Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community 
This past Shabbos, my wife and I were, baruch Hashem, privileged to attend the bar mitzvah of our grandson Yehoshua Buchwald, son of Rabbi Naphtali and Shira in Houston, Texas. In previous articles, I wrote about the very special character of the Houston Young Israel/Community Kollel neighborhood. The bar mitzvah was magnificent in every way imaginable. It was a great source of nachas for my wife and me, plus our entire family, bli ayin ha’ra.
I was going to title this article in a much harsher way. It was to be called “The Surrender of Orthodoxy.” But I decided that the questions that I have for Orthodoxy are so painfully obvious that I must be misunderstanding something. Perhaps I need things explained to me more clearly. Also, our focus now really needs to be what is happening in Ukraine, so I don’t want to be a startling distraction from that critical matter.
I wonder if you will ever get to see a poll conducted by the media with the following questions:
Do you think Putin would have attacked Ukraine if Trump were president?
It seems that, at every anniversary event, the standard reaction is disbelief that so many years have passed. It is the same with the Queens Jewish Link. I can’t believe it’s ten years since its inception!
I did not know Rav Chaim Kanievsky. I never had the privilege of visiting him or consulting him on any matter. I do not recall hearing a drashah or inspirational speech from him. I read very little of his writings. Yet, like perhaps millions of Jews in Israel and throughout the world, I felt a very personal loss upon his passing.
Amazing! Right-wing personalities like Sean Hannity and Ben Shapiro were in the forefront last week in defending Whoopi Goldberg against her two-week suspension and possible dismissal from ABC for her dumb remarks about the Holocaust not being a matter of racism.
