Victor Cohen 

On Sunday, February 18th, Congregation Shaare Tefilah Bene Moshe, also known as the Synagogue of Eatontown, held an official groundbreaking ceremony to commence their expansion project. The Eatontown community came together to celebrate their growth and success, and to excitedly look ahead to the continued blossoming of their congregation in the newly-expanded facility. 

Bringing Everyone Back Indoors 

In advance of the event, I had the privilege of speaking with the congregation’s rabbi and spiritual leader, Rabbi Moshe Douek, to learn about the community and the expansion project. Rabbi Douek began by emphasizing the urgent need to expand the building due to the influx of people moving to Deal, and, in particular, to the Eatontown area. When the rabbi first moved there in 2007, he explained, there were only 70 families in the area, and one daily minyan. With such a small community, he recalled, there was no mikveh and no programming. And, Rabbi Douek was the only rabbi in that area. Now, however, there are over 300 families, and the community is blessed with a mikveh and Torah learning programs both during the day and at night. Additionally, there are ten rabbis serving the community.  

“What has been created here in just 17 years is an exponentially larger and more robust congregation, one that now needs a larger space to accommodate its growing numbers,” Rabbi Douek said. 

The synagogue currently hosts five separate minyanim on Shabbat, necessitating some creativity in finding space for everyone. The minyanim all fill their rooms to capacity, and a permanent tent was erected in the backyard to accommodate the overflow. The expansion project will allow the congregation to come back indoors, as the size of the building will be doubled. New classrooms will be added, as well as a large social hall and a midrash.  

Already seven years ago, the synagogue recognized the need for expansion, and began laying the groundwork, in the literal sense of the word – carefully inspecting the property to ensure that no piping would interfere with their designs, and clearing out forest area. The synagogue’s officers also worked with the township to obtain the necessary permits. After seven years of hard work and surmounting tall hurdles, they were finally ready to begin construction.   

“A Historic Day” 

Walking into the event, one could palpably sense the excitement and fervor. It instantly became evident just how attached the people feel to their synagogue, that this house of prayer and study constitutes an integral part of their lives. Many members chose to bring their entire families, showing the strong bond between the home and the shul. The feeling of community, of warmth, of shared ideals and a common goal was experienced by everyone in attendance. 

Concurrently with the main groundbreaking ceremony, an exciting program for the children was held in the building’s main social hall, featuring carnival games with prizes and bingo. Children’s programming has always been a major point of focus in the Eatontown community, and the hard work invested into the kids’ activities that morning is a clear testament to the priority given to the community’s youth. 

When the time came for the main program to begin, the people took their seats, bringing some of the delicious catered breakfast and coffee with them. Rabbi Douek stepped onto the stage and proudly and excitedly pronounced, “Today is a historic day… Heaven and Earth rejoice as we come to build a bet Knesset in honor of Hashem.” 

The rabbi then introduced the first speaker – Albert Antebi, who devotedly served as the congregation’s president for five years, and is the Chairman of the Building Committee. Albert opened his speech by thanking the mayor and local council on behalf of the congregation, expressing the community’s deep appreciation for the hard work they invested to move this project forward. He also spoke of the debt of gratitude owed by the congregants to the shul’s original founders, saying, “We wouldn’t be here today if they didn’t have the vision 20 years ago to make it into what it is today.” 

Albert then proceeded to present the anticipated timeline, explaining that the project is expected to take around a year-and-a-half to complete – an exceptionally short period for a project of this scale and complexity. The work is expected to proceed quickly, Albert said, because the building committee understands the urgency of the matter, as the congregation has outgrown the current facility. Simply put, the synagogue needs to provide more space as soon as possible.  

A Beloved Role Model 

Albert then spoke about Rabbi Douek, the profound impact he has on the synagogue’s members, and the credit he deserves for its exponential growth. He described the rabbi as the synagogue’s “driving force” – a description that could be confirmed simply by observing Rabbi Douek’s interactions with people at the ceremony, seeing his genuine love and concern for every member, and their great respect and admiration for him. 

