Mon, 17 June 2019 = 14th of Sivan, 5779; A blessed week full of positive energy and radical amazement to you all!!

When Unlikely Faces Encounter Memory

The Epilogue's Conclusion

Shifra (Smiles.): I've met this girl before. She's something else. See what she was able to tell us?

Zahava: Yes, Marva is the precocious one, she is indeed. How can we discuss our future under these circumstances?

Assad: These circumstances? What circumstances do you mean? You are sitting in Israel. I am an Israeli citizen. Like my Circassian brothers and sisters, I have served in the Israel Defense Forces. My destiny is your destiny. They are inseparable. So what circumstances are you referring to?

Tzachi (Addressing Assad.): My friend, just a short while ago we were engaged in a heated conversation almost to the point you wanted Panusch and me to leave your office. However, I'm happy that we stayed.

Panusch: Think about it for a brief moment. How could such a young person be so insightful? I mean, Marva has taught me a great lesson.

Assad: I didn;t hear anything new in her letter, aside from the need to let the future take its own course before we talk about it and take ownership for having experienced it.

Zahava: Yes, Assad. That's the point. Here is our lesson. We can only take care of the business at hand.

Assad: But I'm living today. Nothing has changed. The status quo is not acceptable..

Tzachi: Perhaps we can start by taking small steps at first.

Shifra: Yes, small stepts. Whta do you have in mind?

Assad: I don't know exactly where to start. It would have to change some aspect of the Israeli landscape.

Tzachi (Chuckling.): Uh-oh. Now we are asked to regress to a former state.

Assad: No, not at all. We are looking for progress, not regression. What about monthly meetings between community leaders on the local level at various locations throughout the country. Symposia, if you will.

Panusch: Assad, this idea makes a great deal of sense to me. Not a scintilla of ill meaning can be construed in your suggestion.

[Assad's cell-phone rings.]

Assad: Allo. Yes, we are still in my office. Come on right over. (To the group.) A friend of mine wishes to join us for a short while. He's on his way here in his car. As I discussed this meeting with him a few days ago, he seemed interested in sharing his sentiments with you.

Tzachi: What is his interest in us?

[At this juncture, I wish to share a poem I wrote about the South-African leader Nelson Mandela some thirty years ago. Perhaps Mandela could be considered a prototype for leaders believing in justice, fair-mindedness, decency, goodness, democracy, tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for each and every one of the planet earth's inhabitants.

"Ode: The Existentialist Answer to Ellison's Invisible Man"

AFRICA MAYIBUYE!

AMANDLA!

NGAWETHU!

Steadfastness

Unity

Indivisibility

Politcal Activism

Signs of legendary cheftain

NOW, Nelson Rolihilahla Mandela, a contemporary Makanda

Man extraordinaire: born into royalty of the Tembu Kind

Displaying unimaginable charismatic stamina as voluntary leader of

AMADELAKUFA

Swept Winifred Nomzamo Madikizela off her feet, proposing to her

on the run--

A BEGINNING OF BEING INVISIBLE?

Four and a half years Serving dutifully in the dock

Hiding in chauffeur guise

Existing in uncertainty

Only to access enough luck to evade the hangman's noose!

FOUND GUILT OF TREASON: SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT

Twenty-sevn years of hard time

Maintaining optimistic disposition

Affirming life and the ANC

Staying in psycho-somato shape

Summoning spiritual wisdom

FIVE YEARS PULVERIZING THE STONES OF BONDAGE

Man extraordinaire. In opposition to RACISM in any wise

F-R-E-E-D

Shakes hands with South Africa's Prime Minister

Fearless: 'Cheeky'

Envisions a FREE AFRICA . . . PROMOTES AFRICANISM

In becoming the most visible of the invisible . . .

TSHOTSHOLOZA, MANDELA

--Nitzarim, Yoel. KOLA: A Black Literary Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 2. Winter, 1991. 20-22. ISSN 0835-2445.]

Assad: As a Chadian Jew of considerably widespread influence among the minority population here in the Galilee, Mbuti may just be someone who could lead us into a new era of tolerance, cooperation, as well as acceptance.

Panusch: It would appear unlikely that an African would be a spokesman for the minority inhabitants living in Israel.

Zahava: That may not be the case at all. My impression of this man was one of a combination of vast knowledge in conjunction with profound compassion. I think that Shifra and I know more about him than Tzachi and you. We met him some years back on the train when we lived in Pardes Hannah. At that time, although his comportment and storytelling presented a character on the fringe, we both had the feeling that someone of greatness was in our midst. After all, the passing ofsome years di not affect our ability to conjure up a fresh memory if this intriguing personality.

Shifra: Why, though, would he want to meet up with us? We don't speak for the Israeli Jewish population.

Tzachi: That may be the very reason why a person of this background and influence may wish to meet up with us. You see, a grassroots operation may have a greater impact on our society than any formal, representative body, such as the Knesset, has demonsrated up till this juncture in our history.

Assad: That's correct. Your latter point should be emphasized: our history.

[The Stranger knocks on the door.]

Assad: Please come in.

The Stranger (Smiling as he addresses Tzachi, Panusch, Zahava, and Shifra.): I am so happy to see you again. I hope that my presence will not be considered an intrusion. It so happens that Assad and I have become good friends in the past few years.

Tzachi (Incredulous.): You! Last time you slipped away from us. You left us discombobulated to say the least. We had so many questions to ask you about your novel interpretation of the fallout from the Holocaust. Who are you? Would you please fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle?

Mbuti: Certainly. My name is Mbuti ben Yosef. Originally, I hail from N'Djamena, Chad. I am a convert to Judaism. Interestingly, Rebbe Yehuda, the son of Rebbe Yehiel Eckstein, officiated at my conversation. The true connection for me was the cicumcision. Before the circumcision, I was in awe of this ritual: in fear really of coming into the fold of the Jewish people, in reverence of my imminent pact with the L-rd, and in love with an eternal Divine covenant. For me, the passage from my roots to the present day has been one of tortuous length and arduous depth. The breadth of this passage has covered great expanses of time, lands and patience. Many are the times I thought that my patience had not only worn thin, but that it had also lost sight of the end in the offing. When I have spoken with members of this group, I have felt a sense of camaraderie and understanding so much so that the tie in to the daunted final soultion to our mutual problem aroused my immediate attention. How I yearned for this present moment! Our work will take on the establishment of peaceful coexistence will lead our country into the last stages required for quiet in our region of the world. But not so fast. We should backtrack to assess our common needs, first in the immediate proximity and then in the country as a whole. Let's commence with a question: has history taught us a lesson germane to our present predicament?

[A protracted silence. Suddenly,a flickering of lights. Through the open windows: remote, muffled cheering, singing, and an occasional forecracker exploding outside in the far distance.]

Tzachi: What is going on?

[Assad's office telephone rings for what seems an eternity.]

Assad (Deadpan expression, in a monotone.): Oh . . . really. Where? . . . How long ago? . . . How many people? . . . Everything? . . . No, not everything! . . . How is that possible? . . . Many casualities? . . . Who? . . . Whom? . . . When? . . . How long? (Hesitantly.) T-h-a-n-k y-o-u. Call for a meeting of the community elders a dn leaders immediately. Our women and children. (Soft.) Asaalam aleikum.

Tzachi: Assad, tell us something.

Assad (Blushing profusely, eyes dejected, peering down.): It's been utterly destroyed. And there are many casualities. U-t-t-e-r-l-y. U-t-t-e-r-l-y.

Panusch: More detail. Elaborate. Explain in language we can all understand.

Shifra: Give him a chance. Can't you see that the man is shaken? Let him take his time.

Mbuti: Come out with it, Assad. We can't wait much longer! What happened?

