| The Jewish Journal Archive | ||||||||||||||
| June 18 - July 1, 2004 | ||||||||||||||
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Local
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Local StoriesMission
Accomplished Susan
Jacobs
It cost $61,700 to purchase the ambulance. He pledged to solicit $100 from 617 donors. He made his initial plea from the pulpit of Temple Sinai last Yom Kippur, and the North Shore community stepped up to the challenge. Over the course of several months, Zolot received 498 individual contributions, from Jews and non-Jews alike, in denominations ranging from $5 to $6,000. A total of $65,000 was raised, enough to purchase the ambulance, as well as some additional equipment such as a defibrillator. On June 13, the shiny white Magen David Adom ambulance with a red Jewish star was unveiled to the community at a dedication ceremony attended by 150 supporters. On the door was the inscription: Presented to the People of Israel With Love By the Men, Women and Children of the North Shore, Marblehead and Swampscott, Massachusetts, USA 2004. (A typographical error on the “with” will be corrected before the ambulance is shipped to Israel). “Thank you for your contributions and for literally making my dream come true,” said Zolot, as he presented the keys to the vehicle to the Honorable Dr. Hillel Newman, the Israeli Consul for New England, who spoke on Diaspora support of Israel. “Magen David Adom saves lives, regardless of race or ethnicity. It represents the true democracy of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East,” said Newman, who pointed out that terrorists, as well as victims, get taken to the hospital in Magen David ambulances. “Israel will always be there for you. This brings us together and strengthens our link. We are all one family.” Bob
Tornberg, Head of School at Cohen Hillel Academy, praised his students,
who raised over $1,500 for the campaign. In honoring Zolot, Tornberg said,
“Arthur possesses G-d’s hands. I would like to put in his hand
a crystal keychain with a menorah and a dove of peace in hopes that someday
soon this ambulance will be used for peaceful purposes such as birthing
babies.” Joyous music was provided by the Klezmaniacs, and local resident Lynn Torgove sang “America the Beautiful” and “Hatikvah”. Children enjoyed ambulance-shaped kosher cookies decorated with Jewish stars, courtesy of Newman’s Bakery in Swampscott. Temple Sinai Rabbi Jonas Golderg praised Zolot for his personal initiative in taking on the successful project. “Each one of us is responsible for each other, and a person who saves one life is comparable to someone who saves the whole world. There’s no telling how many lives will be saved by this ambulance. Arthur took the initiative, and acted in the best of Jewish tradition to step forward. We thank those who gave of themselves financially, but we also thank Arthur for leading us,” he said. Rookie
Righthander is ‘Pitcher’ Perfect Susan
Jacobs LYNN — Jewish pitcher Jeremy Sugarman has been a sweet addition to the North Shore Spirit, an independent professional baseball team in the Northeast League that plays at Fraser Field in Lynn. The rookie righthander currently has a 4-0 record with a 3.60 ERA. Although Sugarman can also play the outfield, he prefers pitching. As a senior at Santa Monica High School, he went 9-0 with a 2.01 ERA and one save. The Kansas City Royals expressed interest in drafting the tall, good-looking teen. However Sugarman elected to attend college first. While getting a degree in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara, the native Californian logged three impressive seasons as a starter and middle reliever for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, a Division One team. He baffled batters by mixing an 86-90 mph fastball with change-ups, sinkers and sliders. At the 2001 Verizon/Rainbow Classic, a tournament held in Hawaii over Easter break, Sugarman pitched seven strong innings to earn a win, and UC Santa Barbara went on to win the championship. Sugarman wasn’t drafted out of college to an affiliated team. But in May of 2004, he was activated by the North Shore Spirit, one of eight independent professional teams in the Northeast league. At this level, competition is similar to the minor leagues. However unlike minor league farm teams, the primary objective is not to develop players for the major league parent. Sugarman was thrilled to get the call to join the Lynn-based team. “I went to San Diego to work out with Dr. Tom House, a well-known pitching coach who has worked with Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Mark Prior. He thought I had good stuff, and helped me get signed to this team,” says Sugarman, who wears #40 on his jersey. Although Sugarman enjoys pitching for the Spirit, his dream is to one day play ball for a major league team. “I’ve been a Dodger fan my whole life, and I like the San Diego Padres, but I’d be perfectly happy playing for any major league team,” says the affable Sugarman, who lives in Malibu and stays in shape during the off-season by surfing. His personal pitching heroes include former Dodger Orel Hershiser (“who gave me several good mechanical pointers”), Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Red Sox superstar Pedro Martinez (“who is fun to watch”). Sugarman
admits he does not have much time to watch Martinez, as his Spirit schedule
is pretty rigorous. As a member of the starting rotation, he generally
pitches every fifth day. However he reports to the ballpark with the team
even when he is not scheduled. On days that he starts, he arrives at the
field early, does visualizations and crossword puzzles, has a bite to
eat, and tries to stay relaxed. The night before he pitches, he carefully
analyzes pitching charts and reviews the opponents’ batting tendencies. When he is not on the road with the team, Sugarman stays in a hotel in Peabody. He admits that it is difficult for him to attend Jewish services during the baseball season. “Some of the places we go to are pretty remote, and I don’t have access [to the local synagogues.] In Peabody, I don’t have a car, which makes it difficult to get around. It’s easier when I’m home in Malibu.” When in California, Sugarman attends services with his mother and father, Liz and Steve, at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue. The family has belonged to the Reconstructionist synagogue for years. It was there that Sugarman prepared for his bar mitzvah, which he celebrated in Israel. Sugarman, who is single, is the youngest of four children. He has two brothers, Chance and Justin, and a sister, Amariah. Last summer, he volunteered at Camp Max Strauss, a sports mentoring camp in the San Fernando Valley associated with the Jewish Big Brothers Association. He played sports with troubled boys from single parent families who needed role models. Sugarman’s Jewish background has been important to him on a personal level. “It has given me a broader perspective of different cultures and helped me learn who my ancestors were, and where I came from,” he says. But he says his religion has no impact on his professional career as a ballplayer. “My religion doesn’t have much to do with whether I can play or not. I respect that there’s diverse cultures and religions playing the game. I don’t think my religion would impact my chances of playing professionally. If you can play and have talent, people don’t care what religion or color you are,” he says. “Most
people probably have no idea that I’m Jewish, but I don’t try
to hide it. My teammates who know I’m Jewish are pretty accepting.
I have encountered very few people who are uptight or critical of my religious
background. This may be because I played in a collegiate atmosphere where
people tend to be more open-minded,” he adds. Koufax, a Dodger lefthander who dominated the Major Leagues in the 1960s, made headlines for organizing his pitching schedule around the Jewish High Holidays. He earned the respect of the Jewish community when he told his coach that he would not pitch the first game of the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins because it fell on Yom Kippur. The Dodgers ultimately won the series in seven games, and Koufax, the youngest player ever to be inducted into the Hal of Fame, received his second Cy Young award. Sugarman, a fellow pitcher, admits that if he were in Koufax’s shoes, playing on Yom Kippur would be a difficult decision.“I’d probably have to play,” he shrugs.” If people are counting on you, it would be hard not to play.” Jewish Federation Seeks to Set Shofar World Record Amy
Sessler Want
to help get the North Shore Jewish community into the Guinness Book of
World Records? Well, you can. The category: most number of shofars sounded
in unison. The date was selected for its historical and religious significance. August 17 coincides with the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul, the day when Jews traditionally start to blow the shofar daily leading up to the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah on the first day of Tishrei. For
the last three years, the Federation has organized The Great Shofar Blowout,
attracting between 100 and 300 people from more than 25 communities to
come on the first day of Elul and make some noise with their shofars.
The huge turnouts prompted Federation organizers to wonder if a world
record was possible. The Great Shofar Blowout will also kick off the 2004 Community Campaign, which raises the funds that support local Jewish agencies as well as those in Israel and around the world. In ancient times, the shofar was used to call the community to action. Peter Lappin, co-chairman of the Community Campaign, said, “The campaign theme, A Call to Action, echoes the ancient shofar in calling our community to action to raise the funds necessary for maintaining a Jewish community and encouraging Jewish pride.” To
make sure everyone who wants to participate has a shofar and knows how
to sound it, the Federation is offering one-hour training sessions throughout
the summer. Participants will be given a free shofar from Israel and taught
how to use it. The one-hour training program, called Tiku Shofar, has
been operating in Hebrew schools for sixth graders and in the community,
with more than 370 shofars handed out so far. Past participants will be
encouraged to attend The Great Shofar Blowout. Although
there is no existing record for the number of shofars sounded in unison,
the Guinness World Records has set 100 real shofars as the minimum number
needed. In addition, there are many procedural matters to follow in setting
a world record, according to documentation received from the Guinness
World Records. The Great Shofar Blowout and the Tiku Shofar programs are made possible by a grant from the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation to the Jewish Continuity Committee of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. For more information or to register, contact Bobbi King at 978-564-0711 or email bking@jfns.org.
Solomont Speaks at Temple Sinai Gary
Band MARBLEHEAD
— Alan Solomont, the Massachusetts finance chair of the John Kerry
campaign, spoke before nearly 100 people at Temple Sinai in Marblehead
as part of its annual meeting on June 10. “The two most important things in politics are money and I forget the other one,” joked Solomont, who, in 1996 as Chair of the Democratic Business Council, raised $20 million from 20,000 donors. Solomont’s first political exposure was as a page at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago when the party nominated Hubert Humphrey and Solomont says he witnessed the “fracturing of the Democratic Party both on the streets and in the convention hall.” Originally from Lowell, Solomont, chair and CEO of Solomont Bailis Ventures, which “identifies and develops new innovations in health services and eldercare,” is also the chair of the board of directors of Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston, a post from which he will step down in September. Solomont says that it was only in the 1980s when national politics became dominated by television. He took his first active role in a presidential campaign working for the Michael Dukakis Campaign in 1988. “Dukakis
looked out over the crowd at the convention in Atlanta and said, ‘It
doesn’t get any better than this.’ And it didn’t,”
said Solomont. “I may have been more loyal than smart back then, but now everyone thinks I’m a genius,” said Solomont. Solomont said that the electoral college forces candidates and policy to the center. “The people who decide elections are swing voters in around 16 battleground states, including Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Whoever wins two-thirds of these states wins.” This largely depends, Solomont says, on the unity of the parties. “The best friend in America for John Kerry right now is George Bush. He is a real uniter for Democrats.”
