נס חנוכה תשס"ו

והגדת לבנך

אסף וול - פורסם: 10.12.2007 ,10:27

"למה המכבים הלכו לצבא ואנחנו לא? המכבים היו דתיים? גם בטיב טעם יכריחו אותי לאכול חזיר?".

שני הורים, ליטאי (ראה עמוד הבלוג: נס חנוכה תשע"ו) וחילוני, עושים סדר בהלכות חג החנוכה

ילד חלוני שואל:                                                        אבא חלוני מסביר:

אבא, למה המכבים נלחמו ביוונים?                                               לא עכשיו.

למה לא עכשיו?                                                                          אני רואה עכשיו כדורסל.

נו אבא!                                                                                                                  אה... מה זה חשוב. העיקר שהם ניצחו.

אבא, באנציקלופדיה כתבו שזה בגלל שהמכבים לא רצו לאכול חזיר. יכול להיות.

ובגלל זה היתה כזאת מלחמה!?                                                   תראה, חזיר זה ים של כולסטרול, אולי המכבים היו בקטע של בריאות וכל זה.

ובגלל זה הייתה מלחמה?                                                            המכבים האלה מהבריאות, יכולים להיות נורא קיצוניים.

למה היוונים הכריחו אותם לאכול חזיר?                                        כי הדתיים עושים עניין מכל דבר.

המכבים היו דתיים?                                                                    מה פתאום, דתיים לא הולכים לצבא.

אז איך הם ניצחו את כל היוונים?                                                  אלוהים עזר להם.

אבל אמרת שאין אלוהים                                                                                  באמת אין.

אז יש או אין?                                                                             אין. אבל הם חשבו שיש.

אבא, לא הבנתי.                                                                                                  מה לא הבנת?

אם יש אלוהים                                                                                                     אז תשאל את אמא.

כל פעם שאתה לא יודע משהו אתה שולח אותי לאמא                             אני יודע דברים חשובים. אם יש אלוהים זה לא חשוב.

כתוב שיהודה המכבי ניצח את היוונים בבית חורון.                                  אם כתוב אז כתוב.

איפה זה בית חורון?                                                                   רחוק. זה לא בארץ, באמריקה.

אבא, קולומבוס גילה את אמריקה רק בשנת 1492                                   אתה יודע שאתה נודניק? זה בשטחים.

מה, אבא, המכבים היו מתנחלים?                                                 ידעתי. אולי תלך לשחק עם שון?

אבא, כשנהיה שוב בטיב טעם, גם אותי יכריחו לאכול חזיר?             אם אתה ממשיך עם השאלות האלה, אין פסטיגל השנה!

אבל אבא אני מפחד, יש לי רק אחות אחת                                                  אז מה?

למכבים היו חמישה אחים שנלחמו ביחד                                                     אולי תלך לראות דורה?

רוצה לראות מכבי                                                                                              טוב תראה מכבי.

אבא, איפה המכבים?                                                                  הנה בצהוב.

אלה מכבים?                                                                              כן.

איך קוראים להם?                                                                       פייזר, ביינום, באטיסטה, בלות'נטאל וקאמינגס.

אוף אבא אתה מעצבן. זה לא שמות של מכבים                                         לאן אתה הולך?

להילחם ביוונים!                                                                                                 אתה לא הולך לשום מקום!

אני רוצה להיות מכבי, דתי ומתנחל!                                                             השתגעת?? אתה לא יוצא מהבית! שמעת?!!

סתם אבא, תירגע. אני קופץ עם שון למקדונלדס                                       אה. יופי. תביא לי צ'יזבורגר.

First published on 3 December 2015, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (now defunct).

Reb Chaim Yaakov - Jeffrey Davis - Part III

 [Tribune]

His obedience to Da’as Torah came to the fore when I had the privilege to interview him, some five years before his passing, in his Givat Shaul home.  We discussed the many projects he was involved in and the Jewish Tribune came up.  He explained to me that whatever the view of some people, what matters is the vote of the Va’ad Rabbonim at the Agudas Yisroel.  They decided that Orthodox Jewry in Great Britain needed a newspaper and so started as a fortnight publication, until it became a weekly newspaper.  He was therefore confident in the prevalence of the paper, especially as it has the most prominent Torah leaders who – through the Editorial Board set the tone of what and how to voice Torah hashkofoh.  He was passionate about the Tribune and was hopeful that it would one day be given a facelift, a wish that was fulfilled in his lifetime! 

[Middos:]

He had a genuine smile, respected every person and always tried to maintain a cordial relationship, living up to the title he was given by people who hardly knew him: Ohev Shalom verodef Shalom – he loved and pursued peace.  He related to everyone in Klal Yisroel without differentiating between Frum or non-Frum, Lithuanian or Chassidic, Moroccan or Yemenite and it didn’t matter whether he spoke to a child or a venerable Rosh Yeshivah.  As someone from a non-Chassidic background, it was remarkable to see how everyone liked him and he was accepted across the whole spectrum of the community.  Indeed, he was “Ruach Haberiyos Nochoh Heimenu”.  No wonder his full name spells the word Yachad (יח"ד).

