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| August 1 -August 14, 2003 | ||
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Local StoriesHillel Student Seeks ‘Stamp’ of Approval for Harry Bingham GARY
BAND In her final months as an eighth-grader at Cohen Hillel Academy, now 14-year-old Arianna Fisher-Jackson of Swampscott was on a mission: to collect signatures for a petition to have a stamp created in honor of Hiram “Harry” Bingham IV, a diplomat who saved 2,500 Jews, including artist Marc Chagall and the family of writer Thomas Mann. While serving as the US Vice Consul in Marseilles, France from 1939-1941, Bingham defied State Department policy by writing visas for those fleeing the Holocaust. He also hid refugees who were most wanted by Hitler in his diplomatic residence, and coordinated daring escapes to other countries for Jews by obtaining forged identity papers. In addition to Chagall, Bingham also saved anti-Nazi author Leon Feuchtwanger, Nobel Prize physicist Otto Meyerhoff, and many other refugees. T accomplish his mission, Bingham worked with the French underground to smuggles Jews out of France into Franco’s Spain and even contributed to their expenses out of his own pocket. In 1941, Washington lost patience with him and he was sent to work in Argentina, where he later continued to annoy his superiors by reporting on the movements of Nazi was criminals. Eventually, he was forced out of the American diplomatic service completely. Born in 1903, Bingham retired from the Foreign Service in 1945 and moved to the agrarian community of Salem, Connecticut, where he raised 11 children, 7 boys and four girls. He died in 1988 at age 84. His 100th birthday on July 17. Many of his 11 children still live in New England, including Dr. John Bingham of Lexington, and Robert Bingham, Esq., of Salem, CT who maintains a Website on his father and has coordinated the drive to have a stamp created in his honor since 1999. However, until Robert found a series of his father’s letters after his death, little was known of Bingham’s activities, and the State Department resisted any attempt to honor Bingham for over 50 years. Then, on June 27, 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell praised Bingham’s actions and presented a posthumous “courageous diplomat” award to his children at an American Foreign Service Officers Association awards ceremony at the State Department Headquarters. This was the first official U.S. recognition of Harry’s life-saving activity, 62 years after his defiance of department policy. He is also memorialized in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Israel. Connecticut Governor Rowland proclaimed “Hiram Bingham IV Day” in April 2000, 2001 and 2002; the Connecticut state legislature unanimously endorsed the HBIV stamp proposal; and the Secretary of State dedicated the 2001 state Register and Manual (“Blue Book”) to Harry. The stamp proposal has also received broad bipartisan support in Congress. “He had very strong moral convictions, and put humanistic concerns ahead of his career,” said Robert Bingham. “His motto was give the best that you have to the best that you know. As a child of missionaries himself, like his parents, he has always been a wonderful inspiration to his children. His parents tried to save souls, he saved lives.” Survivor Joseph Schachter wrote the following letter on Nov. 27, 2002 posthumously thanking Bingham: “I and my entire immediate family (six persons in all) had received the life-saving visas dated Feb. 7, 1941... I was just 10 years old at the time and do not remember any details other than a sense of relief that we were going to be able to escape the impending disaster having already had three brushes with the Gestapo — in Vienna in 1938 from which we fled to Belgium, and from Antwerp which we fled in May 1940, and in the occupied portion of France from which we managed to make our way south. “Our parents — Salomon and Gitta Schachter, accompanied by four children aged 17, 10, 8, and 7 — were able to embark on Feb. 17 by way of the Antilles and reach US territory, the Virgin Islands, in March. Our parents are gone now, but there are quite a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren scattered in many parts of the United States and Canada, and some of us now reside in Israel. We have, as a result of the news story, passed on the very aspect of their existence as having been dramatically affected by the actions of Hiram Bingham IV.” As for how Bingham’s story reached the North Shore, Fisher-Jackson first heard of Bingham from her grandmother, Rosian Zerner, Secretary of the World Federation of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust, and whose parents were Holocaust survivors. “I talked to [CHA Head of School] Mr. [Bob] Tornberg about how to get signatures from parents and teachers,” Arianna said. “I also spoke to [teacher] Linda Greenseid. Then they wrote an article in the Divrai [Hillel Newsletter] telling the CHA families about Hiram Bingham and that I was collecting signatures.” Why
does she think some people speak up and helped while others sat idly by?
What were her motivations for pursuing this? “I am so glad that my grandmother is alive and I am proud of what she does as a Jew to give back. So I wanted to help her and honor her, and try to become like her too. Hiram Bingham risked his own life and families life in such a selfless way. Isn’t that what Jews are taught to do? And the fact that he was not only helping but helping despite the cost to his own life shows what a special man he was.” What does she see as the learning from Bingham’s story? “That one person can make a difference. That sometimes, when you know the difference between what is right and what is wrong that you just have to do something about it, no matter what. If there is injustice, you have to try to make it better.” For more information and to sign the North Shore petition to have a stamp created in honor of Harry Bingham, visit www.rescuerstamp.com. Y2I East: A Once in a Lifetime Experience AMY
SESSLER POWELL When Ben Shaykevich, 17, describes the Y2I European Adventure, he calls it a “once in a lifetime experience.” “To go to a place that is important to all of us with kids our own age,” is something that cannot be replicated at another time in his life, he said. “It is a shared experience and it would not be as meaningful if we went with our parents,” said Shaykevich, of Marblehead Y2I is a year-long program for Jewish teens in the 23 cities and towns served by the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. It is a year of study and community service. For the last two years, the centerpiece has been a fully subsidized trip to Eastern Europe with Israeli teens, though teens can also use the subsidy for a trip to Israel. This year, 63 local teens teamed up with 37 Israelis and 14 counselors for a trip that was designed to bond with Israeli teens on their shared Jewish past. For Shaykevich, who emigrated from Russia when he was four, the Eastern European culture was very familiar. The food was just like the kind his mother cooks. “I felt so much closer to my Jewish roots, both my religious feelings and my feelings of attachment to Israel,” said Shaykevich. “I went home and went to synagogue on the next Shabbat.” Many of the teens on the trip expressed wonder and thrill by the opportunity to meet Jews from around the world and to attend services in their synagogues. “It was really cool to go to a temple in a different part of the world,” said Jenna Titelbaum, 16, of Marblehead. “It was just like our Friday night service, but also kind of sad because their Jewish communities have dwindled because of the Holocaust.” The Y2I European Adventure traveled to Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest and Prague. Much of the focus of this trip is on the history of the Jewish people in Eastern Europe and devastation of the Holocaust. They visited several synagogues, cemeteries and concentration camps. Lisa Janiak, director of Israel Programs for the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, said there is no way to replicate the onslaught of emotion that comes from helping to clean up an abandoned Jewish cemetery. “When they stand in an unkempt Jewish cemetery that dates back to the 15th century, they suddenly understand that no one came back to this place to take care of these graves. That no one is left here,” said Janiak. “It really drives home the point to kids that it was more than