A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

e-mail me with any comments

 
Week 10

1. Mark Sanchez regularly seems to zero in on his primary receiver - and completely overlooks open secondary receivers.

2. Anyone remember Kerry Rhodes?

3. The first half tackling was awful.

4. The Jets' sideline frequently appears to be chaotic during player substitutions.

5. Braylon Edwards sometimes reminds me of Keyshawn Johnson. In a good way.

6. My schedule for today;

-Leave Queens at 9:50 A.M.
-Drop my wife off at work at 10:20 A.M.
-Arrive at my parents' home in Brooklyn to pick up my father and drop off my children at 10:45 A.M.
-Leave for game at 11:20 A.M.
-Arrive at Giants Stadium at 12:10 P.M.
-Leave game at 3:54 P.M.
-Arrive at my car at 4:02 P.M.
-Arrive in Brooklyn at 5:00 P.M.
-Leave Brooklyn at 5:45 P.M.
-Arrive home at 6:55 P.M.

I sure will miss having season tickets!

7. I've probably been to more than 90 Jets games since 1994, and have lots of memories. But I'm not really that nostalgic about the end of Giants Stadium.

It did occur to me today that with just three home games left, this would be the last time I'd sit in my longtime seats in section 119 with my father.

The first game I went to at Giants Stadium was with my father and brother, in 1987. I saw a blurb in the paper about a few seats being on sale at the Jets' then office in Manhattan. I arrived early and bought three tickets in the hope that my father would come to the game and wouldn't mind my cutting a few hours of yeshiva.

The Jets played the Colts - who had just traded for Eric Dickerson. Dickerson had a quiet game, but the Jets lost.
posted on 11/15/2009

 
Week 8

1. The Jets have become a team that finds ways to lose. Both Dolphins games and the Bills game were games the Jets should have won. Today the Jets outplayed Miami on both offense and defense, and the crowd was loud and into the game.

2. Rex Ryan was terrible today. He has to challenge the fumble even if he's not sure. His first two-point conversion attempts were ill-advised. His timeout before the late 3rd quarter attempt was idiotic. The fade (probably Brian Schottenheimer's playcall) following the timeout to Braylon Edwards was a very low percentage pass.

3. During the first half, Mark Sanchez looked like he was playing not to make a mistake, constantly underthrowing passes and never going downfield to Jerricho Cotchery or Braylon Edwards.

Obviously a lot of that is Sanchez's fault, but it doesn't help that the Jets have now inexplicably adopted Herm Edwards' philosophy of "every drive that ends in a kick is a good drive."

4. During the first half, Schottenheimer appeared to be more focused on tricking the Dolphins defense than on executing offensive plays. The most egregious example: Sending three receivers on the right, then running left.

5. Alan Faneca has been very disappointing in pass protection.

6. I did not like the playcalling on the final series. The Dolphins looked exhausted. I'd have run at least on 2nd down.

7. Jay Feely's kickoff on Ted Ginn's first TD return was awful.

8. The Dolphins punting was far better than the Jets, and helped Miami keep the first half at 3-3.

9. Halfway into his second season, Vernon Gholston is useless.

10. Marathon Sunday is always the best day to drive to a game.
posted on 11/01/2009

 
A Lesser Of Two Evils

There was a time when the Cubs were the Mets' biggest rivals. Then the Cardinals, then the Pirates, then the Braves, and then the Phillies.

Division rivalries come and go.

The Yankees - who represent everything that is wrong with New York City - are forever.

I expect Pedro to get rocked tonight and for the Yankees to win a high scoring game, and then win the Series in 7.

But for Mets' fans, the choice is clear: Root for Joe Girardi to maintain confidence in Phil Hughes, and enjoy the results.
posted on 10/29/2009

 
Week 7

1. Today's game had more to do with the terrible Raiders than the Jets. Still, it was an impressive performance on both sides of the ball.

2. Shonn Greene looked very good today, but the Jets won't be able to replace Leon Washington in the short passing game.

3. Calvin Pace finally stepped up today.

4. Vernon Gholston was invisible again.

5. Mark Sanchez's accuracy remains problematic.

6. Sanchez and Dustin Keller were again totally out of sync.

7. Nice game by David Clowney.

8. The Jets desperately need Jerricho Cotchery to return next week.

9. The Jets should have taken Sanchez out earlier.

10. The kickoff and punt coverage was excellent, but Jim Leonhard's punt returning has been poor.

11. Leonhard was solid again at safety.

12. The announcing was terrible. If this is my last season as a Jets season ticket holder (thanks again, Woody), I'll really miss the season tix when I'm forced to listen to these clueless announcers during home games.

