LETTERS
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Keruv Is A
Worthy Goal
Intermarriage:
Communal Issue
This letter is prompted by Robert P.
Roth's Community Perspective
("Preventing Intermarriage," Jan. 9,
page 25) on inter-dating, intermar-
riage, and the Conservative move-
ment's keruv (outreach) approach
toward intermarried families.
In my work in adult Jewish educa-
tion and as a member of various
Reform and Conservative congrega-
tions in Philadelphia, Boston and
Detroit over 25 years, I have been
inspired by many Jews who are striv-
ing to forge a deeper level of connec-
tion to Torah and a Jewish way of life.
Some had excellent Jewish educa-
tions and were raised in homes where
Torah and mitzvot were paramount
values. Many, however, made their
way into Judaism with little or no
guidance or support from their fami-
lies of origin. The vast majority is
playing "catch up" as adults, with sin-
cerity and enthusiasm.
If an intermarried couple or the
Jewish partner in an intermarriage
joins my shul, or any Jewish congrega-
tion, I am gratified. In my view, that
couple or individual has self-identified
as part of the solution and is not part
of the problem.
Inter-dating can lead to marriage,
but often it is a Jewish marriage, i.e.,
the non-Jewish partner has converted
to Judaism prior to the wedding. Our
community has benefited greatly from
the fact that many wonderful men
and women, having fallen in love with
a Jew, have chosen to cast their fate
with the Jewish people by becoming
Jews themselves.
I also have non-Jewish friends who
have married Jews and chosen not to
convert, but who have created Jewish
homes, raised self-identified Jewish
children and participated vigorously in
congregational life, where they have
made a positive contribution and have
been welcomed as friends of the
Jewish people and Torah.
I think that we should approach our
fellow Jews, the people they love and
their extended families in a positive,
supportive way — building relation-
ships based on trust and mutual
respect. Let's appreciate the effort they
are making to live a Jewish life and
encourage them on their Jewish path.
That, to me, is the meaning of keruv.
Nancy E Kaplan
West Bloomfield
.
1 /23
2004
6
Despite my personal admiration for
his dedication to Jewish survival, in
my opinion, Robert P. Roth, in his
Community Perspective ("Preventing
Intermarriage," Jan. 9, page 25), is out
of line for blaming the Jewish News for
bringing this extremely important sit-
uation to the forefront of discussion
in the American Jewish community.
Throughout the 2,000 years of the
diaspora, whenever Jews have enjoyed
freedom and acceptance, assimilation
and intermarriage have taken a toll.
Our numbers are rapidly dwindling.
It is imperative to reach out to the
intermarrieds and do everything we
can to find those who are willing to
stay with Judaism and to welcome
them into our community. Our young
people are walking away from Judaism
in droves. They care nothing about
Israel and they know nothing about
the Holocaust.
It breaks my heart when I read over
and over that only 18 percent of the
Jews in America support any Jewish
institution.
I found shocking Mr. Roth's remark,
"The openness of our society does not
compel us to commit collective sui-
cide by intermarrying or acquiescing
to it as a norm." Intermarriage is a
tragic fact of Jewish life today. We
must spend 10 or 20 times more to
send our children and grandchildren
to Jewish day schools. Jewish educa-
tion is the only answer. I think our
rabbis should convince the parents of
every lavish and hedonistic bar or bat
mitzvah to contribute at least half of
the money they waste to a Jewish edu-
cation fund.
Michael Steinhardt, a great philan-
thropist, offered $10 million to start a
Jewish education fund in this country
with the stipulation that $90 million
has to be raised by the rest of the
Jewish community in the country.
Every Jewish person who believes in
Jewish survival should make a contri-
bution to that fund.
In the 53 years that I have been
reading the Jewish News, I do not
recall anything more important then
bringing the intermarriage problem to
our attention. Mr. Roth's article is also
very important. If we do not address
this important issue, it will be the
beginning of the end of the Jewish
community in the United States as we
know it.
David Kahan
Bloomfield Hills
Jewish Initiative
Boosts Detroit
We were pleased to see the Jewish
News take note of our Jewish commu-
nity's commitment to the city of
Detroit in an editorial ("The Span Of
Detroit Jewry," Jan. 2, page 25).
We thank you for pointing to the
success of the Jewish Community
Council's Detroit Jewish Coalition for
Literacy, which enlists more than 350
volunteers from 35 local Jewish organ-
izations, impacting students in 36
schools in Detroit and Oakland
County through tutoring and enrich-
ment programs.
Council also takes great pride in the
Detroit Jewish Initiative (DJI), which
engages Detroit Jewry in projects that
enhance the quality of city life in
Detroit. During the past year, the DJI
has joined with a group of nine
African American ministers and rabbis
to sponsor interfaith projects, includ-
ing several concerts that featured both
gospel and klezmer music, attracting
more than 2,000 people from area
congregations.
Students from Detroit's Harms
Elementary School have enjoyed a
DJI-hosted weekend at the Fresh Air
Society's Camp Maas, and members of
the City Year Detroit services corps
took part in DJI-coordinated cultural
exchanges, including a special JET
Theatre performance of The Diary of
Anne Frank and a daylong program at
the Holocaust Memorial Center and
the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield.
Looking ahead, we are planning:
'An African American Passover
Celebration," a program that presents
the history of African Americans in a
seder-like format, and another camp-
ing experience for Harms Elementary
School at Tamarack.
We welcome our community's con-
tinued engagement in the city of
Detroit.
Zina Kramer, Bloomfield Hills
Todd Mendel, Birmingham
Detroit Jewish Initiative co-chairs
Also Remember
Original Players
I want to offer my congratulations to
Leonard Siegal for his many years of
success and involvement in projects
designed by his firm ("A Life In
Architecture," Jan. 2, page 32).
However, as a charter member of
the former B'nai Israel Congregation
of West Bloomfield, now the
Congregation Shaarey Zedek West
Bloomfield, B'nai Israel Center, I feel
the need to clarify- the information
regarding one of the projects men-
tioned in the recent issue of the Jewish
News.
When the Pontiac B'nai Israel
Congregation voted to move to West
Bloomfield, the new building concept
was largely due to the original archi-
tect of the building, together with the
plumbing, heating and electrical con-
tractors, all of whom were a part of
the many congrdgants who gave their
time, effort and funds to see this
building come to fruition. We were
fortunate to be able to worship in our
building, but the time came when a
merger was the most equitable way to
proceed.
When we became a part of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 1980,
Mr. Siegal was retained to enhance
and remodel the existing structure,
and his fine results still exist today;
but the effort and devotion of the
original professionals should not be
misplaced.
Shirley Wine
West Bloomfield
.
Career Tribute
Appreciated
I wish to convey my deep appreciation
to the Jewish News and all those who
participated in producing the article
on my professional career ("A Life In
Architecture," Jan. 2, page 32), partic-
ularly Bill Carroll, the author.
Adding to my personal gratification
has been the opportunity afforded me
to advance the importance of architec-
ture in society.
It is self evident that the numerous
buildings pictured on the cover of the
Jewish News publication are the work
product of a multifaceted team.
The hard-working, dedicated staff
of Siegal-Tuomaala who bring so
much talent and effort to every proj-
ect is a vital part of this story.
Leonard G. Siegal
Farmington Hills