TORAH PORTION
IIMI•111 ■ 11111111 ■ 11111.11111
YESHIVA BETH YEHUDA • S.A.A. BETH JACOB
P.T.A.
AUCTION '89
SUN., JUNE 25
AT YESHIVA BETH YEHUDA
15751 W. LINCOLN, SOUTHFIELD
GOODS & SERVICES
7:00 p.m. • SILENT AUCTION
8:00 p.m. - GENERAL AUCTION
REFRESHMENTS
ADMISSION $3.00
All new goods, including
jewelry, appliances, trips,
clothing, gift certificates,
and much, much more.
"THE ISRAWARAB PEACE PROCESS -
OBSESSION WITH AN UNATTAINABLE PEACE"
The Einstein Luncheon Forum
presents
Better To Keep One's Promise
Than To Grow A Long Beard
RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ
Special to The Jewish News
T
his week's sedra be-
gins with details reg-
ulating the making of
vows. A person who pledges
himself to fulfill a vow was
supposed to consecrate
himself to God by abstaining
from strong drink and from
cutting his hair, and by main-
taining himself in a special
state of purification by having
no contact with a dead body.
That person was to be a
Nazarite, a layman given a
status resembling that of a
priest. To become a Nazarite,
he had to make a vow for a
specific period, usually 30
days to abstain from any
treatment of his hair. Hair
was, in ancient times, regard-
ed as the set of man's vitality
and life force. The hair of the
Nazarite was like the crown
of a king; the sign of his con-
secration to God.
There were different
reasons for taking the
Richard Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.
Nazarite vow. Some did it to
fulfill a pious wish or to make
atonement for some sin;
others for reasons such as
recovery from illness or the
birth of a child.
The ascerticism of the
Nazarite never became in-
stitutionalized as it did in
Christianity, with its various
kinds of holy orders and
assumption of celibacy by
priests and religious people.
Nor was there anything uni-
quely Jewish about the two
major elements of the
Nazarite relating to hair and
wine, for these were quite
common in ancient times.
The effects of alcohol were
well known then, especially
since drinking water was
neither plentiful nor safe and
wine was universally used in
the Mediterranean world.
Judaism also counseled
moderation rather than
abstinence from alcohol. Even
the Dead Sea Essenes made
no mention in their scrolls of
alcoholic abstention.
On the other hand, wearing
a beard was quite common in
those days. Not letting a razor
come upon the corners of one's
beard (Lev. 19:27, 21:5) sug-
gested that a person was con-
secrated to God. (Numbers
6:5).
The best known Nazarites
were Samson and Samuel.
Samson's role as a Nazarite
began at his conception.
The haftara for this Sab-
bath was doubtlessly chosen
because it connects with the
sedra by describing the man-
ner in which Samson was con-
Shabbat Naso:
Numbers 4:21-7:89,
Judges 13:2-25
ceived. His parents had been
childless for many years.
Then an angel of the Lord ap-
peared to announce that the
mother would give birth.
Since the son she was carry-
ing was to be a Nazarite from
the womb, she was forbidden
to partake of strong drink or
eat anything unclean. Once
the child was born, she was
not to allow his hair to be cut.
The well-known story of
Samson and Delilah revolved
SYNAGOGUE SERVICES
Rabbi Charles H. Rosenzveig,
Founder and Executive Vice President
of the Holocaust Memorial Center
Tuesday • June 20 • 12 Noon
Southfield (Hilton) Hotel
17017 West 9 Mile
Auspices:
Hon. Ira G. Kaufman
Zionist Org. of America
Hon. Benjamin Friedman
Zionist Cultural Center
Co-Chairmen
For reservations phone 569-1515
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Offering
a Fut(
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At MC Times
855-2772
Rochelle Imber's
Knit, Knit, Knit
Full Service
Yarn Shop
855-2114
Accents in
Needlepoint
Full Service
Needlepoint
626-3042
All Under One Roof in the 0 rchard Mall, West Bloomfield
42
FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1989
ORTHODOX:
Bais Chabad of Birm-
ingham/Bloomfield Hills: Moshe
Polter, rabbi. 399-3918.
Bais Chabad of Farmington
Hills: 32000 Middlebelt Rd., Farm-
ington Hills. Chaim Bergstein, rab-
bi. 855-2910.
Bais Chabad of West Bloomfield:
5595 W. Maple Rd., West Bloom-
field. Melech Silberberg, rabbi.
855-6170.
Beth Jacob-Mogain Abraham:
15751 W. Lincoln Dr., Southfield.
Dov Loketch, rabbi. 557-6750.
