Feldman Speaks

I thought in different ways this Pesach and decided to speak out once in a while in this blog, as I've grown tired of all the Orthodox self-loathing in the blogosphere and wanted to sit behind the wheel and steer as best as I could. I won't often do this I assure you, because there's just too much gorgeous and splendid Torah to learn and so little time, while the issues raised in the blogosphere burst, smack, then run in seconds.

Pesach (in particular, Yom Tov and Shabbos in general) is glorious and often brings out the best in us. We sit for hours in shul daavening and singing, day after day, wear our best, cook and bake our finest, do the holy things our people have been doing for millennia, and learn at leisure and at length. It's a sight to behold and worthy of great pride. We could only imagine that the Ribbono Shel Olam is taken by our dedication.

Now, I've been surrounded by Jews most of my life and continue to be for most of the day, from family to friends, to those I associate with on the outside, and I'm delighted. We're a delicious people, pretty and intense; we shine and hum. I love us. Let that be said outright and often.

-- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman