editorials

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Truly Tzedakah

I

n a conversation last week, a long-time
Detroiter said he gives to the Allied Jew-
ish Campaign but feels a little intimidat-
ed when the volunteer caller recounts all
the great things the annual fund-raiser does. He
wasn't sure, he said, how much of each dollar
goes where and whether he could have any say
\-. over it. And he doesn't feel comfortable asking.
,-----)
Relax, we told him, it's not only your right
to ask, it's your duty.
In more concrete terms, the Campaign pro-
vides a people-to-people connection between
donor and recipient. It helps a physically dis-
abled man land a badly needed job. It helps a
troubled teen find counseling. It helps a child,
with only his mother and her hourly wages to
rely on, enjoy summer camp. It helps an older
adult experience companionship, holiday cele-
brations and kosher meals in her apartment
building. And it helps a new American start
over with housing, English classes, medical
care and job referrals.
As Jews, we embrace tzedakah and tikkun
olam. But that doesn't mean we have to give
just because the Jewish Federation of Metro-
politan Detroit asks.
_.,
For the Campaign to be truly successful in
,
its outreach on behalf of Jewish human service
agencies in 60 countries, the Detroit Jewish
community must challenge Federation to chal-
lenge itself — every year.
We must ask how allocations are made, why
percentages rise or dip, why some services get
funding and others don't, and who accounts for
how the money is spent. Generally from year to
year, about as much money stays here as goes
,

overseas. Less than 7 percent is for overhead, a
relatively low rate among nonprofits.
Federation directs its overseas allocation to the
United Jewish Appeal, which provides money for
Jewish needs around the world through the Jew-
ish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish
Joint Distribution Committee. Locally, Cam-
paign funds are allocated based on agency
requests. Campaign priorities include immigra-
tion and resettlement, Jewish education, eldercare
services, disability assistance, families in crisis,
Israel experience subsidies, Jewish experiences on
college campuses, and revitalization of Jewish
communities in impoverished places like Belarus,
Cuba and Hungary.
When the Campaign's Days of Decision call
comes between Thursday, March 18, and Tues-
day, March 23, feel free to query the caller to
get your questions answered and concerns
addressed. Speak up, and be assured you're
being heard. To reach the Campaign office
ahead of time, call (248) 203-1457. It's impor-
tant to develop a comfort level with the Cam-
paign, its representatives and the cause.
Then give to your own limits.
Nancy and Jim Grosfeld, through a new
Campaign challenge fund, will match every
pledge increase over last year plus will double
all new gifts.
The Detroit Campaign, this year on course
to hit $29.6 million as the fourth most-suc-
cessful Campaign in the country, enables us to
practice tzedekah and tikkun olam on behalf
of less-fortunate Jews everywhere.
Remember: as Jews, we may have allegiances
to our hometown, but we're a universal people
with worldwide needs. 17

A Pact With God

o once again, America debates the
merits of circumcision. This time, it
follows a report by the American
Academy of Pediatrics. The group rec-
ommended pain relief, including local anesthet-
ics, in infant circumcision, adding that the pro-
cedure's benefits are not "significant enough" to
recommend it for newborns. Only a decade
ago, much-touted research said the procedure
provided medical benefits.
And, as in the past, few Jews will change
their mind over whether an eight-day-old male
should have a ritual circumcision. We empha-
size ritual because in the absence of sustainable
information about negative effects, Jews who
believe in circumcision — and a tiny minority
does not — do so for religious purposes.
The debate swirls around the pain of the
procedure, something that a newborn's cry
makes irrefutable. A poignant response to this
comes from Rabbi Ismar Schorsch of the Con-
servative movement. "[A ritual circumcision] is
a sign of the bond between Israel and God,"

S

he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "I don't
think Jews ever deluded themselves into think-
ing that it wasn't a painful moment. But that's
all it is, a moment."
Parents understandably have a deep psycho-
logical barrier to seeing a newborn son suffer
for even a brief second. Many ritual circumcis-
ers, or mohelim, will not use anesthetics. If this
is of concern to parents, we urge consultation
with religious leaders.
If private physicians and hospitals hand out
information about circumcision, as some
physicians recommend, it is their prerogative.
But the religious perspective must be included.
And we reject attempts to legally limit the
practice. In addition, comparisons to female
circumcision — designed to eliminate sexual
gratification — are shallow.
Most of all, we recall that for Jews a ritual cir-
cumcision is no ancient barbaric act. Indeed, the
opposite is true. It is, at the start of one's life, a
drawing closer to God's presence. It is a holy act
that, when performed by a trained practitioner,
we always have, and always will, endorse.

IN FOCUS

A Helping Hand

Chairman Phil Elkus of Farmington Hills takes the winning
ticket from volunteer Robin Wine of West Bloomfield in Yad
Ezra's Purim Raffle. The grand-prize ticket, worth $10,000,
was held by the quartet of Ian Burstein, Josh Opperer, Dan
Serlin and Eric Bronstein. Raffle proceeds help support the
Oak Park-based kosher food pantry.

LITTERS

Music Club
Offers Thanks

Our sincerest thanks to
Alan Hitsky and the staff of
The Jewish News for publicity
through the years for the
Music Study Club of Metro-
politan Detroit.
Bertha Well
President
Music Study Club
of Metropolitan Detroit

Sinai Will Be Gone
But Not Forgotten

It is with much sadness that
I learn about the impending
closure of Sinai Hospital. Not
only did I receive my medical
training and practice there
during the 1970s, but my
father, Julien Priver, MD,
now age 84 and going strong,
was the hospital's first and

•
only executive director from
the time Sinai opened in
1953 until his retirement in
1979. It was not until I relo-
cated to San Diego, where I
now live and practice, some
20 years ago, that I began to
realize how extremely well
trained and prepared I had
been by my years at Sinai.
Although it is hard to argue
the fiscal merits of the closure
as well as the true need for a
Jewish hospital in this day
and age, Sinai's loss will bring
to an end an era of medical
greatness for the city of
Detroit. Thousands of well-
trained Sinai physicians have
distinguished themselves in all
fields of medicine throughout
the world. It is sad to think
that there will be no more
graduates of its highly regard-
ed residency programs. Equal-
ly sad is the fact that so many
patients, employees and
physicians will be displaced.

3/12
1995

Detroit Jewish News

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