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Kol Mevasser 6 Shebat 5776 16 January 2016 KOL MEVASSER as the Maggid draws to a close: “In every gen- Parashat Bo Message from eration one must look upon himself as if he had personally come forth from Egypt, in keeping Torah: Ex. 10:1–13:16, 106 Pesukim the Rabbi with the Biblical command, ‘And you shall tell Hertz 248–262; Stone 340–365 On Communal your child on that day, it is because of that Iraqi Haftarah: Is. 19:1–25 which the Lord did to me when I went forth from Handout (not in the Hertz or Stone) Memory in the Egypt.’” Tefillot: Mashib Haruah Spirit of Pesah We will have plenty of time to explore these For a parashah with narra- themes when Pesah rolls around in a few months, so I will put a different twist on it KJ Schedule tive action, it doesn’t get much fuller than Parashat for this week by raising the question of other Ereb Shabbat stories of communal memory that have come Bo. The text ranges thrillingly from the last Friday, January 15th up since the Exodus. The Jews have been three plagues to the first Paschal Lamb, to Shaharit ............................ 6:25 am the mitsvot of Matsah and Pidyon Ha- through many highs and lows in the past three Minha ................................. 4:30 pm ben (redeeming the firstborn); and its crown- millennia, in numerous lands around the Medi- ing glory is that this is the parashah in which terranean, Asia, and the New World – what is Shabbat Candle Lighting 4:48 pm Pharaoh agrees to free the Israelites. We start our responsibility to teach ourselves and others Arbit / Kabbalat Shabbat .... 5:00 pm Bo as slaves near the lowest point we have ev- about these as well? er experienced, but we end it as Am Yisrael, an Yom Shabbat unprecedented nation that is still surviving and In the Classical Period, our Babylonian-Persian Saturday, January 16th thriving more than three thousand years later. Hahamim saw the Purim and Hanukkah stories Shaharit / Morning Prayer .. 8:30 am as so important that the blessings they coined Keri’at HaTorah ............... 10:15 am Reading the text, we might think that this story for the Megillah and Menorah audaciously de- Musaf .............................. 11:30 am is unforgettable, but to ensure that it stays that scribe them as commandments from God (for way, God commands us to retell the tale to the Scriptural justification of this type of bless- every subsequent generation among us (Ex. ing, see Shabbat 23a). Neither of these events Minhah ............................... 4:00 pm 13:5-8). Along with a few other parallel pas- was as epoch-making as the Exodus, but they Women’s Tehillim .............. 4:00 pm sages, this commandment forms the basis not were both times when the Jewish people faced Se’udah Shelisheet ............ 5:00 pm only of the annual Seder tradition, but also of an urgent situation where everything they held the eponymous section of the Haggadah dear was about to be lost. In the eyes of the Arbit ................................... 5:20 pm known as “Maggid.” Indeed, the command- Hahamim, the fact that we made it to the other Habdallah .......................... 5:52 pm side is significant, and must be preserved for ment is so central to the themes of Pesah that Our Sages leave its words ringing in our ears (Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 2) In Memoriam Shabbat Kiddush Thank You We remember yahrzeit anniversaries from January 16 to 23, 2016. It is customary to light is sponsored The Board of Directors a memorial candle, donate tzedaka & attend would like to express their thanks Shabbat services. in loving memory of and utmost gratitude to 6 Shebat / Shabbat, January 16th Albert Gaub Avner Abraham ben Khatoon Mollie Einy Konigsberg Maurice Jacob Jonah Maurice ben Yaacov The Ironi and Kamara Families z’’l 8 Shebat / Monday, January 18th for the significant contribution Ezra Ekaireb Ezra Sion ben David they have made in loving memory of F. Ellis Meyer Eliyahoo Faraj ben Avraham Shalom by The Einy Family Rebecca Mizrahie Rivka bat Toba Edward Shashoua Sion Edward ben Elisha Mr. and Mrs. & The Konigsberg Family 9 Shebat / Tuesday, January 19th Menashe & Marcel Kamara, z’’l Saul Zakoo Shaul Hai ben Ezra Zakoo HaLevy and it will be dedicated by 10 Shebat / Wednesday, January 20th Naima Dabby Naima bat Chahla Condolences the naming of our synagogue sanctuary in their names. 11 Shebat / Thursday, January 21st to the Family & Friends of Malacj Khamani Serah bat Simcha Mollie Einy Konigsberg z’’l 12 Shebat / Friday, January 22nd especially her husband, Norman Shabbat Shalom Umborakh Abraham M. Cohen Avraham Shalom Mor- dechai Yitzhak HaCohen Konigsberg, and her children, our Wishing You a Peaceful Shabbat of Blessings Matthew Ellenhorn Matatyehu ben Shmuel Board President, Ronald Einy (Letizia) Maurice Kadoorie Moshe ben Saleh Kadoorie and Edmund Einy (Devin). KJ Schedule (continued) Rachel bat Masooda She was the loving grandmother of 13 Shebat / Shabbat, January 23rd Weekdays Sheila Cohen Sulha Khatoon bat Rivka Macklin, Anson, Charles and Miranda. Sunday, January 10th Nanejan Davoudian Nanejan bat Hacham Mo- Shaharit ............................................. 