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THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021~6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, New York, N.Y. 10038. Periodicals postage paid in New York, N.Y. Subscription $24.00 per year; two years, $44.00; three years, $60.00. Outside of the United States (US funds drawn on a US bank only) $12.00 surcharge per year. Single copy $3.50; foreign $4.50. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Observer, 84 William Street, Freedom vs. Limits, N.Y., N.Y. 10038. Tel: 212-797-9000, Fax: 212-269-2843. Rabbi Aaron Brofman Printed in the U.S.A. THE WORLD OF THE 8A'AL TESHUVA RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR I 2 Making My Way Homeward, EDITORIAL SOARD DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Debbie Maimon Chairman 20 The Wild Side of Chinuch, RABBI ABBA BRUONY RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS Nasson Slifkin JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI YISROEL MEIR KIRZNEA RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN 24 Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch.,.. ,,!, PROF. AARON TWERSKI 45 Years Since His Passing, MANAGEMENT BOARD AVI FISHOF Ephraim Lever NAFTOLI HIRSCH ISAAC KIRZNER RABBI SHLOMO LESIN 28 Media "Darlings;• NACHUM STEIN Yonoson Rosenblum RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Managing Editor BOOKS IN REVIEW Published by Agudath Israel of America 3 4 The Holocaust and Jewish Destiny, by Rabbi Gershon Weiss I Robbi Moshe Eisemonn U.S. TRADE DISffilBUTOR ISRAEll REPRESENTATIVE Feldheim Publishers lntnl. Media Placemen! 200 Airport Executive Park POB 7195 / 5 Even Israel 3 6 The Weekly Halacha Discussion, Spring Valley, N.Y. 10977 Jerusalem, ISRAEL by Robbi Doniel Neustodt!Rabbi Lobish Becker EUflOPEAN REPRESENTATIVE AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR M.T. Bibelman Gold's Book & Gift Co. 37 The Fi~h Commandment: Honoring Parents, Grosvenor Works 36 William Street by Robbi Moshe Lieber/Robbi Yisroel Hisiger Mount Pleasant H'ill Balaclava 3183. Vic .. London ES 9NE. ENGLAND AUSTRALIA POSTSCRIPT THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibility for the Kashrus 3 9 Confronting Missionaries in the New Millennium of any product, publication, or service advertised in its pages READER'S FORUM © Copyright 2000 40 "I'm just a Mother"?

January 2000 VOLUME XXX!ll/NO. 1 41 Letters to the Editor 44 Index of Authors and Subjects for Volume XXXll, Nos 1-10 Rabbi Aaron Brafman

OUR CHOICES

No Smoking signs abound eve1)'where. Some states Children are required to receive a series of have banned cigarette advertising in any media; others inoculations, even if parents are opposed to them on the have banned vending machines for cigarettes. grounds that they involve a health risk to their children. If you don't wear a seat belt, you can be fined. The What happened to freedom? To free speech? To smallest trace of alcohol on one's breath in New York City personal liberty? can result in one's car being confiscated. The obvious answer is that eve1)' society, even the most What about compulsory education? Teenagers are liberal one, faces the need and possesses the right to kept in school even if they are not interested. Fourth control or to limit any speech or behavior that it deems graders who failed some arbitra1)' reading test have to go harmful to society. The only issue is: which values or to summer school. ideals does it wish to uphold?

n the above examples, the most lib­ entertainment industry to assert some good for bad or bad for good" eral elements of society, which are up kind of control over its production of (Vayikra 27, 10). I in arms if we would attempt to limit violent movies, and to impose limits as The question is obvious: While we any immorality in advertising or the to who views these films, excluding those understand the prohibition against media, are the most vociferous propo­ under 17. We are finally witnessing the exchanging a good korban with a bad nents of control when health or the envi­ beginnings of an awareness of the link­ animal, why not replace a bad animal ronment is the concern. They are age of the media with negative behav­ with a better one? To which the Ram­ opposed to censoring smut on the ior, recognizing the effects of viewing bam writes, once you allow an individ­ Internet, but would gladly help close deviance, decadence, and immorality­ ual to make changes, he will say that the down Mexican restaurants for selling which are standard fare on television inferior one is really better. For the high-fat-content foods. and movies. But how far does this human mind has the capacity to distort Orthodox Jews both here and in recognition go? reality in its own self-interest. Israel have the responsibility to explain How could an intelligent society Thus, our society is able to deem the to the public that to us, chillul Shabbos such as ours harbor such a confusion of destroying of a fetus - which not too is threatening to our very existence; that values? long ago was understood to be evil and to us, pornography and smut are akin The Rambam in Yad Hachazaka1 at murder - acceptable. You change the to poisoning water supplies with indus­ the end of Hilchos Temura states a fas­ vocabulary and talk about the right to trial waste, for they contaminate the cinating characteristic of the human privacy, and the very same people who spiritual air we breathe. psyche. (The Yad is a purely halachic worry about the welfare of deadly The recent explosion of violence in work; nevertheless, in the discussions snakes on trees in the Amazon jungle high schools and grade schools in dealing with korbanos/sacrifices, he (granted, a legitimate concern) can America has finally brought a reaction concludes each section with a hashkafa promote the mass slaughter of fetuses. from the White House to pressure the insight to be learned from the particu­ This is why we need the Torah as a lar korban. Temura discusses the pro­ guide. Hakadosh Baruch Hu granted us Rabbi Brafman, menahel of Yeshiva Derech Ayson hibition of replacing one animal korban - and, through us, the rest of mankind­ of Far Rockaway, NY, is a contributing editor to with another.) eternal truths and values, which should The Jewish Observer. His most recent essay in JO was his review article on Of Parents and Penguins The Torah writes: "He shall not provide us with guidance despite the ever­ (Sept. '99). exchange it nor substitute it, whether changing values and mores of society.

6 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 THE CHALLENGE OF CONTEMPORARY As Rabbi Gedalya Schorr 7":il SOCIETY • explained the Ramban, when one orah Jews also face indulges in a desire, he anticipates that orah Jews also face a serious chal­ it will bring him the happiness he seeks. lenge: There is a large area of Ta serious challenge: But the initial excitement does not last Thuman activity that is neither for­ There is a large area of (for a psychological analysis, see Rabbi bidden) nor is it a mitzva; yet if it is not Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler's Kuntras under control, it can lead the individ­ human activity that is Hachessed in Michtav Me'Eliyahu Vol. I); ual or community down a path of self­ he then seeks new thrills and pursues destruction. This is the area that the neither forbidden, nor 1s heightened desires in a desperate search Ramban places under the category of for the elusive peace of mind he seeks. "Kedoshim tiheyu - You shall be holy." it a mitzva; yet if it is A third major error in general soci­ In its absence, one can be a menuval bir­ ety is that its leaders seem to focus their shus ha Torah; one can drink only kosher not under control, it can concern exclusively on minors. All talk wine and dine exclusively on kosher lead the individual or of restrictions refers to children. The meat, and still become a debauching reality - and the Torah view - is that glutton. community down a anyone, including mature adults, can be Pursuing normal human activities to negatively affected by destructive influ­ excess is a major challenge in a society path of self-destruction. ences. where promotion of every product, There are numerous stories in the experience, or service is geared to hav­ Th is is the area that the Talmud (Kiddushin 39 and 80) about ing fun, or to abandoning any self­ Ramban places under Tanna'im and Amora'im who overcame imposed restrictions on one's behavior. temptations of the yeitzer hora of arayos In this atmosphere, it is 1nuch more dif­ the category of (promiscuity). For example, Rav and ficult than in previous times to practice Rabbi Yehuda would not trust them­ Kedoshim tiheyu. "Kedoshim tiheyu - You selves to be alone with a woman - The world at large is making funda­ although circumstances were such that mental mistakes, which Ghazal have shall be holy." it would have been halachically per­ already enlightened us about - but these missible. They were kedoshei elyon (men are creeping into our thinking as well. of exalted purity); what should we say? For one, society fails to see the connec­ • Yet another major mistake is the tion between immorality and growth in 60's.) The Ramban explains a very dif­ thinking (even in our circles) that by violence. The Gemora at the end of ficult pasuk: "Ki beshrirus libi eileich, being aware of a problem and its neg­ Nedarim says that an adulterer would le'ma'an s'fos harava es hatzmei'a-1 will ative effect, one is ipso facto deterred resort to murder if necessary to continue go as my heart sees fit, thereby adding from doing the wrong thing. Not so, his illicit affair, based on the pasuk in the drunk with the thirsty." When a per­ according to Ghazal (Rabbis of the Tal­ Yechezkel 23: "Ki na'afu ve'dam biyedei­ son gives in to his desires and satiates mud) and the insights of ba'alei mus­ hem .. .. " Thus, ironically, in an unwit­ them - or abuses them - they will lead sar and sifrei Ghassidus: "Haro' eh so ta ting campaign of self-defeat, the same him to further desires, even for things bekilkula yazir atzmo min hayayin people who are mounting a new aggres­ he had no interest in at the outset. "Thus (Nazir 2a)-If one sees a sota (unfaith­ sive campaign against violence are the if one indulges in promiscuity;' says the ful wife) in her degradation, he should leading proponents and practitioners of Rambam, "it will lead him to even more become a nazir and thus abstain from licentiousness. radical breaches of morality." wine." Secondly, they fail to realize that with­ What an apt description of the course Sefarim explain that seeing or hear­ out controls and moral limits in human the world has taken since the moral rev­ ing of sin or immoral conduct puts the behavior based on Kedoshim tiheyu, the olution of the 60's, which ostensibly was occurrence into the realm of the wit­ slide towards all forms of deviant and aimed at bringing happiness and con­ ness's experience, and can lead to imi­ abnormal behavior is almost pre­ tentment to people by calling on them tation, unless concrete steps are taken to dictable. This is described with remark­ to shed their inhibitions and ignore tiine­ strengthen oneself in combatting such able accuracy and prescience in the h onored restraints. In actuality, howev­ influences. Thus, merely being educat­ Ram ban, Devarim 29, I 0. (Rabbi er, it has created a growing class of peo­ ed about any problem is not a deterrent, Gedalya Schorr 7"llt expounded on ple practicing deviant behavior and for the human mind focuses on the this, explaining the Ramban in project­ foisting their values on the rest of soci­ "good time;' and not on the concomi­ ing the future of American society, as he ety through the media and liberal edu­ tant degradation. (See Rabbi Dessler in observed its unraveling during the cational institutions. Michtav MeEliyahu I, pp. 11 and 128.

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 7 See also Ohr Gedalyahu on Parshas simple matter today, living as we do in the person. Man wants to hear and see Nasso.) This is illustrated in a story in a fun-loving, mindless society. There is new things. He wants to talk to peo­ the Midrash: a remarkable statement in the Kuzari on ple; to work and amass wealth. A per­ The children of an alcoholic, this issue [penned by Rabbi Yehuda son needs human interaction. He embarrassed by their father's drunk· HaLevi in the eleventh century; it could wants to use his money to take care of enness, attempted to cure his problem. have been written today]. his family, help the poor and support One rare day when he was sober, they At the beginning of the Third Sec­ those studying Torah. And this parush took him to the town's Skid Row to tion, the Chaver (Rabbi Yehuda Halevi) (recluse), who dwells alone, isolated, allow him to see the revolting specta­ responds to the King of the Kazar's under the pressure of his natural cle drunkards make of themselves. request to describe the truly pious Jew, desires and needs, becomes impa­ They pointed to someone lying in the in contrast to the concepts of piety held tient and ultimately disillusioned with street, rolling in his own regurgitation. in Christianity and Islam. his derech (path in life), and regrets The father bent over and asked him, The Chaver begins: "The Way of the what he has done until now. This will "Hey, where did you get such strong Torah is not one of rejection and distance him from being close to wine?" abhorrence of this world, since that Hashem, the very thing he was seek­ I referred to this concept in a mus­ attitude imposes a great burden on life, ing." sar discussion group of ba'alei battim. which would make it detestable. To the Thus, the gray area - neither man­ Several days later, one of the members, contrary, one should accept that life is dated nor forbidden - is not easily dealt a doctor who had been on duty in an one of great blessings of the Creator." with nor defined particularly well in our emergency room, told me, "You'll never The Kuzari writes that there was a time fun-filled, partying society. believe this: I saw that Ghazal live with when there was nevu'a, prophecy, my own eyes. They brought in a fellow when people were able to practice per­ HOW DO WE ELEVATE OURSELVES? who overdosed on drugs, and one of the ishus- total renunciation of the phys­ other patients in the emergency room ical aspect oflife, as did Chanoch and erhaps the key to this is to be went over and asked him, 'Hey, man, Eliyahu. They could totally remove found in a profound insight where did you get such good stuff?"' themselves from worldly interests, Pfound in the Meshech Chachma he yeitzer hara will only be con­ for they were immersed in the joy and on Parshas Bo, where he explains in trolled by outside forces - e.g., light of direct contact with Hashem great detail that the study of Torah is Ttaking away people's cars for dri­ Yisborach. In our present condition, meant to sharpen our intellect to ving under the influence of alcohol; or however, when the Presence of the enable us to maintain a highly refined by imposing personal limitations, draw­ Shechina is not felt, this is not a viable level of emuna. Mitzvos are designed ing ''lines in the sand" for ourselves in approach, and attempting it can have to give expression and direction to all all areas of behavior and recreation -yes, a negative effect. our senses, feelings and emotions. even if we are adults. "For the natural components with­ Pagans took all of these emotions and Coping with this gray area is not a in the human being make demands on senses and deified them; thus they des-

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8 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 ,-',"\C'•',''•,•'""''' ignated gods of love) war, courage, ~~·~f beauty, music, and so on. They also deified people possessing these qual­ ities. WY11aSUsPfttl:hai,duilh:ti.t1: "We are not that way because we know that there is but one Creator. To or toddler has difficulty.with ... estabJish controls and give direction to III Communication our physical and emotional experi­ ences, however, we were given mitzvos III Listening/Speaking skills to perforn1, and these encompass our Ill Physical development/Coordination entire non-intellectual being. "Thus we direct the emotion of love III Play skills/Living Skills i.e. eating, dressing toward finding expression in loving friends (ve'ahavta lerei'acha kamocha), family and Kial Yisroe/ - We can help! acquiring feelings of altruism, doing acts of chessed for others. We sanctify Early our sense of esthetic appreciation Intervention with the rnitzva of esrog, which is [IjNE~~~~~:. Program described as a beautiful fruit, pri eitz hadar... :• ® The Sefer Hachinuch (a classic work Netcare's team of evaluators and therapists can make a difference. on the Taryag Mitzvos by a Rish on) They are specially trained to provide children with the opportunity approaches certain mitzvos in a similar to develop their full potential and to help you further promote their way. In Mitzva 488, designating Yomim development. 10vim, he writes: "One reason for the mitzva is Au services are free of charge and available at the child's home because a human being needs to or day care center throughout NYC & Westchester. rejoice, just as he requires food, rest Weekdays, Sundays, Daytime & Evening Hours. and sleep. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in His love for us, gave us this mitzva IlJ Evaluations in your language I Special Instruction so that our rejoicing should be for His :!: Speech/language Therapy i!J Parent Training sake. He thus set aside specific days several times a year for us to remem­ ':!] Occupational & Physical Therapy :.:J Psychological Counseling ber the miracles that He performed for 11: Service Coordination & Social Work Services ... and more us. And during those times, He com­ Joseph Geliebter, Ph.D. manded us to give our physical being Leah Schlager, M.A. Director its due with the joy it needs." Executive Director of Placement Similarly, the simplest level of enjoy- Netcare1 Inc. is a participating agency of Comprehensive Network founded in 1985 ment is part of the mandate of Menuchas Shabbos and Oneg Shabbos, as well. Thus, the Torah of Hashem recog­ nizes and takes into account all the phys­ ical, emotional and intellectual needs of the human being. It focuses them, chan­ 718-339-2971 nels them, and elevates them, as they are 718-339-5900 Faxo 718-339-8433 directed toward a noble purpose. 1675 E.16th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11229 Therefore, if one lives a life of Torah Funded and regulated by the New York State in the prescribed manner, and Department of Health. In New York City by approaches the mitzvos attuned to their the New York City Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism deeper meaning, drawing from their Services and in Westchester by the County wellsprings of spirituality, he will lead Department of Health. a life of fulfillment. Danger sets in, however, when

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 9 mitzvos are performed in a shallow man­ account what we are davening for, and it, too, is covered up with layers of the­ ner - as the Navi describes them, how much is at stake, one cannot help ory, whether called equality, feminism, (\ mitzvas anashim melumada," per­ but wonder how this can be achieved in or maximizing potential. This has eaten forming them by rote, as it were. One a recreational atmosphere - unless steps away at the pristine behavior and tzenius can encounter frum Orthodox people are taken to make certain that a verita­ that a bas Yisroel naturally possesses. We who, with their own hands, destroy or ble beis midrash atmosphere prevails. must recapture, rekindle this precious undermine the singular experience of These are just some of the many ways value in our homes; otherwise the performing a mitzva or experiencing a in which the ineffable elements of hordes of teenagers on the prowl in our Yam Tov. If the mitzva becomes a tafel Torah and mitzvos that we should be neighborhoods will chas veshalom con­ - secondary to something else - then its experiencing, and ought to be trans­ tinue to grow. performance can sadly result in some of mitting to the next generation, are get­ Our agenda, then, calls for setting the hollow practices we see today. ting lost. limits and controls as to what enters our If people go to hotels for Pesach as a mikdash me'at, our miniature sanctu­ matter of preference (to be sure, this is IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE aries - our homes where the Shechina not a criticism of hotel owners or indi­ is meant to dwell. Additionally, we must viduals who have need for this service), abbi Yaakov Kamenetzky writes seek to become inspired, and thus suc­ the message it sends- especially to chil­ (Emes L'Yaakov, Parshas Noach): ceed in inspiring our families to expe­ dren - is that" V'higadeta l'vincha- And R rience the beauty and fulfillment that you shall relate [the events of leaving Noach failed to rebuke his genera­ Torah and mitzvos provide. Egypt J to your children;' with all the tion regarding the true source of their enormous impact it should have, cou­ sins. To be sure, he spoke to them hen my wife, who grew up in pled with the Yam Tov experience, can­ about idolatry, but that was merely a San Francisco, was sitting not on their own bring simcha or cover to disguise their real, underlying W shiva for her mother, the meaning to the festival; rather simcha craving - immoral behavior. Had question was constantly raised: How must come from the entertainment that Noach searched for the truth, he were her parents, who came from Frank­ crowds the hotel's public notices and fills would have realized that his rebuke furt, Germany in 1939, able to raise her the holiday schedule. A recent ad in a should have focused on arayos in the spiritual wasteland that was San frum newspaper was headlined, "Do (promiscuity), not avoda zara (idola­ Francisco? My wife gave several illus­ something different this Pesach;' as if the try), and he is thus held responsible for trations of how her parents, not ever hav­ Yam Tov on its own terms cannot serve their destruction .... A flaw in intelli­ ing taken parenting classes, were able to as a source of inspiration or excitement. gence is also a flaw in tzidkus, right­ infuse their home with a love for mitzvos Similarly, Rosh Hashana should eousness. and Yamim Tovim. One story in par­ require a supportive environment. How Today, no one has any illusions ticular moved whoever heard it. My wife compelling is the fear of the Yam Hadin regarding what the underlying drive and had a special doll she loved, which in a vacation setting? If we take into yeitzer hara of society is - arayos. But appeared especially for Shabbos. When she came home from public school Fri­ You can! Just call day afternoon, it was there waiting for The Yit:t:i Leibel her. Sunday morning it was gone. My ''r wish I could mother-in-law would say that it went Helpline. back to New York, and would come again HOURS: for the next Shabbos. My wife described speak to a Monday-Friday ...... Sam -12pm how she looked forward to coming home Monday-Thursday ...... 8pm -11 pm from school Friday afternoon, and find­ Sunday ...... 9am -12pm, 9pm -llpm ing her Shabbos doll. Extra hours Sat. night...... 7pm - 9pm frum therapist Recognizing that they had no sup­ 718-HELP-NOW portive school or neighborhood to rely (718)435-7669 on, they knew intuitively that they had on the phone Chicago ..•...... ( 800) HELP-023 to do it all at home. Perhaps we too Lakewood ...... (732) 363-1010 should take that concept to heart. Let Cleveland ...... (888) 209-8079 us work on inspiring ourselves and our without giving Baltimore ...... ( 410) 578-1111 children with the special beauty and 'Morris, Union, Essex & Middlesex counties in NT ...... (877) 4-LEIBEL depth of our Yiddishkeit. Let us devote ourselves to the task as if it is incumbent my name.'' For addiction problems call our addiction therapist, Wednesdays 11 :30pm to 1:30am on us to do it, for truly no one else can do it as we can. •

10 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 ,..,.. jlltJJ .Lhe goal ofTomchei.Torah. is to help our Yeshivos HaKadoshos and other mosdos. HaTorah meet their significant financial obligations. The area that we have chosen to.get involvedin is fundraising training. Our aim is to provide guidance and support to thos.e already in the field and forthose considering fundraising as a profession. Be"H we will do this by running seminars where senior fundraisers will lecture on various topics and offer aitzos based on their numerous years of experience and specific fields of expertise .. Questions and answers will be a. part of every presentation. Audio cassettes will also o.ra be available. TheJirst seminar will be held, .. upbudtbpMWburprtt- Sunda~ feb. 13, 2000 • 7 Ad

~lffj··· The Pros &Cons of SpetiaLEvents: Is It Worth It? Rabbi Pesach Lerner Executwe VP. National Council of Youn~ 1.srael .. Cultivating Donors &The Anatomy ofa ~olicitation Rabbi. Shimon Pepper Pres, Shimon Pepper Assoc. Non-Profit Management.& fundraising Cons~lting aaising Major•funds Through Mail &'J'elemarketing Rabbi MartJtlOrt 1orah Rabbi Binyomin Iin Scratch ~ The Le~$ons IL~amed ~long The ¥fay RIJbbi.DoJTid.Rejson Deal\ &founder.Neve YemshalaY,m College Building your Ft1!1drai$ing ~~chi!le:•. St~ff;.Mangmnh .·. . . . PR;.(:ommu~ication~i&Planning .·· Rabbi1Jer9thell.einet&.~t · · THE WORLD OF THE BA'AL TESHUVA Debbie Maiman making my Way Homeward The Pain and the Grandeur

Perhaps no testimony to the Jewish belief is sometimes immortality of the Jewish people marked as much by sorrow and is as awe-inspiring as the many loss as by moments of accounts of Jews awakening to sweeping inspiration and the truth of Torah from deep happiness. within the clutch of twentieth century atheism and The dual sides of the teshuva materialism. experience, both the emotionally searing and deeply The (rum world often tends to uplifting, and the degree of inner glamorize stories of teshuva, strength and love needed to viewing the transition from "frei sustain faltering relationships to (rum" as smooth and along the way, are illustrated seamless as the manner in in the following which an actor slips in and out autobiographical fragments of costume. But for many Jews recounted in personal making their way slowly interviews with the author. "homeward," the cost is terribly (Names and identifying high. The journey to authentic information have been altered.)

