Exodus Magazine - May 2020

#211 | May 2020 • Iyyar-Sivan 5780

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May 2020 • Iyyar-Sivan 5780

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5 | JEWISH SOUL

Mission of the Jewish Nation

7

10

10 | LIFE ON EARTH

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak's Post-Passover Prayer

There is a tendency sometimes to determine such endeavors on the basis of quantitative rather than qualitative criteria. But the Jewish people have been given a different directive.

If the holy tzadik, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, would be with us today, he would certainly raise his hands to the heavens and argue with the Master of the Universe on behalf of His children, the Jews.

— From the Rebbe's correspondence

— by Tzvi Freeman

6 | MADE YOU THINK

11 | LIFE ON EARTH

One Heart: The Message of Shavuot

A New Coronavirus Prayer

When you think about it, it actually makes more sense that all aspects of the universe – and our lives – are connected rather than disconnected. But our external senses sometimes hold us hostage.

Send a full recovery to the ill and the afflicted, those on respirators and in isolation; and give strength, might, and hope to Your people, Your land and Your world.

— by Simon Jacobson

— by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz)

7 | JEWISH THOUGHT

18 | PERSPECTIVES

In his prime time he was considered the greatest Jew of his era, yet he ended up killing himself. His final will to his children moments before he strangled himself is perplexing.

What Tom Hanks shows us in his portrayal of Fred Rogers is a man who is capable of attending to other people, listening to them, talking gently to them in a way that is powerfully affirming.

— by Yosef Y. Jacobson

— by Jonathan Sacks

The Shrewdest Jew's Last Will

Words That Heal

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It never ceases to amaze me the extent to which mindset dictates reality. Personal growth, mindfulness, creativity, relationships, work — all are radically altered by attitude, mood, and perspective.

When I’m in a positivity groove, I have better energy and more of it, greater focus and creativity. I feel light, and things just seem to flow. Think good, and it will definitely become good. It’s beyond wishful thinking. It’s beyond faith. It’s embracing positive determinism as an extreme sport, and it’s scientifically proven by researchers in a variety of fields, including positive psychology.

You are where your mind is; if you want to get somewhere, be there now. When driving under extreme weather conditions (a great metaphor for life), you focus on the path away from it, not on the obstacle itself. If you focus on what’s in your way, chances are you’ll crash into it. A tightrope walker crossing the chasm focuses on the goal of reaching the other side, one step at a time, not on the daunting abyss below.

Whether it’s your thoughts, mental conditioning, or the voices of others that you have internalized, negative thoughts bring you down and fill you with toxic energy. When you focus on what you don’t want, instead of what you do want, what you’re actually doing is inviting it into your life, giving it space, and propelling yourself in that direction. You will head in the direction you focus on. You want success? Think about what success looks like, not the failures you fear.

It is tempting to succumb the power of the negativity bias. Negative thinking is an alluring outlet for frustration and angst. It provides a quick fix that makes it feel like something is actually changing. It does have its time and place as a tool for decisive course corrections. But for the most part, negative thinking drains your energy, whereas positive thinking supercharges it.

Negative thinking can take you out of a negative

situation, whereas positive thinking heals the negativity within you and makes you more immune.

Try replacing typical negative thoughts with positive ones to experience a different mindset, feeling, energy — and result: • Replace what you fear with what you love.

• Replace what you despise with what you desire.

• Replace what you are avoiding with what you are doing.

• Replace what you are running away from with where you are heading.

• Replace how things suck with how they can be great.

Success in life, however you define it, is about the quality of the journey. Staying positive is an ongoing struggle as we deal with the challenges of life, so we need constant reminders and focused exercises like the one above to keep us on the right track.

Here are some simple guidelines to help direct positive thinking.

Do: • Appreciate your achievements, big and small.

• Be grateful for who and what you do have in your life.

• Count your blessings.

Don’t: • Worry about what other people think.

• Overthink and overanalyze things, especially things you can’t change.

• Beat yourself up over failures, whether real or imagined.

• Engage in “If only…” thinking • Feel sorry for yourself.

• Complain uselessly in way that is not constructive – venting doesn’t actually help unless it is followed by emotional nurturing or constructive problem-solving.

Life is an adventure. Journey through it with the right mindset, and the destinations tends to take care of themselves.

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jewish soul

Mission

of the Jewish

Nation

From the Rebbe's correspondence

T

he central theme of Creation is the task which the Creator bestowed on man, the chosen one of all creatures, together with tremendous powers to carry it out in life — I wish to dwell here on a further point, namely, that just as this matter concerns every Jew as an individual, it applies also, and even more strongly, to the Jewish people as a whole, the Chosen People whom G‑d has given a special task as a nation among the nations of the world. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "Thus said the Lord G‑d, Creator of the heavens...the earth and its creatures...'I'll protect you and set you up as a covenantpeople for a light of the nations.'"

And just as the Jew, as an individual, must not forget his task, but must rather be permeated at all times with the responsibility of it, and not underestimate his powers, so must also the Jewish people, as a nation, always be mindful of its special purpose and not underestimate its powers, and certainly must not slavishly follow or imitate other nations.

The same applies, on a more limited scale, but in more concrete instances, to every Jewish community or organization, whatever the official purpose of its inception may be, and even to a single Jew whose status is such that people regard him as exemplary or representative of the entire Jewish nation.

The said affirmation is not necessary, needless to say, in the area wherein the uniqueness of the Jewish people is plainly evident to all, namely in the sphere of the purely spiritual life, of true Judaism, Torah and Mitzvahs.

But rather in the sphere of things wherein all nations are more or less comparable externally, i.e., in the sphere of the so-called general and mundane affairs, as, for example, in the relations of communities and organizations with the outside world, or with each other, as to what should be the aims and aspirations of the particular Jewish body, who should be the leaders, what priorities to establish, how the resources should be allocated, and so forth.

There is a tendency sometimes to determine such endeavors on the basis of quantitative rather than qualitative criteria. Wherefore also in the area of these endeavors the Jewish people have been given the directive: "Not by might,

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nor by power, but by My spirit, says G‑d." To the Jewish people and Jewish community (even to the Jew as an individual) special Divine capacities ("My spirit") have been given to carry out their task in the fullest measure.

For, where Jews are concerned, their physical powers are linked with, and subordinated to, spiritual powers, which are infinite.

An historic example of this is found in the time of King Solomon, when the Jewish people stood out among the nations of the world by virtue of having attained the highest degree of its perfection. Our Sages of blessed memory, referring to that state, describe it as being like "the moon it its fullness." — For, as is well known, the Jewish people is likened to the moon, and they "reckon" their times (calendar months) by the moon. One of the explanations of this is that just as the moon goes through periodic changes in its appearance, according to its position vis-a-vis the sun, whose light it reflects, so the Jewish people go through changes according to the measure of its reflecting the Light of G‑d, of Whom it is written, "For G‑d you Lord is sun and shield."

This perfection in the time of King Solomon (notwithstanding the fact that even then Jews constituted numerically and physically "the

fewest of all the nation") expressed itself, in quite a distinctive form, in the relations between the Jewish people and the other nations of the world. The reputation of King Solomon's wisdom aroused a strong desire among kings and leaders to come and see his conduct and learn from his wisdom — the wisdom he had prayed for and received from G‑d, and permeated with G‑dliness.

And when they came they also saw how under his leadership there lived a people, even in its material life, "with security, every man under his vine and under his fig tree," in a land where "the eyes of G‑d, your G‑d, are constantly on it, from beginning of the year to the end of year." And this is what brought peace between the Jews and the nations all around.

Thus, it was clearly demonstrated that when Jews live in accord with Torah, true peace is attained, and they serve as a guiding light for the nations — "the nations will go by your light" — the light of Torah and Mitzvoth.

The said task of the Jew and of the Jewish community is not limited to the time when they are in a state of a "full moon," but also when in exile, "spread and dispersed among the nations." For even then they are one people, whose laws are different from those of all other nations, a fact that is known to and acknowledged by all nations of the world.

Because even when Jews are in exile, it is only the Jewish body that is in exile, but the Jewish soul is never exiled and is free from any external subjugation. Consequently, also while in exile Jews must not ignore their task, nor underestimate their capacities, however limited their material powers may be, inasmuch as a Jew's material resources, as already noted, are bound up with the spiritual, and in the spiritual realm there are no limitations also during the time of exile.

In plain words: Wherever Jews find themselves, in the diaspora or in the Land of Israel, even a single Jew in a remote corner of the earth — it behooves every Jew and Jewish community to remember that they are part of the whole Jewish people and representatives of the entire Jewish people, the one people ever since the Torah was given at Mount Sinai and until the end of times. EM

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made you think

One Heart: The Message

of

Shavuot

Simon Jacobson

M

any thinkers argue that our understanding of the universe has evolved from a pluralistic view to a singular view. Earlier in history, our so-called primitive perspective measured the universe with the naked senses, resulting in a perception that the world was made up of many different parts, ruled by diverse forces.

Today, however, we have developed a far more sophisticated appreciation of the universe as one unified whole. The multitude of systems and organisms are all part of a single entity and the countless personalities of nature all fall under several unifying laws that govern all of existence. And the search for the one “unified field theory,” which will explain all phenomena, remains the defining and ultimate scientific achievement.

When exactly did this perception change?

