Energize your week with Ohev Sholom April 17, 2020
Shabbat Times and Announcements
Erev Shabbat, April 17 8th Day Omer (Nisan 23) 5:00p Weekly D'var Torah with Rabbi Herzfeld via Facebook Live 5:30p Layning of the Parsha led by Yoni Friedman join here 6:00p Minchajoin here 6:15p Kabbalat Shabbat with a D'var Torah by Maharat Friedmanjoin here 7:30p Candle Lighting
Shabbat, April 18 (Day 9 of Sefirah) (Nisan 24) 8:31p Havdalah join here 9:00p Daf Yomi with Rabbi Herzfeld join here
We invite you to join together online this Sunday, April 19th, with the entire Greater Washington community for the JCRC's annual Community Wide Yom Ha'Shoah Commemoration as we remember the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust and honor the survivors and liberators among us. For more information click here
Torah Teachings from the Shoah by Rabbi Herzfeld, Tuesday April 21 at 8 pm via Zoom here
If you would like to volunteer to call and check in on members of the community during our shelter-at-home period, please contact Pesha Rubenstein, the Secretary of the OSTNS Board of Directors, at peshalit9555@yahoo.com.
If you are interested in serving on Ohev's Board of Directors, please contact the chair of this year's Nominating Committee, Desmond Lachman, at deslachman@gmail.com.
Spotlight On......
Ohev's Omer Counter this year is a Virtual Video Project. Families can sign up to make a 1-3 minute video for a certain, assigned day of the Omer, and send it to Lisa in advance. Each day, everyone will receive a video reminder to count the Omer from a different family. If 49 families agree to participate, this video reminder could be a great way to bring our community together right now! To make your own video, email Lisa at youth@ostns.org
Comments on this Week's Torah Portion, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz
This week's parsha, Shemini, begins by telling the dramatic story pf the death of Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu, for bringing a "strange fire" (aish zarah) into the sanctuary, contrary to God's instructions. God reacts by saying that "I am sanctified through the punishing of those closest to me." Aharon's reaction, in the words of the Torah, is to remain "silent." Rashi comments that Aharon received a "reward" for remaining silent in response to God's statement. This brings to mind that well-known statement in the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes); "There is a time to speak, and a time to be silent" (3:7)
The parsha goes on to discuss the various sacrificial offerings, and we are told that Moshe was angered because Aharon's two remaining sons did not eat their portion in a holy place. The Torah then tells us that Moshe inquired about where the sin offering was eaten. The Hebrew words are "darosh darash Moshe." The word "darosh" usually means "study" and the students of the Biblical text point out that the first word "darosh" is the last word in the first half of the Torah (counting words), and that the following word, "darash," is the first word in the second half of the Torah. The rabbis comment that this arrangement of words is meant to teach us that it is our obligation to study the first half of the Torah as well as to study the second half.
The parsha continues with a discussion of the laws of kashrus, listing, among other things, the kosher and nonkosher animals. One of the nonkosher animals is "arnevet", a female rabbit. The rabbis relate that when Ptolmey, King of Egypt, had the Torah translated into Greek (we call the translation the Septuagent) he called on 70 rabbis to do the translation. The rabbis did not use the word "arnevet" in their translation because Ptolmey's wife was named "arnevet," and they did not want to insult the king by suggesting that his wife was not kosher.
Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l
... will resume next week.
Upcoming Virtual Learning Opportunities
To see the schedule and links for upcoming virtual services and classes schedule, visit our website's zoom page, ostns.org/zoom.
Aeli Hain Bernard Troy Binyamin Katz Noah Karesh Emma Sultan Joshua Baron Stephanie Guiloff Ziva BenEzra Michael Horowitz Kenneth Josovitz Ronald Abramson Sharon Lieberman Sherri Vishner Glazer Amir Ibrahim Dalia Reiter Rena Opert Yedidya Milner-Gillers Yona Sperling-Milner
This Week's Birthdays
Elie Rubin Ruth Friedman Shalvah Lazarus David Butler Hedy Gottschalk Ken Klein Revital Mashal Schwartz Samuel Schwartz Steven Lieberman Eliyah Lister Malka Goldberg Marjorie Levine Robert Weissler William Begal Seth Opert Wendy Lachman
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Members Observing Yahrzeits Last Week
Friday Carol Valoris for mother Lillian Cecilia Valoris
Sunday Ellen Reinach for father Jacob Lichtenstein Ken Klein for father Arnold Klein
Monday Ellen Epstein for grandfather Maurice Robinson
Tuesday Alan Leshner for mother Martha Schmidt Leshner Thomas Sacks for father Irving Sacks
Wednesday Jeffrey Mendelsohn for Maternal Grandmother Alda Epstein Micah Salb for grandfather Jack Stern
Members Observing Yahrzeits This Week
Friday Janice Epstein for aunt Henrietta Rosenblatt Jerry Schaeffer for father Moshe Schaeffer Miriam Rieger for mother Tina S. Rieger
Shabbat Evelyn Marcus Wheeler for husband Charles Wheeler Michael Lutzky for father Leonard Lutzky
Sunday Francesca Kranzberg for father Abraham Hess Sarah Levine for father Julius Levine
Monday Doris Margolis for aunt Janette Rosenberg Ralph Block for mother Sylvia Block Sidney Rosenheim for granddaughter Dana Rosenheim
Wednesday Benjamin Mintz for mother Malka Mintz
Thursday Rachel Maisler for mother Sofia Temel Maisler
Don't see a yahrzeit listed? Update your lifecycle events and more at ostns.org (login required)
