Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1987-10-08

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Serving Columbus and Central Ohio Jewish Community for Over 60 Years
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VOL. «5   NO. 42
OCTOBERS, 1987-TISHREI J5
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Sukkot 5748
Begins at Sundown
4 Wednesday, October 7
Demographer Says Future Of Judaism
To Be Determined In Next Ten Years
"On the first day of Sukkot you
shall take the fruit of the goodly
trees (Etrog), branches of palm
trees (Lulav), boughs of leafy
trees (Myrtle), and willows of the
brook (Aravot or Hoshanot) and
you shall rejoice before the Lord
your G-D seven days."
October 8-16 Tishrei 15-23
By Judith Franklin
News Editor
From Dr. Gary Tobin's
Abe I. Yenkin Memorial Address at last Sunday night's
61st Annual Meeting of the
Columbus Jewish Federation at Agudas Achim Synagogue, it would seem that
Columbus is working to ensure a bright future for Judaism.
Dr. Tobin, director of the
Center for Modern Jewish
Studies at Brandeis University and a demographer involved in community research and.planning, said in
his lecture entitled,
' 'TowardslW the Year 2000:
The Changing Character of
Jewish Life in America,"
that the picture of Jewish
Life currently emerging
from his research "gives us
hope and gives us pause,"
the most "amazing" finding
being that "we have not
stopped being Jews."
He has;found that American Jews are affirming
their religion by joining Jewish organizations (85 percent
belong to a synagogue or
temple); providing a Jewish
education for their children
(eight or nine out of ten are
receiving some type of Jewish education); going to the
synagogue at least once or
twice a year and observing
the holidays of Passover and
Chanukah.
But, Dr. Tobin cautioned,
this affirmation is "a marginal aspect of their lives."
Statistics indicate that the
knowledge level of contemporary Jews is low and that
Dr. Gary Tobin
few in thier 20s, 30s and early
40s volunteer their time.
Moreover, "young jews do
not understand tzedakah,"
he noted, citing the fact that
70 percent contribute less
than $500, only half of one
percent of their incomes, to
all Jewish philanthropies
yearly. Intermarriage is
also on the rise, Dr. Tobin
said, especially in the Southwest, where three out of four
marriages is Jew to non-
Jew.
It is not unusual, then, that
Feinstein Plays To Sell-Out Crowd At Sept. 20 Jewish Center Benefit
most Jews feelthe major
problem facing Judaism in
the 1980s is assimilation.
What can be done to fight
assimilation? Dr. Tobin, in
remarks after the meeting,
suggested that the rate of
assimilation can be reversed
by expanding leadership
development and Jewish
education for young adults
as well as increasing family
education programs and programs which encourage
organizational and institutional involvement,; what he
termed "community building endeavors."
That is exactly what the
Columbus Jewish community seems to be doing.
Honored Sunday night with
the United Jewish Appeal's
Pinchas Sapir Award for the
best Federation Campaign
in the United States'in 1986,
the Columbus Jewish Federation has set its 1987 goal at
$6.4 million. These funds
help support the types of programs described by Dr.
Tobin and fulfill the "visions
of the youth," the theme of
the Annual Meeting.
At the same time, the
Federation encourages involvement and volunteerism
through its Therese Stern
Kahn Young Leadership
Award which was presented
to Robert H. Schottenstein;
the Rabbinic Award presented to Rabbi Alan Ciner
of Agudas Achim, and the
On Sept. 20, Entertainer
Michael Feinstein came
home in a big way! That
night, according to a Center
spokesman, he charmed a
sell-out audience in the Roth
/Resler Theatre of the Leo
Yassenoff Jewish Center
with 90 minutes of Gershwin,
Berlin and Kern, to name a
few. The performance was a
benefit to establish an endowment  for the  Center's
Cultural Arts Department.
Proceeds from the evening,
nearly $53,000, made it one of
the most successful fundraisers in the Center's history, the Center reports.
