Letters
LETTERS pateline Managua f0 the Editor: (undoubtedly am not the only one in-ilebted to moment for its exchange on Slcaraguan Jewry (articles by Robert eisbrot. Cynthia Arnson and Moron Rosenthal,...
...The exchange of letters between young Jews in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and their peers in Hattiesburg (Mississippi), Williamson (West Virginia) or Boise (Idaho) would enrich both the youngsters and the communities of which they are a part, and provide an opportunity to share the frustrations-and joys-of being a Jew in America today...
...The pressures that they feel stem from many directions, ranging from the threat of nuclear war to coming from a broken home and helping to support their families...
...Cynthia Arnson and Moron Rosenthal, October 1984...
...a way that built strength in us to withstand any American-Christian tradition...
...Ironically, some Zionists will not admit what the President of France sees so clearly...
...On the one hand, as a young Jewish woman in a very Christian society, I am often angered with the seeming need to equate Christmas with Chanukah—two completely separate holidays with very different messages for the two faiths—and with my non-Jewish friends' total misunderstanding of what Chanukah actually is to Jews—a misunderstanding that has come about because of the current blurring of these two holidays...
...We are sanctified...
...Deporte in the Fall 1984 issue of Foreign Affairs...
...Actually, there was no prospect for recognition...
...Having a "Bubbie and Zadie" to write to may make us feel better able to deal with the pressures of the Christmas season...
...He means well...
...Artificial substitutes reflect an inherent negativism about Judaism...
...Absent is any criticism of the export of Israeli weapons for the obvious purpose of killing in Central America...
...True, the problems of interfaith marriage and Jewish identity she described do exist there-as they do in Los Angeles, Detroit, Boston, etc...
...Oh, sure, my five siblings and I had our Chanukah dreidels, our Chanu-kah gelt and our tiny, flickering lights on the menorah...
...There is nothing sacred about December 25th...
...God knows, it's nice to have understanding °'d friends to confide in-even myth-Kal ones-in a world where many of us 're religiously intimidated and so easily assimilated...
...Helen Jay Cincinnati, Ohio To the Editor: It is overkill to call Bubbie and Zadie blasphemous and obscene . . . good intentions do count . . . but their invention is sad, particularly as aping of Christian traditions (not so much because they're good, but because they're there) proliferates...
...I am a product of 14 years in Young Judaea and my husband and I are one of the successful Judaean marriages...
...I (aS moved to read the concise, ar-jculate description of the stress that I u (I was relieved to learn) other Units feel during the euphemistic Lliday" season...
...All letters should be typed, and sent to the moment Editorial Office, 462 Boylston Street, Suite 301, Boston, MA 02116...
...Instead, a better message is the richness of remaining a small, distinct group within a larger Christian world, which is really the history of Judaism in a nutshell...
...After all, Mama and Papa had the distinctive pronunciation of transplanted Litvaks...
...Donald Silverman Bedford, New Hampshire To the Editor: What do I think, Mr...
...Arafat had his chance for "moderation" during the 17th Palestinian National Council at the end of this November, especially in the absence of the "radical" factions of the PLO who had boycotted the session...
...I have to admit that I found Oheb Shalom to be a very different place than did Wendy...
...Second, the ADL's use of the White House to put across its point of view °n Nicaraguan Jewry comes down to aPpealing to a political force which is itself responsible for the deaths of ' thousands of Nicaraguans through its ^ing of the contras...
...Why not try to build up the already-existing traditions of Chanukah, instead of trying to make up a new bit of "traditional Jewish folklore," as Mr...
...I therefore suggest that like these other holidays, Xmas be declared a Monday holiday...
...Bloom put it...
...This is not to mean chosen to be privileged or chosen as G-d's pets...
...Rabbi tosenthal's contention that "the Sandinistas have persecuted Jews and Jius forced the dissolution of the unall Jewish community" does not stand up to the critical analysis of the jther two articles...
...Related to this is the idea that a different Israeli policy toward Nicaragua would help improve relations between the two countries, perhaps substantially...
...For rather than being disheartened by what I saw in Sandusky, I was inspired...
...After the conference, Arafat told the Qatari News Agency that "Palestine cannot be liberated without the gun," echoing Abu Nidal's interview in the July 1978 issue of The Middle East...
...Xmas is a solstice holiday...
...But some of us Jews were brought up a different way...
...Subsequently, Avraham Rozenkier, one of the participants and Mapam's international secretary, stated that the situation of Nicaraguan Jewry had been much exaggerated by the Reagan administration for its own political ends...
...The youth of today dare to see their visions come true, just as our parents and grandparents did...
...It's hard to imagine it will make them more Jewish, or keep them as Jewish as they are...
...If, however, the Jewish couple in Nome are a Jewish fClaus"-substitute, then the idea is abhorrent...
...Some of us Jews were brought up to feel we were deprived because we didn't have a Christmas tree or get to sit on Santa's lap...
...I teach in a Jewish preschool and have for the last seven years...
...Young Judaea still reaches out to help its members feel pride in being who they are...
...Had not the great majority of Nicaraguan Jews left, there would have been a community today...
...Sue Levi Elwell Cincinnati, Ohio To the Editor...
...Nancy Kovnat E. Weymouth, Massachusetts To the Editor: I can still feel the devastating left-out quivering of those Decembers in the ancient days of my childhood in Boston...
...Just because I don't have the need doesn't mean such a need doesn't exist...
...I recently learned that Mapam, the Israel Labor party's former coalition partner, and the Sandinista party have initiated political relations...
...Bloom, please be careful...
...If only she knew how much there is to Judaism, instead of how much is "lacking...
...We reserve the right to edit for publication...
...It is in our interest for Israel to support the peace-oriented contadora diplomacy and to open a new page in its relationship to Central America...
...Commercialization-which frequently becomes overcommercial-ization-would not bring our children closer to the true meaning of Chanukah...
...L'dor vador, From generation to generation...
...The desire to participate is at odds with the fact that most Jews realize to some degree that they really shouldn't be part of Ibis Christian holiday...
...Susan S. Most Editor, Hayom Cape Elizabeth, Maine To the Editor: I remember that last year, when I first read about "Bubbie and Zadie," I thought: How ridiculous...
...A Mapam delegation visited Nicaragua in October 1984...
...One of the things about being Jewish has always been to be of the Chosen People...
...Bloom is rying to do, while putting it in its iroper place...
...And despite our small numbers, anything is possible when the Almighty Dollar is concerned...
...We do our children no favor in easing the responsibility of differentness by providing Yiddish elves to write to...
...But can you imagine what would happen if Mattel, Hallmark, NBC, Doubleday and Dino de Laurentis got their hands on this idea...
...But it is wrong always to be pressured to supply soft cushions for every one of life's difficulties...
...Shloime Perel Montreal, Quebec Nidal and Arafat To the Editor: Howard Kaplan ("Abu Nidal: ATer-rorists' Terrorist," December 1984) has been seduced by the public relations genius of Yasir Arafat, whose skill in using rejectionists like Abu Nidal to make himself look "moderate" in the media is described in Ze'ev Chafets's new book, Double Vision...
...It is acceptable to be different in American society...
...Peace is made with heads of state, not with the leader of a clandestine army now scattered about the Arab world, not with the leader of a movement so bitterly divided that he could not deliver at a peace agreement...
...But for those who are not so strong, Daniel Bloom and "Bubbie and Zadie" help meet their needs...
...What can we do...
...The Greek Orthodox celebrate Xmas more than a week after December 25th...
...How to distinguish between the Abu Nidal group, who took credit for killing three Israelis and wounding nine with a bomb aboard a bus in Ashdod in March of 1984, and the Voice of the PLO, which immediately applauded the deed, promising more such attacks...
