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MICHIGAN 48237 Home Care Equipment Specialists hilsum's hilsum's too SPRING SALE ENTIRE INVENTORY OF SPRING MISSES & PETITE FASHIONS SAVE 3 0- 50% EMILY LIZ CLAIBORNE SCHRADER MANY OTHERS JORDACHE HARVARD ROW MALL west eleven mile road at lahser road - southfield 354-4650 Tradition of 'Pirkei Avos' Sabbath readings arrives A fascinating tradition is in practice again. For centuries, the reading ofPirkei Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) has continued on the agenda of Jewish life. These are the collective efforts of the notables in the Jewish cultural-spiritual legacies. They have been in- corporated as guides to Jewish living and serve as inspirations for the ages. In the winter months, the Psalms predominated as readings on the Sabbaths, in addition to the daily re- sort to the sacred accumula- tive selections from the To- rah. In the summer, commenc- ing with Passover, the Pir- kei Avos are the readings for learning and inspiration for the Sabbath fascination. From Mesorah Publica- tions comes a new transla- tion of Pirkei Avos, with a commentary, "anthologized from the classical Rabbinic sources." Like many other Mesorah books, which provide es- sence for traditional sub- jects, this is an unusually impressive work. The com- mentary is by Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz. Then there is an important "overview" by Rabbi Nos4on Scherman. In his enlightening "overview," Rabbi Scher- man points out that the translation for the Mesorah text is taken from the week-day Sabbath festival A rtScroll Siddur. He states: "It enables the reader to achieve a relatively quick grasp of the fundamentals of the tractate, and we pre- sent it in the hope that it will stimulate the reader to dig deeply in the rich lode of wisdom it represents." Defining the Pirkei Avos tractate, Rabbi Sherman makes these important ob- servations: "In many communities, it was recited only during the Sabbaths from Pesach to Shavuos, as a fitting pre- paration for the festival of the Revelation at Sinai. For that reason, too, the sixth chapter, which deals with Torah study, was appended to the five chapters of Avos as a particularly appropri- ate recitation for the Sab- bath before Shavuos. "Another reason for be- ginning the recitation of A vos at that time of the year is that the period between Pesach and Shavuos saw the death of more than 20,000 of R' Akiva's stu- dents, the backbone of Judaism's scholarly com- munity. The reason for this nearly mortal blow to our spiritual well-being was that they failed to honor one another properly, the sort of shortcoming that the les- sons ofA vos can counteract. Today's prevalent custom is to continue the weekly reci- Rosh until tation Hashanah, so that the long summertime Sabbath af- ternoons can be filled with shared Torah study. "There is yet another rea- son that the genius of the Jewish soul adopted the study of Avos for the full spring and summer season, a reason that is always per- Critical reaction greets proposed German move Bonn — (JTA) — A gov- ernment - sponsored bill that would penalize anyone who denied Nazi genocide or claimed the Holocaust was a hoax came under fire from both right and leftwing elements on its first reading in the Bundestag this week. It is also opposed by Jews who see it as a watered down version of legislation first proposed by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt when his Social Democratic Party (SPD) governed West Ger- many. One of the main points of contention over the draft law is its equation of Nazi crimes against Jews with crimes by "other totalita- rian regimes" against Ger- mans. This is directed primarily against the Soviet Union and its East- ern bloc allies. The law as written would make it an of- fense to deny that genocide was also committed against Germans. According to Manfred Schmidt of the SPD, the government bill is a farce. He faulted Justice Minister Hans Engelhard for failure to specify what war crimes the government has in mind when it seeks to punish in- dividuals who publicly claim those crimes were never committed. Schmidt also charged that Engelhard, a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), a coalition Partner with the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), had been forced to make far-reaching concessions to rightwing elements in the govern- ment. The original draft, aimed at effectively corn- batting neo-Nazi prop- aganda, has lost its char- acter, he said. tinent. As the shroud of winter lifts and nature luxuriates in a new blos- soming, it is all too natural for people to turn their minds to relaxation and pleasure. The elements be- ckon, why should we not enjoy them? When people relax their self-discipline, duty and morality are often early casualties. 'Open the pages of A vos,' our wise men counseled. 'You need it all year, but never more than now.' " The Mesofah accom- plishments as producer of traditional classical works is enhanced with this text of Pirkei Avos. It should be indicated that other works of impor- tance are to this publishing project's credit. Simultane- ous with Pirkei Avos, Mesorah issued another very important volume, The Best of Olemenu (Volume 5). The publisher also issued The Story of Reb Elchonon by Rabbi Shimon Finkel- man, a thrilling biography of Rabbi Elchonon Wasser- man. All of the Mesorah works are highly recommended, and Pirkei Avos gains spe- cial commendation. —P.S. Contrasts freedoms New York — Controver- sies over public displays of religious symbols in Poland and United States ironi- cally dramatize the dif- ferences between the two countries, according to Nathan Perlmutter, na- tional director of the Anti- Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. In Poland, he points out, a crucifix in the classroom challenges tyranny; in Paw- tucket, R.I., a public- sponsored nativity scene challenges religious free- dom. In a commentary in the current issue of the ADL Bulletin, Perlmutter says that Poles on the side of lib- erty used the weapons of "faith and tears" to confront the "brutish juggernaut of the state" which removed the crosses. In the United States, however, "publicly endorsed sectarianism in- ches us away from our tradi- tional freedoms" because "religion has fared best Saving energy where the wall separating Haifa — A Technion pro- church and state has been fessor is proposing that Is- held high." rael redesign its living While criticizing the re- structures to reduce the cent U.S. Supreme Court country's energy depen- decision upholding the right dence. of Pawtucket to erect a Prof. Michael Poreh of the creche on private land, Technion's Department of Perlmutter said, neverthe- Civil Engineering says that less, that "while defending, Israel can cut its energy as we must, the protective usage by changing the de- wall between church and sign of walls, windows, state, we must devise ways porches and roofs. of nourishing the spirit.