As one of his many protégés relates:

“We knew each other from about sixty years ago when as a young boy of twelve he came to Gateshead Jewish boarding school.  Jeffrey then became the housemaster and apart from overseeing the boys there and when their time would come to enter Gateshead Yeshiveh, he also helped them settle in.

Jeffrey was a practical person, carrying out the decisions of Rabbi Bamberger of the boarding school and others.  He was a Lamdan in Chessed, he had great insight into both people and situations, knowing their characters and how to handle them, which enabled him to do the right type of chessed with them – this was his Geonus. Had good advice for everyone

As an example, in those days boys used to go from boarding school to Sunderland for at least a year or two before coming to Gateshead.  Rabbi Bamberger the principal of the boarding school wanted me to go to Gateshead as I would benefit from the fact that the yeshiva learned Maseches Kidushin just as my knowledge of Kidushin was at its peak and therefore would be a shame to lose this opportunity of augmenting my proficiency in this tractate.  He mentioned that Mr Davis who was a good half day in Yeshivah would be able to help me to be admitted.  He went above and beyond his call of duty, setting up chavrusos for me with the best of the best: one bochur learned all the Ketzos relevant to the Masechta and another one was my Chaye Odom chavrusa, whilst my Gemoro Rebbe was also a top bochur.  He set me up in the most wonderful, caring and productive manner so as to ensure my stay at yeshiva in a most wonderful way and even kept an eye on me whilst I was in Yeshiva.  If not for him I would probably not have had a head start in Yeshiva.  We used to visit him Friday evenings and it was wonderful to spend time with him.  I was just a young bochur but he was always on the lookout for our welfare, pairing us up with older, more mature Bochurim.  We used to visit him where he lived in the East end and later on after his marriage we used to visit him in Stamford Hill.

The way he invested in his staff as if they were his own children, which demonstrated itself when I was looking for material on this article.

He was sometimes tough with an employee, but always ended up having them firmly on his side.  This is because they realised that ultimately he had the benefit of the larger picture in mind, which they inevitably wanted to be part of.

Unlike some Askonim of his generation, he always encouraged newcomers to start out in the path of doing for the Klal.  He demonstrated foresight uncanny for someone in the position of power he was in: allow the youngsters room for growth, teach them the ropes and let them flourish.  One day it will be these youngsters who will need to lead; the better trained they are, the more Klal Yisroel will benefit.

When the writer of these lines started the Calculu Training Centre, I visited his office to procure the contact list of the staff at COPE Institute in the offices of the American Aguda headquarters in New York.  As usual, Rabbi Davis was sitting at his humongous desk that was overflowing with paperwork.  People were coming and going whilst the telephone had many red lamps flashing, indicating that they needed his attention.  When he heard my request, he pulled out the list from his desk drawer, as if he was waiting for me and gave it with the most encouraging smile I have yet to see.

The way Rabbi Davis was portrayed in the Hebrew press succinctly captures the essence of what we lost:

“Rabbi Davis was a true Mentsch and a special person, a Ba’al Habayis of the Agudas Yisroel school, permeated with pure Torah Hashkofoh.  His knowledge of – and faith in people wasn’t diminished even when faced with sometimes ever growing demands or even verbal attacks from those same people he was trying to help.  He imbued his children with activism for the Klal without looking out for a tangible or otherwise intangible reward.  He succeeded in mediating between the local and central government Education departments, pushing through amendments in the law of the land, to accommodate the unique Chinuch BeDerech Yisroel Sabbo, many of which are still in place to this day.  He dedicated his life to Klal Yisroel and sought only the best for them, a real Oseik BeTzorchey Tzibbur Be-Emunoh, of the previous generation”. 

When I was approached to write about Reb Chaim Yaakov Davis - or as he was affectionately known “Jeffrey Davis” – I wasn’t prepared for the outpouring of emotions that was part of every conversation.  Whoever I spoke to whether on the ‘phone or in person, became animated during the interview, trying to keep their enthusiasm in check.  He became synonymous with the organisation to which he gave the bulk of his life to.  The ideas and ideals for which Agudas Yisroel was established came to life through his actions.  The life and achievements of Reb Chaim Yaakov can be summed up in four words: “Jeffrey Davis, Agudas Yisroel”.

First published on 18 January 2016, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (now defunct).

Reb Chaim Yaakov - Jeffrey Davis - Part II

[His influencers:]

As a London-born boy (he was born January 1936), he was privileged to witness the growth of the Charedi community in London and farther afield, which set the stage for his life of Askonus.  

His first exposure to full time Torah learning was at Yeshivas Ahavas Torah, which was housed at 93 and 95 Stamford Hill. This boarding school was led by Rabbi Gedalyah Schneider Zt”l, a son of Reb Moshe Schneider Zt”l.

The dormitory was at 93 Stamford Hill and the Beis Medrash was across the street in “95”, where the Tzeirei Agudas Yisroel Shul is now housed.

