USCJ Review - Spring 2006
Letters From the Editor
One Standard of Kashrut's Enough
I read, with great dismay, the Fall 2005 issue of the United Synagogue Review. As someone who spent half her life in the Northeast where things Jewish are relatively easy to come by, and the other half In Houston, Texas, I take strong exception to the notion of "kosher enough." While I understand that the intent of the article was to create the possibility of another, halachically based standard, the concept of kosher enough simply minimizes the importance of kashrut.
I would say that the last thing we need is another standard; we should be working with Modern Orthodox groups to have more food producers adopt a standard we can all be comfortable with. In a smaller Jewish community such as Houston, the last thing we need is a reason for people not to come to my house or to my synagogue to eat because our standards are Conservative, not universal. We certainly don't need any more issues that will divide us. I would say that this unity is more important than a hot dog at a baseball game.
If, in Houston, I have access to four supermarkets with a wide array of kosher items, including take-out fried chicken, all approved by the local kashrut association, I am certain that a kosher hot dog can be found almost anywhere (and if not, bring one from home).
- Nada Chandler, Houston, Texas
CLARIFICATION - When Is Kosher Enough Not Enough?
Rabbi Paul Plotkin would like to clarify the status of Hebrew National hot dogs ("Kosher Enough -- A New Look at Kashrut," Fall/Winter 2005). Although Hebrew National's raw hot dogs, fresh from the package, certainly pass his test and easily qualify as kosher enough, Conservative Jews should not assume that those same hot dogs are still kosher enough when they are for sale at a public arena. As for any other food that is cooked and sold, supervision is necessary. The grill must be kosher, and the buns, the condiments, and all the other food must be kosher and either meat or pareve. The hot dog Rabbi Plotkin munches on in the photograph came from a booth that is supervised by the KSA, which provides a full-time mashgiach.
A New Chancellor = A New Chance for the Movement
New chancellor? New chance? Chancellor Schorsch's retirement will be the beginning of a new era for the Jewish Theological Seminary. It could also be the start of a major era of transformation for the entire Conservative movement.
The various affiliates of our movement, including JTS, the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical and Cantorial Assemblies, the Masorti movement, Camp Ramah, Women's League, the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, and others, operate under a loose umbrella or confederation. The movement is made up of independent and autonomous groups that are nominally engaged as an effective cohesive effort. There is no one communal address for the movement; each affiliate is busy advancing its own niche within Conservative Judaism rather than promoting a collaboratively agreed upon movement-wide agenda.
The mix of organizations has bred bureaucracies (granted, they will claim they do not have sufficient budgets or staffs) as well as a redundant and inefficient infrastructure to serve the movement. There are often conflicting and competing fundraising efforts for various annual funds, capital projects, and endowments. The result is a recipe for the eventual collapse of the Conservative movement under its own institutional weight.
The appointment of a new chancellor is an opportune time for a paradigm change within the Conservative movement. Now is the time for all affiliates to collaborate in order to consolidate and coordinate efforts helping to forge a unified institution for Conservative movement. Creating a new umbrella while respecting the important missions of the affiliates will help to create a more cohesive and coherent movement. The efficiencies and economies of scale alone will help to provide financial support for underfunded programs and new initiatives.
It is my hope that the leadership of the seminary will select a new chancellor who also will help provide the vision for a reorganized and revitalized institutional framework for the entire Conservative movement. A truly unified, uniform, and cohesive movement will help to define and promote Conservative Judaism in way that will make it more productive, service-oriented, understandable, and attractive to its membership
New chancellor? New chance? I certainly hope so, for the future vitality of the Conservative movement.
- Elliot B. Karp, Cincinnati, Ohio
Kabbalah's All Around Us
I think that Mr. Shatin is using Rabbi Artson's excellent article to exercise his intellectuality by taking his vocabulary out for a spin (Letters, Fall/Winter 2005).
Kabbalah has never left the synagogue setting. We read kabbalistic works and use kabbalistic prayers in our services every day of every week. But congregants do not know the origins of Adon Olam, Yigdal, Anim Z'merot, or Yedid Nefesh. They do not know why they rise off their heels at the recitation of Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh during the Kedusha in the repetition of the Amidah.
In my community, our local Jewish newspaper has had several articles and series about Kabbalah, because there is a newly found interest in what Jewish mystical spirituality has to offer.
The lack of spirituality in the current sense of the word in normative rabbinic Judaism, the legalistic approach to holiness as opposed to spirituality, is one of the causes of the loss of Jewish youth to messianic cults.
There is a wonderful book now available by Howard Schwartz, "Tree of Souls-the Mythology of Judaism." By the way, the answer to why we rise during the Kedusha is partially answered in page 6.
- Richard S. Mitnick, Highland Park, NJ
Update on Jews in the Military
Thank you for publishing the story of Randee Van Ness's efforts to bring Jewish books and services to our military bases ("There Are Jews in the Military, And They Need Our Help," Fall 2005). Randee and her family are now stationed in Colorado, where she is developing Jewish programs for military families at the Air Force Academy and at Peterson Base.
Randee has received hundreds of emails of support. Our regional office also continues to receive offers of assistance, including a young bat mitzvah from Edison, New Jersey, who asked her guests to make contributions to the Tanakhs for Troops project in her honor, and a woman in California who called to donate a large sukkah; an early Sukkot celebration honored 37 Jewish troops who were deployed to Iraq. Randee has developed the Jewish Service Initiative, which has been adopted by the Jewish Welfare Board, as well as a new program with the Jewish Publication Society, Tanakhs for Troops. The goal of this program is to provide a Tanakh for every Jewish military member, at home and abroad. Randee writes, "I am determined to make sure that no more Jewish troops go off to war with just a Christian Bible." A grant proposal is available; email Barry Nove at JPS, bnove@jewishpub.org.
- Alice Greenfield, Director of Synagogue Services, Pacific Southwest Region
