Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I am writing to express my frustration and disappointment with neighbors of mine who have repeatedly made insensitive and hurtful comments about my daughter. My daughter, who is off-the-derech, has been struggling to find acceptance and support in her life, and these negative comments from our neighbors – about who she hangs out with, how she dresses, or whatever – have only made it harder for her – and us.

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I am writing to express my concern about the loud and non-Jewish-sounding music that is often played at Yiddishe weddings.
As someone who values and takes pride in my Yiddishkeit, I find it disheartening to attend a wedding that is supposed to be a celebration of a bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel, only to be met with loud and disco-like music that has little to do with Yiddishkeit. Why do I feel like night after night I am going to a nightclub?
Many frum weddings today feature music that is overly loud and designed to appeal to a crowd that, well….I don’t know what crowd!

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I am writing to express my concern about the rising costs of kosher food. It seems that every time I go to the grocery store, the prices are higher than they were just a few weeks ago. This is putting a significant strain on my budget, and I know I am not alone in this struggle.
The cost of kosher food has a ripple effect on everything from the cost of eating out to the cost of preparing meals at home. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for families to afford food, Shabbos costs a fortune, and this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
Maybe it’s because I grew up listening to Xmas carols. Maybe it’s because what passes for Jewish music these days is frequently Jewish words grafted onto pop or rock instrumentals. Or maybe it’s because the perpetually waning enthusiasm I see in our young people today might be stemmed if we helped them tap into their neshomas rather than strengthening their connection with secular culture.
I suppose it’s really all three and more. But the bottom line is this: the one thing I despise about Chanukah is the pervasive, annoying, and distinctly un-Jewish niggun the whole world sings to Maoz Tzur – evoking not the heroism of the Hasmoneans but the flaky ambivalence of “Rock of Ages” and the red-suited jolliness of “Good King Wenceslas.”

Dear Editor,
I was absolutely shocked this year to see more than one frum advertise “Thanksgiving dinner” and the like.
Have we lost all sensitivity? Do we not have any gedorim anymore?
And even if the storeowners are clueless, don’t the rabbonim machshirim have a say? How can they allow their stores to do this?
So what’s so wrong about advertising about, or celebrating, the holiday of Thanksgiving and a turkey dinner?
Let me quote from Rav Avigdor Miller:

Dear Gaabai,
Please make sure that Hagba during these weeks is performed in a way that is proper kavod haTorah and shouldn’t give anyone in shul, heart failure. There have been too many close calls where people near the bima end up catching the sefer.
As we read the parshios of Breishis the sefer Torah is rolled that the left side is heavier making it harder for a righty to lift up during Hagbah. The newer sifrei Torah are lighter but older sifrei torah are heavier.

Dear Matzav,
I was surprised to hear the shock and alarm over the revelation yesterday about a certain Chinese restaurant in New Jersey. Sorry if I don’t share such deep sympathy. Anyone with half an ounce of kashrus sensitivity knew that this store, owned by an aino Yehudi, was trouble. Only sleeping people were surprised. It wasn’t a scandal. A scandal indicates outrage and shock. This was an obvious problem. It was right under people’s noses. But people tuned out.
But…
Let me tell you, though, about 3 kashrus scandals taking place right under your noses that you may be oblivious to:

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I usually contain my impulses to write to websites, but after reading something on Matzav.com not long ago, I feel compelled to comment.

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
As a Bais Yaakov girl who was in Meron last year, I feel the need to comment on the Matzav story about Meron yesterday.
Hours before the disaster, things were crazy squashed. I saw people who were suffocating and required help from Hatzolah multiple times throughout the night…
It was my first time there, and I kept thinking that every year that people come home alive is a neis galui. My only comfort that led me to believe that I and everyone else there would be okay in the end was the fact that there had never been any known deaths until then… so why would this year be any different?

By Shmuel Miskin, Matzav.com
Now that the dust has settled following another wonderful Yom Tov of Pesach, I’d like to share my thoughts on what has become a common post-Pesach practice in many areas. I know that my words will likely be greeted with nods of the head from those above the age of 50 and waves of the hand or looks of annoyance from those younger, but so be it.