Shabbat Parshat Vayeitzei November 12-13, '10 - 6 Kislev 5771 www.ttidbits.com for PDF files of TT (whole, lite, XL), ParshaPix, text file, Palm version, Torah Tidbits Audio mp3 files... and more! Orthodox Union OU Kashrut <> NCSY <> Jewish Action <> NJCD / Yachad / Our Way <> IPA <> JLIC <> Synagogue Support Services <> OURadio.org <> Young Leadership <> Project Areivim <> OU West Coast Stephen Savitsky, President, Orthodox Union Harvey Blitz, Chairman of the Board, Orthodox Union Rabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Exec. V.P. Emeritus Headquarters: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212-563-4000 <> website: www.ou.org OU ISRAEL Seymour J. Abrams <> Orthodox Union <> Jerusalem World Center Founders and initial benefactors of the Israel Center: George z"l and Ilse Falk OU Israel Center programs <> Makom BaLev <> Lev Yehudi <> Pearl & Harold M. Jacobs ZULA Center <> Machon Maayan <> NESTO <> The Jack Gindi Oraita Program <> Mashiv HaRuach <> OU Kashrut Israel Yitzchak Fund, President, OU Israel Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Senior Vice President Prof. Meni Koslowsky, Vice President Dr. Simcha Heller, Vaad member Stuart Hershkowitz, Vaad member Moshe Kempinski, Vaad member Sandy Kestenbaum, Vaad member Zvi Sand, Vaad member Ben Weiner, Vaad member Harvey Wolinetz, Vaad member Rabbi Avi Berman, Director-General, OU Israel David Katz, CFO, OU Israel Menachem Persoff, Director of Programs, Israel Center Phil Chernofsky, Educational Director and TT editor 22 Keren HaYesod <> POB 37015 <> Jerusalem 91370 phone: (02) 560 9100 <> fax: (02) 566-0156 email: office@ouisrael.org <> website: www.ouisrael.org Torah Tidbits and many of the projects of OU Israel are assisted by grants from The Jewish Agency for Israel Founders and initial benefactors of the Israel Center: George z"l and Ilse Falk Torah Tidbits Phil Chernofsky, editor <> tt@ouisrael.org <> (02) 560-9100 ext. 124 Advertising: Ita Rochel <> ttads@ouisrael.org <> (02) 560-9100 ext. 125 Torah Tidbits is produced, printed*, collated, and folded in-house at the Israel Center TT Distribution <> ttdist@ouisrael.org <> 0505-772-111 website: www.ou.org/torah/tt Z'manim (correct for Jerusalem) Ranges are 10 days, WED-FRI 3-12 Kislev - Nov 10-19 Earliest Talit & T'filin 5:11-5:18am Sunrise 6:03-6:11am Sof Z'man K' Sh'ma 8:42-8:47am (Magen Avraham: 8:05-8:10am) Sof Z'man T'fila 9:36-9:39am (Magen Avraham: 9:05-9:08am) Chatzot 11:23-11:24.5am (halachic noon) Mincha Gedola 11:53-11:55am (earliest Mincha) Plag Mincha 3:36-3:32.5pm Sunset 4:47-4:42pm (based on sea level: 4:27-4:37pm) Candle lighting & Havdala times - Israel Standard Time Candles VAYEITZEI Havdala next week 4:06pm Yerushalayim 5:19pm 4:02 / 5:17 4:24pm S'derot 5:22pm 4:20 / 5:20 4:21pm Gush Etzion 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:17 4:22pm Raanana 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:17 4:22pm Beit Shemesh/RBS 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:18 4:21pm Netanya 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:17 4:22pm Rehovot 5:21pm 4:19 / 5:18 4:22pm Be'er Sheva (& Otniel) 5:22pm 4:18 / 5:19 4:22pm Modi'in- Chashmona'im 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:17 4:06pm Petach Tikva 5:20pm 4:02 / 5:17 4:06pm Maale Adumim 5:19pm 4:02 / 5:16 4:21pm Ginot Shomron 5:20pm 4:17 / 5:16 4:20pm Gush Shiloh 5:19pm 4:16 / 5:16 4:22pm K4 & Hevron 5:20pm 4:18 / 5:17 4:21pm Giv'at Ze'ev 5:20pm 4:17 / 5:17 4:23pm Yad Binyamin 5:21pm 4:19 / 5:18 4:24pm Ashkelon 5:22pm 4:20 / 5:19 4:08pm Tzfat 5:17pm 4:04 / 5:14 4:21pm Zichron Yaakov 5:19pm 4:17 / 5:16 Rabbeinu Tam Havdala - VAYEITZEI - 5:56pm NOTES: Note about Candle Lighting and Havdala times. Candle lighting times are rounded down to the minute, in other words, seconds are ignored. Havdala times, on the other hand, are round up to the next minute. Further explanations and notes on Z'manim are available on the website www.ou.org/torah/tt - click on Halachic times * Important clarifications concerning the Candle Lighting times Petach Tikva officially accepts upon itself to light Shabbat candles according to the Jerusalem custom. (This is due to the fact that the Ashdkenazi community of PT was founded by people from Jerusalem who brought their customs with them.) Up until this week, we understood that to mean that in PT one lights candles 40 minutes before sunset, just like we do in Jerusalem. We contacted the Religious Council in PT and found out that the official candle lighting time for PT is the same as Jerusalem's (not 40 min. before sunset, but the same time as J'lem). Petach Tikvians (or whatever they are called) must realize that their sunset is earlier than Jerusalem's and therefore they do NOT have 40 minutes after the posted time until sunset - more like 30-35. So too for Maale Adumim. They light candles at the same time as J'lem too. Sunset is also earlier in Maalei Adumim. One of the rabbis from Ascent of Safed (that's Tzfat) told us that there are differing opinions concerning when Candle Lighting is there. All say 30 min. before sunset, but some say the sunset that does not take into account the elevation of Tzfat, and some say to use the sunset time that does take elevation into account. We print the earlier time, in case. Halachic Zmanim and Shabbat times in Torah Tidbits are calculated by CHAZON SHAMAYIM, a computer program by R' Eitan Zakuni of Netivot. The latest version (beta), called HAZON NET is available as a free download on www.sky-view.co.il 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've got a good example this month to illustrate a Kiddush L'vana point. The announced molad of Kislev was Motza'ei Shabbat at 8:43pm IST. The actual (astronomical) molad was early Shabbat morning at 6:52am. Minhag Yerushalyim is to say KL after three full days from the molad. From the announced time, which is based on average timing of the cycle of the moon and not on real time, 72 hours later would be Tuesday night at 8:43pm. By that time, the moon will have set (7:29pm Israel time). So first op for KL is Wednesday night. But at stars-out on Tuesday, the moon is is 3 days old already. KL is from 3 days old. Can we say KL on Tue? The answer is NO. We go by the calculation. #### 30 days hath September, April, June, and November... Tishrei, Sh'vat, Nissan, Sivan, Av; Adar Rishon, Mar- cheshvan (sometimes), Kislev (usually). In the fixed Jewish Calendar which is in effect when we do not have a Sanhedrin and Kiddush HaChodesh based on eye-witness testimony to the first visibility of the lunar crescent, the number of days per month is either 29 or 30. As indicated in the opening variation of the well-known calendar ditty, five months (plus the sometimes month of Adar Rishon) always have 30 days, and two months are variable. Tevet, regular Adar and Adar Sheni, Iyar, Tammuz, and Elul always have 29 days. For the purpose of this look at the "Sometimes 30 days" months, let's consider all Adar as a month that occurs once in some years and twice in some years, rather than looking at Adar Rishon and/or Adar Sheni as distinct from Adar. Day-wise, the first through the 29th of Adar each occur either once or twice a year. It follows, that there are three months whose 30th day sometimes exists and sometimes doesn't. Now let's see specifically how often do these 30th days exist. Marcheshvan regularly has 29 days. Only in a SHALEIM year-type does it have 30 days. Of the 14 year-types that exist, 4 of them are CHASEIR (lacking 30 Kislev), 3 of them are K'SEDER (Marcheshvan 29 and Kislev 30), and 6 of them are SHALEIM (with 30 Marcheshvan). The frequencies of the year-types range from 18% of years to as low as 3.3% of the time. Specifically, CHASEIR years occur 25.51% of the time, K'SEDER years, 29.56%, and SHALEIM years account for 44.93% of years. This means that there is a 30th of Marcheshvan 44.93% of years and a 30th of Kislev 74.49% of the time. 30th of Adar exists only in a Shana M'uberet, a 13-month year with two Adars. Seven years of each 19-year cycle are M'uberet. That is a frequency of 36.84%, making the 30th of Adar, the rarest date on the Jewish calendar. Which is still more common than February 29th, which occurs in 24.25% of years. And look at what we found: February 29th, 1824 was the 30th of Adar Alef 5584, combining the rarest dates of both calendars. That hasn't happened since. It is not scheduled to happen again. Before 1824 - if we use the Gregorian calendar of today and apply it to the past (before it was invented and introduced) - we find this rare combination in 1568, 1340, 1264, and 1112. Additional years before then also have the 30 Adar Alef - February 29th situation, but they are not "real". We'd have to look in the Julian calendar (which we are not doing now). Let's just say the dates in 1824 are our fun find for this Calendar exploration. Aside from satisfying curiosity, much of the above (the parts about the Jewish calendar) is meant as a fulfillment of the LACHEM part of HACHODESH HAZEH LACHEM. The mitzva of Kiddush HaChodesh, the forming of the Jewish Calendar, falls to Sanhedrin to fulfill, on behalf of the people of Israel. Not each individual Jew. But the LACHEM aspect says that the Calendar belongs to each of us. G-d gave it to us as the first mitzva - even before we got out of Egypt. It behooves us to know our Calendar intimately - both the fixed one in use now, and the details of Kiddush HaChodesh and Ibur HaShana which will return to us with the restoration of the Sanhedrin, bimheira b'yameinu. LEAD TIDBIT: The Serious Side of the Kipa Joke There's a kipa in the lower-right corner of this box. There's another in the ParshaPix, and one in the footer of every page in this TT (even though it's hard to make out) - all because of the old and corny joke/riddle: How do you know that Yaakov Avinu wore a kipa? Because it says VAYEITZEI YAAKOV... and Yaakov went out. Would he go out without a kipa?! Without any comparison suggested - the kipa thing is only the result of a feeble train of thought - let's look at the Gemara in B'rachot that gives two different "origins" for our three daily davenings. T'FILOT K'NEGED AVOT TIKNUM, the prayers were instituted to correspond to the (deeds of) the patriarchs vs. T'FILOT K'NEGED KORBANOT TIKNUM, the prayers were instituted to correspond to the sacrifices in the Beit HaMikdash, specifically, to the two T'MIDIM (morning and afternoon) and to the simmering of the parts of the day's korbanot on the Mizbei'ach throughout the night. SH'MA - SHIN, MEM, AYIN - Shacharit, Mincha, Arvit. For Shacharit, the gemara quotes the pasuk in Vayeira (B'reishit 19:27): And Avraham went early in the morning to the place where he stood before G-d. The gemara then quotes another pasuk in Tanach that links the act of AMIDA, standing, with T'FILA, prayer. The conclusion, that Avraham prayed in the morning and correspondingly, we have Shacharit in the morning. For Mincha, the gemara quotes the pasuk towards the end of Chayei Sara (B'reishit 24:63): And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the field at the evening time... The gemara quotes another pasuk in Tanach that likes SICHA, communing or meditating, with prayer. The conclusion is that Yitzchak prayed towards evening - Mincha. For Maariv (Arvit), we find in this week's sedra (28:11): He encountered the place and spent the night there because the sun had already set. Quoting another pasuk that links (not likes, as in the typo on the front page) the word P'GI'A with T'FILA, prayer. Hence, the "origin" of Maariv, attributed to Yaakov Avinu. All of this is NOT like the Kipa riddle. We don't say that Yaakov must have davened Maariv because would he arrive at a place at night and not daven Maariv before going to sleep? No, it's not like that. That prayer existed and that it has always been important, is seen in many examples in Torah and the rest of NACH. That prayer, however, was done when necessary. Or when desired. It was asking something of G-d, petitioning Him for protection, thanking Him for something. That all is the essence of prayer on a Torah level. According to Rambam, T'fila is d'Oraita (a mitzva from the Torah) to the extent that one "talks to G-d" at least once a day. What to say? When to say it? How many times a day? All that is in the realm of the Rabbinic guidelines for davening. Essential prayer can be a mother watching her child cross the street to the bus stop and her asking G-d to watch over him. [Ramban says that all prayer is d'Rabbanan. Let's not get into this dispute now.] Davening as we know it is highly structured and regulated. We daven three times a day, during specific time ranges, a fourth time on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Chagim. A fifth time on Yom Kippur. We have earliest times, best times, last times, and emergency extension times. We have a system for making up a davening that we missed. The major timing and frequency of davening was meant to correspond to the Mikdash service, as mentioned above. Our Shacharit has guidelines which are directly related to the guidelines for the morning Tamid. So too for Mincha. Marriv has its parallels to the Mikdash too. But our davening is much more. Yes, it temporarily does double duty in its filling in for the Temple service. But davening is talking to G-d. It is praising Him. It is thanking Him. It is acknowledging Him, it is asking Him for a variety of things. The association between Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov and our three daily prayers, adds tremendously to the spiritual and emotional investment that should he part of our davening. Avraham stood before G-d (in the morning). So do we. Yitzchak meditated and conversed with G-d (in the late afternoon). So do we. Yaakov encountered HaMakom (the place, but also G-d) at night. So do we. Yaakov said in the morning that he didn't even realize that G-d was there until the morning, following his dream/vision. (Maybe this is a hint to us to daven even if we lack proper Kavana, because we will develop it at some point.) Vayeitzei Stats 7th of 54 sedras; 7th of 12 in B'reishit Written on 235.3 lines in a Torah, ranks 12 Vayeitzei is one single long (closed) Parsha, which fits with the fact that it is a continuation of the To-l'dot story. It is the Torah's longest closed parsha, and second only to the open parsha that is all of Mikeitz (254.6 lines) 148 p'sukim - rank: 6th (3rd in B'reishit) 2021 words - ranks 4th (3rd in B'reishit) 7512 letters - ranks 5th (3rd in B'reishit) MITZVOT none of the 613 mitzvot are in Vayeitzei Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary [P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start of a parsha p'tucha or s'tuma respectively. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of the beginning of the parsha; (Z) is the number of p'sukim in the parsha. Kohen - First Aliya 13 p'sukim - 28:10-22 [S> 28:10 (148)] Yaakov leaves Be'er Sheva and goes to Haran. SDT: There are different explanations concerning the wording of this pasuk. As to why the Torah mentions Yaakov's departure (especially having mentioned it a couple of times at the end of Toldot), Rashi explains that a prominent person not only influences his surroundings, but his absence from a place is also felt, in a negative way. Therefore, the Torah not only tells us that Yaakov went to Haran; it also tells us that he left Be'er Sheva, and his absence was felt - even though Yitzchak (and Rivka) remained there. (Perhaps, especially because Yitzchak and Rivka remained in Be'er Sheva - they would feel Yaakov's absence the most!) Another explanation - In leaving Be'er Sheva, Yaakov was fulfilling the wishes of his mother Rivka, who feared that Eisav would kill Yaakov if he remained. In going to Haran, Yaakov was fulfilling the wishes of his father, Yitzchak (and also his mother's), who sent him there to find a suitable wife. The pasuk tells us of Yaakov's departure from Be'er Sheva AND his journey to Haran, to show us that it was important to satisfy the wishes of BOTH his parents. (Rivka did not tell Yitzchak about the danger to Yaakov if he were to remain home.) He encounters "The Place" (it is unidentified in the text, but is traditionally considered to be Har Moriah, the site of the Akeida, and the location of the future Beit HaMikdash) and stays the night. He dreams of a ladder with its feet planted on the ground and whose top reaches the heavens. Angels are ascending and descending the ladder. SDT: The S'fat Emet points out that the ladder in Yaakov's dream is described first as having its feet planted on the ground (representing worldliness and/or basic decency) and then its head reaching the heavens (representing spiritual pursuits). This is consistent with the famous maxim from Pirkei Avot - Derech Eretz Kodma laTorah, worldliness (should) precedes Torah. SDT: What Yaakov saw in the dream represents the "Changing of the Guard". Angels that accompanied Yaakov in Eretz Yisrael are not the same as those outside Israel, just as Shabbat angels differ from those of weekdays. Our weekly counterpart to Yaakov's dream is the Friday night song, Shalom Aleichem, which refers to the changing of the angels. (Note that in Shalom Aleichem, we greet the Shabbat angels before saying farewell to the weekday angels. This gives us an overlap of angels rather than an angel-less gap. In Yaakov's dream, the angels are spoken of as ascending and descending, leaving a momentary gap. Commentaries point out that G-d was "standing watch" over Yaakov from the top of the ladder because there was a gap between the ascension of the angels and the descending of the new ones - OLIM (and then) V'YORDIM BO. SDT: A person should realize that wealth is not permanent; it can be lost as easily as it is gained. Therefore, if one is blessed with wealth, he should use it wisely, constructively, charitably. This idea is symbolized by the ladder, and the ups and downs that take place on it - the SULAM, with the angels OLIM V'YORDIM BO. SULAM (ladder) is numerically 60 + 6 + 30 + 40 = 136. MAMON (money) is also 40+40+6+ 50=136. And so is ONI (poverty) 70+6+50+10=136. More... KOL, voice (prayer) and TZOM, fasting are also equal to 136, perhaps saying that prayer and petition of G-d can be effective in resulting in a blessing of wealth rather than one's being poor. In the dream, G-d appears to Yaakov at the head of the ladder and reiterates to him the promises He made to Avraham and Yitzchak. These oft-repeated promises have consistently included the possession of the Land and the "countless" nature of their descendants. This prophecy also includes G-d's promise of protection for Yaakov on his sojourn. Yaakov awakens from his sleep and acknowledges the sanctity of the Place. When Yaakov awakens in the morning, he takes the stone (formerly referred to in the plural) that was at his head, and erects it as a monument, which he then anoints. He names the place Beit El. Yaakov vows allegiance to G-d. SDT: Shulchan Aruch, based on Midrash, says that a person should/can take a vow or make a pledge to increase and enhance performance of mitzvot and giving of tzedaka during troubled times. The precedent for this is Yaakov's vows at this "low point" in his life. This is notwithstanding the recommendation to avoid taking vows. Tzedaka is another story (sort of). SDT: "And I will return to my father's home and HaShem will be for me, G-d." Ramban explains the connection between Yaakov's return home with his "acquisition of G-d". The Gemara in Ketuvot states that he who lives in Eretz Yisrael is like one who has G-d; he who lives outside Israel is like one without G-d. Yaakov's return from Lavan's house to his father's was a physical and spiritual Aliya - as is Aliya to Eretz Yisrael in our own time. Let's say that again in a clear way as an important "reminder" and gentle nudge to Jews not yet living in Eretz Yisrael. And Chizuk for the rest of us. Avraham Avinu was born in Chutz LaAretz and was commanded by G-d to go and live in Eretz Yisrael, the land that he and his descendants would receive from G-d in perpetuity. Yitzchak Avinu was born and raised in Eretz Yisrael, lived here all his life, never having stepped foot outside the Land, and was "reminded" of that fact by G-d, when Yitzchak might have left because of a famine (as did his father). Yaakov Avinu was born in Eretz Yisrael and left the land for an extended time. In Parshat Vayishlach, we find his returning to Eretz Yisrael is both a physical return and a spiritual one. Jews - as far as Eretz Yisrael is concerned - have one of three role models to emulate. You are either born in Israel and live your whole life here. Or you come on Aliya from the place of your birth, or - if you were born in Israel (or lived here at one time) and left to live elsewhere, you work your way back to Eretz Yisrael. And the Gemara/Ramban's point: Coming on Aliya is not just a mitzva, it is the way a G-dless person acquires G-d for himself. Levi - Second Aliya 17 p'sukim - 29:1-17 Assured of G-d's protection upon leaving the Land (something Yaakov had reason to be unsure of), his pace quickens. He sees a well in a field, with three flocks of sheep gathered around. The well is covered by a large rock. It was the practice of the shepherds to gather at the same time each day so that they would have the manpower necessary to remove the rock and then replace it after the sheep drank. (This, to prevent water from being stolen by one shepherd or another.) Yaakov asks the shepherds who they are and why they gather so early in the afternoon to water their sheep. When they tell him that they work for Lavan, Yaakov asks about his wellbeing. The shepherds point out the approaching Rachel, daughter of Lavan. They explain to Yaakov that they must cooperate with each other in order to physically remove the stone from the well. Just then, Yaakov sees Rachel, his cousin, and approaches the rock and single-handedly removes it from the mouth of the well in order to give water to his uncle's sheep. Yaakov kisses Rachel and weeps bitterly. (He weeps because he sees with Ru'ach HaKodesh that they are destined not to be buried together.) Yaakov tells Rachel who he is - what their relationship is - she runs off to tell her father. When Lavan hears, he runs to welcome Yaakov, and brings him home to tell "the whole story". Lavan "offers" Yaakov a job and tells him "to name his price". Lavan had two daughters - Leah, the older one and Rachel, the younger one. Leah had "weak" (sensitive) eyes and Rachel was very beautiful. SDT: Commentaries note that Lavan is identified as ben Nachor, who was his grandfather - B'tu'el was his father. One explanation is that B'tu'el was a wicked person and his name is bypassed, so to speak, in identifying Lavan. Another explanation is that Nachor was well- known, and not B'tu'el, so the shepherds identified Lavan as ben Nachor, assuming that this visitor (Yaakov) would know of the family. One halachic ramification of the first opinion is the practice of the way we call to the Torah a person born of a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father - namely, Ploni ben the name of his mother's father. This situation is not exactly the same, but is based on the same kind of idea. Shlishi - Third Aliya 31 p'sukim - 29:18-30:13 Yaakov loves Rachel and offers to work for seven years in exchange for her hand in marriage. Lavan agrees and the time flies by in Yaakov's eyes because of his great excitement. At the end of the seven years, Yaakov asks that the marriage take place. Lavan gathers the locals for the festivities and substitutes Leah for Rachel. SDT: Although Lavan was the deceiver, and had his own motives, our Sources indicate that it was Rachel who facilitated the switch, motivated by love and compassion for her sister. Rachel gave her private "signals" to Leah to save her from a probable marriage to Eisav, Yitzchak's biological elder. This compassion serves her descendants well many years later, when she "intercedes" before G-d following the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Tradition tells us that G-d "softened" the punishment with a promise of our return, only after Rachel pleaded before Him. According to Tradition, the Avot and Moshe Rabeinu had not succeeded in their pleas on behalf of the people. There was also "knowledge" via some kind of RU'ACH HAKODESH, that was given to Rachel and Leah that "The Tribes of G-d" were to come from more than just Rachel. When Yaakov confronts Lavan about the deceit, Lavan says that it is improper to marry off the younger before the older. (this is the minhag in many communities, despite its origin being Lavan.) Yaakov agrees to work an additional seven years for Rachel. Zilpa and Bilha are the hand- maidens of Leah and Rachel respectively (commentaries say they too were daughters of Lavan, from a pilegesh - there are other opinions as to who exactly they were, including a Midrash that says they were nieces of Devora, Rivka's nursemaid). Yaakov showed his obviously greater love of Rachel. As a result, G-d made Leah fertile and Rachel barren. Next the Torah tells us, in rapid succession, of the births of Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda. Leah names each son (Levi was named by Yaakov or perhaps by an angel) with a name that expresses her thanks to G-d and her feelings under the unusual circumstances of her life. Rachel, jealous of Leah, com- plains to Yaakov that she has no children. Yaakov gets angry with her, saying that it is G-d's doing, not his. Rachel gives Bilha to Yaakov to have children whom she will raise as her own. Dan and Naftali are born. Leah, realizing that she has stopped having children, gives Zilpa to Yaakov. Gad and Asher are the results. Notice the rapid fashion the Torah employs to tell us of the build-up of Yaakov's family. With Avraham and Yitzchak having such a difficult time fathering children, Yaakov has fathered 10 sons in the span of 16 p'sukim! R'vi'i - Fourth Aliya 14 p'sukim - 30:14-27 Rachel begs Reuven to give her the special (fertility) herbs (DUDAIM, mandrake) that he had gathered for his mother, Leah. When Leah complains to her, Rachel promises that Yaakov could sleep with her that night in exchange for the herbs. When Yaakov returns from the fields, it is Leah who goes out to greet him - something Yaakov questions, and Leah explains. G-d answers Leah's prayers of despair, and she gives birth to Yissachar and then Zevulun. Then Leah gives birth to a girl, Dina. Finally, G-d "remembers" Rachel and she becomes pregnant. She gives birth and names her son Yosef, praying that she will have yet another son (giving her not fewer than the hand-maidens had. Leah has also prayed to G-d that her sister should not be shamed by having fewer sons than the handmaidens). After Yosef is born, Yaakov asks his leave of Lavan. He desires to return to his fathers' home. He asks for his wives, children, and compensation for all the work he has done for Lavan. Lavan acknowledges that he has been blessed because of Yaakov. Chamishi 5th Aliya 32 p'sukim - 30:28-31:16 They make an arrangement by which Yaakov will be paid. Lavan repeatedly attempts to minimize the births of the goats and sheep that will be Yaakov's. G-d has other plans and Yaakov becomes very wealthy. The details of the speckled, banded, spotted animals and how which gave birth to what, are obscure. The bottom line is that Lavan attempts to cheat Yaakov (again) and is completely unsuccessful. Lavan's sons feel as if Yaakov has cheated their father. G-d tells Yaakov to return to his birthplace. Yaakov calls to his wives and explains the situation to them. He tells them of being instructed by an angel as to what to do with the animals. Rachel and Leah feel as strangers in their father's house, as if they have no share in Lavan's wealth, and they will do as G-d commands. Shishi - Sixth Aliya 26 p'sukim - 31:17-42 Yaakov prepares to leave. Mean- while, Rachel takes her father's TERAFIM in his absence. When Lavan becomes aware of Yaakov's departure, he sets out in pursuit. G-d appears to Lavan in a dream and warns him not to harm Yaakov in any way. When Lavan catches up to Yaakov, he confronts him about the unannounced departure and the missing terafim. Rav Aryeh Kaplan z'l in The Living Torah, explains Terafim according to different opinions. Some say they were idols that were worshiped. This opinion adds that Rachel took them to save her father from the sin of idolatry. Others are of the opinion that they were meditative devices that would enable Lavan to divine the whereabouts of Yaakov. Thus Rachel's motive was to prevent Lavan from pursuing Yaakov & Co. Yaakov answers in kind, expressing his anger at Lavan's repeated attempts to cheat him. As to the terafim, Yaakov permits Lavan to search for them and boldly declares that the one who took them shall not live. Lavan fails to find his terafim because Rachel convinces him not to search her person or belongings. Had it not been for G-d's protection, Yaakov tells Lavan, you would have left me with nothing. KI VARACH... (Lavan knew that Yaakov had "fled") The Midrash, based on the phrasing in the text, says it was Amalek who told Lavan that Yaakov fled, and later told Par'o that Bnei Yisrael did so too. In the Hagada we read/say: VAYEIRED MITZRAIMA (Yaakov went down into Egypt), and this is qualified by, ANOOS AL PI HADIBUR, usually translated as "Forced by Divine Decree". There is another explanation offered: It was Yaakov's DIBUR, his statement that forced himself down into Egypt. How so? He inadvertently condemned Rachel to an early death by his words to Lavan. This can be construed as taking a life B'SHOGEIG. Punishment (and atonement) for that is EXILE. (Really, to a city of refuge, but for this "drash", exile to Egypt will do.) Not only does this explanation fit the DIBUR part, but it can also explain why the Hagada connects Yaakov's descent into Egypt with Lavan. Sh'VII - Seventh Aliya 15 p'sukim - 31:43-32:3 Lavan answers that the women are his daughters, that the children are his (grand)children, and the animals are his as well. Yaakov and Lavan make a pact and form a mound of rocks as a sign of their agreement. Yaakov offers a sacrifice to G-d and swears to the covenant. In the morning, Lavan kisses his children and grandchildren, blesses them, and returns home. Yaakov continues on his journey and encounters angels (of Eretz Yisrael - the sedra thus comes full circle - he left Eretz Yisrael with Vayeitzei and now is about to return to the Land) on the way, Yaakov names the place Machanayim. Last 3 p'sukim are Maftir. Haftara - 28+2* p'sukim - Hoshe'a 12:13-14:10 S'faradim read the 17-pasuk portion of Hoshea that precedes the Ashkenazi reading, 11:7-12:12. Chabad do also, but they continue for two more p'sukim - namely, the first two p'sukim of the Ashkenazi reading. *Chayei Adam suggests concluding the haftara with Yoel 2:26-27, in order to end the haftara on a better note than Hoshea ends with. This concluding portion of the book(let) of Hoshea begins with reference to Yaakov's journey to Aram to find (and work on behalf of) a wife (wives) - hence its obvious connection to the sedra. The prophet points out to the People of Israel their humble origins, in an attempt to put things in perspective and restore their faith and reliance upon G-d. The last 9 p'sukim of the haftara are also the first 9 p'sukim of the haftara of Shabbat Shuva. "...so will we offer the words of our lips instead of bulls." This is the textual link between prayer and korbanot. Remember that the origin of Maariv is found in the sedra. The final pasuk of Hoshei'a is as follows: Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is prudent, let him know them; for the ways of HaShem are right, and the just walk in them; but the transgressors shall stumble in them. The just walk in them and the transgressors stumble. Give an example. You might think that a person who does mitzvot is "just" and a sinner is a "transgressor". Look at the gemara's example: Two people roasted their Korban Pesach. The one ate it for the sake of the mitzva. The other ate it gluttonously. The former is just; the latter is a transgressor. But why? He also did the mitzva? The point? Even one who does a mitzva, in order to walk in the ways of HaShem without stumbling, his motives, preparation, details, must all be for the sake of the mitzva. THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW, Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean Lesson # 539 (part two) Lifnim MiShurat HaDin A question is posed in the Talmud (T. Ketuvot 97b): A person sold his land because he required the money but after the sale he no longer required the money. May he rescind the sale? The Talmud attempts an answer by citing an incident which occurred to R. Papa as a precedent. A certain man sold his field to R. Papa because he required money to go into business. After the sale he no longer required the money. R. Papa permitted the seller to rescind the sale and returned the land and took back the money. The Talmud says that this incident involving R. Papa may not be a dispositive precedent since R. Papa may have acted lifnim mishurat hadin. In any event it is apparent from the Talmudic discussion that the concept of lifnim mishurat hadin may be applied to actions of men, and it may be applied to jurisprudential areas. Tosafot (T. Ketuvot 97a) divides into three categories the law of rescission in those situations where one no longer requires the underlying reason for the sale in the first instance. There are situations where the transaction may be rescinded even if the purpose for the transaction was not explicitly stated. For example the case described in the Talmud when a person who had heard that his relative died in a distant country and assigned all his property to strangers. When his son subsequently returned, R. Shimon ben Menasya said the gift made to the strangers was not legally binding for had the donor known that his son was alive he would not have made the gift. In such instance, Beit Din will take judicial notice that there was a mistake that prompted the transaction. Secondly there is the category where a person sold his land and stated the reason for the sale, such as that he wanted to move to the Land of Israel. After the sale, some urgent reason, such as illness arose whereby he could not move to Israel. In such a situation the sale may be rescinded by the seller since he explicitly stated the reason for the sale and the reason failed to materialize. His statement is enough to permit Beit Din to undo the sale since this type of situation is not unusual, that is, a person selling his property for the reason that he wants to move to Israel. Had the person sold another thing to use the proceeds to move to Israel, the sale would not have been rescinded since it is not unusual for other objects to be sold for this purpose. In the third category, the person selling the object should have made the sale conditioned on his moving to the Land of Israel within a certain time. In such a situation the sale would have to comply with the requirement of a conditional sale. IYH in the next lesson the other instances where lifnim mishurat hadin is mentioned in the Talmud. "BOTH A LENDER AND A BORROWER BE" (part six) - THE CHALLENGE OF MONEY by Dr. Meir Tamari When price levels change, the nominal value of money remains stable, but its real value or purchasing power has been altered. Such changes or what we understand to be inflation may be due to natural causes such as drought or to economic disruptions flowing from war, rises in wages or government deficits etc. Irrespective of the causes, these changes pose halakhic problems of ribit as may be shown by the following simple example. Reuven borrows 1000 shekels from Shimon that can buy basket A of goods. When he comes to repay it a year later as agreed, that sum can only buy 90% of the same A. If he now repays 1000 shekels, Shimon will lose part of his purchasing power. Were he to pay back 1100, then while Shimon would be compensated, he would receive more than he had lent; is this ribit or merely paying back the same value as the interest free loan borrowed? Halakhically, where no agreement to the contrary exists [the consequences of which are beyond our discussion's scope] changes in price levels do not have any effect on the payment of debts. So Reuven would have to return only the 1000 shekels he borrowed; anything over the nominal value of the debt would be considered ribit. Can Shimon protect his purchasing power and yet not transgress halakhic ribit, by linking his interest free loan to a consumer cost of living index? The majority of authorities seem to regard such linkage as a form of rabbinic interest requiring a heter iska. The objections to this linkage have been summed up as follows: "[Goods may not be lent requiring repayment of the same goods, since their price may vary and the borrower pay more than the value he borrowed, that would be avak ribit]. The Shulchan Arukh permits the advancing of money [not goods] on condition that the borrower provides him with peirot-goods [not money] at the price obtaining at the time of the advance [this seems like linkage]. However, the consumer index does not measure a specific good but a general basket of goods and services, some of which the lender may never use and some of which do not have an equilibrium price. Advancing of payment for goods is permissible only in iskot but not in loans. Linkage to the consumer index is in effect payment of money and this is not permissible by the Shulchan Arukh" (Dinei Mamanot, Rabbi E. Basri 5:7). There is valid empirical evidence for the halakhic position that indexation is a form of interest. Where inflation exists lenders will raise interest rates to protect themselves against the erosion of their money; a rise in interest rates solely to maintain the real rate of return on lenders money is the free market equivalent of linkage. When central banks do not allow interest rates to rise or where the free market mechanism is not allowed to function, then lenders will simply seek the protection of C.O.L. linkage, real estate, foreign currency, objects d'art etc. to protect themselves. This insistence on the nominal as opposed to the real purchasing value of money is not based solely on problems of ribit but flows from the halakhic definition of money. As long as money was measured in precious metal terms there was no problem defining it since a shekel of silver was its weight, shekel; "and Abraham weighed to Efron 400 silver shekels, current money with merchants [legal tender]" (B'reishit, 23:16). The introduction of bank notes and other forms of paper money raised issues of their source of their validation as money for halakhic purposes. "The basic qualification for something to constitute halakhic money flows from the decree of the king that it be legal tender. No one can then refuse to sell goods and accept it in return. It is irrelevant whether the article chosen to represent money is gold, silver or paper" (T'shuvot Chatam Sofer, Yoreh De'ah 134). The Chazon Ish derived it from the degree of acceptance in the market place in order to buy and sell or to evaluate therewith all marketplace transactions (Choshen Mishpat 16). By either definition the value of currency binding on all parties would be that known at the time of the transaction, viz. its nominal value. Any additional payment through such protective instruments as linkage to the C. O. L., would be rabbinic interest so that all associated transactions would require a heter iska, provided there was indeed an iska. MISC section - contents: [1] Vebbe Rebbe [2] Candle by Day [3] Wisdom and Wit [4] From Aloh Naaleh [5] Parsha Points to Ponder [6] Portion from the Portion [7] From Machon Puah [8] Person in the Parsha [9] Praying with Passion [10] Towards Better Kashrut Awareness [11] MicroUlpan [12] Maharal on the Sedra [13] Oz Latorah [14] Gimatriya Match [15] Torah from Nature [16] Divrei Menachem [1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE The Orthodox Union - via its website - fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi 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: When we sing sections of Kedusha, some people sing along with the chazan and some just hum the tune. Is there a right or a wrong way in this matter? Answer: Let us first note that Kedusha is a series of three important p'sukim (Kadosh, Baruch k'vod, and Yimloch), each preceded by an introductory passage (Nekadesh, or Nakdishach for S'fard, Le'umatam, and Uvdivrei), with additions for Shabbat. Many hummers are concerned that it is forbidden to say the words along with the chazan. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 125:1, based on Shut HaRosh 4:19) says that no one but the chazan should recite Nakdishach at all. The Macha- tzit HaShekel (to Magen Avraham 125:1) and Mishna B'rura (125:1) explain that this passage was instituted for the chazan, as shaliach tzibur (representative of the congregation) to prompt the congregation, who would respond with the p'sukim alone. The Beit Yosef is uncertain as to whether this idea applies to the other introductory passages as well. In practice, we do say Nekadesh (and S'fardim often sing it together, see Yabia Omer, VII, OC 14). This can be attributed to a few things: 1) The Taz (125:1) questions what the issue could be about saying these passages, especially as the Shulchan Aruch (OC 109:2) rules that one who starts Shemoneh Esrei along with the chazan's chazarat hashatz says Kedusha with him word for word. 2) The AR"I (cited in Ba'er Heitev 125:1) says that one should recite all of Kedusha along with the chazan silently. 3) The minhag is to say Nekadesh. (The Aruch Hashulchan 125:2 says that the minhag is to say only Nekadesh and not Le'umatam and Uvdivrei; on Shabbat, the minhag is to say the long additions). What about repeating these words a second time? The Rama (OC 125:1) says that one should not speak during K'dusha. The Magen Avraham (125:1) says that one should not even learn without speaking but should listen to the chazan. However, he says that this restriction does not apply when the chazan is singing tunes without words or during the extended passages for Shabbat, which are not critical to K'dusha. If so, restrictions on saying extraneous things or usurping the chazan's role at that point are also not likely an issue. Although the poskim advise not to talk until the end of the b'racha after K'dusha (see Mishna B'rura 125:9, in the name of the Maharil), it appears that the issue is of disrespect to K'dusha. The poskim on the above issue do not say that unnecessary recitation is a hefsek (formal interruption). Only when words are repeated nonsensically to fit in with a musical piece is that an issue (see Yabia Omer, VII, OC 14; Igrot Moshe, OC II, 22). Singing the words of Mimkomcha, for example, should not have that problem. There is an issue when, with religious/musical fervor, the congregation drowns out the chazan. One problem, disgrace to the words, should apply to all of K'dusha (as above). This should not be such a problem when people say the appropriate words, albeit not in the classical manner of the chazan alone being audible, but in a way many feel inspiring. Presumably, it is a problem when people are "stringent" to hum, but so loudly that the words are not heard clearly from anyone. Another problem is that those who are in the midst of Shemoneh Esrei need to hear K'dusha, as they cannot recite it. It is a machloket (Az Nidbaru II, 60 - yes; Igrot Moshe, OC III, 4 - no;) whether they can fulfill this by hearing people other than the chazan say the words, considering that they do not have in mind to do it on the davener's behalf. However, this applies specifically to the p'sukim of K'dusha (see Halichot Shlomo, Tefilla 8:38), which are less commonly sung. The following is our advice. During Kadosh and Baruch k'vod (and perhaps the final words of L'umatam and Uvdivrei), the chazan should be heard clearly, and the congregation should do no more than hum quietly. During the longer Shabbat additions, people may sing along as they like, and if this competes with the chazan's voice, they should recite the words. (If one plans to do this, it is preferable to refrain from saying it while the chazan is waiting - Ed. thus avoiding saying the same words twice). More Ed. Minhag Yerushalayim, based on the opinions of the GR"A is for the tzibur only to say the three p'sukim of K'dusha, nothing else. [2] Candle by Day It is difficult for one who has arrived at a certain moral understanding not to regard another's acting in opposition to it as a piece of willfulness rather than as an innocent ignorance of that understanding on the other's part. A Candle by Day - The Antidote - The World of Chazal by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein Now available at 054-209-9200 [3] Wisdom and Wit by Shmuel Himelstein R' Zalman Rivlin would often come to a certain wealthy man to have him donate for various