MOSAIC EXPRESS TORAH PORTION KI TAVO AVOT CHAPTER כי תבוא

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1 MOSAIC EXPRESS TORAH PORTION KI TAVO AVOT CHAPTER כי תבוא Candle Lighting 7:31 pm Shabbat Ends 8:33 pm Friday August 23, 2013 Elul 17, 5773 MTC FRIDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE Mincha. 7:20 pm Candle Lighting... 7:31 pm Kabbalat Shabbat.. 7:50 pm For weekly schedule visitwww.themtc.com MTC Graciously Acknowledges This Week s Sponsors of the Day R Shaya & Tuky Treitel in honour of the Yartzeit of Golda Gestetner, Elul 19 To become a sponsor of the day, please contact ext 223 SHABBAT DAY SCHEDULE SERVICES Shacharit... 9:30am Children s Program :30am Kiddush :30pm Mincha/Shalosh Seudos...7:30pm Maariv...8:30pm TORAH READING Parshat Ki Tavo....Page 988 Haftorah Page 1241 CLASSES Men s Class :30pm EVENING DAVENING SCHEDULE For the week of Aug Sunday - Mincha/Maariv...7:30pm Monday -Thursday Maariv.8:30pm Yasher Koach to our Kiddush co-sponsors! MTC is pleased to announce a Sefardi Minyan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur The services will be directed by Rabbi Maimon Pinto, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Beth Yossef. MEMBERSHIP & HIGH HOLIDAY SEATS Reserve your seats. Confirm them. Call vm@themtc.com MTC wishes a hearty Mazal Tov to Diament & Vishedsky families on the marriage of Arele and Chasya Suss & Yane families on the marriage of Leslie and Eitan Minkowitz & Kaplan families on the marriage of Shneur Zalman and Mushka LULAV & ETROG $65 per set To purchase a set, please contact Velvel before Friday September 13 vm@themtc.com x221 Only orders with payment will be accepted. Last week David & Marla Applebaum Stewart & Chana Diament Perry Caplan Sara Eldor Evan & Osnat Feldman (x2) Levi & Gail Greenberg Charlie & Ruth Harroch Daniel & Mindy Harroch Gerald & Frances Kessner Rabbi Yossi & Chanie Shemtov Julius & Terry Suss Kiddush co-sponsorship is $136 THE POWER OF PRAYER On Rosh Hashana we read in the Haftorah about the birth of the prophet Samuel. Childless for many years, one year on Rosh Hashana, his mother Chana offered a prayer that elicited the Divine blessing resulting in his birth. The Talmud states that Chana's prayer is the model which all prayer ought emulate. This class will explain how to access the awesome power of prayer any time and especially on Rosh Hashana. Montreal Torah Center Bais Menachem Chabad Lubavitch Joanne and Jonathan Gurman Community Center Lou Adler Shul 28 Cleve Road, Hampstead Quebec H3X 1A Fax mtc@themtc.com

2 WEEKDAY PRAYER SCHEDULE Sunday Shacharit. 9:00 am Monday -Friday Shacharit.... 7:00 am Breakfast following weekday services Infinite Opportunity By Tzvi Freeman and finally Every moment, every human activity is an opportunity to connect with the Infinite. Every act can be an uplifting of the soul. It is only your will that may stand in the way. But as soon as you wish, you are connected. The hot dog vendor in Boro Park fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill. The hot dog vendor puts the bill in the cash drawer and closes the drawer. The Zen master remains standing, silently, for five minutes. Finally, the vendor asks him: "How can I help you, sir?" "Where's my change?" asks the Zen master. The hot dog vendor responds, "Change must come from within." And that is the essence of our work during this month of Elul--when we evaluate where we have been and where we want to go. I cannot change you; I cannot change my family, my children, my spouse, the people around me. I can change myself. And then everything will fall into place. -By Rabbi YY Jacobson KI TAVO ALIYA SUMMARY General Overview: The Israelites are commanded to bring the first of their fruit to the Temple, and to deliver all tithes to their proper recipients. Moses explains how the blessings and curses are to be proclaimed on Mts. Grizzim and Ebal when the Jewish nation enters into Israel. He then details the blessings they will receive for following the commandments of the Torah, and the calamities which will result from disregarding them. First Aliyah: This section introduces us to the mitzvah of bikurim, the requirement to bring one's first fruits to the Holy Temple. This mitzvah applies to fruits and produce grown in the land of Israel, and only those for which the land of Israel is praised: wheat, barley, dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates and olives. When in the Temple, the owner of the fruits recites a brief thanksgiving prayer to G d and presents the produce to the priests. Second Aliyah: During Temple times, Jewish farmers were required to separate from their produce several different tithes. These were distributed to the priests, the Levites, the poor, and one tithe which was eaten by its owners in Jerusalem. The different tithes were not all given each year, rather there was a three-year cycle. In this aliyah, the Torah gives the procedure to be followed on the day before Passover during those years which followed the conclusion of a cycle. The farmer was to declare that he has performed all his tithing duties and then beseeches G d to bless His people and the Land. Third Aliyah: Moses admonishes the Jews to observe G d's commandments; reminding them that they have selected Him to be their god, and He, in turn, has chosen them to be His holy and treasured nation. Fourth Aliyah: The Jews are instructed to gather large stones when they cross the Jordan River. These stones were to be plastered, and the entire Torah was to be engraved upon them. Another set of stones was also to be inscribed with the entire Torah, and be set on Mt. Ebal. Fifth Aliyah: The Jewish people are instructed to proclaim blessings and curses on Mts. Grizzim and Ebal. The elders of the Levite Tribe together with the Holy Ark stood between the two mountains, and six tribes were stationed atop each mountain. The Levites and priests faced each mountain alternately, and stated the blessing and curses. At the end of the aliyah, we are told of the bountiful blessings which will shower us if we hearken to G d's commandments. Sixth Aliyah: This section continues with the aforementioned blessings, and then launches a lengthy description of all the maledictions and suffering which will befall the Jews when they neglect the mitzvot. Seventh Aliyah: Moses reminds the Jews of all the miracles which have been their lot from when G d took them out of Egypt until that very day. He concludes by saying that it is therefore incumbent upon them to follow G-d's covenant.

3 CHAI ELUL Birthday of the Baal Shem Tov & the Alter Rebbe, Founders of the Chassidic & Chabad Lubavitch movements hai Elul -- the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Elul -- C is a most significant date on the Chassidic calendar. The founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, was born on this date, in It is also the day, 36 years later, on which the Baal Shem Tov began to publicly disseminate his teachings, after many years as a member of the society of "hidden tzaddikim" during which he lived disguised as a simple innkeeper and clay-digger, his greatness known only to a very small circle of fellow mystics and disciples. Elul 18 is also the birthday -- in of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who often referred to himself as the Baal Shem Tov's "spiritual grandson" (Rabbi Schneur Zalman was the disciple of Rabbi Israel's disciple, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch). After gaining fame as a child prodigy and young Talmudic genius, Rabbi Schneur Zalman journeyed to Mezeritch to study under the tutelage of the Baal Shem Tov's successor--as he later explained, "to study I knew somewhat, but I needed to learn how to pray"--and was soon accepted into the intimate circle of Rabbi DovBer's leading disciples. Rabbi Schneur Zalman established the "Chabad" branch of Chassidism, which emphasizes in-depth study and intense contemplation as the key to vitalizing the entire person, from sublime mind to practical deed. The chassid Rabbi Nechemia of Dubrovna ( ) once recalled witnessing a Russian soldier being disciplined by his commander. The soldier's crime? While standing watch on a frigid winter night, his feet froze in their boots. "Had you remembered the oath you took to serve our Czar," his officer berated him, "the memory would have kept you warm." "For 25 years," said Reb Nechemia, "this incident inspired my service of the Almighty." "Life" may be extremely difficult to define, but it is instantly recognizable. Something that is alive is warm, vibrant, ebullient. Coldness, apathy and lethargy are symptoms of deadness, even if the afflicted person or community is technically alive. And life can only come from within: when we know why we are doing something and are excited about what it will achieve, our every act and gesture throbs with vitality; when that knowledge and excitement are lacking, our actions will be dead and sluggish, and the most professionally crafted pep-talks and the most lucrative incentives will fail to pump life into them. Three centuries ago, Jewish life was in a lethargic slump. Massacres and persecutions had devastated the Jewish community in both body and spirit. The harsh conditions, which dictated that all but a privileged few were forced to abandon their studies at a young age to help bear the burden of earning a livelihood, had cut off the masses from the Torah, the lifeblood of Jewish awareness and selfknowledge. The scholarly elite kept aloof from their unlettered brethren and regarded them with contempt. Technically, Judaism was alive. Jews went through the motions, putting on tefillin each weekday morning, praying three times a day, observing the Shabbat and the dietary laws. But the spark of life was growing cold. Then, on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Elul of the year 5458 from creation (1698), a child named Yisrael (Israel) was born. Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov added nothing new to Judaism, just as a soul adds nothing "new" to the body. But he breathed life into it -- awareness, warmth, and joy. On Elul 18, his 36th birthday -- the Baal Shem Tov began to publicly disseminate his message. He spoke of the immense love that G-d has for every Jew, of the cosmic significance of every mitzvah a Jew performs, of the divine meaningfulness that resides in every blade of grass, in every Continued on page 4

4 Continued from page 3 event, and in every thought in the universe. He spoke to the downtrodden masses and to the aloof scholars. He gave meaning to their existence, and thus joy, and thus life. Elul 18 is also the birthday of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the "Chabad" branch of Chassidism. Rabbi Schneur Zalman was the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov's disciple, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch, and thus regarded himself as the Baal Shem Tov's spiritual grandson. He was born exactly 47 years after his "grandfather" on Elul 18, 5505 (1745), and his teachings and works carried the Baal Shem Tov's vitalization of Judaism to greater mystical heights, deeper intellectual depths and yet broader realms of application in the daily life of the Jew. Chai Elul, Hebrew for "the 18th of Elul," also means "the life of Elul" (the 22 letters of Holy Tongue also double as numbers; so every word has a numerical value -- gimatria -- and many numbers are also words). And so the rebbes of Chabad taught: "Chai Elul infuses life into the month of Elul, and via Elul -- the month of divine compassion and our own month of soul-searching and stocktaking -- into the entire year and entire life of the Jew." TEACHINGS FROM THE BAAL SHEM TOV As recorded by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Love G d sends a soul down to live on this world for seventyeighty years, just to do a material favor for another and certainly a spiritual one. Providence I Not only is every movement of every creation ordained from Above, but the every movement of every individual creation is part of the grand plan for the entirety of creation. Let's use, for example, a blade of grass in a deep forest, in a place where no person has ever traversed. Its every movement forward and backward, to the right and to the left for as long as it exists, is all directed by divine providence; for G d has determined that this blade of grass should live for this amount of months, days and hours, and during this time it should sway this amount of times. And furthermore, the movements of this blade of grass have an implication on the all-encompassing master plan which governs creation. I.e., only through the cumulative movements and actions of the myriad creations human, animal, plant life and the inanimate can the master plan of creation be fulfilled. Providence II G d causes many events and occurrences in order to effect His divine providence on the smallest of creations. So a tremendous wind will sweep in on a bright summer day so that a leaf that has fallen off its tree a year beforehand, or a straw that was dislodged from a thatched roof, should be moved from one place to another the place it now has to be by divine ordinance. Providence III When two people meet, it is by reason of divine providence and the purpose of the encounter lies in its being utilized for good matters. G d orchestrated the meeting as a "hint" to both people. Each one needs to a) learn a lesson from the other, and b) positively impact the other in the area of charity and kindness, and also with regards to Torah study and mitzvah observance. Providence VI Everything that a person sees and hears contains a lesson for the person to utilize in his service of G d. It is required, however, to properly understand that which we see and hear, and not to misinterpret the experiences. Proper understanding is a quality that emanates from the soul, as it illuminates the mind. How does one achieve such soul illumination? a) Through saying Psalms with warmth and passion; b) through doing a favor for another not just a monetary favor, but one that requires personal effort and inconvenience; c) loving one's fellow, to the point of self sacrifice. The Ladder A cardinal point of chassidism: The rungs of life's ladder are refining one's character traits and cherishing and valuing the simpleton. In order to climb these rungs, in an orderly fashion, one needs the assistance of an elder. Faults The chassidic way to correct one's character traits is transforming the faults into strengths.

