A Grateful Reader
I wish to express my heartfelt congratulations to Naomi Mauer, dynamic publisher of The Jewish Press, on the 65th anniversary of this extraordinary newspaper that I have been reading since I was a little girl. I just can’t thank you and your beloved parents, Rabbi Sholom Klass and Irene Klass, zt”l, enough for the many decades of inspiration, week after week, that shaped my life. The story of how your father brought this great paper about was just so fascinating (“65 & 25: The Jewish Press And Rabbi Sholom Klass,” Feb. 7).
We have to appreciate the great mesiras nefesh and extraordinary job your beloved father did, and despite his very hectic schedule, that he still continued giving shiurim as well. And it was so interesting to learn how he got all the dynamic columnists – huge legends – to write for The Jewish Press. They have really made a difference in people’s lives. We were taught, nurtured, inspired, and entertained.
The Jewish Press has been also responsible for saving numerous lives – I donated a kidney as a result of an ad in the paper over 19 years ago, and know of others as well who ended up also donating a kidney as a result of an ad in The Jewish Press! How great is that?
Naomi, I have read the great articles you have written over the many years. Of course, both of your parents are shepping huge nachas from you. Like your parents, you have a heart of gold that is well known. I thank you for all the extraordinary work you do and for continuing each week to enrich our lives with The Jewish Press. May Hashem reward you and your family greatly with lots of brachos, simchas, nachas, and good health till 120 years.
Chaya Lipschutz
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Why Should Israel Follow The Rebbe?
In a letter to The Jewish Press (“The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Foresight,” Feb. 7), Miriam Raquel Feldman suggests that the Israeli government shape its policies according to the teachings of her mentor, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I would raise two questions: First, why does she think the Rebbe’s Daas Torah is superior to that of any other gadol? Second, if those who make decisions in Israel are interested in the Torah’s viewpoint, wouldn’t it make more sense for them to consult with living rabbis?
Dr. Yaakov Stern
Via E-mail
Free Tuition Comes At A Cost
Re: “Can President Trump Make Yeshiva Tuition Free?” by Rabbi A.D. Motzen (Feb. 7): According to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2024 would cost U.S. taxpayers $19.6 billion just over the Fiscal Years 2025-29. (This cost is conveniently left out of the article.) In an atmosphere where President Trump believes that he has a mandate to reduce the size and cost of the federal government, how likely is it that this proposal is going to ever make it to his desk?
Edwin B. Zaslow
North Miami Beach, Fla.
Lessons From A Seinfeld Storyline
As a long-time fan of the Seinfeld television sitcom – though not necessarily of the moral character of the personalities portrayed therein – I respectfully disagree with the position of Rabbi Ben Zion Shafier and Rabbi Yaakov Klass in the January 1 “Is It Proper?” column to the effect that re-gifting generally is proper, as long as you don’t get caught.
Sure, there may be situations where re-gifting could be proper, as where the recipient of a gift has no good use for the gift but in good faith believes that it would be a useful gift for somebody else. However, the Seinfeld episode “The Label-Maker,” which popularized the term “re-gifting,” illustrates where things could go wrong.
In that episode, Elaine gives a holiday gift, a label-maker, to her dentist (Tim Whatley), only to find out that Tim “re-gifted” the label-maker to Elaine’s friend, Jerry Seinfeld, ostensibly in appreciation for Jerry having given him his two Super Bowl tickets which Jerry could not use. When Elaine confronts Tim about his having re-gifted her gift, he purports to justify his act by saying that it was “the worst gift I ever got” (because the adhesive was not strong enough and the labels would fall off).
By knowingly giving Jerry a defective gift, even if he had not been caught, Tim appears to have violated the rabbinical prohibition of g’neivas daas in that he gave the false impression that he was doing something nice for Jerry and that he had spent valuable time and money to do so. In addition, by “dissing” Jerry without Jerry knowing that he was being “dissed,” Tim may have violated – at least in spirit – the Torah prohibition, “That shalt not curse the deaf” (Leviticus 19:14).
Yes, Seinfeld is only a TV show “about nothing” where moral foibles are exaggerated for comedic effect. But that doesn’t mean that this can’t happen in real life; in fact, moral rules in halacha are based on the assumption that, left to their own devices, people will often act immorally. One advantage of re-gifting is that you get to give a gift for free; but those who re-gift should not necessarily be given a free moral pass.
Zachary M. Berman
Bronx, N.Y.
