THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 28, 1983 61
Burial of Torah Recalls' Mourning Rites for Desecrated Items
By HEIDI PRESS
(Editor's Note: This
story was prepared with
the aid of Rabbi David
Nelson of Cong. Beth
Shalom, Rabbi Max
Weine and Rabbi Feivel
Wagner of Young Israel
of Greenfield. The tal-
mudic interpretatinos
were provided by Rabbi
Wagner.)
The loss of several Sifrei
Torah in last week's tragic
fire at Cong. Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses brought to
light a little-known tradi-
tion surrounding the ruin of
Jewish religious articles.
According to Jewish tra-
dition, the remains of the
Sifrei Torah will be buried.
The reason for this, said
Rabbi Moshe Klein of New
York, the nationally known
sofer (scribe) who recently
repaired the scrolls, is that
one accords the Torahs the
same dignity given a
human being.
Rabbi Nelson added that
"you never throw anything
away that bears the word of
God."
In the aftermath of the
tragedy, Rabbi A. Irving
Schnipper, spiritual
leader of the congrega-
tion, requested that the
membership observe a
two-day symbolic shiva
— mourning period —
and wear the customary
black ribbon, signaling
that one is in mourning.
The wearing of the ribbon
is a modern-day manifesta-
tion of "cutting kriah," tear-
ing one's garment depicting
an expression of grief. Re-
ferring to Talmud Tractate
Moed Katan, Rabbi Wagner
said that the whole concept
of kriah derives from hear-
ing bad news, i.e., at the loss
of a member of the im-
mediate family or when one
comes to see the Western
Wall in Jerusalem, recal-
ling the destruction of the
Temple.
He said Halakha de-
mands the tearing of a gar-
ment a person is wearing.
"The tearing of cloth shows
that something is lost from
us," he said.
He said that in the case of
the burning of a Sefer To-
rah, whether by accident or
purposefully, the garment
should be torn twice: Once
for the writing in the Torah
and secondly for the parch-
ment itself. "The Torah has
a sanctity beyond words,"
Rabbi Wagner said, adding
that the blank spaces on the
parchment have sanctity as
well.
Asked who the tradi-
tion of cutting kriah per-
tains to in the case of a
Torah which has burned,
Rabbi Wagner said that
"anyone who sees the
burning of the Torah
should tear their
clothes."
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He added that in Jewish
tradition, not only are Sifrei
Torah buried when they are
ruined, but Jewish religious
items, such as prayerbooks,
Bibles and other items worn
out from use are also buried.
A hiding place, or geniza,
is usually reserved for such
burial. Rabbi Wagner re-
called the famous Cairo
Geniza, unearthed in the
1800s, in which valuable
Hebrew manuscripts had
been found.
In a paper on the Geniza
Congregation Opens Office;
No Evidence of Arson Found-
By ALAN HITSKY
Cong. Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses is operating
from an office in its school
wing while workmen begin
refurbishing the wing and
rebuilding the sanctuary
and social hall destroyed in
the Jan. 18 fire.
Spokesman for the con-
gregation said this week
that Shabat services will be
held Saturday morning for
the second consecutive
week at the First Church of
Christ Scientist at Maple
and Inkster.
Last Saturday, the first
following the fire, Shabat
morning services were held
at the church and the Bar
Mitzva of David Newman
was observed. On Feb. 5
services will be held at
Knollwood Country Club
instead of the church be-
cause heavy attendance is
expected for the Bat Mitzva
of Jill Mainster, daughter of
Dr. and Mrs. Harris Mains-
ter.
Daily services are held
at the home of Rabbi A.
Irving Schnipper or the
home of a mourner in the
congregation, and He-
brew school classes will
continue to be held at
Ealy Elementary School.
"We won't be moving the
children back here until ev-
erything is completely
safe," said congregant Mari-
lyn Rice. She said that the
school and parking lot "are
not in shape yet" because of
construction equipment.
No Evidence
of Arson
From
Paste in old label
:
NAME
L
Effective Date
service by Rabbi Arie Be-
cker, a Conservative rabbi
from Memphis, Tenn., he of-
fers the following on the
geniza concept:
" `Geniza' was the name
of the storehouse, a spe-
cially designated place in
the synagogue where
e s and
n d
op
dtlihascecera r d ae sd fi lb le ib dl u
manuscripts were
deposited. When the
wi th
such articles, it was taken
to the cemetery for bu-
rial.
Arson investigators re-
ported this week that they
have not found any evidence
to indicate arson. Sgt. Bob
Scott of the West Bloomfield
Township Police Depart-
ment said investigators
were awaiting a laboratory
report from the U.S. Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms to complete the
investigation.
Last week, Beth Ab-
raham Hillel Moses offi-
cials responded to re-
porters' questions that
they were concerned that
the fire could have been
set. The roaring blaze
was reported only 30
minutes after the build-
ing was locked for the
night following a weekly
bingo game.
Investigators this week
reported, however, that evi-
dence indicated the blaze
may have been smoldering
for some time while the
bingo players were in the
building.
Members of the Jewish
Defense League "guarded"
the building the night after
the fire. They claimed the
blaze had been deliberately
set and offered a reward for
information leading to the
identity of the arsonists.
One JDL member, wear-
ing a ski mask and promis-
ing to "revenge" the fire,
was given an interview by
WJBK-TV (Ch. 2).
The Rabbinical Com-
mission of the Jewisn
Community Council pro-
tested to Ch. 2 that the
interview made it appear
that the JDL member
was speaking for the
Jewish community.
Representatives of the
Rabbinical Commission re-
viewed Ch. 2's coverage of
the fire, discussed the inter-
view with news executives
and are preparing a letter to
the station outlining their
complaints.
On Wednesday, televi-
sion columnist Mike Duffy
wrote in the Free Press:
"Did Channel 2 overplay
the story? Yes. Did it inject
added drama into a situa-
tion that was dramatic
enough all by itself? Yes."
Be A
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"In Jerusalem, it was the
custom to bury the sheymot
(names), meaning every
timeworn book, page or ar-
ticle in which God's name
was written in the holy lan-
guage, every seven years.
This includes torn-out
pages too. Fragments of the
scroll of the Bible were put
in jars of clay and buried.
"According to a talmudic
statement, the day after
Rosh Hashana was desig-
nated to buy all documents
in which the name of God
appears. And the explana-
tion: The sacred words
should not end up in the
waste basket .. .
"The main reason for this
practice was that 'the
People of the Book' ex-
pressed their great respect
for the book even after it
was worn out. The book
stimulated reverence for
learning and learning
created reverence for the
book. Jewish tradition de-
mands that all sacred vol-
umes be accorded full re-
spect.
"When the Torah is car-
ried in the synagogue, the
congregation rises in rever-
ence: when it is raised from
the bima and rolled, the
congregants rise again.
When a person is called to
the reading of the Bible, he
kisses it before pronouncing
a blessing. When a prayer
book falls to the floor, the
person who picks it up must
kiss it: an expression of re-
spect, and for affection for
the book."
Asked if any plans were
in the offing for the burial of
the remains of the scrolls,
Rabbi Schnipper said Wed-
nesday that there were no
concrete plans as yet. He
added, however, that he
hopes to have the ceremony
"in a couple of weeks," on a
Sunday when the children
in the religious school and
members of the congrega-
tion can participate.
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