Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 15, 2010 Page: 26 of 28
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26 I April 15,2010
TEXAS JEWISH POST & SINCE 1947
Columnists
IN MY
MIND'S I
By Harriet
P. Gross
Today we sit squarely between
Yom HaShoah and Israeli Memorial
and Independence Days.
The last two are certainly not un-
related to the first. Without the Holo-
caust, Israel might not have needed a
day to remember the many who fell
in its defense. It might not have be-
come an independent nation at all.
Which is to say that I'm not as
afraid of those who deny that the Ho-
locaust happened—we know they're
certifiably crazy — as I am of lews
who believe that because
it's so far in the past, we
should give up the Holo-
caust and "move on."
I revi ew a lot of books
these days, and find
many Jews who are not
ashamed to say they don't
want to read, or even hear
about, another Holo-
caust-themed book; some
insist they've had enough
Holocaust altogether. I
wouldn't be so concerned
if they were expressing
unhappiness, even fright, over the
horrors those memories reawakened.
But what they're actually saying is
they're "tired" of the Holocaust as a
topic in today's literature. That's what
concerns me.
I maintain that even a cursory
glance at current writings will prove
that if you eliminate Holocaust tales
and references from your Jewish
reading list, there's not much left to
choose from. It's everywhere: in fic-
tion and nonfiction, in history and
biography and memoir, in plays and
poetry. We can't get away from this
theme, even if we want to.
Why should we want to? Decades
after the world went mad in so many
ways — ghettos, camps, cruelty and
killings, and feigned ignorance that
taught us how yellow the stream of
human cowardice can run — how
can we permit ourselves to run away?
The books accumulate in my of-
fice, overflowing shelves, piled on ta-
bles, chairs, the floor. I cannot possi-
bly do justice to them all. But I'll offer
you a sample here. New publications
and new translations, all fresh and
raw despite the age of their subject
matter:
"The Wedding in Auschwitz," by
Erich Hackl. The Austrian novelist is
inspired bythe true story of Rudi and
Marga Friemel, who married in 1944,
a union that survivors considered "a
victory — a proof that we were still
alive."
"Selfless," by David Michael Slater.
This novel could be a modern Jewish
"You Can't Take It With You," with
the tale-teller's scheming and teasing
sisters and his father, the plagiarist
writer. The author's comedy is not
funny when he injects some Holo-
caust survivor grandparents into the
mix.
"Chance Encounter," by Sanford
R. Simon. He was a business writer
before creating this post-Holocaust
fiction, contrasting and analyzing the
mindsets and actions of an assimi-
lated American Jew and a Gentile
German banker, while trying to trace
relatives lost during World War II.
Are they really so different?
"A Lucky Child" is the
memoir of Thomas Buer-
genthal, who survived
Auschwitz and its infamous
death march as a boy of 10.
His book is graced with a
foreword by Elie Wiesel, who
begins by asking about this
belated storytelling, "Are
there rules to help a survivor
decide the best time to bear
witness to history?"
"Penguin Luck," by Kay
Mupetson. In her novel, this
corporate lawyer of many years' ex-
perience creates a much younger alter
ego, a small-firm attorney who is vis-
ited by Holocaust ghosts relentlessly
demanding that she must "carry on
for us."
"Kiss Every Step," by Doris Mar-
tin. Her entire Polish family, par-
ents and five children, somehow
survived the Holocaust. The former
Dora Szpringer says that although
this fact alone is amazing, "What
is more remarkable is how we sur-
vived." Here, her siblings help tell
the story.
"Run for Me Too," by Neva Gould.
This historical novel fulfills the long-
ago promise of one survivor, now a
retired physician in Chicago, who
gives voice to the victims of the Croa-
tian town in which she grew up.
These are my "lucky seven" books
of the moment — lucky because
they're the products of people who
lived long enough to write their own
stories, or were written by people who
cared enough for those already gone
to tell their stories for them.
Please read, and please think.
Please say "Never again!" rather
than "Enough already!" At our re-
cent seders, all of us came out of
Egypt together once more, a yearly
passage. But now, we Jews must ac-
knowledge coming after the Holo-
caust, all together, every day of our
lives. We'll do our best "moving
on" by remembering, and making
the world move with us.
E-mail: ha rrietg@texasjewishpost.com
Dear Rabbi Fried,
We have recently become obser-
vant, this being our first Passover kept
according to strict Jewish law. We
never heard about selling the chametz
to a non-Jew before; all we knew was
not to eat bread. We also learned that
leavened products not sold to a non-
Jew are forbidden even
after Passover, which
was a real shocker to
us! This leads to our
question: We have a
significant amount of
Scotch and bourbon
from years past; some
of it consists of rare
limited-edition bottles
passed down from our
parents to be used for
simchas and special
occasions. Since this is
made from barley and
wheat hops, it would
constitute chametz which was not sold
all the years before we became obser-
vant, so (we're a little afraid to ask)
what is the status of all that shnapps
we own?
Marc and Stacie N.
Dear Marc and Stacie,
Congratulations on your new
level of observance! I trust you had a
very meaningful Pesach, given your
heightened sensitivity to many of
the subtleties unnoticed, which re-
veal the true richness and depth of
this beautiful holiday experience.
