TORAH PORTION JERUSALEM DAY CELEBRATION (YOM YERUSHALAYIM) A Celebration of 24 years of a Reunified Jerusalem Thursday, May 9, 1991 UNITED HEBREW SCHOOLS 7:00 p.m. 21550 W. 12 Mile, Southfield cooperation with the Jewish Educator's Council will sponsor an art exhibition by students. The theme will be the celebration of Jerusalem. STUDENTS MAY SUBMIT THEIR ENTRIES IN PROSE, PAINT. OR ANY OTHER ART FORM. Deadline to enter: Thursday, May 2, 1991 — Submit entries to: Detroit Zionist Federation 21550 W. 12 Mile Rd., Southfield, MI 48076 For Information and Tickets call Belle Schwartz' 967-3891 Youth/Seniors: $1.00 Adults: $4.00 — Tickets may also be purchased at the door — Sponsored By The Detroit Zionist Federation Affiliated Organizations: American Mizrachi Women • Americans for Progressive Israel • Association of Reform Zionists of America • Jabotinsky Society of Herut USA • Labor Zionist Alliance • Metropolitan Detroit Chapter of Hadassah • Na'Amat USA • Religious Zionists of America • Zionist Organization of America, Detroit District • B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation, Wayne State University • Michigan Students for Israel • Congregation Beth Achim • Congregation Beth Shalom • Congregation B'nai David • Con- gregation B'nai Moshe • Temple Israel • Parents of North American Israelis • Jewish National Fund • Americans for Safe Israel WE HAVE WHAT THE THE COMPETITION DOESN'T COME JOIN US! Take advantage of our SPECIAL YOUNG ADULT'' offer and experience the finest Health Club in the area. One full year of Health Club Membership for ONLY $500 • Indoor/Outdoor Tracks • Indoor/Outdoor Tennis • Indoor/Outdoor Pools • Versaclimber • Squash •" Stairmaster • Universal Equipment • Whirlpool/Steam/Sauna A NEW GENERATION OF FUN IS HERE For further information contact the Membership Depai Lnent •t Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit 6600 West Maple Road West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322 =11 661-1000, ext. 265 or 266 * 18-25 with valid drivers license • * Certain restrictions may apply 54 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1991 RABBI RICHARD HERTZ Special to The Jewish News W SPECIAL STUDENT ART EXHIBIT — The Detroit Zionist Federation, in • Nautilus • Hi-Tech Treadmills • • Racquetball Aerobics Striving For Holiness, The Unattainable Goal hen you begin to read this week's sedra you think you are reading the Ten Com- mandments, for Chapter 19 standing midway in the Torah is rightly regarded by the rab- bis as the kernel of the Torah. Indeed, Leviticus 19 is the counterpart of the Decalogue, for the Ten Commandments are in essence repeated here. Six items prominently forbid- den are identified in this chapter: humiliation of par- ents, cheating strangers, de- spising Sabbath and sacred offerings, depravity, de- frauding one's own kinsman, and. baseness. In addition, many other subjects are enumerated in a positive way: consideration for the needy, prompt pay- ment of wages, reasonable hours, honorable dealings, love of one's neighbor, sym- pathetic understanding of the alien, equal justice to rich and poor, fair measures and weights — a whole host of subjects intimately connected to everyday life. A dramatic quality makes each of those commandments center around "Do not . . ." or "You shall . . ." Then the com- mandments conclude with the formula, "I am the Lord" or "I am the Lord your God?' Thus Leviticus 19, the holiness chapter, proceeds to outline specifically and by ex- ample what it means to live a life of holiness. Here is a magnificent summation of ethical obligations to one's family, one's fellow man, to • oneself. Keeping one's soul free of the cancers of the spirit brought on by vengeance and' hatred, or by bearing a grudge, or by yearning for revenge, or by embittering one's heart and crippling one's life — these are all elements of personal Judaism that are the Torah's prescrip- tion for holiness. "You must be holy" pro- vides the rationale for the commandments. Israel must be holy because God is holy. To have a close relationship with God, the people must emulate God. In theological language, this doctrine is known as Imitatio Dei, "the Rabbi Hertz is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El and distinguished professor of Jewish studies at the University of Detroit. imitation of God." The way to holiness in personal life is to emulate God's attributes. God is the Jewish ideal of perfection. The ways of God are the highest patterns of living, perhaps unattainable for men and women because human beings can never at- tain the sublime virtues of God. Some may ask cynically, "What's the use of striving to achieve the perfection of God when a human being can never achieve that perfection? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?" Judaism has an answer. Sometimes we say that we must hitch our wagon. to the stars. We know, of course, that it's impossible to reach the stars yet we try to keep our ideals as high as heaven. The Achrai Mot — Kedoshim: Leviticus 16:1-20:27. Amos 9:7-15. very fact that our ideals are hitched to the stars is incen- tive to climb higher and higher. Judaism provides a moti- vating idealism for life. It pro- vides standards. "You shall be holy for I, the Lord thy God, am holy." In Judaism, holiness is a word for the highest spirituality, for the loftiest standards of moral perfection. The sanctification of daily life thus becomes the essence of holiness. In the Jewish view, the daily task is done not merely for the sake of a material reward, but because the performance of the or- dinary can bring a person closer to God. Every daily task, every dai- ly mitzvah, becomes a means of sanctifying God by becom- ing more God-like. That is what is meant by the great phrase in traditional Judaism — kidush hashem — "sanc- tification of God's name?' By performing the daily task with a full consciousness of the religious motivation pro- mpting the good deed, we tru- ly give evidence of revering God. The highlight of the holiness code comes in verse 18: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?' perhaps the most comprehensive rule of conduct is those three sim- ple Hebrew words. Here the essence of religion is ap- plicable in every human situation. 1=1