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L'Shana Tova
From Our Publisher

As we approach the New Year, we are filled with mem-
ories of the past and hope for the future.
Aah, the memories ... grandfathers with scruffy beards
swaying, teeter-tottering during Nilah only to find the in-
ner strength to plead the final verses of "Our Father, Our
King."
Ducks slurping water-swollen bread which, moments
earlier, crumbled in our pockets. A prayer and a toss
into a running stream provided the metamorphosis.
Sweat beading on our brows'as we inhaled and con-
sumed the steamy, magical potion known as grand-
ma's chicken soup. Mr. Katz and Mr. Cohen engaging
in a tart, Yiddish-tongued bidding war ($20 was the
winning amount, drawing adulation from folks on both
sides of the sanctuary partition) for the honor to be
called first to the Torah.
Stop the clock. Bring us back to a simpler era. "I be-
lieve in yesterday..."
But life goes on, with its new challenges and oppor-
tunities.
At The Jewish News, we are respectful of our com-
munity's traditions and, in many ways, have become
a part of them. Reading engagement announcements,
birth announcements and obituaries transcends the

generation gap. But we realize the community is en-
gaged in changing — and will continue to change —
as the immigrant experiences of our grandparents and
great-grandparents are replaced by our own stories,
which include economic success, assimilation, recon-
nection to Judaism and Torah values, and intermar-
riage.
We are challenged to edit a publication which meets
the needs of an increasingly diverse audience. We walk
a tightrope, hoping to retain loyal readers while mod-
ifying content and/or format to reach a greater num-
ber of younger readers, whose ties to the community
are often tenuous.
Today's Jewish News is one example of our desire
to attract more young readers. We were taught nev-
er to judge a book by its cover. But in 1995, many peo-
ple do. That's one reason why we have made the
investment in a glossy, magazine-quality, colorful cov-
er. Recent focus-group research with readers and non-
readers strongly supports this enhancement. But we'll
still place our best news stories of the week right up
front so they're easy to find.
Also, with our Oct. 6 issue, The Jewish News will
launch an expanded entertainment section. It will be

comprehensive, colorful, hip and useful. You'll still find
Danny Raskin, but there'll be much, much more.
Younger readers told us the biggest gap in our cover-
age was entertainment news. We listened. They have
responded very favorably to section prototypes.
My grandfather is gone. So are Mr. Katz and Mr.
Cohen, not to mention the days of the $20 aliyah. But
my wife, Gina, still makes a mean chicken soup. Some
traditions continue. Others are committed to memo-
ry. As we head into the New Year, despite the chal-
lenges and opportunities, we pledge to provide you
with information that is useful, informative, unique
and enjoyable. We want to exceed your expectations...
and those of your children and grandchildren, too.

L'shana tova,

Arthur Horwitz,
Publisher

5756 A Year For A Stand;
Don't Let Another Rosh Hashanah Come And Go

Richard Hodes will fast this Yom Kippur in Addis Aba-
ba, Ethiopia. Chances are, this Johns Hopkins-trained
physician won't be concentrating on the pain of his own
hunger.
For when he prays, he can envision hundreds of
Hutu Rwandans in refugee camps, dying or barely sur-
viving. He's there, hoping to save lives, largely from
cholera, but more so from a "disease" that isn't treat-
ed by fluids in intravenous bottles. People are dying
from hopelessness.
A physician for the Joint Distribution Committee,
Dr. Hodes has made decisions that literally are of life
and death urgency. His work takes him to Goma, Zaire,
but for several years he has lived as the only Ortho-
dox Jew in the entire country of Ethiopia. In Africa,
among the pleading, the sick, the chaos of Rwanda's
Hutu refugee disaster, is a white, Jewish doctor wear-
ing his kippah. More important than the symbolism
of his yarmulke, though, is the presence he's chosen to
make. Practicing medicine elsewhere would most cer-
tainly be easier.
Dr. Hodes is all about taking a stand.
Through the years, we've crafted editorials for Rosh
Hashanah that always seem to start with lines like,
"As we approach the coming New Year..." followed
by a plea for peace in the world, harmony over disso-
nance and a healthy, happy year.
That has not changed. We still wish everyone in our
community all of the best.
Now, however, we're asking another question? What
have you done this year? What will you do in 5756? It's

not only about hope anymore. For hope alone, in the away the global issues of peace, the nagging inter-
marriage rates and the scary loss of spirituality among
coming year, is not good enough.
Yes, there's hope for peace in the Middle East. It many Jews.
Sure we need one another to help shape the direc-
seems it might be more and more possible.
There are plenty of dedicated philanthropists and tion of the Diaspora, maybe even Israel. But so many
volunteers who spend money and time on commissions need first to work on the man or woman he or she sees
and panels checking into the future of Jewish educa- in the mirror.
It starts with a stand.
tion or the validity of the Jewish family. For most of
If it doesn't happen, another year will come and will
us, though, these "leaders" in our national and even
local communities might as well be a million miles go. You'll have bought that lovely suit, and your tick-
ets will be near the front row. But nothing much will
away.
Let's bring these efforts right into our homes. For- have changed.
We hope that you pray in synagogue with your chil-
get about the commissions, the pledges, or where we're
eating on Rosh Hashanah night. Put away the issue dren, with your loved ones, your friends. We hope you
of how much you paid for your seats. Stop worrying get angry, we hope you laugh. We want you to cry.
Take what you learn this holiday home.
about your upcoming Yom Kippur fast.
Make your year sweet, make it filled with growth.
There has got to be a time in our lives when we take
a stand, make a commitment. Rosh Hashanah is that Face your God and yourself until it hurts. It should.
Your children will be proud.
time. That commitment needs to start with ourselves.
Then you will be.
Who are we? Who are you? What do you stand for? Do
That "you," the one with individual peace, and peace
you stand for watching three hours of television each
night? Do you tear into the self-images of your loved in the home, that's the "you" who can change the di-
ones? Do you hide behind your Siddur, not putting a rection of Judaism.
It doesn't start with money or status.
moment into investing in your children with a back-
It's all about a stand. Dr. Hodes understands this.
yard football toss or 15 minutes reading a book before
Nobody is asking you to do what he has done. Let's be
bedtime?
It's difficult to stand in shul all day and pray. Yet, honest with ourselves. Let's see what we can do ... this
prayer is something we seem to have let other religions year.
Happy 5756.
enjoy. Take a stand. Clench your fist. Look heaven-
ward. Cry if you have to.
But make a change in yourselves. Let's for now put

