Yom Kippur 1994/5755

I remember, late one night, af-
ter a day of speeches and work-
shops in Brussels sitting over a
cup of coffee with Yevgeny. "Rab-
bi, my family were four genera-
tions in Moscow. I know nothing
of Judaism. My father told me to
marry a Jewish girl and never to
forget I am a Levi. Why? What
does 'Levi' mean, I wondered. But
I obeyed him. Rabbi, my son was
born two weeks ago in Haifa. For
four generations no male in my
family was circumcized. Last
week, I held my son at his brit!"
. . . "For the sake of Zion I will not
be silent, For the sake of Jeru-
salem I will not be still!"
Those words are contained in
the last of seven strengthening
messages we read between Tisha
B'Av and Rosh Hashanah. All
seven messages, each Haftorah,
is the voice of the Prophet Isaiah.
That is unique in our liturgy.
Surely, other prophets have up-
lifting ideas for us at this season.
Why does Isaiah enjoy exclusiv-
ity?
The Midrash tell us it is be-
cause he, alone, of all the
Prophets answered "Hineni" —
"I am ready, send me," when God
needed a spokesman. He didn't
flee to the end of the world like
Jonah, nor curse the day of his
birth like Jeremiah. "Hineni." He
girded himself and took on the
burden of involvement.
How fortunate are we! We are
the generation that has wit-
nessed Israel's creation, military
victory, the unification of Jeru-
salem, the ingathering of an all-
but-forgotten Soviet Jewry, the
saving of a forgotten Ethiopian
Jewry, the rebirth of Survivors of
the Holocaust, the miracle of the
rescue at Entebbe. Is that list any
less awesome than the wonders
our ancesors witnessed in the
Exodus from Egypt?
Now, as the Torah tells us this
week, we must all "take a stand
together" — use our power and
our means to make a life for the
newly redeemed, to reaffirm and
deepen our Jewish identity and
that of our Israeli brothers and
sisters, to say "hineni" — "For the
sake of Zion I will not be silent"
— in our unremitting efforts
towards an all-embracing
shalom!

The blessing of new opportunities and obligations

We often speak of giving real meaning to our Yom Kippur fast and to our own true teshuvah —
sincere repentance. Has this past year been personally satisfying? What of substan c e can we bring
in the year ahead to our family, to our community — and to ourselves?

While we reflect, millions of people in this country, in Israel and elsewhere in the world go hungry
simply because they are too poor to sustain themselves. In America, almost 11 million of our
innocent children are hungry or on the edge of hunger.

We need not read further than the headlines to know of the decimation and death sweeping
through Rwanda. And in the former Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of elderly Jews
living in remote towns and villages are so poor that many face starvation.

All of this, and more, is not merely a shame — it is a scandal.

And so we include them all in MAZON's Yom Kippur appeal.

Do we not have both an opportunity and an obligation as Jews and as decent people to provide
food to those whose fast is involuntary?

Please send to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger the dollars that you and your family save
by not eating on your voluntary day of fasting — or send any amount that you feel is appropriate
and affordable. Your contributions will add meaning to your fast and sustenance to those so
desperately in need of our help.

Ir

IMM MEI MEM ENE

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MEM UM IMMI 1=1 MEM IMO NM MN INN

YES, I/we choose to help ease the involuntary
fast suffered by millions of hungry people.

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I Enclosed is a check for $

Name
Address
City, State, Zip

Tut and Anita
and the entire staff of

❑

Ta y 0/i/id gmbitioil,

Minyan Holds
Holiday Services

The Huntington Woods Minyan
will conduct services on both days
of Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 5 and 6.
Services will take place at 9:30
) a.m. in the basement of the city
hall.
The rabbi will speak about the
call of the shofar. For informa-
tion, call tthe minyan, (810) 542-
4809.

■ 1 MIN NM NM NINO NM M•111 l ■

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
2940 Westwood Blvd., Suite 7
Los Angeles, CA 90064-4120

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wish all our
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a year filled with
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Director of Design
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810-541-5400

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