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THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN 0021-6615is published monthly, except July and August, by the Agudath Israel. of. America, 5 Beekman Street, New York.N.Y. 10038. Second class postage paid at New York. N.Y. Subscription $15.00 .per year: two years. $27.00; three years. $36.00. Outside of the United States (US fUnds only) $20.00. $25.00 in So. Africa and other Pacific countries. Single copy: $2.00; foreign: .$2.50. Send address changes to The Jewish Observer. 5 Beekman St .. N.Y .. N. Y. I 0038. Printed in the U.S.A.

RABBI NISSON WOLPIN Editor

Editorial Board DR. ERNST BODENHEIMER _Chairman RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS JOSEPH FruEDENSON RABB1 NossoN.scHERMAN RABBI MOSHE SHERER Management Board NAFTOLI HIRSCH !SMC KIRZNER RABBI SHLOMO LESil'i NACHUM STEIN

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THE JEWISH 0BSERVERd6es not asstlme res,o_n,sibility ,for: the Kashrusorany-ptOl:luct or servtce advertised !rt its pages. ©Copyright 1985

ocL 85. VOL. xvm No .. 9

THE6WISH ltJSERVER

In This Issue ...

Religion in the Public Arena: How Do We Best Protect Our Interests?

4 Beware of Your "Friends," Rabbi Ber el Wein 5 Walk the Tightrope, Dr. Aaron Twerski

11 Notes From a Jewish Lobbyist: The View frc1m California, Dr. Irving Lebovic

13 The Out-of-Towners: A Personal Narrative, Emmy Stark Zitter

19 Succos: The Encounter Between Judgment and Joy, Shimon Finkelman

25 The Old Man C<1•unted to Nine, a narrative by Yisroel Reisman

Books in Review 29 At the Centtir of the Universe 29 Machzor Zichron Reuven (Artscroll/Mesorah) 30 Gateway to Happiness 30 In Search of Happiness 30 Time is Life 30 Soul Survivc1rs

31 Letters to the Editor

' •

Religion in the How Do We Best

"Beware of Your 'Friends'," says Rabbi Berl Wein

IGNORE THE NON-STARTERS

T he issue of religion and its proper place in American public life is a most sensitive one. And

for the Jewish community in this country it may be even more sensitive and important tban for other segments of our pluralistic society. History has taught us that the Jews always have much to lose in a climate of religious fanaticism. And, tberefore, I wish to address myself to this problem with caution and, I hope, insight.

1 do not intend to discuss what Is good for America. I do intend to express my opinion as to what is good for the Jewish community in America. In practice, I believe tbat tbe particular interests of tbe Jewish community and tbat of America generally coincide. But that is not the thesis of my presentation.

*These written presentations are based on a symposium held last year at the 62nd National Convention of Agudath Israel of America.

Rabbi Wein, ofMonsey, N. Y., is dean ofShaarei Torah of Rockland County and the Bas Torah Academy, as well as Rav of the Congregation Bais Torah in the same community.

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I must open with a caveat, ''I am not a navi {prophet). nor a ben navi {a nov· ice prophet)." 1 do not know what the morrow brings for the Jewish commu· nlty in this country. And I am quite aware of tbe futility of predictions as far as the Jewish people and its fate Is concerned. But there are issues that should be raised, and not raised merely by the devil's advocate {which I am not), but that on their own, deserve careful thought and consideration. This is an enormously complex problem and it will not brook simplistic solutions.

Firstiy, I believe that Jewish organizations should have a low profile on issues that are not truly vital to our survival. Jewish individuals will and should continue to speak out on those issues. But I feel that we have to be enormously cautious in our organiza· tional position on issues of the day. We have to be selective as to what issues are truly vital to us and as to those issues which superficially appear to be of interest to us as religious people. For instance. gay rights, the ERA amendment and support of Israel are issues that affect our very survival and life style. Prayer in public schools. textbook revision, creches and Nativity

(continued on page 6)

The Jewish Observer/October, 1985

Public Arena Protect Our Interests?

"Walk the Tightrope," says Dr. Aaron Twerski

W hen I was a youngster shortly after my Bar Mitzva, I was privileged to have as

my rebbe Rav Nochem Zaks, '"1. My twin brother and I were his pet talmidim. There was little that we could do wrong. 1 recall that when either of us asked a particularly good kushya, he would answer in his inimitable style, ''Twerski, you're one hundred percent right, but I'll show you where you're wrong." His words come back to me now. Rabbi Wein is one-hundredpercent right...but I think that he has missed the key issue and is thus very wrong.

First, let me indicate where he is right. The evangelicals and some of the radical right groups are not our friends. They are self-righteous ideologues and much of their religiosity is shot through with classical, virulent anti-Semitism. They do make uncomfortable bedfellows for us. Rabbi Wein is also quite correct when he says that prayer in the public schools is a non- issue for Orthodox Jews. Partisan religious prayer is

Dr. Twerski, professoroflaw in Hofstra University and Chairman of Agudath Israel of America's Commission on Legislation and Civic Action, is author of numerous books and articles on the law of torts and product liability.


LIBERTY

certain to be Christian prayer and thus clearly unacceptable. "To Whom it May Concern" prayer is hardly a teftlla worth fighting for. Either way we come out losers. Finally, Rabbi Wein correctly observes that we must carefully husband our precious human resources and devote them to matters offirst·line importance. It is not that we are short on talent. We are. however, very short on people who are prepared to share their G- ct-given talents with Kial Yisroel. Taking that fact as a given, we must pick and choose our battles.

Where, then, has Rabbi Wein gone wrong? I suggest that he has made several fundamental errors:

(I) He has written off the liberal left as a significant threat to the continued viability of Torah-centered communities. We are, he claims, fighting a defeated enemy. Because he has, in my opinion, miscast the enemy and misconceived the issues, he has pronouonced a premature Kaddish over them.

(2) He has made light of the issue of government aid to religious communities.

(3) He has exaggerated the danger of right-wing anti- Semitism.

(continued on page 8)

5

"Beware of Your 'Friends'," says Rabbi Berl Wein

(continued from page 4)

scenes, tuition tax credits, are not vital Jewish issues.

Promoting prayer in the public schools is to me a non-starter issue as far as Jews are concerned. What prayer? Whose prayer? Prayer for Whom and to Whom? Until those quesitons are defined it is really not our issue. I don't know what prayer is going to be allowed, if any at all, but I am convinced that it will not be our prayer. The Moetzes GedoleiHaTorah passed on the matter of a particular form of a prayer that perhaps would be acceptable to Jews. But that formulation of prayer has not been accepted by any -one else as of yet. And. therefore, I think the issue of promoting prayer is premature, if not ultimately irrelevant to us.

IDENTIFYING THE THREAT

T he theory of strict separation of church and state has enabled Jews to deal with their educa

tions, careers and aspirations ih this country on a far different plane than they were able to in Europe. The extremism of the liberals, the Left, the irreligious and the anti-religious lobbies, however, has warped the practical application of that theory. Thus, the current swing to the Right - to religion, if you will - that is apparent in American life, will continue to grow. I am of the opinion, however, that we should not fight battles that are 20 or 30 years old and really passe. On too many fronts. we are always fighting the last war.

Many say that the immediate threat is the liberal Left. We have struggled with them for almost all of the last century. But I feel that we are witnessing the demise of that struggle. The situation has changed. The ERA did not become law, Mrs. Ferraro is not VicePresident. There has not been the change in American society that the liberal Left hoped to see. If this symposium would have taken place in the !960'sor70's, there is no question that we would all agree with ProfessorTwerski' s position that the Left is the greater and more immediate threat.

Professor Twerski has stated that he cannot be concerned for problems 30 or 40 years in the future - about the influence of religious fundamentalism

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Orthodox Jewry could pick up the tab on the entire

government.funding of yeshiva

education without canceling one

vacation.

then. He wants only to build for today - to deal with today's problems ... he is a "golus Yid." I've noticed the way Jews build homes in this country; they evidently expect to be around in Bora Park and Monsey 30 or 40 years hence, and therefore I feel that we have to deal with the long-range threats as well. And the religious Right, the Christian fundamentalist evangelicals are certainly a long-range threat to us.

A RELIGIOUS AMERICA IS A CHRISTIAN AMERICA

I do not think that anyone will seriously question the wisdom of strict separation of church and state in

the general society as having a positive impact on the Jewish community. We are a small minority in an overwhelmingly Christian culture. A more religious society will mean a more Christian society. Are we really ready to return to such a situation? Will our alienated, Torah-ignorant. dissatisfied youth be able to stand up to the Evangelicals' pressure? Is not no prayer in the schools better than non-Jewish prayer in the schools?

This is a lesson that we have to assimilate within ourselves. We have to realize that because we live in a society

that is spiritually empty, the Christians, the Evangelicals, the missionaries who have almost unlimited funds that they will pour - and are pouring - into a campaign to capture Jewish souls, the danger to us is great. And the moral climate, so to speak, that will be created by stronger Christian influences in our society will have, in my opinion, a devastating effect upon great sections of the Jewish people who could still be reached - and in small measure. in fact, are being reached -by us.

A famous German-Jewish philosopher related how when he was growing up in pre-World War II Berlin, his father came to the headmaster of the school he was attending to plead that his son be excused from singing Christian songs. The headmaster agreed to compromise. No words need be recited but the melody had to be sung. Our experience in this generation has taught us that even the melody cannot be sung by us.

The Gemora in Avoda Zara (Sa) quotes Rabbi Yishmoel as saying that Jews who live in chutz la'aretz are pagans, albeit unwittingly. How so? A non-Jew, a pagan, makes a banquet for his son and he invites all of his Jewish friends to come and participate; even though it may be 100% glatt kosher -they bring their own walters, they bring their own mashgiach - the pasuk considers it as though he had eaten from avoda zara (Shemos 34, 15). To this Rashi says that the perpetrator surely does not intend to eat from avoda zara; no one intends to be influenced by paganism. But Yisroel in chutz la 'aretz, in a non- Jewish environment, cannot afford the luxury of free intermingling. It is a situation that will inevitably develop within the Jewish people should they drop their guard, and willmakeagreatelementof Klal Yisroe1, 1"n be guilty of"paganism in purity."

RELIGION MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

T here is yet a second point I wish to address, and that is, who are our allies in this struggle to

"bring America back to religion"? What type of person is pushing this vision? Let me repeat a number of quotes from these people who are all pro-Israel, who all respect and love the Jews, and who wish to make a moral society in this country.


-- - _.-

The Rev. Jerry Falwell says the Jewish people are going to Hell. they are unworthy of redemption, and therefore condemned. And therefore we can understand. he says, how the Holocaust happened. We Jews earned it the oldfashioned way.

In his sefer, MinHameizar, Rabbi Weissmandl relates a conversation that he had with President Tiso of Slovakia. Rabbi Weissmandl asked him for Jewish children - there was a transport of 3,000 Jewish children about to leave to their deaths - he asked that the children under six be freed. ''They are innocent." Answered Tiso: "There is no innocent Jewish child.''

"Non-Christians can never understand spilitual things."

"G-d does not hear the prayers of Jews."

'·Anti-Semitism is hating the Jew more than one is supoosed to."

These are but a few of the quotes of the leaders of the religious right.

The support of the Evangelicals for the State of Israel is paper-thin. because they have a different State of Israel in mind from the one that exists: from the one that we hope will exist. They have in mind a State of Israel that, 1"n, will convert entirely to Christianity. They envision a State of Israel that is neces· sary for the coming of their Messiah. And if it does not materialize that way. they will not be in favor of the State ofls· rael that does remain. They are not our frtends. Why should we help them? Why should we join them?Whyshould we be connected with them?

THE POLISH PRECEDENT

W e went through this in a like fashion in pre·war Poland, and again I agree that

historic comparisons may not really be fair because no one now knows the cir· cumstances that prevailed in Poland al· most 50yearsago. Ourpresent·daycir· cumstances are certainly not identical. It is wrong for us to criticize those who made decisions then. We operate with perfect hindsight. But. nevertheless, 50 years ago in Poland, in the struggle that existed for the Jewish vote in the Polish Parliament, the right·wing Conserva· live Catholic parties headed by the dictator Pilsudski made a strong appeal to religious Jewry on the basis of religion versus the atheistic Left. Most of reli· gious Jewry cooperated with them. They helped form the coalition in the Parliament on behalf of these parties.

The Jewish Observer/October. 1985

Can we be allies with a group that

preaches that ••non-Christians can never understand spiritual

things"? And they were eventually rewarded with a ban on shechita.

Banning shechita did not affect the Bund, it did not affect the secular Zionists, it did not affect the irreligious Jews. It was, however, a body blow to religious Jewry- it was the beginning of the end, in retrospect. of Polish Jewry. Under this reign, Jews were taken off the streetcars and trains of Poland and beaten. A public climate had been created that allowed these atroci· lies to happen. And we know the end of the story - that 3 1/2 million Polish Jews went to their deaths.

That can only happen in a country that is willing to allow it to happen. Seven thousand Jews in Denmark were saved from the Nazis because the people of Denmark were not willing to allow them to be exterminated. But in Poland a climate was created. True, the climate was easily fostered, based upon centuries of religious hatred, upon mil· lions of sermons blaming the Jews for everything. on bigoted religious convic· tion. One may add that it's not for noth· ing that in Poland today the bakeries and food shops are empty - that the Poles live a tortured existence.

STRONGER PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

A re we better off with a larger attendance in Christian religious schools in this country or in the

public schools? Are we betteroffhaving

schools that do not teach open antisemitism rather than schools that do advocate religious anti·Semitism and which will receive government tax ex· emption and will be led by people who make public statements such as those quoted above?

If these people speak for Amelica's tomorrow, and if that is their vision of America, then why should we help them? If they are going to be successful, I cannot imagine why we should remain in this country. Anti·Semitism has always been associated with an in· tensive fanaticism. The Greeks, the Ro· mans, Islam. Christianity - all have preached religious hatred against us. The Talmud associates sina - hatred for Jews - with Sinai. The sina begins at Sinai. It begins with the Jewish mission. It begins with Torah. That is what has prompted the enmity. Hitler and Stalin. both of whom were fiercely antireligious, and were not in any way to be considered Chrtstians. nevertheless fed upon a climate that Christianity created in their countries over the millennia. "Holy Russia" still exists today. To be sure, the Communists did not create it, but they are expert at ex· plaiting it. Russia is no more a purely secular society today than it ever was. And Hitler could not have destroyed the Jews without the cooperation and silence of the religious leaders of Ger· many and most of the entire western world. The climate that is created in this country by religious pressure - I think that is what we should be interested in.

A COMMUNITY OF LIMITED MEANS

F inally, Orthodoxy has limited means. Rabbi Sherer's exper· tise and achievements notwith·

standing. we still have only one Rabbi Sherer. Anyone who has had the joy of raising funds for yesbivos knows that we are dealing with limited means. Were it not for those who have a streak of insanity. the Rambam says, there would be nothing creative happening in the Jewish world. G-d sees to it that we have enough "meshugaim," but we don't have a surplus of "meshugaim."

We have so much to do. We have to rebuild the House oflsrael. I would suggest that there are other people in this country to fight the battie, both pro and con, on the issue of religion in public life. But I don't know anyone else in this

7

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country who is interested in opening a synagogue in a small Jewish community that does not now have an Orthodox synagogue; who is interested in building high schools for boys and for girls in a community that does not have such schools; who is interested in reaching Jewish souls on the campus and in the professional world. We are very, very thin in resources; every dollar and every moment that we divert to other causes is a dollar and a moment that is not spent upon ourselves. In my years in the rabbinate, the chief complaint that I have heard from laymen over the years regarding their personal lives is that they have no time for their families.

And the same is true organizationally. And the same is true with the Jewish world generally. We have to build ourselves. No one else will do it for us.

It has been mentioned that we have

"Walk the Tightrope," says Dr. Aaron Twerski (contlnuedfrom page 5)

(4) He has deemed the conservative right unworthy allies to assist us in the socio-political battles that must be waged.

DEFINING THE DANGER IDENTIFYING THE ENEMY

T he danger to Orthodox Jewish communities in the America of the 80's does not come from

wild-eyed Marxists, Peaceniks. or radical socialists. Those who would frontally assault organized religion and deride their leadership have no political standing in this country. Our enemies today are nice- guys. They are not the Madeline Murrays or the Leo Pf effers of yesteryear. They do not seek to label Orthodox Jews, catholics and evangelicals as enemies of democracy. ''Live and let live" is their motto .

Our modem-day enemies have a different agenda. It is basically neutral (better yet, sympathetic) to religion. But, in its fully articulated form it is antithetical to our continued existence. The danger today comes from unbridled, unthinking, across-the-board egalitarianism. The thesis is simple. Government (in any. form) cannot be utilized to perpetuate or support the denial of civil rights. Those matters that

8

a great deal of government funds that come our way. That is true. And I believe.in my naivete. that even if 1"n every dollar of government money stopped coming our way, there is still enough Orthodox Jewish money in the United States to finance all of our yeshivos. And 1 always add the extra line (which maybe 1 shouldn't) that I

Prayer in public schools, textbook revision, creches

and Nativity scenes are not vital Jewish issues.

in their view qualify as "rights ... and those who are entitled to them, strike at the heart of the ethical structure of religious communities. It matters little to the New Egalitarianists that the inequality they perceive is predicated on religious norms that are thousands of years old and are an integral part of our community structure. If the discrimination strikes them as unfair. they demand that it should either be declared unconstitutional or legislated out of existence. If religious communities are destroyed in the wake of egalitarianism, that is simply too bad, they maintain. The New Egalitarianists do not wish us bad. If they could put us off in a corner and let us be - they would probably agree to do so. But their agenda ls national if not international in scope. They cannot and will not fashion exceptions to permit us continued viability. Frankly. if they were to do so we would still be subject to eventual extinction, for ultimately we would be

don't think anyone would have to give up their vacation because of it either.

In summation, I wish to repeat words that a recent presidential candidate spoke. words that I think speak to our issue. "A yearning for traditional values is not a simple matter. It is not a tie that is unbroken. It has undertones. And in the hands of those who would exploit it, this legitimate hope for moral strength can become a force of social divisiveness and hatred and a threatto individual freedom. The truth is, the answer to a weaker family is not a stronger state. It is a stronger moral value system. The answer to lax morals is not legislative morals. It is a deeper faith. It is greater discipline. It is personal excellence.''

I think these words speak to us as well and to our task of fulfilling our destiny of proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven here, on Earth. Ill

cast in the role of medieval relics who would not be worthy of the grace of government approval. Thus, we are in a fight for our very lives. The enemy is deadly precisely because it is not antireligious in nature. Religion, ethics, culture, community - all must be sacrificed on the altar of Perfect Egalitarianism.

THE RAPE OF COMMUNITY VALUES

T he threat is real. The danger is present. The time is now. The enemies are our friends.

Deviant behavior is not a Jewish problem - at least not one that has serious practical ramifications for Orthodox Jewish communities. But New York City Mayor's Executive Order 50 was a serious issue. He sought to bar Catholic, Protestant and Jewish social service agencies from participating in contracts with the City of New York unless they formally eschewed discrimination based on sexual orientation. The issue was not {as Rabbi Wein has intimated) the desire of the Orthodox Jewish community to legislate morality. The problem was that the Mayor sought to impose a popular view of egalitarianism on a community to whom the conduct is viewed as religiously loathsome. No lesser authority than the editorialists of The New York Times questioned why religion should


be concerned with so "secular" an issue. Why, it was just as plain as the nose on your face. If you can't discriminate on the basis of race then how someone conducts his sexual life is similarly no matter for any employer to consider. The First Department. ApelIate Division agreed. Their argument (ultimately repudiated by the New York Court of Appeals) was simply stated. If the government cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation neither may those with whom the government contracts.

Now that the case has been won before the State's highest court. the battle will shift to the City Council. The argument will be the same. No government largesse should be granted to those who do not meet popular egalitarian standards. Thus, government social service contracts are not the only potential targets. Government involvement with religious communities touches such areas as tax deductions, tax exemptions, licensing for schools, lunches for impoverished children, textbooks. and school busing. All can and will be fair game in future legislative battles.

DO NOT "YODERIZE" THE ORTHODOX

I do not mean to suggest that we will be actually legislated out of existence. The free exercise clause of

the First Amendment grants significant protection of religious educational institutions. The famous Yoder casein which the United States Supreme Court recognized the right of the Amish community to operate a high school system free from substantial government regulation gives expression to the rights ofreligious communities to educate children based on a very" offbeat" value system. But only our worst enemies would Yoderize us. Torah Jews have never gone off in a comer and refused contact with the world of commerce and politics. We must be both in

and out of the secular world. Yeshivos do have accredited secular programs that are the match of (indeed. superior to) public educational institutions. And as I shall demonstrate. the need for funding community-support and -educational programs is no luxury that can be discarded by simply asking the state to walk away and leave us alone.

We may be a talented people, but how many of us are ready to share our G-d

given talents with Klal Yis,roel? ... That's why

we must pick our battles with care.

Nor is the issue limited to discrimination based on sexual preference or lifestyle. Lest we forget. we do operate a sex- separated religious school system. The separation begins at the preschool age and is not limited to religious subjects alone. It applies to the entire secular progam as well. And that puts us at war with one of the most potent forces in American political life - the Women's Liberation Movement. This is not the place to discuss the role of the woman in Torah life. I believe that the Torah created the charter for true Women's Liberation. Role differentiation within the Torah does not serve as a tool to promote male chauvinism. That is a topic for a different forum. But one thing is certain. The National Organization for Women (NOW) will give no quarter to those whom they believe to be the enemy. And we are targeted.

Rabbi Wein tosses off the threatimposed by this form of egalitarianism with the remark that Geraldine Ferraro was not elected vice-president and that ERA was defeated. In my opinion this assessment so sells short the egalitari· anists that it might be considered naive. Does anyone have any doubt that if raw political power were not available to restrain the feminists. that schools that prohibited mixed classes. established separate curricula for boys and girls. taught that "reproductive freedom" was sinful, enforced separate seating at religious services and communal events, and recognized maleonly minyanim, would be shorn of any form of government recognition?

And don't forget the draft. We have. through the grace of G- d, been granted a respite from the military draft. But. should the international situation warrant a return to involuntary conscription. it will become a fact oflife. There is no doubt that at the very top of the feminist agenda will be a draft that is gender neutral. For Orthodox Jews. that would be an unspeakable tragedy. It would clearly call forth (as did the women· s draft in Israel) a psak of yehoreig ve'al ya'avor. Well. then, you say, the problem can be solved by granting Orthodox women conscientious-objector status. This. too. smacks of Yoderization. The cost to the JeWish community of having all its women of eligible service age being defined as conscientious objectors is mind-boggling. It would be an open invitation to vicious anti-Semitism in a time of national crtsis. It is truly unthinkable.

GOVERNMENT AID TO RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES

R abbi Wein sees no great threat in loss of state and federal aid to religious communities. This

view is simply incorrect. First. as I have already demonstrated, the issue is not

PLEASE, OH, PLEASE, DON'T LET 1-iER CALL ON ME! !'LL 5TUO\' HARD TONIGHT IF l{OU JUST, PLEASE, DON'T LET 1-lER CALL ON ME ltJDM ...

I THOUGHT PRA'1'1N6 IN 5CHOOL HAD BEEN BANNED

THIS KIND WILL ALIJA'l'G BE WITH U5, FRANKLIN!

@ 197• BY UNITED FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

The Jewish Observer/October. 1985 9

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just aid in the form of outright grants. Tax deductions and exemptions are a form of financial assistance to religious schools and community institutions. I refer Rabbi Wein to the Bob Jones case decided last year by the United States Supreme Court for the proposition that tax exemptions for religious institutions are not sacrosanct. They can fall when they conflict with highly valued egalitartan principles.

Even if the tax deductions and exemptions remained untouched, there would still remain the question of government contracts and direct government aid to our institutions. Our communities are not income poor. But thousands of our families are "family size·· poor. The halachic limitations on the practice of birth control have resulted In large families ranging from four to fifteen children (kein yirbu). Much of the aid that government dispenses must be funnelled through social service agencies that are in tune with the physical. emotional and cultural needs of those who are to be their beneficiaries. Lunch programs in schools are not luxuries which the communities can do without. Health care programs must be organized so that they can deliver the services in a manner that will be acceptable to those who need them. Community development agencies must take into account the lifestyles of those who must live in the housing that they establish. Senior citizens must be serviced in a way that does not denigrate from their self-worth as human beings. Physically and mentally handicapped children must be cared for in a way that does not violate the precious souls that G-d implanted In their bodies. These all require direct forms of government aid which we cannot forfeit if we are to function as communities.

WHO ARE OUR ALLIES?

We now come to the sixty-four dollar question. With whom shall we make common

cause? Can we join with the radical right? Dare we strengthen them at the ballot box, or by siding with them on important issues, provide them with undeserved respectability?

The answer is not simple. It would be far preferable if political figures who had solid liberal credentials would begin to perceive that the issues described in this article are deserving of recogni-

JO

Their motto is "Live and let live,"

and they constitute our most

serious danger.

lion. We shall have to insist that elected officials who represent us at all levels of government be sensitive to the fact that If they press their liberal egalitarian agenda to the extreme. they will destroy our communities. I have always been mystified at the dogmatic attitude of the so-called liberal wing of American politics. They have been so wrapped up in the language of the "establishment" clause that they have failed to perceive that they have actually threatened the ''free exercise'' of religion. If religious communities with a distinct value system are rendered financially extinct, then the language in the Constitution granting them the "right" to exist will be meaningless. If those who represent us in the halls of government are not prepared to recognize our legitimate needs, we shall have to do our best to replace them with those more sympathetic to us.

The more difficult question. though. is how we should relate to the Catholic church, the evangelicals and to the radical right.

First, as to the Catholic church, we have joined together in the past on matters of mutual interest in government affairs. We shall In the future, as in the past, refer such questions to the Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah. Basically. I find no reason for not joining with the archdiocese on political questions.

The evangelicals and the radical light present a greater problem. It is obviously dangerous to make light of any

anti- Semitic pronouncements. Hitler taught us that lesson very well. Nonetheless. for all their rhetoric. they too are faced with a problem similar to ours. Fundamentalist communities seek to retain the moral structure of their own society. If they have sought to legislate morality for the nation. It is because the nation has sought to invade their right to maintain their community structure. A world that permits abortion on demand is also a world that devalues life in a variety of other ways. A world that permits open pornography is a world that debases the human spirit. There is little that we can do to stop the fundamentalists from seeking to convert Jews to Christianity. There is much that we can and must do to render that effort unsuccessful. This much is certain. Unless we have healthy, floulishing Jewish communities, we will not have the resources {both human and financial) to resist their efforts. We must be ever vigilant with regard to their political machinations. We have been forced to oppose them on numerous issues. Nonetheless, on many issues (e.g .. ERA or conscription of women to the military) they may have made the difference.

My own feeling is that we shall have to learn to be uncomfortable and evervigilant allies. I believe that the country is not about to be swept away in the moral fervor of evangelism. America likes its comforts too much to grant them all that power. At the same time, they will remain a political force that will checkmate unbridled egalitarianism. Thatisnotahalf-badsituation. We can learn to live with it.

CONCLUSION

I have not proposed that we legislate morality for the country. That has never been the agenda of Agudath

Israel. But Jews do require the freedom of!iving full. religious lives. It would be nice if all we need ask of government would be to stay off our backs. That, however. is no longer possible. We are taxed, regulated and affected by government in countless ways. If the egalitarian agenda of the liberal establishment becomes offical governmental policy for every interaction between government and religion, we shall be driven into the sea. It is for that reason that Rabbi Wein'sview- onehundred percent right as It may seem - is dead wrong. II


Irving Lebovic

The View From California Notes from a Jewish Lobbyist

SACRAMENTO BOUND

M onday, June 9, 1985, found a number of members of the Agudath Israel of California

on a plane from Los Angeles Sacramento bound, to lobby in favor of a bill to protect consumers of Kosher meat. The provisions of the bill were straight· forward: Kosher meat sellers in California would be required to keep

Dr. Lebovics, a practising dentist in Los Angeles. is chairman of Agudath Israel's Commission on Legislation and Civic Action of California.

