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Baby Bluming’s bris! by 14m Celdbart Rabbi Shlomo Blumir<’ of the Atlanta Chabad-Lubavitch Center believes in taking a bris to the people. Most brissem are festive but this one was unique: it was the first to be held at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center and was scheduled to replace Rabbi Bluming’s regularly scheduled Talmud Luncheon. The crowd was a melting pot. Many of Rabbi Bluming’s friends and family from Atlanta and out of town attended. And of course the regulars from the Talmud Lucheon were there. Why was Rabbi Bluming’s son’s bris held at the AJCC? “One of the basic principles of Chabad is that one’s religion and Jewishness should not be limited to the synagogue, but should be brought into our homes, our businesses and certainly our centers. 1 firmly believe that a Jewish community center must also serve as a ‘center’ for the community to learn and practice its Jewish heritage. A Talmud Luncheon was scheduled so I thought ’why not have the bris at the AJCC in its place,’ " Rabbi Bluming said. The tables at the bris Were filled with breads, meat, gcfilte fish. vodka, beer and fruit. All the food was flown in from New York so it would be kosher. . The bris rituals began as the women were motioned to move towards the back. The mohel was Rabbi H. Ceitlin from Montreal, a relative of Mrs. Bluming. Rabbi Bluming explained that he had arranged for a police escort to rush the mohel to the airport for another bris in Nashville later that afternoon. As soon- as the rituals of the bris had been completed, Rabbi Bluming cried out, “One more Jew enters into the Jewish people! What do you say to that?" The crowd answered with • resounding maze! tovs. And until the celebration ended there were mazel tovs everywhere along with Chassidic singing and dancing. A toast was made by Sidney Feldman, followed by David Dubin who compared Rabbi Bluming to Judah Maccabee. "I think Hanuka is a great time for this to be taking place. Rabbi Bluming can be compared to Judah Maccabee. Judah was a great non-coaformer who withstood force and influence to defend Jerusalem and Yiddishkeit. Rabbi Bluming is also a non- conformer with his style, substance and methodolgy. He is surrounded by a world of apathy and conformity. He is fighting the same forces that Judah had to fight. But when people meet Shlomo it has a multiplying effect. People are naturally attracted to him," Dubin said. Rabbi Bluming then came to the microphone and Explained the bris and what it means. First Rabbi Bluming told the group how his son was named. “The name of a child signifies perfection. As with a tree, it doesn't have a name until it becomes a house. The name gives symbolism. It takes the child out of the nonentity into a human being. The baby was named Schneur Zalman after the great saint and scholar Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liady, founder of the Chabad- Lubavitch movement. The baby’s grandfather’s paternal great grandfather, eight generations back, was the brother of Rabbi Zalman which makes the baby his ‘great-great nephew,’ ” Rabbi Bluming said. Then Rabbi Bluming’s eyes twinkled as he thought fondly of his son. “A father has three obligations. For his son to get circumcised, educated and married off. I have observed the first and hopefully See Bris, Page 22 SuTT photo by Un GcMbart Like father, IRte son... The Southern Israelite * ^ The Weekly Newspaper For So _ * Out 54th vol. Lm ‘"’t •• * m Am I really in ■he by Dr. Yitschak Ben Gad CAIRO—It has been said that journalists are supposed to be above emotion. So perhaps I should switch professions, because I am extremely emotional and to a certain extent even astonished. I am here in Cairo, and it is not a dream. Cairo, the capitol of the biggest and most influential Arab state, is welcoming the Israelis. Egyptians smile at us warmly, shake our hands willingly and anxiously do their utmost to make us feel at home. The words “El Al Israeli Airlines” decorated the plane which brought us here with the Israeli delegation. In Cairo today you can hear Hebrew being spoken and Israeli songs on the radio. More importantly, you can feel the warmth, friendship and respect of your hosts. What an interesting world this is, what a crazy Middle East we live in, what a dream, what a beautiful dream. As an Israeli you ask yourself: “Am I really in Cairo? Am I in the country which fought Israel four times in the past, causing the death and injury of tens of thousands of our men? Am I standing in the country which conducted a bitter war of propaganda against Israel in various international forums?" And you ask yourself: “Am I actually shaking hands with Egyptians whom I might have faced many times in the past on (he battlefield?" Then in a state of astonishment you query: “Are we going to achieve peace this time? And if not, will we find ourselves face to face with these Egyptians on the battlefield once again?” You cannot help but feel that your Egyptian host is asking himself these same questions. Despite the warm atmosphere, you cannot help but feel som: concern—concern not for the physical risk you as an Israeli at: taking being in Cairo, but concern that the mutual goodwill and cooperation will not be sufficient to close the wide gap between the Arab and Israeli positions. Where is the point of compromise between the traditional Arab demand for complete Israeli withdrawal from lands occupied since June, 1967, and Israel’s refusal to accept this demand? How can the gap be closed between the Arab’s insistence upon the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israel’s stiff opposition to such a state? What about Jerusalem? Will it be divided once again, as the Arab demand, or will it remain united, as the Israelis desire? All these and other questions occupy your mind. Standing here in Cairo you understand the full meaning of these questions and the implications of their answers. Afterwards, you sense some optimism. You remind yourself that the Middle East is unpredictable and at times even miraculous. After all, who would have expected Sadat to come to Jerusalem? Who could have anticipated him proclaiming before the world that the Yom Kippur War would be just? And if these and other unpredictable things have happened, then perhaps even peace is possible. The Egyptian officials, meeting here in the Mena House Hotel, share the belief that President Sadat is a very courageous and determined leader who knows what he wants—and he wants peace. Israelis may not agree with Egyptians about Sadat's real readiness to compromise on the issues of territories and the PLO. However, it is wrong to deny the fact that he is a very daring man who knows when, and perhaps more important, how to make decisions and to pursue them. Furthermore, he knows how to surprise his enemies completely and to take advantage/Of their unpreparedness. When Anwar Sadat took power in 1970, the common feeling was that this ordinary and non- charismatic leader would not last long. Some speculators gave him a few weeks or months to maintain his rule over Egypt. His opponents immediately prepared themselves to remove him from power. Yet Sadat proved that he was quicker than all his enemies. In May, 1971, with one strike he removed, arrested or exiled all those who opposed him. His next step was against the Russians. Sadat’s predecessor Gamal Abdel Nasser, had See Cairo, Page 22 Hebrew Union Col Library Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45220