EDITORIAL
Double Gratitude
The current four-day weekend is
remarkable for its confluence of traditions
that span centuries and continents, but
which have one underlying similarity: a
sense of gratitude and of the miraculous.
The weekend began yesterday with
Thanksgiving, which along with the Four-
th of July, is the most American of holi-
days. For Jews, the weekend concludes
with the lighting of the first Chanukah
candles on Sunday evening.
Thanksgiving has its origins in the New
England Pilgrims' relief that the New
World was not as hostile as they had
feared: They had food, shelter and friends
(the Native Americans who aided them).
With these, they hoped, they might not just
survive but thrive.
Chanukah dates back to 166 B.C.E.,
Dry Bones
when the Jews, led by the Maccabees,
rededicated for eight days the Temple in
Jerusalem which they had wrested from
the hands of the Greek-influenced Syrians.
The temple had been profaned. They
purified it and refurbished it and, as the
Book of Maccabees relates, "brought burnt-
offerings and sacrificed peace-offerings and
thank-offerings."
Both Thanksgiving and Chanukah had
their genesis in a sense that God had
helped deliver His people from the face of
death, be it physical or spiritual or polit-
ical. The two holidays' conjunction this
year may help augment the sense of thanks
that emanates from each, and may again
remind us that as Jews and as Americans,
there is much, indeed, for which to be
thankful.
Foreign Aid Is Not
A Dirty Word
A mood of American isolationism is
growing in Washington, and that is distur-
bing, not only for Israel but for the United
States.
Tom Dine, executive director of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee,
told the General Assembly of the Council of
Jewish Federations last week that the
greatest threat facing the Jewish commun-
ity today is "our own country turning in-
ward."
The reasons are obvious. Foreign aid is
never popular and, with the recession
lingering and domestic issues gaining
prominence, people are suggesting that it
is time to concentrate on American prob-
lems first and let other countries fend for
themselves.
But this is a short-sighted and potential-
ly dangerous approach. First, it should be
noted that foreign aid makes up less than 2
percent of the federal budget and just
three-tenths of 1 percent of the GNP.
Equally important, foreign aid should not
be thought of as simply the U.S. giving and
other nations receiving.
Beside the humanitarian aspects, foreign
assistance programs have helped enhance
America's international leadership role in
terms of trade and diplomacy, promoting
security and democracy in countries close
to U.S. interests.
In the Mideast, American aid helped
secure the peace agreement between Israel
and Egypt and continues to be a positive,
motivating force in terms of the negotia-
ting process.
These points should be emphasized and
widely disseminated at a time when Wash-
ington's annual aid of $3 billion to Israel is
in jeopardy. Americans need to remember
that supporting the cause of peace is far
less expensive than paying for the destruc-
tive armies of war.
LETTERS
Conservatives'
Halachic Debates
I just read the letter from a
Ms. Fayge Young of Oak Park
(Nov. 15) regarding the article
(Nov. 1) on Reconstruc-
tionism. At the beginning of
her letter, she quotes the ar-
ticle in saying that "Conser-
vative Juadism considers
Halachah binding . . . and
makes changes only if there
is a solid halachic founda-
tion." She then goes on to ask,
"How is halachic justification
determined? By the prin-
ciples laid out in the Torah, or
by vote? Is inconvenience a
sufficient factor?"
In answering that, the Law
Committee of the Jewish
6
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1991
Theological Seminary active-
ly addresses issues of halachic
importance on a regular
basis. Their opinions and
decisions are published and
are available to rabbis and lay
people alike. Joel Roth, chair-
man of that committee, has
published a book entitled The
Halachic Process, which Ms.
Young might like to read as
an indication of how he, at
least, functions.
The Conservative Move-
ment addresses many issues
of importance to Jews who are
forced to live in a secular
world. Issues such as abortion
(on which there is a great deal
of rabbinic literature), the
continuation of life-sustain-
ing medical treatment in a
variety of circumstances, and
matters of conversion are
some of, but a few, of the mat-
ters on which there are ex-
cellent treatises and
responsa.
It appears that Ms. Young
shares a preconception and
misconception about Conser-
vative Judaism, just as many
non-Orthodox Jews share the
preconception and misconcep-
tion that Orthodox Judaism
is united, monolithic, and en-
tirely agreed on what it
means, functionally, to be
Torah bound. True, there are
many examples of "bad" Con-
servative Jews, who disregard
the principles of the move-
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ment. However, throwing
stones creates more heat than
light.
What many people see is
the "voting" of Conservative
synagogues on issues such as
participation of women. How-
ever, the umbrella for such a
vote comes from carefully con-
sidered halachic opinions
which conclude that such a
vote is permissible in the first
place. Simply because one
disagrees with the per-
missibility of such a position
does not nullify it, and that is
why some people go to one
shul over another.
But votes of congregations
on matters which a rabbi has
decreed to be permissible are
nothing more nor less than a
community setting its stan-
dards. This is a well-estab-
lished tradition in Jewish law.
One can find disagreements
on halachic issues among Or-
thodox rabbis in Detroit, let
alone across the country.
It is true that there is a
good deal of room for more
education in the Conservative
movement. And efforts are
underway to carry out that
education. The growth of
Hillel Day School is an in-
dication of the importance at-
tached to education for
children, and the establish-
ment of many lay education
programs, both by United
Synagogue of America and
individual congregations, is
an indication of the impor-
tance of education for adults.
One may, then, not like the
results the Conservative
Movement has reached in its
debates over the application
of Halachah to the modern
world. However, one may not
rightly suggest that the pro-
cess by which those results
were reached is random and
focuses only on the conve-
nience or inconvenience of the
members of the movement.
Leonard I. Wanetik
West Bloomfield
Unjust Justice:
The Pollard Case
The Jonathan Pollard case
is truly an affront to
American truth and justice.
All of us need to rally around
Pollard and demand his
freedom now.
Pollard was never charged
with treason, never jeopardiz-
ed the security of America or
ever caused a single death of
any field agent. He gave infor-
mation to an ally — Israel,
warning them that they fac-
ed destruction and mass
murder of their people
because America was with-
holding vital information
that was promised by treaty
agreement to be shared (1983)
with Israel.
Compare this to the Walker
case, where Mr. Walker essen-
tially gave away the Vietnam
War by supplying Russia with
American defense secrets in
return for millions of dollars,
and who caused the deaths of
many field agents (this is
documented). He got 25 years
and is eligible for parole in
1996.
Jonathan Pollard, who may
have saved Israel from an-
nihilation, got life with no
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