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“..stoning alleged adulteresses without due process...”

Hey, give credit where it is due, we don’t even stone them WITH due process.

Ok, I know this is a serious piece, but let me tell you about one happy Orthodox Jewish woman that I will always remember.

It was back in the good old days, the 80s, the economy was humming along, NYC was getting back to normal, good times, good times.

And I was Christmas shopping, right at the end of the season. It must have been a Sunday, because B & H photo was open. This is a famous NYC store that sells camera equipment and all kinds of stuff like that. Very high end stuff, very reputable, and they are owned by Orthodox Jews. They are SO orthodox that you cannot even make purchases on their website on Jewish Sabbath or Jewish holidays, they just shut it down.

So, I am shopping for a gift for hubby and the joint is rocking, shoppers, tourists, shopping tourists, it’s a real NYC mad house. (I did finally buy him the gift and he loved it.)

And at the door, greeting people as they came in and thanking them as they left was one of the happiest people I think I’ve ever seen. This Jewish woman, beaming a smile and handing out candy and cheerfully, so cheerfully, saying “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” to all her shoppers.

It’s one of my fave Christmas memories, it was NY in a nutshell.