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... Do the work of the Creator /
by Vida Qoldgar
A former Atlantan, William
Helmreich, ia the author of a
non-fiction book selected as an
alternate in the Book of the
Month Club’s spring listing.
"Woke Up, Woke Up to Do the
Work of the Creator" is an
autobiographical account of
what it was like to grow up as an
Orthodox Jew in post-World War
II America.“Wake Up ” was
published by Harper and Row
last fall.
Formerly a teacher at Georgia
State University, Helmreich, his
wife and two young children,
drove down from New York to
spend Passover in Atlanta with
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Hirsch,
friends from their Atlanta days.
After s stint as visiting lecturer
at Yale, he presently teaches in
the Jewish Studies Department
at City College of New York.
Noting that only about 12 per
cent of the Jewish population of
the United States is Orthodox,
Helmreich says his book is an ac
count of what that Orthodox
community was like in his
youth. It is told as a story of how
a child views religion and what
the pressures are of being
educated in a very Orthodox
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yeshiva.
Oddly enough, Helmreich told
The Southern Israelite, the book
has generated much interest in
the non-Jewish community and
among non-observant Jews.
This, he feels, is because it gives
an account and understanding of
that way of life without soun
ding like a textbook.
Intriguing to the author is the
interest of a non-Jewish
publisher in his book. He at
tributes this in part to the
greater visibility of the
Orthodox community. “For
years,” he said, “Orthodox Jews
were stereotyped as being
Finally...I'm a doctor
by David Borenstein
As the summer reading season
approaches, bibliophiles suffer
from a variety of anxiety at
tacks. Common complaints in
clude boring dialogues,
humorless characters and
meaningless subjects. Dr. Neil
Schulman provides the remedy
to these maladies in Finally . . .
I'm a Doctor.
The tribulations and rewards
of pre-med and medical school
are portrayed through the main
character, Lloyd Goldman.
Schulman, who practices in
Atlanta, styled Goldman after
his own medical training ex
periences and from anecdotes
garnered from classmates while
a med student at Emory.
Problems for a Jewish pre-
med student begin early. In
Goldman’s case, he and a friend,
desperate to pass a biology test,
smuggle a fetal pig into the
kosher home of the friend. The
concern comes not from threat
of expulsion by school officials if
caught, but from thoughts of
what mumela would do if porky
were discovered.
The road to med school Icon-
tains more curves and pitfalls
than inflamed intestines. Gold-
man’s problems are complicated
by the seductive presence of
Cheryl Seltzer. Cheryl’s mother
views all pre-med or'med
students as prime catches for
her daughter. To Mrs. Seltzer a
med student is the one red
snapper in a sea of mullet.
With Lloyd securely in med
school the reader is introduced
to what can best be described as
a hybrid version of Marcus
Welby and Laugh-In. The pain
and pathos of ward work is
balanced by the antics and
foibles of the young doctors.
After a lecture on the disease
of the day, the entire class would
immediately discover symptoms
or go to extreme measures to
prevent an affliction. “The day
after the dermatologist spoke to
us about skin cancer, we all
carried umbrellas taechoal to
protect our fair skin from killer
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ultra-violet rays.” His hy
pochondriac roommate, Gold
man writes, “covered himself
with a dark coat, a face mask,
Coppertone on the exposed areas
around his eyes, and leather
gloves to protect his hands. He
developed a rash from the
humidity.”
The book is not altogether
light hearted. The reader is
privy to the troubled thoughts of
the young doctors as they first
confront death.
Death, unfortunately shares
equal time with life in the
hospital. Young doctors like
Goldman go through much
anguish before death can be
accepted as a constant part of
their work. The reader
emphathizes with Goldman as
he struggles to handle the "bad"
death of a young girl and
wonders about the “good” death
of a nasty old man.
The medical career of Gold
man is planned early, especialy
by his bubbe, Grandmother
Schlessel. When Lloyd was five
months old Grandmother had
him out for a stroll. "Bubbe” ran
into an old friend, Mrs. Stern-
bach, who was taking her baby
grandson out in a stroller, "Mrs.
Schlessel,” said Mrs. Sternbach,
"meet my grandson Mark-the-
lawyer.”
“Delighted,” replied Grand
mother Schlessel. “And I’d like
for you to meet my grandson
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somewhat removed from the
outside woild. Since World War
II, there is a generation of
Orthodox Jews who have become
lawyers, doctors, professors,
etc., and do not divorce
themselves from the rest of the
community.”
Helmreich also feels that a
renewed emphasis on religion in
the past few years, and the
"Roots” phenomenon, bear on
the heightened interest He cited
as an example the fact that in
1960 there were only three or
four Jewish Studies
departments at American un
iversities. In 1970, he said, there
were over 60. The demand for
Black Studies departments in
that period started the ball roll
ing in the Jewish community,
Helmreich says.
Dr. Irving Greenberg, who has
a devoted following in Atlanta,
is chairman of the department in
which Helmreich teaches at
CCNY. Another teacher in that
department is Elie Wiesel.
Helmreich related a
fascinating glimpse of Wiesel.
“When the bell rings to mark the
end of class, Wiesel deliberately
does not dismiss his students im
mediately.” Remembering
always the regimented horrors
of his concentration camp days,
“this,” says Helmreich, “is
Wiesel’s way of showing he is a
free person.”
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A FronkHn J. Schoffrm Film
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P»ge 25 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 29, 1977