ELDER OF ZIYON: Hamas official says the group wants to slaughter every Jew in the world

The truth comes out. It's not about Israel, Zionism, the alleged "occupation." It's pure unbridled anti-semitism. Every Jew in the world must see the truth of what Hamas stands for. Slaughtering Jews everywhere in the world. When your enemy tells you that he wants to kill you, believe him. Don't look the other way and rationalize that he only has issues with this Jew and not another Jew. If a Jew in Hebron or Judah & Samariah is not safe, then make no mistake, Jews in Beverly Hills and in Hancock Park and anywhere in the world are not safe.

There are many articles this morning in Arab media about a speech that Hamas politburo member Fathi Hamad made at the Friday Gaza rally.

Hamad gave Israel a deadline of one week before Hamas will start a terror spree worldwide targeting Jews.

"If the enemy does not break this siege, and if the understandings are not implemented, we will not allow the Palestinians to enter Gaza," Hamad said in a speech to demonstrators participating in the "return marches" east of Gaza City. "We have a lot of means and methods in our arsenal."

"We are about to explode and the explosion will not be in Gaza, but in the occupied West Bank and abroad as well," Hamad said.

He then said, "We must attack, slaughter and kill every Jew who exists in the world."

Hamad was chided for that last statement by Hamas leaders.

Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef sent an open letter to Hamad, saying that his speech was in error.

"My brother, Fathi Hamad (Abu Musab), I understand your anger at the crimes of the occupation against our people, but the language of knives and explosive belts is not the language of politicians, and talk about the killing of Jews is a violation of religious and moral law, and even contrary to what is stated in the Hamas political document."

He is referring to the Hamas manifesto released with much fanfare in 2017 that was more conciliatory to Jews but was falsely reported as a replacement for their charter which indeed calls to kill all Jews.

Yousef's letter continues to say, "O brother, Abu Musab, your hurried enthusiasm [caused you to say things that] will give all pretexts to the occupation to tighten the siege and the practice of further aggression, and will contribute to the abandonment of our people in the Gaza Strip.

Yousef said: "The leadership of Hamas and the head of its political bureau needs to correct the error and explain the situation, because the cost of this speech can be high, and its consequences painful."

Other Palestinians disavowed Hamad's words, saying they do not hate Jews.

Mahmoud al-Zaq, a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, said "This speech can  is harmful, which harms our people and turns us from victim to murderer." 

Dr. Hossam al-Dajani, a writer and political analyst who is close to Hamas, called Hamad's call to kill the Jews a "strategic mistake and a coup against the Hamas political document."

He said: "This is a serious mistake that Hamas will pay for and should immediately disavow this speech because its repercussions will be serious, especially if a Jew were killed in any foreign capital, the charge would be justified."

"The language of slaughtering in the media is not successful, especially as it is linked to world public opinion which closely links [Hamas] with terrorism and brings the consequent phobia of Islam."

This pushback is rare, as there are antisemitic articles in Arab media all the time. However they rarely reach the level of explicit calls to genocide, and much (but not all) of the criticism centers more on the ramifications of Hamad's words in world public opinion than the immorality of his call to kill all Jews.

UPDATE: Here's the excerpt (sorry, no translation yet:)

There is a historic amnesia for those who shun and denigrate Israel; their names will be forgotten for all time, but those who stand up for it will forever be remembered!

BCC’s father, Rabbi Dr. Samuel I. Cohen, ztl, was the Executive Vice President of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of North America for over 25 years.

Once, when BCC was a young kid, his father took BCC to JFK to meet a group of prominent Christian leaders on a mission to Israel. BCC’s father asked the Christian leaders if they can recall the names of the 12 spies Moses sent to spy out the land of Canaan?

They only recalled two of them: Joshua and Caleb, the ones who spoke positively about Israel.

BCC’s father asked whether they could recall the names of the other 10 spies who spoke negatively about Israel?

They could not recall their names, even though they were identified in the Torah in Parsha Shelach.

BCC’s father concluded: “there is a historic amnesia for those who shun and denigrate Israel; their names will be forgotten for all time, but those who stand up for it will forever be remembered!”

Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations since June 1986, and the founding executive director of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, who eulogized BCC’s father quotes the above to this day.

Let’s learn the lesson properly: those who shun and denigrate Israel, will be forgotten, and those who stand up for it will forever be remembered.

Letter Found From the "Tzaddik of Yerushalyim" R" Aryeh Levin Praising the Early Zionists!

This was a letter written by the known "Tzaddik of Yeruslayim" to Mrs Esther Reziel Naor, a member of the Knesset. The letter was written in May 1961.

In the letter, R' Aryeh Levin laments the fact that Chareidim distanced themselves from Zionists pioneers! R' Aryeh asks that she accept his apology!

The letter reads:

ב"ה . ירושלים 

יום ראשון בשבת פסח שני ,ללמוד תורה לפ"ק

שלום וברכה ונחת מלאה בכל המובנים להאישה הדגולה מרת אסתר נאור רזיאל

יקרת מכתבה קיבלתי, בקוראי אותו הרגשתי והשתתפי בצערה ואבקש סליחתה.

אמנם אין כוונתי היתה חלילה לדבר סרה על מי שהוא, בפרט על אחינו היקרים שיחיו, היושבים על אדמת הקודש ובונים בית ישראל במסירות,

ואים היהדות רפה שם, אולי שלא באשמתם, כי לכל העם בשגגה.

ואלי אני וכדומה לי אשמים בזה, מבלי להיפגש איתם בזמנים קרובים,

ואני בעזרת ה' בלי נדר, מוכן לבקר במשקים בקיבוצים של אחינו ש"י

אמנם אין לי האמצעים לזה, פשוט חסר לי התחבורה, אולי גם הזמנה מאיזה מקומות

ומה שכיניתי במכתב לה' כיונתי לאיזה תועלת אם יזכני השי''ת בזכות גדול בזה שיהיו דברי נשמעים

כי אהבתי אליהם בכל לב ונפש

המצפה לרחמי שמים מי ייתן מציון ישועת ישראל 

אריה לוין 

I will loosely translate the relevant parts that I bolded, and typed in red...

" The truth is that my intention was never to bad mouth anyone, especially my dear brothers that sit on Holy Land and are building Jewish homes with dedication, if the Jews (living in kibbutzim) are weak in their Jewishness, perhaps, it is not their fault ....because the entire nation are ones that err"
and "myself and others like me are at fault" 
(I guess for not reaching out to them!)

" I love them with my entire heart and soul"

What Gedoiei Hador Thought Of ........"Yom Yerushalayim"

There are Gedoilim whose opinions are constantly quoted by Yeshivishe Litvaks who embrace the anti-Zionist SHIT'ah since it suits them better not to join the army and defend their families; ... some of those Gedoilim quoted by them are of the bizarre and outrageous opinion that the open miracles we all witnessed during the 6 day war ....were performed by Satan!

But thankfully, there are Gedoilim who constitute the silent majority and who are of the opinion that "Yom Yerushalyim" is a Yom Tov that should be embraced and celebrated and some even are of the opinion that one should recite Hallel with a bracha!

I compiled  a sampling of those Gedoilim!

* Note:
According to Harav Avadia Yosef, Harav Yitzchok Kaduri and Harav Ben-Zion Abba Shaul, one shouldn't say Tachanun on Yom Yershalyim
see: הרב יהודה ברכה, שו"ת ברכת יהודה, ח"ד סימן טו'

Note that all the Gedoilim mention the great "miracles" on that day ....

From the Tzitz Eliezer, Harav Eliezer Waldenberg:

Notice: That the Tzitz Eliezer uses the term 

"על הגואלה ועל התמורה"  the Title of the Satmar Rebbe's Sefer that claims that all the miracles were from Satan .... but the Tzitz Eliezer uses those very words to thank Hashem for the miracles!

