Style & Living

Western law separates

Church and state;

Judaic law doesn’t

Differentiate.

A couple came to me. They had been married for many years. Their marriage was okay, the wife reported, but he has an annoying habit that drives her crazy—he doesn’t clean up after himself. He leaves his dishes on the table after eating. He leaves wrappers on the counter. And no matter how many times she asks him to improve, no matter how many times he promises that he will change, he still leaves his socks on the bedroom floor.

Recap: Penina comes to sleep over, since Shoshana’s mother had to go away. Someone is knocking on the door. They don’t stop so Penina calls Ilana and her husband comes to get the girls. The man knocking sees his car and he runs away. They go to sleep over at Ilana’s house. Ilana gives them the journal to read to distract them from being scared.

Gov. Kathy Hochul presented her budget proposal for FY 2023. In her proposal, she pledges $2 billion in additional funding for pandemic relief, which she indicated should go to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) or other rent aid programs such as the Landlord Rental Assistance Program (LRAP). The governor's numbers align with what housing advocacy groups like the Community Housing Improvement Program have been calling for in additional funding over the several few weeks. While the governor indicated the funds should be merged into the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), the funding, and overall budget, will need to be negotiated with the State Legislature. Housing groups like the Community Housing Improvement Program will be mounting a strong public relations campaign and lobbying effort to fight for this funding to be allocated to renters and their housing providers.

What was it about Yisro?

Was he especially

Wise or clever?

What gets a man immortalized

In history forever?

To be in the Holy Torah

Written by G-d Himself

Eclipses any kind of fame,

Heritage, or wealth.

Egypt had gods wall to wall;

As high priest,

Yisro served them all.

A man of prestige and import,

A respected advisor

In Pharaoh’s court.

A fateful meeting

Changed all that,

In which Pharaoh

And his top ministers sat.

Pharaoh had murder

On his mind,

Though his nation’s greatness

Came about

Through the Hebrews he maligned;

It was Joseph who had brought

Egypt supremacy.

Could he drown Joseph’s people

Without culpability?

Genocide seemed workable,

They were now

Just lowly slaves,

It had been more than

Two hundred years,

No one was coming to their aid.

Yisro spoke up,

It wouldn’t fly,

He gave level-headed reasons why:

Though their G-d may seem

To be absent now,

Things are still different

With the Hebrews somehow;

All those up till now

Who’ve attempted their fall

Found themselves

Behind the eight ball.

Yisro seeing Pharaoh’s face

Recalled a proverb learned in youth:

Have one foot in the stirrup

When you’re telling the truth.

He lit out for Midian,

At least he had tried,

Went from high priest

To lowly shepherd,

A great empire left behind.

Bil’am being quite the persuader

Got Pharaoh behind him,

Extermination of Hebrews

The new agenda in Mitzrayim.

Yisro sifted through the evidence

Between the chaff and pure;

He saw mind sets that would pass

And those that would endure.

Saw Hashem’s perfect justice

For him, that turned the tide,

After living all the lies,

He had found the other side.

It is every man’s wish

To leave a legacy,

To forever be a part

Of history.

Yisro accomplished that

In a way not many could,

For he discerned and extolled

HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s

Great good,

The truth that had made Yisro run

From fame and glory

Brought him true greatness

As a part of the real story.

By Sharon Marcus

I believe that most women, before they get married, have already identified a number of items that, when “corrected,” will greatly improve their husband. The average kallah walks down the aisle with a ten-point home-improvement policy, the focus of which is that fellow standing under the canopy—her husband-to-be. Look, he’s a great guy, but... First off, those shoes have got to go. And those ties, forget about them... Then there’s this coming late business…