the death of the six million, but also the destruction of the communities and cultures of Eastern Europe.” Leah Budelman, 16, describes the trip to Auschwitz as an emotional one, but also one where the teens had a chance to connect with each other, their past and some difficult emotions. “We all felt connected to each other and to our past. We were all there together, helping each other see something that was hard to see. I started crying at one point and someone came over to hug me. We all had a connection to the place because we are all Jewish,” she said. Budelman, of Beverly, describes the trip as a turning point in her own Judaism. “I feel differently about being Jewish now. It made me want to go to services more. I feel more connected to my Jewish past and want to put more into my Jewish community. I feel like I owe it to everyone who died in the Holocaust to help out, to tell my children that it was real, it happened and we can never forget it.” Jared Bolotin, 17, describes his walk through the gas chambers at Auschwitz. “I didn’t cry the whole time at Auschwitz until I got to the gas chamber and saw the scratches on the wall. Then I broke down in the next room, the crematorium, but I went back to the gas chamber with my new friend Ariel from Israel. We had just met the day before, but we were able to look at the scratches and cry and comfort each other.” Shaykevich felt most moved by the Holocaust when he visited Plashow, a concentration camp outside of Krakow. “There was nothing left there. Just a green field with a memorial on the hill. We did 10 minutes of silent time and it really had an impact on me. Everything is gone where there was so much misery. I could still feel it in the air. It still hurts and it leads me to conclude that there is still pain from things that happened to the Jewish people but we need to use it as a driving force to move on and make it so it cannot happen again.” Like
Shaykevich and Budelman and many of the teens on the trip, Bolotin feels
more strongly than ever about his Judaism. He phoned his parents three
times from the trip and tried to convince them to let him go to Israel
directly from Prague with the Israeli friends he had met. Though his parents
refused, he does plan to visit Israel in the near future with his parents’
blessing. Phyllis Bolotin, his mother, said, “If their goal was to keep the kids Jewish, they certainly achieved their goal. Jared is already planning to invite all his trip friends for Shabbat dinner.” Many of the teens are already planning their trips to Israel. Charlee Bianchini, 15, of Gloucester, is planning a trip for December and is hoping to travel with others from this trip to meet the Israelis. She just needs to convince her parents, she said. “My
mom has the story from the news, but I have the story from the people
who actually live there,” Bianchini said. The Y2I trip is subsidized through a partnership between the Jewish Federation of the North Shore and the Robert I. Lappin Foundations. Many of the teens and parents expressed their gratitude to Mr. Lappin for his generosity in giving the teens this opportunity to travel together as a group. “It did so much for me that I could go on this trip, that people are paying this sum of money for all these kids to connect to their Jewish roots,” said Shaykevich. “A lot of people thought they would get a free trip to Europe and have some fun, but they were still affected spiritually. I think everyone is much closer to their Jewish identity.” Bolotin, of Swampscott, felt fortunate to run into Lappin at a shiva a few days after his return. “I felt really fortunate to thank him personally and I told him how changed I was and how it was an amazing experience.” For information on next year’s Y2I trip, contact Lisa Janiak, 978-745-4222 or email ljaniak@jfns.org. For a photo album of the trip, see www.jewishnorthshore.org and click Y2I. Friends Forever: Israeli, Arab, Christian Youth Gather On the North Shore SHANA
KAPLAN The hope for peace in the Middle East may seem unreachably far away, but there is a glimmer of it right here on the North Shore. Through a program called Friends Forever, in cooperation with the Jerusalem YMCA, nine Israeli teenagers — a mixed group of four Jews, three Muslims, and two Christian boys and girls — have crossed the Atlantic to live together and overcome the hurdles that divide them. Since arriving here July 20, they have been participating in various trustbuilding activities, community service projects, and exploring the greater Boston area. After leaving New England, they return to Jerusalem where they will spend no less than a year teaching tolerance and peacekeeping — organizing fundraisers and other charity events, assisting with the youth organizations at the YMCA, and becoming role models for the younger members of the community. Friends Forever was founded in 1986 by Portsmouth, NH Rotary Club member Robert Raiche in an effort to bring together a small group of Christian and Protestant youth from Northern Ireland. The program has continued to conquer racial divides over the last 17 years. Seven years ago, it expanded to Israel. And just in the last year, the Israel program has grown from 25 students to 150. In Jerusalem, the YMCA is second to none for creating an outlet for and promoting interaction and acceptance between people who are otherwise fighting. These nine teens from all backgrounds and all corners of the city are members of the Youth Leadership Club at the Y. The teens meet several times a week to learn leadership skills and are also given a safe forum to discuss politics and life. “We get to know each other and find out what other people think about us and tell them what we think about them,” said 16-year-old Ibrahim Zananiri. “We are all like brothers and friends here — Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Christians,” he said. “I am here to represent Israel and the Arab population living in Jerusalem. We are trying to let Americans know more about us and how we live together.” Above the entranceway to the Y is a sign in English, Arabic, and Hebrew: Here is a place whose atmosphere is peace, where political and religious jealousies can be forgotten and international unity fostered and developed. “We did the main goal of the YMCA,” said 16-year-old peace delegate Luna Baraket. “We are successful at living together, talking together, having fun together — doing everything together. It feels like we are all one hand.” She said, “In Israel, we’ve suffered a lot from the loss of peace and we are all tired of not having it. But this [program] is all we need — this is peace.” “The YMCA is the only place in Jerusalem where Arabs and Jews can meet each other and live in peace and harmony,” said 17-year-old Elran Bar. However, he said, this program has potential to change that. “If nine Jews and Arabs can live together in peace in one house, we can live together in the same country.” Lior Nahoum, 28, one of the group’s two chaperones, said he felt the boundaries disintegrate almost immediately. A Jew, he shared a room with Majdi Husein, one of the Arab delegates. “When I woke up in the morning, he was praying to his god and I was praying to mine. It was so exciting for me because it was the first time I had ever seen an Arab and a Jew praying together in one room.” Nahoum said the group far surpassed his expectations. “These are the leaders of tomorrow.” Elicia Carmichael, executive director for Friends Forever, said she truly believes that this program is making strides — not necessarily on a grand scale — but definitely in normal everyday actions. As one piece of evidence, she said she received a phone call from an Arab woman who had been stopped at a checkpoint by Israeli soldiers outside of Jerusalem. One soldier gave her a hard time and finally refused to let her pass, even though her child needed medical attention. Another Israeli soldier came over and let her pass. When she told him she didn’t understand why he was being so nice to her, he told her that he once belonged to a program called Friends Forever and had vowed to be a friend to Arabs thereafter. Carmichael said they often receive such positive feedback and that it is greatly uplifting and encouraging to see a successful measure of peacekeeping. Beyond the benefits the teens bring to Israel, the program also brings Americans together. “It’s
a real community effort,” she said. “It expresses interest and
facilitates an entire community to come together as peacemakers.”
