Torah Weekly Mishpatim 2021
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F E B R U A R Y 1M3A, Y2 082, 12 0| 2 M0 I |S HEPMAOTRI M | P A G E 1 Congregation Beth Sholom TORAH WEEKLY Learning Initiative ז"ל A Project of the Linda Mitgang To sponsor an upcoming edition, please click here Coming Down the Mountain ZMANIM Candle-lighting 5:08 pm BY RABBI KENNETH HAIN Mincha 5:10 pm [email protected] Shacharis Hashkama 7:45 am Joel Shiff/Main 9:15 am One of the most remarkable developments in recent times Mincha 5:00 pm has been the wonderful growth of the Daf Yomi Shiur w/ Rabbi Horowitz 5:15 pm phenomenon. Thousands of Jews all over the world, Maariv 6:05 pm including women, have joined this movement of learning a Shabbos Ends 6:10 pm daf (page) a day of Talmud. We in Beth Sholom are extraordinarily proud of our Beth Sholom Daf Yomi, led by Rabbi Yechiel Weberman and his dedicated students. It IN THIS ISSUE recently celebrated a siyum led by Mordy Lent at a beautiful 1 Coming Down the Mountain Melava Malka. May this amazing chevra continue to grow Rabbi Hain and flourish thereby inspiring all us in CBS to expand our Torah learning. 2 The Dark Side Yael Saffra The Daf Yomi movement started in Lublin, Poland in the 1920’s led by Rav Meir Shapiro. But what is now less known 3 The Meaning of a Vav is that a predecessor of it was “Chevra Shas” which Avromie Fein flourished for several hundred years in Eastern Europe and even in the US. Rather than a major siyum celebration every 3 Halacha Al HaDaf several years the Chevra Shas groups in those days would Chayim Maza designate the Shabbat of Parshat Mishpatim annually to mark their renewed commitment. 5 Finding Our Eyes in the Torah Rav Joseph B Soloveichik z’’l once explained the connection Rabbi Fogel between Mishpatim and the Chevra Shas. Essentially he taught that Mishpatim epitomizes the “Torah she’beal peh” – Your Enemy's Donkey The Talmud. He underscored the tradition of young students 6 Rabbi Miller first learning the tractates of Seder Nezikin (damages) – regarded as the great enterprise of the oral Torah (Bava Batra 175b). The Rav recalled as a boy he studied Nezikin 7 Quotes of the Week and felt it sharpened his intellect and inspired him Rabbi Wein S E P TOMENFCDODMANOEOTDEJACSUYNEBOVUNACOEJCUT GOERMEV1ATUBLEJOCPAJJOEMCJGURAJVMU5OEYUMNEAUGTMVTABU ASUE,AMN RLMBEYU1NOEBG NE3B1TMSYGRY M2AE BMASERBU,8 T2EU 1 YU0 BR, U1EYTR1B ,EY2R ,B1S52 A2 3E S,2R 5G2 REY5 T1 9,E021 2R016RT192 5, 0R2,U 3, R20472 ,Y, , 12 6,0 ,| 20S 8,2 ,82 0, 9564 2,07 2 20T 2,102, 2,B2,0| , 02 0 3,2 0 |20 02E 2| 20,202C 02|20H 0 02N |0 1 MH20 S02 | | 2A0| V2I ||0 U2 0|BU A 01 |TR|0A| B| 2D 0PS |K AK ET ZL |EK- V|' A1 |MH IECB|KBSMAOEV M|V IA N M VE HVOT IEC|AT MKVRNIOAVYOTCSIATLRICAD OH-TY-AIEAKYOIREHDSBAOREM HY BS'EK FIECIYTU AEOB PICALEHGUIAT|RE V|AHSEMDECHASDV LI IZINALKRS H R|V T CHIM AT R O|EAE|NSOP |A TPI|OZHIZ EK|YPI ITHAC I ON M|TAPE |P V AP EAOP| HR| G|AP IG. A| IA |P GA| NP| A | AEI|LGPE GP4 GAP GE| AP | PEG APEAEP3|AGE 3E AGCAE AG 2 GPA GE 2PGEH2 GP2G2EAEG E2 A EA E2 E 2EG E |E2G 2 G2 2 E 22E2PE2 2 A32G E 2 emotionally and ethically throughout his life. The Rav also thought this is reflected in the deep significance of the location of Parshat Mishpatim in the Torah. Essentially Mishpatim is an interruption in the flow of the narrative of the Torah. At the conclusion of Yitro, Am Yisroel have seen and heard the extraordinary events at Sinai as Moshe comes down from the mountain. What should then follow is acting on the demand to seal the covenant with the people of Israel in Chapter 24. Instead there is an interruption – the parsha of Mishpatim suddenly presents the laws of Nezikin! Why? The Rav explained that Mishpatim (ethical laws) are the practical application of the Ten Commandments. Without Mishpatim we cannot be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” It is the framework of civil relationships – which is in fact what makes holy a holy people. Parshat Mishpatim is unexpectedly adjacent to Matan Torah to remind us that ethical behavior is primary. And so for centuries our children begin the study of Talmud with the laws of ethical requirements taught in Parshat Mishpatim. May we all be so inspired. The Dark Side Upcoming Shiurim BY YAEL SAFFRA [email protected] Daf Yomi 7:30am with R. Weberman Purim - the most joyous and anticipated holiday on the Jewish 8:30 am with Chayim Maza calendar, is around the corner. It is a holiday of heroines and heros.It is a day of joy and festivities, and a day of victory and Thursday celebration. Megillat Esther, however, tells a different story. 