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Fri.; Sat. 11-8 pm through September Joseph Freed Homes 248.336.1700 www.mainnorth.com 1026470 Shhh The best kept secret for an incredible selection of fabulous costume jewelry and unique & unusual gifts is right inyour own back yard. And always 30% off!* Shop Sherwood ... it's worth it. the blessings of those who keep the Torah, but the curses for those who do not. Moreover, the Tochechah — the terrible rebuke of the Jewish peo- ple and the punishment we will endure (and have) should we abandon God — dominates the second half of (With apologies to Paul Harvey) the Torah reading. It's sobering and aised in a household mired in difficult to accept, and very troubling. idolatry and paganism, At the same time, the concept of "Yoshi" had every excuse to reward and punishment is very real. turn out bad. His notoriously evil "Acts of God" don't just happen on grandfather ruled with an iron fist and their own. If God acted, He did so for during most of his lifetime had no tol- a reason, and it behooves us to try and erance or patience for God. figure out why; to look at ourselves — So deeply was he engrossed in his our behavior as individuals, as corn- evil ways that Yoshi's grandfather munities, and as a country, to try and burned every religious scroll he could discover where we can improve, and find. Yoshi's father followed in his how we can do better. father's footsteps, and continued to "Yoshi" was really the King worship the idols he grew up Yoshiyahu, who lived in with, until his henchmen Jerusalem during the First executed him. Temple era, not long before This left Yoshi an orphan its destruction. leader at the ripe young age Following the exile of the of 8. Somehow, though, tribes and the destruction of Yoshi persevered, determined much of the Kingdom of to abandon his family's evil Israel, the city of Jerusalem ways, and return to the path was pretty much all that was of righteousness. left. At the age of 16, Yoshi What scroll did they read RABBI decided to pursue a life of to him? They read him the REUVEN righteousness, and he discov- Torah, which they found SPOLTER ered that his position turned to the Tochechah — Special to the demanded that he not only the rebuke found in this Jewish News pursue the proper path him- week's parshah. *self, but to try and root out Hearing the harsh words of the negative spiritual influences so the Torah, he looked around him — at pervasive in his land. the destruction wrought on the Jewish He worked hard to remove these nation — and saw it described in vivid spiritual dangers in their various detail in the words of the Torah written forms. He even decided to refurbish over a thousand years before his time. and upgrade his temple. He understood that this Torah — After raising sufficient funds (I guess the only one to survive his grandfather some things never change), he sent all Menashe's reign, was miraculously the money to the temple for safekeep- turned to the terrible rebuke found in ing. During the refurbishing process, as our parshah to send him a message — they removed some of the money a message to repent, return, and stored in the temple, the priest found a redouble his efforts to remove the long-lost scroll that had escaped burn- idolatry in the land and return his ing at the hands of Yoshi's grandfather. people to God. When they brought it to Yoshi, Only now you know the rest of the they opened that scroll and read to story. him the section it was turned to. Hearing the words from that holy scroll, Yoshi immediately tore his gar- ments and cried out in mourning. What did he read? Why did he cry? Why are there blessings and Let's be honest: Ki Tavo is no pic- curses? What do they demon- nic. While it might start out pleasant- strate as to who we are as a peo- ly enough, it clearly delineates not just ple and what do they reflect Shabbat Ki Tavo: Deuteronomy 26:1 29:8; Isaiah 60: 1-22. R ❑ Conversations FINE FURNITURE • ACCESSORIES. • GIFTS 75 G - - 1 9/22 2005 22 I ' 0 9 gitlidT08 6644 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD JUST S. OF MAPLE WEST BLOOMFIELD • 248 855.1600 MON & THUR 10-9 • TUE-WED-FRI-SAT 10-6 • SUN 11-4 *most mfrs. www.sherwoodstudiosinc.com COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WRAPPING Reuven Spolter is rabbi of Young Israel of Oak Park. about ourselves?