PRICE BUSTING NEWS $989 MN DRY CLEANERS Local Leaders High Quality Dry Cleaning Praise Rabbi's Vision Each Item Is Only $2.89 Shirt a S I Beautifully Laundered •No Minimum •Box Or Hanger • Must Be Paid For In Advance •Same Day Service For Only 89 Each $1.25 If Not Paid For In Advance Excludes: Suedes, Leathers, Formal Gowns, Wedding Dresses And Household Items All Items Paid For In Advance Are $2.89 Otherwise soa Extra Per Item ■ ■ IA,ts1 ill kcoc• , 26079 Southfield Rd. SAME / DAY SERVICE (At 10 1/2 Mile Rd.) Across From AAA Lathrup Village 569-7440 PRICE BUSTING NEWS TRANSFER YOUR HOME MOVIES 8mm-16mm TO VHS CENTURSJ CiAINOCItit Film Length In Feet 8mm & Super 8 & 16 1-200 Feet 201-400 Feet THE DE TROI T J EWI S H N E WS 401-600 Feet 18 601-800 Feet 801-1000 Feet \ $20.00 $26.00 $39.00 $52.00 $65.00 Film Over I ,00) Feet Add 6,t A Foot } Tape $8.00 Additional) 3017 N. WOODWARD ~ VISAi ROYAL OAK . (3 Blocks South of 13 Mile) Winter Special FREE BACKGROUND MUSIC On Any. Video Transfer Century Camera 288-5444 With This Coupon. Expires 2/5/96 810-288-5444 Daily & Saturday 10-6 Friday 10-8 American Fireplace Distributors Steve Brown SALES, SERVICE & INSTALLATION JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER 10662 Northend Oak Park , Michigan Tel. (810) 547-6777 Fax (810) 547-6678 OD ocal Jewish leaders agree positive force in building respect that the ideas promulgat- and recognition of Jewry and the ed by Rabbi Alexander value system with which we Schindler, the spiritual and live." John Kamins, president of nominal leader of the Reform movement for the past 22 years, Temple Beth El, views the will reverberate well into the changes initiated by Rabbi Schindler as progressive, in- 21st century. But even if they all praise cluding allowing women to train Rabbi Schindler's devotion to as rabbis. civil rights and his ecumenical efforts to unite the Jewish and Christian communi- ties, one believes the impact of one of the rabbi's most contro- versial ideas will have a splintering effect on the Jewish community. Rabbi Schindler, the retiring execu- tive director of the Union of American Hebrew Congrega- tions, gave his last major public speech in Atlanta in No- vember. His legacy is defined in part by a liberalization of Reform thought. Mark Schlussel, former president of the Jewish Federa- tion of Metropolitan Detroit and an Or- thodox Jew, said he is "troubled" by the idea of patrilineal descent as another way for people to claim Jewishness. Jewish law tradi- tionally adheres to matrilineal descent as the determining factor of one's Jew- Rabbi Schindler: A visionary. ishness. The Reform movement, under "There is a large proportion of Rabbi Schindler's leadership, ex- panded the definition to include families today where only one "anyone whose father is Jewish, parent is Jewish by birth. I think it's enlightened not to have gen- even if the mother is not. "We're creating two Jewish der distinctions. I think Reform peoples. Somebody who pre- Judaism is on an appropriate sumes himself to be Jewish course to treat all Jews equally, based upon a precept in the Re- regardless of gender, and it form movement is not an ac- makes just as much sense for ceptable mate for somebody in our rabbinical leaders as in any the Orthodox or Conservative other respect," he said. - The hallmark of Reform Ju- movements. Because of the dif- ferentiation of patrilineal and daism is its elasticity; it is al- matrilineal descent, we have cre- ways changing, "and it clearly is ated a level of confusion within where the mainstream of Re- our society which I think will form Jews wish to be today," Mr. have a long-term deleterious ef- Kamins added. Rabbi Daniel Syme, who will fect in our seeking unity as a assume the pulpit at Temple people," Mr. Schlussel said. And yet, he added, Rabbi Beth El in July, considers Rab- Schindler "was an extremely bi Schindler's greatest mark on the movement to be his outreach efforts to non-Jewish spouses of Jews, whether they have con- verted to Judaism or not. "There are now tens of thou- sands of couples and their chil- dren who've been drawn into Jewish life as a result of an aggressive (outreach) program, education and general program- ming for these families," he said. Rabbi Syme, senior vice president of the Union of Ameri- can Hebrew Con- gregations, said personal reasons led him to with- draw himself from the selec- tion process for a successor to Rabbi Schindler. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, whom he called "extreme- ly capable and bright," will take over the presi- dency. Allen Tush- man, the presi- dent of the Metropolitan Detroit Federa- tion of Reform Synagogues, Rabbi called a Schindler "great president" who "was able to take strong posi- tions on serious issues and yet was able not to -offend people in the process." He singled out the rabbi's outreach efforts to inter- faith couples and his espousal of patrilineal descent as the two most significant and positive changes in the evolution of the Reform movement. Mr. Tushman said roughly 20,000 of the 96,000 Jews in the metropolitan area are affiliated with Reform congregations. Na- tionally, the number of Reform congregations grew by 100 over the past 10 years, making it the largest-growing organized Jew- ish religious movement in the country, he said. "I can't tell you exactly why it's growing more than the oth- ers. I would like to think it's be- cause we're more welcoming to people," he said. ❑