Over the past month or so, it seems like an disproportionate number of the Tehillim requests I've received have been for heart-related issues. A baby boy was born in my community with a heart defect. (Thank God, it has been properly repaired and he is doing very well.) A girl I know from my year in Israel had a baby girl, also with a heart defect, but much more severe. Twin newborn girls in Israel have just undergone open heart surgery. And just before Shabbos we began davening for the teenage daughter of a close family friend in my parents' community who, though healthy until now, is having some sort of heart problems. ** (Names for Tehillim are at the end of the article.)
And it's hitting me hard. Having a child of my own now, I understand the depth of love one has for a being they helped create and plan to raise. I cannot imagine the pain of seeing that child hooked up to monitors and tubes, waiting with bated breath to hear the doctors reports.
So it got me thinking. What message could I take from this? What is it about hearts- my heart, the collective Jewish heart- that needs to be fixed? Am I not loving enough toward my family members? Do I have a closed heart toward Jews who are different from me, in their practices or beliefs? What about my self-love, or my love of Hashem? Am I not putting my heart into the mitzvos I do daily?
I could go on and on. But instead of sinking into despair, I'm trying to be more aware of my thoughts throughout the day. Just as the physical heart functions to keep the body running, my inner heart is what fuels my actions, via my thoughts and feelings. The cardiovascular issues that these people are facing are constantly at the forefront of their minds, affecting their daily lives. Maybe it's time I paid a little more attention to the goings-on in my heart, in regard to others, myself, and God.
We should only hear good news.
** Please say Tehillim for:
Shalva Yakira bas Yardena Meira
Ayelet bas Eliraz
Miriam bas Eliraz
Yona Menucha bas Leah Chana
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tweet Your Prayers
Life in Israel blogged about this today, but I figured it deserved a shout out here as well
Seems that Twitter is useful after all. Alon Nir the founder of Tweet Your Prayers takes your tefillos and delivers them to the Kotel. Oh, and be sure they are less than 140 characters!
Seems that Twitter is useful after all. Alon Nir the founder of Tweet Your Prayers takes your tefillos and delivers them to the Kotel. Oh, and be sure they are less than 140 characters!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
EZ Reads 7/8/9: Insomnia
This is why I hate going to sleep early: I wake up at 1:45am. On the other hand, it gave me time to read through a few hundred posts...
Enjoy!
- Baila has a wonderful story from Israel from a chance meeting in the supermarket.
- SD has an interesting story from driving her sister and friends to the airport for their trip to Israel. I'd love to analyze the sad/funny attitudes of the other girls when it comes to materialism and the Jewish community, but there's just too much fodder there. I don't know how SD survived such a trip.
It looked, surprisingly enough, like a phone. Friend2 turned it on, and MP and F1 squealed. "oooh! It says PRADA on the screen."- She also has an inspiring piece on how we view the world around us.
- A very cool piece about a CIA spy from 1973... and his effect on the Netanyahu administration of today.
- On The Main Line has a fantastic summary/review of R' Marc Angel's The Search Committee.
- A great quote on Harry-er than them all:
There was a Rebbe, who when the first time a train pulled into town, he went out with his Chassidim to see this novelty. He went to the train, and starting from the back, he touched each and every car till he came to the locomotive. Afterward, he turned to his Chassidim and said
"There could be twenty cold cars, but if there is one warm one in front, they can all travel the distance"
What have you done for Klal Yisrael today?- Another beautiful story, this time from Raizy, on how a 10-year old shows her love.
- Stella D'oro closing down?! Say it ain't so! (This is why unions are bad... and stupid.)
- Jewlicious has Matisyahu's One Day. While not a Matisyahu (or reggae) fan, this isn't bad.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Big Girl at Three; Little Girls at 90
Yesterday afternoon, we went (a day early) to Elianna's school to celebrate her 3rd birthday with her. It was really cute, with her friends sitting around the long table while they sang songs, someone lit candles for her that she blew out, and they sang some more, played, and had a good old time.
A little while later, I drove Elianna & Kayla to Hillcrest, where we met up at a pizza store with my grandparents so they could eat lunch, though it was already 4:00 in the afternoon. They'd been at their apartment all day, watching the movers pack up all their stuff for their trek to a senior residence in Philadelphia, after 60 years in Bellpark Manor. They were in a rush to get back, as my grandfather was - of course - doing a few last things for the shul before this morning's move.
In the brief time we were sitting there, Elianna was playing with my grandfather, and while I don't remember exactly what she said that made my grandmother comment, it must have been something about my grandfather's ears. "Tell her they don't work so well as you get old", she laughed. (My grandfather has hearing aids which are... moderately helpful.) She then added how as we get older, we revert - when we're young, we go from crawling to walking to running - to walking slower and slower to needing help to walk to not being able to walk almost at all. I thought this was particularly interesting after talking to my mother a short while later.
On Sunday, my parents were visiting my [other] grandmother at Menorah Park, the senior residence where she has been for a few years. While they were there, they heard a program going on, and decided to peek in and see what was happening, and they discovered a Bat Mitzvah going on - in an old home. Apparently, a group of ladies aged 89-96 years old decided, since they'd never had Bas Mitzvahs when they turned 12, to have them now. My mother related that each lady read a prayer or Psalm, then they each said a dvar torah from what would have been their parsha when they turned 12, and talked about how it applied to their life. She said it was a really nice program, packed with kids and grandkids, Menorah Park people, and other invited guests. A photographer taking her equipment down at the end told my mother she was from AARP Magazine; the story is going to be aired sometime soon on CBS's Evening News with Katie Couric. Meanwhile, you can read more about it in the New York Times:
It's interesting to think about my grandparents moving into a senior residence, as they move away from some of the bigger stages of their lives, on the same day Elianna is turning three, setting out on the beginning stages of her own life, and as Kayla starts to babble and cruise along anything she can pull herself up against. Life's pretty amazing.
A little while later, I drove Elianna & Kayla to Hillcrest, where we met up at a pizza store with my grandparents so they could eat lunch, though it was already 4:00 in the afternoon. They'd been at their apartment all day, watching the movers pack up all their stuff for their trek to a senior residence in Philadelphia, after 60 years in Bellpark Manor. They were in a rush to get back, as my grandfather was - of course - doing a few last things for the shul before this morning's move.
