xt7b8g8fjk7d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7b8g8fjk7d/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2007-04 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, April 2007 text image Shalom, April 2007 2007 2007-04 2025 true xt7b8g8fjk7d section xt7b8g8fjk7d SHAL

NEWSPAPER OF THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY JEWISH FEDERATION

APRIL 2007

NISAN-IYAR 5767

 

Temple Adath Israel unveils Holocaust Mini-museum

Schneidt collection
forms base of exhibit

§§§

David and Carolyn Schneidt have found a home at
Temple Adath Israel—so much so that they are depositing
many of their things there. They have been collecting
artifacts related to the Holocaust for quite some time, and
in honor of David’s com ersion, they graciously dedicated
this collection to the Temple. David consistently speaks
of the need to plan for the future: “Due to the fact that
we don't have children, our concentration has always
leaned to providing for the community's future. When
we started collecting items such as these we had a
mission. It was to share them. Our whole idea was to

Leann .lIH‘Lll IIH‘A lllt‘ - an l‘u- an l1 .1 struggle .«i’nl lIHU'

faith and persistence can persevere."
ln gathering the items, David and
Carolyn knew that each item was
connected to a story. “Many times
Carolyn and I would just hold them
and we could feel the strength of
the story. We wanted to share this
understanding with others."

So, with two restrictions, they
devised the plan to establish this
museum exhibit. First, they insisted
that it convey the heroism of the
survivors and the value of the faith
that it took, even in their anger

sec Nun‘s-museum, i‘ :02.

—'- CAMPAIGN NEws —

The heart of Jewish Agency wartime

information

Home Together program to host their brethren from the

24/7 Global Center

94¢

The Jewish Agency's Global Center
kicked into action 24/7, with trained
responders fielding calls from
parents registering their children for
the summer camps, lsraeli’s donating
to the Jewish Agency’s emergency
activities, volunteers wishing to
know what they could do to help,

families who wanted to join the At

North and Israeli companies offering their assistance.
People called from all over the world, donating funds and
expressing their support for the people of Israel.

Thousands of calls were received and responded to
during the first week. By the time the cease-fire was
signed on August 14th, an unprecedented 30,000 calls had
been handled by the Global Center, 800 new volunteers
signed up with the Jewish Agency and thousands

of people generously contributed to the emergency
assistance programs.

see Campaign news, page 19

 

Central Kentucky Jewish Federation
1050 Chinoe Road - Suite 203 - Lexington, KY 40502

Change Servire Requested

 

Noanrotit Org.
US. Postage

PAID

Lexmgton, KY
Permit t 719

 

 

 

 

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There’s a new
rabbi in town

Rabbi-without—portfolio involved

in CKJF, community work
O O t

By Mary Helene Koscnblmm

Rabbi Audrey Korotkin is happy to be in Lexington.
”Everyone has made us feel welcome and very much

at home," she says. Ordained in 1999 at Hebrew Union
College in Cincinnati, and a former resident of Louisville,
she was familiar with the area before moving here. But
she has been pleasantly surprised at how much more
multicultural and cosmopolitan Lexington has become.

She does miss having a pulpit at times: “It’s very strange,
I’m used to taking care of 250 families; now I’m just
taking care of mine.” But, she notes, after six years
leading Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie, Illinois, “ It

was probably time for me to take a break. I am enjoying
the chance to take a few deep breaths. Congregational
work is very rewarding—and very fatiguing. I

like being able to get as involved as I want to."

The move came about when husband Don Clippinger,
after telecommuting for many years as book editor of
the l‘lzmvugltbivd limes, was offered the new position of
editorial director for all their publisher's horse racing and
breeding publications. “He had allowed me to pursue

see New rabbi, p/Ige 15

 

 

 

  

IN THIS ISSUE

Yom Hashoah 2007 .............................. 3
Christ the King Women’s Guild to

join TAI Sisterhood at April meeting .................. 3
Join our community celebration of Yom ha’Atzmaut ...... 3
President's Message .............................. 4
Author, publisher, lecturer to be TAI Scholar in

