EDITOR'S WATCH
Deepen Your Jewish Identity
gious backgrounds and beliefs. The
isdom flows from
instructors developed their individual
knowledge, the sages say.
co ursewo rk.
To test this adage, the
"The JCC is ale one place all Jews
Detroit Jewish commu-
— the observant, secular, unaffiliated,
nity is about to embark on one of its
intermarried — can feel comfortable
most ambitious adult Jewish education
learning together," said JCC program-
initiatives ever — Semi-
ming director Margo Weitzer.
nars for Adult Jewish
"You don't even have to be
Enrichment (SAX).
Jewish to enroll. You just need
The evening educational
an interest in learning about
forum provides an informal
Judaism."
way for adults to touch
There's a course to match
their Jewish soul through
almost any interest. For exam-
57 mid-winter courses held
ple, Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz
on both campuses of the
of Machon [Torah will con-
Jewish Community Center
duct the "Symphony of Jewish
of Metropolitan Detroit.
Law." Adat Shalom Rabbi Efry
ROBER T A.
The JCC is partnering
Spectre will lead "Tell Me A
SKL AR
with the Agency for Jewish
Story: The Narrative Art of
Ed ito r
Education of Metropolitan
the Hebrew Bible." Temple
Judah Isaacs, Irwin Alterman, Sharon
Detroit, the Jewish Federa-
Israel education director Fran Pearl-
tion of Metropolitan Detroit and The
man will talk up "Jewish Women,
Community Council of Metropolitan
Jewish. Nays to sponsor two three-week
Then and Now." Shaarey Zedek edu-
Detroit executive director David Gad-
terms, split by President's Week.
cation director Michael Wolf will
Harf's "Jewish Politics, Jewish Inter-
The partnership makes perfect
explore unique teachings from Jewish
ests"), American Jewish history (B'nai
sense, given that Jewish education is
sources in "I Didn't Learn That in
Moshe Rabbi Elliot Pachter's "Judaism
the bedrock to sustaining Jewish con-
Hebrew School!"
in America") — all will be spotlighted.
tinuity from generation to generation.
Music lovers can look to song-filled
Other classes will deal with Shab-
"To keep Jewish people Jewish, they
classes led by Temple Israel Cantor
bat, spirituality, ethics, conversion,
need to be exposed to a wide range of
Harold Orbach, Shaarey Zedek Can-
love, marriage, raising kids, keeping
Jewish life experiences, including Jew-
tor Chaim Najman, Temple Kol Ami
kosher, social influences, personal
ish education," says Irwin Alterman,
Rabbi Norman Roman and Cantor
growth, the Holocaust, biomedical
JCC Judaic Enrichment chairman and
Sholom Kalib of Beth Israel of Flint.
issues, and death and dying, to name
a passionate spokesman for SAJE. "We
Women's issues (Temple Beth El
just
some topics.
hope enough people share.our excite-
Rabbi Sheila Goloboy's "Women of the
"It's a true community endeavor,"
ment for learning Jewishly."
Talmud"), the 50th anniversary of
Alterman said.
The faculty boasts rabbis, cantors,
Israel's statehood (Detroit shlicha Yael
Sharon Hart, JCC program steering
Jewish educators and community pro-
Waxman's "Fifty Years of Israel: From
committee
chairwoman, sees SAJE
fessionals from distinctly different reli-
Struggle to Miracles"), politics (Jewish
ror at noticing that, in the accompa-
nying photograph of the toast, you
displayed the product on a seder plate.
This particular plate is a copy of the
original, which was a part of the tour-
ing display of the Precious Legacy. It
was made in Vienna, circa 1900, cata-
log number 127.
In the future, I would hope that
The Jewish News would be more care-
ful of the art chosen before printing it
in the paper.
Julie Grant Meyer
New Orleans
Hearing Aids
Beneficial
I am writing in response to Ruffian
Brodsky's article on hearing loss
("Silent Affliction," Nov. 6).
I feel that this article performs a
disservice to the audiology profession
and to the hearing-impaired popula-
tion. Only 25 percent of hearing-
impaired individuals seek help for the
hearing loss and, in my opinion, this
article didn't lessen the perceived stig-
ma of hearing loss and hearing aids.
My audiology colleagues and my
patients who read this article were
astonished by the emphasis of so
many negative aspects of hearing aid
use. I am concerned that this article
may deter many people from seeking
help with their hearing loss. There was
not a fair representation on the posi-
tive aspects of amplification.
Using descriptions like "abom-
inable," "an awful racket" or "a pain in
the neck" to describe experiences with
hearing aids can only cause more
harm than good to the hearing-
impaired population. It's no wonder
that only 25 percent of the hearing-
impaired population seeks help from
hearing aids. While I admit that hear-
ing aids can't bring back the quality of
hearing one was born with, they cer-
tainly provide more benefit than indi-
cated in this article.
Hearing aids can permit people to
participate in their daily normal activi-
ties. There have been many technolog-
ical advances in hearing aids over the
past 10 years, most recently in digital
hearing aids. These advances are now
allowing hearing aids to keep up with
the active lifestyles of the hearing
impaired, yielding greater consumer
satisfaction in hearing aid use.
As a result, I now see more people
wearing hearing aids rather than keep-
ing them in nightstand drawers. But
people must understand that every
serving as a role
model "so kids see it's
normal to study
beyond bar or bat
mitzvah."
The intent is not
to interfere with class
offerings of congrega-
tions, the AJE, the
JCC, Eilu v' Eilu or
any other group. "We
want to complement
them," Hart said,
"not compete with
them.
The 50-minute
classes start at 7:30
and 8:30 p.m.
Wednesdays at the
Jimmy Prentis Morris
JCC in Oak Park,
and Tuesdays and •
Thursdays at the
Kahn JCC in West Bloomfield.
The JCC envisions SAJE expanding
Jewish education opportunities, which
the Jewish Federation has identified as
the priority in Detroit.
SAJE is patterned after the Atlanta
JCC's Jewish U, whose enrollment last
year topped 600 students. Rabbi
Stephen Weiss, teaching SAJE's
"Twelve Steps to Spirituality," taught
at Jewish U before coming to Shaarey
Zedek in 1997. "The beauty of
SAJE," he said, "is that you have peo-
ple speaking who represent such a
broad spectrum of Jewish life."
"What I found really exciting about
JEWISH IDENTITY on page 30
"
individual's hearing loss, tolerance lev-
els for loud sounds, and lifestyle is
unique, almost like fingerprints. It is
for this reason that the audiologist,
along with the hearing-impaired indi-
vidual, must decide which type of
amplification is appropriate, not only
to fit one's hearing loss but also to fit
one's lifestyle. It is also the audiolo-
gist's duty to set realistic expectations
for each hearing aid user.
It should be noted that hearing aids
may not always be the answer for
everyone who possesses hearing loss.
Sometimes, hearing aids are not rec-
ommended; the use of assistive listen-
ing devices may be more appropriate.
Other times, hearing aids are to be
used in conjunction with some assis-
tive device, to perhaps enhance use of
the telephone or TV.
HEARING AIDS on page 29
12/1
199
Detroit Jewish News
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