HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR PRAYS WITH INMATES.Byline: Erin Gebroe Daily News Staff Writer Rabbi Mika Weiss sees some of himself when he talks to the inmates at Pitchess Detention Center A detention center or a detention centre is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean:
tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- , too. At the beginning of World War II, Weiss was jailed by the Gestapo in Hungary for being Jewish, and he was sent from death camp to death camp. Now this Holocaust survivor travels from his Brentwood home to Pitchess twice a month to counsel inmates and three times a year to lead services, such as a Hanukkah celebration Tuesday. ``There is a lot of darkness all around the world,'' Weiss told the 12 inmates before lighting the menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. at the maximum-security North County correctional facility North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) is a Los Angeles County Jail, run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Located approximately 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, it is one of four jails located within the Pitchess Detention Center (named after former . ``God's candle is the soul of the heart, the spirit of the human being. We should spread light all around us.'' Inmates participated in the service, helping the rabbi read the story of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival commemorating the rededication Noun 1. rededication - a new dedication; "the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem" dedication - a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose of the temple under Judas Maccabaeus in 165 B.C. Before the service, sheriff's deputies identified 15 Jews interested in services among the 10,000 inmates in the four jail facilities at Pitchess, said Sgt. Robert Srery. About 250 people attended a Christmas service earlier this month, he said. ``When people become incarcerated incarcerated /in·car·cer·at·ed/ (in-kahr´ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration. in·car·cer·at·ed adj. Confined or trapped, as a hernia. , it kind of slows down their lifestyle, and they get different priorities. A lot of them turn toward religion,'' Srery said. Srery, who has worked at Pitchess since it opened in 1990, said the inmates benefit from embracing religion. ``It's quite a calming factor to be able to meet with a religious leader and be able to converse with other people of their faith,'' he said. After the Hanukkah service, the inmates enjoyed chicken soup chicken soup Chicken broth Folk medicine Jewish penicillin A fowl broth with a long tradition as a home remedy for URIs, which may be a nasal decongestant, inhibit growth of pneumococci in vitro, and stimulate immune responsiveness in WBCs Mainstream medicine A and latkes, the potato pancakes traditionally eaten at such parties. Weiss gave them bags filled with candy, combs, socks and other gifts. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what kinds of sins they have committed, but they are human beings. They are Jews,'' Weiss said. A former chief rabbi of Finland, now rabbi emeritus at Temple B'nai Hayim in Sherman Oaks, Weiss has been conducting services at jails for 31 years. ``It was strange for me in the beginning, but I learned very fast,'' Weiss said. What he learned was how to provide spiritual guidance to convicts. Weiss remembers one inmate telling him he could open any lock in the world. Weiss looked at him and said, ``Could you do me a favor? Could you open me a lock? The gates of the heavens are closed. ``The guy turned right, left, and then he started to cry bitterly. `This lock I cannot open,' he said.'' Weiss hopes other inmates learn from his individual counseling and group services. They have something he never had as a prisoner: the opportunity to practice their religion. ``I know the difference,'' Weiss said at the end of the Hanukkah service. ``Only in America Only in America is a children's television programme that originally aired in 2005 on the CBBC Channel. It is presented by Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates. The show documents the pair going on a road trip across the United States. .'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Rabbi Mika Weiss, standing, leads a Hanukkah service Tuesday at the county's Pitchess Detention Center in Santa Clarita. (2) Rabbi Mika Weiss and Jewish inmates say morning prayers before a holiday meal of chicken soup and potato pancakes. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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