Of Farmington Hills INFINITI OF FARMINGTON HILLS IS RANKED NUMBER 1 NATIONALLY FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SALES & SERVICE $399 * 1996 130 1996 J30 _ NO MONEY DOWN! ...„,....._. a , RABBI DAVID WOLPE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS , 4 ---:-.-._ = 1 :"- . _ tatifitallgie 1% All.lar 1r, .......... , _ Auto, Air, Dual Airbags, ABS, Power Windows, Locks, Tilt, Cruise, CD/Cassette, Alloy Wheels, Dual Power Seats, Remote Entry, 190 HP V-6, Leather, Moonroof. 1996 Q45 . , . ., . . . ., . : , . „ :,.-.7.- , : . ,.:, .,...,,,„__.. : .,. . . „.. „. . . :. : ,. ,. . .:,. _„.„„.. , ,.. V - 8, Power Windows, Locks, Tilt, Cruise, Air, Dual Air Bags, ABS, Alloy Wheels, Built-In Alarm, Leather, Power Sunroof & Remote Entry. Traction Control, Memory Seat * An 0 36 Mos. $ 5 9 CD, Power Windows/Locks, Tilt, Cruise, Air, Dual Air Bags, ABS, Alloy Wheels, Built-ln Alarm, Leather, Power Sunroof & Remote Entry. MO $ 36 Mos. 1996 G20 .„,.„.....„ ,, - ,. _ . _ . Auto, Air, ABS, Alarm, Dual Air Bags, Power Windows & Locks, Power Mirrors, Tilt, Cruise, Alloy Wheels, AM/FM CD, Leather, Power Moonroof. $ 9 gyo 36 Mos. BUY FOR: $20 ___, 978** (MSRP $27,645) FREE SERVICE LOANER, FREE PICK UP AND DELIVERY (; I 1141 F I El I T Of Farmington Hills SATURDAYS, SALES AND SERVICE 24355 HAGGERTY ROAD • (810) 471.2220 • BETWEEN 10 MILE & GRAND RIVER lOPEN * 36 mo. closed end lease on G20, J30, Q45. 39 mo. lease on 130. 12,000 miles per year allowed. G20, J3012c per mile overage. 130 15c per mile overage. Leases require. SO down on 130, $2,500 down on 045, $3,000 down on J30, $1,500 down on G20. 1st mo. payment doc., title, lic., acq. fee, sec. dep., plus applicable taxes due at inception. Lessee has option but is not obligated to purchase at lease end. All leases subject to credit approval, factory programs & vehicle availability. Standard Guaranteed Auto Protection included. Excludes prior sales & leases.** Plus all applicable taxes, title, license & fees. We Never Leave A Stone Unturned... THE DETRO Four-strand cultured pearl bracelet (4.5mm pearls) with multi-colored gemstone separators in 14K gold. Citrine, amethyst, blue topaz, peridot and rhodolite stones. ‘11(illeil°1Ce %4, Fine Jewelers The Angelic Host And Jewish Thinking Est. 1919 3040Q Telegrap0 Rd. Suite 134, Bingham Farms • 642-5575 n inveterate bookstore browser, I have been struck by the upsurge of books about angels. Suddenly an- gels are on everyone's mind. How does Judaism view angels? Jewish teachings about angels go back to the Bible. Fiery cheru- bim (a type of angel) guard the gates of Eden (Genesis 3). An an- gel arrives to tell Abraham he will have a child (Genesis 18) and then an angel stays his hand when he is about to sacrifice that child (Genesis 22). It is an angel who saves Hagar and Ish- mael (Genesis 21), appears to Moses out of the burn- ing bush (Exodus Ch. 3), and an angel announces to Samson's mother-to-be that she is to have an ex- ceptional child (Judges 13). This list is but a sampling of the angeology of the Bible. The Hebrew word for angel, "mal'lach," means messenger. One tradition- al portrait of angels is as functionaries who carry out God's will. "Wherever the angel appears the shechina (the divine Presence) appears (Exodus R 32:9)." Angels are used to give God distance from the action. Since it is too anthro- pomorphic (that is, giving God hu- man characteristics) to have God wrestle with Jacob, an angel serves the purpose (Genesis 28). Angels are God's entourage. In the famous scene of Isaiah, God is seated on a throne with angels arrayed on the right and left. But developing hints from the Bible, later Jewish literature ascribes to angels their own characteristics and personalities. Angels often appear in the apocryphal literature, books writ- ten by ancient Jews which were not included in the Bible, such as the books of the Maccabees. In that literature and the Pseuopigrapha —literature writ- ten in the name of an ancient and important character — angels grow in stature. 3 Enoch explains the function of various angels in a long list (e.g. "Ram'amiel, who is in charge of thunder; Ra'asiel, who is in charge of earthquakes; Shalgiel, who is in charge of snow" and so forth). Apocalyptic writing, which deals with the end of days, is filled with the doings of angels. The same is true of the Dead Sea Scrolls where, for example, the Manual of Discipline speaks of an angel of light and an angel of darkness. In rabbinic literature, angels sometimes show a little indepen- A dence of mind. They even argue with God, making a persuasive case that human beings should not be created. The angels argue that people will commit offenses against truth and peace. Since the angels' arguments are not refutable, God dashes truth to the ground, and creates human be- ings. Jewish folklore sees angels as guardians. A famous passage re- produced in many prayer books asks for the aid of Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. Each has a certain guiding function, al- though their roles vary. Michael — "merciful and forebearing" commander-in-chief of angelic host, is guardian of Israel. Raphael is the healing angel. Gabriel is the master of courage. Uriel is the angel of light, whose name means "God is my light." The rabbis teach that two an- gels, one good and one bad, follow us home on Shabbat. If all is pre- pared — candles, challah, wine — the good angel exclaims: "May it be this way next Shabbat as well" and the bad angel responds "amen." If the house is not pre- pared, the bad angel says "May it be this way next Shabbat" and the good angel, in spite of himself says "amen."(Shabbat 119b). We may think of it as the force of habit, but the rabbis portray it as the force of angels. Some angels are less beneficent and Jewish tradition is filled as well with Dybbuks and demons, and the omnipresent angel of death. Ultimately, however, an- gels have an ancillary role. In both the Bible and later literature, Ju- daism insists God is initiator and arbiter of what happens here on Earth. Rabbi Judan teaches in the Talmud that God wishes to be di- rectly addressed: "If trouble comes upon someone, let him cry not to Michael or Gabriel, but let him cry unto Me (J.T. Berachot 9:12)." As we recite in the Haggadah each year: "And the Lord brought us out from Egypt — not by an an-