When did humankind begin to see – experience – the universe as one unified entity, instead of a composite of myriad pieces?

According to the Torah it happened over 3300 years ago today, when the nation of Israel camped opposite Mount Sinai.

What power did Sinai have that united the people when they “camped opposite the mountain”?

The Midrash explains that at Sinai an unprecedented experience took place that would change the course of all history. Up till that point that which was “above” did not descend “below” and that which was “below” did not ascend “above.” The spiritual and sublime was divorced from the material and the mundane.

Spirit and matter were two forces that could not join. Obviously, even before Sinai matter and energy were essentially one (E=MC2 was discovered, not created by Einstein), but human beings were unable to integrate them.

Sinai changed all that. It married heaven and earth, integrating the sublime and the mundane, uniting the majestic and the plain.

In one word: Fusion. Sinai achieved a total fusion of matter and spirit. It empowered mankind to renovate the very nature of existence; to transform the material into spiritual fuel. We now can take an inanimate, physical object, and convert it into sublime energy; to bring alive every fiber of our beings and every aspect of our existence. To take what would have been an ordinary experience and make it extraordinary.

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Instead of a fleeting moment, a transient life can become eternal, the temporary can become permanent and the mortal – immortal.

This unprecedented fusion changed not only the global landscape, but – and perhaps even more importantly – it transformed our personal experience.

The human being is a universe in microcosm.

We too are comprised of two forces: Our bodies and our souls. Each of us has a “biological” voice of survival, which rest side by side a transcendental voice seeking relief. Can we integrate these two forces? Or are we condemned, at best, to a compartmentalized life: Most of the time involved in the struggle for survival, otherwise known as our physical needs, while attempting to carve out moments (or weekends) for transcendental activities, which take on many shapes, some healthy, some not so: Romance, music, art, travel, spirituality and faith. Transcendental thirst is sometimes quenched through self-destructive “waters” – various (physical or psychological) obsessions or addictions – anything to “get out of this place” of the monotonous grind.

Sinai introduced into our lives a new way of being: You do not have to segment your life into two (or more) parts. You have the power to spiritualize the material, and to fuse your body with your soul.

You do this by turning your body and your physical activities into vehicles to express and fulfill your soul’s mission. Instead of controlling and directing your spiritual life, your material life follows your soul’s desires. The driver directs the vehicle, not the other way around.

The psychological implications of personal fusion between the survival and the transcendental are as life transforming as they are astonishing. Sinai unequivocally states that you do not have to resign yourself to a life of duality.

This does not mean that there is no struggle.

Our perception remains one of plurality, clutching us in its powerful grip. And, as we all know too well: The battle is fierce.

This is why we cover our eyes when we say the Shema (the most fundamental of all statements of faith): As we declare “Hashem Echod” – that G-d is one, which means that there is only ONE reality – we cover our naked eyes which deceive us into perceiving a pluralistic universe.

All moments of truth are best experienced with closed eyes; by shutting down the external stimuli of our outer senses, we can experience the pulsating sensuality of our inner senses.

And the way we perceive ourselves affects the way we perceive others and the way we understand the universe at large. In fact, it’s not just a matter of perception. The way we perceive ourselves actually affects others and the world around us. Students of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle are familiar with the scientifically proven fact that on a sub-atomic level the “observer” of phenomena is not a mere “observer,” but actually impacts the “object” he is observing.

Bizarre as it sounds (that is, bizarre to our limited faculties) this has been proven time and again in laboratories around the world.

When you think about it, it actually makes more sense that all aspects of the universe – and our lives – are connected rather than disconnected. But this is yet another demonstration how our external senses hold us hostage in their stubborn, myopic view of a fragmented universe and our lives as a series of random, disjointed experiences.

Close your eyes, listen to a gentle melody, and you will feel (for the moment at least) as one with yourself, one with others, one with the universe – seamless and whole.

When the people arrived at Sinai, they were suddenly taken by a new “music” that surrounded them. All their differences, all their disagreements dissolved in the awesome moment. They became “one human, with one heart.” EM meaningfullife.com

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jewish thought

The Shrewdest Jew's Last Will Yosef Y. Jacobson

H

e was one of the most brilliant men of the Tanach, and one of its most tragic personalities. In his prime time he was considered the greatest Jew of his era, yet he ended up killing himself. His final will to his children moments before he strangled himself is perplexing.

Achitofel of the city of Giloh, lived in the times of King David. (We will explore his life shortly). Before he committed suicide, he imparted three instructions to his children.

Our Rabbis have taught: Three things did Achitofel command his children before his passing: 1. Do not enter into quarrels. 2. Do not rebel against the sovereignty of David.

3. If the weather is clear on the holiday of Shavuot, plant wheat.

We are struck by three obvious questions: 1) The first and second pieces of advice are redundant. Surely if one avoids all quarrels, he will avoid rebellion against the kingship of David. Why would Achitofel repeat himself?

And why is it considered a separate instruction from the first one?

2) Achitofel was a brilliant man, the Tanach describes his advice as being Divine. He was considered the wisest man of his time. If these are his dying words surely they must contain his greatest and most profound insights gleaned from a lifetime rich in experience. What is the significance of these three ideas that warrant the fact that they are his last charge to his children? What is their underlying unifying theme? How do these three statements sum up his life?

3) What does he mean, “If the weather on Shavuot is clear, plant wheat?” Was this simple agricultural advice? If yes, what does it mean? And why did he decide to say it now moments before his death?

For this, some historical background is necessary.

Who Was Achitofel?

Achitofel was born in the Judean town of Giloh, a small suburb of Jerusalem, and lived in the times of King David (David lived approximately from 1040 till 970 BCE). He was a man of phenomenal talent, a brilliant Torah Scholar, a world-class politician, a thinker and intellectual whose advice was sought after by the greatest men of his time, and ultimately, he was a king-maker. At a very

May 2020

young age Achitofel was already the president of the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin (the Sanhedrin was the body of 70 Torah scholars responsible for the transmission of the Torah, and for the spiritual welfare of the people). Even among those towering figures, Achitofel stood out.

The Tanach itself testifies to his intellectual greatness with a compliment, unparalleled in all of scripture: And the counsel of Achitofel which he counseled in those days was as if a man inquired of the word of G-d, so was all the counsel of Achitofel.” (Samuel II 16:23).

Achitofel rose to become a man of immeasurable influence and power as the chief advisor of King David. In the book of Chronicles when all of King David’s staff and personnel are listed, only he is titled ‘yoetz hamelech,’ the king’s personal counsel.

And Achitofel was the king's counselor, and Chushai the Archite was the king's friend.

But from being David’s most trusted advisor and confidant, Achitofel turned into a traitor.

This happened when Absalom (Avshalom), one of David’s most charismatic sons, begins a massive rebellion against his father. Absalom wanted to usurp the kingdom. Quickly, he gains much popular support and actually forces his father David to flee his own palace and his capital Jerusalem. Achitofel joins the rebellions son Absalom and becomes his number one advisor.

What led a man like Achitofel to treachery?

Why did he leave David, the man who gave him so much status and power?

There are two possible answers. The Talmud suggests[5] that Achitofel felt that he was supposed to be the king. (After all, the king sought his counsel.) He was supporting Absalom because he was hoping that in the turmoil that inevitably would follow the coup, he would seize power for himself and become king.

(In a sense, the Talmud says, his hunch was correct. But not for himself, rather for his grandson, Solomon, who would one day become the king. Sometimes, people feel things, and they might be correct, but the timing is not right.)

The Midrash gives a much more sinister motivation. The Talmud states that Achitofel’s daughter was none other than David’s beloved wife Bat-Sheva. Bat-Sheva had been married to a warrior named Uriah the Chiti but David had Uriah sent to the front lines where he was killed in battle and then married Bat-Sheva himself, an act he never got over till the end of his life.

David was reprimanded by the prophet Nosson for his actions, and spent the rest of his life repenting. “My sin stand before me constantly,” he says in Psalms 51. David fasted twenty-two years to gain atonement for this sin. But Achitofel never forgave him. Now he found his chance for revenge.

When David is fleeing Jerusalem from his son Absalom’s mutiny, he is more afraid of Achitofel than he is of Absalom. He prays to G-d to corrupt the advice of Achitofel. He does not just rely on prayer, he also sends his most devoted friend Chushai the Archite as a

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jewish thought

spy into Absalom’s camp just to ‘frustrate the counsel of Achitofel.’

Achitofel advises that he and 12,000 men would pursue David immediately as he and him men were exhausted from escaping Jerusalem. David’s men would escape, and Achitofel would kill David.

“I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and I will startle him: and all the people that are with him will flee, and I will smite the king alone.”

Absalom likes the sound of this, but decides to get Chushai’s take on it before making an ultimate decision. Chushai, David’s loyal friend who was sent by David as a spy to try to foil the plots, knows that Achitofel is right, so he suggests the exact opposite: He plays on Absalom’s arrogance and confidence in his popularity, suggesting that Absalom gather a massive army “from Dan in the north, until Be’er Sheva in the south” and together to march on David’s soldiers slowly and methodically. Absalom accepts Chushai’s advice. This gives David time to reorganize himself and his people. David’s life is saved.

Absalom is killed. David returns to the throne.

