Rabbi Yehuda Finchas

Nearly 15,000 nurses across New York City launched a strike on January 12, 2026, making it one of the largest nursing strikes in the city’s history. The strike lasted over three weeks. What does the halacha say about healthcare workers who withhold their labor – not for higher pay alone, but for the ability to provide safe care?

Medicine Demands Fair Compensation

The Gemara establishes that asia d’magan b’magan magan shaveh – “a physician who works for free is worth nothing.” The Rosh explains: “When the doctor does not receive payment, his heart and mind are not meticulous regarding the core needs of the patient.” Hacham Eliyahu Bakshi Doron (Responsa Binyan Av 3:69)  therefore rules: “The public are obliged to pay appropriate salaries to physicians and allow them to focus on their holy work.” Medicine performed under duress is inherently compromised medicine.

The New York nurses’ argument introduces precisely this nuance: the status quo itself was dangerous. If nurses working under a broken system cannot provide necessary care, then the strike changes from abandonment to preservation – fighting for conditions necessary to fulfill the mitzvah of healing.

The Children of Israel Are Servants to Me

Hacham Eliyahu Bakshi Doron discusses medical strikes at length. He explains this halacha stems from the principle that every employee has the right to stand up for their freedom, and the employer has no power to prevent them from doing so. The Shulhan Aruch writes that “a worker may retract even in the middle of the day” (Choshen Mishpat 333:1). Even if already paid, they may cease work, with the money becoming a debt. The reason: “For the Children of Israel are servants to Me” (Vayikra 25:55) and not servants to servants. This prevents employment from becoming a form of inescapable servitude. Work performed under coercion is slavery, forbidden regardless of economic agreements. Hacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, (Yechaveh Da’at 4:48) acknowledges that “the minhag hamdina, the custom of the land, is to strike.” But it does not apply in all situations.

The Red Line: Pikuach Nefesh

Hacham Ovadia Yosef, while permitting teachers to strike under certain conditions, draws a sharp line regarding healthcare. In Yechaveh Da’at IV:48, he writes explicitly that the permission to strike applies “except for matters involving life-saving measures, such as hospital services.” Pikuach nefesh (saving a life) overrides nearly every other commandment. Hacham Bakshi-Doron reinforces this in Binyan Av, arguing that a doctor or nurse is bound by the negative commandment, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” From this perspective, abandoning a patient in immediate danger is akin to bloodshed. No financial grievance or administrative dispute can justify leaving an ICU bed unmonitored.

Medicine as Mitzvah, Not Merely Profession

Hacham Bakshi Doron writes that the medical worker is not a servant of the hospital, but is a servant of Hashem – tasked with the mitzvah of healing. “Medicine is not a profession but a mitzvah, the most sublime mitzvah of saving lives. If they are forbidden to strike, they are indeed slaves – but slaves to the Holy One, Blessed be He.” A caregiver devoted to saving life is no servant to man – “there is no freer person than one who serves Hashem.”

Some argue medical strikes ultimately improve healthcare by forcing better conditions. This must be absolutely rejected. The principle is ironclad: ein dochin nefesh mipnei nefesh – we do not push aside one life for another. There is no halachic justification for withholding lifesaving care from patients before us, even to save more patients in the future. Each nefesh has infinite value; mathematical comparisons are meaningless.

Conclusion

Nurses and physicians are entitled – indeed obligated – to demand conditions that allow them to practice medicine responsibly and with yishuv hada’at. A system that exhausts its caregivers violates human dignity and ultimately endangers life. Yet the red line remains immovable: wherever pikuach nefesh is present, the duty to heal overrides every tactical consideration. The halachic mandate is disciplined protest – one that preserves emergency care, protects the vulnerable, and refuses to turn human lives into bargaining chips. In this balance, halacha affirms both truths at once: the caregiver is not a slave to institutions, and the patient is never abandoned. Rabbi Yehuda Finchas is a worldwide expert, lecturer, and author on Medical Halacha. He heads the Torat Habayit Medical Halacha Institute. He is the author of “Brain Death in Halacha and the Tower of Babel Syndrome” and “Nutrition and Hydration in Halacha.” To contact Rabbi Finchas, email rabbi@torathabayit.com.

