Weekly Newslinks

Announcement & Upcoming Events

I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share with you an excerpt from an article by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Z"L entitled "Against Hate" about how to address and react toward those who have wronged us.

Ki Teitse contains more laws than any other parsha in the Torah, and it is possible to be overwhelmed by this embarrass de richesse of detail. One verse, however, stands out by its sheer counter-intuitiveness: [...] “Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother.” (Deut. 23:8)

Edom was, of course, the other name of Esau. There was a time when Esau hated Jacob and vowed to kill him. Besides which, before the twins were born, Rebecca received an oracle telling her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the elder will serve the younger.” (Gen. 25:23) Whatever these words mean, they seem to imply that there will be eternal conflict between the two brothers and their descendants. At a much later age, during the Second Temple period, the Prophet Malachi said: “’Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated...” (Malachi 1:2-3). Centuries later still, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, “It is a halachah [rule, law, inescapable truth] that Esau hates Jacob.” (Sifrei, Bamidbar, Beha'alotecha, 69) Why then does Moses tell us not to despise Esau’s descendants?

The answer is simple. Esau may hate Jacob, but it does not follow that Jacob should hate Esau. To answer hate with hate is to be dragged down to the level of your opponent. When, in the course of a television programme, I asked Judea Pearl, father of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, why he was working for reconciliation between Jews and Muslims, he replied with heartbreaking lucidity, “Hate killed my son. Therefore I am determined to fight hate.” As Martin Luther King Jr, wrote, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (Strength to Love (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1977), 53) Or as Kohelet said, there is “a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace” (Eccl. 3:8).

It was none other than Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who said that when Esau met Jacob for the last time, he kissed and embraced him “with a full heart.” (Sifrei ad loc.) Hate, especially between family, is not eternal and inexorable. Always be ready, Moses seems to have implied, for reconciliation between enemies. [...]

Leadership at its highest level transforms those who exercise it and those who are influenced by it. The great leaders make people better, kinder, nobler than they would otherwise be. [...] The paradigm case was Moses, the man who had more lasting influence than any other leader in history. [...] A good leader knows: Hate the sin but not the sinner. Do not forget the past but do not be held captive by it. Be willing to fight your enemies but never allow yourself to be defined by them or become like them. Learn to love and forgive. Acknowledge [what] evil men do, but stay focused on the good that is in our power to do. Only thus do we raise the moral sights of humankind and help redeem the world we share.

Have a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org

We are excited to be partnering with Mizrachi World Movement to provide their publication of HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly.

         Kol HaNearim Tallit
Honor your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews by embroidering their names on the Congregation Sons of Israel Kol HaNe’arim Tallit. This beautiful Tallit is embroidered with children’s names in gold. It is used on Simchat Torah when the children are called up to the Torah for a special Aliyah. Deadline to be included is extended to August 28, 2023 and each line is $25. The Tallit can be viewed in the shul's vestibule over the next two weeks. See examples and submit your entry at https://www.soicherryhill.org/form/Tallit.

Mikvah Ohel Leah’s annual Elul fundraiser is currently underway.  Through the generous contributions of the members of our community we are able to maintain a beautiful mikvah and strengthen the observance of Taharat Hamishpacha in our community. We are so grateful for your continued support.  Thank you and tizku lmitzvot! 

As the High Holidays draw near, preparations are underway for a thorough cleaning of the shul. Please take a moment to retrieve any personal items you may have left in the coatroom. Any belongings left in the coatroom after September 7th will either be donated or or thrown away. Your assistance in keeping our shul clean for the Chagim is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

With much gratitude to Hashem we are excited to announce the birth of a baby boy to Atara and Avi Narrow-Tilonsky in Jerusalem Israel.  He was born on Motzei Shabbos at 10:00pm and weighed 7.94 lbs.  Big brothers Ziv and Yishai are happy to have another sibling.  Very proud grandparents are Eve Narrow and Sam Tilonsky.

Thank you to Vicki Miltz, Neely Elisha, Dore Provda & Alisa Fox for helping with kiddush last week.

Thank you to Jeffrey Weiss, Malka Moskowitz, Yaakov & Aaron Zeffren, Yaakov Linder, Sandy Crass, Matti Rosenberg, Daniel Malamud, Jonathan Delman & Yair Klein for helping with seudah shlishit last week.

Thank you to The Mod Squad (Debbie Pester, Guillaume Schpektor, Meir Miskin, Diane Irwin, Shari Solomon and Chemmie Sokolic for providing security on Shabbos.  Thanks also go to Debbie Fineberg, Chani Wiesman Berliant, Dean from JFeds and Sam Tilonsky for their security stint at the front doors.

Yom Tov Help Needed

We are looking for volunteers to help out at the front doors during Yom Tov.  Training on how to vet a stranger will be provided.  Each shift will be 30-60 minutes long.  Our JFeds guard will be here throughout morning davening.  Please contact Sam Tilonsky or Debbie Fineberg to volunteer.

Playground Fence
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Thanks to the FY2022 Homeland Security Grant, Politz has installed a new fence around the playground.  The fence was installed this week and a gate will be added to the enclosure soon as the final step in that process.  Thank you to Dr. Sam Tilonsky for managing this grant and its projects.
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Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah 
David Partnow - David Avram ben Tilla Razel 
Aaron Moshe ben Ruth
Gaela bas Pinina
Chayim Gedalya haLevi ben Henya
Tobie Cohen - Tova Lieba bas Esther Chaya
Alan Friedman - Avraham Pinchas ben Hudda
Kayla Chaya bat Bayla
Simcha Avraham ben Datya Leba
Inga bat Bella
Shaindel bas Gruna Leah
Moshe Krumbein - Moshe ben Yehudit Sarah
Shmuel ben Ita Ettle
Esther bat Yehudit Nechamah
Yitzhak Dovid ben Gruna Leah
Reizel bas Yentel
Peretz Yirmiyahu ben Elka
Moshe Simcha ben Sarah
Ester Chavah Nachamah bat Rifka Miriam
Gershon Daniel ben Malka Chaya
Terry ben Helen

Please help us keep this list up to date.  If you have names to add or would like to have a name removed from this list, please email memberhotline@soicherryhill.org.

 Click below for a link to the prayers for good health and healing that you can recite for our ailing members

​​​​There are many ways to support our Shul:

(check out our website for more oportunities)

Yartzeit Plaque ($400)

Shabbat Security ($180)

Siddur for the sanctuary ($50)

Chumash for the sanctuary ($75)

Newslink ($36)

Welcome Basket ($18)

Mr. Finklestein Bottle Club ($36)

Kiddush (starting at $180)

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UPCOMING/ONGOING
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UPCOMING/ONGOING
EVENTS & PROGRAMS

Thank you to our Sons of Israel family. The Kiddush was beautiful and is a reflection of what has been a fulfilling and beautiful 47 years here. You have all been there for all the special moments in our lives and they will never been forgotten.  This community is such a special one and the memories will be with us forever.  Although we have moved we hope to spend many more lifecycle moments together.  Thanks for all you gave us in enriching our lifes. Please feel free to visit. 
This is not goodbye but lhitraot. 

Rhoda and Jay

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Congregation Sons of Israel
720 Cooper Landing Road
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002