Opinion

An Open Letter to Rabbis and Congregants Across the USA

Dear Editor:

I hope this letter finds you all as well as can be, considering the fact that the Jewish people everywhere are fighting for our very existence. I live in Israel, and I myself have three sons and one son-in-law who have been sent to the front lines. The truth is that there is not a child in this country whose safety can be guaranteed even in his own bed. There is no need for me to elaborate. Social media has brought all these atrocities into every single home across the globe.

Dear Editor:

 There are a lot of expenses associated with a frum lifestyle: large families, yeshivah tuition, camps, and kosher food, to name a few. The Biden-induced, record inflation has not helped matters. I would like to call attention to one staple food product that nearly all frum homes consume: chicken. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of non-kosher chicken between 2010 and 2020 ranged between $3 and $3.60 per pound. Over that time period, the price of kosher chicken was fairly steady, too, between $4.00 and $4.50 per pound. Soon after Biden took office, the price of non-kosher chicken skyrocketed to a high of $4.75. The price of non-kosher chicken now stands around $4.15/lb. Can anyone then explain the $7.99 average price for kosher chicken in New York?

Dear Editor:

The death and destruction our nation experienced last week on a scale not seen since the days of the Holocaust have left many with a feeling of hester panim, of Hashem proverbially hiding His face from His nation. How could this massacre happen? Israel has all the technological advances to prevent the type of attack that occurred, yet when Hashem makes a decree, none of seemingly impenetrable protections will work to prevent the horrors inflicted by Hamas animals. And perhaps that is the point. I’m not a navi and obviously do not know why all this occurred, but perhaps Hashem is telling us to look upwards towards Him.

Dear Editor:

 Susie Garber’s article (“You’re Going Where??”) on her North Dakota encounter brought back memories of a visit there four years ago by my late colleague Henry Gerber of Bayside and me. Why? Because my wife Lenore’s paternal grandfather, Rabbi Abraham Wolfson, was a traveling rabbi there 95 years ago.

Dear Editor:

Here’s a quick math problem! Take an 18-foot, 1,500-square-foot KGH home and divide it by three adults and two children. What do you get? A mess! Wet towels strewn across the floor, enough water bottles to solve the water problems in every arid region in the world, computer cords entangled on tables and the floor, and enough Barbies to populate a Bais Yaakov.

Dear Editor:

 This past Friday afternoon, about one hour before candle-lighting, I was flipping channels on the TV and I happened upon channel 219, which is the Jewish Broadcast Service (JBS). The Friday Night Service from Central Synagogue in Manhattan (Reform) was being telecast. I was very curious, as I had never seen a Reform service before, and I watched for a few minutes. (I sincerely hope I did not violate any halachah by watching Reform services for a few minutes.)