Exodus Magazine - September 2019

#204 | September 2019 • Elul 5779

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September 2019

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Exodus Magazine is a project of the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario

The world is kind of in bit of a crisis. You might have noticed it, too. Depending on where you live (or what the mood of the naysayers happens to be on any given day), the place we live is either drowning, burning, crime-infested, bigoted, mentally unstable, spiritually depraved or on the brink of war. On a bad day, it could be all of the above. Clearly, we're living in an era of failed leadership, in which the stabilizing forces of systems and governments are, at best, not helping – and often feeding to the brewing crises through misguided ideology, indifference, and a general lack of basic humanity, let alone the higher awareness that we are all one and we are all in this together.

What all this means there is tremendous potential opportunity waiting to be seized. Ask any entrepreneur or nation-builder – every great enterprise was born out of the need to solve a problem. The world is in crisis. It's a problem.

Which means it's a challenge. Which means there is tremendous opportunity. So either it's all going to hell, and it's someone else's problem, or I can step up and fill the void, save the world, and benefit from seizing the opportunity.

Why me? There’s a whole planet of people and animals out there, not to mention world leaders, power brokers, politicians, intellectuals and activists – what about them? And what about the angels and the other spiritual beings in the higher worlds? Wouldn’t they be better to suited to this world transformation plan?

Well, no. It’s up to me. You see, the crux of the problem is like this: This world is comprised of physical matter. The energy needed to infuse it with spirituality and make it holy and peaceful and good all over is this ethereal stuff they produce in the higher worlds. The problem is that the two don’t mix naturally. In fact, they repel each other.

So the only way to make them merge is to

introduce something that transcends both of them, something that is beyond their differences.

That’s where I come into the picture. No, despite what my mother told me, I am not G‑d. But I have within me a spark of G‑d called a Soul, which is made of that ethereal higher world stuff. At the same time, I have a body, which is physical matter.

The external reality in which we live (a.k.a., the world out there) in an extension of extension of my inner peace, or lack thereof (a.k.a., the world in here). And it’s not merely because of the sum total that results, that if everyone would attain inner peace there would be a world full of spiritual, loving, peaceful people; it’s up to me primarily because the entire conflict between the material and the spiritual, between goodness and evil – and all the trauma that stems from it and manifests in different forms around the world – all stem from the basic struggle of the individual.

So if individuals are able to infuse light into their inner darkness, it will enable us as a people to make this world a livable place. What’s inside me is entrusted to me as my domain, my mission.

Every move I make has cosmic repercussions of cosmic proportions. The fate of the entire universe is in my hands. If the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings affects the course of the entire natural world, how much more so the stirrings of the human heart.

By merging my Soul to my body, by overcoming my inner challenges, by bringing truth and spirituality into my life, by engaging in meditations and activities that accentuate the Oneness of the universe and bring it to light, I transcend the barrier between the material and spiritual worlds.

And from there, the goodness and positive energy flow. Multiply that by thousands and millions and billions of individuals, and we have all the world peace, brotherly love, instant karma, holy harmony, and happy energy we need.

So, what's the problem?

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September 2019

Elul 5779

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6 | JEWISH SOUL

No Satisfaction

8

10

10 | LIFE ON EARTH

What Brought This Rebel Back

The foundations upon which you build your perspective and conclusions do not seem correct to me at all. Clearly, you have the strength and also the talents.

To me, a G‑d who was going to judge me was an automated press out to stamp me into the system. It didn’t matter if the stamp was “good,” “bad” or “reject.” I don’t need a stamp. I am who I am

— From the Rebbe's correspondence

.— by Tzvi Freeman

7 | MADE YOU THINK

12 | ASK THE RABBI

Compassion and Existence

Rejected Forgiveness

Is the true essence of a human being – and of all existence – defined by what is visible to the eye and tangible to the five senses, or is the essence quite invisible?

I offended someone and asked her forgiveness several times, but she refuses. I feel like she is being unreasonable and holding a grudge against me. What is the Torah’s view on this situation?

— by Simon Jacobson

— by Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman

8 | JEWISH THOUGHT

18 | PERSPECTIVES

Justice, compassion, reverence, respect, holiness, responsibility, dignity, loyalty – these are quintessential Jewish values. Yet in Moses' farewell speeches, the word joy appears twelve times.

For years, Allied leaders insisted that nothing could be done to rescue Jews from the Nazis except to win the war. But seventy-five years ago this week, the Danish people exploded that myth and changed history.

— by Jonathan Sacks

.— by Dr. Rafael Medoff

Collective Joy

September 2019

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editorial jewish soul made you think jewish thought life on earth ask the rabbi our community simchas perspectives guide marketplace memorials

4 6 7 8 10 12 13 17 18 20 21 25

Rosh Hashana in Copenhagen, 1943

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jewish soul

No Satisfaction From the Rebbe's correspondence

Y

ou seem to be disturbed because you feel that you have not attained the proper level in Torah and Mitzvoth and cannot see the purpose, etc., which makes you downhearted.

Leaving the details of your complaints aside, I wish to make several observations: 1. A feeling of dissatisfaction with one's self is a good sign, for it indicates vitality and an urge to rise and improve one's self, which is accomplished in a two-way method: withdrawal from the present state and turning to a higher level (see the talk of my father-inlaw of sainted memory, Passover 1944).

2. If the urge to improve one's self leads to downheartedness and inertia, then it is the work of the evil inclination whose job it is to use every means to prevent the Jew from carrying out good intentions connected with Torah and Mitzvoth.

The false and misleading voice of the evil inclination should be stifled and ignored.

Besides, as Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi states in Tanya (Ch. 25), even one single good deed creates an everlasting bond and communion with G‑d (ibid, at length). Thus, a feeling of despondency is not only out of place, but is a stumbling block in the worship of G‑d, as is more fully explained in the above and subsequent chapters of Tanya.

3. With regard to understanding, or lack of understanding, of the purpose, the important thing required of the Jew is contained in the words of the Torah: :"For the thing is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart (and the purpose is) to do it." Understanding is, generally, the second step. The first step is the practice of the Mitzvoth. (See enclosed copy of my message to a study group).

My prayerful wish to you, as you conclude your letter, is that the next one coming from you will be more cheerful. ____ In response to your letter, in which you write about the state of your mood, behavior and your attitude, at least in regards towards the near future, and you ask my opinion about this.

The foundations upon which you build your perspective and conclusions do not seem

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correct to me at all. With this I mean that in my opinion, these foundations do not truly exist, i.e., your current mood is a passing mood, and the more you exert yourself, the quicker the mood will disappear. Clearly, you have the strength and also the talents that you can use not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of many others.

It is only that just like with everything in existence, one must transform things from the potential to the actual and develop them.

In the vast majority of cases this demands effort, though only effort that the person has the ability to put forth.

When a person contemplates that through his effort during a relatively short time, he will benefit himself for many long years to come, and benefit others by improving their physical or spiritual matters, or both, and that this impact is bound to produce many fruits, he will understand easily that the devotion, effort and exertion are all worth it.

It is appropriate to say, that normally, it is impossible to change from one extreme mood to the total opposite mood. However, this does not have to be the case, and it suffices if you will decide upon receiving my letter that you will go in the correct direction, i.e., towards a productive life and to actually

begin so by making a first step, then step by step, which accumulate to more steps, you will soon enough find yourself in the path of the King, i.e., the path which leads to a life of inner satisfaction and fulfillment.

If you follow my opinion, you should continue with your studies in the coming year, but along with this you should involve yourself in the area of education, and even better if you can do so a few times during the week. I mean by this to arrange groups of girls that you can lead, or teach them things that are appropriate to their understanding, organizing Shabbos and Yom Tov groups for them, etc.

