07 Nov SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

MI KAMCHA YISRAEL
Dear Vues Master
We have a family member who’s a combat medic in
an infantry unit. He’s been on the border of/in Gaza
for weeks now, without showering or coming home.
He wears contacts and got an eye infection. He took
a cab to Beer Sheva last week to see a doctor. The cab
driver refused to let him pay, waited for him to finish
his appointment, took him to his own home, fed him,
washed his uniform (which had blood on it) and told
him to nap for an hour. Then he took him back to his
base. Mi K’amcha Yisrael.
AC
Vues Master’s Note: I love hearing these types of stories.
We all need to hear them! Thanks for sharing.

RECLINING ON A PLANE
Dear Vues Master
Last week a viral clip online showed a furious plane
passenger that sparked a fierce debate after getting
into a screaming match with a fellow traveler when
she accused them of ‘PUSHING her seat repeatedly’
when she reclined it. As a frequent flier this has always
bothered me. I’m a tall guy & I have no idea why they
have seats on a plane with the recline position. By
having it, obviously people are going to use it and in
this day & age there is no room anymore on airplanes
to move an inch.
KP
Vues Master’s Note: Airlines fault! They should have a
sign that says no reclining or yes reclining. If they don’t,
people will continue to argue about this topic.

REMEMBERING SHEYA MENDLOWITZ
Z”L EDITION
Dear Vues Master
I just wanted to give you guys a big yasher koach for
last week’s edition on Sheya. Wherever I went this
past weekend people were talking about your special
edition. He was a great music producer but even a better
person. He will be missed!
Vues Master’s Note: We love compliments. Thank you!
He definitely will be missed. Yehi zichro baruch.

IS AMERICA ANTI SEMITIC?
Dear Vues Master
Has America turned antisemitic? If a crowd of people
screamed “Lynch the Blacks,” If a college professor
taught the KKK was justified in lynching blacks, If
student groups signed a letter that George Floyd’s
crimes opened him up to being killed, The crowd
would be called racist, the professor would be fired, and
the student groups would be disbanded. But when an
American-Arab crowd screams “Gas the Jews,” when
professors say Palestinians were justified beheading
Israelis, and student groups say it was Israel’s fault
they were attacked, it’s free speech and a valid form of
expression. Americans wake up. Systemic antisemitism
has begun in the U.S.A. If you don’t stop it, America
will lose its exceptionalism and be no different than
Cairo, Amman, and Tehran. This is an inflection point in
America’s treatment of its Jews. Merely calling out hate
speech isn’t sufficient. Action must be taken. Arrests
must be made, foreign students espousing hate must
be deported, and elected officials must be censured.
The world is watching, and they’re not impressed with
America’s response to the antisemitism revealing itself.
RUP
Vues Master’s Note: The world has gone mad but
remember there is still plenty of good out there!

ISLAMOPHOBIA
Dear Vues Master
When was the last time you saw a radical Islamic
fundamentalist yell Islamophobia? I don’t think I’ve
ever seen such a thing. Why would that be? Why is it
only ever non radical Muslims or non Muslims in the
west who use that card? I’ll tell you why. Because when
someone mentions the fact that a vast majority of global
terror is carried out by Muslims, radical islamists don’t
view that as an insult. They say “Hells yea!” That is
their biggest pride. Get it? The west likes to apply its
values to radical Islam, a global movement that agrees
with 0% of western values. The irony of the west trying
to defend tens of millions of people who don’t want
their defense and are proud of the accusation that they
are the world’s largest perpetrator or terror is not lost on
me. “The west is hilarious. They’re fighting a fight for
us that we don’t even want to fight, but sure, have at it.”
Such a backward world.
Hillel Fuld
Vues Master’s Note: Definitely backward.

