Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                           October 3, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, October 4 (Tishrei 5)
6:30a Shacharit
6:28p Candle Lighting
6:30p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, October 5: Shabbat Shuva, Vayeilech (Tishrei 6)
9:15a Shacharit
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush
5:05p Daf Yomi
5:35p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
6:05p Mincha, followed by Rabbi Herzfeld's Shabbat Shuva Discourse
7:27p Havdalah
9:30p Selichot

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
10/5: Kiddush 
10/12: No food served
10/19: No food served

This Shabbat, Rabbi Herzfeld will give his Shabbat Shuva discourse on "Mezuzah: The Entrance into Our Life." 

To read Rabbi Herzfeld and Maharat Friedman's sermons from Rosh Hashanah, visit ostns.org/sermon.

Alefblessed series 3 – Yekardim – has arrived!  Featuring precious objects from our tradition and, for the time ever, a minus card. To order the cards, visit ostns.org/alefblessed3.

Maharat Friedman's office will be available on Yom Kippur for adults who need to eat and drink. For details, please contact her at MaharatRuth@ostns.org.

Lea & Jeff Mendelsohn will be sponsoring a break fast at the conclusion of Yom Kippur in honor of Lea's mother’s yahrzeit. We invite you to co-sponsor in memory of a loved one by making a donation at ostns.org/donate. Additionally, if you would like to assist in the preparation of the meal, or in baking challah for Loaves of Love, please join us in the kitchen on Sunday around noon.

Recently, a member of our congregation received a service dog named Rhea, who will accompany her at all times out of medical necessity. Rhea wears a vest that states her purpose so she is easily noticeable. Because this is new for our community, we wanted to share few guidelines for how we should interact with Rhea:
1. Please do not make eye contact with or stare at Rhea
2. Please do not greet her or attempt to communicate with her in any way
3. Please do not pet Rhea
It is critical for Rhea's success with her owner that we do not interact with her as though she were a pet. This is true of both adults and children, so we ask that you please prepare your children in advance. If you have any questions, please contact Maharat Friedman.

Yom Kippur Schedule

Tuesday, October 8
Erev Yom Kippur
3:00pm Mincha
6:15pm Babysitting*
6:22pm Candle Lighting
6:25pm Kol Nidre

The Men's Mikvah will be open on Erev Yom Kippur 6:00am-3:00pm. The recommended donation is $20 for adults/$5 students and can be paid at mikvahchaim.org/donate. Men are asked to bring their own towels. Children under age 16 must be accompanied by their legal guardian.

Wednesday, October 9
Yom Kippur
8:30am Shacharit, with a Dvar Torah from Maharat Friedman
8:30am Babysitting*
10:30am High Holiday Experience (for children ages 5 & up)
11:00am Yizkor
~2:15pm (following Mussaf) Torah class with Maharat Friedman and Daf Yomi with Rabbi Herzfeld
3:45pm Class with Rabbi Herzfeld on the Mishnayot of Tractate Yoma
4:45pm Mincha
6:00pm Neilah
6:00pm Babysitting*
7:21pm Fast Ends (light break fast in the Social Hall)

*Registration for Yom Kippur babysitting is now closed and we cannot safely accept any more children.

Comments on the Parshiyot & Haftorot for Shabbat & Yom Kippur, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz

Shabbat Shuva
The Shabbos between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is known as Shabbos Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance. The term "Shuvah," meaning "return," comes from the Haftorah from the Book of Hosea, one of the "Trei Asar," the twelve prophets whose books of prophecy are relatively short. Hosea says, "Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your sin." The Haftorah also contains shorter sections from two others of the Trei Asar, Joel and Micah. In the portion from Micah, we ask God, symbolically, to hurl, "ve'tashlich," our sins into the waters. This is the source of the custom of Tashlich, the visit of individuals to a body of water between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. 

The Parsha on Shabbos Shuvah is Vayeilech, which describes the handing over of the leadership of the Jewish People from Moses to Joshua. Moses warns Joshua of the Jews' falling into sin and encourages him, "Chazak Ve'Ematz,"--"Be strong and resolute"-- in fulfilling your responsibility of bringing the Jews to the Promised Land. The Parsha also contains God's instruction that each individual should write a Torah of his own, "Write down this song and teach it to the people of Israel."

Yom Kippur
The Torah reading on Yom Kippur is from the Parsha "Acharei Mos," which describes the Yom Kippur ritual in which the High Priest, the only time of the year, enters the Holy of Holies and performs the ritual which includes the ceremony of the two goats, one on which the High Priest confesses the sins of the people and then sends that goat into the wilderness ("Sa'ir L'Azazel"). 

The laws of Yom Kippur are also set forth in this reading. The Haftorah is from the prophet Isaiah. His words are memorable: "You fast in strife and contention and you strike with a wicked fist...Is that a fast that I desire?...No, this is a fast I desire...It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home, when you see the naked to clothe him..."

In the Mincha service, the Haftorah is the entire Book of Jonah. The story, of course, is well-known; its relevance is that it features the idea that God is willing to forgive those who are penitent: "And God saw their deeds, how they were turning back from their evil ways, And God renounced the punishment he planned to bring on them (the people of the city of Nineveh)."

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A video about the Haftorah for Yom Kippur can be viewed here: Book of Jonah

Upcoming Events and Weekly Schedule

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

Lifecycles

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

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

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

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
Monica Wolfe, Interim Executive Director
Monica.Wolfe@ostns.org
(202) 882-7225, etx. 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
Hospitality & Welcome Committee
BeOurGuest@ostns.org
Mikvah Chaim
mikvahchaim.org
attendant@mikvahchaim.org
Cemetery Information
cemetery@ostns.org
​​​​​​​(202) 882-7225