Weekly Newslinks

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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 article by Rabbi Eli Scheller entitled "Possession Obsession" which speaks to the source of the wickedness of Sodom and why it was ultimately destroyed.
 
[...] The people of Sodom were the richest in the world. Their soil was extremely fertile and they possessed natural resources of gold, silver and precious stones. In the selfish fear that their wealth might be diminished, they allowed no strangers in their country. Here are some of the laws they made: Anyone caught giving food to strangers shall be put to death. Any guest visiting Sodom is allowed to be robbed. If the guest is too tall for the guest bed, his legs shall be cut off. If he is too short then he shall be stretched out. A trip on the ferry across the river costs 4 coins, but if a person finds another way across he must pay 8 coins. Each individual has to watch the livestock of the whole city one day a year. However, a person who does not own animals has to spend two days a year watching the livestock.(Sanhedrin 109a.) What was the reason for these interesting rules?

[...] A human being is intrinsically important, and therefore his needs are also considered important. However, in Sodom it was just the opposite; the material possessions were given utmost importance while the people themselves were trivial. The people had to accommodate the possessions. If someone was too tall or short for the bed, they had to make him fit - otherwise it was embarrassing for the bed! If someone didn't take the ferry across the river he had to pay double, since by finding another way across he had implied that the ferry was not important. If you didn't own an animal you had to watch over all of the animals two days a year, to convey the message: "Why don't you have an animal, are possessions not important to you?!"

[...] Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman was once staying in the house of a wealthy man. One rainy day, as Rabbi Elchonon was nearing the house, he noticed that his boots were full of mud, and in order to avoid ruining his host's expensive rugs he went to use the side entrance. As he was entering the host noticed him and exclaimed, "You are destroying my home!" Rav Elchonon apologized, explaining why he was using the side entrance. The host said again, "You are destroying my home!" Then he explained, "My daughters see that a Rosh Yeshiva has to take the side entrance so as to not get some rugs dirty, they'll think that the rugs are more important than a Rosh Yeshivah! What will this teach them about Kavod Hatorah (the honor due the Torah)! Please go around and use the front entrance, with your dirty boots!" [...]

Hoping and praying for 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.

Website Update:
We are pleased to share that thanks to a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern New Jersey, SOI will be redesigning our website. As a ShulCloud-based site, updates take place in real time. This means that users will see updates to the design, navigation, and pages as they take place in all phases of the project, rather than only once the project is completed. It may take a few months for the website to display in its final form. We look forward to our site being easier to navigate for our members and better communicate what we offer to those seeking information about SOI. We appreciate your patience throughout this process! 

Congregation Sons of Israel wishes a hearty Mazal Tov to
Rabbi Aaron and Malka Feibush
and big brother Nachshon

on the birth of baby girl Noa Pearl!
Mazal Tov as well to proud grandparents Charles and Jackie Nusbaum!

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with last week's Kiddush. 

Thank you to Eric Klein, Jonathan Delman, Matti Rosenberg, Aharon Yeres, and Yaakov Zeffren for helping with last weeks Seudah Shlishit. 

Thank you to Duke McCarthy for sponsoring Wednesday evening's Semichas Chaver Class, dedicated for Rabbi Davies, Dave Shatz, Sid Goldberg, Jeff Schwartz, Rabbi Ed Davis, Alan Friedman, Hoosh Sadiky, all IDF and US Marine soldiers ever, all Jews throughout the world ever. Bless Abraham, father of Isaac, and Jacob, son of Isaac, and their families!

Thank you to Team 7: Diane Irwin, Jeff Liss, Avi Sadiky, along with Aharon Yeres, Debbie Fineberg, Donna Moskowitz, JFed Security Officer Bill DiCola and Sam Tilonsky for providing security on Shabbos.

Volunteers Needed
We are in need of several individuals to complete Teams 1, 7 and 8.  Shifts are 30 minutes long, watching the video monitors in the office. Team rotations are currently every 7 weeks.  Training will be provided.

Please come join this dedicated group of volunteers protecting our shul and community.  Contact Sam Tilonsky drsamod@gmail.com or Debbie Fineberg  dfineberg2@gmail.com to volunteer or get more information.

A complete list of Cholim and Chayalim that have been submitted to SOI can be  www.soicherryhill.org/cholim-chayalim
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Congregation Sons of Iarael
720 Cooper Landing Road
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002