xt70cf9j6v90 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70cf9j6v90/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2010-03 Newspaper of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, previously named the Central Kentucky Jewish Association and Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. Published ten times annually. The Federation seeks to bring Jewish community members together through holiday parties, lectures, Yiddish courses, meals, and other celebrations of Jewish heritage and culture. They also host fundraisers and provide financial assistance for Jews in need, both locally and around the world. This collection is part of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records, 2016ms010. newsletters 2016ms010 English Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Inc.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records Jews -- Kentucky -- Lexington Jews -- History Shalom, March 2010 text image Shalom, March 2010 2010 2010-03 2025 true xt70cf9j6v90 section xt70cf9j6v90 Shalam

~——————— CAMPAIGNNEWS —-——

 

MARCH 2010

:- Super Sunday to be March 21

Help needed to maintain progress

We need your help! Super Sunday

will open the 2010 Jewish Federation
of the Bluegrass Community Cam-
paign. Please volunteer to phone your
friends, to help with filing and sort-
ing, to join us for the Services Auction
and pizza lunch, to answer your own
phone when we call, and to give with a
generous heart.

In spite of difficult economic condi—
tions, the 2009 Campaign was able to
remain steady. Help us ensure that we

can enhance mxz‘viws m the future ‘0

stretchinnand increasing your contri-
myou pledge now and begin to

E
i

pay in installments, you will have nine
months to complete your pledge. A gift
of $1,800 would be just $200 a month.
A gift of $180 would be only $20 a
month. Whatever you can give will
make a difference in our community
and to Jewish communities around the
world.

Proceeds from Super Sunday and the
Services Auction will help provide our
children with wonderful Jewish experi-
ences at Camp Shalom and will help
provide our parents with support and
activities through the Jewish Family
Services. We help those in need with
camp scholarships and emergency
loans. We enhance the lives of troubled
Israeli youth through music and horse—
back riding therapy programs at Ben
Yakir. We educate the general com-
munity about Jewish and social issues
and advocate for Israel through our
Community Relations Committee. We
e’cOme together to commemorate Yom
Hashoah, Yom Ha’atzmaut, and Mar-
tin Luther King Day. We reach out and
educate the community through the
publication of Shalom, Jewish Weekly,
and our website, www.jewishlexing-
ton.org.

Without you, none of this would be
possible. Thank you for your past sup—
port. We know

 

 

we can count on
you in 2010. Our
community’s
future depends
on it.

To volunteer

or make a gift,
please call Judy
Wortrnan at
(859) 268—0672 or
email her at jfb@
jewishlexington.
org. fi

Kathy Feinberg making Super Sunday phone calls.

 

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Newspaper of

The jewish Federation

OF THE BLUEGRASS

 

ADARINISAN 5770

Celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut with live

music and ethnic cuisine
Event at Natasha’s offers good food and entertainment

By Jane LaZur

Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass
promises a treat this year for Yom
Ha'atzmaut on Sunday, April 18 at 6:00
pm. at Natasha’s Café. Savor a meal
while enjoying the music of Fran Moss.
For eighteen years, Fran Moss—who
has studied with Debbie Friedman,
Jeff Klepper, and Theodore Bikel—has
been a professional singer and actress
in theater, television, films, and com-
mercials. She is also a cantorial soloist
as well as a folk singer, puppeteer,

and storyteller who has appeared in
Carnegie Hall and performed before

a former first lady. We are pleased to
bring her to Lexington, where you can
hear her for the minimal fee of $10 (in
addition to the cost of your meal).

Fran Moss was born and raised in Chi-
cago, Illinois, and earned her bache-
lor’s degree in speech and theater from
the University of Wisconsin in Madi-
son. She did post graduate work in
elementary education at Northeastern
Illinois University and also studied at

the Center for Leadership Design and
at the Disney Institute. She has a love
for both music and Judaism and says,
“When we sing together and share our
stories, we share each other’s hearts
and souls.” Fran has worked on an
Emmy-award—winning TV show, and
has given numerous workshops on
public speaking, personal vision, self
motivation, and communication. Her
enthusiasm is contagious and imbued
with the spirit of Judaism.

