Torah Portion The Passion For Truth Inspires Rabbis, Judges, Teachers Of Torah The LiteRise touch system lets you raise our Duette' and pleated shades, wood and aluminum blinds with just a touch of a finger. Hidden controls eliminate the lift cord so they look sleek and raise evenly every time. LiteRise. Because when it comes to your windows, we're always in touch. WINDOW IASMIDIIS www.hunterdouglas.com invi t fq quaiwp BLIND SPOT Free In-Home Service • Free Professional Measure At No Obligation COMPETITIVE PRICING & EXPERT INSTALLATION All other HUNTER DOUGLAS products Luminette • Duettes • Woods Vertical Blinds & Silhouettes VISA 21728 W. Eleven Mile Rd. Harvard Row Mall • Southfield, MI 48076 wat.. s . , ;w,r, mwmam m.\wgawwamK„:mawg,„ Hours: Mon-Sat 105 352-8622 Rochester Hills 651-5009 vwaaw .: , 9;fordable Elegance in Assisted Living. Welcome to The Court At West Bloomfield . A residence that combines all the grandeur of your home with assistance available for the asking. 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It is clear that when learning (before his death, all these individuals must be well- whose who studied Torah stood as trained and educated. But they must the Jews did at Sinai when Torah was received). What's the have an additional quality — a connection between Rabbi strong passion for the truth Gamliel's death and this of Torah. weakness coming to the Do you know and does it excite you that it was Torah, world? To answer the above and Torah alone, that brought about civilization. two questions we must Before God gave His Torah ponder something that is of ethical monotheism to very rare today — the pas- the Jews and the world, sion for truth. If you have seen a there was no "brother's teacher's passion, you can keeper" and no concept of RABBI ALON free choice. There were no understand the power of TO L WIN ethics and no social conse- truth. When you see a Specia 1 to the quences and no concept of Torah scholar in action, it Jewish News makes you come alive. a personal God Who loves, While Rabbi Gamliel cares and interacts with us. Torah (consistently the number- was alive, the Torah was too exciting one best-selling book of all time) to sit while learning it. It was only changed all that. Though Torah was with his death that people allowed given to the entire Jewish people and the natural weakness to take hold they were all charged with under- and they had to sit. It's the same standing and implementing its mes- with Rabbi Akiva. While they may sage, there were always individuals have had the lessons he taught, the who dedicated their lives to this. true honor was gone. The vibrancy They became the "keepers" of the is in those who take it seriously, tradition of the written and oral learn, teach and live is. laws. These people were the ones fit- We are commanded to appoint ting to be appointed as judges. judges. We must appoint judges who In this week's sedrah, we are com- are above all, passionately committed manded to listen to these individuals to truth. And the ultimate lesson they and not to veer from the wisdom teach is not just the case law or the that they instruct. What is it that sermon: It is that for life to matter — these people have that requires us to Torah and truth must matter. treat them with reverence, that we must set aside our own views in place of theirs? To understand, let us look at the Talmud in Sota. It relates that when Rabbi Akiva died, the honor of Torah died with him. Rashi explains Have you ever seen a teacher or that it was because Rabbi Akiva rabbi passionate about truth? spent years figuring out the meaning How has this affected you and behind every letter of the Torah. your studies? Have you ever This effort to understand illustrated asked your rabbi a question of to the students and the public at morality, spirituality, ethics or large the honor of Torah. Jewish Law and have seen him Our teacher, the late Rabbi Yakov lose sleep finding the answer? Weinberg once asked, "If the honor Has such dedication in seeking truth been inspirational? Shabbat Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16•18-21:9; Isaiah 51:12-52:12. HEALTH PLUS WELLNESS CENTER 3396 W. Maple Road • West Bloomfield Conversations Rabbi Mon Tolwin is director of Aish Ha Torah in Birmingham.