This Week
Sephardic congregation celebrates traditions, dedicates new Torah.
SUSAN TAWIL
Special to the Jewish News
D
ancing and singing to the
rich rhythm of Middle
Eastern music, punctuated
by the trilling tongues of the
women, a crowd of more than 100 wel-
comed a new Torah to the Sephardic
Community of Greater Detroit.
At the Hachnassat Sefer Torah (Torah
dedication) held Feb. 18, a stunning
silver-encased Sephardic Torah was
paraded into the West Bloomfield syn-
agogue under a traditional tallit "wed-
Related editorial: page 27
2/23
2001
14
ding canopy." The shul's five other
- beautiful Torah scrolls, scribed in Iraq,
were adorned with golden crowns and
accompanied the procession.
The new Torah was scribed in Israel
and donated to the Sephardic commu-
nity by past president Yitzhak Ben-
Ezra and his wife Kadima, in memory
of Yom Tov and Liza Ben-Ezra,
Yitzhak's parents. Ben-Ezra pledged
the Torah to the Sephardic community
at his wedding two years ago; it has
taken since then to complete.
"The Torah is the heart of the Jewish
people," he said. "It's wonderful to see
everybody happy, to see everybody par-
ticipate, to see them connect."
At the synagogue, guest speakers
Rabbi Sasson Natan of Chicago,
Rabbi Avraham Cohen of Southfield
and Rabbis Shlomo Maimon and
Michael Cohen of Seattle delivered
talks honoring the occasion. Rabbi
Avraham Cohen, who is a sofer (scribe)
as- well as a teacher at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Southfield, completed the
final 18 letters of the Torah scroll.
Previous to the ceremony, members
"bought" the final letters, which were
auctioned along with other ceremonial
honors to raise money for the shul.
Following the completion of the
writing, Rabbi Natan, the congrega-
tion's former cantor, sang and played
keyboard. The exuberant crowd joined
in, dancing with the Torahs to the
heavy, compelling Sephardic beat. A
festive buffet followed the celebration.
The Sephardic community, original-
ly established in 1918, has 60 member
families. Many are from Israel; others
come from Turkey, Morocco, Egypt
and Algeria. Some members are not
even Sephardic, but are drawn to the
melodious services and the warmth of
the congregants. There is no rabbi;
Yitzhak Ben-Ezra and Eli Shalom, the
current president, lead the services.
Mary David, who came to America
when Hitler invaded her hometown in
Salonika, Greece, is one of the congre-