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Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) - Hazzan David Azerad
- Laws of the month of Av
3) Holy Jokes!
4) FOR KIDS!
Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב[a] Tīšʿā Bəʾāv; IPA: [tiʃʕa beˈʔav] (
listen), lit. 'the ninth of Av') is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem.
Tisha B'Av marks the end of the three weeks between dire straits and is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, and it is thus believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy.[2][3] Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar.
The observance of the day includes five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in the synagogue, followed by the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some kinnot also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans; expulsions from England, Spain, and elsewhere; massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities during the Crusades; and the Holocaust.
-Wikipedia
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Debarim- A Nation Defined by the Torah
The Aron – the ark in the Bet Ha’mikdash – featured on top of it two Kerubim, golden figurines which served as a "barometer" of G-d’s relationship with the Jewish People. At times when G-d was pleased with His nation, then the two Kerubim faced one another, but when He was displeased, they turned away from one another. The Talmud teaches that on three Regalim (pilgrimage festivals – Pesach, Shabuot and Sukkot), when Beneh Yisrael would assemble in Jerusalem, the Kohanim would open the curtain to expose the Aron, and the people would see the two Kerubim embracing one another. These occasions were times of great love and closeness between G-d and Am Yisrael, and so the Kerubim not only faced each other, but locked in a warm, affectionate embrace.
Elsewhere, the Gemara gives a famous account of what happened when Titus, the evil general of the Roman army, entered the Bet Ha’mikdash and stormed into the Kodesh Ha’kodashim, the inner sanctum of the Mikdash, where the Aron stood. Startingly, the Gemara relates that when Titus entered this chamber, he looked at the ark and the saw the two Kerubim embracing one another. On this day, when G-d unleashed His anger against the Jewish People, bringing in the Roman legions who set the Bet Ha’mikdash and Jerusalem ablaze, and killed, plundered and exiled the Jews, the Kerubim embraced, reflecting G-d’s great love for the Jewish People.
The Netibot Shalom (Rav Shalom Noach Berezovsky of Slonim, 1911-2000) explains why the Kerubim were embracing at that moment. The Jews were then leaving their homeland and being driven into what would be many centuries of bitter exile. They must have been concerned that they would no longer survive as a nation. After all, all nations share several things – including a land. No other nation retained its national identity while being dispersed throughout the world. But the Jews are an exception – the only exception – to this rule. We have remained a nation even when we did not have our land. And we did this because of the Torah. We were driven from our homeland, but we took the Torah with us, and we took the Torah with us wherever we went during this long period of exile. This is how we survived as a nation.
This, the Netibot Shalom explains, is the reason why the Kerubim over the Aron embraced on the day of destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash. The Aron, which stored the original copy of the Sefer Torah, represents the Torah. On the day we were exiled from our land, G-d assured us that our relationship with Him would continue through the Torah. We would be without a land for many centuries, but we would always have with us the "Aron" – the Torah, which we would study and meticulously observe. And this is how we would survive as a nation during centuries of dispersion.
The Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) taught that the four letters of G-d’s Name ("Yod," "Heh," "Vav" and "Heh") can be arranged in twelve different configurations, and each configuration corresponds to one of the twelve months. And, the Arizal said, each configuration is alluded to in a verse in Tanach. The Arizal revealed to us which months correspond to which configuration, and according to his system, the month of Ab is represented by the configuration "Heh," "Vav," "Yod" and "Heh." This arrangement of letters, the Arizal said, is alluded to in the verse in the Book of Debarim (27:9) where Moshe says to the people, "Hasket U’shma Yisrael Hayom Ha’zeh Niheyeta La’am" – "Be silent and listen, O Israel, this day you have become a nation." The first letters of the words "Hasket U’shma Yisrael Hayom" are "Heh," "Vav," "Yod" and "Heh," alluding to the month of Ab.
At first glance, the Netibot Shalom writes, this verse seems hardly fitting as a symbol of the month of Ab. In fact, it might be the least fitting verse, as it speaks of Am Yisrael becoming a nation – and on Tisha B’Ab, we lost our Bet Ha’mikdash and our homeland. But in light of what we have seen, the Netibot Shalom writes, the answer becomes clear. On the day of Tisha B’Ab, we became a nation like no other. This was the day when we became a nation whose identity was determined by something other than a common land. On this day, we became a nation defined by the Torah, and not by anything else.
We have survived the millennia of exile, dispersion, upheaval and persecution through our commitment to Torah. And it is through this commitment that, please G-d, we will earn our final redemption and be worthy of returning to our homeland and celebrating the rebuilding of the Bet Ha’mikdash, speedily and in our times, Amen.
The laws of the month of Av according to the rulings of Maran Rabbi Obadiah Yosef ZT”L
From after Rosh Chodesh Av it is accustomed to not eat meat - until when?
The custom is not to eat meat from the beginning of the month of Av until the 10th of Av,inclusive. On the day of Rosh Chodesh itself, it is the custom of the Sephardim to eat meat, because of the honor of Rosh Chodesh, and in particular that the Rosh Chodesh meal is a mitzvah.There are Ashkenazim who customarily do not eat meat on Rosh Chodesh.
There is no difference between meat or chicken; they both should not be eaten ,even a dish in which meat or chicken has been cooked in it. Fish is allowed.
If it is impossible for someone to be satisfied with dairy foods only, because he does not like them, and especially if they are not healthy for him, he is allowed to eat chicken meat.
Who is allowed to eat meat during the nine days?
It is permissible to give small children who have not reached the age of mitzvot to eat meat even after Rosh chodesh Av until the fast, and also for a pregnant women who is suffering a lot during her pregnancy, she must be allowed to eat meat, and the same is true for a nursing woman who suffers from weakness.
Whoever comes to ask a Rabbi during the 9 days days that it is very difficult for him without meat because he is feeling weak or sick the Rabbi is instructed to allow him to eat , however a healthy person who wants to follow simply his desire and feels like eating meat when it is actually forbidden, he is going against the rules of the Torah.
A healthy person, who forgot that we are not to eat meat during the 9 days and made a beracha already for the meat that is in front of him ,he should be tasting from the meat so that his blessing will not be in vain.
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
Due to the ominous nature of Tisha B'Av, there will be no jokes this bulletin
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image to open the youtube video
