491 10 Jan 08

New Horizons

For Disabled InfantsImmobile babies do the driving

C4A Torah Oasis

In the Desert

Celebrating a hachnassas

sefer torah in the

streets of Phoenix

c”v ct’ ,ax”jX491 Jan. 10, 2008

Features

Observations ____________C2

Lite From Yerushalayim _____ C2

Airmail to Amsterdam ______ C3

Self-Image _____________ C3

The World of Kiruv ________ C4

Jews in Japan ___________ C5

Benefit of the Doubt _______ C7

That’s an Idea! __________ C8

Stranger Than Fiction ______ C9

Home & Life ___________ C10

Readers’ Forum _________ C10

Sudoku _______________C10

Word Watch ____________ C11

Crossword _____________ C11

Medical Front ___________ C14

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Seeking Solutions ________ C15

C13

FeaturesFeatures

C2 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

By Rabbi Avi Shafran

Winter, when my commutehome from Manhattan on the Stat-en Island ferry is shrouded in dark-ness, provides me a singularopportunity.

That’s because the thousands ofother commuters sailing along withme are more subdued than at othertimes of year. There is, of course,artificial lighting on the ferry, butthe darkness outside seems to quellconversations somewhat; the boatis noticeably more subdued thanwhen the sun sets later. And wherethe electric lights are most dim, ina certain part of the vessel un-known to many passengers, iswhere you will find me.

I use my commute to catch upon reading but, most importantly,to learn. In the winter, the Torah-study is particularly sweet in thatpoorly lighted, somewhat remotearea, where the only other passen-gers are inter-e s t e dexclusively innapping or lis-tening, eyesclosed, to theiriPods. A small,battery-operat-ed book light,clipped to thecover of themasechta Istudy, castssoft light ontothe page, and,unless one of my neighbors is in-tent on annoying the rest of us byturning up the volume on his “per-sonal” audio device so it soundslike an angry bee (and no doubtpermanently damages hiseardrums), all is quiet and dark,with the holy words before myeyes drawing me in. I wouldn’tcome home any other way.

At an Agudath Israel nationalconvention several years ago, theLakewood Mashgiach, Harav Mat-tisyahu Salomon, delivered asichah that I often recall as I settleinto my ferry seat. His topic wasthe centrality of introspection andfocused learning to the essence oftrue Torah life, dedication to theDivine. And then he bemoanedhow chronically “unconcentrated”we all are these days.

When incandescent lightingwas first commercialized in the1920s, Rav Salomon recounted,committed Jews — like the rest ofthe world — were enthralled withthe possibilities presented by thenew technology. They saw won-drous potential in not having torely on the dim, flickering light ofwax candles or oil lamps to illumi-nate the sacred books whose studythey so cherished.

But the revered Rav Elya Lopi-an, a giant of the mussar move-ment, was less sanguine. He toldhis talmidim that the more primi-tive lighting to which they were ac-customed, for all its drawbacks,facilitated concentration and focus.The new technology, he feared, forall of its advantages, would under-

mine those things.We don’t generally think of our

well-lighted spaces as impairingconcentration, but the logic is un-questionably there. The more in-formational input to the senses, theless mental focus. That is, after all,the point behind darkened arenasand spotlights. Our brains are won-derfully able to filter out much thatmight distract us from tasks athand, but the extraneous informa-tion is still there even if we don’tconsciously notice it, backgroundstatic to our contemplations. Everytime I turn on my little light on mywinter commute home, I appreci-ate Rav Elya Lopian’s prescienceanew.

Rav Salomon went on to addthe telephone to the list of erosionsto deep thought. How often are notonly our dinners but our reflectionsrudely interrupted by ringing orwarbling, or trilling? And the moremobile the technology, he noted

further, themore opportu-nities for ourconcentration tobe broken. Any-one who hassilently cursedhis cell phoneknows just whathe meant.

“Somethingthat looks like abrachah,” herecapped, “canbe, in fact, a

disaster.” The glut of available in-formation came to mind, and thedubious marvel of multitasking.Then, moving on to the options fortravel in modern times, he musedsadly, “Today we are expected tobe everywhere.”

How sadly true. In pre-automo-bile times, people were rarely ifever expected to travel beyond theconfines of their immediate townsor neighborhoods. With options solimited (and towns so small), therewas more time to stay put, sit still,stay focused. Many of the thingsthat pull us, unresisting, into ourcars and onto our highways,around the corner and around theworld, may be worthy ones, butthat cannot change the fact thatthey take us away — from ourhomes, from our families, andfrom study and introspection, thepillars of Jewish existence.

Rav Salomon was not askinghis listeners to return to horses andbuggies or oil lamps. He is no Lud-dite and has no disdain for technol-ogy. No, he is simply (as if it weresimple!) a Gadol in Torah andmussar, an exquisitely sensitiveobserver who sees a broader pic-ture than most of us do. He chal-lenges us to open our eyes to whatwe have lost even as we havegained. The losses are tragic, evenif so subtle that most of us don’teven realize what we are missing.

©2008 AM ECHAD RE-SOURCES

Rabbi Shafran is director ofpublic affairs for Agudath Israel ofAmerica.

Too MuchInformation

By Sheindel Weinbach

Portunol: A hybrid word for Por-tuguese-Espanol, created especiallyfor Neshei Portunol.

South America: A different timezone, a different season zone, a hugearea on the other side of the globeencompassing a dozen countries, thesmallest of which is at least a dozentimes the size of Eretz Yisrael, withBrazil one of the top-10 in the world.

I stood out like a sore thumb inthe Meah She’arim of over 40 yearsago as the only American. Theyspotted me right away, with my bigAmerican baby carriage, my sheitel,and even the Hebrew I used on mytwo-year-old, having bravely re-solved to integrate into Israeli socie-ty from the start. (My Yiddish inMeah Shearim would have beeneven more “outstanding.”) I guessmy neighbors were amused, espe-cially the fish man, when I asked for“karpiyon bishvil shnei kilo.” Whatwas wrong? To me, “bishvil” wassynonymous with “for” and did notdesignate “whom” it was for.

Every new immigrant has fun-ny/embarrassing stories and thoseincidents when he was yelled at.Nowadays, Anglo-Saxons no longerfeel like the odd man out because ofour numbers and our natures; com-ing from the “land of the free and thehome of the brave,” Americans haveno problem sticking up for theirrights. Even in English.

English is an official language inIsrael. Spanish is not. Portugueseeven less so — you can’t even rec-ognize it when you hear it. So howdo soft-spoken, highly cultured im-migrants from those countries, withless than a smattering of modern He-brew, acclimate in the harsh world ofbureaucracy?

“You’ve got to write aboutNeshei Portunol.”

So here I am, in the living roomof Rivkah Braverman, together withRebecca Kumer, having a tete-a-tetecoordinated by my friend NehamaConsuelo (ole ole! — see AleiHadas Nov. 29).

We are trying to communicate —Mrs. Braverman in Portuguese toMrs. Kumer and back to me in Eng-lish. Both these women, with a PhDor two apiece, boast an impressiverecord from back home. Mrs. K. wasthe national coordinator of Jewishstudies in Brazil; she designed andimplemented the curriculum for allthe public schools (they have a “reli-gious release hour”) and taught 250teachers! Then she made aliyah.

Mrs. B. has been a magnet forSouth American women ever sinceshe came about 20 years ago, host-ing, consulting and teaching in herhome, creating study groups andprograms in many neighborhoods.This has culminated in the creationof Neshei Portunol, with permanentheadquarters.

Aliyah is much more difficult forthe South American immigrant, asshe can tell you. Many families needa spiritual aliyah as well, havingcome to Eretz Yisrael to join baaleiteshuvah children whom they sentahead to study, and who settled hereto raise families. The parent genera-tion needs support in fielding impa-tient Bituach Leumi clerks,registering in Kupat Cholim, occa-sional trips to a doctor or hospitalclinic, all activities which Americanimmigrants can somehow managewith a broken Hebrew or the clerk’sbroken English. But these gentleolim are totally at a loss.

But even more, they need Yid-dishkeit. This is the glue that keeps

body and soul together, connectingthem to Eretz Yisrael, their childrenand grandchildren.

Mrs. B. organized the firstShemiras Halashon Yom Iyun inSpanish nine years ago and annuallyever since. Six years ago she finallycreated a headquarters for CentroNeshei Portunol at Ramat Eshkol 14(tel. 581-6546), got a Rabbi, Dr.Saul Bensadon, to head the organi-zation, and began flying.

“El Alter de Slobodka explicabaque en Rosh Hashana...” reads theirTishrei newsletter editorial. Its sec-ond page lists the various baaleiteshuvah yeshivos/seminaries withSpanish programs (Aish HaTorah;Ayelet Hashachar; Mesilot HaTorah;Binyan Olam ...).

Next is an announcement of afull-day seminar “Dia que todo ...Teshuva” featuring eight speakers.And a listing of “geumajim.” (Threeguesses ...)

Ongoing activities include a ros-ter of shiurim, ulpan, creative arts(South Americans are fabulousartists and craftspeople). Services in-clude: visitas a los enermos (bikurcholim); orientation (about aliyah,handling officialdom, etc.), a hugebook and tape library, aerobics and

gymnastics, a dietician class,chessed activities like food distribu-tion, plus a morning kollel for men.

It’s all about networking. Mrs. B.is one of the movers behind thisNeshei. Aside from organizing, hernet spans oceans and continents.

Her son is coming from Mexico(where he lives) with a group of 40adults on a kiruv mission. She’sthere for him to help plan the pro-gram, make personal contact withthem in her affable way. Exposethem to the right things.

A family calls her from Brazil.They are coming in for a chasunahand they need clothing. Nothingthere is quite suitable; fashions aretotally different in Brazil. No prob-lem; she refers them to a chasunah-clothing gemach run by YochevedLevine.

Shidduchim? She doesn’t admitto being involved. But neither doesshe deny it. And she is very close tothe South Americans who run thewonderful yeshivos/seminarieshere...

Then there is courier service ofdocuments and small packageswhich cannot be trusted to the post.And soon the Neshei will be open-ing its own branch of Yad Sarahmedical equipment.

A South American passed awayin Raanana and his family was at aloss. She arranged for his funeraland for Kaddish to be said for him.

She tells of the heart-stopping in-cident of a kidnapping in Mexico.She alerted all the schools to davenfor the victim all along and kept atwo-way line open for the family.

Halfway through this meeting,Mrs. K. dropped a word in Yiddish.That knocked down barriers and webegan to communicate in MamaLashon. And here is a story she toldme:

Her family dates back to the AriHakadosh; their name is inscribedon a plaque in his shul in Tzefas.Four generations ago, starving andpersecuted by the Turks, the familydecided to immigrate to Brazil.Whereas other families watereddown their Yiddishkeit over theyears, their family became a centerfor everything shebikedushah.

For her brother’s upcoming barmitzvah, the grandfather decided totake the family to Tzefas. As theywere walking along the ancientstreets, a very old man stopped thegrandfather.

“I know you! Wait a minute ...”he jabbed a finger at him. “Fiftyyears ago, I lost the key to my homeand couldn’t get in. You were the lit-tle boy who managed to climb inthrough a window and open up forme.”

So where do we fit in? Not allSouth Americans know about theNeshei. Tell them!

Nu, so who’s next on my [email protected] or 02-5372303.

How Do You Say Chessed in Portuguese?

Mrs. B. helps South American immigrants

connect to Eretz Yisrael and their frum children and grandchildren

‘I know you!

Fifty years ago, I

lost the key to

my home and

couldn’t get in.

You were the

little boy who

managed to

climb in through

a window and

open up for me’

FEATURES C3HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

There is a basic principle found in thewritings of the Rambam (Hilchos Dei’os)and other classic Torah sources about turn-ing ourselves into what we want to be:“Act the way you wish to be and you willbecome that way.”

We are affected by our actions. Take,for example, someone who wants to be-come a kinder person. By doing many actsof kindness over time, he will actually be-come a kinder person.

Each day, make a list of at least ten pos-itive things that you did or said: kindwords and acts, blessings that you saidwith kavanah, and other things that youdid even though they were hard to do;times when you felt grateful and when yourefrained from saying something thatwould cause another person distress; anencouraging telephone call that you made.

What will happen when you resolve towrite down ten positive actions each day?You will go out of your way to do them.This will affect your self-image. You willknow that you are a kind person.

Some people feel that they need to bevery confident and courageous before theycan act and speak that way. Others knowthat it’s possible to act brave even withoutfeeling brave. Act the way you wish to be!Over time, that’s what you will become.

In the case of self-image, some peoplefeel thatthey musthave ap o s i t i v eself-imageb e f o r ethey canspeak andact theway a per-son with a positive self-image would speakand act.

There is some truth here. Self-image isbased on your thoughts. So to be a personwith a positive self-image, you need tothink the way a person with a positive self-image would think. But you may start be-having like someone with a positive

self-image even before you actually thinkof yourself in a positive way. Keeping thisup over time will teach you that you havewhat it takes to be a person with a positiveself-image.

You can keep repeating to yourself, “Iwill speak and act the way I would if I had

a pos-i t i v es e l f -i m -a g e .

Speaking and acting this way will help mebuild my inner confidence.”

As you speak and act positively, youhave a choice of how you view what youare doing. Some might say, “I am speakingand acting like a person with a positiveself-image, but I don’t really have one. Iam speaking and acting like a person who

has a high level of self-confidence, but Idon’t really feel that way.” Someone whokeeps thinking this way is negating the ef-fects of his positive speech and behavior.That is the power of thought. Negativethought works against you; positivethought works for you.

It’s better for a person who starts offfeeling this way to say, “I see that I canspeak and act like a person with a positiveself-image, one with a high level of confi-dence and courage. The more frequently Ido it, the more it will become who I actu-ally am. As I keep this up, I will keepbuilding my self-image.”

Every time you repeat self-image-building sentences, you are conditioningyour mind. Your thoughts and actions areworking in harmony to build your self-im-age. Act as if you had a good self-image; itwill eventually be second nature to you.

Reprinted with permission fromArtScroll’s Building Your Self-Image byRabbi Zelig Pliskin.

BBBBuuuuiiii llllddddiiiinnnngggg YYYYoooouuuurrrr SSSSeeee llll ffff----IIIImmmmaaaaggggeeee

Act the Way You Wish to Be

Jerald sat in his office at the factory,concentrating intently on his computerscreen. Dr. Rozen, a doctor who combinedconventional medicine with alternativehealing, had sent him lots of useful materi-al.

“We have to make people understand,”Dr. Rozen wrote, “that natural medicine atits best is integrative. It is possible, evenadvisable, to seek alternative methods forcuring ailments, but practitioners and thehealing products they promote must becarefully screened. Also, patients shouldnever abandon conventional treatmentcompletely.”

Dr. Rozen suggested distributing a spe-cial pamphlet on the subject twice a year.He sent Jerald dozens of documented casesin which unscrupulous practitioners of al-ternative medicine had caused severe dete-rioration in a patient’s condition or evendeath.

Jerald read the information voraciously,stopping every so often to file certain sta-tistics. It was painful, on the one hand, toread grim stories about patients who hadlost their ability to function, their health oreven their lives because of a money-hungrynatural healer who had exploited theirnaiveté. At the same time, it was invigorat-ing to think that he was about to do some-thing to prevent such gruesome storiesfrom recurring.

The article Rozen quoted about a childfrom Alkmaar who suffered from a lungailment caused a shudder to run up Jerald’sspine. The boy’s mother had a friend whospecialized in natural healing. The problembegan when the friend convinced the boy’s

mother not to take her son to the hospital.The child developed an infection in hislungs and heart and also suffered terriblyfrom bedsores.

The friend told the mother all sorts ofhorror stories about hospitals. Her hus-band, for example, had died because some-one in the hospital had injected him withthe wrong medication and it poisoned him.It wasn’t until her son lost consciousnessthat the mother finally decided to overrideher friend’s advice and take him to theemergency room. But by then it was toolate. The child was pronounced dead uponarrival.

Ever since Jerald had been involvedwith Hendrik and the healer from Ameland,he’d been hearing about more and moresuch incidents, and he felt strongly thatpeople ought to be warned.

“My goal is not to blacken the name ofalternative medicine,” he’d written to Dr.Rozen yesterday. “On the contrary, wewant to help maintain a credible image.Stories like these cause people to be suspi-cious of all naturopaths.

“In addition to exposing charlatans andquacks, my society will offer guidance topeople who need it and separate the goodand responsible practitioners from the irre-sponsible ones.

