02 Jul SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

MEGA UPSTATE GROCERY STORES
Dear Vues Master
The fact that there are 15 mega groceries upstate this summer
just for the 10 weeks of the summer astonishes me. These
grocery stores are no longer small stores. They are huge.
How do they do it?
YS
Vues Master’s Note: Drive around Sullivan County & you’ll
see how many new houses there are. The Catskills are
booming & people need to eat.

GROCERY PRICES UPSTATE
Dear Vues Master
Is it just me or are the prices this summer in the grocery
stores upstate out of control? What bothers me the most is
that none of the stores put prices on their products. Is that
legal? It’s like a guessing game. You bring up your shopping
cart & have to guess how much your cart is?
RH
Vues Master’s Note: Food prices are going up so quickly
these days, that store owners don’t have enough time to put
prices on everything.

CHATUFIM
Dear Vues Master
My nephew Shmuel, an IDF soldier, shared the following
point with me: In English we use the word hostages which
sounds like objects, pawns in a negotiation. In Hebrew, more
accurately, we call them chatufim which means they are
individuals who were snatched, kidnapped, grabbed from
their homes and their lives. They are subjects, real people,
not entities to negotiate over. We must continue to say the
names of the chatufim, to daven for them each as a world
unto themselves and to continue to work and demand – let
them go!
Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for your guidance Rabbi
Goldberg. We love your weekly column in the Jewish Vues
every week.

ORANGE BUMPERS
Dear Vues Master
It’s impossible to drive upstate this summer. In many of the
towns of Sullivan County they put orange bumpers on the
corners of the streets, so no one can pull over. You can’t even
drop someone off. What happens when you have an elderly
person in your car? Drop the elderly off 3 blocks away &
tell them to walk. What are you supposed to do in towns like

South Fallsburg? There’s no place to park & no place to drop
people off. I don’t know what people are supposed to do in
these small towns.
PD
Vues Master’s Note: I don’t think law enforcement in the
Catskills really care about store owners. They care only
about safety.

TEHILLIM FOR ACHEINU
Dear Vues Master
I am someone that davens very frequently at the Woodbourne
shul. I love the shul & love Rabbi Jungreis very much. I just
have one issue this summer. Does anyone upstate know that
there is a war going on in Eretz Yisrael right now? Why
is there no tehillim being said after every minyan at the
Woodbourne shul? There are people dying every day in the
war & we need to continue to daven to HKBH for help.
HB
Vues Master’s Note: I have an idea. The next time you daven
at the Woodbourne shul, I think you should start leading
tehillim right after davening. Maybe if people see you do it,
the next minyan will do the same.

KOHAIN
Dear Vues Master: An ashir (rich man) was makpid
(conscientious) that his daughters only marry Kohanim.
When asked why, he explained: “I’ve had the unfortunate
experience of seeing the sons-in-law of ashirim quarreling
over the yerusha, even with the מת still in the house, lying

before them. So I undertook to take only Kohanim as sons-
in-law. That way I can at least assure that they don’t fight

over the yerusha with my corpse in front of them.” BB
Vues Master’s Note: That would be a grave mistake!

COUNTRY VUES
Dear Vues Master:
Just wanted to tell you that my family LOVED last week’s
Yenta Edition of The Country Vues. It’s amazing how many
new heimishe businesses are opening up this summer. I wish
all the business hatzlacha & we look forward to the Country
Vues every summer. Keep up the great work!!!
A G
Vues Master’s Note: We are so excited that we were able
to once again provide entertainment and news to the
Catskills. We pride ourselves on being the Country Vues, a
Jewish newspaper! With Jewish entertainment. Thanks for
patronizing us.

THE DEBATE
Dear Vues Master
How can anyone vote for Biden after the
debate last week? He clearly is a senile old
man. I would be surprised if he would live
out the entire 4 years of his term.
Vues Master’s Note: Some people hate
Trump so much that they would vote for
anyone, as long as it’s not Trump. Trump is
not that young either.

