29 Mar 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.

 

SHOE STORE

Dear Vues Master:

An organization in Boro Park is sending signs

to frum-owned shoe stores in New York and

beyond which requests that customers of the

shops be mindful of what they do when being

fitted for shoes. The organization, named

Kol Kevudah, has been sending out beautiful

posters with a message “from the man who

fits your child for shoes.” The poster, written

as a poem, states that while the store owner

does his best to provide customers with a nice

pair of shoes, “but something’s on my mind, I

struggle too… I struggle daily with Shmiras

Einayim.” “The view that I have as I crouch

on the floor, As I fit your child with one pair

of shoes or more. When you cross your legs,

the truth I do say, “If you knew how it looks

you wouldn’t sit that way!” “Please help me

out and sit with care, And I’ll fit your child

with the very best pair.” What do you think

of this?

SM

Vues Master’s Note: Why can’t we use common

sense anymore? Everything needs to be

made into a big deal!

KOSHER MEDICINE

Dear Vues Master:

By now we’ve all seen the video of the terror

attack in Be’er Sheva (and now another

attack in Hadera). In Be’er Sheva we saw the

Arab attacker stab two mothers to death after

running over and murdering a Rabbi and

father. The attack ends when the attacker is

shot dead by two Jews. One of the two Jews,

a bus driver, hesitates a few seconds while

the Arab terrorist tries to get close enough to

stab him and another Jew runs up and shoots

the terrorist twice while the bus driver shot

him once. When asked why he hesitated in

shooting the terrorist, the bus driver told reporters,

“Chaimov [the bus driver] stressed

he’d done all he could to avoid shooting the

terrorist and was pained to have done so, despite

al-Qi’an’s [the attacker] murderous actions.

“He’s a person, not an animal you need

to kill. He was also a person… We’re human

beings, we’re not animals,” Chaimov said.

“I’m not used to such a situation, shooting

a person. I’m sorry for him but he brought

it on himself.” The video and pictures along

with the media coverage only mentioned one

attacker, but from the takes I’ve seen about

the attack I’m almost convinced people saw

two different attackers. There are people who

criticized the bus driver for his hesitancy in

shooting the terrorist. They characterized the

Arab attacker as sub-human, and as the Torah

wrote, gave up his right to life the minute

he tried taking someone else’s. Other people

praised the bus driver for putting himself at

risk because he saw the humanity in the attacker

and wanted to save his life. These two

vastly different takes weren’t really about the

bus driver but about the attacker. They debated

whether the attacker was human and deserved

mercy or had forfeited kind treatment

by others. In examining the different takes, I

found that most of the people who saw the attacker

as deserving of mercy didn’t live in Israel,

while most of the people who approved

of shooting him immediately lived in Israel.

RUP

Vues Master’s Note: I think that Arabs who

do terrorism are what the Torah calls Am

haDomeh LaChamor! They are like Donkeys!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

Dear Vues Master:

The Senate recently passed a bill to make daylight savings time permanent. This means that in certain places at certain times of the year, you won’t be able to daven shacharis until 9:00. This is a serious problem. What can be done?

GM

Vues Master’s Note: ou can always catch a Minyan in Munkach!

MUSIC

Dear Vues Master:

I just came back from a chasuna and the noise was insanely loud. Am I the only one that thinks that? I feel like it’s getting louder & louder.

GH

Vues Master’s Note: Or is it your hearing that is going?

REB CHAIM

Dear Vues Master:

I just want to tell you how much my family enjoyed the Loss of Rav Chaim edition of The Jewish Vues. The pictures were great & we read the stories over Shabbos. Keep up the good work!

TJ

Vues Master’s Note:Thanks! We hope to have some happy editions! Hopefully we will feature Moshiach on our cover soon!

PRICE

Dear Vues Master:

Why does everything go up in price right around Pesach? This year eggs are over $3 a dozen. A typical heimishe family goes through more than 20 dozen eggs just over the 8 days of Pesach. What are we to do?

ML

Vues Master’s Note: It is called Supply and Demand as long as people will pay they will raise the prices!!

STUDIO

Dear Vues Master:

We just heard about the fire that broke out over the weekend at Nachum Segals studio. I feel so bad for him. He must have lost a lot of memorabilia. I hope he makes a nicer studio now.

HF

Vues Master’s Note: Yes! We would hope that Hashem replenishes his losses!s

PRESIDENT BIDEN

Dear Vues Master:

President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have hit a record low in a new NBC survey, with just 40% of respondents saying they approve of him and 55% disapproving. In perhaps even more worrying news for Democrats, the poll found that registered voters favor Republicans to gain control of Congress for the first time since 2014. Additionally, 70% of Americans said they have “low confidence” in President Biden’s ability to counter Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. 80% of respondents said they worry that the ongoing war in Ukraine will raise gas prices and possibly wind up becoming a nuclear war, and 71% said they think the country is on the wrong track. For the life of me, I can’t understand why people voted for him. Can you please explain?

CS

Vues Master’s Note: The dead voters obviously don’t care!

KIDDUSH HASHEM

Dear Vues Master:

A great story happened this week! Sruly Taub, a realtor in Lakewood, NJ, showed clients a home approximately 6 months ago and they negotiated a price with the seller that was signed by both parties. Subsequently, a higher bid came in and the clients had to increase their offer by $25,000 to retain the house. Fast forward half a year. This week, Taub got a call from the buyer that she found something very expensive in the house and wanted to make contact with the sellers. What did she find? She found a diamond tennis bracelet hidden away somewhere in the house. “Not only did they not keep it, although they could have al pi halacha,” said the realtor, “but they put it into a gift bag and dropped it off by the seller’s daughter in Toms River. The son-in-law couldn’t get over it and said, ‘I didn’t know that they still make people like you.’” Mi ke’amcha Yisroel!

SG

Vues Master’s Note: What a Kiddush Hashem!

CHIZUK

Dear Vues Master:

My Rav told over 2 stories of Chizuk; 1-when the Gra was niftar, Rav Chaim Volozshin, talmid muvhak, taught his talmidim the song that he composed which we sing during hakofas Simchas Torah. Olam Haba iz ah gutta Zach – learning Torah iz ah besser Zach-varf avek yayda Zach-lernin Torah nuch un nuch-Olam Haba iz ah guta Zach! 2- When the Chofetz Chaim was niftar, Rav Yeruchem was mechazek his talmidim. He said what if Rav Akiva Eiger was still alive or the Rambam or Abaya & Rava or even Moshe Rabbeinu? Wouldn’t that be a little easier on you to accept? Well now that we don’t have not the Chofetz Chaim nor Rav Akiva Eiger, not the Rambam or Abaya & Rava, and even Moshe Rabbeinu. We still have forever & ever the Ribono Shel Olam- Avinu Shebashamayim!

RMS Vues Master’s Note:We still need more Chizzuk!

MOTHER-IN-LAW

Dear Vues Master:

Shmuel, I heard that your mother-in-law is sick,” said Abe. “Yes, in fact she’s in the hospital,” replied Shmuel. “How long has she been in the hospital?” Abe asked. “With G-d’s help, in two weeks it will be a month.”

BM

Vues Master’s Note: Sounds like if you miss your mother in law please reload and shoot again!

