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@matthewbaldwin My husband @gkr and I want to Skype and drink while playing a board or card game with some East Coast geekfriends. Any recs?
— Virginia Roberts (@askvirginia) March 2, 2014
Hmm, that's an interesting challenge. I'm sure I could search Google and find some board games that are routinely played via Skype, but let me ruminate on the problem a bit first.
How could this be done? I'll think this through using Monopoly as an example. One party (A) would set up the board and position the camera such that the other party (B) could see it; Party A would also be in charge of moving the pieces and placing houses/hotels onto the board. Party B would roll their own dice, take deeds from their own set when purchasing property, and use their own bank. When money was transferred from a player in one party to a player in the other, the debtor would return the sum to their bank and the creditor would take an equivalent amount from theirs. When a player in Party B landed on a Chance or Community Chest space, a player in Party A would draw the card on his behalf and read it aloud.
As near as I can tell, Monopoly would work without requiring any modification to the game rules. So would Carcassonne, if someone in Party A revealed tiles on behalf of the players in Party B and placed them (along with the associated meeples) in accordance with the wishes of the active players. Viewing the board might be a pain for players in Party B, but it's doable.
Here are a few others that use a central board, and would require parties to coordinate their moves/components, but could hypothetically be played via Skype:
- Agricola (family version)
- Puerto Rico
- Power Grid
- The Castles of Burgundy
- Small World
The common denominator in the games above is the lack of hidden information. The problem comes when players draw items (such as cards) from a common pool (such as a deck), and these items are meant to be kept secret. Hence the exclusion of Settlers of Catan from the list above (development cards), and the main version of Agricola (Occupation and Minor Improvement cards).
To see why this is an issue let's examine Scrabble, where each player has their own set of hidden tiles. Here again Party A could be in charge of the board, placing tiles onto the spaces dictated to them by the players in Party B. But from where does a player in Party B draw to refill his hand? If each party the tiles in their copy of the game, it messes up the distribution: you have twice as many Z's etc., and you'll have to play twice as long before you run out of tiles. If you only use one pool, and there are at least two players in each party, I can't think of an easy way for a player in Party A to draw tiles on behalf of someone in Party B and communicate that information to them whilst keeping in secret from himself and others.
(If Party B was composed of only one person this could be done, though. Party A sets up a rack right in front of and facing the camera; replacement tiles are placed onto the rack without the drawing player looking at them. When the player on Party B plays, he indicates which tiles he's using and where they should be placed, e.g. "the second, third, fifth, and sixth tiles from the left to spell 'carbine', intersecting 'trundle' at the 'n'.")
Given all this, the ideal game for playing over Skype would seem to be one without a central board, or common pool from which hidden items are taken. Dice games leap to mind, such as Roll Through the Ages, Dungeon Roll, and King of Tokyo (the superfluous board of which could be replaced by simply putting the in-Tokyo monsters in front of the camera).
Another category would be games in which each person plays from his own deck of cards. Dominion almost works (but when a player in one party bought a card, the other party would have to trash an identical card), as does Sentinels of the Multiverse (although the Villain and Environment decks are a "central board" of sorts).
Sentinels is also cooperative, which simplifies some aspects of playing over Skype. Other co-ops that should work well include Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert, Flash Point: Fire Rescue, and Elder Sign.
What am I forgetting?
P.s. After posting I allowed myself to Google this topic, and there are fewer suggestions out there than I had anticipated. Most recommend playing via V.A.S.S.E.L. or similar service that mediates the game, with Skype there to facilitate the social aspect.


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The Morning Download: Security Concerns Thwarting Innovation
The Morning Download comes from the editors of CIO Journal and cues up the most important news in business technology every weekday morning. Send us your tips, compliments and complaints. You can get The Morning Download emailed to you each weekday morning by clicking here.
Good morning. Cybersecurity concerns are emerging as an enormous obstacle to innovation. For instance, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which serves nine million customers in eight states, says it won't be able to implement Big Data analytic software for another two years because of concerns the technology could be used by malware to harm its production systems. According to Mark Goff, a systems engineer with the TVA, using Big Data would require pooling data from its offline production grid with data from business computing systems connected to the Internet. But the convergence of data from those systems could create a potential opening for hackers. "Security is without a doubt the biggest obstacle" to a Big Data implementation, Mr. Goff told CIO Journal.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Wednesday announced it was initiating development of a cybersecurity framework outlined Tuesday by President Obama in his State of the Union address, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce continued to voice its opposition, the WSJ's Siobhan Gorman reports, because of fears the framework will end up being too prescriptive. But many CIOs we've spoken to over the past several months are undeterred and support a framework that makes it easier for them to share information and best practices. Patrick Meyer, the CIO of Novati Technologies Inc., says "it would be beneficial" if the government prescribed the use of encryption technology to protect data from prying eyes. Mr. Meyer is already using encryption technology from CipherCloud to protect data he stores on servers operated by Google Inc. in order to reduce his company's infrastructure costs and help it grow its business.
Information and sharing of best practices could indeed help reduce improper responses to cybersecurity threats. A survey by global IT organization ISACA shows that almost 95% of respondents said their company uses antivirus and anti-malware software to protect sensitive data from sophisticated so-called advanced persistent threats. Yet antivirus and anti-malware software can't protect systems from these attacks because they often rely on vulnerabilities that have not yet been discovered by software vendors. "We're still trying to use traditional technologies and tools to mitigate the new type of attack," John Pironti, a cybersecurity expert and adviser to ISACA, told CIO Journal.
CIOs are building their own App stores. A growing number of companies – Gartner Inc. puts the number at 25% -- are creating corporate app stores to deliver business applications. The app stores are a way for CIOs to respond to increasing demands by employees to use technology that's as intuitive to use as what they use in their personal lives. They also allow CIOs to ensure applications used by employees, particularly those that are using their own devices, meet the company's security standards. Oliver Bussmann, CIO of German software giant SAP AG, has created an app store with more than 120 applications available to employees as "part of our strategy to give people access to mobile apps," he told CIO Journal. "There's an efficiency angle there, and it brings a little coolness to the way IT serves its clients," said Gartner analyst Ian Finley.
Cybercrime network broken up. Europol, the European police agency, said that it had dismantled a successful cybercrime organization led by Russians who extorted money from computer users, the NYT's Raphael Minder reports. The criminal threat, essentially a form of online extortion called ransomware, relied on malware that authorities believe was developed by the Russian-led gang. It locked a user's computer, and sent a message in the form of a fake police warning, demanding 100 euros ($134) to unlock it. "This is the first major success of its kind against a very new phenomenon that we have only identified in the last two years," Rob Wainwright, the director of Europol, said.
Cisco hints of upturn as profits rise. Cisco Systems Inc. reported a hefty jump in quarterly profits and struck some upbeat notes on the state of the economy, raising hopes that the climate for technology spending by businesses is improving, the WSJ's Ben Worthen reports. The networking giant said that net income climbed 44% from a year earlier while revenue increased 5% for its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 26. John Chambers, Cisco's chief executive, said on a call with analysts that he sensed "cautious optimism" on the part of tech buyers. Mr. Chambers added in an interview later that while many business leaders are more pessimistic, most of Cisco's customers are seeing "slow improvement" in spending. He also noted that big customers in the U.S. are buying more, which in the past has been a sign of future GDP growth.
China's Internet 'wall' hits business. China's censors, who have long frustrated individual Internet users, also are hurting businesses, slowing their traffic and hindering their use of a new generation of cloud-computing services like those offered by Google, write the WSJ's Paul Mozur and Carlos Tejada. The American Chamber of Commerce in China said last year that nearly three-quarters of about 300 businesses it surveyed said unstable Internet access impedes their efficiency. About 40% said China's censorship efforts have a negative business impact. Stepped-up censorship efforts in recent months include a crackdown on so-called virtual private networks, or VPNs. Danvers Bailieu, a spokesman for VPN provider Privax Ltd., said that the government has been closing computer ports used by VPNs, and that the company has maintained services by switching to new ports each time an old one is closed.
Flaw found in popular Adobe PDF reader. Hackers are exploiting a flaw in the latest version of the Adobe Systems Inc. reader, says security firm FireEye Inc. "If true," says Ars Technica's Dan Goodin, "the attacks are notable because they pierce security defenses Adobe engineers designed to make malware attacks harder to carry out." Adobe is investigating.
Brazilian 'iPhone' maker wins fight against Apple. Brazilian regulators ruled that Apple does not have exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark in the country, reports the BBC. The ruling was a rebuke to the California-based company's efforts to squash an Android phone, dubbed the iPhone, made by local company Gradiente Eletronica. The company registered the name in 2000, seven years before Apple, but waited until December to bring an "iPhone" to market. Apple is expected to appeal.
Oracle's software challenge. Oracle Corp. is failing to lure its customers to Fusion Applications, a portfolio of business applications taken from its own e-Business Suite as well as product lines from acquisitions PeopleSoft Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. A survey of Oracle customers by Forrester Research Inc. found that 65% had no plans to move to Fusion Applications, preferring to stick with the older software. The company's software woes extend beyond former PeopleSoft users wanting to play it safe, say Forrester and ReadWrite's Antone Gonsalves. Revenue growth from applications has been slower than expected, and recent SaaS acquisitions Taleo Corp. and Right Now Technologies, Inc. "are not bringing in enough revenue to take up the slack." Forrester also found that 29% of companies polled were considering a move to another vendor's application. "The main reasons for their unhappiness with Oracle were high licensing costs, high maintenance costs and difficulty in upgrading," said Forrester.
Microsoft suggests IT administrators block iOS users. Microsoft Corp. published workarounds to an issue associated with Apple Inc.'s recent iOS 6.1 update that has been causing Exchange email servers to fail. The problem, first reported in late January, led some businesses to ban Apple's update after computer servers reported "excessive logging," reports ZDNet's Zack Whittaker. A minor iOS update released last week failed to solve the bug. Microsoft recommended that corporate users not process Calendar items on iOS 6.1 devices while admins were advised to create a "custom throttling policy" for iOS 6.1 users. Microsoft offered another option: "Block iOS 6.1 users."
Google's analytics falls victim to flu season. Google Flu Trends, an online analytical tool that provides users the ability to track the flu's spread across the U.S., drastically overestimated this year's peak flu levels, reports Nature's Declan Butler. Several researchers believe that Google's system, which estimates prevalence based on flu-related Internet searches, may have been rendered imprecise by higher levels of media coverage. This year's U.S. flu season peaked earlier and caused more deaths than usual. Google's estimates during the peak flu time were almost double the estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's, which partly calculates its numbers from results submitted by 2,700 health-care centers nationwide. "You need to be constantly adapting these models, they don't work in a vacuum," says John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "You need to re-calibrate them every year."
Yahoo castigated for pointing customers to old Java code. Yahoo Inc.'s Web hosting service offers a free website building tool that uses an insecure version of Java, reports CSO's Antone Gonsalves. "It is shockingly irresponsible to be distributing old versions of Java, let alone 4-year-old versions," said Chester Wisniewski, a senior adviser for security firm Sophos Ltd. "I am not sure how it could happen, other than Yahoo must have thought it was a good idea to host its own copy of Java for users of its SiteBuilder service." SiteBuilder uses Java 6 Update 7, a release predating both the presidency of Barack Obama and sale of the first Android phone.
While we wait for self-driving car, auto makers add more tech. The auto business is in the midst of a technology revolution, says the WSJ's Joseph B. White, that extends far beyond radio streaming apps and connectivity to services from Facebook Inc. BMW AG, for example, is mounting infrared cameras to help drivers see down the road ahead. Software can pick out the outline of a person (or animal) and signal the car's headlights to illuminate them—and help prevent a collision.
A long slog to U.S.-EU trade pact. The U.S. and Europe are betting that breaking down trade barriers will jump-start growth. The two sides are launching talks to hammer out what the WSJ calls one of the most complex trade pacts ever. President Obama touched on the subject in his State of the Union address, but the FT points out that the idea for a transatlantic trade pact has been discussed for decades. What's changed is that U.S. and European politicians "are now desperate to present voters with tangible plans to revive growth and create jobs, while forging a united front in the face of competition from China and other emerging markets." Grim GDP data out of Germany and France today highlight the urgency to boost growth in Europe. The German economy contracted by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, marking its worst performance since 2009, Reuters reports. And France's 0.3% fall was also worse than expectations. But it will be a long slog for any trade deal – talks are expected to take two years. And the plan faces huge obstacles, like trying to reconcile tougher European regulations with U.S. rules and opening Europe's agricultural markets to U.S. goods.
AMR-US Airways deal set for takeoff. The AMR-US Airways merger announcement is set for this morning after both airlines' boards approved the deal yesterday. The stock-swap transaction, which gives AMR creditors 72% of the combined company and US Airways shareholders the balance, will create a company with a market capitalization that could approach $11 billion, the WSJ reports. The biggest challenge for the merged company will be to integrate operations over the next couple of years, DealBook says. That is no easy task — as United found out last year — because it involves complex technological systems, big reservation networks and large labor groups with different corporate cultures that all need to be combined.
Time Warner looks to spin off some magazines. Time Warner is in early discussions with Meredith to put most of Time Inc.'s magazines — including People, InStyle and Real Simple — into a separate, publicly traded company that would also include Meredith titles like Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies' Home Journal, the NYT reports. "The new company would then borrow money to pay a one-time dividend back to Time Warner, essentially turning what appears to be a corporate spinoff into a sale." As part of the deal, existing shareholders in Time Warner and Meredith would get stakes in the new venture, which would focus on women's magazines. Time Warner would control the news-based magazines Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, along with Money magazine.
Euro's strength hits European exporters. The euro's recent strength is weighing on European exports. But the pain has been spread unevenly, exposing the divide between companies in Germany and those in France and Italy, the WSJ's Deborah Ball writes. A big part of the problem is that weak southern European companies may pay twice as much for bank loans as their northern rivals do. And labor laws on the southern rim make it tough to cut costs. Payroll costs in France and Italy are among the highest in the world, Ball notes. On the other hand, German companies have agreements with labor unions that give them more flexibility and they also tend to export more high-price goods, giving them more leverage to raise prices to offset the stronger euro.
Tom Loftus contributed to this article.

subset: commoncrawl


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Atlanta Trails is Georgia's best collection of running trails, hiking trails and outdoor adventures. And we love to run! We're the official photographer and Photo Sponsor of the 2014, 2015 & 2016 Atlanta BeltLine 'Run Walk Go!' Race Series, and have photographed many local 10k and 5k road races to support our community.
Love your photos? Tag them #atlantatrails when you share them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!


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- McLaren news
McLaren learning from Melbourne - Perez
- Drivers:
- Sergio Perez
- Teams:
- McLaren
Sergio Perez says the Australian Grand Prix has shown McLaren what is required to close the gap to the front-runners this season.
McLaren showed an alarming lack of pace with its MP4-28 as Perez failed to reach Q3 and finished 11th while Jenson Button managed to salvage two points in ninth place. While Perez admits there will be no quick fix, he says getting both cars through a race weekend has highlighted to McLaren where it needs to improve.
"Last weekend's race was a difficult one for everybody on the team, but it's shown us exactly what we need to do to close down the gap to the leaders," Perez said. "This weekend in Malaysia will be about trying to maximise the package we have while knowing that it's not going to be enough to allow us to fight for overall victory.
"Still, we know what we have to do - and I know that everybody within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team will be working incredibly hard to bring performance to the car. That may not happen in Malaysia, as it's so soon after the Australian Grand Prix, but we know it'll start coming soon."
Perez added his hopes for a repeat shock result this weekend having finished second for Sauber in Malaysia last year.
"For me, Sepang holds many happy memories - I had one of the best races of my career there last year where I was able to push Fernando for victory until the closing laps. It's a fantastic circuit, really fast and demanding. It would be great to pull off another unexpected result for the team this year."


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CT in 2012?
As I continue to toil away on some outside writing projects (you'll find out about them soon…), give a read to this Washington Post op/ed by David Lat and Kashmir Hill of Above the Law.
Entitled, "Justice Clarence Thomas seems bored. Why doesn't he run for president in 2012?", Lat and Hill go on to make an argument that should make any Court watcher and student of law and politics wonder, "Why haven't I thought of this before?" That is no slight – this article is refreshingly provocative and plausible. There's no better kind of commentary. Here's a sample:
The Republican Party is in disarray, with no clear message — as shown in last week's primaries — and with no obvious candidate to challenge President Obama in 2012. Thomas could be the GOP's new standard-bearer. He has enviable name recognition, both as a long-serving justice and as the author of the bestselling 2007 autobiography "My Grandfather's Son." And he has already survived the nasty political attacks that marked his 1991 confirmation hearings.
No matter what one thinks of Justice Thomas, I think there's a little something for everyone in Lat and Hill's proposal.
One Response
Politics includes making various compromises that his jurisprudence does not seem to favor. He at best would be a Goldwater type character, giving the party a respectful run and maybe getting it back on track. The chances of him actually winning is low, honestly, so Obama will fill a seat that very well could switch the Court for little gain. Does the op-ed even mention that fact?


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Summaries of Enforcement Procedures
Download and print (PDF)
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health establishes regulations detailing the standards which must be maintained by the occupants and owners of housing. These regulations protect the health, safety and well-being of Massachusetts citizens and are found in Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code [105 CMR 410.000] entitled Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation.
The standards apply to every owner-occupied or rented dwelling, dwelling unit, mobile dwelling unit or rooming house unit in Massachusetts which is used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating. Dwelling unit shall also mean a condominium unit. These regulations have the force of law. Local boards of health have the primary responsibility for their enforcement.
This brochure summarizes those regulations in Chapter II which pertain to essential living needs and describe enforcement procedures. Following each summary is a citation to the regulation number which is used in the Sanitary Code.
For complete information, review Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code and check with your local board of health.
A kitchen must contain a kitchen sink, space and proper facilities for the installation of a refrigerator and, unless otherwise stated in the lease, a stove and oven in good repair. These facilities must be free from defects which make them difficult to clean, or which create an accident hazard. [410.100]
Bathroom facilities must include a toilet with a toilet seat and a bathtub or shower. These must be situated in a room which allows a person privacy, which is fitted with a door capable of being closed and which is not used for the purpose of living, eating, sleeping or cooking. In addition, a washbasin other than the kitchen sink must be located either in the room containing the toilet or near the entrance to that room. [410.150-410.152]
The owner must provide (i.e. supply and possibly pay for) water in a sufficient quantity and pressure so that the occupant's ordinary needs are met.