You should think to yourself, there is so much to accomplish in our world. So many capabilities can be found within every single person. Due to the large amount of work that must be done, we cannot give up on even one capability or on one talent. It is the purpose of every single person to accomplish everything that they are able to, to improve their surroundings. The start of this, as with all matters, is to learn the subject, to gain a wealth of general necessary knowledge, and especially knowledge that is necessary to be able to utilize the talents and capabilities of that specific person.

When you contemplate what was mentioned above, once or twice, I hope that you will very soon start actualizing, not to be overwhelmed by the effort or exertion, and soon you will see the sweet fruit of your labor as well.

With blessing for good news very soon regarding everything mentioned, and for a Good and Sweet Year. EM

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Elul 5779

made you think

Compassion

and

Existence

Simon Jacobson

T

he mystics write that as the sun sets before Rosh Hashanah, the universe goes into a comatose state. A slumber descends on all existence; everything comes to a stand-still in cosmic silence, in apprehension of its contract being renewed.

As the sun sets before Rosh Hashanah and existence hangs in the balance – it’s a good time to review the very nature of this existence that we are part of and whose parameters define our lives. Is existence a form of revelation or a form of concealment?

This is not a mere abstract or esoteric question; it touches on the fundamental nature of our beings. Is the true essence of a human being – and of all existence – defined by what is visible to the eye and tangible to the five senses, or is the essence quite invisible, something that cannot be experienced in a revealed state?

In other words: is what we see really a state of revelation, or is it the other way around, what we see is the glove, while the true hand remains hidden within?

The first verse of Genesis,: "In the beginning when G‑d created heaven and earth," answers the riddle. The name for G‑d used in this verse is "Elokim." The classic commentator Rashi explains why the name "Havaya" is not used (as in a later verse, Genesis 2:4): "Initially the Divine intention was to create existence with the element of justice, but He perceived that the world would not endure; so He preceded it with the element of compassion, blending it with the element of justice."

What is the meaning of this explanation?

Since the world could not endure on justice alone, why did G‑d initially consider creating it that way; and only later did He decide to integrate the element of compassion? And what exactly is the meaning of ‘justice’ and ‘compassion’?

Justice (Elokim) refers to the concealment of the Divine omnipresence which was a prerequisite for existence to come into being.

As long as the Divine reality is all consuming, there is no room for any other consciousness to emerge. Explains the great mystic, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Arizal of Tsfat), in his revolutionary tzimtzum doctrine, that the Divine presence (i.e. light) was concealed

September 2019

in a type of cosmic "black hole," which allowed for the emergence of the conscious, independent personality of existence as we know it. Like a teacher with an infinitely greater mind than his student conceals his brilliance in order to allow "space" for the student to contain the ideas on his limited terms.

This tzimtzum/concealment is a called justice, which withholds, measures and limits the transmission. By contrast, compassion (Havaya) activates the flow of energy and light.

Now we can understand the meaning of Rashi’s words: The basis of all existence is rooted in the element of "justice", which concentrates and conceals the Divine light.

Without this concealment an independent existence can never come to be. Thus, genesis begins that the universe was created with the name Elokim. However, G‑d recognized the far-reaching consequences of a universe whose engine is strict justice and concealment.

He therefore infused into the tzimtzum an element of compassion – ingrained in the concealment is the purpose that it must bring light.

When a great teacher conceals the full intensity of his mind he does so not as an end

in itself, but as a means to convey the idea to the student. In other words, the concealment (justice) itself is ultimately an expression of compassion, allowing the student to absorb the wisdom. So too, the concealment of the Divine energy (the tzimtzum), so necessary for existence to emerge, is not an end in itself but an act of compassion that will allow us – an autonomous entity – to unite with the Divine, step by step, on our terms.

Here we have the answer to our initial question as to the nature of existence: Existence as we perceive it is actually a state of concealment. The deeper you travel into the intimate recesses of the human spirit the less tangible is the sensation, the fewer are the words, the less defined is the experience.

In other words, the entire nature of existence is turned on its head, upside down and inside out: Our sensation of the revealed is actually a state of concealment, and that what is concealed is the true state of revelation. The visible is an artificial cover, and the invisible is true reality. This existence as we know it, as we perceive and experience it merely a shell, the surface layer that shrouds what lies behind the curtain.

And the journey – and purpose – of our lives is not to be distracted by the outer mechanics, not to be deluded into thinking that there is nothing more than the outer shell. The objective of life is to weaken the hold of the concealment (justice) and reveal the compassion and revelation within.

No person is immune to the forces of "justice" in this dark world. Our challenge is not to be overcome by the severer moments of life, and recognize the compassion even in the darker moments. Knowing that compassion is imbued into the very fabric of existence (or else the world could not have endured) becomes an eternal source of hope, giving us the strength to overcome any challenge.

This is one of the main themes of Rosh Hashanah, when we celebrate the birthday of the universe and its crown-jewel, the human being. EM Rabbi Simon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe and the director of the Meaningful Life Center (meaningfullife.org).

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jewish thought

Collective Joy Jonathan Sacks

I

f we were to ask what key word epitomizes the society Jews were to make in the Promised Land, several concepts would come to mind: justice, compassion, reverence, respect, holiness, responsibility, dignity, loyalty. Surprisingly, though, another word figures centrally in Moses’ speeches in Deuteronomy. It is a word that appears only once in each of the other books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

Yet it appears twelve times in Deuteronomy.

The word is simcha, joy.

It is an unexpected word. The story of the Israelites thus far has not been a joyous one. It has been marked by suffering on the one hand, rebellion and dissension on the other. Yet Moses makes it eminently clear that joy is what the life of faith in the land of promise is about. How then do we contain that diversity within a single people, bound together in fate and in destiny? I think there are seven principles.

Why does Moses emphasise joy specifically

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in the book of Deuteronomy? Perhaps because is there, in the speeches Moses delivered in the last month of his life, that he scaled the heights of prophetic vision never reached by anyone else before or since. It is as if, standing on a mountaintop, he sees the whole course of Jewish history unfold below him, and from that dizzying altitude he brings back a message to the people gathered around him: the next generation, the children of those he led out of Egypt, the people who will cross the Jordan he will not cross and enter the land he is only able to see from afar.

What he tells them is unexpected, counterintuitive. In effect he says this: “You know what your parents suffered. You have heard about their slavery in Egypt. You yourselves have known what it is to wander in the wilderness without a home or shelter or security. You may think those were the greatest trials, but you are wrong. You are about to face a harder trial. The real test is security and contentment.”

Absurd though this sounds, it has proved true throughout Jewish history. In the many centuries of dispersion and persecution, from the destruction of the Second Temple to the nineteenth century, no one raised doubts about Jewish continuity. They did not ask, “Will we have Jewish grandchildren?” Only since Jews achieved freedom and equality in the Diaspora and independence and sovereignty in the State of Israel has that question come to be asked. When Jews had little to thank G‑d for, they thanked Him, prayed to Him, and came to the synagogue and the house of study to hear and heed His word. When they had everything to thank Him for, many turned their backs on the synagogue and the house of study.

Moses was giving prophetic expression to the great paradox of faith: It is easy to speak to G‑d in tears. It is hard to serve G‑d in joy.

It is the warning he delivered as the people came within sight of their destination: the Promised Land. Once there, they were in

Elul 5779

jewish thought

What Moses is articulating for the first time is the idea of joy as communal, social, and national rejoicing.

The nation was to be brought together not just by crisis, catastrophe, or impending war, but by collective celebration.

