Newslink for Parshat Va'era (January 24th - January 26th)
01/23/2025 05:01:41 PM
Jan23
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Announcements & Upcoming Events
Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Duke McCarthy
Shabbat Mevarchim Hafrashat Challah: Thursday, January 23rd at 8:00pm at the Davies home - 23 Liberty Lane. Bring your own dough or come join for an evening of tefilah.
SOI Welcomes Yeshiva University MafTEACH Fellows: We are pleased to be partnering with Kohelet Yeshiva in hosting several students who are part of a special cohort interested in pursuing roles in Jewish education. There will be numerous opportunities over Shabbat to interact and learn with them. Please speak to Rabbi or Ora Davies for more information.
Ruach Kabbalat Shabbat: Join us for Ruach Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, January 24th at Congregation Sons of Israel, featuring an enhanced Tefillah with added singing and dancing. All ages are welcome to bring in Shabbat together.
Teen Friday Night Oneg: Friday evening at 8:00pm at the Spector home - 16 Lantern Lane. Open to all 9-12th grade students. SOI is excited to welcome Yeshiva University Mafteach Fellows to join Shabbat with us!
Donought & Discussion: With special guests from Yeshiva University Mafteach fellows. Saturday morning, January 25th at approximately 10:30am in Politz Science Room for 6th-8th graders. Gemara Shiur with Jeff Schwartz:Sunday evening at 7:30 pm in the SOI Chapel. Come join for an in depth study of Talmud.
Semichas Chaver Program: Topic: Business Law, Wednesday, January 29th at 8:00pm. Contact Rabbi Davies to participate or for more information.
Women's Weekly Parsha Discussion: Wednesday evening, January 29th 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.
Rabbi Kelemen's Inner Circle:Motzei Shabbat, January 25th at 7:30pm and Monday, January 28th at 8:00pm.You can attend one, the other, or both. Missed the first sessions? Click here to receive Rabbi Kelemen's first few presentations. Please note that, starting with the January sessions, Rabbi Kelemen presentations will only be available at the Motzai Shabbat screening for free or through paid subscription. Monday evening sessions with Rabbi Davies remain free of charge.
Coffee with the Rabbi: Whether you have a burning question, seek guidance, or just want to chat, this is the perfect opportunity. Secure a cup of coffee (or tea), and your 30-minute one-on-one slot for a conversation with Rabbi Davies. Click here to reserve your slot.
Women's Only Kabbalat Shabbat: Friday, February 1st at 5:15pm in the SOI Chapel. For more information contact Helene Raush at raushfamily@comcast.net.
VINTAGE Book Review & Discussion: (New Date) Sunday, February 2nd at 7:30pm with Laine Fastman at the Bagley home. Book review of The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt. Click here to register.
VINTAGE Melave Malka: Saturday, February 22, at 7:30pm at the Raush Home. Hosted by Helene & David Raush and coordinated with Moshe & Malka Moskowitz. Join us for great food, great company, and singing. RSVP at Raushfamily@comcast.net and Click here to sign up to bring a dish.
Women's Open Mic Night at SOI: Sunday, February 23rd at 7:30pm.Share your talents or just come to watch and have a fun night out! Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are $5 in advance by February 20th at 6pm or $10 at the door subject to availability. Performers must be at least bat mitzvah age and register by February 9th. Click Here to sign up. For more information contact Michelle Goldstein at michellegoldstein6@gmail.com.
Join the Shnayim Mikra Initiative! Become part of our expanding group dedicated to daily study of the weekly Parsha. Choose between in-person morning sessions or follow along with recordings on WhatsApp. Click here to join the WhatsApp group. For more information contact Rabbi Davies.
Schedule for the Weekend
Erev Shabbat, January 24 (Tevet 24) 6:45am Shacharit 8:15am Shacharit 4:50pm Mincha/Ruach Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv 4:51pm Candle Lighting 8:00pm Teen Friday Night Oneg
Shabbat, January 25: Shabbat Mevarchim, Vaera (Tevet 25) 8:00am 8AM Minyan 8:30am Sephardic Minyan 9:00am Main Sanctuary Minyan 9:44am Latest Shema 10:00am Youth Groups 10:30am Tot Shabbat 10:30am Donuts and Discussion 4:30pm Mincha 4:30pm Teen Minyan 5:00pm Seudah Shlishit 5:50pm Maariv 5:54pm Havdalah 7:30pm Rabbi Kelemen's Inner Circle
Sunday, January 26 (Tevet 26) 7:00am Shacharit 8:00am Shacharit 5:00pm Mincha/Maariv 7:30pm In Depth Gemara Shiur
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 youan excerpt from an article by Sarah Maddali entitled "Can I Be as Great as Moses?" which gives us a glimpse into the source of Moshe's leadership.
In most instances when Moses and his older brother, Aaron are listed together, Moses is mentioned first. In this week’s Torah portion, Aaron is listed before Moses (6:26). A famous Torah commentary, Rashi, explains that Aaron is mentioned before Moses to tell us that Aaron is equally great. But this raises more questions. How can it be that Aharon was just as great as Moses? The Torah itself tells us that Moses was the greatest prophet that will ever live; only Moses spoke to God “face to face.” Aaron didn’t lead the Jews out of Egypt, climb Mount Sinai and receive the Torah – it was Moses! How can it be that Moses and Aaron were equally great?
Our sages teach us that in God’s eyes greatness is not measured by how much you accomplish. One who expounds noble, lofty ideas to halls full of people is not necessarily ‘greater’ than the stay-at-home-mom who cares for her children all day, or the garbage man who wakes up early every morning to ensure neighborhoods are clean. Greatness is determined by how much one fulfills their own unique potential. Since God created everyone with our own tailored set of talents, capabilities, circumstances, we all have unique potentials and customized missions in this world. [...]
What someone else accomplishes is completely independent of us and what we can achieve. Our mission is completely tailor-made for us and when we stop looking at what other people do and focus on our own talents, we can truly shine. This is what the Torah is telling us: just as Moses fulfilled his highest potential, so did Aaron. Since fulfilling one’s own, unique potential is the measure of greatness, they were equally great…and in that sense, we can all be as great as Moses. [...]
Volunteer Opportunity Community Mitzvah Day will be at the Jewish Federation of South Jersey on Sunday, February 2nd from 1:00-3:00pm. We are looking for a volunteer or group of volunteers to spearhead SOI's project and run it at the event. Please reach out to Anna Schwartz, Chani or Heshy for more information or to volunteer.
Purim is on its way! We are looking for volunteers to help with the annual Mishloach Manot campaign. Please reach out to Oze and Maetal Henig, Chani or Heshy for more information or to volunteer.
SOI Gala: We are looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of the SOI Gala. Please reach out to Chani or Heshy to get involved!
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!
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with last week's Kiddush.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped with last week's Seudah Shlishit.
Thank you to Bob Belfer, Adam Shulman, Jeff Liss, Steve Koloski, Robbie Friedner (all from Team 2), Debbie Fineberg, Ken Panitch, Sam Tilonsky and JFed Security Officer Bill DiCola for providing security on Shabbos.
https://www.kosherwine.com/?rfsn=5940204.12e2a2 SOI members and affiliates can click the link to go to the JCommerce websites and purchase their products. You can support SOI through the commission we earn.
House of Kosher Donation Program SOI will automatically earn 2% of your total purchase when you use our code when checking out! SOI's code is 0720
(Think of our shul's address and add a "0" at the start!)
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