OSTNS SHABBOOM! for April 4, 2019

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OSTNS SHABBOOM! for April 4, 2019

04/04/2019 03:15:16 PM

Apr4

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom April 4, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, April 5 (Adar II 29)
6:30a Shacharit
6:45p Kabbalat Shabbat
7:17p Candle Lighting

Shabbat, April 6: Rosh Chodesh Nisan, Parshat HaChodesh, Tazria (Nisan 1)
9:15a Shacharit, with a Dvar Torah from Rabbi Herzfeld
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush Luncheon
5:55p Daf Yomi
6:25p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
6:40p Women's Tefillah Mincha
6:55p Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit on Creative Seder Ideas
8:19p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
4/13: No food served
4/20: No food served
4/27: No food served

This week's Kiddush Luncheon is sponsored by Zan Frackelton & Daniel Alhadeff in honor of their upcoming wedding. Mazel tov, Zan & Dan!

This week at Seudah Shlishit, Rena Fruchter will facilitate "Sharing Creative Seder Ideas." Bring your own special seder activities, strategies, and game ideas to share with others!

Click here to read Rabbi Herzfeld's Dvar Torah from last Shabbat.

Tonight (Thursday, April 4), following Maariv, we will begin to grind the grain for Rashi matzoh! Services are at 7:15pm.

Ohev is hiring an interim executive director to help meet the operational, management and financial needs of the shul. If you know anyone who might be interested, please share with them. Apply online at ostns.org/jobs.

Lost & Found items will be on display in the coat room through April 15. After that, items will be donated.

Spotlight On...

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

This Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the month in which the festival of Pesach takes place. The Rabbis say, "In the month of Nisan the Jews were delivered, and in the month of Nisan they will be delivered in the future." It is also Shabbos Hachodesh, the fourth of the special Shabboses preceding Pesach. The additional Torah reading for Shabbos Hachodesh, (Shemot 12:1-20) encompasses God's instruction to Moshe and Aharon that henceforth the month of Nisan will be "rosh chodoshim," the first of the months of the year. (How this differs from the month of Tishrei as the month of Rosh Hashana is a discussion for another time.)

The parsha this Shabbos, Tazria, begins with the laws relating to a woman giving birth. Among these, the Parsha includes that, if the newborn is male, "on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." (Vayikra 12:3) This is the basic law of circumcision, first described when Abraham circumcises his son Isaac on the eighth day (Bereshis, 21:4). The rabbis learn from the categorical language of the Torah that the circumcision is to take place on the eighth day, even if it falls on Shabbos. Thus, actions necessary for the circumcision can be performed, even if they entail a violation of the Shabbos. The rabbis also learn from the text's stating "day", that the entire day is permissible for the circumcision. However, they add a basic principle that "individuals who are eager to perform the mitzva (zrizin) perform the circumcision early in the day." The rule of "zrizin" is derived from the story of the Akedah. After God directs Abraham to sacrifice his son, the Torah states "Vayashkeim Avraham baboker." Abraham arose early in the morning, to set out for Har HaMoria, to fulfill God's direction. It is our custom to perform the circumcision ceremony early in the day.

The parsha goes on to delineate various rules regarding skin diseases. These rules include a period of isolation for the individual, with the supervision of the Kohen. One of these diseases is called tzora'as, which according to modern scholarship has been mistranslated as leprosy. (Robert Alter translates the word as "skin blanches.") The Talmud states that tzora'as is brought on individuals for the following sins: slander, bloodshed, false swearing, adultery, envy, and theft. According to Maimonides, this punishment is appropriate, because each of these sins involves the causing of pain to others in the community. As a result of the skin disease the individual must feel the pain of his or her isolation from the community.

The special haftorah for Shabbos Hachodesh is from the Book of Ezekiel (Ch 45). It contains instructions for the sacrifices for Rosh Chodesh, the first day, of the month of Nisan, and for the subsequent Pesach festival.

Video on the Haftorah, by Hal Brodsky Z"L

Ezekiel 45:16–46:18

Upcoming Events and Weekly Schedule

To view and register for upcoming events and weekly schedule, visit our website's online calendar.

CALENDAR

Kiddush Luncheon: Join the community for a Kiddush Luncheon following morning services. The meal is sponsored by Zan Frackelton & Daniel Alhadeff in honor of their upcoming wedding. Mazel tov, Zan & Dan! - Saturday, April 6 11:45am

Matzoh Baking: Join us as we bake matzoh together for Good Deeds Day! This is an activity that is open to the entire Jewish community and fun for both adults and children of all ages. - Sunday, April 7 9:30am-11:30am

Pre-Pesach Class with Maharat Friedman: Pesach 101: What you need to know about cleaning and grocery shopping. - Monday, April 8 7:45pm-8:45pm

Youth Matzoh Bake!: One of our most favorite activities of the year! Come join your friends and Rabbi Herzfeld for an action-packed Matzoh baking session just for you! - Thursday, April 11 4:30pm-6:00pm

Matzoh Baking with Rabbi Herzfeld: Open to everyone! Please register so when know how many people to anticipate - Sunday, April 14 11:30am-1:00pm

Board Meeting: Open to all members. - Monday, April 15 8:00pm

OYP Learn & Bake: Join the Ohev Young Professionals to prepare for Pesach with learning and matzoh baking. - Tuesday, April 16 7:00pm-8:00pm

Lunch Bunch - Matzoh Baking: Learning, Baking and Lunch for those participating in this Adult Program. $5 fee includes lunch. - Wednesday, April 17 11:00am-1:00pm