Though some are skeptical that sending a group of already exceedingly tolerant youths overseas is really effective, Carmichael said though they may be tolerant, they may not have any support group with whom to be tolerant. This trip gives them the exposure and the diverse network of friends they may not get at home. For
the teens, Carmichael said, it will be difficult to readjust to being
precautious and guarded in Israel after being here for just two weeks.
The teens all said their friends and families support them in participating in the program. Friends Forever president Bill Holt said the program is not only helpful to the delegates, but also bridges the racial gap among the families, who meet the other families and realize they are safe to talk to. “The root of anger and fighting is fear and distrust,” said Holt. “As soon as they realize they don’t have to be afraid, the barriers of resentment come down quickly.” Raiche said the program has lasting effects that go beyond their 14 days here and their year of work afterwards. He said many of the kids grow up to work in peace-promoting professions. “This really does the job,” he said. “It definitely makes an impact— a small one — but it does make one.” Raiche also said the program strongly affects the relationships among the teens. “Seeing their friends over [in Jerusalem] is nice, but after they come on this trip, they truly are friends.” Hence the name, “Friends Forever.” A non-profit organization, Friends Forever survives on donations and community support. This summer’s program is sponsored in part by the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, the Joseph G. and Jean E. Sawtelle Fund, the Nathan and Helen Kohler Foundation, the Knistrom Foundation, the Center for Diversity Appreciation, YMCA Camp Lincoln, the North Shore Music Theatre, the New England Aquarium, and the Rotary Clubs of Beverly, Winchester, Burlington, Peabody, Cambridge, and Portsmouth, NH. For more information on this program, visit www. friendsforeverusa.org.
Hundreds Pedal to Cure Cancer ANDREW
MARCHESSEAULT Swampscott’s Eric Levy had only his faith in medicine, and faith in his father Lester’s resilience, to hold onto when his father was diagnosed with cancer in 1999. Tragically, the disease was simply too powerful, and the elder Levy passed away in a matter of months. Eric speaks for all survivors of cancer victims in describing the futility of feeling “there is nothing we can do.” However, Levy, like thousands of people around the North Shore, discovered a way to do battle with cancer. Three weeks before his father’s passing, Levy, who is a managing director at Putnam Investments, participated in the 1999 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC), a two-day bicycle-riding event in which cyclists traverse half the breadth of the commonwealth. Begun in 1980 by Newton-raised Billy Starr, the Challenge today contributes nearly half of the annual fundraising total of the Jimmy Fund, the charity organization that supports the research of Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In his first year of participation, Levy raised almost $11,000, well over the $2,000 minimum needed to qualify. This year, Levy’s fifth and the 24th overall year of the Pan-Mass Challenge, he hopes to raise $30,000, and he is nearly there. Thanks to the event’s organization and its fiercely loyal rider and volunteer alumni, the event, like Levy, has raised more money every year. This year’s goal: $16 million. Over nine-tenths of that amount will go directly to the Jimmy Fund. This year’s event, which begins in Sturbridge on August 2 and ends in Provincetown on August 3, will feature 4,000 riders from 37 states. Nearly 2,000 volunteers will pour water, flip burgers, and line the streets, cheering on the efforts of those on bikes. Among the riders are hundreds of North Shore cyclists, many from the local Jewish community. Although Eric Levy has raised nearly $100,000 in his five years of PMC participation, he is a relative newcomer to the Challenge. Many of Levy’s friends from the North Shore Jewish community have been participating for at least 10 years, some having raced to the Cape with Billy Starr during the event’s first incarnation. Though not all participants were spurred to take action by a deeply personal loss within their family, such as is the case with Levy and Starr, all have been touched by cancer to some degree, and each feels the camaraderie on which the PMC thrives. “Each year I’ve done [the Challenge] the event has gotten bigger,” says 58-year-old Jeff Brand, a physician from Marblehead who will be participating in his sixteenth PMC. This sentiment is echoed by several other local riders, including Bill Mishkin, a 49-year-old bridal gown manufacturer who also hails from Marblehead: “It is one of the most well-run events you will ever attend,” says the 12-year veteran. “Every year they do a better job.” By “they,” Mishkin refers to the thousands of volunteers who keep returning every year under the guidance of Billy Starr. In addition to the material and physical goods that they provide for the riders, such as food, bedding, and a good massage, their spiritual and mental support is also invaluable. The riders themselves maintain a bond that links generations and keeps them coming back for more. Says 20-year veteran Bill Cantor of Swampscott, age 79 yet still only the second oldest rider in the event, “I look forward to it all year long…I get to meet all the old friends.” Adds Swampscott’s Bob Selby, who will participate in his 19th PMC, “It’s the highlight of the summer…a reason to train.” The Challenge began as a way to take action against a difficult enemy, one that chooses its victims without mercy. Starr wished to start something that would carry on the legacy of his cancer-stricken mother, and thought that, in the words of his childhood friend and current Swampscott resident Barry Kraft, a bike event would be “neat.” So were planted the roots of the Pan-Mass Challenge, which began as a one-day ride of friends from Newton to Cape Cod. Of course, many of those who started with Starr have found it difficult to squirm out of any of the last 24 years of the event, even if they wanted to. “He’s a persuasive guy,” says Kraft. Since that first trek, Starr has made the Challenge his life’s work as the executive director of the event. The nation’s first cycling fundraiser, it reportedly raises more money than any other athletic fundraiser. Though their reasons for first joining the event may differ, and their individual fundraising totals may vary, one thing unites all of the Pan-Mass Challenge riders: commitment to the cause. Each rider believes in his contribution, and has respect for those who make the ride possible. Though not all are as ambitious and tireless in their fundraising as Eric Levy, each person contributes in hard work and spirit. Says Sam Zoll, former mayor of Salem, current Chief Justice of the Massachusetts District Court, and a 20-year PMC veteran, “There’s a thread that binds everybody that rides,” which could be termed a “blend of determination and joy.” Those wishing to make a donation to the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge may send a check to: Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, 77 Fourth Avenue, Needham, MA 02494.For futher information see www.pmc.org.