Later, I had the opportunity to speak with Albert and to ask him to elaborate on the rabbi’s impact. He said that Rabbi Douek is involved with every aspect of the synagogue, investing an enormous amount of time and energy into every detail, often behind the scenes, working without anyone noticing. Albert further described Rabbi Douek as exceptionally warm, friendly, and kind, setting an inspiring example for the entire congregation to strive to emulate. He truly loves the shul with all his heart and soul, and the people love him the same way. 

Near the end of Albert’s speech, he emphasized the need for financial support for this new endeavor, noting that this ambitious project requires the participation of the entire congregation. This plea echoed the appeal found in the official brochure, which stated: 

Hazal tell us that, not only is it a mitzvah to participate in the building of a shul, but it is an obligation. If one were to move into a new town with no existing place of praying, it should be his mission to build one. If there is no Beit Midrash – Learning Center, it must be built as well. If they are full, he should build bigger. 

Albert closed by expressing his heartfelt wish that after the building is completed, the current sanctuary and building would be renovated, as well. 

Albert’s speech was followed by a special address by State Senator Vin Gopal, who expressed his delight at the drastic growth of the Eatontown Synagogue. He informed the crowd that he would be putting an official record of this groundbreaking ceremony in the NJ Senate.  

I later approached the Senator and asked him to share his thoughts about the event with the readers of Community Magazine.  

“I was honored this morning to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the expansion of the Synagogue of Congregation Shaare Tefilah,” he said. “It is amazing to be a part of this new beginning.” 

“Flying” Pledges 

The next speaker was the assistant rabbi of the synagogue, Rabbi Norman Cohen, who spoke beautifully of his personal connection to Eatontown, where he originally served as ba’al koreh (Torah reader). Then, he asked for pledges, and the numbers started flying in. Rabbi Cohen stayed on stage, making jokes or doing his legendary impression between the pledges. He mentioned that he had a flight to Israel which he needed to catch in a few minutes – but the only “flying” that was happening would be at this event… The show went on for a full hour, and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was a remarkable, heartwarming display of a community’s dedication to its synagogue, and a testament to the close bonds between the congregants and their rabbis. 

Afterward, Rabbi Douek invited the crowd to join him outside for the actual “groundbreaking.” We all walked outdoors to the area that had begun resembling a construction site, and gathered around a shovel. Rabbi Douek explained that the same spades which were used just under two decades ago to open this synagogue, would now be initiating the process of expansion. He then thanked the Eatontown’s Mayor, Anthony Talerico Jr., for all of the support he has given, saying, “Without the mayor, we wouldn’t be here today.”  

Finally, Rabbi Cohen led the crowd in the singing of Nishmat, after which everyone was given the opportunity to pour cement. Rabbi Douek said that all those present had the great privilege of fulfilling the mitzvah that was read in the Torah the day before, the mitzvah of “Ve’asu li Mikdash” – building a sanctuary for Gd, by coming together to build Congregation Shaare Tefilah’s future. 

The crowd dispersed, feeling uplifted, grateful for their community’s growth, and looking excitedly ahead to their congregation’s new beginning. 

For further information about the Eatontown community or the expansion of the shul, please feel free to contact Rabbi Moshe Douek at 732 397 2566. 

The fictional character of Rip Van Winkle was most likely based upon the true account in the Gemara of Honi Hame’agel, who slept for 70 years. 

Tuvia Cohen  

Rip Van Winkle was a friendly but lazy farmer who lived in a village at the foot of the Catskills in the good old days when America was still a British colony. One day, while walking with his dog and his rifle in the mountains, he met an old man dressed in an old-fashioned suit. The elderly gentleman requested his help in carrying a barrel of wine. Rip accompanied him, and met a group of similarly attired strange old men. They gave him some wine to drink, whereupon he fell into a deep sleep.  

Strange Awakening 

Waking, as he thought, the next morning, he found his dog gone, and his rifle rusted. He was stiff in the joints, his clothes were ragged, and most interesting of all, he had a long grey beard. He descended to his village and found it completely changed, and that no one recognized him. He was a stranger in his own village! He had, in fact, been asleep for 20 years! Rip Van Winkle gradually got his bearings, and found himself a role as the oldest inhabitant of the village, forever telling stories of his strange experience, and what life was like before the big sleep. 

