Where What When I have just found your website....© By To The Editor To the Editor,I have just found your website after receiving the most recent issue of the WWW. It is a great site, especially with the archiving of the articles! I will bookmark this for future reference. Yasher koach! Norris L. Horwitz To the Editor, Regarding David Gerstman’s article on Jimmy Carter, I must point out that the author is incorrect with respect to Monroe Freedman. I believe that Monroe Freedman would be very disappointed to hear that he is not Jewish. I have known Monroe for almost 30 years. He is most definitely Jewish. He has been a member of the Roslyn Synagogue in Roslyn, New York, for all the time that I have known him. Your author misread the source from which he extracted the information. The quote from the www.worldnetdaily.com/staticarticles/article53954.html is as follows: “Freedman, who served on the council during Carter’s term as president, also revealed a noted Holocaust scholar who was a Presbyterian Christian was rejected from the council’s board by Carter’s office because the scholar’s name ‘sounded too Jewish.’” Jesse Levy David Gerstman replies: I’d like to thank Jesse Levy for correcting my mistake about Monroe Freedman’s religion. I see that I misread a number of accounts of the incident. Prof. Freedman was talking about a third party who had a Jewish sounding name but wasn’t himself Jewish. To the Editor, Thank you to Mrs. Sema Ely for referencing Jewish Information and Referral Service in her letter about finding information in a discreet manner, and to Where What When for printing the letter. Jewish Information and Referral Service (JIRS), a program of Jewish Family Services, has been helping the community find appropriate resources for more than 25 years. We have information about social services, synagogues, kosher food, child care, financial assistance, employment, education, transportation, medical needs, and much more. JIRS is located in the Jewish community Services building at 5750 Park Heights, and is open Monday through Friday. We can be reached by phone at 410-466-INFO (4636) and via email at jirs@jfs.org Finally, our up-to-date website, www.jirs.info, is a great way to get information confidentially any time of day. Jewish Information and Referral Service welcomes inquiries and looks forward to continuing to be of assistance to the entire community. Sincerely, Brenda M. Zirkin, Program Coordinator To the Editor, This letter is prompted by the recent number of weather delays and closings that have affected our schools. I can’t help but wonder why the principals of the various schools can’t coordinate their schedules with each other. On one recent day, Bais Yaakov announced they would open at 12:30, TI opened at 10:00, and TA and Bnos Yisrael opened on time. I realize that there are circumstances which could cause one school to make a different decision than another, but this seems to be a frequent occurrence. It makes it very difficult for parents who have children in different schools to make arrangements. It is one thing if all schools open one hour late because then carpools can all be shifted uniformly. But when they all do things differently, it is sometimes impossible to make the necessary schedule changes. This also causes some mothers who are teachers to bring their children to school for a few hours until the other schools open. This is not good for the students, the teachers, or the children who have to come to the schools. It disturbs the atmosphere for all parties involved. I can’t believe that bringing 10-year-old girls to a boys school is something that is looked upon favorably. It also causes some teachers to have to leave in the middle of class to transport students to one of the other schools. I am certainly not questioning the importance of learning at every opportunity available, nor am I judging administrators who have to decide how best to protect our children. However, there are some practical considerations involved as well. It seems that it would be so simple for the principals to have a conference call with each other before making announcements. In truth, it would be nice if the calendars in general could be coordinated. For example, this year, on Shushan Purim, some schools were close altogether and others opened at different times. A little uniformity among the schools would go a long way. Marc Meisler To the Editor, What a bracha to live in our community! Yesterday, I learned that a certain fourth grader’s homework from Bnos Yisroel was about hashgacha pratis. In doing it, she talked about having bitachon. Imagine that! That may seem commonplace to you, but to me, working all the time to cultivate greater awareness, it took my breath away to see that she already had ideas about these vital aspects of our relationship with Hashem. On February 14, a lot of beautiful white stuff fell from the sky. A big pile of it blocked the outward-opening gate that protects my front door. Oh, dear, snowed in? Not for long. A neighbor with a snow blower had already, kindly, unexpectedly, cleaned my walk, as well as a path to the garbage cans, bringing a lump to my throat and a smile to my heart. Then, two boys who “just happened to be” making their way down the block with snow shovels, tackled the pile of snow in front of the door, and cleared it away, so that I could open the gate. I didn’t show them the tears that their kindness had brought to my eyes. They refused payment or even hot chocolate. A little sleuthing revealed that they were the Tanen boys, Daniel and Raphael, who are in the seventh grade and the second grade, respectively, at TA. A week later, Hakodesh Baruch Hu sent us another awe-inspiring, snowy display of His glory. With mixed feelings, I gazed out the window from my favorite chair, watching it accumulate. Would my kindly neighbor help me out again, or would I have to find another way to clear the cold, wet fluff, which was already a few inches deep? Remember how that previous snowfall had become treacherously icy if left uncleared? Just as I was beginning to feel a touch of uneasiness at the thought of being stuck in the house for days or more, I began to hear voices outside, and I realized that the sun was shining. Hmmm, I thought, if I go out with my shovel, at least I will have a little companionship. I bundled up and out I went, just in time to enjoy helping my neighbor’s daughter clear my patio. Doing things “together,” with smiles from the heart, truly brightens the day for someone who is usually doing things alone! It turns out that this neighbor had bought the snow blower “for the block”(!), and his kids were out clearing all the walks and sidewalks. He, himself, was out with a shovel, adding finishing touches. When I went out to thank him, he said that he had emulated another neighbor, who has the “block generator.” Just imagine: A community-building chesed, “block-building,” as opposed to “block-busting.” Being the recipient of this neighbor’s generosity moved me greatly. And it inspired me to ask, “What chesed can I do?” as I began to review mentally all of the wonderful chesed projects that others do so well. When we all stretch ourselves and pitch in, it is exciting to see how Hashem takes care of us with the help of such wonderful emissaries – us! Thank you, Hashem, and thank you to the parents, teachers, and administrators of all the wonderful schools that do such an amazing job of raising the next generation and bringing nachas to our community. And thank you to the children, who went out with enthusiasm on those cold, cold days, to help, inspire, and bring joy to others! Sincerely, Zivia Fuld Copyright © April 2007 Where What When |
|