5 KADDISH This article was published in the Mosaic magazine in The author, Lionel Siegel, passed away recently. We reprint the article here, dedicated to his neshama. lana, my neighbor with whom I had seen a couple of I movies and shared a few meals, called me one night. As her father was unable to walk, she asked if I could help carry him to her car. It was in Ilana s apartment that I met Josef Schwartz, Ilana s father, an eighty-year-old Rumanian, who with his wife, were Holocaust survivors. They had lived in Israel for most of their lives after the Holocaust, but now, as Josef was suffering from Parkinson s disease, he and his wife had come to Canada to be with their daughter. He was a slight man. I picked him up and put him in Ilana s car on his way to his retirement home. He never spoke to me. Several weeks later, I learned from Ilana that he was taken to the hospital and a few weeks after that, had died. I convinced Ilana that I had a lot of time on my hands, so when she asked me if they could count on me for a minyan for Kaddish at the funeral home, I assured her I would be there. The word Kaddish threw me back to Chicago,1938, when I was living with my mother and her parents, David and Sarah Levey. I had said Kaddish, sunrise and sunset for a year for my father. I was eleven years old and stuttered terribly and because my grandparents spoke no English, we never really had a conversation. What they did speak was Yiddish, and I always knew, although limited by gesture, tone and expression, that what they were saying to me was either criticism, complaints or exasperation (by the way, all well justified). Rabbi New presided over Josef Schwartz s funeral. When Kaddish was recited, I was surprised how much I remembered. Later, at the gravesite, after we had said Kaddish again, Rabbi New mentioned that they needed someone to say Kaddish for Josef for the next two days. During this period he would find someone, whom the family would pay, to say Kaddish for the eleven months. All my life I have made decisions on the spur of the moment decisions that have often had long-lasting effects. Decisions that, although I did not regret, did not always have a nice, neat, rational explanation. My marriage was one of those decisions. Deciding to change careers from a theatrical agent (businessman) to writer (artist), was another. Deciding to make my permanent residence in Montreal instead of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles where I lived and worked for twenty-nine years, was another. And deciding to commit, for almost a year, to say Kaddish for Josef Schwartz, was another. I was embarrassed by the expressions of appreciation from Ilana and Josef s widow. I tried to convince them that this undertaking was also for me - which was true. I needed some discipline in my life. Otherwise, knowing myself, I would stay up late at night and stay in bed far too long in the morning. Having to go to shul every morning at seven-thirty (somewhat later on Saturdays and Sundays) was an excellent way to help me lead a healthier, more orderly life. There was also another reason. At my father s funeral I remember two elderly people who were already at the cemetery when we got there. I learned later that someone had paid them to cry, wail and tear their clothes over my father s grave. At the time, I wondered who they were. When I found out that they had pretended to mourn for money I really hated them. I did not begrudge them their living; I would have given them the money to remain silent. Josef Schwartz had given me a chance to set the record straight, to correct what had been done at my father s funeral. I am not a pious person. I am not a religious person. The last time I was inside a synagogue was in North Carolina, to celebrate my half-sister s grandson s Bar Mitzvah a year ago. Before that, I had not been in a synagogue for ten years. I started saying Kaddish for Josef Schwartz at the beginning Continued on page 6

