40
Friday, May 30, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
TORAH PORTION
Has returned from Paris
and London with the latest
sizzle haircutting and styling
techniques — computerized
hair coloring.
Complimentary Hairstyle
With European Haircut
Through June 30
MOP SHOP SALON
In La Mirage Mall • Northwestern Hwy.
Between 12 Mile & Inkster
OPEN MONDAYS
353-5110
DELTA DREAM
VACATIONS
ORLANDO
(home of EPCOT Center/Walt Disney World)
LOW
SUMMER
from iIIV V PRICES
Including round-trip air fare, hotel and
an Alamo Chevy Chevette, or similar car, for
3 days with free mileage', Also free one-day
admission to Sea World.
Quality Inn Plaza
Radisson Inn Maingate or
Sheraton Lakeside
Hilton at the Walt Disney
World Village
4 days, 3 nights from $259
4 days, 3 nights from $309
4 days, 3 nights from $379
:02
FT. LAUDERDALE
LOW
SUMMER
from frVV PRICES
Including round-trip air fare, hotel and
an Alamo Chevy Chevette, or-similar car, for
3 days, with free mileage,
Sheraton Yankee Trader
Ft.Lauderdale Marriott
Hotel & Marina
Marriott's Harbor Beach
Resort
4 days, 3 nights from $289
4 days, 3 nights from $319
4 days, 3 nights from $349
THE BAHAMAS
29 9
LOW
SUMMER
PRICES
fro,
Includes round-trip air fare, round-trip
airport transfers and your hotel accommo-
dations. In Nassau, also admission to a
native show (except Sat. or Sun), bonus
features.
Pilot House or
Sheraton British Colonial
(Nassau)
Nassau Beach Hotel
Valentine's Yacht Club &
Inn (Family Islands)
Paradise Island Resort &
Casino — Paradise Towers
4 days, 3 nights from $299
Paradise Island Resort &
Casino — Britannia Towers
or The Cable Beach Hotel,
a Wyndham Resort
4 days, 3 nights from $409
See your professional 'Ravel Agent for
details and reservations. Or call Delta's
Vacation Center toll free at 800-523-7777.
4 days, 3 nights from $369
4 days, 3 nights from $379
4 days, 3 nights from $379
GetsYouThereq
All tour rates are from Detroit and are subject to change without notice. Similar hotels may be substituted. Rates are per person, double
occupancy; U.S. Departure Tax is included. Seats and accommodations are subject to availability. Make reservations at least 7 days
in advance. Add taxes and gratuities. Prices shown are available during certain limited travel periods: they can vary and may be higher
depending upon the actual date, day of travel and hotel selected. Certain charges and fees cannot be assessed immediately,
but can only be collected on checkout or departure. $1.00 fuel surcharge on flights leaving Florida not included.
*Gas, taxes, rental deposit and option& Collision Damage Waiver not included.
(.
1986 Delta Air Lines, Inc.
The Need- To Eliminate
`By The Way' Attitude
BY RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT
Special to The Jewish News
The last sidra of Leviticus is
dominated by the tokhacha, the
terrible prophecy of doom await-
ing the Jewish people if they
depart from the way of God, and
do not walk in His statutes.
The climax of Israel's sins
which will bring on that
tokhacha is expressed in nebul-
ous terms: "If you will go with
me in the way of keri, I shall go
with you in the way of keri"
(Lev. 26:23-24).
What does keri mean? The
standard translation defines it
as "contrary." The Jewish Publi-
cation Society translation car-
ries "hostile." But both of these
translations are inferior to the
interpretation of the rabbis as
quoted by Rashi: b'mikreh, ara-
ey. The word keri means casu-
ally, incidentally, by the way.
God says to Israel: If you treat
Me as just somebody else, with
casualness and inattention and
half-heartedness and mindless-
ness, that is precisely the way I
will treat you: without concern,
without worry, certainly without
love.
Jewish law in its entirety un-
derscores the import of this
principle. There is some con-
troversy in the Talmud whether
a commandment performed
without intention must be re-
peated or not. But all
authorities agree that, to begin
with, one must perform the
mitzvah with kavanah, with
complete intention, and not just
"by the way."
Indeed, the attitude of "by the
way" raised to the level of ideol-
ogy becomes the essence of sec-
ularism. Secularism is not the
denial of God, it is not agnosti-
cism or atheism, but rather the
privatization of religion, the re-
duction of religion to one's pri-
vate business — really its
trivialization. The secularist
holds that religion is • just an-
other item . on the stacked
shelves of society's supermar-
kets. For secularism, religion is
no longer the central 'fact or
value of life. It is put into par-
entheses in the unspoken sen-
tences that define men's ulti-
mate goals and ideals. Religion
is taken only "by the way." Un-
like secularism, Judaism insists
that we cannot and dare not
treat God casually or inciden-
tally.
This is something that we
must remember, most particu-
larly in our synagogues. Our
services must never be casual or
by the way. We are in trouble if
we reduce prayer to a spectator
sport, instead of asking the full
participation and the heart and
kavanah of each worshiper.
Then we reduce Jews to
spiritual voyeurs and we have
lost the essence of prayer which
is the feeling of every individual
Jew that he is omed lifney
ha'shechinah, that he stands -
fully, totally, completely - before
God's presence. With prayer it is
not the quantity which counts,
the number of words or pages
we recite, but the quality of the
recital, the inner feeling we ex-
press.
And so it is with all of life.
One of our great Chasidic mas-
ters put it in this manner:
Whatever you do, do it with
your whole heart, as if it is the
only thing on your mind, as if
there is no other task in the
world left to you.
For this is indeed true: You
cannot raise good children in a
half-hearted manner, training
Bechukotai:
Leviticus 26:3-27:34.
Jeremiah
16:19-17:14.
them just "by the way." You
cannot build a going business or
succeed in your profession "by
the way," or even succeed in
winning friends and influencing
people "by the way." Notice the
person who charms you and
wins your confidence in a con-
versation; he looks at you di-
rectly and gives you his com-
plete attention, his eyes do not
dart to and fro, seeming pre-
occupied with something more
important. He does not treat you
just "by the way," as if you were
a blob of protoplasm that hap-
pened of cross his field of vision <
when he is interested in some-
thing else.
All of this can be summarized
in a beautiful interpretation by
the late chief rabbi of Israel,
Rabbi Abraham I. Kook, of
three words that we read near
the very end of the Torah: Hovu
Godel L'Elokenu (Deuteronomy
32:3) usually translated "give
(or ascribe) greatness to God."
What greatness can we give to
God? Rav Kook says: This
means do not try to conceive of
God in petty concepts, in the
trivial terms of everyday life, in
the limited framework of normal
conceptions. Do not react
cheaply, absent-mindedly, half-
heartedly to Him. For He is an
infinite unlimited source of all
existence. He deserves all your
attention and all your concen-
tration.
Hovu Godel L'Elokenu, react
with bigness to God and we will
receive greatness from Him in
return.
Foot Reflexology
Topic Of Lecture
The Jewish Community Cen-
ter's Women's Health Club will
sponsor a lecture-demonstration
on foot reflexology at 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday in the health club
lounge in the main Jewish
Community Center.
Nanice Chayet, who is trained
in the original Ingham method,
will speak on "Foot Reflexology
— For Your Good Health."
The public is invited free of
charge.