Volume 15, Issue 6 (May 1983) - The Rampage

Volume XV, Number 6

A Free Publlcatlon

May 1983/Slvan 5743

Capturing Second Place in the World

by Joshua Berman '82

'"Llsal Lisa'. over here.'" II was like Rocky and Adrienne moments alter the title bout.

Dressed In a pink summer oulfll with white lace. her lace !lush­ ed with excitement, Ramaz junior Lisa Szubln strained to lo· cate her mentor of a year and a hall amid the swarm of re· porters and well-wishers sur•

rounding her at center stage of the Jerusalem Thealre. As Ms. Taub greeled the new champion with a hearty embrace and a warm "maze/ tov," Lisa, with a bouquel of llowers In one hand and a trophy In lhe other, was barely able to relurn the ges­ ture. The broad smiles on bolh their faces laid lhe whole slory.

Triumph!

S'g1nll Ka/al H1-Tanach, Lisa Szubln.

Beginning the oral round ol the twentieth World Bible Con­ test lor Jewish Youlh ,n llflh place. Lisa had !ought her way

through three oral Questions and one written to tie for se­ cond place, capturing lhe crown of S'ganif Kalaf Ha·Tanach.

Tho World Bible Contest, or Ch/don Ha-Tanach, holds its an­ nual finals on Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day This year, finalists came from thlr· teen countries, speaking a total of four native tongues. For many of them, this was the cul­ mlnat1on of over a year of prepa­ ration. One had only to visit the

crowded precontest dressing room and notice the nervous•

ness and e,cc11ement on the faces ol those Involved to real­ ize the Importance ol the event.

Some were receiving last minute lips from their coaches: others. with ears plugged and eyes tightly shut, were speeding through chapter alter chapter ol tho book they had been memo•

rlzlng lor months.

Woman Rabbi Denied Memf:)ership

to Assembly by a Vote of 3

by Naomi Abraham!

The national organization of Conservative rabbis rejected the application of a woman rab· bl at Its annual convention in

April. However, the vote In favor of admitting Rabbi Beverly Mag­ ldson Into the Rabbinical As· sembly was only three votes short of the 75¾ needed for ad­ mission of a rabbi ordained out­ side the Conservative move­ ment. Rabbi Magldson was or­ dained in 1979 by Hebrew Union College, the Reform seminary of New York City.

Although a woman can be­ come the rabbi of a Conserva• tlve synagogue If she Is accept­ ed by the congregation, women are generally nol acknowledged as spiritual leaders within lhe Conservative movement. Pres­

ently, there ar� three Conserva­ tive shu/s that are led by women who have been ordained by the Reform

movement.

However,

the congregations are small, and membership In the Rabbini­ cal Assembly Is deemed imper­ ative If a rabbi wants to be fully active In Conservative Judaism.

Acceptance of women Into the Assembly would also put Immense pressure on the Jew­ ish Tehologlcal Seminary, the rabbinical school of the Conser­ vative movement, to grant women ordination. Women are allowed to study at the Semi· nary and take almost the ldentl· cal courses as men, but they cannot receive formal ordlna• tlon.

The narrow margin of Rabbi Magldson's defeat prompted a number of rabbis to call for a

second ballot to be taken this time by actually calling the name of each rabbi present at the convention. When the votes were tallied for the second time.

Rabbi Mag,dson again failed to gain admittance. This time she

was four votes short of lhe re­

quired percentage.

The closeness of the vote and

the call for a recount, following

more than three hours of heated debate, indicates the sensitivity of the Issue within the Conser­ vative movement.

The decision on whether to In­ clude women as rabbis Involves complex problems regarding traditional halachah, concern for those rabbis In the associa­ tion whose consciences do no let them accept women as rab• bis, and the effect admission will have on the relations hep be• 1ween Orthodox and Conserva­ tive Judaism.

The Reform wing of Judaism has ordained women for over 11 years; the Orthodox movement

does not accept women rabbis, and, according to Rabbi Jerome Epstein, the regional director of United Synagogues of America and a member of the Rabbinical Assembly, It will be difficult for the Orthodox to view Conserva• tlves as holders to halachah If they allow women to become rabbis.

There was some concern over the dichotomy that might result from women rabbis being Incor­ porated Into the Conservative movemenl, but the issue of paramount Importance ivas es­ sentially the question of ha/a· chah. "At the convention, ...

those people who were against her (Rabbi Mag,dson's) admis­ sion raised a number of Issues pertaining to halachah-not the ha/achah of ordaining female rabbis, because most people admit that, Intrinsically, there are no problems halachlcly In having women serve as rabbis: problems developed In anclllary Issues," explained Rabbi Ep• stein. These Include women being witnesses for conver­ sions, marriages and divorce, and sitting on the Ber Din. Tradi­ tionally, women are prohibited from performing these duties, which are considered to be part of a rabbi's work. Also, Rabbi Epstein feels If a woman were to become the rabbi of a synagogue, tho congregation would have every right to expect her to perform other rabbinic func· tlons, such as reading the Torah. "It would be a problem for those people who hold to a traditional view of halachah, whether they are on the right wing of the Conservative move­ ment or In the Orthodox move­ ment ... It was this type of lndl­ vldual who felt the Rabbinical Assembly should not admit a woman rabbi."

Other Issues that were raised brlelly were the psychological problems of accepting women as rabbis; however, these prob­ lems were eventually dis­ missed, since women who have served In the capacity of a splrl­ tual leader In the Reform move­ ment and In ottfer religions have not found any major problems gaining recognition by their

(Contlnu,d on Pag, 6/

Outside, the excitement was eQually high as lhe holiday crowd stampeded Into the theatre In "Who-concert" fashion to Jockey for lhe best seats.As the Ramaz contingent of s,x, including former contest•

ants D i n a C o h e n ('8 0 ) (1976, 1980) and David Freuden­ stein ('79) ( 1976), scurried to find places, the electronic score­ board on the right of the stage

revealed the results of the wrlt­ len round of the contest. which had been held In the northern village of Afula four days earlier. With 42 points, Lisa had lost the D,aspora Crown of the competition by a single point to Rivka Mendelssohn of Mexico.

Ahead of them were Shimon Ashv'al of Israel with 44 points. and David Koltovltz and Rah Navon. both of Israel, who had

achieved perfect scores of 46.

Through the first three rounds

the number of contestants dwindled from tlfteen to al?(.

L!sl Szubln, wt,o �ssertlvely answered her th/ee questions, had no d,fflcully gaining a berth

In the final round because of her high ranking at the outset She had. however, advanced only one pos1t1on In the standings as the three sabras ahead ol her had also held their ground.

The Prime Minister's ques•

tlon, though, the last Question in the contest, was worth up to twelve points. "In my year," re• membered David Freudenstein,

"this was the one that really separated the men from the boys, so to speak." Because Mr. Begin was unable to attend, the contestants received their final challenge from the Minister of Education. "You each have two minutes to respond to the fol· lowing Question· The word yachad (together) appears once In the Torah in conjunction with kingship, once In the Latter Pro­ phets in reference to redemp­

tion. and once 1n Scriptures con·

cernlng the rebuilding of the Temple. Identify where the word yachad appears, and how it re­ lates to the respective topics."

When the two-minute limlt had expired, the contestants handed In their answers and nervously began comparing answers to see If anyone had re­

membered tho three verses In

Quesllon from amid the 352 biblical chapters for which they had been responsible. soomed at au confident.

Few

Alter tM !u<lges h�d t811ten

the contestants' scores, Master of Ceremonies

the an­

nounced the results to the hush• ed audience. "We have the re­ sults and there has been a sh I ft In the standings. In third place with 58 points ... David Kolto­ v,tz, Israel " Kollovltz, who had performed llawlessly, until then, had failed to receive a

single po,nt In the final round.

"For runner-up we have a lie at

(Contmutd on Pagt 6)

Westinghouse: Catalyst for Achievement

I

r"

Henry Kautm■n

by Paul Kogan

Every year, hundreds of seniors all over the country compete In the annual Westing­ house Science Talent Search.

To enter, they must complete a research project In a math· or science-related field. Topics range from biochemistry to number theory and astronomy.

The project Involves a great amount of work and research.

Counlless hours are spent In the laboratory and In the llbrary, usually In the summer following one's Junior year.

Upon completion, tho pro­ jects are written up and sent to Washington, D.C., to be judged by a panel of scientists.The en-

Howard Eisenstein

tries are evaluated on the basis ol scientific knowledge and re• search skills. In addition, judges often look for sl!Th add· ed characteristics as creatlvlly, accuracy, and organization.

Of the 900 or so projects that are llnally submitted nation­ wide, 300 enter the Honors group. The top 40 of these are chosen as finalists and go to Washington for personal Inter­ views with the judges. Only the top 10 become winners and are awarded pecuniary awards.

More Important, however, Is the great prestige and recognition that always accompanies finishing In any of the winning (Continu,d on Pag� 7)

Page 2

7he R.am Paqe Published by the s1udents at Ramaz Upper School 60 East 78th St , N.Y., NY. 10021 HA 7-1000

Editor,in-Chief Executive Editor News/Politics Editor Feature Editors Photography Editor Staff Photographers Faculty Advisor

Edie Diament Lynn Charytan Herbert Block Rachel Hallote, Carol Salt Daniel Meron Michael Haber, Joshua Schwartz Steve Olson

Laissez

faire!

Behind the administration's expressed support and per­ missiveness vis-a-vis the student body is a destructive in­ clination toward repressiveness and over-control. Be it the student newspaper, the yearbook, the General Organization, or other student activities, the dominant concern of the ad­ ministration seems to be that it conform to a preconceived notion of the image of Ramaz, so as to safeguard the school's external reputation. Guidance for these activities is expected to be restraining and even prescriptive. Re­ cently, the administration has deemed the publication of a school survey in the last issue of the Ram Page inappropri­ ate for the newspaper. An enlightened administration should recognize that, even when a published ,tern is mis­ used to the perceived detriment of the school, the facile re· sponse of repression of unpleasant reports only com­ pounds the damage by jeopardizing the educational goals inherent in independent student expression and representa­ tion. It must be understood that, in publishing facts, no mat­ ter how distressing, the editorial staff ,s not seeking to flaunt. On the contrary, we print such material ,n the hopes that steps will be taken to improve existing situations.

Limiting the items printed in the school newspaper will not cause the real issues to disappear.

The administration has also considered establishing reli­ gious requirements for sfudent honors and leadership posi­ tions, the consequences of which would transform the func­ tions of these outlets, namely the encouragement of aca­ demic excellence or the promotion of free thought, to mere parroting of the administration's views.

The controlling atmosphere promoted by the administra­ tion breeds rebelliousness among strong-w1lled students, reticence among weaker ones, as well as general ill-feel,ng and contempt within the student body toward policies and objectives of the school. Ironically, if the school were to respect and allow responsible Individualism, more positive responses to the school's avowed goals would be engender­ ed.