I. ELIZABETH GOLDNER, 28. ously ill at the age of five. The doctors my life. I put my son's life in His hands. suspected leukemia. The diagnosis I begged Him to save Michael. I made was raised with no Judaism at all. My would be confirmed if certain symptoms a conscious choice that if my son husband's grandparents were got worse or certain other ones recovered, I would give him the oppor­ I Orthodox but his own parents are appeared. I died a hundred times watch­ tunity I never had: an authentic Jewish secular Jews with somewhat of an ing for these symptoms, imagining I saw education. I made all kinds of deals with Orthodox orientation. It was from him getting weaker, imagining I saw G-d, the way people do when they're them I acquired a sense of Jewish tra­ the shadows under his eyes turn dark­ desperate. But I meant it with all my dition. Whatever I knew about Judaism er, his skin become jaundiced.... I was heart. I prayed over and over, "Please after my marriage, I learned from my terrified. I felt like I was going to crack. save our child, G-d; give me a chance to mother-in-law. I realized there was one place to go raise him as a Jew." My own personal catalyst for becom­ with my anguish and that was up.... I had Thank G-d, my Michael passed the ing involved in Judaism was a crisis I always believed in a Higher Power but crisis point and began to recover. It turned went through when my son became seri- now I wondered for the first time in my out to be a serious infection, but not life if G-d wanted something from me, leukemia as we had dreaded. I felt from Debbie Maiman lives in Monsey, NY with her other than to be a good person. But what the deepest place inside me that G-d had husband and children. An elementary school could He possibly want of me? What did answered me and it was now up to me teacher for many years, she now devotes much I even know of Him? to fulfill my part. We enrolled our son of her time to writing for various Jewish publi~ cations. I turned to G-d for the first time in in the Shalom Torah Academy in

12 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 Oldbridge, New jersey, an Orthodox day enormously validating experience. prophecies is a risky business, unless school. At Gateways, we heard classes that lit­ you're G-d. You're going out on a dan­ My husband and I began taking our erally opened up the mind. Rabbi gerous limb - unless you're omniscient first steps in learning about Judaism, Suchard's presentation on prophecy in and in complete control of history. If although I was the more committed. We the Torah was phenomenal. He showed you're not G-d and you're foolish became involved in several outreach one example after another of major enough to make prophecies, your cred­ programs, particularly the Jewish Learn­ prophecies that had materialized ibility will collapse pretty quickly. ing Center in Monmouth County, run throughout the centuries up till the pre­ Rabbi Silver's class on the Hebrew by Rabbi Veshnefsky and Rabbi Chaim sent day. Prophecies that defied logic and alphabet was eye-opening. Growing Safren. On one occasion, we were asked nature but nevertheless came true. up, I was so far removed from Judaism to host a Melaveh Malka in our home Think about this, he said: Why are I knew nothing of Hebrew, not as much for the members of the program. there no prophecies in the New Testa· as a letter. Now that I've taken some The decision to do so was a fateful ment, when the Torah by contrast is classes, I pray from a Siddur. But I still one for us. Rabbi Yehuda Silver spoke replete with prophecy? Because making use a transliterated one. Davening is that evening. He told amazing stories about the dedication ofjews in differ­ ent parts of the world at different times in history. True stories of Jews with heroic devotion to Judaism despite oppression and persecution. Hearing presents about these people, you felt proud to be a Jew. Afterwards, as a token of thanks for hosting the Melaveh Malkeh, my hus­ band and I were offered a gift certificate for two to a Gateways weekend retreat. Our first experience with Gateways We've Been A Part of Jewish Tradition for exposed us to an incredibly eclectic mix 250 Years, Every Stitch of the Way! of)ewish people of every conceivable age DMC, the world's leading producer of embroidery, tapestry and and background. Many of the partici­ needlecraft threads, has been part of many mitzvos for 250 years. pants described themselves as agnostic. It's the thread used to embroider tefillin bags, challah covers, and But you could see their "non-belief" tak­ yarmulkes. Now, we want to make you, the students of yeshivas ing a heavy beating over the weekend. and Jewish day schools, the experts! With our new DMC-Do-lt­ The atmosphere was one of warmth Yourself Mitzvos booklet you will learn how to make your own Tzitzis, Challah Cover, and Friendship Bracelet. This and acceptance. No level of questioning booklet is colorf'uul~a:n~d~__,_..,,_..,_..,_..,_..,;;;-?;P~~~---i was considered immature or inappro­ chock-full-of- ~ priate. There was no judgmentalism. A mitzvah infor­ whole battery of fascinating lectures was mation and offered, but you could pick and choose; fun, crafty projects! there was no attempt to control how you spent your time. To receive your My husband, who lacks the patience FREE• copy, to sit through lectures, had agreed to send a 9"xl 2" self-addressed attend the weekend begrudgingly. He envelope (with used to poke fun at my interest in Torah 78 cents postage classes: "What, you're going again?" he'd on the envelope) say, in a semi-mocking tone. He clear­ with a card ly didn't think it worth much. It was including your lonely groping alone. name, age, plus the name of your At Gateways all this changed. My hus­ school to: band admitted he found the lectures riv­ eting. But more important, there were so many people like ourselves, it no DMC Do-It-Yourself Mitzvos longer seemed weird or nutty to be into 225 West 34th Street, Suite 131 7 learning about Judaism. We were sud­ New York, N.Y. 10122 denly part of a mainstream. This was an *While supplies last. Limit one copy per envelope per household.

------·----·---·--··-----· ------The Jewish Observer, January 2000 13 hard, but I keep in mind that saying a disappointed. He made fun of my the TV is on in my house ... movies ... prayer in Hebrew is a more powerful "obsession" and I would criticize him for social obligations .... There's no way I can prayer than one in another language. being intolerant. Our marriage, which be a really complete Jew in my present All my life I believed in certain prin­ had been pretty solid, began to falter. lifestyle, and for many reasons, I'm not ciples that I thought were against When a husband and wife are divid­ ready or able to overhaul my life just Judaism, like the concept of the soul trav­ ed on a matter of very great importance yet .... eling through time and having more to one or the other, the relationship is The only time I can be a complete than one life. I now began to discover in trouble. It took my husband a long Jewish woman is when I keep the that this is part of Torah, that the Torah time to acknowledge that I'd made a mitzvos sacred to a bas Yisroel. At that is the source for the spiritual truths I was commitment and intended to keep it. moment, there's just me- my inner Jew­ so drawn to in New Age ideas. Gradually he became more accepting. ish self - and my connection with My first Gateways experience was in I found, as I was becoming religious, Hashem. It puts me on a high every sin­ March 1998. Since then, my husband that almost every relationship within the gle time. and I have been to three more - a Labor family was a separate hurdle. The Day Weekend, Rosh Hashana and Yorn underlying message was often a plea: Kippur. "Please don't change so much that we Never in my life have I heard such don't recognize you!" When I could see passionate davening as I did that Yorn behind the opposition and the antago­ II, DR. LARRY WINTER, 44 Kippur! nism to the fear they had of losing me, You don't know what prayer is until I became much less defensive. I was able was the typical product of a Reform you're in a room full of religious peo­ to reassure people that I was really the upbringing. A bit of Hebrew school, ple who are davening like their lives same person. But often it was only in I which I hated. Never went to services depend on it. hindsight, after a draining emotional at the Temple unless I was forced or scene and much pain and tears, that I bribed. My family's Judaism meant The Hardest Part - Our Faltering Marriage gained this insight. giving money to Israel. Once a year we Taharas Han1ishpacha was another had a family seder, where we drank some he hardest part for me in being a milestone. I had wanted to take on this wine and took out some ntatza to eat ba' alas teshuva is maintaining mitzva for a long time. Finally, my hus­ with the soup. I knew nothing about Tshalom bayis. My husband and I band relented, and actually gave me his dietary laws or Shabbos or Jewish holi­ have been moving at very different blessing. days except for Yorn Kippur. My most paces .... We're not exactly on the same You have to visualize my lifestyle: I vivid memory of the High Holidays is page. In the beginning, when I saw I live in a secular Jewish community in hearing my parents gripe about the price couldn't count on his support, I was very New Jersey. My hair is loose, I wear jeans, of the tickets. My father's connection to Judaism was just as shallow. His parents were born in Hungary before the First World

L.S. War, and emigrated after the war. They TYPE Of CAR OR SIMILAR b JAN. 2000 12 APR. 2000 hid their Jewishness when they came to Ainerica. My father was raised as a ~ FIAT PUNTO 3 DR. •26 B VWPOLO 5DR. .... ,. Catholic till the age of 12. c RE~!l-_ULT C::~IO •75 c·• PEUGEOT 306 2•7 He found out he was Jewish very _9~· MITSUBISHI CARISMA 238 unexpectedly. One day my father's ,,,!,. MINIBUS 8 SEATS 490 MT MINIBUS 10 SEATS mother caught him with a gang of AUTOMATIC CARS+A C '"a 0 KIA PRIDE I DAIHATSU SIRlON 2•0 friends, chasing and beating up Jewish E DAEWOO LANOS 245 kids for sport. Admonishing him to stop, f_ __ ·~1~~~~ AU!~RA 294 •MAZDA LANTIS 1.8 G - --~-"--~- she was appalled at her son's response­ !_(_'__ 'GMC SAVANA ~~ x ' CITROEN XANTIA 350 ,, Ahh, come on, who cares about a )(_!-,. ~~~_p~_!i26 / P~IJGEOT 406 2.0 385 bunch of dirty Jews?" s_x_ __:_ ~!:!_~V_f:l_Q_~~i:- ~ALIBU 658 KX 'MA_~DA MPV 763 She called him aside, voice shaking: vx •VOLVO 940 833 ,., • LAND-ROVER DISCOVERY 980 For details &.. reservation: "I have something to tell you about • POVVEA STEERING & Ecl.t'cCTAIC VVINOOVVS USA~CANADA Jews, because I can't bear to see what Aoozy 76 room hotel, within easy Toll free: (1) 800-938-5000 you're doing. You're a Jew yourself, walkmg distance of the old city Tommy. So am I. So is your father. Don't and Jerusalem's tourist area. Tel in NY: 212-629-6090 you ever again in your life harm anoth­ 24 King David• St. Jerusalem http:/ /www.eldan.co.il/ er Jew, you hear me?" A stinging slap

14 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 punctuated her words. The Reform rabbi, on the other hand, a Jewish Christian. The only way I could My father was shocked to the core. had no problem performing the cere­ see that this kind of "Judaism" differed His mother then told him how she had mony. from Christianity was that it rejected suffered as a Jew while growing up in a Shortly after our marriage, Jennifer Christian concepts of original sin and small town in South Carolina, victim­ and I began to consider starting a fam­ the devil. ized by non-Jews. How terrified she had ily. We decided we wanted to raise our Jennifer went through the conversion been in school as a girl of ten, when the kids as Jews, so Jennifer began to look process with a Conservative Beit Din. teacher called her up to the front of the into conversion. She had to say certain prayers in Hebrew room. How the boys would stick their At Cornell University where we both and state her belief in one G-d. She con­ feet out in the aisle to trip her. They'd were at the time, my wife started to learn verted while pregnant, after being slap and pinch her, crooning dirty Hebrew. The Reform Judaism materi­ assured by the Beit Din that her con­ words under their breath. "Jew-girl," al she studied essentially taught that you version would be recognized by all Jew­ "dirty kike;' "sheenie;' they'd hiss as she must be a moral person, keep the Ten ish affiliations. stumbled past. Commandments - in effect, how to be We eventually settled in Nassau After her marriage, my mother had resolved with her husband to raise their children as non-Jews to protect them from the trauma of anti-semitism. But Subscribe or give a gift of when she saw she was raising a little Jew­ hater right under her own roof, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. The Jewish Obseroer "Far better you should be a Jew and suffer:' she told my father that day, "than be a gay who torments Jews:' and $ave! Growing up in Long Island, my father would have liked to find out more WHY NOT GIVE OR GET A PRESENT about Judaism, but there was no place THAT WILL LAST AN ENTIRE YEAR? to learn, no one to learn it from. So he did the best he could do. As a young Subscribe, or give a gift at these reduced prices married man, he helped found the and The ]et,(,'ish Observer- filled '"'ith the viev.'s Reform Temple, and became one of its of leading 1(Jrah thinkers on current issues- \vill he mainstays. The temple was basically a delivered each month, directly to your door. social hall. Judaism meant little more to The longer you subscrihe for, the largf'r your savings. the people there than their name on a bench in a pew. Of course. this offer is unconditionally guaranteed; you may cunc(... J at any tin1e and receive a refund for FROM INTERMARRIAGE all undelivered copies. TO REJECTING HYPOCRISY So order today, and the very next issue will be on grew up with my brother and sister its way to you as soon as possible. in this religion-less environment. I J.O. SUBSCRIPTION SAVINGS CERTIFICATE I had a gala bar mitzva, an empty cer­ emony I went along with for my parents' [} YES, I want to takf' advantag•~ of this n10111~y ,.,a,·ing offer! Enter 1ny order :t!'i foll••ws~ sake. In college I married an Irish­ 0 :\JE\V SUBSCHIPTION U RENE\\iAL ff.I •otTimt; o"n r~~ Catholic girl. I felt no qualms about \ddHss ______marrying out of faith. At our wedding, 0 :~ y1~ar;: Cover Price $ l OS Yo11r cost $60 896 a Reform rabbi and a priest were both 0 2 years Corer Priee 870 Your eosl $44 $6B asked to officiate. Cl l year Cover Priet• $::);") Your cost $24 S:l6 The priest asked Jennifer, "Do you believe J. is the son of G-d?" She answered, "Quite honestly, no." The Suik 120\J. IH \Vil!iam Stwd. N"" Ynrk. NY IOO:m priest then said, 'Tm sorry, you'll have Tiu· J~,,.,:,·h Oh.«•ri-,:r 1_1 publi.<"!., $12 <·Xlw p<'r )'<'"'I<> d<·fmv aE1· sl.ippin)' can't perform the ceremony if neither <·osh. Fon•i11n paym<•l>I mU>I ],,. mad+• iH l ·.s_ dolb.,. ,-itl.,•1 hy dw•·k of you are believers." dra1rn on a l~mk irt llw LS.A. or h: Fl.~·1 or ~1'1-i<'rCnnl. :'-ignalure~------.---~

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 15 County, right near the Sound. I joined vices Saturday morning. On occasion, A SLAP THROUGH THE GENERATIONS a Temple in the neighborhood, and if no one managed to buy it on Friday, served as the president and financial sec­ the Rabbi would send one of the mem­ y life took a turning point retary. bers out to buy it Saturday morning, when I was in my forties. At Friday night services were always before services ended. Weddings and bar M that point we had two chil­ called for 8:15, no matter what time sun­ mitzvas in the shul were celebrated with dren, girls, 15 and 13. My sister who had set. The rabbi's sermons dealt with cur­ kosher-style food, classic Jewish food converted to Christianity after her mar­ rent events woven in with some kind of that looked and sounded kosher, but riage, became a born-again fundamen­ practical lesson like "The Death of wasn't and didn't profess to be. talist. She set her sights on trying to pres­ Princess Diana And The Dangers of For the Rosh Hashana and Yorn Kip­ sure my mother to convert. Drunk Driving." Occasionally he might pur services) the cantor drove in from My mother refused, but my sister mention the portion of the Torah, the Bronx. He had his services taped Jive wouldn't give up. She and an older always like a visitor looking at it from with special soundtrack equipment. daughter would call my mother and the outside, with no bearing on one's life. Even for one unschooled in Judaism, the write her letters full of missionary con­ Certain things turned me off com­ hypocrisy was nauseating. There was no tent, citing biblical verses to prove the pletely. Ice cream was given out after ser- G-d in the religion. legitimacy of Christianity. My sister went so far as to push JC at the bedside of an uncle of mine who was terminally ill. She literally begged him, almost on her hands and knees, to accept JC, to feel the rapture of divine grace. My PUBLIC NOTICE uncle in his last moments of life could barely talk. Though he never practiced anything and knew nothing about Regarding the sold-out November Judaism, he summoned the strength to SPECIAL ISSUE rasp out a few words. "I was born a Jew, of that's how I want to die! Leave me alone:' The family was being torn apart by The Jewish Observer my sister's fervent evangelism. Some of the family wanted to ostracize her for "Children on the Fringe ... and Beyond" what she had done at my uncle's deathbed, others were falling into the Never before in the 36-year history of The Jewish Observer missionary trap. Perhaps my grand­ has an issue sold out within days of its publication. mother's discovery, late in life, that a Jew can't - and shouldn't - forsake his peo­ Due to popular demand, we have re-printed ple, was responsible for my intense 25,000 copies of this special issue opposition to my sister. That slap on the and they are now available as follows: face my father's mother gave him must have reverberated through time to • BOOKSELLERS contact FELDHEIM PUBLISHERS at reach even me, who had married out of (914) 356-2282. faith. I wanted to discredit my sister's arguments but I was too ignorant. • SCHOOLS can order in bulk for parents and teachers at Providentially, someone directed me subsidized reduced rates from KITOV BOOKSTORE at to Rabbi Singer, an Orthodox rabbi who (718) 471-0963. is also an expert on Bible and mission­ aries. I listened to his tapes, then corre­ • SINGLE COPIES available at $5.00 ($3.50 plus postage) directly from our office (pre-paid only): sponded with him. He knew the whole The Jewish Observer, 84 William Street, New York, NY 10038. missionary routine and how to answer their claims. Singer's arguments were • or get one FREE unassailable. He coached n1e on exact­ with a 3-year paid subscription for only $60. (foreign $96). ly how to answer my sister's challenges, Call to subscribe at (212) 797-7394 (Visa or MasterCard only) how to tear apart her "proofs." and receive your free issue immediately. Though my rebuttals didn't shake my sister's faith, to my relief they accom­ plished the main objective. Embarrassed

----·--·------··· 16 The Jewish Observer; January 2000 by her faulty knowledge, my sister halt­ minyan, rabbis or teachers; no kosher fearful about what these changes would ed her evangelizing work on my moth­ restaurants or Orthodox schools. do to me - and to our relationship. We er and my aunts. I had no one to turn to for guidance, had some very emotional discussions From Singer's tape series I began to but I began to read all the material I could about the level of observance I could learn about Judaism and what G-d actu­ on Toral1 from the Orthodox perspective. take on without imposing on the rest of ally wants of a person. It took the pres­ I learned how to lay tefillin. I want­ the family. I care very deeply for my fam­ sure to convert to Christianity to make ed to learn the morning prayers. Dav­ ily and didn't want to hurt them, but a me think seriously about my own reli­ ening on my own took hours, so I went door had opened for me to a world I was gion for the first time in my life. to a bookstore on the Lower East Side very, very drawn to, and I needed to go I had always felt a twinge of envy com­ and bought a tape of forward. ing across a Jew who seemed to know the morning services. I'd listen to it For Jennifer and me, eating out in what Judaism was ahout. At a funeral, for with headphones as I prayed, till I final­ restaurants had been a favorite way to example, I'd see someone who knew the ly picked up the words and the tunes spend private, relaxing time together. prayers and rituals, who knew how to tear enough to follow along in shul. Suddenly, that option no longer exist­ his garment, how to say the Kaddish with­ "! learned the Birkat Hamazon the ed. There isn't a kosher restaurant for out an English transliteration, how to take same way. At the time, we were not yet sixty miles in any direction from our the shovel and help with the burial. I'd keeping Shabbat, so - weird as it sounds home. I was still ignorant of the laws of watch him, feeling jealous in my heart of - we'd be sitting around the table after kashrus, but one fact I was sure of: reli­ his connection to his roots, his familiar­ our Shabbat meal, listening and singing gious people didn't eat at treife restau­ ity with something ancient and deep and along with a cassette recording of rants. Jennifer took this very hard; beyond me. Zemirot Shabbat and Birkat Hamazon. kashrus turned into even 1nore of a point Now suddenly, I was finding out bits of contention than Shabbos. and pieces about that mystery called NAVIGATING THE CONTRADICTIONS Somehow, I persuaded my wife that Judaism and I wanted all of it. we should try these mitzvos for at least I live in a wealthy Anglo-Saxon town y family put up a fair amount a while. She even agreed to observe the where there is no trace of anything of resistance to these innova­ family purity laws which I'd read about authentically Jewish. No Orthodox Mtions. My wife, especially, was in a book. Sadly, I knew so very little and

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The' Jewish Observer, January 2000 77 there was no one to guide us. As strange ham1nered home with such cogency, it as it sounds, it never occurred to either was breathtaking. That Gateways sem­ of us that if the relationship between inar and successive ones we attended husband and wife was governed by gave us not only the fundamentals of halacha, the interaction between men Yiddishkeit, but an entire weltanschau­ and women in general would certainly ung. Through the lectures and the fol­ be subject to regulation! Despite my low-up classes, the rabbis dispelled for­ PhD and my sophisticated mindset, I ever the stereotype of Jewish religious just never figured that out. We were like practice being a mix of superstition and blind people, groping in the dark. bubbeh meisehs. So there I'd be at a typical wedding They established the divinity of the with mixed dancing, and I'd be dancing Torah so that even a hardened cynic with everyone but my wife! couldn't dispute it. We looked at other Naturally Jennifer resented it, and I religions claiming to be authentic, but couldn't blame her. I had to agree it was lacking the authority of mass revelation, absurd. It was a real setback in our where millions witnessed the event becoming religious because we blamed and passed it down through the gener­ the absurdity on the laws of the Torah, ations. We understood for the first time not on our own ignorance. why all other religions are fonnded on About two years ago, I finally met one man's solitary claim of divine rev­ Rabbi Singer in person at a lecture he elation. Simply because it's impossible gave in Touro College, organized by to smuggle a grand-scale fabrication, Rabbi Moshe Labrie who was deeply professing millions of witnesses, into the involved in outreach in Huntington, N.Y. pages of world history. Meeting these two people and, through Mattan Torah, had it never taken them, connecting with Gateways, liter­ place as claimed, could never have got­ ally tnrned our lives around. ten off the ground, historically. Rabbi Labrie is the head of Mesorah The Rabbis showed us the wisdom of Foundation, which runs a series of class­ Ghazal in elucidating the halacha not es for Jews like myself, a few counties only for their times but for all genera­ over from Oyster Bay, where I live. I tions to come. We learned concepts that began attending his classes with my wife. were novel to us - that every detail of After getting to know the people, some the Torah is permanent and unchange­ of whom had already become frum, we able, and how the Torah itself is adapt­ began accepting invitations for Shabbos. able to any century, any place on earth. We'd spend Shabbos at the home of The beauty of the presentations was that either Rabbi Labrie or a frum family they were in no way dogmatic, but well­ whom we'd gotten to know from the reasoned, deep, crystal-clear logic. classes, daven in the Young Israel, see A Gateways seminar defies the math­ how Shabbos is meant to be experienced. ematical law that "a whole is equal to the Jennifer, who was still skeptical, never­ sum of its parts." You walk away from theless welcomed these weekends as I the weekend of learning with far more did, and the girls were often happy to than the information given over. Jennifer come along with us. and I felt the way revolutionaries must feel - in possession of a drastically dif­ ANEWWORLD ferent outlook on life that had to over­ turn our whole way of living. bbi Labrie urged us to attend a Gateways weekend seminar. We lliid, and from that moment, an entire world opened to ns: In the months following their experiences "There is a G-d who created the with Gateways, the Winters kashered their world and wrote the Torah and gave home with the help of Rabbi Labrie, and it to the Jewish people:' became fully shomer Shabbos. They trans­ These simple facts were proven and ferred their two daughters and two sons

------·-·----···---- 18 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 from the nearby Solon1on Shechter Con­ at an age most young people don't have one thing that would most guarantee the servative School to a 10rah Un1esorah school to make critical decisions of this sort. I Jewishness of our descendants. Now we an hour and ten n1inutes frorn their honze. try not to put pressure on them, but of know there are no guarantees at all .... We The boys were young enough to niake the course they know we long to have them need G-d's special intervention here per­ adjustn1ent easily, and the younger daugh­ follow their mother's footsteps and haps more than we ever needed anything. ter, after an awkward beginning, found convert according to halacha. Which way There's a sadness inside that the bless­ friends and began to shine. But Daniella, they will ultimately go will determine the ings of Torah and Yiddishkeit have the 14-year old, rebelled against the change future of this family - and if, in fact, come at the price of the perfect close­ and returned to her foriner school. Larry there will be any future at all, in the ness we once had with our children. I and Jennifer began making plans to sell their deeper sense. have faith, though, that G-d will help us horne and n1ove to a con1munity where they Many American Jews today have rea­ through this test, and one day grant Jen­ would be in a religious environn1ent. They son to wonder if their grandchildren will nifer and me what even parents far were excited about the new direction their be Jewish. When my wife and I became removed from Torah still long for. .. Yid­ lives had taken, grateful that they were truly religious, we thought we were doing the dishe nachas from our children. • together again. 1'hen a bombshell struck. During a con­ versation with the \Vinters, Rabbi Labrie becan1e aware of Mrs. \Vinter's Catholic background and her conversion twenty three It hurts years earlier by a Conservative Beit Din. This was contrary to inforn1ation he had 1oc II received before. After further checking, he had no choice but to break the shocking ne1vs I to the doctor and his wife. Jennifer Winter's geirus (conversion) was not valid. Neither she nor her two daughters were Jewish. THE TOUGHEST HURDLE • his was the toughest hurdle of our marriage. Jennifer was in a terri­ Tble quandary. She wanted to con­ vert, but my older daughter was bitter It hurts about having her Jewishness discredit­ ed and made a heated issue of it. 'Tm not Jewish to begin with;' she'd say to her mother. "I don't have to keep any of this. And neither do you. No one's supposed to pressure me to convert either. Why can't I just do what I want?" She'd say things like, "If you convert, you might as well disown me. It's the It feels better just to talk about it. That's why we're here. Our staff is made up of same thing." caring and sensitive individuals. Together, The atmosphere in our home we can help you explore your options. We changed. Hurt and anger hung heavy in can refer you to recognized professionals for counseling, legal advice or help in the air. Eventually, my wife underwent finding a safe environment. We can also a kosher geirus. Twenty five years after put you in touch with some very special we had first been "married" by the rabbi Rabbis. But in order for us to reach out to you, you must first reach out to us. and priest, we got married again with chupa and kiddushin. It was beautiful but Confidential Hotline 1.888.883.2323 bittersweet. My two daughters cried a (To// Free) lot. We all did. 718.337.3700 We're still a close-knit family, but it's Do it for yourself. (NYC Area) different than it was. My girls are very Do it for your children. Shalom Task Force 1s a 501(c)(3) chantable orgarnzat1on torn. They're at a major crossroads now,

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 19 ····· •...... ·.· ·...... -....., ' .·. ;...... 1 ~~j~,~J,,;$:~t~ < ········~· t . . e d~il~~iil;.g ashi~l.: expected that the Biblical Zoo sprung to ly, illy cofi<:e my students had their attention my mind. unfounded. In his opening addtess, the Rdisrupted by a two-ton hip­ I instantly realized that the zoo was secular zoo director stated how thrilled popotamus. I don't know if its ground­ undoubtedly the very best potential he was that the zoo was the only place shaking roar was motivated by some­ kiruv resource in town. The Jerusalem in Jerusalem where all sectors of soci­ thing I said, but it certainly provided a Biblical Zoo is a breathtakingly beau­ ety came together for a pleasant expe­ distraction. Still, I wasn't overly upset, tiful place which everyone enjoys vis­ rience, including the two "fringe" sec­ as it's the little things like that which iting, so it would guarantee a positive tors of haredim and Arabs. He then make my job possible. It has been just experience. I knew that the Torah had pointed to my black yarmulke and said over a year since I started some spare­ rich and profound insights on the ani­ how pleased he was to have a haredi vol­ time projects in the Jerusalem Biblical mal kingdom that were bound to unteer. So much for the reputation of Zoo, making an interesting complement impress people. And, perhaps most the zoo management being anti-reli­ to my learning at Yeshivas Mir. Teach­ importantly of all, it would be a total­ gious. ing people about Torah perspectives on ly novel and unique approach. Fur­ (I later discovered that the zoo's posi­ the animal kingdom, I am presumably thermore, unlike a standard educational tion regarding Shabbos is not at all anti­ the world's only zoo rebbe. institute, a zoo is an utterly non­ religious. Because of the animals' Someone once said to me in sympa­ threatening environment, so people requirements, it is imperative that the thy, "I guess you couldn't find a better don't have their guard up. staff work there every day. The zoo does shtelleh, huh?" But in my humble and Unfortunately, there didn't appear to not sell tickets on Shabbos; people who totally biased opinion, it's one of the best be any obvious way to translate my wish to visit must buy tickets either in shtelles in the world. dream into reality. 1'he zoo management advance or from a third-party seller. It all began when, several years ago, was reputed to be anti-religious, refus­ Attempts are also made to keep Shab­ I attended a series of seminars aimed at ing to close the zoo on Shabbos, and I bos desecration to a minimum; a skele­ motivating and training yeshiva and kol­ was wary of approaching them with my tal staff is used, including several Arabs, lel students in the field of outreach. Sev­ plans. People to whom I mentioned my and many melachos - forbidden labors eral forums for outreach were dis­ idea laughed at me condescendingly. I - are done in advance, before Shabbos. cussed, such as tutoring in the Hebrew shelved my ideas, doubting that they True, more could be done, but the zoo University, Shabbos hospitality, and would ever come to fruition, but I is nevertheless making a substantial "street-kiruv." It led me to wonder if remained secretly hopeful. effort. It is disturbing that people dis­ there were any other approaches, or any Then came the opportunity. The tort this into being an anti-religious unexploited outreach resources in newspaper announced that a training position.) Jerusalem. As an ardent amateur zool­ program for volunteers was beginning ogist since childhood, it was only to be at the zoo over several Fridays. The tim­ THE TRAINING COURSE ing couldn't have been better, as I Nosson Slifkin learns at the Mirrer Yeshiva in wouldn't even have to compromise my he training course consisted of a Jerusalem, and teaches and writes for Ohr yeshiva schedule, and I duly enrolled. behind-the-scenes look at the So1neyach. He is the author of Seasons of Life, describing the manifestation of the Jewish year Nervous about how, as a black-hat­ Tzoo and a number of classes on in nature, and the Focus series on the parasha, ted charedi, I would appear to them, I safety regulations, animal care and all published by Targum Press. turned up dressed casually. Fortunate- suchlike. At the end of the program was

20 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 a meeting in which we volunteers would teach visitors about animals in a aspects of my work at the zoo has been would be assigned to various tasks in the Biblical context. He was also open to the the opportunity to build a rapport with zoo. These were not the most exciting possibility of preparing new material in the secular staff, who don't have much jobs, to say the least. They induded such the form of notices or guidebooks. first-hand experience with charedi Jews thrilling work as cleaning out the deer All of which was precisely what I had other than telling them not to throw paddock and gardening. in mind. Almost. There was a curious stones at the animals. There is one other At this point I approached the zool­ aspect to all of this that was clear to me charedi worker at the zoo - Dr. Eliza­ ogist with some material that I had pre­ from the start, but to this day I'm not beth Kaufman, one of the veterinarians pared - notices for the animal endosures sure how clear it is to the zoo manage­ - and she stressed to me not to under­ with short explanations about the Torah ment. The curious aspect is that while estimate the significance of this. By perspective on those animals. For exa1n­ my focus is on using animals as a tool showing the staff how Orthodox Jews ple, the lion is used in the Torah as an for encouraging interest in Torah, their can be nice and normal, we produce a example of gevura, might. intent is to focus on using Torah as a tool ripple effect, with the staff treating the Likewise, the Mishna exhorts us to be for encouraging interest in animals. I visitors better and the visitors treating as mighty as a lion in fulfilling the will think that perhaps they are aware of this, the staff better in return. of our Creator. Yet it is difficult to under­ but the difference is, to them, subtle and stand what this means - are we sup­ of no practical consequence. The SUMMER EXPERIMENT posed to lift weights until we are as pow­ important thing is that we both want the erful as lions? The answer is that visitors to have a positive and rich expe­ uring the following vacation, I predators have naturally aggressive rience at the zoo, in which they gain a experimented with different instincts which prevent them from greater sensitivity to how the Bible Dprojects. It was great fun to being able to live in social groups. Lions relates to animals. Baruch Hashem, I announce over the public-address sys­ are the exception in that they are some­ have developed an excellent relationship tem, Good afternoon, visitors, this is to how able to subdue their aggressive with the staff, thanks to us all being sen­ inform you that there will be an elephant nature and get along with each other. sitive to the others' positions. show at six o'clock, Mincha at six-fifteen, The lion is used as an example of might In fact, one of the most positive followed by a shiur on the topic of ani- not because of its great strength, but because of its ability to control it, just as the Mishna teaches, Who is the mighty one? He that conquers his incli­ nation. I suggested to the zoologist that I work at enhancing the Biblical theme of the zoo. To his everlasting credit, he was greatly enthusiastic with the idea and •The Z'chus ol Uving, Breathing and Experiencing the Kedusho ol Eretz Yisroe/ • schedttled a meeting for me with the zoo • The Torah Touring Experience of a Lifetime! •Daven by the Kosel Ha'Maravi •Climb director. Matsoda • Inspiring Shiu rim • Shabbos in Tzfos • Maron • Amulc.oh • Amazing Workshops • Kevrei Tzadikim • Experience Yerushalayim in Depth • Delicious Hotel 1 Style Meals• Swim in the Kinneret • Shabbos in Yerushalayim •See Geclolim •Kayaking MEETING THE ZOO DIRECTOR in the Yorclen •Rosh Hanilc.ra •Fully Equipped Modem Gym •Underground Caves • 1 Eilot • Air Conditioned Dining Rooms• Banana Booting • fin Gedi • Biblical Zoo • Har I Hatzolim • Beautiful Campus & Dormitory • Snorlding • Paddle Boating • Minharot he meeting was highly produc­ Holc.otel •Campfire •Tour the Golil •Meara# Eliyohu Hanavi •Light & Sound Desert I tive. The director told me that Experience •Golan Heights• Gamla •Cable Can • Be'er Sheva • Malc.e Wonderful International friends • Yad Vashem •Swim in Yam Hamelach •Bedouin Tents • Mearot I Twhile the zoo was not the biggest Shem and Ayver in Tzfos • Climb Incredible Mountains • Achclus • Tzipori •Our Own or best in the world, it did have the Olympic Pool • Har Hamenuchos • Shmiras Halashon Rally • Rabbi Zev Leff • Ancient I unique Biblical angle, which he was keen Susyo • Oceonarium Experience• Jeeping •Nacho/ Maj'rasa •Hotel El Artz.ei in Blot • Kanyan Ha'adom •Meo Shearim • Rebbe's Tisch •Flower & fruit Decoration •Camel I to exploit. Until now, that had meant Rides •Color War •Kever Rochel• Kever Dovid Hamelech • Simcha Dancing • Teveria concentrating on collecting the species • Mearot Chazon • Nacho/ A mud Nature Trail• Climb Sand Dunes •Meorat Halc.emach I of animals mentioned in the Bible, and • Oegem Beis Hamilc.dosh • Hay Rides • Banyas • Mode Wedding • Swim in Hatzbanei River •Sunset Kumzitz by the Ocean • Cave of the Cliashmonaim • Pelc.ien • Coral Reef• I listing verses mentioning the creatures Underwoter Observatory • Breothtalc.ing Vistas • and Much, Much Morel on the notices at the enclosures. But the Just Ask Any of our Wonderful Macliane Braclia Campers! director wanted more than that. He was ""''!Pl constructing a vast wooden replica of Noah's Ark that would serve as an exhi­ I A Sate, 5-n, Wann Atmosphere In Magnificent Yael Blnyamln bition center, and he was also eager to Under t11e 01reot1on o1 Rabbi Sholom & Mrs. Chaya Gfnzbet1 I create a Biblical tour of the zoo, which L 1066 £ 23nl streBt BrookllflL NY 11210 (718)377-0234

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 ------·21 mals in the Torah. The daily shiur was it should be. When I meet them, dressed creator of deception and fantasy) there­ complete with hands-on experience in my full yeshiva garb, this serves to con­ fore lost its legs. And, as the highlight with some of the lizards and small mam­ fuse them all the more. We begin in a of this presentation, I show them the mals. However, this was perceived as classroom with discussion about the miniscule remnants of hind legs that can something strictly for children, and the zoo, and about how the Torah teaches us be seen on boa constrictors, vestiges of material that I had prepared went way both how to relate to animals and what an era long gone. over their heads. (The perception of the to learn from them. Then I reach into the After this, letting them handle a zoo as somewhere to take the kids is a enormous crate on the floor next to ine, desert sand-rat and a turtle is somewhat problem that I have been continually pull out a nine-foot boa constrictor, and of a comedown, but it's fun nonetheless. grappling with. If children enjoy the zoo drape it around myself. Not surprising­ Then we go on a three-hour tour of the more than adults do, it is because they ly, this stirs up a combination of interest, zoo, during which I explain to them fur­ haven't been around long enough to excitement, and raw terror. Additionally, ther Torah lessons concerning animals. have their senses and emotions numbed it works wonders as a way of overturn­ We also discuss the Torah's sensitivity in to the wonder of the world. As adults, ing stereotypes of religious Jews. Rabbis teaching us how to treat animals kind­ our task is to re-awaken ourselves to the don't usually wear boa constrictors. ly, yet balanced with a clear role for man marvel that we experienced when vis­ After allowing the braver ones pre­ as the purpose of creation, such that we iting the zoo as children.) It was bene­ sent to pet the python, it is time to dis­ do not engage in animal-rights fanati­ ficial, as the children enjoyed the animals cuss the story of the snake in the Gar­ cism. The students are able to experience and their parents enjoyed the Torah, but den of Eden. As the primordial liar, it specially arranged activities, such as it was not exactly what I had in mind. received a truly just punishment. The feeding the elephants, or a hands-on More successful are the guided tours, Gemora notes that a lie is something that tour of the normally off-limits insect combined with short shiurim, that I began does not have a leg to stand on. This is house. It's also interesting for them to to give to groups of secular and newly­ reflected in the words - while the letters learn that all the zoo's animals are owned religious students on programs arranged of the word en1es, truth, possess a by a kohein, such that they can eat teru­ by outreach organizations. The groups broad and supportive base, the letters of ma vegetables that are donated by the arrive at the zoo with absolutely no idea shekker, falsehood, all come to a point, Jerusalem religious council; and the as to what to expect, which is exactly as such that they cannot stand. The snake, Bihle comes to life when they wander

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·-·------22 The Jewish Observer;. January 2000 through the safari exhibit and find a Still, all the problems were more or Jerusale1n increase, I'm sure that the zoo massive Noah's Ark at the end of it. It less ironed out eventually, and the management will be even more enthu­ proved beneficial to spice up the tour guidebook is currently in preparation for siastic about Biblical education pro­ with exciting tales from the zoo, such as publication. The tours are continuing, grams. For myself, working in the zoo is the time when the zoo launched a detec­ and I believe that they are just as valu­ the fulfillment of a childhood dream that tive operation to discover which chim­ able for general chinuch purposes as they always seemed unrealistic, all the more panzee was trying to drown the baby are for outreach. In the longer term, I am so when I decided to remain in yeshiva chimps by throwing them into the moat. hoping to eventually be able to achieve and dedicate myself to Torah education. more in terms of educational progran1s Perhaps the novelty of the situation TIME TO GO BY THE BOOK for local schools and similar schemes. is best summed up by a zoo visitor who There are also tentative plans for a mul­ stopped me to ask why a black-hatted ince the number of people that can timedia Biblical tour of the Biblical Zoo, Jew was wearing a zoo staff tag. "Because be reached in this way is relatively assuming a source of funding can be I work here;' I told him, "teaching Ssmall) it occurred to 1ne that it found. The zoo itself is constantly Torah." He looked at me in perplexity, would be best to produce a guidebook expanding, and as the relative propor­ and asked, "But what do the animals for visitors that would contain much of tions of the religious community in actually need to know?" • this material, both in Hebrew and Eng­ lish. This turned out to be more difficult that I had anticipated. For one thing, it transpired that the management had **** thought that my material was quite dif­ ferent. They were under the impression, for example, that an essay about mon­ keys in the Bible would discuss the ancient trading routes via which mon­ keys were captured and brought to King Solomon, rather than a philosophical explanation of why they are named kof, which is the nineteenth letter of the Aleph-Beis. Still, they accepted my argu­ ment that many people perceive the Bible as a book of Jewish thought, rather than as a record of ancient society. A larger problem emerged with the general philosophical perspectives underlying the various themes. The zoo management wanted it to be fully palat­ able from their secular perspective. Thus, sentences such as 'The world was created as an environment for man" had to be qualified with the prefatory, "According to a Biblical perspective:' And I realized how different my outlook was from theirs when I discussed the solution to why the alpaca, a South American ani­ mal that chews the cud but does not have FOR cloven hooves, is not listed amongst the THE FINEST animals that possess only one kosher sign (the answer being that alpacas are part IN 1 of the camel family and are included in 1111111 the Torah's listing of camels). "But I don't understand your difficulty;' asked one of the staff in bewilderment. "Why should the person who wrote the Bible have known about the alpaca?"

