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Local StoriesOn Crafting High Holiday Sermons Gary
Band Composing sermons for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is no small task. Addressing and hoping to inspire congregants who have filled every seat in the house, rabbis attempt to seamlessly weave scripture, metaphor and homily with a touch of politics, culture and current events into a 20-40 minute dissertation on the state of the past, present and future for the people of Israel and their descendants in the Diaspora north of Boston. And
as those who attend all High Holiday services know, it’s not just
one sermon the rabbis deliver to their rapt congregations, but four or
five different ones, delivered on Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah mornings,
Kol Nidre, and the morning of Yom Kippur. Rabbi David Meyer of Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead selects his sermon topics “based upon the traditional themes of the season, as well as on my ongoing dialogues on matters of concern to our members and within the community at large. “Generally, I like to offer at least one sermon or more based on the traditional themes of personal growth, renewal, and repentance that have always been essential to this season of the year,” he says. Likewise, Meyer says he will often speak about contemporary issues of social justice, and usually address matters of concern to the entire Jewish people, particularly in relation to our homeland of Israel while trying to avoid a simple “rehashing of current events or political commentary.” He says the most important factor of all is that he personally feels passionate about the topic he chooses in order that the congregation will feel the topic is worthy of their concern as well. “I usually begin to formulate my themes and topics in the three or four months leading up to the New Year,” Meyer says. “But there have been several occasions when, even at the very last minute, all of my planning and writing had to be set aside due to the abrupt unfolding of significant and historic events. “For example, when Chairman Arafat shook the hand of Prime Minister Rabin on the White House lawn the very day before Rosh Hashanah, it was an event that carried enormous historic and emotional importance, and demanded an earnest reflection on the holiday. So I re-wrote my Rosh Hashanah messages late into the night because the times demanded that I do so. Likewise, the attacks on our country of 9/11 took place only three days before the start of the New Year. Yes, I know that there were among my colleagues those who felt that their congregation needed an “escape” from the urgency of that event, and so some rabbis decided not to speak about it during the Holidays. But Meyer says he felt that his members — like all Americans — were thirsting for comfort, and yearning for understanding, in the wake of this unparalleled tragic event. “So I set aside my previous plans and spoke directly to the issues surrounding the terrorist attacks.” Rabbi David Klatzker of Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody confesses that when he graduated rabbinical school 25 years ago, he thought preparing for the High Holy Days would get easier from year to year. “But it doesn’t,” he says. “It is in fact a greater challenge than it used to be. Much of the difficulty relates to the congregants’ expectations: if they come to synagogue only a few times during the year, they expect something extra-special, the Super Bowl of spirituality. I think about my sermons all summer long and write them over Elul (the month before Rosh Hashanah). For help, I look at rabbinic sources, everything from Talmudic stories to Maimonides to contemporary Jewish thought; this year, I’ve been reading Rav Isaac Hutner’s Pahad Yitzhak.” Klatzker says he tries to focus his sermons on subjects he thinks people are struggling with — or “at least that I’m struggling with,” he jokes. “This year, I will discuss the need for courage and self-sacrifice, in both our public and private lives; the most difficult of the Ten Commandments, honoring one’s parents; and the challenge of paying attention to the more shaded areas of our lives. It’s easy to spot (and perhaps mend) our major faults, but how do we get to the more subtle ones?” he questions rhetorically. His custom on Yom Kippur is to answer questions that congregants have sent him — a “Q&A” sermon. But, Klatzker says he receives so many questions every year that it is impossible to deal with them all. One question this year is, ‘What do I think about “pop” Kabbalah?’ What impact his sermons have Klatzker cannot say. “People probably forget them in a day or two. But at least I have their attention for a short period of time, and they often tell me that they talk about my sermons when they get home and have dinner.” Rabbi Edgar Weinsberg of Temple Beth El in Swampscott says this year he will focus on spiritual, emotional and human concerns from a Jewish perspective. “My sermon themes for Rosh Hashanah include sharing life’s blessings, using our time wisely, and making our life’s journey more joyful and meaningful,” Weinsberg says. “My sermons for Yom Kippur will focus on our commitments as Conservative Jews and coping with fear and failure.” Why these particular themes and subjects at this time? “With all the turmoil going on in the world, I believe many people are looking for ways to anchor their lives more firmly. Addressing values from a Jewish perspective will help many individuals clarify what is important to them and will get them to rethink some of their concerns.” Apart from his own thinking, Weinsberg says he draws upon the dilemmas of biblical figures like Abraham and Moses, and on the sayings of leading rabbinic thinkers like Hillel and Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, one of the early Chassidic masters. For source material, Weinsberg says his contemporary references include Dov Peretz Elkins’ Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, Moments of Transcendence, and his new book, A Shabbat Reader: Universe of Cosmic Joy, as well as Samuel Dresner’s Chassidic Master: Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev; Gil Man’s How to Get More Out of Being Jewish, Even If...;Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Family; David Wolpe’s Healer of Shattered Hearts; Sherri Mandell’s The Blessing of a Broken Heart; and Cohen and Mendes-Flohr’s book, Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought. “Because of the serious nature of the themes I’ll be addressing, I will make use of other references and news articles for anecdotal material and humor to help illustrate my talking points and “lighten” things up,” Weinsberg says. The rabbi says that after he identifies the themes he wants to address, it takes him about 10 hours per sermon to review the literature and type a fairly complete first draft. He then spends another two hours on each sermon for any needed modifications. “Generally each of my five High Holiday sermons, once typed, include 15-18 double-spaced pages, which take about 25 minutes to deliver.” The feedback Weinsberg says he has received regarding his past sermons suggests that they are “enjoyable, thought-provoking, and sometimes a bit long.” “For the most part, I sense that most of my listeners are inspired and re-energized by my sermons,” Weinsberg says. “While I hope to change people’s perspectives, I do not expect to alter their behavior, with some noteworthy exceptions. I believe that some of my sermons have the potential to transform certain congregants’ lives for the better, in conjunction with their own experiences and readings.” Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad of the North Shore says he focuses most of his energy on the “responsibility I have to the Kahal (congregation) to be the baal tokaya, the one who blows the shofar, to fulfill the obligation of the community in this primary mitzvah of the Yom Tov. I do this by studying the many ancient mystical texts associated with this mitzvah in the hope of being more open spiritually to the ‘inner space’ of the day.” Lipsker says that he tries to share these concepts through the various talks he gives throughout the services. “Jewish mysticism, however, teaches that the essence of the day is so lofty that the best vehicle to convey its essence is through the medium of the Niggun, the ancient melodies of the holy men of Tsfat and the Rebbes of Eastern Europe.” For the past three years, Rabbi Steve Rubenstein from Temple B’nai Abraham in Beverly has given each family in his congregation a gift that has been the focus of his sermons for the High Holidays. While his gift is a heavily guarded secret, not to be revealed until Rosh Hashanah morning, last year everyone received a pocket mirror to help them focus on what it means to live life in the image of God, and to reflect on what parts of themselves need focusing on. Another sermon spoke about the diversity and the plurality of Jewish expression, what does Jewish look like? “This year I’m working on a series of sermons that will address the issue of how we market Judaism to ourselves and to our children,” Rubenstein says, “trying to address the tough questions that many of us are afraid to ask ourselves, but not of our rabbis, like, ‘What is the meaning of life without a Red Sox World Series victory?’” Rubenstein says he tends to address issues of spirituality on the High Holidays rather than focus on political subjects or on Israel in the news. “The holidays are about the individual and our personal responsibilities to ourselves, to others, to God and to the world itself,” the rabbi says. “These are universal themes that need to be explored in different ways from one year to the next.” Similarly, his sources vary from year to year. “I rely on various books that evoke a response in me,” Rubenstein says. “From there the quotes from the Bible and the siddur liturgy find their ways into the sermons as footnotes to the illustrations of what I am attempting to convey.” Conferring with his colleagues also helps the rabbi to clarify various ideas. “Being at the CAJE conference (for Jewish educators) each August has certainly helped me to refine my ideas so that I’m in a comfortable place to write when I return to my office in late August.” As for his sermonic time frame, each takes its own time to complete, he says. “Some will be written in one sitting in a matter of hours, while others may take several attempts to start, taking days to develop until they reach maturity. Every sermon undergoes some revision after I share it with some good friends from out-of-town who volunteer each year to be my critics, letting me know whether I am striking the right chord with what I am trying to accomplish.” For
what kind of impact his sermons have on his congregants, Rubenstein says
you need to ask those on the receiving end. Rabbi Myron Geller’s focus at Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester will be “our temple centennial, life as a test, trust in an age of disbelief, and the nexus between Judaism and behavior.” For inspiration, Geller consults the Bible, rabbinic literature, newspapers and magazines. But mostly, the sermons come from his own thinking about the subjects. He also discuss themes and messages with his son-in-law, Steve Schwartz, and brother, Selwyn Geller, both congregational rabbis. How long does it take Geller to compose his sermons? “A long time,” he says. “I’ve been thinking about the subjects since the beginning of the summer, and I do several drafts in my head before anything is entered on the computer. I tinker and rewrite endlessly until erev Yom Tov when I print it out.” Geller says that in terms of his sermons’ impact, sometimes congregants tell him they remember a sermon they heard years ago that was just at the right moment and it comforted or encouraged or changed their life. “It’s happened more than once,” he says. “Or, people remember a story or lesson. Sometimes I hear that I missed an opportunity. There’s lots of openness at the High Holidays and people are paying attention. What the rabbi says matters in profound ways. Pirke Avot is right to warn rabbis to be attentive to their words. It’s endless subtlety, probably the most important interaction of the year between rabbi and congregation and needs to be taken seriously by everyone.” Anatomy
of a Tragedy: From Nablus to the North Shore Mark
Arnold This is not a pretty story, and there may be readers out there who believe it doesn’t belong in a Jewish newspaper. It is a human story, with a Palestinian face and a North Shore connection. It reminds us that the innocent people who suffer and die in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are not only those we usually identify with. Khaled Salah and his wife Salam were descendants of Moslem families that had lived in Nablus for generations. Khaled was an educator, an electrical engineer, founder of the electrical engineering department at the city’s An-Najah University. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California in Davis. It was there that this Palestinian couple, then in their 20s, met a young American couple, David and Laurie Gwynne, who would become life-long friends. In California, the first two of the four Salah children were born: Diana, now 23, and Amr, 19, both — through the accident of birth geography — American citizens. The Salahs might have tried to stay in the United States, but Khaled wanted to educate his people. So the family went back to live in Nablus, where their two other children were born: Mohammed, 16, and Ali, 11. The two Intifadas and the presence, in Nablus, of the Ein Bei Ilma refugee camp — scene of frequent fighting between Israeli troops and home-grown militants — made life frequently dangerous for residents. When things got too dangerous, the Salahs sent Amr to live in Beverly with the Gwynnes. Amr graduated from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in 2003 and went on to study computer science at Middlesex Community College in Lowell. The life of the family was shattered forever on July 6. A call from an uncle in Colorado brought home to Amr in Beverly the devastating news: His father and brother, Mohammed, had been killed by Israeli gunfire in their apartment in Nablus. His father, frantically waving his arms from the window of the apartment house, died immediately. His brother, who went to his father’s aid, bled to death. while his distraught mother pleaded in vain with Israeli soldiers to call an ambulance for him. These are facts, not conjecture. A spokesperson for the IDF told the Journal from Tel Aviv that the Salahs were “not in any way complicit in violent actions.” Killing innocents like these, he said, “is just what we don’t want to do.” Nablus, he said, is “the worst place” in the West Bank from the point of view of incidents. He said the killings are under investigation by the Army Chief of Staff. “We want to understand so things like this don’t recur,” he added. “We have expressed our regrets to the family for this very tragic incident.” What is known is that in the pre-dawn hours