50 | MAY 26 • 2022

BENJAMIN STERN
Bloomfield Hills High School
National Honor Society, International
Thespian Society, BBYO Regional President,
Nu?Detroit Teen Editor, Hawkeye Managing
Editor, Jewish Fund Teen Board, Temple
Israel Madrich, Roots, Youth Federation of
Temple Israel, Teen Engagement Fellowship,
Theater, Superior rating in acting, Student
Leadership, Class VP, United and Varsity
Soccer.
Elon University

HUNTER ZORN-BANOONI
Bowers Academy
Eastern Michigan University

Yiddish Limerick

Memorial Day

Mir vel gedaynkn di tayere neshomes
fun alle, fun alle milchomes.
Far undz they hobn gegebn
gegebn tayere laybn,
a laybn fun hope un chaloymes.

Mir vel gedaynkn - we will remember
di tayere neshomes - the precious souls
fun alle milchomes - from all the wars
Far undz they hobn gegebn - for us they gave their
tayere laybn - precious life
a laybn fun - a life of
un chaloymes - and dreams

By Rachel Kapen

SPIRIT

How Best to Serve
O

ver the course of
thousands of years,
the Jewish people
have toiled endlessly to uncov-
er and appreciate the depth
and significance of
the Torah and its
commandments.
Ultimately, many
of its teachings and
directives have been
explained in a manner
which is pleasing to
the palate of the mod-
ern-day Jew.
However, there is a
category of command-
ments nicknamed
chukim in Hebrew,
literally translated
as “statutes,” which
include all those teachings and
directives which are incom-
prehensible to one’s sensibili-
ties. (The name of this week’s
Torah portion, Bechukotai, is
rooted in the word chukim).
The question is, how can
we come to a sense of appre-
ciation for that which seems
unappreciable and perhaps
antithetical to our mod-
ern-day sensibilities?
Perhaps it would help to
look at the original founding
of the Jewish belief system
by our forefather Abraham.
The primary revolution of
Abraham can be defined by
the following question: Is God
created by man or man is cre-
ated by God?
In other words, idol wor-
ship (which was prevalent
in Abraham’s times) was a
manifestation of the belief that
man is the one who chooses
and assigns divinity to that
which feels important and
divine. Versus Abraham who
recognized the profundity of
the fact that if we are discuss-
ing the Creator, He must be
beyond human choice and
definition.
Similarly, one can apply

this idea to the general per-
formance and fulfillment of
God’s will as expressed in His
Torah. The idea of limiting
our Jewish involvement and
interests exclusively to that
which is palatable to our
sensibilities is, albeit on a
minor level, one form of
idolatry in that one is “cre-
ating God in man’s image.”
The opportunity to con-
nect and submit ourselves
to a truly “Higher power”
lies specifically in that
which may not sit well
with our emotional and
intellectual capacities. The
importance and signifi-
cance in the specific act,
speech, etc., does not lie
in our personal palatable
judgment which we assign
to it, but rather to the fact that
the Supreme Being considers
it important.
Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem
Tov, founder of the Chassidic
movement, was a revolution-
ary in many ways. One of his
primary accomplishments was
the recognition and respect
which he accorded to the sin-
cere Jew. It did not matter to
him if the person was intellec-
tually or emotionally gifted.
In fact, he would empha-
size much care and concern
toward the illiterate Jews of
his time. He saw in them the
soulful connection to God
which was defined by their
pure and sincere dedication
and commitment to God and
His Torah. Their relationship
with God was entirely unadul-
terated by human definition,
as mentioned above.
Suggestion: Next time you
are struggling with a Jewish
teaching, directive or value,
ponder the idea above and
appreciate the opportunity to
truly serve God in Abrahamic
fashion.

Rabbi Mendel Polter is a rabbi at the

Woodward Avenue Shul.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi
Mendel
Polter

Parshat

Bechukotai:

Leviticus

26:3-27:34;

Jeremiah

16:19-17:14.

MAZEL TOV!

CAP & GOWN HIGH SCHOOL GRADS