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Yo Un G Isr Ael O F Hartf Or D YOUNG ISRAEL OF WEST HARTFORD Shabbat Mevorchim 2240 ALBANY AVENUE Parashat Chayei Sarah WEST HARTFORD, CT 06117 November 26th, 2016 25 Marcheshvan 5777 www.YoungIsraelWH.org Kiddush this Shabbat Upcoming Young Israel Events is sponsored by The Shul Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Menachem Leibtag Next Week, December 3-4 Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Renowned Lecturer, Founder of the Tanach Study The Shul Center & a pioneer of internet Torah Education Mazel Tov Save The Date Phyllis & Sid Ulreich on the bat mitzvah of their Saturday Night, Dec 24th granddaughter, Adira Michal Waltuch. Mazel tov Young Israel Chanukah PALOOZA! to parents Debbie & Benjamin Waltuch and to the Call your babysitter now—it is a night not to be entire Ulreich and Waltuch families. missed! HARTFORD There are a lot of new faces and even some old ones AIPAC POLICY CONFERENCE who you might not know, please take a moment to March 26-28, 2016 Join the Young Israel delegation and the over 18,000 introduce yourself to someone over Shabbat! people as we gather in Washington DC to hear from the Hospitality leading experts on all the cutting edge issues affecting Do you or someone you know need a meal? Do you WEST Israel, the Middle East and the US-Israeli Relationship as have an extra seat at your Shabbat table? Please be in well as lobby our representatives on critical issues. Information and early bird rates can be found in the touch with Rabbi Brander so arrangements can be lobby. The Young Israel has also secured some even made. more deeply discounted tickets for the conference, please contact to Rabbi Brander for more informa- tion. The Young Israel of West Hartford is now on UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS Facebook! Check out our page and like it to stay on Grow West Hartford top of Young Israel happenings. In preparation for 2017 OU Community Fair, we have begun shooting film for our community video Weekday Mincha & Maariv (and to defend our title as best video submission). Our Mincha Maariv minyan Monday through We are hoping to have the same success this year… Thursday will be held at HHNE but WE NEED YOUR HELP! We will be shooting (300 Bloomfield Ave). this Sunday, November 27th, at 10a, on the HHNE Mincha & Maariv this week is at 4:10! Due to the early fields. Please make every effort to come for this hour, please try to support our minyan. For a com- quick event. All are welcome. Spread the word! plete winter Mincha Maariv schedule visit our web- site, youngisraelwh.org. SECURITY COMMITTEE YOUNG ISRAEL OF Thank you to all those involved in the coverage & rota- tions. If you are interested in getting involved, please con- tact Stan Rutstein at [email protected] Thank you Stan Rutstein – YIWH Security Committee Rabbi Tuvia Brander 561-271-4148 [email protected] Editor: Judie Patel [email protected] Affiliate of the National Council of Young Israel Synagogues, Member of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Sponsor of West Hartford NCSY, National Conference of Synagogue Youth, Kashrut Commission of Greater Hartford, Mikveh Bess Israel of Greater Hartford, Eruv of West Hartford YOUNG ISRAEL OF WEST HARTFORD WEEKLY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES YOUTH DEPARTMNET SUNDAY MORNING GEMARA SHIUR Join us for a light breakfast as we explore SHABBAT MORNING GROUPS the tractate of Horayot Sunday mornings Groups meet weekly on Shabbat from 10:15 AM-11:15 AM. immediately following davening. Children ages 5 & under are invited to Junior Groups on the carpet downstairs and children Grades 1 -5 are invited PONDERING THE PARSHA to partake in our Junior Congregation also downstairs Explore the weekly Parasha over lunch with Rabbi Brander. Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 @ the JCC UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS SHABBAT MORNING CHAYEI ADAM CLASS Travel through the halakhic work L’Dor V’Dor Gala Chayei Adam with The Hebrew High School of New England invites you Rabbi Avi Robinson to their L’Dor V’Dor Gala event on December 8, 2016 at the Emanuel Synagogue. For more information and WOMEN’S SHABBAT AFTERNOON MISHNAH CLASS to RSVP, please visit HHNE.org. Join Jo Bruce in examining the tractate of Shabbat. continued —> This Shabbat at 4:05 at the Robinson home NOTICE UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS As we begin the transition, please be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so SUPER SUNDAY our emails do not end up your spam folder. Join our local Federation phone-a-thon as together they raise money for the critical institutions of our commu- LISTSERV CHANGES nity. We are excited to announce that we are updating our December 4th: Two shifts, 9 to 11 a.m. & 11 to 1 