The
Charlotte
Jewish
NEWS
Address Correction
Itequeated
Non-Pront OrKanization
BULK RATE
U.S. I’oHtage PAID
Chflrlotte, N. C.
Permit No. 1208
im
Vol. 3 No. 6
Charlotte, North Carolina
June/July j
Wearer of Many Hats — Man of Many Talents
An Interview with Marvin Bienstock
by Ruth Goldberg
Marvin Bienstock has
worn two hats since he arriv
ed in Charlotte six years ago.
FVom his office at 600 North
Sharon Amity lioad, he serv
ed as Director of the Jewish
Community Center and
Director of the Charlotte
Jewish Federation. Marvin
officially removed his JCC
hat on June 1, and donned a
new hat, that of Director of
the Community Foundation
Project. He will continue to be
Director of Federation.
In reviewing the past six
years, Marvin spoke of how
the Jewish Community
Center has served as a com
mon meeting ground for
various groups to get
together. Rather than
fracturing the existing in
stitutions and organizations,
the JCC has helped to
strengthen each of these
groups by complementing
each one’s needs for
recreational, educational,
and/or social activities that
^respected the individual in-
'^tefrrity ofench'group. Marvin
added, “There have been
times when we’ve goofed un
intentionally, but in each
case, we’ve tried to go back
and undo problems. On the
whole, I think we’ve succeed
ed. The greatest proof of this
success is that all the
organizations and in
stitutions that were in Char
lotte six years ago are still
here, stronger and more ac
tive than before; in addition,
there is a strong Jewish Com
munity Center.” .
One of the strengths of the
Center, according to Marvin,
has been the communication
between the professional and
lay leaders of the various
Jewish institutions. It’s been
a two-way street. ITie JCC or
temples or clubs might in
itiate an idea or request con
sideration of an activity.
Mostly the JCC board bent to
the needs of other
organizations. An example of
cooperation was the plan
ning for Friday night ser
vices the weekend that the
Venezuelan soccer team visit
ed. Marvin called the Rabbis
and asked if everyone could
worship together outdoors on
the JCC grounds. One Rabbi
felt that Shabbat services
should be held in a temple;
therefore, the temples decid
ed to sponsor one joint service
in a sanctuary, and the entire
community prayed together
with the Venezuelans. The
ball games and other ac
tivities took place at the JCC.
When Marvin first came to
Charlotte, some people
wondered what he would
have to do at the Center after
the summer ended and the
swimming pools closed. Lit
tle did anyone dream that an
active twelve-months-of-the-
year Center would not only
require one part-time direc
tor, but additional staffing of
professional and volunteer
lay leaders would be needed
for adult, senior citizen,
children and family
programming and activities.
Several office workers were
required also. The pi'ofes-
sional staff offers help to all
organizations and in
stitutions by serving as
resource people to whom the
volunteers can turn. People
who belong to the Center feel
there’s a staff and lay leaders
who care about the
membership and are willing
to set up programs to meet
their needs. Members com
ing into the Center can see
staff personnel any time of
the day. The staff, in turn,
calls on the appropriate lay
loaders to coordinate ac
tivities.
When asked how he feels
about his new position as
Director of the Community
Project, Marvin replied, “The
Project is the ultimate exam
ple of the need for each in
stitution to keep its own iden
tity. A group of community
leaders gave land to the com
munity and contributed
(Continued on Page 11)^
L
X
Charlotte Yiddish
Institute
Panitz Resigns
ITie wooden arrow, with deep
ly ingrained lettering, announc
ing the dirt road off the Blue
Ridge Parkway as the approach
to “Wildacres,” is a deceptively
simple marker. It hardly
prepares the uninitiated for the
glorious ascent awaiting them.
Every curve of the road leading
to the summit reveals awesome
views of mountain ranges, lush
forest growth, and for the
springtime visitor a delicate
sprinkling of early blossoms.
Tlie natural splendors of this en
vironment serve as a gateway to
Wildacres, a mountaintop
retreat established by the
Blumenthal Foundation for the
betterment of human relations.
For those attending the sold-out
Charlotte Yiddish Institute at
Wildacres, April 30 to May 3,
this was an apt prelude to the
soul stirring weekend ahead.
Yiddish was the motivating
force of the four-day Institute,
bringing together devoted Yid-
dishists, many of whom
travelled great distances, and
all intensely interested in the
history, tradition, culture and
future of Yiddish. The pace
never slackened, the riches of
Mameh Losh’n spilling over
into every facet of the Institute’s
full schedule. Lectures and
workshops bore a variety of
themes, from “Yiddish Dreams,
Yankee Facts,” “Sholom
(Continued on Page 16)
Dr. Stephen Fishman, Presi
dent of the Hebrew Academy,
announced that Raphael Pan
itz, Director of the Academy,
has tendered his resignation
and will not return to the school
this coming September. Mr.
Panitz will be working on his
doctorate in Biblical Studies
which he expects to obtain from
the U. of Pennsylvania in the
near future.
Dr. Fishman also announced
that the Academy’s Education
(Dommittee is presently seeking
a replacement and expects to
make an announcement in the
near future.
Project
Box Score
As promised in the last issue
of the News, the Building Com
mittee has been hard at work
coordinating the wishlists and
has turned the preliminary
results over to the architects.
They, in turn, have been survey
ing the building site and prepar
ing site plans for the various
facilities.
In order to better develop
these plans, the architect and
the Building Committee are
preparing to travel to a variety
of communities to view recently
constructed JCCs and Temples.
Through the cooperation of the
Jewish Welfare Board and the
Conservative and the Reform
national organizations, a list of
such commimities is being
prepared. In addition, the com
mittee and the architect will
have access to the plans of
numerous other facilities.
Determining where to visit
has not been easy. All three of
the national organizations have
reconfirmed the fact that the
I*roject is a first, and therefore
there are no even remotely
Bimilar phyfiicft\ ' fariVi^ev on^
which it can be based. However,
different comniuiiitios have cer
tain aspects of what Charlotte
hopes to build. For example, one
place may have a day school in a
JCC, another may have well
developed outdoor facilities on a
site as large as Charlotte’s, a
third may have a Temple with
attached recreational facilities,
while a fourth may combine the
needs of one temple and a JCC.
One thing is certain: with
each new step being taken, more
and more national focus is be
ing turned on Charlotte as a
possible prototype for future
Jewish community life. This
mitzvah of being the first does
have its problems. One of the
greatest is the need to proceed
slowly and cautiously. This
often leaves you, the communi
ty, feeling as if no progress is be
ing made when, in reality, it
simply requires tremendous ef
fort to make continual, positive
progress.
As a way of keeping you more
closely informed and informed
■in great detail, the Foundation
has selected a public relations
committee whose task began
with a recent letter to you from
Mr. Herman Blumenthal. This
committee will continue to
develop mailings, printed
materials and other ways of
keeping you posted.
(See the “wishday” photo
graphs on page 12.)
In
The
WELCOME NEWCOMERS - pages 7-10
News
Academy News
6
For the Record
3
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
15
JCC News
13
Bulletin Board
14
Lubavitch Rebbe
2
We Salute
Calendar
15
Random Thoughts
3
Candlelighting
16
This ’n That
4
Our Graduates
Classified Ads
16
Wishdays
12
Page 5
Editorials
2
World Beat
4