You'll Never See It

We have all heard someone tell us that if just believe we can do something, we can do it. This is absolutely true. People only perceive what their minds expect. The mind will not register something that contradicts the norm. This was the phenomenon that occurred when the Spaniards made first contact w/ the natives in America and the natives were unable to see the Spanish ships. This was because they had no frame of reference to allow their minds to register and recognize the presence of the huge ships. This system for frame of reference develops during childhood and the mind typically becomes fully 'hardwired' by age 23.
So just think; If we change the way we think now we will enable ourselves to accomplish so much more. If the mind can shut out images of entire ships simply because it does not think it is actually there, imagine the talents your mind inhibits you from utilizing simply because you tell yourself you can't do it!
Don't believe this is possible? This video will prove it. You will not see it until you are told it is there. Otherwise your brain will fail to recognize its presence.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

If Things Could be Redone

I recently thought about Nicola Tesla. Many think Thomas Edison was the master of electricity but that is not the truth at all. Nicola Tesla had developed a far superior form of electricity, AC, to Edison’s DC current. Aside from his invention of the radio communication and whatnot, one of the most amazing things Tesla created was a wireless power plant. Tesla discovered that the Earth itself, through terrestrial stationary waves, could be used as a conductor of electricity under certain frequencies. He constructed a plant in Colorado Springs. When the Colorado Springs Tesla Coil magnifying transmitter was energized, it created sparks 30 feet long and could be seen 10 miles away. Tesla had a field of 200 lamps, simply planted in the ground, which was powered from 25 miles away.

Financially supported by J. Pierpont Morgan, Tesla built the Wardenclyffe laboratory and its famous transmitting tower in Shoreham, Long Island. It was 187 feet high, capped by a 68-foot copper dome which housed the magnifying transmitter. It was planned to be the first broadcasting system, sending out signals and electricity in unlimited amounts to any part of the globe. His discovery of terrestrial stationary waves could be used to power ocean liners, destroy warships, run industry and transportation and send communications instantaneously all over the globe.

But it was too efficient. Eventually his main investor pulled out and I believe this quote couldn’t explain Tesla’s fate any better, “If anyone can draw on the power, where do we put the meter?” Edison seized the opportunity and launched a vicious smear campaign against Tesla. Without funding and under attack from Edison, Tesla was forced to withdraw his amazing discovery from society, and Edison and his wires took over to this day.

I couldn’t help but think how radically different our life would be had Tesla succeeded. We would be living a life free of wires! Imagine, no batteries, no telephone polls, no need for a (satellite) cell phone even, because it would all come from the ground! And yet, all because of the above events, such a thing seems preposterous. Now we are stuck with what we have and it would be almost impossible to change it. This is because technology evolves. Very few things are a true innovation. Almost everything we have today is based on the technology before it. Whatever method the first of a technology is implemented, that will affect all the subsequent technologies after it.

So I though about all the things that would be different if they were invented on a different concept. Like;

What if the engine wasn’t engine wasn’t based on combustion?

What if computers weren’t based on 1s and 0s?

Or transistors?

What if weapons weren’t based on a ballistic object? What if they were based on energy or something?

What if TVs weren’t based on pixels?

What if cameras weren’t based on heliographs?

There’s a ton of other considerations one can ponder. Just take the time to ponder what various things would be like if their original inventions had slightly different concepts. It’s too bad really. Our world would be so much more efficient and different if Tesla’s innovation had been allowed to develop.

And Now to Lift the Curtian on My Next Pet Project

The People Project

Lifting the Curtain

Yeshivabound.com is a new project I created to finance the cost of yeshiva tuition. I had the idea last year when I remembered a new story about a woman who got out of credit card debt through anonymous donations via a website she created. I figured; Why not do the same thing? Thanks to a story Shmais published, we've raised $1,107.28. I've been emailing several other news sources and three are likely to publish the following:

B”H

Four years later…almost one hundred thousand dollars apiece in tuition and expenses for High School. This is the result of a promise they made to themselves at pivotal moments in their young lives. Each young man had achieved the lofty goal of completing yeshiva in spite of having come from backgrounds almost completely devoid of any Judaism whatsoever. Dovid Staples, 17, a geir who declared at his bar mitzvah a little more than a year after becoming Jewish that he was going to Yeshiva, and Adam Finck, who had gone from a skateboarding kid with punk rock hair to shliach to the small community of Brattleboro, Vermont set their sights once again on a new goal; S’micha.

