Mail.Liberal-Judaism

• Amy Hendrix <Ahendrix@cris.com>

• Simon L. Klein <slklein@tiac.net>

• av402@lafn.org (Bob Kraus)

• Steve Gindi <steve@netmedia.net.il>

• Bernard Besbrode <beebee@bigfoot.com>

• Ethel Jean Saltz <nietgal@airmail.net>

• Eric Selinger <eselinge@wppost.depaul.edu>
• davenoft@con2.com (Daniel Icolari)

• Yoram Getzler <renewjew@netmedia.net.il>

• Robin Cohen Anderson <robin@crocker.com>

• Ivan Kruh <IKRUH@GP.AS.UA.EDU>

• J. J. Levin <finart@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>

From: Amy Hendrix <Ahendrix@cris.com>
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 07:21:03 -0700
Subject: A Challenge to Ourselves

Our moderator has asked for something new, something productive, that isn't
just a reiteration of "but the O don't think I'm Jewish" So I'll try to stay
away from that stuff, but forgive me if I wander a bit along the way. Giving
you something productive may turn out to be a bit harder, but we'll see....

Laura's post in digest 6.193, about the number of parents who pull their kids
from religious school to go to soccer practice and so on, hit a nerve with
me. The great stereotype about Liberal Jews is "they just want an easy way
out". And, as she has shown us all too painfully, there are too many cases
where that stereotype is the truth. And even though I like to think that my
own practice arises from the philosophical and spiritual power of the liberal
movements at their best, I have to admit in all honesty that there are also
those times when it does indeed seem easier.

Everyone here knows that there are serious liberal Jews as well as the ones
Laura describes -- I'd even go so far as to say that none of us would even be
here on this list if we couldn't take the notion of serious liberal practice
seriously.

But the serious and religious side of all the liberal movements is what gets
too easily put aside when the debates get fired up. The stereotype says that
we only follow those laws which are convenient--and there are those who do
indeed practice in that way. What gets ignored is that the real rule (at least
as I've been led to understand it) is not--do only that which is
convenient--but rather--do only (and do all) that which brings you closer to
God. This, to me, is not a faith of convenience, but a faith of constant
questioning and meditation and study. Not to mention constant attempts to
better understand what all of it ultimately means. I don't think anyone would
say that any of that is a matter of convenience.

(I should say at this point that I'm a Jew by choice, for my own spiritual
reasons and not mother-in-law reasons. If I were looking for an easy way out,
I wouldn't have bothered in the first place.)

The problem, though, is that out in the world at large, the various liberal
movements don't seem to communicate this stuff all that well.  We too easily
accept the labels, that Reform is the easy way, or that Conservatism is a
compromise, or that Reconstructionists--what *do* people say about Recon,
anyway?... So many people out there--people from *all* movements, including
our own, don't realize that there are liberals like so many here, who search
constantly for a better and deeper understanding of Judaism. And who have
found that meaning because of various liberal philosophies, not in spite of
them.

Perhaps, as Laura says, we can't afford to offend what I'll call the Casual
Reform types. A cynical voice in my head says "let 'em stay, take 'em for
their synagogue dues, and if all they get out of it is a line on their resume
of life, well, that's all they came for in the first place."  Those who are
serious about Ref/Con/Recon/whatever can still be an example to those Casuals
who want to do better, and a counterexample to show the world that the old
stereotypes aren't sufficient.

We can only demonstrate this by continuing to practice and argue and write
about this really vital stuff, not by worrying about whether the Orthodox will
like us, nor by allowing ourselves to be classed unjustly with those people
(whatever their denominational loyalties) who look only for the easy way. It
will take learning, and acting, and a fair bit of pride, but that's a lot more
fun than all the worrying anyway.

(A small endorsement, if that sort of thing is allowed: I recently picked up a
copy of Arthur Waskow's _Down-to-Earth Judaism_. It's really helping me think
about all of these matters of finding my own way closer to God within Jewish
practice. Thank you for writing it, Rabbi.)

Amy Hendrix <ahendrix@cris.com>

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From: Simon L. Klein <slklein@tiac.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 23:08:28 +0500
Subject: An Index of Religiosity

Americans are competitive, and Americans like to measure everything. I don't
have statistics to backup either assertion, nor do I know or care whether we
are number 1 in competitiveness or the most ambitious quantifiers ever.

One area, we frequently quantify is religion. To do so, pollsters ask if we
believe in this or that doctrine or perform this or that religious
observance. To measure our Jewishness, pollsters want to know if we observe
various practices as traditionally stated (do we practice Kashrut, not do we
practice eco-kashrut). Pollsters want to know if we agree with traditional
doctrines. Do we live in Israel? Do we intermarry?

When these are the measures, the Orthodox will win--every time, because these
are not the primary goals of liberal religion. If you ask in a survey how
liberal Jews want their children to express their Judaism, respondents more
likely would say they want to raise mensches, who thought over and applied to
their daily life the lessons of science and of Jewish teachers from earliest
days to the present, and who identified with the Jewish people.

These goals are not as easily quantified. They are expressible in several
different paradigms. There is more than one way to be a good Jew; there is
more than one way to be a good person. Even if the attainment of the goals of
liberal Jews could be tallied, their tabulation would not yield meaningful
measures of the religiosity of all Jews or of all Americans. In business
management, it makes sense to establish quantifiable goals and methods for
measurement. No one has nor is anyone able to define an ISO 9002 for
spirituality.

Granted, we need self-examination to recognize self-deception. We need to be
able to recognize abuse of individuals or of institutions. Nevertheless, no
person is empowered to assess and grade the spirituality of any other
person. No examination of what is written on the doorposts of my house or of
how I have decorated my house in December will tell you whether I am raising
thoughtful, well-educated children who will act out lives of loving kindness
as Jews (or whether I am that kind of person, myself).

Simon L. Klein <slklein@tiac.net>
PageCrafters, since 1987
Chelmsford, MA (USA)

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From: av402@lafn.org (Bob Kraus)
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 08:26:27 -0700
Subject: Definition of Reform Judaism

I truly empathized with Laura Casey's delemma about defining Reform Judaism,
but I would like to express another point of view. I also am at a Religious
School where children leave early for soccer. In fact, I am the Principal. The
question is, what is the alternative. I could kick those kids out or try to
force their parents to keep them in school until the end. But then what? No
kids. Granted, not all the kids leave early, but isn't it our job as Jewish
Educators to try to give all of our students some understanding and commitment
to Judaism? In this case I guess *half a loaf is better than none.* I think
what bothers me the most about this problem is that I see parents coming at
5:30 to pick their kids up early only to have their kids say they want to stay
because the school is having a special activity like a pizza party. What
hypocrasy!  If the kids can get to soccer later for a pizza party, then they
can certainly get their late to learn more about our heritage, but they
won't. So we must be creative and teach them 2 hours worth of stuff in an hour
and a half.

As Principal, I have never told my teachers not to teach that Jews cannot have
Christmas trees. But our teachers have been with us for a long time and have
the sensitivity to know (I do remind them) that many of our families are
inter-married. Our teachers and me think very much alike here. We are not in
the business of offending people needlessly, or of causing arguments and rifts
within family units. Of course I would rather see no Christmas trees in any of
the homes of my congregants, but that is their business and not mine. This is
the only congregation I have had in 27 years where I have not preached my
*Christmas Trees Are Christian* sermon. The reason is that I care more for
people than I do for ideology. Besides, if you can show people you respect
them for who they are and where they are, you have a much better chance of
having them drop some of their unacceptable practices and come over to your
side. And for those who don't, well that's the way the cookie crumbles as they
say.  Again, what is the alternative? Offend people? Have them leave and then
you don't have any chance to change them? You certainly can operate this
way. I think that is the way some of our more traditional branches look at
things (no, I won't rehash the ongoing problem we all know and hate so
much). We can do this, but I caution you (like my Professor Dr. Alvin Reines
always says): Reform Judaism has no authority. Orthodoxy has the Torah and the
Talmud. Once we leave that, it is up to each individual to determine his or
her own Jewish practices for themselves. Do I personally like the easy way
some have chosen? Or course not.

Here I must really disagree. I don't give a flying &*%#$% about membership
numbers. I don't not offend people because I care if we lose thier dues (I
have some misgivings around contract time [:-)] ). My job is not membership
retention or growth, but if I do my job right by caring for each and everyone
of my congregants and trying to be the best teacher and the best Principal I
can be, people might want to join and might want to stay longer. In this way
we blend membership growth with authentic Reform Jewish action. I do what I do
because I care about human beings, not about numbers or money.

