INFLATION
Dear Vues Master:
Inflation is crazy these days. I just went to get a
haircut last week after Lag Baomer & my barber
raised his price from $15 to $24. Is that insane

or what? Milk is up, gas is up, poultry is up. Ev-
erywhere you go these days, it seems like busi-
nesses are raising their prices.

RHD
Vues Master’s Note: I heard the price of helium
is so high that the balloons are not within reach
anymore! Just wait for the shortages!

SELF SERVE TIPPING
Dear Vues Master
I am typically a generous tipper when I go out to
eat in a restaurant. According to a recent report
in the Wall Street Journal, numerous companies
– including airports, bakeries, coffee shops and

sports stadiums – have introduced self-serve tip-
ping options, despite patrons having zero inter-
actions with an employee. The tip is of course

optional, but as anyone who has encountered
them can attest, they leave you feeling guilty if

you choose not to tip. Isn’t that chutzpa? Every-
thing is so expensive these days. Now they want

us to give a tip when no one did anything for
you. What is this world coming to?
EK
Vues Master’s Note: Businesses are struggling
these days & are trying to get anything they can
off the consumer. It’s sad!

FLOWERS FOR SHAVUOS
Dear Vues Master

I find it crazy that the cheapest bouquet of flow-
ers on my corner is now $15. Just a year ago I

was able to purchase a 5 rose bouquet for $5.
Why is it now three times more than what I paid

last year? I usually buy flowers for my wife,

mother, mother in law & grandmother for Sha-
vuous. This year it’s going to cost me over $100

for the 4 nice bouquets. I think I’m going to
have to cut out my mother in law out this year!!
FS
Vues Master’s Note: Picking on the shviger is
risky business!

THANKING CONGRESSMEN THAT
DENOUNCE NAKBA DAY
Dear Vues Master

On May 15th, Palestinians and their support-
ers around the world marked Nakba Day, com-
memorating 75 years since the “catastrophe”

of Israel’s establishment. Over the years, Na-
kba Day events have devolved into hate-fests

against Israel and against Jews and have of-
fered platforms for broadsides against Israel’s

very right to exist, as was reported recently in
the Jerusalem Post. Last week, the egregiously
anti-Israel member of Congress, Rep. Rashida
Tlaib (D-Michigan) who has been also accused
of exhibiting patently anti-Semitic behavior,
sought to organize a Naqba Day event in the
auditorium of the Capitol Visitor Center as she
sought to “uplift the experiences of Palestinians
who underwent the Nakba and educate members
of Congress and their staff about this history and
the ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to
subject Palestinians.” The event, titled “Nakba
75 & The Palestinian People,” was organized
in collaboration with several organizations that
support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions

(BDS) movement against Israel, including Jew-
ish Voice for Peace (JVP), as well as NGOs that

have expressed support for terrorism, accord-
ing to a report on the World Israel News web

site. The ADL has condemned JVP as a “radical

anti-Israel activist group” that honors
terrorists. ’Nakba Day’ events across

the country are platforms that propa-
gate revisionist histories, tolerating

– and at times – even encouraging
hateful, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic
rhetoric. Last May, during similar
events, speakers referred to Israelis as

the ‘stench of white European invad-
ers’ and chanted for ‘death to Israel.’

Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian im-
migrants, routinely refers to Israel

as an apartheid state and has made

statements that perpetuate the anti-
Semitic stereotype of Jews control-
ling the world. Israeli Ambassador to

the United Nations Gilad Erdan said
Tlaib’s “ignorance and hate toward

Jews and Israel know no bounds” af-
ter she posted a tweet about the Nak-
ba, calling Israel an “apartheid state”

that “was born out of violence and
the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.
“Tlaib’s ignorance and hate toward
Jews and Israel know no bounds. The
facts are clear: the Arabs rejected the

U.N.’s resolution to establish a Jew-
ish state and started a war to annihi-
late it,” wrote Erdan, referencing the

fact that in 1948, five Arab armies
attacked the nascent state, with full

support from the Palestinian lead-
ership, WIN reported. “Palestinian

leadership is leading its people to ca-
tastrophe by inciting hate/terror and

rejecting peace,” Erdan wrote. ADL
CEO Jonathan Greenblatt had written
to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
(R-California) expressing concern
about Tlaib’s event and calling for

scrutiny to ensure that no events tak-
ing place under congressional auspic-
es are used to promote hate. Green-
blatt drew McCarthy’s attention to

some of the event’s cosponsors, who
have trafficked in anti-Semitism,
expressed support for terrorists and
called for boycotts of Zionist Jews
– which is to say, the overwhelming

majority of Jews everywhere. Speak-
er McCarthy was originally success-
ful in having the event cancelled. On

Tuesday, McCarthy tweeted, “This
event in the US Capitol is canceled.

