Rabbi Schudrich recalled a 52- year old man who came to him several years ago and is now an active member of the Jewish com- munity. "The previous day his mother had died, and after the funeral the neighbors told him it wasn't his mother," explained Rabbi Schudrich. "He was a Jewish baby given away. The woman who risked her life to save him never wanted to tell him that he wasn't really her own, so the neighbors kept a secret for 52 years." Despite a recent firebombing of a shul in Warsaw, Rabbi Schu- drich is optimistic about the fu- ture of Jewish life in Poland and is not especially concerned about anti-Semitism. "The anti-Semitism in Poland is not as overt as the impression is," he said, adding, "I walk as I look —with my beard, yarmulke and nose — and basically no one bothers me terribly. The real problem with anti-Semitism is that it can be a factor in limiting Jewish identification for certain Jews. In other words, [people say] I will not be accepted socially and professionally by my colleagues if they know I'm Jewish." Rabbi Schudrich was pleased by the overwhelmingly sympa- thetic response of the non-Jew- ish community in the wake of the firebombing. The evening following the at- tack, he invited all the citizens of Warsaw to attend Ma'ariv ser- vices with synagogue members. "We had over 300 people in shul," he said. Of those, approximately 50 were politicians, including a representative of the prime min- ister, the mayor of Warsaw, and the governor of the district of Warsaw. In addition, the presi- dent of Poland came out with a statement within hours deplor- ing the bombing, for which no one claimed responsibility. Authorities are currently in- vestigating the bombing, and se- curity for the synagogue has been stepped up. The Polish govern- ment has agreed to cover all expenses of restoring the syna- gogue. `They could have pooh-poohed it, but they came out unequivo- cally against it," Rabbi Schudrich commented. "It really was very reassuring and in a very ironic way hopeful to see the response." During his time in Poland, Rabbi Schudrich has watched the Jewish community there blos- som. "In 1989, this was a post-as- similationist community," he said. "You would have had basi- cally no young people in shul. THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN MICHIGAN Now more than half the people that come to shul are young." At Friday night services, Rabbi Schudrich estimates that 90 per- cent of those attending are under 40. The Lauder Foundation has es- tablished a Jewish school, four youth clubs and a summer camp. It also supports a national Jew- ish newspaper and a Jewish stu- dents' magazine and helps repair Jewish synagogues throughout the country. Now that computer use is becoming more widespread in Poland, the foundation hopes to enhance outreach by con- structing a Polish Website with information about being Jewish. According to Rabbi Schudrich, the Lauder Foundation fulfills two roles: providing funding for programming and for four full- time staff members from abroad. 'We hope that within ten years, young Polish Jews will be taking over those positions," he said. Rabbi Schudrich spoke on "Jewish Life in Poland Today," in a program sponsored by Congre- gation B'nai David and the Midrasha Center for Adult Jew- ish Studies at the Agency for Jewish Education. For more in- formation about the Lauder Foundation's work in Poland, con- tact Michael Traison at (313)496- 7657. ❑ A Gift Of Learning Elliott Baum, a graduate and parent, donates a Sefer Torah to Hillel Day School. JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER H illel Day School students re- cently had a lesson in Torah writing. After a hatchalat ktivah (beginning of the writing) cere- mony, Rabbi Zvi Chaim Pincus, who is coordinating the project with a sofer (scribe) in Israel, trav- eled from classroom to classroom last week. Rabbi Pincus explained the process of producing a Sefer Torah and honored each student with a letter written in the Torah. Denise and Elliott Baum, par- ents of four Hillel students, do- nated the Sefer Torah to honor the memory of both Mr. Baum's fa- ther, Fred Baum, and good friend Jimmy Caplan. A graduate of Hillel, who has "nothing but positive things to say about the school," Mr. Baum has been thinking about memorializ- ing his father and friend (a class- mate at Hillel) with a donation for several years. He decided that a Sefer Torah would be the most meaningful, lasting gift he could make. "I thought by doing this I would ensure that values of Torah would go on forever at Hillel," said Mr. Baum. "How wonderful it is that El- liott Baum and his family have provided every member of the Hil- lel community with the opportu- nity to participate in the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah," said Hil- lel Rabbi Michele Faudem. The Sefer Torah will be com- pleted in October, in time for the celebration of Hillel's 40th an- niversary. ❑ Corrections This month's AppleTree incor- rectly listed the date through which coloring contest entries will be accepted. These may be delivered to our office until 5 p.m. March 31. The Passover Apple Cake recipe in AppleTree should have said, "Bake for one hour at 350 degrees." THE GAYS ARE BACK_ Experience the luxury of owning a Kohler 3.5 gal. toilet These superior flushing toilets are available in select areas only, in this case, two short blocks from the tunnel exit in down- town Windsor. The best part for you, the discriminating shop- per, is that your U.S. dollar is worth much more in Windsor. We have 1 and 2 piece toilets in a variety of colors in stock for you to take home today. 5 0 z 0 C 0 c :E ■ 11 c 0 U 2 THE BOLD LOOK OF KOHLER® NOW, AREN'T YOU GLAD WE SHARED THE SECRET? VETERAN PLUMBING & SUPPLIES 276 WYANDOTTE ST. E., WINDSOR, ONTARIO PHONE: 519-256-4947 FAX: 519-256-1665 uil e-mail: vets@mnsi.net Rachel Bellack, Sid Awerbuck § GOYEAUST.TUNNEL VETERAN PLUMBING McDOUGALST. F- X 111 _J w z z U) cc a. REAR ENDS Greet flues, Bells., Knits "'cps 810_626_4333 "ON THE BOARDWALK" ORCHARD LK. RD., S. OF MAPLE Next time you feed your face, think about your heart. Go easy on your heart and start cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The change'II do you good. V American Heart Association WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE