Community Magazine March 2003

12 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Dear Community Magazine, Your article last month “Overspending on Parties” really disturbed me, my friends and my family. I do not feel the need to compete with anyone when making a party. What the article suggests sounds like Communism. Tell the Rabbis and leaders to teach the Community and “Ezra” to love themselves and be proud of who they are and not what they can spend! People should go to a party and be happy for them, not looking to “outdo” or compete with them. And we should all enjoy each others’ occasions be it fancy or simple. R. F RANCO Dear Editor, I applaud your courage in publishing a brave piece about “Overspending on Parties”. As the article pointed out, over the generations, community leaders have recog- nized the need to enact legislation to counter the natural human tendency to try to “outdo” their neighbor. Enough families have suf- fered from the financial strain, social pres- sure, embarrassment and overall stress, resulting from occasions that are supposed to be joyous. It is high time that our great community undertake to establish and enforce such legislation. It is not enough for the Rabbis to preach the necessity of spend- ing modestly on affairs, this has proven quite ineffectual over the past three decades. I implore the Rabbis and community leaders to make the establishment of strict guide- lines governing affairs, a top priority. J OSEPH S. Dear Community Magazine, Your article, “Overspending on Parties” presents a fantastic yet unoriginal idea. The community currently adheres to strict rules regarding [G-d forbid] funerals, which at their inception were strictly enforced by the rabbinate and now seem completely normal. Today, no one would think twice about an opulent “arayat” or a lavish casket, it has simply become a time honored custom that is completely inte- grated into our tradition. The real question then is why has it taken so long for this critical issue to rise to the forefront and how long will it be before rules are inte- grated into our traditions. D. B ETESH s ” xc L E T T E R S For all your Judaica needs All Sephardic Sefarim u Wholesale prices Talitot & Korachas at the Best Prices! Tehilat Yitzchak 804 Avenue S u 718-633-7000 www.isefer.com hrpx kf vhscug ofj t ” yhka ;xuh c d asj rpx vhscug iuzj ohrup kg Come see our M ISHLOACH M ANOT $15 and up Phone orders welcome