Community Wide Event Hosted by Temple Shir Shalom spirit torah portion Monday, August 14, 2017 Starting at 7:00pm Temple Shir Shalom’s FOOD FUN AND FIREWORKS FESTIVAL begins with an evening loaded with family fun, food tastings and games, and ends with a spectacular fireworks display! What’s In A Name? I TEMPLE To tempt your palate, some of the area’s most popular restaurants will be on hand to help us celebrate. SHIR Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (ARVARD 2OW +OSHER -EATS s 3TAR $ELI 0RIME s #RISPELLIS "AKERY 0IZZERIA "UDDYS 0IZZA s "ELLACINOS 3YLVAN ,AKE SHALOM FOOD #RAFT "REWW #ITY s #+ $IGGS s 4HE ,ODGE *ERSEY "AGELS s "LUE 'RILL -EDITERRANEAN !NTONIOS s $AIRY &RESH &OODS s 0IEOLOGY "ONEFISH 'RILL s 'OINg 0OSTAL s #ORK 2YE (UERTO -EXICAN 2ESTAURANT 4EQUILA "AR 1UARTON 7OODWARD #ATERING s ,ILY 3WEETS :OES 0ANCAKE (OUSE s 'EORGEgS (ONEY 4REE .EW 9ORK "AGEL s 2ENEES 'OURMET 0IZZERIA ,EOgS #ONEY )SLAND s #!9! 3MOKEHOUSE 'RILL Platinum Dish Catering s 5PTOWN 0ARTHENON Looking To Join Temple Shir Shalom? Bring The Whole Family ON US! Call Temple Shir Shalom’s office to arrange for your complimentary tickets. Come get to know us! 248-737-8700 FUN AND F A I U RE G W U O S R T K 14 S 2017 Music and entertainment provided by Star Trax EVERYONE IS WELCOME! PER ADULT s PER CHILD Tickets can be purchased online at www.shirshalom.org or by calling Temple Shir Shalom’s office at 248-737-8700 Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities are available. 36 August 10 • 2017 jn am fascinated by the contranym (also called heteronym or spelled contronym). It is a word that has contradictory meanings. For example, when you hear that a woman received a citation, did she earn an honor, or did she break a law? When you hear that oversight is occurring at a workplace, is there close monitoring of the employees harmful than the might or evil or none at all? Phrases, too, of an enemy nation. can be internally contradic- The other story of name tory. When “it’s all downhill confusion comes from the from here,” either the best or haftarot of this season. Two the worst is ahead. weeks ago, we were introduced We can also be confused to the prophet Isaiah, who when two different people expressed God’s anger and have identical or similar frustration with the Israelites’ Rabbi Elliot names. When Detroit Mayor straying from God’s chosen Pachter Mike Duggan first ran for path for them: “I reared chil- office in 2013, he faced a dren and brought them up long list of opponents in the And they have rebelled against primary, including one named Mike Me. (Isaiah 1:2) Dugeon. Fortunately for the mayor, the With these words, Isaiah is warning name confusion did not deny him a the people of the Northern Kingdom victory. Of the 95,000+ votes cast in the in the eighth century B.C.E. about the primary, Mr. Dugeon received only 17. impending attack of the Assyrians. Though identical or similar names This Shabbat, and on all seven did not impact this election, two exam- Shabbatot from Tisha b’Av to Rosh ples of name confusion from Jewish Hashanah, we hear a different voice history are most significant. from Isaiah. It is the voice of com- The Babylonian Talmud (Gittin fort for the residents of the Southern 55b-56a) includes the story of Kamtza Kingdom, who have witnessed destruc- and Bar-Kamtza. A certain man was a tion and exile at the hands of Babylonia friend of Kamtza and an enemy of Bar- in the sixth century B.C.E. Kamtza. In planning for his upcoming To the people who assume that God party, the man sent his servant to invite has abandoned them, the prophet reas- Kamtza, but the servant mistakenly suringly declares: “Can a woman forget delivered the invitation to Bar-Kamtza. her baby?” (Isaiah 49:15). When the party’s host saw Bar- Modern Bible scholars explain this Kamtza seated at his feast, he imme- gap of nearly 200 years by teaching diately told Bar-Kamtza to leave. that there were two different prophets Not wanting to be embarrassed, Bar- named Isaiah, both represented by the Kamtza offered to pay for his food and same book of the Bible. Traditional drink, rather than leave in disgrace. scholars maintain that there is only After the host refused to agree, Bar- one Isaiah, but that Isaiah is accurately Kamtza offered to pay for half the cost foreseeing into the future. of the feast, and even the entire cost, if In all cases, we acknowledge that he could just stay. Despite those gener- the mention of the name Isaiah calls to ous offers, the host did not relent, and mind the teaching of Rabbi Abraham he promptly threw Bar-Kamtza out. Joshua Heschel, that there are two As a result of the embarrassment voices of prophecy — one who sternly he suffered, Bar-Kamtza played a role warns people to improve their behav- in causing the Romans to destroy the ior; the other comforts the suffer- Temple in Jerusalem and take the Jews ing in the aftermath of destruction. into exile. Significantly, Isaiah’s words represent Whenever we recall the Temple’s both aspects of classical prophecy. • destruction, as we did last week on Tisha b’Av, we can’t help but think how Elliot Pachter is director of student services at senseless hatred within the Jewish Frankel Jewish Academy and rabbi emeritus community, as related in the story of Congregation B’nai Moshe, both in West Bloomfield. of Kamtza and Bar-Kamtza, is more Parshat Ekev: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25; Isaiah 49:14-51:3.