FEBRUARY 10 • 2022 | 51

Smith 74th 
A

rthur and Dotty Smith 
of West Bloomfield 
celebrated their 74th 
wedding anniversary on Jan. 
27, 2022. The couple met at a 
Hillel dance after which Arthur 
had his more outspoken 
but similar sounding brother 
arrange their first date. Arthur 
served as a communications 
officer in the Navy in WW II, 
completed his college educa-
tion at Wayne State University 
and worked as a CPA and entrepreneur. Dotty got her 
teaching degree and taught special education for 30 
years. They had two children and have four grandchil-
dren. They describe raising their children as their gold-
en years. The couple enjoy reading, travel adventures, 
and sharing closeness and love with friends and family.

Sokol-Daien
M

ara and Gary Daien of 
Livonia are thrilled to 
announce the engage-
ment of their daughter Rachel 
Elizabeth Daien to Barry 
Samuel Sokol, son of Michele 
and Dan Sokol of Dayton, 
Ohio. Barry surprised Rachel 
with a romantic November 
2021 engagement in Fort 
Lauderdale, FL.
Rachel is an elementary 
school counselor and former 
middle school teacher for Plymouth-Canton Community 
Schools. She graduated with a B.S. in elementary edu-
cation from Eastern Michigan University, earned her M.A. 
in teaching from Marygrove College and graduated with 
an M.A. in counseling from Eastern Michigan University. 
She is also a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and 
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) for the state of 
Michigan. 
Barry is a mathematics and social studies teacher 
formerly of the Columbus, Ohio, area. He received his 
B.S. and M.Ed. in education from Ohio State University, 
with a specialization in middle grades. Barry previously 
coached seventh-grade boys basketball and is passion-
ate about sports. 
The couple reside in Commerce Township. They are 
excited to celebrate their May 2022 wedding with family 
and friends in Novi. A Hawaiian island-hopping honey-
moon is planned for June.

SPIRIT

Developing Relationships 
A

bout 2,000 years ago, 
when the Temple 
in Jerusalem was 
destroyed, the concept of hav-
ing a synagogue in every neigh-
borhood was a brilliant innova-
tion that has since been 
duplicated by religions 
all over the world.
In this week’s Torah 
portion, we read one of 
its longest narratives. It 
discusses the construc-
tion of a temporary 
temple to be used by 
the Jewish nation while 
journeying through 
the desert. The Torah 
usually reveals vast 
amounts of details in a 
concise manner leaving 
it to the Talmud to 
elaborate on the specifics. 
The laws of kosher, Shabbat, 
mezuzah, tefillin and holi-
days are all taught with just a 
few verses or several words. 
Conversely, the construction 
of the temporary temple is a 
glaring exception to the normal 
brevity. The question is, why 
this exception, particularly for a 
mitzvah that was only relevant 
for a brief period?
The fact that the Torah ded-
icates so many chapters to the 
laws of this temporary struc-
ture indicates that it wishes to 
emphasize a point. Although 
throughout much of Jewish his-
tory we would be bereft of our 
Temple, it should never be for-
saken as its lessons will remain 
central to the Jewish practice 
for eternity.
The Temple’s main service 
was the sacrifices. The Hebrew 
word is korban, more accurately 
translated “coming close” from 
the Hebrew word karov. The 
synagogue, which serves as a 

substitute for the Temple until it 
is rebuilt, is a place to work on 
our relationship to come closer 
to the Creator, the Controller 
of the world. This relationship 
ultimately defines all other rela-
tionships in our lives.
The greatest love in the 
world is that of a parent for 
a child. This type of love 
is greater because of the 
selfless devotion a parent 
pours into their child. 
As physical beings, we 
could not have a relation-
ship strictly based on an 
emotional level that only 
utilized our hearts. We 
needed the physical service 
in the Temple, today rep-
resented by our service in 
the synagogue, as a place 
to develop our souls, analogous 
to going to the gym to develop 
our bodies.
This week’s portion discusses 
the korban tamid, the sacrifice 
brought in the morning and 
the afternoon. It was exactly 
the same twice every single day 
because service does not nec-
essarily have to be innovative. 
Greatness often comes from 
repetitive efforts.
All relationships, whether 
with humans or our Creator, 
benefit from devotion that is 
both disciplined and consis-
tent. This is the reason why 
we have services in our syna-
gogues twice daily. There, in 
this sanctified space, we are 
able to express our allegiance 
and ensure that our personal 
relationship with the Creator of 
the universe remains constant, 
meaningful and robust. 

Rabbi Tzali Freedman is regional 

director of Central East NCSY in 

Southfield.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Tzali 
Freedman

Parshat 

Tetzaveh: 

Exodus 

27:20-30:10; 

Ezekiel 

43:10-27.

