Dear Editor,

No denying it is a confusing time. No denying each of us is practically challenged by the situation in different ways. No denying that we are all searching for a solution to our predicament. No denying our community shares deep concern and ahavas Israel. And that is why I write this letter.

As the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I appreciate and applaud Dr. Singer’s response to the article titled “Fighting the Fog.” I feel compelled to write and share their perspective on life and living — the values they taught me by example — that inform life decisions.

I grew up on stories of my grandmother’s hishtadlus to save her children and other Jewish children and on my grandfather’s deep emunah in Hashem Yisborach through the darkest times. Neither of them ever gave up the fight to live. My mother deeply believed and taught us the importance of both. She was so respectful of her mother and her father.

She also taught me the importance and respect for knowledge despite being robbed of her adolescence and an opportunity to learn and study — the value of Torah learning exemplified with total modesty by her father/my grandfather, a’h, and more publicly by her husband, my father, a’h, and the importance of education and expertise demonstrated by her deep respect for educators and professionals and her deep commitment for her children’s and grandchildren’s education.

Dr. Singer, as a contemporary of my children, it is so heartwarming that you are reminding me and all of us the lessons my parents and grandparents transmitted after having lived through the darkest hours of recent Jewish history. They are examples of how to live —  believing, acting, and with an unwavering dedication to handing over our mesorah to the next generation. I know your words and actions underscoring the importance of hishtadlus, emunah, and respect for Torah knowledge and scientific and medical experts would give them great satisfaction.

Thank you also for sharing your personal experiences to remind us that what we read is real.

So, like you I can’t understand how scientific and medical studies and halachic wisdom can be substituted with the suggestions that simply emunah will suffice.

In times like this and the times my parents and grandparents lived through, it isn’t always easy to see the path forward but it is clear how our decision making should be guided.

May Hashem bring us clarity, good health, and a cure quickly.

N.S.

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