c
Page 8- TTic Canadian Jewish News, Friday, June 9. 1978
sparks from the tor ah
B.> KABBI MEIR GOTTESMAN
Farshai Bamulbar Sha»iJot 5738/Yiskor lMon~ da>| '
Kecasher lailiheeailaiih .... Wither thou goest,_ 1 shall
I'hcvc ^-.111 be iu> .liKiaisnv without kindness. \S'heii a .k-u is selfish. G-d keeps far away.
Reb Chaiin Leb. who «as a rabhi in Sniargan, sn;!^>:K-d lo inake ends meet. The louii had a. we.ihhv miser from whom to get an e.xtra dollar w.is Iikf PLillint; teeth.
(hue the miser met Keb Chaiin and asked him 'rmv Ik- Nv.is ni.ikmi; a h\ing. "If 1 had five baalai balini iiKi.' \ou. 1 «oiikl have no problems," he an-sweieii file hiiser's faee hi up.
' V'u di'ii'i understand." Reb Chaim expiain-c: -hi- iroul-'le is 1 !ia\e 10() like you." *****
\\\ re.iJ i[ie bookof Kuthon Shavuot. VVhy? But r.ihPis noted: the,book of Ruth has no laws in
;u' pure ,iiui mipure. so why was it included in •'ic lora.h' But it leaefies the reward of those who pr.ieiise kituiness. like the kindness Ruth extend-. J N' iK-r poor mother-in-law .
\iul ih.Hs wh\ we read it on, Shavuot. On N-MMioi the .lews reeened the Torah from Mount siiMi \ Jew is liable tii get so enthralled and :■ spired tie would loek iiimself m a library and I'l'rah d,i\ and nighi. So we read the book of K'u'h I.' remind him — I'orah also has to have :-,!\eii w uh It gmilus ehessed. kindness to others. '> .ui h.ne lo leave \oiir books a few minutes and SI.!. « lii> needs help
When a person seeks honors for doing charity. i.'.v spmls the v\ hole mit/\ a.
*****
Premier William Davis presents a cheque for $1,002,950 to officers of Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. The funds, from the Ministry of Community and Social Ser\ices, constitute half the deficit of Jewish Home for the Aged and Baycrest Terrace for the years 1976 and 1977. On hand for the occasion are (from left] Eric Exton, chairman of the board. Dr. Robert Elgie, parliamentary assistant to the Ontario minister of community and social services and Edwin Goldstein, president of the Baycrest Centre.
Wo see tri'in the book of Ruth how different I'.idaism is troin an\ other religion.
Imamiie no less than-45 times the Torah warns thai we must lo\e a ger. a convert to Uklaisni, \ true eonv eri is just like a natural-born .lew .And \ei when Ruth and Orpah, two Moabiie women, offered lo com erl to Judaism. Naomi, iheir nioiher-inlaw. tried to discourage them ihree imus Sho\nah bnotai, shovnah ....
Cio back. m\ daughters, go backl"
Orpah i;a\L' up. but Ruth persisted and became the yreat grandnioiher of David, king of Israel, trom whom the messiah will spring.
Win do w e iiiv e a potential ger a hard time'.' But It shows, T>' be a .lew is not just lip service, a \ow . 'It is the \"ke of keeping Torah and command-nier.is ;hai nuisi be assumed, and only on that i-'asis.-.in a com en be accepted. It's very demand-nig
Hill huiav we live in a hefker world. Rules. K-rnialnies. halachoi. traditions — big deal! But the iruth is . . . those contemplating conversion should realue that, as a bare minimum, conversion requires .i rceogni/ed beth din. acceptance of all eomniandnienis. circuaicision for men. and ritual immersion in a nVik\a for both men and wometv.
* * ■ ■.+ * *
Hverxthing done with taste is beautiful.
A fornieriv w ealihy Warsaw Jew, came running to Reb Zaiinel Kleppesh. He had to marry off his daughter: there were hundreds of friends he "must" ii"iviie. but he couldn't afford it.
Reb Zainvel answered. "Two weddings are mentioned in the Bible, that of Laban the swindler, and Bi)a/ the fzadik. Laban was a swindler, he had nothing, but he invited the whole town. What did he care if he couldn't afford it'!' Let his debtors worrv'.
"Boa/ was wealthy, but he invited only 10 men,.
the elders of the city.....Just 10, noniore — and
A>ld men at that, without teeih, their appetites gone, so he v\oiildn"l have to serve much. But it was still a giKid wedding . . , ." (Fun Unzer .Alien Oit/erl
Shabbai Shalom, and a Gutien VonvTin.
