The Men's of Adat Shalom Synagogue you to attend an P I c chochma, wisdom. Elsewhere, the 'Palmud states "A man brings home wheat, and his wife. bakes bread; a man brings home flax, and his wife makes cloth." Clearly, the woman is perceived as taking the raw, physical material and turning it into a more usable, more sophisticated product. And is this not an ex- act and perfect description of the most quintessentially female activity — that of pregnancy and child-bearing, when a woman with her own body develops, matures and ultimately produces a living, complete human being from a mere,fertilized egg? This concept of the feminine role is underscored by the above-mentioned three mitz- vot. Bread, the "staff of life," represents the need for nutri- tion, the most fundamental requirement of all life. Yet, when a Jewish woman per- forms the mitzvah of challah, she transforms this fulfill- ment of a most physical human need into a spiritual, Godly activity. Food and eating are elevated from the animal plane of existence and become a means of worshippi- ing the Almighty. Similarly, King Solomon states in Proverbs "a mitzvah is a candle, and Torah is light?' On Shabbat and the holidays, we affirm that the material walls and floors and furnishings that constitute a house can become a lichtige luminous Jewish home, in- bued with the light of Torah and mitzvot, as a result of the actions of the candle-lighter, the Jewish woman. And the mitzvah of taharas hamishpaha takes the most elemental aspect of the husband-wife relationship and, within the context of a Jewish marriage, sanctifies and spiritualizes it. This week's Torah portion bears witness that our matriarch Sarah, and Rivka after her, exemplified these qualities. When Sarah lit the candles to bring the light of Shabbat into her home, her surroundings were indeed permeated and illuminated with this spirituality, even through the mundane week. The bread that was baked, and had challah taken from it by Sarah, was blessed that all who partook of it found their needs fulfilled. And the Shechina, which our rabbis tell us is present when ish and isha, husband and wife, live together in con- sonance with the principles of Torah, testified by its presence over her tent to the righteousness of our mother Sarah. 0 11111= I SYNAGOGUES I Dinner Features Cantor Rockoff Seymour Rockoff, cantor of Kesher Israel Congregation in Harrisburg, Penn., will per- form at the Young Israel of Oak Woods 37th annual din- ner honoring David Tanzman Dec. 3 at the synagogue Cantor Rockoff first ap- peared on record with the Neginah Orchestra 15 years E A S S 0 • V A R A R R 0 C K L L • N M A N rai nation s SV3 n trot Ornisson $3 E L • CHAD Location: ALL A:::Sha . loM m IR S° ynag. ogue 29901 Middlebelt Road Farmington Hills For information, call 851-5100 *Complimentary gift for all attendees Cantor Seymour Rockoff ago. Soon after, he released his first solo album, "There'll Be a New Moon?' He has been featured on the six Rechnitzer Rejects musical comedy recor- dings. His parodies of Yiddish standards include "Sitting in the Shvitz," "Cold Chopped Liver" and "Belz." Cantor Rockoff began set- ting original melodies to the words of the Siddur while ser- ving in the U.S. Army chaplaincy following his rab- binic ordination and cantorial certification in 1967 from Yeshiva University. Beth El Sisterhood Has Bazaar Dec. 3 The .Temple Beth El Sisterhood will hold its sixth annual holiday bazaar 10 a.m. Dec. 3. On sale will be ceramics, art glass, decorative fur- niture, books, Judaica, children's toys, quilts and books, sweat outfits, cosmetics, perfume and jewelry. There is a charge. A light lunch will be available. Dui The complete sports outfitter Invites You To... COME JOIN THE BROTHERHOOD OF TEMPLE ISRAEL INAVABAUSAUCEWUSAIMIUMBAUBAMIUSSIMIZA At Our Special Shopping Day at Dunham's West Bloomfield 11 MAINASifigalAIWALWIAUMUIWAILMOMIUMIUMBUIMMIKM . NORTHWESTERN HWY. & ORCHARD LAKE RD. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3rd 9AM to 6PM Checks may be written to Temple Israel, Your financial future can begin today. call 1-800-US-BONDS U.S. SAVINGS BONDS . THE GREAT AMERICAN INVESTMENT FOREIGN DOMESTIC Maxie Collision, Inc. 32581 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills, MI 48018 (313) 737-7122 JIM FLEISCHER THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 55