xt70gb1xh280 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70gb1xh280/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2002-03 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 Central Kentucky Jewish Federation 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 2002 text image Shalom, March 2002 2002 2002-03 2025 true xt70gb1xh280 section xt70gb1xh280 Newspaper of the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

halom

Serving the Central Kentucky Jewish Community Since .7962

 

Ward? 2002 ,

Adar-Nisan 5762

Camp shalom IsBSYears Old!!

Calling Camp Shalom campers, staff, and friends from 1967 to 2002
to a really big rally on March 17, 2002

Cllll’LlI Kentuck; Jewish federation coi-
diall} int. ites the eoii'tmunit) tocelebi'ate
the Will \imnei'sai')‘ of( ‘amp Shalom
Please join its loi an anni\ersar) part} and a Stilt:
("amp Shalom Rall} on Sunday Mart h I? at 12: l 3
PM at the Temple .»\dath Israel Social Hall. In
addition to friendship and fun we \\ ill be treated to
pix/a. drinks and cake.

Camp Shalom began in 1967 ulien the late Sue
lii‘iedman detern‘iined that the Jew ish children II] on:
community needed a day camp. Sue put togethei a
committee of parents that included Merle Welxstein.
Jud) Saxe. Judy Le\ inc. Janice l)oetro\\. Harriet
Cooper and Carol Wit'tschaftcr who served as the
first camp director. Their efforts evolved into the

hidei/imhme.flnwiflnulw
i an]. netting. and educational camp '~\e hm today
That tits! summer the camp met .il lill.‘ Hunt the?
near ulna .s no\\ I.e\in;;toii \lall.

In the _\eai‘s since then the t amp and II\ support
eis hare seen many changes and much gromli in
programming. location and fat titties. and ilkilllllll‘slltfe
lion The~ l.’lll_\ xx ill he an oppoittiint} to heat t .inig»
ers and siatf li‘oni thioiighout these 4* nontlertul
\t';ll\ shaie Ilieii special (‘ainp Shalom e\ptw tea-em.
it would be interesting indeed to compare stni'ies
about the camp from the pei‘speeti\e~. of second
generation campers and theii parents

Our 2002 staff \\ ill be at the fesm ities to ansuei
questions about this year‘s eamp session, \gain
this year (‘amp Shalom \\ ill be held at the

 

2002 Campaign gearing up
Kick-off Event on May 5, 2002

reparation for our 2002 UJC/CKJF

Community Campaign has begun. Every

year. the Campaign brings in the financial
resources necessary to provide services locally as
well as helping our brothers and sisters in Israel and
around the world.

Locally, we meet many needs of our community.
Isolated seniors. community members in need of
financial aid, scholarships to allow children and
teenagers to have Jewish experiences in camps and
in Israel, a summer camp for our children, programs
to bring the community together, as well as pro-
grams for singles and for seniors, for young and old,
for affiliated and unaffiliated. All benefit from your
campaign contributions. We live up to the idea that,
“All Israel is responsible for one another.”

In addition, we are living in unique times, times
when our help is required to aid Israel in a time of

danger. and to assist communities in South America.
Ethiopia and Eastern European. many of which are
in dire need of financial and social services. With
our Campaign we provide the means for the
American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and
the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) to work with
communities around the world to serve the needs of
our people. Through the Campaign we become
bigger than ourselves and part of a larger picture.

Join us. be part of the effort — SAVE THE
DATES:
Sunday, May 5, 2002 — Kick-off Event at the
Makers’ Mark Restaurant in the Applebee’s Park
(Lexington Legends’ BallPark)
Sunday, May 19, 2002 ~ Super Sunday. Volunteer
to help us reach as many people as possible.

Let us make 2002 a record year in providing for
our people.

