as

Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

Good And Evil

Shabbat Vayekhel: Exodus 35:1-
38:20; I Kings 7:40-50.

Efrat, Israel

God ideal for an idolatrous golden calf
— symbolic of materialism (gold) and
s religion a force for good in the
physical power, riches (oil) and subju-
world or a force for evil?
gation (calf-bull) — one is following a
Yes, in the name of religion
religion of corruption and destruction,
magnificent values have entered the
turning Divine into demon.
mainstream of our world civilization
Following the golden calf tragedy, we
and culture. However, equally in the
are strengthened by hearing about the
name of religion, the fanatic crusaders
importance of the Sabbath, a sanctu-
and the fundamentalist jihads have
ary in time rather than an edifice of
wrought devastation and destruction
gold dedicated to sharing and loving
for countless innocents.
and praying and learning. Only then
Power corrupts and absolute power
does the text return to the physical
corrupts absolutely. I would venture
sanctuary that must be understood as
to add that religious power cannot
a means to the Divine end that is exem-
only corrupt but it can also
plified by the Sabbath.
destroy. The Bible abounds
Our tradition teaches that
in commanding us to
the goal of our religion and
eschew and even uproot
indeed of the sojourn of the
idolatry. Acts of murder
human species on Earth is
and immorality in order
to accept the word of God
to spread coerce religious
from Jerusalem, a Divine
doctrine is the worst kind of
command of universal peace
evil — for the religious zeal-
when we will turn our own
ots turn Divine directives
swords into plowshares and
into the diabolic demonism
nations will not learn war
Rabbi Shlomo
and transform God (or
anymore.
Ris kin
Allah) into Satan.
As long as everyone
Specia to the
The Bible profoundly
accepts the laws of morality
Jewis h News
understands how religion
— and specifically Thou
can be transmitted and
shalt not murder — then
converted into rank evil. The purpose
different religions based upon a univer-
of the sanctuary is so that God will
sally accepted ethic can truly dwell in
dwell within the individual Israelites,
peace, with everyone calling upon his
so that the biblical concept of godliness God and our walking in the name of
will inform their innermost beings and the Lord our God forever.
suffuse their deepest personalities. And
Especially in a global village of
since the Sabbath is defined as a day
nuclear capability, our God demands
dedicated to the Lord your God, the
fealty to Thou shalt not murder and
definition of the godliness which must
Thou shalt not enslave; this is vital for
imbue and inspire the Israelites is to be a future to humanity and a world of
found within the biblical ideas depict-
peace. A god who incites suicide bomb-
ing the significance of the Sabbath:
ers and demands exclusive totalitarian
the Jewish understanding of God is
control and power is a Satan, not a God;
inextricably bound up with the biblical and his adherents must be stopped
understanding of the Sabbath.
before they destroy the world. ❑
The God of Judaism is a God of life
who has created every human being
Shlomo Riskin is head of Israel's Ohr Torah
and who is, therefore, concerned for the Stone Institute and chief rabbi of Efrat.
life of every human being; He is, like-
wise, the only Creator, who would not
allow any human being to lord it over
Conversations
any other human being.
Discuss examples of God as one
Hence it is not sufficient to believe in,
of lovingkindness and pluralism
or to worship, God in order to be con-
based upon the universal ethic
sidered a good and moral individual;
of God the creator of life and the
it is necessary first to clearly express
guardian of freedom. How is this
the definition of the God in whom
vision our only hope for preser-
one believes. When one substitutes a
vation of our civilization?

