The Charlotte Jewish News - February, 1997 - Page 2
Point of View
Each issue of the CJN
features an article written by
one of three rabbis active in
the Charlotte Community.
/7//S Month:
Rabbi fames M. Bennett
of Temple Beth El
One Voice... Segulah By Cynthia Chapman
Recently a friend and I were talk
ing about some differences between
Judaism and its daughter religion
Christianity. My friend commented
that he often thinks the Christian
view of heaven offers loved ones a
more optimistic view of the afterlife
than does Judaism.
True, in Yigdal, we assert a belief
in resurrection. But Jews, in general,
spend far more time discussing and
thinking about the present life than
the afterlife. A book I’ve been read
ing hints that Jews took on the idea
of the soul from Greek culture.
Looking back over history, many cul
tures have focused to a very great
degree on the afterlife, the Egyptians,
for example. I find Judaism’s more
limited focus on the World to Come
refreshing. Who knows if there is a
heaven or hell? None of us have first
hand knowledge of such places.
But what we do know is that grief
for loved ones does not end when the
grave is closed. Judaism offers rituals
to help console the mourners. The
meal of condolence, sitting shiva, the
eleven months of reciting kaddish,
the annual yahrzeit—all these con
firm what the human heart knows,
that grief has no end as long as lov
ing memories live on. When I looked
to Judaism for comfort after my
mother’s death a year and a half ago,
I found it. Rending my garment
showed tangibly the tezuing apart of
the fabric of my heart and life that I
felt from losing her. Knowing that
everyday someone else was feeling
some of what I was feeling, that
minyans exist both to praise God and
to offer community when one needs
it most was something that seemed
like a spiritual glue when my world
seemed to be falling apart. Nothing 1
know of in Christianity can compare.
When my father died, at age 16 1
knew of no rituals to comfort me.
There were flowers and cards for a
few days and then just emptiness.
Where heaven or hell were, if they
exist, seemed much less important to
me at the time than confronting the
struggle of getting through daily
grief It seems to me that Judaism is
wise in the ways of the human heart.
I appreciate the rhythmic intonation
of the Kaddish on days when I’m
feeling grief and on days when I’m
not. That constancy, at least to me, is
a of comfort greater than a vision of
pearly gates and judgement. A
yahrzeit never stops. We always have
a day when we can pause to remem
ber the gift of another’s person’s
presence in our own life, year after
year, even after everyone else forgets
the magnitude of our personal loss.
Predictions for 1997
By Kenneth Stein
Sometimes in dealing with the
Middle East it is far easier and less
painful to foretell the future than to
predict the past. That’s right, to
foretell the future is easier than
predicting the past.
The reasons are simple: every
one has a different spin on the past.
Everyone. Each brings her/his own
evidence, strong and often immov
able personal feelings to the argu
ment of what happened, why, how,
etc. Ideology becomes tangled
with reality. Hindsight is not 20/20
in retelling Middle Eastern history.
Rarely are audiences satisfied with
a historian’s rendition of the Arab-
Israeli conflict. Whoever tells the
tale of the past obtains a throbbing
headache from some professional
audience-sitter for leaving some
thing but or not puttitig the empha
sis in the right place.
In retelling the- past, it seems
like the expert is accountable to
everyone, including the almighty.
On the other hand, how many
times do we ask for forgiveness or
receive punishment for the sins we
are about to commit?
For example, if in retelling the
past, I left remarking that
Benjamin Netanyahu was no
Menachem Begin, that Bill
Clinton was no Jimmy Carter, or
that Yassir Arafat was no Anwar
Sadat, someone would have held
my feet to the fire. On the other
hand, when one predicts the future,
it is never tightly entwined with
ego nor emotion. In foretelling the
future, the worst that can happen is
that an expert or analyst is called
crazy. In foretelling the future,
who is going to hold you account
able for what you say in five or
twenty years? In all the speaking I
have done over the years, the only
warning I ever receive from con
vention planners or speaker’s
bureau personnel, is don’t be too
left or too right about the past.
