08 Mar SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
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.
TAKING SIDES
Dear Vues Master:
I don’t understand why everyone is taking the
Ukranians’ side in this war. Imagine a scenario
reminiscent of 1945, when Russian tanks
pulverized Nazi Germany, Russian airlines
bombed indiscriminately and Russian soldiers
caused untold devastation as they fought, raped
and pillaged their way through Germany’s cities.
No Jew living then would have felt an iota
of compassion for the German civilian population
after the horrors that their military had
perpetrated against the Jewish people. Even if
such a scenario would unfold today, it is hard to
imagine that Jews worldwide, including hundreds
of thousands of Holocaust survivors still
living, would feel particular empathy for the
plight of the descendants of those Nazi thugs.
Yet somehow Ukraine has succeeded in capturing
the world’s imagination and sympathy,
despite having a similarly bloody track record
of mass murder and despoliation of its Jewish
residents on at least 3 previous occasions.
Obviously we cannot condone war crimes
wherever they are committed, but it is worth
reminding ourselves exactly who the Ukrainians
are before we identify wholeheartedly with
their national aspirations and desperate struggle.
Let us just go back a few years to when
the Ukrainians overthrew their Russian-backed
president Viktor Yanukovych and established
a nationalist government. Some of their first
acts were to destroy Soviet-era monuments to
World War II, monuments to those who had
fought fascist Germany. Moreover the nationalists
decided to name streets after a number of
people who had been directly responsible for
massacres of Jews while attempting to promote
Ukrainian independence. Stepan Bandera and
Roman Shukhevych were responsible for the
murder of thousands of Jews as well as Poles
in Lviv in 1941 but are now revered as freedom
fighters in Ukraine.In the spring of 2015,
Ukraine’s parliament passed a highly controversial
law, mandating that Bandera and his
groups be regarded as Ukrainian patriots, and
making denial of their heroism a criminal offense.
The law was ratified despite vociferous
condemnation from leading Western historians,
proponents of free speech and the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 1954
Ukraine decided to honor Bogdan Chmelnitzki,
the person most responsible for the barbaric
massacre of over 50,000 Jews in 1648-49,
by renaming a city after him. In the eyes of
Ukrainians Chmelnitzki is a hero because of
his actions to unify the peasants and free them
from the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth.
Recently the Ukrainian Parliament held a moment
of silence in honor of Symon Petliura,
a nationalist responsible for the murder of
well over 50,000 Jews in the early 20th century.
When asked for a response, Josef Zissels,
chairman of the Vaad organization of Ukrainian
Jews, said that worrying about Petliura
“leads to unnecessary assignment of blame.”
However whitewashing the deeds of such men
and even presenting them as paragons is a dangerous
precedent which demonstrates the antisemitic
undercurrents which still exist in the
country. Despite electing a Jewish president
and prime minister in recent years, there has
been no soul-searching about the past and no
commitment to eradicate antisemitism in the
local culture. New monuments to Chmelnitzki
in central Kyiv testify to the adoration he still
receives. The Ukrainians have established a
memorial at Babi Yar, where tens of thousands
of Jews were slaughtered in 1941 but have yet
to acknowledge their own nation’s role in the
massacre or to educate their youth about the estimated
400 mass murder sites in their country,
many of which involved active participation of
locals who eradicated six centuries of Jewish
life with their barbaric actions. Even though
Russia’s record towards Jews is scarcely better
than Ukraine, the Jewish nation has no reason
to take the side of the Ukrainians just because
they have been unjustly invaded by their northern
neighbor. Considering the Ukrainian track
record on Jews, it behooves Jews and especially
Israel which needs to maintain cordial
relations with Russia to maintain neutrality
and only concern ourselves with the fate of our
Jewish brethren who are caught in the crossfire
between the two warring nations.
DEL
Vues Master’s Note: Yes! We have short memories!
That is why we have the mitzvah of parshas
Zachor!
UKRAINIAN
Dear Vues Master:
The Ukrainians may be antisemites, but they are still the victims in this instance. So the letter writer who claims they “deserve it” is sick, especially considering that men, women, and children who have done nothing wrong are losing their lives.
MM
Vues Master’s Note:Let’s say these were Amalaikim, would you still feel this way?
