Bonjour / Hello [nickname_else_first_name],
Table of contents
1) New Board
2) Thoughts on Shabbat (Mayer Sasson)
3) At What age does he obligation of HINUCH begin? (In relation to last week's perasha Vayera) - Rabbi Mansour
4) Halakhat Hashavoua (David Azerad)
1) New Board
This past Sunday Maghen Abraham Members elected the following Board members
Results (no specific order)
Mayer Sasson
Joe Sasson
Isaac Darwiche
Joe Benamor
Isaac Dana
Nino Saad
Albert Tauby
David Argalgi
Benjamin Hadid
Board Positions will be announced next week.
We would like to thank the election supervisors as well as all those who voted, helping us perform our duties to the community.
The board looks forward to moving the community forward
2) Thoughts on Shabbat VAYERA
(Mayer Sasson - Published in S&P Bulletin)
PERASHA CHAYEI SARA
"… and G-d had blessed Avraham in everything." (24,1)
A person's sustenance is set for him from Rosh Hashanah to Rosh Hashanah
The extent to which our Rabbis believed that everything is from Him forever and ever – we cannot describe and imagine.
Once there was only one print shop in Bnei Brak, owned by a Jew called Rav Shlomo Cohen. One day a competing printer opened up across the street from him. Rav Shlomo Cohen saw that, went to the competitor and knocked on the door. The owner was afraid to open the door - who knows what he will do to him because of his effort to take away business?
After he opened the door, Rav Shlomo entered the print shop and told the owner, "I see you have machines just like mine, listen to me- by this machine you should work in such a manner, it will save you paper, time and money; and by that machine you should do like this because it will be more efficient." And so he continued to give the owner tips how to succeed. Moreover, before he left, he told the owner, "I have many printing templates, if you're missing anything come to me and I'll give you."
In Rav Shlomo's house they were very angry."How can one do such a thing?! The fact that he opened a competing store opposite you is first class nerve! And for you to go and help him?!!"
Rav Shlomo told them: "A person's livelihood is set for him from one Rosh Hashanah to the next Rosh Hashanah and therefore there is no one in the world who can take a shekel away from me! Until now I had to work eight hours a day and now that there is a competitor, certainly half of the customers will go to him so I will only have to work four hours a day; and all this I without his being able to take one shekel away from me! As a result every day I have four more hours to learn Torah- and it is all in the merit of this Jew – so shouldn't I be grateful to him?"
When the Gaon Rav Avrham Yeshaya Karelitz ob'm (the Chazon Ish) heard about this he wrote in his sefer, "Emunah U'Bitachon" – "How much light and holiness does this man add to the world – fortunate is he and fortunate is his generation."
Rabbi Nathaniel
SHABBAT SHALOM!!
3) At What age does he obligation of HINUCH begin? (In relation to last week's perasha Vayera)
By/Par : Rabbi Mansour (published in his book the DAILY HALAKHA)
In Parashat VaYelech (31: 12}, the Torah introduces the misva of HakheL which requiresthe entire Jewish nation to assemble in Jerusalem every seven years, on the first day of Hoi HaMo'ed Sukkot following the Shemita year. The nation's men, women and children were to all gather at the Bet HaMikdash to hear the reading of the Torah.
The Talmud in Masechet Hagiga (3a) raises the question of why this obligation requires that even the small children attend Hakhel. The adults, obviously, must attend in order to receive spiritual guidance and inspiration. But why does the Torah demand that even infants and toddlers participate in this ceremony? The Gemara answers that the children must attend "in order to grant reward to those who bring them."
On one leveL the Gemara refers to the principle established by Rabbi Hanania ben Akashya, "The Almighty wished to bring merit to IsraeL and He therefore gave them an abundance of Torah and misvot." In His immense love for Am YisraeL God established many misvot through which we may earn reward. In the case of Hakhel, the parents
would in any event have no choice but to bring their children; as all Jewish men and women were required to attend, no one would be available to care for the children. In the interest of bringing greater merit to Am Yisrael, God made it a misva
to bring the children, such that their participation - which was in any event a practical necessity - would increase the parents' reward for observing
the misva of Hakhel.
We might, however, suggest a deeper understanding of the Gemara's comment. The Mishna in Pirke Avot (2:8) records that Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakai stated regarding his student Rabbi Yehoshua, "Ashre Yoladeto! - Fortunate is she who bore him!"
When Rabbi Yehoshua was still an infant, his mother would bring him in his cradle to the study hall so he could hear words of Torah. Even though he of course could not understand any of the concepts discussed, nevertheless, the words of the Torah have
the capacity to penetrate and profoundly impact a person's soul even during infancy. This exposure to intensive Torah study during Rabbi Yehoshua's formative years impacted his spirit and enabled him to become one of the greatest sages of his time. So powerful are the words of Torah that they affect the soul of even a small infant.
It is to this concept, perhaps, that the Talmud refers when it speaks of the reward for bringing young children to Hakhel. At public events, the attendance of children is often perceived as a nuisance and disturbance. While the parents try to listen and concentrate, the children run about with abandon and make noise. But the Torah demands that parents
nevertheless bring their children to Hakhel in order to allow the words of Torah and Musar to penetrate their souls. The "reward" for bringing children to Hakhel is the spiritual impact of this experience that is manifest later in life. Even though the children cannot understand, the words nevertheless impact their souls and significantly contribute toward their development into God-fearing adults.
Torah education does not begin when children are already grown and reach the brink of adulthood; it begins immediately at birth. Parents must ensure that even during their children's early years they are placed in a proper environment of Torah and misva observance. This environment will contribute immeasurably toward their spiritual growth, and ensure that they are successfully imbued with a deep-seated love of Torah and a devotion to misva observance.
4) HALAKHAT HASHAVOUA
Selected by David Azerad, Hazzan Maghen Abraham
Halachot Shabbat according to the rulings of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Z”TL
Is it allowed to eat before Kiddush?
It is forbidden to taste even water before the Kiddush. And if a person is very thirsty, he must recite the Kiddush and then he may drink his beverage. A woman who is thirsty and finds it difficult to wait until her husband arrives home from synagogue for example, she must recite the Kiddush and then may drink her beverage.
A child who has reached the age of Chinuch [education] {minimum six years old and or more, each child according to his intellect and understanding}, should be taught not to taste anything before the Kiddush. However, if it is difficult for him to wait, he is allowed to eat and drink.
Women are required to hear the Kiddush Friday night according to the Torah. It is a mitzvah to educate or teach the little children{Katan} starting from the age of six to listen attentively and not to talk during the Kiddush.
When the father is not at home - can a small {Katan} child recite the Kiddush?
If the father is not at home on Shabbat, the mother can also recite the Kiddush for her household members even though some are past the age of Bar Mitzvah and can technically do the Kiddush, there is no need for her eldest son to recite the kIddush. The general rule is, Anyone that is not obligated to do a particular Mitzvah , cannot exclude others from that Mitzvah in other words a child who is less than the age of bar mitzvah,and therefore, is not obligated to hear or do Kiddush he may not exclude others by the obligation of the Kiddush.According to the Torah the father is the one who is commanded to educate & teach his children to perform the Mitzvot , and Therefore if the mother does not know how to recite the Kiddush and all her children are small[Katan}}{under the age of Bar Mitzvah }, the little child will say the wording of the Kiddush, and his mother will repeat after him word for word.
Bivrkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
