TT 452 
SHABBAT PARSHAT VA'Y'CHI - CHAZAK
18 TEVET 5761
January 12,13 '01 

HALACHIC TIMES for Jerusalem
Correct for TT #452. Ranges are for THU-THU, 16-23 Tevet (JAN 11-18)
For sunrise and sunset, first time takes into account the elevation above sea level of Jerusalem, (the times in parentheses do not take elevation into account). 
For the deadlines for Shma and Shacharit, the first times are according to the GR"A, the day being reckoned from sunrise to sunset. (The times in parentheses are according to the Magen Avraham, the day being reckoned from dawn to stars-out).
Candle lighting - 4:20pm 
Havdala - 5:37pm (Rabbeinu Tam - 6:13pm)
Earliest Shacharit • 5:35-5:34am 
Sunrise • 6:35-6:34am (6:40-6:39am) 
Sof Z'man Kri'at Sh'ma • 9:11-9:12am (8:24-8:25am) 
Sof Z'man Shacharit • 10:03-10:04am (9:31-9:33am) 
Chatzot (halachic noon) • 11:47-11:49½am 
Mincha Gedola (earliest Mincha) • 12:17-12:20pm 
Plag Mincha • 3:54-4:00pm 
Sunset • 4:59-5:05½pm (4:54-5:00pm) 

The Jerusalem Great Synagogue calls upon shuls in Israel and the Diaspora to conclude every Friday night service with — 
IM ESHKACHEICH YERUSHALAYIM TISHKACH Y'MINI.
TIDBAK L'SHONI L'CHIKI IM LO EZK'REICHI
IM LO A'ALEH ET YERUSHALAYIM AL ROSH SIMCHATI.

WORD OF THE MONTH
A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... 

I can't believe I forgot to write about the lunar eclipse in the last issue. I really feel bad about it. It is a beautiful opportunity to take Yeshayahu's words to heart: S'U MAROM EINEICHEM... Lift your eyes heavenward and see (ponder) Who created these. The most common question I've been asked since Tuesday night is WHY NO BRACHA? The question needs more space than this box, but here's the short version. [A] Nothing happens in an eclipse to the Sun, Moon, Earth, of anything else. The just get in each other's way. [B] The perception of an eclipse is a negative sign for the world and/or Bnei Yisrael, because the light of one of the Great Luminaries is diminished. Even though we know and understand the workings of eclipses, the perception is still there. Look at it this way: G-d could have set the heavenly bodies in motion in such a way that eclipses wouldn't happen. So the events are part of G-d's message to us. Just as I (so to speak) built into nature the harmless, short-duration diminishing of the Sun and the Moon, know that I am not bound by nature and I can change things around in a very bad way for the people of Earth and/or the Jewish people, if that is what is called for. (There's more; B'HIZDAMNUT) 

Gather and I will tell you...
First comes belief, faith, trust, confidence.... then comes knowledge. Or better yet, first comes knowledge based on belief, trust, etc. and then comes the confirmation of the knowledge based on actual experience.
Imagine how different things would be if we knew the outcome of things before we got involved in the vicissitudes of life. It seems clear that G-d does not want us to KNOW what is going to happen, rather He wants us to behave in a proper way and take actions based on Torah morality, ethics, and training in mitzvot. To a certain extent, how we behave will determine what will happen. It is then counter-productive to be told in advance.
This is how we can understand what happened to Yaakov Avinu when the Sh'china left him momentarily, when he was about to share his prophetic knowledge with his children.

It is the lack of knowledge of the future that makes our day to day decisions so significant. This, on an individual level, and on a national level. We do not know what will be, and (perhaps) therefore our decisions are so important.
(shortened because of lack of space in the hard copy)

Sedra-Stats
12th of 54 sedras; 12 of 12 in B'reishit
Written on 148.33 lines in a Sefer Torah
Va'y'chi is composed of 12.11 parshiyot, 7 open, 5 closed. In addition, the first part of the sedra is the end of the previous parsha from Vayigash. Vayigash and Va'y'chi are the only sedras not separated by a parsha-break.
85 p'sukim - ranks 44th in the Torah 1158 words - 44th; 4448 letters - 43rd
P'sukim of average length. Smallish parshiyot.
Smallest sedra in B'reishit in all 3 categories; well below average for the whole Torah.
Mitzvot VA'Y'CHI contains none of the 613

Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
Kohen - First Aliya - 13 p'sukim - 47:28-48:9
The sedra begins with Yaakov at age 147, having been in Mitzrayim for 17 years. (Remember that Yosef was 17 when the trouble started - any significance in the number 17?) The Torah tells us that Yaakov is near death and Yosef is called to his bedside. Yaakov asks Yosef that he (Yaakov) should not be buried in Egypt but rather in Me'arat HaMachpeila. Yosef agrees; Yaakov asks Yosef to swear to it.

[SDT] Why would Yaakov ask Yosef to swear - didn't he trust him? Among reasons mentioned in commentaries, the oath might prove necessary in obtaining permission from Par'o for the funeral. Even if Par'o would have been inclined to say "no", he would respect an oath. This, according to the Midrash, would not be because he was so honorable, but rather because Yosef had sworn not to divulge a particular secret about Par'o. Par'o could not say to Yosef, "I don't care what promises you made", etc. There are commentaries who suggest another possible reason for making Yosef swear - Yosef might be very upset about his mother not being buried in the "proper" place, and he might not respond favorably to his father's request.
[SDT] Yaakov asks Yosef for Chesed v'Emet - "True Kindness". It is generally considered that tending to the burial of the dead is the purest form of kindness, because, among other reasons, it is the one situation in which the recipient of your kindness cannot repay the favor himself. It is an act of kindness without recompense.

Commentators question this idea in Yosef's case. We are taught that Yosef merited having his remains taken out of Egypt as a reward for his attention to Yaakov's wishes. How can we refer to what he did for his father as Chesed shel Emet? One answer is that Yosef received reward in kind only by being taken out of Egypt and buried in the Land of Israel. His body spent a long time in Egypt. His act of True Kindness to his father was that Yaakov's body did not spend even a moment being buried in Egypt. For this, Yosef was not paid back in kind; his action on behalf of Yaakov's funeral arrangements was indeed Chesed shel Emet.

Another understanding of the concept of CHESED SHEL EMET is that when one does a favor for a living person, one never knows if things will actually turn out all right. It might look like a good thing to do, but things can turn out "don't do me any favors". An act of kindness to the dead, on the other hand, is an unquestioned act of Chesed.