Rahhi Momonp wife lauded by Shaare Zedek Fcmndatkm
By VIVIEN SHARON
TORONTO -
Rabbi David .Monson. spiniual leader of Beth Slmlom Synagogue,' and his wife. Sue, were honored last week by the Canadian Shaare Zedck -Foundation at a testimonial dinner at the Roval York. Hotel.
.An estimated 1,200 people, each paying SlOO-a-piate, came to pay tribute to Monson, "as a revered, compassionate and committed, leader, who un-stintingly gives of himself to the needs of others." His wife was unable to attend due to illness.
.A special diagnostic centre in Jerusalem's new, S45 million Shaare Zedek Medical Centre is being named after the Monsons.
Despite the retinue of m a n y d i s t i n g u i shed guests, the- highlight of the evening was guest speakc'r Chaim Potok, aw-ard,-vvin_ning author of four books arid one soon-to-he-
published nove ings.
In his address, the author explained that his presence was mainly attributable to the fact thai the lives of three of his friends were saved at ^ Shaare Zedck and that his close friend. Dr. David Maier, director-general of the hospital, was a pediatric surgeon there.
In large part. the author discussed the an of vvrit-■ ing stories, remarking that it has not achieved its deserving place in Jewish tradition.
"Our tradition has accorded no particular significance to this endeavor. In ihe hierarchy of Jewish values, highest oii the riing of achievenicni is scholarship, particularly Talmudic.scholarship,' and Verv close to that is medicine. Very low. some-xvhere along the floor, is this business of writing stories." he said. '
Diiriiig his talk. Potok dwelled- on his early years in .New York Citv and the
I. Wander-, force that drove him to
.1 :
ByJEFFBlEN
TORONTO —
Canadians havt been : brought up in a free soci.e-'
..ly invvhich.they have tak-.
; en basic rights for graiited. and therefore continue to ignore problems, in the USSR, says Geny.a Intra-tor. vice-chairman. Canadian Committee for Soviet' .levvry.
.Speaking .at. a prayer service held last .week at . Adath Israel Synagogue, she said: ''It would never
. occur to us to think that.if vve vvahted tb go to another . country, we.could not go or that if vve want to raise our children in any tradition
we.choose. whe:ther it is
. Buddhist or Sevte.nth Ad-; ventist, we can... Therefore, there are women who are raising these particij'-. lar questions and the world does not pay attention.."' :
■A group of about 50 individuals, mostly women, gathered for. the. prayer service held on the In-^ ternational Day for the De-
. fence of Children and paralleling a demonstration by:25'women and 17 chil-
. dreri at the Lenin library in Moscow.
The Moscow women are long-time Refuseniks and ihave been separated from
'their fainilies who have
lived'in'Israel for many .years. They appealed- to ..the:Soviet authorities re-■ questing reasons for deni-■. a 1.0 f t h ei r e X i I - V isa s 10 I s r a -,el atid received "vague pr0riiiscs antl .dcceitfuI, tactics." said .Mrs. Ihtra-
They have appiealed tf) women's organizations and a.ssociaiions thro.ugh-
. out the world for support and, are urging . Jev^-s to write- letters to newspa;;
. pers. Soviet ambassadors and President - Leonid Brezhnev.
• A-5- m a t f c r s p r e s e n 11 y stand, ca.scs of : Refuseniks are. re vie wedJoHce . a year. The. refusal is given verbally until this next review ihe-following year. SomcTlefuseniks have" been existing in this state of suspended anticipation for nine years, she said. The women havecontinv
'■. ued to vvrite petitions and hold peaceful demo'nstra-tioiis bill to no avail. .
~^-Qn May .13, they pre-senteda statement to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, after having'been refused an audience with the minister of the interior. They received no reply to their statement arid were forcibly evicted froirt the. waiting room. Policemen tore oiFf the yellow
: Stars the ■ demonstratprs -had been wearing in pi:6-te.st of their treafmcni. - ; After.this incident* the women sent a letter to ilic Supreriie Soviet protesting . their illegal detention in the USSR and the impossibility of bririging up their childreii in the tradition of: their culture:
In appealing tpvvorld organizations., the Women :.stress the uncertainty of •their lives and the depriya-.tion of professional positions and; even the niosi_ __menial of jobs.
