once inquired of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Karcha as to how he merited to long life. He said that he had never looked upon the face of an evil-doer. He quoted Rabbi Yochanan that it is forbidden to look at the face of a rasha.

Reasons

It seems that the meforshim present three rationales for the prohibition. The first is that there is a force of tumah that is on the face of the evil-doer and looking at his face could actually draw out this tumah toward this person. This explanation seems to have been put forward by the Maharsha on the Gemara and also author of the Kav HaYashar (chapter II). Rav Elya Lopian zt”l (Lev Eliyahu – Parshas Noach) also espouses this view. Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Goldstein in his attributes this view to Rav Scheinberg, zt”l, as well as the mashgiach of Kaminetz, Rav Moshe Aharon Stern.

A second reason, suggested by Rabbeinu Yonah in his Shaarei Teshuvah (Shaar III #193), is that one can be influenced by the person and perhaps come to befriend him. This is also the view of the Meiri in Megillah.

The Maharsha provides another answer as explained by the Pri Magadim in his sefer Rosh Yosef. Man was created in the Divine Image. When and if he reduces himself to act in an evil fashion, it is tantamount to a disgrace of the Divine stamp, heaven forbid. Thus, looking at the face of a rasha is like seeing someone disgracing Hashem, chalilah.

This author would like to suggest a fourth possible reason. Chazal were aware that there is a certain percentage of the population that are rebellious and do things b’davka. If society holds something to be anathema, this small percentage would likely end up doing it. It could very well be that Chazal was attempting to place logistical impediments to this small percentage of rebels in limiting their exposure to such people in the first place. The fact that so many “moderate Muslims” gave up their west-

ern tolerance and became radicalized is an example of this underlying idea.

Is a Picture Different?

When the sources discussed the prohibition, they were referring to the actual person. They did not discuss a drawing or a picture. The poskim have actually discussed whether or not one can look at a picture. Rav Ezriel Auerbach, shlita, cited in a journal entitled

why the Shulchan Aruch does not quote the halacha.

Another possibility is that Rabbi Yochanan is speaking only of looking directly at the face of a rasha. Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Karcha’s specific behavior which granted him longevity was having nothing to do with the rasha – even beyond the letter of the law. If this is the correct understanding of the Gemara, then it might be a middas chassidus to

There is a force of tumah that is on the face of the evil-doer and looking at his face could actually draw out this tumah toward this person.

BeNesivus Hahalacha (Tammuz 5772), distinguishes between real life and a picture and permits looking at a rasha through a picture. In his work, Om Ani Choma (page 40), Rav Mordechai Gross, one of the leading poskim in Eretz Yisroel, likewise permits looking at a photograph of a rasha.

A source sent me a quote that Halichos Chaim (2: 362 p. 171) cites Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, as answering that there is no prohibition in looking at the picture of a rasha. Likewise, Rav Shlomo Miller was cited by that source permitting it.

Rav Nissim Karelitz, zt”l, however, forbids it in his Chut Sheini (Vol. III page 260).

As an interesting aside, my parents, a”h, went to see the captured Adolf Eichman, ym”sh, after he was captured and put on trial in Jerusalem. While on trial, he was held in a glass cage. Rav Mordechai Gross permits gazing upon a rasha in a glass cage.

Question On the Original Source

One can pose an interesting question on the source of the halacha. What is being added by Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Karcha exactly, above and beyond the quote of Rabbi Yochanan?

One possibility is that Rabbi Yochanan is speaking figuratively, and that it is not a full-fledged halacha. Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Karcha is thus adding that one should follow this advice, notwithstanding any social difficulties such an approach may have. This would explain

however, there is a developing neo-ISIS movement, then it would still apply.

Gazing Extensively

There are poskim who translate the word l’histakel as meaning “intensely gazing.” There is a debate between Rav Moshe Feinstein and the view of the Bach regarding the exact meaning of this word when it comes to looking at women. The Bach forbids it entirely, but Rav Feinstein permits looking but forbids gazing. The Magen Avraham (OC 225:20) makes this point explicitly in regard to looking at a rasha and thus permits it if one does not gaze intensely.

But instead, we post the picture of Gadi Shemesh.

avoid having anything to do with such a rasha even beyond the letter of the law.

According to the reason espoused by Rabbeinu Yonah, it would seem that if his movement is also dead, then one would be able to look at him, because there is no concern that he will become a follower. If,

May we all continue davening for yeshuos, nechamos and techiyas hameisim And may we all have greater kavana in the bracha of “Ga’al Yisroel.” And in the words recited earlier, “Ufdeh chinumecha, Yehudah v’Yisroel , And redeem as You have said, Yehuda and Yisrael.”

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

In Memory

The Passing of Malka Devorah bas Sholom Isser, a”h

Answering One of Life’s Greatest Questions

By Shaya Ostrov

One of life’s most difficult questions is why do some individuals spend so much of their lives suffering endlessly?

Over decades I asked this question about Malka Devora, a”h. However, it was only in her passing that Hashem gave me great clarity.

You never heard of Malka Devorah bas Sholom Isser, known as Debbie, who died on the 8th of Tishrei. When she passed away, she was seventy-three. She left no aveilim to say kaddish. She was never married, had no siblings, nor friends and she didn’t even have herself. You see, for most of the past sixty years, she went in and out of mental institutions, diagnosed with psychosis, schizophrenia, and many other psychiatric disorders which were probably all correct. So she never worked a day in her life and had never known any personal achievements. Her sole distinction was her smile and that

she was the grandchild of Menachem Binyomim Benzion Rottenberg-Halberstam, who was the great-grandson of the Divrei Chaim. He was the Rebbe at Congregation Divrei Chaim in Bensonhurst and was recognized by the Satmar Rav as one of the great tzaddikim of the dor His prominent kever in the Washington cemetery in New Jersey, which sits just opposite the kever of the Bobover Rebbes, is frequented by many visitors, sometimes even busloads, seeking yeshuos and refuos. He died in 1957 when Malka Devorah was just five. She knew him as a deceased zaida, however, in her confused, chaotic and tortured mind, his distinction and greatness had no meaning for her.

Over the past 30 years, I, as her cousin through marriage, had been her medical care proxy as she went from one mental hospital to the next. About 20 years ago, she finally settled into an adult living center and then a local nursing home under

intense psychiatric care. I attempted to care for her small needs and visit her erev Shabbos with candy, kugel, gefilte fish and anything that would bring a smile to her face. Eventually, her heavy doses of psychotropic medications kept her docile,but destroyed her brain and probably took her life, as she went into a deeper and deeper fog until all she could do was open and close her eyes and sometimes mumble incoherent words and sentences.

This is the reason that over the years I continued to ask myself why Hashem would bring a person into the world from such illustrious yichus and imprison her in a life completely devoid of the ability to function in any productive way. I never had an answer to this unfathomable mystery until the day of her passing when suddenly a message came through, as clear as a lightning bolt. This is what I’d like to share.

It was 5 a.m. when I received the mes-

sage of her passing. I was saddened and began to make burial arrangements for the family plot in Washington cemetery in New Jersey where her own parents and other family members are buried around the prominent kever of the zaida.

Upon the news of her death, my mind went racing. Who would come to the gravesite levaya? For almost thirty years, with rare exception, I was her only visitor. Certainly, there could be no minyan. However, I spoke to a friend, Chaim, and the driver of the Yeraim Chapel van, Isaac. Both would be there and that eased my feelings a bit. A call was made to a nephew, Michael, who lived close to the cemetery, and we were up to four. However, when I called the cemetery, the director asked if there would be a minyan. The burial was just three hours away and seemed impossible. He suggested I call Rabbi Josh Pruzansky, who heads an organization in Edison, the Raritan

Valley Orthodox Jewish Community Association, who may be able to assist me in pulling a minyan together

Not only was Rabbi Pruzansky receptive; he called back within an hour with enough men to complete the minyan. I was elated by the prospect that perhaps at the end of her tragic life, she would receive a modicum of kavod. To my pleasant surprise, my nephew R’ Uri Benjamin, who was a member of the Edison community, was called by Rabbi Pruzansky and was the first to arrive with a friend. We were now up to six. He informed me that there were four other members of the community who were on the way but would be delayed about twenty minutes. We were able to find another person willing to accompany us but were still short. Suddenly, events seemed to take on an almost miraculous turn. While we were there, we saw a busload of Bobover Chassidim who had come to daven at the Rebbe’s kever. Perhaps there were twenty or thirty of them. We asked if they could help us complete a minyan for a meis mitzvah who was a Sanzer einikel. Bobov was also a part of Sanz. The response was immediate and electrifying. “A Sanzer einikel ? A meis mitzvah?” They came running to share in this mitzvah of halvo’os

ha’meis, as well as caring for a meis mitzvah who was a Sanzer einikel. The scene reminded me of the piyut on Yom Kippur describing flashing malachim running to do the ratzon Hashem . The young chassidim grabbed the aron and started running with it toward the freshly dug grave. I watched in utter amazement how they set down the aron just opposite

ing returned to her roots by a multitude of young chassidim who recognized her true worth. The einikel of the tzaddik, after having suffered in mind and body, was being escorted back to her holy roots a pure neshama with a levayah worthy of her choshuv predecessors. Suddenly, the answer to my question of her suffering became clearer.

Suffering in this world comes to an end, however, its reward is eternal.

her zaidy’s prominent kever. The young chassidim grabbed the straps and lifted her over the open grave, then carefully lowered her until the aron was safely at the bottom and then started shoveling the earth over it, all the while others were reciting Mishnayos and Tehillim.

Malka Devorah had tragically lived her life alone and died alone. However, Hashem was clearly orchestrating her levayah from the highest spheres of Shamayim. Malka Devorah was be -

I remembered how, when a close friend shared that when he was going through great personal suffering, he spoke to Rav Schach, zt”l. The words of the godol were “even if you’re given millions of dollars don’t sell one second of your suffering. Your schar will come in your nitzchiyus.”

Malka Devorah suffered in her tormented life for six decades, now her zaidy, the Rebbe, was welcoming her to her nitzchiyus, her eternal reward.

This became the answer to the question I have asked for decades. Suffering in this world comes to an end, however, its reward is eternal. This is at the heart of our emunah.

There are times when each of us must experience and endure suffering. And we all know individuals who have gone through great emotional and physical pain and cry out. Sometimes, we can help, and other times, we can just try to be there for them. However, we can never forget that their, or our own, suffering is always heard in the heart of Shamayim and becomes a pathway to eternity. Every second of the sixty years worth of Malka Devorah’s life was remembered as the young chassidim lowered her into the grave and were also handing her over to the malachim who will escort her to the Kisei Hakavod, with her zaide first to welcome her.

Hashem’s plans are always beyond our comprehension. However, there are moments when events unfold in a moment of pure unequivocal clarity. This was one such moment.

Now that her days in this world are over, I will miss our erev Shabbos visits but will say Kaddish for her and wish her a lichtige Gan Eden.

Idon’t have a car; we determined early in our Aliyah that we were too old to navigate the traffic and the lack of parking. Nachlaot Achim is centrally located and near anything you may want to buy or visit in Jerusalem. I take buses and cabs.

Because of all the Light Rail complications in my neighborhood and me being good to myself, I take cabs. Gett in Israel is like Uber, sort of.

When leaving home, I usually call Gett for a cab; when in the street I use both options – call for a Gett or hail a cab. Much has been said about Israeli cab drivers; most stories take the form of jokes. The reality is that it’s no joke to navigate the streets and the people of Jerusalem, especially during the recent weeks of demonstrations, street closings and visiting dignitaries. Driving around here is an insane experience for the driver, the passenger and the pedestrian.

Wednesdays, I usually go to an 8:00 a.m. Hebrew language-only gym class. Attendance keeps me focused and engaged despite my language struggles. From there, I go down the block to a vaad shiur with Rebbetzin Deena Schoonmaker. It’s a neighborhood discussion group that focuses on living a halachic life with a young family during complicated times. I like listening to the women’s stories and engaging with them from my storehouse of experiences.

This week there was no class, so I filled my day having coffee with a dear friend, papercutting (my hobby therapy), and a wedding. To get where I had to go, I took cabs. I called a Gett from my house to meet my friend at a lovely new cafe called Malka’s on Rechov Hanasi. After our snack and long talk sitting outdoors enjoying the warm sun, I embarked on the walk to papercutting located on a street called David Shimoni Most people, cab drivers included, never heard of the street; I can’t count the times I got lost going there by bus from home.

I was carrying a heavy tote filled with my papercutting materials and wedding clothes. I had been told by my friend Joe that it was just down the block, or two or

School of Thought

Cabs and Weddings

By Barbara Deutsch

three or more, to my destination. It wasn’t.

I hailed a cab. The 33-shekel meter cost seemed steep, but I guess it was not as close to Malka’s as we had thought. As the bag was really heavy, I justified the cab and the cost to the “being good to myself” self. I gave the driver a 200-shekel bill and waited for change. He was not happy! “Don’t you have anything smaller?”

I scrounged in my bag and came up with a 20-shekel bill and a 10-shekel coin. In Israel, coins are real money. The frustrated driver told me to put the owed 3-shekel in the tzedaka box. I asked his name to remember him; sadly, I forgot it two minutes after I got out of the cab.

I hate when that happens.

The wedding: I am determined to be part of s’machot made by people with whom I feel safe, prepared to put on a smile and participate with a full heart. Naomi and Vel are lifelong friends who have journeyed with us as we raised our children and celebrated milestones. When all of their children made Aliyah, they joined them in Israel. As we planned our own Aliyah, they provided the support, guidance, and, most significantly, the friendship we needed to land softly.

They have built a magnificent large family in Israel, and we have participated in their celebrations as a couple. This wed-

ding would be my first simcha on my own, a huge test of my resilience and courage. Ironically, two of their granddaughters’ weddings, one week after the other, are each to people I am familiar with from my past. After the first wedding, Naomi texted to thank me and encouraged me to come to the next one so that I could introduce her to this new family.

There is a logic to the Israeli wedding protocol; no matter how hard I try, I still can’t figure it out. Ostensibly, the wedding is divided into three parts: kabbalat panim and the chuppah followed by the meal. The last part, wherein the couple’s friends and the second tier of family/friends and an assortment of people (whom you don’t know what to do with) attend. In talking with some people, I get the feeling that unless you are within the tight circle of close friends and family, you are not certain that you have a seat or if you get to eat a meal.

My daughter Rachel gave me a tutorial. If you get an invitation with a response card, then you are invited to the wedding and the meal. No response card, maybe chuppah, maybe dancing. Problem: if you are invited to chuppah and dancing, what are you supposed to do with yourself in between.

Our small group of close family friends were invited to everything. With or without

the response card, we just knew. We came on time, 6:00 p.m., scouted out our table labeled “Friends” and put our bags down. Seniors need to eat on a schedule, so 6:00 p.m. means food. There already were assorted yummy salads on the table, so we indulged.

The badeken tells a beautiful story. All the women congregate around the kallah, and the chosson, accompanied by the two fathers carrying candles, approaches. He places the veil over his kallah’s face (in this case, a heavy dek tichel; she literally cannot see), turns and leaves. The chosson, the fathers and a long line of men follow behind him as they ascend to the chuppah.

The music is solemn, the atmosphere serious, and all very moving.

When I saw the chuppah room, I was happy to note that I would not have to stand throughout the wedding. Lovely white chairs were set up for the guests. It is not outside the norm to have all guests standing throughout the ceremony. As the kallah entered the room, everyone stood quiet respectfully. The chosson was waiting for her, “shaking away.”

For Anglos, this is a protocol for which you need a roadmap to understand the intricacies of being a guest. As in most things in Israel, it works; the simcha at the wedding was over the top.

I am so glad that I was there to witness the pure joy of the simcha

A family member at the wedding bought a new dress for the simcha; she had vowed not to buy anything until the hostages were home. In the streets, there is a lightness not felt in too long a time. Cab drivers are smiling. The matzav is better.

Looking forward to more good news. Taking it one day at a time.

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 trying to figure out life in Israel through reflections on navigating the dream of aliyah as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

My Israel Home Beyond Dreams: Building a Nation

By Gedaliah Borvick

Nearly 60 streets and squares across Israel are named after Ze’ev Jabotinsky – placing him among the top three most commemorated figures in the country, alongside David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin.

Why does Jabotinsky appear on more street signs than Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism? Perhaps because Herzl gave us the dream – the vision of a Jewish homeland – but Jabotinsky offered the means to make that dream a reality. Herzl imagined; Jabotinsky insisted we act. His uncompromising belief in Jewish self-defense and sovereignty helped shape Israel’s foundations and inspired a generation of leaders, including Menachem Begin, who called him “our teacher and commander.”

Born in Odessa in 1880 to a traditional Jewish family, Vladimir (later Ze’ev) Jabotinsky grew up immersed in Russian culture and literature. As a teenager, he began writing and quickly gained a reputation for his sharp wit. He refused to tolerate hypocrisy or complacency, and believed that words could

change the world – and the Jewish condition in particular.

But the Kishinev Pogrom of 1903 changed his path entirely. After witnessing 49 Jews murdered and hundreds wounded while the world looked away, he realized that words were not enough. He put aside his flourishing journalistic career and turned to action. In Odessa, he organized Jewish self-defense units, training young men to protect their communities, and often declared: “Better to have a gun and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

During World War I, Jabotinsky championed the creation of a Jewish fighting force. The Jewish Legion, under the British flag, helped liberate the Land of Israel from Ottoman rule. For the first time in nearly two millennia, Jewish soldiers marched into battle in their ancestral homeland.

After the war, Jabotinsky grew disillusioned with Britain’s retreat from the Balfour Declaration. He founded the Revisionist Zionist movement, demanding mass Jewish immigration to Palestine and a state capable of defending itself. His famous 1923 essay, The Iron Wall,

was unapologetically blunt: “We must build an iron wall of Jewish strength. Only then will peace be possible.”

His insistence on Jewish strength was not limited to Israel. In 1938, as the Nazis tightened their grip on Europe, Jabotinsky criticized the Zionist establishment for being too passive in protecting European Jewry. Unbowed, he traveled to Warsaw and pleaded with Jewish leaders: “I am prepared to take every Jew out of Poland. If you do not do this, you will condemn two million Jews to death.” His warning went largely unheeded – and within a few years, his nightmare became reality.