Some time later, Yosef is informed (by Ephraim who regularly ministers to and learns Torah with Yaakov) that Yaakov is sick ("at death's door"). Yosef brings his two sons with him to Yaakov (so that they can receive his blessing). Yaakov is strengthened by the news of Yosef's impending visit (Thus is the power of BikurCholim).

G'MATRIYA 
The Talmud tells us that one who visits the sick diminishes the person's illness by 1/60 (specifically, if the visitor and the ill person are close). Such was the case when Yosef visited his father. This idea is supported by G'matriya. 
"And he said to Yosef - HINEI AVICHA CHOLEH (Behold, your father is sick)." 
The G'matriya of HINEI is 60. 
After Yosef's visit, the Torah tells us that Yaakov sat up "AL HAMITA (on the bed)". HAMITA = 59. 

[SDT] As to who told Yosef that his father was sick, it is Rashi who brings the opinion that it was Ephraim, who tended to Yaakov's needs in Goshen while Yosef was in Egypt proper. The Midrash says that it was As'nat, Yosef's wife, who told him.

Speaking of As'nat... The Midrash says that she was Dina's daughter, who was raised by Potifar in Egypt. The Midrash also says that when Potifar's wife accused Yosef of improper advances, it was As'nat who privately told Potifar the truth, thus saving Yosef's life.

Yaakov tells Yosef of HaShem's promises to him and his descendants and of Rachel's death and burial. He then assures Yosef that his two sons - Ephraim and Menashe - will be considered equal to Yaakov's sons. (This in essence, is the double portion of inheritance that Yaakov is giving to "his heart's first-born", the elder of his beloved Rachel's two sons.) Then Yaakov takes notice of the boys and asks Yosef to present them so that he can bless them.

[SDT] The Gemara says that a person should not blurt out bad news in a direct manner, but should rather use circumlocution (saying some thing in a round-about way so that the listener has to figure out the message for himself.). In the case at hand, the message should have been (perhaps) "Your brothers are well", from whichYosef would figure out the state of affairs without having to be told outright. "Kodesh Hilulim", quoted in Wellsprings of Torah, explains things in light of the Gemara's statement elsewhere, that Yaakov was the first person to get sick before death.
If this is so, then Yosef would likely have misinterpreted a message that said his brothers are well, and would have assumed that his father had died. To avoid this, he had to be told straight-out "your father is sick". Speaking with hints works only if it's understood. If not, it is best to be clear.

Levi - Second Aliya - 7 p'sukim - 48:10-16
Yaakov's eyesight fails him in his old age (as did Yitzchak's) and Yosef brings his sons and moves them towards Yaakov, who kisses and hugs them. Yosef then takes his sons off of Yaakov's lap, so that he can present them to Yaakov formally. After bowing before Yaakov, Yosef carefully and formally presents his sons to Yaakov with Menashe on the left and Ephraim on the right so that Yaakov's hands will rest on the appropriate heads for the blessings. Yaakov switches hands, resting his right on Ephraim and his left on Menashe. Yaakov thus blesses Yosef by blessing his (Yosef's) children with the famous words: HAMAL'ACH HA'GO'EL OTI... [The best blessing a father can receive is one for his children.]

Yaakov's reference to fish in his blessings for Ephraim and Menashe (and for all Jewish children in perpetuity) is explained on at least two levels. Fish are prolific; Yaakov was blessing his descendants that they should become a large nation. (Note, however, that his blessing was for 'in the midst of the Land'.) It is also known that the EYIN HARA has no hold over fish. And this too was part of his bracha. (BTW, the Yiddish name Fischel (fish) is often paired with Ephraim; obviously, this bracha is the source of that name-pair.)

Shlishi - Third Aliya - 6 p'sukim - 48:17-22
When Yosef realizes that Yaakov has switched hands (and has thus "favored" Ephraim over the firstborn Menashe) he gets (understandably) very upset and tries to "correct" the positions of Yaakov's hands. Yaakov resists, explaining to Yosef that he is fully aware of what he is doing; and that Ephraim will indeed surpass his brother in greatness. On this same day, Yaakov blesses them by saying that the traditional blessing for sons shall be: "May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe".
Think about this...

Imagine the panic that Yosef must have felt when he witnessed the potential of "history repeating itself". How can Yaakov do what he was doing when he was painfully aware of the consequences of favoring one son and of the jealousy that it creates (can create).

That's the point! It CAN create jealousy, but it need not. It depends upon the character of the people involved. A parent can "tiptoe" around just so long, making everything equal and even, in the hopes that jealousy will not rear its ugly head. But that kind of behavior just postpones the jealousy, not eliminates it. Parents have to build the character of their children, so that they will develop good MIDOT, personality traits.

Perhaps Yaakov Avinu saw that his two possessed the qualities that "allowed" him to do what he did.

Two major personality traits that a person should strive for are: not being boastful when in a superior position and not being resentful when in an inferior position. Ephraim was destined to become greater than his older brother Menashe. These two brothers were such that Ephraim did not lord himself over Menashe, nor was Menashe jealous of Ephraim's prominence. What greater blessing can a father give his sons than "May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe!

Yaakov then tells Yosef that he is about to die; that G-d will be with the family-nation; that He will restore them to the Land of their ancestors; and that he (Yaakov) has provided Yosef with an additional portion of the Land.

R'vi'i - Fourth Aliya - 18 p'sukim - 49:1-18
Yaakov gathers his sons around him with intentions of revealing to them "the end of days" (knowing the future will ease the pain of the difficult times ahead) - but it is not to be!

[SDT] Rashi says that Yaakov wanted to reveal the "KEITZ" (end of time), but was not allowed to do so by G-d. The original prophecy concerning the exile in Egypt was given to Avraham in the "Covenant between the Pieces". There he was told that his descendants would be oppressed for 400 years. In fact, the people were enslaved for 210 years. The additional 190 years is calculated from the birth of Yitzchak - once Avraham had his first descendant, the "clock of exile", so to speak, began ticking. Egyptian exile would have been more tolerable, had our ancestors known about this 190 year "grace period". This is the KEITZ (KUF=100 + TZADI=90) that Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons. But this he was not permitted to reveal it.
What Yaakov does say to his sons are the descriptions of their character and potential and his blessings for them. (The blessings, often mixed with fatherly criticism, combine to become the brachot of the Tribes.)

Yaakov's words about Reuven speak of his unrealized potential to have been the leader and the indiscretion that lost him the position of leader.
Yaakov refers to the violence of Shimon and Levi. He curses their anger - not them. (Important lesson for us all from this point.)

Yehuda receives the brightest words - he is promised the leadership and respect of his brothers.

Zevulun is given the blessing of prosperity and Yissachar will carry the burden of Torah scholarship. Together, these two tribes will form a partnership that will be mutually beneficial.

Dan will be the judge (and upholder of the honor) of the people. Rashi says that this is a prophecy about Shimshon.

Chamishi - Fifth Aliya - 8 p'sukim - 49:19-26
Gad will be blessed with good fortune (this is Malbim's interpretation which is by far the most optimistic of the various understandings of the pasuk).
Asher's blessing also seems to be that of prosperity (and/or eloquence).
Yosef's blessing is extensive and shows Yaakov's special love for him. It is the bracha of Avraham to Yitzchak and of Yitzchak to Yaakov that Yaakov gives to Yosef, son of Rachel.

The Baal HaTurim points out that the initials of GUR ARYEI YEHUDA - Gimel+Alef+Yud = 14, the numeric value of DAVID.

BEN PORAT (YOSEF) = 2+50 (52) + 80+200+400 (680) = 732. A fruitful son is Yosef. The Baal HaTurim points out that this is the G'matriya of Ephraim and Menashe: 1+80+200+10+40 (331) + 6 + 40+50+300+5 (395) = 732 BTW, Reuven and Shimon = 200+1+6+2+50 (259) + 300+40+70+6+50 (466) + 6 for the connecting VAV = 731. Yaakov said that Ephraim & Menashe shall be LIKE Reuven and Shimon. This works out perfectly with the G'matriyas being one off. 

SHISHI - Sixth Aliya - 27 p'sukim - 49:27-50:20
Binyamin is blessed with success (sometimes qualified). Rashi mentions prophecies of Shaul and Mordechai & Esther. These are Yaakov's words to his 12 sons and he blessed them.

Commentaries point out that Yaakov's words don't always seem to be blessings - but they do contain implied blessings and prophecies.
Yaakov tells his sons that he is about to die and wants to be buried in Me'arat HaMachpeila. (He does not make them swear as Yosef did, since they might not be in a position to fulfill an oath.) Yaakov dies.

The wording in the Torah is indirect - the words death or dying are not used - indicating the special quality of life even in death of Yaakov.

The Torah next tells of the preparation for burial. Yosef tells Par'o of his oath and receives permission for the funeral procession to Canaan. The funeral and mourning for Yaakov is elaborate and extensive.

When they return to Egypt, the brothers are filled with guilt feelings and offer themselves to Yosef as slaves. Once again, Yosef assures the brothers that all that has happened is G-d's will and for the best.

Sh'vi'i - Seventh Aliya - 6 p'sukim - 50:21-26
Yosef promises to support his brothers and families. Yosef lives to 110 (less than his brothers - punishment for hearing his father humiliated and not objecting). Yosef has helped raise even his great- grandchildren. He tells his brothers that G-d will eventually take them out of Egypt and restore them to the Land of Israel,and asks them to remember him and take his remains with them when they leave. Yosef dies (as do the brothers); thus B'reishit, the book of the Avot & Imahot (Fathers & Mothers), ends. [4-pasuk Maftir]

Haftara - 12 p'sukim -M'lachim Alef 2:1-12
A short Haftara for a short sedra. Just as the sedra tells us of the father on his deathbed giving instructions and blessings to his sons, and requesting an act of Chesed, so too do we find King David at death's door, instructing his son Shlomo concerning matters of faith and state and Chesed. David, having served as king for 40 years, departs this world.

ParshaPix
The padlock at the top-left refers to the closedness of the parsha. Va'y'chi is the only sedra that does not begin with a parsha-break (i.e. some blank space before its first word).
Yaakov's bed is mentioned twice at the beginning of the sedra.
The crossed hands are YAAKOV's, from when he gave the brachot to Efrayim and Menashe.
The crown is for Yehuda, as Yaakov said on his deathbed.
The wolf is Binyamin.
The deer in the oval is the symbol of the Israeli Postal Authority. They borrowed their symbol from Yaakov's bracha to Naftali, that he would be the AYALA SH'LUCHA, the swift hind.
The lion cub is Yehuda, as in GUR ARYEH.
The snake is for DAN.
The ship is ZEVULUN.
The donkey is YISSACHAR.
The dripping water faucet is for REUVEN.
The bread is from the bracha of ASHER.
The equation is Yaakov's: Efrayim and Menashe will be like Reuven and Shimon.
And the bottom is for the end of the book of B'reishit - CHAZAK.

TTriddles
[1] I was struck by the use of the words VA'Y'VATEIR... L'VADO for Binyamin (as Yehuda explained to the ruler in Egypt - Yosef). The same wording was used when Yaakov went back for the small items he left on the other side of the YABOK. Running the words through a Tanach search program yielded YOTAM ben Y'RUBA'AL as well. There the word L'VADO is not used, but he is identified as a KATAN. That word also describes Binyamin. And Yaakov had previously said "KATONTI...".
[2] The letters are the official postal abbreviations for 13 states in the U.S. These 13 each have a town in them called GOSHEN. As did Mitzrayim and parshat Vayigash. RHM guessed the correct answer, not because she knew about the U.S. Goshens or checked them, but because she second-guessed my warped TTriddle-making mind. That's part of the secret to success in solving PPPs and TTriddles.

[3] LAITINI is a word made from reversing the letters of INITIAL. If initials are Roshei Teivot, then perhaps laitini can be SOFEI TEIVOT. Baal HaTurim points to the final letters of the first three words (as in TRI-MOT) of Vayigash. The spell SHAVEH, equal. Yehuda was presenting himself to Yosef as an equal - royaly to future royalty - not a humbled servant or beggar for food. This was Yehuda's message/warning to Yosef.
[4] When Yosef and Binyamin cried on each other's necks, Rashi says that Yosef was crying for Binyamin's future loss of the Beit HaMikdash, one and two, which stooon part of Binyamin's territory, for 410+420 years. Binyamin cried for Yosef's loss of the Mishkan in Shilo which stood for 369 years.
[5] If you spin a foreign dreidel to long and hard, its letters can get mixed up and spell GOSH'NA - to Goshen, from Parshat Vayigash. The local (Israeli) dreidel (or should I say S'VIVON) will rearrange letters to spell HAGAFEN. The bracha for the wine that can lead a person to read the dreidel letters out of order.