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 23 Ephraim Lever RABBI ELIYAHU MEIR BLOCH

45 Years Since His Passing

(23 Tishrei 5655/1894 - 28 Teves 5715/1955)

he influence of an outstanding Often, when writing about an indi­ stand in the presence of a talmid individual, says the Rambam, is vidual, one can select a single charac­ chacham" (Makkos 22b ). By having Tcomparable to a flash oflightning teristic of his which will convey a fair made the Torah's will his will, a talmid (see his foreword to Moreh Nevuchim). description of him. The Rosh Yeshiva's chacham becomes the embodiment of One moment it is dark and one cannot personality was so multi-faceted that to Torah. see anything ahead. Suddenly, a streak select any single characteristics would The Rosh Yeshiva personified this of lightning brightens the sky, lighting detract from a true projection. There­ principle. up the surroundings but for a second. fore, rather than attempt to create an During his youth, the Rosh Yeshiva com­ The entire area is illuminated, indicat­ image of the Rosh Yeshiva, this article will mitted himself never to let a day pass with­ ing the road to follow. And even after it present a collection of anecdotes and out studying Torah for at least one hour, has passed, the traveler is left with direc­ insights with which the reader himself regardless of the circumstances. The day fol­ tion. can draw a portrait of the Rosh Yeshiva. lowing his last operation, a talmid came to Anyone who came into contact with visit him in the hospital. He was in bed, the Telshe Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliyahu A TORAH PERSONALITY hooked up with tubes, an anxious expres­ Meir Bloch 7":ll, witnessed that flash of sion playing across his face. With hand light, that inspiration and guide. n various places, the 1brah prohibits movements, he directed the talmid to take Although forty-five years have now tran­ things with the terminology, "Lo a Chumash and read to him from the week's spired since the Rosh Yeshiva's passing, I yuchal" or "Lo suchaf' (see sidra with Rashi. After half an hour, he his talmidim as well as many others still Devariml2, 17; 21, 17; 17, 15), which lit­ motioned to him to stop; he had no feel his imprint on their lives. They still erally means "You are unable." This strength to listen further. After a fifteen benefit from that flash oflight that illu­ seems difficult, for we are physically minute rest, he motioned to him to restart, minated the path of Torah for them to capable of transgressing the Torah's and listened until another half hour had follow. commands; we are only forbidden to do passed. The Rosh Yeshiva was drained, but [In September 1971, The Jewish so! his face glowed with great simcha. He had Observer featured a full-length appre­ The Rosh Yeshiva explains this with learned his hour! ciation on the Rosh Yeshiva, "A Life of a parable. If someone tells a person to Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Levin, Rosh Simchas Torah;' written by his talmid, jump off the top of a skyscraper, he will Yeshiva of Telshe-Chicago, tells how at Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller, Rosh Hayeshi­ not reply, "I do not want to;' but "I the Rosh Yeshiva's levaya, he overheard va in Telshe-Chicago. That article can't!" He is so certain of what will hap­ the Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Shlomo Yosef included biographical information and pen if he jumps that the knowledge Kahaneman '>"on, and Rabbi Yaakov a detailed account of his many areas of alone physically restrains him. He is Kamenetsky '>"Yt expressing amaze­ activity and accomplishment. This pre­ unable to jump. With its chosen mode ment over how the Rosh Yeshiva had only sentation is more modest in scope. - of expression, the Torah is teaching us once missed his hour of learning, and NW] that mitzva performance should become that was on the day of his operation, Ephraim Lever, a tal~id of the Telsh~ Yeshi~a in such an integral part of our lives that it when he was anaesthetized early morn­ Wickliffe, Ohio, translated Pirkei Torah by Rabbi creates within us new physical abilities ing and awoke after dark. Mordechai Gifter N~"'7w (Mesorah Publications, and restraints. We should be unable to This supernatural stamina came 1998). The author wishes to convey his gratitude to Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Baron and RabbiAvrohom transgress the Torah's will. from Torah becoming an inherent part Chaim Levin for their guidance and encourage~ "How foolish are those who stand in of his person, imbuing him with new ment with this article. the presence of a Torah scroll but do not limits and expanded abilities.

·----··------·--··--··· 24 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 IMMUTABLE EMMES... tinue, and the yeshiva would have suffered. Therefore, he would not allow himself to n his hesped for the Rosh Yeshiva, read the message. Rabbi Aharon Kotler 7"'1! stressed The Rosh Yeshiva felt that the yeshi­ I how Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch had va belonged to Kial Yisroel. Rabbi Shlo­ refused to deviate from emmes. Reb mo Davis once asked the Rosh Yeshiva Aharon said, "He could have built the why he bothered going to collect a small world because his dedication to truth sum from a particular woman, when the was beyond compromise. He was a time could have been used better to visit talmid chachani strong as iron in his wealthier people. "Everyone in Kial convictions." Yisroel must have a portion in building To the Rosh Yeshiva, deviation from Torah:' the Rosh Yeshiva explained. emmes meant only one thing: shekker He had a deep fear of misusing yeshi­ (falsehood). had the Rosh Yeshiva spoken about the va money. The yeshiva was there for Kial In Shemos 2, 11-15, Moshe, then a yeshiva itself, one thing is certain: we Yisroel, and he was an "appetropus" - a prince in Pharaoh's house, killed an would have lacked a Reb FJya Meir custodian over the yeshiva, but not its Egyptian who was assaulting a Jew. Bloch. owner. His own salary was not calculated Pharaoh was enraged and wished to on a wage basis, but solely to ensure that kill Moshe, who fled for his life. THE YESHIVA his needs were provided for. There were Why indeed did Moshe strike the times when the Rosh Yeshiva and his Egyptian? Wouldn't he have been able he yeshiva was Reb Elya Meir's brother-in-law, Rabbi Chaim to achieve more for his brethren if he life, and everything revolved Mordechai Katz., .. ,,,, drew only ten dol­ had remained a prince in Pharaoh's Taround it. A doctor once told him lars a week to cover their personal house? Wasn't it worth it to look away that if he would retire from the yeshi­ expenses. once in order to achieve so much va, he would live longer. The Rosh Yeshi­ In response to receiving a sefer from more? va replied that since the Telshe Yeshiva Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin, Chairman The Rosh Yeshiva explains that, in Europe had been wiped out by the of the World Agudath Israel, the Rosh indeed, perhaps Moshe would have Nazis, and he was saved, bis right to live Yeshiva explained that since the yeshi­ achieved much as an activist in was predicated solely on rebuilding the va's finances were in a tight situation,he Pharaoh's house; however, one thing yeshiva. had no right to purchase the sefer, and, is certain: Kial Yisroel would have He did not intend to establish an therefore he was returning it. The price lacked a Moshe Rabbeinu. Had he "American yeshiva," but to replant the of the sefer was five dollars! turned away from the wrong being Telshe of Europe on American soil. And Once, when collecting out of town done - even in order to achieve more he succeeded. Someone once consulted for the yeshiva, someone took the Rosh later- he could not have been Moshe the Chazon !sh as to which yeshiva he Yeshiva's galoshes.At a subsequent han­ Rabbeinu, the ultimate leader.A leader should send his son. "Send him to hala meeting, the Rosh Yeshiva raised the cannot deviate from basic principles. Telshe," said the Chazon !sh. "Te/she issue of whether or not he had the right When the Chazon !sh passed away, a macht soldaten - Telshe produces sol­ to request reimbursement from the memorial gathering was convened at diers." yeshiva. The yeshiva's money was which the Rosh Yeshiva delivered a hes­ During the ivar years, the Rosh Yeshiva hekdesh (sacred funds), and he was ped (eulogy). The event was poorly was in the dark regarding his family's fate. uncertain whether he was entitled to attended. The Rosh Yeshiva was furious: Once, as he was about to speak on behalf funding for a replacement. it was a case of ta/mid chacham shelo nis­ of the yeshiva, someone handed him a pad kehalacho - a ta/mid chacham who telegram. Without reading it, he handed it THEKLAL ... had not been eulogized befittingly. to Rabbi Pinchas Teitz 7"r, the Rav ofEliz­ Shortly afterwards, the yeshiva held its abeth, NJ, and then proceeded to deliver his n his hesped, Rabbi Aharon Kotler annual fund-raising banquet, which speech. After he had concluded his address, 7"'1! pointed out that regardless of drew a large crowd. When the Rosh he read the telegram, which did not relate I how busy Reb Elya Meir was with Yeshiva addressed the dinner, he did not to his family. "Why didn't you read the the yeshiva and other issues in Cleve­ speak about the yeshiva, but used the telegram im1nediately?" Rabbi Teitz asked land, he always managed to create time opportunity to deliver a hesped for the him. "It may have contained news of your for the Kial at large. Chazon !sh. family.'' The Rosh Yeshiva replied that he Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Baron tells that Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Levin com­ had come to speak for the yeshiva's benefit. before the Rosh Yeshiva would say a mented that even though the yeshiva Had the telegram brought harsh news ofhis shiur, he would stay up until five in the probably would have raised more funds farnily, he may not have been able to con- morning preparing. Often, however, the

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 25 Rosh Yeshiva would return to Cleveland to a man of stature, there are no "small ONCHINUCH from out-of-town and immediately things." Everything has significance. deliver a shiur. The Rosh Yeshiva relat­ Rabbi Shlomo Davis relates how one ince the Torah addresses every ed that he would prepare the shiur dur­ Chol Hamoed the Rosh Yeshiva asked him nuance of life, the Rosh Yeshiva ing the hours spent traveling and that to drive him to Detroit. Of course, Rabbi Sbelieved that a true Torah chinuch somehow, on countless occasions, he Davis obliged, upon which the Rosh Yeshi­ must therefore encompass all aspects of managed to prepare in a few hours what va invited him to bring along his wife and life, not just the blatt Gemora. How to would normally take much longer. small children as well. "They do not have eat and how to walk in the street are also The Rosh Yeshiva was absolutely certain to remain in Cleveland." During the entire part of a Torah chinuch. that this was in the merit of having trip, the Rosh Yeshiva kept the children busy, One morning, a talmid jumped wildly engaged in tzorchei tzibbur - commu­ asking them questions in Chun1ash, telling down the staircase .. , only to meet a stern­ nal needs. them stories from Chazal. At a stop for gas, faced Reb Elya Meir at the bottom. Petri­ the Rosh Yeshiva jumped out and returned fied by the look on the Rosh Yeshiva's face, SMALL THINGS DO COUNT ... with something for Rebbitzen Davis to read. he apologized for not having descended the Everything was thought out - from every­ stairs normally. "I'm not bothered by the he Rosh Yeshiva used to say:" Es one's perspective. manner hi wliich you came downstairs," is ummeglich tzu zein a general said the Rosh Yeshiva, "but when you see Tayb men ken nit zein a soldat - son1eone standing at the bottom ofthe stair­ one cannot be a general if he cannot case, where is your 'Good Morning'?" be a soldier." A true leader is not sim­ Ho1v much does it take to wish someone Talmidim recall often having seen the ply someone who possesses unique a good day or good morning? A few friend­ Rosh Yeshiva pick up papers or other skills, in the manner of a strategist sit­ ly words do not seem tnuch, but they can objects that did not belong on the floor. ting at his desk issuing orders, yet lack­ have a powerful impact. During the Kore­ Chazal (Moed Kattan I ?a) instruct us ing the qualities gained through first­ an War, a worker in the yeshiva was draft­ only to accept a Rebbe who is compa­ hand battle .... Such a person is not in ed into the army. When he was discharged, rable to a malach, an angel. A malach, essence more accomplished than his he visited the yeshiva and asked to speak explains the Rosh Yeshiva, is created for troops; he merely has different talents. with Rabbi Bloch. Upon hearing that the a particular mission, and he can do A true leader is someone who possesses Rosh Yeshiva had since passed away, he nothing else. So, too, a Rebbe must have unique qualities in addition to those of broke into tears. Curious, someone asked one purpose in his life - to convey the the common individual. The true gen­ him why he felt close enough to the Rosh Torah's will. He must thus ensure that eral, the true leader, has also been a sol­ Yeshiva to cry. "You see," 11e explained, "even all his actions serve to educate others in dier. though I was just a janitor, and Rabbi Bloch the way of Torah. Practically speaking, this means was so busy- always rushingfron1 one place One of the more sensitive concepts that the true leader not only views to another- whenever he saw me, he would for a mechanech to deal with is kavod things from the perspective of his high stop, wish me a good tnorning or afternoon, haTorah. When a Rebbe insists that position, hut can also see them from and chat for a few moments. For those few talmidim deal with him respectfully, it the layman's viewpoint. Whatever the moments he made me feel that I was the would seem to invite disrespect. The issue) his is a total involvement not most important person in the world." Rosh Yeshiva, however, felt that to imbue lacking any facet or point. As the Rosh his talmidim with kavod haTorah, he had Yeshiva would say: "Bei a groisse to insist upon his respect. If they would­ mentsch es iz nit do kein kleinekeiten,'' n't learn to respect him - their own Rebbe For a number of years, Reb Gershon - and Rosh Yeshiva - whom would they Adler lived downstairs from the Rosh respect? Yeshiva on Temblett Avenue, and forged a The Rosh Yeshiva once reprimanded a close relationship with the Rosh Yeshiva and tenth grader who had not stood up for him Rebbetzin. Often, when he and his wife when he had entered. Some five years later, would go out, they would ask the Rebbet­ when this talmid was in shiur gitnmel in the zin if she would mind watching over their yeshiva proper, the Rosh Yeshiva called him children. One night, upon returning home over. "Do you remember when you were in from a wedding, Reb Gershon was stunned the mechina (high school), I once spoke to to find the Rosh Yeshiva sitting in the liv­ you about standing up for me? At the time, ing room, babysitting. The Rosh Yeshiva I realized that you thought I was concerned looked up, and seeing their surprise, he over my personal honor. You were but a explained, matter offactly, "The Rebbitzen young boy, so I didn't try to explain. Now, had to go son1ewhere, so I took over." however, I think you are capable of under-

26 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 standing. You see, I anz worried that 1vhen had the proper relationship with their passing the store with her uncle, when I con1e before beis din in Shamayin1, they Rebbe. he turned and entered the store. "Are you will say to me, 'True, you taught then1 Chu- aware that today is Shabbos?" the Rosh 1nash and you taught them Ge1nora, l1ut ON INFLUENCING OTHERS,,. Yeshiva asked the proprietor. why didn't you teach them kavod Immediately, the owner began to ha Torah?"' t is far easier than one may think to shout at the Rosh Yeshiva over his "Old The Rosh Yeshiva often allowed some influence others. Sometimes it calls World" mentality. After the Rosh Yeshi­ ti1ne to pass before reproaching a I for little more than careful mitzva va left the store, Rebbetzin Ausband asked ta/mid. He didn't want the ta/mid to feel observance. And a fulfillment of a him what his purpose was in entering the that there was any anger involved. On mitzva that is lacking will also affect oth­ store. And did he really think that he was the other hand, however, there were ers. going to convince the owner? times when he felt that an immediate Once, a tahnid in the yeshiva did son1e­ "No, I didn't," replied the Rosh Yeshi­ reaction was called for. thing wrong and the Rosh Yeshiva gave a va. "However, I didn't speak to him to Chazal (Avos 2,4) instruct us to shmuess to the entire yeshiva on the 1nat­ convince him. I spoke to him to ensure make Hashem's will our will, yet this ter. Rabbi Elya Galupkin, then a bach ur in that my own care for the Shabbos was concept also applies to a talmid and his the yeshiva, later asked the Rosh Yeshiva why not affected:' Rebbe, for in numerous places Chazal he felt it necessary to reprimand the entire The first few chapters of Shulchan equate a talmid's relationship to his yeshiva and not just the individual involved. Aruch-Orach Chain1 contain numerous Rebbe with his relationship to Sha may· "If an individual can do something ha/achos that deal with small things, such hn. For example, disagreeing with a wrong in public," explained the Rosh Yeshi­ as how to dress, what shoe to put on Rebbe is like disagreeing with Heaven va, "then he felt comfortable enough to do first, and many other such halachos. The itself. Rabbi El ya Galupkin, a ta/mid of it in public, in which case there is a prob­ Rosh Yeshiva explained that beyond any Telshe in Europe, tells how, once, after lem with that public. Had that individual doubt, these ha/achos are deeply root­ the war, the Rosh Yeshiva invited him for felt that the public would never tolerate ivhat ed in kabbala. However, there is also a a Shabbos seuda. Reb Elya declined the he did, then he wouldn't have done it. So 1 very understandable reason behind offer. Several days later, the Rosh Yeshi­ had to speak to the entire yeshiva about the them all. That is, a person should never va called him into his office. "The will n1atter." do anything without prior thought. Even of a Rebbe," explained the Rosh Yeshiva, the small, seemingly insignificant things "should be to a ta/mid as his own will. ... AND ON BEING INFLUENCED BY should be done with thought and con­ If a Rebbewants something, you should OTHERS sideration. No part of a person's life want to fulfill it. Thus, if I invited you should escape being governed by a for Shabbos seuda, you should have ebbetzin Chaya Ausband, a niece cheshbon - an astute awareness. wanted to fulfill my will." The Rosh Yeshi­ of the Rosh Yeshiva, relates that in May the points mentioned in this va had no interest in his personal RCleveland, a particular store article serve to inspire our thoughts and honor, but saw it his obligation as a owned by Jews was open on Shabbos. lead us to action, thus adding to the Rosh mechanech to ensure that his talmidim One Shabbos, Rebbetzin Ausband was Yeshiva's countless zechusin1. • Not just a cheese, a tradition... Haolam, the most trusted name in Cholov Yisroel Kosher Cheese. A reputation earned through 25 years of scrupulous devotion to quality and kashruth. With 12 delicious varieties. Haolam, a tradition you'll enjoy keeping.

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The Jewish Observer, January 2000 27 YonasollR:Osenblum

'~~t[~~~~~; !~!? today. Ofthose, not more thgn 1.2 1 ~~lliof1, or .02%, ari,OrthocI(c) 'ti(I}~t~~~t\c25, 1999 and. D~~emberl 3, 1.9?.9, the two largest tntern&'tibt!(L(ftews''. ~ lies;)~!~~~~t;'d NeVf; · ·, put7lisheci,k~tween Jew them two articles and a long book excerpt on Ottff~~9x ,

1 t';_ '-» -,;::-f~ t\i{:';L I. COMMON THEMES Not only do each of these articles pre­ whelming for any c~~feidl'~& 11~hofg hese articles shared one thing in sent an unattractive picture of Ortho­ exposed to their lures. "Don't worry common: All of them portrayed dox Jews, each of them can be read as about the Yale gradnate down the block TOrthodox Jews in a highly unfa­ either a veiled or indirect counterattack who became frum," the article seeks to vorable light. In "Be Fruitful and Mul­ on the ba'al teshuva movement. One of reassure readers. "There is nothing in that tiply;' Lisa Beyer, Time's Jerusalem the aspects of Orthodox life that first world that could hold anyone who had bureau chief, recounts the deaths by attracts many ba'alei teshuva is the been exposed to our toys and pleasures:' suffocation of two children left in cars strength of Orthodox family life and the Curiously absent from each of these by their parents on hot summer days, close relations between parents and chil­ articles is any citation of statistics that and extrapolates from those two dren. Beyer describes large Orthodox would prove the significance of the phe­ instances to a general conclusion that family size as nothing more than a "fash­ nomena ostensibly being treated or why there is a widespread problem of ion') and children as status items in social they should be of international concern. Orthodox Jews being incapable of competition - according to her there is A memoir, such as Joshua Kramer's, is adequately supervising their many no reason in halacha for a family to have by its nature purely personal, but Beyers children. "The New Defectors" by more than one boy and one girl. In so and Klaidman's articles also rely almost Daniel Klaidman deals with an alleged doing, she downplays the devotion to entirely on one or two pieces of anec­ increase of ultra-Orthodox Jews in children that characterizes Orthodox dotal evidence to prove their points. Israel leaving the fold. life. Hundreds of children die around the Finally, the Newsweek excerpt from The two Newsweek artic]es are even world each day from accidents involv­ Joshua Kramer's upcoming book, Cho­ more frontal attacks on the ba'al teshu­ ing some degree of parental negligence sen by God, is a memoir of his va phenomenon. The suburban home - fires, cars started with keys left in the relationship with his brother who joined of Joshua Kramer's brother is described ignition, poisoning, electrocution, burns "the ultra-Orthodox fringe of Judaism." as a "caricature of neglect: dozens of toys from pans placed close to the edge of the Kramer describes the repugnance littered the yard ... I nearly tripped over stove, falls, bathtub drownings, and with which he viewed his brother's a red plastic fire engine missing its front choking on objects left within their "oft-expressed disdain for deviants, wheels;' followed by more "lurid" details reach. Such incidents rarely make it even African-Americans, Reform Jews, and of encountering the effluence of a to the local news, much less an inter­ Gentiles .. .." houseful of kids in the suburbs. national news weekly. Clearly, something And the subtext of the Newsweek arti­ more must explain why Time devoted Yonason Rosenblum who lives in Jerusalem is a cle on Hillel, an organization devoted to an entire article based on two tragedies contributing editor to The Jewish Observer. He helping chareidi teenagers who wish to in Orthodox families. is also director of the Israeli division of Am Echad, the Agudath Israel-inspired educational outreach join the secular world, is that the attrac­ Moreover, Beyer does not present one effort and media resource. tions of the secular world are too over- shred of evidence that such tragedies are

