O pinion
Supreme Court Ruling Won’t Change Things for
My Orthodox Congregation
BY RABBI YOSIE LEVINE
AS THE RABBI of a synagogue
on the Upper West Side of
Manhattan, I have been keeping
a close eye on pronouncements
by the governor about the
ever-changing New York state
guidelines governing houses of
worship. Since reopening in the
summer, we have taken note of
how quickly synagogues have
had to adapt when they found
themselves subject to occupancy
limits of 10 or 25 people. When
the Supreme Court rendered a
decision about the legality of
these state-imposed restric-
tions, we followed it with great
interest. In last week’s split decision,
the court set aside the atten-
dance limits that New York
Gov. Cuomo had imposed on
houses of worship in red and
orange zones. The decision does
not immunize synagogues,
mosques or churches against
government restrictions.

It simply insists that those
restrictions must not be more
severe than those placed on
comparable secular gatherings.

Champions of religious
freedom cheered. In their view,
the court had beaten back an
overreaching state. But for a
synagogue community like ours,
the decision is largely academic.

being mandated to by the
government. We waited to
reopen until well after the
state proclaimed reopening
permissible. And while the
government’s occupancy limits
would have allowed us to seat
100 or more people in our
sanctuary, our internal guide-
lines restricted capacity to a
fraction of that number.

We can all agree on the need
to protect the free exercise of
religion guaranteed by the
well-being of every member
of our broader community. If
that requires the expenditure
of more time or more funds on
our part, so be it.

As Americans, we are condi-
tioned to think about rights. As
Jews, we are also meant to think
about responsibilities. Mitzvot
are not good deeds; they are
obligations dutifully performed
by those who aspire to better the
world by making it more sacred
or more godly. Rather than
From the outset of this pandemic, it has been our position that while
adherence to the dictates of the government is required by halakha, or
Jewish law, those dictates represent a floor rather than a ceiling.

From the outset of this
pandemic, it has been our
position that while adherence
to the dictates of the govern-
ment is required by halakha,
or Jewish law, those dictates
represent a floor rather than
a ceiling. In the halakhic
calculus, few issues are treated
more conservatively than those
pertaining to public safety. That
a given activity may be legal
does not necessarily mean it
is advisable or even permitted.

Our synagogue closed before
First Amendment. But in the
context of a raging pandemic,
we are not animated by a
desire to search for allow-
ances or dispensations. We are
not interested in how many
people we can legally cram
into a given space. Our goal
is not simply to satisfy the
requirements of the state so
that we can check a box. Our
goal is to protect the health
and well-being of every person
who passes through our doors
and, in turn, the health and
pursuing concessions from the
state, we ought to be pursuing
opportunities to contribute
to it. For Jews, the best way
to celebrate the triumph of
religious freedom is to treat that
freedom responsibly.

Justice Neil Gorsuch filed
a separate opinion in this
case in which he wrote that
“[e]ven if the Constitution has
taken a holiday during this
pandemic, it cannot become a
sabbatical.” By the same token,
those of us operating houses
of worship cannot afford to
rest for even a moment. By
insisting on protocols that
meet and exceed the expecta-
tions of public health officials,
we can model responsible civic
conduct. Maintaining these
high standards represents an
ongoing challenge, but we are
obliged to do nothing less.

As citizens of the United
States, each of us is called upon
to abide by the laws of the
nation. What kind of citizen
a person will be remains a
question of personal prefer-
ence. But in the Jewish
conception, the Talmud tells
us that we are charged with
an affirmative requirement to
be “good neighbors.” When
the need arises, each of us has
to make a concession for the
benefit of a greater good. It’s
not about how many people
in our community we can fit
into a service. It’s about how
our people can fit service to the
community into their lives. l
Rabbi Yosie Levine holds a
doctorate in early modern Jewish
history from Yeshiva University and
is the seventh rabbi of The Jewish
Center on Manhattan’s Upper West
Side. This piece first appeared at
JTA.org Abraham’s Bad Seed: Reconsidering Saudi Arabia
MID-ATLANTIC MEDIA EDITORIAL BOARD
AMONG THE MOST powerful
and feared voices in the Middle
East is that of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. Wealthy, large,
conservative, aloof, sitting
snugly in the cradle of Arab and
Muslim civilization — Saudi
Arabia wields significant polit-
ical and economic influence in
the complex structure of the
Arab world.

The kingdom’s actions
16 DECEMBER 3, 2020
are monitored closely. Its
pronouncements are followed
carefully. Yet very few actually
believe much of what the
kingdom says. Instead, one
must examine carefully what
the kingdom and its royal
family do. And often, it is not
very pretty.

Israel’s relationship with
the Saudis has improved. The
two countries cooperate on
security and many economic
issues, and share intense
enmity toward Iran. The Saudis
have also tacitly approved the
normalization of relations
between Israel and some of
her Gulf neighbors. All that is
welcome. Yet, at least for now,
the Saudis are hesitant to join
the historic Abraham Accords
— which isn’t necessarily a bad
thing. The Saudis are not our
friends. More to the point, we
don’t want friends like them.

Instead, we have business and
JEWISH EXPONENT
political dealings with the
Saudis because they are neces-
sary and sometimes convenient,
even as we cringe at the outra-
geous human rights abuses and
dishonesty that regularly flow
from the kingdom.

It was
conservative Wahhabism — the rigid
fundamentalist orthodoxy of
Saudi Arabia, which holds that
those who don’t practice their
form of Islam are heathens
and enemies — that laid the
groundwork for Al Qaeda and
the terror attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. And it’s the Saudis who
have funded fundamentalist
madrasas and spawned count-
less Islamic terror cells and
attacks around the world.