 

 

CKJF
340 Romany Road
Lexington, KY 40502
Si N unlit“ _
suns: muss “7““ ““7 ‘0502

121 I ASHLAID AVE
LEXIHGTOi. KY 10502-1505

lllllllllllllllllIIlllllllllllllllllulllllllllllllllllulill'
Change Service Requested

 

Nonprofit Org.
US. Postage
PAID
Permit # 7 1 9
Lexington, Ky

 

 

 

 

 

“an t hilt tixmitltti‘. f‘l‘ltteuarli ‘-.:v._:t:~».a
. . :i . i.
:._;i,ttttzilt.l:i:i‘.. ”t’

aid to lllr.‘.‘itl't:f wait :2.

Franklin Moosnick
Celebrates 85 Years of
Living Life to Its
FuHest

WW I. i/‘lr’ [Al/Ii. .IL' (I'M/III

i’aiild1nBeinardMoosnick \\a\ born to
Rose and Jacob I.a/ai‘us Moosnick on
I'ebi'uai‘}

:8. WI 7 in

I’oughkeepsie

New York. From

that day until this.

he has met ever)

challenge of his

long and fruitful

life head on. with

unusual and most

often rewarding

success. It is for

this exemplary life

that the Jewish

community of

Central Kentucky wishes to honor him.

When Franklin was eight years of age, his family
moved to Central Kentucky where his father’s
brother was in business. His family settled in
Versailles where his father went into business.
Franklin completed public school in Versailles and
went on to graduate, magna cum laude, from
Transylvania in 1936 — what else would you expect
from such an outstanding man. So much for his
youth.

Franklin Moosnick then entered the College of
Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. Never
one to shy away from academic pursuit, while
studying for his MD. (1941), he took summer
classes in Bacteriology in the University of Ken—
tucky Graduate School. And, after earning his
medical degree, and while in residency at Minne—
apolis General Hospital, he did further graduate
study at the University of Michigan.

Moosnick continued on page 3

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In This Issue: MAZEL TOV TO: .
President’s Message .................................. 2 Garry Hoover and Evalyn BIOCk on the1r
. . marriage.
Moosnlck Lecture Series ............................ 3 Lisa Kaplan and Robby Doctrow on their
Keep the Heat On ...................................... 3 engagement.

Power and Leadership ............................... 4 Wendy and Jon Waltman on the birth 0f
0 D . their son, Benjamin Lev, on February 1, 2002.
rgan onation .......................................... 5 Freda Miller on the birth of her grandson,

Small Federation’s Executive Institute ....... 5 Solomon Levi Luner.
H ‘1 t th H ...................................... 6
‘1‘ 0 e Fro“ . REFUAH SHLEMAH (get well wishes):
Exodus coming to Lexmgton ...................... 7 Lucille Barnes, Bob Ellsworth, Marvin
Leisure Club ............................................... 7 Frank, Joe Krislov, Pat Shraberg
Rabbi’s Corner ........................................... 8
W. T . 8 CONDOLENCES TO:
me asting ............................... David Marwil on the death of his father.
Letters to our Community ........................... 9 Jack Westerman on the death of his mother.
AskOJFS About ...... . ................................... 10 Addendum: We want to recognize Rafi Finkel,
Jew1sh Family Serv1ce Shabbat 2002 ------- 10 author of last month’s clever and entertaining Purim
Quiet Street reissued ................................ 11 spiel.
JeW1sh Help in the Congo ......................... 11 lease let us know ofany news you would
B tay Avon ............................................... l2 ike to share with the community. E-mail
Tikkun Lexington ...................................... 12 our Community News to:
Hillel Notes ............................................... 12 shalom@jewishlexingt0n-0rg
Check It Out ............................................. 13 0' ma": C ' N
ommumty ews
C Sh l 2002 ................................... 13 . .
amp a 0m Central Kentucky J erSh Federation
Yom HaShoah ........................................... 13 340 Romany Road
Organ Donation ........................................ 14 Lexington, KY 40502
Women’s Seder ........................................ 14
One World Film Festival ........................... 14 5 I, a l o m @ e a d Ii n 9
Hadassah Wome ’5 Discussion Grou ..... 15 . .
n p . Deadline for articles for the
Havurah Retreat Weekend ....................... 15 A 'l Sh l . M h 11
TAI Youth MLK Weekend ..................... 16 pm a 0m '5 arc '
Singles’ Seder ........................................... 16 E'ma” articles to
TAI Cookbooks ........................................ 16 shalom @jewishlexington.org
Community Calendar ................................ 17 (all lower case letters)
Ohavay Zion Synagogue .......................... 18 Articles submitted in hard copy
Temple Adath Israel ................................. 19 ShOUICl be double—Spaced_
\S h a lo m
Published ten times annually by the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation, Inc.
340 Romany Road, Lexington, KY 40502
(859) 268-0672 0 Fax (859) 268-0775 0 e-mail: shalom@jewishlexington.org
March 2002, Volume IX, Issue 8
Stanley Saxe, President
' Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Fran Morris, Jewish Family Services
Vicki Atha, Activities Director
Editorial Board
Michael Adelstein, Marcia Blacker, Evelyn Dantzic Geller, Judy Levine, Ruth Poley
Production Editor & Advertising Manager, Carrie McDanald
The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted for publication in \Shulom .The appearance of any advertising
in this publication does not represent a kashruth endorsement on the part of CKJF or any other agency or organization.
shalom is supported by the advertisements appearing in the paper.
(9 2002 by Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