28 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 more common in large Orthodox fam­ but the actual numbers and the objec­ Observer would not be the forum for ilies or that an Orthodox child is less tive source for those statistics are not those refutations. But the wide reader­ likely to survive until his late teens than given. According to the director of Hil­ ship guaranteed for each of the articles any other child. Imagine the reaction if lel, the organization was contacted by mentioned above requires that we ana­ she had attempted to establish that sec­ 237 teenagers last year, but the results lyze them and their unstated agendas. ular Israelis hate their children from two of those contacts are also not specified. Lisa Beyer's article, for instance, recent instances of fathers immolating Nor could the reader learn what per­ must be seen in the context of the con­ their children. Or that Israeli teenagers centage of chareidi youth between the tinuing push by the anti-religious par­ from small, affluent families are likely ages of 12-21 this represents. ties in Israel, particularly Tommy to become sociopaths on the basis of a Most significantly) no comparison is Lapid's Shinui Party, for a drastic reduc­ case in which two such teenagers mur­ offered to the number of secular Israelis tion in child supplement payments. By dered a taxi driver for thrills and then - usually much older and more mature contending that parents of large fami­ boasted about it to their classmates. than the teenagers leaving the chareidi lies are inherently incapable of proper­ Beyer' s whole case rests exclusively on community- becon1ing religious each ly raising their children, Beyer provides what she ter1ns a "chorus" of voices from year. (In fairness, lam quoted as saying one more argument in favor of steps to "within" the chareidi community, who that the numbers contacting Hillel are discourage large families. argue that the two deaths last summer a "drop in the bucket compared to the Had she written a similar article argu­ were no "flukes:' On closer examination, general trend in Israeli society, which is ing that Arab parents cannot properly that chorus turns out to consist exclu­ for people to come back to religion:') raise their children on the basis of the sively of Naomi Ragen and Tzvia Green­ rash of weekend drownings of Arab feld, two women who have made suc­ II. REFUTING THE ATTACKS teenagers every summer, she would have cessful careers for the1nse]ves in Israel been accused of advocating genocide. by always having something negative to t is obviously impossible to refute Beyer quotes a number of anony­ say about chareidim. Neither would be every misrepresentation that mous Israeli feminists as calling for considered an "insider" in the chareidi I appears about Torah Jews or smaller chareidi families. There is acer­ community by any stretch of the imag­ Judaism in the media. And The Jewish tain delicious irony in a feminism that ination. Nor do two voices, no matter how loud and repetitive, a chorus make. NEVE YERUSHAJAYIM INSTITUTIONS Similarly, Klaidman's article con­ sists almost entirely of the story of one MAALOT • NY NOW ENTERING FOURTH RAR Noam, allegedly born into a Toldos SEMINARY ANO ,OST-SEMINARY 'ROllRAMS Aharon family, who at twenty deserted his wife forever (he never contacted her WITH O,TIONAL EIGHT WEEKS IN ERETZ YISllAEL! again), and is today a university classics • Full Day or Half Day Progroms student. (I have spoken with people con­ • Intensive Llmudei Kodesh nected to the Toldos Aharon commu­ • Dynamic Shiurim By 1he Foremost Mechanchlm nity, and none of them has ever heard • Endorsed By Leading Gedolei Yisrael • Hundreds Of SuccesSful Maalot Graduates Worldwide of such a "Noam,1' or knows of some­ • A Warm Bois Y-kov Atmosphere - Select Group Of Students one who deserted his wife in this fash­ • Choice of Regular or Lishma Program ion.) A figure, real or imagined, from • Option of Eight Week Summer Program In Yerushalayim Toldos Aharon appears to have been • The Exciting Alternative To A Full Year In Eretz Yisroell deliberately chosen as an excuse to men­ Our Renowned Mechanchim Include: Rabbi Avraham Blumenkrantz, tion a set of customs guaranteed to see1n Rabbi Y. Cahan, Rabbi Dov Eichenslein, Rabbi Dovid Gibber, Rabbi Yoel Kramer extrc1nely bizarre to the average Rabbi N.D. Rabinowich, Rabbi Mechel Spitzer, Rabbi Yisroel Dov Webster Rebbetzin Chaya Blumenfeld, Rebbetzin Y. Davidowitz, Rebbetzin Chaya Ginzberg Newsweek reader: "Men wear a silk caf­ Rebbetzin Devora Kitevits, Rebbetzin Naoma Lerman, Rebbetzin Esther Twersky tan and a large fur hat called a streimal. Women cover their shaved heads and Summer In Eretz Yisrael: Rabbi Dovid Refson- Dean, Rabbi Dovid Kass- Director wear long, shapeless dresses that shroud Rabbi Nosson Geisler, Rabbi Leib Keleman, Rabbi Y. Manoi, , Rabbi Meir Treibitz, Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller, Rebbetzin Zehava Kass, Rebbetzin Rena Tarshish their wrists and ankles .... He met his bride-to-be once for 10 minutes and 1/ta..a..t.o-e -THE NY SEMINARY & ,on-SEMINARY didn't see her again until the wedding day, eight months later." WITH THE EllETZ YISllAEL FLA VOil! Noam, we are told) is "one of hun­ RABBI SHOlOM G. GINZBERG, DEAN dreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews who have 931 Coney Island Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11230 walked away from the Hareidi world;' For More Information Phone Or Fax:(718)377-0222

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 29 consists of instructing other, less understood as an attempt by our Ill. WHO IS LEAVING "enlightened" women about how many accusers to assuage their own guilt feel­ AND WHO IS JOINING children they should want. ings. One suspects that there is another It is also a lie. Orthodox Jews view here is a both a quantitative and aspect to Beyer's attack on large charei­ each child as an incalculable blessing, qualitative difference between di families that resonates far outside of and the task of raising him or her as the T those leaving the camp of Torah Israel. Throughout the West today, 1nost important one in their lives. observant Jews and those entering that birthrates are dropping, often sharply, Orthodox children grow up with the world. On a quantitative basis, it is clear to below the replacement level. In knowledge that their existence was not that ba'alei teshuva far outnumber the Catholic Italy, for instance, the birthrate subjected to any cost/benefit analysis by misnamed (for reasons explained per woman today stands at 1.2 children. their parents, and that they were not below) chozrei beshe'eila. The former "Small is beautiful" respresents the weighed against disposable income or number in the tens of thousands in both modern consensus on family size. time. Nor is the commitment to children America and Bretz Yisroe~ and are a sig­ No group more visibly rejects that only theoretical. Religious families nificant portion of the religious com­ consensus than Orthodox Jews. By spend more quality and quantity time munity today. The number of those who doing so, they stand as a silent reproach together with their children than do grew up in strong Torah homes and left to many who recognize, in their heart their secular counterparts. that world is far smaller. of hearts, that opting for small families The results are evident in the chil­ But there is another equally signifi­ often reflects their own self-centeredness dren. All the self-destructive behaviors cant difference. Those who leave Torah and unwillingness to place the needs of typical of modern teenagers - drug use, observance generally do so as teenagers, children above their own to the extent promiscuity, eating disorders - are far often between the ages of 15 and their own parents did. less common in chareidi families. Of 17. Seldom is their motivation intellec­ The attempt to portray Orthodox course, no one is so nalve as to deny that tual or theological. A difficult family sit­ parents as irresponsibly bringing chil­ these tragedies exist in Orthodox soci­ uation, coupled with normal teenage dren into the world for whom they can­ ety as well. But what is for us an rebellion, and the immediacy of the not properly care, for reasons of"fash­ unspeakable calamity is considered attractions offered by the surrounding ion" or "social standing," can be normal by the outside world. society are the primary motivating fac- Yo11r 011ly real choice whe11 it comes to Foreign Residents' Mortgages in Israel

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30 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 tors behind their "decision" to leave the sidic circles. One's credulity is stretched room on Shabbos mornings, while his world in which they were raised. by the claim that the first novel he ever father and mother were at shul. (How By contrast, ba'alei teshuva are usu­ read was Crime and Punishment (and for many Me'ah She'arim mothers go to ally in their early to late 20s. While it an encore did he rediscover Einstein)s shul Shabbos morning?) There is some­ would be reductionist to say that their General Theory of Relativity?) or that thing a little too stylized about that motivations for becoming religious are he found time to do so in the bathroom story. In a recent article on Hillel in the exclusively intellectual, at the very least of a crowded Me' ah She'arim flat. One's Jerusalem Post, Sam Orbaum tells the they must grapple intellectually, on their suspicions are further aroused by the story of Mendel, who ate on Yorn Kip­ way to religious observance, with all the claim that as a boy he was brave enough pur to test whether G-d exists. Odd presumptions against religious faith to smuggle home pornography, which how tbe Hillel biographies dovetail so with which they have been raised. Their he hid and looked at in a room that he neatly. ranks include many who possess the likely shared with several siblings. Is it really believable that chareidi finest of secular educations, and many As a teenager, we are told, Noam teenagers are raised to believe that they who continue to be highly successful in would flick the lights on and off in his will immediately be struck down with their chosen fields of endeavor after becoming Torah observant. The picture I have drawn is pro­ foundly disconcerting to many secular Jews. The large numbers of ba'alei teshuva in recent decades - especially the fact that their ranks include so many graduates of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, etc., and that they are found in high-pressure Wall Street jobs, leading law firms, and the like - Full Service Community Total Torah Community make it harder and harder to dismiss •Healthy Job Market •Cheder Torah as something unworthy of con­ •Affordable Housing •Bais Yakov sideration by an intelligent, modern per­ •Nurturing Community •Yeshiva Gedola son. •Learning Opportunities •Kolle! It is in this context that the two arti­ •Shomer Shabbos •Mikveh cles in Newsweek, following so closely on Medical Residencies •Eruv one another's heels, must be read. First, •Community Activities •Wisconsin School Tuition Vouchers For Qualifying Families by focusing exclusively on individuals - the ba'al teshuva, and Noam, the choz­ The Torah Co11unu11ity of Rabbi Michel Twerski Invites Your Interests J-800-226-3129 er beshe'eila- they make any quantita­ tive comparison of the two phenome­ na impossible. But even more significantly, they reverse the general pic­ ture. The ba'al teshuva is shown as a troubled soul, traumatized by his par­ ents' divorce, gropingly in search of a focus, prior to his embrace of religion. Noam. The chozer beshe'eila, has, by con­ trast, progressed remarkably- just a few FREE years into his journey, he is already able to study classics at a university level. COMPUTER Amazing. COURSE The Disconcerting Ways ofNoam For Women Coping On Their Own (Widowed, Divorced, Separated) omething here will strike the dis­ cerning reader as a little too neat. 30 Hours of Instruction - Day Classes SMany of the details of Noam's story For More Information or To Register, don't add up, beginning with his name itself, which is never used in Israeli Chas-

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 31 lightning bolts if they commit a serious remarks about deviants, blacks, gen­ sin, and that their entire theological scaf­ • tiles, and Reform Jews. I have no way of folding crumbles when that does not ost of us will not end up knowing whether his brother did any­ happen? Have they never heard that the as the subjects of some­ thing more than affirm traditional Jew­ prosperity of the wicked and the suf­ M ish belief in Jewish chosenness, or that fering of the righteous was beyond the one else's book, but even if we deviant acts are a very grave sin. I do not grasp of even Moshe Rabbeinu? don't, our most casual remarks know whether he expressed disdain for Even if we could accept the details of may hove a profound impact Reform Jews or only for the authentic­ Noam's biography, we would have good ity of Reform Judaism. (It is a distinc­ reason to doubt the objectivity of the on the image of Torah and tion not easily accepted by Reform Jews.) Newsweek reporter. I was called by Torah Jews in the larger society. Comments about the state of Jewish Newsweek several weeks before the arti­ ignorance today or the rate of inter­ cle appeared and asked about Hillel. marriage, even when accompanied by After a brief conversation, I directed the • tears of pain, are often perceived by non­ reporter to the founder of Hillel, who religious Jews as expressions of con­ today works full-time with a leading rassment so profound that I struggle even tempt. chareidi kiruv organization. A week later, today to understand it .... His embrace of Nevertheless, Joshua Kramer's mem­ I called the reporter again to remind him fundamentalism marked a total rejection oir should put us on the alert. We would that he should interview my friend, and of who our family was - secular liberal do well to remember that everything that he indicated that he intended to do so. agnostics." Nor were his observations of we say is heard. Most of us will not end That interview never took place. his brother's life always scrupulously up as the subjects of someone else's book, Had the original founder of Hillel accurate. Those who have read Chosen by but even if we don't, our most casual been interviewed, at the very least the God(as I have not) found it to be rife with remarks may have a profound impact on concluding assumption of the Hillel arti­ elementary errors. For instance, Kramer the image of Torah and Torah Jews in the cle would have been refuted: that once mistakes the singing of Shalom Aleichem larger society. Anyone involved in kiruv out of the ultra-Orthodox world there for the blessing over the lighting of the work, for example, has stories of poten­ is no way back. According to him, not Shabbos candles. tial ba'alei teshuva who were turned off only he, but a large percentage of other It must be acknowledged too that somewhere in the process by the way teenage rebels like himself eventually do there are certain a'>pects of the 1brah that someone said "goy" or "shvartzeh." For return to the chareidi world. He could are radically out of step with current better or worse, we are often the standard also have revealed some of the tactics of intellectual fashion and will be rejected by which the Torah itself is judged by the Hillel. Contrary to the organization's no matter how they are presented. The outside world. claims that it deals only with teenagers belief in Jewish chosenness is one exam­ If we are honest with ourselves, we over the age of 18, some of its victims ple. It is fundamental to believing Jews must admit that cheap put-downs of are as young as 12 or 13. And far from that every Jew is imbued with the other groups are too frequently heard in attempting to help young teenagers to unique mandate to strive for holiness by our ranks. Even if such re1narks were reconnect with their parents, during virtue of being a spiritual descendant of never heard by those outside our world, what may often be a temporary crisis, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and that they betray a lack of genuine under­ the organization actively encourages the Jewish people as a whole have a sin­ standing of what it means to be one of teenagers who have left home to make gular role in the Divine plan for the Hashem's chosen. If we attempt to con­ the break permanent. world. Such beliefs are anathema today. vince ourselves of our superiority by But that interview never took place One dare not utter them in polite com­ putting down other groups, we debase for the same reason that we will not like­ pany. In the 1996 Commentary sympo­ ourselves in the process. We become like ly read soon in Newsweek about former sium on the state of current Jewish belief, the little boy in Rabbi Yisroel Salanter's Supreme Court clerks or Wall Street hot­ not one non-Orthodox contributor was mashal who seeks to prove he is taller shots studying today in yeshiva. willing to affirm the belief in Jewish cho­ than his friend by pushing his friend senness in any form at all. down rather than jumping higher. IV. WHAT CAN WE LEARN? It is similarly beyond the pale of cur­ From such a boy, said Reb Yisroel, noth­ rent political correctness to affirm the ing can be expected. A true under­ oshua Kramer, of course, makes no Torah's clear statement that deviant standing of the great spiritual potential pretense to objectivity in his memoir male relations are a to'evah in G-d's eyes. with which we were born is based on the of his troubled relationship with his I do not know Joshua Kramer's recognition that every human being is Ither. He admits at the outset, "For brother. I am therefore not required, per­ also created betzellem Elokim (in the years my brother's religious transfor­ haps not even permitted, to accept his Divine image). Then we build on that mation filled me with rage and embar- brother's characterizations of his awareness.

32 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 V: WHY THE OBSESSION? Orthodox Jews. There are good and world while strictly adhering to a proper reasons why we should merit Divine Law, given over 3,000 years he consanguinity of these three attention and curiosity. We are, as ago. Its products have succeeded by articles raises the question: Why Toynbee once described the Jews in the standards of the modern world, Tthe media obsession with Ortho­ general, a fossil from the past, which without accepting the mores of dox Jews? It is tempting to speculate that according to all predictions should modernity. Uri Regev's Israel Religious Action Cen­ have long since disappeared from the In both Israel and America, our ter (Reform), which specializes in plant­ pages of history. Fifty years ago, there world faces threats from both within ing negative stories about the Orthodox were not even 500 yeshivaleit in Bretz and without. Nevertheless, together community, had an unusually success­ Yisroel past high-school age. And the they form the most vibrant commu­ ful six weeks. But we need not conjure future looked bleak. Rabbi Shmuel nity on the Jewish landscape - per­ up such conspiracies. Auerbach remembers that only one or haps the only one that looks to the Lisa Beyer is married to the Jerusalem two of his classmates from that era in future with confidence of continued Report's resident chareidi-basher Zev Yeshiva Eitz Chaim remained reli­ growth. Not surprisingly, that excites Chafetz, and the two women she quotes, gious. Today there are over 50,000 envy. Naomi Ragen and Tzvia Greenfeld, are men learning full-time in Bretz Yisroel. Most Jews today, much less the out­ self-motivated haters of the chareidi The chareidi population is estimated side world, know little of the Ortho­ community. They don't need anyone's to double every eighteen years. dox community. Yet there remains an encouragement. Certainly Joshua In America, the number of those in awareness of Orthodox Jews as the Kramer had his own reasons for writ­ advanced yeshivas was even less, and bearers of a unique moral vision. As ing his memoir. The germ for the no one dreamed of Orthodoxy hold­ Joshua Kramer describes his brother, Newsweek story on Hillel - Education ing its own, much less growing in "He avowed that Jews' ... principal Minister Yossi Sarid's decision to fund numbers and intensity. In Beth obligation is to bring themselves the organization - was easily picked up Medrash Gevoha (Lakewood) alone, close to the Almighty and proclaim from the English edition of Ha'Aretz. there are over 3,000 full-time students. His glory. His life was governed by the And Hillel itself could be counted on to More, the Torah world has produced 613 mitzvahs ... which regulate all supply a suitable subject to give the story those who have gone on to achieve facets of one's existence - from eat­ color. success in a wide variety of endeav­ ing to bathing to sexual relations." But that still leaves the question of ors, while remaining bnei Torah. The That vision is anathema to moder­ why Time and Newsweek editors were most prominent supporters of Torah nity, and those who seek to free them­ so interested in these stories, especial­ today are being increasingly drawn selves from its bondage often do so by ly one as intellectually shoddy as Lisa from our own ranks. attacking its adherents. But as long as Beyer's on Orthodox parenting. (Such The American chareidi world is a there is an awareness, however dim, of obsessions are not uncommon on any complete refutation to the claim that Torah as a powerful, all-encompassing matter concerning Jews. For decades, it is impossible to live in the modern moral vision, there is hope. • U.N. debates have focused on Israel to a remarkable extent, as if there were no TD:? other trouble spots in the world and BCC IS EVERY GIRL'S DREAM••• no other group besides the Palestini­ The Best Summer in Israel camping/touring program ans nursing national grievances or for Frum girls ages 10-17 claims for self-determination.) Many • 6 weeks of over 22 Exciting Tours. Daily 5'hiurim, 'ft,'+-'\ senior editors at Time and Newsweek Hiking, Climbing, Drama, Music, Dance, Arts & Crafts ~- '"'~ are Jewish. Some of them are likely and the "Ruach" Which is the Hallmark of the "'~~-.__ f AMAZING BCC Program <§< implicated in one way or another in the • On Campus: Waterpark, Large Poofs, Water Slides, ~\'\"- f\ sPtf\S"- ongoing wars of the Jews over Jewish Midreshes L'Mitzvos Hat!uyos Baretz, Farm, Zoo, Sports ~ identity. Others may have been Fields & So Much More! ~ touched and hurt by loved ones or • Join the Hundreds of Girls from around the world who ~'? close friends becoming ba'alei teshu­ have enjoyed touring Eretz Yisroel, with the Zelman # Family since 1986". '$~ va, as was Joshua Kramer. CALL FOR INFORMATION AND APPUCATION. ~

Good Reason to Merit Attention

ut perhaps there is also some­ thing positive behind the (718) 282-6350 I 941-5500 • (800) 442-2295 Bapparent obsession with '------Directed by Zishe & D'vora Zelman. ______,. ·--·-·----·---·--···------·---.-··----- The Jewish Observer, January 2000 33 Rabbi Moshe Eisemann Plumbing the Depths Review Essay:

live in Baltimore, less than an hour's grins stuck on to please the customers d's face is hidden, in which there is very drive from Washington, in easy and in the meantime relish the oppor­ little that we can really know, very lit­ I reach of the Holocaust Museum. I tunity to practice my rusty German. tle that we can really understand. And have never gone there. I envy that elderly gentleman and yet, it is not altogether so. We may never It has not been easy to stay away. My wish that I could be more like him. forget thatthe 'Jalmud (Bava Basra 12a) soul craves nourishment from those pre­ But I have never gone to the Holo­ teaches that chacham adif minavi, the cious memories. I want to pick up once caust Museum. wise are, in a way, greater than the more the art of weeping, want to care And this is why. The museum cura­ prophets. Here are Maharal's thoughts enough to hate what needs hating and tor's is a subtle art. He makes choices on this remarkable statement: to learn what needs learning. I want about what to show and what to leave i1N't:J)i1 ':I N':J.)tl '1'"T:V c::in iir.iNW ilr.l1 something to explode within me, to blast in storage. He plans the atmosphere, c?:v)i1 ))'11' C::IMi1 i?Nl ilNio:n il"TM:J N1i1 me out of my smug acceptance of life decides which emotions to touch, the ni.,,n:::i N7t i1N1r.>:J N? crrriN? J.ni' '11'1?:::ini as I find it. I want to find the courage memories he deems worthy of honor '"'Vil 1WN ,i1111:J ilAWil )'WO NlilW pi to do battle, first of all with my own pet­ and those he decides to ignore. He is an c::im1 .?v!lil '7N roil 10 C"TNil ?::iw N~n:i tiness and then with a world that has for­ educator and, in the worst kind of way, 'il ':)11 A'W'r.>l Vil' 'Til'V ::l"A M1"T'nl'il Vil' gotten much but learned nothing, noth­ I don't want him as a teacher. I would 71 'OTT A'Wr.ll )),,, '"li1W ::l~A rn"T'n))i1 lJ"TI' ing at all. rather have someone tell me how the . "T'MV? l? il'il' 'PW A'Wr.l ))"1?)"1 l'l!J? i'IN'l1 CN'I But I have never gone there. Torah would want me to look at my ?l::>' 71-0l c::in N'lil CNW iV ,C'1:Jiil ?:I 1:n Once, many years ago, back in Eng­ dreadful past. 1'N ':I , N'::nn 10 mi' lN:J'W nl"T'rum nvi? land, I knew a Mr. Kugel. He had been .1Uf1' UOO 1"nt'1:> N'ITT ?::>il j71 i11jm:J U"T through hell, was trying to put his life 1::i7i , '7:;:)Wi1 1i'D:J UtlO N:J 11:Jn' N'!ill back together, trying to forget. The plane .rn"f)n))i1 '1N l',,, c::in N'li'lW [C"TKilJ {1131"1i1) on which he happened to be traveling The chacha1n, Maharal claims, can had to make an unscheduled stop in know the future as well as can the Frankfurt. Passengers were asked to dis­ prophet. The difference is only that embark so that the plane could be where the prophet knows it only cleaned. He would not budge. Everyone because G-d chooses to reveal it to him, tried to reason with him. First the stew­ the chacham knows it because he knows ardess, then the purser, ultimately the how G-d runs His world, knows the like­ pilot himself. What could be simpler? ly result of every cause, knows how every The plane must be cleaned; it can't be action, good or bad, is likely to be requit­ cleaned while he is in his seat, so could The Holocaust and Jewish Destiny, ed. Unlike the prophet who needs to be he step outside for just a moment? Rabbi Gershon Weiss, Feldheim Pub­ told, few I am sure, would lay claim to Please! He refused. He would not for any lishers, $39.95 the wisdom needed to read the future consideration set foot on that accursed from the present. But a "close reading" ground where the jackboots crashed. He All this I could have articulated of the past is another story. Interpreta­ was all for clean planes, but in this one before I picked up Rabbi Gershon tion is quite different from prediction. instance they would just have to clean Weiss's The Holocaust and Jewish Des­ The facts are given. We lack only an around him. And I, G-d help me, tiny, but it was never more than an intu­ appreciation of the dynamics and the change planes in Frankfurt without a ition. If I had been pressed, I would have relationships. pang, make travel plans through Vien­ been hard put to say what precisely it That is a pretty simple task. na, enjoy the politeness and the effi­ was for which I was groping. Or is it? As I was reading Rabbi ciency, smile back at the death-mask And now I have found it. Weiss's probing analysis of our tragedy, I found myself asking some uncom­ Rabbi Moshe Eisem~~n, a Rebbe in Yeshiva Ner ur prophets, whose task it had fortable questions. Why had it all Israel of Baltimore, is author of the translation been to interpret history for us, escaped me? Admittedly, I did not and commentary of the ArtScroll-Mesorah have been taken away. We live in know every single one of the facts which Yechezke~ Divrei Hayami111, and Iyov, and is a fre­ 0 quent contributor to these pages. a time of hester Panim, one in which G- he marshals in support of his ideas, and

