This Section Has Letters That The Editor Wrote Or Letters The Editor Has Received And Has Felt The Public Should Read Them As Well.
Dear Reader,
On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety.
A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent on each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.
Therefore, I urge all Daily Vort readers to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible, and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.
Sincerely,
The Daily Vort Editor
On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety.
A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent on each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.
Therefore, I urge all Daily Vort readers to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible, and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.
Sincerely,
The Daily Vort Editor
A Letter The Daily Vort Received:
November 2012 A Torah View On Election’s
Dear Reader,
November 6th is a critical day for the Jews and for our country. On November 6th we will choose a human being to lead our country. We will also decide the security of Israel. We will decide if the issues contrary to Torah values should be allowed or banned. The choice is clear who to vote for. The President continues to ignore Iran and does nothing about the nuclear plants they have. The Torah tells us that if someone is going to kill you, then you should kill him first. Imagine if Adolf Hitler YM”S was murdered before 1935? Ahmadinejad is another Hitler YM”S. As the PM of Israel said, “Given this record of Iranian aggression without nuclear weapons, just imagine Iranian aggression with nuclear weapons.” How can a religious Jew vote for President Obama and Biden, despite the fact that both men are opposed to some of the Torah’s most basic moral values? The calls from the President to Israel that put our brethren at risk are outrageous and must stop! The President talking badly about the PM of Israel with other world leaders, imagine after the elections, if he wins! Going back to the 1967 borders would leave certain areas of Israel with around a 10 mile space, surrounded by hostile countries- that's suicide! The Chillul Hashem this would make if they will win again! And we know that it is very difficult to get Teshuvah for a Chillul Hashem.
Rav Avigdor Miller TZ"L who preached that a Jewish vote must remain loyal to the candidate whose values are more in line with basic fundamentals of morality, this year the choice is clear. The President continues to ignore our brothers in suffering. Notably: Jonathan Pollard, who was declined to go to his father’s funeral, and is himself very sick. Jacob Ostreicher, who is currently imprisoned in Bolivia, and the prison there is horrendous and run by inmates themselves. Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, who is in prison in America for false charges and lies. Does that deserve 27 years behind bars, with a family of 10? Maybe Romney will look over these cases, and they will receive some help, President Obama definitely won‘t help them.
There are those who might say that Rav Avigdor Miller was the minority opinion and make note that Reb Moshe Feinstein and other Gedolim voted Democratic because they saw the Democratic Party as more sympathetic to their schools and other institutions. The talmidim of Reb Moshe Feinstein say that they firmly believe Reb Moshe would not permit any Jew to vote for the Democratic Party of today. After all, the Democratic Party in the previous generation was not radicals like today. In the previous generation the Democratic Party was fighting for equal rights of those involved in sin. Today, the Democratic Party fights for the promotion of the immoral behavior itself. Klal Yisrael must unite as one, like it says in Parshas Yisro like one man with one heart and vote for the right person, not who we feel is right, but the one who fit’s to the Torah the most. If Obama gets re-elected then we are allowing same gender marriages, which is completely opposite Torah values. Get involved in the election, donate money, tell your friends and neighbor what is the right thing to do, this is crucial. This election will have effects that will be felt by generations to come. November 6th will not only be a historic election for America, but also for the Orthodox Jews of America. So when you’re standing in the polling booth don’t vote your opinion but vote for who Hashem wants. I rest my case.
Sincerely,
A Proud Jew
November 2012 A Torah View On Election’s
Dear Reader,
November 6th is a critical day for the Jews and for our country. On November 6th we will choose a human being to lead our country. We will also decide the security of Israel. We will decide if the issues contrary to Torah values should be allowed or banned. The choice is clear who to vote for. The President continues to ignore Iran and does nothing about the nuclear plants they have. The Torah tells us that if someone is going to kill you, then you should kill him first. Imagine if Adolf Hitler YM”S was murdered before 1935? Ahmadinejad is another Hitler YM”S. As the PM of Israel said, “Given this record of Iranian aggression without nuclear weapons, just imagine Iranian aggression with nuclear weapons.” How can a religious Jew vote for President Obama and Biden, despite the fact that both men are opposed to some of the Torah’s most basic moral values? The calls from the President to Israel that put our brethren at risk are outrageous and must stop! The President talking badly about the PM of Israel with other world leaders, imagine after the elections, if he wins! Going back to the 1967 borders would leave certain areas of Israel with around a 10 mile space, surrounded by hostile countries- that's suicide! The Chillul Hashem this would make if they will win again! And we know that it is very difficult to get Teshuvah for a Chillul Hashem.
