NJ Democrat Dennis Shulman received a Big Apple of an endorsement this morning in his race against three-term Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey’s 5th District.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Shulman, 58, a legally-blind psychologist and reformed rabbi from Demarest, Bergen County, saying Shulman will make decisions based on “pragmatism, not ideology,” particularly on gun-control issues. “I am endorsing Dennis Shulman because I am impressed by his pragmatic, sensible approach” to fix the economy and keep guns out of hands of criminals, Bloomberg said in a press conference.
Shulman previously was endorsed in the campaign by New York Gov. David Paterson.
Garrett, 49, an attorney from Wantage, Sussex County, who is known as New Jersey’s most conservative congressman, has handily defeated prior Democratic challengers by double-digit margins. But Garrett is facing his toughest race yet in Shulman, who has been well financed and has relentlessly attacked Garrett on various fronts.
The 5th District House seat has long been a GOP seat. An endorsement by Bloomberg, who was elected as a Republican but switched to being an independent, may carry weight in Bergen County, which has the most votes in the 5th District and where Democrats have made large gains in voter registrations this year.
Rabbi Shulman’s pulpit is at Chavurah Beth Shalom in Alpine, NJ – a reformed Temple. Dennis Shulman is a frequent and popular lecturer at universities, psychoanalytic training institutes, synagogues and churches.
(Source: NJ Star Ledger)
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3 Responses
“reformed” means he has corrected some sort of flaw
The correct word should be “Reform” or “Reform Judaism” which refers to a sect that is partially based on Judaism and includes primarily members of Jewish ancestry who consider themselves to be Jews, though increasingly they are non-Jews.
“rabbi” should be lower-case, as it is a generic title often used by Jews as well as historically related non-Jewish cults, such as “Reform” (supra)
Regarding the comments about Reform Judaism, I think judgement belongs with the true judge, Hashem. Too many variables are involved here, while we are in Golus. We don’t know where this man is holding, personally; if he, heaven forbid learned Torah properly and has slid down the ladder, or if he was raised as totally nonobservant but somehow knew not to convert to outright Xtianity.
I heard somewhere we all share in responsibility for not bringing a brother into the fold, but that we also don’t know how to do this properly.
All Jews are Jews, even the “irretrievable” Jews, who will also be gathered in when Moshiach comes. This is according to, I believe, the Navi, Yirmiyahu.
The candidate is a “blind reform rabbi”. Seems like the blind leading the blind.