22 Friday, June 1, 1984
THE DETROIT ilEWISH NEWS
SYNAGOGUE SERVICES
Shavuot, Festival of Weeks, begins Tuesday evening
Shavuot, the Festival of
Weeks commemorating the
giving of the Torah on Mt.
Sinai, will be celebrated be-
ginning at sundown Tues-
day.
Congregations who have
made their schedules of
Shavuot services available
are as follows:
ADAT SHALOM SYN-
AGOGUE: Services will be
held at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Wednesday, 9 a.m. (Yizkor)
and 9 p.m. Thursday.
At Wednesday morning's
services, the fifth annual
Adat Shalom adult bat
mitzvah ceremony will take
place. B'not mitzvah are:
Sherri Biederman, Judith
Leder, Sylvia Schane,
Marsha Trimas and Ella
Moskovitz.
Rabbi Efry Spectre will
officiate at the services, and
Cantor Larry Vieder will
chant the liturgy.
CONG. BETH AB-
RAHAM HILLEL
MOSES: Services for
Shavuot will be at 8:45 p.m.
Tuesday, 8:45 a.m. and 8:45
p.m. Wednesday and 8:45
a.m. Thursday, when Yiz-
kor will be recited. New offi-
Services 8 p.m. Tuesday,
8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wed-
nesday and 8:30 a.m.
Thursday, with Yizkor at
10:15 a.m. Rabbi Morton F.
Yolkut will officiate. Can-
tors Hyman J. Adler and
Barry Ulrych will chant the
liturgy.
Permanent Removal of Facial & Body Hair!
by
TEMPLE BETH EL:
Shavuot services will be
held 11 a.m. Wednesdy.
Rabbis Norman T. Roman
and Dannel I. Schwartz will
officiate.
CONG. B'NAI DAVID:
peo ■ io *11
ELECTROLYSIS
cers will be installed and speak on "Different Forms
the Kalt Scholarship of Idolatry." Additional
Awards will be presented. Yizkor services will be at 10
Rabbi A. Irving Schnipper ' a.m., 11 a.m. and at noon.
will officiate, and Cantor Rabbi Gamze will officiate,
Ben-Zion Lanxner will and Cantor Israel I. Idel-
sohn will chant the liturgy.
chant the liturgy.
Diane Cee
Reputation For Excellence
50%
DOWNTOWN SYNA-
GOGUE: Services for
Shavuot will be held at 7:30
a.m. Wednesday and 7:30
a.m. Thursday, with Yizkor
at 8:45 a.m. Thursday.
Rabbi Noah M. Gamze will
First Appointment Only
31409 Southfield Rd. North of 13 Mile
642-3315
TEMPLE EMANU-EL:
Services for Shavuot will be
held at 7:30 pm. Tuesday,
when confirmands will be
honored. They are: Jac-
queline Dano, Amy
Ferstenfeld, Lisa Gerus,
Amy Kepes, Michele Leiter,
Joanne Marwil, Sarra Mos-
soff, Andrea Polk, Audrey
Richmond, Melanie
Warner, Melissa Warner
and Scott Werner.
On Wednesday at 10:30
a.m., first day Shavuot serv-
ices will be held. Rabbi Lane
Steinger will officiate, and
Cantor Norman Rose will
chant the liturgy.
TEMPLE ISRAEL:
Yizkor memorial prayers
will be recited at Shavuot
services at 10:30 a.m. Wed-
nesday. Rabbis M. Robert
Syme, Harold S. Loss and
Leon Fram will officiate,
and Cantor Harold Orbach
will chant the liturgy.
LIVONIA JEWISH
CONGREGATION:
Shavuot services will be
held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, 9
a.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m.
Thursday, when Yizkor will
.be recited. Rabbi Martin D.
Gordon will officiate.
CONG. SHAAREY
ZEDEK: Services for
Shavuot will- begin at 8 p.m.
