Sponsored in loving memory of Shoshana Portnoy z”l, Rosa Yita bat Zechariah HaLevi z”l
Service Times
g n i h t e Som e n o y r e v for E
d"sb
Parshat Va’era
Shabbat (Mevarchim) Kabbalat Shabbat
15:50
(Candle Lighting)
15:50
Shacharit
09:00
Leining
10:00
27 Tevet 5776 8 January 2016
Page No.s Artscroll Gutnick Hertz
Mincha follows kiddush Shabbat terminates
17:07
Ma’ariv*
17:25
Leining Haftarah 318 372 232
1149 1400 244
*Followed by Parent & Child Learning
Weekday Shacharit
Ma’ariv Only
Sun
09:00
19:30
Mon*
07:00
19:30
Tues
07:00
19:30
Wed
07:00
19:30
Thur
07:00
19:30
Fri
07:00
16:00**
Candle Lighting
16:00
*Rosh Chodesh **Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat
Chayim Arukim
to all those who have Yarzheit in the coming week as follows Sun
10 January 29 Tevet
Mon
11 January 1 Shevat
Tues
12 January 2 Shevat
Wed
13 January 3 Shevat
Thurs
14 January 4 Shevat
שבת
16 January 6 Shevat
Raymond Taube Shirley Horwich Sara Crammer
Father Husband Father
Joanne Feldman
Father
Howard Hymanson Ruth Glass Estelle Glynn Susan Lentin Jonathan Ferster Stuart Ferster Warren Ferster Chaim Ferster Gary Simon
Father Father Father Brother Mother Mother Mother Wife Mother
Irene Varley Basil Latter Jacqueline Luft Ian Buchalter Jeanette Abrahams Rabbi Portnoy
Mother Mother Mother Mother Mother Mother
Norma Freeman
Father
Barbara Rosen John Blaskey Roger Blaskey Michelle Levy Jayna & Guy Levy
Father Father Father Husband Father
Kiddushim 9 January Gillian & Tony Raynes
Thought For The Week Being Grateful In this week’s parsha Hashem commands
of lice, which required striking the ground,
Moshe to bring the plague of blood to the
Moshe refused again to strike it, because
Egyptians, and start the painful process
the ground saved him by covering up the
of forcing Pharoah to let the Jews leave
Egyptian taskmaster that he had killed in
Egypt. He tells him that he should stretch
last week’s parsha.
his staff over the River Nile, and strike the water, and this will start the transforma-
The message for us is that if Moshe was
tion of water to blood.
able to show such sensitivity to water and dust which are not living beings, then how
However, when the plague eventually
much more so do we have to be careful to
starts, it is not Moshe who strikes the
show gratitude and sensitivity to anybody
water, but rather his brother, Aharon. The
who does us even the slightest favour,
famous question is why did Moshe not
even something as small as lending a pen
listen to Hashem and do it himself?
or giving us directions.
One answer is that since Moshe was
However big or small the favour or ges-
saved by the River Nile as a baby, he would
ture, the correct thing to do is to say
not be showing appropriate gratitude to
thank you, and try and do something nice
the river by striking it, and cursing it.
in return.
Rabbi Nick Similarly, it is Aharon who strikes the Nile when bringing about the second
Shabbat Weather
plague of frogs. And at the third plague
AM Rainy
16 January 23 January Rabbi Jon & Abi Simons Farewell Unsponsored
8o High 3o Overnight Low
Parsha
S L E W
verview
JE
First Aliyah - 12 verses Hashem tells Moshe that He has heard the cries of the Children of Israel, and promises to free them from Egypt, to save them from slavery, to redeem them, and to bring them to Land of Israel. Second Aliyah - 15 verses The Torah tells us the names of the tribes and the family groups. Although we are told the names of all the tribes, the Torah really wants to focus on Aharon and Moshe. We also meet many of the Torah personalities that we will meet in later stories. Third Aliyah - 9 verses In this brief section, we read again about Hashem telling Moshe to speak to Pharoah, and Moshe being nervous about his speech impediment. Fourth Aliyah - 28 verses Hashem tells Moshe that when Pharoah asks for a sign that he has been sent by Hashem he should throw down his staff and it will become a snake. He also tells Moshe how to perform the plagues of blood and frogs. Fifth Aliyah - 12 verses Pharoah goes back on his promise to free the Jews, and Hashem sends the plague of lice. When this doesn’t work, He sends the plague of wild beasts.
M S I DA
U J F O
Seventh Aliyah - 19 verses Hashem sends the last plague that is mentioned in this week’s parsha - the plague of hail. This was not ordinary hail; these were big, destructive balls of ice (with fire inside!) This plague is unique becuase Egyptians could avoid damage if they took everything inside!
00 years While over 20 the book in d re are cove om this of Bereshit, fr till the ha week’s pars h, less ra To e end of th than 45 years will be covered!
This week we will discuss some of the hidden facts about some of the plagues
It’s Worse Than You Think BLOOD Why did Hashem tell Moshe to go to the River Nile first thing in the morning while Pharoah was bathing? The answer is that Pharoah made everyone believe that he was a god, and gods never need the toilet. He would bathe in the Nile every day so that he could go to the toilet then. When the river was turned to blood, he couldn’t go in the water. Some people say the Torah tells us that he wet himself on the spot!
All non-Jewish water turned to blood. If a Jew gave an Egyptian water to drink, it would turn to blood as he poured it into his mouth!
Sixth Aliyah - 26 verses After the plague of wild beasts, Hashem sends a plague that kills the Egyptian livestock. After that, Hashem sends the sixth plague; boils.
