Chosenness
in the Symbolic
Spirit of Jewish
Ethical, Historic
Interpretations

Shavuot Essay
by Dr. Greenberg
on Back Page

HE JEWISH NEWS

A Weekly Review

of Jewish Events

SHAVUOT

Greetings

to Jewish

Communities

Everywhere

Copyright (_e) The Jewish News Publishing Co.

VOL. LXXXIII, No. 11

17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833

$15 Per Year: This-Issue 35c

May 13, 1983

Israel Sees Lebanon Accord
as Approach to Peace Treaty

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Knesset 'opened debate Wednesday on the
Israel-Lebanon agreement. Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir hailed it as a
success and the best arrangement that could be made under the circumstances,
paving the way "to peace and co-existence."
Shimon Peres, chairman of the opposition Labor Party, accused the Likud
government of mishandling the war in Lebanon and charged that Israel was less
secure and in a worse political position now than when the war began 11 months
ago.
The government is seeking Knesset approval of a statement on the agree-
ment with Lebanon which it hopes can be signed by next week. Israel, which

accepted the agreement in principle by a majority vote in the Cabinet last
Friday, is seeking clarification of certain key points from the U.S. The Lebanese
parliament has yet to ratify the accord. Syria and the Palestine Liberation
Organization have denounced it. The agreement, even if signed, would not
become operative unless the Syrians and PLO agreed to pull their forces out of
Lebanon.
Although Knesset approval is not required by law, the governinent is
seeking the widest possible parliamentary backing for the accord which
has become sharply controversial among Israelis on both the left and
right wings of the political spectrum. The government, therefore, in-
iniated a statement of approval to forestall a critical state-
ment by the opposition. The vote is expected Monday,
aft er conclusion of the debate.
Wednesday's Knesset session was a short one because of
celebrations marking the 16th anniversary of the reunification
of Jerusalem. Shamir and Peres were the only speakers and
their remarks were largely for the record. By the time the
debate adjourned, only six MKs remained in the chamber.
But Shamir's defense of the agreement and Peres' scathing

_

(Continued on Page 3)

Grosberg Haverim Home
to Be Dedicated May 22

A new Haverim Home, to be dedicated 2 p.m. May 22, attests to the
progress made here to provide for retarded members of this community.
Norman Wachler, president of the Jewish Association for Retarded
Citizens, announces that dedication of the Sadie and Charles Grosberg
Haverim Home, located at 21505 Normandale, Beverly Hills, will be
formally, held on May 22, in ceremonies and welcoming sociability
provided by the association and residents at the home from 1 to 4 p.m.
The Grosberg Haverim Home was opened by the JARC in Feb-
ruary. It is the organization's fifth group home. Five of its six residents
lived in state institutions most of their lives before moving into the
home. The house is funded'by the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center.
The Charles Grosberg Foundation has supported the Jewish
(Continued on Page 7)

The Giving of the Law:
The Holiday of Shavuot

World Zionist Press Service
• By DVORA WAYSMAN
JERUSALEM— Before giving the Torah to Israel, rabbinic legend
tells us that God offered it to the other nations of the world. They all
refused it. The Edomites rejected its principal commandment: "Thou
shalt not kill." Other peoples could not accept the prohibitions against
immorality or thievery. "We have no desire for the knowledge of Thy
ways," they exclaimed.
Then God offered it to Israel, and the reply was: "All that the Lord
hath spoken, we will do and we will obey!"
On the sixth of Sivan, we celebrate this momentous event with the
festival of Shavuot. According to tradition, that is when God revealed
Himself directly to his people, and we all stood at...Sinai and received the
DeCalogue — the Ten Commandments.
No religious document has exercised a greater influence on
the moral and social life of man than this divine proclamation.
These few brief commands — only 120 Hebrew words — cover
the whole sphere of conduct not only of human action, but also
the secret thoughts of the heart. They lay down fundamental
rules for all time and for all men.
The rabbis tell us that the tablets of stone on which the Ten
Commandments were written were prepared at the eve of Creation,
pre-dating humanity and independent of time or place or racial culture;
and they were hewn from the sapphire Throne of Glory.
The revelation was given at Sinai, the desert, which then belonged
to no one nation exclusively; and it was not only heard by Israel, but by
al] the inhabitants of the world. We are told that the Divine Voice
divided itself into the 70 spoken tongues, so that all mankind could
(Continued on Page 17)

.1982 MICHEL SCHWARTZ, N. Y.

—

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER by Michel

The Fifth Commandment in a -Calli-grafic Judaica" portrayal of the parents in the light of
the Almighty. Passages from Proverbs hail the sanctity and pride of family and heritage.

