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MMSjeoMA-
-Academy-
Continued from page 1.
Adamah. In other words, soul and
soil are interrelated!
What is the Torah attempting to
teach us in juxtaposing, as it were,
these two words? I should like to
offer an interpretation.
Man—Adam, the crowning glory
of G-d’s creation contains within
his being, as part of his makeup an
element of Adamah, of soil. As the
Torah avers:
Va'Yeetzer Hashem Elokim el
HaAdam, Afar min Ha’Adamah
“And the Lord, G-d, created
man dust from the earth.” We,
members of the human race, have
the power and the wherewithal to
elevate the mundane, the soil, into
a spiritual vehicle. Man, by virture
of his creative powers and intelli
gence, can transform the inani
mate—the lifeless element—into a
life-giving, life-breathing source.
To break the ground, and to
transform this site into a House
where children and adults, infants
and the aged will study and nurture
their minds and their souls, is an
act of transforming the inanimate
into the highest form of sustained
life.
When G-d undertook to create
mankind, the Bible records the
event in very subdued terms, in a
language devoid of the sense of
excitement that such a creation
truly deserved. However, upon the
completion of the creation of
human life, when G-d assesses all
the future good that is within man’s
potential, the Bible records this
moment in words that truly convey
the message that this event is the
triumph of the spirit:
Vavar Elokim at kol asher asah
vheeneh Tov M'Od
And the Almighty viewed all
that he had created and, behold, it
was very good.
We here today, representing a
cross-section of this wonderful
community, are now engaged in
phase one of creation. To para
phrase the Bible, “Let us construct a
building worthy of reflecting
both—in form and fact—the sacred
tradition and obligation of raising
generations of individuals who will
be knowledgeable, faithful, devoted
and community-minded.
If we proceed with understand
ing and resolve, as I know we will,
mindful of the fact that the Hebrew
Academy is more than just another
school—it is in fact a community
trust—then, in years to come, we
shall be able to declare, as did the
Almighty:
Vayar el kol asher assah, vehee-
neh Tov Me’Od
And we viewed all that we had
created and behold it was very
good.
That is the significance of a
groundbreaking ceremony.
Our task must be clear, our goal
obtainable, and our spirits undi
minished.
We will proceed with trust and
confidence and we shall bring life
to this soil. And, in the words of
the Psalmist whose message rang
true in the chambers of the ancient
Holy Temple in Jerusalem, so will
it also resonate on High Point and
Northland as well:
Ve'hee No’am Hashem Elokeinu
U'ma’asse't Yadeinu Ko ’ne’ne’hoo
May the pleasantness of G-d be
upon us and on our handiwork.
Max he establish our handiwork
as His will.
Istanbul
Continued from page 24.
inate the inner space. The interior
is a bit dark, cool, and very majes
tic. Oil burning memorial lights set
into a large brass tray remind me
that I am in the East.
The focal point of attention,
however, is above the Holy Ark, a
rosette window of stained glass.
Behind this window, I am later to
discover, is a courtyard where chil
dren of the Jewish elementary
school take their recess. Jewish
buildings in Istanbul have a ten
dency to be constructed back to
back, so that the community is
closely contained in certain areas
and space is used very economically.
Neve Shalom is special among
the 20 or so synagogues of Istan
bul. It is the synagogue of wed
dings, which take place on week
days and Sundays. I became a
regular at the weddings with my cam
era and tape recorder, archiving
1 urkish Jewish musical traditions,
for it was the one context in which
1 could work freely, without res
trictions, since weddings do not
take place on Shabbat.
1 also sang with the choir of
Neve Shalom. In our choir booth,
hidden behind a lattice, and accom
panied by Mme. Mitrani at a pump
or gan, modern hymns from Israel
a nd France were harmonized, as
We ll as some tunes of an Istanbul-
Ashkenazic composer named Sa-
P°snik This non-traditional music
a lternated with the nightingale-likc
Obituaries
Baseball’s Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg dies at 75
chant of the young hazan. Davit
Tzvi.
The weddings followed a set
form, but sometimes there were
interesting additions, such as when
Haham Benveniste would read the
ketuba in Ladino. Once, I attended
a rare wedding of Turkish-speak
ing Vanli Jews, a group whose
ancestors have lived in Eastern
Anatolia near Lake Van since
Roman times. The latest Parisian
and Italian fashions are worn by
the wedding parties. The novya
and novyo (bride and groom) look
indistinguishable from their Amer
ican counterparts, but their hupa is
the bridegroom’s talit held by the
couple’s parents.
I have many happy memories of
Neve Shalom and pray that this
weekend’s sad event, which defies
words in any language, will be the
last of its terrible kind. My wish for
the community of Istanbul is ex
pressed in the traditional Judeo-
Spanish expression: Sano y rezio
k' estas (May you be healthy and
strong). May the community enjoy
a more peaceful future.
Pamela Dorn is coordinator for
the Board of Regents I University
System of Georgia’s International
Intercultural Studies Program. She
spent the end of 1981 through the
summer of 1983 researching the
music and culture of Turkish Jewry
in Istanbul, with a few months
work in Israel, while a doctoral
candidate at Indiana University.
— Editor.
by Joseph Polakoff
W ASHINGTON—Baseball great
Hank Greenberg, who died Sept. 4
at 75 of cancer at his home in Bev
erly Hills, Calif., led the American
League in home runs five times
while first baseman and outfielder
for the Detroit Tigers from 1930
and 1946 and was the league’s most
valuable player in 1935 and 1940.
The Bronx native who was reared
on New York’s East Side became
the first Jewish player elected to
baseball’s Hall of Fame at Cooper-
stown, N. Y., preceding Sandy Kou-
fax, the legendary pitcher for the
Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jay Rosenstein, historian of Jews
in sports, noted that both Green
berg and Koufax closely adhered
to Jewish tradition and were reluc
tant to play on the high holidays
even during the World Series games
in which they were billed as the
stars.
Greenberg, who rejected a chance
to join the New York Yankees’
farm system while in high school,
dropped out of New York Univer
sity in 1929 to sign a baseball con
tract for $9,000 a year. That was
the start of a 22-year career in pro
fessional baseball as a player for 12
seasons with Detroit as a first
baseman and left fielder and one
season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In that season with the Bucs, after
which he retired in 1947, he became
the highest-paid player in baseball
Mrs. Fannye B. Leslie
Mrs. Fannye Berchenko Leslie,
78, of Atlanta, died Monday, Sept.
5.
Graveside service was held Tues
day, Sept. 9, at Greenwood Ceme
tery, with her nephew Rabbi Mel
vin Glazer, officiating.
She was a member of Hadassah.
Survivors include sisters, Mrs.
Ida B. Leiter and Mrs. Jenny
Wilensky, both of Miami Beach;
and Mrs. Emanuel Green of New
Orleans; and brothers, Jack Ber
chenko, Harry Berchenko and
Louis Berch, all of Atlanta.
Mrs. Bessie Wolff Orlin
Mrs. Bessie Wolff Orlin, 89, of
Atlanta, died Friday, Sept. 5.
Graveside service was held Sun
day, Sept. 7, at Crest Lawn Memor
ial Park, with Rabbi Emanuel
Feldman officiating.
She was a member of Congrega
tion Beth Jacob.
Survivors include a daughter,
Mrs. Muriel Alpert Meltzer of Suf-
fern, N.Y.; son, Carl Orlin of At
lanta; sister, Mrs. Sadie Samuels
of London, England; nine grand
children and nine great-grandchil
dren.
Donations can be made to
Hadassah.
Hank Greenberg
and the first to receive $100,000.
His lifetime batting average was
.313.
Leader in the American League
four times in runs batted in, Green
berg had his best season in 1938. He
hit 58 homers, drove in 146 runs,
scored 144 runs and drew 119
walks. The latter two records were
the league’s best that year. His 58
homers were second best at that
time to Babe Ruth’s 60 and equaled
the 58 homeruns hit in 1932 by
Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia
Athletics. After retiring as a player,
Greenberg served as general man
ager of the Cleveland Indians and
later vice president and general
manager of the Chicago White
Sox.
Greenberg considered the 1945
season his greatest. After returning
to the Tigers from army service, he
slugged a homer before a crowd of
47,721 and culminated Detroit’s
pennant fight with the Washington
Senators by a grand slam on the
season’s final day. Greenberg was
in four World Series with the Tig
ers in which he had a composite
.318 batting average.
The first baseball star to go into
the military service when World
War clouds brooded, Greenberg
was drafted into the army on May
7, 1941. He was discharged on Dec.
5, 1941, under a rule allowing those
over age 28 to reduce their terms.
After Japan attacked Pearl Har
bor only two days later, he enlisted
in the Army Air Corps and served
until after the war in Europe ended,
with the rank of captain.
In 1959, Greenberg and his wife
of 13 years, Carol Gimbel, the
department store heiress, divorced.
They had three children. He is sur
vived by his wife, Mary Jo, two
sons, one daughter, two brothers, a
sister and eight grandchildren.
Funeral service was private.
Sandy Springs Chapel
Funeral Directors
serving the unique needs of the Jewish community
136 Mt. Vernon Hwy.
Sandy Springs
CHARLES C. FOSTER
PRESIDENT
MORRIS V. MOORE
MANAGER
255-8511
! MABLET0N MARBLE AGRANITE CO.
Designers of Fine Memorials*
nli
AUTHORIZED GEORfWA MARBLE*DEALER
May We Help You
MRS. IRVING M.GALANTY
Office: 948-2279
5585 Gordon Road
Mableton, Georgia 30059
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The selection of a final resting place is a sacred family duty that
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