Resources: • Adventist Mission Website: http://wjafc.globalmissioncenters.org/
This website is the new resource provided by the Office of Adventist Mission of the General Conference of the Seventh-day
• Website: www.jewishadventist.org
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Shabbat Shalom Newsletter
741
Shabbat Nachamu - Vaetchanan
5 August 2017 13 Ab 5777
This issue
A must website. To subscribe to our newsletter. To download some resources (Hebrew Sabbath School, and other documents). To order the book “Comfort, Comfort my people…” and many other things. •
Professional Urban Development: The WJAFC provides:
Shalom Adventure Magazine online: www.ShalomAdventure.com
If you would like to read articles, watch videos, learn things about Judaism and Israel, this website is just for you.
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WJAFC: If you would like to share with people, this forum on facebook is a good place for that.
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- Professional Urban training for Jewish Ministry
91?source=pwa We have posted a lot of pictures on Internet during the last years. Don’t hesitate
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- Help to plant new congregations. - Support for AdventistJewish dialogue with scholars and rabbis
to look at them.
and the parasha are posted on it every week.
WJAFC Paris
A weekly Journal of information and training published by the World Jewish Adventist Friendship Center Under the umbrella of the General Conference —Office of Adventist Mission
Journal of Information and Training — Issue 741 — 5 August 2017 / 13 Ab 5777
Carlos Muniz English Edition: Richard-Amram Elofer
Richard Amram Elofer
Russian Edition: Alexandra Obrevko French Edition: Sabine Baris Spanish Edition: Jael Wells Cuellar Portuguese Edition: Carlos Muniz Dutch Edition: Hubert Paulleta
Hubert Paulleta 8
Emails: English: richard@elofer.com Russian: sashok_l@mail.ru French: sabinebaris@gmail.com Spanish: jael_wells@hotmail.com Portuguese: cdmuniz@gmail.com Dutch: hpauletta@hotmail.com
Credit photos: Richard Elofer, Alexandra Obrevko, Jael Wells Cuellar Hubert Paulleta, Laurent Baris and Advent Digital Media
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Alexandra Obrevko
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News 1 Parasha’s comments 2-4 Haftarah 4-5 Apostolic Writings 5 Stories & Traditions 6 Inspirational Corner 6, 7
Weekly Jewish-Adventist Journal of Information
We pray every week for the Jewish Friendship Ministry. I suggest our partners to pray from July August 6 to 13 for Andrey & Elena Sukhovarov who are leading the Jewish ministry in Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) Let’s pray for their ministry and family.
News
Shabbat Nachamu
This Shabbat (August 5) is the Shabbat following Tisha B’Av, Jewish mourning day for the destruction of the two temples on the same day of the Jewish calendar. That is why this Shabbat is called “Shabbat Nachamu” which means Shabbat of Comfort, this word Nachamu is taken from Isaiah 40:1, text of the Haftarah for this week, where it is written: “Comfort (Nachamu), comfort (Nachamu) my people, says your G-d.” (Isaiah 40:1), it is a Shabbat to comfort Israel for their sorrow and sadness. It is also a time appropriate for us to preach on this topic of comforting Israel (My people), to tell them that the Messiah has come to forgive their sins and to give them eternal salvation: “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the L-rd’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:2), it is the only way that the Jewish people will be ready to listen to the message of the next verses (3-5) to be ready for the coming of the Messiah, not by reproach, but by comfort and love.
presidential, secretariat and treasurer advisories. That is why the NAD Jewish ministry have their advisory also during that time, being sure that one of the NAD vice-president is attending this meeting, and from time to time the NAD president comes to the meeting to “taste” the atmosphere of this meeting. However from time to time, another meeting is added, it is a NAD Jewish workers meeting, it is a very interesting and important meeting because it is a meeting where some issues specific to the North American ministry can be presented, debated, trying to find a solution. These advisories are held, on the first week of August, because it is the time of the ASI convention, (ASI is an annual gathering of Adventist business and professional people), on that week about 2,000 people gather together, and since it is an important gathering of the NAD, and many of their officers and departmental leaders attend these meetings, they use also this time for their advisory. This year these gatherings are from Monday July 31 through August 5. The Jewish workers meeting was on Monday July 31 and the NAD Jewish Advisory on August 1, in Houston, Texas.
