8:04 - Torah Tidbits

Transcription

966
B"H, in our
20th year
AUG 12-13
e"dl
a` mgpn bi
`"ryz'd
engp zay
opgzè
zea` iwxt
xne` `nef oa wxt
"It ain't over till it's over"
The title of this Lead Tidbit is a Yogiism, i.e. a quotation attributed to Yogi
Berra. This particular statement was made during the 1973 baseball season
when the Mets were 9½ games out of first place in their division and ended up
winning the division title on the last day of the regular season. This Yogiism
became the title of a 1991 song by American musician Lenny Kravitz.
And here, in the Lead Tidbit for Shabbat Nachamu? Here it refers to AVEILUT
HACHURBAN, mourning the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, which DOES
NOT end at halachic noon of the tenth of Av, but rather it continues until the
Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt - may it be soon, in our time.
What ends at CHATZOT on the day after Tish'a b'Av, are the mourning
practices of the Nine Days. From approx. 12:45pm on Wednesday, we can eat
meat, drink wine, do laundry, wear freshly laundered, as well as new clothes,
listen to music, have weddings, take a haircut, shave, go swimming, take a
leisurely shower...
The practices of mourning end at noon of the tenth - mourning the loss of the
Beit HaMikdash continues throughout the year. Many homes have a one ama
by one ama square of wall near their front door that is left unplastered and
unpainted. This is ZEICHER LACHURBAN, commemorative of the destruction. Every CHATAN who breaks a glass at his wedding,
cont. page 4
Jerusalem in/out times for Va'etchanan-Nachamu
6:51pm (Earliest - 6:03pm) / 8:04pm Summer time
Checked and double checked for Shabbat NACHAMU • See page 3 for other z'manim
NEW Grill-Bar
Moshiko
u Mevasseret Tzion
Sderot Hachotzvim 9 • 579-7744
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ParshaPix
Explanations on p.44
X
Word of the Month
Last opportunity for
Kiddush L'vana this month is Motza'ei Shabbat Nachamu, August 13th, all
night. The calculated deadline is in the morning of Sunday, which is what
determines that we have all night to say KL. In North America, on the
other hand, the deadline time is during their night and they will not have all
night to say it (times will defer according to location). Practically speaking,
almost everyone who says KL will have said it before then, but you never
know. A person who doesn't feel well after the fast might miss it then...
Candles (earliest) Va'etchanan
Havdala
6:51 (6:03)
Yerushalayim
8:04
7:08 (6:05)
S'derot
8:06
x:xx (6:13)
Gush Etzion
8:12
7:08 (6:04)
Raanana
8:06
7:07 (6:03) Beit Shemesh\RBS 8:05
7:09 (6:05)
Netanya
8:06
7:08 (6:04)
Rehovot
8:06
7:05 (6:04) Be'erSheva\Otniel 8:04
7:07 (6:03) Modi'in\Chashmona'im 8:05
6:51 (6:04)
Petach Tikva
8:06
6:51 (6:02)
Maale Adumim
8:04
7:07 (6:04)
Ginot Shomron
8:05
7:07 (6:03)
Gush Shiloh
8:04
7:06 (6:03)
K4 & Hevron
8:04
7:07 (6:03)
Giv'at Ze'ev
8:04
7:08 (6:04)
Yad Binyamin
8:05
7:09 (6:05)
Ashkelon
8:06
6:57 (6:03)
Tzfat
8:05
next week
6:44/7:56
7:01/7:58
7:12/8:12
7:01/7:58
7:00/7:57
7:01/7:58
7:01/7:58
6:58/7:57
7:00/7:57
6:44/7:58
6:44/7:55
7:00/7:57
6:59/7:56
6:59/7:56
6:59/7:56
7:01/7:57
7:02/7:58
6:50/7:57
Rabbeinu Tam Havdala - NACHAMU - 8:37pm
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10-19 Menachem Av • Aug 10-19
Earliest Talit & T'filin
Sunrise
Sof Z'man K' Sh'ma
5:06-5:13am
6:00-6:06am
9:22-9:24am
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Sof Z'man T'fila
10:30-10:30am
(Magen Avraham: 9:57-9:58am)
Chatzot
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(halachic noon)
Mincha Gedola
1:18-1:16pm
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LEAD TIDBIT
continued from FRONT page
or puts ash on his head where his
T'filin usually sit, is commemorating
and mourning the destruction of the
Beit HaMikdash.
So "it ain't over" when the Three
Weeks and Nine Days are behind us.
It continues until we will be privileged
to rejoice in the building of the Beit
HaMikdash.
So what does this mean? Should we
abstain from eating meat and drinking
wine until we have a standing
Mikdash? Not at all. That is a restiction with specific limits. Okay, so
what do we do "until it's over" - the
GALUT, that is. What continues after
noon on the tenth of Av?
We continue and intensify our efforts
for laying the foundation of the next
Beit HaMikdash. And how do we do
that? By first repairing the damage
that caused the desctruction in the
first place.
There is a lot of work to do.
The gemara in Shabbat tells us the
opinions of eight amora'im, as to why
Jerusalem was destroyed. Each one
gives us a challenge.
Abayei says that the Churban was a
result of Chilul Shabbat. Okay, we
start with a serious examination of
our own personal Shabbat observance. Am I meticulous in avoiding
violations of Shabbat, Torah ones and
rabbinic ones? Do I daven and make
Kiddush properly? Do I sing z'mirot
enthusiastically? Do I learn Torah on
Shabbat? Do I enhance the Shabbat
joy for my family and guests? Do I
properly honor the Shabbat? How
can I make my Shabbat better and
how can I help others to enhance
their Shabbatot?
That's a whole big assignment on its
own and we are only working on
Abayei.
R' Abahu attributes the Churban to
our saying Sh'ma morning and night.
Let's expand that to davening in
general, and ask ourselves another
set of questions. How is my davening?
My kavana? My commitment? My
understanding? My sincerity? What
can I do to improve and what can I
do to help others improve?
Ula "blames" the Churban on our lack
of shame. And R' Shimon bar Abba in
the name of R' Yochanan says that we
didn't (properly) reproach one
another.
And what about other sources that
say the Churban was a result of Sin'at
Chinam, gratuitous hatred of one Jew
for another?
We have our work cut out for us.
We might be able to wear new
clothes and take a haircut and a
pleasurable bath, but we need to
become better people and better
Jews - as individuals and as a community. We can bring the end of
mourning the Churban closer and we
have many ways to do it.
OU Israel Center TT 966 n 4 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
Va'etchanan
45th of 54 sedras;
2nd of 11 in D'varim
Written on 249 lines in a Torah, rank: 7th
21 Parshiyot; 5 open, 16 closed, 7th (tied)
122 p'sukim - ranks 17th (2nd in D'varim)
same as Vayak'hel & Ki Tavo - but larger
1878 words; ranks 10th (2nd in D'varim)
7343 letters; ranks 10th (2nd in D'varim)
Va'etchanan's p'sukim are longer than average,
hence the jump from 17th to 10th in rank.
M I T Z VO T
12 of 613 mitzvot: 8 positive, 4 prohibitions
and many more that are counted elsewhere this is so for several sedras, but it really shows
for Va'etchanan (e.g. Aseret HaDibrot)
Aliya-by-Aliya
Sedra Summary
Numbers in [square brackets] are the
Mitzva-count of Sefer HaChinuch AND
Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot. A=ASEI
(positive mitzva); L=LAV (prohibition). X:Y
is the perek and pasuk from which the
mitzva comes.
[P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start
of a parsha p’tucha or s’tuma. X:Y is
Perek:Pasuk of the beginning of the parsha;
(Z) is the number of p'sukim in the parsha.
Condolences to David Shafner
(the Furniture Doctor) and family
on the passing of his MOTHER d"r
milyexie oeiv ila` x`y jeza mkz` mgpi mewnd
Kohen - First Aliya
11 p'sukim - 3:23-4:4
[S> 3:23 (7)] Moshe Rabeinu
continues his farewell words to
the People. He tells them that he
had asked G-d to rescind His
decree banning Moshe from entry
into the Land of Israel.
SDT: The Baal Shem Tov commented
that Moshe, who had learned the
entire Torah, Written Word and Oral
Law, from G-d Himself, used the term
"You have begun to show me Your
greatness..." The more one learns
Torah, the more one learns about G-d,
the more one will realize that he has
just begun to understand Who G-d is.
G-d refused this request and
forbade Moshe to ask again.
Moshe ascended a mountain
from where he saw the Land. G-d
then told him to transfer the
leadership to Yehoshua.
[P>
(24)]
He (Moshe)
proceeds to review the laws and
statutes (Torah and mitzvot) by
which the people are now to
live... in Eretz Yisrael.
4:1
Neither should the Torah be
added to nor detracted from
[these mitzvot are counted elsewhere].
Another warning against idolatry
follows. Then, "And you who
cling to G-d are all alive today".
(This is one of many allusions to
T'CHIYAT HAMEITIM in the Torah.)
Watch
MitzvaW
The twin prohibitions of neither
adding nor subtracting from the
Torah, are mentioned in Va'etchanan
and again in R'ei (where they are
counted among the 613). The Vilna
Gaon points out that the plural form
is used one time and the singular
form is used in the other case. This,
he says, alludes to two different
aspects of these prohibitions. It is
forbidden to add to or subtract from
a particular mitzva - for example, one
may not take 5 species or 3 species
on Sukkot for the fulfillment of the
mitzva of "Lulav & Etrog". Nor may
one add or subtract to the total of
the mitzvot. To treat a Rabbinic
mitzva as a Torah law, or vice versa,
would be an example of the other
aspect of these prohibitions.
The spirit of these prohibitions (if not
the actual definitions) would include
treating (or teaching) a CHUMRA as
if it were required, or vice versa
(claiming that something that is prohibited is "only" a chumra or custom).
Aside from people who intentionally
May the Torah learned from this
edition of Torah Tidbits be p"rl
and in loving memory of
d"r dyn za rail
Lynne Grossman d"r
beloved wife, mother, grandmother
on her fourth yahrzeit, a` mgpn f"i
The Grossman Family
do this, it is more common to find
people doing it one way or the other
inadvertently, either because of ignorance or because of a sincere (but
slightly misguided) desire to enhance
the observance of mitzvot. This is
especially important for parents and
teachers of young children. Don’t say
ASUR if you mean, strictly speaking it
isn’t actually forbidden, but it is
considered a proper thing to abstain
for doing such and such. It sounds
more complicated, but it is more
“honest” and therefore it is the more
proper way to transmit Torah to
your
children
and
students.
(Obviously, when a child is very
young, you have to simplify matters.
But don't forget to upgrade the
child's level of understanding as he or
she grows older.)
Levi - Second Aliya
36 p'sukim - 4:5-40
Once again, Moshe emphasizes
that mitzvot are meant to be kept
in Eretz Yisrael. (This not only
applies to Land-related mitzvot, but
to the entire range of mitzvot.)
There is repeated reference in the
book of D'varim, and especially in
Parshat Va'etchanan, to Eretz Yisrael
being THE reason for our having
been taken out of Egypt, formed into
a Nation, and given the Torah and
mitzvot.
Prolonged exile has taught us that the
Torah can be kept, must be kept, no
matter where a Jew finds himself. This
was one of the reasons that the
Torah was given at Sinai, prior to
entry into the Land. On the other
hand, one should not lose sight of the
fact, repeated often by Moshe
Rabeinu in D'varim, that G-d has
always intended us to observe His
mitzvot IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
Are there more mitzvot to keep in
Israel than outside? YES. But maybe
more significantly, every mitzva - even
those that are performed all over the
world, can reach their full potential
ONLY in Israel. This is a message that
each of us has to realize, understand,
and internalize. Then we must spread
this message to family and friends
abroad who feel that they "have
everything we need to be fully Jewish"
in their respective religious communities around the world. AND the vital
significance of Torah AND Israel to
our lives as Jews must be taught to
those less committed Jews here in
Israel and abroad.
On the other hand, we must not
forget that Israel today is not the
realization of The Dream, but rather
a step on the road to the Complete
Redemption, the restoration of Zion
and Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the
Beit HaMikdash, and the coming of
Mashiach. This idea helps us refocus
after the mourning period that ends
with the 10th of Av, and is an
appropriate theme to usher in the
Mazal Tov to Ruth & Sidney
Feibus on the engagement of
their granddaughter Elana Graber
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period of consolation and T'shuva.
We must be careful to preserve
and perform the mitzvot because
(among other reasons) it is the
mitzvot that project Judaism as an
intelligent religion to the nations
of the world. This in turn,
sanctifies G-d's Name. We must
be infinitely careful to remember
and transmit to our children, the
"Sinai Experience".
Moshe describes for the new
Mazal Tov to
Fred & Faye Jablinowitz
and the Fixler family
on the birth of a
great/granddaughter
generation the details of Matan
Torah. He includes a specific
warning against the potentially
idolatrous thoughts caused by the
combination of the magnificent,
tangible universe in which we
live, and the invisible, intangible
G-d.
A primary cause of idolatry is the
natural human tendency to relate
better to something concrete, visible,
tangible rather than something
abstract and intangible. The Sun is in
the sky. It's hot, full of energy, gives
us light, and sustains life as we know
it. People found Sun-worship easier
to accept than the worship of He
Who created the Sun and everything
else, but cannot be seen. True
worship of the One G-d was what
Avraham and Sara taught many
people. And, as OR LAGOYIM, a light
unto the nations, it is what we are
supposed to teach and show the
world.
G-d had taken us out of Egypt in
order to make us His Nation. He
got angry at me, says Moshe, and
forbade me to enter the Land.
Again, Moshe warns the People
May the Torah learned from this
issue of Torah Tidbits be p"rl
my beloved father
against abandoning the covenant
with G-d after his (Moshe's)
passing.
[P> 4:25 (16)] The next portion
is read on Tish'a b'Av morning...
In spite of the many warnings
against idolatry, Moshe prophesies (predicts) that there will
come a time when the People
will turn from G-d and be exiled
from their Land. It will then come
to pass that the People will seek
out G-d and return to Him.
Moshe emphasizes the uniqueness of the People of Israel and
their special relationship with G-d
and beseeches the People to
remain faithful to Torah and
mitzvot. One can hear a pleading
in his voice, as if he is begging
the people not to go in the
direction of his prophecy.
This theme is oft-repeated in the
Torah. Do what G-d asks of you.
Don’t turn away from Him. If you
remain faithful to Him, wonderful
things will happen to and for you. If
you turn away from Him, terrible
things will happen. You will turn away
from Him; terrible things will happen;
and then you will turn back to Him...
l"f wgvi dyn
Shlishi - Third Aliya
9 p'sukim - 4:41-49
Moses Brevda l"f
[P> 4:41 (9)] Although the cities
on his 43rd yahrzeit, a` mgpn f"h
Ada Brevda Hausman
of refuge will not function as
such until conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael, Moshe
(with enthusiasm to do G-d's
bidding, even though he knows
what's coming soon thereafter)
designates the 3 cities on the East
Bank - Betzer in the Mishor
Wilderness area for Reuven,
Ramot in the Gil'ad area for Gad,
and Golan in the Bashan area for
Menashe.
These (the mitzvot about to be
presented) were taught by Moshe
to the People following the
Exodus in the lands on the East
Bank of the Jordan.
(Note the detail in the description of
the location of the people, the repetition of their successes in conquering
the "east bank" lands. It seems meant
to be encouraging to the people.)
V'zot HaTorah... said when
the Torah is lifted, comes from
D'varim 4:44. In the Siddur, the
words AL PI HASHEM B'YAD
MOSHE are added. That phrase
appears four times in Bamidbar, but
9:23 seems to be the one from which
it is taken. (Some say V'zot HaTorah
without the added words in order
not to recite partial p'sukim from the
Torah.)
May the learning in this issue be
znyp ielrl
d"r miig wgvi ryedi izay za lgx
Ruth Miller d"r
on her 6th yahrzeit
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R'VI'I - Fourth Aliya
18 p'sukim - 5:1-18
[P> 5:1 (5)] Moshe begins the
review of mitzvot with a restatement of the Aseret HaDibrot. He
emphasizes that the Covenant at
Sinai was not just between G-d
and the previous generation, but
between G-d and all generations
The Miller/Kalish families
Wednesday in the Torah & Haftara
of Jews to come.
Watch
MitzvaW
The most well-known difference
between the two presentations of the
Aseret HaDidrot is the "Shamor
v'Zachor" of Shabbat. Generally,
"Zachor" is interpreted as referring
to the positive mitzvot and aspects of
Shabbat, whereas "Shamor" is a
command to preserve Shabbat by not
violating the prohibitions. The traditional minimum of two candles for
Shabbat (although one candle satisfies
the halacha), are said to represent
these two facets of Shabbat. It is this
intertwined nature of the positive
aspects of Shabbat and its prohibitions that is "responsible" for Kiddush
on Friday night being obligatory upon
women. Rather than treat Kiddush as
a pure "time-related positive mitzva"
which would (probably) mean that
women would be exempt (as they are
from the mitzva of Sukka, for
example), we view Kiddush as part of
the whole Shabbat package, which
means full and equal obligation for
men and women. The two sides of
Shabbat were commanded B'DIBUR
ECHAD and are inseparable.
On a hashkafa level, we can see the
prohibitions of Shabbat as more than
a restrictive list of DON’Ts. Abstention from Melacha can be seen as
Dayan Grunfeld z"l puts it in The
Sabbath -- as laying G-d’s gifts of
creative activity to us at His feet (so
to speak) in homage to the Creator
and Master of All. This, on a weekly
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ibiit oa mdxa` cec
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lhib dkln oa mely diryi
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`prd oa aiil dcedi
dniq dgny oa sqei l`pzp
lgx za dwax ipex
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Menya Leba bat Yitta Chaya
Shoshana Abra bat Chaya Beila
Chedva bat Chaya
.l ¥̀ ẍU§ ¦i i¥lFg x`¨ W§ KFzA§
basis, so that we will not take these
gifts for granted nor assume that our
abilities and talents are self-produced. There is a subtle difference
between not doing Melacha and
abstaining from Melacha. If we
understand and appreciate the distinction, our Shabbat observance and
enjoyment can be greatly enhanced.
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The Aseret HaDibrot in Yitro
contains 14 of the 613 mitzvot. (The
2nd commandment has four prohibitions related to idolatry, the 4th has
two mitzvot related to Shabbat, and
one each from the other 8.) The first
9 commandments in Va'etchanan contain the same 13 mitzvot as their
counterparts in Yitro. Those mitzvot
are counted from Yitro. The 10th is
worded differently here and is
counted separately (in addition to
"Thou shalt not covet") as the
prohibition of "lust and unhealthy
desire" [416,L266 5:18]. Although
the first part of the tenth commandment uses the term LO TACHMOD
(covet), the second part introduces a
new term which deals exclusively
with thoughts and feelings; its
counterpart in Yitro involves acting
on those feelings. V'LO TIT'AVEH
in a way, completes a set of prohibitions, that starts with obviously sinful
acts - murder, stealing, etc. to a
feeling in the heart (LO TACHMOD)
which can, and often does, lead to
acts which are "milder", but nonetheless "problematic". For example, if a
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person is jealous of a friend's cellphone, and comments about it often
enough, the friend might just feel
uncomfortable enough to give it to
the jealous friend. Nothing wrong,
per se, in complimenting someone's
phone, but in this case it is part of the
prohibition of LO TACHMOD. And
V'LO TIT'AVEH is the feelings even
without anything else happening as a
result of the envy.
The Aseret HaDibrot lay out in
the following manner:
[S>5:6
(5)]
Anochi and Lo
Yih-yeh, which we consider the
first two “dibrot” are contained
within a single parsha s’tuma.
[S>5:11 (1)] The prohibition
against taking G-d’s name in vain
(vain oaths) is its own parsha
s’tuma. [S> 5:12 (4)] The
Shabbat commandment is its
own parsha s’tuma. Shabbat's
commandment is a P'tucha in
Yitro. [S> 5:16 (1)] Honoring
parents is a s’tuma. [S> 5:17 (¼)]
Do not murder, [S> 5:17 (¼)]
And do not commit adultery,
[S> 5:17 (¼)] And do not steal
(kidnap), [S> 5:17 (¼)] And do
not bear false witness. These four
dibrot are each a separate parsha
s’tuma, all in the same pasuk!
Mazal Tov to
Mottle & Ruth Shaw
and family on the birth
of a great-granddaughter
[S> 5:18 (½)] And do not covet
another man’s wife and [S>5:18
(½)] and do not lust after
anything that another person
possesses are each a s’tuma, from
the same pasuk, and counting as
a single (the 10th) dibra (or
dibur).
Chamishi 5th Aliya
15 p'sukim - 5:19-6:3
[S>
(15)]
Moshe next
reminds the People that those
who were present at Matan
Torah were afraid to continue
hearing G-d's Voice and agreed
to listen to the words of a
prophet speaking in G-d's Name
in lieu of direct communication.
(Actually, take a look at the pasuk
right before the Aseret HaDibrot
and you'll see that Moshe
Rabeinu was saying the same
thing "right up front".)
5:19
This episode is crucial to our understanding of the Chain of Tradition and
the method of transmission of the
Oral Law. It made not only Moshe
Rabeinu vital to our hearing and
understanding of G-d's Word, but so
too the Moshe Rabeinus of every
generation. This is so for prophets,
during the period of prophecy, and by
the Sages throughout the generations.
Moshe emphasizes that G-d
agreed to the People's request.
And yet again, Moshe links
observance of mitzvot with the
only proper environment for
Jewish life - Eretz Yisrael. (This
idea is actually expressed in
THREE different ways in the final
p'sukim of this Aliya.)
Shishi - Sixth Aliya
22 p'sukim - 6:4-25
[P> 6:4 (6)] The first portion of
this Aliya is the first parsha of
SH’MA. "...HaShem is One." This
statement of Jewish faith is also
considered the mitzva to believe
in the unity and uniqueness of
G-d [417,A2 6:4].
Note that G-d's unity is also part of
the mitzva to believe in Him [25,A1
Sh'mot 20:2], but warrants its own
mitzva to emphasize this essential
element of belief, in contrast to many
other religions.
"Love" G-d with your entire
being [418,A3 6:5]. (Many
mitzvot, Jewish practices and the
attitude with which we do
mitzvot
are
all
considered
manifestations of Love of G-d.)
We must study and teach Torah
[419,A11 6:7] (for practical
purposes AND purely for the
sake of learning). We are to recite
the Sh'ma twice daily [420,A10
6:7], wear T'filin on the arm
Mazal Tov to Angie & Benny
Elisha and the Atkins family on
the marriage of their daughter
[421,A13 6:8] and front-center on
the head [422,A12 6:8], and put a
Mezuza on our doorposts [423,
A15 6:9].
SDT: The mitzva of learning and
teaching Torah can be fulfilled with
one's head, one's intellect. Tell
someone a Dvar Torah and you both
have fulfilled V'SHINANTAM L'VANECHA. But, tell that same Dvar
Torah in an animated way that shows
love of Torah and that ignites the
emotion of the listener, so that he
not only adds to his knowledge of
Torah, but his excitement and
enthusiasm for Torah and Mitzvot has
increased, then you have fulfilled an
additional mitzva, V'AHAVTA ET
HASHEM ELOKECHA, to love G-d
with all your heart (based on Sefer
HaChareidim).
We can generalize this aspect of
AHAVAT HASHEM to include all
mitzvot. Shabbat, for example.
Someone can go through all the
motions and not violate the Shabbat;
but do it with love and that fulfills
V’AHAVTA, in addition to Shabbat.
[S> 6:10 (6)] Now, another
warning. You’ll go into Eretz
Yisrael, have big homes filled
with all good things, that you did
not work for... Still remember
that G-d took you out of Egypt...
don’t turn away from Him...
It is said that a wealthy person has a
harder time with faith in G-d than a
poor person. A poor person tends to
turn to G-d, to complain, but also to
express his faith that his lot will
improve. A wealthy person tends
towards patting himself on the back
and taking credit for that which he
should be thanking G-d. (Generalizations, of course, but something to
think about, nonetheless.)
[S> 6:16 (40)] Do not test G-d...
(as you did repeatedly in the
Midbar). Understood as the prohibition of overly challenging a
true prophet and demanding
signs from him (beyond what is
reasonable to determine his claim
as a true prophet) [424,L64 6:16].
Keep the mitzvot... be straight
with G-d... so that things will be
good for you in Eretz Yisrael...
(there it is again!)
[S> 6:20 (6)] When your child
will ask you tomorrow... tell him
“we were slaves to Par’o in Egypt
and G-d took us out... and He
commanded us... and it will do
us good to listen...
Sh'VII - Seventh Aliya
11 p'sukim - 7:1-11
[S>7:1 (11)] Finally, Moshe tells
the People that the nations in
Eretz Yisrael whom we will
encounter are mightier than
Israel. But G-d will give them
over into Israel's hands. We are
required to destroy the "Seven
Nations" [425, A187 7:2], not to
show mercy to idolaters in the
Land [426,L50 7:2], and certainly
not to intermarry with them [427,
L52 7:3] or any other non-Jews.
Regardless of how secure one is in
one's belief, intermarriage and other
close contact with alien cultures will
have an adverse effect upon the individual Jew and on the Jewish People.
