Halachic Times for Jerusalem Winter (Standard) Time Correct for TT #493 Ranges are for THU-THU, 22-29 MarCheshvan 5762 (November 8-15, '01) For sunrise and sunset, first time takes into account the elevation above sea level of Jerusalem, 825m (the times in parentheses do not take elevation into account). For the deadlines of 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 - 4:08pm (Earliest - 3:41pm) Havdala - 5:22pm (Rabbeinu Tam - 6:00pm) Earliest Shacharit 4:56½-5:02½am Sunrise 5:56½-6:02½am (6:01-6:07½am) Sof Z'man Kri'at Sh'ma 8:39-8:43am (7:54-7:57am) Sof Z'man Shacharit 9:33-9:36am (9:03-9:05am) Chatzot (halachic noon) 11:23-11:23½am Mincha Gedola (earliest Mincha) 11:53-11:54am Plag Mincha 3:41 - 3:38pm Sunset 4:49-4:44½pm (4:44-4:39½pm) 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. We bench Rosh Chodesh Kislev on Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sara, November 10th, '01 ROSH CHODESH KISLEV Y'H'YEH B'YOM HA'SHISHI HABA ALEINU V'AL KOL YISRA'EL L'TOVA The Molad is on Thursday (Nov 15th) 23h 34m 0p In Rambam notation: SHISHI • 5h • 612 chalakim Clock time (can be adjusted for location) THURS NOV. 15, 11:13pm Astronomical Molad - THURS NOV.15, 08:42:04 Notice that the actual Molad of Kislev is on THU morning, 14½ hours before the announced Molad. The difference is because the Earth's orbit around the Sun is not a perfect circle with the Sun at its center, but rather an elipse with the Sun at oneof its foci. (blame Kepler) Our Claim to Eretz Yisrael Every time Chayei Sara comes around, my thoughts go to the purchase of Hebron and Me'arat HaMachpeila by Avraham Avinu. I remember someone quoting this part of the Chumash on the floor of the United Nations during the deliberations following the Six Days War. I went onto the internet to see if I could find some quotes fromback then, and I discovered things that were quite upsetting, and other things that were comforting. Various search keywords led to many anti-Israel and anti-Jewish websites that attempt to discredit our claims and to legitimize Palestinian myths and wishful thinking. But it also led to several Jewish sites... (from "The Jewish Claim To The Land Of Israel" on the website of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise) A common misperception is that the Jews were forced into the diaspora by the Romans after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 CE and then, 1800 years later, suddenly returned to Palestinedemanding their country back. In reality, the Jewish people have maintained ties to their historic homeland for more than 3,700 years... The Jewish people base their claim to the land of Israel on at least four premises: 1) G-d promised the land to the patriarch Abraham; 2) the Jewish people settled and developed the land;3) the international community granted political sovereignty in Palestine to the Jewish people and 4) the territory was captured in defensive wars... In the second century, after crushing the last Jewish revolt, the Romans first applied the name Palaestina to Judea (the southern portion of what is now called the West Bank) in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel. The Arabic word "Filastin" is derived from this Latin name... The Twelve Tribes of Israel formed the first constitutional monarchy in [Eretz Yisrael] about 1000 BCE. The second king, David, first made Jerusalem the nation's capital... Even after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the beginning of the exile, Jewish life in [Eretz Yisrael] continued and often flourished. Large communities were reestablished in Jerusalem and Tiberias by the 9th century. In the 11th century, Jewish communities grew in Rafah, Gaza, Ashkelon, Jaffa and Caesarea...Many Jews were massacred by the Crusaders during the 12th century, but the community rebounded in the next two centuries as large numbers of rabbis and Jewish pilgrims immigrated to Jerusalem and the Galilee... Tzfat... Jerusalem... and elsewhere during the next 300 years... When Jews began to immigrate to [Eretz Yisrael] in large numbers in 1882, fewer than 250,000 Arabs lived there, and the majority of them had arrived in recent decades... No independent Arab or Palestinian state ever existed in Palestine... Prior to partition, Palestinian Arabs did not view themselves as having a separateidentity... Palestinian Arab nationalism is largely a post-WWI phenomenon that did not become a significant political movement until after the Six Days War and Israel's capture of the West Bank... Israel's international "birth certificate" was validated by the promise of the Bible; uninterrupted Jewish settlement from the time of Joshua onward... There's more to say, it will have to wait for another opportunity. The bottom line, I believe, is that G-d promised us the Land and gave it to us... FOREVER. And that includes 5762, 2001, 2002 and every other year in anyone's calendar. And we should not be ashamed or embarrassed to say it without hesitation. Sedra-Stats 5th of the Torah's 54 sedras; 5th of 12 in B'reishit Written on 171 lines in a Sefer Torah, rank 37th 4 Parshiyot; 3 open, 1 closed 105 p'sukim - ranks 32nd (11th)same as D'varim (which is longer) 1402 words - ranks 37th (11th) 5314 letters - ranks 36th (11th) Shorter than average p'sukim Mitzvot: None of the Taryag mitzvot are counted from Chayei Sara, but we learn burial and funeral practices, and L'HAVDIL, things related to marriage, and other "behaviors" Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary Kohen - First Aliya - 16 p'sukim - 23:1-16 The parsha begins by telling us that Sara died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hevron. But first it tells us that she lived a full, long life of 127 years. [SDT] With the last theme of Vayeira being the AKEIDA, the juxtaposition of Sara's death supports our Tradition that Sara died as a result of the Akeida. The Midrash says that the Satan informed Sara about what Avraham was intending to do with Yitzchak, when they went towards Har HaMoriah. The shock was too great for anold woman. Some commentaries give an interesting twist to this episode. They say that Sara expired, not from fear that Avraham was to offer Yitzchak as a Korban, but that he might not! She remembered Avraham's reaction when she told him to banish Yishmael (and Hagar). She was afraid that Avraham's love and kindness towardsYitzchak would prevent him from carrying out G-d's command, and that Avraham would thus fail his ultimate test. When she saw (or heard) that Avraham was returning with Yitzchak still alive, she thought her fears were realized. And that is what killed her. Avraham comes (some say from the Akeida, from Har HaMoriah; some say from Be'er Sheva) to eulogize Sara and to cry for her. [SDT] LIVKOTAH, and to cry for her, is written with a small KAF. Some take this as a reminder that the crying was "small" since Sara had lived such a long life. There is more crying when a person dies young. Others say that the small KAF allows us to reread the word with regular-sized letters only to obtain a differentunderstanding, on a REMEZ (hint) level. And Avraham came to eulogize Sara U'L'VITAH, and her daughter. This corelates with the opinions that Avraham and Sara had a daughter, but she died when Sara did. Not everyone agrees. Avraham next makes the arragements for providing a suitable place to bury Sara. (There is a Tradition that Avraham was aware of the burial place of Adam and Chava, and that is the piece of land he was interested in.) He turns to the people of CHEIT, one of whom is known as EFRON. They all exchange niceties and the peopleoffer Avraham any land he wants. He insists on paying and that is what he does for the field and cave of Machpela. Pirkei Avot made famous that Avraham was tested 10 times. But we are not told what the ten tests are. And there different opinions as to which of Avraham's experiencesare considered tests of his faith. Most lists of the 10 end with the Akeida, as implied from the p'sukim themselves. Rabeinu Yona finds a test after the Akeida - Avraham's experience in providing a burial place for Sara. What was so difficult about that, that it should qualify as a test of faith - especially after theAkeida? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that after the Akeida, Avraham still had a couple of difficult things to go through. Wasn't the Akeida and everything that preceded it enough? No, not finished yet. This can test a person, sometimes, more than terrible trials and tribulations. Surviving the Holocaust did not guarantee a person that he would have an easy life from then on. Some were blessed with trouble-free lives, but most had many more difficulties. We do not know how G-d works. Why must we suffer trials and tribulations in this world? It has something to do with making us better people. With challenging us. With testing us. With preparing our souls for the World of Truth. And probably a lot more. There is another approach to answer the same question. Eulogizing his wife, acquiring a burial place, finding a "shiduch" for Yitzchak - even remarrying Hagar (Ketura) are all "regular", mundane experiences. Can one who spoke repeatedly to G-d, ascended Har HaMori'ah, had a special relationship with G-d - can such a personreturn to being a "normal" human being? This too is a test, and Avraham passed with flying colors. These commentaries point to the pasuk, "And Avraham return to the lads..." as an indication that he was able to "come back down to earth". Levi - Second Aliya - 13 p'sukim - 13:17-24:9 The field, cave, trees, etc. become the lawful possessions of Avraham, after which he buries Sara. Avraham is now at an advanced age and has been blessed greatly by G-d. And G-d blessed Avraham BAKOL, with everything. [SDT] There are many suggestions as to what this extra blessing of BAKOL is. (Everytime we say Birkat HaMazon, we ask G-d to bless us as He blessed our forefathers - BAKOL... Mikol and Kol are terms associated with Yitzchak and Yaakov.) The numeric value of BAKOL 52, the same as BEN, son. This alludes to the ultimate blessing that Avraham received - his son Yitzchak. R. Meir says that Avraham was blessed by not having a daughter. In Avraham's time and in his unique circumstances, who would she have married? What would have happened to her? In this case it was a bracha. R. Yehuda says that Avraham's extra blessing was that he did have a daughter. (As a father of daughters, I can testify that they are indeed a great blessing.) There is even an opinion that his daughter's name was BAKOL. Rabbi Eliezer HaModai says that Avraham was blessed with the art/power of astrology and that he was consulted by noblemen from far and wide. R. Shimon bar Yochai says that Avraham had a precious stone with curative powers that would heal all who gazed upon it. These last two opinions identify BAKOL as Avraham's prominent position in the world. This fits with his role as "father of many nations". Some suggest that Eisav's not sinning and Yishmael's repentance, both during Avraham's lifetime are the extra blessings. There are still other explanations. From the variety of explanations of BAKOL, it is quite clear that Avraham's unique status as the one who restored belief One G-d to the world did not go unrewarded. We can see in this list of blessings, all the different kinds of blessings that can be ours, the spiritual heirs of Avraham Avinu. The one major task remaining, which will forge the next vital link in what promises to be a great people and a great Chain of Tradition, is finding a suitable "shidduch" for Yitzchak. Everything now will depend upon Yitzchak. However great Avraham was, unless there is "solid" continuity, all will be lost. To this end, Avrahamcalls upon Eliezer to swear that he will faithfully carry out his task, that he will return to Avraham's family and hometown, and find a wife for Yitzchak there. And that Yitzchak is not to leave Eretz Yisrael (having been consecrated on the Mizbei'ach during the Akeida). [SDT] If a father forbids his son to marry a specific woman, the son is not halachically required to listen to his father. The Meshech Chochma finds support for this idea in the fact that Avraham instructed Eliezer that he was not to bring a bride for Yitzchak from among the women of Canaan. Avraham did not, however, commandYitzchak so. Just Eliezer. Shlishi - Third Aliya - 17 p'sukim - 24:10-26 Eliezer (who is exclusively referred to as "The Servant", as opposed to by name) takes ten camels laden with a splendid assortment of goods and, travels to Avraham's hometown. Upon arrival. he ties the camels up near the well, towards evening, at the time that the local girls come to draw water. He asks G-d to be kind tohis master Avraham. Eliezer asks for a sign - the girl who will offer him drink and also for his camels she will be the one sent by G-d. No sooner had he finished speaking, when Rivka bat Betu'el of Avraham's family arrives on the scene with her water container on her shoulder. Eliezer runs to her and asks for a bit ofwater. She immediately gives him his fill and then draws water for his camels. Anxious to find out whether she was "the one", Eliezer waits until the camels have their drink and then presents Rivka with gifts of jewelry. (On the one hand, he has seen her kind nature and tireless act of chesed; on the other hand, he hasnot even asked her who she is.) When Rivka tells Eliezer that she is indeed from Avraham's family and invites him to stay at her home, he acknowledges G-d with a bow. [SDT] The Gemara says although Eliezer did not ask properly, G-d answered him properly. Combining the different opinions, let's say that Eliezer's actions were borderline forbidden. Relying on Signs and Omens is forbidden. Yet Eliezer's sign was a reasonable test of the girls. But it could easily have backfired. He wasnot B'SEDER, but G-d "sent" Rivka to him. R'vi'i - Fourth Aliya - 26 p'sukim - 24:27-52 Eliezer also says a blessing to G-d for not abandoning Avraham or withholding Divine Kindness from him. Rivka runs home to tell her family what has happened. Lavan (filled with ulterior motives, our commentaries tell us) runs to greet Eliezer. The gold jewelry adorning Rivka catches Lavan's eye, and he "graciously" offersEliezer hospitality. Eliezer is served food but refuses to eat until his "business" is completed. Eliezer proceeds to tell the story of his mission. He tells of Avraham and Yitzchak and of being sent to find a wife for Yitzchak. When he asks for Rivka's hand on behalf of his master, Lavan and Betu'el (commentaries point to Lavan's pushing himself beofre his father as an indication of a negative personality) accept allas G-d's will. Eliezer again prostrates himself before G-d in grateful acknowledgment of the success of his mission. Chamishi - Fifth Aliya - 15 p'sukim - 24:53-67 Eliezer gives more gifts to Rivka and her mother and brother then they all celebrate with food and drink, and Eliezer and his party stay overnight. In the morning, Elizer asks his leave. Rivka's family asks that she remain for a while but Eliezer insists on leaving immediately. Rivka is consulted and she agrees to leaveright away. They send her off with a "maid" (later identified as Devora) and bless her. (This blessing has been repeated countless times to Jewish brides throughout the generations. Ironic, is it not, that we use Lavan's words for such a special occasion.) and finally the entourage leaves for Canaan. Meanwhile, Yitzchak (having gone to bring Hagar back to Avraham) is in the Negev area and goes "into the field to commune, before evening". (This, we are taught, was the model for Mincha.) As the Rivka-Eliezer caravan approaches from a distance, Rivka sees Yitzchak, jumps down from her camel, and asks Eliezer who the manis. She covers her face with a veil when she is told that the man is her intended husband. Eliezer tells Yitzchak everything that has occurred. Yitzchak takes Rivka as his wife and she becomes a comfort to him for the loss of his mother. For us, she becomes Rivka Imeinu (not yet, but years later). Shishi - Sixth Aliya - 11 p'sukim - 25:1-11 Avraham, having successfully provided for the continuity of what will become the Jewish Nation, now lives out the remainder of his life as a "private citizen". He takes for himself a wife named KETURA (which we are taught was HAGAR) and fathers six more children. He gives them gifts, but Yitzchak remains Avraham's exclusivespiritual heir. (We can really say that in some ways, other peoples of the world followed Avraham's lead in living monotheistic lives, but the Torah's definition of Avraham's lineage is Yitzchak.) An question was posed a shiur in the Center. Avraham was the embodiment of CHESED. He gave lavish gifts to Ketura's children. Why did he send Yishmael away with only bread and water. He had to banish Hagar and Yishmael. This was Sara's prophetic command, not merely her personal desire. G-d confirmed that. But give him somecamels, a nice tent, food, etc. Just bread and water? Doesn't sound like Avraham. Rabbi Sholom Gold says that the bread and water was sufficient to keep them alive until they reached their destination. More than that would not fit the command from G-d (via Sara) - GAREISH... Banishment is just that. Gifts would not be appropriate. Rabbi Zacharia Dorshav adds that there was a crucial difference between Yishmael and Ketura's children. Yishmael challenged Yitzchak's heritage. He claimed(and in some ways continues to claim) Avraham's legacy. When G-d told Avraham to listen to Sara, He told him to banish them, BECAUSE in Yitzchak will be called your offspring, your descentants. This point had to be made, and a farewell party and lavish provisions for the journey would not have made the point. No such problemwith Ketura's children. They made no such claim. They did not dispute Yitzchak's role. They received gifts. Avraham dies at the "ripe old age" of 175 (actually, this is 5 years short of the complete 180 that Yitzchak achieved - various reasons are given for the "lost" 5 years). His was a graceful, good, and fulfilling life (despite the tough