Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1989-03-16

              Serving Columbus and Central Ohio Jewish Community lor Over 60 Years     \1P§X
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1982  VELM-,   AVE. ^ :
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VOL.67   NO. 11
MARCH 16,1989-ADARII9
Devoted to American
and Jewish ideals.
State Secrets Blamed
For New Refusals
WASHINGTON (JTA) -
The Soviet Union has given
"fresh refusals" to; Jews
' wishing to emigrate who
were allegedly privy to state
secrets, refusenik Judith
Lurie told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week.
"We have several refuseniks for state secrets who
have never had any secrets
before. I am speaking about
the fresh refusals," Lurie
said from Moscow in a telephone conference call placed
by B'nai B'rith International.
In addition, "those old
refuseniks who happen to be
in contactwith secrets more
than 10,15 and 25 years also
have been given fresh
refusals," she said.
On another issue, Lurie
said the new Jewish cultural
center in Moscow, the Solomon Mikhoels Center, which
opened Feb. 12, has been
closed temporarily for
"repairs." But she did not
blame the closing on any
political foul play.
NEWS ANALYSIS
Q»'
**
vP*
A Joyous Festival
Celebrating the deliverance
from Haman's plot to destroy
the Jewish people in the days
of Persia's King Ahashverosh
and Queen Esther.
Is The Premier's New Tough Talk
Saber-Rattling Or Stage-Setting?
JERUSALEM (JTA) - A
current spate of hard-line
political statements from
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir has given rise to
intense speculation here as
the premier and his aids prepare for then* first encounter
with the new U.S. administration early next month in
Washington.
Does the premier intend to
portray a tough, "no concessions" stand in his talks with
President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker?
Kehillah Community Mission To Travel To Rome, Israel
"This fall, the Columbus
Jewish Federation is
proudly sponsoring the
Kehillah Mission to Rome
and Israel," announce
Robert H. Schottenstein and
Ernest Stern, Mission co-
chairmen. Kehillah, the
Hebrew word for "comm-
UNITY," emphasizes that
this mission is-for the entire
community, appealing to
both the veteran and first-
time visitor to Israel.
The  ten-day  mission ,
departs from Columbus on
Tuesday, Sept. 12, returning
Friday, Sept. 22. Sponsored
and subsidized by the Federation, the Mission cost is
only $1250 per person ($400
additional single supplement) with a minimum commitment to the 1990 Jewish
Community Campaign of
$1000 per individual participant or $1500 per couple participant. An early registration discount of $50 per person is offered for people
having their $200 deposit in
by April 14.
"The mission way is the
only way' to experience
Israel. It delves way beyond
what tourists encounter, providing a total experience of
the Jewish homeland,"
assured Schottenstein.
"Through the meetings and
activities planned with government officials and political leaders, as well as
leaders in the academic and
business community, we will
have the opportunity to
explore critical issues while
demonstrating support for
Israel and her people."
An active member of the
Jewish community, Schottenstein serves as president
of Columbus Torah Academy and is on the board of
the Federation and the Leo
Yassenoff Jewish Center. A
past recipient of the Therese
Stern Kahn Young Leadership Award, he has served on
many" policy making committees of the Federation
and its beneficiary agencies
and has been active in the
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 3)
FEATURE
'Sanctity And Mechitzah
Go Hand W Wind
By Chris Leppek
Reprinted From The
Inter mountain Jewish News
Rabbi David Stavsky
The specific purpose of
Rabbi David Stavsky's visit
to Denver this week was to
discuss the miechitzah — the
physical barrier separating
men from women within a
synagogue's sanctuary —
and more specifically, the
.lack of such a mechitzah
within Denver's BMH
Synagogue.        |
But his address to BMH
members and the community Tuesday night, on "The
Sanctity of the Synagogue
and the Holiness of Prayer"
went far beyond the presence or absence of this
item, into the realm of sanctity as it pertains to Jewish
life itself. And in an interview with the Intermountain
Jewish News shortly before;
his arrival here, Rabbi
Stavsky elaborated on the
issue of Orthodox Judaism in
general, and the evolution of
Orthodoxy in Denver in
particular.
In a way, Raton) Stavsky
came to Denver as an unofficial ambassador of the
Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations to BMH Synagogue (which is an affiliate
of the UOJC) as part of an
ongoing dialogue between
those two bodies on the
mechitzah and other issues.
In more ways than one, he
came with the impeccable
credentials for the job.
First, Rabbi Stavsky is
familiar indeed with Denver
Jewry having served in the
area as a chaplain during the
1950s. Also, since his wife,
the former Ruth Burger, is a
native Denverite, he visits
Denver at least annually to
stay in touch with family
members. He is a close
friend of many in the Denver
, rabbinate of today and was
close to many of Denver's
more illustrious late rabbis
as well.
Second, the UOJC rightly
considers Rabbi Stavsky one
,of its success stories, based
largely on his work in
"turning around" the Beth
Jacob Congregation in
Columbus, Ohio where he
has served for 33 years.
. Rabbi Stavsky considers
himself a member of "centrist Orthodoxy" and was
also an early force in the
baal teshuvah movement.
