Jewish Life July 1972

RUSSIAN JEWRY - THE CHALLENGE OF THE 70’s “WOMEN’S L IB ” IN TORAH PERSPECTIVE * ZEIDEH TAKES LEA V E HOW YOU CAN HELP OUR M ENTALLY IL L * FACES OF JERUSALEM WHAT’S RIGHT ABOUT TAKING DRUGS? * IN THE CONGREGATION MY SON, THE POLICEMAN * A T A LE O F TWO TATTOOS

Announcement

The 74th Anniversary BIENN IAL CONVENTION

of the UNION O F ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS O F A M ERICA

will take place n*nt on 1 6 th -2 0 th Kislev, 5733 Wednesday, November 22nd - Sunday, November 26th, 1972

(Thanksgiving at the Boca Raton Hotel Boca Raton, Florida

Special events will precede the Convention. Full week stay, commencing Sunday,November 19th, will be available.

Vol. X X X IX , No. 3/July 1972/Av 5732

T H E E D IT O R 'S V IE W

fra

JEW ISH E D U C A T IO N : F O R S U R V IV A L , O R L I F E ? ................................................................. 2

Saul Bernstein, E d ito r Dr. Herbert Goldstein Libby K laperm an Dr. Jacob W. Landynski Rabbi Solomon J. Sharfman Editorial Associates Elkanah Schwartz Assistant E d ito r JEWISH LIF E is published q u a r te r ly . Subscription tw o years $5.00, three years $6.50, four years $8.00. Foreign: A dd 40 cents per year. Individual copy: — .75.

Editorial and Publication Office: 84 Fifth Avenue New York, N.Y. 10011 (212) A L 5-4100 Published by UNION OF O RTHODOX JEWISH CO NG REGATIO NS OF AMERICA Joseph Karasick President Harold M. Jacobs Chairman o f the Board Samuel C. Feuerstein, H onorary Chairman o f the Board; Benjamin Koenigsberg, Senior V ic e President; Nathan K. Gross, Harold H. Boxer, David Politi, Dr. Bernard Lander, Lawrence A. Kobrin, Julius Berm an, V ic e P resid en ts; Eugene Hollander, Treasurer; Morris L. Green, Honorary Treasurer; Joel Balsam, Secre tary; Daniel Greer, Financial Secretary Dr. Berel Wein E x e cu tiv e Vice President Saul Bernstein. Adm inistrator Second Class Postage paid at New York, N.Y.

A R T IC L E S R U SSIA N JE W R Y -

TH E CH A LLEN G E O F

T H E 7 0 ’s/ Maurice Rose ..........................

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W H A T’S R IG H T A B O U T T A K IN G D R U G S ?/ Reuven P. B u l k a ................... . ............................ 16 A T A L E O F TWO T A T T O O S / Allan B lu ste in ......................................... . ........... 21 “W OMEN’S L I B ” IN T O R A H P E R S P E C T IV E / Ralph Pelco vitz...........................................

Z E ID E H T A K E S L E A V E / Nisson W o lp in ........................................................38 MY SON, T H E PO LIC EM A N / Valentine R . Winsey ............................................ 42 HOW Y O U CAN H E L P O U R M E N T A L L Y IL L / Yaacov F e ld m a n ...................................................46

ART FEA TU RE F A C E S O F JE R U S A L E M / David A d le r............................................................ 36

PO ETRY IN T H E C O N G R EG A T IO N / Florence Jeanne G o o d m a n ................................24

D EPA RTM EN TS L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R ........ .............................. 53 AMONG O U R C O N T R IB U T O R S .... inside back cover Cover and Drawings by Naama Kitov C Copyright 1972 by Union of Orthodox Jewish Congre­ gations of America. Material from JEWISH LIFE, including illustrations, may not be reproduced except by written per­ mission from this magazine following written request.

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Ihe EDITOR'S V IEW JEW ISH E D U C A T IO N : F O R S U R V IV A L , O R L I F E ?

H IL E orthodox Jewry has always been governed by thfe dictum “Talmud Torah K ’neged Kulom ,” other elements of the Jewish world have only of late come to realize the pivotal role of effective Jewish education. The manifest alienation of a great portion of today’s younger g e n e r a t io n a n d of many of their elders — has brought a rude awakening. The situation is now seen by these non-orthodox forces as a dire threat to Jewish — and particularly their own — existence. The call for action to assure “ Jewish survival” rings out on every side and, with the alienated and the indifferent so evidently lacking the rudiments of Jewish knowledge, the need for a drastic revision of educational approaches and a drastic reordering of communal priorities in favor of education is brought to the fore.

Thus at the recent plenary meeting of the World Confer­ ence of Jewish Organizations (COJO), a broadly embracing roof organization fathered by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, the agenda was

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entered on Jewish education. After having been adjured by its co-chairman, Louis A. Pincus, to “ stop talking of Jewish education and start doing things,” measures were adopted designed to link various existing educational agencies and institutions with COJO and to spur practical educational development, with emphasis on day schools. Much of this could merit welcome by all, were it not hobbled by the “ Jewish survival” outlook. Standing by itself, “ survival” is a catchword barren of ultimate goal. The CO JO forum, for all its sincerity of purpose, has failed to grasp the "Stoptalking

start doing"

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JEWISH L IF E

meaning of Jewish life. An educational undertaking built around so major a deficiency is fatally compromised.

H E R E is ample evidence that all programs under the ‘‘Jewish Education” banner that lacked the essential ele­ ment of Jewish education — namely, the effective transmission of Torah-rooted Jewish conviction and life purpose — have been costly failures. In America and elsewhere, heterodox and secular­ ist movements have devoted vast sums and intensive effort through many years to such programs, employing high-caliber pedagogical expertise, but all to no avail. The subjects of these processes are foremost among the very ones whose ignorance of and alienation from Jewish values are now the cause of agitated c o n c e rn . Orthodox afternoon Talmud-Torahs and Hebrew Schools offered a measure of the vital ingredient and accordingly, though more crudely equipped, achieved a cor-

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Day School Bandwagon

responding measure of positive result. But it became clear that this method had its own in­

adequacies in the light of environmental reali­ ties, and orthodox forces focussed on development of the Day School system. With the striking success and even greater promise of the Day School an indisputable fact, it is now viewed by all but hardshell assimilationists as the educational key to Jewish continuity. Non-orthodox groups which formerly derided and fought the Day School movement are now hastening to establish their own. The action of CO JO will without doubt spur this trend, with the painful decline of public school standards giving further prompting. The rapid multiplication of “ survivalist” day schools can be foreseen. But in the course of time their sponsors may find themselves with much the same futility as before. The survival philosophy, however attractively packaged, lacks the stuff of life and joining to it sectarian, secularist, or nationalist doctrines helps not at all.

This can be seen from the example of existing schools of this kind. In several Latin American communities, for example, Jewish day schools devoid of Torah have for years been the edu­ cational norm for Jewish schoolchildren. The products of these schools are for the most part notoriously lacking in Jewish inter­ est or commitment. Alienation from Judaism and the Jewish community is rife among them and so too are mixed marriages.

JU L Y 1972

3

Only social barriers check the pace of physical and spiritual absorption into the surrouding community.

Israel's “ non-Dati” public schools are also a category of Jewish day schools: what of their results in Jewish terms? One gets the impression that to the extent that their pupils do acquire a positive sense of Jewish — as distinguished from Israeli — iden­ tity and purpose, this is rather despite than because of the influ­ ence of their schools. Evident enough in Israel itself, this becomes shockingly apparent when products of Israel's secular schools are observed in Chutz La-Aretz — where an undue number of them are nowadays to be found.

What a dismaying contrast between the Olim coming, in steadily increasing numbers, to Israel from the United States and Canada and the Yordim coming, in unfortunately no less numbers, in the reverse direction. The former, D a tiO iim Non-Dati Yordim

most ° f them orthodox and many of them educated in orthodox day schools and major yeshivoth, come in quest of a full Jewish life in a fully Jewish environment, voluntarily sacrific­

ing accustomed American or Canadian advantages. The Yordim , on their part, are in pursuit of that which the Olim have foregone, with the important difference that the typical Oleh has contri­ buted much to Jewish life in his community and aspires to give the best of himself to his new community, while nothing seems further from the mind of the typical Yored. There are, of course, some Israelis in the U.S. and Canada of a different, far more welcome type, much valued in the communities in which, pend­ ing eventual return to Israel, they settle. But for the most part, the migrating products of Israel's equivalent of “ survivalist" day schools are no asset to Jewish life. In sending us these examples of Hebrew-speaking goyishkeit in exchange for our Olim, Israel has much the best of the bargain.

E T it be realized then that a school does not automatically engender loyalty simply by virtue of an all-day program. It is the basis and content of the program that, together with the character of the teachers and the pupils' home environment, determines the outcome. A t the heart of all must be the fructify­ ing spirit of Torah and Mitzvoth, of Jewish belief and Jewish purpose. Jewish continuity is born of the outpouring will to the

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JEWISH L IF E

Jewish life, in fulfillment of Divinely-ordained Jewish life pur­ pose, not merely of the intent to resist extinction.

The forces whose mood was voiced by CO JO seem to have faltered at the brink of the above conclusion and then to have drawn back. This is understandable, because for most of them, to move to this further point would be to belie all that they have hitherto professed. But how much longer can they shrink from the fact that events have stripped all the strands of non-Torah ideology of meaning? Institutionally, their movements and organ­ izations can continue to — survive. So long, that is, as the social function they serve for their aging constituencies and the mechan­ ics of institutional self-perpetuation give them viability. Nothing within them as now constituted can engender life.

To members of the youth and young adult generation of today, Orthodoxy is a subject of relevant concern, positive or negative as the case may be, but Reform and Conservatism and the Congresses and Committees are a matter of com plete indifference, representing neither c^a^en§e nor Prom*se> bypassed as a meaning­ less bore. The groups referred to are unavoid­ ably aware of this and are possessed by a worried desire to overcome obsolescence and catch up with un­ folding history. To accomplish this would obviously entail ceasing to be what they are and have been, and this is frightening enough.

But more to be feared is, after arriving at the point of strippeddown departure, where to go? “Surely not to where all originally came from, to Orthodoxy? That no — never, positively never! But perhaps there can be devised something that isn’t Orthodoxy, but has its vitality and even feels and looks rather like Orthodoxy, with the color and a l l.. . ” T Where?

Although veritable miracles of organic synthesis have been achieved in our days, the synthesizing of the plasma of Jewish life yet remains beyond human reach. No substitute for Torah, even though it be processed through elaborate programs of “ Jewish education,” can live. Let the seeker of “ Jewish survival” seek deep within himself. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our G-d stands forever.”

- S. B.

JU L Y 1972

5

by M A U R IC E R O S E HE Sudbanhoff in Vienna is not the most inspiring of places in the half-light of a gloomy, winter morning — but the emotional scenes which have been witnessed there for the past year or more are almost beyond description. On a bone-chill­ ing morning in January, Chief Rabbi

T

Immanuel Jakobovits and I, on behalf o f the C o n fe re n c e of European R a b b is , to g ether with a Jewish Agency official strained eyes and ears for the first sight or sound of the Chopin Express arriving at its destina­ tion. This train, as we were later to find out, starts out from Moscow, winds its way across Russia, Poland, and other East European countries with coaches coming from other areas being added en route. What with the

6

journey's length and the numerous border checks, some of its passengers, especially those from Soviet Georgia, had spent three days on their road to freedom. It was ironic to reflect that from Georgia to Israel is a short p la n e flig h t o ver T u r k e y and Lebanon; however, “ Ve/o nochom E lo k im derech eretz p ’lishtim ki korov h u ” W it was as if the Exodus from Egypt was repeating itself be­ fore our very eyes.

Out of the gloom the train suddenly appears and grinds slowly to a halt at the platform. The experi­ enced Jewish Agency official knows already where to stand and in which carriage those we are awaiting will be located. His warm “Sholom Aleichem Yidden” rings out in the wintry air

JEWISH L IF E

Rabbi Chaim Grunfeld o f Vienna, Chief Rabbi Jakobovits, Rabbi Rose, with Jewish Agency personnel and Georgian Jews.

Georgians alighting from train

JU L Y 1972

Typical Georgian family — three generations.

Georgians boarding bus

7

and the fa ce s pressed somewhat apprehensively against the window panes take on a look of relief and recognition. The doors are opened and out comes — a Kibbutz Galuyoth in miniature. It is difficult to describe the emotions which well up inside us as in rapid succession we grasp out­ stretched hands and greet Jews from M o sco w , Len ingrad , Riga, Vilna, Czernowitz, Kiev, Odessa, Tashkent, and the various parts o f Georgia, who reverentially kiss our hands in greeting.

The language of communication is Yiddish H and what a Yiddish, no westernized overtones here, but the rich warm accents of a Russian mamaloshen. All ages are represented, from babies in arms to the elderly.

While the baggage is unloaded, the excited conversations continue on the station platform and we begin to reflect on our first impressions. What a wealth of historic tradition we are witnessing. Here are Jews who have survived not just Goluth in its conven­ tional meaning but who, after endur­ ing long years of suppression of Jewish life , w en t th ro u g h the “ seven chambers of gehinom ” in the Nazi period, lived through the fury of the Stalinist terror, and had then risked everything by demanding to be al­ lowed to emmigrate to Israel. They are neatly dressed and by no means under­ nourished. Surprisingly, their first concerns are centered not on what lies ahead of them but on those whom th e y have left behind. Each one declares that there are thousands more

8

waiting for the means and opportuni­ ties of emigration.

S

OM E individualized descriptions

can best convey the overall im­ pression of the calibre of our brothers and sisters with whom we are pri­ vileged to converse.

Here, for example, is a Jew from Vilna who tells us that during World War II he helped to make weapons in the Vilna ghetto and subsequently joined the partisans. He then intro­ duces his chaver who tells us about the “ sit-in” at the Moscow Telegraph office some months ago in which he had participated and which up till then was only known to us from newspaper reports. For forty-eight hours they had resisted the threats, cajoling, and promises of the Russian police, only being forcibly evicted after they had managed to draw world attention to their act of defiance.

