EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
A Jew In The Street
And In The Home
NEIL RUBIN
Contributing Editor
little more than two cen-
turies ago, the German
Jewish philosopher Moses
Mendelssohn had a warning
for fellow Jews. "Be a man in the
street," he said, "and a Jew in the
home."
The words of Mendelssohn, who
remains one of the more controver-
sial figures in Jewish history, have an
ominous ring
these days. To their detriment, many
American
Jews have figuratively and literally
embraced the concept.
We're no different. There are Jews
in our community who have no
problem with being a visible, public
Jew. They are primarily Orthodox.
The men wear kippot all the time;
the women generally dress in long
skirts or dresses; no occasional halter
top or tight pants here.
_
Most Jews don't fit that category.
And some of them struggle with
being a Jew in the street. So do I.
My Jewish behavior does not meet
the standards of some in our commu-
nity; it surpasses that of others. But
that's irrelevant. The question is how
I use it to impact people around me.
Here are some questions that I,
and no doubt others, have recently
faced:
A
Neil Rubin is editor of our sister paper,
the Atlanta Jewish Times.
OPINION
Netanyahu
Revisited
EZEKIEL LEIKEN
Special to The Jewish News
Binyamin Netanyahu
is being pilloried by
the European Union
and the Western press
for his alleged failure
to accelerate the peace
process. He is being
pressed by President
Clinton and Secretary
of State Albright to placate Arafat and
make "significant" territorial conces-
Do I tell my frequent business
lunch partners that, no, I am not a
vegetarian — I just eat kosher meat
and then launch into an explanation
of why?
After Shabbat ends, do I keep
my kippah on when going out for
the evening? Do I quickly slip it off
when leaving the synagogue after a
Sunday afternoon program?
And when I am representing
the Jewish community at civic
events, on a panel discussion for
non-Jews or on a local television
show, do I slap that kippah back on,
visibly showing that I'm a Jew?
Those questions aside, to provide
a few more ideas how to be Jewish in
and out of the home, here are a few
ideas:
* Read Jewish: One need not have
Maimonides' Guides For The
Perplexed sitting next to the bed
(although it's a great read if you have
four or five years to kill).
Fortunately, it's easy to find quali-
ty "secular" books with a Jewish fla-
vor. Two top fiction sellers that I just
finished are Snow in August, by Pete
Hamill and The Color of Water, by
James McBride.
Both acclaimed works are written
by non-Jewish authors. (OK, accord-
ing to Jewish law McBride's Jewish,
but no one would accuse this
African-American, practicing
Christian who grew up in poverty to
be a talmudic scholar.) Each work
offers a unique insight into Jewish
life in America in recent years. Read
them and discuss them with others.
ing a Jewish understanding of every-
day behavior enhances the drive to
do more.
* Dine out Jewish: The next time
you're out for a nice dinner on
Friday night, either at
home or away, have a
mini-Shabbat. Order
some wine (it doesn't
have to be the
Manischewitz-s ugar-
overdose type) and
toss a napkin over the
roll. Offer the short
blessings, sip the wine
and eat some bread. I
hope that you'll be
pleasantly surprised at
the feeling of sanctify-
ing your meal.
* Give Jewish gifts: Many of my
friends and relatives don't express
overt interest in Judaism. But they're
bright and like to
learn: They don't sign
up for classes or get
involved in organized
Jewish life. So what? I
can influence them
by offering Jewish
books and other gifts
on Chanukah and
birthdays. Or I take
them to movies with
Jewish themes or to
kosher restaurants. In
short, I put them in
what for them are
acceptable Jewish
environments.
Maintaining one's
Jewishness in the
seeming non-ethnic
milieu of most any
U.S. metropolis is
not easy. Yet, it can
be fun and intellectu-
ally stimulating. Mostly, it can
change lives — particularly your
own. If you're reading this newspa-
per, you already know thai:
Help others join the journey.
Do I tell
frequent
business
lunch
partners
that
I'm not a
vegetarian,
but kosher?
* Explore the
Jewish values you live:
You volunteer for a
non-Jewish group?
Excellent. You mentor
someone at work?
Wonderful. You coach
Little League? Superb.
You know it's good stuff. But
what does Judaism say about it? Ask
a rabbi, scholar or friend for Jewish
essays on how one's work with others
impacts all of society. When it comes
to work, I highly recommend Rabbi
Jeffrey Salkin s work on God in the
work place.
I can personally know that gain-
❑
'
sions to the Palestinians and take a
"time out" on Israeli settlements.
Moreover, he is under attack by
American Reform and Conservative
rabbis for catering to the Orthodox in
Israel and barring the Reform and
Conservative rabbis from exercising
their rights as "legitimate" religious
leaders in Israel.
On the domestic scene, there were
anti-Netanyahu "plots" and "counter
plots" engineered by the so-called
Likud "princes," including some
members of his cabinet. Yet, beneath
the domestic political uproar and the
sniping by the chronically rapacious
Israeli tabloids, what eluded many, if
not all, commentators was the com-
pelling fact, as articulated by cabinet
member Limor Livnat, that "on the
whole, Netanyahu's policies are right
and good and should be continued."
The undeniable fact is that
REVISITED on page 34
1/16
1998 •
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