Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                         October 24, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, October 25 (Tishrei 26)
6:30a Shacharit
5:58p Candle Lighting
6:00p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, October 26: Shabbat Mevarchim, Bereshit (Tishrei 27)
7:30a Mashkimin, with a Dvar Torah from Chani Bloom
9:15a Shacharit, with a Dvar Torah from Yael Keller
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush
4:35p Daf Yomi
5:05p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
5:35p Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit with a Shiur from Yael Keller
6:57p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
10/26: Kiddush 
11/2: Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Nadata/Potvin family in honor of Michal's bat mitzvah
​​​​​​​11/9: Kiddush

This Shabbat, we are delighted to welcome our Rabbinic Intern, Yael Keller. She will give the Shabbat morning Dvar Torah, and during Seudah Shlishit, she will give a shiur on "The many faces of Nimrod."

Next Shabbat, we have the honor of celebrating Michal Nadata's bat mitzvah. Please note the changes to service times in the schedule below (click here for more details).

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.

On October 27 at 5:00pm EST, people from around the world will have the opportunity to join Pittsburgh in a public memorial service. Together, we will pause and pledge to maintain our abiding sense of unity and responsibility for one another. For more information and to sign up, visit pausewithpittsburgh.com. 

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

The first book of the Torah, and therefore its first Parsha, are entitled Bereishis, which translates literally as "In the Beginning." Everything about the reading this Shabbos is "first" -- its title, and its place at the start of the year's readings and of the Torah scroll. Why, then, the Rabbis ask, does it begin with the second letter of the alphabet, not the first? (The word "Bereishis" begins with a beis, not an aleph.) The Rabbis answer that aleph is the first letter of the word "Arur," which means "cursed" -- highly inappropriate for the beginning of the Torah. So instead, the Torah begins with "beis," the second letter, which stands for "bracha," blessing. We ask that our reading of the Torah will be a blessing.

But what does Bereishis mean in this case? The King James version tells us that it means "In the beginning... (God created the heavens and earth)." But strictly speaking, in Hebrew, "bereishis" means "in the beginning" (of some action taking place). So commentators such as Rashi understand the first sentence as meaning, "In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and earth, the earth was vacant  and void..." This reading is more accurate than the King James version, because, as the Torah tells the story, God did not create the "heavens and earth" until later in the week.

On each of the days of creation, the Torah says that God saw that his creation was good, "ki tov" -- except, that is, for the second day, where it does not say "ki tov." Why not? The commentators say that on the second day, God "divided" between the waters in the heavens and the water on earth. Since God created "divisiveness," that is, conflict between people and groups, it was not appropriate to refer to that creation as "good."  Another, simpler explanation is that God completed the creation of the second day on the third day, and therefore, it says "ki tov" twice on the third day.

And then God created man and woman, and then we are presented with the story of Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel and God says to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And Cain responds, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" God then says to Cain, "The voice of your brother's bloods are crying out to me from the ground." This is not a typo; the Torah uses the plural, "bloods," and not the singular. The rabbis explain that not only Abel's blood but also the blood of all the generations which would have come from Abel join together and call out to God for revenge.

The haftorah is from the Book of Isaiah. It begins with a statement of God having created the world. Isaiah goes on to say: "I will bring your descendents from the East. From the West will I gather you. I will say to the North: Give, and to the South: Do not withhold. Bring my sons from afar. and my daughters from the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 43:5-6).

TFILOT
Prayers: The first prayer in the morning is Modeh Ani. "I am grateful to you, living and eternal God, that (in the morning) you have returned my life to me. Great is your faithfulness." The rabbis comment that just as we trust God to return our lives every morning, so we trust Him to restore us to life in the world to come.

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

Upcoming Events and Weekly Schedule

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

Lifecycles

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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
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