The wheels of Jewish communities in the U.S. go round, in large measure, due to the efforts of the "community helpers" who make this their responsibility. Although the distinction is not always clear in specific situations, these helpers are generally divided into two types: lay workers and professionals.
Rare is the community that manages without the latter. For this reason, it is important that our children be introduced to at least some categories of professional helpers at a relatively early point in their lives. To be sure, many Jewish communities boast of a much wider variety of individuals than are represented in the list of requirements for the Maccabee Award. Among those who may be considered Jewish community "helpers," are a shohet, kosher butcher, Jewish bookstore merchant, persons working in a mikveh, rabbis serving in a Bet Din, editor or reporter of a Jewish newspaper, a Jewish caterer, a mohel, etc. In general, it would be rewarding to call the Tiger Cub's attention to the nature of a "Jewish Community" and to those who work within it.
For the limited purposes of this award, however, it is not essential that the candidate be familiar with all of them. The irreducible number the candidate must know has been kept to two.
There are not many books or other materials that deal with all of these helpers on the level of the Tiger Cub. And few of those resources will be readily available to the parent or leader. A major source of information, therefore, may have to be the community itself. The candidates might create in advance a list of questions to be posed when visiting with a community helper.
Rabbi
From the Hebrew, meaning "my teacher" or "my master," the term "rabbi" has been in use about 2,000 years. Originally it referred to a person learned in Jewish law. The concept of a rabbi as a salaried staff member of a synagogue is relatively recent, having evolved about 150 years ago. The rabbi of today, however, is more than a scholar; he is often a spiritual counselor, a university faculty member, and a civic leader in the forefront of community endeavors in the area of social action.
Rabbis now work in a wide variety of institutional settings: the congregation, Jewish educational institutions for youth and adults, the college campus, the military hospitals and geriatric centers, and Jewish communal organizations of different kinds. The roles by which they are best known to young people, however, are associated with their delivering sermons, conducting religious services, officiating at Bar/Bat mitzvah ceremonies and weddings, presiding at funerals, teaching children and adults about Jewish tradition, and helping individuals with problems.
It should not be difficult to arrange for a visit to or by a rabbi, so that questions concerning a rabbi's duties may be put to him/her directly by the candidates.
If the parent/partner or counselor has access to the cassette tape Especially Jewish Symbols, produced by Alternatives in Religious Education, the Tiger Cub can be encouraged to listen to and learn the song "Rabbi," and perhaps even make up motions to go with the music.
Selected References
Birnbaum, pages 290-291, 440, 565-567
Gross, pages 14-15, 48, 62
The Jewish Catalog II, pages 265, 310-316
Also consult:
For One Another--Jewish Organizations That Help Us All, by Raymond A. Zwerin, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (and American Association for Jewish Education).
Inside the Synagogue, revised edition, by Joan Sugarman and Grace Freeman, Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
My Synagogue, by Michael Weisser, Behrman House.
Our Synagogue, Set A, Behrman House
Cantor
In the Middle Ages, the hazzan, the Hebrew term used for today's cantor, frequently was a combination of singer, composer, poet. and man of great learning. In modern times, the cantor is primarily a chanter, reader, and leader of the synagogue liturgy. The cantor usually has a good voice, knows all kinds of Jewish melodies, and sometimes trains and/or directs a choir. Often, as much as the rabbi, the cantor sets the tone for a synagogue. Most cantors, however, do much more than lead the congregation in prayer. They teach in the synagogue's religious school, prepare boys and girls for Bar/Bat mitzvah, perform at organization meetings, and intone at weddings and funerals.
Seek out and interview a cantor. Come with questions. Go to hear the cantor at services. Invite the cantor to a Tiger Cub group meeting to teach a favorite synagogue melody. Also you could obtain a recording, a cassette, or a tape of a famous cantor and play it at a get-together. Jewish book stores usually sell such items.
Depending upon the youngster's interest, you might discuss the difference between reciting and singing a prayer, using the "Shema" or another well-known melody as an example.
Selected References
Birnbaum pages 207-208, 290
Gross, pages 62, 254-255
The Jewish Catalog II, pages 371-374
Also consult:
Inside the Synagogue, revised edition, by Joan Sugarman and Grace Freeman, Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
My Synagogue, by Michael Weisser, Behrman House.
Jewish Awareness Worksheets, Book 2, Behrman House.
Jewish Educator
While some communities still engage volunteer teachers and principals, the overwhelming majority of Jewish educators are professional, salaried people. Their teaching hours range from 2 hours a week in a 1-day-a-week setting to as many as 30 or more hours in a day school. And they teach the broad gamut of Jewish subjects: Hebrew texts, Hebrew language, Jewish history, Jewish current events, Jewish music, prayer, and more.