Rally Demands Action from UN on Genocide in Sudan Gary
Band CAMBRIDGE — On June 9, one day before United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered the graduation speech at Harvard University, close to 200 people joined a rally on Cambridge Common in Harvard Square to compel Annan to intervene and stop the mass murder of some now 30,000 African Muslims in Darfur, Sudan at the hands of the Sudanese government and militias. Reports suggest that countless others have been raped, maimed and enslaved, and human rights groups are calling the situation the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” Organized by a number of Boston-based groups, including the Black Ministerial Alliance and the 10-Point Coalition, the rally was joined by a dozen Sudanese refugees, a handful of Jewish people from Sharon, Brighton, Newton and Cambridge, Rob Leikind from the Anti-Defamation League, and Charles Jacobs, founder of the American Anti-Slavery Group and The David Project, who spoke passionately on the plight of Darfur. “The UN needs to make a plan to rescue these people,” he said from the stage toward the end of the 90-minute demonstration. “This situation cannot be fixed by a speech at Harvard. If [Annan] wants to make a speech, he should go to the UN Security Council.” Jacobs, whose group sponsored a talk by Sudanese refugee and author Francis Bok at Temple Israel in Swampscott in 2003, quoted Harriet Tubman, saying, “I have heard their cries, I have seen their tears, and I will give every ounce of my blood to save them.” A Google search for Kofi Annan and Sudan yielded 61,00 hits. For Annan and Darfur, 11,000. According to a June 9 article posted on CNN.com, Annan called for the deployment of an “advance team” in Sudan to pave the way for a future UN peacekeeping mission once a comprehensive peace agreement has ended the 21-year civil war. “I am convinced that the deployment of an advance team...would show the commitment of the international community to assist the parties,” said Annan in a report presented to the UN Security Council on June 3. And according to UN spokesman Frahan Haq in New York, “The United Nations has repeatedly tried to alert the world about the situation in Sudan. Kofi Annan has been working on his own diplomatic efforts, and in a report to the Security Council said that down the road the UN may need to send a peacekeeping mission, not only for situation in Darfur, but for the entire situation in Sudan.” Haq went on to say that Annan has repeatedly called on the 181 countries in the UN to act before more people are killed. “Ultimately it’s the countries’ governments rather than the Secretary General that decides what actions will be taken on peace and security issues,” he said. On
April 7, President Bush in Crawford, and Annan in Geneva to mark the 10th
anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, called for an end to fighting in Sudan.
“New fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan has opened a new chapter of tragedy in Sudan’s troubled history,” Bush said. “The Sudanese government must immediately stop local militias from committing atrocities against the local population and must provide unrestricted access to humanitarian aid agencies. I condemn these atrocities, which are displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, and I have expressed my views directly to President [Omar] Bashir of Sudan.” Bush also said the Sudanese government “must cooperate fully in the war against terrorism.” Violence
in the oil-rich Darfur region has raged for more than a year. Rebel groups
accuse the government of arming Arab militias to carry out attacks in
the region. The government has refused outside military intervention,
although rebel groups have said they would welcome such forces. On the day of the rally, Jewish people who were asked why they were there responded similarly: Never again for us means never again for anyone who is a victim of persecution. And, according to Rabbi Robert Klapper from Harvard Hillel, “Any time there is an international moral issue, it is important for Jews to speak out.” 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. Sharon Cleared of Bribery Charges in So-Called Greek Island Affair Dan
Baron JERUSALEM — As a general, Ariel Sharon proved adept at avoiding land mines. As prime minister, he has done the same in the political arena. Sharon’s latest successful circumvention came June 15, when Israel’s attorney general announced that there was not enough evidence to press charges against Sharon on allegations of bribery. Menachem Mazuz’s decision to drop the long-running case against the prime minister came as no surprise, as media reports in recent weeks had predicted the decision. “The evidence in this case does not meet the requirement of suggesting a reasonable chance of conviction — not even close,” Mazuz, in his first major public appearance since taking office in January, told reporters in Jerusalem after a nationally televised news conference. Mazuz reportedly called the prime minister shortly before the news conference to inform him of the decision, and Sharon replied, “Thank you very much,” according to sources. Sharon consistently had denied allegations that he took a bribe from real estate magnate David Appel, a Sharon friend who employed Sharon’s son Gilad in the 1990s to serve as a adviser in his bid to win development rights for a lucrative Greek island resort. Appel
has been charged with trying to secure the help of Sharon, then Israel’s
foreign minister, by paying Gilad Sharon hundreds of thousands of dollars
to serve as Appel’s adviser on the development project. Sharon still faces the possibility of charges in another case, also involving Sharon’s family. That case involves a $1.5 million loan Sharon’s sons took from Cyril Kern, a family friend and businessman in South Africa, to cover illegal campaign contributions in Sharon’s 1999 bid for the Likud Party leadership. An indictment recommendation by Mazuz in the Appel case would have made Sharon the first sitting prime minister to face criminal charges in Israel’s history. In March, then-state prosecutor Edna Arbel recommended that the prime minister be indicted. But Mazuz was unequivocal in clearing Sharon. “It should be remembered that for more than two years, the police listened in to Appel’s two phone lines, recording thousands of conversations. Nonetheless, these wiretaps yielded no evidence, either direct or indirect, for substantiating the suspicion that Sharon was bribed by Appel,” Mazuz said. “It is a deafening silence.” Mazuz also closed the case against Gilad Sharon. Though the Greek island project never panned out, Mazuz took the trouble to note Gilad’s “professionalism” as an adviser for Appel, a post that earned him more than $20,000 per month. Sharon’s political detractors cried foul after Mazuz’s announcement. “What does the attorney-general expect — for the tainted money to be put on his desk so he can touch it himself?” asked Yossi Sarid, a lawmaker from the liberal Meretz party. Sarid vowed to petition the High Court of Justice to overturn Mazuz’s decision. But with the main opposition Labor Party negotiating with Sharon’s Likud on a possible national unity coalition to push through Sharon’s Gaza withdrawal plan, Sarid’s bid was unlikely to enjoy broad support from Sharon’s political opponents on the left. “I see this as the end of the affair,” Justice Minister Yosef “Tommy” Lapid said after the announcement. “Now that the case has been closed thus, the time has come for Labor to join the government.’’
