Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                          January 3, 2018

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, January 4 (Tevet 27)
6:30a Shacharit
4:41p Candle Lighting
4:45p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, January 5: Shabbat Mevarchim, Vaera (Tevet 28)
8:15a Shacharit
9:15a Women's Tefillah to celebrate the bat mitzvah of Aliza Lesser
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush Luncheon 
3:20p Daf Yomi
3:50p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
4:20p Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit with a Shiur from Maharat Friedman
5:43p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
1/12: Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Sperling/Milner family in honor of Batya's bat mitzvah
1/19 Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Gershman/Silverberg family in honor of Josie's bat mitzvah
1/26: Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Kaiser-Blueth family in honor of Zoe's bat mitzvah

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

In this week's Parsha, Vaera, God brings the first seven plagues on the Egyptians, as the redemption of the Jews from Egypt begins.

The Talmud states that the rule that we drink four cups of wine at the Passover Seder derives from four different verbs God uses in this Parsha to describe his delivering of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. These words are: v’hotzeisi: “ I will take you out,” vehitzalti: “I will save you,” ve'ga'alti: "I will redeem you;”  and velakachti.: "I will select you.” 

Each of these verbs represents a different aspect of the exodus from Egypt -- the physical leaving of Egypt, the saving of the Israelites from the oppression of Egypt; the spiritual redemption of Israel; and the taking of the Israelites as a chosen people.

In describing the plagues, the Torah states that the first three, Blood, Frogs, and Lice, are brought about by Aharon "striking" the waters and the dust of the earth, while the others are caused by the actions of Moshe. The Midrash explains that God did not want Moshe to strike the water, since he (Moshe) was grateful to water, which protected him from the Egyptians, when his mother placed him in an ark on the Nile. Moshe was also grateful to the "dust" or "earth" which protected him after he killed the Egyptian who was striking the Jew. The lesson is that an individual sometimes should feel grateful not only to a person, but also to an inanimate object, such as water or dust, which comes to his or her assistance.

The Parsha speaks of God "hardening" and "stiffening" the heart of Pharaoh, so that he would not allow the Jews to leave Egypt. This is troublesome, since it seems to contradict the basic concept of freedom of will and the justification for punishment. The issue of reconciling God's foreknowledge with individual responsibility is, as is well known, fundamental in religion. Many explanations are offered by commentators and thinkers. The tension is stated explicitly in Maimonides' Thirteen Principles, and reflected in the poetic rendition of the Principles in the morning prayer of Yigdal: "He foresees the end of a thing before it has begun," and yet: "He rewards the good man according to his deeds, and punishes the wicked according to their wickedness." 

The Haftorah is from the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet of the Babylonian captivity (28:25–29:21). Ezekiel speaks of the ingathering of the House of Israel "from the people among whom they have been dispersed, (28:25) and a future in which they "will build houses and plant vineyards and dwell on the land in security" (28:26). The Prophet goes on to say that God will deal with  Pharaoh, "the mighty monster," who said, "The Nile is my own. I made it myself." God promises punishment against the king so that he will learn that "I am the Lord." (29:6)

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A video about this week's Haftorah can be viewed here: Ezek. 28:25–29:21

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Contact Us

Synagogue Office
info@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225
Sarah Shapiro, Executive Director
Sarah.Shapiro@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 103
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
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(202) 812-8900 
Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman
MaharatRuth@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 107
Stacey Watson, Director of Engagement
Stacey.Watson@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 102
Lisa Redisch, Director of Youth & Family Programs
youth@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 105
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