In this connection, it should be of interest to the youngsters to know that Hebrew is now taught in hundreds of colleges and universities (many of which also teach Yiddish), public schools in the major cities of the United States, as well as in synagogues and Jewish community centers.
The principal or educational director is, as a rule, an experienced and seasoned teacher who has been invited to assume responsibility for administration and supervision of a Jewish school. He/she is in charge of organizing the course of studies; aiding, training, and assisting the teachers; working with the parents of the students; and counseling with the lay governing board of the school. Most principals also continue teaching.
Hebrew teachers are agreeable to interviews. Have the candidate ask how they became teachers, what they do outside of school hours, etc. If the Tiger Cub is not attending a Jewish school, obtain permission for him to observe a teacher at work.
Selected References
The Jewish Catalog I, pages 292-294
Grand Junction, Colorado, a filmstrip, Torah Aura Productions.
Also consult:
My Very Own Jewish Community, by Judyth S. Groner and Madeline Wikler, Kar Ben Copies, Rockville, Md.
The Synagogue Game, Torah Aura Productions.
All in My Jewish Family, by M. Roseman, Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
The JCC Worker
There are several hundred Jewish community centers and YM-YWHAs around the country. Each offers a wide assortment of cultural, educational. and recreational programs to members of the Jewish community. In recent years they have intensified the nature and extent of their Judaically-oriented programming, as well as their services to the Jewish senior citizens. In many communities, their activities are open to non-Jews.
Visit the nearest JCC. Arrange for an interview with its director or with one of the other professional workers. Give the candidate an opportunity to observe and, if possible, participate in several of the institution's activities. Obtain suitable literature describing the JCC's programs that can be reviewed after the visit.
Selected References
Gross, page 8
Write to JWB, formerly the National Jewish Welfare Board, 15 East 26th Street, New York, NY 10010
Also consult:
My Very Own Jewish Community, by Judyth S. Groner and Madeline Wikler, Kar Ben Copies, Rockville, Md.
For One Another--Jewish Organizations That Help Us All, by Raymond A. Zwerin, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (and American Association for Jewish Education), available from Alternatives in Religious Education.
Scribe (Sofer)
Derived from "sefer," meaning a book, this is a word many Maccabee Award candidates may know. Sofer is the designation for the scribe who pens Judaism's most sacred texts.
Originally, the term was assigned to scholars who arranged, interpreted, and edited the books of the Bible and who lived during and immediately following the Persian period in Jewish history. Later, it was the title given to individuals who copied the Torah, the Talmud and its commentaries, and the prayerbooks. They also reproduced the Haggadah for Passover, and wrote marriage contracts, mezuzot, and other holy writings.
With the advent of the printing press, the job of the sofer has been limited essentially to reproducing the Torah and the megillot. This can be a very tedious and time-consuming task, for it frequently takes an entire year to complete a single Torah scroll. The sofer is not merely a talented copyist. Not only must he have great reverence for the written word and be thoroughly familiar with the strict rules for writing a Torah, but he must be well-versed in Jewish classical sources.
If an error is made in writing God's name, a whole section must be recopied, since the rule is that God's name may not be erased. This is but one of many regulations governing the writing of a sacred Jewish scroll.
The sofer does not use an ordinary pen. He works with a quill taken from a kosher fowl, generally a goose or a turkey, along with an indelible ink that is specially prepared from vegetable ingredients.
Since it is rather unlikely that a bona fide sofer will reside in any but the very large Jewish communities, it may not be a simple matter to introduce the candidate to one. The counselor who feels strongly about it may have to invite the assistance of the rabbis and congregations in the area or arrange for a visit to a community with a resident sofer.
Selected References
Birnbaum, pages 291, 435-436, 449
Gross, page 243
Kolatch, Volume 1, page 114
The Jewish Catalog I, pages 186-187, 201-209
Trepp, pages 18-20
Also consult:
Inside the Synagogue, revised edition, by Joan Sugarman and Grace Freeman, Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Basic Judaism for Young People, Volume 2, by Naomi Pasachoff, Behrman House, pages 85-87, 148.
My Synagogue, by Michael Weisser, Behrman House.
The Language of Judaism, by Simon Glustrom, Jonathan David Co., pages 99-100
Sofer by Eric Ray, a book and slide tape, Torah Aura Productions.
Other Community Helpers
Virtually no standard print or nonprint material exists in which the activities of Jewish family and federation workers, kosher butchers, and others mentioned earlier are described. For the most reliable information, the Tiger Cub will have to turn to the helpers themselves.
