Paid Workers Needed
Dear Editor:
Yes! Yes! Absolutely yes. Chani A. wrote the truth last week about how disappointed my family and others are in the teenagers and older members of the community.
I speak for myself and two of my friends. All of us have children with special needs. Hamaspik doesn’t have enough people signed up who live in KGH to help all of us. Even if teenagers aren’t available or don’t want to make themselves available—I, too, have heard, “I don’t know if I can come. Call me the night before…” or have gotten straight-out no’s. When I am able to find a babysitter—or should I say, a responsible person that I feel comfortable leaving my child with—I’m paying $15 or $20 an hour! We have respite hours for a reason. Respite pays, but because no one has signed up, I am forced to pay out of pocket. Hamaspik pays well. They can’t pay if no one signs up with them!
I’m asking those who are retired as well. If you’re looking for part-time work that is rewarding, sign up to be a respite worker. My child doesn’t need extra special care. He’s nonverbal but understands everything. He lets everyone around him know what he wants and when. It doesn’t have to be teenagers. But if it is a teenager, please don’t be a no-show on Shabbos because of a little rain or snow. I’m not referring to harsh weather, but a little sprinkle or a few snowflakes. Here I am, waiting for my son to be picked up so I can have a rest—but because it’s raining, no one shows up. And I only find out because the time of pickup has come and gone.
Shalom bayis is affected—Chani was correct about that. If the mother is too exhausted because of lack of sleep (my child’s sleep cycles cause him to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m.), who will care for the other children as they need to be cared for? I go to work every day with a cup full of caffeine—it’s the only way to make it through the day. My husband and I don’t even go out for a quiet night, because most of the time I can’t find a sitter and Hamaspik doesn’t have anyone available in the area.
I’m asking for anyone with available time—teens and older adults—to sign up with Hamaspik. Help your neighbors. And for the unofficial organizations Chani referred to—she’s right. They aren’t real help, and we need real help. It seems they only work when it’s convenient. But we need help all year round, especially on Shabbos and the Yomim Tovim.
Please sign up and help your neighbors. There is no official organization here helping Queens families. We have to help each other. We may look like we have it all together and aren’t suffering or need help—but we do!
Leah Shemtov
The Day After And What To Do
Dear Editor:
The media in Orthodox circles was lighting up all over the Internet after it was announced that Mamdani won, with all kinds of panic posts, including talk about packing up and fleeing from New York City. Before one gives up all hope, though, it’s important to take a deep breath and figure out how we got here. And is Mamdani really that different from other left-wing candidates like de Blasio, AOC, and even Cuomo, who have brought New York to its knees since Giuliani left office?
Before packing your bags and relocating to Florida (that is, if you can afford it), remember that moving anywhere is just kicking the can down the road unless we learn from what happened here in NYC. It’s important to remember that even in Florida, DeSantis only won by a slim margin several years back against a very bad opponent on the left. Then there are others in our communities who say we just have to daven to Hashem now and hope for the best.
Now, of course, I am all for davening to Hashem to help get us out of this mess. However, I have a feeling that Hashem would like us to stop voting for anti-Torah and anti-G-d candidates for a change. Unfortunately, there appears to be a Democratic stronghold in our communities in blue states that pushes the Democratic ticket over and over again because they feel they can get more money and favors from them for their institutions or businesses. This unhealthy mindset needs to stop unless we want what happened in NYC to happen all over the country. It’s not enough just to daven and then subsequently send out a list to the community every year with a bunch of Democratic candidates to support—and it can’t always be about the money.
The Rosh Yeshivah of Lakewood said many years ago not to take any money from these people. He was more flexible right after the Holocaust when people were destitute, but at this point there’s no excuse. Rav Avigdor Miller said the same thing. The Democrats are in bed with Marxists who want to transform America as we know it.
So what can we do at this point for those panicking and feeling very vulnerable and afraid right now? This is no time to panic. This is a time to be strong and fight to save our country. The cozy relationship our communities have had with the Democrats needs to stop because they have enabled the Mamdanis and AOCs to grow and thrive all over our country. One thing you can do is support Elise Stefanik to become the next governor of New York in 2026. Another is to support candidates with conservative values for your local school boards, city councils, and courts. These positions are important in helping transform your city back to common-sense values and principles. It’s also essential to fight for candidates who promote school choice, because right now your taxpayer money is funding $30,000 per year per child for government-run schools that are basically “madrassas” producing woke students without critical thinking skills who can become future voters and leaders of the new socialist Democratic Party. Finally, we also need to stop crony and corporate capitalism that distorts honest capitalism and has destroyed the American Dream for many hardworking people.
