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Local StoriesThe Power of ‘Paper Clips’ Gary
Band I saw the documentary film Paper Clips on video the other night and I don’t I’ll ever be the same. That may seem an overly profound statement to make about 83-minutes of film documenting the work and wisdom of a Holocaust education project that began in 1998 at a middle school in Whitwell, Tennessee. But at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise and white supremacist groups still operate here and abroad, when 10 percent of Holocaust survivors are dying every month while some continue to deny the murder of 6 million Jews and 5 million others ever took place, the Paper Clips Project is perhaps the most transformative educational endeavor a school could devise to teach diversity and the dangers of ignorance and intolerance. And because Whitwell, Tennessee was perhaps the least likely — but indeed the most appropriate — place for a project like this to begin, because of the effect it had on the school’s students, its teachers, administrators and citizens of the town, because of what the paperclips represent and the sheer scope of contributions from people around the world — over 30 million paperclips and 30 thousand letters and countless phone calls to the school to date — the project and its cinematic portrayal is more moving than anything I’ve ever seen or read. And because others have been similarly moved, this project has caused ripple effects throughout the United States and Europe, compelling untold numbers of other schools and individuals to either create similar memorial projects, raise money to plant trees in Israel to honor Whitwell residents, or focus more on diversity education, hopefully dispelling stereotypes and leading to greater empathy and awareness throughout the world. The Paper Clips Project was first inspired by a suggestion from a parent who had been a student at Whitwell Middle School 25 years earlier. The mother said to Principal Linda Hooper that it was time to teach diversity to the school’s 400 students. Among the town of Whitwell’s 1,600 residents, there are just four minority families, no Catholics, no Muslims and no Jews. Most residents had never met a person different from them. Forty miles north of Whitwell is where the Scopes trial was held and 100 miles north is the town where the Ku Klux Klan was founded. A
few months later, following attendance at a teacher’s conference
in Chattanooga, the school’s vice principal and football coach David
Smith approached Hooper and asked what she knew about the Holocaust. “Because I know how we can teach diversity. We can tell the kids what happened to the Jewish people. We can demonstrate what intolerance is and what it can lead to.” A meeting was held to discuss the proposal with the school’s parents. One father asked Principal Hooper if she would want her own children to attend a Holocaust class. “I would,” she replied. “My kids didn’t learn about the Holocaust in school so I had to teach them at home.” Soon after, the middle school created a voluntary after-school Holocaust class for eighth graders led by popular language arts teacher Sandra Roberts. At first, the 16 students who enrolled in the class couldn’t believe what they were being told. But as the class progressed, the students read The Diary of Anne Frank and I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust, about 13-year-old Ellie Friedman who was forced along with her family into Auschwitz, and all doubt was erased. Yet
Roberts was concerned how the students would react upon hearing the Nazis
were intent on wiping out the Jewish race entirely. “They didn’t
just murder a few Jews here and there,” she told them. “The
Nazis murdered six million Jews. And between one and two million of these
victims were children. Children like you.” A few ideas, buttons and pennies, were offered but didn’t seem realistic, until one student suggested paper clips. “Why paper clips?” Roberts asked. The student responded that he read somewhere that when the Nazis invaded Norway and began rounding up Jews to take to the concentration camps, the non-Jewish Norwegians protested by wearing paper clips on their lapels. The paper clip was also invented in Norway in 1899. And
so with a goal to collect 6 million paper clips, at which time they would
create a monument, hundreds of letter were written, the after-school class
continued, a website was designed, and the project was in full swing.
The details of the story are too powerful for my words to describe. A 64-page book written by German White House correspondents Dagmar and Peter Schroeder, people who were instrumental in the project, had me choked up from page one, and the film moved me to tears throughout. “The person I was is not the person I am now,” said Vice Principal David Smith in the film. “I was the typical southern person, quick to judge, quick to stereotype.” But I think the power of this story is not just the way it increased awareness in a small southern town, but that it changes both our actual perceptions — north of south, black of white, Jew of Catholic in particular — and the tendency to assume, generalize and stereotype without knowing in general. While I consider myself pretty enlightened, and would never utter a racial slur of any kind, I certainly have issues with what I perceive as small town or Middle America mentality. And of course that is a bias and a prejudice. Indeed, it is no small task to rid ourselves of the often-inaccurate perceptions we have of one another. But after the movie ended I felt very differently about the south and people in general. More open, more aware, more tolerant. Though there is no doubt a fair amount of racism and anti-Semitism throughout all parts of the United States, Paper Clips made we want to get in my car, drive to Whitwell, and shake hands with every person in town before touring the country and talking about how this project transformed a community. According
to Principal Linda Hooper, who was the first person I ever spoke to in
Tennessee, the school continues to receive letters, phone calls and paper
clips every day. “We’re very careful about what we’ve
done with them, because most of the clips we receive represent a person
or group,” she said. “We sent six million to a Baptist school
in New York and group others in what we call Shtetl Boxes to be sent elsewhere.
