17 Feb 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.
SCARS
Dear Vues Master:
Some stories are too good not to share! A friend of mine just sent
me this, and I must share it with your readers.
The young man was still not married, and not so young anymore.
He was set up with one girl after another. But after the first date,
the girls just didn’t want to see him again. They didn’t tell him
why, but the large scar on his cheek was hard to overlook. He
knew this. He felt shortchanged at times. After all, he really was
an amazing fellow, with a big heart and sterling character.
So he went to visit the great Rav, Reb Chaim Kanievsky.
“Rabbi,” he said tearfully, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want
to be lonely. I want to be a husband and a father.” He explained
that he was certain his physical appearance was the problem, that
scar.
The great Rabbi suggested softly, “The next time you meet a girl,
bring up your scar in conversation. Tell her about it, how you got
it and how it makes you feel.” Own it. Speak of it with confidence
and without shame.
It was an interesting idea, and though taken aback, the young man
committed himself to it.
A couple of months later, someone suggested he meet a girl. She
was described as very special, outgoing, vibrant, kind, and sweet.
What worried him, however, was that he was also told she was
exceptionally beautiful.
“If she is as attractive as people say, she will certainly not be
interested in someone damaged like me,” he thought. But he com-
forted himself: “People exaggerate. Hopefully she’s average.” He
mustered the courage to take her out.
She was gorgeous. Oh well.
They began talking. She was charming, sweet, and open. Though
he would have preferred to do just about anything else in the
world, he awkwardly blurted out, “I’m sure the first thing you
noticed about me was this horrible scar on my cheek. Rabbi
Kanievsky told me to share the story behind it on the very first
date. Will you listen?”
“When I was 20 years old, I was heading home from yeshiva one
night. The streets were dark and deserted. Suddenly, I heard a cry,
a young girl screaming. I saw a man running after her. She was
fleeing in fear. Without thinking, I immediately gave chase. With
a pounding heart, I caught the predator and held him down long
enough for the girl to escape. But in the struggle, the assailant
pulled out a knife. Though I survived, my face would never look
the same. That is the story of my scar.”
She was shuddering, wiping tears from her eyes. He was sur-
prised by the strength of her emotions, until she said:
“I never thought I would find you. Since that day, I have won-
dered who heroically saved me. Is he okay? Will I ever have the
opportunity to thank him?”
Today, they are happily married.
The takeaway?
Own your scars.
They represent your greatest strength, for they are reminders of
who you truly are, and how much you have grown because of
them. RBS
Vues Master’s Note: Finally something positive! All’s well that
ends well!
EXODUS
Dear Vues Master,
Over the past few years, our Rabbonim have been pondering a
major issue: Why are so many people moving out of Flatbush?
Why does no one want to stay? Meeting after meeting, they fer-
vently try to come up with solutions. However, I believe the true
reason behind this phenomenon is as follows.
Recently, within the past three to four years, a new trend has be-
gun to sprout throughout Flatbush, something that has never been
here before. Many frum women have taken up exercising, for ex-
ample, jogging. That’s wonderful! However, what this practice
brings along with it is quite troubling.
Every day, these women “get dressed” and jog along the streets of
Flatbush. I am not just referring to the jogging itself, but to some-
thing far more concerning. When they go jogging, they do not
wear their sheitels and regular wardrobe as they normally would.
Instead, they put on their “Shemona Begadim” for exercising—
attire that is extremely inappropriate in the eyes of the frum com-
munity. And so they jog along the public streets of Flatbush for
all to see.
Such a situation is shocking and catastrophic to the Flatbush com-
munity. Some dismiss this issue, claiming that it is the norm. But
any Ben Torah knows that it is completely out of bounds. It rep-
resents a tremendous decline for the entire Flatbush community
and for Klal Yisroel as a whole. How can we allow this to happen
right before our eyes? How can we permit a harmful influence
to creep into our community and slowly tear it apart? Where has
our Yiddishkeit gone? The answer seems clear: the atmosphere of
Flatbush has been tainted.
