Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1993-02-11

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The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
Serving Columbus and fhe Central Ohio
■ JeiMsh GomrrlunUy since 19SB
VOLUME 71
; NUMBER 6
FEBRUARY 11, 1998
20 SHEVAT 5753
DJBVjOTED TO AMERICAN AND JBWI3H IDEALS
Gerald Cohn to receive
NAJHHA 'Award of Honor'
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Anti-Semitic incidents
increase in Columbus
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COMMUNITY FEATURE
'Lunches with the Rabbis9 provide spiritual nourishment
By Ina Horwitz
When Rabbi David Stavsky
came to Columbus 36 years
ago to become the spiritual
leader of Beth Jacob Congregation, it was at first difficult
to interest many community
members in Torah study, he
said.
Only in the last two decades,
he believes, has the movement
become stronger, which he attributes to a breakthrough in
the intellectual desire to delve
into Talmudic meaning.
"Now there is a great deal of
study taking place here, much
more today in Columbus,
Ohio, than there ever was in
the history of the community," noted Rabbi Stavsky.
"I'm teaching more now than I
have ever taught, and I mean
personal, intellectual, in-
depth study on a daily or
weekly basis."
There are currently many
ongoing programs, but one
that seems to have become
very popular with all segments
of the community, especially
young professionals, is a varied group of "Lunches with
the Rabbi" that involve the
creative teachings of at least
six local rabbis.
There is also a weekly Torah
session, sponsored by Jay
Schottenstein, that is held in
the office!, of his late father,
Jerome, at which visiting rabbis, not only from Columbus
but from other cities and
countries, such as New York
and Israel, are featured speakers. In tribute to Jerome
Schottenstein's memory, the
meetings are designed specifically for participants affiliated
with Value City/Schottenstein
Stores.
LUNCH WITH
BABBI BERMAN
Twice a month, on every
first and third Thursday, from
11:45 a.m. -12:45 p.m., Rabbi
Harold Berman of Congregation Tifereth Israel holds
lunches at Battelle Memorial
Institute. He said the study
group has been meeting for 15
years, which he believes is the
longest continuing lunch of its
kind in the community. The
group studies the traditional
texts of the Midrash by Professor Louis Ginzberg.
While the sessions have for
the past few years been the-
matically focusing pn the
study of biblical sources, topics such as mysticism, Jewish
history and the Bible itself,
have previously been discussed.
Rabbi Berman noted that
participants include non-Jewish guests as well as many who
don't belong to his congregation. He emphasized that
eveyone is welcome.
LUNCH WITH
RABBI BLEEFELD
A downtown lunch with
Rabbi Bradley Bleefeld of
Temple Israel, organized by
Jody Scheiman, a senior vice
president with PaineWebber,
is held in the company's offices at The Huntington Center, 33rd Floor, every Wednesday from noon - 1:15 p.m.
Scheiman said Rabbi Bleefeld discusses the Torah portion of the week as well as
contemporary Jewish issues.
Scheiman noted the lunch
session has become a nice
transition during the week for
individuals to stop what
they're doing in order to reflect on Jewish causes and
education. She suggested for
anyone wanting more information call her at 460-6591.
LUNCH WITH
RABBI CINER
-What has already become
an "institution" is the "Lunch
with the Rabbi" program
started about eight years ago
by Rabbi Alan G. Ciner of
Agudas Achim Synagogue.
Rabbi Ciner said it began as a
-way to create a Jewish learning
program in the downtown
area. Sessions are held periodically on Thursdays at noon in
the offices of Schottenstein,
Zox & Dunn.
Its first chairs were Randall
Arndt and Holly Kastan. It
was next co-chaired by David
Glimcher and Susie Diamond
and is currently chaired by
Michael Schiff and Kimberley
Friedman.
The program particularly
attracts young men and women — both professional and
business people. Rabbi Ciner
said he draws upon biblical,
Talmudic and Midrashic texts
and uses them as a point of departure to help participants
understand the existenial
meaning of life.
Rabbi Ciner stressed how
important Judaism and learn:
ing are to his own life and
teachings. "We really started
the program as a way to reach
out to young people—to offer
them an authentic Jewish experience that was substantive
and one they could relate to."
For Arndt, the sessions hold
special meaning. He said,
"The study group has bridged
the gap between. traditional
values and the values of being
a young urban professional.
What used to be a struggle to
balance the conflicting demands of my profession and
my faith has become a joyous
part of every day by studying
with Rabbi Ciner."
As a result of the lunch program's success, Rabbi Ciner
has expanded it to other group
sessions. On Fridays at 7:30
a.m., in the offices of M/I
Homes in The Huntington
Center. "Breakfast with the
Rabbi" is held that includes
ongoing discussions of biblical
texts.
Rabbi Ciner also gives
"Dinner with the Rabbi"
meetings.for people in their
twenties. Periodically held on
Thursday evenings in different locations and chaired by
Michael Glimcher and Michael Schlonsky, these sessions highlight contemporary
issues as they relate to being
Jewish in the '90s.
LUNCH WITH
BABBI KALTMANN
Another downtown lunch
program is given by Rabbi
Areyah Kallmann of Schottenstein Chabad House. The
classes are held the first and
third week of every month at
noon in the offices of Arshot
Investment Corp, Fifth Third
Bank Building, 21 E. State St.
According to Rabbi Kalt-
mann, professionals in downtown Columbus have become
increasingly interested in pursuing the relevance of Torah
in contemporary questions.
Approximately 30 people
have been attending Rabbi
Kaltmann's lectures.
"Beneath the nostalgic echo
of Jewish tradition lies a
wealth of intellectual depth
and profound meaning," he
said. "The aim of these talks is
to illustrate how Jewish law
and morality differ from the
see LUNCHES pg. 13
1