9:15 pm, R. Weberman, Parsha Lurking just below the surface of our jubilation and merry- making is a tale of anxiety and fear. It is dark and lonely. It is the story of Jewish history and the story of the Jew in exile. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Megilat Esther is unlike any other book in the Bible. The author of this sacred text invites the reader to imagine the party of King Achashveirosh and even beckons us to join. The verses of Chapter One are elaborate and colorful. According to Dr. Simi AUDIO SHIUR ROUNDUP Peters, such rich and cinematic detail is very unusual in Biblical text. Rarely does the Tanach describe what a person or an R. Miller: "Liability for Causing A article of clothing looks like, let alone an entire structure. If the Sports Injury" Torah, however, does describe someone’s physical attribute or offers a detailed visual description of something, it is there for a R. Wein: "All Hail the Righteous reason and begs for interpretation. Upon unrolling the Megillah, King" all we have to do is close our eyes and see the words of the text come to life. In the royal garden there were hangings of white SIGN UP for the cotton and blue wool, caught up by cords of fine linen and purple CBS Torah WhatsApp Group wool to silver rods and alabaster columns. There were couches of by clicking here gold and silver on a pavement made of marble, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics. Imagine the opulence and grandeur. Everyone is present at this royal party. There are no distinctions amongst the guests, and everyone is a citizen of Shushan. All attendees C L I C K T O clearly understand where the power lies and how their presence is simply there to honor the king. Alcohol flows freely, and inhibitions melt away. Things are said and done that alter the T H E N E X T T O R A H W E E K L Y ! course of Persian history forever and cannot be unraveled. The facade of the perfect empire has cracked. Chapter One of Megilat Esther invites us into ancient S E P TOMNEFCDOAMJDNOEOTUJDJEASCYNUEOBVUNAOCCOEN TUJGOCERV1MLUTAJOBJEPCJOCJEGUAMVRUJ5YUEOMGNUTEAVT BMAUES ,M NJA L1BMERUNEOYG1B 3E1NUMTSBGY2RME BM2 SA,RUE8B TN2UE, 1U0 BRY 1E,TB R,Y 2EB1 S2,R5 A2E 3S2 ,R E 5R2T1Y90E21 ,20 6RT10859 R,20 ,5 2R43072 ,0, 2Y 1, 2026 |,0 ,82 , ,2 8,05 94 62 72 0, ,0 120,2 B2, ,|0, 20 |,23 0 2 0|2 E|20 2|2 0,C202 |0H B02 0 0N |2 0HM120 2S 0| EA2 |2V 0 | 0I| 2 U0A BH 0|1R0|T A D| 0P 2S K| TA K L|AE V-ZK |' |H1NIECM|BS AOKE VM|A INV E HAEVT COI KRA|TMNVRYLIOACTILSRCASO-H -DIEYTOAIKOIEHYAOBRMOE HYSM'F EKBECYTIAI CEOILPHE UTAIERVG|A EHSM|HCDELSAI VILZNKIS ACRHV |TCHMA I TO|AEPS|O|HA P S|OTIZHK ZIE|IY PCTA H TA|PNIEM| P A VP P|EAHO RG| AI|GP A|A PIA|GPA | EN I|GAPEL GPGPA G | AE |P AGEPPA6EAPE G2| EGAC GA E3AP G AG E3PGE3H3 PG3EAGEG E3A E A3EG3 E E3|G 33G E3 39E33PE 3 A23G E 3 connect the beginning of this מפרשים Persia. It is a world of power and intrigue, and a Other .יתרו of פסוק world of politics and power- hungry individuals. Parsha to the last It is a society that, in the blink of an eye, goes ְו ֽל ֹא־ ַת ֲע ֶ֥לה ְב ַמ ֲע ֖ל ֹת ַעֽל־ ִמ ְז ְּב ִח֑י ֲא ׁ ֶש֛ר ֽל ֹא־ ִת ָּג ֶ֥לה ֶע ְרוָ ְת ָך֖ ָע ָֽליו awry. Rights and freedoms are stripped away merely because of one’s gender or one’s religion. It is a world dominated by materialism Do not ascend My altar by steps, that your and conformity. nakedness may not be exposed upon it. After the party everyone returns home. The 1) Rashi - The Sanhedrin needs to be located .מזבח pleasurable side effects of the alcohol have near the worn off , the frivolous merriment of earlier has transformed into something darker. Harsh 2) Kli Yakar- The Torah shows concern for the an inanimate object. How ,מזבח interpersonal laws between husband and wife ramp of the are mandated throughout the empire. much more must we be mindful of the feelings Permeating from the royal palace is a deep of their fellow Jew and not to lord over them. sense of regret and lack of clarity. And for the anonymous and acculturated Jew of Persia, life Rabbi Steinsaltz zt”l sums up the underlying will never be the same again.