TORAH PORTION HELP SUPPORT OUR TROOPS American Red Cross BLOOD DRIVE The Incredible Joy Of Na'asei V'neshma' The Time To Give Is Now!! ROBIN SACK MEYEROWITZ Special to The Jewish News Sunday, February 10th 9:30 AM-3:30 PM HILLEL DAY SCHOOL 32200 Middlebelt Road Farmington Hills 851-2394 Support Our Students JUMP ROPE FOR HEART Donations Accepted for the American Heart Association Co-sponsored by: Hillel Day School and Hillel P.M. The Finest in Women's Fashions Only At •• • • • • • • • • • • • •RANDEES • • • ••••••••••••• Franklin Savings Centre Bldg. 26400 W. 12 Mile Road Southfield, Mich. 354-6070 WE SHIP FURNITURE nope , 6453 FARMINGTON ROAD W. BLOOMFIELD N DON'T LET HOUSEHOLD PESTS HOLD YOU HOSTAGE! CALL THE ERADICO PROFESSIONALS! Eradico's safe and proven methods keep your home free of insects, rodents and other pests. Trust Eradico for an honest assessment of your needs and dependable, affordable service. Cockroaches • Ants • Fleas • Bees • Hornets • Wasps • Rats • Mice and any other pests. For a FREE inspection and estimate, Call Today! EMS MI& M. M. - IMP Ala, i. MAP AIM IN 1911 AK= WAIIMP, Now w CONTROL Michigan's Largest Independent Pest Control Company For Service Throughout Southeastern Michigan Call: (313) 546 6200 - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1991 433-3070 TRE NOW OPEN CROSSWINDS MALL Orchard Lake Rd. at Lone Pine Rd. Eradicate With Eradico 44 855-5822 MAPLE (at CRANBROOK) BIRMINGHAM 851-4455i M ishpatim is a won- derfully rich parsha. It contains so much essential Torah legislation, ranging from laws protecting slaves and women, even a fun- damental law of kashrut — "do not boil a kid in its mother's milk." These laws reflect the moral as well as legal aspects of Jewish jurisprudence. In ancient days, laws protec- ting the weakest and most vulnerable elements of socie- ty were revolutionary. In do- ing so, the Torah accepts human fraility; it under- stands our need for slavery and our requirement for meat. But it carefully mitigates the most brutal, violent aspects of human behavior. Following Jewish law keeps us moral, protects the unprotected, brings us closer to God and our fellow Jews. It makes us more human. Even the famous verse, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" appears in this par- sha. The Torah's implication is clear. We are not to unders- tand this verse literally (as it was carried out in ancient Iraq). Rather, it means monetary compensation for criminal offenses. After all these laws are enunciated in Mishpatim, Moshe reads a statement of ratification of these laws, known as the "Book of the Covenant," or Sefer Ha-Berit. Moshe commits these laws to writing and reads them at a public gathering to all the people. They, in turn, respond, "We will do, and we will obey" Na'asei V'neshma. The rabbis teach us: When the Torah says "all the people," it doesn't simply mean the elders of the group or just the men — but (read my lips) all the people. Every Israelite was involved in the ratification and assum- ed individual responsibility for maintaining these laws. The idea of individual com- mitment and responsibility is a distinctly Jewish concept. In Judaism, no one can pray or act in your stead. It is not our rabbis' job to keep Jewish laws for us. It is the respon- sibility of each and every one of us. The people responded: Na'asei V'neshma, which literally means "we will do Robin Meyerowitz is a Jewish educator living in Southfield. and then we will unders- tand." The rabbis tell us this means an instant and instinc- tive response to carry out the will of God. The rabbis see these words as the utmost submission to God and to his covenant. In modern 1991, this is an extremely difficult concept to assimilate. To submit to the will of God seems to run con- trary to the basic precepts of American society, i.e. free will, self-determination, pluralism, etc. When I was growing up — in a relatively secular world — I was taught to think for myself, to become an indepen- dent woman and not to sub- mit to anyone's will. When I first became religious and I Mishpatim Shabbat Shekalim: Exodux 21:1-24:18, 30:11-16, Kings 1 11:17-12:17. contemplated the teaching Na'asei V'neshma, I found it difficult to accept, let alone comprehend. How am I to keep the laws of Shabbat before I fully understand them? Is that an act of hyprocrisy or gutless submis- sion to someone else's moral scheme? I wanted to be con- vinced that keeping kosher was the right thing to do for me. I had always believed in God, but blindly following his will was the antithesis of everything I had been taught as a modern Jewish American woman. After 13 years of religious life, I have learned Na'asei V'neshma requires not mere- ly a leap of faith but a leap of action. It was only after keep- ing Shabbat and holidays for years that I truly began to understand the beauty and special rhythm that defines my life as a religious Jew. Every fall, I feel refreshed and renewed on Yom Kippur. I look forward to sitting in the crisp, autumn air in my suk- kah, which is filled with the aroma of holiday foods and falling leaves. On Purim, my children and I joyously deliver shlach manot to all our friends and neighbors. On Pesach, I look foward to sit- ting down (finally) at the first Seder — to a thoroughly clean house — and singing Hallel with my husband. It is a thrill to measure my children's growth physically and moral-