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“Not only one has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation they rise against us to annihilate us.” These words, recited during the most emotional point of the Pesach Seder, still ring true, despite the incredible freedoms American Jews enjoy. Six months after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, last week another shooting occurred at the Chabad in Poway, California. A few days earlier, The New York Times published a cartoon of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a big-nosed dog with a Jewish star necklace leading a yarmulke-wearing, blind President Trump. Anti-Semitism rears its ugly head in many forms, and American Jews must be knowledgeable of who our enemies are and where they come from if we are to continue to survive.

The Israeli Air Force began during the 1948 War of Independence, built on the “Sherut Avir” that existed for six months prior, and that was planned with the assistance of those who had served in the RAF and USAF. In the earliest days of air might in Israel, people volunteered their knowledge and skills, and parts and equipment were secured from many places.

Recap: Yonah spent a wonderful Shabbos in Greenwood. It was hard to go back to his relatives and all the prejudice in Neshoba.

 A few days later, I felt an air of excitement when I entered the Freedom School. “These men are going to exercise their right to vote,” Mickey shouted. Everyone yelled enthusiastically, “Yes!”

Dear Alice,

 You may have addressed this already, as it is a common problem, but maybe discussing it again will help me and others like me. I start off every day so well. I am determined to lose weight and eat my breakfast, lunch, and snacks carefully and on plan. When it comes to dinner, however, I mess the whole thing up. I don’t have time to prepare my own dinner, so I end up eating whatever I made for the kids. I tell myself that I will just have a portion-controlled amount, but I end up eating more dinner than I planned. Then I sabotage the rest of the night because I am exhausted, stressed, and upset that I messed up my diet by dinner. How do I end this vicious cycle?

Risk is part of daily life, and risk tolerance varies. Try something new. Make a change. Feeling vulnerable is so scary. It is.

What went wrong at this year’s “A Different Pesach Program” and who saved the day? Last year, Ben Atkin, the owner of A Different Pesach Program, ran two Pesach programs. This year, he combined the two into one and planned to have 1,000 guests. He hired an operations manager so he would not need to be on site. Ben put deposits on 120 homes, advertised extensively, and, as Pesach grew near, he was in the unenviable position of having about only half the guests he expected and a fraction of what he had last year. The reservations he was expecting just did not come through in the numbers he expected. Financially, the program was no longer feasible but it was also very late to cancel. Where would his guests go? Many were flying in and had already purchased tickets. Some money was already lost on canceling homes that were not needed, advertising dollars could not be recouped, and food was already being prepared by the truckload. All of the homes were paid for, except about $900 was still due on each of 11 homes.