My Dear Rabbi Talmudic Advice Column for October 2014: Calculating Charity

Dear Rabbi: Your Talmudic advice column

Dear Rabbi,

I’m bombarded at this time of year with requests for donations from many worthy local, national and international causes.

I’m not wealthy. So how do I prioritize which ones to support?

Parsimonious in Paramus

Dear Parsimonious,

Yes, that’s a tough question. To find the most philanthropic gratification I advise that you give thoughtfully to accredited organizations as an expression of your values. If you believe foremost in supporting the indigent and those in personal straits, then give to a credible social welfare agency. Depending on exactly where they live, many local people support the Jewish Family Service of Bergen and North Hudson or the Jewish Family Service of Northern Jersey, or Project Ezra.

If you choose to support religious or education initiatives, we are blessed with a multitude of shul and school options in our communities.

If you have resources to direct to the performing arts, then the distinguished local Teaneck Garage Theatre Group will welcome your help.

If you wish to make a basket donation to cover many bases, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey encompasses varied charities. It is a good alternative if you want one-stop giving.

In the season when we seek compassion for ourselves, it is good to bestow compassion on others by making your generous gifts and pledges now for the coming year.

Rabbi Dr. Tzvee Zahavy was ordained at Yeshiva University and earned his Ph.D. in religious studies at Brown University. He has published several new Kindle Editions at Amazon.com, including “The Book of Jewish Prayers in English,” “Rashi: The Greatest Exegete,” “God’s Favorite Prayers” and “Dear Rabbi: The Greatest Talmudic Advice” which includes his past columns from the Jewish Standard and other essays.

Is Hall-of-Famer retired commissioner of the NBA David Stern Jewish?

Yes, the retired commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, is a Jew who grew up in my town, Teaneck, NJ.

Stern will be inducted into the basketball hall of fame on 8/8/14. The NBA did not make him wait five years because of his undeniable contributions to building the NBA into the incredible sports powerhouse that it is. The Bergen Record extolled his record:

Stern ended his run as commissioner Feb. 1 after exactly 30 years — he won't say retired, because he's still working — and once thought he would wait five years for induction, or the same as players. But officials from the NBA and Hall of Fame believe he belongs immediately.

"It would be hard to overstate the impact I think David has had on the game of basketball," said P.J. Carlesimo, a former coach in the NBA and at Seton Hall.

"Admitting that I'm prejudiced toward basketball, David Stern could go down in our era as the greatest commissioner of all time in all sports."

The Times lauded Stern, "In a Transition Game, David Stern Is Passing the N.B.A. Commissioner’s Hat to Adam Silver." All accounts of his career extol Stern's achievements.

All that success, and he has a sense of humor. Stern appeared on the Letterman show on TV and did a top ten list segment.

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Bergen Record Chronicles the Amazing JFS Bike Ride

Thank you to all who supported us.

There is still time to contribute.

Click here please.

Hundreds of bicyclists turn out in Bergen County to raise funds for Meals on Wheels

JUNE 15, 2014, 1:46 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2014, 1:59 PM

BY MINJAE PARK

STAFF WRITER

THE RECORD

AMY NEWMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ROCKLEIGH — They financed the delivery of thousands of Meals on Wheels by getting on wheels.
More than 450 North Jerseyans on Sunday morning pedaled 50-, 25-, 10- or 3-mile courses through upper Bergen County — hitting a dozen towns from Rockleigh to Fort Lee — for the fourth annual Wheels for Meals. The event raised $150,000 for the Jewish Family Service's Meals on Wheels program, which delivers 28,000 meals each year to the homebound elderly and disabled.

AMY NEWMAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lyle Nadler, 4, left, and his twin brother Luke were joined by their father Jeff Nadler for the 3-mile ride.

