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Opinion
A MIX OF IDEAS
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Dry Bones VA KIPPUR
In Search Of Shleimut
A
Because someone who is whole is
s they teach us in Hebrew
less
likely to take pleasure in anoth-
school, the Hebrew word
er's
failure
or pain.
means
"peace.”
shalom
Because someone who
Etymologically, however,
is
whole
is more likely to
the word "shalom" is
contribute to the fixing of
derived from the Hebrew
the world.
root meaning "whole-
Because someone who
ness." This begs the
is whole is less likely to
question: What is the
gossip about others.
connection between the
Because someone
concepts of wholeness
who is whole will be less
and peace?
dependent on the approv-
Here is my answer for
al of others for happiness.
this new year as we con-
Because someone who
Rabbi Paul
clude 5769, a year that
is whole is more likely to
Yedwab
has brought more than
empathize with the plight
Community
its fair share of broken-
of others.
View
ness, hardship and emp-
Because someone who
tiness to so many.
is whole is more likely to be satisfied
Perhaps the words "wholeness"
with his/her possessions.
and "peace" are connected to one
Because someone who is whole
another in Hebrew because some-
is more likely to seek creative solu-
one who is whole will be less moti-
tions for problems.
vated to attack another.
Because someone who is whole
is less likely to act out of addiction
or neediness.
Because someone who is whole
is more likely to act rather than to
react.
Because someone who is whole
will not allow you to easily become
her/his enemy.
Because someone who is whole
is more likely to take the oppor-
tunity afforded by Yom Kippur to
introspect, and through tshuvah,
to return to her/his highest, holiest
and most peaceful self.
May this new year, 5770, bring
to you and to all of us, to our
Detroit Jewish community and to
the Land of Israel a renewed sense
of shleimut, of wholeness, fulfill-
ment, happiness and peace. II
Paul Yedwab is a rabbi at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield.
DryBoneaBlog.com
Hadassah Hasn't Changed
New YorkfiTA
T
hey say that all publicity is good,
as long as they spell your name
correctly. That may or may not
be true, but certainly it is the case that
Hadassah has been in the news a lot lately.
One widely reported story was
about doctors at the Hadassah-Hebrew
University Medical Center in Jerusalem
who used a revolutionary technique to
quickly diagnose liver failure for Jessa
Perrin, an American teenager visit-
ing Israel. Their timely diagnosis and
coordination with doctors at Columbia-
Presbyterian Hospital in New York saved
Jessa's life.
Many news outlets noted that Hadassah
representatives were at the White House
when President Obama signed the execu-
tive order approving stem-cell research,
an issue on which Hadassah has taken a
leadership role for years.
The Israeli media reported recently
that construction of Hadassah's Sarah
Wetsman Davidson medical tower in
Jerusalem has shifted to 24 hours a day.
And yes, Hadassah has been dragged
into a scandalous story about events from
the 1990s, when we were victimized by
unscrupulous people. This last story may
have even made some people wonder
about the Hadassah they thought they
knew.
If you belong to a Jewish community,
or if you know anything about the Jewish
community, you do know something
about Hadassah.
We are visible in Washington whenever
one of our signature issues — confidenti-
ality of genetic information and women's
health in addition to stem-cell research —
is being discussed. We are a pillar of every
Jewish community in America
and have a presence in every
one of the nation's 435 congres-
sional districts. Our name pops
up routinely in the prose of
Jewish novelists and the mono-
logues of Jewish comedians.
Before American women
had the right to vote, Hadassah
was organizing Jewish women
to make a difference in the
world and to take their seats at
the table of Jewish leadership
— even if the men who led
the community weren't ready
for them. Hadassah transformed the role
of Jewish women and remains one of the
most influential forces on the American
Jewish scene today.
You probably know something about
our medical institutions in Jerusalem,
which have a reach that extends to all of
Israel and a reputation that circles the
globe. In addition to our hospitals, which
are pacesetters in treatment and research,
we also run Israel's premier nursing
school and, with Hebrew University, its
most prestigious medical school.
For more than 70 years, Hadassah's resi-
dential schools have helped Israel absorb
and educate thousands of immigrant chil-
dren — from Germany in the 1930s and
from Ethiopia and Russia in recent years.
From the first two nurses
we dispatched to Jerusalem
in 1913 to the new Sarah
Wetsman Davidson Tower
rising today, the women of
Hadassah have been an inte-
gral part of the building of
Israel. Throughout its history,
Hadassah has sent billions of
dollars to Israel.
But it's not just about dollars
or about building. Hadassah
is an all-volunteer army of
300,000 members and support-
ers dedicated to strengthening
the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Many organizations and millions of
dedicated people have contributed to
Israel's growth, but few have been so
influential for as long as the women of
Hadassah. But despite our record of suc-
cess, we are constantly looking at our
management and business procedures,
always striving to improve.
Like any well-run organization,
Hadassah periodically retains outside,
independent consultants to review our
procedures and to ensure we operate as
efficiently as possible. Our goal is to thrive
not only in good times, but also to weather
new challenges, unpredictable markets
and a changing regulatory environment.
We consider every dollar we raise a sacred
trust.
An organization as dynamic as
Hadassah, with a full agenda for continu-
ing the work we began 97 years ago, will
not be distracted by a few scandalous
headlines or descriptions of events that
happened years ago and for which we bear
no responsibility.
We are confident that our friends and
supporters in America, Israel and around
the world won't be distracted either. We
trust that you will look at the permanence
of Hadassah's institutions on the land-
scape versus momentary gossip and draw
the right conclusion:
The Hadassah you thought you knew
a few weeks ago is indeed the real
Hadassah.
Nancy Falchuk is national president of
Hadassah: The Women's Zionist Organization
of America.
September 24 2009
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