Residence April 13-15, 2007 ........................ 5
From the Executive Director ........................ 6
Third Opinion ................................... 7
Ask a Rabbi .................................... 8
JFS: At Your Service .............................. 9
Leisure Club to feature LFCUG advocate ............... 9
Temple Adath Israel wins North American Award

for Community Service ............................ 10
Know Your Board ............................... 10
History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Part XVII ...... 11
Comedy Night Photos ............................ 12
B’tayavon ...................................... 14
Books and Bagels fundraiser to be held at TAI .......... 14
Israel 21c ...................................... 16

Many more Judaic Studies courses to be offered at UK . . .19
Be a part of Camp Shalom and Camp Gesher in 2007. . , 20

Lexington Hadassah ............................. 21
Lexington Havurah ............................... 21
Around the Community .......................... 22
TAI .......................................... 22
OZS ......................................... 23
Community Calendar. . V . V .......... . V . . 24

 

SHALOM

Published ten times per year by the
Central Kentucky Jewish Federation, Inc.
1050 Chinoe Rd., Suite 203, Lexington, KY 40502
Phone (859) 268—0672 0 Fax (859) 268—0775
email: shalom@jewishlexington.org

APRIL 2007, VOLUME XIV, ISSUE 3
Marty Barr, President
Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Jana LaZur, Activities Director
Tamara Ohayon, Office Administrator
Abby Miller, JFS Director

SHALOM COMMITTEES

Editorial Board
Ruth Poley, Editor-in—Chief
Mary Heléne Rosenbaum, Editor/Administrator
Marcia Blacker
Judy Levine

Advisory Board
Elissa Brown, Gail Cohen, Angie Ornstein,
Janet Scheeline, and Rose Rita Wurmser

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Dave Bender and Kathy Feinberg

Production Services by Direct Response, Inc.

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 a kashruth endorsement on the part of
CKJF or any other agency or organization. Shalom is supported by the
advertisements appearing in the paper.

© 2007 by Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

2 0 April 2007 Shalom

 

dAPRL 5...

Pat Shraberg gets in the
spirit of Purim at TAI party.

 

Opinions expressed I
by writers in

Shalom

are not necessarily
those of the editorial
staff or advisers, nor of
the Central Kentucky
Jewish Federation or its
constituent communities,

       

 

committa- member's.
Letters to the Editor are
always welcome—
send them to
di—ifr@bardstown.com.

 

 

 

i Ken Slepyan, Susan and Austin Cantor celebrate Purim at TAI.

 

 

If you are not receiving Jewish weekly email and

would like to, please email your name and email
address to ckif@iewishlexington.org

 

so“ Fede’abb I I
Lee—Jr Central Kentucky Jewrsh Federation
[TaIKeY‘
CKJF President CKJF Board
Marty Barr Ray Archer Jennifer Miller
Judy Baumann Lowell Nigoff
Executive Committee Elissa Brown Linda Noffsinger
David Feinberg Angie Ornstein
Michael Grossman, Vice President Stanley Isenstein Rickie Rosenberg
Pat Shraberg, Secretary Odette Kaplan Walter Solomon
Robert Grossman, Treasurer Doug Katz Lisa Satin
Ruth Poley, Member-At-Large Mimi Kaufman David Wekstein
David Levine Carole Wilson

 

Séalom Deablme
Deadline for articles for the May Shalom is April 10.

Email articles to di-ierbardstown.com.
Articles submitted in hard copy should he double-spaced.

 

 

 

Six

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Yom Hashoah 2007

Community to commemorate
Holocaust April 15

+++

Sixty-two years ago, World War 11 came to an end. The
wounds left behind by the Nazi-sponsored Violence
are, however, still very much open. Most Jews alive
today lost relatives to Nazi barbarism, and some are
Holocaust survivors themselves. The memory of that
dark chapter in world history cannot be abandoned,
for to abandon it is to invite its repetition.

At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmedinejad claims the Shoah never happened,

and in the same breath calls for “wiping Israel off

the map”; at a time when anti-Semitism and anti-
Israel activism is becoming acceptable; at a time when
Europe keeps denying those who survived the Nazi
hell the right to reach closure by learning the fate

of their loved ones—this is the time to remember
ourselves and to remind the world that the lessons

of the Holocaust cannot be ignored or forgotten.

