Unless you've lived under a rock for the last two weeks, you're probably aware that Martin Grossman was executed last week for the murder of wildlife officer Peggy Park in 1984. As the execution date drew closer, the case gained a lot of publicity as many Jews in the Orthodox world (as well as many non-Jews as well) attempted to persuade Governor Crist to either commute the sentence to life in prison without parole or grant a stay of execution. In the end, Grossman's appeals were exhausted and he was executed.
During the course of the campaign, some people decided to reach out and harass the mother of Peggy Park for not joining the campaign for clemency for Grossman. The blogger, OnionSoupMix, lives in Mrs. Parks' neighborhood and has written a letter to her apologizing for the actions of her more extreme coreligionists. You can find it on her blog, Matzav and ChabadOnLineLive. I urge you to read it and, if you agree with her sentiments, send her your name so she can attach it to the letter.
Personally, I am sickened by some of the sentiments expressed by people towards the Park family in the aftermath of the execution. Some of the "choice" comments from Matzav and COL commentators include (anything in brackets is my own translation/interpretation):
L’ma’ashe she caused retzichah, we do not have to apologize, even mitzad menshlachkait.
(Translation: In fact, she caused murder [Martin Grossman's, I'm presuming] we do not have to apologize, even with regard to being a mentsch[acting properly]).
the man did tishuva [repentance]! all he wanted was to live in jale [sic] for the rest of his life….and even so this rishanta [wicked woman] insisted on his death and went to watch it!
wow, it would be nice to focus more on ahavat yisroel [love of your fellow Jew] than feelings of a mother who waited 25 years to have a Jew dead!
"halacha shesav sone leyaakov" [it's a "law" that non-Jews hate Jews] she hates you and you r [sic] going to gather apology signatures!
PPPPPPPPPPLEASE.
tell her to get A LIFE!
Martin Grossman killed Margaret Park in 1984.
the state of Florida executed Martin Grossman in 2010.
MOTHER OF PEGGY PARK, MOVE ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally, these comments disgust and sicken me and make me feel ashamed to be in the same species, let alone religion. Whether you think the execution was justified or not, I utterly fail to understand how someone cannot empathize with a woman who has waited twenty five years to see justice done in the murder of her daughter. People who, God forbid, lose children NEVER "get a life" and "move on," even when they die natural or accidental deaths.
To me, someone who cannot empathize with a mother wanting the full measure of legal justice for her slain child, regardless of the length of time involved, is simply uncaring, unfeeling and does certainly does not possess one of the traits that is supposed to be characteristic of Jews -- rachmanim (people who have mercy). And I feel sorry for them -- moreso than I do for Mr. Grossman. At least, at the end of his life, he learned to empathize with someone else and apologize for causing them pain. Others in our community seem to relish in it and want to victimize the Parks all over again.
The Wolf
Showing posts with label non-Jews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-Jews. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
An Experiment I'd LOVE To Try...
There is a non-Jewishly owned pharmacy near where I work. Like many large pharmacies, they carry a wide range of products, including some groceries, candies, etc.
Around Channukah time, the store put out some Pashkez gold coin candies. They were put out in a Pashkez display box and were sold in the little red net bags. The red net bags had a little tag that identified it as a Pashkez product and had the hashgacha printed on it. In addition, many of the coins had the word "Pashkez" raised on the gold wrapping.
The coins were out for a while, but it seems the store got stuck with a few too many of them. Today, I saw a big plastic jar on the counter. It was filled with red and gold coins -- the red ones presumably being Christmas coins and the gold ones clearly identifiable as Channukah coins. The coins were no longer in the little net bags, but yet, on many of the gold ones, you can clearly see the word "Pashkez" raised on the coin. The coins were on sale for a nickel each.
If I had the time and the guts, I'd love to take 100 frum people (who would otherwise eat chocolate) into the store and offer to buy them a clearly identifiable Pashkez coin. I'd love to know how many people would fall into each of these categories:
a. Eat the chocolate
b. Not each the chocolate because of appearances/discomfort (because the coin was in the same container as possibly non-kosher coins).
c. Not each the coin because they have a very real fear that some non-Jews, in order to trick Jews into eating non-kosher food, removed the kosher chocolate from the Pashkez wrapping, inserted a non-kosher chocolate coin, and re-wrapped it again.
The Wolf
Around Channukah time, the store put out some Pashkez gold coin candies. They were put out in a Pashkez display box and were sold in the little red net bags. The red net bags had a little tag that identified it as a Pashkez product and had the hashgacha printed on it. In addition, many of the coins had the word "Pashkez" raised on the gold wrapping.
The coins were out for a while, but it seems the store got stuck with a few too many of them. Today, I saw a big plastic jar on the counter. It was filled with red and gold coins -- the red ones presumably being Christmas coins and the gold ones clearly identifiable as Channukah coins. The coins were no longer in the little net bags, but yet, on many of the gold ones, you can clearly see the word "Pashkez" raised on the coin. The coins were on sale for a nickel each.
