28 - friday, October 4, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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INSIGHT
The Gate
Continued from preceding page
reads from the Torah — and
works. He's the one who came to
Rabbi Rotenbush — that's our
teacher — and asked him to
give a class here once a week."
Ian led me down a narrow alley
behind a car-rental office and
under an archway atop which
generations of pigeons had
roosted. The pavement crackled
under our feet as we walked
among the encrusted droppings.
An unfrosted light bulb barely
illuminated the path.
The sight was less than invit-
ing, and as I walked up the
steps that led to a nondescript
gray door, I began to wonder if I
was heading again into another
of those little backwater syna-
gogues filled with black hats
and coats. There was no time to
dwell on the question, for in a
moment we were inside.
The light was blinding. Never
had I seen so many lamps in
such a small room. Two large
chandeliers with about 15
fluorescent lights. On the walls
there were little lamps that be-
amed light into the corners, and
in those corners were memorial
tablets in which some tiny bulbs
burned in memory of the dead.
The Ark, a combination of wood
and rather ugly laminated plas-
tic, was topped with a blue
shield painted to look like the
heavens and studded with do-
zens of little electric flames
which when lit were apparently
supposed to look like, stars. To
its left and over the cantor's
small pulpit was a seven-
branched menorah which
burned brightly, and below it,
encased in glass and in front of
a large amulet in the shape of a
menorah on which kabbalistic
incantations were written,was a
glass candelabrum which also
could be lit. I could not count
them, but there seemed to be at
least 150 lamps of one sort or
another burning.
Yet for all its luminescence,
the room was far from dazzling.
The light illuminated utter
plainness. A few handwritten
verses from Jewish sources ex-
tolling the merits of prayer and
study hung on one wall, book-
cases were on another and hat
racks were everywhere. Around
the outer,edges of the room were
long, plain white plastic-topped
tables which worshipers used for
prayer, study or eating. In the
middle was the table and pulpit
from which the Torah was read.
We walked in and I was in-
troduced simply: "This_ is my
friend Shmulik." He used the
diminutive of my Hebrew name.
"He's going to Tern with us."
"Baruch ha-Shem" — Praised
be God — Reb Shimileh an-
swered. He patted me on the
back and handed me a volume
of the Talmud.
There were about 15 men pre-
sent this evening. Later. I would
learn that they included bank
tellers and managers, a school-
teacher, an official at the Minis-
try of Religion,. a. couple of
shopkeepers, a metalworker and
a wood turner, lab,technicians, a
chemist. But these roles in the
world outside this room played
hardly any part inside the bor-
.