THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
28 Friday, March 7, 1986
At the JCC of Metro Detroit
WE ARE FAMILY!
TORAH PORTION
Ark Designer Set Blueprint
For How To Conduct Self
BY RABBI M. ROBERT SYME
Special To The Jewish News
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TIME
COURSE
INSTRUCTOR
Mondays,
March 3
6:30.7:30 p.m.
Building a Moral Society •
Understanding Mitzvot
Rabbi Alon Tolwin
Mondays,
March 3
7:30.9:00 p.m.
Jewish History from a Radical Point
•
of View
Dr. Joseph Gutmann
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Wednesdays,
March 5
6:30.7:30 p.m.
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Maimonides: The Man and
His Philosophy
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Thursdays,
March 6
7:30.8:30 p.m.
Modern History of Eastern
European Jewry
Thursdays,
March 6
8:30.9:30 p.m.
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3
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4
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DATE
it Thursdays,
‘II March 13
•
The Quest for Utopia:
Jews and Politics
Rabbi Alon Tolwin
Dr. Zvi Gitelman
.
•
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12:30.2:30 p.m. Art—A Reflection of Jewish History
Dr. Zvi Gitelman
Ms. Sybil Mintz
A Survey of Jewish Art from Biblical
to Modern Times
Thursdays,
March 13
10:00-12:00 noon
Intermediate Yiddish: Conversation
and Reading Time Skills
Ms. Alizo Shevrin
Thursdays,
March 13
12:15-1:30 p.m.
"Lomir Essn and Smuessn" Let's Eot
and Converse in Yiddish (Bring a bog
lunch. We'll provide the coffee, coke
and learning.) •
Ms. Aka Shevrin
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For further details m16352-7117
In this week's Sidra — specifi-
cally Chapter 37 — there is a
description of the building of the
ark by the artist Bezalel. If we
observe the manner in which he
constructed it, we will find some
guidance in designing the ark of
our personal character.
The Torah says: "Bezalel over-
laid the ark with gold, inside
and outside." Now that presents
a problem. We can understand
why he would cover the outside
of the ark with pure gold. After
all, theoutside of the ark was
visible to the people. It was
meant to inspire them with the
"beauty of holiness."
But why cover the inside with
gold? The people would never
see it. The ancient sages dis-•
cussed this question at great
length and finally created the
phrase: toh-choh k'uah-roh —
"that a person's inner thoughts,
must correspond to his or her
outer speech"; that just as the
ark must be inwardly as well as
outwardly of pure gold — out-
wardly where people see, and
inwardly where God sees — so it
must be with a person's char-
acter.
Recently, I met a man who
appeared to be so charming, sa
well mannnered, so highly
polished in conversation. And
then, someone disagreed with
him! This man, who heretofore
was so gracious, completely' "lost
his cool" as our young people
R
would phrase it. Suddenly, the
polish disappeared. His blazing
temper revealed his boorish
temperament.
Not so with a genuine gent-
leman. He respects the opinions
of others. He is receptive to new
ideas, whether he agrees with
them or not. He is outwardly
Shabbat Shekalim:
Exodus 35:1-38:20
II Kings 11:17-12:17
courteous, because he is in-
wardly considerate. Toh-choh
k'utth-roh — the ark of his char-
acter is pure gold.
The Torah goes on to tell us
that Bezalel "attached four rings
of gold to each corner of the
ark," and placed "poles of acacia
wood"--in each ring. The reason
for it was that, the ark was to
be carried from place to .place. It
was not to be left behind. It had
to accompany the people.
What a marvelous message
this contains! All too often, reli-
gion is reserved for the
synagogue. We all know people
who attend services regularly.
They publicize their piety. The
proclaim their purity. But this
is not the essence of religion.
Attendance at services does not