THE
Significance of Shamas Candle
By RABBI SAMUEL FOX
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
There are basically two
reasons for "shamas" candle
that is added to the eight
' lights on the Hanuka men-
ora. One reason is that the
extra candle is used to light
the others. Since it "serves"
the others in this way it is
called the "shamas" (ser-
vant or server).
The second reason is that
one is prohibited from hav-
ins personal use of the
Ha lights. They are
holy and thus are not to be
used for secular purposes.
The extra candle is added
every evening to the candles
that are lit during the
Hanuka festival so that if
one accidentally might have
read in front of the Hanuka
candles, it may be consid-
ered that he read from the
illumination of the extra
candle, and not from the
light of the basic candles.
Women are prohibited
from doing any house-
work during the period
when the Hanuka can-
dles are burning as a
symbol of honoring
women whose role was
significant in helping
the Jews overcome the
tyranny of Antiochus and
his people.
Increase in Women Rabbis
NEW YORK (JTA) — A
record total of 82 women are
studying for the rabbinate
in Reform and Reconstruc-
tionist seminaries during
the current academic years.
Four of the seven women
who were ordained as Re-
form rabbis last June have
been placed in pulpits. Two
were placed in non-pulpit
posts and one is seeking a
position.
Ordination of the seven
women as Reform rabbis
brought to 29 the total of Re-
form and Reconstructionist
women rabbis ordained
since 1972 when Rabbi
Sally Preisand was named
by the Hebrew 'Union
College-Jewish Institute of
Religion (HUC-JIR) as the
first woman rabbi in
America.
Ordained were: Cathy
Felix of Highland Park,
Ill.; Jean Friedman of
Marblehead, Mass.;
Debra Hachen of Cleve-
land Heights, Ohio;
Judith Lewis of Roches-
ter, N.Y.; Mindy Portnoy
of New Haven, Conn.;
Aliza Wallin Berk of
Encino, Calif.; and Ellen
Jay Lewis of Westfield,
N.J.
Three of the new Reform
women rabbis were named
assistant rabbis — Fried-
man at Holy Blossom Tern-
ple in Toronto; Rabbi Judith
Lewis at Temple Sinai in
Roslyn Heights, N.Y.; and
Rabbi Ellen Jay Lewis at
Temple Emanu-El in Dal-
las. Hachen was named
rabbi of Cong. Bnai Sholom
in Westboro, Mass.
Felix was named assis-
tant chaplain at Brown
University. Portnoy was
named Bnai Brith Hillel di-
rector at the American Uni-
versity in Washington.
Berk is seeking a position in
San Jose, Calif., where her
husband, Michael Berk, a
fellow ordinee, is assistant
rabbi of a congregation.
A belated appointment
was disclosed by Rabbi
A. Stanley Dreyfus con-
cerning his daughter,
Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus of
Chicago, who was or-
dained in June 1979. She
could not be placed dur-
ing 1979 because she had
married and became
pregnant. She was placed
during the past summer
as the first Jewish chap-
lain at Doctors Hospital
in New York City.
The HUC-JIR spokesman
reported that a total of 67
women are studying for the
Reform rabbinate this aca-
demic year. A Reconstruc-
tionist spokesman reported
that 15 women are studying
for the rabbinate this year.
Appeal Is Made for Kahane
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Three recipients of the
Jabotinsky Centennial
Medal have appealed to
Premier Menahem Begin of
Israel to release Rabbi Meir
Kahane from prison where
. he has been incarcerated
since last May. Kahane
ber–n a hunger strike three
; ago.
w
is letter signed by Moshe
Brodetzky, Rabbi Herzel
Kranz and Dr. William
Pert, released by the Wash-
ington Zionist Revisionists,
urged Begin "to end the
martyrdom" of Kahane and
"to order his immediate un-
conditional release."
added:
letter
The
"Whether we agree or dis
agree with some or all of his
actions, there can be no
ND doubt that the former Be-
tari is a Jewish patriot, a
man of our flesh, our blood
and our spirit and nobody
since Ze'ev Jabotinsky has
done as much as he for
Jewish identification in the
United States." Kahane
was jailed for allegedly in-
citing against Arabs in Is-
rael and in Judea and
Samaria.
Meanwhile, in New
York, a spokesperson for
the recently formed Ad
Hoc Committee to Free
Meir Kahane, described
the leader of the Mach
movement in Israel and
the founder of the Jewish
Defense League in the
United States as "grow-
ing weak" from his fast.
The spokesperson noted
that it was ironic that
Kahane Continued to lan-
guish in prison "while 50
Arab terrorists were re-
cently released as a gesture
to President (Anwar) Sadat
(of Egypt) and the Moslem
holy day" of Id Al Adha last
month.
A book is the most de-
lightful companion. It gives
and does not take.
•bn Ezra.
In this context, some
claim the women were
heroic in running to the
battlefront to bring the men
food, etc.
Others claim that this re-
presents the heroism of
Judith, whose cunning
enabled her to behead the
general and destroy the
morale of the enemy.
It is also stated that it
may be a recognition of the
heroism of the priest's
daughter who brought to
the attention of her father
the embarrassment and de-
gradation of Jewish women
under the strange laws and
customs of the Greco-Syrian
rulers.
Another reason advanced
is the desire of the rabbis to
have a holiday atmosphere
imbue the Jewish home on
Hanuka. Since work is
allowed on Hanuka, the
holiday would hardly be
recognizable. However, se-
eing that the women refrain
from work at least for the
period of the burning
Hanuka lights, makes
others feel that it is a holi-
day that should be observed
and enjoyed in a holiday
spirit.
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