THE JULIUS CHAJES MUSIC FUND CONCERT SERIES 1992-1993 SEASON The Sukkot Message: Ecology, Thanksgiving DR. RICHARD C. HERTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Sunday Salon Series in the Janice Charach Epstein Museum/Gallery Sunday, October 25, 1992, 3:30 p.m. THE RACKHAM STRING QUARTET Winner, Gustav Rosseels Prize in Chamber Music. Winner, Coleman Chamber Music Competition. Winner, Carmel Chamber Music Competition. Winner, Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. General Admission $10.00 Senior Citizens & Students $8.00 at the JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT 6600 West Maple Road West Bloomfield For Season Subscription and Ticket Information call Annette Chajes at the Center 661-1000 Yours to Discover "Pleasures Treasures" At Congregation Beth Shalom Auction Saturday, November 7, 1992 Doors Open: 7:30 P.M. • Silent and Live Auction Excitement Featuring: Automobiles, Furs, Trips & More • Refreshments... Dessert Buffet INVESTORS 3-YEAR NOTES, 12% GUARANTEE, INTEREST PAID MONTHLY, Since 1945 BELVEDERE CONSTRUCTION, INC. • Ca/557-1 000 Door Prizes Ask For Mr. Michaels LU Tickets: $7.50 in advance..$10.00 at the door Cf) w For advance Ticket Sale Call 547-7970 I-- Congregation Beth Shalom • 14601 W. Lincoln Rd. • Oak Park, MI 48237 CD CC F— w Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results Place Your Ad Today. LLJ F- 50 AMC Call 354-6060 CAS111 FOR LIKE-NEW WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S DESIGNER fashions & accessories CONSIGNMENT CLOTHIERS Call today for a FREE housecall appt. or in-store appt. 347-4570 43011 \V. 7 Mile • Northville," T he regular order of Torah readings is in- terrupted this Shabbat because it is the Sabbath dur- ing Sukkot. It bears a special name, Shabbat Hol HaMoed Sukkot. The reading from the Torah on Sukkot is a special portion from Exodus: 33-34. It contains a description of the nature of God and the at- tributes of God listed in 34:6-7. There is something anti- climactic about the festival of Sukkot. Coming only five days after the spiritual ex- altation of the High Holy Days, when great crowds thronged the synagogues and people were in a reverent mood after having filled themselves with a full year's spiritual diet, Sukkot suffers from its timing. People feel a letdown. Sukkot has a very different message from the Holy Days. It is our ecology festival. Sukkot is a joyous time of thanksgiving over the harvest time when the earth is filled with the colors of the rainbow. The transition in so short a time is difficult for the modern Jew. Most Jews in America live in the big cities and their suburbs. They have little contact with farm pro- ducts except through shopp- ing in the supermarkets. Even the sukkot in the suburbs seem incongruous. In ancient times they served a very practical function. The sukkah commemorates the flimsy but required by desert wanderings. It also reminds Jews of the misfor- tunes of those in poverty and want. No matter the weather, the sukkah reminds us of the world of nature from which we have become estranged. Sukkot, our ecology festival, becomes an impor- tant reminder for people to- day. The festival's lesson teaches that man must have confidence not in his own strength nor his own fortune, but must place his faith in Divine Providence. The festival rewards those who enter the sukkah with a sense of deep and abiding tranquility. Yet in an age when we can be thankful for so much because we have so much, it Dr. Hertz is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El. is hard to see the wastefulness today. We have good food but we ruin it with chemical sprays. We have an abundant supp- ly of drinking water but we make it distasteful by dump- ing industrial sludge into our streams. We can be joyful for clear blue skies, but not when we choke on smog and inhale an overabundance of auto emissions. We can rejoice at the tran- quility of our quiet lakes but cringe at all the useless noise in the city. Shabbat Hol HaMoed Sukkot: Exodus 33:12.34:26 Ezekiel 38:18.39:16, We can marvel at the rich hues of green fields, but recoil at the litter that is such an eyesore in our city. We can look at our sukkot without fear of persecution from speaking out against people we disagree with, without fear of being im- prisoned or punished because of our religion. Soviet Jews were not able to practice openly the religion of our forefathers for generations until many of them stood up and were willing to speak out and fight for their religious freedom. Sukkot is a time of thanksgiving that dates back to an ancient agriculture festival. The underlying idea of the sukkah is the symbol of our dependence on God for His mercy. The frail sukkah sym- bolizing this fragile and tran- sitory life serves as a reminder that material things have little per- manence. The joyous and gratitude of this holiday should be a constant reminder of the blessings granted us by a generous God. The festival of Sukkot not on- ly reminds us of God's help in ages past but points us in the direction of a proper apprecia- tion of our present and future. We are grateful for the simple things of life. We can thank God in this festival of Thanksgiving for all our blessings showered upon us by a generous God. ❑