We urge the school to exercise a policy of benign neglect toward responsible student initiatives. Laissez-faire re­ quires confidence, foresight, and cou rage. The alternative attitude would entail loss of a free press and democratic student government, which would far outweigh the illusory advantage of an unblemished school image.

Poll Merely Reflects Reality To the Editor: I suppose It Is the Inevitable fate of newspapers to attract criticism. but I must say that I would have been hard-pressed to find something controversial tn the Ram Page's innocuous (perhaps shamefully so) most recent Issue.

For that reason, I was rather surprised to hear that the sur­ vey featured In the lead article of that issue was a source of controversy and outrage. As I understand It, a number of ad­ ministrators, parents, and other concerned Individuals responsi­ ble for our education were upset by the printing of that survey, which (to its credit) posed a wide variety of questions lo the student body.

First of all, an ob1ect,on to a survey Is a bit difficult to under­ stand. It ,s one thing to Impugn the scientific validity of the questions. but, with a few ex• ceptlons, this survey posed questions in a reasonably fair manner, with only one or two that tend to bias the responses.

Moreover, I don·t think that lhe criticism being levelled against the survey takes issue with the Questions. Rather, those who complain are outraged by the responses.

Therefore, to address their complaints we must answer two Questions: whether or not the responses are d1stress1ng, and whether or not It was appropri­ ate for the newspaper to print them.

The answer to the first is somewhat difficult. Personally, I found a few or the results dis• tressing. I was upset by the stu­ dents' views on execution, on settlements In the occupied ter­ n tones, and the "supenonty" of the Jewish people. On the other hand, I was very pleased to see the relatively high degree of tolerance exhibited for the views and practices of other people. I don't find 11 so dis­ heartening that 53% of the stu• dents in Aamaz, 58% of whom characterize themselves as non­ Orthodox, Question the concept of Torah from Sinai. I also think that 86% IS an incredibly high figure for belief 1n God. As for the Questt0n of divine inspira­ tion of the rabbis, I don't think

Opinion:

Reagan's Reign of Terror on Youth

by Herbert Block Ronald Reagan and his con­ serva tlve Administration pro­ fess great concern for "the American family" while engag­ ing in policies extremely detri­ mental lo the most important component of the family-chil­ dren and youth. Reagan ran as the pro-family candidate In 1980, but you would never know It from his policies and pro­ posals. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has remarked that, ac­ cording to the Reagan anti-abor­ tion stand and budget cuts, "Life begins at conception and ends at birth." The first two years of the Reagan White House have been terrible for children and youth, and the next two years do not look promis­ ing, Let's look at the Impact of the /

May 1983

The R&m Page

Reagan budget cuts on the 61.7 pients are under 17 as well as million youth In our country two thirds of those who get wel­ under age 18. fare and 45% of those on Medi­ • Last year 3.2 million chil­ caid. Yet Child Nutrition pro­ dren left the school lunch pro­ grams are down 33% and Food gram. A third of these children Stamps have been cut $2 billion are poor and do not have that a year. nutritional government meal to • Education spending has depend on anymore. While try• been cut 30%, and funds for Ing to get the "wealthy poor" off Pell Grants for college reduced the lunch program, Reagan has 38% with tightened eligibility made ll Inefficient for schools standards.

This litany of horror could go to run the program for lhe "truly needy" alone. on and on but the point has • The Women-Infant-Child been made. Ronald Reagan, In p r o g r a m , w h i c h provides his zeal to reduce government nutrients and medical care for spending, has made children pregnant and nursing women and youth the sacrificial lamb and for children, has been while treating the defense slashed so drastically that only budget as a sacred cow, spend­ one quarter of the 9 mill/on Ing $225 billion a year on the needy women and children can military. get aid.

Not all of the damage done by • 53% of Food Stamp reel- Reagan has been In fh� federal

there are many rabbis who distressing, they should fault would hold that to be the case. themselves rather than the But even If one were to find the newspaper that exposes them. responses heretical, the school Too frequently the school tries community should realize that to deal v11th problems by deny­ one must choose between lncul• ing their reality rather ttlan ca1ing a dogma and Instilling an changing It. Personally, I don't ability to think critically II we think the school has that much are taught to think cr1t1cally, we to be ashamed of in this survey, will undoubtedly hold a reason· The ability to spit back the ably diverse field of opInIons on tenets of a creed whlle one Is In spiritual matters. The survey high school is of questionable merely reflects the reality of our value when one Is not taughl to think cril1cally and Inde­ views. pendently. What the school This brings us to our second does have to be ashamed of ,s Question. If the newspaper Is any desire to curb the news­ merely reflecting a reality and paper's freedom of expression, not molding ,t, then 11 has the and any desire to deal with the duty to publish the results of a views of Its students by denial survey like this. If those who rather than by confrontation.

David Henkin have taught us fmd the results

To Earn

• • •

a small Job and earn a few To the Editor: The current oan on paid em­ dollars The opportunity to earn some money, either to ease the ployment for senior work-study cost of 1u,tIon or to use as Is unfair and unnecessary While the merits of volunteer spending money throughout the work are s1gn1f1cant, namely the year, Is available during this opportunity for exposure to Jobs stagnant period before gradua­ that. under d1fferen1 circum­ tion Wouldn't 11 be wise of the stances, would be closed to stu­ administration, being cognizant dents, as well as the chance to of rising costs of college educa­ contribute to social welfare, the tion, to allow students who v11sh educational benefits would not 10 earn money to do so, pro­ be undermined in any way 11 vided they can find tne 1obs? some s1uden1s were to receive An argument can be brought compensation for their work to defend the volunteer aspect In rendering all services of­ of work-study by stating that fered by Ramaz students gratu1· the 1obs are meant to be of edu• taus, the adm1nIstrat1on Is un­ cauonal value to the s tudent. justly binding the students In Yet, there is nothing (riv,tous fn several months, sentors will be working for an honest day's attending colleges. many of wages, even 1f it means wait· which have scary price tags resslng or working as a cash ier.

They are well aware of the f1nan­ Moreover, for many students, c,al hardships their farnll1es will learning the value of the dollar face, and need to use lh1s wouldn't be such a bad idea "breather" from school to hold Carol Salt

... Or Not to Earn To the Editor:

To accept compensation tor labor performed as a work-study proJect would not only be detri­ mental to the educational value of the program, but unfair as well.

To provide the opportunity to earn money during this "stag• nant" period 1s not the responsI­ b1l1ty of the school Work-study Is meant as an alternate and additional educational tool (to budget itself. New rules and regulations have made life for us youth much more difficult.

• The proposed youth jobs program includes permlssipn for subminimum wages and woula treat youth like lower class citizens and pay us 25% less per hour just because of our age. It is Ironic that the same President Reagan who talks of reducing government regulations can find new ones of his own to Impose on youth.

With the unemployment rate among minority teenagers at close to 50%, the Admi nistra­ tlon has cut all job training pro• grams and eliminated funds for )obs targeted for poor youth.

Jobs are no longer available, and money for college has been cut, so Reagan ts trying to force youth Into the military as their

classroom teaching) and Is, I think. rightfully deemed effec­ tive for seniors It Is true that some students could use the money and. 11 Is for this reason that 11 may be un­ fair to prohIb1t receipt of com­ pensations. However, would It be tau to pressure these s1u­ dents to find paying jobs while their peers could have the choice of many fun, fulflll1ng, and educational ones?

Debbie Goldsmith last alternative. Society could be drastically improved If we on­ ly utilized the minds and bodies of our young people In produc­ tive ways designed to preserve Ille rather than teaching how to kill.

As bad as these last two years have been, things could have been worse had Reagan gotten everything he wanted.

• Reagan proposed to elimi­ nate the Office of Juvenile Jus­ tice and Delinquency Preven­ tion at a time when 23% of all crimes are committed by juve­ niles.

• He wanted to consider ket­ chup a vegetable to save money In the school lunch program and further under-feed the children.

• The proposed Family Pro­ tection Act would redefine child

(Cominued on Page 6)

May 1983

In-Depth:

Tho Ram Page

Page 3

Ramaz Results Re-examined by Rabbis

by Edie 0iamont On S h a b b a l paras hat Acharel-Kedoshlm, April 23, 1983, Rabb, Jacob J Schacter of the Jewish Center on the West Side of Manhallan dellv• ered a sermon concerning the stale of American Orthodoxy lo• day To illustrate his lhes,s that, contrary to an asserllon made In an article in Tradition Maga­ z,ne, Orthodox Jews should not feel either complacent or tri­ umphan l, Rabb, Schacter quoted lrom the pulpit several of the responses to the survey printed in the last Issue of the Ram Page. He c,ted the re• sponses to questions concern• ,ng the concept ol Torah from Sina,, the authenticity of the

events ol lhe Bible, premarital sex, and conlraceptlon as being lndlca11ve ol problems lacing the Orthodox community The inc,cJent has since raised much controversy regarding Rabb, Schacter's intent, the extent to which his remarks may have damaged lhe school's image, the question ol lreedom ol lhe press lor the Ramaz newspaper, lhe results ol the survey them­ selves, as well as the educa­ tional a,ms of Ramaz Among the congregants pre­ sent on Apnl 23rd were a num• ber ol Ramaz parents and slu• dents While nearly all those questioned agreed thal Rabb, Schacter dtd not intend to deni grate Aamaz, several parents

fell that h,s speech was m,s­ lead,ng According to Ms Naom, Cohen, Rabbi Schacter did not underscore the lacl thal the questlonnaIre repeated a survey of ten years ago and was intended for comparison of stu• dent opinions now to those in 1973 Ms Esther Nussbaum re­ called that Rabb, Schacter also quoted a survey taken as parl ol a study done by Dr. Paul R11ler­ band, questioning Its accuracy bul, at the same 1,me, lending complete credence to the Ramaz sur>Jey Rabbi Lookste,n pointed to a negligence on the part ol the rabbi ,n verilylng lhe circumstances behind the con­ ducting ol lhe survey belore es­ pousing his own conclusions

On the other hand, there were lhose parents who lell thal Rab­ bi Schacter was generally well• disposed toward Ramaz Mr Emmanuel Federbush cited Rabb, Schacler's praise lor Rabb, Joseph Lookstein and, more speclflcally, lor his philos­ ophy that every Jew has the po­ tential to become shomer mitz­ vor Mr Abraham Bayer was more disturbed by lhe reacllons ol the members ol the Rama, parent body than by the sermon ,1sell, maintaining that Rabb, Schacter was widely m1sInter­ preled Says Rabbi Schacter ol the incident, ·•11 was not my inten• 1,on at all to single out Ramaz or to disparage ,t In any way I was

discussing the stale ol Ameri­ can Orthodoxy In general, and pointed out that, while we have made ma1or strides, our work 1s by no means over I leel that lhe opinions published In lhe Ramaz survey, as I understood them, rellect a problem Iha! ex­ ists ,n lhe total Orthodox com­ mun11y and must be addressed.

I have great respect lor lhe won­ derful work that Ramaz 1s doing In the community The Aamaz students In my own congrega• t1on are certainly proof of the fact that Ramaz has been suc­ cesslul ,n 1nsttlllng the sensltiv­ I1tes and knowledge that are so much a part of trad11lonal Juda­ Ism I am very sorry that my re(Cuntmued on Pagt 4)

Ramaz Should Be "Unique Yeshiva", Not "Independent School" To the Editor: You. the editorial stall, and the reporters are to be com• mended tor the exceptionally high quality of writing, mature reporting, and w,lllngness to deal with provocative and d1ff1• cult issues In The Ram Page As parents, we may not always like the substance of what ,s print ed, but 11 Is very important that we read 1t, and we are grateful to you lor lhe opporlun,ty Cases in poinl are your ed1to· nal in the Adar ,ssue concern­ ing tznlut and tz1onut, the arti­ cle in the Nisan ,ssue concern­ ing the survey of Sludenl opl• n1ons and attitudes. the survey itself, and your editorial In lhe NI s a n I s s u e. "·R 1 g h t 1ng' Ramaz?"

The results of your survey and your ed1tor1als are very trou­ bling They evidence, on the one hand. the creative. open, anu free thinking that characterizes the Ramaz student, and the "tens,on between vanous reh­ g1ous factions" which you be· l1eve results in "'challenge'" and •vibrancy" On the other hand. the ed11or,als and the study sug• gest ra�her clearly, we think, that Onhodox teachings and hatachah, and the philosophy ol hie and relatIonsh1ps that they reflect, appear to be having mm ,mal impact upon the thought anCI attitudes of a large number of students The open and searching mind of the Ramaz student unfortunately appears to be anchored primarily In con•

The Problem Lies in the Home To the Editor: The questionnaire that ap­ peared In lhe April, 1983 ,ssue of the Ram Page had some very disturbing results. When going over the quesllons on theology and religion, we were s�ocked by the responses. fourteen per­ cent of the students polled said they did nol believe In God. Six­ teen percent characterized themselves as something other than Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. We think anyone who lalls Into these two categories should ask themselves, "What am I doing in Ramaz?" Person­ ally, we both think you are wast­ ing your valuable time and your parents' money.

Ramaz oilers an excellent secular education. However, there are many other schools that are geared solely to this type of education. Ramaz, a Jewish day school, oilers a se­ cond side lo Its curriculum. This side deals primarily with our religion-Judaism. Essentially, Judaism Is the belle I In one God and the study of his book, the Torah. Therefore, how can you non-believers waste your valuable time studying half the d a y something you ca n't honestly believe In. Saying you don't believe In God and then learning divine laws Is totally hypocritical.

Who Is 10 blame lor lhe cur­ rent problem at Ramaz? The ad­ mlnlstrat,on? NO• Based on the religious tallies mentioned in the questionnaire, we can see that there has been a conscious ellort to admit more rellg,ously­ commltted students Can the Judaic Studies lacully be blam· ed?

Being graduates of Ramaz and current students at Belt Mldrash L'Torah (BMT) In Israel, we feel that Ramaz Is fulf,lllng the responsibility towards the community by conscientiously and sincerely attempting to transmit the richness of our Torah heritage to lls students Unfortuntely, on a day-to-day basis the Ramaz faculty has to deal with students who are brought up with contradicting Ideals. It Is very dlilicult to teach (and practice) the Jewish religion when what Is taught Is constantly being Ignored ln lhe household.

It Is up to lhe parents to pro­ vide lhemselves with the Jewish education they never had, for their sake and for the sake of their children.

Our educational s c hiz o p h r e n i a must be eliminated b y educa\lng the home as well.

Joshua Kagan Jamie Lassner Class of 1982

temporary thought and atti­ tudes, and 1s not sul11c1ently in­ fluenced by the teachings ol Orthodox Judaism Consider lh1s statement from your Adar ed1lorlal "Al best ,1 {study ol tzniuf) engenders guilt over the we?,ring ot current fashions, The ed,tor,als and the survey suggest 10 us thal the most pressing matter for faculty and admm1strat1on attention in the 1mmed1ate future 1s to continue the examination of whether Ramaz, as a Modern Orthodox institution of learning, has been successful in achieving Its goals concerning Judaism as a religion The results of the survey con.· cernmg cocaine, prost1tutIon, premarital sexual relations, homosexuahty, and atheism are absolutely shock,ng' They re­ llect allltudes completely at odds wllh and destructive ol the d1vIne essence ol man and the kedushah wh,ch ,s supposed to govern man's relationship with h1msell, with his fellow human beings, and with God Holiness Is inherent and fundamental to Orthodox leaching Yet, holi­ ness ,s lar from the mind of one who would approve, tolerate, or remove barriers to the use ol drugs which destroy self, lam1ly, friends, and community, and the engagement in sexual prac­ tices which destroy the sanctity ol the par1,cIpanls and lhe holi­ ness that should characterize the relat1onshIp between man and woman A widely held view ,n !he student body lhal I here IS no d,v,ne lnsptration in the Tal­ mud and in blbllcal commentary reduces lhe study of lhese works, for many, to an lfretevant study ol ancient wr11Ings.

When at a Modern Orthodox day school, lourteen percent of lhe students (one out ol every seven) claim not to believe In God, and hfly-three percent claim not to believe that lhe To­ rah came lrom Sina,, ll Is proof positive that the Index of la,th and belief has lallen far too low While the survey Is a testa• ment to lhe independence of lhought of the Ramaz student, It must be slated thal lree think­ ing, without more, rarely leads to anything other lhan religious emptiness, and, sometimes, even to moral death. In contrast,

a solid commitment to Torah, in study, prayer, and conduct ele­ vates man and leads to piety The two-a creative mind and commitment to Torah-must go hand in hand Unfortunately, one does nol sense commitment to Torah m many of the responses reported upon The resulting lack ot p,ery among many 1n lhe school 1s, therefore. nol C11ff1cult to under­ stand Piety and genuine reh­ g1osIty do, indeed, lead to menschhchke11. We take your statement to the contrary as re· I erring to rote r1tuahsm, and not to true relfglosity The basic problem, we lh1nk, and as !he record appears to make evident, Is that Ramaz has been and Is seen by many-in• eluding, ,t would appear, some among the administration, fac­ ulty, and students-as a special kind ol ··independent school" instead of a unique kind of yeshiva.

We do not accept that point of view and vigorously oppose II We believe that ,1 the focus al Ramaz were more on "yeshiva," there would be a better opportu­ nity to develop an environment more conducive to the values and Ideals ol Orthodox Juda­ ism, and less supportive of sec­ ular attitudes and pressures If the focus were more on ·•yeshiva," the adm1nis1rat1on and lacully would, for example, be encouraging, in a more meaningful and consistent way than at present, proper conduct at prayer, modesty In dress, pro­ priety of speech, honesty in scholastic endeavors, and adherence to religious require­ ments In respect of washing, motzi, and benching. The day would, it Is hoped, end when fz/fzlt are ridiculed by many ol the students, miniskirts can be found in the schoolhouse, and the krppsh, lor some, Is less a covering of lhe head showing reverence for God lhan a badge of Identity. There would be a compulsory, meaningful g'milat chasadim program thal would be the equal of the Honors Tal­ mud program, and would clearly establish lor lhe Ramaz sludenl lhe principle that mrtzvor must Include on a regular bas,s, ma 'asim tov,m, and not only scholastic achievement. There

would be a greater number of rellg1ously supportive teachers and administrators drawn from both the Judaic Studies and General Studies areas, who would be role models for the students-in the lunchroom, ,n the classroom, and at morning mmyan D1sc,phne would be consistent anCI rea1, rather than a sometime or arbitrary en­ deavor The college admissions program would be more con­ cerned with prov1dIng a college student with a supportive envi­ ronment lor y1ddlshkeit, than with merely getting a student inlo an academically superior 1ns111utlon, which often turns oul to be a Jewish wasteland In short, 11 Aamaz, In Its daily life, demonstrated cons,stent regard lor Torah, avodah, and g'm1/at chasad,m as the primary values, we believe that the com· pet1tIve, materlallst1c, and non­ rellg,ous attitudes of many ot the students would not be long ,n changing Menschl,chkert would stand a better chance of becoming real at Aamaz The key Is lo secure the ne­ cessary changes m the tone and locus ot Ramaz We are not talking about changing the phi• losophy ol Ramaz as a middle• of-the-road, Modern Orthodox lnslltu11on. We are not talking about altering Ramaz's state­ ment ol philosophy and ob1ec• I,ves. We are lalkrng about changing the tone and mlllou ,n the school which will nol, In the sllghlesl, adversely attect the level or quality ol the General Studies program, extracurricu­ lar actwItIes, or cultural and contemporary awareness of the differences among the various philosophies of Zronism. While the change in tone m,ghl well, over a period of years, result in guilt leelings about the wearing ol Immodest fash,ons, we do not see this result as lhe slight· est step backward, bul rather a major leap in the right direction Donna and Arthur SIiverman (Although one ol tho sign•• torlts Is an 011/cor (Treasurer) ol the Ramaz Baord of Trustees, we write solely as parents. Our personal •lows may not In any way be attributed to the Board, tho members ol which may or may not agree, In whole or In part, with the contents ol this /ttfor.)

P1g1 4

May 1983

The Ram Pa11a

Achieving World Supremacy

by Dorl! Harmann Tho quleI room I saI In began to 1111 up. Before I knew 11, I was surrounded by whal seemed llke an uncontrollable mob of exclled kids. They galhered around the !able, Ialklng In ur­ gent tones. I made my way lhrough the crowd and peered over some shoulders lo see whal tho commollon was all abouI. II turned out to be a game board with Europe and North Africa drawn on 11. Game pieces wore put on several

spots, conference maps were

handed 0UI, and lhe kids re­ treaIed Into smaller groups

where they conversed In hushed voices for a few mlnules Sud• denly !here were loud exclama• tlons coming from all sides of lhe rooml "Civil dlsordorl," Rus sla Is gonel," "GeI your orders lnl," "When you say Turkey .. smilel," "Gel your orders lnl".

This Is the Diplomacy Club, newly Introduced to Ramaz In December ol 1982. There were a sIaggerlng 14 members In lhe beginning, bul parllclpatlon has increased to about 30 kids, and there are consIanI prospective members. The club's supervisor, Mr. Jon Jucovy, Is very enthusl­ asllc aboul the club.

The object of the game Is for a country to conquer lhe world.

