To the editor: The Forward reports that some Orthodox rabbis oppose extending daylight saving time throughout the year because “a 9 a.m. sunrise” would require them to attend to their morning prayers late and delay their arrival at work. Let’s first take a look at Jewish law. The 20 volume Babylonian Talmud begins with a…
To the editor: I spent the first eight years of my life in Odessa, but lived most of my life in neighborhoods in South Brooklyn, with large populations of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Ukraine suffered greatly during World War II, and the identity of the region has been heavily shaped by the…
To the editor: Like Nora Berman, I also felt that Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust remarks were a teachable moment — but I’m a teacher, so to me most moments are. Fifty-plus years as a Jewish educator have taught me that hardly anyone, including many Jews, really understands antisemitism. We have long denied that we are a…
Prior to heroically initiating the escape of three congregants and himself from the Jan. 15, 2022 hostage siege in Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who had led the Reform temple for 15 years, was informed that his contract would not be renewed. In Oct. 2021, Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, the assistant…
Dear Jodi and the Forward Family: I am writing to express my disappointment in your story about Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker’s contract. In my opinion, it is a feeble attempt at a salacious and irrelevant angle to what was a moment of fright and ultimately, Jewish unity. Clergy people change jobs. Some often. They do so…
Editor: I adamantly disagree with Dani Klein’s recent op-ed in these pages, “Kosher certification should not be a political weapon.” Yes, of course, rabbis and other Kashrut inspectors should be concerned about ingredients, but why should food companies that hurt our fellow Jews receive certification? The vast majority of those whom observe the laws of…
Editor: I was disappointed by Amy Silverman’s June 28 article in the Forward. Arizona is a great place to be a Jew. While Silverman asks why any Jew would stay in Arizona, the reality is that our Jewish community is active, vibrant and proud of being Jewish in the state. Arizona is not the right-wing…
Editor: As a sociologist who has worked in the areas of gender inequality and violence against women for nearly four decades, I am deeply concerned by the recently published article describing the failure of the Conservative Movement to respond appropriately to ethical violations including sexual misconduct and the article’s highlighting of one particular rabbi’s censure…
To the editor: It was with deep concern that I read the article “For the Conservative movement, an audit of ethics policies might be overdue” (June 1, 2021). The article, which used Rabbi Daniel Victor as the primary example of problematic conduct and disciplinary procedures, did not adequately explain the substance of the situation and…
To the editor, My heart is breaking, because Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, this week accused of “sexually predatory behavior,” is my beloved rabbi and teacher, a mentor who helped me on the road to my career as a rabbi. (“Reform Rabbinic giant disciplined for inappropriate relationships now accused of ‘sexually predatory behavior.’”) As a congregant at…
To the editor: In her op-ed, found in these pages, Abby Seitz astonishingly asserted that the Arab Joint-List was the party that best reflected her Jewish values. She claimed that her rabbis and educators stress our people’s supposed longstanding commitment to Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world.” But in Judaism, Jews are tasked with adhering to…
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