Yom Ha'atzmaut is a time to recog-
nize the birth of Israel, and a time for
the community to come together to
celebrate. There is limited seating, so
reserve your spot early and don’t miss
out on this opportunity for enjoyment,
education, and camaraderie. Please go
to our website at www.jewishlexing-
ton.org to sign up now, or call Jana at
(859) 268-0672 for more information.
Arrive between 6:00 and 6:45 p.m.; the
performance begins at 7:00. We hope to
see you there! fi

 

Federation plans mission to Israel

An organizing meeting for a com-
munity mission to Israel was held on
February 8. Interested individuals and
couples met with Nehemia Dagan, re-
tired brigadier general of the Israel Air
Force, who is the trip organizer and
will be our scholar in residence. We
will leave Lexington in early Novem-
ber and sped a week in Israel. We will
use Jerusalem as our base and travel
to Tel Aviv and Masada and the Dead
Sea area from there. We plan to take

a two- or three-day trip north, visit—
ing Caesarea, Tzfat (Safed), Tiberias,
and the Golan Heights. We will visit
the Ben Yakir Youth Aliyah Village
and meet with the boys and staff who
are involved in the horseback riding
therapy and music therapy programs

that we support. We will celebrate
Kabbalat Shabbat at the Katel (the
Western Wall), share a festive Shabbat
dinner at our hotel, and have a choice
of congregations to visit for Shabbat
morning services.

We are trying to develop an itinerary
that will be exciting for first timers and
veterans alike. We need a minimum

of 20 people to attend. Please help us
spread the word. Friends and family
from other communities are welcome
to join us. For further information con-
tact Judy Wortman at (859) 268-0672 or
jfb@jewishlexington.org. 13

w. 1"

w v

‘“ '9' *‘v sue~k-W. «e

 

  

 

 

 

 

IN THIS ISSUE

Personal Reflection ...... 3
President’s Message. ......................................... 4
Thank you, Marcia ....................................................................... .4
TAI Sisterhood March meeting to address genetic counseling ............................................ 4
Third Opinion ....................................................................................................... 5
Reflections on food 8 family ...................................................................................................................................... 6

From the Director
Ask a Rabbi .............................................................................................................................................................................. 7

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JFS: At Your Service ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
Camp Shalom and Gesher planning 201 0 season ........................................................................................ 9
Community—wide Yom Hashoah commemoration to be held on April 11 .................................... 9
JFB budget reflects improving situation ............................................................................................................ 10
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi to speak at UK March 23 .................................................................................................... 12
Israel 21c: Haiti draws aid from lsrael .................................................................................................................... 13
B'tayavon ............................................................................................. 15
Sim Shalom settles into new home ....................................................................................................................... 16
The Lexington Chapter of Hadassah .. .............. 18
The Lexington Havurah ......... 19
B’nai B’rith .................................................................................. 19
Temple Adath lsrael ............ .. 2O
Ohavay Zion Synagogue ....... 71
Around the Community 72
Community Calendar . ...... 24

 

 

«3% if? a; it”; i %®’%’§

Published ten times per year by the
Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, Inc.
1050 Chinoe Rd., Suite 302, Lexington, KY 40502
Phone (859) 268-0672 - Fax (859) 268-0775
email: shalom@jewishlexington.org

MARCH 2010, VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 2
Linda Ravvin, President
Judy Wortman, Executive Director
Jana LaZur, Activities Director
Paula Clancy, JFS Director
Tamara Ohayon, Communications Director

SHALOM EDITORIAL BOARD
Ruth Poley, Editor-in-Chief
Mary Heléne Rosenbaum, Editor/Administrator
Jane Chaput
Judy Levine

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Bob Grossman, Danielle Heller, Jeffrey Heyman,
Betty Nigoff, Jesse Weil, David Wolpe

LOCAL DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Lowell and Betty Nigoff, Paul Tillier

Production Services by Georgetown News-Graphic

The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted for publication in Shalom.
The appearance of any advertising in this publication does not represent either a
kashruth or any other endorsement on the part of the Federation or any other agency
or organization.

