In this screen grab from video issued by Britain’s Oxford University, a volunteer is injected with either an experimental COVID-19 vaccine or a comparison shot as part of the first human trials in the U.K. to test a potential vaccine, led by Oxford University in England on April 25, 2020. About 100 research groups around the world are pursuing vaccines against the coronavirus, with nearly a dozen in early stages of human trials or poised to start. (University of Oxford via AP)
By: Alan Dershowitz
Most of the emails and phone calls that I have gotten since I stated that the Constitution permits safe mandatory vaccination against highly contagious and lethal diseases have been from anti-vaxxers who claim the authority of the Bible. Have they actually read the Bible? Of course, the Bible says nothing about vaccinations: they were not even imagined at the time, but the Bible speaks volumes about the need to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Large sections of the Bible deal with diagnosing contagious diseases such as leprosy and quarantining carriers outside the city walls until they were no longer contagious. The Bible also demands that we choose life over convenience, money or other values.
We all know that the devil can cite scripture to his purposes. Supporters of slavery cited the Bible, as did anti-Semites and anti-gay bigots. And now anti-vaxxers are distorting and weaponizing the Good Book, religion and God against science. This has happened before, with evolution, the age of the earth, abortion and assisted suicide. But this time the anti-vaxxers who cite the Bible have no plausible argument as anyone can see by turning to Leviticus and other portions of both the Jewish Bible and the Christian New Testament.
These are God’s words, as recorded in Leviticus, Chapters 13 and 14. “The priest shall isolate” the contagious person for seven days and then an additional seven days if the contagion persists. “And he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” Nor was this quarantine voluntary. The priest could compel it. In light of the Bible’s great concern for preventing the spread of contagious diseases – innumerable rules and regulations are devoted to it — can there be any doubt that if a safe and effective vaccine had been developed, it, too, would have been mandated along with a compelled quarantine?
It should not be a crime to miscite the Bible for political or ideological purposes, but it surely is a sin to take God’s name in vain. The idea that a deity who demands that we choose life would have opposed the ending of smallpox, polio, Ebola and other contagious diseases whose spread has been prevented by vaccines, defies understanding by those of us who have actually studied the Bible. I have written two books about the Bible, and taught a seminar at Harvard Law School entitled, “The Scriptural Sources of Justice” in which we studied the relationship between scripture –the Jewish and Christian Bibles as well as the Koran – and systems of justice throughout the ages. Students wrote papers and explored numerous contemporary issues.
No rational person I am aware of has ever demonstrated that these sources would stand in the way of lifesaving measures, including vaccination, which has now become common throughout the world.
To be sure, no one should be compelled to take a vaccine that has not been proven safe and effective. But once a vaccine meets those demanding standards, religion should be on the side of saving lives not risking them. At the very least, the Bible and God should not be cited against these life-saving measures. Anti-vaxxers are free to cite science, philosophy, law— but do not miscite the Bible or God. It is irreligious and insults the intelligence of those who have actually studied the Bible by assuming, as many do, that the Bible opposes everything they oppose.
Invoking the Bible and God is intended not as a stimulus to further debate, but rather as an argument- stopper: God is against it; no further discussion, research or argument is necessary; the debate is over. That should never be the case, even when the Bible is clearly against something such as gay sex. It should certainly not be the case when the Bible is being miscited and misused for ideological or political purposes.
I challenge any religious leader to point to specific biblical or religious sources to support the claim that God is on the side of anti-vaxxers. They will not be able to. They simply assume that God is on the side of every political or ideological position they espouse. If that is not taking the name of God in vain, I don’t know what is. And I have a source for that: The Ten Commandments.
So, let the debate continue as scientists work overtime to try to develop an effective and safe vaccine against the coronavirus, but let’s not distort or end the debate by introducing phony religious arguments based on a misreading of the Bible and other scriptural sources.
(Gatestone Institute)
Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of the book, Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo, Skyhorse Publishing, November 2019. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
Adam C. Hochfelder is a Long Island born executive who co-founded the real estate firm Max Capital in 1996, with members of the powerful Kalikow real estate family. Photo Credit: The Real Deal
The Problem with the “Wharton Whiz Kid”
By: JV Staff
Can the “Wharton Whiz Kid” Ever Tell the Truth?
Adam C. Hochfelder is a Long Island born executive who co-founded the real estate firm Max Capital in 1996, with members of the powerful Kalikow real estate family, as was reported by Wikipedia.
At its peak, Max Capital had ownership or management stakes in 8,000,000 square feet (740,000 m2) of space, including the Helmsley Building and the Conde Nast Building in Manhattan. At one point in time, his property portfolio was valued at a staggering $2.7 billion.
Some of the nation’s largest institutions invested side by side with Hochfelder including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Fidelity. He bought out N. Richard Kalikow from his partnership because of a soured relationship in 2002. Hochfelder paid Kalikow $35 million, of which $18 million was Hochfelder’s own money, and he borrowed $17 million from banks to help finance the buyout of Kalikow.
Wikipedia reported that some of the loans were collateralized in a manner inconsistent with reporting regulations. Hochfelder voluntarily paid back all of the money to complete the transaction. Due to NYS regulations, he was obligated to serve 14 months in a NYS program.
Hochfelder is known as the “Wharton Whiz Kid” for his ability to financially structure and acquire some of NYC’s largest properties which helped him generate multimillion-dollar deals. Currently, Hochfelder is the Managing Director of Real Estate Acquisitions & Development at Merchants Hospitality.
Born to a Jewish family, Hochfelder was raised in Old Westbury on Long Island. In 1993, he graduated from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Hence the sobriquet “Wharton Whiz Kid” that would eventually be used to describe his business acumen.
According to the information site, the following is a chronological list of Hochfelder’s real estate accomplishments and acquisitions.
In 1998, Max Capital acquired 230 Park Avenue for $300 million. This 1929 tower was a former Helmsley property, and Hochfelder worked with the Bass family to pay for it. Later in 2005, a Dubai prince bought it for $705 million. Photo Credit: newyorkyimby.com
In 1998, Max Capital acquired 230 Park Avenue for $300 million. This 1929 tower was a former Helmsley property, and Hochfelder worked with the Bass family to pay for it. Later in 2005, a Dubai prince bought it for $705 million.
In 1999, Hochfelder purchased 1440 Broadway near Times Square for $152 million.
In 2000, Hochfelder was involved in the development of the multiple luxury hotel properties including the Hyatt Andaz at 485 Fifth Avenue in NYC. Photo Credit: tripadvisor.com
In 2000, he was involved in the development of the multiple luxury hotel properties including the Hyatt Andaz at 485 Fifth Avenue in NYC.
In 2002, Hochfelder acquired multiple residential properties in New York and Chicago worth $740 million. His other acquisitions include the former Condé Nast building at 350 Madison Avenue ($180 Million).
In 2003, Hochfelder purchased a massive building adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, the 237 Park Avenue for $455 million. He purchased this building known for its soaring, glass-roofed interior for a relatively low price, $379 a square foot – compared to $600 a square foot Boston Properties paid in 2002 for 399 Park Ave. The same year he made a deal with Texas investors to pay $320 million for full control over 450 West 33rd Street, home to the Daily News and the Associated Press.
In 2005, he successfully acquired the Tommy Hilfiger Building for $88 million. This was a 185,000-square-foot office building at the northeast corner of 41st Street, overlooking the New York Public Library’s main branch at 485 Fifth Avenue.
In 2006, Hochfelder acquired the Westin Aruba Resort and Casino in the Caribbean from Oswaldo Cisneros, CEO of Pepsico South America. Photo Credit: Pinterest
In 2006, Hochfelder acquired the Westin Aruba Resort and Casino in the Caribbean from Oswaldo Cisneros, CEO of Pepsico South America.
In 2013, Hochfelder partnered with Eric Hadar and together they acquired the 1619 Broadway Brill Building, a $185 Million Retail and Office Building in Times Square. Later that year, they sold it for $250 million. Photo Credit: Wikipedia.org
In 2013, Hochfelder partnered with Eric Hadar and together they acquired the 1619 Broadway Brill Building, a $185 Million Retail and Office Building in Times Square. Later that year, they sold it for $250 million.
In 2015, Hochfelder was responsible for the $110 million acquisition and assemblage of 1802-1810 Second Avenue, which is slated to be Manhattan’s first super-luxury Senior Living Facility.
Hochfelder was also responsible for the acquisition of 2412 Broadway, a luxury residential apartment building on the Upper West Side and for Merchants Hospitality’s acquisition of the Global Hospitality & Restaurant Brand, Philippe Chow located in NYC, as was reported by Wikipedia.
Back in March of 2019, the Real Deal reported that Hochfelder pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor fraud charge in a scheme involving Knicks season tickets, a false order from a fashion retailer and a Manhattan apartment building, according to court documents. In 2010, Hochfelder was sentenced to serve at least two years and eight months, with a maximum of eight years in prison for fraud.
These charges were in the same vain as a 2008 fraud case in which Hochfelder was accused of defrauding banks as well as family members and friends out of more than $18 million. In 2010, he was sentenced to serve at least two years and eight months, with a maximum of eight years in prison for the fraud charges.
The Real Deal reported that a plea agreement in the case indicated that between 2015 and 2017 Hochfelder had defrauded eight people out of almost $500,000 in three separate incidents.
According to the Real Deal: “The first incident took place in 2015, when he told three people he had purchased season tickets for the Knicks and wanted to sell several of the games to partners. Each person gave him $12,000 in exchange for several Knicks tickets, but Hochfelder never had or purchased any of the tickets and instead used the money on personal expenses and debts, court documents say. He eventually repaid two of the three people.”
The plea agreement goes on to provide shocking details about the mendacious nature of Hochfelder’s claims. In 2016, Hochfelder swindled someone out of $150,000 on the fraudulent assertion that he needed the money for the “manufacture of goods” as he claimed his wife had a “pending order from a large fashion retailer.” The truth was that Hochfelder nor his wife had a deal of this kind but Hochfelder needed to substantiate his claim so he ordered subordinate to forge a purchase order from the retailer to add some credibility to his tall tale.
After receiving the money from the unnamed person, the plea agreement stated that Hochfelder used the $150,000 to pay off debts and other personal expenses. After the person scrutinized Hochfelder and discovered that this was a scam, he paid him back, according to the plea deal.
According to court documents, the last incident also took place in 2016 when Hochfelder took $295,000 from four people. He had persuaded the quartet that he needed to money to buy a distressed property in Manhattan and as the plea agreement stated, Hochfelder told them that because the mortgage was in default on the building that he could get a good deal on it because he allegedly had a personal relationship with a large bank.
According to the Real Deal report, the Manhattan district attorney said that “the property had no such mortgage on it and was not available for sale.”
The plea agreement mandated that Hochfelder make restitution on the monies that were fraudulently taken and that he had to pay back $1 million from his previous fraud case. As far as the Knicks tickets scheme was concerned, Hochfelder was ordered to pay back $12,000 that he still owed one person.
As was reported in December of 2019 in a feature article in the Real Deal, Hochfelder also attempted to bully the Real Deal in June of that year into not publishing anything about his previous criminal behavior.
The article which was written by Erin Hudson said that Hochfelder was phoning the publisher of the Real Deal several times a day from various phone numbers as he was exceptionally concerned about the reporting that they had planned to do about his case. Hochfelder had spent weeks threatening the publication with legal action and other menacing consequences if they went ahead and published what he perceived to be “false claims” about him and one of his latest projects.
When that wasn’t working for him, Hochfelder resorted to blackmail techniques in his attempts to kill the story about him that would surely sully his already tarnished reputation. He told the Real Deal publisher that he had been privy to unsubstantiated allegations from his purported sources about a staffer at the publication. The Real Deal report indicated that if the publication printed these “false” claims about him then he would hand over the allegations about the staffer to an unnamed publication who would run it.
What disturbed Hochfelder was the fact that the Real Deal was investigating his latest hotel and entertainment project, involving the Playboy Club New York, as was reported by Erin Hudson in a searing and thoroughly researched story.
The article indicated that Playboy had been struggling for years to create a feasible business strategy that would resonate with Americans in the aftermath of its “glory days” when Hefner was running the show. Its New York location on West 42nd Street proved not to be the answer: Playboy cut ties with the club at the end of 2019, after a plethora of issues with Hochfelder and his partners.
The Real Deal report indicated that from three lawsuits tied to the project emerged a trail of unpaid bills that ran for two years and allegations of misused funds, “unconscionable fraud” and sexual harassment. Those claims, which have since been settled, were largely aimed at Hochfelder, the lead representative for one of the project’s owners, Merchants Hospitality.
It also appears that Hochfelder is a master at turning the screws on people and using heavy handed methods to silence them. Ms. Hudson reported that of the 30 people she interviewed for her article, many were reluctant to speak because they had signed confidentiality agreements or were concerned that they would be targeted by Hochfelder.
Having served as the Governor of New York, a two term New York State attorney general and six years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, it appeared that the Bronx born and Harvard educated Eliot Spitzer had solidified a prestigious career in public service. Photo Credit: AP
Having served as the Governor of New York, a two term New York State attorney general and six years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, it appeared that the Bronx born and Harvard educated Eliot Spitzer had solidified a prestigious career in public service.
After all, he earned a national reputation as the “Sheriff of Wall Street” as Spitzer went head to head with bigwigs like AIG’s Hank Greenberg, the New York Stock Exchange’s Richard Grasso and billionaire Ken Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot who said he hopes Spitzer’s “private hell is hotter than anybody else’s.”
That was not to be the case, however, in the years that followed Spitzer’s dark side emerged as he was eventually implicated in a high-priced call girl scandal in 2008 and an extortion scandal in 2016.
Following his father Bernard’s illness and death in 2014 and with politics behind him, Spitzer came to lead his family’s real estate business, Spitzer Enterprises, despite having avoided the role for much of his life, as was reported by Wikipedia.
According to a report in the Real Deal, Spitzer Enterprises built iconic properties such as 200 Central Park South and 800 Fifth Avenue — the luxury apartment tower overlooking Central Park that Spitzer now calls home.
Spitzer sold his company’s apartments in The Corinthian and the Crown Building in Manhattan for a large profit, which he used to fund a $700 million project of three waterfront buildings in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
According to a report in the Real Deal, Spitzer Enterprises built iconic properties such as 200 Central Park South and 800 Fifth Avenue — the luxury apartment tower overlooking Central Park that Spitzer now calls home. Photo Credit: Facebook
According to a March 2019 article in Forbes magazine, “the three-tower development, named 420 Kent for its addresses at 416 and 420 Kent Ave., has 857 apartments, along with 20,000 square feet of retail space, and has been move-in ready since January, with finishing touches still being added to its amenities.”
Forbes added that it was designed by the New York-based ODA Architecture, which has projects in the United States, Canada and Europe, including several others in Brooklyn, such as Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The firm is known for its avant-garde approach, and 420 Kent is no exception, with a multidimensional, cubist aesthetic wrapped in glass, as was reported by Forbes.
The Dark Side
On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Spitzer had patronized a high-priced escort service called Emperors Club VIP and met for two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl. This information originally came to the attention of authorities from a federal wiretap, according to a Wikipedia profile. During a six month span, Spitzer had at least seven or eight liaisons with women from the agency and paid more than $15,000. According to published reports, investigators alleged that Spitzer paid up to $80,000 for prostitutes over a period of several years while he was attorney general, and later as governor.
Spitzer first drew the attention of federal investigators when his bank reported suspicious money transfers under the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and the Patriot Act. The resulting investigation was triggered by the belief that Spitzer might have been hiding bribe proceeds and led to the discovery of the prostitution ring. His FBI code name was “Client No. 9”
On March 10, Spitzer held a press conference apologizing to his family and to the public. He added, “’I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family’”
Following Spitzer’s March 10 press conference, New York State Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco and Republican New York Congressman Peter King separately called for his resignation. Tedisco later announced that he would initiate impeachment proceedings in the State Assembly if Spitzer did not resign.
New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation amid a prostitution scandal as then wife Silda looks on, Wednesday, March 12, 2008, in his offices in New York City. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)
Spitzer abruptly resigned from office two days later in a story that became a tabloid sensation, as was reported by the Real Deal.
In February 2016, Spitzer was investigated by the New York City Police Department after being accused of assault by Svetlana Travis-Zakharova, a woman from Russia, in an incident that supposedly occurred at the Plaza Hotel on February 13, 2016. The New York Daily News reported Spitzer had been accused of attacking the woman, who tried to kill herself by slitting her wrists after the incident. Ms. Travis subsequently recanted her accusations and no charges were filed.
Within a month, Travis − who left for Russia in February − turned from an alleged victim into a suspect. On October 10, she was arrested upon landing at JFK International Airport. On October 12, Travis-Zakharova, 26,faced state charges of grand larceny by extortion, while also being investigated for prostitution. Over two years, prosecutors claimed, she had collected around $50,000 from Spitzer in exchange for keeping “intimate details” of their relationship secret from his relatives. The money was allegedly deposited into a bank in Russia, as was reported by Wikipedia.
Also on October 12, Travis faced forgery and identity theft charges, from an unrelated incident, after purportedly signing a high-end apartment lease under a different name, costing the victim − a 67-year-old New Jersey man − $18,000. The bail was set at $1 million.
For months, private doctors have been prescribing Hydroxychloroquine, (marketed under the name Plaquenil) for patients in the early stages of the Wuhan virus with great success. Photo Credit: AP
By: Barry Shaw
An earlier article of mine on the efficacy of the drug HCQ was met with a storm of responses on both sides of the argument.
Hydroxychloroquine, marketed under the name Plaquenil, is a drug used to prevent malaria. It is also a pill used for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and also lupus. It has been on the market since the 50s.
But, for months, private doctors have been prescribing HCQ for patients in the early stages of the Wuhan virus with great success.
Controversy began to rage around this drug when President Trump began to speak about HCQ following a series of positive reports from doctors in a number of global locations. Photo Credit: AP
Controversy began to rage around this drug when President Trump began to speak about HCQ following a series of positive reports from doctors in a number of global locations.
Adverse effects were discovered when treating hospitalized patients suffering in advanced stages of the virus disease, including those on ventilators, with HCQ alone or in combination with other drugs.
Reports claimed that the drug had caused heart rhythm problems among patients receiving higher doses of chloroquine. The United States National Institute for Health (NIH) issued new guidelines for the use of the drug but added, “there was insufficient evidence for or against chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.” But it also advised against using HCQ with azithromycin because of the potential side effects.
Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at Veterans Health Administration medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11. About 28 percent of those who were given HCQ died versus 11% of those who received routine care alone. About 22% of those getting the drug plus azithromycin died too, but the difference between that group and usual care was not considered large enough to rule out other factors that could have affected survival.
A Brazilian medical trial of a drug that had been stockpiled by Israel as a potential treatment for COVID-19 was stopped due to patients developing irregular heartbeats. Another trial in Sweden was halted when patients reported migraines, peripheral vision loss and cramps. But both the Brazil study and the Swedish one were found to have used Chloroquine (not the safer HCQ).
HCQ and CQ are two different drugs, though both have been used to fight Malaria. The equivalent is akin to damn both for the sins of only one. That would be like saying Tylenol causes stomach bleeding, as can Aspirin, so ban them both.
Dr. Ramin Oskoui, Cardiologist and CEO of Foxhall Cardiology, said on the Laura Ingraham show about the FDA limiting access to HCQ, “You’ve got to wonder. We know that Tylenol can cause liver failure, butit’s available over the counter. So the FDA’s recommendations are really schizophrenic. The instance rate of cardiac toxicity is vanishingly low. It’s not 5 percent, it’s probably 0.05 percent. We used this drug in pregnant women. We used it in children. We use it without monitoring in countries for malaria prophylaxis. The FDA package insert never mentions EKG as a baseline. All the patients – somewhere close to a dozen that I’ve treated – are established patients with EKGs that I know their heart history. I’ve had no problems except for one patient who had persistent nausea, a small price to pay for avoiding the ICU.”
So why suddenly did the FDA insist that HCQ must only be used in a hospital environment which restricts the virus patients to those in late advanced stages of the disease when it has been shown to work well in early stage patients? Many medical specialists, such as Dr. Oskoui are puzzled.
Israel has stockpiled both chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine on the assumption that if trials find that it is beneficial in the treatment of COVID-19 this would spark a buying war for the drugs.
Speaking to the financial daily Globes, Prof. Ronni Gamzu, a former director general of the Health Ministry who now heads the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, said the hospital had used chloroquine, but had seen no evidence of its efficacy in treating COVID-19. Photo Credit: iseffoundation.org
Speaking to the financial daily Globes, Prof. Ronni Gamzu, a former director general of the Health Ministry who now heads the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, said the hospital had used chloroquine, but had seen no evidence of its efficacy in treating COVID-19.
Moran Gilad said that the Epidemic Management Team discussed whether to give hospitals any directions regarding hydroxychloroquine, and decided not to. “At the moment there is no official guidance or endorsement by the Health Ministry that it should be used for COVID-19,” he said. “We discussed this in the national management team and we decided not to give guidance as there is no data to support the use of this drug.”
Speaking to The Times of Israel in mid-April with regard to chloroquine, Jacob Moran-Gilad, a member of the Health Ministry’s Epidemic Management Team, said, “In a few weeks’ time if there is official data to show it is beneficial it will be very difficult to secure the drug.”
He said that doctors are allowed to prescribe hydroxychloroquine to their patients, and some are doing so. But this is on patients in advanced stages of the virus damage. What of early to mid-stages of the virus infection?
Dr. Vladimir Zelenko from New York announced that over 400 of his high-risk patients with COVID-19 have recovered.
All were treated with his 3-drug regimen of hydroxychloroquine, azinthromycin, and zinc. The doctor said two patients died, but the other 403 recuperated completely from COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
“And by the way, it’s not magic, I mean there’s a reason behind it,” said Zelenko. “The virus is inside the cell, the zinc cannot get inside the cell for biochemical reasons, so the hydroxychloroquine opens the door and lets the zinc in. That’s all it does, in this context.
