| The Jewish Journal Archive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 2 - July 15, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Local
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Local StoriesCohen Hillel Academy Students Shine
Susan
Jacobs MARBLEHEAD — As a group, Cohen Hillel Academy students performed very well on the ERBs (Educational Records Bureau), a standardized test administered annually to over 113,000 students across the country. According to Bob Tornberg, Cohen Hillel Academy Head of School, the tests measure how students are progressing individually in a variety of subject areas, and indicate how schools stack up to each other. For more than a decade Cohen Hillel has given the test to its students in grades four through eight. Although test results are shared with parents, this is the first year Cohen Hillel is publicly releasing the data. Tornberg was thrilled to see third party empirical evidence that “proves we are as good as we say we are.” “We claimed that we offer an education based upon academic excellence, and it’s good to have an independent source back that up. We’re really proud of the scores, our teachers and our kids,” he said. The multiple choice test, administered over the course of several days, measures verbal reasoning, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing mechanics, writing concepts, quantitative reasoning and math calculations. Students are graded in percentiles. The ERBs differ from the SATs (a college admissions test given to high school juniors and seniors) and the MCAS (used by the state to test the curriculum in Massachusetts Public Schools). They are administered annually to students at 1450 participating schools that are categorized as either Independent (e.g. private schools such as The Tower School in Marblehead) or Suburban, which refers not to geographic locale, but to the amount of money the town sets aside for its school budget. (For example, Swampscott is not classified as a Suburban school, while Newton, Wellesley and Weston are.) Collectively, Cohen Hillel Academy’s 150 students in grades 4–8 who took the test performed above the national norms for Independent and Suburban schools in all areas, and exceeded the norms in many categories. “What’s exciting is that last year, our eighth graders were above Suburban and Independent school norms in every area tested, and had not one score below the 90th percentile,” said Upper School Principal Ken Schulman, who administered the test (See chart). Schulman
points out that students do not study for the ERBs, and the Cohen Hillel
staff does not teach to the test. The ERBs do not apply toward students’
grades. From all indications, school officials say, the academic focus at Cohen Hillel Academy appears to be on target. From
Consultant to Co-Host: ‘Simply Put’ Airs in July Gary
Band MARBLEHEAD — Michael Goldman’s political consulting career unofficially began in 1966 when he was 16 years old and volunteering for an African-American candidate in a race for the Malden School Committee. Now,
25 years after creating his political consulting firm, Goldman Associates,
in 1979 — advising such clients as Essex County District Attorney
John Blodgett, Salem Mayor Stan Usovicz, Scott Harshbarger and Robert
Reich for Governor, US Congressman John Tierney, US Senator Ted Kennedy,
Paul Tsongas, Michael Dukakis, Bill Bradley and Bill Clinton for President
— the political dream maker is hanging up his consulting hat for
a 6-day-a-week, two-hour radio talk show program called “Simply Put”.
While this is the first full-time radio show Goldman has done, he has been doing political commentary on radio shows for 17 years: for WRKO AM 680, the old WEEI AM 590 in Boston, and for the last two years on weekends for WBBR. “I think it took enormous courage for [New York Mayor and former Medford resident] Michael Bloomberg to invest in a show like this,” Goldman says. “He believes there are enough people who want to hear intelligent commentary.” Although “Simply Put” will be broadcast from Bloomberg Radio in Boston, it will be available at first only on AM 1130 in New York, broadcasting to some 750,000 listeners during its afternoon slot. However, it can be heard through XM radio channel 129 from anywhere, and Bloomberg.com. Goldman hopes it will soon be broadcast on the airwaves in the Bay State and across the country. “This is radio for the well-informed,” says Goldman, 55, who will continue to teach a course in Media, Politics and Law at Tufts University, as he has since 1999. Goldman, who also served for 15 years as an adjunct professor of communication at Emerson College, continues to give guest lectures at Harvard, Boston University (where he earned a Masters in Political and Governmental Public Affairs in 1975) Boston College, Suffolk University and Brandeis. “We need to do a better job convincing people that their voices do make a difference,” he says. “Jews understand that better than anyone. We vote in large numbers and tend to speak out in the face of injustice. But will the next generation, comfortable and unafraid of prejudice, with no sense of the people or the fights that came before them, get that? I hope so. But we need to return ourselves to the values of believing in the power of government to help ordinary people, and engaging in smart political discourse.” Goldman says the candidates he worked for shared those values. “So does John Kerry,” he adds. But for now he has given up partisan politics for the more challenging task of unbiased radio commentary. All told, Goldman has advised and counseled candidates in 180 races during his consulting career. “I love what I did and helped elect a lot of good people,” Goldman says. “I’m proud to have my name associated with everyone I worked for.” With
regard to the cynicism with which most people view government and the
low value they place on political discourse, Goldman says he “believes
in the basic idea that people who live in a democratic society need to
use their common wealth to create a common good. Not just in terms of
monetary wealth, but expertise and experience.” Goldman says “Simply Put” promises a return to civility and respect in political commentary and interaction with callers. “There will be no yelling, no right or wrong, no talking down to people. Just smart talk and getting people to think about things more seriously.” During last Saturday’s broadcast, Goldman’s guests were former Israeli Prime Ministers Benyamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres. “They both talked about their views and positions, but with respect. And it really was balanced.” Of the opportunity to reach such a wide audience, Goldman says, “I’m just a three-decker kid from Suffolk Square in Malden. Now I’m on the radio with Netanyahu and Peres. Of course I wish my father and grandfather were alive to hear me, but most of all I wish that my old Hebrew school principal Mr. Babin could have heard that show. He always thought I was a goy. Somewhere he’s looking down and saying to himself, ‘Michael Goldman, who would have thought." Legal Catch-22 Trips Up Temples — Temporarily Mark
Arnold SWAMPSCOTT — More than 325 members of temples Beth El and Israel turned out for what was to be the climactic vote on whether to join forces and form a new congregtion. The long-awaited meeting — in Temple Beth El’s sanctuary and social hall June 25 — seemed to be going well. Presenters were presenting, members were asking questions, everything was moving toward the climactic positive vote toward which sponsors have been working for 14 months. Then came the bombshell: On the advice of outside legal counsel, presidents of the Conservatives synagogues announced 45 minutes into the meeting that the vote could not yet be taken because of a newly discovered legal wrinkle. The announcement sent people grumbling and complaining. “What a fiasco....We were brought here under false pretenses .... I feel duped....” They headed for the doors and presidents Helaine R. Hazlett of Beth El and Marla Gay of Israel and their B’reisheit Committee co-chairs — Mark Friedman of Israel and Scott Smith and Richard Wise of Beth El — were left highly embarassed. The problem was complex: Both temples use Roberts Rules of Order as their parliamentary guide, and Roberts states that mail and proxy votes are not allowed unless specifically permitted by the bylaws. Since neither synagogue’s bylaws specifies that mail or proxy votes are allowed, they can’t be. And without mail or proxy votes, a vote in favor of the merger probably couldn’t command the two-thirds majority of the total membership of each organization required by Massachusetts law for consummating such a merger. “We upset a lot of people and we’re sorry,” said Beth El President Hazlett at a press conference two days later at the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. Added Israel’s Marla Gay: “We are very apologetic for the inconvenience. We’re all volunteers and we’ve been working terribly hard to make this happen. I hope people can look beyond their frustration and see what’s at stake.” To correct the situation, each congregation will attempt to amend its bylaws to permit mail and proxy votes. Each board scheduled a meeting July 1 for that purpose. Then each congregation will hold a special congregational meeting July 11 to ratify the bylaw change. Only then can members vote — in person or by mail — and have the vote withstand a possible legal challenge. Each congregation will need the votes of 260 to 270 households to achieve the required two-thirds majority for the merger. And leaders will allow mail voting until August 22, unless they achieve the needed majority in favor — or more than one-third minority against — before then. Most members seem inclined to support the new entity despite the June 25 setback. As one irate member put it leaving the joint congregational meeting, “I’m mad as hell about having to come out and not being able to vote tonight. But what’s the alternative? There is no Plan B.”
‘Prozac Nation’ Author Speaks at Chabad Fundraiser Susan
Jacobs NAHANT — Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation, the 1994 bestseller about depression that is being made into a movie starring Christina Ricci, was the keynote speaker at a June 27 fundraiser to benefit the educational programs of Chabad of the North Shore. The event, attended by about 50 people, was held at a private home. When introducing the New York native, Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad applauded Wurtzel as a “brave soul” who successfully battled depression and now empowers others to do the same. “She opened up the minds and hearts of a generation to the reality of this illness, taking her own personal experience and transferring it into something meaningful,” he said. Wurtzel, 36, spoke honestly about her depression and subsequent struggle with drug addiction. (She has been clean and sober now for six years.) She read an excerpt from Prozac Nation, which chronicled her depression, but admitted that it is melodramatic and doesn’t depict her current state of mind. “I can see why an alienated 15-year-old would relate to it. I don’t relate to it anymore, and I’m glad,” she said. “I don’t want to write anymore about anguish. That’s why I’m going to law school in the fall. There’s something so upper middle class and silly about depression,” she added. When it first appeared, however, the book struck a nerve, propelling the thin, tattooed Wurtzel into the limelight. “I’m a writer, not an advocate,” said Wurtzel, who worked as a pop music critic for The New Yorker before tackling the topic of mental health. “I was not a very nice person, and my agenda was not to run around and make people feel better. After this book came out, people were writing me these long letters and stopping me in the street to tell me how I had changed their lives. It was very humbling, although I think it said more about them than it did about me. I have found that people are dying to have their world changed.” Wurtzel, whose parents divorced when she was young, grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Raised Orthodox, she attended Ramaz and Manhattan Day School and has an undergraduate degree from Harvard. The highly-educated academic wonders what might have happened to Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and Vincent Van Gogh had they access to medications like Prozac. “I think Sylvia Plath would have given thousands of poems to feel better,” she said, noting that anguish might get artists started, but they produce their best works during their well periods. “A lot of brilliant people are depressed, but not a lot of depressed people are brilliant,” she stated, adding, “I told you I wasn’t very nice.”
Cheatham Becomes CHA ‘Ambassador’ Mark
Arnold Susan (Suzie) Cheatham of Swampscott is embarking on a challenge unlike any she’s ever undertaken before: She’s the new admissions director at Cohen Hillel Academy (CHA) in Marblehead. But new challenges are among the things that Cheatham likes best. At the age of 50, she enrolled in Outward Bound, the outdoor physical endurance program. Seven years earlier, she, her husband Tom and their three children moved from the North Shore to Japan for two years. In a career that spans 35 years since she graduated from Boston University, Cheatham has lived 11 years in Israel, where Tom graduated university, served in the Army and started a business. And she has taught — English, sewing and geography — to children and adults in places as varied as India, Peru, Macedonia, and Ghana. “What I love is putting myself in positions I’ve never been in before and rediscovering myself,” says Cheatham, an enthusiastic educator who taught at Cohen Hillel for more than 10 years before leaving the school to pursue other opportunities in the late 90s. In the past four years she has worked with special-needs preschoolers at the North Shore Education Consortium in West Peabody. At CHA, she will serve as a kind of community ambassador, seeking to spur recruitment efforts and reverse declining enrolment. She succeeds Amy Farber, who, created the admission office eight years ago and established the existing recruitment program. Suzie
didn’t go looking for the new job. Head of School Robert Tornberg
went looking for her. Why? Her goal, he says, is to “grow the school by helping people see what an amazing place we have here: academically, Jewishly and for building mensches.”
Marblehead Group Keeps Yiddish Culture Alive Michael
Sidman When I walked into the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore Yiddish Club on June 7, I saw what I expected: four people. They were Goldie Greenbaum, May Shafferman, Ruth Shanker, and Archie Axelrod. I sat down and listened to fragments of Yiddish conversations I could not understand, and did not expect to. This is what I expected from a Yiddish Club. Then, in walked Morris Krachman, the group’s leader, who politely introduced himself, placed a bell in front of him on the table, and said “We even start the meeting on Jewish time!” It was now 2:10, and in came Ira Barnett, Mildred Huberman, Bertha Levine, Leo Golub, Sophie Katz, Esther Esses, Jean Sherman, Betty Alperin, Phil Tanzer, and Sumner and Edith Backer. What had just 10 minutes earlier been a relatively quiet gathering, became something completely different. With now 15 people, the room was buzzing with Yiddish culture, from a heated debate about President Reagan in mixed Yiddish and English, to Yiddish jokes. (Morris Krachman tells Leo Golub that the birds have been messing on his windshield. “They’re anti-Semites!” Leo says.) Before Morris begins the group, he turns to me and asks, “Do you know Yiddish?” I reply, “Only a little,” as I try to remember when my grandmother used to speak it, and the more risqué phrases that have survived with popularity. He says something to me in Yiddish and I don’t understand a word. “Well, sit there, enjoy yourself, and listen,” Morris says, “Maybe you’ll learn something.” The meeting comes to order with the sound of the bell in front of Morris. He points to the bell and says, “That’s law and order.” Then the kibitzing begins. For example, this is Jean Sherman’s first meeting in a while, because she had just returned from Florida where she couldn’t help but notice that Jewish culture was disappearing. The
purpose of the Yiddish Club is to embrace the Yiddish language and culture
in those who actually grew up hearing it and speaking it at home. Leo Golub gets up and begins to hand out what he calls “vocabulary cards”. On them are Yiddish phrases translated (and transliterated) into English. “Better to lose with a wise man,” reads one member, “than to win with a fool.” Once the cards have been read, it’s social time. Everyone gets up for coffee, tea, chocolates, and cookies. Though the Yiddish Club is on break, nothing has changed. The gathering still keeps alive another time and place. Leo discusses his first job after he left university. He was paid eight dollars a week and had to cover his own travel expenses. Edith Backer mentions that, years ago, when traveling, one could always find other Jews across the world and communicate with them in Yiddish. Over coffee and cookies, the group explains to me that Yiddish (a dialect of German mixed with Hebrew and Russian) was the mother tongue of East European and Russian Jews in pre-WWII Europe. It was a language that the Jews could speak without having to worry about government persecution. “So what,” I ask, “is the future of Yiddish?” This is a harder question to answer, because while Yiddish is slowly disappearing, it is growing in the ultra-Orthodox communities. Some members believe that Yiddish will be kept alive through Yiddish culture. Arguably the greatest and most important Jewish literature came from authors like Sholom Aleichem, I.B. Singer, etc. The group agreed that while Yiddish may be losing its importance, Yiddish literature and culture are an integral part of even a modern-day Jewish identity. At the end of the meeting, Golub begins to read out Yiddish words that have been integrated permanently into the English language. Words like klutz, schtick, mensch, and chutzpah. This is an exercise to show that Yiddish has adapted to its modern surroundings. Miriam Weinstein, author of the Jewish Book Award-Winning Yiddish: A Nation of Words, says, “We’re missing an extraordinary opportunity to connect with a great literature and an amazing story of cultural survival. The literature should be studied, and the story should be told.” The meeting ends as abruptly as it begins, and my previous belief that I was going to witness an obsolete practice has changed. So, as Morris suggested, I did learn something.
U.N. Holds Anti-Semitism Conference Rachel
Pomerance UNITED NATIONS — The June 22 U.N. conference on anti-Semitism was only the latest in a slew of recent international events addressing the growth in anti-Semitic activity worldwide. The difference was that the host of the conference turned the mirror on itself. “The U.N. has become the leading global purveyor of anti-Semitism, intolerance and inequality against the Jewish people and its state,” said Anne Bayefsky, a Columbia University law school professor whose speech at the conference drew thunderous applause. The conference, which was open to U.N. non-governmental organizations, member states and the public, came on the heels of conferences on anti-Semitism by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Berlin and Paris, as well as other recent gatherings. Organized by the U.N. Department of Public Information, the conference began with an opening address by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and included a lineup primarily of Jewish organizational officials. Many of the speakers used the platform before some 650 attendees to list a litany of grievances against the international body, from its lopsided level of condemnation of Israel to its failure to pass a resolution exclusively condemning anti-Semitism. Several also noted that one of the most egregious examples of anti-Semitism came under U.N. auspices: the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in which widespread hate speech and incitement against Jews and Israel prompted Israel and the United States to leave the event. At the same time, in addressing the conference and in news releases afterward, many Jewish organizational officials called the event a landmark step in repairing the relationship between Jews and the United Nations, which was created after the defeat of Nazism to promote international cooperation and peace. “This institution is beginning to say there is a problem, there is an issue,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, signifying that it was a first step toward addressing the issue. In his opening remarks to the gathering, Annan said, “Let us acknowledge that the United Nations’ record on anti-Semitism has at times fallen short of our ideals. The General Assembly resolution of 1975, equating Zionism with racism, was an especially unfortunate decision.” That decision was repealed in 1991, but the United Nations continues regularly to single out Israel for criticism. Annan called on the United Nations to follow the action of the OSCE in condemning acts of anti-Semitism and urged the U.N. human rights representatives on racism and religious freedom to “actively explore ways of combating anti-Semitism more effectively.” For their part, Jewish figures praised Annan for his remarks and challenged him to make good on his words. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, said he mistakenly thought anti-Semitism had died in Auschwitz. But
“only the Jews perished there. Anti-Semitism is alive and well,”
he said. “We must prevent the world from entering that fear of the
future and the choice is always ours.” Very
few Arab and European diplomats showed up for the conference. Israeli
officials took note only of diplomats from Algeria, Egypt, the Palestinian
mission and Germany. “We would have been happier if there were more non-Jews and there were more diplomats” from the international community, Mekel said. But, he added, “I urge Jewish organizations and ourselves to see the full half of the glass. It’s the first time anything like this is being done.” Calling Annan’s speech an “action plan,” he said, “the next few months will be the test.” Others said they felt the heavily Jewish atmosphere gave Jews their day at the United Nations without facing opposition or controversy. At the least, “this is now on the record at the U.N.,” said Mark Weitzman, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Task Force Against Hate.
