EDITORIAL
Renewing Ourselves
The Jewish year that is now ending was
tumultuous and unpredictable, dizzying
and exhilarating, threatening and promis-
ing.
For a full 12 months, there was often
little that could be counted on with any
great certainty. Broad discrepancies and
ironies were jarring and unsettling. Jews
were alarmed that their community might
be weakened from within, especially as
assimilation and intermarriage became yet
more common. And as the year ended, they
were fearful that their community might
be threatened anew from without: anti-
Semitism fueled blacks' rioting in
Brooklyn's Crown Heights and nascent na-
tionalism in the Soviet Union's breakaway
republics had the possibility of spawning a
new generation of pogroms.
Last January, Jews were terrified when
Iraqi Scud missiles landed in Israel during
the Gulf War. Then, they cheered when the
United States airlifted Patriot missiles to
Israel. The next month, they fretted that
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein remained a
potent power in the Middle East —and that
one of his primary targets was still the
Jewish state.
It was the sort of turbulent, unnerving
year that seemed to defy any sense of order
in the world. Events were transpiring too
quickly — and, seemingly, so randomly.
For certainty and rootedness, one would
have to defer to the Creator who, in the
words of our tradition, "has given us life,
has lifted us up, and has brought us into
this season."
Rosh Hashanah, which starts Sunday
evening, is a time of entering into
ourselves and into our relationship with
God, a time of assessing and remembering
not just who we are, but who we are in rela-
tion to God. It is a time to renew our sense
of awe before the Divine.
And it is also a time to remember that in
years such as the one now ending — years
that can be extraordinarily turbulent —
there is a source that is stable, that is com-
forting, and that is immutable.
What We All Need At This Time
A year ago, when we sat down to our
Rosh Hashanah meals and we talked about
the miracles that can happen through a
spiritual cleansing or rebirth, none of us
really knew what a Scud missile was. None
of us really were familiar with terms such
as Stealth fighter or Patriot missile.
As we prayed and fasted on Yom Kippur,
there was no counter-coup in the Soviet
Union and no miracle airlifts from Ethio-
pia.
When we sat in our sukkot, a prisoner
exchange and a Middle East peace con-
ference was not part of our thinking. But
through all of the holidays, prayer was ab-
solutely on our minds. For some, it was no
coincidence that the Scud missiles didn't do
worse damage. It was no accident that the
politics in northern Africa, as perilous as
they could be, made it possible for
thousands of Ethiopian Jews to board
planes and head "home."
Coup or no coup, Jews are still leaving
the Soviet Union, and there is still the pilot
light of hope out there that the Arabs will
meet with the Israelis to begin peace talks.
If there was any doubt that prayer was
being heard and that teshuvah or repen-
tance meant anything, check - the events
that affected Israel and the Diaspora this
past year. In almost every case, our prayers
are being answered.
When the High Holidays were celebrated
last year, we could not know that a Scud
missile attack on Tel Aviv would bring this
Detroit Jewish community together like
few other events we can remember.
Shofars will blow throughout the com-
munity separating these days from the
rest, and our people from the rest. If the
haunting sound is enough to bring you to
prayer, think back on the year that was
and you won't have to ask if your prayers
are heard.
Of course you might not have gotten the
new car you prayed for or the Pistons
might have fallen short this year. But we
think you know what we mean. Happy
Rosh Hashanah.
Dry Bones
ANertieR
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10
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
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LETTERS
Taking Exception
On Crown Heights
As a former Crown Heights
resident, and father of a son
who presently resides in
Crown Heights, I take strong
exception to some elements of
your editorial "As Crown
Heights Burns" (Aug. 30).
You contend that "offers of
assistance to Lubavitch this
week from other Jewish
organizations have been met
with polite refusals." In fact,
a number of Jewish organiza-
tions sent their security
groups to Crown Heights and
their assistance was greatly
appreciated.
You further contend that
mainstream Jewish organiza-
tions complain that
"Lubavitch insists on going it
their way." Had Chabad
followed the lead of the other
"mainstream" organizations
they would have foresaken
Crown Heights some 25 years
ago.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe
took a courageous position at
the time by asking his
followers not to leave Crown
Heights. The Rebbe based his
position on Shulchan Aruch
— Chosen Mishpat (The Code
of Jewish Law) that says a
Jew may not abandon a
neighborhood if this will
cause suffering to other Jews.
It is usually the old and
poor who are forced to remain
in these abandoned neighbor-
hoods as can be witnessed to-
day in the Bronx, East New
York, Brownsville, and even
our own Detroit, areas aban-
doned by our "mainstream"
Jewish organizations.
In fact, Chabad frequently
works successfully with other
Jewish organizations in areas
of mutual concern. It is only
when issues of Halachah are
involved that Chabad refuses
to compromise in any way
and then, unfortunately, finds
.
•
it necesary to go its own way.
There is a time and place _
for everything. To needle
Chabad when it is belea-
guered by thousands of thugs
and to bring up issues that
are totally irrelevant to the
Crown Heights situation is in
poor taste at best.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg'
Bais Chabad of West Bloomfield:
Remembering
The Stage
The article "On The Move"
(Aug. 23) spoke about the
history of the Stage
Delicatessen owned by Har-
riet and Jack Goldberg.
We would like to clear up a
small inaccuracy about who
the previous owners were. The
restaurant was owned by the
Liberman family, Sam and
Bertha and Murray and
Evelyn. It was a successful
and popular deli and the first
pancake house, serving 32
varieties of pancakes, in the
Midwest. It was not a "cafe."
The theme and decor were
changed to add a Broadway
flavor. The restaurant was
never gutted and many of our
employees stayed on to work
with the Goldbergs.
Murray and Eve Liberman
Detroit
Answering
Black Racism
I'm writing.in regard to the
recent events in Crown
Heights .. .
The young Jew apparently
was stabbed because of black
anger at the death of the
black child and at various
rumors that began making
the rounds of the black com-
munity. Tension was
heightened by last year's
rumors that the Jews had
conspired with the police and
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