66
Friday, June 6, 1986
IS YOUR
CHILD
THEN GO
TO THE
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
GOING TO SUMMER CAMP?
SUMMER CAMP SPECIALIST
in the
WEST BLOOMFIELD PLAZA
6690 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield, Michigan
851-6232
Boys' and Young Men's Wear
C
Official Camp Outfitters For
WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE RIGHT SUPPLIES
TO SEND YOUR CAMPER AWAY, FOR A FUN SUMMER.
• Official Camp T-Shirts And Sweatshirts.
• Custom Printing On All Duffle And Laundry Bags while you
wait.
WALDEN
SEA-GULL
M A TANUGA
m TAMAKWA
P TAMARACK CAMPS
S WAHANOWIN
ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR ALL YOUR CAMPER'S NEEDS
As always...
Half the calories
of butter
& twice as goo
:
Most people are surprised to find out that
Philadelphia Brand cream cheese has always
had half the calories of butter or margarine. But
fortunately they've always known that Philly
cream cheese tastes twice as good.
The good news is, now that they know Philly
cream cheese—either soft or regular—has half
the calories of butter, they can enjoy twice as
much Philadelphia Brand cream cheese—or
twice as often.
Whether you use our super-spreadable soft
package, or the regular Philly cream cheese,
your whole family will enjoy a terrific spread.
What a mechayeh for your bagel, matzoh, bially
or toast!
So, pick up a package of Philly cream cheese,
because half the calories means a great deal.
K certified Kosher
TORAH PORTION
A Sense Of Family
And Need To Belong
BY RABBI IRWIN GRONER
Special to The Jewish News
The Torah reading of Bamid-
bar describes a census of the
children of Israel during the
days of Moses. Each tribe was to
be numbered and the total fig-
ures are tallied.
In the midst of this seemingly
prosaic report, the Bible intro-
duces a profound spiritual in-
sight: "Take ye the sum of all
the congregation in Israel ..."
By what method? "By their
families and by their father's
houses." Every person was .re-
ckoned not as a separate and de-
tached individual, not as an in-
terchangeable unit in a series,
but rather as a member of a
mishpacha or family, in rela-
tionship to his father's house.
Home, family, lineage, ances-
tors, in short, a sense of belong-
ing — I can think of no greater
yearning, no deeper hunger in
our age than the need to belong,
to be linked with others by ties
of affection and regard.
During World War II, London
was bombed so relentlessly by
the Luftwaffe that children were
sent to the countryside. A little
boy separated from his mother
and unaware of her location,
reacted to his plight by declar-
ing, "I am nobody's nothing."
Each of us wants to be some-
body's something.
Material possessions do not
necessarily answer the hunger
for belonging. Are the victims of
insecurity, loneliness and isola-
tion limited to the poor and un-
derprivileged? Not necessarily.
Consider a gifted and promising
young man or woman who feels
rootless and alienated. Consider
a successful entrepeneur who
realizes one day that his home
is not his castle. Consider a
woman, outwardly graceful and
serene, but inwardly distressed
because she feels unloved and
unwanted. Consider an older
person who seemingly has all
the material security he desires
but who deserves that his coun-
sel is not desired, his presence
not welcome. A sense of belong-
ing has little to do with what a
person has, but rather with
what he- experiences.
The Bible instructs us re-
peatedly that men and women
need someone, and something to
cling to. They need the inspira-
tion of a Tradition; the sense of
relatedness to others; - the secu-
rity of a home. Robert Frost's
definition of a home is well-
known: "A home is where, when
you have to go there, they have
to take you in." We all need the
strength and support of home
and family to find stability and
serenity. We need friends and
community to feel worthy and
valued.
The imagery of Pirkei Avot
conveys this truth so vividly.
"The righteous person is like a
tree planted by streams of
water," declare the sages, "and
even if all the winds of the
world blow upon it, it cannot be
Irwin Groner is rabbi of Cong.
Shaarey Zedek in. Southfield.
stirred from its place." To be-
long to a family, and to a his-
toric community, is to have
one's life anchored in the soil of
a profound attachment.
The need to belong is of spe-
cial concern to us as Jews — one
of the oldest peoples on God's
earth — because we taught the
world the meaning of having
Bamidbar:
Numbers 1:1-4:20
I Samuel 20:18-42
roots, of being part of a historic
nation. When we enter a
synagogue, we encounter words
of the Bible, and prayers of First
Century Palestine : . . and of
Seventh Century Babylonia and
of France and Germany of the
Middle Ages, as well as of con-
temporary America. We are re-
freshed and invigorated by the
continuous stream of a tradition
that has flowed on through the
lives and teachings of prophets
and sages, saints and scholars.
To affirm loyalty to this 'people
and to share in its life is to ab-
sorb Israel's strength and cour-
age and faith.
The great task of the Jewish
community of today is to re-
spond to the challenge of this
to help each Jew
sidrah
realize that he counts because
he is a member of a family, he
has a distinctive lineage, and a
shared victory with Jews all
over the world. We need to
strengthen and support the in-
stitutions where we rediscover
our roots -- the home, the fam-
ily, the synagogue, the school —
for they alone shape and fashion
an authentic and fulfilling
Jewish identity.
—
Yeshiva U. Names
Michigan Grads
Twelve Michigan residents re-
ceived degrees from YOhiva
University in New York City
during the university's 55th an-
nual commencement exercises
this week.
They are: Lisa Borsand, B.A.,
Stern College for Women; Jay
Jubas, B.A., Yeshiva College;
Alissa Leiderman, B.S., Stern
College for Women; Jonathan
Leiderman, A.A., James Striar
School of General Jewish
Studies, and B.A., Yeshiva Col-
lege; Pearl Stein, B.A., Stern
College for Women; Ivy Stein-
metz, M.S.W., Wurzweiler
School of Social Work; Lillibeth
Mandel, B.A., Stern College for
Women; Daniel Rosenthal, B.A.,
Yeshiva College; Joel Ross,
B.A., Yeshiva College; Saul
Ruber, B.A., Yeshiva College;
Gayle Selesny, Hebrew
Teacher's Diploma, and B.A.,
Stern College for Women; and
Jay Tilson, M.A., Ferkauf
Graduate School of Psychology.