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?" STORIES! SONGS! FUN! REFRESHMENTS! 28611 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills 477-1410 Dr at eeoraA''s 170111/ 1.1/.17,fil ////1 /// /f i" Thank goOdness for the holidays! They give us a chance to dress up. Whether it's a formal party or just a family get together, DeuortrE's can help you look your best. At DeuonaE's we carry an exclusive line of dresses specially chosen to make you shine this season. SYNAGOGUE Chanukah dinner slated at Beth Achim 14 Mile & Northwestern Highway West Bloomfield, MI 48033 (313) 626-5860 Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. & Sun. 10:30-5:00 Thurs. 10:30-8:30 Holiday Hours Starting Dec. 10 - 10:30-8:30 do my Fs), e /P/t, rn, 1, 14 MILE RD I YieooraE's O RCH ARD LAKE RD J 20% discount on all merchandise, always. Under the red awning at Park Place Shops PARK PLACE SHOPS • 40% OFF Samsonite Luggage Reg. Price Garment Bag 29" Case 26" Case 24" Case Carry Duffle Square Duffle Strapped Duffle Handy Duffle Mini Duffle SALE PRICE $110.00 $145.00 $125.00 $ 66.00 $ 87.00 $75.00 $100.00 $60.00 $95.00 $57.00 $85.00 $51.00 $76.00 $45.60 $60.00 $36.00 $44.00 /4.40 OTHER LUGGAGE 20 to 50% OFF ALWAYS APPLEGATE SQUARE 29815 Northwestern at Inkster Mon.-Fri. 10-8:30 Sat. 10-5:30 Sun. 12-5 357-1800 TRAVELERS TOWER Evergreen Bet. 10 & 11 Mon.-Sat. 10-5 356-1800 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.