of July 6, the air outside the family’s apartment in the hills above Nablus was punctuated by the sounds of machine gun fire. Acting on intelligence information, an elite unit of the Israeli Defense Forces descended on the area and trapped two terrorist leaders, with whom they began a gun battle. One terrorist was killed, but in the exchange of fire an Israeli officer was also killed and a soldier injured. According to the IDF spokesman, the other terrorist escaped into the apartment house where the Salahs lived, with Israeli soldiers in hot pursuit. He ran up the stairwell, stopping at each level to shoot — “cynically taking advantage of the civilian population inside and endangering their lives,” according to an IDF announcement a few days later. Before he was killed on the roof by Israeli gunfire, he had injured a second IDF soldier. The Salahs, among 30 residents of the building at the time, had been awakened by the exchange of fire. When they realized in horror that the fighting had moved to their building, Khaled brought the children into the living room. There they lay on the floor, trembling, and — according to an account in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “folded into one another, five members of a family like one body. “ The account continued: “From time to time, another missile or shell hit the apartment and exploded, casting a lurid light, like fireworks. Occasionally, searchlights or the snipers’ red laser rays lit up the darkened living room… Salam and Khaled called everyone they could think of on Mohammed’s mobile phone, trying to find out what was happening” and pleading for help “as their home was gradually being destroyed by gunfire.....They heard the windows shattering, the water streaming from pipes that had burst....from above they heard the sound of a helicopter. The battle for the house was at its height.” Quiet fell. The Israelis ordered the building evacuated. Their announcement, in Arabic, said that anyone who didn’t come out would be blown up with the building. The Salahs tried to open the door of their apartment but it was jammed, damaged beyond repair by the gunfire. Unable to open the door and fearing for their lives if the building were blown up, Khaled went to the bedroom window and, again according to Haaretz, he leaned out, raised his arms, and shouted in English: “Sir, sir, we need help. Please come and open the door. I am a professor. We are people of peace. We have American passports.” There was no response. So he yelled, this time in Arabic: “Help, help, we need help.” Seconds later, according to Haaretz, Salam heard three shots. Her husband slumped to the floor, dead, a gunshot wound in his neck. Then she noticed her second son, Mohammed, lying on the carpet. Blood was flowing from his mouth, and his cheek was split open. “His eyes pleaded for help, but his mother had only paper towels. She opened the screen window in the room and shouted at the soldiers: ‘You killed my husband and my son.’ She says she heard a soldier laugh.” Later, the soldiers came to the apartment. According to Salam, “They shot at everything they found. There isn’t a dress, there isn’t a towel they didn’t shoot at. The computer, the refrigerator, all our belongings, they destroyed everything...a home of 20 years, all our memories, all our dreams, our whole history.” The IDF has expressed its regrets. It is investigating the incident. The family is seeking to join Amr in the United States. Diana is already a citizen, Salam has a green card, and David Gwynne is seeking to obtain humanitarian parole status for 11-year-old Ali so he can grow up in safety. According to the Gwynnes, Amr and his mother feel the leadership on both sides are reprehensible and dangerous. Salam refused to let Hamas have a presence at a memorial service for her husband and son last month. “They are killing our children,” she told David Gwynne. But her husband and son were killed — tragically, needlessly — by those whom most of us consider “the good guys.” New Cape Ann Congregation Begins in 5765 Gary
Band Rabbi Judy Epstein of Manchester-by-the-Sea is no stranger to Jewish education or the needs of an ever evolving and diverse Jewish populace. Responding to what she sees as a need for a congregation that “thinks outside the box” with regard to intermarriage and alternative family models, Epstein has formed Keshet Yam, or Rainbow by the Sea, in Manchester. “Keshet Yam reaches out to those who wouldn’t go to a traditional synagogue,” she says. Originally from Worcester, Epstein earned an undergraduate degree from Yeshiva University, a BRE from Hebrew College, a Masters and a Ph.D. in Jewish education from the University of Connecticut. And, after 20 years of “para-rabbinic” work for the Commission on Jewish Education in W. Hartford, CT, Epstein took the next logical step. “I always wanted to be a rabbi,” she says. While Rabbi Judy did not attend the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary in Philadelphia, the only accredited seminary for the Reconstructionist movement, she says she studied three days a week for three years with a group of rabbis — Emanuel Goldsmith, Philip Lazowski and Seymour Zahn in W. Hartford — and was ordained in the Reconstructionist tradition in 1994. “I was always a Reconstructionist but didn’t realize it,” Epstein says, referring to the movement begun by Mordechai Kaplan in the 1930s that has an estimated 100 congregations nationwide. “As soon as I became cognizant of what it was, I said, ‘that’s what I am, these are my traditions, these are my people, this is the kind of Jew I am.’” Soon after completing her studies, Epstein came back to the state of her birth and served as the rabbi of Congregation Shirat Hayam (Song of the Sea) in Duxbury and Marshfield for seven years. Now, with 50 reservations for High Holiday services — to be held at the Manchester Community Center and the Magnolia Library — the Manchester resident is fulfilling a need. “I’m an important link in a chain, helping people find their way into this kind of Judaism,” Epstein says. Arnold Friedman is a musician who recently returned to the Boston area to teach composition and cello at the Berklee College of Music. “I had lived in Gloucester before, and love this area. My religious background is informal, but I value Jewish heritage and spirituality. When I saw a flyer for Rabbi Judy’s Rainbow By The Sea I was intrigued, visited the website, and contacted the rabbi by e-mail. The web site offers an welcoming, inclusive, liberal Judaism that draws from the wisdom of other traditions. That harmonizes well with my own philosophy.” Epstein invited Friedman to play the cello version of Kol Nidre for the eve of Yom Kippur. “I have done that many times, including at Ohabai Shalom in Brookline and Temple Israel on the Riverway. It will be a special pleasure to offer it to this newly formed community.”
Four Days Before the Primaries, Incumbent State Rep. Addresses Issues Gary
Band Q:
With regard to the safety net of health and human services, harmful
cuts have been made in last couple of years. What do you think are the
most troubling of the recent round of budget cuts, what do you think can
and should be done, and what will you do to reduce the cuts and raise
the revenue? Q:
What are your priorities should you be elected? Q:
What are your thoughts on the current state and the future of the Salem
Power Plant? Q:
Do you think the state should continue to provide funding for nursing
homes to provide kosher food? Why or why not? Q:
Why do you think you’re the best candidate for the job?
