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Page 20 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE July 14, 1978
‘Everybody wanted to have me over 1
Woman student rabbi charms
small southern congregation
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by Gloria Ulmer
Cleveland Jcwiek New,
The appointment of June
Millner last year as student rabbi
of Temple Beth El in Rocky
Mount, N.C., caused some
apprehension among the
membership.
Some people wondered if they
could feel comfortable with a
woman rabbinical student from
New York.
However their worries proved
unsupported, for June Millner,
710 Peachtree St. N.E.
(one block north of the fabulous Fox)
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with her warm personality, verve
and charm, quickly endeared
herself to the congregants. By the
end of the school year in May such
a close relationship had developed
between the student rabbi and her
congregation that she was asked to
serve Temple Beth El again for the
coming year.
Ms. Millner is now spending the
summer months in Cleveland
working at Fairmount Temple as a
rabbinic intern. Her duties include
assisting the rabbinical staff in
conducting services, visiting the
sick, tutoring bar and bat mitzva
students, and working with college
students.
Ms. Millner, who is not married
and is entering her fourth year at
the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion, has many
reasons for seeking a career in the
rabbinate. She has strong religious
beliefs and a sincere desire to serve
and help fellow Jews.
She also enjoys religious studies
(having majored in religion at
Indiana University). “I am
fortunate to be able to study the
things I love the most,' she
declared.
She describes her year at Temple
Beth El in such superlatives as
“super” and “fantastic.” “The
people are good, kind, and
generous,” she declared and
added, “southern hospitality is
well known but Jewish southern
hospitality tops everything.
Everybody wanted to have me over
for a meal.”
On the two weekends a month
that Ms. Millner served the
congregation she stayed in private
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homes. The congregants looked
forward to her coming, and the
children were especially eager to
have her as their house guest.
Many times she stayed up until five
or six a.m. talking with her host
families about Judaism, the Bible,
God, life and death, and other
philosophical topics.
The young intern said she had
never been in the South before her
appointment as student rabbi.
Thus, she had to adjust to a
Southern drawl and various
idiomatic expressions that seemed
like a foreign language to her.
Similarly, the congregation had
some difficulty at first in
understanding her New York
accent.
She described her congregants
as highly conscious of their
Judaism and eager for knowledge
of their Jewish heritage. When
June tutored a bar or bat mitzva
candidate, very often the entire
family would come to the sessions.
A large percentage have visited
Israel, and they are thinking about
visiting Israel next year as a
congregation.
At Friday night services, to
which the parents are accustomed
to bringing their children, Ms.
Millner introduced the custom of
parents and children blessing each
other. The children come up to the
bimah for the chanting of the
kiddush and all take sips of wine.
“The service is a nice transition
from the weekday of work to the
Shabbat,” she remarked.
Another custom which she
introduced was “tashlich" during
the High Holy days. Student rabbi
and congregation journeyed to a
local pond and cast bread into it as
a symbol of their casting away
their sins and beginning afresh.
With a grin, June related that the
ducks came and ate the bread.
Some of the children inquired if
the “sins were now in the ducks’
stomachs.”
She and the congregation also
enjoyed celebrating the Jewish
holidays together. Chanukah was
observed with games, gifts and a
special children's service. On
Passover the entire congregation
gathered together for the second
seder. Presents were given to the
children and everybody was a
winner in finding the afikomen.
“They had seders before,”
commented Ms. Millner, “but not
to the extent where everybody
participated fully.”
On a typical weekend she
conducted Friday night services,
taught religious school classes, did
counseling, visited the sick, and led
an adult study group on Saturday
evening.
She spoke proudly of her work
with this latter group, which met in
private homes. A variety of topics
related to Judaism were discussed
with great enthusiasm. Among
the topics were a study of small
Jewish communities in the South.
Ms. Millner stated she had no
problems as a female student
rabbi. “After the experience of
seeing me regularly, people saw me
purely as a rabbi and not as a sex
object. I fulfilled my role as a
rabbi—so people treated me that
way.”
Syria avoids confrontation
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Stern
warnings by Israel, backed up by a
general alert and re-enforcement
of its troops along the northern
border and a demonstrative flight
by Israeli fighter planes over
Beirut, are credited with halting
Syria’s offensive against Lebanese
Christians, at least for the time
being. Syrian artillery that had
been laying siege to the Christian
quarter of Beirut, ended their
barrages Friday.
Why the Syrians ended what one
Israeli leader termed their
attempted systematic destruction
of the Christian community in
Lebanon, is not entirely clear. The
growing force of world opinion is
believed to he a factor. But more
important, in the short run, was
the risk of confrontation with
Israel. There could have been no
misunderstanding in Damascus of
the seriousness with which Israel
regards the rapidly deteriorating
situation in Lebanon and its
commitment to protect the
Christian minority.
.Five separate warnings were
given by Israeli leaders in public
statements last week and a strongly
worded message was conveyed to
the Syrians through the U.S.
Embassy in Tel Aviv, emphasizing
that Israel would not remain
indifferent to the Syrian onslaught
on Beirut.
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