Letters

...I hope too that in the future, moment will take an in-depth look at the Board of Directors of Federations, for these are the people who ultimately decide the future of their respective communities...

...Name and address withheld To the Editor: Congratulations on your excellent June issue on American Jewish Philanthropy...

...Thank you for providing refreshing new midrashim...

...However, the Federation's position has been that it is not required to list petitioned nominees on the proxies along with those nominated by the committee...

...The needs of Jewish youth require more than just Jewish education, although that should be a priority...

...20036...

...I am hopeful, however, that in the future, Federation Boards and their staffs will draw clear lines of responsibilities to prevent trespassing and to develop more open lines of communication so as to prevent the kinds of unfortunate and humiliating experiences that Jewish professional leaders and their families have suffered...

...there are other needs as well that are not being met—needs that a Jewish Community Center is supposed to provide in most communities, although the center is not necessarily to blame for the problem...

...Jewish youth must be placed high on the agenda at the General Assembly and in individual Federations across the country if the Jewish community is to grow and develop...

...At that point, only a dribble came out of the tz'dakah pipe...

...Torah enjoins, the burdens as well as the glories of its history...

...In other words, that mere physical return to the land automatically invalidated those thousands of years of history and law, even though the whole concept and basis of return depends on their contents...

...Other sources of information and suggestions for action include Amnesty International, 2112 Broadway, New York, New York 10023...

...All of which is to say that the halachah is needed as much now in the Land of Israel as it is in the lands of exile...

...There are no short-cuts and there are many obligations...

...While I would like to respect these Directors, with whom my father has been associated for the past five years, I find it extremely hard...

...Neither did Ruth, the great convert, tell Naomi that she liked everything about returning back to Israel with her and becoming a Jew except "the degradation of unwanted conversion...

...And because this project is so difficult, it must be done for the purest of motives, as the halachah requires—not just for the purpose of marriage...

...And this separateness applies on the individual level as well...

...We, therefore, strongly echo your sentiments that "we've got to develop mechanisms that permit people to be heard, to feel that they matter...

...Being Jewish does not depend on any reason, or circumstance, or any condition subject to change...

...Conversion must imply halachah...

...Rather, the whole process of "conversion" is a religious concept...

...This practice continued until it became necessary to join a temple so we could provide a religious education for our children...

...We were particularly sympathetic with one of the observations from your readers that "it is a dangerous symptom that so many feel locked out . . . frozen out of Federation...

...and on the individual level as well, the "secular, democratic" definition of Jewish identity also means extinction of the Jewish people...

...Just because a doctor's area of expertise is the field of medicine, he is not qualified to judge the kashrut of a pair of t'fillin...

...It should have defined limits...

...One of the major problems is that the ills of the Federation are usually blamed on the Director, without the introspection of the lay leadership and without calling in a consultant from the Council of Jewish Federations to discuss the existing problems...

...junior high, senior high and college youth) be placed in a separate category, as much as the "elderly" are...

...But this is not enough...

...The separate-ness of Israel, whether from the religious or Zionist point of view, is an obvious necessity—indeed the only way to be truly part of the world...

...Paul Kerbel New York, New York Jews of that country, made its first public denunciation of the new wave of anti-Semitism...

...It has become increasingly evident in recent years that the lack of Torah education in Israel is creating a generation who, though they speak Hebrew, live in the land, and praise the Bible, are in danger of becoming hostile to the values, outlook and contents of Torah, and divorced from the past of their people...

...In the same way that everyone, Jew and gentile alike, recognized the falseness of the conversion of those Jews who sought an "admission ticket" to European gentile society in the nineteenth century, similarly today the conversion without halachah of those gentiles who seek an admission ticket to Israeli society is equally false and meaningless...

...And it was after the return from the first exile that Nehemiah, upon rebuilding the Temple, had to separate, according to halachah, the Jews from the non-Jews, even by breaking marriages {Nehemiah, 13:1-3...

...The Nation called the situation "one of the ugliest eruptions of anti-Semitism since the Holocaust...

...We were given a copy by a Federation official, and were so impressed that we are enclosing a check for $18.00...

...Certainly, from both practical and financial viewpoints, it is prohibitive and discriminatory for nominees by petition to be expected to send out their own proxies and notice...

...An Argentine Jewish leader told a Washington Post reporter, "Anti-Semitism in Argentina is like a thermometer...

...All of the rest was siphoned up by the dollar hungry full-service temple...

...Silence is our worst enemy...

...There are non-Jews who can be and are Israeli citizens...

...I hope, too, the editors of moment will keep readers informed of further developments in Argentina...

...Everyone is well aware that Arafat's formula of a "secular, democratic state" in Palestine means annihilation of the Jews...