Karen Fujii of Tenafly watched her 8-year-old, Kay, take off for the 3-mile ride.
"I had to tell her it's not a race," she said. Her daughter sped off to the front of the pack anyway.
Her husband and 11-year-old had left earlier for the 10-mile ride.
The event pays for the delivery of meals, but it also promotes the program and Jewish Family Service to participants and onlookers, said Susan Greenbaum, executive director of the organization's Bergen and North Hudson branch, based in Teaneck.
Taking place in a part of Bergen County "with such affluence and privilege," Greenbaum said, the event "is an opportunity for people to gain some perspective and do something that is so, so meaningful."
The event, now in its fourth year, originated with David Feuerstein, now 19.
At the time of his bar mitzvah, Feuerstein said, he started a bar mitzvah fund to feed the hungry and delivered meals with his mother.
"You develop a connection that's really nice," he said of visiting homes, recalling how food recipients "just wanted to sit down and have a conversation."
The fund ran out when he was 15, and he decided to start a program modeled on the rides for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It's run by a committee of Jewish Family Service members. Eleven students at Northern Valley Demarest High School helped out, starting at 6 a.m. Sunday to set up tables, slice bagels and pack gift bags. It was their second year helping out, said Heba Arsha of Closter, co-president of the student council.
Since 2011, the event has raised more than $400,000. The goal this year is to raise $180,000, Feuerstein said. Donors can still give at ridetofighthunger.com "Over these four years, our goal of the event is to make the community more aware and more involved," said Feuerstein, who is home for the summer after his first year at Cornell.
The event seemed to attract interest on Sunday from some participants.
"We're thinking maybe we'll get involved with Meals on Wheels," said Uri Herzog, a Cresskill resident, as he headed out for the 10-mile ride with his son and two nieces.
"I'm excited," his son, Natan, 11, said of the length of the course. "I'm not intimidated."
At the finish line, the riders were greeted by 27 cheerleaders from Cresskill High School.
"Awesome," Natan said after his ride.
"Natan led the way," Herzog said.
His cousin, Dahlia, 23, said she suggested they ride in together.
"I said, 'no,'" Natan said.
"He snuck past me at the end," Dahlia said.
Dov Torenberg of Cresskill parked his bike on a stand after finishing the 50-mile ride.
“It's a beautiful path,” Torenberg said. "Perfect weather. Very little traffic. Couldn't have been better."

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/hundreds-of-bicyclists-turn-out-in-bergen-county-to-raise-funds-for-meals-on-wheels-1.1035626#sthash.cWQdySWq.dpuf

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Bike June 15 to Help Fight Hunger in Bergen County NJ

Dear All, On June 15th I will join hundreds of cyclists in Rockleigh, New Jersey to help raise funds in support of  JFS Wheels for Meals Ride to Fight Hunger.  In the last year alone, JFS has delivered over 27,000 meals to the homebound and elderly and have helped feed hundreds of families through their food pantry. I serve on the board of the JFS. Since its inception in 2010, the Ride to Fight Hunger has raised over $260,000 and this year they are raising the bar with a fundraising goal of $180,000.  I’ve done my part by accepting the challenge and now you can do your part.  With a donation of just $18 you can feed a family in need for a day; $90 will keep the food pantry open for one day; $180 will provide meals for an elderly couple for a month and $540 will provide meals for a person for 8 months. Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up! Please Visit My Fundraising Page to make your tax-deductible donation towards this great cause.  You can also find us on Facebook.  Feel free to invite your friends. I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. Sincerely, Tzvee Zahavy P.S.  If you prefer to make donation by check, please make check payable to JFS Wheels for Meals, write my name in the memo and mail to JFS c/o Jaymie Kerr, 1485 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666.

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Why Teaneck Police Went Wild

I thank God that no Teaneck High School students were shot by police gone wild responding to their senior pranks, to practical jokes and mischievous acts.

We have 100 police officers in Teaneck NJ. That's way more than we need to patrol our town and keep the law and order. And we have a peaceful town with no major problems of gangs or drugs or thefts or the like. Accordingly we have excess officers who need to work hard to find crime to justify their continued employment.

In the world after 9-11 and Boston Marathon terrorist attacks and after numerous school and workplace shootings - we have allowed out police forces to grow without much objection. We are afraid.

So when 63 seniors broke into our High School at night to carry out their annual pranks (moving desks around and writing erasable grafitti on the walls) our overstaffed police department responded with all out force. With their guns drawn, and with 17 districts from the area called as back-up, they pinned students to the floor and marched them out in manacles.

A simple icy stare from a single officer and an order of "Go home" to the kids would have sufficed. Common sense. Pranks are funny. Pranksters pose no danger to police or to the citizens of our town.

This incident grew out of an annual senior ritual that should have been known to any informed police officer and should have been expected by the police department. They acted as if they did not know.

The result. This was an angry and excessive police reaction - as close to police brutality as we have come in a long time.

Is Timothy Geithner Jewish? No

No, Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama's former secretary of the treasury, is not a Jew.

Geithner was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter F. Geithner of Larchmont, N.Y.

According to the Times, he is married to Carole M. Sonnenfeld and has two children. The Rev. Thomas Keehn, a United Church of Christ minister, officiated at his wedding in 1985.

On 11/22/2008 I received an email reply from Geithner's father-in-law, Prof. Albert Sonnenfeld, confirming that, "Geithner (is) not Jewish, (he was) raised Episcopalian, but (is) hardly religious now."

The reference in Wikipedia that previously (up to 11/2008) said he is a Jew - was removed. See the discussion.

Update 5/14: Geithner has a new book: Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises and was profiled in the Times magazine.

(Reposted.)

Racoon invasion thwarted in Teaneck

For weeks my neighbors had been telling me that they've been watching a large raccoon climb in and out of our chimney. I only heard scratching once. I just hoped that the coon had abandoned our premises. But the reports kept coming in.

And many nights about ten PM I'd hear a scampering across our roof which I came to assume was the nocturnal bandit going off to a night's work.

I finally got around to calling the professionals last Wednesday to cap our chimney - warning them to check carefully for Ms. Raccoon before closing off the pipe with a cage on top.

Three guys showed up to do the deed. One climbed the roof and peered in the chimney with a flashlight. Yup. There's a big critter in there, he reported from the roof. The boss went inside and together we made a lot of banging noise inside the fireplace - based on my extensive research on the Internet that informed me that raccoons do not like to nest in noisy places.

That stirred the critter enough to drive her up to the top of the chimney but not out of it. Our chief chimney professional then went into smoke-out mode and started burning newspaper inside the flue, while his deputy stood armed with a hoe on the roof ready to shoo away the offending animal.

Some tense minutes later the being had enough of the smoke and jumped from our chimney onto the roof, then down to the ground and finally down the block and away.

The soldiers quickly affixed a cage to our chimney, collected their reward and drove off into the sunset.

As George W would say, "Mission Accomplished."

[published 3/7/2007]

When Sinners Become Saints: The cases of Jonathan Pollard and Sholom Rubashkin

In congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, for decades they have made a prayer every Shabbat on behalf of Jonathan Pollard, who is called a prisoner of Zion. There is justification in the minds of those who approve of praying for a man imprisoned for espionage against the US. They think Pollard is a hero because he spied for Israel. They think Pollard is a victim of anti-Semitic injustice endemic to the government of the United States.

The underlying narrative -- we saints against them bigots -- supports the tribal isolationism of the Orthodox. So sure it makes sense for the Orthodox doctors and lawyers and businessmen in Teaneck to continually clamor in prayer against the terrible wrong inflicted on the saintly Jonathan Pollard. Listen God. Pollard helped Israel and he was given an unjust punishment. Free him, O Lord.

