For Openers

ARE? 'cha
Do 't Enow

Talkin' Tefillin mi. En Espaftol

w

© 2001

ith half a million Jews in Latin America, Chilean native
Rabbi Leonardo Bitran of Congregation Shaarey Zech*
By Goldfein
B'nai Israel feels it vital that these hispanic Jews have
any homes and businesses have taken
access to as many religious resources as possible.
down their holiday lights by now. Do
At a recent meeting with former Shaarey Zedek
you know how some Israeli Jews use
Men's Club President Michael Balkin, Rabbi Bitran, an
Christmas lights?
American citizen, expressed concern about the lack of
Jewish education in Cuba and South America.
.Aupirti Ifej atp. Sunup
Talk later turned to The Ties That Bind, a nationally
ions Jralp DauJoDap oi tuatia asn Xatu Lianisuy
distributed 1999 video encouraging the wearing of
tefillin (phylacteries), created by Balkin. By the end of
the discussion, the two topics had overlapped into a
plan to create a Spanish version of the video for Latin
SHELLI
LIEBMAN American Jews.
Balkin first took the idea to Ralph Zuckman, the
An airport controller named Max
DORFMAN
current
Shaarey Zedek Men's Club president, and then
Was told, "Your directions are lax.
StaffWriter
to the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs Inc. in New
My lord, are you daft?
York, owner of the tape copyright. Balkin then
You can't guide a craft
obtained a transcript and master copy of the video.
relax.'"
Saying, Waiter vee
"With a little Hollywood in my
heart," Rabbi Bitran translated the
— Martha Jo Fleischmann
entire transcript into Spanish.
He and Balkin then went to the
nearer than farther
Farmington Hills recording studio of
Martin Liebman, who moonlights as
a Sh a arey Zedek B'nai Israel baal
koreh (Torah reader) to record the
rabbi reading the new script.
"One of the key elements of leadership is the
After being away from his native
capacity to admit mistakes and the ability to
land for many years, Rabbi Bitran
change direction after one has admitted those
decided to make sure his translation
mistakes."
accurate,
so
he
sent
the
Spanish
was
— Rabbi Marc Schneier, head of North American
audio copy to an expert — his
Boards of Rabbis, following Torah study with the
mother Cora, a federal judge in
Rev.
Jesse Jackson after news of the minister's out-
Chile. After receiving a few suggest-
of-wedlock child became public.
ed corrections, the group will gather
Rabbi Leonardo Bitran
to rerecord the script. Then
"There's no question that if Joe Lieberman were
Liebman will edit the voiceover
elected [vice president], we would have heard
onto the original video, adding some subtitles as well.
the Shehecheyanu, so that would have balanced
"In today's technological society, there are VCRs everywhere
it.
even in Cuba," Rabbi Bitran says. "We want Jews to learn to practice
— Anti-Defamation League National Director
an increased level of Conservative Judaism everywhere."
Abraham
Foxman, on the invocation of Jesus in
He says the hope is to provide copies of the video to rabbis "from
prayers
at
President
George W Bush's inauguration.
❑
Cuba to Patagonia (the southernmost section of South America)."

Yiddish Limericks

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Monday,
February 5, 2001
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