private place of danger and chaos,
only to return back to society. What
distinguishes them from other
people who go through difficult
times? They survive their difficulties
and teach what they have learned.
The one characteristic that is
common to all heroes is that they
teach through action. What
distinguishes Magic Johnson from
other people who have the HIV
virus? He has the ability to teach us
from his pain. Before, Magic
embodied some of the generalized
values of sports: passion, fairness,
physical prowess. But with new
difficulties that he now faces, Magic
teaches us how to live with
adversity and how to avoid the
adversity completely.
People with special abilities
only move to the rank of heroes
when their talents are used for good
and not for personal gain; they
reinforce our deepest values.
Heroes who model ideal behavior
are our guidepost for our own
actions. Heroes who overcome
difficulties are only heroes if we can
learn some positive lesson from
their triumph.
Jewish tradition understands
that people do not need to be
perfect to teach. Our great Jewish
heroes of history, from Abraham and
Sarah to Herzl and Henrietta Szold,
all had weaknesses and character
flaws which they overcame by
embracing the ideals that they have
come to teach. And even if they are
unable to overcome all their flaws,
their believability as models for us
only increases.
Heroes are powerful because
they help us to make decisions.
When I am faced with a decision,
like a person needing my hospitality,
I rarely lay out the rational
arguments for and against providing
assistance. Like most people, I think
of the people whom I respect and
decide whether they would have
done the same. I think of the story
of Abraham and the three angels
and I feel like I should be acting in
the same way. The power of heroes
is in the dramatic way in which their
stories influence the way people
make decisions about how to live
their lives. While we need rationality
and argumentation to help us
maintain consistency and coherence
in our actions, we need heroes to
provide us with the models which
can touch our emotions. Like it or
not, people generally make
decisions based upon the stories
they have heard or the models they
have experienced. Heroes are our
models.
Remember, heroes teach
through their actions. The best way
to become a hero, is to act
according to your highest values. If
someone else recognizes the
goodness of your actions and uses
you as an example of how to act,
then you are a hero. But if no one
ever recognizes your model
behavior, if no one ever actually
calls you a hero, don't despair. By
living your life to your own highest
values, you will certainly be a hero
to the most important person of all
— yourself.
Barry Diamond is Rabbi/Educator at
Temple Beth El, Birmingham, Mich.
DREIDEL PUZZLE
in the deaths of their enemies. They
do not fight merely to expand their
power. They do not wage war for
material things. Jews fight to
maintain a small corner of sanity in
a world quickly going mad. Jews
fight for the hardest thing there is
— living a decent, peaceful Jewish
life. El
Rabbi Bergman serves Beth
Abraham Hillel Moses Synagogue
and Hillel Day School.
We, Too, Can Be
Guardians Of Our Faith
By RON WOLFSON
A long, long time ago in a land
far, far away .. .
The Jewish people were ruled
by the dark forces of the Syrian-
Greek Empire. The evil Emperor,
Antiochus, had forced the Israelites
to give up their religious beliefs until
— a small band of Jews from a
country village called Modi'in
decided to fight for their freedom.
The leader of the Rebellion was
named JUDAH, a son of Mattathias,
grandson of the Hasmonean
matriarch "Bubbie Fett." A FORCE
was with Judah — the force of
bravery and courage. He was swift
like a lion in battle. When he threw
his saber it seemed to flash like
lightning — a light saber, they
called it.
Judah's nickname was
"Maccabee" which means "mighty
hammer." But some say he was the
first of a long tradition of
courageous warriors known as
Knights. His followers — the
Maccabees — wanted to be like a
Judah-Knight, but only Judah had
the special force of leadership
within him. No ordinary soldier
could withstand his power. Yet,
Judah never relied on his own
strength — the force of his
ancestral God brought Judah faith
and courage.
Judah and his band fought the
much greater armies of the Syrian-
Greek Emperor in many fierce
battles, never giving up hope for
victory. Finally, these brave Jews
defeated the Emperor's forces and
Judah returned to Jerusalem,
driving the Emperor from the holy
city. The forces of good cleansed
and re-dedicated the Temple to the
holy purpose of worshipping the one
God. The Jewish way of life was
returned to the children of Israel. An
eight-day holiday called Chanukah
(re-dedication) was declared and
there was light and joy in the
galaxy.
The Return of Judah to
Jerusalem was a great military
victory. Yet more importantly, the
Return of Judah restored Judaism
to our people at a time of great
oppression, a time when many Jews
were led to the dark side of an evil
Empire, away from their religion.
Judah's force for truth, justice and
freedom glows inside our homes
each night that we light a Chanukah
candle. That glow reminds us that
we too can be Judah-Knights,
guardians of our faith and beliefs.
May the force of re-dedication
be with each and every one of us
this year!
Reprinted from Chicken Soup,
December, 1983.
A dreidel is a spinning top played
with on Chanukah. It has four
sides. Four Hebrew letters are
written on the dreidel, one on
each side. The letters are 3
(nun), 1 (gimmel), Ti (hay) and
W (shin). The letters below are in
the shape of a dreidel. The words
NUN, GIMMEL, HAY and SHIN
are hidden ten times each. Circle
each one you find until you have
found them all.
Sample:
alga
T W
B V
ellgr1/490 P
(H A Y)B
eMEEMI
t7 E
-
N U N
H A Y
S 0 P
H J K
B C
N 0 T
H A Y
M
M
E
L
N U N L K J H
K J N U N S
W P
H A Y S A 0 A S H
U H
P T
N B
M M E L Y K F D A W
M V C X z N
S H N N M E N 0 A H L M D A
0 z N
A 0 U D
X C V F
E
D E L I P E D
B X N
E
L S H
N K J L B 0 Y 0
M M E L H 0 U S E M 0 U S E X z
E
N U N R 0 z X D N B ✓ C X z A H A Y J
H A Y J H F D S
N
I M M E L H A Y T
z C B K H B V H F D 0 z X C F S H
N
F 0 U R A N S J U D A H M A C C A B E E
N U N K Y P 0 S H
0 N U N
N J H F D
K N U N B 0
M M E L J N C V X z 0
K J N K J H F
N B V X z
0 X z S H
C X R 0 L H A N U K K A H
A M E
M M E L B
M M E L B D
B 0 Y M B K
z B H Y 0
B V M
M M E L
N H S C X H A Y K
K J Y R
0 V
F U N F U N
H A Y A
H A
Answers on Page
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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