In the brief time we were sitting there, Elianna was playing with my grandfather, and while I don't remember exactly what she said that made my grandmother comment, it must have been something about my grandfather's ears. "Tell her they don't work so well as you get old", she laughed. (My grandfather has hearing aids which are... moderately helpful.) She then added how as we get older, we revert - when we're young, we go from crawling to walking to running - to walking slower and slower to needing help to walk to not being able to walk almost at all. I thought this was particularly interesting after talking to my mother a short while later.
On Sunday, my parents were visiting my [other] grandmother at Menorah Park, the senior residence where she has been for a few years. While they were there, they heard a program going on, and decided to peek in and see what was happening, and they discovered a Bat Mitzvah going on - in an old home. Apparently, a group of ladies aged 89-96 years old decided, since they'd never had Bas Mitzvahs when they turned 12, to have them now. My mother related that each lady read a prayer or Psalm, then they each said a dvar torah from what would have been their parsha when they turned 12, and talked about how it applied to their life. She said it was a really nice program, packed with kids and grandkids, Menorah Park people, and other invited guests. A photographer taking her equipment down at the end told my mother she was from AARP Magazine; the story is going to be aired sometime soon on CBS's Evening News with Katie Couric. Meanwhile, you can read more about it in the New York Times:
The rabbi had planned to hold the ceremony in January, but he bumped it back to give the women more time to prepare. “The joke went around the room: Let’s not do it after March,” he said. “Who knows if we’ll still be here!”In addition to being the Priestly Blessing, it's also part of what we say each week when we bless our children.On a recent Monday, the women entered Menorah Park’s synagogue for a dress rehearsal. Three used walkers. Another carried a small oxygen tank. As they rose to speak, they left their medical gear by their seats. They approached the bimah unassisted, some limping, and steadied themselves at the lectern with both hands.
Practice began with prayers in Hebrew. Some women stumbled and stuttered through the complicated scrum of consonants. Those who had taught Sunday school for decades spoke more fluidly.
“One generation to another praises thy works,” said Eva Rosenberg, 91, reading from Psalm 145. “They speak of thy awe-inspiring might, and I tell of your greatness.”
Next came the speeches, which traditionally respond to the Torah passage read in synagogue that week. Rabbi Kutner had consulted old calendars to determine the week in which each woman would have spoken at age 12. He asked them to prepare messages based on the passages they would have addressed eight decades ago.
When Ms. Bonder was a child during the Depression, her parents lost their life savings in a bank failure. She later served as an aide to a United States senator. Her speech drew parallels to her Torah reading about Joseph, who rose from slavery to become a pharaoh’s chief adviser.
Belva Singer, 91, meditated on the power of the Birkat Kohanim, the ancient Priestly Blessing.
“This is one of the oldest and most beautiful prayers,” Ms. Singer said. “It is only 15 words, and it has been repeated by our people for thousands of years.”
It's interesting to think about my grandparents moving into a senior residence, as they move away from some of the bigger stages of their lives, on the same day Elianna is turning three, setting out on the beginning stages of her own life, and as Kayla starts to babble and cruise along anything she can pull herself up against. Life's pretty amazing.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Please
Please have in mind Tamara bas Frayda Basha in your tefilos - the grandmother of one of our loyal readers and good friends. Thank you...
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Citizens, Countrymen, Let Us Pray...
...Original
Almighty Blog, our creator, everything we see and everything we can't see due to a 404 error exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. The future is your story. The Blogture tells us, "Hear, oh Israel, the Blog is our Blog; the Blog is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have hosted.
Now today, we rejoice not only in the J-Blogosphere's peaceful transfer of power for the first time. We celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our President of the J-Blogosphere.
We are so grateful to live in this Internet, a medium of unequaled possibility, where the commenter of one of the Founding Bloggers can rise to the highest level of our leadership.
And we know today that The King and a great cloud of Witnesses are shouting in Cleveland.
Give to our new President, he who’s name I dare not let pass my lips w/o prior written consent, the wisdom to lead us with his gut instincts, the courage to lead us with his unabashed arrogance, the compassion to lead us with his, and his alone’s, view of right and wrong. Bless and protect him, his family, himself as Vice President , the Cabinet and every one of our nepotistic, biased and cronyismly selected leaders.
Help us, oh Blog, to remember that we are J-Bloggers, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to high site-meter stats and comments for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, rejoice in us…for this is the purpose of all posted things. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, delight in us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve, we do so only to please you.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new lack of clarity in our aims, an eschewment of responsibility in our actions, abstaining humility in our approaches and removing civility in our attitudes, with the hopes that in all things we will differ.
Help to prevent us from sharing, instead to serve and to seek the individualized good of each private blog.
May all people of goodwill today join together in their failing to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous blogosphere and a peaceful Internet. And may we never forget that each day all blogs and all their posters stand accountable before only themselves.
We now commit our new president and his wife, ******, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Blog, Blogspot, Wordpress, Blogerish [Yiddish pronunciation], Blogger, who taught us to pray, "Our Blogger who art in cyberspace, posting be thy game, thy kingdom come, thy will be done online as it is in heaven. Google us this day our daily links and forgive us our trespasses as we blame those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the main stream media, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory until a better technological advancement come along."
Amen.
Almighty Blog, our creator, everything we see and everything we can't see due to a 404 error exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. The future is your story. The Blogture tells us, "Hear, oh Israel, the Blog is our Blog; the Blog is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have hosted.
Now today, we rejoice not only in the J-Blogosphere's peaceful transfer of power for the first time. We celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our President of the J-Blogosphere.
We are so grateful to live in this Internet, a medium of unequaled possibility, where the commenter of one of the Founding Bloggers can rise to the highest level of our leadership.
And we know today that The King and a great cloud of Witnesses are shouting in Cleveland.
Give to our new President, he who’s name I dare not let pass my lips w/o prior written consent, the wisdom to lead us with his gut instincts, the courage to lead us with his unabashed arrogance, the compassion to lead us with his, and his alone’s, view of right and wrong. Bless and protect him, his family, himself as Vice President , the Cabinet and every one of our nepotistic, biased and cronyismly selected leaders.
Help us, oh Blog, to remember that we are J-Bloggers, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to high site-meter stats and comments for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, rejoice in us…for this is the purpose of all posted things. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, delight in us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve, we do so only to please you.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new lack of clarity in our aims, an eschewment of responsibility in our actions, abstaining humility in our approaches and removing civility in our attitudes, with the hopes that in all things we will differ.
Help to prevent us from sharing, instead to serve and to seek the individualized good of each private blog.
