בס"ד MIZRACHI MATTERS SHABBAT PARASHAT VA EIRA (Vol 8, No 17) To sponsor the newsletter please call the Mizrachi office on 8317 2504 Friday, 27 December (24 Tevet) Minchah at 7:00pm 1 Candle Lighting between 7:15pm 7:20pm Z manim SHABBAT 28 DECEMBER 25 TEVET 1. Beit Yehuda 2. Beit HaRoeh 3. Beit Midrash 4. Bnei Akiva 5. Elsternwick 6. Midrashah 7. Rabbi s Home 8. Goldberger Hall 9. Nachalat David SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 29 DECEMBER 30 DECEMBER 31 DECEMBER 1 JANUARY 26 TEVET 27 TEVET 28 TEVET 29 TEVET 6:25am1 1 8:00am1 THURSDAY 2 JANUARY ROSH CHODESH 6:20am 1 8:00am 1 FRIDAY 3 JANUARY 2 SHEVAT 6:30am 1 8:00am 1 8:00am 1 Shacharit 7:30am 1 6:30am 1 6:30am 1 9:30am 8:00am 1 8:00am 1 Dawn 4:47am 4:48am 4:49am 4:49am 4:50am 4:51am 4:52am Tallit & Tefillin 4:56am 4:57am 4:57am 4:58am 4:59am 5:00am 5:01am Sunrise 5:59am 6:00am 6:01am 6:01am 6:02am 6:03am 6:04am Sh ma (גר"א) 9:41am 9:41am 9:42am 9:43am 9:43am 9:44am 9:44am Earliest Mincha 1:59pm 1:59pm 2:00pm 2:00pm 2:01pm 2:01pm 2:02pm Minchah followed 8:20pm 1 8:35pm 1 8:35pm 1 8:35pm 1 8:35pm 1 8:35pm 1 7:00pm 1 by Ma ariv Candles 7:20pm - 7:25pm Sunset 8:45pm 8:45pm 8:45pm 8:46pm 8:46pm 8:46pm 8:46pm Night 9:27pm 9:27pm 9:27pm 9:28pm 9:28pm 9:28pm 9:28pm Shiurim Halachah Yomit Mishnah Yomit Events R Bert Mond R Leor Broh 9:00am 2 Avi Gilboa 9:30am 6 Drashot R Broh 1 Rabbi Sprung s Parashat HaShavua Shiur Sefer HaKuzari 8:45am 6 (for women) 9:30am 3 Practical Halachah in the 21 st Century 8:30pm 2 R Dovid Segal Gemara B iyun 8:30pm 2 Michal Kaufman (Lewis house) 9:00pm Chumash Shiur for women 10:00am 6 Rav Kook Shiur 8:30pm 6 Weekly Parashah Shiur for ladies & girls 7 Morrice Street Caulfield 11:00am Ari Morris Sefer Chofetz Chaim 1:00pm 6 Chani Winkler (for women) 8:15pm 2 Masechet Brachot 8:45pm 6 Gemara B iyun 7:00pm 6 Gemara Shiur 7:45pm 3 Shiur for men 8:45pm 7 Parashat HaShavua in easy Hebrew 8:45pm 3 8:45pm 3 Not today Between Minchah Between Minchah Between Minchah Between Minchah Between Minchah and Ma ariv 1 and Ma ariv 1 and Ma ariv 1 and Ma ariv 1 and Ma ariv 1 Not today Avot 5:2-3 Avot 5:4-5 Avot 5:6-7 Avot 5:8-9 Avot 5:10-11 Avot 5:12-13 Avot 5:14-15 8:10pm 1 8:25pm 1 8:25pm 1 8:25pm 1 8:25pm 1 8:25pm 1 6:50pm 1 Seudah Shlishit 8 Yossi Aron The History of Jewish Newspapers in Australia The Holy Bagel 9:00am 3 Hebrew Erwin Lamm Jeff Lipshatz Nicole Lefkovits Molad for Sh vat 1:42pm (and 6 chalakim) Michal Herz Yahrtzeits Janie Fixler Fay Kingsley Beverley Honig Michelle Rubin David Fisher Zalman Rosenblum Max Shnider Zev Brykman Tom Danko