GEHINOM
Dear Vues Master:
After 120, an American Jew who had been born in France left this world. On the other side, he was told that he would be going to Gehinom but that he had a choice between the American, the French or the Jewish Gehinom. “What is the difference between them?” he asked. “In the American Gehinom, you are assigned to hard labor from 6 in the morning to midnight, you get whipped for an hour, and then sit in boiling oil from 1 to 6. In the French Gehinom, you are assigned to hard labor from 6 in the morning to midnight, you get whipped for an hour, and then sit in boiling oil from 1 to 6. In the Jewish Gehinom, you are assigned to hard labor from 6 in the morning to midnight, you get whipped for an hour, and then sit in boiling oil from 1 to 6.” “They’re all the same,” the man responded. “What kind of choice is that?” “Well, in the Jewish Gehinom six is not exactly six, hard is not exactly hard, boiling is not exactly boiling…”
JR
Vues Master’s Note: Ha! Ha1 this joke burns!
TRIBUTE
Dear Vues Master:
A few weeks ago, a personal loss that once was seen as unfathomable became a reality. A person that was so special in my life, was unfortunately taken from us. My Zeide, Chesky Guttman, a man that many knew as Harry, “The sandwich man” or Ta/Zeide, unfortunately, passed away 3 weeks ago. One of his greatest Middahs that encompassed who he was, was that in every interaction he had with others, he always made the other feel unique and special. It didn’t make a difference if the person was religious, non-religious, family, friend, or someone that he never met before. My Zeide was truly a role model for so many, but specifically to me. To the few that have read my political articles the past few years, the person most responsible for my interest in politics was my Zeide. Baruch Hashem, there were many things that I gained from my Zeide besides politics, but one of the most unique parts of our relationship was our appreciation for politics. Throughout the Obama years, my Zeides dislike of Barack Obama was known to all that knew him, but the expression of love that my Zeide had for a better country was something unique that I never was exposed to. When Donald Trump announced his run for president, I was the only one in the family that initially supported him fully, but my Zeide encouraged my opinion regardless. After the nomination, we both became massive Trump supporters, and we were both proud to watch the election of Donald J. Trump. Our love of politics eventually became the bulk of our Erev Shabbos phone calls which lasted between 20-45 minutes, weekly. Those conversations initially started as an idea from my mother to call my Zeide on Fridays to become how our relationship developed in many ways. Those phone calls were just phone calls in the beginning, but they eventually turned to in addition, going to my Baba and Zeides for Shabbosim frequently which also extended our love for each other in so many other areas. The thing about my Zeide was that when you met him, there was so much positive substance there, that when you would think about the interaction, there wouldn’t be just one thing to say about it. My Zeide was special not for his politics, or his car, or his house, he was special because of how he treated people. In an era where politics is so divisive on all sides, if there was one person that had passionate beliefs, but still gave the other side respect, it was my Zeide. Despite all the double standards in politics or the foolish arguments from some politicians, my Zeide never got caught up in it. Instead, he did it his unique way of believing what he did but treating everyone with dignity. As I write this letter, I think about the dozens of email replies that I got from him for the letters that I have written in the past. Every one of them made me always want to continue and to improve. It is so sad that he is not here for many reasons, but it is even sadder that I won’t be able to read this letter to him.
Dedicated to my Zeide- Yechezkel Menachem ben Baruch Moshe, Z”L,
Donny Simcha Guttman, A Proud Grandson
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for sharing. May your family be consoled!
SINGLES
Dear Vues Master:
Recently I have found myself working with a few women in the community whose plight I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention. These women, some middle aged and some past that point, have unique struggles that despite so much time invested and so much effort expended, we can’t seem to get them through. Most of the women I’m referring to were divorced during a time when divorce was frowned upon even more severely than it is these days; so their journey started as a very lonely one. They raised their children to the best of their abilities, alone on an island with minimal support both emotional and financial. Now their children are grown, remarriage seemed too scary a prospect year after year, match after match. Now the loneliness and solitude is creeping in. Many of their children moved out of state; they tried to leave their painful past behind. The single moms are now completely alone. They dread every Shabbos and every Shabbos meal that they’re alone. They dread every Yom Tov and every Yom Tov meal when they’re alone. They don’t have a Shul to call their own being that they’ve never forged a real connection with a Rabbi or Rebbezin. Going to Shul is in itself a lonely pursuit. No child to sit with, no spouse to wait for. Just trying to look relevant and like they belong to someone while knowing inside that they’re going home alone to sit alone. The women will think back to the days when they were relevant to the community. An important part of their Shul’s Women’s League their children’s schools PTA and how their phone rang non-stop with important tasks being assigned to them. Now the phone is quiet. These women’s loneliness is so profound that it effects their jobs, (if they’re lucky enough to have one) their mental health and even their physical health suffers. Please look around you. Please notice the women who are alone. Please include them in your life. Invite a single person to a Shabbos or Yom Tov meal with your family friends who you’ve hosted many times. You may literally be saving a life.
