By now everyone is aware of the sudden passing of Senator Joseph Lieberman, of blessed memory. For me, and so many others, it was a shock. He was sharp, fit, and active until his untimely death. Just two weeks ago, an article he wrote appeared in the Wall Street Journal chastising Charles Schumer, saying “He has lost his way.” Joe Lieberman was interviewed by Fox News a day later. As always, he was clear and concise, while speaking respectfully about his shock and disappointment in the positions taken by Schumer and our current administration. It was less than a week later that Fox News covered his funeral.

Joe Lieberman was a larger-than-life figure, who accomplished great things, met with presidents and kings yet always remained the humble Yosef Yisroel ben Hanan. In his own words, “I’m just a simple Jew trying my best to honor G-d and my parents.” I was privileged to know Joe Lieberman, and of course, many thousands of people can say the same thing. I would like to share a few personal recollections which may help those who didn’t know him understand who he was.

I’m the kind of person who ponders over things. I guess I’m not one of those water-off-a-duck’s-back kinds of people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good at making snap decisions, like what to make for Yom Tov or what kinds of presents to buy for our grandchildren. But there are other, more challenging decisions that I find harder to make, especially if they are ones that I’ll have to live with for a long time, like choosing window coverings. Should they be Roman shades or honeycomb? Horizontal or vertical? And don’t get me started about the color. Which is better, bright white or warm white or perhaps butter cream?

Are you a young person thinking about the kind of work you want to do, but you don’t want to go to college? I can certainly understand. A recent article in the Washington Post showed that colleges are rife with academic dishonesty, mental health issues, difficult peer relationships, alcohol and substance abuse, and safety issues – and most recently, antisemitism!

Thankfully, there are many work options that can be meaningful and satisfying and are predicted to have plentiful job openings in the foreseeable future. Many of these work options pay as much as or more than college-required positions. Please note that the salaries stated are ranges, depending on your experience. Your starting salary depends on how well you convince your interviewer that you can offer what the organization needs.

One interesting and hopeful trend is that some employers – having discovered that college does not make a difference in employee performance – have recently dropped their college degree requirements! Among them are IBM, Accenture, Okta, Dell, Bank of America, Google, and Delta Airlines; many others are expected to follow.

Shabbat, Shmini Atzeret, October 7, 2023, is a day that will not soon be forgotten by Jews worldwide. The story of the brutal attack and the ensuing bloodbath is well known by now. So, too, are the heartening actions taken by Jews around the world, who joined in unity for prayer, rallies, fundraising, and volunteer missions to show support to our Israeli brethren in distress. One of the less obvious outcomes of the Gaza war has been the massive downsizing and closures of businesses, medical centers, and a dearth of manpower on farms and kibbutzim as a result of most of the young work force being called up to military duty. In response, organizations mobilized volunteers from around the world to travel to Israel and help in any way possible, from picking ripe fruit off trees to packing supplies for soldiers. Those with emergency medical skills and healthcare training were invited to sign up to be activated when and if the need arose. One such organization is the Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP), a disaster relief and rescue organization whose primary mission is to recruit and deploy international volunteer teams to Israel in times of crisis. Baltimorean and Pikesville volunteer firefighter Captain Scott Goldstein is EVP’s director of medical and civilian recruitment. It was through EVP’s Baltimore connection that I heard about the dire need for physical rehabilitation personnel in Israel. In fact, many hospitals were short-staffed, some down by 50% due to the army call-up of necessary military personnel.

When illness strikes, so much is at stake, yet a person feels like he is lost in a forest with no way out. Thankfully, our wonderful Jewish community has many organizations to help people who find themselves in that situation. There are a number of organizations in the NY/ NJ area that help people with everything, from expediting appointments to getting insurance coverage to running to a pharmacy for an unusual medication. They include Echo, Refuah Health Line, Chaim Medical, and RCCS. Our Baltimore organizations also help people with advocacy and referrals. All the organizations in both cities work together and assist each other serve the people who need their help. 

The dust is swirling in the air, the Pine-Sol is dripping down the cabinets, and the fake brownies are baking in the oven. While all of these are definitely the harbingers of our most intense Yom Tov, if there is one thing that says “Pesach is here” it is potatoes.

As each generation has become increasingly vege-phobic, limiting their weekly intake of green foods to pickles and mint chocolate chip ice cream, families feel lost without flour to fill in most of their meals. During this challenging time when pantries are bare and restaurants are closed, the community faces the threat of starvation, whether real or imagined. After all, there is a limit to how many nights in a row you can eat corned beef. (So I’ve heard; I have not personally reached that ceiling.) Nothing is readily available except baby fingers (which must be somewhat traumatizing for the children) and macaroons, which we buy every year, despite the fact that no one likes coconut. My theory is that we are so disoriented from the late-night arguments with our ovens and the exposure to toxic cleaning chemicals that, by the time we do our shopping, we honestly think that those macaroons will taste like the much-more-fashionable macarons. (They won’t.)

Rav Mendel Gettinger, zt”l, was a mammoth talmid chacham, in the image of those trained in the glorious days of the greatest Lithuanian yeshivos – yet he was born (in 1925), raised, and educated in Brooklyn. He was a rav of a very American-style shul in Manhattan, did post-graduate work in mathematics and engineering at Columbia University, and researched the heavens with his own telescope. His father was a Stuchiner chasid, but if Rav Gettinger had any chasidic influence in his life, I am unaware of it. Although few of his contemporaries in Brownsville received any serious Torah education, Rav Gettinger was sent to yeshivos.

He became a talmid of Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l, at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin, through whose influence he dedicated his life completely to Torah. Rav Gettinger completed Shas the first time at the age of 17! Not bad for an American boy of his generation. Rav Gettinger received much of his shimush (apprenticeship) in psak halacha from Harav Eliyahu Henkin, the preeminent posek of America in his era.

Dear Shlomo, 

I come from a family of high achievers, and I don’t seem to be able to do what they do. I always fall short and then get angry at myself. This makes me really tense and anxious, and I end up sleeping a lot because I am so worn out from being so angry at myself.

Yaakov