Meanwhile, the antibiotic, azithromycin, protects the patient from secondary infections.”
As one GP stated, “They also find a much higher benefit if you take those medications as soon as symptoms present. The higher deaths are skewed because they are talking about intubated patients who pretty much had nothing left to lose.”
A French Doctor, Didier Raoult, said he conducted a study of 80 patients that showed that four out of five of those treated with the drug had “favorable” outcomes. He had earlier reported that after treating 24 patients for six days with HCQ and azithromycin, the virus disappeared in all but a quarter of them. The research has not been formally published in a medical journal.
it really seems like much of the mainstream media is against this drug, despite a lot of promising results. Dr. Raoult just published a more recent study on outcomes of over 1000 patients, but the media chose to only mention the initial study with 80 people.
The drug is supposed to stop the virus entering cells so perhaps it should be given earlier before any damage to the lungs has taken place. It is most successful early on as it is targeting viral entry into host cells and viral replication, one or the other or both. But they have been applying this drug to people in trials with acute respiratory disease where another set of drugs, perhaps Remdesivir, may have been more effective.
On May 14, The National Institutes of Health announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had launched a clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 2,000 patients with mild and moderate cases of COVID-19.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. donated the hydroxychloroquine for the trial, evaluating whether the drug combination can prevent hospitalization and death. “Although there is anecdotal evidence that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may benefit people with COVID-19, we need solid data from a large randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether this experimental treatment is safe and can improve clinical outcomes,” NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a statement.
The trial was announced during Dr. Rick Bright’s testimony before a House of Representatives committee.
Dr. Bright has a chip on his shoulder. Part of that chip is apparently political, part professional. Dr. Bright was transferred to the new diagnostics research study. For reasons unknown he took umbrage at the move.
Bright hired the team of lawyers that represented Christine Blassey Ford in her failed Congressional complaint against Judge Brett Kavanagh, Trump’s choice for a seat on the Supreme Court, on flimsy sexual harassment charges.
Originally, Dr. Bright signed a recommendation for HCQ. In a strangely contradictory claim, Bright said, “I rightly resisted efforts to provide an unproven drug on demand to the American public. I insisted that these drugs be provided only to hospitalized patients with confirmed Covid-19 while under the supervision of a physician.”
These drugs were not being provided to the public but to a specific research within the confines of the NIH where he works, and a project in which he had been selected as a leading participant with a reported annual salary of $285,000.
Alex Azar, the Health Secretary, blasted Bright by saying that “had Dr. Bright turned up to work at his new job he would know that that NHS is looking closely at HCQ and if it passes the NHS testing it will be prescribed as part of the virus treatment.”
Azar added, “Whose job was it to actually lead the development of vaccines? Dr. Bright. So while we’re launching Operation Warp Speed he’s not showing up to work to be part of that. This is like somebody who was in a choir and is now trying to say he was a soloist back then. What he was saying then is what every member of this administration and the president was saying.”
Dr. Bright wrote a letter to the New York Times in which he hinted that Trump was promoting HCQ as one of the drugs being tested for personal financial gain.
Fact-checker website, Vox, concluded that “Trump has been accused of many crimes – but doesn’t seem to be doing anything wrong this time.”
Bright claims he was pushed out of his previous job because he resisted efforts by HHS leadership to promote HCQ. Azar told reporters Thursday: “On hydroxychloroquine, Dr. Bright literally signed the application for FDA authorization of it. Literally, he’s the sponsor of it.”
Asked about this during his testimony, Bright said that he supported the use of HCQ under the supervision of a physician.
There are dozens of other clinical trials underway to evaluate HCQ in COVID-19 patients both in the US and abroad.
The University of Minnesota plans to test HCQ to prevent COVID-19 infections in the nation’s frontline health-care workers.
Thousands of health care workers around the globe have been laid low by the virus, including at least 3,300 health care workers in China, 20% of the frontline clinicians in Italy, and more than 12,000 health care workers in Spain.
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a government agency created by the Affordable Care Act, said Wednesday it is putting up $50 million to fund a registry and a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial examining if HCQ can prevent COVID-19 infections in 15,000 health care workers. The trial will be led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Similar trials are under way in Australia where they are testing a tuberculosis vaccine in health care workers. In France, where a hospital near Lyon is also testing AbbVie’s HIV drug Kaletra. In Spain, and the Netherlands, according to ClinicalTrials.gov.
Hydroxychloroquine isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat or prevent COVID-19 infections. However, the regulator recently used its emergency powers to allow chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to be used in clinical trials for COVID-19 and to treat some patients who have been sickened by the virus given the lack of proven therapies available to treat the disease.
Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The Teva-manufactured drug is not approved for use in treating COVID-19. However, it is under investigation for efficacy against the novel coronavirus and has been requested by US government officials to be made available for testing purposes.
Although there have been health problems in certain patients being treated with a mixture of the two drugs in hospital patients with advanced symptoms of the coronavirus, there are endless reports of success in the use of HCQ on early to mid-stage virus patients. But on April 30, the FDA warned against its use outside hospital confines or clinical trials.
This is strange and somewhat contradictory. While it is admitted that there have been a number of negative effects over the application of HCQ and CQ in advanced hospitalized patients, it does not look as if the FDA has been listening to private practice physicians in the United States and abroad who have been treating their patients with “amazing” results in their surgeries.
There are now reports that the drug, HCQ, is being withheld from local doctors who have been successfully treating their patients with this drug.
Texan doctor, Ivette Lozano, appeared on Fox News Laura Ingraham, to tell how she has been successfully treating early stage patients with HCQ. Recently, the Texas State Board demanded that she discloses her patients’ medical history which, in America, is an infringement of doctor-patient confidentiality and against the law.
Dr. Lozano sent HCQ prescriptions for fifteen of her patients to the pharmacy and was told they would no longer provide her with this drug. She protested that they could not do that, but the pharmacist told Dr. Lozano, “I have the right to deny this prescription to you.”
The pharmacist admitting having supplies in stock but would not supply this doctor with an inexpensive well known drug with a thirty-year history.
She complained, “I have patients with pneumonia that have been turned away from clinics and hospitals. I have patients with temperatures of 102.9, all successfully treated with HCQ. Now physicians are concerned they will be in trouble with licensing boards. Now pharmacists are refusing to provide this medication. I have a huge problem on my hands. Every patient I have treated in serious and moderate condition improve within five hours, and some have been completely cured within 24 hours to two days. It’s incredible!”
Perhaps the highest profile person who responded well with the use of HCQ was Detroit Democratic representative, Karen Whitsett, who was invited to the White House after thanking President Trump for speaking about HCQ.
She had originally been diagnosed with pneumonia, but by the time her Covid-19 test came back positive her health had plummeted.
“It went from the headaches being severe to fluid building up in my lungs, to sweats breaking out, to the cough and my breathing being labored,” Whitsett said. “It all happened in a matter of hours.”
“If President Trump had not talked about this it wouldn’t have been something that would be accessible for anyone to be able to get right now.” Within a few hours of taking the drug, she said she was already in recovery.
As a result of publicly thanking the President, the DNC, instead of celebrating her recovery from a near-death experience, censored her and expel her from the Democratic Party.
On May 12, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that patients given HCQ along with zinc sulphate and the antibiotic azithromycin were 44 percent less likely to die from the coronavirus.
“Certainly we have very limited options as far as what we have seen work for this infection so anything that may work is very exciting,” said Dr. Joseph Rahimian, Infectious Disease Specialist at NYU Langone Health.
The study looked at the records of 932 COVID-19 patients treated at local hospitals with HCQ and azithromycin.
More than 400 of them were also given 100 milligrams of zinc daily.
Researchers said the patients given zinc were one and a half times more likely to recover, decreasing their need for intensive care.
One theory is that HCQ may aid a cell’s ability to absorb the zinc which has antiviral properties and responds to the infection.
“It sort of boosts the zinc activity which is one of the reasons we thought to look at zinc here and in this observational study we did see a difference suggesting that maybe that boosting activity of the HCQ with the zinc helps the zinc to work better and lead to a benefit,” Rahimian said.
Confirming the case that HCQ alone or in combination with certain other drugs may not do so well in advanced virus case, Dr. Rahimian says patients in the more critical stages of infection did not fare as well.
As if to confirm the efficacy of the HCQ and zinc combination, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Monday found that treating advanced patients only with HCQ, azithromycin, or both did not reduce hospital deaths.
In France, 400,000 people signed a petition to their government to allow more doctors to prescribe HCQ for virus patients even as experts debate the efficacy of the drug.
France has recorded over 180,000 cases of infected people. Over 28,000 people have died from or with the virus. And there is no known drug that successfully solves the problem.
At the end of April, a clinical trial of a thousand patients with the drug Remdesivir, from Gilead Science, produced favorable results with patients recovering 31% faster than patients given a placebo.
In Israel, the covert Biological Research Institute, announced it had developed an antibody that could be used to develop treatments against the Covid-19 virus.
In a rare statement, the Institute announced, “As far as we know, according to comprehensive scientific publications from around the world, the Biological Research Institute is the first in the world to achieve this breakthrough in these three parameters at the same time.”
Prof Shuki Shemer, the head of Israel’s Assuta Medical Center and a former director general of the Health Ministry, said, “This is a real breakthrough involving scientific and technological capabilities of the first order. They’ve produced an antibody that neutralizes the virus. There’s still a long way to go, but no other country has done this.”
There are many more trials. The race is on to find a cure for the Wuhan virus pandemic.
The media was quick to trash President Trump when he said he was hopeful that HCQ could be used successfully in the treatment of virus patients. It will be interesting to see if the same anti-Trump media give Democratic NYS Governor, Andrew Cuomo, the same short-shrift treatment, after he said the New York based research was “promising.”
And we will end with Trump.
Barry Shaw, Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.
Over two months after America’s entry into the war, American troops began arriving at France on June 26 1917. On October 21, the first Americans were in combat. For the next year, over two million American troops fighting alongside the Entente would help change the course of the war. Over fifty thousand American troops died on the battlefields of France.
Another forty -five thousand American troops were lost to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918.
Of the approximately 225,000 Jews who served in the US armed forces stateside and in Europe, 1,100 were cited for valor. Three Jewish soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
A few of those heroes are mentioned here.
On October 4th 1918, Sergeant Benjamin Kaufman of Company K of the 308th Infantry was separated from his platoon. With his right arm shattered by a bullet, Kaufman advanced upon the German line throwing grenades with his left hand while charging with an empty pistol. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
On October 4th 1918, Sergeant Benjamin Kaufman of Company K of the 308th Infantry was separated from his platoon. With his right arm shattered by a bullet, Kaufman advanced upon the German line throwing grenades with his left hand while charging with an empty pistol. He silenced the machine gun crew and returned with the pistol and a captured surviving German soldier. He then fainted from loss of blood after revealing the position of the German lines which made it possible for the Americans to move forward. Kaufman received the Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre.
William Sawelson of the 312th Infantry on October 28, 1918, heard a wounded soldier nearby calling for water. He crawled through heavy enemy fire and gave from his own canteen. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
William Sawelson of the 312th Infantry on October 28, 1918, heard a wounded soldier nearby calling for water. He crawled through heavy enemy fire and gave from his own canteen. While returning to the wounded man with more provisions he was struck by a machine gun bullet and killed. The Medal of Honor on his behalf was presented to his father.