Instead, I will host a bipartisan dis-
cussion to honor the 75th anniversary

of the US-Israel relationship.” Green-
blatt said he was “grateful Speaker

McCarthy took rapid action. There’s
room to talk about the issues – but

not at an event co-sponsored by peo-
ple who traffic in anti-Semitism and

hate.” But then things took a turn for

the worse. Upon learning that Mc-
Carthy had succeeded in having the

Naqba Day event cancelled, in walks
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont),
who offered Tlaib the Senate Health,

Education, Labor and Pensions Com-
mittee’s hearing room. As the chair-
man of this committee, he controls

this room. The room is located in
a Senate office building, which puts
it outside McCarthy’s purview, as
was reported by the Jerusalem Post.
Greenblatt called Sanders’s move
“disgraceful.” He’s right. Sanders’
history is replete with his embrace

of virulent anti-Israel forces and per-
sonalities. As the doyen of progres-
sive politics, he remains adamant

in refusing to admit that despicable
anti-Semitism lies in the bedrock of
the beliefs of the woke progressives
that he champions. While embracing
the enemies of democracy and the
loathsome purveyors of anti-Israel

propaganda, Sanders not only severe-
ly damages US-Israel relations but

he will soon come to learn that the
haters that he proudly stands up for
will come for him at the end because
after all, Sanders is a Jew. While
playing the part of the “useful idiot”
and working with those who would
decimate Israel and Jews around the
world, Sanders is digging himself
into a hole that he will never get out
of. We wholeheartedly support and
enthusiastically applaud all members
of Congress, be they Democrats or
Republicans, who had the courage to
vocally denounce Rep. Tlaib and this

abhorrent Naqba Day event in our na-
tion’s capital.

SH

Vues Master’s Note: Anyone in con-
gress that goes up against the anti

semites of Rashida Tlaib, Bernie

Sanders & the squad definitely de-
serve a big thank you!

A BIG YESHUA
Dear Vues Master
I want to share my story. I have been
dating for a while and I heard about

Kollel Zichron Naftali Sponsor-A-
Daf program. It gives you the op-
portunity to donate something small

on a daily basis, and still be part
of something that gives you a big
zechus. I heard about this opportunity
on Wednesday night and I know that
Torah is the best segulah so I signed
up right away to give $1 a day. They
partnered me with someone from the
kollel and each day before he learned,
he would say out my name as zechus
to find my Zivug Hagon B’karov.
B’Chasdei Hashem that same Motzei
Shabbos a shidduch was redt, and
now I am engaged TWO months
later! I recommend doing this daily
giving, to all my friends and to you

as well. They have a website sponso-
radaf.square.site and phone number

call/text 718-338-0655
R.B. Flatbush
Vues Master’s Note: Mazel Tov! May
you build a Bayis Ne’eman B’Yisroel!

CHINUCH
Dear Vues Master:
My son just informed me that he
wants to stay in Eretz Yisrael to learn
for a third year. I’m having a very
hard time with that. I want him to go
to college & get a degree & move on
with his life. I don’t think he wants
to go into chinuch & I’m pretty sure
he’s not learning in the Beis Medrash
full time. What should I do?
JN
Vues Master’s Note: Nothing! He
probably won’t listen to you. So let
him figure it out!

BAR KOCHVA
Dear Vues Master:
I would like to suggest some reasons

why Rabbi Akiva thought Bar Ko-
chba was moshiach. It says, maasa

avos siman lebanim (the actions of

the forefathers are a sign for the chil-
dren). Just like Hashem redeemed the

Jews after four fifths died and there
was a collective bris milah so it will
be in the future. The Zohar says the
future redemption can have an even
higher percentage like 1:50 or 1:500.
Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students die
and he started again with 5 students

which is already 1 in 5,000. Regard-
ing the bris milah, Rashi (Yevamos

72a) says that Bar Kochba defeated
the Romans, and then ruled as king of

Israel for two and a half years. Dur-
ing that period the Jews circumcised

themselves again. Lastly, just as Na-
dav and Avihu had to be taken, for the

sake of the Mishkan, perhaps his stu-
dents were the karbonos for the third

Beis HaMikdash.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Maybe!

