Torah Portion

May- Theee_Warrig

Be As A Blessing

M. Yedwab, Joshua L. Bennett. Cantor:
Harold Orbach. Services: Friday 7:30
p.m., 8 p.m.; Saturday services 10:30
a.m.; weekdays 7:30 a.m.; Sunday 9 a.m.
Friday b'nai mitzvah of Michael Aaron
Singer, son of Linda and Dr. Lawrence
Singer; Noah Michael Stern, son of Deb-
orah and Dr. Milton Stern. Baby naming
of Lucille Noa Rosenthal, daughter of
Mara and Alan Rosenthal. Saturday
b'not mitzvah of Jessica Lauren Frankel,
daughter of Carol and Dr. Jerome
Frankel; Lauren Elizabeth Klein, daugh-
ter of Monica and Dr. Michael Klein.
Bat mitzvah at 6 p.m. of Nicole Elise
Churchill, daughter of Vicky and
Howard Fingeroot.

TEMPLE KOL AMI

5085 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloom-
field, 48323, (248) 661-0040. Rabbi
Norman T. Roman. Rabbi emeritus:
Ernst J. Conrad. Services: Friday 8 p.m.
Saturday 9:30 a.m. Chevrat Torah; ser-
vices 11 a.m. Friday Volunteer Apprecia-
tion Shabbat. Saturday bat mitzvah of
Stephanie Rosenbloom, daughter of June
and Martin Rosenbloom.

TEMPLE SHIR SHALOM

3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloom-
field, 48323, (248) 737-8700. Rabbis:
Dannel Schwartz, Michael L.
Moskowitz. Cantorial soloist: Penny
Steyer. Services: Friday 8 p.m.; Saturday
11 a.m. Friday bat mitzvah of Christina
Williams, daughter of Valinda and
Eddie Williams. Aufruf of Jennifer
Warshaw and Jeffrey Janower; Lori
Aronoff and Steve Walton. Saturday bat
mitzvah of Megan Kapera, daughter of
Kathy and Keith Kapera. Havdalah bat
mitzvah of Samantha Gluck, daughter
of Allison Gluck and Steven Gluck.
Baby naming of Cathryn Natalie Gold-
man. Aufruf of Carol Sabo and John
Horton.

CONGREGATION SHIR TIKVAH

3900 Northfield Parkway, Troy, 48084,
(248) 649-4418. Rabbi: Arnie Sleutel-
berg. Services: Saturday 10 a.m. B'nai
mitzvah of Dave Wattenberg and Chris
Wattenberg.

Adat Shalom
Service, Luncheon

The Adat Shalom Sisterhood will hold
the group's annual Women's Shacharit
Service Monday morning, June 8, in
the Joseph D. Shiffman Chapel at 10
a.m. All members and non-members
are invited.
Chairpersons of the day are Bea
Kriechman, Shoshana Wolok, Linda
Goodman and Linda O'Desky.
This years participants in the service
are Bea Kriechman, Sylvia Starkman,
Shoshana Wolok, Helen Bayles, Linda
Warner, Shula Fleischer, Sarah Wald-
shan, Carole Frank, Danie Allan, Linda
O'Desky, Linda Goodman, Joyce B.
Weingarten, Esther Liwazer, Linda
Rosenbaum, Rachel Maisel, Trudy
Weiss, Judy Leder and Beverly Phillips.
A spring luncheon catered by Rosen-
berg Kosher Catering will follow. The
charge is $12.50. Reservations are
required. For information, call the syna-
gogue office, (248) 851-5100.

Beth Abraham
Upcoming Events

The sisterhood of Congregation Beth
Abraham Hillel Moses will host its
annual Project Outreach on Thursday,
June 11, at 12 noon.
Luncheon will be served to the
guests who live in the Detroit metropol-
itan area. The project is under the aus-
pices of the Jewish Vocational Service.
Rabbi Bergman will speak following the
luncheon.
June 27 will be Installation Shabbat
for the Congregation Beth Shalom Sis-
terhood. Officers being installed during
Shabbat services are: Ethel Berman, Lil-
lian Bricker, Shirley Dinner, Elizabeth
Gross, Marion Guttman, Estelle Smith
and Marianne Wildstrom. An extended
kiddush-luncheon will follow.

SEPHARDIC

SEPHARDIC
COMMUNITY OF
GREATER DETROIT

21100 W. 12 Mile, Southfield, 48075,
in the chapel, (248) 788-1006. Chazzan:
Sasson Natan. Services: Saturday 9 a.m.;
Sunday 9 a.m.