The companies of ‘The Lost Battalion’ of the 77th Division were given that title due to their isolation from allied forces during the allied push in the Meuse – Argonne offensive, as they unknowingly advanced without flank support. Consisting of about 554 troops, The Lost Battalion as the rest of the division were made up of a large percentage of immigrants from New York City. About forty percent of the battalion was Jewish. Despite being surrounded from October 2 to the 7th, they held their ground without provisions while sustaining very heavy losses, allowing for the arrival of reinforcements.
Among the heroes of the Lost Battalion was Private Jack Herschkowitz who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Herschkowitz along with another soldier while acting as a runner was attacked by a small party of Germans killing one before they were driven off. When night arrived, the two unknowingly crawled into the middle of a German camp. When discovered, they fled and Herschkowitz intentionally drew the fire towards himself in order to protect the officer. The next morning, he managed to deliver the intended message as per his mission.
Private Abraham Krotoshinsky also of the ‘Lost Battalion’ was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Photo Credit: nmajmh.org
Private Abraham Krotoshinsky also of the ‘Lost Battalion’ was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. At great peril, while other messengers on the same mission were shot down, he successfully passed a message which saved the remnants of the beleaguered battalion (by informing the US army of their situation and position). In his own words, “I got my orders and started. It was five o’clock in the morning on October 7th. I had to run about thirty feet in plain view of the Germans before I got into the forest. They saw me when I got up and fired everything they had at me. I could feel the bullets whistle around me but I didn’t get hit once. I guess it wasn’t “bashert” that I should get killed by the Germans.
Then I had to crawl right through their lines. They were looking for me everywhere. I just moved along on my stomach. In the direction I was told, keeping my eyes open for them. The brush was six feet high and often that saved me. Once a squadron of Germans passed right by my hiding place jabbing their bayonets into the thicket and swearing like the devil. One big fellow nearly stepped on my hand. He looked right into my eye. I thought I was finished at the time. But he never saw me.”
The 77th Infantry Division in its entirety consisted on about 28,000 officers and men under the command of General Robert Alexander, who wrote in his memoirs of the war that among the many ethnic groups in the division “There were large numbers of Hebrews.”The 77th sustained heavy losses as they engaged German forces helping to break the stalemate on the Western Front.
A senior Chaplin of the 77th Division was Rabbi Elkan Voorsanger. When the troops left the trenches to attack the Germans, Rabbi Voorsanger also went with them and he was highly decorated. Among his awards was the Purple Heart. In his words, “The Jewish men in this division were good soldiers, brave, fearless, and resourceful.
Henri LeSidaner La balustrade - Hampton Court Heritage Auctions
Edited by: JV Staff
Heritage Auctions’ May 29 Fine European Art Auction in Dallas, Texas, brings together an exceptionally fine selection of 19th-century genre and academic painting, drawings and paintings by important early 20th-century European Modernists and a rich cache of Old Master prints by Dürer and Rembrandt. Drawn almost exclusively from private collections, many of the works have been off the market for two decades or more.
Frederick Arthur Bridgman – De quoi parlent les jeunes filles – Heritage Auctions
The star of the auction, Henri Le Sidaner’s ethereral La balustrade (Hampton Court), comes from the noted Chicago collectors of European Modernism, Elaine and Perry Snyderman. Le Sidaner’s La balustrade (estimate: $150,000-250,000) belongs to a series of 11 canvases which the French artist developed from life studies he painted in England in 1907, completed in the studio early in 1908, and first exhibited at Goupil Gallery in London, in March 1908. The exhibition created a wide critical stir, both in England and on the Continent. The series features the palace and gardens of England’s venerable Hampton Court, but as evocative dreamscapes — beautiful places glimpsed at dusk, or through the dewy atmosphere of morning, with glare refracting off the moisture in the air. La balustrade (Hampton Court) is the most avant-garde and abstract of the entire series.
Two fine works by celebrated French academicians, William Adolphe Bouguereau and his talented pupil Camille Félix Bellanger, are highlights of the French 19th-century offerings. Bouguereau’s Tete d’Italienne of 1872 (estimate: $60,000-80,000) once formed part of the distinguished collection of the eminent Pennsylvania Railroad attorney and his wife, Theodore and Mary Elizabeth DeWitt Cuyler of Philadelphia. The couple bought the bust-length painting during Bouguereau’s lifetime, as a contemporary work of art, and displayed it in their fashionable home at 1826 Rittenhouse Square. Following her husband’s untimely death in 1877, Mary Cuyler carried on his devotion to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and lent their prized Bouguereau to a special exhibition there, where it was exhibited under the title they had acquired it, Petrarch’s Laura. Bellanger’s radiant mythological subject, Daphnis and Chloe, shows the artist’s debt to Bouguereau in its smooth finish and riveting sense of stillness.
“The European auction is a genre painting powerhouse,” stresses Dr. Marianne Berardi, Senior European Art specialist at Heritage, “containing, as it does, top-notch work in beautiful condition by a host of highly skilled painters from across the Continent and the British Isles.”
Particular highlights include the spectacular scene by Adolphe Lesrel of lavishly dressed Renaissance women with their pages, seated on a terrace framed by Gothic spires, awaiting The return of the fleet (estimate: $20,000-30,000); Spaniard Lorenzo Valles’ magical At the Villa Borghese, (estimate: $12,000-18,000) in which elegant visitors are treated to the delights of the Borghese aviary of exotic birds; Pierre Outin’s flirtatious The Boating Party; British painter Sophie Anderson’s meticulously rendered subject of a woman in a dreamy natural landscape entitled At the Well (estimate: $12,000-18,000); and the Italian Cesare Tiratelli’s rustic scene of a peasant woman At the Kitchen Door.
One of the standout genre scenes is Frederick Bridgman’s important early-career work entitled De quoi parlent les jeunes filles (“Concerning what the young women are talking about”). Emerging recently after decades out of the public eye in private collections, Bridgman’s canvas (estimate: $20,000-30,000) features two young women sharing confidences as they enjoy an outing, rowing a boat together. It was one of two pictures which represented the young artist in the Paris Salon of 1870, at the beginning his career as one of the most celebrated Orientalist painters of the later 19th century.
Pierre Outin -The boating party – Heritage Auctions
Important Modernists working in a variety of styles and media are well-represented in the auction: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Marie Laurencin, Jacques Martin-Ferrières, Frédéric-Auguste Cazals, Marcel Dyf, and Georges d’Espagnat, among others. School of Paris figure Jules Pascin is richly represented with works from the Snyderman collection. Foremost among the Pascins is his 1928-19 portrait in oil on canvas of his longtime love, Lucy Krohg, entitled Lucy a Fontenay-aux-Roses, painted at the artist’s country home on the Seine.
Rounding out the auction is a fine selection of Old Master prints by Dürer and Rembrandt, many of them drawn from an important private Connecticut collection. Among the highlights are Dürer’s Saint Anthony reading (1519) (estimate $10,000-15,000) and Rembrandt’s first state of The star of the kings: a night piece, circa 1652 (estimate: $8,000-12,000).
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
Heritage also enjoys the highest Online dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,250,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos.
One of the best-known paragraphs in the week’s portion of Nasso and perhaps in the entire Torah, is that of Birkat Kohanim – the Blessing of the Kohanim. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
By: Rabbi David Bibi
One of the best-known paragraphs in the week’s portion of Nasso and perhaps in the entire Torah, is that of Birkat Kohanim – the Blessing of the Kohanim where the Torah states: Hashem spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: “May Hashem bless you and watch over you. May Hashem cause His countenance to shine upon you and favor you. May Hashem raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.” They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I will bless them.
Rabbi Abittan z’sl would often tell us that the moment we are blessed by Hashem through the Kohanim is an auspicious time. While people travel the world in search of blessings from great talmidey Chamamim – Torah scholars and while others travel to graves of the righteous, they fail to realize that this blessing of Birkat Kohanim is directly from Hashem and surly outshines any other blessing we might hope for. In fact, this blessing has the ability to change our fate.
While there may be chatter, although forbidden, during the repetition of the amidah, when the hazan reaches birkat kohanim, people generally quiet down and focus. In recent years we have adopted, what for us is a new yet beautiful custom where children run to their fathers to find temporary shelter under their fathers tallit and the weight of the father’s hands. Every father, at this moment, while facing the kohanim with their heads covered and their hands lifted upward and outward yet hidden, and with his children’s heads below his own hands, undoubtedly concentrates intensely begging Hashem that He should bestow fully this blessing upon his own children and family.
Rashi comments on the words, Amor Lahem, Say to them, that Amor is in the infinitive tense, meaning it is constant using the example of Shamor – watch and Zachor – remember the Shabbat as stated in the two versions of the Ten Commandments. In a sense this blessing of the Kohanim is constant and never ending. I can sometimes hear in my mind, my grandfather David Gindi, a’h, giving the blessing or imagine the blessing coming from my mother’s uncle Haham Moshe Gindi, z’sl, who my mother speaks of very fondly. I imagine hearing the blessing spoken by my great grandfathers, Yaakov Gindi or Hayim Cohen in Aleppo a century ago. I doubt they could have imagined the world of their grandchildren and generations to come when they bid farewell to their own departing children from the piers of Beirut and a world which is for the most part forgotten and destroyed.
We are commanded to say the blessing aloud in a strong voice. I wonder how far the sound waves of those blessings of our ancestors travel. Certainly in a spiritual sense, we are the beneficiaries even a century or millennia later.
Rabbi Abittan would explain the words of his teacher, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, z’tl who noted that the commandment of Birkat Kohanim entails two separate aspects: the transmission of a direct blessing from Hashem and hashra’at ha-Shechinah (the manifestation of Hashem’s presence). The Rabbi would explain that Birkat Kohanim is a direct meeting with the Shechinah that presents us with an intimate encounter in which we come [so to speak] face to face with Hashem. Rabbi Abittan certainly felt this and our custom in our synagogue while I was there together with the rabbi and while I was hazan, was for the rabbi to come up to the bimah during the repetition. When I arrived at the blessing of the Kohanim, I would pause and lower my head. The rabbi would place his hand on my head and he would call out each word of the blessings for the Kohanim to repeat. The weight of his hand and with it the feeling of a resting shechina or Divine Presence, can still be felt.
There is still a question which needs to be asked. What is the true nature of blessings and more specifically, Birkat Kohanim? Are we not blessed or rewarded based on our actions? If we merit, are we not rewarded and if we sin, are we not punished? Do blessing really override a sense of justice? Does the presence of the shechina change things?
Rabbi Eli Mansour suggested an insight he saw in a sefer given to him by the Bobov community, Lev Aryeh. The Talmud states: Rava said: The length of one’s life, the amount of his children, and his sustenance are not dependent on merit, but rather on mazal (fate). (Rava’s statement is meant to explain that while both Rav Chisda and Rabah were on the tremendously high level that they could bring rain to the world, Rav Chisdah lived 92 years while Rabah died at 40. Obviously, Rava feels that merit has little to do with their life span and the length of their days was dictated by their mazal, their fate, or as we have explained before, the script each of us writes before we are born.)
