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The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, September 6j 1974 - Page S
Opinion
The world's greatest blessing can be discovered in yourself
By RABBI MEIR GOTTESMAN
Parshat Kee Tavo Boruch atah bo'ir
ed in the citv . . .
You shall be bless-
A lot of people are afraid of this week's-parsha. Why? Because it has the tochacho
. . the terrible warnings of the Almighty, that unless we watch our ways, great tzorus will befall us, G-d forbid . ..
But does a father ever mean/anything but the best for his child . ; . The holy Zohar explains that in ^very curse of the tochacho lies a hidden blessing, as well,;
That's why we find an interesting thing .if we use a little arithmetic. There are exactly 676 words; in the tochacho warning. At the: same time, the Holy Name of the Almighty; Yud, Hay, Vuv, Hay --is mentioned 26 times in the tochacho. Now, according to geihatria-the system whereby every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value ~ the. four letters of G-d's Holy Name also equals 26 (Yud is 10; vuv is 6, and the two hays each equal five). How much is 26 tiipes
26? Exactly 676 . . . the same number as the words of the tochacho . . . To tell you that when a person serves Grd and honors His name, he can neutralize the tochacho's fierce, curses- and warnings . :. . (Rabbi Meir of Premishlan)"
But the truth of.the matter is that the power of blessing* and curses is in our. own hands -- all we have .to do is know when we're well off. For example . besides the warning, .this week's portion also, contains wonderful brachot, blessings. Moses-told the Jews . . ■ "If you listen to the voice of G-d ; .:. all these blessings wiU come upon you and overr take you . . ;■' It's strange, though ; ... When an enemy wants to attack someone, he chases after him until he "overtakes" him.. But we're talking about blessings here -- why should blessings have to chase after and "overtake" someone .
The answer is that we sometimes don't ; realize what is good for us.. A person hopes to get a certain job and finds.he's stuck with, another . ; .a woman wants to marry a certain man, but must settle for someone else .. .a student wants to be a doctor but winds up in another profession, Meanwhile all these unplanned and-unwanted choices were really the work of the Ribono shel 01am, the Master of the Universe, who knew that in the end it wiU be for the best — spiritually or materially ~ for that person . . . although it may not be apparent until decades later. That is what the Torah meant — not only will the Almighty bless us, but He will do it even if we try to "escape" the plans He has for us . . . (Shaar Bat Rabim)
Letters to the Editor
But where can a person find the world's greatest blessing?:In himself—, if he is satisfied with whatever the Almighty^ave him and doesn't waste his life comparing what others have and-he doesnj.
A certain Jew, Reb Isaac of Cracow, dreamed every night that a great treasure was buried under one of the bridgesinthe capital city, Prague: At first he laughed it off, but when it constantly returned, he ; decided it.may be true.He went to Prague, found the bridge described in his dream, but saw that it was guarded by soldiers. Every night Reb Isaac watched the bridge for his chance, until one of the guards grew suspicious and arrested him. Reb Isaac explained about.his dream, but the guard ridiculed him. . "Everyone has such crazy, dreams. Why every night I dream that there is a treasure buried underneath a stove of a certain Cracow Jew named Isaac. .." When Reb.Isaac heard this, he rushed back home, looked under his own stove, --and found his. "treasure" . . . (Al Hatorah)
The' greatest treasure of all is not rubies or pearls . . When a Jew sits at peace, and serves G-d with all his might . . when he deals honestly with others, when he comforts those in need and sees his children following in the same footsteps — it is the greatest blessing in this world and the next. Shabbat Shalom.
The "Sparks From The Torah" television program can be seen on Willowdowns Cable. Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., Keeble Cable, Thursdays at 8 p.m. and York Cable. Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Pamphlet was not of Lubavitch origin, Rabbi Grossbaum tells CJN columnist
Dear Editor:
We are not familiar with, nor are we responsible forthepamphletJ.B. Salsberg mentioned last week. If indeed it reduces the precept of mezuzah to a naive and simplistic "lock and fire-alarm system" serving only personal protection; we agree with Mr. Salsberg's critique andean state categorically that the pamphlet is not of Lubavitch origin. For it is a basic principle of our Jewish faith and explicitly stated in Shulchan Aruch that mezuzah (as all mitzvot of the Torah) must be obser-^: ved as a commandment of G-d and not as a means towards personal ends..
