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10
TEACHING page 15
Ms. Novojenova, who holds de-
grees in biology and chemistry,
understands how the immigrants
feel about Judaism. She was
raised without religion and had
no interest in anything spiritual
for years.
Her mother was a chemistry
teacher in the Crimea. Her father
worked in a hospital. Her grand-
father was active in the Bolshe-
vik Revolution.
"My parents never talked of
Jewish things," she said. "My
mother made gefilte fish: this was
my Jewishness."
But in the former Soviet
Union, Ms. Novojenova learned
what it meant to be persecuted
as a Jew. Her former husband,
Lev, was deputy editor of Moscow
Komsomolets (Young Commu-
nist), a newspaper attacked by
members of the anti-Semitic
group Pamyat.
When Ms. Novojenova came
to the United States, she was
"looking for advice how to live,
how to do things right." She be-
gan to consider the logic and or-
der in Torah — "everything in
the Torah is so systematic and in
such harmony" — which she be-
lieves can be especially beneficial
to Russian Jews struggling to
find their way in a new nation.
"What culture do they have
when they come here?" she said.
"They have left Russia, they're
not American." So they live with-
in their own small, insulated
communities that provide no
base for Jewish growth. The
longer they are here without
learning Judaism, the more like-
ly immigrants are to completely
assimilate, Ms. Novojenova said.
"They're not able to find their
Jewishness," she said. "That
emptiness — it's tragic. If you're
empty, what can you give to your
own children but emptiness?" Ill
Addressing Issues That
Splinter Community
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
F
rom "Who Is a Jew?" to in-
termarriage, Jews today
are divided on virtually
every issue that defines the
Jewish community as it is today
and will shape its identity in the
future.
To address this growing rift,
the Jewish Community Council
has formed a Jewish Unity
(Achdut) Committee. Consisting
of 26 members with different
Jewish affiliations, the commit-
tee is involved in an examination
of Judaism's movements and
their views on unity. Its ultimate
agenda will include promoting
communication among Jews and
building a better understanding
of these differences.
"This committee was formed
because of a nationwide concern
that the Jewish community,
which was once unified, is now
splintering," said Michael Trai-
son, committee chair.
"We are going through the
lengthy process of examining
what issues should be addressed.
Nothing has been resolved. But
we gain an understanding of
each other's points of view. It pro-
vides a common ground for peo-
ple to meet and understand each
other."
One of the issues the commit-
tee has broached is the varying
definitions of who is considered
a Jew, including standards of
conversion (most Reform and
Conservative conversions are not
recognized by the Orthodox
community).
During monthly meetings, a
different religious leader and lay
leader from one of the various
Michael Traison: Looking at the rift.
movements, including the Hu-
manistic and Reconstructionist,
answer questions from the com-
mittee.
Mr. Traison said in addition to
exploring these types of topics,
"The Jewish
community, which
was once unified, is
now splintering."
—Michael Traison
he would like to eventually open
up discussions to the communi-
ty at large. He also talked about
planning an all-encompassing
event, such as the celebration of
a community-wide Shabbat.
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