30 Jul SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

THE FIFTEEN SECOND DRASHA
Dear Vues Master
Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein relates about the previous
Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam, that he was
a wellspring of sensitivity for all Jews, and how he was
able to overcome any feelings of anger and hurt in order
to pursue peace. His activities during and after World
War II saved many Jews, both physically and spiritually.
However, as it goes with great people, they will inevitably
have detractors- people who are filled with envy and seek
glory. Shortly after the Bobover Rebbe came to America,
a local rabbi who felt threatened by the Bobover Rebbe’s
activities on behalf of world Jewry, strongly criticized
the Rebbe, and personally attacked his character. The
Bobover Rebbe did not respond to the attack. Eventually,
the slanderous remarks became humiliating. The Rebbe
summoned all of his chasidim to assemble in his Bais
Medrash. The large shul was filled to capacity; everyone
had crammed in to hear the Rebbe’s response to the insults
that had been launched at him. The Bobover Rebbe entered
the Bais Medrash, ascended to the front of the Holy Ark
where the Torah scrolls are kept, and after kissing the
outer curtain, turned to the people gathered there. He said,
“I am declaring to everyone assembled here, as I stand in
front of the Holy Ark, that I absolutely forbid anyone from
battling on my behalf! My honor is my honor, and it will
remain my honor, but only if everyone acts appropriately
and does not take sides. Whoever does not obey me has no
place in my Bais Medrash!” Having spoken for a total of
fifteen seconds, the Rebbe descended the podium and left
the shul. A few hours later, the Rebbe asked his attendant
to take him to the attacking rabbi’s home. By then, word
of the Rebbe’s response had already spread throughout the
community. The Rebbe arrived at the rabbi’s house and
knocked on the door. The Rabbi answered the door, and
when he realized who was standing before him, his face
turned white. The Bobover Rebbe understood that words
were not necessary — it was action that was needed. He took
the rabbi in both his arms, hugged him and kissed him on
the cheek. Then he said, “Dear Rabbi, you may go to any
one of my Chassidim and they will attest to the fact that I
have no bad feelings towards you at all. Just as we were
once friends, we will continue to remain friends!” The
rabbi was a changed person as a result of that encounter,
and the attacks stopped. The Bobover Rebbe corrected the

situation by expressing his love for a fellow Jew instead of
responding with anger, even though there was great reason
for him to get angry. Rav Zilberstein notes that R. Shlomo
of Bobov’s yahrzeit is on Rosh Chodesh Menachem
Av, which is the same yahrzeit as Aharon HaKohen, the
brother of Moshe Rabbeinu and the first High Priest.
This is significant because both Aharon and the Bobover
exemplified the dictum of Hillel the Elder (Avos 1:12),
“Love peace and pursue peace…”. They each possessed
a love for all Jews and strongly desired to promote peace
and harmony within the collective Jewish people.
PF
Vues Master’s Note: Wow! That was a great story. Thanks
for sharing. May the Bobova rebbes neshama have an
liyah.

STANDING AT A CHUPAH
Dear Vues Master,
An interesting and surprising Psak was published in the
name of Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein in the weekly Divrei
Chemed magazine which presents his Torah thoughts and
rulings. Rabbi Zilberstein referred to the current custom
abroad of sitting during a chupah, men and women on
either side, a custom which is not prevalent in Israel where
generally everyone stands at the chupah. The question
was asked by a person who had immigrated from abroad
and whose daughter was marrying someone from Chutz
Laaretz. The family preferred to continue their custom
from abroad of sitting at the chupah, but asked whether
this was considered a diversion from the Minhag in Israel.
Rabbi Zilberstein demonstrated based on several sources
that the Minhag to stand has a basis in Rishonim. He quoted
Orchos Chaim who says that a Chasan is like a king and
therefore all must stand before him, and additionally the
chupah is like Matan Torah and therefore people should
stand. Rabbi Shlomo Kluger quotes the Tikkunei Zohar
which stressed that the whole crowd must stand with
the Chasan and Kallah when Sheva Brachos are recited.
After citing other sources, Rabbi Zilberstein concludes
that “The custom is to stand and the discussion was the
reason for this. The minhag is to stand and this was the
custom in all places, except in some communities in the
US who changed this, but not for halachic reasons, and the
poskim discussed the reason for this change from custom.
“Therefore even for residents of Chutz La’aretz who sit

for reasons which are not halachic, whoever
can change this custom will be blessed.
Certainly in Israel one should not sit and one
shouldn’t innovate customs which are not
halachic, and in truth we should uphold the
ancient custom in all Jewish communities to
stand at the chupah.”
VL
Vues Master’s Note: Some of the chassanas
that I went to recently have had chuppahs
that are over an hour long. I don’t know if I
can stand up that long after eating so much
at the smorgasbord.