Thus these three items, length of life, number and type of children and our blessing are subject to our fate. And we have seen this time and again through history. One can ask why someone with obvious merit is lacking while someone who apparently has no merit has everything. This is one possible explanation.
The Lev Aryeh continues that keeping the Torah and Misvot can assist on everything else, but with regard to these three how can we change them? He suggests that Birkat Kohanim is the answer to children, life and wealth.
How? May Hashem bless you and watch over you … Yevarechehca VeYishmerech with children with boys and girls.
Yaer Hashem Panav elecha VeYichnecha: May Hashem cause His countenance to shine upon you and favor you. As we state in the daily amidah prayer – Ki Beor Panecha Natata Lanu Hashem Elokeynu Torah VeChayim. Through the light of your countenance you gave us Torah and life.
And finally Yisah Hashem Panav Elecha VeYasem Lecha Shalom – May Hashem raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace. The Talmud teaches when there is sustenance then there is peace. And we know that when finances are tight people more often than not tend to fight. We read that when the barrel of barley is empty, there are loud noises in the house – machloket – dispute is banging on the door. On the other hand, we read Hasam Gevulech Shalom Chelev Chitim Yasbiyaych – Hashem shall put peace at your borders, and satiate you with the fullness of the wheat. We are more often at peace when we are not lacking. We find this at home and we find this in business among partners. When the money is coming in, people don’t complain and don’t fight, but when the money stops, the accusations begin.
While Tosefot explains that to overcome fate takes a super human effort of merit, the Lev Aryeh is telling us that Birkat Kohanim is such an amazing blessing because it has the ability to overcome fate. What a tremendous chizuk – strength we are being given! What an incredible gift Hashem has given us through the Kohanim! We now have something amazing to focus on as we hear each of the words each day of the year. We are blessed with the Shechina resting over us and making the impossible, possible.
If you want a blessing, before you search the world, come to synagogue! Hear the blessing of the Kohanim. Feel the presence of Hashem. Hear our ancestor’s words; whether a grandfather, great grandfather or Aharon the High Priest himself. Realize that this is a direct blessing from Hashem, Himself! And know that the impossible becomes possible during these precious moments.
May Hashem bless each of us, with children and grandchildren and great grandchildren who will bring us pride and joy all of our days. May we be blessed with long and healthy lives. And may we be blessed with peace and sustenance to better serve our Creator in Heaven.
The Sotah ritual, Jan Luyken, 1703 – 1762 Rijksmuseum.nl
By: Rabbi Label Lam
The Kohen shall bring her near and have her stand before HASHEM. The Kohen shall take sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and the Kohen shall take from the (APHAR) dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle and put it in the water… (Bamidbar 5:16-17)
The Midrash is puzzled why APHAR- dust is invited as part of the Sotah solution. The answer that is given is that in the merit of Avraham Avinu when he was praying on behalf of Sodom he referred to himself as “APHAR v AIFER – DUST and ASHES”!
OK but how is that an answer? What’s the connection between his declaration and the requirement of this unfaithful woman to be offered to drink water with dust from the floor of the Temple?
Obviously Avraham Avinu was adopting a posture of extreme humility when praying to HASHEM and interceding on behalf of Sodom. How else can one approach The Creator of the Universe?! It’s an exercise in ultimate humility, a finite creature standing before an Infinite Being! This portrait of Avraham’s self-effacement and absolute nullification remains etched for all time as the definitive portrait of humility.
I am afraid though that we may have a wrong impression of what true humility is if we view this scene too quickly and superficially. I saw a phrase that might illuminate the topic, “Humility is not thinking less of your-self. It’s thinking less about your-self.” Is that not the exact description of what Avraham Avinu was doing here?
This aligns with the famous statement from the Kotzker Rebbe. A person should have two pieces of paper. One is each of two pockets. On one piece of paper the words from the Mishne in Sanheidrin should be inscribed, “A person has an obligation to say, ‘The whole world was created for me!’”
On the other piece of paper the words of Avraham Avinu should be written, “I am dust and ashes!” The trick is to know when to take out which piece of paper!
Avraham Avinu was hoping to change the mind of The Almighty! He did not consider him-self completely unworthy. How else can one have the temerity to countermand G-d!? It seems he understood very well the import of his position in the world. Obviously Avraham, in all his humility, was not thinking too little about him-self!
It’s very clear that Avraham was not thinking about him-self. Just the opposite! All that he is depicted doing is for the sake of the people of Sodom. He was not asking for anything for him-self.
When he was called upon to deliver his beloved son Yitzchok as a Korbon he did not whisper a word of protest. For the people of Sodom, Avraham Avinu carried on as a defense attorney before a strict judge to protect a community he knew was guilty of many crimes. Avraham thought enough of him-self, to have the courage to face off with HASHEM, and at the same time he though not about him-self at all, but only about the welfare of others. That’s the real portrait of humility.
Now let us apply this same standard to the other side of the equation, the Sotah. The woman who allowed her-self to be lured by the seductive sirens of temptation and indulgence was either not considering or was underestimating the import and impact of her actions, which are serious and severe. She obviously thought too little of herself.
At the same time she was thinking only about herself! She engaged in an act of ultimate selfishness! Rather her behavior betrays qualities that demonstrate just the opposite of true humility. Perhaps that’s why, now she is forced to digest APHAR- dust, as a strong reminder of and a powerful lesson in true humility.
Zeman Matan Torahteinu—In the holiday prayer service, we refer to it as the “Time of the Giving of Our Torah.”
By: Yossi Feller
The holiday of Shavuot is a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown of the 5th of Sivan and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of Sivan. (In Israel it is a one-day holiday, ending at nightfall of the 6th of Sivan.) Every year on Shavuot we renew our acceptance of the Torah, and G d “re-gives” it to us anew.
Here are 11 things you should know about Shavuot:
The festival has five names.
Shavuot—The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven-week Omer counting period between Passover and Shavuot.
Yom HaBikkurim—“The day of First Fruits.” Shavuot is also the celebration of the wheat harvest and the ripening of the first fruits, which is the reason for this name as well as the following one.
Chag HaKatzir—The “Harvest Festival.”
Atzeret—In the Talmud, Shavuot is also called Atzeret, which means “The Stoppage,” a reference to the prohibition against work on this holiday.
Zeman Matan Torahteinu—In the holiday prayer service, we refer to it as the “Time of the Giving of Our Torah.”
Women and girls light candles to usher in the holiday on both of its evenings.
Candles are kindled on most Jewish holidays of biblical origin. They are: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Passover (first and last days) and Shavuot. (Holiday candles are not lit on Chanukah or Purim.)
Candles are kindled on most Jewish holidays of biblical origin. They are: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Passover (first and last days) and Shavuot. (Holiday candles are not lit on Chanukah or Purim.)
Holiday candle-lighting follows a procedure similar to that of the Shabbat candle lighting.
The basic difference between the two is that while it is forbidden to create a flame on a holiday, it is permitted to light a candle using a pre-existing flame, such as another candle that was kindled before the holiday, a gas range which has been left on, or a pilot flame. Note that it is also forbidden to extinguish a flame on the holiday, so make sure you have a place to put down the candle or match that you used to kindle your holiday candles.
It is customary to stay up and learn Torah on the first night of Shavuot.
The Midrash relates that on the night before the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people did what anybody does before an important event—they turned in early for a good night’s sleep. This seemingly innocent decision, however, led to embarrassing consequences. The next morning, when it came time for the Torah to be given, the place was empty. The entire Jewish people had slept in. The Midrash even recounts that Moses had to wake them—causing G d to later lament, “Why have I come and no one is here to receive Me?”
In order to rectify our forefathers’ mistake, we stay up late every Shavuot night to show that our enthusiasm isn’t lacking at all.
All men, women and children should hear the reading of the Ten Commandments on the first day of Shavuot.
The holiday of Shavuot is the day on which we celebrate the great revelation of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, more than 3,300 years ago. You stood at the foot of the mountain. Your grandparents and great-grandparents before them. The souls of all Jews, from all times, came together to hear the Ten Commandments from G d Himself.
Since we all stood at Mount Sinai, we must all reaffirm our commitment. Babies, young children, the elderly, all that are able, should attend Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot.
Children play a special role in this holiday.
There is therefore special significance to bringing children, even the youngest of infants, to hear the Ten Commandments.
Before G d gave the Torah to the Jewish people, He demanded guarantors. The Jews made a number of suggestions, all rejected by G d, until they declared, “Our children will be our guarantors that we will cherish and observe the Torah.” G d immediately accepted them and agreed to give the Torah.
There is therefore special significance to bringing children, even the youngest of infants, to hear the Ten Commandments.
Let us make sure to bring along all our “guarantors” to the synagogue on the first day of Shavuot.
As on other holidays, festive meals are eaten, and no “work” may be performed.
Just as there are sacred places, portals in space through which a certain transcendence shines, so too there are sacred times, luminescent points in the yearly cycle, times when we are lifted beyond time, far above the mundane world and all its cares.
Each Yom Tov is the highest point in the year in its particular way, with its particular meaning, message and flavor.
Shabbat is the day on which the weekly cycle transcends itself. Then there is Yom Tov, literally “a good day”; each Yom Tov is the highest point in the year in its particular way, with its particular meaning, message and flavor.
On these days, the Torah prohibits work. At a sacred time, work or any involvement in the mundanities of the week will subvert that sacredness and block its light. But “work” is defined somewhat differently for Yom Tov than it is for Shabbat.
It is customary to eat dairy foods on Shavuot.
It is customary to stay up and learn Torah on the first night of Shavuot.
There are a number of reasons for this custom. Here are a few:
On the holiday of Shavuot, a two-loaf bread offering was brought in the Temple. To commemorate this, we eat two meals on Shavuot—first a dairy meal, and then, after a short break, we eat the traditional holiday meat meal. Learn more about waiting between dairy and meat.
With the giving of the Torah, the Jews became obligated to observe the kosher laws. As the Torah was given on Shabbat, no cattle could be slaughtered nor could utensils be koshered, and thus on that day they ate dairy. Read more about the koshering process.
The Torah is likened to nourishing milk. Also, the Hebrew word for milk is chalav, and when the numerical values of each of the letters in the word chalav are added together—8 + 30 + 2—the total is 40. Forty is the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai when receiving the Torah. Read more about what happened when Moses was up on Sinai.
When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, the angels urged G d to reconsider His decision to give His most precious Torah to earthly beings. “Bestow Your majesty upon the heavens . . . What is man that You should remember him, and the son of man that You should be mindful of him?” (Psalms 8:5–7) One of the reasons why the angels’ request went unheeded is because of the Jews’ meticulous adherence to the laws of the Torah—including the kosher laws. Not so the angels, who when visiting Abraham consumed butter and milk together with meat (Genesis 18:8). On Shavuot we therefore eat dairy products and then take a break before eating meat—in order to demonstrate our commitment to this mitzvah. Read more about whether Abraham served the angels non-kosher food.
On the second day of Shavuot, the Yizkor memorial service is recited.