NAD Jewish Advisory
Sabine Baris
The beginning of August is a traditional time for the North American Division to hold some important advisories and meetings. The first week of August is busy by the advisory for almost all the department, including Credit Photo: David Barzola
Vaetchanan
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Parasha Overview: Vaetchanan
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lthough Moshe is glad that Yehoshua will lead the nation, Moshe nevertheless prays to enter the Land of Israel in order to enjoy the promise land after the last forty years of hard work. Hashem refuses. Moshe reminds Israel of the gathering at Sinai when they received the Torah—that they saw no visual representation of the Divine, but only the sound of words. Moshe impresses on the people of Israel that the Sinai revelation took place before an entire nation, not to a select elite, and that only the G-d’s people will ever claim that Hashem spoke to their entire nation. Moshe specifically enjoins Israel to “pass over” the Sinai event to their children throughout all generations. Moshe predicts, accurately, that when the people dwell in the land of Israel they will sin and be scattered among all the peoples.
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Imploring The L-rd
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he parasha Veitchanan starts with these words, “And I pleaded with the L-rd at that time,” (Deuteronomy 3:23). The Jewish tradition likes to interpret the text of the Torah with guematria, that means with the numerical value of words (let’s remember that there is no specific sign for numbers in Hebrew, each letter of the Alphabet has a numerical value, and serve to write words and numbers as well. Thus, According to the Midrash Rabbah (11:10) the word “Va’etchanan,” which is not the regular word for “prayer” and was used because it has the numerical value of five hundred and fifteen. This teaches us, that Moshe prayed five hundred and fifteen prayers to Hashem to be permitted to enter the Promised Land
Empathy for Moses
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he Rambam (Mainonides) comments on these words of Moshe to the people of Israel: “But the L-rd was angry with me because of you and would not listen to
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me.” (Deuteronomy 3:26) as meaning “Not only did your forefathers cause trouble for themselves, but I was also punished because of them, to be barred from Eretz Yisrael.” In fact during their forty years of stay in the wilderness they rebelled against G-d many times, and at each time, Moshe interceded for his people, even saying “And now if You would but forgive this sin! — But, if not, erase me from the book that You have written “ (Exodus 32:32). And now at the end of his life, Moshe starts saying “va’etchanan el Hashem — which could be also translated I [alone] implored Hashem, meaning that after interceding for his people, he would expect at the end of his life that the whole people of Israel would implore G-d for the forgiveness of Moshe and would let him enter the land of Israel. But unfortunately, their feeling for him did not match his love for them.
me of this matter again.” (Deuteronomy 3:26), praying five hundred and fifteen times, and using many arguments, Moshe tried to convince G-d to change his decision, that is why in this text G-d is so harsh with Moshe. Moses is one of the rare men in the Biblical history which is called by G-d his “servant” “my servant Moses.” (Numbers 12:7), G-d would normally listen to his righteous servant, but he stopped him in his prayer and supplication, he had something better in reserve for him. Entering the promised land, would not be for Moses true rest, after entering the land the conquest of the land took at least 7 years, it would be too much for Moses, but accepting to go to the top of mount Nebo, Moses accepted to be taken by G-d, and to be resurrected, transfigured in order to enter the heavenly promised land, where there will be true rest in the presence of G-d forever.
Servant of G-d
Keeping Shabbat
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he Almighty answered to Moshe, saying: “Enough from you; do not speak to
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n this parasha Moses repeated the 10 commandments that were already given by G-d in the
credit: myjewishlearning.com
Parasha for this Week
book of Exodus. That is why he started the commandment of the Shabbat saying: “Observe the Shabbat day, to keep it holy, as the L-RD your G-d commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 5:12), as “the L-rd your G-d commanded you” means that the L-rd had already given this command about the Shabbat. The Shabbat has been constantly reminded to the people of G-d, that is why even in Exodus, this commandment starts saying: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8), remembering could be something to remember in the future, could also means, to remember from the past. Indeed the Shabbat was already mention in Exodus 16, with the miracle of the manna, and much more than that, G-d gave to the whole humanity the Shabbat at the creation of human beings: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day G-d finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So G-d blessed the seventh day and made
“G-d spoke these words in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the mountain, out of the fire, cloud and mist, but He added no more. He wrote [these words] on two stone tablets, and [later] gave them to me.” (Deuteronomy 5:22) it holy, because on it G-d rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:1–3). It is interesting to discover that G-d wanted to give the same lesson to Israel as he gave to Adam and Eve. In the wilderness, and in Eden as well, the Shabbat is presented as a day of rest. The text of Genesis says two times that G-d “rested” on the seventh-day, and in the Torah the Shabbat is presented as a day of rest “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the L-rd” (Exodus 16:23) and in the commandments “but the seventh day is a Shabbat to the L-rd your G-d. On it you shall not do any work, … may rest as well as you.” (Deuteronomy 5:14). However, do we have to consider that G-d needed rest after the six days of the creation? I don’t think so! The creation was not a difficult work for G-d, he just says things and they happen, as Yochanan put it in his Besorah: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d. He was in the beginning with G-d. All things were made through him [the Word],