times he had). He is buried in the Cave of Machpela, where he had buried Sara. Both Yitzchakand Yishmael take care of the burial. The Torah implies that Yishmael had repented his ways and had become righteous. What greater joy for a father! G-d blesses Yitzchak after Avraham's death. From the fact that Avraham took Ketura only after Yitzchak was married, the Baal HaTurim says that this is the proper thing to do - Marry off your children, before you yourself remarry. Sh'vi'i - Seventh Aliya - 7 p'sukim - 25:12-18 The descendants of Yishmael are now enumerated. Yishmael is identified fully as the son of Avraham and Hagar the Egyptian maiden of Sara who bore Yishmael "to Avraham". (This is quite parallel to the description of Yitzchak's "connection" to Avraham as stated in the beginning of next week's sedra. This might further indicateYishmael's T'shuva in his later years.) It is noteworthy that Yishmael fathered twelve sons, not like Yitzchak, but like Yaakov. Yishmael dies at the age of 100 and 30 and 7 years. The wording in the Torah purposely parallels that which was used to describe Sara's lifespan, a further indication (perhaps) of the changefor the better in Yishmael. Rashi says that the age of Yishmael is included to help us compute the chronology of Yaakov. The last 3 p'sukim are reread for the Maftir. Haftara - 31 p'sukim -1 Kings 1:1-31 The sedra tells of the aging Avraham and his task in providing for the continuity of his beliefs through his son Yitzchak (even though there were other potential heirs). The Haftara parallels this theme by telling us of the aging King David with many potential heirs, providing that it would be his son Shlomo who would bethe next link in the Davidic line. This, fulfillment of a promise made to Shlomo's mother, Batsheva - similar to the promise made to Sara that her son would inherit. The starting points are Avraham Avinu and David Hamelech. But no matter how strong their personalities were, the chain ends with them unless the next generationisas strong as a Yitzchak Avinu and a Shlomo Hamelech. THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean Lesson # 110 (part one) • Torts Against Neighbors As we discussed in the last lesson, there were three torts that we were concerned with when neighbors own a common courtyard that is in front of their house, and their houses face each other over the courtyard A. The ingress and egress from each house is over the courtyard A. The same might very well hold in a large buildingthat contains condominiums or perhaps even cooperative apartments. Very often the by-laws will have specific criteria as to who they will permit to buy into the building. Some buildings in senior citizens developments especially in Florida restrict the amount of children permitted and the amount of persons who may residein any apartment. The torts discussed were (1) increasing the traffic; (2) overviewing; and (3) blocking out light. We shall begin with the topic of increasing traffic. Getting back to our example of the last lesson where the Cohens and Levis bought a two family house as partners. Until now both the Cohens and the Levies knew exactly what to expect in the way of traffic into and out of their common owned halls in the house. Each knew the habits of the other, when they went shopping, whenthey entertained their friends and relatives. However, with Ruth Cohen and her children moving in, the Levies are, to say the least unhappy. The halachah is that neither party may permit additional persons who are not members of his immediate family to occupy part of hishouse if it increases the traffic into and/or out of the house. Since the Cohen daughter and grandchildren are part of the immediate family the Levis cannot enjoin them from living there. Their remedy would have been to enter into an agreement before they purchased the house to set forth their conduct in the house; failingto do that the Levies will have to bear it. Of course the Levis can bring their daughter from Monsey and her husband and ten children to spend the next summer with them. Rabbi Moses Isserles (the Ramo, whom the Ashekenazic Jews generally follow in halachah, writes that there is an opinion that the Cohens (and of coursethe Levies) can bring into the house as many sleep-in guests and acquaintances as they wants provided that the Cohens do not add to the structure. Even this opinion will admit that if one house (as distinguished from a two family house) or one apartment is shared by two partners, Yehudah and Naftali, neither partner mayadd sleep-in guests or acquaintances to his part of the house, nor may either partner enter into the part of the house occupied by the other, except for areas agreed upon such as the kitchen, living room and bath rooms, etc. The Cohens may sublease their own apartment to anyone they please, such as to the Goldbergs and the Levies cannot object that they do not like the Goldbergs. Getting back to the situation where Reuven and Shimon each owns one house with their houses facing the common courtyard A owned by both of them, Reuven may subdivide his house. This is, provided, that it is not used to increase the inhabitants of the house such as permitting an additional family to move into part of thesubdivided space, because these additional people will increase the traffic in courtyard A. If Reuven leases his house to a tenant, Levi, Levi may not permit others to reside with him since this increases the traffic into courtyard A. Reuven (and Shimon) may obtain from Beth Din an injunction to preclude such conduct on Levi’s part. However, all those who depend upon Levi for support may occupy the house with him, and neither Reuven nor Shimon may object. A frequent question arises where the current house is one story tall and one of the co-owners of the courtyard A wishes to build another floor on top of his current single story building. What is the halachah? Reuven may build a second floor onto his house provided the entrance to the second floor does not go out into courtyard A, for that will increase the traffic into courtyard A. He may build the second floor although he waited a long time after he received permission from the building department to build the second floor. Even if the second floor was built at the time he built the house he cannot thereafter make a new door or other opening in the second floor that will face courtyard A, since it will increase traffic into courtyard A. The entrance to the second floor must come from the first floor so that there are no new openings from the second floor into courtyard A. What is said regarding second floors also holds true regarding a second house: that is, Reuven can build a second house on his land facing courtyard A, provided the second house does not have an opening into courtyard A. The second house may have an opening into his old house unless it has another entrance from the second house into another courtyard. Reuven. who owns one house that has a front door in courtyard A, purchases a second house, the front door of which opens into another courtyard, courtyard B, or into another street. The back of the second house faces courtyard A, but does not have any opening onto courtyard A. Reuven wishes to make a second door in the back of the second house so that it will lead into courtyard A. Reuven may not do so. If Reuven closes up the entrance of the new house into its courtyard, the second house may have its entrance into the old house, which has its front door in courtyard A. This will not increase the traffic into courtyard A. The added-on second floor or the new house may be used for storage only but not for additional residents (other than increases in his own immediate family) because this increases the traffic in the courtyard A. What is seen from this lesson and from the prior lesson is that there are no absolute answers when neighbors enter into disagreements. The best course of conduct is to have written agreements covering many aspects of what co-owners of property can anticipate will face them in the future. This is not full proof. First ofall there are many things that cold not have been anticipated when the agreement was drawn. Also very often agreements become ambiguous as time progresses; that which the parties thought was adequately set forth looks less and less certain as time goes on. Most important the partners should be understanding of the needs of each other. They should study some books such as Mesilat Yeharim so that they will learn how to act toward each other. Each must bend on his rights a little bit. The type of conduct proposed b the Mussaar sefarim will avoid most problems by and among neighbors, so that thy will continue to be friends. The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in Vol. V, Ch.154 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint, published by Jason Aronson, Inc. and on sale at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il 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 Rabbi Meir's commentary Meaning in Mitzvot on Kitzur Shulchan Arukh. THE EULOGY When Sarah passes away, we learn that Avraham came “to eulogize her and to weep over her” (Bereshit 23:2). Indeed,our Tradition considers it a great mitzva to eulogize the departed properly (SAYD 344). The particulars of this obligation impart many instructive lessons. STIRRING UP GRIEF The Jewish Tradition is to encourage expressions of grief over the dead, not to assuage them. The eulogizer is called upon to break the hearts of those present; there used to be a common custom to hire women who would wail mournfully at the grave in order to awaken the crowd to weeping (SA YD 344). Those present at the funeral are called upon to weep. “Anyone who cries over a decent person, all his sins are forgiven”. These tears are so precious that the Holy One blessed be He counts each tear and puts it aside in His treasury (Shabbat 105b). We have explained before that the essense of joy is unity, breaking down the barriers between people. Conversely, the essence of grief is separation, and there is no separation so great and final as death. By calling for a eulogy which causes weeping, the halakha encourage us to acknowledge the tragedy of separation engendered by a loved one’s passage from this world to the next. UNDUE PRAISE The eulogizer is called upon to praise the departed appropriately, and is even permitted to exaggerate a bit, as long as the praise is not fulsome. The commentators ask how it is that the eulogizer is permitted to stretch the truth – is not faithfulness to truth a basic tenet of the Torah? One explanation is that we seldom find the opportunities to properly express our best traits. The eulogizer’s praises reflect how the departed would have acted had he had the proper opportunities. (Taz YD 344:1.) DIGNITY OF THE DEAD The Talmud makes a fascinating distinction between those rules of mourning which are the “honor of the living” and those which are solely “the honor of the dead”. If the honor of the living is involved then the person can not prevent his relatives from dignifying himself in this way after his passing. For instance, leaving a person unburied is a disgrace for the living as well as for the dead, so a person who asks not to be buried is not obeyed (SA YD 348:3 andShach). But the eulogy is considered exclusively the honor of the dead. Only his acts are being measured and praised, and a person may decide that he doesn’t want this honor, or is unworthy of it (Sanhedrin 46b, SA YD 344:10). Indeed, there are many instances of great scholars who asked that no eulogy be said at their funeral. (In this case, it is usual to say praises of the scholar in an oblique way or at a stage of the proceedings where it is not technically considered a eulogy.) Rabbi Meir has recently completed writing a monumental companion to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which beautifully presents the meanings in our mitzvot and halacha. Rabbi Meir authors a popular weekly on-line Q&A column, "The Jewish Ethicist", which gives Jewish guidance on everyday ethical dilemmas in the workplace. The column is a joint project of the JCT Center for Business Ethics, Jerusalem College of Technology - Machon Lev; and Aish HaTorah. You can see the Jewish Ethicist, andsubmit your own questions, at www.jewishethicist.com or at www. aish.com. 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 Religiouscommunity 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: There is now an excellent cosmetic system of an eyeliner which lasts for at least three years. It is done by injecting a dye into the skin of the eyebrow. Is this included in the prohibition of tattooing? Answer: It is forbidden to make a mark on one’s body by means of piercing the skin with a needle and inserting any type of coloring. It is true that there are opinions that only that which is considered “writing,” which the pasuk (Vayikra 19:28) mentions explicitly, is forbidden from the Torah. However, the Ra’avad and Rash Mishantz (on Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim 6) apply the Torah prohibition to any sort of marking, and there are implications of this same approach in several other poskim (see Minchat Chinuch 253; Pitchei Teshuva, YD 180:1; B’Mareh Habazak, II p. 81). Additionally, even those who deny a Torah prohibition in this case seem to agree that there is a rabbinic prohibition. Harav Ezra Basri (Techumin pp. 282-287) advances an approach that there may not be an absolute rabbinic prohibition on non-writing markings but only a lower level, subjective problem of mar'it ayin (people may confuse his action with the prohibition), which may not apply in this case (see article). Based on additional leniencies attributed to minority opinions, he allowed a woman who had no eyebrows to undergo the treatment, citing that avoiding the embarrassment of her situation warranted relying on minority opinions. Despite the fact that his analysis leans more toward leniency than that of our mentor, Harav Shaul Yisraeli, Rav Basri, too, does not seem seems to allow the practice for the average woman. Some Rishonim (Rivan and Ritva on Makkot 21a and Sefer Hachinuch 253) describe the prohibited act of tattooing (k’tovat ka’aka) as something which stays on the body kol hayamim (literally, all the days).Thus, one might claim that an eyeliner which lasts for “only” a few years would be halachically different. However, the Nimukei Yosef (Makkot 21a) describes k’tovet ka’aka as lasting “a long time.” Since no one takes issue on the Nimukei Yosef and one could consider something which lasts three years as permanent and included in kol hayamim, one should not be lenient with any such sub-dermal marking unless it can be classified as lasting “a short time.” Ed. note: Children's tattoos which are colored ink transfers to the surface of the skin (which wash off with soap and water without leaving a trace) are not forbidden by the halachot of K'tovet Ka'aka. However, when asked about them, the Vebbe Rebbe used the term "Ta'am Lifgam"; they leave a bad taste in one's mouth, from a Jewish per spective, that is. Parental discretion advised. Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha 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 email to lists@eretzhemdah.org with the message: JoinHemdatya - Please leave the subject blank. Hasidic Wisdom, from the book by Simcha Raz (Elkins/Elkins) "Every person who is wise of heart" (Shmot 36:1) Wisdom without heart is vain and empty. - Rabbi Aharon of Karlin One who steers us clear of treacherous paths does us no less good than one who shows us the right way. - Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Tzanz I was taught the trade of a tailor - and I learned to put it to good use - careful to fix what was old - and not to ruin what was new .- Rabbi Tzvi Hersch of Romanov Wrath is one of the greatest sins - so much so that even if one finds it necessary to get angry, one must still seek permission... - Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch Jewish Law Rite and Reason by Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard When a Kohen is called to the Torah for the first Aliya, the Gabbai says: KOHEN K'RAV (Kohen - draw near), ya'amod ploni ben ploni ha'Kohen. REASON This is in accord with the pasuk: "And Moshe said to Aharon, draw near to the Mizbei'ach." (Vayikra 9:7) REASON The Torah (Sh'mot 3:5) says: "AL TIK RAV HALOM" (do not draw near. The Sages expound: Drawing near means KEHUNA, just as you say: "The stranger who draws near shall die" (Bamidbar 1:51). Indeed, Onkeles [in Aramaic] translates the words: KACH ET AHARON (Vayikra 8:2) as: "Draw Aharon near". When there is no Kohen, a Levi or Yisrael is called in his place, and his name is followed by BIMKOM KOHEN. REASON It is essential that a non-Kohen not be thought to be a Kohen, so that no one gives him a "Kohen's gift" by mistake. ArtScroll Series Mesorah Publications Ltd. WORDS OF WISDOM WORDS OF WIT by Shmuel Himmelstein A wealthy merchant came to Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin for advice. "Rabbi", he said, "I have a very large shipment of wood which is being held up at the border by the customs officials. Unless it can be brought through, I stand to lose everything I own." "Trust in HaShem", said R' Chaim, "for He will help." Meanwhile, the price of wood jumped, and by the time the shipment had been cleared through customs, its value had skyrocketed. The merchant made thousands of rubles additional to the profit because of the delay. Rushing to R' Chaim, the merchant told him, "Rebbe, now I know that HaShem is directly involved in our daily affairs!" "In that", said R' Chaim, "you differ from the poor. The poor see HaShem's involvement each day, while the rich see it only at rare intervals." Excerpted with the permission of the copyright holder From the Desk of the Director Dear Torah Tidbits Reader, In this week’s parsha Chayei Sara, we read of the meeting between Yitzchak and Rivka. While, at first glance, the story seems like a classic tale of love, under the surface we