Parshas Eikev 18 Av 5769 August 8, 2009

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1 Go To: for all this information (and more!) Contact the Editor at: Newsletter Archive Parshas Eikev 18 Av 5769 August 8, 2009 On Friday, August 7, 2009 Candle lighting: 8:02 pm Mincha/Kabbalas Shabbos: Begins at 7:00 pm (Summer Schedule) On Saturday, August 8, 2009 Havdalah: 9:04 pm Next Week Friday, August 14 Candle lighting: 7:55 pm I t s A b o u t T i m e SHABBOS Shacharis Hashkama 7:30 am Main 8:45 am Alternative Services Learners 10:00 am Jr. Congregation 9:30 am Youth Group resumes after the summer (8/22) Shiurim Daf Yomi in English 7:45 am R. Feigenbaum - (Mesechta Shavous) 6:50 pm R. Methal - (Chumash w/ Rashi) 6:50 pm Boys Mitzvah Class with Mr. Ashley resumes after the summer Mincha 7:50 pm Maariv/Shabbos Ends 9:04 pm WEEKDAY Shacharis Sunday 7:00 & 8:00 am Mon, Fri 6:40/7:15 am Mincha/Maariv 8:00 pm Late Maariv 10:00 pm Earliest time for Tallis & Tefillin 5:50 am Latest time for Shema 10:09 am Latest Shacharis 11:17 am Nightfall Aug. 15-8:51 pm (Say the three paragraphs of the Shema) Kuzari class by R. Feigenbaum, Sundays 8:40 pm Woman s Parsha class by Malkie Schick, Wednesdays at 8:30 pm Kiddush & Shalosh Seudos Shabbos Hospitality Friday Night Aug. 7- Susan Press Shabbos Lunch Aug. 8 - Esti Abrams Friday Night Aug Meira Naor Shabbos Lunch Aug Miriam Banarer To sponsor a Kiddush ($250) or Shalosh Seudos ($125), call the office by Tuesday night. Call for more info. Early Minyan is sponsored by the Shul Kiddush is sponsored by Beverly and Frank Berger in honor of their 40 th wedding anniversary and Karen and Larry Kosowsky in honor of their 26 th wedding anniversary. Beverly and Larry would like to express their gratitude to everyone who cooked a meal, came to visit, made a phone call, said a prayer, and helped out in anyway during our recent surgeries and recoveries. We thank Hashem for bringing us through this and for everyone s good wishes. Kiddush is also sponsored by Rabbi Avi and Miriam Methal. Shalosh Seudos is sponsored by Rickey Cohen in memory of his father, Bernard M. Cohen, Dov baer Moshe ben Yaakov.

