Linda Sadacka

The morning after Zohrán Mamdani’s stunning mayoral victory, New York woke to a nightmare that felt more symbolic than spontaneous: swastikas scrawled on our schools and cemeteries, as if evil itself had been waiting for permission to step back into the daylight. Within hours, what had been whispered in anxious corners became visible across the city. Parents wondered aloud if their children were still safe in schools, and our community was reeling as though the ground beneath New York had shifted overnight. It wasn’t merely that a radical had won an election; it was that his victory seemed to give hatred a green light.

Mamdani, celebrated by extremists abroad and socialists at home, has made no secret of his agenda: defund the police, replace officers with social workers, dismantle the structures that protect ordinary families. And his sympathies with Muslim extremism leave no doubt that his Jewish constituents will take a backseat. It is a social experiment dressed up as compassion, and the cost will be counted in fear. To pretend otherwise is to ignore history.

A City That Once Stood for Something

For generations, New York symbolized the best of the Western ideal – faith, family, freedom, and the grit to rise by meritocracy, not mandate. It was the city of immigrants who believed that through effort and decency one could achieve greatness. It was the beating heart of Judeo-Christian civilization in America, where every culture could thrive under one flag and one moral code.

Those who seek to rewrite that code understand exactly what they are doing. Capture New York and you capture the symbol of liberty itself. Undermine the city that never sleeps and the rest of the nation will begin to doze. That is why radicals, political, ideological, and religious, target this city with missionary focus. For them, New York is not just geography, it is the trophy of Western collapse.

How We Got Here

This moment did not arrive overnight. It is the result of a long and deliberate campaign.

For years, the radical left followed a simple, ruthless formula drawn straight from the “father of community organizing” Saul Alinsky’s playbook: infiltrate from the ground up. (Alinsky wrote Reville for Radicals (1946) and Rules for Radicals (1971).) Win seats on local school boards. Redefine curricula. Populate city agencies and social-service offices. Control language and you will control thought. Control thought and you will control law.

At the same time, open-border policies changed the electorate’s makeup. Thousands of new arrivals, many with little attachment to New York’s history or values, gained not only residence but political influence. The data from this election prove it – long-time New Yorkers rejected Mamdani’s platform overwhelmingly. His margin came from those who have lived in New York fewer than five years.

From Stigma to Strength

For too long, many community members treated public service as a stigma. To be in politics was to invite gossip or suspicion. But we now see that abstention is not purity. It is abdication. The vacuum we left was quickly filled by ideologues who neither understand nor respect our values.

That mindset is finally shifting. We now have leaders who are both capable and faithful – Senator Sam Sutton and District Leader Joey Saban are men rooted in our community who understand that serving the public is serving Hashem’s people. Their victories are not accidental. They are signs of awakening.

I have long believed that engaging in civic life with sincerity and humility is an act of devotion. When you help your community obtain resources, safety, and representation, you are performing hesed. You are shielding families from harm, defending education, and giving a voice to the voiceless.

The Anatomy of a Takeover

To understand what we face, we must be honest about how it happened. Radical activists did not seize New York overnight. They worked methodically, often under the banner of justice or diversity, to replace faith with ideology and moral courage with fear of offending others.

In schools, they removed history because a generation that knows its past cannot be manipulated. In politics, they reframed law and order as oppression. In the media, they mocked religion as ignorance and normalized the inversion of right and wrong.

This is how civilizations fall, not by invasion but by infiltration. The enemy no longer storms the gates. He campaigns for office. They have learned to weaponize our own virtues, our democracy, our compassion, our political correctness, and turn them against us. It is conquest without armies, collapse by consent. Mamdani’s win is not the beginning of that story, it is its midpoint. Whether it becomes the end depends on what we do now.

The Governor’s Race – A Chance to Reverse Course

The upcoming governor’s race is not just another election. It is the hinge on which New York’s future will turn. A strong, values-aligned conservative governor could begin to undo the damage that Mamdani’s administration is already poised to unleash.

Unlike a mayor, the governor controls the state’s purse and its priorities. He can veto reckless city policies, direct funding to protect private and religious schools, strengthen law enforcement, and restore accountability. He can appoint commissioners who value order over chaos and merit over ideology. In short, a moral governor can serve as the firewall between New York’s families and City Hall’s fantasies.

This is why the next election matters more than ever. It is not about party labels. It is about preserving civilization. When the city drifts toward socialism and moral confusion, the state must anchor it in sanity. When leadership glorifies dependence, the governor must defend capitalism, responsibility, and reward for honest work.

If we secure that kind of leader, one grounded in faith, law, and common sense, we do more than balance the political scales. We begin the repair of a moral order.

A Communal Awakening

Thank Gd, our community is mobilizing. The awareness so many of us worked to build online is now turning into real-world engagement, voter registration drives, civic meetings, and coordinated advocacy. The graphic circulating across our neighborhoods tells the story. Our numbers are growing, our resolve is solidifying, and we are finally speaking the language of influence.

