Vote To Stop The Danger
Dear Editor:
This coming Tuesday, June 24, is a very important election for New York City. It is the primary for the mayoral election. I strongly urge everyone to vote for Cuomo, at least in the primary. I am well aware many of us are angry at him for shutting down our shuls during COVID and for the nursing homes. However, this is not the time to bring that up.
There is a sonei Yisrael running for mayor who called for a ceasefire on October 8 — yes, October 8, the day after October 7 — before there was even a war. He called for Israel not to attack Hamas and not to try to get the hostages released.
This sonei Yisrael has also called Haifa “occupied territory” and met with members of Hamas in 2021. We cannot allow this sonei Yisrael to become mayor. We must defeat him now. We cannot risk him running in November.
Everyone must vote for Andrew Cuomo now and defeat the sonei Yisrael. After Cuomo wins the primary, then in November you may vote for Adams or Sliwa or whomever you want. But if the sonei Yisrael is on the ballot in November, he might very well become the next mayor. Let us all get together and defeat the sonei Yisrael now.
If the sonei Yisrael wins, the entire city could become like Columbia University. It will be free anti-Semitism on the Jew.
Howard Schoenfeld
The Mikvah for Men
Dear Editor:
Every Sunday evening, there is a Tanya shiur at the Chabad House in Queens. At 9:30 p.m., we daven Maariv.
A few weeks ago, as I was getting ready to go home, I happened to notice the many volumes of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh (holy letters). I picked out a volume at random and opened it. An elderly Lubavitcher gentleman was nearby, and I asked him to read the letter to me.
The letter was dated June 5, 1984. It had been written to a chasid and addressed the importance of building mikvaos in every community. The Rebbe detailed the measurements of the mikvah and emphasized the significance of concentrating on the mitzvah during immersion.
The elderly man turned to me and asked, “What do you have to do with mikvaos?”
I replied honestly that I usually don’t immerse myself in a mikvah. I closed the book, placed it back on the shelf, and went home.
On Friday mornings, I usually attend the 7:30 a.m. minyan at the Young Israel of Hillcrest. As I left the house that morning, my wife reminded me not to forget the challahs for Shabbos. That day, I happened to take a different route to pick them up. As I passed the community mikvah, I suddenly remembered that about five months earlier, my wife had given me several new dishes to tovel (immerse) – and they had been sitting in my trunk ever since.
As I parked, I glanced over at the men’s mikvah on the other side of the building. The water was crystal clear, and I could smell the freshness of the towels stacked nearby.
In that moment, I felt an unexpected yet powerful urge to immerse myself. The experience was holy, uplifting, and truly exhilarating.
Afterwards, I picked up the challahs and returned home. Since that day, I’ve made a point to visit the mikvah at every opportunity – all thanks to that evening when I randomly opened the Rebbe’s Igros and my soul became deeply connected to the mitzvah of mikvah.
May we all continue to study Torah and observe mitzvos until the arrival of Mashiach Tzidkeinu.
Yosef Mordechai Gati
In The Whispering Wind
A bullet galloped –
and severed the cord,
the sacred bond not yet ignored.
I cried, “He’s still attached!” –
but Heaven had already dispatched.
“He is holy!” I cried aloud,
gathering my grief, unbowed.
It’s beyond the reach of mortal mind,
this sacrifice we leave behind.
And how shall we tell the weeping mother,
watching from the heights above –
that hatred claimed the life of another?
But vengeance shall rise by the L-rd’s own hand,
for the child born lifeless in this land.
A soul now wanders, body denied,
pure and gentle, yet cast aside.
A dwelling it surely will be given –
perhaps, for now, beneath wings in Heaven.
Amitai Anaki
Graduation Blues
Dear Editor:
It’s that time of year again. Don’t worry; no one will make you take the Geometry Regents exam again. (Thank goodness!) Instead, I’m referring to college graduation. I’m sure we all remember that auspicious occasion. We’re going to analyze the ceremony by going into the heads of all the attendees.
First, there’s the college graduate – himself, herself, or themselves. Perhaps he’s wondering how he passed all the final exams of courses he pushed off to the last semester. Music Appreciation, anyone? Maybe she’s wondering what good Beowulf and Shakespeare are in the job market. Then there are those graduates who are looking forward to their upcoming nuptials, or those anticipating making aliyah – not to Israel necessarily, but to the Upper West Side or Washington Heights.
Then there are the proud parents who are shepping nachas or wondering about the huge tuition bill they now have to start paying off. Yes, their children made it into law school, dental school, or medical school – but who is going to foot the bill? Maybe, despite endless pleas, their child decided to become a librarian or social worker. (My best friends are social workers and librarians.) So, if you see sweat trickling down the faces of some of the parents, it’s not from the hot auditorium.
Finally, there’s the special graduation speaker. He or she may be a politician, an actor, a writer, or a celebrity. Don’t think this person has it easy. How often can you say, “Go out and conquer the world!”?
How often can you quote Mark Twain? I guess you can get AI to write some inspirational speech. After all, who’s going to check to make sure you didn’t come up with the original idea?
Debbie Horowitz
Harvard’s Shame
Dear Editor:
For Mr. Hecht to come to the defense of Harvard University demonstrates his ignorance of its history and his lack of moral clarity. It is quite shocking that he would even try. In the early 1920s, Harvard put a quota on the number of Jews it would accept. Did you know that, Mr. Hecht? Ernst F.S. Hanfstaengl, a Nazi and Harvard alumnus, spoke on campus in the mid-1930s. The university was extremely sympathetic to the Nazi regime and tried to paint what was taking place in Europe in the 1930s and ’40s in a positive light. Did you know that, Mr. Hecht?
The fact that the university has a serious anti-Semitism problem on its campus today should be enough for every Jew to protest against Harvard. Go ask Shabbos Kestenbaum or Professor Alan Dershowitz what it’s like to be a Jew at Harvard today.
Mr. Hecht, Harvard is a bastion of bigotry. It was racist against the acceptance of Asian students. There is no freedom of expression on campus, as conservatives are not free to debate. It is a breeding ground for Marxists and Islamist sympathizers. That is why the administration is targeting foreign students on campus. You don’t get to come to America and trash America simply because you’re on a university campus.
Harvard is a private university with a $53-billion endowment. Why should any of our tax dollars go to Harvard? They’re pretty good at fundraising and can afford to cover their own research costs. If Mr. Hecht wants to donate his money to Harvard, he is free to do so. I, for one, am glad that my federal tax dollars are no longer going to a disgusting, amoral cesspool. It is the only way universities across the country will learn that Jews matter.
Shalom Markowitz