The celebration itself was to be deeply moral. Not only was this a religious act of thanksgiving; it was also to be a form of social inclusion. danger of forgetting that the land was theirs only because of G‑d’s promise to them, and only for as long as they remembered their promise to G‑d.

Simcha is usually translated as joy, rejoicing, gladness, happiness, pleasure, or delight. In fact, simcha has a nuance untranslatable into English. Joy, happiness, pleasure, and the like are all states of mind, emotions. They belong to the individual. We can feel them alone.

Simcha, by contrast, is not a private emotion.

It means happiness shared. It is a social state, a predicate of “we,” not “I.” There is no such thing as feeling simcha alone.

Moses repeatedly labours the point. When you rejoice, he says time and again, it must be “you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows in your towns.” A key theme of is the idea of a central Sanctuary “in the place the Lord your G‑d will choose.” As we know from later Jewish history, during the reign of

September 2019

King David, this place was Jerusalem, where David’s son Solomon eventually built the Temple.

What Moses is articulating for the first time is the idea of joy as communal, social, and national rejoicing. The nation was to be brought together not just by crisis, catastrophe, or impending war, but by collective celebration. The celebration itself was to be deeply moral. Not only was this a religious act of thanksgiving; it was also to be a form of social inclusion. No one was to be left out: not the stranger, or the servant, or the lonely (the orphan and widow). In a remarkable passage in the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides makes this point in the strongest possible terms: And while one eats and drinks himself, it is his duty to feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow, and other poor and unfortunate people, for he who locks the doors to his courtyard and eats and drinks with his wife and family, without giving anything to eat and drink to the poor and the bitter in soul – his meal is not a rejoicing in a Divine commandment, but a rejoicing in his own stomach.

It is of such persons that Scripture says, “Their sacrifices shall be to them as the bread of mourners, all that eat thereof shall be polluted; for their bread is a disgrace to their own appetite” (Hos. 9:4). Rejoicing of this kind is a disgrace to those who indulge in it, as Scripture says, “And I will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your sacrifices” (Mal. 2:3).[2] Moses’ insight remains valid today. The West is more affluent than any previous society has ever been. Our life expectancy is longer, our standards of living higher, and our choices wider than at any time since Homo sapiens first walked on earth. Yet Western societies are not measurably happier. The most telling indices of unhappiness – drug and alcohol abuse, depressive illness, stressrelated syndromes, eating disorders, and the rest – have risen by between 300 and 1,000

per cent in the space of two generations. Why so?

In 1968 I met the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, for the first time. While I was there, the Chassidim told me the following story. A man had written to the Rebbe in roughly these terms: “I am depressed. I am lonely. I feel that life is meaningless. I try to pray, but the words do not come. I keep mitzvot but find no peace of mind. I need the Rebbe’s help.” The Rebbe sent a brilliant reply without using a single word. He simply circled the first word of every sentence and sent the letter back. The word in each case was “I.” Our contemporary consumer is constructed in the first-person singular: I want, I need, I must have. There are many things we can achieve in the first-person singular but one we cannot, namely, simcha – because simcha is the joy we share, the joy we have only because we share. That, said Moses before the Israelites entered their land, would be their greatest challenge. Suffering, persecution, a common enemy, unite a people and turn it into a nation. But freedom, affluence, and security turn a nation into a collection of individuals, each pursuing his or her own happiness, often indifferent to the fate of those who have less, the lonely, the marginal, and the excluded. When that happens, societies start to disintegrate. At the height of their good fortune, the long slow process of decline begins.

The only way to avoid it, said Moses, is to share your happiness with others, and, in the midst of that collective, national celebration, serve G‑d.[3] Blessings are not measured by how much we own or earn or spend or possess but by how much we share. Simcha is the mark of a sacred society. It is a place of collective joy. EM

Rabbi Dr. Sir Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth and a member of the House of Lords, is a leading academic and respected world expert on Judaism. He is a the author of several books and thousands of articles, appears regularly on television and radio, and speaks at engagements around the world.

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life on earth

What Brought This Rebel Back Tzvi Freeman

A

s a young boy, I was told that a Jew must go to the synagogue twice a year, stand up when the rabbi says to stand up, sit down when he says to sit down, listen to his entire sermon, and for this, he will be forgiven for all his sins.

As you can guess, by adolescence I was doing my own thing on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—and it wasn't anywhere near a synagogue. It took a few years to discover a version of the Days of Awe that is truly awesome.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are about the power we have over our own destiny, the limits of that power, and the responsibility that comes with it. In that sense, they are days of extreme joy—only that it is an inner joy; a deep and meaningful one.

Which is what they call awe.

Start here: What part do you play inside this universe? Are you the victim?

There’s a hurricane of a world out there and you are not even a dandelion spore. Don’t

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bother telling the wind which way to blow, just pray you’ll make a safe landing. Who knows? Maybe in a ditch. Maybe in a fire.

Whatever—a victim is a victim, even if he wins in the end.

To me, at age fourteen, a G‑d who was going to judge me on Rosh Hashanah was an automated press out to stamp me into the system. It didn’t matter if the stamp was “good,” “bad” or “reject.” I don’t need a stamp. I am who I am.

So I chose a different scenario. I decided I am the director. I decide what life should be, what role I will play, and where I want to go.

Which was mostly where my friends wanted to go.

A super-cool scenario. Problem is, it doesn’t exist. It’s an absurdity. It doesn't take long to discover you're not in control, the actors don’t care for your script, and the promises don’t deliver. And the heat of the world is more intense than the coolest Kool-Aid you could swallow.

No wonder. You didn’t write the script. You

can be absolutely sure. You didn’t write the script. So I was stuck. I was still just another cog. Go to shul. Run from shul. It’s all the same.

Unless there’s a third scenario. One in which there is no big schism between you and it. One in which it's all one drama. And your choice is whether that should be a drama of fear and submission, or of love and awe.

“Make Me your king!” That's how the rabbis describe G‑d’s command on Rosh Hashanah.

“And how? Blow the shofar!”

Is G‑d really so insecure that He needs us to declare Him king, year after year? And if it's obedience He wants, why oh why did He choose to populate His world with beings such as us, creatures who can hardly bear to obey for more than a brief moment before we surrender to the urge to do what the heck we please?

So let me let you in on a secret about our Torah and our G‑d, one that our tradition says

Elul 5779

tacitly in many ways, but rarely explicitly: The voice arrives from heaven raw, coarse, abrupt and overwhelming. It's up to us to ask the right questions. And with those questions, the tone of that voice is transformed.

Here is a starter question: G‑d, why do you need us to declare You king? The heavens and earth are Yours. You created them from nothing and at any moment You can return them to that void. Whatever You desire is in Your hand to achieve. Declare Yourself king, and it will be so!

Here is another one: G‑d, if you are not our king, then why should we obey your command? And if you are already our king, then why are you demanding we make you king?

Yet another one: G‑d, if you are not king, then how do we exist? And if we do not exist, how can we take part in Your decision to be king, and therefore allow us to exist?

Checkmate for G‑d. Until the chassidic masters explain His plea: If this world has no author, then there is no drama, then there is no purpose, then you have no power. You are that spore torn in all directions at once by the wind.

If this world has an author, there is a drama, a story. There is a story, but you are not the author. That surrender, yes, it is hard, but it is the greatest liberation.

It is hard because to make that surrender you have to reach inside to a place where there is no you, no dualities at all, where there is only the One. It is liberating because if you are not the author of your script, nor the director of the play, then you are the actor. And the actor in this drama can change everything.

Because what is the drama about? It is about a decision. Everything begins with a decision. A free decision. Because nothing has to be. What is the decision? G‑d asks, “Do I want to author a drama? Do I want to be an author? Do I want to be anything at all? Do I exist in some certain role, or is there really no expression of my existence whatsoever?”

