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4:-'4713

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

B

problems
American

dear

tity, anti

confusion aroun
levels of obsery

Marriage Of Mission-aires 4 1,

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

M

aybe the Jewish
Federation — a
sponsor of this
spring's Michigan
Miracle Mission to Israel
— should get into the
"love connection" biz.
4111
If it weren't for the
Mission, says 76-year-old
Israel "Izzy" Liebowitz, he
wouldn't be in love and
engaged.
Mr. Liebowitz met his
fiance, Lillian Davis, also
76, while playing cards
with friends this April in
Florida. Ms. Davis, a for-
mer Detroiter, needed a
ride home, so Izzy gave
her a lift.
En route, the two
senior citizens began
talking about traveling.
Mr. Liebowitz revealed his
excitement over an upcom-
ing excursion to Israel.
Ms. Davis did likewise.
To the surprise of both,
they discovered they were
taking the same trip. Not
only that, they were on the
same Miracle Mission bus,
Number 17.
ip "Fate threw us

g

Izzy Leibowitz and Lillian Davis

together," Mr. Liebowitz
said. "We were always
together in Israel. The
more time we spent
together, the more we
liked each other."
Upon arriving back in
the United States, Ms.
Davis returned to her
home in Florida. Mr.
Liebowitz settled in at his
summer residence in
Southfield. Hardly a week
passed before Ms. Davis
received flowers and a
long-distance marriage
proposal from her north-
ern beau.

So what if they knew
each other for merely a
few weeks? There's noth-
ing wrong with short
engagements, said the
soon-to-be Mrs. Liebowitz.
"In our stage in life,
there's nothing to wait
for," she said. "Every day
is a bonus."
Ms. Davis and Mr.
Liebowitz will be married
Sept. 5 at Congregation
Beth Achim. So far, they
have no honeymoon plans.
After all, "we just got
back from Israel," Ms.
Davis says.

to

❑

rian Schmidt is a
maverick of sorts.
An instructor in
the department of
Near East studies at the
University of Michigan,
Professor Schmidt focuses
much of his study on the
Dead Sea Scrolls. His find-
ings, and area of study
within the scrolls, are
often not the same as
those of his colleagues.
Professor Schmidt be-
lieves scholars are too
quick to draw parallels
and conclusions regarding
the scrolls and the inhabi-
tants of the Qumran com-
munity from which they
originated, while ignoring
the more esoteric, unclear
aspects of the texts.
"It (the scrolls) doesn't
look like anything we
know of rabbinic Judaism,
Western forms of Judaism.
For Jews, the scrolls are a
way of looking at the self
by getting acquainted with
aliens. For Christians, the
interest is in what forms of
early Judaism acted as an
influence," Professor.
Schmidt said. "Some schol-
ars have gone way too far
in drawing parallels out of
very little data."
Professor Schmidt will
speak about text, canon
and criticism of the scrolls
7:30 p.m. July 29 at
Temple Shir Shalom. The
program is a joint effort of
Midrasha Center for Adult
Jewish Learning and the
temple. There is a charge.
"The scrolls shattered
all theories we had of
where the Bible came
from," Professor Schmidt
said. "There is a wide vari-
ety of textual transmission
all pointing to a greater
creative process in the
writing down of old tradi-
tions. There is no clear
package, but instead, a lot
of variance and fluidity. It
turns the theory of one
original manuscript that
developed into many on its
head.
"This is a radical change
in our thinking."
In addition to using the

scrolls as a model to draw
connections to Western
religions, Professor
Schmidt believes the texts
carry vast information
untapped and ignored by
scholars — areas like the
treatment of women, mar-
riage, celibacy and magic.
For example, Qumran
society has been identified
by scholars as misogynis-
tic. Professor Schmidt
believes a closer look at
the scrolls shows members
were not anti-women, but
rather anti-harlot.
The scrolls also include
writings about marriage.
However, early historians
identify Qumran society as
celibate.
"It doesn't jive," Profes-
sor Schmidt said. "Maybe
these writings are fiction
or utopian. We (scholars)
have taken it always as a
historical reconstruction."

"Some scholars
have gone way too
far in drawing
parallels."

Brian Schmidt

Some scholars, Professor
Schmidt believes, do not
consider such areas within
or interpretations of the
scrolls which do not fit into
the paradigm developed.
"We cannot avoid the
obvious in the texts
because it may go against
the grain. The writings
must speak for them-
selves," Professor Schmidt
said.
"This Qumran communi-
ty, while it is distinctly
Jewish, holds a very differ-
ent set of criteria than
what we call Judaism or
Christianity today," Pro-
fessor Schmidt said.
There is such an inter-
esting mix of religion and
transformations here. The
Qumran community
should not look like
Christianity or rabbinic
Judaism. That came
around three or four cen-
turies later." ❑