There is still so much pain about the Holocaust and we’re honored
to have played a role in healing some of that pain.” Some may have seen the film as part of the Boston Jewish Film Festival at the Coolidge Corner Theater, and others may catch it at Hollywood Hits in Danvers March 25-31 (call 978-777-4000 for show times). Still more will see it at a special screening at Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead on April 17 at 3 p.m. when David Ganz of Belmont will speak. Ganz, who owns Galaxy Tire in Malden, wants to distribute copies of Paper Clips along with a teachers guide to the 94,000 middle and high schools in the United States. He also challenged the 8th grade class at Hillel to raise $10,000 to plant 1606 trees in Israel honoring the 1600 residents of Whitwell and the six members of the film’s production company, The Johnson Group. Ganz
is also hosting a May 5 dinner at the Belmont Country Club where members
of Whitwell Middle School and the four Holocaust survivors from Cedarhurst,
NY, who spoke in Whitwell will be in attendance. With Ganz’s challenge and the film to inspire them, the students wrote letters soliciting funds and sold magazine subscriptions to raise the money. They have nearly the amount needed but are still accepting donations. “This is what the words ‘authentic education’ is about,” Madorsky said. “One of the things our kids have learned is that if Whitwell can make this happen, it’s an activist model of what one person or community can do.” “I think it’s great that such a small community could make such a difference,” said Cory Meyer. “I think there’s a lot more people that don’t know about the Holocaust, and if this movie can be in every school it could change a lot of stereotypes people have.” Fellow
eighth-grader Jonathan Gammel agrees: Divorce:
A Jewish Perspective Susan
Jacobs It has been said that divorce is second only to death as a life-altering, highly-stressful experience. The national divorce rate for married couples, Jewish or otherwise, is about 50 percent. Is the North Shore Jewish community helping (or ignoring) the needs of its divorced members? “I believe there are very real problems with the Jewish community meeting the needs of not only divorced individuals, but also older singles,” remarks Mark Mulgay, 44, who was married for 13 years and has been divorced for 2 1/2 years. “The community is very structured around the traditional family unit of young, married couples with children. The Jewish community must be more mindful of the non-traditional households that exist, and do more to accommodate for that diversity.” He points out that the numbers of single parents, gay parents, and those who have never married are growing, and synagogues must make more of an effort to make them feel at home. “Since married people tend to socialize with other married people, it becomes very difficult for those outside the mainstream to fit into the framework and develop social networks,” he says. “When you are single, you are often the odd person out. At many temple events, there is a subtle message that singles are not welcome, or they must have a date in order to attend. It’s not very comfortable to go to a community dinner as a single person,” he adds. According to Mulgay, who is religiously observant and worships at Swampscott’s Chabad, the problem extends beyond the synagogue. “Very often well-intentioned people invite a divorced individual to dinner in order to ‘fix them up’ with someone else. But why not simply invite the single person by himself or herself? People who are single, or single again, should not be stigmatized. Divorced people need company. Don’t let them be alone.” As a working father who shares custody of two boys, ages 12 and 8 1⁄2, Mulgay admits that he doesn’t have a lot of time for dating. What he’d really like to do is to connect with other divorced dads. “I have very few divorced male friends. I have married male friends with whom I can watch football games and do the ‘guy’ thing. But they can’t relate to my experience,” he admits. “Julie Feinstein” (who requested that we not use her real name) lives in Salem with her 11-year-old daughter “Mindy”. She and her husband divorced two years ago. Julie says the Jewish community “was absolutely there for me in all ways.” “I was very financially dependent on my husband. We had made a joint decision to send Mindy to Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead, and she thrived there her first year. After we separated, my ex decided that he wasn’t willing to pay for private school anymore. He thought it was fine for our child to attend public school. Mindy, who was receiving a wonderful Jewish education, was heartbroken. “I applied for financial aid from Cohen Hillel, but wasn’t eligible because I had assets, and my ex made too much money. I totally understood. The staff there helped as much as they could, but my daughter wound up in public school and attends North Shore Hebrew School. She has adjusted well, but if it were up to me, I would have kept her at Hillel,” she says. Feinstein was pleased by the response from her temple, which she had been a member of since 1998. “They wanted me to bring my child up Jewish, and said nothing should get in the way of that. They offered me an abatement on the membership dues, and I’m very grateful for that,” she says. Mindy has just received a bat mitzvah date, and Feinstein laments that she can’t afford to host a lavish affair. “If I were still married, I’m sure it would have been on a grander scale, but we’ll do something simple yet special,” she promises. Although the event is still two years away, Feinstein has thought about the guest list. “Mindy’s father will be there, but I don’t know about the rest of his family, who were horrible during the divorce proceedings. We can all rejoice at the temple, but I don’t know if we’ll do the Hava Nagilah together,” she says. “Bar mitzvahs raise real issues for divorced families,” admits Jill Elias Jones of Marblehead, whose son Frazier recently became a bar mitzvah. She and her British-born husband Peter (who is not Jewish), were married by a rabbi in 1988 at Temple Emanu-El. “In third grade Frazier decided he wanted a bar mitzvah. We put him in Hebrew school and got a date of March 12, 2005. It was a family affair when we started, but in January of 2004, I asked Peter for a divorce. When the bar mitzvah planning really kicked into gear, we weren’t together anymore.” Jones agonized over how to word the invitations, ultimately deciding to send them out from Frazier himself. “We always kept sight of the fact that it was about Frazier, not us,” she says. Peter had a small family. None of his relatives attended the temple ceremony, or the reception afterwards at Kernwood Country Club. Although Jill invited Peter to participate in a parental blessing, he opted not to. Instead of seating Peter at her table, Jill sat him with mutual friends. During the candle lighting, he lit candle 12 by himself, while Jill lit candle 13 by herself. With her divorce recently finalized, Jill says. “My rabbi has offered guidance, and I know help is out there, but I really don’t need much support.” Bob and Barbara Goldman, who divorced amicably in 1999 after 11 years of marriage, celebrated the bar mitzvah of their son Sam in December. Theirs was a wonderful example of a divorced couple happily joining together with their extended families for a shared simcha. “We had attended enough affairs during our marriage that we shared the same vision of a warm, tasteful bar mitzvah party for Sam. We were on the same page and never worried that we wouldn’t see eye-to-eye,” said Bob, an attorney who lives in Lynn with his partner of four years, José Paiva, and José’s teenaged daughter Camilla. Bob has a warm, cordial relationship with Barbara, a family law attorney. They share custody of their two children; Sam, 13, and Asher, 10. All decisions related to the bar mitzvah were collaborative. “Barbara and I shared the expense in proportion to our incomes. Since José and I are not legally married, his name was not on the invitations. As far as the seating arrangements were concerned, my mother and father sat with Barbara’s father and step-mother, which worked out nicely,” he says. Although Bob Goldman was Reform, Barbara was Conservative and asked for a get (an official Jewish divorce decree for Orthodox and Conservative women.) Bob obliged, but says, “The get was the most dehumanizing moment of my life.” “We were at the height of emotion about our breakup, and these ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Boston couldn’t have cared less,” he says. “They kept me there for six hours, never explaining what was going on. They were cold and belligerent; demanding to know absurd things like the full Hebrew name of my father’s father. The cost was outrageous, and I had to miss a day of work. It could have been an opportunity for me to learn something about Jewish law, but I felt like a dirty prisoner or a business pawn. I felt these Mafia rabbis were just in it for the money. And the irony was that they called a few days later to say that they had made a mistake and didn’t charge me enough!” Rabbi David Klatzker, Conservative leader of Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody and chair of the North Shore Rabbinical Association, stresses that a get is important. “If a couple has a Jewish wedding, it only makes sense that they go through a Jewish divorce process. A civil divorce only cancels civil marriage. Jewish marriage requires a Jewish divorce. It is a way of closing the circle,” he says. “In my experience, the get is not a demeaning or humiliating experience,” explains Klatzker, who participates in several gets each year. “We try to make the experience educational and liberating for the woman. We give the woman a blessing and a hug,” he adds. “Sandy Scott” (not her real name), who lives in Marblehead, is the mother of two grown children. She and her husband went through a bitter divorce eight years ago, after 22 years of marriage. Scott was disappointed in the response from her Jewish community. “The Jewish community was there for me financially, but not at all emotionally. At the time, my younger son was in fifth grade at Cohen Hillel. My ex-husband was not allowed any contact with the children, and the school was good about not letting him into the building. They re-negotiated my fee because I alone paid his tuition. As far as the financial end was concerned, they got it. “But