Some of this defiance is reflec­ ted in the smile on the battler’s face and the jaunty tilt of his head as he fills in the details of their heroic gesture. A little three-year-old girl is clutching his hand and he proudly presents her as his daughter Dakara.

On our expressing some surprise at the unusual name he explains that he named her after the Israeli submarine Dakar which had so tragically and in­ explicably been lost with all her crew in the Mediteranean some three years ago. He said he wanted a permanent memorial of the heroism of Israel’s armed forces and so he called his

JEWISH L IF E

From Vilna — (1.) resistance fighter and son; (r.) father of Dakara

Professor of Medicine from V ilna

JU L Y 1972

dau g h ter D a k a ra and had also fashioned for himself a badge bearing this name in Hebrew which he wore at all times. It humbled us to think that it had taken a Russian Jew to devise this novel and for him dangerous way of commemorating defenders of the Jewish State.

T h e sim plicity

o f our

next

contact made it all the more impres­ sive. From the train emerges a furhatted elderly gentleman carrying a silver-topped ebony walking stick. He comes forward and introduces himself as a doctor, also from Vilna. His measured tones and dignified bearing as he introduced himself were perhaps more appropriate for some formal re­ ception in a hotel lobby rather than this meeting which spanned a world war, a holocaust, and two decades of repression and terror. And yet the very normalcy of our conversation with him only underlined its dramatic con­ text. Culture and dignity were de­ picted in every furrow of his face as he told us something of his work in a large hospital where he was responsible for the training of other doctors. Here was a man who had made the grade as a Jew in a Communist society. His social status and standard of living were high and yet the Jewish spark within him impelled him in the evening of his life to settle with his brethren in Israel.

For many of the emigrants we were the first rabbis they had ever seen. This was brought home very vividly to us when later on a young

10

Georgian told Chief Rabbi Jakobovits through an interpreter that he wished to present him with a gift. What kind of gift, we wondered, could this young man have brought with him from G eo rg ia ? From his belongings he brought out a large plaque of beaten metal upon which was engraved a depiction of Mosheh Rabbeynu and the Two Tablets of Stone. He had made it himself and was now present­ ing it to the first Rabbi of the western world that he had met.

E soon became impressed with the close-knit, almost clannish attitude of the groups of Georgian Jews. Whereas from other areas indi­ viduals or just husband and wife had arrived, the Georgians had emigrated as family groups with at least three g e n e ra tio n s in each group. They possessed a quiet dignity, with the young displaying a rare spirit of derech eretz for their elders, showing concern for their wants and consulting them at all stages of their progression through

f

the Reception Centre.

When and how Jews came to settle in Georgia is uncertain. They themselves claim to have been there since the time of the first Beth Hamikdosh. But one thing is certain: their love for Zion is unsurpassed by any other section of Jewry. Every song they sing bears a reference to Zion and from the Birkath Hamazon card which an elderly lady proudly showed to us it was apparent that in their Tefilloth extra emphasis is always laid on refer-

JEWISH L IF E

ences to the Land of Israel and the Holy City of Jerusalem. Typical is the addition to the Grace after Meals which declares, “ Even though we have eaten and drunk we have not forgotten the Tem ple.”

Characteristically enough, it was a Georgian Jew who after three days of weary travel refused a bite to eat b e fo re he had laid Tefillin and davvened Shacharith. We were simi­ larly impressed that the first inquiry of some of the women was for a Mikveh after their days of travel.

It was not all smiles. A middleaged woman from Czernowitz burst into tears as she witnessed the joy on the faces of others. She sobbingly told us that she was a widow and that her husband had died almost a year ago, not living to experience this great Geulah. However, with a note of pride in her voice she pointed to her elevenyear-old son and told us that for eleven months he had said Kaddish for his father morning and evening. I shall never forget the glowing Jewish pride which shorie out of the eyes of the eleven-year-old at his mother’s words in Yiddish, which he understood. I re­ flected on the hazards encountered and self-sacrifice displayed by a young lad attending a daily minyon in Czernowitz in 1971.

H ES E then are the Jews arriving daily in Vienna from the Soviet Union on their way to Israel. Tough,

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resourceful, stubborn, and proud. Men and women who have risked all in

JU L Y 1972

their fight for exit visas, who have stood in queues for days before government offices, have reapplied over and over again when earlier appli­ cations have been rejected, and have finally triumphed over the severest bureaucratic system yet devised to escape from the all-pervading tyranny of the Communist regime.

All of them testified, even those who had not experienced harsher re­ pression, that they had not been able to breathe as Jews. In whatever way they had identified themselves sub rosa whether by a furtive attendance at synagogues, attendance at a behindclosed-doors class for learning Ivrith, stealthy arrangements for B ’rith Milah of their children - they had braved the fear of discovery. Condemnation and convictions to prison sentence shadowed them always, finding many victims. Since the Six-Day War this fear had receded somewhat, while there surged forth intensified pride in their Jewish heritage however little they knew of it and a fierce determina­ tion not to lose their Jewish identity.

F E E L that it is no exaggeration to say that with this wave of im m ig ra tio n into Israel, religious Jewry faces its greatest challenge of the seventies. I specifically stress the role which religious Jewry has to play in meeting the challenge.

I

The present emigration from the Soviet Union falls into three cate­ gories. There are firstly those Jews who have been born and reared in

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Russia proper and who, unless over the age of sixty, have known no other way of life than the Communist system. O f them we certainly say netzach yisroel lo yeshaker because it is difficult to analyse what prompted them, and particularly their youths, to reject their environment and take the dra­ m a tic step of identification with Judaism, the full implication of which in their given circumstances they could hardly be expected to realize. There is no doubt that under the traumatic influence of the metamorphasis in their lives we describe simply as meyavduth le-cheruth, they are open and susceptible to religious influences.

Having rejected the most secularist society yet created by man, the pendu­ lum begins to swing to the other extreme bringing them closer to Torah and Mitzvoth.

The second category of immi­

so far at least a third of all the emi­ grants, is the Jews from Georgia. For historical and geographical reasons, these have remained not only isolated from the rest of world Jewry but also shielded from the worst excesses of the Communist system. They were able to maintain their corporate, reli­ gious existence in Georgia, living in c o m p a c t com m unities, sometimes within an almost exclusively Jewish context. They may not be learned or academically trained or ideologically sophisticated but they are certainly Shomrey Mitzvoth in their rock-firm ^adherence tp the Jewish way of life.

Intermarriage is virtually unknown within their ranks. Among them, in the face of all the pressures of a totali­ ta ria n reg im e, Kashruth is fully observed, Chillul Shabboth is rare, and the laws of Taharath Hamishpochah

grants are those who having lived part

are scrupulously adhered to.

A key factor in their ability to

of their lives outside the Communist re a lm , became absorbed into the

maintain their religious pattern is the close family links which prevail among

Soviet domain when the previously independent countries in which they dwelt were taken over by the U .S.S.R . during and after World War II. They never really became indoctrinated with Communism and can still remember the vibrant, rich Jewish life of the countries of their origin in Eastern Europe. They have been able to con­ trast and compare a religious environ­ m ent w ith a completely secular society. Religious Jewry must win them back to the former.

The third category, representing

G e o rg ia n J e w r y . New ly married couples would not branch out for themselves but would set up home under the same family roof as their parents and even grandparents. How­ ever, this patriarchal existence which kept them alive Jewishly in Georgia cannot for many reasons be trans­ planted into Israel. A vacuum is thus created in their lives and again the reli­ gious community is called upon as a matter of the greatest urgency to fill that vacuum with Jewish content and to establish a religious framework as

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JEWISH L IF E

effective as the patriarchal system of loyalties left behind in Georgia.

T this point it must be stated quite clearly that the major financial burden for the entire opera­ tion of transporting, absorbing, and resettling this massive Aliyah rests on the shoulders of the national fund rais­ ing agencies, the United Jewish Appeal in North America, with its parallel bodies in other lands such as the Joint Palestine Appeal in Europe. The costs involved are enormous and everything possible must be done to ensure in­

â

creased support and priority for these campaigns so that the Israel Govern­ ment and the Jewish Agency are not impeded in any way in the implemen­ tation of their Aliyah programme.

But this is not the whole picture, as may best be illustrated by referring to the situation in England. Here we have what is known as a Welfare State which claims to care for its citizens through official government agencies “from the cradle to the grave.“ There are children’s allowances and mater­ n it y , welfare, unemployment, and supplementary benefits, with a whole army of professional, welfare, and so c ia l w orkers employed by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as well as by local authorities. Never­ theless voluntary agencies do not feel stifled but on the contrary are wel­ comed by and work in harmony with the official agencies. The same should be true of Israel.

There is a limit beyond which,

JU L Y 1972

even with the best intentions, officials of the Jewish Agency and Ministry of A b s o rp tio n c a n n o t go, however zealous and devoted they may be. The physical needs of the immigrants are met in an exemplary manner; they are housed, fed, clothed, eventually given an apartment of their own and only released to fend for themselves when this becomes a practical proposition.

But despite all this comprehensive programme, other needs, no less vital, remain to be served. Wanting is the personal touch, the approach to the immigrant as a personality with fears and worries as well as hopes and aspir­ ations, so that he does not remain a number in a file joining thousands of others in the statistical record. Above all, there is the need for spiritual guid­ ance and religious instruction, for synagogues and schools, for a fully conceived and perceptively executed program shaped to the distinctive, indeed unique spiritual needs of those w ho have come from the Soviet domain in search of Jewish fulfillment.

It is here that voluntary help and personal contacts must play a vital role, reactivating the Jewish tradition of Hachnosath Orchim and helping the stranger to feel at home and find reli­ gious sustenance. It is through these personal contacts that the immigrants will be retained for Yiddishkeit or brought back to it. Successful en­ deavors in this area rest upon personal contact rather than massive funds — a warm smile, a handclasp, a friendly knock on the door, an understanding

13

word — can sometimes do more to win souls than the impersonal expenditure of money. A programme of visits to absorption centres, whereby contact is maintained at family level, is a ques­ tion of organization and good will — not of fund raising campaigns. There are agencies such as B ’nei Akivah, P’eylim, Talath, Agudas Israel, and Lubavitch as well as departments in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who are already doing educational, social, and welfare work with the immigrants.

They operate on modest budgets and with planned coordination and some injection of funds should be able to achieve a nationwide coverage. The work of organizing instruction in the te n e ts o f Judaism , and religious se rvices and shiurim, establishing youth clubs, Talmudey Torah, and creation in various places of commu­ nity centres as understood in western communities, must be intensified.

Any programme which involves building projects is a costly business but we in the western world appreciate the value of community centres which become the focal point of the religious life of a community. Such centres are urgently needed in Israel to provide a rallying and meeting point for the new immigrants. In them can be housed a synagogue, a Talmud Torah, and a youth club and within their walls educational programmes for young and old can take place together with social and recreational activities. Such projects require finance not only for the capital outlay but also for main­

14

tenance and for the provision of trained personnel who can supervise the centre on a full time basis.

The growing number of trained Rabbis from western countries now settled in Israel must be conscripted for religious and social service. This is their vocation, successfully conducted in their professional lives and their ta le n ts fo r spiritual and pastoral service now so urgently needed must not be allowed to remain untapped.

N short, the religious commu­ nity must galvanise itself to meet

I

this challenge and must do so with the full moral and practical support of reli­ gious Jewry the world over. A start has already been made and those already involved from abroad include the European communities associated with the Conference of European Rabbis, the Rabbinical Council of America through its Ezra Fund, Agudas Israel, Young Israel of America, and of course the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Further efforts obviously are still required. A hopeful sign has been the consulta­ tions among the presidents of ortho­ dox Jewish organizations in the United States, which point to a unified, and co-ordinated approach to the problem.

The Conference of European Rabbis can take pride in the fact that it came very early into the field and after an investigation of the situation both in Vienna and Israel immediately pro­ duced a programme of work with a budget for 1972 and then proceeded

JEWISH L IF E

in March with the appointment of Rabbi David Ref son as Director of operations in Israel. He has established a cordial working relationship with all the voluntary agencies as well as with the Ministry for Religious Affairs, the M in is try o f Absorption, and the Jewish Agency. Each has come to appreciate the work of the other and

When we Jews have been the playthings of other nations we have often been the helpless victims of history repeating itself. In Israel today,

as a result much overlapping and dupli­

assignment.

the initiative is in our own hands. If we direct ourselves right now, we can B ’ezrath Hashem win a whole genera­ tion for the Torah way of life. May we p r o v e w o r t h y o f th is sacred

cation of effort has been avoided.

After three days’ travel — first, to dawen

JU L Y 1972

Looking forward

by R E U V E N P. B U L K A H AN KS to the ever increasing proliferation of new discoveries and technological advances, contem­ porary Judaism is continually faced with the problem of establishing the Halachic norms applying to the new situations. Thus, among modern responsa literature are to be found items

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concerned with such problems as re­ ligious life on the moon, the prayer and Shabb oth obligations of the Je w ish astronaut, and other airy (eerie?) matters. Problems of more realistic concern, such as the taking of drugs, are naturally a more central objective of Halachic study and also, u n fo rtu n ately,

of

liberal religion, it stands to reason we should be in favor of liberal abortion laws! The publishers of such views are apt to maintain that once you have a view on a topic, given by a Jew, it be­ comes “ the Jewish view.“ This is about as logical as contending that

any

ham becomes kosher when it is placed on the bread advertised as “ Real Jewish.“

Excitement is aroused when one

A Jewish view, to be that, must

p ro n o u n c e m e n ts Halachic validity.

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pseudo-scholarly

hears that the feature of a literary work is an investigation of the Jewish attitude to, for instance, abortion. O f course, some journals do print the serious Halachic concerns about this problem, but one is taken aback upon reading an article which is likely to use the following logic: since Jews have a liberal tradition, and since Judaism is a

devoid

of

JEWISH L IF E

derive from the fundamental Torah sources of Judaism, from the fullness of Bible, Talmud, Midrosh, and com­ mentary. Otherwise, it is just another view, with the adjective “ Jewish” just another case of misleading advertising.

In this article, an attempt will be made to present some Jewish ideas concerning the taking of drugs.