Are Jewish Groups Being Investigated? Matthew
E. Berger A week after allegations first broke suggesting that AIPAC was involved in the exchange of classified information from the Pentagon to Israeli officials, new reports suggest FBI investigators have been monitoring the pro-Israel lobby for more than two years. The first question many in the Jewish community are asking is, “Why?” “We’re pitching in the dark,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We haven’t seen a shred of evidence.” Much remains unknown about the origins of the investigation, hurting Jewish groups’ ability to respond and defend one of the most prominent organizations in the community. While they work to exonerate AIPAC in the public eye, Jewish leaders say they also must make sure the issue won’t affect the way they do business. Groups worry that they too could be targeted for investigation or left to deal with potentially changed perceptions of the organized American Jewish community. Jewish leaders said talks are ongoing as to new ways to defend AIPAC and the Jewish community in both public and private contexts. With the summer ended and people in Washington returning to work, the next few weeks will be an important test for how the organized Jewish community is perceived in the capital. “It really has done a considerable amount of harm, no matter what the outcome is,” said Barry Jacobs, director of strategic studies at the American Jewish Committee. “It’s going to circumscribe our ability to do what any nonprofit does, which is obtain information and exchange views.” Chief among the concerns is whether other Jewish entities might be under investigation without their knowledge, or are being monitored in relation to this case. “If they are watching AIPAC, how many other Jewish organizations are they watching as well?” asked Tom Neumann, executive director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Confident they have nothing to hide, Jewish leaders say they won’t change the way they do business. But the case could serve as a guide to reinforce to Jewish officials the need to play by the rules on security matters. “Are
we too lax in our discussions, leaving the door open for misunderstandings?”
one Jewish leader wondered. “They don’t necessarily know the difference between AIPAC and JCPA and the federations,” said Hannah Rosenthal, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Congressional officials say they’ll take a wait-and-see approach toward AIPAC, but are skeptical about the investigation. One Democratic congressional aide said if the issue under scrutiny was a policy discussion about Iran, as has been reported, the line between legal and illegal dialogue is pretty thin. Publicly, Jewish leaders remain solidly behind AIPAC. Several Jewish organizations have released statements supporting the work AIPAC has done over the years, and most others have expressed similar thoughts when asked by reporters. AIPAC is one of the best-known Jewish organizations in the country, respected for its strong ties to government officials, especially members of Congress. While some Jewish groups resent AIPAC’s ability to set the Jewish community’s agenda on Middle East matters, or don’t always agree with its tactics, there is strong sentiment that any negative attention for AIPAC will hurt all Jewish groups’ efforts. Some Jewish leaders say the initial feeling in the community was that it was better not to speak out — not because of a lack of support for AIPAC but in hopes of minimizing media coverage of the story. But now that more than 300 articles already have been written on the issue in American newspapers, that thinking has changed. Jewish leaders now are minimizing the investigation, suggesting it can’t be of real merit because it has been going on for two years without arrests. They also note that if there were merit to the case it’s unlikely that President Bush and his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, would have addressed the group after the investigation was launched. Rice reportedly was aware of the investigation. If the FBI is pursuing an intelligence investigation, as is believed, and not a criminal investigation, it’s hard to know what launched it. The guidelines for that type of investigation are classified, a former senior FBI official said. He said it would be normal for the investigation to go on for a long time without arrests, though it would have be to reviewed and adjudicated internally at the FBI or Justice Department. “AIPAC is not a soft target,” the official said. “To launch an investigation against AIPAC, you are going to have to have some credible information to go with it.” Once an investigation is launched, its direction can be tailored by people who may be out to prove — because of bias or in the interest of catching a big fish — that AIPAC acted illegally, Jewish leaders said. “Overall, it’s finding a needle in a haystack,” said JINSA’s Neumann. “If you go into enough haystacks, you’ll find something that resembles a needle but is not a needle.” There also is concern that the saga may not have a succinct end. It may be difficult to learn when the investigation into AIPAC is completed, if no charges are filed or to know its exact origins — information Jewish leaders say would be useful in clearing the name of AIPAC and the community in general. “I don’t think there is a great deal of trust in an investigation in this political climate,” said Rosenthal of the JCPA. “I hope we find out the facts and find out why someone would start this story.” For now, theories abound. Some suggest anti-Semitic or anti-Israel entities within the government are propelling the investigation forward or leaking it to the media. Others suggest that opponents of the war in Iraq are trying to tie some of its key architects — so-called “neo-conservatives” in the Pentagon — to Israel and to possible dual loyalties. AIPAC is hoping to weather the storm by proving its strength as an organization. “We cannot abide any suggestion that American citizens should be perceived as being involved in illegal activities simply for seeking to participate in the decisions of their elected leaders, or the officials who work for them,” read a letter, signed by AIPAC’s president, Bernice Manocherian, and executive director, Howard Kohr. “That is our right as citizens of the greatest democracy in the history of mankind. That is a right we will proudly exercise. That is a right we will staunchly defend.’’
Why Jews Should Vote for President Bush Edward
Friedman Some Jews border on blasphemy by implying that God is on their side in political battles where good and evil do not apply. Many claim that Jewish values coincide with Democratic Party values and that voting Republican violates Jewish principles. Sixty years ago, maybe. Republicans were isolationist and narrow-minded, while Democrats from 1933 to the mid-1960s wanted a strong America that would destroy anyone who threatened us, without regard for the casualties on the other side. We consulted our allies, but we mostly fought wars our way. Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman convinced the Republicans that this was the way to protect America, and all later Republican presidents agreed. But unlike Roosevelt and Truman, John Kerry and the today’s Democrats don’t want America to be the unqualifiedly strongest nation on earth, or to use that strength as we see best, without concern for what others may think. Democrats fault George W. Bush for maintaining close ties to Saudi Arabia — a non sequitor. All 12 presidents since 1940 — six Democrats and six Republicans — have maintained these ties. Holding GWB singly responsible for them, which mainly derives from State Department anti-Semitism and our need for Saudi oil, demonstrates extreme naivete or extreme dishonesty. More disingenuous is the implication that John Kerry would have behaved differently. (Democrats who really want to end these close ties to the Saudis and their oil should join the Republicans and push the development of domestic oil and coal resources and the building of nuclear power plants.) Jewish Democrats strain to find evidence of John Kerry’s “unwavering support for Israel,” noting the total irrelevancy that Kerry’s brother converted to Judaism. The problem is not Kerry’s brother, Jewish or not. The problem is that John Kerry, like Jimmy Carter before him, has never met an Israel-hating Communist tyranny he didn’t like, from North Viet Nam to the Sandinistas to Fidel Castro. If John Kerry is so unwavering in his support for Israel, why didn’t he mention Israel at the Democratic Convention? Was he afraid that doing so might rile up and anger his ultra-left wing Arabist base, or because he didn’t want to get booed by the Democrats’ Arabist Jimmy Carter/Congressional Black Caucus/Michael Moore wing? Even if Kerry’s support for Israel is more than mere political posturing, the ultra-lefties in his party will drag him far from the almost total support given Israel by George W. Bush. George Bush, like most Fundamentalist Christians, supports Israel more strongly than many Jews, including some whose work regularly appears in this Jewish Journal. The worst American antagonists of Israel, aside from Muslims, are liberal churches, liberal politicians, and, sorry to say, many liberal Jews. GWB is the strongest pro-Israel President in history, and yet more Jews compare him to Hitler than to Cyrus. The Democratic party is no longer the party of FDR, HST and JFK, strong Presidents who believed in a strong America. The Democratic party is now the party of appeasers and apologists: George McGovern, Jimmy Carter and John Kerry. The Democratic Party platform is not the Talmud. Both party platforms support a strong Israel. The difference is that the Republicans mean it. Edward Friedman, Ph.D., is a retired scientist who lives in Marblehead. He may be reached at iandiande@hotmail.com. People in the News
Arts & EntertainmentGays
and God Susan
Jacobs The concept of an openly-gay Orthodox rabbi is rather unorthodox. For many years, Rabbi Steven Greenberg struggled with his two seemingly incompatible identities — that of an observant clergyman and that of a male homosexual. The journey to successfully reconcile the disparate elements has taken Greenberg a decade, during which time he did a lot of research, resulting in the recently published Wrestling With God & Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. In the book, Greenberg carefully dissects biblical scripture to conclude that homosexuality is not a prohibited lifestyle.