TOURIST
Dear Vues Master: Who were the first
tourists in the world? In Parshas Shelach,
Moshe Rabeinu sent a group of people
“la’tour es ha’urtez” – to tour the land.
Possibly the word tour comes from that
word in the Torah. However, Rashi uses
the word “me’ragel” which means to spy
and that’s generally how we interpret it.
So what was the mission to tour or to spy?
There are several answers to that question
but for the person who is familiar with spy
stories the answer is quite simple. How
does a spy succeed in his mission? He has
to have a cover identity and façade. These
anushim were sent to spy but they had to
portray themselves as tourists. They wore
loud clothing and were constantly taking
pictures (or the equivalent in that era). They
were quite good at it and were never caught
even after going through the whole land for
forty days. In fact, the whole mission was
meticulously planned out. Each one of the
spies had a particular part in the military
team. Reuven’s representative Shamuo
ben Zakir was in charge of eavesdropping
and records. Shimon’s representative
Shafat ben Choiri handled legal matters
and freed captured soldiers if they were
caught. Caleiv ben Yefuna from Yehuda
took care of the canine squad. Yigal ben
Yoseif could also call in reinforcements to
free detainees. Hoishea ben Nun captained
an underwater craft shaped like a fish. Palti
ben Rufi headed the medical team to treat
any potential casualties. Amiel ben Gmali
provided the camels which carried all the
supplies for the mission. Sesur ben Michoel
set up the demolition explosives to be used
to prevent pursuit by the Canaanim. Nachbi
ben Vuvsi brought the Vufen or ammunition
that would have been needed in case of
actual conflict. Ge’uel ben Muchi made sure
to erase all evidence of their incursion from
the enemy. To understand the last two, one
would have to be familiar with American
history during World War II. In order to
fight the Nazis who were trying to sabotage
the US ports, the government enlisted the aid

of the Mafia who also had Jewish members.
This proved to be very helpful. The Mafia
actually started a long time ago. One of the
meraglim was Gotti ben Susi who provided
the equine transportation for the people on
the mission. He also intimidated the enemy
by placing the heads of horses in their beds.
The last one was Gottiel ben Soidi; he was
another godfather who developed encryption
routines to ensure secret communications
between the meraglim. Since they were
very accomplished spies and military
experts, how did they go wrong? Well,
the problem is they had poor self- esteem.
For instance, when Gotti was growing up
other kids called him a ben Sissy. So he
along with most of the meraglim thought
of themselves as grasshoppers. This was
true even though the Canaanim feared them
and called them the Dirty Dozen. Yet, there
was something more that made them scared.
They went around the land but then they
came to Rechov and “luvoi Chamas”. They
saw members of Chamas building military
infrastructure. They continued to Chevron
and met Achiman, Sheishai, and Salmai –
the “Yelidei ANuke”. These three scientists
were busy developing Nukes. That was the
final straw and they gave in to their fears.
DF
Vues Master’s Note: Rechnitzer rejects?

A TALE OF TWO PEOPLE
Dear Vues Master:
Rav Meir Shapiro was visited by one of his
former classmates who turned away from
learning to go into business and became
very wealthy. “Meir, do you remember
those days when we learned together?” the
former classmate asked. “We were so close,
we even slept in the same bed.” Rav Meir
answered him: “Sure I remember. But I
also remember that there was an invisible
wall between us and each of us faced in a
different direction.”
DA
Vues Master’s Note: Sad how things can
turn out.

MONEY
Dear Vues Master:
A famous Maggid visiting in a town where
he was invited to speak, went first thing in
the morning to the home of a wealthy man
to request a loan. He received the loan,
spoke that afternoon, and in the evening
repaid the wealthy man. The next morning,
the Maggid showed up again and requested
a loan. In the evening, he repaid it. This

pattern repeated itself over the next few
days. Curious, the wealthy man said to the
Maggid: “It seems like you really don’t need
the money. Why do you keep borrowing it in
the morning and repaying it at night?” The
מגיד answered: “You’re right. I really don’t
need the money. But you have no idea how
much confidence it gives me when I speak
and know I have cash in my pocket.”
DW
Vues Master’s Note: Ah! I would give him a
credit card like this so he can try to collect
more debt!