REMEMBERING DEDI

When I was a little girl, Dedi came onto the
music scene as a rising star and immediately
we were taken by his joie de vivre. I felt like
the luckiest kid to know Dedi personally
through my father and enjoy the perks of
backstage at concerts and his joining some
of our family Simchos. Though I was young,
I knew that Dedi was a special person with
a big caring heart. That was especially
reinforced when he introduced and sang the
Menachem song. Dedi was always energetic
and smiling; he possessed a real gift of
bringing joy to others. I loved his music,
his performances, his genuine Ahavas
Yisroel and great sense of humor. While
I merited to see Dedi perform at countless
concerts and Simchos, two highlights stand
out. Dedi accompanied my father and his
band Neginah Orchestras to sing for then
Mayor Gulliani. It was an exclusive event
and a huge Kiddush Hashem. Dedi being
Israeli, along with his musical brilliance and
personality, helped strengthen the bond of
NY and Israel. The other event was a smaller
less prominent venue but to me at that age, it
meant so much. Dedi came to perform at my
parents formerly owned store, Judaica Plus
in the 5 Towns. Of course, I, his little fan,
got front row seats ( on the floor of the store)
and a few minutes of private shmoozing. It
was too many years ago to remember the
exact conversation but the next thing I knew,
Dedi took a permanent marker and wrote his
name on my forehead. He even included a
smiley face inside the D, because that was
Dedi! sharing his contagious smile with all.
(See picture below) His name didn’t wash
off for a few days but I was certainly okay
going to school and showing my friends and
teachers the personal autograph I received.
Dedi was so kind and effusive and over the
many years he shared himself humbly with
whomever he encountered. As I grew older
my connection to Jewish music celebrities
subsided. But somewhere deep inside was
a soft spot for the sweet melodies of my
youth, most notably Dedi’s music. Hence,
when I recently heard about his illness and
then untimely passing, I am finding myself
walking down memory lane. I re-listened to
Dedi gold, silver, purple, green etc. ( that’s
what we used to call his CD’s based on the

covers colors). It’s been a whirlwind with
digging up pictures and reminiscing back to
the Dedi days. Each picture and song evokes
such memories and emotions. Dedi was a
Jewish music legend and he will always be
remembered as such. To his family I share
my thoughts and Kos Tanchumim. Although
it’s been so many years since my Dedi fan
club era, I am deeply saddened by his Petira.
I can’t believe the larger than life Dedi is no
longer here. As a little kid, I didn’t realize he
had a last name, I definitively didn’t realize
the large family he left at home each and
every time he came to the States to perform.
How you were moser nefesh to give us
Americans such joy. Thank you for that and
for sharing your husband and father with all
of Klal Yisroel back then. Our childhood
memories are richer because of the role
your husband and father played in our lives.
Since his passing, I am reading a lot about
him and learning so much I never knew. All
of the clips going around share his simple
greatness. He was so exuberant, so relatable,
so much fun. He gave such honor to the
Ribbono Shel Olam using his gifts. When I
I,השם את כבד מגרונך-מהונך Pasuk the see
think of Dedi. I am sure he is singing with
the Malachim in Shomayim. He will not be
forgotten. His legacy will live on through
each of us who will carry forth his simcha
and beautiful songs for many years to come.
May Hashem grant you much strength and
comfort through this trying time. תנצבה
Rivki Lang ( daughter of Shelly Lang)
Vues Master’s Note: Great story! Dedi was a
true ahavas yisrael & his son is following in
his footsteps.

NEW SPEAKER
Dear Vues Master:
While the news has been, for the most part,
depressing and the opposite of inspiring, one
recent development in politics could offer
us a lesson. I am referring to the election of
Mike Johnson as speaker of the House of
Representatives. The vote for Johnson came
after a more tumultuous history than any such
contest before, which is saying a lot. For a
short recap of the drama leading up to the
vote: It took many votes for the prior speaker,
Kevin McCarthy to win the speakership
because conservative Republicans charged
that he was too moderate – a Republican in
Name Only (“RINO”). However, once in
the job, McCarthy helped start numerous
investigations into various problematic
Democrat actions, and the conservatives
appeared to grudgingly accept his speakership.
All that changed when, on September
30, 2023, in a surprise coup, Republican
Representative Matt Gaetz successfully
removed McCarthy by leveraging almost
exclusively Democrat votes. The move was
derided as a betrayal of and fatal blow to
Republicans. The next three weeks saw a

whopping 14 Republican candidates throw
their hats in the ring to replace McCarthy
in a wild merry-go-round of almost wins,
retries and withdrawals, punctuated by

raucous infighting, recriminations, finger-
pointing and dire warnings that the next