MI KAMCHA YISRAEL
Dear Vues Master:
Rav Yoel Gold relates a story. One
Friday in late August, Rabbi Shlomo
Adelman sat in his office, which was
unusual. As a high school principal,
this was his busy season. School was
starting the next week, and he had

spent the entire day walking the hall-
ways, running through administrative

procedures, checking in on teachers,
and signing for deliveries. He had
just sat down behind his desk for the
first time in hours when the phone
rang. “Is this the Hebrew Academy
of Nassau County?” It was the voice
of a teenage boy, no older than 15. He

introduced himself as Daniel and ex-
plained that he had just started tenth

grade at a public school in Queens,
but what he really wanted was to go
to Yeshivah. “My mother can’t afford
it,” he said, “but there has to be a way
to work something out, right? There
has to be!” Rabbi Adelman talked to
the boy for a few minutes to gauge his

sincerity. For a young teenager, Dan-
iel showed an unexpected passion for

Yiddishkeit and a maturity beyond his
years. Then he put his mother on the
phone to plead his case. “He’s been
talking about Yeshivah nonstop,” she
said helplessly. “I’m not sure why he
wants to go, but I’ve always stood

behind him 100 percent in whatev-
er he wants to do, and I can’t do it

this time. I just can’t afford private

schooling. I can pay for his transpor-
tation from Queens to Uniondale,

but that’s about it.” It wasn’t the first

time Rabbi Adelman had encoun-
tered a public school student consid-
ering HANC. HANC’s parent body

runs the gamut from right-wing
Modern Orthodox to irreligious.
Since public school is free, new
HANC parents are usually shocked
by the cost of private school tuition.

HANC awards generous scholar-
ships, often reducing the usual rate

by more than half, but sometimes
families are not motivated to pay
thousands of dollars when they can
send their children to public school
for free. With 10 to 15 former public
school students enrolled in HANC

each year, that’s a budgetary short-
fall that has to be made up somehow.

A group of HANC Rebbeim have
dedicated themselves to doing just
that— raising tens of thousands of

dollars each year to keep their stu-
dents out of public school. But the

money they raise fills the gaps. They
aren’t expected to raise the entirety
of a student’s tuition. And Daniel’s
mother couldn’t pay anything at all.
Rabbi Adelman called one of the
fundraising Rebbeim and related
Daniel’s story. “How do you want to
handle this?” The Rebbe said, “Have

the boy call me to explain the situa-
tion. I want to hear it straight from

him.” Rabbi Adelman called Daniel
and gave him the Rebbe’s number.
Ten minutes later, his phone rang.
“This kid belongs in Yeshivah,” the
Rebbe said. “I will guarantee that
his tuition is raised. Let’s make it
happen.” HANC set Daniel’s tuition
rate. The team of Rebbeim worked

tirelessly to raise the amount need-
ed, and when HANC opened the

following week, Daniel was a stu-
dent. Daniel took to Yeshivah like a

fish to water. He was placed in re-
medial classes and worked hard to

get out of them. By midyear, due
to the devoted Rebbeim of HANC,

it was hard to tell that he had ever

been in public school. Rabbi Adel-
man and the Rebbeim of the fund-
raising team beamed with Nachas

as they watched him thrive. The
next summer, just a few days before
Daniel’s first day of eleventh grade,
Rabbi Adelman got a call from his
mother. “Hi, Rabbi Adelman. Thank
you so much for everything you did
for Daniel this past year, but I just
want to let you know that it won’t

be necessary anymore.” “Is every-
thing okay?” Rabbi Adelman asked,

expecting the worst. “Yes, every-
thing’s fine. We’ve found a spon-
sor who will pay his tuition!” Rabbi

Adelman almost dropped the phone.

The next day, there was another sur-
prising call from a well-known Jew-
ish philanthropist, Rabbi Hyman Ar-
besfeld. He told Rabbi Adelman that

he planned to pay Daniel’s eleventh
grade tuition, and the next year’s as
well, and that he also wanted to make
a significant donation to the school.
“That’s incredible, but why?” Rabbi
Adelman asked. “I’m currently in
recovery from open-heart surgery,”

Rabbi Arbesfeld said. “A double by-
pass. When I had the heart attack, I

thought I was going to die. I said Vi-
duy. It was terrifying. But with the

help of Hashem, the doctors were
able to save my life. After a week

in the hospital, I was release to re-
cover at home, so I hired a nurse to

care for me over the next few weeks.

On her first day, we made conversa-
tion. She was a single mother with a

son going into eleventh grade. The

nurse boasted that her son was en-
rolled in Yeshivah, getting the Jew-
ish education she’d never gotten,

and he was loving every minute of

it. The school was lovely, very ac-
commodating, and the teachers were

amazing, and they had personally
raised his tuition. I was stunned. On
the spot, I told her, ‘First of all, those
Rabbis are never going to pay your
son’s tuition again. I will. Second
of all, please give me the principal’s
phone number. I’d like to speak with

him.’” Rabbi Adelman was momen-
tarily speechless. When he regained

his voice, he asked, “I know you’re
a Ba’al Tzedakah, but what was it
about this story that made you take
action like that?” Rabbi Arbesfeld
grew somber. He said, “Several

years ago, my sister Shirley was ter-
minally ill. She knew she was dying.

Throughout her life she had been
passionate about Kiruv, but she felt
strongly that campus outreach and
adult programs were too little, and
too late. Since she never married and
had no children, she appointed me
the executor of her estate, and asked
me to ensure that the bulk of her
money would go to organizations

that promote Kiruv among school-
age children. I did some research but

never found a place like that, until
I had a heart attack. I was literally
minutes from death. Hashem gave
me a new lease on life, and the first
person I saw after surgery, besides
my family, was this woman whose
son was seeking a Jewish education.
It’s like I was brought back from
death to help him!”
REF
Vues Master’s Note: Wow! I got no

funny remarks here. What an inspir-
ing story! Thanks for sharing!

LAG BAOMER –
A RETROSPECTIVE
Dear Vues Master
B”h Lag B’omer was observed with
great simcha and with little problems
at Meron. Now, we are in the week
of Yesoid. So let us discuss some
Yesoidois surrounding Lag B’omer.
The forty-nine days of Sefira can be
divided into two periods – the 32
days before and the 17 days of and

after Lag B’omer. This is symbol-
ized by the phrase Lev(32) Toiv(17).

Actually, the day before Lag B’omer
is Lev Toiv itself since it falls on the
seventeenth of Iyar. Now, on Lag
B’omer, we see a remez to Rebbe
Shimon in the calendar also since
Yud Ches Iyar spells Yechoi R’.
Why do we light bonfires on Lag
B’omer? Several possible answers.
Rebbi Elozor ben Aruch was the

one who proclaimed the Lev Toiv is
the most important characteristic of
a person. Why was he called Ben
Aruch? It could be from the Arichin
that he was shukel ka’neged kulem.

Or it could be that he proposed mak-
ing A’ruach – smoke from the bon-
fire. Another reason for bonfires on

that day could be that in the days be-
fore the modern bonfires they used

Logs to burn. Also Logs of oil were

used for the fires. Speaking of Ye-
soid, where does Yesoid come into

the picture? We say in Shachris
ha’gevurah, v’tiferes, v’haNetzach

v’hahoid. But except for in Kor-
banos referencing the Yesoid of the

Mizbeach, we don’t see the word
Yesoid. Also, Yesoid typically
means the foundation. So it should
be first. However, we can interpret
it a Yud-Soid. Where the Yud is the
initial of ben-Yochuii and Soid is the
secrets he revealed. Then it makes
sense. Finally, we know that Purim
comes out the same day of the week

as Lag B’omer. What is the signifi-
cance of that? Well, there is a pasuk

in Tehillim to tie them together that
we say during Shachris on Shabbos:
“..Rabos Suvu lu Nafsheinu Ha’lag

ha’sha’anamim , ha’booz ligei Yo-
inim”. This can be interpreted as the

Lag B’omer goes with the nes for
the people of Shushan. We have a
big Seuda (Sava) and drink booze

on Purim. We can also tie this to-
gether with Chanuka. Yoinim can

reference the Yevonim and the fact
that Yehudis intoxicated Elifornus
to contribute to that nes. Days of
Simcha Bayomim haheim, b’zman
ha’zeh.
DF
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for the
voirt! Very creative!