Small Steps

Fulfilling mitzvah of repentance requires an ongoing process.

Susan Tawil
Special to the Jewish News

I

n a lunch-and-learn talk two days
before Yom Kippur, Rabbi Dr. Dovid
Gottlieb said the concept of teshu-
vah (repentance) is counter-intuitive:
To have a misdeed forgiven just because
one feels remorse is not how an earthly
court of law would work.
But, quoting a passage from Isaiah
— "My ways are not your ways" — the
rabbi taught that God's extension of
forgiveness is an extraordinary act of
kindness and mercy built into the very
creation of the world.
The rabbi encouraged every change
Jews make for the better, no matter how
small.
The rabbi spoke to more than 70
people Sept. 20 at the Max M. Fisher
Federation Building in Bloomfield

On Gossip

It is not appropriate to relate to oth-
ers that someone refused to grant
a favor or to hold a grudge against
an individual who refused to offer
assistance.

Presented by Lubavitch Women's Organization.
For information on keeping kosher or lighting Shabbat
candles, contact Miriam Amzalak,
(248) 548-6771, amzalak@pocketmail.com .

Beth El Book Groups
"Bagels & Books" and "Books & Bites" are
sponsored by Temple Beth El's Prentis
Memorial Library and sisterhood.
The groups will meet monthly on
Mondays; "Bagels & Books" at 10 a.m. in
the temple library and "Books & Bites"
at 7 p.m. in the Alpert Room. Facilitating
the groups will be Susan Chalom, profes-
sor of English at Wayne State University,
Detroit; Steven Berman, professor of
English at Oakland Community College;
Marilyn Schelberg, facilitator for several
book clubs; and Keren Alpert, Beth El's
director of education.
On Monday, Oct. 8, the groups will dis-

ing changes in our lives.
Township as Ohr Somayach
"Great goals in life are not
Detroit's fifth annual Mary
achieved immediately," he
Einstein Shapero Memorial
said, citing the example of a
Scholar in Residence. He is
child learning to ride a bicycle,
senior lecturer for Ohr Somayach
who succeeds only through
Jerusalem and a former professor
his mistakes and failures. It
of mathematical logic at Johns
is the resolve to change and
Hopkin University in Baltimore,
Rabbi
the
struggle to do so that are
holding a doctorate in philoso-
Gottli eb
important.
phy from Brandeis University
Teshuvah is not an "all or nothing"
in Massachusetts. Afterward, he spoke
type of mitzvah, he explained, and
at the Frankel Jewish Academy in West
stressed that falling short of perfection
Bloomfield, Yeshivas Darchei Torah in
is not hypocritical. "Every mitzvah is
Southfield and University of Detroit
infinite," said the rabbi. For instance,
Mercy School of Law.
he reasoned, if someone's business
In his talk, Gottlieb reviewed the three
constraints prevent him from keeping
components of the teshuvah process:
kosher
at work, it's not hypocritical for
1) regret for past action, 2) resolve to
him
to
attempt
keeping kosher at home
change, and 3) verbal confession (vidui,
—
he
is
making
an honest effort to
the major segment of the Yom Kippur
change what he can.
prayer service). He tackled the problem
"Don't despise small steps," he said,
of backsliding and the difficulty of mak-

cuss Crossing California by Adam Langer
with Berman. Inheritance by Natalie
Danford will be the topic Nov. 19 with
Chalom. On Jan. 7, Schelberg will lead a
discussion of The Plot Against America
by Philip Roth. Chalom will facilitate
the Feb. 25 discussion of Out of Egypt by
Andre Aciman; and on April 7, Alpert will
guide the group in a look at The Rabbi's
Cat by Joann Sfar. The series concludes
May 19 with Berman discussing Rashi's
Daughters: Book I: Jocheved by Maggie
Anton.
Cost of the series is $30. There is a $10
per session drop-in fee. To register, call
Eileen Polk, (248) 851-1100, ext. 3138.

Research And The Law
Harvard Law School graduate and attor-
ney Ellen Cogan Lipton will discuss stem
cell research and our laws at a luncheon
event sponsored by the Oak Park-based
Temple Emanu-El EMES at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 14.
Lunch is $5 for EMES members
and $7 for guests. The program is free
and begins at 1 p.m. Cogan Lipton, a
Huntington Woods resident, is a pat-
ent attorney specializing in bio-tech-
nical inventions. She is a speaker for
the Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell

Research and Cures and is president
of the Michigan Ambassadors for the
Weizmann Institute, one of the world's
foremost medical research institutes.
For reservations, call (248) 967-4252,
ext. 604.

Hebrew Literacy Classes
The Men's Club of Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills will
sponsor weekly Hebrew Literacy classes
for men and women beginning Monday
evening, Oct. 8.
The program offers begin-
ning, intermediate and new
intermediate "plus" classes,
which will focus on learning
the background and history
of selected prayers in addi-
tion to mastering the prayers
of the Shabbat morning service.
Fall classes will run 7-8:30 p.m. each
Monday through Dec. 10 and will begin
again in January. There is materials fee.
Skilled volunteers teach the alef-bet
and work on siddur skills and reading
fluency. Don Rudick chairs this annual
program. Call Adat Shalom, (248) 851-
5100, to register.

suggesting that mitzvot be subdivided
into manageable pieces, like keeping
Shabbat on Friday night or just once a
month at first if one is not ready or able
to observe it completely. "Every step is
valuable," he said.
Ilona Tobin of Birmingham, a recently
retired psychologist in the audience,
noted how much of psychology is bor-
rowed from Torah. "Saying you're sorry
and making amends is the basis of
Alcoholics Anonymous," she said.
Janice Berkower of Southfield con-
nected to Gottlieb's lesson that "No one
is perfect, but you can always do more."
Said Michael Friedman of Livonia: "A
little something is better than nothing."
Lynn Blavin of Oak Park concurred:
"We have to keep taking small steps in
the right direction."

!

JTS Chancellor To Speak
Professor Arnold M. Eisen, the newly
installed chancellor of the New York-
based Jewish Theological Seminary, will
be welcomed as a guest speaker at Beth
Israel Congregation, 2000 Washtenaw,
Ann Arbor, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 8
p.m.
He will present
his thoughts on the
Conservative move-
ment, its uniqueness
and its challenges for
the future.
Eisen is on of the
board of governors of
Arnold Eisen
the Jewish Agency and
has long been known
as a passionate advocate of strengthen-
ing the ties between American Jews and
Israel.
A dessert reception follows; there is
no charge and the event is open to the
public. For information or to support
the seminary, contact Beth Israel, (734)
663-5543; or JTS Great Lakes Regional
Director Tom Wexelberg-Clouser, (248)
258 0055, toclouser@jtsa.edu ; or visit
www.jtsa.edu.

September 27 • 2007

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