And then He writes a drama—not about His decision, nor about His indecision. He writes a drama about that state of deciding.

“Whom did He consult?” ask the rabbis, concerning the very first decision from which all began. And they answer, “He consulted the souls of the righteous.”

Meaning, He consulted us. Because our souls are all righteous. And each moment is the beginning of all things. And each moment that decision happens again.

But the greatest of all moments is Rosh Hashanah. It is the opening of a new act, a fresh new start, a pivot-point upon which the actor can swing everything around.

On this day, we come together to decide, “Should there be just a mess of events with no meaning or purpose, or should there be a story? Is this place a place that just is, or is there an Author? Is life just 70, 80 years of biological deterioration, or is there eternal meaning to what I’m doing on this planet?

What do I have to contribute? Do I really exist? Does existence matter?”

In a way, in the drama of Rosh Hashanah, we are playing G‑d. Not all of G‑d—we did not make this place, and we have little say on how it is run.

We are playing the role of that free will of G‑d, that divine capacity to decide.

Paradoxically, through our surrender, we, the actor, become His co-author.

Together with Him, we replay that most primal decision of all decisions—from our place within the result of that decision. We decide whether our world is just a world where “stuff happens,” or whether it has an author, a masterful author, a king, and we live within magnificent palace of beauty and wonder.

That is His plea. When He says, “Make Me your king!” He is saying, “You decide. My decision is in your hands.”

It is a day for awe. EM Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth and more recently Wisdom to Heal the Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing or purchase his books, visit Chabad.org. Follow him on FaceBook @ RabbiTzviFreeman.

future tense

MOSHIACH MUSINGS

There are two explanations as to why the mystical dimension of the Torah found in Chassidic teachings is revealed precisely in these last generations, as the footsteps of Moshiach are approaching. (a) Since the darkness of exile is thickening, an ever more brilliant light is required to pierce it. For this reason the “soul of the Torah” was revealed, for this is what awakens and uncovers the “hidden point of the soul,” those faculties of the soul that are most deeply concealed. As we contend with the exile, and struggle to master the body, the animal soul, and our physical environment, the study of Chassidus fortifies these faculties, by investing in them the power of the hidden, innermost point of the soul, and thereby enables us to overpower the darkness of the exile. (b) Since we are now at the very end of the exile, we have been given a foretaste of the Torah’s secrets which will be fully revealed only in time to come. This foretaste serves as a preparation for the Days of Moshiach, the main point of which is a knowledge of G‑d.

As Maimonides writes, “The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G‑d..., and the Jews...will attain an under­ standing of their Creator….” This relates directly to the hidden, innermost point of the soul, which is one, so to speak, with the hidden, innermost point of Divinity. This hinges on the individual’s innate union with G‑d, beyond any striving or vigilance in keeping clear of darkness, which happens spontaneously.

The first of these reasons emphasizes the lowly state of the latter generations, while the second highlights their distinctive privilege — the fact that they have been found worthy of being granted a glimmer of the future revelation. Nevertheless, though they are opposites, these two reasons are interdependent. For the quintessential power of the inner dimension of the Torah, i.e., the Torah teachings of Moshiach, comes to the fore in its ability to light up even the redoubled darkness of the days that anticipate the footsteps of Moshiach.

ask the rabbi

Rejected Forgiveness

by Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman

Q

I offended someone and asked her forgiveness several times, but she refuses. I feel like she is being unreasonable and holding a grudge against me. What is the Torah’s view on this situation? I feel stuck... what do I do now?

Everything that happens to a person comes directly from G‑d. No one can do anything to you, good or bad, if G‑d had not already planned it out. As we say during the High Holidays, "On Rosh Hashanah the decree is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed."

Nothing (other than a persons prayers, good deeds and charity) can change the divine plan.

This is a very reassuring thought. Going about life thinking that you are at the mercy of any person who might hurt you is scary.

How wonderful it is to know that no one can harm you. Rather, everything is part of the Creator’s plans, even though we may not comprehend them.

So when someone does something negative to you, there is no reason to get angry at that person. If that perpetrator would not have done the deed, G‑d would have found another emissary to ensure that His will be fulfilled.

According to the Torah, even if someone has wronged you intentionally, you should try to forgive them and certainly not take revenge. The Torah forbids not only revenge, but also bearing a grudge If the person has not requested forgiveness then you are not obligated to forgive.

However, the Torah warns against harboring hate against another Jew in one's heart. Instead if someone wrongs you, you should confront that individual and demand an explanation or an apology. If the person refuses to apologize or explain his or her actions, you do not have to forgive that person According to Jewish law, as stated in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) and the Talmud tractate Yoma, one who is guilty of the offense is supposed to gather some friends of the victim and together approach him to ask forgiveness. If the victim still refuses to forgive her, this process should be repeated

12

twice. If after approaching the victim three times she still declines to forgive, the offender is no longer obligated to seek forgiveness. If it is apparent that the wrongdoer is sincerely penitent, the victim is obligated to grant forgiveness. It is also possible that the person who hurt you so much is mentally unstable.

In that case, mercy is more appropriate than rage. Obviously, this doesn't preclude you from taking all necessary measures to ensure that this individual doesn't harm you again.

Forgiveness is considered a quintessential Jewish trait. The Talmud relates that because the Gibeonites were unwilling to forgive the descendants of Shaul, King David banned them from joining the Israelite nation. Jews are characterized by their mercy, bashfulness and kindness. David decided that the Gibeonites, who demonstrated a lack of these basic traits, could not be allowed to join the Jewish nation.

Some people make forgiveness a daily part of their spiritual practice. The Talmud relates that Rabbi Nechunia Ben Hakanah and Rav Huna never went to sleep before forgiving anyone who wronged them. It is customary to recite the following beautiful prayer before retiring at night: "Master of the world; Behold, I forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me, whether it was directed toward my body or my money or my honor or anything which belongs to me. I forgive them whether the action was performed by total accident or willingly or through neglect or through premeditation, whether it was done through speech or physical action... may no person be punished because of me." EM Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman is the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario. You can Ask the Rabbi at jrcc.org or fax to 416.222.7812. To meet with Rabbi Zaltzman in person, feel free to call 416.222.7105 to book an appointment.

Appointments are generally available on Tuesday evenings after 7 p.m.

Rebbitzin Chiena Zaltzman is also available for private consultations by appointment on Wednesday evenings from 9 to 10pm by calling 416.222.7105.

Маме одной из моих знакомых исполнилось 104 года. Старая женщина находится в медицинском учреждении, где за ней осуществляется особый уход. Дело в том, что она ничего не осознает из происходящего, никого не узнает, в том числе и собственную дочь. Ее жизнь превратилась в неосознанное существование. Как-то в разговоре я пожелала здоровья и дополнительных лет жизни маме моей знакомой, на что она возразила: «Никому не пожалаешь дожить до такого положения»... Есть другие ситуации, когда люди очень преклонных лет страдают от тяжелых болезней, сильных болей, иными словами, не живут, а мучаются. Чем оправдана жизнь человека, когда уже так много пройдено, а в конце пути остались одни страдания? Иногда человек сам говорит: «Не могу больше терпеть, не хочу жить, как сделать, чтобы я умер?»... С какой целью Вс-вышний удерживает таких людей в нашем мире? По закону Торы человеческая жизнь является самой важной ценностью нашего мира. Только Б-г может ее дать и только Он имеет право ее забрать. Никто другой в мире не имеет права лишить человека жизни, включая самого человека. Даже если он страдает и не хочет больше жить. Закон Торы запрещает укорачивать жизнь человека, невзирая на просьбы самого человека или его семьи. Фашисты вошли в историю как убийцы не тогда, когда они уничтожали людей в газовых камерах, а много раньше, когда они избавлялись от своих сограждан увечных физически или психически. Даже когда они умертвляли людей наиболее безболезненным путем. Вот тогда они стали убийцами. А дальше было только делом техники, и зверское уничтожение миллионов невинных людей стало просто обычной работой...

