Business Gain Access to Outstanding Investment Managers DAYS page 29 PaineWebber has the key to finding the right • money manager for individuals and institutions with portfolios of $100,000 or more. Find out about PAINEWEBBER ACCESS: a comprehensive approach to total portfolio planning and management. For a free consultation call Gerald E. Naftaly or Alan A. Gildenberg at (313) 851-1001 or (800) 533-1407. PaineWebber We invest in relationships. 32300 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 150 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Member SII'C . STOCKS TAX-FREE BONDS MUTUAL FUNDS T A X F First of Michigan Corporation E X E ,v1 P T Members New York Stock Exchange, Inc FoM A L Herman Schwartz U Senior Vice President - Investments Branch Manager T A P L A N N T Travelers Tower / Suite 1020 R 26555 Evergreen Road / Southfield, Mich. 48076 U S (313) 358-3290 G T Toll Free 1 800 826 2039 S TAX DEFERRED ANNUITIES IRAs MONEY MANAGEMENT - - - - Learn how to take better care of your heart, call Red Cross. American Red Cross RI A Public Service of This Newspaper The Advertising Council 833-4440 Well Help. Will You? NOVI • Industrial • Retail • Office JONATHAN BRATEMAN PROPERTIES 474-3855 COMPUTERS 'N MORE 33290 W. 14 MILE ROAD WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322 (31.3) 737-4111 COME SEE OUR LARGE SELECTION OF COMPUTER PRODUCTS We Service, Buy & Sell New & Used IBM Compatible Computers. kins — with Chanukah motifs and traditional Chanukah col- ors. "It's becoming more accept- able and more stylish to use disposable partyware," Mr. Zucker said. "Companies are us- ing more graphics and giving the items a really exciting look." Cards are a huge part of the Chanukah trade and a staple for retailers. "Cards always hold their own," said Mr. Gimbelman of Designer Products, who ex- pects to sell about 150,000 Chanukah cards to stores na- tionwide. Each year, companies introduce new card designs and captions. Hallmark is offering "The Collection," a new group of six Chanukah cards that feature artwork by renowned Jewish artists. The cards reflect Jewish heritage and include a variety of styles and techniques, like fine art painting, batik and ta- pestry. Stylish, high quality cards, like some for Christmas, are also now available for Chanukah. Daniel Deutsch, president of Shulsinger Sales Inc., a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based manufac- turer of Judaica, said his com- pany is borrowing styles from Christmas cards: "Chanukah cards had to be able to compete with the things offered for Christmas," said Mr. Deutsch, whose company has more than 100 different kinds of cards for Chanukah. "We now have embossed and deep foil-stamped cards for Chanukah and most are made in Israel." Each year, new captions on Chanukah cards reflect chang- ing families and society. There are cards which incorporate im- ages of both Chanukah and Christmas that are geared to in- termarried couples or targeted to non-Jews wishing to celebrate the holidays with their Jewish friends. While the big companies have increased their offerings for Chanukah, it is the smaller, spe- cialty companies that cater to Jewish customers who offer the most substantial selection. These companies offer every- thing from kaleidoscopes and shoelaces decorated with meno- rahs to plush dreidels and felt menorahs. Sallie Abelson, founder of Contemporary De- signs, an Iowa gift company, has incorporated Chanukah motifs into a variety of little gifts for children. Some of the items offered for Chanukah, particularly those for children, are borrowed di- rectly from Christmas and trou- ble some Jewish manufacturers and store owners. Many of the companies that supply goods for Designer Prod- ucts draw the line at producing an item like a Chanukah stock- ing, which has been available in card and gift shops for the last few years. `That's too close to a cross- over into Christmas," said Mr. Gimbelman. Mr. Zucker said he will not stock items like Chanukah stockings or bushes because of their ties to Christmas. "I refuse to be a part of the Christianiza- tion of Chanukah," he said. Rabbis and parents alike have dealt with this issue before, after years of facing the "December dilemma" with Jew- ish children who may feel left out because much more pub- lic attention is paid to Christ- mas. "It's very hard to ignore the fact that we live in the Ameri- canized version of a Christian country," said Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, the Nathan and Janet Appelman Associate Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in New York. "Tele- vision presses the gift-giving season and plays on the needs of children. As the father of two, I know it doesn't hurt to attend to those needs." But giving into the commer- cialization of the holiday season disturbs some rabbis. "The commercialization of any holiday is to be decried whether it's Christmas or Chanukah," said Alexander Schindler, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the central body of Reform Judaism in the Unit- ed States and Canada. "True be- lievers resent the intrusion of the marketplace. It takes away from the sanctity of the holiday." Still, some rabbis believe the commercialization is actually helpful. The need to compete with Christmas helps remind some less observant Jews to cel- ebrate Chanukah with their families. Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, exec- utive vice president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congrega- tions of America, said when a holiday receives a great deal of attention in a community, it en- courages people to take interest and explore the true meaning of the holiday. While some may feel the in- creased interest in Chanukah is merely a way to stay shoulder- to-shoulder with Christmas, oth- ers believe it signals a far broader trend — a return to tra- ditionalism "There's no question about it, people are definitely becoming more aware of their back- grounds," said Mr. Deutsch. "Baby boomers are having kids and they are reaching out to their roots and traditions." Ms. Abelson concurs. "The whole ethnic market has grown," she said. "Jews are pret- ty proud of who they are and they want to celebrate that pride." ❑