It would be a terrible tragedy to see such a heilige community
crumble to pieces. I believe the time to act is now, before it may
be too late.
A Disturbed “Flatbushnik”
Vues Master’s Note: Kshot atzmecha—first take care of yourself,
then point fingers. Remember, every time you point one finger,
there are three pointing back at you.
CHILLUL SHABBOS
Dear Vues Master:
This past Shabbos, a painful line was crossed in
Eretz Yisrael. Route 711 began operating between
Shoham and Tel Aviv, with a stop at Ben Gurion
Airport, under the banner of Na’im Busofash. For
the first time, a direct public bus to the airport ran
openly on Shabbos.
For decades, even as flights arrived and departed,
there remained a public acknowledgment that
Shabbos is not an ordinary day. The absence of
state bus and rail service reflected the Jewish char-
acter of the הנידמה and the delicate status quo that
has held our diverse society together. This past
Shabbos signaled a further erosion of that under-
standing.
We are told the expansion became possible after
Yehud-Monosson withdrew from the program,
and that officials such as Meital Lehavi viewed it
as an “opportunity.” But an opportunity for what?
To normalize public chillul Shabbos at the very
gateway to our country?
With the cooperation of the Israel Airports Au-
thority, passengers are ferried seamlessly between
terminals, institutionalizing what was once un-
thinkable. Rising ridership statistics and projec-
tions cannot justify sacrificing the sanctity that has
defined our people for millennia.
Initiatives in Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Haifa, and
the Krayot region have already stretched the
boundaries of the status quo. Must we now extend
this breach to the airport itself?
If Shabbos cannot be preserved in the public
sphere of our own land, we must ask ourselves
what kind of Jewish state we are becoming.
RWY
Vues Master’s Note: And the par just widens!
REVIEW
Dear Vues Master:
I am writing to again commend Elise Stefanik for
demanding accountability from the administration
of Zohran Mamdani. At a time when antisemitic
incidents are rising across New York City, leader-
ship must be especially vigilant in ensuring that
public institutions never tolerate hostility toward
Jewish residents.
Serious concerns have been raised about individu-
als within the Mayor’s administration who have
engaged in rhetoric or activities that many view
as deeply hostile toward Israel and, by extension,
troubling for Jewish New Yorkers. Whether inten-
tional or not, the perception that City Hall is tol-
erating or empowering individuals who promote
one-sided or inflammatory narratives risks creat-
ing fear and division.
Mayor Mamdani has a responsibility to make clear
that antisemitism — in any form — has no place
in city government. He must also ensure that those
serving in official capacities uphold professional
neutrality and comply with federal civil rights
protections. Public agencies funded by taxpayers
should focus on delivering essential services, not
advancing ideological agendas that alienate seg-
ments of the population.
Representative Stefanik’s call for a federal review
is not partisan politics; it is about transparency,
civil rights compliance, and restoring public confi-
dence. New Yorkers deserve leadership that unites
communities and protects all residents equally.
KY
Vues Master’s Note: It will not help! You can’t fix
stupid!
SHOLOM
Dear Vues Master:
In light of the recent letter signed by leading Dati
Leumi Rabbanim and bereaved families, I find
myself asking a painful but necessary question:
Can there truly be shalom among Klal Yisrael? Is
it possible?
The debate over military conscription has once
again highlighted deep ideological differences be-
tween the Dati Leumi and Chareidi communities.
These disagreements are real and serious. They re-
flect differing visions of responsibility, Torah life,
and the role of the State. No one should pretend
the gaps do not exist. And yet, the Rabbanim’s
insistence that these arguments be conducted “as
loving brothers” offers a glimmer of hope.
I will admit that I am, by nature, pessimistic. Our
history is filled with internal strife that has cost
us dearly. We know too well that sinas chinam
can destroy what our enemies cannot. Sometimes
it feels as though we are destined to repeat those
painful patterns.
And perhaps that is precisely why we are still in
galus.
