Rav Moshe Feinstein Wouldn’t Have Said That
In last week’s issue, the gadol and posek hador Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, was quoted as having said, “In Slabodka, they were makpid to dress neatly; you shouldn’t dress like a slob.”
Having had the z’chus to have spent much time with Rav Feinstein, I can say – and I’m sure the many multitudes of people who were privileged to be in his presence would agree – that a word like “slob” would never have been used by him.
Shmuel Boruch Tress
“Lubavitch” Bachur Murdered?
It’s a tragedy when anyone is murdered. Why does The Jewish Press feel the need to tell us which branch of chassidus the bachur on its front page followed (“Lubavitch Bachur Murdered,” Oct. 5)? If he was a misnaged, what would the headline have been?
Why wasn’t the headline simply “Bachur Murdered”?
Stuart Cohnen
New Hempstead, NY
No, Davening At Rav Nachman’s Kever Is Not Avodah Zarah
Last week, a letter to the editor asks if praying at the kever of Rav Nachman constitutes idol worship. I was born Chabad. If you read the English translation of the Maane Lashon – which is said at the kevarim of the sixth and seventh Lubavitcher Rebbes – you will see that it says, “In the zechus of these tzaddikim, we ask Hashem to grant our wishes…” Davening with these words in mind is not idol worship.
Many years ago (in the 1950s), the Lubavicther Rebbe told my father, Yisroel Chanowitz, a”h, that if you cannot visit the kever of a relative, or don’t know where he or she is buried, you should go to a kever of a tzaddik and pray, and the tefillah will get to where it needs to go.
Bentzion Ben Yisroel Chanowitz
Diaspora Jews Shouldn’t Be Buried in Israel
Kudos to The Jewish Press for addressing an important but sensitive topic (“Israel’s Burial Crisis: What Can Be Done?” by Rabbi David Brofsky, Oct. 5). Israel, a tiny and densely-populated country whose southern half is desert, cannot afford to increasingly set aside a large amount of arable land for cemeteries.
Many people, especially children, do not want to constantly view graves or live near them. Israel should be a land of the living – a dynamic and aesthetic country of orchards, schools, and factories. Cemeteries are idle land, dead spaces. It’s bad enough that Israel is being paved over with highways, diminishing the amount of green spaces and parks.
A first step in addressing this problem should be ending the practice of Diaspora Jews burying their loved ones in Israel (with the exception of distinguished personalities). In 2016, 1,590 foreigners were buried in Israel. Why weren’t they buried in the countries they lived in?
Tiny Israel cannot be a country of all things for all peoples. It can’t be a refuge for tens of thousands of African migrants and it can’t be a burial ground for Diaspora Jewry.
Jacob Mendlovic
Toronto, Canada
We Protested at Columbia
The scandalous tolerance by the administration of Columbia University for the menacing anti-Semitism unleashed on its campus is inexcusable. Fortunately, the university has a Students Supporting Israel (SSI) chapter, a group created to counter Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has intimidated pro-Israel students at Columbia.
This past Thursday, Americans for a Safe Israel joined with SSI in a demonstration outside Columbia, calling upon the administration to stop the dangerous displays of anti-Semitism on campus. Hopefully, it took notice.
Helen Freedman
Co-Executive Director
Americans for a Safe Israel
Mocking Personal Appearances Isn’t a “Left-Wing” Issue
Mr. Pager has once again penned an offensive column (“The Left’s Contempt for Middle Class Values”) in which he writes that the Left mocks personal appearance, religion, and values.
His article doesn’t contain a single mention of the many prominent Republicans, including President Trump himself, who have made a career of mocking women’s appearances and the values of many upstanding citizens. No one should mock another’s appearance or values, but this isn’t a “leftist” issue.
Shirley Pearl
The Democrats Just Care About Power
The hysterical chaos that swirled around the Kavanaugh confirmation was not about ideology. It was about power.