34 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 my reading had been neither as wide nor Weiss has discovered and passes on to us him. With Yeshaya Hanavi (50,4), Rabbi as eclectic as had his. But still and all, the principles with which the Ribbono Weiss can say, "D'var Hashem Elokitn there was much that I knew, much that Shel Olam deals with - those who nasan Ii lashon limudim lad a' as la' aveis I had read. But I know that I could not bechol dor vador omdim aleinu lechalo­ es ya'ef,' which the Stone Tanach renders: have written this book, nor anything that seinu. With amazing insight and a high­ "My Lord Hashem!Elokim has granted would come even close to the profun­ ly sophisticated awareness of the currents me a tongue for teaching, to understand dity that punctuates and underlines and forces that helped us to study how, the need of the times in conveying mat­ every page. Hakadosh Baruch Hu matzileinu ters to those who thirst [for knowledge]." I got to thinking about Avraham and miyadam. This is limud Torah on a grand He has the skills- these were a gift that about Amos. scale - shemitoch kach atta makir es Mi G-d has granted him. He found the will she'amar Vehaya Ha'olam. to undertake this gargantuan task out efore the Ribbono Shel Olam of a sense of responsibility borne of an destroyed Sodom, He was deter­ e will derive the greatest ben­ appreciation of what he can do with Bmined to tell Avraham about it. efit from this book when we those freely bestowed talents. That is his There is no doubt that this was done in W realize that it is only the first own merit and we owe him our pro­ the spirit of Amos 3,7, "Ki lo ya'aseh of a projected three-volume series. We foundest gratitude. Hashem Elokim davar ki im galla sodo el will not demand that the every "i" be avadav hanevi'iln," G-d does nothing dotted, every "t" crossed, in this initial et us pray that this work will soon without first revealing His plans to His offering. Certainly, even after we have be dated and that it will gather servants, the prophets. Clearly the idea absorbed and internalized everything Ldust as, with Rabbi Elazar ben of informing the prophets of His pur­ that these fine essays have to teach us, Azariah, we will no longer say, "Hashem, pose is so that they can co1nmunicate it questions will remain. Above all, the Hashem asher he'eleh es bnei Yisroel to the people who would then be able dark mystery behind the loss of our six m'Eretz Mitzrayinz," but, "Hashem, to do that which the situation demand­ million remains untouched. In a sense, Hashem asher he'eleh va' asher heivi es ed. While Avraham did not have that we might even say that the insights pre­ zera beis Yisroel me'Eretz Tzafona umikol same function - he was not sent as a sented here sharpen the pain and lend ha'aratzos asher hedachtim sham." prophet to the people among whom he power and focus to our anguish. If G­ tlni' 't71N 11':1N'l 'Jl> Cl> Pln' '71N • dwelt - he nevertheless had a similar d was so near, why does He appear to task. "Le1na'an asher yitzaveh es banav us to have been so far? The urgency of ve'es beiso acharav:' he was to pass on his the Keili, Keili, lama azavtani is height­ HAT PLUS experiences and the knowledge that he ened because the hester Panim that pro­ Hats • Shirts • Ties • Accessories had gleaned from them, to his children vided the matrix which made it possi­ [R' David Tzvi Hoffman]. ble see1ns so incongruous when Your#l Stop G-d grants wisdom and insight to examined alongside the giluy Panim that for those who care profoundly enough to we are taught to recognize here. Quality Hats feel driven enough to save a benighted In the following two volumes, we will WE ALSO ORY CLEAN LARGEST SELECTION generation choking slowly but surely on not expect answers, but we need des­ & RESHAPE HATS OF CHOSONIM TIES IN its ignorance, cupidity and pitiful super­ perately to be told and taught how to live (All work done on premises} BROOKLYN ficiality. Most of us have become surfers Jewishly with questions. The projected 1368 Coney Island Avenue skimming effortlessly upon a smooth second volume is to be the Holocaust (7"18) 377-5050 surface of safe platitudes and certitudes Haggada, and it will amplify the pro­ Major credit cards accepted • We ship UPS without ever knowing, mud1 less caring, found insights contained in Part I of the about the roiling turbulences which lie present volume, Pharaoh's Holocaust. In The Once-in-a Lifetime Purchase just a little effort away. We just don't the third volume, Rabbi Weiss will that you should never have to use: know, and what is worse, we just don't teach us how we can deal with our nag­ care enough to think. ging questions in ways that will not only KAKKA IN Rabbi Weiss does, and here lies the leave our emuna intact, but that will secret of this remarkable book. strengthen it and leave us the better for BRETZ YISKOEL Whoever imagined that reading his­ our quest. tory could be such an adventure? The I have no doubt at all that this trilo­ Call Rabbi Gavriel Beer for braces and scaffulding that undergrid our gy is destined to become the definitive information on obtaining tragic and triumphant past are laid bare. work on history in general, and on the cemetery plots in Beth Shemesh Patterns are discerned, relationships Holocaust in particular, for any ehrlich­ and other locations in Israel. traced and run down. Grounded in the er Yid who loves the Ribbono Shel Olam paradigmatic Caius Mitzrayim, Rabbi and wants to learn what is expected of 011-972-2-656-9427

-··-----·------··------·--··----·--·------·--·· ------The Jewish Observer, January 2000 35 Rabbi Labish Becker

Discussion, the reader is reminded - sometimes more than once - to consult his s Rav for final rulings. Rather, the intent of this work is educational. Its purpose is to further the knowledge ofhalacha for English-speaking Jews. Each week, a topic or two is thoroughly explored and researched, enabling the The Weekly H ala cha Discussion, by reader to gain an understanding of the Rabbi Doniel Yehuda Neustadt, subject and allowing him to approach his Feldheim Publishers, Vol. I $ 17.95; Vol Rav equipped with the necessary knowl­ II $19.95 edge to ask an intelligent question and to comprehend and appreciate the answer. This is very important advice, not he WeeUy Halacha Discussion by low?" Parshas To/dos includes a section only for this sefer, but also for many Rabbi Doniel Yehuda Neustadt is entitled "Is it Ever Permitted to Lie?"; other halacha T a review of practical halachic top­ Miketz, "Honoring Parents, What is the anthologies. It is also advisable for ics, either directly related or alluded to Limit?" and "Refrigeration Problems the person who is reading these halachos in the sedra. The author has chosen top­ on Shabbos." This is just a sampling of to peruse them before reading them ics that are fascinating and timely, and more than forty discussions from Sefer aloud, as some of them are geared to a have the potential to generate much Bereishis alone. Indeed, the wide vari­ more adult readership. delightful giw-and-take at the Shabbos ety of topics, their practicality and their Undoubtedly, this sefer will be used table. interest-value sparked considerable over and over, to enhance many a A sample ,Jf topics and their relat­ spirited discussion at our Shabbos Shabbostable. B'ezras Hashem, these will ed stories entice the reader on. For table. be only the first of many similar volumes example, Parshas Bereishis deals with While important halachos are ana­ to come. • "Lighting the Shabbos Candles, Whose lyzed in a clear and cogent fashion, the Obligation i,, it?"; "Electric Shabbos author cautions: Candles, Are They Permitted?"; The intent of this work, both in the "Whose Custom Should the Wife Fol- weekly format and in its present book Rabbi Becker is J.ssociate Executive Director and form, was never to finalize halachic Director of Spec:al Projects of Agudath Israel of decisions on any given question. In each America. and every issue of The Weekly Halacha is looking for former students of Sarah Schnirer or students of her disciples who can recall details of the Bais Yaakov movement in Europe, If you or anyone you know can give For careful attention to your us information please calf evenings 7 - 10 PM individual needs, call us today! "8·998-8718 or "8·251·78711 (914) 354-8445 or "8·J75·2BS& Under the auspices of N'shei Agudah

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36 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 Yisroel Hisiger

child honor an abusive parent? 3) If mouth when he had a strong desire to a father's name is Abba, may the child smoke. address his father as Abba (father), Another brief story concerns the since one is not permitted to refer to respect for an aged mother shown by his/her father by his name? 4) May a the author of the Tzemach Tzaddik, Rav child have a beis din (Jewish Court) Menachem Mendel ofVizhnitz. He was sum1non his parent to a court case? 5) accustomed to having his mother safe­ May a husband tell his parents not to guard his money. Even in her old age, visit his ho1ne because such visits cause when he was her sole support, he would friction and enmity between the in­ come to her and ask for some money laws and daughter-in-law? 6)When to buy tabak (snuff tobacco). The won­ parents are divorced and one lives in derful feeling he gave his mother, to his mother's home, must he still show show that she was still needed, was his preference in kibbud av va'em to his way of honoring her. father? 7) Does ager (proselyte) have Needless to say, this book is a must The Fifth Commandment: Honoring to honor his biological parents? Does for every Jewish household. • Parents I Laws, Insights, Stories and a child born of a non-Jewish father and Ideas, Rabbi Moshe Lieber, Mesorah a Jewish mother have the obligation to Publications 1998, 220 pages, $18.99 honor his non-Jewish father? 8) If one is a baa[ teshuva) does he have to honor Digest of Meforshim his non-observant parents even if he Talmud (Kiddushin 3lb) they are halachically considered '>V1j77 in::i '>V1j77 quotes Rav Yochanan that one is resha'im (wicked)? 9) If parents exhib­ ';.-:n i:vv?N 'miol!! nn;io Tconsidered fortunate for having it anti-social behavior) e.g. being con­ 1\vailable at been born an orphan. Rav Yochanan's stantly drunk, how should children LEKUTE I father passed away before his birth and conduct themselves? What if the par­ (/o Yitzchok Rosenberg his mother while giving birth to him. So ents are emotionally disturbed? IO) JO West 47th Street, Roon1 503 difficult is it for an individual to fully May a dental hygienist clean his par· New York. NY 10036 observe the commandment to honor ents' teeth (out of concern that bleed­ (212) 719-1717 20 Volumes on Torah, Perek, Medrash, one's father and mother (kibbud av ing may occur)? Megilos, Talmud, and Tehilim. va'em) that he was looked upon as Every answer is footnoted with a "lucky." wealth of source material. Many of the Proceeds of sales distributed a1nong Yeshivos and used for reprinting of While not minimizing the difficulties halachic decisions came directly to the volu111es out-of-print inherent in kibbud av va'em, this com­ author from the renowned poseik PRICE: $8.00 PER VOLUME mandment is 1nade much easier to Hagaon Horav Y. S. Eliashev, N"1"':>w, observe if one is conversant in these hala­ while the author was working on this chos. We, therefore, owe a great debt of book in Yerushalayim on his sabbatical. thanks to Rabbi Moshe Lieber for pub­ Many questions that have impact on the lishing a veritable compendium of the relationship between parent and child Unde Moishy, halachos that are relevant to the obser­ require the counsel of a G-d-fearing Rav Mordechai Ben David, vance of this most important mitzva. In or Torah scholar who knows both the and other top-of-the-line addition, short anecdotal stories, which child and the family. provide much inspiration, are added to One of the vignettes presented in the Jewish entertainers give us a glimpse into the kibbud av va' em story section concerns Rabbi Boruch Ber are available of the greats of yesteryear. Leibowitz (Rosh HaYeshiva of Pre­ to visit A list of some of the issues dealt World War JI Kaminetz). Reb Boruch seriously ill with will give one a flavor of this vital Ber was seen at times with an unlit cig­ children work: I) Are adopted children oblig­ arette in his mouth. When asked to thanks 10 ated to honor their adoptive parents? explain this behavior, he said that bis mnnrn111 Do natural parents have to be fully father did not approve of his smoking. ~-:l.i'l'~'., n::i.rnn honored if they gave up their Each time he wished to smoke, he would AChessed project run by child(ren) for adoption? 2) Must a ask for his father's permission. Since his 'Agu4atb""""­ Isml OI Amttka • " in conjunct:km with · :. , j.: ,, ~ '-. Rabbi Hisige~· is the principal of the G~ner;i father passed away, he could no longer Suki & Ding Prudilt;:tlons i•- ,.,,, • " Studies Department of Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah obtain permission to s1noke, so he To set up an app01nttnent, tall: ,_ .. (212)797-9000 E>:t.42 • M·F, 9·5' - Te1nimah in Brooklyn would place art unlit cigarette in his

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 37

Confronting in the New Missionaries Millennium

he October issue of The Jewish Road, University Heights, Ohio 44118 Fax (212) 983-4084, 711 Third Avenue, Observer featured a discussion on USA Toll free: (877) ANTI-CULT, NY 10017 Jewish Heritage Center of Tthe scope of missionary plans to (800) 572-0372 Queens and Long Island: Jewish Her­ attempt to convert as many Jews as pos­ Derech Emes (for Russian-speaking itage Center, Anti-Missionary Division, sible to Christianity in honor of the Mil­ Jews) http://www.derechemet org/, (718) 68-29 Main Street, Kew Garden Hills, lennium. The articles by Yosef Israel and 707-7137, 1375 Coney Island Avenue, NY 11367, (718) 575-8700, (888) 4- Mark Powers highlighted counter-mis­ Suite 199, Brooklyn 11230, Judaism, Fax (718) 575-2728, sionary efforts by Yad tAchim in Israel [email protected] [email protected] and Jews For Judaism. Below the reader Jews for Judaism: http://www.jewsfor­ Anti-Missionaries on the Web: can find a more comprehensive list of judaism.org/ http://jibp.israel.net/ (English-speak­ experienced help against missionary California: (310) 854-3381,Fax (310) ing Israelis) cults. Their representatives are available 854-3662,POB 351235, Los Angeles, CA htto://yucs.org/-nulVderechemet/ (for to speak at local synagogues, Jewish com­ 90035 Russians; will be replaced by munity centers and Jewish student clubs. Canada: (905) 761-0040, Fax derechemet.org) Outreach Judaism: http://www.out­ (905)761-0070, toronto@jewsforju­ http://members.aol.com/torahyid/ (a reachjudaism.org/ daism.orn, 2795 Bathurst Street, Box good amatuer anti-missionary activist) California: POB 17518 Long Beach 41032, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6B http://www.drazin.com/ (read an anti­ CA, 90807 (562) 988-8533 4/6 missionary book for free on the web) [email protected] Florida: (407) 841-5397 htto://www.ou.org/oupr/j4jdeaf98.htm New York: (914) 356-2730, (914) Illinois: ( 630) 415-187 4 (deaf anti-missionary TTY ( 410 769- 356-1915, [email protected], Out­ JCRC Task Force: http://www.tforce.org/ 3786 (212) 613-8321 or, email Dkas­ reach l [email protected] POB 789, Monsey, NY New York: (212) 983-4800 ext 127, [email protected]) 10952 Texas: (972) 267-8744, POB 200214 Arlington, TX 76006 Torah Life and Living: http://www.tll.org/ Canada: (905) 709-6183, Fax ( 416 )250-6663, [email protected] Personal responsibility throughout service - NOT ]USI' "PAPERWORK" Florida: (305) 651-1426, Fax (305) ORIGINATOR OF THE PRESENT RABBINICALLY APPROVED METHOD 651-1429,[email protected], 17455 N. Highly recommended by Gedolai Hador- Here and in Eretz Yisrael E. 6•h Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL 1043-42nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219 33162 Georgia: (404) 982-1530, Fax (404) Day&N".glttphone: (718) 851-8925 634-3093 )))t7'0N1~0Nj1 ))l"i' - J'"T::l 1Nl mo~)) 'll~ 0..00 !be! &llES Md! M

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 39 CHEVRA OSEH CHESED OF AGUDATH ISRAEL BURIAi. PLOTS IN ERETZ YISROEI. Interment in a Shother Shabbos Beis Olam near Beis Shemesh Please phone Or write to: "I'M JUST A MOTHER"! of Child Development and Human Chevra Oseh Chesed of Agudath Israel Relations." 84 William Stroot;Now York, NY IOD38 To The Editor: "The Clerk paused, ball-point pen (212) 797-9000 Your Symposium on "Priorities and frozen in mid-air, and looked up as Choices: Women in the Torah Society" though she had not heard right. I (June '99) and then the Readers' Forum repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the that followed (Dec. '99) helped me most significant words. Then I stared appreciate the following essay that was with wonder as my pompous pro­ circulated in our community. I hope you nouncement was written in bold, black find it worthy of publication. ink on the official questionnaire. ROCHEL GROSS "Might I ask;' said the clerk with new Brooklyn interest, "just what you do in your field?" Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my ew months ago, when I was voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a con­ picking up the children at school, tinuing program of research (which AJ nother mother I knew well mother doesn't!): in the laboratory and rushed up to me. Emily was fuming with in the field (normally, I would have said indignation. "Do you know what you indoors and out). I'm working for my and I are?" she demanded. Before I could Masters (the whole family) and already answer - and I didn't really have one have four credits (all daughters). Of handy - she blurted out the reason for course, the job is one of the most MEHL CATERERS her question. demanding in the humanities (any It seemed she had just returned from mother care to disagree?) and I often Is Pleased To renewing her driver's license at the work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). County Clerk's office. Asked by the But the job is more challenging than Announce woman recorder to state her "occupa­ most run-of-the-mill careers and the That We Are tion;' Emily hesitated, uncertain how to rewards are in satisfaction rather than classify herself. "What I mean is;' just money." Accepting Bookings explained the recorder, "do you have a There was an increasing note of job, or are you just a .... ?" respect in the clerk's voice as she com­ For Your Simchas "Of course I have a job;' snapped pleted the form, stood up, and person­ Emily. "I'm a mother." ally ushered me to the door. As I drove fP===== "We don't list 'mother' as an occu­ into our driveway, buoyed up by my pation - 'housewife' covers it," said the glamorous new career, I was greeted by Terrace On The Park recorder emphatically. my lab assistants- ages 13, 7, and 3. And Mehl Caterers I forgot all about he.r story until one upstairs, I could hear our new experi­ NIW Award Winning Chefs Fta/11ring No"'elh Cuisint day I found myself in the same situation, mental model (six months) in the child­ Wrlh Tradilional r- this time at our own Town Hall. The development program, testing out a new Clerk was obviously a career woman, vocal pattern. Now With Largest Dance Floor In N. Y.C. poised, efficient, and possessed of a high­ I felt triumphant. I had scored a beat Chtck our ZSlh AnnivmOJY SptciD! Pri