Features Young
Jewish Entrepreneurs Susan
Jacobs Steve Cushinsky How
old are you? Please
describe your business. How
long has it been in existence? What
motivated you to choose this particular career? What
was your training/ education? What
hesitations or concerns did you have when starting your business? What
were some of the hurdles you faced when you first started out? I wanted our office to be different from your typical office environment. I wanted it to be casual, pleasant, and I didn’t want us to have a structured hierarchy. Although my title was president/CEO, I was (and still am) willing to type letters to get a job done. At the time, this was considered unusual, but today it is a more accepted business practice. At Act One we don’t wear suits, and we try to have fun while at work.We have a dart board, putting green and video games in the office. I encourage the staff to take walks on the beach during lunch. After work, we often join together for activities such as Red Sox games, wine tastings and theatrical events. What
are some of the obstacles or challenges that you face now in your business? Has
being Jewish had any influence on your business? What
are your plans for the future? Anything
else? People in the News
Community
Forum Robert I. Lappin Editor’s Note: The Journal encourages submissions from readers on subjects of general interest. Other viewpoints are also welcome. 1. The Arabs and Islam are dedicated to the eventual destruction of Israel. 2. The Arab and Islamic world is permeated with hatred of Israel and Jews. Arab and Palestinian school curricula are saturated with this hatred. 3. So-called radical Islam is dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization. 4. Radical Islam and so-called moderate Islam are indistinguishable because there are no sincere or significant Arab or Islamic protests or criticism of Arab and Islamic terror tactics, including homicidal suicide bombings. 5. Contrary to popular perception, the Palestinians are Johnny-come-latelies, not an ancient people. They emerged as an identifiable group in 1948, following the re-birth of Israel. Until then, they were part of the Arab people. Between 1948 and 1967, when Jordan controlled the West Bank, and Egypt controlled Gaza, their “nationhood” was largely invisible, unclaimed, and unrecognized. 6. Although there were no “settlements” in 1948, nor during the intervening years to 1967, the Arabs attacked Israel continuously. 7. The call for the removal of settlements is nothing less than an endorsement of ethnic cleansing. If true peace is the objective, and land upon which settlements stand is ceded to the Palestinians, why should Jews be driven out? What if they choose to stay, just as Arabs reside in Israel? 8. Another widely accepted myth is that the West Bank and Gaza are areas that belong to the Palestinians. Israel acquired control of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip in 1967, when Jordan — along with her Arab neighbors, — attempted, but failed, to conquer Israel. These territories were at no time legal Arab possessions, in conformance with international law. 9. The
Bible includes an incontestable, detailed document, deeding the Land of
Israel to the Jewish people, in perpetuity. Regardless of religious belief,
or absence thereof, the authenticity of the deed is without question. 10. There are 22 Arab countries, all dictatorships of one kind or another, essentially bereft of human rights, particularly women. Arab and Islamic contributions to the fields of human endeavor have been nil in the last 1,000 years, despite their enormous oil wealth. Violence within Arab societies is endemic. Wherever Arab and Christian communities interface, persecution of Christians is the order of the day. Wherever Arab and Islamic nations interface with non-Arab nations, all over the globe, there is bloody violence. 11. World Arab population: 300 million. Arab land area: 5,354,002 square miles; World Jewish population: 13.6 million; Israel’s Jewish population: 5.4 million; Israel’s land area: 8,473 square miles. 12. Deepest insight into Arab and Palestinian mentality and morality is gained by understanding the implications of a society that approves and encourages the practices of child-sacrifice: mothers willingly offering up the lives of their children for the purpose of terrorizing and destroying another nation, by murdering its children and innocents. Mr. Lappin, a native of Salem, is a long-time activist, advocate, and supporter of the Jewish people, Israel, and the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. Tips for Learning to Live Alone After a Loss Lisa
M. Petsche When a loved one they lived with passes away, many older adults face the challenge of learning to live alone — some for the first time. Loneliness may be profound, and difficult to overcome. If you are in this situation, following are some tips that can help: • Give yourself permission to feel all of the emotions that surface, including resentment and frustration. Recognize that there will be good days and bad days, and be extra good to yourself on the bad ones. Prepare a list of things to do on such days — indulgences to give you a lift, as well as tasks or projects to tackle that will give you a sense of satisfaction (for example, de-cluttering various areas of your home). • Get out of the house every day. • Look after your physical health: eat nutritious meals, get adequate rest and exercise regularly. This will help ward off depression. Consider joining a dinner club, fitness center or exercise class, which also combats isolation. • Cultivate some solitary pastimes, such as doing crossword puzzles, woodworking, gardening, writing or sketching. Learn to enjoy your own company, recognizing that it’s possible to be alone without feeling lonely. • Sign up for an adult education course or lessons that interest you. For example, gourmet cooking, pottery or modern jazz. (Check out the programs available at the local recreation center or senior center as well as educational institutions.) Learning something new can be energizing and confidence boosting, and in the process you might make new friends. • Get involved in your community by volunteering, perhaps with a neighborhood association, charitable cause, political campaign or environmental issue. Or, look for a job if you’re able-bodied and finances are a concern. • Take the initiative in calling friends and relatives to talk or arrange to get together. Instead of waiting for invitations, extend them. • Do nice things for others, especially those who are also going through a difficult time. This takes your mind off your own situation, boosts your self-esteem and strengthens relationships. • Find at least one person you can talk to openly, who will listen and understand. Consider joining a community support group for widows, or an Internet one if it’s hard to get out or you prefer anonymity. • Write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences in a journal, chronicling your journey of self-discovery and growth. • Nurture your spirit by doing things that bring inner peace, such as practicing yoga, reading something uplifting, listening to soothing music or communing with nature. • Turn to your faith for comfort. Pray for guidance and strength in dealing with challenges. • Take things one day at a time so as not to get overwhelmed. Plan your days so you don’t have too much free time on your hands. • If you don’t like coming home to silence, leave the television or radio on when you go out. • Get a pet. Cats and dogs provide companionship and affection, and give you a sense of purpose. Owning a dog also ensures you get out of the house and get regular exercise, facilitates socialization and offers security. • If feelings of isolation persist, look into options such as taking in a boarder, sharing accommodation with a relative or friend, relocating to a condominium or apartment in a senior living community; or, if your health is frail, moving into a retirement home. Don’t make such a major decision hastily, though. If you were a caregiver and put your personal life on hold, now is the time to re-invest in yourself, resuming former interests or pursuing new ones, and nurturing neglected relationships as well as expanding your social network. Whether or not your loved one’s death was anticipated, the reality of being on your own may initially seem overwhelming and perhaps frightening. However, with time, patience and trust in your resilience, you will be able to successfully adapt to your new circumstances. You may even end up growing in ways you could not have imagined. Lisa M. Petsche is a clinical social worker and freelance writer specializing in health and senior issues. Community
Forum Douglas
B. Reeves Two Jewish communities with great histories, justifiable pride, and extraordinary potential — Temple Beth El and Temple Israel — are now on the brink of a decision that will profoundly influence the future of education, community service, and ritual observance for decades to come. In a matter of days, the Swampscott congregations will decide whether to proceed with a new beginning, a B’resheit. Although members of both temples have worked diligently to consider matters including facilities, memorials, educational services, staff, and many other areas, the practical implementation of a new temple remains an enigma. To some congregants, this ambiguity is intolerable, and they prefer the “safe” alternative of the status quo, in which both temples suffer from declining membership and revenues and a ratio of funerals to bar/bat-mitzvahs that speaks for itself. Whatever decision the congregations make on June 27, it will be clouded in uncertainty and doubt. The choice is not a perfect one; indeed, either choice is fraught with ambiguity, frustration, and dissatisfaction. There is only one guarantee: We will make mistakes. The central question is this: Shall we make the mistake of inertia, guided by our fears, or shall we make the awkward, painful, and inevitable mistakes that are guided by hope? I respectfully suggest that we choose the latter. The
Inevitability of Change A vote against proceeding with combining the two temples is not a vote against change but only a vote to make the inevitable change process slower and perhaps more painful. Neither is a vote against proceeding with combining a vote in favor of preservation of the physical properties and all the sacred memories that they hold. Without a vibrant and engaged congregation that equally values the wisdom of its seniors and the energy of its youth, the buildings will be museums, no more temples than some European cathedrals that once served as communities of faith and now are collections of artifacts, not sacred places of memory. Valid
Questions A
New Vision Optimism and hope define and ennoble the Jewish community. The issue before us is whether we can distinguish the hope for a new center of Jewish observance and learning on the North Shore from a pipe dream. Dreams can be utilitarian, fantastic, and obscure, as they were for many Biblical characters. Visions can be inspiring, compelling, and specific, as they were for our ancestors who saw a City on a Hill long before it took material form. If there is to be a new beginning of Conservative Judaism on the North Shore, we will need not only fantasies, but visions. We will need not only votes, but commitment. We will need not only bold leaders, but trusting followers. Above all, we will need to respect the concerns, doubts, and questions in every part of the community. And then, with hope and confidence in a vision to be crafted by the entire community, we choose to proceed to make that vision a reality, completing the mosaic, piece by piece. Every member of Temples Beth El and Israel holds a piece of the mosaic and, in the years to come, can place his/her tile on the wall that will represent our community. Whatever the vote on June 27, the walls of both temples will inevitably come down some day. As sad as that may be to contemplate, we must think also of the new wall that could be erected, and a piece of the mosaic that every member of the Jewish community holds, pieces that will be on that new wall. That vision will be incomplete when a single member adds a tile to the mosaic. But the vision will take form, gain clarity, and provide inspiration for generations to come if every member adds a tile to the mosaic and shares the vision of what it means for us and succeeding generations. Douglas B. Reeves is chair of the Center For Performance Assessment with offices in Denver and Boston. He is a member of Temple Israel
Arts & EntertainmentA Sleeper of a Holocaust Love Story Mark
Arnold Gloomy Sunday, Distributed by Menemsha Films, Playing at Hollywood Hits, Danvers. In German with English subtitles. It was the title of a song made famous by blues singer Billie Holiday, and it’s the theme of a movie you may never have heard of: Gloomy Sunday. The film was released last November with little publicity, which is a pity, because it is a beautiful film. It is playing locally to small houses and will be gone soon — before most members of the North Shore Jewish community have a chance to see, or even hear about, it. It features a song so haunting that it causes suicides and a bizarre love triangle involving a gorgeous woman, Ilona (Erika Marozsan), and the two men who share her affections: Laslo (Joachim Krol), an ethnic — though not religious — Jew who owns the upscale restaurant where Ilona works as a hostess, and Andras (Stefanio Dionisi), the sensitive pianist and composer of the mournful tune, who entertains Laslo’s customers. The story is set in Budapest in the 30s, as the Nazis are taking over Hungary, and concerns the duplicitous role of a German commander who allows Jews to buy their freedom while he pockets their life’s savings. The love trio expands as he uses his growing power to bed Ilona. She gets her revenge in the end. The plot is intricate, plausible, the acting highly credible. Erica Marozsan is a rare beauty of a woman — worth the price of admission herself. This is a film of interest to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences alike, not to be missed. It’s a pity Jewish film purveyors haven’t yet discovered it. A Collection of Jewish Stories Lee
