Weekly Bulletin Amalgamated Hebrew Men of England (1975) 100 Elder Street, Toronto ON M3H 5G7 | 416.633.3838 January 17, 2015 | 26 Tevet 5775 www.beby.org Vaera Hertz Chumash Torah Reading pp. 232-244 Haftarah pp. 244-247 Etz Hayim Chumash Torah Reading pp. 351-368 Haftarah pp. 370-373 TONIGHT! BEBY@60 FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, UNCLES, PARENTS AND KIDS! Magical Mentalist Evening with Mike D’Urzo! Everyone’s invited to join the Youth Department as we celebrate BEBY@60! Saturday January 17th, 7PM. Join us for a family-friendly, all-ages evening of illusions, magic, and dessert featuring renowned mentalist, Mike D’Urzo! Supervised movie night for younger children. The Sefer Haftarah Parasha is dedicated in loving memory of our beloved parents, Harry & Faye Friedman l”z by Judith & Harold Bricks and Gary Friedman At the door : Adults - $20 | Children under Bar/Bat Mitzvah - $12 | Family Max - $65 Visit our foyer windows to see the beautiful work of The Pomegranate Guild - on display now. Services for Week of January 18th Sunday .......................................... 7:30 & 8:30 am Monday & Tuesday ....................... 7:15 & 8:15 am Wednesday (Rosh Hodesh) ............ 7:00 & 8:15 am Thursday & Friday ........................ 7:15 & 8:15 am Sunday - Thursday ....................................5:10 pm Friday evening...........................................5:10 pm Shabbat Candle Lighting ...........................4:58 pm Hashkama Minyan..................................... 7:30 am Shabbat Services ........................................ 8:45 am BEBY reserves the right to make copy & editorial changes. DEADLINE THURSDAY NOON of each week. Beyond that time we cannot guarantee that your event will appear in the bulletin. We regret any errors and omissions that may occur. Please contact the office to make corrections. Shabbat Study Group — 4:05 pm Shabbat Mincha — 4:40 pm Shabbat Ends — 5:52 pm ~ Seudah Shlisheet is sponsored by ~ Freddy & Mindy Jacobs, Victor & Ella Jacobs, Gloria & Michael Izraelski, Rachael & Martin Zaretsky and Shirley & Garry Greenbaum and families in observance of Yahrzeit for their mother, Sally Jacobs l”z ~ We extend our condolences to ~ Dorothy Raxlin and family on the loss of her husband, Irvin Raxlin l”z ALLERGY ALERT!! Many of our members suffer from asthma or other breathing difficulties. Please be considerate of those who are chemically sensitive to fragrances and other scented products - your discretion in applying scented products when attending Shul is appreciated. HALACHA (JEWISH LAW) prohibits the use of audible beepers, cell phones, electronic games and any type of photographic equipment on Shabbat and Yom Tov. We thank you in advance for your cooperation in preserving the sanctity of Shabbat. Yasher Koach and thank you to our Shabbat Greeters! WEEKLY PROGRAMMES SHABBAT TISH & TORAH - Rabbi Lipson leads learning sessions for the Parashat Hashavuah at 10:00 am in the Boardroom. RABBINICS STUDY GROUP – Daf Ha’Shavua - The Weekly Page of Talmud. For beginning or intermediate students, study the first Tractate of the Talmud known as Masechet Berachot. “The primary focus of the tractate is the myriad ways in which a Jewish person expresses his faith during his life.” 35 minutes prior to Mincha. SUNDAY FREE HEBREW READING CLASSES - LEVEL II WITH MICHAEL KINRYS: For those who can slowly read Hebrew, this class will help them gain experience reading and singing many of the daily and Shabbat prayers. Classes begin Feb 22 2015 at 9:15 am and run for six weeks. Call the office to register. COMING THE MARTY KESHEN CHESED COMMITTEE NEEDS YOU! If you would like to volunteer with home and hospital visits, Shiva calls, etc. please call the office and leave a message for Rochelle Kerzner Committee Chair or email [email protected] SISTERHOOD KNIT/CROCHET AND CHAT GROUP. GOOD NEWS! To make it easier for you to donate to us, you can now make donations directly to the BEBY Chesed Knitters via the shul office. We are forever thankful to the men and women who attend the morning minyans for their generous donations - helping us to continue knitting baby blankets and hats for the Soldiers. Join us at 10 am - every Monday morning! JANUARY EVENTS & MORE The KADIMA CENTRE: 2-3:30 pm. For info on student registration, contact Marcel Cohen at 416.633.3838 or [email protected]. More info available from www.beby.org. We are looking for adults to volunteer who are compassionate, patient and positive. TANACH STUDY GROUP - 7:30 pm, January 18th, at the home of Paula & Jonathan Miller, 23 Purdon Drive. Studying Bereisheit, Chapter 23. MONDAY MAH JONGG AT 12:00 NOON. All welcome. Call the office 416-633-3838 to join. Donation of a Toonie. Refreshments served. FREE Mah Jongg Lessons! Call for info and to register! RABBI’S STUDY CLASS: PROBING THE PARSHA: A detailed study of a particular theme emanating from the weekly Torah portion. Each theme is linked to an essay topic found in the new book, The Observant Life - The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews. The book is encouraged but not required for participants. Boardroom. 7:15 - 8:15 pm. TUESDAY SISTERHOOD STUDY GROUP - 10 - 11:30 am | Rabbis Morrison and Lipson alternate weekly. Ask The Rabbi with Rabbi Morrison: Brief English responsa to modern halakhic questions from the perspective of Conservative Judaism. Topics will cover Bible, ethics, gender, interfaith, symbols, conversion, kashrut, lifecycle, holy day cycle, women’s issues, theology, and more. Rabbi Lipson’s Weekly Topic: Studying the Book of Shmuel (Samuel) and the Book of Kings — Politics & Power in Biblical Israel. FRUMBA - WOMEN’S CARDIO DANCE FITNESS - Sponsored by Sisterhood. 7:30 pm. For information on upcoming class schedules and pricing, contact Bette at [email protected]. Resumes: January 20th until February 24th. WEDNESDAY TALMUD CLASS WITH DR. AARON NUSSBAUM | 9:15 am. Chapel. MAH JONGG AND RUMMIKUB HOSTED BY SISTERHOOD. Games begin at 12:30 to 3:30 pm. Donation of a Toonie. Refreshments served. Mah Jongg Games and Rummikub games needed. If you have one to donate, contact the office. FREE Mah Jongg Lessons! Call for info and to register! SISTERHOOD PRESENTS ISRAELI FOLK DANCING WITH SHOSHANA FRANK. Beginners 7 pm • Intermediate/Advanced. 8 pm. $8.00 per class. Info? Call Shoshana Frank at 905.889.9419. THURSDAY NASH & DRASH 2015 - January 22, February 19, March 26 (Pre-pesach Nash & Drash with the Cantor ), April 23 and May 21. $13 pp. Please pick up a flyer or check our web site /facebook page for more information on our upcoming events. THE LIBRARY ~10 am - 12 noon. Drop by and peruse our many fabulous new titles! A Thread of Kindness by Leah Perl Shadlar; From Central Park to Sini by Roy S. Neuberger. Nash and Drash Thursday, January 22nd Girls’ Night Out - Challah Baking Thursday January 22nd Shabbat Shira Concert Thursday January 29th World Wide Wrap Sunday February 1st The Joy of Singing - Vocal Workshop Sunday February 1st Scotch Tasting with Dinner Pairings Wednesday February 11th Eli Rubenstein - Brunch Sunday February 15th Shabbat Shira Concert with Chazzans David Edwards & Alex Stein of Adath Israel Accompanied by Band Thursday January 29th at 7:30 pm $18 pp. Dessert Reception following. Tickets on sale now through the office or eventbrite. Call the BEBY office to purchase. Proudly presented by Adath Israel Congregation and Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue http://shabbatshiraconcert. eventbrite.ca AUDITIONS! Calling all performers! Singers, Dancers, Musicians, Magicians! Come on out and audition for 2 Open Mic Nites! Purim and Chol Hamoed Pesach. This Sunday, January 18th. 4:30 pm Chazzan David’s Office. Be there! CHAZZAN’S CORNER Davening Class - Chazzan Edwards offers an informal, hands on practical class - Monday evenings following Mincha services. FYI: Please be aware that in the event of a medical emergency, our Security Personnel are EVENTS YOUTH & YOUNG FAMILIES BETH EMETH GREENING COMMITTEE Junior Congregation Shakin’ Up Shabbat! One of the themes from Parsha Vaera: We owe the earth respect. The land and water give us life and sustain us, just as they did Moses. What we can do this week to honour this: • Patronize a neighbourhood, year-round farmers’ market • Become acquainted with a local farmer. every Shabbat at 10 am with a fun activity led by Elie Morrison and Samara Gottesman or by Omer Itzhak, our Shinshinit. New program with lots of fun activities and games! See you there! Sam Kotzer Shabbat & Festival Gan Program Hilda Swirsky, RN, BScN, MEd, Chair, [email protected] or Fay Rakoff, [email protected] OPEN YEAR ROUND FOR NURSERY SERVICES. 