‘Keeping
the Tradition Alive’ GARY
BAND
Star of stage and screen Mandy Patinkin will perform at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly on September 8. The Journal spoke with him in Vancouver where he was filming episodes of “Dead Like Me,” which premieres on Bravo in the fall. He is now in Williamstown, MA rehearsing Henrik Ibsen’s play “Enemy of the People,” which will be performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival Aug. 21-24. When Patinkin is not starring in a play, TV series, movie or in his one-man show, he lives in New York with his wife, actress and author, Kathryn Grody and their two sons, Isaac, 21, and Gideon, 17. JJ:
Tell me a little about your one-man show at NSMT on Sept 8. JJ:
Your wife Kathryn Grody is an actress/author. What has she done?
JJ:
You went to U of Kansas and the Julliard School of Drama but dropped out
before graduating to pursue an acting career. JJ:
I read that your big break was at Chicago’s Candlelight Dinner Theatre?
JJ:
When did you know you wanted to be an actor/performer? JJ:
You’ve sung, acted for stage and screen, on Broadway, in Yentl, The
Princess Bride, and on Chicago Hope. Which did you like best? JJ:
How was working with Barbra Streisand? JJ:
You’ve also done a CD of Yiddish songs called ‘Mamaloshen’
for which you had to learn Yiddish? JJ:
I was told you do a version of ‘Swanee’ that was a dead ringer
for Al Jolson. JJ:
What kind of Jewish upbringing did you have. JJ:
What role does Judaism play in your life today. JJ:
You also did a cookbook with your mom. JJ:
How many nights are away from home. JJ:
I heard you collect electric trains. JJ:
There’s a line from a Kevin Bacon movie called Pyrates (1991) in
which he mentions you. “This may be my last chance at success before
I end up dead, penniless, have Mandy Patinkin play me in some songtime
musical about my life.” Are you aware of it? Sharon
Finds He Must Now Compete For Bush’s Ear LESSLIE SUSSER
JERUSALEM
(JTA) — After President Bush’s late July meetings with the Israeli
and Palestinian prime ministers, one thing is clear: Ariel Sharon no longer
will have things all his own way in Washington. Bush pointedly expressed admiration and respect for Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian Authority prime minister, whom he called “a leader of vision and courage and determination.” Still, Sharon was able to deflect American pressure on Israel over the security fence it is building along the border with the West Bank, and to underline Israel’s insistence that the Palestinians must crack down on terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The fact that Bush was effusive in his praise of Abbas — despite Abbas’ refusal to dismantle terrorist groups — worries the Israelis. In his meetings with Bush and the White House national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, Sharon made it clear that unless the Palestinians dismantle terrorist groups — as they are obliged to do in the first phase of the “road map” peace plan — Israel will not move on to the second phase. And, Sharon added, he doubts that the Palestinians will act without considerable American pressure. So far, such pressure has not been forthcoming. Israeli analysts believe Bush went easy on Abbas because, having invested so much in Middle East peacemaking, he wants to show the Palestinians that America is an “honest broker” that can deliver a fair deal. Bush also hopes his overt show of support will shore up Abbas’ shaky status among the Palestinian public, analysts say. Ironically, Abbas’ weakness on the Palestinian street is proving to be his strength: Against the backdrop of that weakness, he has been able to press for American support and Israeli gestures of compromise. Nowhere has the new American “even-handedness” been more apparent than on the issue of the security fence. After his meeting with Abbas, Bush even adopted Palestinian terminology, calling the fence a “wall” and saying he would speak to Sharon about the route, urging changes wherever it causes hardship for Palestinians or cuts too deeply into the West Bank. Sharon came to his meeting with Bush July 29 armed with aerial photographs showing that only 10 percent of the security barrier actually is a wall, in areas where snipers in Palestinian cities along the West Bank border could fire at drivers on a major Israeli highway. The rest of the barrier consists of an electronic fence, barbed wire obstacles and patrol roads, like the security fences along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Jordan. For weeks, Israeli officials at all levels have been trying to convince their American counterparts of the need for a barrier to stop terrorists from infiltrating Israeli cities. In almost three years of the terrorist intifada, they note, not a single sui-cide bomber has successfully infiltrated from the Gaza Strip — which is fenced off — while more than 250 have entered Israel from the West Bank. In their meetings with Sharon, Bush and Rice raised two concerns: that the fence creates political facts on the ground in advance of a territorial settlement with the Palestinians, and that it encompasses too much Palestinian land. Sharon has said that the fence is not meant to have any political significance, and in the future it could be moved depending on where the final borders are drawn. Moreover, he said, the most controversial segment — a sizable bulge into the West Bank to include the city of Ariel, one of Israel’s largest in the West Bank — is not scheduled for construction until early next year, leaving time for disagreements to be resolved. Bush did not pressure Sharon to stop construction of the fence or move it back to the Green Line — the pre-1967 border between Israel and Jordan’s West Bank — but the two sides agreed to hold further consultations on the route with the aim of minimizing hardship to Palestinians. For Sharon, though, it’s not the fence or its route that is likely to undermine the peace process. It is the Palestinians’ failure to disband terrorist groups. “We are concerned that this welcome quiet will be shattered any minute as a result of the continued existence of terror organizations, which the Palestinian Authority is doing nothing to eliminate or dismantle,” Sharon said at the news conference. Far from disarming the terror groups, Abbas is doing nothing even to stop their rearming, Sharon argued. The cease-fire, he warned, could prove to be the trap Israel feared, simply giving the terrorists a breather to regroup. Bush, he said, should press Abbas to take action before it is too late. The question is whether, in the wake of the meetings, Bush will find ways to persuade both sides to do what is needed to advance the diplomatic process and rebuild mutual trust. Leslie Susser is the diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report. Features Why We Should Take Tish’ah B’Av Seriously MARK
H. MULGAY Mark
Mulgay is a former Jewish communal professional active in governmental
and political affairs. He serves on the board of The Jewish Journal and
Jewish Family Service. He may be reached at mulgay@
With Israel now a state for 55 years, many people wonder why we continue to celebrate it. In my view, the burdens of civil society that come with political independence give us all the more reason to commemorate this day of tragedies. Tish’ah B’Av is one of only two 25-hour fasts on the Jewish calendar (the other is Yom Kippur). It commemorates a series of cataclysms in Jewish history that occurred on or around that date. Commentators on the Torah claim that the report of the spies, which led to the grumbling of the Israelites and the 40 years of desert wandering, was given on that day. The expulsion from Spain in 1492 (the same day that Columbus set sail) also took place on Tish’ah B’Av. World War I (which led to World War II and the Holocaust) began on the same date on the Hebrew calendar. Yet Tish’ah B’Av is less about disasters that befell our people than about what precipitates disaster. In focusing on the origins of this fast day, the Talmud offers an explanation why the Temples were destroyed. It tells us that the first temple was destroyed because of idolatry, adultery, and wanton bloodshed; the second because of the wanton hatred (sin’at hinnam) that was rampant among the Jewish people at that time. The history of the Second Temple period is replete with accounts of the fratricidal politics of the Hasmonean dynasty and the House of Herod, and the divisions among the numerous sects of the day, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii, and others. These were days when Jews thought little of taking the blood of their brethren for political gain, and where political and religious sniping were commonplace. Divisions lasted until the siege of Jerusalem, when different groups vied for power in a hopeless situation that was further exacerbated by domestic divisiveness. The Talmudic story of Qamtza and Bar Qamtza, presented as the (metaphorical?) cause of Jerusalem’s downfall in 70 CE, speaks to the destructive power of frail and inflexible egos, demonstrating how one tragic mistake can lead to disaster. Someone hosting a banquet sent a messenger to invite a man named Qamtza to his party, but the messenger delivered the invitation to his rival, Bar Qamtza, instead. When Bar Qamtza appeared at the event, the host moved to have his rival evicted. Seeking to avoid public humiliation, Bar Qamtza offered to pay for the party if the host would allow him to remain. But the host, in the presence of the leaders of the community, stood his ground. Insulted, Bar Qamtza plotted against the leaders of Jerusalem and manufactured evidence against them, informing the Roman rulers that they were engaged in planning an insurrection. The story continues with further details of poor judgment and perilous errors that ultimately led to the destruction of the city. The question for today is this: Is the internal Jewish condition any better today than it was in 70 CE? Whether we look at Israel or at our situation in the Diaspora, the answer is: “Probably not.” We may be above the cloak and dagger operations of the assassin-oriented Sicarii of ancient times, though we have come perilously close to bloodshed from time to time. In the religious sphere, no camp is willing to surrender its claim to the truth, and all are guilty of verbal or political acts against others in the service of God. In Israel, we have seen the assassination of one prime minister on the accusation of treason by a religious zealot, and the accusations hurled from one camp against the other continues the spirit that led to that murder. We are blessed with prosperity, opportunity, and freedom in the Diaspora, and the people of Israel are now blessed with political independence in our ancestral homeland. But our behavior often shows how little we have learned from the infighting that has sapped our strength as a people periodically throughout our history. As
I fast on Tish’ah B’Av, I don’t dwell on the destruction
brought upon us by outsiders. My focus is on the destructiveness of our
divisions, of our apparent inability to find unity in Jewish diversity.
Until the Jewish people can dwell peacefully with each other, we should
continue to fast on Tish’ah B’Av, in the hope that the hunger
that we feel on that day will propel us to learning to live as one. JTA News Briefs Bush: P.A.
Must Do More Voice of
Peace Revived Superman
in Israel Black Hebrews
Recognized Sharp Rise
in Settlers Hope Helped
European Jews Scholar
of Middle East Dies Center
for Cultural Jews Opens Israel:
Diverse, Creative, and Free STAFF
REPORT Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation. In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. Israel
is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US. With
an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the
aircraft outside of the US. Twenty-four percent of Israel’s workforce holds university degrees — ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland — and 12 percent hold advanced degrees. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel. When
Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the
world’s second elected female leader in modern times. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship — and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 — in the world. According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry’s most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was produced by Haim Saban, an Israeli whose family fled persecution in Egypt. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv. Israel has the world’s second highest per capita of new books. Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country. Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer. An Israeli company developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders. Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart’s mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors. With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley.) In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops. Israel has the highest percentage of home computers per capita in the world. Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25 percent of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well. The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel. Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel. Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel. The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis. A new acne treatment developed in Israel, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct — all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue. An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant in southern California’s Mojave desert. The first PC anti-virus software was developed in Israel in 1979. Days of Summer at North Shore Jewish Day Camps Summer is in full swing at the three Jewish Day Camps on the North Shore. Though there is no way to fully represent the range of activities these camps engage in, each year we do our best to capture some of the essence of each. At Camp Simchah in Middleton, campers take a break from their packed schedule to enjoy snow cones before heading off to the pool, arts and crafts barn or athletic fields. Kids
at Camp Gan Israel spend the afternoon at their summer pool in Nahant.
