27 Jul Speak Your Vues

SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

Please note that the author of Speak Your Vues is in no way affiliated with the publisher of this paper. The author of this column is an independent third party contributor. The views and opinions expressed by this author may not reflect the views and opinions of the publishers. If one has any issues with any of the views, please write a letter to the Vues Master.

BIDEN

Dear Vues Master: Every G-d fearing individual should be voting for President Biden this November. How can a frum Jew vote for such an immoral person as Trump. Rav Avigdor Miller always said one must take the persona into the picture when voting for them. As for the oft repeated claim, that we must vote for Trump out of Hakaras Hatov for moving the embassy in Israel to Yerushalayim. That does not trump the person trump. Also, who cares about Israeli politics. It’s all just that, stupid politics.

S Z R

Vues Master’s Note: As if Biden is such a tzaddik!

PICTURES OF WOMEN

Dear Vues Master: That letter-writer who complained about pictures of ladies appearing amongst the pages of this fine paper, must be living in an alternate reality. I must say I am of the pro-pictures-of-women-infrum- publications camp. Yes we do exist, even if outnumbered. However, I have not spotted as much as one strand of a women’s hair in these pages in the past year and a half. So before you write to complain, get your facts straight next time.

C U

Vues Master’s Note: It is amazing how it is impossible to please anybody.

SIMCHA INITIATIVE

Dear Vues Master: With all this talk about lower standards by simchos, the only concrete step being taken is to abolish vorts. As an out-of-towner, with many a friend and family in the tristate area, if not for the vort I would never have a chance to partake in anyone’s simcha. Please be more considerate of others when picking one place that you’re trying to save a few bucks.

R K

Vues Master’s Note: There is always an option to schedule the Lechaim for a few days later and having everyone join!

RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGE

Dear Vues Master: For all those seeking their usual quick spiritual fix; Lag BaOmer in Miron, R’ Shayaleh in Kerister, or Rosh Hashana in Uman. I’m sorry this year you’ll just have to sweat it out like the rest of us and just do the regular 613.

Z S

Vues Master’s Note: I heard that Uman may still happen. Don’t jump the gun.

BOCHURIM DILEMMA

Dear Vues Master: I write this letter as an insider. Not from what I hear from others. But as a bochur experiencing what I write. I am acting as a whistleblower, exposing what is happening right now to the hundreds of Bocherim who would have been in Eretz Yisroel- to those who do not understand the full extent of the crisis we are in. You may have been affected terribly by the Corana virus. But if you are like most people, you are probably past the worst of it and moving on with your life. What exactly does “moving on with your life” mean? You are slowly getting back to the comfort of day to day living the way it was 4 months ago, and enjoying the normalcy you are used to. Yes, there are still many obstacles preventing life from getting back to “regular”, and many schools and camps cannot reopen. But the parents and Rabbeim are doing a great job, doing the best they can ensuring every child, teenager and Bochur can strive and grow even in times like these. It’s not perfect. But it’s working for now. But is it working for everyone? You may not be aware, but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Bochurim who aren’t just- “not past the Corona crisis”. But are actually in a much worse position than they were at the height of the pandemic. Right now, we are the Korbanos getting hit harder than anyone else in Klal Yisroel, and I do not say this lightly. Why, you ask? Rosh Yeshivos and Rabbeim take Achrayis for their Bochurim currently learning in their Yeshiva. That is the most logical and understandable approach for any responsible Rosh Yeshiva- to take care of the Bochurim currently entrusted to him. But who takes Achrayis for those Bocherim when they graduate Yeshiva? The Rosh Yeshiva of the next Yeshiva they attend, of course! Or if they go to Eretz Yisroel, the system in place cultivates the maturing process of a 22 year old, teaching him to grow on his own in a new country. But what happens when Corona virus hits right in that transition phase, and leaves a freshly graduated Yeshiva Bochur without a new Rosh Yeshiva to ensure he has the tools to survive, nor the opportunity to grow in a new environment in Eretz Yisroel?! What happens to that Bochur? Does he stand a chance? Do you understand the everyday struggles every Bochur faces to do what’s right in today’s day and age EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT! Bochurim are hit so hard with today’s nisyonos… it’s a nais that any Bochur stays frum altogether. Then strip him of his Yeshiva, Rosh Yeshiva and any Hadracha. Does he stand a chance? Do any of us stand a chance? It is very easy for us Bocherim to brush aside these concerns and ensure ourselves that everything will be fine in a matter of weeks. Let’s just enjoy the down time till things sort themselves out! But what about the fact that the Israeli government says thay will not be letting in American boys until Chanukah? Will our state of Ruchnious just stay frozen in place until next Pesach?! What? Are we plain old stupid? I’m “in” the crisis. I promise you. I never thought I’d ever see Bochurim struggle so hard. I’m talking about GOOD BOCHERIM. Not Shvacha guys. The best of the best. Yes, they try so hard to do what’s right. But after so many weeks with no plan in sight… we’re losing it. There seems to be a plan for everyone. But us. Where are all the askanim who manage to take care of every crisis? What’s this, if not a crisis?