Shalom is partially supported by the advertisements appearing in the paper.
Copyright © 2010, Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass. All rights reserved. For reprint
permission contact Ruth G. Poley, Editor-in-Chief, Shalom, at rgp@insightbb.com

2 l March 2010 Shalom

 

One World Films 2010 and Lexington
Hadassah present At Home in Utopia

A home of one’s own: that’s the American dream. But what happens when the
dreamers are immigrants, factory workers, and Communists? In the mid 1920s,
thousands of Jewish immigrant garment workers pooled their resources and built
four cooperatively owned and run apartment complexes in the Bronx. At Home
in Utopia tracks the rise and fall of one community from the 19205 into the 19505,
paying close attention to the passions that bound them together and those that
tore them apart. To be shown Thursday, March 11, 5:00 and 7:30 pm. at Kentucky
Theatre. A reception sponsored by Hadassah will follow the 7:30 showing.

 

For more information, visit www.oneworldfilmfestivalorg or call (859) 266-6073.
w STEWART HOME SCHOOL

Lg.” Lu: “ion
VISITATION SCHEDULE:
April 15 & May 14 (Family Weekend) at 6:30 pm.

 

The Stewart Home, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, is a residential school for individu-
als with disabilities. It is renowned throughout the country for the high quality of care
given to the students, and attracts people from all across the country. Tikkun Lexington
brings celebration to the Stewart Home’s Jewish students by honoring Shabbat and
Jewish holidays. It is a very special evening for all who participate, volunteers and
students alike. Please call Jana at (859) 268-0672 or
email jana@jewishlexington.org for more information

 

 

 

 

 

, lama! W‘
urging“! llavur‘dh ‘7 .

 

Members of the Tewish communityrmarching in Martin Luther King, Ir. Day Freedom
March.

      

If you are not receiving Jewish Weekly email and would like to, please
send your name and email address to Iexadminifwjewishlexingtonorg

at: Wt is. m 1.9mm.

Federation Board Jennifer Miller

W

Federation President

_ . Evalyn Block Angie Ornstein
Linda Ravvm Bruce Broudy Jeremy Popkin

. . Jane Chaput Ricki Rosenberg
ExecutIve Committee . Susan Cobin Kathye Schatiner
Michael Grossman, Vice Presrdent Evelyn Dantzic Geller Kae Schennberg
Pat Shraberg, Secretary Larry Kant David Shakib
Robert Grossman,Treasurer Mimi Kaufman David Wekstein
Odette Kaplan, Member-At-Large David Levine

 

Shalom Deadline

Deadline for articles for the April Shalom Is March 8.
Email articles to jfb.shalom@hughes.net

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to Erael as volunteers

Personal Reflection

Volunteering in Israel: Mashlach Army Base, December 13 to December 31, 2009

By Betty Nigoff

The purpose of Volunteers for Israel,
which is administered in Israel by
Sar-El, is to aid Israel though volunteer
work on Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
bases. Sar-El is about the spark that lies
within all of us to achieve one of life's
important purposes for Jews, which

is to perform mitzvot. Lowell and I
accomplish this by volunteering with
Sar-El.

The program
is available to
the young and
the young-at-
heart, from

17 and up,
with some

in their 80s.
Volunteers
perform vari-
ous civilian,
non-combat-
ant duties that
would other-
wise have to
be done by
soldiers or
reservists.

Betty receives her volunteer

This w gLongl’an san third trip
base. Our volunteer group was smaller
this time, with twelve volunteers. three
from Canada and the rest from the U. S.
We met Sar-El coordinator Pam Laza—
rus at the airport, and met the other
volunteers as they arrived by plane.
Our friends from our last volunteer
trip, Nancy and Morry Cohen from
Pittsburgh, were there as well. Pam
divided the volunteers into differ-

ent groups according to our assigned
base. We met our madricha (soldiers

in charge of volunteers), then were

 

Handmade hanukkiot created by volunteers from available
materials and judged at Hanukkah party.

