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Is It Safe?
IN FOCUS
e sit on our sofas late at night
watching live coverage of the most
recent tragedy, a rampage of lead
and venom at a Jewish communi-
ty center in Granada Hills, Calif. We see little
children holding hands as they leave the build-
ing under police guard. News trucks with
sophisticated satellite dishes beam the words of
the on-air "talent" back to us. The psychother-
apists stand by, ready to offer to heal.
We hope to watch the S.W.A.T. team get the
bad guy and somehow make things right and
safe again. We hope our candidate, "good," will
win this time. Then we can explain to our chil-
dren that life goes on and so must we.
But in our heads, we recite the earlier
names, like so many Civil War battlefields —
Oklahoma City, Columbine, Sacramento,
West Rodgers Park. Was the Atlanta rampage
only two weeks ago?
We see the symptoms, but what of the sick-
ness itself?
There are no satellite dishes or talking heads
or media shrinks on hand to capture its begin-
nings, maybe in something as ridiculously ordi-
nary as the slap of a hand by an abusing parent
or in words that rip and tear a mind as surely as
a 30-caliber slug does flesh. People don't need to
wear a swastika to hate. They don't have to kill
someone with a gun to hate. Haters have learned
somewhere that life is less, not more, and hate
doesn't need network coverage to thrive.
No doubt what happened this week was
again a hate crime, that anti-Semitism has car-
ried its gun into the safety of a JCC.
We can pretend to patch up the damage
with a bandage of heightened security and a
pareve call for gun control.
But we as Jews need to help this diverse
society figure out a way to rid itself of the dis-
ease itself. And that disease usually makes its
start in our homes, not in a school or in a
JCC. We need to teach love to one another.
We need to build and to re-build our self
images. And we absolutely, once and for all,
need to use the force of this great nation to
put an end to this industry of guns.
The same love that God teaches us, and that
we pray for more fervently during Elul, this
month of preparation for our repentance, this is
how we can keep the light alive.
Yes, guns, and yes, our appetite for the
drama the media builds have roles in all of
this. But that can be overcome. We will move
on, we will be safe.
We cannot underestimate the role of faith
in all of this. Hear 0 Israel, the Lord Is God,
the Lord is One. It's what we say, it is what we
believe. Too heavy?
Maybe. But the hating, the shooting, the
killing. It's much heavier. And it must stop. 1-1
Mr. Maccabi Games
tition out of-state in the heat of summer.
early 170 strong, Detroit's JCC
And he would be thrilled to see that Maccabi
Maccabi athletes are fanning out
week,
with evening activities that stress Jewish
across the country this week and
identity,
is still considered a Jewish experience,
next to compete, make friends and
not only a test of athleticism.
celebrate being Jewish.
We remember Mr. Robinson say-
Jay Robinson, Detroit's Mr. Mac-
ing how important the games are to
cabi Games, would have been
shaping Jews during the impression-
proud.
able teen years. We, as the American
His death from cancer in April
Jewish
community, must never let
1998 at age 61, four months shy of
logistics,
staffing, squabbles or other
last year's opening ceremonies, cast a
challenges
stand in the way of let-
momentary pall over the Detroit-
ting
the
games
begin, he said.
hosted 1998 games. But they were
And he was right.
successfully held, featuring 13- to
That's because the JCC Maccabi
16-year-olds from 70 communities
Jay Robinson
Games
reach beyond the circles of
around the world.
competition
and friendship. They
The games' spirit and popularity
also
foster
Jewish
interaction.
And at the core of
nationwide, with solid support here via the
that
interaction
are
the
host
families,
who make
Maccabi Club of Metropolitan Detroit, are a
the
games
possible.
Competitors
are
guests
in
tribute to Mr. Robinson's indelible imprint
the homes of their hosts, typically strangers. But
since the first torch lighting in 1982.
more times than not, competitors and hosts are
Were he alive today, Mr. Robinson would
divinely
linked at the soul.
be thrilled to see that, a year after hosting
So
it
is
that we recall Jay Robinson, whose
nearly 4,000 athletes and coaches for a nation-
love
for
sport,
faith in kids and vigor for Judaism
al competition, Detroit still was able to recruit
still
resonate
wherever
the Maccabi torch is lit.
169 teens for this year's regional games.
His
soul
lives
on
today
in the 169 teenagers that
He would be thrilled to see that 36 volunteers
make
up
Detroit's
Jewish
Community Center-
cared enough about the games to coach several
sponsored Maccabi team for 1999. II
practice sessions here and lead a week of compe-
N
•
•
•
I. • •
Northern Retreat
Board members and friends recently dedicated a unique addi-
tion to the Jewish Association for Residential Care's portfolio of
homes: the Labes Vacation Home on Smallwood Lake in Glad-
win. The barrier-free home is a gift from Jim and Laura Sher-
man of Birmingham in honor of the birthday of Jim's sister,
Ellen Labes of Bloomfield Hills (all shown on the deck over-
looking the lake). The house is available on a rotating basis to
all people served by the Southfield-based JARC agency.
LETTERS
Many Reform Jews
Are Observant
I enjoyed reading the article,
"A Lesson For A Lifetime"
(Voices In Jewish Education,
Aug. 6), in which Willard
Posen is featured. Mr.
Posen's experience certainly
reinforces the importance of
a Jewish education and Jew-
ish role modeling within the
family.
I feel compelled, however,
to respond to the implication
made by the Jewish News, in
reference to Mr. Posen's back-
ground, that people who grow
up in Reform Jewish environ-
ments are, by definition, less
observant and less informed.
The foundation of Reform
Judaism is the notion that
Jews study text in order to
make informed and educated
choices. Indeed, there are
many Reform Jews who are
"observant" in the traditional
sense. There are also many
Reform Jews who have stud-
ied Judaism throughout their
entire lives, creating personal
and family minhagim [Jewish
customs] and Jewish experi- -
ences that are deeply spiritual.
Given our history as a peo-
ple and our immediate experi-
ences in the ga/ut [diaspora],
it is unproductive and irre-
sponsible to suggest, even by
subtle implication, that one
movement within Judaism is
less valuable than others.
Nancy Gad-Harf
West Bloomfield
Lubavitch Also
Offer Adult Ed
It was exciting to note all the
adult education programs
available in our community
("Voices In Jewish Educa-
tion," Aug. 6). You omitted
from the article, however, an
entire system of educational
programming — one, more-
over, that is based on a corn-
LETTERS ON PAGE
31
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11. • .....
Detroit Jewish News
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