13. Oakland was once a great football city. Today, it looked like the stadium was half empty, and the game presumably was blacked out in the Bay Area.

14. Good call by Rex Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer going for it on 4th and goal from the 1 on the Jets opening drive.
posted on 10/25/2009

 
Week 6

1. The tease that was the 2009 Jets evaporated quickly. Now I can freely make vacation plans for January.

2. Mark Sanchez was dreadful, forcing pass after pass. He looks like someone who could use a season of mentoring.

3. Sanchez obviously misses Jerricho Cotchery.

4. Dustin Keller looked terrible, appearing clueless and totally out of sync with Sanchez on play after play.

5. In partial defense of Sanchez, not only was Keller horrible, but the Jets only had one legit WR playing today, and he's been on the team for 11 days. There are a number of average veteran WRs available, which makes inexcusable the neglect of the WR position by GM Mike Tannenbaum.

6. Hype aside, the Jets pass rush is at best mediocre.

7. Kris Jenkins looks like he will be gone for the season, which will make the run defense mediocre too.

8. The penalties on offense and special teams were disgraceful.

9. So were the repeated miscues on special teams.

10. Rex Ryan's clock management late in the first half was poor.

11. The Braylon Edwards trade doesn't look too good. Edwards has been fine - though he had a fairly quiet game today - but the Jets are not a contender, and non-contenders can't repeatedly toss draft picks aside like Tannenbaum has.

12. In what is likely my last season as a season ticket holder (thanks, Woody) I still get an adrenaline rush as I drive toward the stadium, but overall going to the games is less exciting for me than it was even a few years ago. I'm not even too upset about today's loss; I was more annoyed that my longstanding shortcut exiting the stadium resulted in my being completely fenced in and having to walk all around the stadium to get to my car. Fortunately, there was no traffic coming home.
posted on 10/18/2009

 
Week 5

1. The coaching staff simply did not prepare the Jets' defense for Miami's wildcat offense.

2. Phan is right - the Jets' defensive line is subpar. They cannot create any pressure on the quarterback, and last night couldn't stop the run either.

3. Kerry Rhodes is turning into an all-hype player.

4. Bart Scott and Calvin Pace were awful last night.

5. Where is Dustin Keller?

6. The offensive line is disappointing. There is too much pressure on Mark Sanchez and the run game is still very shaky. How many runs on 2nd and short have been stuffed?

7, Sanchez was out of sync at times but led the offense sufficiently for a win, thanks especially to Braylon Edwards.

8. Hopefully Jerricho Cotchery will be back for Sunday's game.
posted on 10/13/2009

 
A Visit To The Dark Side

Last night, I went to the new Yankee Stadium for the first time, taking my father to Game 1 of the ALDS.

I didn't see much of the stadium, going from the train to the gate to our seats. It looks like a nice place. My father seemed more impressed by the stadium. Perhaps that's because he's a Yankees fan, or maybe it's because he had not been to the new stadiums that have been built over the last 15 years.

One thing that was impossible to miss was the lack of intensity on the part of the fans. It's not that the place was dead, but for a playoff game it was pretty laid back. In fact, I've been to a fair number of playoff games in all four major sports (including at the old Yankee Stadium) and this is probably the least intense playoff crowd I've seen. Quite a few fans left early too.

So if there's a price to be paid for constant winning, it's that fans take the playoffs for granted.

The Mets are wretched and pathetic. Who knows when there will be playoff baseball at Citi Field. But when there is, there won't be a more excited sporting venue anywhere.
posted on 10/08/2009

 
Initial Thoughts On Braylon Edwards

My initial reaction to the Jets' acquisition of Braylon Edwards is mixed.

Edwards is obviously a talented player, but he's become a malcontent, and after allegedly assaulting a friend of Lebron James, was probably good as gone in Cleveland. It seems to me that in trading Chansi Stuckey, Jason Trusnik and two picks (reportedly a 3rd and 5th), Mike Tannebaum gave up too much for Edwards. The price, I think, would have been lower in a week or two.

It's not that the Jets don't need an upgrade at WR. They desperately do. And along with Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller - not to mention more utilization of Leon Washington in the passing game - Edwards could make it a lot harder for teams to put seven or eight in the box and prevent the Jets from running the ball.

But how quickly will Edwards learn the offense and get into sync with Mark Sanchez?

