2 Jews - A Few Thousand Opinions!

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Who's Behind the War on Orthodox Jewish Schools? By Daniel Greenfield In 2016, a poll showed Trump beating Hillary Clinton 66% to 22% among Orthodox Jews. This wasn’t as unusual as it sounds. In New York City, Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods light up as islands in a lefty sea. Romney won over 90% of the vote in some Orthodox Jewish areas. Traditional religious beliefs are associated with conservative politics among Jews the same way that they are among Christians. 60% of Jews who attended weekly religious services disapproved of Obama while those who didn’t, mostly supported him. Why do American Jews lean much more to the left? Because only 11% of American Jews attend weekly synagogue services. Well below the 40% national average. Only 34% of American Jews are certain that they believe in G-d. What do they believe in? When asked what it means to be Jewish, 56% mentioned social justice, 42% comedy and only 19% percent mentioned anything involving religion. Meanwhile 63% of Israeli Jews believe “completely” in G-d. Last year, Trump’s approval rating among Orthodox Jews was at 71%. The American Jewish Committee’s Survey wrote the results up glumly as “We have seen the future, and it looks Orthodox". Establishment Jewish groups, which suddenly woke up and realized that the majority of Jewish children in New York City were Orthodox Jews, are preparing to fight that future. If those children are allowed to grow up Orthodox, the end of the Jewish Left will have arrived. And so they came after the children. The New York State Department of Education now threatens to shut down Jewish schools and report parents who refuse to send their children to leftist government schools to child protection authorities. As in the Soviet Union, giving a child a Jewish education would be treated as evidence of child abuse. The government would be able to abduct children for the crime of receiving a Jewish education. The new "Indian Residential Schools" had arrived. Jewish schools aren’t the only targets of this discriminatory campaign by the educational establishment. Catholic schools have also come under attack with the Archdiocese of New York posting an editorial that declares, “Leviathan has now focused its attention on religious schools here in New York, with the clear intention of either forcing them to submit to its authority or face destruction.” The public face of the campaign against Jewish schools is YAFFED or Young Advocates for Fair Education. Its members claim to be the products of Orthodox Jewish schools whose poor education left them so unprepared for the real world that all they were able to do was launch an extremely effective statewide campaign whose press releases and talking points are quoted verbatim in every single media outlet. As in March for Our Lives, young faces are used to hide the agendas of the old lefties behind the curtain. While Naftuli Moster, YAFFED’s executive director, plays its equivalent of David Hogg, speaking to media outlets and appearing at forums to discuss the incredible intellectual disadvantage that the same educational system that produced generations of visionary thinkers and geniuses burdened him with, Hannah Rothstein, a not remotely “young” Baruch College prof, serves as its president. Hannah Rothstein also serves on the board of Footsteps, an organization working to secularize Orthodox Jews and transition them to an irreligious lifestyle. She’s a Trump critic and an Obama supporter. She has also donated to Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Al Franken, Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker. Her repeated out of state donations, some through ActBlue, show a woman passionate about the Left. And the growing Orthodox Jewish population poses a threat to everything that Rothstein has been funding. Moster, YAFFED’s public face, is also a Footsteps graduate. Pesach Eisen, a Yaffed member who testified in its cause, is a Footsteps member and a fellow with the radical leftist Jews for Racial & Economic Justice which denies the existence of lefty anti-Semitism even as it defends leftist anti-Semites. Eisen demonstrates how Footsteps and YAFFED act as arms of the broader anti-Jewish Left. And Moster has, in turn, defended the anti-Semitic Women’s March. Anita Altman serves on the Board of Directors of YAFFED and her bio boasts of helping numerous Footsteps clients. In 2014, she had signed an angry letter, declaring, “AIPAC speaks for Israel’s hard-line government and its right-wing supporters, and for them alone; it does not speak for us.” The signatories included a range of anti-Israel activists, supporters of BDS and defenders of anti-Semitic terrorism. Altman has also signed a letter backing anti-Semitic Farrakhan supporter Linda Sarsour. Altman is, unsurprisingly, no fan of religious Jews. In a bizarre interview, which repeatedly warns of a "khasidic takeover", she complained that there is "fear" when "it comes to government dealing with these fundamentalist communities." Then she compared Orthodox Jews to Iran. That’s the medieval bigotry behind YAFFED and the war on Orthodox Jewish schools. YAFFED’s bid is all about lefties using the government to deal with “fundamentalists” under the guise of helping the few formerly Orthodox members of Footsteps being used as fronts for the hateful operation. Altman isn’t the only anti-Israel activist in YAFFED. Its communications director, Abigail Beatty, also allegedly works for the anti-Israel NIF, an organization notorious for its funding of leftist and BDS group. YAFFED claims to advocate for “the rights of Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox children”. But it appears to be another face of Footsteps: an organization advocating against the traditional religious practices of Orthodox Judaism. The people behind YAFFED have the right to advocate for discriminatory policies targeting the Orthodox Jewish community, in order to force Jewish parents to take their children out of Jewish schools. They have the right to do so in the name of their radical leftist politics and hatred of religion. But they have no right to masquerade as an organization fighting for the rights of the very people they are persecuting. Instead of highlighting these obvious connections, the media has chosen to act as the echo chamber for YAFFED while denying the Jewish communities targeted by Altman and her ilk, a voice. Anonymous stories and bots have been used to manufacture a group of Orthodox Jewish parents and children who are “suffering” in the Jewish school system, but oddly, choose not to leave it. These astroturf tactics are being used to justify discrimination and harassment of a religious community. It’s about more than just the bigotry of Anita Altman, obsessed with recreating Philip Roth’s Eli the Fanatic. Behind the fresh young faces, there are elderly veterans of the lefty political establishment, many with backgrounds in education and academia, who see religious Jewish education as a threat. An economic threat and also a political threat. In a letter to a Democrat councilmember, David Bloomfield, claimed that the war on Jewish schools would enable their students to “vote outside the confines of their deterministic communities”. Bloomfield has written a number of articles and appeared at Yaffed forums attempting to pressure the government into cracking down on Jewish schools. At stake are two very different visions of education and the future. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently visited Orthodox Jewish schools and touted them as models of school choice. There is no word in the English language that the Left hates more than “choice”. The education lobby has gone to war against charter schools. And Orthodox Jewish schools are seen as even worse than charter schools. They don’t bow to the teachers’ unions. The money their parents spend on education doesn’t end up in the pockets of union bosses and their Democrat political allies. The Orthodox Jewish community has helped drive the expansion of voucher programs. And school choice is an existential threat to the educational establishment and the political power of the Left. Orthodox Jewish communities have fueled support for school choice not only in New York, but in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, endangering presidential elections. Something had to be done about those pesky Jews. Now something is being done. The Left’s vision of the educational system is Footsteps and Yaffed writ large, a machine for destroying communities, undermining their traditions, and crushing parental authority so that academics can reinvent the children in their own cultural and political image. That’s what happened to American Jews. Now the same people who a century ago turned a generation of immigrants from believers in G-d to believers in social justice see another Jewish demographic threat and want to do it all over again. On Sabbath, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews will read the story of how an ancient Egyptian leader grew disgusted with rising Jewish demographics. "Behold, the numbers of the children of Israel are too many," he tells his political allies. "Come, let us deal cunningly with them, lest they multiply." On Fifth Avenue, the establishment pharaohs, whose faith is not in Isis or Hathor, but in progressive social justice, look at the children in Jewish schools across New York City and bitterly echo his words.