Achitofel, with his infallible political acumen, is certain that by failing to follow his advice Absalom is destroying himself and his kingship. David would prevail and Achitoful would be killed. He therefore turns to his last resort: Suicide.

“And Achitofel saw that his counsel was not done, and he saddled his donkey, and he arose, and he went to his house, to his city, and he gave charge to his household and he strangled himself, and he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.”

Achitofel’s suicide was not the frenzied and blind madness of a sudden attack of despair, rather it was calculated, methodical, patient and deliberate. The Tanach states clearly that “he gave charge to his household.”

Now that we have the context, his second command ‘Do not rebel against the Kingdom of David’ is well understood: Achitofel is regretting his part in the rebellion. But our other questions still remain: What is the underlying thread in his three statements?

Why the redundancy? What does he mean when he says, “If the weather is clear on Shavuot, plant wheat?’” Why did he choose

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these three statements as his final message before dying?

In the midst of the uproar of civil war, seconds before he strangles himself, Achitofel has nothing better to say than a farming tip about planting wheat? Is this the final message coming from the most brilliant man of his day, whose advice was seen as second to G-d?

THREE ARENAS OF HUMAN AMBITION There are three arenas of human ambition.

There are three fields that man sees as truly valuable and worth devoting his life to. All of our goals and dreams can be placed in one of these categories. In the words of our Sages in Ethics of the Fathers, they are the ‘three crowns’ that every man seeks to obtain and be crowned by.

1) Knowledge, wisdom, study, academia, discovery, and information. This is called the “crown of Torah.”

2) Spirituality, service, dedication, selfimprovement, refinement, personal growth, deep connection to G-d and to the higher consciousness. This is called “the crown of Priesthood,” as the priests represented service.

3) Leadership, influence, power. This is called “the crown of royalty.”

TWO ROADS These are the three destinations. But there are two paths, two roads that lead there.

These two roads are very different. They are two approaches how one chooses to live his or her life.

One path is based exclusively on my own intellect and my own instincts and feelings.

The axis and basis upon which all is founded is my own mind and heart. First I will explore, then if I am satisfied, I will commit. And then if I am disenchanted, I will simply un-commit, and continue searching. In this philosophy, the final decider is always my own mind, my own subjective self. I determine what is true, what is false; what is good and what is evil.

Another approach is one in which one sees himself or herself as a carrier and an ambassador of truths and tradition which transcend his or her own identity. The bedrock of this person’s philosophy is surrender to a greater truth, to values and standards that are beyond and before me. Only after this, will I

begin my own investigation and search.

While the first person asks “What do I ask of life?” the second person asks “what does life ask of me?”

Achitofel lived his entire life based on the first path. He always acted in the way he saw and understood best. Never did he surrender his mind to a greater truth. Never did he say ‘I don’t understand but I will do it anyway.’

Theoretically, it is a path that can work, yet now, on his death bed, as his entire life passed before his mind’s eye, he is telling his children that he has erred and that they not learn from his mistake.

In the words of the Ethics of our Father: “One whose fear of sin takes precedence to his wisdom, his wisdom endures. However, one whose wisdom takes precedence to his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure.”

Why? Because In life, you must search, ask, inquire, seek, and yearn to understand, internalize and experience. Yet if your own identity remains the exclusive barometer of right and wrong, of good and evil, of happiness and sadness, you may end up in the gutter.

Even the greatest and most fertile mind can be bios and self destructive. Only when your self-expression is founded on the foundations of absolute truths which transcend you, will you be certain that your own search will be expansive and successful and will bring you to great places.

Saying, "I won't do it until I fully understand" is like refusing to take the medicine the doctor has prescribed until you

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understand exactly how antibiotics are made and how they neutralize bacteria, or refusing to breathe until you've studied how the lungs function and why your body requires oxygen.

Once you know the doctor is trustworthy and knowledgeable, you take his prescription even if you don’t understand how and why, and even if you are not in the mood of it. In life too, once you can appreciate that the Creator of the universe who loves you unconditionally and wants you to be the happiest and the most fulfilled human being possible has granted you His prescription for your life, you embrace it, even if at the moment you don’t understand the reasons and benefits.

This, then, was Achitofel’s mistake. On his deathbed he tried to correct it for his children’s sake. He told them three things, corresponding the “three crowns”—the crown of wisdom, priesthood and royalty.

Let’s begin with the third: “If the weather is clear on Shavuot, plant wheat.” This was his inimitable way of saying that the truest and most profound wisdom is that wisdom which is founded on the acceptance of the source of all wisdom.

“If the weather is clear on Shavuot, plant wheat.” Wheat is distinguished as human food, as opposed to barley which is considered animal fodder. The human being is distinguished over the rest of the animal world only by virtue of his intellectual capacity.

Hence, wheat is symbolic of the intellect. The Tree of Knowledge was, according to one opinion in the Talmud, a stalk of wheat (no, not an apple). That is why it is called the Tree

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of Knowledge, because a child’s mind develops enough to say ‘father’ only after eating grain.

(The Hebrew word for wheat, "chitah", has the numerical value of 22, symbolizing the 22 letters of the Torah.)

So Achitofel was telling his children: “If the weather is clear on Shavuot, plant wheat.”

Only if the Shavuot energy is sparkling clear, will your wheat grow well.

What happened on Shavuot? It was not that the Jewish people received the Torah at that time; the wisdom and ideas of Torah were studied by the Patriarchs and generations of Jews before Sinai. What occurred at Sinai was that the Jewish people embraced the yoke of Torah; they entered into a covenant with the Almighty and they committed themselves to the Torah.

If the mind is left to own devices, it can come up with the most perverted and grotesque ideas, all justified in the name of rationality.

Achitofel addressed also the “crown of royalty.” ‘Do not rebel against the Kingdom of David.” Here too he was addressing two paths of leadership. Achesofel throughout his life believed that the primary quality of a leader is his confidence in his own skills and decisions. David believed that although a leader must possess much confidence, the primary trait of a leader must be his absolute humility and submission to a higher cause.

This was the paradox of David. He was a fearless warrior, yet when we read the book of Psalms, we observe his profound vulnerability and humility.

In David’s mind, the power of the king stemmed from his powerlessness. It was not his ego which conferred so much power on him, but rather his complete submission to G-d and to his people which granted him the power. That is why David completes his life on the holiday of Shavuot, the day of commitment and surrender.

That is what made David unique. Saul sinned and David sinned. Saul lost his kingship, not David. Why? Saul justified his actions. David immediately acknowledged his error and did not stop repenting. His readiness to be vulnerable and accountable— just like his great grandfather Judah who immediately confessed publicly that it was he who cohabited with Tamar—is what made

him most worthy of the mantle of royalty.

At his deathbed, Achitofel finally embraced the path of David. He realized that when a king, a president, a leader is arrogant, he can become a very dangerous man.

He also advised them in the area of service, “the crown of priesthood.” “Do not enter a quarrel.”

Achitofel, during his lifetime, believed that the path to spiritual refinement and transcendence needed to be paved exclusively by a person’s own ideas and feelings. You define your own spirituality.

Yet at is his death bed he proclaimed: “do not enter a quarrel.” The Talmud states that the origin of all quarrels was the rebellion of Korach against Moses and Aaron. Korach had a valid and rational claim: “The entire nation is equally holy, and G-d dwells amongst them, so why do you Moses and Aaron, take positions of power and spiritual leadership?”

Logically, Korach had a point. There was only one flaw in his argument: G-d said otherwise. Serving G-d must be about G-d, not about me. If I want to touch G-d, I need to surrender my own conception of spirituality and sublimity to G-d’s will.

But that was the something that Korach, like Achitofel, could not accept. On his deathbed, he tells his children, do not engage in quarrel.

In the arena of service too, you must surrender your sense of egotism. A spiritual ego is still an ego.

This was Achitofel's great message: Let your creativity soar, your mind blossom, and your individuality shine. But if you wish to truly become a great person, ensure that it is all founded on the absolute principles of Divine ethics and morality, then they will serve as the permanent “light houses” which ensure that the ship does not get lost in the endless tumultuous waters of the ocean. EM

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (YY) Jacobson is one of America’s premier Jewish scholars in Torah and Jewish mysticism. He is a passionate and mesmerizing communicator of Judaism today, culling his ideas from the entire spectrum of Jewish thought and making them relevant to contemporary audiences. Rabbi Jacobson founded and serves as dean of TheYeshiva.net.

exodusmagazine.org

9

life on earth

The Post-Passover Quarantine Prayer of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev Tzvi Freeman

I

f the holy tzadik, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, would be with us today, he would certainly raise his hands to the heavens and argue with the Master of the Universe on behalf of His children, the Jews.

What he would say is far beyond my soul to know. But nevertheless, I'll take an ounce of chutzpah and guess the contents of his words.

“First you closed their schools,” he would recount. “So that the children could not learn Torah. And yes, as it says in Your holy Torah, if there are no lambs, there are no sheep.”

“So the teachers stayed up late at night preparing classes to teach online. And the little children ran to their computers each morning to learn the sweet words of your Torah.”

“Then you closed their places of prayer, their yeshivas, their seminaries, their study halls. Prayer and Torah study—two out of three pillars upon which the world endures!”

“And so they made videos, livestream classes for thousands, spreading Torah to a degree never seen before. Joe Goldstein was stuck at home, so he started wrapping tefillin each morning, and he heard more Jewish words than he had his entire life.”

