Letters – Spring 2026
WEIGHING IN ON OZEMPIC
I was pleased to read the recent article by Dr. Sharon Grossman, “Weighing In: Ozempic and Jewish Law” (winter 2025). I have been eagerly waiting for this sort of article to appear. Dr. Grossman obviously did extensive research and reported the findings with great eloquence.
There seems to be an epidemic in our community, which bears discussion. I’ve attended simchahs recently and have seen friends and colleagues who are getting thinner and thinner as a result of using these weight-loss medications. I worry. Yes, these weight-loss medications are seemingly miraculous for those who are obese or struggling with serious medical issues. But many people are using them for cosmetic reasons, hoping to lose ten to twenty pounds before their next simchah. There seems to be an addictive quality. Once they start, they just cannot stop. Or perhaps they know that once they discontinue the meds, the pounds will creep back up again.
I worry about eating disorders. With adults abusing these drugs, I am concerned about the impact on our teens. What exactly are we role modeling for young people when we willingly starve ourselves?
G-d created each of us differently—different traits, different personalities, different bodies. Every individual is beautiful in his or her own way. Let us learn to cherish our bodies for what they do, rather than how they look. Our bodies work well? Terrific. Our legs enable us to dance, to stroll along the boardwalk on a glorious, sunny day—how can we not love our legs? Our hips hold our babies, our children, and our grandchildren. How can we not appreciate our hips?
To use these medications for cosmetic purposes appears to be problematic on many levels, as Dr. Grossman points out. There are healthier and more wholesome ways to take off those ten to twenty pounds. Consider the long and short term effects of taking these medications. Let’s be wary.
May all be healthy and well!
Miriam Liebermann, MSW
Lawrence, New York
WHERE THE GERMAN CUSTOM COMES FROM
I enjoyed your excellent (as usual) recent issue. I wanted to comment on the article, “What’s the Truth about . . . Waiting Between Meat and Dairy?” (winter 2025), which was very useful in providing a comprehensive survey of the sources.
The author, Rabbi Dr. Ari Z. Zivotofsky, noted the German Jewish custom of waiting three hours and correctly states that “there is no early clear source for this practice.”
While I do not have a source for this, it seems to me that there is a clear source for the practice that is, in fact, cited in the article as the time between meals.
Rambam (Ma’achalot Assurot 9:28) understood that Mar Ukva was saying that one must wait the typical time between meals, which Rambam defines as “kemo sheish sha’ot—approximately six hours.” The Meiri on Chullin (105a) says the waiting period is “no less than the time between meals, which is six hours or close to it,” while in Magen Avot (9; p. 58 in 5718 ed.) the Meiri says that one must wait “six hours or five, the time between meals.”
It is clear to me that the “typical time between meals” was different in Eastern Europe, Spain and Egypt of Rambam’s time and Western Europe and Germany.
In the former, there were typically only two meals a day, except on Shabbat, when we had the luxury of shalosh seudot. People ate a meal in the morning and in the evening, which was generally at least six hours apart. However, in Germany, they typically had three meals a day, similar to our custom now, and the “typical time between meals” was considerably less than six hours, more likely closer to three.
Because of this, I believe that the custom of three hours developed based on the Rambam cited above. I am thus perfectly comfortable following my minhag avot as based on legitimate sources.
Yehuda Leonard Oppenheimer
Afula Ilit, Israel
In 1980, I asked Rabbi Shimon Schwab, zt”l, for the source of German Jews waiting three hours between eating meat and milk. He wrote in response: “The Rema brings a widespread minhag Ashkenaz to wait only one hour after meat, which is based on the Zohar. I presume that the three hours are a chumrah that the German Jews took upon themselves over and above the one hour. Besides this, it was customary in Germany to have a meal every three hours: early morning, midmorning, dinner, vesper in the afternoon, and supper, and since the separation of milchig from the meat meal meant to wait ‘from one meal to the other,’ the obvious time would be three hours. However, none of the poskim mention the three hours.”
Joel B. Wolowelsky
Jerusalem, Israel
FEELING THE FINANCIAL STRAIN
I appreciated Shalom Goodman’s analysis of the Orthodox middle class struggling with debt (“Crushed by the Costs,” winter 2025).
The article quotes a study that found that “even families with annual incomes of $250,000 to $300,000 feel financially strained. Even among those earning more than $300,000 annually, 30 percent of those who responded reported they feel as if they were struggling.”
The quality of a person’s livelihood depends on his or her trust in the Creator. Through emunah, one attains trust in the Creator. Consequently, concentrated efforts to reinforce emunah and trust in Him are capable of improving one’s livelihood.
Emunah teaches us that the Creator sustains all His creations, from the one-celled amoeba to magnificent galaxies, from the whale and the elephant to human beings, who are the crown of Creation. Our sages say that He Who gives life also gives livelihood. In other words, if one believes that the Creator is the life-giving Creator, one should also believe that He sustains His creations.
Naftali Rubin
Jerusalem, Israel
The financial struggle described in the article, “Crushed by the Costs,” is a struggle we live every day, and we are likely more fortunate than many. What isn’t mentioned is how much of Jewish life and connection is tied to financial means. The ability to create social connection over Shabbos and yom tov through hosting meals, which is a reciprocal endeavor, bottoms out when you can’t afford to host. It impacts your life and your children’s social lives. It also impacts your psyche to be reliant on communal funds to provide basic things for your family.
Natan Cohen
Teaneck, New Jersey