Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                                 May 9, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, May 10: 20th Day Omer (Iyyar 5)
6:30a Shacharit
6:45p Kabbalat Shabbat
7:51p Candle Lighting

Shabbat, May 11: 21st Day Omer, Kedoshim (Iyyar 6)
8:15a Shacharit (in the Chapel)
9:15a Women's Tefillah Bat Mitzvah Celebration (in the Sanctuary)
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush Luncheon
6:30p Daf Yomi
7:00p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
7:30p Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit with a Shiur from Rabbi Herzfeld on: "Crowning Achievement: The laws of crowns and the next steps in our Torah project"
8:53p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
5/18: Kiddush 
5/25: Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Mendelsohn family

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

This week's Parsha, Kedoshim, provides the high point of the Torah's ethical and moral teachings: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Vayikra 19:18).  Rabbi Akiva comments, "This is a basic principle in the Torah."  In other words, many other ethical maxims are derived from this principle. The same idea was expressed by Hillel when a convert came to him and insisted that Hillel teach him the whole Torah "while standing on one foot." Hillel's response: "What is objectionable to yourself, do not do to your neighbor. Now go and study” -- and, he might have added, learn from this many other ethical rules. 

One example of a rule derived from this principle is: the Talmud says that in imposing capital punishment, one should impose  a "misa yafah," literally, a  "nice death" -- that is, as far as possible, a painless death. As is well known, the Jewish High Court almost never imposed the death penalty. Another example in a completely different area: The Talmud says that a man should not marry a woman (and vice versa) until he has gotten to know her, to avoid finding objectionable qualities if he meets her for the first time after marriage.  

Another related principle from this parsha: “Hochayach tochiach amisecha.”  We should directly state our quarrel with a neighbor, and not harbor a continuing hatred in our hearts. Still another principle derived from Hillel’s teaching “on one foot,” and found in Kedoshim: "Rise up before the aged and show deference to older persons."  (Vayikra 19:32) The Talmud explains what is meant by “an older person:” It means "one who has gained wisdom.”  

Of special relevance at the present time: "Do not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." The rabbis elaborate: "A defect that you suffer, do not attribute to your neighbor." 

And there are rules in the area of labor relations, for labor lawyers like myself: Do not delay until morning paying the wages of an employee if those wages were due by the prior evening. Another principle: "Do not place a stumbling block in the path of a blind person." This should be taken literally, but also interpreted broadly: Do not give bad advice to a person who is ignorant in a particular matter. But what if a person defends himself and says, "I thought the advice was appropriate." The Torah adds, "And you shall fear the Lord." You know in your heart whether you were trying to help or hurt your neighbor. 

Then there is the fundamental principle translated literally as, "Do not stand on your brother's blood." Do not stand idly by, doing nothing, if your brother's blood is being shed. The rabbis offer the examples of your neighbor drowning in the river, or being mauled by a wild animal.  Some of you may remember a well-publicized incident in the DC area some years ago, of someone jumping into the Potomac River to rescue a drowning person. In his commentary on the Torah, Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik, regarding this verse, observes that during the Holocaust years, the Jews in America transgressed this obligation and "did very little to save our afflicted brothers." 

The haftorah is from the book of Amos and contains one of the Tanach's most moving passages describing the "coming days."  God says, "I will restore my people Israel. They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their soil, nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them, sayeth the Lord." 

A video by Hal Brodsky, Z"L, about this week's Hafotrah can be found here: Amos 9:7-15.

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Contact Us

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
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