TORAH PORTION
SUNDAY
THE
PUR I M CA
RNIVAL
LUNCH
GAMES
FUN
PRIZES
The Light Illuminating
Our Lives And World
RABBI MORTON YOLKUT
Special to The Jewish News
T
• • • • WEAR YOUR COSTUMES! • • • •
t s1n1
MEGILLAH READINGS
WEDNESDAY EVENING
FEBRUARY 27, 1991
Traditional Megillah Reading and costume
parade at 6:30 p.m. followed
by Children's Megillah Story Reading
and Refreshments!!!
y
'
CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM
Lincoln Boulevard at Briar Drive
in CENTRALLY LOCATED Oak Park
Livonia Jewish Congregation
Introduces Our
Offers Its
NEW RELIGIOUS LEADER
RABBI CRAIG L. ALLEN
SANCTUARY & OTHER
FACILITIES
The Congregation Offers:
• Adult Ed Classes
• Sunday School Classes
• Sisterhood
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah Classes
• Social Hall
Family Like Atmosphere
Reasonable Membership Dues
Call Bill Offerman 474-8051
Or More Information Call 477-8974
For Your
BAR/BAT MITZVAH
Now Accepting Reservations
For Affairs Scheduled
Through 1991
Call Sarah Smith at 474-5557
Or our office at 477-8974
L.J.C., 31840 W. 7 Mile Rd., Livonia
DOLL
REPAIR
Antique & Modern
Doll & Teddybear
Restoration & Appraisals
Doll Wigs, Clothes, Trunks,
Display Cases & Accessories
74 Doll Vioditeral &
Seldeet Sko
Mon.-Sat. 10-5 • Friday 1043
3947 W. 12 Mile Rd. • Berkley
543.3115
[
VfILENIE TflYLON
FASHION RESALE
Exclusively Women's Clothing
and Accessories
Current Fashions Sizes 2-14
11111111844 S. Woodward
Birmingham
1 block North of 14 Mile Rd
540-9548
We Pay Cash for Fine
Clothing and
Accessories"
Mon-Fri 12 noon-6 pm
Set 11 am-6 pm
Closed Sunday
48
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1991
he opening verses of
this week's portion
deals with the Ner
Tamid, the perpetual light of
the sanctuary. While the ac-
tual kindling was performed
by Aaron and his priestly
descendants, the responsibili-
ty for providing the oil and
maintaining the Ner Tamid
rested with the Jewish people.
It was to symbolize God's
presence in every Jewish
house of worship, in every
generation.
Our sages understood the
Ner Tamid to be symbolic of
Israel's devotion, a people
that is forever striving to sus-
tain the spiritual light of its
faith. Today, the Ner Tamid
has become the outstanding
symbol and one of the most
familiar objects associated
with our synagogues.
As we again read of the
Torah's directive to establish
an eternal light, an instruc-
tive contrast comes to mind.
There is a popular practice
that has now gained almost
universal acceptance and is in
direct opposition to the sym-
bolism underlying the Ner
Tamid. It is a practice that is
observed at virtually every
birthday, bar mitzvah and an-
niversary party. Family and
friends gather around a
beautiful cake, decorated by
an appropriate number of
candles. These little candles
are lit without blessing,
without any sense of the
presence of the Almighty,
without any sense of
gratitude to Him who has
sustained and increased life.
And then something strange
occurs to conclude these ubi-
quitous "candle-lighting"
ceremonies. The celebrants
huff and puff and attempt to
extinguish all of the candles,
preferably in one powerful
breath. A significant personal
and/or religious milestone is
thus marked by extinguish-
ing candles.
I do not know of a single
Jewish ceremony where it is
a mitzvah to extinguish
lights. I do know that the Jew
is constantly asked to be on
the side of light, to kindle
lights as often as possible.
Hence, the Shabbat and ma-
jor festivals are welcomed in-
to our homes with the
lighting of candles and the ac-
companying blessings. The
Morton Yolkut is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai David.
departure of the Sabbath is
observed with the Havdalah
candle-lighting ceremony.
Lights are kindled at various
festive life-cycle events, such
as weddings and circumci-
sions. They are also lit at sad
moments, throughout the
Shiva week of mourning and
on the Yahrtzeit, the anniver-
sary date of a departed loved
one. On Chanukah we have
an entire hag haurim, festival
of lights, when we light addi-
tional candles each evening to
recall the great miracles that
occurred during the Hasmo-
nean era. And as we noted,
the central symbol in the
Tezave
Shabbat Zachor:
Exodus!
27:20-30:10,
Deuteronomy
25:17-19,
Samuel I 15:1-34.
synagogue is the Ner Tamid,
the light that beams
perpetually before the Holy
Ark. All these represent to us
the light of religion, the light
of human concern and the
light of service to God and our
fellow man.
And yet, there does persist
in this world a strange
perverse practice of
celebrating not the kindling
of a candle, but rather the ex-
tinction of its flame. This pro-
pensity has been displayed
time and again by the tyrants
and despots of every era of
history. They have attempted,
and at times succeeded, in ex-
tinguishing the lights of
culture and civilization, even
of life itself.
The program of the
Syrian/Greek tyrant An-
tiochus was characterized by
the extinction of the lights of
the menorah at the time of
the Chanukah story. The
march of Rome across the con-
tinents of Europe and Asia
was accompanied by an at-
tempt to extinguish the lights
of Judea. In our own genera-
tion, Hitler's program of
genocide began on
Kristallnacht with the ex-
tinguishing of the light of
learning by burning books,
destroying synagogues and
suppressing cultural and in-
tellectual activities. And even
today, Saddam Hussein at-
tempts to extinguish the
lights of Tel Aviv and Haifa
On the other hand, the
Jewish people have always
been the lamp-lighters of the
world. ❑