It is perfectly appropriate and beneficial for our republic to debate ideology. However, to viciously attack a man’s good name without any corroborated evidence for the sake of power is slanderous, libelous, and amoral.
I fear that this level of dirty play, if not remedied, will lead to civil war, much to our peril.
Jerrold Terdiman
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Women Are Never At Fault For Being Attacked
In your September 28 issue, you published a letter from a woman who wrote that she had been assaulted in high school. I was very sorry to learn that. But she also seemed to suggest that some victims might be at least partially responsible for being attacked because they weren’t dressed modestly.
I worked for non-profit agencies whose mission was to prevent sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence. Much to my surprise, I learned that the Jewish community contains both victims and perpetrators. I also learned that women all over the world are victimized, no matter how modestly they dress.
It’s the perpetrator who’s guilty – both legally and morally.
Sue Deutsch
New York, NY
Men Also Enjoy a Presumption of Innocence
While I commended The Jewish Press for publishing Betty Atlas-Rumelt’s letter (“Excusing Rape?” Sept. 28) as a tribute to its broad-mindedness, I find difficulty doing the same with regards to the letter of Charles Samuel Litwick (“Prager Is Wrong, Kavanaugh Is No Saint,” Oct. 5).
Litwick wrote: “Mr. Prager¹s article…fails to note that, if Judge Kavanaugh is indeed guilty, his persistent denial of the sexual assault and gaslighting of his accuser demonstrates misconduct today.” These words seem to imply that, by not admitting his guilt, Judge Kavanaugh must be guilty.
Of course, as Jerrold Terdiman wrote last week in a letter (“The Salem Witch Trials 2.0?” Oct. 5), the “burden of proof rests with the accuser…and the presumption of innocence must be preserved.” The alternative is to assume that every man is a potential rapist – i.e., guilty until proven innocent – and condemn any man against whom a woman with clear ulterior motives makes unverifiable allegations.
Thank G-d, the Senate showed some sense and wasn’t intimidated by the demands of political correctness.
Martin D. Stern
Salford, England
Not in My Name, President Trump!
Earlier this week, President Trump said, “On behalf of our nation, I would like to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure.”
Well, I am a member of this nation, and I do not allow Donald Trump to speak for me. He never asked me if I wanted him to.
I have had to endure the sadness of having a president who flip flops from one day to the next when he is not making extremely insensitive statements. During the primary season, he implicated the father of then-opponent Senator Ted Cruz in the Kennedy assassination, using The National Enquirer as his source.
I wish I could have reached out to Senator Cruz that night and apologized to him. But I would not have apologized on behalf of the entire nation because I can only speak for myself.
Alan Magill
Is That Cuomo’s Strategy – to Ignore Molinaro?
Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo is following the Rose Garden Strategy by ignoring underdog Republican challenger Marc Molinaro and refusing to participate in a series of debates with him. He adopted the same strategy for the Democratic primary by only participating in one debate at the 11th hour with his under-financed opponent Cynthia Nixon.
With less than five weeks to go until November 6, Cuomo will continue to run out the clock before agreeing to one or two debates. Statewide voter enrollment numbers favor Cuomo. There are 5,621,811 registered Democrats versus 2,632,341 registered Republicans. Cuomo has $11 million and will raise millions more. Molinaro, like Nixon, will be outspent by Cuomo 10 to 1.
If Cuomo continues to refuse to participate in series of debates, he should forfeit endorsements by media outlets.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, NY
Remember Ari Fuld
Ari Fuld was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist two days before erev Yom Kippur. To many of us, he was a hero – both in life and in death. To mark his shloshim, Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns has organized a public gathering outside the Israeli Consulate, 800 Second Avenue (at 42nd St.), on Wednesday, October 17, at 12:30 pm. Please join us.
For more information, call 718-796-4730 x102 or e-mail [email protected].
Glenn Richter
Spokesman, Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns