Op-Ed: Man, Interrupted

Until today I didn’t cry. Until today my eyes did not water nor shed a tear. Until today my heart did not skip a single beat. Until today I did not lose a moment’s sleep. I am not a friend or relative of the Rubashkin family and I’ve never met Sholom Rubashkin.

Until today I read the mainstream news and followed the blogs. Until today I analyzed the facts and debated the case. Did Sholom Rubashkin commit a crime? If he did, was it intentional? Is he a vicious felon or a misguided fool? Was he actively involved in the crimes that were committed or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? If he is a criminal, does he deserve prison time? If so, how many years? Should they be served in a minimum, medium or maximum security facility? Was the raid on Agriprocessors instigated by PETA and the unions? Is the prosecution being overzealous? Is there an anti-Semitic element to the prosecution?

Op-Ed: Tears for Nosson – My Friend

A friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we care least to thank.

Nosson, was the greatest friend one could wish for, we cried on his shoulder, and took pride when he laughed at our jokes, his robust smile lit his countenance, there was love radiating from him, his soft words and kind advice were an antidote to a soothing heart, he affected everyone that he met.

Tears streamed from our eyes when he heard about the tragedy, the pain is agonizing, all we could think of was “if Nosson was here we would gain comfort by crying with him”, but the comforter could not give comfort, the giver was no longer there, we needed to be pacified over the pacifier, as tears slowly stream down our cheeks our wide eyes stare out to the black space, our solemn voices crack with cries, our bodies shaking with fever fell crouching to the ground. The unthinkable happened.

When I first met Nosson in 3rd grade, I was lonely, being new to school he helped me be part of it, he always made you feel proud of what you accomplished, his nonjudgmental remarks came from a altruistic Neshama, with a heart of gold he shone like the midday sun, in 7th grade we had color war, when we were split up on different teams, he never hesitated to inquire how we were doing.

Op-Ed: Mi K’amcha Yisroel — What Only Unity Accomplishes

Recently our 7 year old daughter, Tova, was very ill with a life threatening disease. It came suddenly on a Shabbos afternoon. It was very serious and very scary. B’H now she is doing much better and the worst is Please G-d behind us. The reason for this letter is To show our thanks to you, our community our family and our friends whom we are indebted too. Without everyone’s prayers thoughts and help we could not have pulled through this hard time.

The response to our daughters illness was overwhelming. The amount of Tehillim being said by people who had never even met her or us was amazing. The number of schools in different states and countries thinking of her even those with no association with her, was touching. We are sure that because of that Tehillim her disease turned out to be less devastating then the Doctors originally thought.

Even now there are still meals coming for us daily from friends and friends of friends. People who just heard that a child was in pain and wanted to help in some way. It helped us and her to know how many people were thinking and caring about her. We cannot express how much gratitude we feel towards everyone who helped out.

More specifically we would like to thank a few more people. Our Doctor, Dr. Teitelbaum, is wonderful. Not only did he tell us the right Doctors and hospitals to go too, but he made himself available to us every second of the day, which was really amazing. He even made time to come visit her in the hospital. We also know that his entire staff were available for us if we needed anything. At one point during her illness we needed information from her chart at 9PM that was very important to what treatment she could get, and his secretary, Malky Tennenbaum, went into the office to get it for us. We really feel so lucky to be taken care of by such amazing people.

Op-Ed: Yungelait: Don’t be Intimidated. It’s your Calling!

We are all tired from all the wars. We are disenchanted by the strife. The animosity has taken the better of us. To paraphrase a Yungerman: “my house is in Crown Heights, my shul is in Crown heights, but I am not part of Crown Heights.”

Many of us have made themselves comfortable, we work hard to make a decent living, we opened our own Shul, we established our own Mosdos of Chesed, and we steer clear from any politics and Machlokes.

Sounds great? Perhaps. If you lived on your own island with your own Yeshiva and day school for your children, and you had pure role models for your children to look up to, and to aspire to follow their example.

Op-Ed: Give Peace A Chance!

To the esteemed members of the Crown Heights Jewish Community

It is customary not to make the Bracha of Shehechiyanu during the period of the counting of the Omer. However, a major monumental event has taken place this week.

I thank Hashem for his kindness that he has bestowed upon our community that has enabled us and has given us a chance to rid ourselves from all unwanted and unnecessary behavior associated with strife and lack of Ahavas Yisroel.

Op-Ed: Does a Kosher Butcher’s Fraud Mandate a Life Sentence?

