03 Jan 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.
BEN GVIR
Dear Vues Master:
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben- Gvir visited the Har Habayis in Yerushalayim this past Tuesday morning on Asarah B’Teves in the first visit to the site by an Israeli minister in five years. I know that going to Har Habayis is a very controversial subject, but I’m glad an Is- raeli diplomat finally did it. Why should we care what the outside world thinks?
AY
LOVE
Dear Vues Master:
“The love of a father is for his children. The love of his children is for their children.” (more love to your children than to your parents) We find in this week’s Parsha that Yehudah was pleading to Yosef to allow Binyomin to return to his father otherwise his father (Yakov) will die. Why not plead about the suffering of Binyomin’s ten sons ? The Kotzker Rebbe answers “From here we see parents are in more pain when their children are suffering than the pain children have when their parents are suffering”.
MF
Vues Master’s Note: I love this letter! LOL CHILDREN
Dear Vues Master:
Before the years of famine came, Yosef became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him (Genesis 41:50) Or HaChaim (Genesis 41:50) Two sons were born to Yosef: The Torah includes this with what has been recorded before, about Yo- seph’s remarkable achievements during these seven years. The names Yosef gave his sons are proof that he was well pleased that G-d had let him forget his previous problems and had also made him fruitful. The word “fruitful” includes having children, amassing wealth, and being
honored. The English word “fruit” means even more, it comes from the Hebrew word “Pri” and its shoresh, the two-letter root, is peh (mouth) and resh (head). The letter peh and the resh are facing each other. The son, peh, must initiate a conversation with his father using questions and not questioning. The father, the resh, will then be able to give his full attention to his son. This is learnt from Pesach where the son asks and the fa- ther answers. Having children is also connected with leaving prison. This is hinted at in the Eng- lish word prison – pre-son. The transliteration of prison to Hebrew is peh, raish, sin and final nun. The peh/raish, pri, is the child, the sin is prison bars, and the final nun is the fallen father. Yoseph had children on the fiftieth verse, nun, the nun with a foot, his children put Yoseph back on his feet. Or HaChaim says Yosef had three things – children, wealth, and honor. This corresponds to the three directives a father has to his son: To teach him how to swim which is a metaphor for living honorably, a trade and getting him mar- ried.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: You never cease to amaze you have one topic and that is all you write about!
FATHER
Dear Vues Master:
The first directive for the father is to teach their son to be a mensch. For example, not letting him grab at the kiddish especially before older peo- ple. Second, It is important for a father to teach his son a trade before he goes to Yeshiva. Most kids are not Yaakov Avinu, who went to work after leaving Yeshiva. Another thing to keep in mind is that Yaakov only forgot about his parents after going to Yeshiva so maaseh avos siman banim means teach them before they go. Yaakov learned quickly from his mistake and personally
taught Yoseph that blood is thicker than water as it says in Genesis 37:2 – “These are the generations of Yaa- kov, Yoseph …” Nothing should get in between father and son, even brothers, as it says in Psalms 118:22 “The stone (even) which the builders (brothers) despised has become the cornerstone.” The Hebrew word even (stone) is aleph, bais, nun so the first part aleph/bais is av, father, and the second part bais/nun is son, they rock. For such a relationship to happen a father must act like a father and un- derstand that unconditional love does not mean kowtowing, as Denis Prager says a son cannot hold you hostage. The secular world knocks parents down; however, the Kotzker Rebbe says parents have so much compas- sion for their children, they can toler- ate their abuse. Even so a parent can- not be reckless and override God’s will. For example, Avraham Avinu didn’t let his compassion for his son get in the way of doing God’s will. A child must take full responsibility, and not blame the parents that God chose, just like Reuven, who almost jeopar- dized his future because of his indis- cretion. Lastly, a father needs to be involved with their son’s Shidduchim as there is a correlation between the high divorce rate and children alien- ated from their father. It is incumbent on the son to form a relationship with his father by respecting and honor- ing him. If a son is learning day and night like Yaakov Avinu and dances at weddings with his coat around his arm like Rabbi Avigdor Miller, then he can call his father once a week; otherwise, it should be every day. DG
Vues Master’s Note: I am sure that had you been a good father you would not be going through all these prob- lems!
RABBI MEILICH BIEDERMAN
Dear Vues Master
I read with interest “A NEW KIND OF REBBE” by Ysoscher Katz, on R. Meilech Biederman, in your last issue. Though I believe he is usually classified as a Mashpia, rather than a
Rebbe, the points are still well taken. I am wondering, however, about the practice of dancing and parading on tables. I think there may be halachic issues with that. Another thing wor- thy of being addressed is Reb Mei- lech’s relationship with Meron, and his making “hadlukehs” there seem- ingly through the year. Perhaps in the future those matters may be exam- ined. Thanks for the interesting read- ing. Sincerely,
A Reader
VACATIONS
Dear Vues Master:
Over the next month people are going to be taking their families to winter/ yeshiva vacation breaks all over the world. I think that a family should not allow their high school children to go to a place like Florida where the child can be tempted by their yetzer harah to do something that they shouldn’t do. There are plenty of places one can go to that are kosher vacations.
MK
Vues Master’s Note: Can you send us a list? Is it affordable?
POEM
Dear Vues Master:
*Wonderful Definitions*
*School*
A place where Parents pay, and chil- dren play.
*Life Insurance*
A contract that keeps you poor all your life, so that you can die Rich. *Nurse*:
A person who wakes you up to give you sleeping pills.
*Marriage*
It’s an agreement in which a man los- es his bachelor’s degree, and a wom- an gains her masters..
*Tears*
The hydraulic force by which mascu- line willpower is defeated by femi- nine waterpower.
*Conference*
The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
*Conference Room*
A place where everybody talks, no- body listens, and everybody disagrees later on.
*Father* point that “blood will be spilled,” one of America’s most prominent educa- tors reportedly warned, one hundred years ago this week. That blunt and menacing demand was made by the president of Harvard University, A. Lawrence Lowell. It’s a reminder that the intense antisemitism in America in the 1920s was espoused not only by street corner bullies, but among some leading figures in the academic community as well. Lowell was said to have uttered his threatening words in a conversation with Harvard alum- nus Victor Kramer when the two shared a train compartment in late December 1922. A few weeks later, Kramer recounted the conversation at a Manhattan meeting, and a New York Times correspondent who was present reported it on January 15. “President Lowell takes full credit for the plan to limit the number of Jews who are seeking admission into Har- vard,” Kramer said. “It is his view that so long as the Jewish people de- cide to remain apart, as a distinct en- tity in American life and not merging in a social way by intermarriage with the Gentiles, just so long will preju- dice continue and even grow worse.” “President Lowell also asserted that a Jew can not be an American, for to be an American, in his opinion, one must be that and nothing else,” the Times reported. “President Lowell predicted that within twenty years we will see in the United States the same condi- tions that now exist in Central Eu- rope, where blood is spilled as a result of anti-Semitism… His advice was that the Jews drop their faith.” The next day’s Times carried a statement from Lowell that he “denied having said the things attributed to him,” claiming that Kramer had “grossly misrepresented” his views. Kramer, however, stood by his account, citing two witnesses who sat next to them and heard Lowell’s statements. The theme of the attributed remarks—that Jews themselves are to blame for an- tisemitism, and responses to Jewish behavior could get much worse—was consistent with Lowell’s previously expressed opinions. In fact, a let-
A banker provided by nature
*Boss*
Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early *Politician*
One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after
* Hospital*
An institution which holds your ills by pills and kills you by bills. *Smile*
A curve that can set a lot of things straight.
*Office*
A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.
*Yawn*
The only time married men ever get to open their mouths.
*Etc*.
A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do. *Committee*
Individuals who can do nothing indi- vidually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.
LAUGHTER MAKES LIFE EASY. LK
Vues Master’s Note: Cute! My son used these definitions and got a zero on his test!
WASH
Dear Vues Master:
Especially this time of year when Alos Hashachar (72 minutes before sunrise) is so late, let us be mindful of the psak of the R’ma OC 4:14, that if one washes negel vasser before Alos, one needs to wash again after Alos Hashachar without a bracha.
DY
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks! But I am sure we end up going to the bathroom and washing again so it’s a wash! PLASTIC
Dear Vues Master:
Fred asked his friend Harry, “Did I tell you my wife had plastic surgery? I cut up her credit cards.”
MB
Vues Master’s Note: Too late the CC bill is huge!
POGROM WARNING
Dear Vues Master:
If American Jews “decide to remain apart,” antisemitism will rise to th
ter Lowell wrote to another alumnus in 1922, along these same lines, had been quoted in the Times the previ- ous June. “The anti-Semitic feeling among students is increasing, and it grows in proportion to the increase in the number of Jews,” Lowell wrote then. “If their number should become 40 per cent of the student body, the race feeling would become intense… All this seems to me fraught with great evils for the Jews, and very great peril for our community.” That was why Lowell went to the Harvard Board of Overseers in 1922 with his proposal to reduce the number of Jewish students on campus, which was about 25% of the student body. Until then, admis- sions had been determined on the basis of merit, that is, grades and test scores. Lowell and the board devised new criteria that would allow “care- ful discernment of differences among individuals,” as Lowell put it. Hence- forth a Harvard admissions officer could reject an application based on the applicant’s “character.” Also, the applicant would be required to state his “race and color” and “religious preference,” and would have to ex- plain if either of his parents had ever changed their names—so that the ad- missions officer would know whose “character” required special scrutiny. Applicants from New York City were classified according to whether their family name and photograph indicat- ed they were Jews; they were classi- fied as “J1” (definitely Jewish), “J2” (probably Jewish), or “J3” (possibly Jewish). Thus Jews could be singled out for rejection without anybody having to say the reason was that they were Jews. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served on the Harvard board in the 1920s, later boasted of his role in this episode. He and his fellow-board members decided that “the number of Jews should be reduced one or two per cent a year until it was down to 15%,” President Roosevelt explained to Henry Morgenthau, Jr., the only Jewish member of his cabinet, in 1941. “You can’t get a dispropor- tionate amount of any one religion.” Lowell and FDR also shared an in- difference to the plight of Jews in
Nazi Germany. In his book The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower, Prof. Ste- phen Norwood described Lowell’s rejection of an offer by a charitable foundation in 1933 to pay the sal- ary of a refugee scholar from Nazi Germany if Harvard would hire him. Lowell accused the foundation of try- ing “to use the College for purposes of propaganda.” James G. McDonald, the League of Nations High Commis- sioner for Refugees from Germany, requested an appointment with Low- ell in March 1934. Lowell’s secretary told McDonald—according to his diary— “that he wasn’t interested in German refugees,” and “that he was tied up the whole day,” so therefore “couldn’t see me.” But when Hitler’s foreign spokesman, Harvard gradu- ate Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl, visited the campus three months later, Low- ell found the time to have a friendly meeting with him. Although a cen- tury has passed since Lowell, FDR, and their colleagues acted against the admission of Jewish students, Har- vard is only just beginning to come to grips with this dark chapter in its history. Three years ago, following publicity about Lowell’s anti-Jewish policies (and policies hostile to other minorities), the faculty deans decided to take down a portrait of Lowell that was hanging in Lowell House, an un- dergraduate dormitory. The building itself, however, continues to bear his name. One wonders what sort of rev- elation it would take for Harvard to finally do something about that.
RM
in the midst of shiva. Just as he was about to begin, a poor person came to the front and said: “I take precedence over all of you because I am like the dead person himself.”
BM
Vues Master’s Note: Not funny! No need to fight for the amud! SHIDDUCHIM
Dear Vues Master:
I would like to respond to the Social Justice Warrior calling himself “Cool Dude.” He has a problem with my suggestion that more women should consider men with good middos who have low paying jobs. Is CD un- aware that some of our greatest sages themselves worked low paying jobs? Rav Yochonan Hasandler was a shoe- maker and Rav Yitzchak Nafcha was a smith. Would CD stick his nose up to these sages for his own daugh- ters??? Humility is a great trait that more Yidden should strive for instead of trying to live a life with only name brands. CD has a problem with my statement that if someone is 35+ and still single it’s their own fault. I actu- ally got that quote from Rabbi Yisrael Bernath who is a dating coach and he has a fair point. If someone wants something badly enough they will get it, including their bashert. Instead of being offended at everything in the world I suggest that CD embrace the world as it is. More women than men are getting degrees nowadays so there is bound to be an imbalance in the dating pool. This “cool” Dad should really embrace reality as it is more likely that his daughters will have to end up marrying a not so cool guy. -AB
Vues Master’s Note: As long as he has the cash he is cool! Just kidding! To each their bashert!
Vues Master’s Note: As much as things change they stay the same! ISRAELIS
Dear Vues Master:
Israelis frequently complain about Americans interfering in domes- tic Israeli affairs. Whether it’s the American government on an official level interfering in Israeli policy or American Jews dictating what Israeli policies should be, Israelis take great offense at the gall of Americans to in- terfere with Israeli policy. At the same time Israelis ask Americans to lobby their elected officials to support the U.S.-Israel relationship by voting for
pro-Israel legislation. How can Israe- lis simultaneously tell Americans to stop interfering in their issues while asking them to support their policies? RUP
Vues Master’s Note: Politics makes strange bedfellows and makes people act strange!
ROLE MODEL
Dear Vues Master:
My family absolutely loves the Jew-
ish Vues!! I read an article last week on Rav Bidderman & at first it both- ered me that he is dancing with a lit menorah. It also bothered me that Rav Bidderman is known to be a smoker. Both of these acts bother me. He is a role model & people look up to him. How can he do both of these things? By dancing with a lit menorah, young bochrim are going to get it in their head that they can & should do that & it’s very dangerous. I must point out though that I spoke to my brother in Lakewood & he told me what a tremendous Talmud Chachum Rav Bidderman is & he said that bochrim should follow ALMOST everything he does.
Vues Master’s Note: Just because he smokes does not mean you should! GRANDKIDS
Dear Vues Master:
MJ
Vues Master’s Note: But of course you don’t need to change their pam- pers and when they cry you give them right back to their parent!
AVEL
Dear Vues Master:
An Avel in the 12 months went before the Amud to serve as Shaliach tzibbur. Another man came up and said: “Sorry. I’m in the thirty days.” But before he could begin davening, yet another man said he was a chi- yuv because he had yahrzeit that day. But before he could start, a young man claimed the amud because he was still
Rivky from Boro Park
The Zohar( Parshas ויחי) writes,” Yaakov bentched his grandchildren before bentching his own children because one loves his grandchildren more than his children.