Yad Vashem documented that about 80 percent of the 140,000 Jewish residents of Holland were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. Anne Frank, the teenage girl whose diary came to symbolize the story of countless Jews who were forced into hiding in an attempt to escape the Nazis, hid with her family in an Amsterdam attic just blocks away from Dr. Strobos’s home. Dr. Strobos stated, “If I knew they were there, I would have gotten them out of the country.”

Dr. Strobos and her mother turned their three-story home, which was behind the Royal Palace of Amsterdam into a Jewish shelter and provided their guests with food and medical care as well as false passports. In the beginning, she worked primarily on arming and equipping the resistance fighters. She ran guns, explosives and radios, sometimes hiding them in her bicycle basket during journeys of 50 miles. But as armed resistance became increasingly dangerous, she turned her efforts to helping her Jewish friends and later others seeking a way out of the country.

The custom has its beginnings in magic and cultic practices in which the ancients used to apply creams and makeup to the faces of the statues of their gods in order to “bestow life on them”. Over time the custom found expression in the lives of individuals, women and men alike, for both aesthetic and therapeutic reasons.

In Egypt and Babylonia they used to rub a dark red color on the face, which was derived from red ocher mixed with vegetable oil or animal fat. As opposed to them, the Sumerians used yellow ocher. The cosmetic preparations included powders, creams, perfumes and scented oils. Due to their high price they were marketed in small quantities in little vessels with different shapes.

The vessels were manufactured from a variety of materials such as: alabaster, stone, ceramic, glass and bone. There are also faience containers that come from Egypt.

The creams were meant to soften and protect the face and keep the skin fresh. They were made of vegetable oils to which beeswax or fragrant resin was sometimes added.

Eye makeup, besides fulfilling a religious/magical role, was also intended for medical purposes. The makeup kept small flies away that caused eye infections, protected the eyelids from drying out and from the desert sun. The eye shadow was mainly produced from crushed minerals mixed with water; sometimes resin was added to it and the preparation was kept in shells.

Over time the ancients began producing special small cosmetic containers that are made of various materials. Together with the vessel there was a small applicator (kohl stick) made of ivory, bone, bronze or glass. The kohl stick was thick at one end for spreading around the eyes, and spoon-like or spatulate at the other end for mixing the makeup and removing it from the vessel.

The kohl stick would be immersed in water or scented oil and then into the powder and in that way they would apply the eye shadow to the eyes.

Along with the “make-up kit” (the container and the kohl stick), stone palettes were found that occur in a variety of geometric forms, some of which are decorated with floral or animal patterns. These palettes were probably used for grinding and crushing the cosmetic’s ingredients into powder.

Very little is known about wearing makeup as practiced during the First Temple period. In the Bible the use of makeup is mentioned disparagingly. Jeremiah, wanting to compare Jerusalem to a prostitute wishing to make herself pretty, talks about eye makeup and uses the expression “…you enlarge your eyes with paint” (Jeremiah 4:30).

However, based on the artifacts that have been uncovered from archaeological excavations, there is no doubt that makeup was commonly used during this period.

Included among the cosmetic implements that were used to apply makeup to the eyes and face are small stone bowls that were common in this period in the Levant. These bowls have a depression in their center, are polished and decorated with incised geometric patterns.

Face care was highly developed in Greece and Rome. Women would apply creams and bright colors to their faces. They would apply red (a floral/algae essence) to their lips and cheeks and black (derived from antimony or soot) to their eyes and eyebrows.

Most of the vessels in Greece were made of clay and were adorned with drawings that depict the use of cosmetics. Ceramic boxes with lids, known as pyxides, were also found in which there were rouge and various cosmetic materials, and there were flat and round containers that were made of bronze or marble.

Through the objects that are uncovered in excavations – cosmetic containers, small bowls and various minerals, a woman from the Second Temple period would wear makeup. The custom of face care was widely practiced in Israel during the Second Temple period. The makeup holder that was characteristic of the period is a long narrow kohl tube. Vessels were found that are composed of two to four such tubes. In most instances the kohl stick itself is made of bronze; some are also decorated with incising. In addition, the ancients used cylindrical containers with ceramic, bone and glass lids.

The cosmetic industry makes millions annually, as King Solomon once said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

At first, she and her husband Leonard largely financed the symbol that she created in 1992 with former Self Magazine editor-in-chief Alexandra Penney. Little pink bows handed to women at department store makeup counters — to remind them to get their annual breast exams — led to a multimillion dollar campaign funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, including some $50 million from the Lauders. The money that was raised helped found the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Cancer Center at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York in 2009.