However, this is not to deny or belittle that Torah and mitzvot, and tefillin and mezuzah in particular; also possess qualities which benefit man both actively and passively. While this is strictly a "side-effect" or a "fringe-benefit" as it were.-and essentially irrelevant to the basic character of the mitzvot and our obligation to perform, them, it is nevertheless very real.
How do mezuzah and .tefillin protect? The Lubavitcherrebbe once compared it to a soldier's helmet. The helmet provides relative protection against enemy fire. Obviously the.lack or defectiveness of a helmet does not cause the soldier's injuries and some bullets may even penetrate a good helmet. But bad he worn his helmet he would have shielded himseH against many forms of injury.
Moreover-, by the principle of collective responsibility based on the absolute interrelationship and interdependence of all Jews, the actions (or lack of them) of any
one of us reflect upon all others, both positively and negatively. Hence the re-. sponsibihty on all of us to see that all proper preparations be exercised on the personal level as well as by all others.
In our intense battle for Torah and Yiddishkeit and against our internal and external enemies, let us be garbed fully in the uniforms of G-d's army, wearing our helmets and guns which are the Torah and mitzvot.
A happy and truly peaceful New Year to J.B. Salsberg. the community at large and all of Isirael wherever they are.
Rabbi Z. Aaron Grossbaum, Executive Administrator, Lubavitch Youth Organization - Ontario Dear Editor:
Upon my return from an extended trip to Israel, 1 read a letter to the editor by Mr.. Sydney Harris (Aug. 2) criticizing the letter written by Mrs; Kayla Armel (July 19).
' Mr. Harris, yoii have stated that Cana-. dian Jewish. Congress made a "strong : resolution" on the situation of the Syrian Jews. Perhaps it is a good idea, except who knew about it? My committees did not. Has it been published in a newspaper or sent to the Syrian government? It was not published in The Canadian. Jewish News in their articles on the highlights of the sessions of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Personally, I question a resolution of the kind stated in Mr. Harris' letter. Without any action to back it up, of what value is an empty resolution? :
Mr; Harris mentions my name at this point, and I must take exception with his
statement that Mr. Rose "supplies me with voluminous information on the position of the Jews in Syria." Surely. Mr. Harris, you could not have received such information from Mr. Rose. He and I only met for the first time in April/74 and have had very little correspondence. Mr. Rose receives much information from our committee, as he subscribes to the Beth Tzed-ec Synagogue buUetin which has a page on the latest information concerning the Sy^ nan Jews in every issue. . The articles are vrittenabout thelatest communications between the rabbi in Damascus and;myself (the only such communi-^ cation in the world) parcels, and financial help which is sent and received by the Jewish community. Our articles also include resumes of meetings.with members of,parliament, cabinet ministersandmem-bers of- the immigration department in order to try to bring Syrian Jews to Canada; Such information is not available from any other source.
Mr. Harris, you are quite mistaken; Mrs. Armel had the facts on Syrian Jewry before she wrote her. letter. She is the writer of the "Rescue page" in each Beth Tzedec Synagogue bulletin. ,
Yes, we too are "concerned with the tragic situation of Syrian Jewry" as is Congress. Only, we try a pragmatic ap^ prOach to alleviate their plight — instead of empty words of sympathy.
Judy Feld,
Chairman, Canadian Committee for the Rescue of Jews in Arab Lands and Chairman, Beth Tzedec Foreign Jewry Committee.
What Judaism really means
By J.B. SALSBERG
Summer is quickly waning and I am left with a strange feeling of having failed the readers of this column.
It has become a custom for me to provide annually a few mid-summer columns based on our ancient sources. Some of those mid-summer excursions emanated from Pirke Aboth (Payrik), which, is traditionally, read, or studied, during the summer Sabbath afternoons. Other years we drew from my favorite , sayings of the Chassidic great.
This summer; however, I allowed other pressures to take precedence. This I regret more than youour good readers, do. So, let's try to, somehow, retain the custom by asking what people 'mean when they speak of "Judaism" and what some of the great had to say about it.
