12 Friday, December 9, 1983
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
The Mind-Body Problem': Maturity and Self-Worth
By SHARON HOCHMAN
(Editor's note: Ms.
Hochman is a clinical so-
cial worker in private
practice in Birmingham.)
"I'm often asked what it's
like to be married to a
genius," begins Renee
Feuer Himmel, the heroine
of Rebecca Goldstein's first
novel, "The Mind-Body
Problem" (Random House).
For Renee, "wife of a
genius" is too readily an af-
firmation of her self-worth,
but it hardly defines her as a
distinct personality.
Not wanting to play the
fool by adopting a melod-
ramatic pose towards her
own life, Renee (Rebecca
Goldstein) sets out to
explore the answer to the in-
itial question. With wit and
wisdom Renee lays her life
before us and we embark on
a fascinating journey of dis-
covery.
We laugh as she offers
surface intellectualism,
slickly updating the
stereotypic first command-
ment of Jewish Mothers
from "You are who you
marry" to "You are who you
sleep with." We learn, as
she questions the very na-
ture of reality, the perplex-
ing problem that
Shopenhauer called the
World Knot.
SHARON HOCHMAN
educated, introspective
females, Renee struggles
with resolving the
dichotomy between the
inner place of the mind
and the outer world of the
body — subjective and
objective reality. She
emerges from the cocoon
of an Orthodox Jewish
family (and a mother who
greets her scholastic
honors with the lingering
question ... "Nu, Renee,
and how will this help
you find a husband?") to
alight at Barnard Col-
lege.
There, she becomes im-
mersed in the investigation
of mind-body pleasures.
Brilliant men excite her but
her experiments are more
Like many highly-
than cerebral. Meetings of
the mind become meetings
of the body. The research is
"by the book," but it is not
"The Joy of Sex" that is the
reference. Renee and her
boyfriend, Hillel, use the
Kitzur Shulhan Arukh (the
Code of Jewish Law) in-
stead.
Hillel jokes, "We're sys-
tematically doing every-
thing it says you shouldn't."
(Tasting forbidden fruit
means making love by
candlelight or daylight,
hardly erotic by secular
standards.)
Renee continues her
studies at Princeton Uni-
versity as a graduate stu-
dent in philosophy. She
humorously describes the
atmosphere as one of "gen-
teel goyishness" where
Jews do not seem Jewish
(unlike Columbia, where
even the non-Jews seem
Jewish).
During her second
year, delighting in the
pleasures of the mind be-
comes an unsavory task.
She is a metaphysical
has-been, concerned
with questions about the
Meaning of Life —
hopelessly out of style in
a department wed to lin-
guistic analysis and the
meaning of words.
Unable to sustain herself,
in need of narcissistic
supplies, she re-focuses, and
again becomes a mistress of
the pleasures of the body.
She meets and marries the
famous Noam Himmel,
mathematical genius,
whose discovery of super-
natural numbers at the age
of 12 catapulted him into in-
stant scientific stardom. His
arrival at Princeton is
marked with the honor
given to Einstein years be-
fore.
Because Renee plots her
world on a "mattering
map," a theoretical con-
struct which assigns one's
place by what matters most
to him or her, Renee is set.
At Princeton "what" mat-
ters is intelligence (Renee's
aphrodisiac), and "who"
matters is a function of
"what" matters. "Who"
matters is Noam Himmel
and Renee matters because
she is his wife, as predicted
by her mother's first com-
mandment: You are who
you marry.
Simply put, "I am thought
of, therefore I am.
(Apologies to Descartes.)
On the "mattering
map" of Renee's mother,
being a good Jewish girl
(kosher) means periodic
visits to the mikve and
following a host of pro-
hibitions. A man's posi-
tion is determined by the
number of pages of Tal-
mud he can commit to
memory — not his ability
to bring home the
"beefenette."
She attended Barnard
and received her PhD
from Princeton Univer-
sity in philosophy. She is
married to a mathemati-
cian.
