TORAH PORTION
Temple Emanuel
HAPPENINGS
April, 1989
14450 West Ten Mile Rood
Oak Park, Michigan 48237
(414) 967-4020
RABBI LANE STEINGER
APRIL
1— 9:30 a.m. Torah Study with the Rabbi
10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
2-10:00 a.m. EMANU-ELS-MATURE & EXCITING SET MEETS
7— 7:30 p.m. FAMILY SHABBAT SERVICE, BRING THE CHILDREN
LISA GARBER, BAT MITZVAH
8— 9:30 a.m. Torah Study with the Rabbi
10:15 a.m. Young Family Shabbat Service
2-7 year olds and parents.
10:30 a.m. Shabbat morning service
Joshua Lichtman, Bar Mitzvah
9— 9:00 a.m. Parent Temple Organization
14— 8:15 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
Signed for the hearing impaired
Scott Page, Bar Mitzvah
15— 9:30 a.m. Torah Study with theRabbi
10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
Rebecca Ulanoff, Bat Mitzvah
16-10:45 a.m. "It's My Temple Too!" Program for 2-5 yr.
olds with Parents and the Rabbi
20-10:30 a.m. Passover Service — first day.
6:30 p.m. Temple Sedar — CALL OFFICE FOR DETAILS
21— 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Service at Temple
8:00 p.m. Issac M. Wise Service at Temple Israel
22— 9:30 a.m,. Torah Study with the Rabbi
10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
23-
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL VACATION
25— 7:30 p.m. Passover — Eve of 7th Day
26-10:30 a.m. Pesach Yizkor Service
28— 8:15 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
Todd & Jeffrey Alderman, B'nai Mitzvah
29— 9:30 a.m. Torah Study with the Rabbi
10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
Matthew Lusardi, Bar Mitzvah
MAY
5— 7:30 p.m. FAMILY SHABBAT SERVICE, BRING THE CHILDREN
Steven Friedman, Bar Mitzvah
6— 9:30 a.m. Torah Study with the Rabbi
10:30 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service
Brandon Rubin, Bar Mitzvah
Temple Israel's Solo
(Jewish Parents Who Happen To Be Single)
presents a
Continental Breakfast
with
Dr. Sonya
Friedman
Speaking on
"Single
Parenting"
April 9, 1989
10:00 a.m.
Temple Israel
Herman Hall
5725 Walnut Lake Rd.
West Bloomfield
Free Admission
Guests Welcome
For more information
661-5700
44
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 1989
Why Did Nadav And Avihu
Meet Such A Grim Fate?
RABBI NOAH GAMZE
Special to the Jewish News
I
n the Torah portion of
this week we read, "And
Nadav and Avihu, the
sons of Aaron, took each of
them his censer, put fire
therein, and put incense upon
it, and offered strange fire
before the Lord, which He
had not commanded them.
And there came forth fire
from before the Lord, and
devoured them, and they died
before the Lord." (Leviticus
X:1-2). The questions that im-
mediately come to mind are
Noah Gamze is rabbi of the
Downtown Synagogue.
what caused them to engage
in such folly, and why they
met with such a grim fate.
Our sages suggested several
possible answers to these
questions, which are intert-
wined. The most probable
answer is that of Rabbi
Ishmael, who said, "Intox-
icated with wine they entered
into the sanctuary." A few
verses later we read, "And the
Lord spoke unto Aaron, say-
ing: Drink no wine nor strong
drink, thou, nor thy sons with
thee, when ye go into the tent
of meeting, that ye die not; it
shall be a statute forever
throughout your genera-
tions." (Leviticus X:8-9).
It is true that Judaism does
not advocate prohibition, and
SYNAGOGUE SERVICES
REFORM:
BETH EL: Services 8 p.m. today. Mazon Executive Director Ir-
ving Cramer will speak. Torah Study 9:30 a.m. Saturday,
services 11 a.m. Rabbi Julian Cook will speak on "An Alien
Fire."
BETH JACOB: Services 8:30 p.m. today. Rabbi Richard Weiss
will speak on "Just What the Doctor Ordered: Reflections
on Becoming a Doctor."