From Reb Aryeh Levin:

From Reb Chaim Shmulevitz , RY Mir

From Harav Yechezkel Abramski

From R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach 

From Harav Yechezkel Levenstein RY Ponovitz 

From Harav Yaakov Bezalel Zolti Rav of Yerushalayim 

From Harav Yechezkel Sarna RY Chevron

From Harav Shlomo Yoisef Kahanaman RY Ponivitz 

From Harav Ovadia Yosef

From The Rebbe of Lubavitch 

From Reb Moshe Feinstein who notes there there is no longer a need to "tear kriah" when seeing Yerusalayim, "since it is now in Jewish hands!

    

A Photograph of the Rebbe Rabbi Yechiel Michel Hager of Horodenka

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

A friend just sent BCC a rare photograph of BCC's great grandfather Rabbi Yechiel Michel Hager of Horodenka (1872-1942), the youngest son of the Rebbe Rabbi Baruch Hager of Vizhnitz, author of the "Imrei Baruch". From the year 1895 he served as a Rebbe in the town of Horodenka. He married the daughter of his brother Rabbi Chaim of Antania, author of "Nimukei Chain".

The picture was recently auctioned off at https://bidspirit.com/ui/lotPage/source/catalog/auction/1272/lot/74871/foo?lang=ru. The photograph is stuck onto cardboard. On the back is an inscription from his daughter Leah. 10x14.5 cm. The photograph is stuck on cardboard (24 cm). Condition: Very Good. A small tear with nothing missing at the top of the picture. Wrinkles in the cardboard on which the photograph is stuck.

Rav Yechiel Michel (ben Baruch) Hager of Horodenka (1941). One of the sons of the Imrei Baruch, he was appointed Rebbe (as were his brothers), after his father's petira on 20 Kislev 1892. Rav Yechiel Michel moved to Horodenka, to succeed his brother, Rav Shmuel Abba, who passed away childless in 1895. He married the daughter of his older brother, Rav Chaim (Rebbe in Antiniya). During World War I, he escaped to Chernowitz and served as Rebbe to the many Vizhnitz Chassidim there. He had one son, Baruch, who was later appointed Dayan in Chernowitz. After Sukkos of 1941, he was among 5000 Jews who were deported to Transnistria, and area in southwestern Ukraine, between the Dniester River ("Nistru" in Romanian) and the Bug River, north of the Black Sea. Also on that transport was Rav Aharon of Boyan, who came down with typhus and was niftar on 13 or 14 Cheshvan. Both Rav Yechiel Michel and his son Baruch came down with typhus in the work camp in Warchovka and died there.

TRANS-NISTRIA meant "beyond the River Dniester". The name Transnistria was decreed into existence by the Romanian dictator, Marshal Ion Antonescu, in the summer of 1941. Territorially, Transnistria was the largest killing field in the Holocaust. Many authors refer to it as "The Romanian Auschwitz". The name of that territory was in existence until the spring of 1944, when the Soviet Army re-conquered southern Ukraine.
----
Concealment & Revelation
A Personal Account of the Second World War
By Rabbi Aharon Yeshaya Roter

Others in Our Room Die of Typhoid Fever

Right after my father’s burial, another person in our room came down with Typhoid Fever – the son the Rebbe of Horodanka, HaRav Baruch Hagar zt’l of Chernovitz. His wife summoned the doctor, who gave him an injection in his stomach. Immediately, the stricken man began to groan, and he continued non-stop until around mid-night of the 13th of Kislev, when he finally died and his soul returned to Heaven. His son, Moshe, cried out to his grandfather, the Rebbe of Horodanka zt’l, “What will we do without Abba!” The answer came back, “The same thing that you will do without Sabba.”

In fact, the next morning, the Rebbe of Horodanka also passed away, and the plague continued to rage. The father and son were buried together in a special grave on the same slope where my father was buried the day before. That Friday, the 15th of Kislev, they came to bury The Rebbetsin of the Rebbe of Horodanka, who had already been lying motionless for thirty days, and we thought she was dead. When the “Chevra Kadisha” party started to pick her up, however, everyone was startled, for she asked for a cup of tea. We brought her a cup of water, which she drank. Within a few minutes she, too, returned her soul to Heaven. Her burial was delayed until after Shabbos. By Sunday, the day of her burial, there was no longer anyone in our room suffering from typhus, for all who had had it were either dead or now on the road to recovery.