T the outset, it should be made clear that we are not discussing here those drugs which are incontest­ ably injurious to health. It is taken for granted that anything injurious to health is against Jewish law, and this includes cigarette smoking, excessive drinking, and taking harmful chemi­ cals. In line with the famous exhorta­ tion, “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves” (Bemidbor 4:15), we are obligated to care for our physical selves to the most meticulous detail.

This is consistent with the careful attention Judaism gives to all aspects of human life. The Torah’s commands are affirmations of life, be it the physi­ cal or spiritual aspect of life.

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The documented evidence with regard to the “ hard” drugs would lead any sane individual to shun their use.

There is, however, some controversy with regard to the “ soft” stuff, namely marijuana and hashish, some insisting they are harmless, others maintaining they have deleterious effects.

For the purposes of this article, we shall assume the best, that these ingredients are not physically harmful.

Working within this assumption,

JU L Y 1972

it

w ou ld

be

u se fu l

to

find

some

guidelines for a Jewish attitude to their use. These guidelines are not in­ tended as scholarly expositions but rather as intuitive ideas emanating from the letter and spirit of Jewish law and human practice.

HE closest thing to the “ high” achieved through drugs in terms of Biblical comparison is undoubtedly the drunken state reached through in­ temperate drinking of wine. Whilst there is no Biblical legislation directed to drugs, there is such legislation con­ cerning wine: “Wine and strong drink (sheychor) thou shalt not drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when you go into the Tent of Appointed Meet­ ing. . . ” (Vayikra 10:9).

T h e K o h a n im , priests, who ministered in the Mikdosh, were en­ joined from entering to serve when in an inebriated state. Any service per­ formed in such a state was looked upon as a capital offense. Maimonides, in the beginning of the laws of Bi’ath Hamikdosh, asserts that the prohibi­ tion applies to any drink that intoxi­ cates.

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Kohanim are here singled out, which leads to a number of questions, the first of which is simply, Why is there legislation concerning drunken­ ness only with regard to the priest?

Surely, anyone who brought his sacri­ fice to the Mikdosh, or who wants to pray, should have the same explicit restrictions!

S e c o n d ly , it is well known

17

among Jews, and scrupulously adhered to in Chassidic practice, that we are to “Serve the Lord with gladness.. . ” (Tehillim, 100:2). Taking into account that . .wine makes glad the heart of man” [ibid. 104:15), it would almost follow logically that Kohanim should drink wine upon entering to perform their service. After all, are they not bidden to perform in gladness, and is not wine a product which makes man glad?

In responding to these questions we come to grips with a basic philo­ sophical approach to human fulfill­ ment in the Judaic view.

yearns for the fulfillment of self which

T is undoubtedly true that wine would make the priest glad, but it would not give the Koheyn a reason to be glad, only a cause for being glad.

In the realm of causes, there are even better ways for making man happy.

All one has to do is attach electrodes to the brain, and send an electrical im pulse to stimulate the pleasure sense. With such a set-up, man could feel pleasure sensations any time he

will only automatically, merely as a side effect, make him happy.

Drinking wine as a path, to glad­ ness is a mechanistic approach to a situation which demands the human dimension. Reaching a state of joy through the fulfillment of a human task, such as philanthropy, or approxi­ mating gladness on the threshhold of perform ing the inspiring duty of service in the Mikdosh, is a human accomplishment, achieved through the exercise of man’s will.

There are two ways one can reach the roof of a building. He can either take the elevator, or walk the stairs. By elevator, one is elevated, while by the stairs, he elevates himself.

Through wine, man is elevated to the roof, though in fact he has done noth­ ing to merit the height. Through inter­ nal human endeavor, man climbs the ladder to the roof, to the heights of human fulfillment, and it is a height consistent with his true state of being.

The Koheyn is singled out, and he stands out as that individual who,

wished.

Why is it that in this pursuit of happiness man has not argued for the e le ctro d e sy ste m ? Because man, whether he is aware of it or not, is concerned with having a reason to be happy, not a cause for happiness. With a reason, he is happy, with only a cause, he is made to be happy. Man’s n atu re has almost willy-nilly tri­ umphed over his desire. Man’s nature

working in the summit of Jewish edifices, the Mikdosh, is called upon to reach that height by climbing, not flying. The Koheyn is a prototype, and the Jewish people, as a kingdom of priests (Sh’moth 19:6), in the service of their Creator, are likewise to use the same height psychology as that asked of the Koheyn. The hallmark of this height psychology is a sober intoxica­ tion with life and its purpose.

¡

18

JEWISH L IF E

I

M M E D IA T E L Y following the verse enjoining the Koheyn from having wine before ministering in the Midkosh, the Torah says: “And that you may differentiate between the h o ly and the common“ (Va^ikra 10:10). Seemingly unconnected with the previous verse, this exhortation relates to the very basis of drug experi­ ences.

Man naturally desires a “ high,“ a peak experience, a mystical involve­ ment with the world, with G-d. Quite often the thin dividing line between sacred and common escapes human cognition. What difference is there how I feel euphoria?, some are likely to ask.

There is a thin dividing line be­ tween the sacred and the common, a dividing line of means. The end is meaningless, is not a human achieve­ ment, if the means have not been human. The Mishnah (Berochoth 31b) says: “A man who says the Tefillah when drunk is as one who serves idols.“ To seek to induce a Kedushah state, a state of prayer, through artifi­ cial means, is to make an end of the means, to worship a condition rather than work for it; and this, indeed, is tantamount to idolatry.

Often we hear the philosophical intrigue involved in the debate about whether means justify the end. Juda­ ism emphasizes not only the end, but very definitely how man reaches it.

There are no short cuts to Kedushah, and the way to heaven is not by getting there in chemical spontaneity, but through the various degrees of human fulfillment. It is noteworthy that Y a ’akov, when he dreamt his dream, saw not only the heavens, but a ladder anchored on earth and reaching the heavens. The way to heaven, to

JEW ISH high, or peak feeling, is thus one which evolves out of the spiritual condition man works him­ self into: “The mandates of the Lord are upright, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is brilliant, e n lig h te n in g the eyes“ (Tehillim, 19:9). A Jewish high is not one which is reached at the expense of shutting off from the real world, it is one which opens the eyes, enlightens the eyes to the world.

Statistics may perhaps show that Jews are amongst the more involved users of drugs. This, however, dpes not make drugs a Jewish problem, for it is unlikely that a Jew who “gets his

godliness, is a ladder, and the Kedu­ shah way of getting there is by climb­ ing, even in a dream. Shevuoth does not follow Pesach immediately, there are forty-nine days intervening, be­ cause to acceptr the Torah one has to climb the forty-nine levels of the Sefiroth.

thrills“ by figuring out a difficult Rashi, or “ turns on“ with Zemiroth, would turn to artificial means of ful­ fillment. It is those who do not regu­ larly experience spiritual Judaism who are the likely users, so that drugs are not a Jewish problem but rather a p ro b lem of not enough Judaism.

JU L Y 1972

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Jewish agencies would be wiser to spend their money not on drug con­ trol, but on producing a total Jewish environment, to attack roots, not symptoms.

It might very well be that one is likely to find difficulty in defending the position that it is wrong to take “soft” drugs. Users are likely to con­ tend there is nothing wrong with tak­ ing them. But Jews are bidden to be holy, which, in simple terms, means

20

they are to make life as meaningful as possible, and to elicit everlasting value from every minute of life. The Jew thus counters: there may possibly be nothing wrong with taking these drugs, but there is nothing right about it either, and in Judaism this is what counts. We can not be satisfied just with not doing things which are not right, we insist on doing what is right, what/s meaningful.

JEWISH L IF E

A Tale of Two Tattoos

by A L L A N B L U S T E IN EWISH chaplains stationed with the U.S. Forces around the globe often encounter many and varied situations, some perilous, some heart­ rending, and some just plain bizarre.

These situations concern both Jews and non-Jews. Chaplains who fail to report such situations when encoun­

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tered do the American Jewish commu­ nity a disservice. This is because the impact of the total Jewish experience must be brought home to the Ameri­ can community so that no forgiving nor forgetting of the Holocaust is possible or even entertained in the mind. It is o f just such an event which this essay speaks.

The story begins nominally in Nurenberg, Germany in 1972 but per­ haps really began in the Nurenberg of

JU L Y 1972

the 1930s. T w o patients in the Waldkrankenhaus lie side by side, staring up at the ceiling, into the past, a past beset with myriad thoughts, feelings, hurts, anguish, inflicted pain, and received pain. One of the men is a Polish-German Jew, recovering from a heart attack suffered some weeks before. Seventy-four years of age, he is a survivor of Bergen-Belsen and Treblinka. He lives now in the State of Israel but returns to Nurenberg each summer because the Middle Eastern heat is too much for him. He attends faithfully the worship services at the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde in Fuerth and is also a fan of the American A rm y . Whenever he can, he also attends the Military Jewish Services where he says '‘One can see the Jewish

21

soldiers coming to daven and perpetu­ ate Yiddishkeit in America, the New World.” His has been a hard and sad life and it is reflected in his gnarled and weather-beaten visage as he smiles up at the chaplain who has come to visit. They chat for several minutes, then the old man beckons for the rabbi to assist him as they wend their way downstairs to sit outdoors in the sun-splattered grounds surrounding the hospital. As he relaxes, the old man sighs wistfully and tells his visitor about the “ unique” room-mate he has here at the sanitarium. As he grasps the chaplain's hand, the latter notices the tell-tale tattoo on the K L — sur­ vivor's wrist — hellish symbol of man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

It seems that the other patient, a tall lean man with spectacles and a victim himself of a double leg amputa­ tion, has been very careful and selfconscious about dressing and undress­ ing in the room, trying always to conceal his upper chest and extrem­ ities from view. As luck would have it however, the old man managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the other's left armpit and his suspicion was con­ firmed in that split second when he beheld the other's tattoo — Officer, SS! Since the realization has hit home, one can only speculate as to the feelings of these two men as they lie side by side in a new Germany, saying little if anything to each other. One does not have to be clairvoyant to know that each realizes the identity of

22

his neighbor. Is it possible to compre­ hend the thoughts and emotions of a man who has gone through the tor­ tured hell of the Holocaust as he lies next to one of the perpetrators of that hell? Can any »sheltered American Jew appreciate fully what tales these two tattoos have to tell, what horrors they have attested to, and what the phrase “ man's inhumanity to man” really and truly means?

H E paradoxes of the day, how­ ever, were not yet over. That afternoon, the chaplain drove to the U.S. Arm y Training Center somewhere in Bavaria to help greet three visiting Israeli Arm y officers. After much good-natured banter, the four Jews sat down over coffee. A t once, there came to them the realization that for the first time, here in Germany, that land which at one time and place in history was supposed to be rendered “ Judenrein” once and for all with a “ Final Solution,” some Jewish men, officers in two of the most remarkable armies the world has ever known, were here now together in this particular place and at this particular time. The aware­

T

ness o f it stunned them into a long, contemplative silence.

To close this report without a further ironic note would be an in­ justice to the memory of the martyred Six Million. That very same night, the Nurenberg Opera House — once the scene of some of a madman's powerdrunk celebrations as he careened a nation, then a world, into total war —

JEWISH L IF E

saw the staging of a nostalgic bit of Jewish yesteryear, namely Anatevka, the German version o f the play based on Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye story. As the actors pranced about the stage, Tzitzith dangling; as the troupe sang joyously in receiving the Shabboth; as the Jewish Wedding proceeded apace, one could imagine the unimaginable and describe in his heart the indescrib­ able for words are inadequate to tell how words and music and actions on a stage fully made each and every German and Jew in that audience laugh and cry with Tevye. How can one recount the phenomenon of a German experience where on one evening, one can see a “ Fiddler On The Roof” at the Opera House and then two days later, view the staging of a “ Lohengrin” ?

And last but not least, it would be remiss of the observer to fail to

JU L Y 1972

mention the fact that while Tevye was tugging at the handles of his milkwagon at the Opera House, not two miles distant, the chief cantor of Amsterdam, Holland and his choir were singing “Songs of the Jewish Peo p le and the Kibbutz” in the H e iH g -G e is t S p it a l Hall for a German-Jewish audience as part of Brotherhood Week.

T IN A L L Y one might ask, “ How I are these things possible in a Germany of 1972? Who can explain them rationally, with any semblance of logic” ? For an ordinary American Arm y chaplain, the answer lies in a typical or perhaps not so typical day spent by him and it emerges crystal clear and resounds as it did through the b lo o d -so a k ed but gloriously majestic pages of our history — A M Y IS R O E L C H A U

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In the CONGREGATION

by F L O R E N C E J E A N N E G O O D M A N

I sin g with ¿ghosts o f ancestors Whose vanished voices are with Thee, But through whose lips These words o f praise were given.

I am but the latest echoing o f IsraeVs song Whose first and last chords live In one continuous flo w o f sound.

Hear our prayer, O F ou n t o f Music, L et the last note ring with the first In Thy eternal listening.

Thus are the lost ones fo u n d In Heavenly choir, The song in the people, the people in G-d.

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JEWISH L IF E

"Women’s Lib” in Torah Perspective

by R A L P H P E L C O V IT Z U D GIN G from the publicity and

To similar effect, a leading exponent

attention given to the ‘‘Women's Liberation" movement during the past

of Women's Lib declared in a recent T V program that she first realized the

year, we must assume that we are con­ fronted with an idea and cause whose time has come, with all the force and power connected with such an idea and its moment in history. “There is naught which has no time" is a dictum of our Rabbis, so we ought best take heed. As is so often the case, we as Torah Jews cannot escape this issue, for our Torah and tradition are very much involved. A front page story in a leading daily recently began with a quotation from the Book of Leviticus (Vayikra), citing the chapter dealing w ith hum an evaluation (Parshath Archin) to prove that the Bible con­ siders “A woman's effort worth less."

attitude of Judaism toward women when she learned that Jewish men make a blessing each morning “ Blessed art T h o u .. .Who hath not made me a woman." It is therefore timely to pick up the gauntlet, not to defend but to inform, not to apologize but to en­ lighten. In an age when the most out­ rageous theories and ideas are given serious attention, we must not be re­ luctant to reveal the truth about woman — and man — as seen from the Torah perspective.

