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Dry Bones

Part Of Who We Are

The net result is that the Sephardic Com-
f patience is a virtue, then the
munity of Greater Detroit has about 150
Sephardic Community of Greater
families to draw from, but only 60 are active.
Detroit is a virtue woven into the fab-
ric of Detroit Jewry.
Cultural Changes
Nomads of sorts for 83 years, the small
Though smaller in number, the community
but closely knit community has persevered in
is still vibrant, thanks largely to Rabbi Sasson
- temporary places of worship, without a rabbi
Natan — the cantor from 1992 to 1998.
of its own.
Under his stewardship, the com-
But it has never lost its zest for
munity has evolved from a club
Sephardic culture, ritual and her-
with High Holiday services and
itage, despite serious threats to its
social events to a congregation with
very existence.
Shabbat services,,a Sunday minyan and holi-
That's why it's so heartening to hear that
day celebrations. Music resonates in every
construction soon will begin on a permanent
aspect.
synagogue in West Bloomfield, northwest of
The community is mindful that, to sur-
Walnut Lake and Orchard Lake roads. The
vive, it must attract younger couples with
synagogue will stand in tribute to the
children. So a religious school is in the works.
Sephardic Community of Greater Detroit's
_ With many newer members from the •
pioneers, Judith and Jacob Chicoral, who came
Middle East, especially Israel, the communi-
from Turkey in 1917.
ty's services are mostly in Hebrew. But mem-
The Sefer Torah dedicated last Sunday
bership events embrace different languages,
serves as a spiritual legacy for the Jews vic-
including Ladino — reflecting the communi-
timized by the Inquisition and expelled from
ty's diversity.
Spain in 1492.
There are few couples in which both the
Sephardim (of Spanish and Mediterranean
husband and wife are Sephardic, so compro-
descent) and Ashkenazim (descended from
mise is often necessary And the community
Eastern Europe) share basic Judaic tenets, but
adheres to Sephardic interpretations of
differ on Hebrew pronunciation, holiday foods
Orthodox Jewish law, so making less-obser-
and some rituals.
vant members feel welcome is especially
Ignorance among younger generations
important.
about their rich tradition threatens the future
Still, the Sephardic Community of
of America's 250,000 Sephardim. They not
Greater Detroit is into a new chapter that's
only must confront the lures of assimilation,
brimming with promise. Sure its future is
but also the loss of members to the Ashkenazi
not yet secure. But we who comprise the
influences that dominate American Jewish
rest of Detroit Jewry should be as proud
life.
and supportive of the Sephardim as they
are of us. ❑
Related coverage: page 14

I

Eprro RIAL

In Memory's Harsh Light

hotel —• it has grown by two
stories since I was last here —
so the view is a bit more
remote. It is unusually cold,
with snow in the forecast, and
the patio tables where my wife,
my two sons and I had an after-
noon soft drink are deserted.

Jerusalem

T

he Jerusalem of my memory, in the spring
of 1973, before the Yom Kippur War, was
brighter and gentler than the city I have
encountered this week. This new
Jerusalem appears more harsh and strange; further
removed from the present and more trapped in its
past than it was nearly 30 years ago.
Perhaps I have changed more than it has, that it has
remained true to its stark principles and truths, has
refused to be seduced by easy compromise. Perhaps.
Much, of course, cannot and should not change.
The view from the east-facing bedroom window in
the King David Hotel, of the western wall of the
Old City, is as sternly beautiful. The stones glow in
the afternoon sun, the cedars sway in the wind.
But now the room is on the sixth floor of the

Jonathan Friendly is national editor of Jewish Renais-
sance Media, parent company for the Jewish News.

JONATHAN
FRIENDLY
National Editor

The Silent Quarter

But then, the old city of
Jerusalem itself is strangely
empty, an emptiness ofwhat
government travel officials
describe in near-crisis terms. Streets that should be
brimming with T-shirited, baseball-capped tourists
are mostly silent. The few cars that wend through
the Old City are no threat to pedestrians.
Even the merchants in the arcades of the Arab
and Jewish Quarters alike seem disheartened to the
point of apathy. They do not rush out to grab you

by the sleeve with promises of wonderful bargain
buys in inlaid game boards or genuine replica
Roman oil lamps. The merchandise on display
seems to have lost its sparkle, gathering a dust that it
would be pointless to brush away.
There are vast changes, of course. The western part
of the city has sprouted high-rise office and apartment
buildings that would have been a miracle here a quarter
century ago. The high-tech industrial park to the east
would gladden the heart of any comparable American
city; it stands as a remarkable symbol of the nation's
economic vitality and promise.
In some respects, the city seems to be forcing its
growth, particularly in the leapfrogged new neigh-
borhoods that will be the facts on the ground to
define the limits of the city that will stay in Israel
when and if other parts come under Palestinian con-
trol. The city has mushroomed from 400,000 to
700,000 residents; 200,000 more are planned to

MEMORY'S HARSH LIGHT on page 29

2/23
2001

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