“For most gay Jews, gayness is not up for reconsideration. It exists. It will not go away because the Torah is deemed to prohibit it. For many Jews, homosexuality is not on the line; Judaism is. The challenge of gay inclusion tests any tradition’s capacity to engage with diversity, to encounter the world responsibly as it is rather than as it is wished to be,” he writes. After years of hiding his sexuality, Greenberg is now comfortable discussing it. A senior teaching fellow at CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in New York, he plans to spend much of the coming year “travelling around the world, opening up dialogues, listening to challenges on each side of this issue, and engaging in a deep and thoughtful way about sexuality and Judaism that will hopefully expand our horizons and deepen our commitment to Jewish learning.” Greenberg, 48, will appear at Harvard University in Cambridge on September 21 to participate in a panel discussion on ‘Gays and God.’ He is perhaps best known for starring in Trembling Before G-d, the 2001 award-winning documentary about gay Orthodox Jews directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski. Although
he now feels comfortable publicly exposing himself as a gay Orthodox man,
that wasn’t always the case. “My problem in publicly coming
out was that saying I was gay sounded almost exhibitionist. I didn’t
have a partner at that time, so saying I was gay was like sharing my sexual
fantasies and desires, which is really not anyone else’s business.
I couldn't come out until it was framed as something more than a personal
revelation," he says. They live together on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and are accepted members of two different Orthodox congregations in their neighborhood. Greenberg
acknowledges that, for a long time, his homosexuality affected his ability
to pray. “For years I prayed to God to take the scourge of perversity
away from me. Sometimes, despairing, I would go to the roof of my apartment
building in the Bronx, put on my tefillin, and sit numb and silent staring
at the Hudson River below, unable to pray,” he writes in his book.
“Years later, when I began my first gay relationship, prayer returned
to me. No longer numb, I was overwhelmed with feeling. Some mornings,
having lain in the arms of my lover all night, I could not bear to put
on my tefillin in the morning. At other times I took enormous pleasure
in my morning davening, celebrating my very aliveness, having been half
dead for so many years.” Although initially concerned about whether he could find enough material supporting a religious defense of gay life and love, he meticulously combed through mountains of material. “Being a rabbi actually helped me resolve my personal conflict because through my rabbinic training I found myself attracted, again and again, to hard verses in the text and I was inspired to wrestle with them, turn them on their head, find new meaning and interpretation. Repeatedly, I found that they were sites of surprising revelation,” he said. In 1993 he published an article in Tikkun magazine under a pseudonym about being gay and Orthodox. He received a great deal of correspondence, which made him realize that he had touched a nerve. He continued writing and researching during a two-year sabbatical in Israel. When he returned to New York in 1998, he had gathered enough material for the book, which took a total of eight years to complete. Greenberg hopes that the book will help people reconnect to their religious communities that they thought rejected them, and to God who they thought hated them. The Journal recently spoke with Rabbi Greenberg in New York. J.J.
Were your parents more upset when you told them that your were Orthodox,
or gay? J.J.
You lived through the Gay Liberation movement. How did it impact you?
J.J.
What was it like living with two warring identities? J.J.
How would you compare the politics of homosexuality to the politics of
religion? J.J.
Many of your critics believe gays should just stay in the closet or move
to San Francisco. J.J.
Is the response from the Orthodox community different here than it is
in Israel? In America, there are Orthodox rabbis who won’t even enter the debate and will not allow me to speak publicly about this. I must add that resistance more commonly comes from the elders. The new generation of young Orthodox Jews have a different position from their parents — they have watched America mainstream gay presence for the past 10 years. They may not have a technical solution to the problem, but they are unwilling to exclude gay people. J.J.
Many gays, Jewish and Christian, form their own congregations for religious
worship. Do you support this type of separatist approach?