Will getting rid of two players during the season - and exiling them to Eric Mangini's Browns - hurt team chemistry at all?

Consider also that Edwards is unsigned beyond this season and - cap or no cap - will demand a huge contract, and also that the Bills acquired their own supremely talented malcontent WR as a free agent, not having to give up any players, while the Patriots gave up just a 4th rounder for Randy Moss. Tannenbaum probably should have done a better job of addressing the WR situation during the offseason.

Then again, if your goal is a championship, sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope all the stars align. The way the Jets' defense is playing, adding a potential impact player on offense could make them a real contender.
posted on 10/07/2009

 
The Pathetic Mets

Just as the media said all along, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel will be back with the Mets next season. There will be no Bobby Valentine, who likely will sign with another team, perhaps the Marlins.

Perhaps something exciting will happen this offseason, but right now there is little reason to look forward to 2010 spring training. That the Mets are a disaster is bad enough. Worse is that their manager, front office and ownership aren't yet clued into this obvious fact.
posted on 10/05/2009

 
Neilah For Bobby V

Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog calls (finally) for the return of Bobby Valentine.

This is my 32nd post calling for the Mets to bring back Bobby Valentine.

Soon the gates of Citi Field will close. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda will be desolate. Queens - 26 years after losing the Jets - will be without the sounds of baseball for six months.

For five years, with increasing fervor and urgency, I have advocated, pleaded, begged and demanded the return of Bobby Valentine to manage the Mets. What more is there to say now, other than one final statement:

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Bobby V is the manager.

Next season with Bobby V!
posted on 10/02/2009

 
Succos and The Mets: Days of Yore

Originally posted October 9, 2006

It's 6 A.M. on Sunday morning, early on the second day of Succos.

I'm in my parents' Boro Park home. My wife and son are asleep. It's still dark outside, and shul doesn't start for three more hours, but I won't be going back to sleep.

I need to know whether the Mets won Game 3 of the NLDS.

I check to see if the newspaper has arrived. It hasn't, as I expected.

When I was younger, in situations like this, I'd walk to the Arab-owned newsstand about an 8 minute walk away, where the newspapers are conveniently placed outside.

But I'm too old for that now. Instead, I'll just wait. Doesn't matter. Mets either won or lost and I'll know soon enough.

I keep myself occupied by reading an article about elephants in the New York Times Magazine.

The Times finally arrives at 7:40. My father takes the sports section.

"They lost," he says.

I know he's referring to his Yankees, whose season has come to a shockingly swift end. I feel bad, but this is good for the Mets. They weren't going to beat the Yankees. The Tigers and A's? Those teams are far from invincible.

But did the Mets win Game 3? I know not to ask.

I wait for a few minutes while my father goes through the ritual of absorbing the bitter details of his team's demise.

He relinquishes the sports section. Nothing about the Mets on the front page. Nothing in the rest of the sports section either. Late edition of the Sunday Times must print pretty early.

I very quickly get dressed and walk even more quickly toward the newsstand. There's a cool breeze and the streets are almost empty.

Three minutes later, I see the word "sweep" on the back page of the Post.
posted on 10/01/2009

 
Five Days

Newsday's Ken Davidoff writes today: "The Mets are clearly going to bring back both Manuel and Omar Minaya." (He then explains why bringing back Manuel may not be such a good idea.)

The media universally agree that Manuel and Minaya will be back with the Mets next season. Presumably they are aware that the Wilpons (1) hate to eat contracts, and (2) have privately assured Manuel and Minaya that their jobs are safe for now,

Call me a wild optimist, but even a Wilpon should be able to muster up some common sense once in a while. So until I am told that the Omar and Jerry circus will be back in town, I'm maintaining hope.

We'll probably know the fate of Minaya and Manuel by Monday afternoon. If Manuel is fired, Bobby Valentine would have to be the heavy favorite for the managerial job.

For more than five years, I've been calling for Bobby V's return. Here, in no particular order, are ten reasons why:

1. Roger Cedeno.

2. Todd Pratt.

3. Matt Franco.

4. Benny Agbayani.

5. Rick Reed.

6. Turk Wendell.

7. Dennis Cook.

8. Timo Perez.

9. Bobby Jones.

10. Armando Benitez.

Compare what these ten players did for Bobby Valentine's Mets with the rest of their respective careers.

(Honorable mention goes to Melvin Mora - then seen as a career minor leaguer - whom Bobby V gave a chance to before Steve Phillips promptly gave him away.)
posted on 9/30/2009

 
Week 3

1. The Jets were fortunate to win, thanks primarily to the two fumbles they recovered on special teams.

2. Mark Sanchez is going to ruin his career if he doesn't protect his body. Let's not forget that the 2004 Jets were cruising at 6-1 when Chad Pennington hurt his shoulder while trying to run for a few extra yards.

3. The Jets run game is dormant; they cannot get anything going between the tackles.

4. Rex Ryan was wrong for benching David Clowney over innocuous comments by Clowney on Twitter.

5. The defense really stepped up in the 4th quarter, aided by the timely Titans drops.
posted on 9/29/2009

 
10 Days - Countdown To V-Day



With the Mets cruising along at 65-88, the media universally reports that the Mets have decided to bring Jerry Manuel back as manager.

Nevertheless, common sense so strongly dictates letting Manuel go and replacing him with Bobby Valentine, that until the Wilpons actually start the offseason with Omar Minaya as GM and Manuel as manager, we mustn't lose hope for a better future in '10 and beyond.
posted on 9/24/2009

 
Bobby V - The Time Is Now



Despite their impressive two-game winning streak against the Nats, the 65-85 New York Mets cannot bring Jerry Manuel back as manager. Injuries took a major toll this season, but not so huge to warrant the team playing completely listless baseball.

Bobby Valentine - the man who completely turned the Mets around in the late 90's - is a free agent. Valentine, who led the Mets to five straight winning seasons before being fired after going 75-86 in 2002 - a record better than the 2009 Mets will finish with.

This is an opportunity that will not arise again.

Here's what the Mets have to do: On October 4, as soon as the game ends, let Manuel and his staff go, and announce the return of Bobby V. Only this can end the malaise that surrounds the Mets.
posted on 9/21/2009

 
Week 2

A few brief observations, mainly based on watching replays and looking at the box score:

1. Last November, with the Jets up by seven and Patriots deep in their own territory and out of timeouts, Eric Mangini decided to go into a prevent defense. The result was a tying touchdown with one second left.

Yesterday in a similar situation, replays showed the Jets blitzing on the Patriots' final plays.

Through two games, willingness to blitz marks the biggest contrast between the current coaching staff and its predecessor.

2. I'm not among the Mangini bashers, but another major difference in yesterday's game was the Jets' second-half domination. It seemed that often in the Mangini years, the Jets would get off to a fast start, and then play not to lose in the second half. Yesterday, the Jets adjusted well, particularly in allowing Mark Sanchez to throw the ball.

3. The Jets are off to a great start, but let's not forget that in 2000, the 16 game Al Groh era started off 4-0 - including an exciting week 2 home win over the PatriotS.
posted on 9/21/2009

 
OU At The White House II

In a post two months ago, I criticized the Orthodox Union for its failure to articulate policy disagreements with the Obama Administration during the meeting at the White House attended by invited Jewish "leaders," including OU President Stephen Savitsky. I wrote at that time that this was "a betrayal of the public the OU purports to represent."

This week's Jewish Star reports on Savitsky recounting of that meeting, including this:

Savitsky took time to reprimand White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.

“They all say he’s a foul-mouthed person and as a Jew, a menuval [a disgusting person]. I find it offensive. He’s a mishneh l’melech [advisor to a king], the language he uses ... I think it’s very unbecoming as a Jewish person.”

Savitsky has denied calling Emanuel a "menuval" but has otherwise confirmed the veracity of this criticism.

For the head of the OU to make a statement like this in a public forum is an absolute disgrace and another betrayal of the community the OU purports to represent.

If Savitsky wants to make foolish comments about the White House Chief of Staff, he should resign his position and join the rest of the frum people who pontificate about political events. Perhaps he can even start a blog.

He has no right, in his position as head of what is perceived to be a major Orthodox organization, to issue a totally unnecessary personal attack on Rahm Emanuel. His statements are an embarrassment and will obviously contribute nothing positive to Israel or to any part of the Jewish community.
posted on 9/17/2009

 
Week 1

1. From the first set of downs it was evident that this is a new era. The frequent blitzes and the aggressive playcalling on both sides of the ball even during the 4th quarter were a marked contrast from the Eric Mangini and Herm Edwards regimes.

2. Mark Sanchez showed excellent pocket presence and demonstrated both poise and accuracy on key third downs. In addition to his interception, he was fortunate that two other passes were not picked off.