Honi Hame’agel 

This fictional story was claimed to be based on a traditional German tale. It is likely that both the American and the European versions of the tale were based on the true story told in the Gemara (Ta’anit 23a) of Honi Hame’agel, who slept for 70 years. When he awoke, he was so upset that not a single person recognized him, that he asked to be taken from the world. 

Sleeping the Winter Away 

The ability to sleep for such extended periods is a rare, even miraculous occurrence in humans. Animals, on the other hand, manage it extremely well, and with great regularity. Every year, as the temperature drops, different animals cope with the onset of winter in a variety of fascinating ways. One of them is by hibernation, in which the animal quite simply goes to sleep for months at a time. At the first sign of winter, Asian and American black bears find themselves a cave, a hole in a tree, or just a good deep pile of leaves and drift off to sleep until spring. 

How do they survive without food for so long?  

The Bare Necessities 

Food is scarce during winter, so the bears eat as much as they can in the summer and autumn and convert the excess calories into body fat. For this reason, a lean bear in late autumn is usually dangerous. Feeling that he has not supplied an urgent need, he becomes irritable and often savage. In addition, the bears conserve energy by their big sleep. (Energy burns calories. The less energetic you are, the less you need to eat, and the less hungry you are. That is why during an extended yom tov period, with longer hours of praying, and extra hours of sleeping, you actually feel less inclined to eat than during a normal weekday.) In slumber, the bears’ body temperature may drop by as much as nine degrees Fahrenheit, and their metabolic rate by 50 percent. 

Drastic Weight Loss 

The mother polar bear does not eat a thing from November until about March. During this time, holed up in the Arctic snow, she gives birth to up to four cubs and nurses them. Her youngsters are utterly dependent on her rich milk for the first three months of their lives. To supply this life-giving milk, and to nourish herself, the mother bear subsists on the thick layer of fat beneath her skin, built up in the summer months when food was plentiful. Even when the bear family emerges from the den and the cubs start taking solid food, their mother has to share all her catches of fish and seals with them. So by spring, she is only half the weight she was six months earlier, at the end of the previous summer.  

Intelligent Design 

Let’s think about this for a moment. Who taught the bears to eat voraciously to prepare for the long sleep? Who arranged that excess food should be converted to fat (stored energy) rather than be eliminated through the digestive process? Who is it who trained them to lower their body metabolism and their temperature (remember that bears, like humans, are warm-blooded animals whose body temperature is automatically regulated to remain at a constant)? Who educated them to go to sleep for months on end? Who provided the mechanisms of these vital systems and the instincts that trigger them? It all points to a mighty Intelligence. 

Natural Antifreeze 

Up north in Canada, where the winters are long and severe, live the painted turtles. These turtles hatch from their leathery eggs in autumn. Once hatched, you would expect them to begin their active life immediately. That is what most people do, but not painted turtles. Before emerging into the world, they spend their first winter in the nest. Almost immediately after hatching they have to survive the cold, which they do by hibernating.  

The Painted Turtle 

Female painted turtles nest in midsummer in south-facing banks. (Having learned geography, they know which way is south…) Then, in the frigid cold, these turtles survive the winter the same way as so many mammals do, by hibernating. During the long winter months, the tiny turtles go into torpor (a state of physical inactivity), eating nothing and barely moving. Their bodies contain natural antifreeze that enables them to survive for long periods when the temperature in the nest drops below freezing.  

Now isn’t that something? Here is a revolutionary method of saving money. Remove the central heating from your home, and this winter, program your body to produce antifreeze in your blood. However cold the weather, you’ll never feel cold. Go ahead – try it! 

Mystery of the Fly 

Many people wonder where all the flies go in the winter. Shortly after Sukkot, they all seem to disappear, and not one is to be seen throughout the long winter months. Six months later, after Pesach, out they come again. Are they the same ones, and if so, where do they hide?  

The answer is that flies hibernate during winter, sometimes in large groups, in any available dry and warm space, such as an attic. They are fast asleep and out of sight. The reason there are so few houseflies in winter is that their eggs will hatch only at temperatures between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, their numbers steadily diminish, owing to insecticides and natural causes. Since flies are often carriers of diseases, it is not a bad thing that their numbers diminish during their long sleep.  

Sounds Batty  

Honeybees, on the other hand, do not hibernate. They have their honey to live on, and they keep up their own temperature by closely clustering, constantly vibrating their wings to elevate the hive temperature. 

During the period of suspended existence, not only does the hibernator’s temperature drop to almost half its normal level, but the heart slows down, and all functions of alimentation (nourishment) and excretion cease. Respiration is faint, and in some sleeps, respiration appears to wholly cease. Don’t try this, but a hibernating bat was once submerged in a bucket of water for an hour; when taken out, it was still asleep and perfectly healthy despite its ordeal. 

A Deer’s Winter Coat 

It is not only by hibernating that animals are able to survive the winter. Listen to this amazing fact. Everyone knows that when the temperature drops, fingers, toes, and ears freeze first. But it has been only within the last 200 years that we have understood that this is due to the ratio between the amount of body surface through which heat can be lost, and the body’s bulk and heat supply. (This explains why mittens are warmer than gloves; the fingers of a glove have more radiating surface than the mass of a mitten.)  

About 100 years ago, physicists working on the kinetic theory of gases found that heat travels very slowly through still air. Applying this knowledge of dead-air space to our cold-weather clothes, manufacturers have developed coats and jackets with light, airy padding. Progress! 

Now although you and I have been in possession of the above-mentioned information for a relatively short time, deer have been using these principles since they were created. With the first autumnal frosts, the deer shed their cool summer coat and grow a special one for winter. Each hair of this winter coat is hollow, like a small tube sealed at the outer end. This effectively covers the deer with a layer of still air, trapped within the hairs. Covered with this air blanket, deer can walk the winter wilderness almost without the need for shelter.  

Divine Design 

You knew nothing, and the deer knew much less than you, yet somehow, he knew that he ought to be growing a hollow-haired coat for winter. Where exactly did the deer obtain its knowledge of the laws of advanced kinetic energy?  

All the wisdom inherent in the animals, their ability to survive a six-month sleep, to keep warm without clothes, antifreeze, and insulation, did not come to them by chance. Nor did it come from them. Wisdom and intelligence always emanate from a Higher Intelligence.

Behind every great toy and game is a creative inventor. Some of the most successful toy companies in the world were started by Jewish innovators. This month we take a historic look at the Jewish toy makers who revolutionized the toy industry.

Herman, Hillel, and Henry Hassenfeld

Toy Company: HASBRO

Merrill Hassenfeld

Merrill became the president of Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc. in 1943.

 Hasbro is one of the largest, most prosperous toy companies in the United States. Toys like Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Playskool toys, Nerf toys, Tonka trunks, Easy Bake Oven, Cabbage Patch Kids, and many board games have helped make Hasbro one of the most recognized names in the toy manufacturing industry in America.

Hasbro started with the first generation of Hassenfeld brothers, Herman, Henry, and Hillel, who fled pogroms in Poland and immigrated to America in 1903. The teenagers settled in New York City. Speaking only Yiddish but with plenty of confidence, they started as peddlers and soon moved into the “schmatta” business.

In 1923, they began selling cloth leftovers in Providence, Rhode Island. Three years later, they founded Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc. with eight family members, to manufacture pencil box covers from these cloth leftovers. By 1929, under Henry’s direction, they employed 150 workers to manufacture and sell pencil boxes and cloth zipper pouches containing school supplies.

In the early 1940s, seeing the success and popularity of the children’s items that they made and sold, they decided to start making toys. The first toys made by Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc., were doctor and nurse kits. In 1942, school supply sales had decreased, and the company became primarily a toy manufacturer.

When Hillel died in 1943, Henry became the CEO, and his son, Merrill, became president of Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc.