But even in my pessimism, I deeply hope for bet-
ter. I want to believe that we are capable of dis-
agreement without destruction, of debate without
division. When bereaved families —
who have sacrificed the most — call for
achdus instead of anger, they challenge
all of us to rise higher.
Shalom does not mean sameness. It
means commitment to one another de-
spite our differences. If we can internal-
ize that truth, perhaps we will prove that
unity is not naïve optimism, but a sacred
obligation.
For the sake of Klal Yisrael, I pray we
choose wisely.
LY
Vues Master’s Note: Moshiach!
ANTI-SEMITE
Dear Vues Master:
As Deni Avdija made history as the first Israeli to
compete in the NBA All-Star Game, it should have
been a moment of pride, unity, and celebration of
how far the sport has come. Instead, Spike Lee
chose to turn the spotlight away from a barrier-
breaking athlete and onto himself.
Spike is an antisemite.
Arriving draped in overt political symbolism,
a keffiyeh-patterned sweater and a bag covered
in Palestinian flags, Lee injected a charged geo-
political statement into what should have been
a celebration of athletic excellence. Hijacking a
milestone achievement for performative politics is
neither courageous nor constructive. He is a jerk
and an antisemite.
This is especially troubling given that Lee has,
over the years, faced criticism for comments
and projects that many believe traffic in harmful
stereotypes about Jews, as well as for amplify-
ing controversial conspiracy narratives. Whether
intentional or not, such actions contribute to di-
vision and mistrust. At a moment that called for
generosity of spirit, he chose provocation.
Deni Avdija’s accomplishment transcends poli-
tics. Representation matters. For young Israeli
fans, and for Jewish fans around the world, seeing
one of their own on that stage was meaningful. It
deserved respect.
Celebrities wield enormous cultural influence.
With that comes responsibility. Instead of grand-
standing, Spike Lee could have demonstrated
sportsmanship and grace. Sadly, he opted for spec-
tacle over solidarity.
It was disappointing. It was unnecessary. And yes,
it was pathetic.
BBF
Vues Master’s Note: Imagine if someone showed
up wearing a white hood like the Ku Klux Klan.
Why is it acceptable to express hatred toward
Jews?
RACIST HUMOR
Dear Vues Master:
President Donald Trump’s social media post com-
paring Barack and Michelle Obama to apes has
been widely criticized, and rightly so. The over-
whelming majority of Americans reject such racist
stereotypes, and we expect our political leaders to
adhere to a higher standard.
Unfortunately, racist humor among presidents is
not a new phenomenon; it dates back at least a
century. The difference between then and now is
that such remarks were once made only in private,
not in public.
According to Curtis Roosevelt, a grandson of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, FDR would “tell
mildly anti-Semitic stories in the White House,” in
which “the protagonists were always Lower East
Side Jews with heavy accents.”
The 2016 book His Final Battle, by former New
York Times editor Joseph Lelyveld, mentions
that at the Yalta Conference in 1945, Roosevelt
“laughed” at an adviser’s remark about “putting
kikes in Palestine.”
The transcript of FDR’s conversations with Josef
Stalin at Yalta mentions a joke Roosevelt made
about “giving the six million Jews in the United
States” to Ibn Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. (For
decades afterward, the State Department circu-
lated only a censored version of the transcript in
which that remark by the president was omitted.)
Roosevelt’s private correspondence also reveals
that he once joked about relatives suspecting
his fifth child was Jewish because of the baby’s
“slightly Hebraic nose.”
Not that Roosevelt was the first or only president
to have told bigoted jokes in private. Woodrow
Wilson joked about “darkeys” and “coons,” some-
times in a faux accent. Lyndon Johnson indulged
in harsh ethnic jokes. So did Richard Nixon.
But the public did not know about those jokes at
the time they were made. Government officials
whose racist jokes became publicly known typi-
cally suffered significant consequences.
Recall that Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz was
forced to resign in 1976 after it became known
that he told a crude joke about African Americans.
