Shabbat - 12/06/08 (9 Kislev 5769)
By rachel-esther | November 30, 2008
For your local Shabbat Candle-lighting times, please go here.
This week’s reading is — Vayetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3).
Torah Aliyot and Topics:
Aliyah 1: Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob’s flight and his vision at Moriah
Aliyah 2: Genesis 29:1-17
Jacob meets Rachel, Jacob contracts to marry and is deceived
Aliyah 3: Genesis 29:18-30:13
Jacob contracts to marry and is deceived, Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel Leah bears four sons, Rachel is fulfilled through Bilhah
Aliyah 4: Genesis 30:14-27
The dudaim, Leah’s last three children, Rachel conceives: the birth of Joseph, Jacob wishes to leave, but concludes an employment contract with Laban
Aliyah 5: Genesis 30:28-31:16
Jacob wishes to leave, but concludes an employment contract with Laban, Laban’s new deceit, The decision to flee from Laban, Jacob wins the consent of his wives
Aliyah 6: Genesis 31:17-42
Jacob’s flight, Laban’s pursuit and G-d’s warning, The confrontation of Jacob and Laban
Aliyah 7: Genesis 31:43-32:3
The confrontation of Jacob and Laban, Laban proposes a treaty, Laban and Jacob part ways
Maftir: Genesis 32:1-3
Laban and Jacob part ways
For more information about this week’s Parsha, please visit these sites.
Orthodox Union
Chabad
Aish HaTorah
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Topics: Bible, Genesis, Parsha, Vayetzei, shabbat | No Comments »
This Week in Jewish History (11/30-12/6)
By rachel-esther | November 30, 2008
November 30:
1941 - 27,000 Jews of Riga Ghetto taken for execution
1947 - Arab terrorist campaign began
2000 - Author Ilona Karmel died (An Estate of Memory)
December 1:
1652 - Portuguese Jewish statesman Manuel Fernando de Villareal executed by the Inquisition
1742 - Jews of Great Russia expelled by order of Empress Elizabeth
1909 - Deganiya Alef, Israel’s (then known as Palestine) first kibbutz was founded
1973 - David Ben-Gurion died
December 2:
1763 - Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, oldest existing shul in the U.S. dedicated
Topics: Jewish, history | No Comments »
Shabbat - 11/29/08 (2 Kislev 5769)
By rachel-esther | November 23, 2008
For your local Shabbat Candle-lighting times, please go here.
This week’s reading is — Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9).
Torah Aliyot and Topics:
Aliyah 1: Genesis 25:19-26:5
Rebecca’s barrenness and pregnancy, The birth of Jacob and Esau, The personalities emerge, Sale of the birthright, A famine forces Isaac to Philistia
Aliyah 2: Genesis 26:6-12
Isaac in Gerar
Aliyah 3: Genesis 26:13-22
Isaac in Gerar, The prophetic dispute over the wells
Aliyah 4: Genesis 26:23-29
G-d assures Isaac, Abimelech reaffirms the treaty
Aliyah 5: Genesis 26:30-27:27
Abimelech reaffirms the treaty, Esau marries, Isaac’s decision to bless Esau, Rebecca’s scheme, Jacob gets Isaac’s blessing
Aliyah 6: Genesis 27:28-28:4
Jacob gets Isaac’s blessing, Esau arrives for his blessings, Esau’s hatred of Jacob, Jacob is told to flee to Laban, The admonition against marrying a Canaanite
Aliyah 7: Genesis 28:5-9
The Abrahamic blessing is conveyed to Jacob, Esau marries the daughter of Ishmael
Maftir: Genesis 28:7-9
The Abrahamic blessing is conveyed to Jacob, Esau marries the daughter of Ishmael
For more information about this week’s Parsha, please visit these sites.