3. The pass protection was excellent, as was Brian Schottenheimer's game plan.

4. Teams will likely continue to put eight defenders in the box and force the Jets to beat them in the air.

5. Needless to say, shutting out the Houston offense on the road was outstanding. David Harris was a force on defense, and Darrelle Revis must been pretty good considering how invisible Andre Johnson was.

6. Rex Ryan needs to lose weight.
posted on 9/13/2009

 
Jerusalem '09



If all goes according to plan, I'll be leaving for Israel tomorrow night, returning in two weeks.

I likely will not post from Jerusalem. In the meantime, please post your memories of Richie's Pizza.

And if next Friday night you spot an American kippa wearing man trying to pretend not to be confused while walking in the Muslim Quarter shuk, please point him toward the Western Wall.
posted on 8/16/2009

 
Citi Apathy

The 2006 NLCS debacle, followed by the 2007 and 2008 collapses, culminating in this season's pathetic showing, have brought the Mets to a new low, with their fans not caring about them anymore.

Has there ever been a time quite like this before? In the past, disappointment was accompanied by anger (George Foster, Bobby Bonilla, Victor Zambrano, etc.) and/or by hope that the young prospects (Craig Swan, Tim Leary, Generation K, etc.) would help turn things around.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have been the best team in baseball. Raising children to be Mets fans is going to be a real challenge.
posted on 8/13/2009

 
Rabbi Joseph Schick

From 1926 until his sudden death on Purim (which fell out on St. Patrick's Day) 1938, my grandfather, Rabbi Joseph Schick, served as rabbi of the West Side Jewish Center and as principal of its Hebrew school. The West Side Jewish Center still exists at the very same location at 347 West 34th Street, but there does not appear to be any evidence in the shul of my grandfather's existence; nor has there been for many years.

Rabbi Joseph Schick appears to have been a prominent rabbi in New York City during those twelve years. He authored at least two books and was quoted in the New York Times on various topics including, among others, his Rosh Hashanah sermons, the importance of keeping the Jewish Sabbath, the 1929 mass murder in Chevron and other Arab atrocities, and a defense of New York's governor against charges of anti-Semitism.
posted on 8/10/2009

 
Bobby V and the Limits Of Stupidity



The Mets are terrible. Injuries or not, over the last four seasons - yes, I am including 2006 - they have underachieved more than any team in baseball, if not all of professional sports. They have a bloated payroll filled with apathetic players. Their GM consistently gives away young talent for nothing. His two managers have both been mediocre at best; albeit the current manager is more likable.

I have been pleading for the return of Bobby Valentine for five years now, since the end of the awful Art Howe era (not that anyone has been listening). I was against his firing after the 2002 season, but understood it. 2002 was a bad year, and after 6 1/2 seasons, it could be argued that it was time for a change.

During these past five years, two reasons have routinely been given for why Bobby V could not come back - both equally stupid. The first: He loves it in Japan and will never leave Japan. That argument was always total nonsense, but now it is obviously irrelevant since this will be Valentine's last season in Japan.

The second reason endures: The Mets need to look toward the future, not the past. I have heard this from friends, from know-it-alls everywhere, and from numerous alleged sports commentators.

Cito Gaston can come back to the Blue Jays. Phil Jackson can come back to the Lakers. Sean Avery could come back to the Rangers. Heck, Bonny Bonilla came back to the Mets.

But Bobby V is a part of the past, so he can't be part of the future.

Hey wait, didn't Omar Minaya leave, and then come back to the Mets?

The Mets have to fire Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel after this season. Minaya should be replaced by either Gerry Hunsicker or Billy Beane.

The only possible replacement for Manuel is Bobby Valentine. Who else out there would have a baseball mind even close to his? And precisely because of Valentine's very strong personality, he will be able to shift the focus to himself and alleviate some of the pressure on the players.

It's so obvious, which is why it probably won't happen.

After all, why go back to the past, to a time when a slightly above average team went to the World Series?
posted on 8/10/2009

 
What Happens In Lakewood Doesn't Stay In Lakewood; Why Lakewood Matters

I come from what is probably best described as a moderate charedi background. I grew up in Brooklyn, where I attended "black-hat" yeshivas. When I moved to the Upper West Side in 1997, I gravitated toward shteibels and learned several nights a week at the local kollel.

Today, my hashkafos are more centrist. I have disagreements with the charedi approach on a number of issues. But I am not a rebel. I don't hate where I come from, nor the people from those places. I have no tolerance at all for charedi bashing. I particularly deplore certain ultra-modern Orthodox Jews who have tolerance and respect for everything and everyone - with the sole exception of charedim, for whom they muster only disdain and contempt.

* * *

Around eight years ago, the rabbis of Lakewood unanimously came out with a harsh edict banning the attendance of Lakewood BlueClaws baseball games. The edict did not suffice with a mere articulation of the standards of Lakewood's rabbinical leadership. It made clear that the children and siblings of anyone who attended a game would not be welcome in any yeshiva in Lakewood.

There have been a number of other disturbing developments in Lakewood in recent years. Emanating from Lakewood have been bans of all kinds of books; even a respected resident of Lakewood could not escape the decree as against his own fine and important work. Then the Internet ban. Then a ban of anyone with a television. Then the music ban. And of course the annual fiasco in which some people cannot get their children into yeshiva.

Yes, we are assured, eventually everyone gets into a school. At what price? The clear message is sent: Not every Jew in Lakewood is equal. Some schools are reserved for kollel families. Other schools aren't going to be for you if you don't conform with the dress code - and by dress code, I'm not referring to wearing yarmulkas, skirts and sheitels. If children don't conform, then they are bad boys and girls and can be expected to be expelled, perhaps to be sent somewhere out of town to be set straight, or perhaps to hang out in Lakewood.

* * *

I recall a shabbos around ten years ago when an old friend of mine, by then living in Lakewood for a number of years, was visiting the Upper West Side. To my objections about the Lakewood approach, he responded, essentially, that living in Lakewood is a privilege, not a right. If you want to live in Lakewood, you have to accept all of its rules.

If Lakewood were a self-contained cocoon, my friend's position might have merit. But Lakewood ultimately affects the entire observant Jewish world.

Whether banning concerts and sporting events as leisure activities, or students from the classroom, or books and the Internet from homes, Lakewood's stringency has carried over to the entire charedi world.

The result has not been more piety. Rather, it is an unprecedented amount of cynicism - including among many people who consider themselves charedi - toward the charedi rabbinical leadership.

* * *

L'chol z'man v'eis, l'chol chaifetz tachas ha'shamyim. (For everything there is a season; there is a time for everything under the heaven.)

Lakewood has provided us with an ideal of intense Torah study and Torah observance. Without Lakewood, it is questionable whether I would have had a kollel in Manhattan at which to learn. It is questionable whether Yeshiva University would also have become a place of widespread serious learning. It is questionable whether the Orthodox Jewish world - charedi, centrist, modern, whatever - would have bucked conventional expectations and flourished as it has.

Nobody should demand that Lakewood drop its own ideals. But Lakewood must realize that while there may have been a time for absolute zealotry, today's challenges are not the same as those of the 1950's. Our children are not tempted by the Conservative movement, by moving to the suburbs and having a nice car and house.

We face different sorts of serious challenges, for which there are no easy solutions. For some, bans may work, but not for most. Those who cannot or will not conform cannot be kicked to the curb. Even if it were otherwise consistent with the Torah path, there aren't enough of us around to afford writing off any parts of the frum community.

* * *

Thinking back to my five years on the Upper West Side, if I were to distinguish its charedi community's approach with the Lakewood approach, I would sum it up in three words:

Diracheha Darchei Noam. (The ways of the Torah are pleasant.)

The Upper West Side has its share of disagreements. The eruv is most prominent. The longtime charedi residents are not fans of the mostly modern Orthodox singles scene.

But the UWS is a place where a young woman who uses the eruv and wears short sleeves will be welcomed at the shabbos table of a yeshivish or chasidic family. Not tolerated as an act of chesed, welcomed.

And so another message is sent: Yes, we have our disagreements. We don't all dress alike, we don't all think alike. But much more importantly, let's daven together. Come to our shiurim. Join us at our shabbos table.

In navigating the challenges of the 21st century, the entire observant Jewish world - without abandoning its own hashkafos - must adopt this approach.
posted on 8/09/2009

 
The Trade 21 Years Later




Today is 21st anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers' trading of Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings.

I was in camp when it happened. When I heard the report on WFAN, I was completely shocked. The Edmonton Oilers trading Wayne Gretzky? How could that be possible?

The emotional press conference was two days later, on an afternoon the Mets came back in the 9th to defeat the Cubs at Wrigley and Gary Carter hit his 300th homer after a very long dry spell.
posted on 8/09/2009

 
The Mustache Must Return


posted on 8/07/2009