40 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 our past (do I really want my students who might be reading this to know that I'm a BT?), and are embarrassed when awkward situations arise (You're from [name of town]? You must know my ... ). Each new stage our children progress to is brand new to us. We're concerned over how our past affects our children - and pray that it won't hinder them when it comes to shidduchim. Most of all, we look with longing at our neigh­ bors' network of family- who provide is a true chessed and I hope I offer back support, advice, role models and togeth­ FROM A BAAL TESHUVA'S to other ba'alei teshuva all that great lis­ erness on Yam Tov and simchos. It pains PERSPECTIVE: FACING "THE BIG ONE" tening and"Oh dear;'"how challenging" us tremendously to see the problems in (and the like) comments which are still the community that we sacrificed so To the Editor: so golden to me. much to join. Perhaps most painful, In response to "Silent Anguish, Tan­ NAME WITHHELD UPON REQUEST though, is that Torah is no longer fresh gible Growth" (JO Oct. '99), I would like and exciting to us - and we too strug­ to add the following: THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS ARE THE gle to maintain our enthusiasm and Being a ba'alas teshuva for over a HARDEST kavana. decade now, I am grateful to the fami­ lies who showed me so much uncondi­ To the Editor: tional warmth. As a baalas teshuva, I can certainly What I imagined to be my most dif­ empathize with Mrs. Ross's struggles. ficult challenges, however, were peanuts I'm happy to inform her that from the compared to The Big One. What's this, twenty-year mark, it has become much you ask? Well, I was certain covering my easier. By now (speaking for my husband hair upon marriage would be the height and me - and a general feeling I get from of it. Then, I discovered I wouldn't be my friends), we know how to keep Shab­ permitted to make my melodious voice bos, kashrus, etc., and basically found our heard if men were within earshot. place. True, we often discover new Finally, when I was told that I could no halachos and inyanim, but I notice that • MAXIMIZE YOllR CHILD'S PoTENTIAL longer shake hands or even give a plu­ • P/?IVATE SESSIONS AVAILABLE ON All my FFB friends also do. I can hold my GI/ADE LEVELS IN HEBREW AND fNGUSH tonic hug to the other gender, I was own in a halacha and hashkafa discus­ • LEARNING IN A FUN ATMOSPHERE ready to drop the whole thing. (Isn't it sion. The problems with our families are • CLASSES G1VEN AmR Sc//00/. nice ofil":Jj/i'l to introduce these one bite still there - but we've also learned to deal • SEPAi/ATE CLASSES FOR GIRLS ' BOYS at a time?) But, as you so beautifully put with each other. My neighbors accept me For More Information it, "Once you know the emes, you can­ as one of them. Although I think that Call Mrs. Schonfeld not go back:' it is written across my face that I'm a BT, (718) 376-5545 So what is The Big One - the real I know that in reality, I have blended in, clincher? I still suffer with it today: and if I didn't mention it, no one would I can never, ever complain to even my know my background. closest and most supportive relatives or I think our uneasiness now stems 1" Invei frei friends about even small challenges from being immigrants in the "land of because they will believe any suffering Torah." We've acclimated in so many 8~"( Hagefen is due to my inconvenient and oppres­ ways, but there's the lurking awareness ~C,S(r sive lifestyle. that we're not"native born" and perhaps (('~(.. ( The Shidduch service This is why I believe your series of will never completely assimilate into the C...1,.l for older singles articles is so crucial. If I want to "kvetch;' frum society. As my friend put it: "Once lL A project of N'shei I have to hold my breath until I'm off a green-horn, always a green-horn," and Agudath Israel with the phone with my parents/sisters/bud­ perhaps our difficulties are no different Agudath Israel of America dies from childhood. than those of any other type of immi­ 6619 13th Avenue. Brooklyn, NY ll219 Having mentors and friends who care grant. We wonder, though, when to hide Tel. (718) 256-7525 •Fax (718) 256-7578

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 41 With all this said, though, being a BT lions, it makes her look more trust­ tant to remember that although we are has become easier with time. My every­ worthy. As far as I can tell, pursuit of the ones who look to the FFBs for help day struggles are very similar to every­ knowledge, from any standpoint, is and guidance, there is much they could one else's. I've grown to realize that highly valued by thinking Jews. learn from us too! everyone, regardless of their back­ My experience is that intellectually MRS. F. JANE MENCHEL ground, has their nisyonos too. Mine honest Jews enjoy the company of Baltimore, MD have been made easier by including ba'alei teshuva. They are intrigued by the amongst my friends other baalei teshu­ sincerity and enthusiasm they display. ATTRACTING POTENTIAL va with whom I can share, and even They respect the decision to choose BA'ALEI TESHUVA WITH laugh over, our experiences; wonderful frumkeit and the struggles it entails. If ATTRACTIVE BEHAVIOR neighbors; and a special family who've you find yourself in the company of peo­ adopted us into theirs. I'm grateful for ple that look down on ba'alei teshuva, To the Editor: the zechus to be maser nefesh for Hashem first question if this attitude is real or I very much enjoyed the article in the and His Torah. I thank Hashem for perceived. October, 1999 JO by Leah Ross regard­ opening my eyes, and for children to There are so many ba' alei teshuva ing ba'alei teshuva. As a ger who has pass His Torah on to. To see our sons at nowadays, there is no need to feel iso­ been a frum Jew for 22 years, I found the their bar mitzva, following in the path lated. just imagine. If all of the ba' alei article refreshing and Jong overdue. that we have chosen, has made it all teshuva in the world somehow rn evap­ I would just like to add one brief com­ worthwhile. orate for a day, there would be many ment. To all those [rum people who sin­ CHAYKA R. prominent people missing. Teachers, cerely want to somehow be involved in City Withheld By REquest Rebbe'im, principals would be absent. kiruv rechokim, I have one simple piece Neighborhood streets teeming with of advice: be nice to people. That's all. I GROWTH WITHOUT ANGUISH children would all of a sudden be firmly believe that if every [rum Jew quiet. Many spouses of FFB's would not would be a model of courtesy and hon­ To the Editor: be there. We are a significant presence. esty, so many ba'alei teshuva would come I read Mrs. Ross's article, "Silent This is something to be proud of! we wouldn't know where to put them all. Anguish, Tangible Growth (Oct. With reference to the relationship of This would be the most devastating blow '99);'with great interest, but I must say ba'alei teshuva with non-religious par­ possible to the Reform movement, the that it saddened me. As she describes ents and siblings, I admit that this can missionaries, the Israeli leftists, etc., etc. her "climb" to Yiddishkeit and compares be a daunting challenge. It is important If we are attractive people, people will it to climbing Mt. Everest, I can't help to note that mostly, what these rela­ be attracted. On the other hand, if we but feel that she's painted a bleak pic­ tionships require is time. Any Jew who are not attracting people to Yiddishkeit, ture. sincerely tries to apply the halachos of maybe we need to take a Jong, hard look Granted, many of the struggles kibbud av va'eim should eventually see in the mirror and contemplate why. you've encountered are greater because improvement in the quality of their I personally know of one ba'al teshu­ you chose to become frum after mar­ parental relationships. In addition, va in Israel who was raised in a very lib­ riage and children, which limited your when the family sees the consistency and eral, secular environment. At one point time for learning and possibly threw you sincerity over many years, they can not he was even considering conversion to into more awkward situations. Many of help but see the positive effect their Christianity, G-d forbid. He became your examples, though, could be ame­ child's choice has made. One should frum because during his army service he liorated by a change in perspective. also note that being FFB (for Jack of a was once stationed at a remote outpost First, the fact that you chose to better term) does not automatically with a religious Jewish soldier and he change your whole life around and con­ exempt one from strained parental noticed that this soldier really cared stantly seek to gain knowledge is a badge relationships. about other people. That's all, no big of honor. The case of the "nationally The loneliness you describe is a very speeches or pressure, just simple chessed recognized" surgeon perplexes me. Why real issue. Again, this takes time. When and derech eretz. This touched my friend couldn't he just whisper to one person, n"~K your children are grown and mar­ and he began returning to his roots. "What's happening now?" I have found ried, you will be the Bubby whose house Today, this man is a great ta/mid that most people are very willing to give is kosher for them, whose home is avail­ chacham who knows Shas and has a helpful information. able for Shabbos and Pesach. Look large family. I don't think the religious As far as the woman who was afraid what you will have done for them! soldier is even aware of what he brought to learn more about Shabbos because she Ba'alei teshuva come from all walks about. Can we imagine what effect true, thought people would no longer eat in of life and have injected all of their tal­ sincere mentschlichkeit can have? her home; I think the answer to her fears ents, skills and refreshing perspectives YAAKOV STEIN is that because she asks so many ques- into the frum community. It is impor- Monsey, NY

42 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 THANKS FOR the conversation. Yanky was quiet and EDITOR'S NOTES: "CHILDREN ON THE FRINGE ... " serious. After a few minutes, Yanky • In Rabbi Hillel Goldberg's review of pulled on the hood of his sweatshirt to Reh Elyah: the Life and Accomplishments (The November '99 special issue of The cover his head. (I noticed but didn't of Rabbi Elyah Lopian, by David ). Jewish Observer, devoted exclusively to react.) He joined the conversation and Schlossberg (Dec. '99), some relevant "Children on the Fringe ... and Beyond," smiled more. A few minutes later, we information was omitted. The book was attracted an extraordinary amount of said good night. All three boys said they published by Mesorah Publications, attention. Inspiring an unusual flow of would keep in touch. and is priced at HC $21.99 I PB $18.99. calls and letters to the editorial offices of I was so impressed with Yanky. He • The photographs on pages 39 and the magazine, the articles provoked a doesn't know me from a hole in the wall, 69 of the November issue of The Jew­ remarkable response ofappreciation and yet he did something "Jewish" on his ish Observer on "Children on the com1nent. own out of respect for Yiddishkeit. Fringe" were of conventional yeshiva A selection of the letters, accompanied It's so easy. All it takes is caring about scenes, not directly related to the prob­ by several follow-up articles will be fea­ these kids' feelings and treating them like lems discussed in the text. tured in a forthcoming issue. One of the mentschen. Rabbi Mitnick's and Rabbi many letters appears below. The author Horowitz's articles are a powerhouse of and her fantily are active members of one knowledge and insight, and should be of Brooklyn's leading Chassidic commu­ used as a remedy to return our children nities; their name is withheld out ofrespect to our Torah which they so desperate­ for their privacy. - Editor) ly want - despite the way they look and Brooklyn NY 112 18 act. The way the boys act out is a cry for To the Editor: help and recognition. Rabbi Mitnick's We make "housecalls" Thank you for the chessed that you and Rabbi Horowitz's methods will (718) 972-4003 are doing with The Jewish Observer Spe­ make them - our children - frum :i-~.,t>t­ cial Issue, "Children On the Fringe ... bachurim, with Hashem's help. .,b::ltvllllilllll And Beyond" .... The articles in the issue NAME WITHHELD By REQUEST are informative, painful, and thought­ provoking. r.------~ Rabbi Yakov Horowitz and Rabbi I I Yitzchok Mitnick are two wonderful ARE You Mov1Nc? people who have had a very strong I I impact on our lives. With Hashem's help, I IS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PRINTED I they were and are able to guide us and I INCORRECTLY ON THE JO MAILING LABEL? I our precious son. Baruch Hashem we are We need your help to ensure proper delivery of the Jewish Observer to your home. beginning to see the light at the end of I Please attach current mailing label in the space below, or print clearly your address and I a very long and treacherous tunnel. The I computer processing numbers that are printed above your name on the address label. I journey was filled with very painful episodes. We still need a tremendous I I amount of Siyata Dishmaya. I I Rabbi Mitnick's article, "An Unortho­ I Affix old label here I dox Approach for the Orthodox Teen;' proves to be a "Do-It-Yourself Soul I I Repair:' At 11 p.m. on a cold Tuesday I Name ______I night, I met three boys inside a local I Boro Park !3•h Avenue hangout. Two of New Address ______I the boys are my son's friends. The third I I boy, Yanky, was new to me. He wasn't I City, I wearing a yarmulke. The other boys were State, ______.Zip wearing baseball caps. I had just finished I I Date Effective ______reading Rabbi Mitnick's article a couple I I of hours earlier, so it was fresh in 1ny I Send address changes to: The Jewish Observer Change of Address I mind. I chatted with the boys for a few 84 William Street, New York, NY 10038 minutes. Nothing heavy, no preaching, I Please allov,i 4·6 weeks for all changes to be reflected on your mailing la.be!. We will not be I and no "Here goes my chessed project" I responsible for back issues missed unless you notify us 6 weeks prior to your move. I attitude. I tried to include everyone in

------.. ---·.. -- .. --··----L------~....·----·----·-----.-- ..·-----··-- ...·---- The Jewish Observer, January 2000 43 INDEX TO ARTICLES The Jewish Observer Volume XXXII Nos. 1 - 10

SUBJECTS on the Educator's Responsibility to the Weak and Salomon N"'\717v, Jan. '99; All Roads Lead to Wayward Student/Rabbi Zvi Yabrov, Nov. '99; A Rome/Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair, Jan. '99; Agudath Israel Agudath Israel of An1erica: A Move­ Teacher's List of Do's (not Don'ts!)/Mrs. Rochel Purim and Prayer/Jere1ny Kagan, Feb. '99;A Sum­ ment With a Historic Mission/ Rabbi Yaakov Per­ Leah Frankel, Nov. '99; Of Growth and Belong­ mons to Identify With Our Brethren in Eretz Yis­ low N:"~, Jan. '99; The Past as a Guide For the ing/Rabbi Abron Kaufinan, Nov. '99; The TOVA roel... A Call to Tefilla/Rabbi Aharon Moshe Future/Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon N:~, Jan. Program - Adding to the Full Vessel/Dr. Norman Schechter N'"'\717v, Mar. '99; The Work of iv1y '99; We Never Met, Yet I Know Him So Well: Reb N. Blumenthal, Nov. '99 Hands (Pesach)/Rabbi YaakovShlomo Weinberg, Elimelech Tress 7"Yl'/Elimelech Meisels, June '99 Communication C..ommon Language, o"h/Rabbi Avi Mar. '99; Sefira and What it Counts For/Rabbi Baal Teshuva Silent Anguish, Tangible Growth/Leah Shafran, Dec. '99 Aaron Lopiansky, Apr. '99; Shavuos Ross, Oct '99; Enemy Lines/Pnuel Peri, Dec. '99 Continuity Bringing Wall Street Wisdom to the Quest Odyssey/Baruch Leff, Apr. '99; Breaking Down the BeisDin The Secular Enforceability of a Reis Din Judg­ for Continuity (SL)/Rabbi Avi Shafran, Jan. '99; Walls: The Avodaof Tisha B'Av!FyveJ Shuster, June ment/Shlomo Chaim Resnicoff, Oct. '99 The Jewish People: Firmly United or Almost '99; Living on the Edge/Rabbi Fyvel Shuster, Sept. Biography Rebbetzin Tzila Sorotzkin r1"l'/Joseph Untied? (SL)/Eytan Ehrbach, Sept '99 '99; On Being Second Best/Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo Friedenson (translated by So rah Shapiro), Jan. '99 Day School Movement "Dr. Joe, We Owe You ... " Weinberg, Sept. '99; Torah: Our Source of Values Books Book Shopping and Passport Control/Nissan Remembering Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky 7'1/Yona­ For Ethical Living/Rabbi Yaakov Perlow N'"'\717v, Wolpin, May '99 son Rosenblum, Apr. '99; Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky, Sept. '99; Bechira!Freedom of Choice and Psy­ Books in Review Torah Patterns - The Magnificent A Personal Rernembrance/Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, chology/Rabbi Joseph Elias, Nov. '99; The Unity of Jewish Life And Thought/Labish Becker, Apr. '99 Unsmooth Blend-And Worse/Yud Pnini, Dec. '99; Jan. '99; The Committed Life/Rabbi Nosson Scher­ Discipline "Spare the Rod" - Please!/Rabbi Mordechai Chanuka and Snow/Rabbi Baruch Leff, Dec. '99; man, Jan. '99; ('_,0mpassion jOr Humanity in the Jew­ Finkelman, May '99 '00/Rabbi Shlomo M. Breslauer, Dec. '99 ish Tradition! A. Y. Bookspan, Jan. '99; Cactus Blos­ Family Next Year In????(SL)/Rabbi Yak.ov Horowitz, Hatzolah Portrait of an Ish Hachessed: Reh Luzer Brodt soms/Lisa M. Herman, Feb. '99; Tomorrow May Be Mar.'99 7"l/Chaim Kuperwasser, Dec. '99 Too Late/M. Lisa Herman, Mar. '99; Passionate Festivals and Fast Days Purim and Prayer/Jeremy History Titanic Lessons/Yaak.ov Astor, May '99; Tach Judaism/Rabbi Labish Becker, Apr. '99; Of Parents Kagan, Feb. '99; The Work of My Hands V' 1i1t/Mrs. Miriam Margoshes, June '99; We Never and Penguins!Ra.bbi Aaron Brafman, Sept. '99; Reh (Pesach)/Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo Weinberg, Mar. '99; Met Yet I Know Him So Well: Reb Elimelech Tress Elyah/Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, Dec. '99 Sefira and What it Counts For/Rabbi Aaron Lop­ 7"Y'r/Elimelech Meisels, June '99 Business Ethics Torah: Our Source of Values For Eth­ i~sky,Apr. '99; Shavuos Odyssey/Boruch Leff, Apr. Holocaust (see WWII) ical Living/Rabbi Yaakov PerlowN'°""7v, Oct. '99; '99; Breaking Down the Walls: The Avoda of Tisha Human Personality The Elements of Ego/Matis Employer-Employee Relationships in B'Av!Fyvel Shuster, June '99; Chanuka and Roberts, Apr. '99 Halacha/Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaun1, Oct. '99; Snow/Rabbi Baruch Leff, Dec. '99 Image Postcards From the Edge/Eytan Ehrbach, May Modern Business and the Prohibition Against Rib­ Guidance A Teacher's List of Do's (not Don't.~!)/Mrs. '99 bis/Rabbi Moshe Silberberg, Oct. '99 Rochel Leah Frankel, Nov. '99; Of Growth and Internet Can You Avoid Getting Caught in the British Jewry Lord Jakobovits 7"l of Regents Belonging/Rabbi Abron Kautinan, Nov. '99; The Net?/Rabbi Tzvi Black, Apr. '99 Park/Rabbi Nosson Scherman, Dec. '99 ''At-Risk Child": Early Identification and Inter­ Interpersonal Relations Sometimes We Forget/Rabbi Camping"Is This Your Son's Cloak?" A \i\Tord on Color vention/David Pelcovitz, and Rabbi Shimon Rus­ Dov Lipman, Jan. '99; What a Hard Life!/Chana War Breakout.~/Avraham Steinberg, June '99 sel, Nov. '99; ; Making Our "Bayis" a Mobile Galandauer, Sept. '99; Imbuing all the Hours of the Character Development Developing Middos. Learned Home/Mrs. Devorah Greenblatt, Nov. '99; Report Day with Sanctity/Rabbi Boruch Hirschfeld, Oct or Experienced?/Bentzion Sorotzkin, May '99; Liv­ Fron1 Ground Zero/Rabbi Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, '99; Silent Anguish, Tangible Growth/Leah Ross, ing on the Edge/Rabbi Fyvel Shuster, Sept. '99; Mus­ Nov. '99; Bechira/Freedom of Choice and Psy­ Oct. '99 sar Revisited/Rabbi Matis Roberts, Sept '99 chology/Rabbi Joseph Elias, Nov. '99; Helping the Interview Dealing with the Dilemmas of Kids-At­ ChessedPortrait of an Ish Hachessed: Reb Luzer Brodt "At-Risk Child" /Dr. Norman N. Blumenthal and Risk/Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky N'°""7v, Nov. '99 7"7/Chaim KupeI"\'lasser, Dec. '99 Rabbi Shimon Russell, Nov. '99; When Conven­ Israel: Judiciary The Israeli Supreme Court Against Children "My Son/My Daughter, the tional Parenting Is Not Enough/Zal1nan Lachman, Democracy/Yonason Rosenblum, Mar. '99; The Schnorrer"/Eliyahu Mayer, Mar. '99; "My Son/My Nov. '99; Buying Tin1e/Rabbi Michael Levy, Nov. Arrogance of Israel's Elites/Yonason Rosenbhun, Daughter the Tzeddaka Gabbai/Nisson Wolpin, '99; An Unorthodox Approach for the Orthodox Dec. '99 Mar. '99; Developing Middos. Learned or Experi­ Teen/Rabbi Yitzchok Mitnick, Nov. '99 Israel: Media The Arrogance of Israel's Elites/Yonason enced?/Bentzion Sorotzkin, May '99; "Spare the Halacha A Time to Keep Silent, A Time to Rosenblum, Dec. '99 Rod" - Please!/Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman, May Speak/Chana Nestlebaun1, Feb. '99; Torah: Our Israel: Politics Avoiding the Trap of Mutual Animos­ '99; Readers' Forum, May '99; "Is This Your Son's Source of Values For Ethical Living/Rabbi Yaakov ity/Rabbi YosefHarari-Raful, Feb. '99; The Onus Cloak?" A Word on Color War Breakouts/Avra­ Perlow N"'\.?'l?v, Sept. '99; Employer - Employ­ is On Us ... Overtones and Undercurrents/Rabbi ham Steinberg, June '99 ee Relationships in Halacha/Rabbi Noach Isaac Zev Leff, Feb. '99; The State of the State at Fift-y­ Children At Risk Letters, Feb. '99; Letters, Apr. '99; entire Oelbaum, Oct. '99; ln1buing all the Hours of the Plus/Rabbi Shlomo Aschkenazy, May '99; Politics Nov. '99 issue, devoted to "Children on the Day with Sanctity/Rabbi Boru ch Hirschfeld, Oct. and Divine Messages/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klug­ Fringe ... And Beyond.'' '99; Modern Business and the Prohibition Against man, June '99; The Arrogance of Israel's Chinuch (Education) "My Son/My Daughter, the Ribbis/Rabbi Moshe Silberberg, Oct. '99; The Sec­ Elites/Yonason Rosenblum, Dec. '99 Schnorre-?' /Eliyahu Mayer, Mar. '99; "My Son/My ular Enforceability of a Reis Din Judgment/Shlo­ Israel: Religion Avoiding the Trap of Mutual Ani·· Daughter the Tzeddaka Gabbai!Nisson Wolpin, mo Chain1 Resnicoff, Oct. '99 mosity/Rabbi Yosef Harari~Raful, Feb. '99; The Mar. '99; Developing Mid.dos: Learned or Experi­ Hashkafa (Torah Philosophy) Agudath Israel of Onus is On Us... Overtones and Undercur­ enced?/Bentzion Sorotzkin, May '99; "Spare the America: A Move1nent With a Historic Mis­ rents/Rabbi Zev Leff, Feb. '99; Of Scrolls and Rod" - Please!/Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman, May sion/Rabbi Yaakov Perlow N"~, Jan. '99; The Souis/Rabbi Shmuel Dishon, Feb. '99; The Media '99; Readers' Forum, May '99; The Chawn Ish ?'';l? Past as a Guide For the Future/Rabbi Matisyahu Battleground: In1age Versus Essence/Yonason

