14 Jun 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.
PRICE OF GAS
Dear Vues Master:
The price of gas does not stop going up. It’s really
insane how the roads are so congested with
the prices being so high. It’s costing me now
over $200 a week to get to work & I really have
no choice but to pay it.
JN
Vues Master’s Note: Just wait for all the prices
to rise as a result of the gas hikes.
RABBI URI ZOHAR ZT”L
Dear Vues Master:
Thank you for your coverage last week on Rabbi
Uri Zohar zt”l. I really never heard of him & he
has a really interesting story. The fact that he
was on the top of the world in the entertainment
world making big money & then he decided to
become a baal teshuva is truly remarkable.
HY
Vues Master’s Note: Yes we lost a great person!
CHINUCH
Dear Vues Master:
My daughter is at the point where every week
she has two or three Bas Mitzvah parties. She
is exhausted & has very little time to study for
her finals. She doesn’t want to miss any of the
bas mitzvahs that she is invited to. All of her
friends are going. As a parent, what do you think
I should do?
GH
Vues Master’s Note: Probably talk to her teacher!
FISH
Dear Vues Master:
A Talmid Chacham was asked why we have the
minhag to drink alcohol after eating fish, which
we don’t do after eating meat. He explained:
the fish once came with a complaint to the bais
din shel maaloh. “It’s not fair,” they said. “The
last time a fish swallowed a man, namely Yonah
Hanavi, he prayed until the fish spit him out. We
too should be able to pray when men swallow us
and they should be required to spit us out.” The
bais din shel maaloh agreed that this was a reasonable
request and granted them permission to
pray that they be spit out. Therefore, we drink alcohol,
so that the fish get drunk and, as is known,
a drunk is not permitted to daven.
MB
Vues Master’s Note: This story sounds way to
fishy to me. But I’ll drink to that.
FATHER’S DAY
Dear Vues Master:
Why does Mothers Day get so much more attention
than Father’s Day?
SD
Vues Master’s Note: Maybe because fathers have
to thank mothers a lot more than mothers have to
thank fathers!
SHAIMOS
Dear Vues Master:
Please be aware that in last week’s Rabbi Rosner
article it has Hashem’s name. Please tell your
readers to take out the page & treat it as shaimos.
RS
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for pointing it out.
We try our best.
FUN PAGE
Dear Vues Master:
My Family loves your fun question page every
week. We really enjoyed the questions Ari
Hirsch asked Benny Friedman last week. Please
keep up the good work!!!
KY
Vues Master’s Note: Did you enjoy the answers?
Or just the questions?
ECONOMY
Dear Vues Master:
Wall Street tumbled into what’s called a bear market this past Monday after fears about a fragile economy and rising interest rates sent the S&P 500 more than 20% below its record set early this year. The index sank 3.9% in the first chance for investors to trade after getting the weekend to reflect on the stunning news that inflation is getting worse, not better. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was briefly down more than 1,000 points before finishing with a loss of 876. At the center of the sell-off again was the Federal Reserve, which is scrambling to get inflation under control. Its main method to do that is to raise interest rates in order to slow the economy, a blunt tool that risks a recession if used too aggressively. Am I the only person thinking that if Trump was president of America right now, we would not be in this mess right now?
BH
Vues Master’s Note: As we know Lev melachim vesarim beyad Hashem who knows!
GAS
Dear Vues Master:
With the price of gas so high these days, my wife & I have been discussing that I might not go upstate every weekend this summer. It’s crazy but between gas & tolls it’s going to cost me more than $200 a week for the trip. That’s over $2000 just to drive upstate. That’s crazy. I really blame this all on Biden. I have no idea how he was voted in. I hope in 2024 we get someone in the White House that knows what they are doing.
An Angry American
Vues Master’s Note:As long as the minimum wage was raised and everybody got 600 dollars we should be happy!
