Asbestos Versus Refugees

The congregation has found some asbestos in its religious school and discovered that it can be contained at a modest cost, but some parents have demanded its removal, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars. At the same time, other members of the congregation have petitioned vigorously to use these funds for the rescue and resettlement of Soviet Jews. What would tradition see as more important – the health of our children or the rescue of the Russian Jewish immigrants? (Nora A. Ellenson, Philadelphia, PA) Let us begin by looking at the mitzvah of pidyon shivuyin (the redemption of captives). Tradition