Page 4-The Canadian-Jewish News, Thursday, November 3, 1988
Election Update
M-T
Rabbi Burak
RABBI MOSES J. BURAK |
Question: Why are we required to say H jg "baruch hu u-baruch shemo" after the namj; of ;;| Hasheiii is mentioned in a Hebrew benediction? W ■•" Berl Blum, Toronto 1
ANSWER: ne origin liesinDeut. 32:3: "men | ;|: / ptoclijim the name of the Lord, ascribe ye threat- lij: :|; ness unto our God. " Vie re are additional expla- % il nations. . W
% The Kitzur Shulman Arukh. Chapter 20:1. sim- 'i; il ply states that when one li hears a blessing, one ;;| must respond, after the li name of Hashem, with |; the words "baruch hu, % blessed be He, and si; blessed be His Name." jl No reason lis given for li this rule: But,; that does li; not mean that there is no li 'reason for-this practice.
If I had to add a rea-|: son.bf my own, I would
find it in the Avodah that we read in the Musaf of % Ypm Kippur. There we find a graphic picture ot M prayer and .devotion: "And the Kohanim and the i people . ; .when they heard the honored, the awe-::!:: somc, and ineffable Nahrie chi^natihg frorn the i High Priest^s iriouth, in holiness and purity, would kneel and prostrate themselves, and give thanks, 1 and touch the ground with their faces and say: il 'Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for I everand ever.' "
That's what was done by all who heard the I" Tetfagrammaton pronounced. i |-- Well, we don't use the Ineffable Name, the I Tetragrammaton, in our service of worship! We il regard it as too sacred for us to pronounce. We il substitute another word for it, such as, Lord; But, I when we hear a benediction that calls out His name, il we respond with the words, "baruch hu. Blessed il be He,' and blessed be His Name."
The great authorities,,the Rishonim, gave good I and sufficient reasons for this practice. The tradi-il tion stems from Rebbeinu Asher Yechieli z.l. His li; son Rabbi Yaacov z,l; tells us in his Code^ Orach '% Chaim, that he heard his father say these words li as-his response in the middle of a benediction. "
According to the Tur, that's the way Rabbeinu i;!;:
I Asher z:l. uhtlerstpod the instructions: given in |i>
il Psalms, Chapter. 34:4: "Gadlu, Magnify, the Lord i|
li with me. and let us exalt His name together." |; :| Akhpiigh that sentence in the Psalms is interpret-; i|
. ed another way in the Talmud, his. practice is not %
% precluded by it. . il;
All the explanations, including this: one, are i;
% gathered together in the Mishneh Berurah, on the %
:| Code, 0.-H-.^Chapteril24. ■In^hoie 22:thereJn the ii|
;i| Mishneh Berurah, we find a most interesting point i|
% drawn from the honor we give to a righteous man. M
is Whenever a good man's name is mentioned, we i| il are ordered to bless him. •
When the name of a great scholar is men- |i;
i::;i tiottcd cvcn in pHnt, it is followed by the letters ;i;i;i I sliIitaV''iethimliveforalonghappyliit.''WeH
:| then, if this is the honor we give a m£in, how ii;;;;
li; much more so must honour be given when the %
ii| name of Hashem is mentioned; VVe must bless ii| ;;i| .His Nariie. ■ ;■■.
This raises a liny problem. Some people take this %
if very literally; they want to cry out '.'blessed be He. ;;i|
% and blessed be His name," whenever the Divine i|
Name is,meriti6ned, even when it occurs in a prayer li
I without a benediction. That's wrong: > |i
Another challenge comes from the Airuch ha^ |:L
i; Shulchan, on theisame chapter of the Code. That |i
i| sage points outthat with certain benedictions you i|
il may not say baruch Hu u-baruch shemp. When the §
i shofar is: blown for the congregation by one man. |i
:| he alpne says the benediction. Thecongregation S|
i; is forbidden to siay any word other than Amen. |:
The claim is made by the Aruch ha-Shulchan, i|
il that the peopleiget so accustomed to the formula |;
i; of barucli hii etc!, that they will contimie it even i|
.i; where it is forbidden. He wanted it dropped. |
Election Coverage
WU have more Canadian election coverage in our next edition. Among other things, we'll tell you about the race in Mount Royal (Montreal) and the movement in Quebec's Arab community to rally support for the NDR
.■■ - By.. BEN ROSE
TORONTO—
With its boundaries slightly, changed from this 1984 election, York Centre is bounded by Jane and the Black Creek oh the west, Steeles Ave: on the north, the Don River Valley on the east qtid highway 401 on the south, '-^i ' .
In the 1984 election Liberal Bob Kaplan won York Centre with a plurality of 9,672. In that election , the PCs polled 11,138 and the NDP 8,037.
The 1986 census shows 12,660 Jewish voters in York Centre, or 13.6% of the population: :
■ Kaplan, the Liberal incumbent, is fighting his 7th general election (he won 5 of the previous 6) and has been in political life for 20 years. His most vivid memory in the House of Commons is when the Deschenes Commission report was tabled, the report that called on the government to prosecute Nazi war criminals in Canada. .
