74
Friday, December 7, 1984
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Celebrate HANUKKA at
THE BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE
family service for
When parents play favorites
CHILDREN, PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS
HOORAY FOR HANUKKA!!!
4 t December 14th, 7:30 p.m.
BY RABBI M. ROBERT SYME
Special to The Jewish News
Many years ago, when our chil-
dren were small, I came home one
day and found our sons Danny and
David engaged in a heated argu-
ment. Their voices were raised.
All sorts of threats were being
leveled. They were so engrossed
that they were completely un-
aware of my presence.
When I saw that there was no
letting up, and that the bitterness
was increasing in intensity, I
stepped between them and said,
"You ought to be ashamed of
yourselves! Why can't you act as
brothers?"
At that point, Danny who was
10, and David who was 7, gave
evidence of the fact that they
knew much more about the Bible
than had I realized. Danny turned
to me, and with an air of superior-
ity asked: "Would you like us to
behave like Cain and Abe?"
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SYNAGOGUE
Chanukah dinner
slated at Beth Achim
14 Mile & Northwestern Highway
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Thurs. 10:30-8:30
Holiday Hours Starting Dec. 10 - 10:30-8:30
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Sat. 10-5:30
Sun. 12-5
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TORAH PORTION
Cong. Beth Achim, its sister-
hood and men's club, will celeb-
rate Chanukah with families at a
latke dinner party at 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 at the synagogue
Festivities will begin with a
candle-lighting ceremony led by
Cantor Max Shimansky to be fol-
lowed by dinner and entertain-
ment by folksinger Janet Pont.
Dr. Dennis Phillips, congrega-
tion vice president, is the party
chairman, assisted by Francine
Berman, Harold Baker, Joe Sil-
verstein, Ron Harris and Fredell
Whiteman. There is a nominal
charge for dinner.
All reservations and checks
must be received before Dec. 17.
For inormation, call the syna-
gogue office, 352-8670.
Services to honor
celebrants on
their anniversaries
Cong. Beth Abraham Hillel
Motes will have a late family wor-
ship service at 8:15 p.m. today
honoring members who will
celebrate their wedding anniver-
saries in December.
Services will be followed by an
Oneg Shabbat. Rabbi A. Irving
Schnipper will officiate and Can-
tor Ben-Zion Lanxner will chant
the liturgy. Everyone is invited.
Temple Treasures
ready for Chanukah
The Temple Treasures of Tem-
ple Israel will have a Chanukah
latka luncheon on Dec. 18 at
Temple Israel's Herman Hall at
noon.
Following lunch, there will be a
Chanukah candle-lighting,
sing-a-long plus "Jewish Bingo."
There is a fee, and non-members
are invited. Everyone is welcome.
Reservations will be accepted
until Dec. 14. Call Temple Israel,
661-5700; or Ruth Jaslow, 357-
1534, for reservations.
David, not to be outdone by his
older brother, with a mischievous
smile asked, "Maybe we ought to
behave like Joseph and his
brothers?"
I was somewhat taken aback by
their smug and sophisticated re-
sponses, and resorting to parental
prerogative, I suggested that the
hour was late and further discus-
sion would take place at some fu-
ture date.
Many years have passed since
that exchange, and yet, whenever
I real the sidrah for this Sabbath,
invariably I recall that incident.
The Torah portion for this Sab-
bath describes the reconciliation
between Jacob and his brother
Esau. Here were twin boys, born
moments apart, who could have
achieved the ideal of "brotherly
love." Yet, early in their lives,
they parted in anger and did not
effect a reconciliation until some
20 years later. Why? Why was
there such enmity between them,
that when they finally did meet
again Jacob feared that his
brother was coming to kill him?
The answer is given in an ear-
lier chapter in the Book of
Genesis: "Isaac loved Esau .. .
Rebecca loved Jacob." Here the
Torah reveals tremendous insight
into the failure of parents to exer-
cise wisdom in raising children,
when parents play favorites. Isaac
the introvert, favored his son
Esau, the extrovert. Perhaps it
was due to the fact that Isaac ex-
perienced a vicarious thrill
through the daring exploits of
Esau's hunting prowess.
Rebecca the extrovert, favored
Jacob, the quiet, introspective
son. Perhaps it was due to the fact
that he could be easily manip-
ulated by his mother. Whatever
the cause, the fact remains that
these parents planted seeds of di-
visiveness in the hearts of their
sons, and reaped a harvest of bit-
ter dissension.
Do such familis exist today? Fo
course they do! Every rabbi has
experienced situations where a
mother dies and her children ob-
serve shivah in separate homes.
Vayishlach:
Genesis 32:4-36:43.
Obadiah 1:1-21.
Early in my rabbinical career, I
was invited to officiate at two un-
veilings, on the same day, for the
same person. Two daughters who
were not speaking to each other
scheduled the two unveilings one
hour apart.
And what about a father, who,
in his will, bequeathed a major
portion of his estate to one son and
a meager portion to another? It
was not enough that he made
them adversaries during his
lifetime. Even after his death, his
voice from the grave poisoned
their lives.
We are all familiar with the
verse from Psalms: "Behold how
good and how pleasant it is when
brothers dwell together in unity."
That verse is not a fact. It is really
a prayer.
Blessed are those families in
which this prayer is a reality.
Such families are fortunate in
having parents who do not play
favorites, but rather give unto
their children a legacy of love.
LOCAL NEWS
Law group has seminar on Israel
The National Jewish Law Stu-
dents' Network will offer a leader-
ship seminar on Israeli law and
politics Dec. 23-Jan.8.
The law-students-only semi-
nar's purpose is to introduce a
select group of U.S. law students
to Israel's legal system. Partici-
pants will meet with leading Is-
raeli judges, academics, prac-
titioners and government offi-
cials.
The seminar will consider is-
sues of comparative law, proce-
dure in civilian and military
courts, and criminal justice. It
will pay special attention to the
Arab-Israeli conflict's legal impli-
cations.
Meetings are scheduled with
the Ministry of Justice, the Knes-
set, major law schools and the Is-
rael Supreme Court.
Cost of the seminar includes
roundtrip airfare from New York,
meals, lodging and transporta-
tion. Participants may arrange to
extend the length of their stay.
An appeal has been issued for
subsidies for students whose
budgets otherwise would not
allow them to apply. For details,
phone the National Jewish Law
Review in Ann Arbor, (313) 994-
3030.
LZA branch marks
50th anniversary
The Labor Zionist Alliance
Council and the Israel Histadrut
Campaign of Metropolitan De-
troit will honor the Arlazorof -
Avrunin - Weitzman Branch 137
on the occasion of its 50th an-
niversary on Dec. 23 at 12:30 p.m.
at the Labor Zionist Institute,
25900 Greenfield, Room 205E,
Oak Park.
Philip Imber, an active member
of the branch, will discuss the
group's history in Yiddish, the
language in which meetings are
conducted to this day.
There will be a catered lunch-
eon and there is a charge. For in-
formation and reservations, call
the LZA office, 967-3170; or His-
tadrut, 967-4720.