• • Jews of Jerba--From Isle of Lotus By GEORGE SCHRIEBER (A Seven Arts Feature) PARIS—One day last December, there alighted in the courtyard of the ORT school for boys in Tunis, a tall patriarchial figure, wrapped in an encompassing white djellaba, his head topped by a fez. The Grand Rabbi of Jerba, for all the world looking like a biblical appari•, Lion, had come to visis "his chil- dren" and to see for himself whether being at the school im- pared their traditional values. His coming had been heralded by the enrollment of a dozen youngsters from among the rabbi's congregants, the first time the millenial old community of Jerba had consented to expose its youth to the winds of change. Jerba is an island oasis. a short ferry-ride off the south Tunisian coast. To this day, the social life of women centers around the water wells, where they come several times each day, their apexed brown-clay jars slung over their shoulders, to replenish the house- hold supply and to chatter. Flocks of sheep graze under the date palms, while camels, tethered to millstones, grind the flour for flat cakes that are baked on open-air stove ovens. No one knows how long Jews Happy Holiday To All -Red-Way Cartage Co. 5100 E. Nevado FO 6-6000 Four years ago, the electric power lines reached Jerba. New hotels are attracting ever larger numbers of tourists, who bring with them the sense of o t h e r, better prospects elsewhere, and leave in their wake shock waves of discontent among the youths, and resistance from their elders. have lived on Jerba. Homer told how, when intrepid Ulysses was shipwrecked there, his men fell under the influence of the lotus leaf, an influence so soothing, they refused to leave. Local tra- dition has it that a shipload of Jews escaped across the Mediter- ranean after the fall of the Second Temple, with a gate taken from the temple. Upon arriving at Jerba, they built their syna- gogue upon this gate. There is historic evidence of Jewish settle- ment in the 10th Century, and in 1163, Maimonides wrote a de- scription of the community while living there. MIAMI BAKE SHOPPE We wish to take this opportunity to extend to our friends and patrons our greetings and best wishes Until a few months ago, a kind of generational impasse gripped for a very Happy Passover. A few determined sons. and fathers young men became rebel s. and , moved out on their own. Earlier this year the elders made the fate- Hy. Lipsitz - Ted Wise - Harold Lipsitz - Lee Horwitz ful decision to test the outer world by sending a small group. ages between 13 and 15, to the ORT school. Holiday Greetings Several could not speak French, I and spent the summer in a language preparatory course organized by the school. All were housed with Jew- ish families in Tunis and given Painters - Decorators Since 1907 monthly stipends by ?DC. They take VI 3-1400 110 N. Waterman their meals at the school. To the community back home, it was a doubtful experiment. In De- cember. the Grand Rabbi came to see for himself. He examined every- Holiday Greetings thing, especially the kashrut prac- ticed in the kitchen. He spoke with "his children" and with the teach- Wall Washing — Carpet Cleaning ers of Hebrew. Window Cleaning The Grand Rabbi acknowledged his original skepticism that any 864-2340 7735 Fenkell "for- good could come from this school and surprise at the eign" happy discovery" of what he goesumeloseememboosiseef0000esofsevalueorime ' found. This is the answer we have been • Happy Holiday looking for, he declared. The new • • economic trends that have come to Jerba threaten our old way of • "TOOL MAKERS SINCE 1920" life. You have given us the solution • • • we need for our young men. More • Home of EMPCO Products • young men would be coming to W 1-7900 T 2731 Jerome Ave. at E. McNichols the school from the Isle of the ommeR Lotus Eaters, he promised, begin- Sosomeseseesemeememeeememoemm ning with 67 of them this March for a preparatory course to qualify them for admission this fall. A Very Healthy and Happy Passover In the Hara Sagira of J e r b a to the Jewish Community stands the fabled Ghriba syna- gogue, in whose crypt lies the dejet, the presumed gate of the Second Temple, a talisman for Jew and Moslem. To this ancestral sanctu- TR 3-7770 ary, the Grand Rabbi repaired upon his return to Jerba, to make a benediction for the school. In doing so, he gave his blessings to a new era for the Jews of Jerba. Best Wishes for a Happy Passover CAPITOL WASTE PAPER CO. INC. Some 2.000 Jews inhabit two hamlets on the island, Hara Sagira and tiara Kabira. About 1,500 others emigrated in recent years. Jews are the traditional silver- smiths of Jerba, and their work is highly prized. Some are black- smiths, and others own stalls in the local souk, or market place. These are age-old occupations of Jerba's J e w s, including the fathers of the 12 newly enrolled students at the Tunis ORT School. One youngster reports his parent's livelihood, as crafting the silver plates and other adornments for tora scrolls, another's Jather sells mezuzas in the souk. These young men see no future for themselves in such "metiers". Silver has become scarce, and goods for the souk merchants are increas- ingly hard to come by. The greater impact is that modernity has knocked at the gates of Jerba, and their eyes have been opened to the great world beyond its ancient ways. THE WALTER CARROLL COMPANY EAGLE CLEANING CO. - BANK OF COMMERCE FIVE OFFICES Hamtramck - Warren - Centerline - West Utica Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation A Happy Holiday to All Our Relatives Friends and Patrons BRADY TRUCK PAINTING .& LETTERING CO. FIELD'S EMPLOYMENT o e .3 0 GAYLORD PRINTING, Inc. Our Specialty Truck Painting and Lettering 923-2210 3569 •SUPERIOR Passover Greetings Lithographers —Printers—Office Supplies Quality Awning Co. Best wishes and greetings to all our friends and customers for a very happy Passover 7937 Schaefer at Tirernan TI Middlebelt and W. 7 Mile Rd. — Livonia GR 4-9829 KE 5-1770 Your Host: Sammy Lerman 6-5735 PASSOVER GREETINGS Happy Holiday BERMAN'S CHOP HOUSE Berkowitz and Family 13 HANDLEMAN COMPANY O ARC DISTRIBUTOR —JAY-KAY DISTRIBUTOR Established 1914 J. a o Happy Passover 1 t 2 Michigan Bag & Barrel Co., inc. 883-7800 15555 Woodrow Wilson Everything in Aluminum Canvas, Fiberglass Awnings BEN & GEORGE'S' DELICATESSEN Detroit, Michigan 670 E. Woodbridge Ave. t' tot 0t t01 101 a t at TE 1 - 3755 4825 Russell 1431 TIMES SQUARE Passover Greetings to Our Friends and Patrons Ben Gottloeb and Sam Davis 1771ZP a s ;Tee rT7.47;77 — Jordan Pest Control Company PARADISO CAFE Roaches . . Mice . . . Rats . . . Bedbugs Member: National Pest Control Association Friends and Customers 1 Passover Greetings Desmond Process Supply Co. Silk Screen Colors—Supplies—Equipment 6340 Fenkell -• ENTERPRISE MACHINE PARTS CORP. al • Happy Holiday of Wishing You A Happy Passover Fine American-Italian Foods 117630 Woodward, near 6 Mite TO 9-3988 ~ CONTROL OF ALL HOUSEHOLD PESTS 931-2222 7814 Morrow Circle, Dearborn 9 Q90000000000 0000 Q9 Q..PQ 862-1115 Passover Greetings Best Wishes For A Happy Passover Pollak Printing Co. Complete Best Wishes for a Happy Passover MIMCO LIGHTING CO. 24200 Telegraph 358-1360 Printing Service 2420 Grand River WO 3-0895 cio0i31300o0000000aoci000b • mr. .4w • 1 1 • • 1 • • • ■ a. .■1 • Happy Holiday A. J. Marshall Co. Faygo Since 1897 Bar - Restaurant - Institution Supplies 4400 Cass, cor. Canfield TE 1-9450 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, April 21, 1967-49