J Jc.ish CoonnIuni . Cancr
Travel
LEAVE THE
SNOW BEHIND.
Through The Rockies
By Train
ESCAPE TO ONE OF OUR WARM
WEATHER DESTINATIONS!
MOLLY AROST STAUB
Special to The Jewish News
a ei , :ans) Palm Springs, Februay 3 - 24, 1998
lila Monica, Februay 10 - 26, 1998
Israel, Varch 18 - A011, 1998
A
HANUKAH PE IAL!
25 people to sign up before January 5 receive a
embership or extension to the JCC Health Club,
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FRONT
=r4
desire to experience some of
our country's most spectac-
ular scenery and wildlife,
along with a nostalgic peek
at past train travel, prompted me to
book a trip aboard the Montana
Daylight train. Little did I realize that
some of this rugged country is pep-
pered with Jewish history.
The trip started in Salt Lake City. I
had been curious to visit there because
of my fascina-
tion with tracing
my family's
genealogy. I
knew that the
Church of the
Latter Day
Saints — better
known as the
Mormons —
maintained vast
genealogical
data.
First I met
Rabbi Frederick
Wenger at Congregation Kol Ami,
which was formed in 1972 with the
merger of the congregations
Montefiore and B'nai Israel. Unlike in
other areas, "our Reform/Conservative
congregation has seen a reversal in the
last decade," he said. "We had 390
Jewish family members then, and now
have about 550, the largest number of
affiliated Jews in the city." He said
that there are about 4,000 Jews,
including memberships in Chabad
and a Reconstructionist Havurah. A
JCC, JFS and Federation also exist.
The latest wave of immigration is
twofold: "We have more Jewish
Russian immigrants than any other
place in the country," Rabbi Wenger
said. "We made a conscious outreach
program to settle many of them here
and to make the families members.
Another source is young people set-
tling here from Los Angeles because
there's a lot of high-tech computer
industry here."
The church "continues to be very
supportive of us, not overtly pressur-
ing us." The earliest Jewish settlers
held `minyonim in their homes, but
with their first death, Brigham Young
donated land for a Jewish cemetery in
1864.
"The first Jewish institution in
town was established under the aegis
of the Mormon Church," Rabbi
Wenger said.
Concerning Salt Lake City's most
famous (or infamous) Jewish native,
Roseanne Barr: "Her parents, Helen
and Jerry Barr, are still part of the
community but are not affiliated," he
said.
More interesting is the city's early
Jewish history. Jews have been here
since the 1860s, their presence linked
to the Mormons who began arriving
in 1847 to escape religious persecution
1
back east. Rabbi Wenger related the
apocryphal local tale: "First came the
Mormons, then came the soldiers to
wipe them out, and then came the
Jews to sell them
both shmattes!"
The church
caused no prob-
lems for the
Jews. "It's very
supportive of
us," he said.
Regarding the
stained glass
Mogen Davids
decorating the
Assembly Hall
at Temple
Square, he said,
"Brigham Young liked their appear-
ance. And in the 19th century they
were Christian Zionists and were
advocates for a Jewish state. They look
upon us as descendants of Joseph."
Asked about the church's baptizing
of Jewish souls, he said, "Their ulti-
mate objective is to do posthumous
baptisms, but the policy is that if the
persons lived within the last 100 years,
the church must get consent from
immediate family members." Seems
that they had to retract the names of
some Holocaust victims when a New
York relative complained, so. the
Mormon Church de-baptized them.
The trip then began by motor-
coach, winding through Oregon Trail
country. We stopped to view the
Lovely Great Bear Lake and spotted
our first moose sipping at a pond.
Next stop was the city of Jackson, a
pretty town set within view of the
mountains and brimming with sou-
venir shops and art galleries.
On to Yellowstone National Park,
the trip's highlight. Yes, large stands
still look devastated from the 1988
fires, but about 80 percent of the for-
est is still alive, said our guide Jay
Schreck. Pockets of soaring lodgepo16:-
pines remain. After overnighting at
the modern lodge,,we explored some
of the trails and sat on benches to
watch the on-time performance of
Old Faithful, which shoots to about
300 feet high every 23 minutes or so.