THE OR CHAIM MINYAN BULLETIN

Transcription

1 1 Cheshvan 5777 Parshat Noach / Shabbat Rosh Chodesh October 21, 2017 THE OR CHAIM MINYAN BULLETIN Shabbat Schedule Friday Evening: Mincha: Candle Lighting 6:10 pm 6:09 pm Shabbat Day: R. Elan Mazer: 7:45 am Shacharit: 8:30 am Jewnior Games: 9:15 am Bnei Akiva 4:55 pm Rabbi Jay Kelman Shiur: 5:00 pm Mincha: 5:50 pm Maariv: 7:03 pm Shabbat Ends: 7:10 pm Weekday Schedule Shiurim Tuesday & Wednesday: 5:45 am - R. Eisenstock Monday & Thursday: 5:45 am - R. Engel Shacharit Sunday: 7:45 am Monday-Friday: 6:30 am Website Please visit us at The bulletin and previous bulletins can be found, as well as other valuable information. Please watch this space for membership sign up coming soon. Please us with feedback and/or suggestions about the website. Kiddush Kiddush this week is minyan sponsored. Yachad Yachad will be having their Shabbaton on October 20th in our neighbourhood. Please welcome them to our minyan. Youth Leadership Any teen interested in being a leader for our older groups should contact Dovid Zlochower at zdovid@hotmail.com Mincha/Maariv Sunday: 6:05 pm Monday-Thursday: 9:30 pm Dvar Torah Friday Night: Adam Friedmann Shabbat: R. Elan Mazer Shiur R. Elan Mazer Page 1

2 Kiddush Toranut October 21: Kohon & Diamond October 28: Satok & Schneider November 4: Barda & Paskowitz November 11: Agensky & Allen Jewnior Games Toranut Bnei Akiva SNIF is back! Bnei Akiva SNIF starts back up this Shabbat at 4:50pm (one hour before Mincha). Kids - come out and have fun! October 21: Liann Granovsky October 28: Karen Eny November 4: Eric Stutz November 11: Deb Pakes Page 2

3 DVAR TORAH Thought of the Week by Rabbi Jay Kelman Noach: From Noach to Abraham We tend to view Adam as a failure at life, unable to obey his only command from G-d. Noach was better, but we tend to see him as someone who could have done so much more than what he did. Only with the advent of Abraham do we have the person who is finally capable of bringing G-d s message to mankind. One of the criticisms of Noach is that he did little to influence others, and so he ultimately had no impact on society around him. Unlike Abraham who argued on behalf of the people of Sedom and Amorah, Noach did nothing to try and halt the upcoming flood. Yes, he was better than everybody else, but that is not saying much; as Rashi notes, Had he lived at the time of Abraham, he would be considered as nothing. Putting down Noach allows us to create much space between him and the founding father of our religion. We then find other faults in his life; his getting drunk, his seemingly nonexistent relationship with his wife, the disrespect shown to him by his own children. While the above is a very plausible reading of the Bible, it is not the only possible one. The Torah, after all, tells us that Noach was righteous and pure, and that he walked with G-d. That is not small praise; surely Noach must have been a remarkable person. Rashi also quotes those amongst the rabbis who heap praise on Noach. If he was righteous with evil all around him, imagine what he would have been had he lived with other people of his own ilk! Perhaps instead of praying to defend murderers, rapists, thieves, and the like, Noach was following the advice that Shlomo Hamelech would give years later, that when wickedness is destroyed, there is joy. To Noach s credit, as soon as he left the ark he became a farmer, helping to renew the earth. That he got drunk well, who could blame him after what he had been through? And when he realized what his children had done to him, he cursed Ham. Unlike the cases of our Avot and Imahot, we are told of no conflicts between Noach and his wife; so perhaps the Torah s silence on her role is not all negative. Admittedly, we may be uncomfortable painting Noach in such a positive light; but that does seem to be the simple meaning of the phrase, Noach was a righteous man, pure in his generations. This means that in the many generations that he spanned from the generation of Enosh in generation 3 to Abraham in generation 20 he remained righteous. Page 3

