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ב"ה

Shul Bulletin

Announcements - Shoftim

  • Click here for this week’s JEM “Here’s My Story”. 
  • Click here for a list of our ongoing shiurim. 
  • Operation Protective Edge: Join hundreds in uniting for the protection of Eretz Yisroel and Jews worldwide by encouraging another Jew to put up a mezuzah in their home or office for just $5. Click here for more info. 
  • N’shei Chabad of Los Angeles has launched 'Operation Shabbat Dome'- Please take two tea lights put them in a bag and distribute to all Jewish women and girls before Shabbos. For more info click here.
  • Please say tehillim for Liat Adi Chaya bas Devorah Orly. 

Shabbos Schedule - Shoftim

  • Shabbos Candle Lighting: 7:04
  • Chassidus for Early Minyan with Rabbi Zalman Friedman: 8:45 am
  • Shiur Chassidus by Rabbi Simcha Bart: 9:00 am
  • Last Time To Read Shema: 9:39 am
  • Early Minyan Shacharis: 9:30 am
  • Shacharis: 10:00 am
  • NO Mesibas Shabbos For Girls this week!!!
  • Pirkei Avos Shiur by Rabbi Raichik: 6:00 pm 
  • Mincha: 7:00 pm 
  • Pirkei Avos: Perek 1
  • Shabbos Ends: 8:07 pm

Kiddush Sponsors - Shoftim

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Simcha Bart for the Bar-Mitzvah of their son Levi Yitzchok. May he give them much nachas and may he grow up to be a true chossid yirei shomaim and lamdan.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Asher Bastomski in honor of their anniversary. May they have many more happy years together.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Moshe Davidoff in honor of their anniversary. May they have many more happy years together.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Sender Munitz for the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Sender Munitz’s father Reb Yisroel Meir ben Reb Alexsender Sender ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Reuven Nathanson in honor of their anniversary. May they have many more happy years together.

 

Early Minyan Kiddush Sponsors - Shoftim

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Zali Munitz for the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Zali Munitz’s grandfather Reb Yisroel Meir ben Reb Alexsender Sender ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Shmuel Raigorodsky in honor of their anniversary. May they have many more happy years together.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Shalom Rubashkin in honor of Rabbi Shalom Rubashkin’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

Women's Shabbos Shiur - Shoftim

6:00 pm - At the home of: Mrs. Varda Rav-Noy
428 N Martel Ave.
Speaker: Mrs. Chana Rochel Schustermna

Mazal Tov To - Shoftim

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Simcha Bart on the bar-mitzvah of their son Levi Yitzchok. 
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Zalman Schmukler on the marriage of their granddaughter Mushki Kantor to Gabi Kaltmann.  
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Dovid Thaler on the marriage of their son Meir to Chana Shneur. 

Upcoming Birthdays

  • Yechiel Dovid Yonah Friedman - 5 Elul
  • Yisroel Berkowitz - 5 Elul
  • Rabbi Benyomin Hoffman - 6 Elul
  • Rabbi Shalom Rubashkin - 8 Elul
  • Moshe Dov Ber Stark - 8 Elul
  • Sholom Dov Ber Polityko - 8 Elul
  • Levi Gurary - 9 Elul
  • Rabbi Levi Zirkind - 9 Elul

Upcoming Anniversaries

  • Mr. & Mrs. Richard Rosenbloom - 4 Elul
  • Mr. & Mrs. Moshe Davidoff - 5 Elul
  • Mr. & Mrs. Asher Bastomski - 5 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Shmuel Raigorodsky - 6 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Dovid Thaler - 7 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Velvel Tsikman - 8 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Yehudah Schmukler - 9 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Reuven Nathanson - 10 Elul
  • Mr. & Mrs. David Kaufman - 10 Elul

Upcoming Yahrtzeits

  • Reb Yisroel Meir ben Reb Alexsender Sender (Rabbi Sender Munitz’s father) - 4 Elul
  • Channah bas Reb Mordechai (Mr. Yosef Avraham Targum’s grandmother) - 5 Elul
  • Yehudis bas Reb Shalom (Mr. Moshe Kaszirer’s mother) - 6 Elul
  • Reb Amiram ben Reb Avraham (Mrs. Ilanit Gluckowsky’s father) - 8 Elul

Devar Torah - Shoftim

The Art of Educating in Today’s World
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik

My father sent my brother Abby to the yeshiva at Bedford and Dean when he was 10 years old. In September/October 5722/1961 after completing his first year in yeshiva it became clear that he wasn’t happy. My father spoke to the Rebbe in yechidus after Tishrei. The Rebbe offered the following advice: Check into his friends and his roommates and make changes for the better.

