Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Vayeishev December 9, Kislev 5778 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi David Fishman, President

Transcription

1 Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Vayeishev December 9, Kislev 5778 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi David Fishman, President FRIDAY 4:15 pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv, (Shema should be recited after 5:19 pm) SHABBAT Parasha: Page 198 / Haftarah: Page :30 am: Hashkama Minyan 8:30 am: Daf Yomi 8:30 am: Tefillah Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt 9:00 am: Shacharit, with drasha at the conclusion of davening by guest Rabbi David Lebor, on the topic Rachel and Leah Through History Kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Jonathan and Lisa Perlmutter in memory of Jonathan s father Jordon on his yahrzeit 2:50 pm: HS Boys Gemara w/ Nathan Rabinovitch at the Rabinovitch home 3:40 pm: Presentation by guest Jacob Sztokman on Project Gabriel Mumbai 4:05 pm: Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlisheet Seudah Shlisheet is sponsored by the shul, with guest Rabbi David Lebor discussing the topic The Secret of Shabbat 4:25 pm: Shabbat Mishna w/ Howie Shapiro 5:20 pm: Maariv / Havdalah 6:05 pm: Mish Mosh Weekday Schedule SHACHARIT Havdalah 5:20 pm D var Torah with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Shabbat Schedule Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service. Candle 4:17 Lighting pm We live life looking forward but we understand it only looking back. As we live from day to day, our life can seem like a meaningless sequence of random events, a series of accidents and happenstances that have no shape or inner logic. A traffic jam makes us late for an important meeting. A stray remark we make offends someone in a way we never intended. By a hair s-breadth we fail to get the job we so sought. Life as we experience it can sometimes feel like Joseph Heller s definition of history: a trashbag of random coincidences blown open in a wind. Yet looking back, it begins to make sense. The opportunity we missed here led to an even better one there. The shame we felt at our unintentionally offensive remark makes us more careful about what we say in the future. Our failures, seen in retrospect many years later, turn out to have been our deepest learning experiences. Our hindsight is always more perceptive than our foresight. We live life facing the future, but we understand life only when it has become our past. Nowhere is this set out more clearly than in the story of Joseph in this week s parsha. It begins on a high note: Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was a son of his old age, and he made a richly embroidered robe. But with dramatic speed, that love and that gift turn out to be Joseph s undoing. His brothers began hating him. When he told them his dream, they hated him even more. His second dream offended even his father. Later, when he went to see his brothers tending their flocks, they first plotted to kill him, and eventually sold him as a slave. At first, in Potiphar s house, he seemed to be favoured by fortune. But then his master s wife tried to seduce him and when he refused her advances she accused him of attempted rape and he was sent to prison with no way of proving his innocence. He seemed to have reached his nadir. There was nowhere lower for him to fall. Then came an unexpected ray of hope. Interpreting the dream of a fellow prisoner, who had once been Pharaoh s cup-bearer, he predicted his release and return to his former elevated role. And so it happened. Joseph asked only one thing in return: Remember me when it goes well with you, and please show me kindness: mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this place. For I was forcibly taken from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing to deserve being put in this pit. The last line of the parsha is one of the cruelest blows of fate in the Torah: The chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. Seemingly his one chance of escape to freedom is now lost. Joseph, the beloved son in his magnificent robe has become Joseph, the prisoner bereft of hope. This is as near the Torah gets to Greek tragedy. It is a tale of Joseph s hubris leading, step after step, to his nemesis. Every good thing that happens to him turns out to be only the prelude