However, before reaching the goal of S’micha they must attend Zal. Both fine young men have been accepted to the esteemed Yeshiva Gedolah in Melbourne, Australia. Getting accepted wasn’t the problem. Both young men had excellent references. The problem, once again is paying the tuition.

The brainstorming began. It was clear they could not finance the cost themselves, but how could they still raise the funds? They needed a way to reach hundreds of people. They needed an easy way for people to contribute even from a distance. They needed something that would be extremely easy for their donors, something they could do right from their own home. Dovid turned to his friend Adam, “You know, this sounds a lot like a website.” Thus the idea for Yeshivabound.com was born.

Dovid Staples appointed himself the architect of Yeshivabound.com. Not that he knew the first thing about web design – he’s the one who owned the computer, so by default the job fell to him. This proved to be a daunting task. Adam’s mother, Charna Gross, however, offered key advice and guidance and Yeshivabound.com finally began to take shape. In June of 2009, it was launched.

On the website visitors can read the short biographies of Dovid and Adam and donate increments of money through a secure Paypal service. One innovative feature are the donate buttons, which are designated according to time-value instead of money value. By dividing the tuition into hours, days, weeks, or even months of learning, visitors get a better feel for what they are paying for. “It’s a much more satisfying way to give,” says Staples. “When someone sponsors, say, an hour (only $4.00) they see exactly how their money is being used. They know that one hour of our learning is thanks to them.”

Perhaps the most convenient feature is the Auto-Mitzva Button. This feature allows visitors to subscribe to monthly $25 donations. “$25 a month is a mere eighty three cents a day; something to think about when you buy your morning coffee,” Staples explains.

Another perk for donors is the ‘Our Donors’ page; a page dedicated to any person who donates, unless they choose to opt out. The Yeshivabound boys explain they want their donors to be just as involved as they are.

The biggest obstacle facing the Yeshivabound boys is promotion of their website. “We obviously don’t have much to spend on marketing. We have a Facebook page and that is the main vehicle for promoting ourselves. We mostly rely on word-of-mouth,” says Staples. Through Facebook they’ve gotten several hits from across the globe, especially in the U.S., the U.K., Israel, and Australia,” but exposure has not yet translated into big dollars. “I can’t figure out how to get people who visit the site to go the next step and press that big “DONATE” button,” grins Staples, “We are just starting to get people to look at the site, but I can’t honestly say it’s raised a significant amount as of yet. I decided to put a Donate One Hour button on the home page and say ‘Since you’re already here, at least donate an hour!’ I think that’s worked at least once. We just need more exposure; after all we are only about three months old, so I am confident things will change. School starts in October so we hope it changes really soon!”

The parents of the yeshivabound boys are immensely proud of their efforts. “It bothers me that I can’t do more to help my son with the tuition. This was an extremely difficult year. I know it will get better soon. I am so inspired that it hasn’t discouraged him. In fact, it’s been like a driving force stirring him to think of other ways to get to Australia.”

The ambitious Yeshivabound boys indicate the website doesn’t stop with them. They hope that one day Yeshivabound.com will be a source of financial help for other up-and-coming bochurim like themselves. “It wouldn’t be in the very near future,” says Staples, “but many charitable organizations started out with just a few people invested in their own cause. If Yeshivabound.com really works for us, we can see it turning into something a lot bigger.” Finck agrees, “I already have a bochur in the lineup when the time comes.” Someone has already asked if they would be willing to sell the nameYeshivabound.com. “That would be cool.” Finck stated. Turning to his yeshivabound friend, Dovid joked, “I suppose we could do that for twenty four thousand dollars. After all, that’s our tuition.”

Second Thoughts & the Funny Thing About Parents

B”H

The subject of parents has gotten me thinking about my own. If you think about it, it, parenting seems a little absurd. I haven’t really thought about all that they give until recently. Until now I’ve been running my eBay gig and with that I can pay for my own clothes when I need them, my own haircuts, my dry cleaning etc. but then I put a huge investment into the Dish Network G3 purple cards, then I had to pay the bill for my AP chemistry class as well as algebra II, and then I realized, until Mexico calls me about the cards, I’m broke! To make matters worse, the feds conducted a sting operation on ViewSat and the card market has gone cold for now. (If you don’t understand what all this means, just understand it means I’m broke.) Now I’m back to relying on my parents to buy me the pants I need since I ripped a couple others. Then I needed a haircut. Then a new textbook. And I started to realize how much my parents invest in me- without any physical return.

