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