; Now, Judaism means different things to different people; When an Orthodox rabbi speaks of Judaism, I believe I understand his conception of that term. When a Conservative or Reform rabbi uses that designating word, I usually comprehend his conception of it. But, • quite frankly, I am often puzzled when I hear many-of^our so-called laymen (men, /women and youth) toss about glibly the reference to "Judaism". I wonder just what exactly do they underT stand Judaism to mean and how does that concept affect their lives and behavior pattern?"^ Too _ often I. am left wondering, "n^ Here, ^hen, are some of n[iy favorite
quotations from the sources which impress me as being the essence of Ju- ' daism.
Isaiah, admonished the multitude that the Lord didn't want their sacri-■ fices, prayers, or "trampling of my courts" because their hands were "full of blood." Then the prophet informed . those present what the Lord expects of them: "Cease.to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless^ plead for the widow." How canzone conceive of Ju- ■ daism without this essential concept?
And Amos, the fearless and angry^ prophet, literally thunders against royalty and aU "who oppress the poor, who crush the needy;" He stormed against the leaders and judges who "sell the, righteous for silver and the needy for a pair, of shoes" and condemned those who take the land from the widows anU^ orphans and who even "covet the du5t ' in the hair.ofthepoor." This unquenchable thirst for social justice; for righteousness appears to be the basic motif of the.prophetic enrichment of what I would call Judaism.
HiHel: the Elder, who lived in the \first century BCE, seemstohavegiven the most succinct expression to this appraisal of Judaism. It is recorded that a non-Jew came to Hilleland^said: "If you can teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot, you can make a Jew of me." And Hlllel said to him: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah
• the rest is commentary. Go and
study."
Now, if you do: not object, let us transport ourselves from the age of Hillel to the age of Albert Einstein to, approximately, the ■ 30s of the present century. Here are brief extracts from what thatgiant of a scholar, man and Jew said:
"Thepursuit of knowledge for its own: sake, an almost fanatical love of justice, and the desire for personal independence— these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank^^imy stars that I belong to it. Those who are raging today against the ideals of reason and individual liberty -^and are trying to establish a spiritless
;; state-slavery by brute force rightly see in us their irreconcilable foes. History has given us a difficult.row to hoe: but so long as we remain devoted servants of truth, justice, and liberty, we shall continue not merely to survive as the oldest of living peoples, but by creative work to bring forth fruits which contribute to the. ennoblement of the human race, as heretofore." Well, I can hear some people say
.Jhereis more to Judaism than a passion for and a dedication to the ideals of socialjustice. I.am, of course, not prepared to argue against such a statement. But I am prepared to insist that
.without such a passion and dedication to the ideals of social justice. Judaism is emptied of its essential meaning.
And so, let it not be said that we missed a; summer without referring tflf our ancient sources. i
Surely one of the youngest-ever Baalei Tekiah, 13-year-old Michael Kay practises shofar in the sanctuary of Holy Blossom Temple. Michael's career began five years back when parents Dr; and Mrs. Marvin Kay gave him a shofar after a trip to Israel. Last year, Michael, who is self-taught, successfully applied for the job of blowing shofar for the children's High Holiday services advertised in the temple bulletin; This year, he will blow this large shofar given him to keep pace with his growing expertise. (Jacob El-Baz)
A shofar^s sound serves to link us to the very beginning of our history
By SHELDON MEREL
When Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, . the bible tells us that the blast of the .shofars made the walls come. tumbling down! In .1967. when the Western Wall of the. ancient temple in Jerusalem was re'- • captured by the Israeli army, throngs of soldiers andcitizens listened and watched in solemn ]oy as a great blast was sounded on an enormous shofar. .
. Since, the days of Joshua, the sound of the shofar has-continued to be heard, in, synagogues throughout the world. No longer iS; it. used to sound an alarm ;or call soldiers to battle as it was. centuries ago, but rather to call Jews.to prayer, repentance and reflection as to the meaning and spirit of.the holy days of RoshHashanah. and Yom Kippur. It.is the only surviving ancient instrument of biblical days and serves to link the Jewish people of today back through the ages to the Very beginning of their history..