and without him [the Word] was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1–3). He created everything with his Word, “And G-d said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) that does not seem to be difficult. Even more, Adam was created on the sixth day, that means the seventh-day was his first day of life, “brandnew” just out of the hand of the creator, so do we have to consider that Adam and Eve, were tired and needed “rest?” Not at all, they had never worked or done anything, but G-d asked them to start their life by taking “rest.” In the wilderness, it was the same, the people of Israel did not need to work in order to get their living, foods, drinks, clothes, shoes everything was provided by G-d. Thus, the great lesson of this is to tell us that the day of Shabbat is much more than a day of rest. The day of Shabbat is a day for the L-rd, “the seventh day is a Shabbat to the L-rd your G-d.” (Deuteronomy 5:14). It is first of all a day to rejoice with the L-rd, a day of worship, to praise the L-rd for what he has done for us, it is a day to count all the
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They will stay few in number but will eventually return to Hashem. Moshe designates three “refuge cities” to which an inadvertent killer may flee. Moshe repeats the Ten Commandments and then teaches the Shema, “Shema Israel Adonai, Elohenu, Adonai Echad”, the central credo of Judaism, that there is only One G-d. Moshe warns the people not to succumb to materialism and thus forget their purpose as a spiritual nation. The parasha ends with Moshe exhorting the people of Israel not to intermarry when they enter the land of Israel, as they cannot be a treasured and holy nation if they intermarry, and they will become indistinguishable from the other nations.
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his Shabbat is the first Shabbat after Tisha B’Av. It is called, “Shabbat Nachmu” (“Shabbat of comfort”), as the Haftarah of this week begins with the words “Nachmu Nachmu Ami” - “Comfort, comfort, my people.” There are seven weeks from Tisha B’Av until Rosh Hashana. This period is called, “Shiva D’nechemta”—”Seven weeks of comfort.” These seven Haftarot are prophesies of comfort and hope for Israel and G-d’s people at large. In the Haftrah The root of the Hebrew word for comfort Nachem, nunchet-mem can refer to comforting the nation as well as to comforting an individual after the death of a loved one. If the people of Israel are to be comforted, it is because the L-rd is coming very soon. The text says, A voice rings out: “Clear in the desert a road for the L-rd! Level in the wilderness a highway for our G-d! Let every valley be raised, every hill and mount made low. Let the rugged ground become level and the ridges become a plain. The Presence of the L-rd shall appear, and all flesh, as one, shall behold — For the L-rd Himself has spoken” (Is. 40:3-5 JPS).
“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:8–9)
credit: Carlos Muniz
Haftarah Overview Isaiah 40:1-40:20
blessings G-d has provided and to thank Him for his blessings, it is a day to learn even more the will of G-d by meditating and studying the Word of G-d. It is a day dedicated to the L-rd, a day when we can teach our family, our children what the will of the L-rd is for our family, for our people and for humanity. We can affirm that someone who says: “this day of Shabbat is the day of rest the L-rd has made, thus, I will rest and stay in my bed all day” is not keeping the Shabbat properly. Shabbat is not a day to spend in bed, but to worship the L-rd with my physical and spiritual family, that is why the L-rd commanded Israel “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation.” (Leviticus 23:3), there should be a “holy convocation” on that day, the people of G-d should be “convoked” to worship the L-rd, to praise Him, and to study His Word. That is a proper way to keep or to celebrate the Shabbat.
Shema Israel
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his parasha is also the parasha where we find the Shema Israel “Hear, O Israel: The L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is
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one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) a very famous and important prayer or confession of faith of the Jewish people. Faithful Jews recites this prayer, which in fact includes 248 words and not only this sentence of Deuteronomy 6:4, (which is only the introduction to the prayer) at least four times a day: when he wakes up, at the morning prayer, at the evening prayer, and just before sleeping. Some have asked why the Shema Israel is recited twice during the communal prayers, in the evening and in the morning. Evening is the dark time, and the morning is day times which represents good and pleasant activities and relationships. The Shema Israel is a confession of faith, accepting G-d as the only one G-d of the universe, His covenant and our absolute submission to G-d. When Jews recite the Shema Israel on evening (dark) and on morning (day) they express their confidence in G-d who is the one who overcomes all difficulties (dark) and facilitate good and pleasant events (day). It is easier to praise the L-rd and to confess that we believe in Him when all is good and pleasant, but not when difficulties and persecution happen. That is why
Jews recite the Shema Israel, even when things seem to be dark and difficult. G-d is pleased when we confess our belief in Him as the unique G-d of the universe even during controversial time.
