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Religion Affirmed:
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RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT

Special to The Jewish News

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48

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1991

Northwestern Highway at Inkster Road

ne of the most famous
a nd inspiring prayers
of the entire Jewish
liturgy is found in this week's
Torah portion. It is recited
mornings and evenings. It is
the last prayer recited by a
Jew before meeting his
creator. It has been the
clarion call of our people
through the centuries. With
this prayer on their lips,
Jewish martyrs from the In-
quisition to the Holocaust
have made the supreme
sacrifice for God and tradi-
tion. It serves as the identify-
ing work of a Jewish home, for
it is included in the mezuzah
on our doorposts. The prayer,
of course, is the Sh'ma: "Hear
0 Israel, the Lord is our God,
the Lord is One."
Our rabbis relate a
dramatic story concerning
the very first time this prayer
was recited. Jacob (Israel) is
about to die in the land of
Egypt and he gathers his
family together one last time.
His sons are powerful heads of
tribes, rooted now after more
than two generations in a
strange land and a foreign
culture. Jacob is concerned
and troubled about the future.
With his last bit of strength,
he shares his fears with his
sons and says: "My children,
perhaps, after I die you will
reject the tradition of my
father and grandfather and
worship alien gods. Are you
all with me, or do some of you
have second thoughts about
following our demanding and
unique way of life?"
It is at this point, according
to the Talmud, that the sons
of Jacob-Israel answer in
unison: "Sh'ma Yisrael!
Listen, Father Israel, the
Lord is our God, the Lord is
One! Israel, our father, we are
all here; we are all with You,
always!" When Jacob hears
these inspiring words, he ex-
claims with joy: "Blessed be
His glorious kingdom forever
and ever." (TB Pesahim 96b).
As long as Jacob was
haunted by doubts concern-
ing the spiritual commitment
of his children, as long as he
was not certain whether the
next generation would re-
main loyal to his God and
religion, he could not die in
peace. But when he was
reassured by his sons that
they would carry on his faith
after he was gone, he joyous-

Morton Yolkut is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai David.

ly declared, "Blessed be the
name of his glorious kingdom
forever and ever." He could
now die in peace assured that
his religion and teachings
would be upheld from one
generation to the next.
This, perhaps, is the lesson
of the famous talmudic state-
ment: "Yaakov Avinu lo met
— Our father Jacob did not
die." The rabbis did not mean
to refute the biblical account
of the death and burial of
Jacob as recorded in this
week's sedra. Rather, they ex-
plain: "Mali zaro behayim, of
hu bahayim, just as his
children are living and
flourishing today, so he, too, is
alive" (TB Taanit 5b). They
are carrying on his tradition;

Shabbat Vayechi
Genesis
47:28-50:26
I Kings 2:1-12

they are trying to achieve his
goals. They are his
immortality.
Like Jacob of antiquity,
Jewish parents today are con-
cerned about the Jewish
future of their children and
grandchildren. Like him we
also ask: "What of the future?
What of tomorrow?" When
one considers the alarming
rise of assimilation and mix-
ed marriages in our com-
munity, the anxiety and fear
are more than justified. We
are worried about the
spiritual and moral goals of
our children and whether
they will cherish the faith of
our fathers and take places in
the Jewish community of
tomorrow.
We, who are interested in
the survival of Judaism, must
help transmit that concern to
our children. They must be
taught to love its ideals, to
share its faith and fulfill its
hopes. As Jewish parents, our
responsibility is a massive
one. We dare not take it light-
ly. So many of us, while main-
taining our own allegiance to
Judaism, are not effectively
transmitting it to our
children.
Plan with great care the
religious education and the
moral training of our children
so that in our time we, like
Jacob of old, will be reassured
that Judaism will live on
"forever and ever?' Then, like
Jacob, we will not fear death
because we shall have achiev-
ed our immortality; and we
shall become deathless, time-
less, living on in those
nearest and dearest to us. ❑