p.m. listserv. In order to accommodate our growing needs December 6th & 7th: 6 to 8 p.m. at the Community Services Building (333 Bloomfield Ave). and many of your requests, we will be transi-tioning For more information and to RSVP to Adina Stein at off the current YIWHevents listserv and cre-ating two [email protected] separate email forums. The first forum will be our official Young Israel com- munication channel, which will ensure we all can stay BOOKKEEPERS CORNER in the know with the latest happenings in the commu- With many different honors and checks coming into nity, including important lifecycle events. Everyone on the office, please be sure to indicate in the memo the current listserv will automatically be transitioned in English what payments are for. to this new list. The second forum will be a new Google group called ‘Community Of Young Israel.’ As always, Maria can be reached by email at This group will be home to all ride re-quests, give- [email protected] for any questions aways, repair and service recommenda-tions, and the you may have. like. While this group will serve our community and there are guidelines governing posts, Young Israel of BUY SCRIP: West Hartford does not and will not endorse any of Before for you head out to the store or buying the posts. any Chanukah gifts, make sure you pick up your If you would like to be included in this listserv, please Young Israel of West Hartford Scrip! Scrip can sign up by completing this form. We plan to fully tran- even be used for online purchases! sition and shut down this YIWHevents lists in the To order or for any assistance with the program, coming weeks, allowing everyone enough time to sign please contact Nathalie Weinstock, who will be up and enroll in our new groups. temporarily taking over running our scrip program. Thank you for your cooperation. As always, we wel- She can be reached at 347-633-6824 and her address come any comments, questions or suggestions you is 95 Haynes Road. Please text her before coming may have. to her house to buy scrip. Dvar Torah By Rabbi David Silverberg Rashi (25:1) cites the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 61:5) which identifies Ketura, the woman whom Avraham married in the latter part of his life, after Sara’s death, as Hagar, Sara’s maidservant whom Avraham had already married many years earlier. Sara, who was childless for many decades, had Avraham marry Hagar to produce children, but she later had Avraham send Hagar and her child away, as she perceived them as a threat to her own son, Yitzchak. Now, after Sara’s passing, Avraham remarried Hagar, who was named “Ketura.” Rashi cites Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer (30) as explaining the Hagar was given the name “Ketura” to allude to the fact that “her deeds were as pleasing as the ketoret” – the incense that would be brought each day in the Beit Ha-mikdash. This description of Hagar must be considered in light of Rashi’s earlier remark (21:12) – again citing Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer – that Hagar reverted back to pagan worship after being driven from Avraham’s home. The Torah tells that Hagar “wandered about” in the wilderness after Avraham sent her away, and Rashi explains that she “wandered about” and was lost in a spiritual sense, as well, re- turning to her previous life of idolatry. The question thus arises as to how she became worthy of be- ing compared to the ketoret after having lived as a pagan during the interim years. The simplest answer, perhaps, is that her resumption of her pagan practices did not last long. Immediately after telling us of Hagar “wandering about” in the desert, the Torah tells that her son, Yishmael, nearly died of dehydration, but just as Hagar despaired, and angel appeared to her, reassured her, and showed her an oasis. She brought her son water, and he survived. It stands to reason that when the Midrash speaks of Hagar resorting to idolatry after her banishment from Avra- ham’s home, it refers to a brief period, as after the miracle of her son’s salvation and having been shown God’s angel, she regained her faith in the one, true Creator. On a deeper level, Hagar reverted back to idol worship because she felt betrayed by the God of Avraham whom she had embraced. As other Midrashic sources de- scribe, Hagar eagerly left Egypt to join Avraham’s household, adopt- ing his beliefs and lifestyle, but when tragedy struck, as her life sud- denly turned upside-down, she abandoned those beliefs and that lifestyle. The miracle of her son’s survival, however, showed her that faith can and must be maintained even in times of distress and upheaval. Just as the crisis of Yishmael’s thirst could be instantly resolved, similarly, her condition of loneliness was not necessarily permanent.
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