9/11 Footage Never Seen Before!

Rescue and Recovery at Ground Zero from Lou Angeli on Vimeo.

Reichenberg Saved Boy's Mother Before Getting Killed

David Eichenberg Z"L

As the 5-year-old boy critically injured after being shocked by a downed power line remains hospitalized, his father credited the man who tried to save the child with also saving the life of the boy's mother. David M. Reichenberg, 50, was going to the aid of Reuven Herbst on Aug. 28 when he was killed by the live wire that injured the boy in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. Reichenberg left behind his wife, Ruth Miriam; daughter Rifka Hadassah, 19; and sons Josh, 14, Eliyahu, 12, and Akiva, who turned 11 just days after his father's death. Reichenberg's survivors also include his father, Harry, of Seattle, and his brothers, Steve, of Cherry Hill, N.J., and Eric, of Croton-on-Hudson.The family all gathered for a weeklong period of mourning, just weeks after they had gotten together to mark Reichenberg's 50th birthday, friends said Tuesday.Reuven remained in critical condition Tuesday in the pediatric burn unit at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. His father, Yehuda Herbst, also tried to help and was burned by the wire near the family's home at Merrick Drive and Union Road.Herbst credits Reichenberg for saving the life of his wife, Chava Leah Herbst, family friend Rabbi Yochonon Wosner said Tuesday. Wosner is a lecturer at Ohr Somayach in Monsey, a Judaic studies college attended by Reichenberg, who almost never missed a 6:15 a.m. Talmud class each morning.Reichenberg was not particularly religious growing up in Cherry Hill, but that changed after a summer trip to Israel prior to college, his friend of 25 years, Abraham Stubin, said.It was during a visit to the Western Wall where he encountered Rabbi Meir Schuster, who gradually introduced him to new aspects of Judaism, Stubin said.Once Reichenberg got to the University of Washington in Seattle, he got involved with the Chabad House and over time became increasingly devout.He remained an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, canoeing and camping, friends said.The Reichenbergs and the Herbsts are backyard neighbors, friends said.
From The Journal News

Disconnect & Enjoy! Disconnect your phone on October 2

Register to disconnect at http://daytodisconnect.com
A Day to Disconnect is a worldwide movement, spearheaded by Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein of Ohr Naava, which will take place on October 2,2011 On that day thousands of people will voluntarily unplug their gadgets for some time -- an hour, two or even all day. During this time, those who chose to disconnect will take pleasure in cherished relationships be it spouses, children, family, self or G-d.

Frum French Guy Smacks His Teenage Daughter, Wife Then Justifies Beating to Onlookers! All this steps away from Kotel!

It seems that the daughter was schmoozing with two boys, when the Mother alerted the Father of this grave sin, the Father took care of business!

Rep Walsh to Newsman: "Your Profession (the news media) did not vet" Obama

Why are the Yeshivas throwing out Jewish Children without giving them a chance?

The following is a letter from a "frustrated mother" to Dr. Respler in this week's column in the Jewish Press! I will not print Dr. Respler's response because the letter speaks for itself and there really isn't a satisfactory answer until the Menahlim and the Roshei Yeshivas take immediate action to stop this. They are the direct cause of children going off the derech, not the parents. The "Mechanchim" would like to blame the parents, the children, TV, Cable, Wireless Phones, Computers,etc... everyone and everything but their own actions. The Yeshivas have to face the fact that there is a new world now, and learn to deal with it, otherwise they should close up and hand the yeshiva buildings over to people that have know how and the motivation to deal with all types of children... 
In an interview with the Editor of Ami Magazine (September 7, 2011 edition) Rebbetzin Malke Feinstein, the esteemed wife of the noted posek and Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Dovid Feinstein, said the following in reference to the attitude of today's Chinuch Institutions. "Years ago, doors were open for any child who wanted to learn. No one was afraid that a child would spoil those around them. If a child wanted to come to a yeshiva, then he belonged there. We are so busy protecting our children today, yet more and more children are going off the derech. Why? Because they are made to feel like second-class citizens."
When Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter the Editor of Ami asked her, "How, then, should a school develop its policies? Where should they draw the line in terms of whom they accept?" Her succinct response was: "There shouldn't be a line." She added ..."Reputation, that's what they're concerned about. There's too much of an emphasis on chitzonius (outward appearance) today. "


Dear Dr. Respler
What motivates menahalim to discard students who don't "walk the line?" Is there a place in chinuch for kiruv?  Must things always be "black and white?"


