
04 Feb SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
EGG PRICES
Dear Vues Master
The price of eggs has skyrocketed lately, mainly due to the
bird flu outbreak that has wiped out millions of chickens.
The local groceries are charging over $7 a dozen. Some
places are charging $9.50 a dozen. The shortage has driven
up production costs, and the price at the store is higher than
ever. It’s frustrating because something as basic as eggs
has become unaffordable. It’s tough to make meals without
them, and it feels like it’s getting harder to stretch the bud-
get with prices constantly rising. LT
Vues Master’s Note: Let’s hope Trump can do something
about this also!
MATZAH BAKERIES
Dear Vues Master,
I write today with a sense of optimism and hope that is
shared by many in our Frum community. As you may
know, former Congressman Lee Zeldin has recently been
confirmed by the U.S. Senate to take on the role of Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
within President Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet. This is an im-
portant moment for our community, and we are hopeful
that Zeldin’s leadership will bring much-needed relief for
the challenges our matzah bakeries face in New York City.
The situation regarding the recent regulatory changes has
raised significant concern among matzah bakeries in our
area. Initially, the law that aimed to regulate certain busi-
nesses—particularly New York City pizza shops—has in-
advertently placed a burden on our matzah bakeries. Due
to vague language in the regulation, NYC has specifically
highlighted matzah bakeries, while New York State has
made no mention of them at all. This lack of clarity and
the subsequent impact on our community’s businesses has
created undue hardship during an already challenging time.
Many of us in the Frum community are optimistic that Lee
Zeldin, who has long been a staunch advocate for causes
important to the Jewish community, will use his new posi-
tion at the EPA to intervene in this matter. Zeldin is not just
a “friend and ally” to us—he is a true advocate who has
consistently supported issues that resonate deeply with our
values and needs. His track record in Congress demonstrat-
ed a commitment to protecting both our religious freedoms
and the businesses that serve our community.
We hope that under Zeldin’s leadership, the EPA will take
action to override both New York City and New York
State’s current stance on this decree, providing the neces-
sary relief to our matzah bakeries. These establishments,
which are essential for the observance of our religious tra-
ditions, should not be caught in the crossfire of poorly con-
structed regulations aimed at other industries.
We are encouraged by the possibility of having a leader
like Lee Zeldin in the position to advocate on our behalf.
His experience, dedication, and understanding of the im-
portance of these businesses to our community give us
hope that positive change is on the horizon.
FT
Vues Master’s Note: Maybe the environment can survive
without these crazy laws!
NOBODY WANTS EM
Dear Vues Master,
Wow!
70 Palestinian prisoners sent to Egypt as part of the hostage
deal are being housed in hotels, but Egyptian authorities
are preventing them from leaving. Meanwhile, Arab coun-
tries and Turkey refuse to accept them.
I love how the whole world expects Israel to make peace
with these people that literally no one else is willing to take
in. I guess that’s what happens when you build a society
that is rotten to the core. I guess that’s what happens when
you indoctrinate your kids from age zero to kill innocent
Jews.
No one wants you. They can pretend they care about you,
but when push comes to shove, no one really cares… And
did you hear that noise? That was my heart breaking for
them. What a backward world.
HF
Vues Master’s Note: These guys need to be wiped out!
FLIGHTS
Dear Vues Master,
I wanted to share some fantastic news that has me really
excited—United Airlines is resuming flights between New
York and Tel Aviv on March 18!
It’s been a challenging time, but knowing that the airlines
are starting to go back to Eretz Yisrael is incredibly up-
lifting. United will be the first U.S. airline to resume ser-
vice to Eretz Yisrael, and while tickets aren’t available yet,
the news that the airline is returning after such a difficult
period is a welcome sign of progress. I’m really looking
forward to the possibility of reconnecting with family and
friends or even planning a trip to Eretz Yisrael once again.
It’s great to hear that Delta will be following shortly with
its own service starting April 1. United had previously op-
erated a significant number of weekly flights
to Tel Aviv before the disruption, including 14
to New York, so this return feels like a major
step forward for both the airline industry and
the connection between the U.S. and Eretz
Yisrael.
I’m really hopeful that this marks the begin-
ning of the end of the war in Eretz Yisrael.
MW
Vues Master’s Note: What will the prices be?
FOUND
Dear Vues Master,
A soldier who had been drafted was deter-
mined to get out of military service. From
his very first day on base, his behavior was
extremely odd. He would pick up every piece
of paper he saw on the ground, look at it, and
throw it back down. The presiding officer de-
termined that he was not fit to serve and gave
him his discharge papers. Looking at them,
he said, “Great! These are the papers I was
looking for.”
DZ
Vues Master’s Note: Maybe this could help
me get a visa out of the country?
FLOATING IN THE YAM SUF
Dear Vues Master,
True story. A minor misfortune occurred in
my shul during Shalosh Seudos. They were
getting ready for benching and were passing
around the mayim acharonim. I took the keili
and was about to wash my hands when I no-
ticed two roaches had drowned in the vessel.
Maybe they were gilgulim of the Mitzrayim.
I excitedly called the gabai over and told him
about it. He grunted, “What do you want me
to do? Give them CPR?” “No,” I replied. “I
just wanted to let you know that you’ll have
to honor someone else with bentching.”
PF
Vues Master’s Note: Oh, bug off!
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, ISRAELI
STYLE
Dear Vues Master
Amidst all the craziness, let me share some-
thing beautiful that happened this past Shab-
bos.
We were in shul, like every Shabbos morning,
and friends of ours were celebrating the bar
mitzvah of their son. The plan was that after
davening, there would be a Kiddush—a big
spread to celebrate the occasion.
Toward the end of davening, the mom asked
Racheli if it was normal that the caterer
hadn’t arrived yet. Racheli reassured her that
the caterer was probably just running late and
would be there soon.
Well, “soon” came—and still no caterer.
Someone ran to the caterer’s house to see
what was going on, and it turned out that the
caterer had thought the bar mitzvah was next
week and hadn’t prepared anything!
The Kiddush was supposed to start in 30
minutes, and there was no caterer, no food.
Needless to say, the bar mitzvah mom was not
happy.
But what happened next was nothing short of
amazing.
The entire community sprang into action.
People ran home to grab cakes, cookies, nuts,
candies, drinks, fish, chips, whiskey—you
name it. It was an endless spread.
I didn’t know any of this at first. When I ar-
rived at the Kiddush, I just thought, “Wow,
this Kiddush is so much nicer than others.
They really went all out.”
Only later did I find out that all of that food
came from people’s homes within minutes of
finding out about the misunderstanding with
the caterer.
As word spread through the congregation
about what had happened, everyone was
amazed. The father of the bar mitzvah boy
told the rabbi, who then made an announce-
ment to the whole shul, sharing the story with
everyone. The entire room was floored.
It was such a powerful reminder of the impor-
tance of community.
This was truly inspiring.
Hillel Fuld
Vues Masters Note: Mi K’amcha Yisrael
NEW ADVISOR TO BIBI
Dear Vues Master We are absolutely thrilled
that Caroline B. Glick is returning to the
Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem to serve
as International Affairs Adviser to Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Her extensive
experience as a prominent Israeli-American
columnist and senior contributing editor at
JNS makes her an invaluable asset to the
team. Glick’s deep understanding of inter-
national relations, paired with her passionate
advocacy for Israel’s interests on the global
stage, is sure to make a significant impact.
This development fills us with optimism,
knowing that her expertise will strengthen
Israel’s position internationally and contrib-
ute to a more dynamic, strategic approach in
navigating complex global challenges. Ad-
ditionally, Caroline Glick is a regular and
highly regarded feature in The Jewish Vues,
where her insightful commentary on Israeli
and international affairs continues to inspire
and inform readers. RT
Vues Masters Note: Our readers love reading
articles by Caroline Glick! She is extremely
intelligent and will be great at her new job!
RABBI GOLDBERG
Dear Vues Master,
My family greatly appreciated the interview
with Rabbi Goldberg by Ari Hirsch in last
week’s edition of The Jewish Vues. Rabbi
Goldberg’s reflections on the complexities
of halacha in the context of current events,
the importance of unity, and managing fi-
nancial pressures resonated deeply. Your
thoughtfulness and depth, particularly in
urging us to focus on common ground and
live within our means, are invaluable. We
also appreciate how Rabbi Goldberg con-
tinues to lead with clarity and compassion,
offering perspectives that are both mean-
ingful and practical for our daily lives.
Rabbi Goldberg’s wisdom is a true gift, and
we are grateful for the opportunity to read
his work each week.
LP
Vues Master’s Note: Now, what about the
price of eggs here in the USA—not the
price of tea in China!
GEN Z
Dear Vues Master,
I was very frustrated with Rabbi Efrem Gold-
berg’s answer to the question about how to
deal with financial pressure in the commu-
nity. He stated that we should live within
our means. This sounds like a great logical
answer to a man, but the newest generation
(Gen Z+) of women will not tolerate that an-
swer. The modern woman is constantly on her
smartphone, looking at all the fancy lives of
the Joneses and feeling even more resentful
towards her husband, who can’t match that
lifestyle. Instead of living next to the Joneses,
you now have to compete with a family you’ll
probably never even meet in the real world.
