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 valnn ran n1c132 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.