Wrong message, rabbi

In his Sept. 23rd column, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote: “Incredibly, Obama still does not get the message. He speaks instead about renewing school buildings for billions of dollars, as if shiny new paint is an adequate substitute for teaching young Americans the value of self-reliance and living within your means.” Would Boteach tolerate his children attending classes not just in a school building that needs a paint job, but in a run-down, crumbling, possibly toxic school building, as is the case for millions of low-income American children? I sometimes am moved by Boteach’s spiritual messages, but this time he overlooked the mundane/practical/tachlis aspect of our nation’s economic crisis with a one-sided attack that ignores the need for jobs and other help for the vanishing middle class.

Get The Jewish Standard Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up