Yiddish and High School Drop Outs

I had always thought that Yiddish was a “Jewish” language. I had never realized that it was just the language that was spoken in Europe, and was the cultural language. In elementary school we would learn Yiddish when we translated text in the chumash. All that I remember from it is the beginning words “Vayomer – in er hut ge zukt”. Some of my classmates were from boro park so they heard Yiddish more often and it was easier for them to catch on.

My friend was able to make a deal with the teacher in 5th grade, that she didn’t have to know the Yiddish translation. After hearing this, I decided I’ll give it a shot too and see if I can get away with it. So I went over to my teacher, and I told her I had a hard time with all the Yiddish. So she made a deal with me, it wasn’t as generous a deal that she made with my friend. She told me I would only be responsible to know the Yiddish translation for the first posuk we do a day. That definitely was a huge cut back from the regular amount of posukim we did a day, so I was grateful.

After Elementary school, I never encountered Yiddish again. I would go to my grandparents, and my grandmother would speak to me in Yiddish and I had no clue what she was saying, and would look at her with a questioning face. Then she would remember that I didn’t know Yiddish and would tell me I have to start learning it so that I can understand people.

Then the other day I found an article that sheds light to this Yiddish situation, and to the High School drop out rate. It goes like this, all old European Jews were fluent in their native language, whether it be Hungarian or French. So then why is that here in America there are people who think they don’t have to know English? That they just talk Yiddish and then therefore they can’t get a job and support their family. Or even if they do have their own business, they can’t interact with other people, and it severely limits them. Even Rambam and Rashi were fluent and wrote in their native languages. Part of the Gemara was even written in Aramaic and not in Hebrew.

Studies have showed surprising results. That the families who shelter their kids, don’t have a lower amount of at risk teens, but rather a higher one than those that don’t shelter their kids. The uneducated children grow up with poverty, are unhappy and therefore more open to negative influences. So once we start educating our children the right way then it can help solve 2 issues at once. By learning English they will become more successful, as language is a vital tool to communication. Second there will be less at risk teens. They will be happier and content, and won’t feel the need to “figure things out” for themselves.

Jewish Song Sunday --- #3

Kinderlach: Moshiach

After going to Israel, I started to love Israeli music, so when I heard the Kinderlach I naturally loved their songs. They have a cool style to them. Their most famous song is “Everybody wants Moshiach”.

Lyrics:

Everybody wants Moshiach
Everybody wants
Everybody wants Moshiach…

This song comes right from our heart
About Moshiach hear us out
We want him and we wait each day
Never ever stop to pray
Children, fathers, young and old
All the Jews around the world
Long for him that he should come
Oy Moshiach please come right now…

Some Technical Information:
For those that want to download the video into avi or mpeg then you can download Save 2 Pc.
If you want to download just the music from the video then you can do that at Vid 2 MP3.

Emuna and Bitachon

Every shabbos I go to a shiur by someone on my block. This week there was a Rav from Eretz Yisroel who came to NY, and was staying by someone on my block. So he gave a shiur for us woman on shabbos day.

First of all he spoke about the barren woman, how Sara didn’t have children for many years. He asked why was it that way, that she had to wait so many years for children. Then he said the reason is because Hashem wanted to hear Sara’s prayers. He said it’s human nature for people to call out and daven when they have problems, but when things are going well we don’t call out. So tzadikim purposefully want problems so they will daven out to Hashem.

Then he spoke about how problems are opportunities and they are a present, that we get to daven to Hashem. He said we have to know that Hashem loves us. If we have Emunah in Hashem and know that He loves us, then anything that happens is all good. Even if we have problems, we shouldn’t view them as a curse, but rather a opportunity to get close to Hashem. That no matter what happens it’s all good because it’s from Hashem. That when we go up to Shamayim Hashem’s going to be like our History teacher, and He will explain to us why everything had to happen, that right now we just don’t know the reasons and have to realize that everything is for our good.

So at first when I heard him say this, he was all smiley so I figured he must have everything good that he can speak like this and be so sure that everything is good. Then later on it came out that he actually came to NY because he has a cancer so he’s getting surgery this week by a doctor in NY. So he obviously does have his problems, but yet you wouldn’t even know. He seems so happy, and so sure that everything is good.

Then he said something which I found very interesting and was very surprised to hear. First of all he’s written a few seforim, and he’s in middle of writing some more books. So one of the books he’s working on is about OCD. He said OCD is most common by frum people. That they feel they have to wash their hands all the time. That if the water isn’t clean then they won’t go to the mikvah, which stops them from doing the mitzvah. Then he said that people call Rabbi’s too much to ask questions about Basar and Chalav. He said you have to have self esteem, and believe that you know what your doing. That you shouldn’t have to ask a Rav a question all the time. That Hashem gave you knowledge to know to make the right decision. This shocked me, cause I always heard you are supposed to ask questions.

Then he was saying how you have to believe in your kids. He said one time when he was by Baba Sali’s house, he hears his wife call the kid over by saying “come hear Tzadik”. So he said parents should believe in their kids and they will do good, that you shouldn’t call your kid stupid or idiot. That if a kid is having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, you should say you believe they could get up, and then they will. That you shouldn’t yell at them for being lazy and not getting up. He said that parents shouldn’t throw away their off the derech children, but rather still show them love and always welcome them, because they are still their children, and by showing love it shows you believe in them that they can come back.

Then he said that when he was in High School in Chicago he used to get bad grades, C’s, because he didn’t put in much effort. Then one time he went to see a play, and he was very impressed by it, so he sent a letter to the person in charge and told him how he appreciated the play. The man then sent him a letter back saying he wants to meet him. Then when he went over, the man said he wants to give him voice lessons. So the Rav said he was poor and couldn’t afford it, so the man said he’ll give it to him for free. Then the man asked him how he’s doing in school, and he said he was getting C’s. So the man said he believes he can get A’s. So because the man a non Jew, believed in him that he can do better, it made him do well in school. He graduated High School and got 2 scholarships for the university of Chicago and the university of Illinois. But he didn’t go to college, instead he went to learn in Israel.

He says Hashem gave him a gift to be able to know psychology without ever studying it. In his books he talks about psychology a lot, and other psychologists always ask him how he knows so much about it without ever studying it.

One of the books he wrote is out of print, but it was something like “how to get married in 30 days”. He said he doesn’t believe in the term Bashert. He said you shouldn’t think of it in that way, cause then you’ll never get married. So then one lady spoke up and said that her daughter got married at the age of 35, and she had no crazy expectations, so it was only based on the fact that it was not the right time, and that she hadn’t met her Bashert. So then another lady said, that perhaps she wasn’t too choosy, but could be she didn’t meet the other people’s criteria's.

Then another lady said that sometimes it’s hard to always be happy, that there are people with mental illnesses like bipolar that have to take medication to make them happy. So he said he’s all for the medication. Then he also said he’s for the 12 step approach, and he said even the Rambam mentions it.

Parshas Lech Lecha

This week I learned that Parshas Lech Lecha shows how Israel belongs to the Jews. About Jews being the chosen people which doesn’t have the negative connotation that most associate with it. About Avraham listening to hashem and just going and how we can apply it to our every day lives. About how Lech Lecha could mean go to yourself, to became your potential. About Avraham Haivri and what the term Ivri means and what it teaches us. About the term Elonei Mamrei and how Elon can be translated. About the Obligation to live in Israel. About being happy in Israel since Avraham Aveinu met your Neshama there. About a cool kids menu that relates to the parsha. That motzei shabbos is Rochel Imenu’s Yortzeit.

From Something to Say:

Gaze, now, toward the heavens and count the stars… so shall your offspring be (15:5).