worthy causes. Each time, R' Zalman would come up with a different Torah thought, and often that would so please the man that he doubled his contribution. Once, R' Zalman came to the man and said to him, "I've come to visit you, as I had heard you are sick." "Me, sick? Where did you get such an idea? I feel well. Who told you that I'm sick?" "Actually," said R' Zalman, "I heard it directly from Shlomo HaMelech." "Shlomo HaMelech? Speaking about me? You have to explain that to me," said the man, intrigued. "Well, in Koheles 5:12, it says, "Here is an evil I have seen under the sun; riches hoarded by their owner are to their misfortune." The wealthy man chuckled and commented: "I had no idea how sick I am. I am really grateful to you for "visiting the sick." "Being grateful is only part of the visit," said R' Zalman. "The gemara says that if a person visits the sick, he takes away with him one-sixtieth of the illness. So far, I haven't taken away any of your illness." The man immediately took out his wallet and gave R' Zalman a sizable donation. [4] CHIZUK and IDUD for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively Jacob's Ladder is one of the greatest spiritual visions in the Tanach. No wonder it has become a central theme for artists and poets throughout history. One can forget many Biblical passages but this image remains indelible in our memory. If dreams are a reflection of our aspirations, then young Yaakov, who grew up in the home of Yitzchak and Rivka in Israel, in seeing Divine Angels going up and down the ladder, sees himself struggling to rise from level to level in achieving spiritual growth. Yet he is concerned whether he will be able to pursue those goals in the home of Lavan. At the end of his vow enunciated the next morning, he expresses this concern: V'HAYA HASHEM LI LEILOKIM? Ramban: "Shall my allegiance to God be as unshaken as before?" How many people remember that there is a second dream in the Parsha? It is a dream which appears to have crept in stealthily as if the Torah were ashamed of it. It is a dream that Yaakov has after he has lived with Lavan for over twenty years. It is a dream that occurs after he has become a husband of four and the father of most of his children. Most important, it is a vision that appears to him after he has accumulated his vast wealth. It is a dream that he reveals to Rachel and Leah. "I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream and behold the male goats which leaped upon the flock were streaked, speckled and grizzled." And the Angel of God spoke to me. "I have seen all that Lavan has done to you!" Yaakov! Look how your dreams have changed! Once you dreamt of a Divine ladder reaching up to the very Heavens themselves! But today, all you see are vast herds of sheep! I have seen how your stay with Lavan has altered your aspirations. It's time to go home! The words of the second Angel reverberate in our Day as well. It calls out to Jews in lands of the Diaspora. It is time to come home! Rabbi Sender Shizgal, Jerusalem TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshat HaShavu'a [5] Parsha Points to Ponder - VAYEITZEI 1) G-D tells Yaakov that his children will spread out all over the land and lists specific directions. Why does God say WEST, EAST, NORTH, AND SOUTH instead of following the order of the directions WEST, NORTH, EAST, SOUTH (28:14) 2) Why does Yaakov jump to tell Lavan that he would work for seven years before marrying Rachel (29:18)? Why didn't he wait to see what Lavan would first demand since perhaps it would be less than what Yaakov was offering? 3) Why does Leah, upon naming her first child say NOW MY HUSBAND WILL LOVE ME (29:32) and for the second child she says G-D HEARD THAT I AM HATED (29:33)? Shouldn't it be the other way around with G-D first removing the hate and then moving on to the positive in generating the love? Parsha Points to Ponder by Rabbi Dov Lipman, teacher at Reishit Yerushalayim and Machon Maayan in Beit Shemesh; author of "DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers (and Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith" (Feldheim); "TIMEOUT: Sports Stories as a Game Plan for Spiritual Success" (Devora);"SEDER SAVVY" (Targum) - ppp@ouisrael.org Ponder the Qs first, then... Suggested answers 1) The Kli Yakar explains that G-D was trying to convey to Yaakov that the success which He is promising Yaakov's children in these verses will come after the Jews have reached their low point. Thus, it will take them from the extreme low to the extreme high as captured by WEST, EAST and then NORTH, SOUTH. 2) The S'forno answers that Yaakov was a righteous person and, as such, he did not want to accept the responsibility of caring for Rachel and raising children until he had a livelihood with income to provide for a wife and children. Thus, his offer of seven years' work was less a dowry and more simply taking responsibility. 3) The Ohr HaChayim teaches that Leah did not know that Yaakov hated her, she simply felt that she was not loved. So, when her first child was born she assumed that G-D was addressing that lacking and causing Yaakov to love her. But then when she saw that G-D blessed her with a second child before Rachel had any children she realized that G-D was addressing a deeper problem and that the first child was to address the fact that she was actually hated and now this second child's purpose was to create the love. [6] Portion from the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum FEEDback to berenbau@actcom.net.il No column this week [7] from Machon Puah - for Fertility and Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha Age and Fertility We are often asked here in the Puah Institute how old is too old? Or to put it differently, what is the true fertility lifespan of women? Is a 35-year old woman as likely to get pregnant as a 25-year old? Can a 43-year old woman still get pregnant? What is the relationship between age and birth defects? These questions are asked by women when starting their families and by men who are looking to get married and want to know what age is optimum for a fertile spouse. It is almost impossible to give a specific answer to this often loaded question in each and every case, and the most that can be given is a very general explanation. In general it can be stated that fertility decreases as age increases. This is true for both men and women but is much more acute for women than it is for men. In broad strokes we can say that female fertility starts to decrease significantly over the age of 35, an even sharper decline at 40 and a real sharp decline at the age of 45. Of course, we all know examples of people who continued having children over this age, however there is definitely a difference between a polypartum woman, that is one who has given birth several times and a nulliparous, who has never given birth before. While the fertility of the polypartum woman may extend later, usually the nulliparous woman will be more affected by these decreases. So what can be done to counter this phenomena? The first and simplest thing is to encourage people to get married younger and when they do get married, then to start having families earlier as opposed to later. This may sound simple at best and unrealistic at worst, but this was the theme of a campaign by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) a few years ago. The ASRM has noted many times that the one major factor in the increase of fertility treatment is advanced maternal age, and so they came out with a huge advertising campaign to support this and to encourage women to start having children earlier. This simple slogan was not too well received. Some saw it as an infringement on their privacy and their rights over their own lives and decisions. Others were just horrified that their doctors had never before chosen to share this vital information with them and had let them continue their lives thinking that they would be fertile forever until the ASRM provided them with a rude awakening. Obviously this is not always a solution and we have to think of ways of assessing fertility for women who are getting older. In order to do so, next week we will look at why maternal age is such a crucial factor in fertility. [8] Person in the Parsha by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb VAYEITZEI - What's in a Name? "Who am I?" This is the most powerful question that a person ever asks himself. For many of us, there are no easy answers to that question. We are uncertain of our own identities. Social scientists believe that this question is typically asked by adolescents. After all, it is legitimate for young people to be unsure of who they are. The task of the adolescent is to begin to define his or her identity, to formulate tentative answers to the question, "Who am I?" Often, however, individuals persist in struggling to answer the "Who am I?" question long after they have passed the stage of adolescence. The so-called "midlife crisis" can be understood as a time in life when one again asks himself the question, "Who am I?", and a crisis arises when no clear answer to that question emerges. An important component in the formulation of an answer to the "Who am I?" question is the answer to another question, "What's in a name?" Each of us has a name, almost invariably given to us very early in our lives by our parents or parent figure. I would like to suggest that our sense of personal identity is in a large part determined by the names that we have been given. Our names were chosen for us because they have a certain meaning to those who named us. When our parents gave us our name, they also gave us a message about whom they expected us to be. Whether we ourselves are conscious of that message depends upon how explicit our parents were in their choice of our name. But on some level, we know that our name was not randomly chosen, and to a greater extent than we realize, our self- concepts are shaped by our names. In this week's Torah portion, Vayeitzei, no less than eleven newborns are given names. In every case, these names are given by women; by Leah and by Rachel. Each name is carefully crafted by these women and is designed, not only to reflect the emotions of the moment, but to shape and give direction to the destinies of each of these children. Let us consider but two examples: Leah gives her third son the name Levi, which means "connected," or "attached". This reflects her confidence that with the birth of a third son, her husband, Yaakov, will become more attached to her. But it is also a message to the baby Levi that he will grow up to be "attached" to others. In his lifetime, he is typically number two of the duo "Shimon and Levi," secondary to his brother. And his progeny become "attached" to the Almighty and to all things sacred as the tribe of priests for the rest of Jewish history. Leah then names her fourth child Yehuda, which means to praise or to thank, because of the special gratitude she experiences with his birth. And Yehuda ultimately, in his own life and through his descendants, gives praise to G-d in his actions and with his words. In more recent times, it has become rare for a Jewish parent to invent a new name for his or her child. The prevalent custom is to name a child for a deceased ancestor or for some other revered personage. The child who carries the name of a grandparent surely internalizes the message that in some way his life should reflect some of the values of that grandparent. I know for whom I was named. He was my great-grandfather, my mother's mother's father, Tzvi Hersh Kriegel. He was an immigrant to America, hailing originally from Galicia. His portrait adorned one of the walls of my grandparents' home, and it showed an immaculately dressed, bright-eyed but old-fashioned middle-aged man, with a luxuriant red beard. As a child, I learned much about him from his widow, my great-grandmother. I learned of his commitment not only to Jewish observance, but to all aspects of the Galitzianer culture, especially to its wry humor and nostalgic Chassidic tunes. I visit his grave ever more frequently as time goes on. And I both consciously and unconsciously model myself after him. When I ask myself, "Who am I?", a significant part of my answer relates back to him and to his name bequeathed to me. I have found myself preaching over the years to those parents who would listen that they should choose the names they give their children carefully, and that rather than choose a name because they like the way it sounds or because of its popularity, they should select a name of a real person, someone who stood for something, someone your child could eventually emulate. In my Torah study and in my readings of Jewish history, I have noticed that during different eras, different names seem to predominate. I find it fascinating that the names Avraham, Moshe, David, and Shlomo are today quite popular and have been certainly since the days of that second most famous Moshe, Maimonides. Yet, in Talmudic times, those names seemed to have been quite rare. We find no major rabbis in the Mishna or in the Gemara who carry the names of the aforementioned four biblical heroes. No Rabbi Moshe, no Rabbi Avraham, but strangely more than one Rabbi Yishmael. And of course, returning to this week's Torah portion, Yehudas and Shimons aplenty. "What is in a name?" A message to help answer the persistent and challenging question, "Who am I?" As is so often the case in rabbinic literature, one question answers the other. There is a passage in the works of our Sages which tells of the three names each of us has. There is the name which we were given at the time of our birth, which is the name we have discussed in this column. But there is also the name that we earn by our own deeds, the part of the answer to the "Who am I?" question that we ourselves provide. And finally, there is a name that others give us, the reputation that we deserve. It is that name to which Shlomo HaMelech in his Kohelet refers when he remarks, "A good name is better than fragrant oil, and the day of death than the day of birth." And it is that very name which the Mishna in Avot has in mind when it concludes that of all the crowns of glory that humans can achieve, there is one that stands supreme: the keter shem tov, the crown of a good name. [9] Praying with Passion - V'ani Tefillah Foundation - Praying with Fire P'sukei d'Zimra The next step up BARUCH SHE'AMAR...YISHTABACH Introduction to P'sukei d'Zimrah: P'sukei d'Zimra is a separate unit of Shacharit. Therefore, it begins with the blessing BARUCH SHE-AMAR and concludes with the b'racha YISHTABACH. This is similar to Hallel, which, as a complete unit, is introduced by, and concludes with a blessing. Note that Nusach S'fard places HODU before BARUCH SHE-AMAR to have it in closer proximity to the Karbanot section of Shacharit (The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, P'sukei d'Zimra). Theme: An essential concept of the prayer The Next Level