LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

Congratulations on your fifth anniversary! I love reading The Jewish Echo and wish you many more years to come. From your Zmanim shul listings to your Community News, this publication is a great asset to the community!

Simchi Y.

Dear Editor,

I commend you for printing last month’s Ask the Therapist column which addresses a reality for many of us that we are too ashamed to admit: teenage smoking and drug usage. Our community tends to think that this doesn’t occur in our stable and loving homes, but sadly it has reached epidemic levels.  There are too many teens in yeshivos who are smoking, vaping, drinking, and even experimenting with drugs. Because marijuana is becoming legal in some states, they seem to feel that it is a harmless and natural substance. Of course, media and culture doesn’t help with their glamorizing of the issue. Rand’s advice was very honest, straightforward, and realistic. Simply banishing and prohibiting marijuana from your kid’s life is just not going to do it. An honest discussion about parental expectations, disappointment and warnings is a  good starting point. May I even suggest that all private schools do random drug tests and check pockets and lockers for vaping paraphernalia  since the packaging has become more sophisticated making them harder to spot these days.

M.B.

Dear Editor,

I love your extended food section! I must have missed out on these recipes when they originally printed, but I  am glad you reprinted them as I got a chance to try a few over the chagim and they were delicious!

Chayala  Spitzer

Dear Editor,

Echoes put a smile on my face. I think that all mothers, and I’m sure fathers too, quietly pray that their children have a happy and successful day in school. The kids think we are busy with work and errands, but we remember the anxiety of that spelling test, the worry of that presentation, and the stress of making friends, and we think about all that as we navigate our own difficult world. My kids also think I spend the day testing out recipes, buying Shabbos party treats, and looking up toys on Amazon. Ha!  

Sadie Solomon

Dear Editor,

When I received the current issue of The Jewish Echo, I immediately noticed the cover story of G.I. Jacob, the interview with Rabbi Jacob Goldstein. I thought to myself, I must write to tell you of our family’s experience with him. As I read the article, I was amazed to see that our story was already included in the piece. Much of what transpired those early days following 9/11 are somewhat of a blur, but we can never forget the night we met Rabbi Goldstein. Our family felt the need to go down to Ground Zero, and we were put into contact with someone who was working with family members of victims. We were told that security was very tight and that we would only be allowed five family members,  and that we would need much documentation, which could take a long time. Fortunately, our son told us that his friend’s wife had a cousin who was an army chaplain working at Ground Zero and when we contacted him, Rabbi Goldstein, he told us that he would make the arrangements and he would let us know when and where to meet him. And so, he did. We met on Broadway and he walked us to the site. There was water all over the street, it was very smoky, and the area smelled of burning debris. He led us to a barrier which was opened for us and took us as close as possible to Tower One, where Avremel worked. We could actually see the smoldering ruins. We davened Maariv  there and my husband, Yankel, said Kaddish for his brother, Avremel. Many years later, on September 11, 2013, when we were visiting the memorial, which we generally did annually, we looked up and were astonished to see Rabbi Goldstein walking toward us. We were so glad to see him because it gave us another chance to show our hakaras hatov, to express our deepest gratitude to him for everything that he did for us during the most difficult time of our lives.

Mrs. Chavie Zelmanowitz

Editor’s Note: Apologies to our esteemed writer Rabbi Hillel Yarmove for accidentally omitting part of his September column, entitled “Seeing You in September—After Camp—and a Suggestion for the New Year!” While we are unable to reprint the article in its entirety, we present here the original introduction:  Yes, summer camp is over—and after nearly 50 years in camping, first as a camper and later as a staffer, I have to ask myself what one salient point has emerged from this past summer that I can carry along with me into 5779. Moreover, how can I implement a change in my own behavior from what I witnessed in camp this past summer? (Just a note to my readers who don’t already know this: I am Director of Special Activities at New York’s flagship Camp Agudah in Ferndale in the Catskill Mountain and am also on the head staff of our renowned and highly acclaimed Masmidim program.)