May all people of goodwill today join together in their failing to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous blogosphere and a peaceful Internet. And may we never forget that each day all blogs and all their posters stand accountable before only themselves.
We now commit our new president and his wife, ******, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Blog, Blogspot, Wordpress, Blogerish [Yiddish pronunciation], Blogger, who taught us to pray, "Our Blogger who art in cyberspace, posting be thy game, thy kingdom come, thy will be done online as it is in heaven. Google us this day our daily links and forgive us our trespasses as we blame those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the main stream media, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory until a better technological advancement come along."
Amen.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Soldiers' Names
Monday, January 05, 2009
Operation Tefilah, Torah & Troops (Something You Can ACTUALLY DO)
To participate in "Operation Tefillah, Torah & Troops" and receive the name of an Israeli soldier who needs your prayers, send an e-mail to the office of Rabbi Kook at maortlmo@gmail.com. To request the name of a soldier by phone or fax, call the National Council of Young Israel at 212-929-1525 x100, or send a fax to 212-727-9526. Members of the IDF who wish to have a "partner" praying for them are urged to e-mail the office of Rabbi Kook as well.
Hat-Tip: Israel Matzav (Source: Israel National News)
~Tell your friends!
Hat-Tip: Israel Matzav (Source: Israel National News)
~Tell your friends!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Say a Little Prayer for Her
Please daven for my nine-year-old niece who was just diagnosed with Leukemia this past erev Shabbos.
דינה שרה בת שיינא מירה
Dina Sora bas Shayna Mira
May she have a refuah shelaima, and may we only hear good news from one another this year.
דינה שרה בת שיינא מירה
Dina Sora bas Shayna Mira
May she have a refuah shelaima, and may we only hear good news from one another this year.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Who Shall Live
If you haven't seen it yet, this video is emotion- and thought-provoking in time for Rosh Hashana; I haven't seen a video circulate so fast and so furiously in a while. I think I've received or seen this video well over a dozen times in the last couple of days, and figured it would be good to post very close to the Yomim Naoraim (Days of Awe - 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur).
It's called Who Shall Live. (My sister-in-law SIL, who sent it to me first, warns not to watch around kids.)
It's called Who Shall Live. (My sister-in-law SIL, who sent it to me first, warns not to watch around kids.)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Any Given יו״כ...
...I don't know about you, but I think Al Pacino would have made one world-class Mashgiach Ruchani:
Original from Any Given Sunday
I don’t know what to say, really. Three weeks till the biggest day of our personal lives all comes down to today. Now either we heal as an Am or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, day by day, 'til we’re finished.
We’re in hell right now, ladies and gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here -- get the stuffing kicked out of us -- or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell, one inch at a time.
Now, I can’t do it for you. It doesn’t work that way. I look around. I see so many young faces, and I think -- I mean – we’ve made every wrong choice a community can make. We, uh, we’ve pissed away all our money, believe it or not. We’re chasing off anyone who’s ever loved us. And lately, I can’t even stand the state of affairs I see out the window.
You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's...part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of opportunities. So is Yom Kippur. Because in either one, life or the Yom HaDin, the margin for error is so small -- I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite grasp it.
The opportunities we need are everywhere around us.
They’re in every break of the game, so to speak - every minute, every second.
On this day, we reach for that opportunity. On this day, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces during those tefillos. We claw with our fingernails for those opportunities, because we know when we add up all those tefillos that’s gonna make the difference between success and failure! Between livin' and dyin'!
I’ll tell you this: On any yom tefillah, it’s the one who’s willing to admit who’s gonna maximize those opportunities. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to be honest with myself and with God. Because that’s what livin' is! The six Tefillos* in front of your face!!
Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the person next to you. Look into their eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see someone who will go there with you. You're gonna see a person who will sacrifice themselves for this community because they know, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for them!
That’s an Am, ladies and gentleman!
And, either we heal, now, as an Am, or we will die as individuals.
That’s Yom Kippur guys.
That's all it is.
Now, what are you gonna do?
*mincha, maariv, shacharis, mussaf, mincha, neilah
Original from Any Given Sunday
I don’t know what to say, really. Three weeks till the biggest day of our personal lives all comes down to today. Now either we heal as an Am or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, day by day, 'til we’re finished.
We’re in hell right now, ladies and gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here -- get the stuffing kicked out of us -- or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell, one inch at a time.
Now, I can’t do it for you. It doesn’t work that way. I look around. I see so many young faces, and I think -- I mean – we’ve made every wrong choice a community can make. We, uh, we’ve pissed away all our money, believe it or not. We’re chasing off anyone who’s ever loved us. And lately, I can’t even stand the state of affairs I see out the window.
You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's...part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of opportunities. So is Yom Kippur. Because in either one, life or the Yom HaDin, the margin for error is so small -- I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite grasp it.
The opportunities we need are everywhere around us.
They’re in every break of the game, so to speak - every minute, every second.
On this day, we reach for that opportunity. On this day, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces during those tefillos. We claw with our fingernails for those opportunities, because we know when we add up all those tefillos that’s gonna make the difference between success and failure! Between livin' and dyin'!
I’ll tell you this: On any yom tefillah, it’s the one who’s willing to admit who’s gonna maximize those opportunities. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to be honest with myself and with God. Because that’s what livin' is! The six Tefillos* in front of your face!!
Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the person next to you. Look into their eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see someone who will go there with you. You're gonna see a person who will sacrifice themselves for this community because they know, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for them!
That’s an Am, ladies and gentleman!
And, either we heal, now, as an Am, or we will die as individuals.
That’s Yom Kippur guys.
That's all it is.
Now, what are you gonna do?
*mincha, maariv, shacharis, mussaf, mincha, neilah
Trials & Tribulations... and Turnarounds?
A few worthwhile reads about the difficulties in the Orthodox Jewish world... (excerpts on expand)
Enjoy!
- BeyondBT has a sharp post detailing one of the trickiest situations for the average frum Jew who has relatives who are not religious: Teenagers.
I worry when the “other side” starts looking attractive, and our way of life seems to be making them “miss out.” (Yes, of course we can give the speeches to our children about how the secular kids are really the ones missing out, but hey, kids are normal, and some freedoms in life look very delicious at times to them).- A guest at Orthonomics discusses economics... and family planning.
the number one issue couples fight about are finances. More and more couples are faced with doing something they never imagined when they first got married, not having more children in exchange for not fighting about finances. Many young couples are reaching out to their rabbonim to discuss heterim that are available to them.- An Eruv is completed in Boulder, CO, a cause of celebration for the community there... but the comments bring out the greatest in anti-Semitism and anti-religion in general. Quite troubling. However, the pictures will make you smile wide, so check them out - amazingly cute kids and great photography.
