HILL CUSS SCHEDULE classes begin Sunday, October 10th Sun • ay Monday Tuesday 10:00 AM The Book of Shoftim 11:00 AM Mystical Concepts of Judaism-Tanya 8:00 PM Understanding Your Prayers with Chaya Sarah Silberberg 8:15 PM Torah Portion of the Week 8:00 PM The Book of Genesis w/Rashi & other commen- taries (for women) taught by C.S. Silberberg ti I Wednesday 9:15 AM dv. Chassidic Concepts: Likutei Torah (for women) 10:15 AM derstanding Your Prayers with Chaya Sarah Silberberg 12:30 PM Lunch N Learn (Taste of Class) 8:00 PM Torah Portion of the Week taught by Marty Goodman 8:30 PM Crash Course in Jewish Mysticism Thursday 11:00 AM Torah Portion from a Mystical Perspective \ 12:30 PM Lunch-N-Learn On Bloomfield Hills) offices of Arthur Liss and Associates Sara Tugman s Chabad Torah Center 5595 W. Maple Rd. West Bloomfield 5-6170 bctc770@aoLcom 8:30 PM Tanya BAIS MEDRASH Open Every Night From 8 PM for individualized learning (with or without partners) All Classes Given by Rabbi Silberberg Unless Indicated Otherwise TENDER 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 For An Affair To Remember tNTRf GUE Music, Entertainment and Floor Shows • Weddings • Corporate Events • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • For More Information, Call Stella Actis (248) 879-2373 DAVID ROSAMAN'S AUTO Am& PIIICHIASERS NEW & USED CAR BROKER 10/8 Sales • Leasing • Buying (248) 851-2277 (248) 851-CARS 1999 70 Detroit Jewish News Torah Portion Our Uniting Bond: The Fellowship Of Man How the world is suffering for the neglect of this precious Bible teaching. "Not sufficient emphasis has been laid on the bonds which connect the various nations — the bond of blood, the bond of a common humanity." There are so many artificial distinc- tions which divide us: nationality, reli- fter the dramatic creation sto- aion color, wealth, social status, inter- ries of the first paragraphs in ests. The modern world analyzes and our Torah, stories which we categorizes each of us, assigning us num- are now privileged to study bers and roles, classes and arbitrary once again in this new year, one might groups. easily skip over the fifth chapter of Instead of stressing those features which consists almost entirely Bereshit, of life which unite us, we of a list of names of people allow ourselves to be seg- and the years they lived. mented, broken down and It provides the genealogical parted. link between Adam and Noah Whatever theories or — 10 generations, as a matter hypotheses science may devel- of fact. But the rabbis saw in op for the origins of the uni- this section of our parsha a verse or of Homo sapiens, it profound lesson, a value which cannot discredit the moral distinguishes out Torah's per- strength of this one lesson spective on life from the cre- from the Torah: We are all ation accounts of all other one family, descended from peoples in ancient civilization. RABBI the same parents, the same The words state simply, NORMAN T. flesh and blood, created in "This is the record of Adam's ROMAN the divine image. Dr. Cohen line." It is a sentence so sig- Special to the taught, "Whoever we are, nificant that the sage Ben Jewish News whatever we are — rich or Azzai describes it as "zeh klal poor, noble or common, edu- gadol baTorah — this is one cated or illiterate, Jew or gentile — we of the great principles of Torah." Rabbi are all brothers and sisters, kith and kin )) Akiva compares it to what many call and related through common ancestry the golden rule of the Torah, "Love A beautiful midrash describes God your neighbor as yourself." Our sages creating Adam from-the dust of the saw something remarkable in "This is earth, collecting particles and specks and the record of Adam's line." bringing them together from the four Leave the questions about evolution corners of the globe. Adam (and each of for the academic arena, our tradition us) is created the same, however scat- insists. It's not that those discussions are tered the human race may be. We are irrelevant or wrong; it's just that there is part of one humanity, one unity. a spiritual truth in this story which must The Shabbat is zeicher lemnaasei not be overlooked; there is a critical bereshit — a reminder of the act of cre- message addressed to all of us in these ating. May we remember this lesson of words, a message of vital importance: our creation that we are "the record of The entire human race is one vast fami- Adam's line." Thus it will be a Shabbat ly. The Torah teaches that every man shalom, a Sabbath of complete peace. El and woman is from one father, Adam. The acceptance of that belief is far more significant than attempting to reconcile evolution and creation theories. "This is the record of Adam's line." How do you understand the story Even through today, we are the record and the story of Adam's descendants. of creation? (Rabbi Baric of Humanity as a universal family is the Zmedzibozh, a grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov, gives legitimacy to greatest lesson we have been taught many different interpretations by and is the highest value we can place linking the last words of before us. England's Dr. Abraham Cohen com- Deuteronomy with the first words mented more than 60 years ago, "The of Genesis, According to the eyes Bible insists that [mankind] are brothers, of each of Israel [is] In the begin- ning ...") What can we do to tear children of the one father. Is this not a down the walls of artificial distinc- sublime and ennobling conception? tions between people? Norman T. Roman is rabbi of Temple Shabbat Bereshit: Genesis 1:1-6.8; I Samuel 20:18-42. Conversations Kol Ami.