In addition to the Torah-prohibition
against intermarriage, there are many
Rabbinic prohibitions geared to
restrict social contact with non-Jews.
We must destroy the idolatry in
the Land. We must always keep
in mind the basis upon which
G-d has built His relationship
with us.
It is because of G-d's love for us
and His promises to our
ancestors that He has taken us
out of Egypt.
on her 3rd yahrzeit, a` mgpn bi
Know that G-d is trustworthy to
keep His promises and reward
those who properly follow His
ways, as well as punish those
who do not.
The final 3 p'sukim of the sedra
are reread for the Maftir.
Janice Weinreb, Barbara Yasgur,
Benay Cohen-Nesher
The singers had a three-city tour?
In loving memory of our mother,
grandmother and great-grandmother
Rose Edith Cohen d"r
za lfiix dhi`
d"r dypbe odkd aiil dix`
Haftara 26 p'sukim
Yeshayahu 40:1-26
First of the 7 Haftarot of Consolation, (all of which come from
Yeshayahu). Yeshayahu as a
prophet of destruction and Divine
punishment for faithlessness, can
be seen in ch.1 which was the
haftara last Shabbat, and in subsequent chapters through 39. With
our haftara this week, ch. 40, we
see another side of the prophet.
G-d commands the prophets
(through Yeshayahu) to bring the
message of comfort and the end
of Babylonian captivity. How
appropriate a choice as the
haftara for the Shabbat following
9'Av.
In the sedra, Moshe Rabeinu
expressed concern that the people
might look to nature and turn various
items they see into objects of
worship. Perhaps it might not be a
bad idea to minimize our interest and
study of nature and science, to avoid
the dangers to which Moshe was
alerting us.
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No, says Yeshayahu (in the last pasuk
of this week's haftara). That's not the
way to go. Rather...
"Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold who has created these
things..."
Two more came for Shabbat this week
Portion from
the Portion
"WATCH YOURSELF
CAREFULLY" AND A
BAR MITZVAH GIFT
My neighbor had a Bar Mitzva
about 6 months ago and I didn't
give him a present until last week.
One of the reasons was because I
hadn't decided what I wanted to
give him. I don't like to go into the
bookstore and just buy any book
off the shelf - I like to give
something that the boy would
appreciate. Don't think I go out and
buy every Bar Mitzva boy a
motorcycle or ipod touch. But I like
to know a bit about the boy; if he
likes to read, if he likes to learn
Parshat HaShavua, does he like to
go hiking or is he very athletic.
This way maybe I can choose a
present that the boy might even
like.
This time I decided to ask the boy
himself what he would like as a
gift. He, of course, was a bit
embarrassed by my question and
didn't give me an answer right
away. Since he's my neighbor, I
had numerous opportunities to ask
him this same question and
eventually he answered - a bit
sheepishly - that if it was okay with
me he would like a bike helmet.
Now I was in a dilemma. What
kind of a Bar Mitzva present is a
helmet? How many people give
helmets as Bar Mitzva presents? A
Bar Mitzva marks when a young
person becomes responsible to
observe the mitzvot of the Torah.
Since this event celebrates the
young person's becoming obligated in the commandments,
shouldn't the gift give a deeper
understanding of Jewish heritage
and enable the boy to better
perform the mitzvot! Shouldn't I
give a Tzedaka box, Shofar or the
latest Jewish book on the market?
The goal of any Jew is not only to
study the Torah, but to become a
"living Torah", who embodies the
lofty ideals of the Torah. One such
ideal is "the preciousness of life".
In this week's portion we are
actually instructed to V'NISHMARTEM MEOD L'NAFSHOTEICHEM
- Watch yourselves very carefully
(4:15), which the Rabbis teach us
refers to taking care of ourselves.
Therefore, a helmet is a very
appropriate Bar Mitzva present. It
teaches the young boy the sanctity
of his life and enables him to
perform a commandment of
protecting his own life. That is
exactly what I told the young man
when I handed him his blue bike
helmet. I'm not sure if I will give
every bar mitzva boy a helmet as a
present, but this boy really
appreciated it and I felt that I had
given a gift with a lesson.
one's head, here is a recipe that
uses a head of cabbage.
TOLTOTT KAPOSZTA
Stuffed Head of Cabbage
1 head cabbage
600g ground beef
¾ cup raw rice (washed)
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp paprika
A little olive oil
Salt & black pepper to taste
2 litres tomato juice
Clean and check cabbage. Take off
the outer leaves of the cabbage.
Steam the cabbage for 5-10
minutes, or until the leaves are
pliable enough to bend easily.
Remove the soft leaves and set
aside to drain and cool. Resteam
any leaves that are still hard. While
cabbage is cooling, mix the meat,
rice, onion, and eggs together. Hold
each leaf rib-side up, and pare the
thick rib down to get rid of that tough
vein and make it about as flat as the
rest of the leaf. Turn leaf over, rib
side down, so that it naturally curves
into a sort of cup. Place small
handfuls of meat mixture on the
cabbage leaf, near the bottom of the
leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over
the filling, and roll the cabbage
around the meat. Tuck the bottom
end of the rib around the filling. Put
in pot, pour the juice over the top,
cook on a low heat for about 4 hrs.
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Maharal on the Sedra
US Citizenship
The Emergence of Our Nation
for your Children
D'varim 4:34 - Has Elokim ever
done miracles, bringing one nation
out of another nation…
Netzach Yisrael 10:251
and Gevurot Hashem 3:25 The midrash [Sochar Tov 114]
describes this event to be like a fetal
lamb in its mother's womb, and the
shepherd puts in his hand and pulls it
out. The very essence of Israel was
inside Egypt, intimately connected and
secondary to Egypt and lacking an
existence of its own, an organ [Gittin
23b] attached to the mother culture
and subordinate to it. Finally, when
its development is completed, it
becomes an entity to itself and
emerges with Hashem's help. Had
there been a period of time between
Israel's emergence as a nation and
Hashem's name being called upon
them to be the chosen people [am
segula], then it could be said [if they
sin], let them revert to their prechosen status as a nation. But they
were not yet a nation, as it is written
[D'varim 26:5], "Our fathers descended to Egypt in small numbers,
and became a great strong and
numerous nation there."
Then
Hashem brought them out to be His,
as it is written [Sh'mot 6:6], "I will
bring them from under the travails of
Egypt, and I will take them to me as a
nation, and I will be God to them."
As they became a nation, Hashem's
and Grandchildren
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Name was called upon them.
Column prepared by Dr. Moshe Kuhr
Dr Kuhr is the author of Lion Cub of
Prague - Genesis. The next volume on
Exodus and Leviticus is in press.
Divrei Menachem
In Parshat Va'etchanan we are reintroduced to the Ten Commandments. As
the pivotal portrayal of Hashem's message to the Jewish People received at
Har Sinai, many of us, perhaps, could
recite all the commandments by heart.
But how many of us act on each and
every one of them - especially the
tenth one?
Amidst thunder and lightning a whole
people heard the tenth commandment: Not to covet anything belonging
to one's neighbor - not his wife nor
slave nor ox nor donkey, not any one
of his material or other possessions.
How many of us could say honestly
that we have not failed in this respect,
in some way?
No wonder, then, that some Siddurim
have an extra appeal added at the end
of the Amida prayer in the
supplication "Elokai Netzor", composed by Mar, son of Rabbina. The
additional prayer reads: "May it be
Your will… that human jealousy not
rise up against me, nor my jealousy
[rise up] upon others."
Ben Zoma understood that he who is
rich is the one who rejoices in his
portion (Pirkei Avot 4:1). A wise man
once commented, however, that the
goal is not just to be thankful to
Hashem for what we have. The goal is
also to be happy for my friend, for his
portion, for his or her achievements,
successes, and good fortune! Clearly,
if we are pleased for others and do not
think (only) of ourselves, all the other
nine commandments will fall in to
place.

"Material possessions" is a misnomer.
"Material possessors" is more like it.
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Vebbe Rebbe
Question: For medical reasons, I must
eat early in the morning. Is it better to eat
before going to daven in shul or to daven at
home, eat, and go to shul to answer
Kedusha, etc.?
Answer: The gemara (B'rachot 10b)
cites and explains two p’sukim
relating to not eating before davening:
“Do not eat on the blood” (Vayikra
19:26), meaning, do not eat before
you have prayed for your blood (life).
“You thrust me after gavecha”
(Melachim Alef 14:9) - read as
gei'echa (your haughtiness) - in other
words, only after haughty [involvement in pleasures] did the person
accept ol malchut shamayim (the
yoke of Heavenly Kingdom).
The most convincing approach as to
the interrelationship between the two
derivations is that the second clarifies
the first. In other words, there is not a
formal prohibition to eat, but rather
one should not eat in a manner of
haughtiness. Therefore, one may
drink water (Shulchan Aruch, Orach
Chayim 89:3), a “drink of humility”.
Also, the Pri Chadash (89:3) says that
when one needs to eat for medical
reasons (even real food - Mishna
B'rura 89:24), he may do so before
davening even if he can wait.
At this point, we would posit that
since davening with a minyan is a real
advantage and eating in your circumstances is totally permitted, it is better
to eat first than give up on minyan.
However, the Leket HaKemach (cited
by the Baer Heitev (89:11), the Bi'ur
Halacha (to 89:3), and recent poskim,
including Yalkut Yosef 89:29 and
Ishei Yisrael 13:27)) says it is better
to daven first without a minyan than
to eat before davening. (The omission
of this opinion by such important
codes as Chayei Adam, Shulchan
Aruch HaRav, and Aruch HaShulchan
may imply that they do not accept it).
There are two approaches one can
take to explain the Leket HaKemach.
1) The serious (perhaps Torah-level)
problem of eating before davening
overrides the preference or lesser
obligation of davening with a minyan
(Ohr L’Tziyon II, 7:8). 2) The service
of Hashem involved in davening first
despite one’s need to eat lends the
t'fila a strong positive force (see Eretz
Hatzvi (Frimer) II, 2).
Nevertheless, we believe, for the
following reasons, that you may
decide which of the options is more
appropriate for you. In addition to the
absence of the Leket HaKemach's
opinion in early sources, all the
sources that mention it talk about it
being a preference, not a requirement
(see also Magen Avraham 90:21).
Also, in your case the option of eating
first and then davening with a minyan
later is stronger than in the Leket
HaKemach's case for the following
reasons. He spoke about someone
whose weakness made it difficult to
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hold out until after davening but did
not address medically required eating,
which in your case may make it less
problematic. He also spoke primarily
about the long Shabbat davening,
where it is too long to wait, so the
solution is to shorten the first part of
davening. In contrast, in your case the
standing medical orders are to eat as
soon as possible, after which it is time
for normal davening. Furthermore,
your situation would regularly preclude your davening with a minyan.
The Aruch HaShulchan (OC 109:5),
discussing the case of one who davens
slowly enough that he consistently
has to choose between davening with
others and answering to Kedusha,
rules that davening with others has
precedence (even though he rules
differently for a one-time basis such
as coming late). He reasons that you
cannot deprive someone of full t'fila
b'tzibur on a regular basis.
After all, you will have first fulfilled a
minimal but basic mitzva of t'fila (see
Magen Avraham 106:2) and accepted
ol malchut shamayim (see Bi'ur
Halacha ibid. and Keren L’Dovid
(Greenwald), OC 21). This might
suffice even for healthy people
according a minority opinion (see
Rama, OC 89:3). Therefore, it is
legitimate for you to make the call,
and even factor in what improves
your davening, embarrassment, etc.
Rav Daniel Mann, Eretz Hemdah Institute
Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly
parsha sheet by Eretz Hemdah. You can receive it by
sending an email to [email protected] with the
message: Subscribe/English or Subscribe/Hebrew - leave
subject blank. Ask the Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded
by the Jewish Agency for Israel.
If you follow the standard rule that
those who must eat should say the
early parts of davening including
Kri'at Sh'ma first (see details in Ishei
Yisrael 13:27), you anyway avoid the
full problem the gemara referred to.
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CHIZUK ! IDUD
Divrei Torah from the weekly sedra
with a focus on living in Eretz Yisrael Chizuk for Olim & Idud for not-yet-Olim
In Parshat Vaetchanan we find the
commandment not to forget the
stand at Mount Sinai where we
received the 10 commandments. Rav
Yosef Dov Soloveitchik regularly
pointed out that the description of
what we are to remember is not
essentially factual, but rather
primarily experiential:
"But be careful and guard your soul
lest you forget the words that you
saw (not heard), and lest they leave
your heart all the days of your life,
and you shall inform this to your
children and your children's children:
the day you stood before HaShem
your God at Chorev." At Sinai we
were taught laws, but we also
underwent an Experience. It is that
Experience that we must pass on
through the generations.
tradition of Torah Experience of that
great giant be preserved and passed
on, for the sake of God.
It is also the true experiential tradition of Torah that leads us back to
Eretz Yisrael for the ultimately
complete fulfillment of the Torah.
This is the reason why the B'racha of
“Ahava Raba” which focuses on
Talmud Torah and its applications,
ends with the words “V’Havi'enu
L’Shalom...” “Bring us in peacefulness
from the four corners of the earth
and lead us with upright pride to our
Land.”
Rabbi Menachem Schrader, Efrat
The Rav would then say that he feels
he has not been successful in passing
on this Experience to his students,
despite their formidable accomplishments in understanding the texts and
inner logic of the Torah. He felt this
was a terrible failing on his part.
It should be our commitment to
prove Rav Soloveichik wrong on this
matter. We must take it upon ourselves to glean the continuum of
Torah Experience from his writings
and great students, so that the
Rabbi Weinreb’s Weekly Column:
Parsha Points to Ponder
VA'ETCHANAN
Va'etchanan
Unanswered Prayers
1) Why did G-D use the double
language of ENOUGH TO YOU,
DO NOT CONTINUE SPEAKING
ABOUT THIS TO ME (RAV LACH
AL TOSEF DABER EILAI OD
BADAVAR HAZEH) when rejecting
Moshe's pleas to enter the land of
Israel (3:26)?
I have learned the hard way that
some of the most important lessons in life come from unexpected
sources. I have also learned that
later, equally unexpected sources
often force me to reconsider those
important lessons.
Let me tell you the history of one of
those lessons, which I learned and
then had to relearn.
It all started on the Saturday night
that I agreed to address a group of
women who had been praying for
many weeks for the healing of the
sick. This group recited T'hilim, for
a list of people in the community
who
were
suffering
from
life-threatening illnesses. From time
to time, they asked one of the local
rabbis to address them at the end
of their prayer session. On this
particular Saturday night, they
asked me, and I agreed.
I tried to give an inspirational
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2) The Torah commands not to add
on or detract from the laws of the
Torah (4:2). We can understand
why a command not to add to the
commandments is necessary but
who would have ever thought that
they could detract from them? Of
course we are obligated to observe
all the commandments recorded in
the Torah!
3) Why does the Torah use a
double language when referring to
our destruction and exile - AVOD
TOVEIDUN
and
HISHAMED
TISHAMEDUN (4:26)?
by Rabbi Dov Lipman
Rabbi Lipman teaches at Machon Maayan in
Bet Shemesh and is the director of Anglos for
Am Shalem, the new political movement of
MK Haim Amsalem. He is the author of
"DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers (and
Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith"
(Feldheim); "TIMEOUT: Sports Stories as a
Game Plan for Spiritual Success" (Devora);
"SEDER SAVVY" (Targum) [[email protected]]
speech, stressing the importance of
compassion and the power of
prayers on behalf of others. I
commended them for their sincerity
and concern, and for their willingness to surrender an hour of their
time each and every week to
address prayers on behalf of
individuals whom many of them did
not even know.
Then I made a mistake. I told the
group and I had another 10 or 15
minutes and would be glad to
answer any questions that they had
about prayer. The questions were
not long in coming, and they came
from everyone in the group. "Why is
it", they asked, "That we pray
profusely, yet the only time we
remove someone sick from our list
is when they pass away?" "Our
prayers seem to never be
answered," they said in chorus.
"What is the point of uttering
unanswered prayers?"
I responded by "talking the talk."
Every rabbi with even a smattering
of theological training knows all of
the stock answers to such questions. "God surely listens to our
prayers," I pontificated, "but sometimes says 'no!'"
The next morning, I found a handwritten note in the mail. It was from
a woman, a registered nurse in the
emergency room of the local
hospital, who had attended the
previous night's session.
She wrote, "I suggest a different
kind of answer that could have been
given to the questions that
inundated you last night. You
could've said that when we pray for
a sick person to recover, we do not
only pray for his or her total
recovery. We also pray that the
patient not suffer undue pain, that
the family be able to bear the travail
of witnessing the suffering of their
loved one, that the doctors be able
to
execute
their
procedures
effectively, and that, if so decreed,
the patient leave this world surrounded by family and at peace."
The lesson I learned was that when
we pray, we pray for an entire
constellation of events. Even if we
are not granted that the person we
pray for lives on, a lot of what we
pray for is granted.
In this week's Torah portion,
Parshat Va'etchanan, we read how
Moshe fervently prayed that he be
granted the privilege of entering the
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Promised Land. His prayer was
denied.
"Oh Lord... let me go over, I pray
Thee, and see the good land that is
beyond the Jordan... but G-d was
wroth with me... and hearkened not
unto me; and G-d said unto me:
'Speak no more unto me of this
matter.'" (D'varim 3:24-26)
After learning the lesson that the
good nurse told me, I began to
wonder whether indeed the prayer
of Moshe was not heard. True, his
major request, that he be permitted
to enter the Holy Land, was not
granted to him. But wasn't there so
much more that he might have
prayed for that was indeed
granted? His disciple Yehoshua
entered the land. His children, B'nei
Yisrael, entered the land. He was
buried in close proximity to the land.
He was permitted to at least see the
land. Could he not take comfort in
the fact that, although his major
goal was not achieved, so much
else was? This is a question that I
have been asking myself for many
years, whenever the Torah portion
of Va'etchanan comes around.
Recently, I discovered the answer
to that question. I had the very
rewarding, although poignantly
painful, experience of leading a
retreat for bereaved parents. They
came from a variety of backgrounds, and the circumstances of
the death of their children ranged
from terrorist murders to accidental
drownings to long-term illnesses.
They too were troubled by the
question of the efficacy of prayer.
They asked questions similar to
those asked by the women of the
Saturday night prayer group. "Why
were our prayers for our dear
children not heard by G-d?"
I thought that I was being helpful
when I shared with them the handwritten notes from the emergency
room nurse. I was wrong. They did
not find that note helpful at all. As
one bereaved mother in the group
told me, "I was praying for the most
important thing in the world - the life
snorkel
o©xp§ v©
of my poor baby. Can I take comfort
in the relatively trivial aspects of my
prayer? Can I be consoled by the
fact that he was killed instantly by
the terrorists bullet and suffered no
pain?"
I had to unlearn the lessons taught
to me so many years ago by that
nurse. I learned a new lesson. I
learned that when there is something that you value above all else,
you can tolerate no compromises.
Some goals are so important that
the achievement of lesser goals
means nothing.
This is how we can understand the
fact that Moshe was disconsolate
when his prayer was rejected. To
him, entry into the Holy Land was of
paramount importance. Not that he
sought to eat the fruits and gain the
material pleasures of the land
flowing with milk and honey. But
because he knew that he could
reach spiritual peaks in the land of
Israel that even he could never
attain outside the land.
He wanted to enter the Promised
Land. No lesser promises could
possibly have satisfied him.
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat
Nachamu. It celebrates the end of
the three weeks of mourning for the
Temple's destruction, and inaugurates the seven weeks of consolation. This week, besides reading the
Torah portion of Va'etchanan, we
also read from the 40th chapter of
the book of Yeshayahu, which
begins, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people..."
The message is clear. Many of our
prayers over the millennia have
been denied. Our history is replete
with unanswered prayers. It is
difficult to take consolation when we
have suffered so. But the message
of Yeshayahu is clear: There is a
time, and hopefully it is very near,
when even the pain of the unanswered prayer can be assuaged.
In the words of the historian Graetz,
as quoted in the Rabbi Joseph H.
Hertz commentary: "These words of
the prophets are like balm upon a
wound, or like a soft breath upon a
fevered brow."
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From Gold from the Land
Loving God with
All Your Might
Adapted from Ein Ayah vol. II, p. 328
You shall love HaShem your God
with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your might (D'varim 6:5).
What does it mean to love God
B'CHOL M'ODECHA, “with all your
might”? The Talmud offers two
explanations for this phrase.
Thankfulness Even in Misfortune
The first explanation is that, in every
situation (mida) that God places us,
we should sincerely thank (modeh)
Him. From here we learn that one
should recite a blessing over bad
news as well as good news. When
hearing about death, financial loss, or
other tragedies, we need to acknowledge that God is the true Judge.
How is it possible to thank God for
tragedy? And why is this a form of
loving God?
A self-centered individual will look at
all circumstances only in the context
of his own narrow interests. From
this viewpoint, good and bad are
measured purely by selfish criteria.
However, the individual who can
internalize the dictates of his intellect,
and who loves that which his mind
Suggested answers
1) The Ohr HaChayim explains that Moshe did
not simply pray to G-D for himself but he
also asked G-D not to follow through on his
punishment to the people who sinned with the
spies and to let them enter Israel as well.
Moshe's reason for wanting to enter Israel was
to be able to fulfill the commandments that
can only be fulfilled in Israel. To that request
G-D responded ENOUGH TO YOU, telling Moshe
that he had enough mitzvot in his lifetime
and did not need those additional ones in
Israel. Regarding his request for the rest of
the people, G-D simply rejected it outright,
telling Moshe not to CONTINUE SPEAKING TO
HIM ABOUT THIS because they sinned and this
was a just and deserving punishment.
2) Daat Zekainim MiBaalei HaTosfot teach that
these are not two separate commands. The
Torah is teaching not to add on to the commandments (LO TOSIFU) because this, in end,
will lead to people not observing the existing
commandments (V'LO TIGRI'U) because making
Torah too overbearing will ultimately turn
people away from the commandments.
3)The Kli Yakar answers that there are two
steps to the Jews sinning against G-D. One is
their ceasing to serve G-D and the second is
turning to other gods and beliefs. This leads
to two steps of punishment - G-D leaving the
Jewish people and then His giving great
success to our enemies. This is why we find
the prophets speaking about two sins - CHEIT
CHATA YERUSHALYIM - as well as two steps to
G-D comforting the people when exile comes
to an end - NACHAMU NACHAMU. We sinned
in these two steps, this leads to two steps of
punishment, and then when we return, it
happens in two steps.
tells him to love, will have a
drastically different outlook on good
and bad. Happiness and pleasure are
not limited to how events affect him
or his immediate surroundings. As a
result of his love of the Infinite, he
judges every situation, every circumstance, in terms of the klal - the
community, the nation, the universe,
all of creation, and beyond.
In the overall picture, evil does not
exist. What appears to be evil and
bad in a narrow outlook, will
ultimately result in greater good in
the broader view. If we live our lives
in accordance with this insight, we
will understand that while a certain
situation may be difficult on a
personal level, our private suffering
enables positive repercussions for the
klal.
With All Our Possessions
The Sages gave a second explanation
for “all your might”: to love God with
all of your money. We should serve
God with all of our possessions.
How does this relate to the first
explanation, that we should express
gratitude to God in all circumstances
of life?
An individual who chooses to reject
all material possessions, spurning
wealth and comfort in pursuit of an
ascetic lifestyle, is living an extremely
limited existence. He is incapable of
truly appreciating the value of life.
What is life worth when it is
restricted to poverty and hardship?
We can only attain a full measure of
love - for life, for the universe, and
for God - when we seek to live life to
its fullest, albeit in accordance with
God’s will. Life is expanded and
enriched through material possessions. Money and possessions are
called me’od (“very”), as they serve
to intensify the living experience. The
wise individual, living a full, intense
life, is deeply aware of the importance
of life. He recognizes the greatness of
the klal, and is willing to sacrifice his
life, out of love for God. The richness
of his life strengthens his dedication
to truth and justice, according to
what benefits the klal. His soul is full
of emotion and feeling, and he can
truly feel gratitude for all circumstances of life, whether or not they
are in his own personal best interest.
AVI FLAX
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"Why the Land was Destroyed (Nedarim 21a):
The Cycle of National Disasters [3] by Dr. Meir
Tamari
"And the fast of the 4th month
[Tammuz, counting from Nissan] and
the fast of the 5th month [Av] and the
fast of 7th [Tishrei] and the fast of the
10th month [Tevet] shall be for the
House of Judah joy and gladness and
cheerful feasts" (Zechariah 8:19). The
words of the prophet came to comfort
and strengthen the Jews who had
returned when Cyrus gave permission
to rebuild the Temple at the end of the
70 years of galut Bavel. Only a few of
the exiles in Bavel returned, mainly
the poor, those without yichus and
many were married to non-Jewish
women. Their small settlement was
indeed destined to be realized in the
glory of Bayit Sheini, but Zechariah
was prophesying even more. The four
fast days of national tragedy and
destruction would become festivals,
periods of national simcha and
rejoicing. This prophecy was not
aimed at fostering false messiahs or
merely to soothe an injured nation but
should be seen as telling of spiritual
and religious change that would
precede and cause this intrinsic
change in national destiny.
"Why are these months, Tammuz and
Av, months of national destruction
and how despite this are they destined
to be transformed into Mo'adim?
The human soul came down to make
all the parts of Adam HaRishon
spiritual and holy, in such a way that
even the mundane and material things
would be nourished and elevated by
Divine Holiness. Similarly, during the
first three months of the year,
spirituality and holiness came down to
the earth from on high; Nissan with
the revelation of miracles in this
material world, even in the tum'a of
Mitzrayim, Iyar with the heavenly
food of Manna, and Sivan when
Hashem descended to this material
world to give His Torah. Then during
Tammuz and Av, the earthy and
materialistic were supposed to be
transformed into the spiritual and
holy, reflecting that which came down
from Heaven.
However, we know that the sin of
Adam HaRishon who was created
from the soil, perverted the original
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purpose of creation so that his body
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TRAVEL DEAL •
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Due to popular demand, we
announce the next Holon tiyul:
Our Senses
In the Footsteps of
Prophets, Kings
and Pioneers
Wednesday, AUG 17th
from 8:00am to 5:30pm
with the extraordinary
teacher of guides
In the City of Holon
there are two amazing programs
which we shall experience:
Seeing with the Blind &
Hearing with the Deaf
It is difficult to describe in words
the great emotional effect your visits
to these unique programs will have
upon you!
"Dialogue in the Dark"
& "Invitation to Silence"
We will then explore the unique
Children’s Story Park:
the only park of its type in all of
Israel! Beautiful landscape, easy
walking, gorgeous sculptures
executed by famous Israeli artists,
which depict well-known children’s
stories. You will enjoy this special
park and will surely want to
photograph some of the works of
art which you will see.
Program subject to change
Limited to 40 people
175å members / 185å non-mem
Dr. Hagi Amitzur
Sunday, September 11
8:00am-7:00pm approx
We will start our day in Tel Israel
in the footsteps of Eliyahu and
Ahab. We will see the palace of
Ahab where he watched the
vineyard of Naboth. We will walk
in the footsteps of King Saul and
his soldiers camping here at the
spring the night before the battle
with the Philistines.
From here we will drive along the
Gilboa and descend towards the
springs in the Bet Shean Valley.
We will continue our day at
Gesher - the amazing story of the
first and only Hydroelectrical
power station in Israel. We will
follow the brave settlers who
settled in this arid barren land.
190å members • 200å non-mem
Call Naomi at the Travel Desk
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Call Naomi to register at the
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Shulamit’s tiyulim are always treats!
Come! You’ll enjoy her delicious sweets!
Shulamit’s Tiyulim are always treats!
Come you will enjoy her delicious sweets!!
could not reflect the holiness that
came down from Heaven. Such
reflection of holiness now required
suffering and death to enable the
holiness within him to ascend, but
only the neshama could ascend,
without his body. That same sin
perverted these months as well, so that
they were unable to transform the
material and could only release that
holiness which had descended from
Heaven through our tragedies and
suffering, while the material remained
with us.
fulfill our spiritual and moral mission
to the world. The nations will rejoice
in the knowledge that we have led
them to the way of G-d in a way that
they will be able accept and practice
for their moral and spiritual wellbeing and eternal peace. All will come
to see that G-d is the Creator of all the
natural forces that comprise the world
and operate within it He is the Judge,
Guide and Motivator of the efforts
and actions, triumphs and failures of
all human beings at all levels and of
all classes".
Galut Yisrael from its land is
analogous to the expulsion from Gan
Eden, and their return parallels
Adam's return there. In the future, the
sin of Adam will be corrected so that
holiness ascending to Heaven will
predominate. Now Tammuz belongs
to Re'uven according the order of the
encampment in the desert and Re'uven
is the symbol of transformation
through teshuva which gives Tammuz
the possibility of change. It is through
that possibility of change that the days
of national tragedy and suffering of
Tammuz and Av will be turned into
festivals" (Shem MiShmuel).
Both of these two teachers have a
great message for our thoughts on
Shabbat Nachamu.
Dr Tamari's new book "Truths Desired by God: An Excursion
Into the Weekly Haftarah"
is published by Gefen Publishers
Rabbi S. R. Hirsch in his introduction
to Yeshayahu conveys, albeit in
different clothing and language, the
same comforting idea of teshuva
cleansing and purifying, so that finally
redemption will come. "The prophet's
message of comfort is two-fold, part is
for Israel and part for the nations of
the world. We will return to our Land
cleansed by the exile and able to
OU Israel Center TT 966 n The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
OU Israel Center TT 966 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
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Shulamit's tiyulim are always a treat; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets!
A walking tour of Katamon
with our historical scholar tour guide
Gabriella Licsko
THU Sept. 8th • 4:00-6:00pm
KATAMON: An exclusive, beautiful
neigbourhood of Jerusalem. Peaceful
streets and many, many parks! Home of
Israelis and many Anglos. seculars,
traditionalists and various Orthodox
communities. Liberal Orthodox, Dati
Leumi, Carlebach, Breslov and Erlau
Chassidim. Learn about the history and
society of Katamon and hear about
famous residents!
Daven mincha in the famous Shtiebeleh
The shuls which always have a minyan
Why, learn about the secret!
Relax in the biggest park in Katamon
Erlau chassidic community: Katamon is
home of the Erlau yeshiva, shul and the
Erlauer rebbe, Grand Rabbi Yochanan
Sofer himself. Learn about Erlau
chassidut, a real mixture of chassidism
and old time Hungarian Orthodoxy.
Learn about how the Admor survived
the war! How descendants of the
Chatam Sofer chose to be chassidim
after WWII, and why the community
moved to Katamon
After 1948, many oldtime Yerushalmi
Breslovers moved to Katamon from the
Old City. Are they still living in the area?
Find out! See the Old Breslov Shul
NIS 25 mem / NIS 36 nonmem
Limited to 25 participants
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You Have Forgotten Us
I recently read opinions within an
exclusive Dati Leumi forum regarding
the fact that during the “Rikud
Degalim” (flag waving parade to the
Old City on Yom Yerushalayim), that
amongst the crowd, even though the
parade had been organized separately
per gender, it was noted that a small
contingency of Dati Leumi boys and
girls were hanging out together; and
that individuals within this crowd,
some of whom were couples, were
seen hugging.
There were those who expressed the
feeling that there was no need to
overreact at this phenomenon because
those engaged in such behavior were
really no longer a part of “our crowd”
(the Dati Leumi - Modern Orthodox
crowd); and that one needs to look at
the cup as half full, and that “our
crowd” is truly religious and of fine
quality.
I am not writing to express my
opinion on this incident. However, it
inspired me to take up my pen, and
touch upon a larger picture, which I
have wanted to articulate for quite
some time.
It is my understanding that it has been
unofficially decided to remove us
from the “crowd” amongst which we
grew up, so please let me introduce
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ourselves: We are the “Youth on the
Edge” - those who spend every
Thursday and Saturday nights on the
streets of downtown Jerusalem; those
whom you see hitchhiking up north as
you pass by and look upon with
disgust, or, if we are lucky enough, to
be seen with compassion. Yet, we also
studied together with you at the
yeshiva or seminary; we also grew up
with you in a settlement.
Have you ever thought about how it
may feel to walk into town and see
someone you considered a friend,
only to see that so-called friend does
not want to even look at you because
he is embarrassed to acknowledge
your association in front of the current
pals in his company? I am also tired
of the fact that when we get together
for Shabbat, if you actually ever invite
me, that you laugh as you tell me to
turn the lights on and off.
Instead of rejecting us, ignoring us,
and disassociating yourselves from us,
maybe you should try to understand
what we are going through. You may
know us as the regulars of the “Jewish
Tent” at Dugit on the Kinneret, and of
the Zula of Hezroni, [both OU Israel
sponsored programs] two of the most
amazing places on earth, but you do
not know our stories: one of us may
have lost his brother, another of us
may have parents who are going
through a divorce, and yet another one
of us has problems at home that one
cannot imagine. Meet more of us, and
learn that some of us felt that we got
lost in the crowd, or learn that some
hadn’t built up their self-esteem to
recognize what we could offer our
greater society. For those of us who
did not fit into a mold, who had
questions that could not be easily
satisfied (and not only questions
pertaining to faith), you did not know
how to answer. We are people who
were not afraid to find our own
solutions to our problems, even if it
meant taking drastic actions.
We are people with depth and
tremendous love of Hashem (in spite
of it all). It’s actually an amazing
experience to sit in the “Zula” and
hear a song whose entire meaning is
thanking Hashem. I was always taught
that the purpose of mitzvot, while to
structure our Jewish laws and
establish a distinct lifestyle, were also
means for an individual to become a
better person and to increase one’s
love of Hashem. In the latter regard, it
appears to me that the formerly
religious youth by far outscore the
number of traditional and “quality”
religious youth.
To tell the truth, I have pretty much
given up on the organizations and
educational systems of “our crowd”.
These institutions do not know how to
accept someone who is a bit different.
They do not know how to support us
during our struggles, aside from
offering overly-used cliches and
phrases that do not speak to us
anymore.
Nevertheless, I still hope that this
letter will cause a Rosh Yeshiva, Rosh
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Beautiful Country Setting, up to 60 ppl.
30 minutes from J'lem, on a moshav
across from Beit Shemesh
052-595-5073 • www.yishicountry.com
"Just minutes away... a world apart"
Ulpana and others, to be a little less
haughty, and to stop only wanting to
deal with the “cream of the crop” of
our society -- the most religious and
academically excelling students -- but
rather, that they should take interest in
a different type of student, and care
that each student is as important as the
next. We have other positive qualities
that you will not find in your “good”
students.
We are in need of more amazing
people like the staff of the “Zula” and
the “Jewish Tent”. Before you want to
bring a secular Jew from Tel Aviv
back to Yiddishkiet, don’t forget me,
someone who grew up with you. And
even if at times it appears that I am
not open or responsive, it is only out
of embarrassment or another hardship,
and if you push gently, it usually
works.
Do not forget us.
Clarification: I do not intend to speak
on behalf of anyone from the group of
teens I speak about; this is just my
personal view.
The above was translated from Hebrew and
originally appeared in the Letters to the Editor
column in OLAM KATAN - we print it with their
gracious permission.
www.rabbisholomgold.com
A website well worth visiting!
Over 700 audio shiurim for
listening online and/or
downloading for your mp3
player, cellphone, etc.
Many video shiur coming too.
And written articles as well.
Did we already say it is a
website well worth visiting?
www.rabbisholomgold.com
The confused Israeli went to Chispin
TTriddles
Prizes for best solution sets are furnished
by Noam Productions and/or Big Deal.
Rav Shefa mall, Jerusalem
Cassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs,
DVDs, videos
Lots of edu-tainment for you and your
children • Wide selection, good prices,
personal attention
www.jewish-music.co.il
Jerusalem (3 stores)
•15 Malchei Yisrael in Geula
•Rechov Lunz right off Ben Yehuda
Midrachov in the center of town
•Kanfei Nesharim 64
Ramat Beit Shemesh
•RBS Alef Shopping Center
Bnei Braq •Rabbi Akiva Street
Ra'anana •R' Achuza 110
Rishon L’Tziyon •Kenyon HaB’eir
Efrat 3 Netzach Yerushalayim
Last issue’s (D’varim) TTriddles:
[1] Look that mountain isn't far
away, it's
it’s near... or it’s SNIR. In Parshat
D’varim, after the mention of Mt.
Hermon, the Torah tells us that “the
Sidonians would refer to the Hermon as Sirion, and the Amorites
would call it S’nir.
[2] Bullet-water, dart-fire,
missle-earth, and ?
Bullet, dart, and missle are all projectiles. Water, fire, and earth are the
ancient basic elements - together
with AIR. So to complete this
TTriddle, we need another projectile
to go with AIR. How about
ARROW-AIR as in the placename
mentioned in D’varim 3:12 ARO-EIR which is by the Arnon
Brook.
[3] Nachum and Ovadya round
out the trio
The word CHAZON occurs 35 times
in Tanach, mostly as a word by itself
(CHET/KAMATZ),
meaning
a
prophetic vision. Occasionally, we
find the word with CHET/CHATAFPATACH which gives the word its
connective form, as in the vision of.
The prophets’ names come with
CHAZON before them: Nachum,
Ovadya, and Yeshayahu.
[4] Also Sh'mot twice,
Yeshayahu and Zecharia
The book and sedra of D’varim begin
with the words EILEH HAD’VARIM these are the things... We find that
phrase twice in the book of Sh’mot,
and once each in the books of
Yeshayahu and Zecharya. If we allow
for V’EILEH HAD’VARIM, we add
one more occurrence in Tanach, in
the book of Yirmiyahu. The lack of
the joining-VAV for D’varim is
noteworthy. Sh’mot, Vayikra, and
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Bamidbar all begin with VAVs, indicating their connection to the
previous books. D’varim is different;
it stands on its own, as indicated by
the opening EILEH HAD’VARIM.