“And then, you took away the third pillar of the world. You forced them apart from one another, so that no longer could a Jew have another Jew as a guest for the holy Shabbat, no longer could friends sit together over a table and share what stirs within their heart.

How was one Jew to help another? How was one to even know what the other needs?”

“And so they emailed AskTheRabbi asking how they could get matzah, where they could get mezuzahs, what they should do for their grandmother, stuck alone for the Passover Seder. And one Jew responded to another, from one end of the world to the next, and found a way to help.”

“And just when it seemed impossible for Jews to keep the Passover celebration, when all the Passover retreats were suddenly cancelled, and even the traditional family seders and Chabad House seders were called off, they ran to help one another, each one teaching the other the most exciting ways to make a seder, keeping the channels of matzah and Passover needs flowing outward to every Jew.”

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“Oh, Master of the Universe! Who can fathom Your ways? You sent sickness throughout the land, weakening the fathers and the mothers, striking down their elders and some young ones too, not allowing the children even the right to mourn as befits a Jewish child.”

“The people were tired, confused, sickened, stressed and way over-extended.”

“And what did they do? They picked up a mop and a vacuum cleaner, a rag and a heavy-duty cleanser and they set to work day and night to clean their homes for Passover!”

“Why? For what reason? For YOU! Despite all You did to hide from them, to keep them from your Torah, to keep them from closeness to You, they did this for You.” “Infinite, Unknowable, Source of Life and Master of All Things—who can understand You? Who can know the depths of Your goodness, the countless miracles You make for us each day? Who am I, this miserable meat-patty with eyeballs, to complain?”

“And yet, I must speak up, Almighty G‑d!

Look down upon Your people! After all that You have placed in their way, after every

obstacle, and even after hiding from them within the bitter darkness of illness and mourning, see what they go through not to be separated from You!” “Master of the World, Your children love You dearly. And they love one another, to the point that no walls or social distancing can tear them apart. And You love all of them infinitely more.”

“So show them that love! Open up their hearts, their minds and their souls, and pour there Your love, Your passion, and the warmth of Your closeness! Take them out of the prisons of their limited consciousness into the broad expanse of Your infinite light!

Show them the final Exodus for which their ancestors yearned all these millennia!”

Next year in Jerusalem. 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.

Iyyar-Sivan 5780

A New Coronavirus Prayer Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz)

A

n original prayer previously composed by world-renowned scholar Rabbi Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz) for times of distress was recently adapted by his sons for the global coronavirus battle:

future tense

MOSHIACH MUSINGS

The revelation at Sinai was a brief

“And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

"foretaste" of a future world — a world

Ruler of the world, Father of mercy, Master of Justice:

"perceptions" will fall away. A world

Have mercy and save Your children who dwell in Your world, which You created with the Attribute of Kindness.

in which all masks and superimposed in which "your master shall no longer shroud Himself; your eyes shall behold

Rescue them from an unseen enemy, ransom them from death, protect them from dread.

your Master"; a world in which "the

Send us Your light to brighten up the broken hearts of orphans, fathers and mothers, men and women who have lost their dearest ones.

world shall be filled with the knowledge

Send a full recovery to the ill and the afflicted, those on respirators and in isolation; and give strength, might, and hope to Your people, Your land and Your world.

(Isaiah 30:20 and 11:9). The world of

Ruler of the world, grant insight to the nations so that they will remove from their hearts the hatred of others at this time;

it, "G‑d will take the sun out of its

Send the light of Your wisdom into the hearts of those who believe falsehood; enlighten the minds of innocents who hear false reports; send a spirit of charity and justice into Your world; Help people build and plant, assist those who are truly suffering; straighten the paths of the world.

of G‑d as the waters cover the sea" Moshiach, when, as the Zohar puts sheath" and obliterate the concealment that effects the perception of a reality outside of His. Bracketed between the revelation at

Provide a full recovery for the sick of your people, the House of Israel, wherever they are, and for Your children all over the world.

Sinai and the revelation of Moshiach,

Father of Mercy, who is faithful in His covenant, the time has come for You to send to Your world tidings of salvation and redemption

does shroud Himself — a world in

Which will comfort all Your children and offer them peace and blessings, light and joy.

1. We must all increase our Torah learning, to the best of our abilities.

2. We must intensify our service of G-d, which is the service of the heart, the service

of prayer. The only service of G-d left to us is prayer and reciting psalms. Whether we understand everything or nothing, whether we pray in accordance with the kabbalistic intentions of the Ari or without any such thoughts, this is the essence of our entire worship of G-d. Do we know anything?! Do we understand anything?!

As Rabbi Samson of Chinon would say: “I pray with the mind of a child.” Would that we could pray here and now like children.

3. We must also increase acts of lovingkindness. One can give a penny to charity, and

one can also donate a larger sum. It is not only those of means who can perform acts of kindness; one can be kind by giving a hand and helping others. Believe me, smiling at someone is also an act of kindness.

Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the leading rabbis of this century. The author of many books, he is best known for his monumental translation of and commentary on the Talmud. To learn more visit his website, steinsaltz.org.

we live in a world in which our Master which the sun remains sheathed and we are not "shown to know." It is regarding this world that the Torah enjoins us, in the second verse cited above, to "know today, and take unto your heart" that "in the heavens above and the earth below, there is none else."

The knowledge is there, embodied in the heavens above and the earth below: in every blade of grass, in every sunset, in the depths of our minds, and in the sublimity of our hearts. In this world the onus is upon us to unearth this truth, comprehend it, and incorporate it into our hearts and lives.

ask the rabbi

Why is Shavuot Not in the Torah?

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman

Q

I understand that the holiday of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah. If so, why is there no mention of this holiday in the Torah?

The Torah says: "You shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day [the first day of Passover], from the day you bring the Omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, namely, the fiftieth day, on which you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord ... And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor".

The holiday of Shavuot is not an independent holiday per se; rather, it is an extension of Passover. The stated purpose of the Exodus was the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai. However, as the Jews were not spiritually prepared to receive the Torah immediately upon leaving Egypt, they were told to embark on a forty-nine day period of spiritual refinement, at the conclusion of which they would receive the Torah.

Therefore, technically Shavuot doesn’t even have a fixed date — it is the 50th day after the offering of the Omer sacrifice on the 2nd day of Passover.

Today, with our perpetual calendar, Shavuot always falls out on the 6th of Sivan.

However, when the months were determined by witnesses who saw the crescent newmoon, the holiday of Shavuot fluctuated, and could have been on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of Sivan (depending on the length of the months of Nissan and Iyar — 29 or 30 days).

This confluence of events also has a deeper meaning. The chain of events – the Exodus from Egypt, the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the counting of the days in between, are deeply connected, and are part of a process, a journey — on that we relive each year.

The stated purpose of the Exodus (Passover) was to receive the Torah (Shavuot): “When you [Moses] take the people out of Egypt, you will worship G-d on this mountain”1.

When G-d revealed Himself at the stroke of midnight to smite the Egyptian firstborn and

12

redeem the Jews, the Jews were overwhelmed and inspired by this intense experience. They literally ran out of Egypt, leaving behind generations of cruel bondage and a lifestyle of immorality which they had adopted from their sinful taskmasters.

But they were not yet ready to receive the Torah. Being inspired is very nice, but the inspired person hasn’t really changed; inspiration is merely a reaction to an external circumstance or event, and can quickly wear off when the inspiring event fades in time and fades from memory.

The Jews had to spend seven weeks working on their character, refining themselves in preparation for receiving the Torah.

According to Kabbalah, the person’s soul possesses seven primary character traits, and one week was devoted to each of these traits.

Torah and its messages are timeless. Still today, the Omer period is a time for soulsearching; a time to work on being kind, gentle, and caring, and prepare for receiving the Torah—once again—on the holiday of Shavuot.

This inner dimension of the journey toward the Torah may be the reason why there is no unique Mitzvah associated with the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot is celebrated like all other holidays — no working, Kiddush, Challah, holiday prayers, etc. — but without a noticeably unique Mitzvah exclusive to this Holiday, which causes it to uniqueness be overlooked. Perhaps the uniqueness of this holidays is sufficient; there's no need for any "external" excitement. It is a profound lesson in general, and especially during these challenging times of relative social isolation. 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.

То, что происходит сейчас в мире, люди называют по-разному: кто-то третьей мировой войной, кто-то несчастьем, кто-то Б-жьим наказанием. Возникает вопрос по поводу наказания. С одной стороны, о возмездиях, которым Вс-вышний подвергает, мы читаем в Торе. Когда Творец был недоволен, он посылал различные кары: поколению Ноаха – потоп, поколению пустыни – мор и т.д. С другой стороны, мы знаем, что все, исходящее от Вс-вышнего является благом. Как совместить эти, казалось бы, несовместимые понятия? Является ли ужасная пандемия наказанием человечеству? И что вообще Тора говорит о концепции наказания? Представьте любящих родителей, для которых их ребенк является самым ценным в жизни. Не только в принципе, а в практической повседневной жизни: они делают для него все, что могут, говорят между собой только о том, что может явиться полезным для него. Случается, что в процессе воспитания они его, применю Ваш термин, - наказывают. Но давайте разберемся: любящие родители наказывают своего любимого ребенка или учат быть лучше? Если ребенку не дают лишнюю сладость, которую он просит, или заставляют идти спать, - в глазах малыша это выглядит наказанием. Но ведь родители стараются для пользы их ребенка. От Вс-вышнего по определению не исходит плохое. Он – источник добра. И поэтому все, что Он делает, - это для того, чтобы сделать лучше. Не всегда мы можем воспринимать, что все делается для нашего блага. Представим, что у человека воспален аппендицит, вот-вот лопнет, что может привести к страшному исходу. Врач проводит оперцию, режет человека. Тот кричит от боли. Этой операцией мы наказываем человека или спасаем?