Welcome to chapter two back in 2010 when Orthodox Jews embraced the convicted Russian Hassidic gangster of Iowa, Sholom Rubashkin. He too was doing holy work for the Jewish people, they cried out. He provided "kosher" meat. Never mind that we have no way of knowing that even one piece of meat from his plant was kosher. Never mind that the greedy Rubashkin constantly raised prices on his "kosher" meat and continually gouged the pious public.

But they said, Rubashkin was given an unjust sentence. 27 years is too much. Others who did worse got fewer years. Logic alerts us to ask, Is this a good idea to demand that gangsters guilty of federal financial offenses and much much more corruption be let off to go free? To have a just society would it not be better to insist that all those other gangsters who got off too lightly be brought back to prison?

And they said, Rubashkin was the victim here. Not the gouged consumers, or the banks that he cheated. Not the 300+ exploited under aged illegal alien Iowa workers.

It's obvious that Rubashkin is a saint and a victim. Just like Pollard. Yes. Let's add him to the list of the Prisoners of Zion and make a prayer for him in our synagogue in Teaneck every week for the next 27 years.

Rabbis are calling to us, instructing us in what is right and virtuous. Let's get the tribe together and stand against all those evil federal officials who are out to get those epitomes of both victimhood and virtue, Pollard and Rubashkin.

Sinners become saints. Gangsters become gedolim. Up is down, and black is white. And many simple, sincere and honest people look and listen, shrug their shoulders, shake their heads, and walk away.

/recast from 2010/

Is Bridgegate Jewish?

The Bridgegate Scandal has always been Jewish in some ways, e.g. David Wildstein, a principal player in the scandal, is a Jew from Livingston NJ.

But now, yes, Bridgegate is really Jewish, since a certain Rabbi Mendy Carlebach was mentioned as a potential target for retribution: "Rabbi Mendy Carlebach serves as Chaplain in the Port Authority Police of NY and NJ, in the South Brunswick Police Department and as the Jewish Chaplain in the Federal Bureau of Prisons at MCC in NYC, NY."

In this story, New York Daily News: Christie appointees questioned if they would be fired over Bridgegate, we learned:

The 20 pages of documents [just released] also included a bizarre exchange between Wildstein and fired Christie administration official Bridget Anne Kelly, who put the bridge closing in motion.

Wildstein, after texting her a photo of New Jersey Rabbi Mendy Carlebach with House Speaker John Boehner, declared the religious leader "has officially pissed me off."

"Clearly," replied Kelly. "We cannot cause traffic problems in front of his house, can we?"

Wildstein quickly responded: "Flights to Tel Aviv all mysteriously delayed."

Is US Attorney J. Paul Fishman Jewish?

Yes, US Attorney J. Paul Fishman is a Jew who attended Hebrew school as a child in River Edge in Bergen County NJ.

The Times reports, "In Inquiry, It’s Christie Against Prosecutor."

...Mr. Fishman has been thrust into the awkward and highly public role of investigating his predecessor, as part of an inquiry into the closing of access lanes at the George Washington Bridge and other apparent acts of political retribution.

No longer can Mr. Fishman, whom lawyers often describe as competitive and proud, avoid what he has been loath to invite: comparisons to his predecessor.

“You want to create a legacy if you take that job, and there’s no way you’re going to create a legacy, after Chris, prosecuting public corruption cases,” said Lawrence S. Lustberg, a prominent defense lawyer who has known Mr. Fishman since they attended Hebrew school as children in Bergen County. “So Paul is moving the office into other areas, taking it in directions where the District of New Jersey has never gone.”...

Is David Wildstein Jewish?

Chris Christie's pal Dvid Wildestein is making news: Christie Linked to Knowledge of Shut Lanes - NYTimes.com.

Yes, David Wildstein is a Jew.

The Forward puts that fact in a news headline, "David Wildstein, Jewish Aide, Says Gov. Chris Christie Knew About 'Bridgegate'". There just is not any reason to do that as far as I can imagine.

Wikipedia reports that Wildstein grew up in Livingston NJ and identifies with Jewish causes.