Everything is valid (except if it causes harm to one or to someone else - I
also don't condone actions which are in violation of city, state, or national
law) in Reform Judaism. Dr. Reines is also fond of saying that a Reform Jew
could walk down the isle on Friday night carrying a crucifix, but on Monday
morning he should see a Psychiatrist because the two symbols are truly
incomaptible. Getting back to the Christmas tree for them moment, he might say
the same about that, but I never heard him do so. For many, the tree is just a
nice thing to look at. For those who are Christians married to Jews, it is
their non-Jewish symbol and for them, they have a right to it. Do they have a
right to push it on their Jewish (?) children? The Jewish partner who married
them and didn't insist of the children being raised only as Jews gave them
that right.

Finally (whew! - Dan you can edit this down you know, I apologize for the
length), I think it all boils down to freedom. Reform Judaism has,
historically, given its adherents the freedom to chose their own individual
way of expressing their Judaism. (I can hear the howls and boos by my friends
and colleagues from the other side of Reform). As Reform Jews we do have the
freedom to limit the freedom of Reform Jews.  I, personally, would be
horrified (I'll tell you a story about that word at another time if you wish)
if we did so. There are great risks involved in giving people freedom. God
took that risk when He, She, It, Tao...gave human beings free will. That is,
as we know, much of the cause of evil in the world. Plato despised democracy
because it gave too much freedom to people (who didn't know how to use it). I
am willing to take that risk because I have seen how I have helped people over
the years who wouldn't have been helped had they simply been *written off.*

Well, thank you for listening to me ramble on. Just one man's (free)
thoughts. I wish you all a blessed week.

Shalom,

Rabbi Bob Kraus

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From: Steve Gindi <steve@netmedia.net.il>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 13:18:44 +0000
Subject: Re: Difficulties With RAMBAM

> The more I study via the Internet resources, the more disappointed I am in
> the Jewish endorsement of RAMBAM as the final word on Jewish spirituality.

Other Rishonim - Early Rabbis, specifically rabbi Yosef Albo disagreed with
Rambam on the subject of 13 principles. He states that in acutality we can
narrow them down to three categories. Belief in Messiah is not even a
subcategory, of which he has 11. Albo says that belief in Messiah is a nice
and correct view but the existence of Torah does not rely on it. He further
cites a rabbi from the Talmud who did NOT believe in Messiah because the Jews
already experienced it in the past.

Steve Gindi
NetMedia - Customer Services
steve@netmedia.net.il 
http://www.netmedia.net.il 
Personal - http://www.milknhoney.co.il
Phone:  02-679-5861 Fax:  02-679-3524

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From: Bernard Besbrode <beebee@bigfoot.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 15:23:40 +0100
Subject: Fundamentalism

Fundamentalists of all religions have one thing in common. What lumps them all
together is the conviction that they know what is best for everyone else.

Bernard Besbrode

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From: Ethel Jean Saltz <nietgal@airmail.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 09:07:58 -0500
Subject: Judaism, Sin and Whistleblowing

Whenever I've read cyberspace religious discussions of sin, I immediately
evoke the human attitude towards "whistleblowing". If we, as a
religious/moral/ethical people, can make a definitive statement about
"whistleblowing", then I think we can enjoy a more common attitude towards
sin.

Couple of examples:

A former Nigerian or Liberian explained with great joy how he missed the
"brotherhood" of his former culture. The guys would go out in the woods and
swear allegiance to each other, a pact of secrecy. No one would ever defy
this.

My retired mother was playing bingo with a largely Jewish crowd. The caller
announced a one-card game. My mom raised her hand and pointed to a person near
her who was playing with a second card on her lap. The entire crowd treated my
mom as a sinner.

I've always despised the word "whistleblower" because for me it is the
endorsement and legitimization of the act of sinning.

