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Assisted Living

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Orchard Lake Rd. South of Lone Pine Rd.

West Bloomfield, Michigan

248.683.1010

690210

Above: The Schwartz family, Howard, Jake, 11, Samantha, 4, Robin and Louis, 4,
in the entry to the Shut.

every day in the morning and the
evening. When he couldn't go by him-
self, people took him."
In 2000, Vladimir Sobolnitsky
learned about the opening of the
Shul-Chabad Lubavitch. After a cou-
ple of years of attending services, he
decided that even though the Torah
was not usable and was in need of
repairs it should be in a synagogue,
not in his home. Then he made the
call to Rabbi Shemtov, who moved
the Torah to the synagogue.

Making It Kosher

That's where Shul members Robin
and Howard Schwartz of West
Bloomfield come in.
"I went to see the Torah, and it was
slumped over in the back of the ark,
with a little handmade velvet cloth
over it. It reminded me of a hurt, bro-
ken child sitting there," Howard
Schwartz said.
Immediately, he made plans to have
the Torah restored so it could be used.
"I drove it to [scribe] Rabbi Levi
Kagan, with a seatbelt strapped
around it," Schwartz said. "I had no
idea how thrilling it would be to see
the Torah until Rabbi Kagan opened
it. We sat and looked at it together."
Then Rabbi Kagan took over and

began checking and restoring the
Torah to its kosher and usable state.
"The Torah is unique in that the
letters were hardly faded," said Rabbi
Kagan of Oak Park. "Usually, a Torah's
letters start fading at about 50 years,
but this one was made with strong ink
and still had dark letters at almost 100
years. "
The major work that needed to be
done involved the type of lettering.
"The handwriting wasn't that
great," he said. "I especially went over
the certain letters that should be either
flat or curved on the bottom making
100 percent sure they are right."
In addition to the restoration need-
ed on the Torah scroll, there was dam-
age to the atzai chayim (rods to which
the ends of a Torah scroll are
attached). "We really didn't want to
change anything we didn't have to,"
Rabbi Shemtov said. "But the bottom
atzai chayim were not strong and were
broken, so they had to be replaced."
Around the Torah is a new cover,
also donated by the Schwartz family,
with wording that designates its dedi-
cation in memory of Daniel
Sobolnitsky.

HIDDEN TREASURE

on page 78

mtiwtrefess

presents the 6th Annual

ON THE RIVER

A benefit for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

Friday, October 1, 2004
7:00 p.m.
The Roostertail • Detroit, MI

Strolling Dinner — Cocktails
Silent & Live Auctions — Live Music
Complimentary Valet Parking

Cocktail Attire

Honorary Chairperson:
Dr. Paul Smith
Nephrology Associates of Michigan

SUPPORTED BY:

GAMBRO Healthcare

genzYme

AMON • MM AL

4011

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—

Tickets are $100 a person
and can be purchased by
calling 1-800-482-1455
or
on-line at
www.nkfm.org

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED SY:

HOUR

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2004