I am not writing this op-ed because I believe I possess any particular erudition, or that I am going to completely change everyone’s attitude on the matter. Actually, I can bet on the fact that I will have north of 50 comments slamming me and my creed. This op-ed is me attempting to expand your prospective a bit by giving you some insight into the mind of the antagonist, and of course I needed an outlet to vent my frustration.
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The first time I did Kapores, I awoke in the middle of the night, my Shluchim picked me up in their 15 passenger van with all their little kids, and we drove over a hour to a farm in the next state. The car was silent with sleeping children, my Shluchim, and myself, the lone college student who wanted to do Kapores “the real way.”
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
I am a lifetime resident of this great city of New York. I have grown up with all the mayors in NY starting with Lindsay, going on to Beame, Koch, Dinkins, Giuliani, and now you. I want to explain something to you. I know that politicians have an unusually strong sense of determination, which gives them the drive to forge ahead of typical people and place themselves into positions of power. I get it. I really do.
Retribution and Tragedy are words that are often mingled among one another. In simple terms, each expression within our lexicon represents an opposing force often brought together due to a trying circumstance.
Several of my classmates work for the same company in various capacities. Some found their own way, and some I referred to the business. So when I heard that a friend I’d referred was recently promoted to COO, I was very excited. I knew him as a talented, energetic, motivated worker, and I was sure he would be an even bigger asset to the company in his new position.
On Thursday night the 2012 Republican National Convention came to an end, as did my second experience as a page, and wow, what a time!
Several weeks ago, I was introduced to Rabbi Ari Weiss, the executive director of Uri L’tzedek, the organization that launched the now-controversial Tav Hayosher “ethical seal” for restaurants. Rabbi Weiss met with me to discuss the background of the Tav Hayosher seal, hear my perspectives on the matter, and possibly form some sort of allegiance with me, given my experience representing food service workers throughout the country.
Can many of the problems faced by students in today’s Yeshivos be solved by allowing them to have more autonomy over what subjects they learn and when they attend Seder? In the following op-ed, author Dovber Schwartz explores such possibilities. He explains that we are teaching Bochurim to learn, but not how to learn, and suggests an entirely new approach to Yeshiva education.
Wednesday was another eventful day at the RNC, and the lineup of speakers was nearly mind numbing.
Tuesday marked the first real day of the Republican National Convention, as well as my first real day performing my page duties, and I am happy to write that the day was just as exciting as I had hoped.
During a recent telephone conversation, a friend of mine asked me whether I had caught the “Elul disease”. When I asked him what he meant by “the Elul disease” was, he explained that he was asking whether I had become caught up in the frenzy of reflection, regret, repentance, prayer and “stockpiling” of last-minute good deeds in advance of the looming days of judgment and awe, when our fate for the coming year will be decided.
Despite some unpredictable changes due to the weather, the 2012 page program is in full swing! One of the best parts about the program is meeting all my fellow young republicans from around the united states.
To many, the Middle East has long been recognized as the world’s pulse and epicenter for historical conflict and present-day empowerment. There have been many battles waged within its lands, from before the crusades to the ongoing wars and strife of today. The desert landscape of Israel and its environs seem to have always been tempered with conflict, if even for little reason.
Excuse me, but was that you talking? Do you wake up in the morning overwhelmed? Can’t fall asleep from worry? Do you finally get rid of one bill just to have it replaced by three? Do you dread the ringing phone? Have you at least on occasion not even bothered opening the mail because it is just too painful – and hopeless? Do you have so much month at the end of the money that home ownership sounds like a sick joke? Or did you (finally!) buy a home only to realize that you’re stuck with a bottomless-pit mortgage that feels like a deadly curse with a vague promise of sometime in the foggy future home-ownership?
This week, hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide will read the Torah portion, Shoftim, “Judges,” which begins with the above verses. The parsha directs the Jewish people to establish a just rabbinic court system consisting of righteous judges, experts in Jewish law, unsoiled with bribery and corruption.
It is quite shocking that the knee-jerk reaction of the Jewish community is automatically conditioned to be appalled at accusations and feel sorry for the accused without first thinking for even a moment about the horrendous implications for the victim.
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I am a member of the volunteer corps organized by Shomrim yesterday in search of Yakov Gourin, the missing French Twin. I penned this op-ed to describe the hardships we experienced over the uncertainty and conflicting reports that emerged from various news outlets over the course of the day, and the potential dangers posed by them.
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