can discern powerful indicators for a successful Jewish partnership. Initially, the events appear accidental: Eliezer happens upon Rivka at the well, while Yitzchak perchanches Rivka approaching as he finishes his afternoon prayers. But as the story unfolds, we discern that these seemingly random encounters are triggers for a series of events that could only have occurred if each of the partners acted in a particularly spiritual fashion that was perceived by the other. Rivka, for example, displays the essential characteristic of modesty. For even as she approaches Yitzchak from afar, she inclines herself, then veils herself. And after Eliezer recounts Rivka’s actions at the well and in Lavan’s house, Yitzchak further understands that she has the essential qualities of chessed and emet. As for Yitzchak, our rabbis teach that his supplication in the field was the forerunner of the mincha prayer, that he prayed at the spot where Hagar’s prayers were answered, and that he was, in fact, bringing Hagar (Keturah) back as a new wife for Avraham following Sarah’s death. How could Rivka not have been impressed with such a show of dedication? The ultimate indicator, however, is spelt out in the succession of events that follow. For, “Yitzchak brought her [Rivka] into the tent of Sarah his mother; she became his wife, and he loved her.” With Rivka’s entry into the tent, the Midrash tells us, the three major components of Jewish family life present in Sarah’s lifetime now returned. These were the Shabbat light that burned from one Shabbat to the next, the dough that was always plentiful, and the cloud that hung over the tent. These miraculous events symbolize the three pivotal mitzvot incumbent on women in the home - lighting the Shabbat candles, separating the challah, and niddah, the laws of familial “separation.” Rivka, it seems, emulated Yitzchak’s mother. Could there be a greater blessing for a Jewish family than that? Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center Towards better Davening and Torah Reading Feedback to last week's column has been good, running from great interest in the topic to "I'm not interested but I gave it to a friend who liked it". We'd still like to hear from readers about this (and other) column, so we can polish things up and always try to improve Torah Tidbits. The contents of these columns are based on the sefer: EIN LAMIKRA HASHALEIM, a guide to correct pronunciation, specifically in davening and Torah reading. - Phil Ch. This column will again be about pronunciation (and mispronunciation), but of the less serious type, namely - when the mispronunciation is "just" that, but does not change the meaning of the word. If the meaning of a word actually changes, then, in Torah reading, for example, the Baal Korei should be corrected and repeat the word. A "mere" sloppy pronunciation is just... sloppy. meLECH still means king, even though the word should be pronounced ME-lech. (I hope it was clear last week that the accented syllable in words used as exampleswas written in UPPER CASE, and the unaccentedsyllable(s) is/re in lower case. We'll continue using that format.) Remember that accenting the last syllable is called MILRA and accenting the penultimate (next to the last) syllable is called MIL'EIL. (Interesting that MILRA is, but MIL'EIL isn't.) Speaking of ME-lech, note that all the three-letter words that rhyme, i.e. that have SEGOL-SEGOL vowels under the first two letters, are pronounced MIL'EIL. E-rev (evening), YE-led (child), BE-ged (garment), E-lef (1000), KE-tem (stain), KE-ter (crown), E-fes (zero), VE-red (rose), LE-mech (father of No'ach's father), YE-red (Lemech's great-grandfather), PE-leg (Avraham's great-great- great-grandfather), NE-fesh (soul), DE-let (door), SHE-men (oil)... Sorry, got carried away. It makes a fun game with your family of guests. Go around the table and each person says a word that rhymes with the starter word (in this case, MELECH), and someone else has to give its meaning. Anyway, the point is that all the words of this format are MIL'EIL. There is one exception - which really isn't an exception, because it doesn't have the exact format - and that word is e-MET (truth). All of the above has been leading up to this point. Many people - especially those who are native English speakers - tend to say E-met. Or E-mes. The word is e-MET or e-MES. But we are used to the Yiddishized, Yeshivishized, Anglicized pro-nunciation. What he just said was "E-mes". "You will show truth to Yaakov, and loving mercy to Avraham... (last pasuk in Micha), should be ti-TEIN e-MET l'ya'a-KOV CHE-sed l'av-ra-HAM... Many people will read it TI-tein E-mes... As mentioned above, e-MET is not really an exception to the rule. The vowel under the ALEF is a CHATAF-SEGOL (five dots), not a SEGOL (3 dots, an inverted "and therefore"). CHATAF-SEGOL means that the ALEF should have had a SHVA under it. But that would render the ALEF unpronounced, since it and the SHVA are both silent. The CHATAF-SEGOL sounds like a shortened SEGOL (most pronounce it exactly like a SEGOL), to give the ALEF some sound, but it never is accented. Therefore, the word is pronounced e-MET. A word like e-MET really does not havetwo syllables; the ALEF with its SHVA-like vowel are considered part of the MET syllable. This is another way of looking at the accent issue. Another example of this same thing are the words that rhyme with MA-yim (water). There are so many, and they are all pronounced MIL'EIL. SH'NA-yim (two), ya-DA-yim (hands), ye-ru-sha- LA-yim (the -ru- syllable is also accented, but to a lesser extent than the -LA- syllable)... and so on.Another good word-format for the game. There is an exception here too, which also is not really an exception. cha-YIM (really chai-YIM). Not CHA- yim, as many of us pronounce it. The reason for CHAYIM being accented MILRA (on the last syllable) is the extra YUD. The word is spelled CHET with a PATACH (the horizontal bar vowel, like the "o" in hot, like the "aaa" in the doctor's saying, say "aaa" when he wants to look in your throat), YUD with a DAGESH CHAZAK in it and a CHIRIK (the single dot vowel, which can be like the "i" in hit or the "ee" in feet) under it, follwed by another YUD (which gives the CHIRIK under the first YUD a stronger sound - feet, rather than hit), and then the MEM sofit, the final MEM. The dot in the first YUD gives it an emphasis which sort of double it, with a YUD being attached to the first syllable - CHAI, not just CHA, and to the second syllable, YIM. The second YUD makes the vowel under the first YUD a CHIRIK GADOL rather than a CHIRIK KATAN. All the other words of the type mentioned before - legs, scissors, heavens, teeth, eyeglasses, etc. end in a -yim syllable that has a CHIRIK KATAN and the accent is MIL'EIL, on the previous syllable. Not chai-YIM. The stronger CHIRIK in a closed syllable (one with twoconsonants, one voweled and one not) pulls the accent, so chai-YIM is MILRA. Both e-MET and chai-YIM appear often in the davening and are frequently mispronounced by us English-influenced daveners. The whole point of this column (and all the others in this series - last week's and in the future, IY"H) is to make us more aware of the proper pronunciation of Hebrew in general and the Hebrew (Lashon Kodesh) that we daven and read the Torah with. This in turn allows us to pay more attention to the meaning of the words, which leads to davening with more and better KAVANA. So it is not just a grammar lesson; it's goal is better davening and Torah reading, in every sense of the phrase. ParshaPix Some elements from last year; some new things... Upper-left is Rivka at the well, from the Davka Judaica collection of clipart. (Highly recommended, by the way.) But before that, we have the bag of 400 silver coins, the exorbitant price that Avraham paid for the cave, field, etc. The payment went to EFRON, whose name resembles the Hebrew word for PENCIL, hence the pencil. Avraham sent Eliezer, who took with him 10 camels (gamal-gimmel) laden with all sorts of goodies. Under Rivka at the well is a gold ring that was among the items given to Rivka by Eliezer. At Rivka's home, Eliezer was offered food. He refused to eat until his "business" was concluded. Top center is a place setting Xed out, indicating his refusal to eat. This saved his life, as we are taught that Lavan attempted to poison Eliezer. B'tu'el fell victim to the poison and died.That's the poison bottle under the B"H. B"H was Eliezer's reply to his apparent success, with G-d's help. The couple under the CHUPA can represent Yitzchak and Rivka, as well as Avraham and Ketura. The gift box is for the gifts that Avraham gave the children of the PILAGSHIM (Ketura). It can also be the gifts Eliezer gave Rivka and family. The two dots are a SHVA, a sound-alike for one of Avraham's sons by Ketura. The gemstone at the bottom should have been mentioned before. It is one of the opinions as to what the BAKOL blessing was. That opinion is that Avraham possessed a gemstone with curative powers and was sought out