10 Oct SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

WORRY
Dear Vues Master:
My wife didn’t come to shul on Shemini Atzeret and I was
in a big dilemma. Should I tell her the horrible news going
on in Eretz Yisrael or should I not tell her until after Yom
Tov? We have 4 children learning in yeshiva & seminary in
Eretz Yisrael plus we have a large family that live there. If
I tell her, she would worry the entire Yom Tov & wouldn’t
be able to enjoy her chag. On top of that there is nothing she
could have done at that point anyway. What should I have
done? I told her & she was worried the entire Yom Tov.
PM
Vues Master’s Note: But her tefillos will only help her
children because a mama is a mama!

SHARING THE DEVASTATING NEWS WITH
OUR KINDERLACH
Dear Vues Master
Please share this with parents of yidden everywhere. The
terrifying news and horrific images have no benefit for
our children. We can daven and cry for Yidden without
subjecting our precious kinderlach to the latest statistics or
videos. I’m begging you. Please tell your children that we
need to daven and do extra mitzvos as a zechus for the many
Jews that were killed or hurt by some animalistic terrorists.
May Hashem quickly heal those they are hurt, protect our
soldiers, and bring Moshiach immediately.
RAR
Vues Master’s Note: Amen! Sounds like words coming from
a true mechanech!

SIMCHAS YOM TOV
Dear Vues Master:
How does one fulfill the mitzvah of simchas yom tov when
hearing about the news in Eretz Yisrael over Shemini
Atzeret? Is it possible?
HY
Vues Master’s Note: Rabbi Genichovsky said while sitting
shiva for a young son that he lost the word Avel is an
acronym “ani besimcha LaHashem” I am happy to do the
mitzvah of aveilus if that is what Hashem wants me to do!

UNITY
Dear Vues Master
In today’s partisan atmosphere people tend to extricate one
idea from an entire thread of thought, isolate it, enlarge it,
take it out of context and harshly criticize the author for
extremist views the author neither intended, nor would an
honest critique of their writings bear out. That will be easy
to do here, but I ask you, the reader, to read my writing
carefully, see the nuance that I am employing, and if you
feel I’ve written something extreme, write to me privately

before jumping to any conclusions. Nothing that I will write
below will be extreme, but it will be new and upsetting.
Let me make it clear that G-d’s judgement is beyond man’s
comprehension. We do not know why events happen,
especially when good things happen to bad people, and even
more confusing, when bad things happen to good people. Any
presumption of knowledge of G-d’s judgment is arrogant
and ignorant. All too often people, even Torah scholars, state
with authority that a specific tragedy occurred because Jews
were violating a specific sin. These pronouncements always
strike me as difficult because only G-d knows why a tragedy
occurred and without prophecy, how do these people know
why G-d allowed certain tragedies to occur? That being said,
our Rabbis taught us that the proper response to tragedy is
to introspect and seek areas of improvement. There is value
in using the heightened emotional state that tragedy brings
to improve ourselves. I want to state clearly, pointing out
areas of improvement during this time does not equate to a
statement of cause and effect, it is merely a prescription of
improvement. Please do not jump to a conclusion and assume
I am saying that I know, presume, or am even guessing what
has caused this horrific tragedy to occur. I am not. The
past year has seen the Jewish people, especially in Israel,
painfully divided. Whether the disagreements centered
around Judicial Reform, settlements, or religious observance
in public life, the differences among the Jewish people led
to divisions. While Israel proudly boasted demonstrations
without violence or rioting, those were low bars to set for
a nation that prides itself on unity. Our people watched as
the nation split into two, with the cracks widening and the
divisions worsening. Civility and respect were hard to find,
and yelling, insulting, and vilifying became the norm. The
divisions came to a head with the harsh pictures of Jew vs.
Jew on the Jewish people’s most sacred day, Yom Kippur.
A tefilah that was always a moment of proud unity, where
Jews of all stripes, practices, and beliefs, came together as
one to beseech G-d as the day closed, turned into a moment
of division. Jews stood in each other’s faces, yelled horrible
insults at each other, and in the waning moments of the
day, as the gates of heaven closed, stood against, instead of
with, each other. It is hard to imagine a more horrific end to
Yom Kippur. Five days later the nation celebrated Sukkot,
a festival meant to commemorate G-d’s protection of the
Jewish people. The Jews spent forty years in the desert, and
during that time they lived in flimsy booths, reminiscent
of the flimsiest of today’s Sukkot, while a Divine cloud
surrounded and protected the Jewish people. The Jewish
people sit in Sukkot today, in a rejuvenated Jewish state
feeling Divine protection at levels they haven’t felt since

