HEALER page 1
High Holydays 5756/1995
Teshuva — Repentance; Tzedakah — Justice
(7\
As we observe our High Holydays, teshuva is uppermost in our minds and hearts. Tzedakah is in
our hearts and hands throughout the year. At this season, the two are closely linked: our repentance
depends largely on our actions toward those in need.
a kippah, was saving the child be-
cause "you're a Muslim, like me."
When Dr. Hodes used the word
"Yehudi" (Jew), the man bent over
and kissed him.
Before leaving for Goma in July
1994, Dr. Hodes packed a shofar
so he would hear its sounds on
Rosh Hashanah. He said he put
his tefillin on each morning. He
would work on Shabbat because
if he did not, lives would be lost.
Even on Yom Kippur, he found
himself fasting but administering
care. Because there was no kosher
food available, he ate mostly veg-
etables.
"When I first got there and saw
the dead bodies on the sides of the
road, I had to turn to a rabbi friend
in Los Angeles for help, because I
didn't know how to do triage in a
refugee camp," he said. "Whom do
you help first?
"Well, the answer was that I
couldn't choose whom to treat. The
rabbi said I should take people in
the order they come to me, and
once I started treatment, not to
leave them until they were stable.
"There were so many people,
that I would find myself at the end
of the day just 100 feet from where
I started," he said.
A short video shown to audi-
ences tells the story of Dr. Hodes'
work. Accompanying him during
the making of the video was Tip-
per Gore, Vice President Al Gore's
wife.
Trained at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, Dr.
Hodes said he had no interest in
settling down in a suburban office.
"This is just something I want-
ed to do," he said. "I see the results
There is no traditional Jewish blessing for either teshuva or tzedakah.
Some say this is because we do not offer a blessing for a commandment we cannot complete on
our own — and our teshuva is not complete until God accepts it. Our tzedakah is not complete
without the participation of another person — the recipient.
Today in our midst there are so many who need our help. Many are children who live in poverty
even though their families struggle to support them. Many are old and have lost the ability to care
for themselves. Others are simply too sick, or lack the basic education and skills necessary to lift
themselves out of poverty.
Millions of people are hungry in America and we have the power to help them. Jewish tradition
urges us to do so; our own repentance depends on it. Thus tzedakah and teshuva are linked as we
pledge that our actions in the coming year will reflect our renewed sense of justice.
With that understanding and in that spirit, MAZON asks that you contribute the dollars you and
your family save by not eating on Yom Kippur, our day of voluntary fasting. As you provide
important help to those in need, so, too, will you strengthen the link in your own life between
tzedakah and sincere teshuva.
r
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
12401 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 303
Los Angeles, CA 90025-1015
(New Address)
YES, I/we choose to help. earoluntary
fast suffered byr(lofhungry people
Enclosed is a check
Name
Address
City State, Zip
foRL4';,ie:-
W4,4Z41 eNx44,4144c 4 g4fry,
4t1
4e4,14
New YeA41
of saving sometimes 10 or 15 lives
in a day, and that is very satisfy-
ing."
Dr. Hodes said his faith in God
is never in question, even with all
the suffering he sees.
"I don't question God's purpose,
that's for God to decide," he said
"My focus is to rehydrate as many
people as possible and to cut back
the suffering. That's why JDC sent
me there, to help."
JDC is a New York-based relief
and rescue organization operat-
ing in 60 countries. It receives
funding from the Detroit Allied
Jewish Campaign.
Last February, JDC turned
over its Kibumba operations to the
U.N.
There are two stories Dr. Hodes
loves to tell.
A blind Ethiopian Jewish boy,
once one of his patients, now lives
in Israel. The 15-year-old is a stu-
dent at a school for the blind. He
recently won a national Torah
knowledge contest throughout the
entire state of Israel.
Another story: He treated
Ethiopian Jews, before their air-
lift to Israel, who had to walk some
two weeks to the nearest main
road. When they first met Dr.
Hodes, they had never seen a
white person before. They didn't
believe he was a Jew.
He has to end his interview.
There's a speech to give, a hotel to
stay in and a plane to catch.
Next week, he will hear Kol
Nidre back in Ethiopia. Chances
are Dr. Hodes won't dwell on the
"pain" of his own fast. He's seen
what real suffering is about. ❑
B'NAI B'RITH page 1
David Salon
(810) 851-6660
Lower the numbers
and raise the odds.
Controlling your blood pressure can
redube your risk of heart disease
.
Happy Holidays from
The Zivov Family
and Staff
Greg
B'nai David marched the Torahs to their new home.
41011Ia
4111111.0
tr.
SHOES
Orchard Mall • W. Bloomfield
851-5566
•
American Heart Association
ligious services. Now when peo-
ple telephone we can assure
them positively. We will have a
school. We have a men's club. We
have a sisterhood. We are plan-
ning a speakers series. We will
have joint programs with other
congregations.
"Our intent is to grow here and
to continue to raise funds. Even-
tually, like Shir Shalom, we will
build our own sanctuary."
Other participants in the ded-
icatory program included Sister-
hood President Shirley Gilbert,
synagogue Vice President Arthur
Wolf, Rev. Hershl Roth and Can-
tor Ulrych. ❑