by many people from far and wide who were ailing. That leaves the legth of chain inside the speech-bubble, the birthday cake, and the two items in the loer-right which go together. Let them all consitute a PPP. TTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbits-style riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the calendar). They are found in the hard-copy of TT scattered throughout, usually at the bottom of different columns. In the electronic versions of TT, they are found all together at the end of the ParshaPix-TTriddles section. Some TTriddles are also presentedfor call-in solution on Torah Tidbits Audio (Arutz-7, Thursday night). The best solution set submitted each week (there isnt always a best) wins a double prize a CD from Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from Big Deal Last week's (Vayeira) TTriddles: [1] Get up & go! Who to whom, here & in come! [2] His Aramaic logo can be :) [3] Rotate it 180º, drop the dot, put it on top - and the trup will match the word [4] Lot's bug was slow to move [5] In Eilonei Mamrei. Where else and to whom else? And the envelope please... Many solid solvers this week too... [1] Get up & go is KUMU U'TZ'U, which Lot said to "those who took his daughters" in trying to encourage them to flee S'dom, because it was to be destroyed. (They did not take him seriously.) The phrase KUMU U'TZ'U appears in one other place in the Chumash (in Tanach, for that matter) - in Parshat BO (come, as in here and in come!), when Par'o calls to Moshe and Aharon (after the smiting of the first borns) to leave Egypt with everyone and everything. [2] Lot of people got this one. Targum (Aramaic) for TZ'CHOK, laughter, is CHIYUCH (in modern Hebrew), a SMILE. So the SMILEY (a colon followed by a close parentheses) can be the logo of YITZCHAK AVINU, whose name means laughter (of joy). [3] This was harder, but a few got it too. The word GAREISH (GIMMEL-REISH-SHIN), as in 21:10 when Sara tells Avraham to expel Hagar and Yishmael, GAREISH ET HA'AMA HAZOT V'ET B'NAH... has the Torah note T'VIR, which is under the word and looks like a quarter-circle from 3:00-6:00 on a clock-face, with a dot in it. If you drop the dot and rotate the quarter-circle so that it now runs from from 9:00-12:00, and put it above the word, the note will be a GEIREISH (a.k.a. Azla-Geireish), which (almost) matches the word. [4] I goofed with the presentation of this TTriddle. It should have said Lot's Beetle rather than Lot's Bug. Although BUG is also a nickname of Volkswagen's BEETLE. And that was what was being referred to in the TTriddle. Lot's beetle was his Volkswagen, whose emblem is a V and a W, which when written side by side look like vw, which if you rotate it 90° to the right (still following?) looks like a SHALSHELET, the trup over the word VAYITMAHMAH, and he (Lot) lingered, or was slow to move. You might want to reread this solution to fully get it, but that's what itwas supposed to be. I wonder if more people would have solved it if it used the word beetle rather than bug. Lot's VW was over the word that means SLOW TO MOVE. Something like that. As I've often admitted, TTriddles are easier to make than to solve (usually). But they are fun. Special thanks to the person (she knows who she is) who told me that she enjoys reading the solutions a week later, even though she solves one on her own. That's part of the game with TTriddles. [5] This one seemed to have confused some solvers. The intention was that EILONEI MAMREI is where VAYEIRA EILAV HASHEM, G-d appeared to him. The TTriddle was where else and to whom else. (Yes, I know it said for whomelse, but to whom else is more accurate.) The solution is based on the full phrase VAYEIRA EILAV HASHEM, which appears in Tanach only three times — B'reishit 18:1, our sedra of the same name, 26:2 when G-d appears to Yitzchak in Gerar and forbids him from leaving Eretz Yisrael, and again in 26:24 when G-d appears to Yitzchak in Be'er Sheva to tell him not to worry, He is with him and will bless him, and multiply his descendants "for the sake of My servant Avraham". So the correct solution to this TTriddle is Yitzchak, twice, in Gerar and Be'er Sheva. (An anel of G-d appears to GID'ON in Sho'f'tim 6:12 with the words VAYEIRA EILAV MAL'ACH HASHEM, also to tell him that G-d is with him.) Finally, we come to the hidden (in the printed version) and announced (in the electronic version) PPP, ParshaPixPuzzle. In the upper-left corner of the ParshaPix was an array of dots. Many people recognized the dots as Braille, and a few actually read the dots as "kill Lot", the Braille graffiti that one of the wicked citizens of S'dom no doubt wrote on Lot's door after the people were blinded by the angels and Lot's door was closed to them. Good solutions sets from MM/Bklyn, RHM, Y&S/G, STH of Wynnewood, PA (PPP only). Near perfect solution came from ZviR, who wins the double prizes this week. A few solvers thought the trup TTriddle was the MAHPACH, related to the term for the upheaval of S'dom. Not quite, but something. So too, a few solvers that the SHALSHELET looked like a worm, and thought that was the bug referred to. Again, not quite, but something. The main thing is tohave fun. This week's TTriddles: [1] Rivka, Yaakov, Aharon, Mishkan [2] You can use it for demi tasse [3] Maybe he was born at 3:00 o'clock [4] From 3 to approx. 15, one line would fit the sedra and another the haftara Israel Center Notes: The Israel Center is pleased to announce the opening of a Beth Din to adjudicate and arbitrate monetary disputes, according to Jewish law With the Chagim behind us, the Beth Din is ready to function Apart from a registration fee of 200NIS (per case), there will no charge for this service Please call 566-7787 ext. 204 forfurther information Yitzhak Fund, Esq. Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Chairpersons Fact: Your friends and relatives in the U.S. can give you millions of dollars How? By voting for the Religious Zionist slate in the upcoming elections for the World Zionist Congress. Why? The WZC elects the leadership and determines the budget for JAFI and the WZO Torah Tidbits and many programs of the Center and NCSY b'Yisraelare assisted by grants from the Jewish Agency for Israel. By voting for the WZC you can insure and increase the funding that we receive. Action! To register and for more information: www.religiouszionism.org or www.mizrachi.org. or call Alan Green at 625 8833 Your families' and friends'votes make a difference! Kashrut Questions If you find a discrepancy between the Hebrew labeling and the original packaging... or if you have any other OU kashrut questions, call this toll-free number (from Israel to NY) 1-800-949-0123 From 4:00pm - midnight, you get a human; other times, leave a voice-message OU Kashrut in Israel office at the Center: 5667787 In the week that Rivka offers Eliezer (and his camels) water to drink... the Israel Center now has a hot drink machine on the ground floor with coffee (black, milk, sugar, both), tea, hot chocolate & French Vanilla Coffee And a soft drinks (cans) machine on the first floor, next to the door of the library COMING SOON! The OU/Israel Center campaign "Rediscover and rededicate yourself" to the Torah, the People and the Land Directed to your family and friends overseas Watch out for upcoming details NESTO Native English-Speaking Teen Olim As a follow up to the presentation we heard last week from Kids for Kids, NESTO held a brainstorming session this past Tuesday to come up with different, creative ways that we can help these young victims of terror here in Israel. Many innovative and original ideas were proposed and hopefully in the coming weeks and months we will have a chance to really do some good and help these kids. Two concrete programs were established and are under way as I write. NESTO will be participating in the Miracles, Risin’ On the Horizon fundraiser for Kids for Kids. During these days of world uncertainty, prayer is a subject on many people’s hearts and minds. Naturally, we all hope our prayers will be answered as they rise towards heaven. Now NESTO and Kids for Kids, in an effort to raise funds and consciousness concerning the spiritual aspects of our ‘world situation’, are offering the public, literally, a means to send up their prayers. For a small contribution, a donor can write their own personal prayers on special forms, which will be tied to helium biodegradable balloons. These balloons will ascend to the skies on December 9, 2001, the first night of Chanuka. At 8:00pm Israel time, the balloons will be released in Jerusalem while cities in America (New York, Denver, Los Angeles) are scheduled at that same moment to release their prayers up to heaven. NESTOites will be going around to their families, friends, schools and communities in the hope to collect as many prayers as possible and raise as much money and awareness as they can. All monies raised will go directly to the families of terror victims, and will also help Kids for Kids in their continual effort to help