simchas / t orah -...
TRANSCRIPT
Karli Burgard,daughter of Alysaand Randy Burgard,became a bat mitz-vah on Saturday,April 26 at RodefShalom Congrega-tion. Grandparentsare Renee Levin andFrances and RichardBurgard.
Elizabeth Katchen,daughter of LoriGoldstein and JeffKatchen, sister of Ja-cob and Hannah,will be called to theTorah as a bat mitz-vah on Saturday,May 3 at TempleSinai. Grandparentsare Elenor and MarcGoldstein of Squirrel
Hill and Alice and David Katchen ofPhiladelphia.
Dina Leyzarovich, daughter of Juliaand Gene Leyzarovich, will become abat mitzvah on Saturday, May 3 at Tem-ple Emanuel. Grandparents are Olgaand Zinovy Rogalsky, YakovLeyzarovich and Irina Blaushild. Great-grandmother is Shulamit Gershman.
Andrew Justin“A.J.” Rosenberg,son of Kim andHoward Rosenberg,will become a barmitzvah on Saturday,May 3 at AdatShalom. Grandpar-ents are Rochelle andHy Chestepal andBarbara and JerryRosenberg.
18 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE MAY 1, 2014
SIMCHAS / TORAH
Name: Kenny RossWidth: 5.041"Depth: 3.25"Color: BlackComment: SimchaAd Number: -
Name: Rabbi RosenbergWidth: 5.041"Depth: 1.5"Color: BlackComment: SIMCHAAd Number: -
Name: Squirrel Hill FlowersWidth: 5.041"Depth: 1.5"Color: BlackComment: SIMCHAAd Number: -
For Spencer, every element of the barmitzvah will render personal signifi-cance. Upon distributing each goat, heplans on telling the recipient the goat’sname, its meaning and who purchasedthe animal. In preparing the Shabbatmeal, he will help slaughter a goat andmake stew for the community, and atthe Saturday night celebration, Shelby,who receives college credit through herwork with the Bodiography Center forMovement, will dance with the mem-bers of the Hope Troupe.“We wanted this to be an interesting
cultural bar mitzvah,” said Shelby. Given the locale, the Lattermans’
preparation has been diverse, requiringresearch, immunizations and partneringwith local nonprofits. Spencer and Shel-by studied Ugandan Jewish history, in-cluding the imprisonment of Sizomu’sfather under the regime of Idi Amin forbuilding a sukkah.They also researched the 1976 events
surrounding the hijacking of an Air
France flight and the rescue of its pas-sengers by commandos of the Israel De-fense Forces, who staged an assault atthe Entebbe Airport.“I vividly remember when that hap-
pened,” said Steve Latterman. Upon arriving at Entebbe, the Latter-
mans will unload cargo dispatched byother Jewish communities around theworld, including 70 Haggadot from arabbi in Washington, siddurim, tooth-brushes and solar lights. Villagers havemade a special request for the Latter-mans to bring in kosher wine, but cus-toms restrictions may prove too difficultto overcome.With all of the planning, study, prepa-
ration and travel, the Lattermans hopethat their children gain a lot from thebar mitzvah. “Even though Spencer is just one per-
son, one person can make a difference,”said Leslie Latterman. “That’s what Iwant my kids to learn.”“I can’t help everyone in Uganda,”
said Spencer. “I just want to help asmany people as I can.”
(Adam Reinherz can be reached [email protected].)
Do you know the story, referred to as“The Case of the Blasphemer”? Candid-ly, I’d be surprised if you did. “The Caseof the Blasphemer” isn’t often includedin collections of Bible stories. That’s ashame. It should be. Found in this week’s Torah portion of
Emor, this otherwise simple story is cen-tral to understanding how Jews do anddon’t speak about God. On the face ofit, the story is about a man accused ofmisusing/profaning God’s name who, asa result, is stoned to death for his crime.Clearly, the blasphemer’s crime was seri-ous. As Jews, we know this all but in-stinctively. God’s name can’t be spoken.Don’t take God’s name in vain!The Talmud states that blasphemy is
one of the seven crimes prohibited byNoahide or natural law; thus, there wasa time when blasphemers were killed fortheir words. In time, some Jews wouldrend their clothes even upon hearingblasphemy. Though after the Temple fellin 70 C.E., according to Rav Hiyya,“One who hears blasphemy is no longerobliged to rend his garments, becauseotherwise all our garments would benothing but tatters” (Sanhedrin 56a). In time, however, such a lenient ap-
proach meant the fear of death nolonger deterred blasphemers. By theninth century, Rab Amram, gaon andeditor of the first Jewish prayer book,had had enough and declared, “Onewho hears another blaspheme must ex-communicate him. It makes no differ-ence if one uses the Ineffable Name orspeaks only of God’s attributes. A blas-phemer must be excommunicated.”As sources explain, the blasphemer’s
excommunication was a substitute forthe death penalty — not per se to pre-serve a life but to spare a witness havingto repeat the offensive remarks. Weought to note that, even so, Abba Saulwas of the opinion that, in addition toany punishment inflicted by humanpower, one who blasphemes will also be
excluded from life in the world to come. Given its role in catalyzing jurispru-
dence, why isn’t this story betterknown? Though simple, the story ischallenging. As we can see, even fromthis brief history, over time communitymores vis-à-vis blasphemy varied, as dida proper response. This is not surprisingin a rapidly changing world, where onecan just as easily contemplate, decon-struct or disregard God. But let us reimagine the crime of blas-
phemy. What if, rather than our sayingthat cursing God or discussing God oreven disrespecting God is blasphemy, wewere to agree the crime of blasphemycannot be what one could say of God inhuman terms. Consider: For a crime’s commission to
be worthy of being excluded from a lifewith people, and perhaps even from alife in the world to come, surely it can-not concern what we say about a God
who is beyond our reach but must haveeverything to do with how we treat oneanother here on earth. If so, blasphemycan be redefined to reflect those timeswhen we humans take to speaking ofourselves in Godly terms.If we believe any of us are inherently
better than others, treat people in thisway or tolerate others doing so, thenthat is blasphemy, pure and simple. Allthe more so, if we maintain we behavethis way for our alone being in posses-sion of God’s truth or because we areperfect and without flaw. Blasphemy!Blasphemy! Blasphemy!“The Case of the Blasphemer” can be
found in Leviticus 24:10-23. I urge youto read it. Rabbi Aaron Bisno is senior rabbi of
Rodef Shalom Congregation.
BY RABBI
AARON BISNO
Parshat EmorLeviticus 21:1-24:23
‘The Case of the Blasphemer’
Continued from page 3
Uganda:
B’nai Mitzvah
If we believe any of us are inherently better
than others, treat peoplein this way or tolerateothers doing so, then
that is blasphemy, pureand simple.
Great Subaru Prices.
North Huntingdon 724-864-5100�
Rabbi Mordecai RosenburgCerified Mohel(412) 521-4637
�1718 Murray Avenue � Pittsburgh, PA 15217
412-421-3300 � Toll Free 1-800-326-2018 Fax: 412-421-8515 � www.SquirrelHillFlowers.com
Full Service Professional FloristPersonalized Weddings & Party Specialists
Fruit & Gourmet Gift BasketsLarge Green & Blooming Plant Selection
Creative Balloons to Suit Your Needs
Major Credit Cards AcceptedFamily Owned & Operated Since 1955��
�
Squirrel Hill FLOWER SHOP, INC.
DON’T FORGET
MOTHER’S DAY