Newslink for Shabbat Parashat Balak (July 11th - July 12th)
07/10/2025 05:00:55 PM
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Announcements & Upcoming Events
8am Kiddush is sponsored by Sloane, Yehuda, and Benjamin Stuchins in honor of the birth of Eden!
Main Minyan & Sephardi Kiddush are sponsored by Lea Alvo-Sadiky and Hoosh Sadiky in honor of the marriage of their son, Elijah Sadiky and Shay Poppers.
Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Duke McCarthy.
Hafrashat Challah Event: with Bridging the Gap: An international video presentation from the OU's Women's Initiative, A conversation with Shelly Shem Tov and Margalit Peretz, July 10th beginning at 8:15pm hosted at the Bienenfeld Home - 12 Aaron Ct.
Summer Women's Shiur Series: Shabbat afternoons at 5:30pm. Open to all women in the community! July 12th, given by Yehudeet Gore and hosted by Sarah Bienenfeld - 12 Aaron Court. For more information reach out to Suzie Lubin or Yehudeet Gore.
Gemara Shiur with Jeff Schwartz: Shabbat afternoon in the SOI Chapel 80 minutes before Mincha. Beginning a new chapter this week - a great time to join! Come join for an in depth study of Talmud.
Fast of the 17th of Tammuz: Sunday, July 13th. Fast begins at 4:00am, fast ends at 9:08pm.
Rabbi Kelemen's Inner Circle: Monday evening at 7pm - Please Note the New Time - July 14th video recording of Rabbi Kelemen, July 21st review session with Rabbi Davies.
Semichas Chaver Program: Wednesday evening, July 16th beginning five minutes after Maariv. Studying the laws of Brachot/Blessings, a very practical topic. Come and join this international program!
VINTAGE Event - Monster Golf & Pizza Night: Tuesday, July 30th at 5:30pmat 2040 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill. Price is $25 per person. To register, Venmo and RSVP to Debbie Friedner at 609-315-6094. Don’t miss out on this monstrously good time!
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.
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.
Shabbat, July 12: Balak (Tammuz 16) 8:00am 8AM Minyan 8:30am Sephardic Minyan 9:00am Main Sanctuary Minyan 9:24am Latest Shema 10:00am Youth Groups 10:30am Tot Shabbat 5:30pm Summer Women's Shiur 6:30pm Gemara Shiur 7:50pm Mincha 7:50pm Teen Minyan 8:20pm Seudah Shlishit 9:15pm Maariv 9:18pm Havdalah
Sunday, July 13: Fast of Tammuz (Tammuz 17) 4:00am Fast begins 7:00am Shacharit 8:00am Shacharit 7:55pm Mincha/Maariv 9:08pm Fast ends
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 Yitzchak Zweig entitled "For Love of Money" giving an interesting insight into the strategy of Bilaam in this week's parsha.
[...] How does Bilaam, an avowed hater of the Jews, change from cursing the Israelites (what he was hired to do) to blessing them? While he did receive a message from God to bless them, he still had free will. Bilaam had previously transgressed many of God’s commandments; why does he suddenly start listening now? Bilaam was actually brilliant. While it is true that a curse can be very painful as well as extremely difficult to overcome, too many blessings, especially on someone who cannot handle them, can be much more devastating.
The best example of this is too much money. King Solomon – “wisest of all men” – says that the test of being wealthy is much harder than the test of being poor (Proverbs 30:9). Why? A poor person has to contend with the desire to steal to improve his circumstances, but a very wealthy person has a much more profound test; he may feel that he is the center of the universe and deny the active involvement of God in his life.
Almost everybody desires to become fabulously wealthy, and most would consider it a wonderful blessing. Yet, too much money can be very challenging. It can affect one’s character and can make one impossible to live with. People can become so self-involved that their children are raised by nannies and maids. This naturally leads to feelings of inadequacy that parents try to ameliorate by plying their children with “things” in place of a real relationship. Thus, these children become “spoiled,” which often leads to life-long personal and relationship issues. This illness has been termed “affluenza.”
This holds true for most blessings; if one has more blessings than he can handle, these “blessings” can quite literally ruin his life. That is what Bilaam accomplished by blessing the Jewish nation.
Of course, it would have been more pleasurable for him (and Balak) to watch the Jewish people suffer his curses. But he knew that even if God forced him to bless the Jewish people, he could still achieve his goal. Giving them more blessings than they could handle practically guaranteed that he would succeed in destroying them: Because being a runaway success is a much bigger challenge to someone than being a failure. In fact, Bilaam was right; the Talmud (Sanhedrin 105b) explains that in the end, except for one, all of Bilaam’s “blessings” turned to curses. 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.
2025-2026 membership dues! All past members should have received their new dues invoice by email. Please log into your Shulcloud account to set up payment. We are grateful to have you as members of our shul, and we appreciate your partnership with us in continuing to create meaningful experiences, enriching friendships, and opportunities for learning and growth. Please email financialsecretary@soicherryhill.org with any questions.
To maintain your member in good standing status, please be sure to either pay your balance in full, have your account set up for automatic monthly payments, or pay 50% of your dues by August 15th.
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Chulent Fund Chulent at our weekly kiddish has become a valued and appreciated aspect of kiddush for our community. Aside from a treat after davening, it helps create an environment of community and achdut.
In an effort to replenish the chulent fund, we are asking for your help. Please consider donating $36 or more to the "Chulent Fund". At full community participation, we will be able to have chulent at kiddush throughout the year. The success of this project will determine our ability to have chulent featured weekly at Kiddush. Click the link below to Donate!
Kiddush: Volunteers wanted to help with Kiddush - preparation, set up, and clean up! Please contact Yaakov Linder 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 the volunteers who helped with last week's Kiddush.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped with last week's Seudah Shlishit.
Shabbos Water Thank you to William & Marcia Heine for sponsoring water this Shabbat.
Thank you to Yaakov Levinson, Jeff Liss, Matti Rosenberg, Michael Morgenstern, Andy Rauer, Debbie Fineberg, Sam Tilonsky and JFed Bill DiCola for providing security on Shabbos.
We regret to inform you of the passing of Rita Esther Dahlke, Rita Esther bat Reuven, beloved sister of Sabrina (Aaron) Spector.
The Funeral took place on Sunday, July 6th.
Sabrina is completing Shivah at her home - 16 Lantern Lane
We regret to inform you of the passing of Barry Gindoff, Dov ben Simcha HaCohen, beloved father of Shaya Gindoff; beloved grandfather of Rachel Rosenberg, Sari Linder, and Gabi Gold.
The Levaya took place this past Friday, in Florida. Shiva concluded Thursday morning.
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