Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Chanukah / Mikeitz December 16, Kislev 5778 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi David Fishman, President

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1 Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Chanukah / Mikeitz December 16, Kislev 5778 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi David Fishman, President Shabbat Schedule Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service. FRIDAY 4:20 pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv, (Shema should be recited after 5:21 pm) SHABBAT Parasha: Page 198 / Maftir: Page 768 Haftarah: Page :30 am: Hashkama Minyan The Hashkama Minyan kiddush this week is sponsored by Elan and Hadassa Penn 8:25: Daf Yomi Tefillah Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt will not meet this week or next, but will return 12/30 9:00 am: Shacharit, Bat Mitzvah of Emma and Mollie Eisen Kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by the shul with Chanukah sufganiyot sponsored by Phil and Jan Lightstone in memory of Phil s mother, Joyce, on her yahrzeit 3:15 pm: HS Boys Gemara w/ Rabbi Zalesch at the Zalesch home, 315 S. Newport Way 4:05 pm: Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlisheet Seudah Shlisheet is sponsored by Brent and Jolie Eisen in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of their daughters, Emma and Mollie 4:25 pm: Shabbat Mishna w/ Howie Shapiro 5:21 pm: Maariv / Havdalah 6:15 pm: Mish Mosh Weekday Schedule SHACHARIT Sunday: 8:00 am Monday Tuesday: 6:25 am (Rosh Chodesh) Tevet) Wednesday: 6:30 am (Chanukah) Thursday Friday: 6:35 am Candle 4:18 Lighting pm Havdalah 5:21 pm D var Torah with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks What I find fascinating about Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights we celebrate at this time of the year, is the way its story was transformed by time. It began as the simple story of a military victory, the success of Judah the Maccabee and his followers as they fought for religious freedom against the repressive rule of the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus IV. Antiochus, who modestly called himself Epiphanes, God made manifest, had resolved forcibly to hellenise the Jews. He had a statue of Zeus erected in the precincts of the temple in Jerusalem, ordered sacrifices to be made to pagan gods, and banned Jewish rites on pain of death. The Maccabees fought back and within three years had reconquered Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple. That is how the story is told in the first and second books of Maccabees. However, things did not go smoothly thereafter. The new Jewish monarchy known as the Hasmonean kings themselves became hellenised. They also incurred the wrath of the people by breaking one of the principles of Judaism: the separation between religion and political power. They became not just kings but also high priests, something earlier monarchs had never done. Even militarily, the victory over the Greeks proved to be only a temporary respite. Within a century Pompey invaded Jerusalem and Israel came under Roman rule. Then came the disastrous rebellion against Rome (6673), as a result of which Israel was defeated and the Temple destroyed. The work of the Maccabees now lay in ruins. Some rabbis at the time believed that the festival of Chanukah should be abolished. Why celebrate a freedom that had been lost? Others disagreed, and their view prevailed. Freedom may have been lost but not hope. (Continued on Page 4) Learning the DAT Minyan Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit MINCHA/MAARIV Sunday Wednesday 4:15 pm (Chanukah) Daf Yomi Shiur: Sun Fri after Shacharit for 30 minutes and 8:25 am on Shabbat Mishnayot: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv Thursday Friday: 4:20 pm Wednesday Evening Class: 7:30 pm (Continued on page 4) DAT Minyan is a dynamic and friendly Modern Orthodox synagogue for all ages and dedicated to meaningful personal spiritual development, community growth, youth involvement, Torah education, and Religious Zionism. DAT Minyan E. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO

2 DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND LEARNING Mazal Tov to Emma and Mollie Eisen, their parents Brent and Jolie, and the entire Eisen family on their B not Mitzvah today. Seudah Shlisheet this afternoon is sponsored by the Eisen family in honor of Emma and Mollie. Our thanks to Phil and Jan Lightstone for their generous sponsorship of the sufganiyot for today s kiddush, in memory of Phil s mother, Joyce Lightstone, on her yahrzeit this week. Our condolences to David Lustig and family on the passing of his father, Robert, earlier this week. Baruch Dayan Emet. May his memory be for a blessing. Our sincere thanks to Eric Shafran and Julie Lieber for their donation of new shiva chairs to the DAT Minyan. We hope they do not have to be used often, but