Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 6 July 1979 — Page 4

y 6, 1979 The Jewish Post and Opii

II

The Service Center Do you have a problem involving moving to another community—where are the synagogues, the Jewish schools, etc. Would you want to know who to contact to meet a need in the Jewish com munity or for yourself? In fact, any question-that has a Jew ish angle will be answered by The Service Center Write to The Jew ish Post and Opinion at fill N. Park Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 46204 or 101 Fifth Ave., New York lOOOJ You may even inquire about a Jew ish book, a Jewish play, recording, etc Or even it a certain individual is Jewish

Jewish Fencers Excel In NCAA

Rabinovich Recaptures Title

I.MFOHM \TIO\ SOI (.m ON RICHMOND. IN. I am considering a possible employment position in the Richmond, IN area. My wile and I would like to know it there are any Jewish communities located either between Richmond and Indianapolis or between Richmond and Dayton, Ohio or anywhere else proximal to Richmond. We would also appreciate knowing the names, addresses and phone numbers ol people we can contact in these areas, the sizes ol the Jewish congregations, and any Jewish real estate agents whom we can contact. Your prompt reply would be appreciated. -Barton Needle. 247-20 82 St., Bellerose, N.Y. 11426. Richmond has approximately 20 Jewish families, and has its own congregation — Temple Beth Boruk. served by a student rabbi from Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. Dayton is 40 miles from Richmond. Cincinnati 60 and Indianapolis 75. You may contact Mrs. Bertram Glazer in Richmond at 219-962-4155 for additional information, and the real estate agent, Betsy Jaffe at 219-962-5008. There are no intervening Jewish communities between the three cities, but a few Jews living in all the small towns. What Poll Returns Could Be Showing

Wallman

NEW YORK — There was little solace in the results of a poll under the auspicies of the Technion Honors Henry Ford II NEW YORK - Not to be outdone by the Hebrew University which honored the administrative head of General Motors, the American Technion Society has announced that Henry Ford II will be guest of honor at its annual national dinner here on Sept. 26. Brandeis University has recently divested (P—O, June 15) itself of $400,000 in bonds of the Ford Motor Co. in protest against activities of the company in South Africa, and $500,000 in General Motors bonds.

American Jewish Committee which showed that in case of a war between Israel and Egypt, 37 per cent of Americans would support Israel. Although only 14 per cent would support Egypt, when this percentage is added to the 24 per cent who would support neither, a plurality would be either against Israel or for non-interference. The remaining 25 per cent were unsure. The poll was conducted by Yankelovich, Skelly and White, the firm which has been making periodic polls for the Jewish organization. Asked about supporting Israel or the other Arab nations, there was more reassurance as 47 per cent would support Israel and only 11 per cent the other Arab countries.

B\ SIIFIJION \\ \! I.M YN Possibly it's a carry over from the days when Joshua fought thi' battle of Jericho, but whatever the reason the ,1 e w i s h presence was strongly felt at the NCAA Kencing ('hampion-

ships.

Yuri Rabin-

ovich arrived in the United States from the Ukraine in 1974 and one year later represented Wayne State U. in the Sabre event at the NCAA and took first place. After finishing second in 1976 and 1977 he sat out 1978 as a redshirt. Yuri returned to the arena this year, compiled a 40:2 record, and went on to regain the NCAA championship, defeating two-time defending champ. Mike Sullivan of Notre Dame, in a fence-off. Paul Friedberg, a soph at the U. of Pennsylvania from Baltimore, Md., was 33:3 for the season and finished third in the Sabre. At last year’s NCAA, Paul had a strong eighth place finish as

a frosh.

IN THE EPEE competition. Peter Schifrin of San Jose U. finished third, failing to improve on a similar finish last year. Coming in fourth was another Soviet emigre, Leonid Dervbinsky of NYU, w'ho was ninth last year. Continuing the tournament’s Soviet flavor. Vladimir Zlobinsky of Columbia placed 19th. Vladimir left Kiev with his father in 1976 and went to Israel. They settled in Kir-On and Vladimir later came to Columbia as an exchange student. He had a 24:4 season’s record and was named first team all-Ivy League. Jack Wiener of Brooklyn College was 22th,

