The Family Shul Wishes You a Shabbat Shalom

January 8, 2016 – Tevet 27, 5776 Flamingo e-Weekly 674 Erev Shabbat Mevarchim Shevat, Parshat Vayeirah Shabbat Candles should be lit by 4:39 pm Shabbat ends 5:46 pm The Family Shul Wishes You a Shabbat Shalom

The Week-at-a-Glance: Our Daily Services, Classes and Events Schedule Shabbat Kodesh Erev Shabbat (Friday) January 8 Sunday, January 10 (Saturday) January 9 6:30 am Maamer Moment 7:00 am Tehillim Minyan 8:00 am Early Minyan 6:35 am Early Minyan 8:45 am Chassidic Reader Class – Torah Ohr 8:30 am Tanya Teachings 7:00 am Regular Minyan 9:15 am Main Shacharit Services 9:15 am Regular Minyan 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 9:30 am Parents ‘n Kids Youth Minyan 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 10:30 am All Youth Programs & Girls’ Cocoa Club (ages 12+)

12:30 pm Congregational Kiddush 4:49 pm Mincha, 1:30 pm Mevarchim Farbrengen 4:45 pm Mincha, Sefer Sefer HaMitzvot HaMitzvot

and Hakhel Insights, 5:10 pm Ma’ariv then, Kabbalat 4:00 pm Mincha followed by Tehillim 119 for Eretz Yisrael Shabbat & Maariv 4:30 pm Moshe’s Mishna Hakhel for Kids! 4:35 pm Seudah Shlisheet: Refreshments for Body, Mind, & Soul 5:30 pm Ma’ariv - Living Torah with the Rebbe video follows Kiddush Honours: Mevarchim Farbrengen: Seudah Shlisheet: The Adler Family Anonymous The Friedman Family Women’s Mikvah: Women’s Mikvah: Women’s Mikvah: by appt. only 8:00 - 10:00 pm 8:00 - 10:00 pm Monday, January 11 Tuesday, January 12 Wednesday, January 13 Thursday, January 14 6:30 am Parsha Perspectives 6:30 am Parsha Perspectives 6:30 am Parsha 6:30 am Parsha Perspectives 6:30 am Early Minyan 6:40 am Early Minyan Perspectives 6:35 am Early Minyan 7:00 am Regular Minyan 7:00 am Regular Minyan 6:40 am Early Minyan 7:00 am Regular Minyan 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 7:00 am Regular Minyan 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 10:30 am Redemption Songs! 8:50 am Yeshiva Minyan 4:45 pm Mincha, Sefer 4:45 pm Mincha, Sefer 4:45 pm Mincha, Sefer HaMitzvot 4:45 pm Mincha, Sefer HaMitzvot HaMitzvot 5:10 pm Ma’ariv HaMitzvot 5:10 pm Ma’ariv 5:10 pm Ma’ariv 8:00 pm Parsha Curiosities! 5:10 pm Ma’ariv 7:30 pm Dedicated Chavruta; 8:00pm Rosh Chodesh then, Men’s Micro-Burst Hakhel Society 8:30 pm Talmud Class Women’s Mikvah Women’s Mikvah Women’s Mikvah Women’s Mikvah 8:00 - 10:00 pm 8:00 - 10:00 pm 8:00 - 10:00 pm 8:00 - 10:00 pm

Highlight Event of the Month Celebrating Jewish Femininity! – Our annual evening of celebration in Tribute to Jewish Women now looms less than a month away! We invite all of the women in our Jewish community to join us for a very special event that features Rhoda Dermer, wife of Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, as our special guest speaker. This all transpires Tuesday, February 2, which falls on Shevat 23, the day after the Yahrzeit of, and honouring Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, OBM, our beloved Rebbe’s soul-mate. This year’s unique event is being co-sponsored by Chabad Flamingo and the Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael. A wide range of Jewish women from across our diverse community will be joining together to be encouraged, inspired and empowered. The cover charge to participate in this beautiful Hakhel Dinner event is only $45 per person; attendance is by RSVP only: [email protected]. A resident of Jerusalem, Mrs. Dermer will be joining us from Washington, DC, where she now temporarily lives with her husband, the current Israeli ambassador, and their five young children. They are the first Shomer Shabbat couple ever to hold this position. Mrs. Dermer is an impressive woman in her own right: a brilliant scholar, an articulate speaker and an iconic example of Torah-true femininity. Reserve early, so that you don’t miss this electrifying annual celebration of heroic Jewish femininity before we sell out! For more information you may visit our website. Please look-out for your e-vites that will, please G-d, be arriving in your inboxes on Monday!