Rav Avigdor Miller TZ"L who preached that a Jewish vote must remain loyal to the candidate whose values are more in line with basic fundamentals of morality, this year the choice is clear. The President continues to ignore our brothers in suffering. Notably: Jonathan Pollard, who was declined to go to his father’s funeral, and is himself very sick. Jacob Ostreicher, who is currently imprisoned in Bolivia, and the prison there is horrendous and run by inmates themselves. Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, who is in prison in America for false charges and lies. Does that deserve 27 years behind bars, with a family of 10? Maybe Romney will look over these cases, and they will receive some help, President Obama definitely won‘t help them.
There are those who might say that Rav Avigdor Miller was the minority opinion and make note that Reb Moshe Feinstein and other Gedolim voted Democratic because they saw the Democratic Party as more sympathetic to their schools and other institutions. The talmidim of Reb Moshe Feinstein say that they firmly believe Reb Moshe would not permit any Jew to vote for the Democratic Party of today. After all, the Democratic Party in the previous generation was not radicals like today. In the previous generation the Democratic Party was fighting for equal rights of those involved in sin. Today, the Democratic Party fights for the promotion of the immoral behavior itself. Klal Yisrael must unite as one, like it says in Parshas Yisro like one man with one heart and vote for the right person, not who we feel is right, but the one who fit’s to the Torah the most. If Obama gets re-elected then we are allowing same gender marriages, which is completely opposite Torah values. Get involved in the election, donate money, tell your friends and neighbor what is the right thing to do, this is crucial. This election will have effects that will be felt by generations to come. November 6th will not only be a historic election for America, but also for the Orthodox Jews of America. So when you’re standing in the polling booth don’t vote your opinion but vote for who Hashem wants. I rest my case.
Sincerely,
A Proud Jew
A Letter The Daily Vort Received:
The Letter Is In Regard To Hurricane Sandy, Which Hit NY/NJ Very Severely...
Today was a great reminder.
Here in New York as well as in most of the Northeast of the United States hurricane Sandy, in all of its fury, canceled our schools, closed our bridges, tunnels and transportation systems, shut down the stock market and disrupted our lives in countless ways we never would’ve thought possible.
Ask millions of us yesterday what we were going to do today and staying home would’ve been the most unthinkable answer. After all we had so many plans that simply couldn’t be changed. And yet we suddenly learned the truth of the adage that man proposes and God disposes.
There’s a remarkable passage in the Talmud that gives us a unique insight into the laws of nature. Science has convinced us that the laws of nature are immutable, constant and highly predictable. We can know with certainty exactly when the sun will rise and when it will set in every portion of the globe, not only for today and tomorrow but for years to come. God wanted us to be able to regulate our lives and endowed us with the intellect to make the necessary computations for most of the laws that govern our reality.
But there are three things that God chose to keep hidden from us. These were meant to remain the great mysteries of mankind.
"Rabbi Yochanan taught, there are three keys in the hands of God that are not entrusted to an agent. They are: the key to rain, the key to conception, and the key to revival of the dead.”
God intended for the world to retain some reminders of the limits to our own power.
Why is it that we can split the atom and land on the moon but still have the weather forecaster get it wrong with almost the same frequency as the result of a toss of the coin? Because God intended for the world to retain some reminders of the limits to our own power.
Three times a day in our prayers we praise God by acknowledging that it is He who “is responsible for life,” “resuscitates the dead” and “makes the wind to blow and the rain to descend.” Much as we try to control these events, our efforts are overshadowed by the Divine will that invariably makes the final decision.
It is a truth we need to remember when we hope for a child and turn to fertility doctors. Their knowledge is vital – but it is far from determinative. It is God who decided to keep everlasting control over the key to conception.
It is a fact that physicians are entrusted with the mission to heal. But whether their efforts will succeed and the patient will live or die is a second key retained by the Almighty.
And remarkably enough, rain – the gift from the heavens that is necessary for human survival but can turn deadly when granted in excessive measure – is the third key that God chose to maintain for constant personal supervision rather than to turn into a predictable law of nature.
As we unexpectedly sit at home during hurricane Sandy, perhaps we ought to reflect upon the Divine message of a storm that has the power to make us change plans that we thought were unalterable.
Where Are You Going?
There is a classic Jewish tale about an old rabbi in Russia, who would visit a synagogue near the town square every morning. Not a day passed that he skipped this routine. An anti-Semitic policeman who hated the sight of the rabbi desperately sought to find a reason to justify imprisoning him.
One morning, as the rabbi approached the town square, the policeman walked up to him and asked, “Sir, may I know where you are going?”
The rabbi replied, “I don’t know.”
The policeman seized on this and said, “Old man, you are lying to me. I know you are going to that synagogue over there. I have seen you every day. I’m going to arrest you for lying to a member of the police force.”
