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Friday Night, @Maghen Abraham (spanish)

Mincha 6:30pm followed by Shir Hashirim -Kabbalat Shabbat - Arvit

Shabbat Candle lighting:   7:31pm

Saturday - @Maghen Abraham  - SHABBAT MEVARECHIM

Shahrit 9am

Perasha -  Re'eh

Haftara - Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Chapter 54:11 - 55:5; Samuel I 20:18; Samuel I 20:42

Kiddush Sponsored by

Izake Lawi in honor of his mother's hazkarah, Yaffa Gamalo Bat Nazli z'L

Mincha 7:15PM followed by Arvit & Havdalah (spanish or to be confirmed during morning services)

Havdalah: 8:35pm

>Montreal Shabbat/Holiday Calendar 5785 can be found here<

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS/EVENTS

Rosh Hodesh Elul Aug 24th - Selichot Starts on August 25th

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

This Year's Membership rates are ad follows

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H3X 3T3

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As of FRIDAY AUG 29th Services will be held at the Adath Israel (Zuckerman Hall) on
Harrow in Hampstead
______________________________________

 

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  -Elul and Shofar Blowing - Peninei Halacha

3) Holy Jokes!

4) For KIDS

 This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour

Parashat Reeh: The Reward for Early Struggles

The Gemara in Masechet Ta’anit (9a) tells that Rabbi Yohanan once saw a schoolchild coming out of school, and asked him which verse he studied that day. The child answered by citing a verse from Parashat Re’eh (14:22) in which the Torah introduces the obligation to tithe one’s annual produce: "Aser Te’aser." Rabbi Yohanan then asked the child to interpret this phrase, and the child answered, "Aser Bishbil She’tit’asher" – "tithe so that you become wealthy." The phrase "Aser Te’aser" alludes to the fact that by giving tithes – a Misva which we fulfill nowadays by donating one-tenth of our earnings to charity – one earns wealth.

The Kedushat Siyon (by Rav Bentzion Halberstam of Bobov, 1874-1941) offers a deeper insight into this story. He explains that when Rabbi Yohanan saw this student, he sensed that the child was struggling, and was having difficulty understanding the material being taught. And so after hearing that the child learned the verse, "Aser Te’aser," Rabbi Yohanan drew his attention to the interpretation, "Aser Bishbil She’tit’asher," that giving charity eventually brings wealth. When one parts with a portion of his hard-earned income, and, despite having his own financial pressures and his own bills to pay, donates funds to charity, he at first experiences a loss. His balance in the bank drops, and his financial status appears to worsen. But with time, perhaps only years later, he will be rewarded for his generosity and will be blessed with wealth. Rabbi Yohanan was assuring this child that this is true of Torah study, as well. At first, in the early stages of a person’s Torah education, he invariably encounters difficulty. He feels frustrated and upset, figuring he is wasting his time as he struggles in vain to understand the material. But as in the case of charity, the rewards eventually come. Although the process of Torah learning begins with struggle and hardship, one who invests the effort will eventually find himself capable of understanding and internalizing what he learns.

The Mishna in Avot famously teaches, "Yagati U’masati Ta’amin" – if a person says that he toiled in Torah study and was successful, he should be believed. This is in contrast to somebody who says that he toiled and did not succeed, or that he achieved success without toiling, who must not be believed. The only one of these three claims which can be assumed correct is "Yagati U’masati" – that one achieved success in Torah learning through hard work and diligence. A number of commentators raised the question of why the Mishna uses the term "Masati" – literally, "I found" – in reference to success in this context. Usually, the root "M.S.A." denotes something a person discovers without effort, like a valuable object which one happens to find as he goes about his business. Why is this term used in the context of hard work and effort in Torah study?

The commentators explain that indeed, after the initial struggles, one "finds" his success. After one overcomes the initial hurdles and prevails over the early struggles of Torah learning, he will reach the point where he "finds" success, where he acquires knowledge and understanding easily. The experienced student frequently arrives at new insights and absorbs knowledge almost by accident, without effort, armed with the skills and information he gained over the course of his years of struggle.

Just as we cannot expect to enjoy wealth and prosperity immediately after giving charity, yet we fully trust in the Torah’s promise of reward for charitable donations, similarly, we must trust that our struggles and effort to understand complex, difficult areas of Torah will eventually yield rewards, and today’s hard work will allow us to easily absorb and internalize the sacred words of the Torah in the future.

Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad

Elul and Shofar Blowing - Peninei Halacha 

The month of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance are particularly auspicious for repentance, as this is the period when God agreed to forgive the Jewish people for the sin of the Golden Calf. Forty days after the Torah was given, when Moshe had not yet descended from Mount Sinai, a group of sinners persuaded the people to make a golden calf as a replacement for God’s authority. At that moment, a great anger was kindled against Israel. It was serious enough that God said to Moshe, “Now, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them, and make you a great nation” (Shemot 32:10). Moshe prayed fervently and reminded God of the merits of the patriarchs and matriarchs, thus delaying the punishment. Then he descended the mountain, shattered the Tablets, and, together with the tribe of Levi, executed the sinners. He melted down and pulverized the calf, mixed the ash with water, and made all the Israelites drink from it. The water served as a litmus test, and those who had worshipped the calf died. Nevertheless, the threat of destruction still hovered over Israel. Displaying a spirit of self-sacrifice, Moshe stood before God and declared, “Now, if You will forgive their sin [well and good]; but if not, erase me from the record which You have written” (ibid. v. 32). Following this declaration, the decree was lifted. However, Israel was still disgraced and distant from God. It was as if they were no longer His children, His servants, or His special nation. Furthermore, the first Tablets lay in pieces.

On Rosh Ḥodesh Elul, Moshe once again ascended Mount Sinai to pray as Israel’s emissary, asking God to have mercy upon them and forgive them. On Yom Kippur, their repentance was fully accepted. Moshe descended to give the Jews the second set of Tablets and to inform them that they were forgiven. As an indication of their renewed closeness and specialness, God commanded them to erect a Mishkan (Tabernacle), through which the Shekhina would be revealed to them. Since the timing of important events is not accidental, we see that the forty days from Rosh Ḥodesh Elul until Yom Kippur are particularly auspicious for repentance.

This accords with the following midrash:

On Rosh Ḥodesh Elul, God said to Moshe, “Come up to Me on the mountain” (Shemot 24:12). The shofar was then blown in the camp, to let it be known that Moshe was ascending the mountain again and that Israel must not repeat their mistake. God ascended on that day through those same shofar blasts, as we read, “God ascends with a blast (teru’a); the Lord, with the sound of a shofar” (Tehillim 47:6). Therefore, the Sages ordained that the shofar be blown each year on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul. (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer 46)

They chose to have the shofar serve as a wake-up call for the people, because it has the power to discourage people from sinning and to awaken the masses to repent (Tur and Beit Yosef, OḤ 581:1).

Accordingly, Jewish communities customarily blow the shofar during the month of Elul. Ashkenazic custom is to blow each day at the end of Shaḥarit. Sephardim, who recite Seliḥot all month, blow the shofar when they recite the concluding Kaddish of Seliḥot. Many Sephardim also blow the shofar when reciting the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Blowing the shofar in Elul is not obligatory, but it is proper for communities to try to do so. Nevertheless, an individual who did not hear the shofar blown does not need to search for someone to blow the shofar for him.

Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov 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

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