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Aug
11
"Catch-22 for Jewish Democrats"
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
From today’s Cleveland Jewish News.
But I’m not going to say anymore.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:20 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
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Aug
11
Israel PM agrees to cease-fire; double Shabbat Shalom
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It’s a double mitzvah to have sex on Shabbat. I wonder what you get in the book of life for agreeing to a cease-fire, not just as a mitzvah, but for doing it on Shabbat.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:46 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Aug
11
Thoughts for Shabbat
Filed Under Politics | 2 Comments
When I got asked to be in the inaugeral class of leadership fellows at my synagogue, I tried to bow out – twice. They have the wrong person, I thought. I didn’t even know, after being a Jew all my life, living in Israel, speaking Hebrew, teaching children Sunday school, whether you say Good Shabbos only on Friday night or also on Saturday, and whether you can say Shabbat Shalom on Saturday but not on Friday (I still don’t know).
I’ve tried a few different things on this blog that I wanted to keep going from week to week and none of them have stuck. But, like bumping my nose into the glass door repeatedly because my brain is too stubborn to perceive the pain my body felt, I’m going to try to wind up each Friday with some thoughts, including a link to the Parsha – or Torah portion – of the week.
I do feel the need to note that while there is no real “Jewish” blog in NEO, and there are Jews who blog and blog about Jewish stuff, and of course there are bloggers who discuss the Middle East, this weekly post does not suffice as a “Jewish blog” in terms of education – I just don’t have enough learned scholarship. But I figured I’d link to things that I refer to, to help me see what others are learning, or trying to learn from. That’s about all I can offer – and a place, as always, to ask questions. Don’t come looking for answers though, unless you like the Socratic method, which requires more questioning.
So, as the sun’s lower place in the sky warms my outdoor thermometer to over 100 degrees, I’m thinking of the bumper sticker I saw in a parking lot today, “At Least When Clinton Lied, No One Died.” If I was cool with bumper stickers, I can imagine having that one on my car.
I’m also thinking about the focus on the timing of everything surrounding the alleged airplane bombing plans and what value will this focus serve? As I commented on Scott Bakalar’s blog, is there any date and time that would be free from scrutiny when you’re talking about such details? Maybe. I don’t know. And I’m having a hard time seeing how it matters. Seems to me that sooner is preferable to later, that’s about all.
I’m thinking about a post on Right Angle Blog that continues to push the issue as to whether US Congressman from Ohio and Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland is gay. Crazy – just crazy – what people care more about these days.
I’m thinking about something I don’t want to talk about because I’ve done enough of it already and no it’s not breast cancer or Joe Lieberman.
I’m thinking about how much I love to write without putting in hyperlinks.
And finally, I’m thinking about how hard it would be, will be, to learn more in my religion when it comes to the textual basis of the religion, because of the depth of learning I’d have to do. It’s daunting, though, not really unwelcome.
For example, I wanted a quick reference to what this Shabbat’s Torah Portion, or parsha, is about. But the thing is, the Torah portions rotate in a three year cycle, so the entire section of one parsha is never read in one year – it’s split between three years. Then, there is always a haftorah portion that goes along with the Torah portion. And I’m still not clear on why we have that and exactly which books it comes from.
So, if anyone wants to try and figure it out, or at least get a smattering of what Jews might be thinking about, based on the Torah, this Shabbat, check here. I’ve read most of the links and the main issues seem to be commandments, covenants and converts. As Jeff Hess coincidentally posted just a short while ago, Aish Ha’Torah is kind of orthodox and into getting people into the fold and then showing them a more orthodox way of life. I’m not a fan of that. But it is an excellent organization when it comes to basic education around Judaism.
Finally, I’m revelling in a small victory and change in our family life. For the first time since I lived in Israel, over 20 years ago now, I’m going to attend Friday night services this evening, and I’m extremely excited.
I grew up in a small, Reform (NOT reformed, folks, REFORM) synagogue. Our sanctuary was a converted barn. The rabbi had a beard, a guitar and very informal clothing. We were the hippie congregation in New Haven. NOT somewhere Joe Lieberman would ever be seen. Certainly not back then, when Reform was just disavowing their previous disavowal of Zionism.
We rarely went to Saturday services because…well, I’m not really sure. But until I was about five or six, we’d belonged to an extremely formal Conservative shul. Men and women separated, very formal, black attire and so on. My parents did not like it and we moved to a different congregation. This was around 1967 or 68.
I loved my Reform shul. It’s had only two rabbis – and both are guitar-playing clergy.