The Jewish Obseruer/Ociober, 1985

a

all receipts from meat purchases for one year. A pilot program would be in· stituted in Los Angeles County under which inspectors from the California Department of Food and Agriculture would check these receipts against the actual sales. Such a system would determine whether the meat came from a source claiming to be Kosher, and hopefully deter the sale of additional meat from other sources.

Our group reviewed the list of Assemblymen in an effort to determine on whom to concentrate our efforts. Our sources informed us that most Republicans opposed the bill but that they

had been misinfOnned as to its contents and purpose. We were confident that once we explained our case to the key members of the Assembly, we would succeed in persuading them: after all, the bill was even supported by the secvlar Jewish organizations: Federation, JPAC, ADL and AJC.

A rather disconcerting problem. however. had arisen on the day before ourttip. Assemblyman Richard Robin· son, Democrat from Orange County, in· formed us that he would speak from the Assemblyflooraginst the bill. His posi· tion was that the mere mention of the word "Kosher" was a violation of the doctrine of separation of church and state, and therefore unconstitutional. Our fear was that this could easily result in a mass "no" vote among the liberal Democratic majority in the Assembly.

CON GAMES CAN BE LEGAL

T he implications of Mr. Robinson's reasoning are rather farreaching and forboding, in ef

fect making it is legal to run a "con game" if a religious element is involved: for individuals who purchase religious articles (i.e. Kisvei Stam - sacred parchments such as mezuzot) are not entitled to consumer protection; similarly, someone who falsely labels non-Kosher meat as Kosher is protected from prosecution by the Constitution. Now, Robinson is a concerned, sincere, and very effective legislator. His problem with the bill, however. is indicative of a general sentiment that is pervasive in California - not only among legislators, but among organizations, spokespeople, civic leaders, and the general public as well: government should not involve itself in matters even vaguely associated with religion.

Witness the current controversy over a $5 million State grant requested by the Simon Weisenthal Center to creat a ''Museum of Tolerance.·· The purpose of such a museum would be to sensitize the public to the evils of totalitarian

11

governments that preach genocide. It would feature exhibits not only from the Churban of World War II wrought by the Nazis, but from other atrocities as well. The Los Angeles Times in a recent editorial, while pointing out the importance and even the necessity of such an undertaking, maintained that public money should not be spent on this project since the board of directors of Simon Weisenthal Center included rabbis who were also on the board of directors of Yeshiva University - a religious institution.

But don't yeshivas already receive government money, albeit for neutral purposes, such as textbooks, transportation and nutritional programs? Not in California. Here yeshivas are not eligible for one penny offunding because of their religious affiliation. As a matter of fact, a number of years ago when a referendum for textbook aid to religious private schools was on the ballot in California. Jewish secular organizations led the campaign to summarily defeat it .... Orthodox Jews in other parts of the country should not judge California by their own communities' experiences. To the contrary. the growing secular righteousness prevailing in California, which deliberately discredits anything religious as irrelevant in the discussion of public issues. may well be the wave of the future for the rest of the country.

The California phenomenon is in some ways a backlash to the overt attempts by the Moral Majority to Christianize America. A battle is taking place for the control of our value system, and the protagonists are. in effect. two religions. "Christianity" and "Secularism.'' Putin the simplest of terms. both are absolute in their view. with little or no common denominators. Neither

side considers the point of view of the other, and both tend to leave us out in the cold. Neither secular nor Christian, we are in the precarious position of being outsiders either way.

WHO SPEAKS FOR JEWISH INTERESTS?

P resently, in California a number of legislative issues have arisen which initially ignored the Jew

ish perspective. A law was recently passed that, in effect, allowed for the removal of corneas from autopsied bodies without permission. Gay rights and State-funded abortions are perennial issues. Bills are being introduced to add ''morality'' curricula in public schools. No one was interested in stopping unnecessary autopsies. No one was concerned that Shomer Shabbos Jews were forced to choose between their career and Shabbos. No one protested the double tax burden that yeshiva parents are forced to bear, or took sides on a host of other issues of vital concern to the Torah community.

Our group - Agudath Israel of California's Commission on Legislation and Civic Action - is similar to numerous other groups that have sprouted in various areas of the United States. We don't represent a major constituency in this state - and even our Orthodox community is far from a cohesive force. We have, however. formed coalitions on an issue-by-issue basis. Our ap· proach has been to emphasize the legitimacy and fairness of each individual initiative rather than resort only to political arm twisting. In a relatively short period of time we have gained the respect and admiration of legislators on both sides of the aisle.

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Most importantly, we have injected a third point of view into the debate.

Stated brieily, and perhaps simplistically. we favor the separation of church and state as far as the establishment of a state religion is concerned. The state should not be prevented, however, from actively accommodating religion inasecularmanner. Wedonotaskthe State to legislate a religious standard that would preclude any accepted moral standard. We do not aim to legislate our beliefs on others and oppose any legislation that would impose foreign beliefs on us.

While these are well-known views wherever Agudath Israel has been active in the past, until recently they were not especially well-known on the West Coast. Yet this position is so pragmatic that many legislatures embraced it almost immediately. Many others. although requiring convincing, at least indicate a willingness to listen.

The Kosher bill in the California State Assembly? The vote was 65-3 in favor. Assemblyman Robinson voted no, although he did not speak from the floor. The other two negative votes were from Republican Assemblymen who. we believe. still don't really understand the issue. Obviously, our buttonholing paid off. People are listening. Mr. Robinson's oppostion, however, does represent a vestige of that popular sentiment of avoiding anything that sounds, even vaguely. like the mixing of church and state. We were successful with respect to the Kosher bill on its consumer fraud implications, and for which we were able to gather the support of every major Jewish organization. Unfortunately, few issues are so clear cut or so easily resolved. Nonetheless. we are optimistic that we can succeed, taking one issue at a time. II


f:'or the first_ titne in Israel'S-history, placard·carryfng parents a·nd children staged a demonstration in front of the Chtnuch Atimai offices. They were protesting the closing of a Chinuch Atzmai Torah_ Sc_hool in Adil'lm. Then, an everi stranger _thing happened, Half our office staff got up and joined the demonstrators. After all, we_ wanted to protest together. These desperate people Were crying for the life of their-childretL They were aftc.iid Of being !6rced to sendJhese precious Jewish souls into seCtiJa·r Schoois that are empty of any.spirit of Judaism....:....empty of_ Torah-:and into_ the streets-where drugs, crime-and depravJty ru:n rampant

Chinuch Atzmai's Tenible Dilemma Aftet 35 9ears of slowly, painfully, _cin-d with _unbelievable sacrifice, building our huge network of over 300 schools and ·over 40,000 children all across_ Israel, we_ may be_forcedJo-turn back. The government budget cuts have thrown _Chinuch Atzmai intothe severest c'rislS slnci'.'! its beflinnings. We may_ have to cut classes in_ existing schools and ·even clo_se entire schools. We may have to tell these parents tt'> take their children back-back to a life empty of Torah,

3,000 New Enrollees! All this is occuring arnklst 'the greatest return· t6 Torah in_ modern Isr_ael's exlstence .-ln years back we used to have-to plead, beg, and cajole p·arents into ~ntotling their children in a T_orah Sc_ho0-1. This year .Without any effort on our part, 3,_000 new_ childten enrolled in our schools, -Parents catne begging, pleading for;us to m·ake room for their children In ou:_r_c_lasS~Ooms._lt_requite·s o:-S to open 6 new schools, 18 new klndergatt~_ns,_ an_d 50 _addition_a:I classes. But there are no chalts, no bdoks, no money for tea·Chersand no buildings in which to pface thei'rL

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'

THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS: A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

On a gray and windy autumn day five years ago, my family and I moved from Brooklyn to Rochester, N. Y. My son stood at the airport clutching his teddy bear, and I envied him his portable security. The things that made me secure - a close-knit family, a vibrant Bais Yaakov education, a wholly frum environment- were not so easily moved. Going out on our own, into a largely non-Jewish milieu - what might we expect? What might we gain? And what, what did we risk losing?

L ong. long ago. in my high school days. my friends and I had only one clear idea about life "out of

town.'' Susie had gone to visit with relatives in a suburb of Cleveland one summer. and she· d returned with the slight twang she has kept to this day and an image of out-of-town life which impressed us all. "On Shabbos," she told us repeatedly. "people whom you don't know say 'Gut Shabbos' and everybody smiles and answers!" We bornand-bred Boro Parkers were delighted.

Several years later my then-chassan and I had a long talk concerning his future. He had to choose between a career in the Rabbinate or in law. We chose the latter. largely because we knew that as a pulpit Rabbi he would almost certainly have to move "out of town." Stories of smiling strangers are nice to while away a long Boro Park Shabbos afternoon, I thought to mnyself. but for us to live ''out of town''? Unthinkable!

Well, "a mensch tracht und G-tt lac ht," as my father used to say, and af. ter three years of law school my husband received his best job offer from a firm 350 miles away from "town."

Mrs. Zitter is a graduate of Bais Yaakov Academy in Brooklyn. This is her first appearance in these pages.

14

Rochester, N.Y.? Alli knew aboutitwas that it was further from Brooklyn than Woodboume was, and that it was home to the Mayo Clinic and to mountains of snow. (Actually, I was wrong about the Mayo Clinic, which is in Rochester, Minnesota; unfortunately, though, I was right about the snow.) We found out from cousins who had lived there that Rochester Yiddishkeit consisted of five Orthodox synagogues (but are there any shuls? I asked. in a moment of panic), a small mikveh, and the Talmudical Institute. a branch of the Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva. For a person who'd grown up in a neighborhood where five shuls. a mikveh, and a yeshiva all on one block was not unheard of, it did not sound promising. Nevertheless, we decided to go - just for one year, of course. two the most, after which we would promptly return home from out-of-town galus.

AFTER 500 INCHES OF SNOW -A NEW PERSPECTIVE

F ive years and some five hundred inches of snow have come and gone since our arrival in Roch

ester the day after Simchas Torah 1980, and well - here we are still. My husband has become president of our

synagogue, which celebrated this year its centennial as afrum shul. and my whole family is more involved than I ever dreamed possible with the Rochester Orthodox community in its every aspect. We've learned that the difficulties of "out-of-town" life go much further than the lack of a kosher pizza

The 1 QO.year-old Beth Haknesses Hachodosh


shop or Meal Mart, but we've also seen that in addition to the problems and, yes, occasional perils oflivingfarfrom an Orthodox community like Brooklyn, there are tremendous possibilities and rewards to our lives here. Life "out-oftown ''has given us a new perspective, both about ourselves and about other Jews.

One million people live in the Greater Rochester area. Twenty- thousand of these people are Jews; of the Jews. approximately one thousand consider themselves Orthodox. All these statistics boil down to two important facts about out-of-town life. The first of these is that when one leaves the major Orthodox population centers. one cannot continue to ignore the fact that the overwhelming majolity of Jews are not Shomer Torah U'Mitzvos, that most American Jews today have completely lost their way. The second fact ofout-oftown living is that, though it is a vast and sometimes frightening task, an individual can do something to help these lost Jews find their way back out of the emptiness which characterizes the religious lives of most Ameiican Jews today. Out of town, every Orthodox Jew counts in the community, in a way unparalleled in my experience in New York.


CHALLAHFORSATURDAY

I n Boro Park, of course, we knew such a thing as non- Orthodox Jews existed. We'd heard of Re

form Jews, Conservative Jews, unaffiliated Jews. but we pictured these things in our minds in much the same way that a child pictures the trolls and dragons of fairy tales, as things far away and vaguely threatening, but not as something that need concern us day by day. The first week that we arrived in Rochester, however, my views changed with a jolt. On my first day out strolling with my child on strange streets, a young woman had introduced herself as a neighbor and urged me to drop by. The next day, my son had a slight accident - he cut his lip while climbing on a mountain of unopened seforim boxes in our living room - and when the bleeding stopped 1 suddenly felt terribly alone. Swallowing my xenophobic New York fears, I took a chance and called on that neighbor. Imagine my delight when I spotted a mezuzah on her door and entered into a kitchen that smelled of freshly baked challah! You'refrum! I called out. in amazed relief. Actually.

,"":< ',-_,

Emmy Stark Zitter

no, she answered gently, I'm really a <I Reform Jew, adding with some pride that her home was strictly kosher -and that hers was the only family to walk to Temple on Shabbos. At that moment. the culture shock set in.

In Rochester, one inevitably comes tc l meet the non-Orthodox Jews, becom- f ing their acquaintances and sometimes even their good friends. The problem of kashrus can be a complicated one, requiring great tact and delicacy, as you l decide by whom you will eat and by whom you will not. But the kashrus is- l sue can be solved. There are those who simply make it a policy not to eat at anyone's house but their own, and there are those who will eat at some homes and not at others and try to ex-plain this with honesty and politeness. In my experience, at least. nobody has yet taken offense at either policy. No, the real question is a much tougher one A. to solve. When one becomes friends 11 with non-Orthodox Jews is there a dan-ger of being influenced by them and their ideas? What happens to children who know by the time they reach nurs-ery school that there are homes where they may play but where they may not eat and that most of their classmates ride to Temple on Shabbos, if they at-tend a service at all?

15

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I

''When one leaves the major Orthodox population centers, one cannot continue to ignore the fact that most American Jews to

day have completely lost their way."

CONSTANTLY EXPLAINING MYSELF .•.

With all these questions swirling about you like December snowflakes. you begin to exam

ine the halachos and minhagim which you've always taken for granted and which have caused the differences so starkly underlined bet ween you and the vast majority around you. All your actions take on additional meaning. What we must always fear in outof-town life is that we will be influenced by those less observant than we are. for without a doubt our need to be like others is a severe temptation; but what we must never fear are the sincere questions we ask ourselves about our way of life, for the answers will surely glow with the logic. truth. and beauty of Torah.

.•. TO MYSELF

W hen you are constantly surrounded by people questioning what you do, you stop

taking things for granted, doing things by rote. and start finding for yourself reasons and answers. Moreover, those who ask the questions generally ask them with real interest, and your honest answers and persistent example will often come to influence them. Many of the Jews in Rochester have had no prior experience withfrum people; in many cases, you are their only model of Torah-true Judaism. One Rochesterian, a concert violinist and ham radio operator, found his interest in Judaism piqued when he picked up a learning group. "Meslvta D'Rakia," on his radio. He became friendly with

16

some of the Orthodox Jews here. and he and his entire family eventually became ba 'alei teshuva. Now he proudly wears his kipah, with the words "Mesivta D'Rakia""' knitted on it, to concerts as well as to shul. There is another ba 'al teshuva here whose kipah attests to his unusual background - I suspect that his is the only dark green kipah in existence with ''U.S. Army Reserve" crocheted on it, and, in fact, the officers of his reserve unit actually allow him to wear it instead of a conventional lieutenant's cap.

