EDITOR'S LETTER
What's the Frequency, Moishe?
.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, who translated
the 1986 attack on CBS newsman Dan Rather
into popular lore with his song, "What's the
Frequency, Kenneth?" said he wrote the song
portraying the protagonist as someone search-
ing to understand meaning. So, in that vein, I'm
wondering what the "frequency" is to make a
magazine relevant to all Jews.
I ask aloud because some of the feedback
we got after February's issue is telling of the
dilemma we face every month: What does the
audience want to read? We demurred from publishing the
authors' names but wanted to share a few examples:
R
"I think Red Thread is heavy on the Orthodox subject mat-
ter and personally, its not relevant to me. I'd try to strike for
more balance."
... and
" ... one comment (not that you want to hear it) is I just no-
ticed a whole lot of treif, which I know they do in the JNews,
but between Adam Helfman's reviews and whatever else, it
seemed like it was too much treif!"
Those e-mails, at least, were reasonable. Another e-mail
I received didn't even make sense at first — until I did
some digging:
"I was amused at the article 'In the Garden [with Adam
and Steve].' What especially caught my attention was ref-
erencing out holy text as 'G-d's playbook.' WOW!!! I wonder
what G-d (hyphenated) thinks of this."
I explained to this person that the word "playbook" is
a figure of speech derived from American football and,
as used in the aforementioned context, was appropriate,
at least according to both Merriam-Webster and Oxford
American dictionaries — the bibles of journalism.
(As well, there is no hyphen necessary when writing
out the word "God," according to many rabbinic sources I
consulted, unless it's in Hebrew characters. Otherwise, it's
just another proper noun.)
After some e-mail volleys, I got to the bottom line: This
person believed that giving press to gays and lesbians
was inappropriate — and something that may cause
karma to take retribution against me.
I suggested that since we were discussing
a contentious issue through civil discourse
— versus using the sword — perhaps it was
karma's way of balancing the scales for gay
people, who have faced centuries of persecu-
tion. And, karma is a Hindu thing anyway.
Hence, the conundrum: How to create
a publication for a Jewish audience — so
varied in beliefs and practices — and not piss
somebody off?
The short answer is ... we can't. Even when you try to
be all things to all people, you only please a few (which is
a derivation from First Corinthians, by the way).
Tell us what you think; go to our Facebook page and
shoot off of a note.
Starting this month, Red Thread kicks off a series of
coffee klatches around the area. These meetings are
totally casual and are our way of soliciting feedback —
and hosting some old-fashioned community dialogue.
Our first coffee klatch will be from 9-10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 9, at Barnes & Noble Booksellers
on Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield.
We'll have coffee and danish on hand, so swing by.
No pressure, no cost — hope to see you there.
AND THEN THERE'S BOB
(FEEL FREE TO HUM THE MAUDE THEME, NOW)
When I shared the first half of this Editor's Letter with
my friend, JN Editor Bob Sklar, his response was a per-
fectly calibrated indicator of the hard row he has hoed for
13 years: "Sounds like you split the difference," he said, in
his typically understated way.
And, that's Bob for you — always trying to control the
Hydra that is Detroit's Jewish community.
As most of you now know, Bob has made the decision to
retire as editor of the Detroit Jewish News. I remember first
hearing the news from our boss last December and feeling
conflicted: Happy for him but sad for our community.
:
••
"00
Not that Bob and I always agreed on everything. I'm
sure he (continuously) thinks I skate too close to the edge
on issues. However, he has always been gracious to me
and I have nothing but respect for him, his integrity and
his commitment to community journalism.
Bob has an amazing passion for Jewish causes, both
religious and secular; and for issues that touch Israel and the
diaspora. He is well-versed in the subjects he tackles, and
his thoughtful editorials offer unambiguous opinions about
what he believes to be right and wrong.
Although short-lived as colleagues, I have known and
written for Bob as a freelance writer for several years prior to
RT's launch. And, before that, I was a "Detroiter-in-Exile"who
would eagerly get my JN fix each time I came home to visit.
It is not only the JN that has benefited from Bob's pres-
ence at the helm but the communities he helped cover
over his 38-year career. The deference he pays to different
points of view is a model for how our Jewish community
should co-exist.
Bryan S. Gottlieb
bgottlieb@redthreadmagazine.com
Looking for the Red Thread Captioin Contest?
Go to redthreadmagazine.com for March's winning entry.
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