GUN CONTROL OR CONTROL
Dear Vues Master:
Tragedies after the fact, are sometimes understood on what exact thing went wrong, but there are other such incidents where such doesn’t apply. A few weeks ago, a tragedy happened in Texas where a deranged, mentally unstable man shot innocent kids. In subsequent weeks, news media have been selectively reporting on other related “mass shootings” for one purpose, for their political agenda. Since this horrific tragedy, the Left of this country has politicized deaths with absolutely no evidence and solutions. Liberal-minded and unfortunately a few fake Republicans have provided the narrative that gun control and similar measures would have prevented such tragedy, and while yes, humans tend to mix emotions and facts during tragedies, the resulting backlash at law-abiding gun owners is predictable but incredibly dumb. All Americans are required to have a background check when purchasing a gun from a gun dealer as required by the Gun Control Act of 1968, if they aren’t approved by ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), then they can’t buy a gun from a gun dealer. The deranged shooter in Texas did go through such background checks, so the claim that better gun control is needed is laughable. This is especially true when the gun issue isn’t the main dilemma in this area, the issue that needs to be looked into is mental health. According to data from Mental Health America, there are currently over 50 million Americans with a mental illness, and an increasing amount who have considered suicide, increasing youth depression, increasing rates of drug substances, 2.5 million youth who have severe depression, and a significant amount of those that have these issues do not get treated. This is especially relevant when there are reports that the deranged gunman assaulted his friends, cut up his face randomly, and the police had check-ups on him. One wonders, why wasn’t he in a mental asylum or something in that regard? This is not even considering the apparent failure of Texas police who stood and did nothing for 40 minutes to stop this wicked, deranged human being! The issue of guns is a misdiagnosed one. The unfounded hate for law-abiding gun owners who buy guns or “assault weapons” is not because of the classic myth that it’s for hunting, it’s because people need a way to protect themselves, especially in an era where a historic crime wave has hit the USA. This is, of course, not discussing the 971 shootings in liberal, pro-gun control Chicago, which have shootings daily. This is to the extent that when searching up “shootings in Chicago” on Google, even with the lack of knowledge of there being a shooting recently, when the result came up, there were reports all over the place that once again there was another shooting of innocent people in Chicago. The Democrats for too long have lied to the American people, and instead of rejecting bills sponsored by Republicans which would have established a federal network between federal and state law enforcement to better protect public institutions from such incidents, Democrats should either zip their lips on issues that they have no clue of or continue to lie to the American people that will vote them out this year with the incoming Red Tsunami.
Sincerely,
DSG
Vues Master’s Note:Welcome back, we always enjoy your political letters. Could not have said it any better!
SCALE
Dear Vues Master:
While in the drugstore, Rachel stepped on the scale, put in some coins and out came a card, which said “You are the perfect wife – warmhearted, kind, patient, and a great cook.” Peeking over his wife’s shoulder, her husband said “It didn’t get your weight right either.”
BM
Vues Master’s Note: On a scale of 1 – 0 What did you think of this joke? Just Weight and tell me later!