Rochester has an unusually high number of ba 'alei teshuva. and most of these people returned because of their personal contact with individual members of the Orthodox community. Even in less dramatic cases, there is no telling what the small influence of a single Orthodox Jew here might effect. Perhaps a family will keep their children in the day school for an extra year. perhaps a woman will stop buying pork for her kitchen, perhaps a child will grow up and decide to marry within the faith, because they've met you. a "normal" person who is proud of a Torah heritage and has been willing to explain and to share it.

WHAT ABOUT OUR OWN CHILDREN?

B ut while we rejoice in influencing those who have lost the way, the question of our own

children remains. When we first moved out of town, our son Nachum was just

•See ··c1ose Encounters of a Wireless Kind.·· JO. Sept. '78.

a year old, and we felt that a year ortwo away in the "wilds" at that age could certainly not hurt him. But he's in first grade now, and with my born-inRochester daughters entering nursery school, the question ofraising children out of town has become urgent. When he was three years old, my son came home from school crying one day; he'd seen Christmas lights on the local fire station and he'd assumed that this meant that Jews could not be firemen, his great ambition at the time. I was naturally upset, seeing my son hurt because he lived among the non-Jews out of town. but I was also quite proud of a little boy who understood better than most adults that we are a people apart. In New York, the lines are not as clearly drawn; the danger in Bora Park is that we might forget that we are different, and that even if Christmas garlands no longer hang over Thirteenth Avenue as they did when I was a child, that Brooklyn still is Galus and we ought not get too comfortable there.

In Rochester, the Jewish community is large enough and vibrant enough to fill most of our needs, so aside from the annual problem of Christmas pageantry, our children don't run into too many conflicts with the Gentile culture around us- - just enough to remind them of who they are. 'fhe issue of less religious or non-religious Jews. though, is another question, and one which is constantly with us. Even in our shul there are many levels of observance, and the children meet people in school from every stratum of Judaism. While I don't know what this will mean to them when they're older. right now they haven't suffered from this exposure. Kids are remarkably perceptive and can adjust to difficult situations with great finesse. Sure, they ask questions, but if you answer them honestly and in terms they can understand. and if you back up your words with your actions, they will accept what you have to say.

We've tried to keep our children from feeling arrogant or superior about their observance. while at the same time instilling in them a sense of great pride in what they have and gratitude for having it. We've also tried to teach them that while we may hate the sins of the irreligious Jews, we love and pity those Jews themselves. Perhaps the best part about answering our children's questions simply is that it forces us to confront these problems and clarify them for ourselves. This lesson about Ahavas Yisroel is one which I, for one,


needed badly after a lifetime spent in the rarefied Boro Park environment. And it isa lesson which I think our children are learning. too. Last year my son's kindergarten class went on a ·· Succa hop.·· visiting the succos of the three children in the class whose families had built them. I shall never forget the look on his face as he showed his succa to his friends, explaining the significance ofthes'chach, pointing to the pictures of the Ushpizin. sharing with a glow his pride in his Jewish life.

EVERY ONE COUNTS

M y son knows it, his younger sisters are learning it, and I have found it out too: When

you live out of town, every action you take. every mitzva you perform, every work of Torah you learn can have a profound effect on the entire community. I attend a Chumash study group every Monday night. and many of the women who participate have ventured out to learn until midnight through snowstorms which would have closed down New York for days. Each of us feels a responsibility for the others' study. Ifoneofusdidn'tcome because of the weather perhaps the others might have second thoughts, and the class could be cancelled; the loss of three hours of Torah study for ourselves and for the community would be too great.

My husband attends minyan more faithfully here than ever he did in New York. Perhaps he will be the tenth for the minyan, maybe they'll need him to lain. or there might just be somebody there who will benefit from seeing a young man who goes to shul and still makes it to work on time.


.-•• -••• "r",,,,,,,, ·-

At the Succa Hop

Where there is a bris in the community (as there was, incidentally, on the morning that I am writing this). I will wake up the children two hours before they need to get up so that they too can celebrate the arrival of this new Jew in our community and get a share in the mitzva of bris milah. In New York I could have gone to numerous brisim. but I rarely bothered.

In Rochester I will prepare Shabbos classes, where in New York I would only occasionally even attend them. My husband will "hear out" bar mitzva boys learning to lain their first Pars ha, and he will help them to understnad what it is they are saying and not just teach them to perform it. The list could go on and on. In Rochester, there is no hiding behind a group; if something needs to be done. chances are you will be the only one who can do it -and if you don't the whole community will suffer.

THINGS I STILL WORRY ABOUT

S ure, there are things I still worry about because I Jive out of town. I spoke to a prominent Rav who

has lived most of his life away from the New York area about my worries concerning my children's chinuch. He admitted that the New York schools were generally more demanding in their Jewish curriculum than out-of-town community schools, but he assured me too that parents' involvement in teaching their own children what might be lacking in the classroom not only would fill the gap but would add a new dimension to the closeness of the family. Still. will I be up to such a challenge? And what about my daughters, as they grow up? Right now. the girls' yeshiva high school. opened under the

___ ....,, ~I

auspices of the Chafetz Chaim Yeshiva two years ago. is experiencing all the problems and joys of a newly founded institution. In nine years it will be a thriving school. like the yeshiva itself, or will I have to consider sending a little thirteen-year-old girl "out of town" - back to New York - to give her the kind of Jewish education my parents insisted on for me? And, though it seems light years away now, what will happen when the children are ready for shidduchim? Will there be anybody here for them in Rochester? Will their out-of-town backgrounds help or hinder them if they move back to New York?

I discussed many of these concerns with another transplanted New Yorker, a friend who has two teenage daughters of her own. and I found her answers both stimulating and encouraging. She told me that she often compared her daughter's 11pbringing with that of the children whom she knew in New York City. In Rochester, she noted, the parents are much more involved with their children's chinuch, not necessarily in formal teaching, but in carefully watching and advising them in matters of friendship, of middos, and ofa developing sense of responsibility. Her girls know that to the non-frum and nonJewish world around them, their actions are seen as representing our whole way of life. It is. she admitted. sometimes a heavy responsibility for young girls. but her careful nurturing has helped them learn to bear it. Her friends in New York City, she added, had a more laissez faire method of educating their children. depending as they do on the school and the general environment to help take care of their children.

So here I am, five years now in Rochester. with some of my early questions answered and new ones coming up all the time. As for the future - who knows? When I see some of the fine young people that Rochester has already produced, my fears are somewhat allayed. If. however. I find in some years that we have to return to a larger Orthodox community for the sake of the children, though - well. so be it. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my life here, learning a new feeling of responsibility for my fellow Jews, trying to look inside at myself and outwards at others, and growing with a growing Jewish community. Oh. and yes - I have learned to smile at strangers on Shabbos. And to invite them in for Kiddush and a meal, as well. 1111

17

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SUCCOS: The Encounter Between

Judgment and Joy

THE SEASON OF PARADOX

O f the three major festivals, only Succoshas been designated as ''The Time of Our Rejoicing.'' One reason for this is that it is only with regard lo Succos that the To

rah enjoins us three times to rejoice. I The cause for joy seems obvious. for Succos follows immediately after the Days of Awe, when a Jew cleanses himself of sin through intense repen~ tance. Thus. our jubilation at finally being able to serve our Creator uninhibited by the barriers erected by sin. According to the Midrash (VayikraRabba 30:2), this thought is alluded to in the mitzva of arba minim, the Four Species. where the spear-like lulav held by each Jew represents the triumphant stance of Israel emerging victorious from the judgment of the Days of Awe.

Rabbi Finkelman, who teaches Gemora in Yeshiva Tiferes Elimelech in Brooklyn. wrote "Taklng Flight WHh a Mitzva'' (JO, Nov. '84)and is author of three books for the Art scroll youth series. including the recently published Reh Nocflem'ke.


There is an aspect ofSuccos, however, that seems to contradict its status as a time for rejoicing. According to the Mishna (Rosh Hashana I :2), the world is judged on Succos with regard to its water supply for the entire year ahead. Zahar (Tzav 3lb) goes beyond that. stating that !tis actually a time of general judgment, for that which has been decreed on Rosh Hashana and sealed on Yorn Kippur ls not finalized until Hoshana Rabba, the seventh dayofSuccos. when the parchments containing the verdits are entrusted to the malochim who "deliver" them. (It is for this reason that people customarily wish each other a g 'mar tov (literally, "good conclusion") during the period between Yorn Kippur and Hoshana Rabba.)

It would seem, then, that the days leading up to Hoshana Rabba would be better spent in remorseful repentance as one awaits the final judgment; rejoicing seems out of place. To put Hoshana Rabba in a wider perspective, some questions must be clarified:

Shouldn't the judgment on Rosh Hashana also include rainfall. as well as graJn and fruit harvests, which, according to the Mishna, are decided upon at three different junctures through-

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out the year?(2) On the other hand, If in fact all the judgments of the Yomim Noraim are not finalized until Hoshana Rabba, why does the Mishnasingle out rainfall as being decided upon during this time? Finally, what is the precise implication of the term g'mar din, finalization. which is associated with Hoshana Rabba? Rosh Hashana is understood to be the time of k'siva, when the Divine judgments are inscribed in the Heavenly books, while Yorn Kippur is the time of chasima, when those decrees are sealed. How does the "sealing" of the decree differ from the g 'mar - the finalization that is associated with Hoshana Rabba? Don't we usually speak of them both in the same breath? - "The decree was signed and sealed." indi~ cated that the decree is irreversible? Obviously, we are in need of a better understanding of the progression of judgment that takes place during this season.

FOR WHOM THE RAINS FALL

During the Days of Awe, the ten days beginning with Rosh Hashana, every Jew is judged in his totality; it is during that time - more than any other - that it is

auspicious for man to undergo a spiritual transformation through repentance. If he responds to the call of the season, then a favorable judgment is pronounced - a judgment that encompasses all that affects him in the entire year.

In addition, there are specific judgments throughout the year, such as on Succos, when judgment regarding rainfall is pronounced. This judgment will not hinge on the toial spiritual make-up of the individual so much as it relates specifically to his metit in regard to bi tac hon - that is. his trust in G-d as Provider of all sustenance, and his performance of the mitzvos hachag that are related to this judgment [as will be detailed below).(3)

This specific judgment can indirectly affect the judgments of the previous days. For, if on Hoshana Rabba a Jew is found deserving of blessings of bounty, then the judgmentoflife and death can be altered for the better. as is demonstrated by the following episode recorded in the Gemora (Ta 'anis Ba}:

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In the days of Rav Shmuel bar Nachmeini both a famine and a deadly plague struck simultaneously. The Sages pondered: How shall we direct our prayers? It is improper to pray for two things at once {when the requests are for matanos chinam, undeserved gifts, as was the case here in the Sages' opinion - Iyun Yaakov. ibid.). To request that the famine end would leave them facing decimation by plague. There was no choice, they felt, but to pray that the plague end and bear the ravages of famine (which, while devastating. are less severe than those of a plague - Maharsha, ibid.).

Rav Shmuel bar Nachmeini, however, disagreed. He said that if prayers for the famine's end would be accepted, then the result would be that the plague, too, would cease," ... forwhen G-d bestows bounty on people, He bestows it on the living, not on the dead, as is written in Tehillim (145,16):. 'You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."' When G-d grants a blessing, He also provides all that is necessary for the benefits of that blessing to be realized; if the people have bounty, they will also live to enjoy it.

TWO HOLIDAYS, TWO APPROACHES

W hen G-d grants life on Rosh Hashana, then, He may also bestow a person the blessings of rain and sustenance; and His blessings of sustenance on Succos

can bring with them life itself. The ways to achieve these blessings on these two holidays differ. The days when our requests are summed up by the plea" And inscribe for a good life all the children of Your covenant!" we immerse ourselves in soulsearching and introspection, and approach the moment of reckoning in awe and fear.

When the shofar blast sounds at the conclusion of Ne 'ila, signaling the return of the Shechina to its Heavenly abode and closing of the Heavenly Gates, the mood immediately changes. As the Midrash states. a Jew should emerge from Yorn Kippur joyful and confident that his prayers have been accepted and that he has been inscribed for a good life. "Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart," a Heavenly voice proclaims," for G-d has already approved your deeds" (Kohelles 9:7).

The days that follow are days of repentance in preparation for the water judgment, but they encompass a repentance that flows from the joy of our having completed Yorn Kippur purl· fied, achieving a new closeness with G-d. With joy we declare our faith and trust in the Provider of all sustenance, so that concerning us will be applied the timeless words of the prophet. "Blessed is the man who trusts in G-d" [ 17:7).

This new order of repentance, while a direct result of the previous order. is on a higher plane - that of love; for our Sages teach {Y oma 86b) that repentance motivated by awe can transform intentional sins into unintentional ones, while repentance that grows from love of G-d transforms intentional sins into meritorious deeds. In this way, too, one can merit during the new period of judgment that which he did not deserve previously.

It is thus that on Succos a Jew has, in effect. two avenues available to him by which he can overturn any harsh decrees;

The Jewish Observer!Oclober, 1985

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he can be granted life as an outgrowth of meriting the blessing of rain and contentment; and he can attain the heights of teshuva me 'ahava - repentance that comes from love -through which any and all harsh decrees are rescinded.

An allusion to this new order of repentance might be found in the Torah itself. In commanding us to fulfill the mitzva of arba minim, the Torah states (Vayikra 23:40), "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day (of the festival) the fruit of a beautiful tree .. ,," (Midrash Tanchuma ibid.) questions the use of the term "first day" as opposed to "fifteenth of the month" to indicate when the milzvashould be perforrned.(4) "First day" may be an allusion to the new order of repentance mentioned:(5) the beginning of Succos marks the "first day" of this order,

The Mishna in Rosh Hashana speaks of the specific judgment regarding rainfall on Succos; it makes no mention of general judgment, for the primary period for this has already ended with Yorn Kippur when the decree had, indeed, been signed. so to speak. Then. each Jew came forth with remorse and confession. and having ''rested his case.·· judgment was passed. The chasima is final - as far as that order of repentance is concerned. But the angels' delivery of the decrees is delayed, forthere isa possibility that it will be superseded by a new judgment based on the considerations of bitachon and ahava - trust in G-d and love for Him.

