38—Friday, August 16, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Swaying Noted as Prayer Rite By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX people when they received the Torah at Mount Sinai and (Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.) trembled (Exodus 20:15). Some Jews move back and Hence, the swaying motion forth while praying and in study would be a picture studying a holy text. of the Jew who feels that A number of reasons are his Torah study is like re- offered for this phenomenon. ceiving the Torah firsthand Some offer a practical from the Almighty at Mount I reason. These claim that the Sinai. practice started at the time The Kabalists trace the when prayer books were scarce and so many people tradition of swaying to the had to share one prayer verse and proverbs 20:27 book. Hence, they had to which says that "the spirit strain themselves by suc- of man is like the lamp of cessively taking a look, by God." Just as the flame of bending forward and then the oil lamp never stands straightening up, to allow the still but always sways with next man to take a look at vitality so-does the Jew sway the prayer book. Thus, this back and forth with the same motion of swaying back and vitality. forth became a habit (Judah Another source contends Ha Levy, Kuzari 2:49). that prayer or study raises Others say that moving the the individual to a higher body is a symbol of the level. His swaying motion emotional fervor and sway- thus indicates that he is ing as a fulfillment of the moving towards a higher verse in the Psalms which spiritual dimension. It is in. states "Ail my bones shall teresting to know that some proclaim • . ." In this way authorities discouraged the the Jew prays with his whole custom of moving back and body and soul. forth during prayer. They Some contend that the consider it arrogant on the swaying motion during study part of man not to stand at is symbolic of the biblical attention when confronting description of the Jewish the Almighty. Aug. 8 — To Mr. and Mrs. Aug. 7—To Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Zelickm an (Ronna Jerome Beale (Gail Fried- Goldstein), 24562 Rensselaer, man), 27501 Abington, South- Oak Park, a daughter, Lisa field, a son, Cary Michael. Marlene. Aug. 7—To Mr. and Mrs. Aug: 8 — To Dr. and Mrs. Sanford Saltzman (Nancy Steven Spector (Louise Sch- Nudell), 2 0 4 9 0 Roseland, - weiger), 26637 Franklin Pts., Southfield, a daughter, Coryn Southfield, a son, Benjamin Elyse. (Benji) Howard. Aug. 6 — To Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Kaufman (Jacquelynn Vaught), 29277 Rev. S. S. Richmond Chenwood, Farmington Hills, Certifed Mohel _ a son, John Jay. * 352-0013 or 352-0012 Endorsed by the Supervisor of Mohelim Aug. 6 — To Mr. and Mrs. for the state of Israel. Barry Abramson (Mary Spen- >=00=00•=6=•={}0Z0a*C:e=g s. cer), 25417 aria'', Oak Park, a son, Aaron. Specialized MOHEL In Home or Hospital 557-9666 CANTOR SIDNEY. RUBE Certified Mohel 358-1426 or 357-5544 Cantor SAMUEL GREENBAUM,. Certified MOHEL Serving Homes -8 Hospitals 399-7194 — 547-7970 --........., RABBI HERSHL BO TH Certified Mohel 557-0888 . 557-8210 RABBI LEO GOLDMAN Expert Mohel Serving Hospitals and flame. LI 2-4444 LI 1-9769 By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX tween husband and wife. (Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.) These conditions involve a Does Jewish law permit waiting period, medical as- the practice of artificial in- surance that pregnancy can- not occur otherwise, the semination? This question is, of course, proper time in the menstrual to be broken into two cate- cycle and the proper method gories, i.e., artificial insem- of obtaining and injecting ination from a husband to the sperm according to Jew- his wife and artificial in- ish law. When it comes to the in- semination from a- donor who is not the husband. General- jecting of a sperm from a ly, but under certain re- third party, i.e., a donor, stricted conditions, artificial Jewish authorities are op- insemination is permitted be- posed to this practice for a Jewish Attitude Toward Women Noted The classical writings of Judaism, almost exclusively written by men and encom- passing a period of over 2,000 years, naturally depict a variety of views on women. It is impossible, Encyclo- pedia Judaica points out, to speak of a single Jewish at- titude to women. Opinions were affected by different cultural and social back- grounds and by the personal and individual temperaments of the Jewish teachers. Although ancient near-east- ern society was essentially male-dominated, the Bible preserves a generally favor- able view of woman, not only in the framework of the fam- Maartv, Shaharit nouncements RABBI S. ZACHARIASH Jewish Law on Artificial Insemination Aug. 2 — To Mr. and Mrs. David Bocan (Marsha Kap- lan), 16310. Fairfax, South- field, a son, Eric Marshall. * * Aug. 1 — To Dr. and Mrs. David Rosenberg (Mardi Harold), 24211 Beverly, Oak Park, a son, Jeffrey Michael. * July 24—To Dr. and Mrs. Norman C. Ratner (B•rbara F. Parker), 628 S. Fox Hills, Bloomfield Hills, a daughter Hilary Freya. * * July 21—To Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Singer (Carol Wool), 14411 LaBelle, Oak Park, a son, Daniel Stuart: * * July 16—To Mr. and Mrs. Robert Roether (Barbara Yellen), 14050 Vernon, Oak Park, a son, Andrew Wins- ton.. * * July 6—To Mr. and Mrs. Heinz Seiferheld (V i v i a n Guttman), 4140 Pinehurst, West Bloomfield, a daughter, Amy Danielle. June 26 — To Dr. and Mrs. Martin Pearlman (Elaine Friedman), former Detroit- ers of East Lansing, a daugh- ter, Julie Beth. 