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The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, October 12, 1973 - Page 7
Organizations and People
discuss
By MARCIA KRETZMER TORONTO-
. Despite, the fact Jewish communities must confront problems ranging from changing lifestyles to intermarriage, for the first time in a generation there exists a situation conducive to the nurturing^and enhancement; of the quality of Jewish life.
This was one of theniost encouraging conclusions reached during the course of a one-day Institute on Adult Education, sponsored by the Joint Adult Education Committee and Associated Organizations of the Canadian Jewish Congress, which took place recently at the B'nai Israel Beth David Synagogue.
The aim: to acquaint program directors, described by Rabbi Irwin Witty as "conduits to Jewish individuals and groups," with the possibilities and deficiencies in contemporary Jewish life. The respective roles of synagogue, home and school, aptly named by panelist Gloria Strom, "the eternal triangle," were discussed.
The problems of living in. two worlds, the Jewish and the non-Jewish, were placed in sharp focus through the presentation of a socio-drama conceived and presented by Morley Pape, in which Myles Kesten, Susan Paul, Hedy Chandler and Kenneth Emsig "rapped" on the youth culture and its
Jerry Hochbaum, (left) associate executive director. Memorial Foundation Jewidi Culture, New York, chats with Rabbi Irwin Witty, executive director. To-cr.lo of lz7:[it caucation. (Jacob El-Baz photo)
discontents.
A second playlet, which left many in the, audience visibly moved, was set in the Baycrest Centre. Two residents, played by Leon Weinstein and Irving Siegel, and a granddaughter played by Janice Gladstone, wrestled with the problems of Jewish identity and self-definition. These issues were taken up in detail by guest
speaker Jerry Hochbaum, assistant executive director of the Memorial Fund for Jewish Culture and a former consultant on Jewish education in Montreal, and by panelists Rabbi Michael Stroh, Dr. Aaron Nuss-baum, Gloria Strom and Andrew Resnick.
Hochbaum asserted the traditional tendency for Jews to push for integration in the
wider society has been counterbalanced in our time by an increasing preoccupation . with the quality and content of Jewish communal life. This turn in the tide has been made possible by three events whose implications are only now beginning to be felt: the Holocaust, the establishment of the state of Israel and the Six Day War. He went on to highlight the
deficiencies of home, school and synagogue in responding to this new climate of concern. Two generations of "sanitizing our institutions to make them acceptable to the larger community" has left Jewish communal life devoid of Jewish content, said Hochbaum.
In the synagogue and the rabbinate, the social aspects have come to take prece-
dence over the religious and in the schools, said Rabbi Stroh, "we have the problem of outsiders being taught by outsiders," resulting in a tacit contract between teach'-er and pupil that nether is prepared to take the subject ' with any seriousness.;
Dr. Niissbaum doubted whether the religious school alone could continue to take on the impossible task of re-
; constituting the h o m e through small children. The home itself, with its fre-quently meagre religious and
' cultural resources is rarely able to serve as a model oi Jewish living and le^'.vs its members depen'liut on peer-group'".r.aences for direction.
" Thie problem today is not one of Jewish identification" argued Hochbaum, "but of the large numbers of Jews who have no concrete knowledge of what is entailed by being a Jew and no feeling that they are part of Klal Yisrael."
The solution? There was general agreement that the time has come for the synagogue to move to the fore in providing a setting in which the family can regain its role as transmitters of the Jewish heritage. Similarly families should find ways of transmitting what they know to less knowledgeable families.
There's no official Jewish program at U of T but hundreds are involved in Hebrew studies
By ELAINE KAHN
TORONTb-
"The most important Jewish activity in the city" is the Jewish studies program - involving several hundred students in 34 courses - at the University of Toronto, according to Dr. Joseph Shatzmiller, one of the 18 .professors involved. ' Shatzmiller; ah hiistoriSi' on two-year leave from Haifa University, teaches a survey course on medieval and modern Jewish history, to almost 100 students.
"It's a lot - even in Israeli terms," he said in a recent interview. "We haye here good studgnts and I was astonished to find so many who could speak, read and use Hebrew.
"1 can discuss here Jewish history the same way I do in Israel, on the same level."