WAR

Dear Vues Master:

The Lubavitcher Rebbe: A message from the Lubavitcher Rebbe to PM Bennett and US Secretary of State Blinken on waging war against G-d! The Land of Israel has been gifted to us by Hashem in our generation with open miracles. There is no doubt whatsoever that we are forbidden to touch it. No-one has the right to touch it, because it is ours as an everlasting inheritance! The Land of Israel belongs to every single Jew throughout the world, to every Jew of all previous generations, as well as to our children and grandchildren, given to us by G-d. Now if we want to have peace, one must know that they are the owners of these lands. There are those – Heaven forbid, who want to give away parts of the Land of Israel. These lands, still today belong to Avraham, Yitzchok and to Yaakov, to the twelve tribes, to the seventy souls that went down into the Egyptian exile, to the 600,000 Jewish people, and to the generation which entered the land conquered by Yehoshua bin Nun. Not one single person is the owner to give away even one small piece of land, even half a piece, even one iota, because it is not his to relinquish! This is war against the G-d of the world, the G-d of hosts. Relinquishing the “Land to which the Eyes of G-d gaze” which they want to give away to gentiles Heaven forbid! He is waging war not only with G-d’s Torah; he is waging war against the true owner of the Land of Israel, against G-d Himself, the G-d of [His army] Hosts!! Public Farbrengen 19th Kislev [5742] 1982

LR

Vues Master’s Note: I did not know that the Rebbe was alive!!

UKRAINE

Dear Vues Master:

There are some issues that are black and white, right and wrong, clear and understandable. The Ukrainian-Russian war is one of those issues. Even if you’ll claim Russia had cause to worry about Ukraine joining NATO and Russia has claims on some of the lands in Ukraine, there’s no justification for Russia to use military force to settle those claims. After World War II, the nations of the world acted to stop the tens of millions of people that were dying in wars. They set up international laws governing warfare and specifically when it is justifiable to go to war. Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine violates those agreements and puts the world at risk of reversing its peaceful trend. Ukraine did nothing to provoke this attack. To keep the world order, save lives, keep justice in the world, all freedom loving people must stand up for Ukraine. Nations of the world must come together to punish Russia, and at some point, military action must be considered to stop Russian aggression. The world dilly-dallied as Germany killed millions before finally stepping in to stop German aggression. The world shouldn’t have to wait until Ukrainians die en masse before stopping Russia. While the issue is as black and white as an issue can get, there are other factors to discuss to have a comprehensive intellectual discussion about the issue. I prefer nuanced conversations that cover all sides of an issue, if you do as well, keep reading. The topic of generational antisemitism is fraught with controversy. Jewish history has taught us antisemitism doesn’t stop with one generation, children pass their hate to their children, who pass it to their children. This doesn’t mean that grandchildren of antisemites are doomed to the same hate as their parents and grandparents, the Talmud taught that Haman’s grandchildren converted to Judaism and studied in the same Beit Medrash as Rebbe Akiva. It is indisputable that Ukraine has been the location of some of the worst antisemitism in Jewish history and it is one of the world’s largest population centers of neo-Nazis today. These Ukrainian Nazis aren’t small in number and shouldn’t be easily dismissed. It is also important to note Ukraine has never taken steps to investigate, renounce or apologize for their long history of antisemitism. Having a Jewish President doesn’t erase their history and present antisemitism. The Ukrainian history of and present antisemitism doesn’t justify a Russian attack or mean the Jewish community should stand by while innocent Ukrainians are targeted by Russian missiles; it does require us to recognize that the “arc of the moral universe is long and bends towards justice.” I believe when Dr. King talked about the moral arc he was referring to the cause and effect of the world. When generations ago Ukrainians brought war, attacks and hate into the world, they doomed their descendants to live in a more violent world. Today Ukrainians are victims of the same attacks and hate their ancestors perpetuated on others, and while today’s Ukrainians aren’t responsible for the attacks against them, they are experiencing the effects of their ancestor’s violence. The world is pointing at Israel and vilifying it for not condemning Russia in a strong enough way, not sending military help to Ukraine and not accepting enough Ukrainian refugees into Israel. Setting aside the facts that Israel has condemned Russia in statements and the UN vote, has advised Ukraine on military tactics and accepted more refugees than any other country per capita, Israel’s hesitancy of being as vocal as other countries isn’t borne of love of Russia but of the very real calculations of Russia’s role in stopping Iranian precision guided missiles from reaching Hezbollah and standing at Israel’s borders and Israel being the lead mediator between Ukraine and Russia, and needing an unbiased country to stop the fighting. Neither of these calculations should be quickly dismissed. Lastly, the Ukrainian President is quick to point to Israel as a nation that should be taking the lead in helping Ukraine. He frequently makes reference to the Jewish people’s long victimhood. Again, this wouldn’t justify Israel’s turning a blind eye to Ukrainian suffering – and it’s not – but it’s important to note Ukraine’s consistent anti-Israel position at the United Nations. Ukraine frequently participates or abstains in anti-Israel votes at the United Nations; they are not a reliable ally of Israel. It takes a whole lot of chutzpah to consistently allow Israel to stand alone for years and then vilify Israel for doing the same to Ukraine. I have no problem with President Zelensky asking Israel for help, but don’t make it seem that he’s been Israel’s ally all along. Let’s be clear; Ukraine is the victim of Russian aggression in this war. It deserves the world’s support and Russia deserves to be sanctioned and similarly attacked to make up for its aggression. All freedom loving people MUST – without reservation- stand up for Ukraine and stand against Russia.

