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112 Friday, September 9, 1983

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Holiday Good Cheer

GLOBE PARCEL
SERVICE INC.

Gift Parcels For
Overseas Countries
6720 Michigan
894-5350

Happy New Year

Lastar

ELECTRIC CO.

Electrical Contractors
3 168 1 Dequindre
Madison Heights. Mich

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Best Wishes and A Happy
New Year

: A. J. Marshall Co.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Rosh Hashana and the Binding of Isaac

By DR. DAVID GEFFEN
World Zionist Press Service

JERUSALEM — The
selections read from the
Torah on Rosh Hashana are
taken from the book of
Genesis. They concentrate
on Abraham, our first Pat-
riarch, and his relationship
with his wife Sara, his
handmaiden Hagar and his
two sons Isaac and Ishmael,
the latter considered to be
the ancestor of the Arab
people.
The two major themes are
justice and judgement —
themes which are woven
throughout the entire High
Holiday liturgy.
On the second day of Rosh
Hashana a dramatic high-
point is reached with the

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reading of Genesis, chapter
22. This section is better
known as the Akeda, the
binding, or its complete ti-
tle, Akedat Yitzhak, the
binding of Isaac.

At the beginning of a
New Year, a time of di-
vine judgement, we are
asked to confront our-
selves with the basic
questions of our indi-
vidual judgmental pow-
ers. We are asked, in a
sense, to explain our con-
siderations and deci-
sions, much in the same
way that God sought to
test Abraham's ability to
make decisions.

God requests that Ab-
raham bring his son to
Mount Moriah and sacrifice
him there. The text is very
concise and literally burst-
ing with meaning. The cri-
tic Erich Auerbach, in his
book "Mimesis," has a very
meaningful essay compar-
ing the text of the Akeda
story with the Greek epics of
Homer. He analyzes the
chapter in Genesis showing
how deeply the reader is
challenged to fathom the
motivation of each of the
participants, Abraham, the
father, and Isaac, the son.
This is very different from
the Greek epics where the
entire thought patterns of
each character are included
as part of the text itself.

The Akeda story draws to
its climax when father and
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son are on the top of the
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mountain and Isaac is
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bound,
waiting to be sac-
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rificed. Then the angel in-
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this trial of faith have been
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studied through the cen-
turies. Some have
suggested that the essence
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of the story is God's rejec-
HAPPY NEW YEAR
tion of human sacrifice;
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others have called Abraham
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and Isaac giants of faith for

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their readiness to accept
God's fateful word; another
interpretation points to a
reborn Isaac who is a
changed individual.

The drama and pathos
of the tale has also been
depicted in various art
forms by some of the
world's greatest artists
including Titian and Re-
mbrandt. The synagogue
floor mosaic from Beit
Alpha also contains the
Akeda. Each thinker and
artist has thus sought to
give his own interpreta-
tion of the Akeda and
therefore interest in it
has never waned.

The drama of this tale left
its impact on me during a
Rosh Hashana I spent in a
small southern U.S. town
where I was serving as both
rabbi and cantor. Present at
our service on the second
day of Rosh Hashana was an
old man, known to the
members of the community
as a Jew, but one who had
never identified in any way.
Wearing a worn old
woolen talit, he seemed
caught up in the spirit of the
day as he davened with a
depth of feeling. Asked if he
wanted an aliya, he replied
positively. As if by chance,
he was called for that sec-
tion of the reading when
Abraham's hand was stayed
and Isaac was saved.
As I began to read the por-
tion of the Torah, he began
to weep, at first softly and
then more intensely. I stop-
ped for a few moments; he
composed himself; I com-
pleted the reading and he
recited the blessings.

After the services, he
talked and he told me
that over 50 years ago his
father had given him pas-
sage money and literally
commanded him to leave
their shtetl for America.
He argued with his father
that he did not want to go,
but, as fathers will be, his
was insistent and would
not permit him to remain.
A year after arriving in
America and moving to
this small town, he re-

FO 6-3821

ceived word that his
father had been mas-
sacred in a pogrom.

"For me," he noted, "one
who had been so immersed
in JudaiSin, it was a real life
Akeda in which a father had
saved his son. However, I
was so angry with myself for
not having remained to pro-
tect my father that I cut my-
self off from my Jewish
roots."
With a voice breaking
with sobs, he told me that
for years he had never
entered a synagogue. "I am
now facing a personal crisis
involving my own son and
the only way I could deal
with it was by listening to
the reading of the Akeda."
We parted but his memory
is ever with me when I lis-
ten to the Akeda.
Traditionally we recite on
fast days the line, "May He
that answered Abraham
our father on Mount Moriah
answer us and hearken to
the voice of our weeping to-
day." There is a constant
test of faith when we are
asked to make judgments
about all aspects of life and
how we will shape and 'di-
rect each of our own per-
sonal actions.
We, each of us, must an-
swer to our conscience, to
our heart and to God as well.
As we read the Akeda this
year, may we fashion our
judgments so that we can be
renewed in the days and
months ahead.

Who dares think one
thing and another tell, my
heart detests him as the
gates of hell.
— Pope

DAVIS IRON WORKS INC.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS

Edith Eckstat, R.E.

Hair Removed Forever

353-7277

29201 Telegraph, Suite 401
Manufacturers Southfield Towers

GREETINGS
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New Year Greetings

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Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year
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to all

our friends

and customers

14330 Wyoming
Detroit 48238
334-2580

BASSANOVA LTD.

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SAM GOLD & SONS

wish all their friends and relatives
a happy and healthy New Year

LITT ELECTRIC CO.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Litt
and Mr. and Mrs. Nahman Litt

The Lakers & The Parrs

New Year Greetings

Happy New Year

MANHATTAN CONTAINER
CORP.

BLUE 'FLASH
CHEMICAL CO.

CORRUGATED CARTONS

23823 Dequindre, Hazel Park

Sincere Wishes for a Most Happy New Year

S & M HEATING SALES CO.
Wishes Everyone A Happy

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Happy New Year to Our Friends. and Patrons

Wishing All Our Friends and Customers
Greetings On The New Year

COHEN & SON

SUSSMAN'S PRINT SHOP

Kosher Meat & Poultry Market

LI 7-4121

566-8640

Samuel & Manny Laski and Famiiies

CADILLAC BODY SERVICE

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Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year

For a bright New Year let LITT lite for you!

ACE-TEX CORPORATION

ALL WORK

JERUSALEM — The
carob, a common evergreen
tree of the Leguminosae
(Pea) family, is an impor-
tant component of Israel's
scrub forest at the lower
altitudes.
The dried fruit, besides
being a tasty food for man
and beast, are also used
medicinally. They are
crushed and boiled with the
addition of sugar until a
thick paste is obtained. Be-
douin women use it to cure
sores in their children's
mouths.

LE
SHONO TOVO
to all our friends and associates

We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year

8461 Grand River

The Useful Carob

Rembrandt's famous 17th Century painting de-
picting the binding of Isaac.

11826 Dexter

Quality Printing Since 1979

TO 8-2909