Volume 49 Number 81
Produced: Mon Aug 29 5:56:16 EDT 2005
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Are we ever permitted to lie?
[Gershon Dubin]
Blaming the victim
[Risa Tzohar]
Eyewitness Account of Death of Yeshiva Boy from Medic Moshe from Old City
[Ira L. Jacobson]
Military & hats
[Carl A. Singer]
Revisionist history? (2)
[Ira L. Jacobson, Mike Gerver]
Seat Belts
[Stuart Pilichowski]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gershon Dubin <gershon.dubin@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 09:53:38 -0400
Subject: Are we ever permitted to lie?
From: Immanuel Burton <iburton@...>
> Isn't this commandment phrased a little oddly? The Torah doesn't say,
> "Do not lie", but "Distance yourself from a false thing". Is it
> because of this odd phrasing that there is leeway to allow the bending
> of the truth in some circumstances?
Exactly the opposite; the Gemara uses this formulation of the pasuk to
show that one must not only not tell a lie, but stay away from behavior
that could be misinterpreted.
Gershon
<gershon.dubin@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Risa Tzohar <risa.tzohar@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 02:20:38 +0200
Subject: Blaming the victim
Anonymous wrote:
> PLEASE be alert, and make sure you and your family are aware of the
> dangers and are ever vigilant. Whilst I am not, chas vesholom,
> suggesting for one moment that we should avoid the the Old City and
> the Kossel
We visited Jerusalem this shabbat and on the way back from the Kotel
passes the spot where Shmuel Mett was murdered. Like many who passed we
stopped and said a few tehillim in his memory.
Shmuel was murdered by an evil man because he was a Jew. It is
unreasonable and unfair to suggest that had he been vigilant he would
still be alive. It is even more cruel to imply that someone else could
have made sure that he was 'aware of the dangers'.
Risa Tzohar
Rehovot, Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ira L. Jacobson <iraeljay@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 08:06:03 +0300
Subject: Eyewitness Account of Death of Yeshiva Boy from Medic Moshe from Old City
This is Shlomo Wollins reporting live from Jerusalem at on Aug 25,
2005, at 02:56 Israel Time: I have just received an email from Moshe
Simons, a friend and medic in the Old City of Jerusalem. Read below
as Moshe describes the murder scene and experience of having young
Jewish man "die in my arms". Full message appears below as received
in my email inbox at 01:24 Israel Time:
Original Message
Young Jewish Man Murdered in Jerusalem. His crime - being Jewish. I sit
facing my computer, and words fail me. I have just witnessed one of the
most tragic and traumatic events of my life. A Jewish young man died in
my arms tonight. Yes, you read correctly. A Jewish man died in my arms
tonight. His sin? Being Jewish in Jerusalem.
At about 8:25 this evening, we got a call from the MDA dispatcher about
a stabbing on Rechov David - the shuk leading from Shaar Yaffo (Jaffa
Gate) to the Kotel. I immediately left my apartment and sped over to the
chaotic scene not far from there on a Hatzolah ambucycle. Upon arrival,
a horrible sight greeted me. A young Jewish man, lying in a pool of his
own blood, with a 15" knife sticking out of his stomach. After being at
many bombings, car accidents and other traumatic events, this scene had
the distinction of being the worst one I have ever seen.
His skin a very pale color, and his eyes half open, I reached him. The
only people around were police officers, who didn't really know what to
do. The young Jewish man was not breathing, and he had no pulse. This is
the nightmare of any EMT. Alone, as the only person with medical
training at the scene, there is not much you can do. Many tasks need to
be done, and many people are needed to do them. Starting CPR,
connecting oxygen, starting numerous IV's due to massive blood loss and
trying to stop the bleeding are some of the things that need to be done,
but in the seconds that I was there, my mind stopped working. One cannot
think rationally in such situations - one must act like a robot, doing
whatever could be done as quickly as possible. First, I called for
backup on my MIRS, and then I started CPR.
Even with all of the expensive equipment that we have, there are times
that the only thing you can use is a simple pocket mask. Using a bag
valve mask on a trauma patient that you are having trouble opening an
airway for is a waste of time. It is close to impossible to use on your
own on such a patient. I took out my trusty face mask, and started mouth
to mouth resuscitation. I felt his lungs fill up with air, and I was
slightly encouraged. One of the police officers started chest
compressions (as well as he could), and we continued basic CPR for a
minute or two.
At this point, an ambulance with a paramedic - Aryeh Yaffe - arrived at
the scene, along with Rafi Herbst and another volunteer. We now had four
sets of hands instead of one, and could now start to try to save the
young Jewish man's life. We immediately searched for the wounds and
tried to stop the bleeding. At the same time we tried to start an IV,
but were having difficulty due to the massive amounts of blood that he
lost. We continued CPR, this time with a bag valve mask and good
compressions, and in the meantime, more volunteers from the Jewish
Quarter arrived on foot, and quickly took my place. Shortly thereafter a
MDA Mobile ICU arrived and continued to work on the patient - the Doctor
I saw on their crew was one of the best I have ever seen working under
pressure and keeping his cool - as well as giving fantastic care to the
patient.
Soon, we had three IV's running, and we were trying to restart the young
man's heart using drugs. Atropine, Sodium Bicarbonate were used among
other drugs, and soon we had a heart rhythm on the EKG, although we did
not have a pulse. We moved the patient to the mobile ICU who transferred
him to the trauma center at Hadassah Ein Karem, but the young man was
pronounced dead in the operating room - he had a massive gash in the
veins and arteries in his stomach, and we could not save him. When I had
arrived at the scene previously - he was no longer with us, yet we tried
everything that we could to bring him back - to no avail. What was the
young man's crime? What did he do wrong? Why was he murdered by our
'peace partners'? To us, the residents of the Old City, these answers
are clear. The arabs want us out of Israel - out of Jerusalem. They see
clearly that violence and terrorism against Jews works, as witnessed in
Gaza and Gush Katif - five years of violence culminated in the surrender
of the Jews. Now, they clearly say that they want Jerusalem - and the
way for them to get it is through blood - our blood. A friend of mine
commented tonight, "Jewish blood is not cheap. It's free." The terrorism
will continue - and will get much worse in Jerusalem.
One thing I can tell you - we won't run. We will stand firm, and remain
here until one side wins - us or them. The battle is for the soul of the
Land of Israel - let no one think otherwise. In the meantime, I'm sure
you are asking yourselves - what can be done? The answer, as I see it,
is threefold. Physical help: This includes writing to congressmen,
senators, politicians; trying to influence the viewpoint of others
around you; visiting Israel; helping us in our struggle. After tonight,
I've realized that every volunteer EMT in the Old City should have a gun
with him - we need to raise money for that as well (I can be reached at
<moshe@...> for more information as to how to donate).
I never thought that as an EMT I'd be trying to raise money for guns -
the instruments of death, but times have changed. There are also other
medical items that we need - reach me at the email address above. More
importantly, we must realize that our fate is decided in Heaven. When a
decree comes from before G-d, we must take a deeper look at ourselves
and try to find what is wrong spiritually. Each of us must make
additional effort in the spiritual realm to do more mitzvot and study
Torah, and through that may we merit the rescinding of the terrible
sword that hangs above our heads. Let us cry together. Let us understand
that a Jew murdered in Jerusalem must have an impact upon the entire
Jewish nation - we must realize the depths that we have reached. We are
a splintered, fragmented nation - each of us finding fault with the
other. At the very least, let us join together in sorrow, and cry as one
for the blood of a young man, murdered in Jerusalem simply because he
was a Jew. Please pass this message on. We must wake up and realize
where this is leading. We must arise to the challenge given to us and
join together to be victorious.