- I appreciated this message Neal posted about prayer. Has plenty of applicability in life.
- WebAds' Stephen Leavitt has a good article in the JPost on J-blogging and the recent convention.
There is certainly no better way to refine your arguments and positions than by tempering them in the fire of opposing views. Simultaneously, there is no harsher way to find out that your opinions and theories are wrong and indefensible than to have them unmercifully torn apart one by one. ...Blogging isn't about beating someone over the head with your soapbox to win an argument. Blogging is about dialogues that engage interest and introduce ideas to create changes over time.
Simply put, Jewish blogging is about creating dialogue to help lead Judaism into a healthy and vibrant future.
- Finally, an interesting piece in the WSJ: Thinking Outside the Lox, about the recent surge of Jews becoming Republicans over the past decade or so.
Monday, August 04, 2008
"Bear" Market Returns...
...sometimes even the darkest cloud yields a few silver linings.
Received via e-mail:
My conclusions? G-d runs the world. Your prayers are answered so think carefully about what you pray for. Think about your legacy. Every benefit has a cost and every cost has a benefit. Handling tests - it's easier than you think.
Lesson #1: G-d runs the world.
When Bear Stearns collapsed, it shocked the world. It was not the normal course of events. Companies that are in business for 86 years without so much as a losing quarter (except for the last one) don't go out of business and they don't go out of business overnight. I have been amazed at the level of fascination with our demise and the circumstances surrounding our last days. Many people have asked me if I knew or sensed what was happening. Actually, it was just the opposite. We knew we were having a bad year, but we were in cyclical business. We've had good years and bad years. In fact, my area - equities - was having a good year and the firm was profitable again - highlighting (we thought) the strength of the business model. Besides, we weren't going out of business... But we went out of business. Whose fault was it? Was it our new CEO? Our ex-CEO? The shorts? The press? I developed a different perspective.
Let me digress with a reference to tehillim. The backdrop for the third perek of tehillim is rather unusual. Dovid Hamelech thanks Hashem during the rebellion of Avshalom. As I heard from Rav Yissocher Frand, the normal course of events is not for a son to rebel against the father. Usually it is a political opponent or an aide. But these circumstances - the rebellion by his son Avshalom - were extremely unusual. To Dovid, that was a sign that this rebellion was outside nature, outside teva and that Hashem was watching over him and was involved in Dovid's life and that G-d runs the world.
What happened to Bear Stearns was outside teva. Until the demise of Bear Stearns, I knew what my schedule was going to be - more or less - for the next year or so. I was working on projects through the year 2010. I was firmly in control and I knew what the future would be. But it wasn't to be. I learned that I was not in control. For many of us, we went through - l'havdil (if you can compare) - many of the signs associated with shiva. We were in denial, we were angry, we were depressed. Finally, we began to accept our situation. I, too, went through these stages. I was in denial. I was angry. I was depressed. Because I was not in control. I'm passed that now but I was only able to get beyond it because I came to realize Who is in control of the world. The events at Bear Stearns are all part of His plan. You can be angry with His plan but it doesn't change His plan. At one level, it's like going to a museum and getting angry at the exhibits. But that is a rather silly reaction because it doesn't change the exhibits so you may as well enjoy the museum.
Lesson #2 - Your prayers are answered so think carefully about what you pray for.
We are relative newcomers to Teaneck. We moved here about three years ago. I think the most important force one faces in life is peer pressure- for better or worse - so you have to focus carefully on what the peer pressures are where you live and work. In Teaneck, there is peer pressure to learn. Everyone does it. Every shul competes to have the best learning. The batei medrash (halls of study) are thriving and the shiurim attract crowds. That is one of the main reasons that we moved here.
I had often thought about taking some time off for learning. While my children are "frum from birth," Nancy and I are balei teshvot - I have done many things, but I essentially see myself as a bit of an idiot savant, that is, I have "done the daf" for over 10 years and attended multiple shiurim, but I had never learned the basics: tefilla, gemara without English on the other side, Chumash with Rashi and other meforshim. I thought about taking a sabbatical. But I would only do it with these two conditions: I could not take off after a good year, since I needed just one more good year. And I could not take off after a bad year since I really needed a good year to take off. Outside of these two mutually exclusive conditions, I would take time off to learn.
I had started talking to Rabbi Eliyahu Roberts, Rosh Yeshiva of YeshivaGedola of Teaneck, several months ago. He and I had started learning gemara about once a week - on laws of taking interest - but I realized it was not enough to get me to where I wanted to be. So we began to talk about learning at the yeshiva with some of the boys one or two mornings a week. I think we started to talk about this last November or so. But - when it came down to it - I could never find the time.
Hashem found the time for me. He cleared my entire schedule. Hashem opened up all of my mornings. Arranged a sabbatical year for me, so to speak. As I mentioned a moment ago, I saw what happened to Bear Stearns as an"act of G-d." As we learn though, we never know what G-d's plan is and I certainly don't know why Bear Stearns went out of business. But I knew that the message - whatever it is - is that something is supposed to change. It's not business as usual. Ironically, I had a position if I wanted it at the new firm. In fact, the person who did what I did at JPMorgan coincidentally resigned the day Bear went out of business - for entirely unrelated reasons. So I could have glided from one spot to the next - from one vine to the next - with nary a glitch. But the emails we get from Hashem aren't always so clear. That is where prayer comes in. But Hashem does answer prayers. Sometimes it is murky and unclear and sometimes it is a smack on the side of the head. So that is how I ended up learning two hours a day at Yeshiva Gedola of Teaneck with my excellent chavrusas (study partners). Being in kollel is not as odd as you think. While there is a generational difference, we recently had a grandchild, so I can talk strollers and pediatricians. Just not about diaper changing. I leave that to the next generation...
Lesson #3 - Think about your legacy.
I was on Wall Street for 25 years including 20 years at Bear Stearns. I had some great calls and made people a lot of money (and may have lost people a lot of money at times as well). I was on the Institutional Investor All-Star team for 16 years, the Wall Street Journal All-Star team for nine years. But that is not what I will be remembered for from my years at BearStearns. The frum world remembers me for running the Bear Stearns minyan- thanks to an email from one of the participants.