CONGRESS EMBRACED
ZIONISM
Dear Vues Master:
One hundred years ago this month, the United States Congress unanimously embraced Zionism. The story of how that came about involves some surprising twists and turns, and a stormy debate about Jews and Arabs that could have been taken straight out of today’s headlines. In the spring of 1922, the League of Nations—forerunner of the United Nations—was weighing Great Britain’s request to be granted the mandate over Palestine. The approval process was slowed as France and Italy jockeyed for regional influence and the Vatican sought to prevent Jews from gaining a “privileged” position or “preponderant influence” in the Holy Land. In the wake of England’s 1917 Balfour Declaration, pledging to facilitate creation of a Jewish national home, American Zionists were eager to see the British receive the Palestine mandate. They hoped an endorsement of Zionism by President Warren Harding would accelerate the process. But Harding proved noncommittal, so Zionist activists turned to Congress. Senators Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, and Charles Curtis, of Kansas (a future vice president) and Rep. Hamilton Fish, Jr., of New York, all Republicans, agreed to take the lead on a pro-Zionist resolution. They were isolationists and immigration restrictionists—not exactly the Jewish community’s favorite kind of politicians. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, head of the American Jewish Congress, had recently denounced Lodge as “un-American and anti-American” because he opposed U.S. participation in the League of Nations. Successful lobbying, however, is the art of the possible. Many Jewish leaders may have been personally more comfortable with Democrats, but in 1922, the president was Republican and the GOP enjoyed large majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. If three powerful Republican congressmen were ready to champion the Zionist cause, why should they be turned away? The Lodge-Fish resolution, as it came to be known, declared that “the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” It added that “the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine” and “the holy places and religious buildings and sites” should “be adequately protected.” Hearings were held before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs over four days in April. The testimony by Zionist officials emphasized both justice and rescue. The Jewish people were entitled to rebuild their biblical homeland, and European Jews urgently needed a haven; 100,000 Jews had been slaughtered in pogroms in Ukraine and Poland in 1918-1921. Moreover, Zionist development of the land would benefit Palestine’s Arab population. Two Arab-American activists, Selim Totah and Fuad Shatara, appeared as witnesses. Their extremism and conspiracy theories won them little sympathy. Totah claimed the British administration in Palestine was “in the hands of the Jews.” Shatara said the suffering of Jewish pogrom victims in Europe was “nothing to compare” with the burden of heavy taxes that Palestine’s Arabs endured under Turkish rule. Both men insisted that they were not antisemitic—Totah because “I have a lot of Jewish friends,” Shatara because “I am a Semite myself.” Then as now, Jewish anti-Zionists were front and center in the debate. Two prominent Reform rabbis, Isaac Landman of New York and David Philipson of Cincinnati, testified against Lodge-Fish, claiming the resolution could endanger the status of American Jews. “We resent the idea that the Jews constitute a nation,” Landman argued. “America is my national home.” The anti-Zionist publishers of the New York Times were among the most vociferous critics of the resolution. A Times editorial warned that Lodge-Fish could turn American Jews into “hyphenated citizens.” The Times also highlighted the alleged misbehavior of radical Jewish settlers; it published reports from its Palestine correspondent claiming that Arab violence against Jews was “stirred up” by “Jewish Bolshevists.” Another aspect of the episode with contemporary echoes was the role of prominent academics. Yale professor Edward Bliss Reed testified at the congressional hearings that the Balfour Declaration was the product of a Zionist-British conspiracy, complete with secret additional paragraphs that supposedly were being withheld from public view. In speeches and writings around the same time, Harvard professor Albert Bushnell Hart called Zionism “a dangerous doctrine” and demanded that American Jews either renounce it or surrender their U.S. citizenship. Princeton’s Henry Adams Gibbons, explaining his opposition to Zionism, wrote: “We do not hold in abhorrence the Jews, but we do hold in abhorrence the Jewish nation.” Despite the critics, the Lodge-Fish resolution received overwhelming bipartisan support. It was unanimously adopted by the Senate on May 3 and the House on June 30, and signed by President Harding later that year. Why was there such broad support in Congress for Lodge-Fish? Anti-Zionists claimed it was all a cynical bid for Jewish votes; yet many of those who voted for the resolution had very few Jewish constituents. Was it “all about the Benjamins” (to borrow the infamous phrase of a contemporary congresswoman)? Scholars have found no evidence to suggest that Jewish donors played any role. Most of those who voted for the resolution likely just concluded that the Zionist cause had merit, and that most Americans felt the same way. The Jews did need a haven, and they did have roots in the Holy Land going back thousands of years. The Arabs did have vast lands of their own, and those who chose to live peacefully alongside the Jews would enjoy the prosperity of a developed country and the civil rights that the Balfour Declaration promised. The passage of the Lodge-Fish resolution was a symbolic victory, and in political struggles, symbols are important. They can educate; they can inspire. The embrace of Zionism by a united Congress legitimized the cause in the eyes of undecided Americans and galvanized American Zionists to redouble their efforts, helping to pave the way for additional political victories on the road to Jewish statehood.