Reb Moshe Schneider opened his heart to Torah, when as a very young boy he attended the Yeshiva Toras Emes in Knightland Road for about one year, alongside Torah luminaries like Rabbi Azriel Schechter Shlita, the president of European Keren HaShviis, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch Shlita and Rabbi Yitzchok Tuviah Weiss Shlita of the Edoh Hachareidis in Jerusalem, amongst others.  When he went to learn in Gateshead Yeshiva, the two Reb Leib’s – the Lions of the North - Reb Leib Gurwicz and Reb Leib Lopian ZTL, who was also his Shadchan, opened his head to Torah and became his guiding lights in life, whom he always cherished as his mentors.

The post-war era brought him in touch with the many Gedolim who stopped by in London.  He was familiar with the famous Tzadikim of yesteryear like R’ Sholom Shwadron, R’ Aron Kotler and The Ponieviezer Rov ZTL.  He made Tzeire Agudas Yisroel Shul his home, where he sat at the feet of Reb Mordechai Yosef Kamionka ZTL, who with his unflinching Ahavas Yisroel imparted to young Jeffrey this trait, which he honed for the rest of his life for the benefit of the Jewish people.

[Achievements:]

Reb Chaim Yaakov was many things to many people, which he managed to do without calling attention to himself.  His sole aim was to help people, as Mrs Rita Hinden – his PA who worked 34 years for Rabi Davis, so aptly put it: Rabbi Davis’ middle name was “Help”. 

If Jeffrey’s middle name was Help, then his last name was “Always” (M. S.).

Gateshead Alumni

As a Yungerman, he was beOvyo shel Korah (i.e. involved in the thick of things) in many projects, mainly in the Gateshead Yeshiva Alumni charity organisation which he started together with Rabbi Avrohom Gurwicz, nowadays the Rosh Yeshivah and a number of ex-Gateshead Talmidim (amongst them YLT”A: Reb David Chontow, Reb Yitzchok Katz and Reb Izzy Reich).  The way he engineered the fundraising and the dinner events ensured that the Yeshivah managed to procure more space, build new buildings and maintain them, though the constant flow of funding that is in effect to this present day.

[Camp Aguda:]

Pirchei Agudas Yisroel grew together with Jeffrey, as did the Tzeire Agudas Yisroel.  In the early years of Camp Aguda, when Rabbi Azriel Schechter appointed him as head counsellor, his presence ensured that – together with his trusted helpers – the grounds pulsated with joie de vivre. He didn’t hesitate to bring on board a Madrich who literally dropped in from the cold, such as was the case with HaKodosh Reb Avrohom Shmuel Goldberg HY”D of Har Nof.  As a young man fresh out of university, he was looking to spend summer in a Frum environment and when he heard that Camp Aguda might be looking for a Madrich he called Rabbi Davis.  As it happened, the call came to him out of the blue, as his hands were full with work trying to finish Shabbos preparations. There and then he invited young Mr Goldberg to come and be part of the camp staff; they stayed best friends for their entire life. 

[Agudah Conventions:]

The same could be said about the historic conventions in Bournemouth: together with the legendary R' Yitzchok Meir Cymerman ZL, he was the guiding light for the planning committee as well as the driving force behind the team that executed the event to its minutest details.  Still, with all his prowess at organising, he deferred to authority if and when the situation demanded it.  His mantra was: “Dabor Echod laDor” – there should always be one ultimate decision maker and he submitted to their will faithfully, even when in his view things could be done differently. When he started out at the Aguda, he was answerable to Reb Boruch Moshe Cymerman.  After Mr Cymerman’s Petiroh he reported to his brother, the late Reb Itche Meir, who – in Jeffrey’s words - was a man with a vision.

Rabbi Davis had broad shoulders, took upon him the rough jobs of balancing books and straightening out problems.

His perceptive mind grasped the most complex topics, never wavering from the destination ahead of him.  He dealt with emergencies with the astuteness of a field marshal, always calculating the next step ahead.   The managerial, financial and interpersonal problems he dealt with would have felled much strong-willed people than him.  His saving grace was the ever present smile, which used to disarm anyone who crossed his path.

Jeffrey became to be known as a faithful servant to the community and the ideal representative for the National Council of the Agudas Israel organisation of Great Britain.  Whether arranging high-profile meetings with local, national or overseas dignitaries or penning a letter of protest to an Ambassadors for their country’s mishandling of a Jewish person or community, Rabbi Davis hit the mark with laser-precision.

He built up the prestige of the Aguda in London by augmenting its narrow remit to the gamut of services we now take for granted.  He served the community with tremendous dedication and gave of himself to each and every part of the Kehillah, regardless of their affiliation.

He also innovated the idea of government and charitable grant applications. This generated a new avenue for fundraising, based on a per-Talmid bursary, a feat not many in the Yeshivah world have managed.

When he came back from Gateshead to London in 1966, he started the Achisomoch charity, which – apart from supporting the Gateshead Yeshivah - has to date distributed hundreds of millions of pounds to charitable causes.  This charity is run by the same people for forty years now, all with Jeffrey’s foresight and oversight.