we are most grateful to have them if we need them. Mazal Tov to Samantha and Dan Siegel on the birth of a daughter this week! Mazal Tov to Dalia and Dani Garfinkel on the birth of a son this week! Mazal Tov to Steve and Ellyn Hutt on the birth of a granddaughter to their children Binyamin and Dalya this week in Israel! Mazal Tov to our many talented DAT School children who were winners in the IJN Doris Sky Chanukah Coloring Contest, and whose winning entries were featured in last week s edition of the IJN. They include Daniella Lev, Elizabeth Segall, Shimon Zalesch, Ruby Friedman and Akiva Shapiro. Yasher Koach also to Alex and Hannah Polotsky (and family) whom the IJN featured in a special story last week. Our apologies for omitting the name of our member Laura Kark from among the list of grandchildren of Ruth Kark, z l, who passed away two weeks ago. Thanks to all those who have signed up for our Annual Trivia Night, this Saturday night, December 16th, 7:30 pm at The Jewish Experience. A special thank you to Rabbi Friedman and Melissa Friedman for all their hard work to put this together. If you have not yet made a reservation and are interested in joining us, please contact Melissa. We know it will be a great evening for everyone! Our winning team will be announced next week. And, now that we have our distinguished Annual Event honorees in place, Rachel and Nathan Rabinovitch, we are working on the final exciting details, including date and venue. More details coming soon! AIPAC 2018 takes place in Washington, D.C. March 4th through 6th. The DAT Minyan has a block of 20 reserved spots at the AIPAC discounted rate of $ per person and we are now accepting registrations. To register online, please go to or contact the shul office for additional information is rapidly coming to an end, and your opportunities for claiming charitable deductions on your 2017 Income Tax are down to the final weeks. As a personal benefit to you and to the congregation, please make every effort to close out any remaining balances on your DAT Minyan account. Dues for 2018 will be assessed on January 1st and prepayments are welcome if you want to take advantage of the 2017 tax break. Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year! Please check the lost and found every month to see if any of your lost belongings are there. It is located right near the main entrance doors. The school donates all remaining items at the end of each month. Thank-you to all of those who contribute to our Shabbat services by signing up to help with our weekly leining. We remain in need of continued help with this, and all able-leiners are encouraged to please volunteer! Leining slots have been posted for the Shabbosim after the Chaggim until the end of the year. In addition, with a goal of expanding our roster of Haftarah readers, we have now opened up the weekly Haftarah portions for sign-up as well. The sign-up website is Please contact Steve Hutt for questions and additional information. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Come join R Chaim Sher and discover the power we all have! Join us every other Tuesday evening, to explore the Brachos of Shmonah Esrei. The remaining parts of this shiur will take place Tuesdays, December 19th, and January 2nd, at Merkaz, from 8:15 9:00 pm. Shiurim are open to men and women. BMH-BJ Congregation invites the community to their Jazz, Jews and Booze Chanukah party, Tuesday night, December 19th at 6:30 pm at BMH-BJ. Enjoy a night out with a live jazz band, special Chanukah cocktails, and your favorite holiday foods! Tickets are $36. Must be 21+ to attend the event. Childcare is free and will be provided at BMHBJ. Drop your kids off, enjoy the evening, and pick them up before you head home! Register on line through the calendar date (December 19) on the BMH-BJ website. The Denver Kollel presents a night of unlimited fun at their Jewish Family Extravaganza at the South Suburban Family Sports Center, 6901 S. Peoria St. in Centennial, Sunday, December 24th, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Laser Tag, rock climbing wall, ice skating, kids rides and more! Tickets at or call The Denver Academy of Torah High School Senior class is running a Toveling fundraiser. Save time and let us tovel your dishes for you. Contact the senior class at seniors@datcampus.org for more information or to coordinate pickup and dropoff times and locations. Price: $10 + generally $1 per item. All proceeds go to the senior class trip. It s an evening of artistic inspiration as the Denver Academy of Torah, together with the PTO and the Teacher Institute for the Arts present visiting Jerusalem-based artist David Moss, Tuesday, January 16th, 7 to 9:00 pm at DAT. The artist will present original artwork and discuss his unique approach. DAT faculty will share exciting student projects in the new Explore Tefilla program taking place in the high school. Parents and adults only. RSVP to PTO@datcampius.org.