6 Continued from page 5 of November. Except for illness, I have gone everyday. It has been quite an experience. My frame of reference for Jews (like my grandfather) in synagogues is that of men wearing black suits, often stained, with scraggly, soup and cigarette-stained beards, who never spoke English and recited prayers (including Kaddish) so fast that I could never keep up with them. As a result, I was always the last one to be struggling through Kaddish long after everyone was finished and sitting down. Things at the MTC are significantly different. Black is still the fashion of the day, but the beards are clean, as are the clothes. Prayers are still said at breakneck speed, however, sometimes there is a deliberate let s go slower for the kaddish. Also, I never realized what pleasure there is, for me, in hearing men sing. I guess it is tribal, but also what? Comforting, I think. I have been offered and received a lot of help. Rabbi New made a tape for me so that I could practice the parts of Kaddish that I did not remember. Jacob Tink is teaching me Hebrew. I attend Torah classes during the week, one in Jacob s office and one, very, very early Wednesday morning, before davening with Rabbi New. Rabbi Itchy invited me to a Shabbat dinner at his home. I am also treated every morning, as is everyone else, by another Segal named Gaby, to a delicious breakfast following the service. All this, plus what seems to come quite naturally from the men who attend services. Brotherhood. That is how it feels to me - that there is a sincerity and camaraderie in the shul. They have a lot in common. They share a lot of beliefs and feelings. They have significant disagreements. But mostly, it is the warmth of brotherhood that happens. I like that a lot. It makes it harder for me to continue to feel like an outsider; like a stranger, who is just passing through, on his way to somewhere, to a place yet to be decided. I have learned a lot and continue to learn what I always wanted to know when I was a kid in Chicago. Josef Schwartz, thank you and G-d keep you well. Ages 18 months to 3 years Call Nechama ex. 258, nechama@themtc.com or visit MTC Preschool, 28 Cleve Road, Hampstead

7 An inspiring story for your Shabbos table Here s my Story The role of a Journalist Shlomo Shamir ב ה שבת פרשת כי תבוא, י ח אלול, תשע ג Shabbos Parshas Ki Savo, August 24, 2013 As a foreign correspondent and columnist, I had the privilege to speak with the Rebbe at length, and on many occasions. I wrote about him for Haaretz and other Israeli newspapers. It s impossible to describe to today s generation what it was like to sit opposite the Rebbe and to look into his eyes, to hear him speak for two, three hours. He had such a soft way of speaking. Once I came to see him in the winter there was snow outside. And afterwards I wrote that his smile could melt all the snow in New York. That s how warm his smile was. Then there came a time when I did something that erased that smile from his face. In hindsight, I wish I had done things quite differently. The year was The Iranian Revolution had just taken place, Ayatollah Khomeini had seized power, and a major international crisis was unfolding. A group of young Islamist militants had attacked the United States Embassy in Tehran and had taken fifty-two Americans hostage. The situation was very tense, and there was a sense of fear in the world. At a public address on November 17, the Rebbe requested that, because of the situation in Israel and around the world, a public fast day be announced. Even though Chabad is not in favor of fasts, the Rebbe said that if other rabbis should issue a call for a special day of fasting and prayer, he would endorse and support it. The Rebbe spoke about this several times in the subsequent weeks, and the Rabbinical Alliance of America and many prominent rabbis declared a fast day. It was called for December 13, the 23 rd of Kislev. Now, I didn t know that the Rebbe had called for the fast, and for that week s Algemeiner Journal, I wrote a column entitled, Why Fast Now? in which I asked, How is the world situation different now than it was a few months ago? Why do we suddenly need a fast? Nothing unusual has happened the situation was difficult a couple of months ago and it is difficult now. Rabbi Gershon Jacobson, the editor of the Algemeiner Journal, vehemently disagreed with me, and he published a stronglyworded reply to my column entitled, Why We Must Fast. He wrote: Shlomo Shamir thinks that a fast won t help, that prayers won t help, but he does not understand why the rabbis called for a fast. His words only harm the cause. The fast was called for Thursday, and my column and Jacobson s response appeared that very day, unleashing quite a firestorm. Three nights later, on Motzaei Shabbos, the Rebbe held a farbrengen, and he rebuked me quite severely. continued on reverse An oral history project dedicated to documenting the life of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. The story is one of thousands recorded in the 800 videotaped interviews conducted to date. Please share your comments and suggestions. mystory@jemedia.org

8 continued from reverse Now, the Rebbe was always very careful not to alarm people, but here he was very outspoken about the tremendous danger of the situation. He spoke about the hostages and the crisis between Iran and the US, which he saw as a fundamental turning point. If the Islamists in Iran had the audacity to challenge the United States before the eyes of the entire world, he explained, then America s status as an untouchable superpower was under threat, and that boded ill for the entire world, as it signaled a dangerous step for the Arabs and the Soviet axis. Further, he said, the United States position was now weakened, and it would feel the need to seek support from Arab countries. That, in turn would endanger the security of Israel. In addition to all this, Israel had just returned the last of the Sinai oil fields to Egypt, a step which the Rebbe saw as a major threat to Israel s security. I find it amazing that the Rebbe saw the signs, and anticipated all this in 1979 already. He saw the beginning of the degrading of America s status in the world, how the Arabs would exploit a weakened America, how America would try to appease them, and the danger that this would bring to Israel. His final point was about the tremendous menace facing the 50,000 Jews of Iran, who were now suddenly under the rule of violent and bloodthirsty Islamists. He said he couldn t speak about the situation publicly in too much detail, but that they were in grave danger. After learning of this long and passionate talk by the Rebbe, I sent him a letter expressing my regret. I explained that I had no idea that he had supported the fast, and I asked for his forgiveness. I said that I fully believe that, in difficult times, fasting and prayer will help, and I apologized for the fact that my column might have, heaven forbid, prevented Jews from doing so. The Rebbe wrote me a long response, a truly beautiful letter. He said that someone whom G-d granted the talent to write must always remember how people will interpret what he writes. The journalist must continually anticipate what the reader will infer from his words. In our conversations years earlier, the Rebbe would always tell me that a Jew must fully utilize the talents G-d has given him. The Rebbe would say to me, You have a talent for writing and for action you must write and act; you must inspire people. The Rebbe always saw in people their potential, how they could help, how they could better the world. And he always demanded that they use their talents and their knowledge to the fullest. Not to sit still, in despair This was one of his cardinal principles he demanded action. Shlomo Shamir is a veteran journalist and political analyst. He was the New York correspondent for the Israeli daily, Haaretz, editor-in-chief of HaDoar, and a long time columnist for the Algemeiner Journal. He was interviewed in his home in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn in September, לע נ ר ישראל יעקב וזוגתו מרת קריינא ע ה לאקשין ע י בניהם ר נחמן ור אברהם ומשפחתם שיחיו This week in. > > , the Rebbe s first cousin, Menachem Mendel son of Rabbi Shmuel and Gitel Schneerson was born in Nikolayev, Ukraine. The Rebbe wrote letters to him on the occasion of his 9th, 11th and 13th birthdays explaining the significance of each milestone according to Torah and chasidic teachings. 24 Elul > > , the Rebbe s maternal grandfather, the chief Rabbi of Nikolayev, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky passed away. The Rebbe would recite kaddish every year in his memory Elul 1. Treasures from the Chabad Library, p In gratitude to Hashem for the birth of our son, שיחי Shlomo Aryeh The Houston Cotlar family You can help us record more testimonies by dedicating future editions of Here s My Story A project of: JEWISH EDUCATIONAL MEDIA interviews@jemedia.org myencounterblog.com Eastern Parkway Suite 403 Brooklyn, NY Copyright, Jewish Educational Media, 2013 Generously printed by