Shoftim 5776

Sponsored in loving memory of Sylvia Vallance z”l Sarah Dobrosh bat Eliezer Nissan z”l

Service Times

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Parshat Shoftim 6 Ellul 5776 9 September 2016

Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat

19:00

(Candle Lighting)

19:00

Shacharit

09:15

Leining

10:15

Power Kiddush with Rabbi Portnoy

11:00

Mincha followed by Seudah

19:15

Ma’ariv

20:26

Weekday

Security team: Pink

Page No.s Artscroll Gutnick Hertz

Leining

Haftarah

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Thought For The Week

Shacharit

Mincha & Ma’ariv

Sun

09:00

19:30

Infectious Negativity

Mon

07:00

19:30

Tues

07:00

19:30

This week’s Parsha discusses the laws of

difficulty dealing with the same sce-

Wed

07:00

19:30

war – conquest and combat. Interestingly,

nario. It’s like on a family trip;. Somebody

Thur

07:00

19:30

there are those who are exempt from

switches into complaining mode – and

Fri

07:00

19:00

fighting. These include the betrothed, but

there goes the fun of the trip. It can hap-

19:00

unmarried, one who has built a house

pen in class, with friends or even at a

or vineyard but hasn’t inaugurated or

family simcha.

Candle Lighting * Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

Chayim Arukim

to all those who have Yahrzeit this week as follows ‫שבת‬

10 September 7 Ellul

Jonathan Brownson Father Michelle Rothburn Father

Sun

Bill Lister Michael Lister

Father Father

Mon

Malcolm Jaffa Shirley Horwich Harvey Burman Gillian Supree Jeremy Bernstein

Mother Mother Mother Father Father

David Middleweek

Mother

Susan Sallon

Mother

15 September 12 Ellul

Ruth Glass

Mother

Fri

Joy Polak Stephen Cantor

Mother Father

‫שבת‬

Anthony Cohen Sheila Green Gwen Greene Victor Brim

Mother Father Father Father

11 September 8 Ellul 12 September 9 Ellul

Tues

13 September 10 Ellul

Wed

14 September 11 Ellul

Thurs

16 September 13 Ellul 17 September 14 Ellul

redeemed it., and finally, the fainthearted, “let him not melt the heart of his fellows,

The dynamic of one person effecting

like his heart”..

those around him is very powerful. It doesn’t take much. Any time we are deal-

This verse teaches us that the fact you

ing with a situation that isn’t limited to

are afraid is your problem and allowing you

us, we should deal with it in private.

to be there with everyone else will bring down the morale of everybody else. The

The Alter of Slabodka was known to say

only solution is to send you home.

your face is ‘Reshut Harabim’ - the public domain. It is not yours alone. We have

When people go through difficulties, we

to be conscious of what we are com-

are supposed to be there for each other. It

municating; at home, work and within our

is our responsibility and privilege.

community. Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Aharon Bloch

However, there are times when one’s struggles are going to affect others, and will bring others down. That is an issue.

There are situations where everyone is in it together and some experience greater

Shabbat Weather AM Partly Cloudy 17o High 9o Overnight Low

Parsha

verview

First Aliyah - 18 verses We are commanded to appoint judges in every city of Israel. These judges must be fair. Capital punishment is prescribed for idolatry, and various idolatrous practices are banned. The sacrifices we offer to G-d must be blemishless.

We must follow the rulings of the Sanhedrin and the Oral Law. Refusal to accept the Sanhedrin’s authority is a capital offence.

Second Aliyah - 7 verses Moses instructs the Jews to coronate a king after they enter Israel.

Several rules apply to a Jewsih king.

Third Aliyah - 5 verses The Kohanim were chosen by G-d to be His holy servants. They do not receive a portion in the Land of Israel. Instead, the Kohanim receive various priestly gifts; selections of meat from certain sacrifices, as well as tithes from crops and animal shearings.

Fourth Aliyah - 8 verses A Kohen always retains the right to come to the Temple and personally offer his personal sacrifices, even though there would be a rotation of Priestly families working in the Temple each week. Divination, fortunetelling and similar occult practices are prohibited.

Fifth Aliyah - 22 verses We are commanded to obey our prophets. This section prescribes the punishments for non-compliance with prophets’ words, as well as for an individual who falsely claims to speak in G d’s name. The six cities of refuge are discussed again.

Sixth Aliyah - 17 verses At least two witnesses are required to secure a conviction in many court cases. Military exemptions are detailed.

Seventh Aliyah - 20 verses Before waging battle against an enemy, we are commanded to try and make peace. If the enemy does not accept the offer does battle ensue. The procedure for an unsolved murder is discussed.

