Thursday, February 24, 2005

Bring Out Your Dead

The New York Times reports that Richard D. Fishman, the director of the division of cemeteries at the New York Department of State is spending about 30 percent of his time trying to sort out the business dealings of Jewish burial societies and congregations. The reason?
These organizations bought blocks in cemeteries and sold plots off to their members. But in many cases, their records have been lost, were less than thorough or were kept only in the brain of someone who is long dead.
As a reuslt the societies and congregations sometimes sold the same cemetery plot to two and even three different people.

Remarks I expect to hear this weekend if I daven with the UOs: See? What do you expect from the anti-Semetic, anti-Israel New York Times, splashing private Jewish business all over the front page of the metro section?

Remarks I expect to hear this weekend if I daven with the MOs: See? That's what happens when you run your business affairs like a shteeble. Without records, professionalism and old-fashioned yashrus you end up having private Jewish business splashed all over the front page of the metro section in the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel New York Times!

Sigh.

Maybe, I'll just daven at home.