“I know there are many fine natur-opaths. I believe alternative medicine has alot to offer. People are willing to pay a for-tune for a bit of good health. Why not helpthem reach the right addresses?”

Dr. Rozen’s response had been over-whelmingly positive. He blessed Jerald’sinitiative and declared his willingness to

help in whatever way he could. He agreedthat there would be much benefit in an or-ganization that could serve as an objectiveauthority, a watchdog on practitioners ofnatural healing. This would cause everyonein the field to be more careful.

Jerald rubbed his hands together withsatisfaction. Things were getting underway. Dear naturopath from Ameland, hemused, it is you who are responsible for theestablishment of my society. You definitelydeserve a fair share of the credit, hethought wryly.

Jerald was so engrossed in his computerfiles that he didn’t notice the man in a busi-ness suit and tie who had been standing pa-tiently in the doorway of his office for thepast ten minutes. The man didn’t seem tomind that Jerald was absorbed in his work.On the contrary, he was rather pleased.

He surveyed the room carefully, glanc-ing occasionally at Jerald, whose foreheadwas just visible over the top of the comput-er screen. He managed to note the locationof various things in the room before Jeraldlooked up and greeted him.

“I’m Willy. The Max & Vincent Em-ployment Agency sent me,” he said. Thefirst thing Jerald noticed about the man wasthat he had a tic; his eyes blinked involun-tarily every two and a half minutes or so.

“Yes,” Jerald said with a courteoussmile, “please ...,” gesturing for the man tosit down. The man settled himself in thechair opposite Jerald.

“I must say,” Jerald noted, “they’re ex-tremely efficient there, at Max & Vincent. Isuppose that’s why the agency has acquiredsuch a good name for itself.”

He had placed an ad in the paper onlythat morning and already a representativeof the company had called to say he hadjust the man for the job. It was now barelytwo hours later and their candidate was al-ready here for an interview.

Jerald began with a series of routinequestions regarding the man’s name, ad-dress, employment history and family sta-tus. “Have you ever done secretarial workbefore?”

“Yes, you can read the letters of recom-mendation attached to my resume.” Theman was now blinking once every twominutes.

Jerald riffled through the pages. “Whereare the telephone numbers of your previousemployers?”

The blinking became rapid and inces-sant. “I didn’t provide them. It didn’t occur

to me you’d want them, considering the po-sition is for a junior clerk. If you wish, I’llsupply them.”

“Let’s leave that aside for now,” Jeraldsaid. He didn’t notice that the man breatheda sigh of relief.

The blinking became less pronouncedand less frequent. Jerald didn’t pay toomuch attention to these details. He neededanother pair of hands in the office and heneeded it fast. Peter, his chief chemist, wasworking with half a head. Jerald, deter-mined to devote time to the society he wasestablishing, was drowning in telephonecalls and correspondence. He had decidedto delegate additional authority to his regu-lar secretary and hire a new man to relievehim of the more tedious work.

Max & Vincent was known to be areputable company. He had been pleasedwhenever he’d used their services in thepast. Why not settle the matter quickly? Hedidn’t have the time to check a list of refer-ences anyway; he’d skip listing the phonenumbers.

“I’ll give you an answer tomorrow,” Jer-ald said, indicating that the meeting wasover. “There is one other applicant I wantto interview.”

“What?” Willy asked, looking alarmed.“After I placed the ad in the newspaper,

a friend of mine suggested his nephew as acandidate. I promised him I’d interview thefellow and see if he’s suitable.” Jeraldspoke gently, trying to soften the blow.

Jerald saw that Willy had obviouslypinned his hopes on this job, but whatcould he do? One of his employees hadheard about the job opening and recom-mended his relative. Jerald owed it to hisemployee to at least meet the fellow, al-though Willy seemed to meet his criteria.

The man stood in the doorway for a fewmoments. Then, with a gesture that indicat-ed he had suddenly remembered somethingimportant, he withdrew a business cardfrom his pocket and placed it on the desk.“You can reach me at this telephone num-ber,” he said.

“I have the number of the company thatsent you,” Jerald noted.

“I prefer that you call me directly at thisnumber,” the man said, stapling the card tohis resume.

As soon as he left the factory, Willywhipped out a cell phone and dialed a num-ber.

to be continued ...

Rina Yehudis works quickly to put away the groceries from the Lev Moshe chessed organization

before her brothers return home. Her mother finds her asleep at the table, her head resting on her

soft, new coat. Lynn, returning from a lecture, is feeling optimistic about the future.

C4 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

By Naomi Elbinger

Imagine that you are lost in a desert. Thesun beats down mercilessly on your head andthe empty, parched horizon stretches endlesslybefore you.

You stumble onward, clutching your pre-cious canteen of water, praying to Hashem thatthe meager drops it holds will last until youreach a well or stream and maybe, dare youhope, a little tree under which you can shelter.

Imagine your surprise when, as you reachthe summit of the next rocky hill, you seespread before you in the valley below … amagnificent oasis. You see green trees sway-ing in the breeze, surrounding a luscious poolof cool, fresh water, flowing freely from aspring deep below the surface.

It must be a mirage … the imaginary prod-uct of your thirst.

This is the image that comes to mind whenI think of the Phoenix Community Kollel inArizona. Phoenix, a city set literally in theheart of a vast desert, has a large Jewish com-munity that, for many years, was isolated fromthe wellsprings of Torah and Yiddishkeit. Itwas the introduction of air-conditioning in the’50s that enabled the city to grow and flourishphysically; but it was not until the year 2000and the arrival of the kollel that the spiritualflow, the be’er mayim chaim was opened tothe multitudes of the Jews who did not previ-ously have access to authentic Torah learning.

Phoenix may have the highest average tem-peratures of any major U.S. city [rising up to122°F (50°C)!], but this has not stunted its rap-id growth. It is now the fifth largest city in theUnited States, and the second fastest growing.Indeed, it is very hard to find a “Phoenician”who was actually born in the city. Among thehundreds of thousands of residents drawn tothe burgeoning economic opportunities in re-cent decades are many Jews, and the commu-nity now numbers around 100,000.

When Rabbi Chaim Silver arrived to takeup the post of rabbi at Young Israel of Phoenixover 10 years ago, he sensed that the commu-nity was indeed a spiritual desert, and that itsmembers were thirsting, more than anything,for the living waters of Torah. He had to worktirelessly to raise awareness of the need to es-tablish a community kollel.

He managed to help arrange a Torah Ume-sorah SEED Program, which brought out a

kollel couple and some yeshivah bachurim forthe summer of 1999. Seeing these young peo-ple so immersed in Torah learning, so inspiredand so ready to give, sparked a good deal ofexcitement in the local religious community.

A year later, thanks to the tireless efforts ofTorah Umesorah and Rabbi Silver, thePhoenix Community Kollel was born. Thefour young families who moved to the com-munity were led by Rabbi Zvi Holland. Rab-bi Holland, who grew up in Scranton,Pennsylvania, moved to Phoenix from Israel,where he had been learning in yeshivah andkollel for 10 years. Arriving in Phoenix, hefaced a tough challenge, especially for one soyoung (he was then in his mid-twenties). Yeteven then, he had a very defined vision ofwhat the kollel could become.

“First and foremost, we needed to bringout first-class yungeleit,” explains Rabbi Hol-land. “All the members of the kollel are en-gaged in advanced Torah study. Many peoplehere had never seen a talmid chacham beforeand we want to expose them to the real thing.

“In addition, all the kollel rabbis must betotally committed to building this communi-ty.”

Indeed, the involvement of the kollel mem-bers extends far beyond the walls of the beismedrash where they learn every day for eight

hours. Three of the thirteen kollel alumni arenow serving as pulpit rabbis in variousPhoenix shuls; one has recently founded thecity’s first religious girls’ high school; one hasbecome a prominent local kashrus mashgiachand the local representative of the Star Khechsher; and the wife of another teaches inthe local day school. They have also been in-strumental in establishing the community’seiruv.

The spirit of investment in the PhoenixJewish community and a commitment tostrengthening it has led to an unusual phe-nomenon. In other such kollelim, it is usual forfamilies to move on after three or four years,as the young children get older and outgrowthe limited local education options. Remark-ably, only one kollel family has left Phoenix inthe seven years since its founding.

“We are not just a kollel or kiruv organiza-tion, we are community builders,” says RabbiHolland, in his characteristically to-the-pointmanner.

In the course of our interview, it becomesclear that Rabbi Holland adheres to our sages’advice that one should say little and do much.His brevity belies the immense amount of ac-tivity that his organization generates directlyand indirectly. The doors of the kollel are openuntil late at night, and hundreds of people par-

ticipate in shiurim and private chavrusos withthe rabbis every month.

“I would say that the kollel has completelychanged the face of the Phoenix Jewish com-munity over the past seven-and-a-half years,”says Rabbi Dovid Goldman, a founding kollelmember.

For decades, Phoenix had an establishedreligious community under the leadership ofRabbi David Rebibo, who founded thePhoenix Hebrew Academy elementary schooland the Orthodox Beth Joseph shul forty yearsago. Rabbi Silver sought to build on the exist-ing community in Phoenix.

“The kollel has been a wonderful thing forthe frum community of Phoenix,” says RabbiGoldman. “There are so many opportunitiesfor Torah learning now. People are excited tobe Jews, to be keeping the Torah.”

Beyond consolidating the existing frumcommunity, the kollel is intensely focused onkiruv. This effort is desperately needed in therapidly assimilating Jewish community.

“We have a 70-80 percent intermarriagerate in Phoenix,” notes Rabbi Holland. “Asidefrom the religious problem this creates, thebottom line is that this phenomenon translatesinto disassociation from the Jewish communi-ty. Jews of all affiliations can understand thatthis does not bode well for the future of thecommunity. Therefore, they are open to a pro-gram such as the kollel, which has the poten-tial to effect a positive change in people’sJewish identity.

“Los Angeles, 60 years ago, was no differ-ent from Phoenix. In 1960, the first real strongrabbinical presence came to Los Angeles, andLos Angeles has grown ever since then,” hesays. Today, Los Angeles boasts yeshivos andgirls’ schools, kollelim, shuls and all the trap-pings of a flourishing frum community.

“Without Torah for Jews of all ages, there’sno such thing as a vital Jewish community.And that’s what we’re here for,” Rabbi Hol-land says.

“Unlike in many large, established Jewishcenters, in Phoenix there is a sense of unityand good relations among all Jews, includingOrthodox, Reform and Conservative,” saysRabbi Goldman. “This creates an opportunityfor the kollel to reach out to all Jews. As a re-sult, a really big change has taken place in thelives of many Jews who had always been far

A Torah Oasis in the DesertLearning flows like water at the Phoenix Community Kollel

Rabbi Zvi Holland (seated second right) with the other members of the Phoenix Community Kollel.

Celebrating a hachnassas sefer Torah for the new Bucharian kehillah in the streetsof Phoenix.

Rav Meir Triebetz leading a Yarchei Kallah in the kollel.

continued on page C5

By Daniel P.Aldrich

The Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dei’ah, insiman 69:10, discusses the idea of whetherwe can rely on the words of a non-Jewishperson who provides information on the sta-tus of a potentially non-kosher food. The ma-jor concept in that section is known asmasiach lefi tumo, which refers to the situa-tion in which we can rely on the testimony orwords of a non-Jewish person who is un-aware that we are going to base our halachicdecision on his statement.

For example, if we want to know if thenon-Jewish person was able to taste salt onthe meat, we cannot come out and ask himdirectly, “Did that taste salty?” Instead, if thenon-Jew tells us, “Wow! Those potato chipswere very salty — not at all like that meatthat I cooked earlier, which I washed off,” wemay believe him.

In the discussion of indirect testimony, theSmak and the Bais Yosef, two of the criticalsources for our halachah lema’aseh, arguethat non-Jews are classified as kafdei

anakyusa — concerned with cleanliness.(The word kafdei has the same shoresh askafdan, as Beis Shammai refers to in Avos —that is, someone who is strict, and anakyusais connected to the term for clean, nekiyus.)

Because non-Jews are classified by ourChachamim as being fastidious, we believethat they will wash off a bloody piece ofmeat and do other activities without explicitdirection, that may allow us, in the end, to eatthe meat under discussion.

Having lived in North America for mostof my life, when I read this discussion in theShulchan Aruch, I looked up from the page,puzzled. While I certainly knew plenty ofnon-Jews who lived in meticulous houses,with all of their clothes picked up off of thefloor, and all of the dishes washed andstacked neatly, I could easily think of a num-ber of examples of the opposite. Our Rab-banim said that we could rely on non-Jewishpeople to be particularly fastidious, and Iwondered out loud: Perhaps that was in ear-ly times, or perhaps in countries in Europe?

Living in Japan has provided another per-

spective on this question.

Here, to put it mildly, everything issqueaky clean and the people are absolutelyfastidious and meticulous.

It is no exaggeration to say that the streets,subways, taxi interiors, and even outdoorsidewalks are clean enough that the typical“five second rule” that parents often use (thatis, allowing food that has sat only briefly onthe floor to be consumed) could be extendedeven further, if need be, without fear of con-tamination.

We live in our own house, and because ofthe proximity of our house to our neighbors’,we can observe them and their actions regu-larly. All of them are Japanese.

The neighbors come outside early eachmorning with brooms in hand. Are they wor-ried about their children, who leave piles ofdirt on the ground? Perhaps someone broke alight bulb outside? Or maybe they are wor-ried about those candy wrappers that theydropped earlier, and forgot to pick up? No.Our Japanese neighbors sweep their porcheseach day, even though they made no mess,and even though those porches are still cleanthe next morning. For your information, thereare no live trees within miles of our house.

And some people even sprinkle or spraywater from the hose, in case dust from a vis-itor got on the steps!

However, in areas where there are trees,you might suppose that they create a lot ofwork. When I walk onto the campus of theUniversity of Tokyo, especially during thefall, I see crews of staff members dressed inidentical shiny green coats with green arm-bands. The words on the armbands and coatsread, “University of Tokyo Cleaning Staff.”These workers are outside at the crack ofdawn, holding willow twig brooms that leavea lot to be desired — they are not your mod-ern day, plastic handle with polyurethanebristles. No, these are actually twigs that arebound together to make an awfully ineffi-cient broom. The clean-up crews spend theirdays sweeping the hapless leaves into piles,then picking up the piles with their hands,and placing them in garbage bags. No leafblowers, no suction machines here. Further,the vast majority of these workers are paidlittle or nothing — they are better describedas volunteers.

Subway stations are also immaculate.Having ridden the Metro in Paris, the Under-ground in London, the BART in San Francis-co, the New York subway, and the T inBoston, trust me — Americans have no ideawhat a clean subway looks like. Here in

Japan, you will not find a potato chip bag dis-carded, a piece of bubble gum that you maydrag on the bottom of your shoe for miles, oreven a scrap of any food wrapper. This is be-cause Japanese subway riders do not eat ordrink while in transit — although exceptionsare allowed for very small children.

Furthermore, the very sincere mainte-nance staff of the subway stations have beltsand pockets full of scraping, pulling andcleaning tools. I once observed a subwaycleaner — wearing a uniform, of course, likeall other service workers here in Japan – whofound, to her horror, that someone haddropped some sort of sticky substance in acrack between two tiles. (I had not even no-ticed it, to tell you the truth.) She reached inher belt like a gunslinger pulling out a der-ringer, and removed her scraping pick. Afterhalf a minute of vigorous de-candifying, theoffending substance was gone. She then re-turned to her normal duties of cleaning, pol-ishing, and waxing the subway floors. Nogum, no graffiti, no mess.

This idea of cleanliness, due to the pro-fessional dedication of maintenance staff andthe concern of the average citizen, extends it-self to taxis. Taxi cab drivers here in Japanwear suits, vests, and ties, and, interestinglyenough, white gloves. Their taxi cabs are im-maculate, and you often see taxi drivers tak-ing a break by cleaning out the backseats oftheir taxis. Not that they need to do so, be-cause their passengers do not drop cigaretteashes or leave behind half-eaten food on thefloor or spill their coffees across the seats.No, they clean them out because that is whatyou should do if you drive a taxi. And, needI mention that they never blast their musicwhen you are riding with them?

All the houses, and many buildings, suchas schools, gyms and training facilities, havea strong division between “inside behavior”and “outside behavior.”

HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 FEATURES C5

Squeaky Clean

The Aldrich family’s messy genkan.

I would like to conclude with a thank you to all readers who have contacted me with ques-tions, suggestions, and corrections to this column. Among those who have contacted me areRabbi Spiegel, the wonderful menahel, whose work was mentioned in an earlier column, andthe Rav of Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Several chachamim have mentioned the po-tential halachic problems with sechach manufactured specifically for use as mats and bed-ding. Other kind readers have encouraged us with their praise, and we appreciate both kindsof letters. Finally, to those of you who have taken our offer of hachnassas orchim seriously,yasher koach. We wish a tzeischem leshalom to Rabbi Yoseph Kleiman, who is leaving Japanto pursue semichah in shechitah. May you be matzliach in all that you do.

from Yiddishkeit. Jews of all kinds are realiz-ing that Torah learning is real and that it canreally add something meaningful to theirlives.

“They then discover that it is more thanjust learning, it is a way of life. Through thekollel, a profound sort of kiruv takes place,[kiruv] that is really rooted in Torah learning,rather than fleeting experiences and inspira-tions. People grow slowly, it can take monthsor years, but this is the healthy, right way.”

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the water,”said the Navi Yeshayahu. Chazal explain thatthis pasuk refers to the compulsion of Jews toseek out Torah. “Ein mayim ela Torah,” ourSages comment. “Water always refers toTorah.”

Janet and Ken Bellovin credit Rabbi Gold-man and his wife Shira, along with the kollel,with playing a central role in their path to

mitzvah observance. Janet grew up with astrong Jewish identity but had no positive ex-periences of Torah learning. As an adult, shealways valued being Jewish, but did not knowhow to express it.

“For years, I dabbled but didn’t knowmuch,” Janet says. “We had an identity asJews, but lox and bagels weren’t offering anyexplanations. The ‘real deal’ started after Kenand I were married and we began learningmore. I think we were both searching for ananswer to one big question: Why bother? Ofcourse, like everyone else, we had heard aboutthe Holocaust — but we never really under-stood why Judaism was worth so much thatpeople would suffer for it, or why it was stillaround.”

Ken had seen an ad for classes offered byRabbi Silver of the Young Israel of Phoenix.Although the couple lived in Chandler, half anhour’s drive from the Young Israel, they drovein to learn every week. For the first time, theybegan to connect with Judaism in a trulymeaningful way.

Then the kollel came to town and Janet dis-covered that Shira Goldman was, in fact, adistant relative of hers. The Bellovins camefor the first of countless Shabbos meals at theGoldmans’. At one point, they undertook ma-jor remodeling of their new home. As a resultof unforeseen problems, the renovations end-ed up taking almost a year. During that period,the Goldmans hosted the Bellovins for almostevery Shabbos.

“We got to know people in the community,and saw them getting more connected, mak-ing changes, growing,” says Janet.

By the end of that period, the Bellovinswere thoroughly hooked on Shabbos. “Shab-bos is part of the core that was missing in oureducation. To me, it all starts with Shabbos,”says Janet. “It envelops you totally. We lookforward to it all week, and we enjoy it somuch. Once you learn the truth about Shabbosand what G-d wants of us, and feel the joy ofShabbos, the rich feeling — you just want tohave it!”

Rabbi Holland notes that the kollel is now

ready for further expansion and he is activelysearching for new kollel men who are ready tomove to Phoenix with their families.

“Phoenix is a great place to live. The costof living is low and it is relatively easy to gettuition subsidies at the Phoenix HebrewAcademy. I believe that in five to ten years,this could be an up-and-coming frum commu-nity,” says Rabbi Holland.

“Best of all, Phoenix has fabulous peoplewho are very hospitable and genuinely inter-ested in learning Torah. It’s a rare opportunityand privilege to be involved with such peo-ple.”

But it seems that the greatest advantage oflife in the middle of the desert is, surprising-ly, the chance for growth … of the spiritualvariety.

“Living here and being in the kollel hasbeen an opportunity for growth really beyondwhat you can find in an established communi-ty,” says Rabbi Goldman. “Every member ofthe kollel is really called upon to emerge as aleader. You can’t help it. It just happens.”

A TORAH OASIS IN THE DESERTcontinued from page C4

continued on page C7

C6 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

Harav Meir Amsel, zt”l, the longtime edi-tor of the Hamaor rabbinical journal, eruditetalmid chacham and gaon, returned his holysoul to his Maker on Shabbos afternoon, 23Teves, 5767/2007 in the 100th year of his life.This giant of a Jew was fluent in all of Torah— Tanach, Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi,Rishonim, Acharonim, Poskim, Rabbinic lit-erature, homiletics, responsa and dikduk —the list is endless.

Harav Amsel awoke with a Gemara in hishands, studied all day, and fell asleep with itstill in his hands.

Early Years

Harav Meir Amsel was born on 28 Teves5667/1907, in the small Slovakian town ofNeudorf (Pecsujfalu). His parents were RavAvraham and Rebbetzin Yetta Amsel.

In those days, the area in which he grewup had no yeshivos, but by the time he waseight years old his mother woke him up whileit was still dark outside, tied a lantern aroundhis neck, and sent him off to study Gemara inthe town’s kloiz. His tremendous hasmadah,acquired with great mesirus nefesh in his ear-ly youth, lasted his whole life.

When Rav Meir was in his teens, his fam-ily moved to Kashau (Kosice), where he be-came acquainted with Rav Shmuel Engel, theRadimishler Rav, and Rav Yitzchok TzviJungreis, Rav of Kashau, becoming their de-voted student and disciple. Under their guid-ance, he developed his skills in learning andunderstanding Shulchan Aruch and its com-mentaries, and rendering halachic decisions.He also became a devoted chassid of HaravAvraham Shalom Halberstam, Rebbe ofStrokov and son of the Divrei Yechezkel ofShinave.

Rav Meir married the daughter of RebMoshe Bugler, Hy”d, of Presov-Krestir, froma rabbinical family with close ties to many ofthe regional chassidic Rebbes. Through thefamily Rav Amsel became acquainted withthe Rebbe Reb Yeshayale of Kerestir, zy”a,and many other notable Rabbanim andGedolim.

When Rav Meir matured, he was appoint-ed head of Agudas Yisrael in Bratislava, dueto his Torah learning and dedication to theklal. As such, Rav Meir attended the Knessi-ah Gedolah in Marienbad, where he accom-

panied Harav Menachem Ziemba, Hy”d, toan audience with the Gerrer Rebbe, the ImreiEmes, zy”a.

Rav Meir’s father, Rav Avraham, in orderto avoid conscription during Word War I, hadtraveled to Reb Yeshayale of Kerestir, whomaintained a yeshivah during those tumul-tuous times. He spent an entire year there, de-voting himself to Torah study and avodasHashem. Reb Yeshayale distinguished him-self with his grace and love of Jews by ex-tending the greatest hospitality to all whocame under his roof. During World War I, hesupported close to one hundred guests; manywere great Rabbanim and prominent Torahsages. Every day, at the crack of dawn, hewould harness his horses and carriage andtravel to the villages to purchase fresh veg-etables, potatoes, flour, chickens and eggs —everything needed to offer a varied and deli-cious menu to his guests. Meals fit for royal-ty were served several times daily.

Holocaust Years

During the Holocaust years Rav Meir, asleader of Agudas Yisrael in Czechoslovakia,together with the legendary Rav Vorhand,zt”l, secured immigration for thousands ofJews to flee to Eretz Yisrael and escape war-torn Europe. His philosophy, dedication andconcern for Eretz Yisrael, developed by theAgudas Yisrael Movement, were lifelong.

Unfortunately, World War II destroyedmuch of his family, including his wife and allof his children, except for one daughter, Mrs.Gitta Meisels of Boro Park, and a son, Avra-ham Yosef, Hy”d, who was killed in Ameri-ca. Hiding and operating in disguise as agentile, he moved to Budapest, where he wasinvolved with smuggling food and suste-nance to widows and orphans in the Jewishghetto. Many wonderful stories of small tri-umphs in those dark years will appear in hisbiography being published by his son RabbiEliyahu Amsel of Monsey.

Post-Holocaust Years

After the war, Rav Meir remarried to hiswife’s sister, Rebbetzin Liba. Together, theyhad four sons. One son was niftar as a youngman. After arriving in America in 5708/1948,the Amsel family settled in Brownsville,Crown Heights and then Boro Park.

After a brief period of adjustment and set-tlement he founded and was editor ofHamaor, a prominent rabbinical journal, forthe next 60 years of his life. Hamaor servedas the platform for the Orthodox Rabbinate todiscuss all halachic issues affecting worldJewry. Rabbanim, Rebbes, Roshei Yeshivahand Torah scholars contributed to its pagesregularly. The writers, all of whom were con-tributors and supporters, were the leaders andrebuilders of post-Holocaust Jewry. The Sat-mar Rebbe, Lubavitcher Rebbe, BoboverRebbe, Munkacser Rebbe, Tzehlemer Rav,Bluzhever Rebbe, Rav Yonason Steif, BriskerRav, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav PinchasHirschprung, Rav Yosef Yitzchok Weiss, RavYisroel Welz, Rav Eliezer Silver, Rav ReuvenBengis, Rav Eliyahu Henkin, Rav Joseph BerSoloveitchik, Lord Immanuel Jackobowitz— Chief Rabbi of England, and many, manyothers.

Rav Amsel printed 3,000 copies of eachedition, which he mailed to Rabbanim world-wide.

During the 1950s and 60s, Hamaor was atthe forefront of practically all major battlesto strengthen Orthodox Judaism in the Unit-ed States. Although his strong views weremany times opposed, his integrity gained thejournal worldwide respect and recognition.An article on problems with the kashrus of aparticular factory or slaughterhouse general-ly brought a legal letter from the affectedcompany. Rav Amsel, knowing that his alle-gation was accurate, followed up with sever-al more articles until the problem wasresolved.

In the early 1960s, a well-known koshertake-out firm was caught with more tonguesthan cattle slaughtered. Hamaor went to bat-tle calling for stricter inspection of kashrus.The attempt by the owner of the firm to bribeRav Amsel only generated more articles un-til the situation was fully corrected. Todaythis firm is recognized for its excellence inkashrus.

A major part of the journal was dedicatedto building or refurbishing mikva’os in the lit-tle cities and towns across America. The localleadership, who tended to be reform-mindedand assimilationists, opposed these effortsmany times. Every issue of the journal in-cluded a situation in Yiddishkeit that neededattention. Mechitzos in shuls, mikva’os,kashrus, shechitah and rabbinical integrityare all taken for granted today. However, itwas Rav Amsel’s battles in the pages of theHamaor, in the greater part of the past centu-ry, that allow us their presence today.

Beis Medrash

In 5725/1965, Rav Amsel opened a shulin the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, withthe financial assistance of the Satmar andLubavitcher Rebbes. In the same year, hepublished the first volume of his magnumopus, Responsa Hamaor, an 800-page col-lection of important responsa by hundredsof distinguished Rabbanim. The secondvolume, Zichronos Hamaor, an 800-pagecollection of biographies of Holocaust vic-tims and survivors, appeared in 5735/1975,followed by the English version, Encyclo-pedia Hamaor, several years later.

His children and mispallelim recount themany quotes he often shared. He waszocheh to see great-great-grandchildren.When told of a new grandchild he wouldremark, “Mein nekamah in Hitler, yimachshemo — ich bin du un er likt in der erd —my revenge against Hitler, yimach shemo, Iam still here, and he is in the ground.”

Rav Amsel had a very tough personallife; he suffered the death of his first wifeand child in the Holocaust, and buried twochildren after the war.

His economic situation did not fare any

better. Refusing to give hechsherim, be-come involved in dinei Torah, or any of theactivities that might have generated funds,he lived in poverty all his life. The brokenchairs in the house, bookcases made fromold wooden crates, torn sofas and mattresswith springs exposed, are but a few itemsdemonstrative of the lifestyle he enjoyedand cherished. He would not allow his chil-dren to replace any of the items as “he nev-er in his entire life benefited from a singlecent that was not his own.” Nevertheless,on numerous occasions he would commentto one of his children, grandchildren, orgreat-grandchildren about their need of ahaircut or to replace dirty tzitzis — and hisadmonishment always came with a $10 or$20 bill.

Once, his cousin and fellow mispallel inthe shul, Reb Shimon Amsel, asked himwhy he never made any monetary invest-ments, to which Rav Meir responded,“What are you talking about, of course I in-vested!” And he pointed to his children,grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The mutual respect between the Rav andhis Rebbetzin was evident all the years. TheRebbetzin never disturbed his learning.This never ceased. When told the unfortu-nate news of Rav Meir’s petirah, the Reb-betzin was already bedridden, unable tospeak, and quite advanced in the illness thateventually returned her holy neshamah toits Maker. She looked up and wrote on herwriting pad, “The world lost a great tzad-dik.” She then asked for help to get off thebed and slowly made her way to Rav Am-sel’s study. In the closet, on the top shelf,was his old Shabbos tallis, neatly launderedand folded, and ready for its final use.

Rav Meir Amsel was niftar on Shabbosafternoon, Parashas Shemos, 23 Teves5767/2007 in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was justdays short of his 100th birthday.

The levayah, held the next day, Sunday,at his beis medrash on the corner of 18thAvenue and 50th Street in Boro Park, wasattended by a broad spectrum of Torah Jewswho had come to pay their last respects tothis venerable gaon.

Rav Amsel was later buried in the Aru-gath Habosem Tzehlem section of the Well-wood Cemetery in Long Island.

Just nine months later, he was joined byhis Rebbetzin Liba Amsel, a”h, who re-turned her holy neshamah to its Maker withthe onset of Yom Kippur, 5768/2007.

Yehi zichro baruch.

(Based on an article by his son, RabbiEliyahu Amsel of Monsey, N.Y.)

First Yahrtzeit of

Harav Meir Amsel, zt”l

23 Teves 5767/2007

Harav Meir writing a letter in the sefer Torah.

FEATURES C7HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

This seems obvious to Americans — butthe distinction is so strong that the Japaneseactually take off their shoes and change theirfootwear to emphasize the break between in-side and outside.

Hence, when my son goes for his kendolessons at the Minato Area Center, he has toremove his shoes and enter the room bare-foot. (In most martial arts practices in Japan,the practitioners carry out their forms and ex-ercises without shoes on.)

Similarly, even our house, which is com-pletely Western in appearance and structure,has a raised, three inch “lip” in the mudroomthat divides the inner entranceway from the

world outside. In this area near the door,known in Japanese as the genkan, there is acabinet for shoes. Once we enter our house,our habit is to take off our footwear and puton slippers or go barefoot.

This practice seems to have had a stronginfluence on our middle child, Yaakov.

We recently went to the home of RabbiMendi Sudakevich for the pidyon haben andbris of Aryeh, the month-old son of Abbi andAaron Shub. (Because young Aryeh was se-verely jaundiced, his bris was postponed fora while.)

Rabbi Sudakevich’s house does not havethe typical Japanese minhag of taking offshoes, so we, and the other adults, enteredwithout pausing to remove them. But Yaakovstopped and looked up, saying, “I cannot go

in without taking off my shoes.” Even whenwe tried to tell him that this was the minhagof the baal habayis, he remained adamant.Only after his big brother went ahead of him,with his shoes on, was he convinced to fol-low suit.

Cleanliness and a concern with beingclean have resulted in the creation of tech-nologies in Japan that simply have no equalin the Western world. Toilets, for example,come with control panels as complex asNASA launch rooms. They can spritz wateror air and warm up or cool down their sur-faces.

Riva Pomerantz pointed out in one of herrecent columns for Aish HaTorah that toooften we forget to have hakaras hatov —feelings of gratitude — toward people such

as maintenance men, janitors, and otherservice workers — who keep our worldfunctioning, and in forgetting them, we canalso forget to have gratitude to the BoreiOlam. In the merit of being conscious of theoften unobserved assistance that we receivefrom others, may we all meet together inYerushalayim to be cleansed by the Ribbonoshel Olam.

Daniel P. Aldrich is an Assistant Profes-sor at Purdue University and a VisitingScholar at the University of Tokyo. He is agraduate of Yeshiva Darche Noam inJerusalem, Israel, and invites all travelerscoming to Tokyo, Japan, to spend Shabboswith him and his family. He can be contactedat [email protected].

By Avishai Tovro’i

Dear Mr. Tovro’i,I used to work as a rebbe in the same Tal-

mud Torah as a friend of mine who is also acheder rebbe. We have always been close andat each recess we would get together and talk.

One day I didn’t feel well and stayed home.The next day, when I came down to the staffroom after Shacharis, I passed my friend onthe stairs. However, instead of saying hello, hejust nodded and continued on his way.