others. For more information about, or to get involved in this most worthwhile cause, please call 02-628-1874 or email kids4kids@actcom.co.il NESTO has also decided to begin an e-pals program with High School students from Denver, Colorado. After the devastating attacks in America almost two months ago, American kids felt a tremendous need to communicate directly with children in Israel who have experienced the pain and confusion which senseless hatred and violence perpetrates. These students were also interested in making new friends with English-speaking teens living in Israel. They hope to be able to share their feelings, thoughts and emotions with fellow teens who are going through a lot of the same experiences as they are. NESTOites are all looking forward to begin emailing these kids and really hope to be able to meet person to person, here in Israel, with their new found friends from Denver. These two projects are already underway and have been met with great success. We at NESTO really feel that we can make a difference and hope to continue helping others in these most difficult times. In other news, NESTO is looking to expand and start a Junior NESTO for seventh and eighth graders. We feel there is a need and a demand to provide a "kosher" social/educational setting for English-speaking young teen olim. Programming has already begun as we look to hold our first event on Chanuka. If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting new group, please call or email Naomi. Yoel’s column O.K. NESTOer's - these are a few people that we did not interview last year in a Closer Look. This week we will look at our new Assistant Director, Chave: So… my family lives in Manchester, England. I came to Israel 2½ years ago because we kept on losing at football and it was getting me down. I then decided to change my allegiance to basketball, and put all my hopes with Tel-Aviv. So far they have been doing a good job so I'm pretty happy with that decision. What connected me to NESTO? Maybe the fact that I feel I have been permanently stuck in the vacuum called teenage-hood and therefore feel able to connect to others in this peer group. But why especially NESTO? Well I feel that I can relate to the challenges that we all feel living in a society where we identify with two cultures. The one that we were born into and the culture that is our day to day reality. If I had to choose my favorite all time book I would say The Alchemist, I can't actually spell the author's name but I highly recommend this book. It’s about living your dreams and realizing that we can be whoever and whatever we want in life if we just believe in ourselves. That’s all for now, Shabbat Shalom, Josh, Chave, Naomi The Israel Center's youth program for Anglo-Israelis tel. 566-7787 ext. 245 • fax: 561-7432 spodek@netvision.net.il Josh Spodek, Director • Chave Abrahams, Asst. Dir. Naomi Skorecki, Bat Sherut TIYULIM and SHABBATONIM 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 pressing2right away and then leaving your message. THE TRAVEL DESK The TRAVEL DESK of the Israel Center exists... to make registration and detail-receiving for Israel Center tiyulim more efficient and less head-achy for you. To help you - whether you live in Israel or are visiting - plan private tiyulim and make in-Israel travel arrangements Sarah will be happy to assist you on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Call Sarah at the Center, 566-7787 ext. 249. Note: When a tiyul says "Bring your own lunch", you can do that... or this: Call the TRAVEL DESK or the TIYUL HOTLINE up to the day before the TIYUL and order a box lunch from the Israel Center Cafe. 18 shekel will get you a delicious sandwich, a refreshing drink (specify regular or diet) and a dessert. Your box lunch willbe ready for you when you board the bus. Israel Center In-House Shabbaton • Shabbat Parshat Vayeishev December 7-8, '01 with Scholar-in-Residence: Rabbi Shubert Spero • We know that it's kind of soon, what with the great Shabbaton we had just this past Shabbat, but we did not want to miss the opportunity to have a Shabbaton on the theme: The 3 H's of Chanuka - History, Hashkafa, Halacha • 200NIS per person • Early Bird Special - register in Cheshvan (until THU, Nov. 15, 4:45pm) for 180NIS (non-members add 20NIS) • When you call, let us know your housing requirements Tuesday, November 13th, 4:30-9:00pm • The Magical Jewish History Tour at the Israel Museum We're going to learn how to read & write K'tav Ivri. Then we will be able to read ancient seals, jug handles, and writings of our ancestors from the time of the first Beit HaMikdash. We will discuss its use and how it was discontinued.We will give you an opportunity to test your new-found knowledge.On the way, we will also see important displays in the museum and discover some of the many treasures that await you among the exhibits. with Barnea Levi Selavan • 70NIS p.p. (non-members 80NIS) Thoroughly Gush Etzion • Sunday, November 18th, 8:30am-4:45pm • Guided (in English) by LEAH SALTER • A tour of Efrat plus lookout over the Dagan and Tamar Hills • "The Lone Tree" - Ancient Oak Tree, reputed to be 700 years old. Symbol of the Gush • The path of the Patriarchs • A special mikva used for purificationupon "Aliya L'regel" to Jerusalem • The Etzion Judaica Center - Exhibition and sales of Israel's finest Judaica artisans & artists, from throughout Israel and Gush Etzion • Kibbutz Kfar Etzion - Multi-media Sound & Light Show - Touching account of the history of Jewish Settlements in Gush Etzion and the bravery ofthe Gush's pioneers/defenders • Lunch at the Kibbutz • Tour of "Machon Tzomet" - specializing in patenting Shabbat elevators, wheelchairs and other Shabbat minded tools & appliances • A tour of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Hesder Yeshiva of HaRav Lichtenstein; Mincha • Price: 150NIS (mem)/160NIS (non-mem) includes hot lunch Tuesday, November 27th (100NIS p.p. - non-mem. add 20NIS) • A very special Tiyul to Tel Aviv with David Magence • New and unusual places in the first modern Jewish metropolis • Ben Gurion House: Get to know the real David Greene • Bialik House: "Meet" Israel's Poet Laureate. From Volozhin Yeshiva to Tel Aviv •Hagana Museum: Visit the home of Eliyahu Golomb, one of the founders of the Hagana whose house served as its clandestine headquarters • Irgun Museum • Story of the Jewish Underground Movement commanded by the late Menachem Begin z"l • Beit HaTanach: Est. at the initiative of DBG, connecting Tanach to modern life, thru art. COME WITH US TO PARADISE! WED-THU and/or FRI-SHABBAT at the Paradise Negev Be'er Sheva Hotel Mehadrin, Shmita L'chumra) 2-day tiyul - Touring all the way down to Be'er Sheva with our guide ZVI BESSIN, who will TEL it like it is: Latrun Armored Corps Museum, site of Biblical & modern battles; TEL Beit Shemesh, the lost Ark returns; TEL Azeka, David & Golyat, overview of Mitzpeh Massuah (you can buy lunch there); TEL Be'er Sheva, how manyBe'er Shevas are there? Then to the Cochin Jewish Museum and Shul in Nevatim, fascinating Jewish-Indian History. Wonderful dinner & great evening program. On Thursday morning we will visit many special places within Be'er Sheva and then in Paradise we will celebrate Thanksgiving with an elaborate, elegant dinner with "allthe trimmings", Turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin, corn, apple pie and more. An experience you won't forget for a long time • Wednesday & Thursday,Nov. 21-22,'01, Leave Wed. 8:00am, return Thu. evening. (or... see box below), Bring lunch for Wed. • 485nis p.p. (dbl. occ. Single suppl. extra; non-members 570nis) Exciting ARTZEINU Weekend, Nov. 23-24 • Tour on Friday: Overlooking Tel Azeka, Kever Dan ben Yaakov, David & Goliat's confrontation site, Tel Be'e Sheva, Avraham's Well • Host: Rabbi Yeshaya Jacobs Round trip transportation • Full Board Shabbat • All entrance fees included Use of fitness room at hotel 485nis p.p. (dbl.occ. Single suppl. extra; non-members 570nis) Depart 8:15am Fri. morning (Please arrive by 8:00am) Return: Motza'ei Shabbat Or make it a long Thanksgiving weekend! • Wednesday through Shabbat, November 21-24 See above for details. For those staying the whole time, Thursday night-Friday will be on B/B basis. There will be ample time on Friday for use of the fitness room at the hotel and for roaming around Be'er Sheva Cost for the long weekendis 1195NIS p.p. (dbl. occ.; non-members 1395NIS) CHANUKA in EILAT • 5 days - 4 nights • SUN-THU, Dec 9-13 at the beautiful 4-star Shalom Plaza Hotel, half-board, mehadrin • Let this be your intergenerational vacation! Take the whole family - grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren • Guided touring on the way down, every day in Eilat, and on the way back Prices will be announced shortly, but call now to hold your places Artzeinu Tours in conjunction with the Israel Center presents... Artzeinu Tours and the Jewish Values Education Institute of the OU Israel Center SINGLES WEEKEND • November 23-24 - Vayeitzei at the Paradise