And Camp Menorah kids brave the heights of their new ropes course, swim
in Lake Chebacco, and soak up the sun on the upper field. See you next
year campers! — Gary Band People in the News
Arts & EntertainmentGotta Dance: New Brookline Arts Center PremieresBRETT
M. RHYNE BROOKLINE — Arts lovers from across the region held their collective breath at the opening of the new Brookline Community Center for the Arts on July 19, where, even as performers were hoofing enthusiastically inside, contractors were working furiously outside to affix theCenter’s sign to its red brick façade. Would they finish in time? “There was definitely excitement around the sign,” conceded Dan Yonah Ben-Dror Marshall, the Center’s president and artistic director. “People watching the dancers had no idea what it was going to look like. When we unveiled the sign at intermission - it was like magic.” There were lots of thrills inside the Center, too. The opening, attended by 150 people, featured dance performances by several Center instructors in a variety of genres, including salsa, Bollywood (modern Indian) and locking-and-breaking, a kind of Japanese urban funk; a martial arts display; and an opportunity for attendees to tango. But the highlight, everyone agreed, was the premiere of an exhibition of small- and medium-sized canvases by Brookline artist Natalie Bonnie Dubin, Natural Movements. With gently rendered, generously applied oils, Dubin displayed a unique ability to breathe emotion into unfeeling subjects. Her last show, Internal Gestures, featured melancholy roots and leaves in shades of brown and dark green; Natural Movements, conversely, offered a series of seascapes in white and blue. While cooler in palette, these works showed great energy and action and encouraged us to rediscover our beliefs in hopefulness and joy after pain. “Bonnie’s exhibit brought in a lot of new people we haven’t seen before,” Marshall noted. “We usually attract mostly dancers. But because of the art opening, we got a lot of newcomers and non-performers.” The Center sports six dance studios on two levels, all equipped with hardwood floors, barre and mirrors. The main studio, where the opening was held, is 2,350-square feet in size and can be partitioned into thirds. Marshall was first inspired to open a dance studio in October 2002. By March 2003, Marshall and his partners, Olaf Bleck, Andrea Goldsmith and Vlad Selsky, were renovating the Aish HaTorah building on Green St. in Coolidge Corner. Classes started April 13. The
Center’s emphasis on dance stems from Marshall’s belief that
“movement is the biggest part of the arts that’s missing from
the community,” he said. “Brookline already has a lot of music
and visual arts programming. We’re offering fitness, dance, yoga.
We’re reaching out to the parts of the community that aren’t
being catered to, and offering programming that’s not being offered
elsewhere.” Marshall, 29, was born in Israel, moving to Brookline as a teen. He describes himself as “conservadox;” wears a kippah and keeps kosher; and occasionally reads Torah in Washington Square’s Sephardic Congregation of New England. “Belief is a good characteristic for a leader,” he noted. “I believe in Judaism and I believe in the world of art.” The Brookline Community Center for the Arts can be found at www.BCCAonline. com. Be Afraid: Psychopath Will Haunt You SHANA
KAPLAN In his fourth novel, Newburyport author Keith Ablow suggests that everyone has problems. But fortunately for the majority of the population, not everyone’s problems cause them to become psychotic murderers. In Psychopath (St. Martins Press, 2003) Ablow explores the dangerous mind of schizophrenic psychiatrist-turned-killer Jonah Wrens, who attributes his murderous endeavors to an abusive childhood. Living a double life as a highly respected migrating doctor by day and killer by night, Wrens uses his keen abilities to get emotionally close to strangers before brutally killing them. Ablow’s protagonist, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Frank Clevenger, is recruited by the FBI to help crack the case. Clevenger is now struggling to raise his 16-year-old, drug-abusing adopted son Billy, a character from his previous novel Compulsion. Through a correspondence of letters posted in The New York Times, Clevenger and Wrens communicate with each other, both employing their psychiatric expertise in an attempt to manipulate and break down the other. Within Wrens’ twisted psyche exists the dichotomy of good and evil that surfaces constantly throughout the novel. Clevenger must exorcise the demons from Wrens’ head while forced to face his own. In fact, Ablow succeeds in creating a multifaceted reality by making each main character experience this duality as they struggle to maintain a normal life. Each is relentlessly reminded of their fears, what holds them back, and what, from their childhoods, propels them forward. A fascinating and complex creation of Ablow’s imagination, Wrens repeatedly seduces the reader while seducing his victims. Readers, like Wrens’ prey, forget that he is a stranger and feel comfortable enough to open up to him. When he kills, their hearts pound along with those that are about to stop beating. In the victims’ last moments, readers feel equally as betrayed as the victim; the difference is they survive the experience, but are left with a vulnerability that is difficult to shake. We vow never again to be so naive and generous with our trust as Wrens’ victims, but find ourselves trusting him again and again. The realization that, were we to meet a real-life Wrens we could just as easily be his next victim, is terrifying. Though Psychopath is a quick and captivating read, the plot could be a little deeper and the ending is somewhat abrupt. However, it is fascinating to get inside the heads of Ablow’s characters. He writes with eloquence, effectively interweaving quips of classic literature into the words of his curious characters. Set mostly on the North Shore, the novel is loaded with local color. Names of some organizations are fabricated, but resemble the real thing. Most importantly, Ablow is able to chill readers not only while they read, but potentially for the rest of their lives. Reggae Musician Ziggy Marley Pleads for Peace in Mideast RICK
HELLMAN KANSAS CITY, MO. — While it may be defined in the American imagination by sunny Jamaican climes and longhaired, pot-smoking musicians, reggae music has always had serious political undertones. Back in the 1970s, while he was making the form popular worldwide, Bob Marley and the Wailers sang songs alternately urging action (e.g., “Revolution,” “Africa Unite”) and tranquility (“Simmer Down,” “Fussing and Fighting”). Now, after nearly three years of terror and counter-terror in the Holy Land, Bob’s son, David “Ziggy” Marley has issued an eloquent musical plea for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. That plea, “Shalom Salaam,” is one of the highlights of “Dragonfly,” Ziggy Marley’s new release on the Private Music label. Marley is playing the song on tour this summer. “Somebody have to speak them mind and say how them feel,” Marley said with an island lilt during a recent telephone interview. “We all can’t be politically correct or oversensitive and neglect the truth of how we feel. So we have to talk about how we feel. Whoever is offended or whoever don’t like it, that’s just how it is.” Friends and fans have reacted in an overwhelmingly positive fashion to the heartfelt message of “Shalom Salaam,” Marley said. He said there was no specific incident that gave rise to the song. “I remember when I wrote that song I was in Jamaica, and the news was going on about what’s going on there, and I was so tired of the loss of life between the Jewish people and Palestinian people,” Marley said. “I’m just tired of it. I want peace. I want people to live together. I’m tired of all the bloodshed. ... “For me, it is just time to live together and solve the problems together. The only solution to the problem is to live together in peace. Unless, as I say, we’re going to have war every day and just live in war. And if we accept that, then that’s what we have to accept. But otherwise, the only other way is to say, ‘go on, let’s forget this. Let’s live in peace.’ Let’s have human rights for everyone; let’s have equal opportunity ... and justice for everyone of that region. Just live together and that’s it, instead of this fighting over land thing.” Hope
and despair “To me it can be a two-state (solution). It can be Israel; it can be Palestine,” Marley said. “But that can just be in terms of a geographical thing. But in terms of people, everyone can live together as people. No matter the difference between the states, just live together as people. As I said, the important thing for us is that human beings live a good life and have the basic necessities ... and have opportunities to better themselves.” Spiritual
life “Just the whole history of that place is very special,” he said. “I went to the Wailing Wall and I went into that cave there ... and I felt a very strong spiritual connection to that place. My name is David. So I have a very strong connection to Israel and the history of Israel. It’s very close to the African struggle, coming into slavery. Just as Israel had went into slavery, so the African people also was in the slavery. You know it’s very similar conditions. I think that was a big thing. People find that a lot of the things that we read in the Old Testament to be related to what we’ve been through.” The experience of slavery and the identification of the African people with the Biblical Israelites is a theme in the Rastafarian philosophy, of which the elder Marley was the best-known exponent. Ziggy Marley said he, too, is a Rasta.
SinglesManner Maven: Is it OK to be Happily Divorced? JODI
R.R. SMITH Dear Maven, I am just coming off a very difficult divorce. My ex has already found the new love of his life and everyone seems to be pressuring me to start dating again. I have dealt with my feelings about the divorce and I am fine with it. To be perfectly honest, I am really enjoying having some time on my own. But when I tell people this they seem to think I am pining away for my ex. How can I get people to ease up? Happy
Solo Dear Happy, People do have a wonderful way of pressing their own personal feelings onto the lives of others. While sometimes the commonality of the human condition can be a good thing, it sounds like the people who are after you are worried that you are lonely since they imagine they would be lonely if in your position. While they may be a bit nosey for your liking, they do have your best interest at heart. In addition to letting them know you are just fine, fill them in on the details of your life. Let them know you are finally seeing all the movies you missed over the past three years. You have actually had time to read some of the best sellers, or walk by the beach, or sign up for a cooking class, or plan a trip to Bali, or clean out your storage closet, or whatever it is that you are doing that is making you happy. Your happiness is what they are concerned with, not your single status. The more details you are willing to provide, the more they will understand how you are feeling. And,
after all, the best way to find your next significant other is to pursue
activities you enjoy. Few things fan the flames of romance faster than
a common interest. In the meantime, you can enjoy doing activities you
like. The
Maven
For answers to your etiquette emergencies, email the Manners Maven
at editor@jewishjournal.org.
EditorialThe Price We Pay for Jewish Diversity Elsewhere in this issue, you will see photos of area youngsters enjoying the great outdoors at no less than three North Shore Jewish camps this summer. That’s one more than last year. All three offer valuable experiences to their young charges. They are, in their own way, emblematic of the promise and the plight of Jewish institutions in our community. Camp Simchah, run by the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, is subsidized by the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. It sits on 112 acres of campground in Middleton and boasts eight weeks of athletics, swimming, arts & crafts, field trips, and programs highlighting Jewish traditions and customs, including Shabbat celebrations. Camp Menorah, operating for the first time under local ownership, provides a fun-filled growth experience in a Jewish setting on the shores of Lake Chebacco in Essex. Since the camp was purchased from Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies in March, it is administered by Eight Lights, Inc., a private nonprofit group of parents and other friends of Menorah who are determined to maintain this 87-year-old Jewish camp. They are seeking to raise $200,000 by September 2004, the first installment toward eventual purchase of the camp for about $1 million. Finally, there is the new Camp Gan Israel, part of a network of 2,000 camps worldwide run by the Chabad Lubavitch movement. Without a campground of its own, the local camp uses the basement of the Chabad synagogue in Swampscott, the ball field of a nearby public school and the pool of the Nahant Swim School for its 43 children, ages 3 to 10. Like Menorah and Simchah, Gan Israel interweaves Jewish culture, tradition, songs, and prayers into its activities. Next year, it will need a different venue to accommodate the growth it expects in its numbers. From the individual family’s point of view, it’s wonderful to have such choices, such Jewish choices, in our own community. From the community’s point of view, it may not be so wise. Many of our community institutions are hurting, some more than ever before. Of the agencies supported by Federation — agencies such as Jewish Family Service, the Holocaust Center, Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore, Mikvah B’not Yisrael, Cohen Hillel Academy, the Jewish community centers of Marblehead and Peabody, and this newspaper — several are in failing health and may not survive the next few years. Many of our synagogues are also in trouble. There are 16 of them in the 26 communities we serve. Is that too many? Who’s to say? One suburban congregation, thought to be in good shape financially, recently issued an emergency appeal to “Save Our Synagogue.” As the economic noose tightens, Swampscott’s two Conservative synagogues — Israel and Beth El, across the street from one another — are about to initiate merger talks for the second time in a decade. Unemployment is up, giving is down, and there is more competition for our time, our allegiance and our dollars. But much of that competition is internal, from other community institutions chasing the same donors and donations. Some
time soon, our community needs to find a way to revisit and revise its
priorities, based on an analysis of the current and future needs of our
people. If it doesn’t, then we may find that some of our most vital
institutions are no longer there when we need them. MARK
ARNOLD Local ColumnistsGibson’s ‘Passion:’ Issue for Christians, not JewsDOV
BURT LEVY
Movie star Mel Gibson’s forthcoming film The Passion is making waves in Jewish circles. The film — about the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life —is a passion play, and passion plays have always sought to pin responsibility for Christ’s crucifixion on our people. So Jews are objecting, calling for boycotts of Gibson’s pictures, and raising a storm that only generates more publicity for the film. So let’s try another tack: Let’s back off and say to the Christian community: “Your issue; please solve it, for your sake not ours.” Mel Gibson, popular star of Lethal Weapon and other crowd pleasers, directed this film, whose release date has not been set, and he refuses to talk about it. He’s footing the entire $25 million cost of The Passion and refusing to discuss concerns with Jewish leaders. Our concerns appear to be well-founded. In addition to blaming Jews for the death of Jesus, passion plays historically have suggested that we as a people are forever guilty of deicide and must be punished. Today, most Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, have repudiated that interpretation and do not hold the Israelites responsible for the crucifixion. In a letter to Gibson in March, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League wrote that he hoped the film “will not give rise to the old canard of charging Jews with deicide and to anti-Semitism. Passion plays have an infamous history of leading to hatred, violence and even deaths of Jews.” Last month, a group of Jewish and Catholic scholars, pulled together by the ADL and assisted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, studied an early film script and concluded that it portrayed Jews as “bloodthirsty, sadistic and money-hungry enemies of Jesus — objectionable elements that would promote anti-Semitism.” Gibson
is now showing the film to select conservative audiences and he’s
also showing a four-minute trailer at large Christian conferences. I think it’s time for the Jewish community to give it up. While our national defense organizations have the resources to fight up to and after the film’s opening, they should desist because it only gives publicity to the production — a film that, left to its own devices, will likely be a box-office failure. Look at it this way: How long will a film with Latin and Aramaic dialogue and English sub-titles run in American movie houses? The
most important reason for us to lay off though is that the problem belongs
to the Christian community. It’s their story, their film and their
issue. We have come a long way since 1939 when Father Charles Coughlin was defaming Jews with impassioned radio speeches every Sunday, since the extermination camps were liberated in 1945, since Israel fought for its existence in 1948. As individuals and as a community, Mel Gibson is no lethal weapon against us. We are strong, confident and proud. We continue to track anti-Semitism and join battles we deem important. Gibson’s film is not one of them. . Dov Burt Levy is a Salem, MA based columnist. He can be reached at dblevy@columnist. com.
Cousins in Black and White: A Sketch ELLEN
GOLUB “I thought you were black,” said Jared to his cousin. “I mean when my parents said you guys were black, I thought they meant African American.” Naftali looked confused. “Us? African American?” Was this guy for real, with his conspicuous sideburns and rainbow tallis? Naftali’s mother used something that looked like it for her Purim tablecloth. “I know. It’s weird. Because my parents are always talking about not being prejudiced, so I wondered why they would always refer to your dad’s race — but of course they weren’t.” “Black hats,” said Naftali. “Some people call us black hats.” He touched the roof of his broad brim for emphasis. The two cousins were sizing each other up. Both shared the thin Katz lips, the flat bone at the bridge of the Feldman nose, and a family preference for avoiding conflict. Still, never had they met. Since Naftali’s mother had married his dad, both had skipped every family event — every wedding, bar mitzvah and Yom Tov— that involved mixed seating. Jared opined out loud what he had long heard discussed in private. “It’s a shame that religious differences had to come between our families. Religion shouldn’t separate people — it should unite them.” Naftali so wanted to agree. But he felt obligated to correct Jared’s ignorance with fact. “It’s not religion that has separated us. It’s mitzvoth. If you follow the Torah, you are obligated to do HaShem’s mitzvoth. You don’t simply choose the ones you like over the ones you don’t understand.” The “oy” in Toyrah was disturbing to Jared, as if the difference between them was contained in that confounding oy. “But don’t you think it’s important for families to stay together and for brothers and sisters to stay in touch?” He did nothing more than voice the frustrations he had heard discussed at home since he was old enough to understand that his aunt, his dad’s sister, had “joined a cult.” It
was Naftali’s turn to speak, to defend his family, to explain their
commitment to tradition. He believed that it was Jared’s family that
chose to break the rules. They reinvented tradition as if it were a chunk
of clay for each generation to play with. They had no respect for the
rabbonim (rabbis), for the Shulhan Aruch (code of Jewish
laws), And yet Naftali held his tongue, remembering what King Solomon had written, that “life and death are in the hands of language.” He fingered the blue thread in his tzitzis pensively, and then asked Jared, “You follow baseball?” The Katz lips broadened into a smile, first on Jared, then on Naftali, as the two cousins discovered common ground. The Yankees and the Red Sox were safer terrain than Hillel and Shammai. So they began there, discussing batting orders and fielding, the physics of pitching and their mutual faith in the Bambino’s curse. Inside the sanctuary, Naftali and Jared’s fathers greeted each other with warmth, though they hadn’t seen each other in years. It was an awkward but welcome moment. Searching for something to say, the traditionalist stole first base. “How ‘bout those Red Sox?” he asked. All the rest is commentary. Ellen Golub teaches journalism at Salem State College. She may be reached at elkele@attbi.com
Slice
of Life PHYLLIS
DINERMAN Packing is mind boggling, and traveling is exhausting. I know that since we drove to Marblehead from Florida a few weeks ago. Imagine a week of touring and traveling with your spouse for six straight days in the car. It’s amazing we’re still talking to one another. “Be careful…not so fast…go slower.” And that’s Jerry talking to me. Do you know there is a Hebrew prayer for travelers? An acquaintance told me she would recite the prayer at minyan when she knew we were flying overseas. I asked her to recite that passage for me whenever I take a vacation or travel by airplane. I talk to God on the airplane anyway. I talk to him before take-off, during the flight, and I kiss the ground and thank him again upon arrival at my destination. Some passengers walk around me; some kiss the ground beside me. Packing for a trip begins weeks ahead of the actual date. Weeks before our trip I write down everything I want to take, and two days before departure I go through my closet “like Sherman went through Atlanta.” I am the queen of organization. I pack a large amount of vitamins and medicines, and I always worry that I will be stopped at a security checkpoint and be accused of smuggling drug |