As Iran trembles, Reza Pahlavi Steps Forward as the Self-Declared Bridge

between Revolution and Democracy

Dave Gordon

Once a distant figure in exile, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has emerged as a rallying symbol for many Iranians demanding change. His name echoes through the streets during protests, reflecting a growing following inside and outside of Iran.

The son of the late shah fled to the United States after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and has leveraged his royal pedigree and a flurry of media appearances over the past year to raise his political profile.

Pahlavi’s Intended Role

“I think I’ve earned their [my followers’] trust and respect,” he said. “And, that puts me in a position to be impactful in that [leadership] role… I’m not shying away from that responsibility.”

Pahlavi aims to become a transitional leader should the current regime in Iran collapse.

“My role is to see to it that this process culminates in a temporary governance, while the Constitutional Assembly deliberates what exactly will be the rule of law of the land,” he said,  touting both secular and democratic values.  

U.S. Reactions

Washington remains cautious: As of Jan. 8, President Trump appeared reluctant to meet with Pahlavi. In mid-January, White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Pahlavi – until now, the only high-level American government official to do so, the news website Axios reported. According to polls cited in the article, one-third of Iranians support Pahlavi, while another third do not. 

“Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has re-entered Iran’s political imagination,” wrote Ali Siadatan, an Iranian Canadian educator, in the National Post. “Today, his support extends beyond traditional royalist circles, reflecting not nostalgia for the past but a search for continuity amid collapse.”

From the outside, the Iranian government’s hold on power appears at its weakest point since the shah was overthrown in the 1979 revolution. With street protests and violent government crackdowns the U.S. is keeping a sharp eye on events. On Jan. 26, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the Indian Ocean, putting it closer to assist in any possible U.S. operations targeting Iran. The USS Gerald Ford is on its way to join the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Iranian Expats Weighs In

Should there be a power vacuum, Pahlavi is “the only alternative,” said Salman Sima, a former Iranian political prisoner who fled Iran to Canada and has organized numerous protests supporting Israel against Hamas. “It is really obvious these days, [that Pahlavi is] the only name you can hear from inside Iran.”

Sima believes the crown prince is a unifying figure who has found support among progressives and conservatives. “He doesn’t take a side, he doesn’t say ‘I’m going to be the shah,’ or ‘I’m going to be the president,’ or ‘I’m going to be the prime minister.’ All he said was a free election must be determined by the people of Iran.”

Iranian expat Dr. Amir Hamidi is the Chairman of the Board of Telo-Revers Anti-Aging Medical Laboratory. He is an internationally recognized expert in global terrorism, cybersecurity, and law enforcement. Regarding Pahlavi he said, “This isn’t a personality contest. In a national liberation moment, the real question is who can unify people, lower the temperature between factions, and keep the transition focused on democracy and the rule of law. He has been consistent on the essentials: a secular state, equal citizenship, rejection of revenge politics, and a future decided only by the Iranian people through free elections.”

The former Justice Department special agent, who also served as country attaché in the United Arab Emirates, added that Pahlavi has recognition across generations and across the political spectrum inside and outside Iran.

Hamidi claims that Pahlavi supports “any figure who places Iran’s sovereignty in the hands of its people, not in the hands of armed factions, foreign powers, or one-party ideologues – and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has repeatedly said exactly that.”

Road Map

In July 2025, Pahlavi led a public whitepaper officially called the Emergency Phase Booklet. A whitepaper is an in-depth report to help readers understand a complex topic and present a problem-solving solution. The whitepaper included consultations from a wide array of experts. For starters, Pahlavi calls for Iranians “to be fully involved in the progress of our nation, as opposed to a very corrupt mafia that has been ruling our country all these years.

“I always believe that it’s important for people to have a road map to recovery, to understand what will happen post‑regime. What’s the alternative? How are we to re‑establish a process that will stabilize the country, bring about the opportunity for economic growth and investment?”  

Under Pahlavi’s leadership, Hamidi said, “people will have a true opportunity for prosperity, and for that, we have a very comprehensive project of what is to be done short term, mid‑term and long term.” Hamidi sees great potential when the regime falls: “Imagine just the amount of talent that exists within the Iranian diaspora,” he said. “Iran is not just simply an oil‑rich or gas‑rich country – imagine tourism just as an industry, and everything that can open up.

“I’ve talked to industrialists, economists, entrepreneurs, Iranians, and non‑Iranians that are waiting for this opportunity, once Iran is open again as a last untapped frontier,” Hamidi stated. The concern, of course, is that the country have healthy circumstances in order to be reintegrated in the free world, so investors feel comfortable and secure about their assets.

Pro-Israel, Pro-Holocaust Recognition

Reza Pahlavi, like his father, is aligns with Israel and the Jewish people, framing that stance as both historical and moral. He argues that Iranians reject the Islamic Republic’s genocidal anti-Israel and anti-Semitic policies and says a future democratic Iran should restore friendly ties with Israel and its neighbors, which he has labeled potential “Cyrus Accords.” He frequently invokes the legacy of Cyrus the Great – who allowed Jews to return to Judea after the Babylonian Exile. He cites the biblical connection between Persians and Jews, describing their relations as a “Biblical relationship” stretching back 2,500 years.                                                                                                                                                       He acknowledges shared values of human rights and religious tolerance. Pahlavi has insisted that, because Tehran denies the Holocaust, he has a particular duty as an Iranian leader-in-exile to honor its victims and reject denialism. He portrays the Islamic Republic as a driver of global anti-Semitism and terrorism, and cast himself and his movement as allies of Jews. 

In April 2023, Pahlavi traveled to Israel to carry a message of peace and friendship from the Iranian people, renew ancient bonds, and explore economic and technological cooperation, especially Israeli water technology that he argued could help remedy Iran’s severe water crisis. He attended the Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem, declaring it his duty to honor Holocaust victims on behalf of Iranians, and stating that the current regime “doesn’t represent the Iranian people.”

During the trip he prayed at the Western Wall and met senior officials. For many Iranian Jews in Israel, his presence and rhetoric were a symbolic reconnection to an era when Jews felt protected under the Pahlavi monarchy, and as an affirmation that they remained participants of the Iranian story. 

Iran and Nukes

After a recent White House meeting with Netanyahu in February, President Trump insisted that Iran nuclear talks must continue. Trump has not restored the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the “Iran nuclear deal.” Instead, he has initiated a new round of negotiations under a maximum‑pressure framework.

The Crown Prince responded that nuclear weapons are “not a real estate deal that he [Trump] can cut with a regime that is very corrupt.” Pahlavi bristled at the notion of military intervention, “We don’t need to have an army coming into Iran. We have the boots on the ground already – the Iranian people who are there.” 

The actual war to fight, he insisted, is the ideological war, that has been the root of much of the unrest in the region for fifty years.

The Eye of the Octopus

“Radicals have always tried to recruit people out of desperation and ignorance, to brainwash them into one way of thinking,” Pahlavi said. “One of the key sources of this radicalization is the regime in Tehran. That’s where the eye of the octopus is. [The West has] been fighting the tentacles, but as long as the eye of the octopus is sitting there, you’re not going to eliminate the problem.” It starts with who bankrolls the terror sources:  “Follow the money trail,” he said, “Follow the funding. Once they’re gone, all of that disappears. The funding disappears. The root of the ideology disappears.”  That, he suggests, is how you get past the octopus, and back to the country beneath it: an Iran known less for sponsoring militias abroad than for the diversity and openness of its own society. “The beauty of Iran is the diversity of its culture,” Pahlavi said. “That’s the whole beauty of Iran, a nation state that for centuries had this mosaic of ethnic groups and different faiths living side by side.”  

Ellen Geller Kamaras

“Keep Moving” has become my guidepost for a healthy life, both physically and mentally.  Exercise helps every part of your body including your mind.  Exercise can help you feel good by improving your mood. 