So the people of New York, as well as other blue states, have their work cut out for them. Hopefully, though this is a hard lesson, it will motivate people to do the right thing and help turn our country around—bringing it back to Judeo-Christian values and an America that is safe and affordable again.
Rebecca Chesner
Dr. Alvin Kass: Correcting the Record
Dear Editor:
I read with interest your recent feature on Dr. Alvin Kass, the recently deceased NYPD chaplain, in last week’s QJL.
I must, however, correct a number of serious errors in it.
It relates that he studied at YU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Actually, that school is part of NYU, not YU. Also, it states that he received YU’s Eugene J. Keogh Award for Distinguished Public Service. Once again, that award is given by NYU (alumni association), not YU. Just one letter may differentiate NYU from YU, but behind the letters, they are very different institutions.
Along with confusing NYU with YU, in general, the piece gives the impression that Dr. Kass was a traditional Orthodox rabbi, which is quite incorrect. In fact, he was a JTS grad, leader of the East Midwood Jewish Center Conservative Temple in Brooklyn for decades, who was heavily involved in transforming it into an egalitarian Conservative congregation some years ago.
Let us be careful with our reading and writing, as even one letter can make a big difference, as we saw in this case.
Sincerely,
M.S.,
Brooklyn, NY
Dear Editor:
Most of us saw the results of the mayoral election as a foregone conclusion, so we’re not all that surprised. However, we were so focused on the election that we lost sight of the bigger issue.
We Jews had a nisayon here, and we failed miserably. Most of us didn’t see it at all, and some of us only saw it when it was too late. No matter which candidate won, we lost.
From the start of election season, we had pundits screaming at each other and at us. They called people names and talked down to anyone who dared disagree with them or even just question them. They demonized people with such slogans as “A vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani,” and they justified it with their logic.
Worse, we let them. We let the screaming pundits take over. No one stepped up and called for any real communication. No one said that the talking down, name-calling, and demonizing were wrong and that we needed to pay attention to each other’s questions and concerns. Even when people brought up concerns about any candidate, they got dismissed with screams of “It’s not about how you feel.” And with the slogans and demonizing people, no one pointed out that logic doesn’t make it right.
And what about the Jews who voted for Mamdani? We dismissed them as stupid and foolish. We made no effort to reach out to them, let alone find out what their concerns were and try to address them.
If we had paid attention to people’s concerns and really listened to each other instead of just letting the screaming drown us all out, we might have accomplished something good. And even Mamdani’s victory wouldn’t be leaving us quite so scared. But we didn’t even try. And now we got the outcome that we deserve.
And it’s not getting better now. The finger-pointing has started, and it’s just as bad as the demonizing that went on before.
So now what? Will any of us step up now and try for real communication? Will anyone acknowledge the nastiness and take responsibility, whether it’s for screaming it out and dismissing people, or for calmly going along with it, or for just not stepping up and demanding better?
We spent this election season tearing each other apart, and we left ourselves with a lot of wounds that run deep. Will we be able to heal them?
Sincerely,
Meira E. Schneider-Atik
Chesed
Dear Editor:
To piggyback off what Chani A. wrote last week—this community needs to step up and do more to help families in need. I see what my friend goes through with her special needs child. She’s balancing other children, work, family, and responsibilities. At the end of the day, there is nothing left. She has been lucky to find a respite worker, but if that worker has a prior commitment or family obligation, my friend is frantic to find a replacement. I’m not only speaking to the teens in KGH—but what about those with time on their hands because they’re retired? Those not working and who don’t still have kids of their own at home?
My mother-in-law volunteers to drive people to doctor appointments and has told her neighbors to call on her anytime they are running late and can’t meet the school buses or can’t find a babysitter—and my mother-in-law doesn’t want money. She wants to help those who need it, and it helps her keep busy and makes her feel useful.
Yes, I know high schools require students to do a certain amount of chesed per year. But signing up with Hamaspik and getting paid is also a chesed. A chesed doesn’t have to be for free—if something is needed and you can help, then help. High school girls and boys can be stressed with school or have other responsibilities, but what about those who are mostly not busy during the days or evenings?