During the 30 days prior to Rosh Hasha-nah, the shofar is blown at the, daily service as preparation for the comingof these
Days of Awe, Penitence and Judgment. On the:day of Rosh Hashanah. a,more elaborate shofar ceremony takes place andat the conclusion of Yom. kippur it is blown as a finale. ' ; •
: Three different calls are heard on New Year's. Day: Teki'ah, Shevarim - and Teru'ah. Teki'ah is'a long steady blast. Shevarim is a sobbing sound, usuallythree short broken notes. Th.e Teru'ah is a series of short staccato ^blasts.: The shofar ceremony IS so characteristic of Rosh
; Hashanah that the day is often referred to as. "Yom Teru'ah." Even the blessing, chanted prior to the blowing of the shofar
, IS an imitation of one of.its calls.
The shofar varies widely in size; shape
•and tone. Although it. is usually a ram's horn, it may be taken from, any clean (kosher) animal, except ■ an ox or a cow. This ancient horn, turned musical instrument has assumed sacred associations ■ in the Jewish consciousness and, many interpretations.for Its use have arisen..-
It calls us to repent and is also a symbol, of freedom. When the slave in ancient Is- : rael regained . his liberty, a shofar was
.blown. The ram's horn recalls the story.
of '-the Akedah. the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. The ram which appeared in the thicket eventually took the place, of Isaac;: This story served as^'a .lesson, to all primitive people that ani-■ mal sacrifice was to replace human sacrir fice. ■
Tradition declares Rosh Hashanah to be the anniversary of the creation of the world and consequently the shofar tones acclaim God as Ruler of our lives and .destinies; Somehow linked with the shofar are - historical associations, ethical reminders and a signal of hope for: spiritual regeneration. Its sound has been heard throughout Jewish history at all important events and holy days. As we. listen . to the stirring sounds of the shofar,. it is as if they are echoing thro .i;h antiquity and we pray they will project hope and peace intothe future;.
"All'ye dwellers on earth, when the; ^shofar is sounded mark ye, and when the great trumpet isblown;. come ye and worship the Lord at the holy mountain.":
Sheldon Merel. is cantor of Holy. Blossom. Temple.
When Richard became king
Jews died on coronation day
By ROCHELLE CARR
With each blast of the trumpets, there went up a rousing cheer by the somewhat inebriated throng outside Westminster Hall. It was Sunday, Sept. 5,1189, coronation day for Richardj;
Everyone wanted to be present to wish the ^ing well, to^partake of the free wine andyto witness 'the'poirfp and ceremony ■that was to become a paji>-of~.all fliture English coronations:
Benedict of York, the wealthiest Jew in the area, had even given his household staff the^day off. Although an edict forbade women and Jews to attend the coronation,. Benedict and his friends, hoping to offset the new wave of Crusader anti-, Semitism, decided to go as far as Westminster gate and present gifts to the King via his ministers. ,
- Benedict led the Jewish delegation passed squawking ducks and munching cows. They Ignored the catcalls from small ■celebrating groups all along thedirt roads. Benedict had convinced ;them that anti-Semitism would lessen since Henry II was dead and, so too, his promise of ^a^ Crusade. Benedict was wrong.
When the group-reached the.gate they ^ began to chant the' Jewish prayer said for a monarch; In the midstpf the prayer session, a Jew whose curiosity overcame his piety, left the group and sneaked passed the guard to marvel at the corona-; tion scene inside; Hewassummarily spotted.and brutally thrown from the premises.
.The incident,: plus, a. combination of crowd excitement,, wine and the still present Crusading fever, was enough to spark the. crowd into a riot. Many Jews were -trampled to death. Benedict was.forced to accept baptism and conversion on the spot. Rumors abounded. The crowd greW;.' They moved to the-Jewish area and set-fire to the homes killing, amongst many others, the erudite Rabbi: Jacob of Orleans, newly arrived from the continent.:
From then on, anti-Jewish riots spread throughout the country. The Crusader-King:^who would henceforth be known as Richai^d^lhe Lion-Hearted, did little to quash the'l^illing. ; • -
The littl^ deputation at the gate* never completed t le prayer. They never would. Crusading fever \would spread and the : bearers of the crqss would harass and kill the Jew's until their expulsion from England in 1290. ^—^
Benedict, however, wOuld know of none--of this. Shortly after his so-called ^conversion, he died of wounds sustained durr ing the riot.