Community. Views
Editor's Notebook
Reverend Farrakhan,
Why Don't You Stand On A Chair?
AUCIA AND RABBI DAVID NELSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
n 1906 Esther Peller arrived
on the shores of the United
States hoping for a new life
and a chance for success. Ar-
riving only with a sister and a
dream of a better life than
Poland offered, she left behind
family and community. With-
out an education, she never re-
ally mastered the abilities of
reading and writing with great
comfort in English. Yet, she and
Max, who became her husband,
worked hard in their grocery
store and raised four children,
sent them to college and gave
them a sense of pride in who
they were and taught them
a religion that provided a
direction in life.
Esther Peller, Alicia's
grandmother, was part of
that group that Emma
Lazarus described as "the
wretched masses," hard-
ly a term of endearment.
Esther didn't
wait for others
to embrace her;
she proceeded to
make herself a
success. She
worked and
overcame hard-
ships in the long
hours that were
required to give
her children
whatever oppor-
tunities were
available
That success
didn't come by
blaming others;
she didn't flour-
ish by expecting
the community
to provide for
her; nor did she su y st-
ing other minorities with whom
she shared her Borough Park
neighborhood. It was her own
efforts that brought about the
gains in her life and the lives of
her children. She was deter-
> mined to realize "the American
dream."
Now, two generations later,
we are the beneficiaries of that
effort — and we find ourselves
listening to the vitriolic rhetoric
of Mr. Louis Farrakhan as he
strives to inspire his followers
in the Nation of Islam.
Does he talk to them of pride?
Does he mention hard work?
Family values? Education? No,
he talks of Jews who were "dis-
proportionately responsible for
slave trade" (Grandma Esther
would have laughed at that
one), "bloodsuckers of the black
community."
He describes a "gutter reli-
gion" and finds it almost painful
to criticize or demote Khalid Ab-
Alicia & David Nelson are reb-
betzin and rabbi of Congrega-
tion Beth Shalom.
dul Muhammad whose speech
was so offensive that respon-
sible black community leaders
felt compelled to distance them-
selves from its contents.
The sad thing is that if Esther
Peller could talk to Louis Far-
rakhan, she would probably tell
him in her European accent
that he'd never succeed till he
turned himself around to look
in a mirror, to recognize that he
should take some responsibili-
ty for his own success. "Ac-
cording to the effort is the
reward," teaches Ethics of the
Fathers.
e .f erences -tween the
Jewish community and the
black community are profound
if we try to compare the success
or failure of each; that, no one
could argue. It would be an out-
rageous and naive assumption
to suggest that the black com-
munity is merely on a timetable
which is destined to bring them
to the same goals, albeit sever-
al generations later. And there
has been tension between the
black and Jewish communities
for many years.
But Mr. Farrakhan just
doesn't get it. The plight of a
black underclass would not be
improved one iota even if Jews
ceased to exist. For what Louis
Farrakhan needs to realize is
that his people deserve to hear
from him a message of courage
and a sermon about pride, not
a harangue about hatred. They
need a religion that enriches
their search for spiritual peace,
not one that agitates them to
blame others. No, Esther
Peller did not have slaves; she
didn't even have a Southern ac-
cent. Nor do the vast majority
Purim: An Opportunity
To Laugh At Ourselves
PHIL JACOBS EDITOR
of American Jews have fore-
bears who even arrived in the
United States when the ante-
bellum South was in its hey-
day.
Esther Peller, if she were
alive today, could tell the Na-
tion of Islam a story from the
writings of Rabbi Israel
Salanter, a gifted 19th-centu-
ry rabbi.
One day, Rabbi Salanter en-
countered two boys who were
fighting with one another. One
was attempting to push the
other into a ditch. The rabbi
stopped and interrupted the
shoving match by asking each
of the boys what he was doing.
"We are trying to see who is
taller! That's why I'm pushing
him down into the ditch," said
the first boy.
The rabbi responded. "If you
want to be taller, why can't you
stand on a chair? Why must
you push the other down?"
No, Mr. Farrakhan, the only
hate you should deal with is the
racism that is directed at you.
Self-defense is necessary; we
as Jews understand that. But
we are not your problem. Nor
are we your solution. That only
comes with pride and hard
work and a religion that pro-
vides its followers with guide-
lines to live by in order to strive
to reach higher for the greater
gain of all people everywhere.
Mr. Farrakhan, Esther
Peller, of blessed memory,
would urge you to elevate your
community by your actions and
stop denegrating our noble tra-
dition. Get out of the gutter
yourself. Stop the hate. Stand
on a chair. El
It's inevitable the actions of Holocaust revi-
that someone is sionists and other contemporary
going to read our purveyors of hate. In our society,
Purim spoof in Amalek also takes shape in the
this week's edi- form of substance abuse, child
tion and call to and spouse battering, teen-age
complain about pregnancy, handgun abuse and,
its insensitivity perhaps the biggest form of evil,
and how dare we! the breakup or dysfunction of
The line typi- parental role models for children.
cally goes: "I have a sense of hu-
Amalek loses, though. Some-
mor just like anyone else, but I times it happens quietly, some-
couldn't believe what I saw..."
times it gets the headlines. An
Please, you can call if you like, example of good over evil didn't
but understand that this is a make banner headlines in most
time of the year when we can communities. Yet, we should
take liberties, having fun with know that it happened. In
issues that are typically sacred Billings, Mont., population
cows.
88,000 with 48 Jewish families,
Purim is a holiday, though, to a wonderful story occurred dur-
be grateful to God for the victo- ing Chanukah. Local haters,
ries of good over evil. We make skinheads, whatever we're call-
loud noises to
ing them these
blot out the
days, threw
memory of
everything from
Amalek, the evil
rocks to cin-
of evils. It's in
derblocks into
Haftorah Zachor
the windows of
that we're told to
Jews who dis-
destroy this evil
played meno-
force, an uncom-
rahs.
mon instruction ,\
The Billings
in our Holy
police depart-
Books. But it's
ment, govern-
there. You can
ment and, most
look it up.
actively, its
1,4 Christian
Haman was a
com-
descendant of
munity said,
Amalek.
"No way." Soon,
Also, the Book of Esther talks churches displayed menorahs in
about giving portions to people, windows. Christian church
specifically sweets, wine and members displayed menorahs.
fruit to a friend or money to at Billboards had menorahs on
least two poor men.
them as did ads in newspapers.
There has been much discus- Rocks were even thrown through
sion around the saying of the Christian property by the haters.
Babylonian teacher, Rava, who The bottom line: The entire com-
wrote that on Purim it was per- munity supported its small Jew-
missable to drink so much wine ish citizenry. Amalek wasn't
that a man became incapable of welcome in Billings.
knowing whether he was cursing
We teach our children to blot
Haman or blessing Mordecai.
out Amalek's evil even when not
It later became customary for mentioning Amalek. We hope-
people to dress up in costumes fully do it all year. But like
for the holiday. This year, many Passover, Purim is a time when
Queen Esthers and King Aha- we can celebrate an event where
sueruses probably gave way to good absolutely triumphed. So if
Barneys and other cartoon char- part of that celebration means
acters.
we are carefree, that we have an
We cannot for a minute for- opportunity to laugh, let's not be
get that Amalek is still around so self-righteous that we cannot
us. There have been in recent have fun with ourselves.
years Torah experts who use
OK, so the boundaries of fun
computer mapping and coding are typically a matter of person-
to actually connect Haman with al choice. It's still important to
Hitler and then Iraq's dictator lighten up.
Saddam Hussein, the man who
Can we get un-uptight here
sent SCUD missiles into Tel for once? You need permission? "1-
Aviv. It's not difficult, unfortu- You have my permission to be ir- CT)
nately, to fill our minds with am- reverent, to have fun. You have
ple proof that the spirit of talmudic permission. Listen to
Amalek is still out there. We see the megillah reading. Make
the preponderance of hate that noise, dress up like Queen Es- >-
grows like weeds in a beautiful ther. Besides that, find a good CC
garden. costume for the girls and wo- CC
Also, we don't own the rights men as well. Dress up like Bar- CO
LU
to victimization. All Americans, ney.
U-
and for that matter those that
Wait a second. Don't go that
call them selves civil, question far. E