ZOO
Dear Vues Master:
Yossi is an actor desperate for work. He
responds to an ad by a local zoo looking
for an actor to play the role of a gorilla until
the zoo completes its extensive renovation
and brings back its real ape. Yossi dons the
gorilla outfit and puts on a very impressive
performance for the crowds standing
outside his cage. He roars, beats his chest,
hangs from the bars and keeps the visitors
entertained. One day, getting a bit too
enthusiastic, he swings on a vine, loses his
grip, and goes flying over the wall into the
lion’s den. Terrified, he moves as far away
as he can from the approaching lion, covers
his eyes with his paws, and begins to say
ישראל שמע. The lion opens its jaws and
Keep “.ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד roars
it down, you idiots,” shouts a bear from a
third cage, “You’ll get us all fired.”
YH
Vues Master’s Note: Look how the
zookeeper’s are just fooling us!

COLLECTIONS
Dear Vues Master:
When Rebbie Yitzchok of Volozhen came
to the Beis Medrash of a small town, huge
crowds pressed to see him, to the point of
נפשות סכנת. When he finally got to speak,
יצחק רבי said: “This is an impressive crowd.
In תשא כי פרשת, after instructing on giving
ולא יהיה בכם says Torah the ,מחצית השקל
נגף. This is difficult. If the עולם של רבונו
wanted to prevent נגף amongst ישראל בני as
they were being counted, he could have done
so without the השקל מחצית. Apparently,
there was reason to be concerned that when
was משה רבינו that hear would בני ישראל
commanded to count them, each one of
them would run בזריזות to be amongst the
first to participate in the mitzvah and thus
there would be a dangerous crush of people.
Therefore, Bnei Yisrael were commanded to

each contribute the השקל מחצית, assuring
that there won’t be rushing and pushing to
join the crowd. And so, Rabosai, to assure
that there won’t be pushing and shoving
here, I want to disclose that the reason I’m
here today is to collect money for פדיון
“.שבויים
CW
Vues Master’s Note: I can’t seem to
understand why there are so many
collectors!

HEAVY
Dear Vues Master:
A talmid chacham and an am haaretz were
having a big fight, when the am haaretz
asked someone to bring him a בתרא בבא.
The onlookers were surprised. What does
this am haaretz want with a בתרא בבא ?
They quickly found out. He took the gemara
and knocked it over the head of the talmid
chacham. “I may be an am haaretz ,” he said,
“but I know that בתרא בבא is the largest and
heaviest mesechta.”
RE
Vues Master’s Note: A fool stays a fool!

ELECTIONS
Dear Vues Master:
The recent primary wins for candidates
who are favorable to our community
demonstrates how important it is to vote.
When it comes down to a candidate who
denies Israel’s right to exist while denying
Hamas has done anything in the furtherance
of that end, and a candidate who is moderate,
pro-Israel and family friendly, it is clear that
our communities made the right choices on
Election Day. As we head toward November,
readers should bear in mind that the Jewish
voting bloc should not be underestimated,
but also not taken for granted. Politicians
know when we vote or don’t vote; whether
an issue or candidate you’re passionate about
is on the ballot today, you will ask your
representatives and legislatures to act on
your behalf tomorrow. It also holds true that
a rising tide raises all ships; our neighbors
want better education, safer neighborhoods
and clean streets as well. By voting you are
making us all heard loud and clear. Advocate,
write personal letters, attend meetings and
be “in tune” to pending laws. We can’t lead
from behind; don’t wait for an issue to arise
to take action. Let’s be proactive and move
forward together.
CYM
Vues Master’s Note: WE need to show that
United we stand!

