a little Italian inspiration is good for the appetito. FOOD FOR A MIND BAGELING WORLD' Call 1-800-Bagel-Me for the location near you www.einsteinbros.com DWYER AND SONS COLLISION CENTER Collision Repair on All Makes and Models JOEL GOLDHABER, Mgr. (Formerly with Maxie Collision on Northwestern Hwy. is now serving all previous and new customers at Dwyer & Sons) • TOWING Service Available • FREE LOANER available or ask about • TURNING IN A LEASE CAR? our Deductible Savings Program See me for a free pre-inspection • FREE Estimates • ALL INSURANCE companies accepted. • FREE PICK UP & DELIVERY Service available We are a direct repair for many. (248) 624-0400 3055 West Maple Road • 1/4 mile West of Haggerty Road Since STEVEN TARNOW, C.R. 1986 (248) 626-5603 PREFERRED nimn uiu..vilw L DING CO. I BUI .46• ■•■■ •••• ■ •= Fax 248-932-0950 Residential & Commercial Remodeling Building Quality Into Every Project With Unmatched Personal Service. AOON.. NARt .5/21 1999 XMOVILIN1211111JPGX/ 12 Detroit Jewish News Featuring Andersen Windows Licensed & Insured voice and arms to project a larger image. She is not afraid to be provocative. "We.run the risk of going down in his- tory as the generation of Americans who blew it big time. We are sensing a threat to our survival ar a very deep level." At the same time, she is optimistic. "I believe there is a critical mass (of people) in this country and around the world and that we must interrupt cer- tain patterns in the world, patterns that are dark and limited and fear-based, and replace them with light and a vision of a compassionate god," she said. "It's not that hate is so loud — it's that love is so quiet." The crowd's reception was warm, but reviews were decidedly mixed. Many younger attendees were wowed by her message of peace and love, but older listeners voiced confusion, unable to make sense of the contradic- tions that Williamson embodies. Several admitted to a sense of betrayal that this talented Jewish spiritualist would be running a church. Williamson, 47, didn't argue about the inconsistencies in her life. She answered audience questions gamely after her talk, responding to queries ranging from "Are you Jewish?" (yes) to "Are you a Jew for Jesus?" (absolutely not). She explained that she was raised in a large, extended Conservative Jewish family in Houston, but was never com- pelled by Judaism. She recalls her child- hood religious education as boring and pointless. Williamson spent her 20s finding herself until she fell upon and was "claimed by" a set of books called A Course in Miracles, a three-volume set of lectures and worksheets that she ), describes as "spiritual psychotherapy. Williamson soon became the most popular teacher of the course, and found fame and fortune preaching optimistic New Age messages from a base in Los Angeles. She befriended stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Oprah Winfrey. After a decade in L.A., Williamson says she wanted a more real experi- ence. A fortuitous meeting led to her appointment at the 3,000-member Church of Today in Warren last year. The Church of Today is affiliated with Unity, a 1 00-year-old worldwide Christian organization that is not tra- ditional Christianity. Unitarians revere Jesus as a "way-shower" or divinely inspired person, but also say Jesus is not the only son of God. "I do believe in universal spiritual themes," she told the audience at Beth El. "But I believe that if I had and stood the mystical traditions of my own religion, I'd probably be a rabbi today. Showing characteristic frankness, Williamson admitted that she has a lot of "angst" about her commitment to Judaism. She said laughingly, "My mother has been saying for years, 'Go to rabbinical school. We'll pay for it.'" She does have a firm commitment to providing a Jewish education for her daughter, Emma, 10. Emma is enrolled in Sunday School at Beth El, Marianne Williamson with Rabbi Daniel Syme at Temple Beth El. where she and Williamson, a single mother, are members. According to Temple Beth El Rabbi Daniel Syme, Williamson plans to read from the Torah at Beth El and will become a bat mitzvah there as well. Syme said his decision to invite Williamson to speak at his congrega- tion, as a part of the 1999 Milton M. Alexander Lectures, was easy. He admires her work, he said, and intro- duced her to his congregation as "bril- liant, compassionate and an uncom- promising idealist who insists the world can be made better." "What a shame that this is the first time she spoke in a synagogue," he told the assembly after her talk. 17 Caption information in last week's story "Flicks with Neshama" gave an incorrect date for the showing of the film A Life Apart: Chasidism in America. It will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. The four quarters of Jerusalem's Old City are Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim. The Armenian quarter was not listed in last week's Editor's Watch. EMMMWMWMWMMMmkW.,Mftm,,,,M WOMMM=MMK,?: