Minyan, Funeral Ritual, Blowing
Shofar on Pesach Explained
By RABBI SAMUEL FOX
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
A quorum of 10 Jewish
males is required for the re-
citation of certain prayers of
sanctification. This is true
for the recitation of Kadish,
Borchu, Kedusha.
The rabbis generally
state that any "Dauer
Shebikedusha" (item of
sanctification of the Al-
mighty) requires a minyan.
The same is true of "Birkhat
Chasanim" (i.e., the bene-
dictions that are recited
under the hupa and at the
Sheva B'rachoth).
The reason for the re-
quirement of a quorum at
the prayers of Kadish, Bor-
chu and Kedusha is traced
to a parallelism that is de-
rived from Scriptural pas-
sages.
In one place (Leviticus
22:32) the Bible speaks of
the Almighty being
sanctified "among" the
people Israel.
In a second place the
Bible refers to the Almigh-
ty's command to get out
from "among" a congrega-
tion (Numbers 17:10). This
latter statement refers to
the 10 spies who spoke evil
about the land of Israel.
Since, in the latter, the
world "congregation" is
used and the number is 10
and the reference has to
deal with being "among"
them, the rabbis infer that
being sanctified among a
community means being
sanctified among a quorum
of 10.
In the case of the Benedic-
tions of the wedding the
practice of having a quorum
of a minyan present is
traced to the practice of
Boaz in the Book of Ruth
who assembled 10 people
when he married Ruth.
• • •
The funeral procession
makes seven stops in the
cemetery before bringing
the casket up to the grave.
There are some who claim
that the original practice
was to make seven stops
after the burial when people
leave the grave to exit from
the cemetery. The reason
for this was to show our re-
luctance in leaving the de-
ceased person. Those who
practice these stops on the
way to the grave might also
be inclined to demonstrate
their reluctance in burying
their beloved.
The seven stops are said
to correspond the seven
times in the Book of
Ecclesiastes (1:2 "Vanity of
Vanities") as an indication
of how vain man's material
drives and remains are after
all.
• • •
Some Jewish com-
munities observed the prac-
tice of blowing the shofar
when the matza to be used
for Passover eve was being
baked.
Such seemed to have been
the practice in Algeria and
in Galicia. One reason given
for this practice is that the
matza is a symbol of rede-
mption. In Egypt, the matza
was used as a symbol of re-
demption from the slavery
of the Pharaoh. In our times
it is also a symbol of the re-
demption to come in the
days of the Messiah.
The daily prayers include
a hope and petition for the
shofar to be sounded on the
day of our redemption. Thus
the shofar is blown when
the matza is baked signal-
ing our hope that the season
of redemption that is draw-
ing near (i.e., the Passover)
would find the fulfillment of
our aspiration to the full re-
demption.
On the Jubilee Year (ev-
ery 50 years during the days
when the Temple existed)
the shofar was blown to sig-
nal the freedom of the
slaves. Thus, the shofar is
blown when the matza is
baked to signal the hopeful
freedom from exile for the
Jewish people.
Chaya Pesse Hershkovitz,
Mother of B&H Travel Head
Chaya Pesse Her-
shkovitz, mother of Benja-
min Hershkovitz, head of
the B & H Travel Bureau,
died in Beersheba, Israel,
Nov. 25. Interment Petach
Tikva.
Surviving her besides her
son Benjamin are two other
sons, Yitzhak and Tzvum;
six grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Hershkovitz came to
Israel with her husband, the
late Eliezer Hershkovitz, in
1950. He was among the
pioneers who associated
with El Al Israel Airlines,
as did his sons.
Zeppo Marx Dies at 78
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.
— Zeppo (Herbert) Marx,
last surviving member of
the famous Marx Brothers
comedy team, died Nov. 30
at age 78.
Carl Paysner
Carl B. Paysner, an ac-
count executive for J. Wal-
ter Thompson for the past
13 years, died Dec. 4 at age
50.
Born in Detroit, Mr.
Paysner was previously
affiliated with Motor News
and the Jam Handy organ-
ization. He was a member of
the Detroit Area Film
Teachers' Association and a
member and former teacher
at Temple Beth El.
He leaves his wife, Phyl-
lis; a son, Benjamin; three
daughters, Elisabeth, Jac-
queline and Sarah; two
brothers, Hyman of Sun
City, Ariz., and Abe; four
sisters, Mn;. Louis (Goldie)
Ellman of San Francisco,
Calif., Mrs. Milton (Lillian)
Schnitzer, Mrs. Abraham
(Rita) Millman and Mrs.
Martin (Sarah) Bacow of
California.
Mr. Marx appeared with
his brothers, Groucho,
Chico and Harpo, in their
first five films, "The
Cocoanuts" (1929), "Animal
Crackers" (1930), "Monkey
Business" (1931), "Horse
Feathers" (1932) and "Duck
Soup" (1933).
