November 2009

My Island Adventure melodies were chanted. The crowd was sparse. The bar mitz- By Madrikh, Harold Londer vah family occupied the first few rows. I did not sense emotion or passion in either the Rabbi or the Cantor, though am not sure There is an old joke that goes something like this: Two Jews what I expected on a typical Friday evening. The congregation are stranded on an island. They build 3 synagogues (!): one for was reasonably attentive. It was clear they knew the melodies the more religious one, one for the less religious one, and one well. The bar mitzvah boy chanted his prayers skillfully, and that ―neither of them would ever step into.‖ We are a diverse everyone was proud. people indeed! I picked up the prayer book: ―Siddur Sim Shalom‖ (Siddur is I had a unique experience one weekend in late October. I was Hebrew for prayer book), and read that many of the prayers th th invited to two family bar mitzvah celebrations (long story why dated back to the 9 and 10 century in Babylon. The message they were both the same weekend). One was a joint bar mitz- was clearly and totally theistic (what else would I expect? My vah of twins. On Friday night, I attended Temple of Aaron, in goodness!). I read from the introduction: ―Individual groups in St. Paul, a conservative synagogue (the site of my first mar- the succeeding generations, through modern times, have intro- riage; another long story). On Saturday morning, I attended duced their own modifications, deletions, additions, commen- Kenesseth Israel in St. Louis Park, an orthodox synagogue. I tary and poetry.‖ We had had a meeting of the Or Emet ritual had not attended a truly orthodox service since my childhood. I committee earlier that month, and I recognized we too were went to both synagogues with an open mind, watchful eyes, continuing this ancient process. I went to the Oneg after the and a strong sense of nostalgia and curiosity. service, and enjoyed seeing my family very much. I picked up a copy of the congregation bulletin, perused the contents, and My first impression of Temple of Aaron was that it seemed left overall feeling like I had just eaten a meal at an IHOP, fill- much less traditional than I had expected. Virtually none of the ing me up, but not entirely satisfying my hunger. men were wearing Talissim (traditional prayer shawls). The rabbi told several jokes, one of them not half bad. The service, however, was more Hebrew than English, and the traditional Continued on page 3

Social Action / Committee News: Send Us Your Survey!

Or Emet‘s Social Justice/Social Action Committee has prepared a survey for members and friends to help us know what issues and actions you would like to address as a congregation. Thanks to those who already returned their surveys. We still need to hear from many more of you. The surveys were sent out as an e-mail, and will be available at upcoming Or Emet events. We also will re-send the e-mail soon.

We know many of you already contribute to causes and engage directly in work – either through professions or as volunteers – that impacts the issues we most care about. As humanists, we share the belief that our actions toward our fellow men and women are a measure of the quality of life we live. Whether these actions are already a part of your life, or you are seeking additional outlets for making a difference, the SJ/SA committee will endeavor to support and celebrate those efforts.

Based on the survey we will plan future activities, and make connections to existing opportunities for social action. Please contact Arty Dorman ([email protected]) or Laura Melnick ([email protected]) if you have any questions, or would like to be involved in the committee. We look forward to hearing from you!

President’s Message The Illuminator Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and at Or Emet, we have a lot to be We welcome letters to the editor, thankful for! We have a wonderful community, not simply a congre- announcements, articles, commentaries tion. Each member is appreciated for who s/he is. We genuinely like each and photographs. We cannot guarantee whether material will be suitable for other. We respect and value both diversity of background and opinion. We publication. take to heart the Jewish tradition of ―tikkun olam‖ by doing what is in our power to ―heal the world,‖ both as individuals and through our social justice Madrikh and social action activities. We enjoy Jewish culture and arts and music and Harold Londer literature. We relish education for both children and adults. And we do our [email protected] best to be there for each other in times of need.