0 4 A By RABBI SAMUEL FOX (Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.) The Hebrew word for eve- ning is "erev." Thus, the evening prayer is called by the word from the same root. Hence, the- name "Maariv" is the name for the evening prayer. The word "erev" comes from a root meaning "to mix." When the sun passes the midpoint of the meridian it begins to decline going westward and the day begins to contain shadows. Thus the day "mixes" with the night until the night takes over. Some like to interpret this word "erev" as symbol- izing a state of comparative "confusion." The mixture of life and shadow in a sense creates some confusion. The increase in darkness devel- ops a certain feeling of in- security in the human being who observes the light fading into the dark horizon. Such an experience surely calls for a certain degree of faith and reassurance to be ex- pressed in prayer to the Al- mighty. The morning star is re- ferred to as "Shahar." This expression comes from a root meaning "clear," ,"bright," etc. In contradistinction to the evening shadows of con- fusion the morning engend- ers a progressive degree of clarity and light. Therefore, the morning pr a y e r s are called "Shaharit" because they are recited in a period where the light is increasing. At such a stage, prayer is in order. First of all, man should take advantage of the clarity to search for the Al- mighty and to understand Him. Furthermore, man is sometimes dazzled by bright- ness which can often blur his vision of truth. At such a time he certainly needs to be helped by the Almighty. Man often needs God during the light of success as much as in the shadow of failure. ily but also in the religious life of Israel. While polygamy was sanctioned, the Adam and Eve narrative implies that monogamy is the ideal. The woman's status as a human being is recognized in legislation, and within the covenant women had the same moral responsibility as men. Nevertheless, there were certain laws that reveal an inferior status assigned to women in Israelite society, and woman's role in organ- ized worship was limited to secondary functions. There appear, however, remark- able women in Israelite he- roic tradition. A variety of attitudes is found in rabbinic literature, and the working of the bene- diction recited each day in which a man praises God for not having made him a wo- man. has even today not yet been removed from orthodox prayer books. Few women were scholars since they were exempt from the rule of studying the Torah. Wo- men were feared as a source of temptation. On the other hand it is said that a man without a wife lives without joy, blessing and good, and that a man should love his wife as himself and respect her more than himself. In modern times both the Jewish Haskala in Russia and the Reform movement sought to improve the legal position of the woman. In the U. S., t h e Conservative branch decided to count wo- men among the "minyan," and the Reform movement ordained the first female rabbi. - In the state of Israel, the Encyclopedia Judaica states, thanks to the women's equal rights law and the equal pay for equal work law, the emancipation of women is a legal reality though the women of the Oriental and of the ultra-Orthodox ,communi- ties may not as yet enjoy the equality and freedom which the women of the occidental and less observant communi- ties take for granted. number of reasons. Some contend that this is prohibit- ed because the paternity and geneology of the child would be confused, especially when there would be no absolute assurance as to whether it is the donor or the husband who actually impregnated the wife. A second reason advanced is that the child, not knowing the identity of the donor, might eventually marry its sister or brother who might be born from the sperm of the same donor by other artificial insemination or by his marriage to some other woman. A third reason is the con- tention that the child, not being from the husband's seed might seek the inheri- tance of the husband after his death to which he is not technically entitled and thus if there are other natural born children from this same father, this child would "steal" inheritance from the others which is not rightfully his. Also, the child might be entitled to an inheritance in the estate of the donor and the donor's natural children might be "stealing" his in- heritance not knowing the identity of the product of his semen. Some also add that the prohibition not to have an affair with one's neighbor's wife (Leviticus 18:20) in- cludes the condition of arti- ficial insemination from a donor. Some late authorities add the contention that artificial insemination from a donor would be considered a "hideous act" and might lead to an air of promiscuity and something that might be considered like "human stud farming." It is to be noted, however, that many authori- ties do not consider the off- spring of a donor's artificial insemination as an illegiti- mate child. GLADTIME NURSERY PROGRAM An exciting pre-school Program for 21/2-5 yr. olds. Toilet training no problem— Jewish content Young Israel of Oak Woods Coolidge, Oak Park State Licensed — Limited Enrollment 5575132 398-7850 THE JEWISH HOUR IN ENGLISH WITH JULES and MARY ABRAMS News, Interviews and Beautiful Music Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:00. to 10:00 a.m. "ROZHINKES mit MANDLEN" ON RADIO 1090 FIR Na I 7411 FORtIoll LUGAR LAIDIO STATION BACK TO SCHOOL IN CORRECT SHOES Regular as well as prescription type • OXFORDS, BOOTS, and STRAPS with sensible heels. 33 EAST ADAMS 19360 LIVERNOIS 20901 KELLY ROAD .,-..„.„.