This Week

WARNING:

For Openers

ir

Oh, Ton Beautiful Dolls!

Yiddish Limericks

New York

"My dear," said a shadchan* named Henny,
"You'll love him. His mylehs** are many.
And alleh in ainem
Iz nisht duh bei kainern.***
I groaned, "Who said all? I'll take any!"

rom South
African town-
ships to the
United States
to Jerusalem, dark-
skinned, soft and cuddly
dolls are finding their
way to Ethiopian Jewish
children throughout
Israel. Hundreds of the
hand-made dolls have
been distributed by the
North American
An Ethiopian-
Conference on
Jewish youngster in
Ethiopian Jewry
Israel with a doll.
(NACOEJ).
The black doll project
is the brainchild of Linda Tarry-Chard, the
New York-based founder and president of the
Project People Foundation, in partnership
with Helen Lieberman, a white, Jewish South
African woman. The Foundation is an
African-American charity noted for helping to
build bridges between black and Jewish com-
munities in the United States.
Dolls are made by South African women for
distribution to black children in the United
States, South Africa, and through NACOEJ, in
Israel. Before the end of apartheid, black dolls
were forbidden by the government.
Barbara Ribakove Gordon, founder and
national director of NACOEJ, realized that
while Ethiopian Jewish children in Israel did
not suffer from racial discrimination, they did
not have dark-hued dolls to play with.
Dolls are purchased here in the United States
for $20 each for donation to disadvantaged chil-
dren. The revenues pay the women in South
Africa, providing needed employment and sup-
port the work of the Project People Foundation
and its "Sponsor-a-Smile" doll campaign.
Contact NACOEJ at 132 Nassau St., 4th
floor, New York, NY 10038 or call (212)
233-5200; fax (212) 233-5243; e-mail,
nacoej@aol.com

GRAPEJEWZ

— Martha Jo Fleischmann

Volunteering
at ARC
can be
habit forming

* matchmaker
** virtues
*** No one person possesses all (the virtues)

Can The Jewish People Be Counted?

es and no. According to the Torah, it's forbidden to count Jewish
people. When they needed to count the priests in the Temple,
each one stuck out a finger and then they counted the fingers. As
our sages explain, this was done, "Because it is forbidden to
count Israel, as is written 'The number of the Children of Israel will be like
the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured....'"
Attaching a number to something limits it and thereby limits its
capacity to receive blessing. The census taken in the time of King David
brought catastrophe, "David insisted, 'Go count Israel' ... And God
brought a plague on Israel ... 70,000 died ..."
From the case of the priests, however, we see that it's okay to count
objects — e.g., fingers. Moses counted the people through the half-
shekel that each one donated; King Saul counted them using lambs.
Today, when counting the 10 people required for a minyan (prayer quo-
rum), it is customary to recite the verse from Psalms 28:9, which con-
sists of 10 words.
As far as the current U.S. census, most authorities permit participa-
tion: 1) It is an indirect count — people are not counted, but rather
pen marks on a piece of paper; 2) It is merely an estimation — a large
number of families forget, refuse or simply don't bother responding.
The census-takers fill this gap with government records and statistical
guesswork. Therefore, it is not a true count; 3) It is all-inclusive — the
current census makes no inquiry about religion. Therefore, it is not con-
sidered counting the "Jewish people" per se; 4) The census is done
mechanically — the actual counting is not done by humans. Rather, the
census form is scanned into a computer.
— Benyamin Cohen

What's so addictive
about volunteering
at JARC?

•It's FUN. Whether you're
planting flowers at a JARC
home, or hanging out with
a JARC friend, you'll have a
great time!

• It's FLEXIBLE. Only have
an hour per month? No
problem. We have a unique
opportunity for you!

• It's about FRIENDSHIP. As

a JARC volunteer, you'll be
an important part of an

active, caring community.

GET HOOKED
ON SOMETHING
GOOD. BECOME A
JARC VOLUNTEER
TODAY. CALL

BY Mendel

WE HAVE A VERY
DYNAMIC MEMBERSH IP
COMMITTEE THIS
S
S EAR
I SEE

(248) 352-5277, EXT. 349.

Because doing something
good for someone will do a
world of good for you.

28366 Franklin Road
Southfield, MI 48034
jarc@jarc.org
www.jarc.org

Helping people with
disabilities to live full,
meaningful lives.

4114,-
2/11

2000

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