TORAH PORTION

B'NAI B'RITH COUNCIL
JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL
MICHIGAN BOARD OF RABBIS
MIDRASHA•OLLEGE OF JEWISH STUDIES
Present

LUNCH & LEARN Lecture Series

Open to the Entire Jewish Community

Sarah and Morris Friedman Conference Room
United Hebrew Schools
21550 West Twelve Mile Road, Southfield
- Thursdays - 12:00 Noon to 1:30 PM, -

OCTOBER 12

JUDAISM IN THE
NUCLEAR AGE - LAST
CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL

Rabbi Irving Schnipper
Congregation Beth Abraham-
Hillel Moses

NOVEMBER 9

TO BE OR NOT TO BE:
FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN
AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE

Rabbi Lane Steinger
Temple Emanu-El

DECEMBER 14

THE DECEMBER DILEMMA
- LIVING AS A JEW IN
A CHRISTIAN WORLD

Rabbi David Nelson
Congregation Beth Shalom

JANUARY 11

THE VISION OF
MORDECAI KAPLAN -
RECONSTRUCTING
AMERICAN JUDAISM

Rabbi Bruce D. Aft
Director Midrasha-College of
Jewish Studies

FEE: 5 6.00 per lecture - includes lunch
(Dietary laws observed)

For further information, please call Bobbie Levine,
B'nai B'rith Council at 552-8177 or Rabbi Bruce D. Aft,.
Midrasha-College of Jewish Studies at 352-7117

ALPHA EPSILON PHI ALUMNI

The "Pi" Chapter at U of M welcomes your
interest and support. We would like to meet
you. Please come to the House for cider and
donuts after the Homecoming game Satur-
day, October 28th. We look forward to
meeting you.

PLEASE GIVE US A CALL - 662-3841

42

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1989

Looking For The Little Foxes
That Destroy The Vineyards

D

RABBI IRWIN GRONER

Special to The Jewish News

wring this season of
cheshbon ha nefesh, of
spiritual reckoning,
we discuss the serious pro-
blem of our time: the momen-
tous issues, the great dilem-
mas and the serious evils that
sully and mar human ex-
istence. However, when we
think about large problems
and vast perspectives, we
often ignore the minor defi-
ciencies, the petty
weaknesses and the small
transgressions to which our
conscience that has been im-
munized and of which we no
longer take much notice.
The Song of Songs contains
a phrase, "Beware of the lit-
tle foxes that spoil the
vineyards." The owner of the
vineyard doesn't fear the
lions; he can guard against
them. But he has reason to be

-

Irwin Groner is senior rabbi
of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek.

anxious about the small
foxes. They slip into a crack in
the fence or a small crevice;
and as they despoil the
vineyard, they law waste the
work and toil of many
months. What we have to fear
are hidden marauders that
gnaw away our spirit.
I believe we have strength
enough to resist the large
temptations. I don't think we
would ever rob a bank or run
away with the funds belong-.
ing to another or allow our
hostility to drive us to
violence or murder. But what
about the small temptations,
the little evasions, the petty
hypocrisies, the overlooked
duplicities that destroy
character?
Consider our attitude to
religion. People don't seek to
deny God or reject faith.
I rarely encounter a Jewish
atheist. Religion doesn't
depart from our lives by some
great explosion or massive re-
jection. Instead, it is lost by a
steady, small leakage. People
allow weeks to pass without
a religious thought or a

spiritual act and they come
spiritually depleted to the
synagogue at this season of
awe.
People do not lose their
faith by repudiating it in one
moment. They allow it to
evaporate, day by day, reserv-
ing religion only for high
dramatic movements, remov-
ing their daily lives from the
domain of its influence. By
limiting religion to three days
of the year, they diminish the
strength and sap the vitality
of Judaism.
We live in a world of non-
religious behavior and
motivation. Therefore, when
we enter moments of prayer,
the service may fail to move
us. Too great a gap separates
the secular, with its tempta-
tions and materialistic
values, and the world of the
sanctuary, with its idealistic
conceptions of man and his
responsibilities to God and
his fellow man.
So do we allow this process
to erode character. We tell so-
meone to answer the phone
and say, "we're out" when we

SYNAGOGUE SERVICES

ORTHODOX:
Bais Chabad of Birm-
ingham/Bloomfield Hills: Moshe
Polter, rabbi. 646-3010.
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 Thfilo 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.
Machon L'Torah: 15221 W. 'Ibn
Mile Rd., Oak Park. Avraham
Jacobowitz, rabbi. 967-0888.
Mishkan Israel, Nusach
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.
25451
Shomrey Emunah:
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 West Bloomfield:
6450 Farmington Rd., West Bloom-
field. 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 Shalom: 14601 W. Lincoln
Rd., Oak Park. David Nelson, rab-
bi. 547-7970.
Beth Thphilath 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.
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 Isaac: 2730 Edsel Dr., Tren-
ton. 675-0355.
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. Darnel 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: St. Antoine at Monroe,
Detroit. 393-1089.

UNAFFILIATED:
Sephardic Community of
Greater Detroit: meets at
Yeshivah Beth Yehudah, 15751 W.
Lincoln, Southfield. David Hazan,
vice president. 545-8945.