Young and unafraid to struggle

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
■ THERE’S AN extraordinary reservoir of performing art talent among religiously observant women, who for reasons of modesty cannot perform in front of males.
Some of these women came to religion from secular and even non-Jewish backgrounds in which they were professional singers, dancers, musicians, actresses and stand-up comediennes.
Finding religion was and is a great spiritual adventure for them, but having to abandon their careers is often a frustrating experience.
In recent years, opportunities have arisen to abate this frustration.
The Professional Women’s Theater with its open mic nights gives any woman who wants to be a star the chance to get on stage in front of a women-only audience to prove what she can do. The Noga Dance Company has only female dancers and performs solely for female audiences. There are also groups of female musicians who perform for female audiences, and there are several drama companies including Raise Your Spirits Theater, which will soon celebrate the first decade of its existence. Its new production Judge, The Song of Devora premiered this week at the Gush Etzion community center with a cast and crew of more than 70 women, including recent immigrant Gayle Berman in the title role.
Berman, who is a convert to Judaism, was an opera singer in the United States and trained singers for Broadway. She is also the show’s music director. Anyone who missed out this week can still catch performances on December 19 and 26, and if there is sufficient demand, there may be additional performances in January.
The premiere of Devora was dedicated to the memory of Ahuva Tomer, the courageous and devoted Haifa Police deputy commander who was among the victims of the Mount Carmel fires.
■ FEAR OF the wind and the possibility of rain kept many people away from the book launch of The Student Struggle Against the Holocaust, the story of the determined efforts of three young rabbinical students – Noah Golinkin, Jerry Lipnick and Buddy Sachs – held with a fascinating discussion at the Association of Americans & Canadians in Israel. The evening was hosted by the book’s authors Prof. David Golinkin, president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, where he also serves as professor of Jewish Law, and Dr.
Rafael Medoff, the founding director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Former ambassador to the US Moshe Arens, who is also a former Foreign Minister and former Defense Minister, was likewise on hand to recall student activity and inactivity during the Holocaust years when he was a student at City College, New York. Arens praised the 20-something people who showed up for braving the weather. But the truly brave one was Arens himself, who traveled the furthest distance. Unlike the members of the audience who were all residents of Jerusalem, the ever youthful Arens, who will celebrate his 85th birthday on December 27, lives in Savyon.
■ WHILE THE government and insurance companies are determining how to compensate people whose homes and places of business were damaged or ruined by fire, individuals and organizations around the country are still leaping in to help wherever they can.
When members of the Ramatayim Men’s Choir learned of the devastation wrought at Yemin Orde student village, they were moved to do something small to help the pupils and staff, and spontaneously decided to hold a concert, the proceeds of which will go toward the reconstruction of Yemin Orde. The concert will take place at the Bnei Akiva Hall in Ramot, this Saturday night, with the additional participation of Yehuda Katz, Shlomo and Naftali Abramson; the “boy wonder” Neria Okavi; the new vocal ensemble Joya; and others, all of whom are donating their time and talent in a spontaneous expression of Soul Music.