Often, there weren’t enough people interested in Saturday morning, so Friday nights – with the Oneg Shabbat – where you have wine or juice and pastries – were much more familial, friendly and festive, with music and warmth. And, for anyone following my Bar Mitzvah blog, those photocopied prayer books.
And that’s what I remember: informal, intimate, pleasurable.
Now that I’m on the board of my synagogue here, I have to attend services of some type at least 75% of the year. Since I don’t know how to pray the morning, afternoon or evening services and barely know Shabbat, this is a challenge for me. In my mind, I figured, starting with Friday nights would be the easiest and least embarassing.
And so, with this weekend offering me the opportunity to say exactly what I want to do and being granted those wishes, I spoke up and said, I want to do Friday night services. I’d been hearing that, in the summer, the Friday services are lovely and informal and family friendly. And I want my children to get that experience.
So, my husband has, as you would do in Israel and some parts of the U.S., left his office in time to prepare dinner and the home for the Shabbat meal, after which we will go to shul. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but then again, I’m figuring, since it’s my first time in 20 years, how bad could it be?
Shabbat Shalom.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:04 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Aug
11
"Catch-22 for Jewish Democrats"
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
From today’s Cleveland Jewish News.
But I’m not going to say anymore.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:20 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Aug
11
Israel PM agrees to cease-fire; double Shabbat Shalom
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
It’s a double mitzvah to have sex on Shabbat. I wonder what you get in the book of life for agreeing to a cease-fire, not just as a mitzvah, but for doing it on Shabbat.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:46 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Aug
11
When I got asked to be in the inaugeral class of leadership fellows at my synagogue, I tried to bow out – twice. They have the wrong person, I thought. I didn’t even know, after being a Jew all my life, living in Israel, speaking Hebrew, teaching children Sunday school, whether you say Good Shabbos only on Friday night or also on Saturday, and whether you can say Shabbat Shalom on Saturday but not on Friday (I still don’t know).
I’ve tried a few different things on this blog that I wanted to keep going from week to week and none of them have stuck. But, like bumping my nose into the glass door repeatedly because my brain is too stubborn to perceive the pain my body felt, I’m going to try to wind up each Friday with some thoughts, including a link to the Parsha – or Torah portion – of the week.
I do feel the need to note that while there is no real “Jewish” blog in NEO, and there are Jews who blog and blog about Jewish stuff, and of course there are bloggers who discuss the Middle East, this weekly post does not suffice as a “Jewish blog” in terms of education – I just don’t have enough learned scholarship. But I figured I’d link to things that I refer to, to help me see what others are learning, or trying to learn from. That’s about all I can offer – and a place, as always, to ask questions. Don’t come looking for answers though, unless you like the Socratic method, which requires more questioning.
So, as the sun’s lower place in the sky warms my outdoor thermometer to over 100 degrees, I’m thinking of the bumper sticker I saw in a parking lot today, “At Least When Clinton Lied, No One Died.” If I was cool with bumper stickers, I can imagine having that one on my car.
I’m also thinking about the focus on the timing of everything surrounding the alleged airplane bombing plans and what value will this focus serve? As I commented on Scott Bakalar’s blog, is there any date and time that would be free from scrutiny when you’re talking about such details? Maybe. I don’t know. And I’m having a hard time seeing how it matters. Seems to me that sooner is preferable to later, that’s about all.
I’m thinking about a post on Right Angle Blog that continues to push the issue as to whether US Congressman from Ohio and Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland is gay. Crazy – just crazy – what people care more about these days.
I’m thinking about something I don’t want to talk about because I’ve done enough of it already and no it’s not breast cancer or Joe Lieberman.
I’m thinking about how much I love to write without putting in hyperlinks.
And finally, I’m thinking about how hard it would be, will be, to learn more in my religion when it comes to the textual basis of the religion, because of the depth of learning I’d have to do. It’s daunting, though, not really unwelcome.
For example, I wanted a quick reference to what this Shabbat’s Torah Portion, or parsha, is about. But the thing is, the Torah portions rotate in a three year cycle, so the entire section of one parsha is never read in one year – it’s split between three years. Then, there is always a haftorah portion that goes along with the Torah portion. And I’m still not clear on why we have that and exactly which books it comes from.
So, if anyone wants to try and figure it out, or at least get a smattering of what Jews might be thinking about, based on the Torah, this Shabbat, check here. I’ve read most of the links and the main issues seem to be commandments, covenants and converts. As Jeff Hess coincidentally posted just a short while ago, Aish Ha’Torah is kind of orthodox and into getting people into the fold and then showing them a more orthodox way of life. I’m not a fan of that. But it is an excellent organization when it comes to basic education around Judaism.
Finally, I’m revelling in a small victory and change in our family life. For the first time since I lived in Israel, over 20 years ago now, I’m going to attend Friday night services this evening, and I’m extremely excited.
I grew up in a small, Reform (NOT reformed, folks, REFORM) synagogue. Our sanctuary was a converted barn. The rabbi had a beard, a guitar and very informal clothing. We were the hippie congregation in New Haven. NOT somewhere Joe Lieberman would ever be seen. Certainly not back then, when Reform was just disavowing their previous disavowal of Zionism.
We rarely went to Saturday services because…well, I’m not really sure. But until I was about five or six, we’d belonged to an extremely formal Conservative shul. Men and women separated, very formal, black attire and so on. My parents did not like it and we moved to a different congregation. This was around 1967 or 68.
I loved my Reform shul. It’s had only two rabbis – and both are guitar-playing clergy.
Often, there weren’t enough people interested in Saturday morning, so Friday nights – with the Oneg Shabbat – where you have wine or juice and pastries – were much more familial, friendly and festive, with music and warmth. And, for anyone following my Bar Mitzvah blog, those photocopied prayer books.
And that’s what I remember: informal, intimate, pleasurable.
Now that I’m on the board of my synagogue here, I have to attend services of some type at least 75% of the year. Since I don’t know how to pray the morning, afternoon or evening services and barely know Shabbat, this is a challenge for me. In my mind, I figured, starting with Friday nights would be the easiest and least embarassing.
And so, with this weekend offering me the opportunity to say exactly what I want to do and being granted those wishes, I spoke up and said, I want to do Friday night services. I’d been hearing that, in the summer, the Friday services are lovely and informal and family friendly. And I want my children to get that experience.
So, my husband has, as you would do in Israel and some parts of the U.S., left his office in time to prepare dinner and the home for the Shabbat meal, after which we will go to shul. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but then again, I’m figuring, since it’s my first time in 20 years, how bad could it be?
Shabbat Shalom.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:04 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Aug
11
Israel PM agrees to cease-fire; double Shabbat Shalom
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
It’s a double mitzvah to have sex on Shabbat. I wonder what you get in the book of life for agreeing to a cease-fire, not just as a mitzvah, but for doing it on Shabbat.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:46 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Aug
11
In this column last Thursday, Plain Dealer columnist, Sam Fulwood, explored the sincerity of both Mel Gibson’s comments and subsequent apologies. He illuminated his opinion that “If crud chokes your heart, sooner or later, it will ooze out of your mouth,” by describing the experience of a non-Jew, who works at an NEO synagogue, when she attended a baby shower in her home town.
Kane, who grew up in Parma but has lived for more than 30 years on the East Side, recently got together with some family and friends from the old neighborhood for a relative’s baby shower. Over the dining table, everyone caught up with what had happened since they had last seen each other.
“Are you working?” one of the women asked.
When Kane replied that she has been the office manager at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood since 1996, the table talk took a shocking turn.
Don’t you get tired of working with all those Jews all day?
Kane, a devout Catholic, told me she was stunned into silence by her friend’s comment. Ordinarily she would have set the woman straight, but she didn’t want to cause an ugly scene at the shower.
“I didn’t know what to say,” she said. “So I just said, ‘No, they are people just like everyone else’ and moved the conversation on.”
When another person at the table mentioned her desire to downsize into a smaller house, Kane suggested she look in Pepper Pike, where a friend had recently bought a new home.
That drew another disgusting comment from someone else at the table.
Aren’t there a lot of Jews there?
Well shut my mouth and close my face, you’ve brought a shanda on your place.
So, let me tell you a few things about Pepper Pike that you might not know.
Pepper Pike used to be closed to Jews.
Pepper Pike used to keep Jews to only certain sections of Pepper Pike and real estate agents steered Jews away from the rest of the area.
Now, there are three synagogues (Park, B’nai Jeshurun and Bethaynu) and two Jewish day schools (Solomon Schecter and Ratner Montessori) within the small town’s boundaries.
Pepper Pike still has a love-hate relationship with its Jews, and a lot of the residents are none too shy about keeping to just the hate end of that spectrum.
If you want to get corroboration for my story, email me and I’ll send you names of people to ask about what I’m describing.
But here’s my own, lovely, personal experience with the dislike of Jews in Pepper Pike, let alone anywhere else – regardless of how many Jews live in the town.
