giously disenfranchised and try and
nary place where cold did not exist. He
show them the beauty of Judaism," says
would tell Blake "to see the sun reflect-
Schlussel of Southfield.
ing off the lake" and on to his skin,
But the rabbi's real expertise, he
warming him, warmer and warmer.
adds, has been "ministering to those in
And, indeed, Blake did see a change. He
need — spiritually, physically and
was not as cold, and if he did become
emotionally."
chilled he knew what to do, how to take
Rabbi Goldberg's longtime friend and
himself to Blake's Lake where invariably
congregant Judy Pruchno says the rabbi's he would feel better.
concern for others is one of his most
After summer ended, Rabbi Goldberg
impressive traits. "He is extremely,
often spoke on the phone with Blake,
extremely sensitive to people in need, to
sometimes guiding him to Blake's Lake.
people in pain," she says. "He would
The boy continued to use this form of
often be up into the wee hours of the
meditation for months, and it helped
morning. He did a lot of
him tremendously until
counseling — for mar-
the day he died.
riage, tor children in
When he saw the ben-
school. Whatever it was,
efits this kind of exercise
he was there. He always
provided children at
had time for it, and he
Camp Simcha, Rabbi
always had a very good
Goldberg realized he
handle on how to man-
wanted to do more —
age catastrophic things in
and not just for Jewish
life."
children.
Pruchno calls the rabbi
The Jewish people
a tremendous father.
have the mandate to be
"But there vas always
the light to the world,"
the pain of Sarah Basya's
he says. "Parr of my
death. It was a deep sad-
vision is to demonstrate,
ness that never, ever went Mark Schlussel
through children, that
away
the individual can find
"People say 'time
the spiritual resolve to
heals,"' she says. "But for him, it never
deal with the adversities of this world."
did. Unlike almost everybody else,
He began at home.
though, he decided to do something
"We started a pilot program at
positive about it."
Children's Hospital [of Michigan in
Detroit]," he says. "In my first class,
there was an African-American girl
Strength Of Mind
about 14 years old. She had a brain
When he was still a boy, Rabbi
tumor, and she could barely move. But
Goldberg "dabbled in the martial arts."
by the end of the class, she could kick
As an adult, he decided he needed more
— she could kick — using one foot,
exercise, and he turned to Choi Kwon
where she couldn't walk straight before.
Do, one of the Korean martial arts.
"Children feel so powerless because of
Today, he holds a black belt in karate.
cancer. This gives them power.
Chbi Kwon Do has been an immense
"That's the key word — 'empower-
help in improving his "mental focus and
ment,"' he continues. "Kids get sick and
stamina, the rabbi says.
their lives are basically taken away from
And it taught him a great deal about
them. We want to make them partners
\ • imagery; about using your own abilities
in their healing. They can help in the
\ to concentrate, to change your life.
procedures; they can help in getting
Rabbi Goldberg brought his passion
well. We teach them how the inner
for Choi Kwon Do to Camp Simcha,
power of their soul•can illuminate that
the camp he founded for children
which can contain us."
with cancer. He began teaching class-
es not just for the physical benefits,
Bui lding A Program
but, more importantly, because he
There
was just one problem. Money.
saw he could help children control
Rabbi
Goldberg turned to his friend
their pain.
Mark Schlussel, who happened to be
"It's all about the power of the
chairman of the Jewish Fund. The local
Soul," he says.
fund, created in 1967 from the proceeds
One boy named Blake had suf-
of the sale of Sinai Hospital of Detroit,
fered through many chemotherapy
gave KKC a S50,000 grant two years
treatments. His skin was as thin as
ago. Last year, the fund raised its contri-
paper and he could never get
bution to $75,000 and honored the
warm.
organization with the Robert Sosnick
Rabbi Goldberg directed the boy
Award of Excellence.
to b ao to "Blake's Lake," an imagi-
"Kids Kicking Cancer is a real reflec-

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