Minyan @ Beit Halevy 60C Blair Street, North Bondi Parashat

Notice Board
Kiddush Sponsorship– Barmitzvah
This weeks Kiddush has been sponsored by the Finkelstein Family in honour of Adam’s Barmitzvah.
Hearty Mazeltov to the Finkelstein and Abitz Families.
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Mazeltov– Shalom Zachor & Bris Details
Mazeltov to Yoni, Taryn & Dinah Hersh on the birth of a beautiful baby boy. The Shalom
Zachor will take place this Friday night, 19 September, from 9pm at 18 Midelton Ave North
Bondi. The Bris will take place in shul (at JLC) this Shabbat after Adam (the Barmitzvah boy)
speaks and the Rabbis drosha.
Mazeltov to Colin and Andy Sacher on the birth of another beautiful granddaughter to Brad
and Sarah in London.
Welcome to Raveena Marks
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Raveena Marks who has joined the JLC team. She will
assist Lindi and Honey in the office.
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Thank you
Thank you to Candice Stein, Tamara Reinhardt and Andy Sacher for baking for the Kiddush.
Thanks to Rozanne Ichikowitz for running the children service for the 0-3 group this week.
Ecards for the Chaggim
Send a beautifully designed ecard to family and friends around the world in lieu of a gift. Email as
many people as you would like for a minimum of $54 and Post cards for a minimum of $18 each.
The Shabbat Project—Keeping it together
Shabbat 24/25 October– Our organisation is proudly working with the Shabbat project. Sydney joins
170 cities across the globe in a grassroots initiative to bring thousands of people together to keep
Shabbat. The idea: To keep one Shabbat from sunset to nightfall! Host your own dinner, come to
one of our events, pledge to disconnect in order to reconnect with family, friends and our community. Click on the link for more information and to register http://
www.shabbatprojectsydney.com.au/. If you are able to host people for meals/ accommodation or if
you require hosting please contact the JLC office on 9365 5667 / office@jlc.org.au.
The Shabbat Project—Hosting and Volunteers
Hosting- If you are able to host people for meals/ accommodation or if you require hosting please
contact the JLC office on 9365 5667 / office@jlc.org.au.
Volunteers– We are looking for volunteers to help set up the Kiddush and Seudah Shlishit on Shabbat (Saturday 24 October). If you are able to volunteer to help set up on the day please contact the
office on 9365 5667 / office@jlc.org.au.
Volunteers for Challah Baking– If anyone would like to volunteer to be involved in the Challah Bake
Event - please email Vanessa.gavshon@gmail.com asap.
SELICHOT TIMES
Sat 20 September: 11.50pm
Mon 22 September 5:30am
Tue, Wed 23 & 24 September: 5:45am
Minyan @ Beit Halevy
60C Blair Street, North Bondi
Parashat Nitzavim—Vayeilich
20 September 2014 / 25 Elul 5774
This Week’s Shabbat Times
Candle Lighting
Earliest Candle Lighting
Mincha Erev Shabbat
followed by Kabbalat Shabbat & Maariv
Shacharit
Children’s Service - Ages 0-3
5.31pm
4.34pm
5.35pm
8:30am
10.30-11.30
10.00-11.30am
10.45am
Preschool-Year 1, Boys Years 1-3, Girls Year 1+
Boys Year 4+
Shabbat Mincha followed by Seudah Shlishit
Shabbat Ends
5.10pm
6.27pm
Weekday Davening Times
Sunday, Public Holidays
8:00am
Monday & Thursday
6:10am
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
6:25am
Rosh Chodesh
6:00am
15mins before Shkia
Weekday Mincha, Maariv @ Bnei Maon
Maariv @ JLC—Mon - Thu
9:20pm
Sunday Mincha
5.35pm
Sunday Maariv
6.08pm
This Shabbat
Next Shabbat
Shkia (sunset)
5.49pm
5.53pm
Tzeit (nightfall)
6.07pm
6.12pm
Earliest Tallit / Tefillin
5.00am
4.49am
Haneitz (sunrise)
5.48am
5.38am
Latest Shema
8.48am
8.42am
Daily Zmanim
Jewish Learning Centre
Po Box 2385
Bondi Junction NSW 1355
Phone: (02) 9365 5667
Fax: (02) 9365 3578
To Sponsor or
co-sponsor a Kiddush
please contact the
office on 9365-5667
JLC office: office@jlc.org.au
Rabbi Blackman: rdb@jlc.org.au
Rabbi Eisenberg: rde@jlc.org.au
Rabbi Sacher: rms@jlc.org.au
S.A.L.T. – PARASHAT NITZAVIM-VAYELEKH by Rav David Silverberg
Motzaei Shabbat
Toward the end of Parashat Vayelekh, Moshe foresees the time when Benei Yisrael will suffer
calamities as a result of their abandonment of God, and their eventual recognition of the fact that “it is
because my God is not with me that these evils have befallen me” (31:17). Surprisingly, Moshe continues that in response to this recognition, which appears to express confession and a commitment to
positive change, God will intensify their suffering: “I will conceal My face from them on account of all
the evil they had done, because they turned to other deities.”
Numerous interpretations have been offered to explain why God responds to the people with
further calamity, rather than compassion. Seforno explains, “‘it is because my God is not with me that
these evils have befallen me’ – …and because they think this, they will not turn toward prayer or repent.” According to Seforno, Benei Yisrael’s response as foreseen by Moshe is one of despair, not
repentance. They recognize that God has punished them on account of their sins, but then reach the
conclusion that there is therefore no reason to bother reaching out to Him. And this is their mistake.
As Seforno writes, “It is not as they thought when they said that I am not in their midst, for, indeed,
wherever they are My Presence is found…” God punishes them further for despairing and convincing
themselves that God has permanently abandoned them.
Rav Asher Brander (http://www.kehilla.org/parsha-reflections-1/nitzavim-yavelech-5770-do-you
-love-you) notes in this context a comment by Seforno earlier in Sefer Devarim that reflects a similar
theme. In Moshe’s account of the sin of the spies, he recalls Benei Yisrael lamenting, “It is out of the
Lord’s hatred for us that He took us from the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Emorites to destroy
us” (1:27). What could have possibly led Benei Yisrael to such a thought – that the Almighty despised
them? What basis was there for viewing the Exodus as an expression of contempt, rather than an
expression of love and compassion? Seforno explains, “‘It is out of the Lord’s hatred for us’ – for our
having worshipped idols in Egypt…and so although He has the power to defeat the Emorites and kill
them, He will hand us over to them to exact retribution.” Benei Yisrael’s conclusion grew out of a
sense of religious despair, their inability to entertain the notion that God will care for them despite their
past mistakes. Indeed, Benei Yisrael had been deeply entrenched in the idolatrous culture of Egypt,
as the prophet Yechezkel describes (chapter 20). And although they publicly rejected Egyptian paganism at the time of the Exodus and stood at Sinai to declare their commitment to God, they remained haunted by their past and could not fully believe that God truly loves them. Thus, when they
heard about the dangers awaiting them in Canaan, they rashly concluded that God was dooming
them, and refused to believe that He would lovingly assist them.
In both contexts – the sin of the spies and Moshe’s prediction of future calamities – God reacts
angrily to Benei Yisrael’s despair. Their conclusion was not just misguided; it was sinful. Concluding
that God no longer wants us to return to Him is not just incorrect; it is itself a grave offense. The reason, perhaps, is that spiritual despair is essentially laziness disguised as altruism. Despairing from
teshuva enables one to shirk religious responsibility without pangs of conscience, by declaring himself
or herself unworthy of God’s acceptance. It allows a person to feel righteous without being righteous,
by acknowledging such an extreme level of guilt to the point of no return. It is a cheap and easy way
out of religious responsibility. There is nothing humble or altruistic about writing oneself off.
One of the reasons why teshuva is so difficult is that it requires us to recognize the complex
nature of God’s relationship to us. We tend to assign definitive, unequivocal labels to things and people, including ourselves, as either “bad” or “good.” But teshuva demands that we recognize both the
gravity of our wrongdoing and God’s continued love for us despite our wrongdoing. Without the former, we will fail to see the urgent need to improve, and without the latter, we will not bother trying. We
must therefore ensure to identify and confess our betrayal while at the same time firmly believing in
God’s eager anticipation of our sincere, wholehearted repentance.