to some new and unforeseen misfortune. Yet a mere two years later, at the beginning of next week s parsha, we discover that all this has been leading to Joseph s supreme elevation. (Continued on Page 4) Sunday: 8:00 am Monday Tuesday: 6:35 am Wednesday Friday: 6:30 am (Chanukah) MINCHA/MAARIV Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday: 4:20 pm Wednesday Thursday: 4:15 pm (Chanukah) Learning the DAT Minyan Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit Daf Yomi Shiur: Sun Fri after Shacharit for 30 minutes and 8:30 am on Shabbat Mishnayot: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv 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 Welcome to Rabbi David Lebor, faculty member of Yeshivat Sha alvim in Israel, who is visiting our community this Shabbat for a series of presentations here and at EDOS! Welcome also to Jacob Sztokman, Director of Project Gabriel Mumbai, which feeds, educates and provides health care for over 1,500 children in the slums of Mumbai. Jacob will discuss this project Shabbat afternoon, just before Mincha here at DAT, and at a special reception at the home of Chaim and Bara Loewenthal Saturday evening, 12/9, at 7:00 pm. Mazal Tov to Phil and Marcie Munishor on the birth of granddaughter Leora Anat to daughter and son-in-law Yael and Netanel Weinstein last week in Eugene, Oregon! Paternal grandparents are Sara and Dr. Bernie Weinstein of Efrat, Israel. Baruch Dayan Emet to Lenny and Marvin Kark, Andy Kark and the entire Kark family on the passing of mother and grandmother Ruth Kark this past weekend. May her memory be for a blessing. Our Social Committee, under the new leadership of Jay and Melanie Schoenberger, has put together a full calendar of events for the New Year! Plan to be with us for our Third Annual Trivia Night Latke Supper, Saturday, December 16th, 7:30 pm, at The Jewish Experience. Register online at and see the attached flyer for more details. And, Sunday evening, March 11th is our Annual Event. 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 a final few 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. Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year! Minutes from our last Board of Directors Meeting can be accessed online at: 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 Join in the fun at the Hillel Academy PTA 2017 Chinese Auction, on Sunday, Dec. 10, at EDOS! Doors followed by a catered with emcee Rabbi Serebryanski. It will be non-stop laughs and fun, and an auction drawing of almost 50 Great odds of winning & tons of door prizes. If you can't attend, you can still buy tickets and win (prices starting at only $5) at Do you have a child currently in Pre-k or know any families with children who are just about ready for Kindergarten? Help us spread the word about the upcoming DAT Kindergarten Information Fair on Monday, December 11, 2017 at 7:00 pm. For more information please contact Amy Berkowitz Caplan at acaplan@datcampus.org or call The Women s Division of the Denver Community Kollel presents an inspiring video for women featuring Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi. The video, Bringing the Light of Chanukah into Our Lives, will take place at the Halpern home, 210 S. Oneida St., this Monday, December 11th. Doors open at 7:45 pm, program at 8:00. Sponsored by Esti Schwab li ilui nishmas Yocheved Ruchoma bas Avraham Aaron. $5 suggested donation to help cover costs of future presentations. Chabad of Colroado presents Chanaukah Night at the Children's Museum, Thursday, December 14th, 5-8pm! Exclusively for us! Special Chanukah activities and refreshments. Special rate this coming Monday (11/27) only $10 per person. See website for details. 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: Keira Basch, Irit Bean, Alan Bielsky, Ramona Harris, Yair Hoffman, Debby Kasztl, Yisrael Katz, Alan Pomeranz, Molly Claire Schoenberger Leonard Marks Mon., 12/11/17 (23 Kislev) Aliza Tzipora Fuksbrumer Thu., 12/14/17 (26 Kislev) Jordon Perlmutter Tue., 12/12/17 (24 Kislev) Joyce Lightstone Thu., 12/14/17 (26 Kislev) *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 9 / 21 Kislev 320 B.C.E. According to Megillat Taanit, on this date, Alexander the Great of Mecedonia met Shimon HaTzaddik, the High Priest of the Holy Temple. Fearing that Alexander would destroy Jerusalem, he went to meet him before he arrived at the city, but instead, upon seeing the