Fast of Tammuz - Sunday July 13th
Three Weeks - Thursday July 17th to Sunday Aug 3rd
Rosh Hodesh Av - Saturday July 26th
9 Days of Av - Saturday July 26th to August 3rd
Tisha'a b'Av - Saturday Aug 2nd (evening) to Aug 3 (afternoon)
UPCOMING THIS WEEK
CELEBRATIONS
MABROOK!!!
Armand Levy & Maggie (Magdalena) Levy
on their wedding Anniversary
MABROOK!!!
Samara Sayegh
on her Hebrew Birthday
MABROOK!!!
Michelle Sasson
on her Birthday (past week)
MABROOK!!!
Sasha Guindi
on his Birthday
HAZKAROT
HAZKARAH
YOACKIM SHEM TOV BEN MERCEDES z'L
Nephew of Saadia Israel
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
The Three Weeks - Peninei Halacha -- Peninei Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Balak- “Ma Tobu Ohalecha Yaakob” – Blessing or Curse?
Among the blessings proclaimed by Bilam in Parashat Balak is one of the most famous verses in the entire Torah – "Ma Tobu Ohalecha Yaakob, Mishkenotecha Yisrael" – "How good are your tents, Yaakob, and your residences, Yisrael!" (24:5). This blessing is so significant that it is customary in our community to sing this verse as we accompany a bride and groom to the Hupa. Ironically, a blessing uttered by Bilam, a vicious foe of Am Yisrael, became the words sung at the most significant and auspicious moments of Jewish life.
The Gemara teaches that nearly all of Bilam’s blessings were fulfilled also in the reverse. The blessings themselves materialized, but in addition, there were occasions when the converse of every blessing was realized, when we suffered calamities that were the direct opposites of the blessings conferred upon us by Bilam. The one exception, the Gemara says, is this verse - "Ma Tobu Ohalecha Yaakob, Mishkenotecha Yisrael." As opposed to all of Bilam’s other blessings, this one never reverted into a curse.
The Ketab Sofer (Rabbi Abraham Shemuel Binyamin Sofer of Pressburg, 1815-1871) suggested a fascinating, though sobering, explanation of the Gemara’s comment. He explained that this blessing was never turned into a curse for the simple reason that it did not have to – it is already, in a certain sense, a curse!
The Sages interpreted this Beracha as referring to our religious institutions, mainly our synagogues. While synagogues are certainly a great blessing, Bilam speaks here of an overabundance of synagogues, the scattering and distillation of Jewish communities into countless little "subcommunities." The Ketab Sofer lamented the situation he witnessed in his city, where there were dozens of small little synagogues, rather than one or several large, centralized congregations. He perceptively noted that the plethora of synagogues resulted from infighting and quibbling, from the townspeople’s inability to get along with one another. First a group breaks off from the major synagogue because they disapprove of the Hazan, and they establish a new congregation with their own Hazan. Then a group of people decide that they do not like the new congregation’s Rabbi, so they start their own synagogue. Then people disagree over the Minyan schedule, the protocols, the décor, or whatever else, and before they realize it, one synagogue has divided and subdivided itself into dozens of small congregations.
In this sense, Bilam’s blessing is actually a curse. He wasn’t blessing us with spiritual success; he was wishing us disunity and conflicts that would result in a plethora of "dwelling places" and "residences," in many different institutions that resent and look disdainfully upon one another.
Although our community can legitimately take pride in our unity and cooperation, there is plenty of room for improvement in this regard. We must work together as one community – notwithstanding the many differences that exist among its different segments – rather than forming different factions and parties. This will help ensure that "Ma Tobu Ohalecha Yaakob, Mishkenotecha Yisrael" remains a blessing and not a curse, that our religious institutions will be a source of Beracha that bring us all closer to Hashem, rather than a focal point of strife and contention.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
The Three Weeks -Peninei Halacha
The Three Weeks, which begin on the night of Shiv’a Asar Be-Tamuz and continue through Tisha Be-Av, are a painful time. This period is often known as Bein Ha-metzarim, recalling the verse, “All her pursuers overtook her in the narrow places (bein ha-metzarim)” (Eikha 1:3). Therefore, the Sages recommended that we take extra precautions on these days, which are prone to calamity. For example, even though one must always be careful and vigilant, those who go on a hike or swim in the sea must be even more careful during this period (see Eikha Rabba 1:29).
To signify the nature of this period, the Sages instituted the reading of special haftarot that deal with calamity on the three Shabbatot of the Three Weeks. On the seven Shabbatot following Tisha Be-Av, we read seven haftarot of consolation (SA 428:8, based on Pesikta).
Even though the Sages did not make any special enactments to mark the suffering and mourning of the Three Weeks, the Jewish people adopted the custom to refrain from music and dancing, and to avoid reciting She-heĥeyanu during this period. 1
There are other customs of mourning that various communities have adopted.
Ashkenazim and some Sephardim, including Jews from Morocco and Djerba, refrain from cutting their hair during the Three Weeks. Other Sephardim are strict about this only during the week of Tisha Be-Av. Ashkenazim, Yemenites, and most Sephardim do not conduct weddings during the Three Weeks. Other Sephardim are more lenient, only avoiding weddings from the beginning of the month of Av (see below, section 7).
In the following sections, we will discuss at length the customs of the Three Weeks, the Nine Days, and the week of Tisha Be-Av.
Even though Shiv’a Asar Be-Tamuz begins at daybreak, the customs of mourning of the Three Weeks begin the night before. As we learned above, the fast was originally supposed to begin at night. The reason we begin fasting in the morning is that there are no harsh decrees against the Jewish people today. Therefore, it is up to the Jewish people to decide whether or not they want to fast, and they have decided to fast only from daybreak. However, the Three Weeks begin on the night of 17 Tamuz. Ĥida writes in this vein in Responsa Ĥayim Sha’al 1:24, based on Ramban. R. Moshe Feinstein, in Igrot Moshe oĥ 1:168, however, rules leniently, permitting weddings on the night of 17 Tamuz. Elsewhere (oĥ 4:112:2), he allows one to cut one’s hair then, if there is a great need. Tzitz Eliezer 10:26 disagrees, forbidding even weddings–through which one fulfills a mitzva–on the night of the seventeenth, because the Three Weeks have already begun. This seems correct.
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
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