1TORAH PORTION
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T
hey have been called
an "orphan nation,"
the Kurds fleeing from
Saddam Hussein, waiting for
food and water, living in the
most primitive conditions of
disease and squalor.
Is there nothing new under
the sun? The Torah portion
for this week deals with
something like the situation
of the Kurds. The ancient
Israelites found that their
camp in the Sinai desert had
many problems of health and
sanitation. Contamination of
corpses, physical • afflictions
and impurities, leprosy and
many of the diseases of non-
existent plumbing made the
camp of ancient Israel ritual-
ly impure and a threat to the
life and health of its peoples,
men and women alike.
Numbers 5 in this week's
sedra calls for the purification
of the camp. The Israelites did
so, putting the severely im-
pure persons "outside the
camp."
But the Kurds today? By
the tens of thousands they
have snaked along a narrow
mountain track leading from
Iraq to Turkey. Relief
organizations have been in a
grim race to bring aid to the
Kurds before it is too late.
We Jews feel more keenly
than ever the plight of the
Kurds. We Jews have been
there before. We know from
the history of our own people
what it means to be a refugee.
We know what it means to be
a stateless person, to be on
the run, to be without friends
or supporters.
Failed promises from the
Western powers? We Jews
have experienced those disap-
pointments before. We iden-
tify with the Kurds and hope
and pray that they will soon
find sanctuary, freedom and
hope, for the Kurds today are
the Jews of yesterday.
"Don't worry, we will sur-
vive. We have been surviving
for centuries!" One of the
Kurds said that to a reporter.
Jews have been saying that
for 2,000 years. Kurds are try-
ing to save those who can be
saved and bury those who can
not. Kurds have not given up.
Within the book - of
Numbers, the narrative is
again and again interrupted
Richard Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El
and distinguished professor of
Jewish studies at University
of Detroit-Mercy.
by laws and ordinances of a
cultic ritual nature, especial-
ly dealing with strangers.
Nun-tbers has nothing to say
about all the years spent in
the desert wandering with
trials and heartaches, hunger
and famine. It is as if the
Scripture wants nothing to do
with ex-slaves, save as the
bridge to those who will live
out the covenant and the
covenant land.
The harsh tribulations of
the ancient Israelites of the
desert seeking sanctuary and
Shabbat Naso:
Numbers
4:21-7:89.
Judges 13:2-25.
freedom become all the more
realistic because of the strug-
gles of the Kurds today.
The ancient Israelites had
to wander 40 years in the
desert before coming to the
Promised Land. Let us hope
that the Kurds do not have to
wait 40 years before they find
sanctuary and freedom. 0
SYNAGOGUES h
Saginaw Temple
Plans Anniversary
Temple B'nai Israel of
Saginaw will celebrate 100
years of Saginaw Jewish
history 9:15 a.m. June 8 with
Sabbath services.
A highlight of the celebra-
tion will be the Reconfirma-
tion of his Doctor of Divinity
Degree on Rabbi Robert M.
Scott. This honor was confer-
red upon him on March 13,
1991, by the Hebrew Union
College Jewish Institute of
Religion, Cincinnati, Ohio, to
recognize his outstanding 25
years in the rabbinate.
The congregation will enjoy
a dinner followed by com-
munity singing and Hav-
dalah services that evening,
and a video of interviews of
current and former members
of the community who have
shared their memories to
create a living historical
documeritary of the con-
tinuous presence of a century
of Jewish life in Saginaw.
The public is invited to the
synagogue noon-4 p.m. June
9. Displays featuring aspects
of a number of Jewish
holidays will be explained in
the temple's social hall; Rab-
bi Scott will be in the sanc-
tuary to explain ceremonial
objects used in religious
services.