p
CI
Elgran
ci D
'D
CONGREGATION B'NAI DAVID
proudly presents
DEMOCRAT MAXINE BERMAN,
State Representative
36th District
REPUBLICAN JIM ALEXANDER,
Former Chair, Republican
Party, Oakland County
Look Inward Before
Proclaiming Guilt
.
"POINT - COUNTERPOINT
TWO POLITICAL INSIDERS GIVE A PREVIEW
OF NEXT YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE"
Thursday, December 21, 1995
0
RABBI ELIEZER COHEN SPEICAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
7:30 p.m.
T
Congregation B'nai David Synagogue
5642 West Maple Rd., West Bloomfield
No Charge
Refreshments
Public invited & encouraged to attend
For further info., please call Synagogue office, 810-855-5007.
c.
ri 0
0 p
Jvs
College Students:
Looking for a summer internship that pays?
Apply now for an eight-week summer internship and earn $1,500.
As part of the Jeanette & Oscar Cook Jewish Occupational Intern
(JOIN) program, you'll gain valuable on the job experience in
business administration, communication, public.affairs, research
and planning, human services and recreation.
You must be a tri-county area resident and a full-time undergraduate
or graduate student ready to learn about and work in metro
Detroit's Jewish community.
Written applications must be received by December 18, 1995.
Personal interviews are being held through January 31, 1996.
For an application and more information, call Jewish Vocational
Service at (810).559-5000.
OSCAR
BRAUN'S PEN
LINCOLN TOWERS SUITE 111 968-5858
15075 W. Lincoln (10'/2 MILE) Mon. thru Fri. 10-4
One Block East of Greenfield
SALE
Sat. 10-12
PARKER
WATERMAN
•
CROSS
• LAMY
K-45 KITCHEN-AID MIXERS
MONT BLANC -
FOUNTAIN PENS .
NOW ONLY $169.50
40% OFF
Vot EL PA N AS 0 N IC
11013.BREAD MAKERS $166
Cuisinart
FOOD PROCESSORS
NORELCO $3888
28
TRIPLE HEAD SHAVERS
TV'S
SONY - RCA
$235.00 #144 NOW $139.95
SEIKO WATCHES 40-50% OFF
CORDLESS TELEPHONE
PLAQUE
REMOVER
BRAUN
TOOTHBRUSH ON SALE
5
139.95 SONICARE
TOOTHBRUSH $89.77
THE MOST EXCITING
KNITTING & NEEDLEPOINT
Rochelle !tube✓s
Knit, Knit, Knit
855-2114
Accpnts In
Needlepoint
Contemporary Designs
626-3042
In Orchard Mall • West Bloomfield
CLASSIFIED
GET RESULTS!
Call The Jewish News
354.5959
his week's sedrah, Vaye-
shev, is replete with accu-
sation, falsehood and
deception. At the very out-
set, the relationship between
Joseph and his brothers is char-
acterized as "Joseph brought evil
reports about his brothers to their
father" (Genesis, 37:2).
Their hatred of their spoiled
brother, the obvious favorite of
their father, was, at least in part,
a result of Joseph's attempt to cur-
ry favor with Jacob by charging
his sons. Whether these accusa-
tions were true or not is not dis-
cussed; but the reporting itself, of
looking for the faults of others and
making them known, is clearly an
evil sure to arouse enmity.
When his brothers decide to
kill Joseph, they resolve to tell
Jacob that Joseph was appar-
ently eaten by wild animals. And,
in fact, even after they sell him
into slavery rather than killing
him, they take his famous coat
and drench it in kid's blood and
present it to their father with the
phrase "Do you recognize this as
your son's coat" (Genesis, 37:32).
Not content to simply have
Joseph disappear, they present
"proof' of his violent death from
wild animals. They attempt to
cover up their despicable act by
displaying his bloodied coat.
When Joseph spurns the ad-
vances of the wife of his master,
Potiphar, she raises her voice and
screams out her accusations
against Joseph. She charges that
his Hebrew slave has attacked
and attempted to seduce and even
rape her. As proof of the veracity
of her charges, she displays the
garnient she was able to wrench
from him. She falsely accuses
Joseph and "proves" her charges
by showing his garment to all. Ac-
cusations and charges, deception
and falsehood, proof and evidence
— all play a pivotal role in the sto-
ry ofJoseph and his brothers and
his experiences in Egypt.
People maliciously accuse oth-
ers of wrong doing. People cover
up their own wrong doing by lies
and even manufacture evidence
to exonerate themselves and
prove the guilt of those who were
in reality innocent. It is within
this context that the Torah in-
terrupts the story ofJoseph with
the episode of Judah and Tamar.
Tamar has married Judah's
two sons and after their death
must wait for the levitate mar-
riage to his remaining son. Ju-
dah, it seems, has no intention of
allowing such a thing, so conse-
quently Tamar languishes alone
— unable to marry anyone.
She devises a plan to become
pregnant by Judah himself, un-
beknownst to him, and thus M-
U her liviratical obligation.
When her pregnancy is discov-
ered, she is accused of promiscu-
ity and is destined to be executed
by burning. To save her own life,
she reveals (to Judah) the per-
sonal objects that she had been
given by him — to identify Ju-
dah, himself, as the father of the
foetus and to thus prove her in-
nocence.
Rather than loudly proclaim-
ing her innocence and publicly
shaming Judah, she simply sends
the objects to Judah, she simply
sends the objects to Judah and
says" "By the owner of these I
have become pregnant... do you
recognize to whom... (they)... be-
long?" (Genesis, 38:35). Judah, to
his credit, admits the truth and
Tamar is exonerated. Here is a
woman, victimized by others and
now about to unjustly killed. Yet,
she refuses to accuse or to pub-
licly shame the source of her trou-
bles. Her nobility of character,
sensitivity to others, and quiet
confidence in the truth are all the
more exceptional within the con-
text of the behavior of the other
people in the sedrah.
Shabbat Vayeshev:
Genesis 37:1-40:23
Amos 2:6-3:8.
The Talmud (Berachos 43b)
(with its characteristic hyperbole)
describes Tamar's heroism: "It is
better for a person to throw them-
selves into fiery furnace rather
than publicly embarrass anoth-
er..."
With exactly the same words
that Joseph's brothers used to de-
ceive their father and cover up
their heinous act: "Do you recog-
nize this...?" Tamar, quietly,
without accusations of protesta-
tions teaches Judah and, in fact,
all future generations a remark-
able lesson. One that should be
contemplated and implemented
in our own lives. ❑
Eliezer Cohen is rabbi of Young
Israel of Oak-Woods.
Publicity Deadlines
The normal deadline for local news and
publicity items is noon Thursday, eight
days prior to issue date. The deadline
for birth announcements is 10 a.m.
Monday, four days prior to issue date:
out-of-town obituaries. 10 a.pi. Tues-
day, three days prior to issue date.