Esther Miller
Esther@JCCRP.org
Project Director
Success Space for Women
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for the advice. Again what can a male do for them? Nothing!
MAID OF HONOR
Dear Vues Master:
R Nosson Adler Zt”l insisted that even the maids (Jewish) should go to Shul to listen to Parshas Zachor. Why would we think that women who wash the dishes and clean the floors should be less obligated than other women to perform Mitzvohs?
Answer:
In Western European countries, especially Germany, almost all women went to Shul every Shabbos. The younger children were left behind with the Nanny/maid. Even lower-income households afforded maids etc. R.N. Adler didn’t say that Mitzvah of zechiras mechiyas Amalek is applicable also to maids.NAll he said was that even the maids who usually don’t go to Shul, need to go this week so that they will be Yotze the mitzvah.
MF
Vues Master’s Note:These guys in Germany had it made. Wow!
WAR
Dear Vues Master:
If Jews are one limb, and Ukrainians another, and each a part of Humanity as one organism, as understood from Torah, when those limbs hurt, and the whole body is in pain, mustn’t we care about all Humanity? Especially during this horrific war caused by Putin.
DR
Vues Master’s Note: Unless sometimes surgery needs to be done! We
don’t know if this is not the beginning of Gog Umagog!
UNITY
Dear Vues Master:
As Meggilas Esther teaches us, Purim commemorates the time when the evil Prime Minister Haman drew lots to pick a day on which to exterminate the Jewish people in ancient Persia. Miraculously, Queen Esther, who had kept her Jewish origin a secret, and her Uncle Mordechai, who had saved the King’s life and who lead the Jewish community, were able to thwart Haman’s evil decree, and on the day when Haman had planned to exterminate the Jews, the 13th day of the Hebrew of Adar, he and his hateful followers were killed instead. This year, Purim is celebrated on Wednesday night, March 16,and Thursday, March 17, by reading the book of Esther both night and day, and by giving gifts to the poor and exchanging delicious foods with our neighbors and enjoying a feast on Purim day. Unfortunately, villains with the same desire of Haman have hated the Jewish people throughout history, especially in Ukraine and Russia. Google “Gezeiros Tach ve-Tat” to learn of the horrible pogroms by the Ukrainian Cossack leader, Chmielnicki, and his followers in 1648-53, when some 300,000 Jews were killed, as Jewish communities were devastated. Chmielnicki is today considered a Ukrainian national leader whose statue stands in the heart of Kiyv. Even before the horrors of the Holocaust wiped out Jewish communities in Ukraine during World War II, over 100,000 Jews were killed between 1918 and 1921 during anti- Jewish pogroms (Google: “killing fields of Ukraine”). And Russian history is similarly replete with anti-Jewish violence and pogroms (Google: “pogroms against Jews in Russia”). The Jews were victorious on Purim because they were united –caring for one another and fending off their enemies. That has to be the hallmark of our Purim observance this year–caring for one another by giving charitable gifts to the needy and exchanging gifts with our friends and neighbors, and helping to support our brethren in war-ravaged Europe and in our Jewish Homeland in Israel, where so many Jewish war refugees are finding refuge and a new home. Chag Purim Samayach–Have a joyous Purim Holiday!
Rabbi Doniel Z. Kramer
Vues Master’s Note: Great message. Russia and Ukraine both don’t like Jews and would kill us in a heartbeat.
We need to protect Eretz Yisroel!