ב ס "ד NE W S L E TT E R FOR T HE ELSTERNWICK JEWISH COMMUNITY 28 December 2013 25 Tevet 5774 Parshat Va eira Yahrzeits during the coming week Jannette Richter [28 December] Henry Shmerling [29 December] Arthur Kafka [30 December] Wendy Kramer [31 December] Sam Laser [2 January] Basil Krawitz (Grandmother) [3 January] Helen Steinberg [3 January] David Klein [3 January] Contact numbers Rabbi Rabbi Chaim Cowen 0433-308-584 cowen.chaim@gmail.com Co-Chairman Mark Kras 0410-460-970 imkras@gmail.com Co-Chairman Robbie Wyner 0417-541-957 robert@foodsinternational.com.au Gabbai Elan Jacobs 9596-2050 elanjacobs@hotmail.com Secretary Sally-Ann Jaye 0437-625-350 ejc@mizrachi.com.au Haphtarah requests Dennis Max 9528-6865 classact@werple.net.au Shabbat times Candle Lighting this week Candle Lighting time if attending Kabbalat Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat this week Shacharit (NO Pre-Shacharit Shiur) Rabbi s Shabbat Shiur The Jewish view on organ donation - part 2 Mincha at Shabbat ends at Candle Lighting next week Candle Lighting next week if attending Kabbalat Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat next week 8.27 pm 7.12 pm 6.40 pm 9.30 am 7.25 pm 8.10 pm 9.27 pm 8.28 pm * pm 6.40 pm Mazel Tov Lorraine & Danny Fantl on the marriage of their daughter Gayle to Moshe Shargian in Israel, this week Avi Paluch on the marriage of his daughter Tamar to Shilo Ben Zeev in Israel, next week Deborah & Alvin Diamond on the marriage of Deborah s daughter Rivy Cowan to Shahar Razon in Israel, on 10 December Rabbi & Chaya Cowen on the arrival of a baby boy, brother to Levana. Mazel Tov to all grandparents and greatgrandparents. The Brit Milah will be on Sunday 29 December. Shacharit at 8.00am in the Shule followed by the bris and buffet breakfast all welcome Jan & Nathan Kamien on the arrival of a new granddaughter, daughter for Romy & Gaby Blecher Condolences Rabbi & Rivka Sufrin and family on the passing of Rivka s nephew in London, Nochum Tzvi Potash a h Contributions to this Newsletter (please) Sally-Ann ejc@mizrachi.com.au Kiddush this Shabbat You are all invited to the kiddush, which will be sponsored by EJC.
