UP FRONT
Traditional, Modern Views
Clash Over Reproduction
LISA JACKNOW ELLIAS
Special to The Jewish News
R
Jakk's Restaurant on Greenfield Road.
Topless Go-Go Is A No-No
LILA ORBACH
Special to The Jewish News
hen word got out that the
former Jakks Restaurant on
Greenfield Road north of an
Mile was turning into a topless
tavern, neighboring store owners
declared war, gathering hundreds of
signatures on petitions that warned
of the hazards of bare bars. After
all, they said, such an establishment
wouldn't mix very well with the
Jewish bakery, the kosher food store
and the Jewish gift shop.
The Greenfield and Ten Mile
shopping center is home to a number
of Jewish businesses, including
Zeman's New York Kosher Bakery,
Lakewood Kosher Food Center,
Sperber's Kosher Karry Out and
Borenstein's Book and Music Store,
W
whose owners all said their shopping
strip was no place for a strip joint.
"It's like a slap in the face:' said
Morris Weiss, co-owner of Zeman's
Bakery. "We are all against it."
But after weeks of petitioning,
holding anti-topless meetings and
writing letters to congressmen, locals
may be surprised to hear the whole
thing was a rumor.
The center's landlord, shopping
mall magnate Ron Licht, claims it
was nothing more than a lot of talk
and he can't understand what all the
fuss is about.
"In no way in hell will that go
topless," Licht told The Jewish News.
"I'm not going to do anything in that
center that's going to hurt me or my
tenants!"
The topless tales began to cir-
Continued on Page 18
eproductive rights has become
a hot topic of late. The Baby M
case, the South African grand-
mother who bore her daughter's
triplets, the fight over Medicaid abor-
tions for poor women in Michigan —
such issues have sparked much
debate and a wide range of opinions.
The Jewish view of these ques-
tions was the topic of a panel discus-
sion on "Reproductive Rights in
Jewish Tradition and Law;' held Sun-
day at the Jewish Community Center.
In the end, the panelists could only
agree that they had fundamental
disagreements.
The three-person panel included
Rabbi Meilech Silberberg, leader of
Bais Chabad Torah Center in West
Bloomfield and an executive member
of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis of
Greater Detroit; Prof. Tikva Frymer-
Kensky, visiting associate professor of
women's studies at the University of
Michigan and author of several books
about Jewish and biblical history; and
Prof. Robert Sedler, who teaches con-
stitutional law at Wayne State
University Law School and is an at-
torney for the American Civil Liber-
ties Union. They represented ex-
tremely different viewpoints, all bas-
ed on their perceptions of Jewish law.
Rabbi Silberberg expresses an Or-
thodox view of reproductive freedom.
"The topic itself represents a cer-
tain orientation;' he said. "It is an
American way of looking at things. A
traditional Jew usually does not ask
what rights they have. Our laws are
grounded in the belief in the divinity
of the Torah and rabbinic law."
These laws respect the sanctity of
sexuality within marriage, and call
for having children, Rabbi Silberberg
explained. Thus, contraception and
abortion are not allowed, except in
very specific circumstances. And deci-
sions on such issues must be made
with the help of a "spiritual adviser,"
the rabbi said.
"The world was created to pro-
pagate the species," Rabbi Silberberg
Continued on Page 18
Adventure Center
Is Set To Re-Open
The Adventure Center, the indoor
camp which opened for four months
earlier in the year, is slated to reopen
for six weeks beginning Nov. 15.
According to Sam Fisher, ex-
ecutive director of the Fresh Air
Society which operates the Adventure
Center, the winter program will
highlight the upcoming Chanukah
holiday.
Like it's previous incarnation, the
Adventure Center will be housed in
the vacant Chatham supermarket
south of Tel-Twelve Mall and will
feature the same activities: arts and
crafts, sports and ropes course, Fisher
said.
What will be new is a weekly
special event "emphasizing the
Judaic aspect of the Adventure
Center."
Fisher said that the center's
future after January 1 "depends on if
the place is going to be leased or sold."
A meeting in December will deter-
mine the center's future, he added.
ROUND UP
Fire Destroys
Kollel Office
The fire in an office
building between the Towne
Theaters and Lincoln Center
shopping center in Oak Park
on Tuesday destroyed a
number of offices, including
the business office of the
Kollel Institute.
The Orthodox Jewish col-
lege on Lincoln, east of Lin-
coln Center, had maintained
a small business office in the
building for the last 10-12
years, according to Rabbi
Dovid Simcha. He said the
organization's insurance
should replace the lost fur-
niture, "but how can you
replace the history, the pic-
tures, plaques, programs,
computer lists?"
Simcha, an executive board
member of the Kollel, said
records of all fundraising ac-
tivities were kept in the office,
which he estimated had
200-300 square feet in two
rooms. The Mercaz, the lay
organization of the Council of
Orthodox Rabbis, also main-
tained an office in the
building until 1 1/2 years ago.
The Etkin Co. which owns
the building is seeking new
space for the tennants. Sim-
cha said the office has moved
temporarily to the basement
of the home of a board
member who lives on Lincoln
near the Kollel.
Temple Israel
Group On TV
Temple Israel's bereave-
ment support group will be a
featured segment on Charles
Kurault's Sunday Morning
program, to be aired at 9 a.m.
Nov. 15 on Channel 2.
Harriet Sarnoff Schiff, who
established the group, and Dr.
Jerrold Weinberg were among
those interviewed in an Oct.
29 taping.
SZ Teachers
Hope To Settle
The Hebrew Teachers
Association of Cong. Shaarey
Zedek reviewed their contract
negotiation Monday evening,
and are seeking to schedule a
negotiating session with the
synagogue next week. "We
hope to resolve the issue next
week;' said Beth Dzodin,
president of the association.
Rena Weintraub, president
of the separate teachers union
covering the six Shaarey
Zedek Beth Hayeled nursery
teachers, said no new meeting
has been scheduled for her
unit.
The teachers in both unions
were given a ten percent pay
cut Oct. 23, and represen-
tatives were told that fringe
benefits would also be
reduced.
Sephardi
Preservation
The World Sephardi Federa-
tion has launched a $5
million world-wide project to
ensure that Sephardic Jews
do not "become an historic
memory."
president
Federation
Nissim Gaon said in Paris
last week that inculcating in
the young "an appreciation of
our culture and roots" is
necessary.
"We are becoming an en-
dangered species," he said.
Most of the $5 million
budget will be allocated for
projects in Israel, said Gaon.
"The children of the Sephar-
dim who made aliyah out of
love of Zion and religious con-
victions look to us to redress
the neglect of the past," he
said, referring to the
economic and social depriva-
tions of Israel's Sephardim.
Gaon believes that Sephar-
dic Jews, who comprise the
majority of Israel's popula-
tion, can strongly influence
Israel's future. As "a
moderate influence," he said,
they "could eventually help
bridge the gap between Arabs
and Israelis."