THE OR CHAIM MINYAN BULLETIN

Transcription

1 13 Av 5777 Parshat Vaetchanan / Shabbat Nachamu August 5, 2017 THE OR CHAIM MINYAN BULLETIN Shabbat Schedule Friday Evening: Mincha: Candle Lighting 7:00 pm 8:19 pm KIDDUSH Kiddush this week is being sponsored by Esther and Heshy Sturm. Shabbat Day: Ezer Diena Shiur: Shacharit: Jewnior Games: Bnei Akiva Rabbi Jay Kelman Shiur: Mincha: Maariv: Shabbat Ends: Weekday Schedule Shacharit Sunday & Monday: 7:45 am Tuesday-Friday: 6:20 am Mincha/Maariv: Sunday-Thursday: 8:20 pm Dvar Torah TBD Shiur 7:45 am 8:30 am Cancelled Cancelled 7:10 pm 8:10 pm 9:15 pm 9:21 pm Or Chaim Possible Move to Lake Ontario (for a few hours ) We are looking into chartering a boat (the Jubilee Queen) for an evening cruise of Lake Ontario either Sunday September 3 or Monday September 4 (Labour Day). It would be about 4 hours and we estimate that the cost, including a light supper, will be about $50 per person. We need to know if there is sufficient interest, so if you think that you would go (if you are in town), please let us know which date works best for you and how many in your group. Also, feel free to make suggestions about format of the cruise and food. Better yet - feel free to volunteer to help. Please reply, the sooner the better, to Sam Stochinsky (stochinsky@rogers.com) or Arnie Niederhoffer (at fniederhoffer@yahoo.com). TBD Kiddush Toranut August 5: Shour & Shumacher August 12: Weiss & Sone August 19: Niederhoffer & Robicsek August 26: Stutz & Nemetz September 2: Tator & Welman Page 1

2 Jewnior Games Toranut Cancelled for the summer Or Chaim Minyan: 159 Almore Avenue Toronto, Ontario M3H 2H9 Supreme Leader Alan Simon Gabbayim Steve Frenkiel Dan Rabinovitch Mark Ross Kiddush Coordinator Anita Bromberg Toranut Coordinator Rhona Grodzinski Education/Shiurim: Jeffrey Dorfman Leining Coordinator: Daniel Grodzinski Bulletin Editor: Jonathan Samson Kids Program: Dovid Zlochower Board Members: Aharon Kagedan Yisrael Dov Meyer Barry Pakes Alan Simon Lori Stochinsky Sam Stochinsky Dovid Zlochower If you have any questions, join our minyan or would like to book an event, please send an to Page 2

3 Vaetchanan: World Leaders DVAR TORAH Thought of the Week by Rabbi Jay Kelman Attempts to understand the rationale behind the mitzvoth of the Torah have generated much debate and discussion through the millennia. Many have feared that the search for answers is irrelevant at best, and possibly even outright dangerous. What reason other than the Divine command does anyone need? No less a person than Shlomo Hamelech was led astray by this error, as he incorrectly assumed that he completely understood the reasoning behind the mitzvoth relating to kings, and mistakenly believed that they did not apply to him. In the final analysis, we can never fathom the reason for the Divine imperative, so it is best just to observe the mitzvoth. In modern times, the most forceful exponent of such a view was Yishayahu Leibowitz. Despite the logic of this position, it is the minority one. While we acknowledge that human attempts to find reasons behind the Divine mitzvoth are speculative, the search for meaning is itself uplifting and ennobling. Understanding the why s of the mitzvoth give meaning and purpose to our actions. On a practical level, people are more likely to observe that which they understand, that which offers meaning and purpose. Scholars in every generation have spent much effort searching for ta amei hamitzvot (literally, the taste of the mitzvoth), at times offering conflicting reasons for any particular mitzvah. The goal was to make the reasons relevant to the particular time in which they lived. The most famous of these attempts is the Sefer HaChinuch,written from a father to his son, who was-as we would say today- at risk. On rare occasions, the Torah itself provides reasons for mitzvoth; to safeguard us from following the ways of the pagan nations, to instil the fear of G-d within us, or simply to enable us to inhabit the land of Israel. These reasons typically relate to individual mitzvoth of the Torah, not to mitzvoth as a whole. In this week s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu provides us with a fascinating reason for keeping the mitzvoth in general. Safeguard and keep these rules, since this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations. They will hear all these rules and say this great nation is certainly a wise and understanding people. (Devarim 4:6) By observing the Torah, we model a system for living that demonstrates our wisdom and understanding for the entire world to see. Moshe stresses the fact that the mitzvoth of the Torah are a model for a life to which wise people would aspire. Concepts such as Shabbat, tzedakah, equal rights and justice for all as well as its rejection of Page 3

4 vicarious punishment and superstition were among the brilliant innovations the Torah brought to the world. The Talmud (Shabbat 75a) demands more, however, deriving from this verse an obligation to study astronomy, as that was, at least in Talmudic times, that which was considered wisdom in the eyes of the nations. In our generation, a Torah-based society would have to be at the forefront of science and technology and all its manifestations, spending billions on research and development. Fulfilling its Biblical mission, the State of Israel is recognized throughout the world for its scientific (and many other) achievements. This collective mitzvah can be fulfilled only when we have our own State, and thus it is only in Sefer Devarim-where Moshe spends his last weeks preparing the people for entry into the land-that Moshe reveals this crucial facet of Torah. Our long and bitter exile has absorbed all our energies. We have been too busy surviving to concern ourselves with the niceties of impressing the world with our collective wisdom. But this is a mission that needs to be front and centre in the modern world in which we now live. The Jewish people, especially those who faithfully follow the dictates of Torah, must aspire to lead in all fields of human knowledge. It is the path to fulfilling our mission, that of being a model nation and an Or Lagoyim. Shabbat Shalom! Page 4

5 Mother & Daughter Bat Mitzvah Program JEWISH WOMEN THROUGH THE AGES Wednesdays, November 1, 2017 to January 24, 2018 no class December 20 - January 3 7:00-9:00pm A Bat Mitzvah is an opportunity for a girl to prepare for her entry into Jewish adulthood by exploring what it means to be a Jewish woman. The aim of the Matan Bat Mitzvah program, Jewish Women Through the Ages, is to see how we, as Jewish women, are part of a chain across the generations, and how the Bat Mitzvah can serve as a bridge connecting the young girl to Jewish continuity. The program consists of ten sessions during which mothers and daughters study sources together about Jewish women throughout history. The women studied in the program were selected because they embody positive attributes and values from which the girls can learn. Highlights: 10 two-hour sessions for mothers and daughters Each session includes textual Torah study (sources in Hebrew and English) A creative activity in each session Each girl is encouraged to prepare a special Woman of Valour project based on a biblical personality, a woman studied or an inspiring woman in her life Closing celebration The program is led by Shira Cantor Katchen. Shira holds a BA from Brandeis University in Fine Arts and Hebrew and a Masters of Teaching degree from OISE (U of T). Shira teaches in the elementary school system in Toronto and brings much experience in informal education from her many years in camp where she teaches art and connects that to Jewish themes. Shira and her husband served as the Jewish chaplaincy couple at Oxford University. For registration information visit torahinmotion.org מכון תורני לנשים ע"ש שרה בת יצחק יעקב רעננערט The Sadie Rennert Women s Institute for Torah Studies info@torahinmotion.org Page 5

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