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Volume 27 VAYELECH No. 50 SHUVA Daf Hashavua 19 September 2015 • 6 Tishri 5776 Shabbat ends in at 7.53 pm Artscroll p.1094 • Hertz p.887 • Soncino p.1149 In loving memory of Susi and Freddie Bradfield Sara Gitel bat Mordechai Menachem l’’z and Yaacov ben Zvi l’’z Solutions in Singing for the Future the Sidrah by Yoni Birnbaum, Hadley Wood Jewish Community

The Ponovezh Yeshivah in , Israel is A hint as to what fuelled the strength of this one of the foremost centres of Jewish learning great man can perhaps be found in a beautiful in the world. It hosts over a thousand interpretation he once gave to a verse in this students. I was privileged to study there my- week’s sidrah: “Now write this Song for your- self for several years. selves and teach it to the Children of Israel” ( 31:19). According to The story behind the establishment the Rambam ( of the Yeshivah is truly inspira- d.1204) this verse is the scrip- tional. Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman, tural source for the obligation the last Rabbi of the Lithuanian to write a Sefer . town of Ponovezh, escaped to Mandatory Palestine in 1940. Rabbi Kahaneman explained During the course of the war, his that the verse refers to the entire family was murdered and his Torah as “a song” because there community was reduced to ashes. is more to the Torah than an The prevailing view at the time obligation to study it. There was that it was only a matter of Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman may often be legitimate reasons time before the Nazis would sweep for neglecting to learn. How- through Palestine as well. ever, if we are truly attached to the Torah, if we view it as the ‘song’ of our lives, we However, the Ponovezher Rav, as he was will be unable to contemplate life without it, known, was a visionary par excellence. The as it becomes a part of our essence. Come story is told that on the very day that Rom- what may, despite all the challenges, we will mel’s Africa Korps advanced to their farthest find a way to devote ourselves to it. point, to a hitherto unknown town called El Alamein, Rabbi Kahaneman stood on an When Rabbi Kahanemen announced his plans empty hilltop in the little village of Bnei Brak, in 1942 to build his Yeshivah, some of his and said: "On this hilltop, I will build a Yeshiva contemporaries thought that the tragedies as a memorial to Ponovezh. One day it will he had witnessed had sadly made him become a Torah centre with hundreds and delusional. They used to call him a dreamer. hundreds of students, even larger than the He replied, “You are right, I am dreaming. great Yeshivot of pre-war Eastern Europe." But I am not asleep”. Writing a Sefer Torah by Rabbi Garry Wayland Assistant, Youth and Young Families Rabbi, Woodside Park United

One of the rarer joyous occasions in Jewish life A done through one’s is a Hachnasat Sefer Torah, the celebration own efforts is superior to and dedication of a new Torah Scroll. The joy that done by someone else; can literally spill out into the streets; roads hence optimally one should are often closed as the Torah is escorted, endeavour to personally underneath a chuppah, with singing, dancing write the scroll. and scenes of joy and jubilation. The Rambam himself writes that one Whilst we generally relate to a Sefer Torah in also fulfils the mitzvah by correcting a scroll. its role as the key object in a synagogue, This is cited as the source for the custom of through which we fulfil the mitzvah of Kriyat individuals to write letters in a Sefer Torah HaTorah – the public – there is before the start of a Hachnasat Sefer Torah. also a much more personal However, most individuals aspect. In this week’s sidrah, are unlikely to either write Moshe, preparing for his or commission their own final speech and blessings, Sefer Torah. Rabbeinu Asher commanded the to “now (known as ‘the Rosh’, d. write this song for yourselves” 1327) suggests that the (Devarim 31:19). (d. 1105) purpose of the mitzvah is and the Ramban ( for learning, rather than d.1270), explain this verse owning for ritual purposes, according to its immediate and therefore one can fulfil context, that the command the mitzvah by purchasing books – including refers to the Song of Ha’azinu, which we will Chumashim, commentaries and books of read next week. Jewish Law. However, the Rambam (Maimonides d.1204) offers a different interpretation. Moshe was Today we live in an age of unprecedented relating a mitzvah for everyone to write their access to knowledge. As well as books being own Torah scroll. cheaper and more accessible than ever before, tens of thousands of Jewish books are The commentaries give different reasons as to available online for free. It is possible to carry the reasons that may underlie this mitzvah. around in one’s pocket a Jewish library that The (Menachot 30a) says that “one our ancestors could not have imagined. who purchases a Sefer Torah “grabs” a mitzvah from the street; one who writes it is We access the ‘Song of the Torah’ through considered as if he received it at Mount Sinai”. listening to our holy scrolls being read in Rashi explains that ‘grabbing a mitzvah from shul, as well as through personal and the street’ means that one can fulfil the communal study. We hope that this will mitzvah by having a scroll in one’s possession. allow us to connect to G-d and His However, this is not the preferred means. with us at Sinai. Shabbat: A Special Time for Teshuva by Rabbi Chaim Gross, Editor, Daf Hashavua

