Dear Editor,
Ever since the beginning of COVID-19, many aspects of our daily routine have been affected negatively or positively. Many people had the opportunity to spend more time with their family, while others tragically lost family members. Our lives have all changed in personal, private, and even religious matters. One of the victims of this pandemic is small business. According to Yelp, at least 800 businesses close every day of the pandemic. Other estimates show it could be 1,600 businesses! These are not people’s hobbies or extra activities; these are people’s livelihoods. Democrat and even some Republican governors have to stop playing around with people’s livelihoods! We can be safe at the same time people work.
An approach of personal responsibility should be used. Business owners should be able to assess their situations with the data available. If we restrict people from choosing for themselves, businesses will only keep shutting down. Currently, the bottom five states in terms of unemployment numbers are all run by Democrat governors including New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, Nevada, and Louisiana, who chose the opposite approach. Of the 50 cities where the most small businesses are closed, only 10 are run by a Republican, while the other 40 are run by Democrats or nonpartisans, according to VisualCapitalist.com. That does not mean that being a Democrat or a Republican made them choose one approach or the other, but it is a strong indicator of the differences that each party believes in — government is the ruler of our society vs. liberty of the people. COVID is a dangerous virus, but to counteract COVID with dangerous policies is pointless and unhelpful.
Sincerely,
Donny Simcha Guttman
I Am Not Yosef
Dear Editor,
Many commentators often compare the dramatic events of the Torah to modern-day situations. Sometimes these analogies are intriguing, sometimes they’re a stretch.
With all due respect to Mr. Gordon, I submit that his attempted comparison (From The Editor’s Desk, December 18) of Yosef’s sale into slavery, imprisonment, and eventual rise to power with the Trump defeat and Biden win is just that sort of stretch.
Both Trump and Biden play very loosely with the truth (to put it politely) and both are far from very moral. To even obliquely compare Trump to someone on the level of Yosef is, frankly, ludicrous.
By the same token, remotely comparing the Democrats’ battles against Trump with the actions of Yosef’s brothers is similarly illogical. The brothers were righteous men, and much has been written about their motives. All that the Democrats have been motivated by is a political agenda.
Now that the Electoral College has officially given the presidency to Biden, fairly or not, there is really nothing short of Hashem’s intervention that could change that.
Should that happen, Mr. Gordon would have a much better argument!
David J. Glenn
David,
Thanks for your note. If you reread what I wrote, you will realize that I was making a comparison of the situations, not the personalities. Of course there is no parallel to be drawn between the lives and values of the people involved.
I hope I clarified that for you.
Shabbat Shalom
LG
A Golden Connection
Dear Editor,
Rivky Herman continues to uplift with exquisite sentiments about her beloved Bubby, a’h, whose first yahrzeit was marked last week on Chanukah (A Letter To Bubby Herman, December 18). Rivky’s past pieces have provided a window into the life and outlook of the magnificent woman that was her grandmother, as well as the truly unique, inextricable bond that they shared. But the articles are not merely inspirational. They are invaluable, as they show the younger generation that such a profoundly close relationship between a grandparent and grandchild — while rare — can actually exist and is to be celebrated and cherished. How enriching it is to read about the larger-than-life appreciation a granddaughter has for the mesorah and life lessons she has inherited from her grandmother.
I hope Rivky will continue enriching the readership. Here’s to the continuation of the “Bubby Series”!
A.R.M.
Woodmere