Executive Committee We are a vibrant community. For that, we have each other to thank. Consider President, Margo Fox all that we‘ve experienced already this year: [email protected]

Vice President, Erica Fishman The High Holidays are always special, but this year may have been the best [email protected] yet. Thanks again to Janet Mayer, Paul Petzschke, David Fox and to Madrikh Harold Londer; our speakers: Barry Cohen, Lisa Gardner-Springer Treasurer, Sharon Miller and Rachel Osband; musicians: Lionel Davis, Molly Wilbur-Cohen and Gaia 4316 Aries Court Ramsdell; shofar blower Sam Wegner; all the readers; Faith Oreland and her Eagan, MN 55123 committee who provided a lovely Oneg on Rosh Hashanah. Special thanks [email protected] also go to Sharon and Alan Miller for hosting the Tashlich service and pot- luck lunch, and to Jan Withers and Harold Londer for, once again, opening Members At-Large Nancy Schwartz their home for our traditional Break-the Fast event. Arty Dorman Our Jewish Cultural Sunday School is getting rave reviews from both stu- Program Committee dents and parents. Lisa Gardner-Springer is at the helm this year with first Rich Sonenblum mate Kirsten Rose. Barbara Weisman is still very involved , too, and we‘re [email protected] so lucky to have four super-teachers: Scott Oremland, Eva Cohen and Lind- say Smith, and ―touch of Hebrew‖ teacher, Muriel Sterne. Jewish Cultural School Lisa Gardner-Springer In October, fun was had by all at the Sukkoth building party at Barbara [email protected] Weisman and Tom Wegner‘s home. JCS students always create great Sukkot Newsletter decorations! And everyone brought good food to share, including very cute Nancy Schwartz, Editor little carameled apples. [email protected] Every month, the Program Committee, chaired by Rich Sonenblum, provides www.oremet.org us with both educational and entertaining speakers for our Friday evening and Sunday morning programs, and the discussions at programs add to our Or Emet is affiliated with the Society for learning. Clearly, we are a community of thoughtful people. Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) and the International Institute for Secular It‘s great, too, that Arty Dorman and Laura Melnick have taken the helm of Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ). an invigorated Social Justice/Social Action Committee. (Have you returned your survey yet?)

Our membership is continuing to grow, and as it does, our new Membership & Outreach Committee chaired by Alex Schwartz and Dave Zukor is helping Congratulations to Margo Fox! to assure that as we grow, we continue to maintain the sense of belonging everyone at Or Emet feels. Margo recently was recognized in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Business Section on a AND have you noticed that: page honoring women leaders. Many know Margo as a community leader, a champion - The Illuminator looks great due to Nancy Schwartz. (And, of course, all of public education and lifelong learning, who contribute to it.) and a former Chair of the Saint Paul School Board; and we are so pleased she serves as President of Or Emet. Continued on page 3

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My Island Adventure (continued from Page 1)

On Saturday morning, at Kenesseth Israel, I arrived early, donned a taliss, which I took from a rack, and a yarmulke (skull cap) and prepared to enter the service. Things did not go well.. I opened the wrong door into the chapel! Men and women were seated separately, and I had opened a door that led to the woman‘s level, behind the men‘s level. There had been no sign, and I was quickly pointed in the right direction. The lower level was about half full of men and boys. I looked around at a fairly representative cross section of Jewish men: older and younger, well dressed and somewhat disheveled, bearded and clean shaven. All were davening away. The low rumble of the collected voices was straight from my past. The men were rocking, and I recognized, in an instant, where my habit of moving around while I read had come from. People arrived slowly and steadily, filling up the room, with a familiar odor wafting in the air.

I was amazed at the number of conversations that were occurring during the service; at times someone would ―Shh!‖ and everyone would go back to their davening for a while. In a short while, they would get back to their talking. There was NO English in the service. I was afraid to look back at the women‘s section. The bar mitzah boys read from the Torah, recited their prayers and totally impressed me with their dedication and knowledge. Their father gave a wonderful talk. I could appreciate his pride, and the pride of the rest of the congregation. All seemed so ―into it.‖ I could feel the sense of ―community,‖ and felt like an outsider (though I davened as well as I could after 50 years away).