Orthodox Union
Chabad
Aish HaTorah
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Topics: Bible, Genesis, Parsha, Toldot, shabbat | No Comments »
This Week in Jewish History (11/23-11/29)
By rachel-esther | November 23, 2008
November 23:
1593 - Anti-Jewish riots in Bucharest claimed many Jewish lives
1924 - Herzliya was founded
November 24:
1941 - “Life Certificates” were distributed to some Jews of the Vilna Ghetto
November 25:
2104bce - The Flood ends
1357 - Charles IV issued protection for the Jews of Strasbourg
1489 - Abudarham’s Siddur was first published in Lisbon
1744 - Jews who had fled the British were able to return
1744 - Austrian soldiers killed many Jews in Prague
1783 - American forces retake New York from the British
1917 - The New York Section of the National Council of Jewish Women dedicated the first shelter for “homeless and friendless” Jewish women discharged or paroled from New York City and New York state jails
1940 - The Patria, a steamer carrying illegal immigrants sank in Haifa port, 200 dead
November 26:
1095 - First Crusade proclaimed by the Council of Clermont
1941 - The recapture of Rostov by Russian forces marks the first major setback suffered by Germany in World War II
1944 - Himmler ordered the destruction of Auschwitz’s crematoria
November 27:
1874 - Chaim Weizmann was born
1914 - The American Joint Distribution Committee was founded
November 28:
1939 - The Judenrat was established by the Nazi governor-general of Poland
November 29:
1862 - Phoebe Yates Levy Pember was given charge of a Confederate military hospital in Virginia
1947 - United Nations votes in favor of partition of Palestine, thus paving the way to the establishment of the State of Israel
Topics: Jewish, history | No Comments »
Shabbat - 11/22/08 (24 Cheshvan 5769)
By rachel-esther | November 16, 2008
Drash - Parsha Chaya Sarah
“That’s So Frumpy”
In this parsha we see three stories which all have the common theme of modesty. In today’s modern society the ideas of modesty is considered frumpy and out of date. The popular culture leads one to believe that modesty is not to be looked upon as anything positive. In fact, it is to be disdained and derided.
In the first part, we learn of the death of Sarah and Abraham’s purchase of a burial place for her. Sarah was praised in the Tanach for her modesty. She was a holy woman whose power of prophecy were greater than those of Abraham’s yet she remained humble and modest.
In the second part of this parsha, we learn of the engagement and marriage between Rebecca and Isaac. Rebecca was known to be a virgin and was a modest woman in her family. When she saw Isaac in the field she covered herself to show her modesty to her future husband. Rebecca is said to have been very much like Sarah.
In the third part of this week’s reading, we learn of Abraham’s remarriage to Hagar (Keturah). Hagar was given the name Keturah because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (ketores). Hagar remained chaste (modest) from the time she was sent away by Abraham through the time that she remarried him.
Modesty is something to be praised in both women and men. Praised are those who do not follow the modern immoral culture but follow the modest way of life.
For your local Shabbat Candle-lighting times, please go here.
This week’s reading is — Chaya Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18).
Torah Aliyot and Topics:
Aliyah 1: Genesis 23:1-16
Sarah’s death and the purchase of a burial site
Aliyah 2: Genesis 23:17-24:9
Sarah’s death and the purchase of a burial site, Finding a wife for Isaac
Aliyah 3: Genesis 24:10-26
Finding a wife for Isaac, Eliezer’s criteria, Rebecca is equal to the test
Aliyah 4: Genesis 24:27-52
Rebecca is equal to the test, Laban, The recapitulation
Aliyah 5: Genesis 24:53-67
The recapitulation, Isaac and Rebecca
Aliyah 6: Genesis 25:1-11
Abraham’s remarries Hagar, Abraham and Hagar’s children, Abraham’s death and burial
Aliyah 7: Genesis 25:12-18
Ishmael’s genealogy
Maftir: Genesis 25:16-18
Ishmael’s genealogy
For more information about this week’s Parsha, please visit these sites.
Orthodox Union
Chabad
Aish HaTorah
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Topics: Bible, Chaya Sarah, Chayei Sarah, Genesis, Parsha, drash, modesty, shabbat | No Comments »
This Week in Jewish History (11/16-11/22)
By rachel-esther | November 16, 2008
November 16:
1380 - Riots in Paris, France led to the death of many Jews
1917 - The British occupied Tel Aviv
1940 - The Warsaw Ghetto was sealed by the Nazis
1945 - Yeshiva University was founded
November 17:
331 - Birth of Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus (he favored the return of Jerusalem to the Jews)
1278 - The Jews of England were imprisoned and many were martyred
1938 - Italian anti-Semitic code (patterned after the Nuremberg Laws) was published
November 18:
1571 - Jewish community of Ferrara, Italy escaped disaster when an earthquake struck
1958 - Jerusalem’s new reservoir was opened
November 19:
1887 - Poet Emma Lazarus died
November 20:
1521 - All Jewish wine was dumped by Arabs and heavy fines imposed on the Jewish community of Jerusalem
1785 - The earliest Yiddish letter from America was written
1929 - Gertrude Berg’s popular radio program, The Goldbergs, about an upwardly mobile American Jewish family debuted on NBC radio
1938 - First anti-Semitic attack over the radio in the United States by Father Caughlin was aired
1949 - The Jewish population of Israel reached one million
1977 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat spoke to the Knesset
November 21:
1818 - An English missionary petitioned the Czar of Russia to restore the Jewish independence in Eretz Yisrael
1961 - The first Chassidic town in the United States (New Square, New York) elected its mayor
1965 - The Ashdod port opened for business
November 22:
1793 - Strasbourg prohibited circumcision and the wearing of beards and ordered the burning of all books in Hebrew
1974 - The U.N. General Assembly approved the right of the “Palestinians” to a soverign state at the expense of Israel
Topics: Jerusalem, history | No Comments »
Shabbat - 11/15/08 (17 Cheshvan 5769)
By rachel-esther | November 9, 2008
Drash - Parsha Vayera
“Hospitality”
In this parsha we see three stories which all have the common theme of hospitality. Abraham was healing from his circumcision when three angels disguised as men came along the path leading to Abraham’s camp. Without hesitation, Abraham greeted these men and begged them to not continue their travels without stopping for a rest and a meal. Upon Abraham’s commands, both Sarah and the servant prepared food for the men - again without hesitation. When the men arrived in Sodom, Lot also hurridely greeted the men and brought them to his home for food and rest. Lot also knew that these men would be assaulted if they did not stay within his home so he also provided protection. Upon Abraham and Sarah’s sojourn into Abimelech’s kingdom, there was again hospitality shown but this time Abraham and Sarah were the ones receiving the hospitality. After the incident of Sarah being taken by Abimelech (who thought she was Abraham’s sister and not his wife), Abimelech blessed Abraham and permitted him to travel and stay in the kingdom and offered Abraham gifts.