All women are invited to an Israeli sing-along night
Va'eira 5774 Issue 511 25 Tevet 5774, 28 December 2013 Bs d www.torahmitzion.org שבת מציון Shabbat MiTzion Mazal Mazal Tov Tov to to Yoni Yoni Rubin Rubin (shaliach (shaliach in in Melbourne Melbourne 5772) 5772) with and Liana Liana Kalkopf Kalkopf from from Melbourne Melbourne on on their their marriage! marriage! Z Plagues of Egypt - Healing the Soul Rav Meir Katz - Yeshivat Nachalat Yisrael, Migdal Haemek, Former shaliach - Torah MiTzion Melbourne 5760 Usually, when we think of plagues and afflictions, and certainly when we talk about severe afflictions such as the ten plagues of Egypt, we become filled with feelings of fear and awe. In any case it is important to realize that the Torah, especially the inner spirit of the Torah, includes another facet of suffering apart from the fearawakening and awe-inspiring effect. Within human agony is hidden the Creator's love and concern for His creations. Upon occasion, in order to take man to task on his follies and heal him from spiritual maladies, there is no alternative rather than suffering in order to rehabilitate him as the IDF saying goes: "what isn't learned with the head will be learned by the legs." (ie. the punishment for inappropriate conduct is running laps). However also when messages are internalized the hard way, it is upon us to contemplate and understand the internal message that Hashem is communicating, both so that the suffering is not in vain and in order that we should not have to experience it again. "I am the Lord your healer": In the Exodus from Egypt we witness the grace of Hashem in that even though the Yalkut Shimoni states: "these worshiped idols and these worshiped idols" (meaning - Israelites were as guilty as the Egyptians in this regard), the plagues were brought on the Egyptians only. Even so, it is incumbent upon us to realize that with every blow that Hashem brought upon the Egyptians, he healed a spiritual malady related to that very plague so by way of the plagues "Egypt was hurt while Israel was (simultaneously) healed" - an idea appearing in the Zohar. According to this view, the plagues of Egypt are not just a story, or simply the story of God's grace to Israel, instead they are a lesson for future generations as how to heal our souls, and to leave "Mitzrayim" (Egypt) namely the spiritual obstacles ('straits' from the word 'meitzar') that prevent us from being "A kingdom of priests and a holy nation". In this article we will not attempt to explain the significance of each of the ten plagues, however by focusing on two of them we may become enlightened about all of the plagues. ed in the human condition, for all life emanates from water. Because Egypt is called "the nakedness of the land" - the lowest moral and spiritual level, the Nile became a deity to the people, not just from a material standpoint, but as a focal point of a lustful Hedonistic lifestyle. The entire meaning of life in Egypt was related to the waters suggesting a life focused on fulfillment of desires. Bnai Yisrael too assimilated and became defiled by Egyptian culture, suffering from the same 'illness'. Through the plague of blood Hashem revealed that this water is sullied and nothing but blood representing physical lust that heats the blood and causes a person to pursue his desire. Bnai Yisrael are to be nurtured by pure water - 'mayim chayim' (waters of life), symbolizing the Holy Torah. The result is that the first plague afflicted the most basic element, the very source of all human life - water. The plague of hail : The final plague mentioned in our "Parasha" is the plague of hail. We can learn a general principle about all of the plagues from the hail as Hashem states: "because this time I'm sending all plagues." What's so special about the plague of the hail? We can elaborate about a few points: 1. In the Plague of hail, fire and water were used together as the hail that fell was accompanied by fire. 2. Loud noises accompanied the falling of the hail. Chazal say that thunder and lightning were created only to straighten the curvature of the heart. What is the curvature or perversion of the heart? The most basic perversion of the human heart is pride - the foundation of the original sin of Adam. Thunder and lightning cause the human heart to fear and thus experience humility in the presence of the Creator. This is likely the reason for the use of fire and water together, since the ability to combine two contradicting forces can be achieved only by a measure of humility. This point illustrates the importance of this plague, specifically directed against Pharaoh whose sin of excessive pride is glaring. Indeed it was in response to plague of hail that Pharoah says: "G-d is righteous and I and my people are wicked." There is no doubt that we too need to cure ourselves from the disease of pride, today just as in ancient times. May it be His will that "As in the days when we left the land of Egypt I will show them wonders" (Micah 7:15) and we should learn and internalize the remedy contained within the plagues and thereby merit that "any of the diseases that I placed in Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am the Lord, your Healer." (Exodus 15:26) Tribute to Rabbi Baruch and Pnina Weintraub, YU TMT Beit Midrash Zichron Dov Toronto Shabbat Times The plague of blood: The first blow of the ten plagues, blood, is the most powerful as the shock value is the greatest from the outset and also because the first serves as the basis for all plagues that followed. In the plague of blood Hashem struck the waters of the Nile, which is the source of all life in Egypt - a land of desert, dryness and very little precipitation. Water, from the standpoint of 'tumah' (impurity), symbolizes all the vices includ- Jerusalem Begin 16:07 End 17:23