8 Summer 1985
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iii-i-FHThi- Contents The Stemberg Centre for Judaism, The Manor House, 80 East End Road, London N3 2SY Telephone: 01-346 2288 2 Eugene Heimler My Memories Are Alive But My Hate MANNA is the Journal of the Sternberg Has Gone Centre for Judaism at the Manor House and of the Manor House Society. 4 David Bellamy We Can Create A Garden Of Eden On MANNA is published quarterly. Planet Earth Editoi: Rabbi Tony Bayfield Deputy Editor: Rabbi William Wolff 7 Andrew Goldstein The Message Of Torah - Replenish Art Editor: Charles Front The Earth Editorial Board: Rabbi Colin Eimer, Rabbi Dr. Albert Friedlander, Rabbi 8 Lionel Blue lnklings David Goldberg, Dr. Wendy Green- gross, Rev. Dr. Isaac Levy, Rabbi Dr. .Jonathan Magonet, Rabbi Dow 8 Gerald Priestland Are We Eating Lionel Alive? Marmur, Rabbi Dr. John Rayner, Professor J. 8. Segal, Dr. Alan Unter- man, Isca Wittenberg. 10 Dow Marmur How Israel Has-Transformed Judaism Views expressed in articles in A41annar do not necessarily reflect the view of the 12 Rosemary Friedma.n Back ]n Jerusalem Editorial Board. rate: £4.50 p.a. (four 15 John Levi Orange Trees ln The Garden And A Strategy issues) inclu ng postage anywhere in For Survival the U.K. Ab oad: Europe - £8.00; Israel, Asia, Americas, Australasia - £12.cO. 16 Ben segal The secret of The Bible 17 Marcus Braybrobke Last Exit From Gateshead Into Church 18 Norman solomon.Whywe Thank God Even when Times Are Bad 19 Letters 21 Mary seaton's Last word The cover picture is a de.sign by Roman Halter for the Ark doors in a room of prayer proposed for the Leo Baeck College at the Sternberg Centre for Judaism. EDITORIAL One might add that for a Jewry desperately needs a brief moment they both tolerant , liberally-minded , taught the same (Leo Baeck compassionate orthodox rab- College) students but such is binate deeply rooted in the lamentable state of inter- modern skills and study as TRAINING community relations today well as traditional learning. that it will be a major surprise Will Rabbi Sacks be permitted if either is seen entering the to produce such men at Jews RABBIS other's establishment, let College and will he find suffi- alone pooling ideas, sharing cient recruits? COSTS experiences and swapping Jonath.an Magonet faces a classrooms. different problem. That of A recent Church of scarcity of material resources. MOIVEY England report on the state of The Leo Baeck College has` rural clergy complains of lack been run on a shoe string for of excitement and content in years but is now in the midst AIVD MORE parish work, the boredom of of an extreme financial crisis. many sermons, an inability to Magonet takes over the helm relate to the needs of con- at a time not when the survival gregants and of the danger of of the College is at stake but IT dence IS A that NICE the COINCI-future of spreading clerical services too rather at a time when its rabbinic training in Britain thinly across parishes. Ana- breadth and independence now rests substantially in the logies between the clergy and hang in the balance. The Col- hands of two Jonathans. the rabbinate have been con- lege's lamentable failures at Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks has siderably unhelpful, spreading fund raising mean that other been Principal of Jews Col- an expectation of rabbis as organisations will have to bail lege for a year now. He is to sick visitors and kaddish it out. It would be disastrous be joined by Rabbi Dr. sayers. But in this regard the if financial stringencies were Jonathan Magonet who has similarities are alarmingly ap- then to cloud the original vi- been elected Principal of Leo parent. The need for highly sion of its Reform (and later Baeck College. intelligent, articulate and sti- Liberal) founders of a College The similarities go deeper mulating rabbis able to relate devoted to scholarship and than name. Both were born in to people and communicate a serving the whole of Europe London. Both are English love of God and Torah is and beyond. The range and University educated and little acute. That both Jonathans depth of the Leo Baeck Col- more than five years separates should succeed in increasing lege must not be emasculated. their dates of birth. Both are the supply is crucial to the The Progressive Movement no charming, urbane and highly vitality and viability of British less than the United Syna- intelligent. Both could have Jewry. gogue, needs rabbis of pursued successful secular If Jonathan Sacks is to suc- scholarship, insight and careers - Sacks as an aca- ceed, he will have to overcome maturity. It takes time and demic philosopher, Magonet the resistance to the produc- space to train such people. as a psychiatrist - and both tion of a rabbinate actually Both Jonathans are highly care deeply about the future suited to the needs of contem- talented, deeply religious indi- of Anglo-Jewry. In one sense porary orthodox congrega- viduals. Both are quite it is true that Anglo-Jewry tions. His disastrous review of capable of providing the rab- cannot be so impoverished if Louis Jacobs' Tree o/ Lj/e bis Anglo-Jewry needs. it is capable of producing two betrayed a need to underline Anglo-Jewry must now such men. On the other hand, his orthodox credentials and allow them to get on with the that both should have achiev- revealed the deep conflict bet- job, and give them both the ed positions of such respon- ween his natural liberal ortho- resources and the elbow room sibility so young and with dox inclinations and the inces- to do what is needed.I relatively little relevant ex- sant, political demands for a perience is a testimony to a more right-wing, uncom- certain lack of competition. promising approach. Anglo- Manna Summer 1985 and the Holocaust burn the fingers end of the war, about the same of those who survived and the SOMEtime YEARSthat Elie Wiesel AFTER published THE I'ORTY fingers of their descendants as an his book Night a.nd I Night Of the imperative. We can only find our Mj.sf, we had a discussion on BBC YE:JLRS 0M own fulfillment as Jews in a just and radio. We both received good re- sane world. Therefore we must do views and were launched as writers. whatever we can through the pen, What the debate was about can be through our science, our brains and put in a nut-shell. Elie felt he had a `My our wealth to help to create a world mission to put the Holocaust once of justice. If we fail now, forty years and for all in the centre of his life, on, to take the opportunity, fail to whilst I felt that I ought to move on, soak into us the words of the ror¢fe towards the future and mankind. and its vision of society, then it will We both had the same experiences. not be the Auschwitz experience We were both in the same camps, that will have destroyed us but the both of us came from very obser- MEM0qEi fact that we have not been able to vant orthodox backgrounds. And overcome our pain and have aban- yet we went very different ways. doned humanity. I have always felt, since that sun- This was more or less the argu- soaked day on the 8th May 1945 ment between me and Elie Wiesel when my freedom began, that our 4F€ABVE and it is still. What we need is not a Jewish tragedy is not limited to us symbol of the Holocaust, a prophet but that it was and still is a who speaks to no-one else except to catastrophe of and for Mankind. If the past. We do not need symbols. we, those of us who survived the The reality of our six million dead camps, limit ourselves to grieving BvifMY speaks louder than any man can or only over our tragedy, harbouring a will. continuous depression or anger then Should the President of the United we will not do justice to the States visit Nazi war graves? •magnitude of the tragedy and will No, he should not! But there is a fail even to try to turn it into a heal- more important issue that emerges ing experience. That the past must ttmE from this episode. Chancellor Kohl, be recorded, taught, spoken about the democratically elected represen- and never be forgotten goes without tative of the Federal Republic of saying. This is and has been our Germany i.#s/.s/ed that President heritage both before and since Hk; ¢ONI Reagan should. He insisted in the Auschwitz. We have survived two name of reconciliation. How can thousand years of persecution not anyone insist? What kind of men- simply because we remembered the tality is it that demands reconcilia- rise and fall or our persecutors but Eugene Heimler tion with a bunch of sadistic because subsequently we frjed to murderers? make sense of what happened to us Reconciliation `forty years after' and turn the negatives into plicable to us as Jews but to all cannot come about by force. It can something positive. The many Mankind. Whether we like it or not, only come about as a result of proof outstanding intellects of our faith whether we recognise it or not, for that the new Germany moves in a and people used the past as a reser- good or evil, we are part of the totally different orbit from the old voir of great wealth and what was a human race.