M-T . ' The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, November 19, 1981 -Page 3 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ By RABBI MOSES J. BURAK Qaestlon: Which mitzvali was (he firet to be given In the Torah? In the various codes of Jewish law, it is accepted that the command to "be fruitful and inuUiply" was the first of the 613 mitzvos given to man. 'Rabbi Aaron h'a-Levi of Barcelona, in his Sefer ha-Hinniikh, is sure p that this mitzvah was. given to Adam, >nd ?it,es Genesis 1:28 where we are told that Hashem blessed Adam and Eve and said unto them "be fruitful, and mu]tiply,:and replenish the earth, and subdue it. . . ." Rashi and Ramban, however, are of the opinion that the Rabbi Barak i. 1 mitzvah was given to Noah. They cite Genesis 9:7, f where Noah is cornmanded "And you, be ye ' frtiitful, and muhiply,..." In their comment on this verse, Rashi and ' Ramban do not overlook the similar statement >' made to Adam; they take the position that what ;, was said to Adam was a benediction and blessing, (\ even as the verse opens vvith the words, "And the "' Almighty blessed them." It was Noah, who' received the command to be fruitful. ~, The Talmud found additional teachings on this -"^ subject in the prophets. Discussing, in Tractate Gittin, 41 B, the sad state of a man who is half slave and half free and thus fits into no com- / munity, it says: "Shall he then remain unmarried? -' But was'not the world made to be populated, as it , says (in Isaiah, 45:18) 'He created it not as a / waste; he formed it to be inhabited.' " So, there ;^ can be no world without marriage and without children. When young modems plan to marry, they have -/ a strange desire to be free of haying children for a 'C number of years. During that interval, the young \\ couple will build up their resourcies, build their dreamhome.onlythenbeingreadyforachild. Even some young Orthodox couples are sold on this ;^ . idea. % Bat, anfbrtunately,. this is not according to |< balacha shice It means nsfaig birth control devices V,^ open which the halacha frowns. To marry withoat wanting children seemed strange to bar sages. '\ They could see the ose of contraceptives In ' emergency cases, sach as, a child bride, or a-narslng mother, and this is so stated In Tractate \, Yevamos, 12 B. Bat to many and defer childbirth ' for years was totally Incomprehensiblet and reprehensible. When a scholar in Switzierland thoaght he saw v' an emergency case in a cUnic that might qaalify for . sach a relaxed raiing for reasons of danger to -health, he asked the question of one of the leading aothorities. We find the query hi the responsa , Levashe Mordechal (Winkler) ^ volame 3, part 3, ' responsum 68. A man wanted to marry a lady who had been a patient In a clinic where she was treated on her longs. She was told by the doctors never to have clilldren. The sage was asked \ whether these two might marry and practice birth | control. He gave this answer. "One cannot grant them perrnission to rrtarry '.^ with the understanding that devices will be used ^' to prevent pregnancy. All the permits granted in V other cases do not apply here. In the first place, there are sages who refuse to permit theuse of any ;^,> devices even when the problem has arisen after C-marriage, saying; 'Let them abstain from sexual -) union, orlet him divorce hier.' Those who permit the use of birth control in such instances, do so on ^ the basis of'shalOmbayis,' seeking rather to keep the faihily together in harmony. This applies only to those who are mairried and have lived together \\ before the problem arose; • ;J "But, to allow a man to marry on the under-standing that he will never have children and that ^ hemustuse birth controlwho permits it? On the contraiy, the Code. Even ha 'Ezer, Chapter 1, ^[ statesthat a man is obligated to niarry and to fulfil -1% the commandment 'be fruitful, and multiply.' And in paragraph 8 of the same chapter, the law is stated that even a man who already hais children, if \ he marry again, it rriust be to a woman capable of '\ bearing children. Then how shall we consider '> permitting such tricks before there has been a -wedding?" ' ' ■ Thus endbd this romance, and a few others \ should end before they begin. f; When 1 was a very young rabbi, I spokfe to a young woman atwhose wedding I was to officiate, 'i-Thesubject discussed washer trips to the mikvah. '] But she said that her doctor told her she had a ^' condition that made her so suceptible to infection, *| that her own bathtub was the safest place for her. No mikvah for her. . . : . € ,1 was stymied. What does One say to a young woman, who comes up with such an effective argument? So, I asked my father what to say to her. He replied: "A person so sick should not get i married." ST. LOUIS, Mo.