The groups of people represenl counllles To achieve world su• promacy, lhe "counlrles" plan !heir s1raIegy with the aid of conference maps They have 15 minutes 10 plan and 5 minutes to "get their orders In " This means writing down where they want to altack and where they want lo retreat from. A good player Is one with allies, good strategies, and weaker, sus• peeling enemies Some sIudenIs were Intro­ duced 10 the Diplomacy Game last year who enjoyed it and re­ quested a Diplomacy Club be formed The members range from !he 7Ih to !he 12Ih grades, and there Is a maIoroIy of male players Mr. Jucovy allrobutes thal 10 the fact IhaI gorls lend 10 be more lnhlblled aboul war, and lhal girls Iend lo slay away lrom board games All In all, Diplomacy Club a : • }

seems like fun for those who

undersIand II Bui being amids! tho ongoing conspiracies, re­ lenllcss shouting, and "clvll dis• order," I can only feel gralelul Joshua Musher discusses slralegy as Lisa Gatlin notes her socrel lhal lhe wor,ld really lsn'I in lheso players hands plans of acllon.

The Good Life Through Education

by Jonathan Krasner and Jatfrey Ellender "I e.aw people doing a bad job In high school; I wanled 10 ,m, prove on the pathetic Job thaI others were doing I was always good In mathematics, and I wanted to share !he beauloes of math wllh 0lhers." Mr. Albert Gootz. currenl chairman of the Malhemallcs DepartmenI al the Ramaz Upper School, Is one of a large number of teachers who wen! Into !he profession for ldeallsllc reasons. "Teachers have an lmpacI on lhe lulure," explains Mr. Ira Miller of lhe Engllsh Department "Educa• lion Is a means of change."

Mrs. JIii Sanders, Ramaz col­ lege guidance counselor, points oul lhal people don'! go Into teaching unless they have lhe lncenllve 10 Improve our corrupt world "The low salaries and general oversupply of teachers repels many people from lhe profession," Mr. Miller agrees.

"American soclely uses a maIerlal standard to Judge suc­ cess; success must be tangible.

There Is no Ianglble measure­ menl In leaching " II Is evldenI thal over the last len years there has been a drop In lhe number of people enter­ Ing lhe leaching profession.

"The desire 10 Improve the world," according to Mrs. Sanders, "Is not as significant as It was in the pasr." People lo­ day are worried about comfort and money. In Ramaz lhe number of seniors expressing the lnleresl In pursuing a leach· Ing career has dropped substan­ tially over lhe pas! len years.

"This year, I saw only two or lhree kids who expressed an In lerest In leaching," recalls Mrs. Sanders.

In the pasl, Ramaz has done llltle to encourage lhe students

to pursue social service profes• sions. Mr. Bernstein, recalls In disgusl a Yorn lyun on cnoosing a profession lhree years ago "There was not one representa· t1ve from a social service pro• fesslon al lhe Yorn lyun. There was nol one psycholog1sI, nol one social worker, rabbi, or teacher" Mr. BernsIe,n Is one of many Ramaz Ieachers who "fell 1nI0" leaching. "II was a week before lhe registraI,on dale for lhe L.S.A.T.'s. I had a very good chance of gelling inlo an Im­ pressive law school. Yo!, I had an elemenl of doubl as to whelher I really wanted lo be­ come a lawyer. I did some soul searching and decided lo try leaching for a year and see If I liked 11. If II didn't work out, I would pursue an education In law." Mr. Bernsleln explains that "sixlies idealism" lnflu, enced him 10 give teaching a chance.

Mr. Sleven Olson and Mr Ira Miller were also unsure which profession to pursue Mr. Miller conlemplated becoming a Jani­ tor when he was four Both men considered becoming engi­ neers, Mr. Olson In high school, Mr. Miller in college. Each was very slrong In bolh lhe humani­ ties and malhematlcs Mr. Olson recalls an experience teaching nuclear physics 10 lei• low sludents In a Nallonal Sci· e n c e Foundation summer course Iha! Influenced him 10 consider educallon as a proles• sion. He chose English, how• ever, because he decided that, while may people can solve equ ations, not thal many are sensitive lo human needs and feelings. Mr. MIiier, 100, decided "lo grallfy [his] humanities.''

Each man polnls to Idealism as a main Influence In his decision

to become a teacher .

Mrs Rulh Lllsky did nol con1omplate going into 1ne teach­ Ing profession while in college.

W1sh1ng to use her hngu1st1c talenIs as part ot her profes­ sion, she conlemplaled using ,1 In the Foreign Service. After she completed an assistantship at

Queens College, she found lhal she enjoyed Ieach1ng so much Iha! she decided to abandon her earlier pl ans.

In

contrast,

Mrs.

Barbara

Rubin always had an lnleresl in leaching "I have always been qulxollc by nalure. I believe edu­ callon Is a way of life-a life­ long process. By living !his Ideal, I feel I help olhers find !he good llle-lhe good life lhrough educallon.'' Spanish particular­ ly appealed 10 her because she was lascinaled by Spanish poelry and culture. She wishes 10 convey lhe message thal Spanish Is not inherently non­ Jewish "We can extend lo Lalin America, sharing our cullures.

Language ,s a bond Iha! leads to unive,sahsm."

Rabb, Jay Miller Ioyed w,lh the poss1b1llly of becoming a lawyer before ded,callng him­ self 10 lhe Ieach,ng proless,on, particularly in Jewish educa­ tion "I found pleasure in teach­ ing. I gel a lhrill from the 1nIer­ acllon of people lalklng 10 each other.'' He regrels !he lac! thal fewer people are going 1nI0 lhe field of Jewish education.

"Jewish education is not being given enough recogniti on."

Anolher rabbi agrees. "Jewish mothers wan! !heir children 10 be lawyers, doclors, and busi­ nessmen. There Is no money In Jewish educallon, and Jewish parenls do nothing lo promple !he Idea of pursuing the field."

All of the teachers interview­ ed were happy with their choice and have few or no regrels.

Ms. Sylvia Parnes gives "medical 111ention" lo Shoshana Deniz.

Keeper of the Crazy Room

by Brenda Schachter One of Iho most popular rooms at Ramaz Is the nurse's oflce Pres1d1ng over II ,s Ms Parnes, residing In 11 are both lhe studenls and lacully of Ramaz Ms Parnes grew up wanting 10 be a nurse She though! lhal ,1 would enable her 10 "slay alive forover "Alter she l1n1shed !raining, she worked In an operating room, as a supervisor ol obslclrlcs, and as a public­ heallh nurse She ondod her pre• Ramaz career working with emot,onally disturbed children al !he Jewish Child Associa­ tion Ms Parnes finds preven• tIve medicine and working with adolescents more rewarding Ihan hospllal work Now In her fourth year al Ramaz, she Is proud that the ot• flee Is also a "neutral room·· tor people who need a oreak from the school routine She believes that no one who enters her room Is faking They v1sIt the room tor

a reason, even 1111 1s not the one !hey claim She does, however, gel a good laugh when Sludenls believe Iha! lhey are pulling something over on her The most common ailment she deals Wllh IS lhe headache Tne mosI dreaded is !he allerg,c reaction Students also go there to alleviate pressure or to re cover either from exnaustIon or from an argument with a friend Teachers vIsIt the nurse's office to Ialk, or, as Ms Parnes pul ,1, "lo unloa d." They also go !here 10 gel away from the teacher's room, because It Is so lull of cigarette smoke.

ConIrary 10 popular belief, Ms Parnes' most loved ,nstru• men! in lhe office Is nol lhe thermometer, but the radio, which plays Bach, Beelhoven, and Mozart lt1s what keeps her going II also has healing quall• ties, which IS JUSt what the doc­ tor would order tor what Ms Parnes artect1onately calls the · Crazy Room."

. . . Schacter

Ramaz sIudents do, bul !hey would probably be compelled 10 tneIr in dishonest be responses'' Professor Samuel Heilman, a soc1ologIst who Is currently conducting a survey within the Orthodox community, said that !he results ol lhe poll are noI ne­ cessarily attributable to the rell• g,os,ly, or lack thereof, of the studenl body. "II the school were to admit more Orthodox sIudenIs, lhe kids would sI,11 hold the same opinions-only lhey'd be wearing k1ppot" Re• gard,ng lhe publicaI,on ol the survey, Dr Heilman Slaled, "Be­ fore other yesh1vot and rabbis poinl a disparaging finger at Ramaz, !hey should conduct surveys in their own schools My guess ,s IhaI lhe resulls would not be loo tar from those al Rama," According to Mrs Nussbaum, who discussed the Ramaz sur­ vey with a colleague at a com­ parable yeshiva high school, a similar poll was conducted there, with similar results, and was suppressed by IhaI admin­ istration. Gabriel Nussbaum asked Dr. Norman Lamm, who heard Rabbi Schacler's sermon, whelher he would conducl such a survey at MT.A Dr Lamm re· plied Iha! he would nol. be cause he would then be obh· galed lo publish lhe resulls Says Mr. Bayer, "II is very much lo Ramaz·s credit thal !he sur•

(Contmued from Pagt 1/ marks were so misunderstood and m1s1nterpreted " As regards !he extenl ol dam­ age to Aamaz·s external reputa· I,on caused by mentioning lhe school by name, most parents viewed the singular citation of Ramaz 10 be very unlorlunate Rabb, Schacter explained Iha!, as he perceived 11, fam,harity with the survey was relatively widespread and, such being the case. any deliberate omission ol lhe name ol lhe school would only have been construed as an ,mphed critIc1sm By contrast, Ms Nussbaum fell Iha! Rabb, SchacIer's "singling ouI" of Ramaz led to his sermon's being 1aken as an attack on the school Rabbi LooksIeIn loll Iha! lhe hurt sullcred by lhe school would be d1ll1cuII 10 re­ pair 01 !hose parents quesI,oned, many ma,nIa,ned !hat 11,e re• suits of the survey were not sur• prosing and lhal, In lac!, !hey probably would not dill or slgnll­ lcanlly in any olher yeshiva high school. The conlroversy, how• ever, arose over the printing and d1ssemlnallon ol lhe survey For Mr. Bayer, lhe resulls were lndi• catlve of the honesty and can­ dor of Ramaz sIudenIs "In any olher yeshiva, the sIudonIs probably feel the same way as

(Conrmu,d on Pagt 8/

M•Y 1983

Page 5

The Ram Page

Goodbye But Not Good Riddance

by Lynn Charyt1n I s this mor e than a va in­ glorious, self - gralllyln g , pat on the back? No For the benefit o f a l l w h o w o u l d b e q uick t o cry " yel low journalism," her e I s t h e admission t h a t t h i s a r t ic l e , s n o t news. It , s a celebration in honor ol the last time that I he "Senior Problem" w,11 be dis­ cussed.