Delve into the deeper side of Judaism
FROGS The plague of frogs began by one, supersized frog emerging from the River Nile. The Egyptians brought weapons and sticks with which to kill the monstrous frog. Instead of killing it, the massive frog spat out hundreds and thousands of other frogs. The more they the Egyptians tried to kill the frogs, the more frogs
would come out! They were everywhere, and the noise was absolutely deafening! LICE When Aharon struck the dust, lice appeared and infested the Egyptians and their animals. They pricked their bodies like needles and also filled the fields and settled on the crops. Pharoah called his magi-
They were forced to admit that this plague could only have come from the Finger of Hashem cians to also produce lice, but this time they failed. Although they had known how to convert a staff into a snake and water into blood, they did not succeed in creating lice by magic. They admitted to Pharoah that magic has no power over an object smaller than a barley corn, and they were forced to admit that this plague could only have come from the Finger of Hashem. The magicians therefore withdrew an from then on no
longer attempted to imitate Moshe’s wonders. HAIL The plague of hail began as a mere rain becuase Hashem hoped that the Egyptians would still repent for their actions. Eventually the rain was converted into a storm. Thunder crashed, lightning struck, and the earth quaked. Then huge hailstones rained down from Heaven, composed of blocks of ice and of fire, but the fire did not melt the ice, nor did the ice extinguish the fire. Hashem performed this miracle so that everyone could see Hashem’s greatness and control over nature. The hail broke entire trees and destroyed the crops even down to the deepest roots in the ground. All produce was destroyed except for the wheat and spelt which Hashem wanted to spare so that the locusts could devour it. 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
A Message from Ashley Blaker The only Charedi Jew in British comedy Hello to all my friends at Hale Shule. Some of you will remember me from a Friday night dinner back in March. I would like to personally invite you to see my standup shaw ‘UNGEFILTERED’ which comes to South Manchester on 17th January. It is a full-length 90 minute show, so even if you have seen me before, this is something much more substantial and with lots of stuff you have not heard. The show is at Shaare Hayim and tickets can be purchased online. Many thanks and look forward to seeing you soon.
Parsha Stats Va’era is is the 14th of 54 sedras 2nd of 11 in Shemot Written on 221.8 lines in a Torah (ranks 16th) 121 verses - ranks 20th (4th in Shemot) 1748 words - ranks 15th (3rd in Shemot) 6701 letters - ranks 17th (3rd in Shemot)
Did You Know None of the 613 mitzvot are in this week’s Parsha. There is a clue to remember how many plagues are in today’s parsha, and next week’s parsha, Bo.
Regards Ashley
Va’era is spelled וארא, and the numerical value of וand אis 7! Bo is spelled בא, which has a numerical value of 3!
QA &
If you counted 18 parshiot (a third of the Torah) from Nitzavim in Sefer Devarim, to this week’s parsha, you would only find 5 of the 613 mitzvot!
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 are the four promises of redemption that Hashem makes? What are the names of Levi’s three sons? How old were Moshe and Aharon when they went to speak to Pharoah? Which plague were the sorcerors unable to copy? Which five types of animal were afflicted by the fifth plague? Which famous troublemaker are we introduced to in this week’s parsha?
If you divided up the Torah into 3, starting with Bereshit, the breakdown would be: 94-290-229
Just For Fun Question: What was Moses’ favourite chocolate? Answer: Pharoah Roche.
Answers: 1. I will take you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you. 2. Gershon, Kehat, Merari. 3, 80 and 83. 4. Lice. 5. Horses, Donkeys, Camels, Cattle, Sheep. BONUS: Korach.
L
KING AHEAD
In The Spotlight
EDUCATION
Tony Raynes
YOUTH
For mothers in South Manchester 20th January: Build a Bear 27th January: Baby Massage 3rd February: Nursery Door Signs 10th February: Baby Music with Caterpillar Music 24th February: Adventure Babies 2nd March: Creative Clay (Baby Handprints) 9th March: Jabber Jacks 16th March: Fancy Dress Purim Photo Shoot 10.30am at Hale Shule, WA15 8NZ Parking on premises £6 per session Bagel lunch provided
To book your place, please text/call Shira on 07772 852 502 or email shirakett@gmail.com
Trick or Cheat?
* Schedule is subject to change.
A Jewish Perspective on Deception
BEYOND HALE
Presented by
On Tuesday, Tony celebrated his 70th birthday. Tony and Gill have lived in Hale for over 35 years, along with their three children, David, Lisa and Vicky, all of whom are celebrating this weekend, as well as Tony’s six grandchildren. Tony’s has a love of fishing; an interest which has taken him to the shores and banks of England, Scotland and Wales, and even Alaska! His biggest catch was a 45lb salmon, although sadly we won’t be enjoying any of his catches at the Kiddush! Tony has also collected in excess of 400 chessboards over the last 45 years, although interestingly he does not enjoy playing. Tony and Gill are delighted to share this special occasion with the community, and we thank them for their hospitality.
Mazaltov to
Rabbi Anthony Manning live from Jerusalem via Skype
Chaim Ferster on being awarded the British Empire Medal for Holocaust Education by Her Majesty the Queen.
Monday 18th January 8.15pm At the home of Rebecca and Craig Lewis 7 Dobb Hedge Close WA15 0LR
Followed by Parent & Child Learning Programme
For more details on all events visit www.halehype.com or contact youth@hale-community.org.uk
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
Jonathan Ferster, Lynne & Jimmy Attias, Lady Beryl Steinberg and Chaim Ferster on the occasion of Hayley’s engagement to Avi Kasmir. Tracy & Martin Polak and Joy & Ronnie Polak on the occasion of Natasha’s engagement to David Jacobs. Melanie & Tony Woolf and Ruth Glass on the occasion of Andrew’s engagement to Zoe Winograd.