Reb Moshe Sherer, the head of Agudas Yisroel in the United States contacted Rabbi Davis as a matter of course, when the Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie.  Rabbi Davis immediately set things in motion by contacting Rabbi Betzalel Rakow, who at that time was the Gatheshead Rov ZT”L, to ensure Kevod HaMeis was maintained until the Misaskim in the Manchester Kehilla headed by the late Reb Shlome Adler took over.

Such was the man, always starting a project, making sure it’s properly run by a capable team and – hop onto the next project.

He was also the headmaster in the Beis Rochel Girls’ School for many years.  His Talmidos remember him fondly as someone who had a listening ear to - and acted fairly with his pupils, no matter what age.

First published on 18 January 2016, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (now defunct).

Reb Chaim Yaakov - Jeffrey Davis - Part I

It is a most opportune time of the year to portray the life and achievements of our Reb Chaim Yaakov ben Alter Aharon ZTL.  Although his first Yahrzeit falls on the seventh of Shevat (17^th Jan.), we are still in the middle of Sefer Shemos.  The main protagonist in this story of the Jewish people’s enslavement, redemption and the Ma’amad Har Sinai is Moshe Rabbeinu, who – as Rashi explains: gave his eyes and his heart to see how to alleviate the suffering of his brethren.  The commentators ask: Why Davka the eyes and the heart? Because when Yaakov Ovinu was Niftar, the eyes and the heart of the Yidden became blocked and Moshe Rabbeinu managed to open them.  At the age of twelve he pleaded their case and secured the pharaoh’s consent that they were to be given one day off every week, so they could catch their breath (Medrash Shemos Rabbah).

In this aspect, Rabbi Davis followed in the footsteps of Moshe Rabbeinu: he had an acute insight into the needs of the Klal and always gave his heart to find a fitting and long lasting solution to problems, or at least a temporary one, to allow them a breather. 

The Torah says that when HaShem saw how Miriam and Yocheved feared Him, he made them houses.  The commentators grapple with the doubling up of the verses: (שמות, א כ) וייטב אלוהים למיילדות ויירב העם ויעצמו מאוד, the reward was that the people increased in numbers.  The next verse describes an added reward:(שמות, א כא) ויהי כי יראו המיילדות את האלוהים ויעש להם בתים.  The answer to this seeming dichotomy could be found by watching Jeffrey reacting to the news that another family found a roof over their head.  As the head of the housing committee and later Chairman of AIHA, Jeffrey felt good when for Yidden was good: HaShem saw to it that he should feel good by allowing more housing to be provided for the growing community.

It was also Rabbi Davis who introduced the many government grants that are now a given, whilst in the early seventies not many people in the community knew how to apply, process and maintain.  If not for these two important streams of communal help, one wonders how our Shevet Levi would have managed over the past two generations: Botey Kehunoh and Botey Leviyoh.

From what we heard from people who knew him from his formative years, his “eyes and heart” for the Klal were developed by his mother, Rivka OBM whose influence was felt in many of his endeavours.

Mr Dovid Davis, a brother remembers: their mother used to give tzedokoh and asked us to deliver some money to a poor family’s house.  She instructed us not to knock on the door; just to post it through the letterbox and walk away.  Her exemplary Ma’asim Tovim infused the young lad with the ability to give off himself, all the more when no one was looking, as illustrated by the following anecdote: A young boy arrived on these shores without a penny to his name.  On his first day in London he met Rabbi Davis outside Rabbi Schneider’s boarding school at 95-97 Stamford Hill – otherwise known as Yeshivah Ahavas Torah.  A young boy walked over to him and stuffed some money into his hand, which was his first encounter with true Gemilus Chasodim that was part of Yiddishkeit in Frum London all those days back.  This boy would later become known as Rabbi Davis.

[Hachnosas Orchim:]

The Davises always had people at the Shabbos table.  These were not always the distinguished guest whom one would be proud to adorn a Shabbos table with.  Oftentimes these were downtrodden guests who weren't well, or simply hungry people who found a sandwich and a shoulder to lean on.  It was a warm place to go there and people knew that the door is always open. Many a shidduch was closed there from the singles that attended their Shabbos table.

Mr K. S.: Jeffrey was a very nice person. In Tamuz 5722 / 1962, he travelled from London to Gateshead for his wedding. Jeffrey and his wife – they were a newly married couple at the time - hosted him and looked after him as if he was the Chosson’s older brother (they were a year and two months apart in age).  Indeed, he went to his Chuppah from the Davis’ home.  They became lifelong friends, from when he arrived to London from Europe and stayed at the boarding school at “95”, where the famous Tzeire Agudas Yisroel is now housed.

With a heart larger than himself, Rabbi Davis was the one who invented the Agudas Israel Housing Association, now known as AIHA.  Since the time he started this initiative over thirty years ago, thousands of people have felt his Ahavas Yisroel, flavoured with attention to detail as was his way with all of his other projects.  

Ask his contemporaries from the sixties and they will rattle of his home address with postcode or home telephone number as if they are reading it now off the telephone book.  This goes to show how close-knit these friends of his felt to him.  Together with his very dedicated akeres Habayis Malkah-Massie A”H they hosted out of town people, without regard to their own comfort. 