[5] No'ach, P'kudei, Mas'ei,
D'varim
These are the sedras that begin with
the word EILEH. Which sedras start
with V’EILEH? To-l’dot, Sh’mot, and
(Ha)Mishpatim.
Tanach Tiyulim
052-422-8601• US 1-718-928-6597
[email protected]
DO NOT CALL THE TRAVEL DESK
Rabi Yehuda HaNasi
A Visit to Bet Shearim and Tzippori
Tuesday, August 23rd (full day)
This tiyul will spotlight the multifaceted, larger than life, career and
persona of the Rabi Yehuda HaNasi,
the editor of the Mishna.
Khirbet Qeiyafa*
Thursday, August 25th (half day)
Probably the most exciting and
important current archeological site in
Israel, this tiyul will examine the raging
controversy about the accuracy of the
Biblical narrative. We will visit the
town of Qeiyafa and also discuss and
analyze the text of the oldest Hebrew
document which was found there.
As we walk through the ancient
town/fortress, we will focus on the
special nature of the city which helps
identify it as a border fortress built in
the time of David HaMelech.
Chevron - Ir HaAvot
Monday, August 29th (full day)
We will explore the diverse history of
Chevron from the time of Avraham to
David, to King Chizkiyahu, the Park
Hotel and the challenges of modern
day Chevron.
Just as Shabbat Chazon can’t help be a
little sadder than a “regular” Shabbat,
ONE CONFUSED NUN
SHABBAT NACHAMU should be
for us noticeably happier than usual.
The Jerusalem Institute
of Jewish Law
Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean
Lesson # 569
The Obligation to
Save a Fellow Jew
Most of the lessons in this series are
about Jewish civil law as found in the
fourth part of the Shulhan Aruch,
Choshen Mishpat.
CHESED FUND
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help us help needy individuals
and families who turn to us.
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the "Chessed Fund" and send
them to
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att. M. Persoff
POB 37015 • Jerusalem 91370
or leave them at the front desk
Just a few lessons discussing the last
chapters of Choshen Mishpat - section
426, the next to last section is entitled
“The Obligation to Save a Fellow
Jew”. This based on the verse in
Vayikra: You shall not be a
gossipmonger among your people,
you shall not stand aside while your
fellow’s blood is shed - I am G-d. You
shall not hate your brother in your
heart; you shall reprove your fellow
and so not bear a sin against him.
You shall not take revenge and you
shall not bear a grudge against the
members of your people, you shall
love your neighbor as yourself - I am
G-d”.
If a Jew is in a position to help a
fellow Jew and fails to do so, he
transgresses this commandment. If
Reuven sees Shimon drowning in the
sea and Reuven is a good swimmer
and does not save Shimon, Reuven
has transgressed the prohibition not to
stand idly by while his brother’s blood
is being shed. The same holds true if
bandits who threaten Shimon’s life or
if Shimon is threatened by wild
animals and Reuven can save him but
fails to do so. Likewise, if Reuven
hears people plotting to do evil
against Shimon, planning to inform
the government against Shimon, or
laying a trap against him, and in all
these instances fails to help Shimon,
Reuven has transgressed the commandment. The same holds true if
Reuven sees Sarah about to be raped
or Shimon about to be killed and he
fails to save them Reuven has
transgressed the commandment.
A frequently overlooked part of this
commandment occurs when Reuven
fails to lend money to Shimon when
he is in dire need, and Reuven has the
ability to help Shimon. In some
instances, failing to lend the money
may be similar to shedding blood.
There is no flogging for transgressing
this commandment since it does not
involve an action and flogging is
generally reserved for those whose
transgression entails an action on their
part. Nevertheless this is a most
serious offense.
If one destroys the life of any Jew he
is regarded as if he has destroyed the
entire world, and if one preserves the
life of a single Jew it is as if he has
preserved the entire world. As it is
stated in a Mishna in Tractate
Sanhedrin 4:5 “If one has preserved a
single Jew it is as if he has preserved
the entire world.”
One can only speculate what the
reality would have been if Jews would
have cried out more loudly to save
Jews in the Holocaust.
A visitor must be escorted a safe
distance from his host’s house so that
he will find his way home safely.
Some of the later commentators hold
that with the advent of modern means
of transportation this law may entail
taking someone to his automobile,
train or bus station.
Apartment Management
Itzhak Kotler • also vacation rentals
(02) 586-1554 • 052-286-3877
See us at
www.jerusalem-management.com
Truma and Maasrot Guide
During the year while we are in our home neighborhoods we know which Hashgachot
we use and which fruit and vegetable stores we can shop at without having to worry
about whether they properly tithe their produce. However when we are on vacation
away from our usual abodes we are sometimes uncertain. We don’t always recognize
the Hashgachot at the local stores, and we don’t necessarily know if they have the same
standards as we are used to.
We might be fortunate enough to take a tiyul to a kibbutz and we might get lucky and
be able to pick fresh produce. While if we eat the produce while we are still in the fields
we don’t need to tithe them, if we wish to bring them home we will need to tithe them
in order to allow us to eat from them (once they are brought into our homes).
The following is meant as a guide for the purpose of quick reference for the
aforementioned situations and more. This guide has been reviewed by the OU Israel
Kashrut division.
1. All produce that grows in Israel is obligated in Truma and Maasrot - some Biblically
and some Rabbinically. Produce grown in Chutz LaAretz, if it was made into a final
product in Israel, sometimes may be obligated in tithes.
2. There are four sorts of tithes that must be separated from produce in order to allow it
to be eaten: Teruma Gedola, Maaser Rishon, Maaser Sheni during the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and
5th year of a Sh’mita cycle, and Maaser Ani during the 3rd and 6th year, and Terumat
Maaser (in all years other than Shmita) that must be separated from Maaser Rishon.
a. All the tithes need to be specified and one needs to articulate the part of the fruits
where they are.
b. There isn’t a required percentage of the
produce that must be removed for Truma
Gedola, but for the other tithes one must
remove at least a tenth. Terumas Maaser is
a tenth of Maaser Rishon.
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c. The rest of the produce that remains after all the tithes are removed is permissible to
eat (produce after being tithed is referred to as Chulin).
3. Both Teruma Gedola and Terumat Maaser can only be eaten by Kohanim Tehorim
(halachically pure), and only when the produce is also Tahor. Nowadays no one is in a
state of Tahara (Halachically pure) and we allow Truma Gedola and Terumat Maaser to
rot, or we dispose of them in a respectful way (such as burning them in a way that we
will not benefit from their being burned. Also one shouldn’t burn them in Keilim used
for cooking…).
a. If one is tithing oil that can be used for lighting purposes, the Truma Gedola and
Terumat Maaser is called Shemen Sreifa. A Kohen can use Shemen Sreifa for kindling
purposes in his home. This oil can also be used to light candles in a Shul as often there
are Kohanim that will benefit from the light in a Shul.
4. Once Terumat Maaser is removed from Maaser Rishon it (the Maaser Rishon)
becomes permitted for consumption by all. However, there is a positive commandment
(obligating us) to give it to a Levi (if it is Tevel - produce which is for sure obligated in
tithes and is being tithed for sure for the first time). Most produce that is being bought
from a store is at most a Safek Tevel (produce that there is merely a doubt as to whether
it was tithed or not), and therefore one does not need to give the Maaser Rishon to a
Levi.
5. When there is a Beit HaMikdash, one is obligated to bring their Maaser Sheni to
Yerushalayim, or alternatively to redeem the Maaser Sheni on a coin and then with that
coin buy food items in Yerushalayim, and then to eat the Maaser (or its substitute) in
Yerushalayim. Nowadays, without a Mikdash, one only has the option of redeeming the
Maaser Sheni on a coin. This is done as follows: take a metal coin (the coin must be
worth at least 1/40 of a gram of pure silver) and then we redeem the Maaser Sheni on
the coin. If the coin is worth more than 1/40 gram of pure silver than the coin is still
Bekdushat Maaser, but if there is enough left over for another (or more) 1/40 then it
may be used that many more times for Chilul Maaser Sheni. Until the coin has been
completely used up it should be kept in a place that it won’t be confused and
accidentally used for mundane purposes. If the Maaser that is being redeemed is worth
less than a Pruta (1/40 of a gram of pure silver) than one shouldn’t use just any coin,
but rather should use a Pruta Chamura (a coin that has already been designated for
redeeming Maasrot by having had Maasrot previously redeemed on it) those who don’t
have a Pruta Chamura may use the OU Kashrut division’s Pruta Chamura. After the
Pruta has been filled with redeemed Maaser, the coin must be destroyed in some way.
After the Maaser Sheni has been redeemed it is then permissible to eat.
6. Maaser Ani doesn’t have any Kedusha. It may be eaten by anyone, but there is a
Mitzva to give it to a poor person. Maaser Ani from Safek Maaser (like most bought
fruits) does not need to be given to an Ani.
Instructions:
Remove a piece of the produce for Truma and another piece = to 1% of the total
produce being tithed to be used for Terumat Maaser. These portions will remain
forbidden to eat. Therefore they will need to be allowed to rot or to be disposed of in a
respectful manner. After one does this and recites the following the rest of the produce
will be Chulin:
(Note: one should be extra careful that the produce and the parts that were separated
should be kept stationary and should not move while reciting the formula as the formula
refers to specific parts by place reference. Therefore one should be extra careful when
tithing liquids.)
“The amount in the northernmost part of the separated portion which is greater than 1%
of the total amount of the produce shall be Teruma Gedola.
— “The remaining part of the separated portion, plus an additional 9% on the
northernmost side of the produce shall be Maaser Rishon.
— “The part of the separated portion that was previously designated Maaser Rishon
shall be Terumat Maaser.
— “10% of the remaining produce in the southern side shall be either Maaser Sheni or
Maaser Ani, in accordance. With the year of the Shmita cycle during which the produce
was grown.
— “If the 10% on the southern side is Maaser Sheni, it should be redeemed by
transferring its Kedusha calculated at its value [plus 25% (if both produce and coin
belong to the one reciting this formula)], to the coin.
— “If the produce is neta Revai, it should be redeemed by transferring its Kedusha
calculated at its value [plus 25% (if both the produce and coin belongs to him)], to the
coin.”
Alternatively, if one has difficulty with the full text or it is not available, this simplified
text may be recited:
“All separations of Terumah and maaser and redemptions of Maaser Sheni and neta
Revai shall be effected in accordance with the text printed in the Israeli Siddurim.”
Please note: One may not remove Trumot and Maasrot on Shabbat. Items that were not
properly tithed before Shabbat may not be eaten until they are tithed after Shabbat!
Please note: if there is any doubt (in Eretz Yisrael) about the produce maybe being Orla
(produce form the first three years of a tree) then the produce should not be eaten until
it has been verified that it is not Orla.
ParshaPix
explanations
• The plus and minus in a negation
circle is for the prohibition of
adding to the Torah or detracting
from it.
www.OUradio.org
www.israelnationalradio.com
and
in their "live stream" from THU 8:00pm,
and then available "on demand"
Listen and/or download from www.ttidbits.com from THU late afternoon
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Join the Lazarus’ in conjunction with Tour Plus • Special rates for early
registration till August 22nd • Register early and avoid being disappointed
Please call Aviva for more details about the English Program - 052 287 4242
• Again, the Torah tells us of the
mitzva to designate cities of refuge 3 on the east side of the Jordan
(and 3 on the west side).
• The LUCHOT in the TORAH on
the mountain stands for the
repetition of the Aseret HaDibrot
(with differences) and reminds us
that the whole Torah was given by
G-d at Sinai, not just the Big Ten.
• Mezuza is one of the mitzvot from
Va'etchanan, from the first parsha of
the SH'MA. [The first two parshiyot
of Sh'ma are in a Mezuza and the
mitzva of Mezuza is in each of those
parshiyot.
• Shabbat candlesticks represent
SHAMOR and ZACHOR. They are
contained B'DIBUR ECHAD, in one
speech-bubble.
• The hearing ear represents SH'MA,
not just the famous one, but the
many times the Torah commands us
to listen (and understand - this is an
important aspect of SH'MA).
• The
warning
lights
represent
Moshe's
warnings to
us to remain
faithful
to
CAFÉ
HaShem and
not to be
confused by
what
we
witnessed but
cannot totally Café and in-house
comprehend.
catering are under
• The
big the supervision of
number one
u-Israel Mehadrin
is
for
HaShem
Sun-Thu
Echad, as well 10:00-15:00
as the other
pasuk
that plus... Catering for all
occasions on and off the
emphasizes
premises by
G-d's Unity,
Schocketino
4:35, ...there
Catering
is
none
besides Him. And... selection of
beautiful platters
• The
(cheese, fruit,
reminder-fing
vegetables, pastry)
er is for the
command to Call Chaim:
never forget 052-855-1538
Israel Center
Sandwiches, snacks,
soups, salads,
ice cream, drinks...
