Opinion

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Dry Bones

Editorial

Rabbi Wine's Imprint

H

e was a scholar, orator, pastor,
Torah tradition.
strategist and opinion maker
Even detractors of Rabbi Wine's athe-
with a warm heart and a dry
ism, which they felt betrayed the essence
sense of humor. He was a revolutionary
of authentic Judaism, grudgingly acknowl-
edged his erudition and cha-
whose commanding presence
combined with a penetrating
risma. You could disagree with
his religious beliefs vehemently,
intellect to create not merely a
but still find substance in his
congregation, but an entire move-
embrace of the power of the
ment, Secular Humanism. What
human spirit. He didn't dwell on
he most enjoyed was teaching,
religious ideas; people who took
comforting, challenging and con-
issue with him did, however, often
necting. He did all this as the "ren-
creating an immovable wedge.
egade rabbi" who didn't believe in
Rabbi Wine:
Arguably, Rabbi Wine kept
God, didn't consider Torah holy
wise, w arm
many Jews engaged through
and didn't pray.
"cultural Judaism:' a phenomenon that
Rabbi Sherwin Wine died on vacation
he nurtured from a notion born from
while riding in a taxicab in Morocco on
a disconnection with his Conservative
July 21. His death was shocking; he was a
upbringing and Reform rabbinate.
vibrant 79.
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz of Temple Shir
Rabbi Wine was beloved by followers
Shalom in West Bloomfield said Rabbi
of his now 44-year-old movement, which
Wine "gave a unique voice to Judaism as a
claims upwards of 40,000 followers world-
whole and spotlighted the Jewish commu-
wide. Locally, the Birmingham Temple in
nity of Detroit on many different levels."
Farmington Hills has grown from eight
Rabbi Schwartz distilled the essence
families in 1963 to 450 families today.
of his colleague and friend: "Rather than
Rabbi Wine also founded the Society for
being stung by the slings and arrows of
Humanistic Judaism.
outraged critics and castigators, he reveled
Secular Humanistic Jews embrace
in controversy and patiently and coura-
Judaism's culture and customs, but not
geously created an ideology that stood the
necessarily its divine inspiration, a dis-
test of time and has become a theory to be
tinct and very controversial break from

WE PEED IT THE
FACT THAT MOST OF
THE 911 ATTACKERS

COMPUTER
PROBLEMS

AND THAT MOST
OF THE ANTI-U.S.
BOMBERS NOW IN
IRAQ

reckoned with."
There was a time
when the Jewish News
refused to mention
Rabbi Wine's name in
its pages and certain
rabbis of our commu-
nity wanted to censure
him. Ironically, Rabbi
Wine worked at the JN
in the 1940s.
PrAND IT SUST WON/1
One of the Secular
DEDUCE THAT THE
Humanistic colloqui-
SAUDIS ARE AMERICA'S
ums held on the Ben
..,R1Elf/051
F
!
TRY
and Lorraine Pivnick
KICKING
Center for Humanistic
IT.
Judaism on the
Birmingham Temple
campus searched for
"an appropriate balance
between tradition and
innovation, between
continuity and creativ-
www.drybonesblog.com
ity, what we know how
to be true and what
ancient writings declare to be truth;' It
the imprint he has left on generations of
was a search some denounced while oth-
Jews uncertain about how to tap into their
heritage. The Jewish world would be better
ers welcomed.
served focusing on apathy, assimilation
Unconditionally, we hold God, Torah
and acculturation — the triple header of
and prayer central to Judaism. But we're
major threats to Jewish survival.
not going to discount Rabbi Wine and

Reality Check

Pie In The Face

A

n editor with whom I some-
times work is based in Seattle
but grew up in Michigan. I e-
mailed him recently that I would be out
of touch for about a week because I was
going Up North.
"Up North? I haven't heard that phrase
since I was a child," he replied.
It is a peculiarly Michigan construction,
I guess, although I have also heard it in
reference to Wisconsin. New Yorkers point
out that it is redundant, but they're instant
experts on everything and can be ignored.
To add to the confusion, travelers who
head north to Maine are usually described
as going "down East."
Around these parts, however, Up North
is a summertime pastiche, featuring
whitefish on a plank and sunsets on a
lake and sails on the horizon and cherries
in a pie.
Which brings me to the main thrust of
the affair. They do things a little differently
Up North when it comes to pies.

On this last trip we were
invited to a barbecue, and our
host said that if we happened
to be passing by Jesperson's
that afternoon we might pick
one up. This is a restaurant in
downtown Petoskey, justifiably
famous for its pies. Especially
the cherry-berry variety.
We saw this as a clear direc-
tive and headed straight to
Petoskey. An art fair made
parking scarce but we secured a place and
made tracks for Jesperson's.
"A cherry-berry pie, please;' said my wife.
"You mean a whole pie she was asked.
"If you have one;' Sherry replied.
"We do have one. But you didn't reserve
it?" Well, no. We didn't know that was nec-
essary. This seemed to occasion a good
deal of consternation.
"We only sell whole pies if they're
ordered in advance," we were told after a
conference. "If you come back at 3:30 and

the cherry-berry pie is still
here you can buy it. But you
should have reserved it this
morning."
We hadn't been given the
barbecue invitation until 1 p.m.
and didn't know of the need for
reservations that would have
created such difficulties. At
this point, my curmudgeonly
nature would have prompted
a rude suggestion as to what
might be done with the pie. But we were
to be guests of the Lester family, and I had
glommed so many free meals at Dr. Mel
Lester's Michigan football tailgate that it
seemed churlish to show up now without
the pie. So we trudged back to the place at
3:30 and inquired again.
"Do you have a reservation:' we were
asked. We went through the whole rig-
marole again and once more were made
to understand that this was unheard of,
a clear violation of accepted procedure.

Finally, after moments of unbearable
suspense, a waitress returned from the
kitchen, holding aloft said pie like a trophy.
It was a cherry-berry, too.
"Well," she said, with rebuke flashing
clearly in her eyes. "We'll let you have it
this one time. But you really should have
made a reservation this morning. That
will be $16.97."
I felt like a child who had been sent
home from school and returned without a
signed note from his mother. Even worse. I
had violated pie protocol.
But it was a most excellent pie and we
devoured it with gusto and ice cream after
hamburgers, hot dogs and Dr. Lester's
pasta with meat sauce. Then we built a
fire in the pit and had s'mores. It was a
perfectly wonderful day Up North and we
were all quite pleased with ourselves and
full of pie.

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com .

August 2 • 2007

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