Don’t Sell Yourself Short
Dear Editor:
This letter is addressed to Izzo Zwiren. I get that you only write for a regional newspaper, and Ben Shapiro runs a media conglomerate that generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year, but I still think you’re selling yourself short here. Yes, Shapiro is brilliant and a star, but he’s made some very high-profile errors, one of which you referenced in last week’s column.
Shapiro, for all his brilliance, bought into a lot of the misinformation the CDC/NIH/Fauci were selling for almost a year during the Covid pandemic. He took two doses of the fraudulent covid vaccine before finally and very belatedly reversing course, admitting that he was hoodwinked by government bureaucrats into taking the fraudulent covid shot to protect his elderly parents. His belated mea culpa included some hard truths that the covid shot did not prevent infection or transmission, and since he was in a low/no-risk category, there was zero upside for him or any other healthy person to take the shot. His other big blunder was punting on the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016. The evil that Hillary has perpetrated is beyond the scope of this letter, and not recognizing Trump as the superior choice between the two was a colossal error in judgement Shapiro was forced to admit shortly thereafter. Mr. Zwiren, writing for a regional publication may not be as high-profile as you wish, but that doesn’t mean you have to take a backseat to the big leaguers or show any deference to them on the issues of the day.
Doniel Behar
Dear Editor:
Nirtza marks the conclusion of the Pesach Haggadah. Many Haggadahs have some version of the following note after this section: While the traditional text ends here, it is encouraged to continue discussing Yetzias Mitzrayim until one feels sleepy. As Rabbi El Gersten says in his article, “When does the Seder Actually End? An Exploration of Nirtza,” Nirtza is not the end of the Seder but a transitional step from the written text to our conveying chidushim on Yetzias Mitzrayim, as well as to offer praise and sing songs to Hashem (The OU Guide to Passover 5785/2025). This includes “Shir HaShirim,” which appears the end of most Haggadahs. Additionally, there are a wide variety of commentaries one can learn from.
If the Seder does not end with Nirtza, then surely Pesach does not end with the conclusion of the Seder night (or nights). Rather, we should continue relating sipur Yetzias Mitzrayim, learning the laws of Pesach and offer insights all seven (or eight) days of Chag HaMatzos. The very idea of asking questions at the Seder should fuel further discussion as well.
B’chol dor v’dor: Each generation has its own form of redemption, and in each generation, we are tasked with discussing the Pesach story. We are further obligated to sing praises to Hashem for redeeming us from Miztrayim, and we are to daven for the final redemption. Additionally, given all the intricate laws of Pesach (especially this year with the three-day yom tov), we need to review them well. Each child is to be taught about Pesach on their level, too. While Pesach is a time where family gets together to enjoy each other’s company, talk, and have festive meals, it would be a waste of eight beautiful days if at least some portions of those days were spent in learning, song, and davening. Of course, you can rest as well.
According to one opinion, Yisro was so drawn in by Moshe’s telling of yetzias Mitzrayim that he converted to Judaism. Moshe told his father-in-law, Yisro, all that Hashem had done to Pharoah and the Egyptians. It wasn’t “just facts”; it was every detail conveyed with feeling.
While it is not our job to proselytize, imagine the impact you can have on family and friends at your own seder – if you prepare right. In turn, you will hopefully be inspired by the insights of others into this holiday. That is not to say you shouldn’t help around the house as well.
In the z’chus of our enhancement of Z’man Cheiroseinu, may Hashem bring us from the avdus of us to the final cheirus in Eretz Yisroel quickly and speedily in our days.
Chaim Yehuda Meyer
Dear Editor:
The faces and names of the victims and hostages of October 7 are etched in the minds of millions, both Jews and non-Jews. They represent the enduring hatred of the Jewish people, a spiritual law and one of our six constant reminders. On Pesach, we will once again say – “In every generation...”
What happened to “Never Again”? Before October 7, it was easier to believe that the past was behind us. Now, it is clear that today and tomorrow remain October 7.
It is our shared challenge, duty, and opportunity to keep the memory of our martyrs and sacrifices alive. To that end, I propose featuring those now-iconic images on sheets of Israeli postage stamps (with the families’ permission, of course), ensuring their constant use and circulation.
Anonymous
Biden’s True Character
Dear Editor:
This is my third and hopefully last response to Arlene Ross’ argument regarding President Biden’s alleged “decency.” And no, Ms. Ross, I did not misread your letter. I understand you believe President Biden is decent because he transitioned power over to Trump without incident. If you want to limit Biden’s decency to his transitioning, you should familiarize yourself with what occurred right around the time of this transition. Biden, who cashed in on his influential political positions by enriching his family to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, then preemptively pardoned all members of all their dirty deeds 15 minutes before he left office. The use of this far-reaching preemptive pardon, covering all crimes committed over a ten-year period by an entire crime family was an unprecedented move, something never contemplated by any president in the prior 248 years of this country’s existence.
President Biden needed to pardon his family only because he fears the very lawfare he invented. Biden’s DOJ broke more than two centuries of history to prosecute a former president and the candidate of the major opposition political party. He is like an arsonist who demands more spending on fire departments. Because of his stated fear of retaliation, Biden pardoned his family before prosecutors ever launched investigations. These pardons were to Biden’s own benefit, as their recipients are much less likely to disclose any information that directly implicates Biden in the family’s alleged “pay to play, 10 percent for the Big Guy” schemes.
Contrast that with Trump’s pardons which did not directly benefit him or his family, and covered defendants who were actually convicted or charged, unlike Biden’s preemptive pardons that covered up to 10 years’ worth of potential and actual criminal activity for his own family.
But it wasn’t just the white-collar criminals in his own family that Biden pardoned. He commuted 37 of the 40 inmates currently on death row to life in prison for truly heinous crimes. He granted thousands of pardons to serious criminals, including murderers, child killers, and child abusers.
No, Ms. Ross, Biden was never decent. Your contention in your previous letter that Biden “concluded his presidency with honor and integrity” is both laughable and shockingly ahistorical. Biden was a craven and corrupt political animal who showed his true colors with the reprehensible, disgusting and morally repugnant pardons he handed out as he disgracefully left office and handed over power to Trump.
Jason Stark
Things I Don’t Understand
Dear Editor:
You’ve done your part and switched from The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal. Your SATs are a long-ago memory (or nightmare, as in my case) when you encounter one of “those” words – hirsute - in an article about baseball players who don’t shave. You’re proud of yourself because you remember - at least I did - it means hairy. You ask yourself if the writer is trying to impress with 12th grade words, or if he’s trying to stump you.
What I also don’t get is why Andrew Cuomo wants to run for Mayor of NYC. Didn’t he already mess up as our governor? Are we supposed to weigh who is less corrupt: Adams or Cuomo? Aren’t there better alternatives to these two candidates? Reward yourself with a slushie if you can name all the Democratic candidates for mayor. All you have to do to run is ask some friends or the Turkish government for a few million dollars and tell the voters you’ll make the subways safer and end congestion pricing. You can be as corrupt as President Harding (The Teapot Dome scandal), and you will find yourself in Gracie Mansion. By the way, how much does the mayor earn? Maybe I should run for office.
Finally, I don’t get Daylight Savings Time. Of course, the clock in my car will be wrong until my son-in-law from Israel comes and corrects it. The fatigue from DST will last until after Pesach. This year was especially difficult, since the day before DST was Parshas Zachor, and many of us had to wake up earlier to catch the laining in Shul. Nevertheless, the extra sunshine is improving my mood, which for “Debbie Downer” is a big deal. I also have to stop complaining about things I can’t change. Yea, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
If you look at what is going on right now, all you see is Democrats trying to destroy our constitutional republic. In 2022, the Democrats were trying to get rid of the filibuster. A mere three years later, it appears the Democrats needed the filibuster to save them. They still caved and voted in favor of funding the government, but without the filibuster, the Republicans would ram down the Dems’ throats the most sweeping budget cuts this government has ever seen!
It is fantastic that the Trump administration is dismantling the Department of Education. The Frankfurt School was a Marxist movement in the 1920s that made its way into our colleges and universities. It has turned our institutions of higher learning into Marxist indoctrination mills. We are a laughing stock among the countries of the world as our education ranking is 35th worldwide!
What is taking place at Barnard and Columbia is 1000 times worse than the little rally that got out of hand on January 6, 2021. The threats of violence and the intimidation by Democrats on campus is out of control. One terrorist sympathizer got arrested and is about to be deported. He is a Green Card holder who demonstrated his tolerance for terror and hate for Jews, Israel, and America. This is in violation of the conditions for holding a Green Card. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said as much and is going to revoke the card and have Mr. Khalil removed from the U.S. He is being held in a Louisiana ICE facility pending his trial.
Unfortunately, Democrat operatives in black robes cosplaying as judicial activists are preventing the Executive Branch from performing their constitutional duties. One halted Khalil’s deportation. Another had a flight of Venezuelan gang members turned around back to the U.S. A third said that the Executive Branch can’t fire underlings. These district court judges have overstepped their authority, and it is they who are acting as dictators! For all the hysterics that “Trump is a dictator,” he hasn’t come close to what these Democrat judges are ruling.
Our country is on the brink. Medicaid and Social Security are going broke. Our national debt is soaring. One can only hope that Justice Roberts and Barrett come to their senses really quick. Justice Alito rebuked both of them in a scathing dissent when they overturned President Trump freezing $2 billion in foreign aid payments. If they continue to block the Executive Branch from shrinking this government, we are going to be stuck in a downward spiral never to be stopped.
Shalom Markowitz
