Page 2—THE NEWS—October 1980
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS
Published monthly by:
Charlotte Jewish Federation and
Jewish Community ^nter
Marvin Bienatoeh, Director
Charlotte Hebrew Academy
Raphael Panitz, Director
Editarm Ann Longman
Rita Mond
Ciub Editora Rose Massachi Mary Gordon
Feature Writers Muriel Levitt & Stutl Brenner
International News Marta Gttrelik
Copy Reader Fran Burg
Phoio^npher Michael Shapiro
Advertimmg Mgr. Terri Byrum
Cartoonist Carol Helms
Copy deadline the 5tk of each month
P.O. Box U220188, Charlotte, N.C. 28222
Random Thoughts..# byMuneiLeviu
Ed^ri^
Each month we fill this column with our thoughts wluch
we feel have meaning in our community. From time to time
we have used a “reprint” we think is pertinent. It is our hope
that in future editions we will feature guest editorial writers.
We know there are many of you who have something
worthwhile to say. What better way is there than submitting
your views to The Charlotte Jewish News?
We are blessed with many individuals who are involved in
our city in various capacities in civic organizations, the arts,
politics, science, fraternal organizations, etc. They play a
viable role in our conmiunity and should be heard. If you
would like to write an editorial or kirow of someone who has
something “to say” please let us know.
The Elections
The most important date will soon be here — voting for the
future of our country, the presidency of the United States.
However, the President alone does not dictate the policies of
this country. Therefore it is of utmost importance that we
also elect the most capable people to serve in Congress and in
our state and local governments. They are our direct
representatives to the Resident and voice our thoughte and
needs.
Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or Independent
does not matter. What does matter is that you go to the jwlls
and exercise your rights as an American. Voting is a
privil^e that we can not and must not overlook.
We urge you to take advantage of the course the JCC is
offering this month, “Critical Choices for the 1980 Elec
tions.” This three-part series should be a must on everyone’s
list.
We’re casting our ballot on Nov. 4th .... are you?
■poVi’T VOTE f
POM*T , I
COM?L/llW \
Cf
The Editors welcome comments and letters express
ing all points of view and reserve the right to edit.
Since I have devoted several
columns to various members of
my family, I do believe that it’s
time my father got equal bill
ing. My dad was a unique
character, a rugged in
dividualist and a tum-of-the-
century nonconformist. He was
an original and certainly one of
a kind.
For openers, he was bom in
Bucharest, Roumania in 1891
during an era when the Jewish
crowd was not too popular with
the existing establishment. His
older brothers fled the country
to escape conscription because
conditions for Jews in the army
had become insufferable. Each
brother purchased a passport on
the gray market and three of
them came to America with
different surnames. At the age
of 15, Daddy decided to make his
exit also. He was sponsored by
his oldest brother and conse
quently they shared the same
last name—Solomon. The other
branches of the family flourish
ed as Gartners and Lerches. It is
interesting to note that in Rou
mania, the original family
name was Kamil, derived from
an earlier patriarch who dealt in
camel’s hair.
So ... my father arrived in the
goldeneh medina and found
that everyone he knew had
congregated on New York’s
lower east side. This was not
quite his cup of tea. The crowds,
the tenements, the heavy
ghetto-like concentration dijd
not exacdy thrill him and before
he could even speak English
fluently, he left.
Traveling up, down and
across the country, my father
worked for the railroads, not the
usual occupation for your
average European immigrant.
He gradually lost any trace of
an accent and acquired the
speech patterns of a typical mid-
westerner together with an ex
tensive vocabulary. These cross
country adventures continued
until, on a return visit to New
York, he and some friends
crashed a local wedding. On
that fateful day he met my
mother who was one of the
bridesmaids. It was love at first
sight and goodbye to the rail
roads. They married shortly
after at which time he opened a
business which ran successfully
for over sixty years.
Daddy’s window shade,
mirror and picture frame store
became a meeting place for the
neighborhood. Customers came
for minutes and stayed for hours
entranced by his stories. People
went to Solomon’s for a fram
ing estimate and remained for
coffee and danish. His
remarkable personality was the
drawing card.
I must confess that my
father’s business practices were
somewhat unorthodox. If you
needed white window shades,
chances were you might well
leave with ecru. When he was
cutting colored cloth, he would
sweet talk you into whatever he
was pushing, and it was ac
complished so adroitly that you
never realized he had done you
in. Late deliveries, mistaken
measurements. and substituted
colors were all forgiven under
the spell of his persuasive
charm.
Whenever time permitted, my
father would drive through the
city with my sister and me. He
treated us to all kinds of ethnic
goodies, much to the despair of
mother who was sure we would
sicken from forbidden foods. He
scoffed and continued to
broaden our outlook by taking
us everywhere and showing us
everything. To be sure, this was
not your ordinary stay at home
kind of father. There was adven
ture in his soul and wanderlust
in his blood. It was a tribute to
mother’s intelligence and
stamina that she was able to
tame Uiis early day maverick.
