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Rabbi Shmuel Irons

SUSAN TAWIL
Special to the Jewish News

S ave us, Lord! May the King
answer us on the day that we
call!" (Psalms 20:10)
Hundreds of men, women
and children packed the Kollel
Institute of Greater Detroit on Oct.
19 for a Yom Tefilah, a communal day
of prayer on behalf of Israel. The roar
of tearful voices filled the Oak Park
synagogue and talmudic study hall as
members of the Orthodox communi-
ty emotionally recited Tehillim
(psalms) together, beseeching heaven-
ly mercy.
Rabbi Moshe Schwab, co-leader of
the Kollel with Rabbi Shmuel Irons,
explained the dual purpose of the
gathering:
"First, it is an important expression
of the community's concern for every-
one in Israel — the soldiers on the
front lines, the people who live there
who are in danger. Jews everywhere
must always pray for acheinu beit
Yisroel (our brethren, fellow Jews).
The second goal, of course, was to be
m'orair rachamim, to arouse God's

mercy."
The assembly took place on the eve
of Hoshanah Rabbah (the final day of
Chol HaMoed, the intermediary days
of the holiday of Sukkot), a propi-
tious time for entreaty to avert crisis.
Similar gatherings were held in Jewish
communities throughout the country,
with reported gatherings of 10,000 in
New York's Orthodox enclave of Boro
Park in Brooklyn and 2,000 in
Chicago.

Time For Prayers

Hoshanah Rabbah may be roughly
translated as "day of our great salva-
tion." The word hoshanah is a con-
traction of the Hebrew words hosha
and na (help us). Rabbah means
‘`great," or "much." Hoshanah
Rabbah is traditionally considered a
kind of epilogue to Yom Kippur; it's
the day for a last-chance rectification
of the "sealed" judgment. It is felt
that charity and fervent prayer on this
day have the power to rescind any
harsh decree that may have been ren-
dered against the Jewish people.
It is a time-honored Jewish custom

to read from the book of Psalms in
times of trouble. Those in attendance
at the Kollel gathering stood for an
hour responsively reciting the verses
of King David, petitioning God for
forgiveness and mercy, deliverance
from our enemies and heavenly retri-
bution.
"Our ultimate weapon throughout
Jewish history has been that of cry-
ing out to God as our source of sal-
vation," said Rabbi Shmuel Irons.
"Our continued existence is ulti-
mately dependent upon God's com-
passion. The existence of the Jewish
people has been nothing but a long
series of miracles. We say Tehillim to
make ourselves worthy; if we're not
worthy of miracles, all the arma-
ments in the Israeli army won't be
effective."
Rabbi Asher Eisenberger of
Congregation Agudas Yisroel/Mogen
Abraham in Southfield compiled the
10 chapters of the Book of Psalms that
were read that evening, based on
those recited at a similar "emergency"
gathering in Baltimore.
They are verses relevant to
Israel's plight when confronted by
enemies," said Rabbi Eisenberger. "It
is appropriate to display our hopes
for a peaceful resolution to the
Middle East crisis by fervently recit-
ing these timeless psalms."
Although composed by King
David 3,000 years ago, many of the
verses are eerily evocative of the cur-
rent situation in the Middle East. For
example: "God! Nations have come
into Your inheritance; they have
defiled Your holy sanctuary, they have
turned Jerusalem into ruins ... They
have shed blood like water around
Jerusalem ..." (Chapter 79)
"Against Your people they plot
deceitfully, and they conspire against
those sheltered by You. They say,
`Come, let us cut them off from
nationhood; let Israel's name be
remembered no more.'" (Chapter 83)
"The present problems began at
virtually the same time the [Israeli]
government declared its intention to
further secularize the country," said
Rabbi Irons. "When we have the
secular attitude that we can do it
ourselves, God says — 'Try it!' It is
a tremendous tragedy that the cur-
rent leadership of Israel is not con-
nected to our spiritual history. We
can't exist except as a spiritual peo-
ple.
"Some rely upon chariots and some
rely upon horses, but we call upon the
name of the Lord our God." (Chapter
20) ❑

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