TORAH PORTION PROJECT ACHIM "How pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together" Project Achim is proud to announce that we are again pro- viding the community with Hebrew-Russian Haggados for all families who will be hosting New Americans at their seder. Please call Mrs. Grinman at our Achim office 967-5888 be- tween now and Thursday. We have also made this service available through JEFF and Yad Ezra. We wish to extend our great thanks to the many families throughout our community who have made our new found brothers and sisters feel a welcome part of the Jewish com- munity. May we all together enjoy a wonderful and kosher Pesach. MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS Machon L:Torah Rabbi Avrohom Jacobovitz • Merkaz Rabbi David Simcha • NCSY Rabbi Mark Cohn • Project Achim of Windsor Rabbi Yossel Rosenzweig • Yeshiva Gedolah Ateres Mordechai Rabbi Eric Krohner • Yeshivat Akiva Rabbi Zev Shimansky, Rabbi Marc Volk • Yeshivath Beth Yehudah Beth Jacob Rabbi Avrohom A. Freedman, Rabbi E. B. Freedman, Rabbi Raphael Skaist • Young Israel Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, Chairman. - 15221 WEST TEN MILE, OAK PARK, MICHIGAN 48237 (313) 967-5888 An Alternative to Money Markets & CDs: LIFE USA EXCELerator Annuity EXCELerator (single premium 15.83% Rates Are Subject to Change initial single premium immediate "limited-time" 8% bonus (offer good until April 16, 1991) current portfolio interest rate (7.25%) guaranteed first year account value $100,000 — X 1.08 $108,000 15.83% X 1.0725 $115,830 — • W"limited-time" client bonus on deposits. • Hospitalization or nursing home benefit — after year one, with 30 days confinement, client may receive 20% annual payments of account values. • Loan provision, after day one, at a net cost of 2%. • Transferred accounts qualify for bonus. • IRS qualified. • 100% co-insurance by a nationally-known multi-billion dollar. A+ rated company. • 100% backing in investment-grade securities or U.S. government-backed mortgages. Minimum Deposit $1,000.00 Please call: 1-800-825-4660 Tables • Desks Wall Units Bedrooms Dining Rooms 12 Years' Experience & Expertise in the Design of Affordable Laminate, Lucite & Wood Furniture For Appt. Call 42 Muriel Weisman 661.3838 FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1991 An Act Of Defiance, A Major Turning Point RABBI MORTON YOLKUT Special to The Jewish News E ach of the four special Sabbaths prior to Pass- over has a Torah reading from a sacred scroll to inform us of the thematic link between that Sabbath and the upcoming festival of Pesach. On the Sabbath of Shekalim, we read about the half-shekel donation given during the month preceding Passover. On the Sabbath of Zachor, we read about Amalek, Israel's first post- liberation enemy. On the Sab- bath of Parah, we read about the spiritual purification pro- cess as it applied in antiqui- ty. On Shabbat Hachodesh, we read that the month of Passover is to be "the first of the months" on the Jewish calendar. On this Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Sabbath just prior to Passover, there is no second scroll and no special biblical reading. The reason is that the essence of Shabbat Hagadol transcends any verse or chapter in our Torah. It is religion itself. Why was this particular Sabbath, the last before Passover, singled out as the Great Sabbath? In the year of the Exodus from Egypt, the tenth day of the month of Nisan fell on the Sabbath. On that day, the Jewish people were in- structed to go out and prepare a lamb, the chief diety of the Egyptians. If asked about the lamb, the Israelites were to explain that they intended to offer it in four days as a Passover sacrifice. In Egypt this was a sacrilegious, radical and dangerous act, one that no Hebrew slave would ever had previously dared. And when the day came, the Israelites stood the test; the people disregarded the mortal danger involved in executing this command- ment. They accepted the dic- tates of a higher authority, of obeying His word rather than cowering before the Egyptians. This act of defiance on the last Sabbath prior to the first Passover marked a major tur- ning point in Jewish history, the moment when our ancestors. stopped fearing their Egyptian masters and demonstrated their belief in the master of the world. It Morton Yolkut is rabbi of Congregation B'nai David. was the first time in our history when the Jewish peo- ple openly declared their faith in God, despite the threats to their survival. Without this faith, Jewish history could not begin. The Talmud teaches, "The prophet came and condensed the whole of Judaism to one major principle — tzadik b'emunato yicheyeh, the righteous man lives by his faith." And that is why there is no additional reading on this Sabbath, because without this expression of faith we cannot even begin to open the scroll. The pure faith of the Jewish people just prior to the Ex- odus was the belief that God Tzav Shabbat Hagadol: Leviticus 6:1-8:36, Malachai 3:4-24. was with them, not only with the nation, but with each and every person. Each Jew felt that the Almighty was his personal God, which is the quintessence of faith and belief. When the people took the sheep in the presence of the Egyptians, when every Jew felt that God would pro- tect him — not just as part of the nation, but as an in- dividual, that is when God decided that this people was attuned to the frequency of freedom and liberation. How incisive is Jewish tradition to designate this Sabbath as Shabbat Hagadol, the great Sabbath, the day when Jews first experienced a personal relationship with their Father in Heaven. The rest of the story is found in the annals of Jewish history. L '1SYNAGOGUES 1'1 Adat Shalom Plans Siyyum Adat Shalom Synagogue will mark the beginning of the Passover holiday with a Siyyum Ha B'khor, a special service, study session and breakfast 7:15 a.m. March 29 at the synagogue. The Siyyum Ha B'khor grew out of the Fast of the Firstborn, a tradition origin- ally for firstborn sons, to com- memorate the sparing of the Hebrew firstborn in the tenth plague. The obligation to fast is waived by atten- dance at the siyyum. There is no charge.