42 | MARCH 31 • 2022 

MAZEL TOV!

FEB. 13, 2022
Lisa and Evan 
Sack of East 
Lansing are 
so excited to 
announce the 
addition of their daugh-
ter, Emma Lee, to their 
family. Big brother Ethan 
welcomes her with all his 
heart. Grandparents are 
Lee and Bruce Sack, and 
Cindy and Ray Stewart. 
Proud great-grandparents 
are Harriet Barish, and 
Bob and Barbara Riley. 
They also remember 
great-grandparents Murray 
and Annette Sack, Jack 
Barish, Dave and Shirley 
Milgrom, and Orville and 
Georgia Fowlkes, who 
remain in their thoughts 
always.

AUG. 4, 2021 
Michelle 
and Eddie 
Rubin of West 
Bloomfield 
are thrilled 
to announce the birth of 
their daughter, Maeve 
Eleanor. Loving big sis-
ter is Beatrice. Proud 
grandparents are Rick 
and Renee Unger of 
Commerce, and Edie 
Rubin of West Bloomfield. 
Maeve is named in loving 
memory of her maternal 
cousin Michael Berke and 
her paternal great-grand-
mother, Elaine Fagenson.

Brandon Carter Witt, son of Julie and 
Franklin Witt, will lead the congregation in 
prayer as he becomes a bar mitzvah at 
Temple Israel in West Bloomfield on 
Saturday, April 2, 2022. He will be joined in 
celebration by his sister, Samantha. Brandon 
is the loving grandchild of Burton and Barbara 
Weintraub, and Frank and Wanda Witt.
Brandon is a student at Hillel Day School of 
Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills. As part of many 
mitzvah projects, he played piano for residents in assist-
ed living and for those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Brookenthal-Aaronson
B

ella and Paul 
Brookenthal of 
Bloomfield Hills and 
Michael and Suzie Aaronson 
and of El Paso, Texas, are 
delighted to announce the 
engagement of Steven Joel 
Brookenthal to Shelley Lauren 
Aaronson. Shelly is also the 
daughter of the late Sherry 
Aaronson. 
Ms. Aaronson is a graduate 
of University of Colorado-
Boulder and is a real estate agent with Sotheby’s 
International Realty. Dr. Brookenthal is a veterinarian 
practicing in Los Angeles.

SPIRIT

Jewish Devotion 
Elevates the Soul 
G

reat art requires two ele-
ments: technical mastery 
and deep inspiration.
In the magical moments when 
such art is created, the artist 
becomes a medium for 
translating inspiration 
into reality, thereby 
transforming the world 
itself.
The Jewish philos-
opher Martin Buber 
wrote about the 
constant interaction 
between inspired 
moments and those 
that are superficial and 
flat. For him, any inter-
action — social, artistic 
or religious — had the 
potential to soar or 
stumble. A certain intensity was 
necessary to escape the shackles 
of ordinary experience and con-
nect with the Divine.
Buber was influenced by the 
dialectical philosophy of his day, 
but his ideas were deeply rooted 
in the thought of early Chasidism. 
Using this lens, we learn that 
Jewish ritual can be either for-
mulaic or transformative. Torah 
study can be pompous or pro-
found. Thus, mitzvot require not 
only effort but also passion, joy 
and inspiration.
A perfect example comes from 
the opening words of this week’s 
portion. The daily burnt offering 
was called the olah, which literally 
means “elevation” because it was 
burnt up. Moses is told to com-
mand Aaron and his sons: Zor 
Torat haolah, “This is the Torah 
of elevation: It is the elevation on 
the hearth upon the altar all night 
until morning; the altar fire shall 
burn within it.
” 
 On the surface, this verse mere-
ly describes the procedure for 

burning the daily sacrifice. Let it 
burn on the altar all night.
In Chasidic eyes, the verse 
came to have a different mean-
ing. Numerous stories of the 
Baal Shem Tov make the point 
that only inspired prayers can 
ascend to heaven. This verse 
now makes the same point. 
What type of sacred learning 
can truly ascend to God? Only 
that which burns on the altar — 
that is, only that Torah which 
is kindled with sacred enthu-
siasm.
What power does such Torah 
possess? It can burn throughout 
the night, even through the 
darkness of exile and suffering, 
until the dawn of redemption.
Our simple verse teaches 
a profound insight about the 
importance of inspiration. Jewish 
devotion, like great art, requires 
both technical mastery and inspi-
ration. To do the mitzvot sloppily, 
without attention to detail, is 
to disrespect them. To content 
oneself with technique, forgetting 
the transformative mission of 
a mitzvah results in a neutered 
and lifeless practice of Judaism. 
To connect ourselves with God’s 
greatness — gedulah — we must 
attend to the details and the 
inspiring experience of reliving an 
ancient redemption, anticipating a 
future one.
If we do it right, we will 
enjoy the upcoming Passover 
holiday that is both kosher and 
joyous. May this be an inspiring 
season for all Jews as we relive 
our national origins and unite 
in our prayers for peace and 
redemption. 

This article originally appeared in the JN 

April 6, 2001. Rabbi Nevins then was a 

rabbi at Adat Shalom Synagogue.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Daniel 
Nevins

Parshat 

Tazria: 

Leviticus 

12:1-13:59; 

II Kings 

4:42-5:19.

