Ekev 5776

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Parshat Ekev

22 Av 5776 26 August 2016

Shabbat (Mevarchim) Kabbalat Shabbat

19:00

(Candle Lighting)

19:00

Shacharit

09:15

Leining

10:15

Mincha followed by Seudah

19:50

Ma’ariv

21:02

Weekday Shacharit Mincha & Ma’ariv*

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Page No.s Artscroll Gutnick Hertz

Leining

Haftarah

980 1170 780

1197 1472 794

Thought For The Week

Sun

09:00

19:30

Mon

09:00

19:30

Together Everyone Achieves More

Tues

07:00

19:30

Wed

07:00

19:30

The second paragraph of the Shema is

on his own merits runs the risk that he is

Thur

07:00

19:30

taken from this week’s Parasha and con-

not worthy enough to receive divine bless-

Fri

07:30

19:00**

tinues the theme we read last week.

ing. Surrounded by other people, when we

However, while the first paragraph is writ-

pray together, we can pool our merits to

ten in the singular tense, the second is

make our prayers more effective.

Candle Lighting

19:00

* In Hale ** Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

Chayim Arukim

to all those who have Yahrzeit this week as follows

written in the plural tense. The first paragraph deals with the personal relationship

Prayer is one of the many mitzvot that we

‫שבת‬

Hilary Black Susan Kaitcer Steven Falk

Father Father Father

between man and G-d, while the second

best fulfill as part of a community. When

paragraph describes how the Jewish peo-

we stand together and couch our prayers

Mon

Tara Knopf Dinah Crystal Gerald Adlestone

Father Mother Mother

ple will be rewarded or punished collec-

in the plural, we strengthen their impact

tively for maintaining that relationship.

by drawing on the merits of the entire

Tues

Brian Freeman Barrie Bloom

Mother Mother

Wed

Joyce Solomon Cynthia Cowan Beryl Nevitt

Father Father Husband

Norman Luft Ivor Harris Jonathan Lever Wendy Knopf Ruth Taube

2723 August Av 29 August 25 Av

30 August 26 Av

d"sb

31 August 27 Av

Thurs

1 September 28 Av

‫שבת‬

3 September 30 Av

Jewish people, going back many generaOur obligation to pray is derived from

tions - all the way to Avraham, Yitzchak

the second paragraph, and many of our

and Yaakov. Only when we put ourselves

Mother Mother Father

tefillot - prayers - are also written in the

within the Jewish people and pray in the

plural. Not only our requests for blessings

plural, for the benefit of everybody, do

Father Father

but even our confessions, when it comes

we deserve to share in the blessings that

to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are

Hashem has promised to us.

Mazaltov to Clare & Mark Savinson on the occasion of their Pearl Wedding anniversary.

Mark Saperia on the birth of a great grandson.

Andrea & Jonathan Flax on their son Nathan’s engagement to Emma Barr.

written as coming from the community

Rabbi Joel Portnoy

and not just from the individual who is praying.

Such is the strength of the Jewish community. A person who stands before Hashem

Shabbat Weather AM Showers 22o High 13o Overnight Low

Parsha

verview

First Aliyah - 25 verses If the Israelites observe G-d’s commandments, they will be blessed in a multitude of ways, including the obliteration of their Canaanite enemies. Moses promises that G-d will miraculously deliver them into their hands. The Israelites must destroy all idols which they find in Canaan. Moses describes many of the wonderful features of the Land of Israel, and the source for Grace After Meals is mentioned.

Second Aliyah - 13 verses Moses admonishes the Israelites not to forget that G-d provides them with the wealth they earn when they settle in the Land of Israel. Such a blunder would lead to their destruction and ruin.

Third Aliyah - 26 verses The Israelites are told they will not inherit the Land of Israel due to their own merits and righteousness, but because of the promise G-d made to the Patriarchs.

Moses reminds them of the many times they angered G-d while in the desert, placing special emphasis on the Golden Calf.

Fourth Aliyah - 11 verses After the Golden Calf, G-d commanded Moses to carve two new tablets upon which G-d engraved the Ten Commandments, to replace the first set which Moses had shattered.

Fifth Aliyah - 20 verses Moses charges the Israelites to love and fear G-d, to serve Him, and to realise G-d has chosen them to be His treasured nation.

Sixth Aliyah - 12 verses The Land of Israel is solely dependent upon G-d for rain, and is constantly under His watchful eye. The second paragraph of the Shema mentions this connection.

Non-observance will lead to exile.

Seventh Aliyah - 4 verses Moses informs the Israelites that if they follow G-d’s ways and cleave to Him, they will easily occupy the land of Israel, and no man will stand up against them.

r for There is an orde on making brachot of s pe different ty arnt food which is le ies ec from the 7 sp Land unique to the of Israel.

S L E W

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Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we take a look at how Judaism views conversion

A Convertible Religion The Torah commands us to love an authentic convert (a ger tzedek), and, in very many places, enjoins us not to hurt their feelings.

A shepherd led his flock to the fields in the morning and gathered them into the stable at night. One day a deer appeared from the forest, joined the flock, and stayed among the sheep; it grazed with them and at night entered the stable.

