26 Friday, August 22, 1975

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Pre-High Holy Day Period Finds Israelis Busy in Preparation

BY MOSHE RON

Jewish News Special
Israeli Correspondent

newspapers made prepara-
tions for the New Year edi-
tion. They published retros-
pects on the events of the
year and a lot of New Year
wishes. Selihot prayers
were broadcast on radio
from the Central Synagogue
and the Sephardi Temple in
Tel Aviv.
There was a food short-
age. The Ministry for Com-
merce and Industry made
special efforts to supply the
population with enough
food for the Holy Days. It
increased the rations alloted
for each citizen. Many citi-
zens received food parcels
from relatives and friends
abroad. They shared this
food with their relatives and
friends. Kibutzim were al-
lowed to sell eggs, chickens,
cheese and butter to their
friends.
On the eve of Rosh Has-
hana the police disregarded
persons who sold fruits and
other products on the
"Black Market."

After Tisha b'Av the pre-
High Holiday rush for can-
tors, prayer books, and
prayer-shawls begins in Is-
rael especially in Tel Aviv.
Temple employes and ush-
ers started to worry about
cantors and choirs.
Licenses were requested
from the religious councils
and rabbinates to hold the
prayers in cinema halls.
During the last five years
the population of Tel Aviv
had doubled, but only a few
new synagogues were built.
The rabbinate did not wish
to hold prayers on the Holy
Days in cinemas because
they showed por'nographic
pictures. The prayers were
arranged in cultural and
social institutions and
schools.
Then there are those that
remain without a congrega-
tion for prayers; cantors are
needed for new immigrants,
camps, prisons and kibut-
The bus companies and
zim. Prayer shawls, prayer- railways made special ar-
books and caps are bought rangements to increase the
in masses.
number of buses and fares

during the holidays without
prior announcement. There
was food for everyone. But
in the days of austerity even
food in the kibutzim was
scarce and nobody could go
there without a prior invita-
tion.
On the eve of Rosh Has-
hana all the shops were
closed in Tel Aviv and other
places. Some cafe's and res-
taurants kept closed during
the two days of the holiday.
Traffic was stopped. The
streets were strongly illumi-
nated. In all the street the
echo of holiday prayers was
heard. The synagogues and
small prayer places were
filled to capacity, among
them army soldiers in uni-
form.
After the holiday meal

BUY OR LEASE FROM

thousands of inhabitants of
Tel Aviv went out to visit
their relatives and friends
and to wish them a Happy
New Year. Twenty-five
years have passed since then
and up till today we have
not had one quiet year.

ANDY BLAU

in BIRMINGHAM at

WILSON-CRISSMAN CADILLAC

CALL BUS. MI 4-1930
RES. 642-6836
1350 N. WOODWARD, BIRMINGHAM

Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses

in Mt. Clemens
Invites you to attend

HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES

conducted by: Rabbi Bernard Herzig,
Mark Goldenberg and Allan Schwartz

For Tickets call 463-6604

$25 per person

after 6 p.m. 468-9729

Danny cohen's
parents know
why they joined
Temple Beth El..

The Israeli newspapers to the utmost in order to
appeared in pre-statehood cope with thousands who
days on the eve of New were traveling for the holi-
Year with editions of only days to other places. The
main target was Jerusa-
20 pages, owing to the lem.
shortage of printing paper.
In pre-statehood days
Today they have editions
with more than 100 pages. only a few citizens traveled

Weeks before the New
Year the editors of the

NEW CADILLAC?

to kibutzim. In the time of
the British Mandate they
used to visit the kibutzim

Jews Prohibited to Stand

Where Holy Temple Stood

By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX

(Copyright 1975, JTA, Inc.)

Jewish tradition forbids a
t.'ew from standing on the
place in Jerusalem where
the holy temple once stood.
Basically there are two
main reasons for this prohi-
bition.
First, the rabbis point to
the passage in the Bible
(Leviticus 16:2) where even
Aaron the High Priest was
forbidden to enter the Holy
of Holies without a formal
purpose. Since we have no
purpose for being there to-
day (since there are no sac-
rificial rituals to be per-
formed there because we
have no altar or temple
there), simply walking ar-
ound there would show a
means of disrespect for the
holy ground.

This, according to some
authorities, falls under the
category of what the Bible
commands of the Jews
elsewhere (Leviticus
19:30) where Jews are
asked to "revere My sanc-
tuary." Entering it with-
out a holy purpose would
be deposing the Temple
Mount of its divine sanct-
ity.

The question then arises
as to why we should not
reinstitute the sacrificial
system or some religiously
accepted ritual there so that
it could have a divine pur-
pose. For this the rabbis
need the second basis for
this prohibition. Since the
place of the Temple is re-

garded as the very essence
of purity and Holiness it
was forbidden for any Jew
to enter the place if he were
spiritually impure (for ex-
ample, if he had come into
contact with a dead body or
been in the same room with
a dead body).
The rabbis deduce from
the Biblical statement
"They shall not defile their
camp" (Numbers 5:3) that
one who was spiritually
impure was not allowed to
enter the sanctuary. Since
the event of the destruction
of the Holy Temple, Jews
regard themselves as spirit-
ually unclean. (One of the
reasons for this is that the
ancient mixture of the Red
Heifer's ash is now unavail-
able to us and this was used
to purify those who had
come into contact with the
dead).
Thus, no Jew is at present
allowed to set foot on the
Temple Mount. Others read
into this prohibition the
idea that before one set foot
on the Temple Mount he had
to be in a state of spiritual
and moral perfection.
The world today stands
far from such an ideal. Not
being able to set foot there
now challenges the Jew to
try and achieve a higher
state of spiritual and moral
condition for himself and
the world.

He knows enough who
knows how to live and keep
his own counsel.

...for Danny

Photograph—Craine, Detroit

•

Danny Cohen, age four, is a very special member of Temple Beth - El.
Little Danny is receiving something very precious—pride in his faith,
and in his people.

Danny's parents understand how important it is to start his religious
education at an early age.
Temple Beth El makes sure that even to a three foot, four-inch little
boy, God doesn't seem that far away. The foundation is begun in the
Temple's Nursery School, then is built upon through the years at Religious
School.

Danny feels a part of the Temple family. He goes to services, family
dinners, movie parties, picnics and more, sponsored by our Married Group,
Men's Club and Sisterhood.
When Danny comes into the Temple's Sanctuary, he knows he belongs
there ... because we built it, and everything in it, just for Danny. At Temple
Beth El we know Danny Cohen is our future.

For more information about
your future, please call
today:

Irving I. Katz
Temple Beth El
4700 Telegraph
Birmingham
Phone: 851-1100

