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January 19, 2022
OPINIONS
STL
Viewpoints expressed in letters, commentaries, cartoons and other opinion pieces reflect those of the writer or artist, and not those of the Light. We welcome submissions of letters and commentaries to: news@stljewishlight.org
A better approach to service The United States’ economy is currently oriented toward service. Employment opportunities abound in the service industries such as food service, hospitality service, call center service, repair services and delivery service, to name a few. As consumers in a service economy, we have grown to expect excellent service, whether that is in booking vacations, ordering dinner, purchasing products online, or speaking to a customer service representative. Nothing is more annoying than hearing the words, “Please stay on the line. All of our representatives are serving other customers. Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line.” This is usually followed by music that used to be played in elevators until the recording breaks in and reminds us how important our call is to the representatives currently serving other customers. In a desperate hope that we can forgo speaking to a real representative, we often resort to using our computer, tablet, or mobile phone to navigate to the desired company’s website in order to obtain the service required. No instant gratification there! Rather most websites take us on a route that is so convoluted as to wear out even the most patient person. Too often in this service-oriented economy the pursuit
Rabbi Josef Davidson serves Congregation B’nai Amoona and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light. of service can seem futile. In this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, named for Moses’ father-in-law, it was just such a situation which Yitro, observed as people waited in line for hours, even days, to obtain an audience with Moses in order to learn what it is that was expected of them or to settle a dispute. There wasn’t even a recording or anything to let them know that their issue was important to Moses and to stay in the line until he was available. He was busy all day taking care of other people. Yitro, as would any father-in-law, gave Moses some advice. He observed how tiring and frustrating this process was for both Moses and the people whom he served. He then suggested a better way to provide for them. He suggested that Moses train others to serve along with him, to adjudicate cases that lesser leaders could handle, and leave the most difficult ones for Moses. This would reduce
greatly the time spent waiting in line and free Moses to take care of other personal and public responsibilities. What a great idea! Moses followed his father-in-law’s advice. The lines were shortened; the services provided sooner, and everyone was happier. There are many of us who take on too much, whether that is at home or at work. For some reason we believe that we have to do it all and that we don’t require any assistance whatsoever. For some it is a matter of believing that no one else is as capable. For others, it is a matter of simply not being able to say “no.” For still others, it is a scheduling issue (Surely I can fit one more project into my calendar!). Consequently, studies have demonstrated that Americans are not sleeping enough hours per night to adequately replenish their energy and their brains. This further decreases the quality of the service that can be rendered. Then, people are forced to hear, “Your call/visit is very important to us. Please stay on the line, as our sole representative is serving someone else.” Yitro’s advice is still as important and as true now as it was then. Often we can be more productive by seeking the help of others than by doing everything ourselves. In so doing everyone, providers and consumers, is better served. Shabbat Shalom!
Ink-loving editor bids farewell to beloved Clayton news shop BY ROBERT A. COHN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EMERITUS
At 82, I’m dealing with the harsh reality of illness and death striking down relatives and friends. Add to this the relentless news of the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the cloud of sadness can envelop the soul. In a time of hyper partisan division in all areas of life we take comfort in the “constants” — family, friends — and places, like restaurants, movies and other familiar haunts that reassuringly seem to keep on going, like the Energizer Bunny. For me, that includes places like World News in Clayton, which recently announced that it is closing for good in February due to declining sales. “Say it isn’t so,” I lamented to Mike Flavin, the hardworking and accommodating manager of World News for 43 of its 55 years at the corner of Central and Forsyth avenues. The soft-spoken Flavin sadly confirmed the grim truth with the new sign on its door: “STORE CLOSING EVERYTHING MUST GO.” For a print news junkie like me, World News is like the beloved restaurant and bar Ernest Hemingway describes in his affecting short story “A Clean and Well Lighted Place.” In 1967, when World News opened, I was press secretary and speech writer of then St. Louis County Supervisor (Executive) Lawrence K. Roos. World News was my regular daily stop for me to get my “fix” of newspapers, magazines and paperbacks, topped off with a treat like a Snicker’s or Hershey bar. I have continued to be among the loyal regular