In 1983, Interior Secretary James Watt was forced
out of office after telling a harsh ethnic joke (about
“a Black person, a woman, two Jews, and a person
with a disability”).
What presidents say matters. They set the tone for
public discourse. So it was good that the White
House last week deleted the “apes” video and at-
tempted to distance President Trump from the staff
member who posted it; those steps effectively ac-
knowledge that such racism is unacceptable. But
what is really needed is an explicit apology from
the president. To say “just kidding” is not enough.
Dr. Rafael Medoff
Vues Master’s Note: We cannot coexist if there is
hatred everywhere.
TICKET
Dear Vues Master:
One Yom Kippur, a Reform temple refused to ad-
mit a man who did not have a ticket.
“I must get in,” he said. “My partner is inside,
and I need to speak with him for a moment. It’s
urgent.”
“No tickee, no admitee,” said the guard, grinning
at his own little pun.
“But I’m not going in to pray. It’s strictly busi-
ness,” the man replied.
“Well, in that case, you can go in for two min-
utes,” the guard said. “But don’t let me catch you
praying.”
LP
Vues Master’s Note: Nothing to worry about, no
one’s davening in a Reform shul, ha!
BNEI BRAK
Dear Vues Master:
Like so many others, I watched the footage from
Bnei Brak with a sense of shock and profound
shame. Whatever grievances may exist, the sight
of a mob surrounding two female IDF soldiers,
screaming vile epithets, attempting assault, over-
turning a police car, and setting a motorcycle
ablaze, while tefillin and a siddur burned in the
wreckage, constitutes a chillul Hashem of stagger-
ing proportions.
The Torah says, “Lo sechalalu es sheim kod-
shi.” The Rambam in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah
explains that chillul Hashem occurs when our
conduct causes others to disparage the Torah and
those who live by it. When the world sees Jews
in religious garb behaving with violence and fury,
what conclusion do they draw? The Gemara in
Yuma teaches that perception itself can define
chillul Hashem. Regardless of intent, the percep-
tion here was devastating.
Yes, there have been painful and troubling inci-
dents involving Chareidi soldiers in the IDF. Those
grievances are real and deserve redress through
proper, dignified channels, through shtadlanus, te-
fillah, public statements from Gedolim, and lawful
advocacy. But the moment protest turns into chaos
and terror, it ceases to be a defense of Torah and
becomes its desecration.
Leading rabbanim across the spectrum have con-
demned this behavior unequivocally. Their voic-
es must not be ignored. We are bnei Torah. Our
derech is “darcheha darchei noam.” If we fail to
embody that, we betray the very Torah we claim
to protect.
We must be better. The world is watching, and
more importantly, the Ribbono Shel Olam is
watching.
MW
Vues Master’s Note: Nobody comes out looking
like roses here.
OOPS
Dear Vues Master,
The only reason he needs to repeat the שמונה
עשרה is because he said ויבא יעלה on Rosh Ch-
odesh in Shmonei Esrei.
.הלכה מפורשת בשו“ע :Answer
one if that states) רא“ש )מסכת ברכות פרק ד׳:ב׳ The
is required to daven two עשרה שמונה prayers to
compensate for the previous תשלומין )תפילה(, he
must first daven the proper עשרה שמונה for the
current תפילה and afterward the שמונה תשלומין
עשרה. One may not reverse the order (i.e., say the
.(first תשלומין
The ט׳:ח“ק סימן ח“או )א“רמ (writes: If one dav-
ened Rosh Chodesh Ma’ariv with two שמונה
עשרה prayers (as תשלומין for the previous Min-
cha), and he said ויבא יעלה in the second שמונה
עשרה but not in the first, then he must repeat the
עשרה שמונה) a third time).
By not saying ויבא יעלה the first time and saying it
the second time, he dem-
onstrates that he considers
the first עשרה שמונה to be
תשלומין for the Mincha of
Erev Rosh Chodesh.
