The Rabbi Naftali Riff Yeshiva
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Premium Quality Long Distance at Discounted Rates Oorah Kiruv Rechokim enrolls Public School children into Yeshivos. literal • You have phonl" bills anyway. • Thousands of Jewish children are ly saving hundreds of Yiddishe Neshamos. As a fundraiser for this critical waiting to leave public schools and begin a Yeshiva education. cause, Oorah opened Cucumber Communications. a business pro,-iding low • \Vith just a 5~minute phone call, you can help save another Neshoma! rate, quality phone service. All proceeds go DIRECTLY towards placing And money, too! children in Yeshivas and day scho0ls. The more customer.1 C11cumher Ivfake the right connection now! Call 1.877.CUCUMBER and get a great Communications hos. the more children learning in ri:'shivo>. deal on your long distance bill while helping enroll children in yeshivos. St te to St t Israel t"VCucumher 1.877 .CUCUMBER ~comrnun1cafi~ www.800cucumber.com Jn.state rates vary. State to state calls arc billed in 6-second increments from heginning of call. Jnternatmnal calls are billed in 6-sccond increments after first 30 seconds. I lnternaiional cell phone rates arc higher. Bills under Sl5 will he charged a billing charge of S2.50. Existing customers must call 10 receive new rates. Not available in all area~. Adar I 5763 •February 2003 U.S.A.$3.50/Foreign $4.50 ·VOL XXXVI/NO. 2 THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 42 Broadway, New York, NY10004. Periodicals postage paid In New York, NY. 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, 42 Broadway, NY.. NY.10004. Tel: 212-797-9000. Fax: 646-254-1600. Printed in the U.S.A. s Remembering the Columbia RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR EDITORIAL SOARD RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS THE ISRAELI ELECTIONS Chairman The Rise ofTommy Lapid and His Shinui Party RABBI ABBA BRUDNY JOSEPH FRIEDENSON Yonoson Rosenblum RABBI YISAOEL MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN PROF. AARON TWERSKI OR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Z"L IS Solomon's Nightmare: Custody Disputes in Divorce RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z"L Founders Cases, Dr. Sylvan Schaffer MANAGEMENT BOARD 19 Don't Judge the Book by its Cover, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman AVI FISHOF, NAFTOLI HIRSCH ISAAC KIRZNER, RABBI SHLOMO LESIN ll Piercing the Dark of Night: Remembering the llluy, NACHUM STEIN 7"~! RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Rabbi Mordechai Pogromansky, Managing Editor Rabbi E/iyahu Berney Published by Agudath Israel of America 31 From the Depths, a Zest for Life, U.S. TRADE DISTRIBUTOR ISRAELI REPRESENTATIVE Rabbi Hillel Goldberg Feldltelm Publlshers lntnL Media Placemen! 200 Airport Executive Park POB 7195 f 5 Even Israel Naouet, NY 10954 Jerusalem, ISRAEL 33 When the Priceless Gets Priced Out, BRITISH REPRESENTATIVE BELGIAN REPRESENTATIVE Mrs. Barbara Bensoussan M.T. Bibe/man Mr. E. Apter Grosvenor Works Lange Kievits!r. 29 Mount Pleasant Hill 2018 Antwerp London ES 9NE, ENGLAND BELGIUM BOOKS IN REVIEW FRENCH REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH AFRICAN 36 "/(There's Anything I Can Do.,," by Rebecca Bram Rabbi Bamberger REPRESENTATIVE 21 Boulevard Paixhans Mr. v. Taback 57000 Metz PO Box 51552, Feldbaum, reviewed by Reva Rubenstein FRANCE Raedene, Johannesburg 2124 SOUTH AFRICA SWISS REPRESENTATIVE Mr. S. Feldinger 37 Letters-to-the-Editor Leimanstrasse 36 4051 Basel, SWITZERLAND THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not About the cover: The safety and security of Eretz Yisroel and its inhabitants are depend assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product, publication, or service ent on the study of Torah, as we find in the Talmud: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, advertised in lts pages "What is the meaning of: 'Our feet were standing in your gates, Jerusalem'? ( Tehillim © Copyright 2003 122,2) Who caused us to prevail in battle? The gates of)erusalem-wherever they were engaged in the study of Torah." Makkos lOa. F9bruary 2003 VOLUME XXXVllNO. 2 Co11e1· photo courtesy ofPoneVezh YeshiVa, Bhei Brak Photo on page 6, c(Juttesy ofHamodia It costs nothing to ensure your child has the best of everything. J. 