Jewry's Role in
Human Affairs
The Culture of Adoption
UNRAVELING MYSTERIES OF TIME AND SPACE
As typified by Albert Einstein, whenever and wherever they were at liberty
to share their gifts of intellect and imagination, Jewish scientists have given
much to human progress. Einstein and others are among the many Jews
who have enlarged and forever changed our perceptions of time and space,
and of how the natural world works.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
(1879-1955) b. Ulm, Germany Physicist The
greatest theoretical physicist of the 20th Century
is also praised as one of history's most brilliant
and original minds. At age 26 he published
landmark papers on the Brownian Movement and
the Special Theory of Relativity. A third paper
dealing with the photoelectric effect postulated
particles of light called photons -- a concept'
that inspired the quantum theory and earned him the 1921 Nobel Prize for
Physics. Six years earlier, his monumental Generkl Theory of Relativity
had embroiled him in controversy as fierce as that surrounding Charles
Darwin. He fl6d Hitler's rise and joined Princeton Univqrsity's Institute of
Advanced Studies in 1933. Esteemed for his wit, modesty and political
integrity, he will also be long remembered for his equatin, E=MC , which
helped enable the atomic age. The inscription on Isaac Newton's tombstone
would be an equally fitting epitaph for Einstein: "Let mortals rejoice that so
great an ornamentIo the human race has existed."
ALBERT MICHELSON
(1852-1931) b. Strelno, Prussia Physicist
Brought to the U.S. as a child, he graduated from
Annapolis in 1873, but left naval service for
scientific research. While a professor at
Cleveland's Case School of Applied Science,
Michaelson invited a colleague, Edward Morley,
to jointly conduct a 1887 experiment that refuted
the long-held hypothesis of space filled with static
ether--among the most important findings in modern scientific history.
Their conclusions also provided an experimental foundation for Einstein's
Special Theory of Relativity. Later at the University of Chicago, he applied
the interferometer he developed for the experiment to accurately clock the
speed of light, and is still used to measure wavelengths of the spectra.
Michelson was the first American to win a Nobel Prize for Physics (1907).
HEINRICH HERTZ
(1857-94) b. Hamburg, Germany Physicist "In
classical times men would have regarded the
untimely death of Hertz as due to the jealbusy of
the gods." This tribute by a fellow scientist, the
famous Hermann Helmholtz, salutes an
achievement that led to creating today's worldwide
communications systems. The notable contributor
N
to electrical research was first to detect and
measure electromagnetic waves of large amplitude. Wireless telegraphy,
radio and television evolved from his work, in recognition of which the
"hertz" has come to designate units of frequency.
- Saul Stadtmauer
According to Simon Dubnow, the Russian historian, the Jews are "the most
historical people on the face of the earth." His thesis is that "Only civilized
culture-bearing nations have a right to be historical." The Jews have been
a culture-bearing nation longer than any other people. The link connecting
Moses with the Jews of the 20th Century has never been broken. For over
three-thousand years, Jews have produced great works of law, theology,
ethics, poetry and philosophy on all subjects that affect mankind. No
people have had such an uninterrupted period of cultural creativity as have
the Jews.
Visit many more notable Jews at our website: www.dorledor.org
*TIC
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2000
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COMMISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY
Walter & Lea Field, Founders/Sponsors
Irwin S. Field, Chairperson
Harriet F. Siden, Chairperson
of the Jewish Children's Adoption
Network (JCAN), in Denver, Colo.,
met a Jewish couple at a conference
who were upset when the Chinese boy
they adopted 18 years ago decided to
become a Buddhist. Krausz says he
told them, "'You shouldn't be sur-
prised. He looks in the mirror and he's
a Buddhist. You gave him a good life;
don't fret.'"
Rabbi Michael Gold holds a differ-
ent view. "In theory, a child has a
choice [at 18]. But in practice, going
through a bar or bat mitzvah is a reaf-
firmation of that conversion. I recog-
nize that my'children had a life before
they came in my house. I can't erase
that, but now, I say, 'You are a Jew.'"
The future of foreign-born children
adopted by Jews concerns Rabbi Gold.
"Remember, that delightful baby will
become a teenager and an adult some-
day," he says. Even though a child has
had a proper conversion, he may still
grow up to face issues of acceptance at
Hebrew school and in Jewish youth
groups.
"Judaism is not a race," he empha-
sizes. "We've
grown used to
the differences
between
Ashkenazi and
Sephardic
Jews, but it
will still take
time for atti-
tudes to
change toward
some of the
newer con-
verts."
Rabbi
Steven Weil
says, "Judaism
does not discriminate between ezrach,
someone born Jewish, and ger, some-
one who chooses to become a Jew. All
human beings are created equal in the
image of God."
There were periods in Jewish histo-
ry, he adds, when religious leaders
were converts. In the Roman times, a
nephew of Caesar, Onkelos, converted
to Judaism, "and we still read his
explanation of the Bible — the
Targum, an Aramaic translation into
Hebrew which includes commentary
— every week."
So You Want To Adopt?
"There are a million books on adop-
tion," says Krausz of JCAN. "Read
them all. Make your own decision
about what's right for you. There are
no right or wrong answers. Most
failed adoptions are when people
adopt unrealistically."
Krausz and his wife Vicky, director
of JCAN, are matchmakers. They
place about 100 Jewish children a year
in Jewish homes. About 85 percent of
their children have special needs;
they've been abused, neglected or
abandoned. The Krauszes themselves
have adopted two children with Down
Syndrome.
Rose Williams is director of
Morningstar Adoption Agency in
Royal Oak, the agency used by the
Audie-Figueroa-Hecker family. She
wants prospective parents to know
that the adoption process can be over-
whelming.
"Adoption opens an entire new uni-
verse with jargon and paperwork," she
says. "Educate yourself even before
networking with agencies and attor-
neys.
Jineene, left, and Jeremy
Adler at their respective bat
and bar mitzvah. Jineene
wears a "hanbok," a
traditional Korean dress.
"Call us!" invites Diane St. Peter to
Jews considering a foreign adoption.
She is director of adoption for the
Jewish Family Service's division,
Alliance for Adoption. Licensed and
regulated by the state of Michigan,
JFS places children into foster care or
for adoption. It also advises families
on the legitimacy of other placement
agencies.
Another resource the experts rec-
ommend is the Stars of David.
"We are a group of Jewish and part-
Jewish families," says Rosa Schindler,
president of the Detroit chapter. She
and her husband Richard Ng have
adopted two children from Korea.
"We do social activities, educational
programs on adoption and discussion
groups. But we're more a chavura, a
family, than a support group."
FACES on page 14