40 Friday, June 13, 1986 IS YOUR THEN GO TO THE THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS GOING TO SUMMER CAMP? SUMMER CAMP SPECIALIST S TORAH PORTION Shavuot Is A Reminder Of Faith, Understanding in the WEST BLOOMFIELD PLAZA 6690 Orchard Lake Road West Bloomfield, Michigan BY RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT Special to The Jewish News 851-6232" Boys' and Young Men's Wear Official Camp Outfitters For C WE HAVE THE 'KNOWLEDGE AND THE RIGHT SUPPLIES TO SEND YOUR CAMPER AWAY, FOR A FUN SUMMER. A WALDEN SEA-GULL TANUGA TAMAKWA TAMARACK CAMPS WAHANOWIN M P S ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR ALL YOUR CAMPER'S NEEDS • Official Camp T-Shirts And Sweatshirts. • Custom Printing On All Duffle And Laundry Bags while you wait. Just In Time For Summer • . • WE DISCOUNT . Graber Vertical Blinds Graber Pleated Shades La Petite Mini-Blinds P.V.C.'s, Macrames, Shadecloth • Valances • • • • 855-3777 F/; SPECIAL PURCHASE! SALE! Req. SOLID COMFORTERS $31.99 $65 Twin $39.99 $80 Full $54.99 4 110 Queen/King COLORS - SOLID COMFORTERS Brown to Bone Plum to Dusty Rose Navy to Red Navy to Light Blue Slate to Pearl Gray Toast to Bone Peach to Bone SALE! Req. BED RUFFLES $14.99 $29 Twin $34 $16.99 Full $39 17.99 Queen $44 19.99 King SALE! Reg. SHAMS Standard only $25 COLORS - BED RUFFLES AND SHAMS Dusty Rose • Toast • Navy • Light Blue Rust • Plum • White • Bone • Slate • Brown SEVENTH HEAVEN Mcm le rCor 4c ,i ltd. Orchard Lake & 14 Mile Rd. Hunters Square M., T. & Sat. 10-6 W., Thurs. & F. 10-9 Sunday 12-5 ON YOUR FIRST VISIT TO THE ELECTROLYSIS CENTER WITH THIS COUPON 00 W. Maple 'Suite A130 West Bloomfield Cali for an appointment LOREE PARTRICH, R.E. 626-7160 A question, which deserves an answer, is often asked of obser- vant Jews. How can we observe all these Jewish rituals and prac- tices when we don't understand them completely? If we don't understand every word of our Hebrew prayers, why recite them at all? If we do not understand why we may not ride on the Shabbat, why should we refrain from doing so? If we are not con- vinced of the rationale of the laws of kashrut, why bother with them? Is it not a blind faith which encourages such practice? Is it not a fostering of ignorance? The answer is that of course we must understand and know. The daily introduction of our holiest prayer, the Shema, is a petition for binah, that we may know and understand in order that we bet- ter do and observe. In Judaism, as in no other religion, study is championed as a cardinal reli- gious virtue. At the same time, it is dangerous and irresponsible to argue that one should postpone observance until he has mastered the text and fully understood the precept. The Torah reading for Shavuot describes that great rendezvous of God and Israel at Sinai. Later we are told of the reaction of our ancestors to the Divine revela- tion on that first Shavuot. At that moment, the Israelites re- sponded: Naaseh, we will do; V'nishmah, we will hear, that is, understand. And here our rabbis quote an ancient tradition that upon hearing these words, 'espe- cially their order — first obey then understand — God cried out, "Who revealed to my children the secret of angels?" (Shabbat 88a). Our tradition thus affirms that understanding and knowledge and enlightenment are worthy goals indeed. But until they are achieved, there must be obedi- ence and observance; first naaseh, then nishmah. Of course it is difficult for many people, especially in our sophisticated, technological era, to accept that. Perhaps that is why the Talmud called it "the secret of angels." The essence of Judaism is that while we strive to understand, our submission to God is not predicated upon our understanding. In this view one must learn Hebrew well, but must not ref- rain from prayer before becoming an accomplished Hebraist. He must study the laws and philos- ophy of Shabbat, but must not de- secrate the day because he has not yet become an outstanding scholar. He may search for the rationale of the dietary laws but must continue to observe them even if he never finds a satisfac- tory explanation. Both naaseh and nishmah are important — perhaps we may even admit that in ultimate value understanding is more im- portant; but in the matter of order and precedence naaseh, ob- servance, comes first. Why is this so? How can we ex- plain ,PA,1.0Btc..91.111‘1-21:dayyllick is unacceptable to so many of our contemporary co-religionists? The sequence, in fact, is not all that strange. It is as natural to do first and understand later in reli- gion as it is in language. Only a foreigner learns the rules of grammar first and then learns to speak. The native acquires the We will do, then we will understand" is the secret of the angels. language first, and then prOceeds to analyze its basic structure. So too must we be native to Torah, not foreigners to God. We must be natural Jews, not artificial ones. If we accept only that which to our limited experience seems reasonable and reject all that we immediately do not understand, then we are acting artificially, and may well become spiritually paralyzed. No reason I can give you for attending services every Shabbat will be as convincing as your experience of actually try- ing it for several weeks. No book will persuade you of the beauty and nobility of Jewish living as much as practicing it. Indeed the naasah, the observance, is itself a form of nishmah, a way that leads to understanding. Of course, it is hard to be an observant Jew. But if we are true to our Jewish nature, then we will appreciate that observance precedes knowledge, that obedi- ence is a prelude to understand- ing. On this great festival of Shavuot, when we again recall the response of Israel to the reve- lation of Jewish law, we are entrusted with the secret of angels. Let us prove worthy of it. Ex-Detroiter, Soviet Expert, Retires At 70 New York — Sovietologist Marshal D. Shulman, director of Columbia University's, Harri- man Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet union, will re- tire at the end of the month at age 70. Shulman said that although he would be turning the institute over to his deputy director, he in- tended to keep teaching part- time and to write books. The former Detroiters's par- ents were at one time prominent figures in the community. His father Harry was a renowned engineer and president of Cong. Shaarey Zedek. His mother Bea was a leader in Mo'os Chitim and _sto od.; outjg pois cir les