I
One evening on Kibbutz Ma’abarot in the early 1990s, throngs of kibbutz residents and volunteers gathered on the tennis court for a holiday celebration.
My memories of that event are fuzzy, but what stands out is the singing — the startling voice of a young woman. I have similar memories from every single kibbutz holiday celebration I attended in the three years I lived there, and in the ensuing years I’ve visited my family there.
I remember leggy high school girls dancing; and middle-aged men playing guitar and singing songs they composed. I remember collaboration and unabashed creativity.
And I remember being left speechless by the talent in my midst and the unafraid exposure of it. So empowering was it that I took the stage with my then sister-in-law and danced my soul naked in a Chanukah dance about liberation that we choreographed. (Fun and liberating it was; a dancer I’m not.)
Last weekend’s “A Day of Discovery” at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (see story, page 1) proved that the Milwaukee Jewish community also should be left speechless: We, too, have talent in our midst and it’s time we took note.
At Saturday night’s adult program, Rabbi Jay Brickman got the crowd rolling with laughter during his portrayal of Isaac Mayer Wise, known as the architect of American Reform Judaism.
Brickman is just one example of the bright light that came out during the 24-hour learning jam session. Some 50 local educators illuminated an incredible array of Jewish subjects.
We are blessed with rabbis, educators, activists and artists who are generous with their time and abounding in their knowledge. Our opportunities for adult learning are virtually endless.
Yet, as I walked into some of the sessions, I saw empty chairs. Turnout was steady, with an estimated 500 people at the Saturday-Sunday events. But that means a lot of people are missing this rich, homegrown opportunity for fun and enlightenment, not to mention true community-building.
Even those of us who attended some sessions on Saturday night and Sunday likely feel we missed many nibbles of Jewish art and learning. I spotted many adults roaming the halls of the JCC, program guide in hand, struggling to choose between sessions. The halls were indeed buzzing with potential.
Though I attended some of the day’s programs, I missed so many others. I missed a session on the afterlife and a session about Nobel Prize-winning Yiddish author Isaac Bashevis Singer, who would have turned 100 last year and whose short stories were recently included in the Library of America series.
I missed delving into subjects such as interfaith families, outreach, parenting, righteous gentiles, the Kabbalah, “soul music,” the view of a scribe, the Jewish view of lying, Jewish unity and more.
I understand what keeps people from events. I understand the urge to hunker down and spend a day with our families. I know about home projects, birthday parties, shopping and gymnastics classes. And I firmly believe that free time is a necessity.
But the Day of Discovery is a day worth not missing; it justifies carving space from our lives for a few hours of learning. It’s a day to celebrate the talent within our community and to absorb the great light of possibility.
Who’s kidding whom?
Tobacco, drugs are issues for Jewish youth
By Bonnie Sumner
Special to The Chronicle
On Dec. 14, 2004, I witnessed a truly brave act. Howard Spector stood in front of a packed crowd at his son’s funeral and insisted that the drug addiction that caused David’s death be openly admitted and discussed.
David, who died one month short of his 34th birthday, had been battling addiction since high school.
He was not the first Milwaukee Jewish young person to die from drug-related causes and will not be the last; but I have never before heard a parent publicly bring up this devastating illness at his child’s funeral service.
Howard correctly referred to addiction as a disease and described the unbearable pain it causes the addict and his or her loved ones.
As is the case with most Jews my age, I was taught that “we” do not have problems with alcohol and drugs. Of course most adults we knew smoked, but in those days the deadly effects of tobacco were yet to be proven.
Unfortunately, we know that Jewish immunity from addiction was not true then, and is even less true now. American Jewish young people deal with the same problems as their non-Jewish peers. Even yeshivot in the United States and in Israel are faced with a growing problem of drug use.
My father smoked his whole life and died of a massive heart attack at age 63 while on a yearly visit to Israel. I never had the chance to say goodbye.
I did everything in my power to prevent my children from smoking, but all four of them started as teenagers.
A chance meeting with an expert on tobacco advertising led me to extensive research on the subject. What I learned was that the tobacco industry has been successfully targeting young people since the 1964 U.S. Surgeon General’s report on smoking caused many adults to quit.
At that time, the need for replacement smokers led the industry to change its focus and to appeal to teens’ natural rebelliousness and need for independence. If the outcomes were not disease and death, the history of tobacco advertising and marketing would be a fascinating story.
Media literacy
For over 10 years I have developed and presented programs on the need for media literacy to students of all ages, health professionals and community groups.
In our increasingly media-driven society, adults and children need the ability to analyze and evaluate the constant flood of messages targeting them.
We know that tobacco (nicotine) use leads to other drugs. The term “gateway” drug is often thought of as a myth and merely a device to scare young people away from smoking or drinking.
The truth is that new scientific techniques have made the mysteries of the brain more and more understandable. By using SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) studies, we now know that both tobacco and alcohol use can cause serious and irreversible brain damage.
Addiction research has also shown that each brain reacts differently to various substances. Unfortunately, we don’t know in advance who will become addicted to what, until it is too late.
The underage youth who decides to try a cigarette or drink is making a decision to use something that is physically unhealthy and illegal. That decision makes it easier to make the same decision about other drugs.
If they are unlucky enough to have a brain that immediately reacts to the particular drug, it is the first step towards addiction.
As the deadly effects of tobacco use have become increasingly irrefutable, controversy has flared in the Jewish world. In the past decade, many rabbis have issued responsa that condemn smoking. Jews who sell tobacco have been chastised by those involved in tobacco use prevention.
A new study on tobacco industry marketing to 18-24 year olds highlights a growing problem on college campuses. According to an article in the Yeshiva University student newspaper, “The school is currently in the process of creating a counseling center for students with drug and alcohol problems, which will also cover any smoking related issues.”
For too long the Jewish community has been silent about our problems with addiction. Because addiction remains a shameful topic, many Jews are loath to speak out and find professional help and community support.
For those who want and need a Jewish context in which to deal with drug use prevention and addiction treatment there is much work to be done.
Bonnie Sumner, M.Ed., is a member of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Advisory Group to the Wisconsin Secretary of Health and Family Services, the Mequon-Thiensville ATOD Advisory Board, the North Shore Tobacco Free Coalition and the Milwaukee Smoke Free Project. She is past president of the Wisconsin Initiative of Smoking and Health.
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