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In the next few days, our children will pack up their clothes, bedding and favorite pillows and head off to summer camp. Most will return home with wonderful memories of new friends and fun filled days. Some will return home with devastating memories that will last a lifetime – memories of being abused.
Any day now, the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the Affordable Care Act, and whatever your opinion is of the legislation, I think it’s high time we talked about health care in Crown Heights. Anyone who has ever worked here can probably attest to the fact that local businesses rarely offer employees health insurance. While businesses may have many financial reasons for not offering such benefits, I believe those justifications pale in comparison to the harm caused by withholding health insurance.
After many years of conflict with its neighbors, and the disparaging discontent it has garnered within the international community, Israel is about to set out for another battle, of sorts, in the forthcoming months.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman wrote an op-ed where he says that, although he doesn’t agree with Agudah’s stance that cases of child abuse need rabbinical permission to be brought to the authorities, he also doesn’t agree with Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes‘ recent move that would make rabbis mandated reporters of such crimes.
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They don’t want to admit it, but a lot of working dads don’t want to be around their kids. That sounds so horrible. And, in fact, it’s incredibly sad. Because, for many, the solution is a lot closer than believed, once you step back and take the time to see what’s really going on.
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Your child, about 4 years old, was seen walking alone through Atlantic Center, and out towards the subway station below. My wife noticed him and quickly alerted me. I ran over before he made it through the doors and asked him: “Where are your parents?”. He looked confused. So I asked again: “Who are you here with?”. He motioned with his hand, pointing upwards at the crowd of people who were leaving the mall.
All competent rabbinic authorities are in agreement that cases of child abuse should be reported to law enforcement. Agudath Israel of America nevertheless requires parents to obtain rabbinic permission before reporting abuse to authorities. Although in the overwhelming majority of cases, abuse allegations turn out to be accurate, there has been a minority of cases in which innocent individuals were wrongly charged with abuse crimes. These individuals were vindicated only after lengthy proceedings. Therefore, some rabbis feel that in a case where there are no witnesses to the abuse and there is only one victim, who is a minor, a rabbi should assess the validity of the allegations before the accusations are brought to the police.
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Dear Matisyahu,
The reports, have been a bit devastating. First came the beard. Now, it seems, your appearances are sans Yarmulkah.
What happened?
I’m a hard working mother of four. My husband takes the subway to work in the morning and returns home in the early evening; I remain at home with the two younger ones. I am busy all day cooking, cleaning, feeding, changing, nursing and bathing. Many of you will sympathize with me (I know Ann Romney will) when I say that I work every day; I just don’t get paid for it.
As Gimmel Tammuz once again approaches, it’s appropriate to reflect on the past eighteen years and analyze the effect that the Rebbe’s passing has had on his Chassidim, and how we have dealt with the situation overall.
As the summer is nearly upon us in its official capacity, we soon will mark the legal-age since the infamous 1991 Crown Heights riot.
It happens often. The phone rings. It is an unfamiliar number. My eyebrows narrow, my forehead wrinkles and my memory goes for a jog trying to decipher any previous connection with the digits on the screen. I press the green button and say in a polite voice, “Hello?”
I have been getting many texts and emails asking me to weigh in on the latest New York Times article entitled, ‘Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own,’ regarding the reports of horrific abuse cases that have gone ignored or have been swept under the rug by religious leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community.
There is an old American saying: “Getting Old is Mandatory, Growing Up is Optional.” This morning I discovered that the option of growing up was not approved by the local Beis Din: as I walked past the Badatz offices, I saw what looked like a Meah Shearim wall after a torrential rain. But it wasn’t an act of G-d, it was an act of babies masquerading as Rabbis.
Everyone is saying that there is a shidduch crisis going on these days, but in my experience there is really only a Shadchan crisis.
It’s your worst nightmare. It forces sleepless nights upon you. It’s called: “The Concussion.” While its prevalent nature varies with each sport, this so-called “epidemic” is endemic in many athletic activities.
It is an event that unfortunately, has been in the blogosphere headlines, not for its potentially lofty message but rather for the sideshows and distractions surrounding it. The latest of these diversions we can call “The Third Wave.”
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