A Bochur in Pain

Vues Master’s Note: Covid 19 is leaving us with a lot of extra unprecedented tzaros. Let us hope there will be people who will step up and resolve these quagmires.

RESPONSE TO RIDDLE

Dear Vues Master: My apologies but if there are a grandfather, father and a son in a car, Then in reality, there are three (3) sons in the car not two (2.) Unless the grandfather was Adam Harishon. P.S. Thank you for the informative and entertaining publication.

SN

Vues Master’s Note: Unless the question meant sons “of” people in the car?

WEDDING

Dear Vues Master: Below is a beautiful and inspiring article written by my mother about the Corona wedding experience. Ours was quite unique. I’m sure your readership would benefit from it! Why am I writing about weddings during the three weeks? How odd. Or maybe not. Because right now my friends -parents of the children with Nachamu scheduled weddings are getting on airplanes, flying into Israel’s “second wave” and going into quarantine. Because right now my friends – parents of the children who postponed their May weddings to August are once again changing venues, cutting guest lists and scrambling to create a Simcha. Because right now I can’t stop thinking about the wedding that I made but I wasn’t physically at. Because there have been so many thoughts that I have wanted to share. But the moment wasn’t right until Now. So here it goes. My son was married on May 24th in Israel. And I wasn’t there. Neither set of parents were there. The Kallah is from Canada; the Chattan from America. Borders between the two countries were closed. The only place that our children, recent olim, could be together was in Israel. The Kallah’s parents couldn’t get to Israel because all flights from Canada were shutdown. I had no passport (a long story). The young couple had been dating for four years. Four weeks before the wedding a difficult decision had to be made. After a while there was clarity. The original date was to be kept – there would be a virtual wedding for us, but a real simcha for all. So what thoughts do I have to share? I learned that after creation G-d not only became a matchmaker but a wedding planner as well. I learned that even when G-d plans, man sometimes needs to laugh. For G-d may allow rain to fall in May, a heatwave to turn into a winter chill and the wedding ring to be lost on the eve of the wedding. But G-d lets those small items go because He is so busy planning what really matters. Angels had to be sent to set up the perfect wedding venue; to get permission for the Mesader Kiddushim – the Chattan’s brother, to travel from America; and to figure out how the fathers’ watching virtually could actually sing their children down the aisle. All this was done the week of the wedding. And on the day of the wedding, the Wedding Planner, of course, was in attendance, revealing himself in the winds billowing the Chuppah and in the still silence of the mountains of Jerusalem in which the wedding took place. I learned that there are no guests at the weddings of 2020. Everyone who attends is the Baal Simcha -the wedding maker, the mood creator and the carrier of joy. Each family member, each friend in attendance, understands that happiness doesn’t simply happen. It is a vibe created by investing in the moment with all your heart. And from whom did these Baalei Simcha learn from? None other than the Wedding Planner himself, shtick master par excellence who knew that sasson and simcha needed to be created before the Chattan v’Kallah showed up. For, Asher Bara Sasson V’Simcha Chattan V’Kallah, as these words infer, not only did G-d create the match but also the gladness and joy that preceded it. I learned that a simcha can’t be celebrated alone in your study watching your children get married on zoom. But simcha, true simcha, can be felt when the community that helped raise your child waits outside your doorstep ready to sing and dance with you. True simcha, which transcends any physical distance, can be so deeply felt when your children get married under the Chuppah you crafted for them as a symbol of the warmth and protection of their childhood homes. True simcha can be felt, when under that Chuppah, they grab each other’s hands, joining together -not wanting to let go. So why am I writing about weddings during the Three Weeks? Because what I learned from our wedding of 2020 is so relevant to now. What is it that powerfully breaks through the silent isolation of Jeremiah’s Jerusalem? In the words of Jeremiah, Od Yishama b’Arei Yehuda Uv’chutzot Yerushalayim. It is not in the joyous cacophony of a four hundred person wedding (like we had planned) but in the anticipation of singular voices the Kol Chattan V’Kol Kallah. Listen carefully and you will already begin to hear their joint melody – welling up and echoing through the hills of Jerusalem getting louder and louder as their voices are joined with the harmonies of generations past, of hopes for their beautiful future and the niggun the Wedding Planner hums to himself after a job well done. So comfort, comfort to our People and Siman Tov and Mazal Tov to all.

DN

Vues Master’s Note: Let us all be zocheh to celebrate the rebuilding of our Bais Hamikdash!

BOOK

Dear Vues Master: Herut North America, a leading American Zionist organization has developed an inspirational new eBook offering ideas about how to improve Jewish Unity in these challenging and polarizing times, and it is now being offered for free in time for Tisha B’Av. Herut North America’s free eBook “The Challenge For Jewish Unity” is now available at https://herut.net/ jewishunitybook/ The eBook is authored by Joshua Goldstein, the Chairman of Herut North America. Essays by Joshua about Jewish unity have appeared widely including in Israel Hayom, The Algemeiner, Arutz Sheva, The Detroit Jewish News, The Jewish World, Heritage Florida Jewish News, The Jewish Voice New York, and elsewhere. “The need for Jewish unity has perhaps never been greater,” said Karma Feinstein Cohen, the Executive Director of Herut North America. “As followers of the great Zionist leader, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, we know we must do our part to campaign for Jewish unity at all times, and especially at this time of year. Tisha B’Av, in part, commemorates the destruction of Betar, the Bar Kochba led rebel stronghold, during the Roman occupation of Israel. Jabotinsky deliberately chose Betar as the name for his Revisionist Zionist youth movement. It was coined with a double meaning. In addition to its reference to “Brit Trumpeldor,” after Yosef Trumpeldor, it was also named after the ancient battle site. With the name Betar, Jabotinsky indelibly linked the last site of ancient Hebrew courage and martyrdom with Zionism’s first contemporary Zionist hero-martyr, the man with whom he had conceived the Jewish Legion.” “In order to positively shape our destiny, we must unite, and we must start the process of unification now,” explains Goldstein. “How on earth can we do this, if we continue to focus on sowing more seeds of strife? Herut is publishing the eBook with the idea that despite our differences we need to unite. Tisha B’Av is a time for introspection and mourning for what we lost due to baseless hatred. Baseless hatred among the various segments within the Jewish community is still in place and as a nation we have still not made much progress in breaking down the stereotypes and biases that we have against Jews who may be different from what you are practicing of this free book offer,” says Karma Feinstein Cohen. “We must challenge ourselves and each other to do more on behalf of the cause of Jewish unity, and there’s no better time to contemplate this vital need than the Nine Days leading up to Tisha B’Av.” MP Vues Master’s Note: I think at this point a book about Shabbos Nachamu would be apropos. MASK Dear Vues Master: The American Press Institute defines the job of a journalist as “[Journalists] should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their OWN ASSESSMENT of the information.” Regarding the responsibility that journalists have to citizens, the API says, “They must strive to put the public interests and the truth- above their own selfinterest or assumptions.” The API is no conservative think-tank; it is led by a man named Tom Rosenstiel who has slammed Trump for his comments about the media. Despite Mr. Rosentiel ignoring his own organization’s definitions about the job of a journalist, he calls Trump’s comments “Orwellian”. President Trump has repeatedly slammed the media as the ‘enemy of the people”. With recent journalism patterns, President Trump has been proven correct per the definition from the API. Bari Weiss, who has also repeatedly slammed President Trump, last week resigned from the NYT and slammed the environment which made her come to this decision. She writes, “[There was] constant bullying by colleagues who disagreed with my views.” One of the media’s own journalists is slamming the way the media is. Andrew Sullivan is another Anti- Trump reporter who also resigned for similar reasons. The commonality between these journalists is that they’re both anti- Trump, but now admit the problem with the “woke” media that President Trump has slammed for years. The API set down guidelines for journalists, it is a shame the media doesn’t listen to them. The so-called “journalists” out there are the “enemy of the people”, they only care about their self-interests or assumptions (Jim Acosta, Don Lemon, etc). Trump is a disruptor of the status quo. He points things out which are wrong which have been tolerated for too long. It is about time that journalists start working for the truth and the people once again!