No one ever cautions me not to
be audaciously speculative about
the future. What if I had predicted
the following in May, 1977?
Within twenty years, the Israeli
government would have signed
peace treaties with Egypt and
Jordan, that the cold war in the
Middle East would end, that the
influence of Arab oil money would
fade, that Israel would willingly
recognize and negotiate with the
PLO and turn portions of West
Bank and Gaza territory over to
Yassir Arafat’s control, and that
the President in the White House
would be the best friend that Israel
would have since Harry Truman.
What if I would have said in
May, 1977 that in May, 1996 there
again will be Israeli parliamentary
elections. Yitzhak Rabin was the
Prime Minister, but in the months
prior to the election Shimon Peres
would replace him as the Labor Party
candidate. A former Southern gov
ernor would again be in the White
House. The Americans would root
for a Peres/Labor victory. Again in
astonishing fashion, the Likud
would win. Building and expand
ing Israeli settlements in the terri
tories would add an uncomfortable
burden to the US-Israeli relation
ship.
For making such peculiar pre
dictions, would the credibility
police at Emory have stripped me
of a hard-earned and costly
University of Michigan doctorate?
No. Would I be made chairperson
of the Department of “Misplaced
Reality” or been awarded an
endowed chair in certified non
sense? No.
So, since there are no penalties
for predicting the future, here are
my estimates for 1997.
1) There will be an agreement
on Hebron. Netanyahu will honor
a public obligation to the Oslo
agreements and will try simultane
ously to hasten conclusion of the
final status talks with the
Palestinians in order to avoid addi
tional territorial concessions.
2) American Jews, regardless of
their personal feelings about
Netanyahu will come to under
stand and even appreciate that his
definition of statesmanship is as he
recently said, “It is not how much
passing support you can win by
subordinating your own (Israeli)
interests to the other (Palestinian)
side. The test is to,protect your
own interests by setting policy that
defines the limits and demands and
the parameters of the game.”
3) Israelis will continue to seek
separation of their lives from the
Palestinians, but will not be able to
reach a political consensus about
the degree of further territorial
withdrawals from the West Bank.
4) Israelis will continue to build
a consensus that if a Palestinian
state is to be created in the future,
its sovereign ability to make deci
sions will have to be restricted or
curtailed in specific spheres such
as treaty making, fielding an army,
drilling water wells, and returning
expatriated Palestinians.
5) Yassir Arafat and the Arab
world, especially led by Egypt,
will try in every manner possible
to avert the concretizing of such an
Israeli consensus and seek
American and Europ>ean support
for their view.
6) Israeli trepidation and casual
ties will come from military
actions in the Lebanese south and
from militant Palestinian activity.
7) Presidents Arafat, Assad,
Quaddifi and King Hussein will
become older faster than they
anticipated, opening conjecture
and speculation about the policies
and attitudes of their successors,
8) U.S. Vice-President A1 Gore’s
aspirations for the presidency in
2CK)G will act as a subtle break on
possible White House pressures
against Israeli procrastination in
present and future Arab-Israeli
negotiations.
9) Syria and Israeli will continue
to spar diplomatically and snarl
militarily at one another, but nei
ther will be interested in a major
confrontation.
10) Arab-Isracl negotiations will
continue to be defined as “pro
longing the inevitable indefinite
ly.”
In Atlanta. Dr. Kenneth W. Stein
is Professor of Near Eastern
History and Political Science at
Emory University. O
The Charlotte Jewish News
5007 Providence Road - Charlotte, NC 28226
(704) 366-5007 Fax (704) 365-4507
A Publication of the
Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Marvin Goldberg-Executive Director
Cynthia Chapman-Editor
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Members: Rosalind Taranto - Evelyn Berger -
-Suzanne Cannon -
Ann Langman - Linda Levy - Dr. Selwyn Spangenthal
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Published monthly except Juty
Copy dMdline is the 51h of ths montti prscsdk>g month of issus
Tzedakah. or “Righteousness: is one of the most important
mitzvot of otir tradition. There are many forms of Tzeddcah.