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

Iyyar-Sivan 5780

‫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 .

MAY 2020 | IYAR 5780 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

M A Y 2 0 2 0 THU

7

TUE

12 29 TO 30

PESACH SHEINI FARBRENGEN

LAG BAOMER

SHAVUOT

IJS GOES VIRTUAL In light of the mandated isolation and closure of community spaces, the JRCC’s Institute of Jewish Studies has gone virtual. Rabbis have made efforts to continue regularly scheduled classes online via Zoom, including the daily Kolel programs at the JRCC Rockford and the JRCC East Thornhill. Some new learning opportunities have even been launched to accommodate increased interest and address specific scheduling needs and interests at this time. An updated schedule of classes with Zoom access information is available at jrcc.org/onlinetorah.

MATZAH DISTRIBUTION As in every year, the JRCC delivered handmade shmurah matzah for the Seder to each thousands of homes in the Jewish Russian community.

These matzahs were sealed months ago, well before the outbreak, so was no fear of contamination inside the package. They are also sealed in plastic wrap, and volunteers took extra hygiene precautions in handling the packagings, ensuring all the families and individuals isolated at home for Passover were able to partake in the special mitzvah of matzah the traditional way.

PASSOVER ACTIVITIES For the first time since its founding over 30 years ago, the JRCC was unable to host community Passover Seders. Plans were in place to host Seders in twelve locations, attended by hundreds of people. Instead, the JRCC rabbis guided and assisted people with preparing to host their own Seders, with online classes, workshops and individual personal conversations. We look forward to Passover next year, together – and as it says at the end of the Passover Hagaddah: Next year in Jerusalem!

Visit us online at www.jrcc.org/Passover for all your Passover at Home resources.

JEWISH RUSSIAN COMMUNITY CENTRE OF ONTARIO

PASSOVER SEDER This year at home

*PRINTABLE HAGGADAS Q&A’SLOVE * STORIES * INSIGHTS * RECIPES FROM RUSSIA* WITH

Rabbi Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, is a favorite Don’t forget to sell your chometz before 9:00 pm by April 7. www.jrcc.org/Chametz guest of the JRCC community, often visiting to speak and lead gatherings when his busy travel schedule brings him to Toronto or nearby. The plan for him to be here to lead a farbrengen gathering in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday just before Passover was thwarted due to the COVID-19 situation.

So the JRCC arranged the next best thing: A virtual online farbrengen via Zoom, which was appreciated and enjoyed by around 100 participants. If you missed it you can find a recording on the JRCC’s Facebook page.

CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES Friday, May 1, 2020

8:03 PM

Friday, May 8, 2020

8:11 PM

Friday, May 15, 2020

8:18 PM

Friday, May 22, 2020

8:26 PM

Thur., May 28, 2020

8:31 PM

Friday, May 29, 2020*

8:32 PM

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

PIRKEI AVOT LEARNING Each year from after Passover through the summer, the JRCC organizes the traditional Shabbat afternoon Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) study sessions. Men usually gather to study in the various JRCC branches toward evening, after the afternoon prayers, while women typically gather at homes of hosts in their neighborhood. Being that the situation is unpredictable, the classes will begin whenever it is possible and permissible to do so. Until then, everyone is encouraged to study on their own. The text of the Ethics of the Fathers can be found in the siddur (prayerbook) following the Shabbat afternoon prayers. Several volumes of books with a variety of commentaries, both classical and contemporary are available through online bookstores (including JRbooks.org), and material can also be printed before Shabbat from the JRCC website at jrcc.org/avot.

JRCC Our Community

13

Thank you to our volunteers who helped pack and distribute over 12,000 matzot to members of our community!

We couldn’t have done it without you!

CORONAVIRUS RESOURSES

TORAH LETTER

Buy a special letter in the Torah for yourself or anyone you know.

JEWISH VIDEOS

Browse our library of Jewish videos on Jewish themes.

KADDISH SERVICES

NEED HELP?

JRCC is offering services to assist eligible seniors in this difficult time.

ONLINE CLASSES

We’re here to try to ensure that the mourner’s Kaddish will be said in their merit at a minyan of ten men.

Online Torah Lectures & Programs.

For more information please visit

WWW.JRCC.ORG/COVID19

Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario

Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario Еврейский Центр Русскоязычной Oбщины Онтарио

OSCAR YOLLES

OSCAR YOLLES

JRCC.HELP Are you 70+?

WANT TO JOIN OUR HEBREW SCHOOL FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR?

JOIN US ONLINE FOR THE COMING WEEKS. Contact us at GIVE YOUR CHILD THE GIFT OF A JEWISH EDUCATION

HEBREWSCHOOL@JRCC.ORG

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY

WWW.JRCCSCHOOLS.CA 3 AHAVAT YISRAEL

10 17 24 31

LAG BAOMER & MOTHER’S DAY ISRAEL

The JRCC is offering services to assist Russianspeaking* seniors stay at home during this difficult time.

Are you in need of groceries/ medication or get to a doctors appointment?

LET US HELP YOU. Call us at 416-222-7105x999 or visit us online at jrcc.help

SHAVUOT GRADUATION

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE JRCC HEBREW SCHOOL VISIT WWW.JRCCSCHOOLS.ORG

14

LET US GET IT FOR YOU

May 2020 / Iyar 5780

* This service is offered free of charge (aside from purchasing expenses) and is available to the community that is 1) Russian-speakers ages 70+ and 2) live alone or with no younger family members and 3) live in the areas of Major Mackenzie to Eglinton and Dufferin to Yonge.

WE NEED

VOLUNTEERS! Please register at JRCC.HELP

416.222.7105

VIRTUAL CLASSES, LECTURES AND PROGRAMS for men and women

Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario

Faces of the Community NELLY TSIRULNIKOVA Doctor, Performer Please tell us a little about your education and career.

I graduated with honors from the First Moscow State Medical University and worked as a doctor for more than thirty years. At first I worked as a local doctor, then an ambulatory doctor. I did my residency at the Botkin Hospital in Moscow in laboratory diagnostics and hematology. At the Institute of Gastroenterology, I defended my dissertation, and before leaving for Israel I worked at the First Moscow State Medical University.

When did you come to Israel, and what prompted you to leave the former Soviet Union?

I moved to Israel in January 1993. There were tanks on the streets of Moscow, a state of complete rejection of what is happening. We realized that morally we can no longer live there: there was no room to breathe. And so we left, leaving behind a wonderful job, an excellent apartment, our eldest son, family, friends. We left for the unknown. We understood that in Israel we most likely would never succeed in gaining the same level of success and status that we enjoyed in Moscow. In additional to my medical career, my husband was the head of a large department at the State Polytechnical Museum.

How was life in Israel?

My husband, being a metallurgical engineer by education, got a job at a jewelry factory, and later at a Judaica workshop. I came across a wonderful sewing workshop (everything was sewn in my family, and since childhood I loved sewing). It was an atelier of artistic Judaica. We sewed beautiful things to decorate religious houses and synagogues: Parochet, the special curtain used for the Aron (Torah ark) in the synagogue, cases for Torah scrolls, bags for tallit and tefillin, napkins for Shabbat and festivals, pouches for matzah, among other ritual crafts. Everything was made using exquisite fabrics – velvet, brocade, satin, patterned ribbons. I worked there for thirteen years, after which I retired.

MORNING KOLLEL | CHASSIDUT | MOSHIACH WOMENS PROGRAMS | PARSHA | AND MORE

JRCC.ORG/ONLINETORAH PESACH

SHEINI

FARBRENGEN “Oppurtunity strikes once - again”

Thursday, May 7 8:30 pm Virtual Farbrengen on Zoom Meeting ID: 647-719-5770 Password: 770770

JEWISH LENDING

LIBRARY

BY MAIL

Enjoy hundreds of Jewish Books with a few clicks! $6 per shipment or $30 for 3 months of unlimited shipments Includes the return Shipping label.

www.JrccEastThornhill.org/ShloimelesLibrary www.jrcc.org

Where does your family come from?

I was born and raised in Ukraine. My parents were completely non-observant. But my grandmother, my mother’s mother, Khaya Nokhimovna, with whom I spent most of my childhood and youth, was very traditional, especially when it came to Jewish dietary laws. For example, if the soup was dairy, then the second course would be fish, not meat. She had separate dishes for milk and meat. When my grandmother was to get married through traditional Jewish matchmaking in 1909, she submitted a document called a “Teudat ravakut,” a rabbinically certified document attesting to the fact that she was single and had never been married. When my youngest son married in Israel in 1993, his Jewishness had to be confirmed before the marriage ceremony. This document served as evidence to the rabbi in Jerusalem. The rabbis were shocked to see such a rare document. In general, our family carefully preserved all documents related to Jewry. My grandmother’s husband, my grandfather, Gidel Berkovich, who was of Lithuanian descent (my grandmother lovingly called him “Litvok”), was a cabinet maker by profession. I remember the extraordinary beauty of the of his work.