If a man were to suggest to his wife that they
should live within their means, he would be
blasted, humiliated, and publicly embar-
rassed. If he can’t provide her with any of the
following, he is somehow not a “real man”:
Taking her on nice vacations, going to extrav-
agant programs for Yom Tov, having a live-in
nanny, having a second vacation house, buy-
ing her designer dresses weekly, buying new
designer strollers for all their kids, driving
name-brand cars, constantly going out to ex-
pensive restaurants..
The list never ends. This post-Gen Z woman
does not operate based on logic like the man,
but instead is driven by her emotions. Rabbi
Efrem Goldberg is clearly out of touch with
the Gen Z woman that the younger genera-
tion will inevitably have to deal with. He does
mention that he’s had to hear a lot of stories
about young couples getting divorced. I won-
der if he has connected those dots.
AB
Vues Master’s Note: We will send this letter
to Rabbi Goldberg to respond.
KOHEN KOHEN GONE
Dear Vues Master,
A shul in a small town in Ohio was looking
for a rabbi who could fill many shoes. The
first candidate was asked about his experi-
ence, if he knew how to learn, if he was a בעל
קורא, if he could serve as a שוחט and occa-
sionally as a מוהל. He re-
sponded in the affirmative
to each of the qualifica-
tions.
“But we also need a כהן, “
they said. “Are you a
“?כהן
When he said that he
wasn’t, they went on to
the next candidate and
asked him the same ques-
tions. He responded in the
affirmative to all of them
and said that he indeed
was a כהן.
“But do you officiate at
לוויות “?they asked.
“Of course not,” he an-
swered, “I’m a כהן.“
They then interviewed a third rabbi and
asked him the same questions. He too re-
sponded in the affirmative to all of them, in-
cluding that he was a כהן and officiates at
לוויות.” But how do you officiate at לוויות if
you’re a כהן “?they asked.
“I bury my מתפללים while they’re alive,” he
answered.
HJ
Vues Master’s Note: Sounds like this joke
should be buried!
COMING
Dear Vues Master,
There is a famous kasha: Why does the pa-
suk at the beginning of the parsha say, “Boi
el Pharaoh”? Moshe Rabbeinu is being told
to “Go to Pharaoh.” There are other interest-
ing answers, but if we analyze the inyan, we
see that Paro said that only the men could go,
while Moshe said, “Be’nureinu va’zakeneinu
neilach.” Also, Paro had decreed that the
male infants be drowned. Therefore, the pa-
suk says to bring a boy to Paro to show him
both our resilience and our demands.
Another question is: Where were the Mitz-
rim during the makka of Choshech? If you
take the words “Ve’lo komu ish m’tachtav”
literally, the answer is obvious. At the end of
three days, they had painful hemorrhoids.
The Drita kasha is: Why do we put so much
work into cleaning our houses before Pesach
each year? One answer I heard is that it
says, “Moishav bnei Yisrael asher yashvu
b’Mitzraim shloshim shana v’arba me’os
shanah.” Moishav in Yiddish means dirt or
mess, which accumulated over 430 years.
However, there is a more direct pasuk where
it says, “Ki ein bayis asher ein sham mess.”
So, we take corrective action nowadays as a
zecher.
The ferta kasha is: The Yidden were told to
borrow silver and gold items from the Mitz-
rim when it would be time to leave. But when
they left, they actually borrowed clothing in
addition to the silver and gold. It seemed that
the clothing were even more important. Why?
One answer is given that until then, the Yid-
den were wearing a slave’s uniform, while
now they would wear free persons’ clothing.
The question remains: If one of the reasons
the Yidden were freed was because “Sheloi
shanu es malbishum,” why, when they left,
did they want the Mitzrim’s clothing? Well,
maybe it means something else. It is written
that the Yidden wore the same clothing for
forty years in the Midbar, and a nes happened
that they didn’t tear. So, maybe it means that
they didn’t change their clothing in Mitzraim
as well. That’s why the Mitzrim were eager
for them to leave early after 210 years, and
they even gave them fresh clothing, which
the Yidden were only too glad to take after
the Seder. DF
Vues Master’s Note: Sounds like a Nine Days
story where we can’t launder any money!