— Martin E. Citrih of Detroit has been elected : president of the Council of; Jewish; Federations, the association of 200 Federations. Welfare Funds and Community Councils, in the U;S: and Canada Serving 800 communities'that embrace 95% of North American Jewry. " Citrin's election to the CJF presidency came during the recent 50th annual CJF General Assembly in St. Louis. Citrin.Succeeds MortonL. Man^^r of Geveland. . . Citrin is a member oK Ingrid Bergman stars as GoldaMeir. Martin CItrIn the CJF board and execu- >v t tive committee and a past the governance of the Jew: CJF vice-president.; Since"ish Agency for Israel, 1979 he has Iserved as where he serves on the ct ^k ■ ■ chairman of the CJF cam- board ofNgovernors, co-. governors of Tel Aviv Uni-, paign advisory committee, chairs the Agency's Com-; V^^^^^ and is th^ 1981 chairman mission on/Je>yish Educa-of the GJF-UJA campaign planning task force. He plays a major;role in sorption committee■ ByMELVINFENSON JERUSALEM — "It's not a political forum ... it's not a vehicle for erotica. It' s the story of a woman . . .it deals with her split focus; on life ... the conflict between her duties as a mother and.her duties as a, career woman." This is Marilyn Hall speaking, associate producer of "The Story of Golda," currently in production here in Jerusalem by Paramount, and slated for eariy spring premiere as a 2-part, 4-houf television docu-drama. As associate producer. Hall coaxed Ingrid Bergman out of a 5-year retirement to take the lead role, and has been involved in casting, researching, and general scouting of talent for the TV show that will be seen on prime time TV programming. The wife of us; TV superstar .[and Winnipeg native], Monty Hall, Marilyn authored a Celebrity Kosher Cookbook, did, a U.S. Centennial children's book''To Our Immigrants with Love," and as a TV script writer, is proudest of an award winning campaign script she did for the UJA. . Presently at work on a novel called "Pomegranate Tree," dealing with "relations between people who live in Israel," Marilyn Hall first became interested in the Golda project as soon as she heard of Paramount initiating the ■ project. ■ "1 said to myself... I've got to get involved in that . . . and here I am." she explained, detailing the tortuous evolution of . the concept . . . with severa:l changes in mid-course, as well as a change in the 1967 war. when of script writer. The cur^ Golda had become Prime rent script is by Harold Minister and Israel was at Gast. known for his work the height of her pride, on Cannon and The De-. left-wing Israeli journalist fenders, among others. Amos Kenaan visited Ga- ^ Her duties as associate nadian university groups, producer are varied. She He embarrassed the left-chose the Australian act- wing. lukewarm Zionists ress Judy David to play the with his blasts directed; young Golda, chose the against Golda. British actor David Kaiser When he castigated her to play David Ben-Gurion, for holding on to the West arid directs a team :of Bank and refusing to enter researchers going through into peace negotiations. . archive footage. v his audience protested as Other Canadian corinec- follows:: "How can you. tions with the production expect Golda to negotiate are director Allan Gibson, with an. Arab?' Can you who now resides in Eng- trust that he will uphold . land; script girl Pamela . tomorrow a deal he signs. Rosenberg (daughter Of today?" Harry and Dr. Florence To which Kenaan re-Rosenberg of L.A., previ- plied with strange fore- . ously Winnipeg); and the sight: "And what about casting director for- the Nasser? He might be extras hired through the thinking . . . here I am, Association of Americans- signing a treaty ■ with and Canadians in Israel, Golda today .... and 1 Ruth Fenson of Winnipeg, would rely on her tomor-Marilyn Hall and Monty row. But what would hap-both speak for the UJA pen if Israelis rejected her and Israel Bonds. Last in the next election, and year she receiyed the replaced her with that Los Angeles Women's terrorist Begin? Then Divison Golda Award for helping the ladies raise $1,700,000 , . .and this year repaid her honors by presiding at the same annual. event. She is a member of the board of s Story ing event in Israel today, but for the hundreds of extras it makes history come to life. Main segments of the filn version of Golda's life afe the Russian pogrom, which initiated her lifelong commitment to Zionism; the Milwaukee period; and the idyllic period of her early kibbutz life from which she launched her political career: There have been delicate moments in handling the script. The treatment of Golda's husband Morris was given some cosmetic touches so as not to embarrass the family. The late Moshe Dayan had been invited to edit the film version of the Yom Kippur War, a chapter of Israel's history from which he did not emerge unscathed in the public's assessment (although he was exonerated of all guilt by the Agranat Commission). The script deals delicately with Goida^s rela-tionishlps with other men, rumored to have been David Remez, onetime minister of transportation and education, and Zai-man Shazar, Israel's tUrd president. To avoid embarrassment, a composite' figure named Ephralm Ben Ariel was invented to provide the romantic note. He Is played by Jack Thompson. . Her controversial role in Israel's public life r— during the Torn Kippur War, and eariier when she is considered by some as having rejected proffers of peace from Egypt and dismissing the Palestinians' claim to a national identity—-has never been' settled in Israel. 