25 Apr SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
CASINO
Dear Vues Master:
We do not need a casino in Coney Island. Gam-
bling is a yetzer harah for many people. They
built one upstate & there are tons of yidden there
every night. It’s mamosh an aveirah to gamble.
We must speak up loud & clear. Please spread
the word!!
HY
Vues Master’s Note: I bet you that most people
will not care! But yes gambling is a machlah!
HALLEL
Dear Vues Master:
Outside of Shulamith, Yeshiva of Flatbush &
some of the Syrian yeshivas, how many ye-
shivas in Brooklyn these days celebrate Yom
Haatzmaut? How many say hallel? Just curious.
PN
Vues Master’s Note: There are many people
that say hallel in Brooklyn on Yom Haatzmaut.
I honestly do not know who does & doesn’t. All
I could say is that the geulah should come very
soon so that we ALL say hallel with a bracha
together!
FLATBUSH CHAMETZ GEMACH
To all Jewish Vues readers,
The 2023 Flatbush Chametz Gemach is now fill-
ing the pantries of Brooklyn families. This year,
we gave out 9,000 pounds of food in just five
days. That has to be a new record! In fourteen
years, the Gemach has collected and distributed
70,000 pounds of food, and you all are part of
that. I’m the guy who puts stuff in boxes, but all
of you donated the food and money, helped with
distribution and helped with supplies and logis-
tics. Thank you all for that. I could not do this on
my own. It was made even more successful due
to your help: Shoshana, Leah and Mrs. Rosen-
berg, amazing ladies of chesed; Yoni, driver
extraordinaire; Mordechai and Shmuel Anflick,
two hard working Torah Vodaath bochurim; Ag-
gie, thanks for driving so much food to its des-
tination and making me laugh. All of you keep
this chesed project moving smoothly. Of course,
a gigantic thank you to Reisman’s bakery, who
brightened the day of so many families. Fami-
lies were very excited to receive these treats.
They, and I, appreciate it. Thank you to the best
weekly Jewish publication, The Jewish Vues for
helping to spread the word. Thanks again for
helping Brooklyn’s needy families and making
the Gemach a success.
Yitzchak Relkin
Flatbush Chametz Gemach
yitzchak@relkin.com
Vues Master’s Note: Tizku L’mitzvos!
SISTER TALK
Dear Vues Master:
We have completed the Yom Tov of Pesach
and are counting up the days till Shavuos. So
it’s appropriate that the past week’s Parshios
answers a question that has puzzled people
throughout the centuries. It is well known the
answer to the question of where the main char-
acters in the Megilas Esther are mentioned in
the Torah. Mordechai is mentioned with the
words Mor-dror. Esther is referenced in the
posuk Haster, Aster in Parsha Va’yeileh. Ha-
man is alluded to in the words HaMin Haeitz.
However, the question remained: where is
Vashti mentioned in the Torah? And how do
we know she had Tzaraas? Well, if you exam-
ine the Posukim at the end of Parshas Tazria,
you will find the answer to these
questions and more. Because actu-
ally Vashti had two lesser known
sisters, Hashti and Vishti. All three
sisters worked for Achashverosh in
his harem. Hashti, the oldest, was
in charge of providing drinks to the
guests, sort of a Saaras Hamash-
kim. In case, you are wondering
where she was mentioned in the
Megillah, it say Hashti’a Kadus
v’ein oines. She provided drinks
and therefore she was too valu-
able for Achasverosh to force her
to come. Vashti was lower in sta-
tus – she vashed all the cups and
dishes. Vishti was the youngest and
lowest – she just vished them and
put them away. Vishti is alluded in
the Megilla where it say that Vashi
usu mishtei nashim; she worked
together with another woman – her
sister Vishti. It says they grew up
between the Pelishtim and the Eirev
Rav. They were a sinful family and
spoke much lashon hura and were
punished with Tzaraas. The Saras
Hamashkim became the Tzaraas
Hamashkim. So when Achashvero-
sh asked Vashti to come, she had to
discard her beggad because of her
Tsaraas. She couldn’t vash it; she
had to burn it. So she didn’t show
and you know the rest. All this is
alluded to in the words OIY Hashti,
OIY Vashti, OIY Vishti.
