Newslink for Shabbat Shemini Atzeret (October 8 - October 10)
10/05/2023 05:01:22 PM
Oct5
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Announcement & Upcoming Events
Kiddush is sponsored by Jeffrey and Ilana Weiss in honor of the wonderful kiddush volunteers. This week’s light kiddush will feature ice cream to enhance the enjoyment of Shabbat and Yom Tov.
Mazal tov to our Simchat Torah special kibbudim recipients: Rabbi Michael Davies - Chatan Torah, Rabbi Heshy Chaitoff - Chatan Bereishit, Dr. Eric Klein - Kol HaNearim! Cumulative bids have raised a total of more than $6,000 towards these honors and we invite you to demonstrate your support and admiration for these individuals through your added generosity! You may submit your intended contribution by email to Yaeli Sokolic at FinancialSecretary@soicherryhill.org by midnight on Motzai Yom Tov, Sunday October 8th. A list of supporters will be shared following the Chagim.
Please Note: Tomorrow, Friday, October 6th, Hoshanah Rabbah is the final opportunity to say Tashlich this season. Due to the wet weather over Rosh HaShanah, many were not able to do it at the initial time. If you have not yet recited this important prayer, please be sure to do so. Kids Sukkot Party at SOI! Friday, October 6th 10am-12pm. Geared for ages 7 and under. Games, crafts, trampoline, obstacle course, snacks, prizes and more. Additional details to follow. For more information contact Maetal Henig at maetal2r@gmail.com.
Tot Hakafot: Saturday, October 7th. Please note correct time, 5:45-6:45pm. Geared for children 0-5 years old. Spaghetti dinner will be served.
Simchat Torah Evening Hakafot: Saturday, October 7th beginning with Maariv at 7:00pm. Dancing, candy, shtick, ruach and more. Dinner will be provided. Come join in the fun.
Simchat Torah Luncheon: Sunday, October 8th from 1:30pm-3:30pm. Join us for a community lunch catered by Star of David. Registration is closed. The Luncheon is sponsored in part by Dr. Noah and Shaindy Lindenberg, and additional sponsors: Rabbi Michael & Ora Davies, Drs. Elon & Neely Elisha, Drs. Oze & Maetal Henig, Mark & Shirley Hus, Gersh & Melissa Klein, Yaakov & Sari Linder, Matti & Rachel Rosenberg, and Adam & Flo Shulman.
Semichas Chaver Program with Rabbi Davies: Wednesday evenings at 8pm. Stay tuned for review session information. The new Zman/semester begins in mid-October. For more information or to sign up please contact rabbi@soicherryhill.org.
Boscov's Department Store is sponsoring Friends Helping Friends: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 from 8:00am - 11:00pm. Amazingly you will get a 25% discount on most items in the store. All you have to do is donate $5.00 to SOI's Bikur Cholim Organization! Get your discount shopping pass now. Call the shul office or Janet Miller at 856-667-0860 to receive your pass. Why buy a pass? For early Hanukkah presents, birthday presents, fall and winter clothes and any household needs. Happy Shopping!
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 of an article by Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen entitled "Vezos HaBracha - Moses' Greatest Deed" which emphasizes the importance of doing the right thing even in the face of great loss.
The Torah concludes with a stirring eulogy for Moses, ending with praise for, “the strong hand and awesome power that Moshe performed before the eyes of all Israel.” (Vezos HaBracha, 34:12) The Medrash, cited by Rashi, explains that the phrase, “before the eyes of all Israel” refers to Moses’ decision to break the two tablets that he had just received in front of the Jewish people. Why, of all Moses’ great deeds, does the Torah choose to single this one out at its finale as perhaps the greatest of them all?
The Ateres Mordechai offers a profound insight to answer this question. Moses had invested great effort over many years in bringing the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt to the point of the Giving of the Torah, and now he had just spent 40 days without food or drink fending off the angels and securing the Tablets for the Jewish people. When he returned from the mountain and saw the people worshipping the Golden Calf he realized that they were not on the level to receive the Tablets and that he must destroy them. However, imagine what a test it must have been to forsake all that effort and energy that he had invested to get to this moment. He surely could have rationalized that although they did not deserve the Tablets now, perhaps things would change soon and it wasn’t necessary to destroy them right away. But Moshe did not do so; he showed great integrity and intellectual honesty to break the Tablets purely because that was the correct course of action.
Very often in life, we are placed in similar situations to that of Moses - we invest time or energy into something and then we are faced with the possibility that we have made a mistake and need to start again or that there has been a new turn of events that makes our original stand obsolete. There is a great temptation in such instances to dig our heels in and stand by our initial plan against our better judgment. It is very hard to admit that we are wrong or need to start again after putting in so much effort into something. And perhaps the most difficult aspect of knocking down what we have already built is that we are showing that we have made a mistake - it is extremely difficult for people to admit that their opinions, lifestyle or attitude is wrong. [...]
This lesson is strongly connected to the day of Simchas Torah with which Vezos Habracha always coincides. We end the Torah and then immediately restart it again, reading the opening verses of Bereishis. This alludes to us that even though we have completed the whole Torah, we should not feel that we do not need to repeat it again. We can relearn it and develop new insights, sometimes even contradicting our present understanding and we should not feel embarrassed to acknowledge that we were wrong.
Rav [Yissochor] Frand suggests that this idea is also alluded to in the marriage ceremony. The custom is that the groom breaks a glass, and most commentators explain that this is a remembrance of the destruction of the Temple. However, he notes that one commentator connects this custom to the breaking of the Tablets. Why do we need to be reminded of that event during a wedding? He answers that perhaps it is to teach the new couple that in order for their marriage to work, they must strive to emulate Moses’ actions in breaking the Tablets. In order for a marriage to work, both husband and wife must be willing to act with great honesty and admit their mistakes rather than stand on their pride. Both need to be prepared to let go of their preconceived notions and prejudices and strive for truth. These are not easy demands, but if we see that Moses was ready to break the most valuable thing in the world because it was the right thing to do, then we too can surely be prepared to make changes when it is clearly God’s will.
Israel Trip Scholarship Opportunity Do you have a teen going on an organized trip to Israel between now and September 2024? If so, they may be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship from the Jewish Federation. If you are interested in this opportunity, email Iris Snyder at isnyder@jfedsnj.org by November 1st to learn more. Please note in your email that you are affiliated with Sons of Israel.
Mazal Tov to grandparents Don and Audrey Becker on the birth of a granddaughter and Mazal Tov to parents Cheryl and David Chakrin on the birth of a baby girl, Sarah Leah Chakrin.
Thank you to Suzie Lubin, Suzie Mindel, Ilana Mindel, Martyne Greenblatt, Debbie Fineberg, Neely Elisha & Alise Panitch for helping with kiddush last week.
Thank you to Avi Rynderman, Baila Silverman, Andy Rauer, Jeff Liss, Shlomo Aronoff, Yaakov, Zeffren, David Mendelovitz, Meir Miskin, Nate Wiener, Blake Daugherty, Debbie Fineberg, Debbie Pester, Ken Panitch, Bill from JFeds, Kevin from JFeds, Chani Wiesman Berliant and Sam Tilonsky for providing security during Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah David Partnow - David Avram ben Tilla Razel Aaron Moshe ben Ruth Gaela bas Pinina Chayim Gedalya haLevi ben Henya 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 Cohat Sivel ben Leah Yehudit Sarah bat Esther
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
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Shoprite Scrip Now Available SOI Office Monday-Friday 10-2 Yaeli Sokolic at ycsgraphix@gmail.com Flo Shulman at florence.shulman@gmail.com
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