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Community ForumJY JUDITH STUARTIt%u2019s been two years and some months now that I am living in a high rise, conformity ridden, elevator dependent apartment. It%u2019s been two years and some months now since I%u2019ve moved from my Italianate Victorianbrownstone with twelve foot ceilings, incredible carved marble fireplaces, immense garden, enormous space, individuality, privacy.It%u2019s been two years and some months now that I have lived with my smaller, less unique, more limited quarters with laundry facilities twenty odd stories below, with toilets that slosh water in high winds albeit rhythmically timed with the sway of my hanging plants and lamps, and the usual assortment of fellow tenants whom I must face each day, like it or not, as I go and come. It%u2019s been two years and some months now that I%u2019ve been so very happy and free that I still regularly congratulate myself that I%u2019m here!The glamour, the excitement, the enviable position of being a brownstoner are all real; that%u2019s what sucks you in. Even when the difficulties occur, it remains comforting to know that you own this place, that your home is truly your castle. It%u2019s when you begin to learn that your castle is an omnivore, that this vertical answer to a sprawling suburban estate demands yourJudy Stuart is a proud Cadman Plazaresident.body and soul, that is when your position loses some of its luster.I%u2019ll bet you had no idea of just how difficult it is to break through twelve inches of brick and mortar, how a measly foot can become the challenge of your day, make a week, no%u2014try a possible month on for size. And just to find the source of a leak! The artisans and craftsmen of days of yore are not only to be congratulated on the fine construction of their buildings but also the creative design of their plumbing and wiring. Then if you%u2019re fortunate enough to have a house that someone else renovated before you took over the helm, the never ending suspense of where you may locate the origin or source of faulty wiring is a never ending intrigue. This, my friends, is what makes life interesting, don%u2019t you see?One of the most entertaining evenings 1 think I ever spent was scraping a dozen different wallpaper layers from the kitchen and bathroom walls. The thrill of discovery when purple plumed birds flew out at me after the simplicity of basic white which gave way to the charm of pink gingham plaid to the pizzaz of diagonal slashes of good old red, white and blue. Green and yellow was a big combo more than once. The process was almost endless; I%u2019ll never forgive myself for not immediately loving the idea of panelling those rooms.It is a testimony to love and friendship that I was not left alone to complete that miraculous feat. This, incidentally, was accomplished with the aid of one of thosepotentially lethal steaming machines. Do it yoursclfers%u2014beware!Somehow 1 am managing incredibly well with the boring newness, the dull eveness of my modern apartment walls. Convention docs have its moments.I used to dream about the enchantment of an urban garden; the heady expectation 1 had to be able to walk out into a sweet smelling wonderland of greenery and flowers galore, was one compensation I just knew' I had at my green thumb fingertips. Well%u2014it was green. But judging from the odors it was clearly a haven for the neighborhood cats, not my idealized sensibilities. And it must have had some special attraction for the local dog walkers; the combination of fecal odors, not too distinguishable from city air in the summertime%u2014pre dog scoop laws, of course%u2014drove me indoors to the sanctity of the filtered atmosphere of my air conditioned abode.Imagine! Leaving home and having to lock just one door. Do you realize the time added to your day? No more upper, lower and side entrances, windows front and back and cellar lock. I wallow greedily in my free time now. Not to mention energy. That last minutefrantic runntngoutas you are late for an appointment and remembering that your fortress is virtually unarmed. Before I moved I even considered constructing a moat. Then I%u2019d only be concerned with feeding the alligators. That certainly would have been easier!Local Temples Serve NeighborhoodsBY RHONDA LEMUSFrom the oldest synagogue to the largest congregation, the four synagogues in Brooklyn%u2019s brownstone neighborhoods are seeing a revival just as their buildings have experienced recent restorations.Until a few years ago many of these congregations had dwindled down to a handful of elderly Jews but as young Jews moved back into these communities, either as parents, or with a recently raised %u201c Jewish consciousness%u201d synagogues have joyfully reached out to them.Although Kane Street is the onlysynagogue in which a young grouppredominates, all four now haverabbis in their thirties. Services areheld in a combination of Hebrewand English, and dress ranges fromsuits and ties to sneakers andjeans.The religious schools are registering now for the fall, includingBar/Bat Mitzvah andConfirmation.Details are available through thesynagogues as is information regarding tickets for the Jewish HighHoly Days.. %u2019The Brooklyn H eig h ts S yn agogue, 117 Remsen Street. Tel.522-2070.David Glazer, ordained Reformrabbi, and a former professionalactor and ballet dancer, begins hisfirst year as rabbi of the HeightsSynagogue this Rosh Hashanah.Accompanying Rabbi Glazer forthe High Holy Day services will beCantor Abraham Glazer, his father.The congregation which is normally housed in a brownstone, will temporarily move to the larger quarters of the Bossert Hotel on Yom Kfppur.Rabbi Glazer is known for the record turnout he has attracted to his past services, and is planning to apply his interests to the synagogues social and cultural programs.Sabbath services are neto t-riaay evening at 8:10p.m. There is no Saturday service. The religious school meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:45. There is also a Sisterhood.Garfield Temple, Eighth Avenueat Garfield Place, 768-3814The Garfield Temple, offers the most comprehensive facilities and programs of the four synagogues. A reform temple, Rabbis Gerald I. Wcidcr and Rabbi Emeritus Eugene J. Sack lead the congregation.The religious school, which begins with pre-kindergarten, is open only to members and meets on Sunday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Wednesdays 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. An accredited nursery and kindergarten program are also sponsored.The Adult Academy offering avariety of Jewish courses is heldSunday mornings and Wednesdayevenings. A well slocked library isalso available.Tuesday evenings Karl Fingerruns an international folk dancesession. Thursday evenings a yogaclass and a film series are featuredas well as a class in bodymovement meeting Friday mornings. The gym and pool are openTuesday and Thursday eveningsuntil 9:00 p.m. and all day Sunday.There is both a %u201cSisterhood%u201dand %u201cBrotherhood%u201d. Sabbath services are held Friday evenings at8:15 p.m. and Saturday morningsat 10:30 a.m. accompanied by afemale cantor, a professional choirand an organist.The Kane Street Synagogue, 236Kane Street, 875-1550The Kane Street Synagogue was established in 1856, making it one of Brooklyn%u2019s oldest. Paradoxically, the congregation itself is a %u201c touchstone for change\the Conservative Jewish movement. Women have been considered full members of the congregation, counted in the %u201c minyan%u201d (the traditional ten Jewish males needed to conduct a religious service) and called up to read the %u201c torah%u201d for the past several years.The congregation recently sc-%u00ab T' %u00ab 1 %u25a0 n r i _: %u201e J 1 : %u201e n ICCICU i\\duui i\\ti y DUKiiiumi, **Cobble Hill resident and former lay member as its new rabbi. Rabbi Scheindlin, a specialist in Arab studies, also teaches medieval Hebrew poetry at the JewishTheological Seminary.Services are sometimes enhanced by the \their choral group named after a sixteenth century Italian Jewish composer.The Hebrew School which meets Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. starts at age six. Adult classes in basic Judaism, reading and writing Hebrew, as well as understanding and participating in the services have been instituted. A lecture series and a folk dance classes are planned.Sabbath services are held Fridayevenings at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdaymornings 10:00 a.m.Union Temple of Brooklyn, 17Eastern Parkway 638-7600.Union Temple at Grand ArmyPlaza is the oldest temple inBrooklyn dating back to 1848. Thisreform synagogue will be getting anew rabbi, Charles D. Mintz, inOctober.Sabbath services are held bothFriday night at 8:15 and Saturdaymorning at 10:30 with Cantor AveryTracht. Hebrew classes are heldMondays and Wednesdays from3:30 to 5:30 pm. Sunday classes arefrom 9:45 to 12 noon.The congregation prides itself onits facilities, a well stocked libraryand swimming pook, handballcourts, sauna and steam room. TheSisterhood holds exercise classes,there is also a Brotherhood, andSenior Citizen groups meet twice amonth.Congregation Mount Sinai, 305Schermerhom St. 875-9124.Congregation Mt. Sinai%u2019s Rabbi Joseph Potasnick hosts the WABC Sunday morning radio show %u201cThe Jewish World This Week%u201d and for four Sundays in November will do a channel 9 television program on Jewish themes.The congregation welcomes a new cantor this year, Solomon Schcctor. A special class is being started which will meet prior to Saturday morning services and give basic information about theThe Hebrew School, which startsat age four, has been moved to themore convenient War Memorialand 75 Henry Street. Classes meetonce or twice a week from 3:30-5p.m. A Parents Association hasbeen formed in conjunction withthe Hebrew schoolwith the Hebrew school.The Young Adults Group is alsoholding functions at 75 HenryStreet and started its fall seasonwith a disco. The group willsponsor a lecture series based onthe member%u2019s interests.The Synagogue itself will continue its Sunday morning BreakfastLecture Series starting November4th with guest speaker CarolBellamy.There is a Sisterhood as well as achapter of Israel Bonds and JewishWar Veterans. Services are heldFriday evenings and Saturdaymornings at 9:00 a.m.Center Needs DentistsThe Catholic Charities%u2019 Dental Clinic at 277 Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights is sorely in need of volunteer dentists to help handle its increasing patient rolls.According to Mary T. Rvan, the clinic%u2019s administrator, demand for profssional help has jumped overnight, and Ryand says the clinic must find another periodontist and atitdsi tuui inuiu sa c ra l pr~load, as well as qualified dental assistants.For information about volunteer service, dentists, dental students and others willing to help should call Ryan at 596-5500, ext. 35.September 20,1979, The PHOENIX, Page 9