31 Jan SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
CRY
Dear Vues Master:
As I cry for the 7 murdered in Nevei Yaakov, I think about
the number 7. Shabbos when it happened is the seventh
day. Our tears pierce the seven skies. Channa and her seven
sons. I am listening in the background to Yaakov & Moshe
Dovid Shwekey sing their heartfelt song Lcha Atzmi Le-
cha Ezak Lecha Edvak To You I shout out ( I cry out) To
You I cling. This heart rendering song is the second song
on Yaakov Shwekey’s “Toast To Life”album. They sing it
with such Heartz & Neshama, it’s not possible not to cry
your soul out! It was composed by Shwekey’s brother who
harmonizes to Yaakov. As I listen and sing along to this
piyut from the Even Ezra on Leil Yom Kippur, I think of
the 7 ushpizin who come to our Sukkah & the number 7
is Dovid Hamelech Chai Vkayam Moshiach Ben Dovid
baah bkorev! This week’s parsha Shabbos Shira (7th day
of Pesach) is a remez to techiyas Hameisim Rashi to Az
Yaasher Moshe Rabbeinu will once again sing the Shira
with Klal Yisroel & with the 7 from Nevei Yaakov!
RMS
Vues Master’s Note: I cry along with Klal Yisroel!
#UNFOLLOW: LIVING MY BEST LIFE
Dear Vues Master
Recently, fans of a certain celebrity called the cops to conduct
a wellness check at their private home. The fans’ concern?
The celebrity quit social media. One would think this is the
best thing the star could do for their health. Gains made by
in- person learning and a return to “normal” life after the
pandemic have been undercut by social media use amongst
young people. This has been a worrying trend since 2009
when social media and smartphones came to prominence,
notes Duncan Young, CEO of Effective School Solutions. As
Young told The Hill, the increase in technology use has led
to a decline in mental health. Social media is like a vehicle
which has to be driven safely. The alarm was sounded in The
Lancet, which published a study back in March 2007, entitled
“Mental Health of Young People: a Global Public-Health
Challenge.” Rabbi Efrem Goldberg notes, there are those who
may disagree with the Internet Asifah which took place nearly
12 years ago, but it should engender discussion about the harm
heavy technology use can have on people of all backgrounds.
Then, as now, we should be thinking about best practices for
the safe and healthy use of online platforms. Be mindful of
the minefield, Rabbi Goldberg warns. The Surgeon General
of the United States, Vivek Murthy, feels that children 13 and
under should not be on social media altogether. “Their rela-
tionships and the skewed and often distorted environment of
social media often does a disservice to many of those chil-
dren,” he warns. On the Inspiration for the Nation podcast
with Yaakov Langer, Rabbi Yisroel Majeski stated that people
feel pressured to take lavish vacations simply because they
see their friends going to far flung places online. Langer stat-
ed that he was once going through a hectic time, scheduling
guests for his show, when he agreed to sit down and give his
wife three hours of his time. Unfortunately, Langer stated, he
was very busy checking his phone during that time. His wife
responded: “I’d rather you give me 10 minutes of your time
than this.” These are powerful and important words and speak
to the disconnect the constant connectivity has on us all. As
the recent Yeshiva Week break has taught us, social compari-
son with peers leads to increased anxiety and depression. In a
study entitled “Social Media and Mental Health, researchers
from Boston University, MIT and Tel Aviv University found
that “social media has a negative impact on mental health.”
While the survey was limited to college students, it speaks
volumes: the best wellness check we can do for ourselves is
to check out of these platforms. It is therefore ironic that a
celebrity who, granted, had been undergoing mental health
challenges, and did what they felt was best: hanging up on on-
line hangouts, literally had the police called on them by “con-
cerned” fans. We live in a drive-by society. The Hill recently
reported that most Americans consume a lot more online than
they actually post. We need celebrities to entertain us, tell us
what to buy and where to go on vacation. However, we are
not any happier. We find in this week’s parsha, Beshalach,
that the Jews who despite keeping separate from the Mitzriy-
im, keeping their own names, values, and clothing, were still
on the 39th level of tumah: one more step and they would not
be able to leave. This added to the urgency to leave the land of
both physical and spiritual servitude. We saw in Lech Lecha
(12), that Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu were compelled
to go down to Mitzrayim to acquire food during a famine.
The impurity of the land permeated the air. This had an effect
on Avraham, who, according to Medrash Tanchuma (Lech
Lecha 5) noticed Sarah’s beauty for the very first time. As
Refael Kramer of Breslov.org states: even if we take just one
step toward spiritual growth we can experience our own Yet-
zias Mitzrayim. When the tide of social media tries to over-
take you and influencers are surrounding you from all sides,
scream to Hashem. As Hashem told Moshe: “Why do you
cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and tell them
to go ahead” (Shmos 14:15). Be the Nachshon ben Aminadav
that takes the initiative. You can leave your phone behind and
immerse yourself, at least for a few minutes, into a world of
quality family time. Just tell your friends first.
Chaim Yehuda Meyer
Vues Master’s Note: Well written letter
LAUGHTER
Dear Vues Master:
Laughter is the best medicine, second only to
grandchildren. I got a good chuckle and just
had to share: LIGHTEN UP…… IT AIN’T
ALL THAT BAD!!! I hate it when I see an
old person and then realize we went to high
school together. I told my wife she should
embrace her mistakes… so she hugged me.
My wife says I only have 2 faults. I don’t lis-
ten and something else…. At my funeral, take
the bouquet off my coffin and throw it into
the crowd to see who is next. I thought grow-
ing old would take longer. I came, I saw, I
forgot what I was doing. Retraced my steps,
got lost on the way back, now I have no idea
what’s going on. The officer said, “You drink-
ing?” I said, “You buying?” We just laughed
and laughed…. I need bail money. The adult
version of “head, shoulders, knees and toes”
is “wallet, glasses, keys and phone.” A dog
accepts you as the boss… a cat wants to see
your resume. Oops…. did I roll my eyes out
loud? Life is too short to waste time matching
socks. Wi-fi went down for five minutes, so I
had to talk to my family. They seem like nice
people. If you see me talking to myself, just
move along. I’m self-employed; we’re hav-
ing a staff meeting. I won’t be impressed with
technology until I can download food. Some
people call me crazy. I prefer ‘happy with a
twist’. My doctor asked if anyone in my fam-
ily suffers from mental illness. I said, “No, we
all seem to enjoy it.” I really don’t mind get-
ting old, but my body is having a major fit.
Camping: where you spend a small fortune to
live like a homeless person. Project Manager.
Because Miracle Worker isn’t an official job
title. I told my wife I wanted to be cremated.
She made me an appointment for Tuesday.
The world’s best antidepressant has 4 legs, a
wagging tail and comes with unconditional
love. Love is how excited your dog gets when
you come home. I’ve reached the age where
my train of thought often leaves the station
without me. If you’re happy and you still
know it, it’s your meds.
LK
Vues Master’s Note: I am not sure how to re-
spond. Should I laugh or should I cry?
CHILLUL HASHEM
Dear Vues Master:
Last week I went with my family to one of
the Century Villages in Florida to visit my
mother. The main shul is a nice walk from her
apartment so many people in the surrounding
buildings get together everyday to daven min-
cha/maariv at the zman in the middle parking
lot. Last Thursday, one of the men that came
to daven pulled up to the minyan in his car
right before chazaros hashas and parked his
car in someone else’s reserved parking spot.
No one was parked there & the person felt
that he would daven right outside his car and
watch to see if the owner of the spot would
come. All of a sudden a major argument
broke out. The shliach tzibur had to stop in
the middle of Shmonei Esrei and people were
yelling at him for parking in the reserved
spot. They were screaming back & forth for
five minutes & it was a tremendous chilul
hashem. The man said he lives in Brooklyn
& people block driveways on his block all the
time when going to a minyan on a shul on his
block. The reason why I’m writing this let-
ter to you is that people should be aware that
whether the person was right or wrong is not
the issue. The issue is that we live in a world
right now where there are so many anti sem-
ites that we need to always be on our best be-
havior. Please send your readers this message.
JP
Vues Master’s Note: Oy, the fun of Century
Village!! I say don’t daven in a parking lot!