 

IDFitmy We toured magisti ”fie

shown the way to our bus, and were
soon on the road to Beersheva and our
base, Mashlach. We had wanted to be
based in the desert this time, and we
got Beersheva. We got to know our
group during the two-hour ride to
Beersheva, and knew we would like
this bunch just as we had the previous
two volunteer groups.
We soon
settled into
our barracks,
received our
uniforms, and
went to lunch,
where we had
our first of
many meals
of tomatoes,
cucumbers,
and hummus,
along with
many salads,
potatoes,
orzo, meat,
soup, and
dessert. This
day we had
sufganiot
tull _\— —filled dougl nuts) because it \x as
"the middle of Hanukkah. [fitterlunch
we'
would be for thenext three weeks. We
saw warehouses full ofparts to build
or repair tanks, and a tank base next to
ours with different tanks and armored
personnel carriers being readied.

epaulets.

 

After flag raising and breakfast the
next day,“Lowell worked with other
volunteers sorting containers of parts,
and I inventoried parts with my room-
mate, Janet. We moved from that job
to sorting tools, painting tank parts,
and packaging parts. After a few days,
. Lowell was reas-
signed to paint loca-
tion numbers in an
outside storage area.
Through all this, we
met and worked with
Israeli civilians. (Our
boss was Ori, who
did not shake hands
with women because
he is Orthodox.) A
few soldiers worked
with us, but not
as many as on our
previous bases. One
day a week, elderly
Russian immigrant
volunteers joined us.

We had two parties on the base. One
was a Hanukkah party. All workers,
civilian and military, were invited to
create hanukkiot and bring them to the
party to be judged. They used what-
ever they could find on the base, and
creativity ran rampant. The smallest
one, created by my boss Ori, won the
civilian category. He used mechanics’
sockets for each of the candle holders,
and was very happy to win.

The other party was to honor special
soldiers. A most heartwarming pro—
gram of the IDF affords some special-
needs Israelis, aged 18 to 21, the
opportunity to serve as soldiers. The
program inducted these young adults
into army service; they donned their
uniforms and proudly stood at atten-
tion.

Sar—El also sponsored two field trips
for our group. The first trip we spent in
Jerusalem, touring Ammunition Hill,
Ben Yehuda Street,
and the Kotel.

The second trip
was spent close

to Beersheva. We
went to the Israel
Air Force Muse-
um, then to the
monument for the
soldiers who died
in the Siege of the
Negev, and to the
Beersheva mall for
dinner.

The work week
on the base ended
after lunch on
Thursday, and
we were free

to go wherever
we wanted in
Israel as long as
we were back by
Sunday morning. The first weekend
Lowell, Morry, Nancy, and I rented a
car and drove to Kibbutz Ein Gedi by
the Dead Sea. Ein Gedi is a beautiful
oasis mentioned in Song of Songs, the
place where King David hid from King
Saul, who gave chase with an army

of 3,000 men in the caves of Ein Gedi.
The kibbutz was established in 1956 by
a group of young army recruits who
dreamt of a home in the Judean Desert.
It is located on a plateau, lush with
wild beauty overlooking the Dead Sea:
the lowest place on earth at 420 meters

 

Lowell ’5 job here is to paint circles on
the ground and then number them so
that parts can be stored in the appropri-
ate places. This photo was taken on

his day off but he stayed to get the job
done.

below sea level. We hiked across a
mountain to David's hidden waterfall,
saw ibex and other wildlife.

The second weekend, Lowell and I
took a bus to Jerusalem and experi-
enced the magic of that city. We toured
the City of David, walked the rampart
around the Old City, visited the Tower
of David, experienced the vitality of
the markets, ate in wonderful restau-
rants, and lost ourselves in the holiness
of Jerusalem.

A Sar—El bus picked up our group on
our last day, and we all said our good-
byes and were each on our way back
to our ”real” worlds. Lowell and I had
arranged to stay with the host family
we met last year, the Urielys, who live
on a moshav in Kfar Aviv, not far from
Tel Aviv. Our adopted family is so nice
and hospitable and treated us like fam-
ily. They took us to Sderot (half a mile
from Gaza), Ashdod, Ashkelon, and
Hebron (in the West
Bank). We visited a
brewery in Ashdod
and a spice market
near Yavne. Two of
the daughters were
pregnant last year
and we met the al-
most-l—year-olds this
year, and witnessed
one of them taking
her first steps.