Many of Jabotinsky’s fiercest clashes were with David Ben-Gurion, leader of Labor Zionism. Ben-Gurion favored gradual diplomacy with Britain and building the Yishuv through kibbutzim and cooperative farming communities, while Jabotinsky demanded immediate statehood, mass immigration, and unapologetic strength. Their rivalry was often bitter, but Jabotinsky’s insistence on military power became central to the state Ben-Gurion eventually led.

Ze’ev Jabotinsky was a poet, novel-

ist, and translator who brought Dante and Edgar Allan Poe into Hebrew. He was convinced that a Jewish state needed not only an army but also a national culture and a shared pride rooted in Jewish history: “We were not born to be a nation of beggars. We are the people of David and the Maccabees.”

Jabotinsky understood that Jewish survival requires both faith and determination. In 1935, speaking in Tel Aviv, he delivered a defiant declaration of Jewish sovereignty and resolve – no more pleading for permission, only asserting a right that would never be relinquished. His words were relevant then, and they are just as relevant today, as Israel faces unrelenting threats and Jews worldwide confront growing hatred:

“Tell them: We have returned and we shall remain. Forever.”

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home, a real estate agency that helps people from abroad purchase homes in Israel. He is currently in the U.S. meeting with clients. To schedule a meeting, email gborvick@gmail.com.

Dr. Gabby Wild's Wild Life

By Malkie Schul M an

Dr. Gabby Zonenshine, better known to the public as Dr. Gabby Wild, DVM, MPH, CVA, has aspired to be a vet for as long as she can remember.

“I was always crazy about anything to do with animals. I’ve been riding horses since I was four years old and owned all kinds of pets throughout my childhood,” she shares.

From a young age, Gabby maintained an animal-related blog. When explaining how she acquired the nickname “Wild,” which isn’t her actual last name, Gabby says, “My friends called me ‘Gabby Wild.’ Later, when I established an animal-related charity, I used that name. National Geographic featured the charity, and that’s how it stuck.”

Early Animal Bonding -

From Florida to Paris to Thailand

Gabby was born in Florida but moved temporarily to Paris when she was very young, attended school in Europe, and then returned to Florida for her high school years.

“My father was an infectious disease doctor, specializing in treating Aids, so he traveled around the world a lot,” shares Gabby, “especially treating patients in poverty-stricken third-world countries. Since he was away much of the time, my grandfather raised me to a great extent. I was always badgering him to let me have a pigeon nursery, then a cat and a dog.”

When Gabby was 16, she was sent as a student ambassador from the U.S. with a group of other schoolmates to Japan.

“I sent my mom a picture of me taken with a deer resting its head on my lap under a bonsai tree,” Gabby recalls. “Animals read your energy and feed off it. I always had a sensitivity and respect for animals and they feel it.”

Gabby’s parents were always very supportive of her love of all things animal, so in the summer of that same year, they agreed to let her fly to Thailand to work at the Royal Elephant Stables. Although she was still a young teenag-

er – and a female one at that – Gabby man aged to gain the trust of the king’s vets, and they taught her a lot about elephant be havior, allowing her to assist with their care.

summer af ter that, I came back to work with a lot of experi ence that way,” says Gabby. This experience proved invaluable when, at 21, while finishing college, Gabby once again visited Thailand. It was during this visit that she met Khun Chai, a baby elephant in distress. He had been separated from his mother at an early age and lost his surrogate elephant mom when she died in a mudslide. He was depressed and wouldn’t eat. The staff was hoping Gabby would be able to help him. Given her knowledge of elephant behavior, Gabby realized Khun Chai didn’t want overt attention

Gabby offers her patients, however, she is firm in her belief that it is unwise to ever let your guard down when around them. They’re still wild animals, and you can never trust a wild animal not to harm you. Even if you’ve hand-raised a lion from birth, their natural behaviors can kick in and kill a person. Even their way of showing love can be physically harmful to a human.

“And there are no wild animals that are not potentially dangerous,” she warns. “A tiny owl can tear someone’s eyes out, elephants can beat someone to death or gore someone with their tusks, and giraffes can kick.”

Wild at Heart

“So when I went into his enclosure, I just sat there quietly. And when I looked at him, it was just out of the corner of my eye,” she explains. “About 30 minutes later, he came up and tapped me with his trunk. He realized that I was the only person who didn’t give him too much attention. From that moment, we were inseparable. Khun Chai became my baby. He followed me around everywhere.”

For all the TLC (tender loving care)

Today, Gabby is married with three young children. Her family also includes a little dog named Pixie and a horse named Bucephalus, after Alexander the Great’s horse. Gabby’s love for living beings doesn’t come as a surprise. “I get it from my dad,” she says. “He was a remarkable human being who lived to help others and his work was inspirational to me. I just don’t do people. My sister is a ‘human’ doctor. Yuck,” she adds with a laugh. “My soul always gravitated to helping animals.” Her love for all animals, notwithstanding, Gabby claims her real passion has always been wild animals.

“I want to have a larger impact in the world,” she shares. “Not only in a zoo setting, but in a global setting, to keep all species of animals flourishing in the wild.”

In that role, Gabby has traveled the world as a wildlife vet. She’s tended to almost every type of wild animal from hyenas to rhinos to giraffes to shoe-billed storks and tigers and many more. Her professional duties include everything from dental work to labor and delivery to surgery. When she’s not traveling, Gabby works at Turtleback Zoo in New Jersey and the rest of the week she runs a non-profit organization (NPO) called The Gabby Wild Foundation, Inc. in Manhattan. “Our primary goal,” Gabby explains, “is to reinforce the rain forests in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.”

Every day presents a new adventure for Gabby, even when she’s not operating in the wild.

“Just yesterday, I was caring for a sick owl at the zoo,” she shares. “The little fellow was taking his time waking up from the anesthesia I’d administered. Like a baby, I kept him warm and cozy, gently rocking him to consciousness. My teammates were laughing because I played baby ballet music to help him wake up. It worked wonders, though because I’m happy to report he’s now back to his old curmudgeon self—which, in his case, means he’s doing just fine.”

Gabby describes one of her scariest encounters with a wild animal.

“Often, I see tooth and gum decay in big cats that live in zoos because they don’t get enough necessary nutrients. One time,” Gabby recalls, “I was performing a root canal on a jaguar named Pirate in Belize, Central America when a lightning storm struck and the power went out.” Gabby wasn’t concerned because she knew the zoo had two backup generators. Midway through the procedure, however, the first generator blew. “I still didn’t lose my cool even though I had my fingers in the jaguar’s mouth,” Gabby continues, “because I knew there was a second generator.” Then with Gabby’s hand still in the jaguar’s mouth and with less than two minutes before the anesthesia would wear off, the second generator stopped! As fast as she could, making sure Pirate was OK, Gabby finished her work and helped get him back to his enclosure. She had barely gotten out of the cage when he woke up with a mighty roar.

Although Gabby continues to travel the world in a professional capacity, her trips have been seriously curtailed due to the arrival of her children. “I used to be on the road all the time. Now I travel every few months for 2-3 weeks at a time.”

Of course, all her traveling to remote parts of the world for weeks at a time begs the question – how is it possible as an Orthodox Jewish woman to make it work?

Doing it the Kosher Way

“We were not a religious family, but we were very Jewish,” Gabby shares about her childhood.

Gabby’s first real exposure to authentic Judaism began at age 15 when her older sister, 13 years her senior, embraced religion.

“She served as a role model to me after I became religious,” Gabby says.

However, it was at 18, during the “March of the Living” sponsored by her synagogue, when Gabby truly felt inspired to delve deeper into her faith. Accompanied by

her mother of Syrian descent, who wished to better understand what her husband’s European family had endured during the Holocaust, Gabby had a profound realization. She was struck by the depth of knowledge that her religious peers on the trip had about their heritage, information she felt she lacked.

“I remember asking my mother why I didn’t know any of the songs these kids were singing. I would go to synagogue on Saturday and then go horseback riding. Why didn’t I know what these kids knew?”

This experience marked the beginning of Gabby’s journey towards observant Judaism.

"I would go to synagogue on Saturday and then go horseback riding.

Why didn't I know what these kids knew?"

“After graduation, I went to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and became close with the Chabad rabbi and rebbetzin there who’ve become like second parents to me. Little by little, I took on Shabbat observance, kashrut and tziniut and other Jewish laws. I even took off time to go attend Mayanot seminary in Israel.”

 A routine checkup on an elephant



Performing surgery on a leopard

neutered. A more lenient stance allows neutering by a student for the sake of learning.

“For me, it turned into a non-issue since I embraced full observance midway through vet school,” Gabby shares. By then, she had performed the procedure numerous times. When her professors requested it again, she presented them with a letter from her rabbi, which clarified that Jewish law only permits neutering if medically necessary. She also highlighted her proven competence in this area from her years prior to becoming fully observant. Thankfully, the professors accommodated her by waiving the requirement. In the field, if neutering is necessary, Gabby ensures a non-Jew performs it. Nonetheless, she emphasizes that this issue is typically irrelevant as her primary role is to preserve species, not diminish them.

In accordance with her Sephardi husband’s wishes, Gabby wears head scarves instead of wigs, a practice that poses no problem in the jungle. Alongside this, however, she wears safari pants, long sleeves, and high socks, a practical attire she deems necessary. This outfit not only facilitates quick movement should she need to make a hasty exit, but it also ensures complete coverage against bites from malaria-carrying insects.

Being halachically observant in the field, claims Gabby, is not as hard as you might imagine. You just need to think creatively at times.

“For example,” Gabby says, “the developing nations like Asia, where there are many Muslims, are very respectful of men and women not touching each other so that’s not something I have to worry about when I travel there. In Western countries, where they aren’t as understanding, I will try to make a small bow in the way of greeting.”

Regarding neutering an animal, Gabby explains that there are different halachic perspectives. The most stringent view holds that unless an animal is sick, it can’t be

So as not to run into any problems with Shabbos, Gabby’s work schedule precludes traveling on Fridays. She even avoids Saturday night traveling because it gets too stressful.

Her creativity is put to the test when finding kosher food to eat. “People will often say to me, ‘Oh, so you go vegetarian when you’re traveling.’ Unfortunately,” Gabby explains, there’s often no clean water in the developing countries I visit so unless I want to get a disease (which I don’t), I can’t eat the fruits and vegetables.”

Instead, Gabby travels with lots of canned tuna fish, peanut butter and power bars.

“One time,” Gabby recalls, my friend caught a fish in Lake Victoria in Uganda and offered to split it with me. So, I went to the store, bought a pan, toiveled it and was able to share the fresh fish with him. Or there are times when I will buy a pot and cook up some rice to eat.” Since the rice comes straight from the rice paddies, she doesn’t have to worry about non-kosher additives.

In addition to being an observant Jew with all that entails, Gabby is also, atypical for a wildlife vet, a female. This was a challenge, she admits, when she first started working in the developing nations. In Thailand, the “mahouts” –the elephant trainers – were reluctant to collaborate with her until the Thai vets vouched for her training and skills, stating, “We trained her, she attended Cornell, and she’s good.” After witnessing her resolve problems they had been facing with their elephants for years, they finally relented.

“Now, I have a reputation, so they request me,” she shares. “The truth is, I’m not here to change cultural perspectives. Nevertheless, I find it gratifying that they can now view a female veterinarian as equal to a male one.”

Your typical vet in New York City, say, usually will see house pets like dogs, cats, rabbits and maybe an exotic bird. Gabby’s typical patients include animals such as the hellbender, an aquatic giant salamander, the largest amphibian in North America which usually provides for a lot more excitement on the job. For example, one time over 100 hellbenders came down with a disease at the zoo. Each amphibian needed its own container to prevent it from spreading the disease further. Additionally, some of the hellbenders had gotten into territorial fights with other hellbenders and were also scraped up. Gabby and her team had to care for their open wounds. Naturally, these animals had no understanding that they were being helped so they did what they could to escape treatment.

“Except for one hellbender,” shares Gabby. “It was like this little guy knew we were there to help him. He’d always remain perfectly still while we treated him, even when we gave him his shot. I called him my little buddy.”

If you think calming human patients down is hard before a procedure, then I don’t suggest you work with wild animals. Gabby deals daily with issues like “My patient has a slipped disc. How do I manage care with him when all he wants to do is eat me?” Or sometimes she needs to draw blood. Wild animals, however, are not typically cool with that so Gabby will have to first anesthetize them.

“Either I use a tranquilizing gun or a blow dart to anesthetize the animal. Some animals will permit a hand syringe,” she explains.

Through Gabby’s patients in the wild, she meets the indigenous cultures living there.

“I find the lives of the people and the animals are completely intertwined,” says Gabby. “We have to work with the villagers so they can understand why the animals are causing conflict. With that understanding, we can work towards a solution.”

For example, in South America, the jaguars were eating the farmers’ goats. Gabby and her team taught the farmers how to protect their goats without having to kill the jaguars. The same occurs with the elephants destroying farms in Africa and Asia.

“We must all work together,” Gabby maintains, “because all animals are necessary to the ecosystem.”

This is why Gabby’s rainforest preservation organization is so dear to her heart. The rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo, she explains, are bio-diverse places that are even older than the Amazon. They include many different species of animals all of whom need their natural habitat in which to live. The Sumatran rainforest, for example,

hosts, among many others, orangutans, rhinos, and its own species of tiger and elephant. “Our organization is doing the vital work of keeping them alive.”

To that end, she shares her concern for human behavior that harms animals on a global level.

“There’s nothing wrong with the fact that our human population is growing,” Gabby says, “but how we take care of our land and nature to facilitate its growth does make a difference. I feel honored to enable animals to live their lives.

“For example, one problem at hand is that humans are over-farming, and in the process, they’re taking over the animals’ territory. The destruction of the animals’ natural habitat (the rainforests, for example) causes the animals to get secluded in small pockets

 Examining a Sumatran elephant



Gabby with her husband and children

cosis in frogs. An example of this is the drought in Kenya, which raises the question of who should get access to limited water resources: farmers or animals? Of course, farmers get priority, but desperately thirsty elephants are aware of this and will raid the farms to obtain water.

Poaching is another problem. Every species is vital to the existence of other species. Poaching reduces their numbers.

“The problem is that everything is being done in excess,” says Gabby, like overfishing and over-farming. “Everything can be done, just in moderation.”

Gabby has strong convictions about the work she does and its source in the Torah.

"One time, I was performing a root canal on a jaguar named Pirate in Belize, Central America when a lightning storm struck and the power went out."

of forests thus separating them from other gene pools of their kind. The animals don’t travel to other pockets of rainforests and so reproduction of the species is halted. Also, many species need to move and migrate. They die out if they only have a small area to live in.”

Human carelessness has accelerated the release of “greenhouse” gases into the environment, which has led to significant changes in the biosphere. These changes have affected the survival of various species, limiting their access to natural resources like water and increasing their susceptibility to infectious diseases such as chytridiomy-

“Hashem begins the Torah with the creation of His beautiful world. Man is enjoined to take charge of Hashem’s world and not mess it up. We’re only here for a short period of time. Hashem wants us to choose to do what’s good, even when it’s not easy. The garbage is piling up in our oceans. People are consuming way too much. Every action has an effect on our world.”

She queries, “Why do you think the Torah talks about the animals in the Ark? It should just talk about the people if that’s all that counts. Instead, the Torah delineates each species and that’s because G-d wants us to view the world holistically and act accordingly. In other words, taking care of the environment matters.”

At a fundraising party she hosted to raise funds for the elephants her organization protects, Gabby spoke to the women about this concept.

“What did G-d require of Avraham to tell Eliezer to find in a wife for his son?” she asked. “Did He say, ‘Look for a woman who helps the orphan and the widow?’ No, he said, ‘Look for the woman who helps the animal – who’s there in the small detail – who cares even about the camels. This will show her level of chessed (kindness).”

As she travels the world, Gabby is acutely aware of her role as a representative of the Jewish people.

“I recognize how people look at me, as a Jew. As my father would always say, ‘You may forget you’re a Jew, but the world never will.’ We are a priestly nation, and our mission is to serve all the nations as representatives of G-d in His world. And that includes the animal kingdom.”

ITamir Goodman Making a Kiddush Hashem Through Basketball

By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

n tenth grade, Tamir Goodman was a relatively unknown yeshiva student. In eleventh, he was a superstar.

When I was in eleventh grade, everything just exploded,” Tamir recalls. “I ranked the 25th best basketball player in the country. I was getting scholarship offers. And then, the University of Maryland — which had one of the great-

In His Words…

The sixth lubavitcher Rebbe said something that i think about almost every day: ‘ no hard work goes without some type of growth.’

i really believe the world is about relationships. hashem created the world for us to have relationships with him and other people.

The question i often get is: ‘Doesn’t Judaism get in the way of basketball and your dreams?’ a nd i say, ‘absolutely not,’ because Judaism gives you the blueprint for everything in life, including athletics. Because we’re uplifting everything we do for hashem. Think about how we’re constantly strengthening our minds, whether it’s learning Torah, whether it’s the holidays, whether it’s working on ourselves every day. That’s what Judaism is: constant growth. a nd that’s exactly what you need for basketball. Every single day, you need consistency. Why does hashem ask us to daven the same exact tefillos three times a day? isn’t it boring? no. hashem is teaching us greatness. if you want to be great, you need consistency.

hashem invests in everyone, hashem believes in everyone, and everyone has a mission.

est college basketball teams of all time — called up my yeshiva and said, ‘We’re coming to watch you play tonight.’ After one night, one game, they offered me a four-year full athletic scholarship.”

From one moment to the next, Tamir had become an overnight basketball sensation — a celebrity that every media outlet was trying to access. News channels featured him. Newspapers wrote about him. Radio show hosts praised him. His rise to fame was meteoric.

When Sports Illustrated wrote a piece on Tamir, dubbing him the “Jewish Jordan,” the magazine sent an NBA photographer to the boy’s house. After the photographer captured shots of Tamir shooting hoops, the teenager turned to the photographer and made a suggestion.

“You know, I know you take pictures of basketball players. But for me, this isn’t about basketball,” Tamir confessed. “This is about representing the Jewish people and Israel, and I’d like to do that.”

