TORAH page 22 DESIGN INRECON BUILD A Tirade Unjustified? The Land of Israel: Given by God to the Jewish people. Gifts for every member of the family! Beautifully hand-painted life-size sculptures of dogs & cats along with decorative frames and food bowls for your best friends! Gifts at Sherwood are always 3Q% off (most mfrs) and we offer complimentary gift wrapping. Shop Sherwood... it's worth it! Fine designer furniture Interior design Accessories Gifts 66tf If Orchard Lake Road at Maple Road West Bloomfield • 810 855-1600 Mon-Thor-Fri 10-6 Toe-Wed-Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5 people? Rabbi Yohanan ben Za- kkai was able to establish a yeshiva at Yavneh. Otherwise, there would be no Jews in the world today. Ben Zakkai's stu- dents became Torah scholars and leaders in whatever land they traveled to. They unified the Jewish people through the Torah. It was only through the Torah that the concept of Zion- ism was sustained until Herzl happened upon it a mere 100 years ago. The first and original Zionism is religious Zionism because it is part of the Torah. Without the Torah there would have been no Zionism because there would have been no Judaism. The political Zionism of Her- zl would never have existed. Likewise there would have been no labor Zionism or cultural Zionism or any other kind. With- out the Torah, the Jewish peo- ple would have ceased to exist. Rabbi Wine incorrectly fo- cused on the Jews that keep the laws of the Torah as the source of Israel's malady. In fact, they are Israel's strength. Only by re- membering that the Land of Is- rael was given by God to the Jewish people can we ever hope to attain the peace for which everyone is striving. By dividing Jews into cate- gories, Rabbi Wine negated the importance of the contributions each of us makes. Rabbi Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, understood that we are one peo- ple when he said that every Jew did God's work in his own way. The chalutzim and present kibbutzniks were and are ex- perts at tilling the earth and re- claiming the soil of Eretz Yisroel. The rabbis were and are experts at studying the Torah and re- claiming the soul of the Jewish people. Each of us together, wherever we place ourselves on the scale of mitzvot in Judaism, are doing a piece of God's work. Harriet Drissman West Bloomfield What precipitated the outra- geous tirade against Jonathan Pollard by [Jewish News Pub- lisher] Arthur Horwitz ("We've Gone Overboard" Jan. 10)? Mr. Horwitz does not have any of the pertinent facts in the Pollard case; otherwise, he couldn't have possibly equated Pollard with the traitorous likes of John Walker or Whitworth. Mr. Horwitz's main focus was the money issue ($40,000, most- ly operational expenses initiat- ed at the insistence of Rafi Eitan) and, also, the vital documents given to Israel, which never com- promised the security of the United States. This is docu- mented; look it up. Jonathan Pollard It is ironic to consider that the publisher of The Jewish News has discounted the long history of the survival of Jews. There is a dangerous division in the Jewish community at large. "A house divided will not stand." Barbara D. Racey West Bloomfield A Day For Reflection On Jan. 20, America will observe the birthday and celebrate the life and dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. The Rev. King saw an inclusive America that all peo- ple could take part in and take pride in. His vision was of a nonracial America that allowed each indi- vidual to achieve his or her best, and he dedicated his life to reaching that goal. Tragically, one person's senseless hatred cut short the life of Martin Luther King Jr. before he or America reached their potential. On Jan. 20, American democ- c_ /\ racy will observe a milestone — the inauguration of President Bill Clinton for a second term in office.