Our work as Sar—El
volunteers lets us
express our Zion-
ism. Our volunteer
work has been very
rewarding, and we
are grateful for this
unique opportunity.
As Sar-El volunteers,
we have experienced
a sense of purpose,
and a hands-on way to help Israel.
Working with Sar-El is an experience
like no other.

For more information, visit http:/ /
www.vfi-usa.org / or http:/ / www.
sar-el.org/, call Lowell or me at (859)
278-5220, or email me at bnigoff@
yahoo.com.

Try something new—you’ll be glad
you did! it!

March 2010 Shalom | 3

 

  

President’s Message

Linda Ravvin, JFB (Jewish Federation of the

Bluegrass) President

 

Pesach or
Passover
symbolizes
many differ-
ent things
for each of
us. It recog—
nizes the miracle of freedom gained
with the assistance of G-d, who is a
part of everything we do. It recognizes
the elements of a people's yearning
for freedom and fighting to gain it. It
recognizes the natural forces of nature
such as the parting of the Red Sea to
allow our ancestors to cross to safety.
It is an opportunity to gather with
friends and family to celebrate our rich
history and retell our story. It is also
an opportunity to think about all the
ways that we have been passed over
when others have suffered more than
we, and to offer thanks for joys that
surround us.

 

 

I would like to look at the concept of
”passing over” in terms of our current
personal and community lives. As we
follow national news and economic
signposts, we hear that presumably
the economic hardships are waning.
Hopefully we are truly in a state of
economic recovery. We have been very
fortunate in our Campaign efforts

this past year and have not had any
additional substantive loss, thanks to
everyone’s continuing support of the
Federation and its efforts. However,
we have not seen any real growth. My
hope is that, although times are still
hard and we are all at least a little more
cautious about our commitments, this
year we will see a marked growth in
both Federation Campaign support
and participation in Federation events.

As yet: radii read in Judy’s From the Di-
rector ceém in fiiis issue, we, like our
ancestors before as, are stiii wander-
ing—~ioeiéng for a perm anent home for
Camp Shalom f Camp Gesher. i would
truly love to see a concerted effort to
raise the necessary funds to obtain and
maintain a property site.
It would be used not oniy
for our incredible camp,
but as a gathering place
and central location for
all kinds of community
events, limited only by
our imagination and with
participation possible for
everyone. It would be the
meeting ground for those
affiliated with a congre-
gation and those unaffili—
ated with the structured

’ '4“ I With 2010 SM,“

 

religious community who still identify
and want to share experiences within
the Jewish community. With all of us
working together we can end our com-
munity’s wandering in the desert of
Central Kentucky and find our perma—
nent home.

Our annual Campaign for 2010,
chaired by Carole Wilson, will begin
on Super Sunday, March 21. For the
first time, a Services Auction will be
offered along with a pizza lunch as
part of the Super Sunday festivities.
Come and join us! Bring your friends
and offer to call others to support the
Federation and all the activities and
services it provides to our community:
locally, in Israel, and worldwide. Come
and bid on the wonderful services
available through the auction; discover
the hidden talents of your friends that
they have generously made available
to benefit JFB.

To continue with the theme of "Pass—
over” and the reference to wander-

ing in the desert, it is now time to

talk about the journey home: home

to Israel, our ancient homeland and
our heart’ s Jewish home. We are very
excited to be planning a community
mission to Israel for a week in Novem-
ber. It will be a wonderful combination
of activities, touring, education, and
connection to the land and to Israelis,
geared towards both veteran visitors
and first-timers. Come “home" with
us! What better way to visit and learn
and be with your friends? This is a fan-
tastic opportunity and I hope that you
seriously consider joining us. Please
contact me for more information.

As we prepare to celebrate and recount
the story of our liberation—Passover
or Pesach—please keep in mind all

the possible ways we can connect and
grow within ourselves and as a com-
munity. 1?

 

 

Ofizmm 3:
flux/m

specialty cakes and desserts
for bar/ bat mitzvah,
weddings or any occasion

 

(859) 231-9110
1039 Industry Rd., Lexington, 40505

 

WWw.martinespast§ib$.com

 

Thank you, Marcia

By Ruth Poley

If you read the masthead for this is—
sue you will see what appears to be a
glaring omission under the ”Shalom
Editorial Board.” After more than ten
years, Marcia Blacker’s name is miss-
ing. Marcia has been a valued and
valuable member of this publication
for many years. She was instrumental
in bringing Shalom from the dark ages
of a mimeographed broadsheet into
the 21st century of color, pages packed
with local news and information, and a
reputation for being the reliable voice
of the community.

