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Temple Beth El Sisterhood's
1993 Installation Luncheon
Monday, may 24, 1993
11 :4 5 a.m., Temple Beth El
7400 Telegraph Road, Bloom! ield Tills
RABBI DAVID A. NELSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Guest Zpeaker
Dr. Seymour Ziegelmzm
"Controversial Gynecological assues
For Women CY The 90's"
5.00 members X7.00 Guest
Reservation deadline: May 17
Yor reservations: Make checks payable a mail to
sisterhood Luncheon, TEE,
7400 Telegraph Road
Bloomfield Tjills, MU 48301
KIDDUSH CUP
Gleaming brass, copper &
steel ribbons
permanently enfold
a pewter cup.
Richard Bitterman's work is available
at
Tradition! Tradition!
Call
Alicia R. Nelson
557-0109
for an appointment
THE DETRO IT J EWISH N EWS
WHY SETTLE
FOR LESS?
500 Styles,
over 2,000 fabrics,
plus leather.
Custom Sofas
Shop
S Ina 's 7E) e
" '
I hr
(
A tti ()M t n
ApPeara. ► 1 CC
C(CFC
(313) 855-5600
$695.00 - $1695.00.
Custom made
and delivered
in just 35 days.
"Time For Spring Cleaning"
• Customizing
• Complete Car Cleaning
• Bonded and Insured
• Pre-Sale Preparations
• Pick-up and Delivery
• Accessory Sales and
Installation
32671 Northwestern Hwy. • Farmington Hills
Between Middlebelt and Orchard Lake Road
Sam Rozenberg
The Torah Offers
Warnings, Hope
FURNITURE
NOVI • LIVONIA
STERLING HEIGHTS
ANN ARBOR
I
f you wanted to threaten
someone . .. or to curse
someone . . . what is the
worst punishment you can
think of?
Prison perhaps. Disgrace.
Starvation. Each of us has
our own view of what might
be the worst penalty possible.
Yiddish is full of funny, as
well as eloquent, curses. Both
Leo Rosten and Maurice
Samuel devote chapters of
their books to curses, citing
humorous examples.
This week's Torah por-
tion, Behar-Bechukotai, con-
tains a much more terrifying
set of warnings and curses.
In Bechukotai, God says,
"Be loyal to My ways, you will
have prosperity; more, you
will have peace; more, you
will have Me as your friend
and companion; more, you
will stand up straight and tall
and proud. But if you do not
remain loyal to my command-
ments, then you will have ter-
ror and trouble, fear and
persecution, suffering and
punishment!'
This week's Haftorah,
taken from the words of
Jeremiah, also contains a
curse. You might wonder,
"What is left to threaten after
all the curses already made?"
He says, "Cursed be the
man who puts his trust in
himself, and depends on his
own sight. His punishment
will be that: He will be like a
tree that stands alone in the
desert; he will not see when
the rain comes; he will stand
alone in the wilderness, on
salty earth where nothing
grows."
Jeremiah's message is, of
course, that loneliness is the
punishment for wickedness. If
you trust no one, then no one
will trust you. If you try to
make yourself into a god,
then you will have no god to
lean on in your times of
distress. He counters this
dismal message by going on
to offer his description of the
reward awaiting the
righteous. "Blessed be the
man who puts his trust in the
Lord, for then the Lord will
trust him."
Jeremiah is absolutely cor-
rect . . . loneliness is the
greatest of all curses. What
good is it to "have it all" if
there is no one with whom
you may share? At the same
David Nelson is rabbi of
Congregation Beth Shalom.
time, companionship is the
greatest blessing, for with it
you can endure any hardship,
survive any sorrow, while
sharing your joy in the best of
times.
In modern society there is
much talk of "networking!'
Judaism understood the con-
cept in ancient times, grasp-
ing the concept of the curse of
loneliness and offering a net-
work of ways in which a per-
son could feel kesher,
connected.
The first is through God.
Jews have always been taught
that, wherever they go, they
go with God. Whatever may
happen, we are never alone.
Secondly, the Jews received
the gift of the Torah. In its
study, there is companion-
ship. Nathan of Nemiron said
Shabbat
Behar-Bechukotai:
Leviticus
25:1-27:34
Jeremiah
16:19-17:14.
it best: "Every living soul is
a letter of the Torah."
The other important way to
achieve companionship is
through family living. Jewish
life is essentially family life.
This was and is the great link
between the individual and
the world.
The poet Robert Frost had
an apt description: "Home is
that place where they have to
let you in." Home and family
is where you belong, not
because you have earned it,
not because you pay for it, but
simply because you are you.
Jews have, for centuries,
lived in hostile environments.
They have often felt, in
Jeremiah's words, like trees
in the desert. Yet, they have
never been lonely. They had
God; they had Torah' and they
had each other. Taken to-
gether, the three add up to
kesher, a sense of being
connected.
What we learn from this
week's sedrah is that, though
we have been isolated for so
long, we continue to have
roots and to be part of a com-
munity. With the help of God,
Torah, and family we can
have this, the greatest bless-
ing of all.
❑