Dear Editor:
On behalf of the current and past parents of Bnos Malka, I want to publicly thank Michael Salzbank for his incredible 11 years of dedicated service as Executive Director (and so much more!) of Bnos Malka Academy. There’s no way to put into words how much Mr. Salzbank meant to us and to BMA. But here’s a small glimpse.
Mr. Salzbank knew every single child by name. He was always joking around with the girls and bringing smiles to their faces. He took incredible photos and videos, which he was always sharing with us. He would even take photos of us parents at events and email them over. There was no such thing as a BMA event without Mr. Salzbank’s smile greeting everyone. Whether it was the Parent Appreciation Melaveh Malkah, the Annual Dinner, graduation, or “just” a Siddur/Chumash/Chanukah play, he was there, camera in hand, infectious smile on his face.
His never-ending determination to do everything he could for the school manifested itself in many ways. Whether it was his fundraising emails, raffle campaigns, etc. or his food-centric endeavors through Claire’s Kosher Kitchen (in memory of his dear mother, a”h). We had the pleasure of attending many simchahs and events that he catered, and we always enjoyed his food and, of course, his mother’s cookies.
I don’t think any of us will ever forget seeing Mr. Salzbank at the pickups for the Covid food boxes that he arranged. During those dark days, it was a desperately needed beacon of sunshine that really helped out not only the BMA families, but many others from the community, as well. It was a gargantuan effort (especially without an elevator!), but he pulled it off as usual.
It is not easy, at all, to be responsible for the tuition negotiation and collection process and still maintain a relationship with the parents that is even cordial, let alone friendly. Mr. Salzbank somehow managed it perfectly. He always dealt with everyone with a unique sensitivity and understanding. It did not go unnoticed.
To end off, Mr. Salzbank, thank you for everything you did for all of us. You have played a vital role in the education of our children. Your passion, commitment, and dedication to Bnos Malka Academy are things we can all strive to emulate. We will miss you dearly, and we all wish you the very best in whatever comes next. We love you!
A Grateful Parent
In Loving Memory Of Malkah Cohen
Dear Editor:
I first met Sarah Malkah Cohen back when I was single, and I got to know her over a period of 20+ years.
The first thing I remember about her is her warmth and friendliness. Malkah looked at people without prejudice and set the example for all of us to do the same. It didn’t matter who you were or what your background was or what challenges you might be facing. All she did was care, care, and care some more. I met a lot of incredible people and made friends because of her. And I’m proud to associate with her family.
I’ve known my whole life that geirim and baalei t’shuvah do not deserve to be marginalized or treated like second-class citizens. But Malkah carried herself like the queen/malkah that she was. I cannot imagine anyone seeing her as a second-class citizen.
I also remember that she was a voice of wisdom and reason. Of course, Malkah’s life experiences left her with a lot of wisdom, but it takes a special person to share that wisdom without coming off as “smarter than thou.” I loved talking to her and hearing her wisdom. And she didn’t mind sharing her background. I still love the story of how she chose the name Malkah.
I think what I remember most about her is her encouragement of people’s talents. Malkah was a trained singer and performer, and she used her skills to help other performers. With her help, I was able to participate in For Women, By Women performances as a singer. I’ll never forget the voice lessons she gave me. I love doing Yoga as an exercise, and when I suggested that we performers use Yoga breathing for voice warmups, she encouraged that. She taught me about good posture and to notice where I might be straining. She also taught me about jazz as a music form back when I was singing a jazz-type song for a performance.
Yes, I’m sad that Malkah is gone and I will miss her. But I’m so thankful to Hashem that I had a chance to get to know her.
T’hei nishmasah tz’rurah bitzror ha’chayim.
Sincerely,
Meira E. Schneider-Atik
Pay Someone Else!
Dear Editor:
I know you are all busy labeling your kids’ clothing (or do you pay someone to do that?), folding clothes, and packing them securely in a trunk or duffel bag. Ahh! Breathe in the aroma of freshly laundered or purchased clothes. Now, spin forward eight weeks. Wear a mask over your nose, don rubber gloves and an apron and toss those dirty, smelly clothes into a laundry bin or better yet, into a garbage can. Wait! Money always solves the problem. According to The Wall Street Journal, you can spend $245 and have those soiled, malodorous clothes cleaned, folded and deposited on your front steps. Who says money doesn’t buy happiness?