1 recall that after. Israel's astounding success No ill feelings about AWACS By WOLF BIJTZER WASHINGTON — President Ronald Reagan. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, White House Counselor Ed Meese and other senior admijiistration officials moved quickly immediately after their come-from-behind AWACS victory to try to reassure Israel and the American Jewish community that they harbored no ill feelings. Delighted by the dramatic 52 to 48 vote in the U.S. Senate, the administration leadership, of course, could afford to be generous, at least for the time being. Haig, for example, insisted that the U.S. will continue to.support Israel strongly. He said he had "no question" that Reagan will fiilly maintain his security commitments to Israel. Meese. attending an American Jewish Congress meeting in San Francisco, pointed out that Reagan has been a friend of Israel for years. Richard Allen, the National Security advisor in (he White House, disclosed that Reagan had sent a letter to Isjraeli Prime Minister Begin shortly following the vote to reassure Israel of U.S. intentions. But all those promises aside, there are . some serious scars in the U.S.-Israeli relationship which emerged during the Uis JERUSALEM (JCNS) - • The Supreme Court has upheld the. West Bank military governor's closure of Beir Zeit Uni-' versity but stressed that, if. the intention is a prolonged closure, it might require the military government to state the precise reasons for doing so. The university, long a hotbed of Palestiidan national sentiment, was closed after repeated warnings to staff and students that the con-tinaed disturbances by students would not be tolerated. These had gone '. on for three days. The students had. set up road blocks and stoned traffic on main roads In the West Bank. Taking the advice of the new top civilian adminis-: trator of the area. Men a-chem Milson, the authorities have ordered that not only all classes be stopped but that students vacate the dormitories. course of the long debate oyer the Saudi AWACS package — scars which won't.be healed easily or quickly. . As the administration pressed ahead in turning aroi^nd earjier opponents of.the sale, there were ugly overtones of thinly-veiled anti-semitism! "It's a very sensitive subject, and one I feel uncomfortable even talking about." said Republican. Senator John.Tower of Texas, an AWACS supporter. "It shouldn't be raised to the . level of public debate, but unfortunately I'm afraid it has been." It had become so bad that one last-mlnnte AWACS convert, Republican WUIIam Cohen of Maine, whose father was Jewish, said he had decided to switch precisely to avoid an anti-Israel backlash in the United States. Cohen, a practicing Unitarian, said he regarded the Saudi government as being as "moder- -ate as Yasser Arafat." But he explained his about-face as resulting from a desire to avoid a presidential defeat which, he feared, would have made Israel hito a "scapegoat." Reagan and his advisors, of course, strongly denied ;that they were behind any of these slurs. They argued that their positions had taken the high road — debating only the merits of the case. But not all of Israel's friends here were accepting these protestations.'. During the final days leading up to the vote,. Reagan demonstrated an impressive ability to exploit all of the powers of the presidency in twisting arms. Some experienced Washington observers had argued for several months that Reagan -r- or any popular U.S. President, for that maitler.— could always expect to win on a national security issue, if he really put his mind to it. Last Jane, Morris J. Ami toy, the former executive director of the Amerl- . can Israel Public Affairs Committee (AlPAC) had written a confidential meinorandam outlining his reasons why Israel could not expect to defeat a full-court presidential press on the AWACS. Aniltay, who was AIPAC's executive director during the 54 to 44 Senate vote in 1978 in favor of the Carter admlnsitratlon's original F-15 package to Saudi Arabia, had suggested that Israel and Its sup- . porters cut a deal with the admlnistratioii whereby Israel would lie compensated .; for the additional. risks it faced as a result of the AWACS package. . But Prime Minister Begin and the Israeli cabinet ' rejected that advice. Instead of negotiating a deal with the adminsitration, Israel continued to voice its strong opposition to the sale. Reagan, of course, was persuasive in his argii-. rnents. especially among-the freshmen Republicans. He leaned heavily on them, citing party loyalty. ! 