FYI about this story: I approached writer Connie Schultz about it nearly 18 months ago because it so disturbed me. She’s kindly offered professional advice to me over the last two or three years and, after she’d written about intolerance in our midst, I’d emailed her about this situation. She encouraged me to write about it, but at that time, I wasn’t blogging – didn’t know what a blog was I think even – and I just felt that it would be too scary a thing to write up what had happened in a public way. I was going to do either an op-ed or a Saturday religion/beliefs column piece, but that felt too public, given my kids being in the Orange schools and my involvement in civic life in Pepper Pike.
So I sat.
Now, however, and especially after Fulwood’s column, I feel comfortable with this blog and the few who care to read. It’s also incredibly important, at a time when non-Jews are questioning whether such intolerance even exists, that I highlight how, on a daily, ordinary basis, being Jewish means being different, and not necessarily in a good way, like we try to teach our kids.
Here’s what happened:
In the spring of 2005, we wanted to have a garage sale. Pepper Pike rules stated that you can’t have it on Sundays.
We are Jewish. We observe Friday night Shabbat and my husband and kids go to services all morning on Saturdays. We’re not shomer shabbas (with the skullcap on all the time), we don’t keep kosher, we’re not Green Road observant or anything close. We light candles, say prayers and go to services.
So, first two issues: 1. We really do not want to have the sale on Saturday. It (conducting business in particular, but many other Shabbat related prohibitions) goes against what we normally do on that day. 2. There’s no time to set up for a Saturday sale because my husband works all week, we have Shabbat Friday night, and he’s in synagogue until about 12:15pm on Saturday.
[For those who've only known me since the blog, I want to re-state that this incident occurred a few months before I began the blog and a full year before I was nominated to the board of my shul, all meaning that in that time, I too have become more conscientious, but my children and husband are, we would all agree, further ahead of me on that curve. One of the main tenets of Conservative Judaism is that there is no perfect state of being a conservative Jew - you never reach all that you can be and thus being a conservative Jew revolves around working towards always being better and "more" - which very much defines my path, which I have detailed in several blog entries over the last 13 months.]
Now, I could do a lot of the prep, but there’s a lot of big, heavy, bulky items being hauled out of the attic and the basement, either down a flight of stairs or up a flight of stairs. Not to mention, during the week sales conflict with my schedule for volunteering in my kids’ school and doing my writing work which requires me to be up in Euclid. In addition, having lived in Cleveland Heights and University Heights before, and having had garage sales in both those towns before, I know that they allow sales on Sundays.
So, what are our choices?
First, I call every town that borders Pepper and ask, do you allow Sunday yard sales? They all say yes, and a few even say, well, of course. Why wouldn’t we?
Second, I call one of my city council members, who happens to be Jewish and a lawyer and a resident within my neighborhood (Landerwood area, which used to be one of the areas from which Jews were steered away). This councilperson didn’t know about this rule, I read it to this person, right from the Pepper Pike’s Civic League brochure and the response? “I’ll bring it up at the next council meeting – that’s crazy that they haven’t changed that blue law.”
I do some research on the death of blue laws.
The councilperson gets back to us and says, no problem. The council members couldn’t believe that was in there, we’ve already drafted a change in the ordinance. I’ll keep you posted.
Within a couple of weeks, they vote and the councilperson calls to tell us that the ordinance was changed and we can have the sale on a Sunday. However, we’re also told that even though all the city council members voted for the change, Mayor Bruce Akers did not. Why not? Because he thought that the change would upset too many longtime residents and view it as their day of rest being upset by the possibility of cars and people running amok to yard sales on their religious day.
Then, the councilperson tells us about a call received from a resident who specifically said, I’m quoting what the councilperson conveyed to me, “You people” – meaning Jews in the context of the rest of her chat, “are destroying my day of peace.” And, according to the councilperson, this woman went on and on berating the councilperson for destroying the solemnity of Sundays.
Guess she had no problem letting the crud ooze out, eh?
At the appropriate time, I went to the police department to register our sale. They didn’t even make me pay the fee I thought I was liable for. Then, on the day of the sale? Guess who were the first folks to show up at our sale? [God bless them because they protect my synagogue constantly.] Pepper Pike policemen – to buy stuff for a newborn and their other little kids, a lawnmower and a number of other tools and motorized items. I think more Pepper Pike employee money ended up in our coiffers than anyone else’s money.
The P.S.? The Civic League’s brochure still says that there shall be no such sales on Sundays.
Got some crud you’d like to ooze? Comments are open, and so is Blogger.com.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:24 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | 21 Comments
Print This Post
Aug
11
Thoughts for Shabbat
Filed Under Politics | Comments Off
When I got asked to be in the inaugeral class of leadership fellows at my synagogue, I tried to bow out – twice. They have the wrong person, I thought. I didn’t even know, after being a Jew all my life, living in Israel, speaking Hebrew, teaching children Sunday school, whether you say Good Shabbos only on Friday night or also on Saturday, and whether you can say Shabbat Shalom on Saturday but not on Friday (I still don’t know).
I’ve tried a few different things on this blog that I wanted to keep going from week to week and none of them have stuck. But, like bumping my nose into the glass door repeatedly because my brain is too stubborn to perceive the pain my body felt, I’m going to try to wind up each Friday with some thoughts, including a link to the Parsha – or Torah portion – of the week.
I do feel the need to note that while there is no real “Jewish” blog in NEO, and there are Jews who blog and blog about Jewish stuff, and of course there are bloggers who discuss the Middle East, this weekly post does not suffice as a “Jewish blog” in terms of education – I just don’t have enough learned scholarship. But I figured I’d link to things that I refer to, to help me see what others are learning, or trying to learn from. That’s about all I can offer – and a place, as always, to ask questions. Don’t come looking for answers though, unless you like the Socratic method, which requires more questioning.
So, as the sun’s lower place in the sky warms my outdoor thermometer to over 100 degrees, I’m thinking of the bumper sticker I saw in a parking lot today, “At Least When Clinton Lied, No One Died.” If I was cool with bumper stickers, I can imagine having that one on my car.
I’m also thinking about the focus on the timing of everything surrounding the alleged airplane bombing plans and what value will this focus serve? As I commented on Scott Bakalar’s blog, is there any date and time that would be free from scrutiny when you’re talking about such details? Maybe. I don’t know. And I’m having a hard time seeing how it matters. Seems to me that sooner is preferable to later, that’s about all.
I’m thinking about a post on Right Angle Blog that continues to push the issue as to whether US Congressman from Ohio and Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland is gay. Crazy – just crazy – what people care more about these days.
I’m thinking about something I don’t want to talk about because I’ve done enough of it already and no it’s not breast cancer or Joe Lieberman.
I’m thinking about how much I love to write without putting in hyperlinks.
And finally, I’m thinking about how hard it would be, will be, to learn more in my religion when it comes to the textual basis of the religion, because of the depth of learning I’d have to do. It’s daunting, though, not really unwelcome.
For example, I wanted a quick reference to what this Shabbat’s Torah Portion, or parsha, is about. But the thing is, the Torah portions rotate in a three year cycle, so the entire section of one parsha is never read in one year – it’s split between three years. Then, there is always a haftorah portion that goes along with the Torah portion. And I’m still not clear on why we have that and exactly which books it comes from.
So, if anyone wants to try and figure it out, or at least get a smattering of what Jews might be thinking about, based on the Torah, this Shabbat, check here. I’ve read most of the links and the main issues seem to be commandments, covenants and converts. As Jeff Hess coincidentally posted just a short while ago, Aish Ha’Torah is kind of orthodox and into getting people into the fold and then showing them a more orthodox way of life. I’m not a fan of that. But it is an excellent organization when it comes to basic education around Judaism.
Finally, I’m revelling in a small victory and change in our family life. For the first time since I lived in Israel, over 20 years ago now, I’m going to attend Friday night services this evening, and I’m extremely excited.
I grew up in a small, Reform (NOT reformed, folks, REFORM) synagogue. Our sanctuary was a converted barn. The rabbi had a beard, a guitar and very informal clothing. We were the hippie congregation in New Haven. NOT somewhere Joe Lieberman would ever be seen. Certainly not back then, when Reform was just disavowing their previous disavowal of Zionism.
We rarely went to Saturday services because…well, I’m not really sure. But until I was about five or six, we’d belonged to an extremely formal Conservative shul. Men and women separated, very formal, black attire and so on. My parents did not like it and we moved to a different congregation. This was around 1967 or 68.
I loved my Reform shul. It’s had only two rabbis – and both are guitar-playing clergy.
Often, there weren’t enough people interested in Saturday morning, so Friday nights – with the Oneg Shabbat – where you have wine or juice and pastries – were much more familial, friendly and festive, with music and warmth. And, for anyone following my Bar Mitzvah blog, those photocopied prayer books.
And that’s what I remember: informal, intimate, pleasurable.
Now that I’m on the board of my synagogue here, I have to attend services of some type at least 75% of the year. Since I don’t know how to pray the morning, afternoon or evening services and barely know Shabbat, this is a challenge for me. In my mind, I figured, starting with Friday nights would be the easiest and least embarassing.
And so, with this weekend offering me the opportunity to say exactly what I want to do and being granted those wishes, I spoke up and said, I want to do Friday night services. I’d been hearing that, in the summer, the Friday services are lovely and informal and family friendly. And I want my children to get that experience.
