A for an African Tribe, a story by Art Young on Cowbird Page 1 of 4

A Torah for an African Tribe by Art Young · 26 March, 2012

In terms of what most people consider normal amenities – clean water, healthcare and education – Putti, is light years from the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas. However, the journey of one orthopedic spine surgeon is living proof that the bond between human beings can overcome these vast distances. All it takes is a little faith.

In many ways, Dr. Isador Lieberman’s odyssey in Uganda involved circumstances beyond his control. And yet, in the end, his smile suggests that everything worked out with remarkable precision.

This life-altering adventure involves a series of philanthropic health missions to one of the most impoverished areas of Uganda, a “lost tribe” founded by an elephant hunter from the turn of the 20th century, strongman , the death of a father, an evidence locker in a Brooklyn police precinct, an ancient Torah and, of course, faith.

An African Tribal Chief Discovers

For thousands of years, there have been stories about the Lost Tribe of Israel and some religious historians place one of the tribes in . While there is no direct tie to Uganda in this history of in Africa, in the early 1900’s, many Protestant missionaries were dispatched to the continent to bring to the natives.

With this Christian outreach, a tribal chief named began to seriously study the Old Testament which was produced in Swahili. As he rose to power by assisting the British in the region he began to become disillusioned by activities of the white men whose rapaciousness seemed to have no bounds. The legend holds that Kakungulu retreated to the jungle and, after much meditation converted to Judaism and founded a settlement called Abayudaya which he ruled until his death in 1928.

One of the first things that Ugandan strongman Idi Amin did upon assuming power of the country was to outlaw all religious practice including Judaism in 1971. However, in

http://cowbird.com/print-story/16025/ 4/5/2012 A Torah for an African Tribe, a story by Art Young on Cowbird Page 2 of 4

spite of persecution, the Abayudaya tribe continued to worship in private, holding the Sabbath on Saturday and maintaining Kosher. Eventually, the cycle of history saw Amin’s power deteriorate and today religious freedom is restored in Uganda.

The original tribe of Kakungulu has dispersed throughout the region and one of the groups who follow Judaism is found in the small village of Putti. This tiny village of about 200 people, comprised of clay huts and rudimentary living conditions was to become an important stop for Texas spine surgeon Isador Lieberman for the unlikely reason that the hut that served as their temple of worship had no authentic Torah.

A Small Paper Torah

When Dr. Lieberman’s began his quest to bring a Torah to the citizens of Putti, he didn’t realize that this would require so much time, money and patience. Plus, he had no idea that the experience would reconnect him to his deceased father and his family’s faith. It started in 2010 when one of his colleagues mentioned the village of Putti and its ties to Judaism.

After meeting the villagers who speak English, and Hebrew, he was taken to the clay hut that served as the village temple only to discover that the group’s most important religious symbol – the Torah – was just a 12 inch paper replica. As Lieberman noted, “This troubled me for many reasons and as a result of the meeting, I promised these villagers that I would find them an authentic Torah and return with it the next time I came to Uganda. To their credit, they held me to my promise,” he said with a smile.

An authentic Torah is an ancient, hand-written parchment scroll consisting of the first five books of the Hebrew which is the foundation of the Old Testament. It is the most sacred of documents and is used for religious services, teaching and ritual readings. It connects Jews with ancient Hebrew traditions. Unbeknownst to Lieberman at the time of his promise, it’s not easy to obtain one of these scrolls.

It Takes a Village

Upon returning to the U.S., the search for a Torah for Putti began. This journey was driven in part by Dr. Lieberman’s renewal of his own faith based on the passing of his father, Max Lieberman, a holocaust survivor. In an interview he said, “After my father died, I began to realize that there are more important things in life than professional success. I thought of him often as we were scouring the country for a Torah.”

http://cowbird.com/print-story/16025/ 4/5/2012 A Torah for an African Tribe, a story by Art Young on Cowbird Page 3 of 4

After months of searching, networking with Rabbis, Judaism antiquity dealers and doing what any contemporary shopper does when something is hard to find – checking the internet – it was getting close to the time when the next medical mission to Uganda was scheduled and there was still no Torah to be found.

Finally, in December 2010, one of the many people that Lieberman had enlisted in this search for a Torah, Rabbi Avraham Bloomenstiel, who happens to be an expert in writing and repairing Torah scrolls, called with some good news.

Smiling broadly as he remembered the circumstances, Lieberman said, “He said that he had found 5 authentic Torah scrolls and they were in the evidence locker of the Brooklyn police precinct house. What are the odds of him finding them there or anywhere?”

After pledging to cover and ultimately raising $25,000, which covered the storage charges and other costs associated with repairing the scroll, Dr. Lieberman was ready for his triumphant return to the tiny village of Putti and what a return it was! It is safe to say, that there has never been a reception like the one Lieberman and his colleagues received.

The villagers who had previously never seen an authentic Torah now had their own, sacred scroll. The video of Lieberman and his colleagues delivering the Torah shows the emotional, heartfelt gratitude of these citizens of Putti. Even months later, the satisfaction that that Isador felt when he handed over the Torah is still evident in the doctor’s eyes.

The Story’s Just Begun

It’s clear from speaking with Dr. Lieberman that his health work in Uganda will always be an important part of his life. His enthusiasm is palpable. He has now enlisted other family members – his mother, daughter and others – and joined others to establish a non-profit organization.

Bringing the Torah to this village has also inspired others to continue to help build the work of the Putti temple. More information about getting involved with this group is available at www.puttivillage.org.

http://cowbird.com/print-story/16025/ 4/5/2012 A Torah for an African Tribe, a story by Art Young on Cowbird Page 4 of 4

The acquisition of the Torah is not the end of the story. In fact, if Lieberman’s energy level is any indicator, the story has just begun.

This is a Cowbird story.

http://cowbird.com/print-story/16025/ 4/5/2012