The Weekly Quiz Box

By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX

(Copyright, 1964, Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Does Judaism believe in
the Resurrection of the Dead?

Maimonides, in listing his 13
principles of Faith, counts the
belief in the Resurrection of
the Dead as the thirteenth ar-
ticle of faith (Commentary to
the Mishnah, Sanhederin, Intro-
duction to "Chelek"). This ar-
ticle of belief is quite an old
one. Isaiah prophesies: Thy
dead shall live, my dead bodies
shall arise . . . (Isaiah 26:19).
Ezekiel, likewise expresses him-
self in similar terms when he
visions: "I will open your
graves and cause you to come
out of your graves . . . (Ezekiel
37:12). The sages of the Tal-
mud even go so far as to say
that the belief in the Resurrec-
tion of the dead is inherent in
the thought of the Pentateuch
as can be shown by the fact
that certain events are referred
to as taking place in the dis-
tant future, as for example the
Song of Moses is spoken of in
terms of "Then will sing Moses
and the Children of Israel"
(Exodus 25:1) (Sanhedrin 91b).
The second of the 18 benedic-
tions recited thrice daily in the
prayers is one which blesses
the Almighty as the one who
resurrects the dead. This indi-
cates that the sages must have
regarded this belief as a basic
doctrine of the Jewish faith. It
should be said, in all honesty,
however, that Judaism is basic-
ally not principally a religion
of dogmas but rather a faith
of deeds. Medieval Jewish au-
thorities developed a system of
religious beliefs mostly because
of the development of creeds
and dogmas of other faiths in
the face of which Jewish lead-
ers were forced to demonstrate
that Judaism likewise had in-
herent principles of its own.

Why is it necessary to
make a blessing over wine
or whiskey, then to drink
some of it, before offering a
toast like "L'Chayim," etc?

Generally speaking, one owes
allegiance and tribute as well
as salute to the Almighty be-
fore offering it to man. Furth-
ermore, before one makes the
blessing over the drink, one
has no "moral" right to use it
for any purpose whatsoever.
Consequently, one must first
offer the official benediction
over the wine or whiskey, thus
fulfilling one's duty to God.
Then, one must drink some of
it so that the blessing will not
be removed from the act of
drinking by an interrupting act
which might intervene. It is
only after this that a toast can
be made to mortals. It is wrong
therefore to offer a toast to
mortals before making the
benediction over the liquid and
then drinking some of it.

Why is it traditionally re-
quired to pronounce a bene-
diction before reading t h e
Torah?

reading or studying the Torah
to be of paramount importance.
They derive the requirement of
this blessing from the Biblical
requirement to pronounce a
benediction over the food we
eat. If the Torah requires us
to give thanks to the Creator
for the physical food we eat,
they say, how much more so is
it necessary to offer a benedic-
tion to the Almighty for the
spiritual treasure and cultural
food he gave us.

15,000 Pupils to Enter Quebec Grants Sought f or Jewish School Pupils
MONTREAL, (JTA) — The up to $200 per annum from the
5th Annual Nationwide Canadian
Jewish Congress has I school board having the child
Bible Contest in March requested that grants made under its jurisdiction.

NEW YORK (JTA) — Over
15,000 Jewish children between
the ages of 13 and 16 have
entered the fifth annual Bible
Contest of the Department of
Education and Culture of the
Jewish Agency. National finals
will be held in New York, May
3.
(Among the Detroit students
participating in the contest is
a class of 23 from the high
school department of the United
Hebrew Schools.)
The contestants, competing
in three divisions for the first
prizes of a round-trip to Is-
rael, will meet their first
major test next month when
the regional finals are held
in United States and Canadian
cities March 15.

When a Jew thus makes a
benediction over the reading or
study of the Torah he thereby
makes acknowledgment that the
Torah is originally the posses-
sion of the Almighty, who, by
His Grace has chosen to let us
enjoy it and share with Him.
* * *
Why is the 134th Psalm re-
cited before beginning the
The three divisions in the
evening praper in the syna- contest are for Bible quizzes in
gogue?
advanced Hebrew, for students
As is the case of the morning enrolled in Hebrew day schools;
and afternoon prayer services, intermediate Hebrew, for stu-
some Psalm or collection of dents enrolled in afternoon He-
verses from the Psalms was to brew classes; and English, for
be recited before beginning students who study the Bible in
the prayer service. The purpose English.
The aim of the Bible Contest
was simply to set the mood for
the particular prayer service is to "promote a greater inter-
and thus to serve as a transi- est in the Bible among students
tion from the daily physical of Jewish schools in the United
pursuits of the people to the States and Canada, with a view
spiritual concentration required to encouraging more extensive
reading and studying of the
for prayer.
Bible, and to strengthen the
The 134th Psalm was aptly place of Bible studies in the
chosen for the introduction to curricula of Jewish schools."
the evening service because it
Endorsed by Jewish educators
speaks of the "servants of God
who stand in the House of God throughout the world, and by
at night." The Talmud tells us: national and local American
"When you return at night from Jewish education groups, the
your work ... go to the house fifth annual National Bible Con-
of prayer . . . and read the test is under the supervision
Scriptures or study the Talmud of a board of sponsors, Rabbi
and then pronounce the Shem Joseph L. Lookstein of New
and the Tefila" (Berakoth 4b). York is chairman, and Azriel
Eisenberg of New York, Rabbi
The recital of the one hun- Solomon B. Freehof of Pitts-
dred and thirty fourth Psalm burgh and Rabbi Simon Green-
in the synagogue before the berg of New York are co-chair-
evening prayers also makes us men.
mindful of the fact that what
we are about to do is a matter
of ancient precedent handed Uranium Prospecting
down to us from our ancestors. Started in the Negev

