Misameach Chatan and Kallah, making newlyweds happy, is a great Chesed. Due to the sadness of getting married, having to live with this guy, never getting sleep because of the kids, we have to bring them one last moment of happiness. It's an act of kindness. A Chesed.
Many say it falls under the Mitzvah of “loving one’s neighbor as thyself” (Vayikra 19:18). Which if it were true in my neighborhood, the wedded couple down the block would shut their family up. They would keep quiet and keep their kids off my lawn. And if their neighbors loved them, somebody would have told them to not get married.
I was honest with my nephew at his wedding, as I was shocked to hear it’s my job to make him happy. I told him, “If you need me to be happy, get out of it. You just got married two minutes ago. It won’t get better.”
 
(Shulchan Aruch- Orach Chayim 10:5) If one travels over a few days, they say the Tefillat HaDerech prayer every day. For example, if one is traveling to Israel and has to go through every Middle Eastern and European country to get to America. Each day you are in a different country of people who want you dead, you pray for your life.

Due to leaving Mitzrayim in haste, we are commanded to eat Matzah, a “poor man’s bread” (Devarim 16:3). I am fulfilling that Mitzvah. After purchasing Shmura Matzah, I’m out of money.
Let me explain. Though it's a poor man's bread, Shmura Matzah can be very expensive. The boxed machine Matzah, sold at a dollar-fifty a pound, is probably what the Torah was talking about.
Shmura Matzah is guarded Matzah. It's got to be the security that makes it that much more expensive. And we consider the guarded Matzah more praiseworthy. You don't want anti-Semites attacking your flatbread. 
 
Rambam (negative Mitzvah 165) learns from (Vayikra 10:7) Moshe telling Ahron he can’t leave the Ohel Moed that Kohens can’t leave the Temple during services. Kohens in my shul are stringent with this law. They don’t show up. I’ll explain. They never leave the sanctuary. They’re never there.
The Torah continues “and they did as Moshe said.” Because they didn’t have a Haftorah back then, which is the perfect time to leave and get some schnapps. If they would’ve had Chivas and Jack, they probably would've left for a LChaim.

Now that Pesach is over, I hope you feel better about spending all of your money on Matzah. I also hope you feel better about that decision to get married. And please don’t leave the sanctuary of the shul for happy hour in the middle of services. Our board did not program that into the prayers.

Dear Dave,
Another bad Shidduch idea. And I knew it was going to be bad once the matchmaker started describing her.
These matchmakers truly don't know how to sell girls. Maybe this world is better off with people not selling girls. I'm not being literal. Figurative. I'm talking setting people up and marketing. They can never just say somebody is good looking. They go into this whole description, which translates to "she looks pretty bad."
All guys want to know before a date is that she's hot. Nobody cares if her dad's a good guy. Nobody is thinking about how nice Pesach is going to be with the in-laws. Everybody knows that won't be good. Guys just want to know if they're going to be showing up with somebody that's hot.
Dave. You know me. I'm not shallow. Though, it doesn't hurt to just hear "she's hot." And don't say that in Yiddish.

Don't tell me somebody looks decent. Frum Jew wants to hear "really hot." "They're a very religious, Gd fearing, hot Jew." No matter how spiritually connected they are, they want to hear "extremely hot." Nothing else. Not gorgeous, not exquisite, not Eidel.
And this is why the good Shadchanim, matchmakers, lie. I've got to be honest, Dave. I respect that. At this point, if you're setting people up, you might as well call everybody hot. Some people don't have the greatest vision. Not everybody can see that well.

Not even a picture. The Shadchan didn't even send me a picture. Just a really bad sales pitch. Descriptions. She started describing the girl.
First the matchmaker was trying to make her sound nice. That wasn't fair to the girl, calling her delightful. They said, "She's delightful," which means she's well past her forties. And then they said, "She looks good for her age," which means she's at least eighty. You might as well say, "She's with it." Which means she just got a hip replacement.
The Shadchan even said, "She has a great personality," which perfectly described hideous. And then the Matchmaker ended with a "she comes from a good family." At that point, I said, "Enough. It's wrong to speak Lashon Hara about a woman. I don't know what you have against her, but trying to make people look bad is wrong."
The Shadchan ended by noting the girl is attractive. For some reason, even hearing "attractive" is a turn off. "Hot." People just want to hear "hot."

Why I'm using words like "hot" to describe women at my age, I can't tell you Dave. I just work with what I have.

And then the Shadchan started throwing in Yiddish to describe her. Yiddish is an attraction killer. That is what I learned from that phone call. And this is why I'm not dating that girl.

Never use Yiddish to describe how somebody looks. You can say she's the most beautiful girl in Yiddish, and all I will hear is "she's hideous." 
Eidel. That sounds bad. How heavy is Eidel?
Sheyne Punim. Got to be at least two-hundred pounds overweight.
Tatzkeleh. Is she a trinket?
They said, "She's got Zitskeit." That just sounded bad to me. I don't want to be anywhere near Ziskeit, whatever it does to you.
And then when they say "a Gute Nishama." Just really not good looking. Now they're focusing on her soul. In Yiddish. 
Girls have to watch out for Yiddish too. "He's a Mensch." Girls. Stay away from the guy. He's broke.
Even if you have hot in there, if you throw in anything Yiddish sounding, you've killed the hotness. "Hot" in Yiddish sounds bad. I heard them describe one of the girls as a "Hot Channie." Which truly translates as not good looking, without a Sheitel. Or somebody that looks good with a extra eyeshadow. 
Even heavy sounds heavier in Yiddish. Zahftig. I would rather be called obese. That sounds less overweight.

Use any language and I'm questioning what you're saying. I hear "Belissimma," I'm asking why did they sneak Italian into that description.
If the native lexicon is not enough to say "hot," there's a problem.

And same goes for any situation you're in. If I'm looking to hire somebody, don't tell me, "He's a Chachum." Now I'm thinking, I'm hiring an ugly guy. Even worse, "He's a Gaon." Now I'm thinking, then why is the guy not a Rosh Yeshiva.
"He has a Yiddisha Kup." Now I'm turning into an anti-Semite, thinking he's going to steal from me.
And don't describe me like any of this to a girl. She'll be thinking, there is no way this brilliant guy is single, unless if he's Zahftig and Eidel.

Yiddish should never be used in romance. I said "Gazunta" and she lost attraction. It was an excellent corned beef sandwich.
"That was a Gazunta meal." She broke off the relationship.

Just don't describe. Anything other than he's a good guy, it sounds like you're hiding something. If you ever describe me for anything, just say, "David is hot." And say it in English. You might end up helping me land a decent job. There's a reason I have you down as one of my references.
And if you have anybody set me up who doesn't speak English, please have them stick to their native tongue.

That's my message, Dave. For the sake of Heaven, just say they're hot.
Turns out the girl is extremely attractive. And she comes from a good family.

LSimchas,
​David

Announcements
You have to clean your home for Pesach. We also suggest the Pelushkin family clean their house. It’s filthy.

Antisemitism is up, because of things that Iran’s IRGC is doing. It turns out that targeting civilians and murdering your population is wrong. Jews agree with that. Israel agrees with that. Which is why Israel is getting blamed for the IRGC targeting civilians.
Please tell that to members of the congregation who like to spend time on social media, in order to support hatred of our people.
 
Friendly Rules: You must look at people and greet them. You have to notice people when noticing them. You can’t ask somebody to get up from your seat without saying “Shabbat Shalom” first. Basically, the rules are you can’t be a piece of ----.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: Cleaning the Pelushkin Home and Other Jewish Anomalies. How to Blame Israel for What Iran Does - A Gateway to Running a Good Podcast. How to Not Be an Arrogant Piece of ---- With Mr. Finkelman Who Has Mastered the Art of Never Saying “Hi” - Who We Hate.

Rabbi Mendlechem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
Yes. It’s going to be long. It’s Shabbat Hagadol. The tradition is for me to give a very long speech. Gadol means large. And that refers to the sermon. “The very large sermon”... I don't know what a large speech looks like. It's my job. I have to do it... A big whiteboard. Next year I'll have a large whiteboard with the sermon on it. But for now, it's going to be very long...

(Vayikra 8:1-3) H’ tells Moshe to get Aharon and his children and their clothes, food for the service and oils. “And gather all the people to the Tent of Meeting...” It was the Tent of Meeting. People meet there... This is shul. People are not supposed to talk throughout the Davening. All of services is not a meeting time... You're not saying, "What's about Gd. Haven't seen you for a minute." Whatever a minute is... I have no idea what "a minute" is, Bernie. It might be a year. It's that Jewish big bang theory, that time moved slower back then. Time moves slower when people come to shul... They come late. That's what I was saying.
You gather the people before the service... That’s the problem. You think the Minyin happens, and then you gather. You need to gather to get a Minyin. And you need to not be part of this congregation to enjoy being around Jews.

"All the people." Ramban teaches that H’ wanted the whole nation to see Aharon’s family were chosen to be Kohanim... I know we have programs nowadays that we don't advertise. I don't want to have to see the membership... It wasn't like the Portsman wedding, where nobody wanted to come. There was nobody there because it was a destination wedding... The destination was a miniature golf course. who wants to see that?!
H’ wanted everybody to witness it... So, you wouldn’t complain. You complain about everything. You show up late, you complain. You guys complain every time you miss something. Baruch even wanted to know if we did Shacharit today... Yes. We did it. You missed it. You didn't see it. And you didn't see the cleaning staff cleaning for Pesach. Which is why you thought it's a good idea to eat a cookie in shul. Today. Shabbat HaGadol. Right before Pesach, this guy eats Pepperidge Farm in the hallway. Crumbs everywhere...

Again. Gathering. That's the point. We have to come together first, before we serve Gd... How do you serve H’ as a people and gather later?! Idiots. "I prayed already..." Well, how does that help the Minyin?! Other than Baruch bringing crumbs and ruining Pesach for everybody... They have to come in and clean again... We have to gather the cleaning crew again and retrace everywhere you walked. Like a prePesach Scavenger Baruch Hunt... Point is, it's better if everybody gathered without Baruch...

When you dedicate stuff you prepare right. You make sure everybody is present. That's how they did it for the Tabernacle. Definitely did not do it with the shul's renovations. No preparation... You started the groundbreaking for the new children’s wing with nobody there. It was messed up. I wouldn’t call it a groundbreaking. It was a shul destroying... Groundbreaking with nobody. The preparation had nobody. You didn't even prepare the preparation correctly...
You have to prepare right. You need people. Which is why we don't have a Minyin...

(Vayikra 8:6) “Moshe brought Aharon and his sons and he immersed them in water.” First thing you do is clean them... I don’t know if they smelled like Pinchas. Maybe Moshe didn’t want to deal with a bunch of guys who just got back from the Beis Midrash... Learning Torah doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shower... Is showering Mivatel Torah? Good question. It might be wasting time from learning. You can't learn Torah in the shower. That we know. At least wash your hands. There are laws to wash your hands before learning Torah... Singing Shwekey songs in the shower is Asur. You can't do the Tehillim songs.
The lesson is, you don’t bring people together when they’re dirty. Smelling like... Nobody wants to be around that...

Exactly. It's a Pesach message. You get everybody ready. You clean. You prepare. Buy food. Then you gather all of the people for the holiday... I don't know the exact order. But you do clean. Cleaning is the whole time. You clean when you're buying food and gathering people too... And you serve Gd together. Which is why we need gathering. If I have to keep on explaining this nation thing, I'm going to shoot one of the people. Even if they're part of the nation...

Prepare and gather. Gather and prepare. Be clean. Shower. Don’t fart so everybody has to smell it... Because farts chase away community.

When you consecrate your home. You invite the community. Chanukat Bayit. Dedication of the house... It’s not Chanukah. It's a house dedication. We're speaking of a ceremony... I'm making a point, Bernie. And you should clean your home before you consecrate it...
Your home is filthy for Pesach... We’re not talking Kosher for Pesach. We’re talking filthy for Pesach. Filthy for Pesach is not good... I know. You’ve taken the Halacha of making sure to get rid of Chametz too far, by only focusing on Chametz. You can clean too... You with your "we will not wash the floors." If a dog can't eat it, it's probably a good time to clean that up... If you don't consider the bread that got left behind the oven from three years ago Chametz, that's fine. Clean it for the holiday. And also check behind the oven for Pepperidge Farm chocolate coated cookies. Baruch has a way of spreading those crumbs...
It’s not being a better Jew by showing that your place is still dirty but Kosher for Pesach.
A home must be cleaned for the holidays. To celebrate... 
Rabbi Pelushkin. Our child came back from your home dirty from playing inside. The kids played inside... Our daughter had mud all over her clothes from playing dolls in your home.
You consecrate for the holidays... So, you can celebrate them correctly. If I have to keep explaining. That's the message. You prepare and bring community together. And nobody wants to go to the Pelushkin home in their new holiday clothes...

We come together against antisemitism and members of our shul. May we be freed from antisemitism and the board... I don't know how to consecrate antisemitism. Maybe war.
How we’re getting blamed for the IRGC targeting civilians and murdering people. It's the members of our shul, on social media, saying they hate Donald Trump... Donald Trump is not Jewish. Stop listening to Candace Owens. She's crazy... And we're still getting blamed for people starving in Gaza who aren't starving. We're getting blamed for people who should be starving but aren't. I think that's the cause now. And it's because of us. Because people want to kill us. So, because people want to kill us, we get blamed for everything.
Who's starving is people who have to buy Pesach food. The cost of that... We should charge the Gazans Pesach food prices...

Finkelman can go to Gehenim. He ruins community. The guy never says "Hi." Does his high head pass... If he did the low head pass, I would say he's an Anav. He's a pious humble man... It all depends on the trajectory of the head. If you pass at a thirty-five-degree neck angle, you're still a community person. Very good question...
Like you’re better. You’re insecure. And you cause antisemitism in the shul. That's what you do, Finkelman...
When walking in shul you have to say "Hi" to people. You can’t be a jerk... You see them. How can you not see them?! You pretended like you didn’t. Because you are insecure...
You said "hello" because you needed them to pass you the Chrein. You wanted horseradish for your fish. Your friendliness only means you need something. Basically, Finkelman has no heart. Would hate to be at his Seder. He probably wouldn't notice. He prepares by ignoring his responsibility to make Charoset...
At least Finkelman doesn't talk during services. He still deserves to be hated. He's not nice to the people who gather. Fart at Finkelman's spot...

Can we consecrate together this Pesach?! As one people with no hatred amongst ourselves and no bad smelling people... I know the three-day Chag with Shabbat is going to be hard. People are going to be smelling bad...

(Vayikra 8:7-10) Then Moshe puts on the priestly clothes and anoints the Tabernacle. But first. Before all this, you make sure the people are gathered and clean... Otherwise, you ruin the priestly clothes. They didn't have a Kohen laundering service. People had to scrub that stuff. And ironing in those days wasn't easy. You had to lift a heavy boulder and smash it on the sash to straighten it.
We have to be holy ourselves. Prepare ourselves. Be a community. Kick Finkelman out... Stone him. Maybe... And maybe then, we can get the Pelushkins to finally clean their home...
I don't know if they're cleaning in Israel right now. It's good you care. You should worry about our people and the bombs, and you should clean.
And please pick up and Pepperidge Farm crumbs...

Pesach is coming. Shower.

Rivka's Rundown
The Pelushkins like to celebrate the holidays in dirt. They feel it's more Biblical that way. 
That's my problem with the Artscroll Chumash. It's too clean. It's not Biblical. A Torah should be the old brown one with the bendy taped on binding.

The rabbi said the congregants were very dirty. He was accusing them of being Chametz. That's how unclean he said Mordy was. He said he had leaven on him.

And the rabbi talked for a very long time. It was a Shabbat HaGadol Drasha. And it had something to do with Pesach. I think the message was something about not flatulating on Matzah.
The only Torah the rabbi really shared was that he has to give a long speech.

And truer words have never been spoken. "Farts chase away community." That was a disgusting fart. We smelled it in the women’s section.
How do you respond to that? Do you laugh? Do you leave? Everybody ignored it like nothing happened. All disgusted running from the area, but nothing happened?!
Now the board wants people to own their farts. They had a whole meeting about farts. They now have a flatulence committee. What the committee is trying to enforce now is the logging of farts. They want people to own their farts. And they are finding out that our shul has a bunch of liars. Not one person has taken fart accountability.
It was tough. The rabbi was constantly moving during the sermon. Like the fart was following him. At one point he delivered ten minutes of the Shabbat HaGadol Drasha in the women’s section, on the right side. Half of the shul was huddled there with him. And then the fart made its way over to the right side of the women’s section. So, the rabbi went back up to the Bima lectern. Ten people from the congregation went up with him, as they felt it was the only safe place.
I have never seen the rabbi move that much during a sermon. I’ve never seen a speaker move that much. And that’s even when they’ve let one go. Sometimes speakers use the walking technique to move away from their own flatulence. 
​
Now I understand the idea of the programs not being advertised with times and location. The shul runs programs to not see members. Well attended programs with no people. And the rabbi is happy with that. He is doing his job, running programs and he doesn't have to see people at them.

Very correct. Pepperidge Farm cookies make tons of crumbs. Even the skinny ones somehow get crumbs everywhere. Almost as bad as when I bight a Stella D'oro Swiss Fudge.
Fun event idea I just came up with. A Baruch Crumb Crawl around shul. To find all the crumbs before Pesach. A shul Bdikat Chametz event. We don't even need Baruch. We can do it after youth groups, following around the kids of our shul. They don't even need Pepperidge Farm. Dirty little things.

The rabbi told certain members they should shower before Shabbat for peace in the community. Because they smell real bad.
Some of the men think showering is Mivatel Torah (wasting time from Torah learning). They feel they should spend all their free time learning Torah. Being March Madness and now the baseball season, plus all the new series on Amazon Prime and Netflix, there is very little free time to learn Torah.

It’s very hard to be a good Jew. So much self-hating. Especially with the board. Even if you like Jews, you hate the shul board. You’ve got to fight for yourself now.
Why the news doesn’t mention any of this targeting civilians. It seems like it’s fine to target civilians if you’re not American or Israeli. If you're American or Israeli you have to say thank you to the Gazans and Iranians for holding up their children to shoot at them. And it's fine to target Israelis. They're not considered civilians, because they're Jewish. Or Jewish connected, which makes the Israeli Arabs evil too. And Israelis don't target civilians. The only civilians Israel targets are the ones who are in labs, trying to kill us. I'm just so mad about this Jew hatred. And they don't even have a reason. I go to shul. I have a reason to hate Jews.

It wasn't Lashon Hara about Finkelman. Everybody in the shul knows he's a jerk. It was Musar (rebuke). 
I like "you can’t be a piece of ----" rule. You have to greet people and look at them.
The tilt of the head that the rabbi mentioned is very important. The high head hold makes it so much more not friendly. They started using a protractor at the daily Minyin to ensure people were friendly enough to join. If they deem you not friendly, they force you into the pious head angle of humility.
They kicked one guy out whose head didn't align with the ninety-degree angle, during the Aleinu prayer bow. 

The class on how to not be a jerk was well attended. We have a lot of people in our shul that are working on being bigger pieces of ----.
A bunch of jerks. They notice you. And then they go right past you. That’s unless they need something. So, they think you like them, because whenever they need something, you end up smiling.