Sincerely D S G

Vues Master’s Note: We are so diverse that we can’t even fathom that there is an opposing view! Everything is my way or the highway. People can’t tolerate an opinion. I wrote that Corona was over in NY and the numbers seem to support it. Lowest hospitalizations. Less than one percent etc. Yet there are people out there attacking my view on Social media. What happened to the good old dialogue?

KRECHTZ

Dear Vues Master: When I davened for the Amud, 2 people came over to me after davening. One asked me if I’m makpid on Neshima Achas,(I went too fast). The other told me it was Tzar Baalei Chaim,( I went too slow)! I said “Oy Vey-I mean Oy Vaiy-Ahh!

RMS

Vues Master’s Note: The question is who is normal? I believe I am normal and anyone that deviates from my belief is not normal. That is the media in a nutshell and that includes social media.

FACEBOOK POST

Dear Vues Master: YOU HAVE TO BE LESS CONTROVERSIAL-YOU CAN’T SAY CORONA IS OVER This is what I found on Facebook: “There’s been something disturbing me for a while, and I’d like to bring it to the community’s attention, as I feel it affects our community. This is a rather long post. There are quite a few free “newspapers” distributed in our stores and restaurants every weekend they all offer some variety of community news and events, divrei Torah, family and Jewish interest stories, Israel coverage, and the like. Some of these publications are better than others. Most of them skew quite heavily to the right, politically, but that’s ok. And so do many of the letters to the editors of these periodicals, but that’s ok too. I’m used to some letters to editors that make my head explode, but I will admit that’s part of the entertainment value for me. I can take reasonable political disagreement. One publication, in particular, has been lately running letters to its Editor that (aside from being riddled with spelling and typographical errors, which offends me linguistically), not only are skewed to the right, but are pugnacious, racist, jingoistic, and misinformative about the pandemic we are all dealing with. Allow me to show some examples from this past Shabbos’s issue (July 15-21, 2020): MASKS- A letter writer expresses dismay and concern that he (presumably a male) has been witnessing most people upstate not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. He is worried that we will experience another wave like some other areas. The editor replies: “Editor’s Note: Maybe that is the point thatin [sic] NY we peaked. We were the epicenter. We are now finished with Crona [sic].” We are NOT finished with ‘Crona’. And the editor wrote something similar two weeks ago (June 23 issue), in response to a similarly concerned letter writer: “Time to get out of your bunker Covid 19 is over!” Another reader writes that someone reacted poorly when they were asked to pull their mask over their nose. The editor’s response: “ Well maybe you should mind your own business. The non-mask wearers are not telling mask wearers to take off their masks. Keep your social distance!” Yet another reader writes that he is 85 years old and concerned that again, he is not observing Jews wearing masks in stores. Editor’s brilliant response: “ I saw someone sneeze and everything came right through the mask. Had he not worn a mask he might have covered his mouth with his hand or elbow. Masks give a false security.” These are not readers venting their own misinformed opinions. That would be bad enough. This is the purported editor of a community publication advocating potentially spreading disease, or at the very least, sneering at those who are trying to be safe… Is this the kind of language and discourse we accept in a publication that is distributed in our stores and (up until Covid) our shuls?” [The Facebook author continues with his examples.]