...If Abu Nidal were serious about making the PLO appear responsible for his attacks, why wouldn't he use readily available PLO-style weapons instead of his distinctive WZ-63s, especially since Kaplan notes the PLO didn't use that gun...
...There is nothing inherently wrong with the idea of a mythical Jewish couple in Nome, Alaska, who ericour-ages Jewish kids to send letters...
...The problem is when Jewish children never learn about their heritage...
...Why wear a kippah, why obey the laws of kashrut...
...The problem is when they are encouraged to think (or not discouraged from thinking) that their religion is not giving them enough...
...Paul, Minnesota ("The Jewish Big Chill," November 1984), as National Young Judaea is now celebrating its 75th birthday...
...Dan Bloom's project, which is immediately suspect because of its geography and chronology, provides an opportunity for many Jewish children, both those who are geographically and those who are psychologically isolated, to make contact with warm, supportive Jewish grandparents...
...The Justices of the Supreme Court can be made honorary board members...
...I also cannot deny the fact that I, too, get caught up in the "Christmas spirit...
...Surely they cannot all be on December 25...
...attempt to isolate Nicaragua, thereby forcing it to depend more on the Soviet Union...
...It has very little to do with the holiday of Chanukah...
...Rabbi Daniel Pernick Worcester, Massachusetts Young Judaeans Today To the Editor: It was very exciting to read about the 40-year reunion of the Young Judaea Trailblazers of St...
...Today's Jewish youth are still very much interested in their Jewish identity and their relationship to Israel...
...I also think that he can do no harm by continuing it...
...Elaine Biatch Sobel Newbury Park, California To the Editor: If Dan Bloom wants to do something positive and authentically Jewish to relieve the Christmas pressure on Jewish children, let him remind his writers that they have other holidays of their own...
...French President Mitterand and Foreign Minister Cheysson have wooed the Arab world by supporting the PLO as the expression of Palestinian nationalism without having to recognize it, for which France "has been rewarded by substantial contracts, particularly for arms," according to A.W...
...Adopting Christianity's trappings will hardly make many Jewish children happier...
...These and many other questions are explored across the country in Young Judaea-now in 1985 and for years to come...
...it would probably annul the meaning altogether, making it just another way of celebrating Christmas...
...For some, being Jewish in Sandusky may evoke despair...
...But—I have to wish that the child who wrote that she was teased "about not being able to write Santa Claus" could revel in her Jewishness, instead of being ashamed by it...
...The Jews of the world have gotten through worse things than the tension and anxiety of being a Jew at Christmas time, and they can-they must-get through that, too...
...Mama from Riga...
...Teaching pre-kindergarteners meets my need to build a strong Jewish younger generation...
...hence the guilt over wanting but never really being able to belong...
...True, Abu Nidal killed "moderate PLO leaders" who had met with Israelis, but he also killed, in the same time period, twice as many PLO representatives with no known Israeli contacts...
...Our youth are encouraged to take part in our three Young Judaea Israel programs, which are designed to give a firsthand taste of Israel...
...We must teach our children how fortunate we are that •Ms is true...
...After all, Xmas is a birthday celebration and our other national birthday holidays have been made Monday holidays...
...Kaplan interprets his data on Abu Nidal to support his preconceptions...
...Daniel Bloom, by himself, has not the power to confuse our children during the double-edged season...
...Let us rather make sure that their Jewish experience, so rich with trad tion and family, be-at home, at the synagogue, at Hebrew school, whet ever we can touch them-vibrantly full of spirit and meaning...
...Bloom wanted to be more uniquely Jewish he would move Bubbie and Zadie from Nome to Hallandale or Miami...
...for me, it will always evoke admiration...
...Bloom and his "Bubbie and Zadie" are not the problem...
...It could, however, become a new Christmas-time tradition for confused Jewish children...
...We all have different needs...
...Why wouldn't-Mama and Papa let me experience the sheer delight my Catholic chum Ruth could always savor every time Santa Claus answered her notes...
