I HOLIDAYS

THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION
OF AMERICA
Metropolitan Detroit District

INVITES
YOU TO

4.001101°
11004

High Holidays Are Times
To Reflect And Forgive

OZZIE NOGG

.)

THE MOST EAGERLY AWAITED MUSICAL
EVENT OF THE FALL SEASON

PLAN NOW TO ATTEND:

Sunday, November 3, 1991, 7:30 p.m.
Masonic Temple Auditorium

FOR RESERVATIONS PHONE 569-1515

or write to the

ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
Zionist Cultural Center
18451 W 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075
Anne Gonte Silver, President Metro Detroit District
Sidney Silverman, National President, ZOA

DESIGNS

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•
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Our Expansion & Relocation
in the
West Bloomfield Tech Center

Watch for the Grand Opening
of our New Showroom
Early Spring - 1992

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FAX 624-0354

Special to The Jewish News

F

or the past few weeks
I've been observing my
traditional pre-new
year customs — wallowing in
nostalgia, remembering past
yontifs, thinking about people
I miss, berating myself over
things-I-might-have-done-
differently. You know. All the
introspective behaviors
typical of many of us at this
time of year. This year Rosh
Hashanah begins at sundown
on Sun. Sept. 8; Yom Kippur
starts at sundown on Tues.
Sept. 17.
I've also been reliving my
bat mitzvah, which was
celebrated on a long-ago
Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat
that falls between Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
My father was my teacher. He
was a rabbi, Old-World-style,
who "specialized" in teaching
(at which he was a veritable
Pied Piper) and in reading
Torah (at which he was un-
commonly gifted and skilled).
When Poppa read Torah,
each trop (musical symbol)
was flawlessly and lovingly
chanted. And his dramatic,
intelligent interpretation of
the text gave listeners goose-
bumps, even if the listeners
had zero understanding of
Hebrew (which was usually
the case). Having a man of
this caliber as their melamed
was, to young students, a
scary business.
Poppa tried to instill his
passion for the perfect trop
and his reverence for the
Hebrew word in all his stu-
dents. Generations of them
sat at his feet, tried their best
and still mangled many a
munach in the process. Poppa
listened to all of them and
said, simply, "Again." His en-
durance was legendary.
I was a fidgety pupil. The
trop came easily enough but
the haftorah for Shabbat
Shuvah, full of exhortations
to renounce sin, transgression
and iniquity and return to
God, held little interest for
me. My delivery was hurried
and sloppy and Poppa said
"again" with regularity.
"How terrible would it be if
I made a few mistakes, Pop-
pa?" I asked him. "No one in
the congregation will know."
"If you , make a mistake,
YOU will know," he said. I
was only twelve and this
wisdom was lost on me.
Now, if my father was the

Ozzie Nogg is a writer in
Omaha, Ne.

24

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1991

consummate teacher, my
mother was the quintessen-
tial seamstress. And so, of
course, she made my bat mitz-
vah dress. I could have worn
that dress inside-out, so ex-
quisitely was it lined and
finished. No raw edges. No
tangled threads. If a seam
didn't meet my mother's
standards, she simply ripped
it out and sewed it again.
"Why do you care so much
about the inside?" I asked
her. "No one is ever going to
see the inside."
"A dress may be beautiful
on the outside," my mother
replied. "But if the inside is
not well made, the dress will
soon fall apart. Any good
tailor knows that." This
wisdom was lost on me, too.
My bat mitzvah, as best I
can recall, went just fine. Did
I make mistakes? I don't re-
member for sure, but prob-
ably yes. What I do know for
sure is that the years since
that Shabbat Shuvah have
not been error-free.
And so, this new year, I will
again say "Al Chet" and ask
atonement for my sins. The
sins of pride, anger, in-
gratitude, jealousy, disre-
spect, laziness, etc. You know.
All the sins of which most of
us are typically guilty.
And this Shabbat Shuvah
I'll remember my bat mitzvah
and the teachings of my
parents. Lessons even more
meaningful to my life than
the words of my haftorah.
I'll remember to take more
care with my stitches, Ma. I'll
try to tie up all those loose
threads and neatly finish the
seams. Sure, I'd like the out-
side to be beautiful, but I'll
try to give greater attention
to the inside. I want this gar-
ment, which is me, to wear
well, after all, and not to fall
apart.
And yes, Poppa. I'll remem-
ber that when I make a mis-
take — even one that only I
am aware of — it's still a
mistake. I'll ask to be forgiven
but this forgiveness may be
the hardest to get, for it must
come not from others but
from myself. -
"Return, oh Israel, unto the
Lord your God," says the haf-
torah for Shabbat Shuvah.
"Say unto Him, forgive all in-
iquity and accept that which
is good."
We should say that to one
another, too. Forgive all ini-
quity. Accept that which is
good. In others and in our-
selves.
May you and yours be in-
scribed for a new year of
sweetness and good health. [11