Daven under a roof as it is paskened in Shul-
chan Aruch! Park a little further away and
you will get schar halicha!
ESROG
Dear Vues Master:
This Monday is Tu B’Shvat and my mother
used to take our esrogim from Sukkos &
make jam out of them on Tu B’Shvat. Is there
any source for doing this?
KL
Vues Master’s Note: I am sure there is a
source for this but I hope your mother added
a lot of sugar to the jam!
WAIT
Dear Vues Master:
Four rabbis met for lunch at a Brooklyn deli.
In an effort to show them proper respect, the
owner of the deli personally served them.
After they finished their sandwiches, he
brought them slices of watermelon. As soon
as he walked away from their table, he real-
ized that he had made a terrible mistake. The
watermelon that he served them was spiked
with liquor and was intended for another
table. He feared the worst. As soon as the
waiter returned to the kitchen with the empty
plates, the owner asked “What did they say?
What did they say?” “Nothing,” the waiter re-
sponded, “they were too busy searching for
watermelon seeds and putting them in their
pockets.”
MB
Vues Master’s Note: Can I get some please!
Never had that before!
FALSE NARRATIVE
Dear Vues Master:
We attach ourselves to narratives because
they comfort us. It’s comforting to think that
the terrorist who murdered seven Jews com-
ing out of a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday
evening was striking a blow against “the
civilized world,” as President Joe Biden as-
serted. But he wasn’t, Mr. President. Alqam
Khayri, 21, a resident of eastern Jerusalem,
was specifically going after Jews. His Pales-
tinian brethren who celebrated his murderous
act by dancing in the streets and handing out
candies were not thinking about the civilized
world. They were rejoicing at the death of
Jews. When the Palestinian Authority glori-
fies terrorists who murder Jews, as they did
just recently with Karim Younes, or teaches
Jew hatred to their children, they’re not think-
ing about the opera halls of Vienna or the art
galleries of Paris. They’re thinking about
the dreaded Jews who had the chutzpah to
return to their biblical homeland after 1900
years. When Hamas launches rockets from
Gaza to murder Israeli civilians, they’re not
thinking, “Boy are those Jews civilized, we
better get rid of them.” No, they’re thinking
of the Hamas Charter that obligates them to
destroy the world’s only Jewish state. This
is not a comfortable narrative. It’s a lot more
“civilized” to sanitize and universalize our
conflicts; it helps us manage and control
them. If we can frame the Palestinian terror
against Jews as an attack on a grand idea like
the “civilized world,” it reduces our frustra-
tion and anxiety. Instead of dealing with
a conflict that is ugly and personal, we can
come together around a sophisticated ideal.
The problem is that the hatred for Jews within
much of Palestinian society is just that– ugly
and personal. There’s nothing civilized or
universal about teaching Palestinian kids that
“the Jews don’t belong here.” That is a hatred
of aspiring annihilation. No amount of clever
reframing can change that. Three decades
ago, Israel made the mistake of sanitizing and
overlooking that hatred by pretending that a
political agreement based on geographical
borders could end the conflict. I was one of
those dreamers, and part of me still dreams
of that day. But ugly, deep, personal hatred
dies hard. The narrative that has always been
exceedingly difficult for westerners to con-
template is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
is not a political conflict but an existential
one. This narrative is horribly inconvenient
for the simple reason that it doesn’t lend itself
to solutions—the drug of choice of civilized
diplomacy. From the minute Israel was born
75 years ago, continuing with its building of a
vibrant nation with the strongest army in the
region, Israel has been a victim of its success,
becoming a source of constant humiliation to
Arab neighbors who could never match that
success. This has been especially true for Pal-
estinians, who have been cursed with corrupt
leaders who have rejected every Israeli peace
offer while fattening their own bank accounts
and blaming their people’s misery on those
“Zionist invaders.” But unlike the Palestin-
ians, who kept saying no and built an iden-
tity around victimhood, those Zionists took
what the United Nations gave them in 1947
and built a powerful state. The contrast with
the Palestinians can’t help but be humiliat-
ing. Here are the Jews, who for centuries had
to accept their second class “dhimmi” status
in Arab and Muslim lands, breaking free to
a place of empowerment through the Jewish
state. No amount of political appeasement
can cure Palestinian leaders of this humilia-
tion, indeed of this epic failure to serve their
own people. If anything, given this shameful
failure, Palestinian leaders have a more ob-
vious incentive to keep nurturing their status
as the most coddled victims in the world, op-
pressed by the “little Satan” Israel. You take
your status where you can get it. That may
also explain why murdering Jews who come
out of a synagogue, as heinous as it is, is so
acceptable in the perverted Palestinian al-
gorithm of Jew hatred. The terror act itself
serves to reinforce and dramatize the des-
peration of victimhood. Until a radically new
and brave leadership infiltrates Palestinian
society, teaching its people that Jew hatred is
violently against their interest, we are relegat-
ed to dealing with facts on the ground. Those
facts go as follows: Terrorists will continue to
try to kill Jews, and Jews will continue to try
to stop them. This may not be very comfort-
ing for the civilized world, Mr. President, but
for the Jews of Israel, it’s the only world they
know.