A rumor Is curr ently c l r culat• I n g In Ramaz that when the class ol · 53 gr aduates, the school w,11 heave a much - war• r anted sigh ol rellel Every year the a d m i n i s t r ation becomes somewhat melancholy as It watches the seniors graduate However, this year the Waldotl• Astoria has been rented for a small "a p r es - g raduatlon" cele· br at,on Thal Is, II this year's g r aduat1on takes place al all It seems that t h e r e 1 s some trou­ ble sur rounding the graduation

script wh i ch was wrillen by David Hen kin Mr Be r l , ,n tac1,

has threatened 10 boycott I he g radua11on ,1 t h e script Is used It mIghI be simpler I f the senior s !l o n o t show u p Our r eputation, i f somewhat exaggerated. has ea rned us a place in the a r ch i ves of Aam az history Although the truth ,s, we are not really s u re j ust what

our reputation is or when and

� how we picked 11 u p The se· :a ni ors are repor t edly unmanage-

1

able, i n t ractable, obnoxious � a nd argumentative Se n iors

don't gel alon g with each other or with anybody else. T eachers are for ewarned when they must conlronl the class ol ·53 lor the llrst limo. Our lreshman seminar was deemed a spiritual !allure. The school shuddered when wo began planning lor our Sophomore T ea and quickly abolished the ritual wh o•, we were l l nlshed. In our j u n ior year our classes were rearranged in a n eflort to demoralize and de­ luse us. Plea-bargaining was necessary this year to obtain pe r m ission to go on our senior trip We booed down the ritual ol the class t-sh,rt and sug­ gested lye-d ying the g r aduation r o bes instead And on our " last day" ol school, the adml nlslra• t,on threatened to revoke prrvI• leges that we hadn't even heard of and compared us to a slm1lar• ly emba r r a ssing grade of yester­

year

For some reason, th,s li neup does not seem awful Instead of ea rning our reputation, 1 t seems wo stepped ,nI0 ,t One cou ld say that lhlS all began Wllh a seventh grade s1 t -1 n 1n M r s R1 t1erband's o f f i c e , b u t ev ery g r ade has had a s1 1-1n at one tim e or another Ther e 1s a d i s­ cordant note about us t hat pro· h1blts our bl ending harmon­ io usly with other " Aamazniks, " and th,s merits spec,al recog­ ni zance, whether posit ive or negat i ve, M uch of that r ecog n 1 t 1on 1s

1 1C negative, but not all. Various faculty members commented on our artis tic talents and Imagination. We were labelled as "interesting," or simpl y spe• c,al. One teacher commented that we were missing that "go gel ·em·· quality that is pre• valenl in the school . and In• stead we had more o l an In• teresl ,n " L i f e ·· Another said that the class o l '83 has brought a pol iI1cal consciousness 10 the school, when this class g radu• ates there will be a vacuum not easily l 1lled Other teachers picked out Ind1v 1duals ,n an el­ tori to p i npoint what made us

! ;

dlllerent. Most teachers laugh• ed and shook their heads. "Give me lim e to think."

So, In fact, we will be missed, and there are some things lhal we will miss, among them, the old Jokes and the comlortable presence even of the people whom we d islike. There i s one experience, however, that rates highest on lhe list ol things we will remember: being evicted lrom the library. The seniors would like to apologize for the d a y we scat tered cookie crumbs i n yo ur l i brary and squi rted you with our water guns, Mrs. N u ssbaum.

Yeh·u da Blum : " Grant Us Blessings of Peace. "

by Ila na H oller "I am wo r ried about t he ver y su rv i val of the Amer ican Je wish com m u n it y at a t t me when such a sma l l percen tage of J ew, sh ch ild ren recei ve a full J ew ish ed ucation. f a m wo r ried about the st eadily I nc reas ing rate of interma rriage. The re is a close lin k, o f cou rse, be tween rec ei v­ i ng a Jewish ed ucatio n a nd what ha ppe ns to the young Jew­ ish adult afte rwa rds. " Am bass ador Yeh uda Blum re­ lated h is co nce rns lo, Ame rican Jews and for Is rael in a n inte r­ v iew at t he Is rae li Co n sulate o n May 10th. He advoca ted aliyah as the "col le ct ive na tio nal a n swer lor tho J ew ish peop le " Acco rd ing 10 Ambassador Blum , aliyah must be co n· s,de red whe n ..you ng people ask the m se lves what values they seek in the ir l ives, what cha lle nges t hey set for the m­ se lves and for their ow n futu res.

Am I go i ng to be just a ca rbon copy ol the p revious ge ne ra tto n, or do I want to do so meth ing new nove ? A nd II so, how w il l l that , nove co n t ri bu tion ol m i ne l f exp ress Itse l ? Be i ng a Jew in the year 1983. a nd hav , ng bee n p r iv i le ed 10 live ,n a gene rat ion g In wh ich Jewish sove reig nly was resto red a lt er 19 ce ntu ries ol Its absence where does my , duty lie towa r ds my own peo• pie ?"

Ambassador B lu m 's ma jor lear lor Israel Is that the "g row­ i ng· po la rization between rel i• g los lty and secu la r ism cou ld th reaten the ve r y lab rlc ol Is· l rae 's society. " Holder o va rious law del

g rees, a fo rme r pro fessor of ln1e r na1ional Law al Jer usalem's He b rew Un iversi ty, A m bassador Bl u m h ods tha t, as rep rese n ta­ t i ve to the Uni ted Na11 ons for Is· ,ael, he must deal with the co n• f 1 1 ct of bei ng a religi ous Jew whi le si multa neously serv ing a secular pub lic.

Con f licling dema nds pl ac ed o n the a m bassador include lat e• night meeti ngs, ve ry olte n on F riday nights, Rosh Hashana (whe n deba tes were held co n• c e r n in g t he massac re s) or S ha v uo l h (w he n t he I ra q , nuclear reac tor was destro yed). re member rea d i n g t h e .. I Meg1 1 lah o n Puri m a l th ree o 'cloc k in the mor ni ng. " The Is ra e li de lega 1 ,on is the "ha rdest wo rk ing m iss ion at the U nited Natio ns , especia lly , n view ol the lact that It 's a s ma ll g ro up co mpa red 10 the delega• ho ns of ot her cou nt ries. Bu t, o n a per cap ita ba s is, I t h i n k I have ap pea red In the counc il mo re ofte n tha n any ot her rep rese nta· I , ve . " M r. B l u m Io k i ng ly describes h i mse lf as "the most pe r manenl member ol the cou n­ c il ! " Last yea r, he had 40 or 45 appea ra nces in the cou nc il, whe re he has spoke n " mo re olten tha n the membe rs of the cou nc il themse lves " Th roug h• out the Leba non wa r, Mr. Blum appea red in the cou nc il "vi rtua l• ly on a da ily basis. " Although ii Is t rue that Ambassador Blum has good re· latlo nsh ips w i th over 100 ol the delegates, Includ i ng the rep re• se nta tlves of many coun t ries with whom Is rael has no d lplo• matic relations at present, h Is

work Is nevert heless frustrat­ ing. " Many ol th ese delegates would. 1n pr i vate conversat ions, t reely adm,1 that they agree wi th Is rael 's Po i nt of v,ew They fu lly unders tand 11 Then ten m inu tes lat er, or ten hour s lat er, or ten days late r. t hey moun t the ros t r u m o l t h e G e n eral Assembl y and de l iver a v1 ol en1l y a n 1 1 -l s r a e l s p e e c h . " T h e delegates' repl y to queries about t he di spar ity ol their pe r· sonal vi ews a nd tho se pub l i· c ,zcd ,s that t he la tter were de• l ive red "on i n st ruct ions f rom my gove r n me nt . '' M r. Blum co ncedes from ex• penence t hat "ti 1s a no- win s 1t uaIIon. What ever we do, and ho wever we do I t, the votes a re aga ,nsl us " This ,s espec ia l ly due 10 the lacl that , "at a li me when th e A ra bs cont ribute a bout t wo perc e nt ol the budget, they monopolize the l U nited Natio ns most o lhe time to air their obsess io ns a nd the ir llxa1 1ons on Is rae l. " Proo! ,s conc lusive ly lound in the lol• lowing figu res: "01 the 88 meet• ings ol the Secu rity Cou ncil ol 1 982, 49 were devoted 10 Is rael and 39 10 tho rest ol the wo r ld. A similar p ropo rtion ex ists lor the yea rs 1980 a nd 1981. About li lly l l pe rcent o the t , me o the Ge neral Asse mbly Is devoted to l va rious seco nda ry aspects o the Arab-Is rael, conl hct. " O ne m,ghl ask then, how does Is rae dea w ith the ava­ l l la nche ol c r i t ic ism lrom ell sides Including that ol Ame r l• , can Jews? Says Ambassador B lum, "We don 't cla im Immun ity to any k i nd ol c r i t ic ism.

Cnt1c1sm 1s l eg1 tImate as l ong as II is fa ir a nd based on kn owl• edge ot the !acts and not on ig­ no ra nce S ince we beheve ,n l he uni ty of the Jewish peo ple. we are eager lo listen 10 what the Jews th roug hout the wor ld think. However, anybody who Is not w1 l h ng to link hi s pe rsonal lutu re wi th t he lut ure of Israel must take in to ac count tha t , 1f he gi ves us h is advice and it turns out to be wrong, 11 wi l l be Israe li boys and gi r ls l hal wi ll have 10 pay w ith the ir lives, wh il e the person who has bee n so quick I n o ffe ring advice wi l l go o n living in Queens or Man­ hat l a n, F ro m t he mo ral pot nl ol v iew, I thi nk we wou ld expect a ll those who a re not wi lling 10 be a r t h e pe r so na l co n s e• que nces of the ir advice to be very caut Ious " Ambassador B lum 's hope

and pra yer is lhal "after 35 years of a constant state of war w,th our n e ighbors, t hat we sho uld al so be gra n ted the ele­ mentary bl essings ol peace so thal we can d evo te our energies lo much more produc tive sphe res than de lense. . . He sees lsraers goals as in cl udi ng the ex pansion ol ed ucat ion, the set­ t ling ol t he Negev, and the Galil ee, and the deve lop ment ol sol ut ions 10 the basic prob lems ol mankind . Examples g iven by the am bassador Inc l ud ed the desal i na tion ol seawater and t he em ployment ol sola r energy.

I sra el has alr eady become agri cul tur al ly se ll-s ulli cient and her bum per crops, her per capita p roduction ol milk. and her ex port of mil lions ol !lowers eve ry night to Europe and the Unit ed States have a ll been "the envy of a ll nations . "

Ambusador Yehuda Blum dlacuaa.. tsrut polftlcs with llena Hol• fer at the lsrul Consulate lfl New Yo(k.

Pago 6

Tho Ram Page

May 1983

Ramaz's A-Team

by Robin Askowltz

In the last issue of the Ram Page, ,n the section entitled "To The Editor," there was a com• plaint registered by freshman Ethan Budin regarding the con• dlt1on of the Biology Lab. specl· flcally, the repugnant and offen• slve odor that It releases His Justified request, which was directed at either the admlnls· tratlon or the biology teachers themselves. was that some• thing be done to eliminate the suffocating fumes that Infest the entire fifth floor. Well, Ethan's cries may have gone un­ heeded by those to whom the complaint was addressed. but a different group of people will be attempting to rectify the prob• tern.