speaker might end up being, horror of
horrors, a Democrat. Then, in a development
seemingly out of nowhere, on October 25,
Republican Representative Mike Johnson
won the speakership on the first ballot – with
all 220 Republican Representatives voting
in his favor. What makes this development
especially remarkable is that (a) Johnson is
very conservative, so conservatives ended
up gaining tremendously from McCarthy’s
“disastrous” ouster, (b) unlike many of
his failed “heavy-hitter” rivals, Johnson
is a complete unknown, and (c) Johnson
entered the race late, only a few days before
the final vote. While all of the above is
interesting, what lesson does it teach? The
headline I saw announcing Johnson’s win
says it all: “How Mike Johnson Became
Speaker ‘Through Prayer, Not Politics.’”
This was a quote from a friend of Johnson,
a religious Southern Baptist. Indeed, in his
first address from the chair, Johnson alluded
to Daniel 2:21, stating that “G-d is the one
that raises up those in authority.” While there
is no comparison between what happened to
House Republicans and what is happening
in Israel, lehavdil elef alfay havdalos, the
above headline encapsulates all that we need
to know about world affairs. While we are
metzuvim to do hishtadlus, at the end of
the day, prayer, not politics, is what makes
miracles happen. And, as transpired with the
speakership contest, when Hashem wants
something to happen, no matter how messy,
complicated, longstanding and seemingly
intractable a problem is, He can solve it
smoothly in an instant.
DZ
Vues Master’s Note: Can’t stand politics!

SPEECH AT THE KNESSET
Dear Vues Master:
I recently heard a speech that Knesset
member Galit Distel-Atbaryan made to the
Knesset about Ori Megidish, the private in
the Israeli army who was the first Hamas
hostage returned. I’m not sure if this was
well-publicized or not, so I’m quoting parts
of it that might be of interest: “A few days
before Ori came home, there was a video
of her mother, Margolit, standing and doing
hafrashat challah and when she was doing
it, she davened to Hakadosh Boruch Hu
and asked from him mercy and help and
to return her child to her. …A lot of people
pray at such a time, but during this prayer…
[she did it] while her child is in the hands
of Hamas…all of a sudden, most casually
comes out of her mouth ‘Kadosh Baruch
Hu – I love you.’ …Now I know that to a

lot of people it seems like something very
primitive – just unsophisticated, simple and
voodoo mumbo jumbo…I want to say that as
soon as she said it, I ENVIED her! I envied
her unimaginable degree of faith. It is not
simple. It is not primitive. It is spirituality
at the highest level. It is a spiritual level so
high and powerful and sophisticated that I
think of all of the … people who dedicate
their lives to spiritual ascension…they do
not scratch the ground that Margalit stood
at at that moment because she understood
in depth the Hashgacha Protit in everything
– that everything starts and ends with good
– even when you are in the Valley of the
Shadow of Death you fear no evil because
He is with you. And even if you are in a
huge dark pit of a mother’s worry for her
baby girl who is in the hands of the worst
human predators, wild men, even then she
understood deep down in her heart that
Hakadosh Boruch Hu was doing something
that is for the benefit of some general interest
that right now in her mortal eyes she cannot
see…I believe in Divine Providence…But I
believe it when I’m safe at home and praying
at Sabbath candles, not when G-d forbid one
of my children is in mortal danger. I want
to say to Margalit this righteous mother you
are my hero and an example for me. You
are my role model, and I wish I could reach
the spiritual heights and kiddush Hashem
that you did! Continue to pray, Margalit,
for all of the other abductees. You have a
direct connection to the Kadosh Baruch Hu.
Continue you and all of our brave soldiers.
This nation of Israel is in amazing synergy
with the soldiers on the ground. The women
praying – there is nothing better than that!”
DZ
Vues Master’s Note: Wow! Thanks for
sharing!

WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN
Dear Vues Master
A random thought I had on Shabbat as I was
having my near daily panic attack thinking
about our soldiers and casualties. I can’t
wrap my head around the fact that there are
actual human beings with a heart who can
possibly side with Hamas after what they did.
Ya know, holocaust deniers are demented
people but they can at least claim that they
don’t have hard evidence of the holocaust.
But Hamas live streamed their atrocities
so how can anyone deny the October 7th
massacre? It boggles my mind that any single
human being can side with Hamas, let alone
millions around the world. Now I know I
can’t find logic in antisemitism and that it’s
the most irrational hatred in history but still,
I can’t accept the fact that all of these people
are just evil. I have to find some logic. The
way I see it, there are three groups of people
who side with Hamas: 1- Full blown proud
antisemites. People who simply hate Jews