Maimonides, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, also known as the
RaMBaMt taught that there are eight levels of Tzedakah, rang
ing from the direct gift of money from one person to another,
through more and more indirect, anonymptis forms of giving.
Each successive level of Tzedah^ better preserves the dignity
of the recipient and the anonymity of giver and recipient. The
highest form of Tzedakah is to provide another with the oppor
tunity to better himself or herself.
Jewish tradition also differentiates Tzedakah, which is pri
marily various forms of charitable giving and action, from the
various act of Gemilut Chasadim or “Deeds of Lovingkindness"
we are commanded as Jews to perform. TTiese include such
deeds as visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, reaching out
to the stranger, widow or orphan, providing shelter for the
homeless, offering food to the hungry, and sharing our compan
ionship with the lonely. Tlie famous Jewish mystic and teacher,
Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari, taught a wonderful lesson about the
role of such deeds in perfecting the world. In his conception,
God created the universe by placing diving light in vessels.
These vessels were increasingly distanced from God, who with
drew from creation in order to allow it to take place. In the
process, some of the vessels were shattered, and the divine
sparks scattered throughout creation. Our task is to gather these
sparks, to uplift them, thus finding oui^lves closer to God, the
source of divine light. Gathering the sparks is achieved in many
ways, including Tzedakah and Gemilut Chasadim.
The vision of gathering these sparks is wonderful imagery to
help inspire us all to perform such deeds. Our Jewish tradition
compels us to do so, not only for our fellow Jews, but for all
people in need. The various Social Action programs of the syn
agogues and other organizations in the Charlotte Jewish
Community provide a means for us to do so. One wonderful
new example of such a progrsun here at Shalom Park is the
^ Ropm-in-the-Inn, progranXjW^ begap ^ast^moritb.:;!!!^ simple
concept is for synagogues, churches and-o^er institutions to
V pp^aouftdoorfiitA a‘few4»0wlestfkp^opie.|»is4c^, get a warm
meal and good company on a regular basis, weekly, monthly, or
otherwise. During the cold months, we can help to alleviate the
great need facing the growing homeless population of our area.
I am proud that Shalom Park has united to begin participation
in this critical program serving those whose need is greater than
ours. Putting aside the differing ageridas bf btir individual needs
or institutions, we have come together as a Jewish community
to do the important work of Tzedakah and Gemilut Chasadim.
We are raising the sparks.
We are taught in our tradition that “In every generation, we
are obligated to see ourselves as if we,*per3onally, went forth
from slavery in Egypt” (Mishnah Pesachim 10:4). From this we
leam that we must leant empathy, to pay attention to the needs
of those who are afflicted by every form of oppression. Those
who are homeless, hungry, alone and in poverty experience
oppression each and every day. The cold winter months are
especially challenging and our participation in the Room-in-the-
Inn program helps us to fulfill the Jewish obligation to alleviate
suffering.
To all those who have already volunteered to participate, we
thank you for the gift of your time and energy as volunteers in
the Room-in-the-Inn program. All those who are interested in
joining the project can contact the JCC, Temple Israel, or
Temple Beth El for more information.
In Pirke Avot 3:19-20, Rabbi Tarfon said, “The day is short,
the task is great, the workers are lazy, the reward is great and the
Master is insistent. You are not required to complete the task,
but neither are you free to neglect it.” O
The Year 2000 Is Rapidly
Approaching And We Are
Planning Ahead For It
The Charlotte Jewish Federation is conducting a study to help serve
our community better.
HELP US HELP YOU!
In March, we will be calling 400 randomly selected Jewish homes.
If we call you, please stay on the telephone. Your answers to our
questions will help us perpetuate a strong, vibrant Jewish community
into the next century.
WE ARE COUNTING ON YOU TO COUNT YOURSELF IN
Telephone numbers will be selected randomly.
All calls will be anonymous. Interviewers will not know, and will not
ask for, your nante or address.
There will be NO SOLICITATION OF FUNDS
JEWISH FEDERATION OF GISAIER CHARIOTTE • 704-366-5007