The Central Kentucky Jewish community is
coming together to observe the 62nd anniversary
of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising,
the symbolic day chosen to remember the six
million Jewish victims of Nazi genocide.

During the program, the winners

of this year’s Emilie Szekely

Essay Contest for essays about
contemporary lessons of the
Holocaust will be acknowledged. The
keynote speaker, Joel Grishaver, will
present a modern perspective on the
Jewish meaning of the Shoah. Mr.
Grishaver is a Jewish educator with
a long list of accomplishments and
is co-owner of the prime publisher
of Jewish textbooks for religious
schools, Torah Aura Publishers. (See
page 5 for more details about Mr.
Grishaver.)

Join us as we remember the past and
look to the future on Sunday, April
15, at 3:00 p.m., at Temple Adath
Israel, 124 N Ashland Avenue. The
program is co-sponsored by the
Central Kentucky Jewish Federation,
Temple Adath Israel, Ohavay

Zion Synagogue, the Lexington
Havurah, the Lexington Chapter

of Hadassah and the Stanley

Rose Lodge of the B’nai Brith.

“Those who cannot remember the past
are doomed to repeat it. ”
— George Santayana 3?!

 

 

Janice Brock. ”B. MS. 888. GB!
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twwianicehwciwom

@ Prudential

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(859) 624-0528 Fax

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Realty, MC
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Relocation Specialist Richmond. KY 40475

 

 

Christ the King Wome

O ‘ Ht"-

n’s Guild to

A . ' '4 'n'

Organ donation to be topic of the evening

40+

Save Wednesday evening, April 18, for a special treat.
The TAI Sisterhood will host the members of the
Women’s Guild of Christ the King Cathedral for the
April meeting. Charlotte Wong will be speaking to us on
organ donation. Ms. Wong is the education coordinator
for KODA (Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates).

KODA is the state-wide organ and tissue procurement
and placement organization for the State of Kentucky.
Its mission is to procure and place life—saving organs——

 

Save file Date

Sui/44¢ May 6
6 pm.

$\S\\ Fede’a’lb

Q: 3

‘0 Leg : P/ease contact t/re
Wax 1&an. ofice to RS VP

 

The 2007 CKJF/UJC Community Campaign

 

 

heart, lung, kidney, liver,
pancreas—with a transplant
surgeon in an effort to save life.

As education coordinator, Ms.
Wong speaks to classes (including
elementary, middle, high

school, college, and religious),
civic organizations, and clubs

to share facts and information
about organ donation.

Come, listen, learn, and—more
important—ask your questions!
Learn the difference between myth
and misunderstanding, fact and
fiction, about this life-saving topic.

Everyone is invited to this meeting;
you do not have to be a member

of Temple or Sisterhood to attend.
We will convene at 7:00 pm. and
dessert will be served. Call Sandee
Wildes at the Temple (269-2979) to
reserve your place. Please make
every effort to join us as we welcome
the women of Christ the King and
learn about this important topic. 10

 

 

Join our community
celebration of
Yom ha’Atzmaut

Come partake in the celebration of

+§§

If you ever want to know what it is like to experience
an authentic Israeli Independence Day celebration, then
you probably need to go to Israel. Here in Lexington, the
next best thing is going to be at the Blue Grass Christian
Camp (BGCC), home of Camp Shalom. From 11:30 a.m.
to 2:00 pm. on Sunday, April 22 at the BGCC, we will
have a large scale community celebration including
students from both Temple Adath Israel’s and Ohavay
Zion Synagogue’s religious schools. The agenda for fun
will include craft projects, nature hunts, a maccabia,

and Israeli dancing to celebrate Israel’s statehood.

But you don’t have to have kids or be a kid to join
us—there will be activities for adults to enjoy, as well.