There was one cabinet door that was always locked, where my grandmother kept the Passover dishes.

For most of my life I was distant from observing Jewish traditions. My husband and I grew up in ordinary Soviet families, and only after arriving in Israel did we really feel our Jewishness. There I realized that one cannot live in the Holy Land without faith.

I am a non-religious person, but a believer. We discovered a huge layer of Jewish history, Jewish culture, literature, Jewish traditions. We traveled a lot around the land, and completed courses on the history of Jerusalem. We were imbued with the beauty of the Jewish holidays, and we came to appreciate their significance. Now it’s even difficult for us to imagine ourselves without Judaism as part of our lives. Wherever we live there is always a mezuzah on the door of our house, and on Friday nights I light Shabbat candles.

What do you like best about JRCC programs?

I constantly read the Exodus Magazine, where I always find interesting articles and stories.

What do you do in your free time? Do you have any hobbies?

I have been retired for a long time. I run the household, and work on my English. I read a lot, I love music and theater very much. We attend symphony concerts and guest performances at the Richmond Hill Arts Center, which is located near our home.

For the past twenty-five years, I have been performing literary performances at the Sounding Book Theater that I created. This is the theater of one actor, which I conceived back in Moscow, and then began at the Jerusalem Russian Library. I performed in many cities of Israel, from Haifa and Hadera in the north to Sderot and Mitzpe Ramon in the south. Only one month after arriving in Canada I was graced with the good fortune of having the opportunity to continued my performances here.

Within the first three years, thirty-six solo performances took place. Now the theater’s repertoire has thirty-four large solo programs, and in all over the past quarter century, six hundred performances have taken place. In my theater, I try to build a repertoire in such a way that it has a vibrant Jewish theme.

What are your plans for the future?

To live, enjoy every day we live, enjoy the successes and achievements of children. I have two sons, three granddaughters and a grandson. An, beyond staying strong and healthy, to continue my work with the Sounding Book Theatre.

JRCC Our Community

15

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

JRCC.HELP LENDS A HAND TO OVER 600 SENIORS

With the COVID-19 crisis gripping the world in general and our community in particular, the JRCC mobilized quickly to establish a special assistance program for seniors, the most vulnerable population at this time.

Because they are most at risk during the outbreak and must remain in isolation, the JRCC,help program put together a team of JRCC staff and volunteers to shop for groceries and medications, deliver to people’s homes, and check on their wellbeing. As of the Passover holiday, over six hundred seniors aged 70 and over have received assistance.

“Our primary goal is to reach out to anyone in need, especially those who are most isolated and don’t have

limited access to

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

family nearby,” explains Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, CEO of the JRCC. “After providing emotional support, letting people know we’re here for them, we assess their needs and provide them with the services, coordinate staff and volunteers to deliver the services.”

The complex and efficient operation involves an outgoing call center to check in on people and receive incoming calls, using the JRCC’s database software to keep track of those in need, coordinating the services they need, scheduling shopping, delivery and home visits, arranging payment for goods purchased for each person, and many more details.

The motivation behind this project, like all of the JRCC’s social services initiatives, is the concept, taught by the Baal Shem Tov and brought to light by the Rebbe, that providing the basic physical needs of a fellow Jew are of supreme value – as important, if not more so, than the loftiest spiritual endeavors.

“You gave us a helping hand when we are going through this challenging time in our lives,” writes one recipient in gratitude for being included in the program.

“My husband and I, both elderly people, have really appreciated how fast the food was delivered to our house, with all the items that we have ordered. We are very grateful for the work and attention received from Tsila Feldman and volunteer Alexander Chapk. Thank you so very much for being with us, it's very important for us in this unprecedented, uneasy time. Thank you!”

If you know anyone Russian-speaking aged 70 or over who needs assistance, or if you would like to volunteer, visit jrcc.help or call our hotline at 416.222.7105 x999. The JRCC is also in need of funds to help cover the costs of this operation, and in some cases pay for the basic needs of those who cannot afford food and medicine. To make a donation, visit www.jrcc.help or call 416-222-7105.

JRCC BRANCHES JRCC of Ontario: 5987 Bathurst St., #3 Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman x278 Roi Aftabi, COO x257 JRCC Woodbridge: 25 Sandwell St. Rabbi Avrohom Yusewitz x261 JRCC S. Richmond Hill & Maple: 9699 Bathurst St. Rabbi Avrohom Zaltzman x247 JRCC Concord: 411 Confederation Parkway, #14 Rabbi Avraham Weinstein x 249 JRCC Affiliate CRC of Thornhill Woods: 8808 Bathurst St. Rabbi Chaim Hildeshaim x224 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 JRCC at Rockford: 18 Rockford Rd. Rabbi Shmuel Neft x235 JRCC Affiliate Jewish Gorsky Assn.: 465 Patricia Ave. Rabbi Dovid Davidov x255 Downstairs JRCC Willowdale: 5700 Yonge St. Rabbi Yisroel Zaltzman x231 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

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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 x254 Get involved in your community!

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May 2020 / Iyar 5780

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MAZEL TOV!

IT’S A BOY!

Elozor Blau Zeev Levi Hummel Avrohom Shteynberg Rami Meron Tal Stepanov

to Rabbi Levi and Mushky Blau on the birth of their son ELAZAR

IT’S A GIRL!

Chaya Mushka Yusewitz Chloe Layla Olevson Gabriela Tamar Palamarchik

ENGAGEMENT!

May it be G-d’s will that you raise him and enable him to attain Torah, marriage and good deeds amidst prosperity.

MARRIAGE!

With best wishes, the JRCC Rabbi & Staff

BAR-MITZVAH! Aoholiov Kotliarov

Levi Mogilevsky & Chaya Mushka Ciment

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Concord 905-760-0092 www.aspirals.ca

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perspectives

Words That Heal Jonathan Sacks

T

he 2019 film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, in which Tom Hanks plays the beloved American children’s television producer/presenter Mister Rogers, is an unabashed celebration of the power of human goodness to heal broken hearts.

Today such straightforward moral messages tend to be confined to children’s films (some of them, as it happens, works of genius).

Such is the power and subtlety of the film, however, that one is not tempted to dismiss it as simplistic or naïve.

The plot is based on a true story. A magazine had decided to run a series of short profiles around the theme of heroes.

It assigned one of its most gifted journalists to write the vignette about Fred Rogers. The journalist was, however, a troubled soul.

He had a badly broken relationship with his father. The two had physically fought at his sister’s wedding. The father sought reconciliation, but the journalist refused even to see him.

The jagged edges of his character showed in his journalism. Everything he wrote had a critical undercurrent as if he relished destroying the images of the people he had come to portray. Given his reputation, he wondered why the children’s television star had agreed to be interviewed by him. Had Rogers not read any of his writings? Did he not know the obvious risk that the profile would be negative, perhaps devastatingly so?

It turned out that not only had Rogers read every article of his that he could get hold of; he was also the only figure who had agreed to be interviewed by him. All the other “heroes” had turned him down.

The journalist goes to meet Rogers, first sitting through the production of an episode of his show, complete with puppets, toy trains and a miniature townscape. It is a moment ripe for big-city cynicism. Yet Rogers, when they meet and talk, defies any conventional stereotype. He turns the questions away from himself and toward the journalist. Almost immediately sensing the core of unhappiness within him, he then turns every negative question into a positive affirmation, and exudes the calmness and quiet, the listening silence, that allows and encourages the journalist to talk about

18

himself.

It is a remarkable experience to watch as Hanks’ gentleness, immovable even under pressure, slowly allows the journalist – who had, after all, merely come to write a 400 word profile – to acknowledge his own failings vis-à-vis his father and to give him the emotional strength to forgive him and be reconciled to him in the limited time before he died. Here is a fragment of their conversation that will give you a feel for the tone of the relationship: Journalist: You love people like me.

Fred Rogers: What are people like you? I’ve never met anyone like you in my entire life.

Journalist: Broken people.

Fred Rogers: I don’t think you are broken. I know you are a man of conviction. A person who knows the difference between what is wrong and what is right. Try to remember that your relationship with your father also helped to shape those parts. He helped you become what you are.

Note how in a few brief sentences, Rogers helps reframe the journalist’s self-image, as well as his relationship with his father. The very argumentativeness that led him to fight

with his father was something he owed to his father. The film reflects the true story of when the real Fred Rogers met the journalist Tom Junod. Junod, like his character ‘Lloyd Vogel’ in the film, came to mock but stayed to be inspired. He said about the experience, “What is grace? I’m not certain; all I know is that my heart felt like a spike, and then, in that room, it opened and felt like an umbrella.” The film is, as one reviewer put it, “a perfectly pitched and played ode to goodness.”

The point of this long introduction is that the film is a rare and compelling illustration of the power of speech to heal or harm. This, according to the Sages, is what Tsara’at is all about. Tsara’at is a skin condition that was a punishment for lashon hara, evil speech.

