08 Sep Speak Your Vues

RETURN TO ME 

Dear Vues Master: When a train filled with a large transport of Jewish prisoners arrived at one of the Nazi killing centers, many Polish gentiles came out to watch the latest group as they were taken away. As the disoriented Jews were gathering their possessions to take with them into the camp, a Nazi officer in charge called out to the villagers standing nearby, “Anything these Jews leave behind you may take for yourselves, because for sure they will not be coming back to collect them!” Two Polish women who were standing nearby saw a woman towards the back of the group, wearing a large, heavy, expensive coat. Not waiting for someone else to take the coat before them, they ran to the Jewish woman and knocked her to the ground, grabbed her coat and scurried away. Moving out of sight of the others, they quickly laid the coat down on the ground to divide the spoils of what was hiding inside. Rummaging through the pockets, they giddily discovered gold jewelry, silver candlesticks and other heirlooms. They were thrilled with their find, but as they lifted the coat again, it still seemed heavier than it should. Upon further inspection, they found a secret pocket, and hidden inside the coat was …. a tiny baby girl! Shocked at their discovery, one woman took pity and insisted to the other, “I don’t have any children, and I’m too old to give birth now. You take the gold and silver and let me have the baby.” The Polish woman took her new “daughter” home to her delighted husband. They raised the Jewish girl as their own, treating her very well, but never telling her anything about her history. The girl excelled in her studies and even became a doctor, working as a pediatrician in a hospital in Poland. When her “mother” passed away many years later, a visitor came to pay her respects. An old woman invited herself in and said to the daughter, “I want you to know that the woman that passed away last week was not your real mother …” and she proceeded to tell her the whole story. She did not believe her at first, but the old woman insisted. “When we found you, you were wearing a beautiful gold pendant with strange writing on it, which must be Hebrew. I am sure that your mother kept the necklace. Go and see for yourself.” Indeed, the woman went into her deceased mother’s jewelry box and found the necklace just as the elderly lady had described. She was shocked. It was hard to fathom that she had been of Jewish descent, but the proof was right there in her hand. As this was her only link to a previous life, she cherished the necklace. She had it enlarged to fit her neck and wore it every day, although she thought nothing more of her Jewish roots. Some time later, she went on holiday abroad and came across two Jewish boys standing on a main street, trying to interest Jewish passersby to wrap Tefillin on their arms (for males) or accept Shabbos candles to light on Friday afternoon (for females). Seizing the opportunity, she told them her entire story and showed them the necklace. The boys confirmed that a Jewish name was inscribed on the necklace but did not know about her status. They recommended that she write a letter to their mentor, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, explaining everything. If anyone would know what to do, it would be him. She took their advice and sent off a letter that very same day. She received a speedy reply saying that it is clear from the facts that she is a Jewish girl and perhaps she would consider using her medical skills in Israel where talented pediatricians were needed. Her curiosity was piqued and she traveled to Israel where she consulted a Rabbinical Court (Beit Din) who declared her Jewish. Soon she was accepted into a hospital to work, and eventually met her husband and raised a family. In August 2001, a terrorist blew up the Sbarro cafe in the center of Jerusalem. The injured were rushed to the hospital where this woman worked. One patient was brought in, an elderly man in a state of shock. He was searching everywhere for his granddaughter who had become separated from him. Asking how she could recognize her, the frantic grandfather gave a description of a gold necklace that she was wearing. Eventually, they finally found her among the injured patients. At the sight of this necklace, the pediatrician froze. She turned to the old man and said, “Where did you buy this necklace?” “You can’t buy such a necklace,” he responded, “I am a goldsmith and I made this necklace. Actually I made two identical pieces for each of my daughters. This is my granddaughter from one of them, and my other daughter did not survive the war.” And this is the story of how a Jewish girl, brutally torn away from her mother on a Nazi camp platform almost sixty years ago, was reunited with her father ….. Adapted from the book “Heroes of Faith” 

ZN 

Vues Master’s Note: What an inspiring story. This is the essence of teshuva. May we return to Hashem the way this young girl was returned to her grandfather. 

SPEED SLOWED 

Dear Vues Master: I just saw that DeBlasio is slowing down the speed limit on some streets with the excuse being he is saving lives. It seems to me a money grab so they can try to recoup Covid 19 revenue losses. How much longer do we need to tolerate this Mayor whose idea of saving lives is only if he can make money off it, but regarding shootings in our street he is unwilling to do anything about it. 

GF 

Vues Master’s Note: Well driving a car must be white privilege, hence DeBlasio keeps on penalizing anything that resembles a car.

