Let's Change The Way
We Do Spiritual Business

Suppose synagogues stayed away from fund-rais-
ing drives during the High Holidays.
As we struggle through 90-degree-plus weath-
er and debilitating humidity, the fall Yom Tovim
seem a million miles away. Truth is, though, syn-
agogue officials are most probably already plan-
ning for High Holiday building-fund and bond
drives.
But let's step back for a moment. The issue at
hand is trying to attract Jews, especially younger
people, instead of turning them off. The issue
is to provide a level of spirituality, a warmth that
people can take away from services as a useful
part of their daily lives as Jews. You don't go to
shul, hear something from the bimah, leave it in
the building and drive off into the sunset. There
are so many messages, so many reasons to go to
shul, for your children, for yourselves. It's beyond
hearing one's name and a dollar figure.
Why do so many cults and Christian mission-
ary groups succeed with young Jews? It's because
they provide a spiritual element that masks a
false messiah. But the real messages of the Torah
as a guide to life are often masked by the cold-
ness of a pledge drive. How many of us have sat
there and listened to countless names being an-
nounced from the bimah for giving money? How
many others walk out during this roll-call?
Why is it in some synagogues it's typically the

givers of large sums who are given an aliyah of
some sort? What of the many masses of people
who cannot "afford" an aliyah? Has Judaism be-
come a place where people can buy their way up
to the bimah? What does this say to young peo-
ple, who ask their parents why their family is
never represented? Is the answer, "We can't af-
ford to read from the Torah at the bimah"?
Then, years later, we as a Jewish communi-
ty will go to these children, now adults, and won-
der what it was that turned them off.
For people who go to shul once or twice a year,
synagogues need to put their best, most exciting
elements on display rather than fund-raising
and bond drives. These drives reinforce a cycle
of thinking that needs to be broken. You know
how it goes, the "all they want is my money" cy-
cle.
Enough.
We suggest that synagogues find other ways
to facilitate the building fund. Why not phone-
days where volunteers call for pledges from mem-
bers. Why not parlor meetings?
The point is, there are other ways to raise mon-
ey that don't turn going to shul into a measure
of exclusivity for anyone. The idea isn't for peo-
ple to show up just once or twice a year. If syn-
agogue life is important, and it is, then it's got to
be inviting to everyone, not just a chosen few.

Rock And Roll And Hate

While most of the media world was reporting on
Anti-Defamation League Director Abe Foxman's
negotiations with Michael Jackson to renounce
and then remove the offensive language from
"They Don't Care About Us" on his latest album,
HIStory, , Details magazine delivered a report on
white-power rock-and-roll.
"Aryan Nations is an elderly organization,
aligned with the Christian Identity movement,"
the national, Generation X music magazine's
June issue says. "The neo-Nazi movement needs
new members if the flame is to keep burning.
And ever since last year, a live concert has be-
come an integral tool in the recruitment effort."
Does the word "kike" used in Michael Jack-
son's stupid pop song echo in your bones like the
sound of fingernails scratching on a chalkboard?
Try a Detroit band called Rahowa's lyrics on for
size:
"Jewboy, you better start running
Hook-nosed bastard, your time is coming."
Or how about Intimidation One, from Port-
land, Ore., which sings a song called "Bagels and
Blood":
"Die Jew I hate you
You are nothing but a fool
Line you up, cut you down
Where you belong is in the ground...
At the center of the effort to bring this music
to the mainstream is the record label Resistance

"

4

Records, which seems to have sprung from
nowhere last year.
"Already, Resistance has almost singlehand-
edly put America at the center of the interna-
tional fascist-rock scene," Details reports. "Their
plan is simple: bring white-powered rock out of
the wilderness and into the mainstream to spread
the white word to today's youth. White power —
the choice of a new generation."
Resistance Records publishes a magazine, too,
which Details reports "even has a crossword puz-
zle with clues like 14 down: 'He came to power
in 1933 by general election (six letters)."'
At concerts of the bands promoted by Resis-
tance, fans don't clap at the end of songs. They
raise their arms and shout, "Seig hell!" The bands
return the salute.
At the "Adolph Hitler Memorial Concert" in
Idaho in April, where the local newspaper and
the national networks alike ignored the enthu-
siastic gathering of young skinheads and old
Aryan Nations leaders, a Canadian band called
Odin's Law performed. Before their performance
ended, according to Details, the guitarist shout-
ed, "There's gonna be more like Oklahoma! Re-
member: Ten gallons of gasoline to a thousand
pounds of ammonium nitrate." The crowd
cheered and laughed.
And you were worried about Michael Jackson.

Letters

Appreciation
And Support

I was pleased to see the recent ar-
ticle (June 16) about the growth
of the Hebrew Day School of Ann
Arbor. This school has been a la-
bor of love and dedication re-
quiring the devoted efforts of
many people from every part of
the Jewish community. There-
fore, I would like to clarify a cou-
ple of statements attributed to
me which may be misleading.
We take great pride in the es-
tablishment of a community
school where children from many
different Jewish backgrounds
learn together in a traditional set-
ting. We plan for the proposed
middle school to follow the same
model and we have no intention
of separating girls and boys in our
classes. Due to our respect for the
diversity in our community, we
may be looking for ways to have
alternative groups for tefilah
(prayer) which would follow Con-
servative and Orthodox practice.
Also, the Ann Arbor Public
Schools remain a strong school
system. While some families may
choose our school due to dissat-
isfaction with the public schools,
the majority make this (relative-
ly costly) decision because they
appreciate the value of a day-
school education.

Marlene Gitelman

Principal,
Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor

Marching Proud
For Our Heritage

There is a great deal of talk in the
Jewish community of the impor-
tance of imparting a "Jewish ed-
ucation" to each new generation
of American Jews, that we des-
perately need such exposure to
stop the hemorrhaging of our
Jewish population. Toward that
end, some American Jewish fam-
ilies send their offspring to a He-
brew school where they learn the
Hebrew language and study bib-
lical literature. Some parents,
hoping to give their children a
more intense Jewish experience,
take them or send them to Israel.
But there are lessons to be
learned that are being ignored
from the generation of Jews
presently dying off. The driving
forces to which they were exposed

warrant exploration. They were
a generation that made inordi-
nate contributions to their com-
munities, and as proud Jews.
Unerring pride in heritage per-
mitted the integration of values
and understandings that allowed
knowledge to be pursued for its
own sake, tempered justice with
mercy, supported the highest
form of charity, i.e., to teach a hu-
man being how to earn a living,
and fostered commitment to fam-
ilies and community.
Gut exposure to widespread
anti-Semitism, and the heinous
deeds of the Holocaust, served to
strengthen their resolve to live as
Jews. These personal experiences
imprinted their psyches with the
effects of irrational hatred and
persuaded large numbers to sup-
port and aid in the creation of Is-
rael.
Today's Jewish offspring have
not been exposed to the same
forces, Jewish education and vis-
its to Israel notwithstanding.
They are intermarrying at an
alarming rate, divorcing too of-
ten, with far too many thinking
Judaism is irrelevant. Few have
had adequate exposure to Jew-
ish history, particularly Diaspo-
ra history. They have little insight
into how distinctly Jewish values
have played a role in the lives of
Jews, or how these values pushed
Jews into making societal con-
tributions all out of proportion to
their numbers.
Jews in the United States have
been given a wonderful opportu-
nity to transmit their unique his-
tory and values to the young. No
less a personage than the presi-
dent has, by proclamation, des-
ignated a week in which to
celebrate our heritage. If the pres-
ident of the United States pro-
claims to the world that the
Jewish community has a great
deal to be proud of, why can't we
do likewise?
This year the week ran from
April 30 through May 7. While
Israeli celebrations are impor-
tant, the Jewish community
should also be spearheading a cel-
ebration that focuses on our
unique Jewish heritage. Let us
march as proudly in support of
that as we do for the establish-
ment of the Jewish state.

Lillian Rosenberg Hurwitz,
Ph.D.

Birmingham