The shepherd took special delight in the deer. He selected choice grazing land for it, and ordered all those who handled the animals to be especially gentle with the deer. At night, when the flocks returned, the shepherd made sure that the deer was given water to drink.

“Why do you fuss only over that deer?” the peasants asked him. “Why don’’t you give the same attention to your sheep?”

“There is a difference,” replied the shepherd. “The sheep follow me naturally.

However, the deer by nature avoids people and prefers to roam in uninhabited forests and open fields.

I value that it submitted itself to the confines of a stable.”

Hillel and Shammai, and were descended from the Assyrian king Sancheriv.

Hashem similarly said, “Shall we not appreciate the convert, who has left his family and people, who chose the Truth and rejected falsehood? He came to take shelter under the wings of the shechina; is he not deserving of our special regard and kindness?!”

Rabbis Meir, Akiva, Yossi and Shmuel bar Shilos were either descended from Haman or from the Canaanite general, Sisera.

Many famous Torah leaders descended from converts or were themselves converts.

Many famous Torah leaders descended from converts or were themselves converts: Onkelos, the nephew of Roman emperor, Hadrian, became a supreme Torah scholar, whose Aramaic rendition of the Torah is accepted and approved by our people (to the extent that the Sages required that it be read weekly).

Shemaya and Avtalyon taught the famous Sages,

The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel descended from the convert, Rachav.

Even though the mitzvah of loving a convert refers to one who committed for the authentic and holy reasons, Hashem defends the honour of converts who joined the Jewish people with impure motives, as is seen in the episode involving King David, King Saul and the Givonim.

The Sefer HaChinuch comments that from the mitzvah to be kind to converts, we derive an obligation to show special kindness to any stranger in our midst.

We should endeavour to help any visitor and make him “feel at home”.

Based on ‘The Midrash Says’,

by Rabbi M. Weissman

If you would like to share your words of wisdom, please submit your article of no more than 500 words to nick@hale-community.org.uk

Parsha Stats Ekev is the 45th of 54 sedras 3rd of 11 in Devarim Written on 231.83 lines in a Torah 111 verses - ranks 26th (4th in Devarim) 1747 words - ranks 16th (3rd in Devarim) 6865 letters - ranks 14th (3rd in Devarim)

Did You Know Ekev contains 8 of the 613 mitzvot. 6 of these are positive mitzvot, and 2 are prohibitions.

Commentators interpret the word ‘Ekev’ as referring to the ‘minor’ mitzvot, which people find easy, or who overlook as not being that important.

The verse comes to remind us that these mitzvot are just as important.

QA &

Read through the Parsha in English and find answers to the questions.

LOLLIPOPS WILL BE AWARDED TO ANYONE WHO READS THROUGH IT, AND TELLS RABBI NICK THE CORRECT ANSWERS!

Which insects does Hashem promise to send to help them fight?

What are the names of the seven species?

How long did the Jews have to wait to receive the Second Set of Tablets?

Why are we told to love converts?

Where did the Jews travel to after Aharon died?

Which famous prayer is found in this week’s parsha?

While the Jews were in the desert, Hashem took care of every need. Aside from food and drink, their clothes and shoes did not wear out, and even grew in size as they grew.

The Clouds of Glory even released a fragrance that would prevent the Jews from developing bodily odours.

Just For Fun Question: What is heavy forward but not backward?

Answer: Ton.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: 1. Fire, Darkness, Cloud & Thick Cloud. 2. The Iron Crucible.

3. Bezer, Ramot, Golan. 4. With all our hearts, our soul, and possessions.

5. Seven.

BONUS: The Wise Son on Seder Night.

L

KING AHEAD

2

In The Spotlight Clare & Mark Savinson

EDUCATION COMMUNAL In order to ensure a Minyan for mid-week evening prayers during the summer holidays, we will be joining forces with Bowdon Shul until Thursday 1st September.

Mincha & Ma’ariv will still be at 7.30pm (Sundays-Thursdays), but each Shule will host on alternate weeks.

Week Commencing:

Sun 28th August: Hale

This week we celebrate the Pearl Wedding Anniversary of Clare and Mark. Clare is originally from Hendon, and Mark is from Wembley, but they met at a meeting of the Graduates Group in Central London.

Alayne and Michael Levy were integral in bringing the Savinsons together. Alayne ‘dragged’ Mark to attend the event, and Michael practically asked Clare out on Mark’s behalf!

They became Mr & Mrs Savinson on their first date, as they used his parent’s membership to see a Chagall Exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Mark bravely proposed to Clare on a beach overlooking an oil refinery on the second day of their holiday in Scotland.

After starting married life in Hampton Wick, near Kingston, they settled in Hale 13 years ago, after falling in love with the community over one Batmitzvah weekend.

They will be celebrating with their two sons Adam and Josh, and Josh’s fiancee, Susie. We wish them Mazaltov, and a happy and healthy future ahead.

Kiddushim 27 August Clare & Mark Savinson If you would like to sponsor an edition of ‘Something For Everyone’, in honour of a simcha or for a yahrzeit, or for any reason, please contact the Shule office on 0161 980 8846 or admin@hale-community.org.uk

3 September Nicola & Simon Fine 10 September Unsponsored