The water must come from the public water supply system or a source approved by the local board of health [410.180]. Effective 3/16/05, M.G.L. Chapter 186, section 15B will be amended by Ch. 417 of the Acts of 2004, allowing landlords to charge new tenants for water after installing meters that record the water usage of each apartment or single family home. It does not apply to tenancies in existence as of the effective date of this act, and also exempts tenants in public housing. A landlord may not charge the tenant separately unless the tenant has signed a written rental agreement explaining the separate charge for water submetering and billing. The Department of Public Health will further amend the regulations governing the State Sanitary Code to reflect this change.
Facilities for the heating of water must be provided (i.e. supplied and paid for) and kept in good working order by the owner. The owner must supply hot water in sufficient quantity and pressure to satisfy the normal use of all plumbing fixtures which generally require hot water to function properly. The temperature of the hot water is not to exceed 130° Fahrenheit (54° Celsius) nor fall below 110° Fahrenheit (43° Celsius). Under certain leases, an occupant may be required to provide the fuel for the heating of the water. [410.190]
The owner must provide (i.e. supply and pay for) and keep in good working order the facilities capable of heating every habitable room and every room containing bathroom facilities. [410.200]
Between September 15 and June 15, these rooms must be heated to a temperature of not less than 68° Fahrenheit (20° C) between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and 64° Fahrenheit (17° C) between 11:01 p.m. and 6:59 a.m., unless the occupant has agreed to supply the fuel under a written lease. [410.201]
The temperature may not exceed 78° Fahrenheit (25° C) during the heating season. The number of days per year during which heat must be provided may be increased or decreased through a variance granted locally by the board of health. [410.201 and 410.840]
The owner must provide the oil used for heating and/or hot water in each unit unless the oil is provided to the tenant in a separate oil tank, such arrangement having been made through a written lease. This only applies to tenancies created after 7/1/94. [410.355]
Every room other than the kitchen must be equipped with a minimum of either two separate wall-type convenience outlets or one electric light fixture and one wall-type outlet. [410.250]
Each kitchen must be furnished with a minimum of one electric light fixture and two wall-type convenience outlets. [410.251]
Every room containing a toilet, bathtub or shower must be equipped with a minimum of one electric light fixture. [410.252]
Electric light fixtures with switches must be located such that every laundry, pantry, foyer, hallway, stairway, closet, storage space, cellar, porch, exterior stairway and passageway are adequately lit for safe and reasonable use by the occupants. [410.253(A)]
The owner shall provide appropriate bulbs in all required light fixtures located in common areas. [410.253(B)]
The owner of a dwelling containing more than one dwelling unit shall provide and pay for light at all times for interior passageways, hallways and stairways intended for use by the occupants. In a dwelling with three or fewer dwelling units the light fixtures used to illuminate a common hallway may be wired to the electric service of a dwelling unit on the same floor and the occupant may be responsible for paying for such service if it is part of a rental agreement. [410.254(A) and (B)]
No wiring shall lie under any floor cover nor shall it extend through a doorway, window or any other opening. [410.256]
The owner shall provide and pay for the electricity and gas used in each dwelling unit unless each dwelling unit has a separate meter and a rental agreement provides for payment by the occupant. Nevertheless, the owner is responsible for maintenance of any wiring or piping for electricity or gas. [410.354]
The owner must adhere to accepted procedures and standards such as the state plumbing and electrical codes when installing plumbing, heating and electric facilities and appliances and must maintain them free from leaks and obstructions. [410.351]
The occupant must adhere to accepted procedures and codes when installing washers, dryers, dishwashers, disposals, refrigerators, stoves and electrical fixtures and maintain them free from leaks and obstructions. [410.352(A)]
The occupant of a dwelling is responsible for maintaining all toilets, washbasins, sinks, showers, bathtubs, stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers in a clean and sanitary fashion. The occupant is also responsible for using these facilities and appliances properly and with care. [410.352(B)]
The owner shall maintain all asbestos material which is used as insulation or covering on a pipe, boiler or furnace in good repair and free of defects such as holes, cracks, tears or looseness which may allow the release of asbestos dust or powdered, crumbled or pulverized asbestos material. The owner must correct any violations either by repairing or removing the asbestos material in accordance with detailed procedures outlined in the regulations. [410.353] - [Asbestos abatement undertaken by the owner must be in compliance with all provisions of the regulations of the departments of Labor and Workforce Development (453 CMR 6.00) and Environmental Protection (310 CMR 7.00).]
The owner of a dwelling that is required by law to be equipped with smoke detectors must maintain them in compliance with regulations of the State Board of Fire Prevention. If a violation of these regulations is observed during an inspection of a dwelling, the board of health must notify the proper fire official. [410.482]
Exits must be located in every dwelling unit and rooming unit so that safe passage is assured all occupants in accordance with the Massachusetts State Building Code. [410.450]
Owners are responsible for maintaining common exits free from obstructions. Occupants are responsible for the maintenance of exits intended for their exclusive use. [410.451]
The owner of a dwelling is responsible for maintaining all means of egress in a safe, operable condition at all times. In addition, the owner shall keep all exterior stairways, fire escapes, egress balconies and bridges free of ice and snow. [410.452]
The owner is responsible for insuring that the foundation, floors, walls, doors, windows, ceilings, roof, staircases, porches, chimney and other structural elements of the dwelling do not admit rain or snow and that they are rodent-proof, watertight, in good repair and fit for the intended use. The owner must also keep the structural elements free from holes, cracks, loose plaster or other defects where such defects make the dwelling difficult to clean or may cause an accident or constitute an insect or rodent haven. [410.500]
Windows and exterior doors must be weathertight. [410.501]
No lead paint may be used in painting any surface on the premises. [410.502]
A safe handrail must be provided for every stairway used for or intended for use by the occupants. [410.503]
The occupant must take reasonable care in the use of floors, walls, doors, windows, ceilings, roof, staircases, porches and chimneys. [410.505]
In a dwelling with one dwelling unit, the occupant is responsible for exterminating all rodents, cockroaches, skunks and insect infestation and maintaining the unit free of these, provided, however, that the owner shall maintain any screen, fence or other structural element needed to keep rodents and skunks from entering the dwelling; in a dwelling consisting of two or more units or in a rooming house the owner is responsible. [410.550]
As of 7/95, pesticide applicators or their employers must give at least 48 hours' written notice to the occupants prior to any routine commercial application of pesticides for the control of indoor household or indoor structural pests. The notice must include information such as when the application will take place and what products will be used (410.550).
The owner is responsible for providing screens for certain windows on the first four floors of a building and for certain doors. [410.551 and 410.552]
The owner of a dwelling containing three or more units, the owner of a rooming house and the occupant of any other dwelling shall be responsible for providing receptacles in sufficient number for the storage of rubbish and garbage. These receptacles must be located so that odors do not enter the dwelling. Garbage or mixed rubbish and garbage shall be stored in rodent-proof, watertight, covered containers. Plastic bags will not be considered sufficient. [410.600]
An occupant exclusively occupying or using any part of the dwelling is responsible for maintaining it free from garbage and filth. [410.602(B)]
The owner of any dwelling must keep any part of the dwelling which is used in common by all occupants free from garbage and filth. [410.602(D)]
All dwellings must be secured against unlawful entry. [410.480(A)]
Entry doors to the dwelling and the dwelling unit and every opening exterior window of a dwelling must be secured against unlawful entry and fitted with a functioning locking devise. [410.480(B),(D)&(E)]
The main entry door of a dwelling with three or more dwelling units must be equipped to close and lock automatically. Every door of the main common entryway and every exterior door leading into the dwelling other than the door of the main common entryway, which is equipped as described above, must be equipped with an operating lock. [410.480(C)]
The owner of a dwelling is required to post a notice which is constructed of durable material and which is no smaller than 20 square inches in size listing the owner's name, address and telephone number if he/she does not live in the dwelling or have a manager living in the dwelling. If the owner is a realty trust or partnership, the name, address and telephone number of the managing trustee or partner must be posted. If the owner is a corporation, the name, address and telephone number of the president of the corporation shall be posted. [410.481]
The determination of whether a violation exists is not decided by either the owner or the occupant; this is the responsibility of the local board of health.
Upon reasonable notice by the owner, if possible by appointment, the occupant must allow the owner or the owner's representative access to the dwelling so that repairs or alterations may be made which bring the dwelling into compliance with Chapter II of the Sanitary Code. [410.810]
Upon receipt of an oral, written or telephone request, the board of health is required to inspect a dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit for possible violations of Chapter II. All interior inspections shall be done in the company of the occupant or the occupant's representative. [410.820]
The board of health must conduct a complete inspection if requested to do so. [410.822(B)]
The board of health shall attempt to initiate and complete an investigation at a time mutually satisfactory to both the local board of health and the occupant within a time frame dependent upon the nature of the violation but not exceeding five days. [410.820(A)]
Each board of health must use an inspection form which lists, but is not limited to, the following:
This inspection report form must include a brief summary of the legal remedies available to the occupant of the affected premises. [410.821(B)]
At the termination of the inspection the occupant or his/her representative must receive a written report of the violations noted during the inspection. The need for an additional inspection by a specialized inspector shall be noted on the report. [410.882(C)]
An effort to correct any violations of Chapter II of the Sanitary Code must be made within a specific time period which is dependent upon the nature of the violation. Consult either Chapter II of the Sanitary Code or your local sanitary code inspector for specific requirements. [410.830]
All affected tenants shall receive written copies of all inspection reports and orders sent to the owner. [410.833]
The board of health may order a dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming house or any portion of such unit condemned and vacated if, as a result of an inspection pursuant to Regulation 410.820, it is determined that the unit or any portion of it is unfit for human habitation. The steps to be followed by the board of health are outlined in Regulation 410.831. [410.831]
Owners and/or occupants are entitled to file a written petition for a hearing before the local board of health if:
a. they have been served an order pursuant to any regulation in Chapter II of the Sanitary Code by the board of health. Their petition must be filed within seven days after the day the order was served.
b. they believe that the board of health or any inspector has failed to follow the provisions of Chapter II by neglecting to conduct an investigation as requested, to issue a report on the inspection, to cite violations claimed to exist, to certify that a violation may endanger or materially impair the health or safety and well-being of the occupants or to issue an order as required by Regulation 410.850.
The petition must be filed within 30 days of the initial request for an inspection. [410.850]
Affected parties, owners and occupants shall be informed of the hearing and of their right to inspect the files of the board of health. [410.851]
The hearing must begin within 30 days of the date the order was served and, in certain instances, must begin within less than 30 days. [410.852]
Within seven days after the hearing has concluded, the board of health shall inform the petitioner in writing whether the board has decided to sustain, modify or withdraw the order. [410.854]
The final decision of the board of health may be appealed to the appropriate Massachusetts court. [410.860]
The Lead Law requires the removal or covering of lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 where any children under six years of age reside. Owners are responsible with complying with the law. This includes owners of rental property (excluding vacation property which has been properly exempted) as well as owners living in their own dwellings. Financial help is available through tax credits, grants, and loans. Owners of dwellings which will be rented to families with children under six years of age must have the units tested for the presence of lead. Landlords can be held liable for a lead-poisoned child. An owner cannot evict or refuse to rent to anyone because of lead paint, enforceable by the MA Commission Against Discrimination [Boston: 617-994-6000 or Springfield: 413-739-2145].
Testing must be done by inspectors licensed by the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program of the Department of Public Health. The lead must be abated if dangerous levels are found during an inspection done by a private lead inspector or during a routine code violation inspection done by a local health inspector from the city or town at the request of the occupant. Low-risk abatement of lead paint (defined in 460.175) may be performed by owners or owners' agents after a one-day course, exam, and certification required by the Department of Public Health's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Call 1-800-532-9571 to find out more. Further information is available at: www.mass.gov/dph/clppp. [460.420] High-risk abatement must be performed by deleaders licensed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development's Department of Labor Standards. To find out more, call the agency at 617-626-6960 or visit their website at www.mass.gov/deleading-and-lead-safety.
Under the revised Massachusetts Lead Paint Law (M.G.L. Chapter 111, section 197A(d), all tenants and prospective tenants, regardless of whether they have children under the age of six, must receive written information about the lead status of the home or apartment they occupy or are about to rent. This program, called "tenant notification", which took effect on 9/1/95, applies to premises built prior to 1978 and is regulated by 105 CMR 460.725
Property owners must provide tenants with copies of any existing lead status documents for their particular unit (such as the most recent lead inspection, a letter of "interim control" if intermediate lead paint remediation steps are being taken, or a letter of compliance indicating that any necessary deleading measures have been taken) as well as a one-page Lead Law Notification form, which is an information fact sheet. On the reverse side of the notification form is a certification to be signed by both parties to indicate that the notification procedure was followed. Both the landlord and tenant must keep a completed copy of this form.
Copies of the Lead Law Notification form are available free of charge from the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program of the Department of Public Health, 617-753-8400 or 1-800-532-9571, or online at www.mass.gov/dph/clppp.
Massachusetts State Plumbing Code (248 CMR 3.00)
Massachusetts State Fuel Gas Code (248 CMR 4.00, 5.00, 7.00, 8.00)
Massachusetts State Electrical Code (Amendments to the National Code) (527 CMR 12.00)
Massachusetts State Building Code (Amendments to the IBC Code) (780 CMR 1.00-115.00)
Regulations for Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control (105 CMR 460.00)
Lead Paint Law Tenant Notification (105 CMR 460.725)
Regulations for Removal, Containment or Encapsulation of Asbestos (453 CMR 6.00 and 310 CMR 7.00)
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Department of Labor Standards (high-risk deleading)
For information on obtaining copies of the above regulations, please contact:
The State Bookstore
State House, Room 116
Boston, MA 02133
For additional information on Chapter II of the State Sanitary Code, contact your local board of health or call:
William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Citizen Information Service
1-800-392-6090 (in MA only)
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Pearl Simmons, died unexpectedly on August 21, 2002, four days after contracting a bacterial infection, leaving behind her husband and three young children (pictured above).
Pearl's life passion was helping children develop their potential. She taught a "Positive Parenting" series at Children's' Hospital in Pittsburgh, and wrote the "Parenting Today" column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
She believed that every child was special, and that by treating children right you would get the best from them.
Pearl's passing at age 42 leaves a great void in her family, her many students, and the Jewish community in which she was so active.
She wrote the following inspirational poem in 1997.
* * *
"Letting Go"
I can't protect you any more.
I can't make your hurt go away.
I tell you I love you and show you I care.
I try to help out when things don't seem fair.
But my power as a mother goes only so far.
I can't always reach the places you are.
I want to be close like we were before,
But you want to move on -- to discover what's more.
When you were a baby, I'd hold you tight,
And keep you forever within my sight.
I could satisfy your every need,
It was an easy time for us indeed.
And when you were a toddler and scraped your knee,
You'd hold out your arms and run to me.
I'd kiss where it hurt and make it feel fine.
A hug and a kiss worked every time.
I was always the one you turned to then.
I wish it could be like that again.
But now when you're sad you turn away,
And I don't know what words to say.
You're my little boy, but you're growing up fast.
I feel you slipping from my grasp.
I want to hold on, but I know it's time
For me to let go of this child of mine.
I long to protect you, to shield you from pain.
But I have to remind myself time and again,
That you have to experience life on your own,
While I stand back and leave you alone.
You're still so young, but you've already found
How kids can be mean when I'm not around.
School kids tease you and call you names.
They make fun of you and play cruel games.
I tell you not to worry, that it'll be alright
I tell you to be brave, yet I can't make things right.
I try to listen and to hold you near,
To give you solace and allay your fear.
I try to be there when the going gets tough.
Sometimes growing up can be so rough.
But I also feel proud of the person you are.
I know that you're strong and that you'll go far.
I realize it's time to start letting go.
I've taught you so much of the things that I know.
As you step forward, I'll take two steps back.
It's not easy for me, but I'll soon get the knack.
I'm letting go, but I'll never be far.
You can always reach me, wherever you are.
I watch you proudly as you start on your way.
My love goes with you as we start a new day.


text:
[Page 359]
by David Y.
From atop the roof I see you Turka
So clear and fine,
With your smile
Without sorrow, without weeping…
I see the winding alleyways
And why?
Mizera, Elul 5724 (1964)
[Page 360]
by Michael Heisler
In the autumn of 1944, fate brought me once again face to face with the city of Turka. Already on the second day post liberation, I once again found myself on the Turka mountains, in the same place where I had lived some three and a half years previously, close to the Turka cemetery, from where I could see the entire city in all its grandeur. From afar, I could still hear the firing of the Soviet cannons, accompanying by the fleeing of the Germany Army.
The city was empty and quiet. Not a soul was around. It seems that the houses were smaller than before, shrunken, black, dismal, without windows, without doors, without people… The streets were filled with yellow, rotting, leaves. The railway bridge was ripped apart, and its stones were scattered throughout the city. The rails were curved and flattened. Not long ago in fact, it seemed like yesterday Jewish life bustled in every corner here. And today?… Today everything is dead.
I did not weep. Why should I weep?. Was I seeing the first dead city?… Over the entire past three and a half years, I wandered over ruins, over dead, murdered cities and villages, until I arrived in Russia. I had wept so much that my nerves did not react when I saw my own city of Turka in the same situation as thousands of other cities and towns.
I wanted to find a living witness who would tell me details about the tragic death of the Jews who had lived there. I entered the city. Along the way, there were broken gravestones, tossed into the mud and the ditches, trampled by tanks. I attempted to find my mother's gravestone, but it was not possible. In the cemetery I met an old Christian who was leading a sheep on a leash. She led me to a place and pointed with her finger here is where
[Page 361]
the Germans shot very man Jews from the city, and her is the place where they lie. The grave was already overgrown with grass… Where are the rest of the Jews? I asked. The Germans sent them all away, she responded.
I set out for the villages to look perhaps I would find someone alive, or a sign of their murder. I walked to almost every village. It was the same emptiness everywhere. The houses were burned or occupied, and the soil was plowed. Not even a marker remained.
I asked the local residents about how all the Jews had been murdered. The told me that the Germans led them all away to the gas chambers, and that no Jews were murdered here. However, I found out from reliable Ukrainians that many murders were perpetrated on the place itself by the Ukrainian bands. Throughout the entire time of the war, the primary employment of the bands was to search for Jews and murder them, or turn them over to the Gestapo for a high payment a kilo of salt for a Jewish soul…
[Page 362]
By Chaim Pelech
Translated by Jerrold Landau
Donated by Boaz Ben-Pelech
I was in Russia. The end of the war was approaching. I read in the newspaper that the Hitlerists were already retreating in the Carpathians. I was anxious for Turka to be liberated, but it was not happening. Difficult weeks passed until Turka was finally liberated. I quickly wrote a letter to my wife in Turka, but I received no reply I already understood that it was bitter: there was nobody left in Turka I wrote another letter, this time to the Turka community. After a long wait, I received a letter from Avraham Hanz from Radicz, near Turka. He told me that the bandits murdered all of the Jews of Turka and its environs. No trace was left of my family
That meant that I was alone. What should I do now no wife, no child, no brothers, no sisters. I was sitting here in dark Lapatino, deep in Russia, knowing nothing about what was going on in the Jewish world How was it that the Jewish world could have allowed so many Jews to be murdered? I asked many questions at that time: Why? However, nobody was able to give me an answer
I began to make efforts to travel home, to Turka, so that I could witness with my own eyes the great misfortune.
