Home

Time for unity

I must express dismay at Jeffrey Korbman's letter in your Jan. 16, 2009 edition.

Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva has an outstanding track record of support for the Jewish people in Israel, especially in a time of war. It has historically generously accorded the use of its facility for gatherings in the support of Israel. RPRY's unswerving support for Israel is laudable.

The fact is that more than 500 members of the Highland Park/Edison Jewish community, young and old, men and women, Orthodox, non-Orthodox, and unaffiliated attended a tehillim prayer service on Jan. 11, at RPRY. It was a very strong show of support for our brothers and sisters in Israel who are in the line of fire not only in Gaza, but in southern and northern Israel as well. The Va'ad HaRabbonim, who publicized the event and invited everyone in the community to attend, and RPRY for spontaneously agreeing to the use of its facility on little notice, should be the most highly recommended for their staunch support and dire concern about the situation in Israel.

I am dismayed at the inaccurate, misplaced, knitpicking about protocol expressed by Mr. Korbman in his letter to the editor. When Israel is at war and soldiers are dying to save other Jewish lives, Israel and the Jewish people need to support each other. It is a time to emphasize our concern for the Jewish people in the Holy Land through our unity and acts of support on their behalf.

Leonard Aurbach
Edison

Open community of RPRY

Jeffrey Korbman's letter ("Bigger than denominations," Jan. 16) gives the unfortunate impression (inadvertently, I hope) that Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva (RPRY) sponsored a "community" prayer service to which only Orthodox members of the community were invited. This is simply not true. RPRY was not a sponsor of the service. Whenever RPRY sponsors an educational or religious program, the entire Jewish community is invited. The service was organized by the Orthodox Va'ad Harabonim of Raritan Valley and sponsored by the Orthodox synagogues. The Va'ad rented RPRY's facility for the service. RPRY is not affiliated in any way with the Va'ad, and RPRY had no input in the organization of or publicity for the service.

Since its founding in 1945, RPRY has eschewed the denominational labels which only serve to divide our community. All rabbis in the community whose congregations include member families with children at RPRY are invited to serve on our Board of Directors, regardless of their congregations' denominational affiliations. While RPRY has always adhered to the guidelines of normative Orthodox halacha, our mission has always been to serve all Jewish children in the area with open arms, as per our institutional Philosophy and Objectives, "without regard to the family's level of Jewish religious observance or affiliation, and without regard to the family's ability to pay. There is a policy of open admissions for all Jewish students who desire our program.... Academic ability, ability to pay tuition and level of Jewish religious observance or affiliation are not considered in admissions determinations". We welcome anyone to visit RPRY and see our warm, vibrant and open community of Jewish children and their teachers.

Hillel Raymon, Chair, Board of Education, RPRY
Edison

Kashrut at Shushan Grill

In his letter accusing me of the "inexcusable" conduct of questioning a rabbi's decision, Dr. Kusnetz enjoins me to give the Va'ad the benefit of the doubt. That is the same label with which a rabbi is branding, and forever damning, a sincere ba'al t'shuvah, despite the halachic obligation to forgive a genuine apology.

Dr. Kusnetz supports his exhortation by extolling the virtues of the rabbis who constitute the Va'ad. He even asks God to forbid me from thinking thoughts that conflict with the doctor's own religious philosophy. I do not dispute that many of our community rabbis are people of great merit. Nevertheless, unlike the Catholic perception of their Pope, Jewish theology does not consider rabbis infallible. Rabbis are human and capable of acting in a petty, vindictive, or unjust manner.

Furthermore, it makes no sense to give any person the benefit of the doubt (a favorable judgment granted in the absence of full evidence) when the facts are known and they do not support that judgment.

Unfortunately, Dr. Kusnetz does not know all the facts surrounding the Va'ad's decision not to certify Shushan Grill, but I was privy to them. As such, I am the person who deserves the benefit of the doubt. His facts and arguments are also flawed.

Despite Dr. Kusnetz's focus on Cholov Israel and Chasidishe Shechita, the issue here has nothing to do with differing kashrut standards. Of course, each rabbi has the right to decide the kashrut policy for his shul and I don't care what food the rabbi preventing Shushan Grill's certification from the Va'ad allows into his shul or whether his shul has separate staircases for men and women. What is disturbing is that mainstream Orthodox Judaism is being hijacked by one of its right-wing co-religionists. The Va'ad should not be dictated to by one rabbi whose religious standards are different from the majority of the Va'ad rabbis and the majority of the local Orthodox community.

Dr. Kusnetz does not know me but he has no problem accusing me of cavalierly denigrating Torah scholars. He cites vague accusations and rumors regarding the Eruv but does not know that it was through my efforts, together with those of Rabbi Raymon z'l and Israel Rivkin, that the Highland Park-Edison Eruv exists.

Although I felt compelled to respond to the doctor's personal attack, the issue is not about him or me. While it would be the height of righteousness and justice for the Va'ad to reconsider its decision and grant its certification to Shushan Grill, I don't recommend that the kosher community hold its collective breath waiting for that to happen. Instead, we should show our support for the Dror family, true ba'alei teshuva, by patronizing their restaurant. It is certified kosher by Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech who was the regional director for the kashrut division of the OU.

Finally I ask mechillah from Dr. Kusnetz and any rabbis who may have been offended by anything I wrote. My intention was not to demean, insult, or diminish anyone but rather to try to correct what I perceive as a grievous injustice. I also forgive Dr. Kusnetz for his intemperate characterizations of me.

Mark Epstein
Edison

Stray animal overpopulation in Israel

My family and I recently returned from a trip to Israel to celebrate my daughter's bat mitzvah. Our hope was that our visit to Israel would ensure that she entered her teenage years understanding her Jewish heritage and the importance of Israel's existence for the Jewish people. The trip was wonderful and meaningful, yet throughout our tour, I was amazed and distressed by the huge numbers of stray cats roaming in all the cities and towns.

Everywhere I looked, there were stray cats -- near buildings, in gardens, in the streets, and even on rooftops. Some looked fairly healthy and others appeared ill or starving. Being an animal lover, having worked in the humane field, and having pets of my own, my heart went out to them. I, of course began to ponder what I could do to help.

Upon my return home, research revealed that Israel has a severe stray cat and dog overpopulation problem because of a hot climate that allows animals to exist on the edge of survival, and because of a lack of spaying and neutering. I contacted an organization called CHAI: Concern for Helping Animals in Israel, an American organization working in Israel to help animals, along with its Israeli sister organization, Hakol CHAI.

At CHAI's inception in 1984, awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering to reduce pet overpopulation was virtually non-existent, and the availability of low-cost operations was limited. Inhumane methods of population control were commonplace, including the use of the slow-acting, painful poison strychnine. In the face of this bleak reality, CHAI began a campaign to raise consciousness in teachers, veterinarians, and government officials as well as in the general public about the need to help animals.

Now I know that there is a crisis in Israel, and people's lives are in danger, yet I feel compelled to shed light on the current pet overpopulation problem. With this in mind, I'd like to encourage animal-friendly readers to learn about CHAI and their efforts in Israel and to consider making a donation. I know I did. Please visit their Web site at chai-online.org to learn more.

I would also like to mention that according to Judaism, animals are part of God's creation and people have special responsibilities to them. The Jewish tradition clearly indicates that Jews are forbidden to be cruel to animals and are to treat them with compassion.

Jenny-Ann Kershner
Somerset