Our opponents understood this long ago. For over a decade, Muslim preachers and progressive organizers alike have taught their followers that real power comes from local positions, school boards, council seats, and agencies that shape daily life. They built networks, trained candidates, and normalized activism as virtue. While we debated whether involvement was proper, they secured the levers of power. Now they hold them, but not for long – if we act.

We Lost an Election, Not Our Mission

Evil always declares victory too soon. The radicals celebrating Mamdani’s rise believe they have conquered New York. They have not. They have only awakened the community that will outlast them.

We are the inheritors of a tradition that has survived every empire, ideology, and demagogue. Our ancestors rebuilt after destruction because they believed in something higher than politics. They believed in Divine Providence and human duty.

We will do the same.

We will organize, vote, educate, and stand firm, not because we crave power but because we are commanded to protect life, liberty, and truth.

The ballots may have favored Mamdani, but Heaven still favors those who believe in redemption. We have faced darker times and have risen higher. With Hashem’s help, this too will become a chapter of awakening – a time when good people found their voice, stood tall, and brought light back to the city that never sleeps.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s Call to Civic Responsibility

Below is Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s October 1984 letter urging American Jews to fulfill their civic duty and show gratitude for America’s freedoms by voting.

On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live as Jews in accordance with our tradition.

A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakoras hatov – recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy.

The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote. Therefore, I urge all members of the Jewish community to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.

Searching for unique gifts this Hanukkah? We’ve compiled a standout collection of the season’s best gadgets and innovative items. From cutting-edge tech to creative kits, find modern surprises for everyone on your list.

Shaspad

The Shaspad is a 10.9-inch iPad that comes pre-loaded with the complete ArtScroll Digital Library. It is encased in a custom leather cover with a newly redesigned aesthetic. The device includes all currently available volumes of the digital library. Importantly, this setup does not require an internet connection for daily use of the library’s content.

Aura Aspen Digital Frame

The Aura Aspen is a digital photo frame featuring a 12-inch HD anti-glare display. It includes a paper-textured matting and an ultra-slim, half-inch bezel design. The frame automatically adjusts its display from portrait to landscape orientation based on placement.

3Doodler Start+ Essentials Pen Set

This kit provides a low-temperature 3D printing pen that utilizes eco-plastic refills. The pen allows users to create models and drawings in mid-air. It is designed to be safe for children and encourages hands-on STEM learning without requiring a screen.

Pad Creator Instant Print Tablet

This tablet is designed for younger artists to capture and create instant prints. It features an 8-inch touchscreen and a built-in ink-free thermal printer. Kids can take photos, enhance them with doodles, and print the results immediately from the device.

Laser Scissors

These scissors are equipped with an attached laser to project a straight guideline onto the material being cut. This tool is designed to assist with achieving straighter cuts in tasks like sewing, crafting, and gift wrapping.

3D Sticker Maker Kit

This kit is designed for children interested in crafting and allows them to create their own decorative stickers. Users can design and press stickers that are confetti-filled and shakeable.

Breo Foot Massager Machine

This is a heated foot massager machine designed for in-home use. It provides a variety of massaging techniques, including deep kneading, compression, scraping, and rolling. The machine offers a consistent spa-like experience.

Ooni Volt 12 Electric Indoor Pizza Oven

The Ooni Volt 12 is a portable electric oven designed for cooking Neapolitan-style pizza indoors. It is engineered to reach high temperatures necessary for making restaurant-quality pizza quickly. The oven includes an advanced temperature control system, which Ooni refers to as Pizza Intelligence.

Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2

This smart mug is designed to maintain a consistent hot beverage temperature at home or in the office. Users can set a preferred drinking temperature ranging from 120°F to 145°F. The mug’s technology ensures the drink stays at the desired warmth from the first sip to the last.

Inventions are the clever creations that make our lives easier, more enjoyable, and endlessly fascinating. They turn yesterday’s impossibilities into today’s necessities—things we can hardly imagine living without. From the humble paperclip to the mighty jet engine, each month we’ll uncover the stories behind the world’s most remarkable inventions and the brilliant minds who brought them to life. This month, we dive into the history behind one of the greatest innovations since…

SLICED BREAD

Before the pioneering invention of pre-sliced bread, the daily routine of preparing meals was markedly different. Bread of all kinds – whether a hearty loaf baked at home or a fresh loaf bought from the local bakery – was sold and kept whole, entirely unsliced. This meant that the consumer bore the personal responsibility of cutting off a slice for every sandwich or piece of toast. The resulting cuts were inevitably uneven, thick in one spot and thin in another, creating irregular slices that were notoriously difficult to manage. This constant necessity for manual slicing was time-consuming, especially for a busy household making several sandwiches. And it proved to be extremely difficult to achieve the uniform, thin slices preferred for toasting and attractive presentation.