The article above is excerpted from the Russian edition of Exodus Magazine. To subscribe, please visit exodusmagazine.org or call 416.222.7105.

Elul 5779

‫ב”ה‬

Our

Community T H E M O N T H I N R E V I E W. U P C O M I N G E V E N T S & P R O G R A M S .

SEPTEMBER 2019 | ELUL 5779 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER2019 SUN

15

3:30pm MON

16

8:00pm TUES

17

8:00pm WED

18

9:00pm

KIDS CHALLAH BAKE JRCC West Thornhill See ad on page 14 THE HOW AND THE WHAT High Holidays class for women - see ad on p.14 CONCERT FOR WOMEN JRCC East Thornhill See ad on page 15 FARBRENGEN 18 Elul See ad on page 15

MON

KNOW YOUR MACHZOR High Holidays class for women - see ad on p.14

TUES

HONEY BEE WORKSHOP JRCC West Thornhill See ad on page 14

WED

ROSH HASHANA FAIR JRCC East Thornhill See ad on page 14

THU

CHALLAH BAKE At all JRCC branches See ad on page 14

SUN

COMMUNITY DINNER For Rosh Hashana See ad on page 14

SUN

ROSH HASHANA Sunday Sept 29, 6:44pm until Tueday Oct 1, 7:41pm

23 8:00pm 24 5:00pm 25 6:00pm 26 8:00pm 29 7:00pm 29 6:44pm

CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES September 6, 2019

7:26pm

September 13, 2019

7:14pm

September 20, 2019

7:01pm

September 27, 2019

6:48pm

September 29, 2019

6:44pm

September 30, 2019

after 7:43pm*

* = Light from a pre-existing flame. www.jrcc.org

JRCC RECEIVES SECURITY GRANT According to Toronto Police hate crimes unit, the Jewish community is the most victimized group. Whether it’s local incidents that seem to be on the rise, including harassment, antisemitic graffiti and broken synagogue windows, or high-profile international incidents, like the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting or the Poway synagogue shooting in California in April, people are on edge.

“It causes people to be very afraid,” explains Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, CEO of the JRCC. “People get home after service on Saturday and hear Toronto.com news that people were killed during prayer in a synagogue, the first thing they do is ask, ‘What are we doing to make sure it doesn’t happen to us?’”

In response, the Canadian government created the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program (known as SIP), to help non-profit organizations that are at risk of being victimized by hate-motivated crime.

Specifically, the fund helps with the costs of security infrastructure improvements for places of worship, educational institutions, and community centers.

After a similar grant was received to upgrade the security at the JRCC East Thornhill branch in 2017, a new $30,000 grant this year through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) will be used to install security cameras, security film on the windows, an alarm system and a door intercom system at the JRCC @ Rockford synagogue.

“The most important thing is to take action,” says Rabbi Zaltzman. “Being afraid, upset or angry, while understandable, doesn’t achieve anything. The call to action is, ‘What are we going to do to protect ourselves?’”

Additional articles and updates on the security project will be posted to jrcc.org/InTheMedia.

COMMUNITY BBQS

Several JRCC Branches host community barbecues during the summer, providing a casual setting for community residents to meet, connect, interact and enjoy an informal family experience. These types of events are a great way to get to know one another, and a great opportunity and the perfect environment in which to feel a sense of community. The barbecues featured music, activities for kids, and, of course, cold beer and great marinated food on the grill. In addition, a contingent of JRCC rabbis and community members took a road trip using the JRCC on Wheels mobile community centre to visit Jewish Russian communities in Simcoe County, about one hour drive north of Toronto. 150 people of all ages joined the three BBQ’s and get-togethers that took place in the cities of Barrie, Innisfil and Bradford, as well as plans to visit additional communities later in the summer, including Georgina, East Gwillimbury, Brampton, and Aurora. For next summer, the JRCC is working on plans to recruit rabbinical student volunteers to man the JRCC on Wheels full-time over the summer, to visit various communities and coordinate events.

20 AV FARBRENGEN The 20th of Av (August 20, 2018) marked the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson, a kabbalist and activist who devoted his life, and ultimately gave up his life, to preserving Judaism in the FSU. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was Chief Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (currently Dnepropetrovsk), and was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan by the Stalinist regime as a result of his work to preserve Jewish life in the Soviet Union. The day was celebrated with a farbrengen, a Chassidic gathering for a special occasion, at the JRCC West Thornhill. The gathering was sponsored in honor of the birthday of Rabbi Levi Jacobson, director of the JRCC West Thornhill, making it even more auspicious since Rabbi Jacobson is named after the Rebbe’s father and his birthday falls on the 20th of Av. 2019 JRCC High Holidays

Online Aliyah Auctions

Reserve your Aliyah or other desired honour for Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur at any JRCC High Holiday location.

jrccAuctions.org

HIGH HOLIDAY AUCTIONS The JRCC’s online High Holiday Auction site is a convenient, online reservation system where you can bid on a Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur aliyahs and other honors for yourself, or as a gift for someone else. The new system, which launched last year, enables services to be more organized and flow more smoothly, saving precious time during the holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Place your bid at jrccAuctions.org. (And if you haven’t yet reserved your seats you can do so at jrcc.org/HighHolidays.)

JRCC Our Community

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OSH HASHANA R E H PR

-ROSH HASHANAH E R P

CHALLAH BAKE

CHALLAH BAKE

JRCC Pre-Rosh Hashana Events SUNDAY, SEPT 15 | 3:30PM Mother & Child Challah Bake Pre-Rosh Hashana tradition, for women and kids 3-12 JRCC West Thornhill RSVP: JrccWestThornhill.org/kidschalla

ВЫПЕЧКА КРУГЛЫХ ХАЛ К ПРАЗДНИКУ MONDAY, SEPT 16 | 8:00PM

На РошThe Ашана круглые Howпекут and the What халы: один год кончился и начался новый, но разделить их Preparing for the High Holidays, for women JRCC West Thornhill невозможно. Приходите испечь праздничную круглую халу23к |Рош Ашана!

MONDAY, SEPT 8:00PM Know Your Machzor

A special High Holiday prayerbook class, for women ЧЕТВЕРГ, 26 СЕНТЯБРЯ | 20:00 JRCC East Thornhill

TUESDAY, SEPT 24 S. Richmond Hill & Maple: 9699 Bathurst St.| 5:00PM Honey Bee Workshop for Kids Concord: 411 Confederation Pkwy., #14 Come learn how honey is made for the whole family West Thornhill: 1136 Centre St., Unit 2 JRCC West Thornhill East Thornhill: 7608 Yonge St., Unit 3 South Thornhill: 1 Cordoba Dr., Party Room WEDNESDAY, SEPT 25 | 6:00PM Rosh Hashana Fair Rockford: 18 Rockford Rd. Hands-on educational fun for the whole family Hilda: 61 Green Bush Rd. JRCC East Thornhill RSVP: JrccEastThornhill.org/RHFair $15 заранее/ $20 у входа RSVP: www.jrcc.org/HighHolidays