Good for Body and Soul

When I get stuck or start dwelling on things that are out of my control, I go outside for a walk, rain or shine.  I start my mornings with a stroll on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and gaze at the lovely Manhattan skyline.  I take three deep breaths, and thank Hashem for creating such beauty and for giving me health and a wonderful family.  Some experts refer to this as an “awe walk.” An awe walk is a brief, intentional walk where the walker focuses outwardly on experiencing sensations of wonder, curiosity, and vastness in their surroundings. Consciously looking for beauty, nature, or novelty helps shift attention away from internal worries, reducing stress and boosting mental well-being.

The American Psychological Association has projected that one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90.  One way to make that happen, with Hashem’s help, is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including exercise.  Exercise can help prevent falls and injuries, keep your brain sharp and boost your energy levels.

For adults, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least five days per week. Adding in some resistance training to your exercise routine two to three days per week will provide extra benefits.  Engaging in 30 minutes of any type of physical activity five days a week may reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 28 percent and from heart disease by 20 percent.

Youngsters Benefit

The importance of daily exercise for promoting healthy physical and mental development applies to young people, too.60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day is recommended for children and teens.   Like adults, they should incorporate bone and muscle-strengthening exercises at least three times a week.

Incorporating biking, running, or swimming into your child’s routine enables them to deal with both physical and emotional challenges more successfully.  Daily exercise strengthens their bones and muscles, improves their cardiovascular health, helps them sustain a healthy weight, and enhances immune function.   Physical exercise improves children’s cognitive function, too, by enhancing brain health, memory, and attention, resulting in better academic performance.   Exercise also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.   Daily exercise elevates young people’s mood, reduces anxiety and depression, and aids in stress management.

When children form the habit of daily exercise at a young age, it sets the foundation for an active lifestyle as they reach adulthood and, in the future, it will help them to age well.

Indoor Exercise

Did the frigid winter get you down and discourage you from exercising?   Spending moderate amounts of time indoors and enjoying downtime has its perks and can help you reset and relax.  However, spending too much time at home has its drawbacks.  Its pitfalls include, but are not limited to, low levels of Vitamin D, sluggishness, weight gain, stress, anxiety, and depression.

To stay healthy, it’s even more important to exercise when you are stuck indoors for its physical rewards and mental health perks.  People who sheltered in place during the pandemic were encouraged to do regular physical activity at home to avoid becoming sedentary.

I was surprised to see how many steps I could score on my Fitbit watch without leaving home.  Plus, I have several dance and exercise apps on my phone to keep me moving.  My husband calls this “puttering,” but I call it straightening up and organizing the house.    Studies show that household chores count as exercise.  The positive effects were found to be the same whether one was walking or exercising at the gym, walking, or doing chores such gardening or vacuuming.  Mel Robbins is a  bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and an expert on personal growth. She recommends dancing while doing dishes or cooking.

A 2026 study conducted by the AdventHealth Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh confirms that consistent moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise can significantly slow the structural aging of the brain, making it appear nearly a year younger. The study suggests that 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise, (such as brisk walking, cycling, or swimming) can reduce a marker known as “brain-predicted age difference” (brain-PAD) in adults 26 to 58.

To Age Well

Take care to do these actions.  Sit on the floor, and get back up on your own. Do yoga, Zumba, or other regular physical activity, jump, and walk briskly. When asked a question, speaking to the point of the topic and do not ramble. 

If you can get outdoors to exercise, your body will net additional rewards.  The natural sunlight helps your body produce more Vitamin D, which is essential to a healthy immune system. If you are sun sensitive, or have had Basal cell carcinoma, make sure to apply sunscreen.  

Dopamine is the “feel good” neurotransmitter that acts as a chemical messenger in your brain to signal reward, motivation, and pleasure. It plays a critical role in movement, memory, and focus It is the brain chemical that is transmitted when we experience pleasure. 

Outdoor exercise can increase dopamine as well as serotonin (a chemical messenger that stabilizes mood, sleep, and digestion. It is often called the “feel good” hormone because it promotes feelings of well-being and safety) and other natural endorphin levels that support a positive mood.

What are we waiting for?  Let’s get moving!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach.  Her coaching specialties include life, career. and dating coaching.  Ellen can be contacted at ellen.kamaras@gmail.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).

HABAYIT: Providing Hesed Apartments and Comfort for Families Coming to New York for Critical Medical Treatment

Sometimes, everything changes with one step – not a grand gesture or a carefully planned move, but one small decision made in a moment of need.

No one plans for the moment when life takes an unexpected turn.

A diagnosis, a treatment plan, or an urgent medical need can send someone – or someone they love – across cities and countries to New York for critical treatment or surgery. Routine gives way to uncertainty, and families find themselves navigating unfamiliar ground.

And then, as the reality begins to settle in, a pressing question appears: Where will we stay?

Habayit was born out of that question. Not from a master plan, funding, or an organization already in place – but from one small, brave decision.

The First Step

A small group of real estate agents found themselves receiving the same call again and again. Families arrived in New York during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, exhausted and overwhelmed, far from home and desperate to find a place to stay. Short-term housing was nearly impossible to secure, and hotels were both unaffordable and impractical.

So they took one step.

They opened one hesed apartment for people who needed to come to New York for medical treatment – a furnished, dignified place where individuals and families could stay while focusing on healing.

There were no big expectations. The group of real estate agents believed they might be able to sustain one apartment – one family at a time. But the moment the need was shared, something extraordinary happened.

Other Steps

The community showed up.

Beds arrived. Sheets were dropped off. Pots and pans, furniture, toys, mezuzot, and sefarim followed. Volunteers stepped forward quietly and generously, transforming an empty space into a true home.

And then, one step led to another.

Our sages teach, “Open for Me an opening the size of a needle’s eye, and I will open for you an opening like the entrance of a great hall.”

When a person takes even the smallest step toward kindness, Heaven expands that step far beyond what we could accomplish alone. Habayit began with one small opening – and Hashem opened the doors.

Four Years In

Today, just four years later, Habayit has grown from that single apartment into 17 fully furnished hesed apartments, powered by hundreds of devoted volunteers and helping hundreds of families from around the world.

Families have come to New York from Israel, Panama, Mexico, London, Canada, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, and from many states across the United States – all in search of life-saving medical treatments. They arrived frightened and uncertain and found themselves held, supported, and cared for at the very moment they needed it most.

Sometimes, the impact of that care reaches even further. Over the years, Habayit has had the profound merit of welcoming four “Habayit babies” – children born to couples who came to New York for fertility treatments and were able to stay because they had a place to call home.

A Legacy of Kindness

At its core, Habayit is about dignity, sensitivity, and quiet hesed. The organization was founded in memory of the Baal Shem of Michelstadt, whose life was defined by compassion, generosity, and kindness towards all. That legacy lives on through every apartment prepared, every family welcomed, and every step taken on behalf of someone in need.

But Habayit’s story is not only about growth. It is about moments – moments when one seemingly small action quietly changed the course of a life.

Last year, Community Magazine published an article about Habayit. In one paragraph, it mentioned a painful reality – families who needed to come to New York for life-saving medical treatment, but there were not enough apartments to accommodate them.

Another Quiet Response

Among the readers was a man who took that paragraph to heart.

After reading the article, he reached out to Habayit. He explained that he had a fully set-up apartment. He didn’t need it at the time. If Habayit was ever full, he wanted them to have his number – just in case someone else might need a place to stay.

Nothing dramatic happened that day. There was no fanfare – just a reader who saw a need and chose to take one step.

A couple of months later, Habayit received another call – this time from a man who had come to New York from Israel for stage-four cancer treatment. Nearly seventy years old and alone, he had spent hours calling Jewish organizations, unable to find a place to stay. By Friday morning, he believed he would be sleeping on the street.

When he reached Habayit, there were no apartments available. All were full. But, because one man had read that article months earlier and acted, there was another option. He was given that phone number.

What happened next is best told in his own words.

A Letter Written to Habayit

The following letter was written by Yosef (name changed for privacy):

My name is Yosef. I came to New York from Israel to be treated for stage-four cancer.