In 1952, George Lerner started looking for someone to back a toy that he had created, called Mr. Potato Head. He presented his idea to Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc. Henry liked the idea so much that he purchased the rights for the toy from George, paving the way for Mr. Potato Head to become the first toy success story for Hassenfeld Brothers, Inc.

In 1964, they created G.I. Joe, which they called an “action figure” in order to market it to boys. In its first two years, G.I. Joe brought in close to $40 million!

In 1968, the company name was shortened to Hasbro.

Elliot and Ruth Handler

Toy Company: MATTEL – include logo of Mattel (included in file)

 Elliot Handler

Originally called Mattel Creations, the company went on to become the largest toy maker in the world. In April 2008, Elliot Handler was honored by Mattel with a 90th birthday party at its headquarters in El Segundo, California.

Hot Wheels was first released to the market in 1968. Eventually, 10,000 different models were produced and sold.

Izzy Elliot Handler was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 9, 1916, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. In 1938, he married Ruth Moskowicz, the youngest of ten children, who was born in 1916 in Denver to Polish-born parents. Ruth encouraged her husband to be called by his middle name, Elliot.

Mattel began in 1945 as a garage workshop belonging to Harold Matson and Elliot Handler. The name “Mattel” comes from combining the “El” of Elliot Handler with the “Matt” of Harold “Matt” Matson.

Mattel’s first products were picture frames. Elliot then started making dollhouse furniture from picture frame scraps. That proved to be such a success that Mattel switched to making nothing but toys.

Other toy products followed, including a line of musical toys beginning with the Uke-a-Doodle in 1947, which was a huge hit.

The Handlers bought out Matson’s share in the private company, becoming its sole owners. Elliot’s wife, Ruth, took over Matson’s role in the business.

Ruth is credited with the creation of the Barbie doll that debuted in 1959. Ruth named the doll after their daughter, Barbara Handler. The Barbie doll is still one of the top-selling dolls.

In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy, a talking doll that revolutionized the toy industry. The pull string talking mechanism created for Chatty Cathy was used in several later toys, such as See ‘N Say, which was first introduced in 1965.

Later additions to the Mattel empire included Fisher-Price children’s toys, Polly Pocket miniatures, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tyco Toys, the Thomas the Tank Engine line, and American Girl dolls.

In 1974, the Handlers left the company and pursued other interests.

Morris and Rose Michtom

Toy Company: IDEAL Toy Company – include logo – included in file

Morris Michtom

Michtom’s extremely successful Betsy Wetsy doll, released in 1934, played an instrumental role in keeping the company afloat during the economic depression in the 1930s.

President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt

By 1904, President Roosevelt had adopted the bear as a mascot of his campaign, and had a Michtom Teddy bear on display at every White House function.

Fleeing Russian pogroms, a penniless, teenaged Morris Michtom arrived on the docks of New York in 1887. In 1889, he married Rose Katz, who had just arrived in the United States earlier that year. Together, they ran a candy shop in Brooklyn, and pursued their hobby of making stuffed animals on the side, all while raising their 3 children.

After seeing Clifford Berryman’s famous cartoon of President Theodore Roosevelt and the bear cub in November of 1902, Rose Michtom was inspired to create a plush bear from a scrap of velvet. Morris put the little bear in their shop window with a sign that read “Teddy’s Bear.” To their surprise, over a dozen customers were interested in buying the bear. After that, Morris sent the bear to President “Teddy” Roosevelt as a gift for his children, and requested permission to use his name.

Soon, as demand began to surpass supply, Morris and Rose committed to making the bears full-time, retiring the candy shop and founding Ideal Toy and Novelty Co. in 1907. That same year, Ideal also began making dolls.

After Morris’s passing in 1938, the company’s name changed to Ideal Toy Co., under the leadership of Rose’s nephew, Abraham Katz. Over the course of the next several decades, the company produced a number of games and iconic toys such as the KerPlunk, Viewmaster, and the Rubik’s Cube.

It is inspiring to note that although Ideal Toys sold millions of teddies throughout the world, their good fortune did not spoil the Michtoms. Ever mindful of their humble origins, Morris and Rose Michtom supported the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Jewish National Fund, and numerous other Jewish causes.