EditorialGlobal Terrorism: Our Children’s Cold War Rosh Hashanah is a time for taking stock of our own lives and the lives of the Jewish people globally. Last year the headline on our Rosh Hashanah editorial said it all: “Let’s Hope 5764 is a Better Jewish Year.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t. We said then that the year just ended, 5763, “saw a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe, of devastating suicide bombings in Israel, of dramatic intervention in Iraq by the United States — all without resolution.” If anything, things have gotten worse since then, at least for Jews outside the United States. Anti-Semitism is stronger in many parts of the world, not only Europe; the U.S. is bogged down in Iraq the way it was bogged down in Vietnam, resisted by people who hated Saddam Hussein at least as much as did the United States. Happily — if that word can be used in this context — there are fewer suicide bombings in Israel now, thanks to the Sharon government’s gutsy insistence on building a physical, though highly controversial, barrier between Israel and the West Bank and its success in killing off many of the leaders of Palestinian terrorism. But Israel has less support internationally than it did a year ago, and global terrorism is growing rather than diminishing in scope and intensity. Witness the unbelievable cruelty of the hostage-takers, believed at first to all be citizens of Chechnya , in the southern Russian town of Beslan. In a scene almost too horrible to describe, they held 1,200 school-children, parents, and teachers without food and water for days. When Russian troops ineptly stormed the hostage site, more than 300 died, half of them children. It has escaped general notice that 10 of the 32 suicide attackers in Russia were Arab nationals, from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, according to news reports. That and other similarities prompted Prime Minister Sharon to call on all civilized nations to “unite and fight this terrible plague (terrorism), which has no borders or fences.” Significantly, Russia’s foreign minister, who was then visiting Israel, rejected any link between terrorism against Israel and terrorism against Russia. “How can one be an occupier in his own country? Chechyna is part of Russia,” he said. Refuting his statement, columnist Ariel Natan Pasko wrote in a perceptive column: “Czarist Russia occupied Chechyna in the 19th century; the Jewish people’s homeland included Judea, Samaria, and Gaza for about 29 centuries longer.” Luckily we Americans live in the country where Jews can feel most secure, where we as a people have thrived, and excelled, and been accepted, and it is that very freedom, and the assimilation it fosters, that is our greatest internal threat today. Global terrorism is the equivalent in the lives of our children and grandchildren of the Cold War in ours. Only it’s worse. There’s no way to escape the worry of it, for terrorists without regard for human life can strike any place anytime. Communists were, by and large, more civilized. So here’s our updated headline: Let’s Hope 5765 is a Better Jewish Year — for our people, for our country, for you and your family, for all mankind. — Mark R. Arnold Local ColumnistsOn Jews and Dual Loyalty
The Boston Globe recently ran a column titled “American Jews and Dual Loyalty,” by H.D.S. Greenway (August 27). Greenway argues that Americans of Cuban or British (especially in the 1930s) or Irish (re Northern Island) or African-American (re South Africa) have had no sensitivity about standing up and urging American policies to promote their interests in the countries of their origin. Quoting another writer, he admonishes American Jews to “admit openly that of course the fate of Israel is much on their minds.” I can only ask: “In what world, Mr. Greenway, do you live?” Not mine. Every Jew I have ever met has a special feeling for Israel, much different from their feelings about Iceland or Estonia. Individual Jewish sentiment may range from harshly critical to fawning acceptance, but the existence of Israel and the well being of its citizens, especially in times of Middle East crisis, is very much on Jewish minds. Our support, personally and through various Jewish organizations, is open, proud and generous. We are comfortable with public signs: Israeli flags wave next to American flags at synagogues, temples, community centers, outdoor rallies and demonstrations, as we sing together the Star Spangled Banner and Hatikva. With pride in both nations, we are neither bashful nor afraid. So, why do I criticize Greenway and the Globe headline writer? Because the words “dual loyalty,” and Jews in a headline (what readers most remember) breathes a bit of life into the old anti-Semitic canard.Over centuries, even before Israel’s birth, Jews were accused of primary allegiance to some international Jewish conspiracy. America’s most famous auto magnate, Henry Ford, in the 1920s and 1930s distributed anti-Jewish pamphlets “The International Jew” and “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Charles Coughlin, the notorious anti-Semitic Detroit priest, disseminated charges of conspiracy and disloyalty by Jews on his nationwide radio broadcast from1937 to 1942. This anti-Semitism was not born in America but was a continuation of charges that arose in every European country from time to time, from Spain to Russia and all the places in between. Theodor Herzl, a Viennese reporter covering the Dreyfus Case in Paris, angered by the anti-Semitic charges of disloyalty against French Army Colonel Alfred Dreyfus, wrote “The Jewish State” and become the major icon of modern Zionism. To Jews, or at least to this Jew, the words ”dual loyalty” are akin to the “N” word for African-Americans or “clergy sexual abuse” for Catholics. Insiders may discuss these topics and words as fervently as they wish, but outsiders ought to be very cautious. When an outsider lectures somebody or some group about how they ought to feel, serious conflict is in the offing. Do the current anonymous charges and denials revolving around official secret documents and a mid-level Defense Department official, AIPAC (the pro-Israel lobbying organization) and officials from the Israel Embassy prove something about Jews and dual loyalty? No. First, the American official is not Jewish, but even if he were, that proves nothing about 6 million American Jews. This case at worst may be a very stupid American civil servant combined with inexcusable acts by AIPAC and Israeli officials for which — if the worst proves true — they deserve disrepute and punishment. Or maybe not. Second, remember Washington is filled with government, private sector and embassy people gathering data on everything, including each other. They meet, they talk, they read, they lunch (often on expense accounts) and they write reports. Finally, remember election time, what the British call “the Silly Season,” when the most bizarre half-truths and lies are concocted, and newspapers and television networks blindly report tthem. Better to suspend judgment on lots of things until after the election.
Sun, Surf, Sand and the Seed of Abraham
As I lie on the beach in August, I am full of remorse. it is so beautiful here, so breathtakingly fresh and bursting with sunshine. Why did I not spend the whole summer here? I curse the hours I spent indoors performing dreary tasks. I grasp ebbing fists full of warm sand. I breathe deeply and am again beach besotted. On this brilliantly lit stage, so elemental and exotic, life beams back its energy to the Creator. And now it’s too late. In a week, this beach, throbbing with sensuality, light and air, will lie abandoned. The days will abbreviate, as they always do. Darkness will overwhelm. And we will all take to our mouse holes, melting fresh vegetables into hot stews to sustain us through winter’s cold reign. For Jews, the end of summer always comes with a stern bump. We rouse ourselves from delicious indulgences to confront the intensity of the high holidays. Bathing suits and soft terry towels yield to the stiff formality of our personal and collective synagogue business. The Gates of Repentance unbolt for a mere 10 days. HaShem opens the Book of Life and dangles each of us over its pages. We wish to be inscribed and sealed for another year, to be blessed with another summer of gentle wind and raucous surf. But certainty is the rug pulled out from under us during the Days of Awe. It is our tradition to confront our behaviors, our beliefs, the failures we have accumulated, whether by intent or inattention. The faith of our ancestors requires us to turn our souls inside out, inspecting them for wear and flaw. We apologize for our sins. We revere the Creator. We culminate this exhausting process with fasting and prostration, a veritable colonoscopy of the soul. So busy are we during these days of intense prayer and calculations of remorse that we easily forget the pleasures of the beach during summer. Even during Tashlich, on a brief beach visit to symbolically cast away our sins, we are focused on rituals of purification. Thus, as Jews, we are always future focused. Yet, were we to look back, to remember the millions, billions, and trillions of tiny grains of sand that were hot under our feet in summer, we might remember the promise made to Abraham that his seed will be as numerous as the dust of the ground. God told Abraham that if someone could measure the dust of the ground — or the sand on the beach — only so could Abraham’s seed be measured. Abraham was promised that we, the Jewish people, would be so numerous as to be uncountable, as multitudinous as the stars in the sky, the sand in the desert. And yet, look around you. We are the incredibly shrinking Jewish people, in every generation flirting with oblivion, quantified by grim statisticians and voted the least populous and likely to survive among all the nations. Jewish women are notoriously infertile, their families barely reproducing enough children to keep pace with death and attrition. No matter what our strength, our intelligence, our accomplishment — no matter how vibrant and creative our culture — it is our shrinking numbers that will ultimately determine whether we continue as a people, whether we hold on to our precious Eretz Yisrael. The Palestinian birthrate is staggering; the highest on the planet. The Jewish birthrate, traditionally, has been among the lowest. As I look back at the summer, at the roaring voice of the surf, the serenity of the sky, and at the innumerable grains of sinuous sand, I cannot help but remember the promise made to Abraham and wonder. Why does this promise remain unfulfilled? A great tzaddik, like Shneur Zalman of Liadi, might presume to take God to task, to demand justice, when he feels the Creator is derelict in some manner. Myself, as I dangle precipitously over the Book of Life during the Ten Days, I doubt that I will have the temerity to ask.