No doubt it was the unspoken prodding of his dear wife Malka – Massie A”H also a product of the Torah bastion Gateshead, who showed the way with her custom Hachnosas Orchim, few could match.

First published on 18 January 2016, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (now defunct).

Irgun Shiurai Torah’s Worldwide Shovovim Project Begins Anew

By M. Lowinger

It’s Shovovim time of year again, and tens of thousands of Yidden are gearing up to attend Irgun Shiurai Torah’s annual lectures on the halachot and hashkofos of the home. Those who are zocheh to attend these Shiurim recognize their unparalleled Chashivus. Those who do not yet attend are asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?”

Plenty, say the askonim and Askaniyot who work tirelessly for months to ensure that the program runs smoothly in over one hundred American cities plus thirty countries throughout the world. Plenty, say the Rabbonim and community leaders who see a remarkable difference in the Ruchniyut and well-being of their Kehillos. Plenty, say the many men and women who have discovered the secret to a happy and successful marriage filled with Kedushah and taharah.

Shovovim is an acronym for the coming Parshiyot of Shemos, Va‑era, Bo, Beshalach, Yitro, and Mishpatim. According to the Ari Z’’l, these six weeks represent a special time for teshuva. That’s why Irgun Shiurai Torah designated these cold winter weeks as the perfect opportunity to spiritually strengthen Klal Yisroel.

What’s the secret to Shovovim’s success? The lectures teach us how to rejuvenate our marriage and reconsider our lives. According to one Irgun spokesman, “People are so busy with Parnossoh, with their daily routines, and with social obligations, that they barely have time to consider their own and their spouse’s needs.” Irgun Shiurai Torah invites us to take a step back and re-evaluate our family life. Is there real Kedushah in our house? Does a simchas HaChayim emanate from our home environment? Do we share a caring relationship with our spouse? Shovovim allows us to bring a refreshing and spiritual perspective to our marriage. Its effect is very powerful and lasts for many years.

If you think you know it all already, you may want to reconsider. If you feel that Shovovim is for beginners or newlyweds, you’re making a big mistake. Those who benefit most from these Shiurim are people like you. Sure you’re heimish and ehrlich. You daven properly and attend a learning Seder every day. You may even be the ultimate Ba’al Chesed in your neighbourhood. But there’s a good chance that over the years you may have forgotten or neglected to perform these vital Mitzvos properly. Shovovim teaches you how.

Said one Ba’al Habayis who wishes to remain anonymous, “I’m embarrassed to say that, after twenty five years of marriage, I discovered that there are fundamental halachot which I wasn’t even aware of. Here I am marrying off my own children, yet it looks like it’s my turn to learn these basic halachot all over again.”

It takes tremendous planning, organizing, and mesiras Nefesh to get the massive Shovovim project off the ground. It also takes immeasurable Siyata diShmaya. Irgun Shiurai Torah’s askonim are a determined lot. They’ve been manning the phones for months already, ensuring that each lecture in every city runs smoothly. Their greatest nachas is calling someone on the other side of the world, and hearing him say,

“Hello Shovovim I’ve been waiting for your call”

In Eretz Yisroel alone, the success of Shovovim has been phenomenal. Last year, it was the source of a spiritual revolution throughout the land. Just in terms of Achdus, it was amazing: The program encompassed nearly all the communities of Eretz Yisroel, including religious and non-religious, Charedi, Chassidish, Yeshivish, Sefardish, Ashkenazi and everyone else in between. Ehrliche teachers and Rabbonim travelled to distant kibbutzim and Moshavot in order to teach those who were unfamiliar with the halachot. The Hatzlacha of the program exceeded all expectations. Irgun askonim speak in awe of the great Siyata diShmaya that allowed this special miracle to take place.

The Shovovim project easily rivals any other international campaign in terms of scope and effectiveness. Starter packages filled with information are mailed out from the Irgun’s central office to communities across the United States and Canada. Thousands upon thousands of phone calls are made and e-mails are sent, full of information about programs and scheduled events reaching the remotest destinations all over the world. The Irgun’s central office is a hub of relentless activity, busier than the world’s biggest corporations. Most Irgun askonim will sheepishly admit that they haven’t slept properly in weeks.

Askonim get to hear the most remarkable stories. According to one askan, “A woman told us her own amazing story. After being married and childless for many years she decided to teach the halachot of taharas hamishpachah as a special Zechus. Hashem blessed her shortly afterwards, and she was zocheh to start a family. But that’s not all, after giving her class, two women approached her and told her that they were worried. Perhaps keeping the halachot would make it more difficult for them to have children. She told them that she is a living example of the opposite being true ‘Just look at me!‘ she said with tremendous courage and enthusiasm.  ‘I promise you that if you keep these halachot you will be zocheh to have a child just like me!’ Within a year, both women were blessed with the Zechus of having children!

The Ruach of Shovovim affects people all over the world. A yungerman who had no children decided to become an askan for Irgun Shiurai Torah. He worked days and nights arranging and organizing the Shiurim. The next year he called the Irgun Shiurai Torah Shovovim office with wonderful news. He had just become the father of multiples.

It’s not easy organizing the Shovovim lectures. At times, it can be downright disheartening. When one particular community was called about hosting lectures in their city, the response was, “Sorry, our community is not interested.” The askan was deeply disappointed. A short time later, the phone rang at the Irgun office. It was another member of that very same community. “I saw your advertisements for Shovovim lectures,” the enthusiastic person said. “Could you please organize them in my area?”

Apparently, there are still people out there who don’t recognize the significance of the Shovovim project. They still think it’s just for the other guy. But Irgun askonim are working to change all that. And they are asking the community to help. All those who believe strongly in the efforts of Irgun Shiurai Torah are encouraged to volunteer their time and their services to assist the Irgun’s askonim. “We’re pleading with the olam to help us,” said one exhausted askan. “We may be working nearly twenty four hours a day, but we will not rest until every Jewish community in the world is included in the Shovovim project.”

What’s in it for you? The special Zechus of being mezakeh the rabbim, of course, and the immeasurable Sachar that will reward your efforts. By personally attending the Shiurim, you have the ability to change your life. And by supporting this vital project, you can change the lives of countless others. For more information contact Irgun Shiurai Torah at ist.shovavim@gmail.com.

Good Shabbos

Rabbi Elozer Bald

Rabbi Avrohom Kugelman

Rabbi Simcha Deutsch

Rabbi Gavriel Fromowitz

Menasche Scharf

Irgun Shiurai Torah

001718.851.8651 Fax 001718.686.7713

Nafshy - the new Parent to Child Team Effort

As the Possuk says: Uteshu'oh berov yo'etz, ideas come about by group discussion

Let's try and focus on the qualities of each and every child, let them know what these are and boost their self-wort, self confidence and stability of spirit, this will help them withstand some tests that the Soton, Yetzer Hora', Malach haMoves, Younameit throws their way

The Chovas HaTalmidim of Pieaczseczsna writes in his foreword that the job of the parent and teacher is to help the child find the key to their storehouse of positive traits.

The Mesilas Yeshorim by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato writes that he's writing about ideas that are known to everyone however they are lost in the day to day pursuit for success in life and therefore he's here to remind people about their real purpose in life.

The Gemorro says that every person is created by three partners: HaShem, the father and the mother. I say that there's a fourth partner; since the day it was instituted that there should be a Cheder to where children should be sent away from home to be educated by teachers, the teacher is now the fourth partner.

Connect between the home and the school

Parents = Partners, same letters!  They have to know that they own 100% of the "Asset".
Teachers

We have to follow in Yaacov Ovinu's footsteps and prepare for Doron = presents, Tefilloh = prayer and Milchomoh = battle: the child's education needs all three.
As for Milchomoh, it depends who we're going into battle with; once it's with the child, at another time it might be with the teacher and sometimes - albeit rare occasion - with your spouse.  Remember that the toughest battle is with yourself...

Ve-es Amolynu - these are our children: we work hard and lose sleep over them; whether in middle of the night on a simple weekday or on a Shabbos afternoon when we learn with them.

If you have grown up children, help out the father who has to Farher six boys...

Chanoch laNa'ar Al Pi Darko: Pi is the opening as in beginning

Try to call it a day when you make night for your child: they will be much more cooperative knowing that everyone is now going to reture and nothing will be done when they're asleep so they don't miss anything...  Moreover, they will observe how you Leyn Kriash SHema and prepare Negelvasser, brush your teeth and kiss the Mezuzah - not just for kids!

KeChitzim beyad Gibor, they fly to the direction you point the bow and arrow; any slight move to the right or the left of the target will ensure the arrow will land miles away from its intended target.  The same is with Chinuch: slight faults in education have wide-ranging repercussions in the long term, with the wedge becoming ever wider with every passing day and year.

Rearing children was always the task of the parents, we should not rely totally on the educational institutions; don't institutionalise your offspring!

Thank you to all those who helped and all thos who came

Jews for Java - Employment of Charedim in the Israeli workforce

By Sarah Coleman

April 6, 2000 

Every day, Ephraim Mett works a mouseclick away from damnation. 

In Israel, ultra-Orthodox rabbis have banned their followers from cruising the Web, but that's not stopping the observant from hacking code. 

Mett, a programmer at Jerusalem's MALAM Systems Ltd., spends his day writing code and developing Web sites for clients like the Israeli post office. 

But, as a member of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, he is forbidden to browse the Web or shop online; this would be frowned on by his rabbis, who have branded the Net a "danger thousands of times more serious" than television, one that could bring "destruction and ruin." In January, prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis banned their followers from using the Net for purposes other than work. 

When Mett comes home to his young family, he steps back into a traditional world that has more to do with "Yentl" than Yahoo. 

Mett says he wouldn't put a connection in his home or use his Web browser at work for shopping, even if it was to buy something as innocuous as a sofa. 

