I EDITORIAL I A Time To Forgive The High Holy Day season is upon us, a time for reflection and forgiveness. There are two aspects we are instructed to deal with in preparing to enter the new year cleansed of wrongdoing. One is to seek God's blessing by acknowledging those deeds we should have done during the past year and did not, as well as those wrongful acts that we did commit. As in all prayer, we take a collective approach, using the word "we" rather than "I," fully aware that we are, above all, part of a community. The second aspect of forgiveness is not in Heaven but with, and through, our fellow man. Jewish tradition urges us to approach those we may have wronged during the past year, willfully or unintentionally, and ask for forgiveness. It is in this spirit that we at The Jewish News offer our sincere apologies to those we may have hurt or offended through our words, actions or in- actions this year. As the Jewish people approach these days when our sages tell us the Book of Life is written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur, may we pledge to work together in the new year. While there will always be differences among us, we are thankful that there is a healthy spirit of discussion and debate without adding ran- cor. Most of all we strive to always move the discussion forward — whether it reflects national, international or local concerns — in a spirit of communal growth and matu- rity. F-1 5s And Politics President George Bush's announced sale of 72 advanced F-15 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia says much about the administra- tion's penchant for piecemeal thinking, lack of a comprehensive vision for a post- Cold War Middle East — and its commit- ment to getting re-elected above all else. The White House has gone on and on about the need to reduce the arms race in the volatile region. But when faced with the choice of standing by its rhetoric or handing out as much as $9 billion to ailing McDonnell Douglas Corp. to extend the jobs of about 7,000 workers, the ad- ministration came down on the side of buy- ing votes. No contest, no surprise. The Democratic challenger showed no greater long-term vision than did Mr. Bush. Mr. Clinton also said he supported the deal, despite his professed concerns about the sale of arms to Middle East nations. Winning votes took precedence for him as well. Rabbi Applauded On Identity Issue I read it and then cut out Rabbi A. Irving Schnipper's article "In Life's Battles We Must Keep Faith" (Sept. 4). Next Sunday I shall insist on giving it voice to fellow members of our synagogue's Breakfast-Social Club. Rabbi Schnipper's article is one of the most inspiring, courageous and crystal-clear testimonies to the priority of faith in life itself and in Judaism. Standing front and center, he makes his case in the condemnation of the cur- rent easy acceptance of intermarriage. If only other rabbis would join him in tackling a social problem so taboo that the fear 6 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1992 So what happens next? Israel voiced only pro forma alarm over a deal it knew it could not stop, given the need of both can- didates to appear to be doing something about the dismal economy. In return, however, the Rabin government made it clear it intends to hold President Bush to his promise to preserve Israel's military edge by providing Jerusalem with even more sophisticated weaponry. How ironic, and sad, that as Israel and its adversaries edge toward a negotiated peace, both sides remain locked in a spiral- ing arms race that neither can afford and which, in the best of situations, can only mean that ever-more deadly weapons will be sitting around waiting for the one spark that could unleash their use. In this campaign year when both presi- dential candidates seek to sell themselves as men of change, it is profoundly disap- pointing that business as usual once again seems to be the order of the day. LETTERS of offending, embarrassing, or antagonizing congregants takes precedence over saying and doing what they must. So true is Rabbi Schnipper's admonition, "The unthinking timid section, the cowards who are ashamed of being Jews, and who are always afraid of being known as Jews; to them the Torah says you cannot hide your identi- ty." Morton Horwitz New Haven, Ct. Singling Out Jewish Singles I read with concern and sadness the article "High Holiday Service Offered for Singles" (Sept. 4). This article announced a separate service for singles to be held on the second day of Rosh Hashanah at Temple Kol Ami. The article explained "the service is the result of a meeting of the American Jewish Committee's singles' group, aimed at those 30-years-old and up, which formed last spring. At a ses- sion focused on intermarriage and interdating, individuals expressed greater concern about congregations ex- cluding singles than the scheduled topic." I commend Temple Kol Ami and Rabbi Roman for listen- ing to this very real and ac- curate complaint and trying to address it, but I, a Jew who happens to be single, think they have missed the point entirely. How does holding a JUST OUR WAY OF 54 YiNG "SORW FOR BRiNGiNG ALL THOSE MiSTAN,OZWisil AND FEMALE SOLDIER INTO YOUR COUNTRY witni we WERE areCTiNG YOU LETTERS I"' separate service make a single Jew feel like a part of the synagogue community and, through it, a part of the larger Jewish community? It does not! It still excludes, segregates and separates singles from the rest of the synagogue. Exclusion, segregation and separation do not alleviate the aloneness that Jewish singles feel in relation to the larger Jewish community. The article goes on to say "no one perceives this as a substitution for worshipping on the first day of the holiday with family and friends. It's an alternative and a way to make connections." If the goal of those at the AJC meeting was to get syn- agogues to connect with them by providing synagogue- sponsored ways to meet other singles (so they could stop be- ing single and excluded), this approach works. If on the other hand, the goal was to encourage synagogues to in- tegrate singles into general synagogue life, this approach fails. The original complaint related to the alienation singles feel on the first day of the holiday even when wor- shipping with family and friends. Single Jews come in both genders; some are young, some are middle-aged, some are old; some have children, some do not; some have been married at one time in their lives, some have not; some have chosen to be single, some have not. Single Jews are Jews just as much as married Jews are Jews. When it comes to wor- shipping God, fulfilling mitz- vot, celebrating Jewish holidays, supporting Jewish causes, and participating in Jewish communal life it should make no difference what one's marital or pro-, creative status is. So let me clear up the con - fusion and say to all the synagogues ar - shuls of whatever denomina- tion which are trying to a( dress the concerns of single Jews: stop excluding us, look to the language on your membership applications; look to the language you use to advertise your activities, and programming, look to el: , nature of that programming. Separate social activitie s" for singles has a place, but it does not substitute for vs/e coming singles as individua' Jews into the communal lifE of the synagogue family. Fe- me, I say clearly: single me don't single me out! Sherry Wasserman Huntington. Woods Community Lacks Education Vision I would like to complimer you on your insightful ani courageous . editoria "Something Learned From Teachers' Picket Line" Sept. 4. I am a Hillel and have been a Jewish educator in the Detroit corn-' munity for the last 31 years. There are two major that I would like the Jewish 11 community and its leaders tE-- be aware of: The first deal' with the status of the Jewiri educator and the second the community's respon sibilities and priorities. - Hillel teachers have been told time and time again "You deserve the moon, but we do not have the moon give you." Yet, in the next breath we are told: "Yo (LT, should have known when you accepted a teaching positiOn at a Jewish school that our Contiued on Page 17