When Rabbi Avraham Mordecai Segal spoke here in Los Angeles he told a story about his father being a teacher in Torah vDaas. In the yeshiva there was a particular student that always came late to the shiur. It didn’t seem to matter which day it was or what the reason was for, he still showed up late. One day this student walked in late. Rav Segal called the student over and gave him a note and told him to take it to the cook. The note read: Today we are learning the sugiya of “yeush shelo m’daas” in the gemara. Please feed this student so he will have the strength to learn.

I recently heard a story about a bachor who attended a large yeshiva. For whatever reason, the hanhala always seemed to be on his case, catching him with minor infractions. After some time one of his friends approached the hanhala and asked; do you know how much this bachor sacrificed to be here? His family is against him going to yeshiva and constantly discourages him and yet he perseveres. If you knew about him you would support him in any way possible.

The first pasuk of this week’s parsha reads:

You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment.

We learn from this pasuk that the judges make the laws and then police enforce those laws. The main mitzva is to have laws decided upon by the judges to live by while law enforcement is there to support that those laws are properly implemented.

When Moshiach comes we will no longer have law enforcement because it will no longer be necessary as we see in a pasuk in Yeshaya HaNavi (1:26) and we say three times a day in Shmonah Esrei: And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning.

In the year 5751/1991 at the last fabrengen we heard from the Rebbe for Shabbos parshas Shoftim, the Rebbe spoke about the difference between law enforcement and advisors or counselors. Since the advisor is focused on the good of the person he is helping he doesn’t try to force rather work together to help him realize the goal of the judge. In our life we learn halacha and then we arouse our emotions and uplift ourselves in the best possible way to fulfill the halacha and through it be connected to Hashem.

As parents and educators we need to stop policing Yiddishkeit. Some parents handle their homes like boot camp with a lot of kabbolas ohl, while others only want to be their child’s best friend. Either approach alone won’t work; we need a combination of the two. First we listen to the judge, we learn about what the Torah wants from us and we arouse a desire to fulfill in the best way possible. At the same time we remain open to explain and offer support, understanding and guidance as they go through all of their stages of development. It’s an honor not a burden and we aren’t the police. It’s our merit that we are able to accompany our child along their way.

This is especially true in our schools today. Every student needs to feel that they are understood by all of their educators and they are there for one purpose only, to help, to guide and to encourage. Once the student knows this, you have them, and then we progress together. There is one teacher who goes to the homes of his students to visit them before the school year begins. He gets a feel for the whole child not just his life as a student. He sees how the interacts with his parents and siblings and he becomes more aware of his as person and therefore more sensitive and capable to guide, advise and inspire him in class and in life. This is the difference between a mashpia and a mashgiach. In Lubavitcher yeshivos we use the term mashpia, to give and inspire instead of the term mashgiach used by others, which denotes oversight.

The Rebbe had a similar approach when addressing global issues. When the Rebbe spoke about not giving away territory in Eretz Yisroel he always based it on halacha. At the same time he explained the clear and present danger of not following the halacha. Along with the halacha he incorporated insight understanding and guidance of both the spiritual and the physical as one. This is true as well for all aspects of life. The Rebbeim did not only take care of our spiritual needs but also helped and guided us in our physical needs. Having the judge and the advisor together as one brings the whole solution into focus.

A Good Shabbos

Announcements: Re'eh

  • Click here for this week’s JEM “Here’s My Story”. 
  • Click here for a list of our ongoing shiurim. 
  • Operation Protective Edge: Join hundreds in uniting for the protection of Eretz Yisroel and Jews worldwide by encouraging another Jew to put up a mezuzah in their home or office for just $5. Click here for more info. 
  • N’shei Chabad of Los Angeles has launched 'Operation Shabbat Dome'- Please take two tea lights put them in a bag and distribute to all Jewish women and girls before Shabbos. For more info click here.
  • Nichum Aveilim: Mrs. Chana Weiss is sitting shiva for her father until Monday morning at her home 411 N Martel Ave. Tzvi Rauh is sitting shiva for his mother until Wednesday morning at his home 439 N Poinsettia Pl. Hamokom Yenachem Eschem Betoch Shaar Aveilei Tzion VeYerushalaim. Vehokitzu veranenu shochnei ofor....vehem besocham. 
  • Thursday: BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - parenting workshop and video presentation by Rabbi Avrohom Segal. The lecture is entitled "Communication is the Key". Click here for a preview of the video. Thursday, Elul 2/August 28, at Moshe Ganz Hall: 356 N. La Brea Ave. 7:45 pm - Maariv, 8:00 pm - Video presentation and Lecture.  
  • Bikur Cholim: Betzalel Fleischman is in Cedar Sinai Hospital (South Tower 6915). Please say Tehilim for Pesach Betzalel ben Parel and/or consider visiting him. 

