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Tribute to Danny Raskin!

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Danny Raskin has been
giving exposure to local businesses
and restaurants for 70 years.

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Please help us salute Danny's many years of
service to the Detroit Jewish News and the Jewish
community with a tribute ad honoring his 70th
anniversary as a columnist.

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A Spiritual Compass
For The Wilderness

ADS NOT SHOWN AT ACTUAL SIZE.
Actual size of ads is 4.778 x 2.833 inches.

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Parshat Bamidbar: Numbers 1:1-4:20;
Hosea 2:1-2:22.

T

his Shabbat, we begin to
read the fourth book of the
Torah, the Book of Bamidbar.
The title literally means: "In the
Wilderness" and is a much
better description of the
contents of the book than
the English title: Numbers.
Bamidbar describes the
experiences of our ances-
tors in the wilderness dur-
ing the journey from Egypt
to Canaan.
Bamidbar is the most
eclectic book in the Torah.
It contains narrative, law,
and ritual —and also
includes a detailed itinerary
of the journey indicating each of the
stops along the way.
I love this book for many reasons,
and one of those reasons is that I love
to travel. I love to reminisce about
my travels and attempt to relive the
experiences of the journey. For each
trip our family has taken, I have a box
filled with plane tickets, maps, menus,
receipts — you name it — and I find
myself drawn to look through those
boxes every once in awhile to remind
myself of the experiences we have
shared in the places we have been.
Each time we read from the book of
Bamidbar, it reminds me of looking
through those travel boxes.
But, the Book of Bamidbar is about
more than the journey of our ances-
tors. In a sense, it reflects the spiritual
journey each of us takes during our
lives. Like the events of Bamidbar, our
lives contain moments of great joy and
exultation, moments of cynicism and
doubt, moments of disappointment
and moments in which the vision of
"the Promised Land" keeps us moving
forward in our own individual hopes
and dreams. As we read the book, we
experience the "ups and downs" of our
ancestors and find that it mirrors our

own life experiences.
Almost every year, parshat
Bamidbar is read immediately before
the holiday of Shavuot on which we
celebrate the giving of the
Torah. This reminds us of
the connection between
Torah and the journeys of
our lives.
As we contemplate the
itinerary we follow in our
lives, we realize that we
need Torah and all that it
represents as a guide along
the way. By bringing addi-
tional, deeper meaning in
times of happiness, com-
fort in times of sadness,
encouragement in times of cynicism
or challenge in times of complacency,
the words of Torah guide us along the
paths that we follow.
We depend on many things to sup-
port us in our journey through life:
our own talents and abilities, the love
of family and friends, and the stabil-
ity of community to name a few. But,
when considering those elements that
support us along the way, we must
remember to include the importance
of Torah and the values of our tradi-
tion. They are, in essence, a roadmap
that can help us arrive at our chosen
destination with a sense of satisfaction
and meaning.

AD DEADLINE:
June 8th, 2012 at noon

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ISSUE DATE:
June 14, 201 2

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AD TEMPLATES:
$200 each
Choose from the
4 templates on the left

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For further
information,
call
248.351.5107

Cong ra tulations!

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Name

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone

Robert Dobrusin is rabbi at Beth Israel

Email

Congregation in Ann Arbor.

Personal Check Enclosed: Yes ❑ No ❑

Visa/MC/AmEx

Exp. Date

Conversations

• What story in the Book of
Bamidbar (or in the entire Torah)
can you most identify with on
this particular Shabbat?
• What lesson does that story
teach you?

Amount

Signature

Please circle template Ad Desired:

#1

#2

#3

#4

Please fill out this form completely and send it along
with your check or charge card information to:
Danny's Tribue Ads 2012
29200 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 110
Southfield, MI 48034
or fax to: 248.304.0049

May 24 = 2012 101