At the outset, it is important to define our approach to the role and status of woman. The basic biological differences of men and women with

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JU L Y 1972

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their obvious limiting and fundamental effects are not within the purview of this article. We begin where anatomy ends, examining the behavior patterns and personality traits, the natural in­ c lin a tio n s and tem p eram en t of w o m e n , from the perspective of Torah. As such, when we study the story of the creation of woman as re­ lated in Bereshith, it is not only the way she was created that is important but the why and its implications. t i I ND G-d said, it is not good that H m an shall be alone, I shall make a help-meet unto him .” Samson R. Hirsch in his monumental commentary on the Torah makes two important comments on this verse. The first re­ fers to the words to tov — “ it is not good.” In Creation, all that G-d had brought forth is examined by Him and is pronounced to be tov tr good. Man, however, the crown of G-d’s creation, is observed, analyzed, and strangely found to be wanting; he is not com­ plete and the verdict is to tov. Perfec­ tion of man, it implies, is possible only if he is not alone; the completion of man is woman. Then and only then can the word Tov be applied. The second observation Hirsch makes re­ fers to the expression ezer k ’negdoy a most difficult phrase to translate. The word ezer means “a help” but it is also linked to the word atzor which de­ notes limitation, restriction, and con­ fin em en t. This indicates that the purpose of woman is established from the outset, she is to help by releasing

26

and relieving man from part of his obligations, thereby permitting him to concentrate his efforts in a smaller, more limited sphere of activity which he will now be able to fulfill more completely and to a greater degree of perfection. This help (ezer) is not with him or against him — neither duplicat­ ing nor competing but “opposite him,” functioning in areas which are uniquely the woman’s, “at another point in the same line,” in the words of Hirsch. In this manner and with this balance, each of them plays a separate special role while mutually comple­ menting one another.

T h is concept of equality in diversity of man and woman can also be appreciated in examining the Hebrew terms chosen for them — iysh and ishshah — so very similar except for the feminine grammatical form.

According to one interpretation of the Sages, G-d originally created two faces, male and female, and then separated them, an indication of how they viewed the equality of women.

The method used by the A l­ mighty in creation of woman is most significant. She is taken from man and formed into woman, whereas man himself originated from the earth. It is to this fact that we attribute the earlier spiritual and mental maturity of woman since she was formed out of the feeling, sensitive, living body of man in contrast to Adam whose body was created from earth. When Eve is created her role is well defined. She is not a sex object, or purely a bearer of

JEWISH L IF E

children, nor is her purpose only to serve man, tend the children, and keep house. She was to be the Ezer, the help-meet, and only through her crea­ tion was the original Divine plan of man completed. It is only after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge that her position is altered and she is told “and he shall rule over you.” This state­ ment, however, must not be misread.

As it is true in the expression regarding man’s mastery over nature, so it is here; not an unlimited one but re­ sponsible authority exercised with re­ straint and within bounds. What the Torah is subtly stating is that there is a mystical, almost illogical submission of woman’s spirit to man, without re­ linquishing her role as Ezer, and while retaining her unique power of influ­ ence and inspiration. The phrase “and he shall rule over you” is preceded by that of “and unto your husband shall your longing be.” Not envy but long­ ing, the desire to be loved, cherished, needed, and even mastered. And so, we see that at the very beginning of time there is established the concept of human beings two yet one, with both similarities and differences, each with a special role to be played in relating to the other and with char­ acteristics unique to each respectively.

U R sages recognized with pro­ found insight the special char­ acteristics of women, their unique personality traits and temperament, as well as their psychological make-up.

Many pithy sayings of our Rabbis in

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JU L Y 1972

the Talmud regarding women, their a tt itu d e s , emotional complexities, behavior patterns, and predilections, indicate how much importance they attached to the role and position of the woman. Unlike philosophers and thinkers of different ages and of varied cultural and religious background, who either over-idealized women or deni­ grated them, who over-romanticized or fulminated and fumed at their flighti­ ness and instability, the Sages of the Talmud took an objective, balanced look at woman and reached some interesting conclusions. They found her in many ways superior to man, while in others inferior; they were filled with a mixture of admiration and apprehension and their reactions were as complex and self-contradic­ tory as woman herself.. . Let us cite a few examples: “Woman was granted a greater degree of discernment.” This does not mean that she was given a stronger sense of intuition but rather an added dimension of perception and under­ standing, especially in sensing the feel­ ing of others®- of being responsive to th eir emotions. Man is aggressive, while woman is submissive; he de­ stroys and dominates while she heals and re-builds. The ego of man is well developed as is his capacity for selfish­ ness, whereas woman is more capable of selflessness. Because of these differ­ ences the Torah also recognized that the attitude of children toward their parents must vary. It is more natural for one to fear his father than his

27

mother, hence the Torah commands us “ honor your father and mother,” giving priority to the father in the realm of honor, regard, and love, for these are more instinctively accorded to the mother than the father. By the same reasoning the Torah commands one to ‘Tear his mother and father” for reverence, awe, and fear are more naturally given to the father, hence the mother is mentioned first so as to impress upon us the need to revere, not only love, her as well.

As the descendants of Eve, “the mother of all life,” woman is commit­ ted to life and creativity. This may well be the reason why she is, strange­ ly, not commanded to ‘‘be fruitful and multiply,” the first Mitzvah given to man! Precisely because this function is part of her very nature and the most basic and powerful force in her life, she needs no such commandment.

Man’s nature is to conquer, woman’s to create. Another interesting reason submitted for the omission of such a cardinal Mitzvah from the duties of women, is because childbirth places her in a position of danger to her life and the Torah chooses never to give a d irect Mitzvah which entails such vulnerability.

Women were praised for refusing to contribute toward the project of the Golden Calf, and lest this be attri­ buted to parsimonious character, we are reminded that they were more generous than the men when called

28

upon to bring offerings for the Mishkan — the Tabernacle. Their love for Eretz Israel was also more profound than that of men (“Women cherish the Land” ) and they readily and joyfully accepted the Torah.

A n o t h e r m o st im p o rta n t characteristic considered by the Sages to be part of woman’s nature is that of “ t z ’ n iu t h ,” an inherent sense of modesty and shyness. No doubt this is related to her non-aggressive nature, a trait indigenous to the female of the species which even modern-day per­ missiveness and the liberal climate of our times has not completely de­ stroyed. The expresssion “ her honor is like that of a princessp'nimah — with­ in the inner confines of her home,” mirrors the classical Jewish attitude toward women. It reveals not an op­ pressive, isolated, confined role, so often attributed to Jewish tradition reg ard ing th e ir women, but the T z ’niuth associated with her position and her own inclination. One of the m ost derogatory Talmudic phrases used in c r it ic iz in g a woman is “ yatzonith,” one who “goes out” — implying a woman who leaves the con­ fines of her boundaries and breaks out of the natural, correct borders estab­ lished by her inherent inclinations. To underscore the importance attached to this virtue by the Sages, suffice it to quote the following: “As the altar, in the sanctuary, atones (for our sins) so does a modest woman in her home (for her fam ily).”

JEWISH L IF E

H E S E o b se rv a tio n s of our Rabbis represent but one side of the coin. The others are frankly un­ c o m p lim e n ta ry but refreshingly candid. Nashim daatan ka/ah aleyhen — “women are temperamentally light­ headed and flighty” is one of the better known observations to be found in the Talmud. “A woman looks with a grudging eye upon guests,” indicates that a man is by nature more hospit­ able than a woman. Her bent for meddling is revealed in a Halachic aside — “A woman is suspected of uncovering the pot of her neighbor to see what she is cooking.” The Rabbis

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also recognized her hyper-sensitivity in the phrase “A woman, her tears are frequent” and her need for being humored and patiently dealt with, mirrored in the statement — “ Yetzer (the evil inclination), a child, and a woman should be. rejected with the left hand while being drawn near with the right.”

Above all, our Ghazal appre­ ciated woman’s predilections for ex­ tremes. She possesses the inclination to great piety and a powerful devotion to the spiritual. However, she also is weak and vulnerable, more so than man capable of totally rejecting the spiritual while embracing the secular and material passionately. This trait is obliquely to be found in the Hebrew designations of man and woman. As mentioned above these, though so similar, yet have a subtle and revealing differentiation. Both have a letter of the Divine Name in their designations:

JU L Y 1972

man, lysh, the y o d ; woman, Ishshah, the he. The Rabbis tell us that it is most significant that when the letter representing the Almighty is removed, there remains the Hebrew word eysh, fire. But it should be noted that in the case of man, fire is composed when G-d’s letter, the yod, is removed, whereas in that of woman, the fire is always there G od’s letter, the h%, must be added to counteract and sub­ due it! The significance of this is, obviously, that woman more so than man possesses passions that can be consuming and destructive unless con­ trolled, checked, and channeled by faith and piety.

The Rabbis were perhaps not as harsh in their assessment of women as a modern critic who, in examining their intellectual delinquencies (as he puts it), was moved to enumerate their deficiencies — “over-statement, ten­ dentious reasoning, lack of humor and subtlety.” Nonetheless, the Sages are not overly solicitous in their opinion when they are convinced that certain characteristics should be known and therefore corrected or combatted.

O what extent did the realiza­ tion of these weaknesses and shortcomings, as well as her virtues and strengths, affect the laws, the Mitzvoth, and the Halochah regarding women? Although we have a funda­ m en tal rule that teaches us that women are exempt from Mitzvoth she-haz’man geromah, commands that

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are seasonal and regulated by time^ we

29

can nevertheless offer some suggested reasons and explanations for this principle. Especially so if we can find reasons that may mirror the unique psychological make-up of woman.

There is a rhythm to the Jewish calen­ dar due not only to the natural season­ al ebb and flow but to the holidays and the rituals associated with them.

Samson Raphael Hirsch was most per­ ceptive when he stated that to the Jew the calendar is his catechism. Many of the Mitzvoth regulated by time from which women are exempt are related to

these holidays.

Women

have

a

rhythm of their own which is not de­ p en d en t upon special times and seasons but is far more regular and consistent. There is in woman’s nature a constancy and continuity unaffected by time. This may well be the reason why she in turn is only obligated to fulfill those Mitzvoth that are con­ stant. We appreciate the validity of the classical explanation that her house­ hold duties make it too difficult for her to accept as many obligations as m an. N o n e th e le ss, the suggested reason submitted above may also have merit. It is interesting to note that the negative precepts, the prohibitions of Torah, apply to woman as well as to man because their purpose is to pro­ tect a n d preserve, hence woman is equal to man when the goal is to in­ sure emotional stability and spiritual health which is the ultimate objective of the negative commands.

It Is obvious to any objective student of the Torah and the Talmud

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that Judaism is deeply concerned for the welfare of women. The Seder Nashim, a special section of the Six Orders of Mishnah, consists of many tractates which attest to this concern; woman’s rights and privileges, her financial security and marital rights, the regulations instituted to guard her dignity, and even the aphorisms and epigrams that so often appear in the Talmud, demonstrate the high regard and respect in which woman was held.

The areas closed to her, the rights from which she is excluded are not thus restricted out of a spirit of con­ tempt, prejudice, or animosity. They are to be recognized as ordained by the will of the Almighty, Creator of man and woman, Who has prescribed the potential and power of each and their limitations.

N some instances these restric­ tions are in response to a pro­ fo u n d understanding of woman’s special role and her difficulty to func­ tion in specific areas. For example, her ineligibility to be a witness or judge in a Jewish court is not because her veracity is questioned or her ability to evaluate evidence and reach a decision.

The reason is a most interesting and original one. Objectivity is a prime requisite for testifying correctly. Sub­ jectivity is a serious obstacle to the ability of a witness to present proper testimony. Apparently it was felt that the temperament and character of woman is such that her emotional in­ volvem ent impedes her ability to

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JEWISH L IF E

testify or judge impartially. By her very nature she feels very strongly and partiality is part of her personality, much more so than man.

T h e expression already men­ tioned that ‘‘women are temperamen­ tally lightheaded and flighty” has aroused the ire of women for centuries and is often quoted to prove the misogynism of the Talmudic Sages.

Although it is true that the Rabbis meant to indicate in this statement the tendency of women toward super­ ficiality of reasoning, they also meant to teach us in a deeper sense that women are more easily moved than men b^ prone to exaggerate their emotions, to dramatize their feelings, empathize and identify to such an ex­ tent that they cannot retain their

ing and a disciplined process of reason­ ing which if violated can be dangerous for it would result in a false interpreta­ tion of G-d*s law.

Although this is a most original and unusual explanation for woman’s exemption from the great Mitzvah of Talmud Torah, a simpler reason is the concern for her time and her energy being channeled into her duties as wife, mother, and mistress of the household. Torah, to be meaningful, must be mastered and to this end it d em an d s total concentration and commitment, a discipline that Torah did not choose to impose upon woman. For her a different role had been destined. How does Judaism envision this role? What is her status and station in life?

objectivity, hence their ineligibility to serve as witness or judge.

The author of the compilation Torah Temimah makes a most interest­ ing d istin c tio n between woman’s capacity to absorb the fundamentals of knowledge and her ability to reason intuitively and critically. He states that woman’s intellectual strength lies in binahy the power of discernment — ‘‘to understand one thing from another.”

Her faculty for grasping factual basics, however, is weaker than man’s, there­ fore her superiority in discernment is vitiated and weakened since her foun­ dation of factual knowledge is weak.

For this reason woman is not com­ manded, nor is she really permitted, to study the Oral Law, ‘‘Torah She-b’al Peh,” which requires careful structur­

IN the early period of Jewish I h is to r y we find an amazing equality among the patriarchs and matriarchs. In some episodes, such as those of Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, the woman is cast in a far more favorable light and superior posi­ tion. The same is true of a Miriam, a Deborah, and an Esther in later histori­ cal periods. These, of course, are the exceptions, the Biblical heroines, but they also indicate that woman was not automatically relegated to an inferior, secondary role. Realistically, however, the male is considered in Jewish view to be a dominant figure, a mashpia (the one who influences) and the female, the mushpa (the one who is receptive and influenced).

JU L Y 1972

31

The blessing recited each morn­ ing by every Jewish male, which so disturbed the Women’s Lib spokes­ woman cited at the beginning of this article, must be properly understood.

There is also, as every student of elementary Siddur knows, a blessing recited by the woman — “ . . .Who has made me according to His w ill” — a B ’rochah which should not be ignored.