As solicitor-general in . thc-T.rudeaU and Turner cabitiets, Kaplan was the one who started government action that led to the Deschenes Corrimission.
"There has been a lot of foot dragging by the Mulroney governitient since the report came out,'' he said. "They are getting a lot of political mileage out of what little they have done."
The: government should . be moving faster oh: the war criminals issue, he said., adding . that Deschenes Commission . staff should Have already collected evidence in Russia and elsewhere for prosecutipn of the criminals. Such evidence should be collected according to Canadian' .standards of justice., he. noted.
The statement by External Affairs Minister Joe Clark blaming Israel for theyPalestrniah uprising signalled a change in Canada's^ position Pn Israel, he .said."It was.unforgivea-ble. i hope that Jews will send a message. to Joe Clark in this election."
.The_York Centre MP saidClark also showed his anti-Israel bias by arrarig--ing a meetirig' in Montcr bello. Que., of Canadian Jews and. Arabs. "He is trying to develop an anti-Israel faction within the. Jewish'cpmmunity." Kaplan claimed.
He said Clark has displayed "poor political judgment" at other times a^ well; "At the UN, our voting record on Israel is not as good as it was under a Liberal government."
In the 1984 election, both Liberal and Conservative candidates vowed to back stronger anti-haje_ literature measures,- he said. But thie Conservative gPvernmenL- did nothing, even though, the Law Reform Coriirriission recommended such action.
Kaplan said he favors eliminating the need tor prPvincial attprneys-general to approve laying charges under the anti-hate legislation.
TherNDP standard bearer in York Centre is;Cathy
Robert Kaplan
Mele, 47, an. elementary school teacher in North York for 25 years and, a community activist in the Downsview area.
She has been particularly involvedin the Heritage language program for those whose mother tPngue is not English and in human rights issues.
She is critical of the Mulroney government for lack of action on the Deschenes Comniissioh report^ calling for prosecution of war criminal^ in Canada. "These war criminals and their victims are getting older and time is of the ^sence," she said;
As a teacher, she is particularly concerned with the effect on education of the free f rade agreement with the U.S. Her view coincides with the position taken by the Canadian Teachers Federation:"We expect that publicly supported elementary and secondary school systems across Canada will face increasing pressure (under
Rocco Sebastiano
free trade) to perfPrm more closely to their generally less adequately funded and less equitable U.S. Counterparts."
Mele wants an increase in affordable and accessible day care, spaces, with the emphasis on non-profit jather than commercial enterprises. The present legislation is inadequate in meeting these goals, she said.
She affirmed the right.of Israel to exist within safe and secure borders, adding tha^she would not presume to criticize its internal affairs.
Her party favors direct negotiations tp settle the cpnflict. She thinks that, in addition to Canada's role in peace-keepiiig in the Middle East, there should be other connections between Israel and Canada to soli-dify relations.
As an exponent of freedom of expression, Mele said there shpuld be a way to formulate laws to reduce, if not eliminate, the dissemination of hate
Cathy Mele
literature.
"I abhor anti-semitism and racism in general," she said. "It appalls nie that Zundel says that the Holocaust did not take place. How painful it must be for people who lived through that reality to have those events dragged up and relived again— I can think of no greater nightmare."'
Mele, an Italian, said: "I doq.'t think that because I have an ethnic name that I will automatically garner their votes. I would rather earn their votes through the work I have done in the cpmmunity."
The Conservative candidate in York Centre is Rocco Sebastiano, a 26-year-old engineer running for the first time for elective bffice.
A reactor safety analy.st for Ontario Hydro, Sebastiano has already had a lot' of work experience in his young life as a carpenter, construction laborer, fife clerk,^ jsharmacy delivery boy; and pharmacy stock
clerk. His wife, Marilena. is a separate school elementary teacher and they live on Benjamin Boake Trail in the riding.
Though it'i.his first run,-Sebastiano is no stranger to the electoral wars, having acted as campaign chairman for Michael Cohen in York Centre in 1984 and for Ron Atkey in the 1979-80 campaigns.
On the situation in Israel. Sebastiano .said it is not enough for the PLO to say it recognizes Israel's right to exi.st as a condition.of peace talks.
On Canada's relations with Israel, Sebastiano said Prime Minister Mulroney has demonstrated his commitment to Israel. On a visit to Ottawa, he said he heard "that Joe Clark was having a bad day" when he made his controversial statements.
The PC candidate .said he grew up'with Jews and understands the centrality of Israel to the Jewish people.
On the question of Soviet Jewry, he said: "If Spviet Jews want to come to Canada, our doors are ' open, the visas are waiting."
He .said the Mulroney government's record on / pursuing war criminals is a good one and its action in setting up the Deschenes Commission is proof of that policy. If, under the Canadian rules of evidence, witnesses from Eastern Bloc countries are able to. testify, then such evidence should be gathered and used in • prosecuting war criminals, he said.'
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