3 DAT MINYAN MEMBER MILESTONES The DAT Minyan wishes to acknowledge the following milestones* of our members in the coming week: Mark Avner, Eli Benel, George Khavasov, Willa Moskowitz, Shalom Zohari Phillip and Iris Freedman 26 years James Robert Glassner Tue., 12/19/17 (1 Tevet) *These details were obtained from the DAT Minyan database, which contains information provided by the members when they joined. We apologize for any omissions or mistakes. For corrections or additions, please log on to your account and update the information, or contact the synagogue office at This Day In Jewish History - Dec 16 / 28 Kislev 28 Kislev 164 B.C.E. 4th day of the original Chanukah miracle of the oil burning for eight days. 28 Kislev 1698 Rabbi Chizkiyah Da Silva, more commonly known as the Pri Chadash, the name of the commentary he authored on Jewish Law, passes away at the age of 39 and is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. December 16, 1915 Albert Einstein first publishes his General Theory of Relativity. December 16, 1944 The Germans mount a surprise counterattack in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium. As the center of the Allied line falls back, it creates a bulge, leading to the name, the Battle of the Bulge. December 16, 1991 The UN General Assembly rescinds in 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism by a vote of December 16, 2006 Researchers from Germany, America and Israel meet in Heidelberg, Germany, to discuss vibrationresponse imaging, invented by Dr. Igal Kushnir, an Israeli pediatrician. Refuah Shelayma Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shelayma. Names are kept on the list until the next Rosh Chodesh. Help us keep the list accurate by verifying the necessary details each month on the Cholim Document at Baruch Getzel ha Cohen ben Esther Benyamin ben Bryna Ilana Dintza bat Ita Mirrel Ita Sheiva bas Udyah Shashi bat Batya Baila Shifra Hadassah bat Chaya Leah Bryna bas Menucha Carmel ben Tirtza Chaim Shmuel ben Miriam Chaim Tuvia ben Dina Kalia bat Miriam Leah bat Helen (Ahti) Leah bat Sarah Leah Devora Kivitiya bat Chaya Shira Chana bat Sara Shirley Hasia bat Devorah Shlomo ben Penina Shoshanna bat Liora Chana Yetta bat Bryna Chaya Chanah Elisheva Rivka bat Sarah Chaya Miriam bat Shoshana Chaya Orah bat Sarah Leya bat Sara Malka bat Sarah Masha bat Nachama Michel ben Leah Shoshanna bat Smadar Shoshanna Miriam bat Chanah Shulamit Leah bat Chava Tamar bat Esther Devorah Leah bat Chanah Dinah bat Chayala Doniel ben Chana Dovid ben Laya Miriam Tova Chaya bat Chanah Nataniel ben Elisheva Noa Shani bat Chaya Bracha Rachael bat Devorah Tirtza bat Sarah Tomas ben Galit Tova bat Nechama Tzvi Gershon ben Shaindel Shaina Raizel Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka Eliyahu Dovid ben Ita Sheiva Ephraim ben Henna RJ Faige bat Sarah Raphael Yotam ben Efrat Reuven Yehoshua ben Nechama Rochel bas Feiga Roshka bat Bryna Yaakov Mordechai ben Chana Yehuda Mordechai Shrage ben Roiza Feige Yehudit bat Leah Yona Malka bat Pola Guy Chaim ben Rita Hadassah bat Fruma Rahel Ida bat Esa Sara Chana bat Shaina Sarah Shoshanna bat Sarah Shaina Meryl bat Rivka Yonatan Zeev ben Netaa Yosef ben Malka Ziporah Sarah Mirrel bat Miriam

4 YOUTH ANNOUNCEMENTS Join us for Shabbat Mishna Class Geared for parent and child learning- 5th grade and up. Open to all who'd like to attend. Where: DAT Kindergarten room. When: Shabbat afternoon between Mincha and Maariv. Details: We will explore how to dissect a Mishna and explore the text analytically. Ideal for pre-gemarah prep. No previous background required. English and Hebrew text will be provided. MISH MOSH is back! This Motzaei Shabbat, Dec 16th at 6:05 PM (until 6:50)! Prizes and Snacks for Everyone! Don t forget - if you re there within the first five minutes, you get an extra prize ticket! In celebration of Chanukah, all children in our Youth Program this Shabbat will receive a dreidel. Chanukah Sameach! Rabbi Sacks (Continued from page 1) That was when another story came to the fore, about how the Maccabees, in purifying the Temple, found a single cruse of oil, its seal still intact, from which they relit the Menorah, the great candelabrum in the Temple. Miraculously the light lasted eight days and that became the central narrative of Chanukah. It became a festival of light within the Jewish home symbolising a faith that could not be extinguished. Its message was captured in a phrase from the prophet Zekhariah: Not by might nor by power but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty. I have often wondered whether that is not the human story, not just the Jewish one. We celebrate military victories. We tell stories about the heroes of the past. We commemorate those who gave their lives in defence of freedom. That is as it should be. Yet the real victories that determine the fate of nations are not so much military as cultural, moral and spiritual. In Rome the Arch of Titus was erected by Titus s brother Domitian to commemorate the victorious Roman siege of Jerusalem in the year 70. It shows Roman soldiers carrying away the spoils of war, most famously the seven-branched Menorah. Rome won that military conflict. Yet its civilisation declined and fell, while Jews and Judaism survived. They did so not least because of Chanukah itself. That simple act of families coming together to light the lights, tell the story and sing the songs, proved more powerful than armies and longer-lived than empires. What endured was not the historical narrative as told in the books of Maccabees but the simpler, stronger story that spoke of a single cruse of oil that survived the wreckage and desecration, and the light it shed that kept on burning. Something in the human spirit survives even the worst of tragedies, allowing us to rebuild shattered lives, broken institutions and injured nations. That to me is the Jewish story. Jews survived all the defeats, expulsions, persecutions and pogroms, even the Holocaust itself, because they never gave up the faith that one day they would be free to live as Jews without fear. Whenever I visit a Jewish school today I see on the smiling faces of the children the ever-renewed power of that faith whose symbol is Chanukah and its light of inextinguishable hope. (First published in The Times)

5 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES THE DETAILS: We have launched a new registration system that works best in Google Chrome. If you are registering friends or family members in addition to yourself, you will need personal and contact information for each registrant. There are specific requirements for each host site, including age minimums and flu shots. December 25 Greater Denver/Boulder Area WINTER IS HERE: REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Join us in lending a hand to local hospitals, assisted living facilities, shelters and other organizations this Christmas REGISTER ONLINE AT If your site requires an orientation, you will receive details in early December. Day-of information, including site-specific details and parking information will be provided by your Rosh Volunteer closer to Christmas Day. We are still recruiting host sites, so if you don t see a site that interests you, please check back often for new opportunities! KIDDUSH HELP ALWAYS NEEDED Your participation in the kiddush process can make a huge difference to the shul, at whatever level you can volunteer. Here are the opportunities: Kiddush sponsorships Shopping for kiddush supplies Table setup Weekly event breakdown Thanks for your support! We are partnering with Volunteers of America to serve lunch on Sunday, January 7th, at the Mission, 2877 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205, from 11:15 am until 2:00 pm. We are hoping this will turn into a regular opportunity for us to give back to our community in a meaningful way, but for now, this is our only date. We are looking for 10 volunteers. Please sign up at YOUR SAFETY IS A TOP CONCERN Recently, our security company, Hickman Security, arranged for several members of the DAT Minyan to go through safety training with a specialist from the Glendale Police Department, to review safety protocol and draft procedures in the event, chas v shalom, a safety emergency should ever occur during services here in the DAT building. While we achieved our goal of initially training a core group in emergency safety procedures, the second phase of our plan is to train the entire congregation. To that end, we are planning a Shabbat Emergency Safety Drill on February 17th. We will share additional information as we get closer to that date, and, of course, lots of information during the drill. Thanks for your cooperation and participation.

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