Assad (Whispers.): I don't know where to start. It all seems so fuzzy. How can this happen in the twenty-first century amongst educated, civilized people?

Zahava: Please tell us already. Can't you see that we are on the edge of our chairs?

Assad: Joseph's tomb totally gutted . . . again. (Visually upset.) Again and again and once again. (Softly.) The walls . . . the artifacts . . . . the prayer books . . . . And religious Jews in the midst of prayer . . . wounded, maybe murdered.

Tzachi: And ehre we are discussing reconciliation. How many times does Joseph's memory have to be assualted and subsequently recovered? You know, in some circles the destruction of Jposeph's tomb is condered a step toward the redemptive coming of the Messiah. Somehow, this coming does not feel imminent.

Panusch: There is always the possibility of reconcilation. Why not?

Tzachi: In the midst of such a tragedy?

Panusch: Tzachi, have you forgotten where you are? Have you forgotten your own history? Haven't the sorrowful words made their impression indelible, intemperate?

Shifra: There has to be a way out. Why, there just has to be. Four thousand years of history. We are an ancient people . . . . Although it is not usual to say the Kaddish for those Jews one doesn't know, unless it is on Yom Kippur or Yom Hashoah, let's make an exception to show our unity with those who wish to make this world a better place.

Tzachi (Mumbling, barely audible, grave, pianissimo.): Yitgadal v'yitkadash shmei rabah . . ..B'alma divra khir 'utei . . . . (Glancing up in Assad's direction. Imploring.) Assad, you know what I am saying because you were at my father's funeral so many years ago.

Assad (As if uttering from a distant time and a distant place.): Yes, I remember. The Kaddish is a prayer recited for the dead, yet it solely shows reverence to the L-rd. It is a prayer of sanctification. Please continue.

Tzachi: (Articulation a little stronger, adagio, crescendo.): V'yamlikh khutei b'khayeikhon uv-yomeikhon Uv;khayei di kol beit Yisrael baagala uvizman kariv V'imru amen . . . . .* (Veering at Zahava.) Please join me.

Tzachi: Articulation a little stronger, adagi, crescendo.) . . . Y'hei shmei rabba m' varakh l'alam almaya. Yitbarakh v'yishtabakh, v'yitpaar v'yotromam, V'yitmasei v'yithadar v'yitale v;yit halal Shemi di kudsha, brikh hu . . . . ** (Their eyes entreating Shifra to join. Outside cries in the dark.) Come . . . .

Tzachi, Zahava, and Shifra (Articulation even stronger and more comvincing, crescendo, accelerando.): L'eila min kol birkhata v'shira-ta, Tushbekhata v'nekhemata di amiran b'alma, V'imru amen. Y'hei shlama rabba min shemaya, v'khayim, Aleinu v'al kol Yisrael , V'imru amen . . . *** (Finally, their eyes espy Mbuti, and Assad in the dimness of the room, beseechingly.) Help us finish our testimony . . . .

Altogether (Articulation heightened fortissimo): Oseh shalom bimromav hu yaaseh shalom Aleinu v'al kol Yisrael, V'imru amen. **** A memory to be revisited . . . .

[Lights dim . . . lights out.]

*

Magnified and sanctified be the glory of G-d

In the world created according to His will.

**

May His sovereignty soon be acknowledged,

During our lives and the life of Israel.

Let us say: Amen.

***

May the glory of G-d be eternally praised,

Hallowed and extolled, lauded and exalted, Honored and revered, adored and worshipped.

Beyond all songs and hymns of exaltation,

Beyond all praise which man can utter

Is the glory of the H-ly One, praised be He,

Let us say: Amen.

****

He who ordains the order of the universe

Will bring peace to us and to all Israel.

Let us say: Amen.

Weekday Prayer Book

Rabbinical Assembly of America

Gershon Hadas, Chairman

----------------------------------------------------to be continued on Monday, July 1, 2019