Tracing Tashlich
Re: “The History and Meaning of Tashlich” by Saul Jay Singer (Sept. 19): He states that “the ceremony is actually a relatively late development in Jewish religious life, and Tashlich does not appear in the Talmud and is absent from the early Geonic and Mishnaic sources.” I draw attention to a fascinating Rashi (Shabbos, daf 81, amud bais, s.v. Hai parpisah) where he mentions a ritual from Geonic times that is strongly reminiscent of both our Tashlich and Kaparos ceremonies (performed together!) and may be the forerunner of both.
Dr. Robert Tracer
Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Perennial Double Standard
The world’s hypocrisy and double standard when it comes to Israel never cease to amaze me.
Israel defends itself against an enemy that invaded its borders and killed and kidnapped its civilians. Yet Israel is demonized and condemned, and Jews wherever they are are singled out as targets.
Russia mercilessly invades Ukraine and unleashes its forces on innocents. Yet the world is silent.
No matter what, world opinion will never be in our favor.
Perry Ciment
Via E-mail
Don’t Just Despair – Do Something!
The front-page article by Esti DeAngelis, “Is Mamdani’s Victory – and NYC’s Deterioration – Assured?” in the October 3 issue of The Jewish Press describes the grim situation in the New York City mayoral election and what can be done about it by Jews. There are two words used in the column that stand out as red flags: One is “nothing” and the other is “hope.” These words during a campaign signify the absence of any effort to do anything – a complete surrender without trying.
Nothing in life is gained by hoping or by doing nothing. Those are cover words for losers or lazy people. No matter how dire the situation, we must always do whatever we can to try to influence the outcome. Often, unforeseen “miracles” do occur. And if not, at least we have tried our best; that is all we can do.
The Mamdani race has one month to go, and one month can be a lifetime in politics, as Hillary Clinton found out in her presidential election campaign. Jews can and should be up in arms – fighting, demonstrating, and rallying against a professed antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, socialist candidate running for mayor of the financial capital of the world, which is also home to the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel. Instead, we see much anguish, complaints, and wringing of hands from our brethren, but almost no visible action. Not from our leaders, residents, neighbors, fellow congregants, organizations, businesses, or political figures, all of whom would be seriously affected by the outcome of the race. Even more ominous is the expectation that as many as 60-70% of Jews will still vote for the Democratic ticket.
While Mamdani’s campaign in New York City is the focus of most of the Jews’ anguish, there is still the rest of the country and even the world, where Jews can blunt the effects of any unfavorable outcome by voting for pro-Israel, pro-Jewish candidates, stopping political divisiveness in Israel in the midst of a terrible war, rising up against global antisemitic acts and sentiment, and many other areas where Jewish action can make a big difference. But sadly, the response is the same – that is, mostly silence from our own leaders and people.
“Doing nothing” and “hope” seem to be the most prevalent response that the Jewish people are coming up with in the face of threatening situations, and these accomplish nothing. As R’ Hillel said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”
Max Wisotsky
Highland Park, N.J.