Rosenthal An Hour in Paridise, by Joan Leegant, W.W. Norton, New York, 2003, 224 pages, $23.95 This collection of short stories takes its title from a Yiddish proverb: Even an hour in Paradise is worthwhile. From Brookline to Sarasota, from New York to Jerusalem, we glimpse changes and challenges in the lives of today’s Jews who strive toward that moment of grace. Samuel Steele, an aging rabbi in a dying shul in Brookline, searches his texts to find an answer to his question: Do Siamese twins count as one or two persons for the purpose of a minyan? They were brought in for a morning service by Lefkowitz, his trusty friend, but Samuel has never seen them. After the service he looks for them, but can’t find them. It seems that they never existed. He wonders if the twins may have been Elijah, helping him out of a tight spot. Reuven, a young drug dealer who is attempting to rehabilitate himself, is asked by his rabbi to visit a dying AIDS patient in the hospital. “Bring a glass of water, smooth the blankets, whatever they ask. Small acts of kindness, like what a child would do,” suggests his rabbi. In spite of cynicism, doubt, and lapses (like gulping down a bacon cheeseburger), Reuven finds himself hurrying to the hospital to get to the dying man while he is still among the living. In “The Lament of the Rabbi’s Daughters,” four sisters come together from their various worlds to meet Miri, another sister who has been missing for many years. All of their lives change as a result, as each sees her sisters in a different light and achieves an insight into their own needs. Throughout many of these ten stories, the Jewish religion and the experience of Israel have an impact on the lives and decisions of the characters, who are explicitly drawn, yet so believable that we are sure we have met people just like them. There are two exceptions in which the Jewish religion and Israel itself do not play an explicit part but which portray American Jews whom we cannot help but recognize as having Jewish sensibilities. In “Mezivosky,” we have an unsparing characterization of a Russian immigrant who is arrogant and self-deceiving, critical of everything American, yet beneath it all, we realize he is helpless. Blustering to the last, he finally allows his neighbor to help him get a job. Then there is “Accounting,” in which an aging Jewish couple in Queens copes with the misdeeds of their handsome, unreliable, exploitative son. There is humor, too. In “The Diviners of Desire,” Ruti Shtarr, successful shadchan for 21 years in Jerusalem, has helped many an American girl find a suitable husband. Now she is tired and wants to turn in her matchmaking badge. She takes on one last client, Shoshana, formerly Susan, who has many prohibitions and vague desires, a difficult case. In the meantime, Liebel the butcher, whose shop is an oasis of information for newcomers, wants to help Shoshana, a customer. In the end, it is he who is responsible for finding the perfect match for Shoshana, as well as a perfect beef stew with which to charm him. The author has provided a wealth of detail: the sounds and smells, the food, the little quirks that make her characters real. In each story, we find ourselves drawn in – to the places she describes and into the heart of each individual. This is an engrossing group of stories. Lee Rosenthal is a retired New York City newspaper reporter and copy editor who now lives in Salem.
EditorialThe
U.N. Record on Anti-Semitism Though it was born in the ashes of World War II — fought to keep Hitler from exterminating the Jewish people, in six decades of existence the U.N. has never specifically condemned anti-Semitism. The infamous 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism has thankfully been repealed. Yet in 2001, the U.N. convened a World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, which provided a megaphone for the most vicious anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda by extremist U.N. members bent on Israel’s destruction. Annually, the U.N. produces resolutions and reports documenting discrimination against Muslims and Arabs, but none on hatred and defamation of Jews. More than 25 per cent of the resolutions condemning human rights violations adopted by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights have been directed at Israel, none at Arab or Muslim states. Six of the 10 General Assembly emergency sessions have been devoted to denunciations of Israel. No such session has been held on the Rwandan genocide, ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia, or two decades of atrocities in the Sudan. Palestinian suicide bombings against innocent civilians escape U.N. denunciation time and again, but not Israel’s attempts to curb them. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan sounded the right notes in his opening statement at the June conference, urging steps to combat anti-Semitism “more effectively.” But it will take more than a one-time event to turn the U.N. tide. As Anne Payefsky, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and an authority on the U.N.’s record on Jewish issues, told the gathering: “The U.N. has become the leading global purveyor of anti-Semitism — intolerance and inequaltiy against the Jewish people and its state.” — Mark R. Arnold Local ColumnistsAfter Iraq, Where Will Terrorists Go Now?
When the new Iraqi Council took sovereignty June 28, Moslem insurgents saw the results of their use of small weapons, plastic bombs and butcher knives. The world superpower, the United States, was pressured to turn over authority long before it thought the Iraqis were ready to accept it. If you think the threat and reality of suicide bombings, indiscriminate urban killings, capturing and beheading soldiers and innocent civilians is high now, wait six months, and look in the western countries. After Iraq, where will those disaffected, brainwashed, mal educated, personally goalless, young Jihads go? Israel would be a great target, Europe and the United States just as good. And don’t forget Saudi Arabia or other Arab countries not toeing the fanatical Moslem line or just chosen as needing a lot of chaos and terror. We know how the Moslem countries got into this situation: colonialism, independence with borders drawn in Europe, despotism in military, religious or monarchical dress, school and social systems majoring in hating the West generally and Jews and Israel in particular, inability and/or unwillingness to industrialize, modernize and democratize. The Arab leaders reap now what they have sowed; the West pays the price for ignoring the hate, forgiving the transgressions and assisting and arming the despots, all in the service of a low-cost uninterrupted oil supply and a degree of quietude. Now the Bush administration is putting on a happy face about turning over sovereignty to the Iraqi Governing Council. The truth is that the suicide bombers, those making and placing the roadside bombs, those capturing soldiers and civilians and beheading them on television, have pushed us out. President Bush was one-upped by the insurgents and the American-appointed council, who demanded the date of June 30. If the public understood all this, then the President and his advisors would and could not put on the Happy Face. But the public doesn’t understand because of information overload, cynicism about elected officials and all those special commission reports and books, and the general negative state of politics. Americans aren’t dumb; they are just tired. How many times in recent months have I heard: “I don’t know what to believe, whom to believe, who is honest, and who cares more for the country than for their own election or career.” The turnover of power and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in months (I doubt if it will be years) will likely unleash attacks on the home soil of the western nations. These moderately trained, well indoctrinated, adventure seeking youths will not disappear and will likely reemerge as an army of cells dedicated to murder, destruction and terror in Europe and the United States. It is big, profitable business for the leaders; and fun and games and excitement and sometimes heavenly heroism for the followers. I’d rather be wrong than prescient. But, at a minimum, the issues and complications of the situation must be shared with the public. Terrorism must be taken personally and seriously and there are roles to play beyond going about our normal materialistic business. I am talking of conservation of all kinds, particularly reducing oil imports. I am talking of less flag waving and more banner sharing with the nations of Europe. And more, including rational security measures (to be discussed in future columns.) To accomplish that, national leadership must act a lot smarter and proactive than what I see in Washington today.