High Priest, Alexander made the rare move of dismounting and bowing, explaining that he'd previously seen the High Priest in a dream. Interpreting this vision as a good omen, Alexander spared Jerusalem and in gratitude, the Sages decreed that the Jewish firstborn of that time be named Alexander After Russia is taken over by the Bolsheviks, the Finnish Parliament issues a declaration of independence from Russia and grants civil rights to Jews living in Finland HaRav Yoel Teitelbaum, zt"l, the Divrei Yoel of Satmar, is rescued from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, along with 1,368 other Jews, through the efforts of Rudolf Kastner, head of the Zionist rescue operation in Hungary. The Satmar kehillah celebrates this day as a Yom Tov. The people rescued were transported out of Bergen-Belsen to safe haven in Switzerland, and settled in a camp at Beatenberg where they spent the last few months of the war. 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 Ilana Dintza bat Ita Mirrel Shashi bat Batya Baila Benyamin ben Bryna Ita Sheiva bas Udyah Shifra Hadassah bat Chaya Leah Bryna bas Menucha Kalia bat Miriam Shira Chana bat Sara Carmel ben Tirtza Leah bat Helen (Ahti) Shirley Hasia bat Devorah Chaim Shmuel ben Miriam Leah bat Sarah Shlomo ben Penina Chaim Tuvia ben Dina Leah Devora Kivitiya bat Chaya Shoshanna bat Liora Chana Yetta bat Bryna Leya bat Sara Shoshanna bat Smadar Chaya Chanah Elisheva Rivka bat Sarah Malka bat Sarah Shoshanna Miriam bat Chanah Chaya Miriam bat Shoshana Masha bat Nachama Shulamit Leah bat Chava Chaya Orah bat Sarah Michel ben Leah Tamar bat Esther Devorah Leah bat Chanah Miriam Tova Chaya bat Chanah Tirtza bat Sarah Dinah bat Chayala Nataniel ben Elisheva Tomas ben Galit Doniel ben Chana Noa Shani bat Chaya Bracha Tova bat Nechama Dovid ben Laya Rachael bat Devorah Tzvi Gershon ben Shaindel Shaina Raizel Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka Raphael Yotam ben Efrat Yaakov Mordechai ben Chana Eliyahu Dovid ben Ita Sheiva Reuven Yehoshua ben Nechama Yehuda Mordechai Shrage ben Roiza Feige Ephraim ben Henna RJ Roshka bat Bryna Yehudit bat Leah Faige bat Sarah Sara Chana bat Shaina Yona Malka bat Pola Hadassah bat Fruma Rahel Sarah Shoshanna bat Sarah Yosef ben Malka Ida bat Esa Shaina Meryl bat Rivka 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 9th 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! Rabbi Sacks (Continued from page 1) Pharaoh makes him Viceroy over Egypt, the greatest empire of the ancient world. He gives him his own signet ring, has him dressed in royal robes and a gold chain, and has him paraded in a chariot to the acclaim of the crowds. A mere thirty years old, he has become the second most powerful man in the world. From the lowest pit he has risen to dizzying heights. He has gone from zero to hero overnight. What is stunning about the way this story is told in the Torah is that it is constructed to lead us, as readers, in precisely the wrong direction. Parshat Vayeshev has the form of a Greek tragedy. Mikketz then comes and shows us that the Torah embodies another worldview altogether. Judaism is not Athens. The Torah is not Sophocles. The human condition is not inherently tragic. Heroes are not fated to fall. The reason is fundamental. Ancient Israel and the Greece of antiquity the two great influences on Western civilisation had profoundly different understandings of time and circumstance. The Greeks believed in moira or ananke, blind fate. They thought that the gods were hostile or at best indifferent to humankind, so there was no way of avoiding tragedy if that is what fate had decreed. Jews believed, and still believe, that God is with us as we travel through time. Sometimes we feel as if we are lost, but then we discover, as Joseph did, that He has been guiding our steps all along. Initially Joseph had flaws in his character. He was vain about his appearance; [1] he brought his father evil reports about his brothers; [2] his narcissism led directly to the advances of Potiphar s wife. [3] But the story of which he was a part was not a Greek tragedy. By its end the death of Joseph in the final chapter of Genesis he had become a different human being entirely, one who forgave his brothers the crime they committed against him, the man who saved an entire region from famine and starvation, the one Jewish tradition calls the tzaddik. [4] Don t think you understand