A Digest of Hakhel Happenings at Chabad Flamingo ~ Where All Ages Are Getting Together! Women Infusing the Hakhel Spirit – All the women of our community are invited for a special Tehillim & Cookies Hakhel get-together this Shabbat afternoon, beginning at 3:15 pm at the home of Tali Elhadad, 494 Highcliffe Drive. Then, on Sunday, January 17, a large women’s only Hakhel gathering will be held at the Bachar home, 11 Markwood Lane. It’s being organized and co-hosted by Barbra Orvitz and Sari Bachar. The event will feature Rebbetzin Esther Zirkind, a noted educator and lecturer who will share her thoughts on “How-to Infuse Ahavat Yisrael into our Everyday Lives.” More information about this exciting exclusively woman’s #unitethenation get-together to follow soon!

Micro-Burst Men’s Hakhel – Each Thursday evening, following the Chavruta Program, Rabbi Yossi will lead a brief (less than 15 minute!) Micro- Burst Hakhel Event. Each will include a brief D’var Torah, a few moments of Tefillah L’zechut for those in need of Refuah (healing), and Tzedakah. All the gentlemen of our community are invited to participate in the entire Chavruta, or arrive at precisely 8:20-ish to join this high-octane Hakhel!

Boyz In The Hakhel – In addition to Moshe’s Mishna-Hakhel that happens most Shabbat afternoons at Shul, many parents have been helping their children to host regular weekday Hakhel gatherings at their private homes too. The next such event will be hosted by Yoni Kagal and his parents at their home 392 Highcliffe Drive on, Wednesday, January 20, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Also, an exciting Father and Kids Hakhel initiative under the leadership of Rabbi Avrumi as well as several dads is also now being planned, so stay tuned for the fresh details to be released next week! You Go Girl! Hakhel – The first Hakhel event for the young girls of our community takes place Sunday, January 24 from 4 to 5 pm at the home of Chana and Esther Engel. We thank their parents for helping to arrange and facilitate this first such #unitethenation get-together for the young girls of our Flamingo community and urge others to follow suit. To start making arrangements to host an event, please contact Rebbetzin Faygie! A Very Special Book Club – Inspired by the Unite for Hakhel ideal, and mindful of the incredibly potent, positive energy G-d endowed to all Jewish women, Annie Sugar warmly invites the ladies of the Flamingo community and beyond to be part of a very special Monthly Tehillim "Book Club." This special Book Club will gather each month at her home to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for the blessings we are fortunate enough to enjoy, as well as to beseech heaven on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael, and the members of our local community who require divine blessings for healing and long life. At each event we’ll be dividing and reciting psalms the entire Sefer Tehillim together and meaningfully including others in our Kavana (thoughts). Following the recitation of Tehillim at each monthly meeting, we’ll have the opportunity to learn the meaning behind the verses as well as hear from a guest speaker. Please join us in this wonderful Hakhel opportunity to enjoy each other's company, learn a little and do something meaningful for someone in need. Feel free to bring friends as well as the names of anyone in need of Tehillim. This month’s event takes place for Yud Shevat, falling on Wednesday, January 20, and is hosted by Annie at her home, 161 Renaissance Court.

Shabbat Mivarchim Shevat - Parshat Vayiera ~ In this Hakhel Year, Growing More United than Ever in Yiddishkeit!