It’s horrible to hear that parents and family suffer because volunteers don’t show up in the rain. These girls are the lifeline the parents have been waiting for all day! And to say, “Call me the day before if you can’t get anyone else…” I’m sorry—be responsible. It’s part of adulting. If someone calls and asks for a favor to babysit—if you say yes and agree to it, then you have plans that night. So when friends call, you can say, “Sorry, I’m busy.”
I see what my friend goes through. I take her kids out with mine when we go to the pizza shop or to the park or shopping for groceries. I try to lighten her load. It’s not easy, but it’s what I can do for my friend.
KGH, we need to rally and help our neighbors. If Hamaspik doesn’t have enough respite workers to help all the KGH/Queens families in need, let’s see if we can do something about it. This isn’t about pledging or donating money. It’s about pledging yourself to help another Yid. It may not be convenient for you, but how convenient is it to be on call 24/7 for your special needs child and other children and your job and errands? It’s hard. It’s all hard. Let’s help.
Wanda Goldberg
Spoiler
Dear Editor:
Now that the mayoral election is over, we must live with the tragic result. The Queens community worked very hard to campaign for Cuomo—work that, even though I’m a lifelong Republican, I am proud to have been part of. I applaud the efforts of my fellow Cuomo supporters who worked tirelessly for the campaign, especially as Election Day approached. You know who you are.
However, the support given to Sliwa in KGH during the campaign disturbs me. He never had a chance of winning this election, and his role could only have been that of a spoiler to help Mamdani get elected. That was obvious from the beginning of the campaign. In NYC, it is virtually impossible for a Republican to be elected mayor—even a far better, more accomplished one than Sliwa. The days of Giuliani and Bloomberg are long gone. Moreover, this was not a normal election; having multiple candidates run against a dangerous candidate like Mamdani had the potential to end in disaster, which it surely did. The race had to be one-on-one to avoid a Mamdani win. The New York Republican establishment and virtually all rational-thinking Republicans wanted Sliwa out of the race. Republican donors threatened to withhold money from the party if he stayed in. Sliwa was offered huge sums of money and his choice of jobs to leave the race. Maybe he was offered even more to stay in by nefarious sources—who knows? Was it really necessary to have a “9/11 Memorial” (really a campaign rally) featuring Sliwa in KGH, encouraging our neighbors to support him, or for this publication to run positive articles on him?
As it stands now, Sliwa came very close to being a spoiler. If Cuomo’s and Sliwa’s vote totals are added together, there’s less than a two-point difference between that total and Mamdani’s votes. Further, Sliwa constantly bashed Cuomo during debates and campaign appearances, likely reducing support for him. Trump having to get involved in the election to stop Sliwa might have turned off some Democrats who planned to vote for Cuomo. Therefore, much of the blame for this disaster goes to Sliwa and his supporters. Had Sliwa withdrawn from the race in a timely manner, we very well might have avoided this catastrophe and had Cuomo as our mayor-elect.
Arlene Ross
Forest Hills
Never Again?
Dear Editor:
It is very disheartening to see how many mispalelim rush out of shul at the end of davening as Tehilim are recited for the welfare of the Jewish people around the world.
The Gaza war may be officially over, but sporadic terrorist attacks against Jews still continue globally.
A few seconds of additional prayer is the least we should do for our endangered brothers and sisters.
Henry Moscovic
Flushing, NY
Dear Editor:
I appreciate Moshe Hill using his column last week to address the debate Republicans are having about platforming antisemites just a few months after he declared that those elements have been firmly rejected. Of course, he did use it as an excuse to bash Democrats by attempting to define them as the party that has been taken over by extremists. As many Republicans are doing, he tries to paint it as strictly the party of Bernie, AOC, and Mamdani. However, he runs into the problem that Bernie has failed in his national races, AOC is just a member of the House, and Mamdani has only beaten some seriously flawed candidates in a city that is solidly to the left of most Democrats. So to get around that, he promotes the conspiracy theories that Democrat party leaders held Bernie back in 2016 through the use of superdelegates and in 2020 by having other candidates drop out. But Hillary got four million more votes than Bernie and would have won even without the superdelegates, and in 2020 Biden almost doubled Bernie’s votes, so to imply that Bernie was actually the candidate of choice is just at odds with the facts. To date, progressives are much better at generating press than at winning races that would indicate a takeover of the party. That’s not to say that AOC or some other progressive will not be the Democratic nominee in 2028, but that’s in the future—not in Mr. Hill’s imagined past.