DS
Vues Master’s Note: I am not so sure Mr.
Biden loves Jews to begin with!
TRUTH?
Dear Vues Master:
Is it a hoax?
The popular Minhag of המן פרשת on בשלח‘ ג
was unheard of just one generation ago. Not
even Riminover Chasidim of the past ever
heard of it. In all of the כתבים of R. Men-
del Riminover Zt”l there is no mention of the
סגולה בשלח‘ ג The first source of this Minhag
is in the חדש מנחם ילקוט ספר published in
1991. The Sefer writes that Rav S.W. Wein-
berger Zt”l heard from the Stropkover Rebbe
Zt”l in the name of R.M.Riminov Zt”l about
the סגולה המן פרשת בשלח‘ ג After the pub-
lication of the Sefer, this Segulah spread like
wildfire. All the weekly Torah pamphlets &
every frum internet site and App. reminded
us not to forget to say המן פרשת on Tuesday
בשלח* .At a later date Rav Weinberger’s
כתבים were found in which he writes that he
heard from the Stropkover Rebbe how R,M,
Riminover said
EVERY פרשת המן, שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום
DAY & had in mind that parnasa is min ha-
shamayim. R.M.R. claimed that by having
this kavanah while reciting the Parsha you are
assured not to ever lack in parnasah (As men-
tioned by the קדמונים (Rav Weinberg wrote
that it was on בשלח‘ ג when he met the Strop-
kover Rebbe. The confusion came about from
this one line. that he heard about this segu-
lah on בשלח‘ ג from the Stropkover Rebbe
R.M.M. never said that there is a special day
פרשת המן the say to ג‘ בשלח of
MF
Vues Master’s Note: You may as well do it!
You have nothing to lose!
ANSWERS
Dear Vues Master:
I have come to notice how you answer some
letters. Some of you answer nice, others hu-
morous. But some of you answer in a very not
nice way. I am talking about the weekly letter
writer who signs his name ‘’DG’’. From read-
ing his letters, he seems to be going through
a difficult time. And you always answer in a
nasty way. You can never say anything nice.
Why don’t you put yourself in his shoes?
How would you feel if you were in his situa-
tion and on top of everything, when you write
a letter to the Vues, all you get is a nasty re-
sponse? Even if the writer is one track minded
and even if writing letters to the Vues is not
the answer to solve your problems, you still
should be a little bit nicer. Perhaps he is wait-
ing for you to say something nice, to show a
means of understanding. Maybe that is why
he keeps on writing his letters. I don’t mean
to offend anyone but I feel this should be
brought to attention.
BW
Vues Master’s Note: When one constantly
knocks Rosh Yeshiva then he does not deserve
a nice answer!
SEGULAH
Dear Vues Master:
Want to become rich?
The segulah for Monday בשלח פרשת and
also for every weekday of the year. The ge-
mara in Niddah says, “If one wants to become
wealthy he should, 1) increase his hishtadlus
in business. (בסחורה ירבה (2) Be honest in
his business dealings. 3) Daven to Hashem to
grant him riches.
FM
Vues Master’s Note: I am rich already! BH !