This got me thinking (Cogito ergo sum) as to how I would waste money that I don’t have. First, I would hire someone to catalogue my refrigerator and pantry. After all, just because ShopRite has a sale on mustard doesn’t mean I have to buy 2 large mustards when I already have three in the fridge. Also, one would assume that I am a Chinese chef based on the number of soy sauce bottles I have. Plus, there must be a shortage of mayonnaise in the world since I own so many jars of Hellman’s mayonnaise.
Then, I’d pay someone to sit in a waiting room in the doctor’s office and stare at the other patients. Let my AI wonder why the other patients are bedecked in jewelry when we were specifically told not to wear any. Maybe lab grown diamonds don’t fit that category. My assigned person could listen to one-to-two hours of dreadful canned music and count the tiles on the floor.
However, since I don’t have such discretionary cash on me, I guess I’ll just have to waste my money on Netflix and shoes.
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
I want to express my heartfelt hakaras ha’tov to my family, friends, rabbis, rebbetzins, and neighbors for their unwavering support during my recovery. Their kindness, visits, and encouragement have been invaluable.
Though I’ve already rejoined our wonderful community, I carry with me the memory of their compassion. From the friendly smiles to the thoughtful gestures, they’ve made my healing journey easier.
Thank you for being there when I needed it most. Our community truly exemplifies the spirit of caring and togetherness.
With warm regards,
Magda Gruenglas
The Fallacy Of Following “The Science”
Dear Editor:
Dr. Fauci was the face of our government’s response to Covid-19. He was the driving force behind mask mandates and the six-foot social distancing rule. In a 2021 interview with Chuck Todd of MSNBC, Dr. Fauci defended his opinions, saying they were all “fundamentally based on science,” and an attack on his opinion was “an attack on science.”
It’s more than four years later now, and Dr. Fauci’s pronouncements are not holding up too well to the current scrutiny they are getting. In Congressional testimony two weeks ago, Fauci said he couldn’t recall reviewing studies about the effectiveness of masks, and he also admitted that he had not reviewed any subsequent studies about the unintended consequences of masking children such as learning loss or developmental delays.
When asked about the origins of the six-foot distancing rule, Fauci stated, “It was just an empiric decision that was not based on data or even data that could be accomplished,” and that the six-foot rule “sort of just appeared.” So much for being based on “science.”
There are people who are reading this letter who, if they’re being honest with themselves, felt a sense of moral superiority wearing their face diaper in the street on a beautiful sunny day. They felt completely justified following draconian shul rules on masking and eager to harass a fellow worshipper for not adhering to the six-foot distancing rule. And why wouldn’t they? After all, in 2021, they were the defenders of “science.”
Well, it’s 2024 now and it turns out all their blustering, shaming, and harassing attempts to beat thinking people into complying with their silly rules was based on absolutely nothing. There is no “science” behind the supposed efficacy of those ubiquitous blue masks, nor is there any “science” to support the six-foot distancing rule. There never was. The point of my letter is not to serve up an oversized slice of humble pie to the self-righteous Covid zealots from a few years ago. Nor is it to dunk on the administration of the shul that I frequently attend that forced me to wear a mask that doesn’t stop the spread of Covid because of my refusal to inject myself with the shot that doesn’t protect against Covid. It is simply to get people to pause and think about what they’re being told and who is telling it to them.
Our government has a long history of fibbing, omitting relevant information, and outright lying to effectuate whatever their goal of the moment is. A lot of otherwise intelligent people among us abandoned their critical thinking skills between 2020-2022 and were duped by our government that sold us lie upon lie about the origins of Covid, the vaccine, and mitigation measures. I am hoping that upon further reflection, those who bought into all the lies our government sold us have learned their lesson. I am just not very confident that is the case.
Doniel Behar
Dear Editor:
A couple of weeks ago, while at the G7 meeting in Italy, President Biden attended a skydiver demonstration. Afterwards, he shuffled off from a group that had surrounded one of the paratroopers to say a few words to another one and give him a thumbs up. This was all captured on video. Then, conservative media started to share an edited version of the video, which cut off the second paratrooper, framing it as Biden wandering off without purpose. The deception of this version of the video was immediately pointed out and was pretty quickly widely known. You would think at that point no one would be shameless enough to use it as a demonstration of Biden’s supposedly diminished capacity.