Joshua Lionel Cowen

Toy Company: Lionel Corporation

Joshua Lionel Cowen

In 2006, Lionel’s electric train became the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Joshua Lionel Cowen was born in New York City in 1877, the eighth of nine children of Eastern European immigrant parents. His parents were Rebecca (née Kantrowitz) and Hyman Nathan Cohen, a hatmaker. (Cowen legally changed the spelling of his last name from the original Cohen in 1910, for unknown reasons.)

Cowen built his first toy train at age of 7, attaching a small motor under a model of a locomotive he had carved. The engine exploded, damaging his parents’ kitchen.

Cowen sold his first electric train in 1901 to a store owner in Manhattan, who intended to use the train as a store window attraction to call attention to other merchandise. The store owner returned the next day to order six more trains, because customers wanted to buy the store display.

Cowen founded the Lionel Manufacturing Company to meet demand. By 1902, Lionel was primarily a toy train manufacturer.

Lionel trains symbolized the ideal American childhood for more than a century, and in its heyday during the 1950s, Lionel accounted for two-thirds of all the toy trains sold in the United States. For a short time in the early 1950s, Lionel was the largest toy manufacturer in the world, selling $25 million worth of trains per year!

Cowen retired in 1959, selling his 55,000 shares of Lionel stock to his great-nephew, Roy Cohn.

In 2006, Lionel’s electric train became the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Louis and David Marx

Toy Company: Louis Marx and Company

Caption: Louis Marx

Louis Marx was the initial inductee in the Toy Industry Hall of Fame. He was known by numerous nicknames, including “Toycoon,” and “The Toy King.” Marx was also very charitable, donating both toys and money to many organizations involved in helping children.

Marx Medical Team World War II plastic soldiers.

Pictured above are two extremely popular MARX toys – Rock’em Sock’em Robots, and the MARX 1939 windup Rocket Fighter.

Louis Marx was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 11, 1896 to Jacob and Clara Marx. He had one brother and one sister. After graduating high school at the age of 15, he took a job as an errand boy with the toymaker Ferdinand Strauss. He quickly ascended through the ranks, becoming a salesman and then managing a plant in East Rutherford, NJ, by the time he was 20. A disagreement with the board of directors over how to increase efficiency and cut costs forced him out.

Following his dismissal from Strauss, Marx enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant during his brief military career. He was honorably discharged and returned to civilian life in 1918. Marx’s lifelong passion for the Army was reflected in his fondness for military toys.

In 1919, Marx decided to start his own business at 200 Fifth Avenue in New York City. With little money, machinery, patents, and customers, he built his company with motivation. A couple of years later, Louis’ brother David joined the company to run the operations side of the business. Using the slogans “Quality is not negotiable” and “Give the customer more toy for less money,” the company quickly became a leader in the industry.

By 1955, MARX was the largest toy maker in the world, producing everything from little green army men and circus playsets to toy guns, action figures, and electric trains

1. Azar

You know it’s time for a new cell phone when your conversations play out as follows: 

Me: Hiya, Sara, what’s doing? 

Sara:  Everything’s good, Baruch Hashem. You? 

Me:  So, yesterday, I was at my sis –  

Sara: What? 

Me [louder, this time]:  Yesterday, I was –  

Sara: You know, I can’t really hear you so well. 

Me: I know, my connection’s bad, but we’ll just manage.  

Sara: What? 

Me [slowly]: I said –  

Sara: Um, I have to go, uh, make dinner. Talk to you later! 

Hmm, I mutter to the dial tone, so why did you just call me if you had to hang up? 

 My mobile device and I share quite a rocky relationship. At any given moment, I’m either needing a new phone or in the process of receiving one. I can share cell phone stories till I’m old and gray and still have more in store. My friend sums it up best – “You and your phones!” 