I couldn’t understand his aloofness. Whydidn’t he ask me why I hadn’t come the daybefore? I felt doubly hurt since I had alwaysassumed that my friendship was as importantto him as his friendship was to me.

Of course, I didn’t say anything — not be-cause I had worked on my middos, but simplybecause I did not want to appear childish.

At the next recess I was sitting in the staffroom when my friend walked in and sat acrossfrom me. He looked at me in a funny way andthen blurted out, “Why don’t you ask where Iwas yesterday? I was really insulted, youknow!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Apparently, hehad also been absent the day before. Just as Ihad been hurt by his seeming indifference, hefelt the same way about me! If he hadn’t spo-ken to me, we would have both remained of-fended and angry, and our friendship would nodoubt have suffered — for nothing!

This taught me a great lesson. With a goodfriend, it’s always worthwhile to be candid andsay what is on your mind. You’ll often see thatthere was no reason to be angry or feel hurt.

C.R.Bnei Brak

The resolution to your problem and hurtfeelings was amazingly simple. The principleof saying what is on your mind about yourfriend directly to your friend is well known tothose who fulfill what is written:“Hochei’ach tochiach ...” Be that as it may,I’m not sure if your story falls under thatcategory. It’s not as if your friend did you aninjustice for which you must rebuke him.Even if, according to your mistaken percep-tion, he was not sufficiently attentive, that isnothing more than a cooling off of a friend-ship.

When you read the next letter, you’ll learnthat things can be much more complex. In thefollowing case there is almost no way that theperson who felt slighted will rebuke you. Theonly way is to give the benefit of the doubt inadvance in order to prevent suspecting afriend of wrongdoing.

•••

Dear Mr. Tovro’i,I know for a fact that many people are up-

set with me, but there is no way I can appeasethem.

I hope that if I reveal my problem in thiscolumn readers will learn to give me and oth-er people in my situation (and I believe thereare plenty of others in this situation) the ben-efit of the doubt.

But first, let me explain.Let’s say I’m walking in the street and

meet people I know. Maybe I’m not one ofthose people who says hello to every per-son he meets, but I certainly don’t ignoreothers. Most times I’m the first to say hel-lo; other times I’ll reply to the other’sgreeting, but I will always relate to the oth-er person.

The problem is it’s not enough. In ourcommunity there is, baruch Hashem, a lot go-ing on — and may there only be simchas: Mr.X has a son who became engaged, Mr. Y hasa new baby, Mr. Z has a new grandson ... .

There are people who excel at remember-ing small details about others, not only on thepersonal level, but also when it comes to theextended family. I call them “mishpachalo-gists.” They won’t just say mazal tov on thelatest simchah but will also remember to con-gratulate the person on the brother-in-lawwhose daughter got engaged, the cousin whomade a bris, and so on.

While some people have a special talentfor remembering family members and theirchanging status, I am the exact opposite. I ad-mit, it’s a fault. I see it as my inability to befully involved with other people, to identifywith their simchahs and create bonds offriendship.

My problem is that — in the best-case sce-nario — I recall that Mr. X has a mazal tovcoming to him a full minute after parting fromhim and walking away. In the worse case, I re-member when I am reminded, and in the veryworst case, I cannot understand the relationbetween Mr. Y and the announcement in thepaper.

You might find my predicament humor-ous; you might think I’m exaggerating, butthat’s simply because you’re not like me. It’shard for you to give me the benefit of thedoubt because you’ve never been in my shoes— like someone who’s a whiz at math can’tunderstand his friend who doesn’t know whattwo plus two equals.

I’m not dim-witted, thank G-d, and I’meven capable of taking apart a complicatedsugya in the Daf Yomi, but I don’t seem to beable to make the connection between differentpeople, all the more so, to connect people withtheir simchas.

The following is a small sample of a fewembarrassing situations that happened to mein the past: I once went to the shalom zachorof a relative who had just had his seventhchild. After I heard this bit of information I re-alized that I had never been to any previousshalom zachors and that it really wasn’t niceof me. (Actually I was surprised at myself forremembering that I hadn’t gone, but of that Iwas certain at least.)

On Friday night as I shook the hand of thebaal simchah and wished him well I added,“I’m sorry I didn’t take part in your previoussimchahs, but at least, ein mahl fahr aleh mahl(one time will make up for all the othertimes).”

“You don’t have to apologize,” the avreichsaid. “The other six were all daughters.”

You can imagine my embarrassment. Tothis day, I can’t forget it. But there are evenworse examples. Once I was sitting next to anavreich I know and happened to mention theChazal that talks about how unfortunate arethe people who have no children. I had for-gotten that this very avreich had no children.Even if I would have remembered that fact, orif someone else would have reminded me, Iwould still not have an inkling if he had beenmarried two years or eight, even if I had at-tended his wedding — actually, I don’t recallif I attended it or not.

Mr. X recently davened before the amudday after day, indicating he’s an avel, Rach-mana litzlan. But for the life of me, I can’t re-call who passed away in his family! Why is itthat I can’t recall it happening or whether Ihad been at the shivah or not?

The above are just the tip of the iceberg,but they give readers an idea of the magnitudeof my problem.

Now, allow me to explain why I have writ-ten to this column and what I hope to accom-plish through it.

Please, just give me the benefit of thedoubt. Baalei simchah who have encounteredan unsuitable response, try and understandthat the person in front of you, as intelligentand capable as he may be, simply lacks socialgraces.

What? You want to know who I am so thatyou can know to whom to give the benefit ofthe doubt? That’s unnecessary. I’m not alone.There are hundreds, maybe thousands likeme. Therefore, if this ever happens to you, nomatter who the person may be, try to give himthe benefit of the doubt: Understand that hesimply cannot “keep track” like other peoplecan.

In conclusion, an idea and a request. Baaleisimchah: Bear in mind that it’s not written onyour forehead, “I have a mazal tov coming tome.” Therefore, if you think someone mighthave passed you by without noticing you, ap-proach him naturally and tell him, “Hi. Didyou hear that I get a mazal tov? Such-and-such ...”

This is not arrogance. The opposite is true.It’s the most natural way to inform peoplewho might otherwise forget and then feel ter-rible about it. It’s the best way to increasepeace among people, and it will also provethat you genuinely gave the benefit of thedoubt.

Your neighbor

Not Everyone Can Be a ‘Mishpachalogist’Some people have a special talent for remembering family members and their simchas; others don’t

JEWS IN JAPANcontinued from page C5

C8 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

When a friend gave me this list of every-thing you could ever think of doing (or neverwould have thought of doing, for that matter)with vinegar, I made him promise that hedoesn’t work for Heinz or some other vinegarcompany. He promised.

So when this big proponent of vinegarwho has no connection to the product’s man-ufacture gave me this list, I told him I’d lookit over and consider including it in the col-umn. Needless to say, after reading it, I waspretty impressed.

I haven’t yet tried even half of these tips,but they’re good to have in mind. And if youhave tried any and have any comments, Iwould love to hear your feedback.

Enjoy - and if you don’t, well, try not to besour about it! We’ll be back to regular tipsnext week, G-d willing.

70 Home, Health,

Beauty, Cooking and

Other Uses for Vinegar

Using Vinegar for Beauty, Hair and Bath

1. In your bathwater. Add ½ cup of vine-gar or so to warm bath water when bathingand get double benefits: softer skin and acleaner bathtub with less work!

2. Hair Conditioner. Vinegar makes asimple, inexpensive conditioner for yourhair and helps remove the sticky stuff sham-poo can leave behind. About a tablespoonwill do it.

3. Dandruff Treatment. Simply pour afew tablespoons of vinegar on your hair andmassage into your scalp. Wait a few min-utes, then rinse and wash hair as usual. Trythis for a few days until you see results.

4. Weight Loss. Vinegar naturally helpsto remove fat from the body — apple cidervinegar is especially good for this. Drinksome in a glass of water a few times a day,and add a little lemon or honey for a nicerflavor. This will also help reduce your ap-petite.

5. Cracked, dry skin. Smooth a littlevinegar on dried skin to help it heal.

6. Clean dentures. Soak denturesovernight in white vinegar, then brush awaytartar with a toothbrush.

7. Facial shpritzer. Mix ½ apple cidervinegar and ½ water in a spray bottle. Re-freshing!

8. Hair cleanser. Mix 1 cup of vinegarand equal warm water in a large glass anduse to rinse your hair after you shampoo.Vinegar restores the acid mantel and re-moves soap film and sebum oil.

9. Longer lasting pantyhose. Add 1 table-spoon of vinegar to the rinse water whenwashing and your pantyhose will lastlonger!

Using Vinegar for Cleaning

10. Cleans glass. Mixed with water orsimply sprayed full-strength on glass andmirrors, vinegar does a great job quickly andeasily.

Simply wipe windows dry with crum-pled-up newspapers and watch your win-dows sparkle.

11. Clean your car. Use it full-strength topolish car chrome with a cloth and see itshine! Use it on your car's windshield andwindows, too.

12. Cleans drinking glasses. Soak cloudydrinking glasses in warmed white vinegarfor a few hours to remove the film, simplywipe clean, rinse and dry.

13. Clean your washing machine. Period-ically run a gallon of distilled vinegar

through your washing machine to clean itthoroughly, get rid of soap scum and clearout the hoses. Run the machine through thewarm water wash cycle empty and then addthe vinegar during the rinse cycle.

14. Furniture polish. Make your own fur-niture polish with one part vinegar and threeparts lemon oil or olive oil.

15. Remove price tags or stickers. Paintthem with several coats of vinegar and let itsoak in. What you are removing them fromdetermines whether they'll slide off easily orrequire a little heavier rubbing.

16. Clean your iron. Put vinegar in thewater holder and let it steam itself clean. Re-member to flush it with water when you aredone.

17. Clean paintbrushes. Simmer paint-brushes in pure vinegar, then wash in hotsoapy water.

18. Wash walls. Wipe down your wallswith a vinegar-water mixture and it will helpabsorb odors and clean the surfaces.

19. Remove spots from glass. Use avinegar-soaked cloth to remove spots fromany glassware or crystal.

20. Unclog drains. Pour boiling whitevinegar down clogged drains to remove theclog.

21. Clean jars. Remove odors and stainsfrom jars by cleaning them out with vinegar.

22. Clean an old lunchbox. Soak a pieceof bread in vinegar and let it sit in the lunch-box over night.

23. Clean and deodorize a garbage dis-posal. Make vinegar ice cubes and feedthem down the disposal. After grinding, runcold water through.

24. Clean a teapot. Boil a mixture of wa-ter and vinegar in the teapot. Wipe away thegrime.

25. Clean the dishwasher. Run a cup ofvinegar through the whole cycle once amonth to reduce soap build-up on the innermechanisms and on glassware.

26. Microwaves. Boil a solution of ¼ cupof vinegar and 1 cup of water in the mi-crowave. Will loosen splattered-on food anddeodorize.

27. Remove smoke smells from clothing.Add a cup of vinegar to a bath tub of hot wa-ter. Hang clothes above the steam.

28. Clean eyeglasses. Wipe each lenswith a drop of vinegar.

29. Remove stains from furniture and up-holstery. Apply white vinegar directly to thestain, then wash as directed by the manufac-turer's instructions.

30. Natural air deodorizer. Vinegar is anatural air freshener when sprayed in a

room.31. Remove rust. Soak the rusted tool,

bolt or spigot in undiluted white vinegarovernight.

32. Toilet bowl. Pour in one cup of whitevinegar, let stand for five minutes and flush.

33. Brighten fabrics. Add a ½ cup vine-gar to the rinse cycle.

34. Natural cleaning wipes. A clothsoaked with vinegar is great for sanitizingkitchen counters, stove and bathroom sur-faces. This is just as effective as the antibac-terial products and does not promoteresistant strains like the commercial prod-ucts can. This is also a cheaper and greenerway to protect your loved ones.

35. Remove lint from laundry. Add ½ cupof vinegar to the rinse cycle.

36. Remove grease from suede. Dip atoothbrush in vinegar and gently brush overgrease spot.

37. Remove perspiration stains fromclothing. Apply one part vinegar to fourparts water, soak clothes, then rinse.

38. Clean coffee or tea stains from china.A mixture of salt and vinegar will clean cof-fee and tea stains from chinaware.

39. Clean coffeepots and coffee makers.Vinegar can help to dissolve mineral de-posits that collect in automatic-drip coffeemakers. Fill the reservoir with vinegar andrun it through a brewing cycle. Rinse thor-oughly with water when the cycle is fin-ished.

Using Vinegar for Food and Cooking

40. Cheese storage. Cheese will lastlonger if you store it in a vinegar-soakedcloth.

41. Whiter cauliflower. Add a teaspoonor so of white vinegar to your cooking waterwhile cooking cauliflower — it will retain awhiter color.

42. Ketchup. Only have a little ketchupleft in the bottle? Add a bit of vinegar andgive it a good shake and you'll have a bitmore!

43. Boiling eggs. Add a bit of white vine-gar to the water you're boiling your eggs in,and the shells won't crack.

44. Cooking cabbage. Add a bit of vine-gar to the water you're cooking your cab-bage in to remove that stinky cabbage smell.

45. Fluffier meringues. Add 1 teaspoonof vinegar for every three egg whites andyou'll have fluffier meringues.

46. Tenderize meat. Soak in vinegar overnight.

47. Unsticky rice. To cook rice withoutsticking, add a spoonful of vinegar to the potwhile cooking.

48. Remove onion odors from skin. Elim-inate onion odor by rubbing vinegar on yourfingers before and after slicing onions.

49. Disinfect/clean cutting boards. Cleanand disinfect wood cutting boards by wipingwith full-strength vinegar.

50. Make buttermilk. Add a tablespoon ofvinegar to a cup of milk and let it stand 5 min-utes to thicken and you'll have buttermilk.

Using Vinegar for Gardening and Yard

51. Clay pot cleaning. Remove whitesalt buildup on old clay pots by soakingthem in full strength vinegar.

52. Kills grass. Undiluted vinegar willkill grass between bricks and sidewalkcracks.

53. Kills weeds. Spray full-strength onweeds — be careful not to spray it on thesurrounding grass unless you want to killthat, too.

54. Deter ants. Spray vinegar arounddoors, appliances and along other areaswhere ants are known to gather.

55. Keep cats away. Sprinkle vinegaron areas you don't want the cat walking,sleeping or scratching.

56. Freshen cut flowers. Add 2 table-spoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar foreach quart of water.

Using Vinegar for Health

57. Suffering from a sore throat? Mixone teaspoon vinegar with a glass of wa-ter. Gargle with the mixture and thenswallow.

58. Remove calluses. Try soaking yourfeet in a combination of white vinegar andwarm water nightly and watch your feetsoften noticeably.

59. Soak a washcloth in vinegar andgently apply it to sunburned skin for coolrelief. Reapply as needed as it evaporates.Besides sunburn, vinegar also soothes theitch and irritation of bee stings.

60. Arthritis tonic. Take two table-spoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass ofwater, several times a day.

61. Jellyfish stings. Dot the irritationwith vinegar and relieve itching.

62. Sinus infections and head colds.Add ¼ cup or more vinegar to the vapor-izer.

63. Wart removal. Mix one part applecider vinegar and one part glycerin into alotion and apply daily to warts until theydissolve.

64. Soothe an upset stomach. Drinktwo teaspoons apple-cider vinegar in onecup water to soothe an upset stomach.

65. Mosquito bites. Use a cotton ball todab mosquito and other bug bites withvinegar straight from the bottle.

Using Vinegar for Pets and Animals

66. Pet's drinking water. Add a tea-spoon of vinegar to your pet's drinkingwater to encourage a shinier coat and re-duce odor.

67. Remove skunk odor. Use vinegarstraight to remove skunk odor from yourpet's fur (or yourself!).

68. Stop your cat from scratching furni-ture. Sprinkle or spray vinegar on areasyou don't want the cat scratching.

69. Fish bowl cleaner. Eliminate thatugly deposit in the goldfish tank by rub-bing it with a cloth dipped in vinegar andrinsing well.

70. Remove pet stains from carpets.Blot up urine with a soft cloth, flush sev-eral times with lukewarm water, then ap-ply a mixture of equal parts vinegar andcool water. Blot, rinse and let dry.

All advice in this column relating tomedical conditions should be checkedwith a doctor or other health professional.Questions or comments for this column?E-mail [email protected], with “That’sAn Idea” in the subject line, or fax 0870-933 2302. Please include contact informa-tion so that we can reach you with anyqueries.