I picked up the ―Shabbat newsletter.‖ The lead article was entitled, ―From the Rabbi.‖ I was amazed at the humanism he expressed. I read: ―To Judaism, religion doesn‘t begin with God; it begins with us.‖ He continues, ―Belief in God will emerge as a natural conclusion. The only belief we actually need to have in order to get started is a healthy and real belief in ourselves.‖ I wanted to ask him how he would respond to someone who did not reach this ―natural conclusion.‖ By the way, I committed another faux pas at the Oneg following the service. I wished a woman ―Shabbat Shalom,‖ and reached out to shake her hand. She withdrew quickly, looking at me angrily. I was told that I was not to have ―touched‖ a woman. I turned away sheepishly.

This month the British Supreme Court heard a case trying to answer the age old question, ―Who is a Jew?‖ A boy was rejected from admission to a Jewish school because his mother had been converted to Judaism by a non-orthodox rabbi, and the school claimed, therefore, he was not Jewish. The boy‘s family sued. The New York Times says, ―the case‘s im- portance was driven home by the sheer number of lawyers in the room‖ (including representatives from the British Hu- manist Association). The court will rule later this year. I asked the same question after my weekend experiences. Who IS a Jew, anyway? Who gets to decide? And, if I am stranded on an island with another Jew, I am going to vote for building an airport, not a synagogue, anyway.

President’s Message (continued from page 2)

- Rob Rossi, our webmaster, keeps improving our website. If you haven‘t already done so, do check out our new calendar. Just go to www.oremet.org. (And you should know that Mark Dahlager and Scott Landsman are poised to work with others on further website up-grades. Let them know if you’d like to help.)

- Our new book club will be starting up soon, thanks to Claire Press. To get involved, email Claire at [email protected]

Then, there‘s everyone who generously shares in bringing delicious refreshments to our gatherings.

The list goes on and on, and I haven‘t even mentioned those who so ably lead our services: all of the active committee members and program presenters; our Madrikh Harold Londer and our dedicated Executive Committee! It‘s pretty impres- sive when you think about it, isn‘t it? All that Or Emet brings to our lives. There‘s nothing quite as joyful to be thankful for than the ability and the opportunity to make a positive difference in this world, and through Or Emet, many are doing just that.

Thank you all for building and nurturing our wonderful community! Margo Fox, President

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Donations & Tributes Good Bye & Good Luck!

Our good friend and mem- * From Margo and David Fox to Rich Sonen- ber, Marisol Kondracki, left blum for his ―special birthday,‖ and in memory of in October for a Laura Melnick‘s father. * From Rollie Langer for the safe arrival of Harold new job in New York City. and Jan's new grandson * From Muriel Sterne in memory of her husband Marisol has chosen to re- Phil main a member of Or Emet * From the Lubka family in memory of Phil Griffin and would love to hear from members. She already has High Holiday Donations from: Janet Mayer and Paul Petzschke, Madeline Gartner, visited City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism Chernah Coblentz, Claire Press, and Paul Modell and plans to join there as well.

Other Contributions from: We will miss you Marisol, and wish you the best! Harold Londer, Martin Segal, Edna Bernstein, Rollie Langer, Arty Dorman, and Jack Stuart

Above, Sam Wegman, blows the shofar at Rosh Hashanah services. Below, Or Emet members gather near the Miller‘s home for a Tashlich service.

Above and below, Or Emet members gather at the Weisman- Wegman home for a celebration of Sukkot.

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Friday, November 20, 2009, 7:30pm, JCC Shabbat Service & Program: (Please note: this is a different than was published in the August newsletter) A Thanksgiving Appetizer—Enjoying ―Food for Thought‖ Presenter: David and Margo Fox

Sunday, December 6, 2009, 10:00am – Noon, (JCS until 12:30pm), Friends School of MN Program: Baruch Spinoza, Philosopher and Rationalist, Humanistic Jewish Role Model of the Year Presenter: Roger Jones, professor emeritus U of MN, school of physics and astronomy

Friday, December 18, 2009, 7:30pm, Minneapolis JCC Shabbat Service & Program: Fundamentalism – How to Respond Presenter: Richard Logan, Or Emet member. Retired Professor of Human Development, UW-Green Bay.

Friday, January 8, 2010, 7:30pm, Minneapolis JCC Shabbat Service & Program: Women in the Bible Presenter: Muriel Sterne, Or Emet member

Sunday, January 24, 2010, 10:00am – Noon, (JCS until 12:30pm), Friends School of MN Adult Program: "In the Shadow of the Acropolis", Jews and The Holocaust, Film and Discussion Presenter: Laura Zelle, Film‘s Executive Producer and Director of Tolerance Minnesota

** SHJ Field Visit ** Friday, February 19, through Sunday, February 21, 2010 Keep the weekend open! More information regarding this special event will be provided at a later date.

Sunday February 28, 2010, 10:00am – 12:30pm, St. Paul Council of Churches Purim Carnival

Friday, 12, 2010, 7:30pm, Minneapolis JCC Shabbat Service & Program: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, A New Perspective Presenter: Lionel Davis and Others. Or Emet members.

Sunday, March 21, 2010, 10:00am – Noon, (JCS until 12:30pm), Friends School of MN Adult Program: Biblical Routes to Humanism Presenter: Earl Schwartz. Professor in Hamline University's Religion Department and director of Hamline's Social Justice Program.

Saturday, April 3, 2010, 5pm, First Unitarian Society Passover Seder

Friday, April 16, 2010, 7:30pm, Minneapolis JCC Shabbat Service & Program: TBD

Sunday, April 25, 2010, 10:00am – Noon, (JCS until 12:30pm), Friends School of MN Adult Program: Klezmer music Presenter: Judith Eisner.

Events for May and June will provided in the next issue of The Illuminator.

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SHJ—Related News

Upcoming Field Visit—Your Assistance is Needed! One of the many benefits of our affiliation with the Society for Humanistic Judaism is that we are entitled to visits from their excellent professional staff. They help us with both functional matters and with insightful speakers. Rabbi Miriam Jer- ris will visit Or Emet the weekend of February 19-21, 2010. Details are currently being refined. If you would like to assist with planning her visit and weekend events, please contact Erica Fishman at [email protected]

Notes from the October Board Meeting As president of Or Emet, I serve on the Board of Directors of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ). The Board meets twice each year at the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanis- tic Judaism, established Birmingham Temple as the very first congregation for Humanistic Judaism. SHJ‘s offices are housed in the Temple‘s building. I hope that someday you‘ll each have the opportunity to visit there.

Notes from the meeting: - Or Emet was congratulated for the significant growth in our membership last year. It was, in fact, the largest percentage of growth in the country. - Many congregations are decreasing in membership. The Society is concerned about decreasing financial resources. Most of their income is based on membership of congregations (as you know, $85.00 from each of our dues goes to SHJ.) Also, SHJ is experiencing a downturn in the amount they receive from donations and foundations (which is a problem shared by most non-profit organizations in this economy.) - Each congregation will be asked to respond to a survey to learn its degree of satisfaction with its current leadership. For example, they want to know if we might consider hiring a rabbi, or any of the people who get degrees (as leaders, in music, as educators) from IISHJ (International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism)? - A few SHJ congregations have joined with the Coalition of Reason (which is something our executive committee has dis- cussed and determined that becoming involved would have both minuses and pluses. No doubt, you‘ll be hearing more about it.) - Each congregation will soon be receiving a music CD from SHJ. - The HuJews Retreat for teens and college students will be March 19-21 in Michigan. The theme this time will be ―Music Through Judaism.‖ Youth representatives on the SHJ board shared their enthusiasm for HuJews experiences and encour- aged congregations to help their youth to attend.

THE SURVEY IS COMING! THE SURVEY IS COMING! By Faith Oremland, Chair, SHJ Strategic Planning Committee

The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) wants to hear from you!

In honor of its 40th year, the SHJ is developing a new strategic plan. Help us drive our organization and the Secular Human- istic Jewish movement with your opinions. Help us determine our next steps as we begin our second forty years. Tell us what‘s important to YOU. We will be sending out a survey to ALL MEMBER HOUSEHOLDS early in January.

We need YOU to fill out the survey and return it directly to our survey team at APB Associates. To maintain members‘ anonymity, the Society will not see your responses and individual responses will not be reported. All the information re- ceived will be reported in the aggregate.

The last member survey was conducted more than 25 years ago. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TELL US YOUR OPINIONS. The strategic plan will be built upon the information we receive from the survey. In order to keep costs down, the survey will be sent out bulk mail. PLEASE watch for it in January and complete and return it as soon as possible.

