Israel: On And Off The Tour
School prinicipal Barbara
Goldsmith Levine thanks
Adat Shlaom for its pre-
sentation.
D ETRO IT J EWISH NEWS
Students and adults dance with the Torah at the school's entrance.
carried, and he smiled.
For the rabbi, that smile
would not leave his face.
His smile connected with
every high he would
experience. It was as if
his body, his soul were
elevated somehow.
His traveling compan-
ion was a Torah that
Adat Shalom was donat-
ing to the Jean and
Samuel Frankel School,
a Conservative day
school in Jerusalems'
French Hill section.
There was a teachers'
strike hitting the city
that day. But at that
moment, every student of
this elementary and mid-
dle school, and many
parents, were there.
Rabbi Spectre had car-
ried the Torah to Metro
Airport. He held it like it
was his child. El Al pro-
vided a special seat for
the Torah. Each step of
the way, it was met with
respect and reverence.
People in
the street
would
stop what
they were
doing to
kiss the
Torah.
Even the
lady who
cleaned
Rabbi
Spectre's
hotel
Students Raphael Graspy (left) and Victor Nardi watch the
room put Torah festivities.
her dust
rag aside
the eyes of many onlook-
for one moment to kiss
ers. Children grabbed
the Torah.
the hands of the adults,
When the bus door
and whether or not their
opened, the rabbi
guests knew the Hebrew
brought out the honored
words to the songs or the
guest. He was immedi-
steps to the dances,
ately surrounded by
everyone came together
singing and dancing chil-
under a canopy of joy.
dren, and he was with
"From Adat Shalom
the Torah under the
came a Torah," said
chuppah. The sight of
school principal Barbara
the rabbi at that
Goldsmith Levin.
moment, the Torah in his
"Instead of from Zion,
arms, brought tears to
the Torah returned to
Zion."
Mrs. Levin has a direct
connection to Detroit.
She was the first girl to
celebrate her bat mitz-
vah at Adat Shalom. She
also graduated from
United Hebrew Schools
and was confirmed at
Adat Shalom.
Esther Liwazer and
her husband, Jacob, had
tears in their eyes as
they observed from
alongside the chuppah.
Mrs. Liwazer had been
in Israel in 1982, visited
the school and was
among those who learned
that it needed the Torah.
"We just felt that a
Jewish school, especially
one in Jerusalem, should
have a Torah. All of this
shows that miracles hap-
pen. This is very excit-
ing. It's wonderful that
our synagogue can have
this sort of relationship
with a school."
Trudy Weiss, also on
the Michigan Miracle
Mission, was moved by
what she was seeing.
"It's a very emotional
event," she said. "You
have few opportunities in
life to see something like
this happen."
Allan Nachman had to
step back and make sure
he made a mental photo-
graph of what he was
seeing because he came
away with the same
warm reaction that he
gets during a family sim-
cha.
"You get a feeling of
contentment, a feeling
that this is a win-win sit-
uation. It was a good
thing for everyone."
Mr. Nachman, who
attended UHS and Adat
Shalom schools with
Mrs. Goldsmith Levin,
presented the school
with a facsimile machine
on behalf of the Frankel
family.
"This is an event that