Today is Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat between towards the truly meaningful and the eternal. and , on which That is what the Talmud is subtly conveying. special emphasis is placed on self- Every seven days includes a Shabbat. We are examination and looking into our deeds. charged with not dashing through life, in The Talmud states: “One who sleeps for seven danger of actually being ‘asleep’ for a whole days without a dream is considered bad” week. We are challenged to realise that (Berachot 14a). many of the things which grab our attention This seems a puzzling statement. Firstly, it is are actually no more than a passing ‘dream’. beyond our control to determine whether we Failure to take that important opportunity, have dreams or not. Furthermore, why is a in the eyes of the Talmud, is wasteful. lack of a dream indicative that This special connection between a person is ‘bad’? Shabbat and teshuva has the It is reported that the Vilna earliest of historic roots. On Gaon (Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer Friday nights at the end of the d. 1797) gave a novel and Kabalat Shabbat service, we enlightening interpretation of recite Mizmor Shir Le’Yom this statement: HaShabbat (see green siddur, We are all faced with the p. 270). According to one challenge of making sure that Midrashic interpretation, this we are prioritising the most song was first sung by Adam as important areas of our lives and not he welcomed in the first ever Shabbat. He had neglecting those things that should really just been expelled from the Garden of Eden. demand the most attention. How are we Having anticipated death for his sin, he was treating those about whom we care? joyous that G-d had not given him that How much time are we setting aside for punishment. Why was he given this chance? growth in our spiritual lives? Are we too His exit from Eden coincided with the focused on passing trivialities? entrance of Shabbat. This was not a As life seems to become ever busier and ever coincidence. Adam perceived that Shabbat more demanding, this challenge only appears presents the opportunity for the teshuva that to be increasing. he would need in order to make the most of the second chance that he had been given. Every Shabbat, we have the opportunity to take a break from the rapid rhythms of the If this message is true of every Shabbat, it is weekday working world. We can stop and perhaps even more pointed on Shabbat Shuva. ask ourselves these searching questions. Having gone through the process of Having paused, we may well detect that recognising G-d’s Kingship on Rosh Hashanah, those things which are in fact fleeting have our sense of perspective is finer tuned than been given too much priority. On Shab- ever. Yom Kippur, when we really have to ‘face bat, we can resolve to redress the balance up to ourselves’ is only a few days away. Insights The Final Years of the First Temple Period into Jewish by Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters & N Southgate United Synagogue; History US Living & Learning Educator

The body of Yoshiyahu (Josiah), King of Judea, Egypt, perhaps in chains. The prophet in Kings II was brought back to from the (chapter 23) tells us that he died in Egypt. Battle of Megiddo, having been pierced by Next to assume the throne was Yoshiyahu’s older 300 arrows in battle. One of the Kinnot (poetic son – and well known Egyptian sympathiser – lamentations) that we say on the Tisha B’Av Yehoyakim. Yehoyakim quickly swore allegiance tells of this tragic event. The Battle signified to Pharaoh-Necho and started paying tribute. the unravelling of the kingdom of Judea and the beginning of the events that lead ultimately In the fourth year of Yehoyakim’s rule, the to the destruction of the First Temple. Egyptian army was still entrenched in Carchemish when a decisive battle The Egyptian army, led by Pharaoh-Necho, against Nebuchadnezzar, the general was making its way northwards to engage of the Babylonians, took place. the newly-emerging, combined power of the Nebuchadnezzar absolutely deci- Medes and the Babylonians. As the old mated the forces of Pharaoh- empire of Assyria began to fade, the Necho in Carchemish. During the Babylonians perceived a power vacuum. The following six months, he gained control of Egyptians noticed the same vacuum and a most of the land in the north and east of the chance to reassert their power in the Middle Middle East. He then started working his way East. The city of Carchemish, located at the southwards. northern-most point of the Euphrates River, was of strategic value to both armies and the race The coastal plains were controlled by the to win Carchemish commenced. , from Gaza in the south to Tyre in the north (situated in modern day Lebanon). From As the Egyptian forces climbed northwards, the Babylonian Chronicle, we learn that the Yoshiyahu ran into battle to stop the Egyptian King of Ashkelon – an ally of Egypt – wrote to army from crossing his land. Sadly, his end was Pharaoh-Necho, begging for aid, as he saw swift. the armies of Nebuchadnezzar descending from the north, annihilating everything in their The people choose Yoshiyahu’s second son, path. The King of Ashkelon received no answer Yehoachaz, to be king. Yehoachaz was vehe- from his Egyptian ally. The city was decimated mently opposed to the Egyptians; it was for this and its people sent out into exile. Yehoyakim reason that he was chosen to be king ahead of was worried. Should he change sides? Would his older brother. For the very same reason, the Egyptians come to save the Judeans? when Pharaoh-Necho – during the battle in Carchemish – found out that Yehoachaz was on After Rosh Hashanah we will see that the throne, had him swiftly removed. After just Yirmiyahu’s (Jeremiah’s) prophecy complicated three months of ruling, Yehoachaz was sent to the situation even further.

United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue, together with US Living & Learning Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor in Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Richard Marcus on 020 8343 5685, or [email protected] If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email [email protected]