AIM A
otico
721 B.C.E., they are captured
and those who survive
assimilate among their cap-
tors. About 135 years after,
the Southern Kingdom is also
attacked, the Temple
destroyed and the people
driven into exile. The Ju-
deans, however, do not
assimilate. (Where does the
word Jew come from?) Even in
exile, Judah remains intact:
Judah keeps the inner fire
alive, a flame that dreams of
returning one day to the
ancestral homeland and
restoring the Temple. The
very fact that the Torah, both
written and oral, is still ex-
tant as a result of Judah's
sceptre.
Ezekiel, who was exiled
along with the Judeans, has
a vision of a Valley of Dry
Bones, which could easily
pass as an eyewitness account
of the bones of Jews in
Bergen-Belsen. Immediately
after his vision, Ezekiel
declares God's redemptive
words, "Behold I will take the
stick of Joseph, which is in
the hands of Ephraim, and
the tribes of Israel his com-
Ezekiel, who was
exiled along with
the Judeans, has a
vision of a Valley
of Dry Bones,
which could easily
pass as an
eyewitness
account of the
bones of Jews in
Bergen-Belsen.
panions; and I will put them
unto him together with the
stick of Judah, and make
them one stick, and they shall
be one in my hand." (Ezekiel
37:9)
In the midst of the anguish
of seeing the tribes of the Nor-
thern Kingdom disappear,
and then witnessing the
Babylonian exile, Ezekiel's
words ring forth with a de-
fiant heroism. One day the
split halves of the nation will
become one. When? When the
dry bones are revived.
When Israel's first chief
Rabbi likened Herzl to the
messianic seed of Joseph, he
was stressing the physical
side of redemption. I don't
believe that in 1948, even in
the most optimistic fantasy,
anyone could have imagined
the physical blessings of the
land; a Negev yielding not
sandstorms and thorns, but
delights to the tongue and
eye, fields perfumed with
oranges, and kibbutzim
bursting with the raw energy
of its newly discovered
industries.
But physical redemption is
only the first stage of our
rebirth. Afterward, the inner
fire of Judah must work its
flame into the heart of the na-
tion, recharging us with a
new vision of faith in an age
of doubt, hope in a time of
fear, a perception which Rab-
bi Abraham Isaac Kook de-
scribes as "renewing the old
and sanctifying the new." The
house of Ephraim and house
of Judah must make peace,
uniting the divided sticks.
This vision of the messiah
from the seed of David still
awaits us. May it come speedi-
ly in our day.
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•••1 SYNAGOGUES"
Class Explores
Married Life
Adat Shalom Synagogue
will hold a three-part discus-
sion series at 10:30 a.m. Jan.
15, 22 and 29 for couples con-
templating marriage.
Titled "A Plain Gold Band,"
the program will include
discussion on such topics as
Jewish marriage ritual,
finances, and sex and
intimacy.
Rabbis Efry Spectre and
Elliot Pachter will serve as
discussion leaders, along with
Neal Zalenko, a financial ad-
viser, and Elaine Zaks, a
specialist in marriage and
family counseling.
The program is co-
sponsored by Jewish Ex-
periences For Families. For
information, call the
synagogue office, 851-5100, by
Jan. 11.
Bais Chabad
Is Formed
The Lubavitch Foundation
of Michigan announces the
formation of the Bais Cha-
bad of Birmingham-Bloom-
field Hills. Acting rabbi is
Rabbi Moshe Polter, who
leads services at neighbor-
hood homes.
Weekly Torah classes are
given by Rabbi Elimelech
Silberberg of Bais Chabad
Torah Center.
A committee led by Leonard
Borman and Gerald Borsand
is making plans to expand the
activities of the new Bais
Chabad.
For information, call Eileen
Borsand, 646-3010; or Rabbi
Silberberg, 626-1807.
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