On November 5th
JOHN C.
CONSENSUS from page 25
The rabbi addressed the subject at
a Shabbat sermon Oct. 19.
The controversy has transcended
synagogue affiliations in the commu-
nity. Rabbi Spolter gave his views in
a statement, saying, `... as Jews who
understand what holiness and
Shekhina truly represent, we will
forever fight against our Jewish com-
munity helping him [Nimoy] spread
such distasteful and truly offensive
material. While Nimoy has a right to
publicize his book, by no means
should we help him do it."
Rabbis of all affiliations have
expressed their concerns, and several
took part in the Michigan Board of
Rabbis discussions.
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, a
Conservative congregation, said the
photos in the book "create a distor-
tion of the beauty of the tallit and
tefillin and what they stand for. The
photos of the naked women are con-
trary to the Jewish values of mod-
esty. While I am against censorship,
I think a proper decision was
reached in keeping the book out of
the Book Fair, which is a place that
represents our Jewish values."
Jerry Eizen of Oak Park, one of
the first "concerned citizens" to par-
ticipate in an initiative to keep
Nimoy out of the Jewish Book Fair,
said, "It's just improper to display
sacred religious items in photos like
this ... and the pictures of naked
women shouldn't be seen by children
at the Book Fair."
Eizen heard about the controversy
when his sister in Seattle e-mailed
him about Nimoy's aborted attempt
to speak in that Jewish community.
Just before Nimoy's 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 14 presentation at Temple Shir
Shalom, he will attend a "patrons'
circle" reception for the National
Foundation for Jewish Culture held
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James
August in Bloomfield Hills, also
hosted by Mr. and Mrs. George M.
Zeltzer of West Bloomfield. August
is national president of NFJC and
Zeltzer is its past president.
"Our community leaders felt it
would be a reasonable conclusion for
the NFJC to step into this artistic
debate and take over sponsorship of
Mr. Nimoy's appearance," said
August.
"He's a member of our artistic
advisory committee, and he's a major
American Jewish artist who's earned
his spurs as a serious photographer,
has long been active in Jewish causes
and has a right to have his work
shown.
"We feel it's not pornography, but
a spiritual exploration of the
Shekhina subject ... a creative expres-
sion by a legitimate artist. Those
who may find it disturbing shouldn't
attend the presentation; others will
find it very interesting," August said.
BRENNAN
for Oakland County Circuit Court
"Best fit for
the bench."
Selection Process
The JCC's Sorkin said he feels no
changes are necessary in the JCC's
book-selection procedure for the
Book Fair in view of the Shekhina
controversy.
"We have an excellent selection
process in effect. Twenty-five mem-
bers of a steering committee start
working on this in April each year,
and they do a fine job in choosing
the authors and books," Sorkin said.
"This was an unusual case, where
the Shekhina book wasn't published
until October and there were a lim-
ited number of photos available in
advance. People respond to different
types of photography and art in dif-
ferent ways.
"We've had only a few controver-
sial incidents in 51 years of Book
Fairs, and I think that's an excellent
record," he added.
Nimoy began taking pictures at
age 13 with an old Kodak camera,
went to Hollywood for acting les-
sons, and later studied photography
at UCLA. His big success was in
Star Trek, which gained him world-
wide recognition and earned him
three Emmy Award nominations.
The show went into syndication and
branched off into six films.
The son of Russian immigrants,
Nimoy puts his life into perspective:
"My parents were foreign aliens who
came to America and became citi-
zens. I was born an American citizen
— and I became an 'alien."' 0
Admission is free to Leonard
Nimoy's presentation at 8:15
p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at
Temple Shir Shalom, southeast
corner of Orchard Lake and
Walnut Lake roads, in West
Bloomfield. No one younger than
18 will be admitted. For informa-
tion, call Elaine Schonberger,
(248) 432-5577.
For information about the
NFJC reception, prior to Nimoy's
talk, call Illana Lewin at the
NFJC's New York Office, (800)
277-5216.
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j rN
11/1
2002
27