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THE DETROIT "JEWISH-NEWSFriday, September 27,' 198$ 101(
TORAH PORTION
In Tune With Aging
BY RABBI M. ROBERT SYME
Special to The Jewish News
The portion of the Torah that
is read on this Sabbath de-
scribes Moses, in his old age, "s-
inging a song." To many a mod-
ern person, his sounds strange.
If the Torah had said that Moses
was uttering a lament, or a di-
rge, it would have been under-
standable. After all, he was an
old man, and most people today
would agree, that old age is the
least desirable time of life.
Don't we spend billions of dol-
lars to avoid old age? Now,
there is nothing wrong if people
want to look youthful. Unfortu-
nately, there are times when it
is carried to extremes and then
it becomes grotesque. Even the
makeup and the uplifts cannot
conceal the ravages of time.
There is a deeper problem
confronting us, however, as we
grow older. It is expressed in the
prayer that was recited on the
Ahl
High Holy Days:
tashlichaynu — "Oh God, do not
cast us away when we are old.
When our strength fails us, do
not forsake us." This is the fear
that is resident in the hearts of
many people as they grow older.
Will there be anyone who will
love me? Will there be anyone
who will care about me?
Every Rabbi has had the ex-
perience of older people engag-
ing in the lament: "Nobody
needs me; nobody listens to me;
I wish the end would come."
How sad it is, when an older
person faces the final curtain
with a sigh rather than a song.
Now we can understand why
our parents and grandparents
Haazine:
Deuteronomy
32:1-52. II Samuel
22:1-51.
would extend this wish to each
other: Ihr zolt leben — may you
live to the age of 120! (That was
the age of Moses at the time of
his death.)
The Torah tells us that "His
eye was not dim, nor his natural
force abated." In other words, he
was physically well, mentally
alert, and surrounded by those
who knew him and loved him.
As infants, we commence life
with a cry. In old age, may we
like Moses, continue life with a
song.
Remember the
11th Commandment:
"And Thou
Shalt be
Informed"
Israeli Diplomats Head
To Cairo For Taba Talks
Jerusalem (JTA) — Israel dis-
patched a high level diplomatic
team to Cairo this week to re-
sume talks with Egyptian offi-
cials on ways to resolve the bor-
der dispute over Taba. American
official's are also present for the
discussions.
The Israeli delegation is em- ,
powered to discuss ideas for a
compromise, methods to arrange
a conciliation process and the
outlines of an arbitration docu-
ment. But the picture has al-
ready been muddied by conflict-
ing assertions from Labor Party
and Likud sources. The latter
stated flatly that the Israeli
team would not be authorized to
discuss an outline for an arbi-
tration document. Labor sources
indicated arbitration would be
on the agenda.
According to highly placed
sources, the decision to send a
delegation to Cairo evolved at a
meeting . Friday morning be-
tween Premier Shimon Peres
and Foreign Minister and De-
puty Premier Yitzhak Shamir,
leader of Likud. Peres was
joined by Defense Minister Yit-
zhak Rabin and Shamir by
Moshe Arens, a Minister-
Without-Portfolio who often
works closely with him on
foreign policy matters.
The decision, appears , to have
e being, a
warded off, for 'th
head-on collision between Labor
and its Likud partners in the
rnin
unity coalition goveent.
The
Inner Cabinet (fivei Labor and
five Likud ministers), was dead-
locked last week over a proposal
by Peres to Pursue conciliation
and arbitration in tandem to
settle the Taba dispute and gO
on to broader negotiations with
Egypt on other outstanding is-
sues.
Shamir and his Likud col-
leagues insist on the conciliation
process over Taba. Peres and the
Labor Party are prepared to
agree to Egypt's demand for
binding arbitration. Peres has
threatened publicly that he will
not continue to preside over the
unity government if its foreign
policy initiatives are stymied by
Likud.
The Israeli delegation 'in
Cairo consists of Gen. (Res.) Av-
raham Tamir, Director General
of the Prime Minister's Office;
David Kimche, Director General
of the Foreign Ministry; and a
senior army officer -- not im-
mediately named — who .is re-
presenting the defense estab-
lishment.
Most pundits have predicted
the Cairo meeting will yield no
substantive way out of the Taba
dispute but would buy time for
the Labor-Likud coalition. Arens
observed candidly on a televi-
sion interview Sunday that it
had "more to do with saving the
government" than resolving the
dispute.
The respite may be short-
lived. The Israeli team has been
enjoined to bring back proposals
for the Inner Cabinet to conside
to make what is termed a "pol-
icy decision." This presumably
will not be made for at least six
weeks, after Peres and Shamir
have returned from their sepa-
rate journeys to the United
States in connection with the
40th anniversary session of the
United Nations General Assem-
bly.
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