HOLIDAYS Imimmi
May the coming year be
one filled with health,
happiness and
prosperity for all our
friends and family.
ROSALIE & PETER BEER
& JULIE GRUNWALD
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family.
May the New Year Bring
To All Our Friends
and Family — Health,
Joy, Prosperity
and Everything
Good in Life.
MADELON AND LOU SELIGMAN
MELISSA & ADRIANNE
To All Our
Relatives
and Friends,
Our wish for a
year filled with
happiness,
health and prosperity.
MARVIN & ROCHELLE BROOKS
A Very Happy and Healthy
New Year to All Our Friends
and Family.
JOSEPH & RENA BERMAN
I wish my family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
DAVID SZLAMKOWICZ
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
HARRY AND SHIRLEY TANKSLEY
tian 1] W'?
to all
our friends
and relatives.
to all
our friends
and relatives.
ARLENE & CHUCK BEERMAN
KEN, SHARON & MICHAEL
CINDY & JEFFREY
JOSHUA, MICHAEL &
RACHEL DISKIN
102
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1990
MARVIN & GLORIA (GOLDIE) BOOKSTEIN
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11TIM1 111115 T11‘13`2
to all
our friends
and relatives.
to all
our friends
and relatives.
BOB & TEDDIE GOTTLIEB
LAWRENCE & PAMELA HOLZMAN
Rockville, Maryland
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
DAVE & EDITH AGAUAS
EVELYN & AL BROOK
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year.
ZEE & RAY BERNSTEIN
THE DRASINS
GARY, CARYN, AMY & LINDSEY
Recalling Sins
And Our Foes
BERNARD RASKAS
Special to The Jewish News
O
n Rosh Hashanah, we
gather in our syn-
agogues to reflect on
the past year and to think
about the coming year. We
recall our deeds and
misdeeds, and pray for our
loved ones, the Jewish peo-
ple and for peace in the
world.
But even as we do all this,
we remember the times that
we were hurt by individuals
and hated because we were
Jews. It also presents us
with a dilemma in reference
to our enemies.
Jews have had no lack of
enemies. Throughout Jewish
history, from Hitler to
Haman, Jews have experi-
enced sinat chinam, causeless
hatred. In fact, this great
hatred was so unique that a
new term was created to
describe it: anti-Semitism.
It would be natural then,
that Jews would react with
feelings of anger, outrage,
pain and a desire for retribu-
tion. Leaving aside these
reactions for the moment, it
might be worthwhile to pose
an interesting theological
question: "Is it permissible
to pray for the death of an
enemy?"
The Bible is filled with
passages calling for the
death of enemies. They
range from the mild to the
most violent. Perhaps they
could be summarized in the
prayer of the Psalmist, "May
the sinner be consumed and
the wicked be no more"
(104:35). For a victim to feel
otherwise would be un-
natural.
But this attitude is
countered by biblical admo-
nitions such as "You shall
not take avenge, nor bear
any grudge" (Leviticus
19:18), or "Do not rejoice
when your enemy falls"
(Proverbs 24:17). There is an
obvious ambivalence in the
biblical views toward an
enemy.
Indeed, the Bible goes
beyond merely curbing one's
natural anger toward an
enemy by instructing:
"When you encounter your
enemy's ox or ass wander-
ing, you must take it back to
him. When you see the ass of
your enemy lying under its
burden and would refrain
from raising it, you must
Rabbi Bernard S. Raskas is
rabbi emeritus of the Temple of
Aaron in St. Paul, Minn.