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ABOUT THE OPINIONS SECTION
D’VAR TORAH: PARASHAT YITRO
BY RABBI JOSEF DAVIDSON
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Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Robert A. Cohn writes that he has buying newspapers, magazines and comics from World News in Clayton since its opening in 1967. The store recently announced it will close in February. customers since its inception. Week, The New Yorker, New York, The Since I joined the Jewish Light in 1969, I Atlantic, Harper’s, The Nation, The New have continued my love affair with World Republic, National Review, Commentary, News. Call me a dinosaur or an old, old Tikkun, Moment and Lilith. These publi-school devotee, but I love the cations cover the full spectrum tactile, ink-smearing print of political perspectives. I make media, which feels “more real” it my business to read the best than online sources. (My wife among the vast array of print Barbara does not share my love offerings at the media mecca of of printer’s ink.) I feel like a literWorld News. al “kid in a candy shop” at World In a post last week, World News. News owner John Cowley said, Each day my wife or I goes to “All good things must come to World News, where I pick up an end.” But like Marcel Robert A. Cohn the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Proust’s beloved Madeleine tea is Editor-in-Chief New York Times, The Wall cakes in “Remembrance of Emeritus of the Street Journal, USA Today, the Things Past,” World News will Jewish Light. Riverfront Times, the St. Louis be an endearing and enduring American and the Catholic Review — memory to lift our spirits through nostalplus a wide variety of publications rang- gia. I hope that in the world to come, ing from Superhero Marvel and DC there will be an exact duplicate of World comic books to Time, Newsweek, The News that remains open forever.
JCRC, J Street, divisiveness and tolerance BY RABBI SETH D. GORDON
I attended the recent Jewish Community Relations Council Zoom meeting, but as I had not attended for years I chose not to speak. The issue that drove increased attendance was whether or not to admit J Street St. Louis (see related story on page 4). The few who did speak either supported J Street in the name of tolerance and diversity or opposed them because their words and positions were viewed as divisive and harmful. Divisiveness is a tricky issue. Sincerely held positions often result in conflict among free-thinking people. Our Mishnah and Midrash is replete with differing views. The rabbis distinguished between a machloket l’shem shamayim and a machloket she-lo l’shem shamayim — conflict for the sake of Heaven and conflict which is not. The former is lauded, the latter discouraged. So I am not overly concerned about J Street injecting Rabbi Seth D. views that are diviGordon serves sive; indeed, some Traditional of their concerns Congregation. and the best of their motives align with Torah and our Sages. The underlying issue, from my point of view, is language and its effects — how we express ourselves. We are a people with long and deep traditions that speak about the words we use — l-shon ha-ra, harmful language even when true. Words matter. The word tolerance — as far as I know — does not appear in the Torah or in rabbinic teaching (Mishnah, Midrash, and Gemara), but the concept is evident in Torah law and narrative. The TaNaCH (full Bible) records numerous narratives of non-Israelites living amidst the Israelite population. In law, the Torah repeats the obligation to treat the ger (stranger, alien, non-Israelite) living within Israelitesociety with love. The rabbis counted 36 (some say 46) admonitions. (BT Baba Metzi’a 59b) God loves the ger (Psalm146). The meaning of love in these contexts is respect, dignity, and kindness. We are further commanded not to oppress the ger financially and to treat the ger equally in our courts. (The rabbis often interpreted ger to mean “convert,” but as they often teach — Torah’s words do not surrender their contextual meaning.) The word “diversity” similarly does not appear in sacred Jewish writings. However, Torah teaching regards all people as God’s creation, created in His image. God extends love to all creatures. (Psalm 145) A midrash (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5) channels human diversity to illustrate God’s greatness — whereas coins are minted and each is the same, from a single stamp, i.e., from Adam and Eve, God creates a unique human each time. Perhaps (I am speculating) the absence of the words tolerance and diversity is because they are too abstract, too prone to misapplication without limitation. In See RABBI GORDON on page 24
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