I set a goal for myself. I’m going to get smicha. I won’t be a pulpit Rabbi or a shliach, but I will have my smicha because it means something for me. If anything it will cost my family almost $50,000 in tuition for zal. Yet my parents have decided to do everything to allow me to achieve that goal. It won’t bring me any more money. It won’t get me a better job. And it certainly won’t do any of that for my parents either. But it’s my goal.

My family is in a real financial rut and me going to zal certainly does not help that. My mother has been pulling out her hair over it. She went to school for medical billing. She’s scrambling to find a job. They spend as little as possible. And my mother has gotten down to begging for the school in Melbourne to lower their down-payment. And this is all simply because I want to go. If it weren’t for that, things would be much calmer in my home and easier for my mother in particular. Reflecting on this, I can only feel guilty, selfish even. All this stress has been brought down solely because of me. That’s fact.

This guilt got me thinking, do I really need this? Is it worth all the hardship it brings to my parents? My father had to sell his prized 1000cc Honda CVR- he even gave that bike a name- so we would have more money to pay the rent and tuition. My little brother is going to NY next year too, and that will cost money as well. Frankly I believe his yeshiva education takes precedent over mine. As a matter of principle, when I say I have a goal, I do it. But I was starting to thing if such pride was becoming an unnecessary burden on my family. I had to think. At any moment I could decide not to go. But if I did that there would be so many people looking at me in bewilderment because this is what I am supposed to do. I quickly shut out that thought. I will not go to zal simply because that’s what everyone’s supposed to do. I hate that mentality. I’m only going because I want to. But that’s what I want. I began to realize the affect that want was having on those around me.

If I didn’t go to zal, I’d go to university. Sad to say but the fact is a university is far easier to finance than yeshiva, and I would have no problem getting merit based scholarships either. I even approached my mother and asked, hypothetically of course, what her reaction would be if I just decided not to go. She responded that it would be something we all would have to sit down and talk about, and she would have to know what I would be doing instead, but she would support whatever I decided since I was mature enough to make such choices.

I finally told my mother the guilt I was feeling about the seemingly unnecessary burden I was placing on the family. Especially since it was something I didn’t have to do nor would it contribute toward my future career. She simply stopped, looked right at me and said, “Stop. You’re not allowed to think that. You are not allowed to feel guilty about this at all.” I explained that of course I should because this was something that was all about me and what I wanted. “That isn’t true,” she responded, “You going to zal and getting smicha is your goal, and therefore it’s our goal too and it’s something we want to happen. I want you to go to zal and anything else you want to do. Don’t you see what kind of pride it is for us, to go from church going Christians to the proud parents of a Rabbi?”

That was precisely what I needed to hear and it enlightened me to an amazing thing about parents. So much time, effort, and money goes into raising a child. It’s an absurd concept because there is no physical return. You don’t get rich. You don’t get a house. You don’t win a prize. And especially in the case of my parents, in which we’re practically being driven to the poor house in the name of my goals, it seems absurd. But now I see that the nature of a parent, at least with mine, is whatever the hopes and goals of the children are, those are the hopes and goals of the parents. Because the parents see themselves in the success of their children. That brings them more satisfaction than anything. Sort of a funny concept if you think about it, but true. That realization put my thoughts of guilt and selfishness to rest.

Besides, I’m going to buy them a gigantic house when I get older- and replace my father’s Honda CVR.

You Can't Put a Law on Parenting

B”H

I’ve been taking these random polls on Facebook. It’s addictive because I vote, leave a comment, and then get into a long debate with people who don’t agree with me. I must admit though, the real fun comes from squashing the argument of the opposing side.

One such poll was about a proposed law in New Zealand that would outlaw parents from smacking their kids as a disciplinary measure and some talks about implementing the same thing here in the states. The poll was a simple “yes” or “no” as to whether or not this was a good law. I voted NO.

First off it doesn’t matter if it’s good parental practice or not. The fact of the matter is that it is a parental practice. You can’t make a law that will inhibit a parent’s right to raise their kids in a manner that they choose. It’s not the government’s business and it impedes the freedoms of its citizens. Such a law would be tyrannical. I for one, am wary of what should and should not be in the government’s control and unfortunately people take for granted how unnecessarily big it has gotten. If they can tell you how to raise your kids, then what’s next?