If I had the time and the guts, I'd love to take 100 frum people (who would otherwise eat chocolate) into the store and offer to buy them a clearly identifiable Pashkez coin. I'd love to know how many people would fall into each of these categories:
a. Eat the chocolate
b. Not each the chocolate because of appearances/discomfort (because the coin was in the same container as possibly non-kosher coins).
c. Not each the coin because they have a very real fear that some non-Jews, in order to trick Jews into eating non-kosher food, removed the kosher chocolate from the Pashkez wrapping, inserted a non-kosher chocolate coin, and re-wrapped it again.
The Wolf
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Lakewood Buses -- This Can't Be Real, Can it?
Lakewood Kollel Veib reports that there is an effort underway in Lakewood to only have Jewish bus drivers drive the kids home from Yeshiva. The Yeshiva would also supplement the drivers' salaries (above the standard salary paid by the state) to bring the pay to about thirty dollars an hour. The Yeshiva would then pass the cost along to the parents.
Personally, I'm finding this one a bit troubling. Can't the people in Lakewood see that this is something that is totally illegal and discriminatory? Don't they realize that this is just a massive lawsuit waiting to happen?
Personally, I'm wondering if there is such a serious campaign or if this is just a bunch of idle chatter. Does anyone have any concrete information on this?
The Wolf
(For an alternative take on this subject, see Rabbi Maryles' blog).
Personally, I'm finding this one a bit troubling. Can't the people in Lakewood see that this is something that is totally illegal and discriminatory? Don't they realize that this is just a massive lawsuit waiting to happen?
Personally, I'm wondering if there is such a serious campaign or if this is just a bunch of idle chatter. Does anyone have any concrete information on this?
The Wolf
(For an alternative take on this subject, see Rabbi Maryles' blog).
Monday, March 26, 2007
Non-Jews At The Seder
It's interesting how one's perspective changes as one gets older and encounters situations in life that they never thought they'd encounter.
I had the opinion (and to some degree still do) that having non-Jews by the Seder is wrong. Not wrong as is "it's forbidden, you're violating a commandment, " but wrong as in "IMHO, it's not appropriate." Now, I've been by s'darim where non-Jews were present, and I must say that they have always been curious, respectful, and have always followed the requests of the hosts.
But the story of Pesach is the story of the redemption of the Jewish people from a slavery in a situation and manner that was unique to them at that time. Certainly other cultures can appreciate and identify with a set of rituals surrounding a story of redemption from slavery or freedom from oppression; but the method used on Pesach, with it's unique symbolism and history, is as unique to Judaism as a Juneteenth celebration is to the descendants of African slavery in America. Unlike most holidays, the celebration of Pesach is more personal, since it is we, the Jews, who were rescued from Egypt. Having other people there is, well... it just seems out of place.
Such was my thinking for years. I've never had a non-Jew by my seder. They've been by my Shabbos table, in my Sukkah, dipped apple in honey with us on Rosh HaShannah and even by my Pesach table (during the non-seder meals), but not at the seder itself.
Of course, it's easy to hold an opinion in the abstract. It's when the situation hits home that you really begin to consider how important your preconceived notions are.
Case in point: my brother. My brother recently married a girl who is not Jewish. She's a very nice person (I couldn't see him marrying someone who wasn't a nice person) who is kind and caring. She's pleasant to be around and is respectful to everyone, even in the knowledge that the family wasn't thrilled with the wedding plans.
Well, this will be the first year since the wedding that we will be having a seder that she will (probably) be attending. We could always have not invited them (and their son), but we chose to do so anyway. Eeees and I figured that if we don't invite them, there is the definite possibility that my brother will not go to a seder at all. Despite his marriage, he is still obligated in the mitzvos of matzah, marror, reciting the story of the Exodus, etc. as anyone else is... by not inviting him simply because I may not want his wife present, I may well cause him to not fulfill these mitzvos at all.
In addition, we want to actively hold out the possibility that he will be chozer b'tshuva. I firmly believe in the rule that you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. Eeees and I believe in maintaining strong contact with my brother and his family in the hopes of showing them that the door is always open to his return to a observant lifestyle. We respect and interact with his wife and son in the hopes that maybe they will see the beauty of such a lifestyle and want to lead one too (granted, the chances of this happening are not very likely, but you never know). Shunning them, however, was never considered -- by shunning them you are, in effect, closing the door to the possibility of his every observing the mitzvos again.
So, Eeees and I made the choice to invite them to the seder that we are hosting this year (we're only hosting one... we're going elsewhere for the first night). I have no doubt that my sister-in-law will be the perfect guest. I have no doubt that she'll look forward to the opportunity to have her son participate in the rituals and celebrations that are a part of his heritage (even if he isn't Jewish by our definition - and even if he's too young to understand any of it). For all this, I can put aside my discomfort.