HISTORY
Dear Vues Master:
In a history class, an anti-Semitic professor
asked a Jewish student “Who caused World
War II?” “The Jews and the bicycle riders,”
he answered. The professor was puzzled.
“Why, the bicycle riders?” he asked. “Why
the Jews?” the student responded.
CN
Vues Master’s Note: History repeats itself!!

SCHUMER
Dear Vues Master:
On Father’s Day, Charles Schumer – “the
pig who would be kosher” – posted a
photo of himself barbecuing frankfurters
and a slab of gray meat (presumably a
hamburger), with a slice of cheese on
top of the meat. For the sake of Schumer,
the Schemer/Scammer, the frankfurters
and hamburger meat better have been
Halal; otherwise, insha’allah, the Iranian
Ayatollahs will issue a fatwa against him.
MS
Vues Master’s Note: Schumer is a CHazir
mit tzve Fees!

TRUMPETS
Dear Vues Master:
The Rambam & Shulchan Aruch write
there is a דאורייתא עשה מצות to blow
trumpets for every צרה, not only מלחמה.
The Shulchan Aruch lists all the צרות
where fasting and blowing trumpets are
required. One of them is when there is an
animal plague and the pigs die. The reason
for this is that human stomachs are similar
to pig stomachs. The Magen Avraham (’ס
תקעו (asks he doesn’t understand why we
don’t use trumpets today which is more
important than fasting*.
MF
Vues Master’s Note: Oy! I get a headache
from Trumpets!

OVER AGAIN
Dear Vues Master:
When the parsha of יוסף being sold by
his brothers was read in shul, Mrs. Stern
broke down in tears. A year went by and
the parsha was read again, but this time she
was calm and collected. The other woman
asked why she cried last year but not this
time. “He saw what happened to him last
time he went to meet his brothers,” she
said. “He shouldn’t have gone again.”
KL
Vues Master’s Note: Ha!

MUSEUM
Dear Vues Master:
Museums are fast becoming the latest
battleground in the campaign to turn
Americans against Israel. Hamas
supporters recently occupied parts of the
Brooklyn Museum, defaced a sculpture,
damaged artwork, and harassed staff
members. In the atrium of the Museum
of Modern Art, protesters unfurled “From
the River to the Sea” banners. Extremists
tried to disrupt the annual gala of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, by hurling
smoke bombs and flares at the museum’s
entrance. Perhaps the most ominous
development has been the growing ability
of Hamas backers to actually shut down
museums. In February, they forced a
month-long closure of the Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts, in San Francisco, and
brought about the resignation of its chief
executive by inundating her with what she
described as “vitriolic and antisemitic”
hate mail. The anti-Israel forces are also
crowing about the month-long shutdown
of the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. The
closure was engineered by pro-Hamas staff
members of the museum, who walked out
in protest over some of the wording in an
exhibit concerning an anti-racism campaign
by American Jews in the 1940s and 1950s.
It happens that my latest book is a history
of that anti-racism initiative. Cartoonists
Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on
Bigotry (coauthored with comics historian
Craig Yoe) chronicles the story of how
the American Jewish Committee enlisted
cartoonists and comic book artists in the
battle against antisemitism and other forms
of racism during and after World War II.
The Committee allocated an initial budget
of $400,000 to the campaign. That soon
expanded to an average of $3-million
annually over a period of two decades—
the equivalent of more than $63-million
in 2024 dollars. Their strategy was to
discredit all forms of bigotry, through the
dramatic medium of cartoon illustration.
They flooded schools and union halls with
anti-racist posters, arranged for newspapers
to publish political cartoons mocking
prejudice, and convinced some comic book
publishers to run stories with anti-bigotry
themes. An issue of True Comics, which
had a circulation of 500,000 monthly,
featured a memorable anti-scapegoating
story called “They Got the Blame.” Some
other Jewish groups joined the campaign.
The Anti-Defamation League persuaded
the writers of the popular “Superman”
radio show to create a storyline in which
the Man of Steel battled the Ku Klux