I am almost seventy years old and could not afford to stay in a hotel while receiving treatment. One Friday morning, I spent three hours calling Jewish organizations, asking for help finding a place to stay. I was unsuccessful and did not know where to turn. Sleeping on the street felt like my only option.

I have no relatives in New York. Each call led me somewhere else, and it became clear I had nowhere to go.

When I spoke with someone from Habayit, I was given the phone number of a family who might be able to help. By then, I had very little hope left. Still, I called.

A man answered. After hearing my situation, he immediately told me that he and his wife were inviting me into their home.

I took the subway and arrived at their house. I was shown a private room and told I could stay as long as I needed. That was the first time I cried since being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

I am not a religious person, and I do not remember crying since childhood. Being welcomed by a Jewish family who had never met me before was overwhelming.

That Friday night, I sat at their Shabbat table. Only hours earlier, I believed I would be sleeping on the street. The warmth, kindness, and generosity I experienced is something I will never forget.

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom,

Yosef

A Series of Small Steps

That life was changed through a series of small steps.

Community Magazine shared the story. One reader carried it in his heart and responded. And through those quiet choices, a man who feared sleeping on the street found warmth, dignity, and a place at a Shabbat table.

But his story is only one glimpse into the quiet ways small acts of hesed reshape lives. There was another moment – different in setting, but identical in spirit.

At a summer Habayit event, Rabbi Shlomo Farhi spoke about the quiet work being done behind the scenes – the phone calls, the apartments, the families arriving in need. By the time he finished speaking, there were tears throughout the room.

Before leaving, he added one more sentence. He explained that there was an urgent need for an apartment near Sloan Kettering. Families were coming for treatment, and there was simply nowhere for them to stay.

A few days later, the phone rang.

Someone who had heard about the urgent need reached out. The message had stayed with her. She explained that she had a furnished apartment right near Sloan Kettering and that Habayit was welcome to use it.

Within days, a family moved in. In the middle of fear and uncertainty, they had a place to stay. Since then, it has served as a safe haven for dozens of families whose loved ones were undergoing life-saving treatments.

Rabbi Farhi’s words did not end when the event was over. They traveled beyond the room, reaching a woman who chose to act. One small step – offering an apartment – became comfort, stability, and dignity for families in their most vulnerable moments.

A High Schooler Steps Up

Another time, the step seemed even smaller.

A high-school intern came to help at Habayit for the day. There were no urgent calls or emergencies. Instead of leaving early, he chose to organize the warehouse, which had become so crowded that it was difficult to move through. By the time he finished, everything was accessible and in its place.

That night, the phone rang.

A 36-year-old man from Panama had received devastating news from his doctors: if he did not get to New York immediately, he would not survive. He was flown in on an emergency medical evacuation flight and rushed straight to the hospital upon arrival. His family needed a place to stay – immediately.

Habayit had no available apartments. Brooklyn was full. Manhattan was full. Every other organization was full. There was only one option: an apartment that had not yet been set up.

Because the warehouse had been organized earlier that day, the team could immediately reach what they needed. Volunteers came running. Furniture was moved. Food was brought. Essentials were gathered.

By early evening, the apartment was no longer empty. The fridge was stocked. The beds were made. The space felt like a home.

While the man was in the hospital, his family arrived exhausted and terrified – and they had somewhere safe to walk into.

That life was saved because one small step had been taken earlier.

The Quiet Miracle

This is the quiet miracle of Habayit.

An organization built not on buildings, but on people. Volunteers who answer calls at all hours. Donors who give quietly. Families who open their doors. Teenagers who stay late to help.

The need continues to grow. Families are still calling. More lives can be helped.

If you would like to be part of this work – whether through donating, volunteering, or getting involved – Habayit would love to hear from you. And if you or someone you know has an empty or underused apartment in Brooklyn or Manhattan that could be used for hesed, that one step could change a life.

For all inquiries, please contact the Habayit office: 580-HABAYIT (580-422-2948). Because the story of Habayit doesn’t end here. It continues every time someone chooses to take one step.