OPINION I

CONTENTS

Who Is A Jew' Needs
Common Agreement

MIRIAM S. BERRIS

D

aniel Elazar, in his
Aug. 3 article, " 'Who
is a Jew' Issue May Be
Solvable" correctly asserts
that this issue has not gone
away. He contends that the
Orthodox Jews have
separated themselves from
Reform and Conservative
Jews by insisting on halachic
conversions.
He conveniently forgets
that it is not the Orthodox
who have changed or broken
away — they still abide by the
laws of the "everlasting cove-
nant" — but rather the Con-
servative and Reform who
have chosen to separate
themselves by discarding not
just Jewish laws but even the
process of formulating Jewish
law.
Mr. Elazar asks two key
questions in his article: 1)
Why do we bother with
creating a common definition

This is not an
ultra-Orthodox
issue. It is a
legislative
blueprint.

of who is a Jew, and 2) Why
are we so worried that so-
meone who is not halachical-
ly Jewish may "pass" for a
Jew?
He then answers his own
questions with a false charge
against the "ultra-Orthodox"
ranks. He charges that their
interest in who is a Jew is
based only on a desire to pro-
tect their own monopoly, or
short-sighted of what a great
thing it is that gentiles want
to become Jews. He then pro-
claims that such "additions to
our ranks" will help "retain
young Jewish people."
First of all, this is not an
"ultra-Orthodox" issue.
Jewish law, which is derived
from the Ibrah, is not based
on "ultra" anything — not
ultra-Orthodox, or ultra-
Conservative, or ultra-
Reform. It is a legislative
blueprint for the Jewish peo-
ple and the Jewish nation.
Through the centuries some
Jews have exercised their free
will to discard a lifestyle bas-
ed on these laws. Others have
not. As history has shown,
those who have chosen to
abandon a Torah lifestyle
have been the first and most
frequent victims of intermar-

Miriam S. Berris is a
halachic convert to Judaism.

riage and assimilation and all
of its inherent tragedies.
One of these tragedies-in-
the-making is one that Mr.
Elazar does not address but
was, coincidentally, in the
same issue of The Jewish
News. It was a report by Ze'ev
Chafets regarding the approx-
imately seven million non-
Jewish Soviets who are
related to Jews and are,
therefore, eligible for citizen-
ship in Israel.
The already strained hous-
ing, medical, and other
economic and natural
resources are now being
spread even thinner, at the
expense of real Jews, to ac-
commodate seven million
gentiles. Michael Kleiner,
chairman of the Knesset Im-
migration and Absorption
Committee, voiced the sen-
timents of many angry and
resentful Israeli citizens who
are already stretched to the
limit: "I'm prepared to defend
the right of the three million
(Soviet) Jews and their non-
Jewish relatives to come here,
but I'm not ready to fight for
ten million gentiles who will
arrive and want to set up
churches!'
To put it even more bluntly
in the words of a Tel Aviv
school teacher: "Olim are
fine. But let them be Jews. If
we have any money left over,
we can start taking care of
the rest of the world."
Another tragedy that has
occurred all too frequently is
the nice Jewish boy who finds
nothing wrong with dating
and ultimately marrying a
nice gentile girl. To please the
inlaws, she undergoes a "con-
version?' This conversion may
or may not consist of study
and familiarity with Jewish
laws and customs, ritual im-
mersion in a kosher mikvah,
or a commitment to abide by
Jewish laws and customs.
As a matter of fact, the Con-
servative movement has pass-
ed a resolution that a prospec-
tive "convert" does not have
to profess a belief in God in
order to be accepted into the
Jewish ranks. Is it any
wonder that this "convert"
returns to her church and her
people when her marriage
hits the rocks?
This is not a far-fetched
scenario — it happens very
frequently, especially in the
United States. Please tell me:
How can such "converts"
"help us retain our own
young people"?
This is not to say that a gen-
tile of sound mind, sincere

Continued on Page 10

MACCABI GAMES

And They're Off • •

17

PHIL JACOBS
RICHARD PEARL
KIMBERLY LIFTON
STEVE WHITELEY
Complete coverage of the
1990 Maccabi Youth Games.

CLOSE-UP

Eastern Charm

34

KIMBERLY LIFTON
A handful of Jewish merchants
remain at the Eastern Market.

34

EDUCATION

CAJE Creativity

48

SUSAN GRANT
Teachers get new lessons
at a CAJE conference.

76

FINE ARTS

Altman's Art

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Artist Harold Altman
on figures and landscapes.

9

ENTERTAINMENT

Threads Of Judaism

SUSAN GRANT
Judaism guides a weaver's
works of art.

48

91

SPECIAL SECTION

Back To School/Family

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ, editor
Everything you need to cope
with the new school year.

112

SINGLE LIFE

Perfect

RICHARD PEARL
It all came together
at the JCC's BarBQ Bash.

DEPARTM ENTS

52 Synagogues
60 Business
114 Engagements

118 Births
124 Classified Ads
154 Obituaries

CANDLELIGHTING

8:03 p.m.
Friday, August 24, 1990
Sabbath ends August 25 9:04 p.m.

76

ON OUR COVER: Sylvia Ravin sells vegetables at the Eastern
Market. Photo by Daniel Rosen.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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