King Solomon’s days. Then it ended. As the
Jewish people left the Sukkah, and finished
commemorating G-d’s protection, we were
attacked. Much like when Aaron the Chief
Cohen died, and the clouds left the Jews in the
desert, their enemies immediately attacked,
so too, when the Jews left their Sukkot this
year, Israel’s enemy, Hamas, attacked. There
is a well-known lesson taught about G-d and
the Jewish people. It teaches that G-d expects
the Jewish people to be united, and when
they are, G-d takes care of those looking to
divide the Jewish people. But when the Jewish
people are divided, G-d uses those aiming to
hurt the Jewish people to bring the Jewish
people together in unity. Instead of uniting in
brotherhood and celebration, the people unite
in pain and mourning. It is hard not to see that
lesson coming to fruition today. The Jewish
people had every reason to use this year to
unite in celebration. They had just started the
seventy-fifth year of sovereignty over Eretz
Yisrael. The nation wasn’t just surviving, it was
thriving. Peace with enemies had just occurred
and more peace was promising. Yet, instead of
celebrating in unity, the Jewish people fought
in division. As we suffer the worst tragedies
we’ve experienced as a people in decades, it
behooves us to look inward and introspect.
We must examine our actions for areas of
improvement. I want to state clearly, pointing
out areas of improvement during this time does
not equate to a statement of cause and effect, it
is merely a prescription of improvement. One
area that needs improvement that seems to be
glaringly absent is unity, civility and love of
fellow Jews, even, and most importantly, those
we disagree with on divisive issues.
RUP
Vues Master’s Note: Beautifully expressed!
Truth is harsh and upsetting, but must be told.

HILLEL FULD STATEMENT
Dear Vues Master:
In case you didn’t hear the IDF spokesman, it
begins… Gaza is under complete lockdown.
No one comes. No one leaves. The border is
locked down. All passages are closed. We have
shut down their electricity. We have cleaned
our towns and cities of any terrorists. 300,000
reserve soldiers have been drafted. The most
ever. The IDF has all the equipment it needs.
And now we go on the offense!!! The tefillah
for our soldiers is: “He Who blessed our
forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – may He
bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force,
who stand guard over our land and the cities
of our G-d from the border of the Lebanon to
the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea
unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land,
in the air, and on the sea. May Hashem cause
the enemies who rise up against us to be struck
down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed
is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men
from every trouble and distress and from every
plague and illness, and may He send blessing
and success in their every endeavor. May He
lead our enemies under their sway and may
He grant them salvation and crown them with
victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the

verse: For it is Hashem, your G-d, Who goes
with you to battle your enemies for you to save
you. Now let us respond: Amen.” Here we go.
The blood of our brothers and sisters will be
avenged and that starts now!
Hilel Fuld
Vues Master’s Note: May Hashem avenge the
blood of all the victims who died al kiddush
Hashem!

FORGIVE
Dear Vues Master:
The great posek Rav Yoseph Shalom Elyashiv
was asked a question by a man in emotional dire
straits. He had been engaged, but the bride had
broken the engagement, and a short while later,
asked the erstwhile groom for forgiveness. It
is common practice in the event of a broken
engagement to ask mechilah (forgiveness),
and even to obtain a shtar mechila (a bill of
forgiveness) stating that the offended side,
who had not broken the engagement, has no
emotional or financial claims against the side
who did. In this way, everyone can move on
with a clean conscience. The problem was that
the young man wasn’t ready to forgive. He was
aware, though, of the statement in the Shulchan
Aruch (Orach Chaim 606:1) that someone who
withholds forgiveness is considered cruel.
What should he do? Rav Elyashiv counseled
the groom that there is only one circumstance
in which withholding forgiveness is an act
of cruelty: when the requests for forgiveness
is sincere, and reflects a true understanding
of the pain the penitent had caused. In this
case, it seemed that the bride’s family were
only asking to discharge an obligation and to
remove any “bad energy” that could impact
her in the future; they were not acting out
of feelings of remorse. The pre-Yom Kippur
“mechilah rush” does no one any favors but
everyone who comments on this speaks
from the perspective of those who ask for it.
The reason we need to give our requests for
forgiveness more time is that we are human.
Granting forgiveness isn’t easy, especially if it
is sincere. it is only fair to give time to those
whom we request forgiveness from. – Rabbi
Ariel Rackovsky. The question is what to do
when a child is about to throw his father’s
mesorah (traditions) under the bus and replace
it with the shita of the Yeshiva? Everyone will
have to decide for themselves when that time
comes. As for me, I love my father more than
my son so any slight to my father will have
to be reckoned with. For instance, I compare
a father’s mesorah to a father’s inheritance.
Just like real property, in the times of the Beis
Hamikdash, was an inheritance from father to
son so is a mesorah. In other words, just as a
Kallah (bride) would be considered defiant to
refuse a family heirloom like a candelabra,
handed down from mother to daughter, so why
should a son think any less about his father’s
mesorah and the consequences that come with
abandoning it?
DG
Vues Master’s Note: I think you are out of your
mind! He is not becoming a mechalel Shabbos!
He is staying frum! You need to chill!

ROLE MODEL
Dear Vues Master:
Rabbi Dovid Tillim writes, “I once drove
with a challenged teenager who attended an
out-of-state yeshivah. I asked him what, in
his opinion, made his yeshiva so great, and
his answer astounded me. He said that every
one of the talmidim would willingly trade
their lives for the life of any of their Rebbeim.
Wow, what role models.” He says that if a
child needs help on how to get motivated then
reach out to your child’s rebbe or menahel and
focus your attention on trying to understand
why he is having difficulty with the process
because that is where he really needs help. I
think just the opposite, that there is something
wrong if students, much less all of them,
would change places with their Rebbeim. Why
does the father sweat to pay the Rebbeim and
he gets the boot? The Rebbeim need to teach
derech emes, not derech “me-emes” or memes
for short. To elaborate, Richard Dawkins
combined the Greek word “mimeme”
(meaning something that is imitated) with
“gene.” He considered memes to be “a unit of
cultural transmission.” This is in contrast to
Torah transmission which is truth (emes) that
comes from the Torah. When someone distorts
Torah by putting the “me” before the “emes”
he is bound to make false memes. Is the father
paying someone to teach emes or memes? If
my son thinks less of me the longer he is in
yeshiva then his genes, ancestry, is mutating to
memes, anarchy. Memes also can be broken up
as Me-mes where mes means dead in Hebrew.
Memes include bumper stickers like “My
rebbe my hero”, “yt rebbe” and “I love my
Rebbe.” When a child sees this everyday and
doesn’t see anything like this about his father
is it any wonder he has a relationship with his
Rebbeim and not his father! It says in Tehillim
27, LeDovid, “When my father and mother
abandon me.” Rav S.R Hirsch says, “Even if
I were so depraved that my own mother and
father would abandon me to my own devices,
G-d would still gather me up and believe in my
ability to mend my ways.” This means that the
last person to give up on a child is the father, as
he is mentioned before the mother, and not the
Rebbeim or therapists. If you hear rumors that
a father abandoned his child, know that it was
the child who abandoned him and not the other
way around. As it says, “ Lo, I will send the
prophet Eliyahu to you before the coming of
the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. He shall
reconcile fathers with sons and sons with their
father, so that, when I come, I will not strike
the whole land with utter destruction.” Eliyahu
will have to appease the father first, before the
son, because the father was abandoned and he
is the one that needs to be placated.
DG
Vues Master’s Note: Well a rebbe knows but a
father not always therefore yes a child should
listen to his Rebbe who is not divorced with the
child’s mother and has an agenda etc!

