Page 4-The Canadian Jewish News, Wednesday, September 26, 1984
M-T
World-
World Jews urged to fight threat
Rabbi Burak
■■■■■■ ■■By, ■ RABBI MOSES J. BURAK
QUESTION: What should we do to gain the blessing of a Happy and Prosperous New Year?
We should prepare for the High Holy Days the way an athlete prepares for the Olympics/Each morning during Elul, the shofar is sounded ma soul-stirring call to set thmgs right. "Peni-tence, prayer and char-i ity  avert  the evil : decree." Each day, a : little time_should he set : aside for quiet contem-: plation   and self-: examination. The pious examine every aspect of ; their lives, including the : condition of their mezu-zas and tefillen. Now, penitence is a : marvelous remedy for the diseases that afflict man's : soul. But, it is such an exciting task, that one can : never be sure that it has been done properly. The : overt expressions may be fine, while the covert : aspect is all wrong. Just as the soldier who salutes : the flag may actually be a traitor who salutes with : one hand, and sells his country's secrets with the other, so is it with the penitent. With one hand he ; smites his breast in an outward show of regret, but the other hand may, at the same tirne, be busy doing forbidden things, Then his acts of penitence arc worthless.
Prayer presents the same problem. The heart is the core of prayer. There you find the seeds of life. Without heartfelt emotion, the lips may wag, but the words are worthless. This has given rise to the well known rhyme, "Prayer without kavahah, is like a body without a neshamah.'' The mind wanders. Some people think of their dinners when they should be thinking of their sins of commission or omission.
In short, we need more concentration in our ■.prayers..;-
This leaves us with charity as pur last hope. There are those who give adequately, and there are those who do not. Still, one must admit that the Jewish community gives magnificently, despite the fund raisers who always claim that they have not received enough. Astronomicalsums are jgiven to charity, and not always is this done by men of religion. Some of our bi^others whoare not so strong on pi-ayer and penitence, affirm by generous gifts to holy causes, that they are children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The Sages of the Talmud regarded the giving of charity as the greatest deed of all. When King David was filled with regret for not having been permitted by Hashem to build the Beth ha^Mikdash, Hashem consoled him, according to Midrash Rab-bah.Shofetim, Chapter 5:3, with these words: "The charity and justice which you do are more beloved to me than the Temple."
The Midrash asks for somie specifics and goes on to say that when David "executed justice, he acquitted the innocent and condemned the guilty. If, however, the guilty party had not the means to pay, David would pay it himself" This is the meaning of tzedakahu-mishpat, charity and righteousness.
Our community tieaches this to its childreh. In my recent appeal for Lymor Eisner, the young Israeli girl who came to Pittsburgh to have a liver transplant, X found oiit the meaning of Jewish education. One morning as I sat in my office in shul, in walked Rabbi Marvin B. Pachino, headmaster of the Community Hebrew Acaderiiy (CHAT) and handed me a large envelope. Inside in ones, twos, fives, tens, and one $20 bill, was the gift of the student body, a gift of around $400 for Lymor.
I did not broadcast this gift. But, through the mail came a letter from even younger students. It was signed by Julie (Julie Brandes) and Tamara (Tamara Kupinsky) for the Junior High, Grade 8, United Synagogue Day School,. 1700 Bathurst St. ■ They, too, had collected funds for Lymor. Inside was a check for $250. Those are oiir children! And they sent it to me who have said unkind things about the United Synagogue on more than one occasion. I must do Teshuva.
We are one people, all children of Hashem. "Look forth from Thy holy habitation, from hekven, and bless thy people Israel . .."
The Driltzer
Young Men's Society
wishes all landsleit across Canada, members and friends a Happy and Prosperous New Year
JERUSALEM -
Israeli President Chaim Herzog has called upon Jews around the world to combat what he considers to be "rising anti-semitism," though it is almost 40 years since the defeat of the Nazis.
The warning was issued as part of his official ROsh Hashanah greeting, y/hich follows:
As we approach the New Year of 5745, we reflect on the turmoil and problems, ■ the achievements and aspirations that mark Jewish life everywhere.
During these very nionths millions of human beings are commemorating the 40th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi forces.
Bonds of blood and horror and never-to-be-forgotten loss bind Jews uniquely to that savage episode in history.
We look back in deepest sorrow, and we must exa-riiine with absolute honesty whether we fully learned the lessons of those years.
Certai;ily, in the course
President Chaim Herzog
of four decades, the innate vitality of the Jewish people has come to the fore.
Survivors have been rehabilitated, communities have been strengthened; above all, the independent State of the Jewish people has risen, has overcome incredible obstacles, absorbed many hundreds of thousands, has to its credit remarkable achievements in many a field of eur deavor.
The dry bones of the prophet Ezeiciel's vision have taken on flesh, breathed again, become a nation in their own land.
Yet we must wonder sadly why so soon after the overwhelming historic experiences of Holocaust and national revival, assimilation claims so many; effective Jewish education reaches so few; the impulse to link one's own life with Israel, the centre of the Jewish people's life, has not touched more than a brave and dedicated minority.
Our generation has been granted the opportunity to rebuild our national existence in our historic land, the opportunity longed for, prayed for, during two millennia, and hot now to be missed.
Chapters in history are not neatly closed. Forty , years after the defeat of the Nazis, we are witness to rising anti-semitism.
We are called upon to combat it and we are called
iipon as well to respond to the urgent needs for aid and rescue of Jews in the Soviet Union, Syria, Ethiopia and other foci of intolerance and.unrest.
Violation of'torah
In Israel itself vye must battle on many fronts — for peace and security, for po-" litical stability, economic recovery, adequate absorption of newcorners, mutual tolerance among, all sections of the population, retention of the high standards we have been reaching in the arts and sciences, education and research, both theoretical and industrial.
But, not least, we must battle against iany expression of extremism and intolerance which are a disgrace to the Jewish peo-
ple, an aberration from Jewish history, and no less than a violation of the Torah.
It is gratifying to note the healthy, adverse reaction of the majority of Israel's people to such manifestations at both extremes.
Israel's elections have been truly democratic. Only a minority of the world's countries can make this claim.
By the same token, we are encouraged to hope and believe that Israel will be able to face and solve its political and economic difficulties, through a responsible government
translating the will of the electorate into reality.
We look forward to a year of peace, development and human understanding, a year of dedication to Jewish education and to the realization of the ideals ol the Jewish tradition, in Israel and in every community where Jews live.
Leshana tova tikateivu vetechateimu!
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