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December 23, 1988 - Image 137

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1988-12-23

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

mts Send Letters Of Support
fell'
To Soviet Refusenik Family

One way to learn about Jewish
life around the world is to write to a
Jewish family in another country.
What is daily life like in the pen
pal's country? What is Jewish life
like? How are the holidays
celebrated?
*Cost of an international air
mail letter is 45 cents per half
ounce.
This month, the address of a
Russian Jewish refusenik has been
made available by the Soviet Jewry
Committee of the Jewish
Community Council. Before writing,
please read these special rules for
corresponding with Russian Jews:
Letters should be personal,
warm, sympathetic and should ask
about birthdays, anniversaries and
family events. Cards should be
exchanged on these occasions and
on the Jewish holidays as well.
Avoid any anti-Soviet material and

Visitors Guide
Is Published

The Metropolitan Detroit
Convention and Visitors Bureau has
printed a comprehensive Visitors
Guide.
Single copies of the guide are
available at no charge by writing the
Detroit Visitor Information Center, 2
E. Jefferson, Detroit, 48226.

refrain from mentioning names of
Soviet Jewry rescue organizations.
Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew or
English may be used.
This month's refusenik family is
that of Yuri and Natalia Cherniak of
Moscow. Cherniak, a nuclear
physicist, was first refused an exit
visa in 1988 for "security reasons."
However, late in November Cherniak
was one of about two dozen
refuseniks who had the secrecy
designation lifted.

After applying for an exit visa in
1976, Dr. Cherniak was dismissed
from his position as a theoretical
physicist at Moscow State
University's Institute of Nuclear
Physics. Permission to emigrate was
denied Dr. Cherniak on grounds of
security, despite the fact that he
had not worked with classified
materials since 1971, having passed
the five-year period designated by
Soviet authorities as an appropriate
length of clearance time following
such research.
Dr. Cherniak now does research
at home, having been forbidden to
enter institute libraries. He repairs
cars to earn a living.
Letters may be mailed to the
Cherniaks as follows: USSR,
RSFSR, Moscow 117279,
Profsoyuznaya 85-1-93, Cherniak,
Yuri.

THE JEWISH TRAVELER

Edited by Alan M. Tigay

About 40 cities are described in this paperbacked volume, which
gives information on where to stay, kosher restaurants, synagogues,
Jewish community centers, sights of Jewish interest, Jewish history
and culture.

THE SELECTIVE GUIDE FOR
THE JEWISH TRAVELER

By Warren Freedman

The book gives an overview of restaurants, hotels, communal
organizations, landmarks and synagogues.

THE JEWISH TRAVEL GUIDE

Edited by Sidney Lightman

The guide contains up-to-date information on kosher restaurants,
hotels, synagogues, places of historic interest and Jewish
organizations, in places such as the Far East as well as behind the
Iron Curtain. The current edition features a revised section on New
York City.

WORLD GUIDE FOR
THE JEWISH TRAVELER

By Warren Freedman

This paperback edition gives information about Jewish sites,
synagogues, museums and memorials and Israel; gives information
about Jewish history as well as little-known facts.

TRAVELING JEWISH IN AMERICA:
FOR BUSINESS AND PLEASURE

Compiled by Brynna C. Bloomfield
and Jane M. Moskowitz
Edited by Ellen Chernofsky

iThis paperbacked guide includes state-by-state listings of
synagogues, restaurants and kosher caterers, accommodations and
mikvaot.

Keeping Kosher On The Road Part Of Overall Travel Plan

BY HEIDI PRESS
News Editor
Business consultant Yehuda
Stebbins of Southfield does a lot of
traveling in his job. Sometimes it's a
short two-day trip, other times it's
several days or a week.
And just as any other traveler,
Stebbins must plan for
accommodations, mode of
transportation, clothing and other
basic necessities. But Stebbins, an
observant Jew, has another
consideration — keeping kosher on
the road.
For observant Jews, being able
to have kosher food and observing
Shabbat are major considerations
when traveling.
On a short trip, when Stebbins
drives to his destination, he'll take
what he calls a small emergency
supply of food, consisting of
matzah, sardines, gefilte fish and
potatoes. Rather than china and
silverware which have to be washed„
he uses paper plates and plastic
utensils which he can throw away.
He even has a small microwave and
a tiny refrigerator that plug into the

car's lighter. The refrigerator can be
reversed to act as an oven.
Yet finding kosher food is fairly
simple in large cities, he said. "In
any supermarket in the United
States you can find enough kosher
food to feed youself."
On longer trips, he advises
checking hotels in advance to see if
they can provide kosher food for
observant guests. Some Holiday
Inns provide the service, but an
advance inquiry is advised. Other
hotels have a source for kosher
airline food which can be heated in
a microwave.
. Some books, such as Traveling
Jewish In America, by Brynna
Bloomfield and Jane Moskowitz, are
helpful. They list synagogues,
kosher restaurants, accommodations
and mikvaot.
Networking also is used to
determine if a restaurant or other
establishment where kosher food is
served is at the same kashrut level
as the observant traveler. One can
usually ask in his hometown if
someone is familiar with the
"foreign" establishment or knows

someone who is a reliable kashrut
source. A personal reference usually
is the best source, providing what
Stebbins called "absolute
confidence."
Making arrangements for
Shabbat observance and daily
prayers are also considerations for
the observant traveler. Stebbins said
observant travelers schedule their
journeys so that they will be able to
find a private place to daven and
lay tefillin. He told a story about
how an observant Jew had to stop
to don tefillin in a phone booth and
was picked up by the police
because they thought he was
shooting drugs.
Observant Jews need to stay on
low floors, because they cannot
push buttons on Shabbat to operate
an elevator. Also, housekeeping
must be told in advance that they
cannot enter the room to clean on
Shabbat because they may close
the lights, which an observant Jew
will not be able to turn on.
Arrangements can be made
with any hotel for lighting Shabbat
candles; all a traveler has to do is

ask, Stebbins advised. "Most hotels
will be most accommodating, as
long as you ask." Usually, an
unused room is made available.
When he takes a trip that will
include a Shabbat, Stebbins carries
with him candles, Havdalah
materials and wine.

Stebbins also found a way to
observe eating in a sukkah on the
road during the intermediate days of
Sukkot. He parks his car next to the
curb, opens up two doors on the
same side of the car and puts
branches on the tops of the doors.
He removes one of the seats,
places it under the branches and
has a "mobile" sukkah. "If you
have desire to do it, you can do it,"
he said, but added that it helps to
have a four-door automobile.

Stebbins said that he wanted to
make clear that arranging for kosher
food and Shabbat is not a problem
for observant Jews; it's just a
regular part of planning a trip.
"Planning is part of the excitement
of the trip," he said. "When you
plan something nicely, it works out."

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

L-9

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