For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

I was able to go hear Rav Dovid Cohen at Lander College. I am not going to address what he spoke about. However, I will mention what he did. Rabbi Cohen walks with a cane. There was a podium the other speakers had used. They had prepared a chair and table for Rav Cohen to sit while he was speaking. Although it was clearly difficult for the Rav to speak while standing up by the podium, he decided to do so because the podium would block the view of some of the people present. He was speaking in the Beis Medrash. There were a few hundred seats. Maybe a few dozen people would have had their view impaired if he sat down. Those on the side could have stood up or moved their chairs to other areas if they wanted to see him. Yet he decided to stand for his shiur, which lasted an hour, and included him taking questions. It was clearly hard for Rav Cohen, since he was frequently leaning on the podium. This is a clear example of a person who is a gadol not only in knowledge but also in midos. I wonder how many of us in the same position would have done the same as he did. We may not have the ability to reach his level in knowledge, but we can try to emulate his conduct when considering others.

One of the disadvantages of having to write a weekly column as opposed to a daily column is that by the time the column is published, it may be outdated. That is why I will not comment on the particulars of the charges against Trump. Right now, all we know is that Trump was indicted. People have been trying to guess what the charges are. However, it may end up being a fool’s errand.

This month was the 80^th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. There is continuity between both events. There are many individuals who believe that but for the Holocaust, there would have not been a state of Israel. They rely upon the events that led to its founding. In 1917, Great Britain, with the Balfour Declaration, promised a Jewish Homeland in Palestine. However, after 1917, nothing concrete was done to achieve that goal. Even after Hitler took power in Germany and the Nuremberg Laws were passed, nothing changed. After Kristallnacht, there was outrage but no accommodation for the Jews who were desperate to leave Germany. The status quo remained throughout the entire war. There was no movement to create a state of Israel. Instead, the British made it more difficult for Jews to come to what was then called Palestine. The British felt that Arab oil was more important than Jewish blood.

This year will be the 75^th anniversary of the State of Israel. It should be a joyous occasion. Soon it will be Passover. Unfortunately, it appears that right now in Israel there is little joy. Instead, there is a country split apart. At the time of this writing, Yoav Gallant, the Defense Minister who asked that the vote for law be put on hold, was fired by the Prime Minister. The Defense Minister is no leftist. He is a member of the Likud Party, the same party as the Prime Minister. Also, the Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, resigned in protest to the law, and all Israeli embassies have closed for one day in protest. There are also strikes by various unions. 

A few weeks ago, I mentioned our guinea pig Oreo, who needed to take medication for a heart condition. Unfortunately, about seven months after Chestnut passed away on a Shabbos, Oreo passed away this past Shabbos, even though he seemed to be getting better. I followed the same routine as when Chestnut died. I buried him the next day and went to the animal shelter in Brooklyn and obtained a new guinea pig whom we are calling Slinky (I had nothing to do with naming him). Now there is the one-week period when they stay cage by cage until they get used to each other. The next step is to introduce them in a neutral area. Hopefully, it will work out and they will get along.

Although I am a lawyer, I am not admitted to practice law in Israel. Thus, I do not have expertise in Israeli law. However, I do understand politics and the roles of the courts in society. Therefore, I will venture into the issue of the new proposal which will significantly change the legal system in Israel.