•
•
•
•
•
the Sinai experience and to pass on
the memory to future generations.
The Seder plate is for the
Chacham's question and the answer
of We were slaves to Par'o in
Egypt... both of which are found in
Va'etchanan.
The Simchat Torah scene is for the
pasuk ATA HOR-EITA LADA'AT...
which is associated with Simchat
Torah (for Nusach Ashkenaz
daveners; in Nusach S'fard, the
pasuk is said on all Shabbatot and
Chagim).
The speaker and an Xed out video
monitor: On that great day of
Revelation at Sinai, we HEARD
what was said, but we did NOT SEE
any image. This is mentioned more
than once, and is a reason for
Moshe's deep concern and warnings
to the people.
The (clock) face in the face is for
the term PANIM BIFANIM, the
description of the direct, intimate
communication of G-d to the
people of Israel.
The space telescope is for
Yeshayahu's words at the end of the
Haftara: Lift your eyes heavenward
and see Who created these... This
serves as positive motivation for
our study of nature...
• The pen is for the 5 PENs in the
sedra and another two U'FENs. Not
so remarkable, but they are
associated with the remember don't forget things that Moshe talks
about. Hence, the PEN near the
reminder string on the finger image
in the ParshaPix.
• Grasshopper. K'CHAGAVIM, like
grasshoppers, appears only twice in
Tanach. Back in Parshat Shlach, the
Meraglim told the people about the
giants in the land, "we felt like
grasshoppers (compared with them)
and so were we in their eyes".
Commentaries point critically to
this statement. The other place the
word appears is Yeshayahu 40 - the
haftara of Va'etchanan - Nachamu.
In that context, the inhabitants of
Earth are called grasshoppers in
perspective of the "One Who sits
above the circle of the earth".
• Extended pinky is for V'ZOT
HATORAH... said when the Torah
is lifted at the conclusion of each
Torah reading. The words are from
Va'etchanan.
• The palm is for the way Ashkenazim
cover their eyes for the first pasuk
of Sh'ma.
• The three fingers form the letter
SHIN and is the way S'faradim cover
their eyes for Sh'ma. The
three-fingered SHIN on their
forehead and the pinky and thumb
tips in the corner of each eye. [The
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Note: In the haftara of Nachamu,
Yeshayahu 40:4, the second word is
pronounced like GET without the T.
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which needs constant monitoring and care. She
desperately needs money for the most basic living
expenses and medical expenses. We beseech you to
open your heart and help her generously.
Please send your tzedaka to
Rebbitzen Michal Retman, 64 Shaulson St. Har Nof
May you be blessed with much bracha & good health
Endorsed by Rav Sheinberg, Rav Gans, Rav Yaacov Hillel, Rav E. Barclay
names of the five fingers "involved"
in reciting the first pasuk of SH'MA
are BOHEN, ETZBA, AMA, K'MITZA and ZERET. Numerically, they
add up to 1118, the gimatriya of
that very same SH'MA pasuk. BTW,
T'hilim 20:10 is a gimatriya twin HASHEM HOSEA HAMELECH
YAANEINU V'YOM KOREINU
• Towards the upper-right corner,
with the hands, is a grain of OAT,
representing the T'filin, which are/is
an OT which we bind upon our
arms. Or Shabbat, which we learn
elsewhere is an OT between G-d
and B'nei Yisrael.
• Three works of Edgar Allan Poe are
represented in the ParshaPix: The
Raven, The Black Cat, and The Pit
and the Pendulum. All representing
the word PO. PO - meaning here is not a rare word in the Torah, but
its two occurrences in Va'etchanan
are significant. First, that the
covenant between G-d and the
Jewish People is not just with our
ancestors, but with those who are
HERE (PO) TODAY. That includes
us. The other PO refers to the fact
that Moshe remained with G-d PO
31°48' N • 35°9' E
Har HaBayit Tour (FREE)
with Nachman
Kupietzky
THU, AUG 23rd • 8:00am
(02) 561-1347 or 052-286-1829
Consult a Rav with Har HaBayit experience
for halachic details of Mikve and other issues
(on Sinai) to be taught all of Torah.
• The compass directions are
numbered in the order in which
they occur in the pasuk. It's a
different order from other p'sukim
elsewhere.
• The building in the lower-right is
LEV YERUSHALAYIM - its name
comes from the haftara.
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please contact:
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Rosh HaShana Wishes
from you to your family and
friends via Torah Tidbits
We are planning to include
Rosh HaShana greetings in our
pre-Rosh HaShana issue
of Torah Tidbits
For a 50å donation
(60å for non-members)
you can have your name(s) included
in the special Rosh HaShana pullout
section which will IY"H be in
TT#972, a Trippple issue covering
Nitzavim-Vayeilech, Rosh HaShana,
and Shabbat Shuva - Haazinu.
Call 560-9125 or email [email protected] or
leave your request at the front desk.
Deadline: Thursday, Sept. 15th
The Puah Institute
Advanced Maternal Age
Only Jerusalem has a folley
We have already mentioned before that
one of the reasons that cases of
infertility are on the rise is due to
increased maternal age. The age of
marriage is rising in the Western world,
in the 1950s and 1960s the average age
for a first marriage in the US was less
than 23 years old for men and just over
20 for woman. In 2010 that age has
www.jerusalemfolley.com
The sedra for wise people
An
ey
n have a
a
c
y
tr o
it
c
ll
y
increased so that for a man the average
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The
Saudi Arabian
connection
to "red eyed
from wine and
white toothed
from milk"
•
Luchot, Avot,
Shabbat,
and Adam's wife
is now over 28
and over 26 for a
woman.
While
these
numbers do not
appear to be all
that
significant
they are average
ages and many
couples
are
entering a first
marriage at a
much
more
Join us once again for a
beautiful and inspiring Tefillah
on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
advanced age. In addition, when we
add the increase in divorces and
therefore the higher age of 2nd and 3rd
marriages it becomes clear just how
maternal age is an important factor.
We are often asked what is the oldest
that a woman can still have children?
Of course, today, with the incredible
advances in reproductive technology
there is almost no upper limit on
maternity and woman can avail
themselves of medical assistance and
have children well beyond their normal
UPCOMING...
Note: change of date
The minyan is being coordinated
by Yedid Nefesh - under the leadership of
Rabbi Hillel & Neima Novetsky
- in cooperation with the OU and will be held
at the OU Israel Center, 22 Keren HaYesod.
Dr. Viktor Frankl's meaning-centered
therapy: Tools for self-healing and
therapeutic interventions
The comfortable facilities include plenty of
room for children and air conditioning.
TUE, August 23rd • 17:00-20:00
Kiddush on RH and light refreshments
after YK will be provided.
RH only: 90å • YK only: 80å
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur: 150å
Seats can be reserved by making out a check
to: Kehillat Yedid Nefesh and send it to:
Malky Wormser 16a Sokolov, J'lem 92144
IMPORTANT: Please do not leave your
payment at the front desk of the OU.
For questions please contact by email at:
[email protected]
or by phone at 02-5632558
May it be a year of blessngs for all of Am Yisrael!
by: Dr Teria Shantall
with assistance of training staff
Registration as a client for the
demonstration in advance only:
[email protected]
or 054-4-541-481
biological capacity. When we utilize
In-depth Tours in Jerusalem
and around Israel
with expert tour guide
Asher Altshul
Rabbi, Archaeologist, and Educator
052-232-3219
[email protected]
www.asheraltshul.com
Think you have seen it all before? Think again!
treatments such as egg donation then
women can continue to give birth
almost their entire lives. Every so often
the scientific or popular media report a
case of "the oldest mother" with
women over 70 claiming to be the
lucky woman to hold this title.
However it is clear that these are cases
of egg donation.
When dealing with conception using a
women's own eggs there are several
factors that impact her ability to get
pregnant. A woman who gives birth at
a younger age and continues to give
birth may well be able to extend her
fertility. Historically there have been
reports of such women giving birth into
their fifties naturally, before the onset
of fertility treatments and egg donation.
However this is not really the norm.
Usually the most fertile years are up to
the age of 35, however this does
definitely not mean that a woman
cannot have her own children after this
age, only that fertility decreases and
therefore it is always advisable where
possible to get pregnant earlier than
later. But most women are fertile well
into their forties.
However it is important to note that
there are factors which are relevant to
advanced maternal age, the most
significant of these being an increase in
chromosomal abnormalities.
More on this next week
ArtScroll Series • Mesorah Publications Ltd.
A righteous man and his son Yishmael
WISDOM & WIT
by
Shmuel Himelstein
R' Menachem Mendel of Kotzk
said: Not only is a person who
hates others considered to be an
evil person, but the same is true of
a person who hates himself.
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essential Hebrew word processor...
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The Yair Landau Memorial Library
Book Library
The OU Israel Center Library has
recently been fortunate to receive quite
a few prized donations of Seforim. As a
group who work and volunteer in the
library, we are pleased to allow our
faithful borrowers - and want to
encourage new patrons - to come in,
browse, borrow, and enjoy what this
library has to offer for loan. So what did
we receive? One incomplete set of the
Schottenstein Talmud Bavli in Hebrew
and English and a set of the Steinsaltz
books of the Talmud in English. Among
other donations worth mentioning are
several intriguing children’s books in
English and Hebrew. The library staff is
extremely grateful to the donors for
these gifts.
Tape library
As always this library is brimming over
with Torah tapes for you to listen to,
borrow, enjoy, and to learn from. Please
avail yourselves of this wonderful asset
to the library.
Music library
Yes, this is also an active part of the OU
Israel Center Library with discs for loan
for your enjoyment. So what do we
have? Classical, modern Jewish melodies,
groups singing away their charming
Zemirot for Shabbat, and much more.
Volunteers!
We have a dedicated group who come
in, do the paper work such as checking
in the books, placing the books back on
the shelves, keeping the library neat and
orderly, put information of the inventory
on the computer, and much more. To
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage A 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
each and every one of you the librarian
and his volunteer assistant say Todah
Rabba.
Now we need more volunteers, Baruch
Hashem! Please come in and talk to
either Yakov Rosen, the librarian, or his
volunteer assistant, Verna Black about
giving us some of your time.
A special Todah Rabbah to Aviva
Spiegelman who willingly took on the
task of “librarian ketana” in the Beit
Midrash on the lobby floor. Aviva is
keeping the siddurim and the chumashim
in an orderly manner so that you, the
davener, can say your tefilot, listen to
Kri'at HaTorah and feel good when you
leave the shul after mincha.
Video library
Mark Pollack and our esteemed
volunteer Rennie Levine keep you, me,
and the audiences entertained by setting
up the videos every week. Mark is the
brains behind the videos and Rennie is
the person who gracefully sees that the
correct one is inserted into the video
player. There are very serious lectures
on video, comical movies for enjoyment,
and sometimes a tear jerker for each
and everyone who comes in on
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays at
12:30pm (with lunch, if you choose) to
watch for free and to be informed.
Thank you Torah Tidbits readers for taking
the time to read about our valuable
resources in the library. May we merit the
coming of Mashiach in our Days.
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage B 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
Parshat Va'etchanan
from OzTorah
To Know is to Believe
Every Jewish thinker had issues with
Jewish belief. The way that most
people understand Maimonides - or
think they do - he seems like an
exception. The credo “I believe with
perfect faith” makes Maimonides a
firm believer in belief. The problem is
that it was not Maimonides who said
these words: they were attached to
his list of thirteen principles probably centuries afterwards - by a
later author. Maimonides himself did
not speak about belief as much as
knowledge.
When Maimonides analyses the Ten
Commandments he does not interpret Commandment Number One (“I
am the Lord your God”) as “Believe!”
but “Know!” His view is that when
you know what God has done for
Israel and mankind, your knowledge
leads to belief - and even if it doesn’t,
and you never become a believer, at
least you have the knowledge. Jewish
tradition always feared the ignoramus
(the am ha’aretz) more than the
heretic (the apikoros). Use your mind
to learn and ponder the events of
history, the teaching of the great
personalities of the ages, the contents
of the classical and modern works of
wisdom, and gain the knowledge that
tells you who you are and who God
is, and that is beyond belief in
importance.
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage C 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
This thought explains why in the
sequence of Creation, man came last.
He arrived on the scene after a series
of grand moments of Divine achievement, which provided him with
enough material to stimulate his mind
to think about the world and to
recognise the greatness of the
Creator.
Q. Is a m’zuza needed on a caravan, a
market stall or a prison cell?
