Israelis will go to the polls again on March 23. This is the fourth election in about two years, and we are getting really tired of this.

As in every election since 1967, the main issue people are voting on is “What should Israel do with Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)? The politicians don’t like to admit that. They don’t want to push themselves into a corner. They prefer to leave themselves open to receiving as many votes from as many constituencies as possible. But it’s a fact. All the elections are about that.

As the world is starting to undertake an unprecedented vaccination effort to control the current pandemic, it might be useful to look at other historic vaccination programs.

Smallpox

Attempts at smallpox vaccination have gone on for many centuries using material from the smallpox pustules of people with mild cases or from cowpox pustules to inoculate healthy persons. The most widely recorded example occurred in 1768 when Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, allowed a Scottish physician to inoculate (vaccinate) her. She developed a mild case, recovered after two weeks, and then had fluid from her own pustules used to inoculate her son and members of her court. After Catherine’s heroic action, inoculation became quickly accepted, and by 1780 two million inoculations were administered in the Russian Empire. An alternative and improved method of vaccination was introduced in 1796 by Edward Jenner, who noted that milkmaids who had been infected with cowpox, a skin infection caused by a virus related to the smallpox virus, did not get smallpox. He removed fluid from the cowpox pustules of a young dairymaid and inoculated an eight-year old boy. The child developed a mild fever but recovered – a successful but highly unethical experiment.

Navigating the shidduch system was a cinch when the Baby Boomers dated. That’s because there was no system – and yet, singles did not suffer from the shidduch “crisis” referred to today. In addition to meeting at shul, school, and singles events, they met at Shabbos tables, Catskill hotels, libraries, and even Tashlich. Relatives, friends, classmates, students, workmates, and neighbors often proposed (no pun intended) ideas. Oh, and suggestions were also made by shadchanim.

There was no such thing as today’s mandatory shidduch profile (more commonly called by the misnomer “resume”), and guys (or their mothers) did not insist on seeing the girl’s photo prior to going out. An extensive preliminary FBI (Frum Bureau of Investigation) check of references did not exist. After hearing some details, you basically trusted the person who broached the idea and then relied on your own judgment.

It seems like the last tax year never ended; it just flowed into this year. Of course, with COVID, last year has been pretty crazy. In fact, in addition to our health, schools, simchas, and shuls, the virus has affected our taxes.

COVID Tax Issues

First, two minor points: 1) You did not have to take money (RMDs) out of your IRAs and retirement accounts in 2020. 2) You also get to claim charity of $300 if you do not itemize. Nothing overwhelming there.

I remember Purim last year, when we all sat in shul listening to the Megillah. No one thought about “social distancing” as we broke our fast together in packed social halls. The term hadn’t been invented.. Those successive urgent email messages from the Agudath Israel hadn’t begun yet either. And masks and gloves were still primarily worn by doctors and nurses. But before too long, the world as we knew it had completely changed, and we started to wonder when it would ever be the same again. Remarkably, our lives began to transform in good ways, too. We became more focused on davening, and our learning had more meaning than ever before. We rose to the challenges that Hashem put before us and forged ahead.

The use of silver and gold has a long history, beginning from when the Jewish people left Egypt. These precious metals were used in the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash, and Jews throughout history fashioned beautiful items from them to enhance the mitzvas.

When it comes to silver, Gilda’s Gifts is a Baltimore “institution,” serving the needs of Baltimoreans for 36 years. I had the opportunity to interview Gilda to find out about her business. When Gilda began her story of hashgacha pratis, I was surprised to learn that my father actually played a part in the story.

Chazal say that childbirth is one of three keys that Hashem retains and does not give control of to an intermediary. Childbirth is an amazing, primal process over which we have little control. Science still doesn’t completely understand many of the hormonal mechanisms of labor. The fact that a woman gets pregnant, carries her baby to full term, gives birth safely to a healthy baby, and experiences an uncomplicated postpartum period can only be considered a miracle.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, our nation witnessed the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, a gleaming edifice of marble and gold described by the Gemara as the most magnificent building in the world. To this day, we cherish the memory of that structure along with the ever-present hope that it will soon be rebuilt. A new book, titled The Original Second Temple: An Illustrated Guide to the Layout and Design of the Pre-Herodian Beis Hamikdash (Feldheim, 2021) by local author Yoav Elan sheds a new light on this timeless topic.

 When we stand at the Kosel, we are looking at the remnants of the western wall of Har Habayis (Temple Mount). Two thousand years ago, the entire Har Habayis was surrounded on all four sides by tall walls like this one. Each wall had one or more gates to allow the steady flow of pedestrian traffic to enter and exit Har Habayis. The following excerpt (with some additional material from my blog) gives a brief overview of the gates of Har Habayis, and concludes with an interesting connection between the Beis Hamikdash and the upcoming holiday of Purim.*

The storm has been raging now for a full year, and some days I feel like I can barely keep my head above water. We are living life day-to-day, never knowing what text message we will find in the morning to tell us of another class closed or another name to have in mind in our prayers. Struggling against powerful currents that pull us farther and farther from shore, we search for a bubble of calm that we can use to steady ourselves like an anchor in rough seas.

These essays were written about Covid 19 for the Machon Menoras Hachochma 2^nd annual Esther Malka national writing contest by the 9^th grade students of Mesivta Shaarei Chaim.