Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1994-06-02

              ;ali
fflf   *W*f«"*t
lot
,^.
#v
11.' /> •>v
";fV*
y»- »*.<( ,
J. 9 0
Col
t\'A2
o   Hi ot .Society   l.ibr
£    VttlltU*    PtVC. ,,
urnbus,    Ohio A
J. 1 CO M f>
The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
%•* f'; ,*^ ^fi'lns Colurtthuiand. the Cenirat,6kt6<, ,*  ,
y "*?,' ..■"   JemshCammuitllysince 19iS'K,   ,:,',
f xqiytim 72
.NW9ER.20
23 SIVA'N tSYS*
Confusion reigns in Gaza,
Jericho, casing concern
*mfm*#*mw»^m,Mi>*H*HumnuMttu<to>.m*it#Mti*ui «*—iim^iiHwiiiWuu t.miM-MWiiUrtm.fHi.^iwiii^i.  in-in-m
Will the real meaning
of "fihad'pleaje stand up
- ;esent;<
jmmj,> * V ., : ,*     , trn'mm^'^ ittag*e>*»\i*
Lt,)H .^|ll„..i, ,') J,i,H,|il, l|fl Iiiiil,,! [11       i I M I illtlUI'j   III' il IL  I Li'l I' I      I) ,l„tfj'l|l'l,l* I ,',, ,n,
s4ir*P "'"*'},'*ft ^•i"^iy.i|«**^.i''.'!5 ^VjL.'/i <**
/til -*. «>..■    -■■■   .*r-i^    ■ ■   to ... j. -, J;, jj    a4S l..    ' m £3 ■K'Jr. -* * ■-.■        '■» s *". *>-      J-
WAYIlOT IwMi^WH^VlIiflvA'''- r-
tm<(mm'9mm^mmvm^Mi*!m
krfir»Se
IcMtfiWiiB
* ^    i
ABOv JT THE COVER
f^'Tlt«ife4ift*il»rS40]f the Rpseri Old "Age Home \$m
"j$^|&^ a seljf**.^
■'pamm t*x« mtdent In the ^otn^s'Arts Center,.
4flPbeJRp>en Old;Age Home js^supported by JfoC;*.-
JPhoto by Deborah Kazis.     r'      . ?;-
f'!.;" *v
,sn
^. K/ ^  , ^ In^THe Chronicle •■
>';feM^te;
•«•,••».,9
.._— _„„ -,..„„ *»»tif**f«llM*l»Mi««»*I»*>'»«ltM»i*>*'M»*<iM*«*t»i
JK^'VVX'''    *   '''/•-?   "   *' /< ' ''.
J ^lUPlI^ilWItlly ♦.««...4»*4i(..."»»4«44t44.4.-.44..»..,..».,.*..«.4t9*'5>\   *
AlK*AWW^*^l*sWlMHt*l*>***»**t»»#»*»««i»4^
^j^iiiijj^^p<83r»|t 4ffSiKO-»»»*>*»*fi#»«s>fs*»",*f»«*$f*'«v*^
¥%/y"j• *,T.      ,      '' ,   -     ' v «s-'v-
' ^l^Jy^IjyCl© .444.44.4..^444...4.#..«4.«...f ..,
hWv^fj ' im *'.-,,'
4........4...,. JlU ,
m>   "st-*
FEATURE
Shabbat in Bucharest —
A portrait of a unique community
iMtOtA Series
• By Deborah Kazis
Crossing the border into
Romania from Bulgaria on an
overnight train! there's a loud
knock on my door in the middle ofthe night. A uniformed
border guard loudly demands
$100 for a stamp. His English
is good enough to threaten to
throw me and my bags off the
train. $20 later, all is forgiven.
The 200 mile train ride takes
13 hours, but I made to to
Bucharest, Romania's capital,
just in time for Shabbat.
Bulgaria aiid Romania are:
neighbors, but they are worlds
apart. It seems that the temperature plummets and the
snow begins to fall as we cross
the border. Bulgaria has a
warm* Mediterranean feel but.
Romania is bitter cold, and
the military seems to be everywhere. People are bundled
Russian-like in fur'-hats and
coats.
Friday night almost 100
people come to Bucharest's
magnificent Choral Synagogue
which dates to 1866. As soon
as I enter the wife ofthe s/io-
c/ief (who ensures that there is
kosher meat in Romania) is at
my side. "Where are you
from?" "What are you doing
here?" "Do you have kids?"
"Why not, how old are you?"
Well I'..." As I start to mutter
something about my career
she interjects with a broad,
knowing, smile —- "Don't worry you will!" I feel like I'm
back in New York.
I sit next to Rosa Epstein, an
elderly heavy-set woman with .
a pink round friendly face.
She's dressed in many layers
of thin clothing, and thick
green rubber boots and keeps
talking to' me in Yiddish. She
is so delighted to have someone listening that I don't have
the heart to tell her that my
Yiddish is limited to five
words.
She tells me how proud she
is of the beautiful synagogue
and hushes me to be quiet
when Rabbi Rosen enters
wearing his deep purple yar-
mulke and sash and large Star
of David. It is warm and glowing inside as Romania's Chief
Rabbi leads a traditional service while music from the
choir three balconies up fills
the enormous sanctuary; v
The shochet's wife reappears and steers me to a seat in
the front ofthe balcony in the
section reserved for the rabbi's
wife. I try to resist but quickly
realize it's pointless. Formality is not to be taken lightly in
Romania! It's impossible to
fade into the beautiful woodwork. As Mrs. Rosen-enters,
an attendant puts a large cushion on her chair before she
sits, She greets me and inquires whether I'd prefer to
speak in Hebrew, English or
French.
During the Holocaust
n    BeforeWorld War II almost
a million Jews were living in
Romanian Jewish students of all ages sing traditional Jewish
songs hi Yiddish and Hebrew for a Saturday night concert In the
Jewish Community Center in Bucharest, Roinanla. Photo by
Deborah Kazis.
Romania. Only half survived
the Holocaust, and most ofthe
survivors went to Israel. Although a shadow of what they
once were, the 18,000 Jews in
Romania today are a true
community.
Throughout Eastern Europe
Jewish life was almost completely decimated, first by Hitler and then by Communist
policies of forced assimilation
and complete isolation from
the outside Jewish world.
Not in Romania. Through
his sheer determination and
strength of personality, Chief
Rabbi Rosen has been able to
help his community to survive
and to survive,as Jews. Communism in Romania was brutal, but the Jews were allowed,
for a price, to emigrate to Israel, and to live as Jews.-They
could study Hebrew and run
Jewish schools and welfare
programs, and the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was allowed to
provide support. Romania's
Jews were never completely
cut off from their Jewishness.
Romanian Jewry Today
Today the community is
anxious for visitors, for connections with Jews from other
countries. Mr. Diamant, the
community's Protocol Director yearns for busier days.
see BUCHAREST pg. 4
--if,'
■U
I .'il
fl
e3t-Ma-rt-yttV  -«  -,."■"