SJ

Vues Master’s Note: Let me clarify that we publish all letters that are sent to us including ones that knock us. We are here as a forum for entertainment. We are not using these letters as a college essay. Grammar is not changed. We are happy to respond to anyone. We respect your opinion that you may not agree with ours, but I don’t tell people that your opinion is wrong because you live in this or this place. We are proud of the fact that we allow almost all letters in the paper except one’s which are totally kneged halacha. We don’t text with the right grammar. Last I checked people posting on Facebook don’t either use Grammar!

REGRESSIVES

Dear Vues Master: The Democrats and the far left are called liberals, but is this really accurate? Historyically, liberalism has been about wanting liberation and positive change. The “liberals” of today are bringing back segregation (in the name of “reparations”), making everything about race, and pushing authoritarianism. They aren’t liberals, they’re regressives.

SA

Vues Master’s Note: What would you call a Progressive?

BIRTH CONTROL

Dear Vues Master: 3 or 4 generations ago reform and conservative Jews did not practice family planning and had large families. Then they allowed the nazi eugenics movement to take root in their communities. They allowed themselves to be brainwashed and their opinion shapers declared abortion and birth control to be good and large families to be bad.They also abandoned whatever little ties to Judaism they had and in turn chose to worship the country of israel as their g-d, and liberalism as their religion. Today both movements are in a death spiral seeing which group will make itself extinct first by self holocausting themselves thru birth control, intermarriage and assimilation. Lest the Orthodox start saying I told you so, lets see whats happening in the frum community. Many now look at israel as something to be proud of. Notwithstanding the fact the closer Jews get to israel the smaller family size they have. In fact there is a movement within the frum community to limit tbe number of kids to 3 per family. This is led by Nachum Segal’s friend ‘Jew in the city’, allison___. Three kids per family will lead to 2 kids then 1 kid then no Jews. The Lubavich movement has tossed its lot in with the goverment of israel as well. The birthrate of Lubavich has declined in direct proportion to their closeness to the toeva, arab, secular state of israel. The number of single never married childless frum women is still at epidemic proportions with no solutions being offered. I blame Jewry’s problems on our closeness to the country of israel. Jews are like superman and israel is our kryptonite. Only by cutting ties with the country of israel will Jews in the diaspora thrive.

HT

Vues Master’s Note: I am not sure where you get your facts from? I see many families both here and in Israel with seven or more children!

CANCEL CULTURE

Dear Vues Master: A poster on Yehupetz. com recently claimed that “Cancel Culture” is contributing to hate groups. Do canceled people become more hateful? I don’t think it’s likely for someone to go from decent person to full on KKK from being rejected, but on the other hand, ostracism can be traumatic and cause mental illness. Either way, cancel culture needs to be canceled.

CS

Vues Master’s Note: It makes no sense. Why not keep our past mistakes visible so we can learn from them. If you do cancel all of our History then people won’t be able to learn from it.