Hotel, Be'er Sheva 5-star hotel Safari Desert tour down to Be'er Sheva on Friday See places youv'e never seen Full-board on Shabbat Scholar-in-Residence Panel discussions Use of fitness room Join this exciting, adventurous, educational weekend 615NIS per person, double occupancy Call Sarah for reservations 566-7787 ext. 249 Educational Seminars on Wheels with outstanding tour guide HAIM SIDOR Thursday, November 29th, 8:15am to 8:15pm (approx.) Akko - Prison / Crusader City / Port / Walk Along the walls / The Tunisian Mosaic Synagogue / Stories of the Jews of Akko (Ramchal/Rishonim/Nachman M'Breslov) cost:175NIS/$40 (non members add $8), all entrance fees included Call the Travel Desk (see above) for Schedule of Artzeinu Daily Tours, Also... Watch TT for announcements of tiyulim during Chanuka, the last week in December, January and other dates Travel Desk Specials Sheraton Plaza - Jerusalem Midweek - thru- December 2 • 500NIS per couple per night, B/B Neptune - Eilat valid thru December 9 1200NIS per couple, B/B, for three-night stay Mid-week & weekends Sheraton Moriah Eilat thru December 2 - MID-WEEK 370NIS per couple, double room, per night, B/B Herod's Palace Eilat Midweek thru Nov. 28- 1,650NIS per couple , B/B for 3 night stay Ruth Rimon Inn - Tzfat Midweek - thru December 31 530NIS per couple per night H/B (min. 2 nights) Sheraton Moriah Tiberias, Midweek thru Dec. 2, 438NIS per couple, double room, per night, B/B B/B = Bed & Breakfast • H/B = Half Board (breakfast and one other meal) Attention Students from Abroad: Are your parents planning on visiting you this year? If so, you want to speak to us (02-566-7787 ext. 249) We have many attractive deals for them... and you Let us turn an ordinary "been there, did it" visit intoan unforgettable, special one! ISRAEL CENTER SCHEDULE "Regular" Israel Center classes & lectures - 15NIS for members, 20NIS for non-mem. Life members, free. No one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. SHABBAT DAY 3:00pm men & women • Merits & Tests; A fresh look at Avraham's "Tests of Faith" and at the concept of "Merit of Ancestors" • Drinks are available • Mincha follows the shiur • Rabbi Josh Spodek, Yeshivat Shaalvim, Director of NESTO MOTZA'EI SHABBAT 8:30pm • men & women • Rosh Chodesh Shiur of the Month #241 • Motza'Sh Chayei Sara M'vorchim Kislev • Rhyme & Reason in Rambam's Rationale; Maharal vs. Maimonides on Taamei HaMitzvot • Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko DAF YOMI in English 3:00-4:00pm Sunday-Thursday SUNDAY 9:30am (women) Mystical Insights into the Months of the Year Golda Warhaftig N'shei Library 10:30-12:45pm • closed this week 10:30am (women)Let's really Learn Chumash with Tonia Frohwein 11:30am (men & women) Parshat HaShavua Shprintzee Herskovits 12:30pm Flame of the Soul, Philosophical and Chassidic insights into Chanuka • Rabbi David Zitter Sunday November 11 8:30pm, 25NIS members & students30NIS others Come celebrate a dynamic & inspirational evening with Jerusalem's No. 1 all-women's band... Tofa'ah MONDAY 9:15am • Excursions into the World of Nevi'im (the Prophets) First topic: The 7 Prophetesses Mrs. Pearl Borow N'shei Library open on Mondays, 10:00am - 12:30pm 10:30am Rambam's 13 Principles Rabbi Zev Leff 11:36am, NOV 12 • women •Practical Wisdom from "Duties of the Heart" by R. Bachya ibn Paquda, followed by discussion • Aviva Nissim NLP Jerusalem • How to Talk to People About Their Problems* A series of 6 weekly workshops for office managers, counselors, teachers, administrators and parents beginning Monday, Nov. 12, 7:30pm at the Israel Center Limited space-advanced registration advisable. Call: *so all of you can function better!, Rabbi ShlomoKory, 02-5373690, 051 985 225, www.nlpjerusalem.com 8:00pm • Tomer Devorah, First of a three-part series of shiurim byRabbi David J. Derovan Director, Jewish Values Education Institute on Rabbi Moshe Cordevora's text on Kabbalah 8:00-9:30pm • M.A.S.K. - Biweekly Parent Support Group (02-586-7289) Child at Risk? Sharpen Your Parenting Skills • Dr. Judy Belsky TUESDAY 9:00-9:50am TORAH TOPICS, Root and Development of Jewish Identity Dr. Hayim Abramson 9:55-10:45am SIDDUR TOPICS, In-depth study of ALEINU Dr. Hayim Abramson 10:50-11:40am Parshat HaShavua R. Mordechai Spiegelman RESUMES NOV. 20 • 11:45am (women) Chabad insights into Parshat HaShavua and the Actualia of Our Time Rachel Zisk The Israel Center and the Old City Free Loan Association Gemach - Free Loan Society to provide interest-free loans for people in financial distress. Interviews at the Center on Tuesdays from 10:00-12:00 Please bring ID 7:30pm NOV 13 • Root & Branch, for info:rb@rb.org.il • Our Alice-in-Wonderland Make-Believe Universe: Quantum Physics and the Meaning of Life by Professor Gerald L. Schroeder Chairman, Science Fellowship, Root & Branch Association, Ltd. Author,Genesis and the Big Bang, The Science of God, The Hidden Face of God 25NIS (proceeds will be donated to wounded IDF soldiers) WEDNESDAY 8:30am (women) T'HILIM WORKSHOP Eshet Chayil Foundation with Sara Wurtzel 9:30am Towards a More Meaningful Davening Experience Dr. Joel Luber 10:30am Break the Fear Habit... And Live! withAlan Romm P.C. 3:00pm Women in Tanach with Pearl Borow 4:00pm • NOV 14 • Options in Aging Tips on Improving Memory For more info, call Ester, 053 231951 Wednesdays at 8:00pm - pre-registration required Call 08-926-5247, ANGER: The Inner Teacher Ongoing workshops with Rachel Trugman, MA 8:00-10:00pm Aliya Counseling with Miriam Bass 7:45-8:45pm Jewish Philosophy One week: Road map to the Prophets - Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed One week: Ramban's Commentary on the Torah and its Wellsprings with Rabbi Chaim Eisen This week: Rambam THURSDAY 9:30 and 10:30am 2 Shiurum while you fold; Parshat HaShavua and/or the Calendar various presenters 10:30am SLIM FOR LIFE, Libby 651-8061 Elisheva 999-6479 No obligation for the first session (Pre-) Rosh Chodesh Luncheon Thursday, November 15 - Erev Rosh Chodesh - 1:00pm Delicious "theme" lunch by Shocketino Catering Meaningful Mishna Morsels by Phil Chernofsky 45NIS per person (non-members add 10NIS – or JOIN!) • Reservations required Daf Yomi (English) with Rabbi Shmuel Halpern • SUN-THU, 3:00-4:00pm Announcing the launching of the Israel Center Men's & Boy's Choir All interested parties can come to the Center on Thursday, November 15th at 8:00pm For further information please call Yisrael Shwarzstein: 02 583 3389 8:00pm Shir HaShirim with Reb Yosef Schreiber 8:00pm TRUTH - an open forum sponsored by the Jewish Values Education Institute with Dr. Daniel Stolper Torah Tidbits Audio with Phil Chernofsky on Israel National Radio (Arutz-7), 98.7FM and 1539AM, Thursdays, 10:07-11:00pm, or anytime on www.israelnationalnews.com FRIDAY 9:00am In-Depth Pirkei Avot with Rabbi Chaim Eisen Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults Fall Program 5762 (2001 - 2002) At the Israel Center (Program in-formation) Tuesdays 9:00am A Study of the 613 Mitzvot with Rabbi Aharon Adler 10:15am, Parshat Hashavua with Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold 11:30am, A Study of the Haftarot with Esther Kitov Wednesdays 9:00am, Studies in Maimonides: The Jewish State and the Messianic Era with Rabbi Macy Gordon 10:30am, Tehillim: The Book of Psalms with Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold And at KEHILAT ZICHRON YOSEPH, 10 Agassi, Har Nof, Tuesdays, 8:00pm: Parshat HaShavua - Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold and Thursdays, 9:30am, Timeless Topics with Rabbi Zev Leff All JCA classes - 20NIS per class (payment is separate from Israel Center classes) Also on TUESDAYS at the CENTER Two Tuesday morning classes at the Israel Center by the Yad Yaakov Center for Jewish Education Separate fees. Call (02) 652-4601 for further information 9:00-10:30am The Journey of the Soul in Biblical Stories Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz 10:30-11:30am Rambam's Shmoneh P'rakim (8 chapters) Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz UPCOMING Motza"Sh • NOV 17, 8:30pm , Born to Win The Psychology of Being Happy• Rabbi Yossi Rubenstein Sunday, November 18th, 8:00pm The unique mitzva that a Jew can't do today but a Ben Noach can! Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher Rhey R. Roasa Plus short video presentation Tuesday, November 20th, 8:00pm Lifestyle & Health Dr. David Adams Internal medicine Options in Aging Wed. at 4:00pm Meaningful Living vs. Just Existing (Nov.28) 20 per lecture For more info, call Ester, 053 231951 Self Help group forming (6 sessions) • "Alone - and growing older" • For details contact Ester: 053 231951 OU ISRAEL CENTER Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem
World Center Orthodox Union National Conference of Synagogue Youth This publication and many of the programs of the Israel Center and NCSY b'Yisrael are assisted by grants from The Jewish Agency for Israel TT is published and printed "in house" at the Israel Center [The
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