Front Lines
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This Week
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Me First!
What Have I Got
To Lose?
p
from those who all of a sudden become "aides"; they are
atience is a virtue!' Now, I am not about to start
no more than hangers-on. They show up, well into the wait
questioning people's virtue, but there are many of
and go directly to the folks ahead of the line; they become
us who much prefer to be first and would stop at
their "entourage", their "helpers", their "family"
little to attain that position.
They think that they are being crafty. They go to these
Admittedly, there is a certain sense of accomplishment if
people and strike up conversations as if greeting old
one is first. In a contest of skill, physical or mental, it is nice
friends. The conversations last until the doors are opened
to know the sense of pride that comes with being first. In a
and then they just enter ahead of those waiting in line.
display of talent, to be ranked as the best is certainly cause
Yes, I can hear you now advising me to say something to
for a high.
those who are in charge. Well, they have little they can do.
However, when it comes to taking turns, the beast comes
Sy Ma nello
How can they challenge folks? How can they ask for proof
out in many.
Edit orial
of their need to be with those granted permission to enter
My wife and I belonged to a movie club, which provides
Assis tant
early? Besides, they have their hands full just getting the
passes to screenings in the metro area. We are all too aware
passes collected from those in line.
of the caution printed on the passes, which amounts to first
What is shameful is that we can now identify some of
come, first served. We also knew that it would be necessary
these "me-firsters" as doing this on a regular basis. When one was
to arrive fairly early to be assured of entrance to the theater as well as
approached and reminded that there was a line waiting, the rejoinder
a decent seat.
There were a few instances when we were there extremely early and, was, "Bite me!" Had I been 3 and heard this, I may have taken it as a
suggestion and done so.
rightly so, were at the front of the line — fifth or sixth place. There
Ah, well, the one good these pushy people do is give the rest of us
are some handicapped folk who come and seat themselves near the
virtuous ones something to grouse about while waiting.
entrance, ahead of the line; that is not a problem as they should be
As Martha might say, "That's a good thing." ❑
given a chance to enter without being stampeded. My objection comes
Once More With Feeling
Director Rachel Hollander, in left
throne, and producer Maria Reed, right
throne, both 13, are surrounded by the
cast of Cinderella.
For their fifth theatrical
production, director Rachel
Hollander and producer
Maria Reed, both 13, will
present Cinderella at 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 29, at Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Hills.
The pair has engaged a
group of 25 eager, energetic
and talented young friends,
ages 5 to 14 and mostly
from West Bloomfield and
Farmington Hills, as cast
members.
Both girls will be entering
eighth grade in Farmington
Hills schools. Rachel will be at Warner Middle School; Maria will be at
St. Fabian Catholic School. The two met several years ago through the
Farmington Hills Youth Theatre/Sky's the Limit Productions.
They understand theatrical challenges. Unlike productions in past
seasons, "we're doing Cinderella with only a little assistance from our
parents:' Rachel explains. "That's what makes it really cool. Maria and
I cast friends who have all been in shows before. They are good actors
and singers!'
The girls' parents have agreed to be "patrons" so that all proceeds
from ticket sales can go to Kids Conquering Cancer, a team Rachel
formed a year ago as part of the West Bloomfield Relay for Life, which
raises money for the American Cancer Society.
Tickets for Cinderella are $5 for adults, $3 for children, and no charge
for youngsters 2 and younger. Tickets may be purchased at the door.
For more information, call the Hollander family at (248) 855-9946.
JN Story
Development
Editor Keri
Guten Cohen
takes you
along in her
quest for fit-
ness as she
participates in a new program
at Franklin Fitness and Racquet
Club in Southfield. Along with
JN reader Dr. Mark DeVore and
four others, she's a guinea pig
testing the program, which also
includes food from Gourmet
Everyday in Ferndale and nutri-
tion/counseling support from
Detroit Medical Center. That
means restricted calories and
more exercise than most couch
potatoes get in a year. Hey,
what has she got to lose?
Find out by reading her blog.
Go to JNonline.us and click on
the "What Have I Got To Lose"
button on the right.
Latest From Israel
Want the most current news
from Israel? Check our stream-
ing news from Ynetnews.com
for continuous updates and lon-
ger news, opinion and feature
stories. And look at the center
of our homepage for an Israel
story that changes twice daily.
Just visit JNonline.us and
click on a scrolling story on
the left.
- Keel Guten Cohen, story development editor
Online Poll
Masorti: 'Play The Wedding Game'
The Masorti movement, affiliated with the Conservative movement in
the United States and worldwide, is appealing to Jewish Israeli couples
disenchanted with Orthodox control on weddings in Israel.
An estimated 20 percent or more of Israelis who each year choose to
live together as couples do so outside the framework of the Office of the
Chief Rabbinate, either by not participating in any wedding ceremony
or by limiting themselves to a civil ceremony in Cyprus or elsewhere.
The Maso rt i campaign communicates to Israeli couples that they
can have a fully traditional wedding, but one that is also pluralistic. The
wedding ceremony may incorporate special touches of personal interest
to the couple, including an egalitarian approach.
The campaign, wich drew 25,000 Web sites hits in the first three days,
has raised the ire of Shas. The chairman of Shas in the Knesset, Yaakov
Margi, petitioned the Israel Broadcasting Authority to ban the Masorti
campaign from the airwaves. In a letter to Mordechai Sklar, IBAs general
director, MK Yaakov Margi charged that the Masorti movement "know-
ingly misleads and perpetrates a campaign of fraud!' He claimed to be
writing on behalf of "those who are spiritually lost and would not want
to find themselves ending up in unseemly places!'
A10
June 26 • 2008
.1N
MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) responded in his own letter to the IBA
that Masorti "faithfully combines tradition and progress" and suggested
the Shas letter should be buried as "a foolish attempt at censorship."
Masorti's new online "Wedding Game" uses colorful, animated graph-
ics and an interactive format to convey the personalized, contemporary
approach to wedding ceremonies that Masorti offers prospective brides
and grooms. Couples learn they can opt to have a traditional, fully hal-
akhic ceremony that simultaneously accommodates pluralistic practice,
performed by a rabbi who will meet with them more than once prior to
the actual ceremony to create a personal bond.
"Our young people are being driven away from traditional marriage
ceremonies by the difficulty of dealing with the Office of the Chief
Rabbinate said Masorti Executive Director Yizhar Hess, outlining the
goals of the campaign. "Under the guidelines of the `Masorti chuppah:
couples may customize their ceremonies to meet their personal needs
without sacrificing halachic requirements and the connection to Jewish
tradition. It is important to make all Israelis aware that this religious
alternative exists."
For informal translations of the "Masorti Wedding" and "Masorti
Wedding Game" Web sites, go to JNonline.us and click on "News."
This week's poll question:
Should Israel make peace with
Hamas without factoring in
release of soldier Gilad Shalit?
Visit the JNonline.us homep-
age, below the left menu, to
cast your vote.
Last week's question:
The copyright for Hitler's Mein
Kampf soon will expire soon.
Should it be re-issued with a
modern commentary for educa-
tional purposes?
Last week's poll results:
Yes: 29%
No: 71%