I RELIGION 1 Southfield "The Original" In The New Orleans Mall 10 Mile & Greenfield Mon.-Thurs. & Sat 10-5 Fri. 10-9 Sun. 12-5 • 559-7818 West Bloomfield On The Boardwalk Orchard Lake Road South of Maple Mon.-Wed. & Sat. 10-7 Thurs. & Fri. 10-9 Sun. 12-5 • 626-3362 Downtown Birmingham 111 S. Woodward South of Maple Mon-Wed. & Sat. 10-6 Thurs. & Fri. 10-9 Sun. 12-5 • 647-0550 Gallery of Fine Oriental Rugs 251 Merrill Birmingham (313) 644-7311 2915 Breton Grand Rapids (1.800-622-RUGS) RARE & BEAUTIFUL BEADS Largest selection in Michigan . . -4,- Lubavitcher Chasidim world meet in Brooklyn, N.Y. to hear their leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. • • • • • Rhinestones • Knotting & Brisk Machines restringing service Seed Beads • Necklaces made Crystals to order or Fashion Beads Do-it-Yourself! BIRMINGHAM BEAD STORE Chasidic Shlichim Seek Jewish Unity 280 N. Woodward • Birmingham. MI In the Great .4771(7iCal7 Bldg.. next to Crowley's (313) 644-7609 Holiday Preview Ladies' European Designs BUY 1 ITEM AT 30% OFF GET A SECOND ITEM OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE AT 40% OFF AND IF YOU CHOOSE, ALSO RECEIVE A THIRD ITEM AT 50% OFF All Sales Final • Sugar Tree Shopping Center • 6255 Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple West Bloomfield 737-0714 54 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1987 SUSAN BIRNBAUM N ew York — More than 500 emissaries of the Lubavitcher Chasidim returned to Brooklyn during November from literally the four corners of the earth. The occasion was the international Kinus Hakhel gathering of shlichim from Jewish communities in America and throughout the world. The gathering, which Lubavitchers compare to similar gatherings that occur- red at the time of the Temple on the year following Shmitah (the sabbatical year), revealed a picture of Jewish life in exotic and dis- tant places, as well as that in mainstream, large Jewish communities, and offered in- sight into the thinking of a devoutly religious communi- ty intent, they repeatedly say, on maintaining ties with the entire Jewish community as am echad (one people). Rabbi Avraham Shemtov of Philadelphia addressed the controversial issue of "who is a Jew" in Israel by saying that one " must not confuse the halachic with the legislative." He maintains that Israel alone must deal with the legislative process. And he criticized those who reprimand the Lubavitch movement for its strong stand on the issue in Israel as though "to tarnish the ties the Lubavitchers have always sought to unite Jews everywhere, not divide us." Shemtov said that the per- son who originally brought up the question was Israel's first premier, David Ben- Gurion, who received two let- ters on the subject from the Lubavitcher rebbe. The first one, said Shemtov, was con- cise and concerened "who is a Jew." The second addressed the question "what is a Jew?" "That one was much longer," said Shemtov. Shlichim personally involv- ed in programs for Soviet im- migrants mingled and shared thoughts in workshops with those who work with Jewish prisoners, drug and alcohol abusers and married couples working through problems. In public addresses at the banquet and at workshops, the shlichim boasted much success in working with Jewish, non-Lubavitch communities. However, in interviews with shaliach after shaliach, one answer was echoed despite an overwhelming eagerness to repeat, "We don't have pro- blems; we have challenges." The uniform response was that intermarriage is a critical problem. This, accom- panied by the overall problem of assimilation, appeared to trouble nearly everyone. One shaliach claimed " total success' at Chabad: Russian-born Rabbi Yehuda Leib Raskin, for 28 years the Lubavitcher rabbi of Casablanca, Morocco. "We have no problems," said Raskin. "There is a great Jewish tradition in Morocco, very happy. And the govern- ment is with the Jews." He cited three Chabad schools in Casablanca and cooperation between several Jewish com- munities throughout Morocco. Raskin's North African neighbor, the Lubavitch rab- bi of Tunisia, was unable to