Do the Rabbis ever sermonize on the hateful-to-me word "whistleblowing"?
Is there a Hebrew word for this? Does it exist in TaNaK?

be-ahavah ve-shalom,ETHELJEAN OF CREEKBEND
MAC-NIET-SPIN-GAL,0388AG,KHAI Y'ALL,C-O-H-N,ADTR

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From: Eric Selinger <eselinge@wppost.depaul.edu>
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 11:20:21 -0600
Subject: Let's Take A Look At Who We Are

Laura Casey writes: "I teach religious school in a synagogue where children
are routinely pulled out of class early so they won't miss soccer practice,
where teachers can't give homework because it might interfere with their
secular education, where you can't teach them not to put up a Christmas tree
in their homes because half of them do anyway, even in homes where both
parents are Jewish. You must be careful at all times not to say anything that
would invalidate another religion, since half the class has a non-Jewish
parent at home.  [...]  We need to define for ourselves "Who Is A Jew?" and
raise our sights to a higher level of spirituality, faith and observance. We
can't go on accepting everything as valid, because everything isn't.  [...] We
must look within ourselves, our families, our congregations, and our movement;
and decide what is acceptable, what is unacceptable, and where the line is
drawn."

I couldn't agree more about the need for Reform Jews (as well as everybody
else) to "raise our sights to a higher level of spirituality, faith, and
observance."

But is "drawing the line" actually part of this process? It sounds to me like
the problem isn't that your congregation is too accepting, too unwilling to
offend, but rather that you haven't found a way to reach and inspire the
families who send their kids to the religious school, but half-heartedly, and
who don't want them to come out "too Jewish."  That isn't a Reform problem, by
any means.  In _And They Shall Be My People," a fine, sad book about a
Conservative shul that came out two years ago, you can see it playing out
between the rabbi and congregation there, too.

The problem with using declarations of unacceptability to "raise our sights,"
I fear, is that it encourages a certain smugness or priggishness or
self-satisfaction that is the spiritual opposite of the goal you're trying to
reach.  I understand your frustration.  But doesn't this method mostly let us
on the right side of the line to feel good about ourselves because we're not
on the other side of it, not because of the transforming effect of what we're
doing by way of observance?  (Which is the point, isn't it?)

What would it take, I wonder, to get some of those other families to _want_ to
change their priorities, without appealing to this rather ugly impulse?  Is
there a way for you to teach about the issue of Christmas trees--what's at
stake in having one, what it means to have one, why it's an insult to turn
Christmas into a "secular" holiday--without telling the kids that if their
parents do have one, they're lousy Jews?  Can we articulate the Jewish
difference from other religions in a way that doesn't rely on "invalidating"
them in order to make ourselves look good?  (I learned as much misinformation
about Christianity in Jewish religious school as my Christian friends did
about Judaism in theirs; maybe more.)  Such changes won't make any difference
in the eyes of the Orthodox, perhaps.  But frankly, I don't much care about
that any more.

EMS  

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From: davenoft@con2.com (Daniel Icolari)
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 18:44:39 -0500
Subject: Let's Take A Look At Who We Are

In response to Laura Casey's post, I think we have to separate the question of
developing a serious, demanding Reform Judaism from the question of what
traditional Jews think of us.  We share a common destiny with all Jews, but as
Reform Jews we walk a different path.  If we reject the divine authorship and
binding nature of halachah, that is the price we pay.

I believe that as Reform Jews, the personal autonomy we prize is not simply
the freedom to reject what we find inconvenient or challenging.  Autonomy also
imposes a responsibility investigate and experience firsthand what we have the
freedom to reject--or to accept and make part of our Jewish lives.  No rabbi,
no text, no responsum can relieve us of this responsibility, whatever specific
choices we may ultimately make.

As to standards, I think we establish them through our behavior.  I have seen
in my own congregation that behavior can set a tone, can influence minhag,
whether institutionally codified or not.  If we take Reform Judaism seriously
and take up its challenge to construct personally meaningful Jewish lives, I
think institutional standards will fall into place.

There will always be those for whom the social dimension of synagogue life is
the most important. There will always be parents who drop off kids outside the
synagogue entrance and never venture inside, except to write a check.  There
will always be those who express their commitment by serving on boards,
volunteering, fundraising, etc., though they may enter the sanctuary or study
hall only rarely.  There must be room for these Jews, too.

But there may also be an even greater number who, not leaders themselves, long
for more depth and will respond if we create avenues through which they can
experience it and contribute to it.  This is what is happening at my temple.
I know from visiting synagogues in other cities, and from attending UAHC
kallot, that it's what happening at other Reform synagogues, too.

The Union's more Torah-centered thrust under Rabbi Yoffie is no mere whim.
It's an institutional response to our hunger for a Reform Judaism with more
spirituality, faith, and observance, in Ms. Casey's words.  In my opinion, if
"anything goes" Reform Judaism is not already a thing of the past, it is fast
becoming one.

Daniel Icolari
davenoft@con2.com

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From: Yoram Getzler <renewjew@netmedia.net.il>
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 08:28:03 -0700
Subject: The Miracle: Yom HaAtzmut

A combination of historical circumstances, our neighbors stubborn hatred and
our own human failings have brought many of us in these past years to a low
point in our self respect and have driven love for our nation and ourselves
from our hearts..  I would like to offer the following, a prayer and as a
goal: "In the earliest age authenticated by literature, the message and
commandment of a just society was an integral part of this people's history.
The early manifestation and the influence of this ideal can be recognized in
the preictions of the prophets that unless Israel fulfilled the commandment to
establish a just society during the eara of its independence it would have to
go into exile and there learn what is unjust and what is just.  But if
afterward Israel should return to its own land and there begin to realize the
kingdom of the just God in its own community life and in its foreign
relations, interantional peace and the beginnings of true humanity wiould
issue forth from the mountains of Zion"...Martin Buber, from the Jewish
Liberation Hagada; 1971

Tomorrow we celebrate the miricle, the beginning of our Yovel, the 50th year
of independence and responsibility.  BIG PARTY at the BIG house on Aminadav,
vegi pot-luck 

Yoram Getzler
Association for Jewish Renewal in Israel- " A H A V I "       
Moshav Aminadav * Jerusalem, 90885 * (972)-2-6434830 *renewjew@netmedia.net.il

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From: Robin Cohen Anderson <robin@crocker.com>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 11:35:32 -0700
Subject: What, then, is the issue?

Hi all, 

I've been reading this thread with a combination of interest and sadness. I
think Dan is right--we are reiterating the same themes, and have gotten to the
point where one side will not convince the other on some essential issues.

So, what now? I'd like to offer another way of looking at the situation.
Common to almost all the posts I've read is a sense of victimization and
blame. We have our esteemed Orthodox posters reiterating the degree to which
they despair at the non-Orthodox stereotyping of Orthodox study and
community--at the way that Yigal Amir has been made to stand in for
ultra-Orthodoxy, at the way that certain Reform Jewish leaders have demonized
Orthodox Jews as guilty of "crimes against humanity." We have our equally
esteemed non-Orthodox posters reiterating the degree to which they feel
angered by the Orthodox refusal to accord non-Orthodox Judaism an equal status
as Judaism--at the way they are viewed as marginal, not serious, and even
lazy. Even the posts that enjoin us non-Orthodox Jews to take a look at
ourselves share a need to blame someone, somewhere. Maybe it's because we
liberal folks are not vehement enough about our position on other religions,
someone suggested. Maybe it's because we try too hard to be inclusive. All in
all, we seem awfully intent on pointing the finger and finding someone to
blame.

To all this, I say "enough." In my view, the problem is itself the need to
victimize, to fear, and to blame one another. Beneath our perceived
victimization is fear, and the blame we all cast about in response can easily
ignite into hatred. I've gotten the hate mail, and so have my Orthodox
correspondents. We ought to be very, very careful about casually entering into
these kinds of relationships with one another. As Dr. Lester so cogently put
it:

>The Talmud tells us that causeless hatred between Jews was the reason the
>Temple was destroyed. Rav Kook commented that only causeless love between
>Jews could restore the Temple. If we understand the Temple as symbolizing the
>coming together of all Jews, then it is clear: We are in desperate need of an
>epidemic, indeed, a plague of causeless love.

We're very familiar with causeless hatred, I think. All the posts have been
talking about it, in one form or another, and pointing out how the other side
is blindly and stubbornly manifesting it. But what, may I ask, is causeless
love? Why aren't we talking about it? I'm not sure of all its manifestations,
but I'd like to give an example.

There is an Orthodox person with whom I have had several email
conversations. At one point, I expressed to him some despair about ever
feeling that I could be a good Jew. I had internalized some attitudes from
some of my Orthodox brethren that the game was essentially over before it was
begun, because I'm married to a non-Jew. I began to wonder, why even try to
become more observant? Why even try to pass it on? If I can't possibly be a
good Jew and be married to a non-Jew, why even begin? I was feeling pretty
damned victimized. So, I put the question to him about how to work my way out
of this.

