Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Incredible times we’re living in, almost biblical in nature it seems!
You printed one of the most consequential letters in last week’s paper, a distraught woman lamenting the Talibanization of Judaism in far-right Orthodox circles.
Her alarm bells are 100% accurate, as we’re watching the radicalization of a subset of the Orthodox community and the dehumanization of women as a whole.
The elimination of women from the public square, treating them as invisible, inanimate objects, has profound negative effects on their adherents and on our overall community.
Extremes in any form, including so-called tzniut, have the effect of being just the opposite of what they intend.
Elimination of women from public is the furthest thing from modesty or concern. It’s humiliating and dehumanizing, viewing them as public irrelevancies.
Imagine if I called one of the adherents of such a worldview and told them that my 18-year-old daughter is aroused by the photos of yeshivish men in the paper, asking them, for modesty’s sake, to remove all vestiges of male images from the public square!
I would be looked upon as some sort of freak, and rightfully so.
And yet, there is adoption of such a demonic attitude as it pertains to the portrayal of women.
Although it may hurt you financially, I’m calling upon you to refuse publication of any advertisement that purposefully eliminates women.
The Orthodox community must have the courage to set limits on acceptable discourse.
We can start by refusing to endorse, even implicitly, any notion of degrading women.
Sincerely,
Sarah I.
Dear Editor,
A few weeks ago you ran an article about Hatzolah in South Florida [January 30]. It was a great article and very informative.
However, you left out something quite important. Like many things in life today, there is an app for that.
Hatzolah has an app called Global Assist. It will help you link to your nearest Hatzolah using GPS to determine your location.
Recently I was in Israel, alone, and was not feeling well. Just to see if this really worked, I opened the Global Assist app, in case I would need it. It found me within a half block of where I was and then gave me the option of calling Magen David Adom or United Hatzolah. I didn’t go further because I did not want to trigger a false alarm or unnecessarily tie up a dispatcher. But this does appear to work well, overall.
Your readers should also know, in general, how to call an emergency service. Be it police, ambulance, or fire. They should also teach this to their children who may be put in this kind of situation. Teach your children by doing pretend calls.
1. Stay calm. Help will come faster if you stay calm and can give the dispatcher correct information.
2. Give the location of the emergency, which may be different that where you are. Give the address, apartment or suite number, and cross streets. If there is something unusual about the location give any other specific information drivers may need to locate the site.
3. Give the dispatcher your phone number or other good number to use, in case they have to call you back for additional information.
4. If possible, send someone out to greet the responders and lead them to where they are needed.
5. If there are things happening at the site that might pose a danger to the responders let the dispatcher know.
6. If this is a fire, get out and then call.
And, your readers should also know that Chaverim and Shomrim have similar apps. There is an app titled ‘Ezras Nashim’ but it is NOT the ambulance service.
Many thanks to all the volunteers at these organizations who do not hesitate to help when needed.
Frimette Kass-Shraibman
Former EMT
Why Romaine Lettuce Matters on Pesach
Copyright 2026 © Allen Feiglin
Dear Editor,
Most of us were taught that maror is eaten on Pesach because it tastes bitter. Horseradish burns, lettuce is mild, and somewhere along the way the idea took hold that “any bitter herb will do.”
That explanation is simple. It is also incomplete.
Romaine lettuce was not chosen arbitrarily, and it was never meant to be interchangeable. When its original context is restored, maror becomes one of the most powerful statements of the Seder.
Romaine lettuce was an Egyptian god. In ancient Egypt it functioned as a fertility symbol and minor deity, associated with sexual potency, abundance, and creative force. Egyptian art from the period of Israelite slavery depicts romaine lettuce repeatedly, especially in elite and religious contexts.
One striking example appears in the funerary chapel of Ka, architect of the Pharaohs’ tombs. Along the upper walls runs a decorative band in which every second tile shows a tall, elongated lettuce plant. In Egyptian culture, nothing placed in a tomb was merely decorative. Tomb imagery reflected what sustained, empowered, and protected the deceased in the afterlife.