"The attempts'"tti"°'pro-test against the arbitrariness in realizing our rights are repressed by a gigantic apparatus that the. Xf-V. gime.has attts disposal — threats, surveillance, illegal house arrests,- prison
and exile. Despite all that ,■ we- se,c no other, solution but id.coniinuc oiir strug-
Those attending the To: ronto prayer - service, sponsored by various Soviet Jewry organizations, donned yellow stars to display their .solidarity with Soviet Jews/ The order of s e r \' i c e .s i n c 1 u d e d a p o e t ry reading by Jeanette Goldman, singing by Batsheva ■ Paul and textual readings by Linda Paton and Sophie Selzer,.
Edvyard'Romm, assistant rabbi of Adath Isra-., el. conductedJiie religious ■ service, and empnasized the urgency of-the Soviet Jewry problem. "For us, there rnay-be a next year. . but for thehi, it may be their;last chance.".
write.
" He was raised in a traditional" home. -Studied Talmud and attended a Jewish parochial high school. At the age of 14 or 15. Potok said that he already knew that he wanted; to write Jewish stories./ much to the disdain of his teachers.
This sudden compulsion came to him as he read a novel by Fvelyn Waugh, about an upper class British Catholic family and the unwavering faith that bin-ded them together. From that point on. the po.wcrof words and the reality that they created on blank sheets of paper became truer to life than his own life, remarked Potok.
He said that central to his novels is the role.of the rebel, the iconodast, who feels at odds with Ihc games people play. That, juxtaposed against the culture confrontation of Western secular human-i.sm, is the focal'point of his ideology.
Maier, director-general of Shaare Zedek, present■ ed \Monson with a citation, praising him as a great humanitarian who is not a "closet rabbi"; but a man who devotes his ener . gy to the needs of the community and Israel.
Maier.who came froni Jerusalem specially to attend the testimonial, said that it was appropriate that the new laboratorv bqar his name, in order to create a "marriage of sci-. erice and .humanism;"' Jacking in medicine.
Rabbi David Monson
Some of the guests in at-tendaiicc.were: Paul Godfrey. Metro chairman; Mel. Lastman, mayor of North York: Phil WhitL\ mayorof York: Toronto Police Chief Harold Adamson: Eric F.x-ton. chairman of the board of Bavcrest Geriatric Cen-
tre, and Kurt Rothschild, national president of the Shaare Zedek Foundation.
Those involved in the pioecetiings were: Sam Blank, president of Beth Sholom: Cantor Samuel Frankel and Rabbi Mendel Kirshenblatt of the same synagogue: .lose[ih Tan-enhaum. Toronto philanthropist: .Archdcacoii Arthur Brown, representing the Christian community: Larrv Grossman, provincial minister of consumer and commercial relations; Maui Golan, Toronto acting consul-general, and retired rabbi David Kirsh-enbauni from London. Ont,
Forjner prime minister. John Diefcnhaker was to be one of the speakers but vyas unahle to attend be-, cause of illness.
NER ISRAEL YESHIVA COLLEGE
626 Fin'ch Avenue West, Willowdale , , " . Provide tor ■ KADDISH SERVICES and OBSERVING YAHRZEl.T and MEMORIAL PLAQUES , Endow Ner Israel in your will or'beciuest. CALL 6i36-2360
MAIMONIDES COLLEGE
incorporated as a university degree-granting institution , by trie Qritario,Legislature 1969.. ,
Bachelor of Arts in Ju(laJca(6:A. (jud.)j
FOR INFORMATION & CALENDAR WRITE:
. REGISTRAR; MAIMONIDES COLLEGE P.O. BOX 6.510, STATION •.A", TORONTO, ONTARIO M5W 1X4- , OrF'hone Toionto.(416) 961-'l527::
Notice to the iriernbers of
Hebrew Sick Benefit Society
There remain eighteeiv (18) plots to be used for the burial of members,; their wives or famihcs in Stashover Young'Men's MutualBenefit Society
cemetery lands in Section 48 at Bathurst Lawn
LemoriaLRark.
If you are a niember, the widow of a rriember; oi" a person who is a family member please Communicate, with/detailed proof ole.htitlismenf, Please do not telephone. We must insist cin all comniiunications, in writing to Mr; Harry Mann, Chairrnan of the Stashover Cemeltery Committee, Apt.; 1408,-2900.Bathurst St:., Toronto, Oiit. M6B 3A9./' ^
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MOU THAN JUST ANOTHER DAT CAMT'
Tubby Cole of UJA
resource
TORONTO —
Tubby Cole, the retiring campaign chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, was described this week as "an untapped natural resource — a cofnbination of boundless energy with a tremendous capacity for getting things done."
