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Dry Bones
The Art Of Compromise
ather than wait for Leonard Nimoy's
provocative new book to divide Detroit
Jewry and threaten to overshadow the
Jewish Community Center's 51st annual
Jewish Book Fair, a coalition of community leaders
was proactive in moving the talk by the actor-
turned-photographer to another venue and another
group's sponsorship.
The book, Shekhina, is a collection of Nimoy's
black-and-white photography of women,
many unclad except for tallit and tefillin.
At issue is not so much nudity as an art
form, but Nimoy's religious imagery that
integrates sacred objects traditionally meant to
instill modesty and holiness.
The coalition decision was notable not only for
how swiftly it came amid growing concern over
Nimoy promoting his book Shekhina at the JCC, a
place whose mission is to "support Jewish unity,"
but also for how it defended the right to publish
material deemed by others to be distasteful and
offensive.
Last week, the Jewish Federation of Greater
Seattle drew the news-media spotlight when it shied
away from Nimoy speaking at a major fund-raiser in
the face of controversy over his book.
So when lay, professional and rabbinic leaders of
Detroit Jewry met at the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building in Bloomfield Township to mull what to
do, they were determined to come up with a com-
promise.
And they did.
The National Foundation for Jewish Culture, the
New York City-based foundation that works for
Jewish cultural preservation and renewal in America
in a secular context, now will sponsor Nimoy, a
member of the NFJC's Artistic Advisory Council,
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during a fund-raiser it is hosting
Thursday, Nov. 14, at a site to be
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The compromise — supported by
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the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, the JCC and
the Michigan Board of Rabbis —
smacks of censorship to some.
Yet it protects Nimoy's free-speech
rights no matter how con-
troversial the content of
his explicit book, while
also preserving the JCC as
a spiritual haven for all Jews, no mat-
ter how Torah-observant they might
be.
Even the shrink-wrapped cover of
Nimoy's book has spurred dissent.
It's a photograph of a woman in a
sheer wrap and wearing tefillin.
The compromise allows each of us
to decide whether Nimoy's sensual
photography is eroticism or art,
whether it defames shechinah, the
mystical Jewish term for the femi-
nine essence of God, or whether it,
in the former Star Trek actor's words,
"is beautiful and spiritual."
Left open to individual interpreta-
tion is whether Nimoy's use of tallit
and tefillin is a desecration or an
enhancement of imagery of the
female form in his quest to explore
his Jewish roots.
Importantly, the decision spotlights
address for Detroit Jewry — is not a place to create
a resonating consensus among Reform, Conservative
a religious firestorm under the backdrop of cultural
and Orthodox rabbis. Through their rabbinic board
expression.
led by Rabbi Paul Yedwab of Temple Israel, they
The Book Fair ultimately is intended to bring us
enthusiastically agreed that the JCC — the central
together, not drive us apart. ❑
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Dr,' ORIAL
Related coverage: page 24
Your Vote Counts
he U.S. Constitution doesn't
compel citizens to be
involved politically, or even
to vote. We can ignore
Election Day, if we want, without los-
ing the right to challenge the records of
elected officials. But the rep-
resentative democracy we live
in works better when we're
informed, open-minded and outspoken
— and we vote.
As a minority group in America,
Jews must stay involved. That's the only
way to hold our nation to the credo of
majority rule, but with minority rights,
especially the protection of civil rights.
That's why we urge Jewish voters to
not sit on the sidelines on Election
Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Jews should get involved in govern-
T
ment. Such involvement is a hallmark
of the democratic ideals we so cherish
as Americans. And our layers of gov-
ernment are only as vibrant and
responsive as the public servants we
elect. To dismiss political involvement
as "not Jewish" is to be shortsighted.
Such involvement is a recognition of
and salute to this great land of freedom
and opportunity.
In casting your ballot this
Election Day, it's important
to remember the lesser-profile offices
below governor, Congress and the state
Legislature. They include other state
and county offices and several judge-
ships.
Also on the ballot are the governing
board seats for the state's three major
universities — whose candidates are
often neglected by voters because they
are less familiar to us and less publi-
cized.
EDIT ORIAL
The "Second National Student
Conference for the Palestine Solidarity
Movement," held in October at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
reminded us how important it is to
have friends, Jewish or otherwise, at
various levels of public office.
U-M Board of Regents Chairman
Laurence Deitch, D-Bloomfield Hills,
and Regent Andrea Fischer Newman,
R-Ann Arbor, who is seeking re-elec-
tion, played major roles in opposing
the politically charged forum, which
preached divestment in U.S. compa-
nies doing business with Israel.
Through their policy-making posi-
tions, they pressured the U-M adminis-
tration to issue a statement opposing
divestment, assuring security for Jewish
students and ensuring the enforce-
ment of university rules at the confer-
ence.
So, vote the entire ballot Tuesday. ❑
Paul Wellstone
en. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.,
who died in a plane crash on
Oct. 25, embodied the best of
Jewish moral values — a love of
learnirig, a social conscience and the
courage to lead.
One of his last
votes in the Senate
— against allow-
ing the Bush administration to initiate
war against Iraq — was typical of his
tough independence. Without flaunting
his Jewish roots, he was a dependable
ally of Israel who retained the ability to
criticize its policies when he thought
they dimmed rather than brightened
prospects for a lasting Mideast peace.
His rational yet passionate concern
for Americans who are neither wealthy
nor powerful will be deeply missed.
S
EDITORIAL
❑
2002
37