At middle age I have come to accept my limitations. Although I like to have an opinion on almost everything, I am conscious of the fact that I am not a legal scholar and do not understand all the complexities of the criminal case against Shalom Rubashkin, the former CEO of America’s largest kosher meat plant, Agriprocessors of Postville, Iowa.

But I am not a stupid man either. And I, and a heck of a lot of other fairly intelligent and educated people are scratching our heads as to why government prosecutors are requesting that Rubashkin, who has ten children, including an autistic son, and a reputation for enormous philanthropy, be given a life sentence in prison.

A life behind bars. The very words are ominous. Isn’t that reserved for society’s most heinous offenders? Life sentence has one conjuring images of rapists and murderers, international drug cartel kingpins and white-collar criminals guilty of gargantuan fraud, like Bernie Madoff.

Op-Ed: The Post-Pesach Pizza Rush – A Response

Only moments after I had finished digesting my delicious post-Pesach pizza, my Blackberry buzzed, indicating that I had received an email. I wiped my palms, greasy from the cheesy delight I had just enjoyed, and read the email. My jaw dropped as I read the article my friend had forwarded to me. A “Yid from England” had written to a site frequented by members of the Chabad community, expressing wonder about why observant Jews find it so necessary to make a mad dash for the pizza stores and bakeries the very moment that they are once again permitted to eat Chametz at the conclusion Pesach.

The Malady of a Maid

After living in our two-bedroom Brooklyn apartment for almost eight months, my husband and I finally decided to hire a cleaning lady. I love to clean and have been efficiently up-keeping our pad, but with our usually vibrant trio ravaged by a cold virus and the baby starting to move all over the hardwood, we decided it was high time to do some floor-to-ceiling scrubbing. You know, the kind of cleaning that I just refuse to do. My prince-of-a-husband made the suggestion and I tried to convince him our apartment was fine. But when he mentioned a few hard-hit areas of our home, I knew I had to succumb. We made the call. The cleaning lady would come tomorrow. I got excited.

But that night, I tossed and turned. My nerves were pulsating like the night before a math exam. It hadn’t occurred to me that my house was completely unprepared for someone to tackle its mess. If Clara was going to come work her magic on my house, I had to be ready! If my apartment wasn’t anywhere near clean – how could I hire a cleaning lady?

Op-Ed: 911 Overloaded During Storm; Are We Ready For A Terrorist Attack?

The NYPD brought in additional 911 operators Saturday to handle the surge in emergency calls, YWN has learned.

City officials reported 65,000 911 calls over the weekend, which was the second largest volume ever, more than September 11th, and only second to the blackout in 2003.

Op-Ed: Open Letter to Mrs. Basie Palace OBM

The Battle You Didn’t Lose

Last week, you lost your battle with the horrible illness that took your Neshama to Gan Eden. Your dear husband and children, your extended family, your friends, and communities and students all know how hard you fought – up to the last second with the last tiny bit of energy.

You fought and fought – you so wanted to win – to continue to live and give. But, Hashem is stronger, wiser and more experienced – and He needed you to come Home.

Don’t be sad.

You did in fact, win one battle – a very big battle. A battle, which will continue for generations and generations to come.

Op-Ed: Heeding to the Cry of the Unborn

Let’s face it: it is unusual and somewhat bizarre nowadays, to encounter a family with more than two children. It is almost as if a war is launched against the unborn after the ‘red limit’ of two or three children, has been reached. Instead of enriching our world with the unparallel innocence and joy of children, we have invaded it with various ways of contraception. It is no wonder that the birth ratio of our global population is rapidly deteriorating. In the United States, it stands at 2.11 children per family. Europe’s birth ratio is even lower: it currently stands at 1.38 children per family, and if not for the massive influx of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East, it could have been much worse.

Op-Ed: Our Growing Insanity

There is a growing tendency among the Torah world to reject technology and innovation. The rejection has reached an extremeness bordering on a Talibanesque fundamentalism, unseen throughout our history. A good case can be made that this rejection runs counter to true Torah Judaism, and should not be subsumed under the rubric of Ailu veAilu divrei Elokim Chaim.

Op-Ed: A Parent’s Plea, Part II

While the tears have still not ceased to run down my face following today’s tragic death of Amrom Altman, the four-year-old child who died after being struck by a school bus, I cannot help but reflect once again on the fact that I, too, send my children to school by bus each day. Based on the available information, what happened today was not a freak accident. The child was not mountain climbing or water skiing where risk is understood and accepted. He was going to school – the very same thing each one of our children does almost every day of the year.

Op-Ed: The Day I Watched a Man Die