Editorials	Print

The Jewish Soul has been the subject of a great body of Jewish literature throughout the ages -- from Kabbalistic and Hassidic thought to short stories by writers like Y.S. Agnon and Shalom Aleichem. Is there something unique about the Jewish Soul? Are there different kinds of Jewish Souls? How can it be explained? Whatever the explanations, whatever the stories, there has generally been a consensus that ?once a Jew always a Jew? or, said another way -- a Jewish Soul never dies.

How many times have we personally seen people who were raised without any Jewish identity or background begin to observe the tenets of Judaism? What caused these people to become ?returnees? or Baal Teshuvahs -- to give up their entire way of life, enter into a previously unknown realm?

While outwardly in many cases, an event or series of events in that person's life can be pointed to as the immediate cause, was it the real reason? Or was there something far more spiritual involved in causing the change? Most of the people I have asked have a simple explanation in common -- they had been searching much of their lives for something. Ask them to explain further and they can't. They only know that they had been searching. Was it something tangible they had lost? Was it a feeling they sought to recapture or identify? Invariably, when pushed, the answer is that they all felt that ?something had been missing,? something undefined, yet definite, a sense of past, a link to a portion of their being which was there, but wasn't.

In our own search for a definition, for an articulatable raison d'etre, we have realized that a goal of the Jewish Review is to both reach out to those who are searching for their Jewish Soul and to provide an outlet for those wishing to reach out to others -- whether to educate, inform or enlighten.

This issue in its contents, perhaps more than its two predecessors, comes closer to achieving the goals that we envisioned in this publication's nascence : An Unknown Yearning is an essay by a person who, though two generations removed from Judaism, has experienced an almost mysterious lifelong ?connection? to his Jewish past; An interview with the Slopover Rebbe provides some insight into the transformation of a Baal Teshuvah in thought and deed; Supermarket Religion is an essay on our to tendency to pick and choose what mitzvahs we observe; candles is a touching short story about a man, who though probably not religious, took on the obligation of remembering the Jewish Souls of those in his family who had predeceased him by lighting the annual yarzheit candles. In addition, we have begun a Focus On: series, devoted this issue to the plight of Soviet Jews, an especially relevant topic given the upcoming holiday of redemption, Passover.

Finally, our articles about Passover, including The Seder Plate, Kosher Wine and Cheese Corner and Holiday Recipes are aimed at making your holiday more meaningful. The Jewish Review wishes you a Chag Kasher V'Sameach--a happy and kosher Passover.