Baking challah for Shabbat and the holidays is a mitzvah and a unique spiritual experience for women. Come bake traditional round challah in honour of Rosh Hashanah.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 | 8 PM S. Richmond Hill & Maple: 9699 Bathurst St. Concord: 411 Confederation Pkwy., #14 West Thornhill: 1136 Centre St., Unit 2 East Thornhill: 7608 Yonge St., Unit 3 South Thornhill: 1 Cordoba Dr., Party Room Rockford: 18 Rockford Rd. Hilda: 61 Green Bush Rd. $15 advance/ $20 at door RSVP: www.jrcc.org/HighHolidays

ROSH HASHANA COMMUNITY DINNER

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 7:00PM

JRCC WEST THORNHILL, 1136 CENTRE ST #2 Enjoy a four-course dinner with traditional Rosh Hashana foods in a warm and festive community atmosphere. $40 per person / $180 sponsor RSVP: JrccWestThornhill.org/RHdinnerRSVP

in the

with the JRCC West Thornhill Mon. Sept. 30 & Tues., Oct. 1 | 5:30 PM at the Marina Payne Park Meet at the bridge near the clark & Dufferin Entrance

COME HEAR THE SOUNDS OF THE SHOFAR TO CELEBRATE ROSH HASHANA AND BE BLESSED WITH A HAPPY AND SWEET NEW YEAR

WEST THORNHILL

JSPC TRIAL & APPEAL LAWYERS

www.jspc.ca

OPEN HOUSE N. Richmond Hill: Sept. 10, 2019 | 6:00-7:45 PM Maple: Sept. 15, 2019 |10 am - 12:30 pm Rockford: Sept. 15, 2019 |11:30 am - 1:30 pm Concord: Sept. 9, 2019 | 6-7:45 pm West Thornhill: Sept. 10, 2019 | 4-6 pm East Thornhill: Sept. 11, 2019 | 5-7pm

Try out our ORIENTATION DAY @ Hebrew School FOR FREE!

14

September 2019 / Elul 5779

PROBONO DAY COMMUNITY FREE 30 MIN LEGAL CONSULTATION SERVICE

Lawyer Jonathan Shulman,

PROBONO DAY free 30 min legal consultations.

For more information, dates, time of the free service, For terms, please visit and to schedule your appointment, please call www.jspc.ca or www.probonoday.ca 416-222-7105 ext. 254. or call 416-907-6011.

416.222.7105

Faces of the Community

Pre-Rosh Hashanah Women's Concert Musical program by

Katya Kapelnikova

Internationally acclaimed artist and songwriter

TUESDAY Sept. 17|8pm At JRCC East Thornhill 7608 Yonge St. Price is $15 in advance, 20 at the door

www.jrcc.org/preRH

CHECK. UP! Elul, the month preceding the High Holidays, is an opportune time to have your Tefillin and Mezuzas checked by a sofer (scribe).

To acquire or check your Tefillin and Mezuzas, call 416-222-7105.

CHAI

18 ELUL

FARBRENGEN Celebrating the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, and the Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 9PM JRCC S R-HILL & MAPLE 9699 BATHURST ST.

ALEX YUAN ENTREPRENEUR, POLITICIAN TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF PLEASE. I am a candidate for the Conservative Party in the Markham-Thornhill area. My parents were part of the Shanghai volunteer team that helped Jewish refugees flee from the Nazis. They managed to save about 10,000 people. My wife, Lucy Kim-Yuan, is Korean, and her father is a South Korean Air Force general. The Korean community has long been a friend of the Jewish people, and Jewish educational programs are still being implemented in South Korea.

At age 16, I immigrated to Canada with my parents, brother and two sisters.

I learned several important lessons in my youth. My main goal in my new country was to get an education. The school administration believed that my grades were not high enough to get accepted to university.

But I continued to work hard and as a result received high grades in mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry. This was lesson number 1: never give up.

When it came time to go to university, I ran into another problem: How would I pay for studies and textbooks? I had to work double shifts at a hotel, where I ate and slept. As a result, I managed to earn a living and pay for my studies, but I still couldn’t afford textbooks. The university librarian turned out to be my savior. I asked her for permission to use books on the condition that I would return them in the same condition. And she agreed!

If it weren’t for her help, I would never have achieved anything. I learned another important life lesson: you need to help people!

After receiving my degree in business and computer science, I worked for a software company owned by three energetic Jewish businessmen.

Later I founded my own company, A & L Computer Software Limited, which specializes in Ontario medical system software for doctors.

Once my business was established, it was time to give back. I began helping poor students by setting up a scholarship fund in various higher educational institutions. Then I founded a children's charitable organization that helps teens at risk to engage in sports leagues. To do this, I managed to raise more than a million dollars, which helped 50,000 children participate in sports.

BUT, no matter how useful these efforts are, I realized that the best way to help people is to run for public office in order to change the system from the inside. My son, Michael Yuan, took over most of the management of my business, which allowed me to devote all my time and energy to running for Parliament in Markham-Thornhill.

I want to talk about one remarkable anecdote. In 2009, at the Lucky Moose market, robbers attacked a grocery store owned by David Chen. The owner put up serious resistance, for which he was called to account and detained.

I had never met David before, but was outraged by the injustice of the judicial system: it seemed to me wrong that the store owner could go to jail simply because he defended his property. Many advised me to stay away from this story, arguing that this would not help me gain votes, as it was happening in the “wrong” region for me - Toronto, while I planned to run for York. But I did what I thought was right. I wanted to raise funds for the legal defense of David Chen. I somehow came up with the crazy idea of holding a benefit concert. The crazy part is that everyone who knows me knows that I don’t sing at all. I was offered to sing a song in Cantonese (a language I did not know then!) I rehearsed for a month, and my performance turned out to be worthy even for a professional musician. Before that, I sang only once in my life. That was in 2008. My colleagues, former Thornhill deputies Peter Sherman and Mayor John Tori, raised funds for the Red Cross to help victims of the Sichuan earthquake, which affected 375,000 people. Peter Sherman sang just great, and John and I sang along with him. We did not stop until we raised $100,000.

I want to note that my commitment to the Jewish community and our mutual friendship and respect for each other are unshakable. Thus, you can understand my indignation that the government refused to change the date of the upcoming elections, which falls on the Jewish holidays of Shemini Atzeret and on Shabbat, even though there were clear precedents to do so.

In my life I have always been guided by moral principles, respecting family and community values, which I adopted from my dear parents. I can’t imagine an honor higher than the privilege of serving the people of the Markham-Thornhill as their next Member of Parliament.

Learn more at jrcc.org

www.jrcc.org

JRCC Our Community

15

e?

ited ess to

416-222-7105 | www.jrcc.org Jewish Russian Community Center of Ontario

UPCOMING STAFF & VOLUNTEER BARBECUE On Sunday, September 8, the JRCC will be hosting its annual Staff & Volunteers Appreciation Barbecue.

It is a special day though which we, as a community, express gratitude to those who devote their time and energy to serving our community. Participants are treated to great food and words of encouragement from different members of the JRCC team to thank them for the profound impact they have on people’s lives and the community as a whole. Different stories highlighting the collective impact of the JRCC team are shared throughout the afternoon-evening. One of the highlights of the day is the presentation of awards to staff and volunteers for their outstanding achievements.

“We hold this annual event so that everyone who dedicated their time, their life, to helping others, whether as a full-time professional or as a part-time volunteer, should never feel that their efforts are taken for granted.” explains Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman, JRCC Senior Rabbi and Founder. “Without your hard work and dedication we would not have the active, inviting and vibrant community we are blessed with today. Together, we make people’s lives better.”

Every community depends upon the work of volunteers to enable its work to succeed, to maximize its impact, and to ensure it is sustainable. Volunteering also provides community members with a feeling of belonging and engagement with their community.