Paradise with Irv and Shirl
I recently had the good fortune to spend 10 glorious days basking in the sun and fun of Saint Thomas with my family. Since our girls were toddlers, we always spend the last two weeks of summer relishing the warm weather and the sheer pleasure of enjoying each other’s company sans schedules and external demands. As our girls have grown, we’ve graduated from the tide pools of Cape Cod to more exotic destinations. I snicker when I compare my daughters’ activities of parasailing, snorkeling and diving in sapphire blue Caribbean waters to my teenage memories of summers power tanning with tin foil on Revere Beach and savoring a Kelly’s roast beef sandwich. There is one motif that remains central in my life and travels. No matter in what corner of the world I roam, I invariably bump into an elderly Jewish couple that belongs on Seinfeld. Now I understand that the odds are increased when I visit my in-laws in Boynton Beach or my sister-in-law in Long Island, but what is the probability that we would go to a Caribbean Night show in Saint Thomas featuring Lady Voo Doo eating fire and stamping on glass and end up sitting next to Irv and Shirl from New Jersey? Shirl was kfelling over a great deal she got on diamond earrings for her granddaughter’s bat mitzvah. Irv was pumped because he could operate his digital camera and Lady VooDoo asked him to strip her of her boot before she stomped on the glass. I got a chuckle out of Shirl when I commented that I didn’t think Lady Voo Doo (who was wearing a see-through body suit) was Jewish. For a split second, I forgot that I was on an island surrounded by diverse people from around the nation. I thought I was in the Weiss Kirstein lounge at the Jewish Community Center. On our last night in Saint Thomas, we dined at a lovely restaurant and naturally bumped into Irv and Shirl. She greeted me with a big hug and told me she found another pair of earings cheaper and bought them for her other granddaughter. Irv showed Mitch some photos on his digital camera. I must admit that when I leafed through the travel brochure I had envisioned my family chatting with natives and hearing about island folklore. We actually did meet many interesting people from the island and beyond. There was Phillomen who braided my daughters’ hair. She told us that she has been braiding hair on Saint Johns for 32 years. She smiled broadly when she told me that she thought I was pretty, but she loved herself and thought she was prettier. We met up with a local woman on Coki Beach who told us she kept her kids in line by hitting them with a frying pan. We had dinner with Melissa and Devin from New York who were celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary. And
of course, our vacation wouldn’t have been complete without the Caribbean
Night with Irv and Shirl. They were so familiar even though we had never
met. And even though I have no idea where we’ll go next summer, I
can be certain of two things. The weather will be warm and sunny and Irv
and Shirl’s friends will be there to greet me.
The Price Of Vigilance in America
When Islamist murderers killed some 3,000 Americans three years ago, America was awakened to the awful reality of modern terrorism. Perhaps we had thought that terror was always elsewhere — if no longer in Northern Ireland, then maybe in Russia or Kashmir or, yet again, in Israel. After all, the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993 must have been an aberration, and Timothy McVeigh’s blowing up a federal office building in Oklahoma City in 1995 was the work of a demented American, not some foreigner. With 9-11, however, the pattern was clear: Al-Qaeda’s terrorist reach spanned from the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and attacks on American troops in Mogadishu, Somalia, to the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania to the 2000 assault on the guided missile destroyer USS Cole near Yemen. These people hate us, indiscriminately, and are prepared to do absolutely anything that will take American lives. What
they hope to accomplish, beyond the killing itself, isn’t clear.
But the fact that they are not going to go away is sickeningly evident.
In the intervening three years, we have had to learn to think like Israelis. How safe is that nightclub? Should my parents take that flight? Can I put my child on that bus? We are paying a price for our vigilance. We have acceded to government invasion of our privacy, to ethnic profiling, to suspension of legal rights, even to preemptive war in our battle to stay safe. In this pursuit of survival, we have made ourselves less the Americans we thought we were, much as we did by interning Japanese Americans during World War II and tolerating Sen. Joe McCarthy during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Our challenge is figuring out just how far we can go between our liberties and our self-preservation. The curious fact is that we cannot be sure that we are really safer as a result of our tighter security and vigilance since 9-11. Osama bin Laden is still at large, and the number of Muslims violently angry with the United States has grown since the invasion of Iraq. Al Qaeda’s terrorists might still find ways to get a nuclear device into a container ship and blow up Los Angeles. They might still find chemical or biological agents to release into water supplies or on subways. People who do not care if they die attacking us, who actually believe they are morally superior for murdering innocents, are almost impossible to stop. If you don’t believe that, think about Chechen terrorists who blew up two planes in Russia and took hundreds of children hostage at a school. Or think about the Hamas bus bombers in Beersheva, happy to die and to take 16 Israelis with them. War is not the right term for how we must deal with this evil madness, because warfare implies an equal enemy, one who observes some central human decencies. To go to war is to put everything else aside. But we cannot let terror and the fear of terror preoccupy us. We have too much work to do, in this country and abroad. As we fight the terrorists, we must work twice as hard to remain who we are. Like the Jewish nation, America must continue to hold up its light to the world, to be a beacon that shines above the three-year-old ashes of Ground Zero.