Flashbacks In Jewish History

What Rabbi Rertinoro Found In Jerusalem

By RABBI A.P. BLOCH July 12, 1487 — Rabbi Oba diah Bertinoro, famous Mishnah commentator, arrived in Naples on tb"' way to Palestine. Medieval pilgrimages to Palestine were fraught with great danger. Many a pious pilgrim, consumed by desire to die in the Holy Land, was never granted his wish. Death by drowning or at Bloch ^ hands of pirates took a heavy toll. A predecessor of Bertinoro, Rabbi Elijah Ferrara, had left Italy on a similar pilgrimage in 1434 with two sons and a grandson. He arrived alone, the rest having perished on the way. BERTINORO was 36 years old when he left his rabbinic

post in Gastello. He was greatly respected for his talmudic scholarship and his fame had spread to many lands. The comforts of home and the promise of a brilliant career could not keep him from embarking upon the hazardous journey. He was deeply troubled, however, by the fact that he was leaving an aging and ailing father behind. The father was not alone. A younger brother remained in Italy. Still his conscience bothered him and marred the ecstacy and joy of seeing Jerusalem. Bertinoro poured out his heart in a letter written a year later. “My departure has caused you sorrow and trouble and I am inconsolable... When I remember that I have forsaken your gray hairs I cannot refrain from tears ... I am denied the happiness of being able to serve you as i ought, for God has decreed our separation...”

Even across the span of five centuries one cannot help being stirred by the moving confession of a loving son. Posterity has every reason to condone the separation because Bertinoro’s letters to his father are invaluable sources of the history of Jerusalem in the last decade of the 15th century. IT WAS MARCH 25, 1488, when Bertinoro arrived in Jerusalem. The city’s total population was 4,000 families, but only 70 of them were Jewish. Of that small number, the majority were widows. “There is hardly a family that is not in want of the commonest necessities,” Bertinoro wrote, “one who has bread for a year is called rich.” Most Jewish homes had fallen into ruins because no Jew may repair his home without permission. “A permission costs more than the whole house is worth. ”

YURI RABINOVICH ...on top again while Ben Naitove of Yale was 36th. In the Foil segment. Rich Pantel, a senior at Princeton from Somerville, N.J. was fourth, his best finish ever. Steve Dickman, a senior at North Carolina State from Rockaway, N.J. was ninth after finishing 15th last year. Don Budofsky of Cornell placed 18th, Dave Jablons of Yale v\as 2<Uh, frosh Joe

Wolf.son of Penn was 21st and peter Lewison of Baruch came in 32nd. II \ROI.I) LEBOW. an AllAmerican at the l ! . of Maryland and No. 6 in the Foil event at the 1977 Maccabiah. is now a member of the Israeli national fencing team. He is currently touring Europe with his Israeli teammates and is more than holding his own against the best fencers on the continent. Harold is expected to fence for Israel at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. * * * Greenberg Is All-American In most sports, Johns Hopkins U. is strictly smalltime. but in lacrosse, they are UCLA and Notre Dame rolled into one. Their defensive lion, Mark Greenberg, a junior from Pikesville, Md., has been named to the first-team AllAmerican lacrosse squad. At the NCAA championship game against Maryland, spectators agreed that Mark was the major difference between the two teams. He was honored recently at the AllAmerican Lacrosse Dinner with a trophy naming him as the best defensive player of 1979.

The Vineyard Fence employee, that of “re’im”

Rabinowitz

Portion of the Week: Balak Numbers 22.2-25.9. The verse

discussed is 22.24.

By L.I. RABINOWITZ I was the recipient of a telephone call. The caller asked

for my confirmation of a Biblical law which had affected him. He had been on a hike in the country and, passing through a vineyard, he had helped him-

self to a bunch of ripe grapes. The owner of the vineyard spotted him and accused him of theft and demanded compensation. Was he justified? MY INQUIRER had a dis tant recollection of a Biblical verse which according to him permitted a passerby through a vineyard to help himself to the fruit as long as he did not collect it to carry away. “I’m sorry,” I replied, “to tell you that the vineyard owner was right and you were wrong. It is true that the Bible states “When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure, but thou shall not put any in thy vessel.” (Deut. 23.23) However the Oral Law, which is an integral part of Jewish law lays it down that it refers only to the worker employed in the vineyard and not to any casual passerby. Incidentally this is a lovely reflection on the relationship which should exist between employer and

friends and pals. And just as the Bible forbids the muzzling of an ox while it is threshing (Deut. 25.4). So it allows the agricultural laborer to help himself to the grapes or to any other fruit (see next verse) while he is working in the vineyard or the orchard. THERE IS a vague but interesting reference in this week’s portion to the fact, which is so often overlooked, that an orchard or a vineyard is private property and helping oneself to its produce is tantamount to theft no less than burglary from a house. The ass on which the heathen prophet Balaam was riding went through “a path in the vineyard with a fence on either side” and the path was so narrow that Balaam crushed his leg against the

fence (22.11).

On the Friday previous to receiving this question I had gone horseriding through an orchard in Beit Zayit and discovered a new path in the forest which I decided to explore the following Friday. When I reached it however, the gate which had been invitingly open the previous Friday was now locked, and I was forced to return by the way I came instead of the circular route I had mapped out for myself. Disgruntled I turned back — and met the owner of the orchard. “Why have you closed the gate?” I asked him. And he replied, “Can’t you see that the fruit is ripening? I don’t want any pil-

ferers”...