A Warm Shabbat Trumps a Cold Winter’s Day – While it’s cold out there, it’s warm in here! This Shabbat has upgraded warmth and energy because it’s Shabbat Mivarchim; so it offers power to draw forth blessings for the entire new Hebrew month of Shevat. It was in this month just 76 years ago that the Global Chabad Lubavitch movement was launched into the modern age with the inauguration of leadership of our beloved Rebbe on Yud Shevat, (Yud = 10th). Five short days later, we’ll all celebrate Tu B’Shevat, (Tu = 15th) the Jewish New Year for Trees, because that’s when winter begins to thaw in our beloved homeland, Israel, and the almond trees on the hillsides around Jerusalem begin to bloom. Certainly, Shevat is a month ripe with spiritual warmth and the power to increase our Yiddishkeit and inspire new growth for Am Yisrael. To help actualize these blessings and successfully harness this energy, we’ll gather at 7 am for our traditional recitation of the entire book of Tehillim, which will be especially dedicated for the merit of our dear Shul members, Akivah Yaakov ben Etel and Arye Leib HaLevy ben Batya, followed by a very special edition of our weekly Chassidic Reader class, Torah Ohr. Following the Congregational Kiddush, everyone is warmly invited to stay for a dynamic, friendly and lively Mivarchim Farbrengen. So, while you’re here in this frosty city, step into our welcoming summery spiritual camp Shul for warm up energy! Youth Redeemed – We welcome all the vacationers back to our popular weekly Shabbat Morning Youth Minyan! Thanks to our Youth Rabbi’s devotion to the children, programming at the Youth Minyan is always creative, new, fun and exciting. This week, the children should gather all their Minyan coins because they’ll get a chance to redeem them for some amazing prizes! Rabbi Avrumy says that everyone has been davening so well during the past few weeks so it’s been totally tough to choose the Top Davener Trophy Winner! A big Yasher Koach to Natan Rotman for being the chosen Diamond Davener of the Week this past Shabbat! Rabbi Avrumy reminds all the children that anyone can win, and there’s no reason that this Shabbat it shouldn’t be you! Just Daven from your heart with all your might to get a chance to win and take the shiny trophy home! Community Roles – This week at the children’s program, we’ll continue meeting new members of the Jewish community and will be getting to know the Shamash and the Schochet. What exactly are their jobs, and how do they actively contribute to our Jewish communal life? Games like Schochet Trivia and Kosher Animal Farm, as well as the creation a colourful Shamash Food Art, are among some of the super exciting and fun activities the children will be enjoying this Shabbat at the program. We think it’s really important to learn about the different roles in a Jewish community, and we can't wait to continue exploring it together with them. Our dedicated Youth Leaders Chana, Shternie and our amazing team of counsellors are looking forward to seeing the children for yet another fantastic program! Mazal Tov to our Diamond Davener of last Shabbat, Chana Engel! We Thank Our Generous Shabbat Sponsors – The congregational Shabbat Kiddush has been sponsored by Tom & Sharon Adler in honour of both of their special Hebrew birthdays. The Mivarchim Farbrengen has been anonymously sponsored for a Refuah Shleimah for all those in our community who need Hashem’s healing. Seuda Shlisheet has been sponsored by Les & Iris Friedman to commemorate the Yahrtzeit of Les’s father, OBM.

The Week Ahead at Your Family Shul!

Practice Safe Spirituality – We follow our reality-checking, extremely grounding, yet nonetheless exhilarating Tanya Teachings last Sunday about the dangers of spiritual self-delusion, and how we can protect ourselves. This Sunday, join us at 8:30 am to learn how we can ensure continued success in our spiritual journey by learning how to identify hidden traces of spiritual toxins hiding beneath the surface of devoted Prayer and Torah study. Discover why this intensive search may sometimes be an absolute necessity to enable better direction of our thoughts, speech and deeds. Attend this thought-provoking analysis of the Beinoni’s nature - the dialectical inner conflict that must be overcome to successfully serve Hashem! G-d Is In The Details – Our Weekly Women’s Study Group will gather for “Redemption Songs” on Monday, January at 10:30 am to continue decoding the mystical messages encrypted into the spiritual poetry of Psalm 119. This week, we’ll learn more about King David’s heartfelt pleas. Discover what this quintessential Jewish Royal yearned for and sought to understand, and the path he hoped would lead him towards wisdom rather than greed. See how and why the bigger picture must always include an intense focus on the details, for only when meticulous care is applied to them can the larger picture be perfected. Last week’s lecture “Pathways to Spiritual Fulfilment” is now available on demand on our website! Tell Me a Story – Our Monthly Women’s Rosh Chodesh Society meets this Monday evening, January 11, at 8:00 pm, which corresponds to Rosh Chodesh Shevat! This month’s focus: “Literature and the Art of Storytelling.” Since the dawn of history, our people have been communicators, telling stories - to others and even to themselves, often becoming reality. Discover secrets of how and why words coalesce to create meaningful narratives. See how mastering words can lead to a more purposeful life. If you aren’t yet part of the “RCS,” email the Rebbetzin: [email protected]! A Matter of Darkness – This week, our Tuesday evening Parsha Curiosities Class will shed light on the deep darkness invoked by Moshe Rabbeinu and his elder brother, Aharon during Makat Choshech. We’ll reveal obscure details about the remarkable 9th plague, Darkness, that was incredibly dense and intense for the Egyptians, while the Israelite nation enjoyed a miraculously lit environment. This exceptional class will present a dazzling array of illuminating Torah insights from a wide selection of traditional sources to teach us about the darkness, and the various purposes it served in preparing Am Yisrael for their imminent exodus and redemption. The class on Parshat Vayiera: “Moses - a Poor Communicator?” is now online! T.G.I.T. – Thank G-d It’s Thursday – Attendance at our ongoing Chavruta Study Program is, Baruch Hashem, growing by the week, and the program now culminates with a weekly mini-Hakhel. If you’d like to enhance your Torah literacy with “one on one” support, contact Mark Covant for a match up. Our fascinating Talmud Class continues to be held each week at 8:30 pm. Join us for the study of the centerpiece of Jewish scholarship!

Upcoming Events and Happenings

Mothers & Daughter Bond and Bake – Everyone is so busy with school, work, meals and homework, it leaves little time to bond with your daughters and friends. Join us at our Annual Mother and Daughter Bake Off and enjoy time together learning “The Art of Desserts” with cookbook author, Amy Stopnicki. If you don’t have daughters, bring your mom or friend! Please reserve Tuesday, January 19, 6:30 pm. This event is open to girls ages 3 and up. Costs: $12 per person or $20 per pair. Reserve by calling Shterni at the Shul office, extension 21, or email [email protected]. Stop Whining and Start Wine-ing – This year Tu B’Shevat, our Jewish New Year for Trees, falls on January 25. Celebrate by uncorking the process to create your very own kosher wine. Pour the yeast solution into the grapes and initiate the natural fermentation process! This hands-on entertaining and educational Tu B’Shevat Event begins at 8 pm. Your wine, sweet or dry, will, bezrat Hashem, be ready just in time for Pesach! Count down the days until your wine is ready to bottle, and even design a custom label! We’ll be getting back together in the month of Nissan to bottle, cork and seal the wine so that it’ll be Kosher for Passover! Participation is by early RSVP only. Please let us know no later than January 19th. Read It In Hebrew Returns! – Back by popular demand! Are you struggling to read Hebrew? Check out our Hebrew Reading Crash Course based on the famous Read It in Hebrew program. This cutting-edge, bleeding-edge and otherwise very edgy five-week course builds on decades of professional Hebrew teaching that transforms it into a lively, modern experience which has helped thousands return and reconnect with the beautiful language of our ancient heritage. Rebbetzin Faygie Kaplan taught these courses this past October and November and the attendees loved it; in fact, they are now reading Hebrew! If there is sufficient interest, she is prepared to offer this course again with evening or daytime options available. Please email the Rebbetzin and let her know which time you prefer. Soon, you’ll feel comfortable reading Lashon HaKodesh (our sacred tongue), then language which the Torah was written, and which G-d used to create the universe and communicate with our Prophets! A Higher Level of Hebrew – If you were one of those participants who just learned to read Hebrew, or if you can already read basic Hebrew but have always wanted to take it to the next level, we’ve got good news! Rebbetzin Faygie is now prepared to teach a more advanced course in Hebrew reading which will focus on familiarizing you with the Siddur, and honing your basic skills so that you can participate confidently in services and Daven with greater proficiency. Note: both these classes will only be held if a quorum expresses interest. Please mail [email protected]. The Family Shul Members Bulletin – Heartfelt condolences: To Elie Hantsis upon the recent loss of his father in Israel. Mazal Tovs: Dr. Howard Jacobs on the birth of his granddaughter. Gera & Ronit Birk on the engagement of their son, Tamir, to Rebecca Burstein.