...It is not in the Jewish interest to see fte U.S...
...Lucille G. Natkins Great Neck, New York found myself being tugged in both lections as I read Daniel Bloom's Kticle and your introduction to it...
...Benjamin Ruekberg Lyndonville, Vermont (i|bbie nd Zadie...
...Some may see "lis as a naive point, but others will see the ADL as having morally corn-Promised itself here...
...The three articles in joment confirm this conclusion more itrongly...
...I do think that it cannot be a new Jewish tradition...
...Bloom...
...Well, quite frankly, I'm torn...
...Through peer leadership many nights are spent together discussing Israel...
...It is to remind us of our task and to preserve our separate-ness...
...If some Jewish children get comfort from writing to "Bubbie and Zadie," why not...
...Bloom has a good heart and a keen devotion to our religion and our children...
...It is hard for parents to realize how left out their children feel and not try to do something to compensate...
...I am now the Regional Director of the Florida-Puerto Rico region of Young Judaea...
...Kaplan implies that Abu Nidal's August 1982 massacre at the Goldenberg restaurant in Paris, masquerading as the PLO but firing his WZ-63s, foreclosed impending recognition by the French government of the PLO and of Arafat's "force for moderation and negotiation...
...Bloom meant any harm in his idea for "Bubbie and Zadie...
...If only little Chana had had access to a Bubbie and Zadie . . . (I have to say that those words would have come out: "Bobbeh" and "Zadeh...
...Upon reading your December 1984 article I seem to have a more relaxed attitude...
...He quoted the Minister of Tourism, Herty Lewites, as saying: "I am hopeful that through the graces of our two political parties there will be a sense of kinship developed between our nations, both of which are destined to live freely or to perish...
...I believe Mr...
...The problem is when people attack a symptom, such as Mr...
...It is hard to be holy, it is hard to be different, but in our differentness lies our identity and our survival...
...When te ADL...
...Bloom received...
...One of our popular national songs for this national holiday declares that there are 12 days of Xmas...
...However, it is vital for Jews who live away from major centers of Jewish population to feel a part of klal Yisrael...
...I do not, in any way, think that Mr...
...Arafat drew cheers from the crowd of "moderates" by referring to all of Israel as "occupied territory" and promising that, after the Iraq-Iran war ends, "We will move together with the Iraqi army, God willing, on Jerusalem...
...But couldn't we meet our children's needs for an authentic Jewish connection more productively if we offered not imaginary grandparents, but the names of other Jewish children with whom to correspond...
...Once again, however, the true believers in the PLO "moderation" were disappointed: The 17th PNC rejected King Hussein's call for the PLO to enter into negotiations on the basis of Security Council Resolution 242...
...While the non-urban American experience seems antithetical to what some of us define as a vibrant Jewish life, many are proving that if each of us takes our responsibility for Jewish survival seriously, Jewish life can flourish anywhere...
...How can we help...
...Rather than placating a sad child *]th a Nome, Alaska, substitute with J°real meaning, Jewish parents must tortile this difficult situation by taking ™e lead and educating themselves *out the positive aspects of Judaism, 'ound in the lessons of Chanukah, as "Jthe other Jewish holidays, esnecy Shabbat...
...in my mind, than has any ither material I've seen...
...Soviet Jewry and other oppressed Jews of the world are also issues of concern for the youth...
...Rabbi Lester Polonsky Monticello, New York To the Editor: The juxtaposition of Wendy Leibowitz's "Teaching Hebrew in Sandusky" with Daniel Bloom's article on "Bubbie and Zadie" in the December moment illuminated the hunger of Jews in isolated hamlets across America for tangible Jewishness not only at the difficult Christmas season, but throughout the year...
...Hopefully, we will be able to pass that strength on to our children, and then they will be able to pass that Jewish strength on to theirs...
...There is no doubt that Jewish children have tremendously mixed feelings at Christmas, and adults, loo, feel the stress...
