Community Views Opinion Communal Service In The New Era Looking For A Deeper Purim Meaning DR. MARK SMILEY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS ALAN D. GOODMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS As I reflect on my nity needs both kinds of commit- working career, I ment in order to be strong, vibrant, realize that the di- successful. We need the volunteers rection that my pro- to validate, support and monitor fessional life has our organizations to make sure taken is one that I that the organizations fulfil their would never have mission and that the mission re- _mains relevant. We need the pro- predicted. Both my parents fessionals to manage the wanted their chil- complexities of organizational dren, at least the male offspring structure required to enable the (this was not an enlightened soci- mission to be fulfilled in an effec- ety), to follow in my father's foot- tive way. Last month, I had the opportu- steps and continue the family business. Consequently, and with- nity to spend some time with a out too much discussion, I enrolled number of my colleagues who in a business-oriented program at the universi- ty with a major in com- merce and accounting and a minor in psycholo- gY. With a developing in- terest in human services, I turned my graduate work to social-welfare ad- ministration and com- munity organization, allowing for the perfect blend between my hu- man-service orientation and my affinity (in the genes) for business. The rest, as they say, is com- mentary. Why, I am asked, would anyone want to work for the Jewish community? serve as executives in Jewish People generally have no trouble Family Service agencies through- understanding why volunteering out the country. I was one of four is personally gratifying, uplifting panel members to address the is- and important. They tend to think sue of advice on how to be suc- in terms of Jewish communal pro- cessful to new executives just fessionaLs as being "sort of like paid entering the field. What struck me was how dif- volunteers" — right? At times, people have tried to ferent each of our remarks were, engage me in the "who is more yet there were similar underlying committed" debate. Do we honor concerns for all of us. The major more the volunteer who gives of themes were: a recognition that his or her time and energy freely the not-for-profit social-service are- to the community or the profes- na is changing rapidly; a concern sional who, while serving the com- that in order for our agencies to munity well, accepts payment for survive, we as executives need to provide the kind of leadership that the work which he or she does? The reality is that the commu- will enable the agency to thrive; work-related emotional stress is Alan Goodman is director of an occupational hazard that must Jewish Family Service. be dealt with. A central issue for every pro- fessional in Jewish communal ser- vice is the relationship with volunteers. One can expect a lot from them in terms of energy and expertise. On the other hand, it takes a lot of effort on the part of the professionals to make sure that challenging volunteer oppor- tunities are available. Executives have to develop a style of man- agement that can be inclusive and open, at the same time preserving the boundaries between opera- tional management and policy oversight. Recent scandals on a national level with the United Way — and closer to home involving a num- ber of Jewish executives in sister communities — have greatly increased the perceived need for ac- countability. There must be checks and balances on agency operations and ex- ecutives that are built into the normal functions of the organization. It is the board's role to hold the ex- ecutive and itself ac- countable for the way in which the organization conducts itself. Creating an environ- ment of suspicion and distrust between professionals and lay leadership serves neither the best interest of the agency nor of the community. Alternately, pro- moting accountability and ensur- ing that executive-level staff are evaluated annually against spe- cific goals mutually agreed upon are essential ingredients for a healthy relationship. In conclusion, despite the stresses, the unusual challenges and risks associated with a career in Jewish communal service, most of the time I feel extremely positive about my career choice. Certainly, this is not a choice for the fainthearted; but I can't think of any other field that would pro- vide me with more challenge and gratification. ❑ Who Deserves To Die? RABBI DAVID E. POWERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS urim is an impolite holi- day. Not only do we blot out the name of our ene- my, but we even celebrate the impalement of his family and friends. "The Jews have slain and de- stroyed in Shushan the capital 500 men and the 10 sons of Haman" (Esther 9:12). The guilt of the father, it seems, gets visit- p Rabbi David E. Powers writes from University Heights, Ohio. ed mightily and nastily on the children. We might explain the death of Haman's sons as a con- sequence of an evil father. How- ever, there's really nothing explicit in the text to warrant the explanation. We learn more from the moral position of the presumed author of the megillah, who expressed vindication and glee in the suf- fering of so thoroughgoing an "en- emy of all the Jews" (9:24). The emotion is schadenfreude, that almost malicious joy one feels in the misery of foes. Germans invented the word, but others feel it. Even if schaden- freude seems an inappropriate or regrettable emotion, nevertheless it is real emotion. We express it freely and openly in the reading of the megillah, although polite people submerge schadenfreude the rest of the year. Usually, no one admits gloating in perverse joy at an enemy's defeat. DESERVES page 24 On Purim, the Hillel Day School secre- taries will dress up as usual. In the past, they have dressed up as striped-shirt- ed football refer- ees, full-geared baseball players and leather- and-blue-jeaned motorcycle rid- ers. In addition, thousands of children, teachers and rabbis will don costumes, drink, eat and have a day of fun and mer- rymaking. Why does this holi- day, that we experienced as children, continue to inspire the minds and souls of our com- mitted staff, teachers and com- munity? The Purim megillah and mitzvot that surround Purim decree the fun and food parcels. Even when we go to shul for Purim, (the services and megillah reading are fun), the mood changes and the atmos- phere is one of celebration, lev- ity and communal fun. While Jewish communities are focused on ensuring that children have a good time, adults realize that blue jeans are fine; they can play with their children; there's no sermon; and the rabbi may be dressed like Batman, the Pope, Roger Rabbit or his girl- friend, Jessica. Is this celebration an attempt to make sure our American cal- endar has a Jewish carnival- Mardi Gras equivalent; or is there a deeper, more profound theme that motivates our need to celebrate the holiday? When I was a child, it was not until I was 11 or 12 that I realized that Purim was sup- posed to be fun. While we went to a traditional shul at night and heard the megillah at my day school in the morning, there was very little joy and fun that infused these environments. In sixth grade, I remember a rab- bi and the administrators dress- ing up like football players and playing rock and roll music in the gym; they danced and sang the songs we knew but rarely sang with joy. A band played ho- ras, and these teachers began a tradition that I understand con- tinues to this day. You see, most of the teachers and rabbis in my elementary school and my parent's shul were Holocaust survivors; and it was not until younger teach- ers, graduates of Yeshiva Uni- versity, began to assume some leadership of the schools that the joy of Purim was shared with the students. Dr. Mark Smiley is headmaster of Hillel Day School. Purim, the ancient tale of Di- aspora survival, was too real 30 years ago to allow letting go by my parents' generation. Today, we know that anti-Semitism is an ongoing reality, a hatred that is irrational and that remains part of the world. Purim re- minds us that we must re- member these facts and that our belief in God will allow us to celebrate past threats and provide us the courage and strength to deal with the Far- rakhans and Zhirinovskys of the future. Indeed, we have come to un- derstand man as he really is. As Victor Frankel concludes in his search for meaning, "Man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; how- ever, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers with Sh'ma Yisroel on his lips." The Holocaust, unlike Purim, did not end in the storybook fashion of redemption. Even the birth of the State of Israel did not override for my parents the sorrow of the Shoah. A time to rejoice In 1996, we can again reflect on Haman, our partly assimi- lated heroes Mordecai and Es- ther, and the themes of the Jew being vulnerable in the Dias- pora, overcoming persecution, extermination and collective punishments. The memory of the Holocaust and its theolog- ic implications are still too close for the humor and fun of Purim to enter the world of theologic satire. However, we as Jews have time and again, with our faith in HaShem, challenged the world, and we take "that there is no other God" seriously. We know that this Jewish mission of redeeming the world includes the refusal to accept senseless hatred. Thus, Purim is a time to re- joice. The world we live in is complicated and at times dan- gerous for our people. However, we need a time to be glad that we have learned the lessons of our role in the world and to con- tinue teaching our values to mankind. But let's not get too serious. This year the staffwill be dress- ing up as the crew of the star- ship Enterprise. We will be singing, dancing, eating (and drinking, after hours). I will look for the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and know it's for Adar. Chag Purim sameach.