The significance of the blessing made by each will be better appreciated if we consider a third B ’rochah slightly similar in phraseology. Every morning the Jew recites the blessing “ Blessed art Thou O Lord, King of the Uni­

purpose and design that is uniquely divine and sacred.

N E of the high priestesses of W o m e n ’s Liberation recently decried woman’s existing status as “chattel,” the institution of marriage as a crass exchange of the female’s services and consortation in return for fin a n c ia l support. She bemoaned “woman exploited by man.” This is one p o p u la r thesis projected by

O

W o m en ’s L ib spokesmen. Others speak, a bit more rationally and per­ suasively, of the abuse of women’s beauty and dignity exploited by huck­

v erse , Who has not made me a heathen.” Now many may not find this great cause for thanksgiving when

sters, the entertainment world, and callous men in general. Still others argue that men are assigned to the

one considers how much easier and less burdensome it is to be free from

“ human” activities, women to the “animalistic” ones, i.e., bearing and rearing of children, tending to the elementary domestic needs while being

all the demands, restrictions, and commandments placed upon a Jew. Yet the Israelite expresses his joy and gratitude for being born into a people that has accepted the yoke of Mitzvoth, difficult as it may be. It is in this light that the B ’rochah “Who did not make me a woman” is to be under­ stood. It is not a denigration of woman nor a chauvinistic celebration of one’s manhood but rather a joyful expression of the added responsibili­ ties and burdens which are incumbent upon a Jewish man. The Jewish woman in turn expresses thankfulness for being a woman, not in the spirit of “ I enjoy being a girl” but in apprecia­ tion for being chosen by G-d to play a role that only a woman can, fulfilling a

32

excluded from all positions of power and decision such as in the arenas of commerce, science, and politics. The common denominator is a clamor for freedom from these abuses, liberation from the oppression of women by a chauvinistic male-centered and maleoriented society. Were we to accept these arguments and bitter recrimina­ tions then we would have to ask our­ selves whether or not the blessing made by women each morning, men­ tioned above, is truly a blessing or are we asking our women to indulge in an exercise that is both hypocritical and self-deluding?

The answer, as we see it, lies

JEWISH L IF E

precisely in the very supposition of this rhetorical question. The Torah viewpoint is radically different from that of the shrill defenders of women’s rights. Eve was not created to be a breeder but a mate and partner.

Woman is not imprisoned in her home performing animalistic or mechanical duties of feeding, cleaning, and servic­ ing but she is the central figure of the home, the “ Akereth Ha-bayith,” the mistress of her home.

O n e o f the Rabbis of the Talmud goes beyond this concept

happy homes and in insuring the con­ tinuity of the Jewish people.

when he states: ‘1 never called my

M ONG the many complaints lodged by the spokesmen for Women’s Lib, the most legitimate one in our opinion is that modern society has exploited and abused the dignity, charm, appeal, and beauty of women.

From the Torah perspective the solu­ tion would be a simple and direct one — to re-establish the traditional moral code and strengthen the inherent virtues of modesty and decency of all women. We are convinced that this

wife, ‘my w ife,’ but ‘my home’ ” — for without her there is no bayith, no home and no family. Above all, her paramount role is that of teacher and guide. King Solomon, who had suffi­ cient reason (one might say a thousand reasons) to denigrate woman, speaks

would prove the greatest barrier and deterrent to the cheapening and de­ meaning of womanhood. The motto best suited for militant Women Liberationists should be “Combat license to gain true freedom/’ for our definition of freedom is built into the Hebrew

of “The Torah — the instruction — of

word itself, cheyruth — which also means engraved and imprinted, as were the T e n Commandments, on the tablets of law. This teaches us that only he is free who occupies himself with Torah and lives his life in accord­ ance with its spirit. There is no greater oppression and slavery for both men and women than treating them as objects, demeaning their divine dignity as human beings by vulgarizing their in h e r e n t p u r ity and d e c e n c y , especially in their most intimate rela­

your mother,” whereas the father’s pedagogic role is referred to as “the admonition of your father.” Although not commanded to study Torah, her share in the Torah of her husband and children is recognized as being a major one. She is extolled for “waiting for her husband to return home from the house of study and for making her children go to the Synagogue to learn T o r a h .” This may perhaps sound overly simple and naive by modern sophisticated standards but let us remember that it succeeded magnifi­ cently not only in rearing generations of scholars and pious men and women but also in maintaining outstandingly

JU L Y 1972

A

tionships. Liberation is a most noble cause, if it liberates us from the per­ verted and debased values of recent years. Ironically, we find that Orwell’s phrase “ Freedom is Slavery” has

33

become almost a self-fulfilling pro­ p h ecy among so many “ liberated women.”

We note that a number of Women's Lib champions are disturbed

by Freud. Traditional Jews welcome this point of view for his theories have been magnified out of proportion by the secular humanist camp. The de­ humanizing process, the reduction of man to the animal level, the erosion of sexual and moral restraint and disci­ pline which were set into motion by Freud, or more correctly perhaps by exploiters of his theories, sorely needs deflating. Hopefully, this will be a fringe benefit of the Women's Libera­ tion movement, in addition to that of reducing and perhaps even eradicating the use, abuse, and commercialization o f w om en and their beauty by Madison Avenue and Hollywood.

OMEN'S L IB proponents must realize that the bitter harvest which they bemoan and castigate came from the plantings, not of a society rooted in traditional values and moti­ vated by civilized, cultured standards, but by one that has a strange, ambiva­ lent attitude toward women — ranging from adulation and indulgence to ani­ mosity and fear. “ Momism” is a p a rt of American culture, as is the “ little

f

woman'' syndrome and mother-in-law humor. The strong, wise wife and timid, foolish husband created by T V situation comedies has also succeeded in disrupting and confusing the malefemale roles. There is an identity crisis

34

resulting from all this and one gets the feeling that the ancient Egyptian game is being replayed — that of assigning the male role to the women and that of women to men. The balance and harmony built into the nature of the sexes has been disrupted by modern culture, values, and standards. When any balance of nature is tampered with and violated, the resultant disharmony must bring with it discontent, un­ happiness, and frustration. When we deny the Ezer K ’negdo concept we become heirs to the unhappy dis­ satisfied housewife. When we reject the inherent Tz'niuth of woman and subject her to the pressures of modern demands, the result is either a frigid, frustrated female or the ultra-sophist­ icated swinger, both candidates for the psychiatrist's couch. The rites of passage are difficult enough when one must go from adolescence to adult­ hood, how much more so when travel­ ing from a secure identifiable sex rolé to a unisex one.

Woman needs admiration, con­ cern, respect, and acceptance of her femininity by man. This being so, what is all important is not the differ­ ence of the sexes which seems to upset the Women’s Lib leaders so much, but the indifference that modern society has fostered in family life, especially between husband and wife. The rage, anger, and sense of humiliation which m any women feel today is quite understandable. The target, however, is unfortunately incorrect. Man is neither the rival nor the enemy,

JEWISH L IF E

threatening women's true identity and fulfillment. The real enemy and great­ est threat to woman’s self-respect and fulfillment is the erosion and destruc­ tion of her natural G-d-given character­ istics and inclinations, namely com­ passion, modesty, and being an Ezer, a helpmate and partner to her man.

These are genetic as well as cultural patterns of women which cannot be discarded without jeopardizing her identity and sapping her strength.

When divested or diverted from these qualities, she becomes almost a non­ person, a vessel that will perforce be fille d with the innocuous or the dangerous. Her compassion can be transformed into a passion for any cause, no matter how irrational or violent; her modesty and decency can

JU L Y 1972

be so suffocated that she will surpass man in immorality and vulgarity.

L T IM A T E L Y , women must look beyond the biological, cultural, and social factors which have brought her to her present status and position in today’s world. She must learn to appreciate the Divine design of the Almighty in her creation and under­ stand her destiny, as envisioned by the Torah and our Sages. When she will attain or recapture the virtues of the traditional “woman of valor” and appreciate her own unique value and worth, she will recognize this design and destiny which is hers alone and be rewarded with the dignity and honor which was ever the badge and lot of

y

the Jewish woman.

35

FACES OF JERUSALEM

by D A V ID A D L E R

■ôx

ZEIDEH TAKES LEAVE

by N ISSO N W O LPIN

U R eldest daughter was just born, and I was shopping in the hospital gift shop for a suitable plant garden to bring up to my wife. I was approached by a clerk who seemed to know me from my previous visits to the h o s p ita lB l for paternal reasons and, earlier, to visit my grandfather, who had been there for a stretch dur­

8

ing a terminal illness.

He motioned me to the back of his specialty counter. “ I was just unpacking this case of new items/’ he confided, “and, it just occured to me that, since you used to come here so regularly to visit your grandfather, you might like one of these.’’

He opened a book-shaped card­ board box and pulled back some tissue

38

to reveal a black-frocked melancholy figure that seemed to bear the weight of centuries of wanderings and perse­ cutions on its bent back. “ It has a name to it,” he in­ s tru c te d . He inverted the silent, bearded figure to read the word “ Zeidie” to me.

It was one of those objet d ’art that had recently been introduced in Hebrew book stores. I had seen copies, sentimental talismans atop television sets and in homes that either had lost its prototype or could not afford its upkeep.

I fingered the object for a m o m e n t, attempting to read the pensive expression molded into its wrinkled face. * * *

JEWISH L IF E

IIY

Zeideh’s last years were bed-

ceramic Zeidehs emerge.

ill ridden, and for much of the time he could barely move, but in my mind’s eye, he still stood an almost erect six feet, even with his slightly stooped shoulders, draped in his customary black suit jacket. I always associated his posture with his regular, many-hour sessions of Talmud study over his treasured Vilna Shas, which he co m p leted several times. Mother always insisted that learning doesn’t cripple people, it straightens them out.

She attributed his stoop to the fiftypound sacks of coal that used to ride his shoulders up five flights of stairs to their purchaser’s tenement homes.

O f course, Zeideh was a scholar, and not just to his wide-eyed einikel.

Fifty-five years ago, when he had first arrived on these shores, coveted rabbi­ nical positions could have been his.

However, in those days, a forty-eight hour week was still considered progres­ sive and he found too many people compromising Shabbos to make ends meet in the Goldene Medinah. He wanted to change things and he knew well that struggling with a five-day work week himself would mean more to his brethren then countless sermonic hours devoted to the sanctity of the Sabbath.

But, then again, that’s all family legend, and those decades of struggle, b e fo re m y g ra n d fa th e r f in a lly “ retired” to a pulpit in the enlightened 40’s, were not really different from the potter’s kiln from which the

JU L Y 1972

Y first meeting with my Zeideh, when he flew to Seattle to end a tw e n ty -y e a r separation from his daughter and her family, introduced a dimension of reality to his weekly letters, and the more frequent spoken references to the man. His close-crop­ ped white beard framed a ruddy, alert face that expressed keen interest, and sometimes only poorly masked his amusement, in my struggle with some very personal problems. (These were sometimes academic in nature — endof-the-year reviews of Modern World History that were only cut and dry text book stuff to me, but very real events in his life — and occasionally on the physical side — battles raged be­ tween an arthritic lawn mower, none too skillfully guided by me, and the unyielding terrain of our backyard.)

Z e id e h advised, Zaideh kibbetzed, Zeideh reminisced, but from a slightly detached perch.

He showed keenest interest in my Gemora studies, perhaps wonder­ ing to what extent his own love for Torah would be perpetuated. I, for my part, studied his profile, his gait, his Litvishe intonations, and his dry sense of humor wondering how much of him was incarnated in me, and how much I drew from other sources.. .

My parents only offered me vague guidance to follow and precise disci­ pline to defy, but never — it seemed at th a t tim e — a full-length time-

M

39

tempered mirror in which to con­ sciously measure myself.

My studies of Zeideh were really only stolen glances, and anyway he was not really revealed to me until the day of his departure, a few short weeks later.

His visit satisfied his need to see first-hand how his daughter was faring.

The local day school was fine, and the Chevrah Shas his son-in-law attended was as good as any on Sutter Avenue.

It was time to go back.

To allow himself a closer look at this country, which sped much too quickly beneath the DC-6 that brought him West, Zeideh decided to go back

by Northern Pacific Railroad. We arranged to be at the station a generous forty-five minutes before train time, to allow ample time for baggage checking and tear-blotting goodbyes. The sundry business was quickly completed, and the sudsy rounds of farewell wishes and kisses was reviewed once more — still leaving fifteen minutes until departure time.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zeideh chose not to waste these valuable minutes on tear-soaked sentimentali­ ties, but boarded the train instead. My mother stared, aghast, as she watched her father find his reserved seat next to a b lu e -tin te d panoramic-view window. He replaced his black felt hat with a high-standing yarmulke, leaned back in his seat as he crossed his legs, and unfolded a recenf copy of the Morgen Journal to catch up on the latest

40

events

in

the

metropolis to

which he was returning. I don't recall if he turned to wave when the train started pulling out. One goodbye was quite enough.

U R IN G the years that passed since then, Zeideh suffered a series of heart attacks and strokes.

Yet, he somehow managed to retain

D

his full mental capacities as well as his power of speech through them all — all, that is, except for the last.

The most recent failing — which brought the entire family to his bed­ side time and again, anticipating, and hoping against — found his condition unwaveringly on the brink of con­ sciousness. On one of the last assem­ blages, I thought that I had detected a glimmer of recognition in his glassy eyes, but could emit no sound nor offer any gesture to confirm my hopes.

Finally, Aunt Beila, who was evidently sharing my feelings, blurted out in desperation: “ We're here to visit with you. Either say something, or I'm going and I'm not coming back!" His eyes flashed for a second. Even if speech had come easily, he would not have been required to say a word. A t least I knew his ev£ry thought.

So yo u won't come back? A n d who asked yo u to come in the first place? Your “goodbye” from two weeks ago is still with m e!

His eyes clouded with intense emotion, and his lips parted with an effort that seemed to summon rem­ nants of strength from every extremity

JEWISH L IF E

of his worn body. He lifted his head

T H E salesman was waiting for my

several inches from the pillow — where it stayed poised for more time than one can measure - and he bolted back: “G o !”

