!COMMENT I &alb can/ye izo Oettep-,0 illoy tizeyydi V'4eatet to- The Modern Exodus Poses Unique Problems ill& ones/c 9o-eb tov- LAWRENCE GROSSMAN Special to the Jewish News T Gift certificates available from $11.00 to $2,000.00 Facial Salon V and Spa Hunters Square • Farmington Hills • 626-1231 Just in time for her special day, tehrtIS firhe features a special sale on warm-ups from her favorite makers: NANCY HELLER • FILA • ELLESSE • SERGIO TACCHINI • HEAD Now 20%-30% Off Beautiful complementary gift wrap!! Solidarity Forever Find out how you can earn 9.15%* WITH NO MARKET RISK Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, even Ken Cockrel got the ink and notoriety, but Alan Haber, Allison Friedman and Richard Feldman represent a seg- ment of the Jewish corn- munity that was just as ac- tive in the radical 1960s. Income, now or later, is guaranteed at high rates • There is no sales charge • A tax-deferred interest rate as high as 9.15% is guaranteed* for the first year • Upon your death, your contract values pass to your beneficiaries free of probate costs and delays * Deferred annuity issued and guaranteed by the Fidelity & Guarantee Life Insurance Co. subject to change. What are they doing now? How have their lives and views changed? For full details, please call or visit: The Jewish News will take an in-depth look in our Close-Up feature on May 12. LARRY MOSS GENERAL PARTNER (313) 540-3733 RoisteY6- Co. Member NYSE 344 N. Woodward Birmingham, MI 48011 STK 20 FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1989 5/2/89 he central theme that runs through the Pass- over liturgy is the re- quirement that the Jew re- experience for himself the Biblical miracle of redemp- tion from slavery. The seder ritual makes this clear — eating the matzah, tasting the bitter herbs, drinking four cups of wine, reclining on a pillow — all re- enact stages in the transition from subjugation to freedom. Clearly, the movement out of the Soviet Union is nothing less than a transformation from slavery to freedom. In their native land, these Jews suffered educational and oc- cupational discrimination, and were severely restricted in the practice of their religion and the development of their culture. Once in the West — whether in Israel, the United States or elsewhere — they enjoy equal educational and economic rights as well as the freedom to live Jewish lives. But as anyone familiar with the Biblical account of the ex- odus knows, emancipation from bondage is only the beginning of a long redemp- tive process. When the Israelites were slaves, their Egyptian masters took care of their basic needs. Once free, however, they had to adjust to a new situa- tion where there was no master on whom to rely. The Torah recounts a series of bit- ter complaints directed at Moses about the hardships that freedom had brought. It is no surprise, then, that instead of solving all pro- blems, the new mass emigra- tion of Soviet Jewry has rais- ed new perplexities. Where shall the Soviet Jews go? The State of Israel, established as a haven for Jews from around the world, would gladly welcome them — and they were allowed out of the Soviet Union on the basis of Israeli visas. But less than 10 percent want to go there, most of the others preferring the United States. Are the efforts of American Jews to aid Soviet Jewish resettlement in the United States undermining Israel, or are such actions Lawrence Grossman is director of publications for the American Jewish Committee. heroic examples of traditional Jewish solicitude for brothers and sisters in distress? Assuming that it is proper for American Jews to help Soviet Jews enter this coun- try, how shall they prevail upon the American govern- ment to let more in? The number of Jewish emigrants waiting in Europe to enter this country sur- passes the number of refugee slots allotted by- law. Pro- posals to shift open slots from other parts of the world to the Soviet Union may create fric- tion among the different refugee organizations. How will the emigration and resettlement be funded? Federal allocations for this purpose are insufficient, and the widespread sentiment for cutting government expen- ditures makes it unlikely that enough money will be appropriated. The burden, then, will fall on American Jewry. The United Jewish Appeal has an- nounced a $75 million "Passage to Freedom" drive to meet this need. There is no way of knowing, at the pre- sent time, whether this fund- raising initiative will draw contributions away from other worthy causes. Not all the problems generated by this modern-day exodus are political and economic. Just as the Biblical Israelites' emancipation was a step on the road to the spiritual experience at Mount Sinai, where they received the Torah, so too the struggle for the physical freedom of Soviet Jews must not ignore matters of the spirit. Recognizing the reality that many Jews will stay in the Soviet Union despite the op- tion to emigrate, what can we do to further the tentative steps that have already been taken to revive Jewish religious, educational and cultural life there? And it would be less than honest to ignore the fact that, for all our success in getting Soviet Jews out, we have fail- ed, for the most part, in induc- ing them to participate in American Jewish life. According to the Passover Hagaddah, "In each genera- tion one is required to see oneself as if he went out of Egypt." Our generation of Jews are eyewitnesses to such an exodus. It is up to us to muster the wisdom to deal successfully with the com- plications that freedom brings.