Shabbos Schedule: Re'eh

  • Shabbos Candle Lighting: 7:13
  • Shabbos Mevorchim Tehillim: 8:15 am
  • Followed by a Shiur Chassidus by Rabbi Shimon Raichik
  • Thillim Club: 9:15 am 
  • Last Time To Read Shema: 9:37 am
  • Early Minyan Shacharis: 10:00 am
  • Shacharis: 10:15 am
  • Mesibas Shabbos For Girls (in KYY) 4:30 pm
  • Shiur in Pirkei Avos for men with Rabbi Raichik: 6:10 pm
  • Mincha: 7:10 pm - Pirkei Avos - Perek 6
  • Shabbos Ends: 8:16 pm
  • Molad for Chodesh Elul: Monday, Av 29/August 25, 7:34 pm (and 14 chalokim).
  • Rosh Chodesh Elul: Tuesday & Wednesday, August 26 & 27.

Kiddush Sponsors: Re'eh

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Mendel Dubinsky in honor of Rabbi Mendel Dubinsky’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Simcha Frankel for the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Simcha Frankel’s mother Ratza Liba bas Reb Chaim ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya. 
  • Mr. & Mrs. Avrohom Aron Grunfeld for the yahrtzeit of Mr. Avrohom Aron Grunfeld’s father Reb Moshe Yaakov ben Reb Aron ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Avrohom Klyne for the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Avrohom Klyne’s mother Esther Leah bas Reb Shmuel Tuvia ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Chaim Lerner for the yahrtzeit of Mr. Chaim Lerner’s father Reb Yaakov ben Reb Chaim ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Avrohom Plotkin for the yahrtzeit of Mr. Avrohom Plotkin’s brother Reb Refoel ben Reb Yitzchok ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Mrs. Debbie Tibor for the yahrtzeit of her mother Musa bas Reb Yehoshua Halevi ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.

Women's Shabbos Shiur: Re'eh

6:00 pm - At the home of: Mrs. Tova Levine
361 N Vista St.
Speaker: Rabbi Yisroel Hecht

Mazal Tov To: Re'eh

  • Mr. & Mrs. Moshe Fishman on the birth of their granddaughter (to Mendel and Sara Fishman).

Upcoming Birthdays

  • Rabbi Mendel Dubinsky - 27 Av
  • Eliezer Meir Tzvi Winograd - 29 Av
  • Mr. Pinchas Hirsch - 29 Av
  • Menachem Mendel Thaler - 29 Av
  • Menachem Mendel Rubashkin - 29 Av
  • Zakkai Hanania Shusterman - 1 Elul
  • Mr. Yossi Palace - 1 Elul
  • Rabbi Chaim Drizin - 1 Elul
  • Menachem Mendel Davidson - 1 Elul
  • Yisrael Shusterman - 1 Elul
  • Yona Israeli - 3 Elul

Upcoming Anniversaries

  • Mr. & Mrs. Levi Nagel - 29 Av
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Yoel Edelson - 30 Av
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Chaim Avrahom Mentz - 1 Elul
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Benyomin Hoffman - 3 Elul

Upcoming Yahrtzeits

  • Ratza Liba bas Reb Chaim (Rabbi Simcha Frankel’s mother) - 28 Av
  • Esther Leah bas Reb Shmuel Tuvia (Rabbi Avrohom Klyne’s mother) - 29 Av
  • Reb Yaakov ben Reb Chaim (Mr. Chaim Lerner’s father) - 30 Av
  • Musa bas Reb Yehoshua Halevi (Mrs. Debbie Tibor’s mother) - 30 Av
  • Reb Refoel ben Reb Yitzchok (Mr. Avrohom Plotkin’s brother) - 1 Elul
  • Reb Moshe Yaakov ben Reb Aron (Mr. Avrohom Aron Grunfeld’s father) - 1 Elul
  • Sima Baila bas Reb Avrohom (Rabbi Yoel Edelson’s mother) - 3 Elul

Devar Torah: Re'eh

Buying Chabad Shechita is not enough!
Chinuch in Chabad Schools is not enough!
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik

Last week when I was in Florida I heard that Anash there found out for the first time that certain kosher restaurants that serve Shor Habor Shechita were serving it on bread that wasn’t pas Yisroel. They complained to the owners; how is this possible? You go out of your way to get Shor Babor meat but you can’t serve it on pas Yisroel buns? Their answer was that they serve pas buns, but you need to ask for it. Just take a look, it’s printed on the sign on the wall. You don’t have a complaint to us because we never claimed that we only served pas products.

