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Parshat Vayeitze 9 Kislev 5777 9 December 2016
Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat
15:30
(Candle Lighting)
15:30
Shacharit
09:00
Leining
10:00
Power Kiddush
11:00
Shabbat Ends
16:48
Ma’ariv
17:05
followed by Musaph & Mincha
Weekday
Security team: Red
Page No.s Artscroll Gutnick Hertz
Leining
Haftarah
144 180 106
1139 1386 118
Thought For The Week
Shacharit
Ma’ariv
Sun
09:00
19:30
Mon
07:00
19:30
Tues
07:00
19:30
Wed
07:00
19:30
When Yaakov falls asleep, he dreams of a
greatness or we will fall away and become
Thurs
07:00
19:30
ladder whose base is fixed to the ground
insignificant. It is up to each of us to decide
Fri
07:00
16:00
and whose top reaches heaven. (Bereishit
in which direction we are moving on the
28:12) The Rabbis teach us that what
ladder which represents our lives.
Candle Lighting
15:30*
* Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat
Hashem was showing Yaakov in the dream
Chayim Arukim
to all those who have Yahrzeit this week as follows
Sun 11 December
Jeremy Hart Michael Gould Harvey Burman
Mother Sister Father
Mon
Fiona Berg Philip Braunstein
13 December 13 Kislev
Jeremy Arnold
Wed
11 Kislev
Stairway To Heaven
was the nature of the nation who would
But a ladder is only usable if it is standing
descend from him.
firmly and will not fall. Just as the ladder in Yaakov’s dream was ‘mutzav artzah’ – fixed
The Gemara (Megilah 16a) says that the
in the ground - so we must be firmly rooted
Father Mother
Jewish people are compared to dust and to
in the ground of our lives: the everyday ritu-
stars – referring to a previous prophecy to
als of relationships, work, and responsible
Father
Avraham. When the Jewish people are on a
citizenship. We cannot be totally spiritual
Jonathan Koslover Mother Lynda Arron Husband
downwards path they descend to dust, but
and self-obsessed, sitting meditating on a
when they go up they ascend all the way
mountain top. We must have our feet firmly
Louise Burman
Father
to Heaven.
on the ground in order to have our head in
16 December 16 Kislev
Murray Patt
Father
שבת
Irene Varley Sheilah Sheldon
Husband Brother
12 December 12 Kislev
Tues
14 December 14 Kislev
Thus
15 December 15 Kislev
Fri
17 December 17 Kislev
the clouds, so that we can reach the great A ladder is the perfect representation of
things we strive for without falling.
the Jewish people. No one ever remains standing on a ladder – its purpose is to
Kiddushim
enable us to travel up or down to reach
10 December Power Kiddush
something. That is what the Jewish people
17 December Sara & Raymond Crammer 24 December Unsponsored
Rabbi Joel Portnoy
are all about. We are a nation that cannot
Shabbat Weather
remain stagnant. We can either ascend to
AM Showers 11o High 6o Overnight Low
Parsha
verview
First Aliyah - 13 verses Jacob heads towards Charan, to his uncle Lavan. While traveling, Jacob encounters the Temple Mount and lays down to sleep. He sees his famous dream with a ladder reaching up to heaven. G-d informs him that He will bequeath the entire land to his descendants. Second Aliyah - 17 verses Jacob arrives at a well located in the outskirts of Charan. He sees Rachel arriving with her father’s sheep. Jacob helps give water to the entire flock. Lavan rushes out to greet Jacob. Jacob spends a month with Lavan and is offered the job of tending to his herds. Third Aliyah - 31 verses Jacob serves Lavan for seven years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Lavan gives Leah instead of Rachel. Lavan offers to give Rachel for another seven years of service. One week later Jacob marries Rachel, and begins serving seven more years. Leah has four children, Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Judah. Rachel and Leah give their handmaids as concubines, and they give birth to Dan, Naftali, Gad and Asher Fourth Aliyah - 14 verses Leah gives birth to Yissachar and Zevulun, and one daughter, Dinah. Eventually, Rachel gives birth to Joseph. At that point, Jacob asks Lavan for permission to return to Canaan. Fifth Aliyah - 32 verses Lavan deceives Jacob with his wage payment, and after a further six years, Jacob is finally able to leave. Sixth Aliyah - 26 verses Jacob and his family slip away from Lavan but he pursues them. Rachel steals one of his idols. Seventh Aliyah - 15 verses Lavan and Jacob make a peace treaty, signified by a stone monument. Lavan returns to Charan, and Jacob continues on his journey towards Canaan.