JStandard.com: NJ Gov. Christie's Bridge Scandal "Worse than Watergate"

The Jewish Standard ran a great article - by editor Joanne Palmer -  discussing the mess in New Jersey with Burt Ross,former mayor of Fort Lee (yes he is Jewish), "‘Too big for its bridges’: Former Fort Lee mayor talks about Gov. Christie and the Port Authority."

Ross straight and to the point says that he does not believe Christie merits continuing as governor and that the current scandals are worse than Watergate. Ross is articulate and detailed. We reproduce the Jewish Standard interview-article here.

You can take the boy out of Jersey, but you can’t take Jersey out of the boy.

In this case, the boy is a grown man — Burt Ross, now of Malibu, Calif. Mr. Ross and his wife, Joan, decamped a mere two years ago, following their children west. But he spent his entire life until then in Bergen County, first in Teaneck, then in Fort Lee, and finally in Englewood. “New Jersey is my homeland,” he said.

While he was here, Mr. Ross — whose gravely accent makes it clear that Brooklyn and Bergen are not very far apart — a Harvard-educated lawyer and developer, was very involved in local politics. In 1972, when he was 28, he became mayor of Fort Lee. He was, he reports, the country’s youngest mayor of a moderately large municipality. From that vantage point — distanced enough to afford him a clear view, and close enough, and infused with enough history, to give vivid context — Mr. Ross has been paying close attention to the unfolding scandal beginning to envelop the large frame of Gov. Chris Christie.

Road Warrior Quotes Tzvee: Glare, Shmare!

I was quoted By JOHN CICHOWSKI, ROAD WARRIOR COLUMNIST, in the Bergen Record, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013, Road Warrior: New Fort Lee high-rise blinds drivers. His article is about glare, and starts off as follows, "As they move through Fort Lee, eastbound drivers approaching the George Washington Bridge just before sundown can’t help but bathe uncomfortably in the intense glow of the dazzling glass tower that’s slowly reaching into the sky...."

He liked what I brought to his attention, having by chance read the news about a London tower a few weeks earlier ("...the owner of a luxury Jaguar XJ, said Monday the blistering beam of light melted the panels on his car in just one hour."):

"Glare, shmare!" said Teaneck’s Tzvee Zahavy. "In London, the reflected sun off the new Walkie Talkie skyscraper is so hot that it melts cars and fries eggs."

True enough. British media reports said extensive glazing was used on the sweeping curvature of the 37-story London building to maximize its views. As a result, the sun’s rays were magnified so much that they warped the panels of at least two parked cars — a Jaguar and a van. Witnesses said the damage was accompanied by the smell of burning plastic.

"Every bit of plastic on the left-hand side and everything on the dashboard has melted," said the van owner.

But none of the reflected sunlight from The Modern in Fort Lee approaches the hideous intensity of the Walkie Talkie in London, where the sun in early fall beats directly on the building for two hours or more. The glare from the high-rise on the Jersey side of the Hudson generally lasts several minutes at most.

And unlike the enormous engineering challenges posed by the Walkie Talkie, the Fort Lee mayor believes The Modern may one day elude the sun’s rays altogether.

"This is only the first building being built for this project," Sokolich noted. "There’s more to come, so I think the sun won’t get through."...

Is Steve Lonegan, the anti-Spanish former Mayor of Bogota, Jewish?

No, New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan is not a Jew. He is Catholic and attends St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Bogota.

Back on 7/17/2006 here is what we posted on our blog about Mr. Lonegan when he tried to get a Spanish advertising billboard removed from his town...

Don't confuse this town with the capital city of the same name in Colombia, South America, where the official language is Spanish and the national motto is Libertad y Orden.

The Bogota NJ city council made it perfectly clear last week that is wants no Spanish billboards in that borough.

Apparently NOBODY told these folks how dumb they look protesting a billboard. So they escalated the matter by protesting to the offending advertiser, McDonalds, and by calling for a boycott. Thankfully. McD's won't budge.