and don’t even try to hide it. 2- People who
think the Palestinian cause is just but when
asked, know very little about the war. 3-
People who are simply ignorant and believe
everything they’re told. They simply don’t
know better. The first group is hopeless and
I wouldn’t waste my time even engaging.
But the second and third group simply lack
information. So here’s my thought. At the
foundation of group 2 and 3 is the false
narrative that Israel is the aggressor here.
That the Palestinians, and by extension,
Hamas is the underdog. People like to side
with the underdog. But here’s the thing. By
any objective standard and really, no matter
how you look at this, Israel is anything but
the aggressor here. IDF stands for Israel
Defense Forces. Defense. Israel never
attacks. Israel defends. See what’s going on
now with Lebanon. Hezboloh is non stop
instigating, firing into Israel. Israel fires
back. Why isn’t Israel obliterating them?
Because that’s not what Israel does unless
it’s forced to. Israel does everything in its
power to achieve peace and it always has.
Jews pray for peace countless times in our
daily prayers. Israel has never attacked
anyone. Hamas attacked on October 7th.
A cease fire? We had one on October 6th.
Nothing about Israel is the aggressor. We
occupy Gaza? That’s an objective lie. Israel
not only evacuated 10,000 of its citizens
from Gaza in 2005, Israel actually DUG UP
ITS DEAD from the cemetery in Gaza so
Hamas wouldn’t carry out the atrocities we
now know they would have. There was not
one Jew in Gaza, dead or alive. Evacuating
10,000 of its own civilians, does that sound
like the behavior of an aggressor? Israel is
in no way the aggressor here. And if you
think that looking at a body count and the
fact that there are more casualties on their
side makes Israel the aggressor because
they are stronger than the enemy, well,
how many Germans died in WWII? Who
was the aggressor there? Proportional
response? If Israel attacks and you think
Israel is too powerful to do what it’s doing,
then just realize that what you’re saying is:
– We need more dead Jews for Israel to be
“allowed” to defend itself. – Israel should act
proportionally, so you think Israel should do
what Hamas did? Need I remind you what
that is? Is that what you’re saying? I literally
cannot think of a single atrocity that Hamas
did not check off its list. Murder? Rape?
Kidnapping? Beheading? Pedophilia? I can
go on but this stuff scars my soul. So having
said all that; one question remains. If you
belong to group 2 or 3 and think Israel is the
aggressor, ask yourself why you believe that
and if that’s an accurate definition to define
an aggressor. Then ask yourself what has to
happen to Israel for you to understand that
Israel wants peace and has done everything
to prove it, while its enemies want the total

destruction of Israel and the genocide of
Jews. What has to happen? Because clearly
Hamas stating their agenda clearly isn’t
enough, so tell me, what has to happen?
Hillel Fuld
Vues Master’s Note: Can’t answer that
except to say that we need to continue to
daven to Hashem!

THE REAL WORLD WAR I
Dear Vues Master
Most people who study history believe
that the first World War was fought from
1914-1918. However, if we learn Parshas
Lech Lecha, we see that it was actually
fought during the time of Avrum. The war
pitted the armies of 4 kings vs those of
5 kings and involved other countries as
well. One of them was Berah the King of
Sedom. He is mentioned in our daily tefilos
in the description of the Ketores which
are important to say. It says “v’melach
Sedomis Rova Ha’kuv maaleh Ushun Kol
Shahuh. Rova is an anagram of Berah. So
it can be translated as Berah the King of
Sedom, the cursed one (he was a very bad
guy) went up in smoke (when Sedom was
destroyed later) and nothing was left of him.
Another interesting misconception is when
Hasidism began. It is commonly believed
that it began in the 1700’s. However, we
find that there was an enclave of Hasidim
during the time of Avrum. As it says in the
same parsha, the Great War was fought in
the Emek Hasidim. We say “Maaseh Avos
Siman le’bonim”. In that Great War of the
Four Kings who were initially victorious,
they took hostages. Loit and fellow
inhabitants of Sedom were captured and
held hostage. Many years later, Chamas
followed their example and took over 200
Israeli hostages to be used as bargaining
chips. Also, Avrum took sand and threw it
up in the air and it became airborne bombs
and missiles. Another interesting example
is the rescue of Loit by Avrum. Loit was
Avrum’s nephew and initially was one of
his followers. He became rich because
of Avrum. Then he had a dispute over
financial reasons and separated himself
from Avrum. He went to Sedom and
became corrupted by them. However, when
war came, Avrum didn’t care about this. He
risked his life and immediately went to save
him. That is why it says “ki nishba achiv”;
the posuk calls him a brother even though
he was a nephew. Now, even though there
were sometimes nasty disputes between the
different factions in Israel, once the war
started all the people came together to fight
the deadly enemy. We are all brothers in
arms. Mi Ka’amcha Goi Achud ba’eretz.
When we are united, we will be iy”h
victorious.
DF
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for the voirt.

