Letters

He really thought that?

To the Editor:

Shmuly Yanklowitz is being either disingenuous or exceedingly naive when he professes to have thought that President Obama’s healthcare plan was something that Orthodox Jews would “join together” to support (Choose life; In my view; Sept 18, 2009).  Orthodox Jews, in general, tend toward both political and economic conservatism, so the idea that they would join en masse to support a government takeover of 16% of our national economy, on terms that would add at least a trillion dollars to our national debt, is dubious.

As to the substance of his article, it is neither appropriate nor helpful for Mr. Yanklowitz to try turning his politically liberal position in the national healthcare debate into a halachic issue. Mr. Yanklowitz is certainly entitled to his opinion about the President’s proposals, but attempting to delegitimize the opposing view on the grounds that it somehow violates Jewish law serves only to stifle, rather than foster, healthy political debate.

Moreover, Mr. Yanklowitz’s underlying assumption that Obamacare would “propel America toward a sustainable system of universal healthcare” and “help America become a society that can heal all of its sick” is, unfortunately, not grounded in reality. What the Administration’s proposals would do is move us incrementally in the direction of a Canadian single-payer system or the functional equivalent thereof.   That system, according to the most recent annual report commissioned by an alliance of doctors’ groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, has produced median waiting times of six weeks for patients with major depression to see a psychiatrist, 24 hours for hospital emergency room admissions, and seven weeks (!) for cancer patients in need of radiation therapy. (See Little Improvement in Medical Wait Times: report, National Post, June 18, 2009)

Is this the kind of care that we want for our own families? Is this really the reform that is “demanded by Jewish law,” as Mr. Yanklowitz contends? To me, Jewish ideals are best furthered by an honest shakla ve’tarya (give and take) regarding the actual policies under consideration, rather than by resort to broad generalizations of ethical principles or meaningless platitudes about our “deepest religious communal values.”

Steven Wilamowsky

Lawrence

The other side of the coin

To the Editor:

A story is told about Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev who passed a stable on his way to shul and found wagon drivers wearing tallis and tefillin while preparing their horses. “Mi K’amcha Yisrael,” “Who is like your people, Israel?” he is said to have exclaimed. “Even while Jews are engaged in such mundane pursuits they envelope themselves in tefillin.” On Erev Rosh Hashana, I would have liked to see words of encouragement and hope more like those of Reb Levi Yitzchok and not those of your op-ed writer’s “Summer of our Shame” (Meir Weingarten; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ten years ago my wife and I heard a family psychologist who advised parents to find two good things our children did each day and to tell them. That’s still good advice for a Jewish newspaper in Elul. I see much that we Orthodox Jews can be proud and even boast of right here in the Five Towns.

Eighteen years ago there was no such thing as a Kollel Boker until Sh’or Yoshuv and Rabbi Moshe Dov Stein, zt”l, started it. Daf Yomi, yes, but no place formally to learn b’iyun. Today, between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. over 70 men learn there regularly in different groups, and I know of three Kollel Bokers in other shuls.

Every morning on my way home at 9:00 a.m. there are scores of women parked along Broadway for their communal davening; on Rosh Chodesh, the street is packed.

This past Tisha B’Av, the shuls were full of people viewing the Chofetz Chaim video series.

A few weeks ago my neighbor was locked out of his house and in 20 minutes two nice guys from Chaverim were there to jiggle the lock and let them in.

The word “Hatzalah” is enough.

We have two volunteer fire departments.

The public school system seems to be earning higher test scores despite (or maybe because of) the Orthodox board members. They did not dismantle the public school system as predicted.

When I walk to shul on Shabbos a local doctor usually has two baby strollers parked outside his front door, seeing worried mothers and their children early Shabbos morning — many of whom are not his regular patients.

This year The Eliezer Project was started to help our neighbors who have lost their jobs.

Rabbi Reisman’s Agudah is raising money to pay a full-time shidduch coordinator.