...This is, sadly, counterproductive to the greater interest of the total Jewish community...

...23-27...

...Seymour Prystowsky Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania...

...To play off halachah against inner feeling is indeed a non-Jewish perspective...

...We spread around our small amount of money to our favorite organizations and felt good about it...

...For merely being physically present in the Land of Israel, even fighting for it, does not ensure Jewish survival or define Jewish identity...

...Jones uses the old argument that "halachah evolved for the use of a people in exile," for "boundary maintenance," and that these laws were meant for "a different time and a different place...

...There is no division of life into the mutually exclusive categories of politics or religion or ethics...

...Since the Israeli Knesset began tampering with the definition of who is a Jew in relation to the politics of the Law of Return, many promiARGENTINA To the Editor: Thank you for Representative Drinan's article (April 1977) concerning the situation of the Jewish community of Argentina...

...If giving to the temple is tz'dakah, it is not the idealistic privilege, joy or dignity spoken of by Danny Siegel...

...The staff is 100% professional and 100% expensive...

...Please encourage Marc Gellman to continue writing...

...In May, however, the Delegation of Jewish-Argentine Associations, which represents the 450,000 nent Jewish leaders, foremost among them the Lubavitcher Rebbe, have spoken of the grave danger involved...

...But no piece of paper—not even one containing some law the Knesset may decide to pass which alters the halachic definition of Jewish identity—can make a Jew...

...A temple is not an all encompassing organization...

...Federations (and synagogue boards as well) are notorious for the manner in which they hire and fire their professional leaders...

...And of Solomon, who presided over the greatest political kingdom of Israel and who took wives not according to halachah, it is recorded that for this reason he fell (/ Kings, 11:1-8...

...but wanting to become a Jew is not equivalent to the political process of becoming a citizen of a nation, i.e., residing there and simply declaring oneself so...

...I am writing to ask readers of moment to speak out...

...Even the secular, democratic argument of Mr...

...Both groups have recently concluded their deliberations on this matter and remain opposed to any change that would allow nominees by petition to be listed on the proxies...

...write to officials of the Argentine government and the United Nations...

...And one who seeks to share in the destiny of Israel must accept its past as well, the responsibilities which...

...I am concerned that many Jewish professionals are mistreated and abused, that their roles and responsibilities are misunderstood...

...In Chicago, the Federation By-Laws provide for nomination to the Board by a nominating committee as well as by petition...

...I encourage you to continue publishing them...

...that Jewish identity cannot be altered either way...

...Our Full-Service Temple has two Rabbis, a Cantor, a religious education director, an abrasive secretary, a librarian, a music director and a cadre of teachers...

...N.E., Washington, D.C...

...But, as Mr...

...write to President Carter...

...Repression and terror affect many sectors of the population, not only the Jews of Argentina, but when things are hot for the Argentine people, they are especially hot for Argentine Jews...

...While the Federation is a humanitarian and social welfare agency it does not know how to relate humanely to its own professional...

...Argentine Commission for Human Rights, 1912 N. St., N.W., Washington, D.C...

...And I share his disgust for "quickie conversions" and for the politicization of the issue of "who's a Jew" in Israel...

...In the past, Jewish youth have not received the attention they so desperately need from either Jewish Federations or from the community at large...

...Since most of the votes are cast by the proxies, nomination by petition is obviously an exercise in futility...

...It involves the Board of Directors of Jewish Federations...

...Adults and young people have responded so enthusiastically that I plan to make them a regular part of the service...

...Halachah and true Torah education are needed desperately—as much in Israel to ensure Jewish survival as outside it...

...on the contrary, many Jews have been arrested or "disappeared" (the "disappeared" are persons whose arrests are not acknowledged by the government, in spite of eyewitness accounts, and whose whereabouts remain uncertain), and government press, radio and TV have circulated anti-Semitic propaganda...

...We can urge a U.N...

...Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy, 120 Maryland Ave...

...But the definition of "who's a Jew" does not depend on his feelings, his presence in the land, a knowledge of Hebrew, love for an Israeli woman, or even his holding a gun in the Army...

...Shirley and Alvin Friedman Morton Grove, Illinois To the Editor: In the old days (twelve years ago when my bride and I were first married) we gave tz'dakah to the extent of our income...

...I promise both of you that I will continue using them...

...investigation of the situation, and we can bring economic and political pressure to bear on the junta through our own government...

...As Drinan reported, the general attitude of Argentinian Jews toward the military junta during its first year was "wait-and-see...

...Without the element of religion, the whole notion of conversion is irrelevant...

...The second comment, although rather harsh, should be said...

...If anything can be learned from my banter, it is that we must call for restraint by the governing board—our money well is not limitless...

...This is especially so as regards the question of marriage and propagation, which are the very bedrock of Jewish survival...

...Conversion without halachah" is self-contradictory, and that is understood by Jew and gentile alike...

...Susan Handelman Buffalo, New York MIDRASHIM To the Editor: I have been using Marc Gellman's stories for children at family services...

...Jones has seen the obvious falsehood and dishonor to Judaism, Israel, and the Jewish people in these recent occurrences...

...Since the military takeover in March 1976, synagogues have been bombed, Jewish-owned businesses have been machine-gunned, and anti-Semitic literature, including works of Nazi chief Goebbels, have been freely distributed...

...But I am surprised that Jones, as one who desires to be part of the Jewish people and who claims a substantial knowledge of Judaism, has not also learned the elementary fact that Jewish identity has never been defined by his criteria—i.e., that by "considering oneself a Jew," one automatically becomes a Jew...

...This issue was raised six months ago before the By-Laws Committee and the full Board...

...I would, however, like to share two thoughts with you...

...As the son of a Federation direction I felt a special identification with many of the topics presented...

...Begin now in office, there will, no doubt, be more heated debate...

...Amy Leos Urbel Northampton, Massachusetts CONVERSION To the Editor: There is one statement in Kenneth Jones' article, "Being a Jew May be Hard—Becoming One is Harder Still" (May 1977), with which I agree—that a piece of paper will not make one a Jew...

...In our case, it isn't freely given and we don't feel positive about it...

...Therefore, in order to give a fair opportunity to all nominees, the By-Laws should either be amended or officially interpreted so that the official annual notice sent out by the Federation should include the necessary documents to make it possible to cast proxy votes for all nominees, i.e., by petition or committee...

...Conversion according to halachah is, of course, difficult...

...We eagerly anticipate future issues...

...Obviously, Jewish identity should not be defined in non-Jewish terms...

...The government has made no attempt to curb these outbreaks...

...It is not a political identity to be legislated by the Knesset...

...Jones' love of Jews and Judaism is admirable...

...The preservation of our people depends on the strong demarcation between Jew and non-Jew as much as the demarcation of strong and defensible borders between the State of Israel and her neighbors...

...It is surely advantageous to encourage maximum participation on all levels of the Federation for, despite the outstanding and often awesome job that that network does, greater Federation involvement would only lend added meaning and greater success to the people it serves and to whom it looks for support...

...Generally, they are lumped together under the categories of "Jewish Education" or "Community Centers" and, as a leader in the Jewish youth community, I feel it time that their needs (i.e...

...In its highest sense, it means the permeation of all aspects of life with holiness, which is the meaning of the Jews as a nation apart, a people chosen to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6...

...Jones must know, the word halachah is not correctly translated as "law" and does not mean irrational rigid coercion, but rather "path" or "course," a practical guide to life...

...20002...

...Write to your representatives in Congress...

...In fact, the dicta concerning intermarriage and Jewish identity go back to pre-Exilic times, to Abraham's and Isaac's searches for daughters-in-law (Genesis, 24 and 28), and even more specifically, to the explicit prohibitions given as the Jews were about to enter the Promised Land {Deuteronomy, 7:3-4...

...Jones that he is denied his "individual right to marry the woman he loves even though he is not a Jew" means the same thing...

...In this regard, the recent action of the Board of Chicago's Jewish Federation is most disappointing...

...It should also not engage in "pass-through tz'dakah" (as our temple does) but leave its members the right and opportunity to choose its own...

...And as Mr...

...The costs of postage, labor, and stationery could amount to approximately $10,000...

...Being Jewish is not a matter of feeling, nor is it an easy formula to be fabricated according to the needs of the moment, be they political, individual, cultural, or emotional...

...The lay leadership of Federation have yet to learn how to treat their professional staffs and their families...

...Zionism itself arose in part because of "exclusivism," that which Jones calls the "unhealthy, exclusivist elements of traditionalism," and in part because of the shock of assimilated Jews that regardless of their protestations, feelings, and conversions the world still regarded them as Jews, as different and separate...

...That because he "felt" himself to be part of the Jewish people, he necessarily gains the right to determine what Jewish identity means despite, or in contradiction to, the definition given by the Torah and Talmud, and the laws of conversion therein...

...And with Mr...

...These, in particular, are not matters to be left undefined by Jewish law, or to be determined by those who are neither learned in nor practioners of the laws of Torah...

...In contrast to other religions, and especially to so many movements prevalent today, Judaism is not dependent on one's inner feelings...

...Jones said, no piece of paper can make one a Jew...

...Jewish identity is and always has been independent of personal conviction and even of good character and moral behavior...

...There is nothing "secular" as far as a Jew is concerned, no relegation of his Jewishness to certain aspects of his life and not others, no part of himself that is not Jewish...