THE MITZVOS OF SUCCOS - TOOLS OF REPENTANCE

T he primary tools in this new order of repentance are the mitzvos that are uniquely associated with Succos: succa, arba minim, and rejoicing, which are men

tioned specifically in the Torah; and the water libations and arava·circuits,(6) which were transmitted to Moshe at Sinai.

Through these mUzvos, a Jew can tilt the scales of judgment


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in his favor, as is alluded to in the Mishna (Succa 2:9). There, our performance of mitzvos Succa is likened to a servant dilut· ing strong wine with water to suit his master's taste. The Vilna Gaon (Ko! Eliyahu, Emor) explains that in the allegorical terminology of Kabbala, wine represents harsh judgment, while water represents mercy. Any harsh judgments that may have been decreed upon a Jew can be diluted with tempering mercy through his performance of the mitzvos of the festival.

A closer look at these mitzvos reveals that they are particu· larly auspicious for removing the stains of sin and for forging bonds oflove between G-d and His people: and they also figure prominently in our quest of a favorable judgment for rainfall.

In contrast with Pesach, with its numerous prohibitions against eating, benefitting from chametz. or possessing it. Succoshas no negative commandments particular to it alone; that is. all its mitzvos are positive. Negative commandments can carry with them the harsh punishment of makkos (lashes). and in some cases karets, excision, which manifests the severity of their transgression. The positive commandments ofSuccos, on the other hand, carry no such punishment for deliberate omission or transgression. This in itself is indicative of the nature oftheseason;ata time when, motivated by love, we are to return to G·d, we are granted five Divine gifts of love - mitzvos whose merits are great and whose liabilities are relatively minor - to help us achieve our goal.

SURROUNDED BY THE SUCCA

T he mitzva to dwell in thesuccais truly unique. Every part of one·s body shares equally in the mitzva's perfor· mance - in fact the individual is actually surrounded

by the mitzva object. The Ba' al Shem Tov once declared." I love the mitzva of succa. A man can enter it with his whole body - even with the mud on his boots!" Moreover, one can fulfull the mitzva even while sleeping, and its simple requirement that we "dwell" in thesuccaallows us to simultaneously perform other mitzvos, such as Torah study, prayer and hach· nasas orchim.

In Tefilla Zakka, which is customarily recited before Kol Nidrei, we ask that the five discomforts that we will endure on that day atone, measure for measure, for the sins we may have committed with those organs which will now be denied pleas· ure; the mitzvaofsucca, because of its unique nature, also has the power to atone for sins committed by any and all organs of the body - with pleasure, instead of deprivation ... out of love rather than fear.

Small wonder, then, that in the festival liturgy the paytan declares: "Let not the mitzva of succa be insignificant in your eyes. for her statutes equal those of other milzvos.(9)"

As we know, Zohar(Emor) teaches that seven ushpizin (exalted guests) descend from Gan Eden and visit the succa on each day of the festival. The Zahar teaches further that one should invite the poor to his Succos table and provide them with the "portions" of the ushpizin, for if not, then those ex· alted guests will hold aloof from him.

In this way. the mitzva of succa is particularly auspicious for a favorable judgment for rainfall, for what better way to earn the blessing of bounty and contentment than byshartngone's own table with the needy?

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UNITED THROUGH THE FOUR SPECIES

T he Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 30) perceives the arba minim as symbolizing the Jewish Nation. subdivided into four distinct groups. The esrog, a fruit which has

both taste and fragrance, represents the Jew who possesses both Torah knowledge and good deeds; the lulav, which has taste but no fragrance (referring to the dates that grow on the palm tree), alludes to those who have Torah knowledge but are deficient in performing good deeds; the haddas (myrtle), which has only fragrance. and the arava (willow). which has neither taste nor fragrance, round out the remaining groups.

What does G-d say with regard to these four symbolisms? "Let them be tied together in one band and they will atone one for the other." (ibid.)

The arba minim, then can be viewed as both representing a nation serving G·d in unison, and a call to its people to honor this symbolism. As a mitzva representing harmony among Jews, it canies with it the blessing of peace. ''Great is peace, for even iflsrael is guilty of idolatry, but it unified as a group, then the Attribute of Judgment will not harm them" (Sifri, Naso). Thus. when a Jew performs the mitzva of arba minim with proper intent, he "spreads succas shalom - a shelter of peace" over himself. which will protect him from any harsh judgments he may have incurred.

Furthermore, by performing this mitzva with four plants that depend on abundant water supplies for their growth, the Jew will merit a favorable judgment with regard to rainfall in particular.

The pouring of the water libations on the altar and the performance of the arava-circuits around it were primarily intended to invoke a favorable judgment for water. With regard to the water libations, G-d says, as it were, ''Pour out water before Me on the Festival so that your rains for the year will be blessed" {Rosh Hashana 16a). The arava-circuits are performed with a plant that is not only dependent on an abundance of water. but in addition usually grows alongside a stream (Succa 33b), and therefore is symbolically important in the Jew's quest for rain. The altar, around which these two mitzvos center. was always the focus of the nation when it sought blessing and prosperity.

And as Rav Shmuel bar Nachmeini taught, all this indirectly affects the judgment of life itself.

THE HEALING POWER OF JOY

T he loving return to G-d and His statutes, which Succos represents. finds its greatest expression in the commandment of ''Vesomachta - and you shall rejoice''

(Devarirn 16: 14). This true simchashel mitzva is the antithesis of banal frivolity, of which King Solomon says. "And of joy. what does it do?" (Koheles 2:2).

Just as the day ofYom Kippur itself can bring atonement, so can repentance stemming from simcha shel mitzva. This is evident from the events surrounding the dedication of the First Beis HaMikdash, when Ghazal tell us (Moed Katan 9), Yorn Kippur was superseded by the ongoing celebration. The Prophet reports (I Melachim 8): "On the eighth day, he (King

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t Solomon) sent the people home ... and they returned to their tents joyful and glad of heart, over all the good that Hashem performed for .. .lsrael, His nation." Of what "good" does the Prophet speak? Rav Parnach said in the name of Rabbi Y ochanan. "That year lsrael did not observe Yorn Kippur and they were concerned, lest the enemies of Israel (a euphemism) were deserving of annihilation. Then a Heavenly voice proclaimed: 'You are all worthy of entering the World-to-Come!'" (ibid.).

Now, we can understand how the Heavenly voice had informed them that they would suffer no punishment for having failed to observe the Holiest of Days; but how could they possibly have achieved atonement for their sins of the past year without the cleansing process of the Day of Atonement? What replaced the day and its power to atone, without which certain sins cannot be forgiven? (See Mishna Yoma 8:8). Apparently. their transcendent joy had somehow accomplished this for them.

During the era of the Battei Mikdash. the simcha shel mitzva of Succos reached rare heights at the Simchas Beis Hasha 'eiva. the celebration held on each of the Intermediate Days ofSuccos, in the Temple's Lower Court, in honor of the drawing of the water that would be used for the pour-offerings. As our Sages point out (Succa 50b), this was the fulfillment of the command: "You shall draw water joyously"; the waterdrawing was a key rung in the ladder of repentance in preparation for the judgment over water, and without the accompaniment of joy. the ceremony would have been lacking in substance. Joy was essential to the fulfillment of this mitzva.

Jn fact, the elevation associated with this joy actually endowed some of the participants with Ruach HaKodesh (a spirit of Divine Inspiration). The simcha shel mitzva was so profound that according to Ghazal. "He who did not witness Sime has Beis HaSho'eiva never saw rejoicing in his life'' (Mishna Succa5:1).

Active participation in this simcha shel mitzva was not open to all; it was reserved for the great scholars, heads of yeshivos and members of the Sanhedrin. Sages of unsullied piety were joined by baalei teshuva as all others looked on - the men from their vantage point in the court and women from a specially constructed gallery. (See Rambam. Hilchos Lulav 8: 14; see Succa 53a for a detailed description.) The nation entered Hoshana Rabba in this lofty spirit, and in merit of this joyful encounter with G-d. the nation could hope to be found virtuous.

Then, with am utual expression of love and joy between Gd and His children, Hashem, as it were. restrained Klal Yisroel from taking leave of Jerusalem. He beseeched them to remain one more day to celebrate the festival ofShemini Atzeres (atzeres meaning "restraint"; see Rashi, Bamidbar 29:35); note Rashi's portrayal of His request: "They are like children who are {about to] leave their father, and he says to them. 'Your departure is so difficult for mel' ")

WHAT IS LEFT FOR US IN GOLUS?

H ere we are in exile in a diminished state: we cannot perform the water pourings. nor join in the celebration that accompanied it; nor do we have the altar to circle

with the arava ceremony. We can, however. perform the mitzvaof succa no differently

from the days of old, entering the booth, becoming enveloped

The JewiSh Observer/October, 1985

the lu FOOTNOTES in the mitzva. It is an almost universal custom to gather and

celebrate in a spirit of true simchashel mitzva the celebration called Simchas Beis HaSho'eiva as a remembrance of the Temple times. We fulfill the mitzvos of the arba minim all seven days of Succos (although in Temple times it was only performed on the first day by those outside the Temple area); and we perform the Hoshana arava-circuits around the btma for seven days in addition to the ceremony ofHoshana Rabba - both as a Zeicher leMikdash - commemoration of the Temple.

I. Other reasons for this designation include: a} the nature of the season - hanrest time - demands an expression of joy over the abundance that ftllsone's house: and b) on this festival the joyous observance of SimchasBeis HaShoeiva took place.

2. Many solutions are offered for this question. See Rosh Hashana 16a.

3. Michtav Me'Eliyahu. Vol. II pg. 68.

The concept of zeicher leMikdash was first expressed by Y!rmiyahu (Jeremiah 30: 17): "She is Zion, no one inquires after her." Says the Gemora: "Isn'tit expected, then, that we do inquire after Zion? Our performance of mitzvos as a zeicher leMikdash is a demonstration of our concern over its d estruction." (see Succa4la)

4. Dates of the month are the Torah's usual method for such an indication (Beis Yosef, Orach Chayim 581).

It also serves as proof that we who are mired in the throes of a long and difficult exile firmly believe and anticipate the ultimate Redemption, when these mit.zvoswill be performed as in the days of old .... This is perhaps the greatest expression oflove of all.

5. The Midrash perceives this term to imply "the first day in the accounting of sins," after the spiritual cleansing ofYom Kippur - possibly because the days ofYom Tov preparation that follow allow no opportunity to do sin; consequently the Jew stands before G-d on the first day of Succos in total purity, ready to begin his service anew.

May we perfonn the mitzvos hachag in a spirit of tnre teshuva me'ahava. and may we soon merit the time when the world will be rid of all evil and G·d will spread asuccaofpeace over "us and His entire people. Israel. and Jerusalem."

6. In fact, there is a dispute recorded in the Gemora (Succa43b) as to whether the circuits were made with a lulav or an arava. The Mishna (ibid., Mishna 4:5) states clearly that the altar was ringed with aravos. hence the use of the term arava - circuits.

7. Yotzros L'Yom Sheini.

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The Old Man Counted to

Nine Every week the visitor came. And every week he expounded on another spiritual facet of the number Nine ... passing through the golus-geulah

cycle ... passing from the pangs of birth, through the trials of

life, on to death.

A n old man sometimes visited our home. We knew very little about him - not where he lived, nor where he was headed. He appeared at our door before a Shabbos

meal and was quickly welcomed to the Shabbostable. Purportedly - he came to eat. Actually - he did most of the feeding.

The Old Man rarely talked about himself. Scraps of conversation reveal years of fleeing the Nazis and decades of defying the Russians; even a pitiful attempt at battling the bureaucratic secular government in Eretz Yisroel. Somehow, these experiences left our guest with a wisdom and insight I've never expertenced in Yeshiva ... a wisdom he was quick to share at the Shabbos table.

Often, we - actually he - talked about the Churban: "It seems obvious that the Churban should have taken place in the month ofShevat, for the Hebrew meaning ofShevat is stick, a word related to destruction. But, instead, HaShem brought about the Ch urban in the month of Av, which means father. For His rebuke - like that of a father - is wholesome and good, and never destructive."

Rabbi Reisman, a member of the Kolle! of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. in Brooklyn. isauthorof an article ofthewomen'srole in training children in Torah and milzvos (JO. Summer. ·84).


The Laughter of the Ninth of Av

T isha B'A v - a day of sad memories for a nation that has long grown weary ofremembeling. A day of Ktnos that seem to go on forever, in recollection of one tragedy af·

ter another. And a day of somber and dazed reflection over the lost world of our parents and grandparents, shattered and lost by a decade of hate and hopelessness.

But there exists another dimension to Tisha B'Av. A world of hope and joy; oflaughter and glee. This is a far-away world rarely visited or understood, and then only by the greatest of men. Rabbi Akiva lived in this world. The sight of the desolation of the BelsHaMikdash brought laughter to his lips: an eerie laughter to the ears of his fellow Tannaim; a laughter which rings hollow to our poor ears and minds. Yet, Rabbi Akiva's laughter was genuine; in his sphere of existence, these heart· rending sights caused no tears. Someday. perhaps, we'll un· dersland.' We're taught thatMoshiach will uncover the portal to this curious dimension of Tisha B' Av. On that day, we will learn to sing and dance with Rabbi Akiva and Tisha B' Av will become a holiday, surpassing all others. But until then, we sit

* The reader is referred to Ohr Gedalyahu on Tisha B" Av.

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on the ground and weep ... adding our tears to the millions of others - mere mortals like us - who understood Tisha B'Av by its simple meaning. Unless, of course, you have an old visitor who can peek through the curtains and reveal some of the secrets ....

The Center of the "Tes"

D id you ever wonder why the Churban took place on the 9th day of the month (rather than on another day)? The Old Man knew ....

''Look at the letter Tes, the ninth letter of the Aleph- Beis. The letter is shaped like a circle, which, instead of closing. points towards its own center. Do you know why it has such a peculiar shape? {Know?! I'd never even noticed.)

"Tes symbolizes Tov, goodness - and the letter tells us never to judge anything from its outer circumference. The Tes points to its center for the good in events is to be found deep in the hidden recesses and secret chambers of HaShem's plans. TishaB'Avcertainlyrepresentsacycleofcalamities.Butsomehow, somewhere, the Tov of Tisha B' Av will be penetrated .... "

"Appropriately. the 9th plague in Egypt was the Plague of Darkness. Tes is always enveloped in a cloak of Darkness; the Tov hidden until the light of Moshiach. So, too, the 9th of the 10 levels ofredemption • is 'and there was light' - a light of wisdom which will pierce all veils and reveal the Goodness of our History.''

Herded out of boxcars. a group of Chassidim huddled around their Rebbe, in what they knew were their final moments. Suddenly, one remembered: "Today ts Simchas Torah - we mu.st dance and rejoice with the Torah!"

"But, Rebbe, we have no SeferTorah to dance with .... " "Then we will dance with each other. "And dance they did.

with a joy that ts incomprehensible, in honor of Simchas Torah. How they could sing and rf!joice to such a degree under those circumstances is beyond us. But perhaps - ju.st perhaps - in thetr final mo men ts, these Yidden were privileged to experience thatjo!lful dimension ofTtsha B'Av that lies way beyond our grasp: to somehow comprehend a blinding light of Goodness, even in their situation; and to sing and dance in the realm of Rabbi Akiva.

The '§i:Jr;f) That Sought Good

Our Old Man loved children. Young or old, he relished singing with them and getting them to dance around the Shabbos table. And, often, he would tell a story of

another time and another place, where children sang and danced ....

In 1946, most of the remnants of European Jewry were squeezed into D.P. camps awaiting a chance to go someplace - anyplace - to begin rebuilding their lives. In one such camp, clandestine preparations were being made.

Somehow, by combining their meager resources, a group ofYidden had gotten together to buy an old merchant ship -The QUEEN. And crammed with poor. tired, but excited refugees, she prepared to set sail for Eretz Yisroel. One section had

* Kabbalistically, HaShem will reveal Himselfby removing - in reverse order - the 10 cloaks of Concealment. which He created with the IO steps of Creation. Thus. the 2nd level of Creation. becomes the 9th level of Redemption. (See Ohr Gedalyahu, Pesach.)

26

been set aside for children: but at boarding time thatsection had overflowed. A quick decision was made: those children with parents on board would go. All others were made to disembark. Thirty:five children - orphans of the war - left the ship; knocked, in a single moment.from the heights of expectation to the depthh of depression. Our remarkable Old Man left with them - to guide and protect children who were left all alone.

Shabbos was coming and the mood of despair was stifling. Our Old Man looked around hts Shabbos table at 35 faces of defeat. Then, he decided to speak. He spoke of hope and joy; of a little lamb among the wolves and of a shepherd who hides - but never sleeps. He spoke a little about the past and a lot about the future: of the children who happily tossed themselves to the sea to avoid the Roman slave market; and of the morrows when they would finally get their chance -certainly a better chance - tostartagain. And he told them of a lesson Rabbi Akiva had taught 2,000 years earlier - "Kol d'aved Moro J'tava avid" - All thatHaShem causes to happen is - in some secret, mysterious way - for the best.

And. miraculously, the children understood. Soon these 35 children, so fearfully alone.felt alone no longer. Somehow, they were singing - "Kol d'aved Moro .... " And, certainly, Rabbi Akiva - from high above - was singing along.

It was many months later that I chanced upon the history of The QUEEN. She had arrived in Palestine, only to be turned back and wander from one European port to another; ultimately its passengers returned to the very country from which they had set sail months earlier.

But, my discovery had no real effect on the Old Man. "Mine is a belief in intrinsic Goodness. Focusing on an obvious good serves only to cloak the infinite, still secret Tov that our eyes are too dull to see. No - yours is not an ending to my tale; my story is more truthful without it.''

@son the Weekly Menu

N ines. The Old Man loved Nines. Whenever the Mesora used the number nine, the Old Man saw a message for Tisha B' Av - his message of hope and joy. He rtdiculed

the idea of coincidence, and showed us {when we could keep up with him) that the message of Tes - of Ultimate Goodness - was there to be seen by those acute enough to see it. His eyes glowed as they focused on some far away place, and plucked Nines from Mesora. onto our Shabbos table; Nines that had the same basic message. Various insights into Ibn Ezra's nonagon and Maharal's exposition of9=32 became regular staples of our Shabbos diet. The fact that the Churban takes place at tbe end of the Ninth Seferof Tanach was just another message of hope. ''Do you know how many years it was from the building of the First Temple until the final Ch urban, destruction of the Second Temple?" he asked. I didn't have to bother figuring it out; Nine Hundred Years ("Exactly!") - it just had to be that way.


On Shabbos Parshas VaYeishev, our Old Man barely had time to eat. The selling ofYoseif - the first step of the firstgolus of Klal Yisroel - surely had hls lesson of hope. And it does. The sale ofYoseifby his brothers, a seemingly tragic event -at the time it occurred. But. in the end, the Shevatim, the brothers, are told, 'You thought to do bad, but HaShem planned it for good!'

"Parshas VaYeishev," the Old Man smiled, "the 9th Parsha of the Torah."

The 9th Mitzva of the Torah, too, symbolizes a similar hope. Hashbosas Siar - the burning of Chometz on Erev Pesach -is Kabbalistically symbolic of the destroying of evil on the erev - the eve - of the final redemption. "The Son ofDovid will not come until the [spiritual) leaven is expunged from the dough." This is symbolized, too. in the 9th Mesechta of Shas -Mesechta Challa - which deals with the elevating of dough to a level of Holiness.

The Old Man's intensity overpowered me. The content of his remarks was good - sometimes unbelievably so, but his enthusiasm was the core of his power. He didn't just believe that there is joy in everything; he knew it. He didn't search for the good in events; the good was only-too~obviously there. Somewhere. Even in Siberia ....

The Russians jailed himfor fifteen years for teaching Hebrew. One morning, he was summoned to the office of the Commandant, and a deal was offered. if he would sign a letter of "repentance" recanting his belief in G-d, he would be set free.

The Old Man was oveljoyed. "Commandant, I've wasted fifteen years of my best years rotting in your prison - andfor what? For teaching an illegal language. How much better it is that my suffering be for my belief in HaShem .... "

The Commandant was unimprssed. The Old Man was led back to his cell to serve out his sentence. singing his praise ofHaShemfor this most wonderful turn of events.

Chazal teach us that there are 8 levels of existence - a world and 7 heavens. Sometimes, I think our Old Man has a level all to himself ... a 9th world that is all his own.

The® of Creation

O ne Pesach, our guest made arrangements to eat the Seder with us. That's not really accurate. The Old Man never came to eat - he came to share his wealth with

us. We invited him into our home, but he invited us into his world. On Pesach this was especially so. In a realm where Eicha is a book of hope and redemption, the Haggadah is pure ecstasy.

While preparing for the Seder, I hit upon a plan; on this Night of Questions, I would catch our Old Man - who always had an answer - without one.

At the Esser Makkos, the Ten Plagues, the Old Man spoke -as I had expected - of Darkness, the 9th Makka; and of the


Plague of Darkness we still suffer when we refuse to see the Tov around us. Other Nines sprouted up and blended neatly into his message of joy. I asked him, "Do you mean that Nines always represent the same idea?" Without hesitation, he said that it was certainly so. I had baited my trap.

It was way past Chatzos, and the seven pairs of bleary eyes around our Seder table inched towards "Chad Gadya." Together we chanted - "EchodMi Yode'a .... -ShnayimMi Yode'a." and soon .... "Tisha Mi Yode'a, TishaAni Yode'a. Tisha Yarchai Leida" - and I spoke up. "Nine months of pregnancy - Why nine? Certainly, it bears no connection to TishaB'Av!"

I could see no possible connection, and when the Old Man hesitated, I was sure that I had him stumped.

But 1 had underestimated our guest. He had hesitated just a second - to settle back onto his Hesebah pillows, and to assume that familiar far-away look. "It's late and I wasn't going to keep you, but since you've asked - Yes, Reb Yisroel Salanter explained that the 9 months it takes a baby to form are very central to our theme.

''For two and a half years, the schools of Shammai and Hillel argued. Some said that man would be better off had he not been created at all, while the others argued that man's existence was the best for him. Finally, they agreed. It would be better for man had he not been created, but. once created, let him carefully ex· amine his actions.

"How puzzling! We, who have a Mesora that 'All that HaShem does is for the best,· are told that the very creation was NOT for the best?

"But - Reb Yisroel Salanterexplained - this is not the point at all. It is lndisputable that Creation was an Absolute Good; the Schools of Shammai and Hillel argued about man's capacity toappreciatetheGoodnessofCreation, toseehisowngoodfor· tune in being born. This is something worthy of two and a half years of argument!

"And in the end all agreed. Man's birth, while inherently good, is not apparently good. When we try to analyze the pros and cons of existence, the ratson d'etre of our birth. we'll in· evitably fall short. As in the Churban, the true Tov is hidden - and the Nine is there to remind us that it exists.

"We know that HaShem created the world with Asara Maamoros - ten utterances. Take a Chumash," he beckoned to me. "What is the ninth Maamor?"

Carefuily. I counted to the ninth Amira of creation: "And HaShem said, let us create man .... "

A nine at creation, and a nine at birth. Soon I was to learn of the nine at death ....

The ® of Death

Spring arrived, Shavuos passed, and before we knew it. summer was approaching. And no sign ofourOld Man. On Friday evenings our eyes would scan the deserted

block. searching desperately for that slow, familiar walk. But it was not to be, for the Old Man - our strong invulnerable teacher - had contracted a dreaded disease from which he would never recover.

Apparently he did not want to worry us, for it wasn't until mid-July that we heard from him. I rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital to pay him a visit, hoping that somehow, everything was all right. But it wasn't.

Propped up on pillows, the Old Man was even skinnier than I had remembered him. Pipes and tubes ran to his arms and nose. Somehow he seemed thin but not weak, pale but not frightened. His eyes still shone with a living brightness as I

27

i

l

walked through the doorway. In a barely audible voice, he told me: "Everything is all right. I have my Tehillim" - he tapped the faded brown Sefer in his hands - "and that's more than I've had for most of my life." He could barely speak - or even smile - but the satisfaction he felt as his eyes read through the lines of his Tehillim was apparent.

Like the ta!midim of Rabbi Akiva, so many years before, I felt like asking him - "But, Rebbe, to such an extent ... ?"

Just two days later, I arrived at his room to find that the Old Man had lapsed into a coma. Gently, I held his hand and

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whispered to him, but there was no response. His Tehillim was open on the patient-table beside him. Cu

rious, I glanced inside ... and I gasped. The Tehillim was opened to the 9th chapterof Tehillim: "A

song on the death of a son .... I will be joyful and happy with you, I will sing your song from on high."

Time passes and memories dim. But lessons remain .... Whenever I'm upset by one of life's minor travails, I remember. And the tip of the "Tes" points inward, to the Ineffable joy within. Ill

m Notice to Canadian Subscribers

to The Jewish Observer Due to intolerably poor postal delivery of The Jewish

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28 The Jewish Observer/October. 1985

l

,1·~·.m~··11. . . I ' BOOKS

-----. .-

AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, by Mordecai Plaut (New York, 1983, $12.00)

T his is a remarkable book, both from the viewpoint of contents and presentation. Rabbi Yaakov

Weinberg. Rosh Yeshiva ofNer Israel. in his introduction deservedly calls it ''a breath of fresh air." and the thoughtful reader will indeed find that it effectively disposes of a great many cobwebs in the popular mind.

In our modern age, because of man's achievements in exploring and making over his world, he has fallen prey to an extraordinary arrogance - a conceit that the ideas developed by the secular liberal movements of the last few centuries are not only sufficient for man hut that they are the only ones that can claim rationality and deserve our respect. In truth, this attitude characterizes in large measure the popularizers, the media, the followers and the disciples. Philosophers themselves know the limits to which human reason can penetrate: scientists are aware of the limits of the scientific method; and psychologists encounter the pitiful victims of a worldview which leaves man adrift and alienated. But the popular mind still pays strident homage to ideas whose validity is highly questionable.

The last decades have seen the publication of writings that. in contrast. present our Torah value system and the concepts that should guide us and mold our lifestyle. However, Rabbi Plaut's book is unique in that it takes di-


rect issue with a number of the most fundamental and cherished beliefs of our age - and does so in a manner that must command the respect of his antagonists. He examines the popular notions according to the strictest standards of scientific and philosophical method - and, lo and behold, arrives at conclusions that instill a healthy note of scepticism about those notions and, at the same time, renewed appreciation of our approach to these fundamental issues.

The author deals with some themes which are commonly recognized as fundamental - such as the age of the earth, or proofs of the existence ofG-d - as well as with questions that we would not readily encounter, What are the philosophical and psychological consequences of the adoption of the CoperniC'.an system? Can order be the result of chaos, according to scientific logic? Is our concern with economic issues, in particular with economic gains, a natural and necessary aspect of human existence? Can the Mesorah's teachings be shown philosophically to be authentic knowledge?

The author's ideas are briJliantly presented, the analysis is always lucid, and the wtiting elegant. The book is not easy reading, but whatever difficulties it presents are inherent in the subjectmatter and not the presentation -which is both clear and persuasive.

This reviewer must admit. though, that he was not persuaded by the author that the Thirteen Principles of the Ram barn were meant to be "the blueprint for a sound mind'' and do not possess an "exclusive essentiality" - the Ram barn's concluding words in his presentation of the Thirteen Principles in the Perush Hamishnayos would appear to indicate differently (pp. 139-147).

All in all, this is a volume that breaks new ground in applying searching philosophical examination to fundamental questions of human existence, and arriving at results that will make the reader see traditional Jewish teachings in a new light. It is to be hoped that it will find the wide circulation that it deserves, particularly among those involved in the intellectual ferment of our time.

MACHZOR ZICHRON REUVEN, The Complete Artscroll Machzor. Rosh Hashana (Mesorah Publications, New York. $14.00).