They are removing all doubt down there south of Teaneck. Even NPR is mocking them. Anti-hate web sites feature Bogota's Mayor as a poster boy for racism.

The Fox fighters at News Hounds reported with the video clip of Mayor Lonegan from the Fox and Friends show on 7/11 that,

Yesterday morning on FOX and Friends First, Steve Lonegan, Mayor of Bogota (pronounced Bug-OH-dah), New Jersey, proved that bigotry, pettiness, mean-spiritedness and prejudice are alive and well on FOX News Channel and, sadly, it seems, also in New Jersey. Mayor Lonegan is very, very, very upset that McDonalds has posted a Spanish-language billboard in his fair city of 8,000 (1,680 of whom are Hispanic) and is agitating to get them taken down.

I don't know why Mr. Lonegan did not try to rename his borough. After all Bogota looks a lot like, Bogotá, the capital city of the Spanish speaking South American country Columbia. Wikipedia reports that, "Bogotá is the largest city in Colombia, and one of the biggest in Latin America."

Bogota, New Jersey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: (from 2006...)

Bogota is a Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 8,249. Bogota was formed on November 14, 1894 from portions of Ridgefield Township at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon. Portions of Bogota were taken in 1895 to form part of the new Township of Teaneck. Bogota was named in honor of the Bogert family, which had been the first to occupy the area.

The Mayor of the Borough of Bogota is Steve Lonegan. Members of the Bogota Borough Council are Pat Kearns, Joe Noto, George T. Shalhoub, Melissa Schnipp, George Silos and Patrick McHale. In July 2006, the conservative Mayor Lonegan, who in previous years had unsuccessfully sought several higher offices, including a race for governor in 2005, created a firestorm when he engineered a Borough Council resolution requesting that McDonald's remove a Spanish-language billboard for iced coffee in town. Lonegan said the billboard was 'divisive.' The story received national publicity, occurring concurrently with a national debate on illegal immigration.

Dear Rabbi Swims in Hudson River on a Triathlon Relay Team

It happened on Sunday, July 14! We did it!

And believe me - it was tough!

Update: Yitz's dad (that's me) swam 1500 meters in the Hudson as part of a relay for Team One with teammates Harvey (bike) and Leiba (run).

Yitz completed all three legs of the tri in excellent time.

Yitzhak Zahavy's Team One Family Fundraising Triathlon Event. Help Celebrate Three Lives with Three Sports.

Yitz Tells What Happened
On October 27, 2002 my platoon in the IDF was attacked by a hamas suicide bomber outside the city of Ariel. Three soldiers, Amihud Hasid, Tamir Masad and Matan Zagron, where killed saving my life and the lives of my fellow soldiers. The One Family Fund is helping their families cope with the difficulties of life without their loved ones.

The Tie Rule is Bad and the Jacket Rule is More Nonsensical

We stirred up quite a controversy with our "Dear Rabbi" column where we offered advice regarding a rule requiring the wearing of a necktie in a local synagogue on the Sabbath in order to receive an aliyah - a Torah honor.

A local synagogue which has such a rule took this as a direct criticism and published an odd rebuttal letter in its bulletin, sent out to all its members. (Yediot Yeshurun, see the scans to the right.)

The synagogue action was strange because (a) they did not publish the original question and my answer, just the rebuttal; (b) they did not mention my name as author of the column; and (c) they did not identify by name the newspaper in which it appeared.

The shul bulletin called me "the columnist" and referred to a "local Jewish newspaper". As I understand the rules and norms of civility, the distributors of a communal bulletin are obliged by professional standards and by common courtesy and fairness to publish in their synagogue bulletin my original article under my name as the original author (Rabbi Dr Tzvee Zahavy) and to list the place of original publication, the Jewish Standard. It is clear that the synagogue has different norms.

The necktie controversy continues this week with this letter from a Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene to the Jewish Standard.

The mark of a competent rabbinic authority is his/her capacity to seek the advice of another rabbinic authority in cases where the law may not be black and white since it is impossible to master the entire corpus of halakhic literature and keep up with all the responsa (“Dear Rabbi,” June 7). The current brouhaha over wearing ties on Shabbat ought not to be flippantly dismissed. Nor should a synagogue’s right to maintain certain standards be cavalierly denigrated. In fact, synagogue ordinances regarding how Jews ought to dress have a distinguished literary history. In addition, the spring 2013 issue of the “Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society” contains a detailed essay called “Casual Saturday? Dressing Down for Shabbat,” which makes the case, based on clear halachic guidelines, for wearing a jacket and tie on Shabbat.

Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene
Fair Lawn

Greene misstates and wrongly characterizes the following.

My "Talmudic Advice" column does not purport to be a halakhic decision column. There is no "brouhaha over wearing ties on Shabbat." The question under discussion was addressed to a rule requiring a man to wear a tie to receive an aliyah. There was no flippant dismissal or cavalier denigration of synagogue standards or ordinances. There was no intent to review the "distinguished literary history" (whatever that means) of dress ordinances.

So again this Q and A was not about generally "wearing a jacket and tie on Shabbat." It was about a mean-spirited shul constantly denying without exception a Torah honor over a period of many years to one member who does not ever wear a tie.

Distorting and re-framing my question to "rebut" it and to cast aspersions on me because he does not agree with my advice is not Talmudic -- and well that surely is not the mark of "a competent halakhic authority." It's a rhetorical dirty trick. I am quite disappointed in Rabbi Dr. Greene for doing just that.

It is a shame that nonsensical petty rules in shuls are used under the guise of "halakhah" to "flippantly dismiss" and "cavalierly denigrate" the sensibilities and preferences of honorable and respectable members of a community and that there is so little empathy for that in our local rabbinic community.

But wait. One more thing. That reference by Rabbi Dr. Greene to "a detailed essay" should read as follows, because he wrote the article that he cites:

In addition, in the spring 2013 issue of the “Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society” I published a detailed essay called “Casual Saturday? Dressing Down for Shabbat,” in which I make the case, based on clear halachic guidelines, for wearing a jacket and tie on Shabbat.

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jStandard: My Dear Rabbi Column of July 5, 2013

My July "Dear Rabbi" column.

Dear Rabbi,

I grew up in a religious home and attend synagogue all my life and kept a kosher home, observed all the holidays and mitzvot. I'm 55 years old now and I realize that I do not believe in God. I've have told just a few people about my loss of faith. One friend with whom I have discussed this insists that it is hypocritical for me to attend synagogue and recite the prayers. At this age I do not want to disrupt my life style. What should I do?

Perplexed,

Paramus, NJ

Dear Perplexed,

Your mid-life crisis of belief is not uncommon, and yet, it has no easy solution. You know how thick with activities a religious life can be. It is hard to walk away from your accustomed life, one which is filled with tasks and obligations and appointments in your home and your community and on your calendar.

Admittedly, there is an element of hypocrisy if you practice without belief, if you go through the motions of the prayers when you don't believe in God. However there are many dimensions to collective worship. The synagogue provides for a means of social expression and of interactions which are important to a vibrant life. Participation with family and friends within a community promotes general health and well-being.

JStandard: Was the Supreme Court ruling on gene patenting good for the Jews?

Yes, the Supreme Court ruling on gene patenting is good for the Jews.

As the Jewish Standard science correspondent (and our sister) Dr. Miryam Wahrmann observes, "That case could have a dramatic impact on the development, cost, and availability of [life-saving] genetic tests."

See her in-depth cover story "Supreme Court ruling on gene patenting changes the landscape for BRCA testing" here.

And her related stories:

New website educates the Jewish community about genetic health issues

Sharsheret’s genetics for life addresses hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

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