Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

In a recent edition of her daily WhatsApp, Sivan Rahav-Meir disseminated the following:

“Kama Hochman is a seven-year-old girl who lives in Bnei Netzarim, a charming little moshav in southern Israel. Her father is presently doing reserve duty in Khan Yunis. This week, she decided to write a letter to Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. It seems to me that this simple and innocent letter is much truer and more to the point than the decisions handed down at the Hague or the UN.

My personal breakfast of champions each morning includes a bowl of Cheerios. Not Honey Nut, Frosted, Banana, Chocolate, or even mayonnaise-flavored Cheerios, but good ol’ regular Cheerios.

Reb Benzion Dunner of London was renowned as a tremendously charitable philanthropist. He would say that he viewed himself as a “gabbai tz’dakah,” that G-d had granted him wealth merely so that he could oversee its dissemination to those in need.

There aren’t many people who are able to impact and influence masses of Jews throughout the world. Rav Matisyahu Salomon zt”l, the late Lakewood Mashgiach, was one such rare individual. Aside from being a scholar of note, he was an eloquent and inspiring orator with an English accent to boot.

When flying, some people prefer aisle seats, so they don’t have to bother anyone else when they want to get up. Other people prefer the window seat so they can enjoy the incredible views outside. But I don’t know anyone who prefers a middle seat. It’s the worst of all worlds. From the middle seat you can’t really see out the window and you don’t have direct access to the aisle. In addition, it seems to be an unwritten rule that the person in the middle doesn’t have dibs over the armrests. He must defer to his seatmates on either side.

I just returned from a wonderful week in Eretz Yisrael. The main purpose of my trip was to visit our two children who are learning there this year.

However, due to the war and the fact that it is a time of significant challenge and difficulty for klal Yisrael, I wanted to contribute in whatever small way I could.