“How? What did you have in mind?” the photographer asked.

“Here, let’s go to my room.”

There, the boy grabbed his tefillin and donned them in front of the photographer.

“Even though I already davened, I put my tefillin back on,” Tamir shares. “And I told him, ‘This is how Jewish people pray.’ I’m almost 43 now, but that picture of me in Sports Illustrated wearing my tefillin — almost anywhere I go in the world, people will stop me and say they still remember that photo.”

Indeed, Tamir never saw basketball as just a “game.” At a young age, while growing up in Baltimore, he developed an intense passion for the sport. One day, in fact, young Tamir walked into his kitchen after losing a basketball game to his older brother. The young boy was terribly distraught.

“Why does Tamir take basketball so seriously?” his brother Reuven, who was seven years his senior, complained to their mother. “I’m older than him. I’m supposed to beat him. Why does he get so upset?”

Tamir turned to his mother and, for the first time, articulated his deep love for the sport.

“Ima, it’s not just a game for me,” the young boy declared. “I really love basketball. And someday, I’d like to play professionally.”

At that point — when he shared his view that basketball was more than a game — he meant it literally: there was little he loved more than shooting hoops. But years later, when Tamir became the first Shomer Shabbos Jew to receive a Division I athletic scholarship, that sentiment — that basketball wasn’t just a game — took on a new meaning. To Tamir, basketball wasn’t just about shooting hoops or becoming famous; it was about making a Kiddush Hashem.

* * *

The next two years of Tamir’s life — eleventh and twelfth grade — felt like a hurricane. All so suddenly, the 17-yearold found himself in the public eye and

quickly discovered that life in the spotlight wasn’t all that glorious.

“If I had a bad night, it wasn’t just in the paper. It was spoken about everywhere. I remember one night I didn’t want to go to the press conference after the game, but coach said I had to,” Tamir shares. “And I said, ‘Well, what am I going to tell them?’ And he told me to just say that I shot really poorly tonight and that I have to get back in the gym. And so I learned, at 17 years old, to face national media.”

To make matters worse, in twelfth grade, Tamir had to switch schools because the media attention had become too much for his yeshiva. And so, he switched to a predominantly African-American Christian school for Seventh Aay Adventists (a group of people who also, to a certain extent, observe the Sabbath and, as such, don’t play on Shabbos).

“That came with a lot of challenges, but looking back at it now, it was a tremendous blessing for me because it really helped me a lot academically and athletically,” Tamir explains. “I had to leave my comfort zone, and it really prepared me for some of the things I was going to experience in college and professional basketball. So, because I played well that year at the Christian school, I got invited to play at the Capital Classic All-Star game, and Hashem blessed me to be the MVP of that game.

“It was very special that I was able to do that with my kippah on, playing against the best players in the country. And I think that’s one of the main reasons Hashem sent me to the Christian school.”

Initially, the University of Maryland agreed to Tamir’s one condition for joining the team: that he wouldn’t have to play on Shabbos. After the school suddenly reneged on that agreement, Tamir forfeited the scholarship and accepted a Division I offer from a different school: Towson University. Miraculously, the team agreed to change its schedule to accommodate Tamir. Soon thereafter, he met his college dorm roommate, a nearly seven-foot-tall Muslim basket-

ball player named Mohammad.

At first, Tamir’s college experience as an Orthodox Jew went well. But during his first Sukkos on campus, he came to the sobering realization that leading a Jewish lifestyle at Towson wouldn’t be as simple as he’d hoped.

Going into Sukkos, he thought he had everything he needed. A sukkah on campus? Check. Kosher food? Check. He was excited for the chag. But then, on Friday night Sukkos, he realized that he’d forgotten one thing: there was no eiruv. Thus, he had no way of bringing his food across the campus from his dorm room to the sukkah.

Tamir stared out his dorm window, devastated, until his roommate asked him if he was okay.

“Hey, why do you keep looking out the window?” Mohammad asked.

“You see on the other side of the campus that there’s this little teepee over there?” Tamir replied, pointing at the sukkah in the distance.

“Yeah, what is that?”

“Well, long story short, I have to eat in there tonight, but I’m not allowed to carry my food there,” Tamir told his roommate, sharing his impossible dilemma.

“Hmm,” Mohammad replied. “Well, am I allowed to carry the food?”

Tamir hadn’t thought of that.

“I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’ So, he literally walked across campus with my challah and everything, almost seven feet tall, ducked into the sukkah, put my food down on the table, and that’s how I was able to celebrate,” Tamir recalls. “So, there were challenges, but because my teammates were so incredible, I was able to do it: I was able to play Division I basketball on a full scholarship without playing on Shabbos or any Jewish holidays.” * * *

“Thank G-d, I had a really unbelievable freshman year. My teammates would go out of their way to help me. We won a lot of games. We built an incredible brotherhood. I was living the

dream. You know, before this, I struggled tremendously academically. I have dyslexia, so I could barely read or write or do math. I barely passed my SATs to even be able to play college basketball. And yet, here I was in college, starting as a freshman, Dean’s List, being able to learn Torah. Everything was perfect,” Tamir shares. “And then, unfortunately, I got a phone call during spring break. It was my head coach.”

Tamir immediately knew that something was wrong.

“I’ve got some bad news,” the coach told Tamir.

“Uh, what’s wrong, coach?”

“Well, there’s gonna be a press conference tomorrow, and I didn’t want you to find this out through the media. So, I wanted to tell you personally.”

“What is it?” Tamir replied.

“I’ve just been fired, and our entire staff has been fired,” the coach told him. “And I don’t think that you should stay at Towson because…I know who they hired instead of me.”

Tamir was, in his words, “crushed at that moment.”

“I felt like I had gone through so much in my life — giving the scholarship back to Maryland, having to transfer my senior year and graduate from a Christian school — so many ups and downs, and I finally found my home at Towson. They told me they were building the team around me. And to hear this news was really crushing for me,” Tamir explains. “And I didn’t listen to coach. I decided that the school went out of its way to accommodate me, and it would be rude if I transferred now. But coach was right. When the new coach came in, I realized from day one that I wasn’t going to be able to play there as a Jewish athlete.”

Soon thereafter, Tamir was physically attacked in the locker room — and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He left Towson and quit college basketball.

Tamir was, in his words, “beyond broken, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.” Moreover, he was confused. He had spent years training, lit-

erally pushing himself to tears. After all the obstacles he overcame, how could Hashem just let his accomplishments fade away?

For a while, he decided to forget about basketball in its entirety.

“And then, one day — I don’t know where I got the courage — I just woke up and I said, ‘I’m losing my identity by quitting basketball, and that’s not helping me feel better. And no, I can’t understand why this happened to me, but what does make sense is that Hashem invests in everyone, Hashem believes in everyone, and everyone has a mission. My mission is to make a kiddush Hashem through basketball. And I can’t let anyone take my mission away.’”

He started training again. And soon thereafter, he got a phone call from Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli basketball team, inviting him to join their team in Israel. He accepted.

At long last, it seemed like Tamir’s life was back on track. But then, early on in his rookie season, his team traded him. And just like that, his dream had ended.

“I felt disappointed, especially after everything that I’d gone through and how I picked myself back up. It was really hard for me. But looking back, it was an unbelievable miracle — because, only after I got traded did I meet my wife,” Tamir shares. “And that was and is the greatest blessing of my life. Meeting her was just the greatest miracle, and I still can’t wrap my head around it and how amazing a blessing my wife is for me and my life. How did Hashem do that? So, there were a lot of challenges, but sometimes when we feel like we’re going down the wrong way on a one-way street, it just means that we’re one step closer to finding our biggest blessing. And that’s what happened to me. And having to go through everything I went through in college and then being traded away in my rookie season — it was all worth it, because ultimately it brought me to my biggest blessing.”

* * *

In 2009, at age 27, Tamir Goodman

retired from basketball following a series of injuries and surgeries.

“After that last injury, I just knew that I couldn’t play anymore,” Tamir recounts. “I called my wife and I told her, and she told me the most beautiful thing. She said, ‘You know what? You’re going to be doing the same thing; you’re just gonna be wearing a different uniform.’ And that was the most brilliant answer anyone could have ever told me.”

Though he is no longer a professional basketball player, Tamir’s mission remains the same: to make a kiddush Hashem through basketball.

“I know 100% that if I had stayed healthy, I would have had better statistics, but I wouldn’t have reached my potential as a person,” he remarks. “My injuries made me much more sensitive. They made me a better father, a much better husband. Ev -

erything I’m doing now is because of my injuries. I’m coaching thousands of kids now, but I couldn’t have coached the kids that are struggling had I not lost my dream… In certain ways, coaching is more fulfilling than playing because I could look back at all the hard things that I went through and say, ‘Hey, now I know I went through that, and I learned something there so that this player doesn’t have to go through the same thing.’”

Years ago, Tamir once played with an extraordinary basketball player. But before the game — as Tamir sat in the locker room and learned Torah — he saw that man drunk, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“What’s wrong, man?” Tamir asked him.

“Let me tell you something,” the man replied. “When you have a dream of materialism, and then the materialism doesn’t make you happy anymore, it’s

the most depressing thing in the world. So, you want to become a pro, and you get that. You want to get that fancy car, and you get that. Whatever you want materially, you have it all. And then, that stuff just doesn’t make you happy anymore. And it’s really devastating.”

As the player expressed how unfulfilled he felt, Tamir felt very grateful to be Jewish.

“With Judaism, you’re attaching yourself to Hashem, Who is infinite. There’s infinite growth, infinite love, infinite spirituality. It doesn’t stop like materialism. There’s no limit,” Tamir notes. “So, of course, it was devastating for me that I’m a basketball player and I can’t play anymore. But on the other hand, it helped me grow spiritually because I started focusing on what Hashem wants for me instead of what I want from Hashem. So, it’s hard, but thank G-d, every single day I get to do exactly what I want to do, living in Israel

with my wife and five kids, and doing so many incredible things through basketball. I have an incredible job at Fabric as their head of sports.”

Tamir recently published a picture book called Live Your Dream, in which he recounts his story. He also recently founded a sports technology company called Aviv Sports.

“The challenges in life are springboards,” Tamir concludes. “Hashem’s not giving us a challenge to break us. Hashem’s giving us a challenge as a springboard to help us reach our true potential. And we need to be resilient. We need to take care of our heart, mind, and body. We need to get the proper rest, get the proper Torah study in, surround ourselves with the right people. And we will almost always see that when we overcome that challenge, it’s gonna take us to a height that we could have never imagined. And then we’ll smile and say, ‘Thank you, Hashem.’”

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

Dating Dialogue What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

Thanks for your amazing column! Here is my question. I went on three dates with someone, and it seemed like we really connected! It was an “opposites attract” kind of set-up— him more quiet and me more outgoing. Everyone (including the shadchan) was shocked when he said no after three amazing dates! So my question is, can I revisit? And if so, how long to wait and who/how to ask?

Thanks, Sima*

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

The Panel

Dear Readers,

We want to offer YOU an opportunity to be part of the discussion! Please email us at MichelleMondShadchan@gmail.com, subject line “reader’s response,” if you would like to participate in the new “A Reader’s Response” columnist spot. We will send you a question and publish your answer in an upcoming Navidaters edition.

If you have a question you would like the Navidaters to answer, please reach out to this email as well.

Looking forward!

Michelle, the “Shadchan”

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to your query, Sima. Context is important. What is your relationship with the shadchan? What is the young man’s relationship with the shadchan? Is it more personal or professional or familial or neighborly? How long have you been dating? How long has he been in shidduchim? How old are you? How old is he? Are there people of influence in his life? Mentors, rabbis, neighbors, friends of a mature age?

A seasoned shadchan is usually a good listener, rather than someone who pushes. If you trust him/her and his/ her people skills, discuss it. Share some specific things you liked about him. Be open about the fact that you have different styles and complemented each other and why. Having an in-depth conversation will give both you and the shadchan more tools with which to address the no. Then you can strategize together. You can ask him/her if bringing someone else into the picture to suggest it is a feasible option. Good shadchanim are good strategizers as well as people-persons. They listen carefully to the dating partners and address their concerns skillfully. Sometimes, they come up with out-of-the-box strategies, too. Engaging the original shadchan is being honest. If s/he agrees, you may want to go on to utilize other people/

methods such as orchestrating a chance meeting. Being respectful and appreciative is being menschlech.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

That is a super difficult situation. I’m so sorry! When one side mysteriously declines and leaves the other side shocked and confused there is usually an underlying reason that said single is hesitant to verbalize. Perhaps his shy nature is kicking in, and he does not feel right giving his reason.

It could be he liked you tremendously, but his direct answer as to “why not” could be hurtful in some way. Everybody reads situations differently, and while one person could feel a date was magical, the other may just feel that it was a pleasant experience but not right. As to why he gave it three dates? We all know those who go out one time and then decline, without giving the match more of a chance to blossom. In these pages over the years, we have highlighted the crucial mantra to give it time. I know three dates doesn’t seem like that long, but if he knows he likes you as a person, but this won’t lead to marriage, going out longer might end up more harmful than helpful. Hopefully this will help give you some closure regarding the young man, even if he does not officially give a real reason.

In terms of revisiting, don’t do it too soon. I would suggest waiting six months. He is not likely to change his mind in a matter of weeks. A few months gives him time to date others and reflect on his time spent with you, comparatively. If you are still single at that time, gently ask the shadchan if she would be willing to reach out to him and see if he would revisit. If anything has changed or has been updated in those six months, highlight those points and have the shadchan relay them by sending your current info/bio.

Lastly, as hard as this may sound, don’t fixate on him! Move forward with a clear head, without comparing him to future guys you date. Getting stuck on people who are not interested will just hold you back from what is to come in the future.

Remember: hardly anyone ends up marrying the first person they were infatuated with.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

Good question. Many singles have faced a surprising, unexplained

rejection. They’re left wondering why. And, more importantly, wonder if they should try to get him/her to reconsider.

Well, sure. It’s worth trying.

But beware: you don’t want to come across as pleading, like a needy, clingy person; and you certainly don’t want to appear as though you’re chasing him like a deranged stalker.

So, what should you do?

Wait a couple of weeks. Then, reach out in a gracious, self-respecting manner. You might send a brief text saying, “If you’re open to reconsidering, I’d be happy to go out again.”

Or, you can ask the shadchan, or a trusted mutual friend, to make that approach on your behalf.

Perhaps he’ll respond positively, realizing he made an impulsive, ill-advised decision.

Or, perhaps, even though you had three enjoyable dates and thought things were going well, he had his reasons and simply prefers not to share them.

Here’s hoping for the best, but prepare yourself for disappointment. Remember: hardly anyone ends up marry-

ing the first person they were infatuated with.

A 1637 poem titled “Why So Pale and Wan…?” offers timeless advice to anyone nursing rejection. Though addressed to a young man pining for a woman’s affection, it is equally fitting for a woman whose feelings go unreturned. Its final lines still ring true: If of herself she will not love, Nothing can make her. The devil take her.

Reader’s Response

Ah, the classic “three dates and a mystery.” You’re not alone. Many a hopeful heart has been left blinking in the emotional dust after a promising start. Chemistry, laughter, shared values…and then poof, he’s out. It’s like being ghosted by a plot twist. So, let’s break this down.

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Sima,

Three dates in, things are flowing, you’re connecting, there’s curiosity and chemistry, and then suddenly he says no. It’s confusing, it stings, and it can make you question what was real.

But this is one of those very human moments we all face in dating, when what felt mutual turns out not to be. It doesn’t mean you misread it or did anything

wrong. People pull back for all sorts of reasons that often have nothing to do with us: fear, timing, self-doubt, or simply not feeling ready.

If you feel drawn to revisit, that’s worth noticing, not necessarily because you should reach out, but because it may hold information about what you’re

First: Can you revisit? Yes. But only if you’re revisiting with clarity, not clinging to confusion. If you genuinely believe there was something real—and not just the thrill of contrast or the echo chamber of “everyone was shocked!”— then yes, it’s worth a gentle inquiry. Sometimes, quiet types need more time to process, and sometimes, they’re just quietly sure it’s not a match.

Second: How long to wait? Give it at least 3–4 weeks. Let the emotional dust settle. You want to reach out when it’s not about proving something but about exploring something. If he’s still single and you’re still curious, that’s a fair window.

Third: Who and how to ask? Go through the shadchan, but be strategic. Don’t just say, “I want to revisit.” Say: “I’ve had some time to reflect, and I still feel there was something meaningful there. If he’s open, I’d love to explore it further—with no pressure, just curiosity.”

This gives him space to say yes without feeling cornered, and it shows maturity on your part.

And finally: A note on opposites. Opposites attract, yes—but they also confuse. Sometimes, what feels

Getting stuck on people who are not interested will just hold you back from what is to come in the future.

please

yearning for. Is it about wanting closure, about wanting to be chosen, or about genuinely sensing that something was left unfinished? There’s no right or wrong answer here, just something to get curious about.

Sometimes, when someone walks away, our focus naturally shifts toward winning them back, when the deeper work might be in learning how to release what isn’t choosing us. That doesn’t mean we have to harden or pretend we don’t care. It just means we allow what’s real to be real — that this person, at least for now, isn’t moving toward us.

If you decide to check in, do it once,

electric is just unfamiliar. Sometimes, the quiet one is overwhelmed. And sometimes, the outgoing one (you!) is left wondering if the spark was mutual or just your own light bouncing off a still surface.

So, revisit if it feels right. But don’t chase a ghost. Chase clarity. Chase connection. And above all, chase someone who’s excited to chase you back.

With heart and humor, Adelle

gently and respectfully, and then let it rest. You can say something like: “I really enjoyed getting to know him. If there’s any openness on his end, I’d be glad to give it another try.”

After that, trust that you’ll be guided toward what’s meant for you. The right connection won’t need convincing. And please remember, feeling hopeful, disappointed, and human all at once is not weakness. It’s evidence of a soft heart in a hard world. The person who’s meant for you will meet that softness with steadiness.

Sincerely, Jennifer

Health & F tness When the Days Get Short How Seasonal Affective Disorder

Affects Your Mood

By Rivka Kramer, PMHNP-BC

Ever notice how you start feeling sluggish, moody, or just plain “off” when the days get shorter? You are not imagining it. For millions, winter brings more than cold weather; it brings Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.