 

 

 

’2 ' \Shalom

‘ President's

Message
by
Stan Saxe

  

ho did this to us?" writes Bernard
Lewis, is the question many in the
Islamic Middle East asked once Islam
was no longer the dominant force it had been in the
eighth and ninth centuries. First the Mongols were
blamed, then the Turks and, with the rise of French
and British influencein the Arab world in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the scapegoat
was Western Imperialism.

In his most recent book What Went Wrong?
Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response
(Oxford University Press, 2002) Lewis compares
the differences between Western and Middle
Eastern cultures over the past 200 years. A distin-
guished historian, Bernard Lewis was educated at
the University of London where he received his
PhD in the History of Islam and where he taught
from 1938 until 1974 when he went to Princeton. He
is currently Emeritus Professor of Near Eastern
Studies at Princeton. Lewis writes the AngldFrench
interlude was brief and ended a half-century ago.
Their role as villains was taken over by the United
States. “The attempt to transfer the guilt to America
has won considerable support. but for similar reasons
remains unconvincing. Anglo—French rule and Ameri-
can influence, like the Mongol invasions, were a
consequence, no a cause, of the inner weakness of
Middle-Eastem states and societies."

This, the latest book of more than two dozen books
written by Lewis, provides us with insight and back-
ground to what occurs in the world today. It also
provides background to recent writings of joumalists
and political commentators. For example Robert L.
Bartley of the Wall Street Journal wrote in April 2001
that “Mr. Arafat has not effectively renounced his
ambition to occupy Israel, and never will." In writing
of the Arab-Israeli conflict Bartley goes on to say
“...the grievance here is much more than a dispute
over land.

Ultimately, too, it is also about much more than
Israel. It’s fed by Muslim resentment at being dis—
placed in history by the West, currently embodied in
the United States. Scholars such as Bernard Lewis
and Fouad Ajami keep reminding us that to understand
the contemporary Islamic mind, you have to remem-
ber that at one time Islam was the center of civiliza—
tion and Europe a barbaric backwater It is bad enough
that Israel is a Jewish state, but even worse that it is
an outpost of the West, powerful with industrialization
and subversive with democracy.” '

Following the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in J erusa-
lem last August, Gush Shalom (Israeli peace
movement) stated, “Israeli occupation of the West

President’s Message continued on page 7

  

  

Moosnick Lecture
Series

annah Liss. PhD. visiting Moosnick

Scholar at the Lexington Theological

Seminary. will present the annual
Moosnick Lecture Series on three {lille this year.
On March l4. at l l:00 a.m. at the seminary. Dr.
liss will speak on “The Heritage ot'Their Fathers:
Jewish ()t‘thodox Bible Scholars in the 19th and
30th Centuries."

The second lecture ill the series will be pre—
sented as part of the Central Kentucky Jewish
Community Commemoration onom HaShoah at
7:30 p. m.. Sunday. April 7 at Ohavay Zion Synagogue.

On Thursday. May 8. Dr. Liss will present "The
Sins of the Prophets" at Temple Adath lsrael.

