It costs nothing to ensure your child has the best of everything. J.MANN 1444 S2ND STREET 1836 BROOKLYN, NY 11219 ALL PROGRAMS ARE PERFORMED AT CLIENT'S At Amerikids, our early intervention programs are more than HOME, FREE OF CHARGE AND INCLUDE' just among the best available in the state, they're also free. El CORE & SUPPLEMENTAL EVALUATIONS That means you get the level of professionalism - and performance that only one of the state's top healthcare Im SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY providers can deliver, and you get it with no out of pocket cost to you. II PHYSICAL & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Think about it, a program custom tailored to the unique lit!: FAMILY ANO/OR NUTRITIONAL TRAINING & COUNSELING needs of your child and implemented with an eye towards your child's future - all delivered in the comfort of your own RI SOCIAL WORK home ... and all for free. And because we're part of the Americare Family of Companies - a company with over two II SPECIAL INSTRUCTION decades of experience as a leader in healthcare services, you ltl!I NURSING know your child is getting the absolute best care possible. If your child is between newborn and age three, and ii 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. II 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 ... AND PROFESSIONALS today and tomorrow. EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM 718·434· 3600 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. his year, embark upon a remarkable, visual journey- from bondage to redemption - Twith the Katz Passover Haggadah. In this magnificent new Haggadah, the combined artistry of Rabbi Baruch Chait, Gadi Pollack, and Evgeny Markovich create a visual tapestry unlike anything you've ever seen. The Pesach narrative comes vividly to life - visually integrating lessons from Chumash, Midrash, and Chazal - portraying both the sorrow of slavery and the glory of freedom. You've never seen anything like it before ...because there's never been any Haggadah like this before! FEATURING: • 120 FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATED PAGES • THE HAGGADAH TEXT IN HEBREW AND ENGUSH • 12 PAGES OF SOURCE MATERIAL EXPLAINING THE ARTWORK OF EACH PAGE • LARGE FORMAT WITH 2 PANORAMIC FOLD-OUTS • A SEPARATE 16-PAGE SEDER GUIDE BOOKLET DlllGn& tAgeur Ill PLAYSTRUCtUffES.111 SWINGS Ill STEEL II PlASTIC . 1111 .•SITE FURNISHINGS 1111 SCHOOL & CAMP EQUl~~~N'f' 11111 BA~KETBALL & VOlLEYBALL SYSTEMS 11111 RUBBER RESILIENT FLOORING II ETC. • Equipment meets orexceeds allASTM and CPSC .safety guidelines • Site planning and design services with state·6f-the~art Auto.CAD • Stainless steel fabri~~tioirfor ultimate rust resistance ~urrent Rrojec;ts SILVERSTEINACADEM'f· { \ Great NeCkiWY DARKEI NOAM Monsey,N,Y KEHltAS YAAKOV PUPA Williams/Jurg, NY .., VICTORY APARTMENTS NYC, NY JOYl:AND ACRES •.. ·. ..• Monticel/o.,NY OHRHATORAH Brooklyn, NY I ' ' ' ~·1. Adar II 5763 •March 2003 U.S.A.$3.50/Foreign $4.50 •VOL XXXVI/NO. 3 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. Repairing Hashem's Family, Yaakov Salomon RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR EDITORIAL SOARD RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS Chairman PURIM REFLECTIONS RABBI ABBA BRUDNY JOSEPH FRIEDENSON 12 Unmasking the Megilla, Rabbi Yosef Levinson RABBI YISROEL MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN PROF. AARON TWERSKI 17 Shoshanas Yaakov, a poem by P/oni Almoni DR. ERNST L BODENHEIMER Z"L 19 "Gather in the Children;• Dovid Freund RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z"L Founders MANAGEMENT SOARD AVI FISHOF, NAFTOLI HIRSCH 26 Conversation at a Bar Mitzva, Sara Shapiro ISAAC KIRZNER, RABBI SHLOMO LESIN NACHUM STEIN 33 "lvri Anochi" - I am a Jew;• Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Managing Edllor Published by SECOND LOOKS Agudath Israel of America U.S. mADE DfSTRIBlITOR ISRAELI REPRESENTATIVE 37 Communication ... a Rising or Receding Art?, YosefGesser Feldheim Publishern lnlnl. Media Placemen! 200 Airport Executive Park POB 7195 / 5 Even Israel Nanuet, NY 10954 Jerusalem, !SRAEL 39 Sounds of Snow, Dr. Meir Wik/er BRITISH REPRESENTATIVE BELGIAN REPRESENTATIVE Scan, ... Analyze, and Apply M.T. Bibelman Mr. E. Apler 41 Grosvenor Works Lange K1ev·11str 29 Mount Pleasant Hill 2018 Antwerp London E5 9NE, ENGLAND BELGIUM FRENCH REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH AFRICAN BOOKS IN REVIEW Rabbi Bamberger REPRESENTATIVE 21 Boulevard Paixhans Mr. V. Taback 57000 Metz PO Box 51552. 