He left the team to be-
come a theatrical agent. He
also manufactured airplane
parts and, along with Albert
D. Herman, an engineer,
invented an electric
wristwatch that monitors
the wearer's heartbeat and
emits an alarm if the beat is
too slow or too fast.
F. Torberg, Led
Austrian Jews
VIENNA — Friedrich
Torberg, a leader of the Au-
strian Jewish community
and a noted Austrian liter-
ary figure, died Nov. 10 at
age 72.
Mr. Torberg recently won
the Great Austrian State
Prize for Literature. He was
active in efforts on behalf of
Israel.
-
OBITUARIES
ERWIN BAKER, 66,
14400 Talbot, Oak Park,
died Dec. 4. Survived by his
wife, Reva.
MINNIE BAXTER, 65,
former Detroiter of North
Miami Beach, Fla., died
Nov. 26. Survived by a
brother, Samuel of Oak
Park; three sisters, Mrs.
Alex (Sally) Rovin of
Florida, Mrs. Samuel (Ann)
Lapin of California and
Mrs. Nathan (Betty) Chess
of California. Interment
North Miami Beach.
• • •
EDITH GOLDEN, 88,
24290 Cloverlawn, Oak
Park, died Dec. 4. Survived
by three daughters, Mrs.
Ben (Mary) Katz of San
Francisco, Calif., Mrs. Be-
rtha Taylor and Mrs.
Charles (Blanche) Ab-
raham; 15 grandchildren,
14 great-grandchildren and
three great-great-
grandchildren.
CELIA GOLDSMITH,
91, 10725 Borgman, Hun-
tington Woods, died Dec. 1.
Survived by three daugh-
ters, Mrs. William
(Dorothy) Feinberg, Mrs.
Irving (Gertrude) Pinkney
and Estelle; a sister, Mrs.
Gizella Rothenberg of
Miami Beach, Fla.; three
grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
• • •
SADIE HOFFER, 84,
17281 Evans, Southfield,
died Nov. 30. Survived by
three sons, Martin, Julius
M. of Framingham, Mass.,
and Daniel; a sister, Mrs.
Lillian Broder; six
grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
• • •
JAB-
WILLIAM
LONSKY, 80, 23301 Kipl-
Hyman. Gilman
Hyman Norman Gilman,
office manager for Schlafter
Iron and Metal in Detroit
for 12 years, died Nov. 30 at
age 62.
A--native Detroiter, Mr.
Gilman was the past
president of the Pinsker
Progressive Aid Society and
a member of Pisgah Lodge
of Bnai Brith. He resided at
29290 Pointe-O-Woods;
Southfield.
He is survived by his wife,
Alice; three sons, Leonard
R., Alan L. and Gerald N.;
his mother, Mrs. Tillie Gil-
man; and three
grandchildren.
The Family of the Late
Joseph Kahn
SARAH SNYDER
Acknowledges with grateful apprecia -
tion the many kind expressions of sym-
th extended by relatives and friends
dg the family's recent bereavement.
pauriny
Einstein Honored
BOMBAY (JTA) — The
Council of Indian Jewry or-
ganized a four-day celebra-
tion here last week to mark
the 100th anniversary of
the birth of Albert Einstein.
The celebration featured a
seminar on his life.
r
Directors of Funerals
Friday, December 1, 1919 11
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
NEW YORK — Joseph
Kahn, chairman of Seatrain
Lines, the ocean transport
and shipbuilding complex
and an advocate of a strong,
independent United States
flag merchant fleet, died
Dec. 3 at age 63.
ing, Oak Park, died Nov. 29.
Survived by a daughter,
Mrs. Max (Norma) Katz;
two grandchildren and
three great-grandchildren.
ANNABEL HELEN
KORT, 5E, 15645 Shelley,
Southfield, died Dec. 3. Sur-
vived by her husband, Ar-
thur; a daughter, Mrs. Bar-
bara Gordon; her father,
Edward Stillwater; a sister,
Mrs. Albert (Shirley) Stoler
of North Lauderdale, Fla.;
and three grandchildren.
HERMAN E. RAFEL-
SON, 87, died Nov. 28. He
leaves his wife, Bessie; a
son, Robert E.; two
granddaughters and three
great-grandsons.
• • •
BARBARA SHORE, 55,
27480 Dover, Southfield,
died Nov. 30. Survived by
her husband, George; a son,
Howard J.; three daughters,
Mrs. Larry (Sharon) Teitel-
baum, Mrs. Jeffrey (Judith)
Aisen and Mrs. Wayne (He-
len) Kristall; a sister, Mrs.
Leo (Elaine) Woontner of
Marion, Ind.; and six
grandchildren.
