Surgeon to deliver Torah to Uganda

Dr. Isador (Izzy) Lieberman, his mother Noemi to trek into foothills of Mount Elgon in September to bring protective acrylic cylinder to Jewish community

Doris Strub Epstein |Published: 08.26.11 , 09:38

Come September, world renowned spinal surgeon, Dr. Isador (Izzy) Lieberman, with his mother Noemi at his side, will trek into the foothills of Mount Elgon, a dormant volcano in eastern Uganda.

So, what is it that would make an otherwise sane man venture where few others would? The most sacred document in Judaism, of course. You see, Izzy will carry, in a protective acrylic cylinder, a Torah scroll, to be delivered to a community of Ugandan Jews.

Two years ago Izzy made headlines in Israel when he operated on the Sephardic chief rabbi, who was then 90 years old. His innovations include the Merlot Screw, a spinal implant to correct scoliosis and robotic surgical aids with Mazor, an Israeli firm.

Now based in the Texas Back Institute at the Presbyterian Hospital in Plano, a suburb of Dallas - patients, teaching, research and development, conferences and surgeries take Izzy all over the world, but ultimately home to the warm embrace of his wife and three children.

After a few years in Uganda, Izzy began hearing rumors about Jews living in remote villages in the shadow ofan ancient volcano. Noemi found information about them and sent it him. Last year he decided to track them down.

His group drove six hours from Kampala to Mbale, a city of 80,000 near the country’s eastern border with Kenya. From there, on muddy motorcycle trails through the jungle, they arrived in Putti, a village of 200 farmers, living in clay brick huts, void of electricity or running water.

Menorahs and Stars of David were painted on the walls of the huts and fabricated into the iron work windows. The group was greeted by Shira the rabbi’s wife and many children. The rabbi was away at a funeral, but they did meet the 200 people of the village, part of the Abayudaya Jewish community, the Chazzan, and the emeritus Rabbi Abraham. They stayed to celebrate Friday night services with them. The singing and dancing blended African rhythms with Jewish rituals.

“It was a culture shock to us North Americans how they lived and their grass hut which was their synagogue,” Izzy told a Dallas newspaper.

When they opened the Holy Ark, he was taken aback by the Torah. “I saw this little paper Torah scroll, maybe 12 inches high, one of those things you buy in some Judaica shop for kids to draw on with crayons, and I was troubled by that.”

The Abayudaya are not accepted as Jewish by all Jews. They told Izzy of their struggle to live as Orthodox Jews. They want to undergo conversion and be recognized by rabbinical authorities in Israel.

“I don’t know what came over me, but I said, ‘I’m going to work on getting you a Sefer Torah.’“I had no idea what it would take to get one, the logistics involved, the resources needed.”

'Take what you have and make it better'

Izzy, 52, was born in Toronto, growing up in the Bathurst and Finch area. He got his medical degree at the University of Toronto. His father was a first a carpenter, then an owner of clothing stores. Noemi worked with her husband and taught Hebrew for many years with Karen Hatarbut. Izzy, who has her handsome striking features and deep dark eyes, spent most of his young adult life working in the family store alongside his father.

“My parents’ most valuable lesson was that I should be resourceful. Time and again I saw them take a minimum of materials and turn them into something useful. That has flavored my attitude on life, such that I approach things with an attitude of, ‘Take what you have and make it better.’”

Noemi, who lives in Thornhill, Ontario, leaves August 16th to meet up with Izzy en route. For her, some elements of her life are mystically coming together with this journey.

The Torah they are bringing was written between l940 and 1945, precisely when her husband Max was in the death camps. “And now we’re presenting it to a country in Africa. I was born in Libya which is North Africa,” she said. “This is the trip of a lifetime. I’m so proud to be at his side for this great event.”