Soon, however, Rebbetsin Miriam, the wife of HaRav Baruch Hagar zt’l, also came down with the dreaded disease. In the midst of her fever, she imagined that she was sitting at a sumptuous Shabbos table. She even asked us to pass her the challah and fish. Despite our desperate situation, the request struck us as funny, and we could not help but smile. With HaShem’s help, her fever subsided, and she, too, survived the plague.

Zionist Jew Speaks to Neteurei Karta Members Activist Rudy Rochman speaks to anti-Zionist Neteurei Karta Jews outside the AIPAC conference.

Transnistria - Lenny Solomon and Shlock Rock

The 4 Corners Project and Lenny Solomon and Shlock Rock are proud to present Transnistria. The Song Transnistria is a Legal Song Parody of the Song Africa from the group Toto. Using the Fair Use Doctrine this parody educates people about Transnistria - The Romanian Concentration Camp during the Holocaust. . Transistria Parody of Africa – Toto Songwriters: David Paich / Jeff Porcaro Africa lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. The drums of war slowly dimmed the light Herding Jews from Europe into camps of concentration Bobby Hinda escaped before that plight But she heard the ghetto deep in sadness and deportation She stepped on soil in the USA Was hoping to hear survivors from Romania and her family They died she had no words to say, "Except boy don’t forget that you’re a Jew" This was a lot for us to all go through Over 400 thousand Jews met their doom I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria Don’t let the world cover up what they did World War sent the Jews in flight Afraid of camps like those in Poland, Austria, and Germany They starved us and killed us on sight Took Jews from Bessarabia, Bukovina, and Chernivisti, There was no place for us to hide, frozen with the fear the end would come This was a lot for all of us to go through Over 400 thousand Jews met their doom I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria Don’t let the world cover up what they did Except boy, don’t forget that you’re a Jew" This was a lot for all of us to go through Over 400 thousand Jews met their doom I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria (I’ll say a prayer) I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria (I’ll say a prayer) I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria I’ll say a prayer for Transnistria (I’ll say a prayer) Don’t let the world cover up what they did

Exposing Neturei Karta – The Anti-Israel Jews

How To Put Neturei Karta Out of Business on Talkline With Zev Brenner & Guest Baruch Cohen Esq.

https://www.mixcloud.com/zevbrenner/how-to-put-neturei-karta-out-of-business-on-talkline-with-zev-brenner-guest-baruch-cohen-esq/?fbclid=IwAR387ivMIaCl4LP4n2r35i2gWWUxgLyZZsgzMiZkkb6FJNTmNe6Y4ckQwGY

JEW IN THE CITY SPEAKS 02 21 2019 Episode 141: Allison Josephs is joined by Attorney Baruch C. Cohen to explore the topic of Chillul Hashem

JEW IN THE CITY SPEAKS 02 21 2019
Episode 141: Allison Josephs is joined by Attorney Baruch C. Cohen to explore the topic of Chillul Hashem
www.nachumsegal.com/jewinthecityspeaks02212019/
https://www.facebook.com/baruch.cohen.37/posts/2040764449310481



BCC’S 26 Rules for the American Orthodox Jew:

1. Keep Your Word - do what you what you say you're going to do
2. When You Make a Promise, Keep It - one day you’ll need a favor returned
3. Document Everything - confirm everything in writing
4. Some Things Aren't for Sale - winning at all costs is not a worthy goal
5. Follow the Rules - be a law-abiding citizen - know the laws - serve on a Jury
6. Know Where to Draw the Line - at any form of dishonest conduct
7. Don't Think You're Smarter than the Law & Won't Get Caught - you will
8. Myth of Shortcuts - work hard; there’s no express elevator to the Penthouse Suite
9. Myth of Perfection - be yourself and give it your best shot; it’ll be ok
10. You’re Not Right Because You’re Orthodox - you’re right because you’re honest
11. Establish Credibility  - admit when you're wrong
12. Listen to Your Internal Compass - if it sounds to good to be true, it is;
13. Consult Before Taking Action - not after
14. Believe in Yourself, Act with Courage & Confidence - but never with arrogance
15. Have Courage - be willing to speak up that something isn't right
16. Take Pride in Your Work - the quality of your work often dictates the result
17. Always Finish What You Start - see things through to completion
18. Be Responsible - ie., return phone calls
19. Learn to Say No to New Work You Cannot Handle - know your limitations
20. Be Tough, but Fair - it’s better to be reasonable and fair than for being a pit bull
21. Talk Less and Say More - develop true listening skills
22. Give Unconditionally - with no expectation of receiving anything in return
23. Give and Take (in that order) - Erev Shabbos starts on Sunday or Monday
24. Insert Bais Din Arbitration Clauses in Your Contracts - believe in our Torah
25. Stand up for Judaism & Eretz Yisroel - never apologize about either
26. Pause, Before Pushing “Send” on Emails and Texts - it could save your life

NACHUM SEGAL AND BARUCH C. COHEN, ESQ. DISCUSS “AVOIDING A CHILLUL HASHEM”

Nachum welcomed attorney Baruch C. Cohen, Esq. to this morning’s JM in the AM to discuss his recent presentation on the topic of Chillul Hashem entitled, “Avoiding Chillul Hashem – “Killer Litigation Strategies for Lawsuits, Business and Life.”



http://www.nachumsegal.com/nachum-segal-and-baruch-c-cohen-esq-discuss-avoiding-a-chillul-hashem/

HAEMTZA BLOGSPOT: Behaving like a Mentch, by Harry Maryles

Although I have never met him, Orthodox Los Angeles attorney Baruch Cohen and I have a shared experience that we would not wish on our worst enemy. We both lost children to a rare form of cancer known as Ewing’s Sarcoma. He a lost a daughter. I lost a grandson. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to lose a child. The pain must be indescribable. But I can tell you that losing a grandchild is not easy either. (R’ Baruch talks about his personal experience in a Mishpacha Magazine  article.)

Thankfully we have more than just that in common. We both have an almost visceral hatred for Chilul HaShem. Especially the kind that is the result of poorly developed sense of ethics when it comes to the secular world in which we live. This has unfortunately manifested itself more times than I can count in recent years. So often that I have stopped counting.

More often than not this happens by way of cheating the government out of money. Whether it is laundering criminally obtained funds via an elaborate charity system; or avoiding federal taxes through inflated charitable donations – 90% of which are kicked back; or using funds the government earmarked for one thing for something else; or using other people’s social security numbers to divert payments to themselves… you name it. If there is a way to cheat the government, it has probably been tried.

I have written about many of these things and have condemned them all. They were legally wrong and the perpetrators knew it. But in some cases they saw nothing wrong with it morally and committed those crimes because they thought they could get away with. I recall one fellow I know who now sits in prison making an offhand remark that government clerks  manning the system are so ‘dumb’ that stealing from the government would be a near risk free enterprise. He found out that those clerks weren’t so dumb after all. And in fact they are a lot smarter than he is.

That said, fear of being caught should not be what motivates anyone from committing a crime. Even now where prison reform is a bit more favorable to those who commit those crimes. It ought to be our sense of morals and ethics… our fear of creating a Chilul HaShem. Not fear of getting caught.

This is where Jewish education seems to have failed. Let me hasten to add that I am not castigating every yeshiva or elementary school. I am absolutely convinced that many schools do teach ethics and try mightily to teach their students ethical behavior. That in fact was my own personal experience. I had many teachers like that and one in particular that was an exemplar of ethical and moral behavior in every respect. 

But I fear that are many instances where there has not been enough of that. Not at home where it should begin. And not in school. In fact there are some schools that practically teach the opposite. I recall listening to a recording of a Hashkafa Shiur where a Rebbe in a popular Yeshiva high school vilified virtually all non Jews to such an extent, that one might come out believing that it is practically a Mitzvah to take advantage of them in any way you could – as long as you didn’t get caught! It sickened me, to say the least!

