Thursday, May 2 7 : 3 0 a.m.
An exclusive look at
"New Developments
in Israel's Aircraft and
Aerospace Industries"
featuring
Prof. Daniel Weihs
Dean of the
Graduate School
The TECHNION
"Israel's MIT'
Newsweek calls Israel "Silicon Valley's one real rival!" . . .
Americans invested $112 billion in Israeli stocks last year .. .
NASA, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Pratt & Whitney and other
aircraft, satellite and communications leaders are
signing technology R&D contracts with Israel .. .
Learn what technology means to Israel's future
at a special breakfast briefing
Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 a.m.
The Skyline Club, 2000 Town Center, 28th floor
Presented by the
America-Israel Chamber of Commerce of Michigan
Michael H. Traison, President
Detroit Chapter, American Technion Society
James Deutchman, President
$25
(Kosher breakfast upon request)
Make reservations by phone at (810) 646-1948
or by fax at (810) 646-9332
TION BETH ABRAHAM
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IN
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JERUSALEM
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851-68i
Sanctity, Consecration
And God's Covenant
Shabbat Tazria-Mezorah: Leviticus 12:1-15:33;
Numbers 28:9-15; Isaiah 66:1-24.
•
RABBI IRWIN GRONER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
T
he brit milah (circumci-
sion), the consecration of
a newborn male as a mem-
ber of the Jewish people, is
to take place on the eighth day
after the baby's birth as we are
commanded in this week's Torah
portion. Why on the eighth day?
Last week we were told, "On
the eighth day Moses called
Aaron and his sons ... " This was
after Aaron and his sons had
spent seven days consecrating
themselves to serve as the priests
for the people of Israel. On the
eighth day, Moses calls to them
and they appear before the whole
assembly of the people to be pub-
licly consecrated as priests. Why
on the eighth day?
It might be supposed that such
ceremonies should take place on
the seventh day. Seven is such
a typical number in the Bible and
seems to be the natural number
of cyclical occurrences. Sabbath
is the seventh day and signifies
the end of a week. Seven weeks
are counted between Passover
and Shavuot. Seven years are
counted in order to have the sab-
batical year of rest for the land,
for in the seventh year no work-
ing of the land is allowed. So, if
seven is such a meaningful num-
ber, why is the eighth day the one
set aside for acts of consecration?
Let us consider other events
which occur on the eighth day.
All cleansing rituals in the Torah,
whether it is of a leper or some-
one with emissions, are done on
the eighth day. That is, the un-
clean person must wait seven
days observing the ritual of
cleansing; and, on the eighth day,
that person brings a sacrifice and
leaves the state of uncleanliness.
The holiday of Succot ends
with a holy day, which is on the
eighth day, Shemini Atzeret.
Solomon's dedication of the
Temple was for eight days, dur-
ing the festival of Succot. The hol-
iday of Chanukah is famous for
its eight days. Jewish tradition
tells of the pure oil which burned
for eight days instead of one.
All this shows that we have
two special numbers in Jewish
tradition, seven and eight. Sev-
en days or years constitute a
seemingly natural cycle. But the
eighth day is the day of tradition,
the day when new roles are as-
sumed. The newborn is just a
baby, not formally initiated to
Irwin Groner is senior rabbi of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
any nation until brit milah on the
eighth day. He then becomes a
member of the Jewish people, a
partner in the covenant of Abra-
ham. Aaron and his sons under-
went preparation to be priests for
seven days; but on the eighth day
they assumed the role of priests
in front of all Israel.
Rabbi Pinchas Peli offered his
interpretation. The eighth day is
special because it adds another
dimension to God's creation. If
seven is the number consecrated
by God, it is eight by which man,
the partner to God in the world,
can add to the sanctity of the
world. On the eighth day we
sanctify God's creation thus
bringing about consecration.
Yet, the seventh day remains
the holy day. Indeed the reason
that the eighth day is chosen is
because the newborn must have
lived through a Shabbat before
he can be consecrated to the peo-
ple of Israel. A Jew must expe-
rience Shabbat as the potential
to become a member of the na-
tion; this is actualized only after
the holiness of one Shabbat has
passed.
After experiencing Gods's holy
Sabbath, man can then partici-
pate in the task of increasing ho-
liness in the world, fulfilling his
task as the partner of the Lord.
❑
Publicity Deadlines
The normal deadline for local
news and publicity items is noon
Thursday, eight days prior to is-
sue date. The deadline for birth
announcements is 10 a.m. Mon-
day, four days prior to issue date;
out-of-town obituaries, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, three days prior to is-
sue date.