E ven more than the production of a Siddur, that of a Machzor confronts the editor with an abun

dance of problems. Many of the considerations to which he has to give attention conflict with each other. Thus, for example, the more complete a work, the less handy it may become; the more specific the instructions and directions, the more crowded the page; the more comprehensive the commentary, the less of the text of the prayers fits on each page, necessitating too frequent a turning of pages. Building on the experience of the Artscroll Siddur, with its deserved success, Rabbi Scherman and Rabbi Zlotowitz, with Rabbi Brander in charge of design. have produced a Machzor that indeed succeeds in striking the right balance between the various conflicting considerations, and uniquely serves to meet the needs of the user. This is not only evident in the basics of page layout, in the introductions. the halachic directions, and the range of material included; the reader keeps encountering touches that he will appreciate, such as the inclusion of Aneynu in the Mincha of Erev Rosh Hashana and the prayer for the host in Birohas Hamazon, and the explanations offered (p. 518) for the inclusion of eleven passages in Shofros {a point frequently overlooked). Particularly useful are the translations and commentary on Mishnayos Rosh Hashana and on the ShiretHayichud.

This reviewer found very little indeed to suggest in the way of possible improvements. Perhaps any comment on the identity of Rabbi Elazar Hakalir might mention that there is controversy on the subject among the authorities. The traditional translation of Vayashkem as "he got up early" would appear preferable to "he awoke". And perhaps there should be an indication (both here and in the Art· scroll Siddur) that not everybody reads O:JIV~) in the morning prayers (p. 192) - miriorpointsin viewofthescopeand success of this achievement. It is remarkable in itself how fully the editors have taken into account different textual readings as well as halachic practices. Hopefully the publishers will present us before long with further volumes of the Machzor.

29

I

GATEWAY TO HAPPINESS, by Rabbi Zelig Ptiskin (The Jewish Learning Exchange, 1983, $12.50 hardcover, $10.50 softcover).

H appiness is a supreme goal cherished in our civilization. The failure to attain it is often

felt so acutely that it interferes with normal functioning and triggers mental disturbance. The fathers of the American Constitution posited the ''pursuit of happiness·' as one of our inalienable rights. Yet it has been pointed out that they could only guarantee the pursuit of happiness, not its attainment. It has indeed been suggested that happiness. however desirable and essential, can never be achieved by seeking it outright - it can only be a by-product of worthwhile endeavors and a special way oflife. What kind oflife wlll help a person overcome depression, frustration, and all the other obstacles to happiness. and enable him serenely, calmly and happily to carry out his tasks as a human being? The question is of particular concern to the Jew who is enjoined by the Torah to serve G-d with joy. and who knows, in the words of a Chassidic sage, that sadness may not be a sin but can bring to many sins.

Rabbi Pliskin, who has previously treated so effectively interpersonal relations (Love Your Neighbor) and the evil of loose language (Guard Your Tongue), offers in this volume a "gateway" to happiness - rules and guideposts that will steer a person toward a happy life. His key point is that our happiness does not depend on what happens to us but on how we react to it: our attitudes toward events and situations. This book is designed to help the reader develop sound attitudes, based on the many pointers contained in Torah literature. together with basic common-sense ideas, presented here in systematic fashion.

Topics dealt with are, for instance, the recognition of one ·s self-worth and coping with guilt. worry, anger and

30

suffering. The material presented ranges all the way from Biblical and Talmudic passages to sayings and stories of great Torah personalities of our time. However, while the material is very interesting and makes good and easy reading, such a perusal will not meet the goals for which this book was written. Really to benefit from it, the reader must work at internalizing its content and practicing it. Indeed. an appendix suggests "an exercise for increasing happiness and confidence" -and it is stressed that anyone may reprint and distribute this page free of charge! The author realizes, however, that a book. any book. has limitations: the needs of different people differ and, above all, some people may be too seriously upset to be ab1e to cope by themselves - he therefore urges that they seek competent counselling. However, this book is without doubt a most valuable aid to anybody concerned with attaining a truly satisfying life.

It is interesting to note that several years ago there appeared a small book which on a much smaller scale but in a most readable manner put forth the same approach to the gaining of happiness, though not aspiring to the same comprehensiveness and depth as Rabbi Pliskin 's work. In Search of Happiness, A Torah Approach for the Modern Reader, by Rabbi Pinc hos Jung (London, 1978. distributed in the U.S.A. by Frankel's Bookstore, Brooklyn). persuasively and in popular fluent style guides the reader to an understanding that he has to find happiness by changing his own outlook -through learning and practicing Torah.

TIME IS LIFE, by Avi Shulman (1985, dist. by P. Feldheim, $4.95).

T he foundation of any successful effort in life is the proper use of time. 1'his is true in life in

general, and it is even more true of our efforts to live a Torah life. This small volume - an addition to the Dynamics of Personal Achievement series - is based on the same premises as the works just discussed: a person's limitations are self-imposed ... people can grow ... attitudes can be changed ... new skills can be acquired. The author here applies these premises to "timesaving·' - the management (and mismanagement) of this precious com-

modity - and offers suggestions on how to enjoy, vaJue and conserve time, to use it for the important things that we have to do. His emphasis is essentially practical and his presentation down-to-earth and very readable. The reader is sure not only to develop a greater appreciation of this G-d-given gift but to use it more effectively for a meaningful and satisfying life. Of particular importance is the section on ''time and parenting''; any teacher will gladly testify to the importance of parents finding time for their children.

SOUL SURVIVORS, by Hanoch TeUer, in collaboration with Marsi Tabak (New York City Publishing Co .. 1985, $9.95 - hardcover).

T his is a volume of ''true stories of striving and yearning," dedicated to "the memory of the

Maggidim, men whose stories and parables served to uplift. inspire and rebuke generations of our People.'' It is indeed, in this vein that the stories in this volume were chosen and recorded. They are organized by themes, such as Providence, Faith, Integrity, with three stories devoted to each theme. Some of them deal with outstanding figures, well-known to all of us, such as Rabbi Akiva Eger, the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Leib Gurwicz, and (yibodel lechayim) Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky: others focus on little- known or unknown heroes of compassion and faith. But all of them touch our hearts as we are exposed to the real1ty of good and the true meaning of life. The reader will certainly find it extremely difficult to put this volume down. The presentation as well as the typography are very pleasing and make readtng a pleasure. 1'here are a couple of very minor slips - the dates of Rabbi Akiva Eger's life, the spelling of the town in which Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky was Rav - but they do not take away from the value and impact of this book.


Letters to the

Editor Blasphemy For the "Kedoshim"?

To the Editor:

It is unfortunate that Rabbi Scherman in his "Reflections on Remembrance" 00 Sivan 5745/May 1985) has to recommend that we compete with the secularists and fill the Felt Forum either with our own orthodox multitudes or outnumber them in a joint remembrance. Since when have we, the Torah community, yielded the first move to the chofshim and after years of dragging our feet suddenly adopt the "me, too" approach? In the area of Zichron Kedoshim we have as little in common with them as in every other area of Jewish observance and expression. Indeed, it was nothing short of pathetic to watch Torah Jews, whether survivors or others, long to attend the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Commemoration of the last two decades which Rabbi Scherman so aptly ~nalyzes, as if the only barri~r to their participation was the defiled arena of Temple Emanuel. And lo and behold, their longing was rewarded, the barrier came down and we JOm the Apikorsim in commemorating the Six Million by saying "Kaddish," which in their mouth is nothing but blasphemy.

The Agudath Israel had an obligation to publicly disassociate itself from that "Zachor-Gedenk" circus, especially since a number of prominent members noisily participated therein. At the same time, as Rabbi Scherman recommends, we have to show the way how to commemorate the Kedoshim in the spirit ofT or ah without trying to copy or compete with the secularists. We must staunchly uphold the conviction that when we say "Kaddish" we speak for all of Kial Yisroel. Not only because the vast majority of the Kedoshim were


"maaminim be'emuna shleimah," but because the Kaddish is an affirmation of our faith in the justice of G-d in the face of the most trying adversity, and those who abandoned this faith tum the uttering of the Kaddish into an empty gesture.

Finally, I disagree with Rabbi Scherman' s assessment that the survivors have begun to break their silence lest younger generations forget. This may be true for some, but many others kept silent because their listeners were not capable to absorb the horror of their experiences: It IS a painful truth that the survivors arouse m many of those who were spared the Holocaust experience an en~rmous guilt, as Rabbi Scherman adnuts, and thereby invite a measure of rejection which manifests itself in many different ways. When the writer of th~se lines came to an Arnencan Yeshiva thirty-eight years ago after having survived nine different Nazi camps, there was an" eltere bachur' who considered himself the rash hachabura, who would not give him a "Sholom Aleichem" until confronted several weeks later! (Compare that with the hero's welcome accorded the freed hostages from Beirut, Iran or Amman.) As a matter of fact, we have been listening to speeches and discussions about the Holocaust at many Agudah forums from all kinds of spokesmen - rarely from the survivors themselves.

May the zechus of the Kedoshim hasten the geula shleima.

DR. SOL HAMBURGER New York City

Rabbi Scherman Replies:

Were the writer to read my article again, he would see that we are in es-

sential agreement. As the writer himself says, I attempted to exp.lain why we cannot condone or participate m the sort of remembrance asssernblies that are proliferating everywhere, and I called for commemorations in the spirit of Torah hashkafa an~,hal~ha. This is not at all in a "me-too spmt of imitation. The need has been apparent to Gedolei Yisroel and thoughtful Jews for many years. Just as we should not jump on someone else: s bandwagon, we should not refrain from doing what must be done merely because someone else did it first and wrong.

As to the writer's last point, regarding whether and why the survivors are breaking their silence, we are both right. Many are speaking up and in increasing numbers, while many others still will not or cannot do so. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that more people are speaking, writing, listening and reading than a generation ago. Our challenge is how to respond to and channel this interest and how to present a Torah perspective on Churban Eurapa.

(RABBI) NOSSON SCHERMAN

Hot and Cold Halachic Alert -To the Editor:

Readers of JO may not realize it, but many refrigerators and freezers have an air circulation fan that operates whenever the door is dosed (the new Arnana, for instance). This makes opening and dosing the door on Shabbos or Yorn Tov prohibited unless the triggering button is taped over, or otherwise depressed.

Another similar problem: some of the newer gas ranges (such as Magic Chef) have an automatic igniter that is triggered when the gas is turned ?n· To prevent this from happemng when opening the gas jet on Yorn Tov, the electric plug would have to be disengaged before Yorn Tov sets in.

RABBI SHLOMOROKEACH Monsey, N. Y.

31

. TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE POSSISl.E ..

YESHIVATH OHEL T()RAM LAKEWOOD, NEW JERSEY

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NEWS FROM AGUDATH ISRAEL

CONVENTION, '85 AGUDATH ISRAEL CONVENTION TO AIR "BRIDGES AND

BARRIERS" THEME

''Building Bridges and Barriers for the Unity of Kial Yisroel'' will be the theme treated by the upcoming 63rd Annual Convention of Agudath Israel of America, it was announced by Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, Administrative Dkector of the organization. Over 3,000 Orthodox rabbinic and lay leaders from across North America are expected to participate in the gathering, to be held Thrusday through Sunday, November 28 - December 1, at the Rye Town Hilton in Rye Brook (Formerly Port Chester), New York.

"In the face of a rising crescendo of voices calling for Orthodox dialogue with Conservative and Reform Jewry," said Rabbi Bloom, "our Torah authorities have maintained the in

sistence on a sharp distinction, and our convention will explore exhaustively how that distincition can best be navigated: Building


bridges, on one hand, to the great masses of non- Orthodox Jews who have as yet to embrace Torah observance, while steadfastly refusing, on the other, to accord any measure of legitimacy to those who preach varieties of 'Judaism' that reject the Divine revelation of Torah and halacha."

A special task force is preparing the convention's program, which will indude addresses from distinguished members of the Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah (Council of Torah Sages) and other prominent leaders from the broad circles that comprise the coalition of Torah forces that the American Agudah movement has brought together since its establishment 63 years ago.

Beyond expansion on its overall theme, an Agudath Israel convention traditionally embraces a panoply of sessions and workshops designed to provide delegates and guests with deeper insight into the spectrum of issues at the fore of Jewsh concern, as a background for helping shape the group's policies and programs for the future. Specific topics will be announced in the course of the coming weeks, Rabbi Bloom said. Meanwhile, registration for the convention is proceeding at a rapid pace.

great une I

tlATELINE ••• SALT LAKECttY.

AGUDATH ISRAEL PRESIDENT MEETS WITH

MORMON LEADERS IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

A series of high level meetings were held here all day Tuesday between Rabbi Moshe Sherer, President of Agudath Israel of America, and the top leaders of the Mormon Church, on the subject of the annex of the Brigham Young University being built in Jerusalem, which has aroused world-wide protests because of the record of missionary activity of the Mormons.

The Agudath Israel leader met with Presi~ dent Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, President Jeffrey Holland of the Brigham Young University and several elders of the Council of the Twelve, the highest Mormon governing body.

In response to press inquiries, Rabbi Sherer stated that he sought to clarify to the Mormon leadership the deep anguish and concerns felt by the Jewish community about their projected Jerusalem educational center, and that the Mormon leadership promised to give these views every serious consideration.

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DATELlNE ••• YOUTH

CAMPS DRAW FRESH SPIRIT FROM JEP "RUACH" VISITS

"When are the guys from JEP coming back again?" is a refrain the director of a Jewish camp in Suffern, New York, says he hears from his campers all summer long. Similar accolades for the impact of the "JEP" program on a camp atmosphere are voiced by staffers at overnight camps dotting the upstate New York vacation area and at day camps in four locations in Brooklyn and Queens.

The reference is to a yearly seasonal camp visitation project undertaken by the Jewish Education Program OEP), an agency devoted to outreach among marginally committed Jewish children, sponsored by Agudath Israel of America.

Formed over a decade ago to create Jewish awareness among public school children through the schools' "release hour" time, JEP has since branched out into multiple fields of action in its pioneering endeavors to combat as-sirnilation. Camp visitations are one key element of its overall strategy. ''The strength of our success in all our activities over the years lies in the informal and fun-related relationships we establish with the kids," says Rabbi Mordechai Katz, JEP' s director. ''Working in a camp setting is a particularly good way to capitalize on this strength.''