 

Israeli delicacies such as hummus, pita, and falafel
will abound along with other goodies. And no
Jewish Community Yom ha’Atzmaut festival would
be complete without a birthday cake to celebrate
Israel’s 59 years of independence. There is no cost for
this sampling of Israeli foods; however, you might
want to bring a supplementary picnic or snacks.

Please bring a blanket or lawn chair and prepare yourself
for a couple of hours of fun. The singing, dancing,
schmoozing, and eating with your friends are sure to

be highlights of the events. You may even go home with
new friends. Come out and show how nice and friendly
the Lexington /central Kentucky community can be. Take
this opportunity to share in the fun. See you there!

Please call Jana at the CKJF office if you need
directions or further information. 0

April 2007 Shalom 0 3

 

  

 

 

 

IF YOUFEEL . . .

Dissatisfied with your relationships
Too often angry and frustrated
Disconnected and depressed
Stressed or Anxious

Displeased with your work situation

I can help you make changes that

will improve your relationships and
allow you the happiness you deserve.
Please contact my office to schedule an
appointment.

DAVID L. FEINBERG, Ph.D.

Individual, Marital 8: Family Counseling
520 E. Maxwell St. ' Lexington, KY 40502

(859) 233—3390

 

Marty Barr

President's Message

 

failures in our military and veterans’ hospital systems,
it reminded me of when I was a small child during
World War II. The house I grew up in was located one

At all hours of the night and day there were soldiers
passing our house on their way to and from duty, and
periodically I went with my mother, when members of
the Ladies Auxiliary of the Jewish War Veterans visited
the wounded, to the hospital itself. The main purpose
of the visits was to hand out atghans and have teas.

Walter Reed did not look like our standard concept
of a hospital, with monolithic buildings surrounded
by parking lots. Rather, it was acres of grccn grass,
fountains, and plantcd areas with buildings scattered
in what seemed like a random pattern. In the winter,
it it was snowy, we would take our sleds and go
sliding down one of the small hills inside the gates.

In addition, my father was an attorney in the
Veterans Administration. While he dealt primarily
with issues of military divorce and insurance benefit
eligibility, there was always the overriding issue of
the continucd treatment of wounded veterans. He felt,
and imbued in me, the sense that we had an ongoing
obligation to those men and women that was equal

to the sacrifice they had made for this country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I watched and read over the last few weeks about the

short block from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The shortchanging of this system
that is now coming to light is not
just from the past few years but

is the culmination of an approach
to funding that has existed for a
several decades. In this, it is not
unlike many Situations that we face
nationally, where the approach is to
minimize the funding and attention
until a maior problem erupts and
everyone jumps on the bandwagon
for their twenty seconds of fame.

I don’t have an answer, except
that we need to keep working
together for what we know is
right, and sticking to it until we
arrive at a long—term solution.

Barbara and I hope that everyone is
enjoying Passover and send our best
wishes to you and your families. X3

 

 

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4 0 April 2007 Shalom

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Author, publisher, lecturer to be TAI
Scholar in Residence April 13-15, 2007

Public is welcome
+ o 0

“It’s not over until Casey Stengel
sings Kol Nidre!” ]oel Grishaver

“He has the soul of a Chasid and
the repertoire of a Maggid. He

is innovative and enriching. His
captivating energy is engaging. He
is a blessing, a teacher’s teacher.
Joel Grishaver is one amazing
educator." Rabbi Marc Kline

Joel Grishaver is Temple Adath
Israel’s Scholar in Residence for
the year 5767 (2006/2007). Joel

is a co-owner of Torah Aura
Productions and the Alef Design
Group, the publishers of many of
our religious school textbooks. He
is a writer, a teacher, a cartoonist,
and a storyteller. He has authored
or co—authored more than 60
books including Shema is For

Real, lewish Parents: A Teacher’s
Guide, and l‘orty Things You Can
Do to Save the Jewish People.

In IVUK, Joel was awardr cl the

Covenant Award for outstanding

onniuions o e i " .r . ., ‘ H

has degrees from Boston University
and the University of Chicago, and
has pursued graduate studies at
the Hebrew Union College and the
University of Southern California,
but his real education comes from
working with Jewish day camps,

summer camps, children’s museums,
and youth groups, and from teaching
in Hebrew schools from day schools

to high schools to graduate schools.
He is a founding board member of
the Coalition for the Advancement
of Jewish Education, a consultant
to the Whizin Institute for Jewish
Family Life, and a faculty member
of the Department of Continuing
Education of the University

of Judaism. More than twenty

weekends a year, Joel teaches Jewish

learners of all ages as a Scholar-
in-Residence in communities all
over North America and Europe.

Joel Grishaver's Lexington
schedule (all are welcome)

April I3—Friday night, at Shabbat
Services—“Stories We Pray" a
discussion bringing to light the
origins of our traditional prayers,
the rabbis who created them, and

the circumstances that brought their

 

A numbr 272).Learn how to live a musical life. This s a

inspiration. The prayers are not
texts, they are stories, and to

appreciate the prayer, one must
appreciate from where it came.

April 14—Saturday morning,
9:00 a.m.— ”Kabbalah of Self”:
Through reading and unpacking
primary mystical texts (Sefer
Yetzirah, Zohar, Rabbi Nachman,
etc.) participants will gain insight
into how Kabbalah is both a
process of coming close to God
and a process of self-actualization. While this replaces
our normal weekly study, we all come out way ahead.

Joel Crishaver

April 14—Saturday afternoon, 1:00 p.m.—”Teaching
Jewishly": Education is the backbone of Judaism.
This study is the core of Joel’s next book. While it
will help teachers apply Jewish values to classroom
work, it speaks to parents and grandparents who
informally teach children, and to all adults, as well.

We will enjoy a pot luck dairy Kiddush lunch
(everybody bring something vegetable or dairy), as
we study and celebrate Shabbat. Please R.S.V.P. by
April 11 for lunch, so that we have tables set up.

April 14—Saturday evening, 63:00 p.m., Hors d’oeuvres
and Havdallah—“Kabbalah of Music”: Rabbi Nachman

teaches that music groWs out of a spiritual process, a

study in leadership, leading us to better understand the
music of our own souls, allowing us the opportunity
to join with others to build a much stronger whole.

April 15—Sunday morning—-
Joel will teach three sessions:

1. K - 3rd grade, 9:45 - 10:30—“Target Painting”: In
telling stories, Joel will get our younger students
thinking about the ethical values the stories teach.
This is always a hit with young children. Parents, join
your children in this experience and learn a paradigm
for formal and informal education of your children.

2. 4th grade - 8th Grade, 10:45 - 11:45—“You Be the
Judge”: Students and parents will act as the panel of
judges as they sift through age-appropriate ethical
dilemmas, explore Jewish sources that speak to
these legal situations, and look at a history of the
Jewish application of these sources to such cases.

3. 9th grade - 10th grade, 12:00 -1:00———“You Be the Judge”:
Same as above, but at a much higher level of discussion.
On several occasions this program has qualified for
Continuing Legal Education units for lawyers.

April IG—Sunday Afternoon, Yom Hashoah, 3:00—“Why
It Matters What Can We Do?” Recounting his own
journey of relating to the Shoah, Joel will demonstrate
how each of us (all people) has a relationship with the
Holocaust, why it matters that we know this, and most
important, what we can and should do about it. 701

 

 

   

College Advising & Boarding School Placement

 

Jane Schoenfeld Shropshire

Shropshire Educational
Consulting, LLC
30791/2 Royster Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40516
(859) 396-9508

www.5hroped.net

Dedicated to finding the right school.

Educational Consulting

 

For a dayl tilt is wort/7 the bot...

= Bar and Bat Mitzvahs

 
     

B\\0LI:TS

lansdowne Shoppes-

Fc' mare :ntormaiion cal; Jennie: Buster. at 359.335.5500, ext 105
er email ner atiburcnemrrglic rem

 

 

 

     
 
  

 

OIO.........IOIIOI..IIO....QCOI..I..I..C......V

 

Advertise Your Business

The Shalom Newspaper is published ten times per year.
it is a free newspaper mailed to over 1,800 local businesses
and households. Shalom is distributed free of charge at
Jewish organizations and local retail outlets in greater
Central Kentucky, and is the most effective, cost efficient
way to reach Central Kentucky's Jewish community.

