30 May SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
BDE RAV GERSHON EDELSTEIN ZT”L
Dear Vues Master
I feel bad for the students and followers of Rav Edel-
stein זצ״ל and recognize the loss to the Jewish people
today. I feel even worse for those who never learned
his Torah lessons and don’t recognize our
people’s loss.
RUP
Vues Masters Note: Yehi Zichro Baruch!
BDE RAV GERSHON EDELSTEIN ZT”L
Dear Vues Master
From the head of Machon Shilo, Rabbi David Bar-
Hayim: “Rabbeinu HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edel-
stein ztz”l has been summoned to the Yeshiva Shel
the say should One .בא“י אמ“ה דיין האמת .alah’Ma
bracha with Shem Umalchut.”
RDBH
Vues Masters Note: Yehi Zichro Baruch!
ANSWER
Dear Vues Master:
Wow! That’s all I can say! Rabbi Feiners answer to
the fun question in last week’s Jewish Vues was so
raw & emotional. It was real. Everywhere I went over
Yom Tov people were talking about it. Numerous rab-
bis throughout Flatbush included it in their Shavos
drashas. Kol Hakavod!
JA
Vues Master’s Note: It was a very powerful answer!
ANSWER II
Dear Vues Master:
Just wanted to let Ari Hirsch know that Rabbi Wolf
from the Young Israel of Woodmere discussed the
Rabbi Feiner interview over Shavuous. The answer
that Rabbi Feiner gave to the chevrusa question was
very emotional . Rabbi & Rebbetzin Feiner are mala-
chim & we only wish them & their son the best!
AC
Vues Master’s Note: Again we always want what we
can’t have. How many fathers who have healthy chil-
dren need to hire a tutor because they end up fighting
and killing the kid if they learn with him!
RABBI FEINER
Dear Vues Master:
I have been in awe of Rabbi Feiner for years. I truly
can’t fathom how he has such strength and emunah.
The chevrusa answer to the Ari Hirsch interview was
one of the most powerful statements I have ever read.
Thank you so much for your interviews. My family
loves the Jewish Vues!
PT
Vues Master’s Note: Seems to be the theme this week!
INTERVIEW
Dear Vues Master:
The Rabbi Feiner interview in last week’s edition was
simply beyond. I needed to read it many times to ab-
sorb it. So powerful!
JG
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for sharing!
RABBI FEINER INTERVIEW
Dear Vues Master:
I’m crying. Wow. I needed to read that Rabbi Fein-
er interview. As a parent of an only child in a place
where so many people have four or more, sometimes
I don’t focus on the fact that I too am blessed. Rabbi
Feiner has always been my role model in this matter.
DH
Vues Master’s Note: We all know that Rabbi and
Rebbetzin Feiner are extremely special people.
CHANGE
Dear Vues Master:
Abe told his friend that he was getting divorced.
“Ever since we got married she’s worked to change
me. She got me to stop smoking and drinking. She
taught me how to dress well. She even taught me how
to invest in the stock market.” “It sounds like you re-
ally resent her having changed you so drastically,” his
friend remarked. “No, I’m not resentful,” Abe said.
“It’s just that now that I’m so improved, she’s not
good enough for me.”
MB
Vues Master’s Note: I think she changed also! For
the worse!
FATHER
Dear Vues Master:
In the morning we say the brachos
over the Torah: And may (1,2) we
and (3) our descendants and the (4)
descendants of our descendants and
the (5) descendants of Your people
the House of Israel, all know Your
Name and be students of Your Torah
for its own sake. Similarly, after the
blessing of Shema we say the fol-
lowing: For (1) our fathers and for
(2) us, for (3) our children and for
(4) our generations, and (5) for all
generations of the seed of Israel,
Your servants. Learn from here that
a father is responsible for four peo-
ple, his immediate family and for
his neighbor. The immediate family
is (1) his father, (2) himself, (3) his
children, and (4) his grandchildren.