I am a mother of an 18-year-old son who had a roller coaster ride for his high-school journey.
 He attended a mainstream elementary yeshiva, coming in with an eagerness to learn and to grow. He was not all knowing and perfect - he wanted to gain knowledge. 
When my son came to school with a Harry Potter book, it was snatched from his little hand as if it were a weapon of mass destruction (although I am certain that in the heimshe velt, it was a well read book).
 The school lost the opportunity to have a warm discussion about appropriate reading material, in a loving manner, in which the student would be embraced and treated with respect


But even this pales in comparison to what ensued after he was accepted into a yeshiva high school.   It was before school even began when we received a phone call saying that the yeshiva had changed their mind about accepting him and we should look elsewhere.
 The reason: someone had seen him talking to girls on Shabbos.  We explained that it was his sister and some cousins visiting from out of town - but to no avail. 

We  began to look for other options. However, no yeshiva would accept him, because the Schools talk to each other.  I worried for my son and how he was really taking things.  He was cooperative through the process, but it was hard. In the end our original choice of school accepted him - on probation. Baruch Hashem he excelled - he was learning all day and when he came home he went to learn with his chavrusa. 
 Then in the beginning of 10th grade he was caught with his cell phone in school - which was against the rules - and he was immediately expelled. I reached out to a known Rosh Yeshiva  during this fiasco and when I got him on the phone, he actually said that he picked up the phone by mistake and hung up on me.There were those who offered to help, but they were not effective. 


Is it any wonder so many of our youth go off the derech?
I had little choice but to enroll him in a school in Manhattan that was quite modern. He didn't do well with his newfound freedom and all that was available to him in that arena.  I poured as much understanding and love as I could to keep him in the mainstream. As difficult as it may have been to accept, I knew that I had a son at risk. 
Baruch Hashem, my son came though it and is going to Israel to learn. He said he is seriously considering becoming a rebbe - I bet it has something to do with righting so many of the wrongs he encountered in the yeshiva world.
Please explain why so many of our cherished children are thrust to the side, when they should be treated like the treasures they are?


Frustrated mother

Man Dies From Toothache, Couldn't Afford Meds

A 24-year-old Cincinnati father died from a tooth infection this week because he couldn't afford his medication, offering a sobering reminder of the importance of oral health and the 
number of people without access to dental or health care.
According to NBC affiliate WLWT, Kyle Willis' wisdom tooth started hurting two weeks ago. When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance.


 When his face started swelling and his head began to ache, Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications. Willis couldn't afford both, so he chose the pain medications.The tooth infection spread, causing his brain to swell.
 He died Tuesday.Calls to Willis' family were not immediately returned. University Hospital in Cincinnati, where Willis was admitted, did not comment, citing federal privacy laws."People don't realize that dental disease can cause serious illness," said Dr. Irvin Silverstein, a dentist at the University of California at San Diego. "The problems are not just cosmetic. Many people die from dental disease." 

Jerusalem Rabbi Says that Chazal Clearly Stated that Torah Study must also come with a Trade !

Rabbi Chaim Amsalem 

Finally a Rav with guts and fearless to say whats clearly on every normal persons mind! That Torah and learning a trade must come hand in hand! 
Hear read a Ravs reading of our holy Chazal!

Hundreds of thousands of students begin a new school year today. Some will learn basic Judaism and Torah along with general studies. Some will study Torah in the mornings and general studies in the afternoons, and some will learn Torah exclusively. While the minimal degree of Jewish content in the more secular schools saddens me, I am even more troubled by the third category described above. The haredi world in which I live does not educate children in accordance with Jewish tradition.

Haredi schools not following Jewish tradition!? Aren’t they the ones who do uphold tradition? Haven’t the more modern movements veered from the path?

The answer is simply that any movement which teaches its children only Torah is a modern aberration.

Wisdom of our Fathers Chapter 2 states emphatically that “any Torah not accompanied by work will end up being nullified, and will lead to sin.”A glance through the Mishna and Talmud reveals that along with being great Torah sages, the leaders of their generations earned a living as doctors, tailors, launderers, plowers, carpenters, land measurers, shoe makers and repairmen, wood choppers, beer makers, bakers, smiths, trap makers, engravers, skin tanners, mill workers, scribes, pit diggers, bundle and beam transporters, wool merchants and weavers.

Traditional Torah sources teach in the clearest of terms that learning a trade to support one’s family with dignity – alongside Torah study and living a Torah-observant lifestyle – is the highest of ideals. For example, in the Jerusalem Talmud, Peiah, Chapter 1 interprets the Torah’s instruction to “choose life” as a command to have a trade. The Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin, 29a teaches that “a father must teach his son a trade. Anyone who does not teach his son a trade is as if he taught his son robbery.” The Midrash on Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 instructs: “Acquire for yourself a trade together with Torah.” The Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 8a goes as far as saying that “a person who earns a living from his own handiwork is greater than one who fears heaven.” Finally, 

All the above sources no doubt served as the basis for the teaching from Maimonides, himself a world-class Torah scholar and physician (Laws of Torah Study 3:10-11): “Any person who makes the decision to study Torah without a livelihood and to sustain himself from charity – such a person desecrates God, disgraces Torah, extinguishes the light of religion, causes bad for himself, and removes himself from the World to Come… and our sages also commanded that a person should not earn a living from Torah… It is a high level for a person to earn a living from his own toil and a trait of the saintly. Through this, a person earns all the honor and good in this world and the next.”

This approach continued until the past few hundred years. For example, the 15th century Orchot Tzadikim (309), teaches that “A person must find middle ground with two responsibilities and set aside hours for Torah study and for work in this world, and must strengthen himself to do both… neither should take away from the other.” The famed Maharal of 16th century Prague relates in Netivot Olam that “when a person is busy with two pursuits – work to provide for what his body needs and Torah for completion of his soul – he will not find any sin.”

So it is clear that Jewish tradition advocates intensive Torah study together with learning a trade. In our times, this means teaching students whatever they need to earn a university degree – the primary path for earning a livelihood in today’s world. (I also advocate joint yeshiva and university programs – a topic for a future column).

Lest one think it is impossible to provide an intensive yeshiva education while studying language, mathematics, science or history, a glance at the yeshiva world in the US proves that highschool students attending the most haredi institutions – Lakewood, Torah Va’daas, Philadelpia, Chaim Berlin, Telshe, and more study all these subjects as mandated by US law. This provides students with the option of university study, which many pursue, and produces well-balanced and worldly Torah scholars who bring sanctity to God’s name in the workplace and earn great respect for their communities.

I must make two important clarifications. Maimonides, at the end of the Laws of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, elaborates on the benefits of doing nothing but studying Torah. The Ohr HaChayim, one of the greatest biblical commentators of the early 18th century, explains that this teaching refers to a person or group who wants to support a full-time Torah scholar in a partnership. Maimonides, in the Laws of Torah Study quoted above, is referring to a person who places a burden on the nation through his learning, and essentially forces others to support him. If someone has a private arrangement by which he does nothing but study Torah while receiving the support of a private individual, this is a blessing.

I personally love nothing more than quiet moments alone with the Talmud, or studying the Parsha with my children, and cannot imagine a more beautiful lifestyle. However, as Maimonides states, no person can choose to place the burden of supporting him on the community. This is exactly what the haredi school system does.

Clarification number two relates to our need as a community to produce elite Torah scholars. It has always been part of our tradition to identify a select group of young men who have the potential and drive needer to spend their entire lives studying Torah and we, as a community, should not only support them but should feel blessed to have that opportunity. The number in each generation who fit these criteria is quite small, but even today we should find those elite scholars and spare them any worry about having to earn a living.

I have extensive plans to establish a system of government-funded schools to provide haredi boys with the opportunity to reconnect to authentic Jewish study of Torah and general studies, enabling them to sustain their families with dignity. I bless all our students with a successful and fruitful school year, but will not cease to work toward rehabilitating the haredi system as an MK and through the Am Shalem movement. It is time for the haredim who claim to fight for authentic Judaism to truly live by that lofty ideal.

The writer is an MK, and the founder and chairman of the Am Shalem political movement.
Read full Op-Ed in The Jerusalem Post By Rabbi Chaim Amsalem 

Moshe Yosef Reichenberg "A Real Hero" Video

Akiva Reichenberg, son of the heroic Reb Moshe Yosef Reichenberg z”l, spoke to Channel 2 about his father, bravely describing his feelings at this tragic time.

Reb Moshe Yosef, 50, was on a flooded street in Spring Valley on Sunday when he saw a father and his 6-year-old child entangled with a live, downed electrical wire from the storm. Both of them were shocked and burned. Reb Moshe Yosef rushed to save them, pulling them away from the power line, but it cost him his life.

“He saved two people’s lives without thinking,” Akiva Reichenberg said. “It seems like a dream. A bad dream. Like it’s not possible that it’s happening.

“I am proud of him. He was born a hero,” Akiva said of his father, “and he died a hero.”

Michelle Bachman Jewish?

Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann may not be Jewish -- despite a misperception among some political donors -- but that didn't stop her from making a campaign stop in the Big Apple yesterday to talk up her pro-Israel positions.

The same day The Post reported that some Jewish donors are holding back their contributions to GOP front-runner Mitt Romney under the mistaken impression that Bachmann is one of their own, the Minnesota congresswoman was addressing a Jewish group here.

Bachmann spent about an hour at a private office discussing issues ranging from same-sex marriage to security for the Jewish state. She reminded the group she worked on a kibbutz in Israel 40 years ago.

"We're meeting with people all across New York who are interested in my candidacy," Bachmann said as she ducked into a Broadway office building for a small, private sit-down with Orthodox Jewish leaders.

"She introduced herself," said Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel. "A similar group has gotten together with Governor Romney and will get together with other candidates as well."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/michele_kibitzes_with_key_ny_jews_Ks5Rm6JnZBxW9OY78pwwoK#ixzz1We5L5iF
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