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I did not know Rav Chaim Kanievsky. I never had the privilege of visiting him or consulting him on any matter. I do not recall hearing a drashah or inspirational speech from him. I read very little of his writings. Yet, like perhaps millions of Jews in Israel and throughout the world, I felt a very personal loss upon his passing.

Amazing! Right-wing personalities like Sean Hannity and Ben Shapiro were in the forefront last week in defending Whoopi Goldberg against her two-week suspension and possible dismissal from ABC for her dumb remarks about the Holocaust not being a matter of racism.

I was going to title this article in a much harsher way. It was to be called “The Surrender of Orthodoxy.” But I decided that the questions that I have for Orthodoxy are so painfully obvious that I must be misunderstanding something. Perhaps I need things explained to me more clearly. Also, our focus now really needs to be what is happening in Ukraine, so I don’t want to be a startling distraction from that critical matter.

Last week, my wife and I traveled to Houston to spend time with our children and grandchildren. On the way there, at LaGuardia Airport, we naturally had to spend time on the security line. (People forget that the whole need for airport security originated thanks to the PLO, a gift to the world.) While on a rather long line, one of the TSA agents announced that the next to be searched should be female.

It seems that, at every anniversary event, the standard reaction is disbelief that so many years have passed. It is the same with the Queens Jewish Link. I can’t believe it’s ten years since its inception!

Yes, I was in high school. And yes, I listened to popular music. And yes, these title words are from those boys from Queens, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The reference to Joltin’ Joe is Joe DiMaggio, who was a retired baseball superhero and left the country bereft of an American idol.