...Presently, what disturbs me even more is moment's attempt to generate interest with this article and insult the intelligence of moment's readers...
...Rabbi Daniel Horwitz Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston, Texas To the Editor: Since I was the rabbi who was quoted in the Bloom article, I would like to be on record as saying that I continue to find the idea offensive...
...And our sanctity makes us different...
...Yet, like Leibowitz, in my years as a wandering Jewish teacher in Kalamazoo (Michigan), Bloomington (Indiana), Piqua (Ohio) and now in Anniston (Alabama), I have been both impressed and empowered by the dedication and commitment of small-town Jews...
...I do not think that Mr...
...You have lost my support...
...Oheb Shalom features committees and auxiliary organizations that could rival those of much larger congregations...
...Kaplan urges us to "distinguish between the Nidals and the Arafats, between those who are sworn enemies of peace and those who might yet be induced to try it...
...On the other hand, I must admit that I was moved by the responses that Mr...
...It is hard to argue with the observation of Prime Minister Shimon Peres, after the 17th PNC, that efforts to moderate the PLO "resemble an attempt to turn a tiger into a cat by petting it...
...Bloom's idea, instead of dealing with the "disease" itself—the lack of knowledge surrounding Chanukah and the lack of identity that Jews tend to feel during the Christmas season...
...Why make a Jewish substitute for Santa Claus...
...But when I remember all those poignant little notes to Santa which I then tore up, I can still feel those hot tears choking me...
...Only signed letters with a complete return address can be considered...
...The temple members are proud of their Jewishness and are constantly seeking to add to it...
...Most scholars agree that Jesus' actual birthday was probably in the spring...
...Papa from Tels...
...Chanukah is precisely the time to reinforce the beauty of distinctiveness...
...Then thei Jewishness, their differentness, win be a source of security and deep purpose-and you-know-who can't hold a candle to that...
...Rachel L. Israel Newton, Massachusetts Letters to the Editor moment welcomes letters from readers...
...Our Jewish children don't need this...
...Oheb Shalom functions actively as a Beit Tefillah (Place of Worship), Beit Midrash (Place of Study) and Beit Knesset (Place of Assembly...
...Lichtenstein iJew York, New York Jo the Editor: The only plus is that many Jewish chil-nren will learn two warm Jewish words...
...My introduction of b'not mitzvah for adults was enthusiastically received by the mothers and grandmothers of the congregation, as were the adult Hebrew reading and conversion classes...
...I enjoy the easily spread feelings of love and sharing that the Christmas season brings...
...Being Jewish is easy (perhaps too easy) in Washington, DC, or New York City...
...Why confuse people further...
...The young generation today is learning about the Holocaust, and not just as a memory from our grandparents' generation...
...In addition, we must provide them with the understanding of what a Jew is, and why Judaism meant so much to the Maccabees that they *ere willing to risk their lives for it...
...Clearly, a congregation of 60 families could not survive if the members were not so active...
...Joel Allen Samberg Lindenhurst, New York To the Editor: If Mr...
...It means chosen to do a job, to bear the light of G-d's presence, Unity and Law for the peoples of the world...
...I feel we should form a committee to lobby Congress to change Xmas to the Monday closest to the winter solstice...
...Let him tell children to exchange gifts on Purim, to decorate their sukkot, to light Sabbath lights and take pride in their Jewish studies all year long...
...Rozenkier acknowledged the strong anti-Israel declarations by the Nicaraguan government, but expressed hope that the new bilateral talks were the beginning of a new relationship...
...for Mr...
...It is American consumerism that is clearly the enemy we must avoid...
...Robert A. Riesman Providence, Rhode Island Small-Town Jewishness To the Editor: I read Wendy Leibowitz's well-written article, "Teaching Hebrew In Sandusky" (December 1984) with a special interest, since I was the student rabbi at Oheb Shalom for three years, including the period during which Wendy taught there...
...However, if for the sake of argument, we accept Rabbi Rosenthal's assertions, there remain morally troublesome aspects to what he says...
...in spring 1983, began pub-jcly accusing Nicaragua of anti-Semitism...
...Mrs...
...Bloom's response, al-iough I applaud him for his concern nd his efforts to do something while iost of his critics probably merely riticize without offering alternative uggestions to help alleviate the iress, and while I would not accuse jm of being "obscene and blasphe-ious," I wonder if perhaps a better olution is to encourage parents and irandparents to talk (or even write ack) to their children, reinforcing nd embracing the warmth and happi-less of Chanukah, as Mr...
...Surely the humanism in Rabbi Rosenthal's concern for the Jews of Nicaragua should extend to those individuals who died through these weapons...
...iarahC...
...0ur December issue, we asked for n,?iMT readers' reactions to mjelBloom's "Bubble andZadie" w;eCt ("A Bloom By Any Other pme")- Here, excerpts from our coders' letters: To the Editor: paniel Bloom's invention of a sweet ,|d Jewish couple in Nome, Alaska, to the disappointment of Jewish diildren at Christmas appears disguided...
...Jews as well as non-Jews must meet their needs in order to make their lives full and fulfilled...
...Not even Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer can compel our kids to spurn one holiday in favor of the other...
...It means chosen to be a nation of priests, a holy people...
...Certainly a Congress that feels competent to decide when the life of the unborn begins, something no competent scientist would opine, could pass a law that either makes Xmas a national Monday holiday <tf declares that Christmas is a religion8 holiday...
...the evidence I was ible to accumulate pointed to anti-Semitism within Nicaragua but not to iSandinista campaign against the lews as such...
...It's so nice to feel as though everyone actually cares, even if it is just for the month after Thanksgiving...
...Wise parents will utilize the difficulties of this season to initiate discussions of their own feelings and understanding of the season's inherent conflicts for Jews...
...Members of Young Judaea like to have fun, but now, as before, the learning process is essential to increase one's Jewish identity...
...From my first visit there in the fall of 1979,1 was amazed that a group of 60 families could build and support such a beautiful synagogue...
...In Sandusky, however, the act of being Jewish is a defiant "no" to the easy temptation of assimilation...
...He might possibly help to relieve the problem that lies at the root of his success: the tragic fact that most Jewish children are almost totally unaware of the beauty and depth of the Jewish way of life, and therefore must seek religious fulfillment in "Jewish" imitations of their neighbors...
...There was no attempt even to discuss amending the PLO National Charter, which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel by "armed struggle...
...f his purpose is to provide an outlet L Jewish youngsters to vent their Ustrations at being outsiders in the tiidst of a joyous, month-long, seemingly universal celebration, then that is one thing...
...If some Jewish adults feel the need to express their feelings to "Bubbie and Zadie," more power to them...
...Aliyah statistics from our movement are up, and this year our kibbutz, K'tura, turns 10 years old...
...We all tip our hats to Albert Vorspan and the Young Judaea Trail Blazers for being an inspiration, one of the early sparks to our well-lit hre Lisa H. Synalovski Hashachar-Young Judaea North Miami Beach, Florida On Christmas in America To the Editor: The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, ruled that municipalities may spend public funds on manger scenes because Xmas is not a religious holiday but, like Memorial Day, Presidents' Day, Columbus Day and Labor Day, Xmas is a national holiday...
...Is this what we Jews really want for our children and for Judaism...
...Bloom meant ill-will by doing his "Bubbie and Zadie" idea...
...Sibby Slotoroff Margate, New Jersey To the Editor: "Bubbie and Zadie," by themselves, stand no chance of pillaging the heart of Chanukah...
...This December, Mitterand again clarified his position, saying, "Arafat leads a movement, a clandestine army, not a state," and added that a visit to Paris by Arafat "would not be conducive to peace...
...One can anticipate no opposition to such a change...
Vol. 10 • March 1985 • No. 3
