Libi BaMizrach

I have been writing on this blog more frequently lately, mainly as a result of a regular column that I have been asked to contribute to the  Queens Jewish Link , the local Jewish newspaper.  In response to a my recent essay " A Post-Hareidi Election  ", the QJL received the following rather strong letter to the editor.  My response follows. by Shimon  Davis Having been in Queens for Pesach, I had the opportunity to come across an issue of the Queens Jewish Link (#30). While I was quite impressed with the overall content of the paper, I was also rather disturbed with two of the articles appearing in it, one of which was authored by a Rabbi in one of the Queens shuls. Although this author’s statements were made public, I have chosen not to mention his name since I noticed that he decided to quote public statements from several gedolei yisroel without mentioning their names. And while I do agree that the actions of certain minority group...

In the last edition of the Queens Jewish Link I had the honor of having my essay, “ A Post –Hareidi Election” published, and I am gratified to report that I received a lot of positive feedback from our readers. As I wrote then, the opinions presented were not new or novel, but merely expressed views that are shared by a great many, who, for whatever reason, are reluctant to state them publicly. Indeed, there is a great middle ground of serious people who are now referred to as “Chareidi”, who feel repelled by many of the statements and actions of Chareidim spokesmen and activists, and wish they were not associated with these statements and actions in the court of public opinion. Put another way, while others may express themselves as they wish, and take responsibility for their own bringing honor to Hashem and His Torah (or Heaven forfend the reverse), we should not be implicitly or explicitly blamed or implicated for those actions by our association. In particular, I was ...

Well, it has finally happened. It looks like the dust has settled, and the new government in Israel is about to form. Contrary to all the trumpeting self-congratulatory talk following the last election – when the Hareidi parties boasted that they had gained more power than ever with 18 seats between UTJ & Shas, based on which they were in a great position to influence the Israeli politic to their desires – they have been left out of the coalition to lick their wounds and fear what is in store the Hareidi sector. And it was so pathetically predictable. We have been, and will be treated to more and more talk about how everyone else is to blame for this turn of events: Shas head Aryeh Deri placed the blame on Binyamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu placed the blame on Naftali Bennet, and so on and so forth. But the greatest amount of blaming came from Hareidi spokesmen against Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid. The invective and vitriol was intense. Bennett’s Bayit Hayehudi (Jewish Hom...

Well, it was certainly a new experience – I have become a “shver” (father-in-law). There are moments in life that force you to come to grips with the fact that time is marching on. Once upon a time, I felt that I would be a teenager forever. Marriage and children came with Hashem's help, and then Lonni and I were considered a “young couple”. (Actually, I turned from an “alter bochur” into a “Yunger Man”). Eventually, (after a few gray hairs? Upon achieving some career milestone? Looking around at all the “stuff” that has been accumulated in one's home?) reality sets in that “middle age” has arrived. Ready or not, here we are. I had been in denial of this for a long time. Despite the fact that I have four younger sisters that are ב”ה grandmothers, and despite the fact that almost none of the hair I still have is black, and despite huffing a bit too much when climbing the stairs, “middle age” sounded kind of fuddy duddy, not quite me. I imagined living ...

When we think of the place of Chanukah in the Jewish calendar, our thoughts always turn to the month of Kislev.  It is interesting to note, however, that Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday that actually spans portions of two months; five days in Kislev, and three in Tevet.   This oddity is even more striking when we consider that the two months have very different connotations for our people.   Kislev is looked up to as the culmination of the Maccabean war, a time of Chanukah, renewal of the Temple after its defilement by foreign evil forces.  For Chabad Chassidim, it contains the 19 th of Kislev, a time of the remarkable liberation of the Alter Rebbe.   By contrast Tevet contains (other than my birthday) only days of sadness of note.  The Eighth of Tevet is the Day that Ptolemy II forced the Jews to translate the Torah into Greek.  The Ninth of Tevet marked the death of the great Ezra the scribe, one of the greatest Jews of all ...

The Pope . . . and Truth It is not every day that I agree with the Pope. After all, to say the least, we have several non-trivial theological differences.  There is also the matter of the history of the Church, and its relationship with our people, and frankly, many more matters than I can list in this essay. Today, however, I must say that I stand firmly with the Pope in a position that he took last week. While many of my co-coreligionists may not be aware of it, on October 27, 2011 Pope Benedict XVI invited some 300 religious leaders, and tellingly, some non-religious leaders, to the city of St. Francis to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the signature achievements of his predecessor.  John Paul II convened a “ World Day of Prayer for Peace” on Oct. 27, 1986; an event that was part of that pontiff's historic opening to other faiths, the legacy of which is now known as the "Spirit of Assisi."  During that event one could witness, al...

Hurricane Sandy . . . A wake up call ? Much has been, and will continue to be written, about the calamity that was Hurricane Sandy.  Thousands rendered homeless, millions without power; an incalculable loss of money, possessions, any sense of security. . . the full extent of the suffering  is really beyond comprehension.  E conomists claim: “There has not been such devastation affecting so many participants in the US economy before.”    That is to say, even when compared to the trauma  of 9/11/2001.  Although there was far more loss of life at that awful time, the calamity did not directly injure as many people as Sandy has.  For the American Orthodox Jewish community in particular, I am not aware of any incident that directly affected so many with serious hardship as this hurricane.  In fact, as time goes on, it seems that the impact is growing, as the scope grows larger and larger. How do we think about such a tragedy from a the...