Page 4 - The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, May 19, 1983
M-T
By
RABBI MOSES J. BURAK
Question: With Shavuoth here, my question is: can rabbinical conferences add anything to Jewishlaw?
The Torah states ,jn Deuteronomy 13:1: * * All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."
This limits all creativity. Does it?
The piano has a number of octaves, all of them from G to C, with a number of flats and sharps. All the octaves have the same notes. That limits creativity, doesn't it? But,; it didn't limit the crea-
RabbiBurak
:j tivity of a Beethoven. Creativity isn't limited in I Jewish law, but you must play according to the ;i notes. ' ,
Thus, when something unusual was done in I Jewish life, no matter how great the sage who i: did it, he was asked for a source. Here are some I examples from the Talmud, Tractate Sanhed-l rin, 11 A.
It once happened when Rabbi Yehuda the Nassi was delivering a lecture, that he was disturbed by the smell of garlic in the chamber. So he said to the people: "Let him who has eaten garlic go out." Rabbi Hiyya arose and left. The next day, in the riiorning, the Nassi's son met Rabbi Hiyya and asked him: "Was it you who caused annoyance to my father?'' Rabbi Hiyya replied that he had not been the one who ate garlic. Despite this, he had accepted the blame so as to save the culprit from humiliation.
The Talmud asks: "From whom did Rabbi Hiyya learn such conduct?'' The answer is that he learned it from Rabbi Meir. Once, when Rabbi Meir was lecturing in the academy, a woman appeared beforehim and said: "Rabbi, one of you has taken me to wife by cohabitation." Rabbi Meir did not ask the unhappy lady why she did not know who her husband was. Instead, "he rose up and gave her a bill of divorce, after which all his disciples ; stood up and did likewise.'' Thus did Rabbi Meir save the culprit from humiliation and gain i freedom for the lady.
Once again the Talmud asks: "And from \ whom did Rabbi Meir learn this? — From Shmuel the Little. And Shmuel the Little (from \ whom did he learn it j? From Shechania son of : Yechiel, for it is written (in Ezra 10:2) * We have i broken faith with our God and have married ] foreign women of the peoples of the : land. . . .' " The sages note that he blamed himself, even though he was blameless. Again ^ they ask: "From whom did Shechania learn this? From Joshuah son of Nun."
The Gaon, Rabbi Chayim Shmulewitz Z.L. Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, in Jerusalem, wanted to ■ know why we can't say that each of these men of genius dreamed up the idea on his own. He ; answered that in Judaism we don't want your ; inventions. We want to hear only those things : that you learned from your rebbe. Should you ; claim that your ideas are from the book of nature and there they are written, you would be i stopped even as Lord Ellenborough stopped a i counselor who made such a statement; the i Chief Justice asked him, "Will you have the : goodness to mention the page. Sir, if you •; please.?"
An early rabbinic conference in Franldfurt, in >: 1845, advocated that we rid ourselves of i Hebrew in our prayer books.
In America, the Pittsburgh Conference ruled ; that circumcision is unnecessary. '
The latest CCAR conference has ruled that J the Jewish mother is unneccessary, as we are ; now patrilineal. Now is the time for the people I to say that all such rabbinic conferences are i unnecessary, and that the Jewish clergy who :i officiate at mixed marriages have broken faith : with our God, the Torah and Israel.
JAGUAR
Toronto's newest Jaguar dealer cord iaIIy invites you to come and test drive the new - SOVEREIGN-For your convenience ^ease phone for an appointment.
(416)^233-1161
ROBERT MOTORS
545iD DUNDAS STREET WEST. ISLINGTON. ONTARIO M9B IB4l
Statistics Canada figures indicate...
Quebec decline less
By
JANICE ARNOLD MONTREAL —
If the latest figures on religion and ethnicity, released by Statistics Canada are a reliable in-
ish and the ones widely However, the decline regarded as the most is not as much as the 90-accurate because of 95,000 estimate contain-changes in the questions ed in the preliminary report issued by AJCS' 10 n g - ran ge pi ann i n g committee last summer.
dlcator, the-Qnebec Jew-. ish community is a diminished one compared to a decade ago, but the loss is not as great as some community leaders had feared.
Varying interpretations have been offered by Jewish community officials and researchers, ranging from chastisement of the dodms-dayers to' caution over the accuracy of the numbers because of the limitations in census taking.
Quebec had 102,355 Jews in 1981, compared to 115,990 by ethnic origin in 1971, the highest of the two ways of determining who is Jew-
By ethnicity, 90,355 persons in Quebec chose Jewish solely in 1981. This census was the first to allovv respondents to list multiple ethnic origins. In 1971, 110,885 Jews by religion lived in Quebec.
In contrast, 148,255 Jews now live in Ontario, a gain of some 23,000.
The 1981 data was completed from information received from one in five households in June of that year via Written questionaiires.
