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Hon's avatar

I find myself rooting for Zohran only because of the level of unhinged racism against him. He gets asked about Jewish people being afraid of him because of his views on Israel almost every single interview. ADL has released a “Mamdani Monitor”. It is truly psychotic. Reminds me of lib reaction towards Trump in 2016

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Madjack's avatar

Seems he is sympathetic towards terrorists. Im not a fan.

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Random's avatar

That's not racism hon, it's just the usual Semitic rivalry and Jewish paranoia.

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SirTophamHatt's avatar

He’s not “Semitic” in any way. He’s an ethnic Indian or Pakistani.

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Kalman's avatar

I live in the neighborhood. Idk where who told you he oversees 30 shuls but that’s hilariously overblown. FR and 5 towns (predominantly orthodox neighborhoods in Nassau) are centrist orthodox to modern orthodox overwhelmingly. While there are chassidic “shtibelach”, Rabbi Rubin’s opinion on politics doesn’t really matter at all to those who live there. I am surprised at him being pro Trump due to his affinity for Israel. I wonder if he would feel comfortable saying this to his cousins in Williamsburg.

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Michael Tracey's avatar

This was told to me by Michael Guberman, who I quote in the Unherd article. Guberman represented himself as a close confidant/follower of the Rebbe; he actually called me after the interview, on the Rebbe's behalf, to say the Rebbe enjoyed the discussion. Guberman told me there were thirty synagogues "from 878 to Beach 25." I double-checked with him to make sure I heard this correctly. Maybe it depends how you define the word "synagogue"? Are there 30 places where Hasidim "assemble" or congregate in this area?

Also, the Rebbe said he had followers coming to him asking for his advice on the election, so his opinion matters to at least some people. (Unless he was lying, which I tend to doubt.)

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Kalman's avatar

There are probably 30 synagogues in the area. Describing them as Hassidic wouldn’t be correct. The vast majority are non Hassidic and fall between Hareidi and Modern Orthodox. I’m sure people went to ask the Rebbe for advice regarding the election, his opinion just doesn’t carry the much weight in the community overall.

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SirTophamHatt's avatar

Doubt he actually claimed to have 30 shuls of followers, that was probably just a (mistaken) inference on Michael’s part. You might see the difference between the chassidim that go to his particular shtiebel vs. all the other orthodox Jews in the area, but to an outsider the distinction is far from obvious.

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Kalman's avatar

The vast majority people who go to his shul wouldn’t be classified as Hasidic even by an outsider. They don’t speak Yiddish or dress in the Hassidic manner. As to him being in charge of 30 shuls, Tracey says that he got that from someone who considers himself a follower. I was just pointing out that this is a massive exaggeration

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Madjack's avatar

Good for you going to see him. Sounds like quite a character. I understand and agree that language is fluid but isn’t there some felicity in trying to maintain meaning? Has our language become too fluid? Six-seven??

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Anne Hallock's avatar

Thanks Michael.

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Life Good's avatar

Fascinating thank you

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BookWench's avatar

What does the Shabbos Button do?

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barnabus's avatar

The simplest Shabbos Button is something that is a purely mechanical device. That doesn't use electricity. In the current soda dispenser, you push it and it opens a valve to release a stream of Selzer. Purely mechanically, no electricity involved. Specifically, no intentional change in electricity, like opening or closing a circuit.

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