Page 3:THE N^WS-April, 1984
Fun and Games
By Morris Speizman
During the 1930’s and early
1940's, our congregation was
composed of about 65 families.
In the old Temple we had a
very small kitchen, but a very
dedicated group of ladies. The
meals which they served on
appropriate occasions have
never, in my mind, been equal
ed by the greatest gustatory
achievements of the kosher
caterers at the Waldorf
Astoria, or even Bluesteins of
Baltimore.
Those were the days when
board meetings and congrega
tional meetings were events
that were looked forward to
with keen anticipation. There
was no Country Club; there
were no other “distracting”
organizations; the Temple was
the center of the conmiunity,
and rightly so.
Some of our old-timers
spoke with quaint accents, and
one of the classics occurred
during a congregational
meeting. It happened that the
husband and wife took op
posite positions on the ques
tion that was being discussed.
They would take turns shush
ing each other and telling each
other, “Sit down, sit down—
you said enough.” Finally, the
husband in extreme exaspera
tion at one of these interrup
tions, shouted to the chair
man, “Mr. Chairman, I vont
you should trow dat vuman
out.” And as I recall it, that
broke up the meeting.
This same venerable
gentleman at another meeting
criticized the remarks of one of
our younger men who was ad
dicted to smoking one of those
chin-rest pipes. On this occa
sion his classic remarks were
to the effect that “Vot he sed
mit the pipsicle in his mouth,
I agree with, but vot he sed
mit the pipsicle out of his
mouth, I don’t like.”
« * * * *
Looking back, there were a
number of wonderful Rabbis
who gave us spiritual leader
ship doMoi through the years.
However, our congregation
(and I am sure that it is true
of many others) has a habit of
enveloping Rabbis who have
long since departed our com
munities, with an aura of great
leadership, eloquence, energy
and dedication. It may in
terest you to know, however.
that these were the very same
kind of souls whose lives were
constant torments of minor
and major irritations, criticism
and frustration,' while they
were the shepherds of our
flock. To paraphrase Gilbert
and Sullivan—“Indeed a Rab
bi’s lot is not a happy one.”
I believe that this spirit is
changing, because there is
more maturity in the younger
board members I see around
me from year to year. True, we
are still hypercritical of our
religious leaders, but never
theless, I think we are coming
to a better appreciation of our
own shortcomings, as well as
their achievements in leading
our spiritual lives. After all,
every congregation gets the
type of Rabbi they deserve.
Think that over.
* * * * * *
In those earlier years, there
was a recurrent feeling of re
sentment against the “clique
that runs the Temple.” There
were always some members
who would show up at the an
nual meeting and raise all
types of issues in a dramatic
way which would sway the
congregation to action, some
of which was perhaps not well
considered or thought
through. After the meeting
was over, we would see
nothing of these members un
til the next annual meeting,
when another banner would be
raised in defiance and protest.
It got to the point where the
Board was being emasculated.
The problem was solved in
two very simple ways. First of
all, we made it a point to elect
every outspoken critic to the
Board so that he immediately
became part of the clique.
Secondly, we decided that if
the Board was entrusted with
the affairs of our Temple, it
should be given the authority
to hire and discharge aU of our
religious and other personnel.
This latter arrangement seems
to have worked out very nice
ly over the years.
As for the clique, the pro
testing maverick soon found
out that there was indeed a
“clique that runs the Temple,”
but it was a clique dedicated to
selfless service rather than to
individual aggrandizement.
At the following annual
meetings, they became
defenders of the actions of the
Board, and so it should be, and
• • • • •
is, down through the years.
Some of the children I
taught in Sunday School will
still remember my method of
chastisement. It is, of course,
unthinkable that a teacher
should use any form of cor
poral punishment on the little
“darlings,,” regardless of how
obstreperous they become. My
method was to appoint a com
mittee of student “Sergeants-
at-Arms.” I supplied two or
three of them with a paddle,
and the offending student was
asked to participate in a small
game of “guess who” with his
back turned to the wall and
arm bent over his or her eyes.
I think we only played that
game for two sessicHis, and it
cured the discipline problem. I
doubt whether such a system
could be reinstituted today.
Some of these very same
youngsters are now middle-
aged parents, and in a few
cases they have “joined the
other temple.” One of my
vagrant thoughts is that
perhaps my harsh discipline at
a tender age may have driven
them from the Conservative
Movement. I hope this is not
so.
* « * * *
I think that the group of
youngsters that matured in
our Temple family during my
earlier years represented
something unique. We were on
the scene when such dramatic
events were occurring in
Jewish life. The holocaust of
Hitler was followed by World
War II, and then of course, the
establishment of the State of
Israel. We were in our early
thirties and forties, and we
were afloat on a gigantic wave
of history.
Our local friends started a
new Reform Temple in 1943,
and there was an intense
amount of competition for
every mcm and woman who
stepped off a train or plane. I
recaU one of our annual plays
in which a song was written by
your humble servant, the
music of which was to the tune
of “Oklahoma.” The words, as
I recall them now, ran as
foUows:
Passover Wishes
From the Staff
Of
The Queens Gallery
1212 The Plaza
Linda Ostrow
Director
Todd’s Flowers and Plants
serving Chartotf for ovmr 40 ymn
Our Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday
• Make your holiday table lovely with a floral centerpiece
• Wide variety of fresh flowers and potted plants
• Lovely assortment of silk flowers
• We offer local delivery and worldwide FTD service
ll’-ODD'
TCOD'S flOWERS
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PART II
Verse
When a newcomer comes to
our city
There is such a mad rush,
it’s a pity
He's sported, escorted and
feasted with wine
Until his John Hancock is
down on the line.
Chorus
Then it’s O.K. Shlomah
Pay your dues and never
mind the seats
We Ve got members here for
many a year
Without a place to rest their
feet...
These days the contest,
however, is on a much higher
plane—without the wining,
dining and signing so
assiduously practiced in
former years.
« * 4> * * *
With advancing years, my
direct involvement in Temple
activity, aside from worship
service, and some “elder
statesman advice” has declin
ed. I don’t miss the eternal
haggling over the minutiae of
Temple administration—but I
know that along with such pet
ty aggravations I am also
missing a lot of fun.
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