Dear Matzav Inbox,
I’m wondering why there is such a disparity between cholov Yisroel and cholov stam products.
Friendship’s OU-D sour cream is $2.49 for a 16 oz pint, while cholov Yisroel sour cream, if priced well, is $4.99 for a pint.
Now, consider this: the ingredients in Friendship, as well as in other OU-D sour creams, are cultured cream only. The cholov Yisroel versions, however, contain the following ingredients: Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Cream, Modified Food Starch, Calcium Sulfate, Locust Bean Gum, Carrageenan, and Enzyme.
So, the Orthodox consumer is sold an inferior product at twice the price. Shameful. Perhaps we need competition and more educated consumers.
Thanks.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
Thanks for providing this forum and for recently addressing various financial issues affecting the frum community.
I’ve just finished sending my daughter to seminary in Eretz Yisroel, and the final bill – after tuition, flights, and spending money – was well over $40,000. Yes, you read that right. Forty. Thousand. Dollars. For one year of seminary! It’s not just a hefty sum; it’s downright insanity.
And as if that wasn’t enough to make me question my own sanity, I’m now gearing up to send another daughter off to seminary in Israel, bracing myself for the financial bloodbath all over again.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
In response to yesterday’s letter on the topic of tuition committees, I’d like to clarify a crucial point that seems to have been overlooked. There is a fundamental difference between a school and a parent, which directly impacts why parents often need to request tuition assistance.
A school has the ability to fundraise. It can host events, solicit donations, and apply for grants. Fundraising is not only accepted but expected as a normal part of a school’s operations. This has always been the case, and any school owner or administrator knows that raising funds is part of the territory. It’s how schools bridge the gap between the actual cost of chinuch and what parents can afford.

Dear MatzavInbox@Gmail.com,
I write this letter with a deep sense of anger and indignation at the treatment I received at the hands of the so-called tuition “committee” of my daughter’s school. Except, let’s call it what it really was—a one-man interrogation. This individual took it upon himself to pry into every aspect of my personal life, from the type of car I drive to where I spend my summers and Yomim Tovim, all in the name of justifying a measly $1,000 discount.
Yes, you read that right.

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
When, exactly, were WhatsApp groups appointed as the judge and jury for every single issue plaguing our frum communities?
When did the cacophony of uninformed opinions, half-baked arguments, and outright lashon hara become the voice of reason in matters that demand careful consideration and rabbinic guidance?

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,

Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I am absolutely furious with the outrageous tuition hikes imposed by yeshivos and schools in our frum community. These institutions are choking the life out of families who are already drowning in debt and struggling to make ends meet.
It is beyond comprehension that instead of engaging in traditional fundraising, the leaders of these schools have decided to burden parents even more.
Take for instance the recent move by a Lakewood girls’ elementary school, which informed parents that tuition for the 2024-2025 school year will skyrocket to a staggering $11,000.

Dear Editor@Matzav,
I am sickened beyond words.
I live in Lakewood, NJ. And I am disgusted by the recent advertising of “Super Bowl specials” by local frum stores in our community.
It is profoundly troubling to witness businesses promoting something that goes against our hashkafah and they’re not embarrassed to do so.
The Super Bowl, with its associated culture of excess and immodesty, stands in stark contrast to the hashkafos we strive to uphold.

Dear Editor@Matzav,
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to become consumed by our routines and overlook the pain and suffering experienced by Acheinu Bnei Yisroel.
The plight of the hostages in Gaza and the soldiers bravely fighting against the Hamas terrorists gives me no rest.
Which is why it bothers me that it feels as though we’ve collectively allowed ourselves to become desensitized to the human toll of the current conflict.
It’s time for us to stop and be nosei b’ol, to bear the burden of the pain of our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisroel.
They are Acheinu Bnei Yisroel, children of Hashem like we are.

Dear Editor,
I have been following the discussions surrounding the upcoming election for Avi Schnall, in accordance with the rabbonim‘s endorsement, and of course I fully intend to cast my vote accordingly, following the rabbonim‘s directives.
However, as a concerned parent, I would like to make a statement to the educational institutions and to the askanim behind this campaign:
I am seeking a commitment from the mosdos and these askanim that, should tuition relief be granted by the state (although I am somewhat skeptical about that possibility), they will not immediately respond by raising tuition, thereby placing an additional burden on us parents.