It’s possible that, at times, I bring it onto myself. You see, I have a tendency to saturate my phone with various liquids. Once, I put my phone in my car’s cup holder. However, there was a clear, plastic cup of water in the holder, which the phone promptly sank into. That was a pretty wet experience. Another time, I held my phone in the same hand as a bowl of cereal and milk while walking to the table. Risky, thought I, so I tried to maneuver the phone into my other hand. It was a failed attempt, and the phone ended up in the bowl of cereal and milk. Oops! Of course, I’ll never forget when I unwittingly laid my phone upon the countertop… atop a pool of spilled oil. How I didn’t see that is anyone’s guess.  

But then there were some mishaps that were definitely not my fault. How do I know? Because they occurred on day one with my new phone, when I was ever so careful not to drop it or let a baby play with it.  On one “first day,” my phone screen took to freezing every hour or so. Another time, my phone selected conversations at random to cut short. Then there was the time I couldn’t make outgoing calls. The Sprint lady and I had a good laugh over that one.  

I used to become exasperated with each incident and call the service provider in a huff. Now, however, as I grow acquainted with each of my phone’s ailments, I smile. I laugh it off. I don’t sweat the small stuff. 

This brings me to my Pesach message to you. Crumbs are really tiny, and it’s tempting to feel overwhelmed while eradicating each and every one. I’m not going to start with the be-organized-and-make-lists speech. No. I’m only going to say, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” There is a stress-free way to prepare for Pesach. It’s up to us to assume a cheerful attitude while doing so. Get in the mode – a beautiful holiday is near! Turn on the music! Do a jig! Collect paper towel rolls! Do whatever it takes to smile. To laugh. To create joyful memories. 

Often, I encounter minor displeasures: traffic, a flopped recipe, the store not having what I came for. I find that, many times, those are the first things I discuss with my friends on my (partially operational) phone when I plop down on the couch at the end of a busy day. Occasionally, though, my inner voice yells, “Hold that kvetch!” and I do. Because it’s all in the mindset we choose. Do I want to zoom in on small inconveniences that I’ll forget about in a couple of hours? Or do I want to be an upbeat, cheerful individual who sees the good in everything that happens to me? 

At the seder, we enumerate all the amazing miracles that Hashem wrought in Egypt and afterwards. Towards the end of Magid, when the smells of matzo and haroset grow more and more tantalizing, we sing Dayenu. Dayenu – “it would have been enough.” Pesach is a time to count our blessings and appreciate all the gifts Hashem has given us – because they are enough. 

Jacky Schweky 

In Brooklyn, there’s a community softball league that’s been running successfully for thirty years, drawing crowds, and making history. The BKS Softball League, once a big deal, has changed in a big way, and everyone’s talking about it.  

Started three decades ago, the BKS Softball League has always been a big part of the community. From playing on any open field to now having fancy fields, it’s always been more than just a game; it’s something the community is proud of. 

One cool thing about the league is its history. There are stories about the awesome players from history who were like heroes. Their legacy lives on, and people still talk about them today. 

But what really makes the BKS Softball League stand out is the excitement around it. People are coming from all over the community to watch. With new players and lots of energy, it’s a whole new ballgame. From old-timers to rookies, everyone brings their own style, making it fun to watch. 

The buzz around the BKS Softball League is real. The passion and determination of the players shine through in every game. It’s not just about playing; it’s about giving it their all and pushing themselves to the limit. 

One thing that’s great about the league is how it brings people together. Whether you’re a pro or just learning, there’s a place for you. Friendships are made on the field, and that’s what makes it special. 

The BKS Softball League isn’t just about winning games; it’s about making memories and being part of a community. It’s about coming together, supporting each other, and having fun. 

As the BKS Softball League keeps growing, it’s clear that it’s more than just a game. It’s a symbol of sticking together and having a good time. So, if you haven’t checked it out yet, you’re missing out! Come see for yourself what all the excitement is about. The BKS Softball League is back and better than ever, and it’s taking over, one game at a time.

Batter Up!  

For more information or to register – please contact one of the people listed below. 

Jacky Schweky 

1-347-614-9379 cell 

Jackys@justonellc.com 

Mordy Chrem 

Mordy.chrem5@gmail.com 

1-347-322-0988 

David Tawil 

Davidstawil@gmail.com 

1-917-301-4422 

Joey Dweck 

Joeyd@deeii.com 

1-917-626-2754