To say his response was startling would be an understatement. Based only on my
posts to this list, and a few emails, he said (I'm paraphrasing): "You are a
good Jew, serving God in an honest and honorable way. It's up to God to judge
between the Jewish family life you are building and the degree to which it
does not adhere to halacha." On what basis did he make this marvelous
statement? Did he quiz me on the mitzvot I perform everyday? No.  Did he ask
me whether I remember to say the b'rachot before and after every meal? No. Did
he ask me whether I let the light in the refrigerator come on during Shabbat,
or whether my kitchen was properly kashered? No. So why did he make this
statement? Because it is absolutely against halacha to say anything that would
diminish a person's intention to increase and deepen their observance and
bring God's will into this world. On this point, I am very clear. It was
hugely unnecessary for him to reiterate that my practice of Judaism is not
Judaism from his viewpoint. I know that. I've gotten the message, thank you
very much. I knew it when I was 10, and I know it now.  There is no need to
reiterate it, and certainly no need to demonize me as a "bad Jew" or the
latest incarnation of Pinchas or anything else. There is no reason to tell me
what a bad Jew I am in order to get me to be a better one. He knows that, I
know that, and God knows that.

To me, this fellow's response is a manifestation of causeless love. This is a
person who saw only a fellow Jew, sincerely struggling to become a better
one. That's all. He didn't take it as an opportunity to moralize or to judge
or to condemn, to be patronizing, to prove himself right, or to prove me
wrong. He took it as an opportunity to comfort and encourage. It didn't help
me work my way out of my despair. It absolutely lifted the despair from me,
once and for all, and it has never returned. Since then, we have had very
vehement disagreements, and have learned to stop when it's clear that our most
cherished and basic beliefs are at stake. There are areas in which I think he
is absolutely flat-out wrong, and he shares the same opinion of some of my
ideas. But none of our disagreements take away from the obvious respect we
have for each other. Truly, no one is more surprised at this than I am. I am
shocked that I can deeply respect and appreciate someone who holds certain
ideas that are absolutely anathema to me. But something about the causeless
love he showed me created a kind of causeless love within me, too. He did it
very quietly, very humbly, and very generously, and it was very, very
powerful.

So, I agree with Dr. Lester. We need a virtual plague of this kind of love.  I
don't believe that the Jewish people will be destroyed without it, but I think
our mission to do God's will and perfect the earth is very much in danger of
being forgotten as we keep shouting at each other about how right we all are,
and how wrong everyone else is. How right can any of us be when the injunction
to unconditionally love one another is drowned out by the kind of polemics we
are witnessing now?

B'shalom,
Robin

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From: Ivan Kruh <IKRUH@GP.AS.UA.EDU>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 22:43:29 CST6CDT
Subject: Information Request: Seattle Synagogues

Hi all--

Unfortunately, I have been unable to read much of (let alone participate in)
the list lately.  Somehow, planning a wedding in three months (after some
mother-daughter conflict required my fiancee and I take over the reigns last
minute), moving from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Seattle, Washington, completing
dissertation data collection at a site 2-hours (each way) from my University,
holding a 20-hour/week job, and completing classes have kept me pretty busy!

Enough of my venting!  As I said, my soon-to-be wife and I are moving to
Seattle in June.  We want to find a shul that is quite liberal, is acce[pting
of inter-faith married couples, and has a strong sense of community.  Any
thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!  You can reply
directly to me as not to bog down the list.  Thanks in advance!

Ivan Kruh

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From: J. J. Levin <finart@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 15:40:06 -0700
Subject: Information Request: Transparent Torah Ark Doors

> I am interested in receiving information and photographs about synagogue
> Torah Arks built with transparent doors and Ark curtains for a "see through"
> effect enabling the congregation to see the Torahs at all times.

If memory serves, the doors on the ark at the Hebrew Union College Brookdale
Center in New York are either transparent or very translucent. They were
designed by the Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.

You might be able to get information and/or photos by writing to Hebrew Union
College, Brookdale Center, 1 West 4 Street, New York, NY. Sorry, I don't have
the zip code.

Jehuda J. Levin

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"It is not our task as liberal Jews to complain about the Orthodox attitude or to be bullied by it, but rather to choose our legitimate path according to the inner logic and development of liberal Judaism" (Rabbi Walter Jacob)

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