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Or Emet

Hanukka Celebration!

This is a POTLUCK event Saturday, December 12, 5–8 pm ***** NEW LOCATION ***** St. Paul Area Council of Churches 1671 Summit Avenue (corner of Summit & Pierce) St. Paul, MN 55105

To sign up for the potluck, contact Barbara Weisman at [email protected].

◊ Havdallah Service ◊ Jewish Cultural School songs & puppet show ◊ Potato Latke Potluck ◊ ◊ Menorah Lighting ◊ Hanukka stories & dreidel games ◊

Member Contributions

Memorial she would always slip off quietly to her bedroom on Yom Kippur, close the door, open her worn old prayer book, and recite the Recently, I attended a secular humanistic Yom Kippur service at hoary words to honor the memory of her own parents, long gone Or Emet. I was surprised and pleased at how tolerable—even before I was born. satisfying—I found the whole affair. Naturally, there was no mention of God or anything specifically religious or spiritual. I reflected on what a blow it must have been to that family of nine The emphasis was on humanism, ethics and the hope for renewal brothers and sisters to lose in the short span from 1922 to 1924 as the year 5770 begins. Rather than the traditional emphasis on their beloved mother, their stern but generous father and their atonement for the sins and transgressions of the past, the liturgy deeply loved and respected eldest brother. My mother was in her focused on the future and those deeds that might improve the early 20s and newly married, yet still very close to her siblings, as world and the human condition. she remained all her life. She had been devoted to her parents— especially her mother, who was the unbreakable bond that held the One member of the congregation recounted the lifetime journey family together through all its travails, and after whom I was that had brought him to a secular and meaningful approach to named at birth 12 years later. How had they sustained it; how had Yom Kippur. Even the homily, given by the Madrikh or leader of they supported each other in their mutual grief? My mother often the group, shed new light on the traditional biblical passage for said that the whole family was in mourning for two solid years. this holiday, the story of Jonah and the whale. The Madrikh used the ancient story to illustrate, on the one hand, how difficult it is And now, I seemed to be looking back through my mother‘s eyes to accept miracles in our modern scientific age, and yet, on the at her parents, and in turn through the eyes of my grandparents at other hand, how much we are surrounded by miracles in nature their own beloved departed ones, and on and on… backwards and our everyday lives. through the years and through the countless generations of my ancestors, whom I shall never know and can scarcely imagine. Nevertheless, the service did preserve that traditional moment of memorial for the dead. The entire congregation arose to reflect For just a second in that meditation, I felt some intangible connec- silently on the many loved ones who are no longer with us. It was tion to my unknown and inconceivable heritage, and indeed to all a moment, of course, for me to recall my own parents—my fa- the humans of the distant past, and perhaps even to all ancient ther, gone almost 30 years, and especially my mother, who her- living things. It was a moment of sacred contact and connection. self always observed the special practice of reciting Kaddish, the And I realized that even in this secular world that I embrace, there prayer for the dead, every Yom Kippur. I thought back to her is a place for the ancient traditions and rituals of the past. yearly ritual. Despite her often careless observance of Jewish traditions—except of course, for her renowned Jewish cooking— —Roger S. Jones, 11 October 2009 7

Member Contributions—continued

A Life Well Led—In Memory of Zev Aelony By Harold Londer

Zev Aelony, a long time Or Emet member, and friend, passed away this month after a 4 year courageous battle with can- cer. Zev was a quiet, peaceful, family man whom we all grew to respect so much. We will miss him dearly.

Zev was born in Palo Alto, but came to Minneapolis as a young boy. While still in high school he was an activist, demon- strating against housing discrimination in Minneapolis affecting both Jews and blacks. He attended the University of Chi- cago (majoring in physics!), but went to Israel to live on a Kibbutz after about a year. He was interested in communal living. He read about a Christian community in , Koinonina, a multiracial experiment. As Zev told me one day, ―I read about their store being bombed, and I just knew I had to be there‖.