"Obviously, it would be very useful to use the Internet for such a thing," he says. 

"The problem is that the Internet has a lot of power to draw a person in, which is why I understand the ban fully and respect it." Like other ultra-Orthodox programmers, Mett (who did six years of advanced religious study before joining MALAM) straddles a strange divide: With one foot firmly planted in the ancient and insular world of Talmud study, he is stepping into the fast-paced, globally oriented world of programming. 

Curiously, his religious background might be his greatest asset as a programmer. 

"The analytical approach used in Talmud is very useful for programming," he says. 

"You have to work out plausible explanations, which are quite a lot like programming algorithms." Until recently, it would have been almost impossible for Mett and his ultra-Orthodox, or haredi, peers to work in a high-tech company. 

Prejudices on both sides and a lack of technical education barred their entry to "Silicon Wadi" -- the collective name for the industrial parks and incubators springing up all over Israel's desert landscape. 

Now, with increased educational options, the ultra-Orthodox are entering Israel's high-tech world in significant numbers -- and finding that their skills are in high demand. 

"I'd be happy to employ more haredi programmers," says David Schindler, a vice president at MALAM. 

"They're older and more mature, and they have a tremendous drive to succeed." Besides, adds Schindler, who was a religious scholar in his youth, Talmud study is excellent preparation for programming. 

"It gives you an intuitive mind; you know how to break problems down into the smallest particles." In fact, the Talmud -- first compiled in the year 200 B.C. -- was ahead of its time both aesthetically and intellectually. 

Looking at it might explain why "the people of the book" are natural converts to hypertext: In many ways, the Talmud looks like a blueprint for Web design. 

Consider the Babylonian Talmud, the work of many generations of rabbis. 

When this transcription of oral law was started, Roman occupiers were attempting to wipe out all traces of Judaism: life was a little stressful, and the original text, the Mishnah, came out disjointed and nonlinear (imagine Moses communing with James Joyce). 

Succeeding generations of rabbis saw the Mishnah as a good start, but decided to add their own interpretations to it. 

On a typical Talmud page, these writings ("Gemara") are placed in discrete blocks in a tree-ring formation around the Mishnah -- with cross-references, links to other sections and arcane symbols and abbreviations. 

The effect is of a virtual discussion forum between rabbis from different centuries. 

"It's actually the world's first hypertext," says former Israeli Minister of Energy Yossi Vardi. 

Talmud pages are "busy, non-linear, filled with different typefaces, graphical symbols, parallel and intersecting frames, and even multiple languages," writes Edmond H. 

Weiss, an associate professor at Fordham University's Graduate School of Business Administration, in "From Talmud Folios to Web Sites: Hot Pages, Cool Pages and the Information Plenum." Each generation of Talmud scholars is encouraged to produce its own interpretations, the very best of which might be incorporated into future editions of the text. 

To read the Talmud, Weiss posits, "you join the conversation. Just like the Net." 

Of course, with so many voices, there are bound to be disagreements. 

The Talmud contains notorious arguments between rabbis. 

In studying the text, part of the scholar's task is to decode and reconcile these differences, discovering an underlying system by which the different points of view can coexist. 

Imagine, for example, that an updated Talmud was to deal with malfunctioning Web browsers (this is not so far-fetched, since it deals with such minutiae as the direction a person should face while defecating). 

Replace rabbinical authorities with programmers and a section might read as follows: Adam believes that his Web browser is crashing because he hasn't upgraded to the newest release. 

Bill says that Adam is using too recent a version of the software. 

Both are experienced programmers. 

How can this disagreement be? Carla, another programmer, says that if the problem is file-system corruption, Adam's theory would apply, but if there are problems with certain embedded Web objects, Bill would be right. 

Danya had problems with embedded objects, and found that the solution was to disable certain audio plug-ins. 

So it seems likely that Bill is referring to problems with portable document formats, whereas Danya's issues concerned streaming audio. 

Did Erin manage to fix her system by removing plug-ins? Doubtless she had encountered the streaming audio bug, too. 

"I must give credit to the years of studying Talmud, which opens their minds," says Rabbi Yehezkel Fogel. 

In 1996, Fogel founded the Haredi Center for Technological Studies, the community's first technical college. 

Since the ultra-Orthodox can't attend secular schools (they're prohibited from studying in co-ed classrooms) the center acts as a necessary bridge between the worlds of Talmud and high tech. 

Having opened in 1996 with 35 students, it now boasts an enrolment of 1,200 in five locations across Israel. 

In setting up the school, one of the major issues Fogel hoped to address was poverty in the community. 

Traditionally, haredi men study in a yeshiva full time into their 30s and beyond, while their wives support the family, often by working menial jobs. 

Add to this the stress of dealing with a large family (often up to nine children) and it's easy to see why 51 percent of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel live below the poverty line, as opposed to 15 percent of new immigrants to Israel and 24 percent of Arab Israelis.

A MESSAGE FROM THE KWEEN

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:-

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up 'vocabulary').

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

 God Save the Queen!

PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)!

A LEADER’S PRAYER

This quote has been included as a light-hearted view of some of the possible concerns of any manager and is not intended to be an espousal of any one faith or culture.

It appears as published in 1976, before the days of gender neutral language.

A LEADER’S PRAYER

Dear Lord, help me become the kind of leader my management would like to have me be.  Give me the mysterious something which will enable me at all times satisfactorily to explain policies, rules, regulations and procedures to my workers even when they have never been explained to me.

Help me to teach and to train the uninterested and dim-witted without ever losing my patience or my temper.

Give me that love for my fellow men which passeth all understanding so that I may lead the recalcitrant, obstinate no-good worker into the paths of righteousness by my own example, and by soft-persuading remonstrance, instead of busting him on the nose.

Instil into my inner-being tranquillity and peace of mind that no longer will I wake from my restless sleep in the middle of the night crying out ‘What has the boss got that I haven’t got and how did he get it?’

Teach me to smile if it kills me.

Make me a better leader of men by helping develop larger and greater qualities of understanding, tolerance, sympathy, wisdom, perspective, equanimity, mind-reading and second sight.

And when, Dear Lord, Thou has helped me to achieve the high pinnacle my management has prescribed for me and when I shall have become the paragon of all supervisory virtues in this earthly world, Dear Lord, move over.  Amen.

From: Handy, C. ‘Understanding Organizations’, p98, Penguin Books, (1993)

Rabbi Hanoch Ben Elkonoh Pack

Found this Sefer at the house of Dayan Yosef Padwa Shlita, London:

See this link for a mention of this Torah sage: http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Pinkas_Slovakia/Slo495.html

Irgun Shiurai Torah 5777

Dear Friend and Partner of Irgun Shiurai Torah,

Thank you for helping us bring Torah & Judaism to Klal Yisroel in the past years.

We have Boruch Hashem begun this year's worldwide Shovovim project with great success בעזהשי"ת. Over 50,000 people are gathering together to strengthen the foundations of Yiddishkeit: Jewish Family Values, taharas hamishpachah and Sholom Bayis. These lectures are being held in over 600 locations in 10 languages. Over 2,500 classes are presently being held for this year's Shovovim project.

Whether in Texas or Belgium, Eretz Yisroel or South Africa, a major Kiddush Hashem is taking place! The Shovovim Project is one of the largest worldwide projects in our time. In our own local neighborhoods, thousands of people are attending these Shiurim.

Many who had never previously heard about taharas hamishpachah, whether in large swathes of as-yet-to-become-Frum communities in the United States to Kibbutzim across Eretz Yisroel, are now coming to hear about how to live a frum and fulfilling Jewish life.

What amazing unity & Achdus is being achieved through this project! Participants range from a wide spectrum of Klal Yisroel. Frum and not yet Frum, Chassidish & Litvish, American and Modern Orthodox, Mizrachi, Ashkenazim and Sephardim.

And now... we need your participation to sponsor the over 2,500 Taharas Hamishpachah classes. We need to pay for all the expenses of the Shiurim around the world which include:

Rabbonim and Kallah teachers

Worldwide speakers' traveling expenses (to far-out communities and non-frum kibbutzim in Eretz Yisroel, etc.) 

Printing and mailing of literature and Halacha guides distributed at hundreds of the Shiurim

Advertising in all major international newspapers

Printing and posting posters, distributing flyers

Workers and hall rentals.

All of which totals over a quarter million dollars for this year's worldwide Shovovim project alone.

All of us need Zechuyos for ישועות, רפואות, good פרנסה, good שידוכים, good health, nachas and wholesome Jewish children. Do you know what a tremendous Zechus it is to bring Kedushah and Jewish values to tens of thousands of Jewish homes world over?! Those who help spread taharas hamishpachah will בע"ה merit unbelievable blessings.

Please take a part in this great mitzvah NOW by sponsoring:

• 25 series of Taharas Hamishpachah lectures in one community $25,000.00

• 10 series of Taharas Hamishpachah lectures in one community $10,000.00

• A series of Taharas Hamishpachah lectures in one community $1,000.00

• A shiur on Taharas Hamishpachah $500.00

• A partial sponsorship of a shiur $180.00

• A donation towards Irgun Shiurai Torah $100.00

• A donation that will help us cover some of our small expenses               $

In the merit of all the Torah learned through Irgun Shiurai Torah, may Hashem bless you with good health, much nachas, and may you be showered with Birchos HaTorah. Thank you again.

Please send in your generous tax deductible contribution to Irgun Shiurai Torah 1438 40 St Brooklyn NY 11218 or call in with your credit card info 718.851.8651 or email to tapecenter@yeshivanet.com

This mitzvah is known as a great Zechus for nachas from your children, good Shidduchim and Hatzlachah. Tizku LeMitzvos, BeVirchas Hatorah, Sincerely, Rabbi Elozer B. Bald, Rabbi Avrohom M. Kugelman, Rabbi Gavriel Framowitz, Rabbi Simcha Deutsch of Irgun Shiurai Torah, 718.851.8651, Fax 718.686.7713, tapecenter@yeshivanet.com