GOING THE
EXTRA MILE
No, we aren't as close as Woodward Avenue.
So, everyday, we drive farther to prove going
the extra distance to Wood Motors makes
a big difference in customer service.
First, getting to our location can be as easy as dialing
1 800 WOOD 229.
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One of our Award-winning Mercedes-Benz Star Sales Representatives
will work with you to determine how Wood Motors can go further to
gain your satisfaction.
And then, it is programs like, "Yes, Fax Me A Car" that give you the
option of applying for and leasing a Mercedes-Benz within 24 hours
by fax.
Or maybe you would like our Star Sales Representative to bring you a
Mercedes to preview and test drive at your home or office.
Or make an appointment to service your Mercedes with the Wood
Motors Pickup and Delivery Program. A sales and service consultant
will conveniently pick up your car, leave you with a Mercedes loaner
and then return your car after service in tip-top condition,
including a hand car wash.
And the Wood Motors Competitive Labor Rates Program insures
that you receive competitive pricing on all maintenance and repairs.
You will always feel confident that award-winning, trained Mercedes
technicians use genuine Mercedes-Benz parts on your vehicle.
When it comes to giving 100% and going the extra mile for your
Mercedes, no one else in the Detroit area goes further.
IT'S WORTH A CALL TO SEE.
WOOD MOTORS
Mercedes-Benz
13351 Gratiot Ave. (at 8 Mile) Detroit
1•800•WOOD•229
We Recall The Plight
Of Being Strangers
RABBI MICHAEL MOSKOWITZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
hen living in Israel, I
was blessed with the
opportunity to watch
thousands of Ethiopian
Jews settle in our Holy Land.
Seeing these new citizens in-
volved in Israeli life, whether so-
cializing on the streets of
Jerusalem or serving in the mil-
itary, made me proud as a Jew.
I felt a part of the immigration
process, the process that has built
the population of Israel over the
past 50 years, the process that
has witnessed the absorption of
Jews from Morocco, Yemen, Rus-
sia, and so many other countries.
These experiences made the
recent information concerning
the treatment of Ethiopian Jews
in Israel even more disconcerting
and disappointing. A few weeks
ago, it become public that med-
ical authorities had been secret-
ly dumping blood donated by
Ethiopian immigrants because
of a supposed high rate of HIV in-
fection among them. In response
to the news, thousands of
Ethiopian Jews gathered outside
the Prime Minister's office to
protest — and, unfortunately, the
protest turned violent. While the
riot was unexpected, it seemed to
reflect a pent up sense of degra-
dation and frustration on the part
of the Ethiopian Jews.
When we look at this week's
Torah portion, we question under
whose guidance such decisions
were made concerning these new
immigrants. Who created such
humiliating policies? Twice with-
in the parashah Mishpatim, we
learn "you shall not oppress a
stranger, for you know the feel-
ings of the stranger, having your-
selves been strangers in the land
of Egypt" (23:9). So important is
this command that it appears a
total of 36 different times within
the Torah.
The medieval commentator
Rashi suggested that as Jews, we
know the experience of being the
stranger. We experienced the dif-
ficulties and felt the pain in
Egypt. He taught us that when
it comes to the Jews' treatment of
a stranger, "you (especially) know
how painful it is for him [the
stranger] when you oppress him."
For Jews today, the sense of
being a stranger is not as distant
as the Biblical Egyptian experi-
ence, whether we find ourselves
in America or Israel. Not long
ago, many of our families found
Rabbi Michael Moskowitz shares
the rabbinical responsibilities
at Temple Shir Shalom in West
Bloomfield.
themselves within this great
American melting pot. Although
the doors of the country might
have appeared open, the initial re-
ception was less than welcoming.
Even today, with the amount of
success we have achieved here,
many still regard us as strangers
in "their" country.
For the majority of Israelis,
their roots in Eretz Yisrael are
less than 50 years deep. They
were strangers in Israel,
strangers from Eastern Europe
and Arab countries, who didn't
speak Hebrew but needed this
homeland. Most recently, Natan
Sharansky, the former Soviet re-
fusenik, shared, "Israelis feel that
those who arrive are a 'generation
of the desert which will disappear
while their children become `nor-
mal" (The New York Times,
Feb1996.)
Shabbat Mishpatim:
Exodus 21: 1-24: 18;
30: 11-16
II Kings 12: 1-17.
So what has happened today?
Do the authorities in Israel no
longer understand this essential
command to care for the
stranger? Initially, Israel as a
whole met the arrival of the
Ethiopians with an outpouring
of emotion and an abundance of
funds. The government dedicat-
ed large resources to housing and
education for the 30,000 new im-
migrants. While Israelis truly
believed that racism was not an
issue in relation to the Ethiopian
Jews, the Orthodox rabbinical es-
tablishment humiliated the im-
migrants by questioning the
authenticity of their Judaism.
Now we learn that the blood they
had willingly donated, to a home-
land they call their own, was
thrown out. We can understand
why their frustration rose to such
heights.
Ethiopian Jews do not want to
be strangers. They have been
called falashas (strangers) long
enough. They want to be Israelis.
They want to be Jews. And they
deserve the right to have the sec-
ular and the religious establish-
ments accept them as they are
and for whom they are. The
treatment of the stranger, the
genuine warmth and kindness
exemplified, demonstrates the
ethics and morals at our core.
For this reason Rabbi Samson