In Mrs. Rubin's form 4y-z Spanish class A .C.T. has been Invented. A C.T.. the Animal Care Team, consists of a group of students, led by animal lover Senora Rubin, who have volun• leered to meet during deslg· nated lunch breaks and clean the various rodent cages.

Mrs. Rubin and the ACT mem• bers, namely, GIia Aaron, Laurent Adler, Julie Friedman, Jan Horowitz. Daina Kapshud, Michael Katz, Yael Levy, and Ivan Wolneck, were greatly distressed by the living condl•

... Reagan (Continued from Page 2/

abuse and declare corporal pu­ nishment constitutional.

• The Administration oppos­ ed a proposal by the World Health Organization to prevent false advertising of potentially dangerous Infant formula In poor and underdeveloped coun­ tries. The other countries of the world had sense enough to vote against the Reagan proposal 119-1.

Now that we have establish• ed that there Is a crisis in the standard of living of young peo­ ple, we must examine how Reagan wants to make things better. He won't do It by spend· ing money on nutrition pro• grams but says everything will be O.K. If children pray in public school each day. This same Ad· ministration wants to give our tax dollars to schools that preach racism and says that the teaching of evolution Instead of Biblical Creation In science classes-causes Immorality.

For many years before be• coming President, Ronald Reagan preached the conserva• tlve doctrine. He sometimes made wild statements which he says he no longer believes In now that he Is "wiser." Yet the record of Reagan actions as President bear a stark similarity to some of his remarks. Here Is a sample.

• "The needy are a faceless mass waiting for handouts."

• "We were told that 17 million Americans go to bed hungry every night. Well, that was probably true. They were all on wdtet."

• We must get the federal

lions of the animals. and, realiz­ ing that nothing was being done to improve the situation, they decided to take ACT1on. Their motives are to establish a healthier environment for the al­ ready overcrowded animals by cleaning and dlslnfect,ng the cages regularly.

A number of weeks ago, when the members of the form 4y-z Spanish students lirst men• tloned the living conditions In the tab to Mrs. Rubin, she pro­ mptly went to inspect the cages to see for herself. Needless to say, she was horrified at what she witnessed; whereupon she offered her valuable time to clean the cages singlehandedly Mr. Linder refused her gracious offer, exclaiming that 11 was the students' responsibility to at• tend to the cages.

When Mrs Rubin suggested the idea of ACT to both Mr. Linder and her students, Mr. Linder consented to this new proposal and the aforemen­ tioned students were happy to donate their services for this just cause.

The first meeIIng of ACT was scheduled for Friday, April 22. but Mr. Linder said that he would attend to the animals for that day since Middle States would be arriving after the

government out of the class­ rooms of America."

It has been easy for the Reagan Administration and the conservatives In Congress to cut the budget on the backs of children and make life worse for young people because we do not vote or contribute to cam• paigns. One observant 13 year old said, "The whole problem Is that kids can't vote for pollti· clans, so why should politIclans do things for kids" Congress has resisted cuts ,n programs affecting the elderly because senlor citizens are a powerful voting block. Yet. because, until now, youth have never gotten in­ volved In the political process. they have suffered the most. If we as young people want to change the way our government treats us. then we must change our government. Just because we cannot yet vote does not mean we are unable to per­ suade others to vote for a par• ticular candidate or lobby our elected representatives, who will want our vote in a few years.

We are competent enough to know who has shortchanged the youth of the country and to lobby or campaign against them.

Every one of us has been hurt in some way by Ronald Reagan and knows others who have suf• fered even more. We can all make a date for November 6, 1984. That Is Election Day next year, when we can all get out and work for candidates who believe that youth are the lead• ers of tomorrow and that you do not plan fo1 the future of Amer• ica by making a whole genera• tlon of Its citizens suffer. In 1984 we can do ourselves and the entire nation a great service by defeating Ronald Reagan and his right-wing buddies In Congress.

weekend. Thus. as ol yet. ACT

has not commenced with its plans. but when It does condl· tlons should be noticeably amel lorated.

All members of ACT should be congratulated in advanced for their righteous concerns and efforts to Improve the animals' environments and thereby remedy the foul odor lhat the dirty cages emit If you support their contnbu• tions and would like to join A C T as well, see Mrs Rubin for details

... Bible Contest (Contmutd from Pagt /J

60 points Our first runner-up Is . .. Shimon Ashv'al, Israel." As the sabra crossea the stage to receive his trophy, the M.C. paused and then, "And now, our other runner-up He Is none other than, no, she is none other than Lisa Szubm, United States."

The Midrash says that he who teaches Torah to the sons of his neighbor is considered like their father. Beaming with the pride that only the face of a Jewish mother can express, Coach Rachel Taub kve/led over Lisa's

... Woman Rabbi (Contmued from Page I)

constituents. As Rabbi Epstein stated, "There are congrega ­ tions that would never ac­ quiesce to having a woman as their rabbi. Those congrega• lions would ce,talnty be free to appoint a male rabbi, but there are congregations that are younger, made up of libe1al peo• pie, that would not find It dis­ turbing for a woman to take the pulpit and act as the rabbi and spiritual counselor."

Even those rabbis who voted against Rabbi Magldson's ap· plication because they held a more traditional view of hala­ chah were not troubled with the Idea of having women read the Torah and receiving a/iyol, since It would not affect them in their own rabbinate. They could say, 'That Is a congregational Issue. I don't agree with that point of view; therefore, I Just will not serve as the rabbi of a synagogue that gives women sliyot.' However the question of admitting Rabbi Magidson also Involves women being wit· nesses and this crosses congre­ gational lines. Rabbi Epstein It· lustratod, "... if I am a member of the Rabbinical Assembly who does not sanction women rab• bis and there Is a woman on the assembly who was a witness for a divorce or conversion, It would be almost impossible for me, within the lines of decency not to accept her as a kosher wit· ness. The situation also arises if I am asked to officiate at a wedding with a woman rabbi. t would find myself hard pressed to say I will not do It because I do not accept the person with whom I am officiating."

Members of the new Animal Care Team (from left to right): Daina Kapshud, Gila Aaron, Yael Levy. Michael Katz, Julie Friedman, Laurent Adler, Ivan Wotneck, Steven Gurowitsch, Oren Prl•Har, and Ms. Barbara Rubin. accomplishment as we sat over grilled cheese and trench fries a few hours after the contest had ended "I was hoping she would make the l1nal six, bul I never dreamed she would go lh1s far.

But as soon as they announced two runners-up, I knew she had ,t."

"When asked about the Im• pl/cations ol Lisa's achieve­ ment for lhe school, Ms Taub remarked, "I remember when people would laugh at the kids who were called out of class for ch,don. Today kids come to me to find out when meetings begm. What all this means is that people will express a lot more interest 1n the Tanach de· partment, and spec1flcally In the When asked If he felt that a decision lo admit women rabbis would be damaging to the Con­ servative movement, Rabbi Ep• stein replied that 1f women were eventually permitted to be Con· servatlve rabbis, some people would leave the movement and affiliate themselves with the Orthodox. A Conservative mem· ber of the Junior class, who asked not to be identified, said that It would mean that Conser• vative Judaism was, in essence, moving closer to Reform Juda• Ism, and she would therefore move toward the Orthodox as ·counteraction.'

Rabbi Epstein went on to say that "one does not decide If matters of religion are right or wrong based on who will stay and who will leave; we are not on a membership drive ... If most Consevatlve rabbis feel that the right thing to do Is to allow women to fill a role that they can Just as easily fulfill as males. and society Is different today from the time when cer• taln rules relating to women were put down, but others can• not accept It, they are free to leave . . . But If we do not change the rule, we will also lose from the other side." In the words of Rabbi Fischel Perlmut­ ter of Cleveland, one of more than 30 rabbis who spoke in favor of Rabbi Magidson, "We drive away talented and re­ liglosly motivated people by our male chauvinism.'' Rabbi Mag­ idson, the one time associate director of Hillel (the national organization for Jews on col­ lege campuses), follows the Conservative code of observ• ance, yet she had to go to the Reform movement to receive recognition for her work and study and to obtain ordination.

Sharon Koren, the Senior Vice-President of the Ramaz

chidon.

"I guess one of the reasons why I feel so elated about how Lisa did, aside from having had the opportunity to coach her, Is that I never had the chance to enter the chrdon. Through her I feel a sort of vicarious enjoy­ ment. Bui no matter what I may have done to help prepare her, you have to remember one thing-ll's her victory. She spent the long hours reading those chaplers over and over.

She really did 1t."

King Solomon probably put it best In a verse he wrote 1n the last chapter ol the Book of Pro• verbs: "Many daughters have excelled, but thou hast risen above them all " G.O., expressed the opinion that women perhaps can be. even better splritu�I leaders than men. She feels that women have more emotional strength, and that Is what Is needed to lead a community The latest New Y o r k TimeslC.B S. News Poll shows a growing acceptance of women as spmtual leaders. The poll, taken In April, shows that 60% of those polled believed that women should be ministers, priests. or rabbis.One third said that women should not be or­ dained clergy When that same question was asked In November of 1979, only 47% said women should be spiritual leaders and 45% were opposed. Judaism finds greater dlff1cu1ty in accepting women than other religions. This, re­ marked Rabbi Epstein, Is be• cause Judaism is rooted In halachah. "It Is a problem be• cause law usually does not change as fast as society changes ... The Christian de• nominations do not have that deep-seated commitment to religious law; they are much more Involved In spiritual and ethical matters."

There Is no doubt that the de• bate over admitting women as rabbis Into the Conservative movement centers around hala­ chah. While the traditionalists within Conservative Judaism see halachah as unchangeable and tampering with It as a dan­ ger to Judaism, others feel that hslachah's vitality lies In the fact that It can adjust to chang• Ing human conditions. Accord· Ing to Beverly Magldson, "Jew• lsh law has responded to changes In the past, and this Is one of those Issues where It must respond to change again through normal halachlc pro· cess."

M■y 1983

by Rechel Hallote

W hat opportunities and delights have the seniors de­ rived from work-study? What kinds ol Jobs and experiences do the juniors have to look lor­ ward to next year? Here Is the Complete Gulde to Work-Study, featuring the seniors and their opinions.

This term's seniors seem more Interested In the actual work and dedication they can give to their proiects than any prestige the Jobs might oller them. Most love their work, and are eager to discuss it and their reactions.

I've Been Working On the Right now he Is In the middle of making a set ol drawers. He hopes to be allowed to cut his own wood soon, and really en­ joys his project.

