TORAH PORTION ABICANIIIDEL CM OF COMMERCE OF MICHIGAN ANNUAL ISRAEL TRADE AWARD DINNER Wednesday, June 10, 1992 HYATT REGENCY HOTEL, DEARBORN 6:00 PM - Cocktail Reception. 7:00 PM - Dinner Keynote Speaker: GM JAMES J. BLANCHARD and SHLOMO HAREL Head of the Israel Economic Mission to North America * * * * * * * * * 1992 ISRAEL TRADE AWARD RECIPIENTS DOUGLAS A SCHUBOT President Jules R. Schubot Jewellers JOEL H. SHAPIRO IRWIN L ELSON President Executive V,P. J. & L. Industrial Supply Co. * * * * * * * * * DINNER CO-CHAIRMEN MARK KAHN GEORGE HERRERA For reservations and further information, contact: Shelly Komer Jackier, 313-661-1948 Why Monkey Around? ... Trust Your Watchmaker! U.W.R.. UNIVERSAL JEWELRY and WATCH REPAIR • Is your watch repaired on your jeweler's premises or does he sent it out? 7 WATCH TOVERHAUCT ROLEX BATTIERIES & CLEAN OVERHAUL & CLEAN Regular WatchQuartz Watch $ VV Q Q 95 $1995 $2995 Installed • 2 YEAR WARRANTY • • 2 YEAR WARRANTY • Regular Batteries • No Limit Parts Not Included Parts Not Included 'With Coupon • Expires 8/31/92 'With Coupon • Expires 8/31/921. With Coupon • Expires 8/31/92 j Located in One Northwestern Plaza Bldg. 28411 Northwestern Hwy. at Beck Rd., Suite 250 Southfield 358-2211 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9-6, Sat. 9-5 • We Do Repairs For 250 Jewelers Nationwide We Repair All Quartz & Manual Watches • Crystal • Crowns • Watchbands Authorized Distributor of Material For: SEIKO • LONGINES • CITIZEN The Religious Life Follows Moral Law RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ Special to The Jewish News T he portion for this week raises basic ques- tions about a problem that has troubled mankind since the dawn of history. Does it pay to be good? Is there a reward for being good? Does the moral law punish the wicked for wrong-doing? Two alternatives are offered in this sedra. If the ancient Israelites in the desert follow the statutes laid down by Moses and heed carefully the Ten Commandments, if they guard well the religious way of life and faithfuly observe all that it implies, if, in other words, they are good and do good, then they will be amp- ly rewarded by rains in their season, by fruitful land, and peace for all the inhabitants. But if they do not harken un- to the Divine, if they reject the spiritual interpretation of life, if they break the moral law of God and ignore the im- plications of the religious way of life, then a long list of dire consequences and dreadful devastation will befall them. Those who do not follow the moral law will meet their just doom. Leviticus 26 is a warning and admonition in which man's natural fears are ex- ploited in graphic detail. Man's hope for reward for do- ing good is implemented with religious sanction. The reverse is also true. The worst kinds of destruction and devastation, the horrors and retribution for disregarding the covenant with God are detailed, one worse than the next. There is a strong sense of wisdom behind this chapter. How many times in every- one's life have we been troubl- ed by the problem of whether is pays to be good, to be decent and honorable in one's rela- tion with his fellow man? Events of the past genera- tion have sorely tried our faith about decency and goodness. We who witnessed the successful triumphs that Hitler made over self- righteous democracies wondered whether there would ever be a final retribu- tion. We lived to see that justice was meted out to Hitler. The terrible sins of Nazism, with the support of many of the German people, brought ruin and destruction Dr. Hertz is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El. upon millions. Ultimately, their dreadful wrong-doing was severely punished, but as a consequence, millions of in- nocent people had to suffer and die, including 6 million in the Holocaust. The tragedy aroused world Jewry to a new sense of duty to its covenant and awakened mankind to the awareness of the evil of which modern man is capable. The establishment of the State of Israel and the awakening of a new sense of maturity on the part of world Jewry, especially in the United States, brought a greater sensitivity to human rights and outlawing of mass extermination of people because of their religion and race. This was small consola- Shabbat Bechukotai: Leviticus 26:3-27:34 Jeremiah 16:19-17:14. tion for the 6 million Jews who perished, or to their bereaved families. The question of why God permitted the slaughter of the 6 million can only be answered by the author of Job: "The affliction of the in- nocent is something beyond our understanding, but not beyond our trust in God." Our Torah tells us that what evil once let loose rare- ly stops with only the guilty. Sin and wickedness, like disease, are highly infectious and can bring pain to the in- nocent as well as to the guilty. Our sedra this week tells us what to do for the sake of goodness and what not to do for the sake of sin. We must dedicate our lives to the prac- tice of righteousness. We must work for the well-being of our fellow man. We must help bring the wicked to speedy justice. We must do all we can to safeguard people against avoidable calamities. We may yet live to see a time when wars and disease are conquered. The dramatic ex- ample of Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin, who discovered how to protect peo- ple from polio, will perhaps give us reason to believe that we can prevent other forms of suffering like cancer and AIDS. Scripture consistently held fast to the principle that evil- doing would be punished and E)