"Obviously there has been a significant decrease in the Jewish population,'' said George Kantrowitz, research director of Allied Jewish Community Services.
"What doesn't is who left —
show what
est m
JERUSALEM [JTA] —
Israel's balance of payment deficit has reached the highest
Without these two elements, the deficit would have reached $5.9 billion, the Central Bureau
point in the history of the reported,
state; including the diffi- As matters stand now,
cult times right after the Israel has become more
1973 Yom Kippur War, dependent than ever on
according to figures re- loans.' which increased
leased by the Central during the past year by
Bureau of Statistics.
Paradoxically, the deficit grew last year despite an overall improvement hi Israel's exports. It amounted to $4.72 billion hi 1982, an increase, of $400 million over the previous year.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel's income from overseas trade decreased by $300 million, or 11 % compared to 1981 even though improved exports injected $530 million into the economy and security related importsdeclined by $640 million.
$2 billion, for a total outstanding of $28 billion. Israel has paid some $300 million on the interest aloiie..
It was noted that since Yoram Aridor became finance minister two years ago, Israel's foreign debt increased by 25%.
age are they, what education they have," Kantrowitz pointed out. He $aid AJCS is now trying to obtabi that breakdown.
"I expect many were in their 20s and 30s, and the loss of these young people and their families will have a very serious impact in the long run."
Kantrowitz said Jewish immigration to Quebec between 1971 and 1981, and any offsetting effect it might have on emigration figures, was "minimal."
He also pointed out that in 1981, one in five Canadians answered the dietailed questions, while 10 years earlier, the ratio was one in three.
"The smaller the sample, the more possibility of error. This could be significant when it comes to Jews, but there is no way of knowing."
The fact that the questionnaires were completed by the respondents themselves in 1981 rather than by oral interviews, as before, may also have had a bearing on the statistics, he said.
Many people were probably not sure what ethnicity is and may have confused it with nationality. In addition, the new figures do not include institutionalized persons.
Arthur Hiess, executive director of the B'nai B'rith League for Human Rights, Eastern Region, notes that If the religion figures for both years are compared, the loss is about 7%. "Although this is serious, it does not corre-
CANADA PARK
plant trees and keep israel green
THE Teenage Travel Camp
thekidsAND parenrs rave ahout.
Gall Our Tree Number
Toronto......781-5515
Hamilton....527-7385
London.......432-2139
Windsor^..969-8733 Molftreal.....^34-0313
/Halifax.......422-7491
Ottawa.......«20-3835
Summer Camping for 13-17 years old • Experienced leadership •Superior supervision
Southern California • Western Canada • Northern California •
For further information call ■■„,
(416)4988717
GEORGE AUERBACH'S TEEN CARAVAN
: 55 Doncaster Ave.. Suite 201 Jhornhill.,Ontario L3T1L7 In Montreal call Barbara Mintzberg (514) 482-0444
spondto the estimates of some Jewish community leaders who believed the loss may be as high as
30%." :.
Hiess said that, according to statistics he has, the proportional decrease in the Jewish population is far lower than that of the English-speaking Protestant community, which he says has dropped by 28%.
**I see this as a greater willingness on the part of the Jewish community to adapt to the changes in Quebec," he said.
M cGi 11 Univers it y sociology professor Morton Weinfeld, who has done extensive demographic research on Canadian Jewry, including the survey of Montreal Jews sponsored by the Jewish Community Research Institute in 1978,. said the 1981 census Figures are higher than
he had expected. "Of course, the
course, tne figures may include students studying elsewhere who will not/return to Quebec "iimL elderly people who live in Florida 10 .months of the year."
The future size of the Quebec Jewish community will depend on the degree to which its members feel comfortable here, said Frank Schlesinger, who recently completed his term as chairman of Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec Region, and chairs its community relations committee.
Barring any unforeseen crisis in the province, Schlesinger thinks the worst is over as far as the Jewisih exodus is concerned. "It's clear the large majority who left did so immediately after the election of the Parti Quebecois [in November, 1976]."
LET US GET RESULTS FOR YOU
MISTER
REAL
ESTATE
(416) 224-2800
'EVERYTHING WE TOUCH TURNS TO SOLD"
for your nextparty
■ Your next party can be your most successful in the unique setting of the Gallery at the Peel County Feed Company.
Built expressly for private functions, the Gallery has a warm, natural atmosphere of cedar, brick and fresh greenery, designed to create the right mood for any party. For Bar Mitzvahs, private parties, buffets, anniversaries.. .. we'll accommodate from 20 to 250 people, and the expertise of our staff ensures a successful party right down to the last detail.
On Saturday or Sunday afternoons, we can make our entire restaurant available for special functions. Contact our maitre d' at 675-1900. We're right next to the Bristol Place Hotel, at 930 Dixon Road..
930 DIXON ROAD (416) 675-1900
Affiliated with Bristol Place Hotel
o
•I:
i