We can learn a valuable lesson from this story. We cannot operate under the false notion that everyone has the same concerns that I do and therefore has my back; ‘He should have understood’. It’s not necessarily the case. Look and see what gets by underneath those assumptions.

The very same thing holds true for chinuch, be it cheder, the girls schools, seminaries or yeshivos. We pay and then we assume, we don’t always ask to be sure that our assumptions are correct. Do we ask these basic questions?  Who are the teachers? How does the curriculum fit my child’s needs? What is the curriculum? What are the influences there; what kind of friends and roommates does he or she have? Does the teacher, maggid shiur and rosh yeshiva know my child?

As parents we need to take the time to understand the teachers. The teachers need to understand the needs of the parents as well. Teachers should be appreciated for all that they do for our children. So too the teachers should point out to parents the positive accomplishments of their children. Only by working together in cooperation can we be successful in giving our children what they deserve.

When our children go out of town to learn we need to stay engaged to know what is happening with them. We need to take time off of work and go and see for ourselves where they live. We need to get a sense of how the Beis Midrash is, who their roommates and chavrusas are etc. And then, even after we leave we need to stay in touch with the menahel and the teachers. We don’t need to be a nudge, we just need to be involved, and it makes a difference. How would you feel if you found out that your child went the entire year without a chavrusa or with a difficult roommate and if you would have paid attention you could have made all the difference? It’s not that the mechanchim don’t care, chas v’Shalom! It’s just that sometimes there are large classes etc., and in the shuffle things can get overlooked. At the end of the day it’s your child. You can volley back and forth, blame this reason or that for an outcome, but in the end it’s your child, and his or her success comes from cooperation and involvement; and that’s the bottom line. And then after all is said and done, we need to say a lot of Tehillim that everything should go well.

After World War II R Avraham Cohen opened a seminary for girls in Gateshead England. The Rebbe expressed on a number of occasions admiration of his good work. Once there was a meeting held about certain student in the seminary. She had done something unacceptable and there was concern about her staying there. Everyone reached the decision that she needed to be sent home. After reaching their decision R Avraham Cohen turned to them and said: “We didn’t open a seminary to send them out, we opened it to work with them and help them.” Later they were able to correct the problem, they took responsibility for her and things got better.

Once when I was in Melbourne Australia I remember that a certain student had to sent away from the yeshiva. He was an improper influence on the other students. Rabbi Groner A’H didn’t sleep for weeks; he felt the responsibility for this child. What will be with him? We are playing with neshamos.

In 5726-1966 my father, as was his custom, was by the Rebbe for Purim. That year my father felt that the Rebbe wanted him to go back to Los Angeles right away. He went in after Purim for his birthday yechidus then planned on leaving. While in yechidus which was usually brief, the Rebbe told my father to go to Montreal. My brother Abba, who was 16 years old at the time, had gone there for yeshiva. The Rebbe said that my father should visit Abba and see how he is doing. One could have assumed the visit unnecessary. After all, all of my father’s good friends were in Montreal; Rabbis Hendel, Garlitsky, Greenglass and Kramer. They were his friends that he was together with in Otwosk and later in Shanghai, surely they would take good care of Abba. Nevertheless, even with the very best mechanchim that can be, nothing is the same as the involvement of a parent, and this is what the Rebbe wanted.

Our personal involvement helps in two fundamental ways. First, by visiting our child he or she realizes how much we love them and care about their chinuch. Secondly when the hanhala sees the effort we make, they think differently about our child. They see him or her more as an individual. Sometimes the yeshivos and seminaries can be like a factory, 40 to 60 bachurim in a class, the individual can get lost in the shuffle.

Just like it is in the restaurant, so too it is in yeshiva, we need to stay on top of what is happening and not make assumptions. By following in the ways of the Rebbe, may Hashem give everyone a lot of nachas from all of our children and grandchildren.

