and redemption is perhaps best
exemplified by two songs of the
Holocaust years that were destined
to become the credos of Jewish
hope for the future. They are: The
Jewish Partisan Song by Hirsch
Glick, and the Ani Maamin of
Maimonides.

Never say that there is only
death for you
Though leaders skies may be
concealing days of blue —
Because the hour we have
hungered for is near:
Beneath our tread the earth shall
tremble: We are here!

I • •

411

Copyright Behrman House, Inc.

Find the afikoman.

I believe in full-faith in the
coming of the Messiah:
And — even though he tarries, I
still believe!

Resistance to evil and oppression
and belief in national liberation and
redemption, these two themes of
Pesah link for us the days of the
Pharaoh to our present post-
Holocaust days. These historic
lessons offer us a guide for the
future. That is, liberation and
redemption can be achieved by
deeds worthy of personal and
national character.

Zeman Heruteynu — the
Season of Our Liberation — does
instill in us a sense of dedicated
and renewed opportunity for the
receiving of the Covenant. For, what
is our Covenant if not a
personal/national commitment to
receive and enact the mitzvot,
demanded of us as free human
beings, and as Jews?

Holocaust Tribute
At Jewish Center

A community-wide tribute to
those who perished during the
Holocaust will take place April 10 at
1 p.m. at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield.
Included in the program is a
commemoration of the 45th
anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto
uprising and a special presentation
to Detroit-area residents Helen
Chorazyczewski, her late husband
Ignacy and their son Cezary, Roman
Catholic Poles who, at great
personal risk, saved four young
Jews from Nazi deportation. All
three were recognized in 1979 by
Yad Vashem in Jerusalem as
Righteous Gentiles, received
citations of honor and had a tree
planted in their names along the
Avenue of Righteous Gentiles.

The Holocaust Memorial Center,
which is adjacent to the Jewish
Community Center, will be open
beginning at 10 a.m. for tours of its
exhibits.

404t
° re pt° 'Great Sabbath' Precedes Passover

The Shabbat before Passover
has a special name. It is called
Shabbat Hagadol, "The Great
Sabbath." The Commentaries give
many reasons for the special name
and the customs associated with
this day. The Israelites performed
their first mitzva (religious duty) on
the Shabbat before the Exodus.
They followed the Divine command
to take a Iamb and set it aside for
the Passover sacrifice. The people
did this at much risk because the
Egyptians worshiped sheep as gods.
A "great" miracle occurred,
according to the Midrash, because
the Egyptians did not attack the
Jews even though they thought that
their gods might be harmed.

The Sages remark that a child
who reaches the age of
responsibility for observing mitzvot
is often called a "gadol" (adult). In
the same way the people of Israel
became "gadol" as they observed
their first mitzva on the Shabbat
when they took a Iamb for the first
Passover.
Traditionally, people set aside
time to read the Haggada on this
Shabbat in preparation for the
seder. Congregations also gather to
hear the rabbi speak every week,
but would give his "great" speech
of the year on this special Shabbat.
The most common reason
given for the name "Shabbat
Hagadol" is connected to the

special haftara (reading from the
prophets). Redemption is the topic
of this week's haftara. We are
reminded that just as the Prophet
Malachi spoke about a future
redemption for all of mankind, the
first redemption for the Jewish
people began on the Shabbat
before the Exodus from Egypt. The
last sentence of the reading
contains the word "gadol"
describing the "great" day when
the world will be transformed and
become a better place for all.

—Submitted by
Marlene Gitelman,
Principal,
Hebrew Day School
of Ann Arbor

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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