With the hope
that every
Jewish person
can sit at a table
of plenty.. •

The Commandments:
The Essence Of Our Faith

Shabbat First Day Sukkot: Leviticus 22:26-23:44;
Numbers 29:12-16.

Please join us as we celebrate
the Sixth Anniversary of

RABBI NOAH GAMZE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

I

YAD EZRA

the kosher food pantry feeding the Jewish hungry

Honoring...

Sharon Hart

Monday, October 21, 1996

Adat Shalom Synagogue
29901 Middlebelt, Farmington Hills

Hors d'oeuvres 6:00 p.m.
Dinner 6:45 p.m.
Couvert: $100 per adult

Michigan allows an income tax credit for individuals, equal to 50% of the amount of cash
contributions (subject to certain limitations) to organizations such as Yad Ezra that provide
food or shelter to the indigent.

For information or reservations, call (810) 548-FOOD (3663)

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first two days of Sukkot we
read : "and you shall keep My
commandments and do them,
I am the Lord. And you shall not
profane My holy name, but I will
be hallowed in the midst of the
children of Israel; I am the Lord
who hallows you. That brought
you out of the land of Egypt, to be
your God; I am the Lord." (Leviti-
cus 22 :31-33) This passage of
three short verses gives us the
essence of our faith. It is to sanc-
tify the name of God and not to
desecrate the divine name.
To better understand the im-
pact of these verses, we should
consult the commentary of Rashi
(an acronym for Rabbi Solomon,
the son of Isaac) who also utilized
ancient rabbinic sources in his
work. He defines the term "keep"
as meaning study and the verb
"do" as the actual practice. This
opinion is in line with the teach-
ing of our sages that an un-
learned person cannot be truly
pious.
If we are serious about raising
the level of religious practice
among our people, we should ex
ert ourselves in the direction of
making our fellow Jews more
aware of what the command-
ments are. But then comes the
next step, that of motivating peo-
ple to actually carry our the
mitzvot (commandments). To ac-
complish this, even to a modest
degree, will require patience and
forbearance.
As for not profaning the name
of God, Rashi defines such pro-
fanation as acting b'mayzid,
meaning wilfully and with the
knowledge that one is doing
wrong. One who violates the
rules of our faith without even
knowing what those rules are is
not considered a sinner, at least
not a deliberate one. The "but I
will be hallowed" means: "Sur-
render you life and hallow My
name." He also makes clear that
one who does so should do so with
the expectation of dying and not
depending on a miracle to save
him or her.
He cites the case in the Book
of Daniel of Hananiah, Mishael
and Azariah (also known as
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-
nego) who refused to worship an
idol set up by the Babylonian
king. When told they would per-
ish for refusing to worship the

idol, they replied that whether
God did or did not save them
from death, they would not wor-
ship other gods.
In very recent years, we see
that the State of Israel arose and
survived because of the self sac-
rifice of many brave men and
women. To any self-respecting__,
Jew, one who sacrifices onesell—\
for Israel is doing an act of sanc-
tifying the name of God.

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The fair market value of the dinner for tax purposes is $32.00 per person

$ POT

n the Torah reading for the

181 S. Woodward Ave.
1 Block South of Maple

IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM (810) 642-1690

Noah Gamze is rabbi of the Isaac
Agree Downtown Synagogue.

Rabbi Noah Gamze

Many of us are able to practice
our faith without any physical
risk. However, there may be
some inconvenience. We have be-
come so accustomed to looking for
the easy and convenient path
that some of our people resent
anything which causes inconve-
nience, let alone real hardship.
What makes this ironic is that
it is far easier to be an observant
Jew today than it was half a cen-
tury ago. One need only consid-
er the large variety of kosher
foods which are available in
many supermarkets and the ease
with which kosher catering can
be obtained. There is no reason
to have non-kosher weddings and
other celebrations.
Many offices run on a five-day
week so that one can find em-
ployment which does not require
working on the Sabbath. This
may require some effort but it is
feasible.
Finally, we come to the re-
quirement of not desecrating the
name of God. This obligation op-
erates in two ways. We are all
aware that to act in a dishonest
manner is a clear violation of this
obligation. Not only outright
fraud, but also misrepresentation
is forbidden by our faith. The oth-
er part of the requirement is of-