Marcia has been a talented editor, a
gifted writer, and a willing worker for
this publication. She has stepped up to

the plate more times than I can say to
write the article no one else wanted to
write or edit the article everyone else
deemed too tedious to address. She
served as editor-in-chief of Shalom for
two years in the early part of this de-
cade. As such, she made great strides
forward in the quality of our product.

She now feels she has earned her rest—

and she has. We will miss her talent
and dedication, her excellent editing
skills, and her witty contributions to
the laughter that is always the bright
spot of our editing meetings. We’ll
miss you, Marcia, but we thank you
for all you have given us. 131

 

TAI Sisterhood March meeting to

address genetic counseling
Focus will be Jewish genetic diseases

Did you know that one out of every 40
Jewish individuals of Ashkenazi back-
ground carries a mutation in the BRACAl
or BRACA 2 gene? Mutations in these
genes mean that family members are at
increased risk for certain types of cancer.
Women in this population have a 50 to

85 percent lifetime risk of developing
breast cancer, compared to a 12 percent
risk in the general population; men have
a 6 percent chance of developing breast
cancer, compared to a .1 percent risk in
the general population; women have a 40
to 60 percent lifetime risk of developing

a second breast tumor; women have a 23
to 54 percent lifetime risk of developing
ovarian cancer; and both men and women
have an increased risk for several other
cancers (pancreatic, prostate, and possibly
colon).

Because of these statistics, it behooves us
all to understand the importance of early
detection, and to have information about
the resources available to assist people in
the high-risk category with the decision-
making process.

Small
Extravagant:

Custom rjexsvelrjx S ‘ m

647 East. Main Street.
'l‘iiesdziy - S‘
8535—)-

Shannon Morrill-Comelius, a Certi-

fied Genetic Counselor with the Genetic
Counseling Center and Hereditary Cancer
Program at Central Baptist Hospital, will
address these issues at the TAI Sisterhood
meeting on Wednesday, March 17. She
will give an informal presentation on basic

genetics, prenatal genetids, and cancer fie-

netics, and will cover the newest dis
ies in genetics applicable to the Ashkenaxi
Jewish populatmn. The meeting will be at

7:00 pm. in the TAI social hall.

The meeting is open to all Temple mem-
bers, and refreshments will be served.
Please call Sandee at (859) 269-2979 to
reserve your place.

Be sure to save the evening of Wednesday,
April 21, for our fifth annual joint meet-
ing with the Women’s Guild of Christ the
King Cathedral. We will be going to Christ
the King this year, and our speaker will be
from the New Opportunity School in Berea.
Watch for more details next month. t

11>clay9:30 to 5:50

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Third Opinion

Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, PhD

 

Good-bye, J.D.

I first read Catcher in the Rye in 1970
because I had to teach it in a class titled
"Western Religion and Contemporary
Culture.” (That Salinger is the sec-
ond cousin of my second cousin, Sid
Salinger, is coincidental.) Catcher gave
me a taste for ID. and I subsequently
read just about everything he wrote.
Over the years I read about him, too,
and found out that he was one strange
dude.

Still, we honor him for his contribu-
tions to American Jewish literature.
Never mind that his mother wasn’t
Jewish, a fact he himself didn’t dis—
cover until after his (consequently il-

ers were taken by the direct and often
salty language of the protagonist,
Holden Caulfield. He said ”goddam”
a lot and even, finally, the f*** word
which got the book banned by many
schools and libraries. It is, however,
the last line of the book’s penultimate
chapter that got me. It reads: “God,

I wish you could’ve been there." It’s
the only time he uses the capital G in
identifying the deity.