Conversely, on the Republican side, Donald Trump has actually won three straight nominations. Mr. Hill tries to prove that the party has not given in to extremism by citing a couple of examples where Trump is to the left of traditional conservatives. But Trump’s extremism is not where he falls under the traditional right-to-left spectrum—it’s in how he has altogether shattered that spectrum. The party doesn’t have any ideological coherence, as it’s just a cult beholden to Trump’s whims. Are you a conservative who believes in free speech and free markets? Do you believe in states’ rights and oppose federal government overreach? Trump acts in ways that are antithetical to those principles, and the Republican establishment just yawns. They call Democrats socialists as Trump strong-arms companies into giving the government a piece of the pie. And of course, they’re all working to cover up the Epstein files at Trump’s behest while looking the other way at his out-in-the-open corruption. Any dissent is stifled by fear of facing Trump’s ire and getting primaried by a MAGA sycophant.
I also don’t know what bubble Mr. Hill is living in if he believes that Trump’s policies are “extremely popular.” The large bills he passed in each of his terms polled badly, as do his ongoing tariff shenanigans. His immigration policies are generally popular, but he has overplayed his hand there by using increasingly draconian measures.
Mr. Hill claims that the Democrats have moved away from Clinton and Obama voters, but the non-progressive wing still has a heavy presence. Meanwhile, any Reagan conservative who has refused to sell out and toe the MAGA line has been attacked and often driven from the party. That’s pretty extreme to me.
Regards,
Yaakov Ribner
Pinchas
Dear Editor:
My biblical hero has always been Pinchas. He made a decision and acted upon it. There was no hesitancy. He never said, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Not to compare, but I’m a nervous Nelly. When I go to a fancy restaurant (not on my dime), it takes me from 6 p.m. to closing time to decide what I want to order. I come in wanting a salad, but I don’t like chickpeas or red onions. I’d opt for lasagna, but I’ll pay the price later. Sometimes I just copy what the others at the table eat, or I’ll go for something simple and less expensive.
Returning to the nervous theme, I’m quick to make a decision but often the wrong one. I’ll decide to have my floors done, but then I’ll worry that I’ll slip on them. I’ll decide to chop off my hair and then spend the next two months regretting my decision. I guess you can call me impulsive. That might explain the bright pink coat that I purchased last year in honor of Barbie. I’ve since given it away.
So when it comes to major decisions, I’m fairly nervous. I mention this since November is my wedding anniversary. We got engaged in May, but back then, a six-month engagement was de rigueur. Admittedly, I was incredibly nervous, but miraculously, as the date got closer, I got calmer. However, I chickened out of an elective surgery since I was too nervous to go through with it.
If I had someone packing my house for me and filling out reams of paperwork for Nefesh B’Nefesh, I’d be in Israel already. So, Pinchas, are you available?
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
There are a few takeaways from the results of the elections. The first is that the open-border policies of the Democrats have changed the electorate. The large populations of Muslim immigrants are affecting our elections. They are all voting Democrat. They are not assimilating into whatever is left of American culture.
A second takeaway is that the inhabitants of blue cities and blue states are morally bankrupt. Those of us on the right—and Rabbi Schonfeld brilliantly laid it out last week—see that we now have a growing cancer among us. However, we have strong voices that call out and condemn these individuals: Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. While they may gain some notoriety from the left-owned media, they will never gain any power in the conservative movement.
This is the opposite of the left. The left embraced two women who ran on allowing someone with XY chromosomes to go into a bathroom with those who have XX chromosomes. The Virginia governor-elect could not denounce or force the man running for attorney general to resign following grotesque messages he wrote about murdering a Republican and his family. Currently, there is a Senate candidate in Maine who has a Nazi tattoo. Not a single leader in the Democratic Party or from the DNC has forced this man to withdraw his candidacy.
The left is now owned by the Democratic Socialists of America and CAIR, a Hamas front group. There are no moderates—only Marxists who hate America and hate capitalism. Look at California. It has huge deficits. It cannot manage its forests. They didn’t even have water in hydrants to put out the massive Palisades fires. The regulations in the state are stifling business growth. Electricity and gas costs are through the roof. This is what Virginia and New Jersey voted for. These are the people Democrats want as their elected representatives.
The Democrats still fail to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government. Healthcare is not in the U.S. Constitution. It is not an inherent right granted by G-d, regardless of what Senator Bernie Sanders or AOC says. Socialist medicine does not work. Obamacare is a failure. However, once something is subsidized by the federal government, it becomes eternal and never taken away. Instead of allowing the market system to dictate healthcare costs and insurance coverage, the Democrats insist that Republicans pay for the healthcare of illegals and jack up the national debt by $1.5 trillion. So, the Democratic Party is blackmailing the country over spending that they—and only they—deem necessary.
Shalom Markowitz
Mei Erev Ad Erev
My sukkah fell down on Chol HaMoed. With the wind and rain forecast, I could have taken it apart and put it away, but instead I rebuilt it and installed straps to keep it secure. Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Chol HaMoed, is considered the end of the Yomim Nora’im season. It is an auspicious day: one last chance to hold the lulav, one last opportunity to sit in the sukkah, one last day before the Gates of Teshuvah firmly shut until next year.
I woke up on Hoshanah Rabbah morning to the long-anticipated news that the surviving hostages were finally free. Like a light bulb illuminating a dark room, the miracles that occurred since the terrible Simchas Torah massacre have suddenly become clear. In two years, the looming threats of Iran, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Gaza have been defanged. We suffered the excruciating loss of nearly a thousand chayalim; in exchange, we have decimated the Gaza tunnel networks, destroyed stockpiles of weapons, and turned staging areas and bases into rubble.
And now, the surviving hostages have finally come home — just in time for Simchas Torah, this time a complete simchah for the first time in two years.
But before we go back to our jobs and our schools, Hashem has one last request of us. We sat outside in the sukkah and endured heat and humidity, cold and rain. We endured the weather with grace and humility, thankful that we could perform this mitzvah.
Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah is the capstone of the Tishrei chagim. Now, during Shemini Atzeres, it’s our turn to invite Hashem into our house. Mar Cheshvan is coming up - a month that brings us back into our routine; we get complacent. But the special holiday of Shemini Atzeres reminds us that even in the cold autumn, even during the mundane chol, Hashem is still with us. Hashem wants us to remember Him.
Sprinkled throughout the liturgy of Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah are references to Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The nusach for Tefilas Geshem, the prayer for rain that begins the daily inclusion of “Mashiv HaRuach,” is traditionally sung with the ancient tunes associated with Yom Kippur. Maariv on Simchas Torah night is recited with the Maariv tune of Rosh HaShanah, reminding us that the excitement and joy of Simchas Torah are spiritual in nature and should not be replaced with levity. In exchange for sitting in shul, davening and fasting on Yom Kippur, we are rewarded with a day of dancing and singing in shul on Simchas Torah.
Simchas Torah morning at my shul was typically packed. In addition to the regular crowd, there were older elementary boys, some nearly bar mitzvah age. I gave each of them a few minutes to carry the Torah during dancing. The expressions on their faces made it all worth it. Each boy, during his turn, had a glow on his face — an expression of awe and delight.
I was reflecting on this a while later when I held my four-year-old during Kol HaNearim. The true spirit of Simchas Torah is not just the singing or the dancing (or the excellent kidush). The children are everything. It’s all about the future — the next generation. I still recall Simchas Torah a long time ago; I must have been seven or eight when I received my first ever aliyah. Marvin (a”h) draped a talis over my shoulder and showed me how to read the brachos. On that day, just for a few moments, I became a full-fledged member of the minyan. And now I’m recreating that memory with my preteen, who got his own aliyah today.
And after that, holding my youngest with the congregation singing Hamalach HaGoel in the background, I whispered a quiet tefilah that my children should grow up as I did — imbued with the joy of Torah.
May we be zocheh to carry the spiritual highs of the Yomim Nora’im with us, mei erev [from the night of Motzaei Simchas Torah] ad erev [to Motzaei Shabbos Selichos] next year.
Yedidya Hirschhorn
Dear Editor:
I’m writing regarding the letter from a mother (Chani A.) of a special needs child in the November 6 edition. She described her difficulty in finding respite care here in KGH. I wanted to know if you could please forward her these suggestions:
Shevach High School – Speak to Mrs. Grunblatt, who runs the chesed department.
Go Forward – An agency that deals with respite care.
Comfort Health – Another agency that provides similar services.
My own daughter worked for one of these agencies while she was in high school, doing exactly what this mother seems to be looking for, and I know some of her friends did as well. Perhaps this information will be helpful to her.
Thanks so much!
Ruchie Grossman
