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The Mentsh Test
To Rate A Rabbi
How does one "Rate The Rabbi"?
(Points of View, March 15, page 40.)
One rates a rabbi not by the length of
his/her sermons and not even necessar-
ily by the sermon itself.
One rates a rabbi by the quality of
his/her "mentshlicheit."
One rates a rabbi on how he/she
respects, cares about and is there for
congregants through their good times
and their difficult times. One rates a
rabbi on how he/she relates to both the
young and the old, however young and
old are defined.
One rates a rabbi by the quality of
his/her own behavior and relationship
to both the Jewish community and the
secular community.
No one should enter a sanctuary one
time and make a judgment about the
clergy in that sanctuary. The only way
someone can "rate a rabbi" is if they
have observed that person in many dif-
ferent situations.
Actually, the same way one "rates
a rabbi" should be the same way we
"rate" anyone we meet. Not with a shal-
low peek at one moment of a person's
behavior. Quick judgments are often
shallow and meaningless.
Often we are too quick to judge others
and not quick enough to examine our
own "rating!'
Judith Miller
Lake Worth, Fla.
Akiva's Head Of School
Is A Valued Colleague
It was with much pride when I opened
the Jewish News to read about Rabbi
Klugerman, the new head of school at
Akiva Hebrew Day School in Southfield.
He is a valued colleague, and I felt that
the article echoed my professional and
personal feelings.
Jewish Family Services
Fetes Ann Arbor Leader
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw
County (JFSWC) will present its 2012
Claire and Isadore Bernstein Award
to Carol Amster on March 25 at its
Leading the Way event.
The award is pre-
sented to members
of the Ann Arbor
area who have dem-
onstrated outstand-
ing service to JFSWC
and the community.
Carol and her
Carol Amster
late husband, Herb,
As head of school, Rabbi Klugerman's
engaging and dynamic personality is
evident upon first meeting. His energy
and enthusiasm are contagious; the
breadth and depth of his Torah and
secular knowledge are admirable.
As an administrator in the Early
Childhood Center, I am consistently
captivated when I hear about the path
that Rabbi Klugerman envisions Akiva
to take. It is exciting to hear about
how enrichment, educational quality
improvements and faculty professional
development are integral aspects of the
trajectory to Akiva's success; it is also
wonderful to be on that path together.
As a parent of students in middle,
high and preschool, I am deeply invest-
ed and entrenched in making sure that
my children get the best general and
Judaic studies education this city has to
offer. I choose Akiva as the only option
for our family, and am confident that
Rabbi Klugerman and the entire faculty
share the drive and desire to steer the
helm toward a unified mission.
Lisa Parshan, director,
its soldiers.
Yes, President Obama delivered a
superb speech before AIPAC, discussed
in the JN (March 8) by two outstand-
ing journalists, David Horovitz (page
20, "Netanyahu and Iran") and Robert
Sklar (page 32,"Obama and Israel"). In
this speech, the president promised to
"have Israel's back."
But will these reassuring words be
sufficient to persuade Netanyahu that
the United states will act in time to pre-
vent a second Holocaust? If the prime
minister believes he was deceived by
President Clinton, why would he not
now harbor suspicions about President
Obama's intentions?
And if so, would not such suspicions
have been allayed if President Obama
had offered to commute Pollard's life
sentence? Were such an offer made,
would not President Obama be also sig-
naling his seriousness to "have Israel's
back" — a signal that could give Iran
pause and Israel reassurance?
Steve Isenberg, reading
his favorite stories aloud
from Braille, at JARC's
Rosen Triple R program.
Irving Warshawsky
West Bloomfield
Early Childhood Center
Akiva Hebrew Day School
Southfield
Clinton's Betrayal Of
Pollard Needs Remedy
Recall, in 1998, when the Wye Accords
were finalized, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu believed he had
a verbal agreement with President Bill
Clinton to commute Jonathan Pollard's
life sentence. That, turned out, was a
mistake.
Also recall, more recently, the unequal
prisoner exchange between Hamas and
Israel, freeing some 1,000 Palestinian
prisoners in exchange for the freedom
of one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. This
unequal exchange demonstrates how
highly Israel values the lives of each of
devoted nearly four decades to sup-
porting the Ann Arbor community,
including the establishment of the
Herbert and Carol Amster Lupus
Research Fund at the University of
Michigan. Additionally, Carol served on
numerous boards, is active on the Ann
Arbor Holocaust Memorial committee
and served 10 years as director of UJA
Washtenaw County.
Carol received the Celebration of
Women volunteer award and together
she and Herb were recipients of the
Federation Humanitarian Award.
The program, from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
at Rackham Assembly Hall, is followed
Corrections
• An incorrect address was given in
"Fast Learning Curve" (March 15,
page 20). To vote for Jewish Family
Service's Project Build!, go to www.
jfsdetroit.org/vote . You can vote once
daily through March 31. For a daily
reminder, go to www.jfsdetroit.org/hd-
challenge . Each day you vote through
your daily email reminder, you will be
entered to win up to $500 by the end of
the month.
benefit the
• After the Jewish News went to press
last week, the opening date for the film
In Darkness was changed at the Maple
Theater in Bloomfield Township from
March 16 to March 23.
by a 4 p.m. concert featuring the San
Francisco Symphony. Individual pro-
gram tickets are $50; the concert tickets
may be ordered separately. For more
information or to order program tickets,
contact Alice Miller at (734) 769-0209
or email alice@jfsannarbor.org .
One can also purchase tickets
through www.jfsannarbor.org . Concert
tickets are sold through UMS (734)
764-2538. For a 25 percent discount,
use this code: JFS@UMS. Tickets must
be purchased in advance; the discount
is not valid on previously purchased
tickets. This discount is available by
phone or in person only.
jarc
r-rdc,41.
15dr6w,- ..
248.538.6611 • jarc.org
Marct)
42 2012
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