socially, Cohen Hillel was a disaster. Parents, especially the women,
turned their backs on me. They acted like I either had a disease, or was
going to go after their husbands. And my son’s teachers were no
better. Two months into it they wanted to know when he was going to ‘be
over’ the divorce,” she states. Until recently, the North Shore Jewish community had two organizations devoted to organizing and sponsoring singles events. However in December 2004, the Jewish Federation of the North Shore discontinued its Jewish Singles Connection. That left singles with just one option — NOBJS. NOBJS was formed 17 years ago for Jewish singles age 40 and older. Carol Gendel, divorced since 1986, has been involved with the group for 10 years, most recently serving as president. “We are not a dating service,” stresses Gendel. “We offer a welcoming environment for singles to meet new friends. We schedule several events per month. About half of our 115 members are divorced; the others are widowed or never married singles. Although we are based in Andover, people come from as far as Nashua, NH to attend our events.” Gendel laments that there is not that much out there for Jewish singles. “Unfortunately, many of the JCCs and Federations have dropped their programming for single baby boomers. I keep hearing this as a huge complaint,” she says. Swampscott Temples Become Congregation Shirat HaYam Gary
Band SWAMPSCOTT — Temples Israel and Beth El, the neighboring Conservative temples across busy Atlantic Avenue that are forming a new congregation, have chosen a new name to symbolize their union: Congregation Shirat HaYam. English translation: Song of the Sea. The name is of biblical origins and geographic significance. The new congregation will be housed at the Temple Beth El’s location, which looks out on the Atlantic Ocean. The
name was chosen unanimously at an evening meeting of the interim joint
board over more than 30 alternatives researched by a naming committee
advised by Rabbis Edgar Weinsberg of Beth El and Neal Loevinger of Israel.
Until the March 14 meeting, many members favored a coupling of the old
names: Congregation Beth Israel. But those present — board members
and interested congregants — were persuaded by the presentation
made by Kate Borten, head of the naming committee, who suggested pairing
a new name with an old to symbolize change and continuity. The naming is one of a series of decisions that have been taken recently by the two congregations. After months of speculation, the B’reisheit Committee, which is planning the union, announced that Rabbi Weinsberg would be retained for a transitional year through July 2006, a year before his present Beth El contract expires. Rabbi Weinsberg has been spiritual leader of Beth El for almost 20 years, longer than any other rabbi on the North Shore. He will become rabbi emeritus at that time and a new rabbi installed, but he will be paid severance for an additional year. Weinsberg, who is 61, told the Journal he will be probably be forced to leave the community to find another pulpit. Cantor Emil Berkovits of Temple Israel has been retained as the new cantor. Both Israel’s Rabbi Loevinger, who supports the union but did not seek to become its rabbi, and Beth El’s Cantor Stacey Sokol, who had hoped to remain, will seek new positions elsewhere. Finally,
plans are being made for a special retreat for members of the new congregation,
to be held in late April or May, where members can participate in defining
the future congregation’s programs and priorities. Several members noted that Israel was formed by members of Beth El who left in 1948 to start their own congregation. Observed Marla Gay, president of Israel: “Just as the seas parted and came together in the Jewish tradition, so did we part and are coming together again.”
Participants Seek Ways to Prevent Genocide Mark
Arnold “I used to think that ‘never again’ meant ‘never again,’” Holocaust survivor Sonia Weitz confessed to a gathering of 130 people at a symposium on genocide at Salem State College. “And yet, here it is the 21st Century and we still see genocides happening while the world does nothing.” That sentiment summed up the discouraging picture painted by speakers at “A Call to Action: A Conference on Preventing Genocide in Our Time,” held March 18 under the sponsorship of the Holocaust Center Boston North, Inc. and a half dozen other local groups. Weitz, who is co-founder with Harriet Wacks of the Holocaust Center in Peabody, was one of three survivors of 20th century genocides who recounted their harrowing experiences. The others were Smajl Cengic, a Bosnian who became a refugee after four years of ethnic cleansing in his war-torn homeland, and Ernest Rugwizangoga, a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. A sober tone was set early in the day when Dr. Robert McAndrews, board president of the Holocaust Center, commented in his opening remarks that from the viewpoint of preventing genocides: “The times we live in are terrible — and growing worse.” The day was designed for educators, students, clergy, public officials, media, police, and the general public to identify the hallmarks of genocides, understand their early warning signs, and brainstorm ways to prevent them. The session ended with participants breaking into small groups to come up with strategies and ideas that individuals can use to combat prejudice, discrimination, and ethnic slurs. Sponsors of the event included Salem State College’s Graduate School, North Shore Community College’s 17th Forum on Tolerance, the Anti-Defamation League, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Facing History and Ourselves, the Peabody Institute Library, and the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations at Merrimack College. Leikind to Step Down from ADL Post Gary
Band Robert Leikind, executive director of the New England Anti-Defamation League, has announced his resignation after more than four years of leading the New England Regional office, and 17 years with the organization. “It was a hard decision to make,” Leikind said, citing the need to spend more time with his wife and young children. “I’ve had a wonderful career with the ADL, but there’s a time for everything and this makes sense for me and the life of the organization at this time.” Responding to the surprise and the number of compliments he received at the news of his impending departure, Leikind, 51, said, “It’s never about one person. The ADL is a vital community, and I was very lucky to play a part in it.” Leikind came to the organization from the Connecticut office following the passing of his colleague, Lenny Zakim, a revered leader in interfaith and interracial bridge building. “That was a very difficult time, a real period of mourning,” he said. Leikind’s
leadership of the regional ADL office was heavily influenced by the events
of September 11. He says a key component of that effort is ADL’s Interfaith Youth Leadership program, which begins with the weeklong Camp IF experience in Bridgton, Maine. Doubled in size from 2004-05, over 100 Muslim, Jewish and Christian teens will participate this summer with the support of their religious leaders and parents. “This program has had an extraordinary impact on the individuals, their families and the communities they come from,” he added. “Hundreds of young people have become ambassadors to the notion that it is possible to speak about issues across faith lines, and explore conceptions and misconceptions of one another before they become toxic,” Leikind said. “We’ve become much more strategic, thinking not just about the problems of today but setting the stage for five years from now. We’re very pleased about how far we’ve come, and when the new director arrives, he or she will have the opportunity to take an amazing organization to an even higher level of operation.” ADL’s Civil Rights Counsel, Andy Tarsy, also recently stepped down from his post, after six years. Leikind says there is “no relation between my and Andy’s departure.” “This
is not an organization that is in any way struggling,” Leikind said.
