Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Ma tu guarda quella comunistaccia di Shulamit Alon

 I am warmly disposed toward Reform and Conservative Jewry
By Shulamit Aloni
Tags: synagogue 
Although both my maternal and paternal grandfathers, each in his own city 
in Poland, were rabbis, my parents were Zionists and Socialists, who 
immigrated to Palestine (making them the only survivors of their large 
families, whose other members perished in the Holocaust). When I was a 
child, secular Jews were called hofshi'im (free-thinkers), whereas 
religious ones were referred to as adukim (devout).
Although my parents were free-thinkers, they would never let a Friday 
night pass without their own unique version of Kabbalat Shabbat 
(welcoming the Sabbath). On every Jewish holiday, my mother would prepare 
a special dish (we did not observe the Jewish dietary laws) and would 
light festive, decorative candles. Since both my parents were musically 
inclined and had marvelous voices, our welcome of the Sabbath focused on 
singing - sacred and foreign songs, in both Hebrew and Yiddish. I do not 
recall whether my parents ever went to synagogue, but classic cantorial 
music could always be heard in our house.
When I was a little older, I discovered a record - one of those old vinyl 
discs that can be played on both sides. On it were the delightful 
performances of violinist Bronislaw Huberman, who founded the Palestine 
Orchestra in 1936. On one side of the record was an extremely touching 
rendition of Max Bruch's "Kol Nidrei," Opus 47, while on the other side 
was Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria."
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Since my parents both served in the British army and I grew up in 
boarding schools - first in Ben Shemen, then in Jerusalem - I developed 
the habit of attending synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur to hear the 
cantor sing "Kol Nidrei." I was always drawn to the synagogue to hear 
that melody. Even as an adult and then as a mother, I continued the 
custom of attending my neighborhood synagogue.
However, by that time, I had to come up with a moral justification for my 
love for this prayer, which dissolves vows and cancels solemn promises. I 
understood that "Kol Nidrei" was adopted during the period of the forced 
conversion of Spanish Jews to Christianity. The new converts became known 
as Marranos (Secret Jews); they lived during an era marked by persecution 
and harsh anti-Jewish decrees. To me, the prayer's moral justification 
remained in force as long as there were Jews whose basic human rights 
were being denied - including, for example, the Jews living behind the 
Iron Curtain.
I was also drawn to the synagogue because of our congregation's rabbi, 
Rabbi Shmuel Avidor Hacohen, of blessed memory - a cultured, learned and 
extremely intelligent individual. As long as he officiated, I followed 
the advice of Rabbi Joshua, son of Pirhiya, who is cited in Pirkei Avot 
as stating, "Choose a rabbi to be your guide, cultivate a good friend, 
and always give people the benefit of the doubt." Until his death, Rabbi 
Avidor Hacohen was my rabbi and I learned a great deal from him. Just as 
talmudic scholars learn how to reply to heretics, I learned from him how 
to respond to fundamentalist talmudic scholars, who treat women with 
derision and hate the "other."
All the rabbis I have chosen to serve as my teachers have departed from 
this life: my first teacher, the wise and cultured Rabbi Elimelech Bar-
Shaul, chief rabbi of Rehovot, and, at a later stage, Rabbi Avidor 
Hacohen. I no longer attend my neighborhood synagogue and the local 
cantor no longer captivates me.
Nowadays, I feel warmly disposed toward Reform and Conservative Judaism, 
and when I travel overseas, I attend Reform and Conservative synagogues 
to hear the liturgy. I particularly love to hear female cantors. In these 
synagogues, families sit together and the members of the congregation 
participate in the prayer services in a beautiful, dignified manner. When 
they celebrate the Sabbath or a holiday, their joy is genuine. It is 
marvelous to meet in these houses of prayer people who are open-minded 
and not fanatics about the performance of commandments or about how you 
should pray. When they gather in the synagogue, they do so as members of 
an ancient culture that broadcasts a message of love and solidarity. The 
melodies there are beautiful and the sermons intelligent, and, when we 
drink wine after the prayer services and say Lehayim when toasting each 
other, the atmosphere of joyousness is heightened considerably.
Shulamit Aloni's new book, "Demokratia ba'azikim" ("Israel - Democracy or 
Ethnocracy?") has recently been published in Hebrew by Am Oved.
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 Nowadays, I feel warmly disposed toward Reform and Conservative Judaism,
ben svegliata.

 ben svegliata.
oh, c'� un proverbio che fa: meglio tardi che mai, eccetera



Tranquillo che se arriva Bibi si riaddormenta subito.
MMAX
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