Torah portion
Sunday, September 22 2:00
PM
OPEN HOUSE AND PROG
Dedication of
THE
VIOLA AND GARRY KAPPY
Yom Kittpur Inspiration
Shabbat Yom Kippur: Leviticus 16:1-
16:34, Numbers 29:7-29:11; Isaiah 57:14-
58:14; Minchah: Leviticus 18:1-18:30.
T
his thought is based on the
Yom Kippur Torah portion
Acharey, which includes
Leviticus 16:21: "Aharon shall lean his
two hands ... and confess upon it the
iniquities of the Children of
Israel."
Yankele Ganev (Yankele
the Thief) sat in shul on Yom
Kippur with all the other
Jews of his village. This year,
the rabbi gave a particularly
fiery speech on teshuvah
(repentence), and Yankele
was especially moved.
Shortly after Yom Kippur
was over, there was a knock
on the door of the rabbi's
study. Yankele Ganev stood
there with two bulging sacks.
"Rabbi, you really inspired me today.
I've decided to return all these things
that I have stolen from my good neigh-
bors. Will you give them back for me?"
He started pulling out the items from
the sacks. "These are Zelde's candle-
sticks, and this is Chaim's hat. This
rake belongs to Yossel; the wallet is
Shmelke's." And so on.
The rabbi agreed, and Yankele left.
A short while later, the rabbi reached
into his pocket for his gold watch to see
what time it was. No watch. He looked
all over and then came to the obvious
conclusion.
Down the street, he knocked on
Yankele's door. "Yankele, did you by any
chance happen to see my gold watch?"
Yankele turned 20 different colors,
reached into his pocket and pulled out
the rabbi's watch.
"I don't understand you, Yankele. You
were just inspired to do such a beautiful
teshuvah! Why did you take my watch?"
"Rabbi, you don't understand.
Inspiration is inspiration, but business
is business:'
Sins Of Omission
There is a widespread custom to (gen-
tly) beat our chests during the confes-
sion (the Al Chet), which is recited fre-
quently during the Yom Kippur service.
This conveys the message that teshuvah
requires a broken heart.
Just saying "I'm sorry, and I won't do
it again" is not enough. The confession
must be accompanied with a feeling of
pain and a commitment not to repeat
Anne Frank's tree, as she would have
viewed it from her hiding place
the inappropriate behavior.
Many believe that the focus of peni-
tence is on sins of negative behavior,
such as dishonesty, hurting others, slan-
der, promiscuity, arrogance, etc. Even
though Torah has many
positive commandments,
we don't consider the failure
to perform these mitzvot to
be so grave as to require a
broken heart.
The truth is otherwise.
Rav Shneur Zalman, the first
rebbe of Chabad, declares
that desisting from positive
mitzvos is just as serious as
engaging in negative actions.
Not controlling our impulses
and giving in to temptation,
greed or other character
flaws is a transgression; refraining from
helping another is negligence. God
endows each of us with a unique set
of talents and capabilities, and we are
expected to fully utilize them.
■
kosher refreshments
This program is made possible in part by a grant fiv
Michigan Humanities Council an affiliate cf the
Nationa 1Endowment for the Humanities.
of West Bloomfield.
248.553.2400
www. h 0 oca ustcenter.orz o
DENNIS
MILLER
SoundBoardDetroit.com
OCTOBER 3
SOUND
BOARD.
❑
Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
Special interview with Irene Butter,
a survivor who knew Anne Frank
■ Free admission all day
■ Appropriate for families
■ Complimentary
Finding A Mate
One area that needs special attention is
helping young Jewish adults find their
mates. This is increasingly difficult
for Jewish singles, and especially for
young women. This is partially a result
of the increasing number of intermar-
riages (that have unfortunately become
accepted in some Jewish circles), which
depletes the pool of Jewish adults avail-
able for marriage. Moreover, we live in
a society where marriage and having a
family are no longer priorities.
Interestingly, in the time of the
Talmud, young Jewish men and women
met on Yom Kippur with the ultimate
goal of marriage. This Yom Kippur, let
us ask ourselves what we have done to
try to help Jewish singles find Jewish
spouses.
May God grant that we not only be
inspired this Yom Kippur, but also that
our inspiration leads to real and mean-
ingful changes as well ... Not just a
return to business as usual.
And may we merit to hear the sound
of the great shofar that will signal the
arrival of the holy redeemer who will
lead us all to the Land of Israel.
Elimelech Silberberg is a rabbi at Sara &
oin us as we dedicate the Holocaust
Memorial Center's newest exhibit, which
includes a sapling from the chestnut tree that
grew behind Anne Frank's hiding place. This
living exhibition highlights the extraordinary
life of Anne Frank and celebrates her legacy
of hope.
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September 12 • 2013
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