Apr. 01, 2005 - 21:59 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

No Wonder

Every month our paper puts out a weather calender for the new month. Sunrise 5:43, sunset 6:23 on the first -- sunrise 6:01, sunset 7:52 on the 30th.

Normal temps -- Low 30, high 57 on the first -- Low 39, high 65 on the 30th. Then just for laughs especially for April are the record highs and lows for times past.

Then there is this little article underneath which -- giggle -- says:

Don't count winter out in April

"April usually brings with it a variety of weather."

"Mother Nature often fools people into believing that spring is here, with temperatures rising into the 60s and 70s. Temperatures sometimes can reach the 80s."

"Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexica also can bring thunderstorms, some of them causing large hail and even tornadoes."

"However, wintry weather can frequently reappear in Colorado in April. Arctic air occasionally invades the state, bringing freezing temperatures, along with plenty of snow."

"Last year, 15.3 inches of snow fell at the site of the former Stapleton International Airport, more than 6 inches above normal for the month."

"In fact, there are only four times in Denver's recorded history -- in 1888, 1930, 1943 and 1992 -- when no snow fell during April. The average date of the last snow is April 27th."

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The site of the former Stapleton International Airport, roughly at Martin Luther King Blvd (32nd Avenue) and Quebec Street -- five minutes from where we lived recently, 15 minutes from downtown.

So I was born into a life of weather wondering, a bit more than folks of a geography that has more stable weather. The foregoing is just for April. I never took off on my bicycle without a sweater or jacket wrapped around the handlebars when I was young no matter how warm.

Other times of year I would stand open mouthed staring at the marvel of heat in the middle of the coldest part of the year. One thing that marks my psyche, I don't think my body ever got acclimated to any one thing, just got used to constant change. I'm a weather wondering man, have rain coat will huddle and shiver.

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Another article that interested me, seeing that my impulse to salute was generated by the display of lox in the meat counter, or the halvah on top of it, which I didn't understand 'til my kids were almost raised and I found out I had a Jewish grandfather.

Court forces Israel to recognize foreign non-Orthodox converts

JERUSALEM -- "The Supreme Court on Thursday granted recognition to non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism partly performed in Israel, capping a six-year legal battle with a sharp blow to the country's Orthodox monopoly over religious affairs."

"The decision drew harsh condemnation from the rabbinical establishment and cut to the heart of the perennial question: "Who is a Jew ?"

"The Reform and Conservative movements praised the ruling as an important step in their efforts to win recognition in Israel. It "is one of the major steps towrd pluralism" in a country struggling to be Jewish and democratic at the same time," said Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Reform movement's Israel Religious Action Center."

"The Reform and Conservative movements, the largest streams of Judaism in the United States, have been largely sidelined in Israel by the Orthodox religious establishment. The Orthodox chief rabbinate wields a monopoly over religious rites."

"Under the current contradictory practice, Israel recognizes only conversions performed by Orthodox rabbis inside Israel although people converted by non-Orthodox rabbis outside the country are eligible for citizenship under Israel's "Law of Return," which grants automatic citizenship to anyone who is Jewish."

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"Got that Doug ?" "There is a spot in there, "in a country struggling to be Jewish and democratic at the same time," that makes me wonder, isn't that the way the administration of our country is trying to push us - "THEIR WAY OR NO WAY ?" "No I don't understand." "Well read it again and there will be a quiz afterward."

Such an ambivalent, convoluted way of life and philosophy. Boggles my mind. When I was a kid the answer was, "You can only be a Jew if your Mother was one." But things are split in three or more in the homeland of one of my ancestors. Oh, well I didn't intend to attend at the synagogue or go to the schule, nor make big brags about having Jewish blood in my veins.

Perhaps though it is in my genes and location that I am always somewhat confused . . . . . . Yeah maybe so, No Wonder . . . . . .

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