The Rohwedder Bread Slicer

This culinary challenge began to change in the early 1900s, thanks to the ingenuity of Otto Frederick Rohwedder. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he and his family moved to Davenport, Iowa when he was young. Rohwedder was a true inventor at heart, despite his primary professional background. A former ophthalmologist who later found success as the owner of three jewelry stores in the town of St. Joseph, Missouri, he was a keen tinkerer who applied his mechanical precision to solving a widespread domestic inconvenience. Rohwedder dedicated years to developing a design for a machine that could automatically slice and wrap baked loaves of bread. He sold his jewelry stores to fund the development effort and manufacture the machines.

His process was methodical. To gauge the ideal thickness for his future product, he conducted early market research by placing advertisements in local newspapers. These ads offered a questionnaire “for the purpose of determining a thickness of slice which would be most nearly universal in acceptance.” The overwhelming response he received – over 30,000 responses from American housewives – underscored the tremendous, if yet unrecognized, demand for a solution to the bread-slicing problem.

By 1912, Rohwedder successfully created a working model of his revolutionary machine. However, his initial prototypes were met with deep skepticism from professional bakers. Their primary concern was simple but critical: they were certain that pre-sliced bread would quickly go stale, thereby ruining the product and their reputation. In an early attempt to address this freshness problem, Rohwedder even experimented with using metal hatpins to keep the freshly cut pieces of the loaf together, hoping the structural integrity would preserve the bread. Unfortunately, the hatpins continually fell out, detracting from the product’s convenience and safety, proving the need for a better solution.

Tragedy, Resilience, and a Perfected Invention

Rohwedder’s decade-long quest for the perfect machine faced a devastating setback in 1917. A fire at a factory in Monmouth, Illinois, which had agreed to manufacture his device, resulted in catastrophic damage. The blaze not only destroyed the existing prototype but also consumed all of Rohwedder’s meticulously drafted bread-slicing blueprints. The loss set his commercial launch back by a full decade, forcing him to patiently recoup his losses and to recreate his designs.

As Rohwedder rebounded and tirelessly perfected his invention, the American kitchen landscape was evolving. Electric pop-up toasters were becoming more popular in homes across the country, which, in turn, fueled a rapidly increasing consumer demand for thin, evenly cut bread for perfect toasting. This new market need provided the final motivation and justification for Rohwedder’s perseverance.

In 1928, Rohwedder finally solved the fundamental challenge of keeping pre-sliced bread fresh. He added an ingenious feature to his updated Rohwedder Bread Slicer that automatically wrapped the sliced loaf in wax paper immediately after cutting. His perfected machine was a complex assembly of multiple blades that divided the loaf into uniform slices before it was tightly bound in its protective wax paper coating, finally ensuring its freshness and convenience for the consumer.

Instant Success and a Lasting Legacy

Despite the elegance of the new design, many bakeries remained hesitant to invest in the large, expensive device, still fearing the bread would spoil. It took a bold risk-taker to prove the concept would work. In July of 1928, the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, took the chance. They installed Rohwedder’s machine and placed their first sliced loaf on sale under the brand, Sliced Kleen Maid Bread.

The very first loaves of commercially pre-sliced bread appeared on store shelves on July 7, 1928. The product was an instant, overwhelming success. Within weeks, the Chillicothe Baking Company’s bread sales rocketed by an astonishing 2,000 percent! This meteoric rise immediately caught the attention of every baker in the nation, eager to capitalize on the new convenience. Just two years later, in 1930, the industrial giant Wonder Bread began to commercially produce pre-sliced loaves, rapidly popularizing the product and making sliced bread a household staple familiar to generations of American families.

Within five years of Rohwedder’s successful launch, the transformation was complete. The vast majority of bakeries across the United States had purchased and installed bread-slicing machines, and as much as eighty percent of all bread produced by companies in America was sold pre-sliced. The impact was so profound and immediate that it permanently altered the measure of successful innovation, giving rise to the now-famous epithet, “the best thing since sliced bread.” No one is sure who first coined the phrase, but American consumers certainly agreed with its sentiment, recognizing Otto Frederick Rohwedder’s persistent invention as a true milestone in modern convenience.

An Interesting Historical Footnote

The invention’s success was briefly – and controversially – interrupted during World War II. On January 18, 1943, the U.S. government imposed a short-lived ban on sliced bread. This measure, ordered by Food Administrator Claude R. Wickard, was intended to conserve resources, primarily the wax paper used for wrapping the sliced loaves, and potentially the steel used in the slicing machines. The public outcry was immediate and intense. Housewives and consumers, outraged at the loss of convenience, complained bitterly about the time wasted and the bread ruined by uneven hand-slicing. Recognizing the minimal actual savings and the massive disruption to home morale, the ban was quickly rescinded on March 8, 1943, just seven weeks later. The swift reversal only cemented the invention’s importance in American daily life.