NEW COUNTRY YOSSI ALBUM
Dear Vues Master
Just wanted to give a shout out to the new
Country Yossi Kivi and Tuki album! My 5
year old son came out of the restroom and
started singing asher yatzar perfectly word
for word. I was amazed – which 5 year old
knows how to say asher yatzar? I asked him
if he learnt it in school and he said, “No! It’s
from the new Kivi and Tuki story!” Thank
you Country Yossi so much for providing
entertainment to children with real life
lessons that they can apply, even at such a
young age!
Vues Master: It’s gonna be the little
kinderlach that make Moshiach come!

NYS TO REQUIRE SAFETY
CERTIFICATE FOR ALL BOATERS
Hi Everyone
This is John Payne from Paynes Watersports
in White Lake. There is a new law, the Brianna
law, that I want everyone to know about that
requires that all motorboat operators must
complete a boating safety course and obtain
a certificate from the NYS Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation by Jan.
1, 2025. In 2024, anyone born on or after Jan.
1, 1978, must carry a boating safety certificate
while operating a motorized vessel. In NYS,
there are increasing rules and regulations
for many recreational opportunities as the
results of accidents and related studies that
generate new safety rules. Conclusions from
the studies make the rules more formal and
laws are passed with good intentions. Laws
intended to protect participants. The new
NYS boating safety certificate is required
for all recreational boaters using motorized
vessels, including personal watercraft,
though operators of non-motorized boats,
such as kayaks and canoes, are not required
to have a certificate at this time. They are
encouraged to take a safe boating course, as
well. NYS does recognize the boating safety
courses issued by other states for visitors
to NYS. Folks are allowed to rent and
operate a motorboat from a livery without
first obtaining a boating safety certificate,
though staff at the livery must provide basic

instructions and safety information before
departure. Go to this website to get more
information: https://parks.ny.gov/boating/
education.aspx Please be aware.
John Payne
Vues Masters Note: Thanks John!

WHO’S TELLING A LIE?
Dear Vues Master,
Let’s take a lie detector test, shall we? –
Israel is committing genocide: LIE – Israel
killed 40,000 people in Gaza: LIE – Israel is
indiscriminately killing people: LIE – Israel
is starving Gazans: LIE – Israel is preventing
humanitarian aid from entering Gaza: LIE
– Israel killed thousands of children: LIE –
Israel killed thousands of innocent women:
LIE – Israel is the oppressor: LIE – Israel
is an apartheid state: LIE – Israel occupied
Gaza before 10/7: LIE – The Arabs who
call themselves Palestinians want a state:
LIE – Israel stole land from an Arab country
called Palestine: LIE – Anti Zionism is not
antisemitism: LIE Ok. That didn’t go too
well. Let’s try again. – Israel never started any
war since its inception: TRUE – The Jews are
indigenous to the land of Israel: TRUE – The
Palestinians were offered a state many times
and rejected every offer: TRUE – Israel has
done more than any army ever to minimize
civilian casualties in a war: TRUE – Israel
has sent in enough humanitarian aid to feel
every single Gazan: TRUE – All that aid was
stolen by Hamas: TRUE – Hamas’ strategy
is to maximize deaths in Gaza so the world
will turn against Israel: TRUE – The world
is falling for it: TRUE – Iran is orchestrating
this entire war including the military war,
the psychological war, as well as the online
war: TRUE – The ratio of combatant to non
combatant casualties in Gaza is the lowest
in any war in modern history: TRUE – The
casualty numbers in Gaza that the media
quotes is based on Hamas’ propaganda and
has no basis in reality: TRUE – Anti Zionism
is the new antisemitism: TRUE Much better.
I’m proud of you. Stop being Hamas’ puppet.
Some amplifying their lies. Stop vilifying
the Jews. You have a brain. Use it. Besides,
history is pretty clear on what happens to
those who come after the Jews. Keep at
it and you’ll be able to meet some nice
Babylonians. I heard they’re nice people.
Hillel Fuld
Vues Master’s Note: People do not use their
brains.

