Thank you so much for your editorial “Time to Speak.” It has been my mission for decades to emphasize the importance of local elections. Far more than national or international officials, local elected officials influence our daily lives and our quality of life. Even more tellingly, if we concentrated on keeping our own communities peaceful “Shalom Bayit,” there would be peace in all the world.

Rabbi Jack Moline’s recent op-ed column (April 27) presents a skewed perspective on the serious debate over Jewish-Muslim dialogue in the post 9/11 era. I trust that student and mentor can disagree.

Jack has been a mentor of mine for nearly 35 years. I agree with him when he criticizes those in our community who see a terrorist behind every American Muslim leader. There are those in our midst who are purveyors of hate and unwarranted mistrust; they must be censured. I agree that there a good and decent Muslim clergy and laity with whom to dialogue.

My only question is, “How do we distinguish?” How do we distinguish between the Muslims who, actively or passively, support such terrorist organizations as Hamas and Hizbullah, and those who oppose them? How do we distinguish between those Muslims who advocate the destruction of the State of Israel in their sermons and teachings, and those who merely oppose Israeli policies in the territories? (Are there any Muslim leaders who actually support Israel as beacon of liberty in a very dark corner of the world?)

I think these are legitimate questions and asking them does not make me into an anti-Muslim bigot.

The Jewish world is not divided into the reasonable advocates of dialogue, on the one hand, and the anti-Muslim bigots on the other. I am convinced that there are a sizable number of Jews, perhaps even a majority, who are merely cautious about exactly which Muslim leaders we can trust.

This caution does not derive from hatred or rigid ideology. It derives from an experience of being duped. Yasser Arafat spoke in English of the “peace of the brave,” while directing and funding the murder of Israelis. Dr. Sami Al-Arian led a “Muslim think tank” at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., while at the same time speaking out against Israel in private Muslim gatherings, and fundraising for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. These are two example, but we all are aware of Muslim leaders who have duped us. We do not want to get burned again. There is too much at stake.

I hope that my mentor has the knowledge and expertise to make the correct judgments about American Muslim leadership. I do not. All I can say is “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

The American Jewish community needs to have an open and honest discussion about the issue of dialogue with Muslims. We need to know both the risks and the rewards. And we need to know now.

I was glad to see the support for Medical Marijuana in Rabbi Wallace Greene’s article in the issue of April 27, “Medical Marijuana and Jewish Law.” For New Jersey, several of the medical conditions for which marijuana is known to be a valuable aid are excluded from the program. This includes post traumatic stress syndrome. Yet Israel has been pioneering this use of cannabis to its soldiers. There seems to be a fear of marijuana that precludes allowing it to be used for more people.

It should be noted that there are virtually no negative side effects. During years when there was no medical marijuana allowed, the product had to be cultivated in underground market conditions, and this led to an inferior product. Since the mid 1990s, the quality of this medicine has greatly improved. Today, growers are able to grow strains that are more medicinal in nature. Medical marijuana, more often than not, is not smoked, but is given orally, or via a vaporizer, which heats but does not burn the product, rendering it harmless, yet effective.

Of interest to me would be the halachic position of supporting politicians who oppose allowing proven drugs such as marijuana from being used to relieve pain or excessive stress.

I want to publicly thank the “angel” who helped me at Teaneck’s keilim mikvah (for the immersion of newly acquired utensils) just before Pesach. I had come with about 20 glass items to put through the mikvah all by myself, when this very nice woman offered to help me. Although I repeatedly asked her for her name, and where she lived , she would only reply that she lived on the “other side,” and there are many other “sides” to Teaneck. My friend, Laura, says that perhaps she was an angel. Whomever she was, here is my thank-you.

I enjoyed your article about the Aardvark Israel program, and especially that it featured my former student, Arielle Engelmayer. However, I thought it disingenuous that The Jewish Standard wrote: “Her grandfather is a local rabbi in New Jersey who has advocated for Israel in numerous columns, sermons, and speeches.” Her grandfather is the interim editor of your paper, Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer! Isn’t full disclosure appropriate?

(Yes, except that Arielle’s being featured in the Aardvark Israel article had nothing to do with her grandfather or nepotism. She just happened to be the only local student in this year’s contingent of Aardvark Israel participants, a fact unknown to her grandfather when he asssigned the article. Besides, we assumed that readers would figure out the connection. Obviously, some did. — Ed.)

Thank you for highlighting the online campaign to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to dedicate a moment of silence to the 11 slain Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. The Jewish Community Center Movement is deeply involved in this effort. JCC Association has made a tribute to those fallen Israeli athletes a highpoint of every JCC Maccabi Games since 1995, and now our 2012 host community, JCC Rockland, has dedicated its JCC Maccabi Games to the Munich 11.

One minute of silence is very little to ask since the IOC has been silent for 40 years. We urge your readers to share this link (http://chn.ge/munich11) on their home page, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and everywhere else.

Let us finally get the Munich 11 the acknowledgement and respect they deserve from the international sports community.

The JCC Association Board of Directors and the Continental Governing Board of the JCC Maccabi Games is grateful to JCC Rockland for making this issue a centerpiece of their Games, and we deeply appreciate your editorial informing your readers of the same.

On page 42 of last week’s issue of The Jewish Standard, the headline announcing the Jewish Home Foundation’s Golf Tennis & Card Outing had the incorrect date as May 20. The body of the article had the correct date — Monday, May 21. We apologize for the error.

Your reporter incorrectly identified the cute little beast in the photo that accompanied the page 3 article in your April 20 issue, “A Father is ‘Driven’ to plague Jon Stewart.” It’s a donkey, not a mule. I know “Moses” and “mules” is a more alliterative pairing than “Moses” and “donkeys,” but I doubt that Moses would have used a mule. Mules may have been bred in biblical times, but probably not by the Israelites. Mules are hybrids, “unnatural” offspring produced by crossing a jack (male donkey) with a mare (female horse). My guess is that would not be permitted by halachah.