To Life

Sabbath Gift

Cardinal Maida extols the value of a day of regenerative rest.

ROBERT A. SKLAR
Editor

S

"Sabbath is about
coming to know in
some new way our
complete dependence
on God. It is also
an opportunity to
celebrate our
interdependence
with each other."

—Cardinal Maida

9/15
2005

20

abbath rest is one of the great
gifts that the Jewish communi-
ty has bestowed on the world
community and the family of faith, a
revered leader of the Catholic Church
said from the bimah of Temple Beth
El last Shabbat.
"Sabbath rest and Sabbath praise of
the Lord of all creation is one of the
many foundation stones of our com-
mon faith experience — indeed, one
of the necessary building blocks for
human civilization," Adam Cardinal
Maida of the Archdiocese of Detroit
told Beth El worshippers on Friday
night, Sept. 9.
"Sabbath rest was — and remains
even more than ever — a revolution-
ary idea," he said. "No other ancient
culture had the custom of a day with-
out work. Indeed, the Greeks and
Romans found the whole concept
quite perplexing."
He called the Sabbath a day to relax,
rejoice and refocus.
"On Sabbath as we rest and praise,"
he said, "we begin to see ourselves and
all creation from a new perspective.
We make our own the joyful procla-
mation of the psalmist that the earth
and all its peoples belong to the
Lord."
Sabbath observance may make no
sense economically, but isn't that the:
point, he asked.
"Rather than worrying about maxi-

Muslim Center Tour Slated

Interfaith Events Planned

The Southfield-based Dove Institute
(formerly the Ecumenical Institute for
Jewish-Christian Studies) in coopera-
tion with the Council of Islamic
Organizations of Michigan will pres-
ent a tour of the Muslim Unity
Center in Bloomfield Township
Sunday, Oct. 2, at 2:30 p.m.
Visitors will meet members of the
Unity Center. An afternoon program
will include a question and answer
period and a tour of the center.
The center is at 1830 W. Square
Lake Road and the program is open
to the public at no charge.
Reservations are requested; call (248)
557-4522.

Metro Detroit interfaith groups have
planned a number of joint programs
this fall.
• The Troy Interfaith Group will cele-
brate the International Day of Peace,
hosting a screening of the film One at
the Bharatiya Temple, 6850 Adams
Road, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21.
For information, call (248) 879-2552.
The group is also planning a public
Thanksgiving observance Nov. 20.
Congregation Shir Tikvah is a co-
sponsor of the Troy Interfaith Group.
• Temple Emanu-El, the Islamic
Center of America and thcr . Presbytery
of Detroit, with help frorricrs
Interfaith Partners, will host a series of
events Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

mum productivity or profitability," he
said, "we simply give thanks and rec-
ognize that our successes can never be
measured by the pace or intensity of
our own efforts."
He added, "Sabbath is about corn-
ing to know in some new way our
complete dependence on God. It is
also an opportunity to celebrate our
interdependence with each other."
Cardinal Maida, 75, has visited
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield
Township three times. This visit, he
spoke on "Sharing Sabbath Rest,
Reconciliation for Our World" for
Brotherhood Shabbat. Brotherhood
President Gerald Cole gave the cardi-
nal a mezuzah.
"Our gathering allows us a privi-
leged opportunity to reflect on the
challenge and opportunities we face
together as people of faith in the midst
of a culture that often overlooks or
trivializes religion," Cardinal Maida
said.
Cardinal Maida praised the state of
Catholic-Jewish relations.
Whenever and wherever I travel," he
said, "I am continually reminded how
blessed we are to have such strong,
close bonds of faith and friendship
between our Catholic and Jewish com-
munities — relationships that have
been forged over the decades by many
of our predecessors."
Cardinal Maid.a came to Detroit in
1990 as archbishop. Pope John Paul II
elevated him to the College of
Cardinals in 1994.

Speaking at Beth El two days before
the fourth anniversary of 9-11, the
cardinal acknowledged how the Jewish
community "has endured the still raw
suffering, pain and haunting devasta-
tion of the Shoah."
"Even now," he said, "your commu-
nity continues to experience violence
and discrimination on a daily basis
throughout the world."
He also reflected on the devastation
and suffering caused by Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans and along the
Gulf Coast.
"In the midst of such suffering and
violence of any kind near or far," he
said, "our Sabbath rest will always be
somewhat uncomfortable and muted
in tone, but nonetheless, we still need
to light the Sabbath candles with grat-
itude for the past and hope for the
future."
Beth El President Dennis Frank
found resonance in the cardinal's refer-
ence to the story of Creation and how
God rested on the seventh day.
"In today's fast-paced world," Frank
said, "the day of rest, the Sabbath,
continues to hold a prominent place
for both Jews and non Jews."
Rabbi Daniel Syme called the ser-
mon a quiet, but profoundly transcen-
dent address.
"It was a sensitive moment in time,"
Rabbi Syme said. "In many ways, hav-
ing his presence and hearing his mes-
sage had elements of the sacred. No
question about it." 1-1

On Friday, Sept. 30, Rabbi Joseph
Klein will lead a discussion following
8 p.m. Shabbat services at Temple
Emanu-El in Oak Park, focusing on
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
At 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, Imam
Hassan Qazwini at the Islamic Center
of America in Dearborn will explain
the holy days of Ramadan.
The Presbytery of Detroit will com-
memorate World Communion and
Peacemaking 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 2, hosting a Taize worship service
of songs and prayers for peace based
on ecumenical music from a commu-
nity of reconciliation in France. The
service will be at Fort Street
Presbyterian Church in Detroit.
For information, call Temple
Emanu-El, (248) 967-4020.

• The Farmington Area Interfaith
Association will host its annual
Thanksgiving Interfaith Service
Wednesday night, Nov. 23, at Adat
Shalom Synagogue. For more infor-
mation, call Adat Shalom, (248) 851-
5100.
• Metro Detroit Muslim, Christian
and Jewish leaders will ask their con-
gregants to donate to community
hunger and relief agencies for the vic-
tims of Hurricane Katrina, the geno-
cide in the Sudan, the tsunami disaster
and the world hunger crisis. Lists of
appropriate charities will be distrib-
uted.
For information about community
interfaith activities, call the American
Jewish Committee at (248) 646-7686.