NUMBERS GAME
Dear Vues Master:
A Satmar chasid announced at a fundraiser
that he was contributing $47,000 to the Shul
in honor of the rebbie, whose name, יואל ,has
the גימטריה of 47. The רבי thanked him, but
said: “My mother called me יולאיש“.
NB
Vues Master’s Note: I heard that the guy
gave him a check for the latter amount and
it bounced!
AVEIRAH
Dear Vues Master:
Was told that you were hired to review the
Letters to the Editor…….Everytime DG writes
a letter he gets a SIN……Every Time YOU
publish his letter YOU get a SIN…..Every
time someone reads the letter YOU BOTH
get a sin.
DZ
Vues Master’s Note: I am mocheh! And if it
hurts one must scream! These letters are post-
ed in many other publications!
BY GEORGE
Dear Vues Master:
There is a disturbing recent development that
I thought that you should be aware of. Univi-
sion Radio, a large Spanish language broad-
caster, has recent sold eighteen of their radio
stations to a group headed by Stephanie Va-
lencia and Jess Morales Rocketto, two Demo-
cratic activists. The purchase was funded by
an affiliate of George Soros. By now you’re
most probably asking yourself…so what?
Well, in Miami the transaction has caused
outrage among a large number Cuban listen-
ers because of one of the stations, WAQI AM,
known to its listeners as Radio Mambi, is a
station known for its hard right Republican
oriented programming has been sold to new
company, Latino Media Network. Its Cuban
listeners fear that its far-right programming
will be converted by the station’s new own-
ers to a more moderate, Democratic lean-
ing format and that they will lose their hard
right Republican oriented megaphone. But
what is so concerning that it prompts me to
write you is that in their daily broadcasts the
stations’ commentators have taken the posi-
tion that the purchase is a leftist conspiracy
in which a wealthy Jew, George Soros, who
many Cubans view as a far left liberal or
worse a communist, will turn the station into
a platform dedicated to bringing socialism to
South Florida. Keep in mind, most Cubans
became exiles because of a communist dic-
tator, Fidel Castro whose policies were the
reason for their leaving Cuba. For many of
these Cubans Democratic progressives are
equated with socialists or communists. A
characterization frequently mentioned in the
programming offered on Radio Mambi, and
for them the paymaster for this socialist take-
over is a Jew, George Soros. The Anti-Semitic
implication of their on-air rhetoric is clear. It
is my opinion that a powerful force encour-
aging the anti-Soros, anti-Jewish campaign is
the South Florida Republican party. It stands
to benefit most by gaining new Republican
voters by placing the blame for their loss of
Radio Mambi platform on liberal Democrats
and the Jewish funder of the Latino Media
Network’s purchase of Radio Mambi. This
UN-DEMOCRATIC, ANTI-SEMITIC attack
needs to be exposed and publicly condemned.
George, how did we even get to this point?
Please step-in and right this wrong quickly,
which as usual, casts an unfair shadow on all
Jews.
RG
Vues Master’s Note: This Soros is a disgrace
to Jews!
FUNNY
Dear Vues Master:
Who was the greatest comedian in Nach? It
was Shimshon. He brought the house down.
Vues Master’s Note: Oy I don’t have koach for
this letter!
ARAB
Dear Vues Master:
I heard the following story from someone
who saw it firsthand. There was an Arab
woman living in Morocco who didn’t have
children and she went to her religious leader
for help. He told her if she raised a Jewish
boy, she would have children. She knew no-
body was going to give over their child to her,
so she resorted to kidnapping. She went to the
food market and kidnapped a five-year-old
boy. The parents were planning to go to Israel
with the rest of their family and they asked
the Baba Sali if they should stay to look for
their son. He said he would show up in Israel
much later. Thirty years later, in 1990, the son
felt he didn’t belong with his mother and sib-
lings, and he had heard about a boy who was
kidnapped. This incident was taught in Jewish
schools, so it was well known and public. He
went to Casablanca, a large Jewish commu-
nity, to convince them he was the boy but the
people didn’t believe him as they thought he
just wanted to go to Israel. They reached out
to the relatives in Israel and the uncle said that
the boy and a distinct mark on his back. They
checked it out and there it was. He stayed in
Casablanca for three months so they could
teach him Jewish customs. They made a big
celebration for him in Israel, but he didn’t
want it to be published because he didn’t want
to embarrass his “mother.” He had a sensitiv-
ity to his “mother” because in Morocco the
Arabs respect their parents and this is how he
was raised. The “mother” treated him well, so
he didn’t have any hard feeling against her.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Does that mean you will
kidnap your son?
