Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                                June 6, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, June 7: 48th Day Omer (Sivan 4)
6:30a Shacharit
6:45p Kabbalat Shabbat (Sanctuary)
6:45p Women's Tefillah Kabbalat Shabbat (Chapel)
8:13p Candle Lighting

Shabbat, June 8: Erev Shavuot, 49th Day Omer, Bamidbar (Sivan 5)
9:15a Shacharit
11:15a Shiur from Rabbanit Aliza Sperling
12:00p Kiddush Luncheon with Special Dessert co-sponsored by Sara & Stu Milner
12:45p Shiur from Rabbanit Aliza Sperling
1:45p Mincha
7:00p Shavuot Youth & Teen Tikkun
8:45p Daf Yomi
9:14p Candle Lighting
9:30p Maariv, followed by a light dinner
10:45p Joint Shavuot Tikkun 
Shavuot schedule continued below

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
6/15: Kiddush​​​​​​​
6/22: Kiddush
6/29: Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by Barbara Zakheim & Ronnie Kleinfeldt

Join OSTNS for an exciting and spiritually uplifting Shavuot in 2019/5779! This year, we are celebrating women's scholarship. We are proud to learn from innovative spiritual leaders, including Rabbanit Aliza Sperling, Rabbanit Tali Schaum Broder, and Rabbanit Chava Evans. 

Details on programs and the full schedule can be found at ostns.org/shavuot.

Comments on the Portion, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz

This Shabbos we begin a new book of the Torah, Sefer Bamidbar. We read its first parsha, also entitled Bamidbar, which begins with a census of the Jewish people as they embark on their travels "in the wilderness" ("Bamidbar"). Rashi comments that God wishes to count the Jews frequently "mi'toch chiboso," because of his love for the people. He counted their numbers when they left Egypt; He counted them after the plague following the Golden Calf, to determine the numbers remaining, and He counted the Jewish people when the Tabernacle was constructed and He wished to know the numbers who would worship in the sanctuary.

The haftorah for the parsha of Bamidbar is the dramatic second chapter of the Book of Hosea, one of the prophets who make up the "Trei Asar" or "Twelve," in the Tanach. The haftorah deals with the unfaithfulness of the Jewish people to God and their ultimate reconciliation. The story is told in symbolic terms, with Hosea taking a wife who is unfaithful and his taking her back with love. Exceptionally vivid language is used to describe the changing relationship: "Let her put away her harlotry from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts." And, the reconciliation, "And I will lead her through the wilderness and speak tenderly to her, and I will give her her vineyards again, and the desolate valley to Petach Tikva to "the Gates of Hope." (Petach Tikva, of course, became the adopted name of one of the earliest settlements in the Jewish rebuilding of the State of Israel.)

Sunday and Monday are Shavuos, the Festival of Weeks, so called because of the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuos. Although it is not explicit in the Torah, we celebrate Shavuos as "Zman Matan Toraseinu," or the "Time of the Giving of our Torah” on Mount Sinai. The Torah does not explicitly connect Shavuos with the giving of the Torah; we must understand the giving of the Torah to be a continuing process, not tied to a particular date.

The Torah reading for the First Day of Shavuos is the narrative of the giving of the Torah in Parshat Yisro in the Book of Exodus (Chapters 19 and 20). The haftorah for the first day is from the book of Ezekiel (Chapter 1 and verse 12 of Chapter 3) which includes the well-known vision of the Chariot, "Ma'ase Merkava."

The Torah reading for the second day of Shavuos is the section in the book of Dvorim describing the celebration of the Festival of Shavuos, as well as the other Festivals (Chap. 16). The second day's Haftorah is from the Book of Habakkuk (also one of the Trei Asar), 2:20-3:19. It contains the prophet's vision of the Divine Presence. Both haftorahs recall the Divine Revelation on Sinai.

On the second day of Shavuos, we also read the Book of Ruth. In this well-known and beloved story, Ruth, a Moabite woman, through her loyalty and devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi and to the Jewish people, has the merit to become the ancestor of King David. The Book begins on a somber note, "It was the time that the judges judged" (1:1). The rabbis say it was a generation in which the people judged the judges, not the other way around.

PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF THE FATHERS
In the afternoon of the last Shabbos before Shavuot, we study the sixth and final chapter of Pirkei Avos, which says, in Mishnah 6, that whoever brings information to the attention of another person, and he tells the other person the name of the individual from whom he learned the information, that person doing so will bring redemption to the world. (In Hebrew, "ha'omer davar b'shem omro, mei'vi ge'ula la'olam.") How do we know this? In the Book of Esther, Esther told King Achashverosh of the plot against him "in the name of Mordechai." This led the King to favor Mordechai and to save the Jews from Haman's decree.

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A video about this Shabbat Haftorah can be viewed here: Hosea 2:1-22. A video for Shavuot can be viewed here: Why Dairy.

Upcoming Events and Weekly Schedule

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

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Contact Us

Synagogue Office
info@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 0
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
RabbiShmuel@ostns.org
(202) 812-8900 
Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman
MaharatRuth@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 107
Monica Wolfe, Interim Executive Director
Monica.Wolfe@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, ext. 103
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
Mikvah Chaim
mikvahchaim.org
attendant@mikvahchaim.org
Cemetery Information
cemetery@ostns.org
​​​​​​​(202) 882-7225