7:30 am May Hashem comfort them together with all la Rebbi Talmud Torah & Sunday School .......10:00 am the mourners of Tzion. Alex Sassoon Monday, January 18 to Friday, January 22 Shaharit ............................................ 6:25 am Refuah Shelemah • Ereb Shabbat Abe Abraham Moselle Amron Friday, January 22nd KJ Talmud Torah Mordechai Cohen • Esther Duke Shaharit ............................................ 6:25 am Friends Creativity Jewish Learning Sassoon Ezra • Miriam bat Yetta Minha ................................................. 4:30 pm For information contact Sylvia Cohen •Tilda Levy • Sally Amron Shabbat Candle Lighting ................. 4:55 pm • Mrs. Hanna Elkouby, Director Maurice Ovadia Florice Newberry Arbit / Kabbalat Shabbat .................... 5:00 pm 424-283-0893 Some of us may be better equipped than Rabbi’s Message others, but each of us has the power to (Continued from page 1) have some impact on sharing our past with KJ Events the people who represent our future. In the January to March 2016 weeks between now and Pesah, all generations through the creation of I encourage you to ask yourself: “What can Tu Bishbat Celebration mandatory holidays and ritual actions. I do to take ownership of my roots?” If you Sunday, January 24th do this with your whole hearts, it will add a A family-friendly Tu Bishbat Yet in that regard, Hanukkah is clearly the new layer of meaning to the holiday in program, with fun for parents exception that proves the rule: in a post- which we spend one week reminding our- and children! RSVP at Biblical world, only this one story is pre- selves where the Jews first came from. kahaljoseph.org Contact served through a formal holiday sanctioned [email protected] by all Jewish denominations. The rest of Shabbat Shalom! our many tales – be they good or bad – re- Rabbi’s Installation quire a different sort of custodianship with- out the stamp of God’s authority. Sunday, March 6th Conversations Formal investiture of Rabbi So what are we to do? As a synagogue The Journal of the Institute for Melhado as spiritual leader of Kahal Joseph. This community with members from across Asia, we know Jewish Ideas & Ideals building event will be a chance to share that our histories are unique, but without our encouragement, the wider community Kahal Joseph is excited to offer FREE copies of our beautiful congregation with the wider LA Jewish world, so mark your may not invest in maintaining these narra- the newest edition of "Conversations," the tives for us. Instead it is up to us, and we calendars for a great evening! journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and have several pathways available: Ideals. The Institute's founder , Rabbi Marc D. Purim Baking We can preserve them through our minds Angel, visited us in October, so if you enjoyed Sunday, March 13th by reading (or writing!) books and articles meeting him and hearing his reflections, you'll Join the fun & bake traditional about the history of our individual Jew- be sure to find the journal worth a read. This Iraqi sweets for KJ’s Community Gift ish communities. edition focuses on the challenges of Jewish Baskets. We are so happy to use our education, and features articles from Rabbis, beautiful new ovens for this mitsvah! We can preserve them through our actions academics, politicians, and laypeople who ap- by creating events and displays such as proach the question from many different an- Purim Carnival our recent Iraqi Jewish Archives bus trip to gles and perspectives. Sunday, March 20th Yorba Linda. KJ’s annual festive celebration with car- Copies will be given away at 1 copy per house- nival booths, fun games & rides, amaz- And we can preserve them through our re- hold on a first-come, first-served basis ing costumes & wonderful food. lationships by reaching out to our elders (contact: Rabbi Melhado). Each edition ad- and getting to know them à la Deut. 32:7. dresses topics that touch our lives as Orthodox Jews in modern society. Remembering Lieutenant was going badly. in Burma as part of Field Marshal Viscount Jacob then calmed William ‘Bill’ Slim’s Fourteenth Army. General JFR Jacob my nerves saying, “Of On January 13, 2016, Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob, an course, I am not seri- As part of this multinational force, 65% of Indian Army Lieutenant General, passed away in ous. That was in the which was Indian, Jacob had many close India, at the age of 92. His family came from Iraq in Second World War!” shaves. “At Ramree Island, we fought the the middle of the 18th century and settled in Calcut- He explained that it Japanese in crocodile-infested waters.
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