I comment, “C lay ,” I said, and replaced the little figure into its tissue crib, “ Oh, no,” he corrected me, “ ceramic.”

“Well, then ceramic. In any case,

* * *

I ’m not interested. Maybe if they decide to make them out of steel, f*H take one off your hands.”

JU L Y 1972

41

MV SON, THE POLICEMAN

by V A L E N T IN E R . W IN S E Y i fcTHEY talked about me as if I ■w ere a museum piece!” ex­ claimed a detective on the New York City Police Force. “ My cousins,” he went on, “they live in England. This was my first time over there. When they heard I was a policeman, they just couldn’t get over it. ‘A Jew a policeman?’ they kept saying. Then they’d call up friends and invite them to c ’mon over and meet their cousin, the Jewish policeman from America.”

This dismay at discovering a Jew on the police force can be matched by the average New Yorker today, who still believes that Irish­ men, not Jews, would expect their sons to become policemen.

Yet, for almost half a century there have been Jews on the New

42

York City Police Force, though in small proportion to the force as a whole. A t a recent meeting of the Shom rim Society, a socio-religious org anization founded in 1923 by Je w ish p o lic e m e n , the president w elco m ed new recruits with the greeting: “The third generation of Shomrim members are (sic) now in our midst.” Earlier, the society had honored Patrolman Alan Fishman of the 14th Precinct and his father, Julius, who retired after thirty-seven years on the force.

In a series of recent interviews to ascertain the reasons why Jews had become policemen it was dis­ covered that, for the majority, the primary motive was a need for eco­ nomic security. A Jewish lieutenant

JEWISH L IF E

recalled: “ It was back in the Depres­ sion years. Jobs were hard to get, even with a college degree. Like a lot o f other fellows I had graduated with, I took the Civil Service Exams and landed on the police force.”

S e rg e a n t Felicia Shpritzer of the Youth Investigation Bureau and one o f the present total of seventeen Jewish policewomen stated: “ I had been trained as a teacher and had a Masters Degree, but the Depression was in full force and there was no work, even for substitutes. So I be­ came a policewoman. I didn’t feel so strange because, out of a total of 190 girls who joined the force with me, thirty were Jews. And most of the girls had come from Hunter College.”

Sergeant Shpritzer now holds two Masters Degrees. The more recent one is in Public Administration with a major in Police Science. She is, more­ over, the first woman in the depart­ ment to get it.

CONOM IC security was still the chief incentive for Jews who joined New York C ity ’s Police Force after World War II. “ I had a baby, a

E

home, and a w ife,” is the way one sergeant put it. “ I wanted a steady job with some security, so here I am.” Patrolman George Greenberg of the Photographic Division and a senior at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a senior college of the City University, related that, after the war, “ I just couldn’t go back to C .C .N .Y ., so I took night courses in JU L Y 1972

photography under the G .l. Bill.

Days, I worked in the clothing busi­ ness, but it was not for me. I needed something steady, so I took the Civil Service Exams. My first job was as a Corrections Officer in the Tombs.

A nd w as m y m other bothered!

‘What’s a Jewish boy doing, working inside a prison?’ she asked me. ‘At least, work on the outside; become a policeman!” ’ This mother’s advice, expressed as a ch o ice between unattractive alternatives,, reflects the attitude of most Jewish parents. My son, the doctor, the dentist, the lawyer is the prevailing credo. Yet, of a current total of 26,700 policemen, 8% are Jews. Small as this percentage appears from an ethnic group which com­ prises one-fourth of New York C ity ’s population, it is, actually, a larger proportion than one would expect, considering both parental condition­ ing and the histories of both the Jews and the police calling.

i

LTH O U G H a small number of Jews had joined the force early

in the nineteen-twenties, it was not until the depression of the thirties, w h ic h brought Sergeant Shpritzer into the force, that a noticeably large number of Jews, particularly lawyers, sought a path of economic survival in civil service careers. From among the group that joined New Y o rk ’s police force emerged the men who, today, occupy approximately 40% of the positions on its higher echelons. Re-

43

ferring to this record of achievement a Jewish sergeant proudly related: “ In the last Civil Service Exam for captains, 50% who made the list were Jews and 75% of them were on the top of the list.” A Jewish patrolman, however, made the rueful observation that, “ unless we have another depres­ sion, I can never forsee our being in such a prominent position on the force again. No group likes to be such an outstanding m inority.”

It is a well known fact that for a period of approximately seventy years, up until the middle of the 1930% the Irish maintained such an outstanding majority as to obscure public awareness \of representation on the force by members of any other ethnic group. Whatever efforts were m ade to increase the number of p o lice m e n fro m o th e r minority groups were done chiefly because, as M ayor Lindsay stated recently, it offers “ ... one direct solution to the problems of minority relations.”

Crimes of violence, particularly those which involved the family, have a lw a y s been co m p aratively rare among Jews, in America as elsewhere.

In other areas of crime, Jewish names have been less uncommon. As for the rate of juvenile delinquency, it has long been markedly lower than that of the general white population of the city. Between 1929 and 1940, this downward trend continued. Today, however, it appears to be on the rise.

A s a Je w ish sergean t observed, “especially from among the upper

44

economic strata, Jewish kids are get­ ting involved with narcotics in in­ creasing numbers.”

H E T H E R or not this grave development will motivate Jews to increase their number on the force remains questionable. Over the past decade there has, instead, been a

f

steady and progressive decrease of new Je w ish recruits. The biggest objections most frequently expressed

by Jewish policemen today against the idea of endorsing a career on the force for their sons are low salaries and lack of status. “ I wouldn’t be too proud of it,” a sergeant re­ marked, “ if my son were a police­ man.” A lieutenant added, “With a college degree, my son, by compari­ son with my career, will not only make a lot more money after five y e a rs , but he’ll have professional status as w ell.”

E v e r y o n e re c o g n iz e s th a t, except for a few specialized services such as the Detective Division, police work enjoys very little status. “The public doesn’t see a cop as a man,” one Jewish policeman reflected. “ All it sees is a traffic ticket and trouble.”

H is language may differ, but the se n tim e n t remains essentially the same as that expressed back in 1879, in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance,” by the police sergeant who first sang: “A h, take one consideration with another; a policeman’s lot is not a happy one.”

JEWISH L IF E

Nor is it unhappy, by and large, for his work schedule, though more demanding in terms of risks and con­ straints of time which may oblige him to work both day and night shifts, nonetheless allows for some important flexibility. For example, with respect to enabling the Jewish policeman to observe the Sabbath, the Y o m T o v d a y s o f Pesach, Shavuoth, Succoth, Rosh Hashonah, and Yom Kippur - in short - all re­ ligious days, the Chaplain of the Shomrim Society stated:

In New York City, for example, a college was created in September, 1965, as part of the City University o f New York. Started under the d ire c tio n o f the late President Leonard E . Reisman, who was him­ self a Jew, a former Deputy Police Commissioner, at various times in charge of youth, licenses, and legal affairs, that college - the John Jay College of Criminal Justice -- has as its chief concern the education of

“To the extent that exigencies o f the service permit, the Police Department tries to accommodate the religious beliefs of its members. How­ ever, as a force which operates seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, in order to meet all kinds of emergency situations, it requires its police officer to be available at all times.” *

of whom some 56% are active police officers who go to school on their own time.

Measures for professionalizing and improving the system of criminal justice, though meager, nevertheless constitute a beginning towards allay­ ing scruples about salaries and status.

ultimate professionalization, however, h e a v il y d e p e n d s, as P re sid e n t J o h n s o n ’s C rim e Commission re­ ported, upon a massive infusion of public money and interest. When that happens, we will succeed in getting better caliber, better educated, and higher-paid policemen. Only then, perhaps, will the number of Jewish sons on the Police Force increase!

♦This police regulation can by no means be regarded as necessarily satisfying Halachic requirements. Any Jew consider­ ing a police career must, of course, consult an orthodox rabbi for an explicit p ’sak Halochah. — Editor.

JU L Y 1972

men in the broad field of criminal justice. There are over 5,000 students

The John Jay program augurs well for the future, not only of such fields as community relations and police relations with minority groups, but particularly for enchancing the status and thereby improving morale am ong policemen themselves. The

45

by Y A A C O V F E L D M A N HE rabbi or layman-volunteer who works with the mentally ill in our Jewish communities tackles a difficult job: on the one hand, he is

the subsequent experience of having returned to the world of the mentally ill to help them “ come back*’ after he had, through the grace of G-d, “ come

d e d ic a te d to imparting as much Yiddishkeit and to delivering as much spiritual comfort to his brethren as possible; on the other hand, he may

back“ himself.

The single most important con­ cep t w h ic h should govern one's approach to his sick friend \syaccentu­

find himself frustrated by their un­

ate the positive. This logically entails avoiding the negative. The patients should be brought back to their Torah and to their community by being led

T

predictability and the inadequacy and inappropriateness of their response to h is ministrations. And there is a paucity of materials or courses avail­ able which can guide him as to how he can specifically perform this great Mitzvah. In this article, the author wishes to present some guidelines which he has developed, based upon over thirty years of personal experi­ ence as a paranoid schizophrenic, and

46

to recognize and understand the blessings they can derive therefrom.

One must avoid at all times discussion of such concepts as the evil Inclination or those dire punishments which are inflicted upon those who disobey the commandments. Many of the mentally ill already have .the feeling that they

JEWISH L IF E

are being punished for their sins or those of their parents, and have aban­ doned the hope that is required for them to pull themselves back up. If anything, one may find himself at­ tempting to negate his fellow congre­ gants* ideas of being hopelessly bound by the shackles of chastisement, and attempting to lead them to a more positive outlook on life towards the future. For those congregants who may be suffering from obvious or latent paranoid tendencies, the discus­ sion of the evil eye or the evil inclina­ tion could lead their imaginations to convince them that they have fallen under such terrible influences. (The author can recollect this phenomenon from his own personal experience while in the throes of paranoia).

E F O R E going on to more posi­ tive concepts, the author must pause, alas, to consider two more nega­ tive ones — bigotry and ga’avah. The mentally ill person knows full well that he will be considered a social

B

pariah by his community when he returns to them; the meshuganer is pitied, feared, and avoided by that majority of his community who lack a full understanding of his problems and their causes. So he' quickly becomes highly sensitive to any attitude on the part o f any person, including one who is trying to help him, which may smack of a lack of tolerance or respect for other human beings. Every patient realizes deep down in his heart that if one looks down from a position of

JU LY 1972

ga’avah upon other people’s Jewish philosophy of life or their observances, or even upon people of different re­ ligious faiths or colors, he will also look down upon his sick brethren as meshugoim with the same degree of bigotry as well; and possibilities of f r u it f u l c o m m u n ic a tio n become tenuous, at best. Anyone’s piety, once q u e stio n e d , is compromised. One would do well to recall that the Vilna Gaon permitted only an eighth of an eighth of ga’avah, derived from the eighth posuk of the eighth Sedrah (Bereshith 32:11 — Vayishlach), and do his best to purge from his soul any feelings of inherent superiority over his fellow creatures for he is their servant H only his Master is their Master.

The positive approach to re­ ligious rehabilitation would do well to emphasize the sen sate; the mentally ill congregant is often confused or simply lacks the emotional strength to be­ come involved with abstract religious concepts, but may respond freely and with profound appreciation to partici­ pation in those observances which he can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, something he can recall from his e a rlie r religious background. This could involve seeing or touching the Torah, wearing the Tallith, laying T e p h illin , lig h tin g Chanukah or Shabboth candles, waving the Ethrog and Lulav, tasting a few drops of Kiddush wine, watching Havdolah, eating matzah or hamentaschen, sing­ ing Shabboth songs, or reciting the

47

Shema. Any program to bring chinuch and to uplift the mentally ill must make use of every sensate ritual, observance, minhag, etc., so as to take full advantage of this phenomenon, inside the hospital.

Little else could have greater impact to arouse the patients* spirits than serving a complete Shabboth or holiday meal, from chicken soup, chopped liver, challah bread, and the main course to the proverbial nuts, complete with a taste of Kiddush wine and the glow of Shabboth candles.

Particularly is this so in a hospital situation where they must subsist on a bland, starchy diet, which is governed more by principles of economy than by concern for the needs of the human appetite. Providing a meal such as the one described would, of course, re­ quire a great sacrifice of convenience

be consulted for the selection of prayers, especially for those which require a proper Minyon. The davening should always be repeated in English so that the full meaning can sink through the layers of illness and tranquillizers as much as possible to the depths of the congregants* souls.

When a Seder is conducted for the mentally ill on Pesach, a similarly abbreviated and simplified service should take place.

on occasion on the part of the rabbi or volunteers from the community and

E R H A P S the greatest service which the concerned Jew can perform for his afflicted brethren is to help them to re-establish themselves after they take those first fearful and hesitant steps into the world outside the hospital. He must do his best to assist them in their return to their families and to their jobs. When, for any number of reasons, it may be impossible for the convalescents to

th e ir c h ild r e n , b u t helping the mentally ill is zd erech which involves

return to their previous situations, he must work with the local social or

the need for such sacrifice, and the fulfillment and satisfaction one re­

family service workers and his own contacts in the community to find a

ceives for his labors in this world is only exceeded by the rewards of the

place for them to stay, perhaps in a Jewish home where a widow or an

next.

elderly couple could use some rent money and companionship and would be interested in helping someone who

As might appear obvious, the davening in the services conducted for the mentally ill must be abbreviated and simplified. Thirty minutes at the longest would be appropriate, as the mentally ill often find it difficult to concentrate on anything for longer periods of time; their attention span is quite limited. Rabbinic authority must

48

P

was ill. (This is how the author got back onto his feet.) The rabbi or volunteer worker could also use his contacts in the community to help find the convalescent a job, either for pay or to be reimbursed as on-the-job tra in in g by the state bureau of

JEWISH L IF E

vocational rehabilitation. He should also be aware of the availability of Veterans Administration benefits for former servicemen, and the services of the Jewish War Veterans organization.

A lth o u g h the social service workers are generally considered to be primarily responsible for this kind of help, one may not find them to have the necessary time or dedication to accomplish what would be required.