GET THE PICTURE 

Dear Vues Master: I have a great idea. Why doesn’t the city take all these speed cams and install it in neighborhoods where there are shootings? This would be a deterrent so people would not shoot one another. Oops I got it- It is not a money maker. Time to get rid of the Mayor and the whole city council who are out to get your money and not to protect you. 

HE 

Vues Master’s Note: That would not work as you are trampling on these shooters privacy laws. Sounds like Sodom? It is! 

HATE CRIME DOUBLE STANDARD 

Dear Vues Master: Governor Murphy said it will be a hate crime if a white guy calls 911 for no reason on a black guy. I wonder if the same rule will apply if it is in reverse? How about calling 911 on a Jew? We are now entering a slippery slope where we will have to evaluate if it was a hate crime. Too much government intervention is just a waste of taxpayer funds to litigate all these cases and it will not change anything. It is just a money grab. 

GA 

Vues Master’s Note: You have to understand that this is a moment in our time where BLM and no one else’s. As a matter of fact, if you dare say police lives matter or all lives matter, you are a racist and don’t understand that we are a part of history now where lawlessness will reign as our Mayor and Governor encourage these looters and protesters! 

REVISING NUMBERS 

Dear Vues Master: Just 6% of the 200,000 Americans listed as dying from Covid actually died from the virus, the CDC said earlier this week. The other 94% had illnesses that were exacerbated by Covid. 

D G 

Vues Master’s Note: You should probably do some fact checking before you make these allegations. Please check out this website and you’ll see that this is indeed false. https://www.snopes.com/factcheck/cdc-mortality-statistics/ If you do some real research, you’ll also find out how infectious diseases work. Dr. Fauci recently explained the following: The point that the CDC was trying to make was that a certain percentage of [COVID-19 deaths] had nothing else but just COVID. That does not mean that someone who has hypertension or diabetes who dies of COVID didn’t die of COVID-19 — they did. So the numbers that you’ve been hearing — the 180,000-plus deaths — are real deaths from COVID-19. …It’s not 9,000 deaths from COVID-19. Let me ask you this: How many of us out there have hypertension, heart disease, or diabetes? Eventually we all die. Does that mean we need to speed along someone’s death by exposing them to Covid? Just to remind you there’s also the precept: “Whoever saves a life, saves a world.” So even if your misinformation was correct, please realize that it is completely antithetical to the Torah. Please do your part; don’t even cause one death. 

DANGERS OF TECHNOLOGY 

Dear Vues Master: Why don’t people realize the dangers of technology? Has anyone seen the news about a hoverboard exploding in a house in Boro park on 9th and 51st St., setting off a fire that damaged the home? 

N G 

Vues Master’s Note: There’s good and bad in everything in this world. Some technology is good and some is bad. 

HISTORY 

Dear Vues Master: Reports were untrue that Monday was the historic journey of an Israeli airliner to UAE over Saudi Arabia. Reports revealed Netanyahu made the same trip two years ago, secretly meeting the UAE prince. So what did Israel gain? Nothing. They just can’t annex the territories that they rightfully own. What a horrible move. Beware of your “friends” in high places, they sometimes do more harm than your enemies. 

Y B 

Vues Master’s Note: I guess when Netanyahu flew it was not on El Al but rather an unmarked Plane. 

NURSING HOME DEATHS 

Dear Vues Master: Responding to a Justice Dept demand for nursing home death data, Cuomo’s health dept. says it needs until Nov. 5, 2 days after the election, since it can’t find the records. Sounds fishy to me. 

D D 

Vues Master’s Note: More like a cover up! Our Executive Order Fear Mongering Governor did nothing wrong! It was Hashem or the workers of the nursing homes. 

SHIDDUCH 

Dear Vues Master: *Shidduch questionnaire* * Does he wear a BLACK Mask ? * Is it a KNITTED Mask ? *Does his Mask have FUR on it? *Is his Mask a BENT DOWN? * Does he wear his Mask ALL the time ? *Does he wear his Mask in the SHOWER ? *Did he buy his mask ONLINE ? *Does his Mask cover MOST of his face ? *Does he hide BEHIND his Mask or is he TRANSPARENT? *Has he ever gone HALF Masked ? *What kInd of Masks does his FAMILY wear ? *Has they worn a Mask FROM BIRTH ? *Would he be willing to meet a Girl that would wear a Mask but only if he is willing to make ALIYAH ? *How often does he WASH his Mask ? *Does he do any OUTREACH to adjust someone’s Mask if he saw it was falling off ? *Does he think that Masks are nothing but a MASQUERADE ?