So, my husband has, as you would do in Israel and some parts of the U.S., left his office in time to prepare dinner and the home for the Shabbat meal, after which we will go to shul. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but then again, I’m figuring, since it’s my first time in 20 years, how bad could it be?
Shabbat Shalom.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:04 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
Print This Post
Aug
11
In this column last Thursday, Plain Dealer columnist, Sam Fulwood, explored the sincerity of both Mel Gibson’s comments and subsequent apologies. He illuminated his opinion that “If crud chokes your heart, sooner or later, it will ooze out of your mouth,” by describing the experience of a non-Jew, who works at an NEO synagogue, when she attended a baby shower in her home town.
Kane, who grew up in Parma but has lived for more than 30 years on the East Side, recently got together with some family and friends from the old neighborhood for a relative’s baby shower. Over the dining table, everyone caught up with what had happened since they had last seen each other.
“Are you working?” one of the women asked.
When Kane replied that she has been the office manager at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood since 1996, the table talk took a shocking turn.
Don’t you get tired of working with all those Jews all day?
Kane, a devout Catholic, told me she was stunned into silence by her friend’s comment. Ordinarily she would have set the woman straight, but she didn’t want to cause an ugly scene at the shower.
“I didn’t know what to say,” she said. “So I just said, ‘No, they are people just like everyone else’ and moved the conversation on.”
When another person at the table mentioned her desire to downsize into a smaller house, Kane suggested she look in Pepper Pike, where a friend had recently bought a new home.
That drew another disgusting comment from someone else at the table.
Aren’t there a lot of Jews there?
Well shut my mouth and close my face, you’ve brought a shanda on your place.
So, let me tell you a few things about Pepper Pike that you might not know.
Pepper Pike used to be closed to Jews.
Pepper Pike used to keep Jews to only certain sections of Pepper Pike and real estate agents steered Jews away from the rest of the area.
Now, there are three synagogues (Park, B’nai Jeshurun and Bethaynu) and two Jewish day schools (Solomon Schecter and Ratner Montessori) within the small town’s boundaries.
Pepper Pike still has a love-hate relationship with its Jews, and a lot of the residents are none too shy about keeping to just the hate end of that spectrum.
If you want to get corroboration for my story, email me and I’ll send you names of people to ask about what I’m describing.
But here’s my own, lovely, personal experience with the dislike of Jews in Pepper Pike, let alone anywhere else – regardless of how many Jews live in the town.
FYI about this story: I approached writer Connie Schultz about it nearly 18 months ago because it so disturbed me. She’s kindly offered professional advice to me over the last two or three years and, after she’d written about intolerance in our midst, I’d emailed her about this situation. She encouraged me to write about it, but at that time, I wasn’t blogging – didn’t know what a blog was I think even – and I just felt that it would be too scary a thing to write up what had happened in a public way. I was going to do either an op-ed or a Saturday religion/beliefs column piece, but that felt too public, given my kids being in the Orange schools and my involvement in civic life in Pepper Pike.
So I sat.
Now, however, and especially after Fulwood’s column, I feel comfortable with this blog and the few who care to read. It’s also incredibly important, at a time when non-Jews are questioning whether such intolerance even exists, that I highlight how, on a daily, ordinary basis, being Jewish means being different, and not necessarily in a good way, like we try to teach our kids.
Here’s what happened:
In the spring of 2005, we wanted to have a garage sale. Pepper Pike rules stated that you can’t have it on Sundays.
We are Jewish. We observe Friday night Shabbat and my husband and kids go to services all morning on Saturdays. We’re not shomer shabbas (with the skullcap on all the time), we don’t keep kosher, we’re not Green Road observant or anything close. We light candles, say prayers and go to services.
So, first two issues: 1. We really do not want to have the sale on Saturday. It (conducting business in particular, but many other Shabbat related prohibitions) goes against what we normally do on that day. 2. There’s no time to set up for a Saturday sale because my husband works all week, we have Shabbat Friday night, and he’s in synagogue until about 12:15pm on Saturday.
[For those who've only known me since the blog, I want to re-state that this incident occurred a few months before I began the blog and a full year before I was nominated to the board of my shul, all meaning that in that time, I too have become more conscientious, but my children and husband are, we would all agree, further ahead of me on that curve. One of the main tenets of Conservative Judaism is that there is no perfect state of being a conservative Jew - you never reach all that you can be and thus being a conservative Jew revolves around working towards always being better and "more" - which very much defines my path, which I have detailed in several blog entries over the last 13 months.]
