The Rabbi and The Rebbetzin (8 page)

When
the mourner’s Kaddish ended, Rabbi Adler asked the entire congregation to rise
for the beginning of the holiday services.

Rabbi
Martin was dressed for the occasion in a sparkling white silk robe and a high
white cantorial hat. He waited for the audience to be absolutely quite before he
started to sing. Joined by the congregation he intoned the familiar melody that
marked the beginning of the evening services.

The
Ma’ariv
services proved to be uneventful. Aaron was pleasantly surprised
at the extent of audience participation. He had been given the impression at
the yeshiva that the worshippers at Beth Israel would not be familiar with the
prayers. There were, however, quite a number of day school students and
graduates present who were able to keep up with the prayers. He realized that
Beth Israel drew its membership mostly from the traditional families in Dunberg
– many of whom came from homes that practiced Orthodox ways and found the Conservative
synagogue not to their liking. He realized that the Mashgiach at the yeshiva had
made an overly negative judgment about modern Orthodoxy due to the fact that he
never worshipped in such a synagogue.

Aaron
joined the Levine family walking home. In the group were two younger daughters
of the Levines, plus a young son that was nearing bar mitzvah. Shulamit walked
alongside her mother, and Aaron walked with Reverend Martin. He quickly
discovered that the title ‘Reverend’ was for public consumption only. Martin
had studied at old-line yeshivos in Israel, and was in fact an erudite scholar.
He was also a rabbi, but he chose not to practice in the rabbinate largely due
to his lack of secular education. He could converse in basic English, but not
to the degree that is essential for a congregational rabbi. While walking,
Martin quickly probed Aaron’s Talmudic knowledge. As a
Shochet
, Martin
was a specialist in the laws of kashrus and the laws of kosher slaughtering.
Aaron, who was already learning the Talmudic tractate
Chulin
which deals
with that subject matter, was fully familiar with the Talmudic text and all other
major commentaries. Both men were amazed with each other’s knowledge of Talmud.
Martin soon realized that Aaron was among the best students at Ohr Moshe. Aaron
realized as well that Martin had continued his studies long after he left the
Israeli yeshivos and was very astute.

Once
arriving at their home, the Levines prepared for dinner and, after a short
interval, convened in the main dining room. The room could easily seat thirty
diners, although no more than eight were present this evening. Abe Levine
regularly invited families from the congregation for the holiday meals. Tonight
he was too nervous about the tense situation at the shul to worry about
entertaining any guests. For the meals on the next day, some five or six
additional guests would be present.

The
table was beautifully set. Grace the housekeeper had requested Polly to work
downstairs, after Polly had finished making the beds for the rabbis. Before
coming to the Levines, Polly had worked in hotels and restaurants and was very
experienced in this area. She set the table in the dining room with elaborate
settings, including choice sterling silverware, crystal glasses, flowers and
fine linen napkins. Aaron had never sat at such a lavish meal with such rich
trappings. Where menu choices were available, Polly asked each guest as to his choice.
Grace did not have to inquire on such matters, because she knew the family
preferences for many years.

The
first problem which confronted Aaron was a request by Abe Levine that Aaron
recite the holiday kiddush. Aaron understood that it was not a matter of honor
that his host was trying to bestow upon him. He sensed that Levine was anxious
about reciting the kiddush in the presence of two learned rabbis, especially
since the holiday fell on the Sabbath and extra words had to be added to the
prayer. For his part, Aaron was nervous because he neither had the voice or
training to offer a dramatic rendition of the kiddush. Showing a high degree of
resourcefulness, he modestly proclaimed that the honor should go to Reverend
Martin, who was the senior rabbi and a professional cantor. To show that he
wasn’t avoiding responsibility, Aaron volunteered to conduct the apple and
honey rituals that are performed on Rosh Hashanah and for which he was well
prepared.

As
usual, Shulamit was the star attraction at the dinner table. She was up to date
in public affairs, knew the latest news and gossip and was extremely well-read.
She expressed her views eloquently and Aaron sat entranced. She had no intention
of letting Aaron sit quietly without expressing his thoughts, so she posed
questions to him.

At
one point she asked him a very hard question. “If ultra-religious Jews ban television
and newspapers, how can their rabbis be informed on issues that they have to discuss
with their congregants?”

Aaron
was at a loss to provide an adequate answer, and chose to justify the
prohibitions instead. “You are not suggesting that we bring in televisions and
newspapers to the yeshiva, are you, Shulamit? Some subjects that show up on TV
and the movies are not fit to be seen by anyone, and certainly not by yeshiva
students.”

“I’m
not suggesting any such things,” Shulamit responded. “I am talking about public
affairs, things that all Americans who live in a democratic society should
know. Did you vote in the last election, Aaron? Do you know the names of the president
and vice president of the United States?”

Although
he agreed with Shulamit, Levine motioned to her to calm down and leave Aaron
alone.

Aaron
gently responded, “I did not vote in the last election because I was studying
in Dunberg but registered in New York. Even in a yeshiva I know who the leaders
of this country are: Bill Clinton is the president, and Al Gore is the vice
president.” Aaron had seen these names on a billboard in Pittsburgh.

Shulamit
agreed that Aaron’s answers were correct but she continued remorselessly, “And
who is the U.S. Secretary of State?”

“I
am not certain,” Aaron admitted.

By
now Levine had lost patience with his daughter. He told her to stop bothering
the rabbi and, anyway, half the people in America do not know who Madeleine
Albright was.

Not
wishing to disrupt the holiday dinner, Shulamit said nothing further to Aaron. “I’m
sorry I lost my cool, Dad. Did you know that some of Aaron’s rabbis even talk
of banning computers? Sometimes I feel that their feelings may have some merit.”

