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LOST AND FOUND from page 41

and treasured."
Yehoshua Morgan is a Detroit native who, like his
future wife, for many years did not practice religion.
But like Yocheved, he hungered for more.
"In my religious search, I've always been looking for
the truth," Yehoshua says.
When the two met, Yehoshua was still considering
what to do with his life. He had no plans for college
but loved technology, so he was thinking about start-
ing a computer consultation business. (Today, he is
head of his own company, PC Network Center, in
Royal Oak.)
Though Yocheved and Yehoshua knew they had a
connection, they wouldn't marry for some time.
Yocheved felt she needed to return to Panama first,
where she remained for two years. Yehoshua wanted
to get established in a career, pay off a few debts and
save up enough to buy his sweetheart an engagement
ring. The two lost touch while Yocheved was in
Panama, but eventually she came back to Michigan
and found Yehoshua again.
"I knew God would bring you back to me," he told
her. The two married in 1987.
In time, the couple endured great suffering (a fire
burned down their farm in Marlette, Mich., and left
Yocheved with broken bones and burns covering her
back; Yehoshua had second- and third-degree burns
over 60 percent of his body) and later, inexpressible
joy: the birth of two sons, Ariel and Jonathan.
Yehoshua worked at his computer business and
Yocheved as a homemaker. Life seemed fulfilling
enough.
Yet Yocheved never forgot the words of her grand-
mother: "Find your people."
Two years ago, Yocheved became friendly with a
few observant Jewish families, and that sparked her
interest to learn more. Soon, her interest developed
into a passionate quest.
"I knew, I just knew that I had finally found what I
had been looking for all of my life," she says. "So I told
my husband, 'I'm going on with or without you. It
cannot be that I love you more than HaShem (God).'"
Yehoshua decided to learn more and began his study
with Rabbi Chaim Bergstein of Bais Chabad of
Farmington Hills, then with Rabbi Alon Tolwin of
Aish HaTorah. What he learned appealed to him
immediately.
Yehoshua always found himself frustrated by reli-
gious positions that advocate a lot of pick-and-choose.
"They say you don't have to fulfill the law, you just
pick what you want to follow. Well what gives you that
right? Their theology just doesn't make sense."
What appealed to him about Orthodox Judaism was
its clear definition of what is right and what is wrong.
"I'm a moral and ethical absolutist," he explains. "I
believe that God has spoken to us [Jews] through the
commandments, and I take that very seriously."
With the help of new friends, and especially the
Tolwin family, the Morgans began to incorporate
changes into their lives. Initially, the couple was mar-
ried in a secular service; last year, they remarried in a
Jewish ceremony. Then they moved from Royal Oak to
Oak Park, in the heart of the Orthodox community.
They love it.
"People have been most gracious," Yocheved says,
listing the many gifts — cookies, challah, plants —
neighbors have brought.

10/ 1
2004

42

I Belong To These People

YOCHEVED MORGAN

I belong to these people
I must come home
My heart longs for Shabbat
To continue the Master's call
To live as His people
The children of Israel
To establish my place in the house
Of Israel
For myself and my children
Through the generations to come
We've been scattered
We've been oppressed
Burnt at the stake
Even assimilated
But my heart, our hearts
Belongs to Hashem
And to Hashem we must return
I mourn with sorrow and shame
But I rejoice for the things to come
I will praise Hashem among my people
I will learn our language and our ways
A strong woman I shall be
My strength shall not fail
My children and their children will join me
I will put my hands on their heads and bless them
Hashem will call me to him
My great-grandchildren shall close my eyes
I will join my people and rejoice forever more
And I will receive at the gates of Hashem
The generations to come till the end of times
Because I belong to these people

The changes have been overwhelming for their sons
— overwhelmingly positive, Yocheved says.
Jonathan, 10, is a student at Yeshivat Darchei Torah
in Southfield. Ariel, who will soon turn 13, attends the
Yeshiva Gedola in Oak Park. Though two years ago
neither boy knew much of the aleph-bet, today they are
thriving in their Jewish schools, their parents say.
The past two summers, Jonathan and Ariel attended
Camp Mogan Avraham in New York. When Yocheved
came to visit, "Ariel pulled me aside and of course I
was worried he was going to tell me something was
wrong. But he just put his hand on my shoulder and
said, 'I've always felt different, but now I know I'm
where I belong. Thanks, Mom, I'm home.'"
In the Morgan house today, there's no rock music,
television or computer games — the lifeblood of many
young boys and, indeed, items once enjoyed by the
Morgan children.
"But I've had no complaints," Yocheved says. "Their
life is filled in a different way. They feel they have
gained, rather than lost."
Her sons have gained not just their Jewish heritage,
but their mother's Sephardic background, as well.
"I felt a lot of pressure to do things in the Ashkenazi
style," she says. "But I'm Sephardi, and that's impor-
tant."
The family attends Sephardi services at Ohr
HaMizrach in Oak Park, and that wonderful spicy,
Sephardi food is a staple in the Morgan home.

Yocheved's sister does not have children. Her brother,
who was raised by his paternal grandparents and didn't
learn he was Jewish until three years ago, is married to
a Christian and is raising their children as Christians.
There are members of Yocheved's extended family, as
well, "cousins who don't even know they're Jewish."
This leaves Ariel and Jonathan the sole members of
the Alvarez family to carry on as Jews. "They are the
last of our lineage," Yocheved says, "the last to embrace
fully, and in complete depth, our Jewish roots."

Keeping Grounded

Though dedicated to observing God's commandments,
Yehoshua Morgan is still a man who likes to do things
his own way.
He just smiles when those easy-to-put-up canvas
sukkahs are mentioned. Instead, he prefers doing all
the work for this sukkah, his family's first. "I engi-
neered it and I'm going to build it with my sons," he
says. "This first time is tough, because it required a lot
of planning and will take a lot of time and effort. But
it will be easier to assemble in the future."
Yocheved is not only planning the meals for the
sukkah, she's helping her-husband build it.
Her life, Yocheved says, "has been like a fantastic
dream come true." She had her grandmother, but for
so long she walked alone in search of her dream. Then
she found the Jewish community.
With Sukkot, Yocheved is eager to thank many of
those who helped her along the way. That's why she's
planning big meals with Sephardi dishes and plenty of
company.
"We're looking forward to opening our doors," she
says. "So many people have done it for us. Now it's our
turn."
Just one person will be missing — Yocheved's grand-
mother.
Myrta Martinez Alvarez died in 1993. A small pho-
tograph of a slender, attractive woman sits in the front
room of the Morgan home. "This is my grandmother,"
Yocheved says, cradling the frame in her hands.
"All my life she kept telling me, 'Find your people.
Find your people,"' Yocheved says. "Grandma, I found
them."

❑

SOPA BORRACHA (Drunk Man's Soup)
"This is a Panamanian recipe which we love to
serve for the holidays," Yocheved Morgan says.
2 loaves plain, dry bread crumbs
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/3 T. nutmeg
large pitted prunes, sliced
1/3 c. roasted almonds
1/3 c. any other optional nut
dry fruits (to taste)
rum
In a baking dish, combine all ingredients. Cover
with rum and let the mixture absorb the rum for 1
hour. Preheat oven at 350E, and bake for 20 min-
utes.
Let cool place in a large bowl and let your guests
serve themselves.