He has brought much of that
movement's inspirational
power into his own congregation. At present, he says, he
has 52 young members from
his shul, living fully observant lives, who hailed from
utterly non-observant backgrounds. Which is not bad at
all for a community, of some
14,000 Jews.
The rabbi is careful to
note, however, that he had
no intention of lecturing or
scolding, the membership or
leadership of BMH, which
has so far declined to fail
into the UOJC mainstream
on' the  mechitzah  issue.
(Rabbi Stavsky indicates
that there are "six or seven"
other UOJC affiliates across
the nation engaged in a
similar dialogue at present.)
"I'm not going to hurt anybody's feelings nor embarrass anybody," Rabbi
Stavsky told the UN, "but I
think that I have something
to say and I think what I
have to say is honest. After
all, when you're a guest in
somebody else's house you
don't want to cause any ill
feelings.
wedding stresses
of the Carrying
all others. TI
prayer for the di
involves a phyi
tion of the indivii
praying from
ity. All invoke the
separation as a means'
gaining sanctification for the
particular mitzvah in
question.
"Once we understand
these aspects," Rabbi
Stavsky says, "then we can
possibly  understand   the
'What does the synagogue stand for? Is it a catch-all
trying to be everything to everybody?'
"I think (Rabbi) Stanley
Wagner is trying very hard
to resolve this issue," Rabbi
Stavsky says. "The very fact
that he has invited the UOJC
to come out is, I think, to his
credit.
"And I think so much more
can be done."
A main current in Rabbi
Stavsky's message is that
the mechitzah is a requirement of a halachically observant synagogue, not an
elective, not an option to-be
accepted or discarded. Its
symbolic emphasis on separation —kedushah—is a vital
part of many major Jewish
rituals and mitzvot, and its
importance within the synagogue building is no less
important.
Observance of the Shabbos, the rabbi illustrates,
stresses an individual's separation from the mundane
aspects of life. A halachic
sanctity .of the synagogue.
What we're saying is: 'Make
me a sanctuary so that He
shall dwell among the people
of Israel.' What does this
really mean? Well, I think-it
means* that the word
'kedushah,' separation,
means that the synagogue
also, has to be a separate
kind of edifice.
"It cannot just be a
meeting place. It cannot be
just a country club. It has to
have certain spirit to it and it
isn't for man to tell us what
that spirit is. It's what Hala-
chah tells us what that spirit
is. Hashem, through the Oral
Law, tells us what that spirit
is."
Beyond making a syna-N
gogue holy, by turning its
elements of chol (the
earthly) into kodesh (the
spiritual), Rabbi Stavsky
says there are practical
. benefits to support such a
Sue
a
a
md
Constructed a beautiful
Synagogue with a mechitzah.
This was going against the
tide of the times,.risking all
the promises of a great
membership if we didn't do
it.
"But the truth of the
matter is that we did it and
we turned it around. The*
reason, I humbly submit, is
that many people are looking
for certain- truths: Absolute
truths;"
The absolute truth of Hala-
chah is central to this
search, the'rabbi says. "It's
a philosophy. It's a whole
attitude. The question is,
what does the synagogue
stand for? Is it a catch-all,
trying to be everything to
everybody? Or are we
saying' that physically this
building, with its construction, with its mechitzah, is
giving a message? The message is that there's a certain
spirituality in this synagogue, in this building, and
this spirituality must emanate from this synagogue in
order to reach people and to
teach people."
The search for truth, and
for undiluted Torah Judaism, Rabbi Stavsky says, is
the central force behind the
growing  baal  teshuvah
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 3)
Or is his uncompromising
rhetoric designed to cast any
moderation he may offer in
Washington in' the most
favorable possible light,
when it is set against a prior
backdrop of harsh public inflexibility?
What, moreover, is the '
role of domestic political
considerations — both internal Likud rivalries and the
uneasy Likud-Labor relationship —in the prime minister's recent resort to the
kind of rhetoric generally
associated with Shamir's
chief internal critic, Industry and Trade Minister Ariel
Sharon?
Some examples of
Shamir's tough talk:
• In. a recent interview
with The Washington Post,
the Likud leader said Arafat
would be imprisoned if he
came to Israel to talk peace.
• In a weekend interview
on British television, he
noted that Labor's dovish
elderv.^tjlesm^
EBan; was "noTangierin the
Knesset, thank God."
• In a party speech, he
blasted Peace Now as the
most "marginal of marginal
movements" and implied
that Peace Now leaders who
meet with Palestinians here
and abroad are unpatriotic.
In the same speech, he
referred to the Palestinians
as "a bother."
• In a meeting with European Parliament members,
he ruled out the idea of elections on the West Bank to
produce an authoritative,
local leadership that could
then negotiate with Israel.
This idea has been advanced publicly by Defense
Minister Yitzhak.Rabin of
Labor, and it is known to be
supported by key figures in
the Likud, among them Ministers Dan. Meridor and Ehud
Olmert.
The premier's vituperative comments about Peace
Now triggered a series of
similar and even sharper
remarks from other right-
wing politicians. Knesset
Member Uzi Landau of
Likud compared the move-
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)
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