“We have a tremendous amount of institutional depth. While transitions
involve a certain amount of change, it can be a healthy thing.”
“Being a part of this community has been a moving, exciting, and stimulating experience. But I’m not leaving this arena entirely, it’s in my blood and I’ll always be engaged in some way.” Leikind’s first North Shore event was a dinner honoring Bob Fanning, formerly of Northeast Hospital Systems, followed by a dinner at Salem State College honoring Congressman John and Patrice Tierney. “Rob Leikind has dedicated his efforts to supporting tolerance and fighting bigotry in all forms, and his commitment to the community has been selfless during his time at ADL,” said Congressman Tierney. “His passion for social justice will certainly be missed, but he and his family are wished every success and he has our appreciation for all he has done as a friend and a leader.” “His leaving is a loss of a terrific colleague who has been wonderful to work with,” said Nancy Kaufman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Boston. “It’s a loss for New England and the Greater Boston Jewish community. I’m sorry to see him go.” Dennis Kanin, ADL New England’s Regional Chair, said, “All of us are tremendously grateful for Rob’s contribution to New England ADL. Under his leadership, ADL has greatly expanded the number of communities touched by a World of Difference and No Place for Hate. It was a privilege for me to work with Rob and I hope he will always be an important part of the ADL family.” Larry Lowenthal, director of the American Jewish Committee, said he will miss Leikind profoundly. “I cannot say enough wonderful things about him. In addition to being one of the nicest human beings I’ve met in the business, he always said the right thing in the right way.” Israeli Consul General Meir Shlomo said, “Rob’s leaving is a great loss to all of us. He has been an incredible supporter and collaborator on many important issues facing Israel and the Jewish community today. He enjoyed a wide network of friends and colleagues and will truly be missed by all.” Jim Rudolph of Swampscott is chairing the search committee for Leikind’s replacement. “I really enjoyed working with Rob. He added a lot to the organization and I was happy to work with him all these years.” “Everyone I know respects Rob enormously,” said Anne Selby of Swampscott, the former chair of the ADL’s North Shore Advisory Committee. “Both he and Andy made an enormous difference in our community.” Flori Schwartz succeeded Selby over a year ago. “Having worked as an ADL professional myself, I can say that senior level people are on the job 24/7. Although it’s very sad for the ADL, I admire that he made the choice to be with his family, but I know he won’t drop out of sight.” ADL Statistics and Events ADL has doubled the size of its a World of Difference Peer Training program, now servicing over 50 school districts in New England, and has established a program in Vermont to train teachers and students across that state. This year ADL has more than doubled the size of its Interfaith Youth Leadership program, which begins with the weeklong Camp IF experience. There will be over 100 Muslim, Jewish and Christian teens participating with the support of their religious leaders and parents. ADL’s No Place For Hate program continues to grow and flourish and has engaged about half a dozen new communities in the last few months. It is launching a Corporate No Place For Hate initiative with Blue Cross-Blue Shield as its first participant. ADL continues to address discrimination, bias and hate crime complaints. Over the last year, ADL’s New Directions program has taught hundreds of Catholic educators how to teach about Jews and Judaism and the organization is currently involved in far-reaching discussions regarding expansion of the program. 800 students from across the region gathered on March 22 for the annual ADL Youth Congress at the Armory in Back Bay. Over the next month ADL will host three Interfaith Seders involving more than 1,000 people from across the religious spectrum. In the past few months, ADL has launched a new Jewish Community Outreach Initiative to Jewish congregations and organizations that is devoted to enhancing understanding of the nature of modern anti-Semitism and providing resources for combating it. ADL remains involved in a range of public policy and fact-finding initiatives ranging from anti-divestment work to the monitoring of local extremist activity. — Gary Band Journal Seeks Sponsors for Carlebach Concert Jewish Journal Staff The Journal is seeking sponsors for its second annual fundraiser, Neshama Carlebach in Concert, to be held at Temple Beth El in Swampscott on Sunday April 17, at 7:30 p. m. The concert features the singing daughter of the legendary Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and her band. Ms. Carlebach is a rising star in the Jewish music world who is building on the rich legacy of her late father in concerts and in six CDs that have won her a wide international following. “This will be a major community event and we are anticipating a tremendous response from the North Shore and the Greater Boston community,” said Lis Horowitz of Marblehead, who is chairing the event for the Journal’s Board of Overseers. She noted that ticket prices have been purposely kept low to encourage people to come regardless of financial situation. Prices are $25 for adult tickets and $10 for students with student IDs. To offset expenses of the event and reach its fund raising goal, the Journal is seeking people to become sponsors with a tax-deductible contribution of $250 to $1,000. Sponsors will receive preferential seating and a gift package at the event. For information on becoming a sponsor, call Editor-Publisher Mark Arnold (978-745-4111x160). An exciting entertainer who recently returned from a concert tour of Britain, South Africa, and Israel, Ms. Carlebach belts out songs in English and Hebrew that blur the lines between rock, folk, and jazz. She and the band are currently completing their sixth CD. “When Neshama Carlebach sings,” said the Washington Jewish Week, “she brings a bit of heaven down to earth. She is a soul singer, lending a voice to the musical spirituality that abounds within Judaism.” The
concert will include a raffle, the sale of newly published Jewish books
from the Journal’s collection, and the sale of Carlebach CDs. For
tickets and information, contact the Journal (978-745-4111x120), the Israel
Book Shop (617-566-7113), Kolbo Fine Judaica (617-731-8743), or Hebrew
College (617-599-3624).
Sharon, Abbas Hope for Dividends Ron
Kampeas WASHINGTON — Ariel Sharon’s visit next month to President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, is guaranteed plenty of pomp and circumstance There won’t be much substance, though, until a week or so later, at a lower-key meeting between Bush and Mahmoud Abbas in Washington. That’s
when Bush will assess whether the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian
Authority president are getting enough dividends from the revived peace
process to survive serious challenges to their leadership. Palestinians say they’re not receiving enough concessions to beat back a challenge that could bring the terrorist group Hamas into Abbas’ government. Chief among their complaints is that Israel is expanding West Bank settlements in defiance of its commitment to a settlement freeze under the internationally backed “road map” peace plan. “They’re building like crazy,” said Edward Abington, a lobbyist who represents the Palestinian Authority in Washington. The Israelis are making many meaningful statements, but the Palestinians don’t see any meaningful policy that backs it up.” The Bush administration appears to be paying attention. Bush’s top Middle East advisers — Elliott Abrams, a deputy national security adviser, and David Welch, the top State Department envoy to the region — arrived in Jerusalem March 22 and plan to raise the issue of settlement expansion. “They are there on previously scheduled travel, but they will certainly have the opportunity or certainly use the opportunity to raise this issue with the Israeli government, to seek clarifications and to, I think, make the point that U.S. policy on this issue is very clear,” State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said, referring to Israel’s recent announcement that it will carry out old plans to build 3,500 apartments in the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim outside Jerusalem. “There needs to be an end to settlement activity.” Speaking on background, U.S. officials are even tougher: They believe Abbas has taken “concrete steps” to fulfill anti-terrorist obligations he made at a summit with Sharon and the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders last month, though he has not moved on the Palestinians’ central road map commitment to dismantle terrorist groups. The official referred to increased P.A. policing of the Gaza Strip, which has led to a sharp reduction in missile attacks on Israel; and a cease-fire Abbas negotiated with terrorist groups, which has helped — in conjunction with Israel’s policy of retaliation — to reduce terrorist attacks. Additionally,
outrage this month at revelations by an Israeli investigator that successive
Israeli governments covertly financed unauthorized settlement outposts
led to unusually strong words from the State Department, which called
on Israel to “meet its previous pledges on stopping construction
of unauthorized outposts.” On the other hand, other administration officials are strongly sympathetic to Israel’s claim that Sharon has enough on his plate right now trying to guide the withdrawal from Gaza and part of the northern West Bank to its July 20 launch. Sharon barely has parliamentary support to pass the budget — something he must do by March 31 to avert new elections — never mind to force violent confrontations with settlers before the first full withdrawals later this year. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon, said Israel deserved at least as much understanding as Abbas has received for co-opting terrorist groups instead of confronting them. “I do appreciate what the PLO representative said about the Palestinians trying to do everything to avert civil war among themselves,” Ayalon said at a Capitol Hill forum this month, where he appeared for the first time with Hassan Abdel Rahman, the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Washington. “You also have to be mindful of the explosive situation in Israel, and we do not want to be in a situation of a civil war with our own communities and brothers, so things have to be dealt with in a manner which will be both timely and effective.” There may be other ways, however, for the United States to pay Abbas dividends without forcing Sharon into difficult concessions. One outlet would be the $200 million in immediate aid to the Palestinians that the U.S. House of Representatives approved earlier this month. The cash is much greater than any recent U.S. handout, but the House has attached provisions that channel the money through nongovernmental organizations. That measure was prompted by past P.A. corruption, but it slows the process. In
the Big Inning Rabbi
Steven J. Rubenstein In 1926, David Sarnoff created the first radio chain for the newly formed National Broadcasting Company. By banding together a number of radio stations, his ingenuity allowed baseball games to be heard by a much greater audience than anyone could have ever imagined back in 1921 when people heard the first baseball game broadcast over the airwaves. Baseball
prospered as two New York teams rivaled one another for dominance both
at the box office and for bragging rights having the best team in baseball.