Just a bit of history. When Bear Stearns was at 245 Park Avenue, there was a minyan in the stairwell - owing to its legacy as an Olympia & York building. That changed when we moved to a new building at 383 Madison. With tighter security, there was no common area for the minyan so we stopped meeting. A few months after disbanding, a summer intern from YU asked me if I could get a minyan going. In the new building I was able to get the conference room next to my office and we were off and running. In fact, word got around and we started attracting outsiders from nearby firms. Then - after a few weeks - I got a call from Human Resources at Bear. I heard you have a minyan at Bear, he said. Sure, do you want to attend? No, but there is a problem. There were issues around security with outsiders coming to a "secure" floor. What can we do, I asked. I left it in their hands and in Hashem's hands. It turns out that there is a law that requires a company to provide its employees with reasonable accommodation to prayer. So while the company did not want an official "Bear Stearns minyan," they agreed to give me a room every day for prayer - for the "Andy Neff meeting" and to which I could invite some of my friends to enable me to have a minyan. Hence the minyan, where we regularly had 20-30 people and, on a fast day when we had a sefer Torah, we would have more than 100 people.
Here is the final irony. Bear Stearns is gone. But the minyan - which started at 245 Park -- lives on. Roughly one third of the attendees were from JP Morgan, which owned three buildings adjacent to our headquarters, so we simply transferred the management of the minyan over to JPMorgan. A perfect plan for how to make Bear Stearns go away without interfering with the ongoing minyan.
Lesson #4 - Every cost has a benefit and every benefit has a cost.
Wall Street is a great place to have a career - especially from a financial standpoint. Moreover, there is the prestige associated with Wall Street and the power, etc. What's wrong with that? In Pirkei Avos, perek dalet, first mishnah, Ben Zoma asks: who is wise -the person who learns from everyone else. Who is strong - the person who controls himself. Who is rich? The person who is happy with what he has. Who is honored? The person who honors other people. What is it that ties all these comments together? What ties them together is that each of the middos - wisdom, strength, wealth, honor - can only come from you - no one else can really provide it for you because if you depend on others for these attributes, then they all go away when the external forces, the people go away. There is a cost to being on Wall Street - and probably in other high-powered positions. You lose track of priorities. You live with such stress all the time that you don't know what it is like not to have stress. The analogy I use is of a scuba diver who lives from oxygen tank to oxygen tank not realizing that all the oxygen in the world is available to him five feet above on the surface.
There is a gemara in Pesachim - and again in Bava Basra - that says Olam hafuch rai'si that in Olam Haba we see that the world to come is inverted from this world. That was a hard gemara for me to understand until I left the high-powered world. In that world, what you think is important loses its importance. The things I feared losing the most were the small things: a secretary, car services, etc. The thing I had given up most easily was time - time with family, quality and quantity time. And that I realize has the most value. I'm not saying that effort is not required and that you shouldn't devote time to your work - just that there are ways to do it without stress. And - much of it seems so unimportant in retrospect. And also, as we saw in the comments on Bnai Reuven and Bnai Gad, you need to keep your priorities straight.
Lesson #5 - Handling tests - it's easier than you think.
At one level, I believe that I am fortunate to have this test at this stage in my life.We learn that Hashem never gives us a test that we cannot handle. To me, conversely, that says that I was not ready to handle this test until now. I feel thankful that I have matured to a level that I can handle something like this. Moreover, for many of us, our careers are our lives or close to it after our families. The loss of a career is devastating at many levels - some of which I have noted already. And financial turmoil is another nightmare. But the positive for me is learning that I can deal with it. It's a new reality, but I am ready for the next reality. Many ask what is the key to a Jewish community. To some, it is the kosher pizza restaurant. To others, it is a lot of shuls. But what really makes the community whole is the Torah it propagates. Being able to bring Torah to the world is a valuable asset - and I am skilled at identifying undervalued assets.
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Received via e-mail:
The title of this article is "From Bear Stearns to Bava Metzia", but it's really about some life lessons I've picked up over the last few months since my company - that I was with for 20 years and that was in business for 86 years - disappeared in the midst of a financial crisis and panic, making me a "Bear Stearns refugee", but more importantly a "kollelboy". I am used to presenting to a financial crowd, so I will use my standard approach in my 25 years on Wall Street and start with my conclusions, and then work back to the beginning. This is the opposite style of most Torah commentaries, but I'm still new at this kollel life.From Bear Stearns To Bava MetziaAndrew Neff
My conclusions? G-d runs the world. Your prayers are answered so think carefully about what you pray for. Think about your legacy. Every benefit has a cost and every cost has a benefit. Handling tests - it's easier than you think.
Lesson #1: G-d runs the world.
When Bear Stearns collapsed, it shocked the world. It was not the normal course of events. Companies that are in business for 86 years without so much as a losing quarter (except for the last one) don't go out of business and they don't go out of business overnight. I have been amazed at the level of fascination with our demise and the circumstances surrounding our last days. Many people have asked me if I knew or sensed what was happening. Actually, it was just the opposite. We knew we were having a bad year, but we were in cyclical business. We've had good years and bad years. In fact, my area - equities - was having a good year and the firm was profitable again - highlighting (we thought) the strength of the business model. Besides, we weren't going out of business... But we went out of business. Whose fault was it? Was it our new CEO? Our ex-CEO? The shorts? The press? I developed a different perspective.
Let me digress with a reference to tehillim. The backdrop for the third perek of tehillim is rather unusual. Dovid Hamelech thanks Hashem during the rebellion of Avshalom. As I heard from Rav Yissocher Frand, the normal course of events is not for a son to rebel against the father. Usually it is a political opponent or an aide. But these circumstances - the rebellion by his son Avshalom - were extremely unusual. To Dovid, that was a sign that this rebellion was outside nature, outside teva and that Hashem was watching over him and was involved in Dovid's life and that G-d runs the world.
What happened to Bear Stearns was outside teva. Until the demise of Bear Stearns, I knew what my schedule was going to be - more or less - for the next year or so. I was working on projects through the year 2010. I was firmly in control and I knew what the future would be. But it wasn't to be. I learned that I was not in control. For many of us, we went through - l'havdil (if you can compare) - many of the signs associated with shiva. We were in denial, we were angry, we were depressed. Finally, we began to accept our situation. I, too, went through these stages. I was in denial. I was angry. I was depressed. Because I was not in control. I'm passed that now but I was only able to get beyond it because I came to realize Who is in control of the world. The events at Bear Stearns are all part of His plan. You can be angry with His plan but it doesn't change His plan. At one level, it's like going to a museum and getting angry at the exhibits. But that is a rather silly reaction because it doesn't change the exhibits so you may as well enjoy the museum.