The word metzora, for one suffering from the condition, was, they said, an abridgment of the phrase motzi shem ra, one who speaks slander. The key prooftext they brought was the case of Miriam who spoke badly about Moses, and was struck with tsara’at as a result (Num. 12). Moses alludes to this incident many years later, urging the Israelites to take it to heart: “Remember

Iyyar-Sivan 5780

perspectives

The entire issue of speech and its impact on people has become massively amplified by the spread of smartphones and social media and their impact, especially on young people and on the entire tone of the public conversation. what the Lord your G-d did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt” (Deut. 24:9).

Judaism is, I have argued, a religion of words and silences, speaking and listening, communicating and attending. G-d created the universe by words – “And He said … and there was” – and we create the social universe by words, by the promises with which we bind ourselves to meet our obligations to others. G-d’s revelation at Sinai was of words – “You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a Voice” (Deut. 4:12). Every other ancient religion had its monuments of brick and stone; Jews, exiled, had only words, the Torah they carried with them wherever they went.

The supreme mitzvah in Judaism is Shema Yisrael, “Listen, Israel.” For G-d is invisible and we make no icons. We can’t see G-d; we can’t smell G-d; we can’t touch G-d; we can’t taste G-d. All we can do is listen in the hope of hearing G-d. In Judaism, listening is high religious art.

Or it should be. What Tom Hanks shows us in his portrayal of Fred Rogers is a man who is capable of attending to other people,

May 2020

listening to them, talking gently to them in a way that is powerfully affirming without for a moment being bland or assuming that all is well with the world or with them. The reason this is both interesting and important is that it is hard to know how to listen to G-d if we do not know how to listen to other people.

And how can we expect G-d to listen to us if we are incapable of listening to others?

This entire issue of speech and its impact on people has become massively amplified by the spread of smartphones and social media and their impact, especially on young people and on the entire tone of the public conversation. Online abuse is the plague of our age. It has happened because of the ease and impersonality of communication. It gives rise to what has been called the disinhibition effect: people feel freer to be cruel and crude than they would be in a face-to-face situation. When you are in the physical presence of someone, it is hard to forget that the other is a living, breathing human being just as you are, with feelings like yours and vulnerabilities like yours. But when you are not, all the poison within you can leak out, with sometimes devastating effects. The number of teenage suicides and attempted suicides has doubled in the past ten years, and most attribute the rise to effects of social media. Rarely have the laws of lashon hara been more timely or necessary.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood offers a fascinating commentary on an ancient debate in Judaism, one discussed

by Maimonides in the sixth of his Eight Chapters, as to which is greater, the chassid, the saint, the person who is naturally good, or one who is not naturally saintly at all but who practices self-restraint and suppresses the negative elements in their character. It is precisely this question, whose answer is not obvious, that gives the film its edge.

The Rabbis said some severe things about lashon hara. It is worse than the three cardinal sins – idolatry, adultery, and bloodshed – combined. It kills three people: the one who speaks it, the one of whom it is spoken, and the one who receives it. Joseph received the hatred of his brothers because he spoke negatively about some of them.

The generation that left Egypt was denied

the chance of entering the land because they spoke badly about it. One who speaks it is said to be like an atheist.

I believe we need the laws of lashon hara now more than almost ever before. Social media is awash with hate. The language of politics has become ad hominem and vile.

We seem to have forgotten the messages that Tsara’at teaches: that evil speech is a plague.

It destroys relationships, rides roughshod over people’s feelings, debases the public square, turns politics into a jousting match between competing egos and defiles all that is sacred about our common life. It need not be like this.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood shows how good speech can heal where evil speech harms. 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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19

YOUR SHAVUOT GUIDE During the course of the two-day Shavuot festival we don’t go to work, drive, write, or switch on or off electric devices. We are permitted to cook or warm food only on the first day (Friday), and only if the stove is left on from before the festival, so most food should be cooked in advance.

28

29 30

THURSDAY, MAY 28 (5 SIVAN) | SHAVUOT EVE

•

It is customary to decorate synagogues and homes with flowers and branches, since Shavuot is also called the “Harvest Festival.” Also, although Mount Sinai was situated in a desert, when the Torah was given the mountain bloomed and sprouted flowers. (All floral arrangements should be done before the festival begins, to respect the sanctity of Shavuot.)

•

Eruv Tavshilin: When a festival day (yom tov) falls on a Friday -- as Shavuot does this year -- an “eruv tavshilin” (i.e., food for at least one “meal” that is set aside in advance for Shabbat) must be prepared prior to the festival, so that it should be permitted to prepare food for Shabbat during the festival.

•

The holiday of Shavuot begins tonight at sunset.

•

Women and girls light Yom Tov candles at 8:31pm. Also light a 24-hour candle before sunset.*

•

After the holiday evening prayers, a festive holiday meal, complete with the recitation of the holiday kiddush, is enjoyed.

•

It is customary to stay up all night studying Torah until dawn. The Jewish people did not rise early on the day G-d gave the Torah, and it was necessary for G-d Himself to awaken them. To compensate for this, we have the custom of remaining awake all night, which also shows our excited anticipation of receiving the Torah. If you knew you were going to win the lottery in the morning, would you be able to sleep?

FRIDAY, MAY 29 (6 SIVAN) | FIRST DAY OF SHAVUOT •

Morning services. The Ten Commandments are read from the Torah scroll in synagogue, if it will be possible given the current quarantine conditions. It is customary for all to attend – men, women and children (even babies). Since we all stood together the first time over 3,000 years ago, we all stand together now and the Torah is given anew each year.

•

Kiddush and festive meal following services

•

Dairy Buffet: It is customary to eat dairy during Shavuot. Most people do so as an appetizer or snack before the festival meal today, after kiddush. We then wait at least an hour before beginning the festive meal with meat.

•

Candle lighting before 8:32pm from a pre-existing flame.*

•

Those who will be reciting the Yizkor memorial prayer should light a Yizkor candle from a pre-existing flame.*

•

After the holiday evening prayers, a festive holiday meal, complete with the recitation of the holiday kiddush, is enjoyed.

SHABBAT, MAY 30 (7 SIVAN) | SECOND DAY OF SHAVUOT •

Morning services

•

The Yizkor memorial service is recited (and charity is pledged) for the souls of departed loved ones.

•

Kiddush and festive meal following services

•

The Book of Ruth is studied on the second day of Shavuot. Shavuot is the birthday and yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of King David, and the Book of Ruth records his ancestry. Also, Ruth was a sincere convert who embraced Judaism with all her heart. On Shavuot all Jews were converts—having accepted the Torah and all of its precepts.

•

Festival ends at 9:44pm

* The 24-hour candle lit on the first night is used to light candles on the second night, since on Yom Tov we can only light from pre-existing flames.

20

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Upon completion, you will receive: • A genuine, numbered certificate recognized by leading rabbis internationally.

• A permanent record with the JRCC Ontario, Canada.

For more information or to apply, contact: Jewish Identity Department Coordinator Jewish Identity Verification Service

Phone: 416-222-7105 x237 | Email: jewishidentity@jrcc.org Website: www.jrcc.org/JewishIdentity

This service is provided free of charge by the JRCC. Suggested donation to cover research and administrative costs is $250 per applicant - any donation is appreciated.

24

Exodus Magazine

Iyar / Sivan 5780

Our Deepest Sympathies to the families of: Aleinikov Lev Alterson Ghidalia Bilyy Regina Binson Ester Breger Anatoly Brewda Bill William Chaya Royansky Deistch Joseph Faina Golts Fishbein Maya Mikhlya Fisher Tatiana Grimman Leah Gurvitz Noam Gutgarts Maya Hershorn Joyce Hoch Shmuel Ida Vendrov Ikhil Faershtein Ilyaguev Roza Isakov Inessa Kazarchinsky Zilia Khmelnitsky Anneta Komiakov Luba Levin Faina Liberman Leon Melnikov Vladimir Nisimov Efraim Preisman Roman Rozenberg Zyama Rozenshtein Thomas Rozhanskaya Feyga Rubashkin Avrohom Aharon Rukin Inna Savikin Ida Shmuel Kordasz Shvarts Ida Sloboder Frida Sotenskaia Raisa Svetlana Stupnitsky Teper Dolina Zel Michael

From the rabbis of the Jewish Russian Community Centre Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman (Senior Rabbi) Rabbi Levi Blau Rabbi David Davidov Rabbi Chaim Hildeshaim Rabbi Levi Jacobson Rabbi Shmuel Neft For all your family bereavement needs (funeral, Rabbi Avraham Weinstein unveiling, kaddish services, shiva, yahrzeit and Rabbi Avrohom Yusewitz memorial plaques) the JRCC rabbis are here to Avrohom assist you,Rabbi 24 hours a day. Zaltzman Services available Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman in Russian, Hebrew, English and Yiddish.

416.222.7105 x221 Rabbi Yisroel Zaltzman

May 2020

www.exodusmagazine.org

25

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LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS “ JRCC Hebrew School was great“ for my kids. The program is ““

““

JRCC Hebrew School was great

JRCC Hebrew School waspay great amazing and theThe teachers for my kids. program is for my kids.

The program is and teachers pay close amazing attention to the each and every amazing and the teachers pay closeOverall, attention to kids eachhad and aevery child. my close attention to each and every child.

Overall, kids had a great time and my grew their child.

