Is Trump Too Good?
With all that President Trump has accomplished in his two years in office, I don’t understand how people can still oppose him so vehemently.
I finally appreciate the Yiddish expression my grandmother used to utter: “A chisaron, di kalleh iz tzu sheen – A downside, the bride is too pretty.”
Pesach-Yonah Malevitz
Miami Beach, FL
Murdered Journalist Was No Saint
The journalist who was murdered by the Saudis was an anti-Semite who wanted Israel destroyed. He was an extremist and Islamist, and openly critical of the Saudi royal family. He was hardly an innocent victim.
The liberal fake news media is trying to spin this affair to make it seems as if it’s Trump’s fault. Liberals are so desperate to attack Trump that they jump on any anti-Trump storyline, no matter how fanciful.
Trump is doing business with Saudi Arabia, not because he loves the country, but because it’s good for America. He sells it arms and gets cheap oil in return that he no longer buys from Iran.
Liberals want Trump to stop working with Saudi Arabia and re-embrace Obama’s Iran Deal. Trump wants regime change in Iran. All the chatter has nothing to do with the reporter. The media is politicizing his murder to attack Trump.
How he died is horrific, but the world is a better place without him.
Brian J. Goldenfeld
Woodland Hills, CA
A Vote For Trichter For State Comptroller
Republican/Conservative Party candidate Jonathan Trichter is a good choice for state comptroller. Albany has always had members of different political parties holding key statewide offices at the same time. This state of affairs create a checks and balances dynamic, insuring honesty.
Past Republican Governors Nelson Rockefeller and George Pataki had Democrats Arthur Levitt, Carl McCall, and Alan Hevisi as state comptrollers. Democrat Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo had Republican comptroller Ned Regan.
For taxpayers, regardless of ideology or party affiliation, Jonathan Trichter is the logical choice. He can hold Cuomo accountable, precluding waste, fraud and abuse. Trichter will also have his hands full keeping an eye on Democrat State Assembly Speaker Carl Hastie and the new State Senate majority leader Stewart Cousins.
One party control of Albany is a recipe for disaster.
Larry Penner
Challenged To A Debate
Rabbi Glatt, I would like you to publicly debate the science, safety, and public policy surrounding the current public health vaccination program with Dr. Brian Hooker, who exposed recordings of conversations he had with whistle blower government scientist Dr. William Thompson, clearly demonstrating that vaccine safety science at the CDC has been falsified.
Contrary to your portrayal of the science being “settled,” there are many credentialed, reputable scientists from a variety of disciplines who have identified problems with the safety profile of the current CDC vaccine recommendations.
Since the science surrounding vaccine safety has been falsified, and is incomplete, the various piskei halacha based on this science are null and void. The public is right to be concerned when the medical establishment quashes debate on this issue and suppresses science that contradicts the current accepted dogma.
Anonymous
Is The Hep B Vaccine Necessary?
I generally agree with Rabbi Glatt’s article. However I’d be cautious with how much power the government has in this matter. Case in point:
After my son was born, the hospital scheduled a bunch of vaccinations for him, including a Hepatitis B shot on the second day of his life. I told the doctor I didn’t want my son to get that shot as it didn’t make sense for an infant to get immunized against a disease that has the same risk factors as HIV/AIDS.
I was told I could postpone it, but that he would eventually need it to enter the school system. When I asked the doctor “Why?” and said it didn’t make sense to vaccinate infants against Hep B, she became defensive and gave me PC reasons for why it was necessary.
I later researched the issue and came to the conclusion that the vaccine is required for all infants so as not to discriminate against heroin-addicted mothers and others who engage in risky behavior that could put their infants at higher risk of infection.
Since vaccinations are not risk-free, I’d like to have the option of opting out of vaccinations for diseases for which my children are at little to no risk of contracting, and which cannot be spread by casual contact.
Jon Rubin,
Mountain House, CA
Rabbi Dr. Glatt responds: I usually do not respond to anonymous letters. Suffice to say that the misinformation provided in this anonymous letter is typical of the non-science-based anti-vaccination lobby, and is parroted straight from the anti-vaxxer movie “Vaxxed.”
William Thompson (the so-called “CDC whistleblower”) himself has commented publicly: “I want to be absolutely clear that I believe vaccines have saved and continue to save countless lives. I would never suggest that any parent avoid vaccinating children of any race. Vaccines prevent serious diseases, and the risks associated with their administration are vastly outweighed by their individual and societal benefits.”
This is the person anti-vaxxers rely on to support their cause?
There is no expert medical opinion arguing that the vaccinations I wrote about are not strongly recommended. None. And again, all poskim require one to follow appropriate medical advice.
I thank Mr. Rubin for his thoughtful comment. I have publicly stated that not all vaccines are perfect, not all are appropriate for all populations, and not all vaccines should be treated the same.
While I strongly support giving the hepatitis B vaccine, which has helped countless lives, including shomer Torah u’mitzvos Jews, my article did not discuss this vaccine, as it has a minimal impact on other people. If someone refuses to get this vaccine, he or she is mostly only hurting him or herself. The vaccines I was discussing, in contrast, are easily spread in a classroom, beis medrash, or shul, and are a public health concern to others.
There is no posek who writes that vaccination is forbidden according to halacha. None. Therefore, it is sheker to defy state laws mandating vaccination claiming a religious exemption. Not wanting to vaccinate one’s children is a personal preference, which state law does not recognize.