There Are Two Sides To This Story....Agudath Israel knows this. But they have lost their way, and are about to drag the entire community down with them.

The Truth About the Struggle For Secular Education in Yeshivas

You won’t see this in the Jewish Press, Flatbush Jewish Journal, etc.

For several weeks straight, FJJ and other Agudath-Israel-influenced media outlets have run headlines like these.

Since the New York State Education Department released their revised general education guidelines for private schools on November 20th 2018, various Orthodox newspapers, websites, and advocacy groups have been spreading fear and misinformation.

While the new guidelines were written by the state without substantial input from Yaffed, most of the attacks from Agudath Israel and Yeshiva leaders have focused on Yaffed. These attacks are baseless, burdened by inaccuracies and slander. In the ensuing storm, the intentions of both Yaffed and the state have been misrepresented. Furthermore, the approach taken by Agudath Israel and others is counterproductive and exposes the community to unnecessary dangers.

Yaffed was founded in 2012 by graduates of Hasidic Yeshivas who came together to change the status quo of little to no secular education in Hasidic Yeshivas. None of us came from askonis (advocacy) backgrounds or had any big connections to machers in our communities. Initially we met with some Yeshiva leaders, Rabbis, and organizations that funnel funds to Yeshivas. Those who supported our work were afraid to do so publicly, and the remainder either opposed our efforts or argued it was unnecessary, pointing to outlier Hasidic yeshivas that offered secular studies.

We came to realize there was no way community leaders would make changes in the Yeshivas just because a few Yeshiva graduates requested it. And even if a model Hasidic yeshiva existed, what about the rest? There would still be tens of thousands of Jewish kids without an education.

In 2013, when I was receiving a scholarship from the UJA, the reception’s keynote address was delivered by David Zwiebel, the executive vice president of Agudath Israel. After his speech, in which he extolled the importance and benefit of education, I walked over and asked him to do something about this issue. I will never forget his response. He said he believed graduates are perfectly capable to pursue what they wanted, noting that he had become an attorney following his Yeshiva education. Zwiebel, of course, did not attend a Hasidic Yeshiva.

This dismissive attitude is what I encountered again and again, and it became clear that, despite the constant refrain that “change must come from within,” no one from within was willing or bold enough to actually pursue that change. After all, I grew up in this community and I am well aware of the consequences people face if they don’t toe the line. Case in point, my family is concerned that my involvement with Yaffed is harming the reputation of my siblings, who will struggle to find Shiduchim and Yeshivas willing to accept their children. Rather the claim that change must, or will, come from within is being used to indefinitely postpone any change.

In 2013, Yaffed put up a billboard with the Talmudic phrase “chayav odom lelamed es benoi umnus” (“a father must teach his son a trade”) on the Prospect Expressway, which garnered a lot of attention. But once again our critics complained that it aired the dirty laundry out in the public. Little did they know, or want to believe, that prior to that we tried to place the ads in local Jewish newspapers but were turned down.

Ad placed on Prospect Expressway billboard after ultra-Orthodox newspapers rejected it

Der Blatt, Der Yid, and others rejected our ad

One Orthodox magazine mistakenly published our ad, and apologized to their subscribers less than 24 hours later and again in the following week’s issue.

Ami Magazine published our ad but immediately apologized to their readers.

So let’s review: we are told change must come from within, so we speak to Rabbis and local elected officials and they either tell us to go away or they say they too are afraid to speak up. So we tried to speak directly to the community, but then we were shut out from local newspapers. So we put up a billboard, which was sensitive to the community, and people still found fault with it.

So we turned to the New York City Department of Education and the New York State Education Department, the entities tasked with enforcing the law without fear or favor. When we were first contemplating a lawsuit, we decided not to sue individual Yeshivas because we believed our issue was with the state and complacent school districts.

In July 2015, we filed a complaint with the New York City Department of Education, which was signed by 52 Yeshiva graduates and parents, and it included a handful of former teachers as well. We named 39 Yeshivas that were clearly not compliant with the law. Yaffed asked the city not to publicize the names of the Yeshivas because public shaming was not our goal; our goal was to provide evidence to the city that this was a real problem. The city then announced it was launching an investigation.

As I did with secular media outlets, I reached out to Orthodox news outlets and offered to do interviews and discuss the complaint we filed with the city, but they ignored my offer. One reporter responded in a degrading manner.

Shortly after, I reached out to David Zwiebel and he agreed to meet with me. At the meeting he conceded that secular education is important. He claimed even science should be taught because kids need to understand the “Niflaos Haboreh (wonders of G-d).” He also made the case that people go off the derech because they feel betrayed for not having received a secular education. Yet he admonished me for going to the DOE, despite all our efforts to solve this problem internally.

I explained to him that it’s not too late, and that for the sake of avoiding further Chillul Hashem Jewish leaders, including Agudath Israel, should begin working to remedy the problem. At which point he claimed that Agudath Israel has no jurisdiction over Hasidic Yeshivas. I replied that this wasn’t true, as Agudath Israel helps secure funding for Yeshivas, including Hasidic ones.

Months later, Zwiebel co-founded PEARLS, a group that at first presented itself as trying to improve Yeshivas, but their actions ever since, as well as more recent statements, indicate they were created to shield Yeshivas. Their strategy was to stonewall the city’s investigation by claiming they are making improvements, including through new curricula and textbooks. In a recent report the city acknowledged PEARLS’ claims of new curricula and textbooks, but added that the city inspectors have not gotten access to all those materials. Both Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza have publicly disputed PEARLS’ claim that no Yeshivas have denied access to city investigators.

I have since reached out several times to David Niederman from the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg (UJO), a top Satmar leader, who co-founded PEARLS with Zwiebel, yet he not once got back to me.

 

 

 

Several attempts to reach Rabbi David Niederman from UJO

Meanwhile, the state decided it was best to make the guidelines clearer, so that districts have no excuses, driven by political considerations, to delay enforcement.

Despite their claims to the contrary, Agudath Israel was included in the process, as they sit on the commissioner’s advisory panel for non-public schools. In a recent letter they acknowledged having seen an early draft of the revised guidelines. But because they had decided to protect failing Hasidic Yeshivas, which refused to improve their secular education even marginally, they helped Satmar and others orchestrate what was one of the dirtiest political tricks in New York history. They had Simcha Felder, who at the time was a powerful state senator, hold up the New York State budget until he secured an exemption for Yeshivas from having to meet the same “substantial equivalency” standards as all other non-public schools.

To my dismay, I have heard David Zwiebel in Yiddish present Felder’s legislative maneuver as a major win, so that Yeshivas can continue providing little to no secular education. Publicly, of course, he expressed bewilderment as to why Yaffed was opposed to the amendment since it was codifying into law that Yeshivas do need to meet basic standards.

The truth is, the change in the law had one purpose, and that was to undermine the forthcoming guidelines for the benefit of Yeshivas. Everyone who followed the issue understood that, and a few weeks ago, the Satmar Rebbe admitted that before thousands of people — in Yiddish, of course.

When the guidelines were issued in November and there seemed to be confusion over how many hours of secular instruction the state was requiring of Yeshivas, Yaffed was the first to call on the state to clarify that they weren’t requiring seven hours of secular education per day. We recognized that schools can accomplish a lot in fewer hours, as we have often pointed to the modern Orthodox schools, to many Litvish schools, and even to some Hasidic girls’ schools as proof that you can provide a solid secular education by splitting the day with the Judaic studies.

Now, to be clear, everyone knew the state wasn’t requiring Yeshivas to teach more secular studies than public schools. This was an obvious case of unclear bureaucratic directive that required clarification. Yet Agudath Israel exploited the weeks of uncertainty to rally unsuspecting people, including some Modern Orthodox Jews, to the defense of the most failing Yeshivas in our midst. The only beneficiaries of that fear-mongering campaign are school leaders who want to maintain the failing status quo.

The state, to no one’s surprise, has since clarified that it is only requiring half that amount of secular studies in those grades, yet the damage Agudath Israel has caused is done. Some parents are convinced the state is out to turn their Yeshivas into public schools or worse.

These are the facts, and despite the smokescreen put up by Agudath Israel and the censorship by their enablers, the truth will continue to shine through.

Imagine if David Zwiebel had heeded our calls years ago and agreed to avoid an embarrassing public battle by helping address this issue from within (with some assistance and monitoring from the state to ensure the improvements are real and not just lip service), how much negative press could have been avoided? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars could’ve been saved? We, of course, have continued to engage parents and students who believe Hasidic Yeshivas are providing them with an inadequate education, even as we advocate the state enforce the law as it existed prior to the Felder Amendment.

Yet instead of realizing this, Agudath Israel is doubling down. They are now gearing up to help failing Yeshivas sue the state in court. I cannot overstate how foolish this is. Not only do court battles cost money and resources, but there is great potential for unnecessary embarrassment to be revealed during the legal process.

With lawsuits, all bets are off. Every program, every dollar, every contract is up for discovery and scrutiny, not only by the parties involved but also by the media and the public.

Agudath Israel knows this. But they have lost their way, and are about to drag the entire community down with them.

https://medium.com/@Yaffedorg/the-truth-about-the-struggle-for-secular-education-in-yeshivas-67c7f3f4a32c?fbclid=IwAR0EWodfx7JycMC93eAFyPPwc8Nimz5rf-de1vnYpxDBBCYAW1EdjloDiig

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P.S. I pitched the story to the Jewish Press’ opinions editor as a response to their incessant negative reporting about Yaffed. But consistent with the one-sided reporting we get from Der Yid, Der Blatt, Di Tzeitung, Flatbush Jewish Journal, Yeshiva World News and others, the Jewish Press’ editor refused to even entertain publishing this piece. I therefore ask that you share this far and wide to make up for the extreme censorship we’re facing.

You can spend 80 years of a life with as much free time as you want and still not get out of it as much as someone who only lived for 40 years but managed to appropriately direct attention to the things that mattered to them...

Technology is destroying the most important asset in your life

 

“Money isn’t the most important thing in the world. Your time is.”

Parents, teachers, and mentors all around the world have spoken these words to us, in one form of another, throughout our lives. It makes sense, too.

Most of us come to realize at some point that money is a means, not an end. It affords opportunities, but as research has shown, there are diminishing returns to what it can do for you. In fact, the strongest link between money and well-being comes from its ability to buy you time through conveniences.

Our time is limited, and the prevailing wisdom is that the more we have of it, the more opportunities there are for us to experience joy and fulfillment. But is that the whole story? Is time really what adds more to life?

I’d argue otherwise. The most important asset in your life isn’t time, but attention. The quality of the experiences in your life doesn’t depend on how many hours there are in the day, but in how the hours you have are used.

You can spend 80 years of a life with as much free time as you want and still not get out of it as much as someone who only lived for 40 years but managed to appropriately direct attention to the things that mattered to them. Although time is indeed limited, with attention, it can be diluted to expand beyond what most other people get out of the same quantity.

Unfortunately, this happens to be harder than it sounds.

The World Is Designed Against You

One of the biggest problems of our generation is that while the ability to manage our attention is becoming increasingly valuable, the world around us is being designed to steal away as much of it as possible.

The internet and the technology companies that are built on it have democratized opportunity. It’s hard to argue that the net effect of these innovations isn’t positive. That said, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t costs. Smartphone addictions are real. Technology-induced stress is real.

Companies like Google and Facebook aren’t just creating products anymore. They’re building ecosystems. And the most effective way to monetize an ecosystem is to begin with engagement. It’s by designing their features to ensure that we give up as much of our attention as possible.

Last year, Tristan Harris, a former Design Ethicist at Google, shared how designers create product functions that exploit our mental impulses. They find blind spots in our perception, and they use them to influence our behavior without us realizing. Every notification you receive, every email you get, and every website you browse is carefully created to ensure that you maximize the time you’re engaged with the company’s product.

Today, more than ever, we need our mind back. Fortunately, there are ways to get it. Here are 3 methods that will improve the quality of your life.

1. Mindfulness Meditation

In the Buddhist tradition and modern psychotherapy training, meditation is used to cultivate mindfulness as a means of being unconditionally present. The idea is to sit quietly in a space with your eyes closed focusing and observing what is occurring in your body and in your mind. It’s used to inspire relaxation, stress-reduction, and detachment from distractions.

The practice is fairly straightforward. You simply sit and focus on a single thing in your surroundings. For most people, it’s their breath. They breathe in, and they breathe out, and they keep their attention on doing just that. Thoughts and a wandering mind are natural. The point isn’t necessarily to remove any sort of mental activity. It’s to observe it in the present.

With time, this becomes easier, but if that doesn’t work, I’ve personally seen similar results by restricting my attention to a singular part of my surroundings while exercising or doing other simple, repetitive chores. By forcing yourself to focus your mind on one thing, you train your brain to develop a sense of control over your attention. Studies are continuing to show promise, with some suggesting notable results in as soon as 8 weeks.

2. Ruthless Single-Tasking

Contrary to what some people believe, multi-tasking is rarely an effective way to be productive, especially not when it comes to mentally taxing work. Not only that, but it’s also harmful to your brain. Every time you move from one task to another while engaged in more than one thing, there is a cognitive cost that weights your mind down and causes needless stress.

Even switching between multiple projects and work environments over longer periods leaves behind what business-school professor Sophie Leroy calls “attention residue,” and it affects your ability to focus on the new task. Single-tasking with deep focus for extended periods helps fight these adverse side-effects. It’s both more productive and more attention-friendly.