Beth Tefilo Emanuel Tikvah:
24225 Greenfield Rd., Southfield.
Leizer Levin, rabbi. 559-5022.
B'nai Israel-Beth Yehudah:
15400 W. 10 Mile Rd., Oak Park.
Yoel Sperka, rabbi. 967-3969.
B'nai Zion: 15250 W. Nine Mile
Rd., Oak Park. Solomon Gruskin,
rabbi. 968-2414.
Dovid Ben Nuchim: 14800 W. Lin-
coln, Oak Park. Chaskel Grubner,
rabbi. 968-9784.
Kollel Institute: 15230 W. Lincoln,
Oak Park. Moshe Schwab, rabbi.
968-0109.
Mishkan Israel, Nusach H'ari,
Lubavitcher Center: 14000 W. 9
Mile Rd., Oak Park. 543-6611.
Shaarey Shomayim: 15110 W 10
Mile Rd., Oak Park. Leo Goldman,
rabbi. 547-8555.
Shomrey Emunah: 25451
Southfield Rd., Southfield. Shaiall
Zachariash, rabbi. 559-1533 or
557-9666.
Shomrey Emunah-Ohel Moed:
6191 Farmington Rd., West Bloom-
field. Eli Jundef, rabbi. 967-1806.
Young Israel of Greenfield: 15140
W. 10 Mile Rd., Oak Park. Reuven
Drucker, rabbi. 967-3655.
Young Israel of Oak-Woods:
24061 Coolidge, Oak Park. Eliezer
Cohen, rabbi. 398-1177.
Young Israel of Southfield: 27705
Lahser, Southfield. Elimelech
Goldberg, rabbi. 358-0154.
Young Israel of Bloomfield: Ira
Lutzky, 259-8500.
TRADITIONAL:
B'nai David: 24350 Southfield Rd.,
Southfield. Morton Yolkut, rabbi.
557-8210.
CONSERVATIVE:
Adat Shalom: 29901 Middlebelt
Rd., Farmington Hills. Efry Spectre,
rabbi. 851-5100.
Beth Abraham Hillel Moses:
5075 W. Maple, West Bloomfield. A.
Irving Schnipper, rabbi. 851-6880.
Beth Achim: 21100 W. 12 Mile Rd.,
Southfield. Milton Arm, rabbi.
352-8670.
Beth Isaac: 2730 Edsel Dr., Tren-
ton. 675-0355.
Beth Shalom: 14601 W. Lincoln
Rd., Oak Park. David Nelson, rab-
bi. 547-7970.
Beth Tephilath Moses: 146 South
Ave., Mt. Clemens. 465-0641.
B'nai Israel of West Bloomfield:
4200 Walnut Lake Rd., West Bloom-
field. Sherman Kirshner, rabbi.
681-5353.
B'nai Moshe: 14390 W. 10 Mile
Rd., Oak Park. Allan Meyerowitz,
rabbi. 548-9000.
Downtown Synagogue: 1457
Griswold, Detroit. Noah Gamze,
rabbi. 961-9328.
Livonia Jewish Congregation:
31840 W. 7 Mile Rd., Livonia. Mar-
tin Gordon, rabbi. 477-8974.
Shaarey Zedek: 27375 Bell Rd.,
Southfield. Irwin Groner, rabbi.
357-5544.
REFORM:
Beth El: 7400 Telegraph Rd., Bir-
mingham. Daniel Polish, rabbi.
851-1100.
Beth Jacob: 79 Elizabeth Lake
Rd., Pontiac. Richard Weiss, rabbi.
332-3212.
Emanu-El: 14450 W. 10 Mile Rd.,
Oak Park. Lane Steinger, rabbi.
967-4020.
Temple Israel: 5725 Walnut Lake
Rd., West Bloomfield. M. Robert
Syme, Harold Loss, Paul Yedwab,
rabbis. 661-5700.
Kol Ami: 5085 Walnut Lake Rd.,
West Bloomfield. Norman Roman,
rabbi. 661-0040.
Shir Shalom: 5642 Maple Rd.,
West Bloomfield. Dannel Schwartz,
rabbi. 737-8700.
Shir Tikvah: 3633 W. Big Beaver,
Troy. Arnie Sleutelberg, rabbi.
643-6520.
HUMANISTIC:
Birmingham Temple: 28611 W. 12
Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. Sher-
win Wine, rabbi. 477-1410.
RECONSTRUCTIONIST:
T'Chiyah: 1404 Nicolet Place,
Detroit. 393-1089.
UNAFFILIATED:
Sephardic Community of
Greater Detroit: meets at
Yeshivah Beth Yehudah, 15751 W.
Lincoln, Southfield. David Hazan,
vice president. 545-8945.