Zev was passionate about the civil rights cause. He traveled to the South, was arrested, beaten and jailed more than once. He was one of the original ‗,‖ testing new Federal laws mandating that all races be allowed to ride inter- state buses. He became nationally famous, as one of the ―Americus Four,‖ in 1963, when he was arrested in Americus, Georgia. He was charged under an 1871 Georgia statute with ―crossing a state line to incite an insurrection‖ and faced a death sentence. After 3 months in a Georgia jail, charges were eventually dropped after a vigorous legal appeal.

Zev continued his activist stance throughout his life, working on a multitude of human rights issues in the Twin Cities area. He was also quite active in the DFL party. Professionally, he was a manufacturer‘s ―rep,‖ selling security cameras and other similar products throughout the state.

Zev and his wife, Karen were married over 43 yrs, and lived in the same house, on Lyndale Avenue, in South Minneapo- lis, since 1978. They have four sons: Efrem, Jared (wife, Sarah), Bjorn (wife, Elizabeth), and Phil. Jared and Sarah have a daughter, Linnea, who was Zev‘s true pride! (I had the wonderful pleasure of co-officiating at their wedding).

Zev had many friends in the Twin Cities community. He loved to take walks in his neighborhood, and around Lake Har- riet. He was bright, hard working, dedicated to his family and human rights. You could listen to him for hours. His cour- age and spirit are models for all of us. He received a ―Certificate of Appreciation‖ from the Southern Poverty Law Center, for ―his important contribution to the ongoing fight against hatred and intolerance in America.‖ As the certificate states, Zev, we ―thank you for taking a stand.‖

The Akeda: A Commentary Rosh Hashanah 2009 Barry Cohen

My commentary on the Akeda this evening is about sacrifice and its meaning for a Humanistic ethos. What many of us find so frightful and disquieting in this Rosh Hashanah Torah Parsha is that Abraham, out of obedience to God and in a demon- stration of his faith would willingly sacrifice his son Isaac. George Segal, the American Jewish sculptor, captured well the Parsha‘s meaning in his memorial to the students of Kent State murdered by national guardsmen in May of 1970 during a Vietnam War protest. In Segal‘s powerful parable, Abraham dressed in modern garb and poised with a knife, like a street tough, is gazing down at Isaac who, head turned upward, is begging for his life. In Segal‘s allegory we yet and still, in blind obedience to authority, will sacrifice our children on their command. The Kent State Regents rejected his memorial, finding in Segal‘s sculpture a painful and subversive message that they could not abide. It was, they said, ―unpatriotic.‖

What then is the ethical meaning of sacrifice to us as Humanists. As principled human beings committed to equity, justice and human dignity, to treating others as we ourselves wish to be treated by them, we practice self-sacrifice. We will and have for our children and for our fellow human beings put our lives, health, safety and livelihood in peril. We do this not out - continued on page 9 -

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Member Contributions—continued

