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SPORTS

TORAH PORTION

On-Court Surgery

Making It Plain

WSU medical student
swings a mean racquet.

Shabbat Devarim:
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22;
Isaiah 1:1-27.

Steve Stein
Special to The Jewish News

A

shley Abramson never
dreamed she'd play col-
legiate tennis. Not after she
wasn't able to make the University of
Michigan women's team as a walk-on
in her freshman year.
Abramson was an outstanding play-
er for four years at West Bloomfield
High School. She was the Lakers' No. 1
singles player from 1997-2000.
After advancing to the state
quarterfinals as a West Bloomfield
freshman and semifinals as a sopho-
more and junior, she won the state
championship when she was a senior.
Despite those
impressive
credentials,
Abramson
didn't make
the U-M team.
"I was very
disappointed
at the time,
but everything
worked out:'
Abramson
said. "I was
able to gradu-
ate from U-NI
in three years,
I started med-
ical school
early, and I
kept up my
tennis game."
Abramson
Ashley Abramson
earned a
bachelor's
degree in
biopsychology at U-M, and she
began medical school at Wayne State
University in August 2004.
Last winter, halfway through her
second year of med school, Abramson
received an e-mail from Wayne State
women's tennis coach Sheila Snyder.
The coach told Abramson she had
one semester of collegiate eligibility
remaining. "And I begged her to play
for us," said Snyder, who heard about
Abramson from a Wayne State player.
Abramson said she hadn't gotten in
touch with Snyder because she didn't
think a graduate student could play

42

July 27 • 2006

on a college team. Snyder convinced
Abramson to join the Wayne State
squad for the spring season.
Abramson wasn't worried about
her tennis skills because she'd been
playing regularly at the Sports Club in
West Bloomfield. "But I was concerned
about the time commitment required
by med school. Sheila was very flex-
ible when it came to practices and
matches," Abramson said.
Playing mostly No. 3 singles and
No. 3 doubles, Abramson went 6-0 in
singles and 4-2 in doubles, helping
Wayne State earn a berth in the NCAA
Division II Great Lakes Regional in
Springfield, Mo. Abramson missed the
5-0 loss to Grand Valley because she
needed to take an exam.
"It was a pleasure having Ashley on
our team," Snyder said. "She's the most
focused player I've coached in my 17
years at Wayne State."
Abramson, 23, now lives in Royal
Oak. She said there are similarities
between plowing through medical
school and working hard to continue
playing top-level tennis. "Both are
long processes. You have to keep plug-
ging away without getting immediate
results," she said.

Maccabi. Fund
Looking for a place to eat? Try Tutto
Bene, 29429 Orchard Lake Road
in Farmington Hills, or Emily's
Restaurant, 505 N. Center St. in
Northville. On Thursday nights, the
restaurants will donate 15 percent
of each bill to the Dr. Alan Horowitz
Detroit Maccabi Fund at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit.
The fund provides financial assis-
tance to Detroit Maccabi athletes
who cannot afford to compete in the
Maccabi Games. It's named for the
former Detroit Maccabi president and
delegation head who died May 17.
The Halberg family, which owns
both restaurants, is making the dona-
tions as a tribute to their brother-in-
law and uncle. Diners need to men-
tion Dr. Horowitz or Maccabi to their
server. H

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T

his week, we begin
tant than its message that life, though
Deuteronomy (from the
finite and seemingly imperfect, is part
Greek meaning "second law"),
of an infinite and directed, orderly and
or Devarim in Hebrew, because its
ongoing process. "Purposeful creation"
opening line is Eleh had varim ...
occurs every moment, if we only open
"These are the words which Moses
our minds and our senses to it.
spoke to all of Israel."
"Creation" also reminds us of the cre-
For the most part, Deuteronomy is a
ative possibilities of humanity, and sets
repetition of the history and
the stage for the second leg
the laws of the three books
of our three-part founda-
that precede it. Specifically, it
tion of faith. "Revelation" at
is the final speech of Moses,
Sinai is the moment when
his parting words to the
Israel ceases to be a tribal
Israelites as they are about
confederation, and becomes
to leave him and enter the
a covenanted people.
Promised Land.
And though revelation is
I am intrigued by verse
described as that "single
Rabbi
5 of Chapter 1: "Moses
moment': it proclaims itself
Joseph P. Klein
endeavored to make plain
to be on-going as well.
Special to the
this Torah." And we, ever
Sinai was only the
Jewish News
since Sinai, have sought
beginning. The Pharisees
to likewise simply, "make .
.
described Torah as a "pro-
plain" the values, ethical principles and
cess" rather than a text. Each insight
societal rules of our tradition.
gained from the words, each discovered
Hillel responded to the man seeking
idea found between the words became
to understand "all of Judaism" while
part of the instruction.
standing on one foot, with the state-
God's Instruction leads us to its end,
ment: "What is hateful to you do not do result: "redemption." Just as the Exodus
to others. That is all of Torah — now
redemption -freed the Israelites from
go and study."
Egypt's slavery, so it is the promise of
And in Talmud there is an "endeavor
redemption for all of humanity that is
to make plain this Torah" in a wonder-
reaffirmed within each succeeding gen-
ful conversation between rabbis in
eration. We are commanded to make
which they argue that the essence of
this a better world, one mitzvah, one
the laws of Torah can be reduced from
redeeming action at a time!
613 laws to 11 to six to three to two to
As Moses in our Torah reading
one (BT Makkot 24a).
"endeavored to make plain this Torah':
In that spirit I would reduce "this •
so must we in our generation continue
Torah" to three doctrinal values
that task, impressing upon ourselves
— principles that for me form the
and our children the foundational
foundation of, if not directly define, our importance of these three statements
religious heritage. Together they are the of faith.
tripod upon which our faith and belief,
It is through our affirmation of cre-
our rites and rituals, our ceremonies
ation, revelation and redemption that
and celebrations are based: creation,
we continually confirm our covenant
revelation, redemption.
with God.
We re-affirm these faith statements
at every weekday, Sabbath or festival
Joseph P. Klein is rabbi of
service, where they are conspicuously
Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park.
highlighted as "the Shema and its
blessings."
Conversations
Whether one chooses to read the
Is there any part of experiential
Genesis creation text in a literal, funda-
or
philosophical or theological
mental manner or as a description of
Judaism
that is not supported by
a truth we struggle to understand, the
one
or
more
of the principles?
medium of the words is far less impor-

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