KOL AMI: Services 8 p.m. today. Rabbi Norman Roman will
speak on his mission to Italy and Romania. Torah study
9:30 a.m. Saturday, services 10:30 a.m.
TEMPLE ISRAEL: Services 8 p.m. today. Rabbi Paul Yedwab
will speak on "Nadav and Avihu: Thou Shalt Not Drink
and Drive." Rebbe's tish 9:30 a.m. Saturday, services 10:30
a.m.
SHIR SHALOM: Services 8 p.m. today. Rabbi Darnel Schwartz
will speak on "Will the Real April Fool Please Stand Up."
Services 11 a.m.
SHIR TIKVAH: Services 7:45 p.m. today conducted by Mar-
tha Churchill and Lauren Korn.
CONSERVATIVE:
BETH ACHIM: Services 6 p.m. today and 8:45 a.m. Saturday.
Harry Ellenson will chant the haftara.
BETH ABRAHAM HILLEL MOSES: Services 6 p.m. today
and 8:45 a.m. Saturday. Fred Smith will chant the haftara.
Dedication of the synagogue's art.
BETH SHALOM: Services 6 p.m. today and 9 a.m. Saturday.
Kevin Lubaski will chant the haftara.
B'NAI ISRAEL OF WEST BLOOMFIELD: Anniversary and
Birthday Shabbat. Services 9 a.m. Saturday. Rabbi Sher-
man Kirshner will speak on "Kashrut Is Alive and Faring
Well!" Steven Medow will chant the haftara.
B'NAI MOSHE: Men's Club Shabbat. Services 6:30 p.m. to-
day and 8:45 a.m. Saturday. Leonard Wanetik will chant
the haftara.
DOWNTOWN SYNAGOGUE: Services 8 a.m. Saturday. Rabbi
Noah Gamze will speak on "The Sons of Aaron."
TRADITIONAL:
B'NAI DAVID: Services 6 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Joseph Viedrah will chant the haftara.
RECONSTRUCTIONIST:
T'CHIYAH: Services 10 a.m. Saturday conducted by Susan
Gold Smith and Amanda Poland.
SECULAR-HUMANIST:
BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE: Service 8:30 p.m. today. The
Templesingers will perform "The Road to Zion: A Secular
View."
that our people have con-
sidered the moderate use of
wine a normal part of life. In
fact, the Bible tells us, "And
wine maketh glad the heart
of man." (Psalms CIV:15). At
the same time, there is strong
disapproval of overindulgence
in wine and other alcoholic
beverages. The midrashic
comments upon this chapter
of the Torah cite numerous
examples of the unfortunate
results of excessive drinking.
Speaking of the chronic
drunkard our sages say, "He
will make his house like a
bare plain, saying: what this
brass pot does, an earthen-
ware pot can do. He sells it
and drinks wine with the pro-
ceeds. Rabbi Isaac ben Radifa
said in the name of Rabbi
Ammi, "In the end he sells
his household articles, and
drinks wine with the pro-
ceeds."
The more one studies these
verses, the more one sees how
applicable they are to our
times. It is clear from the
Torah that when the priests
approached the altar to per-
form the sacrifices, they had
to be cold sober and clear-
headed. If the performance of
the sacrificial rituals — every
step of which was definitely
established — required a
mind not clouded by any
substance that could affect
judgement, then certainly the
use of complex and
sophisticated modern equip-
ment that may involve split-
second decisions would re-
quire this same clarity of
judgement. Making a wrong
decision in such cases may
not only involve serious finan-
cial loss, but may result in
death or injury. We need only
consider the toll of deaths and
injuries caused by drunken
drivers.
Perhaps the fate of Nadav
and Avihu will cause us to
understand that substance
abuse is not the monopoly of
any one religious, racial or
ethnic group. For many years,
we Jews had a reputation for
sobriety. This is no longer the
case. While we have a higher
degree of sobriety than other
groups, we can no longer af-
ford to look upon alcoholism
as a gentile problem. We do
have persons addicted to
drugs and alcohol within the
Jewish community.
A strong temptation exists
to deny the existence of this
problem, but any such denial
would only make matters
worse. It is gratifying that we
are becoming more aware of