There Was Only One Holocaust The Akeda: A Commentary continued from page 8 st It was incredible to me, virtually on the 71 anniversary of Kristallnacht, to see protestors against health care, standing in of obedience to a god, to a politician, to a duke or a dictator. the shadow of our nation‘s Capitol with signs equating the We do this as a matter of choice, it is a free will offering of health care debate with the Holocaust. One sign read, ourselves for the welfare of others. I think of Jonas Salk who ―National Socialist Healthcare, Dachau, , 1945.‖ vaccinated himself with the polio vaccine before he would test Not only does this show the abysmal ignorance of such peo- it on tens of thousands of children of whom I was one. I think ple, but it‘s also an indication of how the horror of The Shoah of Mickey Shwerner, Andy Goodman and Jim Chaney my is fading over the decades. college contemporaries who gave there lives in the of 1964 for the rights of African American people to Kristallnacht, which was the national symbol for the uprising vote and determine their destiny. and pogrom which eventually led to the death of over six million Jews throughout , began with approval from In a study I was doing on gun and its prevention, I Hitler to Goebbels to begin the destruction which, in two days was trying to understand what lead people who had suffered commencing on November 9, 1938, led to the killing of gun violence to become movement leaders and activists. In nearly 100 Jews, the rounding up and concentration camp what were the most gut wrenching and yet most inspiring in- interment of 30,000, the desecration and destruction of 267 terviews of my career, parents who had lost a son or daughter synagogues, representing centuries of history in both Ger- in a meaningless killing- often a robbery or a gang fight- re- many and Austria, the looting of thousands of Jewish shops lated their experiences. These parents could have turned in- and businesses, and the burning of books by fanatics no less ward, lost themselves in personal grief, mourned for their chil- ignorant than those who rallied on our Capitol steps this fall. dren and gotten on with life as best they could. So why did they instead turn to make a public stand? Their message was Dachau, of course, had been liberated in January, 1945, so clear. They never wanted what happened to them, to ever hap- that its reference in the recent Washington rallies is merely pen to anyone else and they wanted to give meaning to their another indicia of intellectual ineptitude. Dachau was origi- child‘s death, they didn‘t want their child to have died in vain. nally designated as a ―concentration‖ camp, not one of the This is the Humanist ethos at work driving us from the role of ―extermination‖ camps. The fact that over 30,000 Jews were spectator to actor- to do the right thing and speak truth to exterminated there led to the eventual erection of a cremato- power whatever the personal cost. rium with several furnaces for the burning of bodies. Ini- tially, the murdered Jews had been buried in mass graves, Years later I heard that same message in the words of Cindy which swelled and burst forth during the warm summer Sheehan, mother of a young soldier who was killed in Iraq. As months, requiring them to be reburied, with the use of ma- you will recall, she camped outside of Bush‘s Crawford Texas chinery and other Jews to do the labor. To equate Dachau ranch to stay the hand of a President who was once more sacri- with ―health care‖ is a libel. ficing our children. She was no angel or messenger of God, just one of us who sacrificed her marriage, her personal sav- There was only ONE Holocaust, even though ―humanity‖ has ings and her privacy to stop the killing. In Mother Jones‘ endured numerous genocides in the 20th century, it was the words- pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living. one designed extermination carried out so thoroughly, so ruthlessly, so efficiently, and so well documented by the as- Our sacrifices are born by empathy, altruism, the drive for a sassins, that it stands alone in the annals of mankind as an life of meaning and purpose, not by claims upon us by author- atrocity without equal. In Europe alone, World War II took ity or a higher power-we will not destroy our children or look the lives of over 12 million, not just the Jews who perished in for a scapegoat to stand in for them. And what is extraordinary, that annihilation attempt. It is an unparalleled blot on not we as Humanists have the vision and the compassion to make humanity, but inhumanity. these sacrifices. We honor a covenant with those who have gone before us, with each other today and, in the tradition of That anyone, in their zealotry for a cause, can equate the American Indian people, with those who will follow us seven events of the Holocaust with any social issue – particularly generations hence, to leave this a better world than we found. one which seeks to save lives, to give health care to those We honor and celebrate life – in this I find hope for humanity without and place this nation on an equal footing with every and for our future. As we celebrate the new year let us rededi- other industrialized country, bespeaks ignorance on such a cate ourselves to all that we value, believe and cherish and massive scale that it should immediately disqualify the person stand ready to sacrifice when necessary to do the right thing. seeking to support a cause, from any credibility. And those who condone such conduct, whether merely citizens or gov- ernment officials, are no less guilty.

Alan Miller (Alan teaches a course on Holocaust/Genocide studies at Inver Hills Community College)

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- BARUCH SPINOZA - PHILOSOPHER AND RATIONALIST, Interfaith Resources! AND HUMANISTIC JEWISH ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR InterfaithFamily is a non-profit online resource for interfaith families exploring Jewish choices. Sunday, December 6, 2009 Their resources include more than 2000 articles 10 am to noon written by, for, and about interfaith families, in- Friends School of MN cluding discussions of some difficult topics Join us as we host this timely presentation by around growing up in an interfaith Jewish family. Dr. Roger Jones, professor emeritus of the 's School of Physics They recently re-launched their website with and Astronomy. tools to help users personalize their experience and build communities online and in person, and Dr. Jones will discuss the reasons behind the we'd love to have you join and list yourself as a ex-communication and condemnation of Ba- member of Or Emet. ruch Spinoza in 1656 by the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam, and the historical The website is: and philosophical consequences of those www.interfaithfamily.com events.

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