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NURSING know your child is getting the absolute best care possible. If your child is between newborn and age three, and m.J Bl-LINGUAL THERAPISTS (YIDDISH, needs help with talking, walking, feeding, paying attention RUSSIAN, HEBREW AND OTHER LANGUAGES) or getting along with others, you may be eligible for our free Early Intervention Program. Ml' THE PEACE OF MIND THAT COMES FROM WORKING WITH SHOMER SHABBOS, WARM AND CARING THERAPISTS Call us today to give your child the best of everything ... ANO PROFESSIONALS today and tomorrow. EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM - &IU"t"' ;JUI.JU ext 3510 NYC Regional Office: 1100 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230 Corp. Office: 718·256·6000 Westchester Office: 914-696-3200 www.americareny.com. The early intervention program is funded and regulated by the NY State Dept. of Health, and in NYC by the NYC Dept. of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services. We join the American public, ll as Jews the world over, in moufu"' terrible loss of human lives in the bia disaster, wherein the space s11 rying seven astronauts, includi Ramon irv, an Israeli, disintegrate Texas on Saturday, February 1. We take special note of the em that Ilan Ramon, not known to hav~ observant in his personal life, focused on the Jewish aspect of his identity. It seemed that he recognized that in the eyes of the world, he functioned not only as an ambassador at large for the State of Israel, but, in effect, was also a represen tative of Kial Yisroel. As such, he took pains to demonstrate that the essence of Kial Yisroel is most faithfully conveyed by adherence to the laws of kashrus, as reflected in his diet; the personal me1nen tos he took aboard with him - includ ing a mezuza and a small Sefer Torah entrusted to hi1n by a Holocaust survivor who had used it at his bar 1nitzva in a concentration can1p; his acknowledge ment of the advent of Shabbo~ and a stir ring declaration of "Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad!"when the Columbia passed over jerusale declaration of Kiddush Hashem throughout the world. This tragic episode has moved ostensibly irreligious people, Jew gentile, to recognize, as they cast t gaze to the skies, the Hand of the ator in determining the fate of m dreams and aspirations. The Presidcii of the United States was inspired to saY:' In the skies today we saw destruct~~· and tragedy. Yet farther than we can:See'" there is comfort and hope. In the <words ofthe prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all an these? He who brings out the starry hosts il1$~ ..... .. one by one, and calls them each by name. precisely es~. no Because ofHis great power and mighty the full text of his speech!) strength, not one of them is missing.)' We pray that soon we will merit to The same Creator who names -the witness fulfillment of the Prophet's stars also knows the names of the vision, "Ki miTzion .... The Torah will seven souls we mourn today. come forth from Zion and the word .o The crew of the shuttle Columbia Hashem from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2,3}' did not return safely to Earth. Yet we neither filtered nor impeded, Ji ·· can pray that all are safely home. May amplified and expounded by Je G-d bless the grieving families, and may media, for the benefit of}e"'.ishi G-d continue to bless America. Jewish hearts, andJewish rieslii;tm - ·-·-·-·-···-·-------------~~+, The Jewish Observer, February 2003 "It it Portends, What We Must Do I. SHINUI'S PLANS FOR of Israeli politics brought Shinui six Even though Sharon remains the over THE CHAREIDIM Knesset seats with his non-stop attacks whelming choice of the electorate for on the chareidi corn1nunity. prime minister, only 26% of those polled wo stories dominated the recent Prior to the recent elections, The New believe he has a solution to Palestinian Israeli elections. First, Israeli vot York Times and Newsweek both profiled terrorism. Confidence in his econo1nic Ters bid adieu to the Oslo process, Lapid, and the Jerusalem Report put him leadership is no higher. An electorate that at least as long as Yasser Arafat still heads on its cover with the caption "The Power sees no hope of either major party solv the Palestinian Authority. The parties Broker:' After Shinui captured 15 seats ing the most pressing problems con- most closely identified with Oslo - Labor in the election, the description as TA~·~'f.ti~is writing, it still to·~---~-;;iy to know and Meretz - were reduced to a total of "power broker" could not be dismissed, is \vhether Sharon will find a \vay to bring Shinui 25 seats, and the Likud, under Prime and indeed Prin1e Minister Sharon was into a governinent with one or 01ore of his tra Minister Ariel Sharon, a staunch oppo quick to call Lapid and ask him to join ditional religious party allil"s, especially as Shinui nent of Oslo from the beginning, the new government coalition.