Time To Take the Jewish Pundit Quiz on Next Year’s News
Was 5764 a good year? For Jews around the world, it was the usual mixed bag of bad and even worse news. Abroad, there was worry about anti-Semitism in Europe, a seeming stalemate in Iraq and little let-up in the ongoing terrorist war against Israel. At home, scandals and partisan politics seemed to take center stage. But the arrival of a new Jewish year has us asking the same question about what’s in store for 5765: Can things get worse? Of course, they can! But even as we cope with terrorism, and hold our breath about the outcome of the November election and Israel’s plan to pull out of Gaza, we shouldn’t lose what is left of our sense of humor. So before the Almighty writes down just how much worse (or better) it will be for us in the proverbial Book of Life, I present (with apologies, as always, to New York Times columnist William Safire) the annual Jewish Exponent Jewish Pundit Quiz for 5765. For the record, in last year’s quiz, I was right about the future of the peace process. No applause please, predicting a stalemate there is like shooting fish in a barrel. However, I also wrongly predicted that Howard Dean would win the Democratic nomination for president and that Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ would bomb at the box office. Topping those whoppers will be difficult. Save this column, and see if you or I do better this time. So guess, or should I say prognosticate, along with me about the coming year. My answers are at the bottom of the column. And remember, if you are worried about the outcome, teshuvah (“repentance”), tefillah (“prayer”) and tzedekah (“acts of justice and charity”) may avert the severe decree. L’Shanah
Tovah Tikatevu! 2.
What will be Bush’s percentage of the Jewish vote: 3.
The biggest Jewish winner(s) of the 2004 election will be: 4.
By the end of 5765, the conflict in Iraq will be: 5.
The key player on Middle East policy in the next four years will be: 6.
By the end of 5765, Jewish settlements in Gaza will be: 7.
The most significant event in Jewish history to take place in 5765 will
be: 8.
The most hotly debated issue among American Jews in 5765 will be: Tobin’s answers: 1. a, 2. c, 3. a, 4. b, 5. d, 6. b, 7. d, 8. a
Reporter Too Kind to Bush I am putting ink to paper to give proper credit to the Jewish Journal for its excellent material on Judaism in our area. However, this time I am writing to complain about the front page story, “One-on-One With President Bush” (August 27) because of the President’s questionable replies to questions put by reporter Trudy B. Feldman. Usually, when one is questioned there is the opposite side given. Not here. Our President states time and again he hopes to do this or that — all hopes, not facts or laws, to answer our economic and many other needs. He told us our taxes are to be going down. It’s true for the wealthy of our country, but nothing for the really needy or at best only a little. Bush says he has good relations with Israel. All it is is good relations with Sharon. Why doesn’t he put his pressure on Arafat? Get him out as Palestinian leader. All Arafat does is stop plans for peace and seek to push Israel into the sea, as he has stated many times. Also, I wonder how the families of our dead soldiers feel towards this unneeded war.
Cantor Morton S. Shanok (ret.)
Kerry’s Support for Israel Questionable The final 567-page report of the National Commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attack reveals al-Qaeda’s desire to strike at Israeli and Jewish targets, as well as American ones. It is realism, not alarmism, to acknowledge “deja-vu, all over again” with the juxtaposition of al-Qaeda with Hitler, and Naziism against worldwide anti-Semitism, centered in Islam. Under President Bush’s courageous leadership, the battle against Islamic terror has been joined in Afghanistan and Iraq. This existential conflict cannot be an abstract concept for debate among Jewish people. President Bush’s heart is with Israel, and he is deeply committed to fighting Islamic terror. In this respect — which, for Jews and the free world overwhelms in importance all other issues, domestic or foreign — President Bush is a known quantity. Senator Kerry, at best, is an indecisive question mark, made more so by the indeterminable influence of Teresa Heinz Kerry, some of whose money has supported organizations inimical to the interests of Israel and the Jewish people. In today’s circumstances, it is appropriate to ask oneself if a vote for Senator Kerry is responsible. Robert
Israel Lappin Blowout Inspires Poetry On
Tuesday, August 17, our family had the pleasure of watching (and hearing!)
the Great Shofar Blowout at King’s Beach in Swampscott. As we waited
for the event to begin, we wondered what on earth 500 shofars blown in
unison would sound like. Margaret,
Steve and Peter Eckman Games: A Clear Win On behalf of the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, I want to thank all those involved with the Maccabi games. There are many to acknowledge; I apologize in advance if I’ve left anyone out. Thanks to all our wonderful host families. With so many athletes converging on Newton and the surrounding towns, they helped make a difference in the lives of the Maccabi athletes. I’ve heard that in many cases the friendships made will transcend the games. Thank you for your generosity in opening your homes and your hearts. Todah Rabah to all our coaches and assistant coaches. To our Maccabi chairs and to our dedicated JCC staff. Last, but not least, to our Maccabi athletes and reporters, thank you for participating, for being good sports and for exhibiting rachmanes (compassion). I hope that you made new friends, had a great time competing and will cherish the memories of this amazing experience for many years to come. May we all continue the incredible spirit of the Maccabi games throughout the year! Diane
Knopf BELL, Aaron J. — late of Swampscott, formerly of Marblehead. Died Sept. 5. Husband of Toby (Rosenberg) Bell. Father of Esther and Robert Isenberg of Lexington, and Professor Morris David Bell and Dr. Raina Sotsky of Woodbridge, CT. Brother of the late Anna, Solomon and Elihu Bell, and Edith Finkle. Grandfather of five. Uncle of many nieces and nephews. (S) FELDBAU, Max — late of Revere. Died Aug. 23. Husband of the late Fanny (Antreiber) Feldbau. Father of James and Eileen Feldbau of Marblehead. Brother of the late Willy Feldbau and Manya Salzberg. Grandfather of Marla and Ethan Feldbau. (S) GAHM, Doris (Adelson) — late of Everett. Died Sept. 1. Wife of Irving Gahm. Mother of Dale E. and Jerald Fishman of Weston, and Ronna McAdam of Burlington. Sister of Sidney Adelson, Norma Gibbs and Bernard Adelson. Grandmother of Elizabeth S. Fishman and Andrew D. Fishman. (T) KATES, Mollie (Golditch) — late of Greensboro, NC, formerly of Chelsea. Died Aug. | |||||||||||||||