2 Life Events & Salutations Kiddie Kiddush is sponsored by Rickey Cohen in memory of his father, Bernard M. Cohen, Dov baer Moshe ben Yaakov. The 2nd Annual Health and Safety Fair will be held August 31 st. To volunteer, please contact Evelyn Chafetz at To register to be a sponsor or exhibitor, go here Learn how to read Hebrew before the High Holidays! Five classes beginning Wednesday, August 26 th and continuing Sept. 2, 9, 16 and 23 at Ohr HaTorah, 7:45 pm. See Rabbi Meir Wahrsager for more details. Upcoming Events ~ Save these dates! Don t Be a Stranger Come learn the themes of the High Holidays walking through the High Holiday Prayerbook Tuesday nights, Sept. 1, 8, 15, 22 at Ohr HaTorah, 7:45 pm with Rabbi Mayer Hurwitz. Night Seder Come and study Torah at Ohr HaTorah, nightly from 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Join our Monday and Thursday Night Special where you can learn with a Data Rabbi as a study partner. rabbihurwitz@datanet.org to sign up. High Holiday Services for Young Professionals- Meals, Hospitality and a Gala Oneg Shabbat. Meet other Young Professionals, Meaningful High Holiday Services on a variety of levels, World-Famous Game of Life-- $100 per person (limited scholarships available) Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 4 th. For more information and to register, contact RabbiMethal@ohtd.org We need your help with Shabbos Hospitality for the upcoming Shabbaton with Scholar in Residence, Rabbi Elzaz, an Irish Rabbi who will be here for our Chizuk Shabbaton on Sept. 5 th. Please contact RabbiMethal@ohtd.org if you are available to host guests or to be a Shabbaton Sponsor for $100. Labor Day, Sept. 7 th - Legal Holiday Lecture at 9:15 am- Presentation on the Halachas of Mezuzah and Tefillin- by a Sofer who will check your mezuzahs and tefillin, as is the custom prior to the High Holidays. Are Longhorns Kosher for a Shofar?? Come watch a special video presentation at Ohr HaTorah on Labor Day, Sept. 7 th from 9:30 10:30 am. For boys and girls, ages 7 and up. Cost: $3. This year you can order your Succah Materials directly from Ohr HaTorah. Simply fill out the form on our website or call the office to coordinate all the details. For your convenience, all orders shipped directly to your home. Deadline to place an order is Sept. 24 th. The community initiative of Praying with Fire is up to day 82 as of August 8th. We have begun compiling information for our new membership directory. If there is any information for your family (such as cell or home phone numbers, addresses, etc.) that you would like to be omitted from our membership directory, please or phone the shul office. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that we can include your contact information in our directory. If you placed an ad in the 10 year anniversary journal and haven t received your copy, please come to the office to receive your complimentary copy. Additional copies are available for $5. Please note that we only have two 2-part shtenders left for sale. They are $50 each. Thanks to ~ Ilana Rosenberg and Tova Epstein for baking for this week's kiddush. Hashem for the Brocha that he gave us on the birth of our daughter, Tehila Brocha Methal. Bulletin designed and updated by Dru Richman

3 THERE S UP, OR DOWN BUT NO STANDING STILL Ohr HaTorah Chizuk Shabbaton! Shabbos of Inspiration! September 4-4 5, 2009 Featuring Rav Noftali Elzas Rosh Yeshiva, Marbeh Torah B nei Barak, Israel

4 Mission...Possible! Congregation Ohr HaTorah is beginning a Shadchan service for Torah-observant singles of all ages. The goal is marriage. Matches will be m ade by local rebbeim and rebbetzins after an interview process by trained lay people. We will be starting out locally and hope to eventually approach shuls in other cities. If you are interested in participating in this project, either as a single or in another capacity, or you would like additional information, please by clicking on this link (or copying-and-pasting it): mission_possible18@yahoo.com Thank you!

5 Ohr HaTorah Shul-Wide Tefillah Initiative Supplement Praying With Fire BY RABBI HESHY KLEINMAN WEEK 12: DAYS Careful Speech A peasant looked out on his windowsill one day and saw a tiny, pure white bird. He soon discovered that it could fly higher and sing more sweetly than any other bird in creation. Every day, it would fly to the clouds and return to the windowsill. It would sing melodies that would lift the peasant s heart. One day, the peasant decided to bring this exquisite bird to the King, hoping to be rewarded with riches. But the peasant had no knowledge of how to treat a creature so fine. As he cradled it in his mud-caked hands, the dirt sullied the bird s silky feathers. He fed it coarse grain, which scratched the bird s throat and ruined its melodious tone. The peasant locked the bird in a wooden cage and traveled to the king s palace. At the gate, the guard asked the visitor s purpose. I have a rare gift for the king, he replied. This bird can fly higher and sing more sweetly than any other bird in creation. Let me see, the guard demanded. The peasant fed the bird some grain and said, Sing! The tiny bird opened its mouth and croaked a few raspy notes. I ve heard roosters with sweeter voices, the guard commented. Well, let me see it fly. The peasant removed the bird from the cage. The dirt from his hands clung to the bird s feathers, weighing it down. It briefly flitted about in the treetops and then returned to its cage. Your gift is not fit for the king, the guard stated sharply. Take your bird and go home. Page 1 of 3

