Reform: The CCAR has determined that the medi- Sh'ma cal definition of death shall be deemed sufficient, this being a medical question. However, more im- portant than the exact definition itself, the CCAR a journal of jewish responsibility has declared, is concept of plurality and mutual 19/370, MARCH 17, 1989 recognition between Orthodox and non-Orthodox. Therefore, the CCAR has declared that it will not accept as dead anyone so declared by an Orthodox rabbi unless that Rabbi will recognize a Reform declaration of death. The Reform rabbinate is hopeful of avoiding a divisive and prolonged debate over the who is a dead Jew bill pending in the Knesset. Conservative: There are those who accept the med- ical definition (brain death), while there are others qeipeieH update: two bio-ethics problems who feel this may be too lenient and thus require Kenneth S. Goldrich the traditional termination of all heart and respira- tory functions. In a spirit of compromise, the RA Surrogate motherhood. While rabbis from all has decided that in even years the brain death defi- three denominations have denounced the practice as nition will be accepted, while in odd years the tra- being dehumanizing, there is still a need to deter- ditional definition will apply. Local rabbis will mine if a child born of a surrogate mother is, in decide for their own congregations whether to use fact, Jewish. the secular or Jewish calendar to determine which Reform: The Reform movement has determined year is which. that as long as any one of the four "parents" (the Orthodox: The Orthodox rabbinate has over- natural father and his wife, or the surrogate mother whelmingly (though not unanimously) determined and her husband) is Jewish, and if, when the child that the issue needs much more study and for emer- begins to eat solid foods he prefers bagels or rye gent problems suggests you contact your local Or- bread to white bread, then the child can be consid- thodox rabbi. However, they warn that if you have ered Jewish. a heart transplant, you should thereafter refrain Conservative: The Rabbinical Assembly has stated from saying the words "b'chol le vavchah—with all that if a majority of the four "parents" are Jewish, your heart" —in the Sh'ma since it is no longer and if at least one of the families is a dues-paying your heart. member in good standing of a Conservative syna- gogue, then the child is Jewish. A minority opinion has held that if the natural father is a synagogue The gragger, rabbenu gedaliah, returns board member, then only two of the four parents Gershon Schwartz need be Jewish. QUESTION: I am a recently ordained pulpit rabbi. Orthodox: The Orthodox rabbis of the Rabbinical Among my many duties, I entertain congregants Council of America have been reluctant to issue a quite often—on Shabbat, holidays, the Pesah Se- decisive ruling until the Agudas HaRabbonim issue ders etc. My accountant advises me that I may le- their decision. However, assuming that under some gally deduct entertainment expenses for these meals circumstances the child may be Jewish, they are on Schedule "C" of my tax return. I am reluctant to studying what the child's proper role will be in the do so for fear that I will be reducing the mitzvah Temple after the coming of the Messiah in the value by receiving a reward in return. Can you ad- event that one or more of the four "parents" is a vise me? Cohen or Levi. ANSWER: Your sensitivities are quite good, and I Heart transplants. Pikuach nefesh, preservation of commend you for them. Long ago, our sages ad- life, is generally the overriding mitzvah, and heart vised sekhar mitzvah mitzvah (the deduction taken transplants are thus looked upon with favor. How- for a luncheon should not exceed the allowable de- ever, a sticky issue exists as to when the donor is preciation for books and pulpit robes from line 25, considered dead and the heart can be removed. schedule "C"). However, later poskim have mod- KENNETH S. GOLDRICH is an attorney practic- GERSHON SCHWARTZ is rabbi of the Jewish ing in Paramus, N.J. Center of Bay shore, N. Y. f 65 ified this rule. For instance, Rabbi Mai B. Rebeet, Inserts for the Traveler's Prayer the "Yuppisher Rav," maintains that eilu devarim she-ein lahem shiur ("These are the things for Afghanistan —Kabul-at Shabbat. which you will probably not be audited") refers not Argentina —Malvina Malkeinu. only to the specific list in Mishnah Pesah 1:1 but Austria — Vienna-nu Tir'ena. also to a series of later items including yeshiva tu- Canada — v'natan lanu et Toronto. ition, a personal computer, and checks made out to Cuba —Havana shalom aleikhem. your Shul for supermarket