Op-Eds
Op-Eds by our Officers and Fellows do not necessarily represent the views or focus issues of the CJV.
COVID-19 Extremes – Too Much of a Good Thing?
Anyone who has observed me these past four months through the present knows that I adhere to COVID-19 precautions with utmost seriousness. That said, as with everything, there needs to be a balance. Not a balance between safety and economic prosperity, but between safety and sanity, and between health and actuality.
Basement Joe
It is concerning, that they even would consider Basement Joe. Of course Biden wants to be safe; many Americans over 65 are staying indoors until a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is available. Good for him. And while he remains at home and in the basement, he is safe from getting caught thinking out loud. But how can Independents really want to place their lives, their economy, their children’s future in such hands?
Remembering Back Only Four Months Ago, As Prelude to a Rebound
The reality is that this is a bad season for President Trump and, of course, a darned shame. For three-plus years he has been Mount Rushmore quality. One of the best there ever has been.
Cry the Beloved Country
Justice and fairness do not require equal results, only equal opportunities. Indeed, communism/socialism proposes the injustice of equal results. So if some are born blind, since their vision cannot be restored, shall all others be blinded?
To My Family of Readers — What to Know and Expect When Severe Illness Hits Close to Home: A Guide (Part 2 of 2)
This concludes the quadrilogy arising from the recent passing of my precious wife of 20 years, Ellen the love of my life.
To My Family of Readers — What to Know and Expect When Severe Illness Hits Close to Home: A Guide (Part 1 of 2)
I share observations that, although sometimes personal and in some discrete instances unique to my Orthodox Jewish religious faith and practices, I think also are universal and will help many readers navigate your own future experiences.
The Women’s Semicha Exam Subversion Scheme in Eretz Yisroel
Torah interests in Eretz Yisroel are in serious trouble. In order to appreciate the issues and have any sense of true insight, we must take a step back and look at the Halacha, the history, the personalities involved and the agenda behind this women’s “semicha” campaign.
In Memoriam: For Ellen, My Precious Wife of Twenty Years, the Love of My Life — Part 2 of 2
She was the love of my life, my “partner in crime,” and the reason and encouragement that motivated me to return to writing, to teaching law, and to serve again as a congregational rabbi after a prior career of 10 years in the pulpit.
In Memoriam: For Ellen, My Precious Wife of Twenty Years, the Love of My Life — Part 1 of 2
I have had to scale back my writing a bit these past four months because of the hardest, most challenging experience of my life. You are my family, so I share: The love of my life, my wife Ellen, was fading.
Judaism is Emphatically “Pro-Life”
The Jewish Bible’s position on life is unambiguous—and unambiguously “pro-life.” It is the source for the value placed on human life in civilized Western society. The Torah identifies human life as a soul placed (breathed) within a body by G-d Himself.