Features The
Way I See It Mark
Arnold The annual meeting of the American Jewish Press Association is a chance for Jewish editors, publishers, business managers, and vendors to network, swap ideas, hear from experts, and attend cocktail-less cocktail parties (hey, liquor’s expensive and we aren’t big drinkers anyway, right?). This year’s conference, in Atlanta, included lots of meaty food to chew on, with subjects ranging from demographics to digital printing. For a political junkie like me, the most thought-provoking discussion was one devoted to Jews in American politics. It became a classic debate, Republican right vs. Democratic left. On one side you had Ralph Reed, the boyish-looking Republican strategist who built the Christian Coalition into a national political force, now working to re-elect the Bush-Cheney ticket. On the other side you had veteran liberal lobbyist Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, an information and advocacy group seeking to build support for Jewish causes on Capitol Hill and in the media. Both
men agree Israel’s security is important, Arafat is no peace partner,
and Bush has been good for Israel. They don’t agree on much else.
Reed
is pitching his candidate: If you care what happens to Israel, you have
to vote for Bush, “the most Israel-friendly President ever.”
So
how important is the Jewish vote anyway? I asked the question, noting
that Jews are only 2 percent of the U.S. population. Forman is ready for
this one. In swing states in a close election, Jews can tip the balance.
He ticks off some stats: 40,000 Jewish voters in Florida, 9,000 in Ohio,
20,000 in Pennsylvania, the list goes on — faster than I can write
them down. Plus Jews are among the most important opinion leaders in the
nation, he says. Jews hold down key staff positions in government — on House and Senate committees, at Defense, State, and the White House. Finally, concludes Forman, there’s Jewish money. We are among the most generous donors to political campaigns. If largess that normally flows to Democrats is diverted to Israel-friendly Republicans… well, you get the picture. So what will happen in November? Reed and Forman agree the majority of Jews will stay in the Democratic column, but Bush-Cheney will likely claim somewhere between their share in 2000 (19 percent) and Ronald Reagan’s share in 1980 (34 percent, the highwater mark of Jewish GOP support). So it appears that Jews really could tip the scales in November. The key may lie in how many of us are one issue (Israel) voters vs. how many balance Bush’s record on Israel with the pull of traditional liberal Democratic values. People in the News
Do’s
and Don’ts Jodi R. R. Smith Ahh, the season is upon us. The birds are chirping, the weather is getting warmer, and nearly every weekend is booked with another bat or bar mitzvah. Being a well-mannered guest, you sent back the RSVP card well before the response date, you already have a flattering-yet-conservative outfit to wear to temple, but what to do about the gift? Should
I give a gift? Should it be religious or secular? If I want to give money,
how much is appropriate? Do I bring the gift with me to the services?
To the party? If my child is friends with the bat/bar mitzvah child and
I am friends with the parents, should our family be giving two gifts?