This week's TTriddles, scattered throughout the hard copy, are collected here for the benefit of the electronic TT reader.
[1] 5328171 5822146 6415411 6452880 6724617 5806335
[2] Rabbi Avraham bar Shmuel Abul'afya
[3] Joel Quenneville's guys in ancient Israel
[4] 219 b. -168
[5] What's the pastry chef's name?
[6] Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, Alan, and...?
[7] His rhyming sons could have been Lupus & Rufus rather than... who?

B"H Yom Yom
based on Day by Day in Jewish History by Rabbi Abraham P. Bloch z"l (KTAV) 
[16 Tevet] Emperor of Austria issued Edict of Toleration, 1782, repealing most restrictions on Jews. It was not successful, and we can say B"H to that, because its true objective was assimilation. This was so of some, but not all, of the freedom the Jews were granted in different countries. ### The ship "29th of November", carrying "illegal" immigrants, was driven off the coast by the British, 1947.
[January 11th] Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dynow, the Bnei Yissaschar, leader of the fight against the Haskala movement, died, 1841. ### Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter, second Gerer Rebbe, the Sfas Emes, died, 1905. ### The poipulation of Israel reached 3 million with the arrival of a Russian Jewish family, 1971.
[17 Tevet] The Pope approved the organization of the Jewish community of Rome, 1524. ### The "Great Elector", Frederick William of Brandenburg issued a decree safeguarding the privileges of the Jews of Berlin, 1676. ### Yahrzeits of two famous MAGIDIM - Rabbi Avraham b. Moshe, the Zera Avraham, 1725, and the Dubno Magid, Rabbi Yaakov Kranz, 1804. [Historical note by Rabbi Bloch z"l: The 18th century saw two "Jewish innovations" - Chasidism and the Magid. Both were responses to a widespread ignorance of Jewish law and learning among the Jews of rural Ukraine and other countries. Both impacted strongly, though MAGIDISM was short-lived, as opposed to Chasidism.] ### Congregation She'arith Yisrael, New York City - the oldest congregation in North America (1656), purchased a lot in lower Manhattan for the purpose of building a shul, 1728. ### 40 Jewish workers at the oil refineries in Haifa were killed by Arabs, 1947.
[January 12th] First provisional council of the Jews of Eretz Yisrael was founded, 1917. ### The Genocide Pact, ratified by the U.N., went into effect, 1951.
[18 Tevet] The two leaders of the Jewish community of Bavel were executed in Pumpedita by the Persian authorities, 468ce. This was followed by a wave of persecution of Babylonian Jewry. ### Pope Martin ### banned the conversion of Jewish children under the age of 12 without permission of their parents, 1420. ### The ships "Independence" and "In-Gathering", carrying "illegal" immigrants, were taken by the British to Cyprus, 1947. Exactly two years later, the British announced their decision to release the internees, 1949.
[January 13th] Caucasian Jews who were serfs of Muslim masters were set free, 1836. ### Emile Zola published his famous letter entitled "J'Accuse". 1898, which led to a revision of the Dreyfus trial. ### Talks were opened on the island of Rhodes, 1949, to discuss an armistice between Israel and the Arabs. ### Solomon Mikhoels, director of the Yiddish Art Theater of Moscow, was murdered in Minsk by government agents, 1952. This was the initial step in the drive to eradicate Yiddish culture in Russia. ### Publication in Pravda of a report on "The Arrest of the Group of Doctor-Wreckers" touched off a virulent anti-Jewish campaign throughout Russia, 1953. 
[19 Tevet] Yahrzeit of Judah Touro, great American philanthropist, 1854. ### Yahrzeit of the K'tav Sofer, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, 1871. ### JNF established, 1901.
[January 14th] Hebrew books and manuscripts which had been confiscated by Church authorities in Rome were burned, 1601. ### RALBAG (Rabbi Levi b. Gershom, a.k.a. Gersonides) completed his commentary on the Torah, 1338. He also wrote extensively on mathematics and astronomy, philosophy, and many difficult topics of Jewish interest. He also invented (or significantly improved) a navigation tool which made possible reliable navigation by stars; it was used for about three centuries (possibly until the invention of the sextant). RALBAG was known throughout the world - not just within the Jewish world.
[20 Tevet] Yahrzeit of the Rambam, 1204. ### The first printed edition of Talmud Bavli - Brachot, Soncino, Italy, 1483. Printed on the 279th yahrzeit of the Rambam, it contained his commentary on the Mishna. ### The Jewish community of Ancona miraculously escaped harm from an earthquake, 1690. The event was commemorated by a local fast day. ### The Nazis prohibited Jews of occupied Poland from changing their residences, 1940. This decree forshadowed the establishment of ghettos. ### 6000 Jews were killed in a pogrom in Bucharest, Rumania, 1941.
[January 15th] Jews of Switzerland were granted civic equality, 1866. These rights were granted after considerable prodding by diplomatic representatives of the United States, who interceded on behalf of American Jewish businessmen who were being discriminated against in their dealings with the Swiss.
[21 Tevet] Birth of Shimon b. Yaakov. ### Purim of Ancona followed the fast mentioned in the entry for 20 Tevet - see above. ### Jews of Galicia, Austria were ordered to adopt fixed family names, 1788. Although this was done as part of the emperor's plans to westernize Austrian Jewry, it was used by state officials to force degrading animal names on poor Jews who could not afford the extortionist prices for desirable names.
[January 16th] Mt. Sinai Hospital, NYC, was the first hospital in America under Jewish auspices, 1852. ### 35 members of the Hagana who set out to relieve besieged Gush Etzyon were ambushed and killed in the hills of Hebron, 1948. They are HA'LAMED-HEI. HY"D.
[22 Tevet] Curtain Purim was declared in Prague in commemoration of the escape from the gallows of Joseph Thein, 1622. ### Anti-Jewish riots in Ancona, Italy (on the day following their private Purim), 1798. ### Roman mobs attempted to set fire to the ghetto and sack it, 1798.
[January 17th] The earliest authorization for the establishment of a university under Jewish auspices, including medical and juridical departments, was granted by King John to Benjamin Romano of Syracuse, Sicily, 1466. (Tell the truth - were you expecting a more recent year?) The university never materialized, because the Jews of Sicily were expelled 26 years after King John's grant. (Imagine a YU with AECOM and Cardozo in Sicily, 535 years ago!) 
[23 Tevet] A fire broke out in the ghetto in Frankfort-on-the-Main nearly destroying it completely, 1711. ### Yahrzeit of Nathan Straus, American communal leader and philanthropist, 1931. (Both Netanya and Rechov Straus, former home of the Israel Center, were named in his memory.)
[January 18th] Israel and Egypt signed an agreement, 1974, on the disengagement of their forces in the Suez Canal area. ### Mordechai M. Noah, American Jewish diplomat, petitioned the State of New York for the sale of Grand Island in the Niagra River for the purpose of founding there a settlement for Jewish immigrants from Europe, 1820. ### Jews of the Warsaw ghetto put up their first resistanceto the Nazis, 1943. This was a prelude to the more famous uprising that took place a few months later.

Hasidic Wisdom from the book by Simcha Raz (Elkins/Elkins) 
One should never despair of any Jew. Even the most wicked Jew retains some grasp of Judaism. After all, a bucket that tumbles into a well can still be pulled from the depths if it is attached to a rope – whether a thick one or a thin one. 
- Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhin 
You cannot really love money, because money cannot love you back. It just goes from one pocket to the next. People simply covet money, and that is why they are never satisfied. 
- Rabbi Meir of Apta 
Tears open gates. Music demolishes walls. 
- Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav 

TT in the Palm of your hand
Technology serving Torah
Long time since this column last appeared. Let's revive the interest in TT for the Palm. You can download the Palm version from the TT website, www.ou.org/torah/tt. Or, send me an email messge to tt@ou.org with the word PALM in the subject line and we'll send you the Palm version of TT as an attachment - weekly. Or you can make an Avantgo channel for TT and it will automatically load into your Palm when you hotsync (and are online at the same time). You can email us for how-to-do the Avantgo channel. (Make it once and then the channel is there.) 

The Shiva for Binyamin Z'ev and Talya Kahana HY"D is over. Two beautiful Jews who lived with the utmost dedication to AM YISRAEL and TORAT YISRAEL and ERETZ YISRAEL are gone. Their six orphans will have the violence of the killings seared into their conscience forever. 
Talya the devoted wife and mother, sweet and soft spoken, deeply religious and instinctively kind – gunned down in cold blood. 
Binny – youngest of Rav Meir HY"D and Libby TIBADEIL L'CHAYIM ARUKIM concentrated all his strength to keep the fire of his father’s teachings burning for the past ten years; he too was extinguished. 
Talya and Binyamin: Together in life, together in death, together in the highest GAN EDEN – reserved for those killed in the sanctification of G-d’s name. 
My friends: 
What message are we left with? To value each day with your parents, your life partner, your children, your friends and your own self as a present from G-d. Treasure the gift of living, which inevitably includes the trials, and tribulations that nag us along the way. Look around to do T'SHUVA – care with more intensity to the needs of family and friends, sick and lonely people around you. Pray more and give extra charity. Somehow, some way, comfort the mourners in Zion, for silence is an option of weakness. 
Rally together in active anticipation of the Complete Redemption. 
These are the ways for perpetuating a fitting tribute in memory of HaRav Binyamin Z'ev and his wife Talya Kahana, HaShem Yikom Damam.
Nachman & Feiga Kahana 

MEANING IN MITZVOT by Rabbi Asher Meir
Each week we discuss one familiar halakhic practice and try to show its beauty and meaning. The columns are based on the commentary “Meaning in Mitzvot” on Kitzur Shulchan Arukh, which is serialized on Yeshivat Har Etzion’s Virtual Beit Midrash, www.vbm-torah.org.

BURIAL
In the final chapters of Bereshit we learn of the deaths of Yaakov and of Yosef, and of their insistence on being buried in Eretz Yisrael. (Bereshit 49:29 – 50:26.) This continues the special attention this book pays to burial and burial places: an entire chapter (23) is devoted to the purchase of the Makhpela Cave as a burial place, and the Torah discusses the burial there of Avraham (Bereshit 25:9-10) and of Yitzchak (35:29). 
Burial of the dead is a paramount value in Jewish law and tradition. Even a blasphemer who is publicly disgraced by hanging must be buried immediately afterwards so as to limit his shame (Devarim 21:23), and the gemara infers from this that burial is a mitzva in general. (Sanhedrin 46b.) And one of the greatest mitzvot of all is to bury a “met mitzva”, a fellow Jew who has no relatives to take care of his burial; and even the Kohen Gadol, who is normally forbidden to take part even in the burial of his own parents, is commanded to occupy himself with such a burial. (Vayikra 21:11 and Rashi there.)

DIGNITY AND ATONEMENT
The gemara cited mentions two main purposes of burial. One reason is shame, and the other atonement. The Rishonim rule that both reasons apply. The reason of shame implies that even if a person wishes to waive this particular atonement and asks not to be buried, his wishes are not honored after his death. It also implies that even a person who requires no atonement must be buried.
The consideration of shame is explicit in the Torah, in the verse we just mentioned: “For a hanged person is a reproach before G-d”. (Devarim 21:23.) It is not just the deceased himself who is disgraced when denied burial; it is also the family (Rashi on Sanhedrin 46b). Rashi (on the Torah) mentions that this is even an indignity towards HaShem; since the human body is created in the image of G-d we must relate to it with respect.
Another way of looking at this reproach is that it stems from the degradation the body suffers from being reduced from the abode of the soul during the person’s life to a mere cadaver. Our consciousness of this terrible degradation is part of the jarring experience of seeing a dead person; conversely, becoming inured to seeing corpses can weaken our sense of how tragic the loss of spirit is.

The connection of burial to atonement is hinted at already in the story of creation. When man is first created, the Torah mentions that he was not made of some other-worldly material but rather “dust from the earth”. (Bereshit 2:7). After death is decreed on mankind subsequent to sin, the Torah adds that “dust you are, and to dust you return”. (Bereshit 3:19.) 
Rashi on the earlier verse gives two explanations of the significance of man’s creation from the dust of the earth. One is that man’s body can be accepted by the earth after death. This is related to the consideration of shame. If the body were not absorbed by the earth, it would be in evidence forever – lika a met mitzva cast in disgrace.

Rashi’s second explanation is that man was specifically created from the earth of the place of the Mikdash, where there was an altar filled with earth which provides atonement. In this way man’s very creation carries with it the seeds of his atonement. What is the atonement of burial, and how is it related to that of the altar?

Rashi on Sanhedrin explains that there is atonement in the very degradation of being lowered into the earth. (The Rishonim discuss the paradox this creates in light of the gemara’s previous statement that it is the lack of burial which is degrading.) This does indeed have a parallel in the atonement of the altar, which according to the Ramban stems from the fact that the slaughter of the sacrifice is a kind of humbling symbolic slaughter of the sinner. 

