Congregation Shaarey Zedek
invites you to attend an evening of
SELICHOT
with
MR. DANNY
SIEGEL
brilliant humorist, poet
author, lecturer
and Mitzvah Maven
Traditional Selichot Service at 11:30 p.m.
conducted by Rabbi Irwin Groner,
Leonardo Bitran and Moshe Tutnauer
chanted by Cantor Chaim Najman and the
Shaarey Zedek Synagogue Choir
directed by Mr. Eugene Zweig
NO CHARGE • COMMUNITY INVITED • REFRESHMENTS
THE BETH ACHIM RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
■Z
FEAA, Otit
Je/wa Ekze4z4f,1
ONE PLUS DAY
SUNDAY
Two Locations:
- Southfield
- West Bloomfield/Walled Lake
Our New Satellite
MAPLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
(On Maple btwn. Halstead & Haggerty)
K-Post Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Free Kindergarten
Adz,n,
21100 West Twelve Mile Rd., Southfield
26
(810) 352-8223 or (810) 352-8670
To Improve Our Lives,
Take A Look Backward
Shabbat Ki Tavo:Deuteronomy 26:1 29:8; Isaiah
-
60:1-22.
RABBI ELLIOT PACHTER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Chapter 28 of the Book of
Deuteronomy is among the most
difficult passages for us to read.
In this section the curses which
will befall those who fail to heed
God's words are described in fill].
detail. The punishments for non-
compliance include the worst
imaginable fates to befall a hu-
man being.
Rather than attempt to ex-
plain why certain people are af-
flicted while others seem to
prosper, I suggest we look in-
stead at what the Torah tells us
of the content of human suffer-
ing.
To read this chapter is both
heart wrenching and nauseating.
We are told, in vivid detail, of
physical afflictions, rampant im-
morality, disregard for humani-
ty, loss of control of one's world.
So graphic are the descriptions
that President Clinton would re-
mark, "We can feel their pain."
We are witnesses to incurable ill-
nesses, family destruction, and
financial ruin.
These atrocities are real in our
world. This chapter could be de-
scribing victims of a hurricane in
Florida, war in Bosnia, or bomb-
ing in Oklahoma City.
As the chapter reaches its dra-
matic conclusion, we are told that
one's world could become so un-
bearable that, "in the morning
you will say 'if only it were
evening,' and in the evening you
will say, If only it were morning."'
(Deuteronomy 28:67).
These are words of utter
despair, the expression of one
who cannot bear to live in the
world as it currently exists. I
imagine these might be the
thoughts of one contemplating
suicide. This is the direct oppo-
site of the message of the show-
stopping song from the Broadway
musical La Cage Aux Folles:" So
make this moment last ... because
the best of times is now, is now,
is now!"
Some of us are fortunate to feel
a sense of complete happiness at
a particular moment, perhaps
under the chuppah or at the birth
of a healthy child. But many
more have experienced the
Torah's words — an aching for
the current situation to disap-
Pear-
What will bring comfort to
those in physical, emotional or
spiritual affliction? The Torah
Elliot Pechter is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai Moshe.
claims that in the morning the
sufferer will long for evening and
vice versa.
The logical explanation of "if
only it were evening" is that "if
only this day would just get over
with." This is similar to the age
old philosophy — time heals all
wounds.
Rabbi Pachter
Whatever affliction I might be
suffering from — loss of health,
death of a loved one, financial or
family breakup — I will feel bet-
ter tomorrow than I do today.
Rashi, quoting the Babylonian
Talmud Sotah 49a, takes the op-
posite approach, explaining the
Torah's words to mean "if only it
were last evening!" The comment
proceeds to explain that "prob-
lems get worse as time goes on."
If today my business is bank-
rupt or my wife has left me, why
will I feel better tomorrow?
Rather, the Talmud suggests, if
I only could go back to a time be-
fore my troubles began, now that
would be comforting.
Is comfort to be found in look-
ing forward or backward?
In the days when I still had the
guts to ride a roller coaster, I
could deal with my absolute ter-
ror by reminding myself that
eventually the ride would end.
Real life horrors don't necessari-
ly just stop. In order to regain
ourselves we need to take action.
If I am physically ill, I need to
seek medical care. If my family
or finances are destroyed I need
to develop some plan to return to
a sense of normality.
I would suggest that looking
backward is an ideal way to help
alleviate the crises in our life —
those which are life threatening
and our everyday aggravations
and obstacles.
If I can figure out how I got