I

DIGEST

A SYNergy Shabbat
Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills will welcome
Professor Raymond Tanter as the
congregation's guest speaker for
SYNergy Shabbat on
March 7. Tanter will
discuss "Iran and
Israel: Options to
Counter Iran's Threat
to Jerusalem!' He
conducts research
and teaches courses
on domestic and
Raymond
international
ter-
Tanter
rorism in relation
to proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction
— nuclear, chemical, and biological
armaments — with a special focus on
Al Qaida. Tanter will speak to SYNergy
participants following dinner at 8 p.m.
on Friday evening.
Synergy activities will begin at 6
p.m. on Friday evening with three sep-
arate services: a traditional Kabbalat
Shabbat service, a Shabbat Shaboom
musical service for the younger set,
and a high school-led Shabbat service.
Childcare will begin at 7 p.m. and
extend until the end of the adult pro-
gram. At 7:45 p.m. children will enjoy
a demonstration with live animals
by Little Creatures. At the same time
sixth-graders and older are invited to
a program titled "Is Your Pet Jewish?"
On Shabbat Morning, March 8,
Rabbi Herbert Yoskowitz will conduct
a Talmud study session at 8:30 a.m.
titled "And God Created Women".
Traditional services will begin at 9
a.m. Beginning at 10:15 a.m. there will
be drop-off youth services.
The March SYNergy Shabbat will be
capped off by Havdalah Rocks at 7:30
p.m., led by Cantor Frank Lanzkron-
Tamarazo. Accompanying the cantor
will be members of the Adat Shalom
band: Dan Shere, Gary Graff, Marty
Liebman and Ricky Levine, along
with Billy Brandt, of the rock band
Grievous Angel. The band will per-
form at 8 p.m. SYNergy co-chairs
are Carol Weintraub Fogel of West
Bloomfield and Phyllis Pilcowitz of
Bloomfield Hills.
The community is welcome to all
of the services and programs at no
charge, with the exception of the
Shabbat dinner for which there is
a charge. Dinner reservations are
required by Friday, Feb. 29. Call the
Adat Shalom Synagogue office, (248)
851-5100, for information, or e-mail
info@adatshalom.org.

Anniversary Feast
Congregation Shomrey Emunah will
host its 36th anniversary banquet 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 2, at Ohel Moed, 6191
Farmington Road, West Bloomfield.
For information, call (248) 559-
1533. The guest speaker will be Rabbi
Doniel Neustadt of Cleveland, who
will be moving to Detroit to head the
Detroit Council of Orthodox Rabbis.

Affiliates Lead Prayers
Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills will celebrate
Sisterhood and Men's Club Shabbat on
Shabbat Morning, March 1.
That morning both men's club and
sisterhood members will lead services
along with Adat Shalom clergy. In
addition, members of this year's Adat
Shalom Hebrew Literacy Program will
be honored. They are: Beth Bradford,
Steven Gales, Adele Levenson, Ruby
Kushner, Jacquelyn Zameck Levine,
Susan Lutz, Ilene Rappaport, Lucinda
Rosen, Mickey Roth, Bea Winstein and
Mike Zazoulinsky.
Dennis Phillips, Les Hubert, Murray
Sittsamer,Ari Layno-Moses and Don
Rudick have been this season's Hebrew
literacy instructors. Shula Fleischer
and Stuart Logan are chairing
Sisterhood-Men's Club Shabbat.

Purim At T'chiyah
Congregation T'chiyah hosts a Purim
celebration and other events with Donna
Kirshbaum, student rabbi, March 20-
23 at the David and Miriam Mondry
Building, 15000 W. 10 Mile, in Oak Park.
On Thursday, March 20, there will
be a potluck supper at 6 p.m. prior to
a Purim service and Megillah reading,
starting at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, March
21, at 7:45 p.m., Kirshbaum will con-
duct a Kaballat Shabbat service. On
Saturday, March 22, at 10 a.m., she
will lead a study session on "Why Not
Wry? Poems of Yehudah Amichai."
Her last session is 10 a.m. Sunday,
March 23, on "Navigating the Torah:
Geography, Etiquette, and Trope, Part III!'

On Gossip

It is forbidden to gossip about
an entire group even if individual
names are not mentioned.

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

February 28 • 2008

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