Ophdon
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Dry Bones
Making Sparks Burn Brighter
ccording to some interpretations of
Torah, the smallest amount of food for
which a prayer of thanks is due is a
morsel the size of an olive. There is
something reassuringly precise about that dimen-
sion that is worth keeping in mind when larger
issues are on the table.
Consider, for example, the effort in the United
States to define who is a Jew and to predict who
may become one. The question is important
because the answer has a major impact on what
programs the organized community will undertake
to foster Jewish 'identity.
In part, it is a question of dollars: Do we get
more long-term identity bang for the
buck by discouraging intermarriage or by
reaching
and
. b
b out through synagogue
community programs to those who are
already intermarried? Do we invest more in day
and congregation schools to instill lasting Jewish
values or do we spend on adult education pro-
grams to re-engage those who have drifted away?
But it is also a question of philosophy: At what
point do we say the spark of Judaism is just too
small to be worth husbanding?
One problem is that we don't have enough evi-
dence about what works best. A study out last
week says outreach efforts, including those aimed
at — but not limited to — intermarried families,
have at least a short-term effect of increasing par-
ticipation in organized Jewish life by people who
had thought themselves at best only marginally
Jewish.
Predictably, however, those who want to con-
centrate community efforts on making sure that
Jews marry Jews to begin with say the study does-
A
n't justify more outreach because it
doesn't track long-range affiliation
affects. That is a perfectly valid
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response to a research effort that
acknowledged it was going to provide
snapshots rather than the kind of
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definitive data anticipated later this
year from the national Jewish popula-
tion study.
For the moment, we likely are going
to have to make most of the decisions
on a community-by-community basis,
tailoring programs and spending to
local conditions rather than pursuing a
one-tack-fits-all national
directive.
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If so, we ought to approach
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the issue with as inclusive a
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perspective as we can bring. We need
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to keep our minds and hearts open to
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the possibility that even the most mar-
"Leo)
ginally affiliated Jews might like to be
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invited to a Shabbat dinner or to read a
good article clipped from Lilith. We
have a lot to gain by making it easy for
the non-Jewish partner in an interfaith
marriage to choose to raise the children
Jewishly and a lot to lose by frowning
on the partner who joins relatives on
Christmas eve.
We've been lucky that the debate
We need to recognize that a lot of people think
here has not been poisoned by the vit-
of
themselves as 99 percent American and 1 per-
riol that surrounds the "Who is a Jew?" question
cent
Jewish. But even that smidgen can be enough
in Israel. So far, all sides have kept at least a
to build on and to be thankful for. It's funny how
veneer of commitment to tolerance that certainly
nourishing a single olive can sometimes bell
makes it easier to live with the issue.
P
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EDITORIAL
CANT
All Booked Up
I
t takes a full year to plan, but Detroit's Jewish
Book Fair happens each fall with few missteps.
That's a tribute to the steering commit-
tee assembled by the fair's major sponsor,
the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit.
On behalf of Detroit Jewry, we applaud the
JCC for keeping Irwin Shaw's dream of
a quality Jewish Book Fair alive for 50
years. Ours is now the nation's oldest
and largest such event. We also applaud
the earnest efforts of his co-chair during the
early years, Matilda Rubin.
Information and entertainment flow from an
explosion of sources nowadays, but books
remain a popular educational and cultural
choice. Even the Internet, PlayStation or HBO
can't rival cuddling up or sitting down with a
good book.
The 50th annual Jewish Book Fair is poised to
run Nov. 8-18 at the JCC buildings in West
Bloomfield and Oak Park under co-chairs Teri
Sinkoff and Sandy Stark.
This year's lineup includes an array of authors
and topics. It should appeal to all age levels.
The steering committee faced a hurdle when
the announced opening-night speaker, Robert
Shapiro, one of O.J. Simpson's defense attorneys
and co-author of the legal novel
Misconception, decided he wouldn't fly to
Detroit on a commercial airliner in the
wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Guests won't be disappointed in his
replacement, however. Allan Gerson is the author
of the newly published The Price of Terror: One
Bomb. One Plane. 270 Lives. The History-Making
Struggle for Justice After Pan Am 103.
The JCC has a 50-year tradition of not paying
speakers, even headliners. But Shapiro's late can-
cellation surely will cause the steering committee
to reconsider the tradition as a hedge against
similar pullouts in the years ahead.
EDITORIAL
The tradition has served the Book Fair well
over the years; showcased authors generally have
been excellent. The steering committee toyed
with anteing up to attract a top name for this
year's "golden anniversary" opening night before
deciding to honor the "no pay" tradition.
We favor that course, not only in deference to
tradition, but also to limit costs. But if times
dictate a change, we urge that corporate spon-
sorships pay for headline speakers so operating
costs don't spiral beyond reach and threaten the
Book Fair's quality or existence.
Meanwhile, enjoy all the knowledge, cama-
raderie and revelry that this year's Book Fair
offers. Our Book Fair preview begins on page 83
in the Arts & Entertainment section.
Oh, and when you see him by the bookshelves
or at a talk, wish Irwin Shaw a heartfelt mazel
toy for all he has done to make the best in
Jewish literature an annual draw for Jews
throughout our community.El
.
11/2
2001