Month—To-Month Rates (Rates change effective 2/1/07)

, m 1/2 Page Horizontal

Vertical

 

....OIOOIOOIOUOC
.....ooooooooo

     
   
 
  
  
 
 
   

4.9" x
l 2.75"

$120

 

     
 

  
 
 
    

1/4 Page 1/8 Page Business Card
4.9" x 6.375" 4.9" x 3.191" 3.625" x 2"
$80 $55 $35

"‘ All other ads are billed at $12 per column inch.
“‘ Ad production is available at an hourly rate.

 

 

 

 

Rates for contracted terms**

,529, WWW, ._ 252s, , ...-.-19x-
Full 190 180
l/2Veri. 115 no

** A contract must be
signed prior to insertion

 

1/2 Horiz. 1 l5 1 10 of the first ad.

l/A 75 70 Prepaid contracts
1/8 50 45 will be discounted lO°/o
Bus Card 30 2 5 off the total.

Terms

The Central Kentucky Jewish Federation will not be responsible for
errors, except to cancel charge for such portion of advertisements
as may be rendered valueless by error.

All material is subject to approval by CKJF. CKJF reserves the right
to reject any material it deems obiectionable for any reason.

Deadline

Deadline for camera-ready art is the l0th of the month
prior to the month of publication,

'6‘“ FEdEra”
For more details about advertising with us please 4" C) 0
contact Tamara Ohayon at the CKJF office. LL-i'J—l

(859) 268-0672 or shalom@iewishlexington.org (Ne/ma] Ken“)?

....IO..0...’0‘.....IOOI.........G..‘.....l...i

00............OOOOOOOOOCOCO

April 2007 Shalom - 5

 

 

 

 

  

From the Executive Director

What do you see?
+ o +

As you probably know by now, I participate in

the local Yiddish Club. One of the things we do in
our encounters is to watch a movie produced in
Yiddish in pre—war Poland called ”If Iii/bbuk—and
we watch it as a serial, one piece at a time.

ln one of our latest installments, one of the characters—
the “Meshulach,” a very mystical and mysterious

 

character relates a story about a rich man coming to
see the rabbi. In the story, the rabbi asks the rich man to
look out the window and tell him what he sees. The rich
man looks out and proclaims, "People.” Then the rabbi
asks him again, ”What do you see now?" And when

the rich man looks to the window again, he sees his
reflection, so he says, ”Now I see only myself." The rabbi
then tells him, “A piece of glass is a remarkable thing;
we can see through it or it can be a mirror. If we put
silver on the back of the glass, it becomes only a mirror
and we see only ourselves and we cease to see others.”

Our outlook on life is like that windowpane. The silver
represents not just material possessions, but it can also
be our personal points of view. If we look at the world
only from our own perspective, we cease to see others
as independent different beings, and we come to see
them only in relation to their usefulness to us. The
glass becomes a mirror. The ability to empathize with

 

6 0 April 2007 Shalom

Daniel Chejfec

others, even those we disagree
with, even those we consider our
enemies, is what defines us as
civili/ed beings. Recogni/ing the
existence of different perspectives,

even if we do not share them, is

what defines us as sentient beings.

Our tradition tells us that while it
is important to hold to our own
convictions, it is also important to
open our minds to the possibilities

of other points of view.

Many times we go through life
embracing our own causes to the
exclusion of others; we become
so obsessed with what we want
that we might even sacrifice the

common good for our own personal

advancement. This happens at
every level: in our families, in our

congregations, in our communities,

and even on the world stage.

Our tradition tells us that

while it is important to hold to
our own convictions, it is also
important to open our minds to
the possibilities of other points
of view. Yet very often we

color everything we do or read with our own ideology.

