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YESHIVA SHAAREI TORAH
. OF ROCKU‘ND
is pleased to announce an Open House for Parents of Prospective
Students for the coming school year 5760-576V2000-2001
which will be held on
Monday, March 27, 2000, at 8:30 PM
at the home of
Dr. & Mrs. Maury Ellenberg
14581 Sherwood Court
Oak Park, MI 48237
PRESENTATION
By
Rabbi Mordechai Wolmark, Rosh HaYeshiva
Rabbi Dovid Katzenstein, Menahel
For additional information please call
Dr. & Mrs. Maui)/ Ellenberg (248) 968-0730
Yeshiva office (914) 352-3431
.4.
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Torah Portion
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Torah Elevates Those
Who Give Of Themselves
the instruction (Torah) of the eleva-
don-offering (olah): it is the eleva-
tion upon the fire on the altar all
night until the morning." This ele-
vation or burnt offering was pre-
sented by the Jewish community
every morning and afternoon that
the tabernacle and then the Temples
functioned. The elevation offering
s Torah a ladder, or a shackle?
symbolized God's continual atten-
A force of personal liberation,
tion to us and our unwavering dedi-
or a system of restricting and
cation to God. It might seem that
regulating individual autono-
this ritual imposed conformity upon
my?
the individual, restricting his free-
There is no more funda-
dom within an unchang-
mental question for mod-
ing structure of worship.
ern Jews who cherish their
Yet on further reflection,
rights, yet also crave guid-
this verse can be read as a
ance in the world.
guide to the liberating
Of course, the truth is
force of a system such as
that this is a false dichoto-
our Torah. The early cha-
my. It was never really a
sidic movement was
question of either liberty or
famous for finding hints of
structure. Anarchy is the
passion embedded every-
result of unchecked indi-
where in the Torah.
RABBI DANIEL They interpreted our verse
vidualism. Who wants to
NEVINS
live in a lawless society?
in the following manner:
Special to the
Torah liberates the individ-
What type of Torah is
Jewish News
ual by giving him or her a
truly inspired? Zot Torat
code of conduct and by
HaOlah — This is the
fashioning a society that cherishes
Torah that elevates with passion
and enforces justice. Liberation
(fire) even through the night of
from slavery has little significance
human existence — exile and suffer-
without the revelation of Torah.
ing — sustaining us until the dawn
of redemption.
Thus Torah liberates us by creat-
ing a safe space, a system of bound-
In other words, only if we bring
aries, that allow individuals and
passion to our observance can the
Torah truly soar. But if we do
communities to flourish in justice
and in peace.
indeed invest our worship with the
Yet Torah is even more than that;
sacred fire within each of us, then it
it is a gift of love. Before the Shema
will never go out, not even upon
we speak of God's great love in giv-
century after century of exile and
ing us rules and statutes to guide
suffering. The Torah will burn con-
our lives. Too many people see the
tinually within us until the great
mitzvot, or commandments, as a sti-
dawn of redemption — truth and
justice lights the entire world.
fling blanket suppressing our auton-
omy. It is only when we can experi-
This interpretation may seem far
ence the mitzvot as gifts of love that
removed from the original context
our spirit can soar on the wings of
of sacrifices upon the altar. Yet it is
Torah.
very true to the deep purpose of the
This classic insight has been con-
Torah — it is to elevate the individ-
nected beautifully to the opening
ual and the nation through a sacred
1 ines of our Torah portion. The
discipline of holy actions. Inspired
t isle, Tzav, refers to a command-
by our dedication, we can prevail
ment or restriction, in this case, the
through the darkness of suffering, •
eremony of the elevation, or burnt
both individual and collective.
0 ffering. This was a sacrifice that
Today is also known as Shabbat
Parah, when we read the special
was wholly consumed on the altar,
1 eaving nothing to be eaten. It is a
maftir [last aliya in the Torah read-
ing] describing the ancient red
ymbol of pure dedication, with no
e xpectation .of return.
heifer ceremony. Hundreds of gen-
The second verse should be trans-
erations have been puzzled at the
1 ated very literally. It reads, "This is
deep meaning of this truly bizarre
ritual. In the end, the best explana-
Daniel Nevins is a rabbi at Adat
tion
is simply that God has instruct-
Shalom Synagogue. -
ed the rules of this ceremony.
Shabbat Tzav:
Leviticus 6:1--836•
Numbers 19:1-22;
Ezekiel 36:16-38.