D F
Vues Master’s Note: Wait what month
are we in? Iyar not Adar!
LOVE
Dear Vues Master:
The איש חזון explains* why is
לרעך ואהבת a בתורה גדול כלל” ?Any-
one who is willing to give up his
wants & needs to others will also be
willing to give up his wants & needs
to Hashem. That was also Hillel’s in-
tention with the גר when he told him
“זו היא כל התורה כולה,
“ואידך פירושה הוא
MF
Vues Master’s Note: I love this letter!!
SEEING
Dear Vues Master:
A wife is standing in front of a full
length mirror taking a hard look at
herself. “You know dear,” she says,
“I look in the mirror and I see an
old woman. My face is all wrinkled.
My hair is gray. My shoulders are
hunched over. My legs are fat and
my arms are flabby.” Turning to her
husband, she says “Tell me some-
thing positive to make me feel better
about myself.” He looks at her for a
moment and then says in an assur-
ing voice “Well, dear, there’s nothing
wrong with your eyesight.”
MB
Vues Master’s Note: Don’t they say
seeing is believing! I believe in this
letter!
FATHERLY LOVE
Dear Vues Master:
The comedian Rodney Dangerfield
was quoted as saying that his parents
hated him. “My bath toys were a ra-
dio and a toaster. I remember the time
I was kidnapped and they sent a piece
of my finger to my father. He asked
for more proof.”
JB
Vues Master’s Note: It is a wonder
you are still frum!!
FIGHT
Dear Vues Master:
After a horrible argument, Jack and
Alice were giving each other the silent
treatment. That night Jack remembered
that he needed to get up at 5:00am
the next morning to catch a flight. He
wanted to have his wife wake him, so
he simply handed her a note saying
“please wake me at 5:00am.” The next
morning he awoke, only to discover
that it was 6:30 and he missed his flight.
Furious, he wanted to confront his wife
when he noticed a piece of paper on his
night table. It said: “It’s 5:00am. Wake
up.”
DR
Vues Master’s Note: This letter left
me speechless!!
TEACHER
Dear Vues Master:
An old man meets a young man
who asks: “Do you remember me?”
And the old man says no. Then the
young man tells him he was his stu-
dent, And the teacher asks: “What do
you do, what do you do in life?” The
young man answers: “Well, I became
a teacher.” “ah, how good, like me?”
Asks the old man. “Well, yes. In fact,
I became a teacher because you in-
spired me to be like you.” The old
man, curious, asks the young man
at what time he decided to become
a teacher. And the young man tells
him the following story: “One day, a
friend of mine, also a student, came
in with a nice new watch, and I decid-
ed I wanted it. I stole it, I took it out
of his pocket. Shortly after, my friend
noticed the his watch was missing
and immediately complained to our
teacher, who was you. Then you ad-
dressed the class saying, ‘This stu-
dent’s watch was stolen during class-
es today. Whoever stole it, please
return it.’ I didn’t give it back because
I didn’t want to. You closed the door
and told us all to stand up and form a
circle. You were going to search our
pockets one by one until the watch
was found. However, you told us to
close our eyes, because you would
only look for his watch if we all had
our eyes closed. We did as instructed.
You went from pocket to pocket, and
when you went through my pocket,
you found the watch and took it. You
kept searching everyone’s pockets,
and when you were done you said
‘open your eyes. We have the watch.’
You didn’t tell on me and you never
mentioned the episode. You never
said who stole the watch either. That
day you saved my dignity forever.
