Conference taveng::bagels

943.0. "Quote without comment "n+1" - but relevant..." by TAV02::FEINBERG (Don Feinberg) Sun May 20 1990 14:20

      [Reproduced without permission  from  Rabbi  Feldman's  book:   "The

      Biblical Echo:  Reflections on Bible, Jews, and Judaism"]  



                          The Beit Ha-Mikdosh Campaign





                             Rabbi Emanuel Feldman





            A number of years ago, the local Jewish Community Center

            decided  by  majority  vote of its board of directors to

            open  up  its  facilities  on  Shabbat,  despite  strong

            protests   of  the  traditional  community.   Outmanned,

            outfinanced, and outpowered, the  traditional  community

            had  little  in its arsenal but the pen.  The outcome of

            the struggle is not important here, but if one can judge

            from  the  cries  of "foul" which were heard afterwards,

            the  following  item  was  one  of  the  more  effective

            broadsides   hurled  during  the  ensuing  fray.   While

            matters are somewhat exaggerated here, be  assured  that

            the comments and actions are based on actual events, and

            are not completely figments of the writer's imagination.





         NEWS ITEM:  The local Jewish Community  Center  has  announced

         that  its  building  will  henceforth be open on Shabbat.  The

         decision was endorsed by the  JCC's  Study  Commission,  which

         recommended  that the opening should be done in the "spirit of

         Shabbat," that a vase of flowers should be in the lobby,  that

         a  sign  should  read  "Shabbat Shalom" in order to create the

         proper atmosphere, and that the day should be "meaningful."





      A nice Christian lady called me the other day and asked,  "Now  that

      the  Jews  have  all of Jerusalem, there is talk that you people are

      going to rebuild the ancient Holy Temple."



           "No,"  I  replied,  "Jewish  tradition  prescribes   that   the

      rebuilding of the Holy Temple -- known as the Beit Ha-Mikdash -- can

      only take place at the 'end of days', when the Messiah arrives."



           After she hung up, it occurred to me that we are  fortunate  to

      have such a tradition.  Otherwise, the following might take place:



           The Knesset today declared a worldwide  fundraising  effort  to

      rebuild  the  Beit  Ha-Mikdosh  in  Jerusalem.   The  Prime Minister

      extended personal invitations to the world's Jewish  leaders  (those

      who  had  given  $25,000  and up to the UJA) to go to Jerusalem on a

      special mission to discuss the situation with  him  personally.   At

      the  meeting,  a goal of $1 billion was set for the campaign.  In an

      emotional speech, the Minister of the Interior  declared,  "We  have

      been  waiting for this event for two thousand years.  This will mean

      ten million additional tourists in the next decade."



           In Atlanta, the Jewish community  was  mobilized.   A  citywide

      Beit  Ha-Mikdosh  Committee  was  formed.   In  order  to  begin the

      campaign on a high note,  the  steering  committee  planned  a  Beit

      Ha-Mikdosh  Kickoff  Dinner  Dance  to take place at one of the posh

      nonkosher country clubs on a Friday night.



           Shock  waves  were  immediately  felt  throughout  the   Jewish

      community.   The traditional Jews denounced the event as a religious

      affront; newspaper ads pleaded that it was a matter  of  conscience;

      rabbis  declared  that it was hypocrisy to rebuild a house of G-d by

      violating G-d's laws and recalled that in a democracy the  voice  of

      the minority must also be heeded.



           But the steering committee was adamant.  We must have it  on  a

      Friday  night,  they said, to ensure the success of the campaign; we

      have taken a vote and majority rules; besides, who keeps Shabbat and

      kashrut  these  days,  anyway?  For those who want it, a fruit plate

      will  be  served.   Finally,  the  committee  chairman   emotionally

      declared,  "The  Community Calendar has been cleared for this event;

      how can we change it now?"



           But, in an effort to heal the  breach  in  the  community,  the

      committee  formed  a  study commission to review the entire problem.

      After a number of meetings, the commission noted that Shabbat was  a

      good  thing.   They  also  endorsed  the  Friday night Dinner Dance.

      However, the commission proposed new guidelines  for  future  Friday

      night Dinner Dances:



      1.  The treifa food should be eaten in spirit of kashrut.



      2.  The violations of the Shabbat should be  done  in  a  spirit  of

          Shabbat.



      3.  The affair should begin late enough on  Friday  night  to  allow

          everyone to go to services first.



      4.  Fruit plates should be available.



      5.  A Shabbat atmosphere should be created.



      6.  A bowl of flowers and a sign reading "Shabbat Shalom" should  be

          placed in the middle of the dance floor.



      7.  All wines should be Israeli.



      8.  Everything which is done should be meaningful.





           The  steering  committee  approved   the   study   commission's

      guidelines  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and the Beit Ha-Mikdosh

      Dinner Dance went on as scheduled on  the  appointed  Friday  night.

      Miss  Israel  of  5746  was a special guest, and received a standing

      ovation.  The main speaker was a prominent  figure  in  the  Israeli

      Foreign   Office,   who  spoke  of  the  significance  of  the  Beit

      Ha-Mikdosh.  "Christians have  their  Vatican,  Moslems  have  their

      Mecca,"  he  said  emotionally.  "Why shouldn't Jews have their Beit

      Ha-Mikdosh in  Jerusalem?"  He  received  a  standing  ovation.   He

      continued:   "This  building  can  be  the  final answer to Israel's

      economy.  It will bring millions of dollars  to  the  country."  The

      chairman  of  the  steering  committee  then announced that the Beit

      Ha-Mikdosh would have a special "Atlanta Room," with a large  bronze

      plaque   on  which  would  be  inscribed  the  names  of  those  who

      contributed $5,000 and up on a five-year basis.  "This is the  first

      time  in  the history of the Beit Ha-Mikdosh," he declared, "that an

      Atlanta Room has been established." He received a standing ovation.



           The evening was a huge success.   Three  million  dollars  were

      raised.  "We are proud of you," said the chairman.  "Because of your

      dedication and sacrificial giving, the Holy Temple will  once  again

      be  a  reality,  as in days of yore.  The Messiah is just around the

      corner!"



           That year,  American  Jews  raised  almost  a  billion  dollars

      towards the Beit Ha-Mikdosh campaign.  But somehow, the building was

      never put up.  Nor did the Messiah ever appear.



           No one knows exactly why.