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| Volume 4 Number 154 | Sat May 13 23:55:07 1995 |
From: Your Moderator <faigin@shamash.nysernet.org> Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 04:28:17 -0700 Subject: Introductions: Rabbi Dow Marmur As is our current practice, I would like to welcome Rabbi Dow Marmur to the list. Rabbi Marmur writes: Born in Poland, grew up in Sweden, ordained by the Leo Baeck College in London in 1962. Served two congregations in Britain, came to Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, Canada, in 1983 where I have been ever since. Written four books (the latest, "On Being a Jew" to mark my first ten years with the congregation) and edited two, in addition to articles in various publications. I teach courses on contemporary Jewish thought in the Faculty of Theology of the University of St Michael's College in Toronto (part of the Toronto School of Theology) and lecture in other places. My wife and I have three children, one of whom is married (Rabbi Michael Marmur in Haifa) with three children. Dow Marmur Holy Blossom Temple 1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5P 3K9 Telephone 416-789 3291 Fax 416-789 9697
From: Adam D. Fisher <74547.277@compuserve.com> Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 13:55:24 -0700 Subject: 50th Anniversary Alan Berg via Bob Klemow asks about 50th Anniv. Prayers. I can suggest "On the Doorpost of Your House," CCAR. It contains several beautiful prayers for this occasion as well as many other wonderful passages for a variety of occasions. Adam Fisher 74547.277@compuserve.com
From: Wendy Zieve and David Matthews <srrep@aol.com> Date: Wed, 10 May 1995 21:51:08 -0700 Subject: Interfaith Trends In surveying the many interfaith couples that I know, I've found that most don't value any organized religion of any kind in their homes, or wish to give their children the best of both their heritages. We don't care at all about Halachah and we don't see Christianity as opposite of Judaism. I agree with the authors of the book "Happily Intermarried", Rabbi Rosenberg a, Father Meehan and Rev.Payne who wrote: "Christianity will continue to emphasize its Jewish roots and Judaism will come to look upon Christianity not as a rival but as its partner in the redemption of God's world. Neither faith will characterize the other as "false" or "inadequate" nor will "conversion" from one faith to the other be advocated. " Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben wrote, "A new confluence of religious celebration and ritual that incorporates some symbols from both cultures is probably here to stay." The dialogue that occured after my previous essay alarmed me, as I felt that I was listened to reactionary separatists whose opinions serve to drive Jews like myself far from organized Jewish life. To prepare for the next generation of mostly interfaith children, I believe some paradigm shifts ought to be happening ASAP. There is no question that the interfaith trends are going to catalyze some evolution in Jewish life, and that the evolution will be a breakdown of distinct barriers between the "us" and the "them."
From: rjs@twics.com (Richard Sadowsky) Date: 95-05-12 03:21:23 EDT Subject: Kobe Jewish Community Appeal If you subscribe to more than one list on listproc@shamash.nysernet.org, I apologize for cross-posting this message. My name is Richard Sadowsky and I am a member of the Jewish community in Kobe, Japan. I was asked to post the following letter from the president of the Jewish community to the Internet, and I am starting here. Please pass on this letter of appeal to anyone you might know who would gladly receive it, and have them pass it on as well. The Jewish Community of Kansai No. 12/12 Kitano-cho 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan Synagogue Ohel Shelomoh, Jewish Community Center Port P.O. Box No. 639, Kobe, Japan 651-01 Dear Friends of the Jewish Community of Kansai, As president of the community I am making an appeal for help following the devastating earthquake that struck Kobe on January 17, 1995. While we are thankful that none in our small community were injured, some members lost their homes and were deeply affected by the experience. We are now racing against time to raise the funds needed to repair the synagogue before the rainy season begins in June, as well as to give support to the few members who were seriously affected by the disaster. It has taken some time to gather estimates for repairing the damage to the synagogue caused by the earthquake. It turns out that the damage is quite extensive, contrary to earlier press reports. Major damage was sustained to the building's external supporting wall, and since the synagogue is built on a hillside, and the wall forms a critical part of the building's foundation. Without immediate repair, the entire synagogue structure is at risk. That is why we are now making an urgent appeal to our friends around the world through the Internet. The funds we need to raise are to cover the following repairs: $150,000 for the foundation wall and roof; $5,000 for replacement of windows; $6,000 for electrical repairs; $30,000 for repairs to a second-story residential apartment, the rental of which is vital income for the synagogue; and $35,000 for repairs to the Jewish section of the cemetery. Estimates are still pending for a marble tablet engraved with five of the Ten Commandments, which fell and was smashed beyond repair, as well as other miscellaneous items. Our community is not merely mortar and stone; our most valuable asset is our people, and in keeping with the spirit of Judaism we also wish to assist some Jewish families and individuals in urgent need, but our funds are now severely depleted. Kobe, as you may know, is one of Japan's most international cities, the country's number one port, and an important industrial and commercial town; Kobe is also the world center for the cultured pearl trade. From its earliest days, the synagogue has reflected the prosperity and generosity of its original founders--merchants and silk, textile and pearl dealers from Russia, Syria, Iraq. The Kobe Jewish Community aided the thousands of Jews granted transit visas to Japan by Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Lithuania, during WWII. The present synagogue, Ohel Shelomoh, was built in 1972 in Kitano-cho, Kobe's scenic hillside residential area, which is popular with expatriates. The core of the present community is made up of small entrepreneurs and merchants, teachers, freelance writers and students in the Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto areas, joined by regular business travelers. Services are conducted by a volunteer hazan and all daily activities, except those of the caretaker of the Center, are borne by volunteers from within the community. Since the earthquake, we have received $45,000, donated by Jewish organizations and individuals all over the world. This generosity has been very encouraging, particularly in seeing the large number of individuals who made donations through B'nai B'rith. Unfortunately we are still a long way off from the $250,000 required to restore Kobe's Ohel Shelomoh Synagogue and preserve its historic legacy. While we serve a wider region than we did originally, the transitory nature of many of our present members necessitates that we appeal for funds from abroad. As already mentioned, the two major projects--repairing the foundation wall and repairing the roof--must be completed before the start of the rainy season in June. We need your help urgently. In gratitude for any gift of $10,000 or more, a commemorative bronze plaque with the donor's name will be placed inside the synagogue. Smaller gifts will be acknowledged with prayer book dedications. To make your help most effective, and to eliminate the high clearing and collecting fees imposed by local banks on check and exchange transactions, please remit donations in one of two ways, as follows. Either send a check or international postal money order directly to: Disaster Relief Fund, B'nai B'rith, International Headquarters, 1640 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036-3278, indicating the contribution is for "The Jewish Community of Kansai, Ohel Shelomoh Synagogue, Kobe, Japan." Your contribution will be tax deductible in the United States. Or wire Japanese yen to: Citibank Kobe, Jewish Community of Kansai; checking account #053-1448. On behalf of the Jewish Community of Kansai, I would like to thank you in advance for your help in maintaining our commitment to helping Jews in need and to rebuilding and safeguarding our precious synagogue. Sincerely, Simon Elmaleh President of the Jewish Community of Kansai All inquiries may be directed to me at the email address below, or: richs@gol.com Richard Sadowsky rjs@twics.com Awaji Island, Japan
From: ask@cbsms1.cb.att.com (Art Kamlet) Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 23:22:00 -0700 Subject: Passover -- 4 more questions Max Stern <lms@sparc.sandiegoca.attgis.com> writes: >Just one little quibble: Art says, "There is no prayer to avenge us from the >Crusaders; no prayer to avenge us from the Inquisition; no prayer to avenge us >from the Nazis." I don't have a Hagaddah here at the office (;-}), but isn't >that the gist of the prayer that comes almost at the very end: the one that >begins, "S'foch ..." ("Pour out your wrath, O G-d, on the evildoers...")