Speaking at the campaign closing dinner, held at Beth Tzedec Synagogue. Hy Isenbaum. in paying tribute to Cole, said that "those who have worked with him on the 1978 campaign since last June had the privilege of watching a human dynamo in action. Tubby just doesn't do anything in half measures."
Isenbaum, who was major gifts chairman, said that "when we started planning. Tubby was determined to actively involve more people, than ever before on every level of the campaign , . . and he did! He created a veritable population explosion of team chairmen and canvassers and the result was one of the most successful fund-raising efforts of the Jewish community in Toronto's history."
In his response to the tribute. Cole praised the 1.500 volunteers who made up the UJ A canvassing team and said they were motivated by their dedication "to the continuity of Jewish life in Canada, in Israel and throughout the world."
He said that "we did everything possible lo honor our commitment to Judaism because as representatives of the community, it was our responsibility to raise the necessa-rv funds."
He noted that L'J.A canvassers do ni>t have the legal powers of assessment. "Ours." he said, "is a moral aiJthority. based On thousands of years of tradition that .lews, help Jews. Our key word is tzcdaka — which in I'.I.A terms means voj-u n t ary assessmen t and sclf-laxalion."
Cole conceded that "the voluntary part of it often poses a problem because not everybody sees things our way." Butr he said, "when you.hear that we obtained more than 30.-000 gifts in the 1978 campaign! you will appreciate the fact that the UJA team has done a thorough and commendable job."
Addressing hiniself to Prime Miiiister Trudeau. who was guest speaker at the dinner. Cole said that "it is fortunate.thc Jews of Canada, living in totaJ freedom and in a friendly, compassionate atmosphere, can keep our commitment to the. Jewish people. Our commitment to Canada and lo national unity is strengthened by our intense devotion to the continuity of Jewish life,"
Speaking in French. Cole thanked the prime minister for accepting the UJA's invitation to attend the dinner and said that
"this is a significant moment in our 30-ycar history."
' Cole reviewed the 1978 campaign highlights and^ paid tribute to his deputy chairman.™A"llan Offman. who he described as "one of the principal architects of the campaign. He is a master strategist and an imaginative planner. He is no armchair general and is an active campaigner."
Cole announced that Offman was selected as the 1978 UJA Man of the Year and presented him with a plaque.
Cole announced also that Dr. Gerry Halbcrt will serve as 1979 general campaign chairman and Penny Offman will .be chairman of the women's division. Michael Koskie has been nanH'd co-chairman" with Jack Chisvin of the campaign cabinet and executive.
Jack Chisvin was master of ceremonies of the dinner program.
THE PLANTING OF FLOWERS AND PLANTS AT
Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
WILL SOON BEGIN.
Anyone wishing to receive our brochure please call 633-2200, or write us at 986 Wilson Ave., Downsview, Ont. M3K IG5.
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For Geriatric Care |
BAYCREST CENTRE
^ .Needs volunteers ages 13 1.7 for the I
^ summer. Choose from 1 or more, of these ^
I activities - outings, arts & crafts, nursing
^ duties, clerical, duties, bingos and many
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I extension 288. |
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TREES TALK:
Tl'icV spy "Congratulatioris".-"Thank You", "Bon Voyage", "Sr)rry" or y.'hatL'vet you want them to say to your friends and loved one.s., We will plant trees in Israel and send a handsome certificate to those y?)u wish to remernber. Trees ($5: each)
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND Toronto'....... ..... 781-5515
Hamilton......527-^7385'
Windsor............. 969-873i3
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Toronto Jewish Teachers' Sem/nory Announces A SumrDer School Programme
For Teacher Training
FOUR WEEK COURSE MONO A Y JULY 3 TO FRIDA YJUL Y 28
COURSES IN:
A, Arnericari and Canadian Jewish History-with World Backgrou HEINZ WARSCHAUER, M,A., Instructor
The Biblical Narrative In Light of Midrash and Agada RABBI HOWARD SACKNOVITZ, M.S.. M.Ed., Instructor Readings in'Rabbinic Literature DR. JOEL GEREBOFF, Ph.D., Instructor Jewish Philosophers and Their Philosophies DR. AARON NUSSBAUM, M.A., Doctor of Hebrew Literature
(instruction in English and Hebrew) CLASSES HELD IN AIR CONDITIONED QUARTERS MONDAY TO THURSDAY. 9 A.M. - 4 P.M., FRIDAY 9 A M - 1 P M SPECIAL TRAINING FOR THOSE SEEKING TO SERVE IN ' ONTARIO COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE OF TORONTO. THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED, IN PART. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PREPARING FOR TEACHING IN SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOLS
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