THAT’S an Idea!A. Stav

and his readers

share advice

Everything youever wanted to do with andknow aboutvinegar

It appears that if there is one thing yourpantry should be stocked with, it’svinegar. Not just for salads anymore ...

Finders Keepers, LosersWeepers in Ohio

A contractor who helped dis-cover bundles of cash totaling$182,000 hidden behind bathroomwalls says the homeowner shouldturn the money over to him — orat least share it.

Bob Kitts said his feud with theowner of the house, a former highschool classmate, has deterioratedto the point where they speak toeach other only through lawyers.

Kitts said his lawyer has drafteda lawsuit that he hopes will forceAmanda Reece to turn over themoney she has kept. Most of thecurrency, issued in 1927 and 1929,is in good condition, and some ofthe bills are so rare that one cur-rency appraiser valued the treasureat as much as $500,000, Kitts said.

The fight began in May 2006when Kitts was gutting Reece’sbathroom and found a box belowthe medicine cabinet that con-tained $25,200.

“I almost passed out,” Kitts re-called. “It was the ultimate con-tractor fantasy.”

He called Reece, who rushedhome. Together they found anoth-er steel box tied to the end of awire nailed to a stud. Inside wasmore than $100,000, Kitts said.Two more boxes were filled with amix of money and religious mem-orabilia.

“It was insane,” Kitts said. “Shewas in shock — she was a wreck.”

The bundles had “P. Dunne”written on them, probably a refer-ence to Peter Dunne, a business-man who owned the home duringthe Great Depression.

Kitts said he took some of thecurrency for an appraisal andlearned that many of the $10 billswere rare 1929-series ClevelandFederal Reserve bank notes, worthabout $85 each. There also were$500 bills and one $1,000 bill.

John Chambers, an attorney forReece, said Kitts rejected hisclient’s offer of a 10 percent find-er’s fee and demanded 40 percentof the small fortune.

Kitts asserts he found lost mon-ey, and court rulings in Ohio estab-lish that a “finders keepers” lawapplies if there’s no reason to be-lieve any owner will reappear toclaim it.

Kitts said it would be unfair forhim to take everything. (AP)

Breaking News! DriverCrashes Into Newscast

The driver of a minivan who in-terrupted a newscast while it wason the air by crashing into the sta-tion’s glass-walled studio, wascharged with reckless driving, au-thorities said.

Gerald Richardson, 25, wasseen driving erratically momentsbefore veering into the street-levelstudio, the Chicago Sun-Times re-ported.

Richardson’s sister later toldthe newspaper he suffered frommental problems.

He performed several U-turnson the busy downtown street be-fore crashing the van into a thickglass panel dividing the studio

from the sidewalk, with a panelgiving way, witnesses told thenewspaper.

The impact was heard on-airand anchorman Ravi Baichwalshouted, “Ho!,” interrupting his in-troduction to the newscast’s firststory about harsh winter weather.He said the studio had becomedrafty.

Small crowds often form out-side the studio’s windows duringnewscasts but no one was hurt andthe driver was arrested inside thevan, the Sun-Times reported.

Initially, Richardson wascharged with reckless driving andticketed for driving without insur-ance. (Reuters)

Norway Parking StickerShock: $148,000

When it comes to wiping out abank account, forget shopping.Just parking their cars cost someNorwegians between $37,000 and$148,000.

At least 26 motorists were leftbaffled and broke when they usedtheir bank debit cards to pay forstreet parking in municipal spots inthe central Norwegian city ofTrondheim.

Because of a computer glitch,the machine dispensing wind-shield parking permits multipliedthe amount of time they bought by10,000, and automatically deduct-ed it from their bank accounts, thecity-owned parking company said.Motorists who parked werecharged between $37,000 and$148,000.

For many, the withdrawal of thevast sums left their bank accountsspectacularly overdrawn, and theirdebit cards frozen.

“This is a very stressful situa-tion,” one of the unlucky mo-torists, Marthe Stork, was quotedas saying by the newspaperAdresseavisen.

She said she tried to buy somegroceries, but her bank card wasrejected because the account wasoverdrawn.

“I can understand that it causedproblems,” a company officialsaid. “I’m sure some saw the hu-mor in it.”

He said banks were racing tocorrect the erroneous transaction,and the parking company said itwanted to compensate the mo-torists. (AP)

Man Freed After 100 HoursTrapped in a Lavatory

A retired Scottish schoolteacher was recovering afterspending nearly four days trappedinside a men’s toilet with no foodor mobile phone.

David Leggat was locked insidethe bathroom at a lawn bowlingclub near the Scottish city of Ab-erdeen after the door jammed andthe handle on the outside fell off.

The 55-year-old kept warm bydipping his feet in hot water butonly managed to get about threehours’ sleep a night in the freezingtemperatures, the local EveningExpress newspaper reported.

He was rescued when the clean-

er at the club, which is little usedin winter, turned up to collect hercleaning equipment.

Leggat said a survival course hehad once done had helped him en-dure his captivity. The cleaninglady said he looked shaken andgray when he emerged. Leggatwas stoical.

“At least there was a toilet touse,” he said. (Reuters)

Neglect of Parents aCriminal Offense in India

Indians who neglect their agingparents face possible prison sen-tences under a new law passed byworried politicians.

The law reflects concerns thatrapid modernization and a growthin nuclear families is undermininga centuries-old social fabric of ex-tended families.

“At least now the elderly canhave a roof to live under and foodto eat in their old age,” GyanPrakash Pilania, a Hindu national-ist MP, was quoted as saying in lo-cal news reports.

Under the law, Indians can faceup to a month in jail if found guiltyof parental neglect.

The law also allows authoritiesto order children or relatives to paya monthly maintenance stipend tothe aged. (Reuters)

Police Say Two’s a CrowdIn Russia

When does a legitimate Russianpolitical protest become an illegalgathering? Answer: When a sec-ond person joins in to spoil it.

So says Viktor Shenderovich, aradio journalist and politicalsatirist who had been staging alone protest outside a Moscow po-lice headquarters, holding a signsaying “Free Garry Kasparov.”

“Then a provocateur came outwith a flag and stood beside me,”Shenderovich said.

Shenderovich said police wait-ing in a nearby vehicle thenwalked over to detain him and theunknown accomplice.

“The legally-allowed loneprotest had turned into an unsanc-tioned demonstration,” he said.

Kasparov, a former chess cham-pion and leader of a minor opposi-tion political party, was arrested byMoscow police after a sanctionedprotest march he led was brokenup by riot police.

“A lone protest doesn’t need of-ficial permission,” said Shen-derovich at the Mirovoy Court inMoscow.

Russian authorities closelymonitor demonstrations, authoriz-ing the number of attendees, andwhere and when they can rally.

Shenderovich was one of sever-al lone protesters detained outsidethe police headquarters andcharged.

“The provocateur told the po-lice, joyfully, when asked what hewas doing out there, ‘Provoking.It’s what we have to do,’ ” saidShenderovich.

“It speaks to the degradation ofour society, because it’s all beingdone in the open,” he said. “Thepolice know it is provocation ...their proof is just a couple of emp-ty nothings.”

The Moscow police press serv-ice referred all questions aboutShenderovich to a separatespokesman who could not bereached for comment. (Reuters)

Girl Scout Receives Award,69 Years Late

A Girl Scout who failed to re-ceive a Golden Eaglet Award be-cause she woke up with themumps finally got the accolade —69 years later.

Faith Iames Schremp, 86,joined the Girl Scouts in 1938 andearned all the proficiency badgesneeded to win the award.

But the morning Schremp, ofWausau, Wisconsin, was to leavefor Girl Scout Camp, she woke upwith the mumps. Attending campwas the final rite of passage inearning the award.

Schremp said she was heartbro-ken.

That is until Fran Riley, CEO ofthe Girl Scouts of the Fox RiverArea, presented Schremp with herlong-deserved award during theGirl Scouts’ 2007 Holiday FolkFair.

Receiving the Golden EagletAward, the predecessor to the GoldAward, is the highest achievementin Girl Scouting.

Daughter-in-law Dee Schremp,of Appleton, a former Girl Scoutleader, knew of the pin’s impor-tance to Schremp. She workedwith Riley to track down an Eagletpin at Girl Scouts of the USA with-out success. They also were outbidfor a discontinued pin, whichfetched $800 at auction.

However, Riley rememberedthere was a pin embedded on an artproject near the entryway to thescouting office.

An artist extracted the pin andhad it repaired at a jewelry shop.(AP)

Dr. Luz, right, struggles to fit a bootie onto Tun, right, while the other elephant, Jamilah, waits histurn in Singapore. The two elephants in captivity at the Singapore Zoo received waterproofcustom-made Goretex booties to alleviate ongoing foot problems and aid the healing of lesionson the soles of their feet. (AP PHOTO/WONG MAYE-E)

FEATURES C9HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

Boots in EEEEEEEE Width

Designs of the Golden Eagletpin, which Faith Schremp washappy to receive — even in herold age. According to the GirlScout Collector’s Guide, “Thefive requirements for winningthe Golden Eaglet arecharacter, health, handicraft,happiness and service.”

With overwhelming gratitudeand profound appreciation to theBorei Olam we share with you themiraculous recovery of our daugh-ter, Chaya Rivka bas Orit Esther.

On 10 Kislev, Chaya Rivka hada near-drowning experience in thebathtub of our home and was tak-en to the hospital barely breathing.“Hashem, Hashem, please saveher for Your sake, not mine.”Those were the only words thatcame out of my mouth. Hashemsent us many wonderful shelichimfrom Hatzolah, and all the whilewe kept thinking: “These are thefaces of malachim.”

Hatzolah members stayed withus at Nyack until we flew via hel-icopter to Westchester MedicalCenter. As our precious ChayaRivka was put onto a ventilator,which she would be on for over 24hours, our bitachon in HakadoshBaruch Hu was all we had. Notour own zechuyos, but RachameiShamayim — that’s all we candaven for.

What we did not know at thattime was that Hashem had sent ashaliach from Yerushalayim toplay a part that night in savingChaya Rivka’s life. An 18-year-old girl named Michal had comeinto our lives two weeks earlier,when my husband was approachedand asked if we could host her inour home for an indefinite periodof time. I immediately agreed, be-cause I always daven for thezechus to do chessed. I know thatit gives so much nachas toHashem, especially when it’s in-convenient.

In addition, I know it serves asprotection from harm, measure formeasure. And so it was. Michalgave our Chaya Rivka a few slapson her back that allowed the waterto be expelled from her airwaysand caused her to breathe her firstbreath of oxygen after beingpulled out of the bathtub and go-ing without oxygen for what thedoctors say was over five minutes.The chessed we thought we weredoing was being done for us.

That night took us from miracleto miracle: from the CT scan thatwas postponed because, as theICU doctor put it, “I just don’t feellike the time is right to do the test.I don’t feel it is going to be readright at this time of night. Let’swait until the morning.” I believethat the only reason he said that

was in order for us to have moretime to daven. ... To the miraclethat in just a few hours, word wentout to many of the Monsey yeshiv-os to say Tehillim for our preciousChaya Rivka, as well as to placesin Cleveland, Eretz Yisrael, andother yeshivos, such as those inNew Jersey. People from all walksof Yiddishkeit all came together tocry out to Shamayim.

Who knows at what point theRibbono shel Olam decided tobring us a normal CT brain result,and what the cause was for such amiraculous outcome! Was it ourbitachon in the Borei Olam that nomatter what, “Hashem, we loveYou and You’re our Abba and allthat You do is for the good”?

Was it the chessed of Hatzolah,of Bikur Cholim ...? The chesseddone at our home when weweren’t there, from the food shop-ping to the home-cooked meals tothe endless phone calls to see ifour children at home needed any-thing?

All I know is that I davenedthat every brain cell and neuron inChaya Rivka’s brain be used tolearn Hashem’s sweet Torah andunderstand her davening when shegets older. All for Your sake,Hashem, not ours.

Stop and think how much AmYisrael needs to stick together andbe close with one another, for attimes like these (not that anyoneshould ever face such challenges,but we never know), it is clearhow very much we rely on one an-other.

What more shall I say? Wordsare cheap; actions are what counts.That is why I am publicizing thismiracle, for all of us to grow fromand come closer to Hashem, tooutwardly extend our abundantgratitude, for which words do notsuffice, to the Borei Olam forsending us such precious she-lichim to aid in the complete heal-ing of our Chaya Rivka. That sheshall, be’ezras Hashem, be able toserve You in complete health andunderstanding of Your treasuredmitzvos.

Shelichim such as Hatzolah andBikur Cholim; the “malach” whodelivered food nightly from BikurCholim, and their entire organiza-tion, which stocks the refrigeratorand pantry at Westchester MedicalCenter (and other hospitals), sothat we are well-nourished and are

able to easily keep our sacredmitzvah of kashrus. Please take amoment to be generous in support-ing these and all of our otherchessed organizations, which arethe foundation of our Am Kadosh.

Please remember how impor-tant it is to take a CPR class andlearn life-saving techniques andkeep up with their teaching andapplication. Let’s make sure towork together to try to get profes-sional and organized training forour young kinderlach who takecare of their younger kinderlachand need to know what to do incase of an emergency.

Those of you who have a pool:do you know CPR? Hashemdoesn’t make a leaf fall from a treewithout declaring that it is time,but we must make our hishtadlusand physically prepare and trainourselves to be quick to act. Ourbeautiful kinderlach, in whosecare Chaya Rivka was left, actedwith such bravery and wisdomthat we know Hashem was guid-ing their every thought and move.

Thank you, Am Hakadosh, ourfellow brethren, for davening forour Chaya Rivka as though shewere your own baby. The over-whelming turnout of people at ourseudas hoda’ah on her preciousone-year birthday, 18 Kislev, wastestimony to how many lives thisnisayon touched and how deeply itreached into all of our neshamos.Let’s not wait for such a nisayonto occur in order for us to come to-gether to cry out to Hashem. Letus daven now to Hashem and askthat He send Moshiach Tzidkeinuand end all of Klal Yisrael’s suf-fering.-

Let us practice daily ahavaschinam, true love for one anotherleShem Shamayim, leshem achdus,leshem binyan Beis Hamikdash,bimheirah biyameinu, amen.

O.R.New York

My mother, Mrs. Malka Selets-ki, (nee Emilie Heitner) was niftara year ago, on 3 Shevat, inAntwerp. She was 90 years old.

Having come with her family toAntwerp from Cracow in 1924,she was part of the history of theJewish People that was beingmade during the pre- and postwaryears in Belgium. During the war,my mother witnessed the Germanstaking her brothers away. She fledwith her parents and sisters toFrance. Her parents remained inFrance, but she bravely crossed theborder to Switzerland with her sis-ters.

She used to tell us about thetime they saw a Swiss policemancycling toward them. He put onefoot down, stopping as if to ques-tion them. My mother, a”h, decid-ed to speak to him first. “Bonjourmonsieur le gendarme,” she saidpolitely. He answered, “Bonjourmesdemoiselles” and continued onhis way without questioning themor asking to see their papers. It wasa true nes. She would tell us thisstory to illustrate the importanceof always greeting other peoplewith a smile.

In Switzerland, she went toLugano to work with the Strenger

family and then went to Basel tolearn in a seminary. She remem-bered those years fondly, often re-ferring to them as her “nicestyears.”

My mother loved to learn andhear divrei Torah. Her days werefull of mitzvos and chessed andsome of her greatest joy was de-rived from hearing the divreiTorah of my sons, which theyshared with her when they werebachurim in yeshivah. She wouldlovingly tell over these divreiTorah on Friday nights.

She is deeply missed.Yehi zichrah baruch.

C10 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

In each row there are 9 slots; some

of them are empty and need to be filled.

Each row, column and “area” (3

squares x 3 squares, indicated by thicker

black lines) should contain the numbers

1 to 9. However:

� Each number can appear only once in

each row� Each number can appear only once in

each column� Each number can appear only once on

each area (3x3)

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By Karen Youso

Q. My house seems unusuallydusty. Do dust mites make dust?

A. No. It’s where they live!About 5,000 possible ingredientsmake up dust. They include pet andhuman hair and skin cells (which iswhat dust mites eat), as well as tinyparticles of rock, soil and sand,fibers from clothing, carpets, drapesand furniture, mold spores, pollenand bits of plants and insects. Re-cent Environmental ProtectionAgency research also discoveredthat house dust commonly is lacedwith toxic chemicals such as leadand flame retardants.

The composition and amount ofdust in a house vary depending onwhat’s in and around the house. Forexample, dust in a rural home on agravel road is different than that in acity home by a freeway, or a subur-ban home with construction nearby.

If your house seems overlydusty, consider these issues:

• Carpet. Carpets shed fiber andcollect dust particles. Every timeyou walk on it, you knock particlesinto the air; they circulate through-out the house on drafts and air cur-rents, including those fromforced-air furnaces. In addition, assynthetic carpets and pads deterio-rate over time, they become brittleand break into fine particles, con-tributing considerably to dust. Re-place old carpet and pads, or, whenpossible, remove them and usehard-surface flooring and area rugs.

• Ductwork. Don’t worry aboutcleaning it unless you’ve had re-modeling or construction work donerecently, or it’s never been cleanedbefore.

• Vacuum. Cleaning with a vac-uum can help control dust, but ifyou don’t use one with a HEPA fil-ter you’ll simply spread around thedust. A central vacuum that dis-charges outdoors also works well.

• Filter. The standard filter on a

forced-air furnace doesn’t do muchto capture household dust. Replaceit with a higher-efficiency pleatedfilter.

In addition:• Place a mat outside entry doors

so people can clean shoes and bootsbefore entering. Better yet, removeshoes and especially boots, andleave them on a mat near the door.

• Put outdoor clothing in closetsand keep the door closed.

• Damp-mop or damp-wipe allsmooth surfaces weekly. Don’t for-get those easily overlooked areassuch as window sills, door framesand baseboards.

• When possible, use cabinetsand display shelves with doorsrather than open shelving.

• Beware of ultrasonic humidi-fiers. If you are using tap water in-stead of distilled water in thehumidifier, it will release fine min-erals or light-colored “dust” into thehome.

• Limit candle-burning, as it re-leases fine particles of soot into theair. (MCT)

Of Mites and Dust

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Remembering Mrs. Malka Seletski, a”h

Hakaras Hatov to Hashem and His Nation

Damp-mop ordamp-wipe all

smooth surfacesweekly. Don’tforget those

easily overlookedareas such aswindow sills,

door frames andbaseboards

FEATURES C11HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

By Steve Chapman

GingerlyQ: Your dictionary lists “gin-

gerly” as an adjective. How canthat be? I’ve always heard it onlyas an adverb. A person mightsay, “He gingerly twisted thelid.” Also, I am wondering what,if anything, the word has to dowith ginger, the spice. I was won-dering if the “carefully” mean-ing is associated with addingginger carefully when preparinga dish, since it’s so strong.

A: “Gingerly,” it so happens,is both an adjective and an ad-verb. Its adverbial use, in whichit means “very cautiously orcarefully,” is definitely morecommon, but its use as an adjec-tive meaning “cautious or care-ful” is perfectly standard andacceptable — it can modify anoun as well as a verb. You couldthus say “He gave the lid a gin-gerly twist.”

Don’t be thrown by the “-ly”ending — there are lots of adjec-tives that end that way (“costly,”“crumbly,” “cuddly,” and“curly,” to name only a few), in-cluding some that, like “ginger-ly,” double as adverbs —“courtly,” “daily,” “hourly,” and“lively,” for example.

As for the word’s derivation,etymologists take a gingerly ap-proach to assigning any particu-lar origins to “gingerly.” While itmight have come from ginger,the spice, there’s nothing con-crete to back up that idea — infact, there is evidence thatweighs against it.

The earliest use of “gingerly”in 16th-century English was inreference to dancing or walkingand meant “elegantly,” “daintily”or “mincingly,” with correspon-ding adjective senses (the adjec-tive and adverb show up so closetogether that it’s impossible real-ly to say which came first). Oneconjecture is that “gingerly” isrelated to an Old French word,“gensor,” that meant “delicate.”Not until the 17th century did“gingerly” change (again, both asadjective and adverb) to apply tomovements that were cautious inorder to avoid being noisy or

causing injury, and to a warymanner in handling or presentingideas.

WheelbarrowQ: Recently I heard someone

call a one-wheeled gardeningcart a “wheelbarrel.” Isn’t thecorrect term “wheelbarrow”?

A: Yes, the established termfor this implement is “wheelbar-

row.” The “barrow” in “wheel-barrow” comes from an OldEnglish word related to the verb“beran,” which means “to carry.”Since a wheelbarrow is a vehiclewhich carries things with the aidof a wheel, this term is obviouslyappropriate. The word “wheel-barrel,” on the other hand, is veryuncommon and almost never ap-pears in print. It has been report-ed from the upper Midwest andin New England, and it may beheard in other parts of the coun-try also.

It is easy to understand whypeople might mistake the term“wheelbarrow” for “wheelbar-rel.” There is a tendency, called“folk etymology,” among speak-ers of our language to replace anunfamiliar word or word partwith a more familiar one. By thismethod were created words like“penthouse” from earlier “pen-tis,” and “hangnail” from“angnail” meaning “painfulnail.” In the present case, theword “barrow” is relatively littleknown, while “barrel” is muchmore familiar. And “barrow”does sound a lot like “barrel.”“Wheelbarrow” is still, however,

the standard English term for thisobject, and we don’t expect thatto change.

Fourth EstateQ: Can you explain the term

“fourth estate?” How did it cometo mean the press?

A: The word “estate” in“fourth estate” comes from for-mer political divisions in Europe.People who participated in thepolitical life of a country wereorganized into three groups orestates. In England, these threetraditional estates were the nobil-ity, the clergy, and the commonpeople. Any other group that ex-erted unofficial but often signifi-cant influence on public affairswas called the fourth estate. Inthe 19th century, “fourth estate”came to be applied exclusively tothe press.

Bleeding HeartsQ: Why do we call people who

show extravagant sympathy“bleeding hearts’’?

A: First came “one’s heartbleeds,’’ used most sincerely toexpress anguish or sorrow orpity, beginning with Chaucer,who wrote over 600 years ago inTroilus and Criseyde that hisheartbroken hero “thought he felthis heart bleed.’’ The phrase is ofcourse now used insincerely orironically as frequently as it isused sincerely.

We didn’t have “bleedingheart’’ until the late 16th century,almost 200 years after Chaucer.Back then it referred to one’s an-guished heart, not to a person,and it too was used sincerely.

The use of “bleeding heart’’for a person is quite new, havingbeen first recorded in the 1940s.It has never been intended as acompliment; its insinuation ofunwarranted or excessive sympa-thy has always been prominent.It is probably now most familiaras a term embraced by conserva-tives to disparage liberals, and itis often now used like an adjec-tive, as in “bleeding-heart liber-al.’’

©Merriam-Webster Inc., KRT

ACROSS

1. Lose hair5. Break (rules) impudently

10. Go without eating14. Place that is doubled with

sweet15. Clear pervasive body fluid16. Need to scratch17. Single item18. Come up19. Make like a lion20. Close, private meeting22. Big violin23. Eve's bone (one interpretation)24. What it takes to tango26. Opposite of wind(ward)27. Be in debt30. What people don't do in

the rain33. Brother to her35. Lady who gets baa-baa black

sheep's wool37. Milk factories (two words)42. Boring person (70s slang)43. Use your eyes44. Boil hard45. Late March, for its weather49. Going it alone50. Container for tuna51. Not an iota53. Not too many54. American Labor Party (abbr.)57. Liquid in infections59. Multi-space key61. Not small or medium

63. Schedule69. Where the cat's got up70. Odorless, natural radioactive

gas71. Sprout72. Early night (archaic)73. Attentive74. Simplicity75. Complain at length76. Metal bird77. Rude look

DOWN

1. Open-___ case2. Sharpen3. Give off4. Discourage5. Open truck or train platform6. Mini-harp7. Leave out8. Disturb, overturn9. Not just any

10. Conflagration 11. Ring of reef12. Dieter's enemy, usually13. Pang21. Goal22. Hairdo25. Precedes "Why not?"27. Chances28. Twist29. Arab prince31. Keep for a long time32. Connection (two words)

34. Cold planet36. Long narrative poem38. Fix39. Minimum overhead

requirement40. What a miss is as good as41. Easy-paced46. Bottom of the back of the neck47. Wildebeest48. International accord52. Dieter's dilemma: To ___ or

not to ___

54. Change55. Bug baby56. Arrange one's feathers58. Purposely delay60. Cream cheese base62. Good fellow64. Bright thought65. AM66. Scottish hillside67. Come in second68. Pitcher70. Bang lightly

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G A T E D O T T Y M A S S

R U I N A D O R E I C O N

A R E A T O R U S T U N A

B A R C H A R T S A T T A R

T U B T U G E R E

S P A B U L B S E W

N A V E S I A M E S E C A T

A P E X F R O L O C H

P A R A P L E G I A T U N E

M O O E L S E P E N

A R M L O B S A T

L O O S E A S S U R A N C E

L U T E B L E A R L I R A

O G E E U S A G E O N U S

W E L D S A L A D N E X T

W A T C H

WORDXII

VI

The Origins of Words

It was the last very hot day ofsummer. My husband remainedalone in our parked car with theair-conditioning on to completelistening to a Torah tape. I returnedto our apartment to take an after-noon nap.

About one-and-a-half hours lat-er I was awakened by a loudknocking at the door. A gentlemantold me that he and his wife hadbeen walking along the sidewalknear our parked car. They hadglanced inside the car and saw myhusband red-faced and slumped inthe front seat. I dashed to the car,shoelaces untied and without dri-ver’s license or money. The carwas very hot inside. My husbandwas clearly in distress. I drove himimmediately to our doctor’s office.I stopped the car a few doors away.

This time, again, two unknowngentlemen appeared from nowhereand supported my husband inwalking toward the office. Whenhe proved too weak to continue,they got a chair for him to sit on.The doctor and his assistant cameout to see my husband.

Who were the young gentlemanand his wife who had first alertedme about my husband sitting in thecar? I don’t know — they nevereven stopped to introduce them-selves. The wife had remained bythe car to watch over my husbandwhile her husband had come to theapartment to alert me. And whowere the two unknown gentlemenwho had assisted my husband ashe walked to the doctor’s office?Again, no one thought to stop andintroduce himself. Their onlythought was to help.

A few days later, we drovedowntown to an important ap-pointment. We parked the car onlevel 6 in the parking garage of theoffice building. This time it wasmy turn to remain in the car. Myhusband had proceeded to the ap-pointment himself. Again, I wasinterrupted by a loud knocking.Two gentlemen in business suitsand carrying attache cases were atthe car window. They said that myhusband was on level 5 and that hehad fallen to the floor. They ad-vised me to come with the car andassist him. I was unfamiliar with

the layout ofthe parking garage,

so I drove into several dead-endsbefore I maneuvered to where myhusband was on level 5.

By the time I arrived, the twogentlemen had already given myhusband water to drink. This time Ihad the presence of mind to askone gentleman what his name was.He said “Moshe.” No last names.Nothing fancy. Their only thoughtwas to help. “Moshe” and the oth-er gentleman quickly disappearedfrom sight.

I recall that these two gentle-men were the only people we sawin the parking garage — neitherwhen we had arrived nor when wedeparted did we see anyone else. Itwas as if G-d had sent His twomessengers to be on hand to per-form this particular mitzvah andthen leave.

The third instance occurred aday or two later. My husband,still in a weakened condition, fellasleep on the sofa in the livingroom. But then he fell off the nar-row mattress and onto the floor.He couldn’t manage to get upfrom the floor by himself. And I,not being very strong, couldn’thelp him. It was 11:30 at nightand he didn’t want to disturb aneighbor by asking him to cometo assist him. But I asked anyway.

It turned out that a new neigh-bor (to whom I am ashamed to sayI had but barely extended the typi-cal neighborly conversation andamenities) came to help as soon asI asked him.

This was all the more remark-able to me when I learned that hiswife had just given birth to theirfirst child and he had been in themiddle of telephoning the news torelatives. He did not leave us untilhe was sure that my husband wasOK. He even asked us to call againif we needed him.

It seems that we didn’t need to“ask” for help. G-d sent His helpand His helpers even before weeven knew that we needed help.

To submit your story for inclu-sion in this column, please e-mailto [email protected] or fax to(02) 500-3384.

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C12 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

Russian PresidentVladimir Putin said hewas keen to use Rus-sia's planned globalpositioning systemGLONASS to look af-ter his black LabradorKoni.

“When can I buyhardware to equip mydog with so that shewon’t run away toofar?” Putin was quot-ed as asking FirstDeputy Prime Minis-ter Sergei Ivanov dur-ing a briefing onprogress toward de-veloping a competitorto the U.S. GPS sys-tem.

Russia is workingto expand GLONASS,a system which lo-cates objects on theground using orbitalsatellites, and make itavailable for civilianuse. The project is partof the Kremlin’s at-tempts to boost hi-tech sectors ofthe Russian economy.

“Producers will be able to offercollars for dogs and cats of com-

mercial users in mid-2008,” Itar-Tass, the Russian state newsagency quoted Ivanov as replying.(Reuters)

Can GPS System Track

My Dog? Putin Asks

Russia's President Vladimir Putin isfollowed by his dog Koni as he walks tomeet representatives of youth movementsat the presidential country residence inZavidovo, 75 miles (120 km) northwest ofMoscow. (REUTERS/RIA NOVOSTI/KREMLIN)

While great nations fretted overcoal, oil and global warming, oneof the smallest nations at the U.N.climate conference in Bali lastmonth was looking toward theheavens for its energy.

The annual meeting’s corridorscan be a sounding board for un-likely “solutions” to climatechange — from filling the skieswith soot to block the sun, to culti-vating oceans of seaweed to absorbthe atmosphere’s heat-trappingcarbon dioxide.

Unlike other ideas, however,one this year had an influentialbacker: the Pentagon, which is in-vestigating whether space-basedsolar power — beaming energydown from satellites — will pro-vide “affordable, clean, safe, reli-able, sustainable and expandableenergy for mankind.”

Tommy Remengesau, Jr. is in-terested, too. “We’d like to look atit,” said the president of the tinywestern Pacific nation of Palau.

The U.S. Defense Departmentthis October quietly issued a 75-page study conducted for its Na-tional Security Space Officeconcluding that space power —collection of energy by vast arraysof solar panels aboard mammothsatellites — offers a potential ener-gy source for global U.S. militaryoperations.

It could be done with today’stechnology, experts say. But theprohibitive cost of lifting thou-sands of tons of equipment intospace makes it uneconomical.

That’s where Palau, a scatteringof islands and 20,000 islanders,comes in.

In September, American entre-preneur Kevin Reed proposed atthe 58th International AstronauticalCongress in Hyderabad, India, thatPalau’s uninhabited Helen Islandwould be an ideal spot for a smalldemonstration project, a 260-foot(80-m) diameter “rectifying anten-na,” or rectenna, to take in 1megawatt of power transmittedearthward by a satellite orbiting300 miles (483 km) above Earth.

That’s enough electricity topower 1,000 homes, but on thatempty island, the project would“be intended to show its safety foreverywhere else,” Reed said in aninterview.

Reed said he expects his U.S.-Swiss-German consortium to be-gin manufacturing the necessaryultralight solar panels within twoyears, and to attract financial sup-port from manufacturers wantingto show how their technology —launch vehicles, satellites, trans-mission technology — could makesuch a system work. He estimatesproject costs at $800 million andcompletion as early as 2012.

Low-orbiting satellites, as pro-posed for Palau, would pass overonce every 90 minutes or so, trans-mitting power to a rectenna forperhaps five minutes, requiringlong-term battery storage or imme-diate use — for example, inrecharging electric automobiles viabuilt-in rectennas.

The scale of that vision is enor-mous: One NASA study visualizedsolar-panel arrays 3 by 6 miles (4.8by 9.6 km) in size, transmittingpower to similarly sized rectennason Earth.

Each such mega-orbiter mightproduce 5 gigawatts of power,more than twice the output of aHoover Dam.

But how safe would thosebeams be?

Patrick Collins of Japan’s Az-abu University, who participated in

Japanese government studies ofspace power, said a lower-powerbeam, because of its breadth,might be no more powerful thanthe energy emanating from a mi-crowave oven’s door. The beamsfrom giant satellites would likelyrequire precautionary no-go zonesfor aircraft and people on theground, he said.

Advocates say the U.S. and oth-er governments must invest in de-veloping lower-cost space-launchvehicles. “It is imperative that this

work for ‘drilling up’ vs. drillingdown for energy security beginsimmediately,” concludes October’sPentagon report.

