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Our Spiritual Supplies Come
Complete With An Eraser

Remember as a child emptying the brown paper
sack on the dining-room table with all of your new
school supplies?
How you ran your hand along the smooth lined
white paper before you placed it in the loose leaf.
You sharpened your pencils and wrote your name
on all your new materials.
Many parents are standing behind the scenes
and watching this happen now as their children be-
gin the school year. There's a fear, a nervousness
that underlies the basic dread of getting up early
in the morning and facing Mrs. Jones, the strictest
teacher in the school.
But regardless of
the grade, the sub-
ject or the teacher,
our children start
over again. It's a
clean slate, one
that they'll be
able to write on
and erase
many times
over. And
they will.
As for-
giving as

an eraser is, and as important as a teacher's guid-
ance, so, too, is the message that Jews all over the
world began learning with the observance last Shab-
bat of Rosh Chodesh Elul.
Yes, this is a time of spiritual trepidation. It's a
time when we begin our self-preparations in the
realm of forgiveness by one another and by God.
But it's also the most wonderful time that a Jew
can experience. If we're so fortunate, we're spend-
ing time with our friends and family. It's an op-
portunity to return to synagogue, and to teach our
children that even if temple attendance is only at
this time of year, it still holds a level of importance
in our lives.
Maybe it's a time to buy a new holiday prayer-
book or maybe new clothing for services. Perhaps
you find this an opportunity to donate more mon-
ey to charity.
Beyond the obvious and maybe the material, here
is an occasion where we'll be able to take that fig-
urative "brown paper sack" and empty it on the
table. In the bag are the tools of forgiveness and re-
pentance that our rabbis and teachers will give us.
Take the "tools" and see how clean, how smooth
they are. Find the eraser again. We call it teshu-
vah or repentance. Even more importantly, this
is an opportunity to come to terms with one's self,
and to realize that growth from
our mistakes and positive direc-
tion in our lives can be the great-
est result of these approaching
Days of Awe.
Sometimes it just starts with new "supplies."

European Union Shame

4

In Israel's topsy turvy negotiations with the Pales-
tinians, Jerusalem's final status is not supposed to
be discussed for several years. Israeli leaders are
successfully keeping the sparks away from the tin-
der box topic, despite some calls for action for a fi-
nal decision among Israelis and Palestinians. And,
until recently, many Israelis hoped that the
Jerusalem 3000 celebrations — which officially be-
gin Sept. 5 — would help defuse the political ten-
sions always associated with their modern and
ancient capital. But such thoughts, to paraphrase
the psalmist, have been dashed upon the rocks
while we who love Jerusalem mourn. And the Eu-
ropean Union is playing the lead role as protago-
nist in this warped production.
The Europeans, however, are not alone in dous-
ing fuel on the embers of Jerusalem. It all began in
July when the Jerusalem municipality, reacting to
ultra-Orthodox pressure, refused an offer by the
city of Florence to donate to the city a full-sized
replica of Michelangelo's David. The ultra-Ortho-
dox question the value of the renowned sculpture
because it portrays full nudity.
By mid-August, the headaches intensified. The
EU proclaimed it would boycott the celebrations,
which focus on the three millennia of cultural and
historical achievements since King David captured
the Jebusite fortress and made it his capital. The
EU declared that the scheduled activities gave too

much emphasis on Jerusalem's Jewish character,
shirking that of its Christian and Muslim residents.
The result is that the EU will not provide funding
for artists to participate in events, such as the long-
running Israel Festival and the Jerusalem Film
Festival.
For the record, some of the non-Jewish events
include a gospel festival, which in its own right pro-
voked heated opposition from ultra-Orthodox
groups. Also, a Beethoven Christian oratorio will
be one of the opening activities as will an exhibi-
tion on the Muslim contributions to the city's his-
tory. As for the man himself, King David will be
recalled by the opening of the revamped City of
David archaeological site and a new exhibit at the
Tower of David Museum. Mind you, since both
Christianity and Islam view the Hebrew Bible as
divinely revealed, King David's importance travels
far beyond Jewish history.
It's one thing for residents of the city, those who
pay the taxes — and the price of failed policies —
to shape their municipality's activities. And it's cer-
tainly legitimate for outsiders to raise concerns.
It is, however, an embarrassment for the European
Union to offer hollow allegations that only spread
anti-Israel animosity. After all, it is the flames of
that hatred that the ongoing peace process, which
the EU supports, is meant to vanquish.

N

Letters

Failed Bond Issue
Means Busing

I am writing in regard to the July
28 article `Puddle Jumpers" and
the letters that followed. I live in
the one square mile in Farming-
ton Hills that is districted in the
Walled Lake School District. Be-
cause of three bond failures and
an influx of nearly 500 new stu-
dents per year, my daughter will
be one of the 475 children who
will be bused to the Meadow
Lake Elementary School. Walled
Lake leased this school, located
in Bloomfield Hills, from the
Birmingham School District to
help ease their overcrowding
problem. Beginning this month,
these children will be bused sev-
en miles each way through in-
tersections that cross 14 Mile
Road at Haggerty, Halsted,
Drake, Farmington, Orchard
Lake, Northwestern Highway
and Inkster Roads.
Despite promises made by the
Walled Lake School officials that
classroom sizes would be small-
er at Meadow Lake than at
Maple Elementary, their former
school, in fact class sizes are slat-
ed to increase across the board
and in some instances by as
much as 20 percent. Our children
will have fewer books, reference
materials and computers. In ad-
dition, our children will be stand-
ing in the dark at 7:40 a.m. to
catch the school bus, one hour
earlier than in previous years.
Most of the 140 Walled Lake
Jewish families who signed the
letter "Shocked and Surprised"
send their children to "neighbor-
hood" schools. I wonder what
their reaction would be if their
children spent 70 minutes on a
bus that traveled through eight
busy intersections twice a day? I
wonder what those 140 families
would be thinking if "For Sale"
signs were sprouting up like
weeds in their neighborhood like
they are in mine? I wonder how
those families would respond to
falling property values which re-
sult when home buyers learn that
the neighborhood elementary
school is seven miles away?
Sugarcoating Walled Lake's
problems serves to benefit no one.
The fact is that Walled Lake has
very serious problems. It is a dis-
trict that has a problem of bur-
geoning enrollment. It is a district

that is comprised of voters who
persistently say no to bond issues.
In this regard, Herman Frankel —\
was correct by stating that a dif-
ferent mentality exists amongst
voters in West Bloomfield schools
than in Walled Lake. While vot-
ers in Walled Lake continue to
shoot down every bond issue pre-
sented to them (three since Oct.
1993), West Bloomfield continues
to pass theirs. Aware of this anti-
bond sentiment amongst Walled
Lake voters, the school board
won't begin to speculate when the
next bond issue will be put to ref-
erendum.
It should also be noted that the
Walled Lake School Board and
administration do not function in
the spirit of cooperation. For in-
stance, when a hearing took place
at a board meeting in June to dis-
cuss Meadow Lake, the issue was
placed near the end of a long
agenda. Four and one-half hours
after the board meeting com-
menced, Meadow Lake was dis-
cussed. Assistant Superintendent
Steven Gaynor made a brief pre-
sentation. After three questions,
we were told that there would be
no more discussion about Mead-
ow Lake. In addition, adminis-
trators scheduled an open house
at Meadow Lake to introduce par-
ents and children to the facility
at precisely the same day and
hour that the school board vot-
ed whether to send our children
to that school.
There are many parents dis-
enchanted with Walled Lake
Schools and for very good rea-
sons. The feelings expressed by
the "Puddle Jumpers" represent
the views of many parents of
Walled Lake Schools children.

Raymond Dubin
Farmington Hills

Beyond
Lawn Signs

I was disappointed to read the
cynicism reflected in Alan Hit-
sky's Editor's Notebook of Aug.
25. Commenting on the games
people play with political lawn
signs, he wrote, "Issues mean
nothing anymore ..." and "It
makes you think twice about vot-
ing, especially when you can't tell
one side from the other."
SIGNS page 8