The JRCC community is no exception, operating dozens of community programs and social services, which also provide community members a multitude of volunteer opportunities – opportunities to be active in your community, to give to others, and to grow yourself. Regardless of whether you are a young or JRCC Furniture Depot | 1416 Centre St | Vaughan, ON old, looking ext. to 500 fill |community service requirements, 416-222-7105 www.jrccfurnituredepot.org

5987 Bathurst Stre­et, #3 To­ron­to, ON M2R 1Z3 Canada Office Hours: Sun: 12 — 5 Mon to Thurs: 9 — 6 • Fri: 9 — 3hrs before Shabbat

JRCC BRANCHES JRCC of Ontario: 5987 Bathurst St., #3 Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman x278 Roi Aftabi, COO x257 JRCC S. Richmond Hill & Maple: 9699 Bathurst St. Rabbi Avrohom Zaltzman x247 JRCC Concord: 411 Confederation Parkway, #14 Rabbi Avi Weinstein x 249 JRCC Affiliate CRC of Thornhill Woods: 8808 Bathurst St. Rabbi Chaim Hildeshaim (416) 818-8492 JRCC West Thornhill: 1136 Centre St., #2 Rabbi Levi Jacobson x240 JRCC East Thornhill: 7608 Yonge St., #3 Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman x227 JRCC South Thornhill: 1 Cordoba Dr., Party Room Rabbi Levi Blau x288 JRCC Steeles & Hilda: 175 Hilda Ave., Party Room Mr. Melekh Brikman x282

FURNITURE DEPOT ПЕРЕЕЗЖАЕТЕ? РЕМОНТ?

looking to meet new people, or just want to help, there is a volunteering opportunity for you – thinks like helping out at one of our branches, working in our head office, making deliveries, assisting at events, and much more. You can also volunteer as a family, to teach your children the value of giving and kindness. Пожертвуйте свою To find our which volunteer opportunity works for you, мебель нуждающимся! contact our office at 416.222.7105 or send an email to Звоните нам volunteer@jrcc.org. @ 416-222-7105 248 We look forward to greeting and showingext.our gratitude to our respected staff and volunteers on Sunday, September 8 at the annual JRCC Staff & Volunteers AppreciationPartly Barbecue, to be held this funded by The Regional year at the JRCC S Richmond Hill & Maple.

Municipality of York

JRCC@Rockford: 18 Rockford Rd. Rabbi Shmuel Neft x235 JRCC Affiliate Jewish Gorsky Assn.: 465 Patricia Ave. Rabbi Dovid Davidov x255 JRCC Sheppard & Bathurst Senior’s Building 4455 Bathurst St., Party Room / Mr. Roman Goldstein x221 JRCC Lawrence & Bathurst Senior’s Building 3174 Bathurst St., Party Room / Mr. Mordechai Natarov x221

JRCC AFFILIATES Danforth Beaches Rabbi Shalom Lezell (416) 809-1365

Durham Region Rabbi Tzali Borensein (905) 493-9007 Georgina, Ontario Rabbi Yossi Vorovitch (905) 909-8818 Hamilton Region Rabbi Chanoch Rosenfeld (905) 529-7458 London, Ontario Rabbi Lazer Gorgov (519) 438-3333 Niagara Region Rabbi Zalman Zaltzman (905) 356-7200 Ottawa, Ontario Rabbi Chaim Mendelsohn (613) 218-8505 Waterloo Region Rabbi Moshe Goldman (519) 725-4289

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Leib & Mindel Gelfand Daycare Ohr Menachem Preschool x501

FURNITURE DEPOT

tment*)

.org

An agency of the Government of Ontario.

Relève du gouvernement de l’Ontario.

Shana Tova!

MOVING? RENOVATING? Donate your furniture to those in need!

Call us @ 416-222-7105 ext. 248 to get a quote for pick-up

e?

ited ess to

JRCC Directory

JRCC Program Spotlight

JRCC Hebrew School Sunday and after-school program x225 Gen J Activities for Young Adults (18-31) x240 Institute of Jewish Studies Classes & Lectures for Adults x221 Exodus Magazine Monthly Publications in Rus & Eng x222 JRCC Bookstore & Library jrcc.org/bookstore x221

SOCIAL PROGRAMS Furniture Depot: 1416 Centre St. #6 x500 jrccfurnituredepot.org Hospital & Jail Visitations x221 Family Counselling & Legal Advice Holiday Programs x234 Events, Parties & Holiday Awareness Jewish Identity Verification x237 Mazal Makalski jewishidentity@jrcc.org Simcha Gemach x234 Chanie Zaltzman chanie.zaltzman@jrcc.org Volunteering x0 Get involved in your community!

JRCC Furniture Depot | 1416 Centre St | Vaughan, ON 416-222-7105 ext. 500 | www.jrccfurnituredepot.org

16

September 2019 / Elul 5779

Partly funded by The Regional Municipality of York

YEDinstitute – Entrepreneurial Mentorship x221 yedinstitute.org

416.222.7105

SHARE THE JOY! t he ex odus ma g azine sim cha sectio n

Mazel Tov to

Izzy and Ahuva Greenberg

IT’S A BOY! Benjamin Benuel Moldavski Jonathan Buriev Eli Chai Fridman

IT’S A GIRL! Radda Genya Binder Michal Menucha Miriam

on the birth of their baby girl

BAR-MITZVAH!

Michal Menucha Miriam

Yonatan Yagudaev

ENGAGEMENT! Michael Nisimov & Ayala Weig

MARRIAGE! Gilad Levy & Carmela Serebryany Sergey Mashkin & Kayla Kaplan Ari Hyam & Rochel Esther Gofer Shneur Zalman Eichorn & Rochel Gelman Wishing you much health, happiness and nachas, from the rabbis of the JRCC

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perspectives

Rosh Hashana in Copenhagen, 1943 Dr. Rafael Medoff

A

s the final minutes of Rosh Hashana ticked away, thirteen year-old Leo Goldberger was hiding, along with his parents and three brothers, in the thick brush along the shore of Dragor, a small fishing village south of Copenhagen. The year was 1943, and the Goldbergers, like thousands of other Danish Jews, were desperately trying to escape an imminent Nazi round-up.

"Finally, after what seemed like an excruciatingly long wait, we saw our signal offshore," Goldberger later recalled. "We strode straight into the ocean and waded through three or four feet of icy water until we were hauled aboard a fishing boat" and "covered with smelly canvases." Shivering, frightened, but grateful, the Goldberger family soon found themselves in the safety and freedom of neighboring Sweden.

For years, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other Allied leaders had insisted that nothing could be done to rescue Jews

18

from the Nazis except to win the war. But seventy-five years ago this week, the Danish people exploded that myth and changed history.

When the Nazis occupied Denmark in 1940, the Danes put up little resistance. As a result, the German authorities agreed to let the Danish government continue functioning with greater autonomy than other occupied countries. They also postponed taking steps against Denmark’s 8,000 Jewish citizens.

In the late summer of 1943, amid rising tensions between the occupation regime and the Danish government, the Nazis declared martial law and decided the time had come to deport Danish Jews to the death camps.

But George Duckwitz, a German diplomat in Denmark, leaked the information to Danish friends. (Duckwitz was later honored by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.) As word of the Germans' plans spread, the Danish public responded with a spontaneous nationwide grassroots

effort to help the Jews.

The Danes' remarkable response gave rise to the legend that King Christian X himself rode through the streets of Copenhagen on horseback, wearing a yellow Star of David, and that the citizens of the city likewise donned the star in solidarity with the Jews.