Lauder was born Evelyn Hausner in 1936 in Vienna, Austria. Her Jewish parents took their baby and fled the flames of Nazi-occupied Europe, settling in the safety of the United States. The young immigrant attended public school in New York City and then began to attend CUNY’s Hunter College, when she met her husband, Estee Lauder’s elder son. They married in 1959.

Evelyn Lauder had a passion for photography, for food and for writing, and is the author of the book, “In Great Taste: Fresh, Simple Recipes for Eating and Living Well.” She died on Saturday at her New York City home, from complications of non-genetic ovarian cancer, diagnosed in 2007. Lauder is survived by her husband Leonard, who is now chairman emeritus of Estee Lauder. Her son William is executive chairman of the firm, and second son Gary is managing director of Lauder Partners LLC, a technology investment firm.

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where G’d lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started on his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase.

He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was

delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could

respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate potato chips in the park with God.”

However, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

Have lunch with God……..bring chips.

————————–

Francisca remained in Sokal, Poland even when her Polish neighbors fled Ukrainian pogroms, in order to care for the Jews she was sheltering.

The Jews who benefited from her actions; three men, five women, and five children had managed to flee the Sokal ghetto shortly before it was liquidated. The Jewish population of Sokal before the Holocaust was 6,000; only 30 survived, among them all 13 of those who sought refuge on Francisca Halamajowa’s farm.

Francisca Halamajowa died in 1960. She never shared the story of her bravery, even with her family.

“After the war, there was still enough fear and hostility that Francisca never told her story about how she had cared for and saved these Jewish individuals from certain death at the hands of the Nazis,” stated Abraham Foxman, head of the ADL. “Francisca’s granddaughters only learned the truth in full after they had moved to the United States decades later. But the Jewish families that were saved and their descendants knew the truth.”

One survivor’s diary inspired a 2009 film about Francisca and Helena, titled No. 4 Street of Our Lady.

“Francisca was one who had the courage to care,” Foxman stated as he presented the ADL award to her granddaughters Grace Kucharzyk and Jolanta Steron. “She upheld the honor of the human race and the conscience of the world.”

————————————

Her Childhood: Miriam was one of the three children of Amram and Jochebed; Aaron and Moses were her brothers. She was born at the time that the Egyptians began to oppress the Children of Israel and embitter their lives; she was thus named “Miriam”, meaning “embittered” [in Hebrew, "mar" means "bitter"].

Several years after she was born, Pharaoh’s astrologers told him that the savior of Israel will meet his end by water. Pharaoh then decreed that all male Jewish babies be thrown into the Nile, and he entrusted the Jewish midwives, Shifra and Pua, with this task. (According to many sources, Shifra refers to Jochebed, and Pua refers to 5-yr-old Miriam, who assisted her mother.)

Amram then divorced his wife, in despair from this decree. Being that he was the head of Sanhedrin, the rest of the Jews followed his example. His daughter Miriam’s reaction: “Father, your decree is harsher than Pharaoh’s, for Pharaoh’s decree is directed only against the males, whereas yours is directed against both males and females”. Amram thereupon remarried his wife with great ceremony and all the Jews again followed suit.

My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled….
Before Moses was born, 7-year-old Miriam prophesied, “My mother is destined to bear a son who will redeem Israel”. When Moses was born, the whole house was filled with light. Her father kissed her on her head and said, “My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled.”

When Moses was 3 months old, Pharaoh’s scouts discovered the newborn baby and ordered him cast into the Nile. Jochebed then slapped Miriam on the head and said, “My daughter, where is your prophecy?” When Moses was placed into the Nile in a basket, Miriam stood from afar to see what would become of baby Moses – and her prophecy. At that time, the astrologers told Pharaoh, “The savior of the Jews has already been cast into the water,” and the decree was rescinded.

Exile and Redemption: At the age of 80, Moses received a prophecy that the redemption was near. When he relayed this message to the Jewish men, they were unable to believe it, being too embittered from their slavery and suffering.

Women have greater faith than men….“Women have greater faith than men.” Therefore, the wives rejoiced in Moses’ message of salvation and continued to encourage their husbands by decorating themselves with make-up and jewelry when meeting them after their long, grueling day’s work. They even fashioned tambourines in the depths of the Egyptian exile under Miriam’s direction, in anticipation of the coming redemption.

After the Children of Israel escaped from Egypt and had crossed the Red Sea, Miriam and the women took up these instruments, and they danced while singing the song of redemption with complete faith and joy, following Moses’ cue. Although not yet in the Land of Israel, still in exile in the desert, they had perfect faith in their full redemption.

Miriam’s Well: “There were three good shepherds/providers that were given to the Jewish people: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. And three good gifts were given in their behalf: the Manna in Moses’ merit, Seven Clouds of Glory in Aaron’s merit, and a [mobile] well in Miriam’s merit.” Throughout their 40-year sojourn in the desert, they ate wondrous manna, were surrounded and protected by seven Clouds of Glory, and drank water from a miraculous well. Thus were their basic needs of food, water, and shelter provided for in the desert.

When a well of water is dug, a corresponding spiritual well of water is opened in the upper worlds… The Ari teaches that when a well of water is dug, a corresponding spiritual well of water is opened in the upper worlds, causing the spiritual energies of faith contained in the upper waters to permeate the atmosphere and giving people more faith and belief in G-d (since any action done in the physical world causes a corresponding action in the spiritual world). The Forefathers dug wells in their efforts to spread the belief in G-d to the world. Thus, Miriam’s well is connected to her deep belief and faith in G-d.

Miriam had two merits connected specifically with water, and there are differing opinions for which merit the well was bequeathed: watching over Moses’ rush basket in the Nile in his infancy and exuberant praise after the Splitting of the Sea on the banks of the Red-Sea. Indeed, it was entirely to Miriam’s credit that the Jews continued to procreate in Egypt in spite of Pharaoh’s decrees and she even helped to keep the babies alive and supplied them with food (Ex. 1:17 ). Therefore, water – the most crucial of these needs – was in her merit.

In addition, the Me’am Loez explains that the “Well of Miriam” was more to the Israelites than just their source of water. When the leading clouds came to a stop it indicated to the nation that they should make camp. The arrangement of the camp as detailed in the beginning of the Book of Numbers was deliberate and divine, and directed initially by the well, which would move to the very center of the camp, marking the position of the Tabernacle. The well then overflowed and created a canal system that delineated the placement and boundaries of each tribe within the desert encampment.

The Tosefta describes it: “… like a rock full of holes, trickled and rose like the water of this small jug, it ascended mountains with them and descended to the valleys with them….the princes of Israel surrounded it with their staffs and recited over it the song “Rise up well and answer her, rise up well and answer her” (see Num. 21:17), and it bubbled and rose upwards like a pillar”. there… And there was no water for the congregation.” (Num. 20:1-2) On the tenth of the month of Nissan, Miriam the prophetess died and the people complained of great thirst. Then Moses came upon a “rock”, actually the well in hiding, and hit it to provoke it to again provide water. Although Moses was punished by this episode by not being allowed into the Land of Israel, the well itself was renewed and continued to accompany the children of Israel, in his merit.

Oral Torah and Written Torah: The well-water, given in Miriam’s merit, aided their understanding of the oral traditions of the Torah….
The Ari explains that subsisting on manna and roving-well water had a purpose beyond miraculous survival in the desert. Manna, given in Moses’ merit, aided the Jew’s understanding of the written Torah; the well-water, given in Miriam’s merit, aided their understanding of the oral traditions of Torah and caused these traditions to become engraved on their hearts. In fact, the letters for the Hebrew word for “well”, “be’er”, are the same letters as the word for “interpretation”.

The oral traditions of the Torah were given concomitantly with the 24 written books of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. These include laws that are called “laws of Moses, from Sinai”, although not included in the Written Torah (contradicting the belief that the oral traditions were entirely a result of confusion of the law as a result of the passage of time.)

The Oral Torah is the ‘feminine’ recipient of the ‘masculine’ Written Torah…. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Chabad explains that the Oral Torah is the “feminine” recipient of the “masculine” Written Torah, as the Oral Torah fulfills the “feminine” function of developing each brief teaching from the Written Torah and nurturing it into full flower. When studying or reading the Written Torah, one recites a blessing over it even when he understands not one word, for the letters themselves are intrinsically holy and comprehension is secondary. On the other hand, if one does not comprehend what he is learning in the Oral Torah, he is not permitted to recite the blessing over Torah, as its study without comprehension does not constitute Torah study at all.

The above notwithstanding, Jews also approach the Oral Torah with simple faith that transcends logic. Thus, a Jew will not adjudicate Torah law according to his own logical conclusions if his opinion is contradicted by an earlier Torah sage, one whose legal opinions are accepted by most Jews as binding. The above holds true even when, according to the rules of logic, the person feels himself to be completely in the right. Unlike secular wisdom, Torah logic and faith go hand in hand.

Until Today: The well did not abandon the nation of Israel even after their entrance to the Land of Israel, as opposed to the Manna and the Clouds of Glory; in fact, it continues to contribute from its wondrous powers until this day. When they entered the Land under Joshua (on 10 Nissan, the anniversary of Miriam’s death), the well also entered the Land, where it became hidden:

“Rabbi Chiya said: whoever wishes to see Miriam’s Well should go up to the top of the Carmel and look out, and they will see a type of sieve in the [Mediterranean] sea.”According to another source, the well sank into the Sea of Galilee: “It happened that someone who suffered from boils went down to immerse in the waters in Tiberias; it was an opportune time, and he saw Miriam’s Well and washed in it and was healed”.

The Ari is said to have taken Rabbi Chaim Vital on a boat in the Sea of Galilee and given him a cup of this water to drink, after which Rabbi Chaim Vital was finally able to understand the teachings of his master.

Even in our day and age, “some have a tradition to draw water [from a well] Saturday night because Miriam’s Well supplies all the wells each Saturday night, and one who does so and drinks will be cured of illness”. Indeed, Miriam’s Well is said to feed the waters of Israel’s most important water reserve nowadays, the Sea of Galilee, while hidden in its depths.

This spiritual message was written by Rena S. Goldzweig

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

‘And what do you want?’ the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.. I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,’ he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

‘Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,’ Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. ‘He’s really, really sick….and I want to buy a miracle.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said the pharmacist.

‘His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?’

‘We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,’ the pharmacist said, softening a little.

‘Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.’

The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, ‘What kind of a miracle does your brother need?’

‘ I don’t know,’ Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money..’

‘How much do you have?’ asked the man from Chicago .

‘One dollar and eleven cents,’ Tess answered barely audible. ‘And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.’

‘Well, what a coincidence,’ smiled the man. ‘A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.’

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said ‘Take me to where you live. I want
to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.’

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

‘That surgery,’ her Mom whispered. ‘was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?’

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost….one dollar and eleven cents…plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need. A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

The Jewish teenager wrote about the tree in ”The Diary of Anne Frank,” which describes her life as she and her family hid from the Nazis during the Second World War. In her diary, Frank described going to the attic almost every morning to stare at the tree, and the little raindrops on its branches, and knowing she could always find happiness looking out at the sky.

Given where they were found and that their shape matches that of wartime instruments, it is “almost certain” that they were used by Auschwitz doctor Carl Clauberg, an obstetrician who experimented with the mass sterilization of women.

Focusing on the issues of Islamic gender and religious apartheid, the incessant demonization of Israel and the West and the pervasive multi-cultural relativist phenomenon of the Western academy and the feminist and progressive movement, Dr. Chesler was introduced by Elaine Sandler. Referring to Dr. Chesler as “a major commentator on today’s issues”, Ms. Sandler lauded her seminal scholarly exegesis on “honor killings” of Muslim women that appeared in both the 2009 and 2010 issues of The Middle East Quarterly.

Concerning the deafening silence of the Western feminist movement in the face of Islamic barbarism, Dr. Chesler said, “Unlike my former feminist colleagues, I am not a multi-cultural relativist who refuses to take a stand against such brutal misogynistic Islamic practices as female genital mutilation, stoning and immolation of women, beatings, forced marriages, child marriages and polygamy.”

She noted that as a result of her maverick positions on these issues, Dr. Chesler has been labeled a dissident in the feminist enclaves she once inhabited and has been subjected to acrimony and ad hominem attacks by her feminist peers. “While I still consider myself a radical feminist, I am shunned by my feminist colleagues” she ruefully observed, adding that, “I am on longer invited to speak at their conferences of functions and when I do speak I require bodyguards and my work is no longer reviewed in the mainstream media.”

Dr. Chesler attributes the reluctance to condemn Islamic atrocities against women among those in the Western feminist movement to being caught in the quagmire of political anachronisms. “They are terrified at the thought of being called a racist or being thought of as ‘politically incorrect’ and as such many of them are merely conformists. They still stand in staunch opposition to the Vietnam War and speak out against imperialism and colonialism. Issues that are no longer relevant.”.

Rather than confronting the stark and frightening realization of the burgeoning growth of radical Islam and the existential dangers that it represents to Western civilization, Dr. Chesler says that her former colleagues project their bellicosity on Israel and the West. “My ‘comrades’, if you will, have become Stalinized and Palestinianized. They demonize Israel as a Nazi-like, apartheid state and hurl invectives against Israel for doing everything that the Palestinians and the Muslim world are doing to women, homosexuals and anyone who practices a religious faith other than Islam.”

Dr. Chesler recollected that her fervent feminism was forged decades ago when she married a Westernized Muslim man that she met as an undergraduate student at Bard College in upstate New York. “I was only 20 and married my first love. He took me a grand adventure to European cities and then we arrived in his birthplace of Kabul, Afghanistan where we stayed with his family. Upon arrival my passport was immediately confiscated and I was forced to live in a “posh, European-type purdah existence.”

Her narrative includes a plethora of overt examples of oppression of women including ghastly memories of women who could not leave the house without a male guard. She also spoke of women who had to wait until men were served first and those living dank lives under the mandated hijab. Women and children were routinely persecuted and no health care was available to them, she said, including access to an OB/GYN. After experiencing the increasing abusiveness of her ostensibly Westernized Muslim husband and his devoutly Muslim family, Dr. Chesler recalls that she tried to escape several times but to no avail. A bout of hepatitis would lead her to finally depart from her Afghan captivity to make her way back to the United States.

“In the sphere of Islamism where they claim a political position and not a religious position, boys and men are considered guardians of female chastity and women are perceived as shameful sex objects and breeders. Homosexuality and pedophilia among males is a ubiquitous presence in the Muslim world and always has been,” she declared.

Speaking of the “wilding sprees” perpetrated by men against women in such Islamic countries as Egypt, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Dr. Chesler said that just about any woman in the Muslim world could be targeted for an honor killing by their men folk including their own husbands, brothers and fathers. She also addressed the collaboration of Islamic women in the persecution of their own gender. She recounted examples of mother-in-laws tormenting their daughter-in-laws as they had been barbarically tormented as young brides and the actions taken by these older women to lead the younger women to their death at the hands of the male hegemony.

“If your head scarf slips off, if you bring non-Muslim friends home, if you wear makeup, if you learn to drive a car, if you marry a non-Muslim, if you choose your own spouse without family approval, you can become a primary target for an honor killing”, she said. The list includes women who have been raped, those who commit adultery or those who are considered insubordinates by their families. These have also met their end at the hands of male relatives who believe the family honor has been shamed by the actions of these women.

Honor killings are not limited to Islamic countries in the Middle East says Dr. Chesler as she spoke about the alarming rise in such gruesome murders in Europe and North America. “The average age that a young girl will be honor murdered is only 17 and the average age of a woman who will be honor murdered is 36,” she said. Having meticulously studied over 230 honor killings with the inclusion of detailed statistics about the perpetrators, their locations and ages, Dr. Chesler concludes that most of these women experience draconian tortures and are gang raped by their male executors prior to being stabbed to death and then burned. “54 percent of these women were tortured before being murdered and 83 percent of girls under the age of 18 in Europe were viciously tortured before being put to death” she reported.

Before taking questions from the audience, Dr. Chesler concluded her presentation by saying, “Gender apartheid cannot be justified under any circumstance. The police and the media must accept their own refusal to deal with this” adding that this issue is “the greatest battle of the 21st century.”

The Aspen counterpoint conference also featured other speakers such as Bostonian Charles Jacobs, the founder of Americans for Peace and Tolerance. Mr. Jacobs addressed the issues of human rights and slavery in the Sudan and the use of “lawfare” to manipulate our democratic institutions and basic freedoms of speech.

R. James Woolsey, director of the CIA and Under Secretary of the Navy during the Clinton administration spoke of the power of petro dollars in permitting human rights abuses and reasons of national security for the campaign to move away from fossil fuels. The afternoon session included presentations by former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Jerusalem Post deputy managing editor and syndicated columnist Caroline Glick and journalist and documentary filmmaker, Khaled Abu Toameh who is an Arab Citizen of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and New York News and World Report.