No official Jewish studies department exists, so courses are taught by many departments. For example, Yiddish is listed in the university calendar as an anthropology course and a half-year course about anti-Semitism is offered by the religious studies department.
Prograin Chairmain Frank Talmage told The Cahadian Jewish News "it's too early to say" whether thfe fourr year-old program will e-yolve into a full department.
"It' s one of the largest and most ambitious Jewish studies programs in North America," Talmage said. But, he added, it needs a good library before it can become "a real centre" for North American Jewish studies;
The university's new John Robarts Library houses the program's current collec-
tion, including 300 rare North African manuscripts purchased from Harvard University last year, Talmage said.
However, he added, al--though the university "has -responded magnificently," the Toronto Jewish community has been slow to support an expanded library.
"A wdrking_collection in th^ States is Sa^Odbvibiumes and I doubt if we could put together 15,000 here," he said.
Shatzmiller said "Jewish studies is a very established subject - programs of Jewish studies have existed for 150 years in France. We are not beginners. It's not like Black studies,"
Shatzmiller, who got his doctoriate in France, said his students "have an his-
torical interest (in Judaism) unlike in France where Judaism is conceived of as a philosophical system rather than a vital history.
"Jewish history is the history of humanity . but' much more so. Also, in most other historical disciplines, one can't escape studying the Jewish question. If you ig-
nore it, you are doing a bad piece of historical work. I can't see a department of history without a Jewish historian."
The annual convention of North American professors involved ^n Jewish studies programs will be held in Toronto this April, Shatzmiller said.
Israel Needs Cash!
Pay your UJA-ISF pledges NOW, at 150 Beverley St. or phone 363-7190 and we will pick up the money.
CHArr. SALOMON, QELBER, REIS. BRONSTEIN & LfTVACK
ADVOCATES BARRISTERS SOLICITORS
SAMUEL CHAIT. Q.C. NATHANIEL h. SALOMON NAHUM CELBER ARTHUR I. BRONSTEIN BERNARD REIS . ROBERT S. LITVACK GORDON L. ECHENBERG C. RALPH LIPPER DAVID KAT2NELSON ARTHUR M.SANFT JONATHAN CHAIT SANDOR J. KLEIN DAVID h: KAUFFMAN NORMAND AMVOT MAX R. BERNAliD RICHARD EVIN CARL GELBER
. thm nOVAL BANK BUILOtNO I PLACE VILLE MARIE MONTREAL TELEPHONE: 866-5441 '
QUILTS
FOR SALE
DRESDEN PLATE. GRANDMOTHER S GARDEN. PRAIRIE ROSE. DRUNKARD S TRAIL; ETC.. ETC..
Telephone: 961-0350
CALLING ALL
SIMCHAT TOftAH HAKAFOT
AT
SHkkm TEFIUAH SYNAGOGUE
3600 BATHURST STREET
ON THURSDAY EVENING OCTOBER 18th
'T MISS IT!
National Conference of Synagogue Youth of UOJCA
p.":
You are cordially invited to attend the 14th annual dinner
NER ISRAEL YESHIVA COLLEGE
of Toronto SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28TH, 1973
at 6 P.M. YESHIVA AUDITORIUM
625 FINCH AVENUE WEST
Cantot Harold Klein of Shaar Shomayim Synagogue accompanied by Harvey Eriich will enrich our evening.
BETH TZEDEC CONGREGATION
' — — Announces
"THE WORLD OF yiddish"
by DR. GERSHON WINER
the First in a Series of
great week-ends
DATE; SHABBAT HOL HAMOED SUKKOT SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
1ST LECTURE - 11:00 A.M. in Sanctuary
. "a return to yiddish"
2ND LECTURE-5:30 P.M.
in Chapel /^^\
"THE SHTETL, THE KIBBUTZ AND THE SUBURB
in yiddish literature
3RD LECTURE - SUNDAY MORNING OCTOBER 14-10:30 A.M.
' Sponsored by • BETH TZEDEC MEN'S CLUB
"THE WORLD OF SHOlOMALEICHEM" All Lectures will be Delivered in English 1700Bathurst at Warwick _ The Public is Cordially Invited
KEREN
Depiartmerit of Hebrew Education and Culture .
