Community Magazine March 2009

16 Community magazine Photo credits for the story Kosherfest Feast on page 74 in the February 2009 issue were mistakenly omitted. All the photos were provided courtesy of Morris Antebi. A number of restaurants in the February 2009 brooklyn Dining guide were attributed to the wrong hashgaha. We apologize for the mistake and encourage readers to check the hashgaha of any establishment they intend to patronize. KOSHER COMPETITION The mashgiahs on the scene in many restaurants really are heroes as your February cover story [The Mashgiah: Kosher Food’s Unsung Hero] describes. But having firsthand experience in hashgaha, I can attest that the state of affairs among some supervisory agencies is often far from heroic. Some officials at certain agencies employ underhanded tactics to keep other agencies out of “their” territories, and turn the misva of kashrut into a cutthroat business. Consumers should not tolerate such tactics. Competition among agencies is good for consumers. It ensures that prices stay reasonable, and standards stay high. Unfair practices to keep out competition are not only wrong, but also run against the best interests of high kashrut standards. S. Beyda CHARITY FOR FUTURE SCHOLARS The work of Rabbi Dadash and Mifal Hatruma, as described in the article about the organization last month, is inspiring. These acts of kindness bring to mind the hesed which was done for many of our great rabbis in their early years. As described in Rabbi David Sutton’s classic book, Aleppo, City of Scholars , some of our community’s greatest luminaries struggled with poverty, suffered the death of a parent at a young age and faced challenges to their commitment to Torah study. Who knows how many future sages will come about thanks to the efforts of Mifal Hatruma! Ralph G. THE HARDEST THING TO CONTROL Rabbi Mansour’s article “Out of Control” holds a powerful lesson. But I’m afraid that some who feel that their lives are in order may believe that this message doesn’t apply to them – after all, most of us don’t have the addictions described. But there is one very dangerous addiction which affects 99 percent of us, if not more: lashon hara (negative speech about people). Even the most seemingly disciplined people have trouble with some aspect of this and should therefore take to heart Rabbi Mansour’s advice to assume full control over their mouths and ears, not allowing either to be “kidnapped” by the yeser hara (evil inclination). J. Shamah SINGLE’S SERVICE The January shaatra article on singles gave some very clear advice. Although we may be busy, helping a single – in whichever way we can – should be our top priority. My husband and I feel the plight of singles, and though we’ve never made a successful match, we feel that everyone can use their talents in different ways to help our fellow community members. In this spirit, we’d like to offer any single community member the following technical service. If anyone needs assistance getting their pictures scanned or emailed to any matchmaker/web site, please contact us via Community. We’d love to help you. NF and LF WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! GOT A STORY ABOUT HOW COMMUNITY MAGAZINE HELPED YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS? PLEASE SHARE IT WITH US. SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: MAIL: COMMUNITY MAGAZINE 1616 OCEAN PKWY BROOKLYN, NY 11223 FAX: 718-504-4246 EMAIL: letters@community m .com Letters submitted become the property of Community Magazine and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self- addressed stamped envelope. Letters may be edited and revised for length, style and grammar before publication. All submissions are considered for publication unless otherwise requested. Preferential consideration is given to brief comments and insights that relate directly to published content. L E T T E R S CORRECTIONS