Yizkor, a special memorial prayer for the departed, is recited in the synagogue four times a year, following the Torah reading on the last day of Passover, on the second day of Shavuot, on Shemini Atzeret and on Yom Kippur.
Yizkor, a special memorial prayer for the departed, is recited in the synagogue four times a year, following the Torah reading on the last day of Passover, on the second day of Shavuot, on Shemini Atzeret and on Yom Kippur.
Three famous Jewish personalities have a special connection to Shavuot.
Moses—he received the Torah from G d at Mount Sinai on this day.
King David—the second Jewish king passed away on this day.
The Baal Shem Tov—the founder of the chassidic movement also passed away on this day.
Some communities read the Book of Ruth.
King David—whose passing occurred on this day—was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite. It is therefore customary in some communities to read the book of Ruth in the synagogue.
Some have the custom to decorate their homes and synagogues with flowers and sweet-smelling plants in advance of Shavuot.
Many reasons are given for this custom. Here are a few:
G d warned the Jews at Sinai that “the sheep and the cattle shall not graze facing that mountain [Sinai].” Now, the Torah was given in a desert. This indicates that a miracle occurred, temporarily turning that area into fertile land with an abundance of greenery. In commemoration of this miracle, it became the custom to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot with greenery.
Expounding on the verse “His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as banks of sweet herbs; his lips are lilies dripping with flowing myrrh” (Song of Songs 5:13), the Talmud explains that “from each and every utterance [of the Ten Commandments] that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, the entire world was filled with fragrant spices.” Accordingly, on Shavuot we decorate with fragrant flowers and greenery.
The Mishnah states that on the holiday of Shavuot, G d judges the earth and determines the abundance of the fruits of the trees for the coming year. Therefore, trees are placed in the synagogue to remind us to pray for the trees and their fruits.
The short answer is that one may definitely wear a scarf in a way that covers both the nose and mouth. And, according to most rabbis, one may wear a protective mask outside on Shabbat as well.
By: Yehuda Shurpin
The short answer is that one may definitely wear a scarf in a way that covers both the nose and mouth. And, according to most rabbis, one may wear a protective mask outside on Shabbat as well.
The Longer Answer
While the permissibility of wearing a scarf in a manner that covers both the nose and mouth is pretty straightforward, wearing a mask outside on Shabbat is a bit more complicated.
On Shabbat, although we may not carry things outside of an eruv, we may wear garments or a tachshit (lit., jewelry). But what constitutes a garment?
Additionally, even if an item is deemed a garment, the rabbis prohibited one from going out with a garment that a person is prone to removing and carrying.
Different Types of Masks
Whether something fulfills the criteria of a garment depends, among other things, on the material it is made from, the purpose it serves, societal norms, and how it is worn.
Interestingly, the Talmud and Code of Jewish Law make mention of not going out with a mask on Shabbat.1 However, that is referring to a face mask worn as a costume (to scare children), which is clearly not the case here.
A face mask that is worn for protective purposes is seemingly no different than an item worn to protect one from pain or injury, which is considered a garment and may be worn outside on Shabbat.2 This would be permitted even if it is not worn exactly like an ordinary garment is usually worn.3 Given that, in colder climates, people do wear masks over their nose and mouth, it seems clear that a mask would fall into the category of ordinary garments.4
Wearing Anti-Semitic Jewish Badges
But even if masks aren’t garments that people ordinarily wear, does the fact that they are now commonly worn—since they are either mandated or strongly encouraged by the government (depending on your locale)—render them bona fide garments?
In the 12th century, Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe (author of the Ohr Zarua) wrote about the anti-Semitic badges the Jews of France were mandated to wear at the time. He ruled that one was permitted to go out with them on Shabbat since the badge was attached to the garment and therefore batel, “nullified,” to it.5 This seems to indicate that the fact that they were mandated alone is not enough to render them a garment.
However, the two scenarios are quite different. In the case of the badges, unless they are attached in some way, they aren’t being worn at all. Masks, on the other hand, are actually worn, and the only debate is whether wearing them would be considered the societal norm. Thus, the government mandate and the resulting mask-wearing by the masses should in itself suffice.6
Prone to be Removed
While we have outlined some of the reasons why a mask would be considered a bona fide garment, masks are at times very uncomfortable to wear, and people are prone to adjust them or remove them (partially) from their face to speak to someone. This brings us to the question of the rabbinic prohibition of going out with a garment that people are prone to take off.
We find, however, that this concern is not as great in a situation where there is a strong reason for the person to keep the garment on. Thus, for example, if one were to wear gloves outside in a warmer climate, there is a halachic concern that the person would remove the gloves in order to scratch himself. However, in a colder climate, this is less of a concern and the need is greater, so we may be lenient.7 The same would seemingly apply to wearing a mask outside, when its whole purpose is for protection.8
In light of the above, it would be permissible to wear a mask outdoors, although we pray for the day when all will be healed and these measures will no longer be needed.
See Talmud, Shabbat 66a-b; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 301:20.
See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 301:13; Now, it is true that there are a number of different types of masks. There are masks, like the N95, which are meant to protect the wearer from contracting the disease. And then there are the cloth masks that are largely meant to protect others from the wearer in case the wearer is infected. However, even the cloth masks provide a minimal level of protection (even if it is not the reason the CDC advises that people wear them; see, for example COVID-19 Face Mask Advice, Explained). See also Responsa Tzitz Eliezer, vol. 14:58:3, where he explains (based on the Shulchan Aruch Harav and Mishnah Berurah) that the fact that the person is wearing the garment for additional purposes doesn’t negate its permissibility.
See Rabbi Asher Weiss, Minchat Asher, Kunteres Corona 9, and Responsum from Rabbi Braun.
See Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 301:44.
Furthermore, some argue that even wearing the mask dangling from the face may be considered “a way of wearing it,” since this is how some wear it when not needed (Rabbi Asher Weiss, Minchat Asher, Kunteres Corona 9). But, even if this is not the case, and it is not considered a normal way to wear a garment, this rabbinic prohibition would still seemingly not apply. Carrying in this fashion is not considered a normal way of carrying and is itself a rabbinic prohibition and we find that the rabbis didn’t prohibit going out with a garment that people are prone to take off if when it would be taken off it wouldn’t anyhow be the normal way of carrying which is itself only a Rabbinic prohibition (See Biur Halachah on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 301:37; see also Responsum from Rabbi Braun as it relates to wearing a mask).
Shavuot could be considered the holiday of the book. Unlike Rosh Hashanah which has the shofar, Chanukah which has the menorah and Sukkot which has the four species and the sukkah, Shavuot has no concrete symbol. Since it is the holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the custom is to engage in Torah study. More recently the custom is to stay up all night studying Torah.
We sometimes hear Jews referred to as ‘The People of the Book.’ Paradoxically this term actually comes from the Koran, not from Jewish sources. For many it emphasizes the Jewish focus on education, and achievement in education. Jews, until recently, made up 25% of many Ivy League schools. The People of the Book have garnered over 20% of Nobel prizes even though Jews make up only .02% of the population. It is difficult to determine the figures for Jewish literacy in the past, however it does appear that historically it was well above that of the general population. Eighteen hundred years before the Western world, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Gamliel instituted universal education for children in Jewish communities (see Babylonian Talmud, Baba Batra 21a).
It has been suggested that Jewish success in education, and as a result in general society, is largely a result of the importance placed on education in Jewish society and culture. My grandmother’s mantra to me was to acquire as much education as I could because “they cannot take it away from you.” This was spoken from first-hand experience; before WWII she and my grandfather had their home and business taken away from them in Austria when they were in their fifties and had to start over again in America. I absorbed the message and wound up with two advanced degrees.
Yet if we trace it back, we see that the Jewish emphasis on education does not come from a cultural value; it comes from the importance placed upon Torah study. This is embodied in the Rabbinic statement that we recite daily in the morning prayers, “Talmud Torah is equal to them all [honoring one’s parents, acts of kindness and other primary mitzvot]” (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 127a).
One of the features of a religious Jewish home is the prominent display of books. Having Torah books in a central place in the home projects a message of the primary importance of Torah study in our lives.
Rabbi Judah Halevy, the Spanish philosopher, physician, and poet expressed his love of books this way: “My pen is my harp and my lyre, my library is my garden and orchard” (Brodi p.166). Implicit is the message that the garden is meant to be harvested. The Talmud tells us that this means incorporating Torah study into the pattern of our lives.
Shammai tells us that we should make Torah a consistent part of our lives (Avot 1:15). One of the top five questions we will be asked when we reach the world to come is “Did you set aside regular times for Torah study?” (Shabbat 31a) Torah study is not a mere hobby; it is the primary activity of a Jew’s life.
Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai over 3000 years ago, and our transmission of the teachings over 3000 years of Jewish history. Jewish holidays are not just commemorations of the past. Like the Passover Haggadah tells us to actually re-experience the Exodus, so too on Shavuot, we bring ourselves to re-experience the receiving of the Torah, and we re-dedicated ourselves to our commitment to Torah by studying Torah. This opportunity can extend the rest of the year as reflected in this teaching of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: every day a voice comes out from Mount Horeb (Mt. Sinai, Avot 6:2).
So whether you stay up all night studying Torah, or find time to do some studying your own, this Shavuot, let’s recommit ourselves to learning Torah and making it a consistent part of our daily life throughout the year.
Rabbi Jonathan Feldman is Community Educator for Am Yisrael Foundation, an organization that runs cultural, social and Torah programming for young olim and expats who have come to Tel Aviv from all over the world. He was formerly Associate/East Side Director of Manhattan Jewish Experience for 17 years, working with Jewish young professionals on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Rabbi Jonathan grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. After attending Cornell University he started studying Torah at Yeshiva Aish Hatorah and eventually received his Rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University and his Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from New York University. He has lectured widely and has taught at Stern College and Yeshiva University.
He, his wife and two of their children acted on their dream and made Aliyah this past summer and never looked back (although he does visit the States occasionally). They and enjoy working on their Hebrew, exploring the more remote parts of the land of Israel and learning to become sabras.
If ever a book deserved to win a Nobel Prize it must surely be Professor Saul Sapir’s remarkable Bombay Mumbai City Heritage Walks guidebook. This 447-page book, the exhilarating result of the author’s 4-year dedication, is notable for its outstanding scholarship, design, production and general appeal and may be classed as a guidebook that is also a romance since it so tellingly reflects the author’s enduring love and reverence of the city of his birth. With its 14 separate heritage walks, its 1000 photographs, its 120 historical, architectural, heritage landmarks and sites, its 824 reference notes and archival sources, it is a riveting masterpiece for the reader, visitor or scholar blessed to have a copy to read or guide him. Sapir rivals and outdoes almost anything that the world of architectural landmarks and sites can offer which is why in my humble opinion this book most certainly is of the Nobel Prize winning caliber.
The Royal Bombay Yacht Club. tripadvisor.com
One may truly say that Professor Sapir’s own life has significantly prepared him for an achievement of this magnitude. Although on the inside flap of the book there appears a small smiling picture of the author and a modestly brief review of his life, nonetheless it would require a much greater and expanded story of his life to explain his love and affection for Bombay Mumbai and his unerring ability to cover so many different aspects of the city – its architecture, religious affiliations, culture and history and geography – with such impressive scholarship detail.