scrip, Shabbos wine,and Ecuador —Hodu lashem Quito. Pesah candy. The Yuppisher Rav is also purported France —borei Paree hagafen. to have allowed charitable contributions to Conser- Italy —Rome-mu hashem. vative and Reform synagogues, but this is based on Italy & France —Rome v'Nice-a. the testimony of a woman and should not be Japan —Shehecheyanu v'Kimono. trusted. Jordan —V'nomar Amman. Mexico —Ki hu yom Tequilla. Northwest USA — Yisrael v-Ore-Ida chad hu. QUESTION: I am a T-rah-True Jew, attempting to Paraguay —Birkat Amazon. live Yahadus to the letter of the L-w. On my last Peru —u'rvu. visit to Israel, it occurred to me that many modern Ukraine —Kiev-iakha el ha'aretz. Hebrew words end in y-h, which is a D-vine name. Yemen —Yemen hashem osah chayil. Examples are sufganih-h (doughnut), mitriy-h (um- (Jack Moline, Alexandria, Va.) brella) and qufiy-h (undershirt). May a T-rah-True Jew like me write or pronounce such words without taking the name of -o- in vain? Sh'ma ANSWER: Your love of T-rah is surpassed only by a journal of Jewish responsibility your lack of knowledge! While it is true that Y-h is Editor Eugene B. Borowitz one of the 7 holy names of G-d which may not be Administrator Alicia Seeger erased, the Hebrew name has a mappik (a gram- Production TypeLink, Inc. matical dot placed in a final heh). In correct Contributing Editors Michael Berenbaum, Rachel Biale, J. David Hebrew, this name of G-d should be pronounced Bleich, Balfour Brickner, Mitchell Cohen, Steven M. Cohen, Samuel H. with an aspirant heh, and you will hear a knowl- Dresner, Arnold Eisen, Leonard Fein, Blu Greenberg, Susan Handelman, edgeable baal tefillah pronounce it thus. Words like Paula Hyman, Nora Levin, Aaron Levine, Rela Geffen Monson, David sufqaniyah do not have a mappik in the heh. In the Novak, Harold Schulweis, Steven Schwarzschild, Elie Wiesel, Arnold strictest sense, then, there is no need to worry Jacob Wolf, Michael Wyschogrod. about confusion. Sh'ma welcomes articles from diverse points of view. Hence, the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the editors. Donations to Sh'ma Inc. are tax-deductible. Sh'ma is However, our tradition teaches us aseh siyyaq la- available in microform from University Microfilms Internat'l., Torah (fence around the Torah to make it a safer Ann Arbor, Mi. Torah). Therefore, many T-rah-True Jews today Unsigned articles in this issue are by the Editor. would, as a precaution, avoid using such words. I would suggest the following: First, in translitera- Long book reviews appear quarterly; shorter ones regularly. Unsigned reviews are by the Editor. tions, drop the final "h." For example, sufqaniya. This would avoid some of the confusion. Address all correspondence, subscriptions and change of address notices to Box 567, Port Washington, N.Y. 11050. FAX: 516-767-9315. Second, and much more important, you should join Sh'ma (ISSN 0049-0385) is published bi-weekly except June, the ever-growing number of Hebrew Revisionists July and August, by Sh'ma Inc. Regulatory "Office of who are rejecting the secularization of Hebrew that Publication," 275 Main Street, Port Washington, N.Y. 11050. was begun by Ben Yehuda, carried on by Ben Gur- Subscription $22 for two years in U.S. and Canada; $12 a year ion, and popularized by Ben Zvi. These Revision- overseas. Ten or more to one address, $6 each year. Retired or handicapped persons of restricted means may subscribe at half ists are creating a new Hebrew vocabulary to price. replace the questionable words of the past: Thus, mitriya becomes a shirem; sufqaniya becomes Copyright © 1989 by Sh'ma Inc. qebeks; and qufiya is kaftl. I would suggest that on POSTMASTER: Please forward Form 3579 to Box 567, Port your next visit to Israel you spend more time in the Washington, N.Y. 11050. T-rah-True communities of Judea and Samaria, Second class postage paid at Port Washington, N.Y. and at where these new words have become especially additional entry Bethpage, N.Y. popular. MARCH 17,1989 f 66 I The Supersonic Boomitzvah cheka birchot shamayim me-al— May the Almighty bless you with blessings from the heavens above" Simeon J. Maslin (Genesis 49:25). Gone are the days when one was impressed by bar 11:30 A.M.—With the conclusion of the service, mitzvah safaris to Kenya. Granted that the Brian the Air France staff will commence lunch service Moscowitz affair back in 1979 gave new meaning with a magnificent chef's salad. Roquefort dressing to the word aliyah when Mr. Moscowitz, standing is not included in the charter price of $299,995.00, at the base of a giant baobab, thought that he spot- so there will be a twenty-five cent charge for it.