metro
High-Flying Bar Mitzvah
82-year-old marks ritual somewhere between New York and London.
Berl Falbaum
Special to the Jewish News
D
avid Usher of Downtown Detroit
did not have to study for his bar
mitzvah. He did not even have
time to get nervous.
If those two facts appear unusual, con-
sider that his bar mitzvah took place at
31,000 feet on a Delta Airlines flight from
New York to London.
And finally, Usher had his bar mitzvah
at the age of 82.
Usher is founder and chairman of Marine
Pollution Control of Detroit, a company that
cleans up oil on the oceans and hazardous
materials throughout the world.
A pioneer in the "science" of cleaning up
oil spills, he helped clean the 1989 Exxon
Valdez spill in Alaska, and was appointed
by President George H.W. Bush to help
clean the Persian Gulf after Saddam
Hussein dumped millions of gallons of oil
into the Gulf during the 1991 war, "Desert
Storm:'
A very frequent traveler, Usher was pre-
pared for a routine flight when he boarded
his plane in New York and sat next to a
man he recognized as an Orthodox Jew.
The man turned out to be a Sephardic
rabbi from France who spoke English halt-
ingly, so Usher asked if he spoke Yiddish.
The rabbi's eyes lit up, and for the next few
hours, they spoke about a variety of subjects.
During the conversation, Usher discov-
ered that he was talking with Rabbi Ariel
Mashash, the son of Rabbi David Mashash,
the chief rabbi of Paris. (Rabbi David
Mashash has since died and was buried in an
elaborate funeral in Israel.)
Usher explained that, as a boy, he
attended the Arbeter Ring (Yiddish for
Workmen's Circle) in Detroit for his reli-
gious training. The Arbeter Ring was orga-
nized in 1900 by immigrants from Eastern
Europe, many of them with Socialist
tendencies. It was a labor fraternal order
dedicated to social justice, offering a wide
variety of activities, and its members com-
municated primarily in Yiddish.
Its educational focus, however, was very
progressive and emphasized Jewish culture
and history rather than religious ritual and
tradition.
As a result, while fluent in Yiddish,
which he spoke at school and at home
with his parents, Usher told the rabbi that
he had never had a bar mitzvah.
Without hesitating, the rabbi replied:
"Well, you're going to have one now:'
When the rabbi said "now," he meant
now.>
From a package stowed in the overhead
bin, the rabbi brought out a tallit, tefillin
and a prayer book. He put the tallit over
Usher's shoulders, the tefillin on Usher's
arm and forehead and, after learning
that Usher did not speak, read, write or
understand Hebrew, asked Usher to simply
repeat the prayers he would recite.
With the passengers watching in puzzle-
ment, the rabbi conducted a 10-minute
service, and when he concluded he told
Usher: "Now you had a bar mitzvah:'
After his surprise subsided, Usher said,
"I was not embarrassed in having this
bar mitzvah on the plane. I was elated.
Frankly, it was a highlight in my life for
this to happen when I was 82 years old
and under these somewhat strange cir-
cumstances:'
When the plane landed, the crew, stand-
ing by the cockpit, congratulated Usher
on his bar mitzvah as he exited the plane.
David Usher
"They were all smiles:' he said. "I think it
is safe to say they had never seen this on
their plane before:'
No one threw candy at Usher at the
conclusion of the service. But one steward-
ess, who had watched the ceremony, told
Usher: "I am not Jewish," she said, "but my
husband is."
Instead of the traditional candy, she
served Usher a kosher meal.
❑
A veteran West Bloomfield journalist and
author, Berl Falbaum teaches news writing and
media ethics at Wayne State University.
613th Mitzvah
Bais Chabad's new Torah allows community to join in its writing.
Ruthan Brodsky
Special
to the Jewish News
I
t's not often that Jews have the
chance to fulfill the mitzvah of writ-
ing a Torah scroll — the 613th and
final commandment in the Book of
I
Deuteronomy.
This opportunity now is available
because a Sefer Torah
was commissioned for
the Sara and Morris
Tugman Bais Chabad
Torah Center in West
Bloomfield by Dr. Bruce
and Mindy Ruben in
memory of Mindy's
Dr. Bruce
father, Stuart Freedman,
Ruben
and Bruce's father,
Jerald Ruben.
"We commissioned the Torah in May
2012 as part of our obligation to living a
spiritual life and giving tzedakah so that we
can 'give back' to the shul and community
that were instrumental in my journey to
Orthodox Judaism:' says Bruce Ruben, who
is a doctor specializing in wound care.
Mindy Ruben says she is evolving
toward a more traditional Jewish lifestyle.
22
August 22 • 2013
JN
"Our home has been kosher since
last April, including separate dishes
for Passover, and I'm very proud of the
change she says. "Friday night is our
time to be with the family, and Saturday
is our time to rest and relax. Although I
am not Orthodox, I always feel very wel-
comed attending events at Bais Chabad."
Written by a sofer (scribe) in Jerusalem,
the incomplete Sefer Torah was sent to
New York and from there traveled with
Bruce Ruben to Detroit. The Torah was
available several weeks at the Ruben home
in West Bloomfield for viewing before it
was dedicated to Bais Chabad.
As planned, the Torah arrived with sev-
eral paragraphs missing. Jewish law states
that the lack of even one letter renders the
Torah invalid. Therefore, when a person
participates in the writing of even one let-
ter in a Sefer Torah, it's as if he or she has
written an entire Torah.
Community members may buy a let-
ter to fulfill the mitzvah of completing a
Sefer Torah. Through the generosity of
the Rubens, who want as many people as
possible to perform the mitzvah, the sug-
gested minimum donation is $18 per let-
ter. Proceeds benefit Bais Chabad.
Scribe Rabbi Levi Kagan of Oak Park
will finish the Sefer Torah on Monday
morning, Labor Day, Sept. 2, just prior to
festivities that will include a procession
with the Torah from Orchard Lake Road
to the nearby synagogue on Maple Road.
"To have a new Torah is an excit-
ing event for Jews," says Rabbi Shneur
Silberberg, assistant rabbi, program
director and outreach director of Bais
Chabad. "Despite the differences in how
we practice Judaism, the Torah is the
same everywhere and is an absolutely
unifying source for all Jews.
"To have a new Torah is to celebrate
the Judaism and Jewish unity that have
helped us survive over 2,000 years. It is
an honor to the Ruben family to bring a
new Torah to the world; every time the
Torah is read, it is a continuing honor:'
Bais Chabad began in 1975 with a small
group of men, mostly Holocaust survi-
vors, who lived in West Bloomfield. Rabbi
Elimelech and Chaya Sarah Silberberg and
their two small children came here as emis-
saries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem
Mendel Schneerson. Over the past 38 years,
they have built a thriving Torah Center and
a close-knit community welcoming to all.
The Torah Center was built in 1982,
and doubled its size in 1998 to accom-
modate the growing membership.
"We were the first Orthodox presence
in West Bloomfield and have a commit-
ted membership of about 150 families
and a growing, vibrant community that
joins us for our numerous educational
and social programs:' Shneur Silberberg
says.
"Our philosophy is that while we
maintain Orthodox observance, our
doors are open to Jews of all back-
grounds and levels of observance.
"This is the second time our shul is
welcoming a new Torah; the first time was
20 years ago:' he says.
❑
The Torah procession begins at 11:30 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 2, on the Orchard Lake service
road across from the Beaumont Building and
ends at Bais Chabad on Maple Road. Children
will be given African drums to use during the
procession.
For information, call (248) 855-6170. To ful-
fill the mitzvah of writing a letter in the Sefer
Torah, call Rabbi Shneur Silberberg at (248)
207-5513 or go to www.baischabad.com .