Revelation: Meeting My ‘Mr. Right’
In the world of my childhood, people promised he would be like Prince Charming, the fairy tale fellow. In college, my Jewish friends referred to him as Adon Nachon — Mr. Right — and we sought him fervently and passionately, by ourselves and in roving bands of discerning sidekicks, in each class and at every social gathering. Thereafter, one of my roommates described him in terms befitting the messiah, saying she was seeking her basherte — her predestined one. So one day, when a disheveled looking man with a rolled up brown bag filled with grapes stumbled across my threshold, it took me a few hours to discern that it was he whom I had been seeking. I didn’t think that my basherte’s name would be so common — Steve. Nor did I expect that he would have a sibilant “S,” when he spoke. He was tall and gangly and needed a haircut. I could barely understand what he did for work. What, after all, could one make of his dissertation topic — the history of economic historiography? I yawned uncontrollably every time he mentioned it. In my family of origin, one was taught to respect the world of objects. Steve barely knew such a world existed. With the first cup of coffee I handed him, Steve proceeded to place it at his feet on my new wool rug, and then kick it over absent-mindedly as he blathered on about some farm he had photographed in Nicaragua the previous month. As I mopped up the coffee and blotted the rug, I conspired with myself to arrange his exit. Cute, yes. Some might say handsome. But really just another dud, another frog in the freak show of life. It was as we parted, as we wished each other well on our separate paths, that the veil was suddenly lifted and I saw, for the first time, a glimpse of he whom my soul had been seeking. I wanted to save the Jewish people from extinction. Steve, the child of Holocaust survivors, was driven to the same end. This mutual discovery sent us back into my little apartment on 19th Street. We sat and talked tachlis (about the things that really matter) until the sun came up. By then I had become the bride in the Chagall painting of my life. Violins and lit candles revolved in the sky. Twenty-five
years later to the day, I am the same blunt and unsentimental realist
I was on the warm July night when I first met my basherte. I continue
to wipe up his spilled coffee and yawn at his often bizarrely abstract
utterances. But I am also profoundly transformed by the human being I
met on that warm July evening in 1979. If not for my commitment to the
Jewish people, I might have closed my apartment door and continued the
search for Adon Nachon. Instead, in pursuing that common bond, I found
my yedid nefesh — my soul mate. Life
is like a workshop for the soul, a hobby for those of us who like to tinker
with character, vision, and possibility. Across 25 years — taking
into account the typical bumps and bashertlichkeit crises —
the glass-half-empty girl has been fortified by her relationship with
the cup-runneth-over boy. No doubt, each of us is better having absorbed
and incorporated the strengths of the other. No doubt but that this is
what the Torah means when it directs a man and a woman to cleave to each
other to become one.
Madonna: The New Face of Jewish Mysticism?
I just heard on the radio that Madonna is planning a tour of holy places in Israel with a group of Kabbalah students next October. It’s just one more way she’s expressing her growing affinity for Jewish mysticism. In case you haven’t heard, the Material Girl has a new moniker, Esther. The question on everyone’s mind is…why Esther? And why break the news now? (Could it be impeccably timed with the release of her latest children’s book, Yakov and the Seven Thieves?) And truly, why do we care? I must say that in some ways the two women are curiously similar. Madonna and Queen Esther are both risk-takers, strong women and very adept at getting what they want. Charming, colorful and masterful at using their womanly wiles, they have achieved international acclaim. Both are calculating and adored by their husbands. Queen Esther reigned as the Queen of Persia while Madonna has enjoyed the throne as the Queen of Pop Music for decades. While Queen Esther used her power to save the Jewish people, Madonna has revolutionized music and marketing. (Let’s not even get into her foray in adult books.) In other ways Queen Esther and Madonna are polar opposites. While Queen Esther was born Jewish and had to hide her heritage, Madonna was raised Catholic, openly studies Kabbalah and I recently read she dons teffilin and a Jewish star. Queen Esther led the Jewish people to safety. Madonna follows the Jewish people to the Kabbalah Center. I am not sure who would win in an arm wrestle, but they both could definitely beat me. It’s
easy (and way too fun) to mock Madonna and think that her interest in
Judaism and Kabbalah is yet another marketing scheme to attract the limelight,
but I watched a clip of her interview on 20/20 (for research purposes,
of course), and I have to admit that I found her to be forthright and
genuine. She is searching, pondering and evolving — not to mention
making piles of money. I envy Madonna’s moxie and have dreamed of
re-inventing myself many times. I may ask the editor if I could change
my byline to Golda and see what type of karmic energy it creates. seems a bit ironic. Entertainers may be able to lift our spirits, but let’s not confuse this with spirituality. Madonna may be the right choice for a Gap ad campaign, but I don’t think she’s in the top ten as the new face of Jewish mysticism.