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.

LAWYER
Dear Vues Master:
When Shalom Alechem came to visit in a
certain city, he was welcomed by thousands
of admirers. Among them was a lawyer, who
kept his hands in his pockets even while
speaking with the famous guest. Addressing
him, Shalom Alechem said: “You are worthy
of my blessing a שהחיינו. “Not understanding,
the lawyer asked him to explain. “This is the
first time in my life,” said Shalom Alechem ,
“that I’ve seen a lawyer with his hands in his
own pockets.” SW
Vues Master’s Note: Reminds me of the old
joke when can you tell if a lawyer is lying?
When his lips are moving!

APPRECIATION
Dear Vues Master:
Hashem commanded משה to take revenge
against the מדינים personally. However, משה
couldn’t bring himself to do so, and instead,
appointed פנחס & others to fight the מדינים.
The מדרש explains that the reason משה didn’t
take personal revenge as he was commanded,
was that he benefited from the מדינים forty
years before when he escaped from פרעה in
מצרים While in מדין, Moshe didn’t receive
education subsidies, healthcare, social
welfare, etc. However, because they allowed
him to live in מדין. he couldn’t bring himself
to fight them. Perhaps, the rioting against the
הרשעים ציונים should also, be done only by
those who live in לארץ חוץ & don’t benefit
from any social programs of the Zionist State.
MF
Vues Master’s Note: Sounds political!

ALIYAH
Dear Vues Master:
והורשתם את הארץ וישבתם בה במדבר
ג“נ:ג“ל Rashi explains that the Torah tells us
to conquer and rid the other nations of the
land. By doing so we will have the capability
to settle in Eretz Yisroel. 1) According to
Rashi, there is no such Mitzvah of ישוב
2 .י“א (The Ramban argues and holds that
is that מצוות עשה דאורייתא a is וישבתם בה
applicable even 3 הזה בזמן (The Rambam
doesn’t mention the Mitzvah of י“א ישוב.
He does say one may not leave י“א There
are different opinions in the Rambam if and

when he holds there is a Mitzvah of ישוב
4 י“א (The Rosh quotes a שיטה that during
but מצוות עשה דאורייתא was there זמן הבית
today there is no Mitzvah. 5) Tosfos quotes
חיים רבינו who holds that even הזה בזמן there
is a Mitzvah of י“א ישוב. However, we don’t
practice this Mitzvah because there are many
בארץ התלויות מצוות that are difficult for us to
observe. 6) The Beis Halevi explains תוספות
that the ח“ר holds the sole reason for the
Mitzvah of י“א ישוב is to be Mekayam מצוות
בארץ התלויות and since we can’t do it there
is no reason to practice the Mitzvah of ישוב
י“א.) Today there is no problem with מצוות
7 )בארץ התלויות (The Chasam Sofer holds
that the Mitzvah is applicable הזה בזמן but
only if you have a majority of Yidden living
that holds אגרות משה The) ארץ ישראל. 8 in
הזה בזמן the Mitzvah is a קיומית מצוה and
not a חיובית מצוה. One is not obligated to live
in י“א but those who do live there are מקיים
Zilberstein Yitzchak Rav) מצות ישוב א“י. 9
and many more Poskim hold that even בזמן
הזה the Mitzvah is a חיובית מצוה. Everyone
who can is obligated to be ישוב מצות מקיים
מצוות ישוב that holds* ויואל משה The) א“י. 10
י“א is only applicable for those who are יראי
.לשם שמים 100% it doing and שמים
MFD
Vues Master’s Note: Mitzvah or not here we
all come with Moshiach!

RICH
Dear Vues Master:
A young boy asked his wealthy grandfather
how he made his fortune. “Well, Shlomo,” he
said. “When I was young, my parents were
very poor and didn’t have money to send me
to school. I started working at a very young
age and was making just enough to feed
myself. I was very ambitious and worked
longer and longer hours, hoping to get ahead.
It was no use, I wasn’t getting anywhere.
Then, Grandma’s father died and left us $10
million.” RU
Vues Master’s Note: As they say, easy come
and easier it goes!
MARRIAGE
Dear Vues Master:
To keep your marriage strong, admit it
whenever you are wrong. When you’re right,
keep your mouth shut.
RT
Vues Master’s Note: If my wife says I was
right? Am I still wrong?

ANTI-SEMITIC VOTE
Dear Vues Master:
We’re accustomed to politicians courting
the Black Vote, or the Jewish Vote, or the
Youth Vote. But what about the Antisemitic
Vote? CNN correspondent John King
asserted on July 21 that “there could be some

risks” for Kamala Harris if she chooses
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her
running mate because “he’s Jewish.” In
other words, antisemitic voters would not
cast their ballots for a Harris-Shapiro ticket.
That may be true. The question is whether
courting the votes of bigots should be an
acceptable political strategy. There was a
time when America’s major political parties
were reluctant to nominate a Catholic

for president, for fear of alienating anti-
Catholic voters. The Democrats shattered

that taboo by nominating New York
governor Al Smith for president in 1928.
But some prominent Democrats, including
Franklin D. Roosevelt, continued to court
the votes of other bigots. From loudly
denying that he invited African-Americans
to a 1929 luncheon, to refusing to support
anti-lynching legislation in the 1930s, FDR
repeatedly sought to show white racists
that he deserved their votes. So did Jimmy
Carter, when he declared during the 1976
Democratic primaries that he supported
the right of whites to safeguard the “ethnic
purity” of their neighborhoods against
the “intrusion of blacks” and other “alien
groups.” White racists were not the only
bigots whose votes FDR courted. He was
concerned about the Antisemitic Vote, too.
The issue came up when FDR met privately
with U.S. Senator Burton Wheeler (of
Montana), one of his close political allies,
on August 4, 1939. Wheeler’s confidential
memo about the meeting, dictated to his
secretary immediately afterwards, preserved
the contents of their conversation. The two
discussed possible presidential candidates
in the event that FDR decided not to run for
re-election the following year. Among the
names that came up were Secretary of State
Cordell Hull and Democratic Party chairman
James Farley. A Hull-Farley ticket “could
not get elected,” the president asserted. The
problem, Roosevelt and Wheeler agreed,
was that “the Jewish-Catholic issue would
be raised.” That was because Farley was
Catholic and, as Wheeler put it, “Mrs. Hull
is a Jewess.” FDR corrected him: “Mrs.
Hull is about one-quarter Jewish.” (They
were both wrong: her father was Jewish.)
The president continued: “You and I, Burt,
are old English and Dutch stock. We know
who our ancestors are. We know there is no
Jewish blood in our veins, but a lot of these
people do not know whether there is Jewish
blood in their veins or not.” According to
Senator Wheeler’s memo, the conversation
also included a casual use of the n-word
by the president. It was not the first time
FDR used that slur behind closed doors.
Franklin Roosevelt, like many politicians
before and after him, was keenly attuned

to the advantages of choosing candidates,
or taking positions, that would appeal to
particular segments of the voting populace-
-even if it meant excluding a possible
candidate because antisemitic voters might
disapprove of his wife’s ancestry. The
prevalence of antisemitism in American
society in the 1930s sometimes is cited as the
reason for Roosevelt’s policy of suppressing
Jewish refugee immigration far below the
limits allowed by law. Ken Burns made
that argument in his Holocaust film a few
years ago. But that excuse ignores the fact
that if FDR had just permitted the existing
immigration quotas to be filled—without
liberalizing the immigration system itself—
many Jewish refugees could have been
saved. More than 190,000 quota places from
Germany and German-occupied countries
were left unused from 1933 to 1945. The
claim that antisemitism in American society
tied FDR’s hands on immigration is not
merely a misunderstanding of Roosevelt’s
policy options; it’s also a way of saying
that the president understandably adopted
a policy of reducing Jewish immigration in
order to avoid alienating anti-Jewish voters.
It implicitly justifies FDR’s decision to court
the Antisemitic Vote. The Democrats’
nomination of Sen. Joseph Lieberman for
vice president in 2000 should have put an
end to the old policy of courting antisemitic
votes. But a new constituency of antisemitic
voters has arisen during the past year—the
pro-Hamas protesters who have been using
“Zionist” as a codeword for Jew, who have
been brandishing signs calling for a “Final
Solution,” and who have been celebrating
the October 7 attacks, celebrations that
President Joe Biden recently characterized
as antisemitic. Those voters are the ones
whom CNN’s John King evidently had
in mind when he warned of the “risk” of
nominating a Jew for vice president. That
risk is real—but the Democrats should
ignore it, because pursuing the votes of
antisemites and other racists is wrong. It
gives legitimacy to dangerous extremists
who should be kept on the margins of
society, not treated as a legitimate part of
mainstream American political culture.
Bigots deserve to be ostracized, not courted.
Rafael Medoff
Vues Master’s Note: It is unfortunate but the
Jew will always lose!!

TICKETS!
Dear Vues Master:
My rebbie used to say this. Yaakov tells
his friend “we don’t need two tickets, one
is good enough’. This is what we’re going
to do: when the conductor comes around to
collect the tickets, both of us will sneak into

the bathroom. The way it went was that the
conductor would knock on the door and say
“tickets please”. You would then slide the
ticket under the door and he would punch
it and slide it back under. Sure enough,
when the conductor came to collect the
tickets, they snuck into the bathroom and
got away with only one ticket. On their way
back, Yaakov overhears a non Jewish rider
telling his friend that he saw how those two
Jews get away with one ticket and wanted
to proceed to do the same. This time,
Yaakov tells his friend that they don’t need
any tickets. Here’s what happened: as the
conductor started coming around the two
non Jews snuck into the bathroom waiting to
prove their plan. Yaakov went ahead of the
conductor and knocked on the door playing
the voice of the conductor and said “tickets
please”. With that he gets the ticket, and
the two Jews sneak into the next bathroom
with their free ticket. They got away, but
those two non Jews… You can decide what
happened to them.
CF
Vues Master’s Note: Every joke has some
truth to it!!

WINNER
Dear Vues Master:
A Rabbi was walking down the street one
day when he came upon a group of boys
all between the ages of ten and twelve.
The boys had surrounded a dog and were
speaking in loud voices. Concerned that the
boys were taunting the animal, the Rabbi
went over to them and asked “What are
you boys doing to that poor dog?” One of
the boys replied: “This dog is just an old
neighborhood stray. We all want to take him
home, but obviously only one of us can. So,
we’ve decided to have a contest. Whoever
can tell the biggest lie gets to keep the dog!”
The Rabbi was taken aback. He launched a
sermon beginning with “Its a sin to tell a lie”
and ending with “When I was your age, I
never told a lie.” There was dead silence for
a minute, followed by a brief huddle. Just
as the Rabbi began thinking that his words
had penetrated, the leader of the group
sighed and said to the others, “All right, fair
is fair. He wins!” Pointing to the Rabbi, he
exclaimed: “Give him the dog!!!”
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Great story, even
though it is a big lie!!

END OF MAGA
Dear Vues Master:
Unfortunately, it looks like Kamala Harris
who came from zero in the 2020 debates,
became the VP and now has the momentum
that looks like she will be chosen as

President. Trump made a mistake picking
Vance, most likely should have picked a
strong woman candidate such as Stefanik or
Tulsi Gabbard. Vance contributed nothing
and is maybe a small step above Pence
since he talks. Everyone should have seen
this coming, but what nobody saw coming
is that Kamala would actually have a
chance against Trump. It seems that those
on the left who want anyone but Trump and
weren’t planning to vote for Biden, will now
vote Harris since Biden is gone. What will
America be under Harris?
NW
Vues Master’s Note: If you think Biden’s
bad, wait and see how Kamala will be if she
becomes president.

PROPAGANDA
Dear Vues Master
If you claim Israel killed tens of thousands
of innocent Gazans, you are not a friend of
Israel’s. That is Hamas propaganda you’re
quoting. If you disagree, kindly tell me
where you got that number. And don’t quote
the press. Ask yourself where they got that
number. Israel hasn’t killed anywhere near
that. This war has the lowest ratio between
combatants and non combatants casualties
in any modern war, and maybe any war
ever. You can’t quote the terrorists, rapists,
pedophiles, and those who burned families
alive, and claim that you are pro Israel. Even
if you don’t want to agree or accept Israel’s
figures, ask yourself how it’s possible that
Hamas doesn’t know where the hostages
are but somehow three minutes after
every attack they know exactly how many
casualties there are. And then ask yourself,
how many terrorists has Israel eliminated
according to those Hamas figures? The
answer is zero because Hamas considers
every person in Gaza to be an innocent
civilian. In summary, if you believe Hamas
that they are giving you accurate numbers,
and you believe them that somehow they
have some sorcery to be able to know the
exact numbers right after an attack, then just
own it and say that you are anti-Israel and
pro Hamas.
Hillel Fuld
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for making it
simple to understand.