Lesson #2 - Your prayers are answered so think carefully about what you pray for.
We are relative newcomers to Teaneck. We moved here about three years ago. I think the most important force one faces in life is peer pressure- for better or worse - so you have to focus carefully on what the peer pressures are where you live and work. In Teaneck, there is peer pressure to learn. Everyone does it. Every shul competes to have the best learning. The batei medrash (halls of study) are thriving and the shiurim attract crowds. That is one of the main reasons that we moved here.
I had often thought about taking some time off for learning. While my children are "frum from birth," Nancy and I are balei teshvot - I have done many things, but I essentially see myself as a bit of an idiot savant, that is, I have "done the daf" for over 10 years and attended multiple shiurim, but I had never learned the basics: tefilla, gemara without English on the other side, Chumash with Rashi and other meforshim. I thought about taking a sabbatical. But I would only do it with these two conditions: I could not take off after a good year, since I needed just one more good year. And I could not take off after a bad year since I really needed a good year to take off. Outside of these two mutually exclusive conditions, I would take time off to learn.
I had started talking to Rabbi Eliyahu Roberts, Rosh Yeshiva of YeshivaGedola of Teaneck, several months ago. He and I had started learning gemara about once a week - on laws of taking interest - but I realized it was not enough to get me to where I wanted to be. So we began to talk about learning at the yeshiva with some of the boys one or two mornings a week. I think we started to talk about this last November or so. But - when it came down to it - I could never find the time.
Hashem found the time for me. He cleared my entire schedule. Hashem opened up all of my mornings. Arranged a sabbatical year for me, so to speak. As I mentioned a moment ago, I saw what happened to Bear Stearns as an"act of G-d." As we learn though, we never know what G-d's plan is and I certainly don't know why Bear Stearns went out of business. But I knew that the message - whatever it is - is that something is supposed to change. It's not business as usual. Ironically, I had a position if I wanted it at the new firm. In fact, the person who did what I did at JPMorgan coincidentally resigned the day Bear went out of business - for entirely unrelated reasons. So I could have glided from one spot to the next - from one vine to the next - with nary a glitch. But the emails we get from Hashem aren't always so clear. That is where prayer comes in. But Hashem does answer prayers. Sometimes it is murky and unclear and sometimes it is a smack on the side of the head. So that is how I ended up learning two hours a day at Yeshiva Gedola of Teaneck with my excellent chavrusas (study partners). Being in kollel is not as odd as you think. While there is a generational difference, we recently had a grandchild, so I can talk strollers and pediatricians. Just not about diaper changing. I leave that to the next generation...
Lesson #3 - Think about your legacy.
I was on Wall Street for 25 years including 20 years at Bear Stearns. I had some great calls and made people a lot of money (and may have lost people a lot of money at times as well). I was on the Institutional Investor All-Star team for 16 years, the Wall Street Journal All-Star team for nine years. But that is not what I will be remembered for from my years at BearStearns. The frum world remembers me for running the Bear Stearns minyan- thanks to an email from one of the participants.
Just a bit of history. When Bear Stearns was at 245 Park Avenue, there was a minyan in the stairwell - owing to its legacy as an Olympia & York building. That changed when we moved to a new building at 383 Madison. With tighter security, there was no common area for the minyan so we stopped meeting. A few months after disbanding, a summer intern from YU asked me if I could get a minyan going. In the new building I was able to get the conference room next to my office and we were off and running. In fact, word got around and we started attracting outsiders from nearby firms. Then - after a few weeks - I got a call from Human Resources at Bear. I heard you have a minyan at Bear, he said. Sure, do you want to attend? No, but there is a problem. There were issues around security with outsiders coming to a "secure" floor. What can we do, I asked. I left it in their hands and in Hashem's hands. It turns out that there is a law that requires a company to provide its employees with reasonable accommodation to prayer. So while the company did not want an official "Bear Stearns minyan," they agreed to give me a room every day for prayer - for the "Andy Neff meeting" and to which I could invite some of my friends to enable me to have a minyan. Hence the minyan, where we regularly had 20-30 people and, on a fast day when we had a sefer Torah, we would have more than 100 people.
Here is the final irony. Bear Stearns is gone. But the minyan - which started at 245 Park -- lives on. Roughly one third of the attendees were from JP Morgan, which owned three buildings adjacent to our headquarters, so we simply transferred the management of the minyan over to JPMorgan. A perfect plan for how to make Bear Stearns go away without interfering with the ongoing minyan.
Lesson #4 - Every cost has a benefit and every benefit has a cost.
Wall Street is a great place to have a career - especially from a financial standpoint. Moreover, there is the prestige associated with Wall Street and the power, etc. What's wrong with that? In Pirkei Avos, perek dalet, first mishnah, Ben Zoma asks: who is wise -the person who learns from everyone else. Who is strong - the person who controls himself. Who is rich? The person who is happy with what he has. Who is honored? The person who honors other people. What is it that ties all these comments together? What ties them together is that each of the middos - wisdom, strength, wealth, honor - can only come from you - no one else can really provide it for you because if you depend on others for these attributes, then they all go away when the external forces, the people go away. There is a cost to being on Wall Street - and probably in other high-powered positions. You lose track of priorities. You live with such stress all the time that you don't know what it is like not to have stress. The analogy I use is of a scuba diver who lives from oxygen tank to oxygen tank not realizing that all the oxygen in the world is available to him five feet above on the surface.
There is a gemara in Pesachim - and again in Bava Basra - that says Olam hafuch rai'si that in Olam Haba we see that the world to come is inverted from this world. That was a hard gemara for me to understand until I left the high-powered world. In that world, what you think is important loses its importance. The things I feared losing the most were the small things: a secretary, car services, etc. The thing I had given up most easily was time - time with family, quality and quantity time. And that I realize has the most value. I'm not saying that effort is not required and that you shouldn't devote time to your work - just that there are ways to do it without stress. And - much of it seems so unimportant in retrospect. And also, as we saw in the comments on Bnai Reuven and Bnai Gad, you need to keep your priorities straight.
Lesson #5 - Handling tests - it's easier than you think.
At one level, I believe that I am fortunate to have this test at this stage in my life.We learn that Hashem never gives us a test that we cannot handle. To me, conversely, that says that I was not ready to handle this test until now. I feel thankful that I have matured to a level that I can handle something like this. Moreover, for many of us, our careers are our lives or close to it after our families. The loss of a career is devastating at many levels - some of which I have noted already. And financial turmoil is another nightmare. But the positive for me is learning that I can deal with it. It's a new reality, but I am ready for the next reality. Many ask what is the key to a Jewish community. To some, it is the kosher pizza restaurant. To others, it is a lot of shuls. But what really makes the community whole is the Torah it propagates. Being able to bring Torah to the world is a valuable asset - and I am skilled at identifying undervalued assets.
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Andrew Neff was a leading securities analyst on Wall Street including the last 20 years at Bear Stearns, recognized by Institutional Investor and the Wall Street Journal as an All-Star. He now learns in the Yeshiva Gedola of Teaneck in the morning.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Obama's Western Wall Prayer - Published
As much as this is one of those things you'd surely be tempted to do if you were there, I think this is wrong:
On a different note, it's a rather nice, generic prayer (could be he was unwilling to get more personal/specific, particularly when something like this could happen), and I certainly hope that if he wins, he does what is just and right while avoiding pride and despair.
A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.I'm not sure why the student felt that it was a good thing to do this; it's obviously something that should be considered private (even if it is in a public place), and it seems very wrong to me.“Lord — Protect my family and me,” reads the note published in the Maariv daily. “Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”
The paper’s decision to make the note public drew fire. The rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, said publishing the note intruded in Obama’s relationship with God.
“The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them,” he told Army Radio. The publication “damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves,” he said.
Maariv published a photograph of the note, which it said had been removed from the wall by a student at a Jewish seminary immediately after Obama left.
On a different note, it's a rather nice, generic prayer (could be he was unwilling to get more personal/specific, particularly when something like this could happen), and I certainly hope that if he wins, he does what is just and right while avoiding pride and despair.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Grace By Heart
R' Gil has a very interesting post on talking during davening (prayers), a subject that is close to my heart. Read the whole thing, but I thought this little note near the end particularly interesting, in light of the consistent comments I receive from friends regarding bensching (grace after meals) about how I should use a benscher (prayer book) and not say the words by heart. [emphasis mine]
What I found interesting is that there is seemingly no concern that one person's loud prayers will disturb the concentration of everyone else. Evidently, this is not an issue. I don't know why, but it isn't. In fact, I have prayed near loud-praying people and found it very distracting. But they don't seem to be doing anything wrong halakhically.I'd always argued that it doesn't make sense that it's somehow better to pray from a benscher; they didn't exist until more recently, anyway. It's nice to see that this was correct (though not necessarily for that reason).
Perhaps, if someone may pray out loud then maybe other people may talk as well. As long as those who are praying are reading from prayerbooks, then we are not concerned that they will get confused.
When I told this to a local rabbi, he insisted that people have the right to choose to pray from memory, in which case none of the above would apply.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Yeshivish Gmail
I received the latest "Feiner Baby" e-mail update from a friend today.
You know how is gmail 'reads' a date or time it will suggest adding something to your google calendar?
Well, check out what Gmail 'read' in my email and suggested to me...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Moving
A friend asked me yesterday an interesting question, not because I haven't been asked it before, but because of a couple of small, 'nothing' stories that happened recently that I thought said a lot.
My friend asked simply "What moves you?"
I've noticed that it's often the little things that 'move' me far more than anything else. The example I gave was a person taking an extra second, or a bit of extra care, to make sure someone was happy, that everything was okay, that they have what they need - that moves me more than (say) a large charitable organization doing what it sets out to do [however amazing that is].
I'll give a quick example from Shabbos. Friday night, while MordyS, G, and myself were davening in the non-post-Purim-Carlebach minyan behind the mechitza (long story), I noticed at the front left of what during the day is the women's section two young men sitting and davening with the front minyan. The one on the left was a regular, the other was a visitor, sitting alone. The one on the left asked the visitor a couple of questions about himself, then asked where he was eating that night; he pointed to the man just in front of the mechitza and responded he was eating by his brother, and the regular said "Oh well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come to us." I couldn't help but smile at the whole exchange.
The next day, as we were leaving shul, G tells me that he liked the shul (and not just because it was over after an hour and a half). I asked why, and he explained that after davening ended, the man on the table he was at asked him simply: "Hi; What's your name; Where are you from; Do you have a place to eat?" Now, this is not a shul that rarely has guests - every week, there are a large number of people who aren't regulars at the shul, there are plenty of new people constantly (KGH is a transient neighborhood with many young people in particular constantly moving in and out), and it's often hard to know if the person next to you is new or has been living next door for ten years. Odds are, people there have places to eat, usually their own house. This isn't the Young Israel of Cleveland where you know that someone is from "out-of-town" and not sitting with someone, so there are odds they might need a place to eat. And perhaps it's easier to assume that an "out-of-towner" might need a place for a meal in New York... but I still thought it was a great story.
When my friend asked me what moves me, it is stories like these that immediately rushed to my mind. People showing awareness of others and their needs, or even just something that will make their lives a little easier or nicer: Making a bunch of calls and sleeping on a floor to make sure someone else has a place to stay after a miscommunication - when it's not your problem. Bringing a couple small items that just make life that much easier. Taking someone else's daughter for a walk, or putting her down to sleep, or just keeping her busy for a little while. Inviting people to meals at places where you know it won't be a problem, because it's needed for whatever reason. Offering to switch places to stay when someone wants to go to sleep and everyone else wants to keep going. Not coming along even when you'll be bored to let a friend talk about something privately. Going to check on a friend first even though there are other important things to do. And in just about all of the cases above, these actions were treated as perfectly normal - expected, even - and were done in a rather low key fashion (or joked about). Modestly. Quietly. As if everyone does it.
Those types of 'little' things move me, even though they're rather common among people we know. Heck, all of those last few examples were just from our guests this past weekend. I don't know... this is what moves me.
What moves you?
My friend asked simply "What moves you?"
I've noticed that it's often the little things that 'move' me far more than anything else. The example I gave was a person taking an extra second, or a bit of extra care, to make sure someone was happy, that everything was okay, that they have what they need - that moves me more than (say) a large charitable organization doing what it sets out to do [however amazing that is].
I'll give a quick example from Shabbos. Friday night, while MordyS, G, and myself were davening in the non-post-Purim-Carlebach minyan behind the mechitza (long story), I noticed at the front left of what during the day is the women's section two young men sitting and davening with the front minyan. The one on the left was a regular, the other was a visitor, sitting alone. The one on the left asked the visitor a couple of questions about himself, then asked where he was eating that night; he pointed to the man just in front of the mechitza and responded he was eating by his brother, and the regular said "Oh well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come to us." I couldn't help but smile at the whole exchange.
