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New Definition Of Chutzpah

Chutzpah is usually defined by the example of the boy who murdered both his mother and father and then asked the judge for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.

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A new definition: longtime Palestinian Authority spokesman and self-styled diplomat Saeb Erekat has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide but, like other PA officials, has benefited from medical treatment in Israeli hospitals, most recently earlier this month.

Arthur Horn
East Windsor, NJ 

Changing Times

How wonderful it was to see a Jewish group vocalizing Jewish songs at the World Trade Center on the sixth day of Chanukah, Monday, Dec. 18.

I would argue that the Jewish “voice” is stronger than ever. The superpower of the world has declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik marked the Chanukah ceremony in the White House with Jared and Ivanka looking on.

It’s time to say, “It doesn’t get any better than this,” especially after just celebrating the holiday that marks the spiritual triumph of the Jews.

The political climate is changing in favor of Israel, with Saudi Arabia, among other nations, lining up with Israel’s interests. The world is increasingly realizing that Israel is legitimate and not a scapegoat for unbridled abuse.

Let us acknowledge these “open” miracles.

Steven Genack
(Via E-Mail)

Editor’s Note: Mr. Genack is founder and editor of www.aishhaolam.com.

 

Patton’s Jew Hatred

Thanks to Saul Jay Singer for his riveting and disturbing article about Gen. Patton’s anti-Semitism (front-page essay, Dec. 22).

While history has always focused on Patton’s outstanding military career, his shocking anti-Semitism was evident in his personal letters and his abhorrent treatment of the Jews after the war ended. As Patton wrote in a letter quoted by Mr. Singer, “the Displaced Person is not a human being, and this applies particularly to the Jews, who are lower than animals.”

Singer’s detailed article gives example after example of Patton’s hatred for Jews. This certainly should color any feelings of pride in the general’s military accomplishments and it reopens an old debate: Should a person’s achievements be judged along with his character and morality or do these stand apart?

I link them together.

Helen Freedman
Co-executive Director
Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI

 

More On Tzitzis (I)

Last week, reader Hillel Adler criticized me for not treating the question of displaying one’s tzitzis as a halachic issue in my November 24 op-ed on the topic (“Tzitzis: In or Out?”). I didn’t do so because, as a practical matter, I don’t believe it is one.

To illustrate my point: Imagine a ba’al teshuvah inquiring as to whether he should end Shabbos approximately 45 minutes after shekiah (as per the opinion of most poskim) or 72 minutes after shekiah (as per the opinion of Rabbeinu Tam). Would you advise him to look up the halachic sources and make up his own mind? Or would you tell him to simply follow the minhag of the community he currently belongs to?

Presumably you would give him the latter reply – as you would someone asking about how long to wait between eating meat and milk; about sitting in a sukkah on Shemini Atzeres; about shaving one’s beard before marriage; about growing longer, bulkier peyos; about making Kiddush standing or sitting; and about women covering their hair with a hat/kerchief or a sheitel.

All these are halachic issues, but all have already been decided long ago by various poskim. Judaism does not start afresh each generation. A Jew need not – indeed, should not – treat every matter in Judaism as if it just arose yesterday. His duty is not to relitigate every halachic question. His duty, generally speaking, is to follow the minhag of his family/community and become a better Jew within the boundaries of that mesorah.

At its core, displaying one’s tzitzis may be a halachic issue, but at this point it’s a question of minhag. And a Jew who grows up in a German or Litvish family/community need not – arguably should not – start displaying his tzitizis any more than a Sephardic Jew should stop eating rice on Pesach.

This Jew can stand tall knowing he is following a well-established tradition rooted in the core Jewish imperative of walking modestly with one’s God.

Elliot Resnick
(Via E-Mail)

 

More On Tzitzis (II)

I have followed the discussion initiated by Elliot Resnick’s Nov. 24 op-ed about wearing tzitzis in or out and would like to bring your readers’ attention to the following from Rabbi Menachem Mendel Poliakoff’s sefer Minhagei Lita, page 64 (Rabbi Poliakoff studied in the Telshe Yeshiva before World War II):

We begin our discussion of specific laws and customs with the mitzvah of wearing tzitzis. The Shulchan Aruch rules that one should wear the tallis katan on top of the clothes. The Ari, however, disagrees, maintaining one should wear it under his shirt. This was the custom not only in Lithuania, including the yeshivas, but wherever Minhag Lita held sway, with the exception of some chassidic groups.

The Magen Avraham takes issue with the Ari’s decision, and concludes that even the Ari agrees to expose the actual fringes. Although the Mishnah Berurah agrees with the Magen Avraham, he does not mention that the prevailing custom in Lithuania does not follow the Magen Avraham. No one in Lithuania wore his tzitzis hanging out as people do today, not even the rabbonim, not even in Radin.

Professor Yitzchok Levine
Brooklyn, NY

Editor’s Note: Dr. Levine writes the popular Jewish Press monthly column Glimpses Into American Jewish History.

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