Think of it as your brain reacting to the calendar. The symptoms are real, predictable, and totally treatable. Here’s what you need to know to survive the dark months and maybe even thrive.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. Most people experience symptoms beginning in late fall or early winter, which then fade in spring or summer. In rare cases, some people experience the opposite pattern, where symptoms worsen in summer and ease up when it gets cooler, but winter SAD is far more common.

For example, a teacher named Rachel in upstate New York starts feeling the shift every November. Her energy plummets, she finds it hard to get out of

bed, and she loses interest in the hobbies she loves during the summer. When spring arrives, she slowly feels like herself again. That yearly cycle is classic for SAD.

Common symptoms include:

• Persistent sadness or irritability

• Low energy, even after sleeping enough

• Sleeping more than usual or feeling constantly drowsy

• Increased appetite, especially cravings for sweets or carbs

• Difficulty concentrating or staying motivated

• Withdrawing from friends or family

• Loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities

At its core, SAD is a form of depression, but what sets it apart is the predictable timing—the same season each year brings the symptoms back.

Why Does It Happen?

Scientists do not know the full story, but there are several strong theories about why seasonal depression occurs.

1. Reduced Sunlight

The simplest explanation has to do with light. In fall and winter, shorter days mean less sunlight exposure. Sunlight helps regulate the body’s internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which influences sleep, mood, and hormones. When that rhythm gets disrupted, mood can dip sharply.

Think about how you feel after a few gray, cloudy days in a row—drained, heavy, less motivated. Now imagine that feeling lasting for months. That is what people with SAD experience.

2. Serotonin Levels

Sunlight helps the brain produce serotonin, the chemical that stabilizes mood. When daylight drops, serotonin production may fall too, leading to sadness and fatigue. Research has found that people with SAD often have lower serotonin levels during winter months.

3. Melatonin and Sleep

When it gets darker earlier, the brain releases more melatonin—the hormone that helps us sleep. For people with SAD, that increase can lead to feeling sluggish or wanting to sleep far more than usual. It is as if the body thinks it should hibernate.

4. Vitamin D Deficiency

Sunlight also helps the body make vitamin D, which supports serotonin function. People who spend little time outdoors in winter can develop low vitamin D, which may worsen symptoms of depression.

5. Biological Sensitivity

Some people are simply more sensitive to seasonal changes. If depression or bipolar disorder runs in the family, or if someone is already prone to mood fluctuations, they may be more likely to experience SAD.

Who Gets SAD— and Why Some People Don’t SAD affects about five percent of adults in the United States each year, though milder versions may affect many more. Women are diagnosed more often than men, and younger adults seem more susceptible than older ones.

Geography plays a major role. Someone living in Minnesota, where the sun sets before 5 p.m. in winter, is at higher risk than someone in Florida, where daylight lasts longer. For instance, Daniel, who moved from California to Boston

for college, was caught off guard by how tired and down he felt his first New England winter. His doctor later diagnosed him with SAD, something he had never experienced before.

Not everyone in darker climates develops SAD, though. Some people may feel a temporary slump but still function well. The difference lies in the intensity and duration of symptoms. When sadness and fatigue persist for weeks and begin to interfere with life, it is more than just the winter blues.

The Human Side of SAD

For those who experience it, SAD is not just a seasonal inconvenience. It can feel like the world loses its color. The hobbies that once felt exciting now seem like effort. Social plans become exhausting rather than fun. Some describe it as moving through molasses; everything feels slow and heavy.

That self-awareness is powerful. SAD is not a weakness or a lack of willpower; it is a biological condition influenced by environmental changes.

How It’s Diagnosed

There is no blood test or brain scan for SAD, but clinicians follow specific guidelines. To be diagnosed, a person must experience major depressive episodes that occur during the same season for at least two consecutive years, with symptoms improving during the rest of the year.

A healthcare provider will also rule out other conditions that could mimic SAD, such as thyroid disorders, anemia, or non-seasonal depression. Sometimes, a mood diary can help track when symptoms begin and fade.

How It’s Treated

The encouraging news is that SAD responds well to treatment. With the right combination of approaches, most people can see dramatic improvement.

1. Light Therapy

Light therapy is often the first-line treatment. It involves sitting in front of a specially designed light box that mimics natural daylight. Most people use it for about 20 to 30 minutes each morning.

For example, Rachel, the teacher from New York, started using a light box on her kitchen table while eating breakfast. Within two weeks, her energy noticeably improved, and she felt more awake during the day.

It is important to use a device made for this purpose – 10,000 lux is the standard – and to follow guidance from

a healthcare provider about timing and distance.

2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Talk therapy, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), can be highly effective. CBT helps people challenge negative thought patterns and replace them with more realistic ones. A version called CBT-SAD specifically focuses on identifying the mental habits that worsen seasonal depression and building coping strategies.

One therapist might ask clients to schedule daily activities they enjoy, even small ones like walking the dog or calling a friend, to help retrain the brain to seek pleasure again.

3. Medication

Antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can help balance mood for those with moderate or severe SAD. Sometimes, doctors prescribe bupropion (Wellbutrin XL) starting in early fall to prevent symptoms before they begin.

Medication is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but it can be life-changing for people who struggle year after year.

4. Vitamin D

If blood work shows low vitamin D levels, supplementation may help. Although not a cure by itself, restoring vitamin D can support better energy and mood.

5. Lifestyle Adjustments

Small changes can make a big impact:

• Get outside daily. Even brief exposure to daylight can help reset your body clock.

• Move your body. Exercise releases endorphins that lift mood and reduce stress.

• Eat well. Whole foods, lean proteins, and colorful produce help stabilize blood sugar and energy.

• Stay connected. Regular contact with friends, family, or coworkers helps counter isolation.

• Keep a schedule. Going to bed and waking up at consistent times helps regulate sleep patterns.

For example, Michael began scheduling a short lunchtime walk every day, even in freezing temperatures. He found that just fifteen minutes outdoors improved his mood noticeably.

Summer-Onset SAD

Though rare, some people experience depression during summer. Symptoms can include anxiety, poor appetite, and trouble sleeping. In these cases, the triggers might be excessive heat, too much daylight, or disrupted routines.

Treatment is similar, though instead of seeking light, people with summer SAD may focus on staying cool, using blackout curtains, and keeping sleep consistent.

Preventing SAD Before It Starts

For people who know SAD returns each year, prevention can be powerful. Starting light therapy or medication in early autumn can reduce the severity of symptoms. Keeping routines, planning winter activities, and maintaining social connections can all help build emotional resilience.

Some even plan “light vacations,” short getaways to sunny destinations mid-winter to recharge. Others take early morning walks before work to get a few extra minutes of daylight exposure.

When to Seek Help

Feeling tired or less motivated in winter is common, but if sadness, hopelessness, or lack of energy lasts more than two weeks, it is time to seek professional help. Therapists, psychiatrists, and primary care providers can all screen for SAD and guide treatment.

If dark thoughts or feelings of worth-

lessness arise, it is essential to reach out immediately, to a trusted person or to a helpline such as 988 in the United States. You do not have to wait until it gets unbearable.

A Light at the End of Winter

The most reassuring thing about Seasonal Affective Disorder is that it is predictable and treatable. The seasons will always change, but your emotional health does not have to shift with them. With awareness, support, and the right tools, it is possible to feel balanced and even thrive during the darker months.

Just as nature cycles through periods of dormancy and renewal, our own rhythms are tied to light and change. But remember this: the light always returns. And so can your energy, hope, and joy.

Rivka Kramer is a Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She has a psychiatric private practice based in Cedarhurst, NY. She serves as a member of the board of JANPPA, the Jewish American Nurse Practitioner Psychiatric Association. She can be reached at 516-945-9443.

Health & F tness

DNA on Your Dinner Plate The Rise of Nutrigenomics

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

The saying “you are what you eat” is well known, but the idea may be more complex. Health is not only shaped by food choices but also by how genes react to and use the nutrients from those foods. That’s the idea behind nutrigenomics, a growing field of science that looks at how your DNA interacts with food.

For years, nutrition advice has been one-size-fits-all: eat more vegetables, avoid too much sugar, stay active. While those are still solid guidelines, nutrigenomics goes one step further. It asks: why do two people eat the same diet and get very different results? Why can one person drink milk every day without issues, while another gets stomach cramps? Why does one person thrive on a low-carb diet, while another feels sluggish? The answers may lie in our genes.

What is Nutrigenomics?

Genes function as the body’s instruction manual. They tell your cells how to grow, repair, and function. Food is like the fuel and tools you give your body to work with. Nutrigenomics is a science that studies how these two interact.

For instance, individuals with certain gene variants may process caffeine more slowly, leading to restlessness or difficulty sleeping after coffee consumption. In contrast, others with different genetic makeup may process caffeine efficiently and experience no such effects.

Another example involves lactose intolerance. Many individuals possess a genetic trait that reduces the ability to digest lactose, the natural sugar found in milk. As a result, they may experience discomfort after consuming dairy products, while others with different genetic traits can tolerate lactose with-

out difficulty.

These differences are not related to willpower or discipline but rather to genetic variability. Nutrigenomics helps explain these individual responses, offering insight into how personalized nutrition can better support overall health and well-being.

Metabolism and Your Genes

Metabolism refers to how efficiently your body converts food into energy. While exercise, age, and diet play big roles, genetics can also make a noticeable difference. Some people naturally burn calories faster or process nutrients more efficiently due to variations in specific genes. For example, the FTO gene (sometimes called the “fat gene”) has been linked to slower fat metabolism and greater fat storage, which may make weight management more challeng -

ing. Other genes, such as PPARγ and ADRB2, can affect how well your body uses fat for energy or regulates hunger and fullness signals. These genetic differences partly explain why one person can eat large portions without gaining much weight, while another may gain quickly on the same diet.

This doesn’t mean metabolism is unchangeable; lifestyle choices like regular exercise, adequate sleep, and balanced meals still have a major influence. However, understanding that genes play a role can help people choose foods and habits that support their body’s unique biology.

How Nutrigenomics Shows Up in Everyday Life

There are a few practical ways nutrigenomics might explain your experiences with food:

1. Weight Gain and Diets

It is common to notice that some individuals lose significant weight on a low-carbohydrate diet, while others experience minimal results following the same plan. Research in nutrigenomics suggests that genetic differences play a key role in these varied responses. Certain gene variants may make individuals more responsive to carbohydrate restriction, while others may benefit more from reducing dietary fat. Genetic makeup can influence how the body stores fat, utilizes energy, and regulates feelings of fullness after eating.

2. Vitamins and Deficiencies

Even with a balanced diet, some individuals may experience low energy levels or nutrient deficiencies due to genetic factors. Specific genetic variations can influence how the body metabolizes and utilizes vitamins. For example, people with a change in the MTHFR gene may have trouble turning folate (a B vitamin found in leafy greens) into the active form the body can use. In these cases, eating foods like spinach may not be enough, and taking a special form of folate as a supplement can help.

3. Heart Health

The APOE gene can influence how your body reacts to saturated fats. Someone with a particular version of this gene might see their cholesterol levels spike if they eat too much butter or red meat, while others can eat those foods more freely without the same effect. Understanding this concept could help people make smarter, gene-friendly choices.

4. Caffeine Sensitivity

As mentioned earlier, your DNA can determine if caffeine gives you an energy boost or if it makes you anxious and sleepless. That’s why coffee is a lifesaver for some and a nightmare for others.

Why Does This Matter for You?

The growing field of nutrigenomics is helping make personalized nutrition possible. Instead of following general advice like “eat less sugar” or “cut calories,” people may one day receive nutrition plans tailored to their unique genetic makeup for more effective results.

For everyday people, this could mean:

• Choosing foods that your body processes best.

• Avoiding diets that won’t work for your genes.

• Preventing future health problems by knowing your risks early.

• Imagine consulting with a professional who reviews your genetic profile and provides recommendations such as:

• Your body does not process omega-3 fatty acids efficiently, so increasing intake through foods like salmon or supplements may be beneficial.

omega-3 intake, a low-sodium diet, or specific vitamin forms to match your body’s unique needs.

Even without genetic testing, anyone can apply nutrigenomic thinking through simple self-observation. Notice how your body reacts to certain foods:

It asks: why do two people eat the same diet and get very different results?

• You have a higher genetic risk for elevated blood pressure with excessive sodium intake, so adopting a low-sodium eating plan is recommended.

• You metabolize caffeine more slowly, so limiting consumption to the morning hours may help reduce its effects.

This is nutrigenomics in practice, an approach to nutrition that is personalized and evidence-based, rather than generalized.

Where Are We Now?

While this science is exciting, it’s still developing. There are DNA testing companies online that offer diet advice based on a cheek swab. Some of these tests are useful, but many are oversimplified. Health isn’t determined by just one gene – it’s the interaction of many genes, lifestyle, and environment.

Right now, the best thing one can do is combine what we do know about nutrition with one’s own experiences:

• Notice how your body responds to different foods.

• Pay attention to whether certain diets make you feel energized or drained.

• Talk to healthcare providers before making big changes or buying supplements.

A Hands-On Approach

There are a few approaches that one can take to explore how their genes influence nutrition and metabolism.

Some healthcare providers offer medically supervised DNA testing that focuses on nutrition and metabolism. These clinical tests can analyze genes related to fat metabolism, vitamin needs, detoxification, and inflammation. Based on the results, professionals can create a customized nutrition plan – for example, recommending more

do you feel more energetic with a higher protein intake, or do carbs make you feel sluggish? Monitoring your lab values such as cholesterol or blood sugar alongside your eating habits can also reveal how your metabolism responds to different nutrients.

Looking Ahead

In the future, nutrigenomics could make personalized diets as common as prescription glasses. Just like an

eye exam gives you the right lens for clear vision, a genetic test may give you the right nutrition plan for optimal health. This approach may lead to fewer instances of trial-and-error dieting, more effective disease prevention, and improved overall energy and well-being.

Nutrigenomics is not about replacing general healthy eating guidelines; it’s about personalizing them for you. It helps explain why no single diet works for everyone, why some people thrive on foods that make others feel sluggish, and why nutrition truly isn’t one-sizefits-all. As research continues to grow, new tools will help people tailor their diets to their genes. For now, the best approach is to eat a variety of whole foods and pay attention to how the body responds to different foods.

Aliza Beer is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition. She has a private practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Patients’ success has been featured on the Dr. Oz show. Aliza can be reached at alizabeer@gmail. com, and you can follow her on Instagram at @alizabeer

Health & F tness Running Made Me Healthier… and Heavier

By Sara Weissman

Ihave a weight loss method that is guaranteed to shave off five percent of your body weight: chop off your left arm. Of course, that is a ridiculous solution. Yes, the number on the scale will go down, but you would be significantly worse off. There is much more to who you are and what your body is than a number on a scale.

Since I started running two years ago, I have gained almost seven pounds. I am only five feet tall, so this is a significant increase. When I first noticed my weight climbing, I thought, “How did that happen?” I was especially surprised considering that I was burning thousands of calories a week.

Indeed, endurance athletes are calorie-burning machines. My husband burns 3,600 calories every Sunday on his low-intensity long bike rides (and if you don’t believe me, follow him on Strava @Jacob Weissman). For reference, that’s equal to 18 Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts. Therefore, it seems intuitive that endurance exercise should be the ultimate weight-loss strategy. So why did my weight increase as I ran more and more miles?

Every endurance athlete knows that

calories burned during exercise don’t disappear without leaving a mark. You get hungry – really hungry. If someone went into my head after one of my 20mile training runs, all they would hear is “bagels” repeated until I went to sleep.

This bodily response to endurance exercise is essential. In order to recover, your body needs to replace the glycogen in your muscles that has been broken down for fuel. While nearly a quarter of Americans skip breakfast daily, smart athletes understand the importance of filling their glycogen stores before burning them in a morning workout.

Endurance athletes eat not only before and after their workouts, but often during the workout as well. To maintain glycogen stores and avoid “hitting the wall,” endurance athletes will take in as much sugar-laden sports drinks and gels as their gut can process during a long workout (60-90 grams per hour for well-trained athletes). Under-fueling before, during, or after a workout can cause muscle breakdown, additional fatigue, and worsen recovery. Your body needs calories to perform, recover, and ultimately improve.

As my number on the scale slowly

climbed over the course of the year, I slashed my 5K time by minutes, upped my bicep curl from 16 pounds to 20 pounds, did my first ever chin-up, and increased my weekly running volume to 60 miles. I was heavier, but far more importantly, I was faster, stronger, and more resilient. My performance was better than ever. I drew pride in my body from how much I had improved, how fast I could go on interval runs, and the distance I could cover on long runs. What the scale would never tell me was that I was at a more functional weight than ever before.

We often view weight as the be-allto-end-all with health. I’ll admit that I have assumed that the thinner a runner is, the faster they will be. I remember scoping out my competition before a particular 5K and mentally picturing the thin women with the Lululemon leggings at the front of the pack. Ultimately, they finished ten minutes behind me, and I lost to a very muscular woman who was never on my radar. At the elite levels, runners have already maximized their training, and to compete, they need to fit a prototypical body. However, for my fellow amateur runners, performance is

more dependent on how much training you have done, and small changes in body mass index are less impactful. America has a weight problem, and exercise is commonly prescribed to solve it. Generally, exercise does lead to weight loss, but there are far more important benefits to be had from exercise. Excess body weight is linked to health complications, but even in the absence of weight loss, exercise dramatically improves health. For people at or slightly over a healthy weight, body composition (e.g., the ratio of muscle to fat) and fitness are far more predictive of health and longevity than weight. There’s far more to exercise than burning calories. If you are at a clinically healthy weight, under-nourishing at the expense of fitness is like cutting off a limb to see a lower number on the scale.

Sara Weissman is a high school psychology teacher, biochemistry researcher, former adjunct professor of biology, and distance runner. Follow her running adventures on Strava @ Sari Weissman. If you have feedback or suggestions for future articles, contact Sara at sara. lifshitz18@gmail.com.

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:Dear Etti,

I teach in a more Bais Yaakov type junior high school, and while our students don’t have access to their phones all day, I’m starting to feel that their parents are practically in the room with me.

Sometimes it’s through messages I get from the principal about a disgruntled mother. Sometimes it’s a voicemail: “Did Rivky hand in her assignment?” “Why did Chani lose two points on her test?” “Can you please remind my daughter to bring her textbook home?”

Other times, it’s the conversations that follow. A student doesn’t approach me about a grade because, as she says, “My mother said she will call you about it.”

Another girl won’t speak up in class because she’s afraid her mother will find out what she said through the class group chat.

These are wonderful, caring, deeply involved parents. But they seem to care too much.

I understand that the world feels uncertain. Parents are worried about safety, mental health, and peer pressure. They want to know what’s going on every moment of the day. Still, I find myself longing for the kind of partnership where parents trust the school to be the school, where we can guide their children through challenges, and mistakes can stay learning opportunities instead of becoming parental emergencies.

Last week, a student didn’t study for a Chumash quiz. Before I could even hand it back, I got a message from her mother asking that she be allowed to retake it after more review. The student never got the chance to feel disappointed, take responsibility, or grow from it. Her mother meant well, but she took away the very experience that would have taught her daughter resilience.

When I was growing up, there was a clear boundary between home and school. Parents trusted that we were safe and learning, and we students knew that the classroom was our space, a place to ask, struggle, and discover. I wish we could bring that back.

How can we help parents understand that we are trying to give their children the dignity and independence they need to grow up?

Respectfully, Overseen in the Classroom

A:Dear Overseen, I have heard this from so many teachers – thanks for writing in so articulately! Our students are no longer fully present in the classroom because their parents are, in a way, using good

intentions that quietly steal a child’s chance to grow.

Many parents today love their children with an intensity that’s admirable. They worry, they protect, and they hover, not out of control, but out of care. Dr. Wendy Mogel, in The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, reminds us that one of the greatest acts of love is letting children experience struggle. She writes that children need to fall down “in small ways” academically, socially, and emotionally, so they can learn to rise with strength and perspective. When parents rush in to prevent all discomfort, they may unknowingly rob their children of that essential growth muscle: resilience.

When parents rush in to prevent all discomfort, they may unknowingly rob their children of that essential growth muscle: resilience.

school as places where adults control, rather than support, her learning.

That’s why your instinct is right: the classroom is meant to be a separate space. It is meant to be a lab for growth where mistakes are safe, ownership is built, and independence is nurtured. When a student struggles on a Chumash quiz, the lesson isn’t just about Rashi’s words – it’s about learning to plan better next time, to manage emotions, and to take responsibility. That quiet moment of growth disappears when a parent immediately intervenes with an email.

Dr. Daniel Siegel, author of The Power of Showing Up, adds another crucial layer. He describes how children thrive when they feel “seen, soothed, safe, and secure.” But being seen does not mean being monitored. When parents micromanage every grade, every interaction, every small wobble, parents need to realize that their child doesn’t feel safe; she feels scrutinized. Siegel emphasizes that emotional security comes not from constant presence but from trusted presence, where they know that their parent believes their child can handle the ups and downs of daily life.

Research from psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan supports this idea through their Self-Determination Theory, which highlights three universal needs for human motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In simple terms, children need to feel that they can make choices (autonomy), succeed through effort (competence), and belong to a caring community (relatedness). When parents over-manage their child’s school life, they unintentionally weaken all three. The child stops making independent choices, stops trusting her own ability to succeed, and begins to see both home and

And yet, none of this comes from a place of criticism. Parents today are trying to do the right thing in an anxious world. They fear that if they step back, their child might fall, not realizing that falling is the very act that builds balance. The greatest trust a parent can show is saying, “I believe you can handle this.” It’s not withdrawal; it’s empowerment.

Some teachers explain to their classes that in junior high school and high school, only a student in the class will be able to advocate for a change on their mark or more time to study. (Just make sure you have the administration’s support!)

Other teachers make the effort to reach out to each parent to say hello and make a connection. Even though it is not “the usual practice” in older grades, the more parents feel like they know and trust the teacher, the more they might trust the teacher to do the right thing on behalf of their child.

They are overinvolved because they care, and we need to gently show parents that caring might be allowing their children some autonomy.

Thanks for sharing such an important concern.

- Etti

Parenting Pearls Focusing in the Right Direction

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

Sadly, it’s not uncommon that one child will hurt or otherwise wrong another child. Often, it’s against their own sibling. Perhaps they grabbed a toy. Maybe they damaged something. Unfortunately, it usually involves some form of physical attack, such as hitting or kicking. It’s upsetting for the victimized child but also for the adult in charge. It’s extra painful for a parent to see their children hurting each other.

Kids are new to the world, and they’re learning as they go. Hashem designed the world so that children come into the world with limited verbal skills or other means of expressing themselves. Their inherent immaturity means they are more prone to this type of behavior. Fortunately, most of us outgrow this and learn to communicate more efficiently. As unpleasant as errands and driving can be at times, it would certainly be worse if adults resorted to such childlike responses. Discovering the person in front of you has extra items in an express lane would get very ugly.

It’s only natural parents that will want to quickly stop an altercation be -

tween children, especially if a child is at further risk of being hurt. How to respond appropriately is the subject of many parenting discussions. While an important discussion, it will not be the main topic of this article. I’d like to focus on one small part of the interaction.

Adults have a tendency to swoop in and immediately address the misbehaving child. This is instinctive – and for good reason. But I’ve noticed another tendency that goes along with this instinct. As the parent focuses on the misbehaving child, they often completely ignore the injured party. Observing the scene, you can’t help noticing how the hurt child is often deemed irrelevant.

While there are definitely times when it’s appropriate to first focus on the misbehaving child, parents often do it without thought or reason. Addressing these situations requires a great deal of thought and awareness. It’s certainly not the time to act purely on instinct.

The Problem

There are two main problems with this natural reaction. The first problem is that we may completely ignore

the injured child who really needs love and comfort at this moment. Whether the pain is physical, emotional or both, they could really use a hug and reassurance. In case of physical injury, they may require an ice pack, first aid or one of those miraculous band-aids that solve all ills.

The second problem is that we are wrongly giving attention to the offending party. This attention and one-onone time can often encourage a child to continue this behavior. They unofficially win in multiple ways. Not only did they get what they wanted from the other child, they now have the exclusive attention of the adults – and it’s at the expense of the injured child. They win, and the other child loses. This further encourages such a negative cycle of behavior.

The chinuch of a misbehaving child is important, and it certainly should be addressed – but only after the hurt child has had their physical and emotional needs met.

Refocusing Ideally, we want to turn our imme -

diate attention to the hurt child. Any physical injuries – hopefully minor –should be addressed. Hugs and loving words are the best antidote to childhood hurts. At all times children need to know we care about them, even more after they’ve been subjected to a negative situation.

We can’t ignore how affected children can be from teasing and other emotional injuries. We may take a cursory look, see no blood, and assume all is good in the world. We always need to assume there are potentially hurt feelings, or other emotional needs that require our attention. Even if we need to immediately stop an aggressive child, we can often simultaneously speak to the hurt one and show them support.

Judge and Jury

The previous discussion assumes there is one guilty child and one innocent one. As parents can tell you, there are often two wrong parties in a disagreement. When children fight, it’s often back and forth and not exclusively one against the other.

While few of us have the training

to be judges, and only Hashem judges alone, we are often called to the task. Parents do not need to get to the bottom of every argument. It’s a waste of time and energy. Playing sides or favorites is unhelpful. Additionally, most things kids fight over are really not important in the long-term. For many reasons, it’s often best if parents don’t make a big deal out of each small interaction.

There are exceptions to this rule of avoiding judgment. There are times that finding out the background can provide crucial information the parent will need to better understand this situation or the dynamics between the children.

At times, the child who is caught acting out is actually the one who was victimized, and the hurt child is not so innocent. For example, one child could spend twenty minutes being mean and even physically aggressive. The second child finally gets fed up and gives a smack to the bully. A parent walking in will see nothing of those twenty minutes and solely blame the bullied child.

Perhaps a child acted out of self-defense. It’s also possible that the presumed guilty child was actually very badly hurt, and their response was very

measured in contrast. Taken within the correct context, both of these situations look very different. It is situations like these when we need to ask “why” the fight occurred.

Some kids won’t or can’t speak up, and they can be innocently punished by a well-meaning parent. Silence is not necessarily a sign of guilt. Some children don’t understand how to react and may have an inappropriate reaction (such as smiling at the wrong time or

take it more seriously if we find that a particular scenario or negative dynamic occurs frequently. In this case, we want to get to the truth and find a way to prevent it in the future. Similarly, we need to be more mindful of bullying or if a much bigger child is hurting a younger or more vulnerable child.

Chinuch With Wisdom

Unfortunately, there is no concrete rule that addresses every type of these

Addressing these situations requires a great deal of thought and awareness.

the inability to maintain eye contact) that can be misinterpreted as guilt. We should never make assumptions, and we should approach each situation with the proper humility and understanding that we can never know it all.

Be mindful of patterns. We need to

situations. There are many factors involved, and parents need to look at each situation on its own. For example, the age of the children and level of escalation are both relevant to how parents will evaluate the situation.

How we deal with any given situation

requires wisdom and thoughtfulness, something we rarely have the time for. We see the fight, feel that internal rush, and immediately act. In most cases, such an immediate response is unnecessary and counterproductive. A child’s chinuch requires forethought, and haste is not conducive to such thought.

The need to think does not mean we allow the fight to continue. If one child is actively hurting another then we certainly need to immediately stop the altercation. Once the two are separated, we can take a deep breath and think before acting.

Chinuch is a difficult task, and one that requires all of our skills. We need to continuously daven for siyata dishmaya to guide us in our parenting and that our children should outgrow this phase soon.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at RayvychHomeschool@gmail.com.

Shmooze & Muse

AI Mixes It Up

By Mordechai Schmutter

Ever since I wrote my first column about AI, a lot of people, or possibly robots, have been requesting that I write another.

I don’t use AI very often, but I do try to check in on it periodically, just to see if my job’s in trouble. For example, I sometimes ask it to write humor articles in the style of Mordechai Schmutter. For scientific reasons.

The last time I wrote about this, we concluded that AI actually is like people, but the worst people.

- It has to be told a million times what to do.

-It makes things up.

-It says, “Everyone says,” when it makes things up.

-It gets easily confused and accuses the other party of being confused.

-It doesn’t believe Mordechai Schmutter is a real person.

Basically, it’s my students.

Anyway, I’m pleased to report that although AI has grown, it continues to find new ways to be the worst kind of people.

For example, I recently read an article that said that if you type a request to AI and write “please” or “thank you,” the AI doesn’t appreciate it. You do it for yourself.

And you’re like, “I know. This is how my mother raised me.”

So why do we do it? Is it in case the AI is asked about our kids for shidduchim?

In fact, please and thank you are unnecessary words for the AI to process, and they’re costing the companies millions. Which also means we’re making things harder for the machines. So we’re saying these words because we figure that in case there’s a robot uprising, they’re gonna say, “Oh, you’re the guy who said please and thank you? We’ll be extra nice to you.” But it turns out that we’re the people they’re gonna hate the most.

Well, besides the people who say, “Pretty please with a cherry on top.” Those people are dying on the first day.

It’s definitely developed some new quirks. For example, in every sample article in which it mentions my wife, it’s convinced that her name is Rivka.

I don’t ever use my wife’s name in my columns. I have one wife, so it’s not like the reader’s gonna lose track. But I don’t know where it got Rivka

It’s definitely heard of me by this point. And it makes fun of me.

A few months ago, I was writing an article about KitchenAids, and out of curiosity, I asked it to write one, and it prefaced the article with, “I stretched it out with ridiculous anecdotes and that Schmutter-esque spiral of self-inflicted misery.”

Self-inflicted?

So I asked my wife. I said, “Rivka, do you find that a lot of my misery is self-inflicted?” And she said, “Who’s Rivka?!”

Then it gave me an option that it could analyze my writing style, and a lot what it said is news to me:

“Schmutter’s humor relies on puns and clever phrasing. For instance, in his book title, Cholent Mixes It Up, the word ‘cholent’ (a traditional Jewish stew) is a nod to insiders, but the absurdity of the phrase invites broader curiosity.”

Yeah, especially since he mixed two separate titles together.

And then there was the time, shortly before Purim, that I tried using AI to

help me figure out when the next year Pesach will start on a Motzei Shabbos. I wasn’t gonna just sit around and find out that year when I got the new calendar, like everybody else.

I’d actually done the legwork by scrolling ahead on a calendar, and figured out that it was 2045. And I said, “It can’t be 20 years. I must have missed something.”

So I asked: “After 2025, when is the next time Passover begins on a Saturday night?”

And it said, “To determine the next time after 2025 that Passover begins on a Saturday night, we need to look at the dates when Passover starts and check which of those fall on a Saturday evening.”

So far, so good. Very intelligent.

“Passover begins on the 15th of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to a date in March or April in the Gregorian calendar. The exact date shifts each year due to the lunisolar nature of the Hebrew calendar, and we’re specifically interested in when this coincides with a Saturday night.”

Okay, now he’s just stalling.

Then it started going through, one at a time: “In 2026, Passover begins on Wednesday night, April 1. In 2027, Passover begins on Wednesday night, April 21.” And so on. Until finally it concluded, “Thus, the next time Passover begins

on Saturday night is April 19, 2030.” Wow, I was way off! I’m glad I did this!

So I looked it up. And then I wrote, “That’s not true. In 2030, Passover starts Wednesday night, April 17. Also, April 19 is not a Saturday. It’s a Friday.”

It got the day of the week wrong?!

So it said, “You’re absolutely right. Let’s reassess the data and determine the accurate date for when Passover begins on a Saturday night after 2025.”

Then it started again: “Passover begins on the 15th of Nisan… (scrollscroll ) The Jewish day begins at nightfall… (scroll-scroll ) Now let’s go year by year, starting from 2026…. (scrollscroll ) Thus, the next time Passover begins on Saturday night is April 11, 2036. I apologize for the earlier error.”

Wow, that was a real apology! And then a wrong answer.

So I wrote, “April 11, 2036, is a Friday. Try again.”

At this point I no longer felt like it would give me a real answer. But I kept going, for scientific reasons.

So it said, “You’re correct, and I apologize for the oversight. April 11, 2036, is indeed a Friday.”

It’s so sure it’s correct, but as soon as I say no, with zero proof, it just rolls over.

So it started again: “Passover starts on the 15th… (scroll-scroll ) In 2026… (scroll scroll ) Thus, the next time Passover begins on Saturday night is April 8, 2039. Thank you for catching the error – I’ve double-checked this one!”

So I wrote, “No you didn’t. April 8, 2039, is a Friday, too. I’m starting to get frustrated with your inaccurate guessing.”

I am definitely getting eliminated, by the way.

So it said, “You’re right to call me out – April 8, 2039, is indeed a Friday. Let’s get this right once and for all. We’re looking for the next time… (scrollscroll ) Since 2025… (scroll-scroll ) Thus, the next time Passover begins on a Saturday night is April 4, 2042.”

So I wrote, “April 4, 2042, is a Fri-

day. This is the third time in a row you mistook Friday for Saturday.”

I don’t want to tell it the answer. It won’t learn. But it’s almost there.

It said, “You’re absolutely right. I’ve clearly been off in my weekday verification. Let’s get it right this time, with no more slip-ups.”

Oh, so it won’t make the Friday mistake anymore.

“We’re looking for the next time after 2025… (scroll-scroll ) So, the next time Passover begins on Saturday night is March 31, 2045. I’ve double-checked: It’s a Saturday, not a Friday. Does this look correct?”

2045! He got it! Except for one thing: I wrote, “March 31, 2045, is a Friday.”

The correct answer is actually the next day, April 1, but I didn’t write that. I wanted the AI to fix it. One day off. It’s almost there.

It said, “You’re right, and I’m mortified. Let’s nail this down properly, no excuses… (scroll-scroll ) So, the next time Passover begins on Saturday night is April 23, 2051. I’ve confirmed that this is a Saturday, not a Friday. Is this finally the one?”

Why are you asking me? You don’t know that I know!

It happens to be that April 23, 2051, is not a Friday! It’s a Sunday. So close!

But I was done. I wrote, “Do you not see how you have no idea what you’re doing?

It’s okay to admit when you don’t know an answer.”

Sigh.

“Passover begins on… (scroll-scroll ) April 23, 2051, looks promising, but I’ve been burned before.”

So I wrote, “The correct answer is April 1, 2045. You’ve gone way too far.”

It said, “Thank you for providing the correct answer. April 1, 2045, is indeed

We’re saying these words because we figure that in case there’s a robot uprising, they’re gonna say, “Oh, you’re the guy who said please and thank you? We’ll be extra nice to you.”

Thursday night?”

Mind you, this is literally the same question.

It wrote, “To determine the next time after 2025 that Purim… (scroll-scroll ) Thus, the next time Purim begins on Thursday night is March 5, 2031. I’ve double-checked. Does this look right to you?”

And I wrote, “March 5, 2031, is a Wednesday.”

And it responded, “You’ve reached your limit of 15 questions per 2 hours. Please sign up for Premium or Premium+ to access more or check back later.”

Yeah, I’m gonna pay for more of this.

Point is, thanks to AI, instead of looking up the dates myself, I was able to get a series of quick answers that I then had to look up myself, allowing me to figure out the 20 years in real time.

I hoped it would get the message and stop.

It said, “You’re right. I should’ve recognized my limitations and admitted I was struggling. I don’t have the tools to confidently pinpoint this.”

Finally. It’s admitting defeat. “That said, I’m not giving up – I want to get this right for you.”

the next time that Passover begins on a Saturday night!”

Oh, like you know.

“I’m sorry for the frustration and the dozen messages it took to get here. Next time, I’ll be quicker to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Anything else I can help you with?”

So I wrote, “Yes. When is the next time after 2025 that Purim starts on a

But if I say “please” or “thank you,” that’s extra words.

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.

Fd for Thought

Seoul Bite

WBy Nati Burnside

riting this column is an interesting endeavor. One of my favorite parts is people asking me for recommendations or telling me they read my column and that it helped them decide what to order. That said, one of the rules I have is that I don’t visit a place until it’s time to write about them, and I wait about four months or so to let the restaurant become a more accurate version of what it will eventually be.

Seoul Bite was maybe the toughest restaurant for me because of these rules.

First, with such unique cuisine for the kosher consumer, I was (understandably) inundated with requests for recommendations. Second, with Korean flavors being some of my personal favorites and the restaurant being 15 minutes from my house, Seoul Bite was probably the first restaurant that really bothered me with respect to not going until it was time for me to write the column.

So when I was invited to Seoul Bite to check out the arrival of Korean food to the kosher restaurant scene, I was pretty excited. It’s not a large menu, which I feel is good for limiting confusion for patrons who aren’t familiar with the terminology. Luckily for you, I’m going to run through most of the menu, so you’ll know what to order when you arrive.

But first, how did we get here? I asked Seoul Bite’s owner, Jack Kim, and the answer was pretty surprising.

“When I began Seoul Bite, I didn’t have a kosher background, but I did have a love for sharing Korean food,” Kim told me. “We hadn’t originally planned to go kosher, but finding our spot in Teaneck felt like G-d was guiding us, and that changed our direction. Now we get to bring authentic Korean flavors to the kosher community. It has been an incredible journey learning, growing, and building real connections with amazing people.”

Apparently, we lucked into Seoul Bite because of real estate availability? Amazing. Well, however we got here, let’s get to the food.

Perhaps the most well-rounded dish in the genre is the Bibimbap (bee-buhmBAAP). It’s a rice bowl with an assortment of vegetables, thinly sliced marinated beef, a fried egg, and optional gochujang (gow-chu-JANG) sauce. That beef is called bulgogi (bul-GOW-gee) and will be featured in other dishes, and gochujang is hot pepper paste made from fermented Korean red peppers. This is a great dish to order as an entry into Korean food because it has a bunch of the elements that are common across some of the other dishes. I personally love gochujang and cook with it at home (you can now buy hechshered gochujang at any H-Mart, welcome to 2025), but if you are somewhat worried about the heat, you can titrate it yourself by only adding a little to the bowl.

Next up, let’s discuss a trio of options that share some common attributes. The Bulgogi Dupbap takes that marinated beef and puts it in a stir fry served over rice with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and onions. This might remind you of a Chinese dish you’ve had somewhere and is maybe a good thing to order for the more timid first-timer. For the record, dupbap (doop-BAHP) is anything that is served atop rice, and you’ll see that word again on the menu when it comes to the Jap-Chae Dupbap.

Jap-Chae (pronounced JAP-chay) are glass noodles made from mung beans. The dish at Seoul Bite is served with some bulgogi and vegetables. This is probably the most mild tasting dish on the menu so it’s a great thing to order for the friend who comes along but really can’t tolerate the spiciness of some of the dishes. The noodles provide an interesting texture and are nicely contrasted with the crispiness of the vegetables. You could add gochujang sauce to this if you want to increase the kick.

Speaking of increasing the kick, you can also order the previously discussed Bulgogi Dupbap, but with kimchi. The spicy fermented vegetable slaw isn’t for everyone, but there are those who love the deep flavor it provides. The Kimchi Bulgogi Dupbap gives you some sizzling kimchi and strips

of nori (dried seaweed) on top of what the regular version provides. It might be for the more advanced patron, but the flavors and textures are great.

Staying in the spicy realm, let’s talk about the Buldak (BULL-dack). This is spicy stir-fried Korean chicken that will be right up your alley if you generally like spicy chicken dishes. It’s made with both gochujang and a Korean chili powder called gochugaru (GO-choo-GAH-roo), along with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. It’s got heat, but if you’re eating buffalo poppers on a consistent basis, you’ll be happy.

The spiciest thing on the menu is the Tteobokki (tuk-bow-KEE). These are soft, tube-shaped rice cakes that come in a very spicy broth made from both gochujang and gochugaru with a soft-boiled egg for good measure. The texture is interesting, and the heat is real for those wholove that kind of thing, but it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. Adventure at your own risk.

When reviewing places with new types of food, I’m often asked what can be ordered for sharing so that people can try more items. All of these bowls are kind of shareable in the sense that you could mix everything together and dish it out to the members of your party. It might not be optimal, but that’s kind of your only option there.

There are a couple of items that are a bit more shareable, though. The first is the Pajeon (PAA-jaan), a Korean scallion pancake with assorted vegetables that is pan fried and served with a great savory garlic soy sauce. This is cut into pieces so it’s easy to share and the lack of heat will also help for it to be acceptable for everyone.

Lastly, the Korean fried chicken at Seoul Bite has been a big hit. Whether it’s the Chicken Tenders or the wings, there are people that come in the door just for the chicken. If you want to go boneless, the tenders are great, but I’d recommend the Half & Half which is five wings each of the Soy Garlic and the Sweet & Spicy.

Part of the attraction of the fried chicken is the robot. If you have seen videos from Asia with robots “manning” the fryer, that’s what you’ll now see in Teaneck. The robot makes everything that goes in the fryer from tenders to wings and from fries to onion rings. Not only does it make for something cool to see, but everything is always cooked for the exact right amount of time. Plus, the robot doesn’t need to go on break. If you’ve always wanted to try Korean food, or even if you just like trying new things in general, make your way to Seoul Bite right away. It’s easier to get to Teaneck than it is to get to Seoul, and there aren’t any kosher Korean restaurants there anyway.

Meat - Korean - Counter Service 206 West Englewood Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666

(201)-983-4017

Seoul-Bite.com

RCBC (Rabbinical Council of Bergen County)

In The K tchen

Spaghetti Bolognese

Meat / Yields 4-6 servings

By Naomi Nachman

This was my absolute favorite dinner of all time when I was growing up and it’s still a favorite. My dad made it for us kids. On his latest visit to me in New York, I asked him to make it and I wrote everything down that he said. As he spoke, I poured and measured till we got it down perfectly. He said, “Add a few glugs of red wine,” and I said, “How is Mrs. Eisner (my awesome ArtScroll editor) going to know what glugs are?” I grabbed a measuring jug and poured out a few glugs till I got the amount just right!

Ingredients

◦ 2 Tablespoons canola oil

◦ 1 large onion, finely diced

◦ 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

◦ 10 cloves garlic

◦ 2 pounds ground beef

◦ 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with their liquid

◦ 2 Tablespoons dried oregano

◦ 2 Tablespoons tomato paste

◦ 2 teaspoons kosher salt

◦ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

◦ 1 cup red wine

◦ 1 (1-pound) box spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.

2. Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt; sauté for a few minutes till onions begin to sweat, then add garlic.

3. Add meat, breaking it up with back of a wooden spoon; mix well with onions and remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Cook until meat has browned.

4. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes.

5. Just before serving, toss with cooked spaghetti.

Recipe from Perfect Flavors by Naomi Nachman, published by Artscroll.

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.

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

I’ve had to be in the position where I’ve had to go to my local police department, because I know my son is going to be training for the Junior Olympics — running around the neighborhood in an all-white neighborhood — and I have brought him to the police and said, “He belongs to me, this is my son. Do not harass him, do not stop him.”

- The View’s Sunny Hostin, who lives in a mega-mansion, claiming to worry about racism

A typical Democrat—moving to an all-white neighborhood and then [complaining] about racism… If you want to relocate, consider the South Side of Chicago; it’s a buyer’smarket. Sadly, though, your son will be running from gunfire, not the cops.

– Greg Gutfeld, Fox News

If Saudi Arabia tells us “normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,” friends, no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do.

- Israel’s Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich

I’m ashamed that those guys would put their families and their careers in jeopardy. There’s an old saying in the ‘hood: “All money ain’t good money.” So if you’re making $9 million…how much more do you need?

- NBA great Shaquille O’Neal commenting on the NBA gambling bust

You know what we do with collaborators? …

My fantasy dream is that this nightmare ends in 2029, and I think we ought to have radical things — I think they all ought to have their heads shaven, they should be put in orange pajamas, and they should be marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the public should be invited to spit on them.

- Sick comments by Democrat pundit James Carville

Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list, because when you’ve got all of these protests that have been going out there and people have been protesting against [Trump] and what have you, this man is coming. He’s coming.

- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith asserting that last week’s NBA gambling bust is President Donald Trump’s way of punishing the league

That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.

- FBI Director Kash Patel in response

WNBA Players Assure FBI They Weren’t Missing Layups To Throw Games, They Just [Stink] At Basketball.

– Babylon Bee headline

We are not the crazy ones. We are not the outlandish ones. They want us to think we are crazy—we are sane.

– AOC at a rally with fellow comrades in NY

When your message is, “I swear, I’m not crazy,” you’re in trouble…and you’re crazy.

– Jesse Watters, Fox News

I want people to understand that they are Jews, that they should do more mitzvot. Hamas did this to me only because I am a Jew. A Jew must know that he comes from greatness, that he’s not like everyone else.

- Former hostage Rom Braslavski, who disclosed that the terrorists offered to treat him better if he converted to Islam, but he kept telling them, over and over, “I am a strong Jew!”

He’s found time to demolish the East Wing of the White House so that he can build a ballroom where he can be celebrated as king.

– House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), criticizing Trump’s privately funded renovation to the White House so that the administration no longer has to put up a tent every time it hosts more than a hundred people

Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE

- Tweet by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)

[Obama] couldv’e built a ballroom but instead he built a basketball court. What, are world leaders supposed to come by and play horse?

– Jesse Watters, Fox News

For those of us who actually worked in the East Wing…it both looked like, and smelled like, a 1979’s era midwestern split level. Just like my cousins used to live in.

– Former White House staffer Joshua Steinman

Obviously, part of it is the whole “if Trump cured cancer that would be bad too” thing, but I think it’s deeper in this case. This ballroom is meant to be a testament to American exceptionalism…And that is not the Progressive’s view of the U.S. I mean, these are people that can’t say anything nice about the history of the United States without 57 caveats and 4 land aknowledgments.

-David Marcus, Fox News

White House ballroom construction derangment syndrome shall henceforth be known as the condition predicated on an irrational and overly emotional response to the president renovating an 80-year-old section of the White House to create a luxurious new ballroom, using private contributions to fund the changes.

– Christopher Tremoglie, The Washington Examiner

[Trump] is likely going to go down as the greatest builder of this era. And, you’ve been in on a lot of these meetings with him. To your knowledge, has the subject of rebuilding the Holy Temple in Jerusalem come up?

- Mishpacha magazine’s White House correspondent Jake Turx’s question to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt last week, to which she replied, “It has not”

When I was in Washington, they said I control the American government, that I dictate its security policy. Now they claim the opposite — that the American administration controls me and dictates Israel’s security policy.

– Prime Minister Netanyahu responding to critics who claim that he is being controlled by Trump

I thought they were saying, “Let’s go Bills.”

- N.Y Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) when asked about being drowned out by “Tax

Zohran Mamdani

Moscow Menaces, and Trump Takes Aim at ... Caracas? Political Crossfire

By David Ignatius

“Why America Slept.” That might be the title of a future book examining the Trump administration’s shift of national security focus away from a mounting Russian threat against Europe and toward a noxious but relatively impotent network of drug gangs in Venezuela.

This misallocation of priorities is evident across the Trump administration. The FBI’s most experienced national security agents have been purged; cyber defenses at several agencies have been slashed; scores of veteran CIA analysts and operations officers have quit or been forced out; alliances with friendly intelligence services have weakened.

Meanwhile, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly: “The President will continue to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.” President Donald Trump said last week he had “authorized” CIA covert action against Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro. “We have

a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela,” he explained.

“Great-power suicide” is how former CIA director William J. Burns described the self-inflicted damage to national security resources in a recent article for the Atlantic. “We’ve put at risk the network of alliances and partnerships that is the envy of our rivals. We’ve even gutted the research funding that powers our economy,” he wrote.

Trump’s reluctance to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin militarily, even as he chases Maduro, confounds U.S. allies in NATO. Germany’s intelligence agencies have warned in recent briefings that “Russia is now highly active in infiltrating the German armed forces and undermining the stability of NATO,” German defense analyst Nico Lange warned last week.

European leaders issued a joint statement Tuesday warning about Russia’s threat to the continent. “We must ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry, until Putin is ready

to make peace,” the statement said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the White House on Wednesday to make the same argument.

After meeting with Rutte, Trump announced new sanctions against two of Russia’s biggest energy companies. “These are tremendous sanctions. These are very big,” Trump declared in the Oval Office. But the sanctions are well short of the Tomahawk missiles and other military steps that Ukraine had sought. And there’s no sign that more sanctions, by themselves, will force Putin to the peace table.

European countries now feel they’re directly in the firing line, without an adequate American shield.

“Multiple European countries have suffered successive waves of clandestine attacks organized [sic] and directed by Moscow,” noted a recent analysis of Russian “mayhem” by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Though the United States hasn’t been hit by sabotage, such attacks would be easier because of “the dismantling of U.S.

federal agencies previously tasked with detecting and preventing such attacks,” the report noted.

While the administration surges military and intelligence resources to the Caribbean to confront Maduro, it is slashing funding for more basic national security priorities. The staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, for example, has been cut from 3,300 when Trump became president to 2,200, according to Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).

“We are unilaterally disarming in the face of an escalating threat,” King told me this week. He said that a cyberspace commission he co-chaired reported this month that the number of its recommendations made in 2020 that are now “fully implemented” has dropped from 48 percent to 35 percent over the past year. Cyberdefense projects at the State Department and other agencies have been abolished or cut sharply, he said.

Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned in a speech last month

that “the integrity of our intelligence is being sacrificed on the altar of partisan convenience.” As an example, he cited the firing of two officials on the National Intelligence Council “because their well-documented, evidence-based assessment of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua criminal network did not align with the administration’s preferred narrative” that it was a terrorist group directed by Maduro. The administration ordered a new analysis that justified its mission.

The Trump team’s purge of experienced national security leaders is documented in a 68-page complaint filed last month by Brian Driscoll and two other former top FBI officials against FBI Director Kash Patel and other administration officials. Driscoll alleges that even before Trump’s inauguration, he was asked by a transition official named Paul Ingrassia whether he had voted for Trump and whether he planned to punish FBI agents involved in the raid that found classified documents at Mar-aLago. (Ingrassia this week withdrew his nomination to head the Office of Special Counsel because of Senate opposition.)

Driscoll alleges in the complaint that he refused to answer Ingrassia’s political questions and balked at the pressure

for retribution. The complaint says that Patel told him in early August, “The FBI tried to put the president in jail, and he hasn’t forgotten it.” Driscoll was fired three days later.

With so many experienced leaders of the FBI’s national security, counterterrorism, foreign intelligence and cyber divisions gone, “people are concerned that

Agency. “We sometimes don’t tell things anymore, that is true,” said Peter Reesink, head of the military intelligence agency. “We are very alert to the politicization of intelligence and to human rights violations,” explained Erik Akerboom, head of the civilian spy agency. Intelligence cooperation is close to hardwired among the U.S., Britain and

cartels and Maduro.

Quite apart from the mismatch of priorities, CIA covert actions in Latin America rarely end happily. That’s especially likely in Venezuela, where a corrupt military supports Maduro, the U.S. lacks a well-trained local insurgency to partner with, and the government receives potent intelligence and military support from Cuba and Iran.

What worries intelligence veterans is that Trump is balking at countering a real Russian drive to subjugate Ukraine and sabotage NATO

Jack Devine, a former senior CIA officer who oversaw several covert projects in Latin America, cautions against any assumption that you can “just light a spark” and trigger a successful coup. His advice: “Don’t do covert action without congressional support and a strong indigenous force. If you go in, do it hard. Don’t dabble,” he told me. “Otherwise, you’re opening Pandora’s box.”

there will be an attack, a mass casualty event, that the bureau misses,” one intelligence expert told me.

This politicization of U.S. intelligence has begun to erode the confidence of partners. The two leaders of the Dutch intelligence agencies told a Dutch newspaper last week that they were reducing the amount of intelligence they shared with the CIA and National Security

the other three English-speaking “Five Eyes” partners. But even some of the Five Eyes services are moderating what they tell Washington, U.S. intelligence officials believe.

What worries intelligence veterans is that Trump is balking at countering a real Russian drive to subjugate Ukraine and sabotage NATO – and focusing instead on military strikes against drug

Trump certainly wouldn’t be the first president to mask a retreat on a big problem by assaulting a smaller one. President Ronald Reagan attacked the tiny island of Grenada after U.S. Marines were killed in Beirut in 1983. But when you look at the threat matrix around the world, it seems to me Trump has his priorities upside down.

© 2025, Washington Post Writers Group

In the 1991 Louisiana governor’s race, voters were faced with two revolting choices: David Duke, a neo-Nazi and former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and Edwin Edwards, a former three-term Democratic governor who had been indicted and acquitted on corruption charges.

Edwards’ supporters printed bumper stickers with what became an unofficial slogan of his campaign: “Vote for the Crook: It’s Important.”

Well, today, New Yorkers face an equally unpalatable choice between the Marxist Zohran Mamdani and Andrew M. Cuomo, the sleazy former three-term Democratic governor who was forced to resign in a harassment scandal and whom many New Yorkers blame for the deaths of their grandparents during the covid pandemic.

Well, to those New Yorkers I say: “Vote for the Sleazeball: It’s important.”

Let’s be clear: Cuomo does not belong in Gracie Mansion. He left the governor’s office in disgrace after a state investigation found he harassed 11 women and then carried out a campaign to exact retribution against one of his accusers (Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing). During the covid pandemic, he forced more than 9,000 covid-positive patients back into nursing homes and then tried to cover up the number of deaths that resulted. He was facing impeachment by the Democratic-controlled New York Senate when he resigned. Now, he’s trying to make an improbable and undeserved political comeback.

New Yorkers should hold their noses and pull the lever for him anyway – because that’s the only way to stop Mamdani from becoming mayor.

Mamdani has expressed clear Marx-

Political Crossfire Vote for Cuomo: It’s Important

By Marc A. Thiessen

ist views including support for “seizing the means of production” and the “abolition of private property” and said wants to establish government grocery stores, a $30 minimum wage, take over private property from bad landlords, and raise property taxes on “richer and whiter neighborhoods.” On X, he has endorsed Karl Marx’s dictum “Each according to their need, each according to their ability” – the textbook definition of communism that was incorporated by Joseph Stalin into the constitution of the Soviet Union. Mamdani claims he is not a communist, but a democratic socialist. You know who else made that claim? The German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

He is also a longtime supporter of the antisemitic BDS movement. At Bow-

doin College, he helped found the campus chapter of the radical Students for Justice in Palestine – the same group that has roiled colleges across the nation with pro-Hamas protests since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. In an interview with Fox News’ Martha McCallum last week, Mamdani claimed to have no opinion on whether Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, should lay down its arms and give up any role in the leadership of Gaza (he later backtracked during a mayoral debate).

This man has no business leading New York City, the global center of democratic capitalism and home to the largest Jewish population in America.

Louisiana voters had one advantage over New Yorkers today: a clear choice between two awful candidates. In New York, by contrast, Mamdani can win without a majority in a divided field. Mamdani currently is leading with

about 43 percent support, while Cuomo has 29 percent, followed perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at 19 percent, according to a new AARP/ Gotham Polling survey. In other words, Sliwa and Cuomo are dividing the anti-Mamdani vote. If Sliwa were to drop out, the poll found, the race would tighten, with Mamdani ahead 45 percent to Cuomo’s 41 percent, within the margin of error.

But Sliwa refuses to step aside, even though he has no chance of winning. The days when New Yorkers would turn to a Republican like former mayor Rudy Giuliani to clean up the city are long gone. That is why is no serious elected Republican entered the mayor’s race. Sliwa should have gotten out a long time ago to let Cuomo take on Mamdani mano a mano.

Sometimes in a democracy you don’t get to elect the candidate you like; you only get to choose the least worst candidate. And in this race, the least worst candidate is Cuomo.

By the way, if you’re wondering what happened in Louisiana three decades ago, Edwards won. He went on to serve a fourth term as governor, only to be indicted again. This time he was found guilty on 17 counts – including racketeering, extortion, fraud and conspiracy – for kickbacks he received for riverboat gambling licenses, including accepting a suitcase stuffed with $400,000 in cash. He served eight years in prison. But electing him was the best decision Louisiana voters ever made. And, hard as it is for me to write these words, electing Andrew M. Cuomo would be the best decision New Yorkers ever made as well.

Jewish History

An Attack 1,500 Years In the Making

By Hedy Ross

An exclusive interview with Dr. Rafael Medoff about his new book, The Road to October 7, published by the Jewish Publication Society & University of Nebraska Press.

What do you mean when you say that there was a very long road leading to the attack of October 7?

The horror of October 7 can’t be separated from the centuries of anti-Jewish violence that preceded it. The Hamas killers and gang-rapists were following closely in the footsteps of those who have been torturing and murdering Jews around the world since medieval times. There are obvious similarities in their methods, ideology, and the hate-filled education on which the killers were reared.

When you say “hate education,” do you see a common thread in different educational systems through the centuries?

Education is one of the important common denominators in anti-Jewish violence, historically. When the medieval Crusaders were children, they were taught that all contemporary Jews deserved to be punished for the death of [Yoshke]. Pogromists in Czarist Russia and Chemelnicki’s Ukraine were taught the same thing. The Palestinian Arab terrorists who rampaged through Hebron in 1929, like those who rampaged through southern Israel in 2023, were raised in schools and mosques where they were taught that Jews are evil and need to be destroyed.

What about the Nazis? How did they weaponize education?

As soon as the Nazis rose to power, they changed Germany’s school curricula to reflect Nazi beliefs and purged all teachers who failed to go along. An entire generation of young Germans—like entire generations of Palestinian Arabs—was inculcated with violent antisemitism.

And Nazi education did not stop at the end of the school day. After school hours, millions of German children were active in the Hitler Youth movement. Later, Hitler Youth members were involved in many atrocities during the Holocaust. Alumni of Hamas and Palestinian Authority schools and summer camps carried out October 7.

Is this part of the eternal “nature vs. nurture” debate, regarding how children develop?

I would put it this way: No child is born an antisemitic murderer. The ideas that lead to such behavior have to be taught. For a group of people to carry out the methodical, large-scale torture, rape and massacre of defenseless Jewish civilians, they have to be inundated, for years, with hateful ideas in their schools, homes, and religious institutions.

Recently you’ve written articles about the Palestinian Authority’s summer camps. How do those camps fit into the bigger picture?

Last year, the Palestinian Authority ran 65 summer camps, attended by 65,000 boys and girls. What goes on in the camps is a continuation of what goes on during the school year, but with a summer flavor. While American kids are playing ball and making arts and crafts in their summer camps, Palestinian Arab kids train for real war—some of the camps include actual military training. American campers paint pictures of animals and flowers. In PA camps, the kids paint maps of all of Israel labeled “Palestine.” The kids in American summer camps idolize sports figures. Palestinian Arab campers are taught to idolize suicide bombers, airplane hijackers, and the butchers who carried out the Munich Olympics massacre. You can bet some of the perpetrators of October 7 attended PA or Hamas summer camps.

Another parallel between antisemitic violence in past centuries and the Hamas attack, which you explore in The Road to October 7, is the parading of what you call “trophy victims.”

Going back to medieval times, we find descriptions of pogromists parading the corpses of their Jewish victims. It’s a way of boasting of the killer’s “achievement.” And it’s also a way of inflicting a final indignity on the victims, by demonstrating complete physical supremacy, even in death.

Parading victims has been a very common feature in the history of Palestinian Arab violence against Jews. Modern technology has given us a new twist on this old horror—perpetrators of the October 7 atrocities used their cell phones to livestream what they were doing to the Jews.

Let’s talk about the responses in America to the Hamas attack and the Gaza war, which you discuss in detail in The Road to October 7. How do you account for the extreme positions taken by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch?

It’s important to remember that Amnesty and HRW were deeply biased against Israel long before October 2023. Back in February 2022, for example, Amnesty issued a report accusing Israel of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing.” And HRW smeared Israel with the false “apartheid” charge even earlier than that, in April 2021. So with their longstanding predisposition to attack Israel, it’s no surprise that they would continue that pattern after October 7, regardless of the facts.

What about American feminist groups? Wouldn’t you think they would have been concerned about the barbaric Hamas attacks on Israeli women?

According to their own declared principles, groups such as MeToo International and the National Organization for Women should have been the first to denounce the October 7 atrocities. Instead, they at first said nothing, then they stalled, then they issued weak both-sides-are-guilty statements. It appears that their political biases take priority over their feminist principles.

In The Road to October 7, you unveil your new research concerning American universities that developed friendly relations with Nazi Germany. How does that connect to the pro-Hamas protests on campuses today?

The common denominator is their leaders’ indifference to antisemitism. In the 1930s, Harvard, Columbia, George Washington University, Wesleyan and others ignored Nazi antisemitism as they built friendly ties with the Hitler regime, which included inviting Nazi representatives to speak on their campuses. In the aftermath of October 7, these same universities ignored the waves of antisemitism by some of their own students, including the genocidal calls for the annihilation of millions of Israeli Jews.

There’s always some lag-time between when a book is written and when it’s published. Has anything happened recently that would change what you wrote in The Road to October 7 when you finished the manuscript?

Sadly, everything that has happened in recent months has only reaffirmed what I documented in the book. The new details of Hamas’s starvation of Israeli hostages only proves, again, its incredible barbarism. Antisemitism, sometimes thinly disguised as anti-Zionism, has become increasingly acceptable in the mainstream culture. The Palestinian Authority continues to act as a cheerleader for Hamas and is indoctrinating young people to carry out another October 7. And some American feminist groups continue to betray their own principles by refusing to speak out against Hamas atrocities against Jewish women.

The situation sounds hopeless.

I know it sometimes feels that way. But despite it all, I remain basically optimistic. The Jews have endured much worse over the centuries, yet we survived and ultimately have thrived despite it all. Today there is a strong Jewish state and a strong Jewish army. Think about that in the context of what the Jewish people suffered just eightyfive years ago, when Jews were weak and stateless, and you realize how blessed we are today.

Dr. Medoff is the founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and author of more than 20 books about Jewish history and the Holocaust. His book, The Road to October 7: Hamas, the Holocaust, and the Eternal War Against the Jews, was published on October 1, 2025, by The Jewish Publication Society / University of Nebraska Press.

Political Crossfire

Don’t Fall For Mamdani’s Islamophobia Gaslighting

In electoral politics, as in war and sports, the best defense is always offense. And like any skillful politician, Zohran Mamdani has been on the offensive throughout the course of his run for mayor of New York City.

When faced with criticism of his longstanding affiliation with antisemitic groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and the Democratic Socialists of America as well as opposition to the existence of the one Jewish state on the planet, he has two standard responses.

One is to talk past the issue by blandly claiming that, as mayor, he would protect Jewish New Yorkers against antisemitism. The other is to question the morality and decency of anyone who dares to point out that his entire political career is rooted in support for Israel’s destruction and those working to achieve that genocidal goal.

The former is utterly disingenuous. He has been vocal in his encouragement of the mobs on college campuses and elsewhere who target Jews and chant for their genocide (“From the river to the sea”), as well as call for terrorism against Jews everywhere (“Globalize the intifada”), which he won’t disavow.

Breathtaking Mendacity

Such breathtaking mendacity is enough to satisfy those who already support the Democratic candidate’s bid to lead the world’s largest Jewish city outside of Israel. The ploy is simple. Just accuse those who have the temerity to hold him accountable for his antisemitism of engaging in Islamophobia.

In a society founded on principles of equality, calling someone a bigot is a devastating attack. Doing so has become especially effective in an era when victimhood has become the greatest political prize. And few groups have been more skillful in claiming that status than American Muslims.

By Jonathan S. Tobin

At the heart of this claim is a myth about the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Muslims have been speaking as if they, and not the nearly 3,000 persons murdered by Islamists on that awful day, were the real victims of Al Qaeda’s assault on America.

And that’s why the recent dustup between Vice President JD Vance and Mamdani about 9/11 victimhood is not a meaningless kerfuffle or, as many Democrats and liberal journalists seem to be asserting, one more piece of evidence of the Trump administration’s racism and insensitivity. To the contrary, it betrays exactly how Mamdani and other supporters or fellow travelers of Islamist extremism and antisemitism have been able to mainstream their particular form of hate by accusing their critics of being prejudiced.

Vance is being bashed in the legacy media for a post on X in which he pointed out that a recent speech by Mamdani centered on calling his critics Islamophobes rested on a particularly deceitful reference to 9/11. As Vance put it, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”

As it turns out, Mamdani was lying when he claimed his aunt was given dirty looks when riding the New York subways after 9/11 since his only aunt wasn’t living in the city then and doesn’t wear a hijab. But although the candidate amended his story to say that he was talking about a deceased cousin of his father that he claims he called “auntie,” he insisted that Vance’s comment was inappropriate. “This is all the Republican Party has to offer,” he retorted. “Cheap jokes about Islamophobia so as to not have to recognize what people are living through, attempts to pit peoples’ humanity against each other.”

But Vance was exactly right.

For more than two decades, Muslim extremists and their apologists like Mamdani have been alleging that America was swept by a wave of Islamophobia after 9/11. That theme was enabled in part by a laudable concern on the part of then-President George W. Bush that the response to Islamic extremism should not turn into unfair targeting of American Muslims. Unfortunately, his attempts to claim that those Muslims who hate the West and support Islamists were a small minority that misrepresented their religion—and re -

peated insistence that “Islam is a religion of peace”—were inaccurate.

No Evidence To Back It Up

But while people like Mamdani continue to float unverifiable allegations of prejudice against Muslims, the plain fact of the matter is that there has never been any empirical evidence of such a backlash against American Muslims. On the contrary, FBI hate-crime statistics over the last 24 years have consistently shown that anti-Muslim crimes have been relatively few and overwhelmingly outnumbered by those committed against Jews. Indeed, in the FBI’s latest report, nearly 70% of religion-based hate crimes committed in the United States were against Jews, despite the fact that they make up less than two percent of the population.

But that has never stopped those who purportedly represent Muslims, whether the openly antisemitic Council on America Islamic Relations (CAIR) or politicians like Mamdani, from asserting that Muslims are suffering disproportionate and widespread discrimination in the United States.

This started out as an attempt to flip the narrative about 9/11, such as when opposition to an attempt to build a mosque in the footprint of one of the buildings in the shadow of the World Trade Center that was destroyed by the attack was falsely portrayed as prejudice against Muslims. By claiming that Arabs and Muslims were suffering discrimination because of anger about the Islamist assault on America, the entire discussion shifted.

Rather than seeing the issue of the religion-based hatred of jihadist Muslims for the West, America and the Jews not as mere unkindness, but one that resulted in mass murder, liberal journalists—and apologists like CAIR, obsessed with anecdotal evidence of anti-Muslim discrimination—deemed anyone with a justified

fear of Islamic terrorism after 9/11 to be a narrow-minded bigot.

In the last decade, Islamophobia also became a talking point for those who sought to silence criticism of the way in which CAIR and other members of the red-green alliance of Marxists and Islamists engaged in open antisemitism in the course of their agitation against Israel. Jewish groups and individuals, as well as non-Jewish supporters of Israel and the Jews, were targeted and denounced as Islamophobes. But in almost every case, all they were actually guilty of was pointing out that Israel-bashers were engaged in Jew-hatred, as they advocated for Israel’s eradication, denied Jewish history

believe the war that Islamists are waging against the West is a function of a racial conflict in which victimized people of color are “resisting” white oppressors. In this way, Islamist terrorism is justified, while Jewish and American victims are erased.

No one should be targeted for his or her religious faith or ethnic identity. And the only people who should be blamed for Islamist terrorism are those who commit and support it. But the idea that American Muslims are in the crosshairs of a vicious backlash based on religious prejudice is still a myth. And those “pro-Palestinian” activists like Mamdani who support a war against the Jews deserve to be identified and held accountable for it.

The ploy is simple. Just accuse those who have the temerity to hold him accountable for his antisemitism of engaging in Islamophobia.

and rights and appropriated the memory of the Holocaust in order to falsely demonize Jews.

Post-Oct. 7 Tactics

This dishonesty became even more blatant after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Many Muslims and their left-wing allies celebrated what was the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust because they hated Israel. Echoing the language of toxic leftist ideas about race, they falsely branded Jews as “white” oppressors and the Jewish state as a nation that had no right to exist.

It is no exaggeration to say that this fraudulent and hateful stand is at the core of Mamdani’s political identity. When he spreads blood libels about Jews committing “genocide”—as he did just last week in the final mayoral candidate debate— while opposing the right of the Jewish people to their own state in their historic homeland and won’t condemn calls for genocide and terrorism against Jews, he’s engaging in behavior that is intrinsically antisemitic. But instead of owning up to his prejudice and that of those who share his views, he bemoans the way Muslims are treated and says that anyone who notices his antisemitism is an Islamophobe.

This is enormously popular among Muslims and also appeals to the left-wing intersectional base of the Democratic Party—and its journalist cheerleaders—who

Gaslighting the Jews

The purpose of promoting the dubious claim that Islamophobia is spreading is clear. It is a perfect example of gaslighting, as it is almost only used when it concerns efforts to identify the hate for Jews that is mainstream in the Arab and Muslim communities. Through this endeavor, the real hatemongers get to play the victims of prejudice, while the victims of their hatred are wrongly accused of being bigots.

The phenomenon is particularly egregious as Jews confront the likelihood of Mamdani—whose public career has revolved around antisemitism—becoming the mayor of New York City. The message they are getting from media outlets like The New York Times that are promoting this false narrative about Mamdani is that to raise the question of Muslim antisemitism is to be an Islamophobe.

If New York is to elect an antisemite as the city’s mayor, let’s be clear about what those seeking to clear the path for such an outcome are doing. Their goal is much like the tone that has characterized coverage of the post-Oct. 7 war against Hamas, in which terrorist propaganda and lies are treated as truth, and the truth about the genocidal goals of Israel’s opponents is sent down the Orwellian “memory hole.”

Political Crossfire

The Vanishing Act How Assad’s Top Henchmen Fled Syria and Justice

By Erika Solomon, Christiaan Triebert, Haley Willis, Ahmad Mhidi and Danny Makki

Not long after midnight on Dec. 8, 2024, dozens of people gathered in the darkness outside the military section of Syria’s Damascus International Airport. Carrying whatever they could pack, they piled into a small Syrian Air jet.

Only an hour earlier, they were part of an elite cadre that formed the backbone of one of the world’s most brutal regimes. Now, in the wake of President Bashar Assad’s sudden fall and escape from the country, they were fugitives, scrambling with their families to flee.

Among the passengers was Qahtan Khalil, director of Syria’s air force intelligence, who was accused of being directly responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres of the country’s 13-year civil war.

He was joined by Ali Abbas and Ali Ayyoub, two former ministers of defense facing sanctions for human rights violations and atrocities carried out during the conflict. There was also the military chief of staff, Abdul Karim Ibrahim, accused of facilitating torture and violence against civilians.

The presence of these and other regime figures was recounted to The New York Times by a passenger and two other former officials with knowledge of the flight.

As a whirlwind rebel offensive encroached on the Syrian capital, Assad’s furtive flight out of Damascus earlier that night took his innermost circle by surprise and became the symbol of his regime’s stunning fall.

His henchmen quickly followed suit. In a matter of hours, the pillars of an entire system of repression had not simply collapsed. They had vanished.

Some caught flights. Others rushed to their coastal villas and roared away on luxury speed boats.

Some fled in convoys of expensive cars, as rebels at freshly installed checkpoints unwittingly waved them on. A

few hid out in the Russian Embassy, which assisted in their escapes to Moscow, Assad’s most important ally.

To the thousands of Syrians who lost loved ones, or were tortured, imprisoned or displaced by the Assad regime, their homeland had become a crime scene from which the top suspects disappeared en masse.

Ten months after the regime’s collapse, a nation shattered by war not only faces the immense challenge of rebuilding, but also the daunting task of scouring the globe to find and hold to account the people who committed some of the worst state-sponsored crimes of this century.

Former rebel fighters and Syria’s fledgling government are trying to locate them through informants, computer and phone hacks, or clues gathered from abandoned regime headquarters. Prosecutors in Europe and the United States are building or revisiting cases. And Syrian civil society groups and United Nations investigators are collecting evidence and witnesses, preparing for a future in which they hope justice

can be served.

Their targets are some of the most elusive people in the world. Many of them wielded immense power for decades yet remained public enigmas: Their real names, ages and, in some cases, even appearances were unknown.

The dearth of information has repeatedly led to inaccuracies in media reports, and on sanctions and law enforcement lists. It likely has helped some of the regime’s most notorious bad actors evade Syrian and European authorities since Assad’s fall.

The Means to Disappear

Over the past several months, a Times reporting team has been working to fill in the blanks about 55 of these regime officials’ roles and true identities, all former high-ranking government and military figures who appear on international sanctions lists and are linked to the deadliest chapters of Syria’s recent history.

The investigation has involved everything from tracing digital trails and family social media accounts, to scour -

ing abandoned properties for old phone bills and credit card information.

Reporters interviewed dozens of former regime officials, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety, as well as Syrian human rights lawyers, European law enforcement, civil society groups and members of the new Syrian government. They visited dozens of abandoned villas and businesses connected to regime figureheads and reconstructed some of their escape routes.

The current whereabouts of many of these 55 former key officials who enabled Assad’s dictatorship remain unknown, but among the dozen the Times has found, their fates vary widely.

Assad himself is in Russia and appears to have cut off contact with most of his formal circle, according to former Syrian officials, relatives and associates.

Maher Assad, who was second only to his brother Bashar in power over regime-era Syria, has been spending time living a life of exiled luxury in Moscow, along with some of his former senior commanders, like Jamal Younes, according to accounts by regime-era officials and business associates in contact with them, as well as video evidence verified by the Times.

Others, like Ghiath Dalla, a brigadier general whose forces were involved in violent repression of protests, are among several former officers plotting sabotage from Lebanon, according to ex-military commanders, who also shared text message exchanges with the Times. Dalla is coordinating with former regime leaders like Suhail al-Hassan and Kamal al-Hassan from Moscow, the same commanders said.

Some officials have struck murky deals to remain in Syria, according to an ex-military commander and people working with the new government. And one official, Amr al-Armanazi, who oversaw Bashar Assad’s chemical weap -

ons program, was discovered by Times reporters to still be living in his own home in Damascus.

Keeping track of such a large group of figures poses a massive challenge for those seeking justice. There are criminal cases to build and the daunting task of finding a way to actually prosecute such cases.

But at the heart of this challenge lies the question of how best to coordinate global search efforts for people who don’t want to be found.

Many of them had easy access to government offices that enabled them to obtain genuine Syrian passports with fake names, according to former employees and regime figures. That, in turn, enabled them to obtain passports to Caribbean countries, they said.

“Some of these individuals have purchased new identities by acquiring citizenship through real estate investments or financial payments. They use these new names and nationalities to hide,” said Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a Paris-based group at the forefront of justice efforts on Syria.

“These people have the financial means to move freely, to buy new passports, to disappear.”

“He’s Gone.”

The mass exodus began late on the night of Dec. 7, 2024, after a moment of stark realization.

For hours, several of Assad’s top aides waiting near his office in the presidential palace had confidently fielded calls from their colleagues and relatives, several regime-era officials in contact with them that night said. The palace officials assured them the president was there, hashing out a plan with his military and Russian and Iranian advisers to confront the advancing rebel forces. But that plan never materialized. And neither did Assad.

Realizing he was gone, the senior aides quickly tracked him to his home, according to three former palace officials. Shortly after, guards outside the president’s house informed them Russian officials had whisked Assad away in a convoy of three SUVs, along with his son and personal assistant. According to the former palace aides, the only officials the president would summon to flee with him were two financial advisers. Assad would need their help, two regime insiders later explained, to access his assets in Russia.

The erstwhile president and his en-

tourage got on a jet that flew them to Hmeimim, a coastal air base controlled by Russia, which had been his most critical backer in the war.

When they learned of the flight, the abandoned aides began frantically calling security officials and loved ones. The rebels had reached the suburbs of Damascus, and there was not a moment to lose.

“He’s gone,” was all that one senior aide said when he called a close relative, recounting that night to the Times. The aide ordered his family members to pack their bags and go to the defense ministry in the capital’s central Umayyad Square.

There, the senior aide and his fami-

Syrian officials being investigated by the Times landed, is connected to a military base used by Russia.

For years, Russian military forces were critical to Bashar Assad’s ability to crush the armed rebellion against his rule. In return, Moscow controlled strategic ports and bases on the Mediterranean and gained access to lucrative phosphate mining and fossil fuel deals.

The Russians have now played a similarly critical role in the escape of Assad — and many of his top henchmen. Witnesses at Hmeimim in the early morning hours described a night of chaos as the ousted officials escaped.

People headed into the Russian base carrying bags packed with cash

In a matter of hours, the pillars of an entire system of repression had not simply collapsed. They had vanished.

ly joined several other security officers who had gathered with their families, and linked up with Khalil, the air force intelligence director. Khalil had arranged an escape flight, the one transporting many high-ranking officials, to Hmeimim. The plane, a Yak-40 private jet, left the Damascus airport around 1:30 a.m. Dec. 8, a passenger, who was one of the former palace officials, said.

Satellite-imagery analysis comports with this, showing that a Yak-40 was on the tarmac in Damascus in the days prior, vanishes on the night in question and seems to have reappeared at Hmeimim soon after.

The passengers who packed into the plane “were freaking out,” the former palace official recalled. The flight is only 30 minutes, he said, “but that night, it felt like we were flying forever.”

In another part of the city, Assad’s brother Maher, head of Syria’s feared 4th Division, was rushing to arrange his own escape. He called a family friend and one of his business cronies, according to two close associates. Maher Assad urged the men to leave their houses as quickly as possible and wait outside. Shortly after, he careened up the street in his car, then sped off with them to catch his own flight.

The Syrian-controlled airport in Hmeimim, where at least five of the

ly called the intelligence director that night for updates and was always reassured that there was nothing to fear. Then, at 2 a.m., he said, Louka hurriedly answered the phone only to say he was packing to flee.

An hour later, Louka’s officers entered his office to discover he had abandoned them without uttering a word — and that, on his way out, Louka had ordered the intelligence service’s accountant to open the headquarters safe, according to one of Louka’s officers present at the time. Louka then took all the cash inside, an estimated $1,360,000. Three former regime officials say they believe Louka has since made it to Russia, though the Times has not yet verified their account.

In that same security compound, Kamal al-Hassan, another high-ranking former official, also raided his office headquarters. He took a hard drive as well as the money inside his administrative office’s safe, according to a friend and a senior regime-era figure in contact with one of al-Hassan’s deputies .

and gold, according to two witnesses. Stripped-off Syrian military uniforms were strewn everywhere, they said.

Some of the officials rushed to regroup with one another and spoke to Russian officers who would shuttle them on jets to Moscow in the coming hours and days, according to three former officials.

Many family members of the regime figures instead chose to be driven to their coastal homes near the base.

Swiping Safes, Dodging Ambushes

Back in Damascus, some 3,000 members of the General Intelligence services were still inside the sprawling security compound in the capital’s southwest, unaware that regime elites had already fled. They nervously waited on high alert under their director, Hossam Louka — an official who oversaw mass detention and systemic torture.

One of Louka’s senior officers described him as someone extremely deferential to Assad. “He wouldn’t even move an ashtray from here to there without asking Bashar for permission,” he said.

The officer recalled that they had been ordered to ready themselves for a counterattack. The order never came.

A friend of Louka said he repeated-

Al-Hassan, the head of military intelligence, is accused of overseeing mass arrests, torture and the execution of detainees.

His escape did not go as smoothly as the others. Al-Hassan was wounded in a gunfight with rebels as he attempted to leave his home in a Damascus suburb formerly known as Qura al-Assad, or “Assad’s Villages,” an area where many regime elites lived in lavish villas. He fled by hiding from house to house, the friend and regime-era official said, before eventually making his way to the Russian Embassy, which took him in.

The Times contacted al-Hassan through an interlocutor, who spoke to him by phone, but he would not divulge his location or agree to an interview. He did, however, recount his escape under fire and said that he was sheltered at “a diplomatic mission” before departing Syria.

Another official who sought refuge at the Russian Embassy was retired national security director Ali Mamlouk, who helped orchestrate the system of mass arrest, torture and disappearance that was emblematic of five decades of Assad rule.

According to both a friend who said he had been in touch with him and a relative, Mamlouk only learned of the regime collapse from a phone call around 4 a.m. As he attempted to join other officials fleeing to the airport, his convoy of cars was attacked by what the sources described as an ambush.

Though it was unclear who attacked him, they said he would have had many enemies.

As an intelligence director not only for Assad, but also the dictator’s father and predecessor, Hafez, he knew the government’s secrets.

“He was the black box of the regime — not just since the days of Bashar, since the days of Hafez,” one of his friends said. “He knew everything.”

Mamlouk managed to get away unscathed and raced to the Russian Embassy, according to three people familiar with his escape.

Mamlouk and al-Hassan hunkered down there until Russian officials arranged a guarded convoy to get them to the Hmeimim base. Both men later reached Russia, the three people told the Times.

Close Encounters

Several ex-regime figures said that, in an effort to minimize the regime’s resistance, there was a tacit understanding that rebel commanders would turn a blind eye to most Assad loyalists fleeing toward Syria’s Mediterranean coast, home of the Alawite minority sect

to which Assad belonged and where the Assad regime had recruited many of its security forces.

But it is unlikely such leniency would have been granted to former Maj. Gen. Bassam Hassan. Few from Assad’s inner circle were more feared than Hassan, accused of a litany of crimes, including coordinating the regime’s chemical weapons attacks and the kidnapping of American journalist Austin Tice.

Yet Hassan managed to escape undetected, despite sleeping through the first hectic hours of the regime’s fall. He was alerted sometime before 5 a.m., when one of his top commanders roused him from sleep, according to three people familiar with his story.

Hassan quickly arranged a convoy of three cars carrying his wife, adult children and bags stuffed with money, according to two of the people familiar with his story. He was so concerned about an attack that he had his wife and children ride in different cars, one associate said, to avoid the entire family being struck at once.

When their convoy approached the city of Homs, about 100 miles north of Damascus, rebels waved down the first

car, an SUV, and forced Hassan’s wife and daughter out. They were ordered to leave everything, even their purses, inside the vehicle, according to a witness.

The rebels, apparently satisfied with their loot, paid no mind as the women got into the second car, joining one of the Assad regime’s most notorious henchmen.

The rebels had a scant chance of recognizing him. Bogus photos of Hassan have long circulated in the media. Even the United States and British governments do not use the right name or birth year for Hassan in their sanctions documents. The Times has obtained and verified perhaps the only recent photograph of Hassan.

Having cleared the checkpoint, Hassan eventually made his way to Lebanon and then Iran with the help of Iranian officials, according to interviews with officials from the Assad regime, Lebanon and the U.S.

He has since returned to Beirut as part of a deal to provide information to American intelligence officials. Associates said he had been spending his time at cafes and fancy restaurants with his wife. When reached on a Lebanese WhatsApp number, he declined to give an interview.

A Bitter Reality

For the tens of thousands of Syrians who were victims of the Assad regime, the pursuit of justice looks aimless.

It remains an open question whether the current government, under former Islamist leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has the capacity or the will to aggressively pursue Assad officials accused of war crimes — that would, in turn, put some of his own officials’ alleged crimes under the spotlight, too.

And with foreign powers long divided over the war in Syria and the uprising against its former dictator, there is little hope for an international tribunal either.

For those fighting to ensure the regime’s crimes are not allowed to fade into history, a bitter reality remains: Assad’s top enforcers are still living large and still one step ahead of their pursuers.

“Assad’s men are drinking whiskey and playing cards in Moscow, or they are lounging in some Emirati villa,” a friend of several top-ranking regime officials said. “They have forgotten about any place that was called Syria.”

© The New York Times

Forgotten Her es Machal Volunteers

By Avi Heiligman

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, it was immediately thrust into a war for its survival. The fledgling IDF (Israel Defense Forces) urgently needed personnel and materials to fight her hostile Arab neighbors. A global contingent of volunteers, including Jews and non-Jews alike, responded to her call for help, and many were veterans from all branches of services with previous combat experience. They joined forces with units of the Palmach and other units in the IDF under the banner of Machal – Misnadvei Chutz L’Aretz (volunteers from outside the land). Here are some of the stories of Machal volunteers who chose to join the IDF in the country’s struggle for survival.

Sydney Simon Shulemson was from Montreal and had been an attack pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. On his first combat mission, he shot down a German flying boat and went on to fly 50 combat missions during the war. He used his engineering background to create an attack plan for a Bristol Beaufighter pilot to launch rockets at an enemy ship at just the right angle and time to cause the most damage. This success led the air force to employ this tactic to great success, and Shulemson received multiple awards for his contributions to the Allied cause during World War II.

In 1947, Shulemson was influential in convincing Jewish diplomats of the importance of a strong air force and was sent to recruit pilots, weapons and planes for the future IAF. He flew to meet Chinese diplomats in San Francisco together with his brother-in-law, Morris “Two Gun” Cohen to convince the Chinese not to vote against the UN Partition Plan. He continued to recruit for the IDF – one of the men he persuaded to join was ace pilot George “Buzz” Beurling who was killed when the transport plane he was flying crashed at the airport in Rome, Italy.

Recruits came from all over the world including from Asia and Africa. Ezra Kelly MacMull was born in Bombay, India. His parents were Iraqi, and his grandmother lived in Jerusalem. After being forced out of the Royal Air Force due to his young age, he moved to Great Britain and then went to Jewish Holocaust survivors in Europe to convince then to move to Eretz Yisrael. MacMull then went to Israel himself and joined the 7 th Brigade, 72 nd Battalion as a platoon runner. He fought during the war and took part in Operation Hiram. One of his jobs included guiding relief forces up a hill, but when he returned to his battalion, he didn’t hear the guard challenge him for the password. MacMull was unharmed after being shot at by his unit and then shouted back the password.

Non-Jewish volunteers came to fight for Israel for many reasons. For some, it was the money, while for others like Jesse “Tex” Slade it was because he was treated nicely by a Jewish officer during World War II. Slade said that his commanding officer, named Captain Grossman from New York, was the only person who gave him proper respect while he experienced prejudice from other members of his units. Grossman told him about Eretz Yisrael, and Slade was intrigued by idea of a new challenge once World War II had ended. Slade, a half Navajo Native American cowboy from Oklahoma, decided to join the IDF while meeting with a number of Jews in France. During the war, he kept three religious items close to him: a cross, a Navajo charm necklace, and a mezuzah. After the war, Slade attributed his good fortune of not being wounded to one of these three objects. Reflecting on his survival while fighting in the 4th Anti-tank Brigade, he quipped, “You all just can’t be too careful with all them bombs and bullets flyin’ around.” Following the hostilities, Slade settled down to operate a cattle ranch in the Negev desert.

Slade’s very unique unit was led by Hollywood scriptwriter Lester Gorn. Gorn, also a veteran of World War II, was born in Portland, Maine, went by the name of Ben Zion Hagai and organized

the unit for English-speaking volunteers. The 4th Anti-Tank Troop was very informal with no ranks or saluting, and decisions were made by majority vote. The exception to this rule was during combat, and they were heavily involved in the fighting in the Negev. At first, the troop had no guns but soon was outfitted with captured or acquired weapons. Towards the end of the war, the unit was the first into Eilat. They received a shipment of anti-tank guns that were originally destined for the Nazis. The troop had no time to repaint the guns so they were firing them at the Egyptians, including a unit led by Nasser, with a swastika painted on the artillery.

The Machal soldiers faced an immense challenge: fighting thousands of miles from home against a formidable foe. Though many returned to their countries of origin after the war, a significant number stayed, making Israel their home, and at least two converted to Judaism. Their bravery and skill were proven time and again, helping to lay the foundation and shape the IDF’s identity for decades to come.

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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Winter shopping. Are you too late already?!

If you feel the chill in the air and then begin to think to shop, you are already out of luck!

It’s those forward thinkers who got the cream of the crop.

In the heat of a summer day, when one is shvitzing their kishkas off or longing to plunge into a pool, it’s amazing there are those who leave their perch and wander the aisles for winter jackets and woolen clothes.

Many, though, who feel summer’s still here, since the sun stays out a little longer into the season, are continuing to bask in the extended warmth.

They are putting on their summer frocks and taking long walks. They are grabbing in a few more tennis matches. They are biking and hiking and taking kids to the parks. The one thing that they are not doing is shopping!

On top of that, these people have been busy filling up their pantries rather than filling their clothes’ closets with

Life C ach Gearing Up or Not

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

winter wear. After all, what else adds the warmth to the holidays other than having our bellies full?!

So when this group wakes up and realizes their teeth are beginning to chatter, a lot of the sizes are out of stock.

Anyway, why do the marketers need to start filling the shelves with summer

time to bundle up.

If you want to play things smart going forward, one day in January as the skies open up and G-d delivers the biggest snowstorm ever, get on your sled and head to town.

That will help you get a jump on the next season’s items.

Why are the stores out of warmy-shwarmy stuff already as the cold sets in?

stuff in the heart of the winter? And why are the stores out of warmy-shwarmy stuff already as the cold sets in?!

Honestly, it’s tough to keep up with!

Things change too quickly. I feel like I just peeled off my shvim-kleid (in other words, bathing wear) and already it’s

However, if you drag your feet, all I can say is enjoy the season you’re present in! Build an impressive snowman and get used to the idea that you’re destined, like many of us, to be competing for what’s remaining on the shelves.

Maybe it will help if we think of it

this way: the person who enables another to give charity is on a higher level than the one who actually gives the charity. So if we let others be warmer or more stylish perhaps we can be comforted because we are assuming the role of an enabler.

And also a bit of a schnook because we are still freezing our little tootsies off!

Bottom line: whether you are dragging out the season or dragging the best or second-best off the shelves, enjoy every season. There’s much to enjoy and be thankful for in each.

Has anyone seen my coat?

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.