But enter Moshe Hill, who still used this as his lead anecdote to back up his claim that Biden has an unacceptably impaired mental state. It makes you wonder, if Biden is truly in such bad shape, why resort to using such a deceptive clip? Perhaps the only charitable reading is that Mr. Hill only views Biden exclusively based on the snippets that conservative media show, and would therefore be shocked to learn that Biden frequently gives interviews and off-the-cuff remarks in a manner that they insist he is not capable of. (And when they can’t ignore it, like by the State of the Union Address, they just claim that it is the result of drugs, as apparently the Democrats are in possession of a short-term cure for dementia that they are refusing to share with the rest of the country.)
But it’s not just Mr. Hill, as he shared a poll showing that over 40 percent of respondents expect Biden to make a mistake beyond a verbal stumble at the upcoming debate. But that’s the cycle. Fox News and the like pushes an agenda (and as their settlement with Dominion showed, they’re giving their audience what they want to hear, regardless of the truth), half the country is trained to take that as the absolute truth, they express these views in a poll, and then the media gets to cite the poll as instructive.
That is not to say that Biden is the picture of vitality. Even in his younger days, he was prone to gaffes, and can’t deny that he has had his share of “senior moments” and slip-ups. But if you watch him in more than just selected sound bites, you do not get the same picture that conservative armchair neurologists paint. But still, his age would be a problematic contrast if he was facing a younger and sharper candidate. Instead, he’s running against Donald Trump.
Trump recently met with a group of CEOs (who are inclined to support him based on the tax cuts they can expect), and reports were that they were troubled by his meandering and inability to keep a straight thought. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has watched him recently. Just as you can find compilations of Biden gaffes, there are plenty of clips of Trump making teleprompter mistakes, jumbling and straight up inventing words, rambling incoherently, confusing people’s names and the cities he’s in, and so on.
But yet, Mr. Hill says that none of this is a problem for Trump, all while lecturing Democrats for being unwilling to face the facts. And what’s his big proof? That Trump was able to talk off the cuff for 15 minutes at a recent rally when his teleprompter went down. So, did Trump say anything intelligent or insightful? Of course not! He defaulted to the same riffs he’s been doing for years, full of petty grievances and insults. But wait, there was something new! He also went on an incoherent rant involving batteries and sharks. It’s bizarre that anyone would use such a speech as proof that he “is” mentally fit. Then, last week, Trump was once again bragging about the fact that he passed a dementia test five years ago, like that is still relevant, and continuously got the name of the doctor who administered it wrong.
With all that in mind, I would venture to say there are two distinct differences between the two. First, Biden can still speak with nuance on policy issues, and while that was never a strong point with Trump, it has seemingly gotten worse. For just one example, just look at the word salad he spouted when Time Magazine asked him about the possibility that his tariffs would increase inflation. Second, in the somewhat likely scenario that the candidates would decline further over the four years of their presidency, which one is more likely to decide to do something rash and destructive based on a lack of understanding in his diminished state, and have his advisors be too afraid or sycophantic to stop him? I think the answer to that is obvious, as due to his narcissism we’re probably already at that point with Trump.
Regards,
Yaakov Ribner
The Real Joe Biden
Dear Editor:
Former Vice President of the former Rosedale Jewish Center has frequently called Joe Biden a mentch, and last week’s letter took it up a notch, calling him “the most pious president we have had in almost half a century.” Pointing out the moral shortcomings of our current president is like shooting fish in a barrel, but it’s worth taking a stroll down memory lane to illustrate what a rotten to the core, disgustingly immoral president we have in office.
In 1972, Biden’s wife and child were killed in a car accident when Mrs. Biden ran a stop sign. For decades afterward, Biden maligned the other driver in the accident, falsely accusing him of drunk driving and smearing his reputation despite pleas from the driver’s daughter to stop lying about him.
In the 1970s, Biden worked with segregationist senators to oppose mandatory school busing, which he lamented would cause his children to “grow up in a racial jungle.”