FRIENDS
Dear Vues Master:
Many times over recent months I have been

tempted to block or unfriend people who’s
political or religious views (and the way
they post) are too different from my own.
And I am SO GLAD that I did not, because
what I am seeing is an outpouring of support
and solidarity from left to right, secular to
religious, pro and anti etc…there are people
whose posts I haven’t agreed with in years
that are showing the same pain, the same love,
the same determination that I am – I expected
nothing less, but I am so strengthened by it
nonetheless…NOTHING will drive us apart
again….
RSR
Vues Master’s Note: Is that what we want, fair
weather friends?

THE DAF AND WAR
Dear Vues Master:
It was the happiest of times, it was the
unhappiest of times. It was Simchat Torah, the
happiest day of the year, and the only day of
the year when two joyous Jewish holidays are
celebrated simultaneously in Israel (Shemini
Atzeret and Simchat Torah, of course) and it
was a surprise attack when the enemy went into
people’s homes personally, house to house,
in a major city and in multiple communities
simultaneously and systematically, for the first
time in the history of the modern country of
Israel; not just relying on impersonal missiles.
So it was also the worst of times at the same
time. Perhaps until then there had never been
more boundless joy in the Jewish world, in
modern times (perhaps with the exception of
the founding of the country of Israel and the
victorious conclusion of the Six-Day War),
with kosher and temporarily kosherized
hotels rebounding from the tragedies of the
pandemic— that had also gone from house
to house with deadly consequences — to
celebrations of Jewish holidays and other
special occasions with opulence and Torah
lectures in every resort area and hot spot
in the world, or so it seems. I even recently
heard of a “4-day wedding” in Israel during
this Jewish holiday season encompassing
historical and culinary locales to satiate the
mind and the palate in ways never dreamed of
even by Kings residing in any palace in any
country. There has never been more Torah
studied throughout the year and throughout
the world, in an organized way, with the
Daf Yomi, the Amud Yomi, Tanach Yomi,
Dirshu, most multiplied exponentially by
means of the Internet, available in virtually
every meridian of the globe, all in addition to
educational academies of every interpretation
of Jewish law and tradition, enhanced by the
Internet, once again, and artificial intelligence
(generated and constantly enhanced by and on
G-d given natural intelligence). At the same
time, however, our enemies have never been
stronger, with Iran on the verge of becoming
a nuclear power, G-d forbid, and with Israel
surrounded not just by hostile countries on all
sides (notwithstanding the peace agreements),
but with Hamas and Hezbollah and other
overtly terrorist organizations embedded
within some of these countries, with the Fifth

Column within the West Bank, not to mention
within Israel proper, and with supporters
in Yemen and even other noncontiguous
countries. What can one say at a time like
this? What can one write? Perhaps the best
answer has already been written, and has
already been studied. In fact, perhaps the
best response appears in the daf yomi learned
throughout the world on the day after the
holiday ended throughout the world (except
in Israel, where it ended a day earlier, of
course), page 57 in Gemara Kiddushin. It
is on that page in the Talmud, studied in an
organized way on that day wherever Jews
gather and pray, that mention is made of the
egla arufah, the heifer whose life is shattered
no less than the lives of so many Jews on
the recent holiday of joy and attempted joy.
Biblically literate Jews and even non-Jews
know the fate of the egla arufah, what it
symbolizes, and the lessons it teaches (see
below). Our challenge today, more than ever
before, however, is to spread the word among
all people who claim to respect the Torah, and
all who don’t, including all Arabs – especially
all Arabs, whether they live in areas adjacent
to Israel, or whether they simply have
influence over Arabs wherever they may live,
with military might, with political power,
or with the power of the purse. Without
going into details, the eglah arufah is a
mystical ceremony required to be performed,
according to the Torah (Devarim 21, 1–9),
when a murdered stranger would be found
out in a field in Israel, and the perpetrator
of the crime would be unknown. Upon the
discovery of the body, a determination was
to be made as to the nearest city. The corpse
was then to be buried in place and an unusual
ceremony was to be performed with a heifer,
after which the elders would declare “Our
hands did not shed this blood, nor did we see
this with our eyes.” This has been interpreted
to mean they did not knowingly let this
murdered traveler leave their city without
provisions for the way, nor did they let him
leave without accompaniment. The ceremony
is a form of atonement, including a request to
G-d “not to place innocent blood in the midst
of your people Israel.” Oh the contrast! Not
only may Jews not spill innocent blood, but
they must take responsibility even for being
most indirectly responsible for the spilling
of innocent blood, for not having provided
for, escorted, and thereby protected passing
strangers! We will leave a discussion of any
application of this sensitivity to the needs of
travelers who are not merely passing by to
another day. Unfortunately, there is no need
to describe here the despicable nature of
the war that began this past Shmini Atzeret
and Simchat Torah, which we pray will be
ended “favorably” before these words will
be published. The savagery is extreme even
by the standards of previous unprovoked
wars against the Jews. Similarly to the
scenario described in the Biblical discussion
of the eglah arufah, the intelligence of
the Israeli government and army failed to

prevent murders, possibly in part because of
domestic distractions beyond their control.
Nevertheless, in line with the lessons of the
ceremony of the eglah arufah, the Israelis
continue to demonstrate not merely their
sensitivity to human life, even the life of their
enemies, warning civilians to leave military
targets (ever since the days of Menachem
Begin, Deir Yassin, and the King David
Hotel), and at the outset of this war warning
civilians to leave major military targets,
thereby giving up the important element
of surprise, to save lives, in contrast to the
approach of the enemy which misused the
element of surprise in order to be better
positioned to torture, murder, and kidnap
innocent civilians. By contrast, the Israelis
have likewise demonstrated their dedication
to eliminating future potential murderers
and tracking down enemies and rescuing (or
bartering for the release of) captives so that
they will not be murdered. Oh, the contrast!
Citing the baalei musar (proponents of the
moralistic movement), Rabbi Shalom Rosner
observed that the question was raised as to
why the discussion of the egla arufah was
placed in the Bible near discussions of war. A
compelling answer that is given is that when
soldiers find themselves surrounded by dead
people, they often tend to devalue human
life. We have seen this devaluation by the
enemy most graphically and grotesquely in
recent days. Again, oh, the contrast! We can
only hope and pray – and spread the word
– so that more people will learn about and
appreciate the sensitivity of the Bible and the
Jewish people to human life, will encourage
more Arabs to focus upon and follow this
message of the Bible, and will help the Israeli
soldiers, politicians, and civilians to reduce
and prevent future casualties of all innocent
people.
Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq.
(Rabbi Reichel, a New York attorney and
author, writes from time to time on the impact
and potential impact of passages in a timely
page in the daf yomi on current events.)
Vues Master’s Note: Hafoch bu vehafoch bu
D’Kula Bu!

LOVE
Dear Vues Master:
A shadchan (matchmaker) approached a
young man with an offer of a shidduch. The
young man said: “Why do you keep coming
back to me? I’ve told you a hundred and one
times that I don’t want to marry someone
suggested by a shadchan. I want to marry for
love.” The shadchan replied: “I heard you
loud and clear. The father of the girl I have
in mind is seventy and is rich as קורח. She
is an only child. And she has an uncle who is
just as wealthy and he doesn’t have any heirs
other than her. Now, you tell me, how could
you not love a girl like that?”
ZW
Vues Master’s Note: Money talks!

RESPECT
Dear Vues Master:
In the Jewish Vues Yom Kippur issue, there

was an article about the 3 dinner guest fun
question. It spoke about Reb Dovid Feinstein
ZT”L’s beautiful answer and went on to talk
about Sandy Koufax’s answer and story.
While that was a beautiful act that he did, I
found a few problems with how the article
was written which I humbly feel should be
addressed. Allow me to explain. Firstly, as
nice of an act that it was- what this Koufax
did, it did in a way take away from the beauty
of Reb Dovid’s answer. Also, you put a small
picture of Reb Dovid on the same page next to
multiple larger pictures of a baseball player.
That is very disrespectful. I understand that
this article was more focused on Sandy, but
at the end of the day, it was a disgrace to Reb
Dovid. What the Vues should have probably
done was to at least not print the picture of
Reb Dovid. Or better yet- not talk about him
at all. That would have been better. Have
a separate article to talk about Reb Dovid.
This letter is not to bash sports, and not to
take away from the amazing act of Sandy, but
to stand for the kavod of our gedolim. Our
gedolim deserve respect. This is not the first
time such a thing happened. It may have been
an oversight, but it might be a good idea to be
more on top of these things.
CF
Vues Master’s Note: I think you are taking
things out of context! Size doesn’t tell us who
is greater!

MISNAGED
Dear Vues Master:
To Rabbi YY Jacobson:
Regarding the story of a sukkah by the angel
of death. I think it’s time to stop stories
against misnagdim. This story as anyone
can see is a nice fairy tale.when making
fun of misnagdim, we are disgracing the
vilna gaon, the noda beyehuda, the ketzos
hachoshen, the nesivas hamispat, the dubna
magid, the chasam sofer, rabbi akiva eiger etc
etc. It would be a good idea to check out the
many yunga leit in BMG and other kollelim
that live very simply and are happy with
their learning. They are above many others.
Wishing you the best!
YM
Vues Master’s Note: Get a sense of humor!

HALACHA
Dear Vues Master:
Why do we accept Syrian Jews into the
community if they openly break halacha?
Why is it okay for their women to wear pants
and not cover their hair and yet they’re still
accepted as orthodox ? Why is it okay for
them to brag about all the name brands they
wear? Would Moshe Rabbienu brag about
wearing Prada ? They should strive to be like
Moshe Rabbienu and be more humble. Why
do Syrians get the magic pass on all this?
-AB
Vues Master’s Note: Terrible letter! Lashon
Hora Rechilus you just painted all great
Syrian Jews with one brush stroke! In every
community we have all types your letter is not
going to be mekarev them!

SENSE
Dear Vues Master:
Marriage is like a tea bag. It comes in nice
packaging. Once you open it, you see there
are strings attached. Soon, you find yourself
in hot water. After a while, you realize it
doesn’t make “sense” anymore.
LK
Vues Master’s Note: Can you use it on
Shabbos?

COMPLIMENT
Dear Vues Master:
Morris was telling a chosson that it’s
important to compliment his wife’s cooking.
“For example,” he said, “I’ve told my wife
that it may be a matter of taste, but I like the
burnt part better than the frozen part.”
RW
Vues Master’s Note: I always tell my wife
your food is like in a restaurant!

GEDOLIM
Dear Vues Master:
I noticed that on the Sukkot edition of the Vues
there were pictures of prominent ravs who
have passed away. All the names had ZTL next
to them except for the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I
was surprised that the vues would entertain
the meshichist/flag waiver movement. One of
your columnists, Rabbi Gil Student has a book
that explains why the Lubavitcher Rebbe isn’t
the Moshiach and why entertaining these ideas
is silly. There are real meshichist believers that
literally believe the Lubavitcher Rebbe is the
Moshiach and never died. I’ve personally seen
a video of these supporters who claim that since
their Rebbe is alive and well, they don’t have to
fast on Yom Kippur. It’s incredibly dangerous
to entertain these ideas and this opens the rabbit
hole to someone becoming an apikoros. Please
make better editorial decisions in the future.
-AB
Vues Master’s Note: Amazing if only you
would be medayek your chumash or gemara
this way! It is a newspaper, not a sefer!

WORDS
Dear Vues Master:
A man told his rav that he was having marital
difficulties. When the rav asked what is the
problem, the man replied: “My wife has 36
קבים of שיחה.” “How can that be?” the rav
asked. “The gemara says
man The” .תשעה קבים שיחה נטלו נשים
responded: “Unfortunately, I married an
educated woman. My wife speaks four
languages.”
FD
Vues Master’s Note: I guess she can talk the
talk!