A CSAIR Member answers six questions - so we can get to know each other
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A Column that highlights a different CSAIR Member each month
The idea of Six Point Star is to pick a CSAIR member – our “Star” of the column – and ask them 6 questions. We'll print their answers – their "six points" – in this space. It's an easy and fun way to get to know your CSAIR community a little better.
Quotes:
"Judaism
provides the focus
of my community life"
- Richard Kalmin
YYYYYYYY
"I love it that [at CSAIR]I get the chance to talk religion, politics, psychology, and baseball. I also love the nudnicks, since every community has its own unique nudnicks." - Richard Kalmin YYYYYY
"I'm happy when I've found a way to understand a text in a new way that allows us to understand how people very different from us thought or behaved."
- Richard Kalmin Check out our Previous Six Point Stars:
YYYYYY Thank you Richard for being the Men's Club Six Point Star of the Month! YYYYYY
Welcome. The idea of Six Point Star is to get to know a member of the CSAIR community a little better. In each installment we will pick a CSAIR member – our “Star” of the column – and ask them 6 questions. We'll print their answers – their "six points" – in this space. The questions and answers will range from the serious to the not-so-serious. It's an easy and fun way to get to know your CSAIR community a little better.
Quotes: "Judaism provides the focus of my community life"
- Richard Kalmin YYYYYY |
Our July 09 "Six Point Star" of the month is: Richard Kalmin
Question 1: When did you first attend CSAIR?
I first attended in 1987, right after we moved to Riverdale from the Upper West Side.
Question 2: What are you working on this week? I'm researching a tradition found in Jewish and Christian sources. The basic tradition is the same in both traditions: King Manasseh is furious with the prophet Isaiah for saying things that contradict the words of Moses, so he executes him. The story has different details in the two versions that reveal interesting differences between Jewish and Christian beliefs. In the Christian version, for example, Manasseh is wrong to have killed Isaiah, and he does it with the help of all the Israelite people. In the Jewish version, Manasseh kills Isaiah all by himself, and Isaiah deserves to die because of some nasty things he said about the Israelites in a fit of anger. I'm trying to look at how this story changes over the centuries from one culture and historical situation to another and what these changes say about the various peoples telling the story. Question 3 – What role does Judaism have in your life?
That doesn't mean all my friends have perfect faith, since many of them are fighting a losing battle, and many of my friends aren't Jewish, but they share my love of Jewish learning.
Question 4: What is an unusual song that you like and why?
There are so many to choose from. One that pops into my head is "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad" by Woody Guthrie. I like it because it's about someone who (as you can tell from the title) is feelin' bad, but every time you start singing it you can't help but feel better.
Question 5: What do you like best about CSAIR?
Question 6: What makes you happy?
Weh ist mir.
I'm happy when my children make me proud, either through their accomplishments or their behavior.
I'm happy when I've found a way to understand a text in a new way that allows us to understand how people very different from us thought or behaved.
I'm happy when the Atlanta Braves win a baseball game, which isn't very frequent these days.
I'm happiest when I finish questionnaires.
- Richard Kalmin |