Tuesday and continue at
8:45 a.m. Wednesday, when
the synagogue will have an
adult bat mitzvah cere-
mony. Services will be held
at 6 p.m. Wednesday and
8:45 a.m. Thursday, when
Rabbi Irwin Groner will
speak on "The Sacred Let-
ters" and Yizkor will be re-
cited. Rabbis Groner and
Lee S. Paskind will conduct
the services, and Cantors
Chaim Najman and Sidney
Rube will chant the liturgy.
INSIGHT
Parashat Naso
Asceticism: a path not taken "
BY HELEN RUBINSTEIN
Special to The Jewish News
srn.,13,Wr.
p,s`ts
404
N
i'.....rfitmr
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Parashat Naso includes
the fullest portrayal of the
ascetic strain contained in
the Chumash. This descrip-
tion of the men and women
who consecrated them-
selves to God has always ex-
cited much comment and
disagreement. It is ever fas-
cinating to speculate on the
motivations of those who
would seek to separate
themselves (lehinazer) for
God: this within the
structure of a tradition
which has never really
encouaged the particular
religious impulse toward
asceticism.
Intriguingly, there are no
reasons given in the
parasha as to why a person
would choose to become a
Nazirite. Two famous Bibli-
cal Nazirites, Samson and
the prophet Samuel did not
choose, but rather were cho-
sen by God (Samson) or
were offered as Nazirites
(Samuel, by his mother
Hannah). The majority of
Nazirites, however, chose
this form of religious ex-
pression. The Mishna offers
several reasons: to gain di-
vine favor, to express
thanks for it, to express
mourning, to retreat be-
cause of misfortune.
An examination of the re-
strictions demanded by the
Nazirite vow may offer
nk
Helen Rubinstein is on the
staff of the National Hauurah
Committee.
" m -^".••••••-••••`..":! -
.
P. -
some clues as to the attitude itself becomes for him a
of the text itself toward this thing defiled. Wine can lead
particular group, and by ex- to distortion rather than
tention, of later Jewish tra- expression of the true im-
dition toward asceticism.
pulses of man, both physical
Nazirites were prohibited and spiritual.
In dealing with avoidance
from drinking wine or other
intoxicants, from cutting of the dead, the parasha il-
their hair, and from any luminates, by implication,
contact with the dead. The just how great a sacrifice
ritual parameters (though the Nazirite makes. "Even
not the temporal) of the if his father or mother .. .
period of consecrecration should die, he must not de-
file himself for them, since
are described as well.
The long hair of the Nazi- hair set apart for his God is
rite set him apart from upon his head." (Numbers
others. The hair itself be- 6:7) Here, the consecrated
came consecrated and was, hair (external) acts as a de-
after the term of the vow terrent to any internal con-
was over, offered to God. flict the Nazirite may have
Thus, the external, bodily between fulfillment of his
symbol of the inner vow vow to God and fulfillment
took on a significance of its of his duty to his parents.
Much discussion of the
own. There was a recogni-
tion here that the physical attitude implicit in
and sensual are a part of parashat Naso toward the
man. In order to fully live by Nazirites has centered
his vows, a person's physi- around the question of
cality must be made a part whether they are portrayed
of his consecration, rather as sinners or as holy men.
On the one hand, we are
than denied.
told, "throughout his term
Note that there are no as a Nazirite, he is consec-
prohibitions on sexual ac- rated (kadosh) to the Lord"
tivity for Nazirites. It seems (Numbers 6:8). but we then
that this particular man- find, at the conclusion of the
ifestation of asceticism does Nazirite's period of consec-
not judge the "baser" nature ration, that he is to offer,
of man harshly, but rather among other things, a "sin
incorporates it into its own offering." .
purpose.
Parashat Naso paints a
Conversely, even the re-
cameo portrait of ,a lost
minder of wine (which is world, of a path not taken %
forbidden), such as grapes,
the path 'of the Nazirites.
or even the seeds and skin of
grapes, is dangerous: what Copyright 1984,
is forbidden to the Nazirite, National Hauruah Committee