• • *
ALLEN VICTOR, 78,
died Nov. 28. He leaves his
wife, Martha; a brother,
Jonas; and a sister, Mrs.
Minnie B. Cohn of San
Mateo, Calif.
• * •
ESTHER WALD, 80,
15075 Lincoln, Oak Park,
died Dec. 4. Survived by two
MONUMENT CENTER, INC.
661 E. 8 MILE. FERNDALE
1V2 Blocks E. of Woodward
6 Blks. from 3 Jewish
Cemeteries on Woodward
Sidney A. Deitch
DETROIT
MONUMENT WORKS
14441 W. 11 Mile Rd.
Go ■ dnor. betw C•elnly• & Greenheld
399.2711 Eve. 626-0330
MONUMENTS BY
BERG AND
URBACH
FINE MONUMENTS
WE REMEMBER
ii
Yeshivath Beth
Yehudah
SINCE 1910
OAK PARK - LI 4-2212
Next to Stanley Steamer
During the coming
week Yeshivath
Beth Yehudah will
observe the Yahr-
zeits of the follow-
ing
departed
friends. with the
traditional Memo-
rial Prayers. recita-
tion of Kaddish
and Studying of
Mishnavos
KISLEV DEC
19 9
ZELDA BARON
19 9
ZELDA BLOOM
19 9
JOSEPH ERNST
19 9
SHANA D. FLORENCE
19 9
ELCHONON GREENBERG
GERALDINE GREENWALD 19 9
19 9
IDA MARGOLIN
19 9
ABRAHAM ROTHBERG
19 9
LOUISE SILVERSTEIN
19 9
NATHAN YANCHAIR
20 10
FANNY AUGUST
20 10
ABRAHAM BELFER
20 10
SAMUEL BORTNICK
20 10
GUSSIE CARDASH
20 10
JOSEPH EPSTEIN
20 10
YACHET KLEIN
20 10
GEORGE L. MILMET
20 10
ESTHER ROTHBERG
20 10
JOSEPH SEGERMAN
20 10
MARY SIMON
20 10
SARAH ALLEN
21 11
BEN BRAGMAN
21 11
JACK FUNK
21 11
MAX GELLER
21 11
SARAH E. GOTTLIEB
21 11
NELSON GORDON HALL
21 11
MARY KAPLAN
21 11
JACOB SHIFFMAN
21 11
HARVEY SIMON
22 12
ANNA BORIN
22 12
HARRY S. CLAYMAN
22 12
ANNA DUCHAN
22 12
JULIUS GOLD
22 12
FANNIE GOLDBERG
22 12
IDA KESSELMAN
22 12
ESTHER KIRSH
22 12
MIRIAM PAPELANSKY
22 12
MARY PELTZ
22 12
GLORIA ROGGIN
23 13
ELIZABETH FENYVESI
23 13
MARCUS GINSBERG
23 13
SOPHIE GLADSTONE
23 13
GERTRUDE GRUNT
23 13
ISAAC KELMANOVITZ
23 13
ROSE LEVY
23 13
NATHAN MARCUS
23 13
BENJAMIN MASON
23 13
DAVID MORRIS
23 13
MAX RODIN
23 13
SAMUEL SCHEINFIELD
23 13
HERMAN SEPPEN
23 13
PAULINE GOLDEN
24 14
RAIZEL COHEN
24 14
TILLIE COHEN
24 14
MORRIS FEINER
24 14
ESTHER L. FLEISCHMAN
24 14
MANIA KATZMAN
24 14
LEWIS KLEIN
24 14
LOUIS STOLLMAN
24 14
GOLDA WEISSWASSER
25 15
BEATRICE BOROCOFF
25 15
AARON JACOBSON
25 15
ROBERT R . MARWIL
25 15
LT. ARTHUR J. OSBORNE
25 - 15
SAMUEL SCHEY
25 15
ESTHER SCHLUSSEL
25 15
CHARLES SPERLING
25
15
CARL STRAUSS
25 15
MEYER WATNICK
25 15
REBECCA PONT
13405 CAPITAL at Cool.dge
15751 W. Lincoln Dr.
Southfield
557-6750
Monuments For A I Jewish Cemeteries
C4 11,:r4tV0 18:P1'141758
'In
I-1=n
SHELDON GRANITE COMPANY
Serving the Jewish Community for over 60 years
19800 WOODWARD
(Betw. 7 /L 8 Mile)
SAM GORLICK
(owner)
368-3550
NO-IA PL
E
18325 W. 9 Mile Rd. Southfield
JO 4-5557
LI 2-8266
daughters, Mrs. Florence
Smith and Mrs. Diane
Grubnick; a brother, David
Switzer; a sister, Mrs.
Jeanette Kesler; and one
grandchild.
INC
569-0020
Ira Kaufman • Herbert Kaufman • David Techner
•