Some seem to hear the call. TheEuropean Space Agency hasscheduled a conference on space-based solar power for Feb. 29.Space Island Group, another entre-preneurial U.S. endeavor, reports“very positive” discussions with aEuropean utility and the Indiangovernment about buying futurepower from satellite systems. (AP)

Giant Pentagon,Tiny Palau Eye Space Energy

AP

Mattoon, Illinois, residentscelebrated when their centralIllinois city was chosen as thesite of a futuristic power plantthat would burn coal withoutemitting global warming gases,then got to work figuring outwhat comes next.

The $1.8 billion plant knownas FutureGen, which would storecarbon dioxide deep under-ground, is expected to bringhundreds of jobs to this centralIllinois town and will be built onseveral hundred acres.

Mattoon was chosen overnearby Tuscola and two Texastowns, Jewett and Penwell.

“I know this is the biggesteconomic development opportu-nity for east-central Illinois indecades,” said Gov. Rod Blago-jevich, who arrived in town afterthe announcement.

But hours later, the U.S. De-partment of Energy (DOE)warned that projected cost over-runs involving the plant “requirea reassessment of FutureGen’sdesign.”

The FutureGen Alliance, aconsortium of 12 U.S. and for-eign energy companies, an-nounced the site against theadvice of the DOE, which hadsaid it was not yet ready to signoff on the site.

“DOE believes that the publicinterest mandates that Future-Gen deliver the greatest possibletechnological benefits in themost cost-efficient manner. Thiswill require restructuring Fu-tureGen to maximize the role ofprivate-sector innovation, facili-tate the most productive public-private partnership and preventfurther cost escalation,” James

Slutz, the DOE’s acting princi-pal deputy assistant secretary,said in a statement.

The project, three-fourths ofwhich is taxpayer-funded, hasbeen under increasing scrutinyin the U.S. Congress.

Some lawmakers have ques-tioned its soaring cost — nearlydouble the $950 million origi-nally projected — and its longdelays.

U.S. President George W.Bush has touted FutureGen askey to developing carbon-freecoal-burning power plants. It issupposed to be virtually pollu-tion-free and produce both elec-tricity and hydrogen — while itscarbon dioxide, a leading green-house gas, is to be captured andstored deep underground.

Griffin said representativesfrom the FutureGen Alliancewould be in Mattoon to beginseismic surveys of 16 squaremiles of land.

Officials have said the plantis expected to be operating by2012, and said that they hope tobegin construction by July 2009.

Meanwhile, city officials saythey must determine how to getwater to the site, build a roadthat can handle heavy construc-tion equipment and hire a cityplanner. City attorney PrestonOwen said they’ll even examinetheir subdivision code to see ifthe city is prepared to handle aninflux of new housing construc-tion.

Mike Mudd, chief executiveof the FutureGen Alliance, saidMattoon was chosen because ofits “very good” water resourcesand geologic conditions and be-cause carbon dioxide could be

injected underground directly atthe site, possibly simplifyingconstruction.

Environmentalists saidthey’re eager to see if the tech-nology delivers on its promises,

For the coal industry, be-sieged by questions about its rolein global warming, “this is sortof their last stand. This is it,”said Bruce Nilles of the group’sMidwest Clean Energy Cam-paign.

“We welcome an honest dis-cussion about is it technicallyand financially feasible for coalto be burned in a responsiblemanner,” he said. “Obviously ...this is a very important researchproject.”

The project has been the sub-ject of intense lobbying.

Illinois offered a $17 milliongrant to help pay for variousproject costs and an estimated$15 million in sales tax exemp-tions on materials and equipmentthrough local enterprise zones.The state also set aside $50 mil-lion for below-market rate loansto the FutureGen alliance.

The alliance members — in-cluding major U.S. coal-burningutilities American Electric Powerand Southern Co., and the coun-try’s largest coal producer,Peabody Energy — have com-mitted $400 million over 10years.

Congress is giving the pro-gram $75 million this year,$33 million less than the admin-istration had wanted.

Committees overseeing Ener-gy Department spending ex-pressed concern that FutureGenwas siphoning money away fromother clean-coal programs. (AP)

Pollution-Free Coal Plant

FEATURES C13HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

By Marshall Brain

You see glow-in-the-dark stuffin all kinds of places, but it ismost common in toys. My son,for example, has a glow-in-the-dark yo-yo, a glow-in-the-darkball, a glow-in-the-dark mobile,glow-in-the-dark stars taped tothe wall, and even (if you can be-lieve it) a pair of glow-in-the-dark pajamas. They make himeasy to find at night. Kids loveglow-in-the-dark stuff.

If you have ever seen any ofthese products, you know thatthey all have to be “charged.”You hold them up to a light, andthen take them to a dark place. Inthe dark they will glow for 10 or20 minutes. Some of the newerglow-in-the-dark stuff will glowfor an hour or two. Usually it is asoft green light.

The secret to all of this glow-in-the-dark stuff is a chemicalcalled a phosphor. All glow-in-the-dark products contain phos-phors. A phosphor is a substancethat radiates visible light afterbeing energized in some way.The two places where we mostcommonly see phosphors are inCRT screens and in fluorescentlights.

In a CRT screen, an electronbeam strikes the phosphor to en-ergize it. The energy of the elec-trons excites the phosphor and itcreates a colored dot on thescreen. In a fluorescent light, ul-traviolet light inside the tube en-ergizes the phosphor. In bothcases, what we see is visiblelight. A color screen actually

contains thousands of tiny phos-phor picture elements that emitthree different colors (red, greenand blue). In the case of a fluo-rescent light, there is normally amixture of phosphors that to-gether create light that lookswhite to us.

Chemists have created thou-sands of chemical substances thatbehave like a phosphor. All ofthese different phosphors havethree characteristics. First, thereis the type of energy they requireto be energized. Second, there isthe color of the visible light thatthey produce. Third is the lengthof time that they glow after beingenergized (known as the persist-ence of the phosphor). If youwere an engineer picking a phos-phor for a screen, you wouldwant it to be energized by a beamof electrons and you would wantit to persist for about a thirtieth ofa second.

To make a glow-in-the-darktoy, what you want is a phosphorthat is energized by normal lightand that has a very long persist-ence. Two phosphors that havethese properties are zinc sulfideand strontium aluminate. Stron-tium aluminate is newer — it’swhat you see in the “super”glow-in-the-dark toys. It has amuch longer persistence thanzinc sulfide does and it isbrighter.

To make a glow-in-the-darktoy, you mix the phosphor in witha liquid plastic or a liquid paint.Once the plastic hardens or thepaint dries, the phosphor does itsglowing thing and you have aglow-in-the-dark toy. (MCT)

DID YOU EVER WONDER ...

How Glow-in-the-Dark

Toys Work

With a 6-month-old at the con-trols, researchers at the Universityof Delaware are encouraging under-age driving.

Their ultimate goal is to help im-mobile, disabled children move andexplore.

The researchers are using robot-ics in an odd contraption that’s sortof a cross between a bumper car anda robot. In a recent test, Aniya Har-ris, a normally developing 6-month-old, scooted across the floor indelight by pushing a joystick on thelittle vehicle. She’s too young tosteer it.

“I think she thinks, ‘Joystickmeans go.’ I’ll take that right now,”said Cole Galloway, a physical ther-apy professor who heads the infantmotor behavior lab.

He and the other researchers be-lieve the robot, dubbed UD1, holdsthe promise of opening up new hori-zons for disabled infants, especiallythose with orthopedic problems ormuscular dystrophy. Wheeled ro-bots could enable them to move andexplore the world around them,which studies suggest is critical totheir development.

Researchers in the United King-dom have been working for years onpowered mobility for toddlers.However, Galloway said, conven-tional wisdom has held that becauseof safety issues, children aren’t con-sidered ready for that until age 4 or5; the earliest age doctors might rec-ommend powered mobility is age 3.

That means too many childrenare at risk of losing out on the im-portant early link between mobilityand their overall development, hesaid.

“As soon as you’re reaching, assoon as you’re walking, your cogni-tion explodes,” Galloway ex-plained.

Sunil Agrawal, a professor ofmechanical engineering at the uni-versity, has been working for yearson wheeled robots with infrared andsonar sensors that can avoid obsta-cles. A prototype based on thosemodels is being used in studies in-volving about a dozen typically de-veloping infants and a smallernumber who have special needs.

Using a computer and wireless

technology, researchers can meas-ure the frequency and duration ofjoystick use by a child; the location,speed and distance traveled by thevehicle; and the amount of timespent “driving.”

During a recent visit, Aniya sat inUD1’s blue plastic seat and tuggedon the joystick as her aunt, DainaMontgomery, beckoned from a fewfeet away with a toy. The little girlwhirred across the floor to her aunt.

While Aniya has no disabilities,her aunt believes the mobility ex-periment has helped her move rap-idly from an early stage crawl tobeing able to climb stairs and pullherself up.

Galloway and Agrawal said theirresearch is still early, and parentsshouldn’t expect to see robotic vehi-cles on the market anytime soon.They hope to get funding to contin-ue their research and develop a sec-ond-generation robot.

A few similar products are al-ready commercially available inEngland, including the “Wizzybug.”It was developed by researchers atthe Bath Institute of Medical Engi-neering for disabled 2- to 5-year-

olds. While it doesn’t have some ofthe robotic features of UD1, theWizzybug has both a programmablejoystick and parental control.

Nina Evans, a research occupa-tional therapist at the institute, saidchildren using the Wizzybug areable to sit in a safe and functionalposition while learning about move-ment.

Ruth Everard of DragonmobilityLtd. in Cambridge, England, anoth-er producer of powered vehicles,said the research at UD should addto the existing body of knowledgeabout mobility and the developmen-tal needs of children.

“I think it’s really important thatpeople combine their knowledgeand look at what’s been done be-fore,” she said.

Everard, who suffers from spinalmuscular atrophy, was 21 monthsold when her father designed apowered chair for her, spawning acompany that has provided mobilityfor children as young as 11 monthsold.

“I find it tiring that I’m still beingtold it’s cutting edge, and I’m 28,”she said. (AP)

Six-month-old Aniya Harris guides a robot, dubbed UD1, towardher aunt in Newark, Delaware. Researchers at the University ofDelaware believe UD1 holds the promise of opening up newhorizons for disabled infants, especially those with orthopedicproblems or muscular dystrophy. (AP PHOTO/ROB CARR)

Architect John Barrie is interest-ed in a different kind of client — onewho can’t pay him anything.

With his family’s blessing, Barrieis moving from his life as the princi-pal at the Ann Arbor, Michigan, ar-chitecture firm that carries his nameto full-time executive director of thenonprofit Appropriate TechnologyCollaborative.

It’s a switch Barrie is enthusiasticabout making.

“We can reach 1 million peoplein five years,” Barrie says. “It’s ab-solutely realistic.”

Those people are the low-incomeresidents of places in the developingworld where there’s little or no elec-trical service, clean water or sanita-tion; where health suffers becausevaccines spoil and the available fu-els foul the air.

They are, in other words, peo-ple not served by appropriate tech-nology.

Barrie and his cohorts have a planto change that. And it’s elegantlysimple — they want designers, engi-neers and other like-minded, inven-tive souls to devise solutions to whatare, in the end, technology problems.

One example would be providinglighting in a place where power is in-termittent or nonexistent. A solution

deemed appropriate that is economi-cally feasible, environmentallysound and sustainable would be giv-en away.

“You can have the plan and makethe device for yourself,” Barrie says.“You can use it to go into businessand provide these technologies toyour community.”

Indeed, the nonprofit collabora-tive aims to offer education andtraining on the manufacture, use andmaintenance of the technologies itoffers.

Barrie has several designs thatare ready or close to being ready:

• An inexpensive wind turbine.• A system for making char-

coal — an important fuel —withagricultural plant waste instead ofwood and, in the process, capturegas to create a second fuel.

• An LED light fixture that usesrecycled cell-phone chargers as thepower supply. That light is entered ina NASA design contest. Should itwin anything, Barrie says the prizewill go to the nonprofit organization.

• Barrie’s “GaiaLux WorldLight” uses bamboo and an old plas-tic bag in its construction. It alreadyhas drawn interest expressed byFadil H. Ukiqi, who reached Barrieby e-mail from Pristina, Kosovo.

Due to war, power in Pristina iscut at least 10 hours a day. Ukiqiasked if the light’s design could belicensed and shared with people inneed. Barrie says millions of peoplein worse shape, pirating a bit of elec-tricity when they can, also couldbenefit.

“We can give them somethingthat costs less, provides better light,avoids pollution and eliminates therisk of fire and respiratory prob-lems,” Barrie says.

He’s also excited about the po-tential of solar-powered refrigera-tion.

In remote parts of the world, hesays, half of all vaccines spoil beforethey can be used. The problemsposed by tapping solar power havebeen tough.

But Michigan State Universityengineering students, enlisted tohelp the Appropriate TechnologyCollaborative, made a significantbreakthrough this month.

They built a prototype thatworks, says Barrie, delighted thatthe foursome working on the projectsolved what he describes as a geom-etry problem. Their effort was re-warded with the top prize in a designcompetition at the college. (New-house News Service)

Immobile Babies Do the Driving

Helpful Inventors Give Away Ideas

This apartment building is partly heated by solar energy collectedfrom pipes under the asphalt of a 219-yard (219-m)road and anearby parking lot in Avenhorn, northern Netherlands. A latticeworkof flexible plastic pipes created by Dutch civil engineering firmOoms is said to be capable of siphoning the warmth from roadsand parking lots, magnifying the sun’s thermal power to heathomes and offices. AP PHOTO/ BAS CZERWINSKI, FILE

Piping Hot

C14 FEATURES 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008 HAMODIA

By Gwen Schoen

All orange fruits and vegeta-bles are packed with nutrients andphytochemicals that play a part infighting off disease. Unless youoverdo them with brown sugar ormaple syrup, they’re also low incalories and high in vitamins.

So, as we continue our seriesabout adding color to our plates ina salute to good health, considerorange foods.

Nature’s yummy offerings suchas pumpkins, sweet potatoes, or-anges and carrots are full of vita-mins and also packed with fiber.

According to the Produce forB e t t e rH e a l t hFoundation,orange foodscontribute toheart and vi-sion healthwhile alsostrengthen-ing our im-m u n es y s t e m s .They also might lower the risk ofsome cancers.

Foods such as carrots, pump-kins and winter squashes can bebaked in the oven or pureed insoups. Fruits such as apricots, or-anges, peaches and nectarines aredelicious eaten fresh, choppedinto salads or blended into a cozybatch of muffins.

We’ve included recipes for avariety of these options.

Orange Foods

• Apricots• Butternut squash• Cantaloupe• Carrots• Mangoes• Nectarines• Oranges• Papayas• Peaches• Peppers of various varieties• Pumpkin• Rutabagas• Sweet potatoes• Tangerines

Orange-Date Muffins (dairy)(9 servings or 18 muffins)

1 cup buttermilk2 teaspoons baking soda1 cup butter, softened2 cups firmly-packed light

brown sugar

2 large eggs3 cups all-purpose flour¼ cup grated orange rind1 teaspoon vanilla1 cup chopped pecans1 cup chopped dates1/3 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons fresh orange

juice1 tablespoon butter, meltedStir together buttermilk and

baking soda until blended.Beat 1 cup butter at medium

speed of an electric mixer untilcreamy; gradually add brown sug-ar, beating well.

Stir in buttermilk mixture, eggsand next five ingredients until

well blend-ed.

Pour bat-ter intog r e a s e dm u f f i npans, fillingtwo-thirdsfull.

Bake at350 degreesFahrenheit

(175 degrees C) for 20 minutes.Remove from muffin pans and

cool on wire racks.While muffins are cooling, stir

together powdered sugar, orangejuice and melted butter untilsmooth. Drizzle glaze overmuffins. This optional step couldbe left out for those wanting ahealthier muffin.

The Best Whole-BakedCarrots (4 servings)

1 pound 10 ounces (¾ kg)young bunched carrots, washedand scrubbed

Olive oilHerb or red wine vinegarSea salt and freshly ground

black pepperA few sprigs fresh thyme3 cloves garlic, crushedPreheat oven to 400 degrees

Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).Toss carrots with a generous

portion of olive oil, a splash ofvinegar, salt and pepper, thethyme sprigs and the garlic cloves.

Place in a roasting pan or earth-enware dish, cover tightly withfoil and cook for 30 or 40 minutesuntil just tender.

Remove foil and cook for 10minutes more or until the carrotshave browned and caramelizednicely.

By Rallie McAllister, M.D.

