The Temple Emanu-El Famil y wishes to invite you to our

Prospective Membership
Picnic & Service

Our Quality Of Life
Is A Matter Of Choice

Let us introduce y ou to our Temple.
Come meet our professional staff, board
and Temple members on

Shabbat Re'e: Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17;
Isaiah 54:11-55:5.

Frida y , August 16, 1996.

RABBI IRWIN GRONER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

6:00 p.m.Picnic • 7:30 p.m. Service

Worship under the stars in our beautiful
Theodore Birnkrant Memorial Garden.
Food and beverages courtes y of
Temple Emanu-El.

Please R.S.V.P. by Monday, August 12
1.1 to Temple Emanu-El (810) 967-4020.

T

What does it mean to choose
life? Is life ours to choose? The
Torah should have written to
"choose good," which I understand
because doing good is within my
control. But life and death? Go tell
the children in a cancer ward to
choose life.
As a rabbi, I see people who
have received harsh decrees from
heaven, who are struggling to live
knowing that the outcome is un-
certain. What does it mean to
choose life? Why does the Torah
tell us to choose life? And what is
the relationship between choos-
ing life and being blessed?
I quote the thinking of Sigmund
Freud, who taught that built into
the human psyche is not only the
will to live, but also the will to die.
Every human struggles with the
task of strengthening the will to
live and overcoming the will to die.
The first challenge one must ac-
cept is to avoid the dangerous lure
of self-destruction that leads to
death. We are all aware of the
danger in certain life styles: the
danger of sexual promiscuity, the
danger in the use of drugs that af-
fect one's state of consciousness,
the danger in the consumption of
alcohol and the danger of smok-
ing. "Choose life" means reject all
that weakens, diminishes our
health
and strength.
Rabbi Irwin Groner
The question is why do people
undergo these dangerous and gen-
make such a promise?
erally harmful sensations? Why
When Bad Things Happen to do they take these risks, entering
Good People is not just a title of a twilight world so treacherous
a well known book. It is also the and fraught with peril? The an-
harsh reality around us. All too of- swer is they want to flee the pre-
ten, the best and the brightest sent moment. They seek to escape
meet a tragic end, while all kinds the burdens of choice and decision.
of rewards are secured by liars, Because life is often stressful and
thieves and hustlers. We all know painful, they wish to drop out and
that in the words of the vernacu- retire from life itself.
lar, "Life is not fair"; the good and
This is a universal feeling. The
the righteous suffer; the wicked prophets had it; even the sages
and morally corrupt prosper.
had it. Jonah was a man who was
But as we continue reading the charged with the responsibility of
Book of Devarim, we discover a being a prophet. Jonah ran away,
similar passage that sheds light but he couldn't escape his destiny.
on our text. It is in Nitzavim. It And ultimately, he was compelled
provides us with a better under- to face the burden of prophecy and
standing of what Moses is really speak to the people of Nineveh as
saying here. We find that the God had commanded him. The or-
blessing and curse are intertwined deal of Jonah is the story of every
with the choice between life and person at some moment of his life
death. "I call heaven and earth to who is faced with a hard decision
witness against you this day, that and a difficult task.
I have set before you life and
A second way of choosing life is
death, blessings and the curse, by not wasting time. If we count
therefore, choose life." (Deuteron- the period spent in front of the
omy 30:19. )
television set, we don't need an ac-
countant to inform us that the
Irwin Groner is senior rabbi of
hours soon become days and
Congregation Shaarey,Zedek.
weeks and months. The simple act

•

Temple Emanu-El

14450 West Ten Mile Road
Oak Park, Michigan 48237
(810) 967-4020

atewar5

Adult Jewish Learning for the High Holidays

"Gateways" is designed for adult Jewish learners
of all ages, without regard to affiliation, background,
or Jewish study experience. Newcomers are
especially welcome. There is no charge.

OPENING EVENT

U)

AUGUST 15 • ROSH CHODESH ELUL • 7:30 PM

LL1

Learn with Rabbi Elliot Pachter and Aviva Silverman

Cf)

LLI

Sponsored by the _Lifelong Learning Committee of

CC
F-
LU

Congregation B'nai Moshe

6800 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322

LIJ

30'

444•el a 1

•

• • • • * •

"Gateways" runs . through September 7.
For a complete schedule of events call788-0600 .

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he Torah reading begins
with an oft-quoted passage.
Moses, speaking in the
name of God, declares, "Be-
hold I set before you this day a
blessing and a curse, the blessing
if you obey the commandments ...
the curse if you disobey."
The passage is difficult to ac-
cept. Our simplest understanding
of the text is that if the people keep
the Torah, they will be rewarded.
If they don't, they will be pun-
ished. Moses promises that good
things — blessings — will happen
to good people, those who keep the
Torah. Bad things will happen to
bad people. But how could Moses