PL 

Vues Master’s Note: I like this one! Let’s see if this will stick and people will only do shidduchim with people who wore masks etc… 

UMAN 

Dear Vues Master: I am opposed to Jews from Israel travelling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. There are a number of reasons I’m against it, which I’ll list at the end of this letter. I’m not the only one against it. There are many people who have many reasons they think it’s a bad idea. I agree with many of their reasons, but one reason that is often given, is completely out of line. I’m talking about people who say that men shouldn’t go to Uman because they leave their wife and kids at home and that’s bad for shalom bayis. They might be right. But Shalom Bayis (peace in the home) isn’t an objective factor. It’s subjective to each home. Whether or not something effects shalom bayis is for each couple to decide. Outsiders have no idea and it’s completely out of line, if the husband leaving for Rosh Hashanah affects any particular couple’s Sholom Bayis. I have friends that travel every week and are only home on Shabbos. I travel 5-6 times a year for between 7-14 days and I have friends who only leave home to go to Uman for four days out of the year. If you’re going to criticize one of us for leaving our wives home with the kids, I’m much more deserving of criticism, and no one has ever told me that I’m wrong for leaving. You can tell people not to go to Uman. I agree with you, but stay in your lane. Don’t pretend you know what’s happening in someone else’s relationship. Here are the legitimate criticisms against people going to Uman. 1) If you live in Eretz Yisrael, leaving the land of hashgacha pratis for chutz la’aretz, a land of hashgacha clalis, on judgement day, demonstrates an ignorance of the mechanics of prayer. 2) If you live in chutz la’aretz, and are able to travel away from home for Rosh Hashanah, traveling to another place in chutz la’aretz, a land of hashgacha clalis, on judgement day instead of Eretz Yisrael, the land of hashgacha pratis, demonstrates an ignorance of the mechanics of prayer. 3) Chazal never encouraged going to a grave on Rosh Hashanah to pray. This is a completely made up idea, that has no legitimate source in our tradition. 4) There are serious avodah zara issues, that if aren’t being outright violated, are coming close enough to warrant distancing. See Hilchos Avodah Zara chapter 11 in the Rambam for a list. 5) In the age of Corona, where social distancing is a must, and staying in close quarters with a mass amount of people is what every expert, and even President Trump, has warned against doing. Having been to Uman, I know, and everyone else who has been there knows, it will be impossible to social distance while there. By putting yourself at risk of getting Corona, you put yourself at risk, and others. It is selfish, and possibly, if God forbid you contract it and give it to someone who dies, or gives it to someone else who eventually dies, puts you in a place where you’ve caused someone to die. 6) My friend Shaul Yaakov Morrison wrote an additional point in the comments below that is so important, I felt I should include it. Israeli law obligates anyone coming from outside of Israel to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. Those going to Uman would be stuck in quarantine for two weeks missing countless mitzvos one can only do if you’re in a tzibbur, especially missing tefila b’tzibbur on Yom Kippur. If you’re a Cohen, you’d be giving up birchas cohanim – a d’eoraisa! 

UP 

Vues Master’s Note: All good points! In terms of your first point, I wonder if it’s any better for a person to leave Eretz Yisroel just for a vacation (in a nonCorona situation)?

HAPPY HORSES 

Dear Vues Master: The Brisker Rav zt”l explained with the following mashal, the different periods of the Yamim Noraim andאלול, ר“ה, עשי“ת ,with starting finally, Yom Kippur & at Neila. There once was a wealthy merchant trying to smuggle across the border a large quantity of merchandise. He hired a professional smuggler who knew the route and best time when to cross the border and not to get caught. The plan was to load the wagon with the merchandise weeks before. The wagon driver will hang around in the forest near the border and wait for the professional smuggler to give him the signal when to cross the border. He would then rush his galloping horses and cross the border. The merchant starts worrying and can’t sleep at night as soon as they load the wagon with his merchandise. The smuggler worries and can’t sleep at night on the day, he gives the signal to cross. The wagon driver worries when he gets within a hundred feet from the border. The young boy who does the loading and unloading is only worried after the guards approach him with the guns pointing at his face. After getting caught all start worrying big time. The only exception is the horses. They have no worries and are even happy that they can now have a long rest. Horses are not worried they are happy. The Brisker Rav said, the least we can do is to worry on Yom Kippur during Neila and do then Teshuva if not before. Otherwise, we are compared to the horses. 

DF 

Vues Master’s Note: I guess the cat is out of the bag and the dog left it’s coup and the Horse is out of the Barn. Your lesson is well taken. Thanks!