Henry Kaufman Is working In computer graphics at the only architectural lirm that uses computers to draw buildings Henry's major project Is draw­ Ing a three-dimensional model of Manhattan out ol conlusing fine-drawings already In the computer. He tells the computer which surfaces to show, and either by shading or by showing only the necessary lines, he comes up with a perlect minia­ ture picture of a building or a block He can, through various computer commands, display the buildings from any distance and any angle.

Henry does not work only from the line-drawings that are already ,n the computer, though. He 1s also actually load­ ing in blocks from the original plans ol Manhattan Through multiple commands and mani­

Shira Atlk, one of the few In the grade to hold a dual job, spends two days a week doing Art Administration at the Jew­ ish Museum, and the other two days working with learning-dis­ abled children at the Churchill School. She 1s very clear about the benefits and hardships of having a double work-study.

"One hard part was trying to regulate a schedule. but the Jobs integrate well because I am learning about people (at Churchill) and art (at the Mu­ seum) at the same time. The work 1s very diverse, so 1 def,. nitely don't gel bored:· pulations, he can cause a minia­ Many people would like to ture c11y 10 emerge "The besl know the results or Josh Musher"s work-study proJect.

He is working for Shearson American Express and ,s doing

technical analyses ol market behavior. Once he gels through

with the "averages, ratios, and

malh," he llgures oul how ttie market might perform the fol­ lowing day. "Sometimes It works wen;· he says.

Rachel Bar-Lev 1s one of a

group of seniors employed In

the, med(a. Sh,,e Is ..at ..WNBC Radio, and what she actually does Is produce a daily tog that tells the OJ which commercials to play at which times. Though the OJ does nol necessarily lol• low her log, it 1s a great help ad­

Vice-President Bush, House Speaker Tip O'Neil, and lhe re­ nowned author

would

Elle Wiesel

o f f iciate

at

a

memorial-as part of a ded1ca­

twenty thousand people were

soon.

One of the most engaging work-studies was sought alter

by Rebecca Schorsch. She was a stable hand. though the proj­ ect terminated too quickly due to overwork. She had been shov­ eling, raking, unloading hay, and doing other worthwhile labor. "It was a unique experi­ ence," she commented. "I met people completely different from the ordinary type of person I might get to know In familiar circles of friends."

Rebecca's original reason for wanting to work In a stable was the possibility that It might le11d to riding on trails, which she likes, and learning how to take care of and groom horses.

Michael Poulad, Ramaz's res­ ident carpenter's apprentice, seems to take lor granted the unusual nature of his Job as compared to most other work• projects. From blueprints he fashions different customized pieces ol lurnlture and applies formlca to them when needed.

serving as well "I've been par­

tially dlsI1tus1oned about gov­ ernment jobs through working here," he comments. "The level

of the employees Is not as high as I e•pecled." Though it has ,ts problems, David finds his work-

slon, where such people as

"Journey"

Some seniors, like David Fur­ man, simply probe more deeply Into a field that they have tested before. David Is at the Arson Bu• reau of the Bronx District Attor­ ney's Olllce. He has previously worked In the Police Depart· ment, and Is looking forward to participating in an arson trial

Sometimes an Interest can

lead a senior sllghtly olf the reg­ ular route of learning. Bertie Bregman, for example, In fol­ lowing up an Interest In televi­ sion, Is working on Cook's Cata­ logue, the food section of WABC News. In this job he Is going to wrlle scripts and per­ haps produce some food shows, thereby learning the many sides ot a news program.

David Henkin. who wanted to work In some aspect or govern­ ment, Is currently In the olflce ot the Borough President of Queens. Among his duties are researching topics and writing speeches He has a lot of tree­ dom and can attend hearings and meetings. He learns by ob­

by Elaine Newman the happy ending lor two Survivors and their children persecuted women. It reflected alike stood on Capitol Hill the true purpose of this gather­ eagerly awaiting the com• ing. a message clearly express­ mencement of the Congres­ ed on posters and In pamphlets sional Ceremony at the Amer­ through words, the ican Gathering for Jewish Holo· "Together-From Holocaust to eaust Survivors. This ceremony New Llfel'' The fact that the was to be .a.momentous occa• same victims of Hitler's

tIon of a Holocaust museum

Steve Perry of

part is seeing the finished build• Ing In the end," he says He likes the work and Is certainly enthusiastic about It.

• • •

study 10 be a generally good ex­

perience In government.

Some seniors want to go Into medicine, and one way to look Into It Is by doing specialized medical research, like Lenna Pearlman. She Is researching a specific blood disease and working with patients and doc­ tors. She Is also writing a paper jointly with the physician who employs her. She loves the work, and finds 11 no different from a paying job; as much as possible, she Is treated like a member of the regular staff.

Edie D1ament Is also working With a doctor, though her JOb IS not in research. She gets to put on "surgical greens" and fol• lows the surgeon around, ob· serving all the operations.

"Parts of ii are hard," she says, describing cases of term1nally1II patients that are particularly heart-rending. She began her work-study w,th the objective ol seeing whether surgery might be a possible career tor her. and Is now still considering ii strongly But she Is keeping her mind open to other less strenu-

Manhattan computer graphics

by Henry Kaufman. ous lorms or medicine.

Many people have chosen work-studies In fields they are attracted to, whether or not they plan a career in those llelds.

Herbert Block has two Jobs In politics, one of them organlz,ng high school students lor politi­ cal action. Diane Lederman works In a modeling agency.

Kenny Dinkin paints at the Art Students· League. And Danny Meron. as his last chance to work 1n photography, 1s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

So, as current senior energies are proving. work-study 1s a pos111ve way to end the Aamaz

years.

"Together - From Holocaust to New Life"

mlnlstrallvely. During inter• views at the station, she has seen Imus and such other cele­

brities as

Page 7

The Ram Page

that will be built near the Wash­ ington Monumenl. 11 was rather

crowded-between fifteen and

present and everyone was shuf•

fling around in search of a place wllh a belier view of the speak­ ers. Two women standing in

front of me were nudging each

other, both trying 10 move ahead

1n the crowds. Since they were

so close, one of them happened to turn and face the other, a mo­ ment absolutely unforgellable.

The woman stood wilh mouth agape, staring at the other in disbelief, and then cautiously leaned over to read the Iden· tlficalion card appended to her Jacket. At that Instant she cried out, "'Oh my God!" and began to speak in a language unknown to me. All the while they embraced each other tightly, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

These two women had grown up together In a small town In Poland and because ol the Holocaust were separated,

...Westinghouse (Con11nutd from Page I)

categories.

Almost every year, several Ramaz seniors undertake a

Westinghouse project. The ad­ m1n1stration. together with lhe Ramaz science department, Ines to help these students select a topic and then llnd a lab where the research can be earned out.

atroc,t1es.

whose

very

ex•

1stences were threatened, were

capable of rising from the flames of the furnaces that had attempted 10 destroy them and

of embracing new cultures and lifestyles with success. make a statement to the world: "Yes! We are herel" as Elie Wiesel

dents, to sharing with them her expertise and her Ideas. and to correcting their mistakes. Many of the seniors working under her

have hnlshed In the Honors

group and several have gone on

10 become finalists.

Finally, alter all the experi­ mentation Is completed, the

student must wnte up his re• port This 1s also a very impor­

tant part of the project because

a badly-written report, even one on a great sc1ent1f1c experi­ ment. 1s sure to meet with the

Some of the ideas for the pro­ rudges' disapproval. The report Jects are obtained from places Is expected to be roughly one like science fairs and, from thousand words and therefore such scientific magazines as

Scientific American. Ideas are

often borrowed trom many of the projects done In previous years as well. Even though a Westinghouse may have been completed on a certain topic, there Is usually ample room tor additional research.

A Westinghouse cannot usually be done using the facll­ illes available In a normal high school. Therefore, Ramaz tries to place some of Its seniors In various s p o n s o r labs of hospitals and selected univer­ never to see each other again sities. There, these students get until that day. They had not an opportunity to work among heard from one another or seen and with research scientists In each other In lorty years. As one an actual laboratory selling. can Imagine, this scene did not The students lrequently choose go unnoticed; soon a small to work with a specific scientist crowd gathered around, moved on an experiment and then go to tears by the miracle they had on to derive their own proJects Just witnessed. As my eyes from that work. began to water, I fell t�is was Dr. Terry Ann Krulwich ol t,11. the happy ending to a terrible Sinai "'!edlcal Center, does a lot nightmare. of work with Ramaz students.

Their reunion, however, She devotes a large portion ol representec much more than her time to helping these SIU·

must be precise and succinct.

Charts and diagrams frequently accompany the report. Aller completing the write-up, the

student's sponsor or the school

will review It, frequently making major changes This year two seniors have entered the Westinghouse com­ petition for Ramaz. Henry Kauf­ man did a proJect on The Use ol

Mossbauer Spectroscopy to Distinguish Between Mabcaslte and Pyrite. Howard Eisenstein's topic was the Purlflca f/on and Characterization of Flagella from the Alkalophlle Baell/us Flrmus RAB. Howard studied

the behavior ot the micro-organ­ ism flagella and Its growth In an alkaline environment. I talked to him about his experiences with working on the Westinghouse.

"It's Incredible how much you can learn from being In a lab," said Howle, who worked in Or. Krulwlch's lab this summer.

"And while you're there, you don't even notice how much you are learning."

exclaimed. Hitler and his con­

centration camps could not eliminate us and nellher could the rest ol the world "We are here, twenty thousand strong, survivors and their children.

prepared to perpetuate the ex­

istence of the Jewish people

and ol Israel."

.. , learned how to operate In• struments and fill out reports. I also got used tc, lab techniques.

Now I would be able to walk into a laboratory and know what I'm doing." ··1n the beg1nn1ng, you do a lot of reading, to get the back­ ground on your subrect. Then you go into the lab and start do· Ing research. There Is a great sense of teamwork In a lab.

Everyone 1s working together and Is really helplul and co­ operahve. If you don't under­ stand something, they try to ex­ plain to you and help you out.

But you have to be really dedicated to your pro1ect, there is no fooling around. And there Is always work to do in a lab. If you are not doing your own ex­ periments, you help out and clean test tubes. Everybody does that."

Both seniors had their pro­ jects accepted Into the Westlng­ hOuse Honors group. This brought on a deluge ol mail from various colleges desiring their enrollment.

Any student who has a good grasp of science can seriously think about doing a Westing­ house. A Westinghouse, how­ ever, Is really more than just a research project. It can be view­ ed as a kind of catalyst, used to stimulate students' Interest In math and the sciences. For many, It Is their first real con­ tact with a lab environment and their first exposure to scientific research. One can olten gauge from this experience one's own true inclinations toward science and whether to continue further In this area.

