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 At4CoMMUNIsT PI CreiroR?) 10 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1991 so coflo aRE WE ?RoPPI VHS lime? 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 Continued- on Page 12 ‘7.