▪ THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, March 5, 1982 7 Purim, Megilla Mean Laughter (Continued from Page 1) has been the visual delight through the ages of looking at and using a Scroll of Esther, the best known of all the five biblical scrolls. The five — Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther — are found in the Ketuvim sec- tion of the Bible. Each is read on a particular holiday or fast day during the year. Only Esther must be read from a scroll — for the others it is merely optional. Hence the Scroll of Esther, because of its widespread use and its well-known story, became a scribal de- light. In fact from the 16th to the 18th Century, the scroll itself became a fertile NE MO IN IIIII MI OE MI 11111 Ell 1 SUPER BOWL 1 I'- HON I 1 RENTAL RETURNS 1 I SUPPLIERS TO THE 49ers and BENCALS I#P21 HON Executive Chair — $69.96 1 I# P63 Secretary Chair Demo — $49.96 II .#838 Wood Exec. Guest Chair — $119.49 II 1• #11021 24 x 54 Exec. Desk — $134.49 #514CP Legal File — 4 Drawer with • I lock — $129.49 m #314 Heavy Duty File-261" deep — I 4 Drawer — S119.49 .#30ABC 2-Shelf Bookcases — $39.96 . 37881 60" Credenza — $169.95 I I # I ypewriter Repairs & Tune-up — $19.96 (plus parts) Y2 Off Selected Typew iters starting — $39.96 New SCM Portable — $79.9e Correcting Elec. Typewriters — I $289.96 . IBM Selectric — $399.96 Walnut Typing Tables — $44.96 I 1 Portable Typewriters $49.96, $59.96, $69.96 Banquet Tables — $59.96 I • New. Desks starting at $29.96 • Copy Machines — $99.96 I Drafting Tables — $99.96 St Chalr7s9.9660% Off I BETTER BUSINESS I EQUIPMENT CO. i I 231 W. Nine Mile Rd. Ferndale • 548-6464 • is I OPEN SAT. 9-4:30 Bring in Ad for Free Gift field for various forms of il- lumination and miniature drawings. That also enhanced the delight of the Purim festivities. The regulations for writing the Scroll of Esther are similar to those applied to the preparation of a Torah scroll. One major dif- ference between the two has to do with length; and the second has to do with the fact that the name of God does not appear even once in the book of Esther, the only biblical book for which this is the case. The parchment used must be made from portions of the hide of a kosher animal after it has gone through various processes. The ink with which the scribe writes must be black and durable, but not indelible. In the process of writing itself, the scribe puts aside each parchment sheet (con- taining several selections) as it is completed, so that it can dry properly. Then, when he has completed the entire Megillat Esther, he sews together the various pieces of parchment with "giddin," thread made of tendon tissue taken from the foot muscles of a kosher animal. He checks the scroll thoroughly, and then it is ready for use. The Scroll of Esther pro- vides the scribe with an in- teresting challenge. The word which appears most frequently in the scroll is "hamelekh," the king. Therefore it has become a custom for many Ashkenazic scribes to pro- duce what is known as a Melekh Megilla. In it the first word in each column of text is "hamelekh," except for the opening column and a few columns at the end of the scroll in which the word "hamelekh" does not appear 111/1 ME NI III MI Ell MI 1 HAPPY PURIM with "Israel's Ambassador of Song" Ron Eliran Dancing with the Bill Meyer Group Thursday Evening April 22, 1982 Congregation Shaarey Zedek • Greggars • Beards • Crowns • Swords • Masks • Puppets • Records & Tapes DISCOUNT PRICES For Your Shalach 'Winos Giving Complete Line Of Kosher Wines & Champagnes 11 Mile & Lanser arva rd - ;11; .. ■ =1•11 JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli security forces have uncovered an Al Fatah ter- rorist gang which operated in the Jerusalem and Nab- lus area. A military spokesman said last week that mem- bers, of the gang were re- sponsible for a grenade at- tack outside the Old City of Jerusalem last October in which three Jews were wounded, and for a grenade attack last September in an Old City alley in which two Italian pilgrims were killed and 27 wounded. One member of the gang, from East JerUsalem, con- fessed during interrogation to supplying grenades to another terrorist gang in Hebron and sabotage mate- rial to gangs in refugee camps in the Ndblus area. The contact in the Nablus area was apprehended and during his interrogation he revealed the location of a cache of sabotage equip- ment. . Accept the challenge to strengthen our community through our youth because we are one ... we are Jewish. Patron Chairmen Sharon Hart Harold Beznos Gang Uncovered in Jerusalem SPITZER'im of Harvard Row SPITZER'S ,H as frequently. To execute a megilla where the initial word of each column is al- ways the same takes careful planning. This ensures that one does not end with an extra word, which would move everything out ofline. The Megillat Esther went through a stage between 1500 and 1800 when it was illuminated and illustrated with great artistry. Stemming from Italy, the cradle of the Renais- sance, there are several types of illuminated scrolls. In one, the col- umns of .. ext are adorned with orr aments formed from entwining ribbons in brilliant colors. In an- other type of scroll, the opening section of the text is fashioned into a point into which is inter- woven the coat of arms. Possibly one of the most interesting of megillot comes from the ancient Jewish community of Kai Feng-Fu, where Chinese Jews lived until their as- similation into the popula- tion during the 19th and early 20th Century. At the outset of the megilla, classical Buddhist and Confucian symbols are depicted. Near the end of the megilla there is a pic- ture of an executioner in Chinese dress and Chinese children getting ready for Purim and the festivities connected with it. The late Prof. Cecil Roth identified this particular scroll. Whether one owns an elaborately-decorated Megillat Esther or just the simple text, the story is still the same — the Jews' strug- gle for spiritual and physi- cal survival. As long as we realize that the struggle must also be tempered by laughter, then the message of Purim will be clear and the scroll of Esther, in whatever format it is, will have made its point. Lawrence Jackier Barbara Stollman Dinner Chairmen Rona Freedland Barbara Cook Susan Friedman Dinner Committee Rabbi Robert Abramson Peter Alter Jules Altman Leonard Baron Anaruth Bernard Barbara Beznos Norman Cohen Gerald Cook Amy Cutler Mark Eichner Robert Finkel Herbert Freeland Melvyn Friedman Ellen Glen Mark Goldsmith Cheryl Guyer Dan Guyer Martin Hart (in. formation) David Hermelin Doreen Hermelin Rochelle Jackier Jerome Kaufman Stephen Klausner Arlene Klein Yale Levin Robert Littky Beverly Leutcher Jack Liwazer Aaron Lupovitch Michael Maddin Steve Medow Allan Nachman Judith Phillips Julius Pollak Emma Schaver Neal Schechter Sandra Schram Phyllis Schwartz Suretta Selik Bluma Siegal Rabbi Efry Spectre Karen Spoon Bernard Stollman Alan Sussman Charlotte Tessler Warren Tessler Arlene Tilchin David Tisdale Saul Waldman June Weinberg Melvin Weisz Betsy Winkelman Lawrence Zeff For information and reservations call: Mrs. Brenner at 851-2394