But this is not the whole story. The whole point of the sacrifice is that after the animal is slaughtered, it is then placed on the altar where it is elevated as a sacrifice to HaShem! This parallels the process of repentance. Through the presence of the soul, the material body is elevated. But sin dims the light of the spirit, which is restored through repentance. The sacrifice reminds us on the one hand that through sin we lower ourselves to the level of animals, or to the level of inanimate matter. But the atonement stems from offering the sacrifice on the altar, reminding us that the potential for holiness is still present.

The same applies to burial. On the one hand, the humbling process of burial reminds us that after all is said and done our bodies are mere dust of the earth. But there is atonement in this humiliation when we recall that Adam was also created from the dust of the earth, but that even so HaShem breathed into him a holy living spirit – as mentioned in the very same verse in Bereshit. (2:7, see the Midrashim on this verse.)

Rabbi Meir is in the process of writing a monumental companion to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which beautifully presents the meanings in our mitzvot and halacha. He is also directing the Jewish Business Response Forum at the Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Jerusalem College of Technology - Machon Lev. The forum aims to help business people run their firms according to Torah, by obtaining prompt, relevant responses to their questions. 

RITE and REASON by Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard 
Q Why is it customary to cover knives during Birkat HaMazon? 
A Our Sages compare one's table to the Altar. One may not cut the stones of the Mizbei'ach with an iron tool, since iron represents the shortening of life (sword) and the Mizbei'ach lengthen one's life. 
A It once happened that a person became so distraught when he reached BONEI YERUSHALAYIM and recalled the CHURBAN, that he picked up the knife and pierced his heart. Consequently the Sages instituted the custom of removing the knives. 
A The blessing for Eretz Yisrael in Birkat HaMazon is the bracha bestowed by Yitzchak on Yaakov. The knife (sword) was in Eisav's blessing. Knives are covered (or removed) to differentiate. 

From the Desk of the Director
In this week’s parshah, the ailing Ya’akov calls to his sons after he has already blessed Yosef’s children Efraim and Menashe and indicated that they were to him “as Reuven and Shimon.” Ya’akov also requests that future generations of Israel be blessed “like Efraim and Menashe.” 

So, what then could the other sons look forward to as they stood around their father’s bed? More blessings? Rebukes for past misdeeds? Prophecies regarding their progeny? Insights as to their share in Eretz Yisra’el? From an examination of Ya’akov’s words, all these expectations would seem realistic. 

However, Abarbanel perceives a more fundamental objective to Ya’akov’s observations of his children. The old father wanted to establish from which of his sons would emerge the future kingship of the Jewish people. Ya’akov therefore describes both their present and future qualities in order to establish this fact and prevent future squabbles among the brothers, known for their envious qualities.

Of course, Yehudah’s singularly positive leadership characteristics triumph. He is the mild cub that matures into a mighty lion; he has the consistent courage to defeat his enemies. And unlike Yosef, he is accepted by all his brothers, including Efraim, Menashe and Binyamin, the favorite offspring. That surely teaches us something about the leaders and the led.
Sincerely yours,
Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center

NCSY B'YISRAEL
Let's ZULA
What did you say, have they finally lost it, the good folks at NCSY?
Every Monday, Thursday and Saturday night at 6:00pm our youth lounge is open to ZULA. That it is to say, to hang out, to shmooze, to shoot the breeze, to chill, and hang about. What will we really do, you ask?
Well, every night will be something else: a concert, a flick, a group discussion, a guest. 
Come, join us - its for all kids, students who are looking for a place to hang your hat (you don't need to bring one though).
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A new program is in the making over at NCSY. It's called GESHARIM, or bridges, and its target audience is recent olim. The idea is to prepare bar/bat mitzva age kids to accept the responsibilities of becoming full fledged members of the tribe. The program will introduce the concepts of basic Judaism, history and ritual in the Jewish life cycle. Whole families will be involved in trips and recreational activities, leading up to the actual bar/bat mitzvah. GESHARIM will also assist in organizing a culminating celebration and party.

FINALLY... your chance to get on stage! 
MAKOM BALEV Jerusalem is opening a DRAMA CHUG for the creative-minded 
Call: Harel: 053-942365 

HOMEWORK HELPERS 
WE'RE DOING IT! 
Tutoring and homework help available for all 4th-7th graders, on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 4:00- 6:00, at the Center. Call Sarah for more info: 5667787 
(whether you are a kid, parent, or potential volunteer) 

Rabbi Michael Fredman, Director 
Daniella Levine, Bat Sherut 
(02) 566-7787 ext. 242 • fax: (02) 566-0156 
ncsy_isr@netvision.net.il 

The Wonder of Tzitzit 
The mitzva of Tzitzit contains within it a great test. The Torah requires every male to tie his 4-cornered garment with the halachic fringes, as a prerequisite to adorning the garment, but does not "require" the male to wear a 4-cornered garment in the first place. Thus, one may easily dismiss the mitzva by not wearing such a garment in the first place. Yet, we have studied over the past 3 weeks the great symbolism and significance of the 4-cornered garment itself, and the fringes as well. So how is it that the Torah did not require the wearing of the Talit? 

The answer is that the Torah tests us – will we allow one of the 613 commandments to be obliviated, or not. Indeed, the Talmud speaks of the mitzva of Tzitzit as one which is "chaviv", dear and cherished by Am Yisrael. Thus we learn that the threat to our Torah is not essentially from outside sources like the Greeks or Romans, but from internal sources, the lack of personal motivation or commitment. Hashem wants us to love the Torah and go all out to fulfill His commandments. The mitzva of Tzitzit is unique in that the very obligation to perform it is left in our hands, and thus its’ reward is so great, since it is always performed out of love. 

This unique quality of the mitzva comes to expression in davening. Firstly, we adorn the Talit at the very start of praying. Then at Baruch She’Amar we take the fringes in our hands, just as we have taken the obligation upon ourselves, we have taken the matter into our own hands. Baruch She’Amar is made up of 87 words, the same as the gematria value of the word Gedilim (fringes) mentioned in the Torah, correlating to the 5 knots and 8 strings on each corner, and correlating to the 13 attributes of mercy which Hashem bestows on the world. When we take fringes from the right side and left side together, we have a combined value of 26, symbolising Hashem’s name (those that their custom is to take all 4 fringes have a total of 26 from the right and 26 from the left). The Midrash explains that Hashem himself passed before Moshe Rabenu wearing a Talit when He forgave our forefathers for the making of the Golden-Calf and when He revealed to Moshe his great secret of the 13 attributes of mercy. 

Our sages declared that one who says the chapters of Shema without wearing a Talit, gives false testimony on himself, or in other words, is a traitor, Boged, from the word Beged. So, we see the great test of Tzitzit. We at Neatzit hope to make the performance of the precept easy, comfortable and accesable to all Am Yisrael. 
– Prepared by the owners of NeaTzit. More to come. 

NESTO welcomes to its board Jeremy Sultan. Jeremy, hailing from Nofei Aviv, is the newest member of the board and has already begun to recruit new members to NESTO and offer helpful comments for programming ideas.

At our first meeting as a full staff, Daniel, Ilana and I targeted key programs that we will be implementing in the upcoming weeks. Next week Daniel will begin a dinner discussion group, and shortly chesed opportunities will be made available for NESTOers to volunteer with.
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The “matzav” hit NESTO this week as our Tuesday speaker could not leave his Efrat home to get to the Center. In his stead, I began a discussion with the 15 kids present on the topic of the rally the night before and their general feelings towards the situation. Afterwards some kids chose to watch a movie, others gathered around one of the NESTOers who brought his guitar for a singing session, and still another group ran off to Ben and Jerry’s to use their NESTO membership discount cards. 
This coming week... Fiddlin'&Food will resume with the topic: Simcha & Drinking 
in Judaism. After discussing the idea with the kids, I have decided to have the lounge ready at 7:00pm with food and music for socializing. The kids will then have a solid 45 minutes to catch up with one another before we begin the Fiddlin'&Food portion of the program.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Avi, Daniel and Ilana
NESTO is the Israel Center's youth program for Anglo-Israelis 
tel. 566-7787 ext. 245 • fax: 561-7432 • silvera@mail.biu.ac.il • www.zyworld.com/nesto 

According to David Bedein, Media Research Analyst and Bureau Chief of Israel Resource News Agency... In mid-November 2000, the Israeli government issued a comprehensive "white paper" which documented that the PLO had broken every agreement that Israel had ever negotiated with it. Yet under pressure from the US Ambassador to Israel, the Hon. Martin Indyk, that government report on PLO non-compliance was not translated into Hebrew nor was it made available to the public at large. The Israeli government has since refused to provide the report for anyone, not even to US congressional representatives . The reason: If that report was released as an official Israeli document, it would make Indyk vulnerable to a charge of perjury, since he testified to US congressional committees that the PLO had complied with the various accords signed with Israel. (there's more) 

THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW 
Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean 

Lesson # 70 - Collecting from the Debtor's Debtor 
Shimon has loaned $100 to Levi, which loan is still unpaid. Reuven then loaned $100 to Shimon. If Reuven can collect the $100 from Levi, then Shimon is left out of the collection process. Under what circumstances may Reuven collect the $100 from Levi? In halachah this concept of Reuven being able to collect from Levi is known as the “lien of Rabbi Nathan.” 

According to Torah law, when Reuven loans $100 to Shimon and a note of indebtedness is executed with witnesses and delivered to Reuven, Reuven has a lien on all of the assets of Shimon including a lien on the outstanding debt from Levi to Shimon. According to Torah law the lien would not apply if the loan from Shimon to Levi was after the loan from Reuven to Shimon. However, the “lien of Rabbi Nathan” extends also to debts of Levi to Shimon that arose after the debt of Simon to Reuven. Levi stands in a relationship of being a guarantor of the indebtedness from Shimon to Reuven to the extent that Levi owes Shimon money. 

Assuming the above facts, that Levi owes $100 to Shimon and Shimon owes $100 to Reuven. If Shimon’s debt to Reuven is uncollectable, then Reuven may sue Levi and collect the $100 under the laws of the “lien of Rabbi Nathan”. It does not matter which indebtedness arose first. It also does not matter how the indebtednesses arose, whether as results of credit transactions or sales or loans, or wages or torts. It will even apply if one of the debts arose from a Rabbinic imposed liability. It does not apply to proposed gifts or proposed charity Levi has promised to give Shimon. When Shimon receives the gifts or charity from Levi, then Reuven can collect the moneys in the hands of Shimon.

The “lien of Rabbi Nathan” extends beyond just three persons. Thus it would extend if Reuven loaned money to Shimon who had loaned money to Levi and Levi had loaned money to Yehudah. If neither Shimon nor Levi can repay Reuven, he may sue Yehudah. 

Reuven can avail himself of the foregoing rights only if Shimon does not have assets from Reuven to collect from. This is ascertained by Beth Din by administering an oath to Shimon that he has no assets in the community besides the moneys due from Levi. But if Shimon has other assets in the community besides the moneys due from Levi, then Reuven cannot sue Levi. If Shimon has assets in another country, it will not impede the operation of he halachah in this instance. Reuven is not under an obligation to travel to another country to collect his debt when the opportunity presents itself here under the “lien of Rabbi Nathan.” There is also a view that Reuven can avail himself of the right to sue Levi even if Shimon has other assets in the country, unless to do so would prejudice Levi, such as when Levi has a set-off to the claim of Shimon against him or claims that Shimon would have extended his time for payment or compromised the debt. 

The halachah give Reuven the right to sue Levi, and he may avail himself of the law, but Reuven has no right to insist that Shimon sue Levi to collect the $100 and pay Reuven. However, if the agreement between Reuven and Shimon is that Shimon will assist Reuven in helping to sell and liquidate Shimon’s assets, then he must do so by suing Levi. The prevailing view is that Shimon would be considered a wicked person if he did not assist Reuven in collecting moneys from Levi, if he could do so.

If Shimon is found within the jurisdiction of the Beth Din, then Reuven must notify Shimon that Reuven is suing Levi to collect the debt from Levi, the debt that Levi owes to Shimon.

There is authority that if Levi is holding money for Shimon, Beth Din may collect the money on behalf of Reuven. 

Shimon cannot drive the debt from Levi, nor extend the time that Levi has to repay the debt since this affects the rights of Reuven. For Shimon to forgive the debt or extend the time for repayment will deprive Reuven of his vested lien against the debt in the hands of Levi. Similarly Shimon may not plea that the note of indebtedness that he holds against Levi is not a valid note or has been repaid, since these pleas will affect Reuven’s lien against Levi. 
If after Beth Din renders a judgement in favor of Reuven against Levi, Levi pays his debt to Shimon. Reuven can still collect the debt from Levi.

Similarly, if Levi fails to appear in Beth Din to answer a summons requested by Reuven, and Reuven obtains a restraining order against Levi not to repay Shimon, and Levi in violation of the order, repays Shimon, and Shimon does not have assets to pay Reuven, Reuven can collect the amount of the debt from Levi. 

Reuven loaned money to Shimon, which loan is evidenced by a note of indebtedness. Shimon has a note of indebtedness against Levi, who happens to be Shimon’s brother. Shimon has no assets and Reuven sues Levi. Levi pleads that the so-called loan from Shimon was really a favor that Shimon did for Levi with the understanding that Levi would not have to repay Shimon. Reuven can collect from Levi even if Beth Din believes Levi unless the note from Levi specifically sets fort the plea of Levi. Beth Din may conclude that Shimon would probably not have compelled Levi to repay the loan, but since he had the right to do so, Reuven may enforce his rights against Levi, if there is no other way Reuven can collect his debt.

Assume that Reuven’s loan to Shimon was an oral loan, thus Reuven has no lien on the realty of Shimon. That means if Shimon would have had real estate when the loan was made and Shimon sold his real estate to Pinchas, Reuven could not sue Pinchas to retrieve the real estate in payment of the loan from Reuven to Shimon. Shimon then loaned money to Levi which loan was evidenced by a note of indebtedness and thus created a lien in favor of Shimon on the real estate of Levi. Shimon has no assets and Levi sold his real estate to Yehudah and Levi was left without assets. Reuven wants to collect from Yehudah on the strength of the note of indebtedness held by Shimon. If Shimon admits that he still owes the money to Reuven, then Reuven may collect his debt from the real estate Levi sold to Yehudah upon Reuven taking an oath that he was not yet repaid by Shimon.

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in Volume III, Chapter 86 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint and on sale at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il

From the virtual desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe 
The Orthodox Union – via its website – fields questions of all types in the areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of the questions are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zt"l to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. The Ask the Rabbi project is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah... 

Question:
Please explain the concept of "makom kavuah" (a set seat in the synagogue) and its origin. My experience has made me question its relative importance compared to respecting others’ feelings. 
Answer: 
The gemara Berachot 6b says: “Whoever sets a place for his prayers, the G-d of Abraham will help him, and when he dies they will say of him: ‘what a humble, righteous man, a student of Avraham Aveinu.’” The mefarshim state that the main point is to daven in one shul; one’s place within the shul is secondary. Some explain that a set place makes it easier to concentrate (Meiri). Others say it is a sign of humility and trust in Hashem like Avraham and as opposed to Bil'am who tried his luck in several places (Iyun Yaakov). Others take more mystical approaches. 

Practically, what should one do? The consensus of poskim follows the Magen Avraham 90:34 that a makom kavua extends 4 amot around one’s place. If one can find such a seat, there is no reason to ask someone to move. Furthermore, one can move from his makom kavuah for an important reason (Tur, O.C. 90; Aruch Hashulchan 90:23). Avoiding making others feel uncomfortable is reason enough (“students of Avraham Aveinu” should make hachnasat orchim a priority). 

Additionally, some explanations imply that the problem is only if one moves of his own accord. If someone is not that careful about always davening in one shul, coming on time, keeping quiet, and other central laws of tefilah, it’s strange to choose makom kavuah as his area of piety at the expense of others. Too many Jews have been “turned off” after weeks in a shul, concluding: “The only words anyone ever said to me were: ‘you’re in my seat.’” We must avoid pointing fingers at others but must also deal with the problem.

The real claim for removing someone from their seat is ownership of the seat. But I wouldn’t suggest using such a claim against a one-time, unintentional user of one’s seat, especially when one comes before Hashem asking Him to overlook our imperfections (see Yoma 23a). From his perspective, a guest or newcomer should avoid sitting in another’s seat. He should realize that many people don’t like moving their seat, and they should be enabled to maximize their tefilah.

It is wise for a shul to have some sort of a clear policy as to members’ rights (e.g. you can ask someone to move until “barchu”) and to have gabbaim greet newcomers and direct them to a safe haven.

This “Ask the Rabbi” Q&A is part of this week’s Hemdat Yamim, the parasha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. You can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. If you would like to receive Hemdat Yamim by email, on a weekly basis, please send an e-mail to lists@eretzhemdah.org with the message Join Hemdatya. Please leave the subject blank. 

TIYULIM 
Any tour with the inimitable Esther Shlisser will be great! This one will be extra special! Reserve now so that you won’t be left out Newest Southern Wall Excavations 
Wednesday, January 17th, 10:00am to noon (approx.) 
(Meeting place given upon registration or inquiry) 
Walk the same path as our forefathers 
Walk the steps they climbed 
Walk and explore the streets they frequented 
Shaarei Hulda 
Special steps 
Entrance and exit to Beit HaMikdash All this and more... 
with Esther Shlisser 
30NIS members 36NIS non-members 

Call the TIYUL HOTLINE 
Dial the Israel Center's number 5-66-77-87, then press 211. You'll hear "thank you, one moment please", and then the phone system's music for 15 seconds. Then the Tiyul Hotline message begins. You can listen to the whole message and then press 2 to leave your message, or you can interrupt by pressing 2 right away and then leaving your message. 

We're going to Eilat...
This time with Hebrew & English guiding and talks
5 days - 4 nights in Eilat SUN to THU, Jan 21st thru the 25th at the beautiful (4-star) Shalom Plaza Hotel Half-board • Mehadrin (not the whole hotel, but the part we will be in) Sde Boker, Nachal Zin Observation Point, Mitzpe Ramon, Carpentry Shop of the Crater, Mt. Hizkiyahu, Red Canyon, fish factory famous for "Denis" fish, unique palm trees, Um Rash Rash, glass-bottom boat, underwater observatory,Sea World, Oceanarium, Timna Park, Nachal Shlomo. Bus with us all the way, to & from, in & out, all around. Guide with us all the way (except for the return to Jerusalem). Evening programs, shiurim, lectures, talent show. 
1200NIS members 1300NIS non-members 
The Hebrew & English guiding of this tiyul makes it the perfect choice for...
• Couples in which one prefers English and his/her spouse favors Hebrew
• Parents and children who are each comfortable in one language or the other
• Friends with different native tongues who'd like to tiyul together
• English/Hebrew speakers who'd like to improve their Hebrew/English

OU/NCSY ISRAEL CENTER 
at the
Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union World Center 
22 Keren Ha'Yesod Street, POB 37015, Jerusalem 91370 
Phone: (02) 566 7787 • Fax: (02) 561-7432 
email: tt@ou.org
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