Over the course of the week, we learned Finkelman has ​glaucoma. He's had trouble seeing the past year or so. We started a Tehillim group for him. We hope his eyesight is back to a hundred percent.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane to David complaining about safety signs at work and big jars of gefilte fish, all while using a Mezuzah as an excuse for him eating cookies and putting on weight, with the Kibbitzer's pictures of laughter from last month. We want to thank David Kilimnick for sharing a picture of himself holding the chocolate Hamentashen he gave out on Purim, which were well past expiration date.

Spent six-thousand dollars on food so far. Now I need to pick up cleaning products and dishware. Forgot about that. I was assuming that dishware came with the three-hundred-dollar brisket.
Here is my list of stuff I will need to get to ensure the home is Pesahdik. With notes I took down, to keep me focused on the goal of worrying more. Again. I didn't think of the dishes. Nor did I think I would have to clean.
Before going on, throw out everything and get a new carpet. And make sure I sold all the Chametz, so I don't have to clean.
Remember to clean more.
 
Cleaning Products
You need to get cleaning stuff for the kids to clean. They teach that it's a Mitzvah to clean for Pesach. Which is why you send the kids to Jewish day school.
Going to a hotel, you still need to clean. So, buy the cleaning stuff. The hotel housekeeping cleaned the room for you. Which means you have to clean.

Every cleaning shpritz. Buy it Tile cleaner shpritz. Stove cleaner shpritz. Stove and tile cleaner shpritz. Everything cleaner shpritz that doesn't clean everything. Wood cleaner shpritz. Wood might have Chametz and it truly gets the tree to look shinier. Get the shpritz with the picture of the lemons. I like clean lemons.
Window cleaner shpritz. Just in case Chametz was spread on the windows by a chipmunk. Maybe it hibernated in the screen. Acorns are probably legumes.
Potpourri. I'm not sure. Might be Chametz. Now I have to throw that out. Remember to buy potpourri after Pesach, if I have funds.

Vacuum. A Kosher for Pesach one.
Dustbuster. Just in case the vacuum doesn't work. Or I might want to save energy by bending and going down on the floor to clean.
Brooms. Mop. Swiffer. I need a Swiffer to do what the broom, mop and vacuum do. There is a Swiffer, I need it. I washed the floor. I have to Swiff it. It's a cleaning product, and thus I must use it on Pesach. Swiffing is another fence around Chametz.

That's nine-hundred-dollars in cleaning products. And be sure to log a hundred-twenty hours in the cleaning of the living room. After I've quit my job, I can figure out the rest of the necessary cleaning.

Blowtorch. I will need a blowtorch to blow up the home, to make sure it's Pesahdik. Oven cleaner shpritz should work to remove some grease from the oven. Can't fully trust it. Though, it took off part of my finger last year. So, it is legitimate. Blowtorch the place.

Toothpaste. New tube.
Toothbrush. I have one. Buy more.
Baby wipes. That's what people use nowadays. After two days of Matzah, I will need to start using baby wipes. Got to keep clean on the Chag. 
Soap. Kosher for Pesach is better, just in case you get hungry.
Detergent. Again. Hashgachas are better. Alpine flavored Tide is not Kosher for Pesach. So don't eat that.
Kids might do the laundry, if you can convince them that cotton is a legume.
Make sure everything I buy is expensive. Cleaning products should be Kosher for Pesach, just in case I plan to eat the oven cleaner.

Bristle stuff. Anything with bristles. 
Sponges. Can't use them on the holiday, but I should buy them. Good to have them. 
Brushes. Brushes that work as sponges. Wait. those not sponge sponges. Whoever figured that out is amazing. Shabbat breeds invention.
 
Feather and spoon. That’s how you clean for Pesach. I need to get the feather and spoon. Forget all the sprays and vacuum stuff. And make sure the feather has a candle. Without a candle how are you supposed to see in a house. Buy the packet to be sure it’s Kosher for Pesach before I burn it. Blowtorch the feather and spoon.

Extra Notes
Forgot mayonnaise. Shoot. The horseradish is going to hurt.
Get Kosher for Pesach lettuce. Don’t get the nonKosher for Pesach one. Never buy Bodek again. I’m not that well to do.
And parsley. Need parsley. I wrote “every vegetable” on my list. But I don’t know if parsley falls into that.
Chocolate covered almonds. Do not forget those. The cake will not be very good. I will need to eat a lot of chocolate covered almonds. Why do I not eat chocolate covered almonds during the year? That is a good question. I'll ask that at the Seder.
 
Maxwell House Haggadah because that’s tradition. Do not buy Maxwell House coffee.

There is a lot more that was left out. I should be at around eight-thousand dollars right now.
After you pull your kids from Jewish day school, you should have enough to purchase the rest of what you need on your Pesach list. Like more tinfoil. 
Don't pull your kids out of school until they learned it's a Mitzvah to clean for Pesach.
 
Anything with Kosher of Pesach on it or a "P," buy it.
And make a trip to New York to pick up more stuff. It's Pesach. Gas prices are not the issue with the cost of Pesach food. I can't blame Iran for what Gefen and Manischewitz are charging for macaroons. 
New York will have something I didn't think was Kosher for Pesach, like tape. Buy it. It's Kosher for Pesach.

Buy another Blumenkrantz guide. And make sure to look at the OU and Star-K's guides to make it harder for myself. So, I can feel more religious. 
And clean more. I feel very religious when I'm burnt out. When I haven't slept.
And make sure I have enough tinfoil and tins. I don't think ShopRite has enough in stock.

Forgot the dishware. Shoot. I'm out of funds. I will get that stuff next year. And don't dust anything next year. Leave the dust. I've been sneezing for a month.

Note for after Pesach:
Make sure to buy back your Chametz and house at a loss.

Announcements
Kroger has some good deals on Pesach food. Only fifteen dollars for a bottle of Kosher for Pesach mayonnaise. Kosher for Pesach lettuce is also on sale for just a little bit more than twenty dollars a pound.
 
Our prayers are with the US and Israeli armies. We apologize if that offends members of our shul. The board discussed it and with a vote of six to five, it was agreed that it is fine to pray for people who are protecting us and Israel. Even if it offends Jews in our shul, to pray for the protection of Jews is also fine.
The rabbi says you can support our soldiers, even if it isn’t an American thing to do. The board also voted you can’t blame Israel for everything, even if you are left-wing. Except for EL AL overcharging.
 
No outdoing the Chazin‘s singing. We know people like to sing and bother everybody. You are not allowed to out-singing the Chazin. The Chazin is loud enough. Children are scared, and we're losing congregants due to fear that Davening might take longer.
 
Halacha Classes: How to Save on Pesach Food- A Crash Course on How to Spend Only Thirteen Thousand Dollars on Pesach and Other Great Deals. The Art of Blaming Israel and Somehow Thinking You’re a Good Jew- With Our Congregants Who Show Up for Kiddish. How to Be a Chazin Without Being Asked to Be the Chazin- Shlomi and How He Sings Very Loud.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
You bring a peace offering for peace. For H’s sake. Shlomo...
Sforno teaches the peace offering, the Shelamim, is brought when one recognizes Gd’s goodness. This congregation doesn't even recognize when they find a deal on Kosher for Pesach chocolate covered almonds. How can you recognize the gifts H’ gives you when you can’t appreciate finding a bag of almonds with chocolate on top for twelve dollars?! How can you appreciate Gd when you can't appreciate a sale on Pesach treats?! If you can't see H's miracles, how will you see his goodness.

Rashi teaches that it brings peace to the world. The Karban Shelmaim has a part for the Altar, a part for the Kohen, a part for the owner. Since everybody is satisfied, peace. Shalom.. I’ve never been satisfied after eating at the Minkowitz house. The portions are tiny. Everything is served on a teacup holder plate. And that is why there is no love in that family...

I don’t know if Shechting cattle in the Beit HaMikdash would bring peace to the Middle East. Slaughtering a cow will help with dinner. It would bring brisket to the Middle East. I don’t know if it would end the war. We’re just learning Torah... If you leaned Torah and shared a good Yapchik Kugel with a lot of meat in it, that would bring peace...
If we had the Beit HaMikdash would that bring peace? Don’t get me fired for sharing Torah ideas...

Rabbi Hirsch teaches that that the Shelamim sacrifice is called a Zevach, which could also mean a feast, because “during the eating of a peace-offering’s flesh, the owner would invite the family, friends and acquaintances.”
Again. Sharing. Sharing in praise of H’. You share H’s kindness, that brings peace.
I don't want to be invited to the Minkowitzs... Nobody breaks bread there, because they barely have any bread. Maybe a pita... People don't break pita. They rip it.
Again. Sharing. You share a feast... The Minkowitz family doesn’t share a feast because they cook barely anything. It’s like they’re hosting a rabbit for dinner, with the vegetables and no meat... Carrots in the choolante? Is that a Tzimis?! Nobody likes Tzimis...
Yes. I got it all from Artscroll. Does that mean it’s not correct?! Idiots.

Sharing... Sharing. Giving. It’s the same thing. Unless if you’re Ami, who takes. That’s what he does in the sharing process. He sits there and takes.
Recognize and share something that brings satisfaction...

Do you believe in H’? It’s Pesach. You’re supposed to spend money. That's how you bring H' to the world. That's how you share a feast. You spend a lot.
The miracle of Pesach is that even when you spend all of your money, H’ will provide... You spend money. You share the food. You have Shalom. The people that didn't pay for the Seder are happy... Your guests are happy. Unless if you're the MInkowitzs.
That's how you recognize H's goodness... It's a Mitzvah to go broke...

I understand there are people that want us dead. That’s why we pray for the president... I said it. Yes. We pray for the leader of our nation to have peace, to bring peace... He doesn't want to eat with you.
We thank H' for the blessing of life. We recognize peace... At least come to shul on time and Daven. Pray a Bissel.
And yes. We pray for Bibi. The leader of Israel... Israel is our homeland. Yes. It is. Always has been. Please let the board know, I apologize for letting Jewish people know that it's OK to pray for the Jewish homeland. I didn't mean to offend the Jews with talk of being part of a Jewish people... And we pray for the soldiers. I’m praying that I don’t have to deal with congregants.
And although it’s not American, we pray for America... This congregation turns me into an anti-Semite. I am getting to the point where I can't stand Jews... Because your political correctness is anti-Semitic. Your not being allowed to hate anybody somehow allows you to hate the Jewish people. And therefore, I hate you. I am starting to think that this thought I am having might bring Shalom...
Praying for Jews as Jews is fine. Jews being safe is part of Shalom. Peace.
Do you see the H' watching over us.  Can you feel it... I understand the board ruins recognition of Gd, and renovations...

Jews do something good, we get blamed... Israel leads an attack on a regime that’s been trying to kill us for forty-seven years, they get blamed.
If Israel doesn’t attack, they get blamed. I think they're confusing Israel with President Trump.
We’re still getting blamed for a genocide we didn’t do. We get blamed for stuff other people are trying to do to us. Kind of like what I have to deal with when it comes to the cost of Macaroons... I know they're expensive. I didn't do it. And yes. You are correct. Manischewitz are the ones targeting civilians...

What are we inviting people to share in? If it's not something enjoyable, that doesn't bring good. Hearing Shlomi sing, that doesn't bring peace. Hearing Shlomi overriding the Chazin doesn't help anybody recognize Gd during Kedusha. Nobody wants to join in that sacrifice of hearing his harmony...
The Chazin is painful enough. We don’t need you too. Nowhere in the Torah is there a suggestion to bring a voluntary offering of peace with Shlomi singing... Because that would chase everybody away from the Temple. Your harmony slows down Davening. And you can’t call it harmony. You’re louder than the Chazin. The Chazin is singing the song to your harmony. You threw him off. He thought you were the melody. That's how loud you are... Because you were louder... Melody is supposed to be louder. It’s not called melodizing. It's called harmonizing... You're not a Levite. Even H' doesn't want to hear you...
Sometimes it's sharing food. Sometimes is sharing a good song that brings peace. Sometimes it's Shlomi not singing...

The congregation wished you a Yashkoyach. Because they thought you were the one in charge. Sitting in your seat and running the Davening. Some even asked the Chazin to stop bothering your singing. They said he was rude for leading Davening.
You're not sharing your voice. Nobody wants to hear your voice. You're taking... Then you're sharing your voice too much. It's like overstuffing us with your sacrifice. It kind of turns it into us having to sacrifice for you. We don't feel the peace.

Ramban teaches the Karban Shaleim brings peace because of the wholeness of it. The one bringing the sacrifice is motivated not by a need for atonement but by a sense of wholeness.
It's pure praise. Pure wanting to give back. Something nobody in this shul does... It’s the full connection with H’ in the form of giving that brings peace. What it would be like to have that serenity of wholeness. A whole vacation away from here. Without having to deal with the board... The sisterhood giving back is a different conversation. It's almost as bad as Shlomi giving of his voice during Davening...

You give. You sacrifice. That brings wholeness. It brings all godliness together.
Shaleim, whole, is H'. Shalom. Karban Shelamim... It's not a pun.

When you're whole you can recognize Gd. And that comes from connection with others. Serving H' together. Without the Minkowitz family... And I understand if you don't want to connect with the other members at Kiddish. I hate our congregants too...

It’s the Minkowitz's fault. Probably bringing a turtle dove to sacrifice at the Temple... You can’t share a turtle dove. Maybe the Minkowitzs would find a way to split it up onto five teacup holders... A Shelamim has to feed people. It can't be a bird. You don't satisfy a community with a Cornish hen...
If the Minkowitzs gave us some chocolate covered almonds, we would find peace. Even if they got it on sale at Costco. That would bring recognition of H'... 
Chocolate covered almonds could bring peace to the Middle East... I know it costs a lot. If you stopped thinking about your money, and purchased everything for Pesach, there would be peace...

Rivka's Rundown
And we learned how peace works. It comes through chocolate covered almonds on Pesach. It is through chocolate covered almonds that we may recognize H'. And not through people singing in our shul. Not having to do the Musaf prayers with Shlomi and our Chazin brings recognition of H'.

The rabbi said he wasn't going to talk about the Third Temple, as he doesn't want any of our heretic members to tape him. To quote, "I don't want to end up on Tucker Carlson for loving H.'"

I’m just happy the Minkowitzs never invite me. I don't need to be invited to not eat. I'm a bad enough cook as it is. I don't have to go out to eat nothing.
The rabbi is right. If we had a good dinner, there’d be peace. If somebody made a decent couscous.

Now we know why you're supposed to lose all of your money on Pesach to food. It brings Shalom.
I am going broke just on the Matzah. Ever since our rabbi said we had to get the Shmura Matzah, I can’t eat anything on Pesach, other than Matzah. It turns out I don’t eat Gibruktz because I don’t have the money to make Matzah balls. After the Shmura Matzah purchase, I couldn't get eggs. Gibruktz is adding liquid to Matzah. I can’t afford the water bill.
I’m not looking forward to Seder night. People are always talking about how good the Matzah is. And it is, because people talk so much at the Seder, we’re starving by the time we eat it. I’m just thinking, about the Mitzvah of Matzah and how it bankrupt my bank account.
Matzah is known as a poor man's bread and I am extremely poor right now.

It seems like we have congregants that want Americans and Israelis to die. They want Sharia law for Jews. They feel that as Jews it's more important to keep Ramadan than Shabbat. I'm of the feeling that if they were worried about being hung for not following their Jewish laws, they would all keep Kosher.
They are offended if you say you’re Jewish. We have members of our shul that apologize for being Jewish. I was told, "Shabbat Shalom. I'm sorry for saying that."
I can’t even go to the grocery store without getting blamed for my Jewishness. It's like a sin. "What did you do? You're Jewish." I have to stop walking around with my half foot diameter Jewish star necklace.

"You're not a Levite. Even H' doesn't want to hear you." That hurt.
Shlomi was loud. It's true. I said "Amen" to him. Not to the Chazin. I even told the Chazin he was interrupting. I genuinely thought Shlomi was leading.
He said it was harmony, but he was louder than the Chazin. I think the rabbi was right. When you can't hear the melody, at that point, you're melodizing.

Here is the list of everything you need to buy for Pesach. Or at least some of what you need. Or at least what I need.
It's the rough draft I put together for myself. I need an essay to figure out what I need for Pesach. And I need a new treatise every year. Due to people for some reason changing Rabbi Blumenkrantz's laws every year. After Pesach, ask them why his guide is always changing, and why they can't make up their minds about toothpaste.
And I do talk to myself in third person sometimes. Especially when I'm trying to figure out what I have to do for Pesach. In tense situations, like trying to figure out what Shmura Matzah and Kosher for Pesach strawberry syrup to buy, I find that I have to coach myself. 
Here are some of the food essentials I put down on my list, as well as some notes of encouragement and reasons for the purchases. “Essentials” means everything.

Food
Shmura Matzah. Twelve pounds. I need full Matzahs for the Seder. The Shmura will come cracked. If I'm lucky, I'll find an unbroken Matzah in a box.
This is how the Shmura companies get me to buy more boxes. Kind of like how they got me to buy more Chanukah candle boxes this year. Where most of them come broken. "Manischewitz. It only takes five boxes of Chanukah candles to get a box." A good slogan. I'll shoot that to them.

Meat. At least seventy-five pounds. It's a Seder.
Soft cream cheese. I'm spreading it on Matzah. I don't want more broken Matzah.
Kugel. Why not.
Farfel. It sounds cool. Buy it.
Matzah meal. I'm eating Matzah for the meal. Might as well buy Matzah meal.
Kosher for Pesach Kishkah.
Potatoes. Every vegetable you can find. Remember, it's eight days. I don't want to starve. And I want to stay healthy. 
Dr. Brown's Black Cherry soda. 
Coke. The one with a yellow cap. A lot of it. Putting on weight anyways. Regular Coke. Still get the vegetables. The vegetables will help you lose weight.
Gefen strawberry syrup. Decided to go with that one this year.
Chocolate syrup. Might also want chocolate milk. Whichever one is on sale. Even if it's more expensive than the one that's not on sale.
Cheese. Mozzarella. American. Cottage. Get any cheese they sell.
Yogurt. Leben. I never eat Leben. But it's Pesach and they sell it. Buy it.
Eggs. They don't sell premade Matzah Brei. 
Anything with a "P" next to the "OU," buy it.
Chicken.
That chocolate spread stuff. I'll probably use it during the year. Do not use it on Matzah. I'll break more Matzah.
Spices. Every spice I can. Might be a legume. I don't care. If I see a "P" anywhere on the package, I'm buyin it. Even if it costs three times the amount of the spice. Be happy I'm paying for the "P," it ensures my place in Olam Haba (the world to come- always remind myself of this when losing all of my money and having to pick up more shifts at work).
Fish. Lox. You have cream cheese. You're not going to get onions?!
Terra chips are Kosher for Pesach. Amazing. Buy them. At fifteen dollars a bag, it's not a bad deal. If I can't afford food after Pesach, that's fine. H' will provide. And I will want to go on a diet for a day.
That should be enough for one Seder.
Wait. Croutons. Croutons. Mandelan. Circle croutons that are not croutons. Anything to throw into soup. 
Anything created out of potato starch. Buy it. They're creative with that stuff.
Everything I picked up last year. Pick it up again.
I will be out of money by the time Pesach starts. I can take out loans for the holiday.

Seder Specific Stuff
Want to make sure the Seder looks nice. That means nice Haggadahs. Buy at least three of the four-hundred new Haggadahs people put out this year.
 
