THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

World Zionist Press Service

JERUSALEM — The
rambling stone structure
located on Mount Zion,
reputedly the Tomb of King
David, was built by the
Turks in the 17th Century.
Since the Six-Day War of
1967 it has been serving as
the home of the first yeshiva
in Jerusalem aimed specifi-
cally at "baalei tshuva" —
repentants or formerly not

so religious students, many
of them Americans, who
seek a firmer grasp of their
traditional roots.
The majority remain only
a short time in the yeshiva
setting. Others, like Yoel
Baks from Los Angeles,
choose to take seriously
head Rabbi Mordecai Golds-
tein's demand for "total
commitment with whole
body and whole being" to
learning and practicing the
way of Torah. The resulting

A Reflection on Life

By PHILLIP GOREN

(Editor's Note: The
Midrasha, in addition to
providing advance stu-
dies for high school
graduates, also has
classes for older citizens,
many of whom express
gratitude for the educa-

tional opportunities pro-
vided for them. One of
them is Philip Goren, a
poet and artist, who won
the Bernard Isaacs
Award for academic ex-
cellence and dedication
to Jewish learning. A
sample of Goren's poetry
follows.)

I am old.
I am cold.
My vision is bad.
My feet are weak and flat.
What happened?
Is it really that bad?
Spring disappeared forever.
Summer is at the end.
Fall is arriving.
Chill winds are beginning to blow.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Is it the end.
Every beginning has an end.
Does every end have a new beginning?
I am in the midst of silent thoughts.
My soul, my spirit wonders, searching,
striving, looking in all
directions of the Universe.
Nebulous thoughs arrive, arrive, -arrive.
Then it vanishes, vanishes, vanishes.
Where am I?
What am I?
Who am I?
A silent response I hear.
I must be part of a recycle of the universe, unknown to men.
Creatures of creation in the cosmos.
We call it Universe or is it God?

U.S. Will Delay Submitting
AWACS Sale to Congress

WASHINGTON (JTA) — gress will also depend on
Secretary of State Alexan- timing as recommended by
der Haig confirmed Sunday the Senate leadership.
that the Reagan Adminis-
He rejected claims that
tration would "delay" sub- Saudi oil was involved in
mission to Congress of its any way in the AWACS
proposed sale of AWACS re- sale. He said what the
connaissance aircraft and U.S. was "concerned ab-
other material to Saudi out" in the sale was the
Arabia but he said the Ad- security of oil in Saudi
ministration was still com- Arabia and "overall
mitted to the AWACS sale.
regional security."
Answering questions on
The Los Angeles Times
the CBS-TV "Face the Na- carried a nationally-
tion" program, Haig said syndicated story on Sunday
the Administration is still quoting an unnamed Saudi
in the process of developing official. The official said
arrangements for the arms U.S. AWACS planes would
package and that it is "very be used to defend Saudi
important that the ar- Arabia from attack by Is-
rangements be known and rael.
understood by those who
The Saudis regard Israel,
have reservations as to the not the Soviet Union, as the
sale."
main threat to their - secu-
The Administration had rity, he said. He claimed
been expected to send the that Israel's June 7 raid
arms package proposal to against Iraq's Osirak nu-
Congress some time early in clear reactor might prompt
July. But Sen. Charles the Israelis to attack the
Percy (R-I11.), chairman of Saudi oil fields.
the Senate Foreign Rela- Flight Refused
tions Committee, and Sen.
PARIS (ZINS) — A
Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), urged
a delay in the wake of a let- French Jewish pilot has
ter to President Reagan been dismissed by UTA air-
from 54 Senators calling on lines for refusing to fly a
him to withdraw the pro- cargo of weapons to Libya.
posals. Haig said submis- The pilots' union is support-
sion of the proposals to Con- ing the pilot in the case.

