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Rothschild Institute slates
Rabbi David Saperstein
1 a ape;
Washington, D.C., with a
background in religious action,
civil liberties and inter-religious
cooperation, will spark activity
at the Temple the weekend of
March 18-20.
His visit will be under the
auspices of the annual Jacob M.
Rothschild Institute. Barbara
Weinberg, chairperson, said,
“The Institute was conceived to
provide the means to continue
the beautiful legacy of
scholarship, social concern and
love for Judaism left to us by
Rabbi Rothschild.
Rabbi Saperstein will speak
on “Critical Issues and Reform
Judaism” at the Friday night
service, at 8:15. An Oneg Shab-
bat honoring him will follow. He
will also meet with various Tem
ple groups over the weekend.
Rabbi Saperstein is associate
director of the Religious Action
Center and the Commission on
Social Action of the Union of
American Hebrew Congrega
tions and the Central Conference
of American Rabbis.
A Cornell University honors
graduate, he was ordained at
Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion in New
York City. Currently Rabbi
Saperstein serves as chairperson
for the Washington Interreli
gious Staff Council comprised of
national representatives of all
Rabbi Saperstein
major Christian and Jewish
religious organizations, and as
chairperson of its civil liberties
task force. He is on the executive
board of the Council on National
Priorities and the Military
Budget, the Interreligious Eco-
J us tic* Task Force, and serves as
legislative consultant to the
Religious Coalition on Abortion
Rights.
He will also give the sermon
at the Temple’s Saturday mor
ning worship service at 10:30.
And on the ,8th day!
QUESTION: Why does the
act of circumcision take place
on the eighth day of a boy’s
Hfe? ^ O
ANSWE^r Basically, this is
the decree of the Bible (Leviticus
13:3). There are‘a number of
reasons advanced for this re
quirement. The Midrash
(Midrash Rabbah, Deuteronomy
6:1) claims that this is because of
the merciful consideration of the
Almighty who is concerned that
the child might not be able to
tolerate the surgery before the
eighth day.
Maimonides, in his
philosophical treatise (Moreh
Nevuchim 3:49), gives three
reasons for carrying out the cir
cumcision during childhood in
stead of doing it when the boy is
grown. One is that, as an adult,
he might not consent to it. A se
cond reason is that the pain is
less severe for a child than for an
adult. A third reason is that his
parents might resist causing
him the pain if they waited
longer and grew more attached
to him.
Maimonides then explains
why it takes place on the eighth
day by saying that the child does
not really achieve an indepen
dent status until he ip eightdays
old. Anithdr - sourte in the
Midrash claims that eight days
must pats in the child’s life
before the circumcision takes
place so that the child would.
QUESTION: Why do some
families make a gathering on
the night before the day the
circumcision takes place?
ANSWER: This custom is
mentioned by the commentaries
on the Shulchan Aruch. Some
claim that it was a reminder of
the period when circumcision
was forbidden. As a signal to
other Jews that the circumcision
was going to take place the
following day they had candles
lit which were visible in the win
dow. They also had some kind of
festive gathering to secretly an
nounce the coming circumcision.
The Cabbalists claim that this
night should be spent in Torah
study (Zohar, Lech Lecha). Some
of them claim that the gathering
the night before the circumci
sion was even observed as early
as the days of the prophets. As a
minimum, it was a means of
preparing spiritually the night
before a great mitzvah was to
take place.
Every third person in Israel is
a student of one sort or another,
ranking Israel third in the world
(After the U.S. and the USSR) in
the ratio of students to general
population. These figures were
included in Education Minister
Aharon -Yadlin’s report to the
e activities .of Jus
Shearith Israel
will dedicate
Torah March 5
A Torah scroll saved from the
Nazi Holocaust will be dedicated
to the memory of Moe D.
Horowitz at 8:80 a.m. Saturday,
Mar. 5, at Shearith Israel
Synagogue.
The scroll came from Mlada
Boleslav, Czechoslovakia, a
Jewish community “liquidated”
by Naais. It was acquired by Mr.
and lira. Gerald Horowitz,
children of the synagogue leader
whose memory will be honored.
Members of the Horowitz
family will participste in the
service prepared by Rabbi Marc
Wilson. Gerald Horowitz will
speak on the background of the
Torah which, miraculously, is
still “kosher” for use.
The Torah’s new mantle has
been inscribed “Netzach Yisrael
lo Yishoker” — “The eternity of
Israel shall not be proved false.”
JERUSALEM, (JTA) - Con
trary to previous reports, the
conditions of Syria’s Jews con
tinues to be serious, according to
the Public Council for Jews in
Arab Countries. The Council
issued a statement which said
that Syrian Jews are not yet per
mitted to leave the country un
less they leave their families
behind as a guarantee for their
return, or large deposits. The
Council also announced it will
convene to commemorate four
Syrian Jewish women who were
murdered four years ago when
they tried to cross the border to
Lebanon.
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