I arrived in Lemberg after twelve days. I slept there with my former classmate Shreier, who had survived. I traveled on. I went to Sambor, for no train went to Turka. I arrived in Turka early on the second day.
As I arrived, I stood still and did not know where to go The entire city was a ruin. All of the houses were broken. The only ones that remained whole were the town hall and Chaim Hirsch's house. In the Olica, there was also Moshe Hirsh's house and a number of other houses. The others were broken and run down to the ground. This was my native town, where I spent my entire life! My spirit was downcast, and I remained standing there in a bewildered state
A loud shout woke me out of my thoughts: 'Chaim, when did you arrive?. This was a Jew from Turka. He took me to Chava Brandelsztejn, who remained alive. A Turka Ukrainian, Kamarnichki, hid her in his cellar. Chava was very happy to see me, as she was our best neighbor. She told me everything that took place in my home. She told me when and how my dear ones were killed: my son, wife, sisters, brothers, and stepmother. As she talked, my gaze was fixed upon the floor. I could not look her in the face How could I have left everyone behind to wantonness, and saved myself alone?!
I listened on.. A letter came from Stryj informing that they shot my brother Shlomo Pelech there on July 1. A letter came from Przemysl that they shot my sister Bracha Pelech, also on July 1. My stepmother was shot in Turka on July 1, all in one day! When the children's aktion took place, a Jewish policeman, Chaim Meinbach, entered the house and took my only son Avraham. He was shot that same day.
Thus did I sit and hear about my downfall
[Page 364]
by Asher Brandelstein of Haifa
|Uncaptioned. Asher Brandelstein
I returned to Turka in August 1945. I had been away from the towns in which I had been born and had spent my childhood and youth for four full years. I had spent four years in Russia. I came with my wife, with whom I had lost my home during the first days of the war, and with our young daughter was born in Bashkiria1. I left behind a town in which a few thousand Jews lived. When we returned, we found approximately 20 to 30 souls… The town had almost been completely destroyed. All of the Jewish homes had been destroyed and burnt.
My Mother Lives!
A special surprise awaited me when I arrived in Turka I found my mother alive, one of the survivors from the town. She survived thanks to a Ukrainian family that hid her. My mother was a midwife, and, before the war, she had helped the family who hid her. My mother was known in town as someone who helped poor women in childbirth, both Jewish and Christian and in her own need she found a savior.
She went through her hell. She could only tell me that my father had been shot immediately during the first aktion. My
[Page 365]
wife's parents with four young brothers were murdered during the large aktion.
I Searched for Acquaintances…
Those who survived had hid in the forests. A small number had hid with gentiles. However, almost all immediately left for Poland (Turka already belonged to Ukraine). The rest were preparing to do so.
I, however, could not set out on the journey because my mother required an eye operation. When the operation was finally completed, I was already too late it was no longer permitted.
|The first families who arrived in Turka after the war
[Page 366]
The first weeks after my arrival in town were difficult for me. There were moments where it seemed that I would go out to the street and meet my friends, acquaintances, and other dear faces from our youth and childhood. Even though the situation indicated otherwise, I would run perhaps a miracle would take place?… I would have to go alone…
A Jewish Teacher in a Strange School
At the beginning of the 1945 school year, I began to work as a mathematics teacher in the Turka middle school. It was difficult to be a teacher. More than once it seemed to me that the students who were now answering my questions had perhaps shown the German and Ukrainian policemen where an unfortunate victim was hiding during the aktions. We often discussed such facts.
It was difficult, very difficult, to be a Jewish teacher in a school in which many Jewish children should have been sitting and where are they?…
In 1951, I was nominated as principal of that same middle school. Every year, I conducted formal matriculation ceremonies. Those ceremonies caused me great vexation. I would come home sick and broken. Once again: where are our children who should have received the same certificates today?!…
A few Jewish children, from the three Jewish families in the city, studied in that school. This gave me a bit of happiness. I frequently dreamed of being a teacher in a Jewish school. In the meantime, this was indeed only a dream.
In the meantime, I frequently had to listen to antiSemitic speeches from teachers (for example, during the Doctors Trials2 during the Stalin era), and to antiSemitic proclamations from students. I also had to organize ceremonies marking the 300th anniversary of the archpogromchik Chmielnicki.
This is now past, as my dream of Israel has come true.
Translator's Footnotes:
[Page 367]
by Bronia Brandelstein of Haifa
|Uncaptioned. Bronia Brandelstein
In the valley that is surrounded by a ridge of tall mountains, thick forests, and the lovely Stryj River, lies our native town of Turka. One's native town is precious to every person, but to me and all other natives of Turka it is sevenfold precious. Our town was something special and close to our hearts for us. Indeed, there were wonderful youths in our town. Now, when I think back from some distance, I am filled with wonder how could such wonderful youth as were in those days have lived their lives full of content and sublime aspirations, without having any chance at all of fulfilling these dreams and hopes. Indeed, each person forged his path in accordance with his possibilities.
The war destroyed all of these aspirations and hopes. Everyone was afflicted in a different fashion. Some succeeded in finding refuge in the Land of Israel. Others were exiled to Siberia during the maelstrom of the war. However, awaiting the vast majority were the gas chambers, which opened their muzzles and swallowed millions of Jews. They swallowed those nearest and dearest: parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends.
Fate had it that I somehow managed to survive. I traveled to an unknown place, to endure the difficult war in faroff Bashkiria, to endure the hunger, cold, and other tribulations, to give life to my baby under the most difficult of conditions, and to protect her life. Even though vast distances separated me from my native area, in my thoughts and imagination I remained with my dear ones in Turka.
The cruel war ended. Weary from the difficult tribulations, we decided at any price to return to the area of our native town of Turka perhaps fate would turn out positive, and we would find some of our relatives who perhaps survived.
[Page 368]
We neared Turka, and found out with clear understanding about the terrible tragedy that befell us, and afflicted us personally as it did our nation. Our hearts palpitated. Here were the serpentines, through which we used to slide in sleds during winter nighttime excursions. Here is the Christian cemetery and we arrived in the town.
Even were I to be blessed with the most talented writer's pen, I would not have the strength to write on paper about the great pain and terrifying impression that my devastated town left upon me… I walked through its streets and alleyways astonished from agony. Every stone, every pathway, reminded me of my happy, carefree, childhood days, and the years of my youth filled with enthusiasm and faith in a better tomorrow…
The town was empty of its Jews. Every house reminded us of the dear ones who had recently been murdered. The houses were ruined and destroyed. The empty windows and broken panes frightened me in particular… It seemed to me that death was peering out from each of them… Here is the house of Engelmajr my friend Salka is no more… Here is the house of Beret Marcha is no more… Here are the ruins of the house in which Esther Kesler and Salka Nistal lived… Mighty Gd, if you exist, how could you have allowed your chosen people to have been tormented so much?!… Why, and how?, asked the agonized mouth, but no answer was forthcoming… Remaining were silence, destruction, pain, and wounds that time could not heal… I asked myself is this not a big joke that I remained alive to be one of the few survivors, to go through my native town to weep for them all?… I walked through Turka during the years 19451957 with the feeling that I was trampling over graves. For me, the town was a cemetery saturated with the blood of those most dear to me.
We, the Jews who survived, were a rare sight in the eyes of the local residents… More than once did I notice an astonished look in the eyes of the Ukrainians at the sight of those of us who survived… There were those who justified themselves to me. Others attempted to pass by us with eyes lowered in shame. At times I felt great satisfaction that those who had collaborated and dipped their hands in innocent Jewish blood were seeing me alive… Certainly, this was a vexing thing for them…
We were several Jewish families in Turka: Brandelstein, Shein, Kenernstein, Meir, and others. My motherinlaw Chava Brandelstein survived. Can our great joy at this wonder be described?… Before our eyes was the picture of despair, the shadow of a mother
[Page 369]
who endured the Hitlerist hell. A Ukrainian family hid her. She spent months in dark cellars, where she partially lost her sight and was a witness to the terrible happenings in our town.
The following was typical: Anyone who survived came to take one more look at Turka, the city of memories, in general only for a few hours. They came, and fled from it as quick as lightning without making themselves known. Any Jew who appeared in town was directed to us. I do not want to neglect to mention one episode that brought me to tears of laughter. At that time, the mayor of Turka was Vasyl Rohach. On one occasion, a Jew from the area of Turka came to him. Rohach met me on the street and wanted to tell me that someone came to him, but was afraid of calling the person a Jew. He said in Russian, With apologies to you, one of your nation was with me and asked me about the local people of his nation.… Indeed, I laughed to the point of tears at the unusual politeness with which he related to Jews.
Yaakov Entner came to Turka and told me that his sister had been murdered by a Ukrainian and had been buried in a garden on the Stryj. Yaakov removed her body from there and buried her in the Jewish cemetery. I will never forget Yaakov as he sprawled over the lovely grave of his sister and wailed
[Page 370]
out loud. He did not know how jealous I was of him at that moment. He knew the resting place of his sister's bones, whereas I did not. Indeed, even that type of jealousy existed at that time… One more victim was swallowed up by the Jewish cemetery, upon which the goats, cows and horses were able to trample. To our great sorrow, after the war, the Jewish cemetery turned into a pasture area for horses, cows, and the like.
Frequently, fate laughs at a person. My husband Lemel Brandelstein, Fania Kenernstein and I worked as teachers in the high school. Fania and I completed our qualifications after the war, and it fell upon our lot to teach the children of those people who were unable to satisfy their lust for Jewish property, houses and victims. They fell upon their victims and their property like bloodthirsty eagles. Indeed, the children were innocent, but despite all of our intentions, the thought kept popping up for whom are we toiling and giving over our energy and knowledge?… Is it not to future antiSemites?… At time, when I was in class and I looked at the faces of the Ukrainian children, Jewish children from our town would pass before my eyes children whose thread of life had been prematurely snuffed out. How hard was this on the heart! I paid a high price for remaining in Turka after the war!
Anyone who did not see Turka after the war could such a person imagine that entire lanes had disappeared? Is it possible to imagine a greater desecration of the Divine Name than the paving of Legionow Street until the hospital with Jewish gravestones?! These gravestones were uprooted during the wartime period in accordance with a command of Mayor Pysanczyn, and placed with their inscriptions facing upward. To our great dismay, all of our entreaties to the Soviet authorities yielded naught, and the gravestones were not returned. It is possible to believe that an electric station was placed in the synagogue of Turka? This place, which was honored and holy to everyone, without difference in outlook; a place of supplication, where our parents prayed to Gd for livelihood and long life for themselves, their families and relatives; where they laid out their requests for a better tomorrow and peace throughout the world that this place has become a receptacle for machines!
The Soviet authorities decided to arrange for the city to be cleared of its ruins, and to beautify it by planting trees and flowers in the destroyed areas.
[Page 371]
One of the areas that was designated for clearing of ruins was the place where the house of KeslerNistal stood. A few classes of our gymnasium with their teachers were drafted to help the town council in this task. Along with my students, I cleared the place where my two beloved friends Estera Kesler and Salka Nistal lived. My eyes welled up with tears as I lifted each brick, can or shovel. Books and unfinished notebooks were scattered among the rubble… The children stared in surprise at the sight of their teacher weeping. Apparently, life had not yet corrupted the young creatures. They understood the meaning of the weeping and were politely silent. Thus, instead of precious souls, Jewish houses, streets and alleyways trees, shrubs and flowers are growing. Nature was used to obfuscate the traces of the lives of our dear ones…
Every teacher had the duty to visit the homes of the students to understand their living conditions. I had many students from Targovitsa. Once when I visited the Sakevchak family, I was stricken by astonishment and stood fixed to the doorway… I noticed a cloth on the table with Sabbath prayers and blessings woven onto it. The current task of this tablecloth was to adorn the Sakevchak house… I was not at all surprised when I noticed that the pillows and blankets were literally piled up to the roof. They were not obtained through the sweat of the brow of the owner of the house… When the mistress of the house saw my astonishment, she justified herself by explaining that she had received many things from the neighbors in return for milk, potatoes, and other provisions. Indeed, many of the local population explained their recently obtained new property in the same manner.
Entering the house where I was born and in which I was raised along with my four brothers was an unforgettable experience. That was the place where I absorbed warmth, parental love, and education. I found a merchandise warehouse on the first floor, and some sort of office on the second floor. I went up the steps with an agonized heart, holding on to the railing with my hand the railing upon which I loved to slide down during my childhood, to the great fear of my parents and others. I entered the kitchen quietly, and moved from one room to the next. I wanted to find something that could remind me of my childhood home… I went up to the attic. Among the piles of paper I found my picture, the sole piece of evidence that I had grown up and lived there… Indeed, not in vain was the adage said that a person is stronger than iron, otherwise how could one overcome this agony
[Page 372]
that pierces the heart and chokes the throat?! I, who grew up, studied, danced, and loved my dear ones here slunk into my house on tiptoes, in fear and silence, as if to not awaken my parents and brothers from their sleep…
Suddenly I was startled. A person approached me and shouted at me, asking what was I looking for there? This was one of the clerks of the office that was located in the house.
What am I looking for, my trembling lips uttered, what am I looking for in the house in which I grew up? You ask: what are you doing here I do not ask you… See: here we slept, sat, studied. Here my dear mother went around and prepared food for her five children. Here sat my beloved father as he was immersed in thoughts about how to provide livelihood for his fivesome…
Everything came to life before my eyes… I suddenly saw the Sabbath table before my eyes: a sparkling white tablecloth, candles burning in the candlesticks, mother beside the table, father at the head of the table saying with a smile: at every corner I have a son, and at my side, for decoration, I have an only daughter. That is how he managed to give us a bit of happiness… The clerk was startled at my reaction. He must have considered me as one of the crazies who had entered the building.
A great miracle took place. We succeeded in leaving there and going to Israel. Here I am happy. I have found many dear friends living in Israel. They are very close to me, and each has a unique place in the recesses of my heart. They serve as a reminder and fine adornments from days gone by.
Translated from Polish by Ida Z.
Translator's Footnote:
[Page 373]
by Moshe From of Haifa
In 1957, I traveled as a Polish citizen to visit Turka, which is today within the borders of the Soviet Union. I went there for two reasons: first, I wanted to visit the region where I was born and where I spent the majority of my youth, and where almost all my relatives and acquaintances were tragically murdered during the dark days of the Nazi occupation. Second, I wanted to visit the eight Jewish families who lived in Turka at that time, including my good friends for whom I had a special feeling, and with whom I remained in contact by letter.
I set out on an express train from the city of Szezecin, which is located on the Polish-German border, in the northwest close to the Baltic Sea. Twenty hours later I was already near the Soviet border, not far from Przemysl. The control formalities did not take long, and we transferred to a Soviet train. Very quickly, we were at the Lemberg railway station.
Lemberg in its Time
Lemberg, the central city of Galicia who of us does not remember it?! The Hechalutz headquarters and the headquarters of all the youth organizations were located there. Thousands of chalutzim would come there to take care of their issues regarding hachsharah and aliya. Jewish students from eastern Galicia studied in the middle schools and the universities there. The large, modern railway station with its underground tunnels would be full, day and night, with
[Page 374]
Jewish passengers, who used to fill all the waiting halls and all the arriving and departing trains.
My memory instinctively went back to the pre-war times, and it seemed to me that Zalman-Nachum Zolinger and Yisrael Pruker would suddenly come out of one of the tunnels, laden with packages. They used to come there at 8:00 every morning, and take care of various matters that the merchants of Turka had given over to him. One could purchase foreign currency through them. They purchased and brought with them all types of merchandise that people would order through them. At 8:00 p.m. they would already be back in Turka, where those interested would be waiting for them to take their packages. It seemed that the Turka merchants, and representatives of various business areas would soon be arriving, and each of them would be going to their businesses. Everyone felt even better and freer here than at home… Here, one was permitted many things that were impossible to do at home for various reasons…
And Today…
The microphone of the railway station, announcing in Russian arriving and departing trains every minute, brought to mind the pre-war times and reminded me that now I am seeing an entirely new Lemberg. Not even a trace of anything that once was remains today.
Late at night, at approximately 1:00 a.m. I departed by train for Turka. The train went from Lemberg to Uzhgorod (Ungvar) via Sambor-Sianki. Despite the fact that I was tired from the journey and from the many impressions along the way, under no circumstances could I close my eyes even for a minute. Even though it was dark outside, I looked at everything through the dark and attempted to recognize the region through which I was travelling, and which had been so familiar to me. We stopped in the former Jewish towns such as Komarno
[Page 375]
Rudki, Sambor, and Stary-Sambor. We traveled through known town in which no small amount of Jews had lived Strelki, Jasienica, Rozluch, Jawora and others. A deathly silence pervaded throughout the entire way. Sometimes, I could see the light of a kerosene lamp through the window of a farmer's hut. We travelled through the Jawora Tunnel, and the train approached Turka. Here was the place where the large sawmill had stood. Today there is only an empty lot, which cannot even be recognized. Here is the place where there used to be large industrial enterprises that employed hundreds of workers, and from which Jewish families in town earned their livelihoods.
With a wailing signal from the locomotive, we traveled through the last tunnel and we already saw the second side of the viaducts that go through the width of the city, almost until the railway station.
A deathly silence pervaded in the railway station. A pair of weary Red Army soldiers were sitting in the railway station, and a few personnel were wandering about. It was before daybreak: they were just beginning their day. I looked about curiously and set out into the city.
My first steps were toward my friend Lemel Brandelstein, who at that time was working as the principal of the middle school and lived on the Palini near the large school building, opposite the Roman Catholic church. Lemel had returned to Turka with his family a wife and two children immediately after the liberation of the city. There, he met his mother, who had been hidden by Christians. She was the only Jewish woman of the older generation whom good Christians had taken in and hidden until the city was liberated by the Soviet Army.
[Page 376]
Chava the Grandmother
When I saw her, she made a fearful impression upon me. She looked very bad, much older than in reality. There was not one tooth in her mouth, she was hard of hearing, and her collapsed eyes could barely see. This happened to her when she was hiding in a cellar without air or light, which ruined her body. On the other hand, she retained her full intellect. When Lemel asked her if she recognizes me, she answered with humor and jest, You ask if I remember him; I held him in my hands before his own mother saw him!
|Chava the midwife
It was indeed true. Which child in our town had not been brought into the world through the caring and delicate hands of Chava the Grandmother? For a long time, she was almost the only midwife in the region. Cruel fate had it that, specifically she, the one who was present
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at the births of all the children in the city and heard their first life call, and who announced their arrival to the world should survive the terrible tragedy of their deaths. She saw with her own eyes how hundreds of children, who were so tenderly raised by their Jewish mothers and fathers, were murdered by the Germans and their Ukrainian assistants in an inhumane fashion, en masse and without a reason. And today, when she has lost her energy and when life has not much in store for her, she remains with a sole request to the Master of the World that she could be brought to a Jewish burial. She spoke to me a few times and complained that the cemetery was neglected, the fences were broken, and the gentiles pasture cattle and goats there (as I myself witnessed later).
|The survivors
She later succeeded in leaving during the period of the repatriation to Poland, where she died
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and was given a proper burial in the Jewish cemetery in the Lower Silesian city of Wałbrzych. May her memory be a blessing.
A Guest in Town…
News that a guest had arrived in town spread very quickly among the few Jewish families that lived there. Before I even had a chance to rest from the long journey, almost all of them came to Lemel's house. His wife Bronia decked the tables with drinks, wine, and various treats. We drank lechaim at the meeting of good friends.
Every one of us felt a pain in the heart. Our eyes filled with tears and the words were caught in the throat. Each person looked at the other, and nobody could utter a word. I felt like an orphan who had come to the cemetery, and was standing at a fresh grave without being able to begin the kaddish… In order to forget the tragedies a bit and and create a bit of creative humor, I drank several glasses of liquor. Until late at night, people discussed the miracles through which each of us had emerged alive from the terrible cataclysm.
In a Heavy Mood…
On the second day, I woke up with a headache and a heavy mood. I ate breakfast and set out for my first walk in the town. The weather was exceptionally fine. The sun emerged from the thick fog and beautified the majestic panorama of the Carpathian Mountains. The town was situated in the valley between the two tall mountains Shymenka and Kychera.
I walked along the street of the large school, near the building of the new courthouse. I went to the town square (Rynek). The path was largely destroyed, filled with stones and potholes. Since the time that I left the city
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fifteen years previously, it seemed that no renovations had been undertaken. The houses were neglected. Despite the fact that no wartime battles were conducted within the city itself, there were many houses, mainly Jewish ones, that had fallen down and had been dismantled.
I wandered to the street of the synagogue. It was once called Ulica Bazsznyca. There was some sort of a strange feeling around, a mixture of memories and reflections. It was now the moth of Elul. At one time, it used to be packed with Jews who were going to services with their tefillin bags and tallises. Everyone was hurrying to worship with the first minyan, and then go to their businesses. One could already hear the sounds of the shofar blowing from all sides. It was already the time of selichot, and one could already sense the High Holy Days in the air.
All of the houses of worship were concentrated in that place. Hassidim from various courts, each with their own kloiz, would hasten there. There were Belzers, Czortkowers, and Sadagorers. The Misnagdim would worship in the Great Synagogue or with the Golgower rabbi, Rabbi Eliezer Mishel of holy blessed memory. The butchers attended the synagogue of the businessmen together with the Chevra Kadisha. Even the tailors had their own minyan there.
If this was not sufficient, there were also a few private minyanim, which had no shortage of worshipers, such as with Reb Yudele the Samborer rabbi, and the Waniewiczer rabbi who had his own Hassidim in the city. The Zionists as well had their minyan in the national house. The professional intelligentsia of the city, consisting of several doctors and lawyers, worshipped there on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Devastation and Destruction
And today… Today, a deathly silence pervades here. One does not see a living soul. The Beis Midrash and the Czortkower Kloiz were turned into a warehouse for some sort of joinery cooperative. The Sadagoger
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Kloiz had been destroyed, without even a trace remaining. A diesel engine had been installed in the Great Synagogue, which is now serving as an electric station. A worker was killed at the time of the installation of the machinery the gentiles said that this was a punishment from G-d…
The densely populated quarter that was called Behind the Synagogue had been completely destroyed. The poor, wretched Jewish houses that were situated along the Jablonka River in the area of the bathhouse are no longer present. None of them was saved. They were destroyed along with their impoverished occupants.
When I would go before the war to the area behind the synagogue and look at the poor, wretched, little houses with their goat sheds, it seemed to me that for them the great Jewish artist Mark Chagall used that image for his characteristic pictures that illustrated the wretchedness of the Jewish shtetl.
The street that led to the Lokacz was a bit clearer and broader. There, almost nothing had changed. Beyond the bridge, the way parted into three sides: the right side led to the Targowicza [market], the left side let to the Skale, also a typical Jewish alleyway where lived the butchers Chaim Wolf Zeifert and Moshe-Yantsha Nistal with his wife Chana-Dvora Tartak, who used to bring joy to every early morning with her juicy curses.
At one time, this alleyway was alive, when the headquarters of Hashomer Hatzair were located in Abish Nistal's house. Every night, the noise of the impromptu Hora dance, or the sentimental melodies of Jewish and Hebrew songs that the youth would sing to the light of lanterns or on the hill that was across the alleyway would permeate from there into the town. Saturday afternoons were especially joyous, for the Shomrim, dressed in their scouting uniforms and colorful ties, would march up the hill near Weissman's house and go from there to the Zwiriniec forests, or bathe in the Stryj River near the Jaworer Tunnel. In orderly rows and in cadence with jovial marching songs,
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they would march with pride; young children would run along the sides of the route, with great jealousy for them…
Jewish houses still stand along the wide street even though their owners are no longer here… There was not even anybody to demand the inheritance. The houses of the brothers Volia and Yaakov-Hirsch Kanke, Yisrael Langenauer, as well as the bakery of Mordechai Erdman stood out. The houses of the street that led to the Targowicza remained whole. For the most part, they were occupied by military families who were stationed in the city, as well as by the Chinovniks1 who moved here from eastern Ukraine.
A strange feeling overcame me when I arrived at the Rynek. At one time, this was the main center of the city. The homes of all the honorable householders of the city were located around the large city hall, in the form of a square. During the First World War, all of the wooden houses burnt down there, and new, relatively better built, fine, strong houses were built in their place. Thousands of farmers would fill up the place around the city hall, sell their produce, and spend their money at the Jewish businesses, which provided them with everything that they needed.
Who does not recall the Wednesday market days in town. The town was full of people, and it was difficult to go through the streets. The businesses were full of customers until late at night. The stable boys and butchers ended their business at the taverns and guesthouses. They concluded their purchases over a glass of liquor, clasping their hands together and the voices ascended to the heights of heaven...
Today, it is peaceful here… No memory of anything remains. Market days and fairs no longer take place here. In the Ring-Platz, between the city hall and the houses that belonged to Moshe Reiter, Hirsh Leib Shreiber, Leizer Stern and others they planted trees and poplars
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that grew wild, both tall and wide, and formed a strange grove in which children of the passers-by who live in the houses of Shmuel-Nachum Shein and Leizer Stern would play.
The courthouse is situated opposite, on the other side of the city hall, in the houses of Sender Goldreich and Moshe Shteiger. (The large building where the courthouse used to be located was turned into the barracks of the border N.K.V.D.) The house of Abish Artel, the son-in-law of Chaim Hirsh, was occupied by the city militia. The Gestapo was also located there during the time of the German occupation.
Otherwise, it was almost as if nothing had changed during the time… In the garden, which had been planted already in the pre-war years, there was a monument of Stalin. (Who knows perhaps now in 1966 the monument is no longer there…) In the corner where the houses of Moshe Grossman and Shlomo Richter used to be, there is a tribute2 to workers who excel in high accomplishments with their work. To construct this, they removed the marble monument of Dr. Turnheim that had stood tall in the cemetery. They placed the black marble upon a platform, covered the inscription, and placed in a glass frame pictures of stakhanavches3, creating a cheap and primitive revolutionary point.
On the side of the Rynek, parallel to the viaducts, the houses of Shlomo Richter, Zeinwil Brenes, Hirsh Eigler, and my father's house where I lived until June 1941 all remain stating. The other houses did not survive the powerful detonations of the explosions during the blasting of the viaducts, and they collapsed.
The viaducts, which had been rebuilt, had lost their former splendor and beauty. They only laid stress plates over the remaining pillars, thereby completely ignoring the elementary requests of the architect. From the
[Page 383]
tunnel until the train station, barbed wire was sticking out from both sides, so that no living soul could approach the Jablonka River. Armed soldiers guarded there day and night. The route through the hanging bridge that leads from the Rynek to the other side of the town, known as the Ilyca, was clear.
In Good Times
In the good times, before the destruction, the Ilyca was the center of the city. The majority of the businesses, extending for a long way along the main street, from the bridge until the Starostowa building, were located there. The shops, with a variety of merchandise, were one next to the other, and sharp competition existed among them. The merchants would fight for each customer, and this would often result in an argument or even blows. The farmers who used to come here from the surrounding villages would sell eggs, fowl, mushrooms, berries and other products. With the money, they would purchase salt, kerosene, shoes and other products. Frequently, they would barter one item for another, without using money… All week, there would be bustling and movement, and every Wednesday, which was the regular market day, one could not even go through the street. Farmers' wagons stood in all corners, and the businesses were filled with customers, among them some who did not come to purchase, but rather to steal a bit…
The businesses were closed for two days a week, Saturday and Sunday. On those days, the merchants would go out into the streets or sit with a cup of tea in the coffeehouses of Leizer Meiner or Hirsch Liberbaum and discuss politics.