 

I recently read a book by David Klinghoffer,
lei/ the [pres rejected Jesus. While there is much
on that book I disagree with, he does make a
very good point when he remarks that one of
the main points of disagreement between JeWs
and Christians stems from the fact that JeWs
read the Tanach (Torah, prophets, and writings)
and then they read the gospels and look at
them from the perspective of why they don’t
fit with what was written before. Christians,
on the other hand, tend to read first the gospels and
then read the prophets and the Torah in search of their
validation. In both cases, the ideology functions as the
silver coating on a glass—it does not allow us to see
through it, and we only stare at our own reflection.

On a less cosmic scale, many people go through

life ignoring what everybody else is doing and
”rediscovering” issues or things only when they get

see What do you see, page 7

 

Make a lasting difference in your Jewish community. Buy a cor.
thanks to Gene Hleger of Green‘s Toyota, you con do both.

., Gene or»: ejen dyad. "rémm‘yaeefiké in contribute to in: , '
- it! h Nonsl’rofif Donation Program, and your purchase of a new

, h federation Community Campaign.

 

5’09 bY Green‘s TOYGtO , ..W'C&cle Road and 'askfor Gene megs. or mascara at 552~6082 w: more “emotion.

 

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Third Opinion

Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, PhD

 

L'chaim, Chaim Grade
+ + 4

If Chaim Grade (1910-1982), perhaps
our best literary interpreter of
pre-World War II yeshivah life,
has not gotten the recognition he
deserves, it’s not his fault. After
his death, Grade's major novels
were translated from Yiddish into
English by his second wife (the
first Mrs. Grade perished in the
Holocaust) and she has a tin ear.

I find them almost unreadable.

However, long before that time I
had already come across his short
story ”My Quarrel with Hersh
Rasseyner" (in A Treasury of Yiddish
Literature, eds. Irving Howe and
Eliezer Greenberg, 1954) and been
touched at the core of my being.

The story purports to be a running
dialogue between Rasseyner, a strict
Mussarist (a follower of an Orthodox
spiritual meditative discipline) and
the secular writer Chaim Vilner.

t calls

A. .. . _‘s . in.
upon 1 s a- eren 5 0e
bad thoughts, a tall order, but one
realizes at some point that both

are aspects of Grade himself. He
was drawn to Mussar as a youth,

so this is an argument taking

place in his mind. In this game of
mental tennis, the protagonists take
turns, but at one point the narrator,
Vilner, observes of Rasseyner, ”He
shouted at me as though I were

- .. _Wa 110,-rd e. -.u ,.
“'1'. t” :"I"“"- _'. 7"» ‘IW 9 Al g ‘

a dark cellar and he was calling
to someone hiding in me.”

Understand that when I first read
this I was a secular Jew from a
very dilute Reform background, a
graduate student at Brandeis and
intermarried. I don’t suppose that
Yiddish had been spoken in my
family for a hundred years. Further
from Chaim Grade I could not have
been. But his story called to the
Jew hiding in me and when I read
that line, a cry tore out of my chest
that I could not control. I still tear
up every time I read that line.

I now realize that there is a sort of

I now realize that there is a
sort of Jewish doppelganger
hidden in all of us, even

the most secular.

Jewish doppelganger hidden in all
of us, even the most secular. l liken
it to a piece of unexploded \Vorld

jostles it, and blaml it goes off.
(This is one reason why secular
Jews should think more than twice
before marrying non-Jews while
assuming their religious tradition
will never be important to them.)

In my case the explosion meant
going to Israel for a year of study,
then extending it to two years and,

 

 

What do you see (from page 6)
personally involved and can

claim credit. This is also a way

of silver-coating the glass.

As society becomes more complex
and more diverse, it becomes more
difficult to hold the middle ground.
In some cases it becomes more
difficult to hold to what we believe
to be truth because many people
”out there” disagree with us, and our
position might even be unpopular.
In other cases, it becomes difficult to
be able to see the other's perspective
because it questions what we believe
and it frightens us, so we react by
denying the other's perspective
without even exploring it.

Yet Jewish culture and traditions tell
us that ”peace” is about fulfillment

and about making ourselves whole.
To make ourselves whole, we need
to be able to question ourselves

and correct our own perceptions;

in other words, we must be able to
see through the glass rather than
staring at our own reflection, but we
must also be true to our convictions.
In this cont