He was an avid reader,
devouring any and all non
fiction. He lov^ reading in Yid
dish and latched on to The
Forward newspaper whenever
he could find one. Botany
became his parttime hobby and
he could identify hundr^ of
trees and plants. But daddy’s
real love was opera and the
theater. He frequented the
Metropolitan whenever possible
and saw all the current Broad
way shows. His interest in
everything musical included a
clear, true tenor voice and the
seders he conducted werie
masterpieces of song and har
mony.
When mother died, he was
only 59 years old. His love of
people and travel surfaced once
more. As often as he could close
his store, daddy was off and
away. For about 25 years he
journeyed all over the world at
various intervals. He fell in love
with Israel and visited there
repeatedly.
Daddy had a natural talent
for languages and spoke seven
fluently, an amazing feat since
most were self taught. At the age
of 80, he taught himself Italian
prior to a trip to Italy where he
even had an audience with the
Pope! At 82, a sense of nostalgia
drew him back to Roumania, the
place of his birth. Incredibly, the
house where he was bom still
remained in tact with occupants
just as poor as his family had
been. Within a few days he
regained full command of his
mother tongue and bragged that
had it not been for his American
clothes, people would have
never known he was an out
sider.
Now hear this. When you
think of an 83 year old man go
ing on a two-month vacation,
what would you imagine his
destination to be ... Florida
maybe, or Israel perhaps? Not
my father! Would you believe
that at age 83 he spent a summer
in Africa and even went on
safari! And in Africa, as it
happened wherever he went, he
made friends immediately. His
open nature and zest for life
were recognized at first meet
ing. No matter where he went,
all over the globe, he collected
people and remembrances to
last a lifetime. Daddy said that
he never knew a stranger —
once he met them, they were
friends.
On and on he went, still in
business and working a six-day
week until the age of 85.
Gradually, insidiously, he
began to decline with one illness
following another. At 86, he
slipped away quietly in his
sleep.
Try to understand when I tell ^
you that his passing was not '
moumed tra^cally. He had liv
ed a long, rich, ^11 life doing
what he wanted, When he want
ed. We were left a treasury of
happy thoughts and good
memories. While we certainly
miss him, he is still all around
us. The pictures and mirrors on
the wall were made by his
hands. The healthy life
philosophy we enjoy was taught
by my dad. The respect for
Judaism, family and moral
ethics was his manner of living.
Our love for leaming and
literature was another impor
tant bequest.
Yes indeed, my father’s 86
years counted for something.
His presence was felt and bo^
friends and family are richer for
having shared him. I really
think we are all better people
because we were lucky enough
to have known and loved ^e
extraordinary Jack Solomon.
The Jewish
Calendar
CANDLELIGHTING
Oct. 1 — 7:03 p.m. (Erev
Shemini Atzereth)
Oct. 2 — 7:02 p.m. (Shemini
Atzereth)
Oct. 3 — 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 10 — 6:51 p.m.
Oct. 17 — 6:42 p.m.
Oct. 24 — 6:34 p.m.
Oct. 31 — 5:27 p.m.
Judaic Studies on the College Campus: The Current Situation
In the last ten years, Judaic
studies in American and Cana
dian colleges and universities
have expanded tremendously.
In large university centers and
in small colleges, one finds
course ofiierings in biblical and
modern Hebrew, Jewish
history, rabbinic Judaism,
midrash, medieval Jewish
history, Jewish philosophy,
Zionism, the Holocaust and
countless other topics closely or
remotely related to Jewish
studies. Why such a prolifera
tion of Jewish studies?
There are a number of
answers to this significant ques
tion. One is that during the last
decade, many Jewish studenta
rediscovered their heritage.
Through the study of Hebrew
and related subjecta, they were
able to leara what had either
been misteught in Hebrew
school or had been ignored by
Sunday school teachers.
Although the term “roots” has
bccome an overused word,
Jewish ciUture took on great
significance for the Jewish
students on campus during the
70’s.
A second answer must be the
State of Israel. A number of my
former students, when asked
why they were studying
Judaica, replied they were eager
to visit and possibly settle in
Israel. A familiarity with the
Hebrew language and a
knowledge of Jewish history
were perceived as prerequisites
for that trip to Israel.
A third answer to that ques
tion is a sociological one. Jewish
students on major campuses are
eager to meet other Jewish
studenta. Although Hillel and
Jewish Cultural Foundations
try to bring Jewish students
together, often it is the
classroom which serves as the
medium for such encounters.
Because the overwhelming
number of students in Jewish
studies courses are Jewish, the
classes provide an important
setting for Jews to get to know
other Jews.
Students also select these
courses because of the populari
ty of the individual instructor or
as preparatory courses for
graduate degrees in Jewish and
related courses.
A number of factors have
contributed to the development
of Jewish studies in academia
during the last decade. It
remains to be seen whether in
terest in these courses will re
main as strong over the next ten
years.
— Raphael I. Panitz
(Ed. note: Mr. Panitz has taken
his doctorate in Biblical and An
cient Near EcLStern Studies at
the U. of Penn, and has taught
Jewish studies at both the U. of
Penn, and SUNY-Bingham-
ton.)