If Esav had been ould righteous he w ah Le d ie rr have ma 12 e th lit sp and b. Tribes with Jaco
S L E W
JE
M S I DA
U J F O
Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we focus on the first time Jacob met his future wife, Rachel
Speed Dating When Jacob arrived in Charan, he noticed the shepherds were gathered around a well whose opening was blocked by a tremendous stone. The well had been purposely covered with a big boulder because at that time, all the other water sources of the city were contaminated, and the entire city was dependent on this well for water. The inhabitants therefore decided to place a stone over its opening so that access should be limited. It was only possible to procure water at certain hours, after the stone was rolled off by the united efforts of all the shepherds. The shepherds explained that they were waiting for everybody to arrive so that they could roll the stone off the well. While they were waiting, Rachel appeared with Lavan’s sheep. It was Hashem who had sent Rachel out to meet Jacob, since she was destined to become his mate.
which way it occurs, they must meet if it has been decreed by Heaven. A Roman noblewoman asked Rabbi Yossi bar Chalafta, “How long did it take Hashem to create the world?” “Six days,” he replied. “And what has He been doing since then?” she inquired.
There is no G-d like your G-d! Your Torah is truthful, beautiful and praiseworthy.
“He matches husbands and wives,” Rabbi Yossi informed her. “I could do that too! I possess a great number of male servants and maid servants and would be able to marry them off to each other in no time!”
line. They were all married in one night. But when they returned to work the next morning, they were a sorry sight to see! One came with an injured head, another’s eye was missing, the foot of another was broken. None of the matches had been successful! The noblewoman immediately sent for the Rabbi. When he appeared before her, she admitted, “There is no G-d like your G-d! Your Torah is truthful, beautiful and praiseworthy. When you explained to me that Hashem is busy making matches, you spoke wisely!” The noblewoman originally thought that the world is able to exist without Hashem’s Providence, but at the end she had to admit that the world needs Hashem’s constant guidance. Based on ‘The Midrash Says’ by Rabbi M. Weissman
After the Rabbi left, the In some cases, the wife noblewoman formed rows travels to meet the husof servants and maids, a band. In other instances, thousand in each row, and the husband travels to started pairing them off find her. But no matte as she walked down the 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 Vayeitze is the 7th of 54 sedras 7th of 12 in Bereshit Written on 235.3 lines in a Torah (ranks 12th) 148 verses - ranks 6th (3rd in Bereshit) 2021 words - ranks 4th (3rd in Bereshit) 7512 letters - ranks 5th (3rd in Bereshit)
Did You Know There are 17 Parshiyot in the Torah that do not contain a single mitzvah. Vayeitze is one of them. However there are plenty of lessons about developing character. Vayeitze is the longest, single paragraph in the whole Torah. This fits with the fact that it is a continuation of the story from Parshat Toldot. Jacob only waited one week after marrying Leah, before being able to marry Rachel. He served his extra seven years after the wedding.
Tip #7 Clear Your Mind
TEFILLAH TIPS
For a change of pace, try and change the way you walk to Shule. Take some time during your journey to focus on the fact that you are coming to pray. Halacha recommends that one should not read the newspaper, or even talk to others before talking to G-d in the morning, so that our minds can
be clear and focused on the upcoming conversation we will have with Him. While this may work for some, at the very least, one can utilise part of the journey to channel their mind and concentration to aid in an effective prayer service.
Although we understand the place that Jacob spent the night as being the Temple Mount, the Torah only refers to it as “the Place”.
Just For Fun Question: How do you know Lavan’s sheep were terrible at playing hide and seek? Answer: Because every time he looked for them, they were spotted!
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KING AHEAD YOUTH
EDUCATION
In The Spotlight Charlotte Buchalter Charlotte recently won Young Volunteer of the Year. This award recognises a young individual who is not only actively involved in the voluntary sector but who has excelled in a leadership role. Apart from her work with the Friendship Circle, who nominated her for the award, Charlotte volunteers for Allingham House and St Ann’s Hospice. She started the Manchester branch of BBYO and has taken part in all of their leadership programmes. Charlotte volunteers for The Friendship Circle as a ‘buddy’ for a child with learning difficulties. They paid tribute to her, describing her as a volunteer who “clearly stands out”. They said “regardless of how important her school work is to her future, her commitment to her weekly volunteering is inspiring and she never fails to see her buddy on a weekly basis. At the beginning of their relationship, her buddy would shy away from the door when Charlotte arrived. Now she runs to the door when she hears Charlotte ringing the bell and calls her ‘her best friend‘. The family of the buddy described Charlotte as “a lovely, special girl, who communicates well, is always polite, and has a huge smile on her face.”
Mazaltov to 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
Sharon & Ian Buchalter on Charlotte’s Young Volunteer of the Year Award. Leah Madnick and Jennifer & David Zucker on Rachelle’s Batmitzvah.