The mitzvah of lighting Shabbat anded candles is comm not by the Rabbis, e directly from th Torah!

S L E W

JE

M S I DA

U J F O

Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we examine the ideal way to prepare for battle

Prepare For War In a war commanded by Hashem it is a mitzvah for each individual soldier not to be afraid of the enemy’s strength or numbers. The verse says (20:21), “When you got to war against your enemy and see a horse and a wagon, people more numerous than you, do not be afraid...”

The Torah includes ‘a horse and a wagon’ in the singular, to imply a Divine promise: “When the Jewish People fulfill My Will, all the enemies’ horses and wagons (or other military equipment) will be like one before Me. You are superior to the enemies in good deeds, and you are descendants of the forefathers, to whom I swore to multiply their seed. Just as I brought you out of Egypt with miracles, so can I perform miracles at any time of need.”

Since G-d does not want the Jewish People to rely on miracles, therefore an army must be organised.

However, a Jewish soldier should not put his trust in the Jewish army. His trust must be in Hashem.

During the battle a sol-

dier may not think about his wife and children. He should bear in mind that victory or defeat is solely in G-d’s hands. He has to do battle solely for Hashem’s sake.

The Torah commands the appointment of a special Kohen, known as the ‘Mashuach Milchama’, (the Kohen annointed for war) who would teach the people the Torah command-

He should bear in mind that victory or defeat is solely in G-d’s hands.

ments concerning warfare and to encourage them. He would address the people twice.

The first time would be before the army was mobilised, and he would read the verses aloud that exempts any soldier who puts himself into one of the following three categories:.

Someone who recently built (or bought or inherited) a new home, and has



not yet dedicated it by fixing a mezuzah, or lived in it yet.  One who planted (or bought or inherited) a vineyard in the last four years.  Someone who is engaged to a woman, but has not yet married her.

Also, anybody who wasa faint-hearted would also be encouraged to return.

Why does the Torah disqualify these groups from actual combat?

On a simple level, none of these men would make good soldiers, for their hearts would not be in the battle.

On a deeper level, someone who is fearful is afraid of falling in battle, perhaps because he feels he does not deserve to be saved, due to sins he has committed. In order to spare the sinner the public shame of having to withdraw for this reason, G-d commanded the three other groups to also leave, so that he could keep his reason private.

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 Shoftim is the 48th of 54 sedras 5th of 11 in Devarim Written on 191.6 lines in a Torah 97 verses - ranks 36th (7th in Devarim) 1523 words - ranks 28th (7th in Devarim) 5590 letters - ranks 31st (7th in Devarim)

Did You Know Shoftim contains a sizeable 41 of the 613 mitzvot. 14 are positive mitzvot, and 27 are prohibitions. It is the 6th most mitzvah-intensive parsha.

The top 6 parshiyot with the most mitzvot contain 55% of the Torah’s mitzvot. The 48 others contain 45%.

It is forbidden to plant trees to beautify the Beit Hamikdash because by doing so, we would miss the main point that the beauty of the Temple flows from itself and its spiritual essence.

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!

What negative effects do bribes have?

How many witnesses do you need to be able to try a capital case?

How many Torah scrolls must a king have?

How many types of military exemptions are there?

Which kind of trees may be cut down?

Which king was considered righteous even though he did not keep to all the rules that applied to him?

The Torah guarantees Divine support and protection in situations where a false prophet or a fraudulent leader must be exposed. One should never feel afraid to defend Hashem and His Torah.

Just For Fun Question: What did the lawyer name his daughter?

Answer: Sue.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: 1. Mount Gerizim. our heart and soul. 4. Burn them.

5. 21.

2. Cover it.

3. Whether we love Him with all BONUS: Emor.

L YOUTH

KING AHEAD

2

In The Spotlight The BBM Graduates

EDUCATION

On Friday night there will be a special programme in Shule to mark the completion of last year’s Bar-Bat Mitzvah Programme.

Mimi Marshall, Poppy Goodall, Maya Davies, Amy Mesrie and Lily Mesrie took park in a series of weekly sessions led by Hadassah Fagleman, comprised of interactive discussions, activities and projects, designed to provide depth and context to Mitzvot and their role as Jewish women.

They will lead the community in candle lighting during Shule, and will be speaking during the dinner after the service for them and their families.

We wish the girls Mazaltov on this special occasion, and look forward to seeing them participate in communal life in the future.

Kiddushim 10 September Power Kiddush 17 September Maxine & Stuart Marks 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

24 September Angie & Robert Goodall