Klan. This Jewish anti-bigotry effort
was driven by a noble motive: the belief
that discrimination against any minority
group is bad for all groups and tramples
America’s most cherished principles. But
was the campaign successful? And what
does it tell us about the current eruptions
of antisemitism, including the attacks
on American museums? Richard C.
Rothschild, the advertising executive
who ran the campaign, was convinced
that the cartoonists he enlisted had a real
impact. Looking back at the effort years
later, he noted that in the aftermath of
World War II, there was a reduction in

antisemitism “to a bare whisper,” anti-
Jewish quotas at major universities were

eliminated, and there was a new public
atmosphere, in which “it is unfashionable,

if not down right disreputable, to be anti-
Semitic.” Surely the introduction of

millions of Americans, especially children,
to anti-racist comic book stories and other
educational efforts helped encourage the
emergence of more tolerant attitudes.
The widespread rejection of racist ideas
in America today—as compared to the
1950s—represents significant progress.
Yet despite those gains, America is now

witnessing a massive resurgence of anti-
Jewish hatred. The fact that some of it

is thinly-disguised as hatred of Israel or
Zionism cannot obscure the truth. When
anti-Israel protesters talk about “Zionists
controlling the media,” they obviously
mean Jews. The same is true of phrases
such as “dirty Zionists,” and “Zionists keep
out,” and so many other ugly slurs that
have been chanted or displayed at recent
anti-Israel protests. The staff members
who have shut down the Wing Luke
Museum in Seattle are focusing their ire on
a sentence in the anti-racism exhibit which
states a simple fact: “Today, antisemitism
is often disguised as anti-Zionism.” In
Richard Rothschild’s day, bigots disguised
their hate with euphemisms about “cultural
differences” or “neighborhood integrity”
or “people preferring their own kind.”
Today’s euphemism is “Zionism.” The
striking staffers at the Wing Luke Museum
don’t want the exhibit to acknowledge
that fact because it discredits their cause.
But that’s the reality. The leaders of the
Wing Luke Museum, and the officials of
the Washington State Jewish Historical
Society who helped create the anti-racism
exhibit, now say they are working on
changes to the exhibit and will re-open it
after a month-long hiatus. One can only
hope that the changes will not involve
capitulating to the strikers’ demands.

Because if extremists can intimidate

museums into altering historically-
accurate exhibits, a precious aspect of free

society will be gravely threatened.
Rafael Medoff
Vues Master’s Note: As always thanks for
your history lesson!

NO JACKET….CAN’T DAVEN
HERE
Dear Vues Master
There are shuls upstate that have no respect
for guests. A person going into the Viznitz
Beis Medrash in Kiamesha is greeted by
someone who says “It is the law here to wear
a jacket..so wear a jacket.” When I said it was
not my minhag and that it’s too hot to wear a
jacket, he insisted that it was the law there. It
reminded me of how they say people in Sdom
greeted their guests. On the other hand, if you
go into the Satmar Beis Medrash at Ichud or
at the Woodbourne shul in Woodburne under
the leadership of Rabbi Jungreis, everyone is
greeted in the way of Avraham Avinu with
love and respect.
Where do people in a shul have the chutzpah
to impose their dress habits on someone else?
How would they like it, if they went into a
shul that said no payis or white socks. They
would think that was wrong. Why can’t they
just let a yid daven the way he is accustomed?
We are all one Jewish family. Acheinu Kol
beis Yisrael. How can Hashem accept the
tefilot of one that cannot accept the fact that
a person next to him is not wearing a jacket?
Ohav Yisroel
Vues Master’s Note: Welcome to galus!

TICKETING IN SOUTH
FALLSBURG
Dear Vues Master
I was disappointed to see the same officer
in South Fallsburg ticketing Jewish drivers
again this year. Last summer, much pressure
was put on the superintendent to have him
transferred and when she couldn’t get rid of
him, she basically lost her job. This officer
targets Jews. Why can’t he be transferred?
No one should be above the law but no one
should be targeted because he is Jewish. A
Concerned Driver
Vues Master’s Note: Anti-semitism is rampant
all over the world. Why do you think it’s any
different upstate?