THE POWER OF SCUDS ISN'T IN THE BUILDINGS THEY RIP APART BUT IN THE PEOPLE THEY PULL TOGETHER. Is Wolpe A Spiritualist For Modern Times? NOAM M.M. NEUSNER Staff Writer O nce called a "Yuppie Heschel," David Wolpe is trying to play matchmaker for Jews and God. With his book, The Healer Of Shattered Hearts Every Jew feels each Scud attack on Israel, as if it has been in his or her own backyard. Psychologically, it has. And after the very first attack, Jews,, the world over, feel more connected than they have in years. You might be wondering about the sense of Jewish identity you are now feeling, and may want to explore it further. The Discovery Seminar will give you that opportunity. Thousands of Jewish professionals, among them—doctors, lawyers, business and entertainment executives, have been participants. Discovery is the most well attended lecture series in the Jewish world, today. It is held as either a weekend retreat or a day seminar, in 40 cities on five continents. Discovery can either be a single or family experience. Participants gain an enriching knowledge that changes their own sense of Jewish identity, forever. The next Discovery Seminar in Detroit will be held on Sunday, November 10 at the United Hebrew Schools building on 12 Mile Road in Southfield. To reserve your place, call the number below, today. And you'll find out why there isn't a weapon in the world that • can bring down your Jewish identity. AISH HATORAH THE DISCOVERY SEMINAR • 313.737 • 0400 METRO. A.T. GET YOUR NEXT PAIR OF SANSABELT .scoo°:ss'o° ces:,* '000 -Aor t's DOOR TO DOOR THE LOWEST FARES IN TOWN... FOR LUXURY SEDANS! (PER PERSON RATES) VAN AVAILABLE WHEN NEEDED. 7 DAYS A WEEK - 24 HOURS A DAY! For Reservations Call 1-800-365-5467 20 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1991 slacks at a sensible price. Why pay more when we offer them at discount? We even include FREE tailoring. Discount prices start at: 99 of f free ree parking behind our store sizes 32-60 JOHN R MEN'S WEAR 543-4646 hours daily 9:30-6:30 Fri. & Sat. 9:30-8, Sun. 11-5 9 mile & John R Take 1-75 to 9 Mile (Penguin), he has entered a tradition of stressing man's relationship with a personal God. It appears, from the heavy sales of _the book (already 20,000 copies have been sold and it is now in its sixth hardcover printing) that the idea has a hearing. In an analysis that is part- ly anecdotal and largely per- sonal, Rabbi Wolpe writes that God is a non-reality in most Jews' lives. "Jews are embarrassed to talk about God," he said. This embarrassment stems from an education that stresses the study of a cul- ture and traditions that are vital to the demonstration of the faith. What is missing, Rabbi Wolpe says, is the faith itself. "There is this great void at the center of tradition that nobody was talking about," he said. "God was a reflex, not a reality." His book, he says, is for people who practice Judaism without sensing the spirit of God in their lives. He at- tempts to link man and God in eternal communication in an often loving, personal re- lationship. "It's an attempt to present the Jewish idea of God to people who need it — and want it," he said. That is a vague way of put- ting it. Rabbi Wolpe offers several means of having a close relationship with God. What is crucial, he feels, is the believing. Once accomplished, ritual takes on a whole new mean- ing, he said. Traditions reflect the spirit of God, not just a routine. Rabbi Wolpe, a library di- rector and instructor at the University of Judaism, is guided not by scholarship and systemic analysis, but by picking from reams of Jewish sources stories that illustrate the pain of exis- tence without spirituality. Himself the son of a rabbi, Rabbi Wolpe says American Judaism has been drained of its spirituality by over- intellectualization. His model of the ideal spiritual David Wolpe life: Buber's Chasid and Heschel's Midrashic story- teller. Unlike Heschel, Rabbi Wolpe is not a generalist. His emphasis on addressing a need, as opposed to for- mulating a system of Judaism, has won him sup- port among rabbinic circles. It has not, however, won over Judaic studies scholars. He admits, however, that his book is not a scholarly — or even an original — tract. It is, he writes, "an attempt to present some striking images from the tradition . . . and suggest that they speak to our lives and situa- tions in often unexpected ways.' ' ❑ . NEWS 1 1 Tehiya Member Quits Post Jerusalem (JTA) — Right- wing firebrand Geula Cohen resigned her government of- fice but remained in the Tehiya party, even though it has not quit the Likud-led coalition as she would have liked it to do. Ms. Cohen, who was depu- ty minister of science and energy, submitted her resig- nation to the minister of science and energy, Yuval Ne'eman, the Tehiya leader. But she will remain in Tehiya to coordinate its efforts against concessions for peace. Ms. Cohen is one of the party's three-member Knesset faction, which voted last week to leave Prime Minister Yitzhak. Shamir's government in protest against Israel's participa- tion in the Middle East peace conference in Madrid.