Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                     December 5, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, December 6 (Kislev 8)
6:30a Shacharit
4:27p Candle Lighting
4:30p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, December 7: Vayetzei (Kislev 9)
8:15a Shacharit
9:15a Women's Tefillah Bat Mitzvah Celebration
10:30a Shabbat Youth Groups
11:45a Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by the Loeffler family in honor of Talia's bat mitzvah.
3:05p Daf Yomi
4:05p Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlishit with a shiur from Sherri Vishner on "World AIDS Day"
5:28p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
12/14 - Dessert Kiddush (sponsorship available)
12/21 -  Kiddush Lunch sponsored by the Ernst/Loeb family in honor of Hadar's bat mitzvah.
12/28 - No Kiddush

We are well on our way to completing 107 Acts of Chesed honoring the memory of our beloved Anna Yuter!  To participate in this project, please visit this link.

Mazel Tov to Talia Loeffler and her family on her bat mitzvah this Shabbat. The congregation is invited to Kiddush Luncheon following services in her honor.  Please note the changes to the schedule of services at left. (Click here for more details)

Following the 8:15am minyan there will be a class on the Book of Isaiah by Saul Weinreb.
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There will be a Women's Tefillah Kabbalat Shabbat next Friday beginning at 4:40pm.

We are still accepting vendors for our Chanukah Salon and Arts Market. Please contact Hannah Tsimmerman if you are interested in having a table.

Comments on the Portion, Haftorah & Morning Prayers, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz

In this week's parsha, Vayetze, Yaakov leaves his home at the urging of his mother and father because of the animosity of Esav, who believes he was cheated out of his blessing when it was given to Yaakov instead. On his way to the home of Lavan, his mother's brother, Yaakov has a vision of a ladder going up to the heavens, with angels climbing up and down. God assures Yaakov that He will be with him and that he will be the father of a great nation.

 
At the home of Lavan, Yaakov meets Lavan's two daughters -- Leah, the older daughter, and Rachel, the younger. It is Rachel that Yaakov loves, and he agrees to work for seven years for Lavan to win her. However, Lavan tricks Yaakov and substitutes Leah for Rachel, later claiming that it is not the local custom to give in marriage the younger before the older.
According to the Rabbis, in anticipation of Lavan’s  trickery, Yaakov had given "signs" to Rachel, with which, from behind a veil, she could signal her identity, so that Yaakov could  be sure that it was Rachel he was marrying. But, Rachel, so as not to humiliate her older sister, had given the signs to Leah. As a result Yaakov finds himself married to Leah. So, Yaakov must work for another seven years to earn Rachel also, as his wife.
Leah and her two "maids" give birth to numerous children but Rachel remains childless. She says to Yaakov, "Give me children or I will die." Yaakov responds in anger, "Can I take the place of God and give you children?" The midrash is critical of Yaakov's response: "Is this the way one answers a woman in distress?" The retribution takes place years later, when Yaakov's children from Leah and the maids are forced to pay homage to Yosef, Rachel's son, who is viceroy of Egypt.
Yaakov's time at Lavan's house is not peaceful, and he decides to leave with his wives and his property. He is pursued by Lavan, and as the parsha ends, Lavan  and Yaakov make peace, and they erect a monument as evidence. Lavan returns to his home, and Yaakov and family continue on their journey to Canaan, again meeting with the angels of the Lord.    
 
The haftorah is from the prophet Hoshea, one of the Twelve Prophets (12:13). It begins with a reference to Yaakov's stay in Lavan's house, and includes the verse, "Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, because you have stumbled in your sinning." This portion of the Haftorah is also the haftorah for the Shabbos of the Ten Days of Penitence.
 
TEFILOT.
 
From the early morning prayers: Lord our God and God of our ancestors, Are not all the mighty as nothing before you, the men of fame as if they had never been, the wise as if they know nothing, and the scholars as if they lack intelligence?  For their many works are in vain, and the days of their lives like a fleeting breath before you. The preeminence of man over animals is nothing, for all is vanity.
 
This prayer echoes the opening words of the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes).

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A VIDEO BY HAL BRODSKY, Z"L, ABOUT THIS WEEK'S HAFTORAH 
can be found here:  Hos. 12:13–14:10

Upcoming Events and Weekly Schedule

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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, 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
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