While looking through a past copy of the Jerusalem Post on the internet, it saddened me when I happened upon an article about the death of Prairie Village resident, Esther Levens. I knew Esther quite well and actually helped her organize a group called “Voices United for Israel” – later to be renamed “Unity Coalition for Israel.” Here’s how my relationship with Esther began:
“Hashgatha Protis,” everything for a reason by God’s design. In recent discussion with my good friend Tim about the covenant between God and the Jewish people, I later reflected on the holiday of Purim whose intensely meaningful story/miracle had been decreed by God in the Torah to be recounted every year.
I agree with Sam Devinki, who writes in the Feb. 11 Chronicle that the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 is not comparable to the Holocaust; nothing is. But some of the rebels at the Capitol admire the Holocaust. Their sign “Camp Auschwitz” inspired my letter of Jan. 21.
Freedom of speech is central to a free society and is constantly under attack. That being said, I must paraphrase something Winston Churchill once said, “that we are masters of our thoughts, but slave to our words and actions.”
We can’t always win. And sometimes we make mistakes. And sometimes we get caught and punished. And sometimes it feels unfair. And sometimes it is just a bad day. But it still hurts. Like many of you, Leslie and I watched the Super Bowl with hopeful anticipation. As one quarter rolled into the next, the excitement gave way to loss and sadness.
It is hard to believe that it’s been a year since COVID-19 emerged. In the past 12 months our lives have dramatically shifted as we embraced life during a pandemic. The question we ask ourselves is what now? There is still so much confusion and unknown, with constant changes and upheavals coming our way. Where do we go from here?
In a recent Reader’s Forum letter entitled “A facistic insurrection,” the writer has once again chosen to use the Holocaust to reinforce her political opinions. In my opinion this is very dangerous, and shows a complete lack of regard for the millions who died because of the Nazi regime.
“To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal.”
I first discovered the writing of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, who passed away this week at age 90, as a beginning rabbinical student. His spiritual and Hasidic writings gave emotional lift to my classes on Jewish law.