In the last year-and-a-half my wife lost both her parents. The amount of food and assistance extended to us was awesome.

I know of someone in Lawrence who lent out his pool to a Chassideshe organization from Williamsburg working with off-the-derech kids.

Last week, I went to a wedding of two young people who, despite hardships, exhibited such chein and spiritual growth that it epitomized the eternal Yiddishe flame burning in every Jewish heart.

In my 20 years in the Five Towns, I have seen high school boys staying in Yeshiva till 11:00 p.m. every night to finish difficult gemorahs when they could be home watching TV. In that same time I have seen TV-watching, hanging-out boys grow up in Israel, to become masmidim in the Mirrer, Lakewood, YU and Ner Yisrael.

Twenty years ago, despite having two eruvs, I wonder how many people even knew of their boundaries or of the difficulty of constructing an eruv, but now kollel men who went to local high schools and now learn in the Yeshiva of the Five Towns printed a book with photographs and explanations about the eruv, and work tirelessly, without fanfare, to make modifications to improve our Shabbos observance.

As a Five Towner, I am very proud to be a part of a community that takes kashrus, Torah and being a good neighbor so seriously.

Mi K’amcha Yisrael.

Abba Shmuel Novak

Lawrence

But wait, there’s more

To the Editor:

Just a note in connection with Debby Rosenfeld’s excellent article regarding the new power of attorney statute in New York (Power of attorney law changed; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ms. Rosenfeld mentioned that a “statutory major gifts rider” is now needed if the principal wishes to enable his agent to make gifts to third parties equal to or greater than the $13,000 annual exclusion amount.

The statute is actually even more draconian than that. A statutory major gifts rider is required to enable an agent to make gifts of any amount greater than $500 per recipient per year. And a technical corrections bill currently pending before the state senate would limit such gift-giving ability to a maximum aggregate total of $500 per year (for all gifts combined) unless a statutory major gifts rider is executed.

Daniel Yarmish

Woodme

To the Editor:

Shmuly Yanklowitz is being either disingenuous or exceedingly naive when he professes to have thought that President Obama’s healthcare plan was something that Orthodox Jews would “join together” to support (Choose life; In my view; Sept 18, 2009).  Orthodox Jews, in general, tend toward both political and economic conservatism, so the idea that they would join en masse to support a government takeover of 16% of our national economy, on terms that would add at least a trillion dollars to our national debt, is dubious.

As to the substance of his article, it is neither appropriate nor helpful for Mr. Yanklowitz to try turning his politically liberal position in the national healthcare debate into a halachic issue. Mr. Yanklowitz is certainly entitled to his opinion about the President’s proposals, but attempting to delegitimize the opposing view on the grounds that it somehow violates Jewish law serves only to stifle, rather than foster, healthy political debate.

Moreover, Mr. Yanklowitz’s underlying assumption that Obamacare would “propel America toward a sustainable system of universal healthcare” and “help America become a society that can heal all of its sick” is, unfortunately, not grounded in reality. What the Administration’s proposals would do is move us incrementally in the direction of a Canadian single-payer system or the functional equivalent thereof.

That system, according to the most recent annual report commissioned by an alliance of doctors’ groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, has produced median waiting times of six weeks for patients with major depression to see a psychiatrist, 24 hours for hospital emergency room admissions, and seven weeks (!) for cancer patients in need of radiation therapy. (See Little Improvement in Medical Wait Times: report, National Post, June 18, 2009)

Is this the kind of care that we want for our own families? Is this really the reform that is “demanded by Jewish law,” as Mr. Yanklowitz contends? To me, Jewish ideals are best furthered by an honest shakla ve’tarya (give and take) regarding the actual policies under consideration, rather than by resort to broad generalizations of ethical principles or meaningless platitudes about our “deepest religious communal values.”

Steven Wilamowsky

Lawrence

To the Editor:

A story is told about Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev who passed a stable on his way to shul and found wagon drivers wearing tallis and tefillin while preparing their horses. “Mi K’amcha Yisrael,” “Who is like your people, Israel?” he is said to have exclaimed. “Even while Jews are engaged in such mundane pursuits they envelope themselves in tefillin.” On Erev Rosh Hashana, I would have liked to see words of encouragement and hope more like those of Reb Levi Yitzchok and not those of your op-ed writer’s “Summer of our Shame” (Meir Weingarten; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ten years ago my wife and I heard a family psychologist who advised parents to find two good things our children did each day and to tell them. That’s still good advice for a Jewish newspaper in Elul. I see much that we Orthodox Jews can be proud and even boast of right here in the Five Towns.

Eighteen years ago there was no such thing as a Kollel Boker until Sh’or Yoshuv and Rabbi Moshe Dov Stein, zt”l, started it. Daf Yomi, yes, but no place formally to learn b’iyun. Today, between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. over 70 men learn there regularly in different groups, and I know of three Kollel Bokers in other shuls.

Every morning on my way home at 9:00 a.m. there are scores of women parked along Broadway for their communal davening; on Rosh Chodesh, the street is packed.

This past Tisha B’Av, the shuls were full of people viewing the Chofetz Chaim video series.

A few weeks ago my neighbor was locked out of his house and in 20 minutes two nice guys from Chaverim were there to jiggle the lock and let them in.

The word “Hatzalah” is enough.

We have two volunteer fire departments.

The public school system seems to be earning higher test scores despite (or maybe because of) the Orthodox board members. They did not dismantle the public school system as predicted.

When I walk to shul on Shabbos a local doctor usually has two baby strollers parked outside his front door, seeing worried mothers and their children early Shabbos morning — many of whom are not his regular patients.

This year The Eliezer Project was started to help our neighbors who have lost their jobs.

Rabbi Reisman’s Agudah is raising money to pay a full-time shidduch coordinator.

In the last year-and-a-half my wife lost both her parents. The amount of food and assistance extended to us was awesome.

I know of someone in Lawrence who lent out his pool to a Chassideshe organization from Williamsburg working with off-the-derech kids.

Last week, I went to a wedding of two young people who, despite hardships, exhibited such chein and spiritual growth that it epitomized the eternal Yiddishe flame burning in every Jewish heart.

In my 20 years in the Five Towns, I have seen high school boys staying in Yeshiva till 11:00 p.m. every night to finish difficult gemorahs when they could be home watching TV. In that same time I have seen TV-watching, hanging-out boys grow up in Israel, to become masmidim in the Mirrer, Lakewood, YU and Ner Yisrael.

Twenty years ago, despite having two eruvs, I wonder how many people even knew of their boundaries or of the difficulty of constructing an eruv, but now kollel men who went to local high schools and now learn in the Yeshiva of the Five Towns printed a book with photographs and explanations about the eruv, and work tirelessly, without fanfare, to make modifications to improve our Shabbos observance.

As a Five Towner, I am very proud to be a part of a community that takes kashrus, Torah and being a good neighbor so seriously.

Mi K’amcha Yisrael.

Abba Shmuel Novak

Lawrence

To the Editor:

Just a note in connection with Debby Rosenfeld’s excellent article regarding the new power of attorney statute in New York (Power of attorney law changed; Sept. 18, 2009).

Ms. Rosenfeld mentioned that a “statutory major gifts rider” is now needed if the principal wishes to enable his agent to make gifts to third parties equal to or greater than the $13,000 annual exclusion amount.

The statute is actually even more draconian than that. A statutory major gifts rider is required to enable an agent to make gifts of any amount greater than $500 per recipient per year. And a technical corrections bill currently pending before the state senate would limit such gift-giving ability to a maximum aggregate total of $500 per year (for all gifts combined) unless a statutory major gifts rider is executed.

Daniel Yarmish

Woodme