Modern archaeological research confirms that lettuce functioned as a phallic fertility symbol and was linked to sexual vitality and Divine generative power. That background changes everything.
Romaine lettuce was not common food. It was labor-intensive to grow, requiring constant bending, irrigation, and supervision. Slaves cultivated it; elites consumed it. The slaves produced a symbol of fertility, pleasure, and abundance that they themselves were denied. That dynamic—creating luxury for others while living in deprivation—is the bitterness the Torah wants us to remember.
The Torah never commands us to eat something that tastes bitter. It commands us to eat maror. Romaine lettuce is not bitter on the tongue. It is bitter in meaning.
On the night of the Exodus, the Jewish people openly defied Egyptian religion. Three symbols were eaten: the lamb, an Egyptian god; matzah, the bread of slavery; and romaine lettuce, a fertility god and elite symbol. The lamb was slaughtered. The slave bread was eaten proudly. And the fertility god was consumed by slaves.
We recline when eating the lamb and the matzah. We do not recline for maror. The distinction is deliberate. The lamb sustained us. Matzah sustained us. Romaine lettuce did not. It represents suffering without redemption, excess without morality, and power without restraint. Some memories are meant to be faced upright.
Over time, this meaning faded. Not because it was untrue, but because it was uncomfortable. Egyptian fertility worship, sexual excess, and moral decay are not easy subjects, especially for children. The explanation softened. “Bitter herbs” became easier to say. The Haggadah itself provides the solution through the Four Sons, teaching truth in stages.
Romaine lettuce remains on the plate as a reminder of what slavery really looks like, how cultures dehumanize, why freedom requires moral clarity, and why leaving Egypt is not enough; we must not become it.
These ideas are developed more fully in I Am the Witness—Exodus and I Am the Witness—Purim by Allen Feiglin, available on Amazon. In addition to the insights on maror, the books reveal further Chiddushimexplaining the actions of the spies, the followers of Korach, and other pivotal moments in Jewish history, showing how seemingly inexplicable failures follow a consistent moral and spiritual pattern. Using Yalkut Meam Loez as a starting point, small crumbs of information from Rav Yakov Culi in his masterpiece commentary are the author’s jumping off points.
References for the archaeological evidence are provided at the end of the Exodus volume. However, be warned, the reader is stepping outside the boundaries of Yiddishkeit.
Allen Feiglin,
Baltimore USA
Mindbiz
Dear Editor,
In the Mindbiz column in the February 27 issue, in addition to the advice given to the writer about her discomfort with the way her relationship with her sister-in-law was going, I think there are other important factors to take into account. One thing is recognizing that she mentioned that when she goes to her mother-in-law, her mother-in-law “bends over backwards to make them as comfortable as possible and is ready to do everything they possibly want.” That could be why she is okay with reciprocation on the part of her daughter-in-law and daughter. It’s not all one-sided.
The other issue is that venting is accepted by the Chafetz Chaim under certain conditions. One may listen but not contribute or even believe the information. (Listening without giving a response was mentioned.) It’s certainly not supposed to be ongoing over years. If someone needs to vent on a regular basis it would be preferable that they find someone who does not know the mother-in-law. Lashon ha’ra causes machlokes and so it’s not so surprising that she’s having issues with her sister-in-law. Also, it’s human nature that when one complains about one’s loved ones, they feel they are allowed but get upset and insulted if someone speaks badly about those same loved ones.
Hopefully, with the advice on self-soothing etc. their relationship will be back to enjoying each other.
T.A.
Dear Neighbors,
If you do not have a handicap tag/license plate, please DO NOT park in a handicap zone. Don’t even think that, “well, the regular spots have mounds of snow, so I’ll park next to it in the handicap spot.” Don’t park in the “blue zebra” striped areas. They are there so a handicapped person can maneuver their walker or wheelchair.
Last week in a local shopping mall, three handicapped spots next to each other had cars parked in them that did not have handicapped tags/license plates.
Don’t even think that “I’m just running in for a quick Minchah.” What if I want to go in to davenMinchah?
Your handicapped neighbor