Bottom line: State law requires vaccination. Dina d’malchusa dina. The children of a person who flouts this law are not allowed into school since they are needlessly exposing other children to danger. Vaccinate or home-school – those are the only two options.
Ultimately, we all must answer only to Hashem. However, when our actions impact other people, the laws of damages, grama and garmi, come into play. One simply does not have the halachic right to place others at risk.
Pittsburgh Massacre – Trump’s Fault?
Predictably, the liberal leaning Pittsburgh Jewish community now seeks to blame Trump’s “inflammatory rhetoric” for the horrific massacre this past Shabbat. This rhetoric, it claims, emboldened right-wing forces in this country.
In fact, however, if there have been any tendencies emboldened by the Trump presidency, it has been those of the hateful left. And if Trump uses any “over the top” or incendiary language, it is only in neutralizing the damaging effect of left-wing lies. It should be noted, incidentally, that the shooter did not vote for Trump.
Lawrence Kulak
More Logic Needed In Evolution Debate
I’ve read with interest and delight your ongoing series on Torah and evolution, a topic that has long fascinated me.
I’d like to add two comments: The first is in response to Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s point that Hashem could have set in motion the creation of the world in a seemingly random way, thus aligning with scientists who believe the world and everything in it was created randomly or, more accurately, through a series of trial and errors.
While it’s true that that is indeed the message one gets when reading the book of Esther – that Hashem sometimes works in a hidden, seemingly random way – when reading the first 22 pesukim of Bereishis, one gets the exact opposite message: that Hashem created the world in a meticulously planned and organized way, leaving nothing to chance.
In the words of Rabbi Zvi Grumet in Genesis (Maggid Books), “The regularity of the structure leaves us with a profound sense that the process has been carefully planned in advance and is methodical.”
My second point is in response to Rabbi Yeheskel Lebovic. While it’s true, as he wrote, that Hashem could have simply planted dinosaur bones in the ground – and thus we have no proof that dinosaurs ever lived – positing that Hashem did so leads to an open-ended argument and “ein l’davar sof.” As Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, a”h, points out in a lecture (available online):
If you say Hashem created the world 5,778 years ago bearing signs of being billions of years of history, you can also say that Hashem created the world a minute ago and implanted in our heads memories of having lived much longer than one minute.
So yes, Hashem can do as He pleases. But it’s always better to look for simpler and more logical conclusions than suggesting the earth contains evidence of creatures that never existed.
Michael Greenstein
Is Trump The Devil?
I’ve been watching the news channels and talk shows, and notice that, with the exception of Fox, our president is being depicted as a Hitler – a demonic force that must be stopped in the midterm elections. He cannot do, or say, anything correct in their eyes.
Newsflash: The president did not murder the Jews in Pittsburgh. He is being blamed, however, as if he had – as if he is the instigator of hate in our country. The opposition, meanwhile, apparently consists of saints.
I encourage everyone not to listen to the left’s rhetoric and to be aware of how most newspapers depict Trump supporters as Nazis and the president as Hitler. Matters will only get worse. We must stand strong and fight back.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
A Secular Education Proposal
Due to arrogance, modern man is no longer connected to his spiritual and moral base. The knowledge secular scholars possess about the world, however, is worthwhile. How can we access it without confusing our students?
I have a suggestion. The Torah begins with the days of creation. On day one, Hashem said, “Let there be light.” From kindergarten on, I suggest we teach children about light according to their level of understanding. What are the various sources of light in nature? To what use have we put it?
On the second day, Hashem said, “Let there be a firmament on the heavens and earth.” The Malbim and Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch believe the “firmament” to be the atmosphere encompassing the earth. We can use this passuk teach yeshiva students about air and air pressure, showing how modern science has uncovered their workings and use.
In short, over the course of a child’s yeshiva education, we can slowly introduce him or her to the world Hashem created. I believe such a curriculum, built on the days of creation and taught by frum teachers, will greatly enhance our children’s perspective of Hashem’s world.
Esther Serebryanski
Reject Tom Malinowski
The affiliations and actions of Tom Malinowski, who is running for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th District, are so repugnant that he must be defeated.
Starting in 2001, and for over a decade, Malinowski served as the Washington director of Human Rights Watch – a leader of the anti-Semitic BDS movement. Malinowski also served in the Obama State Department from 2013 to 2017, where he backed the Iran Deal (which he continues to support.
Furthermore, Malinowski favors funding the Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to impose Sharia law across the globe. Its Palestinian branch has even called for staging an “uprising” against the U.S. for relocating its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Yet, Malinowski told the Washington Post that labeling the Brotherhood a terrorist organization “would signal [that the White House is] more interested in provoking conflict with an imaginary fifth column of Muslims in the U.S. than in preserving our relationships with counterterrorism partners.”
Is prohibiting aid to those who foment violence a “provocation”? Is the Brotherhood’s opposition to U.S. interests “imaginary”? Is the Brotherhood a “counterterrorism partner”?
Malinowski’s affiliations and actions reveal a man who does not value our relationship with Israel, and greatly favors America’s adversaries. Anyone who values America’s special relationship with Israel must oppose Mr. Malinowski.
Joel M. Weingarten
Representative in New Jersey’s General Assembly for six years