The Way It Iz

We are all taught as children that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of sin’as chinam, or baseless hatred among fellow Jews. I had always been of the opinion that this was a direct punishment from G-d. Hashem looked down on us and saw that we, as a nation, were being hateful towards one another, and as a punishment, He destroyed Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash, and sent the people into exile.

By now, the election is over, and we probably already know who has control of the Senate, the House, Governor’s Mansion, and a host of other seats up locally and nationwide. So yay! - or boo! - depending on your party affiliation. Of course, there are probably some elections that we still don’t have the results for and may not for a while now, so I think we can all agree: grrr.

On Sunday, The Orthodox Union held their biennial convention at the Young Israel of Woodmere. It was the final convention of outgoing President Moishe Bane, and the official election of the new administration, including new OU President and Kew Gardens Hills resident Mitch Aeder.

Yeshiva University has been recently embroiled in a controversy surrounding the existence of an LGBTQ club. For a while, all clubs had been suspended, and students had to resort to mundane things like going to class, studying for exams, and writing papers. This whole experience got me thinking about how colleges as a whole can learn from this experience. And no, it’s not about what clubs should be allowed to exist.

Over the last several weeks, three prominent individuals have been accused of spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric, but the outcry has been seemingly uneven. However, if you look into each instance, it becomes obvious as to why these three individuals received the outcomes they did. Spoiler: It has very little to do with anti-Semitism.

The United States is a Christian country. We may not have an official religion, but come on – it’s not like we shut down the nation on Rosh HaShanah or Eid al-Fitr. The only religious holidays nationally recognized are Christmas and Easter. So, it’s not surprising when other areas of life and law are based on Christian understanding. The most prominent of these laws today are the cases surrounding abortion. Many pro-life advocates are pushing for stronger prohibitions on abortion than even Jewish law would allow. Currently, however, no state has laws on the books that would not make an exception for saving the life of the mother. And few, if any, have laws that prohibit in vitro fertilization. At most, there is some ambiguity that needs to be cleared up.