It was the most shameful day of my
life. But this is also the day I decided
not to become a thief, a bad person,
etc. You never said anything, nor did
you even scold me or take me aside
to give me a moral lesson. I received
your message clearly. Thanks to you,
I understood what a real educator
needs to do. Do you remember this
episode, professor? The old professor
answered, ‘Yes, I remember the situ-
ation with the stolen watch, which I
was looking for in everyone’s pocket.
I didn’t remember you, because I also
closed my eyes while looking.’ This
is the essence of teaching: If to cor-
rect you must humiliate; you don’t
know how to teach.”
Country Yossi Toiv
Vues Master’s Note: What a lesson
from a real teacher with love for ev-
ery student! Not just for the metzuy-
anim!
LOBBYIST
Dear Vues Master:
Frum lobbyist Ezra Friedlander,
founder of the Friedlander Group,
made headlines last week after tweet-
ing photos of himself speaking with
two controversial Islamic congress
members, Ilhan Omar and Rashida
Tlaib. Friedlander tweeted: “Was
invited by a guest of @RepAndre-
Carson as a plus one to the Muslim
Congressional staffer Iftar in the US
Capitol where I utilized the opportu-
nity to lay the foundation for future
communication w @Ilhan and @Re-
pRashida. As easy as it would be to
not engage in conversation, I believe
to my core that not communicating is
even more risky. Had no idea what to
expect when I entered the room but
the reception could not have been
warmer and hopefully can lead to
mutual understanding somewhere
down the road even if it’s a remote
possibility.” He added, “If you read
my tweet, I did not set out on a mis-
sion to establish a relationship with
Omar or Tlaib, that was not my inten-
tion, it is not my goal. I am a lobbyist
who spends a considerable amount of
time in Washington. I was invited to
meet with Congressman Andre Car-
son, I was told he was going to be
at an Iftar, and the person arranging
the meeting asked me if I wanted to
join at the Iftar, she brought me as a
guest.” I think that he is an embar-
rassment to the Jewish people &
should not meet with any of these
antisemites.
YH
Vues Master’s Note: There were
Jewish lobbyists who were able to
save many Jews from the Nazis! You
never know!
SONS
Dear Vues Master:
The sons of Aaron, Nadav and Abi-
hu, each took his fire pan, put fire in
it, and laid incense on it; and they
offered before the Lord alien fire,
which He had not enjoined upon
them. (Vayikra 10:1) The sons of
Aaron – They were Aaron’s sons,
but they slighted him by acting on
their own, without consulting him.
(Rashi) Why wasn’t there a slight
on Moshe? The reason is that had
his son’s skipped over their father to
ask Moshe that would have been a
slight to their father. One doesn’t go
over their superior’s head just like
one can’t skip over a lower court.
Today’s youth skip over their father
so much that one wouldn’t recognize
them as being related. When I hear
the word Passover I think of my son
doing the pass over me and going to
his mom’s side of the family.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: You are consis-
tent!
DISTINGUISH
Dear Vues Master:
To distinguish (להבדיל (between the
unclean and the clean, between the
living things that may be eaten and
the living things that may not be eat-
en. (Vayikra 11:47) To distinguish
– Not that one should only learn the
laws, but it is a command that you
should know and recognize the dif-
ferences and be expert in them. (Si-
fra) To distinguish – The language
הבדלה) differentiation) applies to
similar matters which are distin-
guished with a tiny difference, and
it does not apply to completely sepa-
rate matters. There is a difference
between להבדיל) to distinguish) and
להורות) to teach or direct) as להבדיל
is from the senses, while להורות is
theoretical. (Malbim) If I can see or
feel it raining it is wrong to say it is
raining because the weatherman said
so. Similarly, if the Torah exhorts me
to honor my parents I don’t need a
rabbi to tell me how to do it. Any-
one who has to be told what to do
is because his ego is too big. Any
person, relative or rabbi, that is an
accomplice with the ego will have
to answer to Eliyahu Hanavi. One
does not need simicha (ordination)
to poskin (to determine the law) on
kibud av v’eim, and a person can do
that themselves.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: I would love for
you to extinguish your hate!