Keep the Heat On —
A City Wide Alert

ver the last two years. the Central

Kentucky Jewish Community has made a

concerted effort to be part of coalitions
with other ethnic and religious communities that
promote understanding, and to work together on
meeting some of the social needs of our city. Two of
these efforts have been the A.M.O.S. (A Meeting of
Souls) program with the Catholic community, and
participating in the Interfaith Low Income Housing
Coalition.

The Low Income Housing Coalition has grown
over the last year with a number of projects. They
publish The Homeless Voice. a newspaper that
provides a venue for people in need to network for
jobs and to make their voices heard. The newspaper
is distributed in almost every house of worship in the
county.

There is another project, however, that stands out
for its impact on the lives of many residents of
Lexington — Keep the Heat On. This project was a
response to a concrete need. Last year, because of
the sharp increases in fuel costs for the winter. it was
determined that a large number of low income
families were going to be in dire straits having to pay
both rent and fuel costs. The worst predictions were,
in fact. accurate. That is when our coalition went into
action by organizing a special program.

The idea was for some community personalities to
voluntarily live the life of homeless people for 24 hours
with the double goal of raising the awareness of the
general community to the plight of homeless in
Lexington. and of raising money through sponsorships
to help low income people pay their heating bills. With
almost $70.( )( )0 raised. more than 390 families re—
ceived much needed financial help that allowed them
to stay up-to—date with their bills. All thanks to those
who volunteered as “homeless." including our own
Kathy Stein. Keep the Heat 0n was born.

The 2002 Keep the Heat 0n experience will take
place on March 13 and 14. The coalition is looking
forward to repeating the success of last year and to
helping even more people. We are proud to be part of
this effort that helps improve the lives of
Lexingtonians, one at a time.

 
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
    

Moosnick continued from front page

The United States had entered World War ll
while Franklin was in residency. As soon as he had
completed two years of this experience. he entered
the army and served an additional two years.
supposedly in residency. but actually as Chief of
Medicine at the Royal Masonic Hospital in London.
England. He was then transferred to Korea where
he served two years more as Chief of Medicine at
the US. Army's 29th General Hospital. Not bad
fora young physician fresh out of medical school.
His service to his country did not stop upon dis—
charge. From 19—16 until 1970 he was a consultant
to the Veterans Administration Hospital and the
US. Public Health Hospital here in Lexington.

Although he had been asked to return to Minne-
sota, his devotion to his mother directed his decision
to return to Lexington. Several months later,
Franklin opened his office and remained in the
same location until his relatively recent retirement.

Romance and marriage entered Franklin’s life
late, but with a big bang. He met Marilyn Kilgus in
1952. After five years of off and on dating, they
were married on November 24, 1957. Their
children are Jeff and his wife Brenda of Kibbutz
Keturah, in Israel, Greg and his wife Karen of New
York. Mimi and her husband Yoni of Baltimore, and
Ross, also of Baltimore. Their five grandchildren
are absolutely beautiful - and I speak with no bias
whatsoever.

Franklin credits his father with being his role
model for community service. Like “Laz”. Franklin
feels a strong sense of responsibility to the commu-
nities of which he is a part. In addition to member-
ship in many civic and professional organizations,
Franklin has served on the board of most of them.
His commitment to all of the organizations of which
he is a member is unfailing. However, he is
particularly proud of the accomplishments of the
Lexington Rotary Club, the Fayette County Medical
Foundation, the Fayette County Chapter of the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis/March
of Dimes, the Lexington—Fayette Urban County
Government Emergency Medical Services Commit—
tee. The National Conference of Christians and
Jews, B’nai Brith, and Ohavay Zion Synagogue
during his years of work with each of these groups.

As a result of his contributions to the communi-
ties in which he lives, Franklin has received many
awards and recognitions. He was reluctant to
discuss these honors. but finally expressed gratitude
and pride for all of them. Among the numerous
awards with which Franklin has been honored are a
Laureate Award by the American College of
Physicians in 1997. the Optimist Club Award in
l998. being the initial recipient ofthe Jack Trevey
Award for Community Service by the Fayette
County Medical Society. being the initial recipient of
the Franklin B. Moosnick Service Award. estab-
lished and given in his honor. by the Kentucky
Affiliate of the American Heart Association. the
establishment - in his honor - ofthe Franklin B.
Moosnick Lectureship in Judaic Studies by friends
and colleagues at the Lexington Theological
Seminary. and the Humanitarian Award from the

National Conference of Christians and Jews (now
the National Conference for Community and
J Listicet.

Franklin recounted more examples of how his
professional services to the community had positive
outcome than can possibly be listed here. Among
them were his role as initiator and participant in the
Cardio—Pulmonary Resuscitation Program for
Fri; ette County. his work with polio victims in “iron
lungs" on the isolation unit at St. Joseph Hospital.
his role as co—coordinator of the Lexington Polio
Vaccination Program. and his founding of the
Rotary Club’s Worldview program. None of these
accomplishments were reported with any thought of
self—aggrandizement. Rather. they were detailed
with gratitude for the fact that he was able to
“...transfer so much of my caring into community
service and to the benefit of the community."

When asked what he would say if he were
asked to speak to a graduating class of medical
students today, Franklin replied that he would tell
them that “...medicine is a wonderful vocation. It
can give great satisfaction. But you can make of it
only what you give to it.” He recognizes that the
changes in health care are almost unfathomable;
that the art of bedside diagnosis has largely been
replaced by technology. This does not lessen the
quality of care. But this loss of physician-patient
involvement may be the reason for many com-
plaints about health care today.

When pressed for some words of wisdom to the
Jewish Community, Franklin advised each of us to
increase the extent of our involvement with our
community. He asked us to embrace newcomers
and those who stand tangential to the community
and help them become involved and affiliated.

It was a labor of love to interview Franklin
Moosnick and to write this totally inadequate tribute
to his contributions to the people of central Ken-
tucky and to his family. Each of us who knows
him, no matter how well, is richer for having come
under the influence of this outstanding human being.

Moosnick is grateful
that he was able to
“...transfer so much

of my caring
into community service
and to the benefit

of the community.”

Marc/7 2002 ' 3

 

 

  

 

 

 

E-mail us at

shalom@jewishlexington.org
(all lower case letters)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jo well/s

Wyatt: zepnir
Jpn-in [is ts

233-1173

 

NOTE:

Lots of people are weighed down by guilt, over
things they do every day, or over something they did
maybe 30 years ago. We imagine that if we didn’t feel
guilty, nothing would restrain us from being bad and
doing bad things.

In fact most people would be about as decent as they
are now, even if they could eschew guilt. True antisocial
people. those said to have no conscience. are only 3%
of males, 1 % of females.

With guilt I excuse myself for doing the bad thing.
This leaves me free to go on doing it.

For the most part, anticipating that we’ d feel guilty
doesn’t keep us from doing bad. Rather, it handicaps us
afterwards from using our full mental energies on present
challenges.

Harwell F. Smith, Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

ecently somebody asked me how
many leaders can the community
ave... and I realized that, of

course, the answer is not simple. First we
must recognize that the Jewish people is,
by definition, a people of the Law. The
Torah (Law) not only defines us, but it is
the very element that transformed the loose
group of tribes at the foot of Mount Sinai
into a nation. Without Torah, there is no
Judaism. We can argue about the interpre—
tation of the Law and about its adaptation
to the times, but not about its very central-
ity to Judaism.

Since we are defined by the Law, we
are also governed by it. According to the
Biblical narrative no person is above the
Law. In Jewish tradition leaders do not
derive their power from thin air, but from
their adherence to the Law. Leaders, in
Jewish tradition, are administrators of the
low in communal affairs.

The Torah does not belong to power or
to those who administer its application, but
to the people themselves. During the
defining experience in Sinai, God told the
people directly, “You shall keep My cov-
enant, you shall be My people and I shall
be your God.” The covenant is not a
covenant with the leadership, the priest-
hood or the royal house, but with the people
themselves. Every time we hold a Torah
reading service, we exclaim at some point,
“This is the Torah that Moses brought to
the people of God.” The Torah belongs to
the congregation, to the community, to the
Jewish people. That is the reason for the
Hakafoth in which the Torah is brought

“Power and
Leadership"

By Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

down from the bimah to the congregation.

If leaders are subject to the Torah, and
the Torah belongs to the people. it follows
that while individual leaders are responsible
to God for their personal adherence to the
Law, they also are accountable to the people
for their actions and their administration of
the Torah. That accountability factor is one
of the elements that made Jewish leadership
different from other historical leaders. That
accountability factor has been incorporated
into Christian thought and through it into
modem democracy. Democratic nations are
nations of Law.

Because of this adherence to the Law, a
good Jewish leader is one who listens. By
listening to the needs of the community, the
leader can better administer the law. The
same principle applies to any level of organi—
zation; a household, an organization, a local
community or an entire people. The concept
lli Nil 1 ‘iui iil, .i\ ll i~ iuiiinlct; on llll‘
principle oi accountability ln Jewish tradi—
tion, power and authority must go together.
for power derives from the Torah and the
Torah belongs to the people.

So how many leaders can a community
have? My answer is “as many as neces—
sary." 1f the leaders are true to our heritage,
they will listen to the people. And, if they
listen to the people, they will probably
propose answers to the same needs, so they
can come together and pick each other’s
brains to figure out the best way to meet
those needs. But the basic idea is that
leadership in Judaism is a process, not a
mantle of individual power but a response to
the needs around us.

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4 ' \Shalom

 

  

Organ Donation — Prohibited by Jewish Law or Not?

ecently, I was speaking with a fellow Jew

about organ donation. He said he believed

it was against Jewish Law (Halakha).
Belief that organ donation is against Halakha is,
according to Rabbi Elliot Dorff of the University of
Judaism, “a folk belief that runs deep” despite
efforts by Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform
rabbis to educate us to the truth. Currently, there
are about 80,000 people waiting for this lifesaving
gift. About 16 people will die today waiting for an
organ. A new person is added to the waiting list
every 18 minutes. And all this despite the reality
that Jewish law allows. even encourages, organ
donation.

by Kathie Kroot

average. In Israel, the donation rate is so low that
Israelis needing organs often travel to other coun-
tries for an organ transplant. This is despite

education programs, support from religious institu-

_ tions, and publicized donations from victims.

What keeps Jews from carrying out this vital
mitzvah? Is it the fear of “nival ha-met,” desecra-
tion of the dead? In Jewish tradition we are taught
that a dead person‘s body is to be treated with the
utmost respect. Every part of the body must be
buried, which is why you see images of religious
Jews dutifully going around after a terrorist bomb-
ing scraping up pieces of flesh and blood for burial.

body, gain benefit from the body, or unduly delay
the burial of the body. If we allow organ donation,
do we provide the requisite dignity for the dead?
According to Rabbi Elliot Dorff there is no
conflict. He believes that, “...saving a person’s life
is so sacred a value in Judaism that if a person’s
organs can be used to save someone else’s life, it is
actually an honor to the dead.” Beyond the theo-
logical support for organ donation, we respect the
body through the performance of a careful surgical
procedure that takes place in an operating room at
the hands of a skilled surgeon. When completed, it
leaves the deceased donor neither disfigured nor

 

altered in appearance. The body can be

 

Life. in Hebrew “Chai," and living are
sacred to us as Jews. With the precept,
"You shall keep My laws and My rules, by
the pursuit ofwhich you shall live..."
(Leviticus 18:5). our Sages taught that the
mitzvot were given for the sake of life. We
are taught further that if a person saves one
life. it is as if that individual had saved the
world. We carry this ideal into every day life
as well. For example, Chai Lifeline is a

Rabbi Elliot Dorfif noted Jewish ethicist, says
“ ..saving a person’s life is so sacred a value in
Judaism that if a person 's organs can be used to

save someone else ’5 life, it is actually an honor
to the dead.”

washed, dressed, and buried as soon as
possible. Donating organs in no way
interferes with following Jewish tradition.
The most expedient route to organ
donation is to make the decision when you
are well and healthy. It is much more
complex to obtain permission for donation
when the potential donor family must be
approached. The first priority of any
health care provider is to preserve the life

 

 

Jewish cancer support group and Chai-Bo is
a Jewish fitness program. And we use the number
eighteen, which is written in Hebrew with the same
letters that comprise the word “Chai."