However, had he not said
שמונה either in יעלה ויבא
עשרה, he would not have
to repeat it a third time.
Hence, because he said
ויבא יעלה in the second
עשרה שמונה on Rosh Chodesh, he must repeat the
.שמונה עשרה
MF
Vues Master’s Note: Cool halacha!
GAZA
Dear Vues Master:
Ever since taking office for his second term, Presi-
dent Donald Trump has regularly spoken about the
Nobel Peace Prize, and this month marks one year
since President Trump presented his idea, during a
White House press conference, that Gaza’s popu-
lation be relocated to “a good, fresh, beautiful
piece of land” in another country.
The two items are far more connected than may
be obvious.
“I feel very differently about Gaza than a lot of
people,” explained President Trump as he outlined
his relocation idea. While it may be true that “a
lot of people” disagree, President Trump was ex-
pressing the same idea that Israeli Prime Minister
and Nobel Peace Prize winner Yitzhak Rabin once
proposed.
In 1973, Rabin, a former chief of staff of the Israeli
army, was serving as Israel’s ambassador in Wash-
ington. In an interview published in the Israeli
daily Maariv on February 16, Rabin discussed the
question of what should be done about the large
number of Palestinian Arab refugees residing in
Gaza. Much of Gaza’s population consisted of Ar-
abs who had settled there during the 1948 War of
Independence and their descendants. Rabin said:
“The problem of the refugees of the Gaza Strip
should not be solved in Gaza or el-Arish [in the
Sinai] but mainly in the East Bank”—meaning the
Kingdom of Jordan.
Rabin continued: “I want to create conditions such
that during the next 10 or 20 years, there will be a
natural movement of population to the East Bank.
We can achieve that, in my opinion, with [King]
Hussein and not with Yasser Arafat.” As far as I
know, Rabin never backtracked on that comment.
He was not a “racist,” “fascist,” advocate of “eth-
nic cleansing,” or any of the other harsh names
now being hurled at Trump. The future prime min-
ister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was simply
taking a long, hard look at a difficult problem and
proposing what he considered to be a practical so-
lution.
The heart of the problem facing Rabin was that
when Egypt illegally occupied Gaza from 1948
to 1967, it refused to absorb the refugees into the
Egyptian population. The Egyptian government
kept the Gazans impoverished and separate, lan-
guishing in shanty-
towns and refugee
camps administered
by the United Na-
tions. What’s more,
Egypt sponsored
Gaza-based terrorist
groups, known as
fedayeen, to attack
Israel.
During Egypt’s rule
in Gaza, the United Nations set up schools run
by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Pales-
tine Refugees in the Near East—the same mor-
ally bankrupt UNRWA that Israel has only very
recently taken action against. In UNRWA schools,
young Gazans were educated to hate Jews and Is-
rael and to glorify Arab terrorism.
Following the 1967 war, Israel found itself dealing
with these hate-filled Gazans. Unless something
was done to change the situation, Israel would
continue to face constant terrorist attacks from
Gaza.
And that is exactly what happened. Nobody lis-
tened to Rabin’s 1973 advice to move the Gazans
to Jordan. The Gazans stayed in Gaza, launched
constant terrorist attacks on Israel, and eventually
voted Hamas into power in 2007. The horrors of
October 7, 2023, followed.
It made perfect sense for Rabin to think of Jordan
as the destination for the Gazans. After all, Pales-
tinian Arabs who settled in Gaza and those who
settled in Jordan are largely indistinguishable.
They share the same history, culture, language,
and religion.
The problem, though, was that Jordan’s King
Hussein had lost patience with them. For years,
Hussein allowed the PLO to set up its bases on
Jordanian territory. He tolerated the PLO attack-
ing Israel. But when some of Arafat’s terrorists
began claiming that Jordan was really Palestine,
Hussein grew concerned that the PLO would at-
tempt to overthrow him.