"deep inner transforma-
tion" of the personality is
the real raison d'etre of per-
haps all organized religion.
"I encountered my true
self and the Eternal
Creator," says Yoel Baks.
"Now I know why I'm in the
world and what I'm sup-
posed to be doing, and my
only problem now is to do
it."
What is the real nature
of this inner change in
one's being? Avi Good-
friend of Chicago, an-
other of the long-term
scholars, offers a seem-
ingly paradoxical expla-
nation, "On the one hand
everything and on the
other hand nothing. Be-
fore I came to yeshiva, I
took care of business and
now I still take care of
business. The difference
is the intention to serve
HaShem. Every aspect
has to be continually
checked within your-
self."
There are, of course, those
who have strong reserva-
tions about these yeshivot.
Anglo-Jewish writer and
journalist Chaim Bermant
(himself an Orthodox Jew)
recently wrote in the Lon-
don Jewish Chronicle about
one of these institutions: "I
know that institution and
others like it, and none are
so lost as those who have
been saved by them. I
should imagine that most of
their students would be bet-
ter off on the streets."
But Issachar ben Av-
raham from Hartford,
Conn., has no such doubts:
"Now I am more aware of
myself and am able to ex-
press my feelings about
things more honestly. Also,
I am more active, more in-
volved. Just living in Israel
seems to put more demands
on you. There's no more
time to just 'hang-out.' You
have more important things
to do."
About half of the approx-
imately 100 full-time stu-
dents at Diaspora Yeshiva
are married. The yeshiva is
their life and they in turn
are totally deVoted to fol-
lowing the great sages of the
Talmud.
Another institution
with a different ap-
proach, Yeshiva Aish
Ha Torah appeals to a
larger number of stu-
dents with less long-term
involvement. Perhaps
typical of his fellow-
students, Shmuel Norris
of Aish HaTorah explains
what first drew him to the
yeshiva world in very
personal terms. "I felt
there had to be some-
thing more to life than
just making a living.

"I knew I wanted to find
something more than the
people who were around me
in New York, but I wasn't
sure what I was even look-
ing for at first. I spent a year
in Europe, working as an
English teacher in Madrid,
and slowly beginning to get
interested in keeping the
Sabbath and other aspects
of Torah life. But I didn't
really know how to go about

it until I came here to the
yeshiva."
Rabbi Noah Weinberg,
head of Aish HaTorah is
well known for his success
in redeeming alienated
youth. Over 3,000 students
participate in classes and
programs at Yeshiva Aish
HaTorah every year. About
200 currently live and study
in the yeshiva on a long-
term basis.
Rabbi Weinberg em-
phasizes a non-ritualistic,
what might be called a prac-
tical existential approach,
to the wisdom of the sages.
His stated purpose is to
spread Jewish conscious-
ness and awareness in the
world.
A similar program of
Jewish studies is offered
at Yeshiva Dvar
Yerushalayim, under the
aegis of British-born
head Rabbi Baruch
Horovitz. More than 160
students give full-time ef-
fort to their involvement
at Davar Yerushalayim,
with English, Hebrew,
French and Spanish pro-
grams available.
The average day begins
with classes from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. with afternoon Ulpan
for non-Hebrew speakers
and evening classes in
philology, the relation of
scientific thought to
Judaism, Hasidic thought
and open discussion forums
on whatever is of concern to
the yeshiva students and
their instructors.
Most of the student body
stay for a year or two in the
yeshiva. The basic purpose
of instruction, according to
Dvar Yerushalayim's Rabbi
Krupnick, is to develop
enough skills to enable stu-
dents to continue learning
independently after com-
pleting their formal studies.
Distinguished as prob-
ably the most highly aca-
demic and intellectual of
the "baal tshuva" yeshivas,
a fourth possibility for stu-
dents seeking an introduc-
tion to Jewish philosophy
and practice is Yeshiva Or
Samayakh. Special features
of this institution include
an American branch at
Muncie, N.Y., which serves
as an American liaison
office for yeshiva students
returning to Israel, and as a

springboard to introduce
American students to
Jewish studies and then
encourage them to continue
learning in Israel.
Other avenues returning
to Jewish traditional
studies and concerns are
available at Machon Meir,
which specializes in pro-
grams for Israeli students
with all their classes in He-
brew; the Breslav Yeshiva
which emphasizes Hasidic
tradition; and the Pardes
Yeshiva which is the only
Jerusalem yeshiva where it
is currently possible for men
and women to learn to-
gether on an equal basis in
the same classes.
"If you've been to Israel
and you haven't been to a
yeshiva, you haven't been to
Israel," reads a sign over the
dining hall at the Aish
HaTorah Yeshiva.

NEW YORK — James L.
Weinberg of Harrison, N.Y.
has been re-appointed
chairman of the United
Jewish Appeal 'Allocations
Committee.

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25

UJA Chairman

Tactlei Tshuva' Seek Jewish Roots in Jerusalem

By JAMES LEWIN

Friday, July 3, 1981

S E Corner Maple b Lohser
Birmingham. MI 646 44 /5

I

