Page J8 - The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, October 6,1983
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World-National
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters ate welcome if they are in English, brief [no more than 250 words], typewritten [doable spaiced, please], firee of libel, and of interest to our reading pablic. We reserve the right to edit letters.
A GOOD DEED BY KIND RABBI
Through your news^ paper, we would like to thank Rabbi Sheldon Steinberg of Toronto for taking time out from his busy schedule to give spiritual comfort to my husband, who Was seriously ill in Toronto General Hospital.
Thank God, my husband is now better and home.
The rabbi came on Rosh Hashanah to blow the shofar for him.
We wish the rabbi, the Toronto community chaplain, many, many years of health and happiness. —
Kiva-Mina Torem Toronto .—   *     ♦ *
HER STORY MUSIC TO THEIR EARS
Cynthia Gasner's fine Sept. 7 story on hearing impaired seryices produced a tremendous response in the Jewish deaf community. Approximately 110 of them came out for the Rosh Hashanah service with Rabbi Elyse Goldstein at Holy Blossom Temple.
The story was one of
the best we both have seen since the Toronto Jewish Society for Hearing Impaired was formed three years ago. Arthur Gnnter Martyn Wayne Toronto
LEARN LESSON FROM NICARAGUA
The CJN's Sept. 15 article on Nicaraguan Jewry does not report on an important recent development.
On Aug. 29, the Nicaraguan ambassador to the U.S., Antonio Jarquin, met in Washington with several leaders of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League, and assured, them that the country's
esn twant
women msemmary
[ContM. from page 1]
signed by 28 prominent Conservative leaders and six members of the seminary faculty, including five from the Talmud department, describes the proposal as "revolutionary."
It continues:
"Evolutionary change in Jewish law and custom will properly take place as it always has. Revolutionary changes, abandonment of the mitzvot, and modifying Jewish law to accommodate temporarily popular issues or an unobservant population will be self-destructive."
Judith Hauptman, an assistant professor at the seminary and the only woman on the faculty of the Talmud department, defined the halachic issues for The CJN.
First, Hauptman explained, "it is clear in the Talmud that a woman cannot be a witness. Therefore, a woman rabbi could not witness a marriage or a divorce."
The second issue is that of a woman's qualification to act as the leader of congregational prayer. According to Jewish law, men are obligated to pray three times daily, at specific times. Women may assume this obligation as individuals, but are not required to.
Since a woman's responsibilities under religious law are not of the same level as a man's, Hauptman explained, she cannot take the responsibility for leading a group of men in prayer.
While it is possible to see a role for a rabbi that would not involve witnessing weddings or divorces, or leading a congregation in prayer, Hauptman points out that many young rabbis begin their careers serving small communities, where there may be no other qualified leader.
If the Oct. 24 vote decides in favor of admitting women, she expects that during the five
years the first candidates are in the program, the Committee on Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative) will have to rule on the halachic issues.
David Halivni, Morris Adler professor of rab-binics at the seminary and a Talmudic authority for the Conservative movement, sees the restrictions on a woman rabbi as central to the debate.
He is one of the signatories to the Union's advertisement. "To be a rabbi means to fulfil all rabbinical functions,' * he maintains.
He believes that "there is enormous sociological pressure to ordain women. But when there is a conflict between religion and sociology, religion must be given the priority
Ordination should be the last step in expanding women's religious participation. First, he said, "there has to be a public declaration of acceptance of the mitzvot."
Women must accept, publicly and as a group, not as individuals, the same prayer obligations as men — obligations which they have historically not assumed. "Women didn't go to synagogue until this century," Halivni pointed out.
If women as a group had the same prayer obligations as men, the issue of the right to lead prayers would be resolved. But Halivni did not offer a similar resolution to the question of women as witnesses.
"There are different functions ( for men and women). ThrBible is not egalitarian. We should eliminate discrimination, but not do away with the distinct roles."
The vote climaxes a debate within the Conservative movement that began 10 years ago when Beverly Magidson and two other women applied unsuccessfully for ad-
mission to the seminary.
Magidson went on to receive ordination from the Hebrew Union College, a Reform seminary. The ordination discussion was reldndled when she applied earlier this year for membership fai the Rabbfaiical Assembly, the Conservative rabbinical association, and failed to win the required 75% minority by four votes.
The connection between the women's liberation movement and the growing support for ordination of women indicated by the size of the favorable vote in. the assembly is a sensitive point for both opponents and proponents of admitting women to the rabbinate.
The advertisement placed by the Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism refers to ''temporarily popular issues."
Saul Shapiro, a business planner for IBM and co-author of a survey commissioned by the seminary to measure the attitudes of Conservative Jews on the issue, found a high correlation between observance of kashruth and the Sabbath and opposition to ordination of women.
Significantly, Shapiro said, "young observant Conservative women tended to be more opposed."
Shapiro also signed the union advertisement. '
But Mayer Rabino-witz, who in addition to his seminary position is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Law and Standards, pointed out that in- 1953, "before women's lib," the committee ruled that women could be called to the Torah in Conservative synagogues.
Increasing the participation of women in religious . life started 30 years ago, Rabinowitz noted. "A generation's time is a normal evolutionary development.''
one synagogue will be returned to the commun-ity.
Mr. Jarquin stated that the seizure of the synagogue following the July, 1979, Sandfaiist revolution had been a mistake, and that Nicaraguan Jews without charges against thenr would be welcomed back and could request the return of tfieir proper-' ties.
The civil rights abuses against the Jews of Nicaragua and their synagogue occurred, apparently, when they were made scapegoats for Israeli arms supplies to the former Somoza government.
The fact that these abuses were totally unjustified and anti-Semitic does not, however, contradict the principle that Israeli arms should only be used to defend Israel.
ShlohnePerel
Montreal
*   \* ■ *
HOTELIER HAPPY WITHSTORY
I was delighted to receive from many friends a copy of your Sept. 7 article, describing how the Canadian Pacific chain manages the Jerusalem Plaza Hotel ("Military duty, kosher laws only few of problems that face CP experts").
The story was extremely interesting and contained Frank Rasky's usual human interest and flair. Congratulations and let me express our appreciation.
A. Gordon Cardy
President and chairman
CPHotels
Toronto
HER STORY IRKS AUTHOR
I am grateful for Hilary Horlock's sensitive and compassionate account of her interview with me in your Sept. 7 issue ("Author tries to shed own horrors of Holocaust"). However, I wish to set the record straight on three mistakes that caused me embarrassment:
Ffa^t, I did not decide to have my bar mitzvah [belatedly] to be able to write the book. Broken Silence. It was the result of many years of struggle in spiritual exile....
In 1981,1 was invited to participate in a conference on the Holocaust held in Israel. Simultaneously, I received a ^grant to do research in Auschwitz-Birkenau.... It was only then that I decided I needed to be barmitzvahed prior to setting foot on those grounds sacred to most Jews.
My second concern lies with the most alarming suggestion Horlock made conilecting the theme of rape and my apparent intention to assert the universality of human sexuality, even in extremes. Neither my text, nor my interview, authorizes such formulation.
Rape has nothing to do with sexuality. It is the perpetratiori of pathological and evil violence upon a person, or symbolically speaking, upon a people.
It iis reduction of human flesh and spirit to the inert; state of meat. This is one of the themes of mybook.
Furthermore, I find it morally inadmissible to speak of the Nazi rape of
European Jewry in the context of human sexuality.
Finally, it proved to be awkward for me that Horlock announced the publication date of my next book as a fait accompli. As of this moment, it has neither been seeh,_nor accepted for publication "by any firm.
Andre L. Stein Toronto
Editor's note: Hilary Horlock, who tape-recorded her interview with Stein, replies:
1. Stein told me in the interview he decided to have his bar mitzvah before he went to Auschwitz and Birkenau on a research trip for his book. It is his misinterpretation that my article implies he decided to have his bar mitzvah only to write the book.
2. Regarding my suggestion that rape is a predominant theme, I discussed my interpretation with him during the interview, and told him that Was what I would be printing, and he made no attempt to correct my Interpretation.
In fact, he agreed that. Indeed, rape was a dominant Image In the book, and that rape Imagery was used In all four sections [dialognes] of the book.
Besides, my observa-
tion was made in the spirit of critical review, and every reader is entitled to make his own conclusions.
3. The wording of my article in no way announces the publication of the book as a fait accompli — merely that Stein "expects" the book to be published late
next year. _
■ , ■ * '   *     *     ~ ■
CLAIMS POLES NOT ANTI-SEMITIC With more than displeasure I read Hilary Horlock's Sept. 7 article ("Poles' anti-semitism a grim reminder of Auschwitz").
Horlock paints a bleak, one-sided picture of Poles who "are cold and unfriendly."
Nowhere in the article did I see a word about German Nazis. She gives the impression that Auschwitz was. Instead, the creation of anti-semltic Poles.
She should be aware that Poles have honored Jews by creating a stamp commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; also, that 444 Poles
— including 21 children
— were executed by the Nazis for helping Jews.
Ateksander
Pruszynski PubUsher, Slowo-Solidamosc Toronto
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