Written in sorrow by Moshe Simons, EMT
Hatzolah & MDA Volunteer Hatzolah Newsletter Editor Jewish Quarter,
Jerusalem <moshe@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Carl A. Singer <casinger@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 08:11:47 -0400
Subject: Military & hats
> Just to show how specific military regulations (halachas?) are:
>
> The center of the Pentagon building in Alexandria Virgina (across the
> Potomac River from Washington DC) is a very large open courtyard that is
> landscaped into a nice park. Before 9/11, it was referred to as "ground
> zero" (but this appelation is now used for the World Trade Center site
> in Manhattan). Military regulations require personnel to be "under
> cover" (wearing a hat) when outside. Since this is inconvenient in the
> Pentagon Park, the military has ruled (poskened?) that this park is
> "inside" and hence military personnel do not have to wear hats there.
> -- Andy Goldfinger
Not only is the courtyard inside the Pentagon a non-hat area (it was
that way back in 1970 when I was first stationed there) but also
Washington, DC, is (was?) at times designated a non-saluting area --
much to the consternation of several senior officers.
Perhaps the lesson learned is that one needs to have some sechel in
applying rules.
Carl Singer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ira L. Jacobson <iraeljay@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 16:05:39 +0300
Subject: Re: Revisionist history?
<Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu) stated the following:
someone with graphic skills removed the shtreimel off the head of
Rabbi Joseph I. Schneersohn, as if he did not wear it.
Did he change the shtreimel into a spodik, perhaps?
But he did not do such a good job, as anyone can still tell that a
shtreimel was removed
How could you determine that it was a shtreimel and not a spodik?
IRA L. JACOBSON
mailto:<laser@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <MJGerver@...> (Mike Gerver)
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 17:00:16 EDT
Subject: Re: Revisionist history?
Gilad Gevaryahu writes, in v49n78,
For reasons that were discussed in this forum before, the last
Rebbe decided not to wear a shtreimel any more. However, someone
with graphic skills removed the shtreimel off the head of Rabbi
Joseph I. Schneersohn, as if he did not wear it. But he did not
do such a good job, as anyone can still tell that a shtreimel was
removed
The picture can be seen in _Lubavicher Rabbi's Memoirs_, Published
by Otzar Hachassidim, Brooklyn, NY, 1966, between pages xiii and
page 1.
I was surprised to read this, because I have that book, and I always
thought of that picture as clearly showing that he WAS wearing a
shtreimel. I just took another look at it. I think that the shtreimel is
not so much erased, as de-emphasized, by making it almost the same shade
as the background. It is there if you look for it, and if you are
expecting it to be there, you'll see it even if you don't look very
hard. But I suppose if you are not expecting it to be there, you might
not notice it if you look at the picture quickly.
In a sense, this is optimal revisionism, which covers its own tracks.
People who remember that R. Joseph I. Schneersohn wore a shtreimel will
look at the picture and will not suspect that it has been
altered. People who do not know that he wore a shtreimel will look at
the picture and not discover that he did.
Or maybe there's nothing sneaky about it, and the picture just happened
to be taken with a dark shtreimel against a dark background.
Mike Gerver
Raanana, Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stuart Pilichowski <cshmuel@...>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 13:26:16 +0000
Subject: Seat Belts
Carl A. Singer <casinger@...> wrote:
>This was touched upon several weeks ago but seemed to go away without
>definitive responses.
>
>1 - Is it halachically permitted to drive without seat belts?
Abslolutely not permitted to drive without seat belts. And the same
holds true for being belted in during flying and landing.
The flying and landing part is not just a question of sakanat nefoshot,
but I think it's a chilul Hashem when the stewards see "frum" Jews not
listening or disregarding safety instructions.
>2 - Has anyone paskened on this?
It's abundantly clear in fifth chelek of the Shulchan Aruch.
>3 - What is one's responsibility to one's fellow (wo)man re: same -- if
> you're in car with them, otherwise.
My car doesn't get off the ground until everyone's buckled......until I
hear the click- in Israeli advertsing parlance. I'll even get out of a
car if there are "objectors" to wearing a seat belt in it.
I also am not ashamed while at a stop sign or traffic light to let the
car(s) next to me know that their kids or passengers are not buckled in
. . .. This follows the Israeli minhag of telling parents their kids
should be wearing a hat if the sun is beating down on them and the like.
Kol Yisroel areivim zeh bazeh.
Stuart Pilichowski
Mevaseret Zion, Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 49 Issue 81