WAR
Dear Vues Master:
In 1941, Ukranians marched our people thru the Jewish Cemetery near Kiev to a place called “Babi Yar” stripped them of their clothing and dignity, forcing them to dig a large ravine, lining them up side-by-side, men, women and children and sadly, shooting all of them. Assisting the Nazis these Ukrainian militias hunted down our people, informed on them, rounded them up and were responsible for over 34,000 deaths of our people. To this day, this ravine remains. Ukraine known for its Cossacks destroying the “Shtetles” killing our people in these pograms, discriminating against our people ONLY because they were Jews. However, we should not forget those righteous Ukrainians that saved our fellow Jews at that time and during the Holocaust. Fast forward to 2022, Ukraine has a Jewish President and Prime Minister. Our fellow Jew, President Zelensky is fighting for our people and for ALL the people of Ukraine against a tyrant, Russian dictator by the name of “Putin!” Over 200,000 Jews fleeing for their lives while missles fly overhead with bombing and mines below them. Millions of others trying to be free, to stay alive, becoming future refugees, losing everything they ever had and everything they thought they knew living in Ukraine. THIS MUST END! We MUST stand-up to these Putin’s, Haman’s, as the destruction of our people anywhere leads to the destruction of us all! As a Jewish race, people, religion, we clearly know the importance of “being free and allowing others to be free too!” It is the essence of our being! To live and be free or to die trying to reach this ideal! From Moshe to Kings David and Solomon. From the little child crawling its way thru the fences of Auschwitz back to the times living in ancient Egypt. To Emma Lazarus proclaiming on the base of the “Statue of Liberty,” “Give me your tired and poor. Give me your huddled masses yearning to breath free….Indeed, I must continue to help our people and ALL people! We must build and not destroy. We must love and not hate. We must speak-up or allow those that remain vigilant on destroying us and others too to be victorious? We must unite for the Ukrainians in 2022. We must unite with each other and our fellow Jews where ever they may be! Although, it was 6 years ago, my beloved mom “Nechama Mindle Mildred bas Idel Leib( he was born in Tulchin, Ukraine)A’H departed on the last day of Adar Aleph which fell out on the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar Beis, YES-MOM, I continue to fight for those less fortunate than us and to be a “MENTSCH” as you taught me! May Hashem protect our people in Ukraine, Eretz Yisrael, here and abroad and, may we FINALLY be free to serve only Hashem!
Elisha/Benjilini
Vues Master’s Note: Like Ukraine is great? I say they should both have hatzlacha!
FEMINIST
Dear Vues Master:
Hi, I’m a feminist. I’ve heard a lot of criticism of feminism in the frum community, so I’m writing to explain why I am a frum feminist. I am a gender critical radical feminist (referred to as a TERF by antifeminists) to be exact. The primary belief that makes me a radical feminist is that a woman is an adult human female. These days, males are being prioritized above females – in women’s spaces. That’s bad. I also believe that it is actually harmful for women if men are allowed in women’s shelters and women’s prisons. This is consistent with halacha – men and women are supposed to be separate. This is halachically based on the gender “assigned at birth,” which is actually observed, not assigned. (Let me know if you actually find a doctor who “assigns” genders rather than observing and recording based on the baby’s physical features.) Another feminist belief is that women are not commodities to be bought, sold, and traded. It is not “empowering” for a woman to be treated liike an object. Men exploiting women is sin, not self-employment. Another reason I’m a radical feminist is because it is quite obvious that Hashem created each of us differently. He did not create two types of brains or personalities, one male and one female. We are each unique. There is no such thing as a man in a woman’s body or a woman in a man’s body. People with a male body are men and people with a female body are women, regardless of where their personality falls on the rich spectrum of humanity. Feminists like me are being deplatformed and spat on. It’s time to stand up for women’s rights!
CH
Vues Master’s Note: I don’t know what you are talking about!
RABBI
Dear Vues Master:
The Maggid of Koznitz,R’ Yisroel, observed: “A Rov whose kehillah doesn’t want to get rid of him isn’t a real Rov. On the other hand, a Rov whose kehillah has managed to get rid of isn’t a real man.”
MB
Vues Master’s Note:I say stop with the violence leave the Rabbi alone otherwise I will never get my nap during the speech!
RESPONSE
Dear Vues Master:
I would like to thank you For your Answer to last weeks letter titled Ukraine by DG. She wrote she’s having a hard time with the situation in Ukraine how it’s putting her on the edge thinking about her brothers and sisters that are suffering in the Ukraine .Her daughter asked her if we are heading towards another holocaust she tried to calm her but she doesn’t know how to answer her properly. You, the Vue Master, gave her an amazing answer. That can reassure us as well .You wrote lev melachim vesarim biyad Hashem the heart of kings and ministers are in the hands of Hashem This is the beginning of the Gullah let us not squander the opportunity . This was a very comforting and reassuring answer thank you.
Devorah Leitner
Vues Master’s Note: How am I supposed to respond? I’ll just say thanks!