Being a Model
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he Text of the Shema says: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:7), The Jewish tradition says that the order of these sentence should be reversed, because teaching our children the Torah we should speak and talk about it in every occasion. But in fact it is a fervent desire of Moses and God that our children would be immerse in Torah and Bible teaching, that is why the verse should be understood that we have to teach our children, but if we really want our children to love the Bible we have to be a model and to let them know that we are personally student of the Bible, if we speak about the Bible “in our house,” “when we walk,” “when we lie down” and when we rise” we will emulate our children to follow our example, and we will be a model for them.
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Apostolic Writings — Matthew 4:1-11
ince this portion of the Torah, which includes the Shema Israel, is very important for the Jewish people, who know it by heart, it is certainly one of the portion that Yeshua knew the best by heart. We read in the Besorah that Yeshua considered it as the most important mitzvah of the Torah, when a scribe ask him the question: “Which Mitzvah (commandment) is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28), without any hesitation Yeshua answered: “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one…” (Mark 12:29) Yeshua recited publicly and by heart the first paragraph of the Shema Israel. Thus the modern disciples and followers of Yeshua should also put their attention to the Shema Israel which was the “most important mitzvah” of the Torah for Yeshua. Now if we go further, we discover that Yeshua knew so well this text of the Shema Israel, that it is part of the Biblical text he used to fight temptations and the devil. In the Apostolic Writings Yeshua is presented as the “Second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:4547), that is why he must start his earthly ministry where the first Adam failed. Thus, Yeshua started his ministry right after his Tevilah in the natural mikveh of the Jordan river, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1), there he had a time of prayer and fast, as Moses, and it is said that “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (2). It was the good time for the devil to come to him, and said: “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves
of bread.” (3) The failure of our first parents was on the domain the appetite, we remember that the devil said to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1), That why the devil thought that it will be easy for him to have victory on Yeshua, he had not eaten for about 40 days and 40 nights, he should be very hungry. But Yeshua controlled his emotion and his feelings, and just answered to this temptation by quoting the Word of God. In fact, he was tempted three times, and three times he answered with a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy, and two times from the Shema Israel. After the first temptation, When Yeshua was hungry and answered to the devil: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’.” (4), this text is a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3. Our food is provided by G-d, thus if we really trust Him, we should wait for Him for our food, and our first food should be, every morning when we wake up, spiritual food: the Word of God. We must notice here that the temptations Yeshua faced are not the same temptations we face, because Yeshua was the Messiah, he had the power to do everything the devil tempted him to do, these temptations will never be temptation for us, because we don’t have the same power, we are not prophets or Messiah, we can try to change stones to bread it will never work, but Yeshua had the power to change stones to bread, and it is the same with each other temptation. The first temptation was about physical things, the second one is much more on the spiritual domain, “Then the devil took
him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’.” (5–6). The most spiritual city in the world was Jerusalem, the very city of the Temple where G-d received prayers and sacrifices, it is in this place that the Devil took Yeshua, “if you really are what you pretend to be, then demonstrate that to everyone and they will believe in you” What a strong temptation, in a short moment, Yeshua can prove to everyone that he is the Messiah, but he did not want to force the conscience of anybody, that is why he refused, we have to accept him not by evidence but by faith. And his answer come from the Shema Israel: “Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (7) this text is from Deuteronomy 6:16. Then the next temptation was about the material power, everyone want to have power in this world, “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (8–9), The devil is the prince of this world, all the kingdoms and powers belonged to him, he had the real power to give them to him. His answer was again from the Shema Israel, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’.” (10; Deuteronomy 6:13), and the devil left (11), because he understood that he will not have victory over Yeshua.