44 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 Rosenblum, Feb. '99;A Summons to Identify With Outreach (Kirnv) Masked Jew (SL)/Pnuel Peri, Jan. '99; ln????(SL)/Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Mar. '99; ''My Our Brethren in Eretz Yisroel.. A Call to Of Scrolls and Souls/Rabbi Shmuel Dishon, Feb. Son/My Daughter, the Schnorrei' /Eliyahu Mayer, Tefilla/Rabbi Aharon Moshe Schechter ~"P'?w, '99; Honoring Reb Yaakov's Legacy/Esther Bran­ Mar. '99; "My Son/My Daughter the Tzeddaka Gab­ Mar. '99; The Israeli Supreme Court Against der, Feb. '99; Silent Anguish, Tangible Growth/Leah bai!Nisson Wolpin, Mar. '99; Can You Avoid Get­ Democracy/Yonason Rosenblum, Mar. '99; The Ross, Oct. '99 ting Caught in the Net?/Rabbi Tzvi Black, Apr. '99; State of the State at Fifty~Plus/Rabbi Shlomo Parenting Developing Middos. Learned or Experi­ Book Shopping and Passport C-OntroVNisson Aschkenazy, May '99; Politics and Divine Mes­ enced?/Bentzion Sorotzkin, May '99; Thoughts of Wolpin, May '99; Readers' Forum, May '99; "Is This sages/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, June '99; The a Mother/ Anonymous, Nov. '99; Basic Principles Your Son's Cloak?" A Word on Color War Break­ Arrogance of Israel's Elites/Yonason Rosenblum, of Parenting/Rabbi Shlo1no Wolbe N"'0'7w, outs/ Avraharn Steinberg, June '99; Brother, Can You Dec. '99 Rabbi Leib Keleman (translator), Nov. '99; Deal­ Spare Son1e Pain?/Dovid Hofstedter, Sept. '99; Israel: Students Can "Doing Their Year" in Israel Do ing with the Dilemmas of Kids-At-Risk/Rabbi What a Hard Life!/Chana Galandauer, Sept. '99; Them In~/Yeshara Gold, Nov. '99 Shmuel Kamenetsky N"P'?v, Nov. '99; ; Making An Open Letter to My Single Friends/ Anonymous, Jews From the Former USSR Honoring Reb Yaakov's Our"BayiS' a Mobile Home/Mrs. Devorah Green­ Sept. '99; Imbuing all the Hours of the Day with Legacy/Esther Brander, Feb. '99; Coming Home blatt, Nov. '99; Report From Ground Zero/Rabbi Sanctity/Rabbi Boru ch Hirschfeld, Oct. '99; Co1n­ to Yiddishkeit/Esther Brander, Feb. '99; Develop­ Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Nov. '99; When Conven­ mon Language, o"h/Rabbi Avi Shafran, Dec. '99 ing Leaders for the lmn1igrant Community/Malky tional Parenting Is Not Enough/Zalman Lachman, Therapy Helping the"At-Risk Child"/Dr. Norman N. Lowingcr, Feb. '99; Walking Home/Yisroel M. Nov. '99; Buying Time/Rabbi Michael Levy, Nov. Blumenthal and Rabbi Shimon Russell, Nov. '99 Muller, Dec. '99 '99; "Hereby Resolved ... " /Dr. Jerry Lob, Nov. '99 Time Management On Being Second Best/Rabbi Jews in Israel The Poverty of the Rich/Pnuel Peri, May Personalities Rebbetzin Tzila Sorotzkin il"))/Joseph Yaakov Shloino Weinberg, Sept. '99 '99 Friedenson (translated by So rah Shapiro), Jan. '99; Torah Dissemination All Roads Lead to Rome/Rabbi Jews in USA Masked Jew (SL)/Pnuel Peri, Jan. '99; Mashgiach From a Previous Generation: Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair, Jan. '99; Honoring Reb Bringing Wall Street Wisdom to the Quest for O::m­ Nosson Meir Wachtfogel ?"~/Heshy Arem, Apr. Yaakov's Legacy/Esther Brander, Feb. '99; Coming tinuity (SL)/RabbiAvi Shafran, Jan. '99; "Dr. Joe, '99; "Dr. Joe, We Owe You ... " Remembering Dr. Home to Yiddishkeit/Esther Brander, Feb. '99; We Owe You ... " Remembering Dr. Joseph Joseph Kaminetsky?i/Yonason Rosenblum, Apr. Developing Leaders for the linn1igrant Commu~ Kaminetsky ?''l'/Yonason Rosenblum, Apr. '99; We '99; Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky, A Personal Remem­ nity/Malky Lowinger, Feb. '99; Encountering the Never Met Yet I Know Him So Well: Reb E!imclech brance/Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, Apr. '99; An Appre­ "Image" of l\1oshe Rabbeinu (SL)/Nisson Wolpin, Tress 7"~/FJimelech Meisels, June '99; Rabbi ciation of the Mashgiach Rabbi Yechezkel Leven­ Feb. '99 Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg ?"::n/Rabbi Shefte! stein 7'i71Yl/Rabbi Chaim Ginsburg and Rabbi Translation and Adaptation Rosh Hashana in Gehin­ Meir Neuberger, Sept. '99 Yitzchok Kasnett, May '99; We Never Met Yet I nom,Auschwitz, 1944/Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Meisels Law The Secular Enforceability of a Beis Din Judg­ Know Him So Well: Reh Elimelech Tress '7"~, Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer (translator), ment/Shlomo Chaim Resnicoff, Oct. '99; Portrait ?~/Elimelech Meisels, June '99; Rabbi Shmuel Sept. '99; The Chazon Ish ?"~on the Educator's of an Jsh Hachessed: Reb Luzer Brodt ?"t/Chaim Yaakov Weinberg ?'~/Rabbi Shefte] Meir Neu­ Responsibility to the Weak and Wayward Stu­ Kuperwasser, Dec. '99 berger, Sept. '99; Lord Jakobovits ?i of Regents dent/Rabbi Zvi Yabrov, Nov. '99; Basic Principles Media All Roads Lead to Rome/Rabbi Yaakov Asher Park/Rabbi Nosson Scherman, Dec. '99; Portrait of Parenting/Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe N""'7\?J, Sinclair, Jan. '99; The Media Battleground: Image of an !sh Hachessed: Reb Luzer Brodt ?"t/Chaim Rabbi Leib Keleman (translator), Nov. '99 Versus Essence/Yonason Rosenblum, Feb. '99; Kupenvasser, Dec. '99 Tzeddaka (Charity) "My Son/My Daughter, the Encountering the "ln1age" of Moshe Rabbeinu Philanthropy Bringing Wall Street Wisdom to the Schnorrer" /Eliyahu Mayer, Mar. '99; "My Son/My (SL)/Nisson Wolpin, Feb. '99; Letters, Mar. '99; Mes­ Quest for Continuity (SL)/Rabbi Avi Shafran, Jan. Daughter the Tzeddaka Gabbai!Nisson \Volpin, sage In a Bottle/Rabbi Avi Shafran, Apr. '99 '99 Mar. '99; Readers' Forum, May'99 Middos {Human Character) Brother, Can You Spare Pluralism The Media Battleground: Image Versus Unity The Jewish People: Firmly United or Almost Some Pain?/Dovid Hofstedter, Sept. '99 Essence/Yonason Rosenblwn, Feb. '99; A Summons Untied? (SL)/Eytan Ehrbach, Sept. '99 Millennium Are We Prepared for the Year 2000?/Yosef to Identify With Our Brethren in Eretz Yisroel. .. Women Injecting the"Extra" into the Ordinary/Mrs. Israel, Oct. '99; '00/Rabbi Shlomo M. Breslauer, A Call to Tefi/la/Rabbi Aharon Moshe Schechter Blimi Birnbaum, June '99; Encounters That Made Dec. '99 ~~, Mar. '99; A Rainy Sunday on Wall a Difference/Mrs. Tziporah Heller, June '99; A Dif­ Missionaries Are We Prepared for the Year 2000~/Yosef Street/Nisson Wolpin, Mar. '99; Message In a Bot­ ficulty Becomes a Blessing/Mrs. Leah Horowitz, Israel, Oct. '99 tle/Rabbi Avi Shafran,Apr. '99; Postcards From the June '99; Intellectual Growth and the \Voman's Modernity The Unsmooth Blend - And Worse/Yud Edge (SL)/Eytan Ehrbach, May '99; The Jewish Peo­ Role/Mrs. Yael Kaisman, June '99; The Dance is My Pnini, Dec. '99 ple: Firmly United or Almost Untied? (SL)/Eytan Own/Mrs. Debby Miller, June '99; Restlessness or Mussar Mashgiach From a Previous Generation: Rabbi Ehrbach, Sept '99 Fulfillment at Home?/Mrs. Hannah Parnes, fune Nasson Meir Wachtfogel ?~/Heshy Arem, Apr. Prevention The ''At-Risk Child:" Early Identification '99;A Life of Stolen Moments/Mrs.Rivky Posner, '99; The Elements of Ego/Matis Roberts, Apr. '99; and Intervention/David Pelcovitz, and Rabbi Shi­ June '99; Nature, Nurture and Free \Vil!/Rebbet­ An Appreciation of the Mashgiach Rabbi Yechezkel mon Russel, Nov. '99; Can "Doing Their Year" in zin Faige Twersky, June '99; Source of the "Good- Levenstein ?"j71Yr/Rabbi Chaim Ginsburg and Israel Do Them In?/Yeshara Gold, Nov. '99; Mak­ Rabbi Yitzchok Kasnett, May '99; Mussar Revisit­ ing Our "Bayis" a Mobile Home/Mrs. Devorah ed/Rabbi Matis Roberts, Sept. '99; Book Review Greenblatt, Nov. '99; Report From Ground of Reb Elyah, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, Dec. '99 Zero/Rabbi Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Nov. '99 Narrative Sometimes We Forget/Rabbi Dov Lipman, Psychology Bechira/Freedom of Choice and Psychol­ Jan. '99; Masked Jew (SL)/Pnud Peri, Jan. '99; Cum­ ogy/Rabbi Joseph Elias, Nov. '99 ing Home to Yiddishkeit/Esther Brander, Feb. '99; Reform Is Reform Jewry Coming Home?/Rabbi Hil~ Developing Leaders for the Immigrant ('_,ommu­ lei Goldberg, June '99 nity/Malky Lowinger, Feb. '99; A Rainy Sunday on Schools Preparing for Rosh Hashana? (SL), May'99 Wall Street/Nissan Wolpin, Mar. '99; Next Year Shemiras Halashon (Purity of Speech) A Time to Keep In????(SL)/Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Mar. '99; The Silent, A Time to Speak/Chana Nestlebaum, Feb. Poverty of the Rich/Pnucl Peri, May '99; Rosh '99 Hashana in Gehimwm,Auschwitz, 1944/Rabbi Tzvi Shidduchim A Time to Keep Silent, A Time to Hirsch Meisels 7':it, Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer Speak/Chana Nestlebaum, Feb. '99 (translator), Sept. '99; Thoughts of a Singles An Open Letter to MySinglc Friends/Anony­ Mother/Anonymous, Nov. '99; Walking mous, Sept. '99 Home/Yisroel M. Muller, Dec. '99; Enemy Socia1 Comment Encountering the "Image" of Moshe Lines/Pnuel Peri, Dec. '99 Rabbeinu (SL)/Nisson Wolpin, Feb. '99; Next Year

The Jewish Observer, January 2000 45 ness" in Yaakov's Tent/Mrs. Hinda Dvora Wolpin, Coming Home? June, '99; Book Review of Reb Pelcovitz, Dr. David The ''At-Risk Child": Early Iden­ June '99; Letters, Dec. '99 Elyah, Dec. '99 tification and Intervention, Nov. '99 WWII Rebbetzin Tzila Sorotzkin i1"V/Joseph Frieden­ Greenblatt, Mrs. Devorah Making Our Bayis a Peri, Pnuel Masked Jew (SL), Jan. '99; The Poverty of son (translated by So rah Shapiro), Jan. '99; Rosh Mobile Home, Nov. '99 the Rich, May '99; Enemy Lines (SL), Dec. '99 Hashana in Gehinnom,Auschwitz, 1944/Rabbi Tzvi Harrari-Raful, Rabbi Yosef Avoiding the Trap of Mutu­ Perlow, Rabbi Yiiakov ~ Agudath Israel of Atner­ Hirsch Me;,cls ':>"lit, Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Becliliofer al Animosity, Feb. '99 ica: A Movement with a Historic Mission, Jan. '99; (translator), Sept '99; I939-Sixty Years Ago, When Herman, Lisa M. Book Review of Cactus Blossoms, Overview ofHalacha and Ethics in the Workplace, Civilization Exploded/Yud Pnini, Oct. '99 Feb. '99; Book Review of Tomorrow May Be Too Oct'99 Yeshivos Mashgiach From a Previous Generation: Rabbi Late/Chana Stavsky, Mar. '99 Pnini, Yud 1939 - Sixty Years Ago, When Civilization Nasson Meir Wachtfogel ?"Yt/Heshy Arem, Apr. Hirschfeld, RabbiBoruch Imbuing the Work Day with Exploded, Oct. '99; The Unsmooth Blend - And '99; Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg ?"::li/Rabbi Sanctity, Oct. '99 Worse, Dec. '99 Sheftel Meir Neuberger, Sept '99; The Chazon Ish Hafstedter, Dovid Brother, Can You Spare Some Pain? Posner, Mrs. Rivky A Life of Stolen Moments {WS), ?"Yr on the Educator's Responsibility to the Weak Sept. '99 June'99 and Wayward Student/Rabbi Zvi Yabrov, Nov. '99; Horowitz, Mrs. Leah A Difficulty Becomes a Blessing Powers, Mark Are We Prepared for the Year 2000?, Oct. Dealing with the Dilemmas of Kids-At-Risk/Rabbi (WS), June'99 '99 Shmuel Kamenetsky N:"~, Nov. '99; Where Horowitz, Rabbi Yakov Next Year. .. ?, Mar. '99; Resnicoff, Steven H. The Secular Enforceability of a Responsibility and Love Intersect/Rabbi Shloime Report From Ground Zero, Nov. '99 Beis Din Judgment, Oct. '99 Mandel, Nov. '99; Of Growth and Belonging/Rabbi Israel, Yosef Are We Prepared for the Year 2000? Oct. Roberts, Matis The Elements of Ego, Apr. '99; Mus­ Ahron Kaufman, Nov. '99 '99 sar Revisited, Sept. '99 Kagan, Jeremy Purim and Prayer, Feb. '99 Rosenblum, Yonason The Media Battleground: Image AUTHORS Kaisman, Mrs. Yael Intellectual Growth and the vs. Essence, Feb. '99; The Israeli Supreme Court Woman's Role (WS), June '99 Against Democracy, Mar. '99; "Dr. Joe, We Owe Anonymous An Open Letter to My Single Friends, Kamenetsky, Rabbi Shmuel K"""'1 Dealing With the You ... ': Apr. '99; The Arrogance of Israel's Elites, Sept. '99 Dilemma (an interview), Nov. '99 Dec. '99 Arem, Hesby Mashgiach From a Previous Generation: Kasnett, Rabbi YitzchakAn Appreciation of the Mash­ Ross, Leah Silent Anguish, Tangible Growth, Oct. '99 Rabbi Nasson Meir Wachtfogel r,~::n, Apr. '99 giach: Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein ?'j7'on, May'99 Russel, Rabbi Shimon 1be 'At-Risk Child": Early Iden­ Aschkenazy, Rabbi Shlomo The State of the State at Kaufman, Rabbi Ahron Of Growth and Belonging, tification and Intervention, Nov. '99; Helping the Fifty-Plus, May '99 Nov.'99 ''At-Risk Child": A Guide to Therapy, Nov. '99 Astor, Yaakav Titanic Lessons, May '99 Klugman, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir When Half-A-Million Salomon, Rabbi Matisyahu ~ The Past as a Bechhofer, Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Rosh Hashana in Davened ... , Mar. '99; Politics and Divine Messages, Guide For the Future, Jan. '99 Gehinnom, Auschwitz, 1944, Sept. '99 June '99; Children on the Fringe ... And Beyond Schechter, Rabbi Aaron Moshe N"1"?v A Call to Becker, Rabbi Labish Book Review of Torah Patterns, (Intro), Nov. '99 Tefilla, Mar. '99 Jan. '99; Book Review of Passionate Judaism, Apr. Kuperwasser, Chaim Portrait of an Ish Hachessed: Reh Scherman, Rabbi Nosson Book Review of The Com­ '99 Luzer Brodt, ?"T, Dec. '99 mitted Life, Jan. '99; Lord Jakobovits ':r'T of Regents Birnbaum, Mrs. Blimi Injecting the "Extra'' Into the Lachman, Zalman When Conventional Parenting is Park, Dec. '99 Ordinary (WS), June '99 Not Enough, Nov. '99 Shafran, Rabbi Avi Bringing Wall Street Wisdom to Black, Rabbi Tzvi Can You Avoid Getting Caught in Leff, Rabbi Boruch Shavuos Odyssey, Apr. '99; the Quest for Continuity, Jan. '99; Message in a Bot­ the Net?, Apr. '99 Chanuka and Snow, Dec. '99 tle, Apr. '99; Common Jewish Language, o"h, Dec. Blumenthal, Dr. Norman N. The TOVA Program - Leff, Rabbi Zev The Onus is On Us ... Overtones and '99 Adding ID the Full Yesse\ Nov. '99; Helping the'At­ Undercurrents, Feb. '99 Shapiro, Sarah Rebbetzin Tzila Sorotzkin ii")): The Risk Child": A Guide to Therapy, Nov. '99 Levy, Rabbi Michael Buying Time, Nov, '99 White Angel of Auschwitz, Jan. '99 (translator) Bookspan, Rabbi A. Y. Book Review of Compassion Lipman, Rabbi Dov Sometimes We Forget. .. , Jan. '99 Shuster, Fyvel Breaking Down the Walls, June '99; Liv­ For Humanity, Jan. '99 Lob, Dr. Jerry"Hereby Resolved": A Father's Kabba- ing on the Edge, Sept. '99 Brafman, Rabbi Aaron Book Review of Of Parents and los, Nov. '99 Silberberg, Rabbi Moshe Modem Business and the Penguins, Sept '99 I.opiansky, Rabbi Aaron Sefira and What it Counts For, Issur of Ribbis, Oct. '99 Brander, Esther Coming Home to Yidd.ishkeit, Feb. '99; Apr. '99 Sinclair, Rabbi Yaakov Asher All Roads Lead to Rome, Together As One-An Indelible Impression, Mar. Lowinger, Malky Developing Leaders for the Immi­ Jan. '99 '99 grant Community, Feb. '99 Sorotzkin, Bentzion Developing Middos: Learned or Breslauer, Rabbi Shlomo M. '00, Dec. '99 Mandel, Rabbi Shloime Where Responsibility and Love Experienced?, May '99 Dishon, Rabbi Shmuel Of Scrolls and Souls, Feb. '99 Intersect, Nov. '99 Steinberg, Avraham "Is This Your Son's Cloak?" June Ehrbach, Eytan Postcards From the Edge (SL), May Margashes, Mrs. Miriam Tach V'Tat, June '99 '99 '99; The Jewish People: Firmly United or Almost Mayer, Eliyahu My Son/My Daughter the Schnorrer, Twersky, Rebbetzin Faige Nature, Nurture, and Free Untiedl (SL) Sept. '99 Mar. '99 Will (WS), June '99 Flias, Rabbi Joseph Bechira/Freedom of Choice and Meisels, Elimelech We Never Met, Yet I Know Him So Weinberg, Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo The Work of My Psychology, Nov. '99 Well: Reh Elimelech Tress ?"::tr, June '99 Hands, Mar. '99; On Being Second Best, Sept. '99 Finkehnan, Rabbi Mordechai "Spare the Rod - Meisels, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch ?"::tr Rosh Hashana in Wolbe,Rabbi Shlomo ~~Basic Principles of Par­ Plea<;e!"May'99 Gehinnom, Auschwitz, 1944, Sept. '99 enting, Nov. '99 Frankel, Mrs. Rochel LeahA Teacher's List ofDo's (Not Miller, Mrs. Debby The Dance is My Own (WS), June Wolpin, Mrs. Hinda Dvora Source of the "Goodness" Don'ts!), Nov. '99 '99 in Yaakov's Tent (WS), June '99 Friedenson,Joseph Rebbetzin Tzila Sorotzkin rn>: The Mitnick, Rabbi Yitzchok An Unorthodox Approach Wolpin, Rabbi Nisson Encountering the 'Image' of White Angel of Auschwitz, Jan. '99 for the Orthodox Teen, Nov. '99 Moshe Rabbeinu (SL), Feb. '99; A Rainy Sunday Galandauer, Mrs. Chana What a Hard Life! Sept. '99 Muller, Yisroel M. Walking Home (SL), Dec. '99 on Wall Street, Mar. '99; My Son/My Daughter, The Gesser, Yosef Directives From Washington (SL), Feb. Nestlebaum, Chana A Time To Keep Silent, A Time Tzeddaka Gabbai, Mar. '99; Book Shopping and '99 to Speak, Feb. '99 Passport Control (SL), May '99 Ginsburg, Rabbi Chaim An Appreciation of the Mash­ Neuberger, Rabbi Sheftel Meir Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Yabrov, Rabbi Zvi The Chazon Ish: The Educator's giach: Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein ':>''j7Clt, May'99 Weinberg ':nn: A Talmid's Appreciation, Sept '99 Responsibility to the Weak and Wayward Student, Gold, Yeshara Can "Doing Their Year" in Israel Do Oelbaum, Rabbi Noach Isaac Employer/Employee Nov. '99 Them In?, Nov. '99 Relationships in Halacha, Oct. '99 Goldberg, Rabbi Hillel Dr. Joseph Kamin et.sky ?"l: A Parnes, Mrs. Hannah Restlessness or Fulfillment at SL Second Looks Personal Remembrance,Apr. '99; Is Reform Jewry Home? (WS), June '99 WS Women's Symposium

46 The Jewish Observer, January 2000 '.<~.if~r·each ·halachic ConiJ>r6niiSih · bedika is S~methin~ :;~. 00 ii>ther learn to live witk

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