10 am - 12 noon | BEBY Babies Room (lower level) Structured weekly Shabbat programming for children ages 1 through JK, including Tefillot, songs, games, and healthy snacks. NEW! JUST BOOKED! THE BEBY Theatre Tour Group is off to see: CAROUSEL at the Stratford Festival. Monday May 11th. Contact Miriam Crystal if you are interested. Members: $105/ NM $110. Pick up a flyer in the shul. SWEET CHARITY - NOW SOLD OUT! The Joy of Singing | Vocal Workshop with Dr. Robert Loewen Sunday, February 1st Sponsored by Beth Emeth Sisterhood and the Music Committee Beginner Workshop: 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. Experienced singers Workshop: 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. Light refreshments will be available after the second workshop. Maximum enrolment -18 singers per session. BEBY Members ~$15 | NM ~ $20. RSVP with payment to the shul office by noon Wednesday, January 28th. BEBY Men’s Club & FJMC present: Scotch Tasting & Dinner Wednesday February 11th at 7 pm Gourmet Dinner catered by Uptown and Scotch Tastings. FJMC members & immediate family guests: $90 pp. NM $108. Purchase via Eventbrite or through the shul office by February 4th. http://bebyscotchtasting.eventbrite.ca Continuing Ed presents: Eli Rubenstein - Writer and Story Teller. Significant Jewish Events in our Lifetime. Sunday February 15th. 11:30 am Join us for a delicious brunch and tales of Jewish Historical significance. Arback Hall. $10 pp. RSVP to office by Thursday, February 12th. YOUTH EVENTS To book a Youth Kiddush please send an email to [email protected]. PROGRAM INFO: Men’s Club presents: World Wide Wrap | Sunday February 1st 8:30 am services followed by complimentary breakfast. Call the office to RSVP. No charge. This year more than ever, we must bind together and be counted! We all count — men, women, teens, students and lefties are all welcome to join in laying tefillin. Bring yourself, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, grandchildren and friends and let’s tie the generations together! Personal tefillin trainers will be on hand (and head) to help. Contact DALE at [email protected] or call 416 633.3838 for MORE INFO or to RSVP to any program. PJ PLUS IS A PARENT (OR GRANDPARENT!) AND TOT PROGRAM for 1.5 -3 years old. This 10 week program runs Sunday mornings right here at Beth Emeth! Your first class is FREE! 9:30 - 10:45 am in the BEBY Babies Room. Winter session begins January 25th. FREE TASTE of PJPLUS - This Sunday! Free Breakfast & program. 9:30 - 10:30 am. Join us! CHILLIN’ N’ CHOLENT FOR TEENS! Calling all Beth Emeth Teens! Chillin’ n’ Cholent is back! Join us on Saturday January 24 following services (approx 12:30 pm) in the boardroom for Rabbi Lipson’s famous cholent (and other goodies!) RSVP to Dale, 416-633-3838 x229 or email [email protected]. ShinShinim Hangout with Teens! January 31st: Come out for a delicious Israeli cooking night! Details - contact Dale. Annual CCCS Winter Shabbaton Retreat! and Snow Tubing Kitchener-Waterloo. For youth grades 6-8 AND 9-12. Cost: $118 and includes all food, accommodations at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and all activities. To register, please contact Dale Gold, youth@ beby.org for an application. February 20 - 22nd. Café Shinshinim: Join Omer for a lively bi-weekly program covering a range of current topics. Next program: Tuesday January 20th at 7:00 pm. In honour of Tu B’shvat - If the trees could Talk - A history of Israel through Trees. Wanted...Vocalists! We are looking to form a new singing group for both men and women! If you love to sing for fun and enjoyment - and want to participate, please contact barrycutler44@gmail. com. All voices welcome! Musical selections will comprise a blend of a secular and Jewish cultural tunes. YIZKOR BOOK- 2015: If you wish to have your dedications included in this year’s Yizkor Book, please call the office and speak to Freda at 416.633.3838. CPR trained. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to seek out their services. VAERA Taken from the Jewish Theological Seminary JTS - www.learn.jtsa.edu LARGE PRINT SIDDURIM available. Ask an usher. After a long walk across the park on a Shabbat winter morning in New York City, services concluded, guests assembled at an Upper East Side apartment. The host of this particular Rabbinical School student gathering held the meal hostage. The ransom was the answer to his question: “Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? ”The host had a group of well-educated, eager to answer, soon-to-be rabbis at his disposal. From them, he wasn’t going to accept any rehearsed responses, such as “God had to prove Himself to the Israelites.”Much to the students’ relief, this trial was interrupted by the hostess, and the first course was served. It was a meal unfinished, for even as we all said grace after the meal, we remained, as our host, unsatisfied. Va’era—“And God appeared to Moses”(Exod. 6:2)—God’s heart, as it were, is also hardened? Or could it be, as the Midrash insinuates, that God waited for the proverbial “last straw? About eight years later, a friend who had been on the March of the Living—an annual program that brings students to Poland to study the history and roots of the Holocaust—shared an encounter he had in the woods outside of Tychochin. There, he witnessed a monument erected in memory of all the town’s Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and gathered into one grave. A story was recounted about an SS guard who set an example for anyone who tried to run: he pulled an infant from its mother’s grip only to make the child’s end on the trunk of the nearest tree. I was reminded of the un-answered question of that dinner—of hardened hearts, of oppression, of our people’s history. Embedded in this narrative is a lesson about our expectations of God, of man, and of ourselves. Wednesday mornings We learn that God needed us to be agents of 10 am - 12:30 pm change, to show Him the brick, to speak out, or by appointment. to involve ourselves in our own process. As the Sefat Emet teaches in number of places (including, his comments on Exod. 2:23) regarding the cadence of the Exodus story: hearing the Israelites’cry was the impetus for God to enter our story with greater force. The cry is the hinge upon which the rest of the story swings. God, as it seems, waits for us to be a partner and take steps toward self-redemption. We can offer a lot of opinions about the behavior of human beings. For instance, we know that much stands in the way of a softened heart, including habituation of behavior, egotism, and callousness to suffering. Psychologically, we can imagine, even understand, why so much blood and gore was required to get Pharaoh’s attention. But what can we say about the challenge of getting hold of God’s attention? Could it be that up to the point of the opening words of this week’s Torah portion, BEBY Continuing Education & Morasha present: Jan 7 to Jan 28 - Rabbi Torczyner’s History of Jewish Publishing in four classes, (including Church Censorship of Jewish Books, 16th Century Publishing Wars, Classic Forgeries of Jewish Texts, 21st Century Jewish Publishing.) 10:00 -11:00 am at Beth Emeth. If you are away and want to be included on the mailing list in order to receive the audio, you can do so for $25.00. Pick up a registration form from the foyer. Jan 7 to Feb 11 - Jerry Fink’s Classical Music and the Jews in six 90 minutes classes, (including the influences of Jewish Musical Composition, History and Culture upon Western Classical Music; the Profound Effect of Psalms, Lamentations, and the Song of Songs on Western Classical Music; the Enlightenment and the Haskala; the “Jewish Liszt”, the “Jewish Paganini,” the Cello Virtuosi of the 19th Century, Music of the Shoah, and more) There will be slides and music played. The Feb 4 and Feb 11 sessions include a light lunch. 11:15 am - 12:45 pm at Beth Emeth Feb 25 to March 25 - Rabbi Torczyner’s Sociology and the Synagogue in five classes, (including The Synagogue Kiddush, Creating a Society of Trust, Communal Prayer, The Needs of the Many and the Needs of the Few, Splintering Synagogues). 10:00 -11:00 am at Beth Emeth If you are away and want to be included on the mailing list in order to receive the audio, you can do so for $25.00. Pick up a registration form from the foyer. Feb 25 to April 1 - York University Professor Emeritus, Barrie Wilson’s Secrets of Early Christianity, The Lost Gospel in six classes. A Jewish perspective on Early Christianity focusing on such questions as, How did early Christians understand the Hebrew scriptures? Why do some Christians reject the idea of a human, Jewish, married Jesus? How did the Christian scriptures come to be? and much more. The course will use Prof Wilson’s recent international bestseller The Lost Gospel, as a way into the secrets of early Christianity including the We would love to announce your BREAKFAST SPONSORSHIP social, family, and political side of Jesus. 11:15 am - 12:15 pm at Beth Emeth. right here in the weekly Bulletin! Whatever the occasion - birthdays, anniversaries, births, graduations, and in memoriam. For more information and to register, call Loretta Tanenbaum at 416-789-7400 Please call the office for information and to reserve. or email [email protected]. BEBY Members receive price discount. *The Bulletin deadline is THURSDAY NOON of each week. Flyers and registration forms available from the foyer. Beyond that time we can not guarantee placement. It makes us uncomfortable to think that God would endure our suffering for even a short time. It is maddening to think that God would wait as long as God did. What could this delay in action possibly come to teach us? ROSEN JUDAICA GIFT SHOP Call Sonia Hendler at 416 633.3838 x 224 Certificates and Gift & Bridal Registry Available too. There is also a critical lesson to glean from this narrative about what not to do. Let’s not wait until our hearts have been hardened and our behavior is callous. The longer we sit with impassivity toward oppression, the harder it is to fight it. Perhaps also, it is necessary to alter our expectations of the kind of justice we are looking for from Heaven, and focus instead on being agents of justice through our own early intervention—for ourselves and for others. Maybe that is what Moses was trying to do when, upon seeing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew,“he turned this way and that way, but there was no man”(vayifen ko vakho, vayar ki ain ish) (Exod. 2:12). Moses saw that there was no one around to stand up to justice, cry out, address inequity, effect change. Moses boldly acted and thus stirred the attention of God. But God needed more. If we can each stand up for injustice, cry out, take a leap of action together—then maybe, we too can make a place for the appearance of Mercy in this world. Weekly Morning Simchas & Sponsorships Ilene & Michael, Paula & Ira, Miriam & Arnold Kuchinsky and families in observance of Yahrzeit for their mother, Zelda Kuchinsky l”z Rita Estrien in observance of Yahrzeit for her beloved husband and daughter Stephen Estrien l”z and Barbara Meltz l”z Gidon Grundland and Sam Grundland and families in observance of the first Yahrzeit for father, grandfather and great-grandfather Zvi Grundland l”z Hashkama Minyan Sponsorships Freddy & Mindy Jacobs, Victor & Ella Jacobs, Gloria & Michael Izraelski, Rachael & Martin Zaretsky and Shirley & Garry Greenbaum and families in observance of Yahrzeit for their mother, Sally Jacobs l”z Harold & Judith Bricks in observance of Yahrzeit for Judith’s mother, Faye Friedman l”z Now on Twitter too! 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