"Let all who are hungry come and eat..."
Help ensure that everyone in our community has a happy Passover.
Use this coupon to help feed hungry Jews. Yad Ezra will use your donations to
purchase cases of food and distribute them to our needy neighbors.

The Light Of The Soul
Comes Through Mitzvot

Shabbat Hagadol:
Leviticus 6:1-8:36; Malachi 3:4-24.

YAD EZRA

❑ 1 case of chicken
1:1 1 case of tuna fish
❑ 1 case of matza meal
❑ 1 case of matza
❑ 1 case of gefilte fish
LI 1/2 case of chicken

$82.00
$80.00
$64.00
$55.00
$45.00
$41.00

❑ 1 case of farfel
Ell case of coffee cake mix
❑ 1 case of oil
❑ 1 case of tomato sauce
❑ 1 case of large eggs
❑ 1 case of Shabbat candles

$34.00
$30.00
$28.00
$26.00
$25.00
$24.00

T

his sedrah repeats and en-
larges upon the description
of the sacrifices in the pre-
vious sedrah in the open-
ing chapters of the Book of

Leviticus.

The ritual instructions for the
sacrifices to be offered in the first
sanctuary of the Jewish people
as they wandered through the
Sinai desert were believed by
most scholars to describe the sac-
rifices later brought to the Tem-
ple in Jerusalem by generations
of Israelites, who were convinced
that their sacrifices were ex-
tremely important in their wor-
ship of God.

•

❑ A Seder Package for a family of six
(Hagaddahs included)

RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

$75.00

YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS ELIGIBLE FOR A 50% MICHIGAN TAX CREDIT

(Subject to certain limitations)

cases of Passover food as a tax deductible
Enclosed is my check of $
for
contribution to YAD EZRA to help feed the Jewish hungry.
Name:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone: (
)
YAD EZRA 26641 Harding, Oak Park, MI 48237
Make checks payable and mail to:
(810) 548-3663 (FOOD)
* prices are approximate

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This is referring not only to the
priests to keep the fires of the
sanctuary burning, but also to the
way in which one practices one's
religion in everyday life.
Using the symbol of the con-
tinually burning fire on the altar,
a Jew must be involved in bring-
ing life and fire to the three as-
pects of Jewish existence: to the
study of the Torah, to prayer and
to acts of lovingkindness and
charity. You must do these things
with a warm fire within you to
give every expression of your love
of God and all His world. The fire
on the altar of your inner soul
must not go out. These three
mitzvot will keep your fire with-
in you burning the rest of your
life.
This sedrah is read on the Sab-
bath before Passover. It is known
as Shabbat Hagadol, the Great
Sabbath. Why great? Is the se-
drab about sacrifices on the altar
of the ancient Temple so great?
No, Shabbat Hagadol gets its
name from the Haftorah portion
of this Sabbath, from Malachi
Chapters 3:4-24, which refer to
the Great Day of the Lord.

Behold I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of
the great and terrible of the Lord.

When the Temple was de-
stroyed by the Romans in the
year 70 CE, the offerings of sac-
rifices were then replaced by
prayers. Thus the question arose:
Do the descriptions and com-
mandments confirming the of-
fering of sacrifices described in
Leviticus still have any meaning
for Jews today? Are they not ob-
solete? This was a crucial chal-
lenge. How do you find relevant
meaning in obsolete ritual prac-
tices? After all, the rabbis had
taught that no parts of the Torah
were ever to be considered obso-
lete. Could the regulations con-
cerning the sacrifices to be offered
in the ancient sanctuary still be
relevant when the Temple had
been destroyed?
One teacher taught that the
sanctuary built by the Israelites
in the desert symbolizes the sanc-
tuary that is inside every Jew.
The Torah says, 'The altar shall
be kept burning, not to go out."

Richard C. Hertz is distinguished
professor of Jewish studies at
the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Thus you can make the Sab-
bath great by preparing proper-
ly for Passover in the days to
come and by following the three-
fold prescription referred to.

❑

Temple Israel
Hosts Seder

Temple Israel will hold its annu-
al family seder on Thursday
evening, April 4, at 6:30 p.m. The
seder, with the reading of the
Haggadah, will be led by Temple
Israel clergy with participation
from members. Non-members
are welcome, space permitting.
For information, call the tem-
ple, (810) 661-5700.

Publicity Deadlines

The normal deadline for local news
and publicity items is noon Thurs-
day, eight days prior to issue date.
The deadline for birth announce-
ments is 10 a.m. Monday, four days
prior to issue date; out-of-town
obituaries, 10 a.m. Tuesday, three
days prior to issue date.

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