Israel Has Won Against Intifada
That did not happen. Israel’s economy was certainly wounded, but it is growing again. Tourism had dwindled to almost nothing at the height of the intifada, but tourists are returning. And the Israelis were never demoralized. They kept living their lives, the young people in particular returning to cafes and discos and buses just hours after a horrific bombing. Israelis turned out to be a lot tougher and braver than the Palestinians had imagined. The end of the intifada does not mean the end of terrorism. There was terrorism before the intifada and there will be terrorism to come. What has happened, however, is an end to systematic, regular, debilitating, unstoppable terror — terror as a reliable weapon. At the height of the intifada, there were nine suicide attacks in Israel killing 85 Israelis in just one month (March 2002). In the past three months there have been none. The overall level of violence has been reduced by more than 70 percent. How did Israel do it? By ignoring its critics and launching a two-pronged campaign of self-defense. First, Israel targeted terrorist leaders — attacks so hypocritically denounced by Westerners who, at the same time, cheer the hunt for, and demand the head of, Osama bin Laden. The top echelon of Hamas and other terrorist groups has been either arrested, killed or driven underground. The others are now so afraid of Israeli precision and intelligence — the last Hamas operative to be killed by missile was riding a motorcycle — that they are forced to devote much of their time and energy to self-protection and concealment. Second, the fence. Only about a quarter of the separation fence has been built, but its effect is unmistakable. The northern part is already complete, and attacks in northern Israel have dwindled to almost nothing. This success does not just save innocent lives; it changes the strategic equation of the whole conflict. Yasser Arafat started the intifada in September 2000, just weeks after he had rejected, at Camp David, Israel’s offer of withdrawal, settlement evacuation, sharing of Jerusalem and establishment of a Palestinian state. Arafat wanted all that, of course, but without having to make peace and recognize a Jewish state. Hence the terror campaign — to force Israel to give it all up unilaterally. Arafat failed spectacularly. The violence did not bring Israel to its knees. Instead, it created chaos, lawlessness and economic disaster in the Palestinian areas. The Palestinians know the ruin that Arafat has brought, and they are beginning to protest it. He promised them blood and victory; he delivered on the blood. Even more important, they have lost their place at the table. Israel is now defining a new equilibrium that will reign for years to come — the separation fence is unilaterally drawing the line that separates Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians were offered the chance to negotiate that frontier at Camp David and chose war instead. Now they are paying the price. It stands to reason. It is the height of absurdity to launch a terrorist war against Israel, then demand the right to determine the nature and route of the barrier built to prevent that very terrorism. These new strategic realities are not just creating a new equilibrium, they are creating the first hope for peace since Arafat officially tore up the Oslo accords four years ago. Once Israel has withdrawn from Gaza and has completed the fence, terrorism as a strategic option will be effectively dead. The only way for the Palestinians to achieve statehood and dignity, and to determine the contours of their own state, will be to negotiate a final peace based on genuine coexistence with a Jewish state. It could be a year, five years or a generation until the Palestinians come to that realization. The pity is that so many, Arab and Israeli, will have had to die before then. © 2004, Jewish World Review, jewishworldreview.com, June 18, 2004.
Jews Have Even More Political Clout Mark Arnold’s column (June 18) on the ability of American Jews to “tip the scales” of the coming Presidential election was perhaps correct on the politics, but wrong, wrong, wrong on the demographics of Jews in America. Arnold notes that Jews are only 2 percent of the American population, which is true but irrelevant. American presidents are not elected by the general population. Presidents are elected by a portion of the electorate: those people who are registered to vote and go to the polls to do so. American Jews traditionally vote in far higher percentages than the 50 percent or so of the electorate who vote in Presidental elections. That fact inflates Jewish presence in the electorate to 4 or 5 percent or more, thus increasing Jews’ political clout far beyond their numbers in the general society. Arnold writes further that Jewish presence in elected offices is far greater too. Eleven percent of the U.S. Senate is Jewish, even though only 2 percent of all Americans are Jewish. But demographically, this is not an oddity at all. Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine a big circle. This is the set of all 300 million Americans. Now imagine within that big circle a tiny circle. This is the subset of all American Jews. Now imagine an even tinier circle. This is the subset of Americans who have the distinction, the desire, and the ambition to be elected to the U.S. Senate. This circle, not suprisingly, has a large intersection with the subset of all Jews. Looked at this way, Jews may be under-represented in the Senate. Utimately, whether American Jews can “tip the balance” of the Presidential election depends not on the number of American Jews, but on who we are, and how ardently we vote. William
Wallen
Retiring Staffer Praises Hillel Experience In 1995, I added to my role as a parent at Cohen Hillel Academy (CHA) that of Hillel administrator. As Director of Admissions for these past eight years, it has been my privilege and joy to share Cohen Hillel Academy with many, many people. The job has offered many rewards. One of my favorite parts has been walking parents through the school. It confirms for me over and over again what a caring, happy, stimulating, and creative place Hillel is for children. Visitors are always incredibly impressed with the smiles and warmth they feel as they wander through the halls. It is not uncommon for children from kindergarten through eighth grade to spontaneously greet newcomers with confidence and poise. My greatest reward has been getting to know each and every child who has entered the school. It is an indescribable pleasure to watch them grow and mature before my eyes. I will always cherish the memories of kindergartners parading by my office on their way to music class, and of eighth graders eagerly volunteering to work with me at open houses, offering to give tours and show off their school to prospective parents. Filled with staff, teachers, and administrators who genuinely care about imparting human and Jewish values along with academic excellence and character development to their charges, CHA is a unique jewel on the North Shore. It has impacted my life and that of my family immeasurably and I will be forever grateful. As I step down, I wish my successor, Suzie Cheatham, all the joy and more that I have experienced as Director of Admissions. Amy
Farber Weitz Thanks Community for Award I would like to express my profound gratitude to my family, friends, colleagues and this wonderful community. Your outpouring of love and support for me as I received the First Annual Social Justice and Human Rights award from The Holocaust Center was spectacular. Thank you for sharing with me this unforgettable moment on June 17. I promise to spend the rest of my life attempting to be worthy of this tribute and I hope that you will help me by supporting the important work of The Holocaust Center. Sonia
Schreiber Weitz,
Chabad Outreach Criticized In 1948 my husband and I, newlyweds, joined Temple B’nai Abraham (TBA) of Beverly. There was a membership of some 400 families then, a Sisterhood, a Ladies’ Aid Society, a president, a Hebrew school, etc. We were happy to belong. Men and women could sit together to worship. Today, with approximately 170 families, TBA is still in existence, with a fine rabbi, a good Hebrew school, a cemetery and a place for congregants to say Kaddish and worship on the High Holidays, if not on Shabbat. Congregants pay dues. Along comes Chabad, a group of Jewish missionaries, to make inroads in our existing Jewish community. It offers free picnics, free Hebrew school; essentially free Judaism. As a committed Jew, I can not quarrel with Chabad’s mission. But why can’t they go to Manchester-by-the-Sea or Alaska, or the Yukon Territory, instead of boring from within the fabric of established synagogues and temples? We don | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||