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Letters
Kahn Home appreciates mitzvot
Editor:
The community institutions of
Atlanta have once again come
forth to help the residents of the
Louis Kahn Group Home cele
brate the New Year. Congrega
tion Shearith Israel made itself
available to our residents who
needed a synagogue for the High
Holidays.
Erev Rosh Hashana Ms. Diane
Ram brought Beth Jacob’s pre
kindergarten class to the Kahn
Home. The class of 3-year-olds
had chosen to spend the tzedaka
that they had collected on apples
and honey to wish the residents a
“sweet year.”
As part of their project to
“adopt” the Louis Kahn Group
Home, Frank Fierman AZA turned
out in force to build a sukka on
the patio of the Home. Hung
with fruits and vegetables, the
sukka made a very special place
for the residents to enjoy kiddush.
During Sukkot, a class of 10th
grade girls from Yeshiva High
School, with their teacher Ms,
Ruth Freundlich, came to visit,,
sing songs and say the blessing
over the lulav and etrog with us.
On behalf of the residents of
the Louis Kahn Home, I would
like to thank each of these organ
izations for their mitzvot. The
Jewish community of Atlanta
certainly knows how to take care
of its own.
Janet L. Sugarman, director
Louis Kahn Group Home
Reader: Holocaust, abortion differ
Editor:
In a recent letter to the edi
tor, a reader claimed abortion to
be “a silent holocaust" that the
Jewish community must condemn.
1 do not for a moment question
the good writer’s sincerity, but to
be gentle, she is utterly misguided.
To equate abortion with the
Holocaust is an outrage. The
Shoah was the obscene, deliber
ate murder of millions of human
beings by the Nazis. Abortion is
performed by licensed physicians,
to willing patients, upon that
which is not human life, under
the protection of laws determined
democratically.
Jewish credentials, regarding
the sacred nature of life, go back
thousands of years and are impec
cable. Human life begins at birth,
not at conception. To fall into
the facile trap of the crusaders
who wave fetus-filled jars in our
faces, claiming to be humanitar
ians, is dangerously naive.
Abortion is undoubtedly a
sensitive matter, but for those
truly concerned with the abor
tion issue let them consult the
Jewish sources and then, with
some intelligence, pass judgment.
1 am pro-choice, unalterably,
as a human being, as a Jew and as
a rabbi.
Rabbi Shalom Lew is
Congregation Etz Chaim
Will we ever learn?
Editor:
I w ish people could understand
that a Jew is a Jew.
Germany proved that a person
w ho had a drop of Jewish blood
in him or her—that person is
Jewish. Will we ever learn?
There are many children of
mixed marriages—the father is
Jewish—the mother is gentile. If
t he child says he or she is Jewish,
that should be enough. The child
should not be embarrassed by
saying to the child: You are not
Jewish—you have to be converted
to be Jewish.
We should not try to run the
children off—we should keep
them.
Herbert F. "Billy” Rose
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Continued from page 4
noted that one was a leader of
Zionism in Germany. But he did
state they were Jews, which by
this time the audience clearly
understood.
Hitler, we were informed,
lacked knowledge of Auschwitz
and Treblinka. He, in fact, was a
sort of friend of the Jews, for
there was a 1942 document of the
German Ministry of Justice that
The
by Joseph Shaw
We are all aware of the crisis
that continues to plague Soviet
Jews. Here in America we hold
rallies, sign petitions, form pro
tests, write letters and take a
stand for our brothers in Russia.
However, amongst all of our
activities for Soviet Jewry, we
forget something vitally impor
tant.
The recent Soviet Jewry rally
at The Temple (Oct. 27) was a
success. It improved public
awareness, it called attention to
the problem and it inspired many.
The theme of the rally was
“Let My People Go.” Although
this theme expresses our feelings,
it lacks something. Russian Jews
do not simply want to get out of
Russia. They could lead a nice
tranquil, satisfying life there.
Instead, the refusniks want to
practice Judaism. They cannot
do so in Russia, therefore they
want out. Many refusniks want
to learn Torah, keep kosher, ob
serve the Sabbath.
The most important aspect of
Judaism is acting Jewish. This
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 28, 1986 Page 5
Experience
proved that he wanted to deal
with a solution to the Jewish
problem after the war. His state
ments begged for clarification,
which, of course, was not forth
coming. What problem? What
solution? And if there were no
mass exterminations, what were
Auschwitz and Treblinka?
The audience appeared typi
cally middle class, which in itself
was disturbing. Do they really
believe all this? Did they not
applaud when Irving ridiculed
Elie Wiesel?
It was hard to feel anger. Pity,
maybe, that people could be so
obsessed with hatred and spread
ing lies and so easily duped into
believing them.
Irony! An anti-Semite named
David, speaking at the fashiona
ble Waverly Hotel, less than a
mile down the road from where
Leo Frank was lynched in 1915.
real struggle
translates into getting a Jewish
education, doing as many mitz
vot (Commandments) as possi
ble, and helping others. The Soviet
Jews realize this. They have seen
in their country that without
Torah education and practice,
the Torah fades. If the Torah
fades, so does Judaism. It can
happen anywhere.
There are three important
things that we have, which our
Russian brothers do not have.
They are freedom, education and
opportunity. Anatoly Shcharan-
skyand Yosef Mendelevich fought
for all three of these for many,
many years, as do thousands of
refusniks today. Both of these
heroes finally gained these three
qualities of life, as thousands of
refusniks will never gain.
We in America sit in our com
fortable, living room easy chairs
watching opportunity pass before
our eyes. We have opulent oppor
tunity to revive the spirit of
Judaism—to restore world peace
and tranquility, to lead truly free
and happy lives—but we let the
freedom, education and oppor
tunity slip by.
It is a wonderful deed to give
money to a synagogue, or to be
active in the Jewish community.
However, this alone is not really
utilizing the opportunity to be
Jewish. When we go to the club
to play tennis on Sabbath, when
we pass the kosher restaurants to
eat at Shrimp Galore, when our
children sit glued to the TV set—
this is a sad waste of our free
dom, the freedom for which Soviet
Jews die fighting.
When we struggle for Soviet
Jews, let us remember for what
we are struggling. We are not
fighting simply for their release.
We are fighting for their oppor
tunity to be Jewish. Instead of
“Let My People Go,” let us de
clare, “Let My People Go to be
Jewish.” While we are at it, let us
utilize the opportunity that we
already have, and enhance our
lives as Jews.
This article was adapted from
a lecture recently presented by
the author, national co-chairman
of Social A ct ions for the National
Conference of Synagogue Youth
(NCS Y).
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