The story may have had its origins in a political cartoon that appeared in a Swedish newspaper in 1942. It showed King Christian pointing to a Star of David and declaring that if the Nazis imposed it upon the Jews of Denmark, "then we must all wear the star." Leon Uris's novel Exodus, and the movie based on that book, helped spread the legend. But subsequent investigations by historians have concluded that the story is a myth.

On Rosh Hashana and the days that followed, numerous Danish Christian families hid Jews in their homes or farms

Elul 5779

perspectives

On Rosh Hashana and the days that followed, numerous Danish Christian families hid Jews in their homes or farms and then smuggled them to the seashore late at night. From there, fishermen took them across the Kattegat Straits to neighboring Sweden. and then smuggled them to the seashore late at night. From there, fishermen took them across the Kattegat Straits to neighboring Sweden.

This three-week rescue operation had the strong support of Danish church leaders, who used their pulpits to urge aid to the Jews, as well as Danish universities, which shut down so that students could assist the smugglers. More than 7,000 Danish Jews reached Sweden and were sheltered there until the end of the war.

Esther Finkler, a young newlywed, was hidden, together with her husband and their mothers, in a greenhouse. “At night, we saw the [German] searchlights sweeping back and forth throughout the neighborhood,” as the Nazis hunted for Jews. One evening, a member of the Danish Underground arrived and drove the four, “through streets saturated with Nazi stormtroopers,” to a point near the shore.

There they hid in an underground shelter,

September 2019

then in the attic of a bakery, until finally they were brought to a beach, where they boarded a small fishing vessel together with other Jewish refugees. “There were nine of us, lying down on the deck or the floor,” Esther later recalled. “The captain covered us with fishing nets. When everyone had been properly concealed, the fishermen started the boat, and as the motor started to run, so did my pent up tears.”

Then, suddenly, trouble: “The captain began to sing and whistle nonchalantly, which puzzled us. Soon we heard him shouting in German toward a passing Nazi patrol boat: ‘Wollen sie einen beer haben?’

(Would you like a beer?) —a clever gimmick designed to avoid the Germans’ suspicions.

After three tense hours at sea, we heard shouting: ‘Get up! Get up! And welcome to Sweden!’ It was hard to believe, but we were now safe. We cried and the Swedes cried with us as they escorted as ashore. The nightmare was over.”

The implications of the Danish rescue operation resonated strongly in the United States. The Roosevelt administration had long insisted that rescue of Jews from the Nazis was not possible. The refugee advocates known as the Bergson Group began citing the escape of Denmark’s Jews as evidence that if the Allies were sufficiently interested, ways could be found to save many European Jews.

The Bergsonites sponsored a series of full-page newspaper advertisements about the Danish-Swedish effort, headlined “It Can Be Done!” On October 31, thousands of New Yorkers jammed Carnegie Hall for the Bergson Group’s “Salute to Sweden and Denmark” rally.

Keynote speakers included members of Congress, Danish and Swedish diplomats, and one of the biggest names in Hollywood-Orson Welles, director of Citizen Kane and The War of the Worlds. In another coup for the Bergson Group, one of the speakers was Leon Henderson, one of President Roosevelt's own former economic advisers (Henderson had headed the White House's Office of Price Administration).

In blunt language that summed up the tragedy--and the hope--Henderson declared: "The Allied Governments have been guilty of moral cowardice. The issue of saving the Jewish people of Europe has been avoided, submerged, played down, hushed up, resisted with all the forms of political force that are available…Sweden and Denmark have proved the tragedy of Allied indecision…The Danes and Swedes have shown us the way..If this be a war for civilization, then most surely this is the time to be civilized!" EM

Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and the author of The Jews Should Keep Quiet: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust, forthcoming from The Jewish Publication Society in 2019.

exodusmagazine.org

19

Rosh Hashana

Yom Kippur

What is Rosh Hashana?

What is Yom Kippur?

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah actually means “Head of the Year.” Just like the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year.

Just months after the people of Israel left Egypt in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), they sinned by worshipping a golden calf. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and prayed to G‑d to forgive them. After two 40‑day stints on the mountain, full Divine favor was obtained. The day Moses came down the mountain (the 10th of Tishrei) was to be known forevermore as the Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur.

SEPT 29 – OCT 1

As we read in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, each year on this day “all inhabitants of the world pass before G‑d like a flock of sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall die ... who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.”

It is a day of prayer, a time to ask the Almighty to grant us a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. But it is also a joyous day when we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe.

The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe depends on G‑d’s desire for a world, a desire that is renewed when we accept His kingship anew each year on Rosh Hashanah.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, on both days of the holiday (except if the first day is Shabbat, in which case we blow the shofar only on the second day).

Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where we pray that G‑d grant all of His creations a sweet new year. The evening and afternoon prayers are similar to the prayers said on a regular holiday. However, the morning services are significantly longer.

The holiday prayerbook—called a machzor—contains all the prayers and Torah readings for the entire day. The most significant addition is the shofar blowing ceremony.

However, there are also other important elements of the prayer service that are unique to Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashana To Do List

OCT 8 – 9

That year, the people built the Tabernacle, a portable home for G‑d. The Tabernacle was a center for prayers and sacrificial offerings. The service in the Tabernacle climaxed on Yom Kippur, when the High Priest would perform a specially prescribed service. Highlights of this service included offering incense in the Holy of Holies (where the ark was housed) and the lottery with two goats—one of which was brought as a sacrifice, the other being sent out to the wilderness.

While the High Priest generally wore ornate golden clothing, on Yom Kippur, he would immerse in a mikvah and don plain white garments to perform this service. This practice continued for hundreds of years, throughout the time of the first Temple in Jerusalem, which was built by Solomon, and the second Temple, which was built by Ezra. Jews from all over would gather in the Temple to experience the sacred sight of the High Priest performing his service, obtaining forgiveness for all of Israel. When the second Temple was destroyed in the year 3830 from creation (70 CE), the Yom Kippur service continued. Instead of a High Priest bringing the sacrifices in Jerusalem, every single Jew performs the Yom Kippur service in the temple of his or her heart.

Like Shabbat, no work is to be done on Yom Kippur, from the time the sun sets on the ninth of Tishrei until the stars come out in the evening of the next day.

Yom Kippur To Do List

Light Holiday Candles (Sept. 29: 6:44pm, Sept. 30*: after 7:43pm) Women and girls light up the world.

See calendar or prayerbook for blessings.

Kaparot (Oct. 8, early morning) Ancient custom observed by circling a fowl (or money) over one’s head while reciting a special prayer. Consult your prayerbook.

Hear the Shofar (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, in synagogue) For a complete High Holiday schedule contact the JRCC or visit us online at jrcc.org

Light Holiday Candles (Oct. 8: 6:28pm) Women and girls light up the world.

See calendar for blessings.

Spiritual Accounting Personal and honest analysis of the past.

Positive resolutions for the future.

Observe The Day of Atonement (Oct. 8: 6:28pm - Oct. 9: 7:27pm) No eating, drinking, bathing, applying lotions, wearing leather shoes or marital intimacy.

Throw Your Sins Away (Sept. 30, afternoon) Walk to a nearby pond for the traditional Tashlich prayer: Throw away your negative energy.

Yizkor: Remeberance of the Departed Light Yizkor candles at home before 6:28pm on Oct. 8.

Recite the special Yizkor prayer in synagogue at 12pm on Oct. 9.

Celebrate the New Year Recite Kiddush over wine at each meal.

For a good and sweet year, eat traditional Rosh Hashana foods: Apples & Honey, Pomegranates, Fish head, etc.

For a complete High Holiday schedule including locations: please consult the JRCC Calendar, call our office: 416.222.7105 or visit us online at jrcc.org.

* From a pre-existing flame.

20

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