Matzoh Baking with Rabbi Herzfeld: Open to everyone! Please register so when know how many people to anticipate - Friday, April 19 11:30am-1:00pm

Free Communal Pesach Seder: At the Passover Seder, we say Kol Dichfim Yeisi Ve-Khol, let all who are hungry come and eat. Well, we REALLY mean it. Everyone is welcome at our FREE Communal Seder. With delicious catered food, great singing, and wonderful insights into the Hagaddah, why would you want to go anywhere else? Space is limited. First come, first served. - Friday, April 19 7:45pm

Second Night Seder: Rabbi & Mrs. Adam and Hannah & Nate Druckman will lead the seder on the second night of Passover. Cost: $36/person. - Saturday, April 20 8:00pm

Anafim: Anafim is a Jewish learning program for 4th & 5th grade non-day school students. Goals also include building and creating community among these students, and engaging them in serious Jewish learning. - Begins Monday, April 29 4:45pm-6:15pm

Shorashim Torah Enrichment Program: Join us for our after-school enrichment program for children in grades Pre-K3 & up. It's like Camp Kibbutz all year long! Join us for an Omer mini-session. Activities include: Torah study, parsha exploration, electives, and more with our great clergy and staff. - Begins Thursday, May 2 4:00pm-5:30pm

Pastries by Randolph - Challah & Baked Goods Pick Up: Orders must be placed by Tuesday to be included. Some goodies will be available for purchase on site. Breads are Kosher Pareve, Pastries are Kosher Dairy. - Thursday, May 2 4:30pm-5:30pm

Guest Scholar Mark Zaid: Mark Zaid is the co-editor of The GI's Rabbi: World War II Letters of David Max Eichhorn. Rabbi Eichhorn was a US Army Chaplain and part of the forces that liberated Dachau Concentration Camp, and led the first religious services for those who survived the Nazis. Mark, who is Rabbi Eichhorn's grandson, will recount his grandfather's sometimes harrowing and chilling experiences during some of the most dangerous times for our people. - Saturday, May 4

Community Budget Meeting: Join the board for a discussion of the programmatic budget for 2019-2020. Open to all members. - Monday, May 6 8:00pm-9:00pm

Developmentally Different Adults Program: Residents of local group homes join with our congregation for dinner and music. We hope you can join us. No RSVP is required. - Tuesday, May 14 7:00pm-8:00pm

Sunday, April 7 (Nisan 2)
8:30a Shacharit
9:30a Good Deeds Day: Community Matzoh Bake
10:00a Class with Rabbi Ben Mintz (at his home)
7:20p Mincha/Maariv

Monday, April 8 (Nisan 3)
6:30a Shacharit
10:00a Women's Intermediate Parsha Class with Maharat Friedman
12:30p Women's Parsha Class with Rabbi Herzfeld
7:20p Mincha/Maariv
7:45p Pre-Pesach Class with Maharat Friedman

Tuesday, April 9 (Nisan 4)
6:30a Shacharit
7:20p Mincha/Maariv
7:30p Parsha Class with Maharat Friedman

Wednesday, April 10 (Nisan 5)
6:30a Shacharit
12:30p Downtown Torah Study with Rabbi Herzfeld
7:20p Mincha/Maariv

Thursday, April 11 (Nisan 6)
6:30a Shacharit
4:30p Youth Matzoh Bake
7:20p Mincha/Maariv

Erev Shabbat, April 12 (Nisan 7)
6:30a Shacharit
6:45p Kabbalat Shabbat
7:24p Candle Lighting

Shabbat, April 13: Shabbat HaGadol, Metzora (Nisan 8)
9:15a Shacharit
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
6:05p Daf Yomi
6:35p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
7:05p Mincha, followed by Maharat Friedman's Shabbat HaGadol lecture on: "What is the Role of Food at the Seder?"
8:26p Havdalah

Sunday, April 14 (Nisan 9)
8:30a Shacharit
10:00a Class with Rabbi Ben Mintz (at his home)
11:30a Matzoh Baking with Rabbi Herzfeld
7:30p Mincha/Maariv

Lifecycles

Support our community and its members by making a donation dedicated in honor of (IHO) or in memory of (IMO) a loved one.

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This Week's Birthdays

Alicia Oltuski
Ariel Levine
Deborah Kopp
Sindy Udell
Douglas Pinsky
Ori Horowitz
Desmond Lachman
Leone Abroms
Avril Weisman
Johan Gottschalk
Reuven Walder
Ariella Klugman
Leor Levisohn
Aeli Hain
Bernard Troy
Binyamin Katz
Noah Karesh
Emma Sultan
Joshua Baron
Stephanie Guiloff

Don't see a birthday listed? Update your lifecycle events and more at ostns.org (login required)

Members Observing Yahrzeits

Shabbat
Doris Margolis for maternal grandfather Abraham Mendelsohn

Monday
Julie (Julius) Levine for grandfather Morris Levine

Wednesday
Marda Brown for mother Esther Rosenthal

Thursday
Rachel Levy for father Manfred Leiser

Don't see a yahrzeit listed? Update your lifecycle events and more at ostns.org (login required)

MAKE A DONATION TO OHEV SHOLOM

Synagogue Office
info@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
RabbiShmuel@ostns.org
(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
Board of Directors
board@ostns.org
Hospitality & Welcome Committee
BeOurGuest@ostns.org
Mikvah Chaim
mikvahchaim.org
attendant@mikvahchaim.org
Cemetery Information
cemetery@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225

Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue
1600 Jonquil Street NW
Washington, DC 20012

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