Horseradish, horseradish root and other things that make me feel like I'm about to die. Seeing my face turn red, while gasping for breath, makes the family happy.
A neck or a bone that you burn. Food to not eat. You have to buy that too. You have to make a Seder plate.
Everything for Charoset. Dates, raisins, apples, ground walnuts which are never used in anything else. Need honey too. It's not Rosh Hashana, but it does allow me to spend more money on a spoon of honey.
Wine. Anything Manischewitz and the Herzog family puts out. Anything else is too expensive. Grape juice. Go to Costco for this. They sell bottles with handle. I need handles for my grape juice.

Buy more Shmura Matzah. I broke a few already.
Need oil. Olive oil. Canola oil. Oil spray. Avocado oil. I saw that. Might as well get it.

Dessert
Chocolate at eight dollars a bar. It has a "P" next to the Kosher symbol. It's worth it. 
Don’t buy the chocolate covered Matzah. That's a ripoff. You don’t want to be spending thirty dollars on a pound of machine Matzah. 
More eggs. I'll be using eggs in everything. And I will end up eating Matzah Brei for dessert. Is there anything better than Matzah Brei. Don't tell anybody I eat Gibruktz. It will kill any chance for Shidduchim.
Buy jelly. I have honey. I also need jelly.
More Matzah. Buy more Matzah. At least two months' worth. I'm still eating my Matzah from three years ago. So, I did have enough Matzah for that Seder.
Macaroons. Don't make it complicated. Buy every flavor. Also buy the four kilos of the one with the chocolate drizzled on top, just in case I need a snack.
A lot of food. It's eight days. I don't want to starve.
Cakes. A lot of different ones. You might find one that's not disgusting. 
The Manischewitz Extra Moist Coffee Cake is a good one to make, if you're one of the five Jews who stays at home for Pesach. If you're lucky it will come out moister than the Matzah. That's actually a good advertisement, "Manischewitz Extra Moist Coffee Cake, it's moister than Matzah brei. If you can spell Manischewitz."
Learn to spell Manischewitz. If you can spell Manischewitz, you're a good Jew. The use of the "sch" and then the "w" to be a "v." Good Jews know how to spell Haymish.
Kosher for Pesach ice cream. Does that exist? It must. Sorbet. Buy sorbet. The Klein's one. That's gooey enough.
Fruit. That's always good. Some rabbi probably found a way to make cantaloupe a legume. So, watch what I buy.
Find out what a legume is. 
Milk. I bought syrup. And I'm getting coffee cake. Coffee cake in milk ensures the cake will be moist.

Extra Notes
That should be six-thousand dollars. So far. Must buy stuff for other family members too. Will have to figure out that list later.

Make the list of cleaning products, tinfoil and places to move to for Pesach.
I should sell my home. Just get rid of the home. Even if it's at a loss. It's easier than prepping for Pesach. The rabbi is said he can sell my home for me. I can probably unload the home for a dollar. Mortgage is paid off. 

How do you know Jews ate cold food in the desert on Shabbis? If not, it would have been Hot-Manna. (Mordechai)
You get it? Manna. Hotmana. So many levels. Hotmana, insulating food in certain ways to ensure it's hot, is Asur, forbidden on Shabbat. It would have also been hot Manna So the desert Manna was cold. Halachik and Biblical understanding is essential for the full benefit of the pun. Yet, Manna is also a "course" in modern Hebrew. Which is why secular Israelis always have a cold salad on Shabbat, in addition to the BBQ. Now, we understand the pin in Modern Hebrew, Biblical, Halacha (Jewish law). Sometimes, explaining a joke makes it worse. However, when you explain it at length, it makes it better.
 
These guys learning at that Yeshiva in Bnei Brak never stop with their word jokes. Oh. Those Talmidim at Punivitch. (Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? Pun. Punivitch is a Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Pun is in the name. "Pun" and "Ivitch." No idea what "Ivitch" is, but it must be something in Yiddish. Talmidim are students. I know that's not a pun, unless if we're talking about tall students. Midim has the same root word as "Midot," even though Midim is not a word. Nonetheless, Midot means measurements. Measuring tall. Let's go on.
 
These love birds at shul, they both had such soft skin. They had so much Ahava. (Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? Ahava is love. Ahava is a company that sells Dead Sea products like lotions. They had a lot of love and hand cream. Ahava can be used for both. That's how this one works. They were using the hand cream, gave them soft skin. They were also in love. Sometimes you have to work backwards in a pun. We educate on how to read puns correctly, for full enjoyment and love. Ahava. This is not an advertisement for hand lotion. We received no money for this pun.

The rebbe’s Talmid had a very bad stomach. He was Acidic. (Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? Acidic. Hassidic. He was a Chassid with a bad stomach. He was the rebbe’s Acid. After eating all the choolante and shnitzel, there were many Acidic Jews in Meah Shearim. That is factual. You would know if you were at the Tisch on Erev Shabbat. This pun was written with journalistic integrity.

I was worried about antisemitism in Jamaica. First thing the guy said to me on Purim was “Heyman.” (Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? “Hey man” is how people say Hi. Haman. Haman wanted to kill the Jews. The guy in Jamaica was greeting me. There's a difference. I misunderstood. You can work this in so many ways to bring people joy on the holiday, as a hippie, walking around going, “Hey man!” Please note that the kids born after 1970 may not understand your pun. Nonetheless, people not understanding your pun should never stop you from doing your pun. Every pun artist knows this. Puns are not about getting laughs. They’re about sharing knowledge. I hope this encourages you to keep sharing your puns, even if people don’t want to hear them. It has never stopped me.
What I was doing in Jamaica for Purim, that’s a story.

Iran’s IRGC is now the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpse. ​(Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? Was a Corps. Now it’s a Corpse. We added the “e.” Bringing you a feel-good pun.

Our board thought they did the right thing, ruining the sanctuary. They had a whole meeting where they talked about the Mishkan’s reckonings. (Rabbi Mendel)
You get it? Reckonings in the Tabernacle. Reckoned. Its accounting. They just wrecked the shul. The board didn't account for anything. And this is why we allow rabbis to decipher what the laws are. And not the recording secretary of the board.

***Note: You've learned how puns can be used for education, journalistic reporting, and how to help one sell Israeli products. The education you received today should be an inspiration for you to never give up, no matter how unsuccessful you are at something. Success never stopped us from bringing you puns. And don’t listen to anybody on the board when they suggest that it's tradition to wreck the shul, even if that's what they've been doing for many years.

Announcements
Flights to Israel are now through Egypt. Thank Gd our congregants are safe. Our congregants that were in Israel did come back through Egypt. That’s how much they wanted to get out of Israel.
 
Shul Tehillim circle is not happening this week. Malka can’t make it, so there is no praying.
​
Mazel Tov to the Feldmans.
 
A Makom should only take up one seat. A Makom is your seat in shul. Everybody should know, Pinchas‘ Tallis doesn’t get a seat. His shawl isn’t a person. Even if it’s uncomfortable to say it to Pinchas. 
Pinchas. Please move your Tallis so people can sit.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: How Our People Left Israel- The Jews of Today and Other Stuff Left Out of the Bible. Why None of Our Congregants Other Than Malka Know Hebrew. How To Wish a Mazel Tov to The Feldmans on Their Mazel Tov- Events That Are Not Specified and Other Stuff Our Office Will Explain. How Many Makoms Can You Take Up- A Games Night with Our Congregants- A Form of Musical Chairs to Be Played During Minyin.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
Wise-hearted people worked on the Tabernacle. H’ didn’t want idiots... Because when you have idiots, working on the building, you have a Mechitzah that falls. The partition falls every time we Daven. You put up an egalitarian Mechitzah... It makes no sense. Wise-hearted people measure stuff. That’s why the Tabernacle didn’t fall... They took Mishkan apart, Bernie. The Tabernacle didn't fall.
And now that the wise people did their thing we speak of “the reckonings of the Tabernacle” (Shemot 38:21)... They didn’t wreck it. They reckoned it. That’s the problem with our shul. Our board thinks they’re fulfilling Gd’s word by wrecking everything. They ruin the shul and they think they're filling the Beit HaMikdash Miat... A shul is supposed to be a small Temple. And ours is very small, because of messed up renovations, that just turned into destruction... How you call breaking a wall “renovations” is...

The materials. This is what we got from the people. They weren’t just wise. They were giving. Which is why the renovations of the Tabernacle didn’t take three years. The donations to the Mishkan were given... You people say you will give. It doesn't happen. By the Tabernacle, they donated what they said they'd donate. They weren’t trying to all work tax write-offs at the same time...
It worked because their Levites showed up for services... And they showed up on time...

Even when they traveled. Even when they were in the dangerous desert, they did things right. They reckoned in the hard times.
They were worried about hate, but the one “whose heart motivates him” donated (Shemot 35:5). They said they want to help, not like our congregants... You ran when we asked you to hold up the Mechitzah, Brian. Because Brian has no heart. That’s what made them people with hearts... I’m not sure. I’m guessing the desert was dangerous, with Amalek and the Ites.
We need people with heart who show up... People with heart donate. They give even in the hard times. They participate in building. Not ruining... What has been hard Brian?... I know it's hard to get into a new series. That's a very tough time. We all go through hard times in our lives, when we finish streaming a series and have no idea what to do...
They didn't have nice cars back then. They didn't have fancy houses in the desert... They didn't have trucks taking up the whole highway moving their homes. You think everything was so easy in the desert, because of the Manna. I get it Cheryl. It wasn't as easy as you have it. You have Manna every day. A whole supermarket full of it...
It's about heart. This Drasha is about heart... Not about going to the supermarket and picking up food you find disgusting and donating it to poor people. That is just rude...

You need heart. Flights to Israel are messed up. I get it. But it's our homeland. It's where we pray to be... You're all praying to get out of there. "Oh. H'. Please help me get out of Jerusalem." That's your prayer... Why? Because you have no heart.
So the idea is to travel out of Israel, through places that hate Jews, to avoid places that hate Jews... Egypt. Germany is now the safest place to travel through... Turkey. Felvel came back through Turkey, who promises to destroy Israel.
You couldn’t spend more time in Israel. How you wanted to get out of there. You were willing to risk your life...
But you Daven in Egypt. You show up on time to services when there is nobody to pray with... I get it. Leaving Egypt. That is when we erected the Mishkan. Is that what you're all doing running out of Israel? Trying to rebuild the Tabernacle?!

You need heart to do stuff right.
Egypt is separating men and women in the airports. Which the Feinwitz family appreciated. Mr. Feinwitz hates his wife.... We only separate for prayer and celebrations. We travel together in this shul... OK. Unless if it’s on a bus.

And now there’s no Tehillim. Our people need Tehillim now. They’re getting bombed. But they don't get the prayers of Psalms because Malka is the only one in this shul with a heart... Malka has a wise heart. Wise-hearted Malkie.
And that is why Malka is in Israel right now. Stuck there. Because she has a heart... People booking bad tickets, and forgetting to catch their flight, takes heart... I don't know if Malka would have helped build the Tabernacle. I can say, she would've donated something. I know she dropped off the expired box of Cheerios for the poor people... At least it was a name brand, Mark. You're bringing Good Value ‘O’s... Is that even a brand? It's a sale sign. You donated Walmart Sale Sign ‘O’s. The poor people do not appreciate your heart.

What are the Feldmans celebrating?  We just got a Mazel Tov in the announcements. Nothing else... Well. Mazel Tov on your Mazel Tov. You should be blessed with good heart and reckonings. And a board that is not involved in your home's renovations. They will wreck it.

Pinchas. Heart is not about taking up the whole things. Moshe didn't help with the reckonings, and the reckon the whole place for himself...
You take up whole row with his Tefillin, coat, bags. His Tallis has a spot. A spot for a Tallis. We’re going to charge your Tallis on the High Holidays.
People sitting next to you might happen in shul. That's what happens when you pray with people... There are other people here... Your Shtender has a chair. It’s a free-standing lectern with its own chair. You have a conductor table in shul with its own seat.... And you were all against pews. At least you could justify a pew being yours... It's five seats. But one. 
I'm just asking you all to have heart. To share. To give. To not mess up the building of our shul like the dumb-hearted.

When you have a heart, nothing stops you from being good. Man's Search for Meaning. Read it... I know it's not in Hebrew. Yet, it's a great Sefer. It's Torah… It’s not because you haven’t read the book. You have no heart because you’re an idiot.
When you have a good heart, you don't take up every seat... It is wise-hearted to keep Bernie away. I get it. In that case, taking up space...
When you keep that heart you travel as a Jew and risk your life. You travel to Israel. You say Tehillim, even without Malka. You move. When you have a good heart, you're in good shape. Your cardiovascular system...
No heart. Just selfishness. This is why we lost the shul basketball league this year. No heart.

You win with heart. Renovations are done right with heart. You reckon with heart. And with heart, we wish the Feldmans a Mazel Tov... People didn't donate Mazel Tovs to the Tabernacle...

Rivka's Rundown
The rabbi ended the Drasha on a whole fitness thing, talking about having a good heart. And somehow aerobics leads to donations.
​And even after the sermon, people still haven't paid their Yom Kippur Yizkur Appeals.  But they did donate a bunch of Chametz to the poor people, dropping the expired cans off at the shul, reckoning the shul very not Kosher for Pesach. 
I have a feeling people clean their homes, drop off their Chametz at the shul, and claim it's for poor people. Basically, their donations are their issues they're throwing at the shul. They trauma dump their garbage on the shul.

Very few people were in shul. They saw it was a double Parsha. That scared them away. To quote Evie, “The Levites didn’t show up when there was a double Parsha.”

That supermarket full of Manna line. Brilliant. That's Jewish theology in four words.
Why the rabbi always talks about fancy cars in the times of the Torah. No idea. We know Lincoln Town Cars didn't exist back then.
I think the rabbi's main point was they didn't have a Kosher section in the desert. And they still donated to their shul. Which was the Mishkan. And they showed up to services.

The rabbi ended his sermon with a shul chant. “We are Beis Knesses Anshei Emes uSefilah and we have heart. When the game is on, we always start.” Made no sense and it had no beat.
The name of our shul is too long to root for. That's why we always lose.

I guess the Ites are a people. The rabbi said so.

The rabbi had to take back the risking your life part with the whole leaving Israel thing. It scared people. In a class during the week, he was asked when it's fine to risk your life. He made it clear that the only time it's fine to risk your life is when Kashering your kitchen for Pesach. At that point, throwing boiling water and taking a blowtorch to your home is fine.

All of these flights are crazy now. Got to fly through the most dangerous places. Truth be told, Iran is the safest place to fly through. Nobody is aiming for those airports.
The IRGC of Iran really kills flights and vacations. They will ruin a good trip.
Our Jewish people over here will do anything to not be in Israel. Our congregants will show their solidarity in every way but being there. They will go on a walk for Israel. They will shop for Israel. They dedicate their vacations to Florida to Israel. At the Kiddish luncheon, Michel dedicated his gefilte fish to Israel, and ate it.

Malka is not back from Israel because she missed her flight. She wanted out of Israel too. She's just as much of a heretic as every one of us. But she does lead a good Tehillim prayer service. Very melodic.

Tehillim circle is messed up. They just come to talk. Most of them are knitting scarves. It’s more of a sewing circle. A sewing and talking about people circle. It’s a Tehillim Lashon Hara circle. Being that we have some Israelis who show up, and they're talking in Hebrew, it sounds very religious.

The donations are messed up. I'll just leave it as that. Our shul is the expired food bank.

At least the shul announced some stuff that was happening this week. Like a Mazel Tov to the Feldmans. A Mazel Tov sounds like enough of an event. A Mazel Tov is something to celebrate. I love hearing "Mazel Tov." If you see me, wish me a Mazel Tov. Mazel Tovs are always good. If my husband dies, I'll be fine hearing Mazel Tov.

Taking up five Makoms. Not a lie. These people take up five seats. His tallis has a spot. The guest stood for forty-five minutes, trying to figure out if it was proper to ask the Tallis to move.
They all take up four to six spots. Whole rows. They take up whole rows. I think they pay dues and they feel they have the right to a row. Our shul holds a hundred eighty people or five of our members at morning Minyin.
B”H there are no pews. I'm against the rabbi and his pews idea. If there were pews, Pinchas would take up the whole shul. He would have at least five pews. A pew for his Tefillin. His Tefillin would have a pew. He would lay out his jacket. I was once in a waiting room with Pinchas. No other family in the ICU got a couch. He claimed them all. One of them was Pinchas' coat. One couch was the food he picked up at Costco. He said he needed a couch for it because the boxes of chips were too big.

Because they called for the musical chairs Makom game to be played during Minyin, nobody showed up to the event. It turns out that prayers chase people away from our shul.

You can't beat the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps regime (IRGC) of Iran. No matter what, you can't win. No Middle Eastern country has ever lost. Never lost a battle. Never lost a war. I don't even think they've lost in the Olympics. Ask them. They've never lost.
Egypt won in 1967. Ask them. “We didn’t want the airplanes. The Sinai was not something we wanted. It's like a desert. And the Suez Canal?! Who needs that... You think we were surprised?! We had our planes so that Israel could blow them up. To save fuel... We attacked them to lose. That's how we won.” You can't beat that. They will always win.
Turkey's president, Erdogan, still thinks he's running the Ottoman Empire.
Let's spend time focusing on what the IRGC has said on the news the past couple weeks. Why? It's fun.

Did you hear Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign affairs minister for the IRGC, saying they're winning. “Navy ships going down. We wanted that. Our plan was to lose our ships. That’s how we like to fight wars... We’re winning the war. It’s good the Ayatollah is dead. We wanted that.” And he was smooth about it. Like their leaders getting bombed was their strategy. "The IRGC leaders thought them getting hit and dying was best for their strategic plan to keep the IRGC in power."
They always want the people to die. That's their tactic. For their people to die and to lose their arsenal. You can't beat that. “That other guy that served for a day. That Ayatollah? We wanted him dead. We told Israel to take him out.”

America thinks they're winning, but no. Araghchi has already won. “And we are going to attack now... With what? Calamitous action." No idea what "calamitous" means here, but it sounds scary. And they will talk like they're winning with that scary Biblical language. "We will now break them like a bolt of iron. We will attack with a force of Ninveh. As has never been seen... We don’t have planes or ships. That is correct. We will use those... Now, it shall to rain down. Sulfur from thunderous skies." They can beat you with nothing.
No munitions and they can still win. It starts to drizzle, you feel a drop of rain, and he's claiming the Ayatollah planned that attack. There is no winning.

You can’t beat these guys. Have you ever heard of an Iranian losing a judo match? No. They can’t lose.
If they’re losing the war, they’ll beat you at gaming. You see the footage of you losing the battle you won. They have gamers streaming Grand Theft Auto, blowing up US aircraft carriers with rocket launchers. And they will share that. Animated wins are wins. The IRGC counts those.

You can’t make them look bad. Their ambassador on BBC is going off on how the IRGC is kind. BBC is asking, “But you killed your people. You slaughtered the children.” He’s got the answers. “That was because of the US and Israel.” “But they didn’t start the war yet.” "We knew they would. You see we are democratic.” “But you disconnected the internet.” “We communicate by phone in Iran... We all agree. A hundred percent. We share the same opinion.” “But there are protests. Protests against you.” “But they still agree.”
The IRGC ambassador goes on, "We’re a democracy. Do you see any protests now?" “No. Because you killed them.” “But we let them protest.”
This guy is selling one opinion. One opinion for everybody in the country. What the opinion is about, we don’t know. But they all agree. He'll tell you, “We all like Tahdig.”  
The BBC anchor continues, “What about the women?” “They’re treated very well. They can express their opinions.” “But you killed them.” “Because their life in Iran wasn't good. Under the regime. Very bad. An act of kindness. Would you want to live like that. Under a regime like ours.”
How he turned that last one. Brilliance. I can't say that all of what I am documenting is verbatim.

They can change any story. They're even saying it’s wrong to target civilians. How that happened? How? The IRGC targets civilians, killing thousands of children on a regular day in winter, and then makes an uproar about killing civilians. And the BBC, CNN and New York Times are in agreement. It’s perplexing.  Perplexing and brilliant.
Shooting at Kuwait and the UAE, the IRGC explains, "There was an American military base at the hospital... Well, we thought there was. That's where we put our bases. Hospitals, schools, airports." "Is that right?" "When we do it." The CNN clearly understands the logic.
CNN commentators are explaining, "We want to make it clear. Targeting civilians is wrong, when it's not the IRGC or Hamas, or Hezbollah. As are US strikes at an IRGC military installment. Committing another war crime." And that somehow sells. You cannot beat these guys. The US will get blamed for not targeting civilians.
Press the IRGC about civilian killing being wrong, you hear, “We aimed at US military bases.” “But the target was a thousand kilometers off.” “We have bad aim.” You can’t win. They make targeting and massacring civilians sound good. You can’t beat these guys. 

If you don't lose to Iran, you will lose to CNN and BBC. They will make you look bad. "And Donald Trump saves millions of lives. Iranians are free. They can now choose their future. Americans will never be held hostage again. There is peace in the Middle East." "How dare he!!!"
And if their regime goes down. “We were always pro democracy. We only killed the protesters for democratic purposes.” And that will make sense to the BBC anchor.

War will be over. The eighth Ayatollah will be in his flat in Britain, watching a series on Netflix, taking interviews with BBC, smoking a hookah. "We won." "But you're on your couch. Can't even go to Iran to visit." "I wanted out of Iran. That was the plan. Have you seen what the IRGC did to that country?!"

So why are we in this war? To win.

Postscript
This one just happened on CBS. A little extra treat of Iran winning. Araghchi is on Face the Nation, keeping a straight face. "America is committing war crimes." Just brilliant.
Margaret Brennan goes on, "Why are you sending drones into countries that are not involved and aiming at civilian targets?" Araghchi continues, "Well obviously, they know Americans. Ever met an American. They're very annoying." "You are aiming at civilian targets." "It's a fact we're only aiming at American targets. We just have very bad aim.” He keeps on stating facts now, “The Strait of Hormuz is not closed. It's a fact. People are just scared to go because they're scared of the US." "But you are the ones blowing up the ships." That comment stopped that part of the conversation.
When asked why he has internet access and the people don’t, Araghchi answered, "I have access to internet because I am the voice of the Iranian people… They have no internet access because of security." He said that all with a straight face. Deadpan. The guy is brilliant.
 
If we’ve learned anything, just repeat anything a Middle Eastern diplomat says, and you can get a laugh. Araghchi is brilliant. Great delivery. Says all of it with such a straight face.

(Shemot 22:4-5) If your animal ruins somebody else’s field or you start a fire, you have to pay. You have to pay for being an idiot that nobody likes. And if you slam your locker at my gym, it’s a Mitzvah to smack you. That's a Psak.
I enact rabbinic decrees in locker rooms when I'm trying to relax in the Shvitz.

Rambam (Hilchot Teshuva 7:5) teaches "All prophets commanded us to do Teshuva.” Always telling us we have to repent. Always focused on the negative. Never, “You guys are doing great with the idols."
 
(Devarim 25:17–19) We are commanded to remember Amalek to erase their memory. And we’re commanded to read that, in order to remember them, to not remember them. It’s not easy, but we have to remember to not remember Amalek. You forget things by remembering them.
Please forget that I wrote that. But remember what I wrote, but only to not remember what I wrote.
 
Everybody must fight in a Milchemet Mitzvah. (Rambam Hilchot Melachim 5:2) A war to protect Israel from enemies “you force the nation to go out.” Rambam left out the part, “Unless if you’re Charedi.” I said it.

You should forget what I taught here. But remember what I taught, so you can forget it, to remember it.​

Announcements
We pray for Israel, our Israeli soldiers and our American soldiers, even if members of our shul are against prayer because of Trump.

Jewish athletes are causing antisemitism by liking America. Be safe. Don’t say you support hockey. Their patriotism is very not American. We as a shul stand against hockey players who support the USA. The board’s official statement: “We’re against anybody who represents their country in the Olympics. Patriotism is not American.”

We are sorry to all who planned to fly to Israel. Iran has ruined your vacation again. In support and solidarity with our Jewish brethren getting bombed in Israel, we are planning a shul trip to Florida.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: Why Trump’s the Reason You Quit Your Job & Your Wife Left. Jewish Athletes & Love of America- How Appreciation and Hockey Cause Jew Hatred. Follow-up Class- How Jews Are the Reason for Every Hockey Fight.  How to Throw Out Mishloach Manot. Trips and Iran's War Against Vacation.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
(Shemot 33:12, 33:18) Moshe seems to plead with Gd to know Him by name. He wants to see Gd’s “glory.” He wants to know more about H’. And I can say that I know enough about the board. I would be happier not knowing any of your names... When you care, you want to know more. There's an intimacy to a relationship, not a constant nagging to give shorter speeches. A wanting for your rabbi to get a little vacation, so him and his family can enjoy themselves...

(Shemot 33:20) Moshe is not able to see Gd’s face, as H’ tells Moshe, “Man cannot see My face and live.”
I would rather not see the faces I see in shul today... I wouldn’t mind if everybody here was behind a rock... Maybe H' just doesn't want the congregants to be coming to see Him. Because that can get very annoying.

Why does Moshe want to see H’ so much?
If you love and care, you want to know... None of you want to know about dues.
When there’s love, there’s a desire to know more. Which doesn’t exist in the Feinwitz household. I believe they are separated. And I don’t believe they have seen each other’s faces in two months... Mrs. Feinwitz has not requested to see the man.

Moshe wants to see H’ so much because Moshe wants truth. Moshe vTorato Emet. “Moshe and his Torah are Truth” (Baba Batra 74a). He wants to connect with all truth. Not lies. Like Mr. Finkelberg and his new concept for a shul pool... I understand it rhymes. That doesn't it make it good for our shul. You don't come to shul to then take a dunk and head to the Shvitz... I know the JCC is open on Shabbis. Doesn't make it the right. Truth. It does let us know which of our members are Apikorsim... I can tell. It's the ones that are not overweight.
You can only know truth when you know the deep desires. When you are intimate. When you love your spouse. Not like the Feinwitz Mishpuchi. You have to see the face. See the person...
​
Do you know what is going on for the people of Israel? Moshe would. He wants H' to be with His people. Moshe doesn't say he wants a board for H's people. Nowhere does Moshe say, "I think our board president, Ruchel, is good for the people. Everybody should know her."
Do you want to know more about Israel. Do you pray for them. A desire to know. An intimacy. A connection. To connect our people to H' and not messed up Mishloach Manot with bite size Snickers that can't even hold more than an "s"... If it can't hold the whole name, it's not a Snickers. It's a Ser, an Ner, a Rer... And now I'm entangled with candy that doesn't even have a full name... 

Connect with the president of the US. Pray for him... You people have to get over Donald Trump. He’s president and we have to pray for the end of the IRGC... There are other problems. I know. We still have a board. And our board meetings last longer than IRGC regime leaders.
The question is if Israel can stop our board from ruining our shul...
Truth is you hate Israel. You don't care about the Israeli soldiers or Israelis either... If you hate what Donald Trump is doing right now... Because you don't desire to to see his face. You got mad at Jack Hughes for wanting to go to the White House. You don't even care about hockey... So, now you hate Canada too.
What do you want to connect to? I know you don't want to connect with Gd... Because you're talking in the back, all of Davening, Max.
Can we pray for Mamdani?!... OK. You want to pray for Mamdani, because he hates Israel.
You have Tefillah Derangement Syndrome... Connect. Be intimate with the president. Invite him for lunch. For Kiddish. Pray...

It’s Jewish times of refuge, BE”H. Support your country. Support your soldiers... Our soldiers are not the IRGC. Iran not funding Hamas and Hezbollah is a good thing... Yes. Even if Trump is for it. I know that's confusing... I wish ICE would come to this shul and...
I don’t care about international law. Because the UN came up with it. How about Jewish law. Do you want to know that? How about Torah?! Maybe learn a little of Gd's word. Maybe that's more important than AARP Magazine... I know you're old.
Torah is our way to connect with H'. To see truth. Moshe's Torah is truth. Intimacy and truth. Stuff the Feinwitzs don't have.

Moshe brings the Truth to the people. A real leader... Truth. Words like genocide mean genocide. Genocide doesn't mean defending yourself. Illegal means illegal. Not the Shlomo took your Makom Kavuah... Even if it's your seat. Calm down. Not making shul painful with congregants means not having to deal with our membership...
Not to offend anybody. But you take out a terrorist regime, it's not a bad thing. Even if Donald Trump is part of it. And I just offended our board. If I get fired for not supporting terrorism... Last meeting, you were trying to figure out what should happen with the IRGC. You can't even figure out what drapes to pick for the shul's office window...
Moshe fights for Israel. And with that comes truth. He wants H’ to be with the people. And I would like that too... Because you're a bunch of Saturday JCC goers...

Supporting our soldiers is important. Very important... I know I disagree with the board. I'm here praying for our people. Our soldiers. The board is intimately trying to figure out where the Danish should be placed at Kiddish. They're praying for pastry that's not stale...

The only thing I know intimately is antisemitism. I know the board... Good question. For safety, should you say that you hate America. Let's ask an anti-Semite. Our shul president...

I want to be intimate with our people. Want to be able to visit Israel when I book a flight. The IRGC killed our last vacation... The congregation owes me another vacation...
We do blame EL AL too. We pray that EL AL won't be able to blame Iran anymore for bringing up the cost of flights.
I have intimately paid a lot for flights to Israel. The IRGC is the face of that. The IRGC, EL AL and our board... Forcing me to take vacations at the worst times. High season.
We must know Gd, our people, Israel, intimately. But that's impossible without flights. Moshe should've asked Gd to see better deals on EL AL...

We pray for safety for all. We pray for no more terror. Be a leader of a truth, like Moshe... Even on social media. Fight with your friends. Let them know they are wrong. Lose your friends. That’s what it takes... You will get fired. That is true. But you will have truth. You will have connection. And you will be broke...

How does going to Florida support Israel?... If you are not in Israel, they don't have to see you. If you didn't come to shul, that would be appreciated by the congregation. I get it...

(Shemot 33:17) H’ capitulates to Moshe’s requests. “Also this thing that you have said I will do. Because you have found favor in my eyes and I have known you by name.” Connection. That is what makes for compassion. For truth... I won't cut my sermons shorter. And I won't have more office hours. Whatever the board said, I will not do... I will be going to Israel. And I will support our troops. Because I want cheaper flights to Israel. For crying to H' out loud...
Truth can only be seen when you have a heart. Unlike these Israel haters and the board. If the board played hockey, they would've lost the game against Canada... Can you at least take pride in Jewish kids who are good at a sport. If we don't have that, all we have is Hollywood... Maybe don't say that to anti-Semites. Say the Mormons run Hollywood...

(Shemot 33:19) And with all of that H’ still says “I will be merciful when I choose to be, and I will be compassionate when I choose to be.” H’ is going to still be honest. With all the love. You can’t always show compassion. And that is why I have to say that some of you congregants are the worst thing for the Jewish people... H' chose to not be compassionate when He chose Ruchel and a bunch of Jews who think terror is good for our people, because Donald Trump doesn't like it... You not going to Florida instead of Israel is compassionate. An act of kindness to our nation...
Does Rebecca ever show compassion? Nope. Just a very annoying member of our shul who doesn't stop talking about her ideas for a new Challah role sourdough recipe...

Even Moshe still can’t see H’s face. There is always something us humans will not know. Something blocks our vision. Sometimes it's a rock. Sometimes it's Faye's fedora.
Some things will never make sense. Why Bernie comes to shul. Why he has to come to shul. Why Faye sits there with those annoying hats. Why Mitzi won't move from the Kugel at Kiddish. Other people are waiting. Why we have that back left section of very annoying congregants...
We have to know what we can. We still have to fight for what’s right. To see it. For truth. For better prices on EL AL...

There’s intimacy because there is a desire. A prayer. A connection.
H' comes towards Moshe's request. Moshe can't see All. But That's not what's important. What's important is that H' blesses him with a countenance that blinds the people and keeps them away... So, they don't bother him in his office... The desire is important. The Feinwitzs have absolutely no desire. And I understand. If I was part of that relationship, I would want out too.
I have no desire to connect with the board. They have chosen to never show compassion. Won't even give their rabbi Pesach off... And the guy working at the bakery hates you too.
That's the truth. The Emet.

H’ is beyond this world. You can't be in this Physical Olam and fully see H’. But you can be here and connect with his compassion. What He shows when He chooses.
May we be Zoyche to see H’ and His compassion for our people, our Olympians, our soldiers. And may He disband our board...

Rivka's Rundown
The rabbi got political, and BE”H we will have fifteen less members next week.
I think the rabbi compared the board to the IRGC and Tucker Carlson.
What I gathered is the rabbi doesn’t want intimacy with his congregants. And that’s a good thing. Nowadays you get fired for that.
I think he also blamed ICE for not coming to our community. He was mad ICE hasn't come to our shul yet.

The Feinwitzs were hoping to get back together. They rekindled their love for one another. After the rabbi's sermon, they immediately signed the divorce papers. And there was a Bat Mitzvah in shul today. I think the rabbi called her an anti-Semite.

The board wants the rabbi to give shorter speeches. I believe everybody in our shul wants to know less of each other. Nobody in our shul has ever requested to see somebody's face more than they have to. People have stopped coming back for Seuda Shelishit on Shabbat afternoon, because they don't want to see the other members again. Truth is, most of the congregants walk with their heads down. Very immodest and egotistical people. They just don't want to see anybody.
Most of us would rather not know any names. We would rather not have people know our names. They know your name, they ask you to help. Best Shabbat meal I ever had was at a random family in Dayton, Ohio. Not one person knew my name. It got to the point mid-dinner where they were afraid to ask. I had been there too long for them to admit they didn't know who I was. I don't even think they realized I was sitting there. I didn't have to pass a thing.

The rabbi is truly mad about the cost of trips to Israel. I think that's what this war is all about. He just wants a deal on flights. He wants Israel and America to win the war in Iran so that he can find a sale on Travelocity. He's convinced that's why Israel is in this.
He also made the point that it's because of terrorists that we have to stand in security lines and get everything checked at the airports. Before that, it was much easier to shoot people on planes.

I brought up the politics at work this week. Not good. I realized I can't bring up anything I see in the news. I would be showing up every day saying, "People have died. And more people dead." People at my work don't like to hear that, unless if it's about a Jew. That at least brings a smile.

It is a time of Jewish peace. Be”H.
Oh. The rabbi got people mad, showing support for Israel and America. As Kim said, "Supporting the government. That's not very American." 
The Jews are mad that Jews might be safer without Iran. As Brian said, "Feeling safe is not Jewish. I am starting to feel a bit secure about myself. I'm turning into a Goy."
I got in a five hour argument with one of my friends at shul who made it clear that the real problem with this war is the Epstein Files. She got that from CNN. As she said, "That's exactly how it was reported. And they also said Mamdani is proIsrael. Which is why his wife likes posts which say to get the Jews out of Israel. I think she also wants them out of New York." She also mentioned later in the week that they had Mahmoud Khalil over to break the Ramadan fast, as a sign of support for the Jewish people. I think Mamdani's wife wants Jews dead. I'm beginning to think last week was a very heavy week.

Our members hate themselves so much. They will only pray for more antisemitism. That's their Tefillah. They hate the vLamlshinim prayer. They want a Bracha that says, "Our enemies should be blessed with more weapons, because of Donald Trump, who is trying to help our people."
Nothing bothered the people more than the rabbi praying for the end of terror. Our membership feels that’s not politically correct. As that’s their tradition. And they have the right to their tradition.

Iran truly kills vacations. As the rabbi said, "The IRGC's objective. is to get flights cancelled. And to have EL AL charge more."

That's how they support Israel. They don't visit.

The rabbi told a beautiful story about how you can get to know H' by getting to know a stranger. He quoted a rabbi. Forgot the rabbi's name. Just be happy I remembered this. All Moshe could see was an image of H', and a stranger is only an image. Which that stranger is. Created in the image of Gd, get to know that image. I think the point of that story was strangers are better than members. He brought it in the sermon to say that he doesn't want to know any of our membership. At least more than he already does. And he hates the board.

People want to know what they can do with wicker. They got Mishloach Manot on Purim and they're stuck. There are classy people out there who insist on wicker gift baskets. They refuse to use plastic or paper bags with clowns on them.
Not one of our congregants has any idea what to do with wicker. I know this, because they drop off their baskets at our shul and run. I see them on the security cameras. They look around, make sure nobody is watching, then they leave their trash and jet. And they don't pay dues. Our congregants are a bunch of punks.
Other than Mishloach Manot, we’re at a loss. Wicker is an anomaly. ​
Let’s try to explore if there's any practical use for wicker, other than holding snacks you’re trying to get out of your house.

You can't throw it out. You can't recycle it. Can't burn it. Reusing it is wrong. It's not even a material. And now I'm confused.

Baskets. You can use wicker for baskets. You can use it for gift baskets. Gift baskets is about all you can do with wicker.
You can probably use it for stuff that came in the gift basket. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing you can use it for small candy bars. Bite size Snickers. An open container for candy with a wrapper that can only hold one letter of the sweet's name.

​Wait. There is Kiddish. You can use wicker for Kiddish. If there's Kichel, you can use wicker. 
Challah. You can use it on the Shabbat table if your family is not financially stable. If you can't afford a Challah basket. Wicker.

People are still trying to figure out if there are ways to reuse wicker. No idea. I've never seen repurposed wicker. I've seen it grow mold. You can grow mold with it.
We use it at Kiddish, we have to put a napkin in it. By definition, wicker is dirty. Reusing it is wrong. However, if you fully cover it, you can use it for Challah and Kichel.
For all Jewish use you want to use a napkin.

Our shul has a storage room full of wicker. Nobody on our staff purchased the wicker. It's just there. A full room of wicker.
You can drop off wicker at our shul. Apparently, our office doesn't notice. With the video of our felon congregants, they don't notice. I would say it's wrong, but if nobody notices, you're fine. You can drop it off and store it at Beis Knesses Anshei Emes uSefillah.
You can drop off wicker with all the other stuff you want to get rid of. Like old toys your children broke, and books you don't use, like Chumashim. Books people want to throw out usually include Sifrei Kodesh, holy books like Torah and Halacha books. Because our congregants don't use those. I would say that there is use for Chumashim, but they don't learn. 
Why people don't throw out broken toys and expired cans is something we're studying at board meetings. Like everything we discuss in committee, such as renovations, we haven’t figured it out. But we talk about it. We can't figure out why they drop their trash off at shul and don't throw it out, as none of it is made out of wicker.

