Presence

From the February 23, 2007 edition of the Baltimore Jewish Times, an article entitled Today, Steve Is 25:

Steve is from an Orthodox family of eight children. He is no longer observant. Still, he remains close to his parents and siblings. He was a student at a Baltimore-area yeshiva and then a yeshiva high school in the Midwest.

But along the way, everything went so very wrong.

This article is notable as it is the first time the Baltimore Jewish community, perhaps even the entire Baltimore media establishment, has made reference to the Juravel case.

There's a lot to say here. My brief thoughts: There should be no arrogance with being frum. The frum community needs to internalize the fact that, as individuals, each of us are no better, holier or righteous than any other person, be they frum or not, Jew or Gentile. At the same time, it is important to believe that, as a community, if the dictates of our religion are taken seriously, there is a real potential for true goodness and greatness.

I think the article was well done. It confronts a very controversial topic without shying away from the truth but at the same time maintaining a very high level of respect. Kudos to Phil Jacobs.