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We read of the son who kept the image of his father alive for so many years, and the father who had given up on life because he thought that his favorite son had been killed. One would expect this reunion to be filled with pathos and pent-up emotions. Indeed, Joseph reacted with strong feel- ings. "And he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time" is a moving description of a son's love for his father. But what of Jacob, the aged father? No embracing, no emo- tions, no tears, no feeling? No, our rabbis tell us. Jacob neither embraced nor kissed Joseph, for he was occupied with the read- ing of the Shema. How terribly strange and anti-climactic. One is even tempted to say how cruel. Here in the flesh is his favorite child, whom he had given up for dead, decades ago; the son for whom he had woven the beautiful coat of many colors; the son who had visited him in his thoughts for years and years and whose ter- rible murder he had relived so many times. Here he is now, alive and well and the second in command to Pharoah — and when Joseph runs toward Jacob and warmly embraces him, Jacob turns aside and recites the Shema. Where was the ecstatic joy and the sweeping happiness of a grateful father? Did our rabbis mean to say that the normal pa- rental response was not in or- der? Were they out to impose an inhumanly rigid discipline on our emotions? And why the Shema? Why at this particular time? The best way to understand this cryptic and enigmatic rab- binic comment is through an understanding of what fatherhood implies and also what the Shema symbolizes in our Jewish tradition. Shema is our most profound expression of the unity of God. It is the cornerstone of our faith for it establishes the Malchut Shamayim, the dominion of God over the world. It is a commit- ment which affirms the cen- trality of Godliness in our per- sonal lives and in the life of our community. What is the meaning of fatherhood in the Jewish tradi- tion? Fatherhood is not merely a physical guardianship; it is a spiritual obligation to endow our children with a sense of mean- ing, purpose and commitment that emanates out of a God- centered lifestyle. Fatherhood in the Jewish Weltanschaung is not realized in being a "pal" to the child or even in providing the child with life's material needs and luxuries. It is expressed by inculcating the child with a sense of spirituality, a sense of living life with a transcendent purpose. The successful father, Jewishly speaking, is one who has inspired his child to cherish Torah and tradition regardle:.-.,s of the challenges and vicis- situdes of life. When Jacob was reunited with his beloved son, he was not only happy, but also worried. Jacob was afraid that Joseph, in his climb to the top of the Egyp- tian ladder of success, might have abandoned the most fun- damental teaching of Judaism. Now that Joseph was a world statesman, a chief economic czar and in charge of an entire em- pire, perhaps he had forsaken Vayigash: Genesis 44:18-47:27. Ezekial 37:15-28. the faith of his fathers. Jacob wondered if his son could still say the Shema? Could he yet af- firm the traditions and ideals of his youth? If he could, it would mean that Jacob had not lost a son, either physically or spiritu- ally. Therefore, when Jacob and Joseph are finally reunited, Joseph fell on his father's neck and kissed him. Jacob, however, said the Shema. This was his way of making the physical re- union with his son a spiritual experience as well. In this way, he could dramatize his fears and underscore his expectations. Jacob's response indicates what he expected of his Jewish son and thereby exemplified what it means to be a Jewish father. Dulzin Seeks Active Zionists Hollywood, Fal. (JTA) — Leon Dulzin, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Executives, called here this week on "declarative Zionists" to transform them- selves into "committed Zionists" who study Hebrew, give their children a Zionist education and send at least one family member on aliyah to Israel. Dulzin addressed some 200 delegates attending the Pan American Convention of the World Union of General Zionists, headed by Jacques Torczyner. The WZO leader told the con- vention, "The great task of Zionism today is to assure the continuity of the Jewish people, and the surest way to achieve this goal is to establish and strengthen vital links between Israel and the diaspora. This "declarative means that Zionists" — those who announce themselves to be Zionists — must assume a certain specific set of responsibilities that will make them 'committed Zionists.'