of Holiness P'sukei d'Zimra, which are recited in preparation for Shemoneh Esrei, carry us to a higher level of holiness in our prayers. This ascent mirrors the progress from the outer courtyards of the Beit HaMikdash into the Holy of Holies. Insight: Deeper meanings... Step by Step to the Top When a Kohein entered the Beit HaMikdash, he could not go straight into the Holy of Holies. First, he had to enter the Har HaBayit, then the Azara, and then the Heichal. Only then could he enter the Holy of Holies. Similarly, one cannot enter directly into Sh'moneh Esrei, the pinnacle of prayer, which is compared to the Holy of Holies. Rather, there are steps leading to Sh'moneh Esrei, which ascend to higher and higher levels, like a pyramid (Nefesh Shimshon, Pages 36-42). First, on awakening, we express gratitude to Hashem that He restored our faculties (Modeh Ani). Then we ascend the first step, reciting Birchot HaShachar, which is comparable to entering the Har HaBayit - the area outside the holiest section of the Beit HaMikdash. At this first level of holiness, we recite blessings upon the most mundane of our day's activities - getting up, getting dressed, putting on shoes and so forth, elevating each by recognizing them each day as a new gift from G-d. Pesukei D'Zimrah is the second step, comparable to entering the Azara. This is the area which begins the Camp of the Sh'china. It is the place to which some of the sacrifices were brought, and it was invested with a higher level of holiness than the Har HaBayit. In a similar way, P'sukei d'Zimra are intended to reveal the light of Hashem's presence by praising Him for the natural bounty He bestows on us, enabling us to serve Him (Derech Hashem 4:6:10). Krias Shema and its b'rachot, in which one accepts the yoke of Heaven, is the third step. That is where a person comes to the recognition that Hashem is One; that He created the world and He controls it on a daily basis. This compares to the holiness of the Heichal. The highest step on the ladder is when one recites Sh'moneh Esrei, which is compared to entering the Holy of Holies. As Shulchan Aruch 98:1 states: "(One) should regard it as if the Sh'china (Divine Presence) is before him... and... as if he was speaking before a human king, and (he) would then arrange his words and concentrate on them so that he would not stumble or fail. How much more so, before the King of kings who explores all thoughts and intentions." Visualize: Images that bring the prayer to life Coming Clean The peasant arrives at the palace. The guard lets him in, for this king is eager and willing to meet his subjects. However, after the peasant's long trek, he is covered with dirt. His rough, patched clothing is caked with mud. His matted hair bears witness to days of travel on dusty roads. Not only does he look utterly unprepared for an audience with the king, but he feels unprepared as well. Fortunately, the guard does not bring him directly to the throne room. First, he sends him for a bath and a haircut. Then, he issues him a fresh, clean suit of clothing. The peasant feels clean, pure and unencumbered by the dirt that had clung to him. He knows that now, he will be pleasing in the king's eyes, and his petition will be well received. As we make our way through life each day, the forces of impurity in our world inevitably cling to us. As we recite P'sukei d'Zimra, they are bathed away. We emerge fresh, clothed in our renewed gratitude toward G-d for the wondrous world He has given us, and ready to come closer to His presence. As you begin to recite P'sukei d'Zimra, visualize yourself finishing the first step of entry towards the Holy of Holies, the Har HaBayit", ascending to the next level of holiness, the "Azara." Try This: Since time is usually an important factor in a daily Shacharit minyan, P'sukei d'Zimra are often recited quickly and without much concentration. Nevertheless, you can enhance your connection with these beautiful prayers. Choose just one or two meaningful lines of one segment. Think about their meaning and say them with great concentration for one week. Choose two more for the following week, and so forth. Each Word is Top Priority: P'sukei d'Zimra segments, which are mentioned in numerous places in the Gemara, are an important part of Shacharit prayer. Shulchan Aruch 51:8 rules, "One should not say the [P'sukei d'Zimra] verses rapidly, but at a leisurely pace." Mishna B'rura (ibid:20) explains that this is to avoid skipping or swallowing words. Rather, one should recite the words "as if he were counting money." In addition, one must be sure to pronounce each word separately especially where a word ends with the same letter that begins the subsequent word (Siman 61:20, 22). [10] Towards Better Kashrut Awareness - Excerpted from an article in the OU's "Behind the Union Symbol" A Peafowl by any other name... by Rabbi Chaim Loike As he was constructing the Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem, Shlomo HaMelech labored to establish extensive and far-reaching trade routes to bring the very best for the service of God. A series of maritime expeditions were launched to the most distant lands; the expeditions returned to Jerusalem carrying an array of goods which the inhabitants had never before seen. The lands which were visited are named and vaguely described in both Melachim and Divrei HaYamim, although few of these lands can now be identified. What is known are the items which were brought back to Jerusalem. The Bible records regarding one of the expeditions (Melachim Alef 10:22, similar to Divrei HaYamim Bet 9:21, "For the boat of Tarshish was for the king in the sea with the boats of Hiram; once in three years the boat of Tarshish would come carrying gold, silver, ivory, monkeys and peacocks." The people of the Phoenician city of Tarshish were the preeminent mariners of biblical times. It was they who traveled to the most distant lands, returning with the most impressive items to display to the people of Jerusalem. While Tarshish was a city-state located on the shores of the Mediterranean, the domain of Shlomo HaMelech stretched from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Thus, by allying themselves with the ancient Israelites, the mariners of Tarshish gained access to the Far East. Although peacock could have been procured in many places along the coast of the Indian subcontinent, there is linguistic evidence that it was specifically the island of Sri Lanka that was visited. The Hebrew word used in the Bible to identify the peacock is TUKI, which is almost identical to the ancient Tamil word for peacock, toka. Four hundred years after the death of Shlomo, the peacock is once again mentioned in the Tanach in the Book of Yechezkeil; when the prophet bemoans the destruction of Tyre he mentions the ivory and peacocks in which they traded. (27:15). In the Book of Yechezkeil, the birds are no longer referred to as TUKI but rather as HAVONIM. This word is similar to the word pavo which is still the name by which peacocks are called in many European languages. As a result of the civil war which followed the death of Shlomo HaMelech, Israel's nautical exploration was put on hold. The Israelites were only periodically able to access the Port of Eilat on the Red Sea and there were only sporadic attempts to renew trade from this area. Despite the decline of the Israelite state, the Phoenicians continued to maintain their trade routes with the Far East, although it is not clear which ports were used to access the Indian Ocean. When the Babylonians exiled the Jewish people and subjugated the Phoenician city-states, the maritime explorations in the Far East ceased. Two hundred years later, Alexander the Great marched into India and once again began trading with the Far East, this time opening the silk route which was over land. It was only a matter of time until peacocks were once again imported into Israel as well as the other parts of the Greek empire. The birds are discussed in the Talmud, where they are identified as kosher. The size of the peacock set it apart from the other fowl which was raised in ancient times. Osteological evidence indicates that the chicken which was kept 2000 years ago was only slightly larger than a pigeon. Comparatively the peacock would have been a mammoth centerpiece at any ancient feast. It remained so in Western Europe, until the 16th century when it was replaced by the larger and perhaps tastier turkey. Prior to the arrival of the turkey, period cookbooks often focus on the drama of a dish with peacock. John Baptist Porta (in a work which was written in the 1600s) recommends cooking the peacock and then adding gold leaf before reattaching the skin and feathers to make the bird look alive. No such attention is lavished on the bird in the 1723 Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary. Two recipes for the peacock are included, none of which involved any gold. In more recent times, the peacock has vanished from even the most elegant restaurants. Five years ago, I saw live peacocks being sold in a New York meat market for about double the price of a large turkey. I haven't seen them since. The last recorded listing of the bird among kosher meat was from Italy in the mid-1800s. The OU does not certify the peacock, and there has never been any local demand for the meat of this bird. Perhaps, for a bird as beautiful and graceful as the peacock, it is best to know it is kosher, and leave the actual taste a mystery. Rabbi Chaim Loike serves as OU Kosher rabbinic coordinator servicing egg, spice and chemical companies. His fascinating BTUS features on the pigeon, partridge and birds of the Bible have elicited much interest and positive feedback. Rabbi Loike costars with his exotic birds in the much acclaimed classroom DVD, "Kosher Birds, Who Are They," part of OU Kosher's expanded educational outreach. Rabbi Loike received his BS and rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva University. He can be reached at Loikec@ou.org. Ed. note: In a phone conversation with RAZ, who was in Istanbul at the time, he put it like this: There is literature of the last few hundred years that indicates that peacock (TAVAS) is kosher, but we have yet to find a reliable MASORET from a shochet today that he, in fact, has shechted peacock or knows someone who did. ### Peafowl = peacock, peahen, peachick (chickpea?) [11] MicroUlpan no column this week [12] Maharal on the Sedra - Column prepared by Dr. Moshe Kuhr The Place B'reishit 28:11 - And he encountered the place and spent the night there... Rashi: It doesn't say which place, but the place implies a place mentioned elsewhere. This is Mount Moria, about which it is said, "and he saw the place from afar" [22:4]. Gur Arye: Maybe the place is Chevron, which is geographically closer, as well as textually [23:19], than Mount Moria [22:4]. But the patach [vowel sound 'a'] in BAMAKOM connotes the definite article "the" and must refer to a specific, known place mentioned in the Torah, the fitting place for the revelation of the Divine Presence [Sh'china]. The only place so specified is the place Avraham was commanded to bring his only son up for a sacrifice, the place he saw from afar [22:4], the place Hashem will choose to place His Name [D'varim 12:11], the place Yaakov encountered. Makom [place, Omnipresent] has another special meaning - sustainer of one who stands in it [m'kayeim]. This clearly applies to the Holy Temple, which is an essential feature of the world. Just as all the organs of the body get their life force from the heart, the entire world drinks of the extract of the Land of Israel, and the Holy Temple is the main essence of the Land of Israel. [13] From "OzTorah" by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple AO RFD, Emeritus Rabbi of the Great Synagogue, Sydney www.oztorah.com Ed. note: Because of the angels that Yaakov sees in his dream, ascending and descending the Ladder, and the angels that Yaakov sees at the end of the sedra on his way back to Eretz Yisrael, we are including here three of the answers to the many questions that can be found on Rabbi Apple's webpages. A visit or more to his website will be well-worth it. Does Judaism believe in angels? What do you mean by "believe?" Judaism always believed that angels existed, though there were objections to praying to them or regarding them as middle-men between God and human beings. The angel, as the Hebrew name MALACH implies, is merely a messenger or agent of the Almighty. God sent an angel to find Hagar in distress in the desert (B'reishit 16:7). He sent an angel to stop Avraham sacrificing his son (ibid. 22). God's angels accompanied Yaakov on his wanderings and the Children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land. Angels do not need to have quasi human characteristics; the forces of nature (the wind, the fire, etc.) also act as God's messengers (Psalm 104:4). At no stage are the angels independent of God, nor, despite some folklore, can they rebel against Him. The well- known story that God had to stop the angels from singing when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea is not an indication that angels can disobey but that they sometimes act with an excess of enthusiasm. In post-Biblical Judaism some groups elevated the angels and thought of them as higher than mortals. The classical philosophers promptly down- graded them. Maimonides argued that man was a higher being in that he had the capacity to perfect himself and to rise closer to God intellectually. The Kabbalists, however, restored status to the angels and ascribed to them an important influence on earthly events. Some of the popular meditations in the Siddur, introduced in kabbalistic circles, mention angels with great respect. More rationalistic schools of thought regard these references as poetry and colourful imagery. They accept that God can and does utilise many methods of governing the world and there are many forces that influence human character and conduct; all of these are "angels" in a metaphorical sense. What place does Satan play in Jewish belief? The word SATAN figures in the Hebrew Bible, but not as a proper name. As a noun it denotes an adversary; as a denominative verb, to oppose or obstruct or be hostile. It is sometimes used in a human sense; in Psalm 109:6, for instance, it suggests the counsel for the prosecution in a court of law. It does not begin to have a superhuman sense until late in the Biblical period; in Zechariah 3 and the Book of Iyov it is applied to the prosecutor in the heavenly court. But even in this sense, Satan is not a demon. At best, he is one of the celestial beings, but it may be that the word is merely a colourful metaphor and does not imply that there is any actual being with that name. Nor is Satan opposed to God. At worst, he is simply a devil's advocate drawing God's attention to things that appear to be wrong. Kaufmann Kohler's theory, in his "Jewish Theology," chapter 31, is that just as the serpent in the creation