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I would like to clarify the statement by Rabbi Quint in the article on Orthodox lesbian mothers (\"Happy - and Gay - Families,\" August 25). Rabbi Quint writes that, \"Halachic literature cites the mitzva of marriage as a pre- requisite for the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply.\" But this does not give the full picture. Every single place in his letter where Rabbi [Yaakov Fogelman] refers to \"lesbianism,\" he is mistranslating the Hebrew \"nashim ha-mesollelot zu b'zu,\" or women who \"mesollel\" with one another. While this certainly refers to a sexual act, it is not at all clear from the sources precisely what the act is, though it is very clear that it does not refer to \"lesbianism\" as a blanket category. Eetta Prince-Gibson writes in her article, \"Out of Obscurity\" (September 1), that \"at least 400,000 Gypsies were murdered in the death camps, particularly Auschwitz and Birkenau.\" In fact, only around 35,000 Roma were killed in Nazi death camps, of whom 18,000 died in Auschwitz- Birkenau.

In a related development, the High Court released the detailed decision by Supreme Court Justices Miriam Naor, Salim Joubran and Uzi Fogelman, including the reasons it accepted a petition by three women's organizations (Itach - Female Lawyers for Justice, The Women's Network and Ken - Women's Power for the Advancement of Female Leadership in Israel) charging that the public commission, headed by retired justice Jacob Turkel, had not done enough to find a female candidate.

Compromises of all kinds finally broke the deadlock in the Judicial Selection Committee and led to the appointment on Sunday of three new Supreme Court justices: Tel Aviv District Court Judge Uzi Fogelman, Haifa District Court Judge Yitzhak Amit and US-born Beersheba District Court Judge Neal Hendel. During Friday's deadlocked meeting, the closest the committee came to agreeing on three candidates was when the trio of Vogelman, Amit and Hendel was proposed in a simulation vote. They garnered six of the nine votes, one short of the required minimum majority of seven. But by then, it was already clear that Hendel had seven votes in his favor. Hendel worked in the Southern District Attorney's Office from 1983 to 1988, was named to the Beersheba Magistrate's Court in 1988 and to the Beersheba District Court in 1997. In 2006, he was appointed deputy president of the Beersheba District Court.

The warring parties in this case are Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and her two colleagues, Justices Ayala Procaccia and Edmond Levy, versus three right-wing politicians - Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) and MKs David Rotem (Israel Beiteinu Party) and Uri Ariel (National Union). On the eve of Friday's critical meeting, the right- wing bloc appears to be ready to accept [Uzi Fogelman] and [Yoseph Elon]. But it, too, has a condition. Both Beinisch and [Yaakov Neeman] must accept its candidate for the third court vacancy. The bloc has proposed three candidates, all of them religious. They are attorney Dov Frimer, Jerusalem District Court Judge Noam Sohlberg and Tel Aviv District Court Judge Yeshayahu Schneller. So far, Beinisch has refused to accept this deal. According to some reports, she is willing to contemplate appointing the right-wing bloc's candidate as a temporary justice for six months. But Erdan, Rotem, Ariel and [Pinhas Marinsky] will have none of that. If their man gets a temporary appointment, all three candidates should be appointed temporarily, they say.

The menorah lighting in Worcester will follow a special presentation on WGBH-TV, Channel 2, from 3 to 5 p.m. that will show Jews from around the world lighting menorahs, [Hershel Fogelman] said. A highlight will be a first-time lighting of the menorah inside the Kremlin Great Hall, where 6,000 Soviet Jews are expected to gather. The presentation also will include lighting of the menorah in the synagogue of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, world leader of the Lubavitcher Jews. The rabbi said Jewish people in institutions often are \"kidded\" or taunted by non-Jews in the wards or cell blocks, although the taunts come not as result of anti-Semitism, but because the Jews have different traditions. [Yaakov Blotner] said the \"hands on\" experience of lighting candles and saying prayers is more effective than having \"heavy theological discussions.\"