°RAH PORTION

Purim Partyers

Yossi's hosts costume celebration.

y

ossi's Restaurant in West
Bloomfield hosted a Purim
party for 70 costumed
guests on March 14. Specially
prepared Israeli food delica-
cies for the event included lamb
shwarma, falafel and an array of
Mediterranean salads.
"This was a wonderful evening of
food, music and dancing," said Ilanit
Rubin, who organized the event.
"We had greater demand than room
in the restaurant! The energy and
excitement were beyond belief."
Among the Purim-attired guests

seen dancing into the early morning
hours while noshing on hamentash-
en were Jimmy and Sigal Levine, Dr.
Gary and Donna Katz, Phil and Iris
Dines, Dr. Tsvi and Orly Kennet, Dr.
Robert and Charlene Levine, Chris
and Lori Brochert and Dr. Mickey
and Bud Golden Moore.
Owner Yossi Benjamin planned
the holiday menu in celebration of
Purim, which was March 10.
Another themed party is being
planned by Ilanit Rubin for May 2
in celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut,
Israeli Independence Day. ❑

Yossi
Benjamin of

Farmington
Hills and

Ilanit Rubin
of West

Bloomfield

41)

Sima and Mike Snabir of Ann Arbor

Mark and Michelle Soltz of Commerce

Jeff and
Deborah
Cymerint

of Livonia

Shabbat: Here,
There, Everywhere

Shabbat HaHodesh, Shabbat
Mevarechim (Parshat Vayakhel/
Pikudei) Exodus 35:1-40:38; 12:1-20;
Ezekiel 45:16-46:18.

R

ecently I attended the
were from the United States, some
Central Conference of
of us did not feel the same sense of
American Rabbis convention ease when it came to Shabbat. When
in Jerusalem. It was a gift to be back in the sun sets over West Bloomfield,
Israel, to return home so to speak.
the awareness of Shabbat is definitely
Whenever I am there,
present; but the transition
whether it is the midst
from mundane to sacred
of the hustle and bustle
time was not so organic.
of the shuk or the quiet
Do we have to work harder
space I create at the Kotel
chutz la'aretz, outside
(Western Wall), I always
the Land of Isarel, to feel
feel as though I have been
Shabbat enter our souls?
blessed with a neshamah
I would argue that we do
yeteirah — a second soul.
not have to work harder,
Usually, this soul is reserved
but we have to be more in
for the Sabbath, but when
touch with what observing
Rabbi
I am in ha'aretz, the land,
Shabbat means for us. For
Jennifer T.
the feeling of closeness and
some, it is walking to shul;
Kaluzny
intimacy with God that per-
for others, it is sharing a
Special to the
vades the entire time I visit
Shabbat meal with family. It
Jewish News
is undeniable.
is similar to the idea of the
This week's double por-
Four Questions we ask on
tion begins with a reminder of the
Passover: Why is this night different?
Sabbath. "On six days work may be
We need to ask ourselves that question
done, but on the seventh day you shall
every time the sun sinks into the hori-
have a Sabbath of complete rest, holy
zon on Friday nights. Why is tonight
to the Lord ..." (35:2). The punish-
different from the previous six nights?
ment for not resting is clearly spelled
What makes Shabbat special, unique, a
out; but if I may, I would like to forgo
"cathedral in time;' as Heschel calls it?
that part of the verse and concentrate
Our challenge as Jews who do not
on what it means to rest, to be inside
live in Israel is to make sure that we
Shabbat, and how it feels to receive the discern what our own personal build-
neshamah yeteirah.
ing materials are for our own personal
While in Israel, I took part a belt
cathedral in time and make sure that
midrash, or study session, with Jews
we build those sacred spaces in time.
from all over the State of Israel. Our
If we do, we will all go from the chaos
group's discussion centered around
of the workweek peacefully into the
Shabbat. What does it mean to observe delight of Shabbat, neshamah yeteirah
Shabbat in Israel? For many of my
intact. If we all do this, everywhere
Israeli study partners, just being in
can be Jerusalem and every Shabbat
Israel was enough. For them, the coun- can hold within it a closeness and inti-
try itself imbued them with a sense of
macy reserved for those 24 hours. ❑
sanctity that was nearly tangible. They
said that when the sun begins to set
Jennifer T. Kaluzny is a rabbi at Temple
on Friday night, a feeling overwhelms
Israel in West Bloomfield.
them; and they know that a sacred,
time outside of time, is about to begin.
Shabbat overtakes them naturally,
Conversations
rhythmically and seamlessly. For them,
How do you make the transition
Shabbat is, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua
from the workweek to Shabbat?
Heschel writes in The Sabbath, "Spirit
How does your family make
in the form of time" (p. 75).
Shabbat different from all other
For those of us in the group that
nights?

March 19 b 2009

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