The supposed logic behind the proposition is that it will finally penalize abusive parents that beat their children. This is poor justification for a variety of reasons. The first and for-most one being that disciplinary smacking can not be compared to abuse. They are incredibly different. A responsible parent will only use enough force to correct the wrong and never does so out of impulse, anger, and certainly not for pleasure. An abusive parent will. Of course, as I was debating with strangers on Facebook, there were still people that insisted that it was. One lady in particular said, “Well I don’t understand why smacking is on the OK list and not on the abuse list.” “Because it’s not.” I responded. “Why not? You’re bringing physical pain to someone.” I thought for a second and replied, “Then why isn’t a timeout abuse? You’re imprisoning someone.” She told me she had to think on that. Another reason why this is faulty logic for such a law is because there are already officials in place to respond to such cases. Making such a law would result in such an overwhelming amount of reports that the real abusive parents would float under the radar.

Others still supported such a law for reasons that still don’t justify anything. A few people claimed that there were far better ways to raise their kids and that smacking them was not necessary. To these people I pointed out that it was great that they found a good way to raise their kids, but that was their choice. Just because they felt they found a better alternative route does not justify imposing it on other parents as well. There is no one-size-fits-all kind of parenting. There is no ultimate method of raising kids and there never will be. Every parent has their own values and every child responds in different ways. Just because one parent finds a great way to raise their kids in no way implies it will work for their neighbors. Parenting is dynamic. There is only one rule; whatever method of parenting is decided, both parents must remain consistent. But there must still be a choice. A law takes that away and criminalizes many good parents.

Still, even after all that, there were those that held fast to their argument. They claimed that smacking or spanking your kids was abusive because it teaches them violence, it’s a power trip for the parents, it demeans their character, and the list goes on and on. One man, from Denmark I believe, insisted that spanking caused everlasting damage to the child and claimed the only way to handle children was to explain and talk to them and then they would make the right choice. I had to point out that this was a little absurd. A little kid is not going to possess the intellect or maturity to just make the right choices because you made a sound argument. A child will do what he wants and will find his own ways of justifying it, especially when he realizes, as in the case with this fellow, that you’re not really going to do anything about it. And as for ‘everlasting damage,’ this was not true I pointed out. A quick shell shock and the problem is resolved. And you know what? The child doesn’t do it again! That is a lot quicker than trying to logically explain everything your children and then just have them not listen to you anyway. And I also pointed out that it wasn’t like parents smack their children right off the bat either. Most times a verbal warning is enough. I also explained that children are not owed an explanation from their parents. Parents do not need to justify themselves to their children. Later in life the child will mature and understand why their mother or father said ‘no’ in such-and-such a case. And again, once the child learns that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ there is no need to smack or spank because the child will listen to what the parent says- the first time. But the Denmark man would not let up. One woman pointed out how she sees such monstrous kids in the store wailing and screaming because they wanted something and their parents seemingly powerless to stop them. The woman explained that her kids would not do something like that because a quick swat would be coming to shut them up. To the Denmark man commented, “So you’re saying that you have no problem humiliating your kids in public?” The guy set himself up, “Let me ask you Mr. ***,” I responded, “which is better; to be constantly humiliated yourself because you have a misbehaved child or to quickly embarrass your kid once and not have to repeat it again?”

If that wasn’t enough, Mr. Denmark and others insisted that such an upbringing raised violent and bad people. To this I used myself as an example. I was raised with such parenting, and I feel that I am much more responsible, well mannered and mature because of it. My parents are constantly complemented about how polite and respectful their children are with their ‘sirs’ and ‘maams’ and whatnot. I have looked at the other kids my age, and much older, and literally thanked my parents because I’m nothing like them. So don’t tell me what kind of men and women come from such parenting. Alas, in one ear and out the other it was with these people. Finally Denmark man said, “I’ve only smacked my kid twice and it was because I was angry and I was under pressure from other things.” He set himself up again. I pounced, “Ah so there we have it. Smacking and spanking doesn’t work for you. But it works fine for many others.” That’s the whole point, whatever way you find to raise your kids is fine because there is no one way to do it. But raise your own kids.

My Brother's Bar-Mitzva Speech

B"H

This is just the speech I prepared for my little brother. It's based on a meimer by the Fredikre Rebbe. It had to be shortened but this is the original. Personally I think it aint that bad.

This week’s parsha, my bar-mitzvah parsha, is parshas Eikev. The names parshos are given are not a coincident. The one word that makes the name of a parsha always has a deep lesson.

The word ‘Eikev’ is translated as ‘because’ as in “because of your listening to these laws,” this and this will happen.

Another meaning of Eikev can be ‘heel’. This gives us two lessons;

Rashi explains that this teaches that we should be careful to fulfill even the seemingly minor mitzvot which we might tend to “trample over with our heels” as Rashi puts it.

Another explanation is that Eikev, heel, refers to the generation right before moshiach, our generation, which is said by our sages to be “on the heels of moshiach.” According to the Tzemach Tzedeck it’s a time when the Jews will listen to the laws and hasten the coming of moshiach.

But how are these two explanations connected? And what is the true meaning of “being on the heels of moshiach?”

As some of you have learned, many explain that our generation is so special because we are completing the “last licks” as you might say of all the generations before us. We’re simply doing the last bit of hard work that all the previous generations did. But we learn from the name of the parsha that we have a special quality, that we are called on the heels of moshiach.

Being likened to the heel has a special significance. The Fredikre Rebbe explains in one of his meimarim that the heel is much easier to put in hot water than the head. Why is this so? The most complicated and physically highest organ in the body is the brain. We learn in chasidus that the brain is also the place where the G-dly soul is most manifest. As you go down the body you find the organs become less refined. The heart is less complicated than the brain. The liver less refined than the heart and so on. The lowest and least refined part of the body is the foot.

Chasidus explains that the soul has certain powers. There are two levels of these soul powers. The first level, the powers of intellect and emotion, are particular powers which are not manifest in the body equally. The power of intellect for one has its source in the brain. However, a certain amount of the soul’s power of intellect has to be revealed to the rest of the body in order to perform its functions. A good example is learning how to write. A glimmer of the soul’s power of intellect is passed to the hand in order to be able to write. However, the intellect revealed to the rest of the body is a mere glimmer compared to that in the brain. Also the levels of intellect revealed vary according to the organ. In general, the further from the brain, the less intellect is revealed to that organ. We see this by how the organs get simpler and simpler as we move further from the brain.

Now the second level of soul powers has the power of will. The power of will is different. It is manifest throughout the whole body in the same way. When I want to move my hand, my hand just moves. When I want to kick my foot, it just does it. It doesn’t matter which part of my body it is because the power if will is the same. So if the power of will surrounds the entire body then it also affects the brain too. I can decide what I want to think about. But there’s a funny thing about the power of will over the brain. The power of will is not as strong over the brain as other parts of the body! Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head and couldn’t make it stop? That’s an example of how will doesn’t effect the brain the same way it affects the rest of the body.

Why is this so? Because the brain is such a strong source of intellect that the power of will is less effective on it.

So this answers why the foot is easier to put in hot water that the head. As we pointed out, the further you get from the brain, the less intellect is given to that part of the body. So the foot would have the least amount of intellect! Therefore the foot is more obedient to the soul’s will than the head.

So that’s why our generation is so lucky to be called “on the heels of moshiach.” True, we lack the deep knowledge and understanding of the torah of the generations before us, the “heads” of our generation, but we, like the heel, are more faithful than ever before. This is Mesirus Nefesh, total self-sacrifice to do G-d’s will, even if it means immersing ourselves in hot water; we just do it because Hashem said.

And that’s how these two explanations are connected. We, like the heel, lack the knowledge of the generations of the temple to understand the true meanings behind the mitzvos. Instead we just do all the mitzvos simply because G-d told us too.

And that is the lesson we learn from the name of our parsha. Our simple an

The License Plate Prophetess

B”H

During the very brief trip to NY the ohel was one of our stops. We took a taxi there and planed to hitch a ride back to Crown Heights. Getting there was fine but getting back took a bit longer than expected. Sitting on the side of the road in front of the ohel we inquired Jew after Jew and is seemed that no one was going to CH that day. Finally a nice lady walked past us and said “Crown Heights? Yes! Come with me!”