Although Noam calls her
religious upbringing "suck-
ling on irrationality,"
Renee has metabolized it.
She retreats to her Jewish-
ness and the protective
simplicity of childhood.
Recalling the serenity of
the Sabbath, the mysteries
of Faith, enables her to
"reunite" with her parents
and deny separation. When
her marriage falters, she at-
taches herself to a new rela-
tionship "with the qualities
of a sustained orgasm," a
continuation of the infantile
drive in a new setting.
Renee is forced to face
painful truths about herself
when her latest Academic
Prince will not take her
along for the ride. Without
the distortions in reality
testing, she can know her
husband for the first time,
and know his pain_
Perhaps through -writing
this book, Renee's "Self-
Analysis,". she has become
capable of being alone and
liking it — a person in her
own right.
Recently, Ms. Goldstein
won a grant from the
American Council of
Learned Societies to write a
philosophical study on "The
Concept of the Body."
The "teacher" shines
through the "writer"
throughout the novel, and it
is a veritable feast for one
hungry for ideas. The
reader is treated to large,
meaty portions of Plato,
Spinoza and Freud.
It is obvious that Ms.
Goldstein is one of those
rare professors who under-
stands the reality of the
ideas she studies and writes
about. "The Mind-Body
Problem" is no ivory tower
treatise. These insights
were earned in the theater
of personal experience.
Although Renee does not
solve the mind-body prob-
lem, she is a wiser woman
for her search. For the
reader, the journey has been
well worth taking. "The
Mind-Body Problem" is in-
tellectually stimulating
and entertaining, a triumph
for a first novel. We look
forward to hearing from Ms.
Goldstein again.
Rebecca Goldstein, like
her protagonist in the
book, was raised in an
Orthodox Jewish family.
NY District Attorney Defends Israel West Bank Policy
Robert M. Morgenthau,
New York County District
Attorney, in a New York
Times Op-Ed page article
Dec. 1, strongly defended Is-
rael's Judea-Samaria (West
Bank) policies.
The scion of one of Ameri-
can Jewry's most prominent
families emphasizes that
the treatment accorded the
Arabs by Israelis has been
humane and has benefited
the Arabs. He declares:
"Israel has brought un-
precedented prosperity to
the West Bank. There are
four Arab universities —
none existed under Jordan.
Medical care, life expec-
tancy and the standards of
living are all rapidly ap-
proaching Israel's levels.
"Existing tensions and
restrictions are rooted in
the territory's transi-
tional status. Once Is-
rael's right to exst- is af-
firmed, West Bank Arabs,
like their 700,000 breth-
ren who are Israeli citi-
zens, will have full civil
and human rights and
will live in peace with Is-
rael.
"What is lost amid the
sensational headlines and
passionate debate is that,
despite occasional Arab vio-
lence and ugly incidents of
Jewish vigilantism, 50,000
Jews and 750,000 Arabs in
the West Bank live, work
and trade in peace. There is
a modus vivendi with Jor-
dan, the bridges on the Jor-
dan River are open, com-
merce flourishes and
150,000 visitors from Arab
countries come every sum-
mer.
"If the West Bank, rather
than reverting to Arab rule,
remains under Israel, its
Arabs will live in a free
democracy instead of an
autocratic police state."
Bible Classes Behind Bars
could not imagine that drug
addicts, thieves and mur-
derers serving their prison
sentences would study the
Bible guided by heads of
yeshivot and rabbis.
By MOSHE RC i
The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent
TEL AVIV — It is a char-
acteristic event for Israeli
reality. In spite of the flood
of problems Israel has to
cope with, the minister of
internal affairs, Dr. Yosef
Burg, and the chief of Is-
rael's prisons, Dr. Werth-
eimer, found the time to
deal with an extraordinary
idea, namely, to organize
yeshiva schools in the Is-
raeli prisons and induce
prisoners to study the Bible.
In our richest fantasy we
•
•
-
••••
The project was
started. Dr. Wertheimer
was certain that it would
be met with laughter and
that nobody would be in-
terested. However, the
enthusiasm was great.
There were more candi-
dates than the classes
could accept.
The first class was carried
out in the Tel-Mond prison
••
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'
near Natanya. Sixteen pris-
oners began taking the
Talmud course under the
guidance of Rabbi Golomb
from Jerusalem. Among
them was a 21-year-old man
who was convicted of theft
and robbery and was serv-
ing a 13-year sentence.
After the first lesson he
addressed the rabbi and told
him, "I was promised that
one-third of my sentence
would be deducted if I would
behave well in prison. I
promise you, rabbi, that
after my release I will work
as a locksmith."
Providing a seven-point
reasoning analysis in sup-
port of Israel, Morgenthau
states in his essay:
"Fifth, Palestinian Arabs
already have a state.. All
Arab leaders, including
King Hussein and Yasir
Arafat, have repeatedly de-
clared that Palestinians
and Jordanians are one na-
tion. The inevitable conclu-
sion is that a Palestinian-
Arab state exists: it is called
Jordan and it comprises 80
percent of the area of Pales-
tine as defined by the
League of Nations (the only
existing political definition
of Palestine). It is therefore
difficult to see the need for a
second Palestinian - Arab
state in the 40-by-50 mile
area known as the West
Bank.
"First, there is no one to
talk with about the West
Bank, Israel has re-
peatedly called for
negotiations, stipulated
in the Camp David
agreement. Jordan, after
hinting, promising and
teasing, has refused to
join.
"Palestinian Arab lead-
ers, fearful after assassina-
tions by the Palestine Lib-
eration Organization, shy
away. Egypt has shown no
interest in West Bank
negotiations since 1980.
"Second, Israel cannot re-
linquish military control of
the West Bank. Both the
governing coalition and the
Labor opposition believe
that military control of the
area is vital. The reasons
could not be plainer. The
`confrontation states' on Is-
rael's eastern front are arm-
ing feverishly. By 1986,
they will have a staggering
number of sophisticated
weapons, including 10,000
tanks. (That's about the
number the Atlantic al-
liance has for the defense of
Europe.)
"To suggest that Israel
withdraw from the only
barrier between these hos-
tile armies and the 10-
mile-wide coastal strip that
contains 80 percent of Is-
rael's population and 66 -
percent of its industry is to
recommend suicide.
"Third, it is illogical to
claim that the settlements
are 'an obstacle to peace.'
"Sixth, Israel's right to
Judea and Samaria and
to the coastal plain is in-
disputable. Israel's legal
claim is based on the
League of Nations Man-
date, which - stipulated
Jewish settlement and a
Jewish National Home in
all of Palestine. It is
based, too, on the his-
toric, religious and cul-
tural Jewish ties to the
land, on the 3,000 years of
uninterrupted Jewish
presence, on the fact that
only the Jews have ever
had an independent sov-
ereign state there and on
the sacrifices they have
made to redeem the land.
ROBERT MORGENTHAU
Only the prospect of an
irreversible, complete Is-
raeli takeover of the
entire West Bank can
serve as an incentive for
the Arabs to negotiate. If
the settlements are fro-
zen, the Arabs will noth-
ing to lose by waiting.
Fourth, the 'demographic
danger' is a canard. There is
no danger that Israel will be
engulfed by a fast growing
Arab population. The West
Bank has been under Israel
control since 1967. Since
then, the ratio of Jews to
Arabs were of the Jordan
River — in Gaza, the West
Bank and pre-1967 Israel --
has remained exactly the
same:" 65 percent Jews, 35
percent Arabs. (Without
Gaza, it is 71-29.) All proj-
ections point to a similar
ratio in the future.
a 4
4
"Seventh, West Bank
Arabs have more civil
rights than citizens of any
Arab country. They have
access to impartial courts
and the right of habeus cor-
pus. They enjoy freedom of
the press, of movement and
of peaceful assembly.