Sabbath

I am a bank customer-service employee who works three days a week. My supervisor wants me to expand my days to include Saturdays, but I observe the Sabbath. Can the bank force me to work that day? State and federal statutes that prohibit religious discrimination require some form of accommodation, within reason. "There is a requirement to accommodate under Title VII," said Louis Graziano, a senior trial attorney in the Manhattan office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces Title VII and other federal anti-bias statutes.

Tamir Goodman, one of the most publicized recruits in the history of Maryland basketball, told the Terps yesterday that he would decline the scholarship offer he orally accepted from the university last January.Goodman, an Orthodox Jew, said he changed his mind after a Sept. 2 meeting with Maryland coach Gary Williams, citing friction with the Maryland coaching staff over his refusal to play on the Jewish Sabbath."It was very discouraging," Goodman, 17, said of the meeting. "It would have been better off if they would have said [in January]

Tonight at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in Upper Park Heights, they're packing up the prayer books, telling the rabbi to can the sermon and giving the organist the night off. It's not a revolt. It's Friday Night Live, a contemporary Sabbath service that will bring together Baltimore's four Reform congregations: Baltimore Hebrew, Temple Oheb Shalom, Temple Emanuel and Har Sinai. "It's got a little bit of jazz, a little bit of rock 'n' roll, a little bit of klezmer [a type of Jewish folk music]

For Yoel Benyowitz, setting aside work at sundown on Friday, lighting the shabbos candles and spending the next 24 hours in prayer and fellowship with family and friends "recharges our batteries, both physically and spiritually." It's an experience that he wishes more Jews enjoyed. The 47-year-old father of four, a computer information specialist with the state Department of Transportation, joined thousands of fellow Orthodox Jews in Park Heights on Sunday for a rally to promote observance of the Jewish Sabbath.

The vote from the Strathmore Tower condominium board was simple: Down with the Sabbath elevator. But what some thought was a straightforward vote has erupted into a religious and racially tinged controversy to others in this majority senior citizen-occupied condominium complex in Upper Park Heights. The supporters - most of whom are Jewish - say the option for a Sabbath elevator wouldn't have cost extra money and would have aided Orthodox Jewish and disabled residents while helping resale prices.

With leaders calling it a public desecration of their core beliefs, an estimated 3,500 Jews rallied in Baltimore yesterday to protest a plan to open the Owings Mills Jewish Community Center on Saturday -- the Sabbath of the Jewish faith."

The Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills, barraged with requests for weekend recreational facilities, decided to open on Saturday afternoons. Hundreds of Orthodox Jews rallied to protest what they considered a violation of the sanctity of the Sabbath. The decision was reversed.But the year was 1979, not 1997. The drama that unfolded during the past month in the diverse Jewish communities of Baltimore and Baltimore County was a replay of a controversy 18 years ago.The outcome was the same, but the arguments this time were magnified by demographic changes and contained echoes of a passionate debate in Israel.

Go ahead, try to outrun the boys and girls track teams at Oakland Mills. Attempt to outpoint the boys, who are the defending Class 1A state champs. Challenge the girls, who finished second in last year's state meet.Oakland Mills has the talent to beat a lot of teams any day of the week. Except on Saturdays, when four team members -- Danielle Stoddart, Aharon McKoy, and Paul and Reesa Phillips -- refrain from competing for religious reasons.They are Seventh-Day Adventists, and their commitment to observing the Sabbath means that Oakland Mills coach Sam Singleton will lead his squads into the state finals on Saturday, May 29, at UMBC without four important cogs.

WASHINGTON - After a one-day lull yesterday, U.S. airstrikes resumed early today in Afghanistan, as several warplanes streaked over Kabul and powerful explosions were heard in northern areas of the city, rattling buildings in the heart of the capital. The new round of raids came after a slowdown in the U.S.-led airstrikes against the Taliban militia during the Muslim Sabbath yesterday. The resumption of attacks marked a sixth day of strikes against the Taliban regime, which has sheltered Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network.

ONE OF the most refreshing college basketball stories in many years is the recent announcement that Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jewish high school basketball star from Pikesville, has promised to play for the University of Maryland.The idea that big-time college basketball, which has been marred by scandal in recent years, would agree to be challenged by Tamir's value system is a notable development.However, some religion-related issues will arise from this union. For example, there is a question of whether Tamir could play basketball on the Jewish Sabbath.