HOLOCAUST
Dear Vues Master,
America’s response to the Holocaust, a sub-
ject of much historical scholarship and public
discussion in recent decades, is increasingly
coming to the stage and screen—with mixed
results.
Last year’s George Clooney film, The Boys
in the Boat, is an example of how Hollywood
sometimes sacrifices history on the altar of
entertainment. It tells the story of a gritty
American rowing team that made it to the
Olympics despite various obstacles. There’s
nothing Hollywood likes better than a trium-
phant underdog. But what happens when half
the story is omitted in order to prioritize the
thrilling narrative?
The Olympics in question were the 1936
games in Nazi Germany. By that time, Ger-
many’s Jews had been driven out of their
professions and stripped of their civil rights.
Hundreds had been injured in a pogrom in
Berlin. Hitler intended to use the Olympics
to impress foreign visitors and thereby
soften his international image.
American Jewish organizations, the
NAACP, and the Catholic War Veterans
all called for an American boycott of the
games. So did New York City Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia. A public debate
over whether the U.S. should take part
raged for more than two years. The ath-
letic community was deeply divided:
the delegates to the convention of the
Amateur Athletic Union, which certi-
fied American athletes to compete in the
Olympics, voted to support U.S. partici-
pation—by just two and a half votes.
As a result, a handful of American ath-
letes boycotted the games to protest
Hitler’s persecution of German Jews.
The boycotters included the entire Long
Island University basketball team, which had
been favored to win the tryouts and represent
the U.S. in the first-ever Olympic competi-
tion in that sport. The LIU Blackbirds chose
to stay home and forego the glory rather than
lend a hand to Hitler’s makeover.
Yet none of that is mentioned in The Boys
in the Boat. The scrappy rowers of the Uni-
versity of Washington, underfunded and un-
derestimated, are shown battling their way
through a series of competitions to qualify
for Berlin. Along the way, not one of the
athletes expresses the slightest qualm about
legitimizing Nazi Germany. None of them
seem to be aware that what they are doing is
at the heart of a major public debate. And the
audience watching The Boys of the Boat is
never informed that such a debate took place.
Were the rowers somehow unaware of the
heated dispute raging around them? Or were
they simply unconcerned about the suffering
of the Jews? Whatever the answer, it should
have been in the film. Instead, the only con-
flict portrayed in The Boys in the Boat is
what director Clooney imagines must have
been class resentment between the impov-
erished University of Washington rowers
and the well-to-do rowers of the Ivy League
teams.
The critically acclaimed play The Accom-
plices, by contrast, demonstrates that histori-
cal controversy can be brought
to the stage with the facts intact.
This dramatic production will
be revived at the Khan Theater
in Jerusalem in February, fifteen
years after it was last performed.
Written by former New York
Times correspondent Bernard
Weinraub, The Accomplices
tackles the subject of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s failure
to aid Europe’s Jews, and the
conflict between American Jewish leaders
and activists over how to respond. There are
a few scenes in the production that are more
compressed than literal, but that is the sort of
minor artistic license one would expect when
history is portrayed on stage.
What makes The Accomplices especially
poignant is that the role of Rabbi Wise will be
played by Rabbi Prof. David Golinkin, who
comes from two generations of Holocaust
protesters. His grandfather, Rabbi Mordechai
Golinkin, participated in the famous march
to the White House in 1943, and his father,
Rabbi Noah Golinkin, was a student activist
who clashed with Wise over the need for a
more forceful American Jewish response to
FDR’s abandonment of the Jews.
The Accomplices provides an important
service in focusing attention on the Berg-
son Group, the activists who organized that
march in Washington and other protests. Too
many museums and films have minimized or
ignored the Bergson Group’s efforts.
Another dramatic interpretation of America’s
response to the Holocaust will soon be at-
tracting public attention, as well. Laemmle’s
List, a documentary by Deborah Blum, de-
buted last month at the Miami Jewish Film
Festival. It tells the remarkable story of her
relative, the late Hollywood mogul Carl
Laemmle.
Laemmle was co-founder of Universal Pic-
tures, which created such blockbuster films
as Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Phantom
of the Opera. Laemmle, who was born in
Laupheim, Germany, rescued hundreds of
his landsmen from Hitler—until the Roos-
evelt administration intervened and stopped
him, on the grounds that Laemmle was “too
old” (71) to serve as a financial guarantor for
would-be immigrants.
We can expect the public conversation on
these topics to grow in the months and years
ahead, as dramatists and filmmakers continue
to bring history to stage and screen—for bet-
ter or worse.
Rafael Medoff
Vues Master’s Note: We need to keep this in
the forefront as there are too many deniers!