TEKIAS SHOFAR CAMPAIGN TO SERVE HOMEBOUND

Young men from yeshivas throughout the metropolitan area of New York are being recruited to blow the shofar this Rosh Hashana for homebound elderly and handicapped people unable to attend the synagogue. The Tekias Shofar Campaign, coordinated by Zeirei Agudath Israel of America, has assisted thousands through this annual service over the past decade.

KARKAINISRAEL

OLDSTERS' SPIRIT RENEWED BY PROJECT STAY DAY

CAMPERS When the children first began coming, Mr.

Shapiro refused to join in the fun. He pulled his wheelchair to a far comer and remained withdrawn, in his own world of thoughts and private ruminations. But when Mordechai, a chipper 10-year-old with a winning smile approached him and innocently tried to strike up a conversation, the cold front of his exterior soon melted into genuine warmth, and the two became fast friends.

Shapiro (not his real name) is a patient at one of six nursing homes in Baro Park and Flatbush that are being visited on a regular basis this sununer by yeshiva children like Mordechai in a cooperative effort of local day camps working in tandem with Bnos Agudah Bikur Cholim -Project STAY. A youth volunteer arm of Agudath Israel of America, STAY (Services Through Activist Youth) coordinates chessed activities of hundreds of Sais Yaakov high schoolgirls during the school year, while inthe vacation season it focuses on involving the younger set in what is often their first experience in looking to the needs of sometimes forgotten groups in the community.

The youngsters, some one hundred in all, come from such summer programs as the Torah Temimah and Bais Yaakov Academy day camps in Flatbush. Both pre-schooler and preteen groups from the camps participate, entertaining the oldsters with music and skits, as well as engaging them one-on-one in games and, just simply, conversation.

Roni Cohen, director of ST A Y, is proud of her "little children" and the impact they have made in the lives of the seniors. She tells of one elderly man who grew up in Europe, who had his doubts about the future of Yiddishkeit in America. "You should have seen the look on his face," she says, "when one of our young~ sters, at his challenge, pulled out the fringes of his tzitzis from under his shirt. A small, natural thing for a yeshiva child, but for the senior - it was as if he was woken up from a slumber with the realization that life, after all, offered hope!"

The energetic directress is quick to point out that it's not, however, only the seniors who gain. The concept behind the year~round programs of Project STAY, she stresses, is to initiate the youth into a lifetime of involvement in concern for others.

"In the end," says Miss Cohen, "these children are our future. We can't get them started too soon."

j 0A~i1NE ... EUROPE I AGUDAH ARCHVIES ACQUISI

TION DETAILS EARLY WORLD WAR II HAT

ZALAH EFFORT

A file of documents detailing names, addresses, and dollar amounts pertaining to the shipment of relief packages to Jews in German~ occupied Poland in 1941 has been obtained by the Orthodox Jewish Archives in New York. The records, contributed by Charles Richter of New York, include a report of activities compiled in compliance with an inquiry of the U.S. Government into the food shipment program, which was conducted by Agudath Israel of America on behalf of stan>ing Polish Jews.

The packages were sent to Poland from addresses in Portugal, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia through a network of contacts developed by Richter, an Orthodox Jewish activist who was intimately involved in Agudath Israel hat~ zalah (rescue) activities.

According to Rabbi Moshe Kolodny, this particular relief project was eventually halted by the U.S. Government under pressure from the British, and rescue and relief efforts were subsequently channelled in other directions.

The Richter papers complement a broad collection of hatzalah records amassed by the Orthodox Jewish Archives, an institution founded by Agudath Israel in 1978 as a repository of documents and photographs pertaining to Orthodox Jewish life in the U.S. and related experiences in Torah communities throughout the world.

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DATELINE •.. JERUSALEM

RABBI SHACH TELLS CHINUCH ATZMAI LEADERSHIP MEETING "WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

1,000,000 CHILDREN IN ISRAEL"

Rabbi Elazar Shach shlita told the leadership of the Chinuch Atzmai Tor ah Schools network in Israel at a special meeting in Jerusalem, "I am prepared to sell my shoes and kapota to give our children Torah chinuch (education). Let us not throw out our tallis and tefillin, our Torah education.''

His remarks were in response to proposed cutbacks in teaching hours as a result of dras~ tic cutbacks in government subsidies." A million children are receiving a shoddy, deceptive education today in this country," he said. "Baalei Teshuva have told me how their Tanach teachers would tell them that the stories in Tanach maybe happened once upon a time, but have no application today." Is this a Jewish education? So many don't put on tefillin, and have no Torah, and see what they look like.

"We are talking here about the survival of

Kial Yisroel. Only through Torah education is it possible to assure the survival of Klal Yisroel, and education requires sacrifice. It is upon us all to carry the burden and now is the opportunity to rescue souls."

In a choked voice and with eyes full of tears, Rabbi Shach pleaded for the urgent need to rescue those thousands of children who are today attempting to register in a Torah school. There is an immediate urgency for six new schools and 18 new kindergartens to accommodate 3,000 newly registered children.

Participating in the meeting were six American Roshei Yeshivas who are members of the Board of Governors of Chinuch Atzmai Torah Schools: RabbiMordechai Giftershlita, Telshe Yeshiva, Cleveland; Rabbi Binyonmin Paler shlita, YeshivaMekorChaim, Brooklyn; Rabbi Levi Krupenia shlita, Kaminetz Yeshiva, Brook-

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lyn; Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum shlitn, Yeshivas Mir, Brooklyn; Rabbi Shmuel Avigdor Faivelson shlita, Bais Medrash L'Torah, Monsey; Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky shlita, Yeshiva Gedola, Philadelphia.

Rabbi Shraga Grosbard shlita, Director~

General of the educational network, reported that of six requests this year for new schools, only two opened; of 28 requests for new kindergartens, only 13 were opened; and the registration of new students required the opening of 50 new classes, at a time when the staff must be reduced by 300. He welcomed Rabbi Henach Cohen, Executive Director of the American office, who also participated in the meeting.

In a letter which Rabbi Shach sent to the six American Roshei Yeshivos following the meeting, he called upon them to influence the benefactors to come themselves to see the situation, ''because hearing is not similar to seeing.''

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I DATELINE ... EUROPE I AGUDATH ISRAEL HOLO

CAUST COMMISSION EXPANDS ORAL HISTORY

PROJECT

An oral history project devoted to recording the legacy of spiritual heroism during the Holocaust will expand its scope this fall through the recruitment of volunteer interviewers from within the Torah community. The project, piloted earlier this year by the Commission on ffolocaust Remembrances of Agudath Israel of America, embodies one aspect of the Commission's work in ''preserving the memory of European Torah life and its legacy as expressed in

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tenacious dedication to Torah and mitzvos in even the bleakest hours of the Holocaust.''

The volunteer program, announced by Benjamin Fishoff and Henry A. Roth, co-cllainnen of the Agudath Israel Commission, will be funded through a grant from the New York State Education Department, secured through the efforts of State Assemblyman Mark Allen Siegel. The project is designed to enlist the services of youth in conducting videotaped in~ terviews with Orthodox Jewish Holocaust survivors, working under the direction of the Agudath Israel.

According to Rabbi Yitzchok Brandriss, executive director of the Agudah Commission on Holocaust Remembrances, survivors from Torah communities in the many and varied kehillos across Europe will be interviewed, representing both pre-war and Holocaust ex-

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periences from a wide array of perspectives and circumstances.

The format of the interviews was developed by a committee of experienced researchers in the field of Holocaust studies and oral interviewing, chaired by Dr. Menachem Daum and Dr. Joseph Geliebter of New York. Rabbi Joseph Elias, noted Jewish historian and Torah educator, serves as consultant to the Agudath Israel Commission.

I DATELINE ... ALBANY I GOVERNOR SIGNS YESHIVA

TRANSPORTATION BILL

A bill which would provide school bus trans~ portation for yeshiva and other non~public school students in New York City on a specified number of days when the public schools are closed, was signed into law by New York State Governor Mario Cuomo last week. The new law, which was drafted by Agudath Israel's Commission on Legislation and Civic Ac~ tion and the New York State Catholic Conference, passed the State Assembly and Senate in the final hours of the legislative session last month.

According to Shmuel Prager, General Counsel of Agudath Israel, the law will provide for up to five days of additional school bus transportation, thus alleviating some of the inconvenience caused by the New York City Board of Education's denial of bus transportation to non-public school students on days the public schools are not in session.

In addition to expressing appreciation to Governor Cuomo for his sensitivity to the needs of non-public school students, the Agudath Israel representative commended the efforts of Senator James Donovan and Ass-mblymen Arthur J. Kremer, Jose Serrano, and Daniel Feldman for shepherding the bill through the Legislature. Senators Frank Padavan and Norman Levy and Assemblymen Paul Harenberg and Dov Hikind, were applauded for their sponsorship of the measure.

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DATELINE ... SACRAMENTO

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SIGNS

KOSHER CONSUMER BILL INTO LAW

A hard-fought and extensive campaign on behalf of a new kosher consumer bill, waged by a coalition of Jewish groups led by the California chapter of the Commission on Legislation and Civic Action of Agudath Israel of America, culminated on August 3, 1985 in the signing of the legislation into law by Governor George Deukmejian.

Stanley Treitel, co-chairman of the regional Agudath Israel Commission, hailed the move as a "significant advance for the rights of Orthodox Jewry in our state." He lauded the efforts of lawmakers in the California Legislature who helped ensure the measure's passage, singling out Assemblyman Tom Hayden (DSanta Monica), sponsor of the bill, Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan and Assemblyman Robert Naylor, who galvanized Republican support in the lower house, and Senator Herschel Rosenthal, who stewarded the bill through the committee stages of the Senate and was largely responsible, together with President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Senator David Roberti, for its passage through the full body.

According to Dr. Irving Lebovics, serving with Mr. Treitel as co-<hairman of the Agudah Legislative Commission, impetus for the bill grew out of investigation by the State Attorney General's offices working together with the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of California. The probe revealed "case after case" where sup-

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pliers were sellingnon-koshermeats packaged under kosher labeling. After consultations vv:ith Rabbinical Council representatives, Assistant Attorney General Herschel Elkins concluded that while a kosher statute has long been in effect in California, he was unable to prosecute effectively under its provisions, and that specific legislation was needed, as he outlined in a letter at the time, to provide ''a method for discovering evidence of fraud and misrepresentation. 1 '

Rabbi Chaim Schnur, director of Agudath Israel of California, made known today that a meeting was being arranged at the State Attorney General's office with rabbis from throughout the state and kosher food suppliers, to acquaint them with details of the new statute.

"Raising the educational level of all students, including those in non-public religious schools, is a top priority of this Administration, 11 asserted Dr. Marshall Breger, assistant to President Reagan on education and Jewish community affairs. He made this remark in a far-ranging talk to the Commission on Legislation and Civic Action of Agudath Israel of California. Breger also briefed the Commission members on the latest developments in the delicate Mideast peace process, and on the prospects for Israel's economic recovery.

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A new grant earmarked for a special "firm specific'' job training program for economically pressed individuals was awarded this month to Agudath Israel's Project COPE (Career Opportuiti.ties and Preparation for Employment). The funding will provide tuition for incomeeligible students for an intensive, 750-hour

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computer programming course to be given at COPE Institute in Brooklyn.

According to Rabbi Dovid Seeve, director of Project COPE, "firm specific" refers to a training program that is created in consultation with private business firms that indicate their desire to hire graduates of a course in advance of its initiation. He said that due to the outstanding reputation of COPE Institute, founded by Agudath Israel in 1977, a committed group of New York City businesses has already expressed an active interest in the newly funded Project COPE program.

Rabbi Seeve cited the efforts of Donald Menzi, Director of the New York Gty Regional Education Center, in the development of the

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The funding augments a broad array of employment services provided by Project COPE, including on-job training, dislocated workers programs, vocational guidance, assessment and evaluation and the Fresh Start Training Program for Displaced Homemakers. Central offices of the Agudath Israel agency are located at 5 Beekman Street in New York.

DATELINE ••• SAN DIEGO

CHIZUK OPENS OUTREACH CENTER ON WEST COAST

Chizuk - "The Torah Link," the adult outreach and Jewish education agency of Agudath Israel, has opened offices in San Diego, California, in a move extending its network of services for ''baalei teshuva" to the West Coast. In announcing the founding of the new bureau, national director Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser spoke of our ''incessant need for ever- expanding facilities to help searching American Jews reconnect with their authentic heritage.'' Appointed as director of Chizuk's San Diego office is Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg, an educator with experience in Jewish community work in New York and Philadelphia, where he also taught in local yeshivas. Rabbi Ginsberg is an alumnus of the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland and Bais Avrohom (Slonimer Yeshiva) in Jerusalem.

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The Theme:

Building Bridges and Barriers for the Unity of Kial Yisroel

An Agudath Israel Convention Means ...

. . . Leaming first hand about the major issues confronting the Orthodox Jewish community . . . Participating in challenging, thought·provoking sessions with a coalition of Jews from diverse backgrounds .

. . . Meeting eminent Gedolei Torah .

. . . Feeling the Kedusha of a unique Shabbos blending Torah and Ruach .

. . . An inspiring spiritual atmosphere .

. . . Discussing meaningful, practical topics in exciting workshops .

. . . A weekend of interacting with Orthodox leaders and askonif'l from every part of North America .

. . . A memorable educational experience for you and your family.

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CONVENTION RESERVATION APPLICATION

Please reseive accommodations for --persons to the National Convention of Agudath Israel of An1erica. ·n1ursday through Sunday, Nov. 28 Dec. 1, 1985. at the Rve Town Hilton, Port Chester. N.Y. ,

NAME

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ZIP _____ TEL

I arn enclosing D Derosie $75 per rerson: $ ·-·----

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TC)TAL ENCL()SED $ ------

$75 Per Person Deposit Required. Please Enclose.

Check type of accoinmo<lation requested (give first and second choice). All rates are for double occupancy. If accommodation requested is not av~Jilahle, next category will he assigned.

Rates Per Person (For 4 Days, 3 Nights)

D Econornv* $245 .

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0 Lirnitcd single occupan<.y r<X)ffiS: $399

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Plea.<ie note that 15% will be added to the bill to coverall gratuities. ft wiU also include the registration fee and del~ekit.

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