42 Rabbi Avigdor Miller Speaks -Vol. I, compiled by Rabbi FRANCE Raedene, Johannesburg 2124 SOUTH AFRICA SWISS REPflESENTATlVE Simcha Bunim Cohen, reviewed by Yisroel Yehuda Pollak Mr. S. feldinger Leimanstrasse 36 4051 Basel. SWITZERLAND 44 Priceless Integrity, by Rabbi Daniel Travis, reviewed by Rabbi THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not Moshe Schapiro assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product, publication, or service 45 Letters-to-the-Editor advertised in its pages ©Copyright 2003 March 2003 VOLUME XXXVVNO. 3 . Over the past several months, 1he Jewish Observer has been· feafuri~ . lo:Ways in which the readers .could identify with our brother.s and sisters in Eretz Yisroel aiid share their att1em1't to allevi- ate their crises on all levels - national, communal, and individual. •·< ";ii. Among the suggestions offered were: Deny yourself some comfort or luxucyin er!JJ\l.~thyl; atleast cry for them or write to them2; improve and enhance our tefi/los'; arrange for American communities an~;;,snu/s to adopt a family of sur- ~rn ~~- ·... .. ... $~ We could - and probably will - 00ntinue with more explorations and suggesu99.~; .l)y\·~t this juncture we might ask ourselves: Why isn't this kind of empathy and level of response automatic? Why)'Q.p~twe•be prod?ed to feel, think and react? At the recent National Convention of Agudalh Israel of America, Yaakov Salomon offereijsome valuable insights on the topic. The following article is based on that presentation. Making Israel's Pain Our Own ome years ago, Rabbi Chaim The bachur was all too willing to ful­ davening Ma'ariv at Rabbi Landau's Mintz, mashgiach ruchani of the fill the simple mission. famous Beis Midrash in Flatbush. SYeshiva of Staten Island, was rush­ Upon his return, the bachur ques­ On my way out, a note, posted on the ing to another location and had inad­ tioned his Rebbe. "Excuse me for pry­ lobby wall, caught my eye. It read: vertently left his wristwatch behind. ing;' he said, "but I couldn't help "Shmuel G. is sitting shiva at Uncharacteristically, he asked a bachur noticing that the Rebbe's watch has the ____. His wife was the only Amer­ if he wouldn't mind retrieving it for incorrect time even though it seems to ican fatality in the S'barrn's bombing in him. "I wouldn't trouble you if I was­ be working. Shall I correct it?" Yerushalayim." n't so short on time,'' he explained. '(No, no," replied Rabbi Mintz. "You My friend, Shimon, read the note Yaakov Salomon, CSW, is a psychotherapist in see, the time on my watch is actually along with me. Neither of us recognized private practice in Brooklyn. He is a frequent con­ precisely seven hours ahead of New York the name. Both of us exited in tributor to these pages, most recently with "Tin1e City time. I always keep it set to Israeli silence .... How tragic. to Move On" {june '01). time so I can keep a constant reminder I joined Shimon for the short ride 1 "Reflections on Guidelines for VVeddings," by for myself about the matzav(situation) home. As I bid him good-night, he Dr. Aaron Twerski, June '02, and "Terrorism, in Bretz Yisroel." asked me, "So, when shall I pick you Sugar Cubes and Filet Mignon," by Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg, June '02 Years before, there had been a ter­ up?,, 2 Rabbi Ginzberg's above article, as well as "The rorist attack in Yerushalayim. Many lives "Pick me up for what?" I respond~ Fifth Item on the List," by Rabbi Boruch Leff, and were lost and Rabbi Mintz wanted to be ed. (I was unaware of any previously "Breaking Down the Walls," by Debbie Shapiro, certain that he never forgot it. made plans.) fan. '03 3 "Tefilla and Teshuva in Response to Today's No. Keeping them in mind is not "Well, for the shiva visit, of course;' Troubled Times:' by Rabbi I-Ieshy Kleinman, April necessarily automatic. came the reply. '02; Be a Better Baal Tefilla:' by Rabbi Pinchos "The shiva?" I pondered innocently. Jung, Nov. '02; Bringing our Prayers to a High­ A Personal Story .... "I don't really know the fellow er Level;' by Rabbi Heshy Kleinman, Dec. '02; and "A Modest Proposal," by Rabbi Avi Shafran, Jan. and hadn't planned to go. Do you know '03 t happened about a year and a half him?', 4 "PostScript: A Call to Arms," by Rabbi Aryeh ago.