SHEEP IN WOLF’S CLOTHING
Dear Vues Master:
When the Jews left Mitzrayim, they were at the 49th level of tumah. We also know that throughout their stay in Mitzrayim they didn’t change their style of clothing. This teaches that you can wear a white shirt and black hat and still be at the 49th level of tumah.
BM
Vues Master’s Note:Only if it is a Charles Trywhitt shirt!
HELP
Dear Vues Master:
Acheinu Kol Bais Yisroel… Rav Chaim Schmulevitz ztl, Rosh Hayeshivas Mir in Yerushalayim, came in to the Bais Medrash to say tehillim for the hostages that were on a hijacked plane along with the Rosh Hayeshiva of Chaim Berlin, Rav Yitzchok Hunter ztl. He first sat down in the back bench and broke down sobbing. He then made his way to the front, and cried out to the massive olam hatorah that had gathered to say tehillim. Imagine if R”L your Father or Mother were on that plane, or challia your brother or sister were hostages, how then would you cry out your tehillim to the Ribono Shel Olam. That’s all he had to say and the olam responded with tears in their eyes. What are we [I] doing about the situation in Ukraine? I received a voice mail from the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Rav Bleich who begged everyone to donate towards the tents that they set up for the Jewish Refugees with food, clothing, drinks etc. Rav Yisroel Reisman says that some of us “Krechtz oy vey” and then toch kdei dibbur, in the same breath, please pass the pizza! I called Rav Fischel Schachter, Rav Eytan Feiner, and my Rav from Monsey, that perhaps just like we go around the table on seder night acting out Yetzias Mitzrayim carrying the matzahs on our backs, perhaps we should also pack up a suitcase and walk around the block feeling what the refugees are somewhat feeling as they wander into Galus Poland not knowing what will become. Do we cry during tehillim? Shaarei Dimaos lo Ninalu. How can we be b’simcha in Adar-M’shenichnos Adar Marbim B’Simcha? A Mashgiach once said that in this day and age all you have to do to be nisorer is by looking at the frum news paper’s headlines. To see a picture of a frum Jew running away holding a sefer torah, or an elderly person with a white beard running with his baggage of whatever he can take and run for his life. To Donate for the Jewish Refugees in Ukraine please call; Agudas Yisroel; 212 797 9000 ext. 200, or write a check to Agudath Israel of America- 42 Broadway NY NY 10004 [14th fl], [in the memo write UKRAINE}, or donate online the web site is; Agudah.org/Ukraine/ or call the automated number at 917 795 4414 Yhi Hachodesh Hazeh Sof V’Ketz L’chol Tzaraseinu U’techilla V’rosh L’Pidyon Nafsheinu! Gutten Chodesh
Rabbi Moshe Shochet
Vues Master’s Note:Hope you help all our brothers!
EXCOMMUNICATED
Dear Vues Master:
My son acts towards me like I’m excommunicated, Here are my thoughts. The Gemora, in Moed Katan 15b, wants to know if someone in nidui has to separate from his wife? The Ritva, says he doesn’t separate from his wife or extended family members. Tosfos Harosh says, Having marital relations is a mitzvah; we can assume that God does not want excommunication to prevent His creature from performing His commandment. (ArtScroll, Moed Katan 15b, # 24) Correct me if I’m mistaken, did the Ritva say a rabbi can’t excommunicate a parent? In addition, the appellation “rabbi” is in name only as real smicha (ordination) is passed on from teacher to student going back to Moshe Rabbeinu. Also, anyone who financially benefits by putting someone in nidui can’t do so, as seen from incident with Raish Lakish (Moed Katan 17a).
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Amazing! How you just have one agenda!
ANGEL
Dear Vues Master:
If the teacher is similar to an angel of the Lord, then seek Torah from his mouth, but if he is not pure and upright, then do not seek Torah from his mouth; even if he is knowledgeable about Torah, do not learn from him (Moed Kattan 17a).
DG
Vues Master’s Note:I am sure your son’s Rosh Yeshiva is an Angel!!
DECIDE ON SIDE
Dear Vues Master:
A woman who was a regular customer at Cafe Aroma in Yerushalayim started going to Cafe Cafe on the other side of the street. When the Cafe Aroma manager saw her, he asked what happened? Was there a problem with the food or the service? “No,” she responded. “I had some dental work done and the Dentist told me to eat on the other side for a while.”
LK
Vues Master’s Note:I’m Sure the Café owner was besides herself!