DRAMA OVER SHABBAT

They gathered to advocate for Shabbat on the day after Shabbat.

Shabbat has been the Jewish day of the week for rest and worship for centuries, perhaps 2,500 or 3,000 years. Shabbat is in no visible danger of elimination in North America and, more specifically, Owings Mills in suburban Baltimore. So what’s their problem?

The unofficial agenda of Baltimore’s Orthodox Jews was the prevention of Saturday hours at the Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills, which would bring yet another major Jewish facility into the 20th century.

I do mean the 20th century…at least the latter half. Closure of Jewish centers on Saturdays was no doubt a deal breaker for Jews who considered becoming a member to avail oneself of the fitness, cultural and educational programs by the Jewish centers. Most people who work weekdays will seek to benefit fully from the gym, swimming pool and other facilities during the weekend. Perhaps Jews will use the community center on Saturday afternoon after attending synagogue services in the morning, or they will avoid services altogether.

The board of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore voted 41-4 to open the Owings Mills center on Saturday afternoons starting June 6. However, the board of Baltimore’s central Jewish philanthropic organization, called the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, was scheduled to vote to either override or endorse the JCC vote.

A large crowd of mostly Orthodox Jews rallied to promote the Sabbath, as they billed the event, on Sunday, May 17, at Northwestern High School in Baltimore’s Park Heights section, which evolved into an Orthodox enclave over the years after non-Orthodox Jews moved out.

As reported in The Baltimore Sun, Rabbi Aharon Feldman asked, “What one idea expresses our identity? What one concept expresses our heritage? We are giving up our identity, everything we stand for, by compromising shabbos.” Rabbi Feldman is dean of Ner Israel Rabbinical College.

Their concerns merit respect. Shabbos is viewed as part of the glue that keeps the Jewish people together. I enjoyed my periodic experiences observing Shabbat and hoped to explore it further. Overall, I plan to participate more in religious traditions.

Many Jews see it differently than Rabbi Feldman. This society produces stresses and obligations that toughen our ability to abide by religious traditions, and the vast majority of Jews do not identify as Jews in the same religious context as those who are strictly observant. We all have freedom to worship as we choose, and our political system protects our choices. Under a different set of laws, those who are observant could be prohibited from practicing Judaism as they do.

The JCC system is responsible for meeting the needs of all dues-paying members, not just one segment. In Philadelphia, Jewish service providers are partly funded by the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, the landmark Gershman JCC in downtown Philadelphia, where I live, served many non-Jews before it ceased operating athletic facilities.

Exercising on some Saturdays, as I often do, is no luxury for those out of shape because it is difficult to reach the gym on weekdays. Bear in mind that under Judaism a person’s health takes priority above all other religious requirements.

Besides, the JCC board oversees two centers, Owings Mills and an older one five miles south in Park Heights. The Park Heights center will remain closed on Saturdays and the Owings Mills facility is not even in their neighborhood.

Demonstrators did not mind using public property to conduct their rally. Northwestern High School is funded by Baltimore and Maryland taxpayers, and probably a small share of federal money. If they were true to their cause, should they have been promoting a private religious practice on public grounds?