Rosh Hashanah
May the New Year
bring to all our friends
and family
health, joy, prosperity and
everything good in life.
Striking A Balance
At the New Year, American Jews
grapple with balancing faith,
work and school.
Charlotte Anthony
JTA
L
Wishing You a Happy, Healthy
and Sweet New Year
(561) 487-5886
(561) 870-5886
Y•O.U•R
Tina J. Krinsky
Realtor'
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L'Shanah Tovah
Wishing All of Our Patients, Families
and Friends a Happy & Healthy
NEW YEAR!
Golnick Pediatric Dental Associates
Jason M. Golnick DDS, MS
Gail Molinari DDS, MS
Arnold L. Golnick DDS, MS
Andreina Castro DDS, MS
Sam Blanchard DDS, MS
Lakes Medical Center
2300 Haggerty Road, Suite 1180
West Bloomfield
248-668-0022
Low Vision Associates P.C.
Wishes you a year of health,
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L'Shanah Tovah!
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Announcing our move to:
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78 September 13 • 2012
ast Yom Kippur, a fasting
Brenda Rienhardt sat in the
hallway outside her classroom
studying for a test while watching
online Yom Kippur services on her
laptop.
"I wanted to keep up with what
was going on religiously and not
fail my test," said Rienhardt, 26, a
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resident who
was then a senior at Florida Atlantic
University. "It was just a challenge
because I was balancing what I should
do with what I needed to do."
For many American Jews like
Rienhardt, the High Holidays mean
balancing the demands of the
American workplace and school with
their Jewish observance.
Lisa Vaughn, who has worked as an
urgent care and emergency physician
for 17 years, said that being on call
doesn't give a lot of opportunities to
take days off.
"When you have that job, you
work every shift, holiday or not:' said
Vaughn, 51, of Massillon, Ohio. "You
hope God understands because you
know your employer doesn't."
Jonathan Sarna, professor of
American Jewish history at Brandeis
University, says the High Holidays are
a time when Jews are conflicted with
their identity.
"I think because there are many
non-Jews who know about the High
Holidays and wonder if a Jewish per-
son doesn't celebrate them ... Jews
find themselves confronting the ten-
sion between identifying with the
Jewish community or identifying with
the general community:' Sarna said.
"It's not about the High Holidays but
about one's larger identity as a Jew dif-
ferent from the rest of America:'
Shawn Green, a now retired Jewish
professional baseball player, sat out a
2001 Los Angeles Dodgers game on
Yom Kippur for just that reason. It
was the first time in 415 games that he
chose not to play.
"As a baseball player, it's a little dif-
ferent. You don't have the luxury of
picking several holidays. But if I was
going to pick one holiday to sit out,
then that's the one Green said about
Yom Kippur. "I felt that as one of the
few Jewish athletes, it was important
to acknowledge my connection to my
heritage:'
His first major challenge came in
2004 when the Dodgers were locked
in a tight battle with the San Francisco
Giants for the division title. With only
10 games left in the season and two
of them scheduled for Yom Kippur —
one on Kol Nidre, one on Yom Kippur
afternoon — Green faced a dilemma.
"I was in a no-win situation because
if I miss both games, that would be
a little hypocritical because I really
wasn't very religious, but at the same
time I wanted to acknowledge my con-
nection and heritage Green said. "So
I opted to play one and to sit one game
as a compromise just to say look, I am
acknowledging my Jewish roots, but at
the same time I also have a responsi-
bility to the team and to my fans at the
Dodgers."
Most Jews don't face such public
dilemmas and often can adjust their
schedules. That's true for Meyer
Koplow, executive partner at the
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz law
firm in New York.
"Most of the things you do as a liti-
gator involves either briefing matters,
taking discovery, trials and other court
appearances. You almost always know
well in advance what the schedule will
require for each of those tasks," said
Koplow, 61. "It's usually very easy to
schedule them around the holidays so
that holidays are not a problem."
For some people, it's not getting
time off for the holidays that's prob-
lematic; it's the stress of being discon-
nected that causes tensions.
Take Stu Loeser, who recently left
his job as press secretary for New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Loeser said
that with his BlackBerry turned off
during holidays and the Sabbath, he
doesn't necessarily know about break-
ing news.
"When you pick up the newspaper
the next day, then you can be in for
quite a surprise," said Loeser, 39. "I
find it especially stressful and nerve-
wracking. I have a deputy who steps
in for me, but even though you have
phenomenally competent people fill-
ing in for you doesn't mean that it's not
stressful."
For Loeser and other observant
Jews, however, it's the lesser-known
holidays, such as Shemini Atzeret and
Shavuot, that can be most challenging