Like a good Talmudist, I re-accented
the line and read it as ”God, I wish
YOU could have been there." I saw

it as concealing a lament over the ab-
sence of God in his life. I’m not saying
that a standard religious identification
would have saved Holden Caulfield~

a piece of cosmic dust, a molecule, an
atom, so that what happens to us is of
absolutely no enduring importance.
Heck, even our planet is parked at

the edge of a lower-middle class solar
system in a third-rate galaxy. So if we
understand how unimportant any one
of us is, it becomes easier to deal with
the bumps and lumps that beset us.

Teen-agers, of course, are notoriously
self—centered, and that’s no surprise
considering what changes are tak—

ing place within them. Paradoxically,
they’re also very ”other directed,” de-
pending on peer approval even more
than adults do. Between these two
forces it’s easy to become confused and
lose one’s way. Even under the best of

successful
grown—ups
I know are
those who
have one
foot firmly
anchored in
childhood
even if that
was not a particularly happy place. A
firm anchorage can prevent you from
taking things, and yourself, too seri-
ously. And it may preserve a sense of
wonder at the ponderous proliferation
and profligacy within nature. ”Forty—
three species of parrot...” What was
God thinking?

 

Furthermore, it protects you from

  
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
 

and made Catcher unnecessary—any
more than it made Salinger more
normal. There are plenty of religious
people who are just as kooky as Salin-
ger was and a lot more dangerous to
society.

legitimate) bar mitzvah, or that neither
of his two wives nor the college girl

he had an affair with were Jews. If one

has enough talent, the Jewish commu—

nity is inclined to overlook such things.

If you really want to know, I have my
own drash (explanation) for Catcher
that I’m willing to share. Early read-

The thing is, even the idea of a Uni-
verse-creating God conduces to the
conclusion that any one of us is simply

concluding that you somehow deserve
either the bad or the good things that
happen to you so that, finally, you

can exult in the gift of life and use it

to spread goodness in the world. As

I like to say, ”Count that day wasted
in which you haven’t caused a small
child to smile." That could make you a
catcher of the wry. or

circumstances growing up is a rite of
passage.

For some reason, a complex of reasons,
J. D. never grew up, never got comfort-
able in the world. He said of himself
that he was ”in the world, but not of
it.” Jay Leno quipped that Salinger
died at 91, ”after a long battle with
teen angst.” Joking aside, the most

 

D’bm flaS/ioah

Holocaust Remembrance Day
Community-wide Commemoration

Sunday, fllprif 11, 2010
4:00 pm.

at Ohavay Zion Synagogue
2048 Edgewater Court, Lexington 40502

The program will include lighting of memorial
candles for the six million Jewish lives lost in the
Holocaust and presentation of the annual Emilie

Szekely essay contest awards.

For more details please contact Jeremy D. Popkin at
859-335-6254 or by email to popkin@uky.edu.

   

Sponsored by Our keynote speaker will be
A The Jewish Federation Rabbi David Wortman who will
@ OF THE BLUEGRASS share his thoughts on the topic of

in conjunction with the Shoah and Forgiveness.

B'nai B’rith - Stanley Rose Lodge
Lexington Chapter of Hadassah
Jewish Student Organization/Hillel
The Lexington Havurah
Ohavay Zion Synagogue
Temple Adath Israel

Rabbi Wortman has delivered
papers and lectures and is widely
published in both academic
and Jewish contexts.

 

 

W.

Camperships and Israel Scholarships

are now available A

Want to give your children a special and cherished Jewish
experience? Concerned about the cost?

Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass,
through the confidentiality of Jewish
Family Services, is now accepting
applications for Jewish summer
camperships and Israel scholarships.

  

Scholarships are specifically for Israel
programs and are not tied to income.
Camperships are for notofor-profit Jewish
day or overnight camps, including our
local day camps Camp Shalom and Camp
Gesher. Income is one of the criteria used
to evaluate eligibility for camperships.

 

Deadline for applications is April 1, 2010.
Applications can be requested from JFS or downloaded
from the JFS page at http://www.jewishlexington.org.

Paula Clancy, Director of Jewish Family Services

(859) 269—8244 - jfs@jewishlexington.org ‘ g

If ‘ \\ TheJewish Federation
r P march'z‘mb Shélom' | 5

OF THE BLUEGRASS

 

 

 

 

  

Reflections on food and family
Thoughts on my vacation in Israel

By Tamara Ohayon