In fact, the effects of single-tasking are similar to those inspired by mindfulness, and the more you do it, and the better you get at it, the greater your ability to purposefully direct your attention to where it matters.

3. Routine Detachment

Impulsively checking notifications and mindless web-browsing may seem innocent enough, but they often lead to subtle, reactive tendencies.

Every time you pull out your phone to scan your social media accounts, and every time a 10-minute internet break turns into an hour-long binge, your brain is building a habit loop that reinforces itself to encourage such behavior.

Naturally, these devices and technologies are an important part of modern life, but in order for them to be a net positive force in your life, you have to set boundaries. Routine detachment isn’t just ideal, but it’s critical.

I personally try not to check my notifications and emails until at least 3PM, and on the days that I succeed, I feel a notable difference in the level of control I have over my day. I also routinely go a full 24 to 48 hours without touching my computer or my smartphone.

Different things will work for different people, but you don’t quite realize how much of your daily attention is being hijacked until you step away.

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher

As the legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says in his seminal book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience:

“Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.”

Attention has the power to make you happier by helping you appreciate the little things that are easily neglected in day to day life.

Attention can allow you to bypass the limitations imposed by death because it inspires you to better use the time you already have.

Attention can guide you to a fulfilled life by forcing focus onto the things that really matter to you, rather than the things that steal you away.

Happiness, productivity, presence, and fulfillment all find their roots in your ability to proactively control where you direct your mental energy.

Although the world around us is working harder and harder to take it away from us, with awareness, practice, and the right habits, we can fight back, and we can take control of our own minds. If you protect and cultivate your attention, there is almost nothing stopping you from living the life you want, because that’s where it all begins. In fact, it may just be the only thing in your way.

Want to think and live smarter? Zat Rana publishes a free weekly newsletter for 10,000+ readers at Design Luck.

https://qz.com/1091883/technology-is-destroying-the-most-important-asset-in-your-life/?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits

And then one day, everyone watching you will notice that “ordinary” is no longer an accurate description for the person you have become. For what you have done. And they will shake their heads and remark that what they have seen is extraordinary. Because it was. And because you will be. And that’s how extraordinary happens....

126 Ways to Be Extraordinary

 

Doing something amazing isn’t an accident.

Being extraordinary doesn’t just happen. Doing something amazing isn’t an accident. Living an extraordinary life doesn’t come naturally.

What comes naturally is to just be ordinary. 

And that is how most of us stay. Ordinary. Average. Mediocre. Active yet ineffective. Moving… but not toward our dreams.

Being ordinary is a bad plan. Pursuing the path of least resistance means high-grade mediocrity and close-but-not-quite-there results.

Mediocrity is an effecting (and frustrating) villain. It is neither crashing defeat nor breathtaking failure. But a slow, soul-sucking poison. A silent assassin.

One minute you’re standing on top of the world. The next you’re at the bottom of the heap, scratching your head and wondering what happened. You’ve completely lost your mojo. And you’re not even sure how you got to this awful place called mediocrity. And more than anything else, you want your mojo back. You want that confidence, that feeling of control, that ability to perform at high levels.

You want to do more, be more.

There is a word for that. A word to describe something that transcends mediocrity. A word that communicates “more than average.”


Extra-ordinary.

Not ordinary. Something extra.

But how does extraordinary happen?

Extraordinary starts with you—perhaps an ordinary person at an ordinary job doing ordinary things on an ordinary day. No special advantages. No remarkable skills that can’t be duplicated. No large bank account. Just all-around “ordinary.”

Then, you decide to do something extra. To be something extra. Something a lot-a-bit extra. And not just one time. But day after day after day.

And then one day, everyone watching you will notice that “ordinary” is no longer an accurate description for the person you have become. For what you have done. And they will shake their heads and remark that what they have seen is extraordinary. Because it was. And because you will be. And that’s how extraordinary happens.

By not being satisfied with ordinary. By being vigilant. Being obsessed. No excuses. Just a relentless focus on being better.

It’s deciding to go the extra mile when the last mile was hard enough. It’s controlling your mind in spite of the obstacles ahead.

It comes down to this really simple thought: If you don’t make time to pursue being extraordinary, then you’ll never experience true greatness. All you’ll ever know is mediocrity.

You’re already making time to be average and ordinary.

Why not choose to be extraordinary?

