,
West Bloomfield School District
- Nsettiriaw Stsidemts to Oe
Me Best FOR Me Rioted!
utation as a moderate, Khatami has been
unwilling or unable to reduce the power
of the mullahs. As a result, he is nearly
powerless.
While America reached out to Tehran
by removing import restrictions on pis-
tachio nuts, carpets and caviar during
the Clinton administration, every effort
to speak has been effectively rebuffed by
the Iranian government.
Threat To All
Today, 2,500 years after the first Purim,
it is not only Israel that stands in danger
as Iran moves toward building an atomic
weapon. Indeed, even the European
nations are aware that the continent is in
easy reach of missiles now in possession
of the Iranian military and longer range
missiles are only a matter of time away
from development.
Diplomatic steps to get Iran out of the
nuclear weapons business are moving at
a frenetic pace, but results are far from
guaranteed.
The Jewish world is a lot different
than it was in the time of Esther and
Mordechai. Unlike Esther, Israel does
not have to wait for the king to let her
beg for her peoples' lives and allow them
to strike back.
Israel's preemptive strike against Iraq's
nascent nuclear plants more than 20
years ago is now recognized as a good
thing for the world. And the U.S. has
mentioned it more than once in recent
months as the Bush administration pres-
sures Iran to come to the negotiating
table.
Will Iranian designs on the world be
contained?
We never know what the Almighty
has in store for us, and the meanings of
His actions are often hidden from us
until years have passed and we are gone
from the scene.
But we find in the consistency of our
tradition that Megillat Esther tells us in
one short opening phrase that, though
the road will be bumpy, all will be well
in the end.
The proof will be there on Purim
night in the laughing faces of our grand-
children — little Queen Esthers and
Mordechais — as they hold their first
grogger and drown out the name of
Haman. Chag sameach. ❑
"When you're comparing schools, consider the
ATMOSPHERE, from the hallways to the class-
rooms. Look to where ALL STUDENTS are
HAPPY and ENGAGED both intellectually and
physically in their learning, where DIVERSITY is
celebrated, where TEACHERS are WARM and
WELCOMING, where PRINCIPALS are INVITING
and RECEPTIVE, where PARENTS demonstrate
SATISFACTION that EVERY CHILD is CHERISHED
in a SAFE, NURTURING setting."
— Gary A Faber, Ed.D., Superintendent
According to a recent survey...
• 91% of West Bloomfield
parents gave the district a
grade of A or B
• 84% would recommend
friends or relatives to move here
• Caring and quality teachers
are the most important factor
behind the district's success
Live in West Bloomfield or considering relocating?
You are cordially invited to visit our schools anytime. Simply call and
make an appointment and one of our outstanding building principals
will walk you through all we have to offer.
Live elsewhere in Oakland County?
•
ly fund the social services necessary to
help people choose not to die.
It has been repeatedly shown that for a
terminally ill patient in a hospice, the
desire to live or die is closely tied to the
quality of pain relief and emotional sup-
port. Why isn't Maggie offered any psy-
chiatric treatment for her depression?
The message is that disappointment
over a shattered dream is a greater
tragedy than death itself.
Perhaps the real question is not
whether we should be assisting those
who wish to die, but rather how we can
help people like Maggie choose not to
die.
Eye To The Future
Christopher Reeve, better known as
Superman, fractured his neck in an
equestrian accident, leaving him quadri-
plegic and dependent on a respirator to
breathe. Yet after a short period of
despair, he chose to make life matter and
become an advocate for the disabled.
Specifically because of his fame, he was
able to sensitize the world to the plight
of the disabled and became an unrelent-
ing crusader for stem cell research and
spinal cord injury research.
While the fictional Maggie is con-
vinced that her life is over after her
injury, the real Christopher Reeve chose
to define himself not as the movie star
he had been, but rather by his future
potential — limited in some respects,
but boundless nonetheless.
A fulfilling life requires. hope for the
future — new vistas to reach, new goals
to achieve. In the end, the real tragedy
of Million Dollar Baby is not the heart-
wrenching decision that Frankie has to
make. His decision to kill Maggie is
abhorrent from a Jewish perspective.
The real tragedy is that a young woman,
robbed of her dream, lacks the support
she needs to recognize that life is still
brimming with unfulfilled potential, and
that life is still her most valuable posses-
sion.
It does not matter whether we discuss
a despondent, disabled boxer, fully cog-
nizant of her condition such as Maggie;
a woman who has remained in a persist-
ent vegetative state for 15 years, such as
Terri Schiavo; or an old man lying
unconscious on his deathbed, feeling (as
far as we know) no pain and having no
interaction with his environment. Jewish
law would assert that all of the lives in
question have intrinsic value. 111
Limited Schools of Choice Openings for 2005-2006
For families who do not reside in West Bloomfield but live else-
where in Oakland County
• Based on space availability
• Grades K-5
• Deadline is March 31, 2005
Call for an application today
248-865-6450
www,westbloomfield.ki 2.mi.us
951870
ALAN MARSCHKE'S
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3/17
2005
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