A. The Sh’ma requires a m’zuza “on
the doorposts of your house and on
your gates”. The criterion is whether
a particular place is a dira - a dwelling.
If the area is about 8 square feet and
one eats there, it needs a m’zuza.
Thus a car does not need a m’zuza
but a caravan does. A temporary
market stall does not need one (even
if you eat there) but a permanent
shop or office does (Yoreh De’ah
286). Rabbi Chayim Yosef David
Azulay says on Yoreh De’ah 286 that
a prison cell needs a m’zuza if the
inmate has been sentenced to a
longish term, but not if it is only for a
few days. Obviously no-one regards
prison as a permanent dwelling!
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage D 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
966
The Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults and
OU Israel's Project YEDID are the educational components of the
Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center
and include the classes & lectures of the OU Israel Center
Rabbi Sholom Gold, Dean • Phil Chernofsky, Educational director
"Regular" classes & lectures - 25å members, 30å non-members, 5å maintenance
fee for life members. Special rates for mornings with two or more shiurim:
40nis members, 50nis non-members. 10nis for life members.
No one will be turned away for inability to pay.
Yearly membership 360NIS couple, 275NIS single. Life membership, call us.
Programs of the Center are partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel
Yom R'vi'i • 10 Av • WED August 10th
9:20am
Rabbi Macy Gordon - Contemporary Halachic Issues
9:45am
Parshat Va'etchanan with Reuven Wolfeld
10:45am
Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki
Exploring Israeli culture, history and society
"Let's surf on the map... of Israel" The four holy cities (part 3):
12:00pm WED, Aug. 10 •
Jerusalem of gold - the eternal city
Interactive lectures with Gabriella Licsko
12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents...
VIDEO in the LIBRARY Pearl
Borow "Discovering the Woman of Valor"
1:30pm
TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch
Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch
XXX
Women's Beit Midrash - Pearl Borow
12:45pm
050-7671-722
RESUMES IY"H AUGUST 17th
7:30pm
Rabbi Chaim Eisen's shiur
Does the Torah determine what Morality is - or do
we? Religious Belief vs. human responsibility
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage E 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
Yom Chamishi • 11 Menachem Av • THU August 11th
Less Pain, Stand Straight, Tone Posture Muscles and More
Posture/Balance Exercise Class for Women Thu, 9:00-10:00am
DR TOVA GOLDFINE Chiropractor/Rehabilitation
FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND EXERCISE FITNESS LEVEL
Contact Dr Tova 052-420-1201 [email protected]
10:30am (to 12:30) Midrash
1:30pm
HaShavua - Dr. Hayim Abramson
Knitting / Verna black, Crocheting / Dvora Zippor - library
Thursday, August 11th • 8:00pm
Root and Branch Association, Ltd.
"Torah Codes: New Developments" by Professor Eliyahu Rips
http://www.ma.huji.ac.il/rips/ • Info: http://lowellgallin.com
Yom Shishi • 12 Menachem Av • FRI August 12th
Kollel Yom Shishi HaRav Eliav Silverman
8:30am
(to 9:45am)
9:00am
"Not your typical Parsha Shiur"
Summer series with Rabbi Chaim Eisen
Insights into Parshat HaShavua - each session stands on its own.
11:00am
RCA Daf Yomi
SHABBATON NACHAMU
People in walking distance are invited to join
the Shabbaton participants for davening and shiurim
5:50pm
Mincha (before PLAG, which is 6:03pm)
6:15pm
Kabbalat Shabbat & Maariv ("early")
9:00pm
"Cheit HaEigel: What would you have done?"
Shiur by Rabbi Neil Winkler
Oneg Shabbat
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage F 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
Shabbat Parshat Va'etchanan, Nachamu • August 13th
8:00am
Shacharit, etc.
Drasha by Rabbi Winkler
11:30am (estimated) Shiur by
Rabbi Neil Winkler
The Mitzva of Magid
3:00pm
(estimated) Parsha,
Mitzvot, & Perek with Phil
5:00pm
Shiur by Rabbi Neil Winkler
Comprehending the Incomprehensible
This shiur is p"rl
Mrs Hulda Katz Hoch d"r ikcxn lèny za dpiiy dpg
on her first yartzeit, a` mgpn h"i
Dedicated by her daughter, Shoshana Ehrenfeld
6:00pm
Mincha
7:55pm
Maariv & Havdala
Motza'ei Shabbat Nachamu, August 13th • 9:30pm
HOWIE KAHN's
Annual Sing-along
featuring Jewish Music of the 60s and 70s
including SHLOMO CARLEBACH
plus a Salute to Summer of 2011 Concert
favorites BOB DYLAN and PAUL SIMON
"A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
40å members • 45å non-members • Shabbaton Participants 30å
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage G 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
Please note: The previously announced
program with Yemima Mizrachi for
Motza"Sh Nachamu has been canceled
Sun-Thu in the Ganchrow Beis Medrash (first floor)
10:00am
SUN/TUE/THU Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld - Brachot - 4th perek
11:15am
RCA Daf Yomi by Rotation (and Fri. at 11:00am)
in tribute to Rabbi Yitzchak Botwinick l"f
1:20pm
TUE, WED
3:15pm
XXX
Mincha
(this time stays the same throughout the year)
Rabbi Chaim Sendic's shiur:
We will learn about money matters that are relevant to everyday life
Topics prepared by Machon Tzurba MeRabanan, commited to making the
study of practical halacha available to everyone. www.tzurba.org
Gemara Kesuvos with Rabbi Hillel Ruvell
in recess until Elul
Yom Rishon 14 Menachem Av • SUN August 14th
New on Sunday mornings...
What does Torah Judaism say about...
This week, August 14th • 10:00am (regular fees, for men & women)
AMIRA L'ACUM - The "Shabbos Goy"
with Rabbi
Aharon Ziegler
Next week, August 21st • Bishul Yisrael and Bishul Acum
12:30pm
Life: A fantastic adventure - Alan Romm
12:00pm
Hebrew for Beginners
10å per session
Learn to read and converse in Hebrew and feel more comfortable
when you daven. Given by
Haya Graus
Interested in a BEGINNERS' class, call 560-9125
XXX
Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher resumes next week (Aug 21)
OU Israel Center TT 966 n BackPage H 1 The Va’etchanan-Nachamu 5771 issue
More Sunday...
XXX
Pri Chadash Women's Writing Workshop (2 hrs)
Contact: Ruth Fogelman (628-7359) and Judy Caspi (054-569-0410)
Resumes IY"H next week, August 21st
7:30pm
Rabbi Chaim Eisen - Torat Eretz Yisrael:
Am Yisrael & Eretz Yisrael in Jewish Law and Thought
Sunday, August 14th • 8:00pm
Off The Wall Comedy Basement...
David Kilimnick:
Jerusalem's Comedian Tu BAv Comedy Special
'Jewish Singles' from The Find Me A Wife Show • The show about
Jewish Single Life You Do Not Want TO MISS. It is Erev TU b'Av, the
Holiday of love. Celebrate it with Jerusalem's most wellknown single
man, David Kilimnick. In his one-man Standup show, dedicated to the
single community, David Kilimnick (the creator and performer of
The Aliyah Monologues, as seen on JDate, Dosidate and
Muslimmatrimonial.com) approaches the issues of the single
man/woman in this society known as Jerusalem and Katamon.
The community, the "shidduch crisis," and why there is no naches.
Sure to walk away entertained, enlightened...
or with David... even happily married people are invited!
Entrance: 40nis (30nis member of the OU Israel Center)
Location in Jerusalem : OU Israel Center22 Keren HaYesod
Reservations: 050-875-5688 • www.israelcomedy.com
No charge for these shiurim...
7:30pm HaRav Mordechai Machlis on the book of MISHLEI
8:30pm HaRav Joseph C. Klausner/Yedidyahu - "Let's dance on the town"
Shiur on Shmuel Bet and TU b'Av eve "Festivity in the Mikdash:
Special concerts for all - Am Yisrael is active
Yom Sheini • 15 Menachem Av (TU b'Av) • MON August 15
N'SHEI LIBRARY: CLOSED. Will reopen IY"H September 5th
MOMMY & BABY MUSIC CLASSES with Jackie
will resume IY"H in September. Call Jackie to register: 999-5524 / 054-533-9305
9:15am
EXCURSIONS IN THE BOOK OF YESHAYAHU
with
10:30am
Pearl Borow
"Understanding the Chumrah-ization of the
Jewish World" - What is a Chumrah? When is it
appropriate to be strict and lenient? Are Chumrot
personal or communal?
Guest speaker: Rabbi Shimshon Nadel
11:30am August 15th "Who's
who and what's what?"
Israeli orthodox Communities: TU b'Av special
Various israeli orthodox communities (from Meah Shearim to
modern Orthodox) connection and ideas about love, shidduchim,
marriage, gender separation and gender mixing
Interactive lecture with pictures - Gabriella
Licsko
VIDEO in the LIBRARY: “Tonight With Shimon Dzigan”
More comedy sketches from the artist considered by many to be one of the
greatest Yiddish comedians of all time. Hilarious bits and skits! Come and
have a laugh! (English subtitles - 1 hr)
Women's Beit Midrash
2:00pm
8:00pm
AUG 15
The world of Jewish Women in Tanach and Beyond - Pearl Borow
A solution for a global crisis - in your backyard
Waste management is a global challenge... With a few simple
steps, we can reduce the amount of garbage our households
create, by about 40%... Disposing our organic leftovers in a
compost heap... Think global and act local
Elisheva Cohen Fried [email protected]
David Bernstein [email protected]
MASK - J'lem Chapter at the Israel Center • maskjerusalem.cjb.net • 050-754-2717
NEXT MEETING: Monday,
August 15th, 7:30-9:30pm with Dr. Judy Belsky
Yom Sh'lishi • 16 Menachem Av • TUE August 16th
The Israel Center and the Old City Free Loan Association
21st year • well over 5500 loans granted
Gemach - Free Loan Society
to provide interest-free loans for people in financial distress (living in the Jerusalem area).
Interviews at the Center on Tuesdays from 10:00-12:00 and 19:00-20:30 • Please bring ID
9:00am
10:15am
Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld
Rabbi Elan Adler on Parshat HaShavua
Watch for announcements of Rabbi Adler's and Rabbi Gold's return)
XX
Esther Sutton Resumes in IY"H Elul
11:30am
Special Lecture on Modern Jewish History:
"The Appeal of Emancipation"
First of a new series by Dr.
Deborah Polster
VIDEO in the LIBRARY:
“A Life Apart: Hasidism in America” - Vivid, insightful
documentary on the birth and life of the Hasidic community in the United
States. An excellent, very popular film. (1 hr 40 mins)
Tuesday, August 16th, 8:00pm
Root and Branch Association Lecture
"Tahrir Square: Egyptian Revolution and Gathering Global Jihad"
by Aaron Braunstein
Former U.S. Foreign Service Officer stationed in Egypt
www.covenantalliance.org
XXX
Rabbi Yonatan Kolatch
Watch for announcemnet of his shiur's return
Yom R'vi'i • 17 Menachem Av • WED August 17th
XXX
Rabbi Macy Gordon will resume IY"H on August 31st
9:45am
Parshat Eikev with Reuven Wolfeld
10:45am
Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki
Exploring Israeli culture, history and society
"Let's surf on the map... of Israel" The four holy cities (part 4):
"Floating in the air" in the city of kabbalists, chassidim, spiritual
seekers and artists. Welcome to Tzfat
12:00pm WED, Aug. 17 •
Interactive lectures with Gabriella Licsko
VIDEO in the LIBRARY - "Motke Ganif" (“Motke the Thief”)
Yiddish Theater - A new interpretation of Shalom Asch’s brilliant
sociological and psychological study of a thief. (No subtitles - 1¼ hrs)
1:30pm
TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch
Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch
2:15pm
Women's Beit Midrash - Pearl Borow
12:45pm
050-7671-722
First hour: the Haftorot; Second hour on Chumash with Rashi
7:30pm
Rabbi Chaim Eisen's shiur
Does the Torah determine what Morality is - or do
we? Religious Belief vs. human responsibility
8:00pm
How to mobilize US Congressional and Canadian Parliamentary
support for reform of UNRWA, so that UNRWA will no longer advocate
"right of return" for descendants of Palestinian refugees and instead adapt
UNHCR policies that resettle refugees. Followed by a new movie:
PALESTINIAN REFUGEE POLICIES: FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE,
filmed on location in the UNRWA camps in Judea and Samaria and at the
UNHCR facilities for Palestinian refugees in Chile.
Presenter: Filmaker David Bedein, www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com
See earlier schedule pages for Thursday and Friday schedule

8:04 - Torah Tidbits

Transcription

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