We got in the car, explained our business there, she wished my brother a mazel tov and we were on our way. Some small talk was made to become acquainted and I was soon listening to quite an interesting series of stories. What I learned was that this lady had a unique connection with G-d—through license plates.

She explained to us that once in a while she would see a vanity plate, and it would be just the right message at just the right time. The messages and the timing are always so perfect she told us, that it had to be hashgacha pratis. The first notable plate she had seen was when she was having a terrible day. “I was driving and just feeling awful. I was just feeling like this when in front of me a car drove up an its license plate said ‘SMILETOME’ right then and there I couldn’t help but smile, I began to laugh oh goodness. Since then I’ve kept a list of them and each one has its own story.” She showed us this list. It was 39 plates long and one bumper sticker. Many of them were just the right plate at just the right time;

ARYE- a friend of hers had been having some trouble with her son. Whenever she saw a notable plate she would call her friend and tell her to keep her spirits up. Arye is the name of her friend’s son.

LUVMORE- She was having a bad day with her husband and was feeling quite angry with him after exchanging some heated words. Almost immediately she saw this plate.

JUST B U- people were always telling her she needs to be mellower and whatnot. Then she saw this plate.

RU N 4FUN- happened to be the same moment she was going on a trip with the family.

4GETABTIT- another bad day made better by this plate which appeared right when she was feeling down.

GO 2 770- this one is my favorite. On her way out to work it was the first plate she saw. Of course she couldn’t go to 770 at that moment because she had to go to work but she promised she would go as soon as she got off. Later in the day when she got out she went straight to 770. Lo and behold there was a little girl wailing and crying because she couldn’t find her mother. She went over to the little girl calmed her down and said “No problem. We’re gonna go to my house get you something to eat and find your mother. Everything’s going to be fine.” This calmed the girl down and eased things immensely. Eventually the girl’s mother came and all was well. All because she came to 770 at that exact moment.

There were many more (we went through the entire list) and I began to think that with this woman driving, I was bound to see my own divinely inspired vanity plate. In no time a car turned in front of us that read, ASKDLORD.

Changing of the Guard

B”H

It was a one day trip. Got in by morning. Left by night fall. I’m rather disappointed by it’s brevity but it was a good farewell to a chapter of my life. My brother and I had gone for his first aliya in the Rebbe’s office, quite unique! I also took him to the Rebbe’s ohel which of course was a sobering experience. One stop on the day’s to do list was to take Simcha to have his interview with R. Bryski. Naturally, even after I graduated and left, as soon as I walked in I was in trouble. Apparently I had taken books out of the public library and never returned them. They sent two letters to the school about it. So as soon as I walked in I got a short lecture- just like the good old days.

I left my brother in R Bryski’s lair and explored the now empty school full of thought. I lived in this place for four years. Since eighth grade I’ve spent far more time here than I’ve had at home. I’m here for the last time to close a significant portion of my life. Now I walk away from it toward wherever. The feeling is extremely intriguing. I am so lucky to live a life that %99 of everyone my age hardly reflects. By being away from home, having to figure out ways to pay for my daily expenses, dealing with problems that arise, without the help of mother and father that other teens have, has really given me an edge and a maturity that can’t be achieved by staying home. I’ve heard toomany times from other people how awful it is that I was sent away so early. But that is simply ignorance. I chose to go away to school. I wanted it. And what these critics don’t understand is the huge benefit one gets by immersing themselves in such an environment so far from home.

I’m always going to have memories of my time Chanoch Lenaar. My constant battles with R Bryski, the fun I had with the guys, the shlichus me and my friend Odom preformed in Brattleboro VT, the trouble we’d get into, and all the people I met. It’s not over but it feels like it is. I’ve met a good many wonderful people here in CH and now my time is up. I’ll go to Australia and meet more wonderful folks there. I’ll keep in touch with those I’ve met in CH but for the most part it’s done. It’s a little saddening but it’s also inspiring. I’m moving on to the next chapter, and after that I’ll move on to the next one, until I accomplish what I want to accomplish and finally settle down with a family. But in the meantime, being able to let go is just part of the journey.

My brother did well in his interview. The staff all like him (after all he is a Staples) and R Bryski says he’ll for sure get in. So it’s the little Stapes’ turn. He’ll have his own little adventures, funny stories to tell, and fantastic families to meet. I’ve already got him lined up with good families for Shobbos and other guys to show him around. And in the meantime I move on. One Stapes in, another Stapes out.