As Babe Ruth continued to break records, John McGraw, manager of the cross-town
Giants, was still searching for the one Jewish player who would bring
the crowds to the Polo Grounds. During the 1927 season, he gained notoriety, so much so that he was given a day in his honor, Andy Cohen Day at Bison Stadium. In attendance that day were a number of organizations from the local Jewish community, including the Young Men’s Hebrew Association. Pennantless since 1924, John McGraw was eager to bring up this young ballplayer from Buffalo who had hit an amazing .353 the previous summer. Cohen could not have come back to the majors at a better time. One of his closest friends that summer was an Irishman from Boston named Frank Hogan, who had the reputation of being a long-ball hitter. During the off-season they could be found together in Boston doing vaudeville comedy routines, playing on their ethnicity in the big leagues. Despite frigid temperatures on opening day, April 11, 1928, loyal fans flocked to the Polo Grounds to watch the New York Giants and the Boston Braves face off. Fueling the rivalry was the match-up of the second basemen, Roger Hornsby and his replacement Andy Cohen. Despite the chill in the air, Giants fans went home happy after their team beat the Braves, 5-2, and Cohen was involved in four of the five runs, batting in two and scoring twice. Sweetening the victory, Hornsby grounded out to Cohen during both his first and last at-bats. It was reported that the fans stormed the field, lifting Cohen onto their shoulders and carrying him around the Polo Grounds. His teammates were forced to rescue him by forming a wedge the crowd and pulling him into the clubhouse where he was mobbed once again, this time by the media. Cohen was soon dubbed “the Tuscaloosa Terror,” referring to his days at the University of Alabama where he was the first Jewish captain of the baseball team. At the time that Cohen made it to the big leagues, ethnicity continued to play a major role in professional sports. Syd Cohen was signed by the management of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for the very same reason that McGraw was attracted to his brother. Both men were recruited, and publicized by both clubs, as Jewish players in order to increase the presence in the stands with Jewish immigrants. Identifying with one of their own was one way to insure a crowd. The same was true for the Italian players as well. What distinguished Andy Cohen from the other players of his era was not only his ability to play ball, but he was also the only one not to change his name to hide the fact that he was Jewish, unlike Kane, Bohne, Cooney, and Ewing, among several others who played during the 1920s. In an editorial in the New York Times on the day following the home opener, in their comments on what Andy Cohen accomplished, the following remark was made: “Much more than just a baseball game was at stake.” Indeed, wherever Andy went, the Jewish community of that city was there to greet him. In Pittsburgh, the Jewish fans presented him with luggage. In late June, the hometown fans had an opportunity to celebrate with Andy at a special day set aside to honor him when the Knights of Pythias presented him with a gift of 1,500 silver dollars. For a Jewish boy from Texas, even Kinky Friedman would say that it wasn’t shabby what Andy did for himself. I lived in El Paso for a brief time and I took a group from the synagogue to see a minor league ballgame at Cohen Stadium. The park was named in memory of both Andy and Syd who made significant contributions to bring baseball to this city along the Rio Grande on the border of Mexico. The team that plays there is called “The Diablos,” a farm club of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the new home of Shawn Green. I have a baseball as a souvenir of my visit on that day. The head of the group sales department had it signed for me. I have a complete set of signatures — of the cheerleaders. The ball has a prominent place among the other signed balls of my collection, and I couldn’t be more proud. People in the News
Arts & EntertainmentMatisyahu Melds Urban Sounds, Divine Message Jennifer
Hambrick He’s yeshiva-educated, keeps kosher and wears the beard and payot of a traditional Hasidic Jew. He also makes a living as a touring reggae singer and beat boxer, using his voice as percussion instrument. Matisyahu,
the 25-year-old rising international reggae sensation, is anything but
conventional. As part of his current American tour, he will bring his
Hasidic reggae act ˜ and his Torah-inspired message about finding
one’s unique way to live Jewishly. Matisyahu
wasn’t always as committed to Judaism as he is now. He embraced the dreadlocks-and Birkenstock-wearing lifestyle of a would-be hippie. He goofed off in class and more than once almost got himself thrown out of Hebrew school. After causing an accident that nearly burned down his school’s chemistry classroom, Miller knew he had to make some changes. He sought solace in nature on a camping trip to Colorado. There, the Rocky Mountains inspired him to believe in the existence of God, he said. A trip to Israel bolstered this newly-found faith and awakened in him the desire for a deeper understanding of his Jewish heritage. Once returned to White Plains from Israel, however, he again felt disconnected from his Jewish roots. He dropped out of school and followed the rock group Phish on a U.S. tour. His parents, desperate to put an end to his erratic behavior, packed him off to a wilderness program in Oregon, where he discovered reggae. Finally, he was more focused, and he completed high school. It was after Miller returned to New York to attend college at New School University that his transformation from wayward adolescent to devoted Hasidic Jew gained momentum. “Eventually I started to pray and I took classes and something was pushing me toward the Jewish aspects (of my background),” Matisyahu said. “So I put on a yarmulke and I walked out one day. Eventually, I came to find Chabad-Lubavitch.” Miller ironically foreshadowed the day he met Rabbi Yaakov Bankhalter, director of Chabad on Washington Square. While in college, Miller wrote a play, Echad, that tells the story of a Jewish boy who grows in his faith after meeting a Hasidic Rabbi in Washington Square Park. Some time later, Bankhalter was celebrating Simchat Torah, dancing in that park with other Chabad affiliates. Miller appeared from nowhere and joined in. “To be honest, I thought he was a pretty wacky guy,” Bankhalter recalled of his first meeting with the young man. But the two spent time together and eventually, Miller’s spirituality deepened and he adopted the Hebrew name he uses today. Then one day, Matisyahu decided to share his affinity for reggae with his Chabad family. “I remember that we were at the Shabbos table and Matisyahu said, ‘I have a little something to show you,’ and he just started singing,” Bankhalter said. “We were all a little surprised. We all wondered where this came from.” And many audiences today still do. Matisyahu’s merging of Orthodox Judaism with the secular allure of a reggae star is clearly, well, unorthodox. However, Chabad-Lubavitch philosophy allows for any number of unusual life paths for Jews. “Our philosophy is to embrace the world and use the world for serving God, one mitzvah at a time,” said Rabbi Aryeh Kaltmann, executive director of the Columbus, OH Chabad. “We believe you have to take every God-given talent and use it for serving God. What I like about Matisyahu is that he incorporates his God-given talents in a very productive way.” The lyrics of Matisyahu’s songs borrow heavily from Torah and Jewish history. Some of them convey a quest to find a path through life, while others express the soul’s longing for God. Matisyahu’s ultimate message, however, is that finding God and living a religious lifestyle means finding one’s path, one’s personal truth. “To me, there was a spiritual truth that was missing from school,” he said. “It bothered me, because I didn’t know what that was. I felt in Chabad there was some truth that I didn’t see anywhere else.” It was what Matisyahu experienced as the spiritual truth of reggae that led him to embrace this particular mode, blending the sounds of the late reggae pioneer Bob Marley and the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who brought the power of prayer to the public through songs. “(Reggae) music itself lends itself to spirituality,” Matisyahu said. “I can get across that there’s something deeper that the physical. In Hasidic philosophy, there’s an idea that everything in life has an inner life force and that everything in the physical world has a spiritual source. There are things you find in music that sort of tap you into the idea that that everything in life has a rhythm. “Reggae music can put you into a trance somehow. The instruments are very simple, there’s a lot of space. It can allow a person to ‘zone.’ It takes you out of yourself and shows you something more divine.” Matisyahu’s friends and collaborators believe that the widespread appeal of reggae will help the singer change public perceptions of Judaism, and especially Orthodox Judaism. “He reaches a certain part of society that no one else would reach,” Bankhalter said. “Everyone has heard about Madonna’s following Kabbalah and changing her name to Esther. Now there’s another Jewish element that (the secular world) is hearing about. He’s emphasizing a new element of Judaism. It’s pushing Orthodox Judaism out into the secular world. People are getting more of an experience of that.”
Editorial On Feeding Tubes and Human Life All human life is sacred. We are, after all, created in the image of God. But when life has no “quality of life,” is it still so sacred? And who should make that judgment? The case of Terry Schiavo — the 41-year-old Florida woman who suffered irreversible brain damage from a heart attack 15 years ago and survives in a vegetative state with no likelihood of recovery — poses these questions in a way that has inflamed passions on both sides. Michael Schiavo, her husband and legal guardian, has fought bitterly in the courts to allow removal of the feeding tube that has kept her alive; he says she would not want to live in this condition. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought just as fiercely to keep the tube attached. When a Florida judge allowed its removal for the third time in two years March 18, Congress got into the act, passing extraordinary legislation, swiftly signed into law by President Bush, giving Federal courts jurisdiction in what has always been regarded constitutionally as a state matter. It’s possible that without the feeding tube, Terry will die before her parents’ new legal avenues have been exhausted. Does Jewish law and tradition give us any guidance in forming our opinions about such situations? “This is an enormously complicated case,” notes Rabbi David Klatzker, spiritual leader of Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody and chair of the North Shore Rabbinical Association. ”Jewish law is concerned more with duties than with rights.” He adds that under Jewish law, if someone is kept alive by medication but has no hope of recovery, “it is permissible to stop the medication.” Some rabbis, however, insist that since it is a life-sustaining form of nourishment, a feeding tube is not akin to medication. In that case, says Klatzker, “it’s a real problem if it should be removed.” Where does he himself stand on the question? “I’m honestly not sure,” says Rabbi Klatzker. The case illustrates an important medical point that most Americans may not have understood before: In many, perhaps most, U.S. hospitals today, legal guardians are increasingly opting to remove feeding tubes from unconscious loved ones whose prognosis appears hopeless. While ethicists, theologians and politicians debate the sanctity of life, and ordinary people increasingly draft living wills, the legal guardians of those without living wills ponder the agonizing choices they may one day have to make for their loved ones. — Mark R. Arnold
The Hard Winter of Harvard’s Summers
When I picked up the Boston Globe and read that Larry Summers, president of Harvard, had received a vote of no confidence from the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, I thought about an old cartoon, perhaps from the New Yorker. A sick CEO sat in a hospital bed, surrounded by lots of medical equipment and several nurses. An aide read a statement from the CEO’s employees: “The employees have voted 49 percent to 46 percent, with 5 percent abstaining, to wish you a speedy recovery.” Actually, Larry Summers did worse. He lost two separate votes, confused somewhat by many voters apparently voting as much for the skills and popularity of speakers leading the debate as they were for the exact deeds or misdeeds alleged to Summers. All I can say to his opponents, in the words of the great Ella Fitzgerald song, is, “It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.” The swing is the power to enforce the vote. College faculties cannot fire university presidents. Period. And university presidents cannot fire tenured professors without very specific legal causes. My vote, if I’d had one, would have supported President Summers. (I say that as a former tenured professor at Wayne State University (Detroit) and visiting professor at University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and Tel Aviv University. Summers came to his job tainted in the eyes of many college professors because of his political work as Secretary of the Treasury. Many professors love only their cloistered kind of academic purity. Summers had more opponents than the average new college president even before he opened the door to his new Cambridge presidential office. He could have done what many college presidents do: spend all his time raising funds and representing the university in celebratory situations, like welcoming alumni and foreign visitors, giving greetings at academic conferences, and serving on boring, but non-controversial, presidential commissions. He could have left all the governance of the university to the provosts, deans and the ubiquitous committees that take controversy and sharpness from important decisions. He didn’t do that. Maybe it was his personality and character, maybe it was our times, when important political and social issues become hot topics on campus and often demand a position, if not leadership, from a university president. By nature, he is an activist and I, for one, bless that spirit and energy. Summers assumed the Harvard presidency in July 2001. During the next few months, while meeting individual faculty members, he privately asked Professor Cornell West, a popular University professor, to decrease his grade inflation (some professors give every student an A or B.) He also asked West to increase his academic research because West was spending considerable time campaigning for Al Sharpton’s presidential bid and making a rap music album. Professor West brought his criticisms of Summers’ suggestions to the front pages of the Boston Globe and New York Times. Then he resigned to take a position at Princeton University. Summers gained a few more enemies. Summers’
second major controversy occurred in September 2002 at Harvard’s
Memorial Church where he made his now-famous address about anti-Semitism.
Summers spoke, he said, not as university president but as a member of
the Harvard community and as a Jew. Summers criticized the incessant Israel-bashing
on campus, the movement to disinvest university funds from Israel, and
the spread of anti-Semitism around the world. Finally, this year, during a conference about women on science faculties, he included a few sentences raising — not supporting — the possibility that genetic differences might account in some measure for the smaller numbers of females entering science study. Summers gained a few more enemies. And then, more recently, the faculty vote against him. In July, Summers will have completed four years as president, a respectable time in office. I wouldn’t blame him if he decides to leave. But I truly hope he will stay. He is a mensch and a powerful addition to the Boston scene. Waiting for the Big Guys
As the daughter of a mechanical engineer (and an attorney), I know some profound truths about the material world and the laws of physics. For instance, everything requires some degree of maintenance. The life spans of our most treasured objects depend on how well we maintain them. By the time the idiot lights flash on the dashboard, we are in some serious trouble. Better to schedule regular oil changes and tire rotations. Couldn’t we say the same for Judaism? The Torah given at Sinai is not a car, of course. But it and its manual (rabbinics) appeared thousands of years before toothpaste, refrigeration, and computers. Perhaps a little routine maintenance could help keep Torah Judaism working for another few thousand years —right through cloning, interplanetary visitation, and the enfranchisement of Jewish women. So then, Rabbotai, why are we sitting complacently waiting for the idiot lights to flash and the engine to seize up? A responsible automaker issues recalls and safety precautions on its older models. Sensible drivers realize the benefits of preventative maintenance. Nu? So are we planning on changing the oil any time in the near future? I’m not blind. I see that religious reforms and secular culture have been tinkering with the engine for generations. That’s why we have every Jew on the street corner making up his/her own personal interpretation of the Torah (and Kabbalah) that very few can actually read, never mind understand. That kind of self-satisfied factionalism and denominationalism has led not just to change, but to assimilation, confusion, and anarchy. Thank God for the traditionalists and their respect for rabbinic authority. Somebody’s got to keep the integrity of the brand, while the knock-offs proliferate. But even traditionalists must realize that at some point they are going to have to drive it into the shop and, B’ezrat HaShem, consent to lift the hood. Traditional Torah Jews — indeed, all of us — are in a pickle. There is no centralized rabbinic authority to make rulings on important issues of law. Rabbis continue to write responsa, but not one has the stature to enforce his rulings. The admission of women into mitzvah Judaism, the modernization of the rules of Shabbat, the settling of the Agunah travesty — traditionalists explain that all require the authority of the Gedolim, the big rabbis of a generation. Think the Rambam, Rabbeinu Gershon, the Gaon of Vilna — these were the guys capable of speaking to the issues and making their judgments stick. Traditionalists bemoan the fact that the current stock of rabbinic thinkers does not seem to have the standing and authority necessary to rule on the big questions. They worry that if one or two among them do rule and others dissent, they will have destroyed the delicate filaments that make us function as one people, under God. Out of respect for the institution, they say, we can’t commit to change. Perhaps the Torah doesn’t age, but our understandings of it grows stale and hollow. And, in the absence of Gedolim, the fractious and confusing issues of Jewish life sit in pieces at our feet, stiff and dry, languishing for want of oiling and cleaning. It’s times such as these, some say, that warrant the coming of the Messiah. But such times have also given birth to false messianic movements and religious schisms, of which we are all wary. And so we sit helplessly, like little kids waiting for the dad to come home and solve our problems. The idiot lights are flashing. We are stopped by the side of the road, anxious, confused, desperately flipping through the owner’s manual, but afraid to lift the hood. If only the Torah given at Sinai had come with AAA. What Would the Animals from Noah’s Ark Say?
“I’ll have a medium coffee with milk and Sweet and Low,” I announce into the drive-through microphone. “Was that a regular coffee with cream?” replies the guy. “A medium coffee with milk and Sweet and Low,” I repeat. “Huh?’ says the guy. This verbal ping-pong goes on for about three more rounds until, exasperated, I obtain my hot beverage and drive onto the highway. After the exit, I stop at the first red light to open it and guess what? It’s a Chai tea with sugar. Perhaps the guy enrolled in the same class as my children, “Tuning out Stacey Marcus 101.” It seems to be a popular one this season. Is it my imagination, or has the world gone completely mad? I look around me and think someone has dumped ether on the earth, and half the population is in a deep slumber. The other half is taking an online survey of whether Michael Jackson is innocent or guilty. I can’t imagine that when the Lord crafted his master plan, his footprint included high speed Internet and text messaging. When he welcomed Noah and the animals back after 40 days and 40 nights of rain with a dove carrying an olive branch, it was a message of hope for a brighter tomorrow. Is this what he had in mind? As I child I remember learning about Noah and all the animals. I loved the way the animals were boarded on the huge vessel in pairs and the image of the rainbow and sunshine after the storm. I imagined a spacious world lush with the greenest of trees and the bluest of waters. It must have felt grand to be one of the animals set free in the magic of the earth. I wonder how the animals would like to be part of today’s society. I don’t think they would enjoy a day at the zoo, but perhaps a reality television show featuring chimps performing karoke would be a hit. They would probably scurry back onto the ark and pray for 40 more days and nights of rain. If I had the opportunity I might even join them. According to the calendar, last weekend marked the official first of spring. It’s such a joy to go for a long walk along the ocean and dream about the promise of warm weather and sunshine. Call me old fashioned, but I’m not looking for an e-mail, text message or commercial to soothe my soul after a winter indoors. I’m going to breathe in some fresh air and go find me a rainbow.
When
Does an Issue Become ‘A Jewish Issue?’
Medoff Is Distorting the Record It is regrettable that Dr. Rafael Medoff has taken issue with a very eloquent speech about protecting minority rights and the constitution by Sen. Robert Byrd, who is an esteemed scholar and defender of the US Constitution (“Beware of Distortions of the Holocaust,” March 11-24). He deserves the praise from Ted Kennedy for defending the Constitution and trying to prevent the “Nuclear Option.” I listened to the entire speech on C Span; the argument that Medoff makes about Byrd’s speech is both biased and false. Byrd’s use of German history under Hitler has been twisted to sound like the senator has little or no understanding of the Holocaust. Actually Byrd proclaimed, “We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini’s Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men.” How can Dr. Medoff characterize this as polluting public discourse by trivializing the Holocaust? Senator
Byrd described how the Reichstag (German parliament) gave legitimacy to
laws that harmed minorities and civil liberties. He has the right
to use this analogy since we are witnessing abuses of power that may go
unchecked. We are on a slippery slope and he is justified in sounding
the alarm. Here is a link to the full text of this brilliant speech:
http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_speeches/byrd_speeches_2005_march/byrd_speeches_
I hope Dr. Medoff was merely poorly informed and that he is not part of a propaganda effort to discredit Senator Byrd and others who are trying to prevent the adoption of the nuclear option. It is also regrettable that the ADL leadership has issued a similar false polemic against Senator Byrd. Medoff and the ADL are harming our country and the Jewish communit | ||||||||||||