To get rid of it, our shul had a prePurim wicker sale. Not one purchase. Turns out you can't sell it either. People don't even buy it.
We tried getting rid of some of the storage closet wicker. Wanted to make room for maintenance supplies. It looks weird with a vacuum and ladder sitting right at the main entrance to the shul. Wicker would be better synagogue decor.
We should've had a prePurim wicker mold removal event.

Lawn furniture can be made out of wicker. However, it's hard to use a chaise lounge as a basket. So I would stay away from it. And that is the real reason why there isn't much of a market for wicker lawn furniture. It's hard to wrap Hamentashen and a small bottle of Manischewitz in an ottoman.
Lawn wicker is also a good way to grow mold faster.

Point is, you can use wicker for gift baskets. Or there is wicker reuse as a Kichel napkin molder. And then there’s always Easter. Easter has baskets.
The one Purim tradition our congregants keep is dropping off wicker and leftovers at the shul. They hold that tradition dear. Learning the Megillah is not the focus. Dropping off trash is the focus.

As a modern rav, I've recently suggested to throw out wicker. Many have commended me on the revolutionary Psak. They said, “As long as the shul throws it out. I will leave it at the shul.”

​Let's take a stroll down memory lane to David complaining about Hatzalah cars that are made smaller so that people can save more lives and people trying to Daven at the Kotel, all while trying to push through crosswalk reform in Israel, with the Kibbitzer's pictures of laughter from last month. We want to thank David Kilimnick for sharing a picture of kids smoking a cigarette, trying to take down the institution of Chinuch (proper Jewish education).

Thank you David for spreading Torah and the idea of children smoking as something positive. Too many people judge that kind of thing.

Announcements
There will be Mishloach Manot restrictions. Do not give anybody Mrs. Felsenblum Hamentashen. Other people also don’t like them. We do not care if they ended up by you. Be fair to other people and don't throw that nutmeg poppy Hamentashen onto anybody else. And no wicker baskets. We have had many members who have no idea how to throw wicker out. Thus, leading to the shul’s wicker piles. Let us not call them "gift baskets." Let's call them "gift ziploc bags." This will save a lot of trash.
 
Megillah reading will start on time. Which means, come to shul and don’t talk. Shlomo will have a hissy. He comes to shul to Daven. It’s annoying. We’ve tried dealing with the issue of members who don’t talk in shul.
Also, we ask that people do not get excited when they hear the name “Haman.” Over the years we’ve realized that it sounds like you’re cheering the guy on.
 
We will be giving children a lot of candy. Our shul understands the importance of Jewish education, Jewish holidays and diabetes.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: Mordechai and How He Didn't Have Hershey Kisses in Mind When He Was Thinking Gift Baskets on Purim. What to do with Wicker- A Jewish Response to a Pile of Baskets. How to Ruin Shul by Davening & Not Talking Like the Back Left of the Congregation and Mark. Haman Banging Techniques that Don't Sound Like You Love the Guy. How You Can Tell a Thin Jew is a Bad Jew.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
Purim is Monday evening. And we shall celebrate... We celebrate. Purim is a holiday. That's what we do on holidays. We celebrate... We get drunk properly.
There’s a ritual.

When the Kohens were inaugurated, there was a ritual. You take unleavened bread... Not Hamentashen. They didn’t have Oznei Haman in the Tabernacle. And nobody likes Mrs. Felsenblum's poppyseed Hamentashen... We don’t call them Haman’s ears in English, because people would be more disgusted by that than Mrs. Felsenblum’s Tashen… No leavening. Anything you leaven, you mess up. Our congregation is very bad with leavening. None of you have any idea what to do with sourdough. And then with Pesach coming and the way you clean. Unleavened loaves...
Rituals. You dress the Kohanim. As part of the service, you show up with clothes. The first time Tim showed up in his bathing suit. He thought he was going to Davening at a pool... It’s a shul. Not a pool...

(Shemot 29:5) “And you shall take the clothes and dress Aharon...” You’re making the Ephod and the tunic... You use it to dress people... You have a suit. You wear it.
Even the Kohen Gadol has to get dressed. You serve H’. You get dressed... I am not supporting that huge black thing on our Chazin’s head. I have no idea where that was in the Beit Hamikdash. There is nothing that says you have to take a huge piece of satin and throw it on your head, in the Torah. Purim did not exist yet...
If it didn't say to dress Aharon, the Kohens of this shul would Duchening in tank tops. You would be doing the priestly blessings in undershirts...
You dress properly. You consecrate... That's how you consecrate. You dress properly.
Purim is coming. We have to consecrate the shul... Dress nicely. Dressing like a Han Dynasty Asian in not proper Jewish dress. Unless if you were living in China twenty-two-hundred years ago. If you were a Jew living in China in the times of the Second Beit HaMikdash, fine. But you're living in Topeka... Let's consecrate with a suit. How about this Purim you dress like a Mensch. That's a costume... A costume is something you wear that is different than what you usually wear. Hence, the suit is a costume for our male congregants...
When anointing Aharon there was correct dress. Not like Raizel, who's wearing an evening gown like she's getting married at Kiddish...

If there is anything we learn. Ceremony is important. And our shul needs to get things right. At the Berkman wedding, the flower girl. She was throwing roses everywhere. Petals all over. The bride walked on carpet. Straight carpet. No flowers. My wife got hit in the face with a rose...
Like the inauguration of the Kohanim, did we cook right? Did we dress right? Did we make the right food? Did we make the right clothes?...

Mrs. Felsenblum definitely messed up the Hamentashen... You can leaven Hamentashen. That's one thing you can leaven.
The Mrs. Felsenblum Hamentashen. Is she using chickpea flaxseed husk???
Healthy Hamentashen. Again. An issue. You're consecrating the Hamentashen wrong. Dough. Use dough...
You make Mishloach Manot, you do it it right. You don't give Halloween candy... I don't care if people are dressing up like Asians. Which I find offensive. It's sacrilege. Orange candies are not allowed... 
It's not an event. It's a ritual, and there is a process to rituals. One that takes very long with our Chazin reading the Megillah. He likes to make things painful. And we are supposed to celebrate... Because we didn't die. That's reason for celebrating Bernie is that we didn't die. You're almost ninety. You should at least be able to connect with this.
Mishloach Manot is about spreading Simcha. Not Mrs. Felsenblum's Hamentashen... 
It's not about celebrating wicker. Every hoarder in our shul has wicker. Not one person knows how to throw out wicker...

Shlomo is right. We should be Davening in shul, on time. He's annoying, but right. 
You prepare the clothes, you shower, you prepare the sacrifice. And you sacrifice the sacrifice on time. You don't give the day's sacrifice tomorrow... Because it's today's sacrifice.
On time means on time... You read Megillah on time, and you finish on time when you don't have our Chazin. The guy is so painful... Even hearing people cheer at Haman is not as painful as you annunciating every word. People would've left the Kohens' inauguration service if you were leading it... It would've taken two weeks if you were leading it. They would've left before the Kohen got dressed...

It's our new thing. Our shul is now going to be on time... After Shacharit. Nobody showed up on time today. But. We’re now starting everything on time... That means when it’s announced for, Bernie.
Sometimes we have to change traditions. We're going to start Davening on time. No more talking in the middle of Layning. It's Torah reading. Not Torah talking. We're going to give people Mishloach Manot that are enjoyable. Haman screams are going to be against Haman...
Seriously, you have to make sure that you don’t sound like you’re not rooting for Haman. "Woooh" is not a show of anger. It's a show of somebody getting drunk.
Let's consecrate Megillah reading and not cheer for Haman...

If your children are not eating the candy and Hamentashen, they're probably not learning Torah.
For children to be religious they need to have the right food. And that is food made by Paskesz... Hamentashen are fine for the Jewish child as well. Just not Mrs. Felsenblum's. We want the children to love their tradition.
Point is you have to prepare right. You need to first purchase the Paskesz. You need to practice the Megillah reading, so you can read it faster, without somebody dictating everything. Because you're getting paid to read it, when most people do it for free. You buy a suit, so you look like a Mensch... Tzachi has an excuse. He's from Israel. They wear jeans to weddings...
You prepare, you consecrate, then you serve H' with a Chazin who doesn't kill your holiday. Taking forever.

After Aharon is properly dressed, once we've prepared right, we bring the Karban Chatat, the sin offering (Shemot 29:14). First come right, dress not like Bluma, who's wearing a jean skirt, thinking it's 1986. Prepare yourself. Then you can start the service. You can start bringing sacrifices... It's a sacrifice to deal with our Chazin.
The first sacrifice is the sin offering. For all the messed-up rituals you guys do. You need atonement before celebration. Only after atonement are the other offerings appreciated... Because you guys get everything wrong. You don't prepare to celebrate by binge drinking. They didn't tailgate the Tabernacle.
Before Purim, I ask you all ask me for Mechilah. For forgiveness. With all your mess-ups... Yom Kippur. Yom KiPurim. A day like Purim. Apologize for messing up my holidays...
After all of this, we can celebrate. 

Some costumes you shouldn't wear in celebration. They're a sin. The strawberry shortcake outfit. Fred Flintstone. Extremely out of shape Shrek and Fiona...
There is no Mitzvah to dress like an idiot.

Let us consecrate Purim and our Hamentashen, and purchase the Stern's Hamentashen. Those are good. Those aren't made by Mrs. Felsenblum.
If we just had Torah rules for how Mishloach Manot should be made. Maybe I would get a young he bull. I would enjoy that...
Maybe you can use wicker to make the fire for a sin offering. I don't know. But that chair is broken. Throw it out...
Now that we have prepared and the Chazin knows to go faster, let us celebrate. Oh no. They're coming in from Kiddish Club now. Already drunk. Purim is just another day for these...

Rivka's Rundown
The rabbi just turned Purim into Yom Kippur with a pun.
I think the rabbi doesn't fully understand the word "consecrate." Either that, or he believes in his congregants.
Main points that I caught in the sermon. The rabbi is proposing we get rid of the Chazin and Mrs. Felsenblum's Hamentashen. They are a sin offering.

Was the rabbi suggesting we wear tunics to shul. It is clear he doesn't like the Chazin hat.
Maybe it's a Purim costume thing. It seems the rabbi is against Purim costumes. I know he’s against the Chazin hat. We definitely have to get dressed. He made that clear. Get dressed and make better Hamentashen than Mrs. Felsenblum.
I am just thinking that if it's not a suit, the rabbi would probably suggest to dress in samurai for Maariv. 

Bernie connects to nothing about Yiddishkeit. He comes to shul to not connect. He Davens to say, "I didn't feel anything." He listens to the rabbi's sermon to say, "I don't like the rabbi." He goes to Kiddish to say, "It wasn't that good." I think he's the most spiritual person in our shul.

I can’t believe the rabbi put down the sourdough. Our membership and their commitment to sourdough. They take care of it more than their children. They’re very protective of their sourdough. Avia even has a sourdough carrier sling. She wraps her sourdough in front, so she can see it.

Announcements were just Purim announcements. All other announcements were forgotten. Nobody showed up to Minyin. Sima’s Shiva house had nobody coming. Nobody even knew her mother passed. They forgot to announce that. And the Purim bake sale had no sales. Nobody knew it was happening. Shul security was happy about that. As it's always safer to have an event that people don't know about.

I have no idea what leavening Hamentashen means. I like Matzah myself. I will stick to Matzah. I can rub jelly on a triangle of Matzah too. Matzahtashen. I started making it last Pesach. Mrs. Grubmen came up with the Matzahtashen. She spends Pesach making everything out of Matzah. Turns everything into Matzah. Pizza. Pizza already sounds a bit like Matzah. I think she calls it Matzah Pizza. Then there is Matzdish. A Matzah Danish. Similar to Matzahtashen, just that it's not a triangle. Lasagntza. It's hard to say, but it tastes great. And then there's Matzah Blintzes. I believe you can take any dish, preface it with Matzah, and you have a Pesach recipe. 

I feel like people are unloading stuff on me with their Mishloach Manot.
Those flaxseed Hamentashen are messed up.

The rabbi should've never taken Shlomo's side. If people have to show up on time to services, they're not coming. More people would come to shul if the rabbi told them to come after services.
All people could talk about during Megillah reading was the rabbi and Shlomo ruining shul for them, telling them not to talk.
​
They started Megillah reading late. Again. Which the rabbi considered on time, because it was only twenty minutes late.
It’s long-standing shul tradition to be there when it doesn’t say to be there. I’ve been to events a day late, and other people showed up too.

They really do sound like they love Haman. I’ve even heard “Wooh!!!” Like they’re cheering for a team. Hate and fandom sound very similar. Our ice hockey team lost because they were rooting against the other team.

The fact we have to announce that kids will be doing unhealthy stuff on a holiday is messed up. The fact that they think there should be a candy limit. The fact that they think it's wrong for children to smoke on Purim. It shows how disconnected our congregation is from the Torah and Yiddishkeit. We're a shul full of a bunch of heretics.

We had a prePurim wicker sale. The shul felt bad throwing out the wicker. People have a very hard time figuring out what to do with wicker baskets. 
The rabbi's Psak to throw out wicker was revolutionary. Not one of our congregants has ever had any idea what to do with it. You can't throw it out. You can't recycle it. You can't burn it. You can't reuse it. You can't buy used wicker. They don't even know how to resell it.
So. For Purim, everybody bought new wicker. Instead of not using wicker, they bought more baskets. Point is, we have a storage room in the shul that is full of wicker.
​The only thing wicker is good for is Kiddish.

The Haman banging techniques seminar turned into an educational intensive on how to bang a table loud enough on Rosh Chodesh to scare everybody.

This is the Jews in sports issue and thank Gd there are no swimsuits. No Jews in swimsuits issue. Nobody needs to see that.
Here is what we saw the past couple months in sports and at the Olympics.

The Deni Avdija Saga
Deni Avdija is now hated because he's good at basketball. Who didn't see this coming?!
So much social media hatred, because he’s good at a sport. This would never happen to anybody other than a Jew. "He's averaging twenty-eight points a game. I hate Syria!!!" And of course they’re saying, "Now the Jews are running the world and basketball!" And they're right. The NBA commissioner is Jewish. We have to agree with the Jew haters here.

Let's go off on the Israeli NBA star and his bad decisions. Like a fool, Deni suggested people not share strong opinions if they don't know anything about a topic. Not very American. Then he went on to say that if you're not educated on a subject, you shouldn't talk about it. So now he's suggesting college graduates not have opinions. Only an aggressor would share such an opinion.
What kind of American is this guy?! And you wonder why people hate Jews.
And then Deni tells The Athletic, "I obviously stand for my country, because that's where I'm from..." What???! Is this guy just totally anti-American?! What kind of American supports their country?! Americans know better than to support their people.
And then he thinks that when you’re playing a game, it’s not a time for politics. You drive to the basket, you take a layup, you say, "I hate my country." That’s what normal NBA players do. Deni’s probably one of those haters who wouldn’t have kneeled during the national anthem.
And worst of all, Israelis are proud of Deni Avdija. And you wonder why so many people hate him.

Deni Avdija is the first Israeli athlete to ever make it to the NBA All-Star game and Spike Lee shows up to the game wearing a fishnet pattern Kaffiyeh and Palestinian flags. And it has nothing to do with Deni Avdija. As Spike Lee made clear, it was in support of Israel. Pure happenstance that he’s fully clad in Yasser Arafat. 
Spike Lee wrote, "I didn't know Deni as the first Israeli born All-Star. He can ball. Now I do know. Live and learn.” And what Spike Lee has learned is how to get away with stuff by lying. You say you had no idea, and it’s fine. It works. “I stabbed my husband. I didn’t realize he cheated on me.” When putting out an anti-Semitic film, Spike didn’t know that Jewish people run Hollywood when he said “Jewish people run Hollywood.” Maybe our last statement here is anti-Semitic. We take it back. We did not know. 
What Mr. Lee definitely did learn is how to steal lines from G.I. Joe. I’m guessing he also doesn’t know that “Now I Know” is Sergeant Slaughter’s line. And we just learned that Mr. Lee is not Chinese.
And he continued, "Nor was it intended as a comment on the significance of Deni being an All-Star.” He only wore it because Anthony Edwards is from Atlanta.
Turns out, Deni thinks Spike Lee should not have an opinion. Because Spike Lee is an idiot.
It turns out Spike Lee has made many inflammatory statements over the years. Every one of them against Jews. But he did not know they were against Jews when he made them against Jews.
As our contributor, Shlomo said, "Spike Lee was just trying to do the right thing." As Spike Lee was clear that he has "utmost belief in human dignity for all humankind." As such Spike will be wearing an Israeli flag to Gaza. He will walk down the streets of Gaza City to let everybody know that Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people. Thus, we will not be seeing Spike Lee at next year’s NBA All-Star game.
 
And the Olympics Saga
On February seventh burglars stole passports, suitcases, shoes, and thousands of dollars' worth of specialized equipment from Israel's bobsled team. It turns out the boycott divestment people truly do like Israeli products. And since then, a new form of divestment has begun, where you steal the Israeli products. Kind of like a divestment investment in Israeli products campaign.
This took place at their Olympic training camp in the Czech Republic. But they didn't let not having their clothes and other personal items keep them down. And the team continued training immediately after, which pissed off everybody else at the hotel. Making it hard for people to get to their rooms and sleep. The hotel manager had to stop this, saying, "Please take your sled back to the room, and find some clothes."
The Swiss announcer called AJ Edelman, the bobsledder, "a Zionist," which translates to "genocide backer" in French. It turns out AJ Edelman can’t even do simple bobsledding without being accused of killing Arabs. I believe the Swiss announcer missed this part. But I think we saw AJ using his sled to try to hit a Palestinian, who was standing at the end of the run.

At least the sports announcers don't let their lack of knowledge on a subject get in the way of their opinions.
I am just happy judo is not part of the winter games. I don't know how we would justify that with a Swiss announcer blaming our Israeli team for Hamas. “And he took the guy to the mat. The same way he killed everybody in Gaza. Like a human shield. And he's now leaving the arena. Going back into his tunnel.”

People who were competing against Jews competed in this Olympics. In judo competitions, and past Olympics, athletes refused to fight Israelis. This being the only time Arabs and Islamic Republic of Iran have refused violence against Jews in recorded history.

Jack Hughes scores the overtime goal to give America the win in the Olympics hockey finals. Hughes has a Jewish mother and Christian father. We'll take it. He’s Jewish. Aerin Frankel, goalie for the US women's hockey team, brings home the gold with three shutouts. And this is why people hate Jews. Now Jews run hockey too.
Jews have finally found a sport they are good at. A sport that takes no running or jumping. And mind you, this is ice hockey. Not floor hockey. Which means none of these athletes are Frum. They might beat Canada, but they would lose to TABC Yeshiva.
Turns out that once the British team heard Aerin was Jewish, they stopped shooting on goal and started to try to hit her.

Upon taking the gold, Jack Hughes said he was proud to be an American. Not again. Another Deni Avdija.
As if being a proud American is not enough, Jack Hughes went off, “When you get the chance to go to White House and meet the president, we're proud to be Americans, and that's so patriotic…” Oh. No. This is where the antisemitism starts. He wants to see the president. I have no idea what school he went to, but this is a poorly raised child. This is why you have to separate children from their parents. 
He didn’t stop there. He keeps going, “No matter what your views are, we're super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that." So unAmerican. And you wonder why people want Jews out of America. Not living in Israel. Living in… Not living anywhere. We went through the list of countries that want Jews.
If we've learned anything as a people, athletes should not represent their country. Especially in the Olympics.
 