The PLO terrorist army was also causing Jordan
serious problems internationally by repeatedly hi-
jacking planes, forcing them to land in Jordan, and
then holding passengers hostage while demanding
exchanges for imprisoned terrorists. Some things,
it seems, never change.
How did King Hussein solve the problem? He
expelled them. In the autumn of 1970, the King
of Jordan forcibly relocated more than 2,000 PLO
terrorists, including their entire leadership, to
Syria. From there, they continued into Lebanon,
where they soon plunged that country into years
of chaos, civil war, and bloodshed.
Understandably, the current king, Hussein’s son
Abdullah, may not be too keen on welcoming
Gazans. On the other hand, he might decide to
exclude terrorists while welcoming ordinary Ga-
zans—in the same manner that Jordan took in so
many refugees from the bloody Syrian civil war.
It remains to be seen whether the Board of Peace
will move forward with the relocation ideas of
Trump and Rabin. If they do not, what will stop
history from repeating itself?
Moshe Phillips, the national chairman of Ameri-
cans For A Safe Israel, AFSI
Vues Master’s Note: The Torah calls them Pere
Adam for a reason!
TAMEI?
Dear Vues Master:
Is it or isn’t it טמאה תרומה?
There are 100 olives in the basket. Sixty of the
olives are תרומה. Sixty percent of both the תרומה
and the חולין olives are טמא.
60% of 60 תרומה olives are טמא — that equals 36
olives of 60% .טמאה תרומה of 40 חולין olives are
טמא — that equals 24 olives of טמאה חולין.
40% of 60 תרומה olives are טהור — that equals 24
olives of 40% .טהורה תרומה of 40 חולין olives are
טהור — that equals 16 olives of טהורה חולין.
60%( רוב (tells me the olive is 60%( רוב .תרומה (
tells me the olive is 64%( רוב .טמא (tells me it is
.תרומה טמאה not
So what is it?
It is תרומה. It is טמא. It is not טמאה תרומה.
Being that we have a רוב that it is תרומה and a רוב
that it is טמא:
Therefore, It is תרומה — a זר would be חייב if he
ate the olive. It is טמא — if it were brought into
the מקדש, he would be חייב.
However, since we have a רוב that it is not תרומה
:טמאה
Therefore,
a) A כהן who eats it might not be עובר on the איסור
.תרומה טמאה of עשה
b) It might not require שריפה, unlike תרומה
טמאה, which does require שריפה. RF
Vues Master’s Note: Great riddle!
MIXED DAVENING AT THE KOTEL
Dear Vues Master
The ongoing hearing before the Supreme Court
of Israel regarding demands by Reform organiza-
tions and the Women of the Wall to hold egali-
tarian services at the Western Wall should deeply
concern anyone who values the sanctity and unity
of our holiest site.
If the Court chooses to intervene and mandate
changes to the long-standing tefillah arrangements
at the Kosel — chas v’shalom that this should
happen — the consequences will be profound and
painful. The Kosel is not merely a public plaza; it
is a makom kadosh, a remnant of the Beis Hamik-
dash, where generations of Jews have poured out
their hearts in accordance with Mesoras Yisrael.
For decades, its character has reflected minhag ha-
makom and universally recognized halachic stan-
dards, including separate prayer sections.
The Court’s own hesitancy to rule directly on
whether egalitarian prayer may take place there
underscores the obvious truth: legal tools are ill-
suited to adjudicate matters rooted in emunah and
halacha. Just as civil courts would not dictate re-
ligious practice inside a mosque or church, so too
they should refrain from reshaping the character
of the Kosel.
An alternative space already exists in the Ezrat
Yisrael section for those who seek non-traditional
services. Transforming the main plaza into a plat-
form for ideological struggle would only inflame
tensions and fracture achdus at a site meant to
unite us.
If this happens — chas v’shalom — it will not be
a victory for pluralism. It will be a heartbreaking
erosion of kedusha and a blow to the shared heri-
tage that binds our people together. NT
Vues Master’s Note: This is a chilul Hashem and
will only increase fighting within Klal Yisrael.