The policeman took the rabbi to the nearest police station and put him in one of the cells. As he was locking the door, the policeman proudly remarked, “Now you foolish man you will realize never again to lie to me.”
The rabbi replied, “My son, I have no idea why you claim I lied to you. I told you I didn’t know where I was going. Indeed I did not – I thought I was going to synagogue but, as you can see, it turned out I was going to jail.”
It is more than a story; it is a parable of our lives. We think we know where we are headed but in truth we can never be certain. And every so often we need to be reminded: God runs the world. God decides whether our appointment calendar will be kept. God has the power to suddenly transform our lives.
And perhaps, in the aftermath of perceiving how disruptive unexpected storms can be, we will also be moved to appreciate in much greater measure how grateful we must be to God when nature returns to its regular laws that normally guarantee us so much blessing.
Sincerely,
A Proud Daily Vort Reader
The Letter Is In Regard To Hurricane Sandy, Which Hit NY/NJ Very Severely...
Today was a great reminder.
Here in New York as well as in most of the Northeast of the United States hurricane Sandy, in all of its fury, canceled our schools, closed our bridges, tunnels and transportation systems, shut down the stock market and disrupted our lives in countless ways we never would’ve thought possible.
Ask millions of us yesterday what we were going to do today and staying home would’ve been the most unthinkable answer. After all we had so many plans that simply couldn’t be changed. And yet we suddenly learned the truth of the adage that man proposes and God disposes.
There’s a remarkable passage in the Talmud that gives us a unique insight into the laws of nature. Science has convinced us that the laws of nature are immutable, constant and highly predictable. We can know with certainty exactly when the sun will rise and when it will set in every portion of the globe, not only for today and tomorrow but for years to come. God wanted us to be able to regulate our lives and endowed us with the intellect to make the necessary computations for most of the laws that govern our reality.
But there are three things that God chose to keep hidden from us. These were meant to remain the great mysteries of mankind.
"Rabbi Yochanan taught, there are three keys in the hands of God that are not entrusted to an agent. They are: the key to rain, the key to conception, and the key to revival of the dead.”
God intended for the world to retain some reminders of the limits to our own power.
Why is it that we can split the atom and land on the moon but still have the weather forecaster get it wrong with almost the same frequency as the result of a toss of the coin? Because God intended for the world to retain some reminders of the limits to our own power.
Three times a day in our prayers we praise God by acknowledging that it is He who “is responsible for life,” “resuscitates the dead” and “makes the wind to blow and the rain to descend.” Much as we try to control these events, our efforts are overshadowed by the Divine will that invariably makes the final decision.
It is a truth we need to remember when we hope for a child and turn to fertility doctors. Their knowledge is vital – but it is far from determinative. It is God who decided to keep everlasting control over the key to conception.
It is a fact that physicians are entrusted with the mission to heal. But whether their efforts will succeed and the patient will live or die is a second key retained by the Almighty.
And remarkably enough, rain – the gift from the heavens that is necessary for human survival but can turn deadly when granted in excessive measure – is the third key that God chose to maintain for constant personal supervision rather than to turn into a predictable law of nature.
As we unexpectedly sit at home during hurricane Sandy, perhaps we ought to reflect upon the Divine message of a storm that has the power to make us change plans that we thought were unalterable.
Where Are You Going?
There is a classic Jewish tale about an old rabbi in Russia, who would visit a synagogue near the town square every morning. Not a day passed that he skipped this routine. An anti-Semitic policeman who hated the sight of the rabbi desperately sought to find a reason to justify imprisoning him.
One morning, as the rabbi approached the town square, the policeman walked up to him and asked, “Sir, may I know where you are going?”
The rabbi replied, “I don’t know.”
The policeman seized on this and said, “Old man, you are lying to me. I know you are going to that synagogue over there. I have seen you every day. I’m going to arrest you for lying to a member of the police force.”
The policeman took the rabbi to the nearest police station and put him in one of the cells. As he was locking the door, the policeman proudly remarked, “Now you foolish man you will realize never again to lie to me.”
The rabbi replied, “My son, I have no idea why you claim I lied to you. I told you I didn’t know where I was going. Indeed I did not – I thought I was going to synagogue but, as you can see, it turned out I was going to jail.”
It is more than a story; it is a parable of our lives. We think we know where we are headed but in truth we can never be certain. And every so often we need to be reminded: God runs the world. God decides whether our appointment calendar will be kept. God has the power to suddenly transform our lives.
And perhaps, in the aftermath of perceiving how disruptive unexpected storms can be, we will also be moved to appreciate in much greater measure how grateful we must be to God when nature returns to its regular laws that normally guarantee us so much blessing.
Sincerely,
A Proud Daily Vort Reader