This is where Baruch Cohen comes in. His Hashkafos are Charedi in the mold of the Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva. For which I have a soft spot. They are among the finest of Yeshivos - producing role models of behavior. Their students become Talmidei Chachamim with a highly developed sense of morals and ethics. I received the following note from him which speaks for itself: 

This past x-mas, I  had the opportunity... to address the Boys Division of Valley Torah High School  (VTHS) on “Killer Litigation Strategies for Lawsuits, Business and Life.” (Avoiding Chillul Hashems).  Below and enclosed is the the outline of the speech. It was based on many Youtube speeches that I heard by criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman on the issue.

I used various headlines of Chillul Hashem in the powerpoint presentation so that the boys and the rabbonim experience the "cringe factor."

It was a huge hit; the boys didn't want to leave afterwards and the hands were all raised with questions. This important topic totally gripped the audience. Your outstanding blog on this issue was a major inspiration.  

This was followed by another note which said the following: 

VTHS Dean and Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Avrohom Stulberger said: "We need more voices like that of Baruch Cohen. Frum attorneys, yeshiva graduates, a talmid chochom to be role models to our kids. Too often it's only rabbonim who we look to as role models. We need more baal habatim who are shtark bnei torah to set examples to our kids. To know from the secular world, right from wrong. To speak from the trenches of the secular world, how to behave like a mentsch." 

And that was followed by still another note from R’ Baruch personally: 

Frum Baal habatim who have been koveah itim on a serious level all of our lives need to be seen as role models for our youth. Our society’s 2-tier system that the ideal is learning in kollel and the not-so-ideal is to work for a living is simply wrong and misguided. It turns off many and gives them an inferiority complex if they pursue honest parnassah that somehow they failed the system.  

Like I said, we have a lot in common. What he has done in LA should be the model adopted by all days schools and Yeshiva high schools. I hope that officials at Torah U’Mesorah are listening. What follow is the above-mentioned outline of his talk. 

1. The World Does Not like Jews - we do not need to encourage more people to dislike us

2. Wearing a Yarmulkeh - carries with it an extra measure of responsibility

3. We Must Be More Honest - more careful, more courteous & more prudent

4. When We Screw-Up, it Gets Magnified - the “Cringe Factor” (ie., Frum Slumlords)

5. Having Good Intentions Is Not a Legitimate Excuse - for Breaking the Law

6. Bad Behavior for a Good Cause - a lie for a good reason & a Mitzvah is still a lie

7. The US Government Is Not the Enemy - we’re not in Europe during WW-II8. We Cannot Pick & Choose the Rules We Live by - no smorgasbord Judaism 

Baruch Cohen’s 14 Rules for the American Orthodox Jew: 

1. Keep Your Word - do what you what you say you're going to do

2. Document Everything - confirm everything in writing

3. Follow the Rules - be a law-abiding citizen - know the laws - serve on a Jury

4. Don't Think You're Smarter than the Law & Won't Get Caught - you will 

5. You’re Not Right Because You’re Orthodox - you’re right because you’re honest

6. Establish Credibility  - admit when you're wrong

7. Listen to Your Internal Compass - if it sounds to good to be true, it is;

8. Consult Before Taking Action - not after

9.  Believe in Yourself, Act with Courage & Confidence - but never with arrogance

10. Stop Being Nosy - “but I’m just asking”

11. Give Unconditionally - with no expectation of anything in return

12. Insert Bais Din Arbitration Clauses in Your Contracts - believe in our Torah

13. Stand up for Judaism & Eretz Yisroel - never apologize about both

14. Pause, Before Pushing “Send” on Emails and Texts - it could save your life
https://haemtza.blogspot.com/2018/12/behaving-like-mentch.html  

The Valley Torah Scroll The official newspaper for Valley Torah High School. Always the first to get you your news! BALANCING AMERICAN LAW WITH JEWISH LAW- BARUCH C. COHEN, ESQ. Posted on January 17, 2019 by David Kerendian

Honesty, respect, ethics, and integrity- four principles the Los Angeles civil litigation attorney, Baruch C. Cohen, spoke about on December 25th. Along with speaking about these four principles, Baruch C. Cohen, (BCC), spoke about his 13 Rules for the American Orthodox Jews and had a Q&A with the Valley Torah students.

