Letters to the Editor 12-12-08

Shaaray was always Orthodox

To the Editor,

I read your obituary of Rabbi Emanuel Rackman in this past week’s edition of your newspaper (Rabbi Emanuel Rackman z”l, 98, past rav of Shaaray Tefilah; Dec. 5, 2008).

Rabbi Rackman came to Shaaray Tefilah when I was a teenager and we all loved and revered him but this letter is not about him.

I was born in Far Rockaway and raised in Shaaray Tefilah, where my parents and relatives were active and officers. My first rabbi was Irving Miller, who received his smicha from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). Our shul was Orthodox, not Conservative as you wrote. My family, relatives and friends in Far Rockaway, and many other members of the shul, were Shomrei Shabbos and Orthodox by the standards of pre-World War II America. My family and my friends all had their own lulav and esrog, so I’m not sure what Rita Kramer meant when she said she and her husband were the first ones.

In the memory of my parents, I felt it important to correct these misstatements.

Roslyn Greenberg

Cedarhurst

Not the lone lulav after all

To the Editor:

Concerning the obituary about Rabbi Rackman z”l (Rabbi Emanuel Rackman z”l, 98, past rav of Shaaray Tefilah; Dec. 5, 2008) a major and urgent correction must be made and publicized.

Shaaray Tefilah was never a Conservative Shul when Rabbi Rackman became its rabbi. From its founding in 1910 It has always been strictly Orthodox in form and substance. Some members as individuals were Conservative in their practices but that did not affect the davening or hashkafa of the Shul.

Also, I have been made aware that there were other members besides my husband –– very few –– who also had esrogim and lulavim on Succoth and they were not rabbis either.

Rita G. Kramer

Far Rockaway

Eliezer project says thanks

To the Editor:

Thank you so much for your superb article, Charity begins at home (Nov. 28, 2008) by Yaffi Spodek, describing our work at The Eliezer Project.

The response to your article has been wonderful so far and we have received many phone calls from people in need of assistance as well as from neighbors interested in helping others in the community find employment.

We look forward to continued involvement from the greater community.

Thank you for helping us spread the word.

The Eliezer Project

MDA needs your help

To the Editor:

Every year, Israel’s renowned medical first responders, Magen David Adom, are called to come to the aid of Americans who are visiting Israel.

People on vacation, touring, with synagogue or federation missions, youth programs and other trips have needed MDA’s famed services for a myriad of maladies such as cuts, bruises, twisted ankles, broken bones, illnesses, strokes and heart attacks.

Many Israelis now residing in the US have also received help from Magen David Adom

If you have had personal experiences with MDA in Israel (we hope you are feeling better now), American Friends of Magen David Adom wants to know.

Please e-mail us at info@afmda.org with your name and contact information. We look forward to hearing from you.

Daniel R. Allen

Learning lessons from history

To the Editor:

I was both angered and shocked by the article authored by David Seidemann (Do something, Mr. Olmert) that appeared in the Dec. 5 edition of your paper.

While the cause of all of the world’s problems may have become clear to Mr. Seidemann when he turned on his TV set, I would suggest that such a simplistic harangue masks the underlying racism implicit in his comments –– comments which should not be promoted by The Jewish Star or any other paper.

Too many times throughout Jewish history, the “Jews” have been the “they” referenced by Mr. Seidemann. As these writings re-circulate in other areas of the world, the Jewish community has consistently chastised the publishers of such articles. How ironic then that we find the same language in a leading Jewish periodical?

No, David, I do not think that my sentiments are “patently foolish and emanat[e] from a deeply disturbed psyche that ignores self preservation.” Rather, these observations stem both from the way that Judaism teaches us to interact with B’nei Noach, as well as the lessons that history have taught us.

Josh Mallin

Woodmere