1. Open the door for a stranger.

2. Say, “Thank you.”

3. Learn from your mistakes.

4. Stop whining.

5. Fear less.

6. Be kind.

7. Let yourself be inspired.

8. Lead someone.

9. Pay off debt.

10. Choose a side.

11. Pay more for quality.

12. Lend a hand.

13. Let past mistakes go.

14. Be invincible.

15. Be more efficient with your time.

16. Stop playing politics.

17. Plan to be successful.

18. Be an expert.

19. Stop defending yourself.

20. Decide to take action today.

21. Fight mediocrity.

22. Laugh at life.

23. Go to bed tired.

24. Ask what you can do better.

25. Give a stranger flowers.

26. Hold the elevator door.

27. Compliment a great idea.

28. Work on being patient.

29. Create what’s missing.

30. Stay in mental shape.

31. Practice getting back up.

32. Shake hands while looking the other person in the eye.

33. Assume the best in others.

34. Try something new.

35. Listen to your critic.

36. Get into financial shape.

37. Donate time to charity.

38. Teach what you’ve learned.

39. Give an opinion when it’s hard.

40. Care about others.

41. Pay attention to the details.

42. Be a friend.

43. Do physical labor.

44. Brag on someone else.

45. Share more.

46. Love someone.

47. Have a dream.

48. Get up an hour earlier.

49.  Write down your thoughts.

50. Apologize more.

51. Stay mentally strong.

52. Put yourself in tough places.

53. Cry when you are hurt.

54. Have a purpose each day.

55. Don’t stop until you finish.

56. Be passionate about others.

57. Pay attention to the conversation.

58. Appreciate differences.

59. Be less selfish.

60. Ease someone else’s pain.

61. Imagine the possibilities.

62. Smile at those around you.

63. Care enough to cry.

64. Make a call because “you’re thinking about them.”

65. Be a mentor.

66. Fail gracefully.

67. Practice being vulnerable.

68. Decide to be optimistic.

69. Ask more questions.

70. Read a new biography.

71. Do something outrageous.

72. Think for yourself.

73. Put in more effort.


74. Ask for help.

75. Tell the truth.


76. Get some exercise.


77. Decide not to get angry.

78. Explore new ideas.

79. Be more effective with your talents.

80. Slow down (for a few minutes).

81. Pursue your goals each day.

82. Make a list of tasks to get done.


83. Live with honor.

84. Feed your inspiration.


85. Avoid the crowd.

86. Stop being passive aggressive.


87. Find answers to your questions.


88. Be accountable.

89. Work on your biggest weakness.

90. Replace “No” with “No thanks.”

91. Let someone else get the attention.

92. Listen with your eyes.

93. Say what’s on your mind.


94. Defend your friends.

95. Shake off the straws before they break your back.

96. Offer encouragement.

97. Meditate on your goals.


98. Don’t do anything halfway.


99. Do good things for the right reasons.

100. Get help for your head.

101. Demand brutal analysis of your actions.

102. Put in the effort you expect of others.

103. Share a good example.

104. Offer to buy dinner or dessert.


105. Decide to learn from everyone.

106. Make a big deal of small wins.

107. Let life happen around you.

108. Have a big vision for those around you.

109. Enjoy others’ success.

110. Inspire others quietly.

111. Deliberately invest in healing.


112. Welcome diverse perspectives.

113. Don’t go to bed angry.

114. Anticipate the success of others.


115. Value your own time.

116. Ask others to “pay it forward.”


117. Write a kind note.

118. Offer to help for free.


119. Have a plan.

120. Overlook immaturity.


121. Care less about being right.


122. Schedule time to invest in others.

123. Give away your best idea.

124. Stop being offended so easily.


125. Remember the good times.

126. Decide that caring is more important than winning.

 

http://www.success.com/article/126-ways-to-be-extraordinary?utm_source=theladders.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange&utm_term=pubexchange-success_magazine-ladders

 

Dear Rabbi Druckman ---- You are a Criminal! (UOJ Headline - Not The Good Doctor)

Dear Rabbi Druckman

In your defense of a convicted abusive rabbi, you have become a role model for what not to do

Rabbi Haim Meir Druckman

 

What can we say except, “Thank you, Rabbi Haim Druckman. You have shown that the Halacha regarding the Laws of Talmud Torah stated in Shulchan Aruch, Yorah Deah, 246, 8, should be carefully followed.”

This rule states clearly that “a rabbi who does not act properly, even if he is a person of great knowledge and everyone needs him, we are not allowed to learn from him until he shows himself to have been able to act properly” (translation is mine).

You have also provided support for the impression repeatedly voiced among the vast number of mental health clinicians that sexual abusers are likely to re-offend, and you have further shown that those with limited experience in this area should not be trusted to make decisions about granting pardons to sexual abusers.

Unfortunately, you accomplished this at the expense of at least one additional victim at the hand of Moti Elon, an abusing rabbi, whom you supported even after he was convicted as an abuser. Not only did you allow Elon to go back to educating young men after he was condemned and known to be an abuser. you supported him in starting another new yeshiva.

And, no surprise, he abused a student, someone with credible evidence of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Elon, yet again. One can only speculate how you sleep at night now, or are you still refusing to accept Elon’s criminality?

There are some in the field of criminal rehabilitation who are staunch believers in the idea that pedophile abusers may not re-offend if given the proper treatment. What research does exist in this area, though, is extremely limited, only a select few abusers have been in treatment and for those who have been there is no longitudinal evidence to support their long-term recovery.

We are in the process of interviewing detectives and other officials who operate in special victims’ services area and related governmental positions in an extensive research project. To this point, what we have consistently been told by those we have interviewed is that, when caught, most abusers will admit only to about half as many victims as they actually abused –and abusers are the best prevaricators in existence. They are excellent at duping their victims, their communities, even their own families. I would not be surprised if still more of Elon’s students come forward with accusations against him. Our research clearly shows that abusers cannot be trusted. They are very likely to re-offend.

You apparently felt otherwise, or perhaps were charmed by his ability to fend off allegations.
Perhaps you thought that he learned his lesson and would behave properly. Maybe you decided he needed another chance. If that is the case, Rabbi Druckman, you are not alone.