And what about the b’nai mitzvah registries that are starting to
pop up? It is enough to make you head spin faster than a Hora. To Give or Not To Give: Guests are frequently confused about which events they should bring gifts for and which they should merely attend. Showers are parties held with the sole purpose of giving a gift. It is for this reason that bridal showers can not be hosted by the mother or sister of the bride. Other than showers, invitations are not invoices. Rather, guests should think of the interaction as a dance of etiquette. First, the person with the happy occasion decides he/she would like to share the happy occasion with others. Then, the others who are invited to share in the happy occasion are just so thrilled that this happy occasion is occurring that they then decide to give a gift as a token of their good wishes. This is basically a really long way of saying that if someone was nice enough to invite you, you should be nice enough to give a little something. Religious Versus Regular: The great debate for many guests is whether to choose a bar/bat mitzvah gift that is religious or secular in nature. Many people feel that since the occasion’s purpose is to welcome the child into the world of Jewish responsibility, it is important to give gifts that assist and advocate a Jewish lifestyle. Such gifts include: menorahs, tallisim, kippot, tefillin, tzedakah boxes, mezuzahs, kiddush cups, havdalah sets, Shabbat candles and candlesticks, books on Jewish observance, books on Jewish thought, books on Jewish philosophy, and Jewish Jewelry. Other Jewish themed gifts include subscriptions to Jewish publications, life-time memberships in Jewish organizations or donations to Jewish philanthropies. Should you choose to give a secular gift, it is still important to remember the theme of adulthood. Beautiful pens, stationary embossed with his/her name or initials, birthday calendars, diaries, classic books of literature or poetry (even etiquette books!), fine jewelry, or company stocks are all good choices. Blank Checks: Often, for both wedding and b’nai mitzvah, guests will ask me, “If the dinner is $100 a plate, how much should I give?” I like to think of bar/bat mitzvahs as happy occasions, not fundraisers. What the hosts spend on the affair is completely irrelevant. What matters is your income, your budget and your relationship to the bar/bat mitzvah boy/girl. Yes, No, No, Yes, Yes: Yes, gifts may be sent in advance. No, gifts may not be brought to the service. No, gifts may not be brought to a luncheon following the service. Yes, a gift may be brought to an evening party (but I do not recommend it since there is the chance they may be lost in the shuffle). And yes, bringing a gift to the house the next day is perfectly acceptable. Two Relationships, Two Gifts: If there are two distinct relationships, i.e. you have known the parents since you were all friends in college and your kids are the same age and your kids truly enjoy each other’s company, then two gifts may be appropriate. If this is the case, then you would want to consider your whole gift budget and allocate it appropriately between the two gifts. If you were invited because of one relationship but your entire family was included, only one gift is necessary. B’nai Mitzvah Registries: You read that right. There are now registries for bar/bat mitzvahs. While I do not believe it is in any way appropriate for a bar/bat mitzvah to register at Toys R Us, Strawberry’s, or Tiffany’s, I do believe it is appropriate for a bar/bat mitzvah to register at their temple gift shop or an on-line Jewish website. My favorite bar/bat mitzvah registries are the ones through the local foundations that are savings accounts to be used for a trip to Israel. (The foundations also make donations into the accounts, usually about $300.) Now this is a fabulous idea that helps to celebrate and appropriately mark the occasion. Shhh, Don’t Tell: Just like wedding registries, if the bar/bat mitzvah child has decided to register, this information is kept silent until a guest specifically asks. Once a guest asks what the child would like, the child (and/or the parents) can mention the registry. No mention of registries, gifts or money should ever be made on an invitation. And remember, as with all gifts, the importance is in the thought behind the gift, not the price tag attached. Jodi R. R. Smith is the Founder of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting and the author of two new books on social savvy. To ask a question, please visit www. Mannersmith.com. 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 Pending Israel/Beth El Merger: Visions, Not Dreams 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 & EntertainmentStars Shine in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Marry Me A Little’ Michael
Sidman GLOUCESTER — The Gloucester Stage Company kicked off its 25th season June 13 with Craig Lucas and Norman Rene’s Marry Me A Little, a romantic musical review that derives its whole story from a compilation of previously unperformed Stephen Sondheim love songs. While it is always a pleasure to listen to Sondheim, the true gems of this production were its two stars, Leigh Barrett and Drew Poling. Marry Me tells the story of two single people in New York City alone on a Saturday night. Though they live in the same building, the man and the woman are on different floors. The clever stage design merged the two apartments so that the couple breeze past each other unknowingly. Their story is told through over 17 Sondheim songs, including There Won’t Be Trumpets, So Many People, Uptown, Downtown, and Can That Boy Foxtrot. The play was directed by Paul Daigneault, the founder and Producing Artistic Director of SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston. Another behind-the-scenes star was Music Director Jeffrey Goldberg, who ably provided piano accompaniment for the two singers. It is easy to find oneself confused by the progression of the story in Marry Me, as one is never sure if the couple ever has the opportunity to meet, or if it is just a mutual fantasy. Some of the opening songs are a little disjointed. One can find his neck bothering him after the first song, a duet between Poling and Barrett where they each stand at opposite ends of the stage. Marry Me A Little is far from great, but nevertheless an enjoyable experience. Poling and Barrett made the production shine with their melodic voices and heartfelt performances that leave you wanting more when the production ends. Whether the emotion was love, excitement, disappointment, or heartbreak, one could feel it, hear it, and see it on stage. Barrett’s performance was so impressive that often one forgets that she is singing. From her facial expressions to her demeanor, she was a natural on stage. Marry Me A Little is for those who can listen to non-stop love songs and Sondheim afficionados. If you do not fit into one of these categories, you may find yourself bored and a little confused, but able to appreciate Barrett and Poling. All in all, it is a pleasurable way to spend an hour. The Gloucester Stage deserves to be praised for its commitment to making theater available to all in the North Shore. Marry Me A Little plays Wednesday to Sunday through June 27 at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Gloucester Stage (267 East Main Street). Ticket prices are $30 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. For reservations, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.org. For Crystal, Jewish Continuity a Priority Soriya