On Friday night before candle lighting, Itzik-Aharon the shamash would appear on the streets with his wooden hammer and would knock on the doors of the shops to inform everyone that the holy Sabbath was approaching. Indeed, they soon closed, one after the other. The bakers had already sealed the ovens after putting in the cholent. Lit candles could already began to be seen in the windows. The town prepared to welcome the Sabbath.
[Page 384]
The next morning how lively and joyous was it in town. Thousands of youth filled the alleyways in the headquarters of the youth organizations. Jewish children, festively dressed, happy and carefree, sprouted like colorful flowers on the mountains surrounding the city, and by the rivers, as they would play in the bosom of beautiful nature.
The older generation used to take a nap after the tasty cholent and fatty kugel. Later, they would go for a stroll in the grove near the pharmacy, or to the hospital area to get some fresh air and absorb some new energy for the new week, which would begin right after havdallah.
The socio-economic structure of the population here barely changed for generations. The chief sources of livelihood for Jews were business and a smattering of trades. The rest did not have any concrete employment. People lived from the air one from the other… There were brokers, village peddlers, wagon drivers, marriage brokers, teachers, and unemployed people. Aside from the few sawmills and the primitive brick kiln that used to be idle more than functioning, there were no industrial enterprises in the area.
Due to the fact that the town was surrounded by a large number of villages, it was able to serve as an administrative and business center. The Jewish population lived an impoverished, but comfortable life. Despite the lack of any great fortune and the lack of a perspective for a better future, people managed from week to week with nonchalance toward what fate might bring.
The Course of Fate
Fate took its cruel toll. During the course of three years, from 1941 to 1944, the Germans, with the assistance of the local Ukrainians, murdered the entire Jewish population of the city and the area. Not
[Page 385]
one family was able to save itself. Like hungry bloodhounds, they found all the Jews. Those who were able to pay the price of money and jewelry to hide with local gentiles also did not avoid the terrible fate. The gentiles would take all of their belongings, and then kill the people themselves or turn them over to the Gestapo.
Only the Jewish homes remain, abandoned and orphaned, serving as reminder that there once was a large Jewish settlement here. Today the houses are settled by Ukrainians, no small number of whom played their role in the deaths of many Jews. Today, they utilize and enjoy the property of their victims, in accordance with the principle of You murdered and you also inherited4. From time to time, they encounter one of the small number of surviving Jews of Turka who live alone and forlorn in various cities in the Soviet Union. They bring here the concealed pining for a Jewish town in which they had been born and raised. They are driven by an unhappy inclination to see for themselves whether the destruction was as great and terrible as has been described and written…
As soon as they set foot upon the accursed ground and inhale the air that has been poisoned with murder and killing, the heart becomes aggrieved and the tongue becomes immobilized. They wish to go away, and escape as soon as possible from the terrible nightmare.
The voices of the Ukrainians whom one encounters on the street, looking at you as if you have returned from the other world… You are overcome by a strange feeling, as it seems to you that you must answer as to why you are among the survivors… From all sides, you feel wild strangeness and an non-understandable hatred. You feel alone, redundant and unwanted.
Every clod of earth here is saturated with Jewish blood. The walls are sprinkled with the brains of Jewish children, and the souls of the victims are fluttering around. You finally come to the realization that our Jewish town with its large Jewish society no longer exists it is dead forever…
Translator's Footnotes:
[Page 386]
In Memory of my Father Reb Baruch Hirt
They were seven children four brothers and three sisters. All of them were raised and educated in the spirit of Torah and religious tradition. My father of blessed memory was the youngest of them.
He was very punctilious about three things: love of his fellowman, giving charity in a hidden fashion, and the study of Torah.
He was never jealous of anyone, and never bore jealousy for anyone in his heart. He would give charity in a secret fashion to the extent that he was able. Regarding the study of Torah, he would say: Torah is our life, and a tree of life to those that grasp hold of it. Therefore, learning never departed from his lips.
He was a dedicated father to his children. He educated them in the spirit of love, with a full understanding to their new path in life. His aspiration was to make aliya to the Land, which he never merited to do. Three of his sons and Mother of blessed memory were murdered along with him.
May his and their memory be blessed
His son: Y. Hirt
They had a small lot in Turka with a small farm: a few animals, a bit of agriculture, and a great deal of family warmth. Mother was literally a Jewish Mother good hearted, able to instill ideas into all of her seven children that were in the home, as well as honor and respect for parents. She managed the house and business in good taste, even though the decisions always came from Father. Father was a G-d fearing Jew who observed the commandments. He was a farmer during the summer and a merchant during the winter.
I recall the warm Jewish home on Sabbath days. I recall the conclusion of the Sabbath, when the neighbors would gather in our home to conduct the Melave Malka meal, tell stories, and eat the special foods and the famous borscht.
Father was always ready to assist his fellowman including visiting the sick and tending to the deceased. In everything, he saw an opportunity for a good deed and merits for the Garden of Eden in the World of Truth.
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Family life was conducted with Jewish understanding and values. I recall a picture that was etched in my mind: Father is sitting next to a kerosene lamp, with his spectacles on his nose, reading to mother a story of Reizele that printed in the daily newspaper. At times, the whole family would be together, and someone would sing. The comportment of the parents imparted in the children feelings of respect. When the Nazis came to take Father, mother left her hiding place and joined him. Thus, they were not separated in their lives and in their deaths…
Our eldest sister Rivka was also a victim.
Our sister Malka, the conscience and brain of the family also fell at the hands of the enemy.
Our brother Yosef, graced with musical talent, also met his end in the crematoria of Majdanek.
Four of us remain three in Israel and one brother in Belgium. Even though we have changed our way of life, many values from home remain with us.
The Hashomer Hatzair movement to which we belonged also imparted a great deal to us. It is good that there was such a movement that educated people to Zionism and aliya.
David Binder, Chaim Binder, and Hala Kushnir
My brother Menachem the son of Rachel and Yisrael, was born in 1901 in Turka into a traditional, Hassidic home, and received a religious education. When the First World War broke out in 1914 and the Czarist armies burnt down the town, the entire family exiled themselves to the capital Prague. There, the lad studied in a night school for refugee children and began to display his talents as an artist. He continued expressing this talent in Turka after we returned to in 1917, at the end of the war. He would draw the sets for the various amateur theaters.
He went to the United States in 1929. There, he established a traditional Jewish family. His two children, one of whom serves as a military rabbi in the American Army and the second who is a physician, are involved in Jewish life in the United States. They and their wives are fluent in the Hebrew Language and their homes are exemplary Hebrew homes.
Menachem participated in activities of the Hebrew movement in the United States.
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On the Death of Menachem Langenauer:1
The sudden death and the circumstances of the death of the dedicated Hebrew activist Menachem Langenauer of blessed memory had a depressing impact upon the Hebrew community of New York, which was dear to the departed. He was blessed with talent in drawing. He was the regular artist of the Hebrew Society of America, illustrating all of its artistic announcements, honorary scrolls for people of note, certificates for The Hebrew Month, etc. A large group of relatives, friends and those that held the deceased in esteem gathered at his funeral, which took place on Wednesday, 9th of Nisan. Rabbi Tzvi Tabory, a member of the leadership of the Hebrew Society of America and the former president of the Moria chapter of Boro Park, to which the deceased served as secretary for many years, eulogized the deceased. We bring down here a selection of his words:
… In the name of the Hebrew Society of America, in the name of the Moria Hebrew club of Boro Park, in the name of the entire Hebrew family of greater New York, I bow my head in piercing grief and deep sorrow over the sudden death of our faithful and dedicated member Mr. Menachem Langenauer of blessed memory. He was a comrade in ideas and a comrade in deeds, who girded his shoulders to work towards the revival of Hebrew. For many years, he invested his entire energy and essence on the altar of the Hebrew Language. The man did not labor solely for Hebrew, but rather for the Holy Tongue. His lips were always pure and holy. Our sages have taught us: Be careful about a simple commandment as a severe one, for you do not know the reward of commandments2. Maimonides expounds, 'A simple commandment, such as what? Such as speaking in the Holy Tongue!'… The adage of Maimonides on specialization in one area is also known to us: 'Only one tradesman was ever victorious over me.' It is fitting for a person to excel in one thing, in which he finds the root of his soul. Reb Menachem the son of Reb Yisrael shone in all the commandments of the Torah, but speaking in the Holy Tongue was where he found his lot and his inheritance.
… He was the secretary of the Moria Hebrew club for many years, and now the man has been suddenly taken from us. Last night, he led his son to the marriage canopy, and today he has been called to the Heavenly assembly.
… Even though one is not supposed to comfort a person while his dead is still before him, we say to his wife: 'Let us bless G-d that Menachem merited to educate your children in Torah and to lead them to the marriage canopy.' He left behind children like himself, and whoever leaves behind children like himself does not die, but rather gathers unto his people. His children will continue along his path of life. May his soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life.
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OH man. I love with just a few, well-placed words, the oh-so-genius people behind The Vampire Diaries have successfully whipped me into a fever pitch, yet again, for the premiere Sept. 15.
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