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The Beacon Hill Compromise on Contraception — Only in Massachusetts

The Beacon Hill Compromise on Contraception — Only in Massachusetts

Joseph Tortelli

The early October newspaper reports highlighted the same point over and over again. A compromise had been reached on the question about contraceptive health insurance coverage in Massachusetts in the event that national Obamacare policy was reformed or repealed.

The word "compromise" usually implies that opposing sides make concessions to one another in order to bridge a significant divide. In this case, that proved unnecessary because no divide ever existed. All of the parties to the arrangement toed the same line about making contraceptive prescriptions available at Massachusetts pharmacies without the routine co-pay usually collected from the insured person. Or as the mainstream media and liberal advocacy groups framed it, "for free." Of course, "for free" really means that someone else is picking up the tab. In this case, it's everyone else who pays for health insurance.

The Real Choice for Jews?  Faith or Politics – Not Both
Commentary

The Real Choice for Jews?  Faith or Politics – Not Both

Joshua Norman

Last month, Donald Trump's local campaign director of Jewish Outreach wrote an op-ed article in the Newton TAB titled "The Choice: Jewish Liberalism or the Jewish State."  With Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah) coming up, I would like to respond by saying the real choice for Jews is not between the Jewish state or Jewish leftism, or between the GOP and the Democrats. The real choice is between Torah Judaism and political tribalism. For the first 36 years of my life, I made the mistake of prioritizing the latter instead of the former. At least for the last 14 months, I have had the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to prioritize the former.

Simchat Torah is a Jewish Holiday that commemorates the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and when we start reading the first Torah reading in the new annual Torah cycle.  Each Torah scroll is taken out of the Aron Kodesh (Holy Ark) and all the men carry the scrolls around the sanctuary in a series of seven hakafot (circuits).  On a personal level, I gave four D'Var Torahs at my local synagogue during the last year while we were in the process of hiring our new permanent rabbi and wrote a column for New Boston Post discussing my views of kingship in Judaism and in contemporary American civics.  In addition, I will be finished reading the Hertz Chumash (Torah Commentaries of Rabbi Joseph Hertz) this week and from there I will start reading the Soncino Chumash (Torah Commentaries of the Soncino Press).

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