? Yes, you're right. That's surely one nasty prayer, composed under Roman occupation around the time of the Bar Kochba rebellion. I suspect the authors were too close to the events, as we are too close to the Holocaust. I'd bet in another 2 or three generations, and this may sound terrible today, the pain of the holocaust will not be felt so strongly and the urge to condemn the Nazis will lessen. Who knows? On Purim -- the eyewitnesses to the events very very long gone -- (if there truly were any) and it has become a time of celebration, of cheerfulness, of partying and drinking and noisemaking. Not at all like Tisha B'av. And what do we do on Tisha B'Av? We read how we were exiled for our sins, how G-d did all this to us, and how G-d will later redeem us in time. That's Jeremiah's message which we read then. And perhaps many many years form now our grandchildren's children will have some mild ceremony on Yom HaShoah --- but will probably not "pour out their wrath on the goyim." Sanford Jacobs <ssj@cnj.digex.net> >For what sins were the six million helpless forced to yield to Streicher; and >how were they redeemed? There's no answer, not any I know of. Certainly not one that could possibly satisfy any of us today. Yet our history shows that in not too many more generations, when you and I and our children are long gone, we will probably not be asking that question. Some "judges in those days" yet to come will probably discover that some more significant holocaust events occured on Tisha B'Av and Yom HaShaoh may be combined with Tisha B'Av and there will be no one asking your questions. We, today, hurt too much to do that. And I don't suggest we should forget or we should ignore the Holocaust or we should stop persuing anyone who directly participated in the murders. But I look at our history, and see how we handled tragedy, and see we are still around. Carrying a grudge is not merely a violation of Halacha, it grinds us from inside. And, traditionally, it has not been our way over the long haul. Art Kamlet AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus a.s.kamlet@att.com
From: ask@cbsms1.cb.att.com (Art Kamlet) Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 23:42:00 -0700 Subject: Politics in Synagogue Newletters? Has it been mentioned already that the IRS has been looking at some churches who are politically active, with the view to revoke their tax exemption? Art Kamlet AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus a.s.kamlet@att.com
From: MFRYDENB@bentley.edu Date: Wed, 10 May 1995 10:09:24 -0700 Subject: Event Announcement: National Havurah Committee Summer Institute NATIONAL HAVURAH COMMITTEE SUMMER INSTITUTE OPENS NEW GATES TO JEWISH EXPERIENCE "Open the gates that yield what we yearn for", from the Yom Kippur Nielah service, is the theme of the 1995 National Havurah Committee Summer Institute. The Institute will be August 7-13 at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. A variety of classes, workshops, artists-in-residence, and prayer experiences, as well as a stimulating program for children and families, will offer Institute participants a chance to try out many different gates into Jewish life. The Family Program was created in partnership with the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations and Havurot. Parents and children will be able to experience the Institute together in courses such as "Families Together" with Rabbi Jeffrey Schein. For the first time, two special in-depth explorations of the prayer experience will be offered: "The Art of the Chanting Service" with Shefa Gold and "P'tach Lanu Sha-arei T'fillah: Open To Us the Gates of Prayer" with Chaim P. Lev Rothstein. There will be classes in Arts and Literature such as "Writing Personal Theology" with Vanessa Ochs. Gender and Feminism courses like "Countertext in the Bible" with poet Alicia Ostriker, will include sibling relations and men's studies, as well as other issues that have emerged from the insights that feminism has brought to our Jewish studies. Among the course offerings in the area of Spirituality and Healing will be "Kaballah and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" with Rabbi Mitch Chefitz. Courses classified as Surveys and Skills will provide an introduction to various broad fields of knowledge. Learn how to approach traditional texts with Rabbi Goldie Milgram in her course, "Adding Feminist Voices to the Talmud." Those wishing to study in Hebrew will be challenged by courses such as "The Evil Inclination" with Solomon Mowshowitz in the Texts category. Once again the NHC has received a grant from the Rita Poretsky Foundation for an Institute Artists in Residence program. This year's artists will be Peter Pitzele and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. Peter will utilize psychodrama as a gateway into text, self, and community, in his class, "The Gates of Midrash." In Betsy's class, "Shiviti: A Gate of Prayer," participants will collaborate on the design and creation of a contemporary Shiviti, a ceremonial art form used as a focus for prayer. Evening activities will range from entertainment to discussions to programs by the artists in residence. The Institute is a great place to begin or continue one's Jewish study experience in a setting much akin to going to a great Jewish camp. The NHC wselcomes people of all ages and all branches of Judaism. To join in the fun and excitement of the NHC Summer Institute, call 215-248- 1335 for information and to receive an Institue brochure. [Or send email to the NHC office, 73073.601@compuserve.com ]
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