IF TORAH PORTION Rabbi Lee Buckman Food, Glorious Food Shabbat Parah (Parshah Shemini): Leviticus 9:1-11:47; Numbers 19:1-22; Ezekiel 36:16-38. Ann Arbor the spirit of full disclosure, I should confess that I don't stray very far n my daily schedule as a rabbi, I away from the Kiddush table after am reminded regularly of a crit- services. But this does not change ical truth: Every Jewish life cycle the fact that eating is not only a event and Jewish holiday ends up, to means of surviving, it is a message one degree or to God that we endorse and embrace another, focus- life. ing on food. That is why this week's parashah While we is so important. Parashat Shemini should eat presents the list of permitted and and drink in a prohibited animals, birds and fish. way which is It does so in the context of discus- conducive to sions on holiness; and by reading good health, it, we are reminded of the crucial there is noth- role that kashrut plays in our lives ing wrong with as Jews. Rabbi Robert this fact of By making eating a holy exercise, Dobrusin Jewish life. In we elevate its importance and, by Special to the fact, I believe extension, the significance of cel- Jewish News we should ebrating life. By limiting the foods recognize and we can eat, the Torah is telling us: celebrate the important role that "Embrace life but draw boundaries; eating plays in our enhance life, but know tradition and in our your limits!" community. These messages There is a sig- are critical, and their nificant reason for the importance goes centrality of food in far beyond eating. our tradition, and it is They remind us that best reflected by our our lives are ours to customs at the time enjoy and affirm, but of death. that we must always I have often been asked: "Why is remember the fact that our lives it that the mourners are obligated are a gift from God and come with to eat a meal when they come back responsibilities and obligations. from the cemetery?" The answer is We can fulfill those obligations simple but profound: Just as saying best by being careful of what we eat; Kaddish is an affirmation of faith at sharing our bread with those who this time, eating is an affirmation of are hungry; and embracing the idea life. By eating a meal, we are mak- that eating is not only a fact of life, it ing the statement that we still want is an affirmation of the joy of being to live. alive. ❑ And this is true for every life cycle event. Robert Dobrusin is rabbi of Beth Israel There must be an opportunity Congregation in Ann Arbor. to acknowledge God through the brachot, and there has to be an opportunity to state openly and proudly that we embrace and affirm Conversations life, in good times and in bad. What Beyond eating healthier foods better way to do this than to nourish and sharing with the needy, ourselves with good food. what steps can we take to make You might think all of this is just eating a more holy activity? an excuse to eat constantly and, in I Celebrate the important role eating plays in our tradition. As graduates of the Frankel Jewish Academy, we want to take a moment to thank Rabbi Buckman for his commitment, pas- sion, and vision for the Frankel Jewish Academy as he moves on to shape the Jewish community in other capacities. As students, we experienced Rabbi Buckman's tireless energy at school each day. Some of us remember the founding year of our school when Rabbi Buckman conducted one of the first student government meetings in his minivan on the way to a school retreat at Tamarack. Others remember the tears stream- ing down Rabbi Buckman's face when we surprised him with the performance of our school song, Aseh Lecha Ray, written by Michael HarPaz. It was Rabbi Buckman who opened up his home to students and community members on holidays and Shabbatot. It would be impossible to enumerate the impact Rabbi Buckman had on our lives; he shaped and reviewed the curriculum, challenged our faculty, and empowered the student body to maximize our potential. We cannot count the thou- sands of emails, phone calls, meetings, and conversations through which Rabbi Buckman worked tirelessly to facilitate our school's development as well as to nurture our personal growth. We write to express our gratitude to the man who put his heart and soul into this school and its students. He created a school of critical thinkers and committed Jews, a school that will continue to produce the future leaders of the Jewish peo- ple. His commitments to Jewish education, academic excel- lence, and community building have enriched the Detroit Jewish community. We wish Rabbi Buckman success in his future endeavors, and will always appreciate his contributions to our community. Whitney Lee Aidenbaum 2005 Ilana Anders 2007 Deborah Anstandig 2003 Jared Anstandig 2007 Ruslan Avshalumov 2006 Vadim Avshalumov 2003 Adam Baruch 2006 Jeremy Baruch 2004 Jennifer Beitner Ari Carmen 2003 Noah Curhan 2007 Emma Darvic.k 2005 Michael Diskin 2006 Brad Garden 2005 Jason Garden 2003 Adam Gardin 2003 Fallon Garfield-Turner 2004 Ilana Goldberg 2003 Susan Goldis 2003 Jesse Gross 2005 Adam Greenbaum 2003 Marissa Gruber 2007 Shira Hyman 2005 Rachel Jacobson 2005 Keren (Steibel) Klein 2004 Frayda Kresch 2003 Rachel Lachover 2004 Nathan Lada 2004 Ryan Landau 2006 Maggie Lee 2003 Jonathon Margolis 2006 Ali Mendelson 2004 Yael Mendelson 2006 Brad Millman 2007 Ariella Morrison 2006 Danniell Nadiv 2005 Yoni Nadiv 2007 Aaron Newman 2004 Bradley Otis 2006 Simon J. Pinter 2006 Avery Robinson 2007 Ian Robinson 2004 Eric Rosenbaum 2004 Alexis Sack 2003 Jill Salama 2003 Sarah Sallen 2004 Netta Schechet 2007 Leah Schloss 2005 Susan Schwartz 2007 Reisa Shanaman 2004 Ilanit Shtull-Leber 2003 Tani Shtull-Leber 2006 Addle Sodof 2006 David Steibel 2005 Caren Steinway 2006 Levi Stewart 2006 Ilyssa Tackel 2006 Alex Tapper 2005 Casey Weiss 2007 Jordan Weiss 2003 Monica Woll 2003 Michael Yashinsky 2007 I 1375 940 March 27 • 2008 A45