Page 8

May 1983

The Ram Page

You Just Can't Beat the System

by Jonalhan Berman I've often seen bank commer• cials where one of lhe "olher banks" Is giving ils cuslomers a lerrlble runaround, as opposed 10 lhe lasl and friendly service received al lhe bank which paid for lhe commercial. I recenlly found oul lhal I have deposlled my money In one ol the "olher banks." Until I enlered high school I had manipuialed my money from my t,ank's branch nearesl lo home. When I entered Ramaz. it became Im­ possible for me to conlinue my lransacllons al lhls branch dur­ ing schooldays because, like mosI banks, mine closes at 3:00 p.m. I lhen reveled in the fact thal when I had opened my ac­ count. I had been a very clever 5th grader and put my money in a bank with a branch right ,n Granq Central Station, which I now pass every day. For over a year, I've been doing my trans­ acl1ons al this midtown office.

Then, at the end of February, my bank conlracted lhe dread­ ed "other bank disease." I entered the bank for my usual monlh's-end Wllhdrawal slip. All the employees seemed l o glance at m e with a sneer that said, "How dare you come In here and ask for your money?."

Neverthele,ss, I filled out the form and headed for lhe teller windows. The line was small, so I though! to slep over some of the ropes kept there to keep lhe line orderly during rush hour. My face must have expressed m y thoughls, for the guard gestured that I t was mandatory that I traverse their little labyrinth In order lo reach the leilers. I did so and, after nol too long a wait, arrived at a leiler's window. She looked at my ac­ counl book and withdrawal slip and Informed me lhal since I had my money In another branch, I had to get my with­ drawal approved. "Fine," I said, "please approve it." The teller looked al me with sho ck. "You can't get thal approved here; you've got to go to the customer service window at the other side of the bank!" Slighlly be­ wildered, I went off to the other side of lhe bank in search of lhe customer service window. I though! It Interesting to note thal they didn't require any ap· proval when I gave them lhe money.

Upon reaching my destina­ tion, I was asked to presenl lwo forms of ldentif,callon. I pre­ senled what I thought lo be just lhal-my library card and my Ramaz sludenl 1.0. The a11endan1 look one look at lhe cards and lhrew lhem back in my lace, mumbling something derogalory aboul "kids lhese days." I asked her what lhe problem was, and she respond­ ed, In the most -annoyed voice Imaginable, "Those aren't ac­ ceptablel We require lwo ma/or forms of 1.0." I sympathized ful­ ly with the poor woman's suspi­ cions. She had every reason 10 believe lhat I was an lmposler, impersonallng the fabulously wealthy playboy, Jonalhan Ber­ man lhe First. In her eyes I was simply making a ploy for the counlless millions which he had entrusled lo this fine eslabllsh­ ment. Naturally, In preparing

lhls giant con, I had antlcipaled all problems and had paid a master forger to make copies of Berman's library and Ramaz cards. In as pleasanl a voice as I could musler, I said, "Though I am fully aware lhal you are merely prolecting my money, I am unfortunately unable lo give you even one major form of 1.0., much less two. You see, com• pielely lhrough my own failings as an Individual, I find myself in the precarious position ol being a 15-year-old. As such, I am un­ able to altaln any of whal you call Major 1.0. Please, Ma'am, what would you suggest I do?"

Hardly able to control herself, the attendant replied, "Age yourself three years," breaking inlo a fil of hyslerlcal laughter at her brilliant w1ltic1sm. When she had calmed down some, she advised me to speak to the assistant manager and pointed her desk out to me.

"Finally," I thought, "the end of the rainbow, at which I'll find my pot of gold I" The area of lhe

bank to which I had been sent was unique In lhat It was walled off and was lhe only section which had carpeting. I waited at the door for someone to serve me. After several minutes, I saw lhal I wasn'I getting anywhere by jusl standing lhere. There was no one ahead of me so I dared slep into the enclosed area as soon as my foot hit lhe carpel. I was rebuked and ushered out by a posse of bank officers who told me lo wait out­ side unlll summoned. I did so and was evenlually called in by a very busy-looking lady in her forties. who ordered me to sit down.

"Yes," said she, not bother­ Ing to look up from her work, "what's your problem?" I ex­ plained to her my dilemma, in• forming her that I had only the Aamaz and library cards, and that I was 15 years old and hence ineligible to receive ma­ jor 1.0.

"You'll have to go to the

branch al which your money is deposited and withdraw your money from there,"

"I would like nothing better, except thal I have no way of get­ ting 10 my branch during the banking hours which your em­ ployer has chosen."

Finally, the bank officer look­ ed up, demanded my cards and, after sludying them for several moments, replied "This is a library card and a school 1.0." I was Immediately pul on guard by this stroke of sheer genius.

She continued: "And 11 this ail the I 0. you have, then you can't get your money here. The solu• t1on ts simple-gel our ready access card. With It, you can use our money machines wh,ch are open 24 hours a day!"

"Wonderlul'" I replied in glee, "Where do I apply?" "At the branch where you deposited your money." My face fell ,n disappointment "I told you, I can't get to the branch where I deposited my money-they're

only open when I'm In school I" Alter silting and lhinklng for a while she said qulelly, "There Is o�e other o p l i o n ."

"Anything," I said. "You can have your accounl book black­ ilght ed." I told her of my fear that If I followed such a course of aclion, I would never be em­ ployed again. She answered laughingly, "Nol blacklisled, black//ghled. You gel your signature written on your ac­ count book in an ink thal only shows up under an ultraviolet light, which every branch has.

That way you can always gel your money any lime thal any of our branches Is open. anywhere In the country." This seemed to be the perfect solut,on so I in­ quired as to where I could gel my book blackl,ghte d. No sooner had I asked the question than I knew what the answer had to be I fell back In the chair, a broken soul. as the reply came off her lips: "Why, at the branch where you deposited your money."

... Rabbis Review Survey (Continued from Page 4) vey was permitted to be printed."

Rabb, Looksteln, as well as Naomi Cohen, Is of the opinion that the questionnaire was Inap­ propriate lor a newspaper that inevitably reaches the outside According to the pnnc,pal, the poll leaves the 1mpressIon m the minds of readers that "Ramaz ,s not lhe kind of place to which to send a child whom the parents would like to be religious."

Asked about lhe printing of the survey. Rabb, Schacter stated that 1t was "a big d1sserv1ce" to Ramaz.

Dr. Moses Nussbaum Is one of many parents who expressed gratitude for both the conduct· mg and printmg of the survey.

"If you don't know how your stu­ dents feel, then you can't tailor your education to meet their needs." Ms. Nussbaum com­ mented, "The school should not be embarrassed by the free ex­ pression of ideas: instead, It should address some of the re­ sponses that are disturbing."

However. w1thm the faculty and administration of Ramaz. as well as among lhe parents, there was question as to how true a reflection of sludent opi­ nions the survey really was. A majority of those interviewed polnled to ambiguities In many of lhe questions that render ii impossible to draw anything conclusive from the resulls.

Nevertheless, not one of the rabbis interviewed at Aamaz de­ nied that lhe oulcome does, ,n lacl, reflect cerlain trends in lhe school.

According 10 Mr. Bayer, the survey indicates enormous pro· gress. "When I was going lo Ramaz, you probably would have gotten only ten percent lhat believe In lhe concept of Torah from Sinai. Aamaz is turn• ing out 10 be much better lhan II was lhirty years ago." The re• suits are not very dlslurblng lo Mr. Bayer. "Perhaps because I trusl my kids. When ,s lhe time for sludenls to doubt 11 nol in

high school? And If the re­ sponses are distressing, all the more challenge for me to do a belier Job." To the Judaic Studies faculty at Ramaz, the results of the sur• vey were not as encouraging as they were lo Mr. Bayer. Nearly every rabbi found the results dIstress1ng, but not surprIsIng Applying ,the values he would hope Ramaz students to ac­ qu,re In school to the survey, Rabb, Lookslein sa,d that he would want Ramaz students to consider halachIc stipulations when answering these ques­ tions. For most of the political questions, for example those concerning pflson reforms or national defense, Rabbi Look­ stein was not partlcularly con• cerned that any specific OP•· nlons be expressed. However, regarding religious questions, he would prefer that Ramaz stu• dents accept the concept of To­ rah from Sinai and thal they would regard the events of the Bible as being. at the very least, a combination of historical fact and metaphor. Rabbi Lookstem is also concerned that Ramaz students be supportive of Israel.

He also wishes that they would not condone premarital inter· course and would recognize that homosexuality, from a To· 'rah point of view, 1s morally wrong. Rabb, Lookstein lurlher expressed a preference for "sIg­ nlf1cantly more than half" the sludent body to identify wilh, or be sympalhetic to, lhe Orthodox poinl of view.

Rabbi Baksi concurs with Rabbi Lookste,n, as do the other rabbis ol lhe school, that Ramaz alms lo have students come to respect and, It is hoped, Incorporate halachic val• ues in themselves.

According to Rabbi Bieler, studenl opinion might be affect­ ed In the fulure by certain changes already anticipated in lhe Talmud curriculum. There will be a track of Talmud In the ninth grade, which will deal spe· clfically with the issues of

revelation and authonty.

As far as the results of the poll are concerned, Rabb, Bieler feels that they are mdIcat1ve of the dual-curriculum nature of the school "Kids are able to d,­ chotom,ze between the hala• chah they learn in school and that which tney apply to their personal lives " Rabbi Bieler also belleves that an admmls• trat,ve decision clarifying the goals ol the school must first be made, a decision that would then filter into curricula and ad­ missions.

Rabbis Lookste,n, Bakst, and Bieler feel that the survey should not have been pnnted for public consumption Rabbi Au• man expressed a similar opI­ nfon, but for different reasons.

He claims that the printing of the results gives legItImacy to the pos,t,ons held by the SIU· dents, a valldatlon that. he feels Is counterproductive.

Rabbi Miller felt that the sur­ vey was inconclusive because, even when applying ha/achah lo the questions, one cannot come up with a yes-or-no answer to many of them.

Rabbi Goldm,ntz stated that

his short-term goals are to have students think through many of the issues mtell1gently, to have them, at the very least, respect the trad1t1onal Jewish way of ltfe, and ultimately to have them understand their Judaism, re­ gardless of which lac11on they might choose to Join_ When he was asked whether he was surpnsed by the results, Rabbi Schacter said that he was, indeed He, too, expressed the desire for students to ac­ cept the concept of divine and factual Torah and to disapprove of premarital sex m any s,tua• tlOn. It seems that the faculty and admrn1strat1on of Ramaz are in w11h agreement Rabbi Schacter's original thesis, that the Orthodox community stlll has a lot of work ahead of 11. Ac­ cording to Rabbis Goldm1ntz and Bieler, what remains to be seen 1s how well the administra• t,on will def me its goals and m• corporate the recommenda• lions that were evolved m pre• paring lor Middle States evalua­ tion, both of which would pro­ vide for the much-needed im­ provement.

Ilana Scheiner threatens dlreclor Ted Rabinowitz with her prop at a rehearsal of "The Real Inspector Hound."