You never know which action will be the one that will influence a person to make a decision in their life. You never know what little action may influence my brother to start keeping a mitzvah -- any one. If having my sister-in-law and nephew over for the seder tips him even slightly in the direction of deciding to stay home from work one Shabbos, or think twice about eating something non-kosher, or putting up a mezuzzah in his home, then it's worth it.
(Besides, my nephew is sooooooo cute. :) )
The Wolf
ADDENDUM: I just want to make it clear (since, as Baal Devarim pointed out, I didn't in the post above) that my relationship with my brother is not based on our hopes to have him become observant. I have other family members with whom I have absolutely no chance of ever influencing them to become observant -- and nonetheless we maintain contact with them, have them over at our house, etc. 'The relationship is not about trying to convert people to observance of the mitzvos -- it's about family and friendship.
That being said, it is no secret that we would love for our brother to become more observant - he knows it. But it's also not the basis of our relationship. He knows that we accept him -- and his wife and son (and any future children) -- even if he never becomes observant at all.
The Wolf
I had the opinion (and to some degree still do) that having non-Jews by the Seder is wrong. Not wrong as is "it's forbidden, you're violating a commandment, " but wrong as in "IMHO, it's not appropriate." Now, I've been by s'darim where non-Jews were present, and I must say that they have always been curious, respectful, and have always followed the requests of the hosts.
But the story of Pesach is the story of the redemption of the Jewish people from a slavery in a situation and manner that was unique to them at that time. Certainly other cultures can appreciate and identify with a set of rituals surrounding a story of redemption from slavery or freedom from oppression; but the method used on Pesach, with it's unique symbolism and history, is as unique to Judaism as a Juneteenth celebration is to the descendants of African slavery in America. Unlike most holidays, the celebration of Pesach is more personal, since it is we, the Jews, who were rescued from Egypt. Having other people there is, well... it just seems out of place.
Such was my thinking for years. I've never had a non-Jew by my seder. They've been by my Shabbos table, in my Sukkah, dipped apple in honey with us on Rosh HaShannah and even by my Pesach table (during the non-seder meals), but not at the seder itself.
Of course, it's easy to hold an opinion in the abstract. It's when the situation hits home that you really begin to consider how important your preconceived notions are.
Case in point: my brother. My brother recently married a girl who is not Jewish. She's a very nice person (I couldn't see him marrying someone who wasn't a nice person) who is kind and caring. She's pleasant to be around and is respectful to everyone, even in the knowledge that the family wasn't thrilled with the wedding plans.
Well, this will be the first year since the wedding that we will be having a seder that she will (probably) be attending. We could always have not invited them (and their son), but we chose to do so anyway. Eeees and I figured that if we don't invite them, there is the definite possibility that my brother will not go to a seder at all. Despite his marriage, he is still obligated in the mitzvos of matzah, marror, reciting the story of the Exodus, etc. as anyone else is... by not inviting him simply because I may not want his wife present, I may well cause him to not fulfill these mitzvos at all.
In addition, we want to actively hold out the possibility that he will be chozer b'tshuva. I firmly believe in the rule that you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. Eeees and I believe in maintaining strong contact with my brother and his family in the hopes of showing them that the door is always open to his return to a observant lifestyle. We respect and interact with his wife and son in the hopes that maybe they will see the beauty of such a lifestyle and want to lead one too (granted, the chances of this happening are not very likely, but you never know). Shunning them, however, was never considered -- by shunning them you are, in effect, closing the door to the possibility of his every observing the mitzvos again.
So, Eeees and I made the choice to invite them to the seder that we are hosting this year (we're only hosting one... we're going elsewhere for the first night). I have no doubt that my sister-in-law will be the perfect guest. I have no doubt that she'll look forward to the opportunity to have her son participate in the rituals and celebrations that are a part of his heritage (even if he isn't Jewish by our definition - and even if he's too young to understand any of it). For all this, I can put aside my discomfort.
You never know which action will be the one that will influence a person to make a decision in their life. You never know what little action may influence my brother to start keeping a mitzvah -- any one. If having my sister-in-law and nephew over for the seder tips him even slightly in the direction of deciding to stay home from work one Shabbos, or think twice about eating something non-kosher, or putting up a mezuzzah in his home, then it's worth it.
(Besides, my nephew is sooooooo cute. :) )
The Wolf
ADDENDUM: I just want to make it clear (since, as Baal Devarim pointed out, I didn't in the post above) that my relationship with my brother is not based on our hopes to have him become observant. I have other family members with whom I have absolutely no chance of ever influencing them to become observant -- and nonetheless we maintain contact with them, have them over at our house, etc. 'The relationship is not about trying to convert people to observance of the mitzvos -- it's about family and friendship.
That being said, it is no secret that we would love for our brother to become more observant - he knows it. But it's also not the basis of our relationship. He knows that we accept him -- and his wife and son (and any future children) -- even if he never becomes observant at all.
The Wolf
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