By helping each other may we merit to prepared to greet Moshiach now all together as one. Kasiva vChasima Tovah l’ShanaTovah u’Mesuka

A Good Shabbos  

Announcements: Eikev

  • Click here for this week’s JEM “Here’s My Story”. 
  • Click here for a list of our ongoing shiurim. 
  • This Shabbos - Chof Menachem Av - marks the 70th Yartzeit of R. Levi Yitzchok - Father of the Rebbe. On Shabbos Chof Menachem Av 5744 (at the 40th Yartzeit) the Rebbe requested to make farbrengens and to learn his Torah from Likutei Levi Ytchak. Let’s all try to make this Shabbos a special one. Click here for more info. 
  • Operation Protective Edge: Join hundreds in uniting for the protection of Eretz Yisroel and Jews worldwide by encouraging another Jew to put up a mezuzah in their home or office for just $5. Click here for more info. 
  • New Kiddie Camp in our area for boys and girls ages 3-5. Click here for more info.  
  • N’shei Chabad of Los Angeles has launched 'Operation Shabbat Dome'- Please take two tea lights put them in a bag and distribute to all Jewish women and girls before Shabbos. For more info click here.

Shabbos Schedule: Eikev

  • Shabbos Candle Lighting: 7:21
  • Chassidus for Early Minyan with Rabbi Zalman Friedman: 8:45 am
  • Shiur Chassidus by Rabbi Yisroel Noach Raichik: 9:00 am
  • Last Time To Read Shema: 9:36 am
  • Early Minyan Shacharis: 9:30 am
  • Shacharis: 10:00 am
  • Mesibas Shabbos For Girls (in KYY) 4:30 pm
  • Pirkei Avos Shiur by Rabbi Shaya Berkowitz: 6:20 pm 
  • Mincha: 7:20 pm 
  • Pirkei Avos: Perek 5
  • Shabbos Ends: 8:24 pm

Kiddush Sponsors: Eikev

  • The Friends of Rabbi Tzvi Boyarsky in honor of his birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Ariel Haratz in honor of Mr. Ariel Haratz’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Mrs. Rivka Chana Hirsch in honor of her mother Carmela bas Adel - כרמלה בת אדל. May they and the entire community be blessed with kol tuv se’ela.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Sholom Perl for the yahrtzeit of Mrs. Leah Perl’s mother Chana Priva bas Reb Alter Yehoshua ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • The Raichik & Klyne families for the yahrtzeit of Rebbitzen Leah Raichik Leah bas Reb Avrohom Abele Hachohen ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Zalman Roth in honor of Mrs. Esther Roth’s birthday. May she have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

Early Minyan Kiddush Sponsors: Eikev

  • Mr. & Mrs. Reuven Gradon in honor of Mr. Reuven Gradon’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Yisroel Gurary in honor of Rabbi Yisroel Gurary’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Menachem Rubinstein in honor of both of their birthdays. May they have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Jack Soussana in honor of their son Gavriel’s birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

Women's Shabbos Shiur: Eikev

6:00 pm - At the home of: Mrs. Etty Bastomski
418 N Fuller Ave.
Speaker: Rabbi Levi Kramer

Mazal Tov To: Eikev

Upcoming Birthdays

  • Mr. Ariel Haratz - 20 Av
  • Rabbi Yisroel Gurary - 20 Av
  • Gavriel Soussana - 20 Av
  • Mr. Reuven Gradon - 20 Av
  • Levi Yitzchok Perl - 21 Av
  • Menachem Mendel Raeburn - 21 Av
  • Yitzchok Meyer Davidson - 22 Av
  • Rabbi Tzvi Boyarsky - 24 Av
  • Rabbi David Diamand - 24 Av
  • Meir Rubashkin - 25 Av
  • Menachem Mendel Perl - 26 Av
  • Mr. Joel Yachzel - 26 Av

Upcoming Anniversaries

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Zalmy Fogelman - 24 Av

Upcoming Yahrtzeits

  • Reb Yaakov Immanuel ben Reb Dov Yehuda (Mr. & Mrs. Yisroel Schochet’s father) - 20 Av
  • Leah bas Reb Avrohom Abele Hachohen (Rebbitzen Leah Raichik) - 24 Av
  • Chana Priva bas Reb Alter Yehoshua (Mrs. Leah Perl’s mother) - 24 Av
  • Reb Mannis ben Reb Yitzchak Leib Halevi (Rabbi Simcha Frankel’s grandfather) - 26 Av

Devar Torah: Eikev

Is My Hand too short to redeem?
Do I not have Strength to Save?
(Haftorah Parshas Eikev)
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik

The connection between a Rebbe and a chosid is not bound by time or by our location. It’s a connection between neshamos, as we say in the Mayna Lashon that we read by the Ohel; “Neshama m’neshama neetzeles, one neshama is emanated from another”. This connection is vital and continuous just as always because it was never limited by where we are or by which generation we were born into. Therefore today you don’t only have to be in 770 or by the Ohel to be connected, you can have that connection wherever you are. To feel and be properly impacted by this connection however requires that you really live with it.

Take for example special historical moments or events. We can all recall where we were at certain special moments in time, lehavdil. We all seem to have a lucid remembrance as to where we stood or what we were doing at the moment we heard about the bombing of the World Trade Center on 9/11. For for the older generation we all seem to remember where we were on November 22, 1963 the day that President Kennedy was shot. It left an indelible unforgettable mark, something that transcended time and place within that moment in time and place. In my youth I recall reading about the riots of 1929 in Chevron. The book detailed all of the horror of how the Arabs killed the men women and children. Because I became so moved by what happened I became engrossed in the event and it left a mark until this day. It was like the event was occurring right there before my eyes as I read. This is true even though it happened before I was born; their experience is something that spans time from that very event that touches another Jew in a different generation.

So how do we really live a Rebbe Chosid relationship today in 2012, 20 years after Gimmel Tammuz? First we can live it because the relationship is real, its beyond time and place, even if you were born after Gimmel Tammuz. How? By learning; studying the Rebbe’s Sichos and Maamarim, by acting; going on Mivtzoyim, by participating; going to fabrengens and hearing stories of the Rebbe from those that merited to experience them by the Rebbe first hand. True you are hearing it from someone else, but it’s not second hand, “neshama m’neshama neetzeles” you have your personal connection as well that is aroused through becoming engrossed in the experience of your fellow chosid.

So in summary it’s not just about the information of the sicha or the story that enables us to really connect. When we merit having a real fabrengen the person who speaks lives what he speaks. The listener gets drawn into it and then it’s alive. This is why we look for an elder Chosid, someone that truly lives as a Chosid because they open us up and transport us to where they are. When they share what they are truly living within their neshama, it’s not a story. It’s the neshama and the teaching not the physical details, “neshama m’neshama neetzeles”.

This year Chof Av (the 20th of Av, which is the yartzeit of the Rebbe’s father Rav Levi Yitzchok z’tzal) falls on Shabbos parshas Eikev. This Shabbos brings me back to 5730-1970 by the Rebbe’s fabrengen on Chof Av Shabbos parshas Eikev. That fabrengen was very emotional and left a mark that stays with me until today. It was after the cease-fire that was arranged between Israel and Egypt on the Suez Canal. The Egyptians openly violated the cease-fire agreement by placing missiles by the Suez Canal that threatened the civilian populace in Israel. Later on by the Yom Kippur Was there were numerous casualties due to the minimized airspace caused by the placement of those missiles. At the fabrengen the Rebbe was screaming that they should bomb those missile sites even on Shabbos because it was pikuach nefesh, it endangered life. The Rebbe spoke with his voice cracking with tears and crying as he spoke about that week’ haftorah. He said that he was thinking about the situation in Israel as he read through the pasukim. The Six Day War was filled with miracles of miracles that Hashem showed us. Three different armies far outnumbering ours surrounded us ready to destroy our fledgling country. With those great miracles not only were we not destroyed, we went on to conquer Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Yehuda, Shomron as well as the Sinai up until the Suez Canal. Immediately following the war, the Israeli government decided that they wanted to return the land in exchange for peace. The cease-fire arrangement on the Suez Canal was going to lead to a land for peace deal.

The Rebbe quoted the haftorah’s pasuk: “Why have I come and there is no man? [Why] have I called and no one answers? Is My hand too short to redeem, or do I have no strength to save? Through his anguish he cried; “I came”, I brought you open miracles, is there no man (to recognize the miracles)? “I called”, do we forget that Hashem has done all of this for us. “Is My hand too short to redeem, or do I have no strength to save?” The Rebbe stopped and sobbed.

The relationship between a Rebbe and Chosid is relevant today just as it always has been and it’s something that we can relate to; today it’s more critical than ever to strengthen that relationship. When we go to the Ohel and we go to 770 we need to remember and we need to connect: “I came” the Rebbe is here with us now and he’s helping today. The relation is beyond time and place. That fabrengen may have been over 40 years ago but it’s still alive just as it was then today.  

Announcements - Vo'Eschanan

  • Click here for this week’s JEM “Here’s My Story”. 
  • Click here for a list of our ongoing shiurim. 
  • Monday: 8th Annual Summer Marriage Seminar - Monday, 15 Av/August 11, 7:30 pm. Guest speaker - Mrs. Bluma Rivkin of New Orleans! Click here for more info.
  • Siyumim: The rebbe encouraged everyone to listen to a daily siyum from the beginning of the 9 days through tu b’av. You can participate in a siyum every night after maariv at the shul. If you have a siyum to make please contact Levi Raichik ASAP. For those who live out of town and/or are unable to make it to a siyum you can call in to listen live to our siyum. Dial (712) 432-0075 Access Code: 731783#. THE SIYUM ON MOTZEI SHABBOS WILL BE LERECH 8:40.
  • Following the last siyum on Sunday there will be a special Farbrengen for men in shul in honor of Chamisha Asar BeAv. 
  • New Kiddie Camp in our area for boys and girls ages 3-5. Click here for more info.  
  • N’shei Chabad of Los Angeles has launched 'Operation Shabbat Dome'- Please take two tea lights put them in a bag and distribute to all Jewish women and girls before Shabbos. For more info click here
  • Tzeischem Lesholom to Mrs. Freda Solomon and family who are moving to Eretz Yisroel. May it be meshane makom meshane mazal letova ulivracha. 

Shabbos Schedule - Vo'Eschanan

  • Shabbos Candle Lighting: 7:29
  • Chassidus for Early Minyan with Rabbi Zalman Friedman: 8:45 am
  • Shiur Chassidus by Rabbi Shimon Raichik: 9:00 am
  • Last Time To Read Shema: 9:34 am
  • Early Minyan Shacharis: 9:30 am
  • Shacharis: 10:00 am
  • Mesibas Shabbos For Girls (in KYY) 4:30 pm
  • Pirkei Avos Shiur by Rabbi Yekusiel Kalmenson: 6:30 pm 
  • Mincha: 7:30 pm 
  • Pirkei Avos: Perek 4
  • Shabbos Ends: 8:32 pm
  • Siyum: About 8:40 pm - Dial (712) 432-0075 - Access Code: 731783.

TWO Sholom Zochor's & a Bris

Chaim and Mindel Zaetz 
Invite the community to a Sholom Zochor
At 613 N Highland Ave.

Shmuel & Chana Sufrin
Invite the community to a Sholom Zochor
At 223 S Orange Dr.

The Sufrin Bris will iy"h take place
Shabbos afternoon at 223 S Orange Dr.
Mincha 5:30 & Bris 6:00

Kiddush Sponsors - Vo'Eschanan

  • Dr. & Mrs. Ze'ev Rav-Noy in honor of their anniversary. May they have many more happy years together.
  • Mrs. Rivka Chana Hirsch in honor of her mother Carmela bas Adel - כרמלה בת אדל. May they and the entire community be blessed with kol tuv se’ela.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Reuven Horwitz in honor of Mrs. Sarah Horwitz’s birthday. May she have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

Early Minyan Kiddush Sponsors - Vo'Eschanan

  • Rabbi & Mrs. Ami Meyers for the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Ami Meyers’s mother Bina Rivka bas Reb Moshe ob"m. May the neshomo have an aliya. 
  • Mr. Izzy Soussana in honor of his birthday. May he have a shnas hatzlocho begashmiyus ubruchniyus.

Women's Shabbos Shiur - Vo'Eschanan

6:00 pm - At the home of: Mrs. Suri Klyne
184 N Orange Dr.
Speaker: Mrs. Ruth Devorah Wallen

Mazal Tov To - Vo'Eschanan

  • Mr. & Mrs. Avrohom Plotkin on the birth of their grandson (Yaakov and Tziry Plotkin).
  • Mr. & Mrs. Zalman Roth on the birth of their granddaughter.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Shmuel Sufrin on the birth of their son. Mazal tov to the grandparents Rabbi & Mrs. Mendel Goldman. 
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Chaim Zaetz on the birth of their son. Mazal tov to the grandparents Mr. & Mrs. Shaul Raigorodsky.

Upcoming Birthdays

  • Yosef Gorelik - 13 Av
  • Rabbi Dovid Morris - 13 Av
  • Asaf Levi Silver - 15 Av
  • Rabbi Sheye Eichenblatt - 15 Av
  • Yakov Yehuda Duchman - 15 Av
  • Moshe Menachem Mendel Feiner - 16 Av
  • Mr. Eliezer Yaakov Kahan - 16 Av
  • Mr. Izzy Soussana - 17 Av
  • Mr. Dan Schmeidler - 18 Av
  • Rabbi Menachem Rubinstein - 19 Av
  • Shlomo Mordechai Habibian - 19 Av

Upcoming Anniversaries

  • Mr. & Mrs. Bob Meyer - 13 Av
  • Dr. & Mrs. Ze'ev Rav-Noy - 13 Av
  • Mr. & Mrs. Yrachmiel Kahn - 13 Av
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Dovid Drizin - 15 Av
  • Rabbi & Mrs. Tzvi Boyarsky - 19 Av

Upcoming Yahrtzeits

  • Harav Yaakov Yehuda ben Reb Yehoshua (Mrs. Chana Rochel Duchman’s father) - 15 Av
  • Reb Shlomo ben Reb David (Mr. Zev Oster’s father) - 17 Av
  • Ester bas Reb Avrohom (Mr. David Peretz’s mother) - 19 Av
  • Bina Rivka bas Reb Moshe (Rabbi Ami Meyers's mother) - 19 Av

Devar Torah - Vo'Eschanan

Every Good Deed is an Act of Redemption
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik

From this Shabbos parshas V’Eschanon we go straight into the Yom Tov of Tu B’Av.  The Yom Tov of Tu B’Av represents the power of community and what caring for each other is all about.

There are a number of reasons why Tu B’Av is considered a Yom Tov. One of them is because we stopped chopping wood for use in the Beis HaMikdash. We needed dry wood (there was no DWP in those days) for the mizbeach. Since the sun started getting weaker on Tu B’Av, the wood would no longer be as dry so we stopped the wood donation. Since at that time we completed a great mitzvah, we make a sium and celebrate.

In general, Tisha B’Av represents destruction while Tu B’Av represents rebuilding. Chazal teach that the reason for the destruction on Tisha B’Av was because of sinas chinam. The rebuilding represented on Tu B’Av is due to ahavas Yisroel, ahavas chinam. When someone brought wood for the korbonos, it was for everyone’s korbonos not just his own.  This man went out there into the woods and worked hard, sweating away chopping without a power saw, for whom? For another Jew that he never met and may never even meet, to make it possible for him or her to bring a sacrifice, if needed. Even though he didn’t know him nevertheless he’s out there sweating away in the heat of the day to help him.

On Tu B’Av women had a custom to go out to the vineyards to make shidduchim. The minhag was that the dress code required each woman to borrow a dress, not to use her own. The daughter of the Kohen Gadol would borrow from the Princess and so forth. Those of us that have daughters know how uncomfortable it is for them to wear other people’s clothes. What was the purpose of trading dresses? It was for one purpose; if there were one girl without a dress she wouldn’t be embarrassed to ask to borrow, because everyone was already borrowing dresses. We see that everyone would be inconvenienced, even the Princess and the daughter of the Kohen Gadol, so that one girl somewhere, that they didn’t know shouldn’t be embarrassed. Maybe the dresses didn’t fit as well or maybe they couldn’t move as comfortably as they could in their own dresses; nevertheless they had to borrow. They couldn’t even donate ten beautiful dresses instead of borrowing. They had to borrow for ahavas Yisroel, ahavas chinam.

This is how we rebuild; this is the remedy. We are heading upward, from the low of Tisha B’Av to the ascent of the full moon on Tu B’Av. With ahavas Yisroel, ahavas chinam Tu B’Av has the power to change direction and bring the geula.

There is an important lesson that we can take in general in the way we educate our children and the example we set in our homes. I have been told by Lubavitchers at times that they go easy on certain minhagim. They say; ok so I don’t do this or that, the Rebbe has ahavas Yisroel (he understands). Later on our children look on our behavior and ask; why do I have to memorize the Bar Mitzva maamar? Should I spend all this time preparing just because you say to, or because Zeide did by his Bar Mitzvah? They do not see the living connection when our actions don’t fit. A compromise here and an influence there have consequences down the line.

The Rambam says one should see the world, and see himself as a scale with an equal balance of good and evil. When he does one good deed the scale is tipped to the good. We learn that lesson today from the war in Gaza. In 1978 Begin signed the Camp David Accords. The Rebbe came out against it telling Begin that it was against Halacha to sign the accords. So too with other pullbacks and negotiations in later years, such as Madrid, the Rebbe spoke against them. We are suffering today because we left the Sinai and Gaza. Something that happened 35 years ago we are paying the price today. Signing the Camp David Accords paved the way for later governments to adopt the failed policy of swapping land for ‘peace’. We see today that the repercussions didn’t happen immediately rather down the line, in this case 35 years later. We need to wake up and keep this in mind when we act. This is especially true in the opposite, in the realm of positive action. One good act can turn around a difficult situation and change everything for the good. That girl who made herself uncomfortable, that one man who went out on a hot day and chopped the wood. So too with us, by saying one extra perek Tehillim, by giving extra tzedaka, by making a call to look in on someone too see how he or she is doing; by each small act we too make that difference. So too with ahavas Yisroel; if we don’t see the positive in another person, we can look a little further and then we will find it, it’s always there. We can take the time to know what we do could save someone else from embarrassment or something we can do that everyone can benefit. One positive act can change the world, and every good deed builds and rebuilds to pave the way for the geula.

A good Shabbos

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