DAF YOMI & WALLS
BREACHED,NEVER
BREACHED,& NEVER TO BE
BREACHED
Dear Vues Master
Sometimes a page of the daf yomi seems
relevant to the news of the day. Now is
a time when the whole tractate of the
Talmud the students of the Daf Yomi have
just begun seems relevant to the worst
collective news of the lifetime of most of
us, though davening, faith, fight, and unity
we can still hope for and envision the
light at the end of the tunnel for as many
innocent people as possible as our soldiers
cope with the darkness on the inside of the
subterranean tunnels under Gaza. We
just began the first of the three Baba
tractates in the Talmud – Baba Kama (the
first), Baba Metziah (the second), and Baba
Batra (the last), but also the beginning of
the whole Seder of Nezikin (the “Order”
dealing with Damages). It seems that
nothing has damaged the sense of security
of the Jewish people in general and the
Israeli people in particular as the day when
more Jews were murdered than on any
single day since the holocaust, hy”d (may
their blood be avenged). Baba
Kama literally means the first gate, when
the doors of our study halls swing open
and analysis is begun on how to cope with
damages. The damages and the murders
that began on October 7th , with the
breaches of the “impregnable” gates and
the walls of the Israeli border with Gaza
seemed unimaginable given the faith
so many people had in the ability of the
Israeli military to implement the will of
G-d by developing and using the most
sophisticated of security systems to prevent
surprise attacks that would devastate not
merely an isolated community but a whole
region of communities, and threaten the
whole country. The Alshich
haKadosh (1508-1593) likened the 4
categories of damages to the 4 major
galuyot (diasporas, exiles) where attempts
were made to annihilate the Jewish people,
which seemed more than concerning, to say
the least, at the time, as now, G-d forbid,
except for a significant difference in our
time. The four categories of damages are
shor (ox), bor (a pit), ma’aveh (spoliation,
which is subject to various interpretations),
and ha’he’ever (fire). Nebuchadnezzar, the
warrior king, has been likened to an ox,
whose intent was to cause damage and
mayhem, not merely to satisfy personal
desires, akin to Hamas . A bor is likened
to the Persians, in the days of Ahaseuros
and Queen Esther, when the Jews were
initially lured into the trap of participating
in events inconsistent with traditional
Jewish values, as is often the case in our
times, without criticizing any particular

groups. A spoliator has been likened to the
Greeks. Spoliation has been described in
various ways, but one is uncovering what
is hidden, akin to the Greeks, who sought
to undermine Jewish spirituality, which
of course cannot be seen. Hamas was and
remains out for the Jews, officially because
of their religion but actually because of the
hatred they were instilled in from early
childhood, not because of what the Jews
had acquired or built (the people of Hamas
didn’t revolt when under the rule of Arab
countries, and they had only themselves to
blame for their governance of unoccupied
Gaza since the Jews evacuated it in 2005).
Ominously, the Greeks broke through
13 pirtzos (breaches) in the soreg, in the
fence around the Beit Mikdash (Temple),
certainly conjuring up images of what
happened on October 7 th . Finally, fire,
which calls to mind the Romans, who
mindlessly and ruthlessly killed so many,
all too many by fire, as most notably Rabbi
Chaninah Ben Teradion, which recalls
what happened to all too many Jews on
October 7 th.. (Rabbi Chaninah’s wife
was decapitated, more shades of October
7; and his daughter was violated, still
more shades of October 7), not to mention
the Romans having famously taken Jews
as helpless slaves as depicted in some
of their coins and in their Arch of Titus.
Many of these Jewish slaves would have
been hostages, in the spirit of Hamas, had
there been a community left to claim them.
Now, we have a country with the means
to negotiate for their release, and to fight
for them, and to fight for the many more
Jews who were not captured or killed. The
rulers of these countries all tried to destroy
the Jewish people, one way or another, and
they all wreaked havoc, but eventually
they have all been swept into the dustbins
of history; their civilizations became
marginalized and relatively irrelevant
(although some of their successors
geographically have created new cultures
which in some cases can continue to wreak
havoc, to put it mildly) while the Jewish
people have maintained their original
religion and culture, notwithstanding
the modifications that some have made
culturally, religiously, and politically.
Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq.
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for the voirt.