Letters To The Editor – November 22, 2024

Too Flip Toward The Sages

I enjoyed the different perspectives your writers presented regarding Bruriah, wife of the tanna Rabbi Meir (Word Prompt, Nov. 1). However, I found a comment by Esther Shulkes to be beyond the pale.

As we know, the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18b) states that Rabbi Meir was forced to flee from the Holy Land to Babylonia. Two reasons for this flight are posited, one being “the episode involving Bruriah.” In explanation of this cryptic comment, Rashi writes that Rabbi Meir tested his wife by having a student attempt to seduce her. She eventually succumbed to temptation, and due to her embarrassment over this event, she committed suicide. In shame, Rabbi Meir left the Land of Israel.

Shulkes takes Rashi’s view of this cryptic Talmudic statement as factual, and proceeds to state: “This midrash seems cruel and almost farcical, twisting the image of such a rare and magnificent female role model.”

Students of the Talmud have long questioned Rashi’s explanation of the “episode involving Bruriah.” So odd is Rashi’s view that Rabbi Eitam Henkin, in a long Hebrew article, doubts whether Rashi actually wrote those words. Rabbi Henkin notes that nowhere else is this story of Bruriah found, and that it conflicts entirely with all we know about Rabbi Meir and about Bruriah.

I don’t believe the story as found in Rashi to be factual. What concerns me is that Shulkes, who does believe that the Talmud is describing an affair between Bruriah and Rabbi Meir’s student, is willing to use the terms “cruel” and “farcical” to criticize the Talmudic Sages. We are dwarfs among giants. As Orthodox Jews, we believe that the Talmudic Sages were of impeccable character, and we simply have no right to ascribe to them the terms that Shulkes utilizes.

Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, N.Y.

Communities, Please Step Up!

We all feel the pain of our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael. Families are mourning; people are missing; and the emotional trauma of those who were rescued is beyond comprehension. In sum, the physical and psychological wounds have hardly healed. Worse yet, our enemies around the world are using October 7 as a sword and a shield: They support Hamas and make us look like the agitators when we defend ourselves.

Out of the great sorrow of the one-year-plus since the horrific Simchas Torah attacks has come renewed hope; so much good and unity has emerged from our community. People are casting differences aside to work together in helping in whatever way we can. The donations, supplies, volunteerism, and davening are truly beyond compare. People are connecting more to their Jewish roots.

In light of the above, why then have some of the more chassidishe and yeshivishe communities not brought in soldiers, family members of hostages, or even some of the rescued hostages themselves to come and speak? Of course, I say “kol hakavod” to those who have. I understand there are varying opinions about the State of Israel, rallies, and protests, but where does it say a rescued hostage can’t speak at your shul or school?

I was privileged and enlightened to attend a number of lectures featuring soldiers, hostage families, and rabbanim speaking about October 7 – their experiences, the intricate halachos involved, and what they are doing to ensure this never happens again, rachmana latzlon. None of the events I attended were held close to home: I walked or drove for miles. Each word hit close to home!

These voices should be amplified in more neighborhoods. Those that have hosted have seen a broad cloth of Jews who were moved and inspired by attending. While any program would have to accommodate the sensitivities of a particular locale, I’m sure this can be arranged. Additionally, separate events can be held for men and women. Despite varying schedules, costs, and logistics, there is someone out there who can speak to your group. Perhaps a reservist from your neighborhood is back home from the war. A community member might be related to a hostage. It could very well be that the person next to you brought a lawsuit over post-October 7 antisemitism.

It is important to raise awareness of the current matzav, to bring forth hope based on the good work being done on behalf of acheinu kol Bais Yisrael, and to raise the scepter of Hashem’s crowning glory through achdus. In this way, the hostages will b’ezras Hashem be rescued soon, their wounds healed, and all of us will be reunited with the coming of Mashiach soon.

Chaim Yehuda Meyer
Brooklyn, N.Y.

A Failure Of Jewish Leadership

I would like to expand on The Jewish Press editorial regarding Jewish organizational leaders remaining silent in light of the hyperbole when the Democratic Party constantly compared President-elect Trump to Hitler (“Outrage: When The Dems Trafficked ‘Hitler’ Hyperbole And Jewish Leaders Stood Mute,” Nov. 13). The fact of the matter is the organized Jewish community has remained relatively silent for the past 50 years plus as leftists and wokeists have waged war on the Jewish people. I am not referring only to the Jewish State of Israel, but every Jew, regardless of how they identify themselves or where they live.

They began their strategy by first taking over the halls of academia. Following the model of many totalitarian regimes, they understood that if you control the educational system, from that vantage point you control the future. It is only recently that we have seen clearly the results of this work. From Ivy League colleges to corporate America, the media, entertainment, government institutions, and political parties, our society is dominated by elitists who hate our country, hate Israel, and hate the Judeo-Christian foundation of America. The years of building an army has paid off, culminating in a culture that leans toward socialism at best and Marxism at its ultimate goal. We Jews stand in the way.

But where were our leaders over the past 40-50 years? Where were the Jewish organizations with mandates to protect the values we have embraced in America that have been so helpful for a flourishing Jewish community? Did they not see the signs? Were they not interested in galvanizing the Jewish community against this eventual societal breakdown that would lead to what we are experiencing now, not only in America, but throughout the world?

Their responsibility was to lead, not kneel to the powers that be. Were they more concerned for their own positions? Were they afraid? Were they worried that their own children would not get into Harvard or Yale? Did they become part of the problem rather than the solution? And let them not get tough now, once they know their Democrat friends are no longer in power. I am sure the CEO of the ADL, a former Obama official, is chomping at the bit to uncover the antisemites in the new administration.

Our leaders have failed us, from our organizations to those politicians who have claimed to be our protectors, only to be revealed to be more than happy to throw us under the bus in order to maintain their power.

We as a community need to do a great deal of soul-searching. We must begin today by not letting one hostile incident go unanswered. Whether it occurs in a college or on a walk to synagogue, no trespass against our community can be tolerated, and we must hold our leaders accountable for doing their job and galvanizing the community to action. We must let everyone know that the Jewish community must be respected. If our leaders do not take action, we will look for other communal leaders and new political leaders.

Douglas Balin
Brooklyn, N.Y.