The evening was a black-
tie event which included a
cocktail supper arranged by
piane Cummins, following
the concert. Underwriters
were then treated to a special "Meet the Artist" recep-
Entertainer Michael Feinstein I holding gold record)
is pictured with (1. to r.) Bea,Roth, co-chairwoman of
the Sept. 20 concert; Harold Eisenstein, the Jewish
Center's artist-in-residence, and Fred Luper, co-chairman.
tion at the home of Victor
and Cookie Krupman.
Feinstein, who grew up in
Columbus, performed many
of the songs that have become his trademark. They
included "Putting On The
Ritz," "Someone To Watch
Over Me" and "Alexander's
Ragtime Band."
After the concert, a special
gold record plaque was
presented to Feinstein in
appreciation; fof corning
home to the Jewish Center
and Coumbus and for making the dream of an endowment a reality. A duplicate
plaque is on permanent display at the entrance to the
theatre in the Jewish Center
lobby.
The event was co-chaired
by Center members Fred
Luper* and Bea Roth. According to Luper. "We have
taken a giant step forward —
a step that will enable us to
realize programs of a scope
never before possible. This
endowment will allow for
funding to become available
for a wide range of Cultural
Arts activities."
Co-chairwoman Bea Roth
. .added..''The.evening.was.a
Community Award of Excellence given to Temple Beth
Shalom for the "Anne Frank
in the World: 1929-1945"
photo exhibit.
In addition, many commu-;
nity members are giving
their time by accepting positions as officers of the Federation. Installed Sunday night
were: president, B.Lee Skilken; Melvin L. Schottenstein, Ellen Siegel, Benjamin L. Zox, vice-presidents;
Lawrence D. Shaffer, treasurer; Nelson Genshaft, assistant treasurer; Gary
Robins, secretary; David
Roth, assistant secretary,
and Miriam S. Yenkin,
immediate past president.
The new Board of Trustees
elected included: Randall
Arndt, Irving Baker, Irving
Barkan, Rabbi Harold Ber-
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 18)
Abba Kovner
Dead At 69
TEL AVIV (JTA) -
Funeral services were held
at Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh
last week for Abba Kovner,
69, commander of the partisans of the Vilna Ghetto uprising against the Nazis and
an author and poet in Israel
during the past four decades.
Kovner died Rosh Hashanah
of cancer at the kibbutz,
where he had lived for over
40 years.
total success. We applaud
Michael and all those who
made the evening possible.
The entire community will
benefit from.the proceeds of
this endowment."
The Feinstein concert
planning committee included: Dr. Benton and
Joyce Bloch, Diane Cummins, Muriel Derrow, Allen
and Muriel Gundersheimer,
Bobbie Izeman, Marilyn
Knable, Sara Jo Kobacker,
Cookie Krupman, Bonnie
Milenthal, Susan Portman,
Ina Sue Rosenthal, Sherry
Rosensweig, Susan Rudolph,
Lennie Schottenstein, Melva'
Schottenstein and Ethel
Shapiro.
fn The Chronicle
At The Center ........ 22,23
At The Federation.... 10,11
Classified  17
Editorial Features.,    2
Fifty Years Ago... .....   8
Here And There  H
Market Place..        .. 20
Obituaries............... 17
Social News 12
Synagogue Services 16
Rabbi And Mrs. Bleefeld Host
'Taste Of Sweetness' Reception
Rabbi and Mrs. Bradley N. Bleefeld hosted a "Taste
of Sweetness" Rosh Hashanah reception for the members of Temple Israel after Rosh Hashanah morning
services. The 1500 congregants who joined the Blee-
felds under the tent were treated to an array of pastries
all baked by Merrie Bleefeld. "This gave us all an opportunity to greet each other and exchange wishes for
a sweet year to come," said Mrs. Bleefeld. "This is
truly a congregational family event," said Rabbi Bleefeld, who together with his family and congregants,
ushered in the New Year with the blasts of the shofar.'
The tent remained on the lawn to be used for a "break-
the-fast" supplied by the Temple Israel Sisterhood following Neilah service at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.
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