4 111111MINSIllmv 401111111111111•1111111INIIIIINGINIM. Arts & Enter -- ' 4 -441 Int 1111111101111111111111.1Pummommom11110141.1111111111.101. On The Bookshelf CONEY ISLAND Greek and American Cuisine OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 154 S. Woodward, Birmingham (248) 540-8780 With his new translation of the "Book of Ecclesiastes," Rabbi Rami Shapiro finds new meaning for the modern age in the words of an ancient sage. Halsted Village (37580 W. 12 Mile Rd.) Farmington Hills (248) 553-2360 6527 Telegraph Rd. Corner of Maple (15 Mile) Bloomfield Township (248) 646-8568 4763 Haggerty Rd. at Pontiac Trail West Wind Village Shopping Center West Bloomfield (248) 669-2295 a SOUTHFIELD SOUVLAKI CONEY ISLAND Nine Mile & Greenfield 15647 West Nine Mile, Southfield (248) 569-5229 FARMINGTON SOUVLAKI CONEY ISLAND Between 13 & 14 on Orchard Lake Road 30985 Orchard Lake Rd. Farmington Hills (248) 626-9732 UPTOWN PARTHENON 4301 Orchard Lake Rd. West Bloomfield (248) 538-6000 HERCULES FAMILY RESTAURANT 33292 West 12 Mile Farmington Hills (248) 489-9777 7- 7 7 7 Receive 0°/ 0 Off Entire Bill 1 , • not to go with any other offer • I with coupon Expires 12/30/2000 I 76 NM WISDO tto.,;, 41 . OMON rote:, ,, , C, ambler. Boozer. Inver rate womanizer. "Solomon was a com- plex character," said Rabbi Rami Shapiro, the author of a new book about the ancient philosopher king. "The reason that the Book of Ecclesiastes is so compelling is that it's so rich with paradoxes. "[Solomon] exploited every sensual pl6sure imaginable — and still found no lasting joy. Why? Because nothing lasts." The book, titled The Way of Shapiro's love of the Torah with a dol- lop of mystical Judaism and a hint of Zen Buddhism. "Ecclesiastes has been historically misrepresented as a downer," Shapiro said, "when in fact it's a fundamentally optimistic piece of work. If only people realized that, I think it would be much more well read than it currently is." Yet it's neither optimism nor pes- simism that underlies the rabbi's philosophies and writing. It's the concept, attributed to Solomon, that "this too shall soon pass." (Although some scholars dis- agree about his authorship, Solomon is traditionally associated with the Solomon: Finding Joy and Contentment in the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes (HarperSanFrancisco; $18), blends Book of Ecclesiastes.) "I think there are some definite Buddhist corollaries in Solomon's teach- Capitol Hill Jews Serving whitefish, lamb shank, pastitsio and moussaka MIK NMI IIII•1 =I MI NM NMI FINDING flu AND RAMS SHANRO JOSHUA BRANDT Jewish Bulletin of Northern California The first question that authors of books like The Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill (Ktav Publishing Co.; $59) need to ask is: Who is a Jew? Author Kurt Stone, who compiled this collection of 179 short biogra- phies of Jews who have been members of the Senate and House of Representatives, asks the question. He provides the halachic response ("any- one born of a Jewish mother or con- verted according to clearly-delineated rites and rituals"), notes that "liberal Jews" have tried to expand that defini- tion and the brouhaha that surrounds The author positions Solomon as a realist with the instincts of a Zen master. CONTENTMENT IN Tiff 1,5 ,9 841 East Big Beaver, Troy (248) 680-0094 2000 The Wisdom Of Solomon that effort, and then promptly decides to follow his own muse. When his mentor, Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, the founder of the American Jewish Archives, "declared someone `Jewish enough' to be included in his American Jewish Biography, his stu- dents listened," Stone, a rabbi, actor and medical ethicist, writes. "The author [of this work] gladly obeys his mentor's dictate." This rather bizarre decision results in the inclusion of rather "offbeat Jews,''_ some dating back to 1849. For example, we have Barry Goldwater (the late U.S. senator from Arizona and Republican candidate for president in 1964) and William Cohen (former GOP senator from Maine and current defense secretary), neither born to a Jewish mother and by Rabbi Rami Shapiro: "'Ecclesiastes' teaches us to live only in the present, and to realize that it our insistence on permanence that is the source of all our unnecessary fear and suffering." ings," Shapiro said, offering a new trans- lation of the traditional text. "Ecclesiastes teaches us to live only in the present, and to realize that it's our insistence on per- manence that is the source of all our unnecessary fear and suffering." In the book, Shapiro cites the example of a man who is anxious over delivering a business speech. Realizing that he has a great corn- mand of his subject, excitement replaces anxiety. On the way to work, however, he hears a song that reminds him of an old flame and he becomes sad. Shortly thereafter, he is almost shoved off the road by a big rig. The man once again finds himself in a state of anxiety. "We are entirely too reliant on wal- lowing in and prolonging emotions, be both practicing Christians, at least in later life. Many of the people "so lacking in Judaism, they don't even know they're Jewish, may be motivated by Jewish values not necessarily knowing it," noted Stone, speaking during the American Jewish Press Association conference this summer. Stone also recalled that he had asked Goldwater (whose family name was Goldwasser) if he wanted to be includ- ed in the book. The senator told him yes, "if for no other reason than the Goldwassers would be proud of me." But, Goldwater also told the author, he couldn't be Jewish because he was "too conservative" and "not smart enough." NEWS & REVIEWS on page 81