More Sports That Were Left Out of the New York Times
Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans aren’t allowed at Maccabi games in Birmingham, UK. Israeli teams are allowed to play, but they're not allowed to have their fans. They’re allowed to have the other teams’ fans. And sometimes the fans for the other teams do cheer for Israel. We did catch a few chants with Israel in it. One went, “Down with Israel.” And there was one that went, “Israel go to hell.”
Maccabi fans are allowed to show up at Manchester United games. They’re allowed to go to England to root for the other teams. To quote one Maccabi fan, “It felt very Zionistic rooting for Leeds.”
It comes down to safety. It turns out soccer is a very dangerous sport because of Jews. Jews getting attacked by mobs is extremely dangerous to onlookers. When chasing Jews with bats and knives, it has happened that innocent bystanders were hit by a chair that fell. And that can’t happen.

The boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, shows to the Republican Coalition for Israel and says, "I will always stand behind the country of Israel." That's all it took. The man has Jewish fans for life. Apparently, he’s against the massacre of Jews. Not a popular stance. We love him.
As he said, "I will always be the voice for the people in Israel." And he now is. He doesn't speak Hebrew. But we don't care. The man is our voice.
Greatest speaker ever. Two sentences, he’s representing us in the UN. And I believe the UN will be a more exciting place with boxing promoters. Get some fights going in that place. Some real fights. I’ve seen the look on those people’s faces. Don King should be on that. Getting Pakistan into it.

Lebron James, a supporter of Deni Avdija, said he hopes to visit Israel. Which is a beautiful thing. He's just waiting to be able to scrape together the cash to be able to make the trip. 
And that is how expensive EL AL is.

Great Jews in Sports was published in 1983. A new edition has not been put out since. The last great Jewish athlete is Hank Greenberg.
As we have seen, a lot of great Jewish athletes are now starting to shine. With all the intermarriage, we might need to put out another volume soon.
 
That was a lot. If we’ve learned anything the past few months, B”H, it turns out they hate Jews in sports too.

I don't know Cliff, but I do have his notes. Nonetheless, I don't like calling them Cliff's notes, as Megillat Esther is a Jewish thing. I also refuse to call them Cole's, as I have never met a Jew named Cole. We shall thus call these Kfir's Notes.
Let us begin Megillat Esther.

​Chapter 1
Achashverosh, the king, has a big party. Which means a lot of drunk people. That’s how you show your wealth. You spend it and ensure people have a hangover and puke.
It wasn't an ice cream party. You want to be popular, you throw a kegger. Not a custarder.

All happened in Persia. But we know that's Iran. You can't fool us. We know the Persians are the ones causing all the problems.
Jews say they’re Persian, Persian Jews, but we know. 
 
One-hundred-eighty-seven days of drinking. And not one of them showed up to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. People didn't get addicted back then. They just kept on drinking. Hence, no issues.
It wasn't one-hundred-eighty-seven days of vanilla strawberry swirl soft serve. Though, I would've loved that. 
Nowadays, you can't even get away with one day of coming home drunk without your wife going off on you. You need a king's edict just to have a shot.

These guys were in the palace, partying. Loving it. Until a woman talked. Women can truly kill a good half year of binge drinking.
At the end of the party, Achashverosh invites his wife to show her beauty. Somehow, she didn't like the sound of walking into a room of a bunch of drunk men, for them to check her out. I'm guessing, if he would've said he wanted to have a romantic candlelit dinner, she would've come. All dinners were candlelit back then. If a guy ever asks you to a candlelit dinner in the 500 BCEs, be suspicious. 
People were like, "Wait. Why are there no women?... Achshi. You're a cool guy and all. But a hundred-eighty-six days of Bros, that's a little much." They called him Achshi. After drinking with the king for half a year, you're buddies. Buddies shorten their buddies’ name. 

Vashti refuses come. Like the annoying wife, she tells him to sober up first. "I don't want to see you drunk."
This was the first time a woman expressed her opinion in Persia. It was scary. The wise men were in shock. "Hold on. These things talk. That's not good. Did she just make a decision. Every book I've ever read says these things listen to men and cook what man wants. But they don't talk... Opinions?! Next thing you know, every man in Persia will be stuck eating chicken curry and gazpacho."
So they get rid of Vashti, because women shouldn't talk.

The drunk men were not happy that Vashti did not allow them to hoot at her. Much argument takes place as to why women should not make decisions. But nobody has any good answers, as they couldn't ask women what they thought. One fool said, "We should ask a woman. Women have good ideas." They hung him.

The wise men decide it’s not good for women to make decisions. "We must stop them. Otherwise, we will have to come back home Saturday nights to be with the family." 
Vashti is gone. She is royalty no more, and an edict is sent out that men shall rule over their homes. And the homes of Persia become very messy. Schmutz everywhere.

And this is why we have the Ayatollah.
 
Chapter 2
Achashverosh realizes that getting rid of his wife was a bad decision. Not having a wife feels bad when you're sober and you don't have a decent series to watch. 
Being a king is not easy. You can't always depend on the harem and the concubines. You only have two-thousand in the harem. What do you with all the extra free time when you're not with the concubines.
This is where the saying "you only have one-thousand concubines" comes from. Later, people perverted Achashverosh's words to be, "You only have one wife."
 
​Achashverosh wakes up by himself and realizes he needs another one of these things. "I like these Vashti things. How do I get another one of these Vashti things?" The popular word for women in those days was "things." And it wasn't considered male chauvinism. Because women weren't allowed to talk, it was considered men's rights. According to men, you had men and things.

The men decided the best way to do get another one of these things was to bring a bunch of women into the house and wait another six months to see them. To which Achashverosh responded, "This feels like a Jewish engagement."

Mordechai tells Esther, his cousin who he raised, to go try out for the role of queen. A theater dad. See it all the time in the Jewish community. "Perform for the king. It's a good gig. Marrying the king is good money. It sets you up for life. A good pension."
Mordechai needed the money. We know this. In chapter four, he’s walking around in sackcloth.

Esther joins the harem for six months of perfume. In those days, they didn't have deodorant. It took a long time to get rid of the stench of the ghormeh sabzi.
Esther is liked by the people and the king likes her the most. He decides she’s instead of Vashti. And now she can talk to the king when summoned. She better talk to the king when summoned. You don't want to make a Vashti. Vashti was the slur used for a good hundred years for women who didn't summon upon being summoned.
No other woman is allowed to talk for fear of death. Which, to be honest, makes it easier to get in a word.
 
Mordechai heard these two guys, Bigtan and Teresh, planning to kill the king. They were still into this "No Women" protest thing. When they saw the Achashverosh was willing to talk to a woman, they started the "No Kings" protest. They truthfully just enjoyed protesting, and made good money off it. They had a few months where they had nothing to protest. They started a "Concubines Matter" rally. They even rallied for "Free Lydia," where they were shouting, "Kill all the Jews," because it's fun to say that. 
Through Esther, Mordechai tells Achashverosh that Bigtan and Teresh want to kill him, so they hang Bigtan and Teresh. End of that story. I don't believe Achashverosh took this to court.
And they put it in the chronicles. This way everybody can forget about. “’And we killed them.’ Anything else happen today… ‘And the king enjoyed the teriyaki sauce.’”
No last names. In the history of mankind there has never been another Bigtan and Teresh. People don't know this, but Bigtan was very small. His friends were going to nickname him LargeMass. But his buddies went with Bigtan, as it sounded less offensive. Teresh's nickname was "Teresh."

Conclusion
There were a lot of buddies in the days of Achashverosh.
And now you can't get drunk on Purim, or your wife will get mad at you. There's a reason for edicts.
And all because Vashti talked, women are set back to having to use perfume again. And there are another twenty-four-hundred years till women's rights, Bloomingdale's and community gardens are created.

I believe this is longer than the Megillah itself. We're only in chapter two, and we haven't even discussed soft serve ice cream. It might be more useful to skip Kfir's Notes and read the Megillah on Purim.

Announcements
Do not worry about your homes. We want to let all Jews of our town in Kansas know that Mamdani does not have any control over the taxes in Topeka. Living here is still affordable. The rabbi wants to ensure the congregation that Mamdani cannot make decisions from New York for Topeka, Kansas Jews.
 
Deni Avdija represented Israel in the NBA All-Star Game, and now people hate Jews more.
We had a committee and meeting and discussed it. It's fine to support Israeli in the Olympics. Even if you may lose your job, you're allowed to say, "Israelis are good people."

Members don’t have to worry about showing up to shul. We took down the Rosh Chodesh sign. People will not be scaring families and banging tables in the shul this coming week.
The Gabai took down the Yaaleh vYavo sign. Such a Mechaiyah. A joy. A pleasure. Davening won’t take an hour and a half. And nobody will be singing.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: How to Ruin a Community- Mamdani and Our Shul’s Board. Israel and Our People- Why Nobody Comes to Our Congregation for Help- A Story of a Board Led by Ruchele. When A Shul Has Nobody Who Represents Their People in the Olympics or at a Board Meeting. Making Rosh Chodesh Very Painful with Our Chazin- How Such a Short Davening Can Last So Long and Other Miracles You Don’t Want to Witness.
​
Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
Yes. H’ goes through everything that you can give to the Tabernacle and how to make it. Because you leave anything for translation and you guys mess it up... I saw what you gave Menachem for his Bar Mitzvah. H' doesn't want you giving Him second hand books. He doesn't need stuff you're trying to get rid of... The book cover worn. The spine had creases in it...

(Shemot 25:21) “And you shall put the Cover on the Ark from above...” Because you fools would try to put the cover on the side. Some of you would try to put it on the bottom... Because you people make no sense. Malkie put the lid on the side of the pot. What happened? Soup spilled everywhere. H’ has to remind you guys that covers are supposed to cover things... And clothes cover you when you come into shul. If somebody can please tell the Filberman cousins...
(Shemot 26:11) “And you shall bring the hooks into the loops...” Because that’s what normal people do with hooks and loops. H’ has to spell it out for you people. You hook the hooks in the loops... That's why they're called hooks, Brian...

(Shemot 26:30) “You shall erect the Mishkan according to its right way, that will be show on the mountain.” It's not supposed to be the way Marty decided the back awning should look... It looks like you're entering a circus. What's with the red and yellow?! No shul has red and yellow on their awning, unless if they're selling hotdogs...
​The Mishkan is the Tabernacle. Does that make more sense? Is Tabernacle a better English word than Mishkan??? Well. I'm confused about that too... Got to spell things out for you. Otherwise, you do it the wrong way. Like the renovations and the new four by six dance floor... Who creates a four foot by six foot dance floor? Are we going to have Bar Mitzvah parties with two people?!...
When it's not Gd, it’s not right. You start coming up with messed up definitions of stuff, like genocide. You start coming up with weird commentaries about Jews using bobsleds in the Olympics to hit Gazans... You start smacking tables instead of calmly letting people know it's Rosh Chodesh... 

Sometimes there is no room for your creativity. Because you will mess up the building. You guys can’t even figure out how to put the parts of the Sukkah together... It’s not construction. It's canvas. It's a drape.
Put it together like I am telling you. Do renovations like H’ wants. Renovations of the sanctuary. There’s a reason Yankel Baruch isn’t working the drill for the new Mechitzah... Good question. I don’t believe H’ ordered people from Central America to build the Tabernacle. Though Phil has some amazing people on his staff...

You make no sense. That's why we have commandments.
Just follow H’s way and it will work out right. It will be “one.” It won't fall apart like the Lefkowitz wedding cake. Or their wedding for that matter.
The Mishkan comes together as one. Not like this shul. And I understand why nobody can stand Rob... Because H’ did not say the Tabernacle needs a bride’s room. We haven’t had a wedding here in five years...
Do things the right way. 

Mamdani also makes no sense...
Mamdani doesn't control the world. I understand he said he'll arrest Bibi... Who's going to arrest Bibi if there are no police in New York.
Mamdani is good for the Jewish people. We will finally witness the Geula and Jews moving back to Israel...
Some Jews might move here, to Topeka... I'm worried our people will be more scared of Bernie and Fran than Mamdani. You people are very scary. And then the Rosh Chodesh table whacking. Calm down. H' didn't say to frighten people. He said to pray. I said Yaaleh vYavo and had an anxiety attack... I have no idea how that tradition started. Somebody must've been mad Davening was taking too long, and then they slammed a table. Now our congregation thinks it's a law to scare everybody...

We must stick up for our athletes. That's the right thing to do. Stick up for Israel and our athletes... Not one person in this shul is athletic. Which is why I don’t support you.
Am I supposed to support you sitting on a Cybex machine??? Just sitting there.
Stick up for them. In the Olympics. They're our people. No need to get into it like Mushka. Just support them. No need to scream, "Jews. There are Jews on the screen!!! Jews in the Olympics!!!" Calm down. Some Jews are athletes too. Some Jews are in shape. You don't see them in our shul. But there are Jews who are healthy...
They're our people. Let it be known. Israelis are good people. The Israeli army is moral. Be proud. Our people are good, and our shul does not represent them...

The Rosh Chodesh sign is very scary. I understand. I see it and I get anxiety attacks. Don’t worry. It’s down. You can show to shul again. It won’t take an hour and a half for Wednesday morning Davening... It takes an hour and a half when you Daven alone, because you keep forgetting to say Yaaleh vYavo. That's on you. You can't blame the Chazin for you having to repeat Shemonah Esrei five times. You can’t focus for three minutes? What goes on in your mind during the Amidah?... We can send Michel Baruch to bang on a table and scare you into saying Yaaleh vYavo. Ever since I heard an angry Michel Baruch table slap, I have not forgotten to say Yaaleh vYavo. In fear he might whack the table harder... We've lost tables in shul to Michel's whacking...
H' did not say to break tables at shul on Rosh Chodesh. That's not one of the commandments....
So scary hearing them bang. Why the banging. We have the sign. What’s the point in the sign… And then you forget anyways. With the sign…
And then he sings it. Everybody hates you. I understand you’re the Chazin but people hate coming to shul because of you… That's the real reason people bang. People are banging because they’re mad you’re singing. You and the front right of the shul. That's why people stay away from you all in the front right. You're instigators. You egg on the Chazin and his singing. And you have bad harmony... H' never said to harmonize.

​H's way is the right way. It makes sense. You throw out everything for Pesach. And you use plastic. Plastic dishes. A lot of plastic on Pesach... Because it makes sense.
Just follow how H' says to do it...
Maybe we need brides before there is a bride's room. Maybe first Pinny should meet somebody....
H' says to say Yaaleh vYavo. Do it the first time and I will submit a proposal to the board that Michel Baruch stops breaking things in shul.
And do renovations properly, without our members... Our members should try to get in better shape... Stop being creative and things will be decent around here. Maybe people will build properly and stop trying to figure out how to fit loops into loops. It's not a shul. This place is a brain teaser...
At least we won't be walking into Shloimi and Yaelis Four Loop Circus... That's what it looks like when you enter the shul with that awning... H' wants gold plated metal looking letters on fronts of buildings. That's why every Yeshiva has it...

Worst gifts. Never get a gift from our membership.
And cover yourselves. You put a shirt on the top of your body. A sports jacket over the shirt... That's what H' wants in shul... TABERNACLE.

Rivka's Rundown
You need to spell things out for our congregants. Like the word “Tabernacle.” Our rabbi had to spell that out countless times during the sermon.
Nobody could wrap their head around Tabernacle being an English word, because the word wasn’t “building.” If Mishkan was the English word, I'd understand my language better.

Truly the worst gifts. For our anniversary we got second hand Tupperware.

I must agree with the rabbi. Canvas is not construction. It's curtain placement. Yet, our congregants want to say it's building because that's the extent to which they have ever built anything. They've suggested the shul pays people to build stuff. Other than messed up ideas for renovations, they are useless.
The rabbi gave in. He felt bad. Canvas Sukkahs is the only handy thing these guys do around the house. They put up a Sukkah and they take pride in that. And they hire a guy to come and unclog a kitchen sink. Not one member in our shul can figure that out.

All people can talk about is Mamdani. 
People are worried about Mamdani. One guy sold his home and moved out of Topeka because he's afraid of communism in New York. Worried he'll get taxed by Mamdani if New Yorkers refuse to pay the five billion dollars he wants them to pay for LGBTQ afternoon coffee get-togethers for religious children. 
I’m worried too. It feels like a lot of Jew hatred. I think I heard him say, “Jews have no rights anywhere.” And then he said, "I can make those decisions. And I'm going to tax the Jews." I think Mamdani said he controls Israel too.
That guy has guts. Who says they run the world, and yet have no power to do it?! That takes guts.

Our members get very violent around Rosh CHodesh. The Yaaleh vYAvo bang is scary as anything. It feels like a fight with the table. 
Michel Baruch put on an exhibition of Yaaleh vYavo table breaking. Now the shul lost all the tables that came in with the new renovation. That's ten thousand dollars lost. It looks like a hate crime was committed on our shul.
Due to the rise in antisemitism, Michel has been asked by parents to teach his form of karate. Which is now known as Ryu-Chodesh. Many children in our shul have signed up for Ryu-Chodesh Dojo. One or two of our new members from South America refused to show up, as dojo sounded to much like DOJ. So, Michel Baruch now just calls it a Ryu-Chodesh practice room.
As part of the Kata, upon striking with the Kiai breath they shout "Yaaleh vYavo." One kid struck a member of our shul when he noticed the person did not say Yaaleh vYavo. The child was reprimanded, as Rosh Chodesh had passed.

And then these idiots sing. I want to hurt them. There is nothing happy about Rosh Chodesh at our shul. One fool requested we do a musical Rosh Chodesh. I calculated the addition of instruments at an extra forty-five minutes. That's two hours and fifteen minutes with the Chazin.
The rabbi is right. The banging is because of the singing. It feels good to get out your anger at the Chazin. That's why I bang. I bang at Shabbat Musaf when the Chazin sings during the Kedusha prayer as well. And then I shout at the members in the front right of the shul. They start with their harmonizing, I yell at them. The only issue is I've been complimented on my harmony. It turns out my yelling sounds better than their singing. It's a bit of a compliment. I didn't know my yells sounds so good. I've been yelling at people for a while now. I think it just feeds my ego as a want to be deva. 
I also appreciate the rabbi's explanation of the secondary reason for why the banging is done in such a scary way. It's because otherwise people will be like Tzvi and forget to say Yaaleh vYavo. They whack the table, you live through it, you remember to praise Gd. 

The rabbi brought up Jews in the Olympics. That excites our congregants almost as much as seeing a Yarmulke on a TV show.
​There is not one athlete in our shul. The board took a vote, and they decided that posting your aerobics workout online does not make somebody an athlete. And they agree with the rabbi that it's Asur to post workouts, as it's forbidden to bring pain on other people.

The greater community is shaming us for supporting Jewish and Israeli athletes. They are claiming that Israel competing in the Olympics is an act of genocide. I am just happy judo is not part of the winter games. I don't know how we would justify that.
I will not stop supporting our athletes. I'm with the rabbi. "Just don't support our membership."

Here is what I saw the past few months in the news.

For anybody who missed it. Antisemitism still exists.
Guy rams into 770 with his car. Some people are willing to do go way too far to get their dollar.

Israel laser missile defense program is shunned by the world. It makes it not fair when they shoot rockets at Israel. ​To quote, "People shoot missiles at Israel. Missiles cost a lot. It's a waste when they don't hit... And this is why we hate Jews." Turns out the world is very mad about this idea of Jews being safe. As are Spike Lee and Tyler Oliveira.

New electric water drip system in Israel is working. Baruch H'. No idea what it is. But it works. And it's good to know that. Happy we got that news. I will do what I can and not get involved.

Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, is now doing press conferences on subways. He's already bankrupt city hall to the point that he has no office.
The mayor said, "It's better to meet on the subway. There are less rats here."
The people in the cart for the press conference were not very happy. They were trying to figure out if they got on the wrong train. Middle of the news conference, the woman in the back got up and asked Mamdani if the train was going to stop at Times Square. To which Mamdani said, "No. It's too dangerous. And the garbage hasn't been picked up." I'm not positive that all happened. But I think it did.
I think he's the only New Yorker that feels safe on the subways. He's not Jewish.

Jews are still against Jews and Israel, as it is a Jewish value to hate Jews.

Universities in Europe want to boycott Israel, again. They still can't get it right. Turns out they're not very good at not buying Israeli products.

Nothing positive about Jews was in the news. Even China is spreading propaganda about Jews. Not very happy about it, the CCP is doing what they can to make up for thousands of years of not knowing that Jews messed up their lives too.

Israel breaks the ceasefire by getting shot at.
New Media Definition of the Week: Breaking a Ceasefire- When they shoot at you.

Britain has new laws which don't allow you to share thoughts. So, if you're from England, please do not read any of this. You will get arrested. 

Apartheid Free Zones have been created in Hackney, Bristol, Sheffield, and Brighton. Apartheid free means that Jews are not allowed. Many of our readers may not know this, but the definition of apartheid is the presence of Jews in your neighborhood. Apartheid free also means not buying anything from Israel, because Jews live there with Arabs.
To make the people of the neighborhood feel comfortable they went around and knocked on Jewish doors, to let Jews know they suck. They were quite polite about it. Some even rang the bell. "Top of the morning to you. And you suck. And you are killing people right now. Enjoy your tea. You Earl Grey genociders."
They wanted to give Jews speeches about how they suck, and how they shouldn't be allowed to live. And they figured the proper way to do this is with a neighborly Jew hunt. They took down addresses of people who think Jews have the right to live in a country with people who don't want to kill them. In order to fight genocide.
Going from door to door, asking people if they're Jewish was met with some criticism by locals who made it clear that you don't have to ask people if they're Jewish. "You can just see if they have a Mezuzah." As the protector of our people went on, "You can just mark down the homes that have the Mezuzahs on them."
In many of the Chasidik neighborhoods the Jew hunters received a lot of Tzedakah. To quote one Chasid, "I've never seen a Mishulach without a Kippah. Usually, they knock on my door and ask for money. These people had a very long pitch. I just gave them the Gelt. It's a Mitzvah."
American Jews were angered by this episode, claiming, "It also happens to us. My address was taken down by the Jewish Federation. They won't stop harassing me."

Jews are still being attacked. Wanted to make that clear.

Iranians are being massacred by the Ayatollah. Nobody cares. It's Israeli propaganda to care about the murder of Iranians. Let's move on.

Miss Universe had a Miss Palestine, Nadeen Ayoub. She won the Miss Palestine preliminaries unanimously against herself. The contest had no other contestants, because Palestine does not exist. But she won that.
Nadeen married the son of murderer and terrorist Marwan Barghouti. And she named her son after the terrorist. Not important. It’s tough to name kids. You don’t want to get your father-in-law mad.
 
Video shows snowstorm in Gaza. Now Israelis are creating snow to kill more Gazans.
According to many news syndicates, Gaza is now located in the Himalayas. And Israel is still attacking them there, with snow.

Back to Iran. Mark is on our staff and he seems to care. To quote Mark, who's American, "The killings in Iran. That ruined my day." Mark feels for the Iranian people and he was not able to enjoy his workout. Mark wants it to be known that he showed solidarity. Mark is American and his day was thrown off. He did his part for the cause. And we at the Kibbitzer are with Mark. If anybody wants to hang out later, Mark is hoping to hit a nightclub to show solidarity.
Most Americans are against saving Iranian lives. As has been stated, "They didn't attack police at their rallies in LA. And it is wrong to not attack police. Last time we saw this was at the proIsrael rally. Shame!"

News syndicates take back news about Israel again. They finally get the news right the fifth time around.

Ceasefire resumes. This is the most violent ceasefire I have ever seen.

Tucker Carlson made a trip to Israel for his first pilgrimage ever, to the Ben Gurion Airport. He wanted to witness where Jesus flew out of.
Tucker did not make it to Jerusalem or the Jordan River. Tucker wants to make it clear that Nazareth and Bethlehem are also not important to the real Christians. What is important to the real Christians is Saudi Arabia. To quote Tucker Carlson, "Everybody knows that."
I hope I am not misrepresenting Tucker Carlson. We all feel bad that he was abused with questions. Nobody should ever have to witness such things at an airport. We at the Kibbitzer are angered by the episode and insist Israeli security stop asking people who packed their bags.

Muslims pray in New York City. That scares people. Islamic prayer has people on edge.

Some say seventy thousand have been killed in Iran by the Ayatollah's recent massacres. Because it's not Israel, Google has the number at seven thousand.
​Trump said he has the back of the Iranian people in their fight against the regime. Which means he has done nothing.
My understanding of the conversation. "We have your back. Don't stop. We won't let them kill you." "Where is this guy?! They are stabbing me right now!!!" "Keep at it. Don't give in." "I'm at the hospital and they just shot my doctor." "Don't worry. Keep strong. We're right here."
The rest of the conversation was. "Where the hell is America. They kidnapped my family and just cut off my hand and raped it." "If Trump doesn't come next week I'm converting to Islam." And that is how you bring loyal people to your faith.

Death toll numbers in Gaza still show no combatants. It is now clear, Israel killed sixty-thousand journalists.

Next week we will have a special Jews in the News focusing on the Olympics, Jews in sports, and how they have caused antisemitism by competing.
Our full report on Mamdani’s snow removal will come in our spring issue, when the snow melts. We want to give him a chance to get rid of the snow.
Our chief editor, Rachel, said we should just write, "Zohran Mamdani insists that you need two forms of identification and a social security card to shovel." She believes that nothing we write will be funnier than that. She also said we can add, "And he is asking Jews to shovel."

(Rambam: Teshuva 7:2) For Teshuva, always view yourself as if you’re about to die. It also has me thinking more when going down a flight of stairs.
To do repentance right, you want to make sure that you have a constant worry of death. And that is how you find happiness.
If you find yourself at a bar, as a religious Jew, always think of your friend choking on the peanuts. That will bring true joy. That and bringing up conversations of how we all die one day.

(Shulchan Aruch- Orach Chayim 320:9) You can walk on snow on Shabbat, even if your walking crushes it and makes water. Tell this to all the people that didn’t show up to shul last Shabbis. 

(Vayikra 19:17) “Don’t hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow...” I take this Mitzvah to heart and tell people off regularly.
I’m very good at telling people off. Sometimes I flip them the bird, to ensure I am fulfilling the commandment correctly. Especially when driving.

After Orlah (first three years when you can't eat of a tree's fruit), in the fourth year the fruit is Neta Revai and has Kedusha, holiness. If you live long enough you might be able to enjoy an apple.

Announcements
We're having an enhanced Kiddish for love this week. It will include strawberries. That’s the enhancement. 
Malkie loves strawberries. She said they are tantamount to love, because she loves them. Please address Malkie with any questions about why there is no mango or passion fruit. Or dragon fruit for that matter.
 
Mark Sandwich Night will be this Thursday. It’s an art. The way he cuts. Stacks. It’s a sight to see. He folds the bread too. Spreads mayonnaise. The sisterhood will be cooking brisket and kugels and ensuring all is set up. Mark will be placing the food on the bread. And thus, we call it Mark Sandwich Night, and we do not mention the sisterhood.
 
We're starting to try to draw more old couples. We want more elderly in our shul. The board has decided against youth. We want an elderly shul. We are starting an old couples club.
We have noticed that we have a lot of young couples now in the shul, and for some reason, we are now broke.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: How Enhanced Kiddishes Never Fill You Up- How Our Board Lets You Down- A Study in Strawberries. How to Take Credit for What Other People Do- A Study in Mark Sandwich night. Why Have Young Couples When You Have Our Shul- A Shul with No Hope.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
It’s about love. And Pinny doesn't have anybody who loves him…
(Shemot 22:27) “Do not curse Gd, and do not curse a leader of your people.” Cursing is wrong. You’re cursing right now Bernie...
Can we stop with the Klalot. So much cursing. You’re cursing right now under your breath. We see it, Sadie. Everybody hates Malka Chaya. We get it. But you have to stop cursing... Help her buy a new hat that’s less annoying... It’s huge Malka. What the ----....
You curse everybody. You've got to calm down with the cursing under your breath. And we hear it too. How we hear what you are not saying. You're yelling your murmurs...

We know H’. Of course, you can’t curse or blaspheme H’. But you also can’t curse a leader... Did Gd cut you off on the highway?! No. It was that piece of...
An actual commandment. Don't curse your leaders. You also can’t curse your rabbi... Well, you should go to... I'm a leader... Who is standing up here at the Bima, talking to a bunch of heretics? Exactly.
You’re not leaders. You can be cursed. If Sadie deems it, she can curse you... Pouring drinks at the Kiddish club does not make you a Nassi.

It’s about love and appreciation. You show appreciation by not cursing... I don't think I can expect much more from this congregation. Not cursing is a step in the right. What the... Did that child just run between me and the lectern. What the...

(Shemot 23:5) “When you see the donkey of the one you hate crouching under its load, would you stop from helping him?” I know Baruch would. We know you wouldn't help. You didn’t even help when the Babka fell last week. You just watched them picking it up while you ate the Danish...
“You must surely help with him.” Help. An idea. A concept. Something the Kiddish Club has never done... You can help with a hedgehog too... A hamster as well...
You notice how it says “with him.” You do things together. You help your enemy with him. You make love... You help. You make peace. You make love. Unlike Mark who never helps around the house. Or Pinny who hasn't been in a relationship in eight years... I know about Mark. We do couples counseling. 
Hey! I fulfil the Mitzvahs. I helped lift Shlomo when he got drunk and fell before Musaf...

You don’t help and that is why there is hatred. That’s why you all curse each other.
If Malka Chaya’s hat falls, I understand. Don’t help. Stomp on that huge purple thing. It’s like you’re wearing Barnie on your head...

We have to help our congregation. Do things together that are helpful. Like getting rid of congregants...

Cut the strawberries together. Help...
I have no idea what an enhanced Kiddish is. It’s always the same as the other Kiddishes. A very misleading word... The Kiddish is enhanced with love. That's what it is.
Strawberries are love... You don’t give your loved one dried figs. Figs are not romantic... Dragon fruit shows more love than passion fruit. You open a passion fruit, it looks disgusting. Like Harold with his clothes off... Harold is the reason the shul stopped going to the beach years ago.
Honestly. We have to stop calling these things enhanced Kiddishes. It's a Mekach Taot. A faulty sale. Ruben would've never come to shul if he didn't think the Kiddish was enhanced.
It's like telling your enemy you're going to help and then not. You say it's going to be a great Kiddish. But then, strawberries. That's it. Not even an extra Kugel...
Maybe the strawberries will help Mark and Pinny find love again. Something they haven't had. Maybe Mark will give his wife a strawberry and they will make up. And I won't have to hear about him being a lazy piece of... We get it Jaclyn. We all know he is.

Mark. I respect your sandwich making ability. It brings the sisterhood together to make your sandwiches...
You have a love of sandwiches. If you loved your wife like your pastrami.
If you helped around the house. Maybe cooked with her, instead of spreading mayonnaise like you're a chef... Then, maybe your wife would stop cursing you... I know. I do couples therapy with them.
The guy spreads stuff like that's helpful. He spreads out all of his stuff on the counter and leaves. You help. You clean up together... You're not a chef. What kind of a chef can't cook. You're a lunch packer...

We are trying to not draw youth. We are having an Old Couples Club. I love it.
We need old people... You're saying we don't need old people because you took all their money. Now you don’t care about them. And you don't even visit... I know they can move. But they're old. You visit old people. You help lift donkeys and you visit old people. That's the Torah on one food... 
No old people should be standing on one foot. They will fall...
No. I don't want to see youth. They throw their lollipops all over the floor. They cry when they pull your hair. Not one of them can do Hagba.
No youth groups. It's an old group...

Respect old people. They curse you out, because they're old. You have to respect them... They’re in the old age home. They donated the shul... You’re not their child. You never were getting their money. Visit.
The youthful shul idea is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. “We want congregants that don’t pay dues.”
This is why we have hatred. Young people don't help. And you're serving strawberries instead of enhancing the Kiddish...

Other things that cause hatred. Judges that don't do their job. (Shemot 23:1-2)
Wrong judgement also causes lack of love. And we judged young people as being helpful.
It all comes back to not cursing and not causing curses, like Bernie and the back left... When you get a messed-up decision from a judge, you curse. Whenever the board decides on something dumb, like enhanced Kiddishes, you curse... Because you expected it will be enhanced...
“You must not follow the majority to do evil...” The majority would not help the one that is their enemy. And I know this because Fran and Bernie will help nobody in the shul, and they hate everybody.
No love... Basically. Do not follow anybody in our congregation and you will be doing the right thing...
(Shemot 23:3) Even siding with poor people is wrong. It causes lack of love. You judge everybody the same. And that is why I say this whole shul is messed up. You should all go to...

If we had normal people that would help... Anything would help more than Mark and his scooping out of a bagel, like he's working a delicacy... The poor people at least help with cleanup.
And no cursing the rabbi. You pieces of...
Helping and doing together makes for love. Let us all get Malka Chaya a new hat. Let's get a committee that knows how to enhance a Kiddish. And let us get more old people... Old people are allowed to curse. That's what they do...
You don't curse out the guy you hate while helping with his donkey... 

I'm changing the name of our shul to The Shul With No Hope. Beit Knesset LLo Tikvah. Where the members are a bunch of donkey pieces of... May we all praise H' together...

Rivka's Rundown
The rabbi truly got into the cursing. I counted eighteen curses coming out of his mouth during the sermon. I believe he was trying to get across the lesson that a leader can curse at his constituents, and that the congregation is full of a bunch of pieces of...

The rabbi fought back and cursed Bernie and the back left of the shul, because they’re not leaders. They think they're leaders. They do run the Kiddish club.
I think the rabbi was calling Shlomo a donkey and the Kiddish club people he hates.

Sadie has very loud under breath. We hear it.
The whole shul curses eachother. Middle of the Amidah, the silent prayer, they're moving their lips. I will put my money on it that the members of our shul are not praying. They're cursing the other congregants out, under their breath. This is what I heard Sadie saying during the Amidah, "And to the heretics, like Michael Shlomo... And may H' wipe out our enemies and Malka's hat. That piece of... The one who hears my prayers to never have to see Mark and his wife again..."

Malka Chaya’s hats get everybody mad. Eight-inch brims. She passes you and she hits you. For the Amidah, when she takes the three steps back and bows from side to side, the whole section gets whacked by her hat.

They have to stop with this enhanced Kiddish. They bring up our hopes. And then they never have enough Danish. People hear enhanced and they all show up. Huge numbers. Huge crowds show up and the don't even get a Kichel.
It's an enhanced number of people. That's what they enhance at these Kiddishes. People. They haven't figured out how to enhance the food. Maybe next time they'll throw glitter on the Tzimis.

I can't believe the rabbi called Mark a lunch packer. That's not nice. It's got to be a curse. It's got to be. I think the rabbi was out of line. Never call somebody a lunch packer.
Mark’s sandwich hand movement. Amazing. It's a talent. As he spreads the Thousand Island, he opens his hands like he's presenting it. Brilliance. It's a presentation with his hands. The laying out of the vegetables. It’s a true art.
Mark doesn't cook. But that's not his thing. His wife and the sisterhood fry the eggplants. He places them on bread. His specialty is placement. That’s his focus. Placing the vegetable. Not cutting it. The sisterhood cuts them. Mark doesn’t put his hands in harm’s way. And that's why he's the star.
The sisterhood should get some credit, for the kitchen prep, the cooking, the cleanup, the shopping. Mark didn't help with that. It was like they did it together with him, but he did it alone.
He takes credit. That's what Mark Sandwich Night is. A night for Mark to not give credit to the sisterhood.
Truth is, nobody in the sisterhood can lay out an eggplant and onion like Mark.

The youth of our shul are selfish and not one of them can do Hagba. The rabbi is not happy about that. And the young couples only care about themselves. At least old people care. It's the old people that scream at the kid.
These young couples can care less about their elderly. These young idiots think the shul just got here. The old people built it, pay for it, and watch the young couples and their kids ruin it. 
The rabbi is now fighting with the youth director who insists that there needs to be more posters on the wall. As part of renovations, the youth director feels it's important to bring down the value of the shul.

At least old coupes give something to the shul. They help. I have never heard, "Today's Kiddish is sponsored by Miriam and Alex who just had a baby." No. It's, "Today's Kiddish is sponsored by Linda and Harry on the birth of their new grandson." And what's amazing is old people have never said, "That's an enhanced Kiddish." You know why? Because it makes no sense. Kids hear enhanced and they get all excited. 
Old couples makes all the sense. You don't have to deal with the kids running around. You don't see the kids, but you celebrate all of their Simchas.
Youth kill congregations. I have never heard youth say, “Let me help and pick up the lollipop I threw on the carpet.” I'm with the rabbi on this new Old Movement. An Elderly Movement, I love it. I'm changing Beitar right now. Elderly Zionists. 
The Old People Youth Movement Shabbatons in the shul will consist of one program and then sleep. It's much easier than these youth conventions. I put in my resume to be the Old People Director.

In the end, nobody joined the old couples club. Not even the old people. The eighty-year-olds in our shul are insisting they're youth. I believe they said, "We're youthful." Which sounds quite amusing coming from Fran, who ran out of breath and stopped three times to finish that sentence. 
Youthful? I think they're just trying to get out of having to donate anything to the shul. They see the youth giving nothing and they want to give that.
I’m still pushing for more old people and less enhanced Kiddishes. Where, for some reason, they have more food.

Dear Dave,
And now this just happened. I know I just sent a letter, but now this happened.

I made the mistake and went to the wedding. Relative got married. So, I drove back down to New York. 
It got out that I was driving seven hours. So, my cousin thought it's a good idea to ask me to pick up his family.

Let me repeat. I'm driving seven hours to this event. I get a, "Can you pick us up?!" Like I was driving seven hours because it was my turn for the carpool. 
So, now I'm driving another two hours to pick up family. We're now driving nine hours. How that makes sense? I don't know. It's how carpools work in my family. Truth is, I have never driven the family carpool before, because I don't live anywhere near them.
In his mind, me driving an extra two hours is nothing. Why? Because I'm single.
We got other cousins living down the street from him. I've got siblings right by him. Can't call them. "Your sister is going to come? It's a long drive for her." Fifteen minutes. That how long the drive is for my sister. "She has to drive fifteen minutes out of her way. That's no right. She shouldn’t have to come pick me up."
The whole time, I'm thinking, "Does he not know he's talking to me right now!!!" Did I hear that correctly?! Me driving the extra two hours, now driving nine hours. Me. I have to hear that fifteen minutes is too much????!!!! I'm driving seven hours, by myself. I don't think he caught that part.

So, I of course say "yes." And still no credit. Because my sister is married.
Like I said the other day, they get credit for not showing. Them not helping, they get credit for that. "Your sister doesn't have time. She has kids."
Why do they think married people are always busy? I know a lot of very irresponsible parents. And they are not busy watching over their children. And I know this, because I go to shul.
And by the way, single people have responsibilities. They have dogs. And you won't even let them bring the dog to the wedding. How Frum Jewish weddings never let you bring a plus one.

It's at this point that I've already listened to every podcast that exists about Trump going into Iran. And I have another five hours left. Silence. Nothing to listen to other than "Karma Chameleon" for five hours.
What got me going is my aunt then asked me to pick her up. That's another forty-five minutes out of the way. So, we're up to ten and a half hours of driving, just to get there. My sister is up to sixty-five minutes. Round trip.

I appreciate my sister and her time. I just thought that I had time too. Like time existed for me. Like I had stuff to do during this thing that married people call "time." 
I would love to get some of this time stuff.

In the meantime, I'm driving around to all the married people's homes, because it turns out married people don't have the ability to pick people up.
How carpools work when I'm not driving twenty hours, I have no idea. How kids make it to baseball practice, I have no idea.
I hope nobody brings up carpools as a topic of conversation at the wedding. I will end up having to drive down to the Bronx to pick up my cousin's in-law's child for little league.
I'm going to end up doing their chores. Watch. They're talking right now, "I can't run errands today. David has freetime. He's single. What's David doing in Upstate New York. Maybe we should reach out to David. Have him drive down and pick up the milk. He’s single."

If I bring up that a married person can help, they start going off on everything married people have ever done to help. I'm hearing, "Back in kindergarten, I helped John and Samantha trace the 'c.'"

Just be fair with who you ask for what. They have to stop expecting single people to do everything.
How do I tell my family I have a life? How do I tell them, “I have my own errands to run”?

Point is, I need somebody in my life so that I don't have to pick up family. 
I have to get married. Then I'll never have to help again... I just broke into musical. I took a break and wrote a musical dream sequence. I was inspired.
If I have a family, I'll never have to help family.

If you talk to my family, please let them know I do stuff. Here's a list of things I do: Basketball, learn Torah sometimes, take care of the house, worry about the house, vacation, date, entertainment, watch a series, worry, watch another series, worry about what series I'm going to watch next, forget I had a date, go to shul when I wake up on time, work out, get more sleep, watch a few movies, go over my baseball cards because I had a hobby that I spent a lot of money on forty years ago.
Don't tell the girls I collect cards. Tell them I lift. That sounds cool. And don't tell them I help people. They hear I'm single and I help, we go on a date, they're going to ask me to pick them up.

Problem is when they hear I'm going to the Simcha. Somehow, the people who are celebrating let everybody know, "David can pick you up." They're about to get married and they make it a point to screw me over.
That's it. I'm never telling family I'm coming. I shall never RSVP again.

Is my understanding of what they expect from single people correct? Do married people ever get asked to do favors?
I'm just happy they didn't ask me to help the caterer. Nobody asked me to pick up the wedding cake on my way.

Got to run. My single friend at work just asked me to take over his shift. He said, "It wouldn't be right to ask the other guys to help, they're married and they have responsibilities."

LSimchas,
​David

Dear Dave,
Why is nothing I do as a single person appreciated? A person of single origin.

I showed up to the Bris. I was there. That's all I have to say. Somebody has to tell my family that.
They didn't forget anybody else. Just me. All married people were noticed. I know this, because my nephew went over the list of people who showed up to watch the circumcision. He named them all. "Shimi, Baruch and their families even came. And... But I don't remember you being at the Bris. And you're single. And you have nothing else to do." 
By the way, as an old single man, I can't announce, "I'm here to watch the circumcision." That's one of the things I've learned over many years of being single. Maybe it's better I wasn't on that list. As a single man, it's better for me to sign my name at a funeral than a Bris.

I went to the Bris. I was there. I feel like I have to prove it to you too. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures. If you want pictures, my cousin was loving the whole thing. She has a whole Bris album.
I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures and putting together a special Bris album. Is it fine to have dedicated Bris pictures? I don't know. I feel like there's a reason most people stick to wedding albums.

That was an eight-hour drive to Long Island. I got nothing. Not even a thank you. People drove in from Brooklyn, they got an announcement. “The family that went out of their way, on their trip to Queens…” That's what married people get. Credit for stopping by for breakfast.
No credit. I need a family, just to be remembered. To get some credit.

Even if they do remember, it's because I have free time. "He had free time. So, he drove eight hours. That's what single people do, because they have free afternoons." Like I have nothing going on. Like there isn't a new series I want to watch?!!! 

​Why do I want some credit? To feel like a person. I'm not even asking for married person credit. I'm just asking for some credit. Something. Maybe, "We want to thank the guy in the back without friends who came because he had nothing to do."

Nothing other than kids takes time. You can’t do anything good as a single. Anything good they start with, “He has free time. I would've dedicated twelve years to saving children in Sudan too. I just have a family.” No matter how much you help. “The reason your uncle came to the circumcision. He’s a failure.”
No idea why I showed up to the Bar Mitzvah either. No family points, and I'm now a creep, because they invited me. I have to stop showing up to Bar Mitzvahs and circumcisions.
Funerals. I have to show to funerals. At least I won't feel bad if the Baal Simcha doesn't give me credit.

Response to me showing to a family party, driving by myself, no sleep, missing work. “He’s single. He’s a yutz.” “It’s free time. Married people don't have that.” “He visits sick people because he’s lonely.” “He goes to nursing homes because he's hoping to meet somebody.” “He’s here because he has no job.” “He came for the free food.” I traveled through the night for the falafel party. I drove by myself, lost work with no second income in the house, because I like the garbanzos. By the time that trip was over, the expense was six-hundred-eighty-dollars. But I got a free pita. I am still trying to figure out why they had an Israeli themed Bris, naming the kid "Yankel."
The Chutzpah of it. They don't think I work, and not one of them offers to pay for my gas.
 
Married people don’t show, they get credit for that. “They have so much going on with their kids. They couldn’t come. Their hearts are here.” Do you know how much credit my siblings get for their hearts showing up to events?!
“David has no heart… Because he has no kids.”

Am I paranoid? No. They see me as a yutz with no future prospects. 
They can at least help. There is no reason they can't go around at the Bris and ask if anybody is in the process of getting a divorce.

I need to have kids just to get credit. I could stay home and get more credit and family points for sleeping. "David needs sleep. He couldn't come. You should be more like him and sleep through family events."
When you’re not there, they think you have something going on. Next time, I shall stay home. People will think I’m accomplishing stuff. My nephew might even think I was there. My absence is more present than my presence. Think about that for a moment. That's quite spiritual, Dave.
 
That’s enough for today. It’s good to get it out.

Point is that nothing you do will ever be appreciated. You can do Mitzvahs. They don't care.  Visit the sick, they think you’re hitting on them while they have pnemonia. Other than that. “The guy doesn’t even work.”
Point is it's not worth it to do Chesed. Don't help people. Helping people makes you look like you have nothing going on in your life. Hell. I am going to stop giving charity.
You want to be loved, don’t help and don’t do anything for anybody else. They will appreciate you more for that.
When you and your wife visit the sick or show to family Simchas, parties, do you guys get credit?

My advice to any single person. Don't show to family events.
If you do show up, just pop in and say, "I'm only running in to say Mazel Tov." You show up to an event to run out, that's a something. Everybody remembers that. "He came to not be here. That's our successful relative." "What does he do?" "No idea. He never has time to stay. An overachiever. Very proud of him."
You get credit for not being there.

Your advice is appreciated. Should I just stay home? Get people thinking something is going on in my life?
​If you could, please remind my nephew and his parents that I showed to his son's Bris. Also, please remind him I had a conversation with him about me being there.
Next circumcision I go to, I'm taking a lot of selfies. Bris album on my wall. 

LSimchas,
David

Announcements
The rabbi said the Gabai is not allowed to call up relatives for a first birthday party. To quote, "A child turning one is not our problem." Kal VaChomer, even more so, a two-year old’s birthday party.
Your family coming in to celebrate is great. It’s not a Simcha, even if Malkie's parents think it’s important. The shul can care less.
And nobody has to give gifts. We want to make that clear. Don't feel the need to buy the little one something pink.
 
No more dried fruit are allowed in our shul. Tu BShvat was a beautiful holiday last week. However, our congregants do not have the stomach for figs and not salted almonds.
 
The Torah holder has been fixed. They are there now. From now on, following Hagba, the Torah will be able to be placed in the holder.
This is about Kavod and future respect shown to people who are not as weak as Yankel, who can barely lift a Torah cover. We as a congregation want to apologize for giving Hagba last week to Melech Simcha. It was disrespectful. Making him sit there for forty-five minutes. He thought it was a Kavod. That changed very fast. Somebody should’ve done the Torah take away, and handed the Torah to the Galilah guy that nobody respects.
 
Contemporary Halacha Classes: Parents Who Celebrate What Nobody Cares About- How Malkie's Birthday Means Nothing If She Won't Remember It. Tu BShvat Stomach Aches- How Our Congregants Find A Way to Complain Even When They're Not Saying Anything. When Hagba Turns Disrespectful- A Kavod That Turns Into a Forty-Five Minute Ordeal.

Rabbi Mendelchem's Drasha Excerpts
Shabbat Shalom My Pupils...
(Shemot 19:4-6) After leaving Egypt and seeing all the miracles, H’ tells Moshe to tell the people. “Now. If you listen, listen, to My voice and guard My covenant, you will be a treasured people from all other nations, because the land belongs to Me. And you will be a princely people. A holy nation.” Listen. Not one of you listens... That's why you're not a treasured congregation. You're a treasured people with a very poor board who wastes a lot of money.
"If you listen." You have to listen... If you don't. You have our congregation. You have our membership. And you have people who don’t know when to stand for the Amidah... Listen. For crying out loud. The one thing you're asked to do as a treasured people. Listen. And I have to deal with a people that has ADD. The Gabai makes the announcement every Shabbis. Every single time. “Page 368”... 

You have to be a holy nation. We are called on to be this. You have to work at it. You do this by listening... I have to repeat this?! Again. I always have to repeat for your guys. Listen. 368. Musaf begins on page 368...

Listening is an action we're called on to do. Mitzvahs are a actions we're called on to do. Renovations is not the action we're called upon to do. And the board has been very good at not finishing them... And losing our money. The shul treasury is gone...

You think I know what a covenant is? I don’t have that good of a vocabulary. A Breet, I understand.

‘Now.” Why now? Why after the miracles? Because you people are impossible to convince. Even once you listen, you start asking questions, like, "Is there really going to be chocolate mousse at Kiddish?"... There isn't. It's just an example. You don't even believe when we have the enhanced Kiddish... I don't know what that means. I think they just enhance the choolante with paprika...
I couldn’t even convince you to get a new awning for the shul.
That’s why H’ has to say listen twice. Has to make sure you're listening, so He doesn't have to waste His time convincing you again. "Listen. You just saw Me split the sea. You saw Me place boils on everybody. I turned water into blood. The sea. I split a sea for crying out loud, and I still don't have your attention. Water from the rock. How about that one. Now are you convinced? Will you listen now? Do I need to get David Copperfield for showmanship?! Like the Manna and quail was not enough?"
You guys don't listen. If this was Simon Says... ​We played Simon Says. He said it and... You argued he didn’t say to touch your toes. You didn’t listen...

Rabbi says listen.
Now. Let’s talk. That's what H' is saying. He finally got their attention after fifteen national miracles and holding a mountain over their heads... No. Listen. I will not repeat this. 
We are going to make a Breet. To work on... OK. Want to call it a covenant. OK. Just listen. No more renovations. You're going to do Mitzvahs right. You're going to wrap Tefillin on your arms... I thought the lace boot was a Tefillin strap...
Rabbi says to listen...

Birthdays for little toddlers is not in the covenant... Breet is covenant. That’s what Bracha says it means. 
Gd did not command us to take pictures of kids that can't place a piece of cake in their mouth. There is not Mitzvah to take a picture of a child that messed up and got frosting all over their face... It's embarrassing. 
Expecting family to come in for a two-year old’s birthday is not fair... It’s not a Bar anything... I know it’s a girl. It’s not a Bat anything. It’s not a Mitzvah. It's you trying to get out of having to pay for onesies... We celebrate twelve, because she'll remember that. She'll be able to listen at that point...

If you would’ve listened and not eaten two pounds of dried figs...
You spent the week after Tu BShvat complaining to H’ that His creation gives you stomach aches. The worst celebration, because you didn’t listen to my advice. Now you’re a constipated people...
If you were Israelis, you would appreciate it. They can handle dried fruit and nuts. They start their toddlers on peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds... This way, they can enjoy Tu BShvat... They’re called Pitzuchim. Israelis celebrate Tu BShvat all year... Because they have the stomach for it...
You are not supporting the JNF by eating dried fruit. There are no dried fruit trees...
I have to convince you of this?! Meredith has been puking for the past week. Now do you believe me?!...
Rabbi says to eat in moderation on Tu BShvat...
​
The rabbi didn't say to give Beshalach Hagba to Melech Simcha...
You got Hagba because the Gabai doesn't like you. It was disrespect. We don’t have our Torah holder. The holes need to be fixed in the holder. It's disrespect... That was rude. Giving it to Melech Simcha. A good guy. Should’ve given the long Hagba Torah hold to Pinny. Melech Simcha is a good guy... Chas vShalom. Bernie can't even hold himself up...
And it was Beshalach last week. That was like five Haftorahs. Boy. That was long. I timed his sitting with the Torah at forty-five minutes.
Didn’t even do the Hagba to Galilah switch. Usually, the Hagba guy bullies the Galilah loser.
Melech Simcha thought he was getting a Kavod, and then he had to sit there for the longest Haftorah... Should've broken that up. The rabbis did that to get back at somebody in Babylonia. And then the Chazin sang. He was doing tunes for Av Harachamim. Who does that?!
The Chazin and the Gabai have to ask Melech Simcha for forgiveness... The rabbi says so...

I have to repeat this?! I said I wouldn't repeat it. You didn't listen again... Don't give Hagba to people you like, until the Torah holder gets fixed. You don't do that to treasured people...

It’s Segulah. Treasure. Not chosen. What is this chosen?... We were chosen yes. To be an Am Segulah. Treasured to listen to Gd and to be hated by everybody. And you never listen... I can't stand you because you don't listen... You were not chosen to not listen. Listen. I will be repeating this sermon. If I ever witness the miracle of you hearing the sermon... The congregation is hard of hearing. Bernie and Merv are aging. Sadie is ninety. If somebody would have told me. I'll talk louder...

So, what does Am Segulah mean? People hate us. That's the translation...
You give somebody Hagba and you make him hold the Torah, they hate you. You get all selfish and give Hagba to Melech Simcha. Now he’s never coming back.
A treasured people to get stomach cramps from dried fruit. A holy people with acid reflux. A treasured people who can't hear and doesn't listen. A princely people...
Treating the two-year-old like a prince. That's annoying. A reason to hate the Feldmans...

Now. Again. Page 368!!!!! Rabbi says turn to page 368.

May we merit to listen and be a holy treasured people... Page 368!!!!!!

Rivka's Rundown
The rabbi started a new game called Rabbi Says Listen. The idea is for people to listen to him and not argue. That's the game. He said it's a lot of fun. 
We once had Simon Says. It was pathetic. Simon left mid-game. He yelled, "How can I do this game if nobody listens. Do I hearing test before you bring Simon back." And then he ran. Simon talks about himself in third person. 
It was interesting that Simon was running Simon Says. He felt pegged as a child. Other kids in his class went into tech because their parents named them Alexander and Sandra.

Nobody listens. Gabai announces the Kedusha pages. We have to do it again. Never listen. They never listen. Sermons would be so much quicker if the congregants listened.
I believe I caught the sermon. Segulah. Chosen. Treasured. Hated. Rabbi hates our congregants.

So. Breet means covenant.
The rabbi made a covenant with the congregation that he can't stand them. And they have to listen.

These enhanced Kiddishes add nothing. They enhance the amount of people that show, and then I get less food. So, they add Kugel, and it's gone.

Haven’t finished renovations. We are not good at the actions. We talk about doing stuff, but we don't do. We're very good at talking. We're not good at listening and making things happen. 
The shul is now broke, because they thought the paint job needed to be done by somebody who was from the treasured people. It turns out you have to pay Feivel Moshe more when he paints.
Somebody brought up the idea of using Tim, is not Jewish. That would've been cheaper, but nobody listened. And now we're broke. And that’s why our members didn’t understand how they are part of the treasured nation.

They wanted gifts for Becky’s party. Two years old. The gift is for the Feldmans. What are they going to do with Onesies? Show up to the office in a Onesie. Messed up.
I think they wanted to save on clothes and toys for the little one. Thus, they had a party for the little girl who couldn’t even figure out how to blow out the candles. That was pathetic. We had to sit there for ten minutes trying to explain to her that she has to blow. She burped. That was it.
The rabbi now refuses to announce birthdays. He said, "We have too much to care about. I can't afford another gift." It's messed up. And you can't give used gifts when it's a party. So now, our congregation has an overflow of pink headbands with bows.
Going off on Av Harachamim, the Chazin was rubbing it in, mocking Melech Simcha. He knew Melech Simcha was sitting there, trying to hold the Torah with all of his Kavanah, trying to pretend like people aren’t laughing at him. Such a selfish showoff. The Chazin honestly has no Midot. Here, Melech Simcha is sitting there, looking like an idiot, and the Chazin is putting on a show. I’m just worried Melech Simcha will never be respected by his kids again.
In school, the kids were all talking about how strong their dads were. Melech Simcha’s kids always won, talking about their dad and his Hagba skills. That argument is over. Now Pinny’s kids are like, “My dad did Galilah. Made your dad do Hagba and sit there. Your dad works for my dad.” And Melech Simcha’s kids just sat there. Like their dad. He can’t come back to our shul after that.

Sitting next to Fran, she lets loose even without dried fruit. The dried fruit made it so bad. All of Shabbis, I had to hear it.
I went to sit on the other side of the shul, and people were asking why I moved. I told them, "Tu BShvat. Fran had Tu BShvat."
I hope Tu BShvat goes away by next week. Tu BShvat in our shul is a kind of stomach disease.

Punished with Hagba and no Torah holder. That was rude. They raise his hopes. He thinks he's important. And then everybody's looking at him still sitting there, like him like he's a loser. 
They have you sit there. Just holding the Torah for half hour. Whole time you’re thinking, “I hope it doesn’t drop.” They should just put it back right away. It's a punishment. They sit you in the corner and tell you it's a Mitzvah. They're all going out for schnapps, and you're stuck there holding the Torah with a hangover.

Rabbi started a Simon Says Shiur. The Rabbi Says Listen. He told them to follow in the Chumash. Not one person did it. He had to kick everybody out.

​Let's take a stroll down memory lane to David complaining about Chabad spreading Mitzvahs like Tefillin, community give food to the needy, all while not being sure if all the graves on the highway in Tiveria are of Tzadikim, with the Kibbitzer's pictures of laughter from last month. We want to thank David Kilimnick for sharing a picture of him wishing he had his nephew's toy car.

And we want to thank David for his extremely long captions. To quote David, "A picture is only a thousand words if you write them."