According to the simple meaning of the verse, God was assuring Abraham, who was still childless, that he would have as many offspring as there are stars in the sky. Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin comments on this promise: One might wonder why God commanded Abraham to count the stars, for their numbers are so vast that they are truly impossible for any human being to count. God was saying, “Gaze, now… and count the stars- just as you see that it is impossible to count the stars using normal human powers, so will your descendants, the children of Israel, be blessed with powers that are above and beyond human comprehension.” Every Jew is blessed with tremendous resources, talents, and energies. Often these are hidden, even from awareness of the one who possesses them. The individual and collective accomplishments of our people through history, and their miraculous survival and maintenance of identity through the exile, bear witness to the special protection God affords us, and to the transcendent nature of the Jewish nation – a testimony that shines most brilliantly than all the stars in the sky.

At first when looking at this posuk I would think it means just that the Jews will increase in number and be many, just as the stars can’t be counted. But then there’s something else to it which gives us great insight. Although the Jews aren’t supposed to be haughty about being the Chosen nation. They do have a gene in them that makes them great and capable of great things. Jews are the highest level of a living thing. More is expected of us because of this. Our greatness is what enables us to survive every generation, it’s all in the stars!

Thank You Leora for the Stars!

Have a Great Shabbos!

HP Tuesday --- #2

On Rosh Chodesh my family likes to go out to eat to celebrate. This past Rosh Chodesh we decided to check out a new place. My father got an e-mail from a credit program he was enrolled in, that said if you dine out by one of the selected restaurants you can get 15 points per dollar. These points are equal to free miles.

So we all went and ordered lots of stuff to get more points. We even ordered dessert. We had a great time, the food was great and everything. Then a Breslov chossid came in with those little pamphlets to get tzedaka. So he came over to our table and handed over to my father a booklet that said “Don’t be disappointed”. My father asked if the man had anything more positive, so then they gave 4 more things, and my father gave some more tzedaka.

Then after 3 hours of dining, we go to the register to pay. So my father takes out his credit card, imagining the 1500 miles he just earned. However, when he hands over the credit card, the person behind the register said “sorry, our machine is broken, only cash”.

My father got a bit frustrated that now he wouldn’t be able to get his points. That we had come to this place specifically because they were on the list of qualifying restaurants. So he asked the man if he can give over his credit card number and the man will try again the next day. But the man said he can’t do that, that when he closes the register it has to have the money in it, or else he will have to pay himself.

My father tried to figure out a way that he can still get the points, but no idea came up. When suddenly he remembered the pamphlet the Breslov Chossid had gave us. It had said “Don’t be disappointed”. What perfect timing to get such a booklet. So my father realized there’s nothing to be done, so he didn’t let it upset him anymore.

My mother then came up with the idea, that perhaps my father can pay with a check and then send the receipt with the check number to the points program, and perhaps they will still give us the points as if we had paid by credit card. So we did that, and we are still waiting for a response from them.

Iyov (Job)

Job was a righteous man who feared G-d and shunned evil. The Satan said to G-d that Job is only that way because he is so wealthy and has everything good. So G-d told Satan he can do anything he wishes to Job, except to harm him, and he will find out if he is still righteous. Then one day, Job’s servants came in one after another saying how his animals and stuff were being destroyed. Job’s reaction was to acknowledge that G-d has given and then taken, despite all that happened, he did not sin.

G-d told Satan that Job was still righteous. Satan challenged G-d saying, if you harm Job himself then he will say bad against you. So G-d said to Satan that Job is in his hands, but not to kill him. Job was then afflicted with severe boils from head to toe. When his wife questioned his wholesomeness Job said “shall we accept the good from G-d and not accept the bad?”. Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zopher the Naamathite, came to mourn with Job. They sat with him for 7 days and 7 nights, they didn’t talk to him since they saw that his pain was great. After that Job cursed the day he was born. He questioned his birth and complained about his suffering.

The next chapters are filled with arguments back and forth between Job and his 3 friends. They are arguments about evil and suffering and G-d. Each time Job claims he’s innocent and that he just wants to speak to G-d so that he can claim his innocence and justice. The 3 men stopped answering back to Job since they realized that Job was righteous in his own eyes.

Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite was unhappy with what the 3 men had said, since he was young he waited his turn till he spoke. Elihu then asks Job to listen to what he has to say. He discusses the theme of pain and suffering, how sometimes suffering can save a man from worse plight. Elihu says that pray full repentance is the cure. Elihu then tells over how G-d’s way is just. That G-d has no reason to pervert justice and man is helpless against G-d. Elihu discusses how the fate of the wicked encourages the righteous to be just. Elihu show’s how G-d’s ways are known through nature, with the different types of rain’s and that G-d’s ways are beyond human comprehension.

G-d then speaks to Job and asks him if he was there by creation and if he realizes his limits of experience and knowledge. God speaks of all the creations he made and how he controls and cares for them. God rebukes Job and Job admits his mistake. Job then repents. Job admits that he knew God can do anything and Job admits he knows nothing. Now that Job has seen G-d he realizes he is nothing but dust and ashes and relents.

G-d then spoke to Eliphaz and said that he did not speak properly about G-d as Job had done. G-d commanded Eliphaz to take 7 bulls and 7 rams and to go to Job and bring them up as burnt offerings. Job will pray for Eliphaz and his 2 friends, and on Job’s account G-d will not do anything vile to them although they spoke improperly about G-d. The 3 men did as they were told and G-d showed them consideration.

Job’s wealth was then restored double of what he had before, after he prayed for the 3 men. G-d blessed Job’s end more than he had in the beginning. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. Job’s daughters were the most beautiful woman in all of the land. The 3 daughters got an inheritance with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years, and was able to see his children and then children for 4 generations. Job then died, old and satisfied with years.

Jewish Song Sundays --- #2

Malky Giniger: Donnie

When I first heard this song I felt an automatic pull towards it. First because of the theme of the song, how a mother should be involved with her children’s lives and not let anything get in the way. Second Because I liked the name Donnie.

Lyrics:

It was a long hard day I lay back on my bed
Got some time to rest three pillows beneath my head
Finally I’ll get to sleep; I’m finished for the day
When out from underneath my bed I hear a small voice say.

Mommy, Mommy, guess what I did today in school
I’d say sweetheart, please don’t bother me
My dear, you know the rule.
Please talk to me later, right now I’ve got to rest.
Mommy, yes, I understand, sorry for being such a pest.

The days were getting harder now work was getting tough
Financially we were managing, but it was really kind of rough.
Each day I’d plop onto my bed after supper was prepared,
No time to hear the first grade news, but my Donnie knew I cared.

Well, I began to feel quite guilty for each day the same thing occurred.
So, I said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll hear my Donnie’s words,
But right now I’ll go rest my head to ease that aching pain.”
Just then Donnie came home from school and persisted once again.

Mommy, Mommy, guess what I did today in school
I’d say sweetheart, please don’t bother me
My dear, you know the rule.
Please talk to me later, right now I’ve got to rest.
Mommy, yes, I understand, sorry for being such a pest.

Tomorrow came and went too fast Donnie turned eight, nine, and ten,
Now those words were echoes of the past never to be heard again.
For now before the end of school the phone would ring each day.
It was Donnie on the other end and this is what he’d say.

Mommy, Mommy, guess what, there’s a game right after school.
I’d say Sweetheart please come home today I want to hear from you.
Can’t it wait till later, it’s the sport that I play best
Donnie, yes I understand sorry for being such a pest

So I learned my lesson the hard way
I lost those years I can’t replace
I took those times for granted
Time had grabbed me in it’s race,
But when my five year old  Nechemia comes home from school each day
I run to take him off the bus and this is what we say

Mommy, Mommy, guess what I did today in school
I say, sweetheart please tell me I want to hear from you
Please don’t wait till later, I so do want to hear
Mommy thanks for all your time I know how much you care

So now, Mothers don’t loose all that time
Show them how much you care (Mommy thanks for all your time)

Warning: Kol Isha