1‘111‘11 1‘: .1

to symbolize
~ti_~_'.111d'ticaltli} File

is known as "pekuach nefesh.“ The only exception
to this duty is if it would require the performance of
one of the three cardinal sins —— idolatry, forbidden
sexual activities. and murder. The Rabbis further
instruct us that not only are we commanded to do
all we can to save our own lives. but we also are
obligated to save the lives of others. Their reason-
ing comes from the teaching in the Torah V“...Do not
stand idly by the blood of your neighbor...”
(Leviticus 19:16). The 12th century scholar,
Maimonides. emphasizes that “...anyone who is
able to save a life. but fails to do so. violates [this
mitzvahl." Maimonides made no exceptions to this.
stating "...all Israel is commanded to take lifesaving
action.” We are not even exempt even if we can't
save the life directly. In such instances, we must
use all the resources available to us to do so.

Organ donation is not only life saving, but ensures
that our fellow’s blood is not lost.

Today. in these United States, an estimated 63
people will receive a transplant from either a living
or cadaver donor. Their lives will be transformed
because most organ transplants are very success—
ful, either saving lives or greatly improving the
quality of life of the recipient. Very few Jews
would not avail ourselves of the opportunity to
receive an organ if one of ours failed. On the basis
of the principle of “pekuach nefesh,” scholars
would argue that Jewish law would expect us to
avail ourselves of this opportunity. On the other
hand, we fail in our responsibility to preserve the
life of others through organ donation. Statistically,
organ donation by Jews is well below the national

Perhaps, it is concern that if you sign an organ
donation card, doctors won’t work as hard to save
yourlife‘? Perhaps, itis simply that an individuals

lite and death are so personrii .11111 that 111ccision< 1

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we talk or take action about organ donauon, we Will
die? Maybe, it is a little of all ofthe above.

Jewish law is very specific about the treatment
of the body after death. We focus on providing
“Kavod ha-met.” dignity for the dead. The physical
remains are treated with respect and gentleness.
Although there are many variations. strict adher-
ence to ritual is very specific. The body undergoes
a ritual washing, ‘Ttaharah is dressed 1n a shroud
called “tachrichim.” and buried as soon as possible

after death. By law. we may not desecrate the

and health of every patient. ONLY
AFTER A PERSON IS DEAD may organ and
tissue donation be pursued. Death occurs in two
ways - cessation of cardiopulmonary (heart-lung)
“unction or cessation of all brain function (brain
1 11‘11 31.11131 33'1‘1:*t‘.1c;1tl* Il\\LlC1.11\(li‘\11n

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when a person has an irreversible, catastrophlc
brain injury that causes ALL brain activity to stop
permanently. This definition is accepted medically.
ethically, and legally. The standards for determining
brain death are strict. Here in Kentucky, the
determination of brain death must be made by two
physicians, one of whom must not be involved in the
care of the patient. Furthermore, neither of these

Organ Donation continued on page 6

 

Small Federations Executive Institute to be
held March 3-6

xecutive Directors from Jewish Federations

around the country meet annually to discuss

a variety of issues affecting the functioning
of Federations. Of course. problems and issues are
different in places as diverse as New York and
Central Kentucky. Therefore, to facilitate the
exchange of information and allow communities to
have more useful experiences, these meetings are
grouped by community size. Last year’s Institute,
funded by the Fox Foundation, was held in Jerusa-
lem. As this is not something we can do every year,
this year the Institute will take place in Palm
Springs, CA from March 3 through 6. Our Execu—
tive Director, Daniel Chejfec will attend. In fact, he
is part of the organizing committee. His specific
responsibility is a workshop called “Program Shuq”
designed for chief executives of small federations in

whic