We can see from these three stories that hospitality is highly prized. We should all strive toward hospitality of those strangers amongst us. This could be anything from offering a co-worker a ride home to offering to feed and clothe a needy neighbor. Hospitality is shown throughout the Tanach (Hebrew Scripture) and is taught by HaShem Himself. Hospitality is a prized possession of humans and we all need to make sure that we do not squander that prize.
For your local Shabbat Candle-lighting times, please go here.
This week’s reading is — Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24).
Torah Aliyot and Topics:
Aliyah 1: Genesis 18:1-14
Visiting the sick and hospitality to strangers, The promise of a son is revealed to Sarah
Aliyah 2: Genesis 18:15-33
The promise of a son is revealed to Sarah, G-d’s love for Abraham, Abraham intercedes for Sodom
Aliyah 3: Genesis 19:1-20
Sodom is destroyed, Lot
Aliyah 4: Genesis 19:21-21:4
Lot, Lot’s daughters and the birth of Moab and Ammon, Abraham in Gerar, Abimelech appeases Abraham and Sarah, The birth of Isaac
Aliyah 5: Genesis 21:5-21
The birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael are expelled, Ishmael is saved
Aliyah 6: Genesis 21:22-34
The alliance with Abimelech at Beer-sheba
Aliyah 7: Genesis 22:1-24
The tenth trial: The Akeidah/Binding of Isaac on the altar, The birth of Rebecca
Maftir: Genesis 22:20-24
The birth of Rebecca
For more information about this week’s Parsha, please visit these sites.
Orthodox Union
Chabad
Aish HaTorah
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Topics: Bible, Genesis, Parsha, Torah, Vayera, drash, hospitality, shabbat | No Comments »
This Week in Jewish History (11/9-11/15)
By rachel-esther | November 9, 2008
November 9:
1656bce - Death of Methuselah
1553bce - Death of Rachel
1526 - The Jews of Pressburg, Slovakia were expelled by order of Queen Maria
1862 - Ulysses S. Grant ordered Jews barred from service under his command
1938 - Kristallnacht
November 10:
1975 - U.N. General Assembly adopted the Zionism is Racism resolution
November 11:
1918 - Armistice Day ending World War I
1938 - Jesse Sampter, an influential Zionist educator, a poet, and a Zionist pioneer, died at Kibbutz Givat Brenner
1973 - Israel and Egypt sign a six-point cease-fire agreement
November 12:
1938 - Hermann Goering announced consideration of Madagascar as a home for European Jewry
1939 - The Jews of Lodz, Poland were ordered to wear yellow armbands
November 13:
139bce - Death of Mattiyahu
1844 - Czar Nicholas I of Russia issued a decree calling for the establishment of a school for Jewish students and a seminary to train rabbis and teachers
1757 - Talmudic volumes were burned in Russia, 1757.
1956 - First Israeli train arrives in Gaza
November 14:
1942 - Ghettos in Radom, Cracow, and Galicia were set up by the Nazis
November 15:
2105bce - Beginning of the Great Flood
1896 - The National Council of Jewish Women held its first national convention at Tuxedo Hall in New York City
1938 - Jewish students were barred from German schools
1984 - Shoshana Cardin was elected as the first woman president of the Council of Jewish Federations
Topics: Jewish, history | No Comments »
Shabbat - 11/08/08 (10 Cheshvan 5769)
By rachel-esther | November 2, 2008
Drash - Parsha Lech Lecha
“Moving Foward”
Abram was commanded by G-d to rise and leave his homeland and his family. Abram did not hesitate for it says: “And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you.” And Abram went, as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy five years old when he left Haran.” (Genesis 12:1-4)
When we are called upon by G-d to perform a task - no matter how insignificant or monumental it seems to us - we are commanded to follow Abram’s lead. Abram did not say, “Sorry, G-d but I cannot possibly go right now. I am needed at work and at my age it will be impossible to find another job”.