The rabbi, or the one holding some other position of respect in the com­ munity, is in a position wherefrom he can often help the afflicted far more effectively. Even before the time comes for the latter to leave the h o sp ita l permanently, he can be helped to go out beforehand for Shabboth weekends with families who would be willing to help out. In large Je w ish co m m u n itie s, the Jewish powers-that-be and the Jewish organi­ zational-complex have to be “drayed” relentlessly until they succumb to his pleas to establish a half-way house for Jewish convalescents. Both the re­ covered patients and their families* or in-patients and their families, could be staunch allies in such a campaign. Inas­ much as from 20% to 30% of the seriously mentally ill eventually die as suicides or from violence which they may cause to be directed upon them by police, by hoodlums in the more dangerous parts of town, or by acci­ dents they may not have the desire to avoid, it is a clear matter of pikuach nefesh to help them to find a home and a job outside the hospital which

JU LY 1972

w ill give them the confidence, security, and encouragement to con­ tinue to want to stay alive. Suicide lurks in the shadows as the constant companion of the mentally ill; even as the author writes these words, he ponders the question of whether he, himself, will be able to maintain the emotional strength to keep going in those years ahead which his Creator would allot to him.

E R H A P S the most effective weapons against hopelessness, despondency, despair, and suicide which are in the arsenal of our Tradi­ tion are illustrative stories from the Chumosh, Tanach, Talmud, and the subsequent writings and recollections of our people, which can encourage the mentally ill by demonstrating to them how our ancestors have endured and overcome their trials and hard­ ships to lead fruitful lives of substan­ tial contribution to their communities.

Bringing to them people who have already recovered to encourage those who are still sick is another outstand­ ing method of encouragement. After

P

all, nothing succeeds like success!

The mentally ill can ask some of the most penetrating questions which can challenge the intellect and faith of the pious Jew, such as: “Why did this have to happen to me?” “Why do I have to be used as an instrument of torture upon my fam ily?0 “Why does G-d let His human creatures suffer so?” “Why is there so much horror, sickness, and suffering in the world?”

49

“Why do neshomas have to be sent down here to this world to suffer like this?” “Why should we worship G-d — shouldn’t we be accusing H im ?” “Why did G-d create Man with such a pro­ pensity for evil and such a suscepti­ bility to illness?” “Why did G-d create such a world like this in the first place?” The author, during the time of his illn e s s , fram ed all of these questions, and more, and he still doesn’t have all the answers, but who in the world does? But in his work with his comrades in the Schizo­ p h re n ic s Anonym ous groups, the author suggests to his co-sufferers that before one tries to solve the problems of the whys and wherefores of all the h a rd sh ip s w h ic h humanity must endure, he had best first try to justify the reasons for his own hardships. For no matter how trying one’s hardships may be, if he can pick himself up and rise above them in even a small degree by developing the ability to help others with their hardships, and if he can learn from the experience of his own suffering to try to make this world a little bit better for other people to live in, he has begun to conquer his questions, as well as to answer them.

H E q u e s tio n s o f mourning period, Kaddish, and Yortzeit may arise; these, too, can put our dili­ gent helper on the spot. On the one

T

hand, his sick congregant or friend may become more ill by the depressing reminders of the death of his loved

50

one; but, on the other hand, it could be a profoundly helpful, relieving, and inspiring observance for him. There is no general rule to apply here — the decision must be made in each particu­ lar case, based on knowledge of the person and the advice of his doctor and his family.

The question of marriage or shidduch is another tricky one. Some of the mentally ill, like the author, may no longer possess the faith and courage to undertake the responsi­ bility of a marriage. Others will want to get married as soon as possible for reasons of security or companionship, or simply to make up for lost time.

Again the approach must be adapted to the individual case. One must be wary of “do-gooders” in the commu­ nity who would try to match up one person with a background of mental illness with another. Or a couple, both of whom have such a background, will seek his advice regarding marriage.

Here two potential problems must be taken into consideration: Firstly, will the fact that the two people have each been sick and may still have symptoms be a common tie to help bind them together, or will it result in each of their illnesses feeding off the other?

The author has seen marriages of pro­ found love and happiness between two people who are ill and who comple­ ment each other’s needs, and he has seen other such marriages flounder.

Again the decision must be made by looking into all aspects of the situa­ tio n , and by seeking professional

JEW ISH L I F E

advice. Secondly, is their illness pos­ sibly caused by inherited physiological disorders, such as schizophrenia? If so, the children of their marriage could inherit a double dosage of illness-bear­ ing seed from both of their parents.

Here, again, expert advice is needed.

Often, in the case of schizophrenic parents, precautionary administration of medication while the children are young will prevent subsequent de­ velopment of the disorder during their lifetime.

While the author is on the sub­ ject of professional advice, he must remind the rabbi or lay volunteerworker that he must not be unin­ formed as to the latest advances in the treatment of the mentally ill. He must keep up with the progress in this field to assu re understand ing of the patient’s courses of treatment, to facil­ itate communication with the doctors he must work with, and to develop programming adapted to his needs and capabilities. Excellent material for people without extensive psychologi­ cal training is available from the American

Schizophrenia Association

F o u n d a tio n in S a sk a to o n , Sas., Canada; local Schizophrenics Anony­ m ou s, Neurotics Anonymous, Re­ c o v e ry In c o r p o ra te d , and other p a t ie n t s ’ g ro u p s; and from the National Mental Health Association and its local chapters. One must, as a clear matter of pikuach nefeshy assure that his sick brethren or their families are aware of the latest methods and facilities for treatment and rehabilita­

JU LY 1972

tion, and are informed about how to go about obtaining them. The occasion may arise when he may have to “ buck” the public or private hospitals’ administration or even under-trained doctors who are ignorant or sceptical of new methods of therapy, in order to assure that those under his concern will receive the best possible help. Lest one fall prey to the fear of alienating the “ powers-that-be,” he is reminded that he also stands in a very special position vis-a-vis that Higher Power to Whom he must answer for each of the souls he takes under his charge.

E C E N T figures furnished by the New Y o r k D e p a rtm e n t of Mental Hygiene indicate that in that state alone, over ten thousand hospi­ talized Jews are served or have applied for Kosher meals. And who knows how many more Jewish souls are silently yearning for help from their brethren in the outside world. Will their “ still, small voice” be heard? Will that People who were once enslaved in the land of Egypt now help those of their brethren who are enshackled by the bondage of mental illness? Our co m m u n ity must either face this nisoyon and meet its challenge, or face the inevitability of Judgment.

As for the rabbis and Jewish community leaders, they must take the lead and “ raise many disciples” to help them with this great burden.

They must seek the assistance of indi­ viduals and groups in the community w ho have the ra chm o n u th and

R

51

gemiluth chesed to help the mentally ill, and they must seek, encourage, and implore students from the yeshivoth near and far to come out for at least a few months, if not longer, of training internships in this field. Working as a c h a p la in or v o lu n te e r with the mentally ill can be the most trying and

52

frustrating derech that a pious man could take; but, paradoxically, as the derech is more difficult, the s ’char is greater, for he is engaged in works of pikuach nefesh on a routine daily basis. What greater opportunity to serve G-d and his brethren could any man seek?

JEWISH L IF E

Letters to the Editor T O T H E E D IT O R Brooklyn, New York It was a priviledge to participate in the dinner honoring you on your 25th anni­ versary as Editor of JEWISH L I F E and Administrator of the U O JCA . It was an honor to sit with men who have given with all their heart, soul, and means to strengthen and perpetuate Torah life. These men were honoring you for 25 years of devoted service to the UO and the Jewish commu­ nity. As I sat there I decided to put down in writing what you and JEWISH L I F E have meant to me.

To meet with you is rewarding experi­ ence. There is something in your warm greeting and firm handshake that makes one feel that here is a friend for whom you’d do anything for.

In 1946, when JEWISH L I F E was born, there was hardly any Torah literature in English. What Jewish reading I did in those years was JEW ISH L I F E . JL gave me an appreciation and insight as to the Torah way of life and provided me with a philos­ ophy or derech as to what Judaism is all about, supplementing what I learned at home and the yeshivah.

JL was a dear friend, always welcome, and always anticipated. The memories and

JU L Y 1972

nostalgia are many of the inspiring and lofty essays by leading rabbis and personalities. I remember the beauty of Lillian Reznick O tt’s poetry; the colorful and delightful short stories of A .A . Davidson; the informa­ tive journalism of I. Halevi-Levin on Israel; the scholarship and grandeur of Meyer Waxman’s biographical essays on Jewish greats; the warmth of Gershon Kranzler’s sketches; the thought-provoking Reuben E. Gross on religion in American life; the distinguished writings on Jewish law and p ra c tic e by such th in k e rs as Israel A b r a h a m s , I. G r u n f e ld , Im m an u el Jakobovits, Leo Jung, Norman Lamm, David de Sola Pool, Isaac Nissim, Aaron Soloveitchik, and Samson R. Weiss; the countless galaxy of writers and experts in all walks of life, such as Joseph Kaminetsky, Isaac Lewin, Aryeh Newman, Cecil Roth, Alfred Werner, and many others.

Each article was a gem to be re­ membered and treasured long after, many a topic the only one of its kind to be treated in the English language.

I recall vividly the colorful and dis­ tinctive covers and drawings; and your 1956 tenth anniversary issue. JEWISH L IF E was never dull, and when I finished an issue, I only wished there were more. As its name implies, JL always dealt with the totality of the Jewish experience, both in the U.S. and

53

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abroad, its cultural, social, political, and religious aspects. Significantly, Israel has had more articles written on it than any other subject. And in helping its readers toward an understanding of Jewish faith and practice, JEWISH L I F E has made a signifi­ ca n t and la stin g contribution toward strengthening Jewish life and practice.

Micha F . Oppenheim

I S R A E L EX P EC T A TIO N S* Givatayim, Israel As an oleh of three years’ standing, and as one who came to Israel hoping to find, among other things, a religious spark that I thought could only exist in the original homeland of the Tanach, I am presuming to comment on and extend Dr. Samson R. Weiss’ article (April 1972) on religious life in Israel.

Rabbi Weiss properly deplores the fact that in some areas of Israeli life conflicts between the religious and secularist ele­ ments have been decided in favor of the latter, but he does not go far enough in analyzing why this is so. It is my opinion, that the fundamental blame for the erosion and polarization of religious life in Israel must be attributed in the greatest measure to a remarkably insensitive and uncreative Israeli rabbinate.

In my personal relationship to the rabbinate and to the religious community I must resemble a great many Israelis — I have no sons of yeshivah age, and no professional ties in specifically religious areas. Thus, the rabbinate has to bring its influence to bear upon me through some general types of activities. The fact is that in my three years here I have never once felt any significant influence of the rabbinate at all — not through all the chaggim, not through all the

JU LY 1972

opportunities that arise during the year to tie the religion of Israel to the land of Israel.

The rabbinate performs certain “goluth” tasks reasonably well — it provides ethrogim and S ’chach for Succoth, Sh’murah matzah and Charoseth for Pesach, lists of kosher and non-kosher butchers, etc. But I have not yet once seen a premeditated, organized assault on the incipient religious feelings of Israelis at the time of the Sholosh Regolim or of Chanukah or Purim. Not only is the non-observant Israeli ignored at such times, the synagogue-attending, observant citizen also receives a very thin portion of “ simchath ha-chag.” I find the usual Israeli synagogue service a highly uninspiring ceremony, Shabboth tefilloth being mechan­ ically disposed of in two hours ordinarily without a chazan. The same thing happens on the Chaggim. Most synagogues have no rabbi at all, and in those that do the rabbi appears to have no idea in the world of how to impart a feeling of special Kedushah to a chag celebrated in the Land of the Prophets.

It is a supreme irony that the rabbinate in Israel behaves exactly as it would in the Goluth among sympathetic non-Jews, and in effect takes no advantage of its special opportunities for spiritual leadership in the very land of our Fathers.

The ordinary Israeli rabbi, or the non-rabbinical graduate of the European type of yeshivah in Israel, is absolutely unequipped to communicate with the general Israeli public in a manner to engender mutual understanding for each other’s viewpoint (see Rabbi Eliezer Berkovitz’s article in Tradition, v. 13, pp. 5-20, 1971, for an elaboration of this point). I am not aware of any program by the rabbinate designed to bring the Torah viewpoint to the non-observant. Sheurim can be found here and there but hardly in a form designed to attract intelligent, informed, but not religiously-oriented people.

Israel could begin to fulfill the religious expectations of Diaspora Jewry if Its rabbinate would stop acting like liberated

55

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European “ rebbes” and start acting like free Israeli spiritual leaders. I believe the response of the Israeli public to creative religious guidance could transform the spiritual atmosphere of the world.

Morris Goldman

“ JD L E X P E R IE N C E ” New Yo rk, N .Y. I was much impressed by Elkanah Schwartz’s analysis of the JD L experience in the latest issue of JEWISH L I F E (April 1972), in particular because it contained the most forthright admission I have yet seen — and the only such admission I have so far seen in print — of the failure by orthodox Jewish organizations to respond efficiently and forcefully to the challenge presented by JD L. This may be a reflection of a major deficiency in my reading habits, which I readily admit. Be that as it may, however, I want him to know how much I admire his courage — as a recognized spokesman of the orthodox community, writing in one of the most important orthodox journals <S| in presenting so straightforwardly the nature of the problems faced by Torah Jewry in reacting to the phenomenon of JD L. A t the same time I hope that you will not take it amiss, or consider it the ultimate in “ chutzpah,” if I point out what I believe to be a serious omission in the presentation. I am moved to write this only because the JD L issue has troubled me a great deal, and the description of the problems involved has finally crystallized in my mind what I believe to be the fundamental difficulty that has not been resolved by the orthodox community in determining its response to JD L — a difficulty which has been dealt with only implicitly in the article.

The problem in a nutshell is this: Rabbi Schwartz sees JD L as confronting orthodox

JU LY 1972

Jewry with a three-fold challenge. To rephrase that challenge, as stated in the first paragraph of the article, it comes down to the following three questions: How should the Torah community react to JD L itself?

How should the Torah community react to the reaction of the “general Jewish commu­ nity” (which appears to be a euphemistic way of referring to non-orthodox Jews and their organizations)? And finally, how should the Torah community react to those few elements within itself that did not totally abstain from reacting to JD L? While all of these are unquestionably crucial questions, I feel that none of them speaks to the central issue.