Daniels For the award-winning actor, director, comedian, and Oscar host, the recent birth of his first grandchild, Ella, has been Billy Crystal’s greatest source of joy and inspiration. So much so that he decided to put his thoughts into creating a beautiful pastel picture book that children, parents and grandparents could enjoy together, while celebrating the continuity of their lineage. Crystal’s book, I Already Know I Love You (Harper Collins 2004), is more than a tale of unconditional love. In a heartwarming demeanor, it imparts some of the Jewish values that have been passed on from Crystal’s own parents and grandparents. “I want to teach you about our family with pictures from long ago,” writes Crystal in his children’s book. Crystal is up-to-date on his Jewish heritage — Janice, his wife of over 30 years, recently hired New York-based genealogist Rafael Gruber to explore the histories of Crystal’s Jewish roots. This inspired the couple to later assume responsibility for producing a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles called “Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves.” For Crystal, the continuation of the Jewish people is a priority. “You’re the new twig on our tree and I can’t wait to watch you grow,” he writes to his granddaughter in his book long before he knew the sex of the baby. “I wrote that I don’t know if I’m buying ballet shoes or hockey skates. I think that line summed it up.” News of impending grandfather-hood came on the first anniversary of his mother’s death, which had been a traumatic loss of the entire Crystal clan. The good news helped propel Crystal out of the sadness that surrounded his mother’s death. “The baby has filled up a great place for me that had been sad for a couple of years now because of the loss of my mom. When you see how life works—someone has to leave to make room for the new — it changes your whole point of view about life. I’ve been smiling ever since.” To him, having a grandchild reaffirms the legacy of being a family. And not surprisingly, his daughter, Jenny, and son-in-law, Mike, named their daughter Ella Ryan after Crystal’s mother, Helen Eleanor. The quintessential Jewish comedian, who was close to his grandparents as a child growing up in Brooklyn and then Long Beach, NY, believes that the older generation has a lot to offer children. “It’s important to understand that grandparents were here first and someone was here before them,” he says. “I grew up in a house where a grandfather would greet you every day with ‘whatta ya gonna do with your life?’” Crystal has certainly done a lot with his life and he gives credit to his Jewish upbringing on Long Island, and in particular, to his own grandfather, who had been a Yiddish actor. “If it wasn’t for the laughs and loves of my relatives and friends when I was a little kid, I don’t think I would have ended up being a comedian.” Crystal’s career recently took him in a new direction with the debut of his new children’s book. “I’m just incredibly moved about this whole new period of my life,” says the star of City Slickers and When Harry Met Sally, with an air of comfort associated with this next stage of life. In his new-found role as grandfather, Crystal examines his own values and stresses the importance of honesty. “I want to show you that lying is never as good as the truth,” he writes in his book. He also emphasizes the importance of being actively involved in the upbringing of children. Crystal foresees helping his granddaughter study for tests, showing her how to fly a kite, and just doing the simple things that make a child happy. “The most important thing is to be with your kids, listen to them, and love them.”
EditorialA
New Ambulance for Israel The cost, $61,700, sounded like a pipe dream last October when he announced it. But donations started to come in almost immediately. On Sunday, June 13, less than nine months later, the gleaming new ambulance, built to order by General Motors, was unveiled at a ceremony attended by 150 people on the Jewish Community campus in Marblehead. Now the ambulance goes to Montreal for shipment to Israel within the next few weeks. Our hats off to Arthur Zolot — and to the 498 donors who helped realize his goal with their contributions of $5 to $6,000. What can one man do indeed! The
Legacy of Ronald Reagan Reagan grasped big ideological concepts and he saw them in black and white terms. The Soviet Union was the “evil empire,” public assistance recipients were “welfare queens.” Much like our current president, he lacked an understanding of history and a nuanced knowledge of affairs of state. But he hastened an end to the Cold War by his unyielding opposition to communism and his pursuit of Star Wars weaponry, an investment in technology the Soviet Union could not match. Long after most rhetoric is forgotten, his prescient challenge, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this (Berlin) wall,” will be remembered. In other ways, Reagan was not so successful. He saddled the nation with huge debts, he ignored the AIDS epidemic, he seemed insensitive to the goals of minorities. Among those he offended were our own people, whom he outraged by visiting the graves of German war dead in Bitburg, Germany, in April 1985, knowing that among those buried were 49 members of Hitler’s elite guard, the Waffen SS. Nevertheless, his legacy will be largely a positive one. Our 40th president, who died June 5, will be remembered for ending the Cold War, restoring the nation’s self-confidence, communicating simple noble values, and for his warm and engaging personality that tended to unite, rather than divide, people. These are qualities we could use in abundance today. A
Critical Vote in Swampscott Skeptics are asking for more time: to gather more facts and figures, to make more detailed plans, to get used to the idea. If the vote is favorable — and that requires a difficult-to-achieve two-thirds vote of the entire membership of each congregation — congregants will have a year to plan and shape the new congregation, which will come into existence in September 2005. We urge members to vote “yes”. In unity there is strength. A unified Israel/Beth El can achieve a future that neither synagogue can alone. — Mark R. Arnold Local ColumnistsWhy I Can’t Write a Column About President Reagan
