24 CLOSE-UP 55% Technocrats 50% ROBYN KLEEREKOPER ORT and Lutz have devised a system to bring American workers into the age of computers and robot-assisted manufacturing. 32% 24% 21% 18% 36 Yes No Unde- cided "Is AIDS a judgment of God upon sexuality?" Yes No No Opinion "Is homosexuality a sin?" Source: Princeton Religion Research Center, February 1986; Survey of 518 adults. Dealing With An AIDS Victim Takes All Of Our Jewishness DANIEL H. FREELANDER My brother, David, died of AIDS at age 32. Somehow — even toward the end — I truly believed that my family would be spared this tragedy. Our lives had been so normal, so Jewish, so blessed, I reasoned. We shared a warm, nurturing environment and active leadership in our synagogue's educational, worship, music and youth pro- grams. We had traveled to Israel many times as a family. Our family get-togethers were seders and RoSh HaShana dinners. Judaism was the magnet that brought our family together, even two decades after leaving our parents' home. After David's death, our Jewish connec- tions did provide strength and comfort — but only after those same Jewish connec- tions had caused us anxiety, pain and fear. Some of that hurt still remains. But I've learned some lessons that I pass along here. 1. Normally intelligent and compas- sionate friends became virtual strangers, ceasing to call or visit, as if they thought that by touching us, David's family, they might themselves contract the stigma of AIDS. Others, while rationally understan- ding that there was no risk involved, still could not bring themselves to visit David's hospital bed. They reacted with surprise and concern when I spoke of the hours my 2- and 4-year- old sons spent with David while he lay on his deathbed. Their unspoken message was heard: "You can't be sure that you or your Rabbi Freelander is the Union of American Hebrew Congregations' regional director for New Jersey. children won't catch it." But how can one fulfill the obligation of bikur cholim, visiting the sick? (AIDS is not transmitted by casual contacts like sickbed visits.) One must rise above irrational fears. My plea: Visit the AIDS patient and his or her family. Hold hands. Be there. Learn to overcome your discomfort and fears and ignorance. As during a shiva call, your sim- ple presence speaks more than any words can after the fact. This is when the patient and family need you most. 2. Pray for a miracle, but don't trust in one. David had first faced death in June 1986, but a seemingly miraculous drug, AZT, gave him renewed life. He regained strength, weight, energy and presence of mind; and he appeared so normal, so cured, that we convinced ourselves he had in fact escaped the evil decree. But his newly found health was il- lusory. AZT addressed the symptoms, but not the disease itself. And its side effects created a whole new battery of life- threatening situations. Sadly, David's healthy outer appearance masked the reali- ty we sought to ignore: that AIDS was and is as yet incurable, that ultimately David would die. My plea: Help the families of AIDS pa- tients make the most of whatever precious days, weeks or months remain. We may want to be deluded by miracles, but friends must help us face the reality that every possible moment together is too precious to waste. 3. Families of AIDS patients desperate- ly need to talk about what they are ex- periencing. Yet they harbor understandable Continued on Page 22 Re lig ious News Service LIFE IN ISRAEL A special farm in the Judean Hills is using Biblical techniques to get modern results. Also, what happened to Menachem Begin? Shabbos! Shabbos! 43 EDWIN BLACK Undismayed by his lack of converts, a Jerusalem rabbi continues his campaign against driving on Shabbat. Lavi At The Crossroads HELEN DAVIS Israel will soon decide if its new jet fighter is worth the - economic and strategic costs. 52 `c \l 59 ENTERTAINMENT Shot In The Park JUDY MARX Seventeen years have developed Monte Nagler's keen photographic eye for the great outdoors. SINGLE LIFE Summer Fun Vs. Jobs 85 JENNIFER TAUB Balancing work and play isn't always easy for college students at home for the summer. DEPARTMENTS 32 34 36 48 59 70 For Women 75 Business 79 Weddings 82 Births 114 Obituaries Inside Washington Synagogue Life In Israel Seniors Entertainment CANDLELIGHTING August 21, 1987 8:06 p.m. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS ' 7