story "represents the evil inclination which arises in man with his first consciousness of freedom," so Satan is an allegorical figure "representing the evil of the world, both physical and moral." In post-Biblical Jewish sources there are very few references to Satan, and those that are found have no dogmatic or authoritative significance. Satan continues to represent the impersonal force of evil; thus, the Tosefta Shabbat advises that one should "not go on a journey with a wicked man, because Satan accompanies him." In Jewish liturgy the few references to Satan are all impersonal, for instance the evening prayer that God may remove the adversary "from before us and behind us," and the morning prayer for protection from "the destroying adversary." Popular lore has a far stronger notion of Satan deriving from Christian sources. There he not only personifies the spirit of evil but assumes an independent personality hostile to God. As a result, Milton, writing in an age when people regarded Satan as the presiding demon in stark opposition to God, was able, at least in the first two or three books of "Paradise Lost," to draw a sympathetic picture of Satan and turn him into almost an epic hero. For Judaism, all this goes much too far. Why do the night prayers speak about angels? It is poetry. God's throne is said to be surrounded by four angels. By day, His praises are sung by Israel; at night, when Israel is asleep, it is the angels that sing. Rabbinic imagery said that Micha'el was the angel with whom Yaakov wrestled, Gavri'el helped Moshe and Aharon enter the king's palace and held back the waters of the Red Sea, Uri'el announced the Flood and showed No'ach how to build the ark, and R'fa'el ("the healer)" showed No'ach how to extract remedies from plants, and cured Yaakov's thigh. The angels are not independent forces or beings capable of thinking for themselves or even disobeying God (despite Milton's references to fallen angels...). As their name MAL-ACH indicates, they are messengers of God. The night prayers ask the angels to protect us but emphasize that "above them is God." What we are asking is that God should watch over us with all the forces, energies and messengers that He has. [14] Gimatriya Match "And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept." A further connection of Yaakov and prayer - "Listen to the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for to you I will pray." (T'hilim 5:3) Gimatriya Twins [15] Torah from Nature The Aardvark, native to subsaharan Africa, shares some characteristics and resemblance to the South American anteater and the pig but it is not closely related to either. It is the sole member of its obscure mammalian order... Body is covered with black coarse hairs, it is pale yellowish gray in color and often stained reddish-brown by soil... coat is thin... primary protection is its tough skin. Its hind legs are shorted than its front legs and its front feet have only 4 toes whereas the back feet have 5. Each toe has a robust nail which is somewhat flattened and shovel like... ears are disproportionately long as is its head... tubular mouth ...long snakelike protruding tongue... forages for termites and ants... poor eyesight... can eat 50,000 insects in one night with its super sticky tongue... Africans admire it for its diligent quest for food and ability to eat annoying & stinging soldier ants. [16] Divrei Menachem Parshat Vayetze describes Yaakov's sojourn with Lavan. It tells of one deceit after another, following quickly on the heels of the blessing of the firstborn acquired by Yaakov through Rivka's duplicity. Now it is Lavan's turn. After Yaakov dwelt in his house for a month, Lavan proclaims, "You are my family, you have served me for nothing - VA'AVADTANI CHINAM - Tell me, what is your wage?" The sentence can also be rendered as, "Since you are my family, you should work for me for nothing - tell me what is your wage?" In this case the wily Lavan expects Yaakov to volunteer his services in exchange for his board and lodging. In any event, Lavan's true colors emerge when he exchanges the fair Rachel for the older, frail Leah with the fickle excuse that that in his place, "It is not done to give the younger before the elder." Yaakov, for his part, gets his own back by impressing Lavan's flocks in such a way that they miraculously gave birth to multiple speckled and spotted offspring in Yaakov's favor. Finally, when Yaakov brazenly flees from Lavan, Lavan pursues Yaakov with the intent to kill him, as recalled in D'varim (26:5): "An Aramean was the destroyer of my father". Although this scenario never took place, Rashi notes the ever present and sobering thought that, "For the gentile nations, G-d reckons evil intentions as if they had carried them out, the assumption being that they would have done so if they had the opportunity." Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the new features (and old ones) in Torah Tidbits [Please send to tt@ou.org] Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading FEEDBACK - va-ya-K'VEI-ni Just read your comments on va-ya- K'VEI-ni, as you put it, and I must admit I am disappointed. I understand it is difficult to admit that what "we" have been doing for the past few hundred years is incorrect, but sometimes that is precisely the point. You write: "The first two syllables of the word are VA-YA with an AYIN catch in the throat for S'faradim and a silent AYIN for Ashkenazim". Not so - on two counts: the first syllable is not VA - it is VAY. There is a DAGESH CHAZAK in that YUD, and whether we are accustomed to pronouncing it or not, that does not make an incorrect pronunciation correct. Then that AYIN. There is only one correct way to pronounce an AYIN - "with a catch in the throat", as you put it. An AYIN (actually 'AYIN) is never silent. How else is one to differentiate between VA'AVADTEM and VAAVADTEM? And there is doubt about it - they must be distinguished from one another - otherwise there's a problem in K'RI-AT SH'MA', as you know... My point: you equate the Sefaradi pronunciation (here, the correct one) of the 'AYIN with the Ashknezi one (here, the incorrect one), and that is simply not correct. - YL Parsha Pix How do we know that Yaakov Avinu wore a Kipa? Vayeitzei Yaakov, and Yaakov went out... Would he go out without a kipa?! Old (corny) joke represented by the KIPA (so too in the harder to recognize dingbat in the footer of each page - together with a sheep) The road sign could have been at the side of the road that Yaakov traveled at the beginning of Vayeitzei, with Be'er Sheva behind him and Charan still to come. En route, Yaakov encounters THE Place where he spent the night and had his famous dream. Speaking of which, there's the rock he put by his head... The rock is also the one that covered the well that Yaakov removed so that Rachel (and the other shepherds) could water their sheep. It also stands for the rock that Yaakov set up as a MATZEIVA to mark his agreement with Lavan (GAL-EID). and the ladder standing on the ground climbing heavenward. UFARATZTA, and you shall spread out in all directions, is represented by the compass. (accent, by the way, is on the last syllable - ufa-ratz-TA, saying ufa-RATZ-ta changes the meaning) Yaakov promised to give G-d (so to speak) MAASER, one tenth, .1 There are 10 baby boys in a column representing Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, Yissachar, Zevulun. And an 11th one on its own (sort of) representing Yosef. The "It's a Girl!" balloon is for Dina, there sister. The plant on the left is a man- drake, the DUDA'IM that Reuven collected for his mother. ("A native plant of SE Europe. Its mystical and magic properties date back into the mists of time, where aphrodisiac and fertility qualities were accorded to it... The root is rather toxic... so-called "mystical" properties were attributed to it mainly because of the form of the parsnip-like root system, which usually divides to give "arm and leg" limbs to a human body form...") There are two of the sticks Yaakov used to induce the production of... the striped, speckled, and plain sheep and goats - upper left Ice cream, G'LIDA, which is the Targum of KERACH in Yaakov's tirade about his cold nights spent watching over Lavan's flocks. (So too the bullets of these ParshaPix explanations, with the addition of a hot sun, which was his comment about the daytime) The Torah Tidbits logo with a thumbs up signal is for Lavan's endorsement, when he said to Yaakov: TOV T.T. The sine wave is a GAL (not the English gal, the Hebrew for wave), as in the pile of rocks at the end of the sedra. Philadelphia Phillies cap. That team has the ignoble honor of being the losingest team in MLB (despite recent WS victories and this year's post season success - until losing to the Giants). And it goes one step further. They are the losingest team in major league sports (in the US, counting baseball, football, basketball, and hockey.) Perhaps, then, they are the modern incarnation of the teams that did play in LUZ. [To be fair to the town of LUZ (Beit El), it is only in TTriddlese that there is an association with the English word LOSE. LUZ is the hazel tree, one of the sticks that Yaakov used in Vayeitzei at the behest of the angel... LUZ is also the name of the vertebra at the top of the spinal column that is associated with the starting point of T'chiyat HaMeitim. Staying with sports, we also have a South Park figure playing dodgeball. (We know it's hard to tell what he's doing.) This is similar to the game MACHANAYIM, as in the concluding word of Parshat Vayeitzei, referring to the twin camps of angels that Yaakov saw upon his return to Eretz Yisrael. (Interestingly, here is Wikipedia's explanation of Machanayim: a game similar to dodge ball that is often played by in Orthodox Jewish schools and summer camps. The name Machanayim comes from the Hebrew word meaning "two encampments" or, in this case, two teams.) There is a matador waving his red cape at - not a bull, but a pair of lips. As in the haftara, UNSHA- L'MA FARIM S'FATEINU, and our lips (voices in prayer) will replace the bulls (sacrifices). The oil can stands for Yaakov's anointing the stone at the beginning of the sedra... Yogi bear and the Xed out Cubs cap represent DOV SHAKUL, a bear without offspring. Nothing personal, Yogi. Upper-right is the graphic from the logo of Herby's Bakeshop in Beit El. Aside from the Beit El connection to the sedra, when Yaakov makes his pledge and vow to G-d he mentions receiving LECHEM LE-ECHOL, bread to eat. The owl with the speech bubble is saying HU. This goes with ET, the last two words of B'reishit 30:33 The peeler is for what Yaakov did with the sticks from the various trees, VAYFATZEIL Lower-right remains unexplained and is a visual TTriddle. 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. The best solution set submitted each week (there isn't always a best) wins a double prize a CD from Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from Big Deal Last issue's (TO-L'DOT) TTriddles: [1] Twin tzadiks, yet not The word VAYITROTZ'TZU, which describes the turmoil that Rivka Imeinu felt with Yaakov and Eisav in her womb, has twin TZADIs. A double-TZADI occurs 55 times in Tanach, with CHATZOTZ'ROT (trumpets) accounting for more than half of the occurrences. Although the letter in the ALEF-BET is TZADI, many people call it a TZADIK because it is followed by a KUF and the K sound becomes attached to TZADI when kids recite the ALEF-BET. So, the word describing the twins in Rivka has two tzadiks, yet that was not an accurate description of the twins she was carrying. [2] Grissom, Antonelli, Gomez, Liddie Lincecum (2), Cain, Bumgarner This was not a TTriddle, but since it was included in the TTriddles list by the person who prepares the text file, we will include it in this report. The first four names are the pitchers for the Giants who won the four games in the 1954 sweep of the Cleveland Indians. The next three are the winning pitchers in the 2010 World Series. Why so much baseball in Torah Tidbits? Because you can take the boy away from baseball (when he comes on Aliya), but you can't take the baseball away from the boy. [3] The pitcher who wasn't a pitcher Oh look - another baseball TTriddle. Pitcher is KAD in Hebrew, spelled KAF-DALET. Gimatriya, 24. 24 was (is and always will be) Willie Mays's number. And he was not a pitcher. [4] If "B'DAMAYICH CHAYI B'DAMAYICH CHAYI" was said at the first Jewish 8-day Brit, then it had an "additional" significance Part of what is said at a Brit, these words have a total numeric value of 208, which is the gimatriya of YITZ- CHAK. So at his Brit, the words would have an "additional" (get it? additional, like adding the values of the letters for the gimatriya) significance. [5] He was Eliyahu. Yitzchak too? Staying with the gimatriya of Yitzchak, we find that PINCHAS (with a YUD) also equals 208. Tradition tells us that Eliyahu HaNavi was Pinchas. [6] bread and lentils; lentils as an ingredient in bread ADASHIM (lentils) shows up four times in Tanach. The two times of interest for this TTriddle are in Toldot, when Yaakov makes a lentil stew with bread, and in Yechezkel 4, where G-d tells the prophet (among other things) to "take wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of them..." [7] Kishmo kein hu - not her This expression is said of a person whose name in some way reflects accurately on the person's personality, identity, or whatever. In the case of the Hitite wife that Eisav married, at age 40 (just as Yitzchak had married), the saying definitely does not apply to her. Who? YEHUDIT. [8] A sedra to study "with all your heart" B'CHOL L'VAV'CHA, with all your heart. Gimatriya = 106, the number of p'sukim in Toldot. [9] The four members of the Biblical Bina club BEN ARBA'IM L'BINA. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot tells us the hallmarks or goals at different ages. At forty, it is the acquisition of BINA, under- standing. Membership in the Biblical Bina Club is open to individuals who are associated with the age of 40. Yitzchak and Eisav are two members, the Torah having recorded the age at which each married (Rivka and l'havdil Yehudit and Ba-s'mat). In Shmuel Bet we learn that ISH BOSHET was 40 years old when he became king of Israel after his father Sha'ul (for a two-year, non-universally accepted reign). In Yehoshua 14, we find a conversation between Kalev and Yehoshua. Kalev reminds him that he (Kalev) was 40 years old when he was sent by Moshe as one of the meraglim. (The conversation was 45 years later, when Kalev was 85, and the topic was about the fulfillment of the promise to give to Kalev the land he had walked upon.) (Of course, the whole generation of the Wilderness is also associated with 40 years, but the search, and membership in the Biblical Bina club was restricted to the phrase: BEN ARBA'IM SHANA. [10] Beis Yisroel (Ashdod), Imrei Emes (Bnei Braq), Sfas Emes Yeshiva (Jerusalem)... These are some of the institutions of the Gerer Chasidim in Eretz Yisrael. They are examples of GUR BAARETZ HAZOT. [11] Last week, three of Yishmael's sons; this week, just Yitzchak The shortest p'sukim in the Torah have three words each. There seems to be a special interest in these three- word p'sukim. There are only 13 (or so) in the Torah. Last week (i.e. in Chayei Sara) there was one 3-word pasuk that included the names of three of Yishmael's sons. In Toldot, we find VAYEISHEV YITZCHAK BIG-RAR. [12] MazalPic H(S)M is the highest ranking TTriddler in the MazalPic category. He correctly identified the graphic image for Kislev as being from the animated TV show called Archer. The mazal of Kislev is Saggitarius, the Archer. In Hebrew, the mazal is called the KESHET, which is the bow of the archer. However, H(S)M added to his correct identification, his feeling that the TV show is not appropriate to be depicted in Torah Tidbits. Having not seen the show, we will take his word for it. We have pulled that MazalPic and are replacing it in this issue and for the rest of Kislev. Interesting, that the last time we pulled a MazalPic was also for Kislev, when we used a photo of Errol Flynn in his role as Robin Hood, the most legendary of archers. He was pulled because he was known to be a Nazi sympathizer and an anti-Semite. This week's TTriddles: [1] closest matches bet. name and reason [2] The 8:00pm TZAKIN on Israel TV [3] and she gave - gave she and [4] Yocheved was in his heart, as was she [5] Gad and Asher are both candidates for this syndrome [6] The walnut is the king of the nuts, but this nut lives in the pallace [7] Yaakov, the People of Israel, Yiftach [8] New MazalPix [9] Unexplained from the ParshaPix (lower-right corner) Israel Center Miscellany See website for the "standard" entries of this file. Help young couples (evacuees and children of evacuees) from Gush Katif and N. Shomron get ready for the arrival of their babies - Tzedaka - Matan B'Seter; The money collected will be used to buy carriages, cribs, layettes... Make checks out to the Israel Center. Write on the envelope: Gush Katif - Baby Fund, Also collecting good second-hand baby items, For more info. call Sara 0505-444-397 CHESED FUND Our giving of Tzedaka for the needy is accompanied by a silent prayer that we should be able to give and that we should never need to be on the receiving end. Please help us help others in need by contributing to the Chesed Fund Make checks to "Chesed Fund" and send to: Chesed Fund Israel Center att. Menachem Persoff POB 37015 / Jerusalem 91370 Please assist emergency case of single mother about to be evicted from home due to unfortunate circumstances. Needs help to pay this month's rent to salvage situation. Do you "do" Facebook? If so, how about beoming a "fan of Torah Tidbits" - follow this link: tinyurl.com/m2t6u4 Sponsor a Shiur or a morning or a whole day's learning Sponsorship can be in memory of a loved one...or in celebration of a birth, Bar/Bat mitzva, engagement, marriage, anniversary, special birthday, Aliya of family or friends... The dedication will be included in Torah Tidbits, will be announced at the beginning of the shiur, and will be posted at the entrance to the room. Obviously, we need advance notice to properly process your sponsorship. Please call Sara Berelowitz at (02) 560-9104 Name: ________________________________ Phones: ____________________________ Dedication (circle one): Single Shiur (180NIS) What shiur? __________________________ Morning (360NIS) or full day (500NIS) Indicate which day: ________ In honor of _______________________________________ Occasion (birth, Bar/Bat Mitzva, graduation, engagement, marriage, anniversary, special birthday, recovery, Aliya), other - specify:_______________________________ In memory of _______________________________________ Occasion - yahrzeit, how many years; other: ____________________________________ Schocketino Shabbat Take-Home Prices are per portion - Minimum order - 4 portions per item Appetizers Sweet & sour meatballs 14nis Stuffed peppers 14nis Gefilte fish 10nis Grilled fillet of salmon 18nis Potato/mushroom blintzes 8nis Stuffed cabbage 14nis Main Courses Honey mustard turkey 18nis Corned beef 28nis Brisket Italian Style 25nis BBQ chicken 14nis Chicken in fruit sauce 14nis Shnitzel 12nis Salads Coleslaw 5nis Potato salad 5nis Cucumber salad 5nis Cherry tomato salad 6nis Sun-dried tomato pasta salad 5nis Quinoa/wheat salad 6nis Side dishes Sweet noodle kugel 5nis Potato kugel 5nis Yerushalmi kugel 5nis Rice with mushrooms & onions 5nis Herbal garlic potatoes 5nis Zuchini in tomato sauce 5nis Stir fried vegetables 6nis Tzimmes 5nis Shabbat orders must be placed by Wed. 9pm with Chaim 052-855-1538 Pickup - Friday at the Israel Center 10:30-12:00 Travel Desk - DIRECT LINE: 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 THE TRAVEL DESK is for making reservations and receiving info about Israel Center tiyulim. Please note that ALL Israel Center tiyulim require advance registration. Please note Travel Desk Hours": At your service SUN 12:00-5:00pm - MON 11:00am-4:00pm THU 11:00am-3:00pm - Other times, leave message at 560-9110 Call Naomi at the OU Israel Center Travel Desk, 560-9110 or 050-725-8392; fax: 566-0156; email: tiyul@ouisrael.org - Outside Travel Desk hours, please leave a message... Call Shulamit Neaman at 050-593-7932 on the day of a tiyul or the evening preceeding it. Also, if you are running late for a tiyul or for last minute cancelation. CANCELLATION POLICIES: We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee in case of last-minute cancellations. Also... Price of tiyul is based on a minimum number of participants, meaning that we can cancel a tiyul with too low registration BOOKED? When a tiyul is listed as BOOKED - you can call to be wait-listed; you will be called back if there is a cancellation, if we add a bus, or when we fix a new date for the tiyul. KASHRUT POLICY: Food for Israel Center In-House programs is supervised by OU-Israel Mehadrin. Israel Center sponsored trips and programs are Mehadrin. Hotels, restaurants, and tiyulim advertised by outside parties are not necessarily Mehadrin and are not endorsed by the OU or the Israel Center. Calls from abroad: Due to time differences, we recommend that people from abroad, email tiyul@ouisrael.org or fax 972-2-5660156 for attention of OU Israel Travel Desk Please be sure to include email or fax number for reply, in addition to phone number. Israel Center tiyulim are partially subsidized by the Jewish Agency for Israel Travel Deal Israel in cooperation with the Israel Center NOW offers you a dedicated phone number, (02) 999-6035 with daily service: Sunday 9am - 6pm, Monday-Thursday, 9am - 11pm and Friday, 9am until noon When our offices are closed, callers will be able to leave messages that will be recorded as being via the Travel Desk of the Israel Center. TRAVEL DEAL - www.traveldealisrael.com Shabbaton - Shabbat Parshat Vayeishev - Nov 26-27 -(the Shabbat before Chanuka) Our Two Special Shabbat Guests; Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld and Rabbi Chanoch Yeres Friday night treat: Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat with Chazan Binyamin Munk and the Yerushalayim Machon for Chazanut Choir directed by Yisrael Munk 250nis members 300NISnon-members Registration is in full swing - don't miss out Call Ita Rochel at 560-9125 or drop by BOOKED - TOUR OF JEWISH AKKO with the extraordinary teacher of guides Dr. Hagi Amitzur Tuesday, November 23rd 8:00am - 7:00pm Have you been to Akko? Did you ever hear anything besides the stories about Crusaders and Moslems? Come with us to learn about the Jewish history of Akko. We will visit the Caucasian Synagogue and the monumental magnificent Tunisian Synagogue which is the only one like it in the world. We will walk in the alleys of Akko in the footsteps of Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, Rambam and Ramban, Ramhal and Rabbi Yehuda Elharizi. We will visit Yeshivat Baalei HaTosafot who came to Israel 800 years ago, and became the biggest spiritual center in the land of Israel. We will study the history of Haim Farhi, R. Nachman of Braslav and others. We will daven in the Synagogue where the Ramhal sat and studied and wrote some of his books. We will also learn about the heroes - the freedom fighters who fought against the British, and some of whom were executed on the gallows in the Central prison in Akko. 165NIS members 180NIS non-members Register now with Naomi at the Travel Desk (02) 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Shulamit's tiyulim are always treats; come! you will surely enjoy her delicious sweets BOOKED WITH A WAITING LIST Jerusalem of Gold, Jerusalem of Colors - Join us for an exciting neighborhood tour of the Bukharian Quarter with historian and guide Gabriella Licsko Come with us and explore one of Jerusalem's old neighborhoods and its unique architecture established in 1891 by wealthy Sephardic Jews from Bukhara (in Uzbekistan). Get to know more about their unusually rich Jewish religious heritage, history and culture from the beginnings until today. We will visit the world famous Musaioff Shul complex, a fascinating building called Armon or the Mashiach palace. We will take a walk in the Bukharian shuk and have a wonderful experience seeing the baking of the world famous flat bread whose recipe they brought from the "old country" Sunday, November 14th 2:00-4:00pm, 25NIS members / 36NIS non-members, Limit: 20 people - For reservations, call Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Come join us for a Wonderful Winter Vacation at The Dan Panorama in Eilat SUN-THU, January 23-27, '11 - 5 marvelous days, 4 fabulous nights With our own distinguished Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb at the luxurious hotel with beautiful rooms, superb meals, sport facilities, a health club, sauna, Jacuzzi, heated pool, separate swimming all day, free entrance to Spa, musical programs, evening entertainment, audio visual presentations - all with outstanding personalities. The entire Hotel is Mehadrin with all products either Eida Haredit or Rabbi Landau Hashgacha. Each meal is a sumptuous gourmet feast. Every afternoon a cake and dessert extravaganza is available for your indulgence. Hot and cold drinks are provided all day long. On the day of arrival a delicious luncheon will be served. The remainder of your vacation is half board. 425nis per night per person - double occupancy, 4th night - only 345nis per person, Single supplement available, Children 2-12: 212NIS per night The above is the early bird rate until Chanuka, Transportation to and from Eilat at additional cost Bonus: guided tour in English to Timna Park for only 30nis per person Register immediately to reserve your room - Last year the rooms were sold out very quickly - You can imagine why! Call Naomi at the Travel Desk: (02) 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 - Shulamit's tiyulim are always treats; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets! BOOKED - Israel Museum Golden Experience - ReNEWed Museum Wednesday, November 17th, 10:00am to 1:00pm An excellent guided tour of some sections of the new museum followed by coffee and cake 50nis members 60nis non-members Call Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Shulamit's tiyulim are always treats; come! you will surely enjoy her delicious sweets Private showing of a magnificent Judaica Collection - Chanukiyot and many more treasured works of art lovingly gathered from all over the world during a period of many years Hear the fascinating and intriguing stories behind this amazing collection Sunday, November 28, Limit: 25 participants Donation 75NIS - Coffee & Cake Proceeds of the evening will go towards the purchase of Tefillin for needy Bar Mitzva boys connected with the OU Israel Center Projects Shulamit will lead the participants on a short walk to our special secret destination Call Naomi at the Travel Desk 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 CHANUKA ON BUS 99 guided with exclusive Jewish content by our charming Ruth Cohn Monday, December 6th, From 11:00am 1:00pm Join us on a double decker bus (we have the whole bus to ourselves) to circle our city of Jerusalem We will cruise around more than 25 historical, educational, beautiful, and inspiring sites in our eternal holy city with breathtaking views, fascinating architecture, and a great diversity of neighborhoods like nowhere in the world. Because we have the whole bus, we will also have one off-the-bus visit Adults: 55NIS, Children: 45NIS Register ASAP with Naomi at the Travel Desk (02) 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Shulamit's tiyulim are always treats; Come! You will enjoy her delicious sweets! Agnon House and Old Talpiot with Nachman Kupietzky Chanuka, Tuesday, December 7th 9:00am to noon Walk through the old Talpiot neighborhood stopping at the Eliezer Ben Yehuda House. We will also see the grove where Agnon's shtiebel was located, and is today, the Sephardic Synagogue. Continuing on to the W.W. I British cemetery and Agnon's Tiferet Yisroel Synagogue. The tiyul will conclude with a tour of the Agnon House 36NIS members / 45NIS non-mem - Call Naomi to reserve your place (02) 560-9110 or 050-725-8392 Travel Deal Israel Specials - exclusively thru Travel Deal Mamilla Jerusalem: For min. nights stay ( Jan-Mar) choose complimentary Shabbat meal or 30% off on the 3rd night! Leonardo Plaza J'lem: (January + February) 4 nights consecutive - FREE midweek meal per adult and discounted rates Inbal Jerusalem: Advance Purchase rate 20% off Nov. 28th to Dec. 21st Kibbutz Lavi: Weekend of Dec. 17-18, Special rates available King Solomon J'lem: Student free in parents room (November) (02) 999-6035 res@traveldealisrael.com Check out our web site and BOOK NOW for discounted rates! www.traveldealisrael.com Call NOW for Chanuka deals throughout the country! The Back Page of TT930 The Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults and OU Israel's Project YEDID are the educational components of the Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center and include the classes & lectures of the OU Israel Center - Rabbi Sholom Gold, Dean - Phil Chernofsky, Educational director "Regular" IC classes & lectures - 25nis members, 30nis non-members. 5nis maintenance fee for life members. Special rates for mornings with two or more shiurim: 40nis members, 50nis non-members. 