Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 January 2003 — Page 23

January 22. 2003 NA T11 Jews By Choice Milk, Honey & Vinegar Views of tWO faiths Where children go hungry

By MARY HOFMANN One of my several professional hats is that of reviewer of books written for adolescents, my reviews appearing in several library publica-

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tions. While I read and review a wide variety of books, my primary areas of expertise seem to be non-fiction books dealing with health care and religious issues. I recently had an interesting experience reading two books in Facts on Files' "Faith in America" series, one on the Islamic faith and the other on Judaism. Taking a unique and worthwhile - though difficult to maintain - perspective focusing on faith over culture, the "Faith in America" series seems to be an attempt to describe religious faiths as ex-

By RABBI SAMUEL SILVER Time Magazine used to have a Man of the Year. Later, it was changed to Person of the Year.

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But this time it's the Female Trio of the Year. They spotlighted "Whistleblowers," three women who disclosed hanky panky in the FBI, in Enron, and in World Com. How do you say whistleblower in Yiddish? The Forward called

pressed in a country unique in its emphasis on religious freedom. In "Jewish Faith in America," a rabbi writes an excellent introduction, concisely describing a complex religion's origins and beliefs. The seven chapters, written by Shelley Buxbaum, cover Jewish arrivals in America, how the religion adapted and changed due to society's impact, and conversely, how Judaism has influenced American culture, social issues, and politics. Final chapters highlight famous American Jews and look to the religion's future in this country. The book on Islam, written by James Beverley, who has credentials in Islamic study, takes less an insider's view. He reacts to current political turmoil involving Islam. The introduction does describe the faith itself, and chapters somewhat parallel the organization in the Buxbaum book, but Beverley found it impossible (not surprisingly) to separate the religion from the terrorism and international political furor involving it.

them "antalyerins." That's an unusual word. It sounds like "participants." But perhaps some reader can clarify. Yiddish for bonding In the Algetueiner journal Rabbi Moshe Kaiman addresses readers with a request: give your children education yvhich includes the Yiddish language. Yiddish has a fine literature, and the language connects us with the generations of yore. Those who know Yiddish acquire a bond with the millions who were slain only because they were Jewish. Most of them spoke Yiddish. So should more Jews. Reaching out Inspired by the late rebbe, the Lubavitcher movement has an outreach program called Nitzavim. In the Algemeiner

Certainly savvy readers will gain insight into many aspects of our current situation while gaining an appreciation of the religions themselves. While much has been written on both faiths and on both cultures, few have attempted to focus on the faith aspect while illuminating the cultures. I'm not sure either succeeded, though the book on Judaism came much closer. The book on Islam was more an apologia than an objective description, attempting all the while to be fair. I wonder how many readers of books such as these actually peruse both — especially since the politics of these faiths, if not the faiths themselves, represent opposing poles in the international scene. If these were aimed at adult audiences and savvy readers did compare them, I can't imagine anyone walking away not struck by the differences in focus — differences that could help illuminate much that is going on both in the United States and overseas.

journal, Josef Dahne tells how he and his wife are engaged in the effort to urge Jews to become "more Jewish" and to urge non-Jews to observe the so-called Noahide laws which call for decent behavior. One day in New York he persuaded a Jewish man to put on tefillin. His wife gave a Jewish woman some Sabbath candles. He described the Noahide program to a nonJewish man who seemed quite interested. He reprints the rebbe's tenpoint mitzvah campaign. 1. Love every Jew. 2. Ensure a Torah education for every Jewish child. 3. Study some Torah every day. 4. Inspect mezuzah regularly. 5. Put on tefillin daily. 6. Give some charity evContinned on page 14

By JUDY CARR I woke up late one night and heard from the transistor radio on my pillow: "Children need food. Without food they will not grow, they will not be soldiers for the army." A man was speaking. That is why the work of the readers who are sending me checks for food for hungry children is so valuable. 1 very dollar is a bit of food. Nothing is too small. What about the parents, the adults? Do they go without themselves and feed the children first? I hear that the parents are having such a battle surviving that they do not deal with the needs of the children. There was a disturbing newspaper report about children in Netanya schools terrorizing smaller children for money so that they could buy

By ARNOLD AGES Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds. By Stephen Kinzer. Farrar Straus & Giroux. 252 pages. $14.00. Three Turkish nouns, devlat, raki, ntei/hane, and one name, Ataturk, are indispensable for an understanding of modern Turkey. That's the view of Stephen Kinzer of The New York Times in this book published in 2001 but which looms ever more important as Turkey binds its patriotic wounds after having been rejected as a partner in the European Union and as it questions its role in a projected American attack on Iraq. Devlat is the mystical concept of the "state," to which Turks pay homage, respect, and honor. Raki is the national liquor of Turkey (in a Muslim land where such drinks are proscribed by religion!), a potent distilled beverage which produces a murkiness of thought comparable to the obscurities of Turkish politics, and mei/hane is the bistro-like taverns where Turks while away their days smoking tobacco-water pipes

food. Netanya is where Boaz Caspi is operating — trying to find more money for sandwiches for school children. Perhaps some of the children get one meal a day, apart from the sandwich. Many will not get even that. If you send money to Boaz Caspi, he warned that he does not reply promptly with a receipt because he is snowed under with work - and no wonder. A horrendous situation. And likely to gel worse with more bereaved from terrorist strikes and the shutdown in the economy that will result from war. It is horror piled on horror. So all our thanks go to readers who contribute. judi/ Carr may be reached at POB 6431, Tel Aviv 61 063 Israel.

and engaging in quiet conversation. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (who dropped his first name because it sounded too Arabic) was the founder of the modern Turkish state in 1923. Although his mother destined him to be a Koran reader, the young Ataturk, skeptical in matters religious, chose the military instead. In the first World War he became the country's only authentic hero when he led his soldiers at Galipoli and defeated the best soldiers that Winston Churchill could dispatch to what became a graveyard for Commonwealth troops. Returning to Turkey after the war, Ataturk set out to reconfigure the entire Turkish state by dragging it into the 20th century. This required the secularization of what had been an official Islamic country (and the interdiction of head scarves for women and the fez for men), the replacement of Arabic script by a Latin one for the written Turkish language, the founding of modern universiContinued on page 14

Digest of the Yiddish Press Homage to antalyerins

Book Reviews Teetering on the brink of regression to despotism