HOLIDAYS MERCEDES-BENZ FOR LESS MUCH LESS THAN YOU THINK MERCEDES - BENZ Special Lease $49998 300 E 2.6 Plus 4% sales tax. Fully equipped including automatic transmission and sunroof. Based on a 60 month closed end lease. 1st payment and license fee in advance. 75,000 mile limitation. Total obligation is payment times 60, plus 4% Use Tax. Buyer has option to purchase at lease end at guaranteed price of $18,090. No security deposit required. The holiday marks God's gift of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. Estate Motors Ltd. 464 S. Woodward Avenrnue, Birmingham 644-8400 BERNARD S.RASKAS Special to The Jewish News T Open Monday and Thursday until 9 P.M. Call RICK GOULD Lower the numbers and raise the odds. CONTEMPORARY ELEGANCEA t True Discount Prices Controlling your blood pressure can reduce your risk of heart disease. The Great Cover-Up MOS • Vertical & Horizontal Blinds • Duette • Pleated & Skylight Shades • Custom Cornice Boards & Fabric Toppers • Roman & Balloon Shades • Custom Draperies & Fabric • Carpet & Wallpaper • Hardwood Floors 1.00 ()American Heart Association Andy's Upholstery This Is The Big One! ALL FABRICS (Including $30, $40 & $50 Fabrics) 50% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME TIFFANY PLAZA 32855 NORTHWESTERN HWY. CALL FOR YOUR FREE IN-HOME ESTIMATE Visit Our Showroom Mon. Sot. 10 5 - - L 64 FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1990 Shavuot's Main Goal: Providing A 'Faith' Lift 5 8 1 - 8 1 2 2 j he Exodus from Egypt occupies a major role in the Bible and subsequent Jewish thought. However, the Exodus was only the prelude to the main event, mattan Torah, the giving of the Torah, which occurs on Shavuot. Accor- ding to tradition, this oc- curred when Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and then gave them to the Hebrew people. At the upper reaches of the mount, lightning flashes and a loud roaring noise fills the air. As God descends to its top, the mountain seems consumed in flame and the terrifying voice of an unear- thly shofar issues out of its depths. Moses alone is pre- sent when God speaks the words of the Ten Com- mandments. The finest literary study of Moses was done by Thomas Mann in a little book that is now out of print. With his keen mind and gifted pen, he penetrates the character of this great man and this great event. In the climax of Moses' life, Mann portrays him Rabbi Bernard S. Raskas is rabbi emeritus of Temple of Aaron Congregation in St. Paul, and is author of the trilogy, "Heart of Wisdom." standing on the volcanic ash of Mount Sinai. With power- ful arms, Moses rips two huge, irregular pieces from the mountainside. Then he seizes a sharp stone and begins the hard tedious job of carving the 172 Hebrew letters on the two stones. In this primitive setting, this task takes 39 days. On the 40th day, as he is about to descend with the two tablets of the law, he pauses to survey the com- mandments. He examines his work and notices that the impressions on the rock are hardly visible at a distance. But where on this dry, barren area, he asks himself, will he find color to highlight the Hebrew characters? Then suddenly, he takes a jagged rock and slashes his hand and with his own blood; he traces over the letters. Having accomplish- ed this task, he descends from the mountain to give them through his people to humanity. This is the crux of the Ten Commandments. They must be written with a person's lifeblood or they have little value. A religious person does not worship the Ten Commandments, but lives them. A religious person does not pay them lip service but he gives them service of the mind and the heart.