Zman Not Simchaseinu – The Shanda in Washington
Despite our best efforts, this past Shmini Atzeret/Simchas Torah was not quite Zman Simchaseinu (Our time of Joy); not for me nor for many others. To be sure, there was a great spirit of joy in the shul. The Young Israel of Forest Hills has been blessed to host a new Sephardic minyan over the last two months, which has brought a great deal of new energy and excitement, along with many people, into our community. The resultant boost that we had from the joint hakafos and the post Shabbos “Hakafot Shniyot” party was wonderful and enjoyed by all. But inside, I could not get my mind off of the scandal that had blown up in Washington DC just the day before, and the worry for what it meant for the future of the Orthodox community ate at me deeply inside. I leave it to the reader to discover the unpleasant details of the scandal surrounding Rabbi Barry Freundel elsewhere. For me, it was extremely disheartening, upsetting, infuriating and saddening to see the huge Chillul H...