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M A Weekly - Bulletin Sept 21st 2024 - KI TAVO - 18 ELUL 5784

09/19/2024 09:31:43 PM

Sep19

M.A. WEEKLY

                      

 

CLIQUEZ ICI Pour voir ce communiqué en Français (Traduction automatique par Google)

 

 

SCHEDULE

SHABBAT TIMES

Friday Night, @Maghen Abraham

 

Mincha 6pm followed by Shir Hashirim -Kabbalat Shabbat - Arvit

 

Shabbat Candle lighting  6:36 pm

 

Saturday, - @Maghen Abraham  

 

Shahrit 9am

 

Perasha -  Ki TAVO

Haftara - Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Chapter 60:1-22

 

Kiddush Sponsored by

Maghen Abraham

 

Mincha 6:20PM followed by Arvit 

 

Havdalah: 7:37pm

 

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

SELIHOT - SEPT 4th - OCT 7th
Rosh Hashana OCT 2nd-4th

 

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL >CLICK HERE<

HIGH HOLIDAY SCHEDULE >CLICK HERE<

 

UPCOMING THIS WEEK

CELEBRATIONS

MABROOK!!!

Albert Sayegh
On his Birthday! 

 

MABROOK!!!

Corey Frankiel
On his Birthday!

 

HAZKAROT

HAZKARAH

 Edouard Kerub z'L
Father of Fortune Argalgi

 

NOTICES

___________________________________________________
Our cOndolences to the Elia Family on the 
Passing of Maurice ELia z'L
___________________________________________________
REFUA SHELEMA TO MoUSSA SAAD
___________________________________________________
refua shelema to AHOUVA BAT MAZAL
___________________________________________________

REFUA SHELEMA TO Shlomo Ben Linda

NEWSLETTER

Bonjour / Hello [nickname_else_first_name],

Table of contents

 

1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour

2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad  -

The Contents of Seliḥot - Peninei Halacha

3) Holy Jokes!

4) For KIDS

 

 

 This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour

Parashat Ki Tabo: Elul and Faith

We are all familiar with the notion that Elul is a time for introspection and self-assessment as we prepare for the judgment of Rosh Hashanah. However, we can perhaps gain new insight into the significance of Elul, and our obligation during this month, from a remarkable comment of the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Ben Yehoyada (Berachot 61).

The Gemara there tells the famous and tragic story of Rabbi Akiba’s execution. Rabbi Akiba defied the Romans’ ban against teaching Torah, and was tortured to death. As the executioner tore off Rabbi Akiba’s skin with iron rakes, the Gemara relates, he explained to his student that he had waited his entire life to fulfill the Torah’s command to love G-d "with all your soul," and now he was fulfilling this Misva by avowing his unwavering, unlimited commitment to G-d, even as he was being killed.

The Ben Ish Hai comments that this conversation between Rabbi Akiba and his students could not have taken place as he was dying. At the moment his soul was departing, it is inconceivable that he could have been conversing this way with his students. Rather, the Ben Ish Hai writes, Rabbi Akiva was imprisoned during the month of Elul, and his execution took place on Yom Kippur. (This is why, incidentally, we recite the verse, "Or Zarua La’sadik U’le’yishreh Leb Simha" at the onset of Yom Kippur – because the last letters of the words of this verse spell "R Akiba.") He was tortured each and every day, by having his skin torn by iron rakes, and finally on Yom Kippur he was killed. And each time he was tortured, he told his students that He was fulfilling the command to serve G-d "with all your soul."

If so, then we arrive at a new understanding of what the month of Elul is about. This is a time to follow Rabbi Akiba’s example of faith, of trusting Hashem even during difficult times, of reinforcing our belief that everything He does is for the best, even if we cannot possibly see how.

The history of the month of Elul goes back to the aftermath of the sin of the golden calf. On Rosh Hodesh Elul, Moshe ascended to the top of Mount Sinai one final time, to receive the second tablets, signaling the renewal of the covenant with the nation after their grievous sin. It was during this month that G-d revealed to Moshe the 13 "attributes of mercy," which of course stand at the center of our Selihot prayers during this month. Moreover, the Rabbis teach that during this period, Moshe was given the clearest understanding of G-d’s governance of the world ever revealed to a human being. He came closer than any person ever did to seeing how everything Hashem does is really good, how even the seemingly tragic events are, in fact, for the best. Significantly, this revelation took place during the month of Elul.

As we prepare for the new year, we generally compile in our minds a "wish list," a list of things we feel we lack in our lives and which we want for the coming year. We probably also have a list of complaints to G-d, of unfulfilled wishes, of things that happened during the previous year that caused us disappointment and angst. But Elul is actually the time to do just the opposite – to reinforce our faith that everything Hashem does is for the best. This is the month when Moshe was shown this very clearly, and the month when Rabbi Akiba showed us how to live with this belief. As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, we should be focused not only on our hopes for the new year, but also on our gratitude for the previous year, and on our faith in Hashem’s goodness which is always showered upon us, even when it is difficult to see.

 

 

Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad

 

The Contents of Seliḥot - Peninei Halacha

Because the Sages did not explicitly ordain the recitation of Seliḥot, there is no standard rite, and each community added its own supplications and piyutim (liturgical poems).

 

Nevertheless, there is a basic framework that all communities follow and which appears in Seder R. Amram Gaon. We begin with the recitation of Ashrei (Tehilim 145), as every prayer service begins with praise of God. This is followed by a half Kaddish and the paragraphs that begin “Lekha Hashem Ha-tzedaka” (“To You, O Lord, is righteousness”) and “Shome’a tefila adekha kol basar yavo’u” (“Hearer of prayer, all humankind comes to You”; Tehilim 65:3) and additional verses of petition and supplication. We then recite the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the standard confession (“Ashamnu” – “We are guilty”) and the longer confession (“Ashamnu mi-kol am” – “We are the guiltiest of all peoples”).

 

Toward the end, we recite “Aneinu” (“Answer us”) and “Asei le-ma’an shemekha” (“Act for the sake of Your name”). The service concludes with Taḥanun and the full Kaddish.

 

Amram Gaon writes that additional verses, piyutim, and supplications may be added to the basic outline. In fact, Jewish communities have added many piyutim to Seliḥot, with the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy repeated in between them. There are differences between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic rites of these additional piyutim. Also, while Sephardim recite the same Seliḥot every day, Ashkenazim have different piyutim for each day.

 

When time is short, we may skip the additional piyutim and recite just the basic order set out by R. Amram Gaon. If a congregation is selecting which piyutim to say, they should opt for those that inspire repentance.

 

Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach

David Azerad

 

 3) HOLY JoKeS!!

 

Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day 

 

 

 

4) FOR KIDS

Click on the image to open the youtube video

 

 

 

LIFECYCLE EVENTS

Celebrate a lifecycle event with us by sponsoring a Kiddouch

 

CONGREGATION MAGHEN ABRAHAM

 

Contact Us

Maghen Abraham
POB 111, Succ Snowdon, Montreal,

H3X 3T3

 

Synagogue:
4894 St-Kévin 
Montréal, Québec, Canada 
macommunaute@maghenabraham.com

 

M A Weekly - Bulletin Sept 14th 2024 - KI TETZE - 11 ELUL 5784

09/13/2024 11:35:40 AM

Sep13

M.A. WEEKLY

                      

 

CLIQUEZ ICI Pour voir ce communiqué en Français (Traduction automatique par Google)

 

 

SCHEDULE

SHABBAT TIMES

Friday Night, @Maghen Abraham

 

Mincha 6pm followed by Shir Hashirim -Kabbalat Shabbat - Arvit

 

Shabbat Candle lighting  6:50 pm

 

Saturday, - @Maghen Abraham  

 

Shahrit 9am

 

Perasha -  Ki Tetzeh

Haftara - Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Chapter 54:1-10

 

Kiddush Sponsored by

Maghen Abraham

 

Mincha 6:40PM followed by Arvit 

 

Havdalah: 7:51pm

 

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

SELIHOT - SEPT 4th - OCT 7th
Rosh Hashana OCT 2nd-4th

 

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL >CLICK HERE<

HIGH HOLIDAY SCHEDULE >CLICK HERE<

 

UPCOMING THIS WEEK

CELEBRATIONS

MABROOK!!!

Morris Palaci
On his Birthday! 

 

MABROOK!!!

Leon Mosseri
On his Birthday!

 

MABROOK!!!

Linda Argalgi
On her Birthday!

 

MABROOK!!!

Lynne Cohen
On her Birthday!

 

HAZKAROT

 

 

NOTICES

___________________________________________________
Our cOndolences to the Elia Family on the 
Passing of Maurice ELia z'L
___________________________________________________
REFUA SHELEMA TO MoUSSA SAAD
___________________________________________________
refua shelema to AHOUVA BAT MAZAL
___________________________________________________

REFUA SHELEMA TO Shlomo Ben Linda

NEWSLETTER

Bonjour / Hello [nickname_else_first_name],

Table of contents

 

1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour

2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad  -

The Basis for the Custom of Reciting Seliḥot - Peninei Halacha

3) Holy Jokes!

4) For KIDS

 

 

 This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour

Parashat Ki Teseh: Strengthening Ourselves in Preparation for Redemption

In the prophecy read as the Haftara for Parashat Ki-Teseh, the prophet Yeshayahu foresees the return of the Jewish People to its homeland. He turns to the Land of Israel and cries, "Expand the space of your tent, and the curtains of your residences shall be moved… Extend your ropes, and strengthen your pegs" (54:2). Whereas the land lay empty throughout the years of exile, the prophet promises that the time will come when the land will need to expand to accommodate the influx of Jews who will return.

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) offers a deeper explanation of the words, "Vi’ytedotayich Hazeki" ("strengthen your pegs"). The plain meaning, of course, is that this refers to the pegs used to bind the ropes of the tent to the ground. As the tent expands, the pegs need to be strengthened to hold down the extended ropes. The Ben Ish Hai, however, adds that a peg is shaped like the letter "Vav," and the prophet here exhorts us to strengthen our commitment to the quality represented by this letter. He explains that if the letter "Vav" is removed from the word "Kadosh" ("sacred"), the result is the word "Kadesh" – referring to a harlot, the diametric opposite of holiness. The letter "Vav," then, signifies the difference between decadence and sanctity, our maintaining proper standards of purity and morality so we attain Kedusha, rather than becoming the opposite, Heaven forbid. For this reason, the Ben Ish Hai notes, Yosef was dressed with "Bigdeh Shesh" (flax garments) when he was appointed vizier over Egypt (Bereshit 41:42). The word "Shesh" (flax) also means "six," alluding to the letter "Vav," which in Gematria equals 6. Yosef embodied the quality of "Yesod," of resisting temptation to maintain purity, and thus he is described as being clothed with "Shesh," the letter "Vav," the attainment of Kedusha.

The Ben Ish Hai explains that this is the meaning of the prophet’s charge, "Vi’ytedotayich Hazeki." He is telling us that in order to earn our final redemption, we must strengthen our "peg" – the letter "Vav," our commitment to maintaining our standards of Kedusha. This is a struggle that must be waged as we prepare for our final redemption.

It is no coincidence that in our times, as we inch closer to the arrival of Mashiah, we face unprecedented challenges particularly in this area, the area of purity and Kedusha. Already the prophet Yeshayahu informed us that as our nation returns to its homeland in preparation for the final redemption, we will need to work very hard to strengthen our "peg," our commitment to the Torah’s standards of purity. This challenge is an especially difficult one, but it is one which we must wage, with devotion and determination, confident that this struggle will bring us closer to our final redemption, may it arrive speedily and in our time, Amen.

 

 

Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad

 

The Basis for the Custom of Reciting Seliḥot - Peninei Halacha 

Many Jews have a custom, extending back to the times of the Ge’onim, to wake up early during the Ten Days of Repentance to recite Seliḥot

 

The custom today however is to recite Selichot starting from the day after Rosh Chodesh Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance as these are particularly auspicious times for repentance. This is the period when God agreed to forgive the Jewish people for the sin of the Golden Calf. 

 

This is done primarily to inspire people to repent, ask God for forgiveness and atonement, and beg Him to be merciful to His exiled and suffering people. We ask that He not look at our sins and transgressions but remember His covenant with our ancestors and us. We ask Him to remember the sacrifice of Yitzḥak and all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to sanctify His name. We also pray for the ingathering of the exiles, the rebuilding of Eretz Yisrael, Jerusalem, and the Temple, and the return of the Shekhina to Zion. It is customary to recite Seliḥot specifically during the Ten Days of Repentance because it is a time of judgment and prayer is more readily accepted then. It is proper for every individual to join the community and pray fervently for the Jewish people, for the Shekhina to dwell among us, and for God’s name to be sanctified in the world. Through this, one’s prayers will be accepted as well.

 

Indeed, we find that the prophets encouraged the Jews to gather together in times of trouble to fast, pray, and beg God to have mercy on His people and His land. Thus, we read:

 

Blow a shofar in Zion; solemnize a fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the people; bid the congregation purify themselves. Bring together the old, etc.

 

Together with reciting Seliḥot and prayers, we must repent and improve our behavior. Thus, during this period, it is customary to recite Seliḥot, to study works of musar (ethical improvement), and to have sermons that exhort us to repent. Some have the custom of having sermons before Seliḥot, to rebuke and inspire.

 

Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach

David Azerad 

 

 

 3) HOLY JoKeS!!

 

Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day 

 

 

4) FOR KIDS

Click on the image to open the youtube video

 

 

 

LIFECYCLE EVENTS

Celebrate a lifecycle event with us by sponsoring a Kiddouch

 

CONGREGATION MAGHEN ABRAHAM

 

Contact Us

Maghen Abraham
POB 111, Succ Snowdon, Montreal,

H3X 3T3

 

Synagogue:
4894 St-Kévin 
Montréal, Québec, Canada 
macommunaute@maghenabraham.com

 
Fri, October 4 2024 2 Tishrei 5785