RIGHT OR WRONG
Dear Vues Master:
Stockholm syndrome is a coping mechanism
to a captive or abusive situation. People de-
velop positive feelings toward their captors or
abusers over time. This condition applies to
situations including child abuse, coach-ath-
lete abuse, and relationship abuse. – Google
The story of the kidnapped boy is a case of
Stockholm syndrome but instead of being
abused he was taken care of. This is a good
example of how far someone will go to not to
rock the boat. Fortunately for him he was able
to get back on track and accept this as part of
life. Parental alienation is based on Stockholm
syndrome. I would say STALKs-at-HOME
syndrome because the mother is controlling
with her money and lies; essentially stalking
him from seeing his father. The sign of an un-
healthy relationship is someone Controlling,
Unreasonable and a Taker (C.U.T.). A taker
can be generous with their money; however,
there are cords attached that are unreasonable.
A child “kidnapped” when they are young is
going to have a harder time finding his way
back to his father because he never bonded
with him. Fortunately my son was older and
rebellious so he must go through this separa-
tion like Yaakov, Yoseph and Moshe . The
sooner he comes home the better, as Charles
Wadsworth said, “By the time a man realizes
that maybe his father was right, he usually has
a son, who thinks he’s wrong.”
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Children are never
wrong, just misled!
EINSTEIN
Dear Vues Master:
I heard this story from Rav Yaakov’s einekel
who taught the theory of relativity in St Johns.
A math professor walked into Slobodka ye-
shiva and listened in to Rav Moshe Morde-
chai Epstein’s shiur. The Rosh Hayeshiva was
very mechabed him as an old classmate of his
learning from Rav Chaim Brisker. He was
now working with Albert Einstein on the atom
bomb, where Einstein was the science genius,
and he was the math genius. The talmidim
gathered around and out of curiosity asked
him who had a better mind Einstein? Or Rav
Chaim? To which he replied; Rav Chaim was
a better Baal Masber! Rav Chaim used to say
the better you know it the better you can ex-
plain it! The einekel told his Zeidy, Rav Yaa-
kov Kaminetzky ztl that he believes there’s a
Rav Chaim Halevy al Harambam in Kaveres
in hilchos Tumah Vtaharah that is the Theory
of Relativity! It looks like Rav Chaim Brisker
explained it better than Albert Einstein lhavdil
eleph Havdolos who only used up 2 % of his
brain! Rav Chaim on the other hand would
have to wrap wet shmatters around his head,
since he would get headaches from thinking
deeply into Torah!Zchuso Yagein Aleinu!
RMS
Vues Master’s Note: Great stuff!
KEVER
Dear Vues Master:
Aaron was touring in Israel. On Monday,
he was in the Gallil and the guide pointed
out “This is the kever of the Rambam. This
is the kever of Rav Meir. This is the רבק
of Shmuel.” The next day, they were in
Yerushalayim and the guide said: “This is the
kever of Dovid Hamelech. This is the kever
of Avshalom. This is the kever of Shmuel.”
“Wait a minute,” Aaron said, “When we were
in the Gallil yesterday you said we were at
the kever of Shmuel.” “Yes,” the guide re-
sponded. “That was Shmuel Aleph. This is
Shmuel Beis.”
GF
Vues Master’s Note: I’ve heard this joke in
many versions! Version alef and version bais!
NAME OF LAST WEEK’S EDITION
Dear Vues Master:
I’d like to bring to your attention that this
week’s front cover said it’s the “Engine Fail-
ure Edition ‘’ because of the cover story of the
recent tragedy involving B. Taub a”h and B.
Chafetz a”h. I would hope in the future The
Vues would try to be more sensitive in this
area. (keep to funny ones like the previous
“scrambled eggs edition”).
MR
Vues Master’s Note: It was just depicting what
the main story was! All issues are named for
either the time or main story! We apologize if
it offends anybody!