RUP

Vues Master’s Note: What a long Megillah! The bottom line is that it is a war between two countries who have hated Jews in the past and still do!

MAYOR ADAMS

Dear Vues Master:

New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended his decision to make an exception to the city’s vaccine mandate for athletes and performers, a change that drew ire from union leaders, City Council members and health experts for creating a double standard among who is required to get vaccinated. “I made a decision based on the information that I received from my health team,” Adams said during a news briefing Friday. “You may consider it as a double standard. I consider it an analysis that I made, and I’m comfortable with my decision.” How does the mayor allow sports players to play and not allow teachers & students to go to school without wearing a mask? Isn’t that a double standard? It’s amazing how all these politicians enjoy power so much.

FT

Vues Master’s Note: Sounds like he is from the Adams family and wants to act like he is on TV. NO vaccine mandate is needed for anyone!

DEAD ISSUE

Dear Vues Master:

Phillip was stunned to read a notice in the newspaper announcing his death. He telephoned his friend Benjy and asked him if he had seen the obituary in the newspaper. “Yes,” Benjy said. “Exactly where are you calling from?”

MB

Vues Master’s Note: This joke was dead on arrival!

SELFISH

Dear Vues Master:

My wife wants to know when did adults stop going to their parents for the yom tovim? It seems that adults are more interested in having down time with their friends than strengthening the millennia old mesora of being with parents and grandparents. Was this year’s Purim a preamble of what to expect this Pesach? This is the era of the liberated adult who is usually still financially dependent on their parents. They think they are selfless when they give out mishloach manos but just the opposite is true; they give out gefilte fish, tuna fish and white fish but the fish that they give out the most is selfish.

DG

Vues Master’s Note: I guess you sound frustrated. But most children come home, unless their parents are overly difficult!!

MINHAGIM

Dear Vues Master:

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky zt”l used to teach Mishnah Berurah for ten minutes or so during the Shabbos minyan in his home in Monsey. When he learned the three minhagim regarding sitting and/or standing during Kiddush, one of the congregants asked, “What does the rosh yeshivah do?” he answered, “I do what my father did,” and he continued learning. A late friend of mine, one of the first talmidim of Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l in Lakewood, told me that the rosh yeshiva once said that he would like to follow the ruling of the Vilna Gaon not to put on tefillin on Chol HaMoed, “But what can I do? My father put on tefillin, so I must do so (ArtScroll, Rav Nosson Scherman). When Pesach comes the Torah commands that the children be present before their father so it’s much more than a mesora. There is no way to weasel out of it since even the wicked son has to be there.

DG

Vues Master’s Note:Yes! Minhag Avoseinu BeYadeinu.