the story of your life at half-time. That is the lesson of Joseph. At the age of twenty-nine he would have been justified in thinking his life an abject failure: hated by his brothers, criticised by his father, sold as a slave, imprisoned on a false charge and with his one chance of freedom gone. The second half of the story shows us that Joseph s life was not like that at all. His became a tale of unprecedented success, not only politically and materially, but also morally and spiritually. He became the first person in recorded history to forgive. By saving the region from famine, he became the first in whom the promise made by God to Abraham came true: Through you, all the families of the land will be blessed (Gen. 12:3). There was no way of predicting how the story would end on the basis of the events narrated in parshat Vayeshev. The turning-point in his life was a highly improbable event that could not have been predicted but which changed all else, not just for him but for large numbers of people and for the eventual course of Jewish history. God s hand was at work, even when Joseph felt abandoned by every human being he had encountered. We live life forward but we see the role of Providence in our lives only looking back. That is the meaning of God s words to Moses: You will see My back (Ex. 33:23), meaning, You will see Me only when you look back. Joseph s story is a precise reversal of the narrative structure of Sophocles Oedipus. Everything Laius and his son Oedipus do to avert the tragic fate announced by the oracle in fact brings it closer to fulfilment, whereas in the story of Joseph, every episode that seems to be leading to tragedy turns out in retrospect to be a necessary step to saving lives and the fulfilment of Joseph s dreams. Judaism is the opposite of tragedy. It tells us that every bad fate can be averted (hence our prayer on the High Holy Days that penitence, prayer and charity avert the evil decree ) while every positive promise made by God will never be undone.[5] Hence the life-changing idea: Despair is never justified. Even if your life has been scarred by misfortune, lacerated by pain, and your chances of happiness seem gone forever, there is still hope. The next chapter of your life can be full of blessings. You can be, in Wordsworth s lovely phrase, surprised by joy. Every bad thing that has happened to you thus far may be the necessary prelude to the good things that are about to happen because you have been strengthened by suffering and given courage by your ability to survive. That is what we learn from the heroes of endurance from Joseph to the Holocaust survivors of today, who kept going, had faith, refused to despair, and were privileged to write a new and different chapter in the book of their lives. Seen through the eye of faith, today s curse may be the beginning of tomorrow s blessing. That is a thought that can change a life.

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 CAN WE TALK? It s been just over a year now since we opened the DAT Minyan office, and it s probably a good time to review some of the communication tools we ve put in place to help us stay connected with you. CONTACTING YOU Our most effective way of informing the congregation of news and events is by . If you have not been receiving s from us (we usually send at least two per week), please check your ShulCloud profile through the DAT Minyan website and make sure we have your correct address. And while you are there, please take a few moments to verify that other information in your profile (phone numbers, address, birthdates, anniversaries, yahrzeits) is also correct. CONTACTING US For anyone who is still wondering (or wandering), our offices are at BMH-BJ, 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., in the west wing of the complex on Center Ave and the office is closed on Monday. You can always call us and leave a message (messages are checked daily other than on Shabbat) at , and our FAX number is Or, you can us office@datminyan.org, or for our Executive Director, Rob Allen, rallen@datminyan.org. CONTACTING RABBI FRIEDMAN To reach Rabbi Friedman directly, the best method is his , rabbifriedman@datminyan.org. We would ask that you please DO NOT TEXT him, as texts are sometimes not seen and can easily be misplaced. If your need to reach Rabbi Friedman is URGENT, you can either call the office or call him on his cell phone.

6