THE
Keter Torah Synagogue
SEPHARDIC
Presents
COMMUNITY
F GREATER
DETROIT
The History and Legacy
Of Sepharclic Jews
To Life!
TORAH PORTION
A four-part lecture series featuring
Professor Howard Lupovitch
Sephardic desserts and coy
following each lecture ,
Four Sundays
7:00 p.m.
Sunday,
November 12
Shabbat Lech Lecha:
Admissioil, free
charitable do don appreCiated
Babylonian Roots
Sunday,
December 10
Convivencia:
How Golden was
the Golden Age
of Spanish Jewry.
Reconquista:
Between Cross
and Crescent
All lectures will be held at.'
Sunday,
February.4
Keter Torah Synagogue
5480 Orchard Lake Road,West Bloomfield MI 48323
The Sephardic
Diaspora
(corner of Orchard Lake Road and Walnut Lake Road)
Sponsored by the Ari Nissim Leyadi Lecture Fund 1173820
NIWWWWW410 '''
A QUALITY PERSON
WHO SUPPORTS HIGH QUALITY,
AFFORDABLE EDUCATION
BEYOND GRADE 12
ELECT
JAMES R. GEISLER,
TRUSTEE
Oakland Community College
•Jim brings 37 years experience in Michigan Public
Education
•Jim completed 18 years of effective leadership as
Superintendent, Walled Lake Schools
•Jim accomplished significant increases in student
achievement in a growing and diverse school
district while supervising more than $300 million
in school construction
• Endorsed by: L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County
Executive; Jean Chamberlain, former South
Oakland County Liaison; Dave Woodward, Oakland
County Commissioner and The Oakland
Community College Faculty Association.
Poklfor by the Committee to Elect ,fames it Geisler OCC Trustee, Myrick
NOV. 7TH ELE
M. Do/truly, Treasurer
C T
JANIES R. CrEISLEilt,
Trustee • Oakland Community College
1179120
50
November
2 •
2006
iN
Genesis 12:1-17:27;
Isaiah 40:27-41:16.
H
reserva4o
81.36
Sunday,
January 14
Not Like Us
ere's a quick question:
One of the most important descrip-
What did Abraham's father,
tions of God in the prayer book is
Terach, do for a living?
that "God lowers the proud and raises
Most people will answer immedi-
up the lowly."A belief in God can is
ately that Abraham's father sold idols.
intended to bring us to a more even
They remember the story
keel in life: To bring us
of Abraham breaking all
out of a sense of loneli-
but the largest idol and
ness and desperation with
putting a stick in its hand
a vision of the exalted
claiming to his father that
potential of the human
the idol was responsible.
being while helping us
His father scoffed at the
avoid a sense of arrogance
story and Abraham said:
and conceit by reminding
"Your ears should only
us that we are but dust and
listen to what your heart is
ashes and not the pinnacle
saying."
Rabbi
of the universe.
This tradition is not
Rober t Dobrusin
We should enter into
found in the Torah but the
Spe cial to the
prayer or study or medita-
story isn't technically just
Jew ish News
tion with the idea that we
a bubbie meise (old wives'
want to become closer to
tale) either. The stories of Abraham
God, not by making God conform to
working in his father's idol shop
our situation in life but by finding
come from the rabbinic tradition of
something greater, or lesser perhaps,
midrash, textual intrepretation.
in our expectations of ourselves and
The rabbis told the stories pre-
the world.
sumably to help explain Abraham's
According to the way we usually
transformation from idol worshipper
read the story, Abraham's frustration
to monotheist, which, according to
with the people who came into his
most rabbinic perspectives, happened
shop centered on their dependence on
before God's call to him.
a statue made by human beings. But,
God called out to Abraham because
perhaps his greater frustration came
he believed in one God and the rabbis
from people who insisted that their
reasoned that he came to this revo-
God should reflect who they were, not
lutionary idea based on experience.
who they could be.
Some connected that transformation
The beauty and the wisdom of our
to his observation of the world; oth-
tradition is that one God can mean
ers to his recognition of the futility of
different things to us at different
worshiping idols.
stages in our lives, always helping us
There are actually different versions be better than we are.
of the "idol store" story. But, the one
which I find the most meaningful is
Robert Dobrusin is rabbi of Beth Israel
the story that is told of customers ask- Congregation in Ann Arbor.
ing Abraham to sell them an idol "just
like them."A warrior comes in ask-
ing for a strong idol. A poor, humble
woman asks for a humble idol.
Conversations
The intriguing part of this story is
that while we might strive to emulate
How do the different "meta-
what our tradition identifies as Divine
phors" used to describe God
qualities — righteousness, patience,
(shepherd, ruler, parent, etc.)
loyalty, etc. — Judaism's approach
become useful at different times
concerning God is that we need a God
in our lives?
who is not "just like us" nor one that
reflects our situations in life.