TRADITIONAL

B'NAI DAVID

5642 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield,
48322, (248) 855-5007. Rabbi: Milton
Arm. Cantor: Barry Ulrych. Services:
Saturday 8:45 a.m.

Adat Shalom
Dedicates Plaques

Adat Shalom Synagogue will hold its
annual dedication of yahrzeit plaques
placed in the synagogue's Main Sanc-
tuary during the past year on Sunday,
June 7. Families and friends of indi-
viduals whose plaques will be unveiled
are invited to gather at 12 noon at the
synagogue for Minchah services and
the dedication ceremony.
Respond to the Adat Shalom office,
(248) 851-5100.

is to teach us that the greatest blessing
is togetherness. When we feel as if we
are one unit, in this itself there is a great
blessing. No two people are exactly
alike, but there are many common fac-
tors among people. By focusing on the
fact that every human being is created
in the image of God, we will have
greater identification with others and
he oldest piece of biblical
this will lead to greater unity." In a time
writing ever found is on an
amulet that was discovered in of divisiveness with our people the
words of this blessing reminds us that
Jerusalem a few
there are more things that
years ago.
bind us together than sepa-
The amulet is from the sev-
rate us.
enth century BCE. It does not
According Rabbi Avigdor
contain the words of the
Miller,
another purpose of
Sh'ma, the declaration of faith,
the
priestly
blessing is to
nor does it contain one the
remind
us
to
imitate God.
Ten Commandments. Instead,
He
brings
a
quote
from
this simple necklace, probably
Rabbi
Shammai:
"We
should
worn by an everyday Jew, held
greet every person with a
the words of the Birkat
RABBI AARON pleasant expression of our
HaCohanim, the priestly
countenance, our face."
BERGMAN
blessing.
Our society is suffering
The person who owned
Special to
from
a lack of manners. This
this amulet probably wore it
The Jewish News
is
no
small
thing. Hopefully,
for a number of reasons. It
we
always
treat
our loved
was a reminder of God's presence. It
ones
with
kindness
and
dignity.
The
was a symbol of unity with the Jewish
way
we
treat
strangers
may
be
even
people. The main reason, though, that
more important than the way we treat
this person wore it was to keep evil and
our friends and family.
demons away from the owner and the
Rabbi Miller says that when we talk
owner's family. Danger came from
to
people
the minimum effort should
many sources, both natural and super-
be
that
we
turn toward our fellow per-
natural. The words of the priestly bless-
son.We
must
let people know that we
ing were a shield against harm.
are
giving
them
our full attention.
The words of the priestly blessing
We recite the priestly blessing every
were used for protective purposes well
morning during the repetition of the-'---
into the Middle Ages. It was written on
Amidah.
More significantly, we use it to
many mezuzot found on the doorposts
bless
our
children every Friday night.
of people's homes. It was also found on
When
we
bless our children we invoke
other amulets from this period.
Sarah,
Rebecca,
Rachel and Leah,
We do not necessarily believe in
Efraim
and
Menasha.
Our matriarchs
demons today, though we do feel a
are
a
symbol
of
perseverance,
faith, and
tremendous threat to our children and
intelligence.
According
to
the
midrash,
to our people. Assimilation and inter-
Efraim and Menasha symbolize the Jew-
marriage loom in the fears of even the
ish people's devotion to Judaism, even
most observant families. The words of
when
they are living in a foreign cul-
the priestly blessing can keep away great
ture.
They
were always recognizable as
dangers. Not by magic, but by follow-
Jews,
even
when it would have been
ing the meaning of the blessing.
easier
to
assimilate.
This is the blessing itself.
The message of the priestly blessing
May the Lord bless you, and keep you;
is
that
it is possible to keep evil out of
May the Lord make His face shine
our home by holding tight to our peo-
upon you, and be gracious to you
ple's most cherished values. We can
May the Lord lift up His countenance
make our homes into places of comfort,
upon you and give you peace.
safety, support and harmony.
God commands Aaron and his sons
The priestly blessing has been a
to use this formula when they bless all
source
of comfort for Jews for thou-
of the children of Israel. Even though
sands
of
years. It expresses our great
they were to bless everyone, the blessing
hope that God will always protect and
itself is in the singular, not the plural.
nurture us. May the words of the priest-
Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov said, "This
ly blessing allow us to become blessings
Aaron Bergman is rabbi of Congrega-
for our family, our friends, our people,
tion Beth Abraham Hillel Moses.
and God.

Shabbat Naso:
Numbers 4:21-7•89;
Judges 13:2-25.

T

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