TIME
Dear Vues Master:
Hillel Fuld posted this online & I
think that your readership would
love it. A man came home from
work late, tired and irritated, to
find his 5-year old son waiting for
him at the door. SON: ‘Daddy, may
I ask you a question?’ DAD: ‘Yeah
sure, what it is?’ replied the man.
SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you
make an hour?’ DAD: ‘That’s none
of your business. Why do you ask
such a thing?’ the man said angrily.
SON: ‘I just want to know. Please
tell me, how much do you make an
hour?’ DAD: ‘If you must know,
I make $50 an hour.’ SON: ‘Oh,’
the little boy replied, with his head
down. SON: ‘Daddy, may I please
borrow $25?’ The father was furi-
ous, ‘If the only reason you asked
that is so you can borrow some
money to buy a silly toy or some
other nonsense, then you march
yourself straight to your room and
go to bed. Think about why you are
being so selfish. I don’t work hard
everyday for such childish frivoli-
ties.’ The little boy quietly went
to his room and shut the door. The
man sat down and started to get
even angrier about the little boy’s
questions. How dare he ask such
questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man
had calmed down, and started to
think: Maybe there was something
he really needed to buy with that
$25.00 and he really didn’t ask for
money very often. The man went
to the door of the little boy’s room
and opened the door. ‘Are you
asleep, son?’ He asked. ‘No daddy,
I’m awake,’ replied the boy. ‘I’ve
been thinking, maybe I was too
hard on you earlier’ said the man.
‘It’s been a long day and I took
out my aggravation on you. Here’s
the $25 you asked for.’ The little
boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh,
thank you daddy!’ he yelled. Then,
reaching under his pillow he pulled
out some crumpled up bills. The
man saw that the boy already had
money, and started to get angry
again. The little boy slowly count-
ed out his money, and then looked
up at his father. ‘Why do you want
more money if you already have
some?’ the father grumbled. ‘Be-
cause I didn’t have enough, but
now I do,’ the little boy replied.
‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy
an hour of your time? Please come
home early tomorrow. I would like
to have dinner with you.’ The fa-
ther was crushed. He put his arms
around his little son, and he begged
for his forgiveness. It’s just a short
reminder to all of you working so
hard in life. We should not let time
slip through our fingers without
having spent some time with those
who really matter to us, those
close to our hearts. Do remember
to share that worth of your time
with someone you love. If we die
tomorrow, the company that we are
working for could easily replace us
in a matter of hours… But the fam-
ily & friends we leave behind will
feel the loss for the rest of their
lives.
DH
Vues Master’s Note: Some say time
is money I say money is time.
ONLY IN ISRAEL
Dear Vues Master
Incredible ה׳ קידוש !This happened a
few days ago in Israel, on a Friday,
shortly before Shabbos, in a large
“Yochananof” supermarket in Ramat
Hasharon. It was a stormy day and
an hour before closing, there was a
power failure. The supermarket was
bursting with shoppers with their carts
packed to the brim for erev Shabbos
needs. (eve of the beginning of Shab-
bos). Payment machines were down,
and it was impossible for customers
to pay for their purchases. The super-
market manager had to make a quick
decision. Seeing people with their
Shabbat purchases, the manager, Tzvi
Abraham, announced to customers:
“Take your groceries and go pay next
week.” Nearly a hundred customers
left with their purchases unpaid. On
Sunday, the day after Shabbos, 70%
of customers came to pay for shop-
ping they made on Shabbat Eve. Pret-
ty much everyone else came to settle
their bills for the next few days. The
store manager, interviewed on TV,
couldn’t believe it. Customers came
back with lists they had prepared and
photos of their smartphone purchas-
es, with barcodes highlighted. More
than $37,000 worth of goods were
paid for the week and the supermar-
ket didn’t lose a penny.
LP
Vues Master Note:
!!מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ!