The meshing of Congregation Beth Achim and
Adat Shalom Synagogue changes the equation
not just for what have been two distinct mem-
berships but for the overall Conservative
movement in metropolitan Detroit. It is a hope-
ful change.
The new entity — under the Adat Shalom
name — promises to be a stronger, more viable
institution, better able to serve its members and
their children than the two separate institutions.
In the period after World War II, there were
valid reasons for the creation of multiple, sepa-
rate Reform and Conservative congregations in
the city and the suburbs. The building boom
was occasionally disparaged as a reflection of an
"edifice complex," but the process served the
community's needs effectively, even when the
congregations were relatively small. Now, howev-
er, it is the larger congregations in Detroit that
often can provide more services for their mem-
bers and the community. Hopefully this will
prove true for the new, 1,500-member Adat
Shalom.
We can rattle off the cliches: economies of
scale, efficient use of resources. In many ways
the merger of Beth Achim and Adat Shalom
promises to be a plus for everyone involved. But
signing the merger papers is not the end of the
story, as leaders and members of the now-
merged congregation are well aware.
The new Adat Shalom is working hard to
integrate the two groups into one. Both groups
will have to give up some identity and learn to
share in order to form a new entity that is more
than just a financial arrangement.
For the Conservative movement in the
Detroit area, consolidation should mean even
greater strength.
For the Jewish Federation and Akiva
Hebrew Day School, much is left to be done
to take advantage of the Beth Achim building
in Southfield. But the opportunity of stability
for Akiva and the 12 Mile - Lahser area make
the Beth Achim - Adat Shalom merger a win-
win situation for the Jewish community in
many ways. ❑
How About Mutual Respect?
On June 9, the Southern Baptist Convention
produced a 250-word declaration calling for "a
wife to submit graciously to the servant leader-
ship of her husband even as the church willingly
submits to the leadership of Christ."
The convention also added in this amend-
ment to its essential beliefs that "husband and
wife have equal worth before God." The organi-
zation, the nation's largest Protestant denomina-
tion, released the declaration because of what it
sees as a growing crisis in the family.
We suggest that the family crisis often has its
beginning in the relationship between husband
and wife. At a time when spousal abuse and
divorce occurs across Jewish denominational
lines, and in every faith, the last thing an abusing
husband needs is divine license to enact any per-
ceived control over a submissive wife.
But this perception of submission flows way
beyond the household. It shows up in the work-
place when a woman of similar talents gets paid
less than a male colleague, because he is the
"head" of his household. It shows up in the class-
room where countless studies have indicated that
many girls try not to achieve at the same level as
male classmates.
Husband and wife should act as equal part-
ners, learning how to build a life and a family
together. Children should see their parents
demonstrably encouraging one another, support-
ing one another and neutralizing the perceived
genderization of household "roles" as much as
possible.
By living a life with true mutual respect for
one's spouse, then husband and wife are bringing
Godliness into their home.
Sometimes traditional Jewish homes, particu-
larly the Orthodox community, are seen to hold
ideas very similar to those of the Southern Bap-
tists. To say such a thing puts an inaccurate blan-
ket of generalization on an entire community.
There are Orthodox homes where the husband
and wife have decided mutually that the hus-
band will work out of the home while the wife
stays home and raises the children.
But come now, you all know people of
every denomination who have made similar
decisions. This is every bit as much the wife's
decision as well as the husband's. There are
also Orthodox homes where the wife works in
raising the children and also holds down a pay-
ing job enabling the husband to spend more
time studying Torah. Again, how many times
have you heard of a couple where the wife has
"worked her husband through law school or
med school." This is a decision of mutual
respect that pays off for the entire family.
It's not about the woman's role or the man's
role. Jewish homes, by and large, reflect the highs
and lows of any society.
Reinforcing traditional roles also shouldn't be
misinterpreted. For some members of the Ortho-
dox community, genderization is not only a way
of life, but is mandated by relationships in the
Torah such as between Abraham and Sarah, Isaac
and Rebecca. Also, for many traditional women,
"roles" within their family aren't seen as one
being more important than the other.
Husband and wife can choose to be submis-
sive before God, if that's the direction they are
taking. But submissive to one another? We hope
that they stand side by side and uplift one anoth-
er. Then, and only then, will they really be equals
before God or anyone else. ❑
IN FOCUS
Pho to by Bill Hansen
> The Opportunities From A Merger
New American
American Scholars
A group of tiny students from Beth Jacob School for Girls
celebrated graduation from pre-school last week. The seven
tots, all 3 and 4 years old, are children of Russian immi-
grants who are being "mainstreamed" before they enter the
real world of nursery school. Led by teacher Aviva Zacks, the
children sang English and Hebrew songs for their elders in
the nursery school. ❑
LETTERS
Baal Shem Toy
Is Documented
I am pleased to inform
Rabbi Herschel Finman
("Souls On Fire" June 5) and
others interested in the Baal
Shem Toy (incidentally, he
was one of many figures
known as "Baal Shem") that
we no longer have to rely
on that which "comes to us
via tales and parables" for
information on his personal
life.
Professor Murray (Moshe)
Rosman of Bar-Ilan Univer-
sity, who has twice been a
visiting professor at the Uni-
versity of Michigan's Frankel
Center for Judaic Studies
and in the department of
history, worked in Polish and
Ukranian archives where he
discovered many materials
on the Baal Shem Tov,
including even his tax
records. Professor Rosman's
prizewinning book is called
Founder of Hasidism: A Quest
for the Historical Ba'al Shem
Toy (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1996).
Rabbi Finman should also
be informed that Reb Nach-
man, who is buried in
Uman, Ukraine, lived in,
among other places, Bratslav,
Ukraine, but never in
Bratislava, as he writes, the
capital of Slovakia.
Rabbi Irons' comments
that "the fears of the mis-
nagdim were not necessarily
borne out by history." Today,
however, some misnagdim
are appalled by the near-
deification of Menachem
Mendel Schneerson, the late
"Lubavitcher Rebbe," some
of whose followers have
anointed him the Messiah or
have proclaimed in full-page
advertisements in the New
York Times (e.g. July 8,
1997) that "The Rebbe, no
longer bound by physical
limitations, is accessible to
6/19
1998
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