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It is interesting to notice that the Brit Hachadasha, an interpretation made 2000 years ago, applied this text to the coming of the Mashiach. “This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the L-rd, make his paths straight’” (Matt. 3:3). Matatyahu spoke about Yochanan HaMatbil who prepared the way of Yeshua in the desert near Jericho. What is interesting is that the brit Hachadasha did not apply verse 5, ‘The Presence of the L-rd shall appear, And all flesh, as one, shall behold,’ ( JPS) to Yochanan because this part of the verse will be applicable only at the end of time for the definitive presence or coming of the Mashiach, what we call the Second Coming of the Mashiach. Then all flesh (from everywhere in the world) shall behold. Then we will see the real comfort and consolation of Israel. As it is written, “That her iniquity is expiated; for she has received at the hand of the L-rd double for all her sins” (Is. 40:2). They have been pardoned for all their sins and they will enjoy eternal rest. Our mission today is to comfort Israel and to prepare Jerusalem for that great day, “Nachmu Nachmu Ami” - “Comfort, comfort, my people.” (Isaie 40:1)
Stories and Traditions
Inspirational Corner v The L-rd said to
Israel, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the L-rd your G-d hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the L-rd your G-d hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess” (Deuteronomy 5:32, 33). Are not these words spoken just as surely to us as to the children of Israel? Then let us take heed to the instruction given by Him who purchased the world with His own life. The sixth chapter of Deuteronomy contains instruction which it is important for all to follow. (Deuteronomy 6:1-9, quoted.) (21MR 409)
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Rumors
he Torah states: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the L-rd your G-d that I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2). There was a person who would borrow dishes and silverware from his neighbor whenever he had guests, and then return double the amount he borrowed. If he took a dish, he would return two. If he took two spoons, he would return four. The first time this happened his neighbor asked in amazement, “Why are you giving me back more dishes than I gave you?” The lender responded, “When I brought your dishes to my house, they became pregnant and gave birth.” Once, he came to his neighbor and told him, “Tonight, I will have very prominent people at my house. Please be kind enough to lend me your beautiful silver candelabra and I will return it to you tomorrow.” The neighbor quickly agreed, thinking that tomorrow he would get back two. “Tomorrow” passed and the neighbor did not come back with even the one candelabra. He called to ask when he could expect the candelabra returned. The lender sighed and said, “ I feel terrible to tell you this, but when I came home w i t h your candelabra, it suddenly had a heart-attack and died.” Angrily, the lender said, “Whoever heard of such a foolish thing? You’re a thief! I demand the immediate return of my property!” Calmly the borrower said, “ If you were able to believe that your spoon or dish could give birth, then
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you must also believe me that your candelabra died.” `Torah consists of six hundred and thirteen mitzvot. The Jewish tradition affirms that if Hashem chose this number because He knew exactly how much man could handle (Avodah Zarah 3a, Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar 12:3). Thus, we should not add or reduce anything from the Torah.
Don’t Take The Name of G-d in Vain
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story is told of a group of brothers who came to America and went into business together. A few years after arriving, they arranged for their parents to emigrate. The father was a pious, G-d fearing Jew, with a beard, peiyot, and chassidic garb. After a short time, the father shaved off his beard and peiyot, and traded his chassidic garb for modern attire. Puzzled by their father’s behavior, they consulted his Rabbi. When the Rabbi asked the father why he changed so drastically, he told him the following, “My sons have a large meat market. They had me sit at a table in the market and when people saw me, it encouraged them to make their purchases with confidence that everything is kosher. However, I soon realized that the meat they were selling was not kosher and they were using me to deceive the public. I therefore decided to shave off my beard and peiyot, so that my beard and peiyot, which represented my Jewishness, should not help them sell nonkosher meat.” Unfortunately, throughout history, the nations of the world
have persecuted and tortured Jews under the guise of doing it for the “sake of Heaven (Gd).” They claimed that the Jews are to be blamed for society’s problems and deserve to be oppressed. Also, among Jews it is common for one person to hurt another while claiming that it is a mitzvah to do so.” Hashem’s command “Do not mention My Name in vain,” may be interpreted as, “Do not exploit My ‘Name’ “Torah and religion” as a means of justifying your iniquities. Do not attempt to cover them up with a veil of righteousness and virtue.
Kids Parasha Vaetchanan
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Reciting the Shema with Fear of Hashem
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abbi Zusha of Anipoli who once approached Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg to teach him Torah. Rabbi Shmelke suggested, “If you teach me the esoteric teachings of Torah, I will teach you the revealed teachings of Torah,” Rabbi Zusha agreed. Then Rabbi Shmelke asked him, “What would you like me to study with you?” He replied, “Zusha is an am ha’aretz — (very illiterate). Please start with Mishnayot and explain each word.” They started with the tractate of Berachot and Rabbi Shmelke explained Mei’eimatai (From what time) may one recite the Shema Israel in the evening? Rabbi Zusha turned to him and said, “How do you know that mei’eimatai means ‘from what time’? Perhaps it means ‘from fear,’ that is, a Jew should recite the Shema permeated with fear of Hashem.”
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The L-rd our G-d made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the L-rd make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The L-rd spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the L-rd and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the L-rd. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: “I am the L-rd your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 5:1–6) http://www.bnai-tikkun.org.nz 7
Inspirational Corner v In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of G-d. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the L-rd’s injunction concerning His precepts: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7). (CG 514)