Seventeen years ago, in late May of 2005, I was invited to join a rabbinic mission to Germany. The invitation was extended by Zentralrat Der Juden (Central Council of Jews) and was paid for by the German government. The stated purpose of the visit was to see the positive growth of the Jewish communities in Germany 50 years after World War II. My dad, who had fought with the first American infantry units to enter Germany in March of 1945 was still alive and well then. When I told him that I was planning to go to Germany, his reaction was less than positive. For my dad, and for many of his generation, anything associated with Germany was extremely distasteful. I explained that I was going on behalf of the Jews. Nevertheless, he had difficulty with any type of contact with Germany.

Having just completed this article, which references him, I learned of the petira (passing) of my mentor, my friend, and my rebbe, Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, zt”l. By the time you read this, shiva will have been completed. I therefore decided to add this short introduction to honor my Rebbe’s memory.

Rabbi Stolper was responsible for changing the landscape of Torah outreach in North America beginning in the early 60s. NCSY and Rabbi Stolper were synonymous. NCSY was without a doubt on the cutting edge of kiruv (Jewish outreach) when it began its work over 60 years ago. NCSY succeed in reaching out to the huge numbers of young Jews who were rapidly being lost to assimilation. The word Shabbaton, which is now in common usage, was coined by Rabbi Stolper to describe the weekend teenage gatherings that gave many high schoolers their first taste of a real Shabbos, which included learning, zemiros, and dancing. Following a musical havdalah, there was a fun-filled melava malka with great food and entertainment.

During my lengthy career I have been privileged to become friends with some very special and interesting people. One of those individuals is Professor Gerald Schroeder. Dr. Schroeder holds graduate degrees in nuclear (and astro) physics from MIT, where he served as a faculty member prior to his appointment to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Dr. Schroeder became a baal teshuva during his tenure at MIT. While in Boston, he studied with the Bostoner Rebbe, Rav Levi Horowitz, zt”l. Later, in Israel, he learned with two roshei yeshiva: with Rav Noach Weinberg, zt”l, with whom he had a regular chavrusa for many years, and with Rav Chaim Brovender, may he be blessed. Dr. Schroeder and his wife Barbara, who is a journalist and author, made aliyah with their children in the seventies. Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Dr. Schroeder was appointed to the faculty of the Weizmann Institute and Yeshiva Aish HaTorah, while Barbara became a columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

?It’s amazing how easily luxuries can become necessities. When that happens, we start taking those luxuries for granted. I was fortunate to have grown up in a home where nothing was taken for granted. My mom and dad appreciated whatever they had and were grateful for it. As a result, it was natural for them to express immediate appreciation for even the most simple gift or kind gesture. These days, expressing appreciation and saying thank you seems to have fallen on hard times.

Showing hakaras hatov (gratitude) to Hashem for His blessings is challenging for those who don’t naturally express thanks to others. It seems that too many people are self-absorbed almost to the point of narcissism. I’m wondering if there is a direct correlation between the volume of one’s material possessions (i.e: “stuff”) and the dramatic decrease in the measure of gratitude one demonstrates.

One of the main themes of Purim involves costumes. The fun of dressing up helps us to gain an understanding of a world in which things are not what they appear to be. A world in which the opposite of what we expect to happen happens. In Pesachim 50 we learn that Rav Yosef was critically ill and had a near-death experience. When he recovers, his father asks, “What did you see when you almost departed this life?”

Rav Yosef replies “I saw an inverted world. The powerful were insignificant while the insignificant became powerful.”

?My wife Arleeta and I hadn’t been to Florida together in three years. As “Yeshiva Week” 2022 approached, Arleeta, a devoted second-grade boys teacher, needed a sanity break. For the better part of the last two months Arleeta could be heard reciting a quiet chant when working into the wee hours on numerous school projects, or when dealing with a challenging parent. Her chant was “Going Florida…Going Florida…!” Being a perceptive person, I picked up on the idea that she wanted to go to Florida. Reservations were made and “points” flights were booked.