I have heard all the arguments for giving abusers another chance:

• “It’s important that they have a parnassah, an income, because without that they may be more prone to act out.” Is there data anywhere to support that view? None that I am aware of. On the contrary, money does not correlate with sexual abuse.
• “We will keep an eye on them.” Without specifying how that can be continually and consistently accomplished this is akin to giving the chicken farm key to the foxes.
• “They need a shul to attend and it’s not fair to keep them out, even if there are children in that synagogue.” So you let them in to shul and sometimes are lucky and catch them only wandering where the children are before they have already pounced.
• “It isn’t fair to their family, to their children,” which is an excuse I never understood.

And, the most disturbing,

• “They have so much Torah to offer, we should give them the opportunity to continue.” If in fact this is true, then maybe the only way this should be allowed is by virtual means. Maybe they can impart knowledge without students physically present. Though I doubt that the Shulchan Aruch would agree with even distance learning from someone with such a record, because it does, in fact, state otherwise.

It is terribly unfortunate that well-intentioned, but uninformed individuals tend to make decisions they are really unprepared for. In the work I do internationally in this field, I can say that the problem exists in all cloistered communities to a similar degree. That does not excuse the mistakes made that continue to place children at risk of abuse.

If we are to stand up to abusers and protect children that must be done in legitimate ways. That includes reporting them to the proper authorities who are trained and know how to act. Not to people who believe they have the best of intentions but are misguided by a lack of insight into the real dangers.

So Rabbi Druckman, I may sound like a cynic and for that I am sorry, but that is only because I see the pain abusers cause victims daily. That, I believe, affords me a certain right to be a skeptic. I do however truly believe that there is a lesson to be learned here and you have done that for us.
Too bad it took hurting more people.

About the Author

Dr Michael Salamon, a fellow of the American Psychological Association and a 2018 APA Presidential Citation Awardee. He is the founder and director of ADC Psychological Services in New York and the author of numerous articles, several psychological tests and books including "The Shidduch Crisis: Causes and Cures" (Urim Publications) and "Every Pot Has a Cover" (University Press of America). His newest book is called "Abuse in the Jewish Community: Religious and Communal Factors that Undermine the Apprehension of Offenders and the Treatment of Victims."

Related Topics 

 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dear-rabbi-druckman/?fbclid=IwAR2AmNXGj2tkjAo0HnL9IGThN2th9zeWyLb5YoBL7dw7eCrFNBbUcYfOrnw

Rumor Has It That Eddie Murphy Graduated From The Satmar Yeshiva....With Honors...

...Just Another Day in the Catholic Neighborhood.... "I Sneak into Your House In The Middle of the Night"

Catholic Church in Illinois Withheld Names of at Least 500 Priests Accused of Abuse, Attorney General Says





Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, center, the archbishop of Chicago. “I want to express again the profound regret of the whole church for our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse,” he said in a statement



The Catholic Church in Illinois withheld the names of at least 500 priests accused of sexual abuse of minors, the state’s attorney general said Wednesday in a scathing report that accused the church of failing victims by neglecting to investigate their allegations.


The preliminary report by Attorney General Lisa Madigan concludes that the Catholic dioceses in Illinois are incapable of investigating themselves and “will not resolve the clergy sexual abuse crisis on their own.”


Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said in a statement, “I want to express again the profound regret of the whole church for our failures to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse.


“It is the courage of victim-survivors that has shed purifying light on this dark chapter in church history.”



Ms. Madigan, a Democrat who served four terms as Illinois’ attorney general and is the daughter of the state’s powerful and longtime speaker of the House, is days away from leaving office. She chose not to run again.


Kwame Raoul, a fellow Democrat who will replace Ms. Madigan in January, said he was committed to continuing the investigation Ms. Madigan had begun. He said he would work closely with prosecutors around the state on the issue.


“Today’s news demonstrates the need for ongoing diligence in investigating crimes against children taking place within institutions that do not have a history of unilateral, proactive transparency,” he said in a statement, in which he praised Ms. Madigan for initiating the investigation.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/illinois-attorney-general-catholic-church-priest-abuse.html?emc=edit_na_20181219&nl=breaking-news&nlid=32999454ing-news&ref=cta

Send Him To The Conversion, Conveyor Belt Specialists --- Hershel Schachter & Haskel Lookstein....

Report: Lenny Dykstra enjoying new life as the world's most foul-mouthed Torah scholar

 

Lenny Dykstra has found a new hobby

The long, winding road of Lenny Dykstra’s post-MLB life has found him run car washes, try to flip Wayne Gretzky’s house, declare bankruptcy, embark on book tours, enter drug rehab, serve a prison sentence and, most recently, involved an incident in which he may or may not have taken an Uber driver prisoner at gunpoint.

Now, it appears Dykstra has begun a new chapter: Torah study.

What it’s like to study the Torah with Lenny Dykstra

A report from the New York Post on Sunday followed Dykstra’s embrace of studying Jewish scripture and, as happens with most things covering Lenny Dykstra, borders on the surreal.

Take, for instance, the Post’s coverage of what is apparently not an unusual occurrence during one of Dykstra’s discussions, which take place in the basement of a wine store in New York City’s East Side:

Throughout the class, he scribbled notes — musings on the size of Joseph’s manhood as well as how he wasn’t hindered by defeat. Dykstra also wrote down a quote from the book “MoneyBall,” in which fellow former Met Billy Beane said that Dykstra “had no concept of failure.”
But after one of the study’s six attendees finished a soliloquy on Joseph’s isolation, Dykstra looked up from his paper.
“You lost me, lady.”
Still, no one balked. Not even when he suggested Joseph likely pleasured himself a lot in jail.