Kamala Nehru Park – simple.wikipedia.org
Born in Bombay, Professor Sapir lived in India for the first years of his life. He always felt a great attraction for his city of birth and upon visiting India years later he renewed his bond with this vibrant, colorful, bustling Metropolis. Fascinated by the magnificent examples of architecture, regal causeways and public spaces, blending in with the colors and smells and endless noise and teeming humanity, he decided to travel and research his own roots and the history of this amazing city at the hub of this compelling country.
His curiosity and passion for Mumbai led him to return countless times to reacquaint himself with the city and its architectural gems. He researched its urban fabric, walked its streets and alleys for endless hours with his camera and studied its history in depth, to provide the readers with fresh insights into the architectural design of the city, based on intensive research of archival sources and comprehensive field study.
The impact on the reader, whether at home or on one of the Heritage Walks, is akin to listening to a majestic symphony and being totally caught up in its color, its rhythm and melody, such is the impact of this amazing guidebook, that is in fact an astounding work of art.
Technically, the presentation of Heritage Walks is designed with the aim of sightseer’s comfort. The map of each walk is placed on the left-hand page of the book, indicating the sites marked along the route. On the right-hand side is a brief overview of the walk, indicated by the numbers and names of the sites as they appear on the map.
Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
As Professor Sapir so succinctly writes in the inside cover: “Exploring the Heritage of Colonial Bombay is to walk its streets of architectural gems, its public buildings, fountains, statues, museums, markets and monuments in the Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Indo Saracen and Art Deco styles. Though modern streets and buildings have been knitted into the historic realm, British presence still remains dominant in its structures and landmarks”.
As a matter of fact, it is the very variety that make this city so charming, characterized by the interacting influences coming from the west, combined with local traditions, well reflected in its architecture.
The book explores the social and physical history of Colonial Bombay at a pivotal time in its emergence as a modern metropolis rising like a phoenix from a cluster of seven islands. No doubt, Bombay’s architectural boom during the British Raj is one of the most remarkable events of the Victorian reign which marks the city as being one of the magnetic cities in the Empire – a gem glorifying the “The Jewel in the Crown.”
Whereas Professor Sapir’s previous highly-praised book about Bombay “Bombay – The Jewish Urban Heritage,” concentrated on the Jewish contribution to Bombay and its urban development, in the Bombay Mumbai guidebook the Jewish connection is confined to Heritage Walks 10-13.
Flora Fountain
An outstanding feature of the book is the author’s impressive ability to combine historical and architectural description and bringing them to life for the reader with the aid of the excellent photos. Many of impressive sites are named and inspired by major personalities who stamped their presence indelibly on Bombay’s development, notably from the days of the British Raj, such as the equestrian statue of the Prince of Wales/George V, and the Royal Alfred Sailors Home and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, The Gateway of India (on the cover of the book), and Victoria Terminus; additional Indian landmarks in Mumbai include affiliated sites such as The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Flora fountain, the Jain Temple, Kamala Nehru Park, Mani Bhawan (Mahatma Gandhi’s Residence Museum); Christian edifices such as St. Andrew’s Church, St. Xavier’s College and St. Xavier’s High School,the Wesleyan Methodist Church; and those connected with and named after important members of the Bombay Baghdadi Jewish community, such as, the Magen David Synagogue, the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, the David Sassoon Library, the Sassoon Dock, the Sir Jacob Sassoon High School, the EEE Sassoon High School and Jew Garden.
Magen David Synagogue
The amazing book ends with 824 reference notes that strikingly confirm the author’s depth of research which he details in the Preface: “This volume is based on research which was carried out in the archives of the Indian Office Record (IOR) and the Newspaper Library, both part of the British Library, London. Additional research was conducted in the archives and library of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London.
In Mumbai, substantial effort was devoted in the Maharashtra State Archives, formerly known as the State Record Office ( S.R.O.) located in the Elphinstone College building. In addition, many hours were spent in the archives of The Times of India, in the archives of the Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra, Sassoon David Building; in the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room and in the library and archives of the University of Mumbai.
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
I am very grateful to all employees of all these archives and libraries.
In order to supplement the existing information in the written literature an inclusive survey and intensive Field Work was conducted of Mumbai sites past and present, in addition to an extensive Field Study that focused on locating and exposing “hidden” sites of which a few have already been forgotten during the course of time.”
The book also contains a warm approval from Mr. Pavan Kapoor, the Indian previous Ambassador to Israel, who writes: “I would like to congratulate Shaul Sapir on his second book on Bombay Mumbai. After initially writing about Jewish Heritage in Bombay, he has now come out with an excellent guidebook with detailed suggestions for 14 Heritage Walks across the city. His painstaking research on the history of different monuments and buildings and a wonderful collection of photographs to accompany them make the book an essential Guide for anyone keen to understand the development of this vibrant city.”
In short, this 447-page volume is in every way a triumph of scholarship, design and production, that thrillingly brings alive the history and majesty of Bombay Mumbai and enables the reader to join the visitor in participating in the enthralling walks
And above all, in producing this astonishing work which enshrines within its pages so many key features of Bombay’s remarkable historical and cultural presence, Professor Sapir has accomplished something that is not just simply an attractive guidebook but more correctly a gloriously inspiring spiritual guide to Bombay Mumbai to be treasured for many years to come by visitors to Bombay, its citizens and indeed the Indian nation as a whole.
Examples of chest CT images of COVID-19 patients & visualization of features correlated to COVID-19 positivity
Technology may lead to rapid diagnosis based on CT scans and patient data
Edited by: JV Staff
Mount Sinai researchers are the first in the country to use artificial intelligence (AI) combined with imaging, and clinical data to analyze patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They have developed a unique algorithm that can rapidly detect COVID-19 based on how lung disease looks in computed tomography (CT scans) of the chest, in combination with patient information including symptoms, age, bloodwork, and possible contact with someone infected with the virus. This study, published in the May 19 issue of Nature Medicine, could help hospitals across the world quickly detect the virus, isolate patients, and prevent it from spreading during this pandemic.
“AI has huge potential for analyzing large amounts of data quickly, an attribute that can have a big impact in a situation such as a pandemic. At Mount Sinai, we recognized this early and were able to mobilize the expertise of our faculty and our international collaborations to work on implementing a novel AI model using CT data from coronavirus patients in Chinese medical centers. We were able to show that the AI model was as accurate as an experienced radiologist in diagnosing the disease, and even better in some cases where there was no clear sign of lung disease on CT,” says one of the lead authors, Zahi Fayad, PhD, Director of the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We’re now working on how to use this at home and share our findings with others—this toolkit can easily be deployed worldwide to other hospitals, either online or integrated into their own systems.”
This research expands on a previous Mount Sinai study that identified a characteristic pattern of disease in the lungs of COVID-19 patients and showed how it develops over the course of a week and a half.
The new study involved scans of more than 900 patients that Mount Sinai received from institutional collaborators at hospitals in China. The patients were admitted to 18 medical centers in 13 Chinese provinces between January 17 and March 3, 2020. The scans included 419 confirmed COVID-19-positive cases (most either had recently traveled to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, or had contact with an infected COVID-19 patient) and 486 COVID-19-negative scans. Researchers also had patients’ clinical information, including blood test results showing any abnormalities in white blood cell counts or lymphocyte counts as well as their age, sex, and symptoms (fever, cough, or cough with mucus). They focused on CT scans and blood tests since doctors in China use both of these to diagnose patients with COVID-19 if they come in with fever or have been in contact with an infected patient.
The Mount Sinai team integrated data from those CT scans with the clinical information to develop an AI algorithm. It mimics the workflow a physician uses to diagnose COVID-19 and gives a final prediction of positive or negative diagnosis. The AI model produces separate probabilities of being COVID-19-positive based on CT images, clinical data, and both combined. Researchers initially trained and fine-tuned the algorithm on data from 626 out of 905 patients, and then tested the algorithm on the remaining 279 patients in the study group (split between COVID-19-positive and negative cases) to judge the test’s sensitivity; higher sensitivity means better detection performance. The algorithm was shown to have statistically significantly higher sensitivity (84 percent) compared to 75 percent for radiologists evaluating the images and clinical data.
The AI system also improved the detection of COVID-19-positive patients who had negative CT scans. Specifically, it recognized 68 percent of COVID-19-positive cases, whereas radiologists interpreted all of these cases as negative due to the negative CT appearance. Improved detection is particularly important to keep patients isolated if scans don’t show lung disease when patients first present symptoms (since the previous study showed that lung disease doesn’t always show up on CT in the first few days) and COVID-19 symptoms are often nonspecific, resembling a flu or common cold, so it can be difficult to diagnose.
CT scans are not widely used for diagnosis of COVID-19 in the United States; however, Dr. Fayad explains that imaging can still play an important role.
“Imaging can help give a rapid and accurate diagnosis—lab tests can take up to two days, and there is the possibility of false negatives—meaning imaging can help isolate patients immediately if needed, and manage hospital resources effectively. The high sensitivity of our AI model can provide a ‘second opinion’ to physicians in cases where CT is either negative (in the early course of infection) or shows nonspecific findings, which can be common. It’s something that should be considered on a wider scale, especially in the United States, where currently we have more spare capacity for CT scanning than in labs for genetic tests,” said Dr. Fayad, who is also a Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“This study is important because it shows that an artificial intelligence algorithm can be trained to help with early identification of COVID-19, and this can be used in the clinical setting to triage or prioritize the evaluation of sick patients early in their admission to the emergency room,” says Matthew Levin, MD, Director of the Mount Sinai Health System’s Clinical Data Science Team, and a member of the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center. “This is an early proof concept that we can apply to our own patient data to further develop algorithms that are more specific to our region and diverse populations.”
Mount Sinai researchers are now focused on further developing the model to find clues about how well patients will do based on subtleties in their CT data and clinical information. They say this could be important to optimize treatment and improve outcomes.
Xueyan Mei, a trainee in the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Yang Yang, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, also contributed to this work.
The Health Department and the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) launched a program to deliver methadone to patients with COVID-19, COVID-like illness, or at high risk of COVID-19
Health Department teams can make approximately 1,300 deliveries per month to individuals enrolled in the methadone delivery program
Edited by: JV Staff
The Health Department and the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) launched a program to deliver methadone to patients with COVID-19, COVID-like illness, or at high risk of COVID-19. In a first for New York City, 20 Health Department staff, working in teams of two, are making curbside deliveries of methadone to patients’ homes and to City-run isolation hotels. The program can make approximately 1,300 deliveries per month. To reduce the risk of COVID-19, staff are equipped with masks, hand sanitizer and wipes and have undergone safety training, including best practices for maintaining social distancing.
“Methadone is a life-saving medication,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “New Yorkers who take methadone and get sick from COVID-19 should not have to choose between getting their medication and protecting their health or the health of others. No other medication is as strictly regulated as methadone, and I urge my federal colleagues to consider making these changes permanent after the pandemic is over.”
OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said, “Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made numerous adjustments to continue providing services, while at the same time protecting the safety of staff, patients, and the public. With this new delivery program, people can still receive their lifesaving medication, while also staying safe from dangers presented by COVID-19. This program will be a great benefit for people throughout New York City who are affected by COVID-19, or are at high risk of complications from this disease if they were to contract it.”
Expanding methadone home delivery
After a soft launch in mid-April at select isolation hotels, the methadone home delivery program now accepts patients from isolation hotels run by NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Emergency Management, and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
In addition, the Health Department expanded the eligibility criteria of patients who can receive home delivery of methadone, lowering the age minimum from 65 to 50 years and lowering the minimum take-home dose from 14 days to 7 days.
Anyone who takes methadone can be referred for methadone delivery at the discretion of the medical director of their opioid treatment program.
Emergency regulations allowing for home delivery
Methadone is an effective and safe treatment for opioid use disorder and reduces the risk of overdose, yet it remains the most heavily regulated medication in the country. Under federal regulations, people who take methadone must go to an opioid treatment program regularly – ranging from every day to once a month – to pick up their medication. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has loosened the regulations around methadone, allowing local governments to coordinate methadone delivery to high risk patients. In addition, clinics are now able to provide up to 28 doses of methadone for patients to take home, depending on their stability in treatment. Furthermore, patients may assign a family member or member of their household to pick up their methadone for them. Currently, 40% of New York City residents who take methadone have someone else pick up their medication on their behalf.
Guidance for referrals
In order to receive methadone delivery, patients need to be referred to the program by either the medical director of their opioid treatment program or staff at the isolation hotel where they currently reside. The Health Department suggests the following guidance for patient referrals, but any patient can be referred at the discretion of the medical director:
Diagnosis or symptoms of COVID-19.
A take-home dose of methadone for a minimum of 7 days; age 50 or older; AND an underlying health condition:
Lung disease
Moderate to severe asthma
Heart disease
A weakened immune system
Obesity
Diabetes
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Cancer
“Methadone is a lifesaving maintenance medication that helps people to lead safe and healthy lives. It is vital that those who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 are not forced to risk their lives by braving to access methadone. I am pleased that the City of New York, in partnership with OTPs and advocates, has devised a solution that ensures that people continue to have access to methadone while they shelter safely at home,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (D/WF-Manhattan).
“Housing Works applauds this important effort from DOHMH and OASAS to provide methadone to people who are in isolation shelters coping with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Charles King, CEO, Housing Works. “We should also ensure that these folks have access to additional harm reduction resources, such as clean syringes.”
Allegra Schorr, President of the Coalition of Medication Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates of New York State (COMPA), stated, “COMPA commends our city and state partners NYC DOHMH and OASAS for their rapid response and mobilization on this crucially timed methadone delivery system designed to help patients in treatment with opioid use disorder through the coronavirus crisis – and at the same time help fight the spread of COVID-19. During these unprecedented times, Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) across New York City will now have the vital support needed to have methadone delivered, within protocols and guidelines, to both New Yorkers in New York City’s Isolation Hotels and patients at risk or isolated at home due to the coronavirus. We believe this will help our OTPs continue to battle the crisis of opioid addiction and overdose while simultaneously acting to protect personal and public health during the COVID threat.”
Opioid treatment programs have been dispensing methadone in New York City since the late 1970s. There are currently 68 opioid treatment programs in the city that serve an estimated 28,500 New Yorkers who take methadone. Unlike other jurisdictions nationwide, there is no wait to start taking methadone in New York City. A 2017 report on methadone treatment found that more than half (55%) of New Yorkers who take methadone are over 45 years old.
Individuals seeking support or treatment for substance use issues for themselves or their loved ones can contact NYC Well by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL, texting “WELL” to 65173, or going to nyc.gov/nycwell. Free, confidential support is available at any hour of the day in over 200 languages.
Nearly 36,000 American lives would have been spared if strict social distancing measures had been enacted across the country just one week earlier than they were, new estimates suggest.
By: Robin Foster & EJ Mundell
Nearly 36,000 American lives would have been spared if strict social distancing measures had been enacted across the country just one week earlier than they were, new estimates suggest.
And if those measures had been imposed two weeks before most people started staying home, about 54,000 COVID-19 deaths would have been avoided by early May, Columbia University disease models show, The New York Times reported. The U.S. coronavirus death toll stretched past 93,000 on Thursday, with more than 1.5 million cases.
“It’s a big, big difference,” Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia and leader of the modeling team, told Times. “That small moment in time, catching it in that growth phase, is incredibly critical in reducing the number of deaths.”
On the economic front, another round of weekly jobless claims delivered more bad news: 2.4 million filed for unemployment, bringing the total jobless number for the past nine weeks to more than 38 million.
Meanwhile, all 50 states have started reopening their economies, more than two months after the new coronavirus first forced America into lockdown.
States in the Northeast and on the West Coast, as well as Democratic-led states in the Midwest, have moved more slowly toward reopening, the Times reported. But a number of states in the South opened earlier and more expansively, albeit with social distancing restrictions in place, the newspaper said.
Luckily, new data shows the number of new coronavirus cases in the country has begun to drop.
According to the Times, in New York state case counts have dropped over the last month, and they have also plunged in hard-hit Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Some states, including Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, are seeing hardly any new cases at all, the newspaper said.
According to a Times tally, the top five states in coronavirus cases as of Thursday are: New York with nearly 359,000; New Jersey with over 150,000; Illinois with over 100,000; Massachusetts with nearly 89,000; and California with more than 86,000.
Testing issues continue
Of course, testing will be key to further efforts to control the spread of the new coronavirus. But only about 3% of the population has been tested.
Meanwhile, a survey from the Washington Post reveals another dilemma: Though tests for the virus are finally becoming widely available, too few people are lining up to get them.
The poll of governors’ offices and state health departments found at least a dozen states where testing capacity outstrips the supply of patients.
Why aren’t more people getting tested? “Well, that’s the million-dollar question,” Utah Health Department spokesman Tom Hudachko told the Post. “It could be simply that people don’t want to be tested. It could be that people feel like they don’t need to be tested. It could be that people are so mildly symptomatic that they’re just not concerned that having a positive lab result would actually change their course in any meaningful way.”
And a new report finds that millions more Americans are venturing out in public.
From March 20, when states began urging people to stay home, to April 30, when many states started easing those restrictions, 43.8% of U.S. residents stayed home, a Times analysis showed.
But last week, only 36.1% of Americans stayed home.
Serious illness in kids
Meanwhile, troubling news has emerged from New York City: More than 145 children have contracted a new, serious inflammatory syndrome that seems to be linked to COVID-19 infection, NBC New York reported.
The CDC has confirmed the link, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week, adding that the city will work under the CDC’s latest definition of what it now calls multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children.
“The CDC has confirmed a link to COVID-19. This is important, we assumed it, but they have done additional research to 100 percent confirm it and released a national standard definition,” de Blasio told NBC New York.
The syndrome affects blood vessels and organs, and has symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock.
A small number of cases have been reported in other states, including New Jersey, California, Louisiana and Mississippi, the Times reported. At least 50 cases have been reported in European countries.
As New York City officials grappled with how to track and treat this new condition, an Italian study published in The Lancet medical journal described similar cases that cropped up in that country.
Between Feb. 18 and April 20, there were 10 cases of young children hospitalized with the inflammatory condition in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. In the five years leading up to the middle of February, only 19 children in that region had ever been diagnosed with the condition.
All 10 children survived, but they had more severe symptoms than those diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in the previous five years.
Americans still nervous about reopening
Across the country, reopening plans proceed, with all states relaxing social distancing measures by Memorial Day weekend, CNN reported. But polling shows that most Americans fear that reopening will trigger a second wave of infections.
Of the 1,056 adults surveyed between May 14 and May 18, 83% said they’re at least somewhat concerned that easing restrictions in will result in a new surge of infections, with 54% saying they’re very or extremely concerned, according to the Associated Press-NORAC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
With reopening, it’s essential for people to return to self-quarantine if they are exposed to the virus, about 80% of respondents said.
About 6 in 10 said widespread testing for the coronavirus is necessary to resume public activities, along with requiring people to stay six feet apart in most places and to wear face masks when they’re near others outside their homes.
Nearly half of the respondents said it’s crucial for a vaccine to be available before public life resumes, while another third said that’s important, but not essential.
Relatives help a SOS Funeral worker, wearing protection equipment amid the new coronavirus outbreak, remove the body of Eldon Cascais from his home in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, May 9, 2020. According to Cascais' relatives, he had lung cancer and died at home after suffering from shortness of breath, cough and fatigue for a week. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
By: Menelaos Hadjicostis & Elaine Kurtenbach (AP)
As Brazil and India struggle with surging coronavirus cases, a top health expert is warning that the world is still in the very middle of the outbreak, dampening hopes for a speedy global economic rebound and renewed international travel.
“Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director.
“We’re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up,” Ryan said, pointing to South America, South Asia and other parts of the world.
India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, saw a record single-day jump in new cases for the seventh straight day. It reported 6,535 new infections Tuesday, raising its total to over 145,000, including close to 4,200 deaths.
The virus has taken hold in some of the country’s poorest, most densely populated areas, underscoring the challenges authorities face in trying to contain a virus for which no vaccine or cure has yet to be developed.
Most of India’s cases are concentrated in the western states of Maharashtra, home to the financial hub of Mumbai, and Gujarat. Infections have also climbed in the east as migrant workers stranded by lockdowns returned to their native villages from India’s largest cities.
Despite this, India allowed domestic flights to resume Monday following a two-month hiatus, but at a fraction of normal traffic levels.
In Brazil, where President Jair Bosonaro has raged against state and local leaders enforcing stay-at-home measures, WHO warned that before reopening the economy, authorities must have enough testing in place to control the spread of the virus.
Brazil has 375,000 coronavirus infections — second only to the 1.6 million cases in the U.S. — and has counted over 23,000 deaths, but many fear Brazil’s true toll is much higher.
Ryan said Brazil’s “intense” transmission rates means it should keep some stay-at-home measures in place, regardless of the damage to the economy.
“You must continue to do everything you can,” he said.
But Sao Paulo Gov. João Doria has ruled out a full lockdown in Brazil’s largest state economy and plans to start loosening restrictions on June 1.
A U.S. travel ban was set to take effect Tuesday for foreigners coming from Brazil.
In Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the postponed military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in the World War II will take place on June 24. Victory Day has become the most important holiday in Russia, marked every year on May 9 with a show of armed might in Red Square.
Putin said the country has passed the peak of the outbreak.
Russia reported a record one-day spike Tuesday of 174 deaths, bringing the country’s confirmed death toll to over 3,800. Russia’s coronavirus caseload surpassed 360,000 — the third-highest in the world — with almost 9,000 new infections registered.
The country’s comparatively low mortality rate has raised questions among experts. Russian officials vehemently deny manipulating any figures and attribute the low numbers to the effectiveness of the country’s lockdowns.
The question of who can travel where and when remains a dilemma in many places.
Spain’s foreign minister said that European Union members should collectively agree to open borders and determine which non-EU countries are safe for travel.
“We have to start working with our European partners to retake the freedom of movement in European territories,” Arancha González Laya told Cadena SER radio. (AP)