'He warned that his credibility as President in conducting U.S. foreign affairs would be undermined by a Senate veto on such a high profile issue. In his one-on-one sessions' with more than 40 senators, the President pointed out that the sale, while perhaps not perfect,' still contained some built-in safety valves. For example, he noted that the five AWACS planes were not scheduled to be handed over to the Saudis until 1985. Thus, if the Saudis should try to plant obstacles on the road to peace or if there were a change in regime in Riyadh, the U.S. could always cancel the sale. The aditiinstration also enlisted the active lobbying support of the Big Business community in the United States, led by those firms with huge economic investments in Saudi Arabia. They have clout with Washington lawmakers. Some experts here were suggesting that under the circumstances, and facing such stiff odds, it was quite surprising to see Israel and its: friends on Capitol Hiirdo as well as they did during the battle. - Senators were bombarded with mail from these big businessmen, rriany of , whom are major~financial , cohtribtitors to political campaigns around the country. Republican Roger Jep-sen of Iowa, who had been among the most active op; ponents of the sale in recent months, switched at-the last minute, largely because of presidential and big business pressures. Jepsen had told an AIPAC gathering only last May: "This sale to an unstable country jeapordizes the security of our most advanced technology. . . . This sale undermines the security. . . . I pledge my efforts and my vote to block this sale." It was exactly that kind of a flip-flop which caused Democratic Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts to comment only four hours before the final vote that in his 19 years of Senate service, he had never witnessed such unbelievable 180-degree turns. Democratic Senator Ed Zorinsky of Nebraska, a jew, had voted against the sale two weeks earlier during a roil call in the foreign relations commlt- . tee. Yet at the last minute, he voted for the sale when it came up on the Senate floor. How that aboat-face could be justified was not really made clear, by Zorinsky. " ~ Some Israeli officials and American Jewish : leaders, it should be pointed out, did heave a collective sigh of relief at the outcome of the vote. They had genuinely feared a major break with the Reagan people if the sale had been vetoed. At least now, they felt, Reagan had an obligation to try to ease Israeli fears. Thus, they were seeing some silver lining in the outcome of the vote. Whether their hopes are now justified should become clear in the ver>' near future. Defence Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to arrive here to flesh out with Defence Security Casper Weinberger the scope of future U.S.-Israeli mjH-fary and strategic cooperation, promised by Reagan in early September. How much meat is put on the bone remains to be seen. . What is clear."Tibwever, is that the Pentagon would have been very reluctant to put any meat on the bone if the sale had been vetoed, I.<;rael, in the short run. would have suffered. Ironically, therefore, with Reagan now somewhat on the defensive, Israel may wind up winning some benefits . . . at least in the near future. In the long run, however, Israel is going to have to-compete with the spiraling ai-ms race in the region, fueled by both the West and the East. Financially that will prove difficult for Israel. It will haye to appeal for yet more U.S. military credits — at a time of sharp budget cutting in Washington. Position Available in PURCHASE ORDER DEPT. of major Judaiqa distributor in Cariada. . Experience in the field of books essential. Serious inquiries only; resume required. Reply to Box 6089 ■ ■ The Canadian Jevrish News 562 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 401, Toronto, Ontario M4P IP 1. . You Could Open a personal chequing and/or savings account . (SlOO rninimum) at any Victoria and Grey Trust branch and yoii could win one of four trips for two to sunny Florida, arranged by Paramount Holidays. For 7 sun-soaked days and 7 magical nights, you would be our guests at the Holiday Inn at St. Pete's Beach. Details are at your nearest branch. But hurry.! The contest ends November 30, 1981. At Victoria and Grey, you'll always, be a winner with our convenient locations and hours. 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