4 Rashi wonders what would have happened had Noach lived with people like Abraham. While it s hard to argue that Noach and Abraham lived in the same generation they were born 892 years apart it is also quite conceivable that they actually knew each other. When Noach died, Abraham was already 58 years old, and years past his discovery of G-d. Presumably, in his search for G-d, Abraham would seek out those who could help in his search. And who better than Noach? Of course, the Torah leaves such a theoretical meeting to our imagination, portraying Noach and Abraham as living in very different worlds. And perhaps each of their worlds required a different approach. While our Sages extol Abraham and Sarah for bringing many towards the Divine Presence and converting them to Judaism, there is no remnant of any of these converts mentioned later in the Torah. Ultimately, it was only his descendants who would form the Jewish people. We might view Noach and Abraham as leaders of complementary communities. G-d s vision for humanity was not solely focused on the Jewish people. The Torah begins with Adam, the first human not Abraham, the first Jew. All are created in His image. Rather, G-d s covenant with the non-jewish world is through Noach, and consists of seven mitzvoth; and G-d s special covenant with the Jewish people begins with Abraham (and Sarah), and consists of 613 mitzvoth. Shabbat Shalom! Page 4

5 Tell the UN to Demand Hamas Return Remains of IDF Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul YESHIVAT OR CHAIM Sephardic Campaign Ask the U.N. to demand Hamas return the bodies of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul to their families. Hamas murdered Israeli Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul during a defensive war in Hachnasat Sefer Torah and Sephardic Beit Knesset Inauguration.BS $IFTIWBO r 4VOEBZ 0DUPCFS It's been three years and Hamas has still not returned Goldin and Shaul's remains for proper burial. Goldin was kidnapped 90 minutes into a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by the international community (including the United Nations). Since then, the UN has done nothing to urge the return of the Israeli soldiers' bodies - even though Hamas' refusal to do so violates the Geneva Convention. The Sefer Torah is graciously donated by Ruth & Joe Bitton and Lily & Jack Bitton Sefer Torah Writing of Final Letters 10:00 am At the home of Steven and Karla Bitton 107 Laurelcrest Avenue Procession 11:30 am Heading to Yeshivat Or Chaim 159 Almore Avenue ADD YOUR NAME to a petition to the United Nations SecretaryGeneral demanding that he insist Hamas comply with international law and return Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul to their families. We will send your local Member of Parliament a letter asking the Government of Canada to support this petition, with a copy to members of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group. Sign the petition here: Dancing and Refreshments 12:30 pm Special Guest Speaker 1:00 pm In the Beit Midrash Mincha 1:30 pm This event is complimentary. Please join us. No RSVP required. Participate in the mitzvah of the Sefer Torah campaign at TFGFSUPSBI!CBTUPSPOUP PSH r FYU Event Committee 7JDUPS "SSPCBT r $PMFĨF "WJUBM r 1JOJ "WJUBM r 3BCCJ.FTTPE "[PVMBZ r.fsdfeft #FOEBZBO r "SNBOEP #FOMF[SBI r +BDL #V[BHMP 5BNBSB $PMPEOZ r &MMFO %BZBO r 8JMMJBN %BZBO r +PF &MNBMFI r 4IBSPO,BNJOTLZ r +BNFT,FTMBTTZ r 3BCCJ &QISBJN,MFJOCFSH r &MJF.BNBOO Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School: 3BCCJ %S 4FUI / (SBVFS 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 Page 5 מכון תורני לנשים ע"ש שרה בת יצחק יעקב רעננערט The Sadie Rennert Women s Institute for Torah Studies info@torahinmotion.org

6 Page 6

7 O Book Club The next meeting of the O Book Club will take place at the home of Bev Benia, 111 Laurelcrest Ave., on Shabbat November 18 at 4:00 pm in the afternoon to discuss the book The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck. The next selection will be announced at this time.