COMMUNITY VIEWS

Finding My Community
As An Orthodox Jew

I suppose it's not surprising for one
haarei Tefillah Synagogue,
who
became a therapist that as I was
where I grew up, was then
growing
up, I would observe intently
one of the two major modern
how my parents and their friends
Orthodox synagogues in
behaved and listened to how they
Toronto. It's on Bathurst Street, right
talked. The way a Jew was
between what was the north-
supposed to conduct herself,
ern branch of Associated
based on Halachah and on
Hebrew Day Schools, which
Jewish
values and philoso-
I attended, and Baycrest Jew-
phy,
was
something to be
ish. Centre for Geriatric Care,
discussed and considered,
where my paternal grandfa-
whether it was a shul mat-
ther ultimately spent his last
ter, a business problem or a
days. Shaarei Tefillah was
conflict with friends or fam-
centrally located in the Jewish
ily members.
community and was the reli-
In addition to observing
gious center of my family's
JANICE
Jewish
traditions, being
life.
STARKIvLAN
Orthodox
meant having the
The members of the shul
GOLDFEIN
teachings of our sages to
represented a cross-section of
Special to
guide us in real life matters.
society. Some were Canadi-
It meant interacting with
The Jewish News
an-born and university-edu-
the world, taking from it
cated, some were Canadians
what
would enrich our lives
who lacked formal education
and
enriching
the
world by sharing
but were in business or the trades.
our
Jewish
values.
There was a certain
Others were from England, Scotland
honor
in
being
Orthodox,
and living
and Ireland. There were Holocaust
by these standards. I felt that honor
survivors from both shtetlach and big
within, and saw it respected outside
cities in Europe. Though they had
these circles, both in the Jewish and
these differences, what all of these
non-Jewish world.
Jews shared were daily rituals, holidays
I have seen the Orthodoxy of my
and customs, and the "kiddush club."
childhood
change. I have watched as
Most importantly, they shared a cer-
Orthodoxy
has begun to focus on
tain dignity and approach to life that
rules and restrictions, using them to
derived from their commitment to
withdraw from the world in fear. I
Judaism.
have watched as much of Orthodoxy
Janice Starkman Goldfein is a psy-
has become rigid and inflexible, no
chotherapist in private practice in
longer intent on living in the world,
Southfield. She can be reached via e-
but retreating from it. Apparently,
mail, jsgbcd@aol.com
many Orthodox leaders in Israel and

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in the United States seem to doubt the
strength of Torah and its teachings. ,
They seem to be afraid that the out-
side world will be more compelling
than the teachings of Judaism.
Some rabbis want to stifle dialogue
and exploration, and to restrict knowl-
edge, especially for women. They want
to use coercion and autocratic meth-
ods to control thought and behavior.
What used to be honor, and a moder-
ate, healthy self-pride among the
Orthodox has, in many cases, turned
into an arrogance, a sense of superiori-
ty, a right to judgment of others and a
certainty that there is always only one
right answer — even in the face of
some fundamental disagreements
among Orthodox sub-groups.
To be sure, "right wing" Orthodoxy
has had some positive influences in
the Orthodox and general Jewish
community. The level of primary and
secondary Jewish education and learn-
ing for both girls and boys has risen as
a result of their commitment to Torah
study. There are wonderful examples
of Jewish outreach from this commu-
nity, such as our own Rabbi Avraham
Jacobovitz of Machon L'Torah in Oak
Park, and others as well.
But those of us who grew up in the
Orthodoxy of the past, often feel dis-
enfranchised and abandoned. It is the
most talked about issue among my
friends at shul. Every week at Shabbat
tables in my community, over all of
North America, and probably the
world, the march of Orthodoxy to the
right and away from our interpreta-

tion of the meaning of living a
Halachic life is lamented. We have
helpless and hopeless.
At a Shabbat table in Riverdale,
N.Y., some modern Orthodox Jews,
too, were lamenting. However, they
decided to do something about it —
and created an organization called
Edah, or "community." It is an organi-
zation whose mission is to give voice
to the ideology and values of modern
Orthodoxy, and to educate and
empower the community to address
its concerns. Edah's tag line is: "The
Courage to be Modern and Ortho-
dox.
he first Edah conference was held
on a Sunday and Monday in mid-Feb-
ruary, and my husband and I feel
blessed to have attended. From the
start of the conference, the atmos-
phere embodied both the principles
and the spirit of modern Orthodoxy.
The structure of the conference and
the teachings of the presenters further
reflected and modeled the values and
objectives of this new group. Despite
the vociferous, negative and unfair
criticism that Edah came under from a
number of rabbis before the confer-
ence, the leadership restrained itself
from anger or criticism in response.
Although there was clear reference
to the differences in ideology, and sad-
ness over vitriolic statements of divi-
siveness, the leaders focused on the
teachings of Judaism, on what we as
modern Orthodox Jews should stand
for, while behaving with a dignity and
ORTHODOX JEW on page 33

))

To all those
Construction begins on Sinai in 1951.
who have labored
so diligently over
the nearly 50
years of Sinai's
lifetime to pro-
vide the highest
fi II H UM E k :r
possible level of
t
medical care to
s
A-1111:4341ft
the citizens of
Detroit, I offer
my sympathies.
And more impor-
tantly, I offer my thanks for what
you have created and for the many
lives you have touched, including
mine. Sinai Hospital of Detroit will
The Jewish News' editorial ("Symbolic
be sorely missed and never forgotten
Lesson" March 5) recommending
by all of us fortunate enough to have
education, not removal, regarding the
been associated with it.
Native American swastika at the
David M. Priver, MD Walled Lake Community Education
San Diego, Calif: Center was right on target. The pre-

Use Symbol
For Education

3/12
1999

30 Detroit Jewish News

vious week, the Cabinet of the Michi-
gan Regional Advisory Board of the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
unanimously came to the same con-
clusion.
While the symbol in question is
not a Nazi swastika, it is reasonable
for the casual observer to be con-
fused, shocked or offended since it
looks very much like the Nazi sym-
bol. So we asked the school district
to develop a very visible, on-site
explanation, explaining the history of
the symbol and clearly differentiating
it from the Nazi symbol. Further, it
should be made clear to students,
and others, that the casual display of
the symbol is prone to misunder-
standing and should be avoided.
ADL will follow up to see that an
adequate educational response is
This symbol is at the Walled Lake Com-
implemented.
munity Education Center.

Photo by Bill Hansen

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C