“Bite
your tongue, Shulamit,” her father replied. “Computers are 50% of your father’s
business. If computers are banned, you’ll be driving to school in an eight-year-old
Ford instead of a brand new sports car.”

“You
can’t take away my car, Dad. You want me to get married, don’t you? How can I
attract men in an eight-year-old Ford?”

At
this point Mrs. Levine intervened. “Cut it out, Shulamit. Given your looks, you
could attract men even if you drove a plain scooter. They may not always be the
best class of men, but they will run after you. When your dad took a liking to
me, I did not even know how to drive a car.” Very subdued, Shulamit remained
quiet for some time and soon the dinner returned to religious subjects.

When
the dinner ended, Aaron thanked the hostess profusely. Levine then indicated
that he wished to talk to Aaron privately and invited him to his study on the
first floor. The study was quite large and contained many books including a
large collection of Judaica. Featured in the collection were translations of
the Talmud, the Torah and the prophets. Many historic works, both ancient and
current, filled the shelves.

Levine
began the conversation by telling Aaron that he made a good first impression on
the members of the congregation. “You spoke English well and had a good
presence in the pulpit. If you do as well during the next two days, you will be
very successful in your work.” Aaron was quite pleased to hear the president’s
evaluation.

Levine
then brought up an entirely new matter. “When Rabbi Solomon was conducting our
services, he introduced a special program for the congregation. It was called “
Ask
the Rabbi
” and it was scheduled on the second day of Rosh Hashanah before
Minchah
.
If you are able and willing to conduct such a program it will have to be held
on Saturday afternoon, because
Tashlich
is held this year on Sunday.”

Aaron
was not upset with the request and felt inclined to accept the challenge. “I am
perfectly willing to accept the class, although I have already participated in
one such class tonight with Shulamit.”

“Listen,
Aaron, don’t worry about Shulamit. She’s very passionate about her beliefs and
very outspoken. We get so much
nachas
from her that we overlook a few of
her indiscretions. If she offended you tonight please forgive her. My wife was
right about the car. Shulamit is very attractive, as you may have noticed, and
she attracts far too many men as it is.”

Aaron
assured Levine that he was not angry with Shulamit. In his type of yeshiva, the
students always had to defend themselves against charges that they were
isolated from society and withdrawn from the actual world.

The
next morning, Aaron chanted the
Shachris
service and then read from the
Torah. Additional worshippers were called to the Torah on the first day above
the usual five allowed on Rosh
Hashanah because supplementary
aliyos
were permitted on the Sabbath. The reading was divided into smaller sections so
that eleven men could be honored. Aaron had agreed to do so on condition that
Levine would not exceed the five
aliyos
permitted on the second day.
Levine grumbled at the arrangement but Aaron was very firm on the matter and
Levine realized that Aaron could not be swayed.

“You
understand, Aaron,” he said, “every
aliya
means more funds for the
synagogue because that’s when members make their pledges.”

Aaron
shrugged. “I do not make the laws; my task is only to see that they are
observed. I would suggest that you could probably sell the honors of opening
and closing the ark as well as the honors of raising and binding the Torah to
make up your deficit.”

Using
the story of the birth of Isaac, Aaron sermonized that Jewish women should be
delighted to have children at any age, even though Sarah’s child was born when
she was 90, a rather extreme age. He said that the important part of life for a
mother was not the bearing of the child, but rather the supervision and the
moral development of her child. When Isaac’s half-brother, Ishmael, began to
mock him and his religion, Sarah took a firm stand. She expelled Ishmael and
his mother, Hagar, from the household much to Abraham’s discontent. God told
Abraham to listen to Sarah and follow whatever path she chooses. The Lord made
it clear that only through Isaac could the Hebrew religion be preserved.

 At
the conclusion of the services, the officers and clergy of the congregation
formed a receiving line to greet the congregants and wish them a happy holiday.
At the head of the line stood Abe Levine and his wife, and next to him was the
sisterhood president, Cynthia Farber and her husband; Joe Feinberg, the Gabbai,
and his wife were next in line; and then came Rabbis Adler and Martin.

Aaron
was concerned that he would be faced with the problem of shaking hands with women.
He couldn’t avoid the situation as Reverend Martin, who stood ahead of him, was
apparently willing to do so. The problem was anticipated earlier and he had
sought the advice of Rabbi Weiss, the executive director, whom he had seen
shaking hands with the wives of wealthy donors. Rabbi Weiss told him not to
worry about the problem. He only had to make sure that he did not extend his
hand first to the woman. In that case, most of the woman would not originate
the handshake. For the remaining few, he had to make certain that he had no
impure intentions during the handshake. If he declined to shake the hand that
was offered, he would be embarrassing a member of the congregation and
reflecting poorly upon the yeshiva. Rabbi Weiss cited instances where he had
seen the deans of the yeshiva following the same procedure.

After
a magnificent lunch at the Levines, Aaron returned to the shul to present his “
Ask
the Rabbi
” class. Many young members of the congregation and some adults
attended the program. The moderator of the class was Professor Arnold Blechman,
who taught social science courses at the University of Pittsburgh. He was an
observant person and lived with his family in Dunberg. He asked members of the
audience, who wished to question the rabbi, to announce their names and speak
clearly. He explained that microphones could not be used on the Sabbath or on religious
holidays.

The
session lasted for a full hour and was going strong when the moderator had to
bring it to a close in order that the congregants could attend the
Minchah
service. Rabbi Adler answered questions in a fluent manner and avoided any
evasions. Some of the inquiries dealt with the subject of equality of women in
the Orthodox community. His attempts to describe the high status of woman in Orthodoxy
were well phrased but impressed absolutely no one. He was more successful in
resolving questions dealing with religious education and various customs.