10nis for life members. Yearly membership 360NIS couple, 275NIS single. Life membership, call us. Programs of the Center are partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel, No one will be turned away for inability to pay. Yom R'vi'i 3 Kislev - WED November 10th 9:00am Sefer bamidbar Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg 9:20am Contemporary Halachic Issues Rabbi Macy Gordon - Topic: Pluralism in Orthodoxy 9:45am Parshat Vayeitzei with Reuven Wolfeld Topic: "Getting Stoned" 10:45am Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents... VIDEO in the LIBRARY: Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher "Why is Living in Chutz L'Aretz a Form of Idolatry?" various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold 12:45pm TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch 1:30pm Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch 050-7671-722 Women's Beit Midrash resumes IY"H next week Wednesday, November 10th 8:00pm - What will happen when the first American advisor to the PLO armed forces is killed in action? How to work with the new US Congress to stop US military aid to the PLO armed forces, US aid to PLO incitement education, US aid to UNRWA policies that reinforce "the right of return" Discussant: David Bedein, www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com 9:00pm - Screening: "For the Sake of Nakba", filmed in the UNRWA Palestinian Arab refugee camps in May, followed by UNRWA's angry reaction to the film and filmaker David Bedein's rebuttal to UNRWA on Israel TV L'ayla Learning program for women: (Sun. AM, Tue. evening) and WED 8:00pm Learning in Chavrusos, pairing stronger and beginning learners Yom Chamishi 4 Kislev - THU November 11th Exercise Class for Women Thursdays, 9:00-10:00am - Focus on balance, correct posture, back and abdominal strengthening Given by DR TOVA GOLDFINE Chiropractor/Rehabilitation - FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES AND EXERCISE FITNESS LEVEL - Contact Dr Tova 052-420-1201 chirodivine@gmail.com 10:30am (to 12:30) Jewish Women, the Matriarchs, and the Tanach - Dr. Hayim Abramson various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold Verna's knitting group will resume IY"H in a few weeks - watch for details 7:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents...VIDEO in the LIBRARY: "Hanna's War" - For those who can't come to the Center in the afternoon. Yom Shishi 5 Kislev - FRI November 12th 8:30am (to 9:45am) Kollel Yom Shishi - OU Israel Center and Yeshiva University's RIETS Israel Kollel presents an in-depth shiur B'iyun in Masechet Makkot by HaRav Eliav Silverman, Shoel U'meishiv of the RIETS Israel Kollel - Friday mornings - Coffee and cake will be served (for further details contact Menachem Persoff (02) 560-9105, menp@017.net.il 9:00am How could Yaakov have married two sisters? Parsha-preview-points: Rabbi Joel Bloom 11:00am RCA Daf Yomi Shabbat Parshat Vayeitzei - November 13th 3:00pm How Yosef would have spoken to Lavan - Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko Shabbat shiur sponsored by Irene Wolins in memory of her husband, Prof. Martin Mordechai Wolins z"l on his 25th yahrzeit, 5 Kislev 4:00pm Mincha Motza'ei Shabbat Parshat Vayeitzei - November 13th, 8:00pm regular fees Are the Dead aware of the Living? Did Avraham die "early" so as NOT to see Eisav sin? Shiur by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher Sun-Thu in the Ganchrow Beis Medrash (first floor) 10:00am SUN/TUE/THU Rabbi Jeff Bienenfeld - Brachot - 4th perek 11:15am RCA Daf Yomi by Rotation (and Fri. at 11:00am) 1:20pm Mincha (this time stays the same throughout the year) (3:15pm) Tu/W Hilchot Shabbat - Rabbi Chaim Sendic 4:30pm Gemara Kesuvos with Rabbi Hillel Ruvell not TUE 5:30pm Maariv following Rabbi Ruvell's shiur. Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Sh'vat Yom Rishon 7 Kislev - SUN November 14th L'ayla - Learning program for women: (Tue. & Wed. evenings) and SUN 9:15am Refreshments 9:30am Living T'hilim - Mrs. Rivka Segal 10:30am Themes from Sefer Mishlei - Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz 11:40am Highlights of Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh - Mrs. Rochel Silber 9:30am Let's Study Chumash - Tonia Frohwein (for women) 10:30am 'While on my journey I told a story'... Rabbi Nachman's Stories - New series with Golda Warhaftig women 12:00pm Hebrew for Beginners Learn to read and converse in Hebrew and feel more comfortable when you daven. Starting anew Given by Haya Graus with Cecily Davis 10nis per session 12:30pm Life: A fantastic adventure - Alan Romm 2:00pm Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher (November 14th) Why did Yaakov 's accompanying Israeli Angels leave him on Mt. Moriah? - It's not on the border 5:20pm Pri Chadash Women's Writing Workshop (2 hrs) - Contact: Ruth Fogelman (628-7359) and Judy Caspi (054-569-0410) 7:30pm The Book of Nechemya with Rabbi Mordechai Machlis 9:00pm Shmuel Alef - Rabbi Dr. Joseph C. Klausner/Yedidyahu note time Topic: Deveoping a "Court" / establishing a Beit Midrash no charge Personalities past & present to ponder, compare and contrast Yom Sheini Rosh 8 Kislev - MON November 15th N'SHEI LIBRARY: 10:00-12:30 MOMMY & BABY MUSIC CLASSES with Jackie - Mondays at the Israel Center 9:30am for 6-18 months - 10:30am for 1-3 year olds Call Jackie to register for classes: 999-5524 / 054-533-9305 9:15am Excursions into the Book of Shoftim - Pearl Borow 10:30am After 9 years of Rambam's Principles, we are pleased to announce a new series: Pirkei Avot - Rabbi Zev Leff 11:35am Fit Forever: Look & Feel your Best! Exercise for women of all ages - Call Sura Faecher 993-2524 11:35am Monday, Nov. 15th - "Who's Who & What's What" Israeli Orthodox communities: 70 faces of the Chassidic world: Middle size and small communities with Galician-Ukranian origin and another well known group from Lita-Belorussia: Machnovke, Melitz, Nerol, Zhvill, and Slonim with Gabriella Licsko researcher 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents... VIDEO in the LIBRARY: "Di Kleine Mentshelech" (80 mins) Yiddish Theater: Shalom Aleichem's classic stories from the shteitl, written with love, sensitivity and humor, and told in the same manner in this special performance. A mixture of laughter and tears, depicting extraordinary figures -heroes who are simple Jews with their natural wit and charm (English subtitles) Women's Beit Midrash 2:00pm "Bring on the Blessings" - Pearl Borow 3:00pm Mishna, Mitzvot, and More - Phil Chernofsky 7:30pm Sefer bamidbar Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg 7:30pm NEW CLASS with Rabbi Francis Nataf: - Lesser known Tanach personalities (Special deal for both Rabbi Nataf's and Rabbi Assis's classes: 35/40nis) 8:30pm Rabbi Dr. Elie Assis, a senior lecturer of Tanach at Bar Ilan: The Book of Melachim (in Hebrew) Contact Sam Finkel 052-469-1263 MASK - J'lem Chapter at the Israel Center - maskjerusalem.cjb.net 050 754 2717 NEXT MEETING: Monday, Nov. 15, 7:30-9:30pm with Dr. Judy Belsky Yom Sh'lishi 9 Kislev - TUE November 16th The Israel Center and the Old City Free Loan Association 21st year well over 5500 loans granted Gemach - Free Loan Society to provide interest-free loans for people in financial distress (living in the Jerusalem area). Interviews at the Center on Tuesdays from 10:00-12:00 and 19:00-20:30 - Please bring ID 9:00am Rabbi Aharon Adler - Torah of Eretz Yisrael 10:15am Rabbi Sholom Gold - Parshat HaShavua The shiur is dedicated by the Robinson family in memory of their dear friend and teacher, Simon Goldberg (of Capetown) z"l on his first yahrzeit, 9 Kislev 11:20am Esther Sutton's new inspirational series for women - Becoming Non-Mechanical Jews resumes next week - 11:30am Jewish History, 2nd Temple Period - Dr. Henry Goldblum - The Revival at Yavne: The Age of Rabban Gamliel (cont) 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents...VIDEO in the LIBRARY: "Noodle" Special, first time showing This beautiful Israeli film tells the story of Miri (Mili Avital), a twice-widowed El Al flight attendant who babysits her Chinese housekeeper's son while the housekeeper runs an urgent errand. But the mother never returns. The mother is caught in a police round-up and deported to China. Miri now has a little Chinese boy living with her... From IMDB: "The film is a touching comic-drama in which two human beings, as different from each other as Tel Aviv is from Beijing, accompany each other on remarkable journey, one that takes them back to a meaningful life. (1.5 hrs - Hebrew with English subtitles) 1:00pm Writing as self-discovery (women only) Exploring the stories of your life - Esther Sutton l"L'ayla Learning program for women: (Sun AM, Wed. evenings) and TUE 7:15pm A deeper study of Ramban on Torah - Rabbi Meir Triebitz 8:30pm Parsha through the Eyes of the Meforshim: An analysis and comparison of Parshanei HaMikra - Rabbi Yonatan Kolatch Tuesday, November 16th 8:00pm - Exploring Israeli culture, history, and society: The last 250 years in the history of the Land of Israel The most important facts that you "must" know about Israel A new lecture series with Gabriella Licsko Yom R'vi'i 10 Kislev - WED November 17th 9:00am Sefer bamidbar Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg 9:20am Contemporary Halachic Issues Rabbi Macy Gordon - Topic: Pluralism in Orthodoxy 9:45am Parshat Vayishlach with Reuven Wolfeld Topic: "Present and accounted for" 10:45am Parshat HaShavua R' Yosef Wolicki 12:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents... VIDEO in the LIBRARY: Rabbi Sholom Gold- "Hanukkah Thoughts" various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold 12:45pm TaiChi for Health with Avi Hirsch 1:30pm Medical Chi Kong with Avi Hirsch 050-7671-722 2:30pm Women's Beit Midrash - Pearl Borow First hour: the KUZARI; Second hour on Chumash with Rashi 7:30pm Wednesday, November 17th 112mins - no charge Special video screening for your listening pleasure: Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti with Mehta The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 L'ayla Learning program for women: (Sun. AM, Tue. evening) and WED 8:00pm Learning in Chavrusos, pairing stronger and beginning learners Yom Chamishi 11 Kislev - THU November 18th 9:00am Exercise Class for Women 10:30am (to 12:30) Jewish Women, the Matriarchs, and the Tanach - Dr. Hayim Abramson various MINI-Shiur/Divrei Torah while you fold New lecture series on Thursday mornings, 10:00am - Rabbi Aharon Ziegler will be exploring the world of Rabbinic Responsa with a special focus on the halachic decisions and practices of HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt"l - This week's focus: Ethics of Jewish Estate Planning Attendees are invited to join the Torah Tidbits folders before and/or after Rabbi Ziegler's shiur Verna's knitting group will resume IY"H in a few weeks - watch for details 4:30pm WOW Wonders of HaShem's World - NEW series to help children appreciate the wonderful world we live in! 7:30pm Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center presents...VIDEO: "Noodle" - For those who can't come to the Center in the afternoon Yom Shishi 12 Kislev - FRI November 19th 8:30am (to 9:45am) Kollel Yom Shishi 9:00am Guest Presenter 11:00am RCA Daf Yomi UPCOMING... Sunday, November 21st 11:30am - The Big D (Dementia) Learn about one of the fastest growing Illness - for the over 70 years of age Aaron Rabin, MD, PhD Fellow, American Academy of Neurology; Fellow, College of Physicians - "Life's Transitions - End of Life Decisions" Alan Deutch, CPA Masters in Finance and Taxation; member of American CPAs; Society of Trust and Estate Planners; Tax Reform Action Committee Ohad Raz - Private Account Manager, Bank Mizrachi Defining: Apotropus (guardianship); Power of Attorney; Joint bank account ramifications, if one develops dementia Mimi F. Teplow, Coordinator - chairperson; Q & A Program in English 15/20NIS In loving honor to Netanel Avraham ben Gittel Mother-Daughter Bat Mitzva Class at the Israel Center Now forming - Call Pearl Borow for more details (02) 671-3567 PRE-CHANUKA GIFTS FAIR Sunday before Chanuka - November 28th 0:00am to 6:00pm Vendors interested in selling their wares should call 560-9125 for details and to register for a table. Books, gift items, food, jewelry, toys... THE WONDERS OF HASHEM'S WORLD! A fun WOW! series to help children appreciate the wonderful world we live in! For English-speaking kids, 5 to 9 Join us for any or all meetings in this intriguing 5-part series on Thursdays, Nov. 18,25, Dec. 16,23,30 from 4:30-5:30pm with optional easy drop-off in front of the OU Israel Center at 4:20 pm (let us know in advance if your child needs an escort UNDER THE SEA and WATER WATER EVERYWHERE Under the sea, that's where we'll be... Exploring the fish and underwater creatures, together you and me! We'll do art projects and play games to help us appreciate the underwater world which Hashem did create. ...we still need water in Eretz Yisrael! So we'll do science and conservation projects with water galore... 25nis per child for each meeting, Sibling discounts available. Bonus: Kids participating in all 5 meetings will be invited to make a personalized WOW! T-shirt (valued at 50nis) Facilitator: Kids love WOW! with Mrs. Fonda Weiss! Her unique approach encourages kids to learn and to do things that make an imprint for life! Pre-Register: To guarantee space and supplies for your child, please pre-register: 054-7566532 or peak4kids@gmail.com WOW! sponsored by PEAK at the Israel Center PEAK (a Place for Expression & Action for Kids) encourages kids to help each other! We are seeking enthusiastic teenagers that read and write English, and enjoy working with kids. If you would like to help with any of our KIDS4KIDS programs (and to be coached in the process), please call 054-7566532 or email: peak4kids@gmail.com L'Ayla Learning program for women Chanuka-time Special Programs WED Nov 24 - LEIL IYUN 8:00pm - Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz - The Story of Chanuka: Why Chazal decided to turn the Story into a Holiday 9:00pm - Rebbitzen Blime Birnbaum - Bringing the Simcha of the Chanukat Habayit into our Lives 35nis for the evening SUN Nov 28 YOM IYUN The Greek Within 9:15am - Refreshments 9:30am R. Jonathan Rosenblum (Int'l acclaimed columnist and author) - Identifying and Overcoming the Greek Mindset (plus Q&A) 11:00am - Mrs. Riva Pomerantz (popular novelist and journalist) - Write or Wrong? - Using Literature to confront Secular Influences in our Communities and Homes (plus Q&A) 40NIS for the morning - babysitting available (Please reserve your place) THU Dec 8 10:00am - REBBETZIN TAP and FRIENDS For mothers and (young) daughters A song and dance adventure that will bring you lots of original toe-tapping songs while learning some valuable lessons. (seating is first come first served) 25nis pp All programs will be held at the OU Israel Center, 22 Keren Hayesod (buses: 4,7,8,21,71,72,74,75) For more information please contact Mrs. Rivka Segal at rsegal@ouisrael.org or (02) 625-3634 Jewish Genealogy course beginning Dec. 12 - Call 02-651 0090 x 2 for details RCA-Israel Melava Malka, Dec. 11th Reservations are closed. B"H, we have a sold-out event. Anyone calling now will be waitlisted in event of a cancelation.Contact Rabbi Bienenfeld, 054-221-0748, jdbnfeld@aol.com or Ita Rochel 050-781-9720 (trochel@netvision.net.il) Anyone who would like their name embossed on the Birkon to be distributed that night in Phil's honor (180nis donation), contact Rabbi Phil Goldman (philipheg@012.net.il)