linimmumummur
Jewish Community Relations Council
is pleased to invite you to join us
as we present the
2012 ACTIVIS
WARD TO
Parshat Emor: Leviticus 21:1-24:23;
Ezekiel 44:15-44:31.
F
ive years ago, my brother
Rabbi Yosef Greenberg,
Chabad emissary to Alaska,
organized a fundraising auction.
Among the prizes offered was a trip
to Israel with the rabbi that became
the auction's hottest offer.
Ultimately, one bidder got it
for $18,000.
When my brother
approached the winner, he
discovered that he wasn't
even Jewish! Naturally, he
asked him why he was sud-
denly so interested in travel-
ing to visit Israel.
The man surprised him
with his answer. In 1947, he
had been a sailor aboard the
famous refugee ship Exodus
and, if not for the British,
he would have been in Israel. For more
than 60 years, he had wanted to visit
Israel and perhaps even meet the cap-
tain of the Exodus "if he is still alive'
And so they went to Israel. After
some searching, they succeeded in
locating the captain, Ike Aaronovitch,
who lived in Zichron Yaakov in a house
built to resemble a ship.
The two men met in a very emotion-
al encounter. After exchanging memo-
ries and notes, Ike asked the man, "Tell
me: Why did you come to volunteer to
help us sail the ship?"
"I heard, saw and read about the
Holocaust, and I very much wanted to
help the Jews return to Israel," he said.
After 60 years, Ike was finally able
to give him a hug and tell him, "Thank
you for everything you did for the
Jewish people."
The Baal Shem Tov taught that life
is like a stormy sea in which great and
mighty waves threaten to sink us. The
great waters are the pressures of liveli-
hood and material concerns. By his
own power, a man cannot stand firm
against the sea—unless he is on a ship.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous
memory, explains that God puts each of
us into the "stormy sea" of this physical
world, but not, God forbid, tossing us
into the water itself. Every Jew is born
on a "ship" sailing the world's oceans.
This "ship" is Judaism — and Torah
and mitzvot protect the Jew from the
waves that threaten to drown him.
Judaism is like a pleasure cruise
ship offering every type of experi-
ence. One deck has the
"bar" where one can drink
and be merry — its called
Purim and Simchat Torah.
Another deck is a little more
romantic, with candles
and hot food — its called
Chanukah. Another deck has
a library where you could
study and learn as much
as you want — its called
Shavuot, on which God gave
the Torah.
There's even a synagogue
on this ship — its called
Shabbat. And if you want to take in
great cantorial vocals, you can go to the
Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur deck.
Out on the deck of the ship, you can
enjoy the fresh air—the holiday of
Sukkot. And on Lag b'Omer, you can
have an outdoor picnic. The Jewish
holidays offer something for everyone.
In this week's Torah portion, Emor,
we read about all the Jewish holidays,
and we can take a closer look and find
the beauty in each of them.
We are all born without choice on
the good ship Judaism, but it is up to
us whether we feel trapped and sit all
day complaining that "ifs hard to be
Jewish."
If we are a little wise, we will realize
that it's not a prisoner ship taking us to
exile but, rather, a pleasure cruise ship
on which it's fun to be Jewish. Then,
we discover the beauty of Judaism and
learn to enjoy every moment.
Let's introduce the fun of Judaism
to every Jew to teach that the Torah
is not a burden. And to constantly be
happy and to feel that we are the luck-
iest people in the world for having the
merit to have been born Jewish.
Tuesda
May 299 2012 • 7:00 pan
Adat Shalom Synagogue
Farmington Hill
TURED SPEAKER
Hon.
Wasserman Schu
U.S. Representative, Florida's 20th
Congressional Distil
Chair, Democratic Nationa
Committee
Reception following meeting
Kosher dietary laws observed
To learn more about opportunities to pay
ribute to Michelle Passon, please contact th
Jewish Community Relations Council,
248) 642-5393, ext. 5, or visit detroilicrc.org
Honorary Co-Chairs
Patti Aaron, Doreen Hermelin & Linda Lee
❑
Schneor Greenberg is rabbi of the Chabad
ewish
Federation
0;6 t4CM11,04.11- At4 OtTROIT
Jewish Center of Commerce. His email is
rabbi@jewishcommerce.org .
Media Relations
Israel Advocacy • Community Activism
May 70 - 2012
33