This column was to be about Reagan and the Jews. Every other pundit is writing and talking about Reagan, why not me? But I can’t do it. Not because of any particular bad feelings about President Ronald Reagan but because I was living in Israel during his terms in office (and for 17 years before and after). I just wasn’t here. So, as I sat down to write, I thought: I have no passion vis-à-vis Ronald Reagan. I wasn’t thinking much about him for those eight years. I wasn’t analyzing his administration, persona, domestic policies, or actions around the world. Let me explain about how being in a place makes the giant difference. The intensity of events in Israel leaves little time for contemplation of events abroad. As an Israeli (from Revere) I was involved full time — thinking, doing or discussing —with family and friends, the interplay of government, politics, social issues, and everything else, including whether the Jerusalem Forest should be sacrificed for urban housing and cemeteries or whether immigrants from Russia or Ethiopia were being assisted enough to integrate into our Jewish state. I went to demonstrations, funerals and visited graves of fallen soldiers. I sat in cafes, spoke with kibbutzniks, college professors, teachers, social workers, my family members and just plain neighbors. Those mothers — part of my 8 a.m. aerobics class, whose soldier sons and daughters, home for Shabbat, had left for their base on Sunday morning with home-washed clothes and a bit of good food — taught me a lot. At any one time, my extended family in Israel also had one to four members on active military duty. Politics and Shabbat dinner were intertwined; it was our chicken soup. Nothing takes the place of being there. Similarly, back in Boston for the past two years, I feel so close to what is happening in America today that I almost feel George W. Bush is living in my garage. I don’t have a garage so he’s not living there. But as you can sense, my passion is high and my information is current about what he is doing and not doing. My point is this: Nothing bugged me more in Israel than hearing American Jews sounding off about Israeli policies, so often taking one of the two extremes — that Israel fight to the last Israeli to protect the land of Greater Israel promised to them by God; or, that Israel give up every inch of land taken in war against the Arabs either in 1948 or 1973 or whatever was their favorite “crime against the Arabs” war. Of course, everybody has a right to say and write about whatever he or she wish, whenever they wish, and however it sounds. I am not suggesting silence, just a large degree of modesty, less stridency and doctrinaire advice to Israel or Israelis unless you have really been there enough to be credible; unless you have — as my grandkids say — walked the walk, talked the talk and sung the songs.Even then, modesty is best because even Israelis don’t know for sure what needs to be done for peace and progress. By the time you read this, Ronald Reagan will have been laid to rest and all the politicians, pundits, professors and plain citizens will have said their piece. As for me, I want to see how his death, after living with Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years, will affect American policy regarding stem-cell medical research. Nancy Reagan and many friends of her husband will likely attempt to persuade a currently reluctant Bush administration to increase funds and development of drugs and treatments using stem cell-based research. That outcome, depending on successful payoff from the research, may rank as Ronald Reagan’s most important contribution to his country and the world.
Jewish Leaders Should Ask: What Would Ronnie Do?
I was the first person to diagnose Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimers. While the rest of America was deliberating in 1984 over for whom to vote — Reagan or Mondale — I was telling everybody that one candidate was neurologically compromised. “He’s got Alzheimers!” I’d stood and yelled at the television screen. “Sit down!” shouted someone in my family, “We can’t see.” “But he’s got Alzheimers!” I screamed. “He’s completely dismantled the Federal government! He can’t get a fact right! And he’s dozing off during the debate.” Like the rest of America, my economist husband was too forgiving. Though he knew trickle-down economics was as effective as snake oil, he wasn’t charging the TV screen or getting exorcised. “He’s just simple-minded,” Steve would say. “Give the guy a break.” Last week, as Americans tore themselves from their daily routines and traveled to California and Washington to weep over the coffin of our 40th president, I realized that I may have been too condescending, too serious, and too harsh in my thinking about Ronald Wilson Reagan. The Jewish people, in their conflict with the Palestinian people, would do well to learn the lessons of his sweet smile, friendly demeanor, and simple message. Are we so busy combating anti-Semitism to realize that our message is too complex? Who has time, in this 24/7 world to understand the various iterations of our identity? Try explaining Judaism to someone. We’re an ethnicity, but also a nationality, sometimes considered a race, a political force — perhaps a religion — but a religion so varied and fractious that few of us can agree on the basic tenets of our faith…. Two Jews, three synagogues — try to explain that one. I am still reading and trying to digest (no pun) the reponsa on the kashrut of cheese. Never mind that the world bears a historic grudge against us for all those dreary renunciations and moral preachings, those numerous mitzvot. Some blame us for killing their God, others for living in Jerusalem. Jewish identity and politics are so complicated and weighted with the detiritus of history, the misfortunes of economics, the failures of our public relations. And yet, before us sits the extraordinary example of a man made out of Teflon. We are blamed for everything — what we did and what we didn’t do. And yet Ronald Reagan, who led the most powerful country on the planet through an orgy of material excess and moral sloth while suffering from dementia, remains the hero. The Palestinians have already used the Reagan legacy with great success. Their reductive arguments and misinformation have moved many to sympathy with their cause. Their lawless, dysfunctional society, predicated on terror, misrepresentation, and blood-lust, displays the extraordinary power of Teflon. Meanwhile, they charge Israel with “racism” and “occupation,” inflammatory words that incite passions, and discourage reason. Ask the BBC, the political left, the crowd on the Arab Street. The world wants a simple story and a happy ending. Like an infant, it smiles back at a smiling face. Thus, in recognition of Ronald Reagan’s great political success, Jewish organizations and leaders should re-cast themselves in the tradition of the “Great Communicator.” Before articulating our message, our agendas, and especially our Middle East politics, we should first ask ourselves, “What would Ronnie do?”
Confessions of A Fruit Man’s Daughter
Gwenyth Paltrow may have named her daughter Apple, and Apple may grow up to be impossibly gorgeous, blonde, and long-legged, but I would like to stake my claim, as the daughter of a fruit man, that I am the real Macoun. The apple of my father’s eye, I grew up about a mile away from the Chelsea Produce Market, in a neighborhood where kids played hopscotch, gyrated their hips in hoola hoops, and chased the ice cream truck three blocks to buy an ice cream sandwich. Kids played tag and hide-and go-seek, and mothers yelled their names from the front porch. I was the nice little Jewish girl who sat on a paper bag so I wouldn’t get my white shorts dirty and spent 75 percent of the summer fleeing bees and dodging raindrops so my hair wouldn’t frizz. I cringe when I see old photos from my bat mitzvah. So what if my glasses were crooked and my ponytails were two gigantic puffballs? In my father’s eye I was sweeter than the juiciest cherries he sold at his fruit store, The Apple Basket, prettier than the curly ribbons he wrapped around the fruit baskets, and smarter than just about anyone on the planet. The initial thing I must confess is that my dad was my first real love. He called me his “Lotus Blossom” and genuinely believed that I could do anything. I remember how enraged he was when he saw a boy hit me on the head with a lunchbox outside Hebrew School. He took me to Sanderson’s Gift Store in downtown Chelsea, bought me a stuffed duck and some candy, and I dreamed we’d run away and get married. (I know my mother gets upset when she’s written out of the story but, Mom, you were the one who took me to those Disney movies where the mother is always mysteriously cast away.) Ours was a storybook romance where he was my handsome hero and I remained his sugar plum fairy princess. The second thing I must sadly confess is that I don’t think I thanked him for giving me a wonderful core. Yes, he gave me juicy red strawberries, exotic melons and succulent plums, but nothing compared to the gift of growing up alongside a man who simply loved his family. I bought him bad ties and slippers for Father’s Day and he always clapped with delight. I probably had no idea what he was thinking. I just knew he loved me. My third confession is that I really miss him. Since he passed away over a decade ago, I know how to get through the obvious holidays by keeping myself busy. Activity is a wonderful Novocain, but it does come with side effects. When you stop moving, you’re an easy target. For months, I couldn’t walk by a cantaloupe without dropping a tear. I must confess that on Father’s Day my secret wish may be to watch my dad gleefully unwrap yet one more bad tie, but instead I’ll reflect on how lucky I was to be loved by one peach of a fruit man.
Orthodox Marriage Monopoly Under Fire in Israel
Doron’s proposal to abolish the Orthodox monopoly was indignantly rejected by other members of the rabbinical establishment. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, for example, said that “its adoption would create a two-stream Jewish nation in which members of one stream wouldn’t be able to marry members of the other.” In truth, such a society almost exists, as is reflected in the wedding celebrations to which my wife and I have been invited over the last couple of years. I use the term wedding celebrations rather than wedding ceremonies because in half the cases the couples had already been formally married elsewhere, their nuptials sanctified by a mayor in Cyprus or Italy. Afterwards some of them also had a Reform or Conservative ceremony, which has no legal standing under present Israeli law. The Judaism of the aforementioned people is not in question. It would be no problem for them to be married by an Orthodox rabbi here in Israel. But they absolutely refuse to have anything to do with the Orthodox rabbinate. Some 300,000 Israelis, mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union, are in a worse situation. They can’t be married by an Orthodox rabbi in any circumstances as they are not Jewish according to Halacha. Some have contemplated conversion, but the obstacles to an Orthodox conversion, which demands that they adopt an Orthodox lifestyle, are too great for them. And until now, a Reform or Conservative conversion had no legal standing here. But this will be changed if a recent Supreme Court ruling is carried through to its logical conclusion. The extent to which members of Israel’s secular majority are dissatisfied with Orthodox control over Jewish marriage and divorce was made crystal clear in last year’s Knesset elections, the big winner of which was the Shinui Party. This hitherto tiny party won 15 seats, almost exclusively on the basis of its campaign against religious coercion. One of those 15 is held by Avraham Poraz, now Minister of the Interior, and he has been able to make life easier for Israelis who aren’t Jewish from an Orthodox viewpoint, including the parents of soldiers now serving in the army. If Poraz and his Shinui colleagues have their way, official recognition for Reform and Conservative rabbis, as well as the legalization of civil marriage, will follow before too long. Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron is not responsible for the changes in Israeli mores, many of which he personally deplores. But, like the little boy in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” he has had the courage to reveal the naked truth about a situation that others pretend doesn’t exist.
Reasons to Rejoice for Jews in Boston Area
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