Golden Agers to Sing

The Golden Age Choir, under
Cantor Nicholas Fenakel, will be
guest performers at a Music
Month program sponsored by
Beth Moses Men's Club and Sis-
terhood 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at
the synagogue. Guests invited.

available from the provincial
government to the school com- Czechs Mark Anniversary
mission on a per capita basis of Famed Rabbi's Birth
be also applicable to children
LONDON (JTA)—Some 1,000
attending Jewish day schools.
persons including many non-
The congress made the ap- Jews, attended the dedication
peal before the Quebec Royal ceremonies in Bratislava, Cze-
Commission on Taxation. Grants ' choslovakia, marking the 200th
presently available favor sec- anniversary of the birth of
ondary schools only. Parents of Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, renown-
children of recognized indepen- ed scholar and teacher of the
C ha sam Soer.
dent secondary schools receive
A commemorative tablet was
affixed to the wall of the house
To Present Engraving where Rabbi Schreiber was
Visitors from Hungary
From R.I. Synagogue born.
and Austria were also among
Sen. Philip Hart will present the guests who came from all
an original wood engraving parts of Czechoslovakia to at-
from the Touro Synagogue in tend the ceremonies.
Newport, R.I., to the Young Is-
rael Center of Oak Woods at a
program 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Jerome Kelman will serve as
toastmaster. Sam Platt, presi-
dent, will greet new mebers to
the congation who will be in-
ducted by Rabbi James I. Gor-
don.

A new 50-star American flag
is also being presented to the
synagogue by the teen age
group of the congregation. A
reception will follow. Guests
invited.

PARCELS TO RUSSIA

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FOR RETARDED CHILDREN

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JOINT INTERFAITH CONCERT
at ADAS SHALOM SYNAGOGUE

Curtis at Santa Rosa

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19th, 8:30 P. M.

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Featuring —
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Zinovi Bistritzky, conductor
Central Methodist Church Choir
Frederick L. Marriott, Choral Director
Sponsored by The Men's Club of Adas Shalom Synagogue
DONATION $1 .00 PROCEEDS TO THE KENNEDY
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JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Pros-
pecting for uranium was begun
in the vicinity of Arad in the
southern part of the country.
Phosphates containing the raw
material used in nuclear fission
were found in the area in 1962.
Ai-ad is a new city in the Negev
desert, where large-scale de-
velopments are under way.

ANNUAL YOUNG
ISRAEL BAZAAR

All day Sunday, March 1st; 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.

at YOUNG ISRAEL OF NORTHWEST DETROIT

Uninvited

17376 Wyoming

Jewelry, linens, clothing, novelties, toys, watches,
hardware, bake sale, refreshments, and
white elephants

ON

WORLD PROBLEM

If you were with us last year—we know we'll see you!
If not — we have a date . . . you won't regret it!

ADMISSION BY

INVITATION

BEM

ONLY

Not only before the reading
of the Torah is a benediction
made; but every morning a Jew
is required to pronounce a bene-
diction over the study of Torah
after which he recites (and
studies) three brief portions —
one from the Bible, one from
the Mishnah and one from the
Talmud (subsequently the bene-
diction and the three portions
w e r e incorporated into the
prayer book as a part of the
early morning liturgy).
The rabbis (see Shul Aruch)
consider t h e blessing before

SUMMER in ISRAEL

16th Annual Israel Summer Institute

A low-cost non-profit educational program

JULY-AUGUST • 71/2 WEEKS

Co-educational. Two Age Brackets:
Junior division: 15-18 / Senior division: 18 25

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ROUND TRIP BY JET:

3-day European stop-over; meals, hotels, sight-seeing.

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VISIT JERUSALEM, TEL AVIV, HAIFA, EILAT,
NAZARETH, MASSADA, MEGIDDO, MT. TABOR, SODOM.

MEET THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL
MEET THE NATION'S LEADERS
LIVE AND WORK ON A KIBBUTZ
FOR TWO WEEKS
SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH STUDENTS
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

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contact:
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Fa AMERICAN

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Courtesy: Jefferson D. Yohn
San Bernardino Sun Telegram

ZIONIST YOUTH
FOUNDATION, INC.

515 Park Avenue
Suite 1009

[Pi New York 22, N.Y.
RI HA 1-4120

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Total Coot

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