In 2018, the world was
aghast over the torture,
murder and dismemberment
of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
by a 15-member Saudi team
See MAM, Page 27
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



O PINION
KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
We Must Push Our Leaders
to Address Hunger Crisis
BY ABBY J. LEIBMAN
THIS WEEK, FAMILIES
around the country will
celebrate Th anksgiving amid
a new and devastating reality.

While our celebrations might
look and feel diff erent than
other years, many of us will
likely recall our blessings in
new ways as well. Food on
the table will have heightened
meaning, as we know that
millions of Americans are
struggling to feed themselves
and their families every day.

Eight months into the
pandemic, we are witnessing
a true crisis of food insecurity.

Lines for emergency food distri-
bution stretch long and tens
of millions are unemployed.

Women, racial minorities and
those who were struggling long
before the pandemic are dispro-
portionately suff ering.

As Americans and as Jews,
it is our responsibility to act.

Specifi cally, we must demand
that our leaders in government
respond to growing hunger
with the wisdom, compassion
and urgency that this moment
demands. We urgently need
new legislation that will help
tens of millions of Americans
put food on the table. Th e
stakes have never been higher.

COVID-19 has revealed
just how many Americans are
living at the edge of poverty.

Wedding Bad for Orthodox Image
formerly known as food
stamps — in part due to strin-
gent eligibility requirements
and cumbersome applications.

Hunger is oft en hidden,
silent and overlooked. Nobody
talks about the shame that
comes with not knowing if
you can feed your children
their next meal, eating canned
goods because it’s cheaper than
fresh food or drinking water to
make yourself feel full.

My organization MAZON
Hunger is often hidden, silent and overlooked.

Nobody talks about the shame that comes with
not knowing if you can feed your children their
next meal.

Before the pandemic, nearly 40
million were facing hunger. At
MAZON: A Jewish Response
to Hunger, we now expect
that number has doubled,
particularly given skyrock-
eting unemployment rates
and shocking reports about
the increased need for food.

Th e past nine months have
revealed that millions of
Americans are falling through
the cracks of our federal
government’s nutrition safety
net — assistance programs like
the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, or SNAP,
does our best to change that,
sharing the stories of people
like Rhonda, who reminds us
that “it’s not normal to eat once
a day, but if you’re struggling,
that’s the only thing you can
do.” And the experience of
people like Charles, who shared
that “there are times towards
the end of the month when all
I can aff ord to eat for days at a
time is bread and milk.” And
the stories of children like John,
who says that “If I am hungry
in school, I can’t focus a lot and
I don’t understand the lesson.”
So many people, in the
See Leibman, Page 27
Linda Cherkas | Philadelphia
Charitable Giving a Must
I have been subscribing to the Jewish Exponent since I was a
teenager. Now I am 84 years old and am looking forward to
continuing for many years.

I usually read most articles before I share the Exponent with
neighbors in my apartment building.

Most of the articles I fi nd inspiring especially when it concerns
the issues of the day like the pandemic and the resultant jobless-
ness and depression and hunger that seems so rampant.

Th e op-ed by Yvette Alt Miller (“Charitable Giving During
the Pandemic Is the Jewish Th ing to Do,” Nov. 29) that I found
myself reading a few times is right on target about the Jewish
approach to saving our society.

What prompted me to reread the article was that my mother, who
was an immigrant from the pogroms from the early last century,
told me that her father used to do the same thing in taking a needy
person to a restaurant instead of giving a pittance and leaving the
needy alone. It awakened my conscience, as I was young when my
grandfather died and did not know him personally. My father came
from Palestine to fi nd a future in America free from the cruelty of
the Ottoman Empire in Israel. I needed to share this. Shalom. ●
Harry Leibson | Elkins Park
Correction A NOTICE TO OUR READERS
Th ere will be no print edition of the Jewish Exponent
the week of Dec. 31. Th at week, please visit us online at
jewishexponent.com, where the paper will be available
in digital form.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM KUDOS TO GARY ROSENBLATT, editor at large of the
Jewish Week, for writing about what is going on in one segment
of the Orthodox Jewish community (“Th e Challenge for the
Orthodox Media,” Nov. 26).

Something that was not mentioned was the Nov. 8 massive wedding
of the Satmar rebbe’s grandson in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Th is was reported in the press, including Th e New York Times,
where thousands of Chasidim stood maskless shoulder to shoulder.

Th is is positively a chilul Hashem — a desecration of G-d’s
name. First of all, it goes against a key Torah principle of pikuach
nefesh — preserving a life, even if, for instance, one has to violate
laws of Shabbat to save a life. Also there is a principle in the
Talmud of Dinah d’malchuta Dinah — that the law of the land
is the law.

Flagrantly fl aunting Mayor de Blasio and New York state
COVID orders is truly a shanda — a shame. It promotes hatred
of Orthodox Jews among other Jews and increases anti-Jewish
sentiment in the community at large.

JEWISH EXPONENT
In Jesse Bernstein’s story about Grassroots Food Truck (“New
Kosher Food Truck Now Open for Business,” Nov. 19), we
misidentifi ed the authority that provides the truck’s kashrut
certifi cation. Th e correct authority is Keystone-K. Th e Jewish
Exponent regrets the error.

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER
We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and let-
ters to the editor published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing
Group, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia or the Jewish Exponent. Send
letters to letters@jewishexponent.com or fax to 215-569-3389. Letters should be a
maximum of 200 words and may be edited for clarity and brevity. Unsigned letters will not be
published. DECEMBER 3, 2020
17