Generally speaking, you are cor-
rect in your understanding that leav-
ened items owned by a Jew and not
sold to a Genti le for Passover become
forbidden for consumption after Pe-
ASK THE
RABBI
By Rabbi
Yerachmiel
D. Fried
sach. This is actually a rabbinical
law, under the category of "k'nas,"
or penalty, for the transgression of a
Torah law. The Torah prohibits not
only the consumption of leavened
grain products on Passover, but the
ownership of those foodstuffs as
well. This applies to all of the five
species of grain: wheat, bar-
ley, spelt, rye and oats. This is
outlined in the Torah's state-
ments: "For a seven-day period
you shall eat matzot, but on the
previous day you shall nullify
the leaven from your homes....
For seven days, leaven may not
be found in your houses..."
(Exodus 12:15,19). "No leaven
of yours shall be seen through-
out your boundary for seven
days..." (Deuteronomy 16:4).
The simple meaning of
these verses is that one must
eliminate all leavened prod-
ucts from their homes completely
during Passover, beginning with
the day preceding the holiday. The
Talmud, however, explains that the
prohibition is only upon leavened
products, or chametz, owned by a
Jew. Chametz owned by a Gentile
is permitted to be in the home of a
Jew during Pesach, provided it is in
a separate area marked as a remind-
er not to consume that food. This
opens up the possibility of one own-
ing storehouses of leavened products
and not having to dispose of them as
one can sell them to a Gentile. The
nature of the sale is complicated and
not relevant to this discussion, but
it is performed by most rabbis for
those who request that the rabbi be
their messenger to sell their chametz
before Pesach.
When one had the ability to sell
his or her chametz and did not do so,
the penalty of the chametz becom-
ing forbidden as a reprimand for
the transgression takes hold. Those
unsold products become forbidden
for consumption or any other form
ofbenefit.
This, however, applies only
when the items not sold constitute
a Torah-level transgression of own-
ing chametz. Not all leavened prod-
ucts fall under that category, and
some authorities hold that owning
shnapps is a rabbinical, not Torah-
level, transgression on Pesach. This
means that although it should be
sold, if it was not, it is not forbidden
after Pesach. This has to do with the
nature of the production of shnapps,
as well as its mode of consumption,
based on Talmudic discussions be-
yond the scope of this article.
Since now you are trying to ful-
fill these laws, you are revealing that
you do not take them lightly. The
only reason you did not fulfill this
law previously was out of ignorance,
not malice. This, coupled with the
opinions that owning shnapps is not
a Torah-level transgression, frees you
from this penalty. Therefore, you
may continue to use your shnapps;
it is still considered kosher and will
be sold with the rest of your chametz
for years to come. L'chaim!
Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried, noted scholar and
author of numerous works on Jewish law,
philosophy and Talmud, isfounder and dean of
DATA, the Dallas Kollel. Questions can be sent to
him atyfried@sbcglobal.net.
Dear Families,
As we look at all that is happen-
ing in the world today, we wonder
about what we can do to make the
world a better place. Judaism calls
that "tikkun olam —
fixing the world." It is
our obligation to do
our part. The chal-
lenge of tikkun olam
is our fear of acting.
Too often, we stand
back and think that
someone else will do
the task. However,
if everyone thinks
another will act, the
world will not get
better. The time is
NOW for everyone
to act. We begin by learning — ex-
plore needs in your community.
Find something that you can do or
contribute to. Giving time is best,
but often giving money is impor-
tant as well. Save your change — it
can change the world!
Text: Everything is foreseen, yet
SHALOM
FROM THE
SHABBAT LADY
By Laura
Seymour
the freedom of choice is given. The
world is judged with goodness, and
everything depends on the abun-
dance of good deeds.
—Pirke Avot 3:19
- Judaism teaches there is
a plan for the world we are
given free will, a choice to
make decisions about our
actions. What does it mean
to have free will?
* "The world is judged
with goodness" means that
we look for the good rather
than the bad in the world.
Why do some people always
see the negative? Why is it
better to see the goodness in
the world?
* The Mishnah says that
everything depends on lots of good
deeds. Why are good deeds impor-
tant? Why do we need lots of good
deeds and not just a few? What are
some of the good deeds that you
can do?
Value: Courage — ometz lev
"Ometz lev" actually trans-
lates as "strength of heart." These
are emotional, internal quali-
ties. Courage is having the inner
strength to take charge. Courage
offers us the strength needed to
face difficulty, danger, pain and
fear. There is a midrash about the
Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
Moses raised his staff and the sea
didn't split. Everyone was afraid
but one man stepped up and went
forward. When he did, the sea split.
Nachshon had courage and faith in
G-d.
Things to do:
•Know what you stand for and
be willing to be counted.
•All of us are afraid at times but
we must learn to handle our fears.
•Think about a time when you
did something that you were afraid
to do.
Laura Seymour is director of camping services
and Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Com-
munity Center of Dallas.
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Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 15, 2010, newspaper, April 15, 2010; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth188288/m1/26/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .