How we have strayed from our ancestors

One of the reasons that New York City as well as many urban areas in the USA are in the situation that we’re in, under lockdown shelter in place, etc. is that we have strayed from the Founders vision of this country and elected selfish career politicians and not public servants.

There is no reason why someone should be in office for more than a decade other than it enriches them. The profit motive is too great. Career politicians are not healthy for society.

Also many of the mini emperors who rule their city and state with an iron fist are “nouveau riche” meaning that they’re new to wealth and power and you can see it in their actions. I understand that Andrew Cuomo is the son of Mario Cuomo but most of them are new to it. One of the things the Lori Lightfoot want to do is throw their weight around and show “who’s boss”. This doesn’t work for very long. People get annoyed with this kind of attitude and resent the bossy types.

I don’t know how New Yorkers are going to react to the continued shutdown. I have started to walk outside a lot more in the last few weeks and will put the mask on when in a store or other place of business. However if it’s sunny outside I don’t fully cover unless I’m near an elderly person. The sun is a good cleanser of the virus.

One last note, for those whom disagree with me on the lockdown. I’m beginning to lose patience with you and if you’re not a relative of mine or someone who I owe deference to, I may discontinue our friendship. The country has lost over 35 million jobs in 2-3 months. Not everyone has a job that they can work from home on a consistent basis. Certain professions dictate being in the place of business consistently and you can’t work on a computer. Restaurants theater and hospitality places need their employees to be present at work.

Have a good Memorial Day.

Are we cowards

I don’t ask this question lightly however the longer this lockdown goes one maybe we do need to tell our “mini emperors” to go to hell and even risk being cited for going against the lockdown.

On the one hand I want to obey the rules. However I don’t want to give these people more power than necessary. My fellow Jews who meekly go along with these lockdowns are naive or misguided.

Dear God give us strength and courage to face the tyrants who pose as leaders who have duped us into a police state.

Separating from the community

I’m going to ask a very controversial question. Given the fact that I don’t expect many of the areas with large Jewish populations to “open up” for anything resembling a minyan for a month or two (or longer) can a shul in a red state or city open up or should open up and also is one obligated to be a sitting duck if he or she has the means to escape or is that being    מפריש מן הציבור?
If one does leave ones residence for 3 months until the lockdown order is rescinded and then returns to ones original residence should any communal body discipline or censure this person?

Purpose of synagogue and communal prayer

In light of what is going on we need to rethink fundamentally what is the purpose of prayer and communal gatherings. Is it to pray to God seriously? Is it to gather socially?

I try to pray for it’s sake when possible. Therefore the social aspect isn’t as important to me as it would be for others. That’s not to say that I am anti social, it just isn’t the place to schmooze for me like it is for many of my other religious brethren.

Perhaps that explains why these Rabbis at the OU and Agudah are more careful than I would be. Their constituency looks to the shul for more than just a place to daven. I understand it but in these times it won’t work.

I have attended numerous semachot (happy occasions) and been at shul for funerals the opposite end of the spectrum. However the shul isn’t a bar or dance club. For some of the frummies or more stridently Yeshivish crowd, the shul is their social life. They don’t go to bars and Starbucks, ballgames etc.

Governors acting like Idi Amin

One of the things that has happened is that these governors and mayors are acting like Monarchs or dictators. This is unprecedented in my lifetime, I never knew that a Governor has the right to enact unlimited fiats and decrees that had no oversight and no time constraints simply because they somehow convinced or fooled a plurality of voters into voting for them. Whatever happened to the opposing party and their views on these matters? Don’t they count as well? I suppose not,

The governors and media people who look away at these tyrannical decrees are the name people who told us four years ago that if we elected Donald Trump that he would be a dictator. Look who’s doing the dictating now. All of the blue governors and mayors.

NFL schedule release pointless

While Many sports fans looking for anything resembling sports we’re enthused with the NFL draft as well as last nights schedule release, it’s almost pointless for the following reasons

1) the season may be delayed significantly by a month or more depending on how the COVID-19 situation plays out particularly in the blue states and cities (NY,IL, MA, CA, etc )

2) more importantly, there may not be fans at the games.

3) disposable income will be much lower than in previous years, look at the unemployment numbers.

Joshua