EDITORIAL
The Passover Of Memory
Passover may be the ultimate Jewish
holiday of hope — hope for a world that will
be redeemed by a combination of human
works and divine will.
When the Jewish people were trapped
after fleeing Egypt, with the Red Sea in
front of them and the pursuing Egyptian
army behind them, they were told by God
that it was time for them to take action.
And only when a brave few stepped into
the waters of the sea did God acknowledge
their faith and initiative by splitting the
waters and leading them to freedom.
More than 3,000 years later, Passover
and its message still resonates with mean-
ing.
In a world of hunger and homelessness,
Passover celebrates the potential for all
humanity — not just Jews — to be treated
with dignity.
In a world of suppressions and atrocities
and refugees who flee both, Passover rep-
resents liberation.
In a world where we are each burdened
with psychological chains that prevent us
from achieving our full potential, Passover
symbolizes a self-fulfillment — not of nar-
cissism, but in which an entire people are
simultaneously lifted, individually and col-
lectively.
In a world where freedom is still a rare
commodity, where power is still abused
with infuriating frequency, where justice
too often goes awry, Passover is
emblematic of liberty, of power used wise-
ly, of justice dispensed properly.
Tonight, we will sit at our seder and
reflect upon justice and freedom and lib-
eration and what it means to be a people
who once had none of these. And we will
commit ourselves to expanding the oppor-
tunities for all people to enjoy what we now
so richly embrace.
For to forget — even for one day of our
lives — that freedom is a blessed gift is to
risk the possibility of lapsing into a new
slavery, one burdened by an historical
amnesia that, by negating the past, may
make havoc of the future.
On Monday, May 11, time and history
will once again show its ways of healing.
The Reverend Monsignor Alex J. Brunett,
new pastor of the Shrine of the Little
Flower, will host a historic tour and recep-
tion at the Shrine and his private residence
on behalf of the Ecumenical Institute for
Jewish-Christian Studies. This was Father
Coughlin's church and home.
The Anti-Defamation League is co-
sponsoring the event, and Temple Israel
Senior Rabbi M. Robert Syme is to be the
special guest.
In recent years, there have been major
gains in Jewish and Catholic relations;
both locally, nationally and interna-
tionally. But for those in this community
that know the history of Father Coughlin
and the Shrine of the Little Flower, this
upconiing event is the ultimate in positive
closure.
For this, we applaud the Reverend Mon-
signor Brunett. He is not only telling us
that the ugliness of the past is hopefully
over, he's also showing us what to do move
forward.
LETTERS
Halachic Position
On Abortion
Upon reading Kimberly Lif-
ton's April 10 article,
"Michigan Jewish Women
March for Choice," one would
come to the conclusion that
pro-choice is the official
Jewish position on abortion.
It may be necessary, there-
6
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1992
Pr:T46 PPECEDirOG
WAS A PASSOVER
mEssAGE..
fore, to remind people that the
true halachic position is that
abortion is almost never
allowed except in instances
where the impending birth
represents a real danger to
the life of the mother. The
fetus is then considered a
rodef, a pursuer, and can be
terminated in self-defense of
the mother.
In the Lifton article, the
case of the diabetic woman
may have represented such
an instance. However, another
case cited, that of the woman
who became pregnant while
her husband was a young
medical student who could
not afford a child, constitutes
a chilling disregard for
human life and an extremely
(
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r ATTEMPT
11D
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ADMINISTROOK).
But all this will be for naught if we think
such thoughts only at our seders, or, at the
most, for the full eight days of Passover. As
the Book of Deuteronomy says,
"Remember the days you went out of Egypt
all the days of your life."
A Welcome Sign
Fifty years ago, Father Charles Coughlin
of the Shrine of the Little Flower Church in
Royal Oak invited American Jewish
leaders to visit his church for a spiritual
conference.
The gesture was seen at the time as
nothing more than predictable "Jew
baiting."
Father Coughlin was the founder of So-
cial Justice, a publication that fueled the
fires of anti-Semitism here in America dur-
ing the time of World War II. The publica-
tion was ultimately banned by the U.S.
Postmaster and belatedly censured by the
Catholic Church.
In his invitation to Jewish leaders, Father
Coughlin wrote, "Would it not be a strange
event if they all met at the Shrine of the
Little Flower to discuss ways and
means of preserving the light of religion in
a world of tempests which is so bent upon
extinguishing the torch."
In the same Social Justice issue, Father
Coughlin blamed "Jews, communists and
New Dealers" for the decision to ban the
magazine from the mails.
Dry Bones
LETTERS
advanced level of self-cen-
teredness.
The first chapter of Genesis
exhorts mankind to "Be fruit-
ful and multiply and fill the
earth." It does not qualify this
directive with phrases like
"when you have enough
money" or "when you've got
your act together" or "when
your career has sufficiently
advanced?'
Thomas Schwartz
Southfield
Halachic Will
Available Locally
Thank you for giving to
Elizabeth Applebaum's arti-
cle on halachic living wills
the prominent coverage (April
3) it so rightfully deserves.
With the passage of living
will legislation, Michigan
joins the growing number of
states that recognize the need
for such documentation.
These documents are needed
when family members are ex-
periencing trauma and crisis
and may not be in the best
frame of mind to be making
such crucial decisions.
The rabbi has traditionally
been a source for guidance, in-
spiration and comfort at these
critical times. Halachic living
wills bring attention to the
medical and legal profession
the need for spiritual involve-
ment as well.
Persons interested in fur-
ther information on halachic
living wills or who wish to
receive the five-page will for-
mulated by Agudath Israel of
America may contact my of-
fice at 737-7000.
Rabbi Herschel Finman
Lubavitch Foundation of Michigan
Mideast Peace
Vs. Soviet Jews
The present Bush-Baker
policy toward Israel, linking
loan guarantees with political
objectives, has to be regarded
as being extremely misguid-
ed and cruel. Incredible hard-
ship, and even destitution,
may well occur as a result.
As financial circumstances
worsen, Jewish people in the
former Soviet Union will un-
doubtedly become discourag-
ed from emigrating to Israel,
facing the possibility of a
backlash, or even entrap-
ment, in their native country
should the Russian political
situation further deteriorate.
To this writer, there is a
parallel to the Jewish plight
during World War II, as
described in David Wyman's
book, The Abandonment of
the Jews. At the time,
assistance for Jewish refugees
was endlessly delayed, partly
based upon the primary
United States objective of
winning the war.
Government officials such
as Breckinridge Long and
Sumner Welles, along with
the less-than-committed
Franklin Roosevelt, presided
over this delay. Leading
American newspapers, in-
cluding the New York Times,
supported this unfortunate
policy. Even "progressive"
Jewish leaders of that era
marched in the same line.
The resultant tragedy is all
too well known. Nonetheless,
at the present time another
noble American goal, peace in
the Middle East, is being em-
phasized at the expense of the
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