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Page 14 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October 19, 1979
FRED’S
DELICATESSEN & KOSHER MEATS
1403 N. Highland Ave. (across from Food Giant)
876-1029
U**»f Mr«ct Oftttodoi flafeblntcal »up«nrt»lon
Prices good October 21 thru October 26
GROUND BEEF $ 1 99 , b
CHUCK ROAST or .
CHUCK STEAK *2 39 ,b
Deen’s
WHOLE FRYERS $ 1 15 „
cete Iota only - 18 fryan per case
COME VISIT! TRY THE BEST.
A NEW Chinese Mandarin
Style Restaurant has opened
in the Dunwoody Village Shopping Center.
Oja Siu Qjuen
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5499 ( hamhlet* Dunnoodi Rd.. Dunwoodv Milage
Atlanta, C.a. 30338 393-8674/393-8678
HOt RS
Tues.-l-ri. 11:30-3. 5-10
Sat noon-11 p m
Sun noon-10 p m.
Closed Monday
BUFFET: Sat & Sun. 12-2:30
Adults $2.95 (chMdf*n und#f • - $1 50)
(Including tai)
u
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INTERIORS
AS USUAL,
MAKING A TLA NT A 'S HOMES
PERSONA L L Y YO URS
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iMHHiHiiiiiminwiitrrtri 111 ithti ——
A woman’s place
...is in the rabbinate
by Faith Powell
“Everyone studying for the
rabbinate goes through a massive
redefinition of who they are as a
Jew.”
Those are the words of
Congregation Beth Shalom's
Rabbi Donald Peterman. He
speaks about the struggle of
rabbinical students in general —
men and women. He adds that
with women, especially, it is “an
uphill battle.”
In the late '60s, a high school girl
in Shawnee Mission, Kan., felt the
need to seek spiritual fulfillment.
Departing from her Conservative
background, the teenager tried
following Orthodox law for a
while on her own. What was her
purpose? In her own words, she
was looking for “a strong identity
with Judaism. It was the best
approach. I believe, to go back to
the beginning.”
When college began, the young
woman studied the sciences,
thinking of a possible career in
veterinary medicine. But, in 1972,
between her junior and senior year
at the University of Texas, Beverly
Lerner decided to “stop-out” for a
year and a half. It was during this
time that the idea of furthering her
religious education entered her
mind and she started thinking
about entering a seminary.
“During my time off, 1
participated in Hillel on campus, I
found something inspirational in
my involvement, but I was not
exactly sure what. But I knew I
wanted to learn more,” she
explains.
Her decision, based solely on her
personal convictions, not
influenced by family or friends,
was to return to school to complete
a degree in journalism, then to
enter the Hebrew Union College.
Journalism, she felt, would give
her a good background in
communication.
Describing herself as “no
pioneer," Rabbi Lerner had no
intentions of becoming a pulpit
rabbi. She was neither a
revolutionary nor a radical, just a
woman searching for her Judaic
heritage.
Rabbi Lerner
Her family was not receptive to
this decision. “There was a lot of
tension,” Rabbi Lerner
remembers. Aware of the physical
and mental stress that rabbis and
rabbinical students endure, her
parents were concerned about
their daughter's health. This did
not deter her.
Rabbi Lerner admits to a streak
of stubbornness. Her soft voice
pauses slightly as she speaks, “I
had made a decision...! was
confident of it.”
The first year of rabbinical study
is spent in Israel. Beverly Lerner
experienced cultural shock and
language shock. She says, “It was a
big transition."
When she returned to the United
States to complete her studies.
Rabbi Lerner hit a crisis point..
“The material was obviously
discriminatory against women.”
Also, Rabbi Lerner had many
unanswered questions and
concerns. How did the Torah
apply to modern life? The Talmud?
Could she resolve the differences
between her feelings and the
treatment of Jewish women in
religious history?
Because of these conflicts,
Rabbi Lerner decided to become a
pulpit rabbi. She began to realize
that at one time she was on the
periphery of the Jewish
community. Something had made
her become involved. She wanted
to have a role in drawing people
back to Judaism and the pulpit
seemed the place to do it. If she
could resolve her differences,
perhaps she could help others
resolve theirs.
As graduation and ordination
approached, Rabbi Lerner kept a
positive outlook. “The women
were among the last to find
positions,” she says, “but I felt 1
would get a pulpit.
Her initial interviews with
prospective temple representatives
went well. “A couple were quite
candid,” she remembers, “they said
they did not think their
congregants would be able to
accept a woman as rabbi."
Some assumed that because she
was a woman, she would be good
with children. Not that she isn’t
good with children, she is quick to
interject, but it is wrong to
automatically assume that.
After interviews with Rabbi
Alvin Sugarman and Larry Pike
from the Temple in Atlanta she
says, “I felt great, very positive."
They apparently felt positive, too,
because she began as an assistant
rabbi in July of this year.
How did she feel her first time in
front of the congregation? “I was
excited. I was nervous. I felt people
staring. 1 knew some had come to
see the woman rabbi. But the
novelty of a woman rabbi has
begun to wear off, allowing her to
try to realize some of her goals.
Her schedule is hectic. She
sometimes asks herself, "Where do
rabbis find the time to study and
plan?”
Meanwhile her family has
become enthusiastic about her
choice and her old friends get a
kick out of calling her “Rabbi."
She is interested now in being
judged on her own merits, not to be
classed as a representative or a
symbol of the women’s movement
in Judaism. She did make it clear,
however, before she accepted the
position here, that she would find it
necessary to change some of the
liturgy. Congregants are
sometimes surprised to hear
phrases that are not in their text
like: “In the House of Jacob and
Rachel”
Still, 29-year-old Rabbi Beverly
Lecner is not out to take the world
by storm.
A former classmate. Rabbi
Peterman, describes her as being
“more comfortable with her
Judaism than most women
rabbis.” Rabbi Lerner may be
more comfortable with herself
than most other people.
A small woman, with doe-like
eyes, she sits in her study and
wrapped in a big sweater,
preparing her next sermon.
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