Mr. Cohen started off his presentation speaking about the immense responsibility a Jew has wearing a yarmulke in public. A man who wears a yarmulke in public represents Judaism and will have either a positive or negative impression to the people around him. Mr. Cohen brought examples including Jewish slumlords, Jews convicted of forging tax returns, and Jewish money launderers as a few examples of those who represent Judaism in a negative way. By these Jews committing such crimes while wearing a yarmulke, they create a huge Chillul Hashem and badly hurt the Jewish name.

On the other side of the spectrum though, there are many Jews who have had a highly positive effect in America.

Of these men, Mr. Cohen specifically mentioned criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman who once answered a reporter, after being asked what he was going to do after his client was acquitted in the New York State Supreme Courthouse, that he will be going home for Shabbat to be with his family. His answer was broadcasted on live television and was a kiddush Hashem heard all around the world.

So how can one be sure to not only not have a negative impression on gentiles, but even have a positive effect on them?  By following the four principles of Baruch C. Cohen—being honest, having respect, showing proper ethics, and a sense of personal integrity.

Mr. Cohen then followed up with his 13 Rules for American Orthodox Jews, which consisted of rules that an everyday orthodox Jew should follow in order to create a kiddush Hashem in addition to having material wealth.

1) Keep your word. It will help avoid future problems

2) Document everything.

3) Be a law-abiding citizen. Jewish people are put under a microscope and any slip up will be highlighted.

4) Don’t cheat the law—you will get caught, it is only a matter of time.

5) Be honest—just because you’re an orthodox Jew does not mean you’re always right.

6) If something is too good to be true, it is.

7) Consult with a lawyer or a law understanding friend before taking action.

8) Act with confidence and self assurance but never with arrogance.

9) Do not concern yourself with other people’s business- stop being nosy.  

10) Do not expect favors in return. It’s likely that you won’t receive them.

11) Believe in the Torah and insert Bais Din arbitration clauses in your contracts.

12) Stand up for Judaism and Israel when they’re verbally attacked.

13) Pause before pushing “Send” on emails, texts, and posts. People’s careers and lives have been destroyed with one click of a button.

Mr. Cohen then answered questions posed by the Valley Torah students. These questions ranged from advice for high school student to how Mr. Cohen copes with defending people that might be guilty, answering the latter by saying,  “I have a clause in my contract that if you lie to me, I’ll walk your case. A condition to me representing you is complete and total candor and truth.”

After his speech, Mr. Cohen remarked that one particular question stood out to him.

The question, posed by a senior, asked that the rewards of a virtuous life can be seen in Olam Haba (the World to Come), but when it comes to this world, it may seem that a life of fraud and lies is a way to get rich quick. If this is the case what is a reward in this world of a moral life.

To this, Mr. Cohen shared a story with a colleague who cheated on the LSATs (law school entrance exam), and felt as if his entire earnings were false. He then gave examples of people who built up their web of lies in regards to fraud over many years, only to have it come crashing down in a matter of days.

His lesson was simple. Behind all the wealth and glamour of a crime-driven life is the fear of being caught. Every knock on the door, every phone ring, even any parked police car can strike fear into the hearts of a criminal. A Torah and respectable life, on the other hand, not only avoid this, but give someone a sense of purpose beyond material wealth. Living a proper life provides one with a sense of pride in that he has earned his rightful place, and in the end, there is no cheating your way to reward in the world to come.

In his hour and fifteen minute presentation, Baruch C. Cohen packed in moral principles, his 13 most important laws, and answered all directed questions. Baruch Cohen not only inspired the Valley Torah students, but he gave us advice as to how we can all reach optimal success.

David Kerendian is a staff writer for The Valley Torah Scroll. He is currently a member of the Class of 2022. https://vtscroll.com/2019/01/17/baruchcohen2018/