Biden has been inappropriately sniffing women for decades. We know this because he’s done it numerous times in public. Lesser known to the public is the fact that in 1993, Biden was credibly accused by Tara Reade, one of his staffers, of sexually assaulting her in a Capitol Hill office building. And the media worked overtime to squash details of his own daughter Ashley Biden’s diary chronicling instances of Biden’s outrageous abuse, the details of which I will omit to keep this letter family-friendly.
Joe Biden knew his son Hunter was a drug addict; everyone did. Instead of demanding he enter rehab and clean himself up, Biden sent him overseas to pick up bags of cash from foreign countries in his influence-peddling scheme.
Joe Biden ignored his own granddaughter for years, telling the media he only had six grandchildren, instead of seven, to avoid the shame of acknowledging his granddaughter who was born under, shall we say, less than ideal circumstances.
In 2010, Biden delivered a tribute at a memorial service for his longtime friend, former KKK member and Democrat colleague, Robert Byrd. Biden called Byrd “a friend, a guide, and a mentor.”
In 2021, after Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal caused the death of 13 servicemen, he famously turned the Dignified Transfer of the bodies into a rather undignified transfer by staring incessantly at his wristwatch instead of paying his respects.
In 2023, Biden declared he would always stand with Israel in their war to uproot Hamas. Within months he was doing everything within his power from threatening Netanyahu to slow-walking military aid, to ensure Israel would not finish off Hamas.
Biden is a serial liar, cavorted with KKK members, has made numerous horribly racist statements, abused women, corrupted his position to profit his family, disrespected Gold Star families and lacks the ability to draw a moral distinction between Israel and Hamas.
Okay, Vice President Pecoraro, your turn next week to explain to the QJL readership how all the Biden misbehavior documented above reconciles with him being “the most pious president we have had in almost half a century.”
Good luck.
Jason Stark
Dear Editor:
Back in 1984, The Wall Street Journal proposed a five-word amendment to our Constitution: “Thou shalt have open borders.” While a very radical opinion to have for a conservative media outlet, they have repeated it several times since. I think that even they might backtrack and reverse course after what has taken place lately. Not so much for the Biden administration. How many more American citizens need to get assaulted, raped, and murdered before something is done to close our borders? Not to mention the drugs pouring through the border. Are we a sovereign nation or not? “What would you do if, G-d forbid, it was a relative of yours?” I ask Mr. Hecht, Mr. Ribner, and Mr. Pecoraro. And don’t tell me President Biden just passed an executive order. It was watered down Swiss cheese. It has no teeth and hasn’t stopped the flow of illegals coming in one bit because the great replacement theory is real.
It is clear that Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden are culpable for every murder directly caused by an illegal immigrant. As such, they should be sued civilly for wrongful death by every family. Now I know that Mr. Hecht and Mr. Pecoraro are outraged at such a statement. Should President Trump not win his immunity case in the Supreme Court, this is exactly what is going to happen. It is going to open a Pandora’s box and hold every Executive Branch member, starting with the President, as personally responsible for every policy decision they make.
Mr. Pecoraro last week claimed that I do not live in reality, when it is he who lives on another planet (yep, THAT one). “Hopelessly corrupt right-wing SCOTUS” again demonstrating such disrespect and disdain for those who cherish and uphold our Constitution. While the only thing based in fact is his argument that the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana found that a cannabis user can obtain a firearm under our Second Amendment, bad luck for him and Hunter Biden is that the Supreme Court just ruled that there are limits that can be placed on a citizen to curtail their Second Amendment rights. The case adjudicated involved a man convicted of domestic violence. One can deduce that the Supreme Court will uphold that a crack cocaine addict should certainly not be permitted to own a gun.
Everything else that Mr. Pecoraro wrote is pure fantasy. Inflation was 1.4% in January 2021, when President Trump left office. Today, it’s 3.4% and that only after it shot up to over 9% after all the “fabulous, amazing” spending bills the Democrats passed. National average gas prices in January 2021 were $2.41 per gallon. Today, the average is $3.46 per gallon.
Mr. Pecoraro needs to take a road trip to Chicago and San Francisco. Senator Dick Durban’s Chicago has a minimum of 20 people shot every weekend. Representative Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco is filled with drug dealers, fentanyl users, and rampant homelessness. Both cities have retail vacancies skyrocketing. People are scared to walk the streets in those cities and even in New York. Nope, crime has not gone down and there is no great American rebirth.
Shalom Markowitz