For I believe that the crucial unsolved problem is not “ How shall we react to J D L ? ” or “ How shall we respond to other’s reactions to J D L ? ” but rather “ What shall be the reactions of the Torah community to the problems that JD L is treating in its particular, and to us unacceptable way?” By asking themselves “ What do we do about JD L ? ” the major orthodox organizations were, and to some extent still are, missing the key point. What they should have been asking themselves was, “ Can we come up with a viable alternative course of action in confronting the problems that JD L has so clearly identified?”

If I am correct that the reason the orthodox community could not come up with an adequate answer was because it was asking the wrong questions, this misdirec­ tion in turn demands an explanation. In the closing paragraphs of the article, it is clearly indicated that it is the obligation of leaders of the Torah community to develop positive modes of response to the problems pin­ pointed by JD L -^dangers to the Jewish community within a changing urban envi­ ronment, Soviet Jewry, antisemitism both latent and overt, and so forth. Why then do the major Torah-inspired organizations expend so much time and energy calculating what response they should make to JD L when they should be directing all their

57

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efforts to coping with these much more important problems? Do the leaders of these organizations not realize that, were they to develop positive responses to these manifest threats to Jewish survival, they would be taking a long step toward resolving those problems, and eradicate the “ problem” of JD L in the bargain?

Again, this fine piece implicitly raises this question as well; but stops short of providing a real answer. I do not purport to have a full explanation myself, but I would like to submit the following hypothesis for consideration. While the major orthodox Jewish organizations may have grasped completely the nature of the problem presented by JD L — even in the formulation I have given it in this letter — I believe that they were, and are, structurally unsuited to dealing effectively with such problems.

These organizations, such as the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the National Council of Young Israel, were founded and exist today mainly to serve an integrative function within the Jewish community, establishing and main­ taining ties between various local communal groups and, in the case of the Union, supervising Kashruth on a national scale.

The fact that these organizations have assumed, on occasion, the role of spokes­ men of the orthodox community to the world at large and defender of orthodox interests when they are threatened, has been a matter of necessity, not of intent. After all, who else would or could assume this responsibility? But it was a role reluctantly assumed, and action in this area on the part of these organizations was forthcoming only in cases of dire necessity ; for the most part, they had their hands full just coping with their internal problems relating to Jewish communal organization.

Consider, in contrast, the case of JD L. It was founded as a direct response to a threatening situation experienced by a particular Jewish community in Brooklyn.

The tactics JD L chose to adopt immediately

JU LY 1972

put it into the headlines, and it must be admitted that though some Jews viewed their violent tactics with a certain amount of distaste, this was mixed with a good deal of admiration for their spunk in ‘ -fighting fire with fire.” Having achieved some degree of renown — nor notoriety, if you prefer — the leaders of JD L, and Kahane in particular, recognized the golden opportun­ ity when they saw it, and decided to expand their sphere of activity and become champions of a cause that had hitherto gone virtually unnoticed, namely the cause of Soviet Jewry. The rest of the story is well known to us all. The point I am trying to make, however, is that both in its origins and in its later development JD L was principally motivated by threats from the outside, not by a deep inner drive to achieve greater integration and cohesiveness within the orthodox Jewish community. The fact that the latter — integration and strengthen­ ing of Jewish identity within the group — was a necessary prerequisite to dealing effectively with the former — threats to Jews from the outside gpin no way negates the fact that, for JD L, solidification of Jewish identity was a byproduct of their primary goal. This, you will surely recog­ nize, is the exact reverse of what principally motivated the major orthodox Jewish organizations that were now to be forced to “ react” to JD L. That these organizations were totally unsuited to this task is apparent, if only from the painful, and in this case extremely inappropriate, slowness of their response.

(Did they really think that if only they held out a little longer the problem would go away by itself?) It was only with the establishment of specialized Jewish organi­ zations, such as the various “ conferences” and “ councils” on Soviet Jewry, that we saw the beginnings of an adequate “ answer” to JD L. We cannot fight JD L, nor should we have any desire to engage in that kind of internecine battle. We would all, JD L included, be the losers in the attempt. The

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only proper course of action is for us to develop what we consider to be the right methods for dealing with whatever threats to Jewish survival may arise, whether from within or from without. The presently existing orthodox organizations are not sufficient to meet this need; they have their specialized interests and concerns, and are hard put to fulfill even those in an adequate way. How can they be expected to shoulder any additional, and equally momentous, responsibilities?

Let the present organizations therefore continue in their meritorious and highly necessary endeavors. But let it also be recognized that their concerns are not the only ones that must be addressed. Part-time or desultory attention to critical problems can yield at best meager, and often unwanted, results. If a major problem, such as the plight of Soviet Jewry, is identified, a major organization must be founded to deal exclusively with this problem. (What a crime it is that, to this day, the New York Conference oh Soviet Jewry and other like organizations remain shamefully under­ financed and understaffed!) To my know­ ledge, outside the area of Soviet Jewry, the only orthodox Jewish organization dedi­ cated exclusively to handling problems raised for Jews by the American environ­ ment is C O LP A . This group is certainly an admirable step in the right direction, but unfortunately, an almost unique phenomen­ on. (To be sure, new organizations are, if anything, no more than a means to an end, not an “ answer” in and of themselves.

Without the means, however, no end at all can be achieved.)

If what I am suggesting leads one to envision a plethora of new Jewish organiza­ tions, each devoted to some highly de­ limited and perhaps minimally significant area of interest, which collectively would sap the now thoroughly strained financial and human resources of the Jewish commu­ nity even further, so be it — but only if my argument is pushed to its extreme, and

JU LY 1972

therefore absurd, conclusion. The problem of limiting the over-diversification of organi­ zations is one that may have to be faced in the future, but we have a long way to go before we get to that point. If anything, the problem today is one of duplication and redundancey of effort among the various existing organizations.1 they are not dealing with too many problems, but rather wasting their energies by all dealing with too few problems simultaneously. Unless this trend is reversed, these organizations will, at best, remain frustrated in their attempts to develop any global integration and cohesive­ ness within the Torah community and, at worst, destroy one another through sense­ less competition and divisiveness. More to the point, unless constructive steps are taken and well-considered plans are de­ veloped now, the present orthodox Jewish organizations will once again find them­ selves tongue-tied and flat-footed when the next — possibly irrational — radical makes his bid for glory.

David Landau

R A B B I SC H W A R TZ R E P L IE S : I appreciate Mr. Landau’s writing in re­ action to my article. While his letter merits careful consideration, various points call for correction or comment.

1. “ It contained the most forthright admission I have yet seen . . . of the failure by orthodox Jewish organizations to re­ spond efficiently and forcefully to the chal­ lenge presented by J D L .” I made no such admission. While I did speak of the “ essen­ tial response” as being one of “ measured silence,” there is a difference between being silent in responding and responding in silence.

2. “ . . . what I believe to be a serious omission . . . the crucial unsolved problem . . . ‘What shall be the reactions of the Torah community to the problems that JD L is treating . . . ? ’ ” This is not an omission —

61

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JEWISH LIFE

this is another subject.

3. The major orthodox organizations have indeed been asking themselves “Can we come up with a viable alternative course of action in confronting the problems that JDL has so clearly identified?” They have not yet come up with the total solution, not because they haven’t tried, but perhaps be­ cause the community has not yet supplied sufficient resources. Therefore, Mr. Landau is not correct “ that the reason the orthodox community could not come up with an adequate answer was because it was asking the wrong questions,” nor “ do the major T o rah-inspired organizations expend so much time and energy calculating what re­ sponse they should make to J D L ,” but the leaders of these organizations do realize the need to “ develop positive responses.”

4. Rather than having “ clearly indica­ ted” that “ it is the obligation of leaders of the Torah community to develop positive modes of response to the problems pin­ pointed by J D L ,” my article stated: “ It is for those who by default created this leader­ ship vacuum to close the gap___ ” According to my presentation, this vacuum was created by the denouncers and condemners of JD L. 5. I cannot agree that the major ortho­ dox Jewish organizations are “structurally unsuited to dealing effectively” with the nature of the problem presented by J D L ,o r that they have assumed the role of spokes­ men of the orthodox community as “ a matter of necessity, not of intent.” Commu­ nity welfare is at least as much a Torah function as “ establishing and maintaining ties between various local communal groups and---- supervising Kashruth on a national scale.”

6. It is not the fact that the cause of S o v ie t Jewry had gone “ virtually un­ noticed” until JD L came into the picture.

The American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry was established in 1954 as a coalition of 24 national Jewish organizations, includ­ ing four orthodox. Although the Confer­ ence’s tactics were low key, it worked con­

JU LY 1972

tinuously on the problem from that time — long before JDL became concerned with it.

7. “ . . .these organizations were totally unsuited to this ta sk .. . ” If “for JD L, solidi­ fication of Jewish identity was a bypro­ duct,” then the “ deep inner drive to achieve greater integration and cohesiveness within the orthodox Jewish community” which was “ what principally motivated the major orthodox Jewish organizations” created the climate for community concern to begin with.

8 . T h e presently existing orthodox organizations are more than sufficient to meet the need, though they may not be large enough, strong enough, or supported enough to do the job adequately. The collective staff strength of all orthodox Jewish organizations available to meet this need is less than that of the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Con­ gress, or Anti Defamation League. That is w hy the orthodox groups “ have their specialized interests and concerns” as priori­ ties. Why create another organization if the resources for creating it could be channeled into existing bodies?

9 . Re: “ outside the area of Soviet Jewry, the only orthodox Jewish organiza­ tion dedicated exclusively to handling prob­ lems raised for Jews by the American environm ent is C O L P A ,” no orthodox Jewish organization is dedicated exclusively to Soviet Jewry; Soviet Jewry is not a prob­ lem raised for Jews by the American environment; far from C O LP A being the only body to fit this description — all ortho­ dox Jewish organizations, by various defini­ tions, are similarly described.

10. “ ¿ ...t h e problem today is one of duplication and redundancy of effort among the various existing organizations.” For all the youth work collectively done, for all the collective harbotzath Torah, for all the col­ lective agitation for orthodox Jewish con­ cerns, it only begins to scratch the surface — and there is ample room for more of the same. There is no “ senseless competition

63

these members and leaders who determine and divisiveness.” There is so much room direction must determine resources too, to for each that the difficulty lies in finding carry through the programs they decide on. each o th e r to effect some means of coordination.

The Torah community does have re­ 11.

The present orthodox Jewish organi­ sponses to the problems JD L is occupied zations are not now, nor should they be with, in the form of viable alternative expected to be, tongue-tied and flat-footed. courses of action. For these to be effectu­ Constructive steps and well-considered plans ated, additional resources of men, money, are indeed in order, but only with greater and materials are needed. Undoubtedly, all public support from people like Mr. Landau. could be found in sufficient supply within As to the main purport of the letter: the broad ranks of the Torah community, if Mr. Landau has clearly identified the means of recruiting them were at hand. “ new agenda,” but, like so many others, Would those now standing outside but join does so from the outside. ‘‘Major orthodox ranks within the existing orthodox bodies, organizations” are neither closed corpor­ and work from within to create conditions ations nor franchises from Heaven. They are permitting greater concentration on the what their members make them. Func­ ‘‘new agenda,” the Torah community would tioning within the framework of American surge forth in greater force. democracy, they are open to new members, new leaders, and new direction. O f course,

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JEWISH L IF E

As Executive Director of the office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, R A B BI M A U R IC E R O S E is at the pulse of Jewish life on the Continent as well as in Britain and is attuned to events affecting Jewish interests around the world. He joined with Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits in a study mission on the absorption of Jewish emigrees from the Soviet Union, which took him to Vienna, Israel, and New York. Herein he shares with the readers of JEW ISH L I F E his firs th a n d impression of history in process.. . RA B BI RA LPH P E L C O V IT Z 's previous contributions to these pages include ‘T h e Lost Art of Derech Eretz” (April 1958), “The Challenge of College” (July/ August 1963), “ Patterns of Morality” (May/June 1964), “ Rebels — B e c a u se ...” (Sept./Oct. 1968), and “ Ecology and Jewish Theology” (July/Aug. 1970). Rav of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Far Rockaway, New York, he is a past president of the Rabbinical Alliance of A m e rica.. . Twice before, in ja n ./Feb . and Nov./Dec. 1970, JEWISH L I F E published contributions by C H A P LA IN A L L A N M. B L U S T E IN , in which he shared some impressions acquired while serving in Germany. Herein he offers further in sig h ts... R A B BI NISSON W OLPIN was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. After studying in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and Beth Medrash Elyon in Spring Valley, New York, he served as Principal in Yeshivath Ohr Yisroel in Forest Hills, New York for twelve years before becoming Editor of The Jewish Observer in 1 9 7 0 ... D R . V A L E N T IN E R . W IN SEY is Associate Profes­ sor of Anthropology and Sociology at Pace College in New York City.

An authority on immigrants in the United States, she is much interested in the development of American Jewry, though herself a non-Jew. Dr. Winsey earned her M.A. degree at Denver University and her Ph.D degree at New York U niversity.. . Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, D R . R E U V E N P. B U L K A graduated from the City College of New Yo rk and received Semichah from Yeshivah Rabbi Jacob Joseph.

In 1967, he became Rav of Congregation Machzikei Hadas of Ottawa, Capada, and recently received his Ph.D degree in logo therapy from the University of Ottawa. A contributor to various Jewish journals, this marks his initial appearance in JEW ISH L I F E . . . Drawings by D A V ID A D L E R have appeared in JEW ISH L I F E and in other journals. Holding an M .B.A. degree from New York University, he is on leave from his Ph.D. program in marketing from the City University of New York and his work as instructor of math in a New York City junior high school to devote himself to both art work and professional writing. His first book, “A Little A t A Tim e,” is to be published by Random House in the near future and a book of his drawings is in preparation. He resides in L a w r e n c e , New Y o r k . . . Poetry by F L O R E N C E JEA N N E GOODM AN appeared in JEW ISH L I F E in Jan./Feb. 1971. She is a resi­ dent o f Los Angeles, California and teaches English at Pierce College in Woodland Hills in that state.

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