RM
Vues Master’s Note: It’s a good thing they did not have The Rashanta Talib and AO Crud in that Congress!
PRESSURE
Dear Vues Master:
How much of peer pressure is caring what other people think, and how much is knowing that others will treat you poorly if you don’t fit in?
RF
Vues Master’s Note: A little bit of both and a lot of nothing!
EXERCISE
Dear Vues Master:
This is your reminder that exercise still counts even if it’s not at the gym. Gardening, dancing around the kitchen, and playing catch with your kids all count.
RF
Vues Master’s Note:Unless it is an exercise in futility!
SPORTS
Dear Vues Master
The definition of irony; sports is supposed to promote fitness, but the main sports related thing we do is watch it while sitting on the couch and eating wings.
RF
Vues Master’s Note: My Rebbe used to say Sports is an Avoda Zora. So is Physical fitness as it comes from the Greeks and hellinistic lifestyle!
SHVIGGER
Dear Vues Master:
How did Yosef know that Osnat was the right Shidduch? It was simple. He heard that she was Bat Potiphera, the woman who would be his mother in law and who put him in prison for 12 years.
NS
Vues Master’s Note: Another mother-in-law joke? Oh my Gosh!
TORAH
Dear Vues Master:
In gemara Chullin 101b it says that “The Jewish people were not called Bnei Yisroel (Children of Israel) until they received the Torah at Mount Sinai.” This appears contradictory as they are called Bnei Yisroel before this like at the beginning of Shamos. One explanation given is that this was written after the fact. This explanation goes well with the concept that a person is accredited for their thoughts even before doing it. The reason they are called Bnei Yisroel after accepting the Torah, and not before, is because anyone emulating their father deserves to be called a son; being called a son is as honorable as being called a father. Yaakov Avinu earned the name Yisroel after his stint with lavan (21 years) and his encounter with the angel of God; therefore, the Children of Yaakov are called the Children of Yisroel because they emulated him with their stint in Egypt (210 years) and their encounter with God.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Amazing Dvar Torah!
CHILD
Dear Vues Master:
Here’s another reason for eating dairy on Shavous; after being called Bnei Yisroel at Har Sinai, they can now eat dairy because it is chalav Yisroel: ) On a serious note, Rabbi Brevda says children are not more religious than their father except for Baalei Teshuva; therefore, If they are more religious it means the father is either not religious or the son is corrupted. In short, a son that follows the good ways of his father is a ben Yisroel; if not he is, at best, a ben Yaakov.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: There you go bashing your son again. Leave him alone!
SAFE DRIVING
Dear Vues Master:
“Summer after summer, my office gets dozens of calls from people whose loved ones were arrested and locked up for driving with a suspended license. At that point, there is no choice but to endure the stress and expense of going through the legal system. But all of it can be avoided entirely if you just check that you are Safe to Drive with one phone call to my office today!” said Senator Felder. Call Senator’s office at 718-253-2015 or email Felder@nysenate.gov with your name, address, date of birth and driver license number to have your license status checked with the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In case you are found to have a suspended license, under a new law co-sponsored by Senator Felder, DMV now offers a much more affordable way to restore your driving privileges. The new law abolished the state’s $70 suspension lift fee and required DMV to offer affordable payment plans that make it easier for hard working New Yorkers to pay the fines they owe. “Don’t be caught unaware! Anyone pulled over for a minor traffic violation and found to have a suspended license gets arrested for unlicensed operating of a vehicle,” cautions Senator Felder. “Anyone can make a mistake. Maybe they forgot to respond to a moving violation, moved to a new address and forgot to inform DMV, or otherwise missed the official notice sent by mail. These are just some of the reasons that you may now be driving with a suspended license – and you will not know unless you check. Wherever you plan to go this summer, it only takes one phone call to drive there with peace of mind.” Senator Felder’s Safe to Drive Initiative helps you access vital information more easily in partnership with the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver information is also accessible online with a myDMV account at www.dmv.ny.gov
ST
Vues Master’s Note: Another thing to worry about! They should send a letter if they have a problem with my driving record!