6 A prayer is a pure, exquisite offering to the King of Kings. However, it cannot do what it is supposed to do if it is sent Heavenward with the grime of impure speech clinging to its wings. It cannot deliver its sweet melody to the Creator if it is damaged by coarseness. For a holy prayer to find acceptance at the palace gates, it must be pure. That means that the mouth that utters it must be pure, for an impure vessel cannot produce a pure product. The prayers of Pesukei D Zimrah, said before reciting Baruch She amar, begin with the words, Hareini m zamein es pi l hodos u l hallel u l shabeiach es Boree -- I now prepare my mouth to thank, laud and praise my Creator. How does one prepare one s mouth? He protects it from improper speech, permitting no falsehood, loshon hora, coarse or hurtful words 1 to come from his lips. It is no coincidence that the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva, who was renowned for the efficacy of his prayers, was equally renowned for his vigilance in shmiras haloshon and truthfulness. 2 In Nisan, 5768/April 2008, the Rebbetzin of HaRav Chaim Kanievsky wrote an open letter to Klal Yisroel: We need you in prayers The situation in Eretz Yisrael is very difficult. We are suffering terrible losses, many orphans and widows from different diseases. My husband, the Rabbi, was asked what could be the reason for all these tragedies. The Rabbi opened a Gemara and said it's because of foul language. And how can we correct ourselves? Only by watching what we say A prayer that comes from the heart through a holy mouth is immediately accepted by Boreh-Olam and prevents many troubles and tragedies and brings Yeshua to the world Improper speech is so damaging to the quality of one s prayers that on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, the first order of business is the reciting of Kol Nidre (annulment of vows). Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Aeurbach explained that one cannot begin to utter the life-and-death prayers of Yom Kippur with a mouth tainted by unfulfilled vows and oaths. 3 1 The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Shimon Finkleman with Rabbi Yosef Weiss, ArtScroll, Page Ibid, page Halichos Shlomo on Moadim, Tishrei-Adar, Footnote 7, Page 51. Page 2 of 3

7 One who wants to ensure the sanctity of his mouth has the opportunity seek help from Hashem Himself. This is done at the conclusion of Shemoneh Esrei, when one recites, Elokai, n tzor l shonee meirah u sefasai m dabeir mirmah -- My G-d, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceitfully. It can be done by reciting other verses as well, such as the words of Tehillim 4 pleading, O L-rd, place a guard for my mouth; watch the portal of my lips that it should close from speaking bad. 5 The Manchester Rosh Yeshiva found inspiration in the words of the Iggeres HaRamban: Forever be accustomed to speaking in a pleasant manner to any person on any occasion. 6 4 Tehillim 141:3. 5 Rashi, Ibid. 6 The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Shimon Finkleman with Rabbi Yosef Weiss, ArtScroll, page 248. The material above was adapted from 'Praying With Fire 2' (Artscroll/Mesorah). Page 3 of 3

8 Chizuk Shabbaton * Shabbos of Inspiration * Sept 4-5 Be a sponsor only $100 Be a host for sleeping and/or meals Call Rabbi Methal! rabbimethal@ohtd.org Rav Noftali Elzas Rosh Yeshiva, Marbeh Torah! Rav Elzas, a son of Holocaust survivors, is a dynamic, charismatic and multi-faceted Rosh Yeshiva whose powerful enthusiasm has ignited generations of students. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and then moved to Israel. He studied at Ponevezh yeshiva and has been an educational leader for over 35 years. An internationally acclaimed lecturer and confidant of the Gedolei Yisrael (giants of Israel), he rekindles the light that the Nazis tried to extinguish and has become a gadol in his own right. His lucid shiurim on Gemara and Hashkafah (outlook) draw a wide audience and his keen insight and deep understanding of a wide spectrum of topics has made him a sought-after personality. His leadership of Marbeh Torah gives a vitality and character which makes the Yeshiva unique. Yeshiva Marbeh Torah is geared towards English speaking students aged who want a pleasant, sincere environment where the common goal is growth and advancement. The Rosh Yeshiva gives personal attention to every individual, guiding him to maximize his abilities and potential. Independence in Gemara coupled with mussar (personal growth) and hashkafah are goals common to everyone in the yeshiva. As the only English-speaking yeshiva in Bnei Barak, it attracts individuals from every corner of the world.