If you thought the setting of a subdued Torah study group was going to change Lenny Dykstra, you don’t know Lenny Dykstra.

Dykstra’s interest in Judaism was reportedly fostered through a relationship with Rabbi Shmuel Metzger, who told the Post that he grew up a Mets fan and reached out to Dykstra after seeing a Twitter video of the former big-leaguer explaining the story of Adam and Eve.

That wasn’t Dykstra’s only Twitter activity concerning Judaism, as he has prolifically tweeted his respect for the religion. That includes him praising the Miami Marlins for the Kosher options at Marlins Park, chastising users for improperly using the Hebrew phrase “Shabbat Shalom” and regular Torah analysis, like this video with what appears to be dance music playing in the background.

Dykstra still facing charges from Uber incident

As has happened more than a few times, Dykstra hit a rocky time in his life earlier this year when he was arrested and indicted for an incident that resulted in an Uber driver driving to a police station and claiming Dykstra had held a gun to his head in an attempt to force the driver to take him to Staten Island.

Police later found marijuana, a glass pipe, a straw with suspected cocaine residue, a vial of suspected cocaine and two pills thought to be MDMA on Dykstra’s person. The 55-year-old defended himself by saying he was the one actually being kidnapped by the driver.

Dykstra now faces charges of cocaine possession, meth possession and making terroristic threats in the fallout of the incident.

Dykstra addressed the case with the Post, saying he believed the charges would be thrown out and the grand jury had been misled into indicting him. He also has a pair of new business ideas:

Dykstra told The Post of two business plans he’s working on: a betting service where retired players are the handicappers, and a secret idea for the ride-share industry that, he said, would give more power to drivers.

“I want to be the guy who is going to sue [Uber] for $100 million or make them $100 million,” he said.

With all those balls in the air, there’s no knowing what the future holds for Lenny Dykstra. One thing is clear, though: Despite his fascination with Torah study, he has no plans to convert to Judaism.

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-lenny-dykstra-enjoying-new-life-worlds-foul-mouthed-torah-scholar-004844181.html?src=rss

 

Where In The World Is The Agudath Israel Now?

9 Rockland yeshivas face fines for failing to release student measles vaccination records

Nine private schools in Ramapo face hefty fines for failing to provide Rockland County health officials with a list of students who have not been fully vaccinated against measles. The schools are within a geographical area considered the nexus of Rockland's measles outbreak that numbers 94 cases as of Thursday. 

The schools each face fines of up to $2,000 a day since Nov. 16, according to Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach. Administrative hearings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

The county has ordered schools in the New Square, Monsey and Spring Valley area to restrict unvaccinated students from attending if the school's MMR vaccination rate is less than 80 percent. The rule isn't exclusively for yeshivas, but those are the schools that fit the parameters, county officials said.

The schools are being asked to provide records of students' vaccination rates. Under state public health laws, schools are required to keep a list of students' vaccination records.  Both health laws and state education laws allow exemptions from vaccination for health and/or religious reasons.

The health department, though, can restrict school attendance under certain circumstances when there are a significant number of cases of a "vaccine-preventable" communicable disease, such as the current measles outbreak in Rockland. A similar attendance restriction has also been instituted in Brooklyn, where New York City health officials say there are more than 40 measles cases in the Orthodox Jewish community. 

The county health department uses those records to verify that schools are following the department’s restrictions.

ROCKLAND, BROOKLYN, LAKEWOOD: How a measles outbreak affects different communities

ROCKLAND CASES: 15 babies, someone age 62 have contracted measles

MEASLES IN ROCKLAND: Why do so many people still not know about it?

On Monday and Tuesday, county judicial officers will conduct hearings and then make recommendations to the commissioner of health, Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert. The process is similar to sanitary code and Rockland Codes Initiative enforcement, Humbach said. Private school officials will be able to appear and make their case. The hearings will be conducted by Rockland County Judicial Hearing Officers Charles Apotheker and Stuart Lipkind.

Fines will be outlined during Wednesday's Board of Health meeting, which is at 10 a.m. at the Rockland County Health Department, Building F, Room 119 in Pomona. That meeting is open to the public.

County officials said the attendance restrictions for unvaccinated students will remain in place until 21 days after the last measles case in the area. Unvaccinated students who receive MMR shots are allowed back in school.

Schools facing fines are: 

• Yeshiva Ohr Torah 
• Bais Chana Malka 
• The Skill Building Center 
• Yeshiva Tzoin Yosef Pupa (Boys) 
• Yeshiva Tzoin Yosef Pupa (Girls)
• Ateres Bnos (two locations)
• Avir Yakov (Boys) 
• Avir Yakov (Girls) 
• Bnei Yakov Yosef

County officials said there are around 35 yeshivas that fit the criteria for attendance restrictions and the majority have provided the requested documentation and partnered with the health department.

"I don't care what school it is, if the health department deems this step has to be taken, it will be taken," Rockland County Executive Ed Day told The Journal News on Thursday. Acknowledging pushback by some schools in regards to the county restrictions, Day said, "We will grant no quarter in protection of the health of this county."

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2018/12/13/9-yeshivas-face-fines-over-measles-vaccine-records/2293794002/