JCC SUMMER CAMP
Is FOR
EVERYONE!
For a summer of fun and unforgettable memories make your plans at the Jewish
Community Center. We offer flexible, exciting new programs including
transportation to and from camp.
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Pre-School thru 5th Grade
Safari
Teen Caravan
Camper's Choice
Camp of the Arts
All Pro Sports
Summer Travel Adventure
DR. RICHARD C. HERTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
T
For more information and a full color Summer Camp brochure call
661-1007 for Maple/Drake or 967-4030 for JPM
Session I: June 27-July 21
Session II: July25-August 18
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HOUSE:
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Maple/Drake
West Bloomfield
March 20
JPM
Oak Park
April 24
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Where We've Got The Spirit!
THE pci
DATEBOOK
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SATURDAY
MARCH 12
Men's Club Shabbat
Sit Down Kiddush With Guest Speaker David Beugelsen
MONDAY
MARCH 14
Sisterhood General Meeting With Guest Speaker
Rabbi Martin Berman Who Will Discuss "Kosher Wars"
SUNDAY
MARCH 20
Congregational Religious School's Model Seder
FRIDAY
MARCH 25
Erev Passover Family Shabbat Dinner
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CD
CC
MON DAY'S
7:30 P.M.
TUESDAY'S
12:15-1:30 P.M •
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52
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T.* t,t,
Tent Of Meeting
Becomes A Tradition
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Talmud Classes
Lunch And Learn
COMING SUNDAY, MAY 22 - PAUL ZIM AND HIS SIMCHA KLEZMER BAND
FOR INFORMATION CALL 352-8670 21100 W. Twelve Mile Rd./Southfield
his sedrah deals with the
way in which Moses as-
sembled the whole corn-
munity of Israel to make
a public announcement that the
construction of the tabernacle
was to be an enterprise for all
Israelites. He issued a call for
donations of materials and spec-
ified the way in which the var-
ious materials would be used.
The people, men and women
alike, responded to Moses' call
with unstinting generosity.
They freely contributed their
most precious possessions.
Moses then informed the peo-
ple that God had designated
Bezalel and Oholiab as the chief
architects and supervisors of the
entire project.
There now followed in Scrip-
ture a lengthy and detailed
account of the work. Bezalel
was endowed with the "Divine
Spirit" of skill, ability and
knowledge in every kind of
craft. A lengthy and detailed ac-
count of the construction is
given, really a repetition of
instructions already given in
previous chapters of Exodus.
Thus did Bezalel and his
helpers complete the work of
building the tabernacle of the
Tent of Meeting.
The text does not record how
long the work took nor the dates
involved, but according to rab-
binic tradition the work was fin-
ished on the 25th day of the
ninth month of Kislev.
The function of the Tent of
Meeting of the tabernacle was
to be a symbol of the in-dwelling
of the Divine presence in the
camp of Israel as well as the site
of communication between God
and Moses.
Ever since the time of the
tabernacle, the Jewish people
have made it a sacred obliga-
tion to support the successor of
the tabernacle, namely the syn-
agogue. Although the origins of
the synagogue are usually as-
cribed to the time of Ezra in the
Babylonian exile, the tradition
of having a tabernacle as the
place for the indwelling pres-
ence of God became a sacred
tradition among the people of
Israel. Wherever they went dur-
ing the long and bitter exile of
the Middle Ages, they carried
with them the memories of the
tabernacle.
Thus even after the Temple
was built and the second Tem-
ple destroyed in the year 70
C.E. the Jewish people felt it a
Dr. Richard C. Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.
sacred obligation in the Dias-
pora to build a synagogue.
The synagogue served a
three-fold function. It was to be
a house of prayer, a house of
study and a house of assembly.
Thus the modern synagogue
traces its origins all the way
back to the days of Moses and
Bezalel in building a sanctuary.
The Temple became the most
important institution in ancient
Judaism. During the time of the
Babylonian exile the synagogue
itself developed, when the
exiles deprived of their Temple
and its sacrificial system, found
themselves in a strange land,
needing consolation in their dis-
tress and alone without the sup-
port of their priests. They would
meet from time to time, prob-
ably on Sabbaths to read the
Scriptures and to offer prayers
for the return and rebuilding of
the Temple.
When the Temple was finally
rebuilt in Jerusalem, its elab-
orate sacrificial system served
Shabbat Parah:
Exodus 35:1-38:20
Numbers 19:1-22
Ezekiel 36:16-38.
the needs of a central sanctu-
ary for all Israelites. Not until
the Temple was destroyed by
the Romans in the year 70 C.E.
did people realize the need for
something to take its place.
But no distinctive form of
synagogue architecture de-
volved. In whatever country
Jews lived, they adapted their
country's style of architecture.
Thus Roman and Greek col-
umns became popular. The
mosque was initiated. Bezalel
was the inspiration.
Synagogue architecture
evolved as best suited to specif-
ic needs by using local building
materials. Synagogue architec-
ture usually conformed to the
pattern of the country and
reflected the local or national
architectural expressions.
Thus we see in this sedrah
the details and instruction for
building the portable sanctu-
ary. Although the sedrah does
not stand out by identifying
deep ethical or spiritual quali-
ties found elsewhere in the
Torah, it is interesting because
we catch a glimpse of a tremen-
dously interesting personality,
Bezalel, whose influence and in-
spiration as architect of the