Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                         February 6, 2020

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, February 7 (Shevat 12)
6:30a Shacharit
5:18p Candle Lighting
5:20p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, February 8: Beshalach (Shevat 13)
8:15a Shacharit 
9:15a Women's Tefillah Bat Mitzvah Celebration with a D'var Torah by Eliana Wolf  
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush Luncheon 
4:00p Daf Yomi
4:30p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
5:00p Mincha followed by Seudah Shlishit with a D'var Torah by Julie Shulman
6:20p Havdalah
7:30p Jewish & Israeli Culture Film Series 2020 - Red Sea Diving Resort 


Upcoming Kiddush Schedule:​​​​​​​
2/15: Kiddush (Sponsorship available)










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• Sticky Fingers 
• 2 Beans in a Cup located at:
   www.benderjccgw.org
  ​​​​​​​

Comments on the Portion, Haftorah & Morning Prayers, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz

The parsha this week, B'shalach, includes the Song of the Sea, Shirat Ha'yam, the song of triumph that Moshe and the Jews sang when they crossed the sea and the pursuing Egyptians were drowned. The rabbis say that a maidservant viewing the miracle of the splitting of the sea saw what Ezekiel and the other prophets could not. The prophets saw visions, but the maidservant saw God's actual acts.
 
The narrative in this parsha tells of the Jews being chased by the Egyptians and, facing what appeared to be an impassable sea, pleading with Moshe to rescue them from the Egyptians. Moshe prayed to God for help. God responded, "Why are you engaging in lengthy prayer? Speak to the people; they should stand up and move forward." ("Daber el bnei yisrael ve'yisu.") Interestingly, early Zionists in Russia adopted God's statement as their slogan, urging Jews to move on to the Promised Land. The Zionists of that time also called their movement Bilu, the first letters of the Hebrew phrase "House of Jacob, let us get up and go."  Certain occasions are times for action, not only prayer. 
 
The Song of the Sea follows; its words have been incorporated into the daily prayer service. The Torah adds that Miriam, "the sister of Aaron" also sang a shorter song of triumph. The rabbis ask, why was Miriam identified as Aaron's sister; was she not also Moshe's sister? They answer that Miriam, who was older than Moshe, prophesied that a leader would be born to the Jewish people. When she gave this prophecy, she was only Aaron's sister, for, of course, Moshe had not yet been born.
 
The Song of the Sea begins, "This is my God and I will glorify him." The rabbis interpret that we should always make ourselves "beautiful" in his eyes in performing the Mitzvos. We should make a beautiful sukkah, a beautiful lulav, a beautiful Sefer Torah. It seems that Herman Wouk took the title of his famous work "This Is My God" from the beginning of the Song of the Sea.

The Jews cross safely, the sea returns to its original condition, and the Egyptians, attempting to cross, drown. The midrash tells us that the angels in heaven, seeing the drowning Egyptians, began to sing a joyful song. God scolded them, saying, "How can you engage in joyful song, when my creatures are drowning in the sea? However, God did not protest against the Jews singing in triumph. The distinction is that the Jews were celebrating their deliverance; the angels were celebrating the drowning of the Egyptians.
 
The haftorah contains the Song of Devorah, the judge and prophet in Israel, who sings, celebrating the triumph of the Jews over the Canaanites. This haftorah includes the well-known and dramatic story of Yael, who lured Sisera, the Canaanite general, into her tent, and then, as he slept, killed him with the peg of her tent. The haftorah contains wonderful irony; when Sisera does not return on time, his mother rationalizes that his delay is due to his dividing up the spoils of his victory in the war.
 
TFILOT 
From the morning prayers, quoting Psalm 30: "You have turned my sorrow into dancing, You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy."  

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A video about this week's Haftorah can be viewed here:   Judges 4:4-5:31

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Donations - January 2020

Contact Us

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Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
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