• ■■'■■^■^/ofthe-
CANADIAN ZIONIST FEDERATION
: announces the opening of
starting October 22,23,24 and 25th, 1973
Beginners, intermediates, advanced
Morning & Evening Classes once or twice weekly High Standard Taaching - Audio Visual Method Different locations
For information and registration call 787-0197
or write: KEREN HATARBUT
788 MARLEE AVENUE. . _ TORONTO M6B3K1.
MEMBERSHIPHOW!
in TQRONTO
HADASSAHWIZO
Wlkere the ACTION is! (:AReV SHARE! BELOI^GI
Contact
Mrs. D. Pomotov, 445-6148 Mrs. A. Rosenborg, 636-1074 Mrs. H.Wagman, 447-4205
ISRAEL HISJADRUT CAMPAIGN IN ACTION
$100,000 For a Doraiitoryii Israel
Mr. and Mrs. IrvingIng-ber of Toronto have visited Israel on many occasions and are well acquainted with the many institutions of Histadrut that provide day-to-day social, educational and medical services for Israel's working men and women. Of particular interest to Mr. Ing-ber h th^ network oi Amal (V'ork) Vocational Schools of the Histadrut, that trains thousands of youngsters in the skills and trades that make them useful and pro-
Mina and Irving Ingber
ductive citizens of the Jewish State. _ One of Toronto's top can-= vassers for Amial Scholar-I ships, Mr. Ingber's efforts i have provided free voca-1 tional training for hundreds = of underprivileged boys and ■nitiiluiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiuuiuuiuiinni
girls. He is as well a Governor of the Amal Vocational Institute of Tel Aviv.
On theii- last trip to Israel, Mr. and Mrs.'Ingber pledged $100,000 for a new dormitory in ' the ■ Onim Trade School complex in Kfar Saba, which will provide additional living facilities for 200 students and 12 instructors.
Established by Histadrut, Onim is a Pre-Military Technical Engineering School and hostel, where youngsters aged 6 1/2 to 18 are taught technical skills before joining the army. Students live on the premises and
are provided with all the; sports and amusement facilities suited to this age group. In addition to teaching the trades and skills that prepare the students for the army and subsequent absorption into Israel's economy, Oiiim particularly stresses character development and self-discipline, which are lacking among the many disturbed and disadvantaged youngsters who are enrolled in Onim for that reason.
Lying amid the pine-woods at Kfar Saba, the new structure will be known as the "Mina and Irving Ingber Dormitory."
3 I
1
nd Events Kick-off 73 Campaign
Members of Bedi Sholom Synagogue launched their Israel Bond Campaign at a Kick-Off Rally on Sunday evening;, September-30th, which set a new record in both participation and purchases by^. this leading Bond cbiigregation. Joey "ftuKeU,'^opulM'T^V was special
guest artist. L. to R. Morris Orfui, Beth Sholom Treasurer; Fred Grossman, Past-President; Louis Biirke, President; Joey Russell; Norman Shapiro, Israel Bond Chairman, and Dr. Morton Brown, Bond Co-Chairman.
Beth Jacob V'AndieiDrildz Congregation, stauiich community leader for Bonds among ^trnagogues of similar size, held a pre-High Holy Day Bond event on October 3rd at the synagogiue with outstanding results «(hich will help provide job opportunities for heads of famUies among ' new Russian immigrants to Israel. L. to R., Sam Faivish, Bond Chairman, Dr. Norman W. Shaul, guest ^aker. Rabbi Moses J. Burak, and J. Rosenthal, Bond Co-chairman.
T
TR4nSPOIIT4TiOi1 TROUBLES?
What do you think about transportation In your area? We'd like to know.
3 Public Meetings
Mon. Oct. 15,8 pm.
BATHURST HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3170 BATHURST STREET
^ Resource People will include: Dr.:^R1 chard Soberman, Director of the/Metr^o Toronto Transportation Plan Review, Controller William Sutherland, your ward alderman, and l^epresferit^tives^ of the Ministry of Transportation andConmunicatibnS: the Toronto Transit Commission and Metro Planning Board.
363-M03
This rneetitig is l>eing held in co-operation with the North York Public Li1»aries and the Adiilt Education Division of the North York Board of Education.