The next day, as we were leaving shul, G tells me that he liked the shul (and not just because it was over after an hour and a half). I asked why, and he explained that after davening ended, the man on the table he was at asked him simply: "Hi; What's your name; Where are you from; Do you have a place to eat?" Now, this is not a shul that rarely has guests - every week, there are a large number of people who aren't regulars at the shul, there are plenty of new people constantly (KGH is a transient neighborhood with many young people in particular constantly moving in and out), and it's often hard to know if the person next to you is new or has been living next door for ten years. Odds are, people there have places to eat, usually their own house. This isn't the Young Israel of Cleveland where you know that someone is from "out-of-town" and not sitting with someone, so there are odds they might need a place to eat. And perhaps it's easier to assume that an "out-of-towner" might need a place for a meal in New York... but I still thought it was a great story.
When my friend asked me what moves me, it is stories like these that immediately rushed to my mind. People showing awareness of others and their needs, or even just something that will make their lives a little easier or nicer: Making a bunch of calls and sleeping on a floor to make sure someone else has a place to stay after a miscommunication - when it's not your problem. Bringing a couple small items that just make life that much easier. Taking someone else's daughter for a walk, or putting her down to sleep, or just keeping her busy for a little while. Inviting people to meals at places where you know it won't be a problem, because it's needed for whatever reason. Offering to switch places to stay when someone wants to go to sleep and everyone else wants to keep going. Not coming along even when you'll be bored to let a friend talk about something privately. Going to check on a friend first even though there are other important things to do. And in just about all of the cases above, these actions were treated as perfectly normal - expected, even - and were done in a rather low key fashion (or joked about). Modestly. Quietly. As if everyone does it.
Those types of 'little' things move me, even though they're rather common among people we know. Heck, all of those last few examples were just from our guests this past weekend. I don't know... this is what moves me.
What moves you?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Please Daven...
...for a Refuah Shleimah for R' Henoch Leibowitz, shlita, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Chofetz Chaim yeshivos (Rabbinical Seminary of America), who is in the hospital.
The branch here in Kew Gardens Hills has canceled their chagiga for tomorrow night, and will be replacing it with a seder limud in the merit of a speedy recovery for the Rosh HaYeshiva. His name is:
The branch here in Kew Gardens Hills has canceled their chagiga for tomorrow night, and will be replacing it with a seder limud in the merit of a speedy recovery for the Rosh HaYeshiva. His name is:
Alter Chanoch Henoch ben Chaya Rivka Leah
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Desperate Situation
UPDATE: Unfortunately, Mr. Segal's body has been found.This is a desperate situation. The father of a good friend of mine, Yigal Segal, has been missing for more than a day. Please daven for Zev ben Miriam. He was last seen yesterday morning leaving the WFMU radio studio in Northern NJ at 8:15AM, where he was joining his son, Nachum Segal, at the annual radio-station fundraiser.
Zev ben Miriam is a talmid chacham who is elderly yet very lucid and independent. He learned in Chevron in 1929 and served as a personal representative for Ben Gurion as well as for several g'dolei yisroel such as the Brisker Rav.
Mr. Segal of Manhattan was last seen in his dark green color 1999 Mercury Ford vehicle, with the tag number ATL-3961. Anyone with any information should please call (201) 547-5066.
May Hashem keep Zev ben Miriam safe and help him be found quickly.
UPDATED 9:24AM EST: Misaskim Asking For Assistance In Finding Missing Person
March 5, 2008
[UPDATES BELOW ORIGINAL STORY] 3:00PM EST: Misaskim has contacted YWN, and are asking for the public’s assistance. They are looking for a 91 year-old male, who was last seen at approximately 8:15AM this morning in the Northern NJ area. He was driving a dark-green 1999 Ford Mercury, NY plate # ALT3961. He was supposed to arrive at his destination, but has not been seen, or heard from since.
Misaskim has contacted dozens of Police Departments, Hospitals and other agencies - but no one has information.
If you see this vehicle, or have any information which can assist in locating this person, please contact New Jersey Police at 201-547-5066.
UPDATE 1:00AM EST: At this time, hundreds of Hatzolah members from Flatbush, Boro Park, Williamsburg, Queens, Monsey, Staten Island, Passaic NJ, Union City NJ, Elizabeth NJ, Kiryas Yoel and other neighborhoods have joined the massive search - being coordinated by the Misaskim, and Hatzolah Mobile Command Centers.
Additionally, there are Chaveirim members from multiple areas, as well as Shomrim units from all neighborhoods.
The command center has been set up in Jersey City, NJ - and dozens of police officers from Jersey City PD in conjunction with the NJ State Police are working aggressively in the search. K-9 units are searching the sides and exits of Route 280 - and two choppers are scheduled to join the search first thing in the morning.
Please be Mispallel for Zev ben Miriam - who is the father of Radio Personality Nachum Segal. Mr. Zev Segal was last seen at the WFMU radio studio at 8:15AM, where he was joining his son at the annual radio-station fundraiser.
UPDATE 9:24AM EST: Click HERE for photos of the amazing Kiddush Hashem overnight, as hundreds of volunteers gathered to assist in this massive ongoing search
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Segula
Segula
by Sara Ireland
"Drink this wine," they said, "to find your destined mate,"
Like some magic love elixir, some romance potion.
So I grasped that bridal cup and brought my lips close,
And wouldn't you know it? I spilled it all over me.
"Take this broken shard," they said, "to meet your true beloved,"
Like some miracle pottery, some wondrous earthenware.
So I reached for that wedding plate, that little shattered piece,
And wouldn't you know it? I cut my finger on its sharp edge.
"Hold this lighted candle," they said, "as tall as you want your husband,"
Like some enchanted torch, some supernatural flame.
So I held that Sabbath candle and raised it above my head,
And wouldn't you know it? I lit the house on fire.
"Eat this bread," they said, "to catch your other half,"
Like some Divine manna, some holy sustenance.
So I bit into that wedding loaf, that warm, doughy morsel,
And wouldn't you know it? I began to cough and choke.
"Recite this prayer," they said, "to uncover your betrothed,"
Like some sanctified liturgy, some sacred hymn.
So I said those ancient words, and I began to cry,
And wouldn't you know it? He handed me a tissue.
Akiva & Sara Cooperman
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