Taking a well-deservedbreather in the middle of yourworkout could help you burn morebody fat than exercising continu-ously, according to the results of astudy published in the June editionof the Journal of Applied Physiol-ogy. Researchers at the Universityof Tokyo found that when individ-uals took a 20-minute rest betweentwo half-hour bouts of exercise,they burned more fat than whenthey exercised non-stop for 60minutes.

Blood tests performed on theexercising volunteers revealed thattaking a break during physical ac-tivity resulted in higher levels offatty acids and glycerol, chemicalcompounds that are released whenbody fat is used for energy. Evenin the “recovery” period followingexercise, fat breakdown wasgreater when the subjects took amid-workout breather than whenthey exercised continuously.

You might welcome the addi-tion of a 20-minute break to yourworkout routine — if your sched-ule allows it. If time is tight andyour goal is to exercise as quicklyand as effectively as possible, youmay need to adopt a differentstrategy.

Researchers at the Universityof New South Wales recently re-

ported that short bouts of vigor-ous, “sprint”-type exercise result-ed in significant improvements inmuscle strength and endurancecapacity. Bursts of high-intensityexercise were found to producechanges similar to training meth-ods involving long hours of exer-cise each week.

In a study published in theJournal of Physiology in 2006, re-searchers at McMaster Universityin Canada compared the effects ofinterval training to those of con-tinuous exercise.

For the study, 16 healthy stu-dents were asked to participate insix training sessions during a two-week period. Eight of the subjectswere assigned to an “endurance”group, while the other eight wereassigned to a “sprint” group.

In each of the six training ses-sions, subjects in the endurancegroup were asked to engage incontinuous, moderate-intensity cy-cling for 90 to 120 minutes. Sub-jects in the sprint group wereasked to perform four to six 30-second bursts of “all-out” cycling,with each maximum-intensity ef-fort followed by a four-minute re-covery period.

At the end of the two-weekstudy period, the subjects in theendurance group had spent a littlemore than 10 hours working out,while those in the sprint group hadspent just over two hours exercis-

ing. Despite the eight-hour differ-ence in total training time, the twogroups showed similar improve-ments in performance and en-durance.

Although this study was de-signed specifically to evaluate theeffects of adding vigorous bouts ofexercise to a cycling workout, thefat-burning phenomenon associat-ed with sprinting occurs in othertypes of physical activity. Whetheryou’re walking, swimming, ordancing, you can increase the ef-fectiveness of your workout byadding regular bursts of high-intensity effort.

As you become stronger andmore physically fit, you’ll be ableto step up the intensity of your ex-ercise. The better shape you’re in,the less time you need to spend ex-ercising to get the same results.

For extremely fit athletes, forexample, just six minutes of veryvigorous exercise can be as benefi-cial as an hour of leisurely activity.

If you’re just starting a fitnessprogram, you’ll need to spend alittle more time exercising, prefer-ably at least 30 minutes to an houra day. The good news is that nowyou don’t have to feel guilty aboutstopping to rest.

Taking a mid-workout breathercan do more than just make exer-cise more enjoyable — it couldboost your body’s ability to burnfat. (C.S., Inc.)

Taking a Mid-Workout Break May

Boost Fat-Burning During Exercise

Orange Foods Can Help

Keep You HealthyMEDICALfront

Stress on the Knees Can Lead

To Painful ConditionBy Dr. Paul Collins

Occasional knee discomfort iswhat we all get for being active attimes, but we need to pay attention,especially with kids.

One of the common conditions,and it is not a disease, is calledOsgood-Schlatters, which, if treat-ed early, can be “cured.” The treat-ment is — rest! That’s right, simplerest from the activity that is causingthe pain and swelling.

Growth Causes Stress

In children, especially kids be-tween the ages of 9 and 13, there isan added cause for increased stressin this area: growth.

Growth means there are areas ofcartilage that are undergoing dy-namic changes which make the areamore susceptible to recurrent stress.We have talked about overuse inadults, but kids are more liable todevelop a problem because they aregrowing.

Children, especially very activechildren, are the ones we see withthis condition. The age range isusually 9 to 13 years old, with girlsbeing affected at a slightly youngerage.

The most common complaint ispain in the front of the knee, espe-cially after running, jumping or

squatting. Usually only one knee isaffected, or one is worse than theother. Since anterior knee pain is socommon and has so many causes,it is often hard for parents to put itin perspective. Still, when a childcomplains of pain, especially if thepain persists at night, you need topay a bit more attention.

Head for the Doctor

Pushing on the tibial tuberclewill often help decide if this isOsgood-Schlatters. If the pain isenough to make the child wincewith pressure, it is time to take atrip to your physician to have itchecked out.

Usually this means an X-ray tosee how much bone reaction thereis and whether the growth area,called the physis, has been affected.

Since the cause is an over-stressed muscle-tendon complex, anexternal wrap will not really helpunless the leg is laid out straight andimmobilized. Anti-inflammatorymedications like ibuprofen, by re-moving the protective symptoms ofpain and swelling, can actually beharmful unless the tendon is also al-lowed to heal. Local treatment withheat or ultrasound will not reallysolve the problem either, unless theyare associated with rest.

It is this rest of the muscle-ten-

don complex that allows the body to“catch up” with the healing process,enabling the tendon attachment tothe bone to repair itself enough towithstand the incredible stressesthat occur there. Unless the child isallowed to heal, the stress-swelling-pain cycle will be perpetuated.

If it is damaged enough, the at-tachment of the tendon to the tibialtubercle can pull loose, often takinga significant part of the upper tibiabone with it. This is where we sur-geons come into the picture sincewe have to put the displaced boneand tendon back in place to allowgrowth to continue correctly. Inevery case I have seen, the symp-toms were there for a long time be-fore the tendon pulled off.

If you had this condition as achild and developed swelling in thetibial tubercle but did not have sur-gery, you can still have problems asan adult.

Prevention is the best cure. So ifyour child complains of pain in thefront of the knee, feel the tibial tu-bercle before dismissing it as“growing pains.” (MCT)

Paul Collins, M.D., is an ortho-pedic surgeon at OrthopedicHealth Care in Boise, Idaho.

FEATURES C15HAMODIA 3 SHEVAT 5768 / JANUARY 10, 2008

What sunshine

is to flowers,

smiles are to humanity.

Lincoln’s Mysterious DeathHow would history have been different

if U.S President Abraham Lincoln hadbeen allowed to finish his term in office?

According to John G. Sotos, not muchdifferent.

A physician expert in rare ailments aswell as amateur historian, Sotos believesLincoln had a genetic syndrome calledMEN 2B. He thinks the diagnosis not onlyaccounts for Lincoln’s great height, whichhas been the subject of much medicalspeculation over the years, but also formany of the president’s other reported ail-ments and behaviors.

He also suspects Lincoln was dying ofcancer at the time he was assassinated,and was unlikely to have survived a year.He thinks cancer — an inevitable elementof MEN 2B — killed at least one of Lin-coln’s four sons, three of whom died be-fore age 20.

“No physician ever removes doubtfrom his or her mind. I am prepared to bewrong, but I don’t expect to be wrong,”Sotos said.

Sotos believes several things point to adiagnosis of cancer. Numerous observerscommented that Lincoln became thinnerin the White House. Three months beforehis death on April 15, 1865 at age 56, hefainted while getting up quickly from achair. He had periodic severe headachesand cold hands and feet, all symptoms ofpheochromocytoma, an adrenaline-pro-ducing tumor that is one of the two MEN2B-associated cancers.

Lesser arguments for the diagnosis in-clude Lincoln’s famously sad face and hishabit of lounging horizontally wheneverpossible, all indicators of MEN 2B.

Several years ago, Sotos published re-search asserting that President WilliamHoward Taft (1908-1912) had obstructivesleep apnea, which went away when helost a large amount of weight after leavingthe White House.

Napoleon’s Mysterious DeathIt was always considered an art to find

out what really happened in historicalevents. For instance, medical historianswere intrigued by the death of French Em-peror Napoleon Bonaparte at age 51.

The official death certificate gave thecause of death as stomach cancer. Howev-er, that didn’t satisfy conspiracy theoristswho were convinced that the British killedhim in a slow death to prevent his returnto power.

At his exile in St. Helena, the wallpaperin his room was dyed with Scheele’sGreen, a coloring pigment that had beenused in fabrics and wallpapers fromaround 1770. Named after the Swedishchemist who invented it, the dye con-tained copper arsenide. In 1893 an Italianbiochemist named Gosio discovered thatif wallpaper containing Scheele’s Greenbecame damp, the mold converted thecopper arsenide to a poisonous vapor formof arsenic. Breathing the arsenic on itsown might not have been enough to killNapoleon, but he already had stomachcancer. On May 5, 1821, the arsenic possi-bly tipped the scale against “the little cor-poral.”

A number of his staff had kept locks ofNapoleon’s hair, which were subsequentlypassed down the generations. One of thosesamples of Napoleon’s hair, when ana-lyzed using modern scientific techniquesin the 1960s, was found to contain signif-icant quantities of arsenic, somewhat sup-porting this hypothesis.

Typhoid Candy Reporters are supposed to report the

news, not create it. Earlier this month,

U.S President George W. Bush revealed apreviously unknown incident in which ajournalist covering the campaign trail in2000 infected most of the travelers — in-cluding candidate Bush — with a crip-pling virus.

“What I’m not going to miss,” Bushsaid, “is what ... some of us went throughin 2000, which was getting out on the air-plane and having [reporter] Candy Crow-ley pass a virus around,” he laughed. “Igot a respiratory infection; so did half thepress corps. They got off the plane; I did-n’t get to get off the plane. And it wastough; it was a tough experience.”

Crowley, happily enough, quickly con-firmed the story. “I got very sick withsomething — though I demand an NIE re-port before agreeing it was viral,” shewrote, referring to a National IntelligenceEstimate. “In any case, I was sick enoughthat the president of CNN at the time,Rick Kaplan, ordered me off the trail andinto a very expensive hotel for soup andtea till I got well. And a doctor became in-volved!

“It is also true that a number of peopleon the plane came down with ‘it,’ includ-ing Bush. I believe the name TyphoidCandy was used at some point,” she con-cluded triumphantly.

What Is a Cuba?A presidential press secretary is a per-

son who is constantly with the president tobe informed enough to be able to talk forhim. It is a given that that person must beknowledgeable on all matters of state andpolitics.

Until the present one, it seems.Dana Perino, President Bush’s press

secretary, admitted that during a WhiteHouse briefing, a reporter referred to theCuban Missile Crisis — and she didn’tknow what it was.

“I panicked a bit because I really don’tknow about … the Cuban Missile Crisis,”said Perino, who at 35 was born about adecade after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet nuclearshowdown. “It had to do with Cuba andmissiles, I’m pretty sure. I came home andI asked my husband,” she recalled. “I said,‘Wasn’t that like the Bay of Pigs thing?’”

Hope for the BestPresident Bush may have tried to help but

it came out all wrong. Homeowners whocalled the 1-800 help line he gave out duringhis nationally broadcast address on mort-gages only got more stressed out.

“I have a message for every homeownerworried about rising mortgage payments,”the president announced. “The best you cando for your family is to call 1-800-995-HOPE. That is 1-800-995-HOPE.”

But Hope doesn’t answer when you callthe number. There’s only an incessant busysignal. Because the president gave out thewrong number.

For the record, the White House press of-fice sent out a correction via a press release.The president was only a few digits off.

Opposing Vietnam, Clinton StyleIt’s a story she seldom tells, not even in

her autobiography. But Hillary Clinton,who is on record as opposing the VietnamWar — her husband Bill even escaped toCanada to avoid the draft — says she oncetried to join the Marines shortly after theconflict ended. She recounted the failedenlistment in June 1994. She said shewent to a military recruitment officeshortly before her 1975 marriage. Oncethe Marine recruiter saw the bespectacledlaw professor, she said, he rejected her bysaying, “You’re too old, you can’t see andyou’re a woman.”

Q. After many years of scrimping andsaving, and with the help of our generousparents, my husband and I bought a house forour growing family, bli ayin hara. We ex-tended the house to suit our needs, and aftermany hurdles we finally moved. I would liketo point out that while our house is spacious,comfortable, and practical, we did not in-dulge in luxuries. You will not find fancyniches, sconces, marble floors, granite coun-ters, Jacuzzi baths or other such accou-trements in our home. The reason for this istwofold.

First, we barely covered the costs of basicrenovations and were not looking to spendunnecessarily.

Second, similar to Yaakov Avinu’s instruc-tions to his children not to flaunt when othersare wanting (lamah tisra’u), we felt that sinceother Yidden with large families are strug-gling in crowded accommodations, we didnot feel it was right to indulge in excess, andwe tried to include only what was really nec-essary.

In fact, my husband spoke to a respectedRav while we were making plans who statedthat a large house brings harchavas hadaas;he encouraged us to provide our childrenwith the space they needed, as long as webuilt according to local standards, withoutfancy trappings.

After we moved in, we made a lechaimfor our families, who were happy to see usmove, having witnessed the difficult yearsduring which we lived in very cramped con-ditions. However, we have a relative whohas trouble “fargining.” She is the type ofperson who always has to know what’s do-ing with others, and she begrudges themwhat she lacks. I knew she would come andwas hoping she would find it in her heart towish us well.

Unfortunately, this did not happen. In-stead, she went around from room to roomwith undisguised jealousy, commenting oneverything. Later, she made sure to tell

everyone she knew about the “mansion” wehad built. If it were not so sad, it would belaughable.

The day after her visit, we encountered aseries of setbacks and problems. First it wasthe builder, then the sewer, and then an elec-trical blowout. We suffered great financialloss, from which we are still trying to recoup.

I could not help but feel that she had castan ayin hara on us. (Incidentally, this womanonce complained to me that her wealthyneighbor could never understand her financialsituation. Two months later, that neighbor ex-perienced a major financial crisis.)

I have a few questions:Is there such a thing as ayin hara in such a

situation?Having done everything possible not to

elicit jealousy, was there and isthere anything to do to prevent ayin hara?

I was recently asked by the Ladies’ Auxil-iary of my son’s yeshivah to host a tea party inmy home. While my husband and I hadpledged to open our home to anyone in needand would love to participate in such a mitz-vah, I am beset by doubt. How do I know thatthere won’t be people in attendance who don’tfargin?

I greatly appreciate your taking the time toread and answer this letter.

A. There are many references in theTalmud and in the sefarim to ayin hara, butthere is no way one can say that any specificincident was the result of ayin hara. There aremany things in our tradition that are supposedto protect against ayin hara. You can find themin the section on segulos in the sefer TaameiHaminhagim and other sefarim on segulos.

From what you say, you did everything youcould have to meet your own needs and avoidprovoking anyone’s envy.

Don’t hesitate to host mitzvah gatherings inyour home. Doing a mitzvah and supporting ayeshivah or a chessed project is the greatestprotection against ayin hara.

Reminder: anger = feeling upon beingprovoked; rage = reaction to angry feeling(mild to severe); resentment = retaining agrudge

Watch Your Mood!Some days are just like that. You go out

on a cold morning and you have a flat tire.That makes you late for your appointment, atwhich the customer tells you that he gave thedeal to a competitor. The boss blames youfor losing the job. You want to punch him be-cause you wanted to bid lower, but he didn’tlet you. You don’t dare vent your anger onhim because he’ll fire you forthwith.

You go out for lunch, but the restaurant isso crowded that there isn’t a single vacantspace. You grumble and go back to the officeand settle for a cup of coffee.

As you get into the car to go home, yourback goes out on you. You just barely makeit home. Your wife greets you with the newsthat your son was sent home from school forbad behavior. Under other circumstances,

you might have a talk with your son to findout what happened, but given the way youfeel today, you consider yourself a saint forjust screaming at him and threatening himwith everything you can think of.

Your reaction to any annoyance should bebased on what it is in reality and not on howyou happen to feel, because when you’re ina bad mood, everything can be magnified100 times. On days like this, don’t say any-thing at the time. Delay it until your irritabil-ity has eased.

I’ve made it a point that when I write anangry letter to someone, I put it in the deskfor 48 hours; then I re-read it. In every case,I rewrite the letter, making my point in anon-provocative way, using what I call a“velvet hammer.” I express my displeasurewithout attacking. In virtually every case, Ireceive an apology or an appropriate expla-nation.

Shlomo Hamelech said, “The gentlewords of the wise are heard” (Koheles 9:17).I assume you want to get your point across.Wait until you can say it calmly.

Anger Management Part XI

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