For (5) other peoples’ children as
the Ibn Ezra says in Vayikra 19:3:1
“Scripture employs the plural tira’u
(ye shall fear) because those who
observe another person’s child have
to teach him and force him to fear
his parents.” In the morning we say
the blessing over the Torah: And
may (1,2) we and (3) our descen-
dants and the (4) descendants of
our descendants and the (5) descen-
dants of Your people the House of
Israel, all know Your Name and be
students of Your Torah for its own
sake. Similarly, after the blessing of
Shema we say the following: For (1)
our fathers and for (2) us, for (3) our
children and for (4) our generations,
and (5) for all generations of the
seed of Israel, Your servants. Learn
from here that a father is responsi-
ble for four people, his immediate
family and for his neighbor. The im-
mediate family is (1) his father, (2)
himself, (3) his children, and (4) his
grandchildren. For (5) other peo-
ples’ children as the Ibn Ezra says
on Leviticus 19:3:1 “Scripture em-
ploys the plural tira’u (ye shall fear)
because those who observe another
person’s child have to teach him and
force him to fear his parents.”
DG
Vues Master’s Note: And right on top-
ic here comes DG
THE WEALTH OF TORAH
Dear Vues Master:
My father Z”l was driving his Rosh
Hayeshiva, Moreinu Horav Yisroel
Zev Gustman ZTL, Rosh Hayeshiva
Netzach Yisroel Kuntras Hashuirim,
past the World Trade Center build-
ings. He commented; “if Yidden
would only know the Ashiris-wealth
that’s in this small tosphos that I’m
learning now, they would run from the
binyanim-buildings to go learn Torah
“! He once told me; “Save the poli-
tics for the old men on the street cor-
ner”! Wow!The Chofetz Chaim stood
up for Rav Gustman even though he
was very young at the age of 21 when
he served on Rav Chaim Ozer’s Beis
din in Ramayles Vilna. He was Rav
Chaim Schmulevits chavrusa and
learned with Rav Shmuel Rozovsky
by Rav Shimon Shkap. Yhei Zichro-
num Bruchim.
RMS
Vues Master’s Note: Nice to hear from
our Gedolim! Thanks for sharing!
JUDGES
Dear Vues Master:
The Divine Presence that dwells
among judges leaves if they judge
improperly. From the time when
those who are referred to in the verse:
“Their heart goes after their covetous-
ness” (Ezekiel 33:31), proliferated,
“Those who say to evil good, and to
good evil” (Isaiah 5:20) proliferated,
i.e., those who treat wicked people as
though they were righteous proliferat-
ed as a result. From the time when the
fulfillment of the verse: “Those who
say to evil good, and to good evil,”
proliferated, the cry of: Woe, woe,
proliferated in the world. There was
an increase in troubles that caused
people to cry out. Because people
praise evildoers, mankind will even-
tually cry out “woe” in despair. When
evildoers are praised, people seek to
emulate them. This causes misfor-
tune to descend on the world, as the
Gemara states, punishment comes to
the world on account of the wicked.
Is my son the product of the above or
below (here): Torah scholars became
concerned with ease and comfort,
they did not invest the time and ef-
fort necessary to properly analyze the
court cases and questions of halacha
that were brought before them. As a
result, the decisions they issued were
often poorly thought-out and incor-
rect. Thus, justice was perverted, and
the deeds of the public who relied on
their halachic rulings suffered. – Sota
47b ArtScroll
Vues Master’s Note: Seems to me that
you are not eligible to judge as you
are biased against the Yeshiva system
and your es-wife!
IT’S A REBBE’S LIFE
Dear Vues Master:
Below is a letter that I saw on ye-
shivaworld.com that I thought your
readership would appreciate.
To whom it may concern.
I am a longtime Rebbi in a Brooklyn
Yeshiva. I never in a million years
thought I would have to be writing
such a letter, but I am left without a
choice. A few weeks ago, hundreds
of Rabbeiyim and Morah’s were in-
formed – via a letter on YWN – that
our summer vacations would be short-
ened, and that the Yeshivas would be
starting earlier than it had been for the
past 60 years. The letter was released
by Torah Umesorah, and signed by
the Vaad Roshei Yeshiva, all of whom
I have the utmost Kavod for. Yeshivos
and Bais Yaakovs in Brooklyn have
reached an unprecedented “consen-
sus” to begin the 2023-2024 school
year around the start of Elul, rather
than with the secular start date of La-
bor Day. I thought it was only myself
who was troubled by this decision, but
after talking to dozens upon dozens of
Rabbeiyim and teachers, I found that
I was far from the only one perplexed.
To begin with, every single one of
them was highly insulted. Not one
of us was consulted with before this
massive decision was made. Now, to
be very clear, we all know that Gedo-
lei Olam can make decisions as they
see fit, but at the very least the Rab-
beyim and teachers should have had a
say in the matter — especially if the
driving force behind this decision was
one or two Baalei Batim. If they are
going to listen to Baalei Batim, then
there is no reason why we – the Me-
chanchim – should not have a voice.
The list is very long. The reasons are
many. And we should have been giv-
en a voice at the table. Here are just a
few thoughts to ponder: Is the Yeshi-
va I am employed in going to increase
my salary for an extra week of work?
We have yet to be told anything of the
sort. Will yeshivas increase the tu-
ition for parents due to an extra week
and a half of Yeshiva? Do these Baa-
lei batim who have never in their lives
driven a child to Yeshiva knows that
there is no bussing for most schools,
since it is before Labor Day? That
means that working parents (which is
around 99.5% of all parents) will have
to drive their children to school and
be late for work. Was this taken into
consideration? Do the people who
made this decision understand that
nearly every single one of us work all
summer both days and night to make
ends meet, and we literally had this
week and a half between camp end-
ing and yeshiva starting to get our-
selves together so we don’t walk into
a classroom looking and feeling like
a “Shmata”? This was our only vaca-
tion to rest up and be able to walk into
a classroom refreshed. We didn’t sit
in the swimming pool all summer. We
ran from camp to camp, bungalow
colony to bungalow colony, house to
house, teaching, tutoring, and doing
everything we could to pay our bills.
Don’t you think our employers should
have the decency to talk to us first?
Finally, it should be noted that the let-
ter was sent out before every Brook-
lyn girls school was on board even
though the letter says that they are on
board and this was a “consensus”. In
fact, as of right now, not all schools
have agreed. For the sake of honesty,
this should be stated publicly. I hope
that this decision is reconsidered, and
rabbeyim and teachers are treated
with the dignity and respect we de-
serve. We dedicated our lives to be-
ing mechanech tens of thousands of
children with good hashkafos, meso-
rah, and solid torah education. If you
trust us to protect and watch over our
diamonds, we should at the very least
be given an opportunity to voice our
opinions when it comes to a decision
of this magnitude.
Name withheld upon request (due to
fears of losing my job in 12 seconds).
Vues Master’s Note: Well you Reb-
beim get paid top dollar and on time
who are you to complain? Just kid-
ding, we know the Rebbeim and Mo-
ros are underpaid and a loan is taken
on their backs all the time hence they
don’t get paid on time!
CHEESY
Dear Vues Master:
The Yom Tov of Shavous doesn’t
have many halachos unique to it. But
it does have many minhagim. Most
of you are familiar with the more
prevalent ones. However, there are
some minhagim and ha’orus that are
less known. So why is the Yom Tov
called Shavous? One answer is that
it references Shiva Shavous – the
weeks preceding it where we count
the Omer and prepare for kabulous
ha’Torah. Another is the swearing
of Shavuos where we take upon
ourselves to increase our learning.
A lesser known answer is that we
engage in ameilous b’Torah. Espe-
cially in this time of the year where
it could get hot and steamy (although
not this year), it leads to working up
a sweat or Sh’veis. So what do we
drink to cool off and wash down the
cheese cake? We have a minhag to
drink Mountain Dew. This is a ref-
erence to Naaseh V’nishma. We will
Dew and listen near the Mountain.
Those who can’t get Mountain Dew
could drink Half and Half since it’s
a remez to chatzi la’shem and chat-
zi la’chem. This brings up a ques-
tion someone asked me. We have a
minhag to stay up all night, usually
the first night of Shavuous in Chutz
la’aretz, and learn. If some one can’t
stay up the whole night, can he stay
up half the night the first night and
half the night the second night. Are
we mitztaref chatzi Laila Rishon and
chatzi Laila Sheinu? As they might
also say in Japan, Teiku. I read that
there is a big inyan making a bris for
one’s child on the first day of Shevu-
ous. You make the bris right before
Krias Ha’torah. When the baby be-
gins his life, he undergoes the bris
milah. It gives another meaning to
the words Akdumous Milin. I saw
this and other factoids about Akdu-
mus – the translation and the history
behind it – in a book that came out
many years ago when there were
many of these self-study books that
made subjects simple. It was called
Akdumus for Dummies. The second
day of Shevuous, there is a minhag
to lein Megilas Ruth. Her name is
sometimes spelled Rut, Ruth, Ris
and Rus. Well, some shules do. Ours
doesn’t. People call us Ruthless but
we’re used to it. We may not have
Ris, but we say Rin (see haftorah for
that day). Initially, in Moab, she was
in rut but later became Ruth. When
she reported what occurred when she
met Boaz to Naomi, Naomi replied,
“Boaz will be Boaz.” Near the end
of the megillah, we read about Ploni
Almoni who is really Toiv . From
this we learn that being merely good
is not good enough. Rus gives birth
to a son that was called Oved. How-
ever, when he was a baby the other
women called him Babe Ruth. Later
on in life, she traveled to a land that
was named after her – Ruslaand.
There she found plentiful grain in a
land called Ugrain. That was a long
time ago before they went to war.
But about the war, that… is a whole
nother story.
DF
Vues Master’s Note: Sounds like sour
milk and is a cheesy letter! I guess
you milked it for all it’s worth. I
won’t cry over spilled milk!
MARRIAGE
Dear Vues Master:
A husband in an unhappy marriage
remarked: Marriage is a three ring
circus – The engagement ring. The
wedding ring. And the suffering.
BN
Vues Master’s Note: As one said 100
percent of divorces started with a
wedding cake!
TRAINING
Dear Vues Master:
When a man brought a friend home
without first telling his wife, she
shouted: “Are you nuts? Why didn’t
you call before bringing someone
to the house? The house is a mess.
There are dishes in the sink. I haven’t
cooked anything. And I’m sure not
going to do it now, without notice.
Why did you bring him over?” The
husband calmly explained: “He’s
thinking of getting married. I wanted
him to know what to expect.”
FA
Vues Master’s Note: Wow! As one
said, you don’t have shalom bayis
until you have your first fight!
DIET
Dear Vues Master:
Mr. Lee was terribly overweight, so
his doctor put him on a diet. “I want
you to eat regularly for 2 days, then
skip a day, and repeat this procedure
for 2 weeks. The next time I see you,
you’ll have lost at least 5 pounds.”
When Mr. Lee returned, he shocked
the doctor by losing nearly 20 pounds.
“Why, that’s amazing!” the doctor
said, “Did you follow my instruc-
tions?” Mr. Lee nodded. “I’ll tell you
though; I thought I was going to drop
dead that 3rd day.” “From hunger,
you mean?” asked the doctor. “No,”
replied Mr. Lee, “from skipping.”
WE
Vues Master’s Note: This reminds me
of the joke about jump rope… eh…
I’ll skip it!
TAMEI
Dear Vues Master:
The wife of a Rav was very מחמירה
in all of the particulars of
nevertheless but מצוות בין אדם למקום
constantly picked on and harassed
her husband. Once, during a nasty
argument, the Rav said to her: “You
know, a man who is במצוות מדקדק
is called a Chassid. A woman who is
במצוות מדקדק is called a חסידה ;yet,
no matter how מדקדק a חסידה is, she
is still tameh.”
BN
Vues Master’s Note: She must’ve had
a bird brain.
YICHUS
Dear Vues Master:
A not particularly bright or learned
man appeared before מאיר׳ל רבי of
פרמישלן, boasting of his יחוס and his
holy ancestors. The רבי said let me
tell you a story. “A wealthy man had
a dog who had faithfully served his
master for many years but had now
grown old. The man decided to rid
himself of the dog by sending him to
the forest. But in recognition of the
dog’s service and loyalty over the
years, he felt an obligation to pro-
tect him from the wild animals in
the forest. Thus, he clothed the dog
with the hides of a lion, a bear, and
a wolf before sending him away.
Soon, the lion heard that there was
a very strange animal in the forest
and ordered that it be brought to him.
Looking at it, the lion asked “Who
are you?” “My great grandfather was
a lion” the dog said. “That’s nice,”
the lion responded, “but who are
you?” “My grandfather was a bear,”
the dog answered. “Great,” the lion
said, “but who are you?” “My father
was a wolf,” said the dog. “None of
that answers my question” the lion
said with a roar. “Who are you?” Fi-
nally, hanging his head in shame, he
admitted “I’m just a dog.”
RMP
Vues Master’s Note: Or as Rav Gifter
told his mother the Yichus will begin
with me!
POOR
Dear Vues Master:
A very wealthy man had serious fi-
nancial reverses, went bankrupt and
lost everything, including all of his
“friends.” He said: “This is a ראיה
לא היה ולא נברא אלא משל היה that
איוב. Because how is it possible that
a person who lost all of his wealth,
still remained with three friends?”
FD
Vues Master’s Note: Nice to hear
from our Gedolim! Thanks for shar-
ing!