We, as Jews, are commanded to follow the mitzvot handed down directly from G-d, contained in the Written Torah and detailed in the Oral Torah. The excuses that are made by many of us for not keeping the mitzvot is that they are too hard or they are not significant and meaningful in the modern world or they will cost us time and/or money. “I cannot keep Shabbos. I have to work on Saturdays or I will not get the promotion. I need the promotion to make more money so I can take care of my family.” This is an old refrain and an excuse used by many to not keep Shabbos. We need to follow Abram’s lead and trust that G-d will provide. Doing mitzvot - such as keeping Shabbos - will bring us closer to G-d and will help to teach us to trust G-d.
Abram was not afraid to pack up his household and leave for a foreign place he had never seen. He did this in a time when there was no internet, phone, cable, or newspapers. Abram trusted that G-d would provide for him and his household. Abram followed G-d with all his heart, mind, and soul. Can we really ask that we ourselves do any less?
For your local Shabbat Candle-lighting times, please go here.
This week’s reading is — Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27).
Torah Aliyot and Topics:
Aliyah 1: Genesis 12:1-13
G-d’s call to Abraham, Abraham comes to Canaan, Abraham and Sarah in Egypt
Aliyah 2: Genesis 12:14-13:4
Abraham and Sarah in Egypt, The return to Eretz Yisrael
Aliyah 3: Genesis 13:5-18
Abraham and Lot part ways, The repetition of the promise
Aliyah 4: Genesis 14:1-20
The war of the kings, Sodom is defeated, Lot taken captive, Abraham saves Lot
Aliyah 5: Genesis 14:21-15:6
Abraham shuns honor, G-d’s reassurance to Abraham
Aliyah 6: Genesis 15:7-17:6
The Covenant Between the Parts: The promise of the land, Egyptian exile and redemption, The ratification of the covenant, Hagar and Ishmael, The covenant, New names and a new destiny
Aliyah 7: Genesis 17:7-27
New names and a new destiny, The promise to Sarah
Maftir: Genesis 17:24-27
The promise to Sarah
For more information about this week’s Parsha, please visit these sites.
Orthodox Union
Chabad
Aish HaTorah
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Topics: Bible, Genesis, Lech Lecha, Parsha, Torah, shabbat | No Comments »
This Week in Jewish History (11/2-11/8)
By rachel-esther | November 2, 2008
November 2:
1648 - 12,000 Jews were massacred by Chmielnicki’s forces
1917 - The Balfour Declaration was issued
1943 - The Nazis liquidated the Riga Ghetto (Riga, Latvia)
1944 - The order from Berlin to suspend killing of Jews at Auschwitz was announced
1949 - The Weizmann Institute of Science was dedicated in Rehovot, Israel
1970 - Bella Abzug was elected to the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second Jewish female ever elected to the United States Congress
November 3:
1394 - Jews of Paris, France were expelled
1878 - First settlers to Petach Tikva area
1992 - Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer were elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first Jewish female senators
November 4:
1943 - The Jews of Florence, Italy were rounded up and deported
November 5:
1370 - King Casimir III of Poland (friend of the Jews) died
1685 - Congregation Bracha V’Shalom of Surinam was dedicated
1956 - Israel Captured Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt
1967 - Last of Aden’s (Yemen) Jews arrives in Israel
2002 - Linda Lingle was elected as Hawaii’s first female and first Jewish governor
November 6:
1834 - Jews of Austria fwere orbidden to have first names of Christian saints
1938 - First anti-Semitic attack over the radio in the U.S. was broadcast
1941 - 500 Jews of Kolomyya, Galicia and 15,000 Jews of Rowno, Poland were massacred by the Nazis
1942 - 12,000 Jews of Minsk were executed by the Nazis
1944 - Chana Senesh (Szenes) was executed in Budapest by the Nazis
1973 - Abe Beame became the first Jewish mayor of New York City
November 7:
1532 - Solomon Molcho, Marrano, kabbalist and mystic, was burned at the stake
1917 - British capture Gaza from Turkey
1984 - Madeleine Kunin was elected as the first Jewish and first female governor of Vermont
November 8:
1855 - The United States. agrees not to protest against Swiss discrimination against American Jews
1988 - Nita M. Lowey was elected to Congress
Topics: Jewish, history | No Comments »
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