Reflections from an Israeli Soldier: Thursday, April 25th at 8:45pm at the Davies Home. Join us for an impromptu Chol HaMoed gathering around the fire to hear from Dovid Davies about his experiences as an Israeli soldier in Gaza. Semichas Chaver Program with Rabbi Davies: Wednesday evening, May 1st following Maariv. NEW ZMAN STARTING SOON. For more information or to sign up please contact rabbi@soicherryhill.org Women's Parsha Discussion: Wednesday evening, May 1st from 8:30-8:45pm. Join us on Zoom for a brief peer led discussion on the weekly parsha. Click Here to Join the Zoom.
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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 Sara yoheved Rigler entitled "The Purpose of Leaving Egypt" the first part of which explains the full reason why HaShem took us out.
[...] What was the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt? If you answered, “To free the Israelites from slavery,” or “to save them from oppression and suffering,” you probably would be in the company of 99% of those answering this question. However, one very important dissenting voice would give a very different answer, and that’s the voice of God Himself.
In the Shema God says: “I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt to be for you a God.” God’s avowed purpose was to create a relationship with the Jewish people. “You will be My people, and I will be your God” (Ex. 6:7). To create that relationship, God had to first of all reveal Himself. That was the purpose of the ten plagues – “So you will know that I am God” (Ex. 8:18).
Each plague revealed some facet of God’s mastery. For example, the plague of lice, which was the first plague that the Egypt sorcerers could not duplicate, showed that God had mastery over even the tiniest creations. The plague of hail, which included, “fire flaming amid the hail” (Ex. 9:24) showed that whereas the pagan pantheon had a different god for each natural force, the one God of the Hebrews controlled all, even competing forces.
The relationship that God was establishing with the Israelites was a relationship of love. Therefore, He had to show them that He saw and cared about their affliction. The Israelites had to feel taken care of by God. Relief from their suffering, freedom from their slavery, was not the goal of the Exodus, but was necessary for the purpose of establishing a relationship, the true goal of the Exodus. [...]
In Judaism, [...] the greatest good is not relief from suffering, but rather connection and relationship (which often involve some degree of suffering). God’s purpose in creating the world was in order to have a relationship with human beings. And since there are only two states of being, a state of connection or a state of estrangement, being connected to God means being connected to your spouse, your parents, your children, your friends, and your neighbors. That, according to Judaism, is the purpose of life and also the purpose of the Exodus. [...]
Hoping and praying for a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach, Rabbi Davies Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org
We are excited to be partnering with Mizrachi World Movement to provide their publication of HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly.
After Pesach, there will only be 4 weeks until the SOI Gala! Make sure to purchase your tickets and place your ads before the early bird deadline of May 8th! After that date, ticket prices will go up to $225 single ticket and $400 for couple. Help us honor and thank this year's honorees for everything they do for our shul and our community by participating today! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY PURCHASED TICKETS AND PLACED ADS! We look forward to celebrating with you all on May 29th!
Thank you to Suzie Mindel, Emily Gevins, and Sabra Weinberg for helping prepare last week's kiddush, to Matti Rosenberg for shopping, and to Avital Zeffren for making cholent.
Thank you, Eric Klein, Jonathan Delman, and Yaakov Zeffren, Yaakov Linder, Matti Rosenberg, Jeffrey Weiss, Ezra Newfeld, and Aaron Yeres for helping with last weeks Seudah Shlishit.
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