Now, I could do a lot of the prep, but there’s a lot of big, heavy, bulky items being hauled out of the attic and the basement, either down a flight of stairs or up a flight of stairs. Not to mention, during the week sales conflict with my schedule for volunteering in my kids’ school and doing my writing work which requires me to be up in Euclid. In addition, having lived in Cleveland Heights and University Heights before, and having had garage sales in both those towns before, I know that they allow sales on Sundays.
So, what are our choices?
First, I call every town that borders Pepper and ask, do you allow Sunday yard sales? They all say yes, and a few even say, well, of course. Why wouldn’t we?
Second, I call one of my city council members, who happens to be Jewish and a lawyer and a resident within my neighborhood (Landerwood area, which used to be one of the areas from which Jews were steered away). This councilperson didn’t know about this rule, I read it to this person, right from the Pepper Pike’s Civic League brochure and the response? “I’ll bring it up at the next council meeting – that’s crazy that they haven’t changed that blue law.”
I do some research on the death of blue laws.
The councilperson gets back to us and says, no problem. The council members couldn’t believe that was in there, we’ve already drafted a change in the ordinance. I’ll keep you posted.
Within a couple of weeks, they vote and the councilperson calls to tell us that the ordinance was changed and we can have the sale on a Sunday. However, we’re also told that even though all the city council members voted for the change, Mayor Bruce Akers did not. Why not? Because he thought that the change would upset too many longtime residents and view it as their day of rest being upset by the possibility of cars and people running amok to yard sales on their religious day.
Then, the councilperson tells us about a call received from a resident who specifically said, I’m quoting what the councilperson conveyed to me, “You people” – meaning Jews in the context of the rest of her chat, “are destroying my day of peace.” And, according to the councilperson, this woman went on and on berating the councilperson for destroying the solemnity of Sundays.
Guess she had no problem letting the crud ooze out, eh?
At the appropriate time, I went to the police department to register our sale. They didn’t even make me pay the fee I thought I was liable for. Then, on the day of the sale? Guess who were the first folks to show up at our sale? [God bless them because they protect my synagogue constantly.] Pepper Pike policemen – to buy stuff for a newborn and their other little kids, a lawnmower and a number of other tools and motorized items. I think more Pepper Pike employee money ended up in our coiffers than anyone else’s money.
The P.S.? The Civic League’s brochure still says that there shall be no such sales on Sundays.
Got some crud you’d like to ooze? Comments are open, and so is Blogger.com.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:24 am August 11th, 2006 in Politics | 21 Comments
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Aug
11
Sam Fulwood spills on crud, and I can verify that others do too
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In this column last Thursday, Plain Dealer columnist, Sam Fulwood, explored the sincerity of both Mel Gibson’s comments and subsequent apologies. He illuminated his opinion that “If crud chokes your heart, sooner or later, it will ooze out of your mouth,” by describing the experience of a non-Jew, who works at an NEO synagogue, when she attended a baby shower in her home town.
Kane, who grew up in Parma but has lived for more than 30 years on the East Side, recently got together with some family and friends from the old neighborhood for a relative’s baby shower. Over the dining table, everyone caught up with what had happened since they had last seen each other.
“Are you working?” one of the women asked.
When Kane replied that she has been the office manager at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood since 1996, the table talk took a shocking turn.
Don’t you get tired of working with all those Jews all day?
Kane, a devout Catholic, told me she was stunned into silence by her friend’s comment. Ordinarily she would have set the woman straight, but she didn’t want to cause an ugly scene at the shower.
“I didn’t know what to say,” she said. “So I just said, ‘No, they are people just like everyone else’ and moved the conversation on.”
When another person at the table mentioned her desire to downsize into a smaller house, Kane suggested she look in Pepper Pike, where a friend had recently bought a new home.
That drew another disgusting comment from someone else at the table.
Aren’t there a lot of Jews there?
Well shut my mouth and close my face, you’ve brought a shanda on your place.
So, let me tell you a few things about Pepper Pike that you might not know.
Pepper Pike used to be closed to Jews.
Pepper Pike used to keep Jews to only certain sections of Pepper Pike and real estate agents steered Jews away from the rest of the area.
Now, there are three synagogues (Park, B’nai Jeshurun and Bethaynu) and two Jewish day schools (Solomon Schecter and Ratner Montessori) within the small town’s boundaries.
Pepper Pike still has a love-hate relationship with its Jews, and a lot of the residents are none too shy about keeping to just the hate end of that spectrum.
If you want to get corroboration for my story, email me and I’ll send you names of people to ask about what I’m describing.
But here’s my own, lovely, personal experience with the dislike of Jews in Pepper Pike, let alone anywhere else – regardless of how many Jews live in the town.
FYI about this story: I approached writer Connie Schultz about it nearly 18 months ago because it so disturbed me. She’s kindly offered professional advice to me over the last two or three years and, after she’d written about intolerance in our midst, I’d emailed her about this situation. She encouraged me to write about it, but at that time, I wasn’t blogging – didn’t know what a blog was I think even – and I just felt that it would be too scary a thing to write up what had happened in a public way. I was going to do either an op-ed or a Saturday religion/beliefs column piece, but that felt too public, given my kids being in the Orange schools and my involvement in civic life in Pepper Pike.
So I sat.
Now, however, and especially after Fulwood’s column, I feel comfortable with this blog and the few who care to read. It’s also incredibly important, at a time when non-Jews are questioning whether such intolerance even exists, that I highlight how, on a daily, ordinary basis, being Jewish means being different, and not necessarily in a good way, like we try to teach our kids.
Here’s what happened:
In the spring of 2005, we wanted to have a garage sale. Pepper Pike rules stated that you can’t have it on Sundays.
We are Jewish. We observe Friday night Shabbat and my husband and kids go to services all morning on Saturdays. We’re not shomer shabbas (with the skullcap on all the time), we don’t keep kosher, we’re not Green Road observant or anything close. We light candles, say prayers and go to services.
So, first two issues: 1. We really do not want to have the sale on Saturday. It (conducting business in particular, but many other Shabbat related prohibitions) goes against what we normally do on that day. 2. There’s no time to set up for a Saturday sale because my husband works all week, we have Shabbat Friday night, and he’s in synagogue until about 12:15pm on Saturday.
[For those who've only known me since the blog, I want to re-state that this incident occurred a few months before I began the blog and a full year before I was nominated to the board of my shul, all meaning that in that time, I too have become more conscientious, but my children and husband are, we would all agree, further ahead of me on that curve. One of the main tenets of Conservative Judaism is that there is no perfect state of being a conservative Jew - you never reach all that you can be and thus being a conservative Jew revolves around working towards always being better and "more" - which very much defines my path, which I have detailed in several blog entries over the last 13 months.]
Now, I could do a lot of the prep, but there’s a lot of big, heavy, bulky items being hauled out of the attic and the basement, either down a flight of stairs or up a flight of stairs. Not to mention, during the week sales conflict with my schedule for volunteering in my kids’ school and doing my writing work which requires me to be up in Euclid. In addition, having lived in Cleveland Heights and University Heights before, and having had garage sales in both those towns before, I know that they allow sales on Sundays.
So, what are our choices?
First, I call every town that borders Pepper and ask, do you allow Sunday yard sales? They all say yes, and a few even say, well, of course. Why wouldn’t we?
Second, I call one of my city council members, who happens to be Jewish and a lawyer and a resident within my neighborhood (Landerwood area, which used to be one of the areas from which Jews were steered away). This councilperson didn’t know about this rule, I read it to this person, right from the Pepper Pike’s Civic League brochure and the response? “I’ll bring it up at the next council meeting – that’s crazy that they haven’t changed that blue law.”
I do some research on the death of blue laws.
The councilperson gets back to us and says, no problem. The council members couldn’t believe that was in there, we’ve already drafted a change in the ordinance. I’ll keep you posted.
Within a couple of weeks, they vote and the councilperson calls to tell us that the ordinance was changed and we can have the sale on a Sunday. However, we’re also told that even though all the city council members voted for the change, Mayor Bruce Akers did not. Why not? Because he thought that the change would upset too many longtime residents and view it as their day of rest being upset by the possibility of cars and people running amok to yard sales on their religious day.
Then, the councilperson tells us about a call received from a resident who specifically said, I’m quoting what the councilperson conveyed to me, “You people” – meaning Jews in the context of the rest of her chat, “are destroying my day of peace.” And, according to the councilperson, this woman went on and on berating the councilperson for destroying the solemnity of Sundays.
Guess she had no problem letting the crud ooze out, eh?
At the appropriate time, I went to the police department to register our sale. They didn’t even make me pay the fee I thought I was liable for. Then, on the day of the sale? Guess who were the first folks to show up at our sale? [God bless them because they protect my synagogue constantly.] Pepper Pike policemen – to buy stuff for a newborn and their other little kids, a lawnmower and a number of other tools and motorized items. I think more Pepper Pike employee money ended up in our coiffers than anyone else’s money.
The P.S.? The Civic League’s brochure still says that there shall be no such sales on Sundays.
Got some crud you’d like to ooze? Comments are open, and so is Blogger.com.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:24 am August 11th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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