(ley
ce‘'•
explains the association
with lovers as the survival of
a pagan ritual in which men
chose their partners from a
box filled with the names of
young women.
Today, the widespread
distribution of valentines br-
ings happiness not only to
senders and recipients, but
also to members of the
greeting card companies,
noted Rabbi Lane Steinger
of Temple Emanu-El in Oak
Park.
"As far as Christian holi-
days go, Valentine's Day has
become fairly innocuous,"
Rabbi Steinger said."But as
long as it's not taken out of
proportion, I don't see the
harm in it."
However, Rabbi Chaim
Bergstein of Bais Chabad in
Farmington Hills recalls lec-
tures during his early
yeshivah days where he and
fellow students were warned
of dire consequences assoc-
iated with the celebration of
St. Valentine's Day.
"I was about 12 or 13 years
old at the time and very im-
pressionable," he said. "We
were told it was a terrible,
terrible sin."
While Valentine's Day is
not a practice Rabbi Bergs-
tein says he encourages, he
wouldn't stand on a pulpit
and condemn it as an
outright transgression.
"I'm always conscious of
whom I'm talking to. If peo-
ple want to express love or
affection, I advise them to
focus on their relationship
every day, according to the
Torah."
For the newly religious, he
said, disassociating oneself
with secular observances
can be difficult to under-
stand and get used to.
Kevin Taylor; a lawyer
from West Bloomfield, said
his transition was a little
bittersweet.
"I never considered Valen-
tine's Day to be a religious
day," he said. "To me it was
just a time to show apprecia-
tion toward one's friends and
family."
Mr. Taylor, 29, who
studies with various area
rabbis, including Rabbi
Bergstein, remembers bring-
ing at least 30 different val-
entines for his classmates at
McIntyre Elementary School
in Southfield.
"It was an annual tradi-
tion," he said, "and
although I haven't done it
for years, I still have old
boxes filled with old valen-
tines.
"I'm not positive the two
can't coexist," he said, "but
it's not uppermost in my
calendar "
Susan Salomon, 28, a chi-
ropractor from Southfield,
doesn't miss some of the
anxiety she once associated
with the exchanging of val-
entines.
One particular incident,
she said, involved her fourth
grade class finding a private
valentine she had stashed in
her desk when she was ab-
sent one day.
"I'll never forget how em-
barrassed I was," she said.
"These days, I derive my
strength and satisfaction
from Jewish holidays. I don't
feel the need to adopt any
holidays from a card com-
pany." ❑
Jewish Hungry Turn To
Yad Ezra For Assistance
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
eanette Eizelman and
Gary Dembs didn't
need to start a food
pantry to know hunger ex-
isted in the Jewish commun-
ity.
But when Yad Ezra,
Southfield's kosher food
pantry, opened its doors a
year ago in a 10 Mile Road
office, neither expected that
most of those who came ask-
ing for food would be Soviet
Jews.
Since opening in February
of 1990, Yad Ezra has
distributed almost 105,000
pounds of non-perishable
kosher food to area Jewish
families. It served an
average of 222 families a
month (592 people) from
j
February to January. Many
Yad Ezra clients may work
or collect benefits, but find it
difficult to stretch their lim-
ited income to pay rent,
utility bills and food costs.
At the beginning, 95 per-
cent of their clientele were
newly arrived Soviet Jews
which caught pantry organi-
zers by complete surprise,
said Mrs. Eizelman, the pan-
try's executive director. "We
couldn't have known about
such an animal," she said.
"We never thought we
would be serving that many
Soviets," said Gary Dembs,
one of the pantry's organi-
zers. "It forced us into much
heavier fund raising. We
thought if we raised $75,000
this year it would be a lot.
But we ended up raising
$120,000."
The first six months Yad
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