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Now a days this company with more than 118 years of history holds a leading position among the manufacturers of alcoholic beverages in Moldova. Unique climate, fertile soil, hilly terrain and vicinity of the river Dniester created most favorable conditions for growing best grapes; modern equipment, advanced technologies, original recipes, respect to ancient traditions and passionate work of KVINT professionals – all these factors allow to produce admirable beverages, which compete with world renowned brands.

Locals consider KVINT a national treasure and a symbol of their country.

Its factory is shown on the 5 Transnistrian ruble banknote.

Kvint distillery is the oldest enterprise still in operation from 1897 in the region. KVINT is one of Transnistria's largest exporters, to Italy and China as well as Russia and Ukraine; its brandy has gone to the Vatican and into space.

Kvint XO brandy was first produced by the Tiraspol Wine & Cognac Distillery KVINT in 1967 as a dedication to the jubilee of the October Revolution. It is made from the premium quality “eaux-de-vie” spirits seasoned in oak barrels not less than 20 years according to classical “French methode”.

KVINT (acronym for Kon’iaki, vina i napitki Tiraspol’ia ("divins, wines, and beverages of Tiraspol") is a winery and distillery based in Tiraspol, the administrative center of Transnistria. Even though it underwent through many difficulties, being twice destroyed by

26

Exodus Magazine

- Isaac Salama

wars, becoming a part of prohibition law in the 80s, the company is now an important economic player in a region, producing more than 20 million bottles of alcoholic beverages per year.

Although the distillery's roster includes an assortment of wines, gins, and vodkas, by far the most famous of its products are its award-winning brandies. Like all top-notch spirits, the high quality of this liquor begins with the region's grapes. Occupying the land east of the River Dniester, Transnistria is in the heart of the ancient Bessarabian wine region, a gem of viniculture perched above the Black Sea that has also survived the many ups and downs of centuries of Russian rule.

Plucked from the Bessarabian vine, the grapes fortunate enough to make their way to Tiraspol are transformed into brandy using a process identical to that used to make Cognac in France—double distilled in copper pots, aged in oak barrels, and then carefully blended with water and sugar. The grapes are of a typical Cognac variety, an assortment that includes Colombard, Riesling, and Ugni Blanc. Despite the company's rigid adherence to the French production methods, Kvint is not located in Cognac, France and therefore cannot formally call their products "Cognacs." Instead they use the Moldovan word divin, hence Kvint's name, which is an acronym for the Russian phrase "divins, wines, and beverages of Tiraspol." But in a land where international laws don't seem to really apply, most local people still refer to Kvint's products as Cognacs, and it is called Brandy everywhere else in the world.

North Richmond Hill North Hill BeynonRichmond Fields Public School North Richmond Hill 258 Selwyn Road

Beynon Fields School Tuesdays: 6:00Public PM to 7:45 PM Beynon Public School 258Fields Selwyn Road 258 6:00 Selwyn Tuesdays: PM Road to 7:45 PM Tuesdays: 6:00 PM to 7:45 PM

Maple

Maple

Maple Nellie McClung Public School Nellie McClung Public School 360 Thomas Cook Ave. Nellie Public School 360McClung Thomas Cookto Ave. Sundays: 10:00AM 12:30PM

360 Thomas Cook Ave. Sundays: 10:00AM to 12:30PM Sundays: 10:00AM to 12:30PM

Concord Concord Concord

ForestRun RunPublic Public School Forest School Forest Run Public School 200Forest Forest Run Blvd.

200 Run Blvd.

200 Forest Run Mondays: 6:00PM toBlvd.

7:45PM Mondays: 6:00PM to 7:45PM Mondays: 6:00PM to 7:45PM

West Thornhill West Thornhill 1136 Centre St. Unit 2 West Thornhill Tuesdays: 4:00PM to 6:00PM

1136 Centre St. Unit 2 1136 Centre St.toUnit 2 Tuesdays: 4:00PM 6:00PM Tuesdays: 4:00PM to 6:00PM

East Thornhill

East Thornhill East Thornhill 7608 Yonge St. Unit #3

7608 Yonge St. 5:00PM Unit #3 to 7:00PM Wednesdays: 7608 Yonge St. Unit #3 Wednesdays: 5:00PM to 7:00PM Wednesdays: 5:00PM to 7:00PM

North North YorkYork North York

18 Rockford Rd. 18 Rockford Rd. 18 11:00AM Rockford Rd. Sundays: 11:00AM to 1:30PM Sundays: to 1:30PM Sundays: 11:00AM to 1:30PM

Also Kvint is focusing their efforts on making a wide assortment of wines. Along with ordinary table dry, semi-sweet and dessert wines, the KVINT’s portfolio can boast of some excellent varietal and blended wines matured in oak barriques, according to traditional production process from 9 months to 3 years.

Shop for the best selection of Kvint Wine : KVINT CABERNET SAUVIGNON KOSHER 2015, LCBO #455138 This wine is made under control of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of New York (USA), OU, it has the status of Kosher for PASSOVER, Mevushal (approved for Passover, pasteurized). This wine is made from the selected grapes grown in own vineyards of KVINT. It features pleasant astringency and harmonious acidity. Its bouquet is complex with aroma of nightshade berries enriched with hints of morocco leather.

KVINT MERLOT KOSHER 2015, LCBO # 455112 Bright berry aromas: hints of cassis, and delicate nuances of prunes and cherry.

It is velvety on the palate, with barely perceptible astringency and freshness.

BRANDY KVINT KOSHER and DIVIN KVINT KOSHER FOR PASSOVER are now available at LCBO stores, Vintage # 577817 and # 540039.

It is made under control of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of New York (USA), OU, it has the status of Kosher for Passover (approved for Passover).

It is made by special production process with eauxde-vie and wine-distilled spirits aged in oak barrels not less than a year. It features fine golden color, harmonious taste and bright floral aroma with light tones of maturity.

Iyar / Sivan 5780

Wishes the entire Jewish Community a Happy Holidays!

Visit your local NOFRILLS store to find a large variety of fine Kosher products Carlo’s NOFRILLS: 6220 Yonge St. North York, ON M2M 3X4 Vince’s NOFRILLS: 1631 Rutherford Rd. Vaughan, ON L4K 0C1

OK

Anthony’s NOFRILLS: 1054 Centre St, Thornhill, ON L4J 3M8 Andrew & Shelley’s NOFRILLS: 270 Wilson Ave. North York, ON M3H 1S6

BREAKING NEWS!

To help our community deal with the financial fallout of the pandemic, Jewish Free Loan Toronto has created a new, emergency COVID 19 LOAN

Up to $8000 available completely interest-free APPLY NOW

• Phone interviews • Direct deposits into your accounts • Quick turn around

DONATE

If you need help paying for childcare, making up lost wages or compensation for any COVID related loss, we are here to help.

TO APPLY OR DONATE VISIT

www.jewishfreeloan.ca

416 635 1217 x 5269 | irakrush@jewishfreeloan.ca Charity Registration # 108122417 RR0001

FIERA FOODS COMPANY IS HIRING! As one of North America’s largest, privately-owned large-scale bakeries, Fiera Foods Company and affiliated companies has an incredible history of expansion, innovation and quality over the past 30 years.

We’re looking for outstanding people to join our outstanding team.

• Production (Mixers, Scalers, Oven Operators, Production Line Operators,

General Production Staff, Forklift Operators, Shipper/Receivers); • Skilled Trades (Electricians, Mechanics, Refrigeration Mechanics, PLC Technicians) • Sales (Canada and US); • Management (Lead hand, Supervisory, Management, Project Engineers)

Our commitment to quality, excellence, and responsiveness are critical to our team and our success. Superior communication, teamwork and attention to detail are expected of everyone.

Please submit your resume and your compensation expectations to jobs@fierafoods.com or call (416) 746 1010 (ext. 258).

We thank all in advance for their interest, however only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

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R E M O A B G A L e

v i L

: g n i r u t a e F t Even

M P 0 3 : 5 | 2 AY 1 M , Y A D S E TU

ISH MUSIC W E J W O H AMAZING S RAFFLE Y L L A R ’S CHILDREN AND MORE

RMATI O F N I E R O M

JRCC

ON VISIT

R E M O A B G .ORG/LA

FRIDAY, MAY 29

DETAILS PENDING DUE TO COVID-19

YIZKOR - MAY 30

SHAVUOT ICE CREAM PARTY AND TEN COMMANDMENTS

Listen to the Ten Commandments and enjoy an ice cream party at your local JRCC community synagogue.

At local JRCC Branch: Woodbridge | 25 Sandwell St. S Richmond Hill & Maple | 9699 Bathurst St. Concord

| 411 Confederation Pkwy, #14

Thornhill Woods | 8808 Bathurst St. West Thornhill

| 1136 Centre Street, # 2

East Thornhill | 7608 Yonge Street, #3 South Thornhill |

1 Cordoba Dr. Party Room

Steeles & Hilda |

175 Hilda Ave.

Rockford |

5987 Bathurst St, Unit 8

Willowdale |

5700 Yonge St. #G1

Bathurst & Sheppard | 4455 Bathurst Street Bathurst & Lawrence |

3174 Bathurst St.

For more information visit

Address correction requested

PM 40062996

www.jrcc.org/shavuot

Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario