Opinion

The alarm rings. You shower, dress, and rush to shul. You return, wake your children, grab a bite, and catch the train. You navigate a stressful day of work, power through rush hour, drive mishmar carpool, manage homework (okay, this one depends on your child), make supper, attend a simchah, be menachem aveil, meet your chavrusa, attend shiur, daven Maariv (gasp) – you mean I must also vote? Yes, you do. We all do.

(As published in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles - October 2, 2022)

 The decision to bar “Zionist” speakers from meetings of student groups at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law has been described by some critics as creating “Jewish-free zones,” as during the Holocaust.

 Author’s Note: To Rabbi Schonfeld: Ask and ye shall receive. To everyone else: If I ever get my act together enough, I will complete the book I’ve been working on for the past 18 months. Until then, here is an excerpt.

I’m going to depart from my normal column format to speak directly to the readers of the Queens Jewish Link.  I want to share some observations I have made of the electoral season ahead of the all-important midterms, both as a columnist and as an organizer.

As Jews around the world conclude a month of atonement, festivities, and reflection while gearing up to restart the biblical cycle over again, it is incumbent upon all to take stock of the mistakes of the past year in order to rectify, repent, and reevaluate priorities and plans for the coming year.  Problems that are solvable can only be done once those problems are recognized, and recognition of our own failings is the first step towards repentance.  In fact, it is impossible to fix a problem unless a powerful first step is taken: admitting you have one.

The past month of chagim has been a time of uncertainty for observant Jews. Turn on the phone after two days and one cannot imagine who could be making the latest outrageous statement, and the number of likes, retweets, and shares for such insults.